The SSSS Scriptorium

[DancingRanger]

Thank you guys, I might do some minor rewriting for a better flow and figure out where this story will go. My main internal question is do I follow the comic's cannon, or let it forge it's own path?

[Róisín]

Maybe see where your character wants to take the story? I have always found that when a character is well written, the author knows what that character is most likely to do because ‘being himself, what else could he do’.

[RanVor]

I have always found that when a character is well written, the author knows what that character is most likely to do because ‘being himself, what else could he do’.

Ah. None of my characters is well written, then. Not that I expected them to be, but it's good to have a reliable outside opinion on that.

[Róisín]

Heh, I like your characters well enough!

[Jitter]

I don't really know if this is prose or poetry, so I'll just have to pick one. I find the lake cows (A2 p 261-263) very touching. How did they come to be? They seem more peaceful than most other grosslings. Maybe they remember something of once being a cow?

My tally

I tally my lost ones.

First it came to Oona’s. They suddenly locked their gate and closed the curtains. Three days later we heard the gunshots. Dad told me to not go look. I wanted to know what happened, since Oona was my best friend. I didn’t go. I’m glad of that.

One.

Then Musti bit Marko. When he told us about it, we didn’t believe him. Musti was the gentlest dog ever. But when we found her under the barn… She had killed all the cats. All! Even the tiny kittens! Dad took care of Musti. Her body is buried under her favorite tree.

Two.

Marko, he was my brother, went into the lake. He asked me to cover for him, to have time to go through with it before mum notices him. I went inside and chatted with mum. We never found his body, but we built a cairn for him.

Three.

Dad probably had been ill a couple of days already when he collapsed. We took him to the house. We knew already that we shouldn’t have, but we didn’t want to leave him out on the yard. Couldn’t leave him.
Mum was next. She deteriorated more quickly than dad had. They both died one week after the gunshots at Oona’s. Me and mum had dug a grave for dad together. I buried them both in it, but I built two cairns. Dragging dad across the yard was difficult, but mum was lighter than I ever could have guessed.

Five.

The feeding robot was empty. I couldn’t leave the cows in to starve, so I pried the door open for them. They hung around the fields for a few days. One morning a cacophony of mooing woke me up. I went to see them, and I saw it had come for the herd. Over half of the animals were lying down. Several were trampled to death. Many had run.
My bottle calves, Mansikki and Lilja, were among the ones still standing. When I walked towards them, they turned to stare at me. Their big beautiful eyes were… wrong. They looked at me sadly and then turned away. They led the surviving herd away, into the trees. I never saw them after that.

Seven.

Marko would say I’m silly to tally cows. But I loved those two. And Marko isn’t here. No one is. Only I remain. It seems I’m somehow immune to it. I wish I wasn’t.

The dead cows are starting to smell. I have to leave. I’ll take the boat. I’m not sure if I should build a cairn for myself. Probably not, no one will see them anyways. It’s time for me to go now.

[LooNEY_DAC]

I, uh, seem to have posted something dark(ish).

[wavewright62]

A Y0 fic appears: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24207010

[phocena]

I've been doing SSSS quickwrites of pages in between studying. It's not actually quick though, I've spent over a week writing page 272 and don't have any others (how do you all write so fast?  ). I'll just post it here before it's completely obsolete.

Spoiler: show

"Yeaaah... I'm honestly not so worried about that", Sigrun said, a little surprised at Mikkel's insistence. Experience told her it was foolish to waste time and initiative worrying about every possible danger. Better instead to stay alert and focus on the task at hand- besides, if Surma really was the threat the sentinel made her out to be, then her presence would have been known far before, back when Emil detonated the metal giant and the resulting explosion echoed across the valley. They had left the area quickly enough then. Would a round from Mikkel's shotgun really cause serious problems now?
 
"I'd say-", Sigrun began, planning her argument carefully. But she never finished her sentence. Suddenly, the area exploded with an earsplitting "AAwwoooOOOO!" that tore through the landscape. The group jolted into action, turning their heads to look behind and pin down the howling that seemed to emanate from a nearby thicket of trees. They strained to listen for clues, fighting the pitter patter of rain which hadn't let up since morning.

"Did you see that?" Sigrun whispered cautiously, motioning to a spot screened well behind some thin, finger-like saplings. A small bead of moss had just been kicked out of place, and Sigrun could see movement ahead - hugging the ground, darting between smooth, river-worn rocks, concealed in shadow - but not concealed enough for Sigrun's eyes, which from years of training could make out a grey streak of fur headed their way.

[Keep Looking]

Phocena, this is some good writing - I especially love how you really get into the characters' heads. As far as I know, speed really only comes with practice - the more you write this kind of thing, the faster you tend to get.

[wavewright62]

Anybody up for a bit of harmless humour?  I had an inspiration for a piece this afternoon, definitely not to be overthunk.
As seen on AO3 and in the spoilers below - https://archiveofourown.org/works/24584164
Feel free to add your own take on the concept.

Spoiler: ssss dating profiles • show

What would the cast write for themselves if they had listings in the dating section classifieds of the newspaper (assuming canon tech)? NB: Gendering of desired partners left off deliberately.

Work Text:
Reynir
Hi! I’m Reynir, tall with looooong red hair, green eyes. You can always spot me because of my freckles! (Get it, *spot* me?) Anyway, I love long walks on the beach under the palm trees – except that I’m not immune, so we can’t actually *go* to the beach, but I’d love it. I’m really easygoing and have a great sense of humour, and a good listener. I don’t actually have a job right now, but I can do anything, and I’m helpful around the house, and I’m a mage, too! I don’t know anything about sheep, so would not be suitable on a farm safe in Iceland. Call me!!

Mikkel
Male, immune, 193cm, good build, all my own hair and teeth, Dane. Resourceful, fine with cooking and housework. Looking for an independent type to be my partner in crime, ha ha. I like to travel. Strong preference for names starting with M.

Sigrun
I’m a Captain in the great Norwegian military, from a long line of generals! Great kill ratio (I’ve lost track, but it’s hundreds), fast knife work, good shot, can lay traps, not afraid to get in there and do what needs to be done, might even be you?! I can go all night, especially in the summertime. Can’t stand prissy people or sitting around. If you like to go hard, you should totally pick me!

Lalli
Not weird.

Onni
When the forest is quiet, you can hear best. The sounds travels over the water. The music holds all things in its hands and gives it to the stars. I see the stars reflected in your eyes as my knees sink into the moss. Smokers okay.

Väinö
I hold an honoured and essential position as a skilled noita, ever vigilant against threats to Saimaa. But watching the frontier is lonely work, and the power of a thousand wings only goes so far on long winter nights. I can offer a secure home with breathtaking views. Immunes preferred.

Emil
I come from a good and proud family. I am tidy, good-looking, well-presented, and appreciate someone with refined tastes like mine. Family is very important to me, and there’s nothing I like better than a comfortable home, with good food and a nice fire burning hot and bright and flickering with leaping tongues of flames charring the logs in the hearth to red-hot glowing coals. I also love kids.

[Jitter]

Haha, Wave, lovely! Onni’s especially is very beautiful, except for the last sentence.

[Grade E cat]

Haha, Wave, lovely! Onni’s especially is very beautiful, except for the last sentence.

I'm not sure I got the joke about that one, actually.

[RanVor]

I love how Emil's description of a fireplace goes from cozy to creepy as he keeps adding more and more detail.

Also, Reynir's assertion that he has no knowledge of sheep and farming whatsoever had me laughing out loud.

[GaelleDragons]

They're all very funny and in character! I love how Emil's more of a love letter to fire than anything else. xD

[thegreyarea]

Wave, that's absolutely delicious!!! I don't know which one is the best. They are all amazing!
I may think on replies to each one...