So, I was playing League of Legends with some people yesterday, when the idea was proposed that we should try and get a game of Selkie readers together. Maybe a custom 5v5 game?
I’ll make a chat room called Selkie about 9pm-ish Central time tomorrow night, lets see if we can set up a Selkie game. 
My LoL user name is Strawberrycocoa, so feel free to drop in and join or just say hi if you want.
And if you want to create a LoL account for it… email me, I could use the referrals. ;P
I love the expressions on both their faces in this one. And it’s very, very trusting of Todd to hold his hand out like that to a very upset little girl with very sharp teeth.
Man, she’s not going to feel much better when she sees her kisses do upset his skin…
Then would there be an experiment with the others to see if it’s only Todd who has the allergic reaction?
Maybe it’s a side effect of him being vegan – maybe he doesn’t have a tolerance for…well, for lack of a better term, fish DNA.
He’s not vegan. He eats cheese.
I stand corrected.
And I wasn’t happy with using the phrase “fish DNA”. I couldn’t think of anything better.
And it could even be biological – since Todd is adopted himself, there might not be similar reactions if Selkie kissed Antoine or Marta. Todd may just be allergic. I suppose we’ll find out at some point.
He would have to digest her flesh or saliva for him to potentially have that kind of reaction.
He does consume cheese so he’s not completely animal product free.
I find the idea of Selkie having to lick various people simultaneously funny and creepy
SHES CRYING!! GET HER ALL THE FISHES!!! AND TOYS AND YERKY!!!!
Poor Selkie. Todd is doing great here though on being straightforward and honest with her.
As for LoL, I’d love to play a game! My account name is the same as the one here, so expect a friend request close to the above mentioned time.
Yeah, good call on not having Selkie run away. She’s being a bit of a brat- adding more justification to the advice Tod was given a few pages ago.
She is a sweet lovely little girl who is also very angry at the world- something I think Tod can identify and why he wants to ensure he handles the issue correctly in a way that does not screw Selkie over.
Tod is acting the way a parent should act and Selkie is acting the way an upset, scared and angry little girl should act. Wonderful character growth.
I am pleased with the progression of events and also pleased that the grandfather and uncle are watching but are not jumping in unnecessarily.
You do good works!
I think her not running away makes more sense. She finally got a family. I would think she would feel torn. Even if she wanted to run away she wouldn’t want to lose what she finally got. With a non-adopted kid, they quite often feel they would be better off without a family because they have never experienced not having one, making running away seem like a desireable option.
It is like kids with siblings often wish they were an “only child” whereas “only children” think it would be so wonderful to have siblings.
About that LoL game…. i’m in, just need to figure out if i’ll be able to play at that time
And I want to play against you this time XD
I knew it was going to come down to this.
Seriously though, why hasn’t gotten some cream or something for that by now? I bet some bendryl would clear it up in a minute.
I don’t think we can automatically assume something over the counter like that would automatically clear that up. I think it’s less of an allergic reaction on more of a thing like how some animal’s secretions are poisonous. Also, Selkie’s species isn’t something that is widely known so it’s natural for him not to run to the store and pick up some allergy medications. Can you imagine explaining that to a pharmacist? “Um, hi. I’d like something to clear up this rash that I got from my adoptive fish daughter when she kissed me. Got anything for that?” you can bet the pharmacist would be like, “Um, I think I need to make a few calls or refer you somewhere else that specializes in situations like this.” not to mention probably weirded out in general and possibly even think he’s crazy if the pharmacist didn’t even know if Selkie’s species existed.
Why do I read Todd’s gesture in the last panel as “here, I’ll prove it to you, bite me”? XD
I don’t know, Hanna, but I’m reading the same thing. xD
Had a disturbing thought on the way home from work yesterday. After all that is going on between Selkie and Todd right now. How bad is it going to be when she finds out her arch-enemy is really her own sister? Despite the brave front, Selkie is very close to the edge emotionally.
Todd really does have his work cut out for him.
Yeah. Also add in the mindfuck of realizing your ex lied about the baby being dead because she didn’t want to be a parent for Tod.
I’m glad War said it first, because I kind of got the same impression after reading this comic that Selkie’s attitude is starting to irk me just a bit.
Yeah, I know she’s super-sensitive as a kid because she’s always the “victim” that got picked on at the orphanage (and recently at school), and yes I know it’s tough being a “different” child – I went through that too (although this is nothing compared to what she’ll have to face as a teenager).
But here is Todd, who picked her out of everyone at the orphanage, who made a special and expensive trip to get her food and new clothes and shoes, and who is up-front and honest about everything with her. Frankly, outside of one moment of sweetness (where she’s happily getting adopted) she’s not been a really great kid. Even when he first saw her the day she was getting adopted she assumed he was laughing at her and shoved him over. Now he tries to talk to her and she doesn’t want to listen to him and just calls him a liar, and frankly her vocabulary seems a little advanced for – what is she, 9? (Referring to “BULLS!”) I’m just saying that I think in her situation she would show a little more gratitude or at least be willing to listen and not jump the gun on accusations to her new parent. Wouldn’t any of the kids up for adoption be thrilled with their new parents the first few days?
Her episode with the live fish she ate is making me wonder if she has any empathy that she can start to show.
Selkie has a tendency to be a bit hardheaded and stubborn, which doesn’t work very well in a situation where it appears to her that someone she trusts was talking badly about her behind her back.
And I knew about much worse words than “BULL!” at her age.
My cousin learned many wonderful 4 letter words from my grandfather when he was 7, so I agree with Dave, kids do know these. Heck I heard a 5 year old drop the F-bomb once in a church. I actually had to step outside before I burst into laughter.
From the point of view of being someone picked on little kid, I think her reaction is very realistic. She doesn’t always have to be sweet, but she is when it makes sense for her to. Actually, every now and then I start to think it’s weird that she isn’t MORE angry and irritating seeing that she gets made fun of so often by people (some being the adults she has met like Barb). Even if it’s Todd, she still has resentment for people in general. She’s used to everyone outside a tiny group at the orphanage being judgmental toward her appearance and personal needs like having to flush her gills. The people in that tiny group she trusts may not have always been accepting and she may be used to thinking everyone secretly hates her for what she is. She might secretly blame herself for her mother leaving her at the orphanage. This is probably the first time in her life she has ever had to learn how to open up and fully trust someone to actually like and accept her.
Kids don’t usually think about the financial ends of things (especially if they’ve never had to think about them before). Cost doesn’t matter as much as “I want it now” with the majority of them I’ve met. I think a lot of readers like her because she is spunky and not entirely sweet. Todd adopted her knowing she was “unique” and is going to need a lot of help to get over her fears. Also, I knew swear words at a younger age than her. “BULLS” and “CRAPS” are pretty tame compared to the words I heard in town. I got sent to the focus room (little kid detention) in second grade for calling a girl in class a huge f’n b word and a stupid s*ut (censored, but I said the actual words).
I’m not sure, but I think Dave said at this point in the story it has been a few weeks since Selkie was adopted. She’s had a little while to get the excitement of it all out of her system. So when Todd, who she looks up to because he picked her out of all the kids and doesn’t pick on her, says she’s irritating and poisonous she throws a tantrum. It doesn’t seem that far fetched of an idea. Though I do agree with you that I hope she grows some empathy as the story progresses.
This kind of reaction seems perfectly normal for a kid that age, let alone one that is constantly being shunned and can see from that age that NO ONE is like her.
My comment was not here “knowing” the words. I first learned some 4-letters words from classmates when I was in second grade without really understanding what they meant, and a niece of mine about that age used choice language (also without really knowing what it meant). My point was not the knowledge, but the actual use of words like that.
Even though she’s in an orphanage I would think they’d have done things to prevent the kids speaking out like that, because I know any kid who just blurted out something like that would be severely punished if they continued to do so. It was enough to keep my mouth clean until I was a little older, and from my understanding of orphanages, punishments are far worse than spankings or groundings. They would make them drink tabasco sauce or some similar such treatment for disobedience.
Everyone is taught different things. Even though we still know they’re “bad words” some people still use them regularly, including adults. If she’s been hearing it from other kids (likely) and adults (possible) then I could see it coming out in anger. “Bulls” isn’t what I would in itself call a ‘bad word’ even though it’s implying something more vulgar.
I’m just saying that it isn’t very strange. A lot of foster kids I know were around bad language all the time. Angry and hurt kids find ways to express themselves.
I’m glad she didn’t run away, because when characters do that it makes the current scene end and resolution is impossible. Basically, now they get to talk it out, which I find way more interesting than the “well, she’s gone, now what?” situation the other character is put in.
Totally in for the League of Legends game
! Just post a date and time!
ok if u need a partner for LoL look up neojenovadeath and c if u can find him online hes a truely kick-@$$ vetran player and is needing a steady dependable team
my LOL is FatedDarkly, add me.