Copenhagen - Chapters 5-8

[Jitter]

Looney, you are right. And there’s alao the way the door is barricaded from the side of this room. On the other hand ww are not seeing the entirety of the room, there should be a door somewhere into the upper floor. Because the entire floor is unlikely be just this one reading room, bu particularly because the doesn’t seem to be enough room for the sofa and armchair inside this room.

Sill, how about another person ran here with a gun and hid into that corner? And when hazmat came looking, sho the, when they were peeking into the hiding place? And then left the room via whatever other route? Or, the potential thing with a stinger could be quite small or strike via an opening in the wall? Admittedly, no evidence of a stinger troll, but wouldn’t it be a possibility?

I also updated the schedule.

[dmeck7755]

p250.  Maybe the troll in the vent is bigger than a mouse beast?

p251 I could not have possibly suggested we stay together...you heard wrong..

p252. Cursed Finn? (DaiJB's comment is great!)

p254.  This perspective gives an idea of how many people were infected, and these are just the one that sought help

p255.  Do you really want to go in there?

p256. Nope!

p259.  Right on Emil's hair again. (chuckle)

p260 Definitely bigger than a mouse beast...(Lots of comments on the troll.  One comment said he looked like slime from ghostbusters.  Not as friendly though)

[dmeck7755]

p 261.  Definitely not as friendly as Slimer, and way too hungry.  Is that a second one behind the door ?? I'd be running too.

p 262 That thing still has human arms and hands.  Really Freaky

p 263. time to go.  I like Emil's idea

p 264. and..BOOM

p 265 Mikkel is now awake.  Plus he's the only one noticing a certain someone is missing...I am sure Lalli was not expecting a boom.

p 266.  Yep Lalli was not expecting a boom.  Plus he had to be caught by Mikkel...The horror!

p 267-268 Sigrun is on an adrenaline rush.  While Emil is coming off one in a most unpleasant way

p 269.  Book Critique.

p 270.  I agree with Tuuri, Mikkel is a book hog, plus it *is* her job.  Plus a lot of speculation about Sigrun's scratching.  heh heh

p 271. Emil's hair still sparkles..

p 272.  Dream world and a quick glimpse of a new team member.  (Except at this point we have no idea of any of that!!)

p 273.  great art and Lalli is with his spirit guide...

p 274.  Info page

p 275.  It looks like this Rash victim had died, but this picture always gave me the creeps.  Though a funny comment about exfoliating..

p 276.  Our heroes at the end of book 1

[NightMareMage]

For our skeletal friend, I think the real-world reason is either not putting a lot of thought into it or simply choosing style over realism. In-universe, one could think of it as a locked-room mystery.

234 - 241
I don’t have much to say for these pages, but there is some organic world building here, and this is where we really start to see Sigrun mentoring Emil.

242 - 249
On page 242, Sigrun sees skeletons and then has that expression (on panel 4). I think she is either processing or pushing down her emotions about them.

Also on page 242, Emil panicked, and Sigrun tried to calm him down by talking. When that does not work, she slaps him. On the next page, Sigrun goes back to trying to reason with Emil. I don’t like the trope of hitting someone to calm them down, and while I think it can work in real life, I would not recommend it, no matter how dangerous the situation. All because something can work, does not mean it will and it could make the situation worse.
Taking it for what it is here though, I think Sigrun handled it fine. It was a dangerous situation. She tried talking first and then, after calming him down, talked to him again.

Lastly for this page, Lalli’s expression on the seventh panel (third to last). I just really like it.

For page 243, I’m just noting Sigrun's comment on the dead being, “kinda said.”

Page 245, I love the tone shift. From the excitement of Sigrun and Emil to Lalli’s quite caution. And how this page is framed, it gives the reader a sense that something is going to threaten them soon.

Page 246, to be fair to Sigrun and Emil, I don’t think most people could just go out and grab books that have high-value to collectors. What art, science, and history has been lost? How much do Danish collectors care about old information in their own language if they can find it in others' and translate it? What “low art” will people pay big money for?

[wavewright62]

Given that in the years we've been analysing Minna's drawings it's been clear that she draws art, not anatomy texts.  She won't have gotten too involved in exact forensics of wounds and building decay and explosion vectors and physics in general; I'm not sure we should extrapolate too much from her drawings alone.
On the other hand, I have always really grooved on all the commentariat coming out and providing bits of details on just how those processes do happen!  One of the unexpected bonuses of SSSS fandom.

[dreki]

Okay I know that this is a bit late, but on page 214 I only just noticed that Lalli is trying to sleep and hte sun's getting in his eyes so Emil puts his hand over Lalli's eyes and it is adorable - https://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=214

I don't read Emil as genuinely convinced of his own superiority. I read him as someone who tries to talk big, and even to put others down, to cover up his (many, obvious) deficiencies. Even the "sounds lame" comment sounds to me like a youngster trying to appear all cool and blase about military matters.

I think that Emil, previously, truly believed it.  He was raised very spoiled, very pampered, he was never once challenged and allowed to believe he was just that good. 

However I think that Emil's confidence has been deeply, severely shaken.  The first blow happened when he had to go to a regular school and was faced with how utterly uneducated he really was.  Now this is the first blow so his ego stands up to it and he chooses to believe the narrative that they're out to get him.

But then I imagine it's continued being shaken, along with realizing just how much life sucks without oodles of money. And by the time he reaches the start of the comic - yes I agree he's more desperate to convince everyone of it but is actually deeply insecure.

[Jitter]

Dreki, you are right! I had always just thought Emil is touching Lalli to calm him because he makes the ynnhh noise which I assumed was because of the dream. But the light is there just as you say! Also it’s quite possible Lalli would be anything but comforted by touch from someone who at this point is a complete stranger (or a weird Swede).

[dreki]

Dreki, you are right! I had always just thought Emil is touching Lalli to calm him because he makes the ynnhh noise which I assumed was because of the dream. But the light is there just as you say! Also it’s quite possible Lalli would be anything but comforted by touch from someone who at this point is a complete stranger (or a weird Swede).

Yeah it isn't too obvious because of the dream in the first panel.  But the light is there so I think that's what happened. In the fourth panel, Lalli seems to have turned his head into the touch as well.

It's really telling that Emil seems to intuitively know how to interact with Lalli. Most people don't. 

At that point they've only known each other for a day or two and seem to communicate better than Lalli and Tuuri do despite the full language barrier.

[NightMareMage]

250 - 260
No one gave Lalli any real indication that he should stay with Emil. Sigrun just shoved him next to Emil, who then put his arm around Lalli. Seeing Sigrun leave like that is a better indication that they should split than anything he got for staying with Emil.

The buildup on pages 258-259 with the payoff on page 260. It’s so good. I bet it reads even better in print because the horror on page 260 is seen all at once.

261 - 268
On page 263, Sigrun grabs the beast by its teeth. A really dangerous move that risked her fingers, but she had a split second to make the decision. She needed to save Emil and they needed to get out.

Page 265, the first two panels. This poor man lol.

Emil seemed to have forgotten about Lalli. He may have not used fire if he had remembered. The fire could have put Lalli in more danger than Emil and Sigrun, but without it they would have something big on their tail.

Emil is running on adrenaline here, but he likely knows that running into a burning building is not a great idea. Sigrun stopped him, so it may be a very bad, will only get Emil killed, idea. And then there are trolls in there too. He’s not thinking clearly but I would not be surprised if he would take the risk with a clearer head (though maybe someone could talk him out of it).

Also, how strong do you think Sigrun is compared to Emil? She held him back for a moment, but it’s not like he was fighting her or anything.

Page 268-

[dmeck7755]

OK it has been awhile, i had to go back and look at the chapters (i get involved and then read ahead ha ha)

p288 We now have a name for braidy (I hated that name) Reynir I can get behind.  (Which is for Rowan.  I did a bit of reading on the Rowan.  It has/had a prominent place in history.

Sigrun says he is a prisoner and Mikkel does not.  Though Emil is following Sigrun's orders

p289 Well we are out of food.  Plus they seem to be horrified they have a civilian (Which kinda make me think this was quasi-military, even though it actually isn't)

p290 Emil thinks Reynir will hate him.  Reynir can't hate anyone.  It is not in his nature  lol  Lalli is definitely does not trust the new comer.   Emil still has a lot of his bravado.

p291 some comments about shipping Lalli and Reynir...Nah!! Emil-Lalli all the way

p293  Reynir finds out the truth.  His parents want him to stay home....forever!!

p294-p295.  Reynir is soooo innocent/ignorant.  Egads!! Though he is a blank slate which can open up so many possibilities (Whcih we will know later...)

p296-p297 The bad news.  It must have been really devastating to be willing to climb in a crate.

p298 Everyone is unhappy about the outcome

p299 I gather the Icelandic government will be unhappy if he does not make it back







p291

[NightMareMage]

269 - 276

269-270, the death of sports is interesting to me. I would assume that football/soccer would still be around. It’s popular in real life and can be cheap, kids can play it, etc. I’m not really sure about other sports though.

270, for Mikkel keeping the book, I think he is just trying to protect Tuuri in a way, or he just wants to be extra careful with it, so he’s keeping it himself. Though people did use this for the theory that Mikkel is here for a Special Secret (Trond Related) Reason.

271, some good foreshadowing with Sigrun's comment in the fourth panel then mysteriously transitioning to Lalli in the dreamworld. The obvious thing is that Reynir is going to show up soon, but it could be taken as the real danger they come across later.

272, this page is a bit ambiguous. Does Lalli think there is something noteworthy about Reynir, or is it just that running into another mage is that unusual?

And that’s Book 1!

[dreki]

269 - 276

269-270, the death of sports is interesting to me. I would assume that football/soccer would still be around. It’s popular in real life and can be cheap, kids can play it, etc. I’m not really sure about other sports though.

Quite a few sports have a history of helping people train to fight so I think many would last.  Golf in particular is just really impractical because it needs so much land dedicated to it as well as specialty equipment.

You want people to learn how to work together in a team, hand/eye coordination, aim, reflexes, etc in a world where they could be attacked by trolls so I do think they'd last.

A lot would probably have changed and not be as formal.  But I would expect games based on catching and throwing and games based on using a stick to hit a thrown object and games based on working in a team to be around.

I don't think they'd have dedicated arenas or competitive very much, though.

272, this page is a bit ambiguous. Does Lalli think there is something noteworthy about Reynir, or is it just that running into another mage is that unusual?

I got the sense that running into another mage is pretty unusual, particularly when he's out in the silent world. (It seems like that impacts things in the dreamworld) And in fairness that braid is noteworthy on its own.

It seems like Lalli doesn't have much experience with Icelandic mages, too, so it is possible that's quite noteworthy to him as well.

[Suominoita]

Quite a few sports have a history of helping people train to fight so I think many would last.  Golf in particular is just really impractical because it needs so much land dedicated to it as well as specialty equipment.

You want people to learn how to work together in a team, hand/eye coordination, aim, reflexes, etc in a world where they could be attacked by trolls so I do think they'd last.

A lot would probably have changed and not be as formal.  But I would expect games based on catching and throwing and games based on using a stick to hit a thrown object and games based on working in a team to be around.

I don't think they'd have dedicated arenas or competitive very much, though.

I quite agree. Something like volleyball may occur or at least some version of it. The society may view these games as more like tag and other such things. Jumping rope and what not. Otherwise there would be skiing definitely, it is a good way to get around during winter. Along with skating. Pretty sure they will exercise one way or another, they just don't compete that much, maybe during special festivals. A ball, skis or skates - or just plain old running or sledding. Ice hockey may survive. It's not like the Nordics were ever that much into golf anyway so not that one.

[dreki]

I quite agree. Something like volleyball may occur or at least some version of it. The society may view these games as more like tag and other such things. Jumping rope and what not. Otherwise there would be skiing definitely, it is a good way to get around during winter. Along with skating. Pretty sure they will exercise one way or another, they just don't compete that much, maybe during special festivals. A ball, skis or skates - or just plain old running or sledding. Ice hockey may survive. It's not like the Nordics were ever that much into golf anyway so not that one.

For the competitions - I wonder if there would be pressure to avoid things like city pride or, even playfully, pitting cities/countries against each other the way sports does now. There might be way more focus on building solidarity than competition. The last thing they need is a civil war.

Particularly in places like Finland I imagine it would just be sobering and depressing to see the list of neighboring teams shrink and change each year.

But I do expect games of some kind or other to last in festivals.  People have had celebratory games for, if I remember right, all of recorded history.  That wouldn't disappear, it's very much in our nature.

[thorny]

Yes. I don't seem to have the Sports gene, but it's very obviously one of the Things Humans Do. There will certainly be ball games; and there will certainly be racing games, in that part of the world probably both on foot and on skiis. Archery and gun shooting games seem almost certain, though if ammunition's really short the gun version maybe only in the form of training. I would bet that the areas which have herding dogs will have games showing off canine skills; and that in a world in which cats are trained that there's the equivalent with felines; and that there's some form of tractor and/or draft animal pulls. And, speaking of betting, that's also a Thing Humans Do: there will almost certainly be gambling.

Whether any of these will exist in our modern wide-area organized forms, as opposed to more casual forms among smaller groups, is another question. As is the extent to which they'll be primarily about the competition, or primarily about increasing everybody's skills.

Golf, at least in its modern form, requires a large amount of time, energy, water, and chemical input to be applied to a large area of land in order to produce the sort of very even greens surface that won't send the ball in unexpected directions. I wouldn't expect that to have survived the famines.