I have a certain hope that this is Amanda’s way of fostering family unity. “Me, against my sister; our relatives and us, against the world.” …There’s usually a little bit in the middle there about relatives, but Amanda’s an orphan who now has her biological parents back. She needs that so badly she’s clearly decided that it’s worth having to be sister to her nemesis.
It’s not just a trope. When I finally found a forever home, my new brother was constantly teasing me, so I didn’t understand what was so wrong about me teasing him in public. It had to be explained to me that while it’s okay for me to tease my brother, it’s expected that I’ll stand up for him outside the home.
The best approach is to say that due to Selkie’s “condition” her eyes reflect light like a cat’s eye. Repeat it with heavy hints of “are you making light of my daughters condition” until the worker drops the issue.
My thought exactly… even if they aren’t a thing, convincing someone they are when you have glowing eyes is pretty damn easy. I mean look at Selkie herself… whats easier to believe, entire new species, or genetic condition… Her eyes are glowing, or they are just contacts.
They are a thing, but only glow up in blacklight/UV light. Not regular fluorescent tube lights that places like this have. Nor even UV rays from the sun.
Absolutely *loving* Selkie’s attempt at Jedi mind tricks. 🙂 Amanda has a point though … as well as an excellent tactic. Redirection can work wonders sometimes. Whether or not it works on someone freaked out by “OMG this kid’s eyes are glowing!” remains to be seen.
When I was about 7 or 8 I fell for the old tale that animals could talk at midnight on Christmas Eve. Yeah, Dad had his hands full trying to convince me that a) I couldn’t stay up that late, and b) animals couldn’t talk, but that didn’t mean that miracles couldn’t happen; just that they were rare, and not capricious. I was countering with Alex G. Bell’s having gotten his dog to say “Grandma.” Which may Be an Urban Legend, but also may be true… His dad Was a speech instructor.
What do you mean by “ATTEMPT at Jedi mind tricks” ??? Don’t you get it? Selkie is using reverse Jedi mind tricks on him. Her eyes aren’t really glowing, he only thinks they are because she Jedi’d him earlier. Telling him ‘he’s not seeing them’ now only reinforces his belief that he is. It’s called the “Backfire Effect.” Google it.
One little nit-pick here, I work in a restaurant where we have a game floor and a rock wall in it. The harnesses hook up on the front to the rope so that they can actually rappel down, hooking in the back like that is dangerous since the person could slip and smack their heads against the wall then end up hanging upside down. Also, based on previous pages, there should be padding on the floor and the pulley systems on those ropes would let them slowly fall all the way to the ground since sudden stops in the air like they did can cause damage to their bodies and to the rigging making it less effective in the future. The padding we have on the floor is about two feet of highly compact-able foam, that is rated to catch people if they happen to fall the full height with minimal injuries.
I know its funnier to have them hang in the air like that when they come down but it is both dangerous and unrealistic, sorry for ruining the fun with this wall of text.
I’ve been afraid of climbing things ever since I fell in gym class in second grade. Like, not afraid of heights per se, but really really aware of the possibilty of falling. So really really sensitive to safety measures.
When I entered university (I’m Ukrainian btw), I joined a ‘tourism’ club. I sort of not expected it to be full of rock climbing equipment, students expected to make a full trip through the club on it every day, but that’s what it had. So I became very familiar with what it was like, how it felt and how it worked, what with the whole ‘climb under the ceiling upside down on a rope’ part and my arms and legs being very weak at the beginning. Later, we climbed up the building too (ropes would get attached to the fire escape, but we weren’t supposed to climb it, we were supposed to climb the ropes). Held each other’s safety lines and everything. So I became very intimately familiar with how ‘safe because climbing equpment’ worked.
And then, next summer, I went to a park in the town where my grandma lives. And for the first time, I saw a climbing ‘route’ – ropes between trees and wooden structures, a climbing wall in the middle. It had safety equpment, of course, too, and since by then I knew that safety equipment really was safe, I was very eager to try the whole thing out.
Except the equipment wasn’t exactly like what I was taught to work with, and that freaked me out pretty badly. It did not hook over shoulders and across chest at all, instead just hooking around the pelvis, with the rope attached at the belly (instead of in the middle between belly and chest like I was used to). I immediately predicted that if I fell from a height, I’d flip upside down and would be unable to do anything to flip myself back over (see: weak arms and legs). When I came to the climbing wall, I actually froze for a while, as I did NOT trust myself not to fall… even though it was WAY shorter and easier than what we had in the club. I did climb it eventually with no problems, but let me tell you, the equipment did NOT make me feel like it was safe.
tl;dr: fucked up safety equipment at a climbing wall DOES NOT SURPRISE ME
Try doing it on the side of the funnel (that’s what some people would call the “smokestack”) on a cruise ship while it’s sailing across the ocean and subtly tilting back and forth.
Royal Caribbean cruise ships have climbing walls as a feature; the ship we were on right before Christmas had it going up the side of the funnel, 12 stores above the ocean.
Good for you, Amanda! So yes, it’s kinda tough on Mr MiniumumWageBounceEmployee having his mind messed with that way, but he’ll get over it. He’ll be much more concerned about a customer complaining about him, because that might get him in real trouble with his boss.
Even if Todd doesn’t supply him with a rationalization, by tonight when he goes home he’ll have convinced himself that, hey, he didn’t see anything really unusual.
i have to say, I like how Amanda is helping. Sure, she is flummoxing the adult but shes trying to help by 1) Pointing out that he isn’t doing his job and 2) Making it sound like not a big deal. While she may not know the true reason for the glowy eyes, she is still willing to help. I suspect that this will be the turning point in the relationship of Amanda and Selkie.
I really like the interactions here. (& Anna, I had thought of that idea, but I didn’t come up with a good name for it. ‘Weaponized Narcissism’ is great!)
I’m not going to nit pick here, “it’s necessary for the plot” is entirely sufficient justification, but it’s much more likely that that guy would not think Selkie’s eyes were really glowing. Most times when someone who sees something ‘impossible’ like that they think up some plausible alternative like “that must have been some odd reflection from the lights or something”. I grant that this guy could be one of the exceptions, but I would bet that tomorrow he will think it was something other than actual glowing eyes.
“Unusual eyedrops, poor impulse control and she needs to wear these until they stop or she stops thinking they’re cool, whichever comes last”
Btw I have gotta thank you for actually giving people below 15 personalities. When I was 12 or so I was so frustrated, none of the teachers gave me any respect. Eventually I left, but I had picked up bad habits and didn’t really take advantage of new opportunities… Do you ever think about how important the low grade school teachers are? University can set what a generation of people think but earlier teachers can set how people think.
Well not just that, but due to OSHA regulations, safety harnesses that wrap only around the waist are illegal. They might still be a fall restraint but can also damage the spine.
The general design of the harness is okay, but the lanyard attaching to the bottom at the base of the spine is a complete no go.
Realistically, the fall restraint would be a harness that goes under the legs, over the chest and the back. The fall restraint is also missing the equalizer that should “snap” that cusions the person’s body from the impact of the fall.
None of this is Dave’s fault if he hasn’t worked in a industrial setting that required fall restraints in the last decade. But yeah, what they have in the comic would be totally illegal.
I agree, plus their feet aren’t touching the floor at the bottom end of the line. Bounce House employee would have to support their full weight while unclipping the line. That much contact is likely to be discouraged, plus he would need a 3rd hand.
Small point, in Panel 3, it appears to be HUMAN hands putting the glasses back on Selkie. Given she’s got no ears and has to TIE the things on, I’m surprised someone else is putting them on her. Am I misinterpreting the panel?
Amanda has the right approach here — treat the glowing eyes thing as something inconsequential that he’s being an idiot for obsessing over.
Sure, it’s not /nice/ — in fact, it borders on gaslighting — but if it succeeds it’s arguably going to be the least bad outcome for all concerned.
children gas light adults all the time.
I have a certain hope that this is Amanda’s way of fostering family unity. “Me, against my sister; our relatives and us, against the world.” …There’s usually a little bit in the middle there about relatives, but Amanda’s an orphan who now has her biological parents back. She needs that so badly she’s clearly decided that it’s worth having to be sister to her nemesis.
It’s called Hypocritical Heartwarming, according to TVTropes – “Hey, only I’M allowed to bully my sister!” sort of thing.
It’s not just a trope. When I finally found a forever home, my new brother was constantly teasing me, so I didn’t understand what was so wrong about me teasing him in public. It had to be explained to me that while it’s okay for me to tease my brother, it’s expected that I’ll stand up for him outside the home.
Yep. Amanda sticking up for Selkie BY being her obnoxious self is absolutely amazing A+
The best approach is to say that due to Selkie’s “condition” her eyes reflect light like a cat’s eye. Repeat it with heavy hints of “are you making light of my daughters condition” until the worker drops the issue.
Glowing contacts are a thing, aren’t they? Never seen one up close so dunno if the effect might be similiar enough though.
My thought exactly… even if they aren’t a thing, convincing someone they are when you have glowing eyes is pretty damn easy. I mean look at Selkie herself… whats easier to believe, entire new species, or genetic condition… Her eyes are glowing, or they are just contacts.
They are a thing, but only glow up in blacklight/UV light. Not regular fluorescent tube lights that places like this have. Nor even UV rays from the sun.
Wall-Crawl Guy don’t know that 😉
Absolutely *loving* Selkie’s attempt at Jedi mind tricks. 🙂 Amanda has a point though … as well as an excellent tactic. Redirection can work wonders sometimes. Whether or not it works on someone freaked out by “OMG this kid’s eyes are glowing!” remains to be seen.
When I was about 7 or 8 I fell for the old tale that animals could talk at midnight on Christmas Eve. Yeah, Dad had his hands full trying to convince me that a) I couldn’t stay up that late, and b) animals couldn’t talk, but that didn’t mean that miracles couldn’t happen; just that they were rare, and not capricious. I was countering with Alex G. Bell’s having gotten his dog to say “Grandma.” Which may Be an Urban Legend, but also may be true… His dad Was a speech instructor.
It’s a good thing you didn’t know about parrots back then. They’re very limited but they still count as “talking” animals.
What do you mean by “ATTEMPT at Jedi mind tricks” ??? Don’t you get it? Selkie is using reverse Jedi mind tricks on him. Her eyes aren’t really glowing, he only thinks they are because she Jedi’d him earlier. Telling him ‘he’s not seeing them’ now only reinforces his belief that he is. It’s called the “Backfire Effect.” Google it.
One little nit-pick here, I work in a restaurant where we have a game floor and a rock wall in it. The harnesses hook up on the front to the rope so that they can actually rappel down, hooking in the back like that is dangerous since the person could slip and smack their heads against the wall then end up hanging upside down. Also, based on previous pages, there should be padding on the floor and the pulley systems on those ropes would let them slowly fall all the way to the ground since sudden stops in the air like they did can cause damage to their bodies and to the rigging making it less effective in the future. The padding we have on the floor is about two feet of highly compact-able foam, that is rated to catch people if they happen to fall the full height with minimal injuries.
I know its funnier to have them hang in the air like that when they come down but it is both dangerous and unrealistic, sorry for ruining the fun with this wall of text.
Story time.
I’ve been afraid of climbing things ever since I fell in gym class in second grade. Like, not afraid of heights per se, but really really aware of the possibilty of falling. So really really sensitive to safety measures.
When I entered university (I’m Ukrainian btw), I joined a ‘tourism’ club. I sort of not expected it to be full of rock climbing equipment, students expected to make a full trip through the club on it every day, but that’s what it had. So I became very familiar with what it was like, how it felt and how it worked, what with the whole ‘climb under the ceiling upside down on a rope’ part and my arms and legs being very weak at the beginning. Later, we climbed up the building too (ropes would get attached to the fire escape, but we weren’t supposed to climb it, we were supposed to climb the ropes). Held each other’s safety lines and everything. So I became very intimately familiar with how ‘safe because climbing equpment’ worked.
And then, next summer, I went to a park in the town where my grandma lives. And for the first time, I saw a climbing ‘route’ – ropes between trees and wooden structures, a climbing wall in the middle. It had safety equpment, of course, too, and since by then I knew that safety equipment really was safe, I was very eager to try the whole thing out.
Except the equipment wasn’t exactly like what I was taught to work with, and that freaked me out pretty badly. It did not hook over shoulders and across chest at all, instead just hooking around the pelvis, with the rope attached at the belly (instead of in the middle between belly and chest like I was used to). I immediately predicted that if I fell from a height, I’d flip upside down and would be unable to do anything to flip myself back over (see: weak arms and legs). When I came to the climbing wall, I actually froze for a while, as I did NOT trust myself not to fall… even though it was WAY shorter and easier than what we had in the club. I did climb it eventually with no problems, but let me tell you, the equipment did NOT make me feel like it was safe.
tl;dr: fucked up safety equipment at a climbing wall DOES NOT SURPRISE ME
Try doing it on the side of the funnel (that’s what some people would call the “smokestack”) on a cruise ship while it’s sailing across the ocean and subtly tilting back and forth.
Royal Caribbean cruise ships have climbing walls as a feature; the ship we were on right before Christmas had it going up the side of the funnel, 12 stores above the ocean.
It was kinda surreal, but fun.
Good for you, Amanda! So yes, it’s kinda tough on Mr MiniumumWageBounceEmployee having his mind messed with that way, but he’ll get over it. He’ll be much more concerned about a customer complaining about him, because that might get him in real trouble with his boss.
Even if Todd doesn’t supply him with a rationalization, by tonight when he goes home he’ll have convinced himself that, hey, he didn’t see anything really unusual.
Hooray for Amanda! She’s provided a great distraction.
So – Amanda’s older? She’s the “big sister”?
Interesting.
I love where you’re taking Amanda’s character…. we’re seeing a major turning-point here. 😀
i have to say, I like how Amanda is helping. Sure, she is flummoxing the adult but shes trying to help by 1) Pointing out that he isn’t doing his job and 2) Making it sound like not a big deal. While she may not know the true reason for the glowy eyes, she is still willing to help. I suspect that this will be the turning point in the relationship of Amanda and Selkie.
Soooo how did nobody notice her black sclera before? They can just say the glow is part of the “disease.”
Dude glowing eyes aren’t ll that scary. :/ Like how big of a baby is you? XD Oh no glowing eyes!
Her sharp teeth and claws aren’t scary but glowing eyes? XD haha
True. You have a PURPLE 8 year old with FANGS and CLAWS and you’re worried about her EYES glowing?
I think someone is overreacting a bit and possibly fixating.
LOL weaponized narcissism. Good job, Amanda!
I really like the interactions here. (& Anna, I had thought of that idea, but I didn’t come up with a good name for it. ‘Weaponized Narcissism’ is great!)
I’m not going to nit pick here, “it’s necessary for the plot” is entirely sufficient justification, but it’s much more likely that that guy would not think Selkie’s eyes were really glowing. Most times when someone who sees something ‘impossible’ like that they think up some plausible alternative like “that must have been some odd reflection from the lights or something”. I grant that this guy could be one of the exceptions, but I would bet that tomorrow he will think it was something other than actual glowing eyes.
I mean, her eyes not only glow, they also have black sclera, and it’s probably really noticable now that the glow draws attention to it…
Yeah, the glow is minor compared to all of the other differences between her and humans.
“Unusual eyedrops, poor impulse control and she needs to wear these until they stop or she stops thinking they’re cool, whichever comes last”
Btw I have gotta thank you for actually giving people below 15 personalities. When I was 12 or so I was so frustrated, none of the teachers gave me any respect. Eventually I left, but I had picked up bad habits and didn’t really take advantage of new opportunities… Do you ever think about how important the low grade school teachers are? University can set what a generation of people think but earlier teachers can set how people think.
Well not just that, but due to OSHA regulations, safety harnesses that wrap only around the waist are illegal. They might still be a fall restraint but can also damage the spine.
The general design of the harness is okay, but the lanyard attaching to the bottom at the base of the spine is a complete no go.
Realistically, the fall restraint would be a harness that goes under the legs, over the chest and the back. The fall restraint is also missing the equalizer that should “snap” that cusions the person’s body from the impact of the fall.
None of this is Dave’s fault if he hasn’t worked in a industrial setting that required fall restraints in the last decade. But yeah, what they have in the comic would be totally illegal.
I agree, plus their feet aren’t touching the floor at the bottom end of the line. Bounce House employee would have to support their full weight while unclipping the line. That much contact is likely to be discouraged, plus he would need a 3rd hand.
oh my god I hadn’t even NOTICED there weren’t straps around their legs. Jeez.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.alibaba.com/amp/product/50033331150.html look very similar to Selkie’s eyes here.
Small point, in Panel 3, it appears to be HUMAN hands putting the glasses back on Selkie. Given she’s got no ears and has to TIE the things on, I’m surprised someone else is putting them on her. Am I misinterpreting the panel?
Maybe we’re seeing the elastic strap, rather than hands, in that panel.