OOPs #216
Feb11
Viracroix refers to Kass as “him,” as he views Kass as his man on the inside, so to speak; a man of Ivenmoth playing a necessary role, which just happens to be female as a consequence. Vizlet uses “she,” as Kass was already female by the time they first met.
Colorists: Koof, Raptie, Oniontrain
Top of the heap that Kass; a homeless refugee whose homeland doesn’t even exist anymore, an unofficial grunt living in a group home with AFAIK no real possessions
yah but before that he was merchant-class in a conservative patriarchal society. fosho he’d hold on to that identity much more tightly than the post-war one.
He wasn’t “at the top of society” even in the mostly barren weak country he lived in, and furthermore that was a long time ago, at least 5 years
https://www.deviantart.com/valsalia/art/A-Geographical-Overview-of-the-Heart-of-the-World-622448013
See, this line of thinking is how lots of people react when asked to confront their own privilege – ”
I can’t be privileged, because I’ve had a hard life.”
Well, yeah. Because that’s not what privilege is about. It’s not a golden ticket. It’s just…little things. Like being able to swing a mace well enough to have survived the war. Being big enough that Yinglets don’t tend to want to shank you in back alleys. Having people believe you when you say something that stretches belief – like the fact that you just Animorphed – rather than dismiss you out of hand and huck you into the Enclave to be summarily forgotten.
It is entirely possible to be “top of the heap” in social standing, but to have literally nothing else going for you. Nor is it somehow a judgment of your character or moral worth to say that you have privilege. It doesn’t make you a bad person.
Be careful, boys. The Matriarch’s warning about becoming a bitter, drunk recluse is particularly apt for those who take the mere discussion of their social classes personally.
What definition are you using for privilege? I can’t find anything like this in “The American Heritage Dictionary,” copyright 1994. Seriously; I can’t find anything matching the definition you describe here.
Ed, 1994 was nearly 30 years ago, now. If you want a stringent definition from a reliable source so bad, here’s a link to the American Heritage website. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=privilege
“A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste.”
But I don’t think you want me to exercise academic rigour. I think that you don’t like what I wrote, so you’re looking for a reason not to have to engage with it. And that’s okay! Here’s a better reason: I’m a stranger on the internet, so you can safely ignore everything I have to say.
On the other hand, if I’m wrong, and you really do want to engage with my ideas, because you disagree with them and want to provide another opinion – I’d love to know what that opinion is.
How funny that you happened to chose for your user name “Baron”, it’s like someone named Rex arguing for monarchism, or Joseph arguing for communism.
You and the trade master both talk about what puts people at the top of society (color, sex, etc.) but leave out the most important of all: wealth and power. Of course the trade master would rather talk about intersectionality, he’s an unelected strongman who controls all the commerce through the passage! There are only two real groups in the world, the have’s and the have-not’s, and he has everything.
BTW, privilege depends on your context, Kass has more privilege now (in Yinglet society) than he ever had in Dinlan or Valsalia.
That’s alright, Ken. If you want to, you can call me Eric. Let’s not pretend that our names have anything to do with what we believe.
As it happens, I mostly agree with you! Wealth grants far more privilege than other factors, and it is far easier for those in economic comfort to take the time for political and ideological discussions, rather than looking after their basic needs. Also, Trademaster Viracroix is the greasiest of oily politicians. Eat the rich.
Anyway, Ken, you and I are here having an ideological discussion. We both have at least enough spare time and energy to read a fun, interesting fantasy comic and think about the ideas it gives us. And I agree with the ideas you just mentioned about wealth.
So, what do you think about my ideas on species and gender? I think that Kassen had advantages in size, respectability and credibility as a human male that he now lacks as a Yinglet female. I also think that, while he was a human male, he didn’t properly appreciate those advantages, because he really did have a tough life in spite of them. Seeing that in the story makes me wonder what kind of advantages I’ve benefited from in my life, in the real world, that I haven’t noticed or appreciated.
You make a solid point. I’m minded of a monarch in history who refused to marry because she would, effectively, have been forced to step aside. Or, who argued, My heart is that of a King, though I be a woman! …etc.
There is something amazing that happens though, to women in their early 50s. Somehow–the person across from you is actually looking at, well, you. It is a subtle thing, but an advantage of age. I wonder how this applies to older matriarchs, if at all.
That privilege is seen when, bringing a male friend with you to the doctor–all he is asked to do is sit, nod his head to the things you say–any concerns are treated with more gravity. It’s so stupid, but it’s true. The numbers bear it out. Experience bears it out.
It’s. …so stupid. So stupid.
I recall an older male friend of mine saying, “I used to believe there wasn’t such a thing. Then I got over myself and grew up. It wasn’t the narrative I wanted, it wasn’t what I wanted to believe out of people–but I’ve dealt with it.”
Every female-presenting friend of mine has at least one story about not being listened to by a male doctor. Every. Single. One.
I’m surprised to hear it takes until their 50s for some men to figure out that dating someone should involve figuring out if you like them for them, but I can’t say it would be entirely unexpected.
As to the way age and femininity interact for our Yinglet matriarchs – for cultural reasons, I don’t think the kind of interactions you describe are necessarily a problem for female yinglets in the first place. I’d be more interested in examining the kind of pressure female yinglets feel to contribute genetically to their enclave – how punishing the “biological clock” is and whether the culture makes it worse.
I’m also curious whether female yinglets benefit from unexamined privileges, to the detriment of males in the enclave. For instance, it seems yinglet culture might be prone to viewing males as interchangeable, disposable, and valuable only for their acquired skills. That feels like a fascinating commentary on our society just waiting to happen.
I don’t zhink Sir Lady Kass currently is so, so depressed about zheir change in appearance. Sir Lady Kass is depressed because her best friend is healing from being shanked by a Yinglet who has yet to be eizher found or killed. Until zhat happens, Kass will be defined by de shanking, and to a lesser extent being a officer whose existasnce is helping de poor Drinnish refugees get by, along wizh Yannit and Isher. A lot rests on Sir Lady Kass making it as a officer in de ValSalian military on her own merits.
Finding zhat stray, and possibly brain damaged yinglet who did de stabby-stabby would be nice progress towards a lot of Kass’s goals. And having Brakka’s ass mounted on a wall somewhere would soozhe memories of him and his comrades sexually assaulting Kass.
Things could have been worse. With his one bad day Kass could have become a female yinglet AND The Joker.
“Do you wanna know how I got zhese ears?”
It may not seem like much, but I do really appreciate the way these two are using pronouns. The Trademaster uses he/him for Kass, which reflects as if he’s only concerned with making Kass a cooperative pawn. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Kass seems quite content to be a pawn himself, and it gives the Trademaster an air of understanding which is sure to ensure loyalty in the admittedly single-track mind of Kassen.
Whereas the Matriarch is more concerned with making Kass accept her new yinglet life, and thus uses she/her to refer to her. Both of these leaders want to use Kass as a bridge between their worlds, but it’s evident that the Matriarch strongly wants that bridge to be built with a proper Yinglet, maybe to keep up appearances. Everyone knows the Humans of Val Salia are especially prone to cutting deals with other species, and have grown quite the positive reputation from it. I think the Matriarch is trying to pursue that same goal, but with a Yinglet diplomat, so she can improve the way Yinglets are seen in Val Salia.
Or I could be completely misreading this. Still, even if I am, it’s fun to speculate.
The thing is Kass was male and only just recently internalized that he is female now. As in literally just a few strips ago. This was not something he wanted so it would be proper to continue referring to him with male pronouns until he indicates that he would rather be a she.
I don’t fault Vizlet for using she given the circumstances, but it shouldn’t be forced on Kass if he doesn’t want it. The trademaster might have ulterior motives, but it is good of him to recognize that Kass is likely still thinking of himself as male.
I think we dun left the rules as far as that goes. These folks have lead cups that don’t tip over, I think they’re a good millenia away from pronoun use rules we’re still hammering out … and only on one chunk of the planet if that.
Kas’s transformation includes parts of their brain which defy or at least question the very concept of self or gender. So.. people are going to need some time to figure that out. Kass included.
Oh I agree completely. Kass has been pretty firm in that he wants to continue to be seen as a man whenever possible, and only reluctantly plays the role of female when doing his work with the Matriarch. I’d be much more comfortable if all the characters here referred to Kass with the pronouns he wants to be referred to by, but I recognize that having this difference in pronoun usage helps to reflect what each character really *thinks* about Kass.
That has to be a lot easier with the humans. A human “knows” that a yinglet with the poofy tail and dainty snout is a female in an intellectual way. But for yinglets it’s instinctive. Also… they don’t handle new concepts well. Or parts of their brains disagreeing.
I certainly see your point. On the other hand, it seems as if visual differences are not so defining as in human culture. Might come down to the *enormous* diversity in how a yinglet can look and behave due to their wildly unstable genome and… interesting breeding methods. We already saw an example of a dainty snout in a male (though I can’t remember if we’ve seen the puffy tail). Leads me to wonder just how much of a Yinglet’s ability to discern sex is down to sight… Perhaps they use that lovely snout to better detect pheromones? Or can sort out masculine and feminine voices with their large ears? I’m quite interested in how they use their senses beside sight, since humans are so strictly a sight-based species. Wanna see the other side of the coin 😀
Asking Kass what pronouns to use would be nice, but by my count only nine people even know Kass was born a human male, and nobody else would have a reason to ask. Kass probably doesn’t have an easy answer anyway. Is it better to accept the fate of transformation, and “learn to live” with it, or is it better to try to maintain a human male identity, hoping the transformation might be reversible? And would reverting to his original body cost Kass the diplomatic appointment and all status in House Ivenmoth? Will Kass come to think of the transformation as a blessing in disguise, even to accept it as the better fate?
It’s just so complicated, being so far out of place in the world!
Interestingly, Kass, the only times he’s referred to himself in the third person, has used female pronouns – once hesitantly, once self-deprecatingly and while high, both times to people who knew he used to be male. If not for the recent log entry making his feelings clear I’d be calling him the same.
I’m unclear on why Kass’ masquerade can’t continue indefinitely if he wants it that way. I thought both Viracroix and Vislet thought it was best policy, and once they eventually start discovering the mechanism of his transformation and za zat zing that’s presumably all going to be super secret squirrel stuff.
Kassen Akoll has human relatives. Sir Lady Kass can write letters to zhem, but sooner or later one will visit, wizh Kass’s family being merchants and all. Zhey know where ValSalia is, and zhat Kassen is dere wizh ozher Drinnish refugees. So for Kass, it is not zhat people in ValSalia would know dat is Kass’s fear, it’s Kass’s family zhat will be de beggest hurdle, moreso if de family wanted kids from Kassen to keep de male line of inheritance going.
It would require some rather severe twisting of traditional rules of inheritance, but I’d find it amusing to watch them sort out inheritance through Kass in his current form. 🙂
If a visit was so easy to be inevitable I think one of them would have sent a messenger with a few gold coins.
There’s no guarantee the family even CAN visit. The invaders could have just taken all of their things for the war effort and they’re as broke and homeless as Kass now.
It’d need a good cover story, but I’m sure they could come up with one to explain any odd behavior. Perhaps ‘Her far distant enclave was destroyed by (mob/plague/flooding) but some kindly humans took in a hatchling found in the wreckage and raised her as their own.’ The question is what role Kass has to play as a pawn: Would she be more useful as the miraculous transformed human, or as the intellectual yinglet who proves the potential of the species? Probably the latter, really.
Is anyone else surprised at how unconcerned they both seem about Kassen’s fate? It’s mostly smiles, and I can’t tell if they’re natural smiles of confidence that Kass will be be okay in the long run, or if they’re the “professional” smiles of nobles who understand the need to maintain optimism. We know these two are friends, and I expect them to be comfortable speaking freely, but it also feels a bit awkward — especially how Vizlet is smiling when she says what she says in the fourth panel.
It’s a game of chess, and Kass is a furry, female Rook in zheir game to wrench Vislet’s enclave from de Yinglet Council’s grasp. De Trademaster has goals to aid Vislet, and is not afraid of losing a asset or two to achieve them.
Vislet is a Yinglet Matriarch. Her Children die daily from enforced ignorance forced upon them by the Yinglet Council. De council’s response for a high mortality rate is saying to breed more to counter losses caused by accidents, or being caught stealing, or injury. Using Kass’s human knowledge is a way to save her very real children from a system that is designed to cause them to live lives of ignorance and desperation.
Yeah they are very much “professional” smiles. Viracroix smiles while having people executed; Kass’ situation doesn’t trouble him one whit, it’s an opportunity. Vizlet has her own game going and I don’t think is crying any tears over a human male being brought down to “her level”. Kass is strictly an asset to these two – Vizlet might have some sympathies but nevertheless she’s grooming him.
We know that both the Trademaster and the Matriarch have protective instincts for the lowly and the poor in their communities, so I don’t think either of them is heartless or callous towards Kassen’s struggles. I just wonder if they’re both actually confident that Kass will stabilize and succeed, or if they’re putting on smiles to keep their spirits high, because thinking too much about it would be depressing, and getting depressed in front of each other could show weakness. I do think it’s an optimism that comes from genuine care about Kassen’s well-being, but what I can’t figure is whether the optimism in this scene is natural or forced. Is it more “She seems to be doing as well as anyone could hope, which is a good sign,” or is it more “She’s not dead yet, so let’s just have faith and keep going because that’s all anybody can do anyway”?
De Trademaster, and Vislet have anozher zhing in common, zhat dey are trapped by fate. Whatever is going to happen in de near future to Valsalia, dese two have de most to lose of any in OOP. Bozh are facing hostile forces, which threaten bozh dere hold on power, and zheir lives too.
Vislet faces the censure of the Yinglet Council, who wishes zhat Yinglets remain so, so stupid and easy to rule over. And a threat wizhin her own walls, a Patriarch who is loyal to the Council, and supported by zhem.
De Trademaster, he faces de Beletans, de same ones dat Kass failed to drive off Drinlan. He also is responsible for keeping his own people content, despite the influx of refugees being a harbinger of war being near.
Dese two, eizher win, or lose everyzhing, and bozh know dis about de ozher, and being trapped by fate, dey change what dey can, as aiding one, helps bozh. So de smiles are politician smiles, sure. But dere is also a bit of resignment, dat what can be done is being done to zhe best of dere abilities. It’s a look I’ve seen on doze in power before among ozhers of similar status. It’s called relief, zhat for a few minutes, dere is no emergency to solve, or judgemental gazes to weigh for potential action. For just a few minutes, Vislet isn’t the Matriarch, and Viracroix Valsalia gets to talk to a friend who shares his interests beyond the necessities of ruling.
And it’s possible when dey seperate, bozh tell demselves dey wish de ozher were de same species as dey are. Vislet may be a high and mighty matriarch, but she’s as much as a lusty Feemale as any of zhem. De Trademaster says he’s found a mate, but we have yet to see her introduced in OOP, so chances are she’s not in ValSalia quite yet, or de Trademaster is a Furry.
I don’t think the trademaster does have that instinct – when he killed the grain embezzler IIRC he made it clear it was a matter of correcting bad policy, not charitable impulses. When he first met Kass he was certainly less than sympathetic. Vizlet wants Kass to “accept her role” and keeps pushing him in ways he’s not comfortable with, her goal being to uplift the yinglets by piggybacking on human knowledge. They care about his well-being to the extent it benefits them.
Zhat, Yes! Vislet does want to uplift those she’s responsible for, and use Kass for helping dis. She also really, really wants Kass to contribute to her breeding program zhat she is solely responsible for. If some of Kassen’s intelligence is an inheritable trait, of course from a Yinglet standpoint a single lifespan is but a hiccup in time for living long enouzh to see changes in one’s lifetime. Having zhat oppurtunity to accelerate her life’s work, and not only theorize having Yinglets be more than barely sentient is something she wants to see. Vislet had to be smecked repeatedly before accepting zhat Kass would not be immediately thrown into de Breeding program not because Vislet is running a Yinglet bordello, but she wants her life, and indeed Kass’s to have mattered. If Kass’s traits are inheritable, and she does not leave them in the gene pool sometime, it would set back Yinglet parity with humanity in regards to intelligence for possible centuries.
Do you really think yinglets are only “barely sentient”? Emotional and social maturity notwithstanding, Kass isn’t obviously smarter than Vizlet or Beizel, and with Lippie, the enclave already has an “absolute prodigy” in their gene pool. I get that everybody wants to “use” Kass for their purposes, but it’s not like the Trademaster isn’t paying Kass well for the job, and Vizlet is under a helluvalotta pressure in her situation, so it’s really hard for her to hold back. I agree they’ve been demanding, but I haven’t seem them as abusive or unfeeling; still, this conversation does make one start to wonder, and I may be in the minority thinking they aren’t callous. In any case, it could be worse. At least they’re not Beletam soldiers.
Do you remember what Sir Lady Kass was greeted wizh on her first visit to Vislet’s enclave? And keep in mind zhat dis is de most advanced Enclave on de planet possibly. So yeah, when I say barely sentient, I don’t meen unfeeling, becase a animal is capable of empathy. I mean the capability of being self aware, and planning on somezhing beyond food and sex. Us Yinglets are on the whole not big into de deep zhinking like Vislet does. De Lopin is a example of an exceptional Yinglet, and he in human terms has crippling levels of attention deficencies.
So Yeah! Kass is important! Not just for de gene pool (don’t tell Vislet I said dat) but as de person who could help de Yinglets be more zhan dey are, wizhout needing to be taught by humans, and thus seen as licking zheir boots.
If you can even get Kass into the gene pool. Where do the genes even come from? Kass is not a typical yinglet female, genetically. She may well be infertile. Or the genes might be contained within That Thing, sourced from whatever insane genius crafted it.
Most Yinglets are thick as yesterday’s lumpy custard. Complete morons. But that’s not because it’s inherent to yinglets: It’s because they are severely under-educated, coming from an enclave which has no literacy to speak of and a near-100% poverty rate. Those few yinglets that actually get the chance to learn demonstrate that they are just as capable as any human-equivilent intellect. This is the reason Vislet is set upon improving their access to knowledge, with haste. Full incorporation into the city is the route to that.
They’ll probably be always excluded from the most education-dependent professions though, just due to their short lifespans. By the time they get sufficiently educated to be something like a doctor or engineer, they’ll be almost ready to retire.
“Ohoho”
Vizlet aristocratic milf laugh CONFIRMED.
Considering everything that’s happened, I think Kass is taking it rather well.