Deus Sex Machina: Difference between revisions

A [['''Deus Sex Machina]]''' is any [[Deus Ex Machina|speculative fiction contrivance]] for inserting sex where it would otherwise [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief|be implausible]]. When used properly, this trope can be used to explore sex-as-metaphor. When used poorly, it's just an excuse to [[Porn Withwith Plot|dress up pornography as plot]]. Most examples probably fall somewhere in the middle. Incidentally, semen has traditionally been associated with vitality, [[Life Energy]], holiness, etc in various cultures, and the sex act itself with fertility (agricultural, that is) rites and seasonal change, so there's a bit of mythological justification for this trope.

Overlaps in places with [[Intimate Healing]] and [[The Power of Love]]. If the [['''Deus Sex Machina]]''' had not been foreshadowed before in any way, it's also a case of [[Coitus Ensues]]. See also [[Mate or Die]], [[Aliens Made Them Do It]], and [[Level Up At Intimacy 5]].

* Generally speaking, this is actually a ''[[Bleached Underpants|huge problem]]'' in the Japanese "nerdcore" industry, especially with semi-professional video games and animated projects. Full-blown porn is still considered a shameful thing to produce; however, including blatant sexuality in a work even when it doesn't make a lot of sense or is a bit disjointed from the narrative guarantees sales from a certain section of the population, and a lot of companies have built their initial fortunes this way, despite the damage to their reputations and the fact that the sexual content is often shoe-horned into stories that are more than narratively sound enough to stand on their own without this kind of "propping up". [[Nasuverse]] and Key games (such as ''[[Kanon (Visual Novel)|Kanon]]'' and ''[[AIR (Visual Novel)|AIR]]'') are the most notorious examples of this practice, although it's worth pointing out that those involved with said franchises are now [[Bleached Underpants|bleaching furiously]] since the initial appeal of sexuality paid off.

** Considering the fact that TYPE-MOON's popularity exploded after ''[[Fate Staystay Night (Visual Novel)|Fate Stay Nightnight]]'', but that they still continue to add nudity, shows that it wasn't simply for sales appeal.

*** Kano in ''[[AIR (Visual Novel)|AIR]]'' is told by {{spoiler|Hijiri}} that she will gain magical powers once she "becomes an adult". In the original [[H-Games|H-game]], you can guess which way she takes this. (Pun very much intended.)

* In the anime ''[[I Dream Ofof Mimi]]'' (aka ''Buttobi CPU''), Akira's humanoid PC, Pixie, can perform all manner of miraculous feats from defending him from other hostile humanoid PCs to magically repairing any resulting damage. However, she can only do this if Akira provides her with the sperm she needs upgrade her memory to sufficient levels.

* Cruelly subverted in ''[[Basilisk]]'', where one of the Koga ninjas is Kagerou, a beautiful and sexy [[Broken Bird]] who will never be able to have sex with a man she truly loves since [[Blessed Withwith Suck|her breath becomes poisonous]] when she's aroused.

* It's implied in the anime and stated outright in the visual novel that one way for a Master to recharge their Servant's mana in ''[[Fate Staystay Nightnight]]'' is to have sex with them. There are other ways, but sex is the only one Shirou isn't morally opposed to (like say, draining the lifeforce of innocent people for mana).

** As [[The Hill of Swords|one fanfic]] put it:

{{quote| [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"In order to stop a truly powerful enemy, you had to have sex with two women at once, and that it actually made one of them powerful enough to win against a foe you had no hope of defeating before?"]]}}

** In a similar vein, in the ''[[Tsukihime (Visual Novel)|Tsukihime]]'' [[Visual Novel]] the Synchronizers' ability work through [[Is That What TheyreThey're Calling It Now?|fluid exchange]], as well as {{spoiler|suppressing Roa in Ciel's ass}} in an earlier route. Meanwhile, the pseudo-sequel ''Kagetsu Tohya'' is a subversion, as there's a perfectly viable alternate solution you can take, Len just doesn't like it as much. Hey, he ''is'' [[Memetic Sex God|Shiki Tohno]].

* In ''[[Urotsukidouji (Anime)|Urotsukidouji]] 2'' Hitler's ex partner in crime uses Amano's sister as a 'sacrifice' to open the gates to the Makai world, allowing demons to come to Earth. To do this, he gives the powers of the Chojin's enemy, Kyo-o, to the lead character's best friend and he has rough and rather graphic sex with Amano's sister, Megumi before fighting Chojin. Lovely.

** Similarly, in ''[[Beat Angel Escalayer]]'' and its sequel ''[[Beat Blades Haruka]]" - the device that powers the titular [[Magical Girl|Magical Girls]]s' abilities can only be charged by strong sexual arousal.

* In ''[[Amaenaideyo!!]]'', Ikkou is a male novice at a Buddhist temple populated by a harem of <s>miko</s> Buddhist nuns. His powerful spiritual ability for combating ghosts and such is unleashed via lust, so the plot resolution is invariably one of the girls disrobing, or being disrobed, in order to release his power.

* ''[[Crimson Spell]]'' offers up a twofer: the sorcerer Havi keeps Prince Valdrigue's [[Super -Powered Evil Side]] under control with sex, which apparently also has the effect of helping fuel Havi's own magical powers. Go figure.

* Inverted in the oh-so-wonderfully named manga ''[[My Balls]]''. The series begins with the Queen of Terror being [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can|sealed into Satou Kohta's right testicle]], meaning the world will end should he ever, well, um, you know. Cue the sexy legions of Hell to use every technique in their arsenal to get in his pants, hilarity ensues.

{{quote| "My ejaculatory control muscle is at it'sits limits!"}}

* Played ridiculously straight in ''[[Yuria 100 Shiki]]''. Yuria is a [[Sex Bot]] [[I Just Want to Be Normal|trying her best]] to not be one. However, despite her best efforts, she inevitably winds up rationalizing some reason to have sex with Shunsuke. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* Urd from ''[[Ah My Goddess (Manga)|Ah! My Goddess]]'' tries to invoke this trope in her introductory chapter of the manga. She tells Keiichi that he has to have sex with her in order to repair/recharge the system force that keeps him and Belldandy together, and that if he doesn't have sex with her, Belldandy will have to return to heaven. It turns out to be a trick though and Belldandy comes in and reveals that it was just a trick before anything happens.

* This happens in the final episode of ''[[Panty and& Stocking With Garterbelt (Anime)|Panty and Stocking Withwith Garterbelt]]'' when {{spoiler|Brief's stiff key is the key to unlock Hell's Gate, and the only way Panty can save the day is getting it to go down.}}

** {{spoiler|Double subverted}} in the ~''[[11eyes~]]'' anime. In episode 11, Misuzu has sex with Kakeru to power him up (or something along those lines). {{spoiler|Subverted in that they were still unable to defeat [[Big Bad|Liselotte]] and prevent [[The End of the World Asas We Know It|the end of the world]]}}. {{spoiler|Double subverted because none of that happened and was all part of Kakeru's vision}}.

** Dr. Dare was a [[Distaff Counterpart]] [[Captain America (comics)]]-[[Doc Savage]] hybrid who gained temporary super strength after an orgasm. (Unfortunately for her, [[But Thou Must!|masturbation didn't seem to work]])

* ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]'' - In the Fear Machine arc, Constantine and his two ex-girlfriends (a hippie and an earth goddess priestess) save the day with a threesome (and "female" magic). The two ladies had spent the previous few months on an island (a character calls it "one of those woman magic places") where the magic was powered by love and orgies.

* In ''[[Hack Slash (Comic Book)|Hack Slash]]'' the female slasher Acid Angel has corrosive vaginal juices as her main weapon. Ew.

== Fanfiction [[Film]] ==

{{quote| '''Zuul/Dana''': I want you inside me.<br />

** Another level of irony (and possibly a [[Family -Unfriendly Aesop]]) also exists here, when you contrast this with another scene in the book. Beverly's father is portrayed as an abusive, overprotective, borderline psychopath. When he learns that Beverly has been playing with boys, he insists -- violently -- oninsists—violently—on ''physically'' checking to see if she's still a virgin. {{spoiler|Fortunately, she escapes him.}} At this point, she still is, and the scene plays out like an [[Rape Asas Drama|attempted rape]].

** Roulette can [[Out Withwith a Bang|kill by unleashing poisonous vaginal secretions]]. (Does somebody have issues?)

* In [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[Ring WorldRingworld]]'' series, depending on the particular human subspecies involved, when two inhabitants from different subspecies meet, the standard greeting may be ritualized sex ("Rishathra" is the word for this among the species our protagonist meets in ''The Ringworld Engineers''), though for some cultures it is taboo. (People still talk about Niven showing up at a sci-fi convention in the late 1970s wearing a button that said "I have sex outside my species.")

* In the later ''[[Dune]]'' novels, an offshoot of the Bene Gesserit arise who use sex as a form of [[More Than Mind Control|hypnosis]] -- it—it's just ''that'' good, apparently. Numerous galaxy-spanning, [[Gambit Roulette|wheels within wheels]] plots are derailed when it is discovered that there is a man with the same power. A-whoops!

* In the ''[[The BookofBook of All Hours]]'' duology by Hal Duncan, especially in the second book, "Ink", tantric sex apparently makes it easier to travel between the various alternate realities. Several kinds of technology also seem to be fuelled by sex, using so-called "orgone energy" as a power source.

* In Michael Swanwick's ''[[The Iron Dragons Daughter|The Iron Dragon's Daughter]]'', protagonist Jane learns to use sex magic to boost her own spellcasting ability.

* In ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]],'' a perversion of the Queen of Sheba {{spoiler|literally devours a man through the act of coitus, apparently to substitute for the worship she wasn't getting to sustain herself.}}

** Not to mention the {{spoiler|Ifrit who exchanges bodies through sex}}

* Ramona Random, a Black Chamber agent in [[Charles Stross]]'s ''[[The Laundry Series|The Jennifer Morgue]]'' has a succubus bound to her. If she doesn't have sex, it [[Mind Rape|eats her mind]]. If she does have sex, it [[Out Withwith a Bang|kills the partner instead]]. She's employed as an assassin, naturally.

* This is how the story of ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'' originally went, though now that version is usually titled ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110607231806/http://www.public.iastate.edu/~lhagge/sun,moon.htm Sun, Moon, and Talia]'' to differentiate it. She stays asleep until she has twins and one of them suckles the poisoned needle from her finger.

* ''[[Perfume (Literature)|Perfume]]: The Story of a Murderer''. {{spoiler|In the end, the man finally completes the "perfect" perfume he had been attempting to create the entire movie, and drops the vial on the ground while being led to his execution for his multiple murders and distilling of young women's essences. The smell is so beautiful, everyone in attendance participates in a spontaneous orgy, and the man escapes in the chaos.}} It's funny what you can accept when the movie logic is introduced early and kept consistent, really...

* In ''Battle Circle'' by Piers Anthony, the heroine is trapped in a Minotaur's maze. The hero goes in to rescue her. He finds her but they are unable to escape and the Minotaur is closing in on them. The hero remembers that the Minotaur is only interested in virgins and he can save the heroine's life by another means.

* In Alex Prentiss' novel ''[[Night Tides]]'', the main character [[Is That What TheyreThey're Calling It Now?|communes]] with lake spirits, but in return, she must help everyone who needs it.

* In Peter S. Beagle's ''[[The Folk of the Air,]]'', there is a fairly random sex scene between an ancient evil spirit in a boy's body and a young ([[Squick|very young]]) woman for the purpose of "tantric sorcery."

* ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' has Pon Farr - every seven or eight years Vulcans get a hormone craze that is generally only to be satiated by sex. Either they do or die, literally. Fortunately, {{spoiler|the holodeck version counts}}. Or {{spoiler|they find an alternative way to give said Vulcan similar emotions to sex, e.g. extreme anger/rage/sadness, like believing that you killed your best friend}}.

* One of the many strange and juvenile things that comes with the territory when people publish sex-based supplements for ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' (officially, the legendarily bad ''Book of Erotic Fantasy'', as well as ''Encyclopedia Arcana: Nymphology'' and ''Quintessential Temptress'', with the latter two basically a collection of juvenile snickering). Tantric magic is just the tip of it.

** And ''Sisters of Rapture'', which kicks it up a notch with full-frontal nudity on nearly every page -- somepage—some of it showing tavern scenes and the like to drive the point home that these characters ''never wear clothing at all''.

* A possible choice at the end of ''[[Dragon Age|Dragon Age: Origins]]'' is for {{spoiler|Morrigan to conceive a child with either Alistair, Loghain or the male player character in order to make a receptacle for the Archdemon's soul; otherwise a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] is necessary. Unlike other examples of this trope, this choice is far more serious than it looks, and given what happens in the sequel, it seems to be the canon ending.}}

* ''[[BrutalBrütal Legend]]'': Apparently, years of orgy and violence can cause a {{spoiler|"temporal perversion" aka ''time travel''}}. It's the Tainted Coils we are talking about, however, it's almost expected.

* In ''[[Embric of WulfhammersWulfhammer's Castle]]'', Huraine (goddess of love, lush scenery, strawberries and chocolate) requires this of her worshipers in their rituals, which is good news for Dorcas. One of the [[Multiple Endings]] even has the Duchess becoming the centrepiece of one of these rituals.

* ''[[Kit N Kay Boodle]]'', all the time. Nearly ''every'' plot line seems to be solved by the title characters <s>having sex</s> [[Yiff|yiffingyiff]]ing.

* ''[[Sonichu]]'', of all comics. has this in issue #8 with Silvana, whose "nectar" is a poisonous and paralytic sleeping agent she secretes during sex. After transforming herself to look like Bubbles, she makes out with Blake, knocks him out, and advances what little plot there is in the comic in the first place.

[[Category:DeusNo SexReal MachinaLife Examples, Please]]

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