Wapsi Square Forum

Out of the mouths of babes.....

"I die.
My secret night-time form is revealed.
The glare of my blushing blinds the onlookers.
Everyone flees from my shame, and are hit by a bus.
All die.
O the embarrassment!"

(adapted from Joe Haldeman's "A !tangled Web")

(actually, under the circumstances, it should be "O the embearassment")

So, possibly, one of the forms of a siren is bumpy and curvy... and seductive? and Atsali isn't quite ready for that yet?

Nice derp face.

This is what little kids do. They think they are being helpful and have no idea of the impact of their words. When I was six My dad took us kids to see his work. While we were alone for a bit an over weight man walked in and I said, 'Hello Fatso." It was my fathers boss. The incident was discussed with me in great detail when we got home. All I can say is ouch.

It is also funny how Pickle misunderstood the dream. Now Sali can die from embarrassment. She might change into the half human half raptor and go after pickle though. lol. Bet the twins have trouble keeping a straight face.

"Bumpy and Curvy" eh? Could it be Atsali will be the next... MONICA?!?
Could her hair color change with each incarnation? Do you think she could be...GINGER?

Atsali in human form is flat chested.

As a siren she is considerably more busty (see http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fellow-explorer/)
Though those may just be her flight muscles, birds have huge ones.

TheDOCTOR wrote:"Bumpy and Curvy" eh? Could it be Atsali will be the next... MONICA?!?
Could her hair color change with each incarnation? Do you think she could be...GINGER?

Not another Monica but her full siren form. They are half woman, and seductive ones as well. So she was dreaming about 'singing in the brain' of some good looking young stud maybe?

"She can take on the form of a giant half-girl, half-raptor and she could rip a man in half!"

Shelly definitely needs to take Atsali under her wing if she retains any of that strength in her human form, which would explain a fair bit of her adventure with Kathryn. Otherwise she could end up bullying people like Shelly did, even when she didn’t intend to.

Besides, as a juvenile Atsali may need a ‘flight buddy’. Who better than a sphinx who can bring Pickle along as well without significant effort?

You have to love Castela!!! Her inner Monolog is her outer monolog!!! Much to Atsali's chagrin...

Also... Atsali is a lot bustier than the link posted earlier in this one: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/then-that/

And here: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/who-why-what-where-when/

Even Tsillah gets in on the action from time to time... http://wapsisquare.com/comic/a-direct-message/

...and then there's Atsali's Catwoman costume.

I said she looked a bit more pneumatic...

Bumpy and curvy? So that pinup of bubblegum girl IS Atsali in her more sexual fantasy from.

I can see Atsali not liking her siren form given those scaly legs and huge claw feet. Not to mention the tail feathers. They're none too flattering either. Nor would she want to be seen as a huge terrfying "monster" to others.

I am beginning to think that Atsali's image problem is 2 fold; She is not happy that she may frighten people by being a "Big Deadly Monster"(nt to mention feel some sor of shame about that part) and she is feeling ashamed that she can take on a more mature form as a method of deception. The deception part of the last one may be the most painful for some reason.

Yup, Atsali is pretty clearly not OK with her siren aspect. Though whether this is from societal forces or something strictly internal, remains to be seen.

I'm wondering if, perhaps, Sali has not been completely truthful. What if she is, in fact, not a siren, but a harpy and is very ashamed of that. This would explain her reluctance to appear in her supernatural form, even when among others who are equally supernaturals.
I would think she also feels guilty about lying to Kath, Castella, and everyone else.
I think Miss Atsali has a lot of things hidden inside of her that she wants to keep private.
For the record, I still think Atsali is a wonderful person, no matter what else she may be.

davids4250 wrote:I'm wondering if, perhaps, Sali has not been completely truthful. What if she is, in fact, not a siren, but a harpy and is very ashamed of that. This would explain her reluctance to appear in her supernatural form, even when among others who are equally supernaturals.
I would think she also feels guilty about lying to Kath, Castella, and everyone else.
I think Miss Atsali has a lot of things hidden inside of her that she wants to keep private.
For the record, I still think Atsali is a wonderful person, no matter what else she may be.

She might be part harpy, but not full harpy.Old versions of Sirens included parts of bird bodies as they likened the siren song to bird singing. Most often it was the head ]art that was a bird. Wings tended to stay with them for a long time but the last form was almost pure human in appearance. Now how they actually looked is a quetion mark as most people who met them were lulled by theri song and drawn to them in a trance.

One little point I think we missed. Sali mentioned she didn't like being in her other forms. Notice that this is plural. SO Sali has more than one form. We've seen several, mostly different sizes and shapes of the siren form and different sizes of wings and body. But it is quiet possible Sali does have more than those two base forms. Pickle seemed to be talking about the full third form where she looks like a raptor. Feathered head and predator beak. This could be the one Sali does not like. It eats raw meat in chunks. Not a lot of fun for a teenager.

Something I haven't seen mentioned here is that two girls about her age who are really good at morphing would make excellent tutors. She'd be able to relax with people her own age and try things that she might be embarassed to try with any of her other new relatives...

Is this siren puberty?

Whereas I can understand that there might be something to the idea that she has some shame in perhaps not being a perfect siren (i.e. harpy), given her age I'm more inclined to believe that she's uncomfortable with the idea that she'll "siren-out" when she's aroused.

Maybe she should have a talk with Shelly? She's older, but went through a similar discomfort with her transformation when excited.

One of my favorite reasons for growing up an only child, artfully illustrated.

Talk (OK, shapechange) in your sleep, and little sis blabs about what's revealed thereby. Even if if you know it's something everyone does, it's mortifying...

"Mom, I love her but I think I need my own room and some privacy..."

A few people have suggested Shelly being a mentor to Atsali but I wonder if that would really work out. We don't know for sure where sphynxs and sirens fall in the pecking order of the paranormal world but I'm guessing the sirens aren't the ones to come out on top. Atsali was very quick to pour water on the idea of asking Phix for help at the beginning of that arc.

While the current discomfort we're seeing could easily be "normal" teenager growing pains I think we need more background info on Atsali to know for sure. Her parents (and other family members?) are dead but we know nothing about the circumstances of their death or how long ago it happened. If she was old enough to remember her family and/or was there when they were killed then her full siren form might be a reminder of a good life that she can never have back.

On a less serious note, Castella might want to be careful how badly she embarrasses Atsali or the next stop on the shopping trip might be a hardware store to pick up a weed wacker. (not to use the thing mind you, I'm envisioning an outtake scene with Atsali chasing Castella down the hall brandishing one offering to give her a "haircut")