I would hope that Andi deciding “No, I DO want Amanda.” after eight years doesn’t get her out of exactly as much scrutiny that Todd is under from adopting Selkie from a CPS standpoint.
Once a kid is adopted, having custody removed is about as difficult as it is for birth parents. I can’t imagine Amanda being removed from this even if she was a foster child, though. She hasn’t done anything much different than she probably already had done in the children’s home.
Joecrouse: Indeed, and that is a price Mandy is More than willing to pay. Hard headed is that one!
Wizard Tehk: uses a chemical attack, and Sonic-Stun. Fail he does.
Tyro Wizard Amanda uses a mace to the head. It’s super effective and disrupts both attacks from Teck. Amanda get bonus poiints for winning And for defeating the Big Snark.
I’m glad we skipped to the aftermath because this update makes me laugh. I know, I know, fighting isn’t good and I’m sure this will have all kinds of repercussions…but I love how Tehk is more curious about Amanda’s headbutt technique than anything else and that Amanda is apparently familiar with certain gaming techniques!
Um… don’t tell me the adults just left two kids who’d just been fighting in the same room without supervision. Really hope there’s an adult still in the room.
Bench in the hall outside the office? Kids are clearly not still going at it? Pretty standard behavior. Also possible they are IN the office and there is a secretary or aide or something at their desk while the Principal goes in to her office to call the parents.
When I got in a fight at high school the assistant who dragged us both to the nun-principal did exactly that. After hissing at both of us “You were roughhousing, and it got out of hand!,” of course. Gave us enough time to get our stories — well, it gave ME enough time, and while the other kid wasn’t as smart as me he *did* know he wasn’t as smart as me. And he was smart enough to just nod along and not screw things up*. Better three days’ detention than a week’s suspension, which was the going rate for a parochial high school fight back then.
*It never even occurred to me to take advantage of the situation, thankfully. I despised him and he despised me, but we both knew that you didn’t just throw a guy to the battleaxes. It wasn’t any of their business, anyway. This was a private affair that was simply scheduled poorly.
Yeah, I had to “logic” that one out, though Dave did show it very well on second reading,… Dunno why it took me so long the first time. I’m blaming the coffee.
Wished the flashbacks had a different color for the backgrounds, but gosh it made me laugh, that was like 110% Amanda winnng with a technical knock-back. Head-butt for the win!
Things I noticed: Tehk didn’t bite, which was the training Then was talking about, on his part, but he responded instinctively to a surprise attack with sound and spitting venom. Amanda didn’t punch, which was strategy on her part, but she had her eyes instinctively scrinched shut, which is why none of the venom got in her eyes. And…
Afterwards, in the last panel, Tehk seems to be rather impressed with Amanda, somewhat flattered by being called a wizard.
Yeah, these two are going to be friends. And Tehk has a whole world of video games to discover!
I could really see it. They both lost their parents. While Amanda got hers back she never got to grow up with them. While Tehk gets raised by an uncle and aunt who (we assume) love him and probably knew him growing up, he’ll never see his parents. These two both work out their feelings of fear, sadness, and hurt with aggression. Yes, they have a lot they can share and grow close with.
You mention that she did not punch, which was strategy. Don’t really understand that. And you say that he did not bite, which was training.
I wonder which one clawed first? Clawing is generally considered a female weapon, but Amanda seems to prefer to punch. And if he has been trained not to bite, logic says he is also been trained not to claw. His face, her arm.
I’m not convinced Tehk DID claw…Sure I’ll admit he might have, there is Amanda’s arm looking to have a bit of blood on it to consider, but I just think there’s insufficient evidence just yet to support it.
if youve never been in a fight sometimes Drool happens sometimes its a deliberate bite. Remember humans are primates and primates WILL bite. FISH/merfolk are fish. and fish WILL BITE (I have a bite on my arm from a god damn cichlid that took exception to my moving her babies this weekend)
Probably less spitting, more an added bonus to biting (I mean, we’ve seen those chompers). Depending on situation, it could also act (if the right muscles are there) like a squids ink: less a direct attack, more a distraction for escape/actual attack to come in.
He’s not intentionally spitting, it’s spittle flying as a result of the screeching. Underwater it’s not a concern, since spittle/venom wouldn’t fling out like it does in the air.
That said, and WOG it is, but I was under the impression that their saliva had neuro-toxin properties, from earlier strips. To slow down their prey. Is that not cannon, shoot me if it isn’t canon.
I can’t put a finger on it, but there is something very Indiana Jonesish about Amanda in the fight scene. She would make quite a cool action adventurer when she gets older.
Although the spittle venom is probably most effective when biting, it would still potentially be at least slightly discouraging to predators if you had a reflex to spit when startled if you don’t have the right angle to bite. It wouldn’t be a handicap to spit when something suddenly lunges at your face. If it’s another Sarnothi being thrown at you involuntarily by an eel-tail you won’t do them any harm.
Tehk may be a wee bit of a jerk but he is honourable when it comes to physical combat. “Disobeyings direct order in three, two…” shows much more social adaptability than some of the kids on the bench in the principal’s office that I’ve seen who go from glaring towards the secretary’s desk to flinging themself at their opponent without looking at them first, presumable because a surge of white hot rage has suddenly impelled them to whirl around and attack. Kids that do that have remarkably fast reflexes and no self control. Tehk however was essentially doing emotional labour, checking in to see how mad Amanda was in a collaborative way.
She fought well, and cleverly. Assuming that nobody ends up in the hospital, some very valuable lessons have been learned all around. Like: Why You Do Not Fight The Fish-Men. And: Why You Do Not Fight The Naked Apes. Because everybody going to that school was paying attention.
I’m kind of “hand-waving” the risk of a concussion for the purposes of smoother narrative. Like when you watch an action movie and people fall twenty feet onto the top of a car then just shrug it off climb out and go buy a croissant.
Concussion is always a risk — on the other hand, I’ve fallen out of a small tree, that was on a slight hill, down to whack the back of my head on the sidewalk — and nada. Depends on momentum, too.
Nothing to rely on in real life, but not out of the question for them to just have bruises.
Which I think was —Brilliant— on Dave’s part. The very second thought I had -seeing the comic- was, “Well, he wouldn’t know about that.” Water is too thick.
You’re not alone in that. Maybe I should revisit those panels, I thought the blue background compared to brown i the others would be sufficient to make them seperate. >_>
A tint would definitely help. Backgrounds do change for various reasons, including emotions, so they’re not the most reliable indicators, especially when the characters are roughly in the same physical proximity to each other.
In the past, you, Dave, have used a red scratchy background to indicate high drama-llama behavior from Mandy. I looked for it, but did not equate the blue with flashbacks. A. It was solid. And B. It was a background, not an overlay. I am used to a light blue (screen? Layer?) used to indicate flashbacks.
I gotta hand it to Amanda, that venom irritation isn’t even making her flinch. Neither is that nasty gash on her arm, although I’d still recommend an ER visit for it.
Hopefully Tehk learned a valuable lesson about not rekindling a fight when the other person has already tried to apologize and defuse the situation.
Dammit Amanda! The idea is to hit your opponent’s soft parts with your hard parts!
This leads us to some bad news about the Sarnothi’s non-protruding “nose”.
Amanda.
No.
That’s the sort of thing that could lose Andi custody.
Or possibly her child? I mean, fighting a sharp toothed, clawed, venom having person is asking for a ER visit…
honestly kinda impressed how well she came out of it!
Amanda’s not adopted.
It would have to go through CPS like any other birth-child. This is a long, complex process that isn’t justified in the case of a schoolyard brawl.
I feel like Famout is talking about DEATH, not CPS.
Except Guru responded to Khyrin, not Famout….
I would hope that Andi deciding “No, I DO want Amanda.” after eight years doesn’t get her out of exactly as much scrutiny that Todd is under from adopting Selkie from a CPS standpoint.
You /really/ haven’t dealt with the american version of CPS much, then. Underfunded, overworked, and with more bad apples than good ones.
Once a kid is adopted, having custody removed is about as difficult as it is for birth parents. I can’t imagine Amanda being removed from this even if she was a foster child, though. She hasn’t done anything much different than she probably already had done in the children’s home.
shes not wrong but When Headbutting someone one Remember Nobody wins that. YOU get hurt just as much as the other guy.
Joecrouse: Indeed, and that is a price Mandy is More than willing to pay. Hard headed is that one!
Wizard Tehk: uses a chemical attack, and Sonic-Stun. Fail he does.
Tyro Wizard Amanda uses a mace to the head. It’s super effective and disrupts both attacks from Teck. Amanda get bonus poiints for winning And for defeating the Big Snark.
I’m glad we skipped to the aftermath because this update makes me laugh. I know, I know, fighting isn’t good and I’m sure this will have all kinds of repercussions…but I love how Tehk is more curious about Amanda’s headbutt technique than anything else and that Amanda is apparently familiar with certain gaming techniques!
Yup. These two are gonna be good friends. Eventually.
Um… don’t tell me the adults just left two kids who’d just been fighting in the same room without supervision. Really hope there’s an adult still in the room.
Eh, next door is fine. Kids don’t fight quietly.
Bench in the hall outside the office? Kids are clearly not still going at it? Pretty standard behavior. Also possible they are IN the office and there is a secretary or aide or something at their desk while the Principal goes in to her office to call the parents.
When I got in a fight at high school the assistant who dragged us both to the nun-principal did exactly that. After hissing at both of us “You were roughhousing, and it got out of hand!,” of course. Gave us enough time to get our stories — well, it gave ME enough time, and while the other kid wasn’t as smart as me he *did* know he wasn’t as smart as me. And he was smart enough to just nod along and not screw things up*. Better three days’ detention than a week’s suspension, which was the going rate for a parochial high school fight back then.
*It never even occurred to me to take advantage of the situation, thankfully. I despised him and he despised me, but we both knew that you didn’t just throw a guy to the battleaxes. It wasn’t any of their business, anyway. This was a private affair that was simply scheduled poorly.
Oh, adults do that all the time.
I just hope the only effects his venom has on her is the little burn marks. It would be very bad if she got really sick from it. 🙁
Oh, Jesus.
Tehk spat venom on Amanda, I just realized what the red spots all over Amanda are.
Who among us thought Agent Then was full of shit? Show of hands?
According to Trunchypoo, I think Then is in a bit of trouble at this point.
Yeah, I had to “logic” that one out, though Dave did show it very well on second reading,… Dunno why it took me so long the first time. I’m blaming the coffee.
Wished the flashbacks had a different color for the backgrounds, but gosh it made me laugh, that was like 110% Amanda winnng with a technical knock-back. Head-butt for the win!
Dave does the same thing Dan Shive does for El Goonish Shive, the flashbacks are in rounded rectangles. I guess I’m used to it.
I guess I was just too focused on the text, but you are right, the boxes have rounded corners. I’ll have to watch for that in the furture.
Things I noticed: Tehk didn’t bite, which was the training Then was talking about, on his part, but he responded instinctively to a surprise attack with sound and spitting venom. Amanda didn’t punch, which was strategy on her part, but she had her eyes instinctively scrinched shut, which is why none of the venom got in her eyes. And…
Afterwards, in the last panel, Tehk seems to be rather impressed with Amanda, somewhat flattered by being called a wizard.
Yeah, these two are going to be friends. And Tehk has a whole world of video games to discover!
I could really see it. They both lost their parents. While Amanda got hers back she never got to grow up with them. While Tehk gets raised by an uncle and aunt who (we assume) love him and probably knew him growing up, he’ll never see his parents. These two both work out their feelings of fear, sadness, and hurt with aggression. Yes, they have a lot they can share and grow close with.
You mention that she did not punch, which was strategy. Don’t really understand that. And you say that he did not bite, which was training.
I wonder which one clawed first? Clawing is generally considered a female weapon, but Amanda seems to prefer to punch. And if he has been trained not to bite, logic says he is also been trained not to claw. His face, her arm.
I’m not convinced Tehk DID claw…Sure I’ll admit he might have, there is Amanda’s arm looking to have a bit of blood on it to consider, but I just think there’s insufficient evidence just yet to support it.
if youve never been in a fight sometimes Drool happens sometimes its a deliberate bite. Remember humans are primates and primates WILL bite. FISH/merfolk are fish. and fish WILL BITE (I have a bite on my arm from a god damn cichlid that took exception to my moving her babies this weekend)
It’s not so much direct intentional spitting, as it is spittle flying as a result of the screeching. Think of it as collateral damage.
The venomous saliva thing was established very early on when Selkie kissed Todd on the cheek and he had an immediate reaction.
https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie135/
What’s the point of spitting venom underwater?
I asume they spit it more as a projectile, Tekh’s here seems more like drooling/screaming.
Probably less spitting, more an added bonus to biting (I mean, we’ve seen those chompers). Depending on situation, it could also act (if the right muscles are there) like a squids ink: less a direct attack, more a distraction for escape/actual attack to come in.
They’re also clearly amphibious, so it might be an adaptation of an underwater trait for land-safety.
He’s not intentionally spitting, it’s spittle flying as a result of the screeching. Underwater it’s not a concern, since spittle/venom wouldn’t fling out like it does in the air.
That said, and WOG it is, but I was under the impression that their saliva had neuro-toxin properties, from earlier strips. To slow down their prey. Is that not cannon, shoot me if it isn’t canon.
I can’t put a finger on it, but there is something very Indiana Jonesish about Amanda in the fight scene. She would make quite a cool action adventurer when she gets older.
Although the spittle venom is probably most effective when biting, it would still potentially be at least slightly discouraging to predators if you had a reflex to spit when startled if you don’t have the right angle to bite. It wouldn’t be a handicap to spit when something suddenly lunges at your face. If it’s another Sarnothi being thrown at you involuntarily by an eel-tail you won’t do them any harm.
Actually, they would. Dave pointed out that their salvia can affect other Sarnothi: https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie1088/
Tehk may be a wee bit of a jerk but he is honourable when it comes to physical combat. “Disobeyings direct order in three, two…” shows much more social adaptability than some of the kids on the bench in the principal’s office that I’ve seen who go from glaring towards the secretary’s desk to flinging themself at their opponent without looking at them first, presumable because a surge of white hot rage has suddenly impelled them to whirl around and attack. Kids that do that have remarkably fast reflexes and no self control. Tehk however was essentially doing emotional labour, checking in to see how mad Amanda was in a collaborative way.
She fought well, and cleverly. Assuming that nobody ends up in the hospital, some very valuable lessons have been learned all around. Like: Why You Do Not Fight The Fish-Men. And: Why You Do Not Fight The Naked Apes. Because everybody going to that school was paying attention.
*cringes* A headbutt is a fast way to a concussion – often for BOTH parties if done wrong.
I’m kind of “hand-waving” the risk of a concussion for the purposes of smoother narrative. Like when you watch an action movie and people fall twenty feet onto the top of a car then just shrug it off climb out and go buy a croissant.
Makes sense. 🙂 I have just read too many Jack Reacher novels where it comes up…
Concussion is always a risk — on the other hand, I’ve fallen out of a small tree, that was on a slight hill, down to whack the back of my head on the sidewalk — and nada. Depends on momentum, too.
Nothing to rely on in real life, but not out of the question for them to just have bruises.
“Atleast that makes sense” glad to hear that he’s not overly self righteous like other people, Niel Mcbeal the fascist seal is a good example.
It’s weird that he’s all high and mighty and yet stuff like headbutts are knew to him.
Headbutting is probably pretty tough to do effectively in water. He’s not used to how we fight on land.
Which I think was —Brilliant— on Dave’s part. The very second thought I had -seeing the comic- was, “Well, he wouldn’t know about that.” Water is too thick.
Here’s another thing that I just noticed, Panel 1 and 2 show Amanda with cuts are her arms. I’d wager that Tehk took a swipe at her with his claws.
Yup, although looking at his cheek she certainly got him back.
I did not notice that that was a flashback on the first readthru. It read as the fight restarting there.
You’re not alone in that. Maybe I should revisit those panels, I thought the blue background compared to brown i the others would be sufficient to make them seperate. >_>
I think a tint over the panels would be helpful to indicate a flashback for me. I was also momentarily confused on my first reading of the comic.
A tint would definitely help. Backgrounds do change for various reasons, including emotions, so they’re not the most reliable indicators, especially when the characters are roughly in the same physical proximity to each other.
In the past, you, Dave, have used a red scratchy background to indicate high drama-llama behavior from Mandy. I looked for it, but did not equate the blue with flashbacks. A. It was solid. And B. It was a background, not an overlay. I am used to a light blue (screen? Layer?) used to indicate flashbacks.
I gotta hand it to Amanda, that venom irritation isn’t even making her flinch. Neither is that nasty gash on her arm, although I’d still recommend an ER visit for it.
Hopefully Tehk learned a valuable lesson about not rekindling a fight when the other person has already tried to apologize and defuse the situation.
Thank goodness none of that got in Amanda’s eyes. DX I’d hate to think what would’ve happened if it did.
Dammit Amanda! The idea is to hit your opponent’s soft parts with your hard parts!
This leads us to some bad news about the Sarnothi’s non-protruding “nose”.
Did I miss sarnothi having blue blood? That’s pretty significant, sets em apart from all vertebrates..
We’ve seen it when Todd’s cat bit Selkie I think.
I appreciate that, so far, this incident is being treated as two kids getting rowdy instead of an international crisis.
Trying to recall- was it Chapterhouse Dune? “We Honored Matres have a defence against the Voice. It is a reflex. We kill.”
Clearly there’s a defence against the Sarnothi scream. It is the Glasgow kiss!
actually, it kinda depends on your impact zone vs thiers.
Shouldn’t they be in the nurse’s office? Especially Amanda for her arm.
I spoke too soon.
And that’s how your mom and dad fell in love.