Wapsi Square Forum

Jabberwonky wrote:

Opus the Poet wrote:Atsali has body image problems. this was hinted at earlier.

She is a 15yo, kinda goes with the territory unfortunately.
And with the fact that she has to file her toenails with wood rasp...

Aww, 'c mon. Woodrasp? No, they're prone to slip and take too much off.

She probably uses a cheap variation of a Dremel with a fine sanding drum, I do.....

Oh, and, yeah, being a girl of fifteen, in that "in between state" ("should I trick or treat?, or is that too childish, ooohh..that's such a cute boy... But he's standing in front of the new Barbie-display" Etc. ) is guáranteed to be filled with anxieties about one's body.

Mark N wrote:

davids4250 wrote:Wonder what her parents were?

My guess about her "parents" is that are some type of scientists (alchemists) and thought she was a failure and tossed her out with the trash. Later someone heard baby cries in the trash and got the MIB involved. They then went to Mr Meadows and he raised her in the orphanage. (But that is just a guess)

I wonder if Helen Narbon was involved?

davids4250 wrote:A whatsit? I can accept that. Wonder what her parents were?

Probably Pugsley and the helpful vine in the green house that shares space with Thing. She wasn't thrown away she was misplaced. The Addams not being the most careful of parents after all.

Jabberwonky wrote:

Opus the Poet wrote:Atsali has body image problems. this was hinted at earlier.

She is a 15yo, kinda goes with the territory unfortunately.
And with the fact that she has to file her toenails with wood rasp...

DOn;t forget Siren's did get a really bad rep thanks to Homer after all. Between the feet and history she probably doesn't show that form off too often. I also wonder is she is a cross breed as Siren's were not known for wings. I suspect her parents were a siren and a Harpy. Yes there were male Harpy's, they probably tried real hard to avoid the female of the species as a survival trait. Would we call a male Harpy a Hippy? Or a Happy?

zachariah wrote:Would we call a male Harpy a Hippy? Or a Happy?

I'd go with "Hippy", they are known for being quite sedentary as well...

All in all, I think Atsali made friends, although she's not immediately aware of it.

I have the vague impression that Atsali, being the sedentary-book-y kind of girl, has very few "friends" The eagerness to connect she showed with Kat in the beginning of the adventure, made me think she was quite the lonely person.
Whaddabout Pickle? you'd say. Pickle is a little sister. That's different from "friend"

The bear-sisters obviously like her. Ánd they seem to be of the same age.

Grantwhy wrote:Castela is unique?

as Scooby-Doo would say: "Ruh Roh"

That has to make Castela a key plot point some time in the future? (no pun intended)

Well, you know how these story arcs tend to branch out...

*tosses a petrified stick in the pun jar and rummages around for a twig as change* hehe

zachariah wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:

Opus the Poet wrote:Atsali has body image problems. this was hinted at earlier.

She is a 15yo, kinda goes with the territory unfortunately.
And with the fact that she has to file her toenails with wood rasp...

DOn;t forget Siren's did get a really bad rep thanks to Homer after all. Between the feet and history she probably doesn't show that form off too often. I also wonder is she is a cross breed as Siren's were not known for wings. I suspect her parents were a siren and a Harpy. Yes there were male Harpy's, they probably tried real hard to avoid the female of the species as a survival trait. Would we call a male Harpy a Hippy? Or a Happy?

Harpo? *honk honk*

Someone give Atsali a hug! STAT!

Jabberwonky wrote:

Opus the Poet wrote:Atsali has body image problems. this was hinted at earlier.

She is a 15yo, kinda goes with the territory unfortunately.
And with the fact that she has to file her toenails with wood rasp...

And add to that the fact that her hero...the person she loves and respects most...is human. She might not want to look paranormal anymore. She might want to look more like she actually belongs with Kat. If I remember my childhood correctly, a lot of kids don't like looking unnecessarily different. The need to "fit in" is overwhelming...even if it's fitting in with a group of outcasts. Atsali strikes me as the kind of person who will embrace and nurture the differences in others, but may well despise them in herself.

Mark N wrote:I am wondering if her image problem is connected to her "middle name" that we never got to hear.

Oooo...interesting thought.

MerchManDan wrote:Also, I'm surprised to see Atsali doesn't take pride in her siren form. Could there be some kind of paranormal prejudice against her kind?

Even if she's truly and fully a siren by ancestry, people might mistake her for a harpy when she's in her bird form. If I recall my Greek mythology correctly, harpies were portrayed as bring rather foul creatures (no pun intended, believe it or not)... filty, stinking, savage in a mean sort of way. Sorta like a pack of feathered hyena-vultures... quite happy to eat carrion, or to mob and kill animals or people. Not good neighbors, and probably not the kind of beings that "decent, upright, salt of the earth" paranormals would have wanted to associate with.

Atsali might have ended up on the blunt end of that sort of prejudice (possibly from other kids in the orphanage) at a young and tender age.

scantrontb wrote:

zachariah wrote:Would we call a male Harpy a Hippy? Or a Happy?

I'd go with "Hippy", they are known for being quite sedentary as well...

A "Hoppy," because they had Kangaroo legs. Little known fact.

shadowinthelight wrote:Forms? This might get interesting.

Well, there does seem to be a lack of consensus on how sirens are shown or described in art. This could be because they can choose amongst many forms.

Pottery from the 6th and 5th century BC tends to show them as birds with human heads. Tomb sculptures from the cemetery in Athens around the 4th century show human heads, torsos, and sometimes arms, but with bird wings and legs. Then you have later paintings that show them as fully human, or human top halves and fish lower halves.

Homer never described them in The Odyssey, just saying that they lived on a flowery island. Euripides wrote that they were "pteroforoi neanides", or winged young women.

So, take your pick. We've seen Atsali as the 4th Century BC version and the 19th Century AD version. She could still appear as a human-headed bird or a fish-tailed human. . .or as something totally different. Perhaps she has the form of a bird that she finds very embarrassing, such as a kiwi or a penguin or a blue-footed booby?

MerchManDan wrote:Oooh, good thinking! I keep associating "paranormal" with "supernatural;" scientific causes don't occur to me.

Hey, golems are in essence just forgotten technology. Complete with programming written in them.

Catawampus wrote:blue-footed booby

Did you write that with a straight face?

I wonder if the Bear Twins have a "Normal" form that keeps all the boys from their yard? Sure, they both are cute and cuddly right now, but in a relaxed state, they may look more like Lady Ursula from Spider-Man Unlimited.

zachariah wrote:I also wonder is she is a cross breed as Siren's were not known for wings. I suspect her parents were a siren and a Harpy.

Are you saying Atsali is a Sharpy? Sounds appropriate since she will leave her mark on you.

The reason why Atsali doesn't want to show her other forms: her parents were from New Zealand.

I really shouldn't do this, but to paraphrase BC, "Hello, I'm an Aptasalix, a wingless bird with hairy feathers. What are you?"

Catawampus wrote:

MerchManDan wrote:Oooh, good thinking! I keep associating "paranormal" with "supernatural;" scientific causes don't occur to me.

Hey, golems are in essence just forgotten technology. Complete with programming written in them.

That is what gave me the idea Catawampus.

Jay-Em wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:

Opus the Poet wrote:Atsali has body image problems. this was hinted at earlier.

She is a 15yo, kinda goes with the territory unfortunately.
And with the fact that she has to file her toenails with wood rasp...

Aww, 'c mon. Woodrasp? No, they're prone to slip and take too much off.

She probably uses a cheap variation of a Dremel with a fine sanding drum, I do.....

Oh, and, yeah, being a girl of fifteen, in that "in between state" ("should I trick or treat?, or is that too childish, ooohh..that's such a cute boy... But he's standing in front of the new Barbie-display" Etc. ) is guáranteed to be filled with anxieties about one's body.

I use a Stanley Sur-form. It's a kind of a cross between a rasp and a plane. It does a smooth job and won't get away from you or try to cook you like a Dremel.

Sidhekin wrote:

Catawampus wrote:blue-footed booby

Did you write that with a straight face?

Unless I'm quite mistaken, that was actually typed with a keyboard...