Post by: Sunflower on September 24, 2014, 04:39:13 AM
You see, Our Creator had a different working title for SSSS before settling on its current title. And apparently it was spoileriffic! Based on her comments, maybe some clever folks can try to reverse-engineer its Original Name. Or would it be like pronouncing the Tetragrammaton (or maybe the Nine Billion Names of God (http://downlode.org/Etext/nine_billion_names_of_god.html))?
In her own words:
[The working title] was the most spoileriffic name for anything ever in the history of names. Seriously, I can't even write it down here without completely breaking my rule of not revealing too much of the story yet, it's almost on par with "oh, hello there, this comic is about this and that and such!". Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but only a bit. Other than that failure it was actually not that bad of a title, and it was only one single long word, which in itself is already pretty cool. I was a little tempted to just go ahead and keep it as the real title on that one merit alone. But awww, point one was, and is, the most important criteria for choosing a name, and I just knew that part was going to bug me until the day I day I die. So, garbage can, meet failed title.
BTW, here's how she came to choose Stand Still, Stay Silent:
It fills all of the criteria I had set for an acceptable name for the comic.
One: It should not give away anything about the story, yet it should refer to a significant concept in the comic in such a way that someone reading the comic will get it.
Two: It should provide at least some possibility for a bit of fun typographic experimentation. Let's see what we have here; four almost equally sized words, divided in two equal parts. Yup, that's workable.
Three: The abbreviation of the name should be at least somewhat memorable. You know, nothing insane like LPLHRTTG. And since Stand still. Stay silent gets a very simple abbreviation in the form of SSSS, that's a clear pass on this point too. That's three out of three, title accepted!
Post by: JoB on September 24, 2014, 05:40:37 AM
Based on her comments, maybe some clever folks can try to reverse-engineer its Original Name.Hmmm. I don't have a feeling that we already know enough of "this comic is about this and that and such" to seriously attempt that, I'm afraid. For example, once they're in the Silent Lands, we could get a boatload of monsters as main characters, in the style of Derelict's This One (http://derelictcomic.com/?strip_id=130).
Also, I'ld take the statement that that oh-so-descriptive title is just one word as a hint that it likely was in Finnish (which IIUC is about as good in making fresh compound nouns compote as German is ;) ).
Post by: Sunflower on September 24, 2014, 07:03:00 AM
Quote
I'ld take the statement that that oh-so-descriptive title is just one word as a hint that it likely was in Finnish (which IIUC is about as good in making fresh compound nouns compote as German is ;) ).
Heh, I bet you're right, judging by the lyrics of Värttinä songs (http://varttinafans.wordpress.com/discography/lyrics/vihma/) (almost my only exposure to written Finnish until recently). A sample:
Santa saappahaisilleni utu ummiskengilleni
ummiskengilleni kengilleni joono
Satoi neljä neitokaista valoi vihmasta raetta
neljä neitokaista neitokaista joono
Anna tupa tullakseni ovensuuta ollakseni
tupa tullakseni tullakseni joono
I gather this is some sort of folk song or jump-rope rhyme the band adapted... but if this tongue-twister is what Finnish *kids* sing, no wonder Finnish mages are so good at spoken spells!
Post by: BabaYaga on September 24, 2014, 08:15:10 AM
All joking aside, this single long word would be very descriptive if it had something to do with Finnish or Scandinavian mythology, it could have been some mythological being or name or term that will have great significance later in the story, like Ragnarök or something. (Now, cue in the mythology experts we have aboard.)
Post by: BrainBlow on September 24, 2014, 01:43:30 PM
Post by: tesseract on September 24, 2014, 02:08:25 PM
Post by: BrainBlow on September 24, 2014, 02:11:03 PM
I'll take a wild guess: Sampo.Which translates to...?
Post by: FrogEater on September 24, 2014, 02:18:22 PM
Post by: Mayabird on September 24, 2014, 09:49:52 PM
This makes me think Emil is going to clear out an abandoned jewelry store in Copenhagen though. "Well, we didn't get all the books, buuuuut..." *dumps out sack full of gold chains and diamond rings*
Post by: shauhagah on September 25, 2014, 05:16:00 AM
Quote
This makes me think Emil is going to clear out an abandoned jewelry store in Copenhagen though. "Well, we didn't get all the books, buuuuut..." *dumps out sack full of gold chains and diamond rings*
Do you think the jewellery stores would still have stuff in them or would people have stolen everything as civilisation collapsed?
You'd think that would be one of the first places people would hit, after supermarkets.
Post by: FrogEater on September 25, 2014, 06:01:03 AM
Post by: Mayabird on September 25, 2014, 08:40:37 AM
Do you think the jewellery stores would still have stuff in them or would people have stolen everything as civilisation collapsed?
You'd think that would be one of the first places people would hit, after supermarkets.
Yeah, probably, but I like the mental image.
Also the mental image of Emil thinking that he's gonna be rich beyond his wildest dreams, but he brings so much loot back that he crashes the jewelry market. At least the diamonds also have industrial uses...
Post by: shauhagah on September 26, 2014, 01:18:23 AM
Quote
Also the mental image of Emil thinking that he's gonna be rich beyond his wildest dreams, but he brings so much loot back that he crashes the jewelry market. At least the diamonds also have industrial uses...
Yeah I can imagine him trying to fit everything on the mystery vehicle. At least jewellery won't take up as much room as books. I hope it can carry a lot of weight.
Post by: Rabbit on September 26, 2014, 12:49:57 PM
Post by: ruth on October 10, 2014, 10:52:40 AM
Post by: Fimbulvarg on October 10, 2014, 10:55:32 AM
Post by: Rabbit on October 10, 2014, 10:56:48 AM
So lamentably, that means small chances of us Minions ever getting our grabby hands on the font file.
Post by: JoB on October 10, 2014, 11:05:32 AM
So lamentably, that means small chances of us Minions ever getting our grabby hands on the font file.Well, I guess we've seen enough of it to reimplement at least the fixed sizes (say, in Metafont), though ...
Post by: Richard Weir on October 10, 2014, 03:34:20 PM
Post by: Nimphy on October 10, 2014, 03:47:49 PM
... then hand over all copies of the files so Minna can distribute them as a fundraising method?
Yyyyyesss...?
Okay, maybe not...
Post by: woolly socks on October 10, 2014, 05:27:28 PM
I think if we start a polite, nice petition we might get her to sell A8 or give it out as a part of some future "skald's tools" special comic pack or something. Or possibly she wants to keep it just for the comic, as a special, unique thing.
In any case, it's a really nice font, catching the spirit of weird displaced historicality while still being legible. I really respect that level of detail, even creating a new typeface to fit the visual feel of your world. Nice.
Post by: Yannick on October 19, 2014, 02:00:21 PM
So I think I will start to post them, and if you have suggestions, let me know.
1- Find ways to add more informations to the forum.
By exemple, we could aggregate all significants posts of Minna in one thread for SSSS (and later one thread for aRTD)
1. Key posts by Minna would be good in an archive... if someone wants to start searching through the comments, I think that'd be a fine thread to make.
Post by: Yannick on October 19, 2014, 02:28:08 PM
Quote from: TBA
Minna will SSSS have a voting system setup for TWC? I've been voting for aRTD everyday since I found it, including Sundays.
Quote from: MinnaSundberg
It definitely will, I really enjoy the slight competitiveness of ranking sites and TWC remained as my largest individual source of new visitors for aRTD all the way to the end, I wouldn't want to lose that source for SSSS. But I'll wait a couple of weeks, I don't want to have too many new people wandering in going "Oooh, new comic! ...Meh, only 4 pages... *Gone*". x3Original post (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=1#IDComment739054310)
Post by: Yannick on October 21, 2014, 08:55:10 PM
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TBA
Minna will SSSS have a voting system setup for TWC? I've been voting for aRTD everyday since I found it, including Sundays.
Minna Sundberg
It definitely will, I really enjoy the slight competitiveness of ranking sites and TWC remained as my largest individual source of new visitors for aRTD all the way to the end, I wouldn't want to lose that source for SSSS. But I'll wait a couple of weeks, I don't want to have too many new people wandering in going "Oooh, new comic! ...Meh, only 4 pages... *Gone*". x3
23 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=1#IDComment739054310)
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Callrin
Minna, I have so many questions I'd want to ask you - about aRTD, your drawing style, you generally etc... The F.A.Q. on the aRTD page is okay, but very... uh, general. Is there a chance you'd gather questions from your readers and answer the ones you're... fine with answering (I mean, I don't want to overdo it, privacy is privacy ;)). I hope you know what I mean.
Thank you for the amazing experience of reading aRTD, which inspired me to draw more myself and made me smile so many times. I can't wait to see SSSS :)
Minna Sundberg
Hmm, I could do some kind of general Q&A thing in the future, I never really mind answering questions. I might totally forget about it though, so feel free to remind me about the idea if time goes by and nothing seems to ever happen, heh.
(And I'm probably going to chop down the aRTD-faq even further to total bare-bones, I don't want any answers laying around there that I would need to go back and update in the future. x3 )
october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=1#IDComment739209949)
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Minna Sundberg
Post-apocalyptic Hannu and Ville, adventurers of the wastelands!
I remember that I drew this on the boat ride from Finland to Sweden when I was taking that sudden trip to go check out this place that I'm now renting.
(http://sssscomic.com/journalimages/vote2/growr.jpg)
24 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=2)
Post by: Yannick on October 21, 2014, 08:56:50 PM
Kiril
Hello!
I wanted to find your old comic, but could find only a few pages, I do not know even the names of
http://storage8.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564412_6435996_5d993e82a7.jpg
http://storage6.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564588_2064375_ffa105b537.jpg
http://storage9.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564635_9181765_afa0e5eecb.jpg
http://storage5.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564658_9162420_8601f52fad.jpg
http://storage6.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564673_7257224_3ee326b5f3.jpg
http://storage7.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564697_4153769_50835f9ba6.jpg
http://storage8.static.itmages.ru/i/13/1023/h_1382564715_8728769_49febb8445.jpg
Minna Sundberg
Hahah, oh that old comic. It only had like 20 pages and had no plot, point, ending or name. It's not online anymore (I used to have it on my Deviantart page) but maybe one day I'll dig out the pages from my backup drive and post them here. :3
VVolfsong
The old comic was called "Nightfallen" if I remember correctly. It used to be in Minna's Deviant Art gallery, but that was years ago. Its been removed now.
I was sorry to see it go. Minna is really awesome at drawing facial expressions on anthros and animals. That's probably the one thing that bugs me about SSSS. It seems its all humans this time around =
(I'll still read SSSS off course, and I'm sure it'll be awesome regardless!)
Minna Sundberg
Noooo, I never came up with a name (nightfallen would totally be the kind of generic pretentious fantasy name I would have come up with though, haha). And the reason I couldn't come up with a name was that whenever I though about it I realized that I didn't know what the comic was even about. x3
24 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=2#IDComment739479058)
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Minna Sundberg
The old tutorials-page is still there, its link is just in the gallery now: http://www.minnasundberg.fi/tutorials.php
24 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=2#IDComment739926819)
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SSSS CONCEPT ART FROM 2011-2012 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=3)
BUNCH OF SSSS CHARACTER DRAWINGS (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=5)
OLD PRACTICE COMIC IDEAS (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=7)
Post by: Yannick on October 21, 2014, 09:00:02 PM
Omicron
to continue yesterdays comment thread, I found another old comic.
http://www.minnasundberg.fi/archive/Comics/pahistenlistijat/indexaukeama.htm
Dammit Minna, how many of those old comics you have and don't show us?! :P
WaterWishes11
What in the world was that!!!!!!!!! Another comic you though of starting?!?!?!?
Minna Sundberg
No, no, that one's actually complete! It's a small graduaton project I did during my last year of upper seconday school (aka 11th grade). IHeh, 'm actually pretty fond of that one, I think I'll translate it some day so you all can read it. :3
Omicron
Hurray! Those are great news. I'll like to read those wasteland bad guys :)
But it's still not an answer to my question: How many of these old comics of yours exist? As time passes, we find more and more of them!
Minna Sundberg
Ehm...I think I made four total comic with the characters in the linked comic, that one is the last one. The three before that are...ugly messes that I just made for fun and threw up on the web because every other Finnish person with a online art site seemed to be doing webcomics at the time.
The first one has no ending and for the other two I pulled that teenage " I'm bored with this comic now, ending in four pages, they all died!"-stunt. Okay, they didn't die, but the endings were abrupt and crazy.
I should have at least two of them saved somewhere, I think I even translated one once.
26 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=4#IDComment740424059)
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Xeiran
One last thing, you should consider expanding the scope of what you sell in your online store; this can be critical for the extra revenue needed to support yourself and turn this into a full time job should you desire such. Of course, if you are like Bill Watterson and similarly feel merchandising would only cheapen your creations, that's also perfectly understandable.
Hopeful
Yes! T-shirts would be awesome, especially as Christmas gifts to buy.
Minna Sundberg
I think I will, once I have the time to organize all that. I quite like merchandise and don't feel lke it cheapens anything, I'm just afraid I'll drop the ball and mess everything up. But I'll look into that once the book is done and I have more brain juices left over for new stuff. (And hey, at least the book will be in there!)
29 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=6#IDComment741673901)
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Minna Sundberg
It probably won't get too dark, It's mostly about goofy characters epxloring interesting places and doing silly things. :3
29 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=6#IDComment742119617)
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Minna Sundberg
Just asking here in the comments is fine, preferably on the most recent page that I've posted, since I don't usually go back more than a couple of days to check up on old comments threads and might miss it there. And I try to always answer comments that have direct questions. :3
29 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=6#IDComment742125516)
Post by: Yannick on October 21, 2014, 09:01:14 PM
Mischief12
Minna!
Thanks so much! Here are the questions.
1. How expensive is it to run a site like aRTD? The project my friends and I are doing is a web comic also.
2. I am the main artist for it, and I'm not any good a humans. My specialty is animals. I wondered if you had any tips.
3. If you had any tips in general for this kind of thing, they would be very much appreciated.
Those are them. And your sketches are amazing and inspirational as always <3
Minna Sundberg
1. Not very expensive, the only cost is hosting and a domain name and I paid a total of about 15€ a month for the aRTD site, and the same for this new one (so now I pay 30€ because I have two sites and two domains). And that's on the expensive side of it, I buy my webspace from one of the pricier Finnish webhotel services because they have a reputation for being very reliable and having good customer service, and that's important enough for me that I don't mind paying a little bit extra.
2. Learn how the human face is built, what the skull structure looks like, what kinds of muscles work together to make different expressions and where fat tends to start building up for chubbier faces. And learn the same for the body, but personally I felt like learning how faces work is the most challenging part.
3. Eeh, I'm not very good at "general" advice, i can never think of anything smart. Just...make sure to have a buffer of pages so that you don't miss any updates and try never be a jerk to people who might read your comic.
30 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=7#IDComment742225756)
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Victoryblog
I CANT WAITTTTTTT!!!! YOU ARE SO AMAZING! I want to make a webcomic one day. right now I am saving up the money.
I was wondering. Do you have any tips for someone that can only draw traditional (can't afford a drawing tablet or anything) I only have water colors right now. should I use the watercolors to color the comic or should I wait until I can get something else?
Also (sorry) would you suggest anything for coloring? any type of paint or colored pencils? anything? :)
thanks!
Minna Sundberg
Watercolors are great for coloring comics, go ahead and use those if you've got a handle on them! Other than that some acrylics or guache paints could look cool too, or alternatively color markers like copics. I almost decided to color aRTD with watercolors too, but degided to go digital in the end simply because it's easier to fix mistakes that way. :3 (Colored pencils are generally a really bad idea for comic coloring though, just as an fyi. They're almost as bad as crayons. )
Esn
Why, what's bad about colored pencils or crayons? I'd actually been considering one of those two for something.
Is it because it takes too long?
Minna Sundberg
No, they just tend to look messy and amateurish unless you're really, really skilled with them and/or have a distinctive style that suits the kind of mark that crayons and colored pencils leave. They can look quite nice in combination with another media though (watercolor base+details with colored pencils is relatively common).
30 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=7#IDComment742348962)
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Esn
Both of these are really cool, and I'm really interested in seeing how you planned out an entire 124-page comic in advance! Did you do something similar for aRTD as well? Are you doing it for SSSS?
Minna Sundberg
Kind of, but not in a detailed way like that. I drew out very simple thumbnails sketches for some key points in the story and just figured out the rest in my head. For SSSS the whole story arch is mostly in my head too (quite clearly though), but this time I also write an actual script WITH WORDS of the chapter I'm drawing before drawing it.
30 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=7#IDComment742519688)
Post by: Yannick on October 21, 2014, 09:03:36 PM
Minna Sundberg
Some of you have been wondering about the mood of SSSS, and I'm going to claim it's not very different from that of aRTD.
Yes, the setting is different, it has some more drama, some scarier things and a bit more action-y stuff, but in its core it's still a quite light story with an unhurried pace, a lot of friendship and a journey through the unknown.
So if you enjoyed aRTD you'll probably enjoy SSSS too.
the storyline of SSSS is more of a traditional arch with its various lows and peaks.
31 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=8)
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Minna Sundberg
Oh yes, they do have an animal! I won't tell what kind yet, it'll "join the team" a bit later in the comic. :3
And it won't die like poor little I Am Legen-doggy did! For me that movie pretty much died with the dog. ;_;
31 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=8#IDComment742636042)
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Minna Sundberg
One day I think I'll do something more with the visitor statistics I have from A Redtail's Dream,
like a curve on the growth of the comic readerbase and such, I'm sure that would be interesting for many to see. *
But I'll leave that for later Until I've got some good stats on SSSS to follow up with.
Some site and print drive stats for ARTD (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=11)
27 November 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=11)
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Minna Sundberg
Oh yeah, I hate it when page numbers are completely absent!
I have a couple of craphic novels where there are simply no page numbers even on pages where they could be,
so I don't even know how many pages are in the books. And I really want to know that for some dumb reason!
(One time I even counted the pages of one comic and wrote down the total count in the back of the book myself. ._. )
11 December 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=12#IDComment766165158)
Post by: Yannick on October 21, 2014, 09:06:48 PM
The-Colloquial-Yokel
I love this comic =) its absolutely beautiful- and on that note, I was wondering if theres any chance of a fanart page?
lol, yeah I know that might not be everyones cup of tea but this comic is inspiring and theres no more sincere way for one artist to say they respect and admire another than fan art in my opinion
Minna Sundberg
Maybe sometime in the future, I do like fanart. I don't think there's any around for SSSS so it'd be pretty pointless right now.
Zeggo
I hope you do know of this page? http://minnas-minions.deviantart.com/
11 May 2014 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=16#comment-1379710352)
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eishiya
Do you know how long the series will be once it's done (in terms of chapters or books)?
I'm wary of purchasing a first book if I'm not sure I'll be able to afford the rest.
Your books are beautiful and deserve to be owned as a complete set.
(Also I just hate leaving series unfinished in general.)
Minna Sundberg
Right now it looks like five. That'd be the first adventure/mission that's its own full story arch.
If I'm still enjoying making comics then (like a decade from now, who knows!) I'll continue on with more adventures/missions, but five books should round of this set.
19 September 2014 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=17#comment-1596963471)
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Minna Sundberg
I'll be printing extra copies that'll be up for sale next year after all the print drive backers have gotten their books.
They'll cost about the same, depending mostly on where you'd need it to be shipped then. :3
16 october 2014 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=18#comment-1638537561)
Post by: Yannick on October 26, 2014, 10:00:28 PM
Riorlyne
I have two questions: (1), Will there be a donate button? and (2), Minna, will you add Topi and Ellu to the character page for aRTD?
Minna Sundberg
(1) No, not for a while. I think I will if/when I start running out of money again, and that depends on how well I'm able to keep myself within my budget on the aRTD book expenses. :3
(2) Eeeeh...maybe? I hadn't thought of that, perhaps I should. :/
Page 1 = 1 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=1#IDComment743366260)
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Ewa
And oh, right, I really love the limited colour palette in these first few pages! I guess the entire comic will be like that?
Minna Sundberg
Probably, unless I get really inspired by something insanely colorful suddenly, myeh. x3 But for now I'm trying to keep a "two main colors +detail colors + black and white" philosophy.
Page 5 = 4 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=5#IDComment744451995)
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Barium Sulfate
Is Stand Still, Stay Silent only in English?
Minna Sundberg
Yup, only English this time.
Page 5 = 4 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=5#IDComment744529451)
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Minna Sundberg
I'm pretty comfortable with perspective these days. Instead the real struggle for me is coming up with enough different angels and perspectives for each page, and not keep repeating the same kinds too much. :S
Page 6 = 5 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=6#IDComment745119707)
Post by: Yannick on October 26, 2014, 10:04:34 PM
Minna Sundberg
I almost die from an anxiety attack every time I even hear my neighbour's door bell ring, no amount of time with strangers in my home is short enough to make it not terrible. Even having to sign for a package at the door now and then feels like an intrusion of my territory/safe place. x3
Minna Sundberg
I have terrible social anxiety issues in real life, anything that involves other human beings makes me ridiculously nervous. D: Online I'm...normal? (-ish.)
Page 7 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=7#IDComment745982917) = 7 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=7#IDComment746218555)
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Minna Sundberg
Nopes, the blonde with chin legth hair is a girl, Sigrun is a lady name. :B
Page 9 = 11 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=9#IDComment748241035)
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Minna Sundberg
Random fact: "Askel" means "step" in Finnish. :B
Page 9 = 11 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=9#IDComment748244489)
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Charadas
Hey Minna, I just got curious... are you using some kind of web-engine (like wordpress) to make and manage your websites or did you build them yourself (if you did, you're about ten times more awesome than I first thought)?
I'm trying to build a website myself and I have a hard time figuring out if it is wordpress that is messing with me or if I'm just not cut out to build websites :(
Minna Sundberg
No web engine, I've coded the thing myself, mostly just with HTML and PHP to automate things. Which means that on one hand I mess everything up now and then all on my own, and every time somthing isn't working I have no one to blame but myself.
But on the other hand I don't have to worry about the kind of issues other people seem to have with Wordpress and its many different plugins. Like waking up one morning to find the whole site messed up because of some update and then not knowing how to fix it. x3
Page 10 = 12 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=10#IDComment751677258)
Post by: Yannick on October 26, 2014, 10:06:41 PM
Minna Sundberg
I'm still trying to figure out the routine of coloring the SSSS pages so that part currently takes a couple hours longer than the aRTD pages. But I think I'll eventually get it down to a similar time once I know what I'm doing again, heh.
Hmm, let's see...last week was the first time I started to have some extra time over to work on non-book stuff, and so far I've managed to draw the linearts of 3 and 1/2 pages + rough sketches and dialogue for 7 more. And since the linearts are the most time-consuming part that equals about 2,5 new pages done. Except none of them are really finished, nyeheh. :B
Page 11 = 14 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=11#IDComment750204677)
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Besucherin
There is a Dalsnes in Norway, but it's very small and at a river near the Swedish border...
and nowhere near Bergen, the big city where Aksel's grandma lives.
The Andalsnes you found isn't too far away from Bergen, but I'm not so sure if it's close enough to Bergen to justify a short trip there just to get the paper and "booze and stuff".
Minna Sundberg
The Dalsnes in the comic is a purely fictional village, a very tiny place with just a couple of hundred inhabitants in total. :3
Page 12 = 15 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=12#IDComment751597545)
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((031))
Minna Sundberg
They were already noticeably sick when they arrived (and therefore taken into custody), and had also managed to infect plenty of people arriving on the same boat.
And of course it took some time to establish what kind of illness they had , rather the fact that they no-one had any clue. But I won't say more yet, there's plenty of prologue left for all that. :3
Page 14 = 19 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=14#IDComment752685981)
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((032))
Minna Sundberg
Eeeeh, I'm not exactly going for 100% social/economic/political accuracy to be honest. And that goes for both the prologue and the main story itself
Page 14 = 19 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=14#IDComment752983224)
Post by: Yannick on October 26, 2014, 10:12:52 PM
Minna Sundberg
I've mentioned it before, but I guess it can't hurt mentioning again: no zombies in this comic, nopes
Page 14 = 19 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=14#IDComment753227839)
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((034))
Minna Sundberg
{Braidy} Nooo, he's not the scout. His position in the crew is more "Why are you even here? Why didn't you just stay at home, stupid!" The scrawny lad with the hunting rifle is the scout. :3
And thanks. Drawing older people has always been something of a comfort zone for me. It doesn't matter if I accidentally draw something a bit wonkily and they end up looking ugly, because that just adds more character! 8D
Page 20 = 29 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20#IDComment758882938)
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((035))
OrigamiOwl
Just a question about InDesign: is it complicated to learn how to use it?
Minna Sundberg
I...don't think it's very complicated to learn? But it's hard for me to say since it's one of the few programs I use that I didn't tech myself to handle, InDesign was one of the core focuses of most digital classes back in school. But I paid really little attention during those classes and I still learned the basics, so it wasn't too hard I guess.
And there's just so many guides online on how to use InDesign! Whenever there's a problem Google will bring forth an answer, and it's usually something really simple.
Page 20 = 29 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20#IDComment758876433)
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((036))
Minna Sundberg
Just to confirm what JoB and Falk already said, in case someone else has misunderstood the situation: the first stages of the illness are really nothing remarkable at all, no symptoms for about a week and rather tame symptoms for a good while after that. The only really dramatic thing about it at this point is the fast spread rate.
The original patients were already noticeably sick when they arrived, so naturally they're way further along than any of the people they contaminated on the trip. And obviously we don't know yet what happens in the later stages of the illness. But it'll all become clear sooner or later. (Later :3).
Page 20 = 29 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20#IDComment759031475)
Post by: Yannick on October 26, 2014, 10:16:05 PM
Minna Sundberg
Nah, portraits have never been my thing. I hated drawing humans before aRTD and only did portraits if I had to in class or whatever. But maybe I could start getting into it now that I don't hate drawing humans anymore. :P
Page 20 = 29 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20#IDComment759502412)
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((038))
OliveEwe
:O Minna I think I am in love with braid guy..... Is he taken?
Minna Sundberg
He's not. x3
Page 20 = 29 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20#IDComment759258096)
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((039))
Minna Sundberg
I needed to finally decide what kind of clothing they'll be having underneath. It's long-sleeved black turtlenecks with zippers, comfortable and practical.
And black socks! Because black socks don't start looking quite as disgustingly dirty as other socks do after wearing the same pair for a few weeks.
Thanks to everyone who votes this month!. I...think we made it into the top 10 during the very last day last month?
Page 21 = 2 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=21)
jonnysshaw
you're going to break into TWC Top Ten!! Only like, seven more votes, and a whole day left to go! So so awesome, considering that you didn't put the vote button up at the beginning of the month.
Also, I just realized that the vote button wasn't even put up until the 18th! That means that there has been an average of 560 votes per day
der matologe
http://www.abload.de/img/screenshot424z7c8q.jpg
Page 20 = 29 Nov. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20#IDComment759679598)
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((040))
Minna Sundberg
the largest city I've lived in was Espoo in Finland with 250k people. It's the second most populous city in Finland next to the capital
Page 22 = 3 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=22#IDComment761358369)
Post by: Yannick on October 26, 2014, 10:19:20 PM
Minna Sundberg
Just kidding, I'm not aiming to make anyone depressed even in the long run. Maybe just for short moments now and then. x3
Page 22 = 3 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=22#IDComment761473612)
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((042))
cheppoly
Oh well, maybeeeee.....in the distant future, when SSSS is finished and there's a fundraising campaign for the final book, we could meet all the prologue characters again in an extra epilogue?! Ahh, what a nice dream.
Minna Sundberg
Hey, it's not impossible. I have the stories of the prologue characters mapped out, and occasionally I've even entertained the tought of creating a one-book side story about what happened to them after the prologue.
But that's way off in the future if I ever decide to act on that thought! But you'll still find out little things about them through the main story, even though they won't physically really be in it. :3
Page 23 = 5 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=23#IDComment762323352)
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((043))
Minna Sundberg
I got such a flashback to working on that prologue page of aRTD with the radio broadcast, that I just had to give the second radio dude the same. Say hi to Esko again! I had imagined the fictional village where Hannu and Ville lived (which I named Hokanniemi) to be in the same-ish part of Finland where the city of Mikkeli is located, so why not have the same radio show? And there's your aRTD cameo for those of you who were hoping for one, hah!
Page 24 = 6 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=24)
Minna Sundberg
I totally put that reference there on purpose, I had this all planned out from the vey beginning. (No, I didn't. x3) Hannu and Ville will be fine, they'll go live on a small island in the middle of some lake and defend temselves with crossbows.
Page 24 = 6 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=24#IDComment763038401)
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((044))
song
Hey how did you draw all that map? did you refigured real maps into your style or did you legit just draw the maps from scratch? either way... impressive.
Minna Sundberg
I've used a real map of the area (from google maps) as a reference when I was sketching, occasionally even overlaying it on my sketch a to make sure that at least the major bodies of water/land were in the right place. After getting everything sketched out correctly I just draw like I would draw anything else. Plus I have a folder of maps from different ages that I use as reference for what kind of little details to add in the end. :3
(Oh, and naturally I didn't have a real reference for the Norwegian map, since it was a fictional area.)
Page 24 = 6 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=24#IDComment763027407)
Post by: JoB on November 14, 2014, 10:41:53 AM
((045)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252643236)
minnasundberg
Svalbard was too "pointless" for them to cram in on a map like this, and too far north to fit anyway. There's no settlements on the islands and there hasn't been a need to raid the seed vault yet. :3
((046)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252641316)
On the switch from IntenseDebate to Disqus:
minnasundberg
Yeh, but I prefer having to click "show more comments" once every ~40 comments or so rather than "show comment thread" on every other comment. I might switch back if ID gets updated, but I'm not holding up hopes for that anymore. Its development seems to be in a limbo. :/
On the possibility of settlements not shown in said map:
((047a)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252662917)
Specifically, on Scotland and England:
minnasundberg
There's actually a few in-story reasons!
1: WAY too high overall population density (which is also why the southern parts of the Nordic countries are empty) which is VERY bad for reasons to be revealed.
2. Too far south and therefore not cold enough winters. Also very bad for reasons to be revealed.
3. Not strong enough natural defenses. For example all the Finnish settlements that exist are located on islands surrounded by labyrinths of lakes and the Norwegian ones in fjords shielded by the sea and high mountains. Very good for reasons to be revealed!
And small surviving populations on those little Scottish islands and stuff have moved to the larger/safer Nordic settlements decades ago. :3
((047b)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252809260)
minnasundberg
Ehh, I wanted to write a Nordic postapocalyptic story, and therefore I've established survival lines and story concepts that let me do that. Not really trying to discriminate against Anglophones or anything.
((047c)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252664832)
minnasundberg
Of course there still COULD be surviving populations anywhere in Europe, especially in the mountains.
((048)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252758623)
minnasundberg
[...] And yup, lots of research! I had a huge excel file with suitable places (+ population statistics) that I scouted out over a year ago, and I've been gradually revised and edited that list for when I'd eventually put this map together.
((049)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252817716)
minnasundberg
"Known" in this context simply means that there's some kind of official data on the current state of the area. People (at least the academics) do know that there's huge continents out there far, far away, but it's all part of the Silent world as far as they are concerned since no-one's scouted that far. Most of the dark areas on this map don't even count as part of the known world.
((050)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1253004814)
minnasundberg
You're very correct in your assumptions. I'll eventually make an illustrated chart of the most common professions in each category, but peasants is mostly farmers, (food)hunters, fishers and craftsmen, while academics are the properly educated people like doctors, skalds (historians) scholars(scientists and researchers), mechanics and politicians. And military is pretty self-explanatory.
((051)) (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1253714145)
minnasundberg
I have a pretty fleshed out story arc in my mind about a VERY far away journey for our heroes, but first there's so many places to visit and stories to be told just in the Nordic area that it''s not on the agenda just yet.
Post by: Unlos on December 03, 2014, 05:13:22 AM
Post by: Unlos on December 11, 2014, 05:43:22 AM
Captain Sigrun (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=11)
Braidy portrait (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=20))
Christmas card (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=33)
Lalli and Braidy pin-ups (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=35)
Colour experiments (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=40)
Birthday hooray (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=41)
Character portraits 1 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=42)
Hiveworks hooray (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=43)
Onni preview (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=67)
Onni the mage (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=72)
Derelict airport (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=143)
Post by: Sunflower on January 20, 2015, 01:04:27 PM
An important post from Minna re: shipping, p. 251 (Jan. 20, 2015) (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=251#comment-1804515703):
(52)
I sense a comment quarrel brewing, so I'll throw in my official word to defuse this:
I'm fine with the shipping comments, both jokes and the more "speculative" sort. As long as shipping wars between fans don't start happening and obscenities are kept away from the comment section it's all OK. (Same with the many "Sigrun/Mikkel/Emil is so hot, I want to marry them!"-type comments, totally fine as long as they don't become... unsavory. ;3 )
And I promise I'm not going to write things just as fanservice, if something happens in the story it's because I want it to happen. I won't say if there's going to be any sort of a romantic side aspect to any of the characters in SSSS , but if one appears it would be because I wanted to try writing a romantic subplot, not any other reason.
That is...all? Have fun in the comments, everyone! Disagreements are fine too, just making sure things stay civil. ^_^
Post by: Unlos on February 02, 2015, 10:08:33 AM
Page 66: Map of the known world
Page 67: The different nationalities of the world
Page 68: The first rule
Page 86: Map of the Keuruu-Pori waterway
Page 87: Mages
Page 102: The blessed felines (1/2)
Page 103: The blessed felines (2/2)
Page 118: The Cleansers(1/2)
Page 119: The Cleansers (2/2)
Page 156 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=156): Dalahästen
Page 178: The difference between beasts, trolls and giants
Page 195: The nordic languages
Page 196: The great language tree
I would have put in the links to the lot of them, except that makes the message forbidden...
Post by: JoB on February 02, 2015, 10:39:52 AM
I would have put in the links to the lot of them, except that makes the message forbidden...* ahem (http://sssscomic.wikia.com/wiki/Table_of_Special_Pages) *
Post by: Unlos on February 02, 2015, 12:57:25 PM
* ahem (http://sssscomic.wikia.com/wiki/Table_of_Special_Pages) *Ahh. I've been meaning to explore the wiki.
Post by: Sunflower on February 03, 2015, 02:00:30 PM
(53)
Amadán Dubh
So we've seen a giant, and I'm assuming that these things are beasts. Are we ever going to see a proper troll?
minnasundberg
Ah, these two are both trolls, they can look very different from each other and their original form. Beast most often look much more like the animal they once were, at least on the outside (we haven't seen any of those yet.)
Amadán Dubh
Even that little face hugger thing? That came off a human?
minnasundberg
Oh yes. And it's not that small, it's actually a little bigger than Emil. There isn't much distance between the two in the last panel, so there's barely any perspective distortion between the two.
Post by: Sunflower on February 10, 2015, 05:37:22 PM
(54)
Hikaru Rabago
I thought Minna sent them out already :o my mind goofed then. I ordered the SSSS book sometime in October, and I have aRTD from last time but it was such a busy year that I never paid attention as to how long it took for it to arrive.
minnasundberg
Haha, oh gosh, I'm not that fast. For the aRTD book it took a little over half a year from print drive to when I was able to start sending out anything.
The SSSS book is going to be a couple months longer since it wasn't even drawn during the print drive + I'm moving in the middle of everything.
The original time estimate still stands: I should be able to start sending out the copies in late spring. ^_^
woolly socks
I'll remind Minna, when she's drawn and published all of the material that'll go into the first book (yes, it's not all even done yet), that the readership has noticeably expanded since the print drive, and there are probably a lot, A LOT of people looking to buy the book in addition to those who've already pre-ordered, so having the first batch be really, REALLY big is probably a good idea.
I mean, if you're going through the trouble of printing, it's easier and cheaper to print a massive batch at one go and sell those, than to have to reprint when you run out etc.
(55)
minnasundberg
The print drive went well enough that I'll be able to afford printing about 1,000 extra copies on top of the ones that'll go to the backers, so there will be a bunch left over.
I'll put those up for sale after all the backer books are sent out (which according to my schedule should be sometime late spring.) ^_^
Post by: BrainBlow on February 11, 2015, 12:54:11 PM
Thomas Cranor
Did they get the books?
minnasundberg
Ay-yup, the ones that they gave Mikkel earlier are all safely stored in the back of the tank. So they won't be leaving completely empty-handed! :3
Post by: Sunflower on February 12, 2015, 01:19:30 AM
(57) [56 = the comment above, archived by BrainBlow]
starfallz
Minna's stated this will be several books. She's said it feels to be about 5, which would put it to be [much] longer than aRTD.
minnasundberg Mod
And those 5 books (or maybe 4 if I decide to make each one a little longer [i.e. 5 chapters each, not 4]) are just the first "adventure", the story will continue right on after that.
So this is going to go on for years and years unless something bad happens to me! Oh gosh, there's so many awesome storylines that I so want to draw already but that are like... a decade away, eeehehuh. xS
Post by: Sunflower on February 12, 2015, 01:27:37 AM
Our Dear Creator clarifies!
minnasundberg
I originally designed it opaque and with the very visible kitty-face painted on and I do agree that it's kinda cooler like that, but once I started drawing it in the comic it became clear that all of Tuuri's expressions would become incredibly weird/creepy/disturbing with a permanent smile drawn on her face.
Basically I don't want all of her emotions being distorted by a drawn-on kitty smile all the time. So... I changed it to a clear mask. The drawing is on there but I leave it out most of the time for clarity. :<
Post by: Sunflower on February 16, 2015, 08:54:47 PM
spas
...It seems as though she is promising that these details will be filled in, which i can only hope means flashbacks that are then the main story for a while. the communication gap between emil and lalli is not as big of a selling point as she must have hoped, and none of the main characters are as winning as the earlier sets of main characters - heck, i'll even take fighting-car-family over this lot. it is depressing to think that in an apocalypse, the most boring people might survive - but i suppose, who cares, right? since i will not be among them.
minnasundberg Mod
Ahah, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you there. Sure, there's going to be the occasional flashbacks to shed some light on everyone's back stories (which will naturally reveal parts of what became of the prologue peeps since they're the ancestors.) But the prologue characters won't ever become a focus of the story again, they were never "main characters" to begin with.
Sadly you'll have to make do with the six characters shown on the front page of the site, they're the main cast. ^_^'
http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=172#comment-1568049117
((042))
cheppoly
...in the distant future, when SSSS is finished and there's a fundraising campaign for the final book, we could meet all the prologue characters again in an extra epilogue?! Ahh, what a nice dream.
Minna Sundberg
Hey, it's not impossible. I have the stories of the prologue characters mapped out, and occasionally I've even entertained the tought of creating a one-book side story about what happened to them after the prologue.
But that's way off in the future if I ever decide to act on that thought! But you'll still find out little things about them through the main story, even though they won't physically really be in it. :3
Page 23 = 5 Dec. 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=23#IDComment762323352)
Post by: Solovei on February 16, 2015, 09:05:39 PM
More from Minna re: the prologue characters (thanks to JoB for catching this):
spas
...It seems as though she is promising that these details will be filled in, which i can only hope means flashbacks that are then the main story for a while. the communication gap between emil and lalli is not as big of a selling point as she must have hoped, and none of the main characters are as winning as the earlier sets of main characters - heck, i'll even take fighting-car-family over this lot. it is depressing to think that in an apocalypse, the most boring people might survive - but i suppose, who cares, right? since i will not be among them.
Wow, no offence, but that's kind of a mean thing to say... I can't believe someone finds our crew boring! D;
Post by: Sunflower on February 17, 2015, 02:27:55 AM
Eich
This chapter [#5] will look quite impressive when it comes out in book 2. :)
*Looks forward to print drive*
minnasundberg Mod
Aaaactuallyyy.... I've been planning on maybe including this chapter in the 1st book too, it seems to be short enough that I could still afford the additional shipping cost. (But I'll have to double-check the final page count/book weight and prices once I've got the whole chapter and all the extra content put together, so no 100% promises yet. But I'm hoping it'll work out.)
Post by: Sunflower on February 18, 2015, 02:51:39 AM
tl;dr: Minna plots the story a good way ahead. She *doesn't* tailor it to fan comments.
Rosepieces
Minna, I know a good number of webcomic artists and they tend to have a backlog, but much less continuing storylines. So anyway, my question is... How much of SSSS do you already have written?
minnasundberg Mod
Depends on what you'd count as "written". I've got pretty much the whole main plot outlined in my head, and the next couple of chapters plotted out more precisely.
But as far as actual writing goes I mostly just have bullet lists of important plot points that I need to remember later on and misc scene ideas that I may or may not use at all. Sometimes I write proper scripts for a few pages at a time but I usually end up not even following those once I actually draw the pages, sooo... I'm not exactly exemplary. :P
Rosepieces
Ah. Mostly I was curious if you kinda ad libbed the story much more than we could ever notice or if you have it set for the most part. Not many webcomics have as much story as yours do, and those that do focus on story tend to have a TON of filler.
lost norseman
Do the forum [Ed.: or Disqus] comments ever influence the plot lines?
minnasundberg
Naaw, the plot is pretty much going where it was supposed to go all along. I would become pretty confused and directionless if I tried to tailor the story to reader comments rather than follow my own vision. (I know that works for some webcomickers, but it's just not for me.)
Post by: Sunflower on February 18, 2015, 03:21:16 AM
Poncho
Hey hey what art product do you use to make these comics?
minnasundberg Mod
Photoshop and Manga Studio.
Post by: Rosepieces on February 19, 2015, 02:27:31 AM
Rosepieces • 5 days ago
Minna! For your next, or at least a future, infographic update could you do something on their equipment? Like the uniforms (I want Lalli's!), Tuuri's mask (want that, too!), their knives (yep, want), etc? Maybe you could include Sigrun's shirt/sweater?
minnasundberg Mod Rosepieces • 5 days ago
Not the next one, but maybe the one after that. I've been meaning to make myself some proper reference sheets for the longest time, so I might as well turn them into infogaphic once I finally get tot it. :3
Post by: KMK on February 22, 2015, 01:33:11 AM
There's been a lot of discussion about whether, or how, Tuuri's anti-Rash mask sometimes seems to have a perma-smile painted on, and sometimes seems to show her actual face. (And apparently it is *not* a Magical Expression Mirror like Zeetha's headband medallion in Girl Genius, or Token's mask in Power Nap.)
Our Dear Creator clarifies!
minnasundberg
I originally designed it opaque and with the very visible kitty-face painted on and I do agree that it's kinda cooler like that, but once I started drawing it in the comic it became clear that all of Tuuri's expressions would become incredibly weird/creepy/disturbing with a permanent smile drawn on her face.
Basically I don't want all of her emotions being distorted by a drawn-on kitty smile all the time. So... I changed it to a clear mask. The drawing is on there but I leave it out most of the time for clarity. :<
I sort of got the impression that she added it herself. Like someone would modify something now with a Magic Marker (that is the most popular marker pen in the U.S.)
Post by: Sunflower on February 24, 2015, 02:27:12 AM
minnasundberg Mod
You could probably add a week, possibly two in some cases, before that first photo in terms of when the very first, tiniest little rash patches started appearing. But yup, it usually just takes a few weeks from first noticeable symptoms-->dead.
Post by: Sunflower on February 27, 2015, 02:31:05 AM
Sunflower
Minna, Dear Creator: Please consider a VERY LARGE print run for Vol. 1...!
minnasundberg Mod
I'll print as many as I can afford with the Indiegogo money (got to have enough left over to pay for the shipping though~), but I'm also going to start saving up for another print run, I promise.
I'm basically hoping that the leftover [1st run] books will bring in enough money to pay for a second print run, that'd be ideal. ^_^
Post by: Sunflower on March 19, 2015, 04:34:51 AM
I'm curious, what sources do you have on Icelandic words and names and stuff? Because, speaking as an Icelander, they're so accurate!
minnasundberg Mod
Well, I know enough Icelandic to be able to read it, so i usually just google for some icelandic articles/statistics/whatever when I'm looking for something specific. I do the same with Norwegian and Danish! (Also I'm hopeless at learning the genders and forms of words so I check the Icelandic wiktionary aaaall the time, hehe: http://is.wiktionary.org/ xS)
Post by: Eris on March 21, 2015, 08:15:51 PM
How do we know there will be two mages on the team?!
Quote from: Minna
http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=67
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?
Post by: Sunflower on March 25, 2015, 03:43:39 PM
iitu
I'm so in love with this comic! All the characters and scenery and practically everything! <3
Minna, could you do family trees to the characters? Or are the relations just something that really don't matter? It'd be cool and handy, just popped to my mind.
Kiitti kun teet näin mahtavaa sarjista! Kaikkea hyvää :)
minnasundberg Mod
Yup, definitely going to make family trees eventually, it's been on my to-do list for a long time. Possibly after the next chapter. :3
Post by: Sunflower on March 26, 2015, 02:28:10 AM
Lalli Hotakainen @SuomiMaagi Mar 13
@SSSScomic Moi! I was wondering if you are planning on making a second book edition of SSSS? Sorry if this has been asked before, I might--
Minna Sundberg @SSSScomic
@SuomiMaagi I am. I'll also have about ~1,000 books left over to sell from the first printing after I've sent out the backer books.
Post by: Lars_B on March 27, 2015, 12:49:46 PM
Keegan Thomas
Mina, if you can read this, what kind of voices do you imagine your characters having?
minnasundberg
Heh, I don't have terribly specific descriptions for most of them, but let's see here: Emil and Reynir have about as androgynous voices as they look, more manly than girly though, Lalli is pretty much half-whispering whenever he speak, Mikkel has a deep, even bear-voice, Tuuri has a cute, chattery and very feminine voice, and Sigrun has the kind of voice that a female cop on a police-drama show might have. Not the sexy girlish type, the badass boss-cop type.
https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_290/#comment-1931030231 (https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_290/#comment-1931030231)
And then she answers jp_otter on a book issue:
jp_otter
Kinda nervous because Minna said there aren't any new ones left, so it's not like she can just send a replacement. But hopefully it'll show up.
minnasundberg
I have a few spare ones left just in case anyone's books never do show up, or show up damaged. But sometimes books to the Americas have taken over 6 weeks to arrive, so I guess there's still time. (I can't remember when I send the books, agh. )
But let me know in a couple of week if they're still missing, by then it's probably safe to assume that they've disappeared and I'll mail new ones.
https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_290/#comment-1931107982 (https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_290/#comment-1931107982)
Post by: SovietTr0llGuy on March 30, 2015, 05:02:41 PM
The Svalbard Seed Vault was built on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. It contains samples from plants across the world, preserved so that in the event of a global catastrophe many species of plants would survive.
I think that this would be an awesome plot point in the comic. Just the idea of the crew finding some mention of the Vault and traveling across an infected Scandinavia and massive oceans sounds awesome!
Post by: Haiz on March 30, 2015, 05:58:38 PM
"Svalbard was too “pointless” for them to cram in on a map like this, and too far north to fit anyway. There’s no settlements on the islands and there hasn’t been a need to raid the seed vault yet. :3“
yet
Post by: P__ on April 01, 2015, 08:50:07 AM
minnasundberg
It'd just be a big empty tunnel to them if they went there, since it won't actually start being used until sometime in the 2020's at its earliest. ^_^
http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-1939751146
Post by: Mayabird on April 10, 2015, 08:04:45 PM
Specifically, I was thinking the Differences Between Beasts, Trolls, and Giants, that subclass of troll, the information about the Dalahästen, and especially the language tree could be added.
Could someone with a Discus account ask if no one else has? Or would that be too impolite?
Post by: JoB on April 11, 2015, 06:07:59 PM
Could someone with a Discus account ask if no one else has?I do remember people ask about that in the Disqus comments. Twice at least. :(
http://sssscomic.wikia.com/wiki/Table_of_Special_Pages#Other_Fact_Sheets
Post by: BrainBlow on April 12, 2015, 06:58:38 PM
Quote
BrainBlow
MINNA, what kind of "payment" would a donor get? 10000 donors in a world with so few (immune)people seems quite a bit much on charity alone, even if it is a great cause.
Do they get some sort of benefits for it?
...
Does Sigrun have a bunch of children running around elsewhere in the world...?
Quote
minnasundberg
Of they get paid something for their "donation", like people today do. Otherwise no-one would bother :3
But I can confirm that Sigrun has no biological children running around, you couldn't hold her attention long enough on such a boring subject for her to even agree to the procedure.
The answer is no.
Post by: Rabbit on April 13, 2015, 01:15:10 PM
Is Sigrun a donor in the Dagrenning program?
The answer is no.
On the same topic, re: tiny Mikkels, Minna had this to say:
Quote from: minnasundberg
Hmmmm... I want to say "no" but the guy can be a little bit of a mystery sometimes, sooo... :I
Although I now realise the way I phrased the question - 'does he have biological offspring running around somewhere', not 'did he ever donate to the Dagrenning' - means we're left not knowing if Mikkel has biological children or not, and not knowing if any hypothetical tiny Mikkels are Dagrenning babies, or made the old-fashioned way...
Also from page 300, Curiosity's comment about the year the Dagrenning program began gave us this little bit of extra info about Reynir's family:
Quote from: curiosity
Since year 67? That's when the whole program started or when it began to bring more stable result?
I have a feeling it's the latter, because otherwise Reynir's siblings have to be 23 years old and younger, and they definitely are older (as we may presume from the story so far).
Quote from: minnasundberg
Shoot, you're right! I forgot that it's only year 90 and not y100 now, Reynir's oldest sibling is 12 years older than he is so it's one decade off. (I'll change it to "since 57".)
Post by: P__ on April 13, 2015, 01:34:33 PM
Quote from: Minnasundberg
By the way, for anyone possibly being concerned: it won't ever turn out in this story that the people choosing artificial insemination are doing something wrong, it's a voluntary and very benign program in the scope of this fictional society and won't suddenly be revealed to be the root of all evil or anything. And Reynir won't ever be touted as more of a "real" child to his parents than his siblings, his parents love them all equally.http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-1965264793
Post by: BrainBlow on April 14, 2015, 06:52:35 PM
Quote
Alaron
Question for Minna that I thought of: are the great cats (lions, tigers, etc.) also immune like housecats? Or are there even now lionBeasts roaming the savannah?
Quote
minnasundberg
Yes they are. So stay close to those tigers and lions, everyone, they might be able to protect you! (Or eat you, more likely.)
Post by: wavewright62 on April 20, 2015, 08:12:45 PM
"Fear not, Onni could never be a villain. He's too much of a wimp.
Now Emil on the other hand..."
Yikes! Foreshadowing much?
Post by: Mayabird on April 20, 2015, 09:53:49 PM
I do remember people ask about that in the Disqus comments. Twice at least. :(
http://sssscomic.wikia.com/wiki/Table_of_Special_Pages#Other_Fact_Sheets
And with the new website format, the pages have been updated and the newer stuff has been added. Hooray!
Also I'm pretty happy that my speculation waaaaaaay back when about if there were wild cats running about was correct.
Post by: Sunflower on April 21, 2015, 09:13:23 AM
JoB
The actual printing is being crowdfunded ... so the first ~1,000 books go to the folks who have participated in that campaign. Another ~1,000 books will be produced on top of that to be sold "normally" - historically either through Minnas own webshop, or HiveWorks' - in batches.
No date has been announced yet, though, and batches tend to sell fast these days. Keep your eyes peeled and pointed at this website to learn about upcoming sales in time ...
minnasundberg Mod
This is correct. The sale of the extra copies will most likely begin sometime after summer, and I'll probably be selling them in much larger batches through Hiveworks this time.
indui
... I missed the kickstarter for book 1 of SSSS and i'm infinitely sad - will there be another opportunity to buy it? I would love this book so bad and am willing to pay all the monies if necessary haha
minnasundberg Mod
Yup, I've got a price quote from the printers and I'll be able to print up ~1,000 extra copies with the additional money that the print drive made, I'll start selling those after all backer rewards are sent out. Possibly either late summer or early autumn. (And I'll be saving the profits of those books to print more if and when they eventually run out.)
Post by: BrainBlow on April 21, 2015, 07:58:25 PM
Quote
WishIWasGerman
But, but doggy. Minna, will we ever see a (preferably large) healthy dog? Please?
Quote
minnasundberg
An Icelandic sheep dog will be a likely sight eventually.
Further elaboration.
Quote
BrainBlow
On that subject, are there still domesticated dogs OUTSIDE of Iceland, or did they all pretty much either go extinct or feral?
Quote
minnasundberg
Bornholm and Mora definitely both have plenty of dogs and other domesticated farm animals, and some of the larger settlements in Finland and Norway might have a few that were lucky enough to be immune and therefore aren't a danger to keep around.
Post by: Blacky on April 24, 2015, 09:38:30 PM
Post by: Daéa Reina on April 25, 2015, 03:04:29 PM
Here's Minna with a little off-hand comment on the chapter 7 cover...
"Fear not, Onni could never be a villain. He's too much of a wimp.
Now Emil on the other hand..."
Yikes! Foreshadowing much?
What?? Am I the only one who is deeply concerned by this statement? D:
Post by: curiosity on April 28, 2015, 02:58:24 PM
What?? Am I the only one who is deeply concerned by this statement? D:
On the other hand, Minna gives a comment on the page 74 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=74#comment-1284507797):
Quote
...And not all characters will be the overtly kind type, but none of them will be as actively and purposefully mean/rude to people like Hannu often was. :3
Personally I find it a bit reassuring. A bit.
Post by: Sunflower on May 04, 2015, 09:19:59 PM
minnasundberg Mod
Maybe, maybe not, who knows what the future holds.
But if there is romance down the line it'll most likely be practically indistinguishable from a very special friendship the way I like to write things, so you guys wouldn't even know for certain if there's a romance thing going on or not, hehehee.
Post by: Sc0ut on May 12, 2015, 05:32:52 AM
Q: Will there ever be any romance in SSSS? (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-2003390473)
minnasundberg Mod
Maybe, maybe not, who knows what the future holds.
But if there is romance down the line it'll most likely be practically indistinguishable from a very special friendship the way I like to write things, so you guys wouldn't even know for certain if there's a romance thing going on or not, hehehee.
That link seems to be broken :/
Post by: Sunflower on May 19, 2015, 02:30:16 AM
Aww, I see other artists post their early concept designs for their webcomics and am sad that I did all the early development in my head.
Sure I have concept art from the year before SSSS started but nothing from the year before that, which was when it was still VERY different.
For example originally it wasn't an interNordic adventure, just a Finnish-Swedish one with 3 Swedes and 3 Finns in the main crew adventuring.
One of the Finns was a jerk Fenno-Swede who was in charge of translating between the two groups but kept mistranslating on purpose-
-Tuuri is what that character eventually turned into and the only thing that's left from the initial version is her translating skills, uhh.
But Emil and Lalli already existed! They weren't named that and Lalli wasn't a mage, but they're the part that's changed the least.
Anyway, that's me being nostalgic today while finishing the cover for SSSS book 1 so that it can go to print. Years sure go past fast...
Post by: Sunflower on May 19, 2015, 02:34:55 AM
Minna Sundberg @SSSScomic · May 17
... yay, I finally finished EVERYTHING about the SSSS book and just sent all files (covers, endpapers, interior) to the printers.
Martin Houlden @martyhoulden May 14
@SSSScomic when is the kickstarter book out agaiiiinnn? Im still waiting for that til i read anything~!
Minna Sundberg @SSSScomic
@martyhoulden According to the printer's schedule I should have the books in about two months if everything rolls smoothly. ^_^
(They could have printed it faster but Midsummer weeks happen during the printing process, everything in Finland comes to a halt then. ;P)
ETA from the printers is ~2 months from now (May 17), so pretty soon the first SSSS book will exist (jiiinx!)
Post by: Sunflower on May 20, 2015, 01:24:44 AM
[G]o ahead... I have nothing officially decided outside the Nordic countries so it's all up for fan speculation. :3
Post by: Sunflower on August 07, 2015, 03:12:48 PM
Minna said Aug. 5 in a Tweet that she has printed just over 700 copies of SSSS over the number pre-ordered by backers. And once those 700 are sold out, she'll print more! Yay!
https://twitter.com/SSSScomic/status/628971144050294784
Post by: Mélusine on August 07, 2015, 06:41:34 PM
This ought to be in our FAQs somewhere, but:Haaaaaaa ! :D *Happiness*
Minna said Aug. 5 in a Tweet that she has printed just over 700 copies of SSSS over the number pre-ordered by backers. And once those 700 are sold out, she'll print more! Yay!
https://twitter.com/SSSScomic/status/628971144050294784
Post by: Sunflower on August 13, 2015, 06:37:42 PM
To my dismay, everyone's own message subjects got changed to comply. :P Sorry!
You may want to change your post subjects to fit and remove messages that had to do merely with the thread move (which I will do as well).
Word of God on why Lalli is doing that horrifying thing with Cthulhund's skull:
https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_370_89/#comment-2185793128
It seems to be a version of the (Karhun)Peijaiset tradition, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peijaiset) where a bear's skull would be mounted on a tall tree at the end of a successful hunt.
The reasons for this aren't entirely clear, but it seems to revolve around what is almost a reverence of bears in Finland, as people are said to have mourned the bear's passing during Peijaiset as if it were a relative.
Interesting implications for the customs of Finnish mages, especially if such an ancient Finnish ritual is still being used (Tuuri's "just mage stuff" comment indicating Lalli does it a fair amount); perhaps Peijaiset means something more than what it seems to be?
Post by: P__ on September 08, 2015, 10:24:06 AM
Quote from: God
Naw, the bear is simply the emblem of the in-story Finnish army. ^_^link to source (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-2242157204)
Post by: P__ on September 15, 2015, 04:23:55 AM
Quote
minnasundberg Mod Columbine • 9 minutes agosource (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-2254346916)
Keuruu doesn't have any clothing production more advanced than stitching some holes in socks and pants. They mostly get their gear imported from Saimaa, which in turn is able to import fancy things from the more advanced countries if needed. :3
Post by: P__ on September 25, 2015, 03:23:32 PM
Quote
minnasundberghttp://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-2274152165
It's a lynx, just not with naturalistic proportions. Those stumpy little munchkin paws would not serve it well if it had to play with the real lynxes!
Post by: Sunflower on October 04, 2015, 01:49:59 AM
http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php#comment-2287287522
(We have prior comments from her about the number of volumes she ultimately plans for SSSS, but I wanted to capture the most recent one for posterity.)
EDIT: Thanks to Piney and BrainBlow for the reminder about the link -- and Piney in particular for the perma-link.
Here is what Minna actually said:
Richard Weir SignatureSmiley • 7 days ago
I remember Minna mentioned something about SSSS taking 5 years in all. I forgot to subtract the almost 2 years it's been running so far.
Of course, that is just for *this* story arc, she has ideas for further adventures later on!
SignatureSmiley Richard Weir • 7 days ago
I sure hope she continues on with other story lines. Three years from now is just too soon! :)
minnasundberg Mod
Definitely gonna be plenty more than just a measly 3 years. ;3
Post by: BrainBlow on October 09, 2015, 08:24:20 PM
Post by: Piney on October 09, 2015, 08:44:40 PM
Those links don't actually seem to link to any comments. Can you guys please just copy-paste her comments here?
Yeah, that's because the links don't specify the page number due to them being posted the day the page was up. Putting in the page number gets the link to work.
http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=400#comment-2287287522
Post by: Ragnarok on October 12, 2015, 05:44:19 PM
Bleh • 17 minutes ago
Facehugger?
minnasundberg Mod Bleh • 3 minutes ago
Pretty much I guess, except it doesn't want to hug faces or incubate inside people.
Post by: P__ on October 13, 2015, 11:03:08 AM
minnasundberg Mod Bleh • 3 minutes ago
Pretty much I guess, except it doesn't want to hug faces or incubate inside people.
also, the incubation periode is much slower, up to two whole weeks!
Post by: Keeper on October 23, 2015, 09:43:10 PM
minnasundberg Mod • 5 minutes ago
"Kade" is a colloquial form of the world "kateellinen", which indeed does mean envious. And the word for envy itself, "kateus", is also what the sinister power of the Kade mages is called, so the word has kinda gone full circle there.
Post by: Eriaror on October 24, 2015, 08:38:46 AM
Quote
Martti Kakkiainen ➦ minnasundberg • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323899379)
Does every finn have one [a luonto]? Like even Tuuri?
Quote
minnasundberg [Mod] ➦ Martti Kakkiainen • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323900927)
Yup.
People with feline luontos are not privileged:
Quote
TinfoilMatt ➦ minnasundberg • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323891894)
So here's a question; with cats being sacred, do mages that have a feline Luonto hold some sort of higher standing?
Quote
minnasundberg [Mod] ➦ TinfoilMatt • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323895962)
Naw.
Minna confirms that Lalli's luonto is not with him right now:
Quote
Auleliel • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323855530)
Oh wow, this is so interesting! Did Lalli's luonto leave him, or is he just really tired?
Quote
minnasundberg [Mod] ➦ Auleliel • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323858491)
It left. So he's super duper not up for anything right now!
Aaand:
Quote
Scout • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323860996)
Minna! What animal is your luonto?
Quote
minnasundberg [Mod] ➦ Scout • Link (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=412#comment-2323869460)
A squirrel maybe.
Well, that pretty much explains the
:squirrelcookie: :squirrelcookie: :squirrelcookie: Squirrel cookies :squirrelcookie: :squirrelcookie: :squirrelcookie: ,
as observed by many replies to that statement. :D
Post by: P__ on November 16, 2015, 02:00:48 PM
Quote
minnasundberg Mod Quabus • 18 hours ago
Icelandic spirits are known to show themselves to people now and then, encountering some isn't a telltale sign of being an Icelandic mage.
But Reynir being a mage might let him see spirits that aren't deliberately trying to show themselves to you. And how many he can see and what he can do to interact with them is still different from what Lalli can do. But of course we won't know a whole lot more about that before we get further into the story.:3
Post by: viola on November 18, 2015, 09:20:28 PM
Quote from: Minna Sundberg
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUI7-YAUkAMGJQB.jpg)
Post by: Mélusine on November 19, 2015, 11:38:25 AM
Post by: Unerringly Errant on November 24, 2015, 10:19:09 AM
...also I just discovered, rather belatedly, that I can just click on Minna's name to see every post she's made. Well. That would have been helpful knowledge earlier. >_<
Quote
Flying squirrels look ridiculous to you?! How dare you, they are majestic predatory monsters. :<
It used to be human, it just kinda looks like a flying squirrel. Squirrels don't grow that big.
Post by: Tr on May 09, 2016, 07:36:49 PM
Quote
alright @prkzl:
@SSSScomic Hey Minna just wondering, will there ever be clearly-stated romance in SSSS? Or will that not be focused on at all?
Quote
Minna:@prkzl I don't know to be honest. It's such a long comic and lots might or might not happen, we'll have to see where the characters take us.
Post by: Juniper on May 15, 2016, 01:18:52 AM
This conversation recently happened on Twitter:
Hmm, well this is a slightly different response from her "it would be indistinguishable from a special friendship and you would never know" response. I'd still totally enjoy the comic if there never was any confirmed romance, I mean the lack of romance is part of the reason I enjoy the comic in the first place, and I totally don't want to get my little shipping heart's hopes up but oh my gosh that's exactly what's happening right now.
Although, I think the fandom's reaction to a canon confirmed romance happening (if it happened) especially depending on who it was between might be the best part, I can't even imagine how much the comments and forum would be blowing up x3
But who knows, it's like she said we have a very long story ahead of us and a lot could happen or not happen I suppose we'll see ~
Post by: Tr on June 01, 2016, 08:50:24 PM
Anonymous asked: will we ever see reynir's hair out of a braid? or him braiding his hair? half of the ssss-related conversations between my friends and i eventually gravitate towards his hair tbh
Minna: We certainly will. :3
This was on tumblr, (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145279842780/will-we-ever-see-reynirs-hair-out-of-a-braid-or) there is also an epic Sigrun potrait! (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145280102530/a-sigrun-portrait-to-accompany-the-emil-one-ill)
But-- just-- EEEEEEEE!
Post by: Kelpie on June 01, 2016, 10:11:36 PM
Quote from: Tr
Anonymous asked: will we ever see reynir's hair out of a braid? or him braiding his hair? half of the ssss-related conversations between my friends and i eventually gravitate towards his hair tbhI am way too excited about this. I literally cannot wait. I want it now.
Minna: We certainly will. :3
Also I'm screaming over Sigrun over here ignore me.
Post by: Tr on June 04, 2016, 08:38:07 PM
Anonymous asked: will you ever draw anything ARTD related art again, maybe more small comics (I'd pay for them!)
Minna: I’ll probably draw something for upcoming anniversaries (like 5-years-since-aRTD-things). Dunno about more mini comics (possible, but not something I’ve really been thinking of), but certainly some general art.
So~ cool! :D
And also there's this awesome Lalli portrait (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com)
Post by: Yuuago on June 04, 2016, 08:57:06 PM
I'm just gonna put this here
Anonymous asked: will you ever draw anything ARTD related art again, maybe more small comics (I'd pay for them!)
Minna: I’ll probably draw something for upcoming anniversaries (like 5-years-since-aRTD-things). Dunno about more mini comics (possible, but not something I’ve really been thinking of), but certainly some general art.
So~ cool! :D
And also there's this awesome Lalli portrait (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com)
^Direct links to the posts in question, for specific reference/so they don't get lost:
The aRTD ask: http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145424761705/will-you-ever-draw-anything-artd-related-art
The portrait: http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145425145270/lalli-portrait
Post by: Tr on June 04, 2016, 09:05:11 PM
^Direct links to the posts in question, for specific reference/so they don't get lost:THANK YOU ^_^'
The aRTD ask: http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145424761705/will-you-ever-draw-anything-artd-related-art
The portrait: http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145425145270/lalli-portrait
I have no idea how to do that, heh
Post by: Yuuago on June 04, 2016, 09:10:29 PM
THANK YOU ^_^'
I have no idea how to do that, heh
With tumblr, when you click the date associated with a post, it will take you directly to the post. On Minna's layout, that's directly below the post; it's elsewhere on different layouts.
Or you can find it through Archive (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/archive) view. '3'
Post by: Tr on June 04, 2016, 09:35:53 PM
With tumblr, when you click the date associated with a post, it will take you directly to the post. On Minna's layout, that's directly below the post; it's elsewhere on different layouts.Ah, thanks. ^-^
Or you can find it through Archive (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/archive) view. '3'
(So that's how that works...)
Post by: Tr on June 09, 2016, 04:51:12 PM
Word of Minna (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145663357235/hello-minna-i-hope-youre-having-a-wonderful-day) on Finnish and Icelandic mages
And also Mikkel! (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145663860970/mikkel-portrait-only-tuuri-and-reynir-left-in)
Post by: Aierdome on June 09, 2016, 05:36:30 PM
Word of Minna (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145663357235/hello-minna-i-hope-youre-having-a-wonderful-day) on Finnish and Icelandic mages
And also Mikkel! (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/145663860970/mikkel-portrait-only-tuuri-and-reynir-left-in)
Well, that's some fascinating stuff. Thanks for posting the links, Tr!
Post by: shoop on June 15, 2016, 07:32:53 AM
Recent discussion with Minna through Tumblr PMs:
(http://66.media.tumblr.com/0ee13ee3c76be9073c41131bf8dab9fa/tumblr_o8t923MyBI1tkw7nvo1_1280.png)
Transcript:
@pastimescribbles: Hi Minna! Sorry for the odd message, but I wanted to ask your permission on something. Um, I tend to draw your characters for fun fanart, but occasionally I draw them with different skin tones, e.g. Emil with tan skin. I’ve been told repeatedly by other fans that I shouldn’t be doing this, but I wanted to hear your opinion. Is it alright that people draw fanart of your characters with different skin tones, or would you rather we didn't? Thanks for your time! ;w;
Minna (@sssscomic): Eeeh, I don’t really care what kind of fanart people draw.. You’re allowed to draw Emil as a blue avatar alien with a hippogriff body if that’s your thing, it doesn’t affect the actual Emil in the comic.
Post by: kjeks on June 24, 2016, 04:39:37 PM
[Disclaimer: this isn't shoop, but I'm using her account for this because I'm too lazy to go and make one + I feel like this is important.]
Recent discussion with Minna through Tumblr PMs:
(http://66.media.tumblr.com/0ee13ee3c76be9073c41131bf8dab9fa/tumblr_o8t923MyBI1tkw7nvo1_1280.png)
Transcript:
@pastimescribbles: Hi Minna! Sorry for the odd message, but I wanted to ask your permission on something. Um, I tend to draw your characters for fun fanart, but occasionally I draw them with different skin tones, e.g. Emil with tan skin. I’ve been told repeatedly by other fans that I shouldn’t be doing this, but I wanted to hear your opinion. Is it alright that people draw fanart of your characters with different skin tones, or would you rather we didn't? Thanks for your time! ;w;
Minna (@sssscomic): Eeeh, I don’t really care what kind of fanart people draw.. You’re allowed to draw Emil as a blue avatar alien with a hippogriff body if that’s your thing, it doesn’t affect the actual Emil in the comic.
Looking forward to fanart results regarding your request. Of course Alien-Emil would be fun, too XD
Post by: Antillanka on July 10, 2016, 03:54:51 PM
Looking forward to fanart results regarding your request. Of course Alien-Emil would be fun, too XD
+1!!!
Post by: Yuuago on October 02, 2016, 03:41:32 PM
Quote
How do you feel about people selling commissions of your characters?(Post (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/151251392120/how-do-you-feel-about-people-selling-commissions))
It’s fine. I don’t do commissions of the characters myself so other people doing it won’t encroach on my ability to make an income in any way. As long as it’s people charging from pictures they’ve drawn themselves and not copied content I don’t mind my characters being the subject, doesn’t hurt anyone and just makes people happy. :P
Quote
Are we ever going to learn what happened to Emil's family?(Post (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/151251462025/are-we-ever-going-to-learn-what-happened-to-emils))
Yes, in due time we’re going to learn much more about everybody’s families.
AND ALSO
Confirmation that Mikkel has a twin brother! Post + drawing (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/151251791300/well-well-somehow-i-finished-drawing-todays)
Post by: P__ on October 02, 2016, 04:16:12 PM
AND ALSOIt's like a Mikkel, but with a smile and open eyes (also, an english-sounding name... Boy must that have been confusing when they were kids!!)
Confirmation that Mikkel has a twin brother! Post + drawing (http://sssscomic.tumblr.com/post/151251791300/well-well-somehow-i-finished-drawing-todays)
And also, I can now totally understand why Mikkel became like he is. Including the sideburns.
edit: sorry for going completely off-topic
Post by: Miriam on June 29, 2017, 07:25:28 AM
"I know there were some assuring comments posted stating that I had said no major character would die in this comic (which was probably a misremembering of some other comment of mine from years back)"
So "no major character will die" was based on a misunderstanding? I wonder how this misunderstanding originated, what was it based on?
Post by: Keeper on June 29, 2017, 08:09:53 AM
((014))
Minna Sundberg
Some of you have been wondering about the mood of SSSS, and I'm going to claim it's not very different from that of aRTD.
Yes, the setting is different, it has some more drama, some scarier things and a bit more action-y stuff, but in its core it's still a quite light story with an unhurried pace, a lot of friendship and a journey through the unknown.
So if you enjoyed aRTD you'll probably enjoy SSSS too.
the storyline of SSSS is more of a traditional arch with its various lows and peaks.
31 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=8)
___________________________________________________________________
I think we were remembering this one, thinking "light story with an unhurried pace" meant that no one would die.
Post by: Miriam on June 29, 2017, 08:24:57 AM
((009))
Minna Sundberg
It probably won't get too dark, It's mostly about goofy characters epxloring interesting places and doing silly things. :3
29 october 2013 (http://sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=6#IDComment742119617)
___________________________
Yes, also maybe this has something to do with it.
Post by: Sc0ut on June 29, 2017, 08:30:31 AM
Post by: Miriam on June 29, 2017, 08:37:38 AM
If a main character killing herself because she got infected with an incurable, deadly, trollifying disease is "not too dark", I wonder what counts as dark for Minna. I've heard ...things about Finnish culture, but this is ridiculous :P
Yes, although it's subjective, I feel like "not too dark" is a broken promise.
Post by: Róisín on June 29, 2017, 11:05:16 AM
Post by: Antillanka on June 29, 2017, 11:26:14 AM
I'm sure I remember reading something like 'fluff and friendship, and a bit of horror'. Anyone else?
Yeah, I remember something like that too, but now I'm not even sure it was Minna herself who wrote that...
Post by: Sunflower on June 29, 2017, 01:06:15 PM
I'm sure I remember reading something like 'fluff and friendship, and a bit of horror'. Anyone else?
I think we were remembering this one, thinking "light story with an unhurried pace" meant that no one would die.
I was thinking along those lines too. Now, nothing stops an author from having second thoughts about her work and wanting to allow herself but... yeah. The overall tone of SSSS up to this point was basically cheerful with elements of slapstick comedy, despite the enormous tragedy implicit in the backstory (billions of people dead in the first onslaught of The Rash, the evidence of desperate and despairing reactions by the people whose remains our crew finds) and the danger of the monster attacks we see on-screen and hear about.
Consider the Dalahasten attack (the sequence that really made me an SSSS fan when I had been impatient about the slow pace of the prologue and first few chapters). It's genuinely threatening, the lives of our characters and everyone else on that train is at stake, and yet everyone survives without infection. Yes, several minor characters are badly injured, but we get the sense they'll make a full recovery... and all along the way, the danger and heroism are tempered with bits of goofy comedy and character-building. That was one of the reasons I thought Minna was going to apply "plot armor" to her characters throughout the comic.
Post by: Róisín on June 29, 2017, 01:13:58 PM
Post by: Brandenfascher on June 29, 2017, 11:38:40 PM
If a main character killing herself because she got infected with an incurable, deadly, trollifying disease is "not too dark", I wonder what counts as dark for Minna. I've heard ...things about Finnish culture, but this is ridiculous :PI dunno... I imagine Tuuri transforming into a troll or a husk or getting euthanized by anyone on the team to be a darker outcome, and the only non-dark outcome that I can figure is the deus ex machina "yay we randomly stumbled on a working cure with no proper knowledge or equipment to develop it", which most likely would have made a less satisfying narrative.
In any case, imo the way it was presented wasn't very dark. It started out really sudden, then exhilarating, then sad, and then slightly relieving but still sad (at the point where Onni witnessed Tuuri being guided away). It would be properly dark if she ended up like one of the lost souls stuck in moaning despair - a fate worse than death.
Maybe I just look on the bright side too much. :/
Post by: Sc0ut on June 30, 2017, 01:59:12 AM
To clarify: while I realize that things could have gone even worse for Tuuri, I don't think that "the worst thing, literally a fate worse than death didn't happen" = "it's not too dark" - makes sense?
Post by: Unlos on June 30, 2017, 03:28:45 PM
That was somewhat my thinking too. I wish I could find that quote. It was somewhere early in the tale.It's in the blog/last day of countdown to ssss page (http://www.sssscomic.com/journal.php?entry=8). In which she also assures everyone that the expeditions animal (later to be revealed as kitty) would not die. Hnnnh.
Highlighting the following quote:
It'll be fun guys, I promise! A new adventure and new things and new everything! And SSSS will be much longer than aRTD, so you won't have to say goodbye to the new characters for many, many years this time. :3
Post by: P__ on June 30, 2017, 05:31:06 PM
Post by: Sunflower on June 30, 2017, 10:39:58 PM
Somewhere along the southern shoreside road leading to Vejle, the one on these coordinates: 55.692458, 9.612527
Post by: Elleth on July 01, 2017, 12:50:25 AM
I'm sure I remember reading something like 'fluff and friendship, and a bit of horror'. Anyone else?
That's right on the front page:
Quote
"Stand Still. Stay Silent" is a post apocalyptic webcomic with elements from Nordic mythology, set 90 years in the future. It's mostly a story about friendship and exploring a forgotten world, with some horror, monsters and magic on the side.
There was also this in an author comment:
Quote
Page 54: Gaaasp, quarantining actually meant quarantining and wasn't code for something horrible, like most of you seemed to suspect on the last page. Gee-eeze guys, it's like you're all traumatized now and sorrowfully expecting the absolute worst to happen every turn. But nope, I'm not going to be killing off characters left and right from now on, hahah. x3
and
Quote
Page 90:
(Almost makes me sad when I try to connect with the characters and then they vanish)
http://disq.us/p/m34e0u
Hahah, awww, sorry about that. But you're safe to connect with the current characters and the ones that are still going to be introduced, I promise wont make them suddenly be gone in a few chapters again.
And of course both comments still hold true in retrospect, and especially in terms of Minna not wanting to give away this development, especially since it was planned from the beginning, but they still suggest a safety that didn't actually exist. I wrote a blog post earlier how I didn't think Minna was being deceptive as a storyteller because so many things are still failing to add up without Tuuri there, but it's the early morning without me having slept, and I'm still sad about Tuuri, so right now my thoughts are a bit more uncharitable. :-\ (And yes, I feel bad about that as well.)
Post by: Unlos on July 01, 2017, 03:14:58 AM
well... two and a half years is many, right? Still not enough TT_TTWelll, if you count like Detritus (one-two-many-lots) you're closer but my definition of many many is more than that.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on July 01, 2017, 07:01:28 AM
Post by: urbicande on July 03, 2017, 09:18:57 AM
Post by: thorny on July 13, 2017, 10:11:31 AM
[snipped some]
It's in the blog/last day of countdown to ssss page[/url]. In which she also assures everyone that the expeditions animal (later to be revealed as kitty) would not die. Hnnnh.
Highlighting the following quote:
It'll be fun guys, I promise! A new adventure and new things and new everything! And SSSS will be much longer than aRTD, so you won't have to say goodbye to the new characters for many, many years this time.
That page also says:
Quote
On the other hand there's no magic or speaking animals to be seen, so I hope not too many were sticking around for those elements only.
Whether we've seen speaking animals is a bit questionable -- is Sleipnope an animal? -- but we've certainly seen quite a bit of magic.
Post by: Unlos on July 13, 2017, 11:58:38 AM
That page also says:
Whether we've seen speaking animals is a bit questionable -- is Sleipnope an animal? -- but we've certainly seen quite a bit of magic.
Very true! I remember not believing there would be any magic in the comic, neither. Huh.
Post by: Elleth on July 16, 2017, 05:46:01 AM
That page also says:
Whether we've seen speaking animals is a bit questionable -- is Sleipnope an animal? -- but we've certainly seen quite a bit of magic.
I have no idea how to even classify Sleipnope, beyond "aw hell no", but Reynir's fylgja qualifies as both in combination, I suppose? At least to the same degree that the aRTD animal spirits count as animals.
Post by: Sc0ut on July 16, 2017, 07:26:35 AM
I have no idea how to even classify Sleipnope, beyond "aw hell no", but Reynir's fylgja qualifies as both in combination, I suppose? At least to the same degree that the aRTD animal spirits count as animals.
Yeah... at this point I no longer believe any generalities Minna says about her comic ;D Or at least, none of the older comments. Either the comic strayed a lot from the initial concept, or she's intentionally trying to mislead us.
Post by: Sunflower on July 16, 2017, 11:11:29 PM
Yeah... at this point I no longer believe any generalities Minna says about her comic ;D Or at least, none of the older comments. Either the comic strayed a lot from the initial concept, or she's intentionally trying to mislead us.
I vote for "strayed a lot" vs. "intentionally misleading us." While an author always has the right to avoid spoilers, I honestly don't think Minna would intentionally deceive her readers. It's much more common for authors to discover that their characters "have a mind of their own" -- and further, for a work of art initially conceived of as a light-hearted romp to develop deeper and even tragic elements. Look at the tone in "The Hobbit" vs. "The Lord of the Rings," for example.
With that said, it's very bittersweet to see both Minna's and readers' cheerful early comments about the likely directions of the story, given what we know now. And I have to say, the tonal whiplash, contrasting the light-hearted goofiness of early chapters (especially Ch. 4's shenanigans at the Oresund base) to what happens later, is still difficult for me to take.
Post by: thorny on July 17, 2017, 09:34:51 AM
the tonal whiplash, contrasting the light-hearted goofiness of early chapters (especially Ch. 4's shenanigans at the Oresund base) to what happens later, is still difficult for me to take.
But actual people's lives, in any real world, contain both light-hearted goofiness and tragedy.
Why shouldn't Minna include both?
Post by: P__ on July 17, 2017, 12:02:59 PM
Why shouldn't Minna include both?stories generally don't include everything about character's lives (case in point: bodily functions). As for the types of events and emotions, it generally depends on the tone the author wants to give to their story : horror stories for instance tend to be light on the goofines aspect, while kids' fairy-tales usually don't have anyone die (The Bad Guy is an obvious exception, but even then, it's rarely very horrible). SSSS has goone from "light-hearted exploration" (albeit in a horror setting) tone to the very different "main characters commit suicide" tone. I can see how it can come as a bit of a shock
Post by: thorny on July 17, 2017, 01:33:38 PM
I'm entirely uninterested in pure horror; or for that matter in the sort of thriller or detective story or sf story or whatever in which the only thing that happens is dreadful stuff and/or dreadful people.
But I'm also usually not particularly interested in stories in which everything goes perfectly smoothly.
I want to read about interesting people who lead interesting lives. And that means that there are good things in their lives as well as bad; but that the bad things are real, and really need to be dealt with.
Even most of the books I liked as a small child were like that.
ETA: and we must have read different fairy stories. People died all over the place in the ones I know. Absolutely terrible things happened to the bad guys in many of the ones I read, and often to some of the good guys as well. Sometimes the protagonist doesn't even come out all right. But then, I didn't grow up with the Disney version of, say, Little Mermaid.
Post by: P__ on July 17, 2017, 05:40:43 PM
But then, I didn't grow up with the Disney version of, say, Little Mermaid.That might be why XD
I distinctly remember a version (not of the Little Mermaid) where the Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother both get eaten, but then get cut out of the Big Bad Wolf's belly - both alive and well - by a Woodsman. And the Wolf doesn't even die from that! (it does die afterwards from rocks-in-the-stomach related problems, though, but no-one cares because it's the Bad Guy). Those (and many all-audiences animated movies for instance, such as the Disneys you mentioned) are the kinds of kid's stories I'm talking about, not the scare-you-so-you-don't-misbehave kinds of fairytales ;)
Of course, a bit of both makes for good stories, but the proportions can vary wildly from one tale to the other. Within a single story (like we've seen here), I don't think it's very often that there's such a big change.
in other news, we're straying a bit far from the "key posts by Minna" topic, may I suggest moving this to a different thread if the discussion goes on longer / once it dies down?
Post by: Talimee on January 05, 2018, 03:58:55 PM
Mr-Plinkett (https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_840/#comment-3692151475): How many adventures do you have planned so far? Like number wise.
Minna: A second adventure is fairly well plotted out, and a third one is very loosely planned. That's a lot of years to go, so things can change and I might even come up with more story after that. But three is what I've been somewhat aiming for.
==> Does this mean that character arcs are going to be extended over the span of three adventures?
Waveright62 (https://disqus.com/home/discussion/sssscomic/stand_still_stay_silent_webcomic_page_840/#comment-3692161574): Getting in on the question bandwagon, if I may? Will Tuuri's character description be updated at some point? Or is it being left so not to be a spoiler for new readers?
Minna: It'll be left as is, for the spoiler reasons. When the next adventure starts I'll probably split the site into two sections; the current characters page will stay as it is, and the new part will have its own updated characters page.
==> Does this mean that there are significant changes in the crew during the next adventure?
Post by: Imogen on February 08, 2018, 10:11:46 AM
Post by: Róisín on February 08, 2018, 11:35:12 AM
Post by: Imogen on February 08, 2018, 11:45:15 AM
Page 379, August 27, 2015 or thereabouts. In Minna's notes just under the comic. I can't do links, but the page should be easy enough to find. Also, welcome!
Thank you!! :D
Post by: Windfighter on February 08, 2018, 02:58:07 PM
Page 379 (http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=379), August 27, 2015 or thereabouts. In Minna's notes just under the comic. I can't do links, but the page should be easy enough to find. Also, welcome!
It doesnt say that the soulmate-thing is why Lalli ended up in Emils dreamspace though, which the question was about??? Or is this me reading stuff too literally and not understanding what was actually meant?
Have we actually gotten a confirmation about why Lalli ended up there or is everything just fantheories at this point? (Ive personally only seen the fantheories so if someone could point out a confirmation Id be very happy <3)
Post by: Sc0ut on February 08, 2018, 06:40:37 PM
Hi, someone in the comments from one of the latest pages said that Minna said that Lalli is in Emil's dreamspace because they're soulmates; I was wondering if anyone had a link or a quote from her from when she said this? I've looked on her twitter and on a lot of the comments from previous pages but I can't find anything :(
I think the person was just inferring from Minna calling them soulmates at a much earlier point in the story, rather than quoting an "official" explanation for the dreamspace situation. I looked through Minna's comments from the last few months and there doesn't seem to be anything that discusses this. You can see for yourself if you want: https://disqus.com/by/minnasundberg/
Post by: Imogen on February 09, 2018, 04:51:37 AM
Post by: wavewright62 on June 20, 2018, 07:12:17 PM
"The next chapter will be the longest one we've had in quite a while, and I'm going to make it great. Because not only will it be long, it's also the... final...chapter... of this adventure. That's right. I've mentioned it on twitter before I think, but now you all know. BUT NO PANIC! The key word is "this adventure, there will be a second grand SSSS adventure coming. I'm already busy plotting it out in my head, and it'll be fantastic. So let's just enjoy what's to come these next few months, and then we can all become excited about what's after that."
:lalli: :tuuri: :emil: :sigrun: :mikkel: :reynir:
Post by: Antillanka on June 23, 2018, 05:32:56 PM
21 June 2018:
"The next chapter will be the longest one we've had in quite a while, and I'm going to make it great. Because not only will it be long, it's also the... final...chapter... of this adventure. That's right. I've mentioned it on twitter before I think, but now you all know. BUT NO PANIC! The key word is "this adventure, there will be a second grand SSSS adventure coming. I'm already busy plotting it out in my head, and it'll be fantastic. So let's just enjoy what's to come these next few months, and then we can all become excited about what's after that.":lalli: :tuuri: :emil: :sigrun: :mikkel: :reynir:
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/5c416b17a323fa6ecceb25f6c9b93ddb/tenor.gif?itemid=4652936)
... well, she hasn't said anything about an epilogue :B
Post by: wavewright62 on June 24, 2018, 08:34:44 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/eOCprsb.png)
Post by: Purple Wyrm on June 24, 2018, 09:18:01 PM
Post by: Sc0ut on June 25, 2018, 02:57:07 AM
Post by: fija on June 27, 2018, 08:24:57 AM
Post by: P__ on July 10, 2018, 03:39:58 AM
Sigrun :sigrun: While her arm seems to be healing, I imagine it may actually get worse and need amputation. Being totally bummed out that she's now a "useless cripple", she jumps head-first into captaining the first dangerous mission she finds to prove her worth is not diminished
Mikkel :mikkel: Has the right skill-set to serve as a sort-of, possibly unofficial skald (I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bit of knowledge of ancient languages) and still has nothing more interesting to do (he might need Trond to tell him that, and/or knowledge that Sigrun will be the captain: at least she's fun to work under)
Lalli :lalli: and possibly Onni :onni: want to go back to find Tuuri's soul. Though she died human, they may think there's a risk she hasn't passed on. Of course, there's no guarantee the expedition will actually go to the right place... (Onni might also go because otherwise his last remaining family will be alone, defenceless, and with no-one he can understand)
Emil :emil: sees that the first expedition didn't gather enough glory and he's still a low-ranking cleanser that has to follow orders and do basic training. That won't do. Plus, Lalli will be there too.
Reynir :reynir: has finally been sent to the Seiður academy (though he's a bit on the old side), and absolutely never wants to leave the known world again, but he's the only Icelandic mage to know what the ghosties look like and how to deal with them. He might act as a sort of "local guide" to a more experienced mage or more likely a magic scholar, and may receive some special tutoring on the way (despite this not being the way Icelander do things).
I'm hoping they'll also get at least a day scout and one or two extra underlings for Sigrun, but my assumptions are already adding one new character to the main crew, which I think is unlikely (but Reynir's tutor might actually remain safe and do their work through mage-phone)
Post by: thorny on July 12, 2018, 10:13:02 AM
Maybe they won't actually get picked up by the ship. Or maybe this adventure will end with them all "safely" on board the rescue ship . . .
but the ship will get damaged, and/or blown off course, and they'll be stranded somewhere else in the Silent World.
Or, maybe, they will make it safe back home; but will then be more or less forced into another expedition, some of them more willingly than others, as being the only people with Experience in the Silent World. Onni might well go along out of a desire to keep Lalli alive.
Or maybe the next adventure will have something to do with the It that's presumably still after Onni and Lalli. The rest of the crew might be drawn in by proximity, if they're all still together when It finds them; and/or by bonds of friendship.
ETA: sorry, just realized this is kind of off topic for this thread. Mods, please feel free to move or delete if you think it appropriate.
Post by: wavewright62 on July 13, 2018, 03:29:51 AM
I think both Onni and Lalli, separately, have discovered that Tuuri was escorted on her proper way. Discussing it with each other just seems likely to confirm that belief.
Maybe they won't actually get picked up by the ship. Or maybe this adventure will end with them all "safely" on board the rescue ship . . .
but the ship will get damaged, and/or blown off course, and they'll be stranded somewhere else in the Silent World.
Or, maybe, they will make it safe back home; but will then be more or less forced into another expedition, some of them more willingly than others, as being the only people with Experience in the Silent World. Onni might well go along out of a desire to keep Lalli alive.
Or maybe the next adventure will have something to do with the It that's presumably still after Onni and Lalli. The rest of the crew might be drawn in by proximity, if they're all still together when It finds them; and/or by bonds of friendship.
ETA: sorry, just realized this is kind of off topic for this thread. Mods, please feel free to move or delete if you think it appropriate.
I think I can only move threads or split topics, not individual posts? We'll leave it, but thanks. I'll quote it into the Next adventure thread maybe.
Post by: Talimee on July 28, 2018, 08:27:05 PM
Attention: Basis to this list is an open google-doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kw9gSliAR4I8oYk-Q4Ob26lAAfuUufDGrt_-J3j1IPQ/edit?usp=sharing) -- anyone with the link to it can change it as well. I offer this as a possibility to note down information that is more important to you than to me (I left answers out regarding drawing-stuff, for example). I also only approximated the time-stamps of Minna's answers and what she said as well, because I had major troubles with the stream in general
Trolls
Q: Minna, how do you decide what kind of animal the trolls should resemble? do you draw any allegory between the trolls nature and the nature of the animals they resemble?
A. (1h43m): Based on what they do in the comic: If they are more creepy and stealthy, they are more spiderlike or lizardlike. The current weird-looking ones (Notoros) are based on hedgehogs.
Q.: Do you have your own names for the different types of trolls/monsters?
A. (1h46m): Not really. sometimes, when they need a name - like the Dusklings now, she thinks of one, but if the monster is just there to do stuff for a few pages she ddoes not think of a name for them.
Q.: Do trolls need food to survive?
A. (1h58m): All trolls need food to survive but how much depends on the lifestyle of that troll. If it is mobile and runs around a lot, it needs more food. If it is stable and not moving much, it needs very little and can survive perfectly well on stuff it finds in its immediate surroundings like mould, fungi, water, plants. A troll living in a closed-off room without food would starve to death eventually.
Q.: Do trolls eat other trolls?
A. (2h00m): They do, but only those that are not similar to them and if there is no other food to be had.
Q.: Is the current Handsy Moose (p. 939) the same as we saw first or a different one?
A. (1h40m): A different, more powerful one. But the same type of monster.
Q.: How does it come that some trolls look similar to each other?
A. (2h29min): It depends on several factors. If they evolve under the same conditions (lighting, food-sources, etc), or if they caught the same strain of the Rash, or if they looked similar before the rash, like when they were related.
Characters
Q.: Would Lalli eat sugar straight from the packet?
A. (2h38min): Possibly, if he gets cravings for it and would maybe do it a few times before he gets tired of it.
Q: What would Onni be willing to give to get Tuuri back?
A. (2h56min): Too much. You might be seeing some of that in the future in the comic.
Q: Will we be seeing Tuuri again in the second SSSS adventure?
A. (3h19min): Ehhhh, I’m not going to tell!
Q: In one comment you mentioned Lalli had a very unconventional upbringing and underlying neuro-issues. Can we have some details on that?
A. (3h19min): Not on the upbringing, because you gonna find out in the story in the future. and the neuro-issues I cannot say specifically, but Lalli would still be a bit strange regardless of his upbringing. He would never be completely normal, but he would definitely be less strange if he had grown up with proper socializing.
Q: Will Lalli and Emil have any sort of residual effects from their souls inhabiting the same body for that period of time?
A.(4h13min): Maybe, we’ll see.
Q: Minna, who in the crew would give the best hugs?
A.(4h15min): Mikkel. Gives bear hugs.
Q: Which character likes to give hugs the most?
A. (4h18min): I think that would be Reynir.
Q.: What are Mikkel’s, Sigrun’s and Emil’s fylgia?
A. (4h20min): Haven’t decided yet but will eventually draw them, since people keep asking about them.
Q: Tuuri’s luonto?
A. (4h23min): A hedgehog. Cute and round.
Q: What are everybody’s birthdays?
A. (4h28min): I haven’t decided yet but will try to remember to include them in the updated character-info-pages once the adventure starts.
Q: What would Emil and Lalli buy at IKEA?
A.(4h29min): Probably go to the food section and buy Swedish candy, that’s what I do, also Swedish Hotdogs because they are better than Finnish hotdogs.
Q: Will Lalli ever admit that he cares about Emil?
A. (4h29min): That’s spoilers, so I won’t tell.
Worldbuilding
Q: What is the Dream Sea?
A. (4h08min): It’s somewhere between dreaming and death, basically. It’s not really limbo, because that doesn’t really exist in Nordic mythology. There are many references to shamanistic and mage-stuff happening in dreams and transitional stuff. That’s the place mages go when they are dreaming, kind of closer to death than normal people dreaming, so Emil’s dreamspace is farther away from that and closer to our world, the regular dreamworld.
Q: Would Reynir have to pay a fee for his magic? (similar to how Finnish mages have to recuperate after casting powerful spells)
A. (5h45min): Yes, he would, but he hasn’t done anything really powerful like that yet.
Q: Will we get to see Reynir learn more about his magic in the future?
A. (5h46min): Yes, we will.
Q: Will we get to see more about the academy of seiður?
A. (5h48min): Yes, we will see it at least. We will take a short stop there.
Q.: Which nation met which nation first? Did the Norwegians initiate contact with Iceland or vice versa? When did the Swedes, Danes and Finns come to the party?
A. (5h59min): The Norwegians and the Danes probably met first, because they are fishing and hunting at sea - the Baltic and the Norwegian Sea. Iceland would have stayed isolated a while longer in the north. The Swedes are up in Mora and not at sea so the Norwegians and Danes met the Icelanders first, before the Swedes and Finns joined.
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
Q.: Do you plan the whole story beforehand or do you create it as you go along?
A. (3h01min): The story-arc, character development, plot points etc. are all pretty much worked out beforehand. Sometimes something gets changed or thrown out as the story progresses.
Q.: Have you designed characters for the upcoming aventure?
A. (3h13min): No, she doesn’t design secondary/minor characters until they need to appear.
Q.: Can we have some spoilers for the next adventure?
A. (2h28min): Not yet, but within the next couple of months when I start creating artwork for the new layout of the website.
Q.: Will you do more worldbuilding in this arc?
A. (1h45m): Not on this arc, because it is nearly over but in the next arc, because there will be new concepts and places. She also said she would start releasing art for the next adventure later this year (2018), but demurred answering more questions about it now.
Q.: Minna, who of the SSSS characters would be your closest friend if they lived in the real world (or if you lived in the Silent World)?
A. (2h37min): I want to say none, because I’m really bad at keeping friends, so I’m saying probably Onni and Lalli because they would never call and leave me alone and I would appreciate that.
Q: Coffee or tea?
A.(5h51min): Neither, I hate both. Yuck.
Q: Which ice-cream flavour is the best one?
A. (2h32min): Vanilla. It goes well with everything.
Q.: Do you read fic? Of SSSS or other fandoms?
A. (3h28min): No, I don’t read any fanfiction of SSSS, so you all can feel at ease, I’m not going to snoop on you. I used to read a bunch of different things when I was younger, but don’t have the time anymore. Nowadays, I just listen to things when i’m drawing.
Post by: wavewright62 on July 28, 2018, 09:14:22 PM
I remember that one of the items Minna listed a stationary troll ingesting was fungus. I guess that means mushrooms, and probably the decay around their own bodies.
Spoiler: icky icky question • show
Post by: Sc0ut on July 29, 2018, 03:13:54 AM
Q: What is the Dream Sea?
A: It’s somewhere between dreaming and death, basically. It’s not really limbo, because that doesn’t really exist in Nordic mythology. That’s the place mages go when they are dreaming, kind of closer to death than normal people dreaming, so Emil’s dreamspace is kind of closer to death.
I think it's the other way around iirc - normal people's dreams are closer to the living world, and the mages's spaces are closer to the afterlife. Does anyone else remember about this?
Post by: Róisín on July 29, 2018, 04:03:00 AM
Post by: Sc0ut on July 29, 2018, 06:40:57 AM
Sc0ut, I could not swear to how it is in the Minnaverse, but in the magic traditions of our world, the spaces in which mages interact are in some ways closer to death than is the daylight world. As are such things as sleep and the orgasmic mindstate (ever noticed in how many languages the words for both of those states translate to 'the little death'?). Then there are the altered mindstates of meditation, spiritual experiences, chemically induced experiences, delirium and near-death experiences. Interesting how often the threshold experience of shamanic initiation is something which comes very close to death.
Oh I was talking about Minnaverse, and specifically about what Minna said last night. I was one of the people who watched the stream, but I didn't take notes like other, more responsible people :)
Post by: Róisín on July 29, 2018, 06:59:55 AM
Post by: Talimee on July 29, 2018, 08:14:50 AM
I remember that one of the items Minna listed a stationary troll ingesting was fungus. I guess that means mushrooms, and probably the decay around their own bodies.
Er, yeah. What you english-people devide into fungi and mushrooms is all the same for me: Pilze. (The exeption is mould.) So "mushroom" was my fall-back-to when jotting down the answer.Spoiler: icky icky question • show
Nice job with the note-taking, Tali! One minor correction:
I think it's the other way around iirc - normal people's dreams are closer to the living world, and the mages's spaces are closer to the afterlife. Does anyone else remember about this?
I did not jot down that Q/A, but no one in the doc complained - so it is either what everyone heard or it slipped all our attention. I'll see if I spool through the stream again soon and correct some stuff.
Post by: Miriam on July 29, 2018, 08:42:35 AM
Nice job with the note-taking, Tali! One minor correction:
I think it's the other way around iirc - normal people's dreams are closer to the living world, and the mages's spaces are closer to the afterlife. Does anyone else remember about this?
You're right, Sc0ut. What Minna says is:
"That’s the place mages go when they are dreaming, kind of closer to death than normal people dreaming, so Emil’s dreamspace is kind of farther from that, closer to our world, the regular dreamworld."
This is said starting at 4:08:13.
Also, starting at 4:51:12:
"The Kickstarter orders should be out soon. I was told they're going to start going out in the second week of August, so pretty soon. And after the orders of the Kickstarter are gone out, they will be in the store. I make a big announcement when it's time."
Post by: Sc0ut on July 29, 2018, 10:19:24 AM
Post by: Miriam on July 29, 2018, 12:16:38 PM
Q: In one comment you mentioned Lalli had a very unconventional upbringing and underlying neuro-issues. Can we have some details on that?
A: Lalli would still be a bit strange regardless of his past/upbringing. (I didn’t catch all of the answer) She will not give details about the upbringing itself because it will be in the story.
Full answer, starting from 3:19:55:
"On the upbringing, no, because you're going to find out in the story in the future. On the neuro-issues, I can't say it too specific but I can say that if he had been brought up completely normal, he would still be a bit strange. He would never be completely normal. But he would definitely be less strange if he'd be grown up with some proper socializing."
Post by: Talimee on July 30, 2018, 08:52:41 AM
Full answer, starting from 3:19:55:
"On the upbringing, no, because you're going to find out in the story in the future. On the neuro-issues, I can't say it too specific but I can say that if he had been brought up completely normal, he would still be a bit strange. He would never be completely normal. But he would definitely be less strange if he'd be grown up with some proper socializing."
I have updated the document and edited the list. Unfortunately, I only saw your way more accurate transcription too late. I would beg you (and others who take notes) to write improvements into the google-doc as well, where I can see them.
Post by: JoB on July 30, 2018, 01:08:46 PM
Q: Will we get to see more about the academy of seiður?[pictures a horse carriage screeching to a halt in front of it and Reynir getting thrown out before the cart speeds off to bring the official team to the Nordic Council]
A. (5h48min): Yes, we will see it at least. We will take a short stop there.
Post by: Talimee on July 30, 2018, 01:48:01 PM
[pictures a horse carriage screeching to a halt in front of it and Reynir getting thrown out before the cart speeds off to bring the official team to the Nordic Council]
No, no, JoB, the other way around: Screeching wheels and horses, probably on fire (the wheels that is), and Reynir busting out of a sceond-floor window of the academy to go to another adventure.
Post by: Grade E cat on July 30, 2018, 03:26:38 PM
No, no, JoB, the other way around: Screeching wheels and horses, probably on fire (the wheels that is), and Reynir busting out of a sceond-floor window of the academy to go to another adventure.
Mikkel: Welcome back.
Sigrun/Emil/Lalli: *Groan* Why is he coming already?
New skald/mechanic: Who's that guy?
Post by: JoB on July 30, 2018, 06:20:27 PM
No, no, JoB, the other way around: Screeching wheels and horses, probably on fire (the wheels that is), and Reynir busting out of a sceond-floor window of the academy to go to another adventure.... only to find out that the rest of the team in said combusting coach is (still in Iceland, rather than back home, and) stampeding away from the Nordic Council in order to avoid getting press-ganged into another Tour de Frenzy (but will, of course, find the officials in the harbor to be numerous, muscular, and otherwise well-prepared to reroute them that-a-way)? Yep, I'd buy that. >:D
Post by: Mebediel on July 30, 2018, 09:23:22 PM
... only to find out that the rest of the team in said combusting coach is (still in Iceland, rather than back home, and) stampeding away from the Nordic Council in order to avoid getting press-ganged into another Tour de Frenzy (but will, of course, find the officials in the harbor to be numerous, muscular, and otherwise well-prepared to reroute them that-a-way)? Yep, I'd buy that. >:DThe only reasonable beginning to the next adventure :'D :'D And of course they would probably manage to break half of Reykjavik in the process.
I have updated the document and edited the list. Unfortunately, I only saw your way more accurate transcription too late. I would beg you (and others who take notes) to write improvements into the google-doc as well, where I can see them.Is this an ongoing doc or will a new one be made at the beginning of every stream?
Post by: Talimee on July 31, 2018, 06:16:49 AM
Is this an ongoing doc or will a new one be made at the beginning of every stream?
Good question! It would be more logical to keep in ongoing, although it might become scrambled and confusing after a certain number of streams. I do think that we should keep each stream separately in the doc, though. Let's try with "ongoing" at first and see how it turns out.
Post by: Purple Wyrm on August 03, 2018, 07:09:29 AM
Q: Tuuri’s luonto?
A. (4h23min): A hedgehog. Cute and round.
SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! :))
icky icky question
Given the content I'd call that an Ilkley Ilkley question! ;)
Post by: Róisín on August 03, 2018, 09:55:11 AM
Post by: wavewright62 on August 03, 2018, 08:09:13 PM
SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! :))
Given the content I'd call that an Ilkley Ilkley question! ;)
SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! :))
Given the content I'd call that an Ilkley Ilkley question! ;)
*scratches head* Is this an Aussie thing?
Post by: Purple Wyrm on August 03, 2018, 09:29:22 PM
*scratches head* Is this an Aussie thing?
It's actually (as noted by Róisín) a Yorkshire thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Ilkla_Moor_Baht_%27at) ;D
The song tells of a lover courting the object of his affections, Mary Jane, on Ilkley Moor without a hat (baht 'at). The singer chides the lover for his lack of headwear – for in the cold winds of Ilkley Moor this will mean his death from exposure. This will in turn result in his burial, the eating of his corpse by worms, the eating of the worms by ducks and finally the eating of the ducks by the singers.
Here's a version featuring a rapping Brian Blessed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8MWb1FlODQ) :o
Post by: Róisín on August 03, 2018, 11:55:17 PM
Post by: Kis on August 05, 2018, 11:05:47 AM
Post by: Windfighter on August 07, 2018, 06:48:03 PM
I assume Mora or Sollerön would be the most common dialects (since Sollerön is the safest place and Mora is the capital) so maybe start with those first?
(For any Swedes I suggest listening to Älvdalen (https://www.sprakochfolkminnen.se/sprak/dialekter/lyssna-pa-dialekter/dalarna/alvdalen.html) and try to see how much you understand without checking the translations (nor the transcription)!)
Post by: Kis on August 08, 2018, 05:16:54 PM
I've found it:
"Heh, I don't have terribly specific descriptions for most of them, but let's see here: Emil and Reynir have about as androgynous voices as they look, more manly than girly though, Lalli is pretty much half-whispering whenever he speak, Mikkel has a deep, even bear-voice, Tuuri has a cute, chattery and very feminine voice, and Sigrun has the kind of voice that a female cop on a police-drama show might have. Not the sexy girlish type, the badass boss-cop type."
Windfighter, the link is very helpful, thank you. I'll probably use this site for listening exercises (:
Post by: Talimee on August 11, 2018, 02:28:35 PM
The people of the chat were very prolific in asking questions and Minna equally prolific in answering them. Therefore have a lightly digested write-up here. If you want to read the whole thing, here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kw9gSliAR4I8oYk-Q4Ob26lAAfuUufDGrt_-J3j1IPQ/edit?usp=sharing) can you find the google-doc.
Trolls
Spoiler: show
Characters
Spoiler: show
Worldbuilding
Spoiler: show
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
Spoiler: show
Post by: Talimee on August 13, 2018, 04:26:24 AM
chatlog: 11.08.18
Trolls
Q.: Can troll spirits be encountered in the Dream World?
A. (40min55s): I think so, yeah. Maybe if they’re sleeping… I wonder, if trolls do sleep. I have not thought about it. I think, they maybe could be seen, like shadows in the dreamworld, but they might not be able to be interacted with and they won’t be able to see the Mage seeing them.
Characters
Today only: Hair! (and fylgias) XoX
Spoiler: show
Worldbuilding
This weeks special: Magic! Rash! Bandits! Kitty-backpacks!
Spoiler: show
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
Highlights this week: drawing advice! games and books!
Spoiler: show
Post by: JoB on August 13, 2018, 01:55:44 PM
Q.: Weekly question! Have you decided on the crew’s fylgjur yet?"Appropriate". Well, seeing what choices there seem to be (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Horse_breeds_originating_in_Norway), that ought to be a draw between Fjord horse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord_horse) ("relatively small but very strong") and Nordlands-/Lyngshest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordlandshest/Lyngshest) ("drive and eagerness to work") ...
A. (23min30s): Yes, actually, I did decide Sigrun’s and Mikkel’s. Sigrun’s is some sort of horse, whatever norwegian breed would be appropriate
But they probably have petting-zoos for children, like cows and sheep. Maybe bears.... whoa. O_o
Q.: You mentioned before that "Stand Still Stay Silent" wasn't your first title for the comic... what was the first one, if you can share it?(A couple years ago, she (still remembered and) stated that she could not use it because it was super spoilery. Or maybe there are several "original" titles she went through ... ?)
A. (2h04min58s): I don’t actually remember what the first one was. I thought at the time that it was a good a title but since I can’t remember now what it was, it was probably super-boring.
Post by: Antillanka on August 13, 2018, 04:12:47 PM
Post by: Mebediel on August 13, 2018, 04:18:14 PM
... whoa. O_oWhat, romping with the cuddly bears isn’t one of of your favorite childhood petting-zoo memories?
(Kidding ofc. My impression when I was listening to the stream was that they might have bears in zoos, separately from petting-zoos. It’s just more confusing when written than when heard.)
Post by: JoB on August 13, 2018, 04:26:42 PM
What, romping with the cuddly bears isn’t one of of your favorite childhood petting-zoo memories?Back when I was a child, we were supposed to romp with/on polar bear pelts.
Spoiler: show
Post by: Purple Wyrm on August 14, 2018, 12:42:57 AM
Sigrun’s is some sort of horse, whatever norwegian breed would be appropriate and Mikkel is a bull.
We were all so sure that Mikkel was a bear. And to me, Sigrun will always be a Pine Marten!
Post by: Mebediel on August 14, 2018, 12:59:08 AM
Back when I was a child, we were supposed to romp with/on polar bear pelts.Ah yes, the polar bears. The cuddliest of the bears. Very good with children! I'm glad you have photos to rememberSpoiler: show
We were all so sure that Mikkel was a bear. And to me, Sigrun will always be a Pine Marten!Just had to Google Pine Marten. It's so cute!!!
Post by: Purple Wyrm on August 14, 2018, 08:04:48 PM
Just had to Google Pine Marten. It's so cute!!!
Cute, hyperactive and vicious! Just like Sigrun ;D
Post by: Talimee on August 24, 2018, 07:49:59 AM
As always, see the google doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kw9gSliAR4I8oYk-Q4Ob26lAAfuUufDGrt_-J3j1IPQ/edit?usp=sharing) if you want an overall view of all the chatlogs so far and remember: Twitch only saves the stream videos for two weeks. If you want to check some facts do it before the end of next week.
I'll highlight one question here b/c it's becoming some sort of a FAQ:
(It's only once in the doc, but I remember that it was asked in the first stream as well, but we weren't so adamant in copy-pasting back then.)
Q.: How do you feel about characters being shipped etc? You seem to take a lot of care not to unintentionally disrupt peoples' visions if the story doesn't call for it but what does it feel like to know so much about other peoples' "headcanon" of your story?
A. (2:56:58): I don’t mind at all. It’s just a sign of people being into the comic. It’s kinda like cosplaying, you know you “made” it once there’s enough of a fan community to get those kinds of fan creations so yeah, I don’t mind it at all. I also kinda keep away from it, don’t visit fanfiction websites and the forum, so I don’t know that much about peoples’ headcanons, I only know if I happen to see something in the comments. I specifically try to stay away from it so that I don’t become too concerned about it; I don’t want to accidentally change the story to avoid breaking someone’s heart or something like that. So yeah, I don’t mind it at all. I’m sure eventually some people are going to be disappointed that their favorite thing didn’t happen but others will probably be more, I don’t know… validated in their favorite, whatever, pairing taste or how you would say.
chatlog_180818
Trolls
Spoiler: show
Characters
Spoiler: show
Worldbuilding
Spoiler: show
Post by: Talimee on August 24, 2018, 07:54:33 AM
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
Spoiler: show
Post by: P__ on August 24, 2018, 08:53:31 AM
Post by: JoB on August 24, 2018, 01:57:54 PM
Q.: If winter is the safest season, how come the next adventure is set in the warmer part of the year, or does the crew have no choice except to go?I guess those Danish book-buyers are going to get a bit rabid about the meager loot they brought back ... :3
A. (1:00:10): They have no choice. Kinda. Well, you’ll see. It’s mostly because of circumstances.
A. (4:36:20): Yeah, [Onni]’s definitely going to be spending more time in the comic with the crew. I guess, uh, he and Reynir are going to have to work some things out. Other than that, he and Mikkel are gonna have some interesting interactions.Considering that, as far as we know, Onni only speaks Finnish and Icelandic, that selection isn't too surprising ... ;)
A. (0:19:07): [...] What kind of hobbies do people have in times when there’s no video games or comic books?... golf? >:D
A. (3:17:43): [...] I feel like they actually grow bananas, like in actual greenhouses in Iceland. I feel like that’s something that the guides said about, that they actually sell domestic bananas in Iceland. [...]... yeeeeesssss (https://satwcomic.com/never-say-never) ...
Q.: Does that mean puns wouldn’t work in the Dreamworld?Yeah, let's leave that punspecified. >:D
A. (2:48:00): Aaah, we’re getting too specific! If I say “no” then people who want to write fanfiction with puns won’t be able to do it, so I can’t answer that question.
Thank you, everyone who worked on compiling this :) and Talimee for organizing it into categoriesFrom me, too!
Post by: Mebediel on August 24, 2018, 06:44:16 PM
... yeeeeesssss (https://satwcomic.com/never-say-never) ...Holy crap someone show this to Reynir
Post by: wavewright62 on August 24, 2018, 06:51:25 PM
(And wow, Estonians! Canon Estonians! XoX )
Post by: Kis on September 01, 2018, 09:03:39 PM
chatlog_250818
Trolls
Spoiler: show
Characters
Spoiler: show
Worldbuilding
Spoiler: show
Post by: Kis on September 01, 2018, 09:07:08 PM
Spoiler: show
Post by: thorny on September 02, 2018, 12:08:29 PM
Q.: While the comic takes in Northern Europe do you think there are any survivors in other places?
A. (5:47:16): I’m sure there are many places that have survivors. Some place that’s not too close to majorly populated places and that has an ability to get food from somewhere; like hunting or farming in safe place places that you can kind of wall off, you know, mountains, islands, those sort of places.
[ . . . ]
Q.: Did the rest of the world revert to their old ways as well?
A. (6:09:54): Well, if I was writing other societies in the SSSS universe, they would have similarly reverted to their old magic and beliefs and visual things from traditional stuff.
Picking these out to highlight because I think they're important, both to those of us curious about what's going on elsewhere in the SSSS world and to those writing about it, and to throw a little more light on some of the old conversations about diversity in the SSSS world -- to keep from hijacking I'll just say that Minna does seem to have assumed there would be diverse other survivors elsewhere.
And thanks to those who are transcribing this -- looks like a lot of work.
Post by: Mebediel on September 02, 2018, 12:20:51 PM
I'll cover for Talimee if you don't mind.Thanks Kis!!!
Post by: Kis on September 02, 2018, 12:57:58 PM
yeah, thorny, usually it takes about 6 hours and two or three people to cover most of the answers apart from minor mishearings and unclear words which would need additional run through a stream's recording and another hour to sort all of it. But it's quite amusing (at least for me) and profitable if you're still learning English. And Minna's voice is very nice!
Post by: Mebediel on September 07, 2018, 10:24:07 PM
chatlog_010918
Trolls
Spoiler: show
Characters
Main Cast
Spoiler: show
Secondary Characters
Spoiler: show
Worldbuilding
Spoiler: show
Rash, Magic and Ghosts
Spoiler: show
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
Spoiler: show
Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
Spoiler: show
Writing: Character-creation, Pacing
Spoiler: show
Post by: Kis on September 08, 2018, 05:37:05 AM
Upd: also, I have to apologize. In the chatlog for the stream of the 11th of August I wrote that Minna played only Dawnstar and Oblivion (TES games) this year, which is a mishearing, she actually played Don't Starve and They Are Billiions. Sorry for disinformation. (Everything's fiine now - I've already edited the original entries in the doc)
Post by: JoB on September 09, 2018, 06:18:20 AM
Q.: Did we miss seeing the crew celebrate Jul, or did they miss it? (Or has it not even happened yet in canon?)I guess I should take that as official confirmation that we also crossed into Y91 sometime during the expedition ...
A. (02:49:04): I think … actually, I’m not really sure, erm … I don’t really remember what time … No, yes, the mission did begin in fall, I think, so the Jul would have happened during the mission. I think I didn’t draw it because they maybe wouldn’t have really celebrated it, kind of in the same way that they don’t really celebrate each other’s birthdays because they are on a proper mission. They would have just said “Good Jul” and maybe Mikkel would have made a little bit extra good food, maybe? It wouldn’t have been anything special. Maybe I should have included it, but I didn’t *laugh*.
Q.: Who among the crew do you think would like to draw as a way to kill time between salvage runs, or maybe just recreationally in general?That'ld be here (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=584); cross-reference for artist ID here (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=516). I'm not much of an art critic, but I would strike Sigrun and Lalli off the shortlist. ;) Not that willingness to draw would necessarily coincide with talent, of course ...
A. (06:25:25): I’m trying to remember because I think I did that one extra page after they had found kitty somewhere around those parts where they all drew a picture of her, and I’m trying to remember who I decided would be good at drawing. It might have been Mikkel, but I don’t know if he would actually like to draw.
Q.: What’s the most unusual dish you ever ate? // Do you mean blodpudding?Match found (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sausage#Finland), it is a rather international concept to also make livestock's blood into dishes, as you can see, but using the term "pudding" for that (or meat) is a pronouncedly British thing IIUC and prone to cause confusion pretty much everywhere else. 8)
A. (01:49:53): [...] You know I guess maybe the most unusual food that I actually enjoyed is like those blood patties, they’re kinda like small pancakes made mostly of blood, or blood mixed with some kind of flour. You shove them in your mouth and they are yummy and sweet and taste very bloody and have a lot of iron in them. They’re not really unusual in that they are obviously a common food over here, but maybe internationally it would sound kind of gross. *pauses* Oh, and they’re not like blood patties in that they would be meat and blood or meat that is really bloody, it’s just the blood and some sort of thickening materials like flour or wheat. // No, not pudding! [...] The Swedish word for those was blodplättar, at least that’s what they were called in my school, since I went to a Swedish-speaking school. Not blodkorv, that would be mustamakkara, and they are proper sausages, those are not sausages. Those are a lot softer than sausages, they’re kinda something in between a pudding and sausage consistency.
Q.: What's the context for this drawing? Would it actually be a scene that's takes place at some point in the next comic?... in summer. Well, I guess that means that they won't be doing another campaign into the Silent World in the next arc. Not even the Quartet's crazy enough to send them there during Get Eaten Season. (And the fact that they get new uniforms for the trip precludes a getting-marooned-there-against-plans scenario).
A. (0:05:39): Well, this scene could possibly take place in the next part of the comic because it’s appropriately set in summer [...]
Post by: Mebediel on September 09, 2018, 05:48:26 PM
Oh, right, it's Saturday already. Thank you. Eh, should've finished Friday's chatlog yesterday :-\No problem! It's the least I can do since I wasn't able to make Saturday's stream. I also just looked over Friday's chatlog really quickly and it looks like everything has already been edited and organized, so I'm going to go ahead and post it. I hope that's alright!
... in summer. Well, I guess that means that they won't be doing another campaign into the Silent World in the next arc. Not even the Quartet's crazy enough to send them there during Get Eaten Season. (And the fact that they get new uniforms for the trip precludes a getting-marooned-there-against-plans scenario).I may be very, very wrong, but since the crew's new equipment also includes weapons for everyone, including Onni + last week's livestream (https://twitter.com/SSSScomic/status/1036303873512796161) was of the crew in their new uniforms about to be attacked by some water troll, they're probably somewhere in the Silent World, although possibly not as deep into completely new territory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As promised, the chatlog for Friday's inking stream!
chatlog_070918
Trolls
Spoiler: show
Characters
Spoiler: show
Worldbuilding
Spoiler: show
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
Spoiler: show
Post by: Antillanka on September 09, 2018, 10:44:09 PM
Post by: Purple Wyrm on September 10, 2018, 01:11:58 AM
Post by: Kis on September 10, 2018, 01:13:06 AM
Have I already said how wonderful the transcribing team is? I didn't? Oh... TRANSCRIBING TEAM, YOU'RE WONDERFUL HUMAN BEINGS, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Agreed! This thread is a gold mine for those of us who can't make the livestreams!
Thank you for thanking us! ;)
No problem! It's the least I can do since I wasn't able to make Saturday's stream. I also just looked over Friday's chatlog really quickly and it looks like everything has already been edited and organized, so I'm going to go ahead and post it. I hope that's alright!
Yes, of course. I just finished it on Saturday instead (:
And also thanks to people who wrote the words I couldn't make out in that log
So much thanking all around, heh
Post by: P__ on September 10, 2018, 08:34:27 AM
Have I already said how wonderful the transcribing team is? I didn't? Oh... TRANSCRIBING TEAM, YOU'RE WONDERFUL HUMAN BEINGS, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!As some would say:
(https://67.media.tumblr.com/2ae15426e78eee187e09f9ffdbc41ae2/tumblr_o8xjhgTdlV1tfp7lao3_250.png)
(to each of you of course)
Post by: Mebediel on September 10, 2018, 01:49:29 PM
Post by: wavewright62 on September 10, 2018, 10:48:39 PM
<3 @ all of you, and thanks to Talimee and Kis and the other people who work on the transcriptions (I know they're out there because I often see several cursors working on the doc at once, but I don't know who they are because it's mostly anonymous, so thank you mystery transcribers)!
*laughs at mental image of puffs of blue foul-scented air being emitted from the document at the
I am also truly grateful to all who are helping with the transcribing.
Post by: Kis on September 12, 2018, 03:08:29 PM
P.S. @Mebediel,
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/e9315d401fa080f6ac86e5e0081a8b83/tumblr_inline_nlubv6K95n1r2g2kx_500.png)
Post by: Miriam on September 12, 2018, 03:46:37 PM
Quote
Sunflower
Minna, if you see this, several of us have realized we still haven't gotten the books we ordered through Kickstarter, even though they're being sold at shows. I'm having login problems with Kickstarter, so I'll have to follow up on my own account later tonight. Meanwhile, would it be possible for you to ask them to check on fulfillment?
Minna
They've posted two updates this month, the TL:DR were: the remaining rewards were supposed to start going out last week, the second update (this weekend) was that the warehouse had probelms with their software and weren't able to do it, but had promised to have things fixed for this week.
I didn't know the books were being sold at cons though, I'll ask Hiveworks not to do that in the future since I don't like the practice of selling items before original backers have gotten theirs.
KaTaai
Huh, I found out because you replied to someone on twitter who bought it at flamecon.
I thought you were aware of it.
Minna
I guess I mistook it for a book that had arrived in the mail, I (try to) to reply to everyone who tweets their book images at me. But I've now hashed it out with the folks over at Hiveworks, it was just a simple clash of policy (since I'm not involved in the convention stuff at all).
Note: KaTaai was referring to this tweet (https://twitter.com/danielstalter/status/1037713557226496000), which clearly states book 2 being sold at Flamecon.
Post by: Mebediel on September 12, 2018, 04:45:15 PM
Do we have to transcribe questions from people who are not familiar with her work? Like "where are you from?" or conversations with other artistsMmm I'd say we transcribe those on a case-by-case basis. Like if the conversation is basically a rehash of something that Minna has said before, I don't think there's a need to put the work into transcribing it, but if there's new information that people might find interesting, then we could choose to transcribe it?
Post by: Kis on September 12, 2018, 05:01:37 PM
Post by: Kis on September 14, 2018, 02:19:44 PM
Here's the link (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kw9gSliAR4I8oYk-Q4Ob26lAAfuUufDGrt_-J3j1IPQ/edit#) and here's the log:
chatlog_080918
Trolls
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Characters
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Worldbuilding
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Post by: Kis on September 14, 2018, 02:19:56 PM
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) // Oh I thought you had a couple of people help though, woah, you’re working hard ! XD But I was curious, as I own a games company, was wondering what the chances were of us using the SSSS world as a setting 
(but I get you dont want this to turn into business talk etc, so that’s all I wanted to ask XD)Also, Minna is inking Tuesday's page at the moment. Which means more chatlogs!
Post by: viola on September 18, 2018, 11:09:05 AM
We would also like to make a request that we keep the thank you posts in this thread to a minimum. I know you all appreciate the work the transcribers are doing, and we do as well, but it would be better for the thank yous to be PMed. We want to keep this thread neat and easy to access so that Minna's information and responses are easier to find. Thank you in advance, we appreciate your understanding.
Best,
Vi
Post by: Mebediel on September 22, 2018, 10:00:42 PM
chatlog_140918
Characters
Main Cast
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Secondary Characters
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The Duck
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Worldbuilding
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Rash, Magic and Ghosts
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Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
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Writing: Character-creation, Pacing
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Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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Post by: JoB on September 23, 2018, 08:16:00 AM
Q.: Since cooking and knitting for Reynir are out of the question, what about whittling/woodcarving?Apart from that wood probably still being a rather costly imported good on Iceland, of course ...
A. (0:21:11): Sure, that sounds okay. Again, not committing anything to canon, the same as “it is an okay speculation for a hobby”.
Q.: How does it feel to draw npc human characters for the first time in ages?Now that would be an interesting way to throw the readers a "hey, didya notice the grossling-in-hiding" ... ;)
A. (2:25:27): Kinda weird, because it’s always a little bit difficult to draw characters you haven’t drawn before, you have to do a little bit of designing while you draw them. And you have to actually remember what you do, you have to keep looking at the previous page to make sure you don’t accidentally change all of their facial features.
Q.: Think I got into the comic after my biology teacher showed us Minna’s famed "language tree"[pictures the biology teacher trying to explain photosynthesis with it]
"After having absorbed Chittagonian Di-Oriya on the left and Spanishlight with its topmost leaves, the 'waste' Occidan gets released into the atmosphere right next to the reacton zone. We're still sorta stumped what all the stuff on the right is good for, though."
Post by: Kis on September 25, 2018, 07:45:38 AM
Note that pronunciation of the crew's names may not be 100% accurate (well, at least I tried :P), so if you know IPA you can go there (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kw9gSliAR4I8oYk-Q4Ob26lAAfuUufDGrt_-J3j1IPQ/edit#) and edit it. Would be much appreciated, really. I will be monitoring this question for a week or so and will edit this post if there are any changes (also feel free to contact me if I miss them).
chatlog_150918
Trolls
Q.: Do trolls like the sjødraug or seabeasts still need to breathe?
A. (0:18:13): I think they do, yeah. Since they are evolved from mammals, they would still have lungs, and need to breathe. Unless some of them would had somehow managed to evolve some sort of gills, but that would be really complicated to, you know, spontaneously mutate. I think they would probably all need to come up and breathe now and then. So, technically you can drown them, just like you can drown whales and dolphins; I guess dolphins or whales. Yeah, can be drowned.
Q.: Is some sort of evolution process going on with the trolls?
A. (0:20:22): No, not in the sense that evolution in the way you are thinking of it, since they are not reproducing. But they are constantly mutating, most of them, some really slowly, some are growing massive blobs of flesh around them all the time. So, you know, they are mutating, but not really evolving. So they’re more like tumours that are constantly growing, except in more intricate fashions, rather than just super randomly.
Characters
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Worldbuilding
Q.: What was it that made the Icelanders and Norwegians recognize the gods but not the Swedes and the Danes?
A. (3:12:38): Hmm, I don’t know, actually. I haven’t really decided that. I guess I have to figure it out later if it becomes relevant for some plot point, and I need it for things to make sense.
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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Post by: Mebediel on September 28, 2018, 09:51:44 PM
chatlog_210918
Trolls
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Characters
Main Cast
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Secondary Characters
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Worldbuilding
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Rash, Magic and Ghosts
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Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
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Writing: Character-creation, Pacing
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Post by: JoB on September 29, 2018, 03:49:10 PM
Q.: Would beasts still depend on the same environment the animals lived in before, or could something like a whale also swim up a river to live there?(FWIW, whales of appropriate size can enter rivers for extended periods even unrashed:
(http://cdn4.spiegel.de/images/image-994027-860_poster_16x9-dipp-994027.jpg) (http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/beluga-wal-von-1966-moby-dick-vom-rhein-a-1092621.html)
)
Q: Do we have a name for Hummingfluff fans? (someone responds with “Minnions”)Humdrummers? >:D
A: (1:40:53): [...] [Viewer] says “Fluffles,” and [other viewer] says “Hummingbirds”...Yeah, something like that! I have to think of something...something that, uh...because something that has to do with the nickname, that obviously works, because it’s not my personal name. So something fluffy or humming or something...I have to come up with something cute.
Post by: Mebediel on September 29, 2018, 04:22:36 PM
Humdrummers? >:DThe transcriptions aren't finished yet
Post by: wavewright62 on September 29, 2018, 08:45:58 PM
The transcriptions aren't finished yetI prefer Humdrummer to Fluffball just sayinsorry, but the name she decided on was "Fluffball." Humdrummer is a good one tho
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on September 30, 2018, 09:12:39 AM
I prefer Humdrummer to Fluffball just sayin...But then we'd have to sing "Blueberry Hill" every time we got together! /HappyDaysReference
...You're not seeing the downside there, huh?
Post by: JoB on September 30, 2018, 12:34:21 PM
...But then we'd have to sing "Blueberry Hill" every time we got together! /HappyDaysReferenceDoesn't ring a bell for me, but if you need something to shoo an earworm away, I can happily provide you with a strummin' drummin' substitute (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUHlnODNr10)! >:D
...You're not seeing the downside there, huh?
Post by: Mebediel on October 04, 2018, 12:22:52 AM
chatlog_220918
Trolls
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Characters
Main Cast
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Worldbuilding
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Drawing: Inspirations, Technique, Process
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Writing: Character-creation, Pacing
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Post by: Mebediel on October 04, 2018, 12:25:58 AM
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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Post by: JoB on October 04, 2018, 08:16:13 AM
A: [...] But in regular homes pet doors just aren’t a thing. Except in rare occasions where someone has the money to pay for a special Nordic animal door with special insulation and double airlock and everything that would be needed.... hmmmmmmm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tube) ...
(On a somewhat more serious note, isn't there a quite traditional solution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igloo#Building_methods) for that problem?)
Post by: Sc0ut on October 04, 2018, 08:45:37 AM
Post by: Mebediel on October 04, 2018, 12:09:46 PM
Just a suggestion for the transcript team: when Minna has a conversation on a certain topic with commenters, if there are more than a couple of lines exchanged, it gets confusing and impossible to follow if you dump all the comments in one place and then all of Minna's answers after it. I think stringing them after each other, like they go in a normal conversation, would be better. As it is now, I skip over those parts because it's too annoying to constantly skip back and forth to remember what she is replying to. (At least that's my experience with this! Other people might not mind, but then I think they wouldn't mind if it was presented in the normal dialogue style either.)Noted! Yeah, this last chatlog was particularly bad about this. I’ll go back and fix it tonight when I get home.
Post by: Sc0ut on October 04, 2018, 05:38:42 PM
Noted! Yeah, this last chatlog was particularly bad about this. I’ll go back and fix it tonight when I get home.
No rush! Thank you for considering this, and for the excellent work you do every week :)
Post by: Mebediel on October 05, 2018, 12:54:38 AM
No rush! Thank you for considering this, and for the excellent work you do every week :)Not at all! Should be fixed now. Let us know if the new format works better.
... hmmmmmmm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tube) ...LORDY
Post by: Mebediel on October 09, 2018, 11:47:19 PM
chatlog_280918
Trolls
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Characters
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Secondary Characters
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Worldbuilding
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Rash, Magic and Ghosts
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Post by: Mebediel on October 09, 2018, 11:50:00 PM
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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" Agree?Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
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Post by: Kis on October 11, 2018, 07:16:06 AM
chatlog_290918
Trolls
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Post by: Kis on October 11, 2018, 07:18:40 AM
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Post by: JoB on October 11, 2018, 06:46:44 PM
Q: Actually, bat's can lose up to 25% of their wings and still fly fine![ponders firing larger, heavier barbed projectiles that get stuck in the membranes and hopefully throw them completely off balance before they're even close enough to make an attempt at center mass]
A. (1:20:43): Mm! That’s terrifying. But I’m still holding the notion that if the wings get mutated and grow some sort of tumors, then they would lose their ability to fly.
[also, UV-enriched AA searchlights]
Q.: Are trolls affected by moonlight?More precisely, "The light we receive from the moon is one ten-thousandth of the light we receive from the sun (https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm)".
A. (1:22:25): Yeah, a little bit since moonlight is just reflected sunlight. Obviously moonlight isn’t very strong.
Q.: This character info thing has skald crossed out next to military."Academic (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=98)", actually.
Q.: A few weeks ago we were talking about being bothered by crazy people, this morning my neighbor from across the street woke me up by pounding on my door and accusing me of taking a picture of his truck. When I said I hadn't, he cussed me out and talked about how he was born and raised here.Now that's a prompt to ponder raising your own kids someplace else if I've ever heard one ...
A. [...] Why can’t the whole globe be on the same time?! Why can’t the earth be flat?! Like a big old disc that just has some sort of dimming, you know, it gets night because the moon moves in front of the disc or something.Because mankind needs some incentive to get going with that Dyson sphere (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere), obviously. >:D
A. [...] there isn’t a lot of edge ins between the sea and the Baltic Sea, and there’s a lot of countries where all of the polluted farm water from rivers and toxic waste from cities and everything that’s going on are all running into the sea. Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, the Baltic countries, all of them, and certainly some rivers from probably France and inner European countries all flow into the Baltic Sea... Germany I buy, but France happens to be on the wrong side of the Rhine (and the Alps) for that. :?
Post by: Mebediel on October 13, 2018, 12:27:12 PM
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Characters
Main Cast
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Secondary Characters
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Worldbuilding
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Rash, Magic and Ghosts
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Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
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Writing: Character-creation, Pacing
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Post by: JoB on October 14, 2018, 01:33:19 PM
A. (0:30:55): [...] there might be a sauna scene. But that won’t be just fanservice, it is gonna be a regular story-kinda-relevant scene.... now if only I could figure out which member of the cast could possibly star in the comic's next sauna delivery (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=33) ... >:D
A. (1:11:53): [...] Well, I don’t want to say that trick-or-treating is like threatening people, but in a way it is since it’s “give me candy or I’ll ruin your yard” or something, and that doesn’t really fit well with the Finnish culture.Now that sounds like the Finns have unruinable rock gardens everywhere. :P
(I guess that you have to grow the stuff to build your sauna furnace somewhere, though ...)
Q.: Did you decide on what name your Twitch-watchers should use? :PIt certainly is, but I have to say that that idea's been around (http://www.skindeepcomic.com/reader-questions/2018-reader-question-122/) ...
A. (3:27:38): Yeah, I was actually thinking you could all be Hummingfluffs, since a hummingfluff is a cat mixed with a bird, like a little fluffy gryphon. So everyone who joins obviously gets the badge, and that means they are now a hummingfluff. That means I can design different types of hummingfluff, different types of cats mixed with different types of cats mixed with different types of birds, and that could be kinda funny. And everyone could pick what kind of mix they want to be.
(Including hummingbird based ones (http://www.skindeepcomic.com/reader-questions/2018-reader-question-43/).)
Post by: Windfighter on October 14, 2018, 02:16:07 PM
It certainly is, but I have to say that that idea's been around (http://www.skindeepcomic.com/reader-questions/2018-reader-question-122/) ...
(Including hummingbird based ones (http://www.skindeepcomic.com/reader-questions/2018-reader-question-43/).)
Good argument, but Minna's hummingfluff (https://twitter.com/hummingfluff) predates the ones you linked with like 1½ year!
(Even more if I remember correctly about that being what she went with since forever on the internet...)
Either way the concept of fluffy birdies have probably been around since forever. I'm sure you can find medieval art of catbirds if you went searching, they drew a lot of weird stuff back then :P
Post by: Róisín on October 14, 2018, 07:06:41 PM
Post by: Kis on October 16, 2018, 10:38:14 AM
Note: if you know Finnish, consider helping us with one of Minna's answers in misc information about alibi pronunciation.
chatlog_051018
Characters
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Worldbuilding
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Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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Post by: Mebediel on October 19, 2018, 10:46:29 PM
chatlog_061018
Trolls
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Characters
Main Cast
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Secondary Characters
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Worldbuilding
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Rash, Magic, and Ghosts
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About the Cover
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Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
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Writing: Character-creation, Pacing
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A Redtail’s Dream
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Post by: Mebediel on October 19, 2018, 10:49:48 PM
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related, PART 1
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Post by: Mebediel on October 19, 2018, 10:53:35 PM
Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related, PART 2
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Post by: Mebediel on November 02, 2018, 11:04:03 PM
chatlog_09-10-18
Characters
Main Cast
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Misc. information, personal stuff & widely S4-related
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The Illustration
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Drawing: Inspirations, Techniques, Process
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City of Hunger
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Post by: Kis on November 15, 2018, 01:34:33 PM
Oh, and we also really need people who know Finnish! It's nothing difficult, just a few words per chatlog on average, please think about it if you are Finnish or have been learning it.
You can contact me for stream recordings if the links for them aren't in the doc.
Post by: Antillanka on November 15, 2018, 04:36:21 PM
Post by: Miriam on January 07, 2019, 03:59:57 PM
Proof 1:
(https://img00.deviantart.net/8e7d/i/2014/257/6/f/sixtett_by_minnasundberg-d7z6r3f.jpg)
Minna even refers to this as a 'height chart (https://www.deviantart.com/minnasundberg/art/Sixtett-482364843)'.
Proof 2:
(http://www.sssscomic.com/mainimages/maincrew.jpg)
Admittedly, Reynir does look like he's slouching here.
Proof 3:
(http://sssscomic.com/mainimages/ab3.png)
Proof 4:
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/843fe87c05d5f0799e6dfb8ecf303726/tumblr_npvco0cIT01uvpywco1_540.jpg)
On all these pictures it looks like, or at least it's suggested that Sigrun is taller than Reynir. Maybe Reynir has grown in the meantime.
Post by: Grade E cat on January 07, 2019, 04:30:52 PM
And she forgot the Icelandic flag on Onni's profile.
Now, for more positive forms of fangirling:
Also, Emil had his birthday, but Mikkel didn't. So the second trip is going to happen in June-July?
And is that the word "Mage" in Reynir's profession line :D?
Post by: P__ on January 09, 2019, 01:20:10 PM
Thanks again for doing this, you help those of us (who can't always catch the stream) a lot to stay informed about with the tasty bits of canon Minna lets out every now and then haha!Ditto! I never get to watch the streams, but I always like to see the info you transcribe. Good to know that the videos get saved somewhere, too :)
regarding the character info, things have now been corrected... Except the height difference between Reynir and Sigrun. I'll have to assume Reynir is a sloucher (and the doctor had a hard time getting him to stand straight, godsdammit! so he could actually measure him) and/or he had a late growth spurt, as suggested, while Sigrun always stands tall! and proud!
Post by: Mebediel on December 28, 2019, 02:32:54 PM
Adventure 2 is planned to be shorter than Adventure 1, since Minna doesn't have to do the work of introducing each of the characters. It's projected to be around 3 books, or 800 pages instead of 1,000.
Of course, we'll see how Adventure 2 actually goes, but that's the current info!
Post by: wavewright62 on December 29, 2019, 12:05:28 AM
Post by: Windfighter on January 10, 2020, 04:04:37 PM
Quote from: Hummingfluff
Herra Kilpinen
So there we have it for those of us who write aRTD-fanfics
Post by: Jitter on January 10, 2020, 09:08:47 PM
Post by: Temteno on January 11, 2020, 02:25:12 PM
Kilpinen is also the Finnish name of the turtle in kids’ comic Bamse
I really hope this name choice was intentional from Minna :D
Post by: Windfighter on January 11, 2020, 04:53:00 PM
Post by: Jitter on March 01, 2020, 11:32:56 AM
So Minna’s answer was that it’s a bit of both. The innate strength between people varies, so to become really strong you have to have strong potential to begin with. But the potential alone doesn’t become power, you have to train and focus on it a lot to realize that potential. Onni is innately a lot more powerful than Lalli but he also has concentrated on mage training a lot more.
Furthermore (and when she said it, it’s clear, but I hadn’t thought of it) Onni has a very different mindset. He is determined and disciplined, whereas Lalli usually does what he’s told and more like floats around. Minna didn’t exactly say, but I interpreted it to mean that Lalli would never become as powerful as a mage even if he had the same magic potential, because he doesn’t have it in him to focus on the training on a sufficient level to become a really badass mage.
On an earlier stream Minna promised that she could probably do an info page on Finnish magic! Of course “promises” during the stream are chatting and not committed plans, but here’s hoping! I for one would love to learn more!
Post by: Mebediel on April 04, 2020, 04:10:16 PM
Post by: Róisín on April 04, 2020, 05:28:16 PM
Mebediel, I can understand liking salmiakki, it is delicious.
Post by: Temteno on April 06, 2020, 10:50:35 AM
Important news from the Twitch chat: Lalli, Onni, Tuuri, and probably Mikkel would like salmiakki.
I'm glad our fellow Finns are in the group who likes salmiakki :D Mikkel sounds chaotic enough to actually like it, but maybe his taste buds have experienced so much that it isn't the worst he has tasted.
Post by: wavewright62 on April 06, 2020, 07:00:36 PM
I'm glad our fellow Finns are in the group who likes salmiakki :D Mikkel sounds chaotic enough to actually like it, but maybe his taste buds have experienced so much that it isn't the worst he has tasted.
I tried salmiakki after being exposed to the concept here in the fandom, and I have acquired the taste. I too headcanon the Hotakainens as mad keen on the stuff.
Spoiler: shameless self promotion • show
Post by: Jitter on April 07, 2020, 08:49:17 AM
Post by: Temteno on April 07, 2020, 10:43:43 AM
Temteno, don't the Danish have salmiakki of their own? Or is it the Dutch? (I love the stuff, unfortunately "irtokarkki" isn't available at the moment!)
I had actually no idea if Dutch or Danish have their own ones - but it is at least commonly know that Nordic people enjoy it (though only people outside of Finland that I know enjoy it are the people on this forum :D)
Post by: Róisín on April 07, 2020, 02:30:25 PM
Post by: Vulpes on April 09, 2020, 08:30:23 PM
Temteno, don't the Danish have salmiakki of their own? Or is it the Dutch? (I love the stuff, unfortunately "irtokarkki" isn't available at the moment!)
To my absolute delight, one of the local grocery stores carries Dutch "Zoute Drops". I have no idea where I encountered it first, but a Dutch fellow grad student came back after Christmas one year and was going around slyly offering unsuspecting Canadians a "treat" from home. He was gobsmacked when I looked at it and said, "Salty liquorice?? Yes please!" He entertained himself for weeks by sporadically offering it to his office-mate, who would recoil in horror recalling his initial introduction to the stuff.
My significant other frowns on it, and says, "That is not food!" But there are a few fans at work, although they do tend to be, as we say around here, "from away" (France in this case) or have spent time in Nordic countries - including Denmark, so you appear to be right on both counts, Jitter.
Post by: Jitter on April 09, 2020, 08:33:26 PM
Post by: Keep Looking on April 09, 2020, 08:37:11 PM
Here's the exchange:
Hello Minna, a while back you promised us a new Kickstarter campaign for book 3. Are there any updates on that front?
Minna:
Yep: All the files for the book were finished about a month ago and we were starting to plan a KS with hiveworks for later this spring. Then immediately the virus became an emergency and the printer Hiveworks uses for the SSSS books had to shut down because they're not an essential business and right now nobody knows if things will be better or worse in the coming few months in America. And of course same here in Europe.
So naturally all promises have suddenly become no promises. It's a very tough time right now.
Post by: Vulpes on April 13, 2020, 06:45:55 PM
It isn’t food. It’s candy. Lovely candy!
Haha, true, but that's not what the sig. other means by "not food". :haw:
Thanks for sharing that news, KeepLooking, easy to miss in the comments. Disappointing but not unexpected.
Post by: keitto-kettu on May 19, 2020, 07:01:23 PM
Link here!: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XtNe4EX5TB_gcAu9pRl0JFgL989nTGis5_q32ykkNEs/edit?usp=sharing
Post by: Kis on May 20, 2020, 05:40:30 PM
Made a new page for the stream chatlogs, to try to get them back up and running! Have yet to start writing the new ones, but have made a new format, with a central hub for the chatlogs, and an individual page for each stream's log (because the old logs, with all of them on once doc, got kind of laggy).
Link here!: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XtNe4EX5TB_gcAu9pRl0JFgL989nTGis5_q32ykkNEs/edit?usp=sharing
I'm so happy to see that this idea is not abandoned yet! For the past half a year I have been trying to find some free time to at least visit Minna's streams again but university is much harder than I anticipated, so I'm glad someone's willing to maintain this (also, your format is very neat). Thank you! <3
Post by: midwestmutt on May 21, 2020, 09:46:44 AM
Post by: keitto-kettu on May 22, 2020, 01:07:09 AM
Is this a work in progress? I can't get anything to work.
Oh oops, the links were reversed! For now I've only been working on 5/9's, but now the links should work correctly.
Post by: Jitter on June 13, 2020, 06:23:19 PM
:mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun: <3 :mikkel: <3 :sigrun:
Post by: JoB on June 14, 2020, 10:23:22 AM
I commented that “Mikkel is spoken for”. And then Minna confirmed! “He kinda is, yes” Oooohh how luuuuuuv fills the air!"... say, Sigrun, do you think that there's such a thing like love on first sight?"
"... why do you ask me that the exact moment this chapter's hypnotic boss monster reveals herself!?"
>:D
Post by: wavewright62 on June 26, 2020, 07:44:27 PM
I suppose he gets the sauna spirits on side to help keep himself hidden while he clears the cobwebs and other detritus, cuts the wood (lots of it because it will be green), starts the fire, waits for the sauna to heat up, hauls the water in a presumably handy bucket... I confirm that sauna is vitally important for body and soul, but it's a heckuva lotta work for a couple of hours' worth of sauna, just sayin'.
Post by: Róisín on June 26, 2020, 11:13:25 PM
Post by: Vulpes on June 27, 2020, 03:09:23 PM
An interesting snippet from today's stream (I caught the replay, I woke up too late to participate): Onni is not filthy, he has apparently been availing himself of random people's saunas while he's on this quest.
I suppose he gets the sauna spirits on side to help keep himself hidden while he clears the cobwebs and other detritus, cuts the wood (lots of it because it will be green), starts the fire, waits for the sauna to heat up, hauls the water in a presumably handy bucket... I confirm that sauna is vitally important for body and soul, but it's a heckuva lotta work for a couple of hours' worth of sauna, just sayin'.
Standing deadwood can be fairly dry, if risky to collect - easy to knock over or snap off onto yourself. Or perhaps he uses driftwood from lake and river shores, that's generally well-seasoned. But yeah, still a lot of work!
Post by: muidole on June 28, 2020, 08:20:27 PM
Just posting it here for others to reference before the stream disappears (at least I think they disappear?) and because I don't think it had been posted to this thread yet (though it if has in the past, then I apologize for reposting)
Post by: Jitter on June 29, 2020, 10:35:54 AM
Thank you for the reminder. I have the sheet here:
(https://i.postimg.cc/tTK2yhXF/F4921-B57-DAEC-41-CC-9-FF6-B65-D70926952.jpg)
I meant to post it but forgot already!
Sorry for the crossposting but I will also add it to the art museum tread because people who most likely will need it probably all go to that tread :)
Post by: wavewright62 on June 29, 2020, 08:43:24 PM
Norway - sweaters.
Denmark - sweaters.
Sweden - handbags and little girl's costumes. Oh okay, here are some Dala horses with kurbits designs too.
Finland - *takes deep breath* Shirts and bags and ribbons and more shirts and Kalevala illustrations and painting references and here's a better one I'll add that too and...
Post by: wavewright62 on November 15, 2020, 02:21:02 AM
GUYS
Minna dropped teasers about a mini-comic she plans to do at some point! It has ab-so-lutely NOTHING to do with SSSS or its characters at all. The timing is still TBA, but not waiting until the whole SSSS story is finished - the characters are in the concept stage.
Her Twitch stream from 14 November (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/803009413) discusses it, from about 1:03 into the stream.
And the OCs....
Spoiler: squeeee alert • show
Post by: Róisín on November 15, 2020, 03:03:58 AM
Post by: Lallicat on November 15, 2020, 04:02:28 PM
Post by: JoB on November 16, 2020, 11:57:03 AM
I swear Minna said something once about writing a comic about bunnies going on adventures when she was a kid, I think in one of her youtube videos?A story with anthropomorphic bunnies doesn't ring a bell for me, but then again, I don't follow the videos thoroughly. Bunnies in artwork, OK, lots of them. In terms of stories, I remember one with various anthros and one and a half with cats ...
Post by: Lallicat on November 16, 2020, 04:40:25 PM
Post by: wavewright62 on March 20, 2021, 04:41:45 PM
Reasons given included her decision to give up playing video games herself, using her time for 'something more productive', and no longer having a goal of making money from sale of the completed game.
RIP CoH
Post by: Sevseres on March 20, 2021, 05:38:58 PM
Post by: Róisín on March 20, 2021, 10:58:34 PM
Post by: Opaque on April 22, 2021, 10:13:12 PM
But... oh well... :-\
Post by: SkyWhalePod on April 28, 2021, 06:07:25 PM
Also, if anybody is wondering about future SSSS volumes, Minna has said in her most recent Twitch stream that as long as Hiveworks want to keep publishing them, she'll keep putting them together to be published. I know some are interested in that information, some might not be (I personally am -- not having a complete set of any book series drives me nuts). Just presenting it here as a 'for the record'.
Post by: Tarnagh on April 28, 2021, 09:21:29 PM
Also, if anybody is wondering about future SSSS volumes, Minna has said in her most recent Twitch stream that as long as Hiveworks want to keep publishing them, she'll keep putting them together to be published. I know some are interested in that information, some might not be (I personally am -- not having a complete set of any book series drives me nuts). Just presenting it here as a 'for the record'.I was wondering about that, thank you!
I'm torn at this point, though. If I'd known at the time of the last Kickstarter what was about to happen in the community, I honestly wouldn't have given Minna any of my money. I dropped money for Books 1 - 3 in hardcover. I'm a completionist so if Hiveworks does end up printing SSSS right to whatever end happens, I'm really torn now between completing the story ... and putting more money in Minna's pocket.
It's a dilemma. :(
Post by: Maple on May 17, 2021, 07:58:25 AM
I was wondering about that, thank you!
I'm torn at this point, though. If I'd known at the time of the last Kickstarter what was about to happen in the community, I honestly wouldn't have given Minna any of my money. I dropped money for Books 1 - 3 in hardcover. I'm a completionist so if Hiveworks does end up printing SSSS right to whatever end happens, I'm really torn now between completing the story ... and putting more money in Minna's pocket.
It's a dilemma. :(
I think I'm just going to get book 4 so Adventure 1 is complete, and then settle for having Adventure 2 in digital form only. I feel you on wanting a complete set, and Adventure 1 is a complete story in of itself.
Post by: Vulpes on May 17, 2021, 03:14:42 PM
Just to keep a running count: As other people have noted, the CoH blog has been completely erased...
It's mentioned elsewhere (sorry I don't remember what thread!) that it's not gone, she just reorganized things to show off LP and the CoH blog got orphaned as a result. So she hasn't entirely destroyed all that work (yet), but there's no link to click to reach it. I imagine someone far more clever than I am would be able to find it in a trice.
I hear you on having books 1-3 and feeling conflicted about wanting the complete set... why does my brain work this way?? :'D
Post by: Jitter on May 17, 2021, 04:03:08 PM
She was saying something about the future work in the stream as well, but I didn’t get that.
Post by: viola on May 17, 2021, 05:17:00 PM
It's mentioned elsewhere (sorry I don't remember what thread!) that it's not gone, she just reorganized things to show off LP and the CoH blog got orphaned as a result. So she hasn't entirely destroyed all that work (yet), but there's no link to click to reach it. I imagine someone far more clever than I am would be able to find it in a trice.
They've figured out how to access it in the City of Hunger board if you're looking for links.
Post by: Vulpes on May 18, 2021, 08:01:14 AM
They've figured out how to access it in the City of Hunger board if you're looking for links.
Haha, should've gone over there and checked. I'll blame post-vaccination (yay!) brain fog.
Post by: Bippity Boppity Boop on April 29, 2023, 11:28:18 AM
In the comments on https://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=35 (https://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=35), Minna wrote the following comment:
Quote
Now that you made me think of it I can't remember ever having drawn people kissing. Not once. (Also I close my eyes and make a disgusted scrunchy-face when I see people kiss on TV or in movies because I'm 10 years old. =._.=)To me, this feels like Minna is asexual, but not aware of it. Possibly also aromantic, but then she did make Sigrun and Mikkel a couple.
They're not on the Baltic sea, it's the Saimaa lake system. :3
On the whole, I feel like she has shown a lot of signs that when she was making SSSS, she wasn't in a very good place mentally. A few pages before the one linked above, she mentions that she completely abstained from video games when attending university, to be more productive. She also repeatedly mentions feeling a lot of anxiety caused by interacting with people, and at one point also mentions that she used to be a spoiled brat.
There's a larger theory I have here, but do take it with a sizable grain of salt, because it is just speculation, and I'm not a psychologist or anything.
I think there's a good chance Minna is an undiagnosed autist. I think she learned to cope with it by becoming extremely productive. I think the reason she converted to Christianity is because it is an escape from all of the stuff she suppresses. It feels like it would make for a fantastic special interest, because it has a community that encourages extreme devotion.
I think that if she is able to go on an introspective journey, she might realise this. Maybe even return to SSSS one day. But I don't think so.
So that is the end of my crazy conspiracy. What do other people think about this?
Post by: Keep Looking on April 30, 2023, 07:40:51 AM
:sparkle: admin hat on :sparkle:
However (and this isn't an accusation or saying you've done anything wrong), it's important to remember that we don't know everything that's going on in Minna's life - we don't know her personally and we're not her friends. There's nothing wrong with having speculations or recognising traits Minna shows from our own experiences or those of our friends, but when thinking about why Minna has gone down certain paths we have to remember she's an actual person and not a character who we are making theories about.
Again, you haven't done anything wrong but I just want to make this point very clear before people engage in discussion that is speculating about Minna.
:sparkle: admin hat off :sparkle:
Post by: Bippity Boppity Boop on April 30, 2023, 01:03:24 PM
I would say that all the points you've brought up have definitely been speculated on to some extent within this fandom - you're definitely not alone in what you're noticing!
:sparkle: admin hat on :sparkle:
However (and this isn't an accusation or saying you've done anything wrong), it's important to remember that we don't know everything that's going on in Minna's life - we don't know her personally and we're not her friends. There's nothing wrong with having speculations or recognising traits Minna shows from our own experiences or those of our friends, but when thinking about why Minna has gone down certain paths we have to remember she's an actual person and not a character who we are making theories about.
Again, you haven't done anything wrong but I just want to make this point very clear before people engage in discussion that is speculating about Minna.
:sparkle: admin hat off :sparkle:
Thanks for putting it like that, I felt a little uncertain about posting statements like these on here. It's very easy to just speculate based on signs and observations, and it's even easier to make judgements and forget that you're talking about an actual, flesh-and-blood person with feelings.
I'll try to remember the sentiment you've expressed and keep it in mind if I get engrossed in discussions on this topic again.
Post by: Turnstylus on May 19, 2023, 06:21:08 PM
For me, I also like to feel that I'm connected to a creative person through their creations, but it is a non-personal connection. I hope to “share” some of myself in the art I create! However @Keep Looking is correct – to know about Minna, we'd have to know Minna.
I think there's a good chance Minna is an undiagnosed autist. I think she learned to cope with it by becoming extremely productive. I think the reason she converted to Christianity is because it is an escape from all of the stuff she suppresses. It feels like it would make for a fantastic special interest, because it has a community that encourages extreme devotion.
I think that if she is able to go on an introspective journey, she might realise this.
In my studies I have read of Christian agencies that have suppressed certain kinds of information throughout time, that much is true. However I wonder if this suppression can be said of self-knowledge? The basics of Christian practice, as I understand it, is to come to a realization of one's need for a life change, then to invite God to make that change. Confession is, in fact, the opposite of suppression, in a religious sense or any other. But my knowledge of Minna's religious experience is limited – I haven't read much of her new work.
Maybe even return to SSSS one day. But I don't think so.
In this situation I may be feeling the same frustration you are (if you are!): there are many questions that I can't answer without speaking with Minna herself. And I, too, would like to see Minna return to SSSS!
Post by: Sc0ut on June 03, 2023, 07:35:43 AM
@Bippity Boppity Boop I understand the appeal of wondering how much of an artist's “self” is revealed or presented in their work. Many creators will happily make art that relies on expressions of their own personality or values. Actors, in particular, can find a lot of themselves mixed into their portrayals of characters.
For me, I also like to feel that I'm connected to a creative person through their creations, but it is a non-personal connection. I hope to “share” some of myself in the art I create! However @Keep Looking is correct – to know about Minna, we'd have to know Minna.
I understand the desire to keep people from delving too much on personal aspects of other living humans who are not here to speak for themselves, out of respect, and I share it to a degree. However, as someone who has noticed and voiced similar things to Bippity, I find it kind of patronizing to read responses like "no, you're wrong to ever draw even a tentative conclusion from what a person says about themselves, only knowing someone personally is a valid form of knowing them. You're just imagining things out of a desire to feel connected to her". Many of us here have formed serious, close relationships with people we've met online (whether friendships or something else), sometimes going years before meeting in person. A lot of these relationships started out as similar types of judgements based on a forum post that makes you think "this person is interesting/this person is like me in some ways". To claim that you can't ever glean anything meaningful out of how people describe themselves and behave online goes directly against our lived experience and as such feels either naive or dishonest to me. Sure, it's important to remember you never have the entire picture and it's possible to misinterpret a particular comment (sometimes to a spectacular degree) when you don't know someone personally. It's also fair to say that a sort of topic (such as discussing about someone in this way) makes you uncomfortable, or to discuss whether it should be off-limits on the forum. But it doesn't seem fair to me to say "discard anything you might deduce from what Minna shares, all people you don't know in person are entirely unknowable".
Also, for those of us who are neurodivergent, neurodivergence is often more immediately obvious than to others, and it also isn't shameful. Just saying.
Post by: Róisín on June 03, 2023, 05:10:48 PM
Post by: Turnstylus on June 05, 2023, 03:01:08 PM
I, along with you, feel a connection to Minna through her work - just in the act of creating, she has shared something of herself that we can know and appreciate. Minna has given us a glimpse of the sort of thoughts and expressions that she values enough to share with us, for example. And I agree that this is a way to know a person, in part.
However, as someone who has noticed and voiced similar things to Bippity, I find it kind of patronizing to read responses like "no, you're wrong to ever draw even a tentative conclusion from what a person says about themselves, only knowing someone personally is a valid form of knowing them. You're just imagining things out of a desire to feel connected to her".
Luckily, that's not what I said, nor what I meant. Also luckily, I am an advocate of nearly ALL conclusions being tentative. :D
Many of us here have formed serious, close relationships with people we've met online (whether friendships or something else), sometimes going years before meeting in person. A lot of these relationships started out as similar types of judgements based on a forum post that makes you think "this person is interesting/this person is like me in some ways". To claim that you can't ever glean anything meaningful out of how people describe themselves and behave online goes directly against our lived experience and as such feels either naive or dishonest to me.
I'm really sorry, @Sc0ut - these claims that you're hearing are not the claims I'm making (if any), though I understand how you might get to them. I do hope that the interactions that we (meaning all people) have online have some meaning, or else the point of such interaction must be something other than self-disclosure. LOL - I am not naive about the dishonesty that happens in many online communication, but I choose to believe that some people online are genuine. I have seen genuineness in this forum, and I am greatly encouraged by it.
But it doesn't seem fair to me to say "discard anything you might deduce from what Minna shares, all people you don't know in person are entirely unknowable".
I agree it is not fair to say that. I did not say that. We are in agreement.
I encourage you to, as you put it, not "misinterpret a particular comment (sometimes to a spectacular degree) when you don't know someone personally." I am simply advocating for the same thing you have stated: we do not have the full picture.
I am not patronizing you, @Sc0ut - I mean this by way of encouragement: may the relationships that you develop from online acquaintances develop in the ways that you hope they will, and may they be rewarding for you!
Post by: Sc0ut on June 14, 2023, 03:32:31 AM
Post by: wavewright62 on June 18, 2023, 01:16:31 AM
I've been reacting to the comments about Minna's "obvious" mental health status, here and on the Discord server.
I agree that naturally you can know some things about a person from their online comments, but I have been drawing the line (especially when I have my Forum mod hat on) at extrapolating Minna's comments about her life into assumptions about pathology.
Spoiler: the sort of comments that make me bring down the hammer • show
Post by: Róisín on June 18, 2023, 08:53:29 AM
Post by: Bippity Boppity Boop on September 29, 2023, 03:28:24 PM
Sc0ut, I agree with you. I’m old enough to remember having ‘penfriends’, people with whom one corresponded by ‘snail mail’, physical paper letters dropped into a letter box or passed across a post office counter and delivered to someone’s home or office. Just ink on paper. Even by that method it was possible to get to know people very well, and form an accurate idea of their character. So far the process of getting to know people via the internet seems ‘similar but different’. But I think it is worth doing. And people can reveal a great deal about themselves without intending to do so.
(Hey hello this is one of those times I'm checking back in!)
Also this is completely off topic, both to the discussion going on and the topic of the thread, so my apologies for that. If there's a more appropriate place to post this, please let me know.
I've had three pen friends over the years and it was really wonderful each time. In each case it was someone I already knew, and though I had a smartphone and their phone number by the time I got to the second and third person, writing letters was different somehow. I couldn't send them as often as I can a text, because they take a few days to be sent, and I had to wait for my pal to reply, so there were more things that happened in between each one. On top of that, a letter always takes at least one full page, whether you write one sentence or one hundred. And of course, receiving a letter always brought a rush of excitement because of the unpredictability and the wonder of what it would say. And when you write a letter, you have to make time and sit down. All these things combined meant that I always wrote at least two full sides, and sometimes more. It was like a favourite tv-show, you have all the anticipation of what the next episode will bring, and the thrill of watching/reading it, except you never know when it will come exactly, what it will be about exactly, and on top of that you get to interact with it. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered about it. Even if you're too busy, as I and my former pals are nowadays, or too forgetful, it can't hurt to try.
Oh I just remembered that I email with my grandparents these days, which is similar in that I never know when to expect an email, but different in that it isn't handwritten and that when I get an email, I usually answer within minutes of receiving a notification.