There is a quickly-developing subculture of unofficial flags that denote other things such as social groupings, marks of personal details, and support for local sporting teams
Colorists: Koof, Oniontrain, Raptie
(High-res and textless version available for free over on my Patreon!)
Is…the black flag missing its eyes?
Looks a bit more like they’re non-reflective I’m still not sure whether their eyes are compound or effectively all Cornea where the light-sensing parts of the eye are simply much farther in and possibly not protected or focused by an Iris style constrictor.
My money is on a Stealth Operative needing to have eyes that don’t reflect in the dark. That one has a very “Beziel with few reservations on murder” vibe.
If you look very closely, it looks like that blag flag Baxxid’s head is more worn than the others. It’s pockmarked, and there are stress cracks around the eyes. Plus, the mandibles are droopy, and the lack of luster in the eyes gives it an aged look. Black flag could signify an end of life stage.
I HAD considered a death related usage, but I did not think about that. I though “maybe a funerary rights actor”. I did not think “This one is dying and is going about their last affairs.”.
Nicely spotted.
Probably heading up to that cave that they all sprout mushrooms in…
This was my initial thought.
But could it be that maybe the black flag is more open to interpretation as simply implying to be left alone.
Private jobs, Going through certain private cycles like the mushroom cave to rest ect.
Simply a flag to imply “privacy please or else”. Just a though.
Dis is not public knowledge for citizens of ValSalia, but dey possibly heading to “Zhat Place” where dey get de sun hunger zhing and grow doze weird flowers from zheir bodies. Definately stay de hell away from a Baxxid about to grow a tree from zheir neck!
There are several animals in the real world that have the risk of blindness as they age, mostly small reptiles like gecko’s that have to lick the eye ball since they don’t have tear-ducts, etc…
We all basically do. Eyes don’t really regenerate. They just sort of… slowly fail over decades.
If you’re lucky and diligent about protecting them you might get 12 decades out of a set, but they still tend to begin failing as you age. Scratches occur. The interior structure breaks down. The sockets over-pressurize and so they develop calcified rings to maintain structure which ultimately limit view as opposed to losing it. Some of these can be treated. Most of them are permanent most of the time.
Protect your eyes.
Under unflagged, adorned is spelled “adroned”.
I love the touch of the green flag hiding his face.
I love all of the little touches. The officer holding their head high, the blue being all chatty. The black also has intense “do not mess with me” vibes, not just the solid black eyes but the way their lines are drawn, a bit “dirtier”. And the humans really have that street scammer vibe, lol. I can’t fathom why some people complain about the lore pages, sometimes they easily have as much effort put in as the main ones.
Hey boss, I don’t see a color for wantng to hang with Yinglets….zhat’s a error, right? RIGHT!?!
*Goes off to a corner and cries a bit*
Whaddaya mean? There’s a blue flag right *there*!
*sniffs* But, it clearly says “Interact with humans” on de flyer. I’m too scared to zhink dat we are too reminiscent for de Baxxid of zheir preferred meals for zhe flag for Yinglet interaction meaning zhat dey are hungry! Especially one wizh dat eating impulse thingy going on, no telling how many Yinglets it’d take to satisfy zhat!
But even so, perhaps dere would be one or two who would like to talk…even if we are scared of zhem. We as a species find it hard to remain scared for too long anyway, it’s just not in our nature to.
A point to consider: We already know that Baxxid who can afford it often hire human assistants, due to Baxxid physical limitations. But humans, even unskilled ones, are expensive to hire for such time-consuming roles, so for most baxxid they would be hired only when there is a specific task of importance to carry out. But, for baxxid of more modest means… there’s always the yinglets. Not as good as hiring a human assistant, but a fraction of the cost! A baxxid who could never afford a full-time human could much more easily afford a yinglet assistant, and while their typical education is lacking they can still be depended upon o carry objects, turn pages, count money, and – with a bit more instruction – take dictation. So I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find a few budget-conscious baxxid hiring a yinglet. It may be one of the few good employment options open to the exile population: Decent pay, comfortable working conditions, and the prospect of promotion for good performance.
As the yinglets become more widely accepted, in a few years it might be commonplace to see baxxid-yinglet pairs on the streets of Val Salia.
De hiring zhing, I can get down wizh, entirely. A young Baxxid might not be able to afford Human servants after all. It is de firing process that worries me. Downsizing de staff for a Baxxid…might be increasing zheir “bottom line” as far as Yinglets are concerned.
De main issue for Baxxid/Yinglet partnership would be teaching us dat sense dat Humans seem to instinctively get, tact. Baxxid tend to be easily flustered, and we tend to not have much in de way of a mental filter for us speaking what’s on our minds. De combination of inexperience on a Baxxid’s part and Yinglet’s natural curisoity and lustyness could be awkward at best, and possibly deadly at worst.
On de ozher pawhand, if a Baxxid were to be accepted by a Yinglet enclave, due to zheir mental abilities, intelligence, and longevity, a Baxxid could become a patron diety or ruler for the likes of us. It is somezhing zhat de Humani have not stepped up to do, but maybe a Baxxid would.
Dear, I believe you’re being quite rude, and I don’t merely suggest a lack of tact. You appear to have crossed the line.
I’m certain there are Baxxid who are properly uncouth as you describe, there’s always one, but chowing down on a yinglet sounds like an invitation to indigestion and possibly worse. While I am quite the fan of yinglets, most of you would do well to get a good scrubbing, difficult as that may be. Either way, murder by way of a cheap lunch is not something I would generally accuse any baxxid of. It’s not their style… Not now at any rate.
As for becoming your little “g” gods, that sort of pathology, that type of mental derangement is PERFECTLY in line with a creature that would gladly eat you. To said end, if you found a baxxid who would be your god, he (or she) will very soon be expecting a free lunch, and I’m not talking about clams.
I personally can find no way of integrating species of multiple intelligences that does not rely heavily on the forbearance of those of the higher intellect. The smart ones have to be nice to the dumb ones and not treat them like children because for all the difference, a fool is still a man. A Yinglet who cannot count or sign his name must still earn his keep. So too should the baxxid take advantage of this opportunity for cheap labor on it’s proper terms.
The yinglet needs proper rest and feeding and time to work out it’s… energies. Where a single human servant may suffice normally, a team of three yinglets would instead likely be more useful. The division of labor, the spreading of hours, and the limitations of capability would allow for great deal of haggling on price to make yinglets more approachable in terms of price. For the yinglet, though, even a paltry wage would easily set him above his mates in the street creating a class of skilled labor in a previously virtually unskilled caste.
It could definitely work out for some.
Have you met a yinglet? (Besides me) On my humani simulation game I read a book called “Lord of de Flies” and it made me homesick. We totally would feed ozher Yinglets to a “God” hell in de Humani simulation game de Aztecs did dat to the sun…like EVERY DAY. If a human would do zhat, a Yinglet would too.
As for de Baxxid being scary, dey are carnivorous apex predators who are way, way bigger zhan us. We are absolutely meal sized, and we know it. We also happen to be hard to catch zhough.
“Lord of the Flies” is about human nature, not yinglet nature, so if you see yourself in it, then yinglets aren’t so different from humans, eh? It’s true that there are people, and sometimes even whole cultures, who are willing to manipulate and prey on other people, but the fact that they exist doesn’t justify what they do. Nor is it justifiable to elevate a member of another species as a “god” over your own. Psychopaths will find you as surely as sharks find blood in the water, delighted to volunteer as your overlords, and at first you won’t be able to tell them apart from the good souls who have no interest in dominating you. I struggle to imagine a worse idea than yinglets offering themselves into slavery. If your self-esteem is low, as an individual or as a culture, that’s a problem to be solved, not a condition to be embraced. Don’t accept the role of a helpless weakling when you see examples like Vizlet, Kass, and all the “out of place” people in this story fighting to grow and lift up their friends and families. If you pay attention to your “human simulation,” you’ll see in its history that the fight is worth it.
Is so, is so, after all, De Lord of de flies had very little in de way of humpin, after all. So definitely a humani piece of literature. It was de part as to how close one is at any moment as to how close de animalistic parts of us (Humani or Yinglet) is to coming out zhat made me go “Wow!” in de book. In dat aspect, perhaps we are closer philosophically.
As for it being below us to do anyzhing to stop feeling so, so horrible, you underestimate how powerful it is to have a purpose. One in life can put up wizh a lot of bad zhings if one believes zhat dey are sacrificing for a purpose zhat benefits zhem, or people zhey care about. If someone came by and said dey were about to make your life better, and truly zhey could, would you ignore de few bad zhings to reap de benefits? For us, life is short anyway. Giving into physical pleasures is one of de only comforts we are allowed. Giving us hope, zhat we are special, and not cursed? Yeah, we would buy zhat in a minute.
Lord of the Flies is absolute bollocks. A bunch of real boys escaped from an orphanage and shipwrecked on an island… And they did great. They took care of each other and built a small civilization where everybody contributed, so…
Maybe have your Humani character scribble “Bullshit” on most of the pages where the boys do bad stuff to each other.
As for you your… god issue… Have you ever considered being a servant to a human? A higher closs house can sometimes instill a bit of awe, and under the right circumstances, working in the name of a family you revere could be similarly rewarding. You sweep the floor and change the sheets. Maybe you take messages to people or take care of an animal. They pay you and give a nice shed to live in with an actual yinglet sized bed and some blankets and a few coins every week.
If a few of you did this, you could get together and form a sort of training guild. Maybe if you gathered enough work and prestige, you could petition to be considered worthy of some females from the enclave system. At the least you could feed yourselves better and enjoy life a bit more.
It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s a good starting point.
De Lord of de flies isn’t really about little kids, it is a metaphor for innocence lost. How cruelty like say kicking a Yinglet for example becomes somezhing humani do as dey lose zheir innocence. We as Yinglets have to fight for food just to survive becoming adults, so any amount of innocence we had is removed, violently as we watch fellow younglings starve as de strong eat zheir share.
Poverty, regardless of one’s shape makes people hard and cruel. It does not take having a Yinglet’s voices in our heads to cause bad zhngs to happen, having happy times is a luxury.
For working for a Humani, dey don’t like to hire us. Enslavement is more common. We are treated as pets at best, and because of our diet, we can’t be fed on cheap humani grains, so feeding us meat when most humani barely can afford meat once a day, and many once a week means zhat we are stuck eating de weevils and maggots zhat de humans pick out of zheir hard tack.
So no, not many of us get hired for a skill zhat we would have to work very hard just to be as productive as even a lazy humani. It isn’t like we don’t try, we are just not wanted, no matter how cute or honest we try to be. When most of a group of Humani are on hard rations, there just is not enouzh wealzh to hire someone outside of your immediate group. It is de same reasons Yinglets don’t hire Humani to build us some better housing.
Don’t know if it’s intentional but i do like how the different flags have different shapes too, presumably for colorblind people
Given the Baxxid are adapted to live mostly underground, they may well have poor color vision. I suspect the multiple eyes might be to allow for different lighting. The very large back eyes would collect a lot of light to see in near-darkness, but likely lack any color perception at all and have a very low angular resolution only good to avoid walking into walls. Middle eyes to give some color perception, but more on par with dogs than primates, while giving sufficient light sensitivity to see clearly under moonlight levels – good for their hunting ancestry. And the front eyes useless without bright lighting, but able to see at least as well as a human under daylight but only within a narrow field of view – these are the eyes for reading, looking into the distance or anything needing fine vision.
Its interesting how the one Baxxid with black flag has a smooth head and non reflective eyes , is that functional ? and if yes for what ?
Zhe Baxxid shape zheir heads for family group identification. Like a Family tattoo, or hairstyle worn by only members of zhat group. Zhat de boss has shown each Baxxid wizh different shapes shows de variety of Baxxid family groups in Valsalia being somewhat diverse in nature.
I suspect the black-flagged baxxid are going to the “garden” to … unfurl their stems or whatever the hell they do. That’s why it’s so serious about leaving them alone and so vague about why. They’re “dying” and need to be allowed to go to their resting place without interference.
Doubt it – for one, there wouldn’t be any need for them to pass through the city. No, I have another theory: Baxxid police! They largely take care of their own affairs, but even the famously snobbish Baxxid can’t be /entirely/ law-abiding, and on the rare occasions one does get out of line human guards won’t be enough. They are there for the occasional ‘situation’ that needs handling. I imagine not so much intrigue as drunk-and-disorderlies or cart-ran-over-tail. The Baxxid reside in (and under) Val Salia and are allied with it, but are still an independent society – so it makes sense for them to have their own internal law enforcement.
There may also be other impulses beside those documented which are more sudden in onset and potentially dangerous, so the baxxid-police may be rushing to escort the afflicted to a place of refuge.
Black flag… Blind? Undead? Insane?
secret agent? spy?
The baxid ninja is depicted with the hot pink flag
Are there any punishments for baxxid who illegally use a black flag?
And if they wear a wig, that means they’re a troublemaker. (:
I swear this comic is an addiction for me. This is the fourth reread for me while i eagerly await the next page. Valsalia. Your story is addicting!!!
I get anxious bezween updates
Wanted to note that we saw various head-dressings back when Kalgur visited the sunny place. Not sure if any of this was going on then though…
https://www.valsalia.com/comic/out-of-placers/oops-163/
I think those are supposed to be more decorative, like fancy clothes. I could be wrong, though.
I’ve always wondered, for ages now actually..
How Baxxid’s and Indrel interact with one another.
There’s some similarities and differences as I recall.
But I wonder what relationship the two species generally share with one another.
And if their “mind speak” is similar or different.
Plus if they understand each others customs and boundaries.
I recall Yannit seemingly being sent away with what seemed like a scowl from one of here sisters who returned some of the payment.
Would Yannit be a good example of an Indrel’s general interaction and reactions? I get the feeling she’s somehow more.. open? than her mountain hive kin.
Plus.. we don’t exactly have any specific Baxxid in Kassen’s inner circle yet.
I saw the exchange of money as just reversing the usual transaction, a means of communicating by action.
Humans: “Here is the standard payment for safe passage, times three people.”
Indrel: “Your payment is accepted. Here is the standard payment for safe passage, times one person.”
I think Yannit is an exile, not for any particular “crime,” but because her personality is disruptive. She’s somewhere between eccentric and nutty, and the Indrel might even say she’s insane. Probably not actually insane, but not a good example of what her species is normally like.
It reminds me of the Pierson’s Puppeteers. Their natural state of mind is one of extreme risk-avoidance, which is fine on their homeworld where they’ve made the entire planet safe. But no sane Puppeteer would ever leave their homeworld, which is rather a problem when there is urgent business off-planet that has to be attended to in person. Every puppeteer features in the series is insane, because only the insanely reckless are able to tolerate the inherent danger of traveling the galaxy and interacting with dangerous aliens (ie, humans).
The Indrel may be similar: They naturally have no inclination to interact with any other species, who appear as barely-real to them anyway. They accept the need for an occasional interaction for the exclusive purpose of keeping those traveling through Indrel territory from making trouble, and that’s as far as it goes – at least for any sane ones. Yannet’s apparent fascination with humans is a bizarre deviation from the norm for her species, and perhaps one which means her sisters are happy to let her leave and become someone else’s problem.
One does only need to recall Yannit’s first name “Hyanoisyskank” to gain insight to why she was allowed to leave, when the Indrel have to know as well as a Humani does what happens to a Indrel seperated from it’s hive.