If Panel 1 is unclear to you, just a reminder that Jessie is a mostly-out lesbian.
Apologies for the late comic. I received some very kind emails and Facebook/Twitter PMs expressing concern, and I want to make sure I tell everyone that I’m completely fine.
The reason for the comic being late is completely foolish, but it’s the unfortunate truth: I got really bad writer’s block last night.
The comic you see here is the result of some eleventh hour re-drawing editing and general rewriting to cut out some unnecessary fluff from the next few pages because I realized, rather deep into the current strip, that the next two pages (initially planned to be Selkie chasing Te Fahn to try and argue her side of things) really didn’t strictly need to happen since they were kind of over-communicating the tension between them.
Basically, I started redrawing this strip, working in some elements of the next pages to condense it (like Todd’s attempt at being supportive in Panel 4), then realized it was Four God Damn A M, and I opted to take a pre-work nap at that point.
So.. that’s my drama for the week. Hows you?
First comment! It is ok Dave and I really like this page actually. Writers block sucks like a moder model gernal š
I meant to say modern* sigh my fault for not having my glasses on.
I had first comment! What i typed was writers block sucks like a model of a modern general. There pff finally got my pirates of Penzance quote out! Dave i like this page though.
I have restored your First. Rejoice in it.
Thank you dave. š
That is a very fair reason for a late comic, honestly. (And I think this page works!)
Iām with you on Neti pots. Seriously. Frequent sinus infections, mom suggested it… REGRETS
MANY REGRETS
I really like how this page came out as well, story-wise. Especially the existential question Selkie asks. Got me right in the feels.
Yes.
The entire concept of a neti pot isnāt a home remedy, it is akin to self-waterboarding.
I nearly drowned once, and have absoltuely no deisre to replicate the experience.
I have NEVER talked to anyone who had a good experience with using a neti pot. And – fun fact – if you donāt basically sterilize them after each use, they can make you even sicker! *ugh*
They work for me. And you don’t need to sterilize them, just wash them with soap and water and rinse with the same water you’re going to use in it (filtered, boiled, or distilled). Unfiltered tap water may contain dissolved minerals that can be damaging to sinuses (but are fine to drink) but if the water is safe to drink it shouldn’t introduce harmful bacteria.
People who experience drowning sensations may be holding their head wrong. I am able to breathe through my mouth while using the neti pot. Though holding your head at the angle necessary to make this possible can be uncomfortable, especially when sinuses are blocked. The squeeze bottle versions might be easier in those cases; I’ve never used that type.
“if the water is safe to drink it shouldnāt introduce harmful bacteria”
REALLY dangerously false. There’s all kinds of things that are safe for your digestive system (a relatively hostile environment) that you absolutely do not want up in your sinuses where they can take root with relative ease, and in some cases use the cribriform plate to get easy access directly into the brain.
Always boil neti pots to clean them before use (“I cleaned it after I used it last time I was sick” doesn’t count). Always use properly sterile water (boiled or distilled). “Safe to drink” is absolutely NOT the same thing as safe to put up your nose. Improperly used neti pots can and do kill people.
The first and last time I ever used a neti pot, it felt like I was pouring acid on my brain. My mom uses one all the time (hayfever), and it seems to work for her, so… you do you, mom. I’ll stick to putting on a humidifier and suffering through my man-cold in (semi)silence.
When I use a neti pot, I use distilled water. That I boil and cool before use. And I make sure that after cleaning the neti pot before use, I dip it in boiling water to make sure it’s clean. Then pour the boiled distilled water into it to cool.
God I hope panel 1 is unclear to Todd, otherwise eesh.
Is she assuming Todd would punish her for her possible orientation or is she saying he shouldn’t punish Selkie as much as he intended to for stealing money from him because of her possible orientation? If it’s the latter, she needs to leave it alone because those two things aren’t related at all.
Unless she’s assuming Todd is going to punish her for the act of buying and sending someone flowers in general, because I mean yeah I guess? But he should punish her just as much as he intended to for stealing regardless of whatever orientation she may or may not be because that absolutely does not change the fact that she stole.
I belive it’s about makeing sure to adress the underline causes with care and undersatnding. Like Todd said she is *still* in trouble for spending money that was not her’s to spend but not for the motivations or the intent. It’s very easy to internalise a desire or motivation as wrong when you are punsihed for your methods without apropriate context.
Yeah, I think Andi wanted to make sure there wasn’t any “bleed through” that might cause Selkie to feel like she was being punished for her (presumed) orientation regardless of the actual intent of the punishment. She wants to make sure Tod makes sure those concepts are separated.
Kids can internalize bad stimulus in broad ways since they’re still learning the basics of how to process life and social stuff. Hence kids blaming themselves for their parents’ divorce despite that never being indicated to them, and other stuff like that. If Todd were to be even passively unclear about the punishment in the wrong way, it could accidentally transitively link guilt to the wrong stuff.
Looks like he’s handling it well.
That was my read, as well: make sure she understands precisely what she is and isn’t being punished for, so an already delicate situation doesn’t accidentally become psychological torture.
On the other hand, the quicker Selkie’s real reason for sending the flowers comes out, the more cleanly the whole situation can actually be resolved. The intended lesson of “it’s okay to love who you love” might mistakenly become “it’s okay to meddle in other people’s affairs.”
This is turning into another storyline so powerful it hurts to read it. I’m nowhere near 8 years old, and it’s still devastatingly heartbreaking when I try to do right and instead mess things up so much it turns people I like against me.
If writer’s block was just foolish, we wouldn’t have what we do of “Xanadu.”
All the time, Selkie. All the time. *hugs*
Dave, if this is what results from your writerās block – I WISH I had that kind of writerās block! When Iām blocked, I usually land up spending too much time online taking Buzzfeed quizzes, binge-watching forgettable tv shows, and sometimes drinking too much.
This one hit me right in the heart. Like Sarah above me, I have spent pretty much of my adult life thinking that maybe Iām not as smart as I thought I was, or as smart as I wanted to be, and that hurts. And the teacherās line: āThis could be bigger than it looks likeā hit me too.
Personal confession time: When I was about Selkieās age, I was obsessed with Ozma, the faery queen of Oz. (If you donāt know what Iām talking about, look up the āOzā series by L. Frank Baum – there are 14 books that were written by him and the first one – āThe Wizard of Ozā – is VERY different than the famous movie.) I drew her over and over in art class, even when I was told to draw something else. IIRC, during a parent-teacher meeting, my art teacher told my mom that I wasnāt following the assignments she was giving me. To my momās eternal credit, she didnāt get mad at me, but told me that I needed to listen to my art teacher while in her class but that I could draw Ozma as much as I wanted outside of class.
That was bigger than it looked like. I am a Queer woman (specifically, I am pansexual), something I didnāt fully realize until I was in my 20s about a decade ago. I was too young to totally get my fascination with Ozma, but I kind of wanted to be her, and have her as my friend, and be her girlfriend (as much as my 8- or 9-year-old self could understand that) at the same time. My mom is *super* supportive of my identity, but I would have liked to have had a teacher (although she was a great art teacher otherwise) who didnāt focus on me not following the assignments but rather someone who realized there was more going on than was obvious on the surface.
Everyday Selkie.
Everyday.
I would never mess with a Neti pot. If it’s not cleaned properly, it can actually become a place where those flesh eating amoeba can thrive.
Also the comic reads fine.
Oh I feel like that all the time.