Interesting that the note is addressed to “Tochtli”. I still haven’t put together all the jillionty-one details in this amazing saga… but I’m not complaining.
Indeed, and since most mothers would rather give birth again than call any of their offspring by any name other than one they’ve given them, I’d say that Tochtli is likely to be Jin’s “real” name (in addition to being the name for her “god” aspect). Well, at least Jin doesn’t have to worry about her Mom’s safety — the rest of the world’s safety, yes.
Oh, i dunno – my elder granddaughter’s birth certificate says “Bridget Kathryn”, but she’s never been known as anything but “Maggie” since her birth, and her two-year-old sister is “Natalie Christine”, known as “Velly” (short for “Velcro Baby”…)
Both those nicknames are fully approved by their mother.
“Official” (birth certificate) names are usually a compromise with the father – and possibly to make other family members happy — in both cases I’d bet their Mom had the final word on what they were called (she likely hated their “official” names from the beginning but didn’t want to fight about it — Mom’s are good at “compromising” while still getting their way).
Somewhere long ago, almost lost in the mists of time…..
At some point Jin the being became Tochtli the goddess due to some heroic sacrifice on Jin’s part, most likely well before she was abducted (with Brandi and Bud), cremated and Golemized (also with Brandi and Bud). She (Jin) committed suicide during that event to try and corrupted the creation of the Chimera from their bodies, but the kidnappers continued, resulting in Bud taking over the Chimera and destroying the world. Mostly.
That event had been repeated some 56 times in a loop Jin had been working to avoid by destroying the Calendar Machine by waiting for the right people to do it, and has finally succeeded.
Jin’s Mom had been sucked into the Calendar machine prior to the cremation, which was part of Jin’s motivation to destroy it, hence her capture along with the others to try and ruin the Chimera.
Tochtli is Jin’s given name, it’s an androgynous name like Brooke or Dylan, the name she also went by when pretending to be a boy to avoid being captured by the temple priests. Jin was the name deciphered by Tepoz when he tried to separate the 3 golems more than what had been done by the remaining Timekeepers and Jin’s mom. Jin having more autonomy and memories than the other 2 girls, was able to move about freely and unknown to Tepoz. Jin used her birth name of Tochtli while on her errands and Tepoz wrote this off as the son of Mayahuel.
BrianX: Brandi’s real name is Brandilyn “Brandi” Oduya – if you look at the top of the page, under “ABOUT”, there is a link to some of the cast, Brandi among them.
Each of the names that the Golem Girls currently use are what Tepoz could gather from them as he worked to refine the written codes on their clay bodies. Tepoz struggled most with the last golem and was only able to decipher “Jin”.
I don’t know, but I’m guessing maybe scrambled turkey eggs wrapped up in corn tortillas and a cup of xocoatl (with sugar cubes in case she isn’t used to the bitter flavor anymore). Not sure about the glass of juice though. Something tropical and Central American.
The note does say “Tochtli”, which is Nahuatl for rabbit… above commenters guess that perhaps this is addressing Jin as her given name, but then again, it’s perfectly possible that the note is explaining what the food is: rabbit.
I’ve personally made pancakes for my sweetheart and written “Pancakes” on a note to go with it, just to drive the point home for silliness’ sake.
Interesting note though. Why is it written in the Roman alphabet? Even if Jin’s mum speaks English, if she’s writing Nahuatl for the sake of using the old, familiar language, she’d be using the pictographic system of old Azteca, no?
Of course it just clicked that since the rest of the note is English, so would the Tochtli be. That said, is she using “English” for the reader’s sake?
Why should she? Both Mayahuel and Jin originate in the now extinct civilization of Lanthis, which was, if memory serves, somewhere in what is now the Mediterranean.
It’s in English because Pablo speaks English. And writing it in glyph might accidentally make things happen that shouldn’t. Like, say, a complete shift of the magnetic field of the earth.
Chickens are from southern Asia. Turkeys are a New World bird and were domesticated by the Aztecs. (For those who didn’t know.)
As I understand it, though, Jin was still in Lantis (in the Mediterranean area) when Mayahuel fled to the New World with the time machine. The GGGs were already golems before any of them got to the New World and apparently Mayahuel either ignored Jin or didn’t recognize her there. I think Mayahuel was stuck in the demon world long before the the Aztec civilization evolved. (It’s not clear to me that Mayahuel was ever an Aztec god in the Wapsi universe.)
Actually, eschmenk, if you scrolled down to the bottom of the wiki you referred to, you would see that it appears that chickens existed in South America before Columbus.
Think about it. If Jin spent most of her early life in pre-Columbian Mexico, that’s the sort of thing they’d have access to. A turkey egg breakfast burrito on a corn tortilla with a cup of chocolate would be my idea of Aztec comfort food.
That’s one of the most touching panels Pablo has ever done. I mist up every time I read it. For a strip that has to do with demons and sphinxes and minor gods, – oh my – these characters are so blamed human…
So, who’s hand is in the second panel? Did Mayahuel change her mind about waking Jin up? Jin’s face looks more stressed in the second panel, so I could imagine that it was one of Jin’s demons. The angle makes it look like it wasn’t a little girl’s ghost. Perhaps Jin just dreamed that it was there. That would explain why she doesn’t see anything in the third panel. In any case, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jin has visitors this week.
When was it revealed (to us) that Jin is actually (apparently) an echo, ghost, or “clay doll” of the woman that was her mother’s daughter that died when the calendar machine started? Or am I way way WAY off?
Jin didn’t die when the calendar machine started, she was peeking in the room when it was set in motion and became immortal (not unkillable) like everyone else in the room. Just like her mom before her, Jin became a golem, although mixed together with bud and Bradi’s ashes into one monster that was later separated by the Timekeepers. None of them knew that Tochtli (Jin) was one of the three girls.
We shall see if Jin’s mom is familiar with concepts like walking on the sidewalk, crossing at green lights, etc. Otherwise I see much silliness about to occur (what would happen if a well intentioned, neigh indestructible, completely ignorant of the rules of society character wandered through a major metropolitan area? Only Bizarro Superman knows for sure.).
Back to breakfast – can you get turkey eggs in the markets in MSP? I have seen ‘mexican’ chocolate on my store shelves, which ain’y the same thing as aztec chocolate. Imagine Maya’s reaction to Pop Tarts,,,,,,,,,,,,(shudder)
Call me crazy, but when the golem girls first appeared, they appeared as drunken party girls, and their three names sounded just like Gin, Brandy, and Bud (as in Budweiser) … the fact that Tepoz is the god of alcohol may have had something to do with the way he deciphered their names, yes?
Why do I have a feeling that part of this “exploration” is going to lead Jin’s mother to a certain Cafe, run by a demon infested Barista?
I don’t think “infested” is the word – Tina *is* the demons … or the demons *are* Tina, however you want to look at it.
Oh, mommy, what big claws you have!
May is, after all, the woman (or whatever) who julienned a man’s face with one swipe of claws so sharp it took a second for it to fall apart…
Uh… was that Jins Mother?
Ih thought that was her on her last “job interview”
It was revealed in the 3rd Wapsi Book “the Timekeepers Daughter” that the woman doing the slicing was Jin’s mom.
??? Then why Jin’s comment about her last interview, referenced in the strip the day before the slicing?
Misdirection. But it ended up confusing too many so I switched the order around in the books.
I’m pretty sure it was Jin herself who sliced up the guard.
Compare Panel Six here to Panel One in this page.
Interesting that the note is addressed to “Tochtli”. I still haven’t put together all the jillionty-one details in this amazing saga… but I’m not complaining.
Indeed, and since most mothers would rather give birth again than call any of their offspring by any name other than one they’ve given them, I’d say that Tochtli is likely to be Jin’s “real” name (in addition to being the name for her “god” aspect). Well, at least Jin doesn’t have to worry about her Mom’s safety — the rest of the world’s safety, yes.
Oh, i dunno – my elder granddaughter’s birth certificate says “Bridget Kathryn”, but she’s never been known as anything but “Maggie” since her birth, and her two-year-old sister is “Natalie Christine”, known as “Velly” (short for “Velcro Baby”…)
Both those nicknames are fully approved by their mother.
“Official” (birth certificate) names are usually a compromise with the father – and possibly to make other family members happy — in both cases I’d bet their Mom had the final word on what they were called (she likely hated their “official” names from the beginning but didn’t want to fight about it — Mom’s are good at “compromising” while still getting their way).
Somewhere long ago, almost lost in the mists of time…..
At some point Jin the being became Tochtli the goddess due to some heroic sacrifice on Jin’s part, most likely well before she was abducted (with Brandi and Bud), cremated and Golemized (also with Brandi and Bud). She (Jin) committed suicide during that event to try and corrupted the creation of the Chimera from their bodies, but the kidnappers continued, resulting in Bud taking over the Chimera and destroying the world. Mostly.
That event had been repeated some 56 times in a loop Jin had been working to avoid by destroying the Calendar Machine by waiting for the right people to do it, and has finally succeeded.
Jin’s Mom had been sucked into the Calendar machine prior to the cremation, which was part of Jin’s motivation to destroy it, hence her capture along with the others to try and ruin the Chimera.
Or something like that!
Tochtli is Jin’s given name, it’s an androgynous name like Brooke or Dylan, the name she also went by when pretending to be a boy to avoid being captured by the temple priests. Jin was the name deciphered by Tepoz when he tried to separate the 3 golems more than what had been done by the remaining Timekeepers and Jin’s mom. Jin having more autonomy and memories than the other 2 girls, was able to move about freely and unknown to Tepoz. Jin used her birth name of Tochtli while on her errands and Tepoz wrote this off as the son of Mayahuel.
So Jin’s real name is Tochtli, Bud’s is Acacia (or at least Acacia is the English translation of it)… will we ever find out Brandi’s real name?
BrianX: Brandi’s real name is Brandilyn “Brandi” Oduya – if you look at the top of the page, under “ABOUT”, there is a link to some of the cast, Brandi among them.
Pablo, thanks for these little tidbits of backstory – it’s so helpful for the confused like me…
Nice explanation, Paul. What confuses me is how the name “Jin” came about.
Acacia Budur is Bud’s real name. Her nickname comes as a result of her last name (obviously).
Each of the names that the Golem Girls currently use are what Tepoz could gather from them as he worked to refine the written codes on their clay bodies. Tepoz struggled most with the last golem and was only able to decipher “Jin”.
I used to explore all the time. It was always fun, kind of like an adventure.
What’s she got there for breakfast?
I don’t know, but I’m guessing maybe scrambled turkey eggs wrapped up in corn tortillas and a cup of xocoatl (with sugar cubes in case she isn’t used to the bitter flavor anymore). Not sure about the glass of juice though. Something tropical and Central American.
Wnat? I’m a foodie…
Turkey eggs you say?
The note does say “Tochtli”, which is Nahuatl for rabbit… above commenters guess that perhaps this is addressing Jin as her given name, but then again, it’s perfectly possible that the note is explaining what the food is: rabbit.
I’ve personally made pancakes for my sweetheart and written “Pancakes” on a note to go with it, just to drive the point home for silliness’ sake.
Interesting note though. Why is it written in the Roman alphabet? Even if Jin’s mum speaks English, if she’s writing Nahuatl for the sake of using the old, familiar language, she’d be using the pictographic system of old Azteca, no?
~D.
Of course it just clicked that since the rest of the note is English, so would the Tochtli be. That said, is she using “English” for the reader’s sake?
~D.
Why should she? Both Mayahuel and Jin originate in the now extinct civilization of Lanthis, which was, if memory serves, somewhere in what is now the Mediterranean.
It’s in English because Pablo speaks English. And writing it in glyph might accidentally make things happen that shouldn’t. Like, say, a complete shift of the magnetic field of the earth.
Guessing they didn’t have chickens…
Chickens are from southern Asia. Turkeys are a New World bird and were domesticated by the Aztecs. (For those who didn’t know.)
As I understand it, though, Jin was still in Lantis (in the Mediterranean area) when Mayahuel fled to the New World with the time machine. The GGGs were already golems before any of them got to the New World and apparently Mayahuel either ignored Jin or didn’t recognize her there. I think Mayahuel was stuck in the demon world long before the the Aztec civilization evolved. (It’s not clear to me that Mayahuel was ever an Aztec god in the Wapsi universe.)
Actually, eschmenk, if you scrolled down to the bottom of the wiki you referred to, you would see that it appears that chickens existed in South America before Columbus.
Think about it. If Jin spent most of her early life in pre-Columbian Mexico, that’s the sort of thing they’d have access to. A turkey egg breakfast burrito on a corn tortilla with a cup of chocolate would be my idea of Aztec comfort food.
(Oh, and I have made xocoatl before, or at least a modernized equivalent. It really wasn’t bad, although the chile wouldn’t stay in suspension.)
Looks like two breakfast burritos/chorizos, coffee, a glass of something (probably a fruit juice), some salt for the eggs and sugar for the coffee.
Hmmm… I was thinking they were empanadas…
lovely breakfast!
Where’s Alan? I don’t know how I’d feel about my mum walking in on me and my boyfriend first thing in the morning…. Hahaha.
I don’t think she’s seen Alan since before the little journey to the Calendar Machine.
I wonder if l Mayahuel returns home to find that Jin has suffered separation anxiety and nuked the neighborhood?
Jin. AKA Muffin Crumb. Heheh.
In case you forgot…
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/i-promise/
That’s one of the most touching panels Pablo has ever done. I mist up every time I read it. For a strip that has to do with demons and sphinxes and minor gods, – oh my – these characters are so blamed human…
Dang it, I appended a reply to the wrong comment. I keep doing that….
And Goldilocks was just going for a walk…
So, who’s hand is in the second panel? Did Mayahuel change her mind about waking Jin up? Jin’s face looks more stressed in the second panel, so I could imagine that it was one of Jin’s demons. The angle makes it look like it wasn’t a little girl’s ghost. Perhaps Jin just dreamed that it was there. That would explain why she doesn’t see anything in the third panel. In any case, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jin has visitors this week.
Mom knows English!
QUESTION:
When was it revealed (to us) that Jin is actually (apparently) an echo, ghost, or “clay doll” of the woman that was her mother’s daughter that died when the calendar machine started? Or am I way way WAY off?
Jin didn’t die when the calendar machine started, she was peeking in the room when it was set in motion and became immortal (not unkillable) like everyone else in the room. Just like her mom before her, Jin became a golem, although mixed together with bud and Bradi’s ashes into one monster that was later separated by the Timekeepers. None of them knew that Tochtli (Jin) was one of the three girls.
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/shegaveupwedidnt/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/thosepoorgirls/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/everybitasdangerous/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/wrestlewiththesun/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/learningtobegirls/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/wellletyoutwoalone/
O_O
WOW!!! THX!!!
We shall see if Jin’s mom is familiar with concepts like walking on the sidewalk, crossing at green lights, etc. Otherwise I see much silliness about to occur (what would happen if a well intentioned, neigh indestructible, completely ignorant of the rules of society character wandered through a major metropolitan area? Only Bizarro Superman knows for sure.).
Back to breakfast – can you get turkey eggs in the markets in MSP? I have seen ‘mexican’ chocolate on my store shelves, which ain’y the same thing as aztec chocolate. Imagine Maya’s reaction to Pop Tarts,,,,,,,,,,,,(shudder)
Aint = ain’y (spasm)
Argh! AIN’T, dammit.
Call me crazy, but when the golem girls first appeared, they appeared as drunken party girls, and their three names sounded just like Gin, Brandy, and Bud (as in Budweiser) … the fact that Tepoz is the god of alcohol may have had something to do with the way he deciphered their names, yes?
I thought it added a fun little twist.
I would eat an entire planet if you wrapped it an a tortilla big enough.
And if I skipped the baked potato.