Wapsi Square Forum

Dreams can come true, it can happen to you, when you're young at heart...

the "aww crap"...i just find it so amusing. Like they preemptively discussed and discussed about striking a conversation with them before walking up to atsali and are now on edge while speaking with them.

Nah, we'll all see it when she suddenly becomes a princess. She already has wings, so watch for her to sprout a horn.

"Princess Atsali" does sound nice, though.

Wyvern wrote:She already has wings, so watch for her to sprout a horn.

That forwardly spiky hair may already qualify.

Aha. One olive branch, right on cue. Species is Olea obsequiosa, perhaps? I'm seeing the same sort of reactions in the two mermaid lasses, that we saw when the vampires met Monica... toned down a bit but they clearly feel they're treading on thin ice.

I think Calista's right, though... at least potentially so. Atsali's local standing had already gone up from "target of gossip" to "neutral nerd", but she's clearly been upgraded to the Big Leagues over lunchtime today.

I dunno about her life being set, though. Cricket should remember, from her own life experience, that being a Princess is by no means an unmixed blessing. Considering who Atsali's adoptive royal family is, her future is at least as likely to be unpredictable and traumatic as it is "set".

I imagine Atsali will soon see that being a "Princess" is as much a curse as a blessing, if not more so. On the one hand, she's got a lot of beings with god-like powers looking out for her. On the other hand, she's going to soon find it really hard to tell the people who like her for her social status, and those who like her for her, apart.

Monica was lucky enough to have cultivated a solid pool of friends and a mate *before* she went all jaguarine. Atsali has family, a couple of pals, a tenuous ally, and a bunch of her mom's friends, and handful of bug currently established. But due to the actions of both Monica and Pickle, the school pool of peers has now been contaminated with the idea that anyone angling to get in her good graces is just doing it for social status reasons.

'Sali's stats tend to get inflated radically... first her bra size and now, her radar cross-section.

It appears that Calista is not just telling Atsali what her status is but recalling things that have been said to her.
I can imagine that she has been told many times:

You are powerful.
You are surrounded by powerful beings who will serve and protect you.
You are a princess.
Your life is set.

Calista seemed resigned to the fact that her life was set.
Now she has met someone who she believes these words describe.
I think this revelation has given her hope.

Atsali's big problem now is how to stay polite with the representatives of the 'in' crowd, while keeping her known friends (Berdine and Nadette) and maintaining a good example for Calista. That could be tricky if the bear girls feel Atsali should want to be a member of the snob set, and are turned off by it. The take me take my friends approach seldom works in reality.

I don't think Atsali will have problems with new friends as long as she remembers that:
she is a dork and so are her friends Bernadette, Nadine and Calista.
Dorks seem to emit a strong repulsive field that affects the "in" crowd but not other dorks.

Thor wrote:On the other hand, she's going to soon find it really hard to tell the people who like her for her social status, and those who like her for her, apart.

And those who like her only for her parts; don't forget that she's still a siren, after all.

wwf wrote:It appears that Calista is not just telling Atsali what her status is but recalling things that have been said to her.
I can imagine that she has been told many times:

You are powerful.
You are surrounded by powerful beings who will serve and protect you.
You are a princess.
Your life is set.

Calista seemed resigned to the fact that her life was set.
Now she has met someone who she believes these words describe.
I think this revelation has given her hope.

This is true of Calista as she was born to power and position. But her evaluation of Sali is wrong. Sali and family do not live in the Fae court, or another royalty based system. The culture Sali is in is based upon the individual and who/what they are, not a position. So the para world may now see Sali as a higher class being she is actually not one. She may be but she has yet to show the abilities of one and they have not manifested yet. So her ranking as princess is based upon perception of the other students, and paras, who she her connection to the truly powerful in the para world.
This can cause problems for Sali if she does not keep herself grounded which is probably what the bear twins will be doing. Friends who like you because of who you know are after the connection to who you know. Sali should want friends who like her for herself. Besides can you see Kathy, or Aunt Monica, putting up with Sali giving herself princess airs? I just hope this doesn't go to Sali's head in the long run.

Pickle didn't help with her name dropping either.http://wapsisquare.com/comic/your-aunt/ So now the school knows that Sal is connected to the Jaguar girl, The time keepers daughter, The head of MIB, etc. Now add a daughter of the forest and a Fae princess. This list is enough to overawe anyone in the para world and is a social climber.

wwf wrote:Dorks seem to emit a strong repulsive field that affects the "in" crowd but not other dorks.

While this used to be the case I am finding that it is not so much anymore. The Dork flag, once waved solely by the permanently un-hip, seems to be getting used by the so called "cool kids" now if cosplay and general Con attendance are any sign.

Just so everybody is clear on this:



This puts Atsali & Co. more into the Dweeb region, as she lacks the Dork obsessiveness about, say My Little Siren action figures or such.

Oh, boy! Atsali's cloaking device has been rendered inoperable and target lock has been achieved by her schoomates.

There are Royal Famlies and then there are Royal Famlies. I believe being a Princess of Wapsi is going to be less harrowing than being a Princess of Amber, at least I hope so for Atsali's sake. Since Atsali's already a teen-ager I think she will be a well grounded down to earth type blue collar Princess. She knows what it's like to be low down on the totum pole and can actually sympathize with others in that position. Of course it will mean one more thing to deal with, on top of being a siren and a teenager, but she seems to be someone who will handle it well. Besides, she has Katherine to keep her in line!(Not that I think she will need it.)

In the friend department she has the bear twins and cricket, all of which made friends with her before they knew her connections. The Mermaids, while not quite friends were at least better than neutral before this event. Yeah, it will be hard to sort the sheep from the goats.

Let us not forget that the title "Princess" is conferred not because of what you did, but because of your family and what you are expected to do.
Princess Diana (the real one, not the fictional character) Struggled with adapting to the title, potential and expectations--she was just coming into her own legacy (the anti-landmine cause) when her life tragically ended.
This is so common that movies, books, stories abound about a commoner's struggles when they become "royalty".

I just had a discussion about this with my wife earlier today, I pointed out that those born and raised "royal" tend to be not so well liked as those that become royal and keep their empathy for the commoners (Like Princess Di)
The events sparking world war one come to mind--commoners shooting a Royal, the royal relatives using it as an excuse to invade, etc.

AmriloJim wrote:'Sali's stats tend to get inflated radically... first her bra size and now, her radar cross-section.

And here I was, going to say there was nothing "stealth" about Atsali...

wwf wrote:It appears that Calista is not just telling Atsali what her status is but recalling things that have been said to her.
I can imagine that she has been told many times:

You are powerful.
You are surrounded by powerful beings who will serve and protect you.
You are a princess.
Your life is set.

Calista seemed resigned to the fact that her life was set.
Now she has met someone who she believes these words describe.
I think this revelation has given her hope.

Exactly... Callista knows what it is like to be a princess... and though Atsali may not be "royalty", she sees her own aspects in Atsali's situation and is problably trying to wrap her head around the striking similarities.

DilyV wrote:

wwf wrote:It appears that Calista is not just telling Atsali what her status is but recalling things that have been said to her.
I can imagine that she has been told many times:

You are powerful.
You are surrounded by powerful beings who will serve and protect you.
You are a princess.
Your life is set.

Calista seemed resigned to the fact that her life was set.
Now she has met someone who she believes these words describe.
I think this revelation has given her hope.

Exactly... Callista knows what it is like to be a princess... and though Atsali may not be "royalty", she sees her own aspects in Atsali's situation and is problably trying to wrap her head around the striking similarities.

The fates seem to just love Atsali. They just keep bringing her more and more friends and family.