Kal’s Big Day
Colorists: Koof, Oniontrain, Raptie
(High-res and textless version available for free over on my Patreon!)
Out-of-Placers
A story of inconvenient changes
Support The OOPs
OOPs now has a Russian translation which updates shortly after the English pages are posted!
Now also in French:
And Ukranian:
Oh, so they literally glue the cloth to the head of the Baxxid ? That makes sense I suppose, but I assume there is a way to take it off without having to scrape the damn thing clean. Though given how tough a baxxid’s skull probably is, it wouldn’t be as annoying (or dangerous) an endeavor as it would be with a human.
Considering that’s a shell, they might just leave it on for the entire time he’s doing it. The glue might even be symbolic of the fact that he’s not allowed to leave the role right now, as opposed to just a way to secure it: If they wanted it to be removable, they could just use strings or something.
Either way, I don’t think scraping would be that hard here, considering we already know that they shave those things down regularly.
Most sorts of glue will come off with the most basic of solvents, like vinegar. Some, even just hot water! Which isn’t bad for calcium, I’m aware, not nearly more than a few layers of growth removed in hours. Limestone caves take decades to begin forming even in the presence of moste severe seasonal flooding!
Tis more to do with the fact that unlike most other professions of baxid, this one will potentially require… rougher, jerky movements as well as running and lunging. Potentially. Especially if your baxid is peacekeeping against another of it’s kind, you don’t want to lose track of which is your teammate suddenly. And you can’t be fixing your fellow’s hat every 2 minutes in a melee!
Sure, it keeps you from running too, that’s likely a factor with baxid…
I do hope he ends up training to help Isher escourt Kass to the enclave! Him and Isher are the shiest of blooming violets and it would be a riot of nearly fainting, talking about girly, sorry, “refined stuff of taste,” and… quite honestly that is a lot of potential energy in such large forms, if absolutely required.
Acid spit, you know…
Suddenly wondering what a Baxxid criminal would look like, and what the other Baxxid would do if said criminal was violent… Perhaps that’s what “he who knows what he did” is being punished for…?
It is, apparently, though the details are unclear…
https://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/the-val-salian-regional-field-guide-entry-7/
So the little mucilaginous hexapod does not enjoy light, will happily bite the hand that disturbs it, and (presumably) is too big (or too photophobic) to entertain the idea of escaping through the spout. The secretion is not easily absorbed through human skin (either naturally or due to its viscosity) and is roughly the same color as the critter’s saliva/venom (so possibly similar properties?). Can’t tell if panel 5 is a defensive posture or just a reaction to being “milked.” Also wonder what the eight* tiny little pink dots on the critter’s “belly” would be for.
*Will admit, was expecting only six dots, not eight.
This thing might be partly worm-like, the discharge might be defensive, which would be why the “attack” to force it to expel it. It might turn to dust after several hours so it makes a good adhesive for what they use it for. As far as escaping, it still could climb out after nightfall, so there might be a grate or something in the spout to stop it. Or it is happy there except for the milking, so why leave? Free food, safe hiding space, and only “milked” now and then, why bother?
The hole in the spout might be just a bit too small for it, perhaps. It looks like it could be.
I believe it may be analogous to onychophora. Obviously very different in body structure, but sharing the same use of incapacitating adhesive slime. Look at the force with which it is expelled.
I can now add more speculating. I believe my comparison to onychophora is a good one. Consider what we learn in this brief interaction. When the stick looms above, our insectile friend responds with sound and shaking: It looks like a threat display. A warning not to mess with it. You also see that it looks backwards when ‘firing’ – meaning it’s an aimed spray. And spray indeed, looking at the volume discharged. So the spray is projected with range, aimed, and pre-warned by a display. Very onychophora-like, and I would imagine it serves the same purpose. The sticky, incapacitating spray may be discharged either at an attacker in order to make escape, or at prey in order to entangle it.
The bug is also conveniently domesticated. I would imagine that the glue is chosen here because it is short-duration water-soluble adhesive, which may be easily washed off of both cloth and wearer at the end of the shift without leaving a stain.There are surely many other glues around, like flour glue. Cheaper, too. But no-one wants to go out in public with a stain on the back of their head or a glue-smudge on their banner.
So Kalgkur begins his term of Guard Duty in the lower markets for screaming half the city awake that time a bug crawled on him at dawn. And his only hope for a silver lining is that he might get to talk to the lady tinker who sells her wares in the market. What could possibly go wrong?
(anyone got any tips on how to sign into wordpress on the phone?)
Possibly venemous little bugger, if they need such a double-ended stick just to poke it a little without killing OR touching it! Eh, I guess they make enough money to pay iron and bronze smiths all year….
Change the URL to have /wp-admin/ after the .com and load that to login, you can then go back and refresh.
I actually did that just the other day, after a couple years of not even knowing that logging in was how people were actually commenting.
thank you SO much!!!!!
confused why “Post Comment” was disabled (with NO visual indication), after forcefully undisabling, thought it was just eating my comments
Danka-se, I know how to tab to the hidden login dropdown, but the mobile solution escaped me. Kinda old school, I like it!
Kass does need someone to fill in for Elim that actually would deter murderous yinglets, perhaps our hero here will do.
We know from earlier pages that he was “sentenced” to a couple of weeks of guard duty for his disruptive scream at dawn several days ago, and that the post is the “lower gardens.” So this isn’t personal bodyguard duty, but I keep waiting for him to get connected to the rest of the “main cast,” so who knows whom he might encounter? Maybe Isher?
If Kass is to actually supervise/command anyone befitting zheir rank, perhaps de lower gardens might be a good choice. Zo far Kass has nobody who zhey order around directly. An officer in name only.
I think, technically, Elim, Isher, Lopin, and Yannit are, in fact, Kass’ direct reports, on paper at least. Kass for-sure feels protective of them, but Isher may be considered a ‘specialist’ for the Brute Squad.
That said, Kass clearly hasn’t been directly promoted along his previous career track of shipping defense, so I’m guessing V putting Kass on Home Guard duty. We know that Isher prefers her work in The Undergardens… but Kalgkur has been assigned to The Lower Markets. Perhaps there’s some overlap, though?
Kass’s command structure is a bit loose, which is not surprising given their very hasty incorporation into the house. She reports directly to the Trademaster himself. I must point out that Lopin cannot be a subordinate though, as he is not formally affiliated with the house at all. He is simply a guest. This is a situation that needs addressing. He knows too much to simply kick out the door, and his ‘disappearance’ would ruin Kass’s fragile mental state.
The obvious solution would be to just formally recognize Vislet’s offer (from strip 31) and induct him into the trade house – that way he may be offered indefinite employment and protection. The only catch is that, as an exile, it could potentially sour Yinglet relations were he ever to hold authority of any sort: He’s be stuck at ‘rank zero’ forever, as personal assistant to the diplomat, and mostly confined to the safety of the secure floors. I think he’d be ok with that.
And I can imagine another use for him as well, a more long-term plan involving him, Ran, and a great many books. If Ran can turn a mudlark street-seller, the scavviest of scavs and an exile to boot, into an educated and literate assistant then he will prove the worth of all Yinglets and demonstrate to everyone the value of human-yinglet cooperation.
You assume Lopin will always be an exile. He was only exiled specifically because Vizlet knows he knows things about Brakka, and didn’t want Narklett to kill him before they could. She outright said though that he could gain back some semblance of honor by serving Kass well.
You know, the same thing was going through my head just now as I read this. I was thinking Kass would take on Isher as a bodyguard, but this would work too, seeing as part of Kass’s job is to represent non-humans in the upper ranks, to show an example, and unlike a Baxxid, Kass isn’t going to be any less non-confrontational than a human, especially not when ordering around something Kalgkur’s size.
It also occurs to me that, even if he has another crew, Brakka is going to be completely helpless against a full grown Baxxid, which literally evolved to hunt and eat things like him.
As ambush predators, which is different than us and canids being persistence hunters (run em down till they collapse). So ambush means high short distance speeds, the shorter the quicker, meaning they would make absolutely great guardians of semi-fixed positions like an officer’s side.
With a potential for quite a lot of fast movement it makes a lot of sense to glue the symbol of the red onto the crest in this way.
In fact, there is actually a terribly potent potential here! A baxid of the Val Salian culture is socially inhibited from harmful or physical laboring in general… they find being feared unbearable, considering how much fear they and all their fellows put up with on the day to day. Sorrrrrrt of, how Isher feels? She would certainly be able to sympathize with the problem and might have tips on how to handle it. She’s certainly heard enough to repeat a few. And she still does brute labor and intimidation all the time! Between Kalgur, Isher and even one human retainer, even a noncombatant like one of Ran’s apprentices, there could be emotional support for each other’s burden of bigness, while actually putting together a force that could be considered a medium sized demolition crew! Under two hard, pointy heads!
WE know that the exiles almost certainly won’t try Kassen with him having more than one guard, but the POTENTIAL for great violence is there, symbols of power as well as practical application of real force.
Elim and Isher reports to what officer Kassen reported to before Kassen became Kass. As far as I know, there has not been any transfer of authority. Who that is currently has never been pointed out. But neither has who Kalgkur’s is for that matter.
Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s been directly stated that Elim is Kass’s official guard, and not anyone else’s, so I don’t think he has any commanding officer other than Kass… Which makes sense, as Viracroix would want to protect that asset with someone he can trust unconditionally to do so.
Aye, Elim has been assigned to be Kass’s guard, however zhat does not mean he is in Kass’s chain of command. I did some military training in my Humani simulator, and Kass should be what Humani call a Company level commander, if zhat makes sense. And if ValSalia works like zhe Earth simulation game, Kass would be akin to a officer wizhout a command, which is not unusual in a setting like in a military headquarters.
Not every officer has direct recruits, in any organization. In US military intelligence, there are plenty of people with ranks like major or even colonel who don’t have anyone reporting to them: they are at that rank because what they are doing is highly important, with a huge amount of trust and responsibility, and making them a high-ranking officer means another high-ranking officer isn’t going to show up and start screwing with them.
Kass, as far as I can tell, only has Elim, and maybe Yannit and Lopin but less as recruits and more as charges. (Kass was made personally responsible for Yannit when he brought her back in the first chapter)
Kass is an officer, possibly even a senior officer on the rank with Ran, because Viracroix didn’t want any of his other officers interfering with a major asset. All the other reasons, like being able to assign people to someone with leadership promise, and Kass being able to represent a high-ranking yinglet as a diplomat, are secondary to that.
Regardless of the formal structure, I’m sure the trademaster recognises that Kass is in a rather precarious state right now and needs to be surrounded by familiar friends. A crazed kass curled up crying in the corner is no use to any scheming, so some rules can be bent. Like making sure that Kass’s personal bodyguard happens to be a soldier they have a close personal friendship with. This won’t last forever. The trademaster isn’t bending rules out of kindness: He just needs to keep his new asset in functional condition.
Viracroix probably made Elim the guard because he was the most trustworthy to do what he ended up doing, risking his life to protect Kass: most guards would not die to protect a yinglet, orders or no.
I just looked back at this, because I’m having trouble remembering this story that has ran for so long, but it looks more to me like she was offering him as a slave.
https://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/oops-31/
Just got to reconcile different cultures and legal systems, which is a diplomat’s job anyway. Under Yinglet law, he may be a slave. So work with it: Recognise him formally under Val Salia’s laws with a suitably low-ranked, subordinate position. No diplomatic fallout, because it is only recognising Vislet’s own declaration. That would entitle him to some level of house protection and enough of a stripend to cover room and board, and in time he can be trained enough to earn his keep properly by doing exactly what Vislet (formally) offered him up for: Helping deal with some of the more menial tasks for Kass, like running messages.
He’s uneducated and a bit of an airhead, but he’s not stupid. He is fiercely loyal. Use him in exactly the way Vislet (officially) asked, and no yinglet can object. Just make sure to get him some basic schooling: If he is taking an official position, he needs to act with /some/ dignity.
Yeah, I’ve been waiting for Kass to put him in some sort of courier or servant outfit, and make him run messages or something. Really though, he’s there because Vizlet and Kass want his information on Brakka and Zhat Zhing in their hands and out of Narklet’s.
Well, he’s really there to keep him out of Bakka and Narklet’s hands. Ran and Kass already interrogated him for what very little he knew, and got a useful lead. He remains a ‘guest’ because he knows too much to let him go free: Bakka might capture him. Since he’s stuck there for the immediate future, and quite probably the long-term future as well, might as well give him a place and a role. One that keeps him safely off the streets and high up in the Teeth, well away from danger. Turn him from a small burden into a potentially useful resource: A yinglet servant for Kass who is outside of enclave politics, not subject to their authority, and unquestioningly loyal.
But he will still need educating. If he is going to become a servant in truth, not merely as a cover story to keep him locked up for his own protection, then at the very least he’s going to need basic literacy. Right now he is basically useless. He’s a resource, but some resources need an investment before they are ready to exploit.
Kalgkur lives in the lower gardens, he was assigned to the open markets.
https://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/oops-130/
But yeah, Isher said she likes the lower gardens, so it’s possible she actually knows him.
Dat fing in dish looks JUZT like dis creepy-crawlier I ate once. Worst miztake ever made, couldn’ poop for a week, an’ had da worzt stomach cramps. I had to eat a buncha wormy wraps and dis bottle of greasy stuff I found before I felt better.
Don’ eat the squirmy ones with da stickybuttz! (Das what I call ems)
Apparently you have never tried Humani Palegrains, I’d razher eat zhat glue bug any day! Besides, only eat zhe front part of zhe glue bug, leave de rest to avoid getting your guts glued shut.
Zhanks! Das good advice, foodybugs aint always easy to gets sometimes…I dun’ zhink ‘gluebug’ is gonna catch on as a name zho… Stickybutts got stickybuttz, da clue is inna name!
Okay so, so smartypants! (Is knowing zhat zhey have no actual pants, it’s just a humani zhing to say) BUT! de only way to know for shure…is to lick de bug’s butt! If it is a glue bug, zhen de glue is inside, but if It is a sticky butt, zhen de sticky is on de outside!
…..you iz tryin’ ta tricks me! Fool me once, shame on you… fool me twice… shame on you! I dun likked way too many bugsbutz to fall for that one again….
Hehe Penis bug
What an insightful comment. ;P
Looked back at something for context, Kalgkur’s “elder”, of whom he is a “ward”, talking to Viracroix about his punishment. Thought I’d like it because it’s untagged and hard to find…
https://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/oops-49/
Is this adhesive bug good for anything else? While the field guide lists lureworm as “relatively toxic” if not cooked thoroughly, we did see Kattajak stab and eat one. Humans and yinglets must not follow the same toxicity rules, or yings just don’t care.