Now I think he's in fact the one who has next to zero knowledge and Onni will have to be dragged in to mitigate the inexperience and teach us, the readers, via Braidy, about the more magical side of the world.
Oohh I never really considered Braidy as being an exposition device! It would make sense though, since we got to see a lot of the trolls/rash in the previous chapter so now I feel like the magic needs some explaining too!
And I imagine Onni knowing Icelandic has got to play a part at some point.I do remember Minna saying that Onni will have an important secondary part to play later, so... You may be onto something!
I do remember Minna saying that Onni will have an important secondary part to play later, so... You may be onto something!
I do remember Minna saying that Onni will have an important secondary part to play later, so... You may be onto something!
On the upside Braidy and Reynir at least sound similar...Reynir Breynir
Editing to add: Reynir's name means a rowan tree (http://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynivi%C3%B0ur). The verb "reyna" (= to try) also declines as "reynir" - hann reynir = he tries.Ooh, that's so cool! Thanks for that little bit of info <3
http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=67So that will probably be significant. Lalli knows he is, but he doesn't know it himself. Interesting.
Oh! And two of the main characters are mages too! One of them knows it, one doesn't and will find out later. And those two mages won't be from the same country, nope. Wanna guess which two it'll be?
Hah, Reynir is about as old as I expected. Some thought he would be 15-17.
I think one of the biggest parts about Reynir's immediate development is going to be about his relationship to Sigrun.
Hah, Reynir is about as old as I expected. Some thought he would be 15-17.I also thought thought he would be younger! But, presumably the fact that he's spent his whole life on one farm (as far as has been implied, anyway) makes him less mature than his age suggests.
I think one of the biggest parts about Reynir's immediate development is going to be about his relationship to Sigrun. She is not going to like having him around, and she'll probably give him a ton of s*** for a long time even though it's not really his fault he got dumped there.
What I do wonder, though, is future expeditions. It's been implied this will just be the first expedition, so what about Braidy? Will he develop a thirst for adventure in the silent world? Will he find his niche that can make him helpful on expedition?
I actually was JUST wondering the same thing, like literally 15 minutes ago, whether he's just along for this ONE adventure or if he's staying for the long-run. I mean, presumably if he's a main character Minna isn't going to only have him hang around for a chapter and then disappear... (I hope not...)Well, seeing as he has been in every group photo since the start of the series, and is the face of many banners + the hive works logo of the site, it's almost as if he's the designated Face of the series.... I think it's safe to say he'll stick around for a while
Though with the bridge out, the possibility of even our MAIN crew making it back safely is kind of in question.
Well, seeing as he has been in every group photo since the start of the series, and is the face of many banners + the hive works logo of the site, it's almost as if he's the designated Face of the series.... I think it's safe to say he'll stick around for a while
Well, seeing as he has been in every group photo since the start of the series, and is the face of many banners + the hive works logo of the site, it's almost as if he's the designated Face of the series.... I think it's safe to say he'll stick around for a while
edit: dang, why didn't I say "it's safe to say he'll stay"
you know
for Title Drop purposes
Plus, considering his ancestor's stance, magic sensitivity was probably suppressed in his family to avoid complications, the imperative being to lead a normal, boring life, away from all the weird stuff beyond the shores of Iceland.I don't know about that... I may be reading too much into things, but Arni's complains of poor sleep and terrible dreams seem pretty close to what Lalli himself experiences. We don't know when exactly magic showed up yet, but going off of that alone, I'd say there's a fairly good chance that magical abilities run in the family.
By that I meant that it would have been written off as something else - I personally think that they were all a bunch of mages, but by suppression I meant not the powers but rather they would never be caught calling themselves mages. They would chalk it up to night terrors, vivid imagination, elves - who knows - but not magic. Nope. Definitely not. Nothing to do with all these shenanigans out there. We are normal people here.
Beautiful Exposition
<snip>(https://41.media.tumblr.com/fb623f7c2d5c32c5079fd08efdaaca16/tumblr_inline_nlgu84bZU31r2g2kx_500.png)
Enlightening, educational...and maybe I'm just childish but I find the mere concept of there being such a thing as a 'fart rune' amazing.Indeed! And Haiz' description of the view of magic in Iceland has brought home for me again how much I love learning from this community.
Enlightening, educational...and maybe I'm just childish but I find the mere concept of there being such a thing as a 'fart rune' amazing.
Indeed! And Haiz' description of the view of magic in Iceland has brought home for me again how much I love learning from this community.wait what did I do
I'm curious to see where his relationship with the rest of the team goes from here. Sigrun ran screaming at the sight of him (he doesn't know What she's screaming, and it doesn't really sound that commanding from his point of view) and Tuuri's not even coming into his line of sight yet. He may not have even really registered her presence yet.hhhhhh yes
I mean, based on various pictures (http://sssscomic.com/comicimages/thumbs/bees.jpg) (and the already ongoing shipping) it seems like reynir and tuuri will be MOST BEST FRENDS. I mean they're close in age and tuuri can speak icelandic and both lack immunity and they are both adorable so. I'm excitedI suspect that (since Minna seems to have gone out of her way to make Tuuri not near Reynir) meetingness will probably be the Monday week-opener?
I suspect that (since Minna seems to have gone out of her way to make Tuuri not near Reynir) meetingness will probably be the Monday week-opener?Here's hoping you are correct. They may be well-matched in many ways, as pointed out, but Minna's characterisations are never simple. (And we love it that way!)
wait what did I do
sure you didn't mean Laufey?
!!!!!!ahahahaa don't worry, being mistaken for Laufey is a compliment
Yes I did, my sincerest apologies. *blush*
But overall Reynir's character development may be very interesting well... as it develops. So far he's scared and unsure, but perhaps during his journey he'll get more self confidence, he'll learn to use magic and will over all see the world and thus achieve what he's searching for. The Reynir we see in 300 pages is probably very different from what we've seen so far. :)
I really look forward to his...growth(?) :DI wonder if my english's failing me...
Lovely -- thanks!;D
We have no official convention for representing Disqus comments.
My habit is to set off commenters' names as boldface and typewriter font (forget its name but it's the 1st one on the menu). But that's just me.
ahhhh I'm super bad at braiding (*points at super short hair*) but I think this is a Necessary Thread indeed!
(also that link doesn't work btw)
Although this leads me to think of what I used to do with it... winding it around the head and pinning it. Coiling it in a bun and sticking a stick through it.... What else could we imagine Reynir doing with his lovely braid?
What else could we imagine Reynir doing with his lovely braid?
There is evidence that the rowan tree was held sacred to Ukko.[9] Rauni, a vaguely defined being has been hypothesised to be cognate to Germanic words for the rowan tree through Old Norse *raunir.[10]
Soooo... I stumble upon a rather interesting piece of information while doing research today.
From this wiki page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukko)
Perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps foreshadowing that Reynir's will be getting thunderbolts later on.
Soooo... I stumble upon a rather interesting piece of information while doing research today.
From this wiki page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukko)
Perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps foreshadowing that Reynir's will be getting thunderbolts later on.
Or the ruling class was a warrior one and so didn't care much for agricultural deities. Peasants probably liked him a lot and so relegated to folk-stuff.
*Icelandic sagas can pretty much be shortened to "farmers fighting". That's literally what's going on in every one of them.
As for the Icelanders - mind you my knowledge on the subject is limited - I thought that stemmed more from a conscious decision to avoid the nonsense they had to endure with Norwegians. Was that phenomenon of armed farmers more widespread or did it vary depending on regions. I mean, I am aware that a lot of warriors were also farmers, but I was under the impression that in places like old Norway, Sweden and Danemark they had warrior aristocrats of some description (Jarls?).
Though in the case of Eigil Skallagrimssons saga it's more about child farmers viciously murdering people over a football game then rapping about it.
Though in the case of Eigil Skallagrimssons saga it's more about child farmers viciously murdering people over a football game then rapping about it.
Depends on which time period you look at. The biggest formation resembling a warrior "aristocracy" was the Royal Hird, which started out as a very modest bodyguard (or housecarls) and evolved gradually to become a large professional army (with it's own military intelligence no less) almost resembling continental knights.
Though in the case of Eigil Skallagrimssons saga it's more about child farmers viciously murdering people over a football game then rapping about it.
Depends on which time period you look at. The biggest formation resembling a warrior "aristocracy" was the Royal Hird, which started out as a very modest bodyguard (or housecarls) and evolved gradually to become a large professional army (with its own military intelligence no less) almost resembling continental knights.
I am so upset right now. (Putting my incoherent rant in the spoilers but really I don't know if anyone will be spoilered? New page is up.)Spoiler: show
Aaah. That's a mechanic I was not aware of - the whole avoiding name thing.
Circumlocution (="Talking around it") to avoid invocation (="Calling up") by the power of something's "True" or "Right" name is a prevalent idea in mythologies/mysticisms world wide; even Jewish mythology (superstition/legend not acknowledged by Judaism proper) features it, which is why Jews (and those from similar cultures) are masters of sarcasm: it's ingrained in their culture to avoid saying bad things in order to keep the bad things from occurring.
I am so upset right now. (Putting my incoherent rant in the spoilers but really I don't know if anyone will be spoilered? New page is up.)Spoiler: show
I am so upset right now. (Putting my incoherent rant in the spoilers but really I don't know if anyone will be spoilered? New page is up.)Spoiler: show
That is an interesting analysis, but I disagree.To be perfectly honest, I doubt he's lying too. But I think that he is lying about the subtext: "You don't have to worry about me." "I'm not a burden."
I think the reason he's trying to be so helpful here is because he IS a burden. He could cause a lot of trouble for the mission, and he has already done so, by replacing some of their food. It's natural that he would feel guilty about it--I know I would. I would behave exactly as he does, and no one has ever called me useless.
Besides, I doubt he considered himself useless in his home. He was a sheep herder, he had a job, and thus participated in his family's income. And when he left, it wasn't so he could earn more money for his family, or stop being a burden for them, he just wanted to amuse himself. If everyone treated his as a burden he wouldn't do that.
As for the dream thing: I don't think he lied about the nightmares. In fact, I was expecting him to say something like that. Since apparently he is an untrained icelandic mage, whose powers are (among others) prophetic dreams, I was wondering exactly WHY Reynir never thought himself a mage. There must be a reason he does not remember his visits to the dreamworld.
I have wondered if Mikkel was a younger child in his family, so this dynamic might be familiar to him. I suspect he's trying here to head it off as quickly as possible because the margins of survival are just too tight to have to deal with interpersonal drama too.To be 100% honest, the whole uber-responsible and passive-aggressive tendencies read more "oldest child" to me, although I could be wrong. I think that he is definitely heading off the drama for the reasons you noted by cutting in and pulling Reynir out of the "I'm sorry" loop, but I think he's recognizing it from a different perspective.
To be perfectly honest, I doubt he's lying too. But I think that he is lying about the subtext: "You don't have to worry about me." "I'm not a burden."
I agree that a large part of his eagerness to help comes from the fact that his mistake has inconvenienced and harmed our intrepid team, but I think that actually backs up my analysis: he has internalized that the way to fix being a burden is by helping. Also he seemed very eager to help when working his way across to Bornholm (which I understand is a different situation), but perhaps it's too early to claim that helpfulness is a part of his personality. The important thing is that having his help rejected would not a new experience for him, and he recognizes exactly what Tuuri's doing.
I also agree that he didn't consider himself useless---once he was able to truly contribute. But as a child, he would have felt useless, because when you're significantly younger than everyone else around you, ya kinda are. And yes, he did escape for his own amusement. I don't think that what I described is his primary motivation, but I definitely think it's a facet.
Yeah, I agree that this would not be a new experience to him (and I didn't find Tuuri being particularly elegant in her attemp to shoo him, he would be pretty dump if he didn't understand what was happening) and that as a child he might have felt it, we agree :-)Oh yeah, totally. I don't think he's been horribly traumatized and scarred for life by growing up the youngest in a (from what we've seen) well-adjusted and loving family. But there's always going to be that complex there.
I just doubt that the current situation would bring back up particularly painful memories: the present is dangerous enough and filled with guilt, I think his experience with his siblings would pale in comparison.
To be 100% honest, the whole uber-responsible and passive-aggressive tendencies read more "oldest child" to me, although I could be wrong. I think that he is definitely heading off the drama for the reasons you noted by cutting in and pulling Reynir out of the "I'm sorry" loop, but I think he's recognizing it from a different perspective.
Oh yeah, totally. I don't think he's been horribly traumatized and scarred for life by growing up the youngest in a (from what we've seen) well-adjusted and loving family. But there's always going to be that complex there.
Mm-hm. Laufey has mentioned the Finnish superstition about not saying the "true" name for "bear." In ancient, pre-classical Rome, a similar prohibition attached to the word for "wolf." I wonder if that was a common pattern among hunting cultures, not to use the "true" name of whatever was the local top predator/most prestigious trophy kill?
I have a vague recollection that many aboriginal cultures (e.g. Native Americans) won't use a baby's name out loud, for fear spirits/devils/whatever might latch on. They'll just say "the baby" or "Little Girl," etc.
Poor Reynir. As of p. 322, he's *still* calling himself "stupid." Hopefully he'll get a chance to earn some self-esteem.Discovering being a mage might not be enough. Maybe by doing something useful, finding his pla... ? *Look at the team, especially Sigrun* All right, it may be difficult.
The funny thing is, he a handsome guy, great hair, he's not complete cretin, so why is he wandering around in a such a funk of excessively need, desperation, and incompetence.
I think the only sensible thing to be said about Reynir's hair is that I want it, but my hair's never going to work like that. Probably wouldn't suit me anyway, frankly.
Also, imagine how long it takes to dry.. Mine's only shoulder-length and it already takes far too long.
I think the only sensible thing to be said about Reynir's hair is that I want it, but my hair's never going to work like that. Probably wouldn't suit me anyway, frankly.There was at some point brief discussion in the comments regarding this - someone wondered why it was that Tuuri had cut her hair for the mission. While I'm sure she also had personal reasons, I pointed out short hair is not only lower-maintenance in terms of styling, but would take less water to wash (water being a rather important resource for things like cooking and sanitation) and dry quicker.
Also, imagine how long it takes to dry.. Mine's only shoulder-length and it already takes far too long.
In my experience, how fast your hair dries depends on a couple of things, namely: the ambient moisture in the air, the thickness/length of your hair, and if it's in contact with something absorbent like a towel.
There was at some point brief discussion in the comments regarding this - someone wondered why it was that Tuuri had cut her hair for the mission. While I'm sure she also had personal reasons, I pointed out short hair is not only lower-maintenance in terms of styling, but would take less water to wash (water being a rather important resource for things like cooking and sanitation) and dry quicker.yeah, and it may also have been stuff like, easier to wear the mask, less getting in the way of the uniform... short hair is practical for many reasons.
Oooh yeah, that's true. I do live in Florida where the air is basically water (99% humidity is more often than you think), so never mind, scrap my comment, I have no idea how long it takes for hair to dry in Scandinavia 8)According to this, Copenhagen is not that far off:
I'd say I probably have hair of a similar thickness and wavyness as Reynir (check cosplay thread if you like). From the short hair in the front, I think we can assume its very volumous, but not curly. Not like the traditional curly redhead ginger hair we are all probably familiar with, tight corkscrew curls and all. Deffinately not like Disney's Merida. So braiding it would be easier, but do you think he has layers? Because I can't see why else he would have the whole floofy mullet thing he has going on in the front if the hair wasn't cut to be specifically shorter than the rest. So does MamaBraidy trim it for him? From personal experience, it's harder to get a nice, thick, consistent looking braid when you have layers that are shorter sticking out as flyaways??I had assumed he just had bangs so he could, you know, see. the rest is probably not layered.
He could do lots and lots of tiny braids! :D and then... BRAID THOSE BRAIDS.
I'd say I probably have hair of a similar thickness and wavyness as Reynir (check cosplay thread if you like). From the short hair in the front, I think we can assume its very volumous, but not curly. Not like the traditional curly redhead ginger hair we are all probably familiar with, tight corkscrew curls and all. Deffinately not like Disney's Merida. So braiding it would be easier, but do you think he has layers? Because I can't see why else he would have the whole floofy mullet thing he has going on in the front if the hair wasn't cut to be specifically shorter than the rest. So does MamaBraidy trim it for him? From personal experience, it's harder to get a nice, thick, consistent looking braid when you have layers that are shorter sticking out as flyaways??
I had assumed he just had bangs so he could, you know, see. the rest is probably not layered.I dunno, my brother's girlfriend has super long hair that she keeps parted down the middle and basically NEVER styles or gets trimmed, other than cutting off some inches off the whole bottom. So since she's been doing this her whole life ( to my knowledge) her bangs are just as long as the rest of her hair. She usually has no problem with getting her hair in her face when she braids or puts it in a ponytail, because it all holds equally together in the hair tie.
Looks like his hair is so floofy in the front, it would whip around in his face whenever there was a slight wind. What I've learned of Iceland from this forum, is that Iceland is windy as all heck, so this would probably be a huge hassle.*can confirm that rural Iceland is hella-windy*
*can confirm that rural Iceland is hella-windy*
*also has long hair*
*didn't help*
*I looked like a drifter*
*it's ok, everyone looks like a drifter after a minute outdoors*[Cue mega-evil laughter from Trond]
[Cue mega-evil laughter from Trond]
I wish we could insert short voice records :-X I'd love to hear you Trond's impersonation.
you can: http://vocaroo.com/
Por Baco!!! Now I can ask JoB to make a Trond's evil laughter impersonation!!!!!! Pleeeeeease JoB :D!!!!!... the problem being that I'm more of a "silent but (mildly) deadly" type myself ... :'(
From personal experience, shorter floofy hair is actually harder when its windy/you need to work, because it's nye on impossible to get all the different lengths to all stay down with bobby pins and the like.
I'm probably over analyzing this... °_°
A random thought I just had:
Every dream that Reynir has is a reset for Braidy and him. When he wakes up, he never remembers anything about the dream and Braidy reverts back to his pristine condition, therefore ensuring that Reynir never needs to braid his hair himself.
A random thought I just had:
Every dream that Reynir has is a reset for Braidy and him. When he wakes up, he never remembers anything about the dream and Braidy reverts back to his pristine condition, therefore ensuring that Reynir never needs to braid his hair himself.
I'd say he's got some "new hairs" growing in the front all the time, and being shorter, they don't stay in the braid and being lighter, they stick upwards... :P ...who am I kidding, he's had a consistent hairstyle his whole life, the hair would've already gown long enough, so it can't be my carefully made up explanation! The front is obviously cut to be shorter! It looks good on him becaaaaause... Icelandic magic, says I.
Going by pages 293 + 294 he could even have lived in a tiny village. On page 293 we see a bit too many buildings for a singular farm and on page 294 one of the houses on the right hand side seems to have a sign outside of it and another hanging on the wall that make it look like it could be a shop or a bar.Well that's good at least! I was worried poor Reynir had literally NEVER SEEN OTHER PEOPLE
If that's the case, then most likely he's only known a handful of people in his life: the villagers and relatives popping by for a visit. Judging by his reaction to Reykjavík he's definitely unused to large amounts of people - er - the amount of people living in a small-ish town, so I wouldn't be surprised if at least a part of his problems interacting with the others wasn't simply due to lack of practice (and the fact that some crew membersLalli is too Lalliare themselves not easy for socializing anyway).
I dunno, my brother's girlfriend has super long hair that she keeps parted down the middle and basically NEVER styles or gets trimmed, other than cutting off some inches off the whole bottom. So since she's been doing this her whole life ( to my knowledge) her bangs are just as long as the rest of her hair. She usually has no problem with getting her hair in her face when she braids or puts it in a ponytail, because it all holds equally together in the hair tie.
From personal experience, shorter floofy hair is actually harder when its windy/you need to work, because it's nye on impossible to get all the different lengths to all stay down with bobby pins and the like.
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/47c09eae40e2a540c1f1955d8f73711c/tumblr_inline_nnlxasGKjM1r2g2kx_540.png)
Looks like his hair is so floofy in the front, it would whip around in his face whenever there was a slight wind. What I've learned of Iceland from this forum, is that Iceland is windy as all heck, so this would probably be a huge hassle.
I'm probably over analyzing this... °_°
To be frank the one thing I've been wondering about the most since Reynir arrived is probably if he remembered to take his hairbrush with him. If he doesn't have a hairbrush, the world is going to self-destruct painfully.Maybe he can share Emil's ;)
He doesn't have a hairbrush he just needs to swing his hand and his hair sets itself perfectly.Well, we have seen Lalli just kind of flailing at it (in the train!) and it still magically sparkled back into place.
I saw this video on Facebook and all I could think of was Reynir's hair. (warning: there's music)OH MY GOD YES
https://www.facebook.com/Vlechten.met.Daan/videos/1641853616052356/
I saw this video on Facebook and all I could think of was Reynir's hair. (warning: there's music)
https://www.facebook.com/Vlechten.met.Daan/videos/1641853616052356/
OH MY GOD YES
Someone please draw this.
by the way, Tuuri loves Reynir's hair, not him (yet?)That is definitely a thing I will sadly admit to having done a few times in real life >_>
*Bows and pays respect to you, beautiful person*You are very welcome.
Agreed. It was thrilling to see him put his foot down to fight for what he knew was right, in Pastor Anne's case.If we do, I hope it's something where he can afford to be wrong without anyone dying as a consequence; given the lethality of the Silent World, that's not likely.
Will we get an arc when he pushes for something, following the same set of instincts, which proves to be *wrong*? (Because that certainly is a thing for the wunderkind trope to experience.)
So, do we think today’s prank means Reynir has progressed, or possibly gone backwards? I’m in two minds - on the one hand it’s good to see he has some humor left in him even after so long (how long? Week? Two weeks? Since Väinö’s) in constant peril. On the other, this could have been a very emotional moment but he went for the laughs.
Now that I’m writing this, it occurs to me that Reynir is indeed in relative safety for the first time for a long while (longer than since Väinö’s actually) and he knows it too because Onni explained it briefly with the mosquito incident. So maybe he’s a bit light headed with relief with the safe place and finding Onni, and on top of that even seeing Tuuri. So maybe his prank isn’t that well considered, but perhaps he can be forgiven?