I retconned the outdoor scenes of this arc to include piled snow. I left the snow out originally to suggest today was a warmer day than the snowball fight blizzard, but after discussing it with some readers I felt like having all the snow completely disappear in a day seemed a bit silly. I mean, it is still a Wisconsin winter, after all.
I love that cloud brush. I also love drawing Giselle. Maybe cloud-brush Giselle?
I would, seriously, have to get a lawyer involved.
Lemme see now. Someone attacks my child. She ends up having to go to the hospital. The attacker gets suspended for the attack but she ALSO gets suspended for defending herself. And then the attacker’s suspension is lifted.
The assaulter. The criminal. The attempted-murderer gets NO punishment, while the victim is punished, because the Principal of the school is afraid of the attacker’s parents.
Yeah. Definitely have to sue. Sue the principal personally. Then sue the School Board for having such a moron in charge of the school.
And have Truck arrested.
Truck is also 8.
And your point?
At what age do you quit saying, “He’s only a child” and start punishing him? If parents do not discipline their children, it is up to society to. If you search the web you can find stories about “children” under the age of ten committing robberies, committing assaults, committing rapes, committing murders.
Should they let this criminals off because “they are only eight”? The victims are still robbed/assaulted/raped/murdered.
Truck’s a thug. You don’t pat thugs on the head and say, “Mommy’s little Tommy shouldn’t do things like that. It upsets Mommy”. Or more likely, “I know Mommy’s little snookums wouldn’t do what that evil Principal said. We know Mommy’s little baby is a GOOD BOY, and we won’t let anyone hurt him”.
What would he learn from that? That he could do whatever he wanted, and get away with it. But he already knows that. His parents yelled and screamed at the Principal and got him out of trouble. Like they’ve done all his life.
So, this time he’s eight, and his victim is in the hospital. How about next year, when he kills someone. “He’s only nine”. Gonna have him arrested then?
^Implying I ever said he should be let off completely.
I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have been suspended, but your tirade against him makes it sound like he deserves the death penalty. A suspension would have been fine, and it sucks that the principal caved, but you can’t send an eight year old to jail under that basis. I can’t tell you exactly the point at which age stops being relevant, but it certainly isn’t at 8 or 9. Children that young simply don’t have the same mental faculties that adults do. Not until early teens at best do they REALLY start to understand the consequences of their actions.
Also, what the hell do you want to sue the parents for? Defending their child? They’ve broken absolutely 0 laws, and are accountable for nothing other than being shitty human beings, which, last I checked, is not illegal.
And, excuse me, but attempted murder? Now you’re just blowing things completely out of proportion. As a victim of bullying myself, I can assure you there was no intention to end Selkie’s life.
If shitty humans were illegal, we’d have to hollow out the moon and use it as a prison.
And I agree, he wasn’t trying to kill her. Anyone else would have been fine, it’s just Selkie’s biology. And he won’t get away with it forever, and he’s unlikely to become a murderer. Alpo needs to calm down. it’s unfair, but Truck’s hardly doomed to a life of crime and evil.
As for responsibility – depends where you are, but the age of criminal responsibility ranges from 6 to 18, but most are ten or over. I guess it’s a subjective thing. I’d probably go with ten, ten year olds should know consequences by then.
It depends upon the state, but there is a specific age where the offender is considered too young to be brought on charges, though the parents can still be liable. For Wisconsin, last time I checked, that age is 10
I second all of this. May I provide you with the law services of Willbury Nibble, Queen’s Counsel and fierce defender of non-human sentient beings?
I remember a similar thing happened to me in school, only I didn’t defend myself like Selkie did. I got suspended, my attacker didn’t get punished.
I would wholeheartedly agree with this. The only problem is Todd doesn’t know about it. He figures the “no tolerance” policy, while unfair, is acceptable. However if he found out that Truck got off, I think he would take matters into his own hands. I would go public. And you can bet that any principal who bent the “no tolerance” rules for something like that would be immediately removed from their post once news got out.
At this point, the gloves would come off. I wouldn’t give a damn of little boy Trunchbull, his son, or his idiot wife’s position in the public eye. It would be time for world war 4, the likes that the Hatfields and McCoys would sit back, take notice and approve. Then again, I am related to the Hatfields.
An 8 year old nearly killing someone, then getting an apology action for a slap on the wrist. This is how you get 80s comedy jock antagonists. There would be a reckoning, oh yes there would.
I don’t know what grade they are in, but even in 5th grade, we didn’t have the “ew gross girls” mentality.
Third grade.
Selkie isn’t exactly typical girl material though..
Damn. Why did I have a feeling that Truck’s parents were going to whine and bitch and kick and scream at the principal till they had their way? Set an example for your already messed up kid, you morons!
Also, I will probably imagine Georgie’s voice like Chowder’s from now on. XD
Now I REALy want to see Agent Brown go to town on him. I think it would be hilarious if they had a CIA interogater go to work on a 3rd grader
YES PLEASE
Not only would that be ten levels of awesome, but it would be about time that someone straightened out not only Truck, but his waste of space parents. Clearly they never got properly reprimanded growing up, and that’s why they’re such worthless adults.
Seriously, i hope the trunchbulls get blackbaged.
…a reference to the movie ‘V for Vendetta’?
not specificily, but that is a good example.
So… they thought it was just a snowball fight all along? No wonder they feel cheated in this whole thing. I mean, sure they were still kinda pickin’ on the other kids given their taunts, but if they thought it was just a snowball fight all along then I can at least have some smypathy for them thinking they were unjustly punished.
Yeah, the other kids get off scott free in this situation I think. They don’t have all the information, and what information they do have, they’re acting as anyone else would in their place. Of course they’re wrong for escalating things, but none of them have tried to commit murder, unlike some worthless turd that should be sitting in a padded room next to a guy counting daisies on the wall for a scared straight program.
You can’t really blame him for not knowing that Selkie was cold blooded. Most people probably assume there is some common ground in the word “people” because if you’re a “person” you are “human.” That’s the mentality.
I don’t know about you, but I saw no intent to end a life.
The hallmark of a true victimiser: Blame the victim.
I agree that the other kids didn’t do anything wrong, but Truck has serious anger management issues. I don’t think he’s mature enough to be “scared straight”, but he does need discipline and coping skills for when he gets that upset
Well done, Dave! I love Selkie (the character) but this is one of the few comics I read that invokes strong emotions when I read it.
Right now I’m really pi- *ahem* peeved off.
For clarification, I love the comic itself and the other characters (most of them) too. But I adore Selkie as a person.
Oooooohhhhhh. Yeah, I could spit nails. I just want to slap the ever loving day lights outta that boy and his parents.
That. Is. Not. Fair. You. Do. Not. Do. That. You. Can. Not. Do. That. Your. Dad. Insulted. Selkie. You. Jackass. He. Called. Her. Stupid. And. Weak. Just. Because. She. Has. Fangs. And. Poison. Saliva. Does. Not. Mean. Her. Attack. Should. Be. Treated. Any. Differently. Than. A. Human. Kid. Charging. At. Your. Dad. GrrrrRAHH! *spits poison at Truck, then turns into Cuchulhain and beats the tar our of him, then finds his parents*
The principal only heard the Trunchbull’s side of the story. At this point he’s not likely to listen to the Smith’s side. Apparently the Trunchbulls have a lot of pull in this district. Even money Selkie never comes back to this school–whether she wants to or not.
Wow. You can turn into Cuchulhain?? Thank Disney’s “Gargoyles” that I know who that is;)
Also, doesn’t anyone else recall in the strip where Todd meets Selkie’s attacker’s parents? They clearly say that Tommy had better not have attacked anyone. I personally believe they punish quite severely, IF he’s ever proved in their eyes that he is guilty. IF…
Ohh yeah! That’s a good point. So really, the Trunchbulls aren’t that horrible as parents, they’re just an EXTREMELY partial jury.
I always thought she was his girlfriend…
Honestly? I think Im more annoyed with the principal than Truck/his parents about this one. I recall that someone (though I cannot remember who) weote a really well-reasoned comment back in the middle of the Todd-vs.-Trunchbulls episode that pointed out that the Trunchbulls haven’t done anything yet to really deserve enmity other than being stuck up. They’ve reacted like any parent would when they believe in their kid (or at least their kid’s behavior reflecting on them) in this scenario, especially after witnessing Selkie fly off the handle with inappropriate actions.
I suspect that after ganging up on the principal he simply didnt bother to stand his ground. Which is really, really disappointing, especially because there were adults he could appeal to who witness what happened (the gym teacher) or knew the characters of the kids involved (Mina).
The very least the principal could have done is enforce his no tolerance policy the reverse direction, if he honestly believed that Truck was reacting to a Selkie!aggro. Because it’s without a doubt that there was still a much bigger kid shaking a smaller kid against a wall after slamming her into it, which is Not something I expect a school with no tolerance to endorce–it’s hypocritical to choose to follow it with one person, but not another.
And if the school doesnt officially have a NT policy and just follows whatever the principal wants it to…well then.
Calling it now–Selkie’s getting expelled.
Let’s hope so. A principle with a history of buckling under pressure* would have a bad reputation, so all the other schools would probably welcome Selkie with open arms.
*Attempted murder or manslaughter is very rarely the first crime a punk commits. It’s something you graduate to. If Truck was seriously punished for his acts, no matter what the Trunchbulls try, he would probably not be allowed in public school. I would bet even money that he has a record as tall as I am that’s been swept under the rug by this pathetic excuse for a man that calls himself a principle.
Wish fulfillment fantasy: Selkie gets expelled, Todd sues, the Trunchbulls and/or the principal are required to pay a seven-figure settlement…
This is gonna backfire so horribly on the principal. When Agent Brown finds out about this, the principal will likely be LUCKY to still be able to get another job.
Two narrative threads here… they’re bound to collide, only question is how many complications will happen before they do. A number of things could go wrong along the way.
Eventually, though, Agent Brown is going to learn about the Trunchbulls. When — not if — that happens… they’ll get their comeuppance, they will. And we will all cheer!
Given that Prof. Trunchbull already knows about Selkie’s species, I’d say Agent Brown already knows about Prof. Trunchbull.
Whether he knows all the relevant information about Prof. Trunchbull is quite another issue, of course.
As someone who’s privy to secrets at a global scale, Prof. Trunchbull is extremely important. But I get the feeling that he may be overestimating that importance, and getting dangerously close to crossing the line into “too much hassle to be worth keeping”, especially since the fuss he’s making involves exonerating his own son for having directly harmed Selkie (who is, as I’ve previously pointed out, of extreme political relevance).
There are webcomics where Prof. Trunchbull would meet a brutal and bloody end. I’m 99% sure that Dave wouldn’t do that sort of thing here. On the other hand, the CIA is directly involved…
I’d happily settle for them being forced to apologize to Selkie and Todd in front of the principal and admit they were wrong. Given what we’ve seen of their temperaments, that would be worse than swallowing broken glass — but apologies only hurt if you’re the kind of [unpleasant person] who never apologizes, so it’d serve them right.
As for the spineless principal — I would like to see him humiliated. Fired, too, because he’s doing a rotten job of being a school principal, but I’m not going to hold my breath for that one.
I agree. While we’re all gnashing our teeth and baying for blood, it is likely that the results will be more about policy checks and appologies than people getting sued and fired.
(I’m kinda hoping that the old gym teacher will come out ok…)
There’s likely to be a bigger watch placed on Selkie at least… Hmm. Agent Brown’s policy of keeping distance may mean he won’t come to the school, but he regards Selkie’s illness as a major problem, we don’t know how far that will push him, or how far he’s allowed to go.
Fascinating. You are correct. Fan reactions aside, this is what we know:
* Dr. Trunchbull is in the know of Selkie’s species particulars, or perhaps even each of her species particulars (species being defined as a group that breeds and produces like offspring, where a group or race I would define as any populous that can interbreed. I forget which is the correct use of the term at present).
* Selkie’s species works in relation with humans at some level, either CIA or Alien/Aquatic Relations (no real proof that Selkie’s species is alien but I threw that in there anyway. They are certainly aquatic)
* Agent Brown appears to know everything we don’t, and nothing about what we the readers do know. And he appears to care very much about what happens to dear Selkie. Why? Unsure.
It is theorized that she is a plant, previously mentioned by a perceptive reader, that puts a child of a foreign race amongst the natives to help with integration/see if integration is possible.
I secondarily theorize that perhaps Dr. Trunchbull is in the know because he is a consult for whatever Agency Agent Brown works for. Well, this would make things complicated all around. Everyone is assuming that Dr. Trunchbull is on a level below Agent Brown where this might actually not be the case. They may be of equal hierarchical standing, or worse, Dr. Trunchbull is higher/knows Agent Brown’s superiors. Given that Agent Brown is in an office doing legwork and gives people his personal number for special occasions, I doubt he is the top dog/the one running the whole operation of “Let’s-Integrate-Guppies!”, if that is what it appears to be.
On top of that, I am sure that Agent Brown will do whatever he can for Selkie, and I sure as snow would love to see Dr. Trunchbull put in his place, I think we’ve been given enough of Dave’s work to give pause and not always be able to second-guess his plot twists.
I personally believe my theory, that Dr. Trunchbull is a scientist on staff or even in charge of certain aspects of “Let’s-Integrate-Guppies!” or whatever it is. Just because his expertise are needed doesn’t mean he has to like the result. Some of my favorite bad guys that I create are what I deem “pure scientists” whose morals are straight-out. What matters is the end result or the why of the problem. He could even hate Selkie’s people, but love studying/understanding them. Who knows! 🙂
Awww, craps.
Just had a horrid thought. What if Trunchbull is Agent Brown’s BOSS?
I. Will. Spit. Nails.
Poison nails.
Even if he’s agent Brown’s boss, he’d have to have a boss himself. And I can’t see him avoiding trouble when it gets out that a ‘guppy’ got sent to the hospital because of the actions of his son.
Ah. True. I hadn’t thought that all the way through. Still, I’d spit nails just for the lack of foresight that put someone with Trunchy’s attitude in the “save a guppy” program to begin with.
I’m going to reply to that reasonable and long post with an idea remarkably shorter. I do think your post is insightful and of the non-confirmed information, you’re probably right.
However, if Agent Brown is overseeing this project personally, even if he was the director of the entire org, he would give his phone number to the people assigned to oversee Selkie in the civilian world.
Just like a small business owner must spend a lot of personal time in his store dealing with business, even a director dealing personally with a project would invest himself in it heavily. Don’t count Brown out yet.
Yes. In that regard, I would consider the orphanage director a conscripted operative LOL. That is the purpose of her job. It is likely easier to use someone already in the position in the general public versus trying to plant an agent in the job first before carrying out the mission/operation/whatever.
Just imagine it now. Trunchbull decides to go after Selkie, so he goes to person after person to try and screw her over. And each time he’s denied because of Brown’s support network. It would be glorious.
I just don’t think Mister Trunchbull is all that powerful. He may know what Selkie is. Maybe he was called in as a consultant. We don’t know what he’s a professor of after all. Maybe when Selkie’s race first emerged to the government they needed to call him in to help them decide. Civilian contractors are all the rage you know. If that’s all he is, then he’s just a tiny fish with an over-inflated sense of self.
As most of us suspect, she’s part of a program to decide if her race can be successfully integrated with ours, then there’s a lot of people in the city that know of her and are watching out for her. Lillian for one. They will NOT just let her run loose without some guardian angels from the gov looking out for her. This cannot be allowed when so much is at stake. Trunchbull is just a cog of some sort, and one that’s starting to risk the mission.
i feel bad for the teacher and her assistant (lost the names). you know that miserable excuse for a principal is rewriting history for cya reasons, and if (when) they contradict him he’ll wreck their careers. i’m glad this isn’t gritty fiction. there’s a much better chance of the principal and the (senior) trunchbull scumbag will eventually get their comeuppance. btw, you can bet todd will find out about the unsuspension. you know that georgie will tell selkie and sooner or later she’ll complain to todd. i just hope that truck (who doesn’t belong in a public school) and his allies – since a budding sociopath is unlikely to have actual friends – don’t hurt one of the other kids.
Heh. I know what cya stands for. I initially read it as a typo for CIA, LOL. How funny that is.
Nothing like a man who proves himself a hipocrite. Considering that I plan on teaching, this principal would not be a man I would like to find myself working under. Also, considering that he fired the previous gym teacher, over what he considered a potential lawsuit, shows exactly what he believes to be more important. Never put public image before kids, otherwise you’ll always fail the kids when it comes to the help they deserve.
I think the fact that I want truck to be hit by a, well, truck,is a good indication I’m not ready for kids. Either that or I have some seriously deep rooted psychosis I need working out.
Your “seriously deep-rooted psychosis” is overattachment to the characters in your favorite webcomics. Trust me, I know; I have it too.
^5 Dave! Don’t know for sure just when it happened (or if I commented already – gettin’ old ya know). Selkie has broken the 100 barrier on TWC!!! Woooo hooo!!!
Raise your hand if this ever happened to your attacker. *raises hand*