#pasvik

The closed border running down her middle: Corpus callosotomy. She can function normally (not all the commissures were cut) but as with other split-brain patients, if something happens in only one sensory hemifield she can only perceive it with the corresponding hemisphere. Define one hemifield as everything on the Norwegian/Finnish side and the other as everything on her Russian side. She has language areas in both hemispheres of equal size, but one understands/produces Russian and the other Norwegian and Finnish. Both know a smattering of words from the various Sami languages. She’s still one consciousness due to the remaining commissures.

Cultural mixing: she’s wearing a luhkka, which was invented by the Sami, but it has a similar status to the parka in that nonnatives have taken it and iterated on it. It’s by no means traditional. I put rosemaling (except instead of roses it’s pine trees and cloudberries so is it really rosemaling?? Something resembling rosemaling at least), which is an artform Norway invented, on it. The ushanka is self-explanatory. I couldn’t get Finland in there visually but know that her phone is a Nokia.

Largest population of brown bears in Norway: her ushanka and fingerless gloves were textured to resemble the fur. Her close set eyes, large irises, and body shape were also chosen to evoke bears.

Norway’s last ancient pine forest: you decide if that’s shading along the bottom of the luhkka or if that’s the silhouette of the forest. Her antlers grow leaves. Rosemaling except pine trees.

Sami reindeer herding: her antlers. The collar thing on the luhkka is reindeer fur. The buttons on the luhkka are made of antler. The flag ear tags. You’re actually supposed to mark the reindeer’s ownership through earmarks but tags are useful as an extra identification measure and also I couldn’t figure out how to convey the identities of her ‘owners’ just through cuts on her auricles. I got a few stray whumperflies drawing the tags but I don’t think she minds.

The river that is the border and also what she is named after: I just. Slapped its shape wholesale onto the luhkka.

The Finland/Norway/Russia border tripoint being the only place where three timezones meet: her watch with 3 hour hands. Norway uses GMT+1, Finland uses GMT+2, and Russia uses GMT+3.

Use of Lutheran/Orthodox churches by Norway/Russia to cement their sovereignty in the region: the crosses/strings even though luhkkas don’t have strings. The Orthodox cross is bigger because, in tiff’s words, “the Orthodox kind of did win” (all the Skolt Sami are Orthodox and they exist on both sides of the border).

Sorry so many of these are Norway specific the 1 good source I could find (other than tiff) was about Sor-Varanger specifically ;-;

the source in question:

(most of the reference images and also the colors I eyedropped onto her are from there)

the pattern for the pine tree was referenced from here:

specifically this image:

some progress pictures so you can see the corrections tiff made:

(the yellow clip things on the river were supposed to be the hydroelectric dams)

i don’t know whether to be proud or upset that i spent more time on this than i did on the bayard drawing for the thoth map:

Even when diabolical mosquito swarms make life hell for warm-blooded creatures, the remote lakes, wet tundra bogs and, to their south, Norway's largest stand of virgin taiga forest lend appeal to little Øvre Pasvik National Park, in the far reaches of the Pasvik River Valley.

Some 100km south of Kirkenes and 200 qkm in area, this last corner of Norway seems more like Finland, Siberia or even Alaska. Here, wolves, wolverines and brown bears still roam freely. The park is also home to some of the most northerly elk in Europe, Eurasian lynx and a host of relatively rare birds such as the Siberian jay, pine grosbeak, redpoll and smew.