Latest Page Discussions/Comic Update Chitchat

[JoB]

I would suspect that scratching in public, especially in an area that doesn't go in for quarantine, would be a lot less socially acceptable in the SSSS world than it is in ours.

In the next page: One team embarking on their mission, sans supplies, at gunpoint.

[Grade E cat]

Considering how he's eying the clothing store and the fact that he isn't wearing his outfit from the artwork yet, I suspect that Lalli is suddenly realizing that the clothes he's currently wearing are too itchy for his liking. Speaking as someone who has skin so sensitive that she swears by cotton clothing.

[thorny]

Grade E cat, I like your explanation!

[wavewright62]

I'm also reminded of the scene where Mikkel finds the golf book among the haul from Spot 24. The freshly-bathed Sigrun conspicuously scratches her hip. It wasn't relevant. (Might edit to include page linkie later.)

[Purple Wyrm]

Clearly Lalli is bored, and like any other cat is simply relieving the boredom by having a scratch

[Antillanka]

Isn't it fortunate that Mikkel held Lalli up when he wanted to just sail off? He would've not bought his infinitely cooler outfit and would've spent the whole trip itchy!

[thorny]

Considering how he's eying the clothing store and the fact that he isn't wearing his outfit from the artwork yet, I suspect that Lalli is suddenly realizing that the clothes he's currently wearing are too itchy for his liking.

You called it!

(whew)

[thorny]

Map! yay map!

I notice that a lot of the non-immune settlements are flanked or even surrounded by adjacent mostly-immune settlements. I wonder whether what's been happening is that some of the immune people born in a non-immune settlement move out to claim more area, but remain close to their non-immune relatives both for easy communication and to help protect them by forming a buffer for the more vulnerable?

Anybody know where on that map our crew are at this point? If that's shown, I must have missed it.

[Temteno]

Map! yay map!

I notice that a lot of the non-immune settlements are flanked or even surrounded by adjacent mostly-immune settlements. I wonder whether what's been happening is that some of the immune people born in a non-immune settlement move out to claim more area, but remain close to their non-immune relatives both for easy communication and to help protect them by forming a buffer for the more vulnerable?

Anybody know where on that map our crew are at this point? If that's shown, I must have missed it.

I agree that they have moved out to protect the non-immunes, since there aren't really other ways to protect them in Finland.

I think Minna hasn't shown at any time where they are but, as a native Finnish, I think I might be a small help.

As we have seen, the boat that the crew has been traveling on went through many water locks. We have also seen that the boat went on a waterway through Russian. So the only place they could have appeared to the Saimaa is Lappeenranta's canal.

Spoiler: Picture of the Lappeenranta (and Saimaa) canal • show

So they traveled in to the Saimaa. I have few theories in what settlement they stopped by, but I will show the one that I think is the most likely.

Spoiler: Picture of the settlement they stopped by • show

The yellow area is where they most likely stopped by. It is by far the biggest settlement and the waterway of the boat stops there, implying that it's dangerous to go further.

Where they are now with their boat, that's a mystery. I read someone mentioning that Lalli, Tuuri and Onni's settlement was probably lost and is the biggest gray island blob close to Joensuu. I think I can agree with this unless Minna proves wrong. It is also even more secluded by society than the other areas so them being a tight society makes sense.

Spoiler: Picture of the biggest gray island blob close to Joensuu • show

But if all this is true, I'm really worried that the crew has to go through Savonlinna...which is of course, full of rash creatures o__o

Hopefully this wasn't too much to read, I tend to go in details

[thorny]

Thanks, Temteno! I liked your details.

[JoB]

I notice that a lot of the non-immune settlements are flanked or even surrounded by adjacent mostly-immune settlements. I wonder whether what's been happening is that some of the immune people born in a non-immune settlement move out to claim more area, but remain close to their non-immune relatives both for easy communication and to help protect them by forming a buffer for the more vulnerable?

To repeat my Disqus comment, the settlements are kept fed by hunting and outside-the-fortifications agriculture, both of which is immunes' work. Which means that a settlement of mostly non-immunes has a very serious problem with the not-starving business. They need to get it from the Immunopolises surrounding them -. and I'm still trying to come up with a really convincing idea of what they could possibly trade for that without it being a very lopsided deal.

Anybody know where on that map our crew are at this point? If that's shown, I must have missed it.

As far as the non-row boat goes, they came on an official other-Known-World-to-Saimaa connection and the ship approached the port pretty much perpendicularly from the "high seas", so I have little doubt that that was indeed one of the two places where the dotted line marking the official connection ends, as Temteno suggested.

Assuming that Home Silent Home isn't exactly next door (the Hotakainen trek towards Keuruu wouldn't be quite that heroic if they had lived within sight of the int'l shipping terminal, right?), they'll have to row around the entire island before they can head NE towards Savonlinna for the next parts of the lake system. Thus, I'ld label the last panel showing them go as "still pretty much right there".

[Grade E cat]

To repeat my Disqus comment, the settlements are kept fed by hunting and outside-the-fortifications agriculture, both of which is immunes' work. Which means that a settlement of mostly non-immunes has a very serious problem with the not-starving business. They need to get it from the Immunopolises surrounding them -. and I'm still trying to come up with a really convincing idea of what they could possibly trade for that without it being a very lopsided deal.

One of my guesses would be labor. For example, the immune would be the ones harvesting the grain, but the non-immunes would be the ones making it into flour and baking the bread. Or using the fleece to make fabric and clothes.

[JoB]

One of my guesses would be labor. For example, the immune would be the ones harvesting the grain, but the non-immunes would be the ones making it into flour and baking the bread. Or using the fleece to make fabric and clothes.

Certainly, but ... can't say I've ever done any of that myself, but I'm not sure that that alone's a fair trade already. The idiom "to live off the land" is IIUC quite literal, in that there's much more work that needs to be done on the fields most of the year 'round than goes into postprocessing what came from there. And there's only so much need for pottery, teaching everyone's children at the local school, forge, etc. etc. ...

[thorny]

The traditional thing to trade for farmed and hunted food is manufactured goods. In actual history, the manufacturers usually came out on the better end of the deal.

They might also be doing child care and running hospitals and schools in the better-protected areas. Bear in mind that, if the immune settlements are created by immune people moving out of the mixed settlements to claim new ground, and as it's only year 90, most of the non-immune are probably fairly close relatives of the immune folks. That's going to give them a trade benefit of affection while they build up their manufacturing abilities, and also makes it more likely that small children might be left in their care while immunes are doing risky work.

[LooNEY_DAC]

To repeat my Disqus comment, the settlements are kept fed by hunting and outside-the-fortifications agriculture, both of which is immunes' work. Which means that a settlement of mostly non-immunes has a very serious problem with the not-starving business. They need to get it from the Immunopolises surrounding them -. and I'm still trying to come up with a really convincing idea of what they could possibly trade for that without it being a very lopsided deal.

They might be where the powder mill and the Haber-Bosch oven are, thus where everyone gets their bullets, explosives and fertilizer from; this would also make sense from a "protect-the-non-immunes" perspective, since they would have the best defensive supply in the area.