Just a heads up, I am switching to overnight shifts at work starting middle of next week. I don’t forsee any alterations to the comic’s schedule, but wanted to say something just in case a transitionary hiccup occurs.
Speaking Selkie's slurred-speech aloud is kind of wrongly fun.
Heh, I can honestly say that I would have acted just like Selkie here. Utterly sick (or in my case, injured) after a fight with kids? Who cares about that, I WON!
At least she’s proud of herself 😀
Well, at least Selkie’s having a good time?
it’s like she a drunk after getting in a fight gitty as hell
A deeply satisfying post… I fear that along with the battle cry, “Tutu Mart in the face!” I have acquired yet another new expression… “Glee hee hee hee!!”
I have strong sympathies with Jessie at this point. When was she supposed to tell Mina that Selkie is the offspring of a Water-Dragon? She got sent straight to the nurse’s room and Mina was on the phone the whole time? Not to mention that it is not surprising she is a trifle out of breath. I expect to see her turn Selkie coloured a few seconds after they get to the school sanitorium.
I’d be willing to bet that Jessie has a pretty good adrenaline rush going right now, which, once the crisis is over and Selkie’s fine again, will dissipate as quickly as it came.
Speaking of schedule, the top of the page indicates MTh updates, but checking dates for the last couple of weeks of updates, it looks like you’ve been updating MWF instead. Perhaps you could update that.
Oh man, good catch. Done!
huzzah for more comments!
Forget blankets. If there’s a shower or bathtub on premise it’s a much faster way to warm someone up. And since Selkie has gills the heat will be in immediate contact with her bloodstream.
Unlikely they’d go that route. If there’s a shower in the nurse’s office maybe but anything else would leave the person helping to support Selkie (who doesn’t appear able to stand right now) open to accusations of misconduct at the least unless they left her fully dressed which wouldn’t really go a long way to helping her anyhow.
It’s possible they already have a portable heater or a spot next to one for Selkie to keep warm during the cold seasons. Just take off the top layer, that’s likely already soaked from snow melt, and settle her down.
I’m more concerned about repercussions coming her way. It may have been only an accident, but I don’t see her being allowed to go outside in the cold ever again. Its for her own good, but as a kid, that will suck. Also, she’s probably gonna get in trouble as well for the fight. At least in my personal experience, it doesn’t matter who started it or how much the other deserved it, she’s likely going to get suspended just for hitting back. At least, that’s how it was in my school.
Why would it be unlikely? This is a matter of life and death. Hot water is the fastest way to warm up someone with hypothermia.
There are plenty of ways to apply it. Hot soaked towels. Hot water in the mouth since she breathes that way under water. Hot soaking towels directly on the gills. Or just take off everything but the innermost layer of clothes and put her in a hot shower. Hell, take her to the cafeteria, fill one of those big institutional sinks with hot water and toss her in.
NO! No No No and NEVER! You do NOT use hot or even warm water to bring a core temp up! You can cause damage that way. They are doing the right thing at the moment (although they should have removed the snow soaked clothing first). Keep her wrapped, and as she’s in need of external heat, the electric blanket set on a low setting to start with. Gradually bring the temp up.
That advice goes for IRL as well people. Never apply hot/warm water to frozen flesh (especially if frostbite has set in). Even cold water is going to feel warm. TBH, stipping the victim down to underwere and wraping them in a blanket is the best thing you can do. Never apply direct heat. And seek trained medical attention.
It’s an electric blanket – you can see the trailing cord on it. Todd knew what to supply her with.
Again, it’s not as fast and efficient. Anyone who has taken a first aid course would know this.
Yeah, that’s about how I talk when I’ve been out in the cold too long (I’m very thin and lose head quickly).
*heat
I just thought of a quote:
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
It fits not only Selkie’s win but also Dave’s move to the overnight shift. Dude! I call thee brother for verily I have worked the graveyard these past 28 years.
Are those Sue and Kathryn boots??
I think so — https://selkiecomic.com/selkie69/
I hopes he supports her. There’s a fine line between encouraging self defense and encouraging aggressiveness, but it’s definitely better to try than to teach her to just lay down and take whatever people throw at her.
In my opinion, as a kid who did just take it for way too long.
Modern “zero tolerance” policies dictate she would be punished for fighting just like the bully. “Zero tolerance” in this case translates to “zero sense”.
When I snapped, the school I went with tried actually protecting the bully and punish just me seeing me as the aggressor until they found out about the years of bullying the entire school system let go on under their nose and they would be opening themselves to a lawsuit. Then they just threw up their hands and didn’t punish either of us. Take that for what you will.
As for fighting, me and my friends off school grounds used to brawl because there was nothing else to do. Got black eyes, gouges, cuts and the like, and each time it was just like Selkie but easier to understand.
Yeah, my 2nd grade teacher decided that she didn’t care enough to do anything about the bullying right in front of her, so when I finally did end up defending myself and had to go up in front of the principle, my mom went in and… persuade the principle to see reason.
He relented in the face of superior firepower.
It looks like she’ll be okay sooner rather than later. She’s alert, more coherent, moving around a bit, and it looks like her colour is starting to improve.
Jessie, on the other hand, is probably about to have a very bad day. She’s low on the totem pole, a new hire, and has been involved with a lot of the trouble involving Selkie so far. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the school uses her as a scapegoat for the overall bullying and supervision problem.
Selkie is so adorable. XD
So . . . I found this yesterday, and I’ve just read through all the archived pages.
Thank you, Dave! You’ve got a really compelling stroy with likeable characters growing here. It’s fantastic, and considering my wife and I are looking like we’ll need to adopt to get our family started, your comic here is really hitting home.
Thank you. And good luck adopting! 😀
Once upon a time, I had thought about adoption. My fiance was against it though, so we decided against the whole thing. Still though, I really like this comic and the whole theme of adoption.
Even though it’s harder to translate what shes saying now…
I can COMPLETELY tell she’s gloating