The problem with anything with the 'Monster Girl' label on it is that it's just porn. Sometimes it's convoluted porn that makes you work for it, but it's just porn. There's basically no SFW Monster Girl content.
Look, I get it, anime porn is awesome. And Monster Girls allow for even more fantastical settings for said porn. They also tend to cater to really specific fetishes. Just read the Monster Girl Encyclopedia sometime... yikes.
I love me some Monster Girls. Yeah, they're hot, but I also love world building and interesting creatures, so the limitation of "monsters, but also hot women" is a fascinating one to me. Some of the content has risen to the occasion. But, like, maybe we don't need to explicitly let the viewer fuck the monster girl? Maybe they aren't all ravenous sex fiends? How about we try that for once?
At the end of the day, I'd love to have a deep, rich world, in which Monster Girls could fit, but aren't the objects of lust and desire they seem to be elsewhere. No, I don't want to remove what makes them monstet girls... I just want to play with the concept and maybe make it a bit more interesting for people to engage with than, 'yup, male wishfulfillment.'
ALSO. LESBIAN MONSTER GIRLS NEED TO BE A THING. STOP MAKING THIS ALL ABOUT MEN, DAMMIT.
So, this is what I'm thinking of, as a way of countering these tendencies, while still preserving what I feel is an authentic Monster Girl experience.
- There are (at least) two Cosmic Forces, Life Force and Magial Force.
- There are (at least) two Realms, the Living Realm and the Magical Realm.
- Humans (and/or others) are creatures of the Living Realm.
- Monsters (and/or others) are creatures of the Magical Realm.
- A Creature from one realm can only survive in the other Realm by draining the opposite Force from a creature native to that realm.
- i.e. A Monster must drain Life Force from a Human to survive the Living Realm, but a Human needs to drain Magical Force from a monster to survive the Magical Realm.
- Being in the opposing Realm is a constant drain on your existence; it feels like drowning and starving at the same time; it's very intense.
- Over time, the sensation dulls, but never goes away entirely.
- There is some Reason why Monsters must be in the Living Realm, but Humans rarily, if ever, end up in the Magical Realm.
- Force Extraction:
- Force can be drained by proximity
- Attacks can be learned to drain more effectively
- Heightened Emotions cause a target to be drained of their Force faster
- Positive Emotions are even more effective than negative ones. (Monsters Inc rules)
- Physical contact also makes it easier to drain Force
- Sex or other Physical Intimacy is one of the simplest ways to drain Force quickly
- It is not the only way, and common things like going training together or doing sports are also very potent.
- Also, so's attacking and terrorizing people.
- Fluids tied to life and procreation do contain concentrated Force.
- Eating someone is also a way of gaining Force quickly, but it's inefficient.
- When a creature (Human or Monster) is in the opposing realm, their hunger is intense. Even if they don't realize this hunger could quickly kill them, it is hard to resist the urge to satiate themselves by whatever means necessary.
- This is what leads to attacks; it's hunger/survival based.
- While it's possible, if you're careful, to never hunger by spending time in groups of native creatures to the realm, it can be very hard to get enough.
- This is why, for example, Monsters that interact with Humans (i.e. trade, etc) are less violent towards them and seen as 'safer'; the constant contact allows them to be less hungry over-all.
- Being in an opposing Realm makes you physically much stronger and powerful, as you contain a concentrated Force in opposition to the world around you.
- Monsters specifically tend to be female. However, Monster Boys exist; they're just rare for Reasons.
- Monsters have varied sexuality, just like humans.
- Monsters attack women, too!
- While Monster who prey on Humans may have a favored prey, they will feed on anyone if hungry enough
- Monsters tend towards bisexuality since Men are so rare among them.
That seems like a really good set of initial rules for a more positive Monster Girl universe.