Wapsi Square Forum

Actually, it looks like she's been taking lessons from Tanta Tina...

D'aaawwww! So cute!

I want to hug you and squeeze you...

(Whoops! I guess I was channeling Elmyra Duff there for a moment.)

Fairportfan wrote:

Jay-Em wrote:"Tanta" Hm looks like a derivate from the Dutch "Tante" (Tán`tuh) odd, reading that.

I thought of Yiddish, though the more common transliteration of the Yiddish equivalent of "aunt" seems to be "tante".

Don't start!
Dutch is lìttered with yiddish words. "Yayem, Mayem, Schlomo/sloompie. And maybe, indeed "Tante"(ordinary Dutch for Aunt)

It's always fun to look at words and try to pry their history from them. I'm nerdy like that. But seeing "Dutch-like" words in American publications amuses me, as a Dutchy, to no end. Yeah, odd ,I know.

And Pickle comes in at the right time to emphasize Phix's point.

(She's doing pretty well, actually. She's got the right eye right and the horns are gone. Can't tell about coloration, though.)

Jay-Em wrote:"Tanta" Hm looks like a derivate from the Dutch "Tante" (Tán`tuh) odd, reading that.

Informal version of 'aunt' in several Romance and Latin-influenced languages.

I'm kind of curious how Phix and Nudge got promoted to tanta status, though. I didn't think Kath was that close to either of them. Perhaps the daycare is being run from the Library and Castela had adopted them as surrogate aunties.

Awesome.

I'm further impressed with the "Mentor" tolerance Phix is showing by patiently explaining WHY, rather than indiscriminately slashing another paranormal and screaming "BECAUSE I (VULGAR EXPLICATIVE) SAID SO!"

The Old Wolf wrote:Actually, it looks like she's been taking lessons from Tanta Tina...

Castela's efforts seem to be coming along quite well. By the way, where is Tina? I haven't heard mention of her in quite some time.

Awwww - to whatever power seems suitable. Does anyone think there is a chance of seeing Kath and Atsalia in a quick flash-by in the near future ??

Actually, Nudge might be the right person to teach little Cassie. All the proper basics are still fresh in her head, so she can show our baby girl how to do it. Notice that, aside from the one eye, she has managed to hide her (t)horns, which may have taken priority over her eyes.

The first thing I thought of, was Tantaun which means big, hairy beast with fangs. And that sort of fit also, but maybe not from a little plantgirl. Annnnnd I looked it up to make sure that I was spelling it correctly (I was), but I did seem to miss-remember the horns being fangs. In my defense, the horns are right beside the mouth.

D'aww, what a good try!

This is the Library. Maybe they're moving pictures...
Anyhow, she is cute as a button. And Tanta Phix should be proud of her efforts. I do believe she is about to meet her sitters, because Phix has Library business to take care of.

zachariah wrote:

Mark N wrote:

Jay-Em wrote:"Tanta" Hm looks like a derivate from the Dutch "Tante" (Tán`tuh) odd, reading that."

Could be, it is the Icelandic version of the word.

Or possible old saxon or low english? There are a fair number of connection to old england, wales, etc.

Also German. It's common for members of an extended social family to be considered Aunts/Uncles to the children, regardless of lineage. Auntie Mame, anyone?

Maybe Tanta means something simular in Croc. Mr. Meadows is the one who probably taught the kids how to behave. It is common to have family like titles a child can use in extended families. So provide an easy title the child can apply to any adult it interacts with regulily. When my large family gets together all the guys become Uncle, except for dad, and all the ladies, except for mom. Only grandma and grandpa get singular titles. It is used for uncles, cousins, great uncles, second cousins, etc as long the the person is older than the child by several years.

Another thought we could be looking at the world being Tan and having a feminine ta sound added for a gender based word. Like slavic names. Panov for a man and Panova for a female.

Jay-Em wrote:

Fairportfan wrote:

Jay-Em wrote:"Tanta" Hm looks like a derivate from the Dutch "Tante" (Tán`tuh) odd, reading that.

I thought of Yiddish, though the more common transliteration of the Yiddish equivalent of "aunt" seems to be "tante".

Don't start!
Dutch is lìttered with yiddish words. "Yayem, Mayem, Schlomo/sloompie. And maybe, indeed "Tante"(ordinary Dutch for Aunt)

It's always fun to look at words and try to pry their history from them. I'm nerdy like that. But seeing "Dutch-like" words in American publications amuses me, as a Dutchy, to no end. Yeah, odd ,I know.

German too... The Germans called the Junkers Ju-52 tri-motor cargo aircraft "Tante Ju", or Auntie Junkers. Go figure!

I agree... Not quite, Castela, but you're doing amazingly well for having worked at it such a short time. The eyes wouldn't be such a shock to people, especially considering Kath's eyes... they would make her seem like she was related... Good work on the horns though! I have to wonder... Her skin... scales? or overlapped layers of plant material?

DilyV wrote:The eyes wouldn't be such a shock to people, especially considering Kath's eyes... they would make her seem like she was related...

Having giant pupils is one thing, having hollow eyesockets with prehensile plantmatter tendrils to see through instead of optic nerves is quite another.

Jay-Em wrote:"Tanta" Hm looks like a derivate from the Dutch "Tante" (Tán`tuh) odd, reading that."

Mark N wrote:Could be, it is the Icelandic version of the word.

zachariah wrote:Or possible old saxon or low english? There are a fair number of connection to old england, wales, etc.

Atomic wrote:Also German. It's common for members of an extended social family to be considered Aunts/Uncles to the children, regardless of lineage. Auntie Mame, anyone?

Fairportfan wrote:I thought of Yiddish, though the more common transliteration of the Yiddish equivalent of "aunt" seems to be "tante".

eee wrote:Informal version of 'aunt' in several Romance and Latin-influenced languages.

What eee said... in French, it is also "tante".

A conclusion to draw from today is the school, and daycare, are probably in the library. I don't quiet see Nudge and Phix taking Pickle out of school or day care just to hang around the library. So they most likely often interact with the kids on a selective basis. I am sure Phix avoids some of them because they look so tasty. Nudge because you don't nudge teenagers unless you are ready to cope with the results. But Kathy's little monsters get special treatment.

PrettyPrincess wrote:D'aww, what a good try!

You're getting it, little Pickle! We can't see your horns at all, and that eye looks just like a human's. Pretty soon you're going to look just like a human girl!

elanora wrote:I'd say this strip does a lot to clarify things and gives some good illumination of the world. Also, Castela is super cute!

Agreed on all points.

The situation among the paranormals doesn't seem to be as rigid and dire as I had thought. Phix's explanation today suggests that I was wrong, in thinking that some of the paranormals have a policy of summarily executing others in order to enforce a "stay concealed!" rule.

Rather, the situation is rather more prosaic: some humans are freaked out enough by paranormals to kill them, and some paranormals are not strong enough (or protected enough) to be safe from this. That's not so very different from the relationships between different groups of humans, all across the planet. So, the policy seems to be "Everybody, we should keep quiet enough to not stir things up unnecessarily. Don't borrow trouble."

Castela really is a charmer! She seems to have learned to Shazowie! her eyes at least as well as Tina does (well, one eye at least). It almost looks as if she's using Euryale as a model for her eye appearance. She's got a way to go on her skin texture and tone, but for a first semi-public showing I think she's doing really well. Certainly better than I could... I've been trying to appear mundane for almost 60 years and I still don't have the hang of it.