Kids, even adults, lash out when they’re hurting. And this instance was picking at a scab and reopening the wound a bit. So yeah, he’s lashing out.
Depending on his character and upbringing, he’ll apologize later that day or tomorrow after some good talk with the legal guardian(s).
Me neither, a reluctant apology at best, and only after being scolded by said legal guardian(s) because he still behaved like a pr@#$ after he got ‘home’ from school and explained it.
To be fair, it’s likely that he’s coming from a place of deep (and very much unresolved) personal pain and trauma. Not that it makes it right, but 🤷♀️
Makes it realistic and relatable. Hence why Selkie didn’t go any further. Never mind HE got to have his parents. HE got to grow up with his culture and knowing what he was and not be fed things that made him sick or treated like a freak. But whatever. Salty jerk don’t want friends or be nice, that’s on him
Well, he’s right that their situations aren’t the same.
But you don’t go with the “It’s better to have loved and lost…” to someone that’s clearly still hurting from that loss.
Tehk is at least on the same side as Selkie when it comes to the Plo’quar is a hero/villain discussion.
Yeah. He also doesn’t know just how bad Selkie had it – he only met her after she was adopted, and Todd had the resources to get her shoes that didn’t hurt and they’d figured out what she could eat already, and the bullying had mostly stopped between Andi finding Amanda, the shirt incident, and the Truck incident. Even if he finds out about the ‘she was accidentally poisoned repeatedly because the humans didn’t know what to feed her’ issue or the bullying, he’s probably going to think of it as something that’s over and resolved because eight-year-old brains aren’t all that great at processing their own trauma, much less other people’s. He won’t internalize it the way I suspect he would if Selkie had still been at the orphanage and struggling when they met.
(Not to knock the orphanage. They clearly were trying, but with multiple kids to take care of they were at capacity for budgeting shoes and the like, and Selkie had to learn English on top of it all.)
I know he’s being a jerk but I just feel bad for him because he’s like eight and having to live the rest of his life without his family, who he clearly adored. Not sure how I’d be if that happened
And here we have a classic case of trauma issues running into each other. While I’m sure Selkie meant to let him know he’s not alone, what Tekh heard was almost certainly “well I had it worse, so stop complaining already.” And he lashed out because clearly the person he’s talking to didn’t get it. Trauma issues are complicated and a lot of adults aren’t equipped to handle them, let alone children.
He reminds me of myself when I was younger. I was being expected to handle a lot of stuff I was way too young to deal with, and I lashed out a lot. Partly because I wasn’t mature enough to know how to handle things. Partly because frankly having most of your day scheduled for you with almost no say in it is terrible for being able to cope.
And I got stigmatized a lot for it and treated like I didn’t deserve support if I got angry. I’m sorry for people I hurt, but I also recognize that a lot of times it resulted in me being treated as the problem even by adults who should have known better, without anyone taking the time to listen to me or give me any other way to handle things.
Tekh’s a child who’s responding childishly in a situation of high stress, not a miniature version of a perfect adult.
Here is what I’m thinking by the level of the reaction. Selkie has had time to heal from her trauma over years and Tekh’s is more of a fresh wound. In his mind here he is, a fresh orphan being taken care of by his aunt and uncle while his parents are victims of a brutal Civil War. A war that Selkie’s mother is technically a combatant in and might be a part of what killed his parents.
Here is the catch though. He doesn’t know if PloQuar is ever going to return or if she is even still alive. For all we know she could be a current Prisoner of War in line for execution. This just goes to show not only how good of a father Todd is but also how important it is to have both a good father AND a good mother in one’s life. While Andi isn’t Selkie’s adopted mother or stepmother I guarantee that she has had some influence on Selkie by now as well. We should all be so lucky. She has grown and I think whether Tekh knows it or not – he is gonna need someone like Selkie around to get him past what he is feeling.
For now though I think she should give him some space.
Eh… imagine if this Comic wasn’t called Selkie but called Tekh. And you had followed his backstory, then all the sudden there is this new girl who is a bit bratty and has all the cool stuff happening to her, and she then cries about how its just as hard for her.
I think you might have a “new” new hated character.
If I had to guess, I’d say something along the lines of “Everyone has heard rumors that Plo Quar had a daughter that she left with the humans for her safety about 5 years ago.” Suddenly there’s a Sarnothi girl who has grown up among humans most of her life, about the right age, from the right tribe… I can imagine a lot of the new Sarnothi meeting Selkie and making the connection.
Remember that Pohl and Scar have been working like mad to get housing established at the colony Todd and Selkie visited. If even a few of these kids have family living there, it’s not unrealistic to assume they’ve heard the stories about Plo Quar and Selkie. I know she mentioned something once to Keisha about her mom being a “big deal” in Sarnoth, but I can’t recall if Selkie ever told the Sarnothi kids who her mom was.
Oh so we BITTER bitter
Bitter, sour, and salty, all in one.
AITA for fixing someone’s electronic photoablum and seeing their family photo when I turned it on?
NTA
NTA
YTA
NTA.
Wow. I’m hurting for Selkie right now. I know he’s grieving, but this boy is being straight up cruel
Kids, even adults, lash out when they’re hurting. And this instance was picking at a scab and reopening the wound a bit. So yeah, he’s lashing out.
Depending on his character and upbringing, he’ll apologize later that day or tomorrow after some good talk with the legal guardian(s).
His character doesn’t give me much faith for an apology
Me neither, a reluctant apology at best, and only after being scolded by said legal guardian(s) because he still behaved like a pr@#$ after he got ‘home’ from school and explained it.
As Jonathan Decker said once on Cinema Therapy “hurting people hurt people.”
Hmmm… I can faintly perceive there’s a chance Amanda will go “avenging angel” on him for how he treated Selkie…
Or maybe I’m just being hopeful that Amanda cares enough about Selkie now to want to defend her from others.
…This kid is kind of a prick.
To be fair, it’s likely that he’s coming from a place of deep (and very much unresolved) personal pain and trauma. Not that it makes it right, but 🤷♀️
Makes it realistic and relatable. Hence why Selkie didn’t go any further. Never mind HE got to have his parents. HE got to grow up with his culture and knowing what he was and not be fed things that made him sick or treated like a freak. But whatever. Salty jerk don’t want friends or be nice, that’s on him
Well, he’s right that their situations aren’t the same.
But you don’t go with the “It’s better to have loved and lost…” to someone that’s clearly still hurting from that loss.
Tehk is at least on the same side as Selkie when it comes to the Plo’quar is a hero/villain discussion.
Yeah. He also doesn’t know just how bad Selkie had it – he only met her after she was adopted, and Todd had the resources to get her shoes that didn’t hurt and they’d figured out what she could eat already, and the bullying had mostly stopped between Andi finding Amanda, the shirt incident, and the Truck incident. Even if he finds out about the ‘she was accidentally poisoned repeatedly because the humans didn’t know what to feed her’ issue or the bullying, he’s probably going to think of it as something that’s over and resolved because eight-year-old brains aren’t all that great at processing their own trauma, much less other people’s. He won’t internalize it the way I suspect he would if Selkie had still been at the orphanage and struggling when they met.
(Not to knock the orphanage. They clearly were trying, but with multiple kids to take care of they were at capacity for budgeting shoes and the like, and Selkie had to learn English on top of it all.)
Rude little bugger, isn’t he? Tehk is tentatively on my shiz list right next to Amanda’s permanent slot lol
Selkie: *glowy eyes* “I can easily arrange for you to meet them again, you ungrateful worm!”
Her restraint in this circumstance points to a stunning degree of maturity.
Maybe not in this instance or this story… But I like that. A lot. I might have to find a place in my own stories to work that in.
I know he’s being a jerk but I just feel bad for him because he’s like eight and having to live the rest of his life without his family, who he clearly adored. Not sure how I’d be if that happened
And here we have a classic case of trauma issues running into each other. While I’m sure Selkie meant to let him know he’s not alone, what Tekh heard was almost certainly “well I had it worse, so stop complaining already.” And he lashed out because clearly the person he’s talking to didn’t get it. Trauma issues are complicated and a lot of adults aren’t equipped to handle them, let alone children.
He reminds me of myself when I was younger. I was being expected to handle a lot of stuff I was way too young to deal with, and I lashed out a lot. Partly because I wasn’t mature enough to know how to handle things. Partly because frankly having most of your day scheduled for you with almost no say in it is terrible for being able to cope.
And I got stigmatized a lot for it and treated like I didn’t deserve support if I got angry. I’m sorry for people I hurt, but I also recognize that a lot of times it resulted in me being treated as the problem even by adults who should have known better, without anyone taking the time to listen to me or give me any other way to handle things.
Tekh’s a child who’s responding childishly in a situation of high stress, not a miniature version of a perfect adult.
At that age, I would NOT have handled this as well as Selkie is handling it.
If that had been me listening to that, I’d have probably punched him out.
I had some pretty serious anger issues when I was a kid. No discernible reason for it, I had a good home life, I just had a short fuse.
Here is what I’m thinking by the level of the reaction. Selkie has had time to heal from her trauma over years and Tekh’s is more of a fresh wound. In his mind here he is, a fresh orphan being taken care of by his aunt and uncle while his parents are victims of a brutal Civil War. A war that Selkie’s mother is technically a combatant in and might be a part of what killed his parents.
Here is the catch though. He doesn’t know if PloQuar is ever going to return or if she is even still alive. For all we know she could be a current Prisoner of War in line for execution. This just goes to show not only how good of a father Todd is but also how important it is to have both a good father AND a good mother in one’s life. While Andi isn’t Selkie’s adopted mother or stepmother I guarantee that she has had some influence on Selkie by now as well. We should all be so lucky. She has grown and I think whether Tekh knows it or not – he is gonna need someone like Selkie around to get him past what he is feeling.
For now though I think she should give him some space.
This reminds me of a quote I heard a while back.
“You can be right, but wrong at the top of your voice.”
Their situations aren’t the same, and Tek is clearly still grieving, but his unjust anger is making it hard to sympathize with him.
Cool I got a new hated character.
Eh… imagine if this Comic wasn’t called Selkie but called Tekh. And you had followed his backstory, then all the sudden there is this new girl who is a bit bratty and has all the cool stuff happening to her, and she then cries about how its just as hard for her.
I think you might have a “new” new hated character.
Welcome to the club.
I don’t need what ifs.
Wait, so do the other Sarnothi know who Selkie’s mother is? How?
If I had to guess, I’d say something along the lines of “Everyone has heard rumors that Plo Quar had a daughter that she left with the humans for her safety about 5 years ago.” Suddenly there’s a Sarnothi girl who has grown up among humans most of her life, about the right age, from the right tribe… I can imagine a lot of the new Sarnothi meeting Selkie and making the connection.
Remember that Pohl and Scar have been working like mad to get housing established at the colony Todd and Selkie visited. If even a few of these kids have family living there, it’s not unrealistic to assume they’ve heard the stories about Plo Quar and Selkie. I know she mentioned something once to Keisha about her mom being a “big deal” in Sarnoth, but I can’t recall if Selkie ever told the Sarnothi kids who her mom was.
That was brutal. 🙁
Must … hug … Selkie …