This comic was half an hour late because World of Warcraft is evil.
(I’ll give you a hint to what I’ve been playing: Pyroblast is the best deal anywhere!)
I’ve been thinking a lot about the order in which the next few arcs should happen, and while I have already made my decision, I am also curious which option the readers would choose if asked.
So (with the understanding that I’ve already made a decision and this is a question from my own curiosity, and NOT a “reader’s choice” pohl), if asked would you rather go back to the school situation next, or do the visit with the De’Madieas next?
(If you want to see what my decision was, I will leave it as a comment so people can make a choice without being influenced by seeing what my final decision was.)
Only a few more pages in this arc, then the next one is the De’Madiea visit. After that, back to the school.
All things considered I’d like to see the De’Madiea visit first anyhow. You just CAN’T leave us hanging when we finally get to learn something about Selkie’s origins. Although I would also like to eventually see some comeuppance for Principal Hobbit and the parents of darling Truckenstein.
Tsk. Haven’t you noticed yet? Whenever we get a character that we seem to have reason to absolutely hate, we end up getting new information that makes them seem not so bad after all. Andi, Keisha, Heather, Amanda, Agent Brown, and perhaps others that I’m not coming up with yet. Principal Whatsisname and his secretarial sidekick are the only school employees who know that Selkie isn’t human — I have a hunch that his actions might turn out to make sense after all!
This is true. Given the overall intent to keep Selkie’s origins “low profile” it might make sense for him to just get her out of the picture until all the carnage subsides. She is “technically” being punished, but, as we’ve seen, I can believe she’s not really missing much. By the time she comes back, her presence will be a “meh, whatever” to everyone but Amanda.
Webcomic time happens, my friend. Patience! I’m sure Dave will save us from cliffhanging… soon…
Also… fire mage, eh? Good times. 🙂
LOVE that face in the second to last panel :3 I’m glad you are doing the De’Madiea visit next, I’m eager to learn more.
The comic IS called Selkie, I’d say best to she what she’s doing rather than the other minor characters. I am SO excited for Selkie to meet other sarnothi but kind of dreading this explanation, tumultuous feelings eee!
Thoughts:
It would definitely be unsatisfying if there were an entire school arc between this and the following-up-on-the-telephone-number arc. Moreover, it wouldn’t make sense for the telephone call (visit) not to be handled soon (within the week) before she goes back to school, though a few days of cold recuperation first would be reasonable. That also gives the added bonus of the doctor being able to confirm that she’s getting better.
That said, this would be good timing for a (not arc length) brief cut away to see how other children(/families/teachers–and I second the glee about imagining the Agent coming down on the principal’s head like a ton of bricks (preferably while Selkie’s not there every day), though some discretion would probably be necessary) are doing. This has been a very satisfying ‘Now we’re getting somewhere!’ sequence of events. Lots of clues /plus/ impending backstory exposition. Putting off the exposition for too long would be frustrating, but launching right into it might be a little too soon.
…Hmm. This is a flippant/frivolous/(not entirely serious) thought, but it occurs to me that it would be very amusing to have one strip showing an angry-looking Agent Brown showing up in front of the principal, requesting a conversation with him, while ‘dum dum DUM!’ lightning crashes in the background. The last panel would be showing Selkie’s family as the start of the visit arc, and after the visit arc the conversation could be flashbacked to as the beginning of the school arc…
I can understand/imagine that it would be hard to show parts from elsewhere without directly connecting to a lot more related events. Reading the ‘a few more pages in this arc’ decision, in any case hoping that there happen to be some less-weighty parts in there for balance. (Not that I prefer one type over another, but a mixture is ideal. Then again, this mindset may be influenced by all the sleep I haven’t been getting and plan to get this weekend. In any case, thank you for creating this fiction!)
Ooh, yes. I second this wholeheartedly. And wholekidneyedley.
I concur with this suggested timeline.
De’Madieas. Right now, the kids are skid marks to me. This family is all kinds of interesting. In just a few pages, I am seriously invested in their lives.
I am always interested in the world comics tend to create, so if I had to choose, I’d go with Pohl and learning more about the Sarnothi. Still, what originally drew me in to the comic was the potential cuteness/hilarity/drama that would inevitably ensue after Selkie’s adoption, so as long as we get to see how the school situation gets resolved eventually, I’ll be happy.
Then again, if I was the one making the comic, the big reveal of her people, original family, and her part in it would have been something I would have added at, or near, the end of the comic. It would have been a sort of rite of passage into adulthood, giving closure to her past and preparing her for the future.
Of course, I’m also a sucker for sappy-happy endings, and I’m in absolutely NO hurry to see this comic end 😀
Quick thing that’s bothering me: Selkie’s 8, she really shouldn’t be in the front seat. I never thought about it until grandma was in the back, but she is too small to be in the front with airbags.
Oooooh, good point.
Indeed. Actually, here in Germany it´s actually punishable by a fine (though not an excessively high one) to have a kid under 12 ride in the front seat.
They could have the airbag turned off in the front. Some cars actually do that. State laws vary about having kids in the front, too.
In some states, it’s also by weight and height. I rode in the front seat starting from age 5, but I was also about the height and weight of an average 10 year old by then (5’6 adult height – in my family we reach adult heights by 12-14, so tall kids, not so tall adults).
My parents let me ride in the front, but then again, it was in Puerto Rico, so either laws aren’t as stringent there or no one cared. My guess its the latter.
Got curious and did some fast googling. According to http://www.chw.org (Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin) the law only specifies that “If there is a back seat, children 4 and younger need to be restrained appropriately in the back seat.” So legally Selkie can be in the front seat.
Although airbags and safety are still a thing. XD
Many newer cars (including mine) have a “weight sensor” on the front passenger seat, which turns off the airbag if it doesn’t sense enough weight… So she should be ok. 🙂
called it… Jin’Sorai, nearly extinct clan… check.
Can’t say I’m happy about having called it, though 🙁
Oh forget the school, forget the De’Madiea visit, we want to know how you did in World of Warcraft! 😉
Yeah right. :p
This website is now screencaps and Comic Sans.
I love that you used the sneezing bit XD
Oh Gramma Mari you so impish
Since we already know you’re OK with considering small retcons, I thought I would suggest that “This is going to SUCK!” could be replaced with the direct translation of an idiom that sounds more Sarnothish. I can imagine her saying something related to cold, or saltwater, or an unpleasant-tasting fish… Even something obscure enough that it requires a footnote to explain the idiom.
Nah, I’d think leave Suck in as an idiom. There are many many many predatory fish that eat their prey not by grabbing with teeth, but by rapidly sucking in water and the fish. Water goes past the gills, fish goes down the gullet. So, it’s probably the equivelent of us saying something “Bites”.
Yep. This is going to suck lampreys.
And while I commiserate with the De’Madeias, I also breathe a sigh of relief that the Jin’Sorai were on the receiving end. Granted, it’s sad that they’re all dead (sorry. Mostly dead. Someone get Miracle Max!), but it would have been, in my opinion, even more heartbreaking for Selkie to discover she was from a clan of genocidal warriors.
Edit: Dave, you better not pull a plot twist and have the Jin’Sorai have deserved it.
BA-DUM TSSSSSSSSSSS
Back to school?
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
It might have been good for dramatic tension to make us wait for the next story arc, or maybe combine the two of those arcs, but none of us is going to complain.
There’s dramatic tension, and there’s “Why have we not seen Todd or Selkie in two years, Dave!!”
True. Plus, remember that about 80% of all comics and anime take place in a school. What makes your comic unique and interesting is NOT the school setting. So I formally request that you not spend an extensive amount of time there.
Ya know, I never thought about that. Is that mostly an Anime thing or Western thing as well?
Are they…political refugees?
CLANS! Oh, this is horrible. The Sarnothi are tribal?
I remember Kate Beaton writing that she was part Campbell and part MacDonald, and so honour-bound to first kill herself then avenge herself…
Being Scottish, I can tell you you’re not far off.
Nothing wrong with clans, as long as everyone doesn’t try to kill each other. Don’t have to like. Just don’t kill outright. I developed a race of people whose race was divided into family clans and they’re all very proud of their clan of origin but it is a required practice to send any young ones to a different clan to learn outside of their home clan and to help limit any aggression and hatred. It works, for the most part. Ah, fun times;)
It was a tradition amongst the Celts to foster children at some remove for diplomatic reasons (and genetic variety). Must’ve had some advantages, but we still weren’t united when the Romans came…
*sad look on her face as she says…*
Well, whoever bet on #2 “last surviving member”… everybody else pay up.
Really depressing. It also doesn’t help that I just read “My Brother Sam is Dead” – anyone else remember that? I re-read it like the idiot I am – and it was a sobering reminder that there are really no winners in war.
But hey, that just makes our little Selkie really special… right? *clenches hands softly*
That said… Dave, you made a troll face for Antoine playing monopoly. Following this stunt from Mari, I now demand one of her. XD
I’d rather go ahead and have the Metaplot happen more than go back to school for a while. Wrap up the Significant Stuff, and then we can get back to the lighthearted stuff.
I’d rather have the De’Madeias as well as almost everyone else. Sometimes I get a bit lost if you switch back and forth too much. I caught this comic back when their was maybe 20 pages and I’ve tried to keep up but sometimes I have to go back and reread everything. Also, the suspense has been KILLING ME!!!
DAMN IT!
Smith was raising yet another smoke screen when he told the Smiths about the racism thing.
He isn´t hiding Selkie´s identity from humans at all – he´s hiding her identity from Clan Sar´Teri!
Though, yeah, human racism as a reason for the secrecy is sorta kinda valid, too – that´s why it makes for such a good smoke screen.
You gotta admit, though, he has a point.
We can’t handle dealing with people well who live on the other side of imaginary lines on a map that WE drew.
How will the average guy deal with the fact that a totally different group of people are living in our waters without our knowledge? The wars would last for YEARS.
And yes, Nei Li could be targeted. Although genocide against an 8 year old is pretty abhorrent, the question is, would anybody *know* about it above the water? It sounds like it’s a fact of life underwater.
Genocide doesn’t discriminate for age. Its very nature is to dehumanize and exterminate its victims– all of them. That’s what makes it so terrible. Selkie wouldn’t be seen as an eight year old girl, she would be seen as Jin’Sorai spawn that needs to be snuffed before it grows big enough to fight back.
De-Sarnothi-ize, technically. Not demhumanize.
Any, yes, you´re right. To the Sar´Teri, she´s not today´s scared little kid, she´s tomorrow´s avenger of Clan Jin´Sorai.
If we’re going for pure technicality, the word should probably be “depersonize” for full generic application to all sides.
I am *loving* Grandma. She is just the right combination of loving and poking her grandkids in the ribs.
I have a feeling she was a *HELL* of a good Mom.
As a note Dave, I just wanted to stay something. I’m a long time reader, and while the story and pacing of Selkie has always been excellent, your art has really improved from the beginning, too. It’s pretty amazing what having to regularly draw does to your art skills, and I’m looking forward to future improvement, as well! You rock!
heeheehee XD Selkie’s startled face is so cute XD
From a narritive POV, the school. From a I-like-to-binge-on-the-story POV, the De’Madieas visit. Either will be awesome. 🙂
I remember grandkids would agrue whose turn it was to ride in the front seat. They all survived.
Forgot to answer the “informal poll” question. With Selkie on her way home to be safely rested from her debilitating illness, and with the Dr. Pohl Info Dump about to make its appearance most likely at that same home, yes, I do think it’s time to jump back into the school situation. But I’ll read it whatever happens next.
I’m awful, all I want to know right now is what server you play on in WoW. Wyrmrest Accord, represent!
I am also Wyrmrest Accord actually. Horde Druid named Mahrrik. Feel free to message me. 🙂
…Sneeze twice in a row and someone is saying something bad about you.