Character Development: Sigrun

[Sunflower]

Sigrun's penchant for bestowing nicknames (e.g. "Stubby" for Tuuri) inspired the following conversation on p. 186 (slightly edited for clarity):

Sharion
I guess you can't be too sensitive if you wish to be a soldier. At least Sigrun doesn't seem to say "stubby" because of malice. It appears to me she's just got used to talking like this - I don't think she'd really notice or care if she got some "nickname" back. (Except if she wanted to strengthen her position as leader.)
Actually, I'm starting to like her character.
 
Snow Cat --> Sharion
Most of the nicknames we used when I was in the Army were plays on people's names. Ferminweinreb became "Ferngully", Mumm-Cupples was "Mudpuddles", McCumber was "Cucumber, and Barzevolen was "Beelzebub" (or "Beezie" when the Company Commander was around, lol).

TBA --> Snow Cat
This is pretty common in blue collar jobs as well, which often has a large number of veterans in them. Arney becomes Barney and remains that until you realize it is part of the hazing and play along (i.e. give back to them in kind) Although some of the nicknames could be pretty raw. Especially if 3 or more people had the same name. Welder Larry, Pressure Test Larry and then The Idiot Over in Section 2, aka Needle D$@k the Bug F&^#@r.

Sharion  --> TBA
I heard lots of stories from acquaintances, but I never was part of the army myself. (Still laughed my heart out when I heard about the poor guy whose family name was Chicken. You can imagine, what he got as a soldier...)

Could be a local thing, but we give nicks more freely in everyday life. For example, when there was two girls with my name, we sometimes got called T1 and T2 or 2.0 (now I have other one, used by my friends - one more funny than flattering). We had security guards by the "name" of Egg, Ball, and "Winnie-the-Macho"; had a colleague called Cube because of his IT knowledge (and he were rather proud of it), have a friend that even I often call "Evil One" (or, more like "Evilie" or "Wickie", but it sounds horrible in English) because of his inclination to play practical jokes. We have a "Chocolate Bunny" and "Simon magus", because of resemblance, had a cashier by the name of "KGB boss" (and we really loved her)... I could list them for hours, the ones that stuck and the ones we use as a one-time thing (the latter could be "stubby" - sure, that's mostly used for lanky people). They are mostly played for laugh, not to offend, though.

TBA --> Sharion
That's how it went for most of my friends too. One was called Gump for his love and dedication to one girl and he did a perfect Forrest Gump impression. In the work force and from the military people I worked with most of the nicknames were for fun and in good jest. If you really were to be hated on you would know it. The name-calling would be straight-up verbal assault or you would just be ignored or avoided.

I really like the Captain -- she seems like the kind of boss I'd like. Outgoing types help me overcome my shyness and improve my own confidence.

Sharion --> TBA
I also noticed that people with that mentality and some brains usually have the skill to pull one out of a depressed mood or lasting self-pity, either by humour, awakening some fighting spirit or just bringing logic back to the picture. (And have a fine skill to bully people through a hard task or two...)

Albeit without a certain level of intellect and sensitivity to go with it, they can do more damage than good.
I reckon if Sigrun's heralded idiocy would apply to her judgment, she wouldn't be in her current position now, so I'm not too worried as of yet.

[Fen Shen]

Although Sigrun has clearly witnessed Emil breaking the mirror, she covers up for him declaring that it was already broken before they got there (today's p. 188). Maybe that is already part of her group building leader abilities. 

[FrogEater]

Maybe. May also be that the mirror was at least in a really poor condition : Emil did not lean heavily on it, that mirror was certainly to fall at the first bump on the road. But then, we wouldn't be waiting for the crate gag to come..... :-)

[Richard Weir]

Although Sigrun has clearly witnessed Emil breaking the mirror, she covers up for him declaring that it was already broken before they got there (today's p. 188). Maybe that is already part of her group building leader abilities. 

But now (page 191) we see her being a bit more flexible with the truth in claiming that she knows how to drive. First time was somewhat admirable, but not this time: it looks like she engaged in CV-padding and is having to lie more to cover it.

Oh - and her boast about "I have even killed a few [trolls] with my bare hands" (page 182) looks to be along the same lines. Three untruths in a few minutes is looking a bit... dodgy. Unreliable even. Possibly even something of a liability!

Will this be a constant of her repertoire, or will she mature a bit and grow out of it?

[Sera]

Since she knew they were going to get a vehicle for this expedition (pretty sure she didn't assume they were going to be walking or taking non-infected horses that would be better used for farming and not risky expeditions into the Silent Dark), maybe she sort of extrapolated 'I can totally drive' from driving farm machinery, as Tuuri seems to have done? And as to how hard it can be, I suppose we now get to see if the RV o' Doom is automatic or manual.... >.>

[Sparky Dragon]

Sooo, analyzing Sigrun's statements so far...

Killing trolls with her bare hands: I'd say that with her...enthusiasm, combined with her apparent disregard for little things like safety, this is actually plausible. Especially since she's part of a troll and giant hunting group.

Already broken mirror: Well, it was cracked, and Emil didn't lean on it THAT hard, but this still counts as half-true

Can drive: I really, really hope she's done more than, say, watch someone read a century old golf cart manual. Who knows, maybe she can drive a tractor, too!

[Richard Weir]

So, Page 198 only reinforces the idea that Sigrun has failed to read the info on her troops - she has no idea how old Tuuri is! (Remember that she had no idea Lalli spoke only Finnish and Mikkel had to tell her.)

This is definitely going to be a "thing", isn't it? What's the betting she has no more idea what this expedition is about than Lalli does? 

[BrainBlow]

Something I think is safe to assume from the new page:
Sigrun will HAAAATE Braidy, at least at first.

[Fimbulvarg]

Something I think is safe to assume from the new page:
Sigrun will HAAAATE Braidy, at least at first.

Why? Because he is likely to be young and incompetent? Some of the art slightly suggests that she will appreciate his contribution.

[BrainBlow]

Why? Because he is likely to be young and incompetent? Some of the art slightly suggests that she will appreciate his contribution.

Yes, young, completely inexperienced and useless, and probably not even properly hired to the team.
I doubt they'll get along at first.

[FrogEater]

+1.
I guess Braidy, all inexperienced and useless as we suppose he is, will happen to know something something very useful, maybe even vital, without even realising its importance. And that will make Sigrun maaaaaad (and give a lot of silent fun to Mikkel).

[Sunflower]

From the Disqus thread on page 199:


Sirennus
Something tells me Sigrun wasn't chosen on account of being an 'outstanding warrior'.

Sunflower 
I'm not sure I agree. On p. 63, Trond says, "Some of the most outstanding soldiers I've had the pleasure of working with were idiots ... They can be outstanding, loyal employees as long as they know their craft." (paraphrasing)
It's possible -- though not a sure thing -- that he was already thinking of Sigrun, given that she knew him well enough to attend his retirement party. If so, he might not have a high regard for her intellect or mature judgment, but he'd certainly respect her fighting skills.

Sharion 
It could be that in her case, being a good warrior and "idiotic" enough to think this mission an honour both counted as merits. (Here, it seems, that's more of an attitude than lack of brains.)
Although, according to her people's hunting method (Minna described it somewhere), I could imagine that she wasn't the only one who didn't ask about the salary first.

I wonder what will she think when she realize that Lalli's repertoire (probably) doesn't include skill enhancing (as the "Mages" page hints about Icelandic ones). Now I'm just "thinking loudly", but compared with the Swedes' effectiveness (or, at least, they seem to be more organized), the Norwegians appear to be like a swarm of berserkers - especially if Sigrun told the truth of killing a troll with her bare hands (which, as seen in the train scene, is not impossible).

I'm guessing Icelandic mages may play a much bigger role in keeping everyone alive than the hunters like to think. Now she's got someone with a different skill-set she's not familiar yet, which means she either have to alter her methods to fit the recent circumstances (this would also mean a long chat with the Finns), or face some really serious injuries.

(And most likely more suspicious, unkown illnesses, like face cancer. )

[Sunflower]

Some thoughts on Sigrun's unexpected lack of interest in pressing on to Copenhagen before dark, as demonstrated on p. 218. 

Peter Sadlon
I'm in shock. I could power a large city on how shocked I am with Sigrun's caution.

Richard Weir 
I thought it was funny how HARD she had to think about it.

Amati
Oh thank Minna....
I have some respect for Sigrun now. She CAN use common sense.

Rabbit 
Same here! I found her entertaining before, even likeable despite her tendency to bulldoze people, but after this page I'm finding I can actually respect her, as an adult, as an officer and most importantly as the person who's supposed to keep all these children alive. That's a world of difference made in a few panels.

And the best part is she hasn't lost any of her previously established personality, either - for a bit there she was clearly entertaining the option of going out into unknown troll country at night!

Prestwick
Sigrun was probably thinking back to the last time she said "You know what? Yeah! Let's go check it out, we've still got an hour until sundown..."

That probably explains why most of her unit were in various states of serious injury and trauma when she volunteered for this gig ;-)


Minando --> Amati
Don't let your hopes get too high, that's not common sense, that's basic self preservation. After all, where's the fun in getting yourself killed before the real party begins ?

Aggeliki --> Minando
Well, she IS a captain. If she was unable to use common sense, her and her squad would be long dead

I guess she can tell the difference of mild risk from suicidal behavior, as demonstrated from her decision to open the gate and check what is outside. She knew there was a city further away, but that they were relatively safe right outside the tunnel. Also, if they had spend the night inside the tunnel and send the scout during the day, they'd have to wait one more day before actually getting into the town themselves. If this was just one operation, the extra caution would be good, but they'll have to explore for the whole winter, I guess they can't afford to waste too much time or they won't get anything done.

If Sigrun had actually made sure she knew everything about her subordinates like Magnificent Mikkel did, I'd be convinced she's the most best captain ever

Wapiti 
Just like the younger members of the team, Sigrun certainly has room for character development and growth. Mikkel's shortcomings (the ones we know of)
aren't as bad, but he probably has space for growth as well.

Then again, she and Mikkel might be used as foils through the story to develop the youngsters.

Aggeliki 
I don't think they're foils, they both have room for growth, as you said! Sigrun might learn to be more attentive and/or cautious, while Mikkel--uh. He already seems to be pretty well, you know. He is obedient, smart, cautious, calm, funny, and I have a feeling he will be very caring, probably more than anyone.

But he may have low self-esteem, or need for a better control of his trolling attitude, or need to open up more. We just don't know him well enough, we'll have to find out! :-)

[Fen Shen]

I think she really enjoyed be "the responsible adult in command" in that situation. If she had been on her own, maybe she would have gone to check out the city. But since Tuuri was so excited, saying "no" became an interesting option as well. Does that make any sense to you?

[hushpiper]

I think she really enjoyed be "the responsible adult in command" in that situation. If she had been on her own, maybe she would have gone to check out the city. But since Tuuri was so excited, saying "no" became an interesting option as well. Does that make any sense to you?

You know, it does make sense to me, but I'm not sure why? *examines that*

Obligatory disclaimer, this is a character interpretation based off gut feeling and little else:

Sigrun strikes me as a very theatrical sort of person. She likes people! She likes being around people! She ESPECIALLY likes being seen and heard by people! ("You're so tall!" "I like you already!") And so the things she does are somewhat informed by the assumption that she has an audience--she's like the class clown, except she's not stuck with just playing for laughs. She likes attention ("Inside voice, sweetie."), and she'll happily play to one role or another to get that attention and show herself in the most positive possible light.

So yeah, if she were on her own, she'd probably run full speed ahead. Why not? I suspect she's skillful enough as a hunter to come through pretty well even if she's horrifyingly reckless. But ah, when life makes you the commanding officer over a naive, starstruck little kidling--one must take that for all it's worth!