Linkbacks: Gregori and Hamud staring. Dr. Bunny-Me. Also, yesterday was the comic’s 5th birthday! Selkie (the story) is now FIVE! As is annual tradition, here’s a birthday sketch:
I make no claims towards the scientific or taxonomic accuracy of these fish. ;)
All Tai Li really needs right now is a stable water temperature and air circulation.
My original draft was for Pohl to say, "She's an egg, Todd. She doesn't really need much from us until she hatches", but on further thought I think the De'Madieas know better than to discuss such things openly.
I am currently out at Anime Central’s Artist Alley (Table G05!) Come say hello if you’re in the area! As to the dress vote, the winner is Yellow! Selkie will be wearing her sunshines to the aquarium next week.
Pohl's plan is solid until Suko learns hydroplanes are a thing.
Today’s strip was a little bit late because I got too distracted training my five-year-old girl to summon elemental primals instead of rainbow-squirrels. Also got a Fanart post to share today! This image was drawn by Lucheek in an art[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Pohl puts the "magi" in "magitech". I wanted to close out the De'Madiea family's appearance with something unique that Todd and Selkie couldn't necessarily see/hear, but not something that ended the arc on a huge plot-related WHAM note like the "last of her clan's survivors" exposition from the hospital scene.
Since, like… ALWAYS, Selkie. (For this installment of Poor Time Management Theater, I may focus on trying to make Wednesdays strip on-time then go back to this one later.)
I'd ask how many people had wondered about where Selkie's speech patterns come from, but I am afraid the amount of affirmative responses would crash the comments server.
I was almost going to do a Christmas Filler instead of the next strip in line, partially because I feel really “tempting fate”-y about doing this particular subject on Christmas Day, but I instead chose to keep with my tradition[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
I feel super awkward making this strip the weekender. Also, the arrow key navigation bug with the comment box should be fixed now. Let me know if you still see issues.
The Clan of Laborers and Peacemakers (Sarnoth's law enforcement body) are also the Clan with the most control over industry, finances, and other resources.
To prevent some dialogue glutting, today’s transcript commentary talks a little more about the sarnothi clan structure. So as before, make sure to check the Transcript for additional worldbuilding. If you missed it last week, I posted a bonus sketch[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Sarnothi culture is divided amongst the four Major Clans discussed previously, but each Major Clan also has it's own system of sub-clans branched within it. Many of these clans, including the four Major Clans, began as families of influence within Sarnoth's government until they evolved into social and political entities unto themselves. The term "clan" is largely divorced from the concept of a family structure in sarnothi society and generally refers to the established political and socially-influential groups of the city's government. Almost all sarnothi belong to one of the various sub-sects of their Major Clan due to Sarnoth using a form of caste system with varying amounts of rigidity. However, the individual's surname is unrelated to the clan you are born into (or in some cases move into). For example, there is no Clan De'Madiea; Pohl De'Madiea is a member of Clan Sho'Shen within Clan Tel'Dora. Among Sarnothi, this sentence structure would not be confusing.
Bit of background on the Clans. Also, a few strips back a reader suggested using the uncolored pages as a coloring page. I meant to share that with strip #400 but spaced on it. 😡 Bit lat,e but here’s a[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The four Clans are loosely based on the premise of Mind Soul Heart Body (in the same order listed in panel 5). If I were to place them into a framework of the four classic Western elements, Tel'Dora would be Water (fluid and adaptable), Mor'Kama would be Air (restless and ethereal), Jin'Sorai would be Fire (passionate and dynamic), and Sar'Teri would be Earth (conservative and solid).