Intelegent dolphins in a conversation. “Not much of a guard either. Strung jellies near the reef! Wait until Ro sees.” “I wouldn’t count on her to do much of anything. Not where Shaa is concerned. She jokes about being in love with him, but I think the joke goes bone deep.” “Even though he’s-” “Nothing more enticing than what you can’t have. Isn’t that what the Speaker says? Isn’t that what we are warned against?” “Yes, but… Poor thing. Even if he liked girls, she wouldn’t stand a chance." Girls? Would you pick a different word knowing these aren't humans? They call their young pups. I was about to change it something like doe. Thoughts?
"Intelligent dolphins" is redundant. All dolphins are intelligent. Also, I like the fact that you refer to them as girls, (although feminists might want you to change that to women...). I always think of dolphins as people so I would find this endearing. *@ChickenFreak see how it's done?
Cows and bulls with dolphins, I am afraid. A nightmarish sea world: Shee strung in high chaps, Ro bound by ball gag unable to perform at the blow hole. There's dolphin stories in all of us pros. I done porpoises, mermen and jellyfish hot tub. [Okay, I go watch rugby]
I think dolphins use cow terminology the same way elephants do. A bull dolphin, a dolphin calf, etc. For fantasy creatures, invent or adopt your own terms. Example: my dragons are called drakes and phoenixes in place of man and woman. Boys (although it can be used as a gender neutral term as well) are called basilisks and girls are called wyverns. Old dragons are called snakes and serpents for male and female. But if you're writing about real animals, I suggest using the real scientific terminology for that kind of thing.
I think that you're completely free to choose which way you want to go. You're obviously translating the conversation into English anyway, so you can use the English concept for "females of the speaker's species" (girls/women, since English is only used by humans, or at least humans think so) or "female dolphins" (whatever is correct). I think that "girls" gives you more humor and a thread of the absurd, which may or may not be what you want. Also, if the dolphins interact frequently with humans, that makes girls/women more problematically ambiguous--unless, of course, they use another term for female humans or perhaps don't even recognize human gender. Edited to add: And I think that you can use "girls" even while using "pups". I don't have an analysis as to why, I just do think so.
I spent some time trying to come up with something ...then my brain started oozing out through my nose and I had to go for the kleenex. I dunno. Clueless here.
you could be boring and say 'females' or you could say 'cows' although that's open to misinterpretation - or you could make a word up. For example it is common in pre intercourse for a male dolphin to slap the females fin with his flippers - so you could have "Even if he was a fin slapper he'd be out of her league" or something like that one point of note in regard of gay dolphins is that this says that http://understanddolphins.tripod.com/dolphinmaleversusfemale.html "According to the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon, Florida, dolphins are indiscriminately amorous, engaging in a number of sexual behaviors with other dolphins and with inanimate objects as a means of developing those sexual and social skills needed as adults." Apparently Dolphins have complicated male to male relationships, but mostly aimed at cooperatively teaming to coral fertile females There's also a video on that page of a dolphin carrying a frisbee on is penis - as one does....
It can't be a traditional frisbee. Probably one of those hollow, little hula hoop types. Even I could do that, running with it, maybe twenty yards.
Actually, dolphins are the frat-boys of the ocean. I spent my formative years within walking distance of the beach in Central Florida. Dolphins are a normal part of life there, as are manatees. For all their cuteness, dolphins - like most highly intelligent creatures - are prone to some rather reprehensible behavior, when viewed through a typical, Western, moralizing lens. My dolphins are anything but saints. The gay dolphin that Preem and Trwaa are referring to in the above sample excerpt is a complete ass. He's my homage to the many gay dudes I've met in life who prove that we gays are just human, like anyone else, capable of falling anywhere along the saint - dickhole spectrum. As to the question, I'll probably just stick with girls in this case. Cows is far too loaded a term, however scientifically correct it may be in our real world. It's got the wrong feel, connotation, and color to it. Girls it is. Thanks to all.
As long as you make it clear you're only using it because dolphins are called cows (try using bulls and cows in the same sentence or something) you might be able to pull it off.
