Wapsi Square Forum

Dave wrote:Paul made a somewhat similar statement about Shelly, in her sphinx form, in a comment he posted about the "Time in the Timeforest" drawing (go here and scroll down a couple of screens to see Paul's comment... there doesn't seem to be a way to get a direct link).

Did you mean http://wapsisquare.com/comic/time-in-th ... ment-84615?

I had to read the source to find that id attribute, but, well, as long as they are unique (as they're supposed to), id attributes can always be linked to like this. Protip.

Sidhekin wrote:Wings as a fight-or-flight reaction?

Flight, obviously.

You've never seen birds fight, I take it. They use their wings as weapons. Swans have actually killed humans that way - on a large bird, the elbow joint can be pretty massive and any bird that flies a lot will have a respectable amount of muscle power applied there.

Of course, birds are four-limbed creatures. Atsali in either fight mode or flight mode has six limbs, and in her combat mode she has claws on her arms.

Sidhekin wrote:Did you mean http://wapsisquare.com/comic/time-in-th ... ment-84615?

I had to read the source to find that id attribute, but, well, as long as they are unique (as they're supposed to), id attributes can always be linked to like this. Protip.

Damn, you're good at that!

Unfortunately I was/am posting using an old iPad, with a version of Safari which seems to lack a "view source" capability. So, if there isn't a permalink button on the subcomment, I'm out of luck. Should see if the tablet version of Chrome has a source viewer...

Warrl wrote:

Sidhekin wrote:Wings as a fight-or-flight reaction?

Flight, obviously.

You've never seen birds fight, I take it. They use their wings as weapons. Swans have actually killed humans that way - on a large bird, the elbow joint can be pretty massive and any bird that flies a lot will have a respectable amount of muscle power applied there.

Of course, birds are four-limbed creatures. Atsali in either fight mode or flight mode has six limbs, and in her combat mode she has claws on her arms.

Not to mention a full set of carnivorous teeth.

One thing to note, when Atsali manifested her wings in arousal, the bar markings were light grey.

Here, the markings are the same black markings she manifested in her full on combat mode.

I think this is a mild fear response. Mild enough to pop her wings out in a sort of involuntary warning display. Something kind of scared her and her body reacted instinctively as a warning to what scared her.

Nadette seems to enjoy imagining Atsali in romantic situations.

It suddenly occurs to me that Atsali asked if Berdine was interested in girls... but never asked about Nadette. Perhaps our seer was carefully vague and misleading about what protects her from Atsali's powers...

I think Atsali's hair is wet, certainly 'casual-around-the-house- lay'd backedness is in play.

Once again I reminded of the saying "Youth is Wasted on the Young...".

lake_wrangler wrote: When we see Atsaly back at the orphanage, she is sporting a pajama top and small wings... And when we see her going to see who is here to talk with her, the wings are gone, but there are no holes in the pajama top.

When she's jumping to stop Castela from shouting, on the night that she got "stung by a bee" ( ), her shirt does not seem to suffer from the wings (although it certainly did suffer in the front...)

well I guess the orphanage has 'adaptable' clothing for wings?.. they weren't sure she would be 'maturing' so soon

Sidhekin wrote:

Wdot wrote:

Sidhekin wrote:Wings as a fight-or-flight reaction?

Flight, obviously.

Not necessarily: Fa'Lina*

*Caution large archive and exhibits art evolution

Well knock me down with a feather.

Ever encountered a goose in a bad mood or a swan (just about any time)? Not only do they have snaky necks and bite like hell, they can break an arm or leg with their wings.

I mean, think about what they weigh, and the can fly pretty fast...

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Ever encountered a goose in a bad mood or a swan (just about any time)? Not only do they have snaky necks and bite like hell, they can break an arm or leg with their wings.

I mean, think about what they weigh, and the can fly pretty fast...

Swans can get into the skull-crushing range.

Speaking of wing boners in the night, since someone brought up That Night......

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Speaking of wing boners in the night, since someone brought up That Night......

And then there was That Other Night...

Paul seems to have made it apparent that the Supernaturals run on different rules than us mundanes.
In a nutshell, they have casual access to hammerspace for just about anything having to do with their own bodies and what covers them.
Well...Atsali's nightshirt might be a notable exception.
At any rate, things like size and mass, as well as the need for cutouts in clothing for things like wings. seem to be handled by this access and is key to their ability to assume mundane human form.
The access does seem to be skill based however and the discipline for its use is strictly enforced in school. Those who are wise will hone this skill religiously.
In the distant future when mundane physics finally breaks into hammerspace, it will be fascinating to discover all the things and effects left behind and to watch things blink in and out during their use.

I believe Atsali shops at Bellisario's Boutique.

Atomic wrote:"Beautiful plumage..."

Looks nothing like a Norwegian Blue...

Ok- EDIT. My miserable line is at bottom, no claim to the rest... Hansontoons

And yet...

When we see Atsaly back at the orphanage, she is sporting a pajama top and small wings... And when we see her going to see who is here to talk with her, the wings are gone, but there are no holes in the pajama top.

When she's jumping to stop Castela from shouting, on the night that she got "stung by a bee" ( ), her shirt does not seem to suffer from the wings (although it certainly did suffer in the front...)

We certainly do know thatsome transformations are definitely physical, and not only "phasing through"...

Even Shelly seems to lose out on the clothing, at times, such as when she hugged Euryale on the island. (Ilt looks like she went from having a bathing suit to being at the very least topless, if not completely naked...)
She certainly lost her clothing when she went full sphinx, to stop the two cerberi, but that might also be in part due to them burning partially...
While talking with Phix, she got angry about the thought of having been set up with Justin, sphinxed out, and lost her shirt. Maybe more...


So I don't think there is a definite answer. Sometimes the wings appear without damaging the clothing, sometimes they rip through. Time will tell.[/quote]

'Toons sed: I am certain we will eventually be treated to a shred of evidence.

It would appear, Hansontoons, that you accidentally deleted a at the beginning of your post... Without it, it looks like the text is yours, instead of merely quoting this post...

lake_wrangler wrote:It would appear, Hansontoons, that you accidentally deleted a

Code: Select all

[quote="lake_wrangler"]

at the beginning of your post... Without it, it looks like the text is yours, instead of merely quoting this post...

Yessir. Obvious technical ineptitude in action, no malicious intent.

Tried to quote, got message of too many quotes, started deleting things, end result as shown. Will attempt to stay away from those in the future.

One possible explanation for the glasses may be because Atsali is a raptor with a humanoid form. Birds of prey have phenomenal long distance vision, but at the cost of some pretty crappy close in vision. 'Sali likely is extremely farsighted, but needs glasses to read anything much closes than four or five feet away. I Imagine that's why avid reader and Catbirdperson Phix wears glasses as well. She and Atsali can spot a mouse in the grass or a fish just under the waves from five thousand feet, but can't see to read anything any closer than the length of their arms without glasses.

I once new someone like that. She had great distance vision, but had to use reading glasses. When she misplaced her glasses once, her solution was to prop a book up on a chair and read it from six feet away. The only problem was having to get up to turn the pages.

That was my first guess; sirens take after raptors in many ways so it's reasonable that she's at least a little farsighted.

There's one thing we haven't discussed: either Tina hired someone new or there's a second coffee shop in Minneapolis!