I always though that Aish Clanclan's behaviour could be best explained by the Ctarl-Ctarl having a pack social structure, like wolves. A Ctarl-Ctarl spends their time, especially when dealing with new people, jockying for position, working out who the Alpha and Omega of a group is. They can then settle down into a working relationship.
1) This explains why Hilda made a point of not swerving to avoid a freaking battleship - that would only mark her as being lower in the pecking order.
2) They are submissive to their leaders, but very quick to turn on a packmate who's lost face.
3) A Ctarl-Ctarl's version of diplomacy verges on bullying by human standards - they're trying to find out who's boss.
4) This doesn't work well on humans - many of whom don't settle into an Omega position and keep challenging authority. In this case, the face contest goes on until the human has for some reason or the other won, in which case the human ends up the Alpha. Which may explain why you quite often find Ctarl-Ctarl working in strip bars and restaurants.
Any thoughts?
Interesting... though I thought that even the weakest Ctarl-Ctarl were far more powerful than even the strongest humans. Not that I don't think that Suzuka couldn't kick Aisha's ass if she had to.
In terms of personal durability and physical strength, yeah, Ctarl-Ctarl definitely outpoint humans by a wide margin. I'd bet that humans have similar advantages in terms of endurance - but how relevant to your day-to-day life is the ability to run a marathon? Reflexes seem to be about equal, as is intelligence. Tool use and social aikido - I don't believe for an instant that a sophisticated technological society like the Ctarl-Ctarl always resolve such disputes physically - can more than overcome those differences even when they're being tackled directly.
That said, I don't buy the assertion that the inability to accept a lower position in the pecking order is a universal human trait; there are aspects of this behavior in human interaction, too, and no few people simply decline to care about their position in the given circle or are otherwise willing to accept a subordinate position for one reason or another.
I do think you're right about why those humans who are invested in advancing their position do well at it, though. Comes down to the difference between ambush and cursorial predators, again.
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
I never said that it was a universal trait, although it does seem that I accidentally implied it. It also doesn't seem to come down to a contest of raw power, but quite a bit of social engineering and matters of face. Does this seem to be a reasonable description and explanation of how we see the Ctarl-Ctarl act?
I also suspect that there is quite a lot of variation in the race or races, with Ashia being one of the dominant variaty - she's quite a bit more muscular than most of the background Ctarl-Ctarl characters.
IIRC, they did say in the anime that she was of one of the higher families.
My given theory, since I've just been watching the series for the first time recently, was somewhat based on the dub's voice actor.
Namely, Aisha's voice kind of alters a little between normal and a little screechy at times, without really settling.
If one considers that Aisha's possibly going through the Ctarl-Ctarl version of puberty, then her massive sense of showmanship and "chest-beating" and the like makes perfect sense. Other Ctarl-Ctarl are like her, as seen in the first episode she's in, and the wrestling match, but less extreme. She's just significantly more hormone driven than most due to her relatively young age.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."