Tender Luvin' Uz

From: Frusetta James <JNF990_at_st.aubg.bg>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 16:56:09 +200


"Topi" asked about Uz Luv:

> In my understanding trolls have a very different social and
> emotional life compared to humans. If troll society is matriarchal
> and the relationships between female and male trolls are not equal
> (ie. female is dominant.).How can emotional ties strong enough
> to sacrifice your self for your mate to live develop?
Something to advance first, of course, is that it is always possible for "abnormal" relationships to exist among the uz. There's no reason that an individual uz wife and husband -- even if you accept the "trolls gots no love" argument -- couldn't have a strong, passionate relationship (aka, like the hoomans). Other uz might think this a tad strange. A wife who sacrifices herself for her husband? Argh! She was fertile! What was she thinking! Let's blame the husband!

Which adds to the burden of shame and humility for the troll, which indeed provides additional reasons to go hunt down her murderers. And, indeed, the puzzlement -- why did she do it? She didn't have to do it! So why did she do it? (Heck, which I think even flickers across Conan's face -- he's been hangin' loose with the nomads, after all, raping and pillaging.)

>What is troll love? Most descriptions on troll culture describe both
>male and female trolls as the typical tough human male from the
>streets.

You can play this two ways.

  1. Uz is rough and tough and buff, as written, and gots no love:
  2. No sane uz invites in some damn Scribe to watch their mating rituals. ("Here we find the male Zorak Zoran runelord in his den. Beginning with a mating dance, he approaches the female with a gift of food. Uh-oh, I think he's seen the camera -- arrrrghh!")

I think that trolls do show affection and closeness, but in different ways. Men (and children) love *and* fear their mothers, in part because their mothers make darn sure that they do so. Norman Bates loved his mom, after all, even though he feared her. Male trolls can also have "true" hooman affection, I think, but this element of fear is always present to some degree. Even the best, kindest, most loving wife in the world you *know* is someone to obey if she demands it.

Hoomans see the fear, but usually don't see the "other" forms of love and affection, since trolls rarely develop these kind of relationships with hoomans, and because the trolls aren't as open about love as hoomans. This human business of *flaunting* your relationship puzzles uz mightily: what, are the hoomans insecure, or something? "Korg ask, why you say you love him 27 times in hour? One time not enough for hooman?"

>How does a troll show affection to another troll?
>With a tender kiss? With passionate lovemaking?
Sure, why not? Though trolls are a lot less complex than humans in many ways -- I doubt they spend much time giving each other sheep's eyes and engaging in gooey dialogue. ("Who's my widdle snuggle uz?") The average marriage might be like the stereotypical RW old married couple who love each other but never show it. Gifts of food are probably another big sign of affection as well, of course.

>This also raises the question of what is a trolls view on
>lovemaking...(Do trolls "make love" to each other or just have sex)?
Given that trolls have great whoppin' orgies in the name of ol' KG herself, how closely linked is sex with affection, too. I'd advance as well that many male trolls probably view sex with some worry/fear about, ahem, pleasing the female. The connection probably exists between love and sex, though monogamous relationships seem to be rare.

>Do all relationships between female and male trolls resemble a
>mother and son relationship, the male trolls always trying
>to prove themselves to females?

Like poor Norman Bates, yeah, I think, to some degree. Not that the male troll has to prove himself (and not that he has to do *everything* the wife says), but he knows, from the day he was born, that he's *supposed* to obey his Mother (and then his Wife, and his Sisters to lesser degree). Though the fear of the mother is, I think, way stronger than fear of the Wife -- I think male trolls can actually divorce their wives. This is called, the "Wild Male Dark Troll Hunter" result in character generation -- you flee to the mountains and live alone, where She can'd find you... :)

>Is equal love and affection possible in troll culture or can a male
>troll only attain those feelings outside troll "culture"?
To paraphrase something that Sandy Petersen said on the Digest a while back (worth looking up if you can find it; most of it was in reprinted Drastic:Darkness), I think troll females can come to love their husbands, but this is *learned* behavior. The show affection and love becausethey find they like their husbands, are fond of them, and that they are wonderful uz. The husbands, on the other hand, are culturally biased to love/fear their wives. Ever husband "loves" his wife, but many wives probably don't "love" their husbands in the human conception -- fond of, yes, possessive, yes, in every case. Love, I think, happens over time and not in every marriage.

For the purposes of your campaign, though -- this love has to be *so* strong it breaks the cultural conditioning and instinct of the female: "Be Safe. Have Kids. Grow Strong. Be Like Kyger Litor." Sucide to save a husband is probably considered to be pretty abnormal among trolls (doing it for your son might be slightly more tolerable). Unless, of course, there was some prophecy, divination, etc. that said "Don't let him die, or Bad Things will happen!" That's probably acceptable, since it's for the Good of the Tribe.

>Can a similar thing happen in troll culture and how do female
>trolls see males? As carries of semen and good workes?
The semen angle may not be that strong, since men aren't all that crucial for makin' the little ones -- Kyger Litor tells you that. Men are to be bossed around, put in their place, used for work, sent to war, used as cannon fodder, but still can be affectionately regarded (and even loved). This isn't bizzaro-Victorianism, but the Hard Facts of Troll Life, that males are more disposable and Kyger Litor Said So. Troll females might cry a little when they see their man get a pike in the gut, but they'll still send their other husband out if they have to.

>Also is Uleria worshipped by uz???

Well, there's that one uz prostitute much in demand in at least one Uleria temple, as noted in Wyrm's Footnotes, I think... patronized by the adventurous, and those with a fetish for six breasts...

>What place holds love in troll culture and literature???
Lots and little, depending on how you look at it. The uzuz will look at you in puzzlement if you ask about love -- they don't understand the concept. But the dark trolls understand it; Xiola Umbar is a goddess of love for dark trolls (and of mercy-love for the enlo).

Note that you don't necessarily need "love" on the part of the husband to revenge himself for his wife (or vice versa.) A normal uz husband will hunt down the scum who killed his wife because he "knows" he has to -- it's been conditioned into him. And a wife might do the same (or have someone do it for her) just because she had finally gotten that dumb uzko *trained*, darn it... :)


Powered by hypermail