Apologies for the late upload, when I went to update the comic last night the website had gone down. Seems to be back up now, I’m going to keep an eye on it though.
So very tempted to add a "bro" at the end of Then's "Whatever".
Apologies for the late upload, when I went to update the comic last night the website had gone down. Seems to be back up now, I’m going to keep an eye on it though.
I love agent Brown even more now. <3
meh, as Then said, it’s just a power display, I doubt Brown really cares that much about the tech, he just didn’t liked to be treated as “not the boss”
Agent Brown shows that it’s all a matter of work, personal feelings are not allowed to interfere, and it’s the right way to do EVERY job. Imo, of course.
And, actually, Then’s dissembling seems to indicate he’s a much more complicated (and conniving) character than originally thought by myself. He’s like the opposite of truthful in interesting ways… unless I took that conversation a different way than intended?
Then is interesting, I will not say least of him, but looks like he allows temper to be part of his job. Agent Brown doesn’t allow any of that while still agreeing with Then’s point of view about matters of work.
I dislike him a bit less now.
so brown is the babysitter and then is the techie? thank the gods for small mercies, then would *suck* at personal interactions.
not “would suck” but “does suck”…
Didn’t seem like Then was antagonizing anyone to me. Maybe Todd should grow up. What a baby.
Yes, because being angry at someone for taking your daughter’s only way of hearing her mom’s voice, trying to use her desire to meet her people as a bargaining tool, and doing it all with all the compunction and remorse of a wolf devouring a rabbit is TOTALLY the mark of a child. And heaven help the fool who actually stands up for his child instead of meekly accepting everything every idiot in a position of authority tells him. Not to mention we already know Then likes pissing people off.
Haha, you see the wolf, too, huh? The wolf of the sea. That’s an eel, right?
It was the attitude more than anything else. “I’m doing this because I can, so tough luck” is antagonistic. Even if he was dead-set on taking the device, a simple “I’m sorry, but I have to do this for safety reasons” would have made worlds of difference. Instead, his attitude made an already stressful situation worse.
I’m thinking Then is not a fan of humans or at least humans being the parental guardians of his people. His attitude and manner seemed very different when he was talking to Selkie and would have flat out ignored Tod the entire time if Tod hadn’t kept ‘butting in”. The fact that he was not happy that Tod, a human, is the guardian of one of ‘his people’ and that he very much wanted Tod to go away was not subtle. Honestly, I’m thinking the only reason why Then even offered the chance of meeting others was to undermined Tod’s roll as a parent.
A good parent protects their child. So why exactly wouldn’t Todd come to her defense when Then is acting like a *insert insult here*? Then needs to work on his attitude towards humans if he’s going to keep interacting with them, I’m sure there’s a line even he can’t cross
Imo, defending your child would mean that when a tech expert tells you some tech might be harmful to your kid, you listen and let him handle it.
I’ll give you that… however, WHEN did he EXPLAIN what those “harmful effects” might BE? I’m mean AT ALL?… all he DID say was “safety issues” and “that things like this weren’t meant to be worn every day for 3 years”… huh?? what the heck is wrong with THAT? that’s like saying that a guy with a flashlight in a belt holster is gonna die from some wacky ass disease brought on because he wore it every day for the last three years??? it makes NO sense… but what DOES make sense, as in panels 2 thru 4 on page 886, ESPECIALLY after his exclamation in panel 4 of page (882)… was that all “I” saw was him going “oohh ooh oh! Shiny thing, ME WANT and YOU can’t have it neener, neener, neener” (yes, yes, i KNOW that i’m exaggerating, you get my point)… and totally ignoring the fact that the bow tie gizmo has an emotional tie for Selkie, even Agent Brown was a bit taken back by his insistence on taking it. even after there was no conclusion as to exactly WHY he has issues with her having it. again, if he had said something about it being a time bomb, that wasn’t set to go off yet, or it was a nuclear reactor that they’ve all been getting high doses of Rads from or SOMETHING at least somewhat believable, nope, we get his attitude of “I’m going to take it because i CAN” is BS… and i know that Brown has already pinged on Then at least twice before about his attitude towards other humans, with probably more off-screen I’m sure, but this seems to be the final straw on that issue for Agent Brown, we’ll see about the aftermath later i guess…
um, sorry for the rant… 🙁
Does Selkie have a Facebook page?
My bad, found it right in front of me
That’s what you get for antagonizing a dad and a little girl. You act like a naughty bully,you get treated like a naughty bully.
You know…..thinking back to the Trunchbull incident where the Professor expresses disappointment in meeting and and interacting with Sarnothi….I’m wondering how much of that was because of a clash of egos between him and Then or Sarnothi like Then or even a bit toned down from full on Then-itude. It wouldn’t have taken much to “upset” Trunchbull and a Sarnothi not putting up with a human superiority complex and even just ‘standing their ground’ against Trunchbull’s ego would have been enoghf to set him off. Sarnothi are apex predators with their own ways and culture that is very not human and I can agree that they really shouldn’t have to endure being humanized just to make the mass human population “comfortable”. There’s gonna be attitude and friction, similar to how Lions and Hyena’s have attitude towards each other (not to mention the Water Buffalo). You have two apex occupants who’ve never had to interact with each other openly and neither one is gonna be yielding to the other’s authority just “because makes things easier for the other”. So I can understand Then’s attitude up to a point, just as I am understanding Todd’s and I’m thinking between Agent Then and Todd, plus the fact that Selkie is getting caught in the middle of it all, Agent Brown has his hands full on the whole damage control and keeping professional relationships maintained. Agent Brown isn’t a robot but he’s not gonna undermined Then’s authority just as he’s not gonna let Then antagonize Todd and create a wedge between Todd and Selkie.
I know a lot of people dislike Then, but I wonder how much of this is a conflict of cultures, not that Then is being a jerk/bully/what-have-you. Theirs is a culture truly at civil war with each other, with one part having actual genocide. And the people who are “supposed” to be helping are making a lot of red tape. Then may be having to be 3xs as cautious about bending the red tape for fear of repercussions with whatever treaties the govt. has with the refugees – “do this for us or you can’t live here” (esp. if this is written in current US climate in regard to govt. feelings on refugees…) Then may not have a lot of sway in what his abilities are, and he may truly have said all he is allowed to say to Selkie and Todd without jepordizing something more. He is there on an official visit in a professional capacity. He still went out of his way to offer to introduce her to others who may be able to be more lax, like the Pohls. I still think he might be able to “introduce” her to her mother…
I enjoyed your different take on Then, but I wonder if Then is from the Kshatriyas class (warrior), and looks down on the Vaishya (merchant/artisan) class, to which Selkie’s Mom belongs. If I understood Pohl’s explanation correctly, their caste system is fairly rigid, and is what lead to the genocide.
Not at all rigid really, like despite being from the artist case Selkie’s mom used to be a cop before the conflict, while the artistic sai fen is from another caste.
Though that makes me wonder, do castes mix or is it like dnd elves where the kid of a moon elf and wood elf will always be one or the other?
Now you got me thinking.
Going to think more now.
Todd’s reaction is wigging me out here. Like I know the bow doesn’t look dangerous but he just got direct confirmation that this is maybe not something that normally gets worn like an accessory and for good reasons?
“Sir it seems your daughter has been wearing a hand grenade. We have to confiscate this.”
“Well her mother left her that hand grenade so I demand it be returned.”
Todd just cause it hasn’t caused problems yet doesn’t mean it’s safe to chew on.
More “sir it seems your daughter has been wearing a hand grenade”
A hand grenade that the creator specifically said to her flesh and blood would protect her from something…So maybe a hand grenade that hurts everyone around her but powers a necessary warp core?
not sure who this will be listed as a response to, so: ok Martel, just exactly HOW is it dangerous to Selkie? that part hasn’t been explained except for the “it isn’t supposed to be worn for this long”.. ok, WHY NOT? that’s like telling a guy with a hearing aide that just wearing it for the next 3 years is gonna kill you!… huh??
and Todd’s response was “DE-power it if you have to, but let her KEEP it” or in alignment with your example: “fine, TAKE the Explosives out, and have the EOD guys make it SAFE, but let her keep it”… to which Then basically says “Sod Off!” to that logical request from a concerned parent.
i mean, take a look at how he’s PISSED that Todd has the nerve to talk back!, yet in the VERY NEXT PANEL, he’s all “puppy dog eyes” at Selkie over the “chance” to meet other Sarnothi… a smarmy, manipulative bum if you ask me… now, i will gladly wait out our future update cycle for any changes to make me like Then a bit more, maybe he DOES have “reasons” we’re just not privy to, yet… but until then Then just rubs me the wrong way and i don’t like his vibe… so…
I mean he’s pissed at todd because todd’s bein a butt. Todd didn’t just ask nicely if they’d get it back at some point. He went from a 0 to at least a 7 or 8 on the hostility scale despite them just mentioning having very good reasons for wanting to take it (it’s alien tech, potentially dangerous alien tech, it almost blew their cover not five minutes ago because it wouldn’t stop looping). Then said they were going to have to take it back and Todd was like “The hell you are.” I mean he’s got canon temper issues but similarly to “don’t mouth off to cops” I feel like “Don’t escalate with shadowy government agencies” should be a common sense thing.
And an aside if someone told me my hearing aid was gonna kill me my first response would probably be “Oh god take it”