Andi also has an in-progress tattoo of Gilgamesh Enkidu and Humbaba on the small of her back, and two others in non-kid-appropriate places.
Not sure how Selkie would get a tummy tattoo of a farmhouse pond.
Andi also has an in-progress tattoo of Gilgamesh Enkidu and Humbaba on the small of her back, and two others in non-kid-appropriate places.
Does Selkie have a naval?
Seems like, coming from an egg, she should not. And the lack of one would be just one more thing to tease about (no ears, no nose).
She does not.
At least she’ll have an idea for a tattoo :p
Link to the anatomy sketch doesn’t seem to be working for me.https://selkiecomic.com/images/Anatomy-Sketch.png
Waaaay back, there was a post with anatomical diagrams of Sarnothi (prior to them being named, actually, I think).
You’ll have to flip through carefully though. I believe Dave put the diagram in as a hotlink rather than embedded as a normal visible image on the page, since it (technically) involved very clinical nudity. (I still believe that degree of censorship was unnecessary and endorses some rather unhealthy thinking, but it’s not my site, is it? :P)
Maybe I should add that to the Ancillary Art page.
Probably yes.
It’s a good resource note if anyone wants to confirm anything about Sarnothi biology you’ve already determined, but they’ve forgotten got mentioned 300 updates ago.
Props to Todd for trying, although he looks less than enthused to be talking to her. Also awww this is a really cute moment between Andi and Selkie. Honestly? Given how much of a free spirit and creative they are, Selkie and Andi almost fit better together than her and Todd. Todd actually seems like he’d be a much better fit for Amanda. He could handle her temper better, because he himself had anger and distrust issues as a child. I can see Selkie really growing to love Andi and vice versa!
I will call it a nice tender moment. And Selkie is breaking the tension beautifully. I can confirm on Todd’s behalf that the rage, it doesn’t go away. When you get anger issues, you learn to live with it. Me, as a wise man once said, “I’m always angry.”
You learn coping techniques, how to exist side by side with others, and how to have a relatively normal life. Anger is kind of like alcohol in a way. You never get cured, you can only become a recovering rageaholic. Todd seems happy, he probably is happy, but it’s more than likely simmering.
He is probably the person Amanda needs most due to extensive experience with rage himself.
I find Tossing Drunks is good therapy, Also keeping several fishtanks.
I enjoyed cutting drunks off from gambling and alcohol and dealing with angry self righteous teenagers that wanted to gamble illegally. Always put me in a right jolly mood. Especially when they tried using a stolen credit card and I was able to get fifty bucks from Mastercard. Couldn’t take my ear to ear grin off my face.
Wait, is that like reward money for catching thieves?
Yep. To encourage people to help them turn in stolen credit cards and protect their customers, credit card companies will give employees reward money for confiscating cards that have been reported stolen. Back then and it was several years ago, it was fifty bucks. And it feels like mana from heaven.
I don’t remember, but did Andi grow up without her dad? And if so, did her mom tell kid-Andi she was born in a clover patch as a way of explaining away the fact that her dad was absent?
I don’t believe I’ve elaborated anywhere on Andi’s father, but you’re pretty accurate with this.
I don’t think you mention Selkie’s dad either. Was he a soldier? Was he even in Selkie’s life?
Selkie’s never known her birth father. How that came to be is a story for another time.
this is where we find out selkies family history is the combination of the two name stories where selkies momma ran away from her betrothed husband fell in love with a nother person has a kid with them tells the secret, old fiance comes back kills the husband, goes to kill selkies mom but finds out she is with child, decides not to kill the mom ( for some unknown reason) and the mom runs away with Selkie.
I think you just blew my mind right there
I always got the impression that Andi’s dad ran out on her mom, and that her mom had Andi very young. Because that explains her overall attitude (and influence) on Andi, it’s the only thing that really fits. If she raised Andi solo, from a young age, it doesn’t excuse her own attitude but it does explain it.
I suspect eventual character development there as well, because some day Amanda is going to want to meet her “other” grandmother.
That description also sounds like another magical analogue to illustrate the difference in how Selkie and Andi were raised–while Selkie’s is the seal-people (illustrating her straddling two different worlds), Andi’s mom might as well have outright called her a changeling (often a child that might be too needy or sickly/disabled in some way, erasing their humanity). The clover tattoo in that light seems more like “owning” her story, perhaps a reminder that she too belongs in the world at large.
Also, the back tattoo design sounds awesome.
Beware of assuming that wretched people have a reason for being wretched.
There are plenty of people who raised kids alone, and most of them don’t buy into the idea of pretending a child is dead and supplying mourners with fake ashes. I can point to plenty of analogues in my own world… abusers may like to point to “reasons” for their abuse, and make excuses for it, but the hard fact is that they’re not the only ones who’ve suffered or endured difficult times.
The only difference between an abuser and a normal person is that at some point, the abuser made the choice to take out their pain on someone else. That is the only difference. The ONLY difference.
Agreed, unless someone is holding a weapon against you at the time, you are responsible for your own actions. A child who doesn’t know any better is still scolded when they do something wrong. The fact they didn’t know is taken into consideration but it never completely absolves them from the consequences. Because as an adult knot knowing a law doesn’t defend you if you brake said law.
For some reason you’re reminding me of The Sword Behind Inappropriate Prepositions.
What *I* suspect is that “educating” a child to believe children come from clover patches may have played a part in Andi getting pregnant in high school.
“Abstinence-only Sex-ed” FTW! T_T
Seeing those two bond is strangely precious.
If Selkie gets along with Amanda’s mom, and she clearly does, this may help immensely towards breaking down some walls that have build up. Amanda might treat her better if she sees the adults in her life treating Selkie decently. Out of self-preservation at first, because she’s not stupid, but hopefully this is the beginning of a true sibling bond.
Bah. “built” up … darn typo fairies.
Now I want to know what Todd thinks of her Amanda tattoo? (You didn’t forget that one did you?) Maybe mister smug might have a slight inkling that Andi is actually doing this for Amanda and herself not him.
Well, I just learned entirely more about you than I ever wanted or intended to.
Todd hasn’t seen it yet. Very soon though. :3
I’d say less Mister Smug and more Mister Angry.
Hell, I still think she’s doing it for him until I see evidence to the contrary. And she hasn’t really shown that yet, not really. Considering right after informing him about Amanda she suggested getting back together and held his knee, it was certainly about him.
This is sweet and all, and Selkie is showing great empathy and diplomacy so far, but Andi still has to prove to at least Todd that it’s not about him, which she has failed to do so.
And I still think she’s doing it for herself – her getting Todd back, that is. She’s behaving like she thinks he’d like her to behave, not actually owning up to everything. Dodging the question in the post before this being a prime example.
So getting a tattoo of her child’s name isn’t in any way meaningful? I’m about to get my first tattoo- a heart that says “mom” with my adopted mom’s name and birthdate and my birthmothers name and birthdate. I promise it means a great deal to me. You could maybe give a tiny bit of credit to a character who is also a tattoo artist and understands the deep meanings of tattoos to people who get them, or someone who is so dedicated to art that they make it their life. No she’s just a “flake” for doing art that people don’t understand or some sort of jerk for being still in love with the first person they fell in love with (sorry I guess since I am still with my first love I don’t understand the people proud of their jaded and bitter hearts)
I wonder what Anna thinks she knows about me? That I think people who make major side-eye and snide comments to someone who was just about crying a minute ago are being smug?
No one is questioning the tattoo actually. Remember, I’m the one that gives her credit where credit is deserved. I have never hesitated to say when I feel she has done right. And as someone who believes that tattoos should tell a story about the person that wears them, I have no doubt in reality that it does mean a lot to her.
The problem is that she has a long history with deception. She has lied whenever it has suited her, and don’t give me this “Her mother made her” garbage. She became an adult and left the nest. She could have been honest then but refused to. So she willingly kept lying over and over again. If I’m going to say she’s right when she’s right, I’m going to call her out when she’s wrong. And she is wrong often.
She’s not a flake, she’s pretty much a jackass. She is not owed sympathy. No one here reading owes her a thought putting her in the sympathetic corner. If someone does, such as yourself it’s because they see something in her that parallels their life. Such as you and your mother. Which again, I am very happy for you. But while you see the good, I also see parallels in my life, but of the negative side. I dated a woman that lied and lied to me, and every chance she got, tried manipulating my emotions to get her way like when Andi tried using Amanda to get back with Todd. She even tried faking pregnancy to try and keep me with her. Surely you must understand why I have to stand against Andi now. I thought I was going to have a child. I was going to hold a spawnling in my hands, and smile down at him/her. Take a part in raising my flesh and blood and make a meaningful impact in the world. AND THIS WAS A LIE BY HER! Trust me, you’re thinking of Andi, as you should in this situation. Your mother felt alone in this world and did what she could what she thought was the only option. I bless you and wish you and her many happy years together. But, my ex, I want to strangle her with elevator cord. When the lie was revealed by tracking down the doctor she said was helping her, it destroyed me. Lying about a child’s welfare to a father is possibly one of the worst things one can do. It….has….no….words.
And again, Todd is nursing some wounds caused by the woman who was just crying a minute ago? He is holding back anger which we know he’s feeling, and justifiably so. How is it smug to simply make side eye glances and snide comments? I don’t see that as smug at all. It’s not holding himself as superior to her. It’s holding back a font of rage so Amanda doesn’t see him tear her mom a new one. That would not be good for anyone.
Yeah, I’m not sure I’d call it smug… he’s not being overly prideful about his own achievemen’s or rubbing Andi’s nose in it so to speak. Now Mari is indeed making petty/snide comments and making sure Andi knows, but Todd isn’t. He’s definitely angry, but at least he’s not making any nasty comments. His expressions could be better, but he’s trying to remain neutral I think? Admittedly, it’s hard to fake a smile around someone you’re angry at ssometimes. He’s at the very least, giving it a good shot. Once he sees how well she gets along with Selkie, I think he’ll warm up a little.
I only hope that if Selkie decides to tell Todd later that, “Your old girlfriends is cool.” he doesn’t fly off the handle about how she’s not and inevitablely reveal things he shouldn’t have. Or at the very least just says a simple, “Yeah. She is.” instead of, “Yeah. She was.” because Selkie will key in on the was and that’ll just open up the same door of information she doesn’t need to know yet.
Amanda needs to know everything before Selkie, so that Amanda doesn’t accidentally find out from the wrong people.
Also Todd, his parents and Andi and her mom need to meet up and talk their issues out. Maybe if her mom comes clean, Todd and his family will be less angry. Hopefully they can have Selkie have a play date with Pohl and his family or maybe Selkie and Amanda could both go to Heather’s house with a supervised visit with Georgie and Keisha? That’d warm the group right up, I think! Of the kids anyway.
I would go so far as to say Mari might even be angry for Amanda. It would be perfectly reasonable. Even without knowing what happened, this is an obviously wounded child exhibiting the same behaviors as when they got Todd. That has to make Mari and Theo angry that she had to go through whatever happened. Theo is just better at holding it.
No, there is no smugness here. I know you didn’t say there was SpringPop, but it is on the table.
Yeah I hadn’t considered that Theo and Mari are seeing parallels between Amanda and Todd when they first found him. Especially when they find out the abuse… in that case I can’t really hold it against them. I mean, they shouldn’t be blaming Andi for it, but I certainly understand her hurt and anger for Amanda now.
That one rings true. This comic has made use of parallels since at least Todd originally considering which child to adopt.
Todd has quite a few tattoos of his own, don’t forget.
Ugh, the shoulders. I had blissfully forgotten. Why “Smiley/Frowny Faces,” why, out of all that is fun in life, why? Because he worked at Mega-Mart?
Why not a Laughing Coyote? One Piece? A Dragon Ball, flaming Pearl, symbol from Alchemi; antimony, sublimation, … MaybeJupiter getting pummeled by Hale-Bopp! Ugh, yellow smilies, the bane of my old age.
Did you know, it is the only thing that I dislike about Todd?
Todds tattoos were probably done by Andi since that’s her day job.
The tattoos do ring a certain “test canvas” tone. And they wanted to pick the most inoffensive tattoos ever. It might have even been while in High School when they were always together.
Well they were together for many years not just hs, they only broke up as of a few months before this whole comic started. But this flashback from the time of the pregnancy he didn’t have them yet. https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie588/
Sometimes people go for a deceptively simple design that has deep meaning. Todd’s happy/sad faces are a modern take on Classical Greek Comedy/Tragedy and are probably meant to symbolize the inner struggle to be positive instead of bitter. Also the “in his head” bits that we’ve seen he had the dueling angel/devil characters and since I at least have not seen as much of a hint of religion as a factor in either his upbringing or thoughts, that seems to me to be much more about the duality of human nature than anything so obvious as just a religiously minded person.
Seeing that strip again makes me a little upset with Todd, he was so caught up in his own happiness that he couldn’t even see his girlfriend was very distraught over the whole thing. Like, she was visibly not happy, but he’s so starry eyed and pushing all their (his) dreams that he can’t even notice it.
Sure, Andi should’ve told him she didn’t want a baby, but it’s pretty clear to me that she sincerely thought if she told him that, he’d leave her. Now, whether or not he would remains to be seen and if he didn’t we don’t know if that would eventually make him resent her leading to a break up.
What Andi did in the end was wrong, but I think that he would have resented her choice deep down and eventually would leave her over it. She should’ve just accepted that as a possibility, but she was in love so she couldn’t.
We could easily make just as many excuses for Todd being a teenager and not fully understanding the reality of the situation or we could simply say they were both at fault in terms of their relationship.
Of course Todd isn’t at fault for what transpired after her giving birth and the lies that were told, but I think his general attitude and lack of support/understanding of Andi’s feelings before and during her pregnancy is part of what pushed her to take such drastic actions. This should be shared with Andi as well for never speaking up for herself or letting people know what was going on inside her head, but man I can’t help but think Todd wasn’t ‘there’ for her the way he should have. Sure he was happy and ‘supportive’ in terms of wanting the baby and taking care of the baby, but he was neglectful at seeing her true feelings.
Bah, going in circles. Long story short they’re both to blame for their lack of understanding in their relationship.
There are different ways to handle someone who’s going through a tough emotional time, and different tactics work at different times, and the only thing to tell you which tactic is best to use is wisdom… which people that young haven’t really had a chance to develop yet. (And that’s even without considering that the decision-making part of the brain is completed around *age 25*.)
He could well have understood that she was unhappy, not guessed the reason for it (since she didn’t tell him on her own, and it may well be that he asked her directly and she didn’t want to ruin his hopes and dreams), thought it was just a rough hormonal time that she had to get through, and decided to cheer her up with visions of the future.
A future he could see, but she couldn’t.
It’s like trying to cheer up someone who has depression, but is afraid to tell you they have depression, and trying to cheer them up by talking about all the cool things they’ll be able to do in five years after they make it through college, while they’re looking forward into a future that’s murky and unreal, with a brain physically incapable of “cheering up.”
If we’re going to make excuses for teenage Todd not being fully developed, then the same logic can be applied even more so to first time pregnancy, hormonal, insecure, depressed teenage Andi.
And yeah if Todd did notice and ask and she brushed it off because she didn’t want to crush his dreams, then he was at least aware enough to notice, but then decided she was hormonal and stopped asking. Given how upset she looks? I would have stopped and said, “Hey, something is very wrong and you’re not telling me. What’s going on?” or something similar, pressing the matter until she either told me or got angry, which would just make it even MORE apparent that something was wrong, so that the next tactic would be to be supportive and reassuring that anything she’s feeling, I want to know.
If he dated her for so long, he should have known her well enough to see she’s a very insecure person who tries to squash her own feelings.
Yeah I’m defending Andi, not her end actions, but her feelings that resulted in such actions. Feelings that her mother is directly blamed for because of her father and Todd indirectly blamed for because they were just kids still. One was a nervous, hopeful and excited kid with big dreams and the other was a scared, repressed and emotionally stunted kid who didn’t know how to express her feelings or embrace her own happiness.
I still maintain that the both of them are to blame for their failing relationship.
I think Todd’s fatal flaw is he can’t read people well. We’ve seen it before. He gives into his own impulses and happiness before looking around and at other people. He acts before thinking. And while I certainly understand that, it can get him in a lot of trouble, also as we’ve seen before.
I think he thought Andi was as into the situation as he was and it was sunshine and lollipops for everyone simply because that’s how he feels. While she probably put on a strong front, thus reinforcing his beliefs.
We all have a fatal flaw, and as we continue, I think it will be evident, that is his.
I seriously hope she has tattoos of the Final Fantasy interpretations of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Humbaba.
A thought. All the other Sarnothi have been depicted with facial markings. Are those tattoos or are they natural? If so, why does Selkie not have any? Do they grow in with age or are they clan specific?
I recall Dave saying they grow in with age, not sure if he said anything else about them (if I recall)
Such a little thing, but Todd gets SO MANY awesome adult points for saying ‘ten more years’ instead of ‘no’. He’s not being a hypocrite and he’s acknowledging Selkie’s body = Selkie’s choice on how she wants to decorate it as an adult.
Not only that, but he’s not just making up an arbitrary number like some parents do, either; Selkie CAN’T get a tattoo for ten more years because tattoo parlors won’t take you until your eighteen!
Yep. He’s completely reasonable with this. Not now, you’re eight, but ten years from now you’re welcome to.
Though I think it would be worth doing an allergy test first and checking with the De’Madeias if sarnothi go in for tattoos and what dyes they use, given the physiology differences. Eh, they have ten years for that and Andi could probably point that out if/when she’s in on the species secret (because like it or not, she and Amanda are part of this family now and it’d probably help clue Andi and subsequently Amanda in on WHY Selkie reacts so badly to “fish-face”), since she has been established to care about tattooing responsibly. (Remember her character bio page’s point about wanting people’s tattoos to have meaning?)
They might even want to supply the ink themselves. Most inks we humans use are plant based, though there are animal based inks. Though I wonder if octopus ink would last as a tattoo ink. If there’s no animal based inks that would work well for a tattoo, then Selkie is out of luck. Andi would not be willing to do it, and I do presume Andi as things stand would be giving her the tat as they seem to be hitting it off and as Regalli said, Andi will have to be let in on the family secret.
No sense in using an ink that’s a dangerous poison to the canvas.
no, that just means they switch to 100% synthetic dyes, I’m SURE that the chemical industry has SOMETHING that would work… yes, it may take 10 years to FIND it, because it would be a “non-standard use” for it, but I’m sure that it exists somewhere already…
Random, relevant Wisconsin trivia: while many states in the US will bypass the 18 age limit on tattoos with parental consent, Wisconsin is not one of them. (In the case of parental consent, I believe there’s still another age limit like 16 or something).
I can’t decide which is cooler, the relevant trivia or the LoZ name!
Maybe Selkie could get a temporary tummy tattoo? (If, of course, the allergy tests mentioned by other folks allow for it.) If so, what should it look like?
Anything out of the 25c temp tattoo vending machine. Flaming skull!
I was thinking more along the lines of a henna tattoo rather than a press-on, but that works.
She doesn’t have allergies. That’s just a thing some adults say to other adults about her to get those other adults to take the matter seriously and not make her eat grapes. She’s an obligate carnivore, which means her digestive system doesn’t cope with plant-based foods at all, and is geared to expel such indigestibles with vigorous vomiting.
There’s been no suggestion that other contact with plant-based material is harmful to her.
Regardless of whether or not she has /food/ allergies, we have no idea if she (or Sarnothi in general) have allergies to tattoo ink- its kind of like how sometimes people will test hair dye on a small portion of their hair to make sure they don’t have a reaction. (Which, though I’m no expert, may occur regardless of the base of the ink).
Is it mentioned what her skin is? Is it like ours and would take a ink layer? If it is would it even show through? Is it possible that it is not skin at all? (small scales etc)
I don’t think I’ve discussed it in-canon, but Sarnothi don’t have scales. Their skin is slightly tougher than humans and a little bit more durable.
She might have to go through the original process where instead of a vibrating needle in a gun, the person is tapping a needle with a hammer. Very unpleasant and painful, but with her skin, that may keep her from too much pain.
> Not sure how Selkie would get a tummy tattoo of a farmhouse pond.
Lilly pads
Dave, I love your work but I gotta ask… Did you purposefully have Andi say, “This is my tummy.” to a kid Selkie’s age to show she has a lot to learn about talking to kids (as indicated on how she keeps telling Amanda to “chill” instead of calmly explaining stuff)? Or… does she think Selkie doesn’t know the word stomach or that she needs it pointed out like Selkie might not have a stomach? I dunno. It just seemed a little out of place maybe but I think I’ll go with the “Andi doesn’t know how to talk to kids yet” theory.
Not necessarily Andi not knowing how to talk to kids. I never thought about it before, but I have several tattoos and when I’m showing them to people I do actually say “This is my thigh” or “This is my calf.” I don’t know why, but I have said that when showing people my tattoos. Anyone else here have tattoos that does this, or am I just weird?
“Tummy tattoo” sounds better than “stomach tattoo” or “abs tattoo.” Alliteration is enjoyable to human ears. And we commonly leave off a word that’s in common to all the things we’re talking about. So she’d go from “tummy tattoo,” “back tattoo,” “shoulder tattoo” to “This is my tummy, this one’s my back, and here’s my shoulder.”
Sounds reasonable to me — and not an indicator of childishness, really.
I felt like Andi would use “kid talk” to some degree. Not to the extent of mushy “baby-talk”, but not the wording she’d use for an adult.
And I’ll get your other question here too, they are dining on the couch because Todd’s dining room table only has two chairs and he doesn’t have extra camp chairs or anything. If they used the table they’d be splitting up the dinner group into two sections. Their apartment isn’t well set up for this sort of thing, honestly.
Being able to visibly segregate Andi quickly and easily by making her the only one in the wood chair is just a scene design bonus. ;D
Dave> Haha, awesome:)
Kilyle> As for the “tummy” thing, I meant literally pointing out, “This is my tummy.” like you would to a 2 yr old, because it’s beyond obvious to Selkie what part of the body that is. She doesn’t say “tummy tattoo”. She said, “This is my tummy.” I can get it sounding like “tummy” is short for a tummy tatt but then she said, “I got a four leaf clover on it…” instead of “I got a four leaf clover…”, implying that Selkie still needed to have it pointed out where the tattoo was located, even though everyone is clearly looking at it.
Dave> Yeah, some adults just need to be surprised by how well kids can communicate in order to educate them on how to talk to them:) Gods, I hate baby talk… One pet peeve.
And… It may be because it’s very late here but I’m confused… Why are they eating in the living room instead of at the dining room table which is clearly visible? Lack of chairs? Easier to segregate Andi in the construction of the scene?
By the looks of it, Andi was expecting to not be interacted with at all, by the adults, especially after the kitchen scene. So, she’s a little more than surprised when Todd talks to her.
And I like that Todd is talking to her. As I’ve counseled a divorced friend of mine, be nice to your Ex while in front of the kids. And never, ever bad mouth them in front of them either, even when it’s just you and the kids.