Wapsi Square Forum

Forms? This might get interesting.

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

Huh. A peculiarity, even among paranormals. Or, as Yukon Cornelius would tactlessly put it, a "misfit among misfits."

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?

Why is Atsali so down? Is she jealous because the two bear girls are making over Castela? They said that they were BOTH the cutest things...

Here's the first we see of Atsali...

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fellow-explorer/

That's one.

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)

DilyV wrote:Why is Atsali so down? Is she jealous because the two bear girls are making over Castela? They said that they were BOTH the cutest things...

Here's the first we see of Atsali...

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fellow-explorer/

That's one.

Maybe she is just disappointed in her actions that time. She may feel that she almost got Katherine killed and herself lobotomized because she could not separate reality from the adventures in her books. So she has not manifested her siren forms since she was returned to the orphanage.

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)

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

Atsali has body image problems. this was hinted at earlier.

MerchManDan wrote:

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)

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

Science is just magic we understand...

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...

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

Bet someone once told her she had 'chicken legs'.

If she has "forms" is it possible she's not so much a siren as a harpy when fully transformed and we just haven't seen her full form yet. That might be discouraging to a young girl. In her half form she can pretend to be a siren but those taloned feet could be a give away.

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

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)

Another possibility is that she is a product of wild magic.

To go with the standard trope of the fantasy genre, she may have been what happened when a child wandered near a pool of residual magic from times long past. For all we know...could have been conceived or born in such an area.

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 coupled with the fact that she just ran into two girls of about her same age who can alter their forms at will and can correct any body image issues (after all with just a thought they could change their form to that which could send an adolescent through puberty in .068 seconds)...might also have something to do with it.

Personally I like the Pixie look. I dated a girl with similar qualities (minus the paranormal of course) and she could pass for an elf with just a pair of Spock Ears.

That and her Norwegian accent (exchange student) completed the image.

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)

It might also explain why so many powerful/important beings just happen to be to be in the area? Aunt Bud being the most [maybe intentionally so?] noticeable 'bruiser' of the bunch (still not an intended plant pun).

It also (unfortunately) makes me a tad more suspicious of Berdine and Nadette. They have gone very quickly from (pretending?) to be mean to (pretending?) to be super nice and very interested in Castela who now turns out to be a potentially important individual.

speaking of Berdine and Nadette, unless one of them is a ventriloquist (thank you spell checker ) is this the first time they've both spoken in the same panel?

Mark N wrote:

DilyV wrote:Why is Atsali so down? Is she jealous because the two bear girls are making over Castela? They said that they were BOTH the cutest things...

Here's the first we see of Atsali...

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fellow-explorer/

That's one.

Maybe she is just disappointed in her actions that time. She may feel that she almost got Katherine killed and herself lobotomized because she could not separate reality from the adventures in her books. So she has not manifested her siren forms since she was returned to the orphanage.

The Library would be considered 'neutral territory' where you're not going to be picked on (or attacked) for who you are and Atsali only really only used her Siren form to help Katherine.

My guess is, either Atsali is ashamed of how she looks as a Siren, or Sirens are 'looked down upon' by most other paranormals?

Grantwhy wrote:My guess is, either Atsali is ashamed of how she looks as a Siren, or Sirens are 'looked down upon' by most other paranormals?

If vampires are "shitty mosquitoes" ... could Sirens be considered the paranormal equivalent of women who wear micro-mini-skirts and hang around on corners under streetlights?

Grantwhy wrote:It also (unfortunately) makes me a tad more suspicious of Berdine and Nadette. They have gone very quickly from (pretending?) to be mean to (pretending?) to be super nice and very interested in Castela who now turns out to be a potentially important individual.

I'm not. While children can be mean, more often than not their meanness is simply a combination of a lack of awareness of their surroundings (kids often say the darndest things in the most inopportune moments) combined with a misinterpretation of what their intent was.

Having had my house invaded by teenagers of all sexes and age ranges I can tell you that their conversations get interesting. Their cracking wise at the school's bubble-headed bimbos with huge...tracts of land (more to the point...the popular girls) when they're off on their own is pretty typical.

I'm willing to take it on face value that they were cutting up without knowing that Atsali was even in the area. She was very quiet and skulking around in teenager stealth mode (nothing paranormal to it...they ALL can do it) and they only saw her when Castella blundered in all excited and talking loudly (again what many children her age often do).

Then they may have realized that...

1. Castella is adorable
2. Atsali is someone on their age range and being new could potentially be a friend
3. That they may have insulted a fellow flat-chested girl with their ability to at least temporally "inflate their weapons of mass distraction".

Something interesting may be in the works...but I doubt that we're looking at sinister here. At least not from the twins.

What we may see is something bringing Atsali out of her shell like the encounter with her did for Kath.

My2Cents wrote:

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

Bet someone once told her she had 'chicken legs'.

Yes, chicken legs...

I am Officially addicted to Pickle's smile.