Pointe4Jesus wasn’t talking about who he was talking TO, they were talking to who that look would be scary FOR. Human children might be scared seeing that face, not exactly because of the expression, but because of the features. But like you both said, he’s talking to the Sarnothi kids, who are less likely to have the same reaction.
Agreed – that’s more “Nervous smile” than “scary face” to me, as he sees things going off-the-rails and is REALLY hoping he can keep the situation stable but fearing he can’t.
Adding to pointe4Jesus’s point, I *am* human, and I don’t even see how that’s supposed to be a scary face. To me it just seems like he’s trying to smile encouragingly.
Human’s don’t have that reaction anymore, though. Or at least not Western humans. We bare teeth as a greeting or for all sorts of other reasons. ‘swhy there’s so many problems with gorillas in enclosures- people smile at them and they get pissed because they think we’re threatening them.
I see nervous. “Ah-heh, yes, this is all just fine, not weird at all that some poor kid wants to go home (oh no don’t start crying, kid, please don’t start crying).”
Yeah, that’s definitely a nervous smile – I think A.Beth nailed it with their interpretation. And I don’t know why, but it also gives me the vibe that Then doesn’t have any children of his own.
yeah, thats my interpretion as well – he looks close to scratching his head nervously.
also, i´m totally calling it that kransa xyz is some type of cuss word 😉
btw, didn´t selkie teach george a bit of her language? that, along with his rather laid back attitude makes him a prime candidate to befriend the kids
Gotta love the dropping of the “Kransa bi Cholek”-bomb, Tehk seems like a kid Selkie could definitely get along with! Kransa meant “teeth”, right? I wonder what Cholek means…
Also I’m wondering if Then and other adult sarnothi losing their pluralisms is due to some form of Tensei-English speech therapy or just by working it out on their own, or a mix of both?
You’re correct. Its “teeth and scales”, which is an equivalent to both “God damn it” and “Go to Hell”. It’s a shortened form of the saying “May you find yourself lost amidst the teeth and scales of the Frenzy”, where The Frenzy (also known as the Dread School) is the sarnothi equivalent of both The Devil and Hell. A school of skeletal fish that swarm snd consume for eternity.
Are they the main words used for “teeth” and “scales”, or one of many available synonyms? Either way, I like imagining sarnothi kids trying to get away with swearing by claiming it was the innocent sense of the word. Maybe say half of it quiet and when called out say something like “I’m not talking about *those* teeth, honest!” (Nah, kid, you’re lying. 🙂
Just have to say, I absolutely LOVE this bit of world-building. Hoping there’s a short story or story arc built around this at some point. So interesting!
I don’t know, Then. I think this is exactly what the human kids need to see. They need to see the vulnerability so they feel empathy instead of feeling threatened.
My heart aches for Te Fahn right now, and even most of the in-comic audience will, I think.
Tekh may be a troublemaker. It still comes from a root of hurt and fear, but he may be a troublemaker. Kho might get swayed by him, but I don’t think so. But Te Fahn is going to hide in the woodwork unless someone deliberately takes her under their wing. I’m hoping for Amanda.
Unless Te Fahn decides to stick like glue to Selkie, as someone who can understand her. Which would also put her into quite a bit of contact with Amanda, but in a slightly different context.
She’s right, air is too thin to go up in. But falling through it can be a blast when you know you have plenty of time before you have to pull the cord.
Its a LOT OF FUN… the more sudden than anticipated stop and the wrenching pop as your ankles and knees and hips go out of socket all at once… That’s like a supernova of pain. Passing out afterwards is fun. The Putting things back in socket, that’s 2ndary nova of pain. The 2nd time you pass out isn’t nearly as fun as the first time. Though the pain killers are VERY VERY GOOD.
So why isn’t Then admonishing the boy? If it was a mild swear, I could see letting it pass given the situation; but if it’s that bad, not even a “language!” admonition in Tensei?
I think it has to do with social classes.
Words that farmers use are Not the same words used in the drawing rooms, and parlours of the landed gentry. We have decorum to maintain, WE! don’t use words such as that. Egad!!
Pork = pig, swine
Mutton = sheep
Beef = Ox, or cow/bull
Venison, fowl, etc. and don’t EVEN get me started on ‘Entree’ which is supposed to be the appetizer, except in America where it means main course. That’s all bolluxed up! What?-What?
and don’t forget when you guys get turned into Zombies… it’s all “Cerebral Tissue, BLrrgh… Cerebral Tissue!!” there’s none of that muckin’ about with the low-class “Brains!, Brains!” twaddle…
They are still standing before an assemblage of students, most of whom do not understand Tensei, and Then is trying to keep up appearances by not drawing attention to it.
Well, because they are on a public stage and he’s trying to look “friendly” to the children on the stage and in the audience. There’s also “picking your battles” with kids, and given these kids just lost their home, it seems like not the best time to flip out over inappropriate language—especially since the majority of the kids in the room don’t even know what he said and probably won’t remember it.
These poor kids speak The Local-Lingo better than I spoke Local, while traveling in Euro-land. I’m more worried about their lack of education about our Cowboy Gun Culture and combative speaking style. That Is very concerning.
No, though it can be overwhelming to someone who isn’t used to it. What could be more “combative,” though, is the sarcasm, the backhanded compliments, and the “mocking each other as a way to build friendships” thing.
I wonder how all these kids will react to Selkie, with her clan being very rare or non-existent now. These mostly seem to be of the medium-green clan (I forget all the names, Then and Pohl’s clan), and a few of the dark-green.
Weird how so many people see Tehk as “he,” when I assumed “Kransa” (*snrk*) was a “she”…!
Is Selkie going to be urged (or has she been prompted ahead of time, I HOPE, IF THEY DO THAT) to come up and greet her species-kin, to reassure everyone that “no, really, you’ve already been going to school with someone very similar and no one got eaten”?
I read Tehk as female at first too, then everyone was calling him male and I remembered about the one-part and two-part names being for different genders.
Crikey, it had not occurred to me before.. spending your whole life swimming.. it would be absolute torture to be stuck to the ground. I’m surprised they even have the coordination. Someone get these poor people a new lake!
Sarnothi are known for their physical prowess, so that’s probably how I’m guessing they can stand and walk at least, but I’m surprised that the lack of water resistance hasn’t been brought up yet (i.e. if they drop something or knock something over) Sarnothi not used to the land might come across as “clumsy” at first…
Being underwater gives a person the feeling of being “weightless” (people who can’t walk still get the idea of what it might be like in water) the Sarnothi probably feel “heavy” in the air (you can’t “swim” in the air, since “It’s too thins”, as Te Fahn put it) having a HUGE weight on their shoulders in more ways than one…
These kids have a slight advantage in that regard, in that they’ve received some preparatory planning. These aren’t the new refugees: these are Avery’s “guppies”. The new refugees, now, they’re probably having a pretty awkward time in thin air.
That or build an artificial alternative. Like an Olympic-size swimming pool but bigger. A heated, chemical-free, Olympic-size swimming pool multiplied by [i don’t know how much] to help accommodate all those water breathing refugees…
Incoming plot twist: The kids from Sarnoth ostracize Selkie when they see who her clan is, and worse if they find out who her mother is. Because Clan Jin’Sorai is to blame for them being outcasts now and even worse (from their perspective), Plo Quar is a notorious terrorist and war criminal.
Or something. I don’t think this bodes well for Selkie… at least in the short term.
New place, new school it’s never easy. EVERYTHING is out of the comfort zone! Literal “Fish Out of Water” indeed…
It’s a shame it has to be under these circumstances (especially *why* these new students had to come here), but I want to see how Selkie interacts with these newcomers.
So far she’s known human children (her various friends, peers, rivals, etc.), and either Sarnothi children much younger than her (Dr. Pohl’s kids) or older than her (Agent Brown’s son), but not Sarnothi children close to her age before (that matters a lot to an eight year old)
How will it be when Selkie meets these strangers like her…?
They’re children, Then. Have some patience with them. -__- Seriously, dude. What were you expecting? Also scary-face isn’t gonna help. At all.
I don’t think it’s a scary face for the Sarnothi, only for the humans. And he’s talking to the Sarnothi right now.
He’s not looking at any of the human children. Just at the Sarnothi kids. So yeah, that’s for the Sarnothi kids.
Pointe4Jesus wasn’t talking about who he was talking TO, they were talking to who that look would be scary FOR. Human children might be scared seeing that face, not exactly because of the expression, but because of the features. But like you both said, he’s talking to the Sarnothi kids, who are less likely to have the same reaction.
Agreed – that’s more “Nervous smile” than “scary face” to me, as he sees things going off-the-rails and is REALLY hoping he can keep the situation stable but fearing he can’t.
Adding to pointe4Jesus’s point, I *am* human, and I don’t even see how that’s supposed to be a scary face. To me it just seems like he’s trying to smile encouragingly.
When a predator smiles at you, it’s not a smile – he’s thinking about taking a bite.
Sarnothi are predators as much as humans.
Human’s don’t have that reaction anymore, though. Or at least not Western humans. We bare teeth as a greeting or for all sorts of other reasons. ‘swhy there’s so many problems with gorillas in enclosures- people smile at them and they get pissed because they think we’re threatening them.
What part of that grin is encouraging? It’s just him showing his teeth with shrunken pupils. That’s terrifying for already scared children.
I saw that as a nervous smile. “OMG this isn’t working out as I intended it to.”
Yeah that don’t look nervous. :/ It looks annoyed/angry. Which is why Then shouldn’t have been chosen to do this.
I see nervous. “Ah-heh, yes, this is all just fine, not weird at all that some poor kid wants to go home (oh no don’t start crying, kid, please don’t start crying).”
It’s the teeny eyebrows up there!
Yeah, that’s definitely a nervous smile – I think A.Beth nailed it with their interpretation. And I don’t know why, but it also gives me the vibe that Then doesn’t have any children of his own.
“it also gives me the vibe that Then doesn’t have any children of his own.”
An astute, and accurate, observation. 🙂
Definitely seems like a nervous smile, yeah. Not sure how you’re getting the idea that he’s trying to make a scary face or whatever, honestly.
Honestly I thought he was nervous/annoyed at their reactions maybe offending the human kids and getting everything started off on the wrong foot.
yeah, thats my interpretion as well – he looks close to scratching his head nervously.
also, i´m totally calling it that kransa xyz is some type of cuss word 😉
btw, didn´t selkie teach george a bit of her language? that, along with his rather laid back attitude makes him a prime candidate to befriend the kids
I feel like I’ve seen the word bi’cholek somewhere already, but can’t find when…
(I should starting keeping track of the Sarnoth words every time they’re used, in hopes of one day back-engineering the entire language)
https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie293/
Found another one 🙂
https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie499/
I kinda figure it translates roughly to “hasa diga Eebowai”.
Gotta love the dropping of the “Kransa bi Cholek”-bomb, Tehk seems like a kid Selkie could definitely get along with! Kransa meant “teeth”, right? I wonder what Cholek means…
Also I’m wondering if Then and other adult sarnothi losing their pluralisms is due to some form of Tensei-English speech therapy or just by working it out on their own, or a mix of both?
It probably means “Teeth of Cholek,” whoever Cholek is.
Re the plurals, Pohl mentioned that it was mostly a speech therapy thing, and Selkie hated the idea.
I think it means “Teeth and Scales”
I remember Avery using that term (in english) in response to Pohl telling Todd about the war
You’re correct. Its “teeth and scales”, which is an equivalent to both “God damn it” and “Go to Hell”. It’s a shortened form of the saying “May you find yourself lost amidst the teeth and scales of the Frenzy”, where The Frenzy (also known as the Dread School) is the sarnothi equivalent of both The Devil and Hell. A school of skeletal fish that swarm snd consume for eternity.
Are they the main words used for “teeth” and “scales”, or one of many available synonyms? Either way, I like imagining sarnothi kids trying to get away with swearing by claiming it was the innocent sense of the word. Maybe say half of it quiet and when called out say something like “I’m not talking about *those* teeth, honest!” (Nah, kid, you’re lying. 🙂
Just have to say, I absolutely LOVE this bit of world-building. Hoping there’s a short story or story arc built around this at some point. So interesting!
I don’t know, Then. I think this is exactly what the human kids need to see. They need to see the vulnerability so they feel empathy instead of feeling threatened.
My heart aches for Te Fahn right now, and even most of the in-comic audience will, I think.
Tekh may be a troublemaker. It still comes from a root of hurt and fear, but he may be a troublemaker. Kho might get swayed by him, but I don’t think so. But Te Fahn is going to hide in the woodwork unless someone deliberately takes her under their wing. I’m hoping for Amanda.
Unless Te Fahn decides to stick like glue to Selkie, as someone who can understand her. Which would also put her into quite a bit of contact with Amanda, but in a slightly different context.
“Swimming in air is not fun.”
She’s right, air is too thin to go up in. But falling through it can be a blast when you know you have plenty of time before you have to pull the cord.
Or, until you find the cord isn’t working, I hate it every time that happens.
If you time it right, it’ll only ever happen to you once.
Its a LOT OF FUN… the more sudden than anticipated stop and the wrenching pop as your ankles and knees and hips go out of socket all at once… That’s like a supernova of pain. Passing out afterwards is fun. The Putting things back in socket, that’s 2ndary nova of pain. The 2nd time you pass out isn’t nearly as fun as the first time. Though the pain killers are VERY VERY GOOD.
Hmm…
“‘Kransa bi Cholek’ and ‘Baalu’ are much worse and she really shouldn’t be saying them at all.”
( https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie293/ )
So why isn’t Then admonishing the boy? If it was a mild swear, I could see letting it pass given the situation; but if it’s that bad, not even a “language!” admonition in Tensei?
Some people care more about swearing than others.
Plus it’s already weirdly relative anyway, like why is it okay to say poop but crude to say shit when they mean literaly the same thing?
I think it has to do with social classes.
Words that farmers use are Not the same words used in the drawing rooms, and parlours of the landed gentry. We have decorum to maintain, WE! don’t use words such as that. Egad!!
Pork = pig, swine
Mutton = sheep
Beef = Ox, or cow/bull
Venison, fowl, etc. and don’t EVEN get me started on ‘Entree’ which is supposed to be the appetizer, except in America where it means main course. That’s all bolluxed up! What?-What?
and don’t forget when you guys get turned into Zombies… it’s all “Cerebral Tissue, BLrrgh… Cerebral Tissue!!” there’s none of that muckin’ about with the low-class “Brains!, Brains!” twaddle…
They are still standing before an assemblage of students, most of whom do not understand Tensei, and Then is trying to keep up appearances by not drawing attention to it.
Hm, yes… but I’m sure Selkie didn’t miss that Tehk swore one of the bad swears. Wonder how she’ll react?
Well, because they are on a public stage and he’s trying to look “friendly” to the children on the stage and in the audience. There’s also “picking your battles” with kids, and given these kids just lost their home, it seems like not the best time to flip out over inappropriate language—especially since the majority of the kids in the room don’t even know what he said and probably won’t remember it.
Telling him off is just going to alert the non-sarnothi speakers that he just cursed.
These poor kids. 🙁
These poor kids speak The Local-Lingo better than I spoke Local, while traveling in Euro-land. I’m more worried about their lack of education about our Cowboy Gun Culture and combative speaking style. That Is very concerning.
combative speaking style?
We’re loud.
that’s not combative.
No, though it can be overwhelming to someone who isn’t used to it. What could be more “combative,” though, is the sarcasm, the backhanded compliments, and the “mocking each other as a way to build friendships” thing.
Poor kids. I just want to hug all of them; they’ve all been through so much.
🙁
Those kids need Pohl, Then is too “professional”.
We’re going to either love Tehk or hate him, aren’t we? Personally, I think he’s already my new favorite character! 😀
They act like normal kids in a new school location. So far so good
I wonder how all these kids will react to Selkie, with her clan being very rare or non-existent now. These mostly seem to be of the medium-green clan (I forget all the names, Then and Pohl’s clan), and a few of the dark-green.
I wonder if some will make fun of Selkie for her ignorance of Sarnothi culture.
Are those freckles or the coming in of facial markings?
Then is missing his facial markings!
Wow, Then. Forget that these are deeply traumatized kids and focus on your own agenda, why doncha?
Getting those kids taken care of is his agenda.
Weird how so many people see Tehk as “he,” when I assumed “Kransa” (*snrk*) was a “she”…!
Is Selkie going to be urged (or has she been prompted ahead of time, I HOPE, IF THEY DO THAT) to come up and greet her species-kin, to reassure everyone that “no, really, you’ve already been going to school with someone very similar and no one got eaten”?
Would she stand up and say something on her own?
Tehk has a one-part name, so he’s a boy. Girls’ names have two parts.
The kids aren’t worried about ‘being eaten’. They’re just seeing more kids ‘like Selkie’. It’s not that strange for them.
I read Tehk as female at first too, then everyone was calling him male and I remembered about the one-part and two-part names being for different genders.
Crikey, it had not occurred to me before.. spending your whole life swimming.. it would be absolute torture to be stuck to the ground. I’m surprised they even have the coordination. Someone get these poor people a new lake!
Sarnothi are known for their physical prowess, so that’s probably how I’m guessing they can stand and walk at least, but I’m surprised that the lack of water resistance hasn’t been brought up yet (i.e. if they drop something or knock something over) Sarnothi not used to the land might come across as “clumsy” at first…
Being underwater gives a person the feeling of being “weightless” (people who can’t walk still get the idea of what it might be like in water) the Sarnothi probably feel “heavy” in the air (you can’t “swim” in the air, since “It’s too thins”, as Te Fahn put it) having a HUGE weight on their shoulders in more ways than one…
These kids have a slight advantage in that regard, in that they’ve received some preparatory planning. These aren’t the new refugees: these are Avery’s “guppies”. The new refugees, now, they’re probably having a pretty awkward time in thin air.
These poor people really do need a new lake!
That or build an artificial alternative. Like an Olympic-size swimming pool but bigger. A heated, chemical-free, Olympic-size swimming pool multiplied by [i don’t know how much] to help accommodate all those water breathing refugees…
Dave, we need a lexicon for Tensei, especially now that we have all these new kids!
Incoming plot twist: The kids from Sarnoth ostracize Selkie when they see who her clan is, and worse if they find out who her mother is. Because Clan Jin’Sorai is to blame for them being outcasts now and even worse (from their perspective), Plo Quar is a notorious terrorist and war criminal.
Or something. I don’t think this bodes well for Selkie… at least in the short term.
New place, new school it’s never easy. EVERYTHING is out of the comfort zone! Literal “Fish Out of Water” indeed…
It’s a shame it has to be under these circumstances (especially *why* these new students had to come here), but I want to see how Selkie interacts with these newcomers.
So far she’s known human children (her various friends, peers, rivals, etc.), and either Sarnothi children much younger than her (Dr. Pohl’s kids) or older than her (Agent Brown’s son), but not Sarnothi children close to her age before (that matters a lot to an eight year old)
How will it be when Selkie meets these strangers like her…?
Shouldn’t it be “Kransa bi cholek”, without the apostrophe?