#aino hotakainen

[ssss-character-smackdown]

SSSS Character Smackdown - All in the Family

Aino Hotakainen - heavily pregnant with Ensi when she escaped the Rash with her family, but her fate after giving birth was unclear (or even whether Ensi was born in a traditional sauna birth despite her misgivings)

OR

Frida Eide - not much is known about this woman who married into the headstrong Eide family, but fans theorise that she and Ensi somehow were giving each other the stink-eye in the family tree, what do you think?

[stillsyns]

Every Day Is A Blue Day

Any Prologue - Born on a Blue Day

Cheer up, people always say, as though no one has shared that particular bit of wisdom before. If Saku could be cheerier simply by willing himself so, he would. Who wants to be the worrier, the anxious one, the one who’s always overreacting? No one. Not Saku, certainly, but he can’t seem to stop.

“Sometimes,” he says to Aino, worn out from a week of fretting that the scratch in his throat might be pneumonia, “I wonder if I was just born like this. Like the world was always going to be worse for me than for other people.”

“Sometimes,” Aino says, stroking his hair with resigned fondness, “I wonder if you ought to be in therapy.”

Despite his constant fear that the world will one day crumble around him, Saku isn’t really prepared when it does. The ‘vacation’ sets off all his stress responses, but vacations always do; so many things to go wrong, so much harder to deal with it all away from home. It is unusual that other people share his fear of the illness that’s going around, though. Normally they’d be telling him not to worry.

As the vacation stretches on and news from the world outside their boat comes less and less often, it starts to hit home. Maybe this is all worse than they said it would be. Maybe the illness really is a danger. Maybe the world—where Saku never felt safe—truly isn’t.

Sometimes, at night, he lays his ear on Aino’s belly. He listens to the life stirring inside and wonders what kind of world the child will be born into.

Sometimes, now, he’s the one to hold Aino as she weeps, worn out from the fear of what is coming.

One clear winter morning, there is nothing on the radio but static and lost voices. Saku turns it off just in time to hear Aino’s gasp and Tuuli’s shout to clear the sauna.

When Ensi’s eyes open for the first time, she’s in Saku’s arms. She stares at him, quiet as always, blue gaze reflecting the sky. Saku thinks, as he stares back, that maybe it doesn’t matter what’s become of the world. Maybe it won’t matter what becomes of him. Maybe this child, born into the new world, will have everything she needs to survive it.

[worldsentwined]

Night Shifts

Written for this week’s @synchronisedscreaming​ challenge. 

Prompt: Any SSSS - night duty (I decided to do all the Prologue groups, a drabble for each. Headings do not count towards the 100 words).

Norway

“If you fall asleep on guard duty and shoot yourself in the face, I’m gonna laugh at you.”

Aksel jerked upright at Sigrun’s words. “I wasn’t sleeping! I was just...relaxing, a little. It’s hard to stand guard all night.”

“Suuuure.” Sigrun poked him in the ribs. “And the snoring, that was all part of your plan to relax?”

Now Aksel stiffened with indignation. “Excuse you, I do not snore.” He folded his arms, then seemed to remember his gun and hastily shouldered it.

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that.” Sigrun chuckled. “Come by when we’re off-duty. I’ll prove you wrong.”

————

Denmark

There was something soothing about the barn after sunset, Michael thought. As a teenager, he’d hated getting stuck with calf duty, waiting in the circle of lamplight for something to happen. At best, he’d be bored and then sleep deprived the next day. At worst, he’d have to assist with a long, messy birth, which was not something he’d missed when he moved to the city. But he’d missed the quiet.

“Is calf duty always this boring?” Signe asked, stifling a yawn. Her head dropped to his shoulder. “Wake me up if something happens.”

Yes, this was actually quite nice.

————

Finland

A wail cut through the still evening. All five adults bolted upright, then sank back down when they realized it wasn’t a troll. Eino and Tuuli rolled over, grumbling. Saku and Aino simply looked at each other.

“It’s your turn,” Aino mumbled. She’d lost track, but Saku probably had too.

He wasn’t going without a fight, though. “I sang her to sleep for an hour,” he protested.

From Aino’s other side, Kaino sighed and heaved herself up. “I’ll get her. You two sleep.”

I never signed up for this, she thought, bouncing baby Ensi to quiet her. No regrets, though.

————

Sweden

“Do you want me to drive for a while?” Ulrika’s voice was thick with sleep, but she sat up straighter in the passenger’s seat. “You must be getting tired.”

Stig flexed his hands on the steering wheel and considered. It had been a few hours, and before long he’d need a break. But the other three--five, if you counted the animals--still slept, and if he pulled over now, they might wake up.

Anyway, it was nice to have a moment to themselves.

“I’m all right,” he said. He reached over and took Ulrika’s hand. They’d get through this together. Somehow.

————

Iceland

Every second spent at sea was awful, but nights were the worst.

“Damn. Why do we always run across the tiny boats at night? Almost feel bad for them.”

Árni didn’t reply. What could he say? He felt bad about it no matter the time. At least this incident had come at the end of his shift, so he could go back to his bunk and hide his grief in the pillow.

Sleep didn’t help, though. He saw them there, too, up-close and personal instead of a radar blip, silent accusations. It was enough to make him stay awake forever.

[relfanalae]

Silent Night Exchange

Sooooo. This year, for the first time, I took part in an exchange. It was a very intense experience and a much valued one.

It tested my grit to actually write something for a person I knew next to nothing about, it made me question my skills again and again and yet again, it forced me to actually finish the fic within the time-limit, which is, let me tell you, a major thing with me, it wrecked my nerves somewhat cruel so that I was so relieved when I posted my contribution that I didn’t care anymore about likes or length or even quality - it was over. I was permitted to think of other things again, I was relieved of that burden to write something meaningful! It was like a ton of worries fell off me - and I signed up for Chocolate Box.

It was thrilling.

Now here, in a display of public de-leafing, my entries:

Title: Väinämoinen’s Land Summary: After Iceland has abandoned its isolation policy a delegation of skalds is send out to Saimaa to learn as much of the Finns and their world as possible. Things get complicated when one of the skalds is foisted onto independent Ensi and is determined to make friends with her. Rating: G to T Characters: Ensi Hotakainen, Arndis (Female OC), Aino Hotakainen Genre: Coming of Age Tags: friendship, adventure, magic, learning, character-insight

Title: The Ride of Reason Summary: They are stemming back the tide. Every day, every hour, every ride. Rating: G Characters: Agneta and the Dalahästen staff Genre: Character development Tags: friendship, co-workers, character insights on religion and technology

Title: Sparkling Blades of Grass Summary: Lalli and Niko meet each other Rating: G Characters: Lalli Hotakainen, Niko @rukkilill‘s half-Sami, half-Finnish OC Genre: Fanart Tags: budding relationship

[journeysintowebcomics]

Stand Still Stay Silent Liveblog #61

UPDATE 61: Defense Preparations

Last time it was agreed it was time to leave and return home. There’s not even a bit of time to rest because Lalli alerts them ghosts are nearby, so it’s now time to run away. Onwards!

But first! It’s a family tree. Look at that! It’s fun stuff. Let’s take a look bit by bit.

There’s Trond here, the son of the flatteringly-described Ingrid ‘Low Effort Hippie’ Pedersen. I remember how I laughed when I saw that as the very first introduction in this story. Quite a thing, that was. So yeah, Trond is old as heck. He’s only one generation after Year Zero. Compared to everyone else in this story, he’s an antique! I wonder if he grew up seeing the world collapse or if when he was born everything was ruined already.

Kitty came out of nowhere, as you can see. It formed from the dew of the forest and the blood of slain trolls, like right out of a Greek mythology tale. Hah! Okay, not really. Kitty’s mom was feral, wasn’t she? She sure didn’t react well when Sigrun came to help. That cat may have never seen  any humans ever in her life.

These characters have middle names, goodness! So, Sigrun Eide the First is up there, having married Good Grandson Aksel. Three generations later, Sigrun Eide the second existed. I notice Sigrun’s second name is her mom’s. Something about the entire name Sigrun Solveig Eide sounds so nice, I like the sound of this a lot.

Hah! How nice of Michael and Signe, naming their son after their cat. Maybe I’m a bit of a sap, but I’m thinking it was because the cat sparked the first conversation they had. It’s kind of a sweet way to commemorate it. From there on, the tradition of giving M names to their children continued until present times. There’s Mikkel’s many siblings, just like he had said. No wonder he said he recognized Tuuri’s attempt to manipulate him, hah! Mikkel’s middle name is Henrik because no child of the Madsen family will be named by any letter other than M.

Before I started reading this webcomic I thought everyone in the Nordic countries followed the custom of last names being your father with ‘son’ added onto the end. Looks like that happens only in Iceland. Everywhere else they follow the tradition of adoption your spouse’s last name. Can’t say here where I live we do that, I have two last names. The thought of having only one last name is strange to me. Also, Ragnar over there looks intense, can you believe he’s the timid Árni’s son?

As Tuuri once said, Taru is family! Distantly related, but family. She’s the granddaughter of crazy pair Eino and Tuuli. In fact, she’s the daughter of the kid back then. Veeti’s grown-up face reminds me of Emil somehow. Must be the shape of the hair.

Kaino Hotakainen had no children nor spouse. I want to think she just wanted to live alone, instead of the possibility she...she died. Gotta stay positive.

There are the Hotakainens. Looks like at some point there were twins. From one came Lalli, from the other Onni and Tuuri. Also, I notice in Finland siblings tend to have some rather...similar names? Is that common? Look at that, there’s Eino, Kaino and Aino, and theeeen there’s Jukka and Juha, and then...well, Tuuri and Onni don’t seem to share similarities in their names. Worth noting Tuuri has Kaino’s name while Lalli has Saku’s. Guess Lalli inherited from Saku more than the propensity to getting sick on vehicles!

I wonder if the reason why Mia Vasterstrom didn’t take her husband’s last name is because some guy named Emil Svensson would be harder to tie to the characters introduced during the prologue chapter. To compensate, Emil was given that guy’s first name. Also, I have to wonder if Torbjorn once grabbed the cat and thought ‘ah, yes, mom said she once had pets. Misse and Bosse. I’ll name this cat Misse in honor of the cat—oh, wait, this is a male cat. Guess a dog’s name is good enough’.

Heh, overall I really like this page. Family tree with nice art! But it’s time for the story to continue, with a nice and shiny chapter opening page.

Chapter Thirteen, featuring Sleipnope the ghost horse, here depicted as a golden ghost. Significant in any manner because it’s colored gold instead of using the very pale blue normally used?

The crew is driving through the forest, looking for a better place to make their stand. They’ll want a place without trees to burn if Emil decides to use his incendiary skills, yeah? Sigrun stays calm and points at a field. That’ll be their battlefield. A good spot is obtained, inside Lalli and Reynir sit around to wait what they have to do, perhaps? Sigrun, Mikkel and Emil are ready to go ioutside, Mikkel is given a gun in what’s a risky move. Last time Mikkel was in a fight he almost broke Emil’s leg, so our dear Swedish better stay on the opposite side to avoid any unfortunate accidents.

Suddenly dog! Isn’t that Reynir’s dog?

It was a sudden transition to the dreamworld, where the dog searches for Onni and seems to be the way for Reynir to communicate with Onni even though one mage is awake and the other...possibly is awake too? Reynir omits the part where he asks if Onni remembers him and tells him they’re all in trouble and their defenses may not be enough. Onni’s help will be good if the ghosts reach them – which they most likely will. The dog fades away, possibly because Lalli just yanked him to drag him outside.

Looks like Emil and Sigrun are making a campfire over there. Sigrun must have a plan, hm! Not too far away, Lalli gives Reynir a stick and gestures on the ground. He wants him to draw.

Draw the rune. It burst on fire when the ghosts were nearby, with some ghosts it’ll happen again and incinerate trolls who try to attack. Well, if they’re lucky, that is. But still! It’s worth a try, and I don’t think the fire will spread, so it should be safe too.

Time is passing. It’s almost nighttime, they have done all they can to prepare. Did Reynir draw his rune on fire before Mikkel took him back inside the tank? I hope so. For now, it’s time for everyone to assume battle positions.

Okay, it’s drawn several times, I’m glad. If they had more time, maybe Reynir could have done that in a circle around the tank, for a wall of fire that can repel them from all possible points. No time for that, so...only in this area. I hope it’ll go well – geez, I’m kind of nervous!

Having finished the defensive plans they were able to make, everybody who is immune gathers on top of the tank, waiting for the darkness to come. It’ll be a few nervewracking hours. I bet even Tuuri and Reynir inside the tank will be afraid all the time, even though they’ll be safer than the rest.

They arrived.

Next time.

Next time: in four updates

[ao3feed-keithshiro]

Patience Yields Focus

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2IWvvdl

by Lunarium

Nightmares haunt Aino ever since her world’s been thrown into darkness, but only she, and her daughter, know the source of the disease.

Words: 1067, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Stand Still Stay Silent

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Aino Hotakainen, Ensi Hotakainen, Keith (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Haggar (Voltron)

Relationships: Aino Hotakainen/Saku Hotakainen, Haggar & Lotor (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Crossover, Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Pandemics, Rash Illness (Stand Still Stay Silent), Nightmares, bites, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, falling, Apocalypse

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2IWvvdl

[vefanyar]

Tuuri Lives!

Or: Why I think we haven't seen the last of Tuuri

Warning, this got long and rambly and is kind of devolving into wild mass guessing and possibly tinhatting, because I want her back, damnit. Also full of spoilers for SSSS and aRTD.

I. Tuuri's Name and Origin.

Tuuri's full name is Tuuri Kaino-Vieno Hotakainen. 

Tuuri means luck, just like Onni does, but they're two different types of it. @laufeyknits made an excellent post about it; in short tuuri is good, unexpected luck in a tight situation, like a drunk who gets out of a traffic accident with scratches when it should have killed them. (Bad tuuri exists, too, but I doubt that was the intent behind her name). @usuallysublimepenguin​ also made a very interesting post  that may be relevant to her naming (and a possible avenue of return).

Then there's her middle name. Kaino-Vieno means something like "shy-gentle" which... is not so very descriptive (trivia: It's also the Finnish name of Grandma Duck of Ducktales fame.) and while we don't have a Vieno in the family tree, Kaino Hotakainen is Tuuri's great-grand aunt. Also per Laufey (and I'm paraphrasing this because I can't find the post in question and don't think I'm remembering all of it correctly, so please feel free to let me know and I'll fix this) it's not uncommon to give people the names of deceased family members if they were believed to have had a strong Luonto or good fortune in life as a sort of invocation. As would be expected in a case like that, Tuuri and Kaino have things in common, more than just spilling food on themselves (Kaino does with her pizza, Tuuri professes to so all the time when she first meets Emil) -  most certainly a sort of sneaky underhandedness, not just in getting a relatives to join them on a boat and being fine with playing pretend that everything is juuuust fine. 

And as the prologue goes for foreshadowing - not only is their boat painted with a swan (and called the Lumilintu, Snow-Bird), Kaino falls into the water. Not quite the same caliber as Tuuri's death, but it's older brother Eino who first berates her (in a pretty Onni-like fashion, too), but he also takes care of her and gets her into dry clothes.

More importantly, the boat is not (as far as we know) taking them to certain death and doom, it's their rescue (hence the hearts all over it?) much as the Swan is rescuing Tuuri's soul from becoming corrupted by the Rash or getting lost like Lalli feared. Ultimately positive, if a break with life before in both cases. But that's not all: on the calendar leaves page we see them snuggled up together - drawing together - and the Hotakainen theme in general has been family and, with Aino's pregnancy, new life in the middle of a tragedy rather than omens of death. Tuuri dying permanently just doesn't fit thematically.

II. The Family Photo and Related Symbolism

You know the one, the one that breaks the moment Tuuri gets on the Cat-tank (just like the mirror breaks off the tank). 

Thing is - it's definitely an omen and a family photo is apparently quite the popular trope, apparently (link goes to TVTropes, beware), but while the glass/frame is broken and it's linked fairly directly to Onni crying via Lalli's callous little reply (and, perhaps importantly, Tuuri negating that) the photo itself remains intact. More than that, the broken Cat-tank mirror ultimately is responsible for the food crate mixup which gets Reynir to join the team, while Reynir himself, once he's on the team, goes straight for Tuuri's family photo with the offer to fix it before he realises that he can't fix glass. Before I caught on to the symbolism, that always struck me as a long and pointless exchange as page-time goes. It still needs a followup.

However, there is an incident of Reynir shattering a frame entirely. A frame featuring a religious motif at that. 

And while that may just mean that Reynir is going to have to defeat Pastor A. or shatter the last vestige of Christianity in however he ties into that plot in the end, and if he's involved in rescuing her somehow, and SSSS-Tuonela is anything like aRTD-Tuonela, he may need to actually shatter some more religious fixtures (namely the ice - close enough to glass, right?) the dead sleep under.

III. Birds

There are a lot of birds - and there is lots of bird symbolism - in SSSS. I've actually compiled a bunch, up to the fateful chapter cover, and most of them do occur around Reynir and the Hotakainens. There's Kokko the fiery eagle whom Onni summons to help in the battle who is very friendly to humans, the Swan, both as Swan of Tuonela, with bonus emblem on the Keuruu skald uniforms possibly as a callback to her being a bureaucrat in aRTD, and Finnish national bird (I've already nattered on about her above a bit re: the Hotakainens' ship), Onni's Luonto as an eagle owl (which in Finnish folklore/mythology is another bird that can guide the dead!) and often, there's a bird in the shape of the Sielulintu, the shiny-light soul-bird that the Finnish mages use as a gateway back into their Havens and that in Finnish mythology is a guardian of sleepers (often as a little wooden bird figure over children's beds so their souls aren't lost in sleep); Tuuri-bird likely was her sielulintu as she journeyed to Tuonela.

They're also kind of a major plot point in A Redtail's Dream as figures that enable the main characters to go moving from quest to quest. Then there's the Bird's Path itself - all for passing boundaries. Unless they're specific birds, I think it's fair to say that birds act as a stand-in for souls. The most important of the bird occurrences beyond Tuuri, though, I think is this.

Maybe Reynir is channeling his inner Disney Princess, maybe this is actual foreshadowing of Reynir making contact with souls (in bird shape or not). He's already done so with Onni while he was in owl shape. Lalli strikes me as unlikely candidate for this one since his plot converges with Emil so much more (and his luonto is a lynx, at that), which leaves Pastor A., the ghosts, and possibly Tuuri. If she's getting out of Tuonela, it seems probable that it'd happen in soul-bird shape again. (What I do not know is how she'd get her body back, since the team built a pyre for her, and I haven't found any obvious foreshadowing for this. Hindsight, probably, or maybe that'll be an element that gets solved by divine intervention similar to Kokko in aRTD's conclusion. (Oh, hey, look, another bird.)

Another thing linking the Hotakainens to birds - swans specifically - the last we see of the Y0 Hotakainens, the sleeping picture, was taken in Joutenvesi, where they may actually have settled based on the island names on the info chart on page 129 (Tuuri's first Saimaa flashback), meaning that possibly is where Tuuri, Onni, Lalli and their family lived before the Hotakainen tragedy. "Jouten" apparently refers to the swans (joutsen) living in the area.

IV. Miscellaneous

I already hinted at thematic dissonance of sorts about the Hotakainen family issue and Tuuri's death, but more than that, it's also true for the comic as a whole. It's all about persistence the aftermath of a worldwide tragedy, and more new life from death. There's the latest chapter cover of Reynir in the church with the new groth coming from the skeletons laid out in the pews, and Onni and Reynir's little heart-to-heart where Reynir refuses to believe that the world is a terrible place. More on that and eucatastrophes in this discussion, which I ♥ a lot and still stand by.

You may have noticed that I keep coming back to Onni and Reynir a lot, because they're the ones who seem likely candidates for a rescue not just for their skill sets, but also because that's where a lot of comic seems to point. You don't see Lalli, Emil, Mikkel or Sigrun inhabit positions that point toward their involvement (and by "you" I mean "me" - if you can see any, please let me know). One very specific and almost on-the-nose example is Reynir pulling Tuuri out of a place of death and ghosts, the encounter that started the whole ghost plot and might also make a good end point of it if repeated. Onni grabbing his baby sister and taking her home may be another. 

Then there are Tuuri and Onni's first and so far final interactions, except none of them really sounds final. Sure, it could be bitter irony or just hint at the two of them meeting again when Onni eventually dies, but it'd remain equally true if Tuuri managed to return in spring, and Onni would not have to be alone now that he admitted that major weakness.

Then there's Tuuri's character arc… or rather, the lack of one? I've seen people say that she had one, and I suppose it's true insofar that she managed to escape Onni's hold and got to fulfill her wish of seeing the world, but she did not change very much throughout it. She's a sneaky weasel to the last, up to "asking for Reynir" and telling Lalli she's going to bed instead of revealing her infection and intention to him. She always held the belief that she was destined to go out - especially on this particular expedition - and she'd be protected traipsing around the Silent World by someone on the other side. She only abandons that belief right before going into the water, so there can't be any growth coming from that, her arc got truncated before it came full circle. 

Nothing is coming of her idea of destiny, this way she reads as straight-up delusional, which doesn't quite fit with the character she is - she's been shown to have a number of issues, but delusions were not (not visibly) one of them and it feels like a weird decision, pacing-wise, to introduce that so late. Sure, it could be a badly-handled/paced character arc… or there could be more in store for her.

Then… the info page about the Birds' Path. 

Why why why float the idea that some of the living have visited Tuonela and that some souls managed to return from if that is irrelevant to the story? 

Especially since the info page dropped just after Tuuri's death, that'd feel like a needlessly cruel hope spot if weren't followed up, and there's that one page we're seeing the group on the first time that looks like it a) happens on a beach with both Mikkel and Tuuri carrying packs and no tank in sight, b) contains both Reynir and Kitty and c) also has the roster on the side that involves an Icelandic name - in the printed book it's Reynir's, the online version seems to have a different one, but it'd not be the first time one of the characters underwent renaming, looking at you, Söderström > Västerström family. Hotakainen shows up twice, in a document that can't have been made before the start of the expedition. Return out of Tuonela is possible. It happened in aRTD and in Finnish mythology. Tuuri is on that photo looking alive and solid. Unless it's a completely fictional situation, it means she has to come back, right?

Admittedly that one might be wishful thinking... if not for various hints that Minna herself may have dropped.

V. Extratextual

So let's get to those to wrap this up. She outright said that we're going to see Tuuri again on page 750:

"If it's any consolation, I'm sure we'll see Tuuri again one day in the future, one way or another."

What "one way or another" means… no clue, and I'm not completely sure I like the phrasing, but hey. It also ties in with a point that @idleleaves brought up when we talked about this, in how Tuuri's being dead rather than the consequences of her death are relevant for upcoming plotlines:

"But no, there was no way. So much of the upcoming storylines would have to be thrown out completely if I chickened out and kept everyone alive and happy after all."

I always took that to mean that none of the plots currently in motion (the separation, the presumed deaths of Lalli and Emil, Reynir's and Sigrun's increased desperation, and the general idea that fun and games are over now) could have happened without Tuuri dying, but so much of that could have happened another way, no? The giant attack could effectively have split them up and forced Emil and Lalli to cooperate for survival, Reynir could have cracked under the pressure of the ghosts a bit more, and losing two of her charges because of her neglected health (even if not the most vulnerable of them) might have pushed Sigrun toward her despair event horizon just the same. None of that strictly necessitates Tuuri being dead, so perhaps that is crucial for a future event - tying in with Tuuri’s idea above of being destined to go o that mission - , and then sending her back to sleep… strikes me as cruel again, and way too utilitarian for what always seemed like a life-affirming comic with a lot of heart.

Minna also brought up a reassuring misquote of a comment she made about no one dying. What I did manage to find as a possible source was on page 90, after a user on disqus mentioned being sad about the time jump and the fact that we won't be seeing the prologue bunch again:

"But you're safe to connect with the current characters and the ones that are still going to be introduced, I promise wont make them suddenly be gone in a few chapters again."

Which doesn't say that no one will die and all will be fine and dandy, but I can't equate "safe to connect with" with "fandom darling dies permanently". And finally, a couple of tweets that made me very glad I looked at Minna's replies at that time. The relevant ones being by DeborahGaeila Lonrau (scattered, so you're going to have to scroll and piece them together), suggesting an idea about Tuuri returning "in new form", e.g. as an immune puppy, because magic makes anything possible.

And - well. Minna agrees! 

"I'm glad you liked it. And you're right, anything is possible. ;3"

And that's where I wrap this up, because that's the author chiming in and I don't have anything to add.

[femslashreviewfest]

Femslash Review Fest - Day 8

Day 8: A fic by your favorite author(s). Elleth is one of my favorite authors for Tolkien femslash and stories about female characters. I don’t claim these fics are representative, but these are three that I read recently and enjoyed a lot.

Title: Revels in Silence Author: Elleth Fandom/Pairing: The Silmarillion, Finduilas/Nienor Summary: Níniel meets a wraith at night. Written for the February Hearts in Counsel fic fest. Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No AO3 Archive Warnings Apply Submitter Notes: This ficlet is beautiful and touching! Though it’s a ghost story, it still feels joyful. It makes me hope for a happy ending for them in spite of everything.

***

Title: Re-Singing Author: Elleth Fandom/Pairing: The Silmarillion, Elemmírë/Findis Summary: After the Darkening of Valinor, Findis and Elemmírë set out to do their part in the restoration of Valinor. Triple-drabble. Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No AO3 Archive Warnings Apply Submitter Notes: Another piece that I love for being beautiful and hopeful. I love their tenderness and support of each other, and how Elemmírë uses the power of music in a very Tolkienish way.

***

Title: Better Be the Whiting’s Sister Author: Elleth Fandom/Pairing: Crossover: Stand Still Stay Silent/Kalevala - Elias Lönnrot, Tuuri Hotakainen/Aino Summary: Tuuri encounters the water-spirit Aino three times in her life. Rating: Teens Warnings: Major Character Death Submitter Notes: I really loved this, even though I only know both these canons by osmosis. I love the way Aino speaks in poetry and the description of Vellamo’s maidens with glints of iridescent scales. It makes the whole thing feels like a fairy tale, even though it’s also part of a world with radio and rusty ships and terrible plague. I love Tuuri’s courage and curiosity, and I’m glad she gets a happier ending here.

[womenofssss]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stand Still Stay Silent, Kalevala - Elias Lönnrot Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Tuuri Hotakainen/Aino (Kalevala) Characters: Tuuri Hotakainen, Aino (Kalevala) Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, Fix-It, Water Spirits, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary:

Tuuri encounters the water-spirit Aino three times in her life.

[minutia-r]

Top three "somebody protect the Hotakainens" moments? :D

1) YOU KNOW THE ONE

2) Got to be Lalli’s big mistake.

Number three is harder.  Too many to choose from!  I’m going to cop out and go with

3) “I promise we’ll go to the hospital!  I’m sure it’ll be safe by then.”  Oh, Aino, honey.

[ssss-character-smackdown]

SSSS Character Smackdown - All in the Family

Actually, not true, Aksel's mistaken impression.

That's better. Before we knew she knew how to use a rifle, we could see that Berit could look after herself.

OR

Speaking of mistaken impressions, Aino thought she'd be going back to work. She's probably not the only one who thought that.

[ao3feed-voltronlegendarydefender]

Patience Yields Focus

read it on the AO3 at Patience Yields Focus

by Lunarium

Nightmares haunt Aino ever since her world’s been thrown into darkness, but only she, and her daughter, know the source of the disease.

Words: 1067, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Stand Still Stay Silent

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Aino Hotakainen, Ensi Hotakainen, Keith (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Haggar (Voltron)

Relationships: Aino Hotakainen/Saku Hotakainen, Keith/shiro, Haggar & Lotor (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Crossover, Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Pandemics, Rash Illness (Stand Still Stay Silent), Nightmares, bites, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, falling, Apocalypse

read it on the AO3 at Patience Yields Focus

[ao3feed--sheith]

Patience Yields Focus

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2IWvvdl

by Lunarium

Nightmares haunt Aino ever since her world’s been thrown into darkness, but only she, and her daughter, know the source of the disease.

Words: 1067, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Stand Still Stay Silent

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Aino Hotakainen, Ensi Hotakainen, Keith (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Haggar (Voltron)

Relationships: Aino Hotakainen/Saku Hotakainen, Keith/shiro, Haggar & Lotor (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Crossover, Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Pandemics, Rash Illness (Stand Still Stay Silent), Nightmares, bites, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, falling, Apocalypse

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2IWvvdl

[journeysintowebcomics]

Stand Still Stay Silent Liveblog #3

UPDATE 3: Not a Vacation

Last time the rash illness was starting to cause more trouble around the world. Four countries in total had restricted traffic through their borders, and it was just the third day since this all started. How worse will everything yet? Well, may as well find out, shall we?

Alright, Denmark and Norway had their turn, now Finland gets to appear. It’s now the fifth day, and Finland hasn’t decided yet if they’re going to close their borders or not. Doesn’t mean nobody’s worried, though. One of the people in the radio has stocked a lot of food that’ll last quite some time, and isn’t sending their kid to school. I wonder, maybe people has been affected already by the disease in this area.

Oh, yeah, look at that. Here, let me take a screenshot, there are things of interest here!

First than all, yeah, the face masks are starting to be used frequently, aren’t they? I see several here. Leaving that aside, there’s the first glimpse of the disease. That’s a rash indeed. It’s not something likely to go unnoticed, if it causes enough discomfort to need to be scratched. Finally, this is the third scene and I see it has been raining at all times. I don’t know if it’s significant in any way, or if it’s just a coincidence, but hey...I have been taught and told that once is normal, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a pattern. Who knows. Maybe it’ll apply here too.

The woman waiting in the car solving a crossword is Kaino Hotakainen, she was waiting for her sister, who is wearing a face mask. The restaurant she works at will be closed for some time, and the current plan is to go on a boat. Huh. Well that’s not too bad of a plan, if the idea is to be safe from the disease. The pathogen doesn’t survive for long outside an organism, and it spreads through the air, so being on an isolated place like the middle of the sea should keep you safe for a while, right? It’s worth a try!

Ah, no, nevermind! This is just a vacation trip, not a plan to get away from the illness. Okay, I stand corrected!

More colorful characters awaited at the boat, welcoming them with derision and nagging, clearly what you want to hear while you’re soaked to the bone and most likely freezing cold. Not the time for that, new characters.

Aino, Kaino and Eino? Huh. I wonder if it’s common in the Nordic countries to give such similar names to a group of siblings, or if it’s just a quirk of Ms. Sundberg here for this group of characters. I’d have trouble saying the right name while in a hurry, it seems a bit of a hassle to give such similar names.

Once Aino and Kaino are on the boat, Eino’s wife rushes to Aino – I had to recheck who was named what, kind of got the sisters’ names mixed up – and demonstrated Ms. Sundberg had a reason to say this person may or may not be crazy.

I think the ‘probably’ just flew out of the window.

Thankfully, before Tuuli can start breathing hoarsely and ramble in more detail how everyone’s going to die together LIKE A FAMILY SHOULD DIIIIIE, Kaino’s husband gets everyone’s attention by throwing up into the lake. My heart swells in sympathy, as someone who gets motion sickness.

...hm. For the sake of the generally lighthearted mood the story has so far, I’m hoping his dying isn’t literal. Although a man dying from the rash illness in a boat with his family in the middle of a sea or lake would be quite the grim scenario, befitting of a kind-of-post-apocalyptic world. It depends on what Ms. Sundberg’s tone for SSSS will be. So far it’s all kind of cheerful despite being the prologue to a ruined world, will it continue when the metaphorical excrement hits the metaphorical fan or will everything turn more serious?

I’d be fine with any direction, honestly, but I think a lighthearted atmosphere despite everything would be quite the challenge, one that would be fun to read.

Eino serves a year-old pizza. Wow, that’s an intense level of crazy prepared. They’re all lucky this is a one-year-old pizza instead of a five-year-old pizza. Apparently the reason why they stockpile pizza and other stuff is just in case a nuclear war happens. Ah. Alright, that’s prudent enough. A bit too prudent for my tastes, but hey, you do you, Eino and wife. You’ll get the last laugh once you survive thanks to your toilet-less fallout shelter.

Kaino says she has to return to the restaurant next week, but looks like the Always Prepared Power Couple has a different opinion about the matter, and one I agree with. It’s likely the restaurant won’t open in a while.

Because diseases are transmitted easier in cramped spaces? I remember reading long ago that in cities and cramped spaces, the amount of microbes in the air is much higher than in open spaces. The logic is sound, isn’t it? Banning large gatherings is kind of excessive, though.

Once the kid has been ushered out of the room to hide the fact this trip isn’t a fun trip but a way to escape from the collapse of society – guess this whole thing was Eino and Tuuli’s idea – it’s agreed that, well, it’ll be convenient to be there in the boat if the situation gets worse. Lucky them.

Googling what a traditional sauna baby delivery gave me no useful results. All I got from this search is that Finnish people love saunas.

Because shielding kids from what their parents don’t want them to know doesn’t always work, young Veeti is watching the news and finding out how bad the situation is out there. As expected: it has worsened.

The woman who was talking in that TV show a couple days ago will feel so vindicated. Leaving that aside, the rash illness did spread quite fast, large groups of people have the disease, and international travel all around the world has been restricted. Everything got much worse in just five days. From what I understood, it had all been gestating for a while, enough for newspapers to start publishing articles about the illness and for Aksel to worry about it. It’s not like the disease suddenly sprouted five days ago. Still...it’s scary how the situation all around the world deteriorated in just a few days.

Once the always suffering man that is Kaino’s husband literally dragged himself into the boat and I guess fainted in middle of the gathering because why not, the scene ends. As it has been demonstrated, the situation keeps escalating inexorably. I suppose next time another two days will pass, and the first deaths other than the refugees’ will start. Or...maybe it’ll all be worse than that. I’ll see next time.

I must say, I’m enjoying this so far! I may be going a bit slowly here, scene by scene, but yeah, I like what I have read! Ms. Sundberg’s dialogue writing style is interesting, and the art style is rather eye-pleasing. I made a good choice by starting to read SSSS.

Here we go, I start the meter to measure my interest in the webcomic. Off to a good start! But the prologue isn’t over yet, I’ll continue next time.

Next update: three updates

[ao3feed-mythology]

to the tender waves

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2yn4YiV

by Anonymous

Tuuri gets a second chance, thanks to someone waiting below the waves.

Words: 1596, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Stand Still Stay Silent, Kalevala - Elias Lönnrot

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F

Characters: Tuuri Hotakainen, Aino (Kalevala)

Relationships: Tuuri Hotakainen/Aino (Kalevala)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2yn4YiV

[standstillstaystylish]

#79 Aino and Saku

more prologue characters~ finally drew them~