Uhhh… hi?
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Just wanted to drop another mention her,e but if anybody is encountering further problems with spammy pop-up ads on mobile please let me know. One of my advertisers believes they found the source of it, but I’d like to know if further incidents happen to make the ad experience too unpleasant.
Gien's idea of personal space is "Mine."
Yes Todd you should introduce yourself, but not until the argument is over. It’s impolite to interrupt someone when they’re being an (_*_)
[And yes, you should point this out to Gien.]
I had not seen that graphic before. It’s great.
I don’t really feel like he is being an asshole. From the way the comic has portrayed Selkie’s people, I feel as though they take a lot of stock in manners, tradition and decorum.
If he’s the leaker of the people Selkie takes after, he absolutely should have been there and not to be is a great insult.
Yes but remember Todd and Selkie arrived a little bit early with the doctor, and then immediately went shopping. They weren’t told there would be a welcome committee that I remember, but it doesn’t sound like it’s anyone’s fault.
Ah but look what Agent Brown, who is knowledgeable about these people, is saying about him: “He also makes Then look agreeable and pleasant by contrast.” That’s Fed-speak for ‘He’s an a__hole.”
And who’s fault is it that he wasn’t present? She certainly made enough of a ruckuss that the whole colony must have noticed.
Well, we don’t know whose fault it was. We don’t know enough about their social norms, or what protocol he does or doesn’t have a right to expect to be followed in this case.
What’s clear, however, is that Todd should remember his manners, immediately apologize for his tactless remark, and try to smooth it over. He can validly claim to be very new to this, and that’s a get out of jail free card right now. Gien might reject it gracelessly, but then that’s on him.
And if he picks on Todd too hard, he’s going to have an eight year old Selkie wanting to strip his hide off.
If by tactless remark you are referring to the comparison to Then, Avery says that, not Todd.
Oh, right. My mistake.
Agent Brown makes the nasty comments and Gien gets mad at Todd. I can tell I won’t like this guy much.
A bad combination is: large ego, small mind. I fear there may be some bad feelings and bigotry and prejudice that Selkie will have to witness for her love of the Dad-Dude, Todd.
But Todd has learned to slow his fuse, and he can hold his own, most times.
Plus, as long as it isn’t a physical attack, I think we can count on Todd getting it of the water intact. … I hope…
For a leader, Gien has all the diplomacy and tact of a barracuda. I am sad for the colony.
Also, keep in mind that it was their voice that wanted blood for blood for what happened and their clashing with the other voice is what kicked off the war. Soooo I don’t see the guy liking humans overly much.
*Out of the water*
Sorry .. autocorrupt
Well, Brown said he’s only the leader of the Jin’Sorai, and there aren’t a whole lot of them left, so presumably he doesn’t have that much of a ‘following’… or competition, for that matter.
I’m guessing each clan would have their own leader, in addition to their settlement’s main leader. Or maybe one of the clan leaders is also the main leader.
Which is now making me think, has it been established how Sarnothi leaders are elected? Are they a democracy, a monarchy, or what? Was Gien chosen for the position, or was he just born to it?
He is the “leader” of the Jin’Sorai. Those scare quotes carry some implications with them. He probably doesn’t have any official leadership position, but is likely the oldest or most take-charge of his people, making them flock to him when their crisis happened.
Also, so far we have only been told that’s he’s disagreeable and seen that he’s irritable with people when he’s already agitated. None of those things necessarily imply large ego, small-mindedness, bigotry, or lack of diplomatic skill.
This is being posted as a reply to DataWog, but is intended for the entire thread.
With those quotation marks and the fact that he is a bit more than a horse’s ass, I suspect Gien just declares himself leader and everyone lets him think he is because it’s one, easier to let him think he is, and two, coloring books melt in water so they can’t keep him busy that way.
And I would say we should call him “Mean Gene” but that’s a pro-wrestling announcer and so I won’t insult him by comparing him to this upper class twit.
Welp, he’s a dick.
Just hope he won’t asume being of her clan should grant him some influence with Selkie.
If he does, my money’s on Selkie.
Well, people were talking behind his back and one of them referred to his indignation as “clan ego-clashing” which isn’t nice, he thinks he’s entitled to be there because Selkie is of his clan (don’t really know how this clan dynamic works so it could be a sense of duty, responsibility, politics or dread), we don’t have any context on policy, tradition or cultural offense that could be broken because he wasn’t invited and one of the last children of his clan was adopted by a weird surface dweller he knows nothing about but “stories” (we have… horrible stories)
all I’ve seen right now is people dismissing his heritage, talk behind his back and present him with an alien in charge of a kid from his clan, I would be kinda pissy too
I’d watch it Glen. Wouldn’t wanna leave a bad impression on the younger generation.
I wonder how many people will automatically asume this isn’t a momentous occasion for a culture that was nearly eradicated to be able to “see” one of their lost children
Actually… Gien is being quite polite here. He’s not shown to possess a sunny disposition, and based on Agent Brown’s comment he’s probably perma-cranky. But he is being upfront and straightforward; yes, introduce yourself because it’s polite, yes I understand and speak your language, and yes I overheard you. The undertones I personally see are that he (grudgingly) acknowledges that a child of his clan has a human caretaker and is upset (probably more with himself than Scar) he wasn’t present to receive them formally. And since Todd has already been “warned” by the human agent that he makes Then look nice in comparison, he’s probably foregoing normal pleasantries and just being himself. Honestly, so far, I like Gien better than Then…
And how full of sunshine and unicorn pee would a person be expected to be if practically their entire people was wiped out, and then forced to relocate and be dependent on the very folks that *started* the war that did it. He may not be happy that Selkie’s being raised by humans, or it could be he doesn’t appreciate Agent Brown’s involvement and marriage to a Sarothi, or any number of things. We don’t know a lot yet.
I mean, they weren’t trying to hide their conversation. Besides, it would have been rude to interrupt a conversation; especially if you don’t know if they speak your language.
And, as others have mentioned, WHOSE fault is it that he wasn’t there when Selkie showed up? Is someone else supposed to make his schedule and swim him around?
my guess about the quotation marks around ‘leader’, along with what pohl said earlier about the jin´sorai is that there are simply that *few* left that there isn´t much to ‘lead’ at all….and for that very reason i can also see why gien would be upset that one of their precious few kids gets used in the experiment(!) of finding out whether sarnothi kids can flourish on land – which according to brown selkie´s placement at the orphanage was all about. odds are he wants to use what little time she´s there to teach her some much needed lessons about their kind.
Green dude has a big gross lump of stuff all over the right half of his face. Maybe that’s why he’s mad?
I get the feeling we’re going to be seeing some Papa Wolf out of Todd shortly.
This conversation is mine.
All your spaces are mine.
I’m in your face.
Invade you space.
It’s mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.
“All your (personal) space are belong to us.”
I tried to make it fit this tune, but couldn’t…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlchkZDSd7E
And openly hostile a-hole within five seconds. Gee. I doubt that Selkie’s gonna like him much. DX
Poor Scar, he doesn’t deserve to be yelled at.
VERY Important Rule of Travel: Always be polite and courteous because the people living there MIGHT just happen to understand exactly what you said ((poor Todd XD))
Random (stupid) Question: If the Jin’ Sorai are the “fallen clan”, then why are there still members of said clan still alive and swimming? ((including but not limited to–Selkie (of course!), the villager who greeted Selkie on arrival (can’t remember name), Fehn (the tailor), and now Gien (their leader?)))
My presumption is that fallen doesn’t mean they are completely wiped out, it can simply mean they have been dealt a major blow and no longer have the resources/clout to be considered on par with the other clans. Also it can be that they are treated as outcast by mainstream Sarnothi society back in the homelands.
This is the refugee camp, so the ones here are those that would have managed to escape the genocide.
Does it really count as genocide? My impression was not that the other clans were trying to wipe them out completely, just that the first attack had been on the Jin’Sorai area of the city, so they had been dealt a major blow right from the beginning, and after an extended period of battle (where I’m assuming it was more or less 3 clans against 1) their numbers are severely depleted. But I don’t think all-out extermination was ever the goal.
When said attack results in “they are almost all gone” then yea it’s a genocide regardless of if it was intended as one, imo.
I’m worried what may happen if someone recognizes Selkie as the daughter of Plo Quar. The chances are really slim given Sarnoth is in a huge lake, we don’t know the proportion of those who stayed vs those who are here in Havei Jin’Suir, and the fact Selkie was only 3 when Plo Quar had to leave her. But this new character seems like he’d be curious to know Selkie’s birth name, and there is the off chance that someone will remember Plo Quar, well known former Peacekeeper wanted for treason, had a baby named Nei Li.
Why would it matter?
Besides both Pohl and Agents Then and Brown know Selkie’s family history, so it’s a good bet that anyone from this small village will as well, if from nothing else than from gossip (both Pohl’s and Brown’s families)
It’s possible that the others know but don’t care; remember that Scar first addressed Selkie by her full sarnothi name earlier (Nei Li Ma’Chien) when they were making introductions. Of course it’s also equally possible that Ma’Chien is a pretty common sarnothi surname so no one else would think twice about it.