Author Topic: The SSSS Scriptorium  (Read 768186 times)

Anna

  • Scout
  • ***
    • Tumblr
  • A majestic circle cat
  • Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers
  • Posts: 284
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3135 on: April 21, 2017, 10:02:15 PM »
Yep.

...They might just get together someday.
Yessssss!  ;D
:chap10::chap11::chap12::chap13::chap14::chap15::chap16::chap17::chap18::chap19::chap20::chap21:
:A2chap01::A2chap02::A2chap03::A2chap04::A2chap05:
:book2::book3::book4:

And remember what peace there may be in silence.

Lazy8

  • Admiral of a Sunken Ship
  • ******
    • DeviantArt
  • Preferred pronouns: Name only
  • Posts: 2999
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3136 on: April 22, 2017, 09:40:54 AM »
More mech stuff, blah.

A Bit of an Awkward Situation

:usa: native
:spain: comes back in an emergency
:vaticancity: rusty
:china: can usually manage to order food
:norway: can hold a basic conversation

:chap5: | :book2: | :book3: | :chap17: :chap18:

LooNEY_DAC

  • Ruler of a Derelict Airport
  • *****
    • DeviantArt
  • Posts: 1245
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3137 on: April 22, 2017, 10:59:18 AM »
Alphabet Soup
A “Stand Still. Stay Silent” fanfic collection
Series 1, Part 8
Complete Links to Complete Links post
Spoiler: A Helping Hand • show
Sigrun stormed back into the vehicle, practically breathing fire in her monumental upset over her vacation being wrecked by a lack of food and getting saddled with some stupid civilian too idiotic to even stow himself away properly!

Her mood had not been improved by having to wait until Tuuri came back to operate the radio so that Sigrun could vent her spleen; in fact, it got bad enough that Sigrun went right back outside where there were things she could destroy without hindering their mission.

Now back inside the vehicle, Sigrun came to a sudden and surprised halt. “Where did Tuuri go?” she asked in bewilderment.

“Who’s this ‘Tuuri’ you guys keep talking about?” Reynir asked after Mikkel quietly translated for him.

As soon as the question left Reynir’s lips, the heavens outright roared in response. An instant later, a huge and radiant form appeared in the confines of the team’s suddenly somewhat cramped vehicle, even though this form was far too large to have fit. The form was like that of a huge man, though Reynir and Sigrun both knew at once that this was one of the Old Gods deigning to show himself to them.

Mikkel and Emil were stunned into silence at this positive refutation of their worldview, while Lalli eyed this weird foreign god with the same wariness that marked how he’d been watching Reynir.

Sigrun recognized the visiting deity first. “Loki,” she breathed in a dissonant combination of awe and dismay, and Reynir’s eyes grew wide at the name.

“I am indeed he,” the apparition intoned weightily, and all who heard him understood his speech, regardless of their native tongue. Then he looked at Reynir, grinned fondly, and waved. “Hey, Reynir!”

Far worthier mortals have been rendered speechless by less, so Reynir’s silence surprised no one, least of all the putative trickster god. He was not at all abashed by Reynir’s flummoxed inability to respond, but when he looked at the others, his face was grave again.

“I have made myself known before you that the questions you have, or shall soon have, may be answered.” The vision made a beckoning gesture at something that yet remained unseen, and a moment later, a similarly glowing juvenile fox-spirit bounded into view. “Explain yourself, Puppy-Fox.”

The new vision turned up its nose in disdain. “Why should I be bothered with explanations for these mortals who are all out of my purview?”

“They are all Lalli’s friends and colleagues, and helping them will help him,” the first replied. Then he smiled again, but a knowing, almost conspiratorial smile this time, and added, “Besides, aren’t you just bursting to let your cleverness be known and admired, even if only among these mortals?”

The fox-spirit grinned back. “You know me so well,” it almost purred. “So, where should I begin?”

“Begin with Ensi, naturally.”

The fox-spirit looked at the people silently watching it and said, “Ensi Hotakainen, grandmother to Onni, Tuuri and Lalli Hotakainen, was the first of the full-fledged mages to arise out of the forests and lakes of my Finland after what you call Year Zero; she was also my very first real mortal friend I had ever had. Therefore, I showed her and hers the full benefit of my favor, teaching her all she could learn of the magic humans had been granted. I watched her grow and blossom into the full flower of her fleeting life, but even I could not prevent that which had to be.

“Eleven years ago now, as mortals mark the flow of Time, Ensi and her progeny all died--with the exception of Lalli, her youngest grandchild and the one most like unto her in every possible way.”

The fox-spirit let that sink in for a moment before continuing, “Lalli was but eight years old, and he needed his cousins in order to survive the long journey to Keuruu and safety, so he re-created them, Onni and Tuuri both, in his mind.

“I helped him to re-create them in everyone else’s minds when he reached Keuruu.”

The fox-spirit looked directly at Sigrun and told her, “Tuuri Hotakainen has not existed in the flesh for over a decade; you have never truly seen her, and all of the things you thought she did, one or another of the rest of you actually did.”

Then the fox-spirit turned to address Lalli directly. “Lalli, I’m sorry that I could only bring you and you alone through the ordeal of Saimaa, and I have tried to aid you as best I can since then.”

Finally, the fox-spirit turned to its fellow apparition. “Okey-doke; happy now?”

“I won’t be happy until I see Thor’s face after I short-sheet him tonight,” Loki replied, “but I am satisfied.”

Then he turned to Reynir. “You can’t see ‘Tuuri’ because--SPOILER!--you’re a mage, favored by the Æsir! (And the Vanir),” he mumbled as an aside. “Now, if you really, really want to, and if you squint, you can see and hear her, but she’ll always be a phantom to you, while she’s indistinguishable from reality to the others.”

“Because I did my work well,” Puppy-Fox injected.

“But of course,” Loki said soothingly, “as I’m sure the mortals would agree.” He paused, discreetly signaling their audience to nod. “Anyway,” he continued, “Lalli believes, even now, that Tuuri and Onni are truly still alive, and talking him out of it won’t be easy in any way. If he gets too stressed out, though, or exerts himself too much, he won’t have enough power to keep ‘Tuuri’ around--and may go into a coma as well, so be ready for that. In any case, he and ‘Tuuri’ will act like this conversation never took place unless you force the issue, so be ready for that as well.

“That’s all the advice I can give you, by The Rules. See y’all later!”

As he turned and faded away, Puppy-Fox bounded after him, saying, “Hey, did you need any help short-sheeting Thor?”


Spoiler: Authorial Notes • show
...And here at last is my version of the “Tuuri and Onni are illusions made by Lalli” story; the other version, by Grade E Cat, may be found here.

For all intents and purposes, though, this is only an AU from chapter 6 on.

There’s more to come (if only because I ran out of room here), but not particularly soon.

You have been warned.

Buteo

  • Ranger
  • ****
  • Posts: 751
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3138 on: April 22, 2017, 01:33:31 PM »
I love seeing these different takes on the same AU idea. There are a few such combined-effort AUs going now, much to my enjoyment.

LooNEY, you have a gift for conveying varying moods, as well as combining different moods in the same story. Not everyone can inject humour into a serious tale, and make the combination work, the way you do.

Lazy8

  • Admiral of a Sunken Ship
  • ******
    • DeviantArt
  • Preferred pronouns: Name only
  • Posts: 2999
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3139 on: April 22, 2017, 10:48:06 PM »
Ooh, always fun to see different authors' takes on the same idea.

And Loki short-sheeting Thor made me giggle helplessly. Loki and Thor's interactions were always the best part of Norse mythology, imo.
:usa: native
:spain: comes back in an emergency
:vaticancity: rusty
:china: can usually manage to order food
:norway: can hold a basic conversation

:chap5: | :book2: | :book3: | :chap17: :chap18:

LooNEY_DAC

  • Ruler of a Derelict Airport
  • *****
    • DeviantArt
  • Posts: 1245
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3140 on: April 22, 2017, 11:27:00 PM »
Keyboard gremlins strike again!

Alphabet Soup
A “Stand Still. Stay Silent” fanfic collection
Series 2, Part 8
Complete Links to Complete Links post
Spoiler: Have Pukko, Will Travel • show
Being a knife-fighter in a world of gunslingers was a risky prospect at the best of times, but it never gave Lalli pause. His grandma would have called it his “sisu”; Lalli called it his indifference. As his grandma had demonstrated, everyone died; as Lalli would be no exception to this, all he figured he could ask was that he die while doing something worthy. The jobs he chose reflected that.

Sometimes, of course, the clients were lying to him about the virtue of their cause; after what had happened to the first such liars, however, fewer and fewer tried to deceive him.

Of course, sometimes the jobs chose him.

*

“LAAAAAAAALLLLLIIIIIIIIII!” The high-pitched squeal was a familiar one, though Lalli hadn’t heard it for quite some time, so he knew to brace himself against the body-slam Tuuri called a hug. Even so, the impact staggered him for a moment.

A tap on their shoulders reminded the cousins that another was present. “Oh, Lalli,” Tuuri said, beaming, “this is my husband, Reynir.”

Lalli wasn’t terribly impressed by the open face, the wide but forthright gaze, and the stupidly long braid, but he took the proffered hand and gave it a quick but firm shake.

“So what’s the brouhaha over?” Lalli asked Tuuri as they walked over to Reynir’s wagon.

“Some of the locals are using my heritage--” Tuuri spat the word derisively “--as an excuse to try to run us off of our farm, though they’ve been hiding behind masks, the cowards. We were handling it pretty well, until they brought in some out-of-town talent.”

“So who do I need to kill?” Lalli asked in resignation.

“No one, I hope,” Reynir said. “I just want to show these guys that we can stand up to whatever they dish out.”

Lalli was hard-pressed to keep his mouth shut at the man’s incredible naiveté, but he did; sometimes, his taciturn turn was useful that way. Trust Tuuri to find such an innocent out here in the middle of nowhere.

The rest of the ride to the farm was silent, but not uncomfortably so. Tuuri hummed happily to herself, but was content with that, while Reynir smilingly watched her with one eye and the road with the other.

Lalli studied the farm’s layout with a practiced eye, noting quite a few things that said more than Tuuri had mentioned. Around the main house was an obviously freshly erected palisade provided with a number of conveniently placed loopholes for its defense. The main house had its own water supply, and its thick shutters provided another line of defense, if need be. Lalli was willing to bet that their larders were well-stocked, as well.

All in all, this was a place expecting a siege.

The siege began at sundown.

*

Lalli was manning his part of the palisade with bow and arrow; he felt it most apropos, considering the attackers’ supposed motivation. He was also better with bow and arrow than with any sort of gun, and less vulnerable to boot.

A grenade plopped down next to Lalli. Without a second’s hesitation, he picked it up, hurled it back over the palisade, and ducked. Once the ringing in his ears from the explosion had subsided, Lalli acted on what he’d seen, since the grenade was an all too familiar one. “EMIL!” he yelled over the palisade. “Emil Västerström! What on earth are you doing over there?”

A familiar voice came back. “Lalli?”


Spoiler: Authorial Notes • show
So I’ve joined the “write a sequel to a Lazy8 story” train, as this can be considered a sequel to this.

And I won’t leave it there, either.

Lazy8

  • Admiral of a Sunken Ship
  • ******
    • DeviantArt
  • Preferred pronouns: Name only
  • Posts: 2999
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3141 on: April 23, 2017, 12:04:47 AM »
*is getting rather bemused by the length this train is reaching*

Also, I did write another short in this continuity. Not that it matters in this case, as your sequel still fits, there aren't any contradictions...
:usa: native
:spain: comes back in an emergency
:vaticancity: rusty
:china: can usually manage to order food
:norway: can hold a basic conversation

:chap5: | :book2: | :book3: | :chap17: :chap18:

Grade E cat

  • Ranger
  • ****
  • Headcanon firing in 3... 2... 1...
  • Preferred pronouns: her
  • Posts: 903
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3142 on: April 23, 2017, 10:12:41 AM »
Yesterday, my brain refused to leave me alone until I wrote this down. Inspired by Reynir's recent comments about how he should have stayed home.

For want of a sheepherder
Native: :fr:
So much part of my life it might as well be native: :us:
Few and far between practice opportunities: :es:
A little learned during hardcore anime fan phase: :jp:
Only alternative to English in early junior high school: :de:

Do what cat. Lalli's way of life since age three.

wavewright62

  • Valkyrie
  • Admiral of a Sunken Ship
  • *
    • Tumblr
  • Preferred pronouns: she/her
  • Posts: 4975
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3143 on: April 23, 2017, 07:23:54 PM »
Ooh, always fun to see different authors' takes on the same idea.

And Loki short-sheeting Thor made me giggle helplessly. Loki and Thor's interactions were always the best part of Norse mythology, imo.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

LooNEY_DAC, I'm puzzled as to why you thought you might be stepping on my toes at all, your superhero story is good fun, and mine is ...long-winded and not adhering to the fun tropes. 
aaand winding up kinda sorta soon I promise
Also, yer crack iz most best crack.

I haven't cleared my reading backlog yet, so I haven't gone through Lazy8's or Grade E Cat's recent ones quite yet, or LooNEY's ones past der crack.
Always a newbie at something
Native speaker: :us:
Acquired: :nz:
Grew up speaking but now very rusty: :ee:


Ruler of Queenstown Airport (Thanks Purple Wyrm, I will wear my wings with pride)
Admiral of the Sunken Rainbow Warrior

Minutia_R

  • Safe-Zone Citizen
  • **
    • Tumblr
  • Preferred pronouns: she or they
  • Posts: 101
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3144 on: April 24, 2017, 12:39:40 AM »
Since apparently I'm posting on the forum again occasionally, I figured I might as well leave this here for those of you who haven't already seen it.  I wrote it in response to a synchronized screaming prompt, Mikkel - late night call-in radio show:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10710114

Lazy8

  • Admiral of a Sunken Ship
  • ******
    • DeviantArt
  • Preferred pronouns: Name only
  • Posts: 2999
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3145 on: April 24, 2017, 09:16:36 AM »
Here, have an AU of and AU and a twofer song.

(Original AU here.)

A Comet Appears


:usa: native
:spain: comes back in an emergency
:vaticancity: rusty
:china: can usually manage to order food
:norway: can hold a basic conversation

:chap5: | :book2: | :book3: | :chap17: :chap18:

Grade E cat

  • Ranger
  • ****
  • Headcanon firing in 3... 2... 1...
  • Preferred pronouns: her
  • Posts: 903
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3146 on: April 26, 2017, 04:41:36 PM »
Posting a Chapter titled "Nap" right before going to bed...

Three for the price of one: Chapter 7
After re-tooling the cat burial, doing the same for the Keuruu flashback.
Native: :fr:
So much part of my life it might as well be native: :us:
Few and far between practice opportunities: :es:
A little learned during hardcore anime fan phase: :jp:
Only alternative to English in early junior high school: :de:

Do what cat. Lalli's way of life since age three.

LooNEY_DAC

  • Ruler of a Derelict Airport
  • *****
    • DeviantArt
  • Posts: 1245
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3147 on: April 30, 2017, 04:51:17 AM »
Alphabet Soup
A “Stand Still. Stay Silent” fanfic collection
Series 3, Part 8
Complete Links to Complete Links post
Spoiler: The Height of Folly • show
Sigrun Eide dangled perilously from the rigging holding the car to its parent balloon, her knife working at the ropes desperately. The whole balloon would plunge into the sea if she failed to cut the car free, for it was all they had left to jettison. Though Sigrun could feel herself slipping, she kept sawing at the rope. The car was almost free...

*

The six of them had spent over a month underground, chasing after whoever it was who had abducted them through the depths of that volcanic crater. Fortunately, the stores they had found aboveground had held out the whole time, though Sigrun (and probably the others, too, but she was the most vocal about it) would be happy never to see another dehydrated noodle pack again.

Lalli had proved himself a great tracker, constantly keeping them on the right trail in the labyrinthine caverns they’d had to traverse. He was also picking up quite a bit of Swedish.

Emil had proved himself a True Cleanser a number of times by killing the various cave creatures Sigrun hadn’t gotten to first with excessive and untoward amounts of fire and explosives, blocking off the rearward path more than once and forcing the little band onward. He had also proved himself better at handling Lalli than even Tuuri, though they had started out not sharing a language.

Reynir was not terribly useful most of the time, but had begun to have prophetic dreams that had saved them on more than one occasion, and was not too terrible at making ward-runes, so Sigrun was inclined to tolerate him.

Tuuri was useful in translating for her cousin and teaching him Swedish, but was even better at managing Reynir so that he didn’t infuriate Sigrun as much or as often as he had at first.

Mikkel was their indispensable pack mule, muscle man, and cook, though they all wanted to dispense with the last part.

Sigrun herself had saved each of the others innumerable times, both through her battling skills and through her leadership, and each had had the opportunity to return the favor.

So had the six of them thrived through their subterranean trek, where others might have given in to despair at the first (or second, or third...) setback. They had clung to the winding trail before them with Sigrun’s ferocity and Lalli’s stubbornness, and those qualities and others had seen them through.

Once they had emerged into the sunny slopes of a crater far indeed from the one they’d entered, they’d spotted, of all things, a balloon floating off into the distance, and another all too conveniently tethered nearby. At that point, even Reynir was nearly frothing at the mouth to go after those responsible for their abduction and sunless sojourn, so they had piled into the second balloon and cut loose in pursuit.

That a mighty storm should immediately arise and catch them in its toils should not have surprised them (especially Mikkel), but it did. For more than a week, their fragile craft was hurled through the air pell-mell, despite their efforts to escape the driving winds, and now they faced disaster: a rent had formed in the envelope, growing larger by the minute and threatening to send them into the turbulent seas below.

*

Sigrun dangled perilously from the rigging holding the car to its parent balloon, her knife working at the ropes desperately. The whole balloon would plunge into the sea if she failed to cut the car free, for it was all they had left to jettison. Though Sigrun could feel herself slipping, she kept sawing at the rope. The car was almost free...


Spoiler: Authorial Notes • show
...And here’s more Jules Verne for you: out from Journey to the Center of the Earth and into The Mysterious Island.

I know: it took me long enough.

Buteo

  • Ranger
  • ****
  • Posts: 751
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3148 on: April 30, 2017, 05:04:47 AM »
Yay, The Mysterious Island! One of my favorites! I spotted it right away *sprains shoulder patting self on back*

I appreciate that you spend the time and inspiration on these, LooNEY!

LooNEY_DAC

  • Ruler of a Derelict Airport
  • *****
    • DeviantArt
  • Posts: 1245
Re: The SSSS Scriptorium
« Reply #3149 on: April 30, 2017, 04:35:17 PM »
Alphabet Soup
A “Stand Still. Stay Silent” fanfic collection
Series 1, Part 9
Complete Links to Complete Links post
Spoiler: An Interested Party • show
Øresund Base
Late Fall, 225

The two redheads looked at the rebuilt bridge rather skeptically, but kept silent as they walked back to the Sveavägen terminus where the others were to meet them. Both were around the same height, though that and their hair color were their only similarities. One was a Norwegian Hunter with a neatly trimmed beard; the other was an Icelandic seiðkona with a pair of remarkably long but rather untidy braids.

They found the Dane and the Fenno-Swede among the crowd waiting for the train, the massive Dane girl who was to be their cook and healer dwarfing the Fenno-Swede mage who would double as their skald; said Fenno-Swede was practically vibrating in his eagerness to be off on their mission. None of the four spoke, even then, preferring to await their other two crew-mates and the organizer in silence.

At last, the train arrived, one of the original Dalahästen models by the look of it, and after a brief wash-down, the passengers were allowed to exit.

A group of three rather short figures emerged from the mass of passengers exiting the terminal and walked up to the four. One, the eldest and the only male, bore a striking resemblance to the Fenno-Swede, who greeted him by calmly saying, “Cousin Torolf.”

The organizer replied, “Cousin Tuuli,” in an equally calm voice. Then he looked at the others. “Mia Södermann and Lalli Hollala, I present your cohorts, Sigurd Eide, Michaela Madsen, Reyndis Árnadóttir, and Tuuli Västerström.”

“We’re cousins, too, if I’m not mistaken,” Lalli told Tuuli in Finnish, who grinned and nodded.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Lalli. You’ll be our scout?” Tuuli’s reply was in Swedish.

Lalli nodded, letting Mia jump in with, “And she and I are both Cleansers; I’m here because the two of us are a team--the Cleansers call it being ‘wingmen’, though I have no clue why.”

“And we’re all the more fortunate for it,” Torolf said with practiced charm, “because the two of you are known as the best Cleansers Karlstad has to offer.”

Mia looked at Torolf dubiously, while Lalli ignored him in favor of asking Tuuli a number of questions in Finnish.

“Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get you all kitted out and send you on your way!” Torolf enthused, ushering them back toward the bridge.

“Yeah, about that,” Sigurd said as they walked. “Torolf, are you sure that that mess out there will hold up under our vehicle?” He gestured at the rather dilapidated bridge as he spoke.

Torolf smiled a bit too easily at the question. “The Danes assure me that they’ve run several even weightier vehicles across the bridge with no signs of trouble.”

Somehow Sigurd remained less than assured, but he let the matter drop for the moment, as every hand was needed in loading the vehicle, which looked to be a virtual clone of the one from the last Silent World Expedition. Tuuli had assured the other early arrivals that this one was in much better shape, and fitted out with various improvements made with their journey in mind, and had followed this up by completely disassembling and reassembling the engine as a demonstration of his own prowess.

Reyndis was the only one of them not loading the vehicle, but that was because she was busily painting runes on just about every available spot on the vehicle, including the underside, so no one objected.

Once the loading was done, Sigurd turned to Torolf and asked quietly, so that they wouldn’t be overheard, “So, as I understand it, we’re recreating the first Silent World Expedition at the behest of ‘an interested party’, with the consent of the Nordic Council.” Torolf nodded. “Does this ‘interested party’ have a name?”

Torolf said softly, “Not one that I may divulge at present. Does that give you pause?”

Sigurd grimaced. “I’d rather know the devil who’s playing the tune I have to dance to.” But he said no more.

Finally, the vehicle was loaded with both cargo and passengers, so Tuuli started up the engine with a somewhat disgruntled sounding growl, and the Second Silent World Expedition was off...


Spoiler: Authorial Notes • show
And this is a Next Gen sequel to “The Forest, the Flames, and the Old, Old Man”, “Correspondence”, “The Boy Who Would Be Emil”, and “Unexpected Reunion”, which will also be explored in greater depth later.