Happy Lineart Friday.
Color update will come later this evening.
-EDIT- It’s here!
I'm actually still on the fence for if Benny is literally smelling human fear pheromones or not.
Happy Lineart Friday.
Color update will come later this evening.
-EDIT- It’s here!
Oh dear, Benny’s got that “you’re not my real father” thing.
I’m betting that he’s just yanking her chain. It seems in character for him.
Well… he’s not. They can still have a good relationship, but if Benny still remembers his bio father he might feel the distinction of stepfather is important.
Not to mention the whole inter-species dating thing is… problematic.
He said “our son” though, so Benny’s reply is still incorrect. He’s still HER biological son.
Fun fact: Some humans can smell such things, in addition to being able to recognize people by scent :J (And not just lovers, but like coworkers and stuff.) It may be the people with vomeronasal pits.
Benny’s behavior is definitely yanking Amanda’s chain, and it’s possible he’s actually smelling her fear… but I think if he could, he’d instead do something where he can set her up for it by getting her to shift emotions fast, first. Then he can unexpectedly track along and “close the net”.
Fun fact: Some humans can smell such things, in addition to being able to recognize people by scent :J (And not just lovers, but like coworkers and stuff.) It may be the people with vomeronasal pits. Benny’s behavior is definitely yanking Amanda’s chain, and it’s possible he’s actually smelling her fear… but I think if he could, he’d instead do something where he can set her up for it by getting her to shift emotions fast, first. Then he can unexpectedly track along and “close the net”.
You mean how sweat smells different based on what caused it?
Because most people I think can smell anxiety, and I smell sex and candy, yeah.
?I know that song!
I had a schoolmate who claimed to be able to tell people apart by smell like that. I don’t think he was missing any sense that it could be compensating for either. At any rate it freaked me out a bit when he told me. Not that it wasn’t cool, just that I was a self conscious teenager at the time. ^^
It would make sense, he is a predator, having a good sense of smell is useful.
In at least one culture I’ve heard of, a guy will smell his arranged bride to see if there’s a lingering scent of anger on her. I have no idea if this is actually possible to pick up on, or if it’s an easy way to get out of an arranged marriage if you don’t like the girl upon first meeting her.
For an alpha underwater predator species, sure, they may indeed have a heightened sense of smell, like sharks do. Then again, if they do, would places like a locker room overwhelm them?
Does smell even work underwater?
Smell is particles hitting receptors in your nose. Your version of smell doesn’t work well since human smell transmits in air. Underwater animals develop a version that can separate particulates from water.
But remember the
DothrakiSarnothi are amphibians so have scent receptors for both air and water environments.Darn it, here I was hoping that there was an underwater “Stallion who mounts the world.”
They are more likely to have a “eel who eats the world”.
What intrigues me about smell is that it’s distinct from sight or hearing, because it’s particles. You can kill a light or a speaker easily, but you can’t banish a smell from a room. And you can create lights or sounds easily, but you would have to have a weird and extensive set of scent-producing chemicals if you wanted to create smells on the fly.
That, and negative smells get a much worse reaction than negative sights or sounds. You cannot turn your nose off.
That’s why Smell-o-Vision is only for jokes and odd promos, instead of being a legitimate chance to expand our media capabilities.
You might be surprised. A conference I attended ten years ago featured an experimental “virtual smell” creator in one of its exhibits, and I recently learned of a working VR headset attachment that uses scent cartridges (they have a 1 month shelf life, so need to be replaced fairly frequently).
It may not be as much a joke as you might think!
And the footloose accolite has found her guru.
Oh, this is going well…. But notice that Amanda is starting to lean forward. She has always been one to sublimate her weaker emotions and express them as anger instead. I sense a counter attack gathering…
*Entire party hastily changes order to takeaway and transfers to al-fresco dinner. Lacking local public park this takes place on small grassy strip where on and off ramps begin on either side of abandoned canal. Adults attempt civilized conversation while infantry attempts massacre and 3,227 assorted vehicles pass at high speed*
I wouldn’t be surprised. Benny may be an older kid, but Amanda has a low tolerance from BS from other kids.
looks as if selkie has found a new hero 😉
seriously though, i guess he´s just bluffing…or simply talking from experience.
Amanda is pretty obviously nervous, and Benny totally sounds like the kind of edgy teenager who’d mess with her like thatafter seeing that.
P.S. Their smell might be good underwater, but that wouldn’t transfer well to above water, right?
To be fair, I’d mess with her as well. If she has a sense of humor about herself that might even call her down.
It’s Amanda we’re talking about here… She takes literally everything too seriously.
Benny looks almost indistinguishable from human with the comic uncolored.
Todd should have introduced himself as “Todd Smith”. The girls should be aware that this is “the Brown family”, so even though Agent Orange just called her “Carrie”, they (as small children) should know to call her “Mrs. Brown”.
By Todd introducing himself simply as “Todd”, he has given Benny (also a small child) permission to use his first name.
Some adults are okay with this. I definitely had some telling me “no no, call me (first name)” even when I was young. It really depends on your family and personal culture.
I asume this is meant as a joke. 😀
Probably not a joke, just a different region of the country (I’m assuming U.S.)
It doesn’t matter anyway – they’ll be “Selkie’s dad” and “Benny’s mom” soon enough.
(That was a joke – I think the girls are too old for that, and Benny definitely is.)
Seriously, the approach of “Children should show appropriate respect for adults by calling them Mr. or Mrs. and their last name” was definitely a thing 40 years ago where I grew up (Mid-Hudson Valley), and probably still is in large parts of the country.
At 46, in urban California, people still comment to me on the fact that I call my father by his first name.
I think if someone wants kids to call them mr/ms, they should show respect back and call the kids mr/ms too.
I’m guessing you’re not from the US. Parents especially and “adults” in general in this country see children as being lesser and therefore see respect as a one-way street: Children MUST give respect, adults may choose to if they so desire, but are not obligated to show any sort of respect. A good summary is something I saw on Facebook (which I will be paraphrasing):
Sometimes, people use respect to mean ‘treating like an authority’, and sometimes they mean ‘treating like a person’. Most adults who say, “I won’t respect you unless you respect me.” really mean, “I won’t treat you like a person unless you treat me like an an authority.”.
Generally, adults in this country seem to see respect as something owed them automatically by children, but see children as unworthy of the same, and consider it offensive to be treated as equals by children, because they see children as second-class citizens.
I think that’s the best I’ve ever seen it put! I might have to borrow this.
I don’t think that’s what’s going on at all. Yes, it’s a respect thing, but it’s respect because they’re older and often in positions of authority. Just because they call children by their first names and wish to be called by their last names doesn’t mean they aren’t respecting the kids, or “treating them like second-class citizens.”
It is when it’s only with children that they insist on last names and honorifics only.
Or its because societies require rules to function and in many societies around the world, one of the rules is teaching children, particularly young children, that the default behavior towards adults should be a reasonable level of respect and obedience, because more often than not the adult is in a supervisory role over the child.
Sometimes this is an established formalized relationship such as parent/child or teacher/student. It can also be informal as when an adult sees a child in the broader world engaging in behavior that is dangerous, something which the adult can recognize but the child might not.
Children and adults aren’t treated equally because they aren’t functionally equal, ESPECIALLY at young ages. This is a simple, observable, biological as well as psychological truth. And yes, there is variance within the population, but that doesn’t change the overall reality of a dependent relationship.
You assume incorrectly.
They can also call her Mrs. Carrie. Not a huge deal. Most of my parents’ friends were called Mrs. and Mr. First Name (probably because it was easier to remember to just put a Mrs. or Mr. in front of what my parents called them).
No, Todd “should” have done whatever he felt comfortable with in the situation. His action does not directly endanger anyone, does not likely create a situation of danger, and is not considered by the law or general social convention to be grossly inappropriate. Names and titles can be used to establish boundaries within relationships but they are not the only method of doing so.
I like the terrified “everything will be fine” looks on both fathers.
Something like that, yes. 🙂
The quickest way to get Amanda over her fear is to get her mad.
Benny, you’ve just made a mistake.
……-____- Seriously Benny? Quit it.
I don’t like Amanda much but this is just not ok.
It’s not OK, but it *is* typical 12-year-old behavior. Which, yea – quit it is the general theme for that age group.
As a substitute teacher who regularly works with 12-year-olds…
Yeah, that’s the general theme for that age group. XD
Yes but that still makes him a doofus for doin’ it. XD
I think its a good ice breaker. 😀
I have to say, Selkie’s eyes loot TERRIFYING in the last panel
At least I don’t see how anyone could be afraid of Carrie. She seems so sweet and quiet. Agent Brown is scarier than her in this (louder voice, bigger movements, scolding tone to Benny – even if rightfully so). She seems to be a mouse among a race of lions as far as threat levels go. Of course, people will shriek and run from/try to kill mice, and with lions they lock them up in small cages to prod and stare at, so neither one is a good ending…
Aha! I was right that Amanda would take the end chair, but given her nervousness that was an easy call. Selkie chose to sit next to Benny, not Carrie, which puts them into the last-panel arrangement, and makes me think that this coming scene will be more about interactions among the three kids, with occasional reactions from adults.
Right now, I would say Amanda is already moving from fear to anger (never a long distance for her). Selkie’s initial reaction to Benny is that he’s way cooler than she expected. If he amuses himself by antagonizing Amanda, Selkie will cheer him on. But I wonder if he’ll cross a line, and we’ll see the sisters unite?
His mom may not let him go that far, of course.
In other words… as usual with Dave, the interpersonal dynamics are fascinating, the situation has lots of story-potential, and I am eager to see how it unfolds.
Benny made me a fan of him. I remember being such a little jerk like this. All for just the lolz. I think he deserves a noogie and a fiver. As long as he doesn’t push too far. So far right now he’s perfectly fine.
This is starting to remind me of this: https://selkiecomic.com/comic/alternate-universe/
I’d say that was a good first impression. Probably.