Selkie

Gonna be a bit more verbose than usual on the Secret Commentary today because (1) it's a m ilestone strip, why not? and (B) there's a bit of history behind this one that might be fun to discuss. So, the bit you're seeing here, covert dating partner hiding from discovery, was originally a scene I conceived back during the Todd/Mina storyline. The original concept for the Todd/Mina arc was that they start secret-dating, but keep jumping through hoops to avoid discovery. This one specifically was originally written up as follows: Selkie is out with the grandparents, they drop her off back home earlier than expected. Todd puts on the act, greets everyone, "Welcome home!" etc, and after his parents leave he makes some excuse for Selkie to go out of the apartment for a moment. After she leaves, Mina (from her hiding place behind Todd's bed) peeks over his mattress. "Is she gone?" The core reason I never pursued that evolution of the Todd/Mina arc, is that I never reached a point where it felt right that Mina would date a student's parent. Progressing it beyond flirting and maybe coffee just never felt like something that was in Mina's character. Todd would probably not be fully aware of the ramifications of such a relationship, so it made sense for him to pursue it, but Mina is an experienced professional teacher, and I felt like in her heart she knew it was a bad idea. So why revive the idea here? Because making a risky stupid and potentially terrible life choice is something that DOES feel right for Jessie's character. It makes more sense as an action she would take, than one Mina would take. Let the rollercoaster begin.