Lovely People aka 'the bunny comic'

[orangewolf]

I wouldn't say that I am offended, more disappointed and confused. The comic started out interestingly enough, but it quickly became heavy-handed with the message it was trying to send. I read the author's notes trying to get a little more insight into what was going on as I'd never had any idea that she was Christian, but instead I got preached at, which I've had more than enough of in my life.

She can put whatever she wants to out on the internet, I don't think anyone is trying to stop her. But when you consume media that someone created and grow to have expectations about the content of it, I think it's fair to say that a major departure from it can be pretty shocking. I wasn't really prepared for what I read, and now I have to deal with the emotions it caused. Now I have to start wondering whether or not I will continue reading SSSS and should continue referring the comic to others.

As for being traumatized, I'm gay and grew up in a southern baptist household that went to church regularly. Aside from every adult in my life telling me I had to follow the Bible and accept Jesus as my personal savior or I would go to hell, I also literally lived in fear from the age of 10-14 of being kicked out of my house if my parents found out I was gay and repressed pretty hard until I started going to a public school and was able to come out and be supported by friends. Even after that I didn't tell my parents til I was in my 20's and living in another state.

I don't have a problem with religion in general, and know plenty of fine Christians, but the content of the comic, the words she used, and the things she wrote after are what made me associate it with "the bad side" of Christianity. What she wrote was not just sharing her faith, it was fearmongering and judgement. You can say that she is still new to her faith, but according to someone claiming to be her father, she was raised in a Christian home and she herself said she has been a practicing Christian again for 1.5-2 years. There's not really an excuse of ignorance or "new convert" over-eagerness for the way she is coming across. Not to mention she worked on this comic over multiple months and had plenty of time to think about it.

[Dilandu]

ok so extremely unpopular opinion but uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i liked the comic

It's not an unpopular opinion; essentially many of Minions liked the comics. It was Minna's afterword, that created the whole mess.

[Crumpite]

You hit the nail on the head there - the afterword was poisonous. 
Myself, I didn't care for the comic itself, though the art was wonderful, the message was crudely put.
This is a matter of taste I know and it's easy to accept others opinions about it.
The afterword though - ugh...

[Maglor]

I just read the afterword. Yup, Minna is...
Well, I don't want to judge her beliefs. I just hope it won't have to much impact on SSSS.

[mate888]

Who are popular now. And exist worldwide. Maybe look up what's happening in Eastern Europe rn?

i mean in this forum bro

It's not an unpopular opinion; essentially many of Minions liked the comics. It was Minna's afterword, that created the whole mess.

well if you read later into the post you'll see i also said i personally didn't see anything bad with the afterword, most likely because i didn't see it from an american perspective since i dont have one and i dont think the finnish author of the comic has either

[moredhel]

.
One can't simply mix her art and her believes.

I have to admit I am not an expert for art, but I am sure that art always is, in some way expressing the personality and beliefs of its creator. And religion is improtant to people, so a change in an important part of her life can have effects on her art.

So besides the worries about her well being, there are worries she could go boticelli an throw her most 'sinful' works into the fire.

[mate888]

I have to admit I am not an expert for art, but I am sure that art always is, in some way expressing the personality and beliefs of its creator. And religion is improtant to people, so a change in an important part of her life can have effects on her art.

So besides the worries about her well being, there are worries she could go boticelli an throw her most 'sinful' works into the fire.

THIRD: for those worried that I'll have a breakdown and nuke SSSS from orbit or change it in any way: no, don't worry. I'm finishing the story arc the way I've written it when I was an atheist, I'm sailing this ship neatly into its destination bay without crashing it into the dock if you will. And I'm not going to be putting political or other commentary on this website like i haven't before, so those of you who wish to just see how SSSS ends and then be done with me can do so in peace. In the meantime I'm going to be studying some theology and build up a good understanding to go on for my next project after SSSS has ended.

I'd say so far we don't really have much reason to worry about that.

[Dilandu]

i mean in this forum browell if you read later into the post you'll see i also said i personally didn't see anything bad with the afterword, most likely because i didn't see it from an american perspective since i dont have one and i dont think the finnish author of the comic has either

I'm Russian. Personally, I see a big problem with afterword, being preachy to the point of being extremely annoying & essentially claiming for Minna the right to judge other peoples according to her subjective views.

[mate888]

I'm Russian. Personally, I see a big problem with afterword, being preachy to the point of being extremely annoying & essentially claiming for Minna the right to judge other peoples according to her subjective views.

I'm with you on the preachy part but I didn't see Minna being really judgemental to anyone other than herself there.

[orangewolf]

I'm with you on the preachy part but I didn't see Minna being really judgemental to anyone other than herself there.

"In conclusion: If you one day find yourself in that future utopia, where your purpose of life is consuming product and entertainment or pursuing vain goals of "bettering yourself", and nobody is allowed to say or write anything "harmful" anymore , remember this: your problem is your sin against God. But He is loving and merciful, and is still gathering his lost sheep, humble yourself and repent."

This feels pretty judgmental to me.

[Dilandu]

"In conclusion: If you one day find yourself in that future utopia, where your purpose of life is consuming product and entertainment or pursuing vain goals of "bettering yourself", and nobody is allowed to say or write anything "harmful" anymore , remember this: your problem is your sin against God. But He is loving and merciful, and is still gathering his lost sheep, humble yourself and repent."

This feels pretty judgmental to me.

For me too. The message is extremely blunt, and did not leave much space for interpretation.

[Kis]

well if you read later into the post you'll see i also said i personally didn't see anything bad with the afterword, most likely because i didn't see it from an american perspective since i dont have one and i dont think the finnish author of the comic has either

It's not necessary to be American or have trauma associated with some branches of Christianity to feel that at least some parts of Minna's afterword are toxic, mean, preachy, etc. If you don't understand what specifically can be seen as harmful, feel free to read (or reread) the posts here. It's okay if these things don't trigger you, but you must remember that for some people this problem is bigger than just cults.
As for proselytism: I have seen quite a few comments stating that from a Christian perspective (don't know if it's true for all Christians, most probably not) preaching and conversion can be considered an act of kindness. While I do have some issues with this statement, I respect the right to share one's faith, even in these forms. However, don't you think it should be consensual and respectful? For me and for many others it sure wasn't consensual, we were caught off-guard as there was no warning and no premise for Minna's speech. And as an atheist with depression who was forced to, as Minna had put it, 'seek something stronger', read 'self-help books' and try to vainly 'better' myself, I do not feel respected in the slightest.

[tzelly]

I have some very mixed feelings after reading the bunny comic yesterday that just sat with me all day. Its still here today. The art is great as many people have stated, some of the best paneling I've seen. Fell in love with her art and even have a hard cover copy of Redtail's Dream. But the bunny comic made me very uncomfortable and all the bible talk comes out of nowhere. A trap to force this religious redirect to the public that were unaware of the change and felt safe. My trust was unexpectedly broken, and it hurt more then I expected it to. I couldn't even bring myself read the afterwords cause of how sick I felt. Couldn't even bring myself to finish that passage at the end of the comic, and just skipped parts of the comic that got too much... After reading the comments from here and on the SSSS website, I'm glad I skipped it.

That being said, I'm very worried for Minna. To go from atheist to evangelical at what seems like a drop of a hat is alarming. Whats happening in her home life that caused this, I wander. I wish them the best, and I hope they get the help they need... but if things continue in this direction, I fear the worst.

[Tarnagh]

crazy american evangelicals that were so popular back in the 70s through 90s

You may not have noticed, but they didn't disappear in the '90s and they've been actively crawling out of the woodwork into our legislative bodies. This has been ongoing but it's become blatant since about 2015 not just in the US but everywhere these wackadoos have a presence, globally. They're frightening to anyone who grew up in the system of abuse they promote as being "godly." Kids who grow up in that toxic environment have self esteem issues at best and have killed themselves at worst because of the physical and mental torture they've endured.

And now, Minna broadsides us all with parroting that? Absolutely yes, we're worried about her because some of us know the signs of hyper-religious cults when we see them.

This reaction is visceral, for myself and a lot of other people here, apparently. There's nothing about "being offended" to this. It's about feeling that panic, fear, and anxiety as if we're about to get beaten for our failures™. Again.

This isn't about "being offended." At all.

[Dan_Urios]

Hi.
I skimmed through the first 7 pages of this thread before replying (sorry for not reading it all with attention, all this gave me a headache so I'll try to be as brief as I can) so I hope I am not repeating anything anyone said before me.

As some of you may know I'm primarily a fanartist, so I haven't really gotten into any of these discussions before, but I think I need to share my fears.
The thing is, I haven't read the bunny comic; I plan to, but I'm still preparing myself for what's to come judging by your comments.

I apologize again if I'm all over the place while I gather my thoughts.

I feel selfish.
As a shipper I had my hopes up when the whole Emil and Lalli lost in the Silent World happened, I have done cosplay of them with a friend of mine, RPed them... and I was kinda hesitant to give those hopes up whenever Minna didn't specifically deny these "rumours". Adventure 2 arrived and that deep relationship seemed to vanish. Kinda raised an eyebrow, but didn't think much of it. Waited until it came back but insted Reynir was shoved in between.
This is, again, just me being me. Didn't say much in the comments to not look like a crazy shipper to you guys.

What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that this was a safe environment. I'm a trans bisexual ace person, and I was able to feel excited about the slight possibility of my gay ship becoming canon because I felt safe here. Everyone was always so cool and open, this has always been a very inclusive community and I love every second of my time whenever a new page is posted and I can read you guys. You are funny and super cool and talented.

I, as many of you before me, also started learning Finnish indirectly because of this comic. Of SSSS, I mean.

I'm sorry for being so disorganized here.

I don't want this to end.
Today I found myself planning the gifts for my friend's birthday, and the last two year's presents I have given him were the first two SSSS tomes. And I didn't want him to know I was organizing his birthday but I asked him "do you still want the third tome?".
He told me "Not yet. Wait until you see if she turns out to be anti-LGBT".

I spent countless hours dreaming about characters made by someone that may despise everything her own community represents.

I'm sorry, again, if my arguments don't hold the scrutiny. I understand you've build a solid discussion thread here and you can, EASILY, destroy me haha

For a second I wanted to leave this very beloved fandom and this very beloved comic behind.