365 Days of Drabbles: Day One Hundred-Twenty

[jeriendhal]

For aldersprig: "Reserving a gender role reversal"

Note: Ryza is Melanie and Rolas' youngest child, first appearing in Legacy of the Red Vixen

* * *

"Ryza, what is this supposed to be?" Melanie asked her youngest daughter, waving a printout.

"What? That's my Service info sheet. Which I don't appreciate you sniffing at," Ryza said defensively.

"But it says you're going in at an enlisted rank. You're a female Noble caste. That automatically qualifies to be an officer."

"Mooooom, I don't want to get officer tabs just because I'm noble. Male officers have to work their way up!"

"Oh, dearheart. They do that because males don't get a chance to learn before they enter Service. You know the old saying..."

"I know. 'Males lift, vixens lead.'"

Comments

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Intriguing.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Matriarchies are fun. :)

In truth I'm exaggerating the gender schism for the sake of the drabble. Males and females are (theoretically) equal in the eyes of the law, though Noble inheritance goes through the female line. But in the commoner business world and in the military, there's still a glass ceiling to punch through. When push comes to shove even most male foxen will admit they're happier when a sensible vixen is in charge.

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

But even in situations where there is theoretical, legal equality...

[harvey-rrit.livejournal.com]

7:P

Awarding a commission for accomplishments on the field of primogeniture leads to things like Lord Montgomery letting at least ten thousand of his own men die from ignored intelligence because "gentlemen do not read each other's mail".

In future you might consider including a scenario wherein the nation is close to being conquered by an enemy who promotes on the basis of merit, only to be saved when a commando raid assassinates all the generals who inherited their rank. (After the war, there would be some questions asked when the enemy steadfastly denies having come up with any such plan....)

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Snerks and makes a note for future reference.

Okay, with the note that (as I said) this is questionable canon, even with nobles automatically qualifying for officers, whether they ever rise above the rank of 2nd Leftenant would be highly dependent on aptitude and performance (and they do practice "Up or Out"). This is also helped by the fact the officer corps has plenty of Commoner officers in it, all damned well shooting for the upper ranks, since a Foxen Commoner with an honorable Service record is considered a perfectly reputable catch for romantically inclined Nobles.

So they're not all inbred idiots running the place. :)

[harvey-rrit.livejournal.com]

;)

But then, they don't have to be to louse things up.

Judging by observation of aristocrats past and present, while breeding intelligent creatures for some particular trait may or may not get you descendants who have inherited that trait, it will sure as shootin' get you descendants who have inherited a tremendous inclination to breed.

--Excuse me, I need to post that so it's on record as mine.

--All done.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

BTW I should mention that Ryza is not officer material, much as her mother the former pirate might want her to be. So for once in her life she's actually being sensible.