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officialinuyasha · 6 years ago

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Official Art is free use as long as it is not used for monetary gain, and I will never ask anyone for money for my pictures, and I was told I am the only person that actually credits the official animators and artists. Each image of the anime is directly ripped RAW Japanese versions, that are ages old by the way. There are probably better ones out there now. Because had these when the English dub hadn’t came out on my Windows XP. About that, they should be in 1080, but since they were used into WMM I had to recolor all of them and increase their quality myself. I don’t like taking screenshots from YouTube like most people do. Not only do I increase the quality but there are assets I enjoy changing them from the anime. Most people can’t even tell it’s changed because it’s “that good” they say. The only thing I ask if you are sharing my edits, just credit me for taking to time to increasing the resolution, ripping, and alters. I do a lot of screen-stitching also. There’s a lot of them and some I haven’t even posted. But here are some of my favorites -

Besides that, I also like posting basic screen caps with my watermark on it. Because I did it. I don’t have to explain myself on that. Because it originated from my RAW rips, I have every right to credit the official animators and myself for doing the work. I see a lot of people post their watermarks on official images, even when it comes to illegal manga scan sites. I don’t see anyone complaining about that.

If you see my watermark on it, like Max’s it’s because I have his permission to slightly alter it as a Profile Picture! - and I usually have their credit or their watermark on it also whether in the image or in the description! Since Max intentionally made art for me also, it’s kinda a given.

I always see @redrobelover talk about bullying and certain fandoms. I can tell you what I see.

Here is what I see most of -

People “bully” others if someone is asking where a certain fan art came from - With absolutely no intent to steal it. They know they didn’t make the art.

But as soon as someone constantly credits each individual animator, they don’t care and the official animators are swept under the rug. These people are paid, just like fan artists. But they are way less known. I hardly ever see anyone talking about the animators of InuYasha. When they do, it makes me very happy and excited.

They also think it’s okay for someone to share Fan Art from a person that intentionally left because of drama like this. Basically, “this person left, probably because their art was being stolen and sold on Chinese merchandise. But I’m going to share it anyway.” And to them, that’s completely fine.

Can you see where all this hypocrisy is?

I’ll tell you all a story. Our friend was from Tumblr since 2009. I won’t give out her identity, but a lot of these people know. And she recognizes a lot of this toxicity and drama. She used to write a lot of fan-fictions and became really well-known. She was a very popular role-player.

She knows and can name people, can predict how people are -exactly- on here.

Well she actually left because people wouldn’t stop fighting, making fake accounts to go and attack everyone. This stuff is stupid. I just don’t get what’s so fun in that.

A story about me.

I had a friend on here I knew for years. She used to take a lot of my edits and I wouldn’t say anything because she was my friend. Even if it bugged me, I felt like she wasn’t doing any harm in that. All I asked of her was to at least tell me or credit me. Which I don’t think she ever did. It was always odd to find out from another person that she was doing this, or stumbling upon it myself.

The sad part was, I saw her as a really close friend of mine. And when my life began ta change dramatically I went and told her everything. I wrote a whole novel for her. In hopes that she was going to be supportive of my life changes and choices I was making during my transition and the person I am meant ta be with. Like most of my friend are supportive of it and asked me a whole buncha questions about it. They were happy.

Unfortunately I never got the ecstatic answer from her. Instead she ghosted on me and I think blocked me. I never understood why. But I was told it was probably because we have the same mind set in a lot of things. So I will never hate on her ever. I don’t have a reason to. I just wished things like that was better.

We are all a family. We all like InuYasha. InuYasha is supposta be a safe space.

Something I wrote in August 20th, 2018

My name is InuYasha, yes legally. Yes I'm the only person on record with that name in the US atleast. I am a transman. I've been on hormones for two years now! 💪💉 Damn those "emojis" look hella weird... August 2016 was when I started my hormones. Anyway. I'm in a relationship with @officialkagome , her name is Kagome she's a transwoman! I really came around on YouTube 2007 as TheHanyouInuYasha, now displayed as "OfficialInuYasha". I also run the FaceBook group "Official InuYasha Group" which is increasingly popular and extremely active with almost 5,000 members now! My sister really helped push me to go for the doctor's appointment for my transgender diagnosis in order for me to start my hormones. The series InuYasha really helped me get in touch with my true self, as InuYasha I see myself as one with. Being an outcast and having to make my own world was very, very difficult. I went through a lot of depression and anger during certain times and was told I could not be "InuYasha" because they told me I was a "girl". Just like in the series how the ignorant people also pestered InuYasha being half demon, that it was "unnatural" to them. I continued on, struggling as InuYasha. I started cosplaying InuYasha around 2005. I remember going to my neighbors house to watch it pre-recorded in Japanese dub! I was only about 10 years old. My grandma helped me make my first outfit. We made the top from a Wizard robe and Dancer pants patterns. I have gone through four different outfits, now 7 wigs, and 6 different Tetsusaigas. My current wig was made by Alichii from deviantART since 2004 based on Katie Bairs method, made from 3 different wigs. A historical wig. My current outfit is the Officially licensed VIZ Media outfit! It's my treasure. Kagome in the series really helped me alot to learn and to love. I have had many issues with haters, stalkers and copycats. Keh! But that won't stop me!

- The response @officialkagome wrote after me -

My name is Kagome, yes; it really is. InuYasha inspired me to share my own story. I am a transwoman, and have known I was a female my entire conscious life. I was told I couldn't be Kagome because I wasn't a girl. I was punished a great deal and abused for being trans. I was told I was wrong, and sick for 'thinking' I was a girl, I was invisible to everyone around me. I grew into an aloof teenager that thought I knew the evils of the world, until when 14 years old; I was sexually assaulted by three men while at a house party without my parents knowledge. My world fell to pieces, and who I was died. I spiralled, I lost all respect for myself. I never was dated, I gave myself to bad guys. I made horrible choices and I still carry the shame of what those men turned me into. I watched InuYasha a lot then, and I found similarity in myself and Kagome. She was everything I always dreamed of being. Kind, brave, beautiful and pure. My first Impression of InuYasha was that he was a jerk; but I got to learn more about how he felt different in his world, and didn't belong. Before I knew it, I fell deeply in love with him. He saved my life and made me feel like that strong woman I knew I was. I spent the next 13+ years submitting to the fact that I would never really be able to see InuYasha, I begged for dreams, If I could only see him.. Meanwhile, InuYasha was going through the same exact thing. We crossed paths on so many occasions, even unknowingly, we grew up in the same cities, our whole lives lead up to us finding one another and life blessed me, and brought InuYasha to me in the most ironically fated way. We are BOTH trans! He gets me, And he waited for me just as long as I waited for him. There is so much coincidence in our meeting. It's haunting. He looks at me, a pile of my trauma; and he loves my broken pieces back together. InuYasha has ALWAYS come for me, and I may have lost faith; but I am glad I didn't. InuYasha found me in the darkness; and now together we move towards tomorrow. We have always been the same since the very beginning. We ARE InuKag~

Thank you for all the asks.

I will respond to each one. All will be animated, which I know they are piled up.

So send all Asks. Let’s see how fun we can make this -

- Inu-Yasha -

#inuyasha #kagome #犬夜叉 #officialinuyasha #officialkagome #rant #fanart #fandom #redrobelover #maxintoshi #personal #hurt #bullying #lgbt #trans #transgender #lgbtq #officialinuyashagroup

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greed-the-dorkalicious · 7 years ago

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Some fun stuff for new HikaGo fans:

The reason Hikaru’s clothes all seem to have the number 5 on them is because “5″ is “go” in Japanese, so it’s a pun. This is why May 5th is Hikaru no Go day; May 5th (a holiday known as Children’s Day in Japan) is also the in-universe date of the big Thing that happens in episode 60, and the irl date that the volume the Thing happens in was released in English.

Sai’s former host, Kuwabara Torajirou (better known as Hon’inbou Shuusaku), is a real historical figure widely regarded as one of Japan’s all-time best go players. He’s best known for having 19 straight wins in the Castle Games (an important go tournament during the Edo period), and the famous “ear-reddening game”, in which he played against a higher-level player and appeared to be losing until he made a comeback with a move supposedly so good that his opponent’s ears turned red. Torajiro eventually became heir to the prestigious Honinbou go school, but never actually inherited this role; When a cholera epidemic swept Japan in 1862, Torajiro insisted on tending patience in the Honinbou house, and died of cholera himself at age 33. (His teacher and head of the school at the time, Honinbou Shuwa, didn’t die until 11 years later.) Also, yes, Torajirou shares both his last name and his title with Kuwabara-sensei (although the modern Honinbou title is a title won in a tournament, since the Honinbou school closed in 1940). It’s unclear if there’s any actual connection between them other than their names. Oh and here’s a piece of rare official art that I’m fairly certain is of Torajirou’s death. :)

Speaking of names, Hikaru, Akira, and Akari all have first names that have to do with light or visibility (”shining/bright/glittering”, “clear/light/bright”, and “light/glowing/lamp” respectively), while Sai, Hikaru, and Akari all have last names that include the character 藤, meaning “wisteria”, associated with the Fujiwara clan. (It’s the “dou” in “Shindou”, and the “fuji” in “Fujiwara” and “Fujisaki”). Again, nobody’s 100% sure of the significance of these connections.

Sai’s hat is called a tate-eboshi (standing cap), and his robe is called a kariginu. His clothes are typical casual wear for a Heian-era nobleman. His hair, however, is not how men wore their hair at the time, but rather how noble women did (it’s a style called “taregami”, aka keeping your hair silky and as long as you can possibly grow it). His makeup and earrings are not typical of the period. Sai also uses gender-neutral pronouns (not that this is especially noteworthy, it really just means he’s polite, Roy Mustang uses the same ones ffs), has been shown in flashbacks interacting face-to-face with both men and women at a time and place where that wasn’t really a thing unless you were married or biologically related, and the publishers for the English edition of the manga thought Sai was a lady until the author corrected them on which pronouns to use.

Go is known as “weiqi” in China, and “baduk” in Korea. Yes, there are go leagues in other countries. Yes, there are standardized English go terms. I don’t know WHY nobody in this fucking fandom ever uses them, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING “GO-ISHI” LITERALLY JUST MEANS “GO STONES” AND ISN’T SPECIAL, but here’s a convenient list of terminology for when you’re reading a fic and have no idea what the hell anyone’s talking about.

There’s an old PS1 RPG that takes place in a Heian-period AU in which Akira is an onmyouji (sort of like a wizardy priest I guess), Hikaru is a police officer in Heian-kyo (the capital city), and Sai is an ex-noble and legendary go player. The three of them have to work together to save Heian-kyo from a mysterious, seemingly go-related influx of yokai attacks. You can read my incomplete translation of the game here.

Paper Cranes by @tenspontaneite is the most gripping fic you will ever read for any fandom, and blissfully ship-free. Don’t read it until you’ve finished the series, but do read it!! It’s SO GOOD and I really need to catch up oh my god

Everyone loves to mock Akira’s fashion sense, but it’s actually made worse by the anime; In the manga, his hair was black with a lavender tint, so it went well with his lavender/pink/blue wardrobe. Then the anime came along and decided to make his hair FUCKING FOREST GREEN, BECAUSE THAT LOOKS GREAT WITH LAVENDER AND HOT PINK. Sai’s lipstick was also a lot less garish in most of the manga art, and if anyone ever tries to convince you that Sai’s lips are “purple” to represent his death via drowning, they’re an idiot who does not know what a drowned corpse looks like, or what the color purple looks like. Sai’s hair was also black in the manga.

Here’s the famous “long hair Akira” image, a drawing by Takeshi Obata of what Hikaru and Akira would look like 10 years after the end of the manga. I forgot what this was drawn for, I think the anniversary of the manga maybe? Idk. But yeah, here it is.

#Hikaru no Go #HikaGo #Shindou Hikaru #Fujiwara no Sai #Touya Akira

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marshmallowgoop · 7 years ago

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Can I have a link to your posts gushing over the kill la kill dvd cover with Ryuko and Senketsu on it as well as your favorite ryuketsu posts please and thank you so much ryuketsu+gamako 4ever otps

I’ve actually written a few final-cover-gushing posts ^^;

Gushing

Sketches to Final, More

Final Cover Design: Life Fiber Synchronization Hug?

Sushio’s Drafted Final Cover Design

As for favorite Ryuketsu posts… that’s super difficult! There is so much good content out there; the archive on my other blog is really a treasure trove for fabulous work!

But I can try to pick out some faves! (These might not necessarily be Ryuketsu exactly, but they are all wonderful Ryuko and Senketsu pieces.)

If I’ve linked to your work here and you would not like to be on this list, please let me know and I’ll remove you immediately!

For favorite fanart pieces:

http://art-of-zirio.tumblr.com/post/77437562345/ryuko-hey-now-whats-with-that-face-i by @art-of-zirio

A really good human!Senketsu with amazing expression work.

http://bechnokid.tumblr.com/post/75424699297 by @bechnokid

I love the style of this, and it’s also 110% in character.

http://laminated-potato.tumblr.com/post/78911508364/spoilers-from-episode-21-here-i-am-again-with by @laminated-potato

Absolutely stellar comic-book style rendition of that bit right after Ryuko tears off Junketsu in episode 21 (which, imo, is one of the sweetest and most loving moments in the entire show).

https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/mossmallow-art/80650423246 by @mossmallow

A real cute piece of Senketsu as a party dress.

https://superdiduper.tumblr.com/post/89334412507/rrrrr by superdiduper

Really sweet pic of Ryuko and a wonderful humanoid Senketsu.

http://mochafish.tumblr.com/post/94258350363/unfinished-klk-comic-that-i-did-right-after-the by mochafish

A short post-series comic that is super heartbreaking and well done.

http://ayuseiart.tumblr.com/post/102786062721/always-in-my-dreams-senketsu-x-ryuko-matoi by @ayuseiart

One of the absolute cutest Ryuko and Senketsu pieces I’ve ever seen.

http://maliadoodles.tumblr.com/post/104315794432/this-anime-is-my-life-3-please-do-not-use-my by @maliadoodles

A real fun human!Senketsu, with some neat fashion for both him and Ryuko.

http://the-chokey.tumblr.com/post/92722492452/a-month-of-procrastinating-makes-me-appreciate by @the-chokey

Okay, so @the-chokey and @murasakidoku made this fantastic Kill la Kill AU back in the earlier days of the fandom, and the work put into it is phenomenal. This is just one piece of animation from the AU, where Ryuko and Senketsu kiss to synchronize (and I totally lost it when I first saw it). Incredible stuff!

http://fuckyeahryuketsu.tumblr.com/post/104611687073/godrobe-freshblood-actually-i-like-this by godrobe-freshblood

Godrobe-freshblood has since deleted and left Tumblr, but she’s done so much good work for this pair that definitely still deserves acknowledgment. This piece is a particularly heartbreaking one of Senketsu’s last moments.

http://theneonflower.tumblr.com/post/117521303222/a-promise-or-a-proposal-ill-wait-till-the-end by @theneonflower

@theneonflower has so much good Ryuketsu stuff! This piece is one of my faves; I just dig that Red String of Fate symbolism.

http://starcre8tor.tumblr.com/post/79730415930/kill-la-kill-sketch-request-dump-click-on-theby @starcre8tor

@starcre8tor‘s Kill la Kill stuff is so good! I love this top piece here of Ryuko signing “I love you” to Senketsu, and Senketsu’s adorable reaction.

http://fuckyeahryuketsu.tumblr.com/post/137453814400/secretmusician23-doodle-of-wedding-ryuko-3 by secretmusician23

Secretmusician23 has also since deleted and left Tumblr, but their work still definitely deserves acknowledgment. This piece is so evocative and beautiful (and I love it because it’s a wedding-dress Ryuko pic that doesn’t forget about and erase Senketsu!)

http://badlydrawnaikuro.tumblr.com/post/141973226943 by @badlydrawnaikuro

Senketsu and Ryuko and Loss. Need I say more? (It’s not supposed to mess me up like this!!!)

https://choco-maize.tumblr.com/post/141665868143/i-forgot-how-to-draw-side-view-bodies-frick-yknow by @choco-maize

Pictures of Ryuko and Senketsu hugging always get to me, and this one is no exception. Wonderful expression work and and colors.

http://fedorarapture.tumblr.com/post/168223415460/ryuketsu-fanart-in-2017-yeah-why-not by @fedorarapture

The style and coloring on this Ryuko and Senketsu hug pic is fantastic.

http://liqdra.tumblr.com/post/119813763533/3 by liqdra

Intimate, sweet, and beautifully detailed, this piece is breathtakingly gorgeous (note though that it might veer a bit into the nsfw side).

http://scribbly-z-raid.tumblr.com/post/71391583161/i-need-more-protective-senketsu-in-canon-trigger by @scribbly-z-raid

A Good comic that I wish would have happened in canon!

http://wife-fiber-matoi.tumblr.com/post/126200276503/phew-okay-thisll-be-the-beggining-of-a-ryuketsu by @wife-fiber-matoi

A lovely start to a post-series story that tugs on the heartstrings with just a few panels.

http://ggup23.tumblr.com/post/116046347022/mmhmm by ggup23

A super cute piece with such a good, in-character human!Senketsu.

http://bakemeats.tumblr.com/post/137063667214/also-here-are-some-sketches-sorry-world by @bakemeats

These sketches are adorable and in a really good style, and the humanoid Senketsu design is also fantastic.

https://sleepwalker-j.tumblr.com/post/164228736683 by @sleepwalker-j

I just love the colors and atmosphere of this Ryuko and human!Senketsu pic.

http://lovelettertofiction.tumblr.com/post/160102065197/in-german-carrying-and-wearing-are-the-same-words by @lovelettertofiction

A sweet pic with a Good humanoid Senketsu design.

http://lenandbonten.tumblr.com/post/128926389304/my-sis-and-i-finished-watching-kill-la-kill-a-few by @lenandbonten

Super sweet, traditional art piece with a great use of color. Back when Erica Mendez, Ryuko’s English VA, had a Tumblr (tsunderica), she reblogged this one, so you know it’s good!

For favorite official art/animator fanart pieces:

Akira Amemiya’s “Senketsu’s Date with Ryuko” (of course), and Mago’s art of the date, too

The final DVD/Blu-ray cover art, and the draft, by Sushio (also of course)

This piece of Ryuko smiling sweetly at Senketsu by Sachiko Yajima, from the Kill la Kill Starter Book

Sushio’s absolutely intense image of Ryuko after she tears off Junketsu (this is still one of the most loving and sweet moments on the show!)

Sushio’s illustration of Senketsu crying, which unfortunately didn’t make it into LOVE LOVE KLKL, but is still really cute

Sushio’s Scarfketsu turns, here and here

This old design of synchronized Senketsu (the far right on the fifth picture down), where Senketsu literally holds Ryuko

Mago’s super cute Blu-ray/DVD side art for the final volume, featuring Senketsu waving goodbye and Ryuko/Senketsu waving goodbye in Senketsu-Kisaragi

Ryo Akizuki’s (the artist for the official Kill la Kill manga) early drawings of Ryuko and Senketsu’s interactions

Senketsu as a fancy red dress (while Ryuko has extra red in her hair, implying that they synced to form the dress, aw!) and as a bikini, done by manga artist Ryo Akizuki

This key frame from episode 9 (“That positive outlook of yours is what I love about you, Senketsu!”)

For favorite GIFs/Graphics/Edits:

http://fuckyeahryuketsu.tumblr.com/post/82639712231/konohananosakuya-hime-senketsu-and-ryukos by konohananosakuya-hime

Konohananosakuya-hime has since deleted and left Tumblr, but this edit definitely deserves a look. It’s a beautiful collage of Ryuko and Senketsu’s growing bond.

http://lycanrockruff.tumblr.com/post/81015761133/life-fiber-synchronise-senketsu-kisaragi by @lycanrockruff

A super impressive GIF of Ryuko in Senketsu-Kisaragi.

https://fairytailwitch.tumblr.com/post/78811710462/kill-la-kill-episode-21-incomplete-i-have-to by @fairytailwitch

A really good, effective edit of that moment after Ryuko rips off Junketsu. (Have I mentioned yet that this is one of the sweetest and most loving moments of the show?)

http://softchoi.tumblr.com/post/107253257299/ryuko-loves-this-uniform-more-than-anything by @softchoi

This GIFset wonderfully emphasizes how protective Ryuko is over Senketsu. My heart.

http://asofterhonnouji.tumblr.com/post/119558607766/1064-my-body-is-a-temple-and-theres-another by @asofterhonnouji

This edit is so ouch.

For favorite fanfiction, here’s a list I’ve made before:

For general, in-series fics focused on Senketsu and Ryuko:

pulse by Noa (nothingbutcinders)

This is a short one, but oh so very sweet. It focuses on Senketsu’s love for Ryuko’s heartbeat.

Things to Remember by @felflowne

Ryuko and Senketsu being awkward about friendship. A cute story about dorky teens being dorky teens.

For A Crack, Some Plaster by plumeri4

A fic that explores Senketsu’s introduction some more. It’s a touchy subject, but something that definitely feels missing in the actual show.

For post-series:

Forever Sailor Fuku by @miracle-interrupter-heno

A funny and cute story that takes place after the series and doesn’t make Senketsu a humanoid. While that’s all good and fine, it’s nice to see fics like these, too.

AUs:

Vibrations by @murasakidoku

A really sweet story. Ryuko is deaf, but she can hear Senketsu’s voice, and can hear what he hears when they synchronize.

Senketsu Goes to School by @carrinth

While not a fic exactly, this comic is a hilarious and adorable high school AU with Senketsu as the main character.

And I don’t know where exactly to put this, but:

Dragon Blood by @inkblood-mistrieu

Really beautiful and poetic short piece with allusions to the Tanabata story.

Also, all of these authors have more stories and content about Senketsu and Ryuko. So if you like any of these, there’s more where that came from!

And I don’t know if you were looking for my favorite Ryuketsu posts that I’ve done, too, but I’ll self-plug, lol:

This long edit of my favorite Ryuko and Senketsu moments

This edit using a quote from Ami Koshimizu, Ryuko’s Japanese VA

This edit that makes the show material look like a video game, using one of the sweetest moments from the series (Senketsu loving Ryuko’s heartbeat)

This fanart which is like, the only thing I’ve drawn in the last fifty years

This fic which is honestly one of my favorites I’ve ever written for Kill la Kill (even if I’ve gotten the impression from others that it’s one of my weakest ^^;)

This meta about Ryuko and Senketsu’s communication

This post about how Ryuko and Senketsu are a Good Ship, Y’all (and the Spongebob one, too)

This meta post about why they’re good

Also, searching “Ryuketsu” on Twitter gives you a bunch of unrelated content and ship hate, so I’d recommend trying 鮮流 (Senryu) to find some good material there! The same goes for Pixiv!

I’m just scratching the surface here, but I hope this is a good starting list!

#Anonymous #kill la kill #ryuko matoi #senketsu #ryuketsu #replies #spoilers #klk spoilers

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comicteaparty · 7 years ago

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September 14th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on September 14th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT. The chat focused on Nine Twilights by Andrea Rosales, Anne Mortensen-Agnew, and Chris Hansbrough.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Nine Twilights by Andrea Rosales, Anne Mortensen-Agnew, and Chris Hansbrough~! (http://www.ninetwilights.com/) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

DracoPlato

I think I like the latest page the most because it was the happiest so far and she looks cute trying on the dress. RebelVampire

yeah i really liked seeing her embrace freedom there and get to enjoy herself.

especially since even before the big odin reveal her life was pretty crappy

was going to slap her teacher so hard O_O

DracoPlato

yeah her teacher was such a jerk >n<

I liked the transformation scene too because of the colors, but I thought it seemed really random with the rest of the tone of the story so maybe not my favorite since I wtfed a lot during it

MathTans

Hey-yay-yay-yayyay, hey-yay-yay... I said hey. What's goin' on. (re: latest page)

(That's totally He-Man meme in the background, right?)

RebelVampire

omg it is he-man

i didnt even notice

JudgementScythe

it migght be

RebelVampire

thats amazing

DracoPlato

oooomg that's awesome, lol

JudgementScythe

Andrea likes to have fun with the background elements

AndreaRosales

Hello! I'm Andrea! I'm the artist of Nine Twilights!

MathTans

As to fave scene, I'm gonna go right back to Page 13. The conversation while walking down the stairs on one side, with the rainbow on the other. That just looked so neat, like a juxtaposition of the normal with the fantastical, and I would have never thought of doing the layout that way.

AndreaRosales

I love backgrounds, but my favorite thing in making this comic is honestly just having fun with facial expressions. I love having characters emote and really act.

DracoPlato

your facial expressions are amazing, those were my favorite part of the comic

annemagnew

Anne, the writer here

DracoPlato

I really really liked the art in this

AndreaRosales

Aww garrrrsh thank you!

JudgementScythe

yeah the stairs page was one of my favorite things she sent me. It was just a really cool idea for the movement and storytelling of a page

AndreaRosales

Aw, yay! Thwe whole team is here!

MathTans

Though I also liked the transformation scene. I might have squeed.

I didn't expect it, but thought, that ups things.

DracoPlato

I thought visually it was gorgeous

altho wouldn't have minded more norse themes incorporated into the outfit

MathTans

Yay for team synergy! I'm impressed at how you work together.

DracoPlato

it reminded me more of greek designs

MathTans

I freely admit to my ignorance as far as norse goes.

AndreaRosales

The bare inks of stair page!

MathTans

Coolness! You keep all that on hand?

AndreaRosales

I do!

Actually, let me know if you guys wanna see any concept art!

I've got TONS on my compy that I'm more than happy to share.

I like talking comics process . I learned a LOT while working on 9T. It's kinda my first comic.

It is my first serious go at arting a comic

RebelVampire

i really like the composition for the panel on the right cause i find my eye auto drawn to the rainbow. which i assume is a ref to bifrost so i knew something was going down.

MathTans

Your enthusiasm is infectious. Yay for arting.

(Well, and writing and editing too!)

That whole "you knew my name thing" was well done. I picked up on it off Baltur's expression the first time she did it, but I can see how it might have been missed making for a nice callback when he hit her with the whammy.

annemagnew

@RebelVampire Definite. The Bifrost (or the current one at any rate) in our story is something of a fusion between a Boom Tube, the Thor movie's interpretation of the Bifrost, and auroras & rainbows

AndreaRosales

sketchy!

RebelVampire

i really liked the name thing cause for me i was like "wait when did he say his name maybe i missed some dialogue." but then whoops, surprise, this was an important tell

MathTans

Also friggin' impressed how a battle with the undead can have moments of levity in there. Well played. (The heavy sword, for instance.

JudgementScythe

I think, my favorite thing about this whole thing has been watching Andrea's art improve page after page.

MathTans

Cool, it's in different colours...

AndreaRosales

Those are the super rough pen and ink sketchies. I had to play with a lot of different page layouts to get it juuuust right.

DracoPlato

yeah it was good that the name was mentioned again cause i was confused if i'd missed a page

she looks like sailor saturn there XD

AndreaRosales

At one point, transformation page was gonna look like this!

MathTans

So is that by hand and scanned in?

AndreaRosales

Fun fact!

Wanda's design is actually based on Sailor Saturn!

annemagnew

@MathTans Wanda was originally going to have a sword -- Mythologically, Gungnir was a gift and not his original weapon, and one of the Viking weapons books I have mentioned swords as weapons of the nobility and spears weapons of laymen. Also, Gungnir still exists here, even if it's not currently usable. But I figured it would be better to stay "on-brand"

AndreaRosales

It was one of the first design references Anne gave me.

annemagnew

Yup. Her hair is directly lifted from Saturns

sad teenage girls with death powers

MathTans

I can see it now, right, with the glaive and everything.... clever.

AndreaRosales

I do all my layouts on paper in my sketchbook first.

I take pics on my phone, email them to myself and then I just insert them into my Manga Studio document and then I pencil and ink away.

DracoPlato

aaaaah that makes sense

AndreaRosales

Manga Studio is wonderful by the way. I really enjoy working with it.

MathTans

@annemagnew That's fair. As I say, I don't know the brand well myself, but it seemed to work for me.

DracoPlato

yeah i work in MS too, it's a great program

annemagnew

i am All About norse mythology

AndreaRosales

Sad teenage girls with death powers, but also, best friends!

MathTans

I can tell from the avatar.

AndreaRosales

I love horse mythology too.

MathTans

Pegasus?

AndreaRosales

I mean Norse mythology. Horses are cool too though.

Most def!

I didn't know that much/ anything about Norse mythos until this project.

DracoPlato

should've done Loki if you love horses, huhuhuhuhu

MathTans

That would be low key.

AndreaRosales

Neigh!

You're such a good neiiiigghbor for those puns.

I love it.

I love puns. Keep em' comin'!

MathTans

Hah. I'm mostly math puns, but I branch out. Not relevant to 9T though.

I like the idea of them going all over the world, wow! Have you travelled much? (The creators.)

JudgementScythe

I've lived in Oregon and Muskoka Ontario and spent a lot of time in Guanajuato Mexico and Costa Rica as well

You want to know about middle of nowhere Canada. I'm your guy

AndreaRosales

Woo! Concept art time! This was one of my first takes of Wanda in her magical girl form. We didn't go with this one since it wasn't Norse looking enough. So it was back to the drawing board for me!

MathTans

Heh, I'm a Canadian, so I'm good. As Indonesia, I have no idea if the city's right or not, but you seem the types to research such things.

DracoPlato

oh i really like that design

AndreaRosales

I have travelled a fair bit! Been to Italy, England, Mexico ( got lots of family there, I'm Mexican, btw, Canada, Japan, etc.)

annemagnew

I travelled a lot more when I was younger (and didn't have to pay for it, sobs). The idea of globe-hopping team actually sprung out of watching Sailor Moon as a kid. If they mentioned in the English dub why they had to stay in Crossroads (ie because they looked for the Silver Crystal everywhere else), I missed it, and wondered why the Negaverse didn't just go somewhere else. And then I thought if they did, then Sailor Moon would have to follow them! And she'd meet Sailor Scouts in cool places like China and Russia and [other countries?? in my memory those were the only other countries??]

AndreaRosales

I would looooove to travel more though.

I also wished for a more diverse sailor moon!

So when Anne approached me to work on this comic I was immediately like " YES!"

Initially with some hesitation though b/c I wasn't confident in my ability to consistently webcomic well at the time.

JudgementScythe

A lot of the indonesia scenes were taken from reference photos. As well as the fact that Anne and I have been part of the SUikoden fandom forever which has a huge indonesian contingent who I've run things past to see if we've gotten the score right

MathTans

Thumbs up for Sailor Moon, my gateway anime.

AndreaRosales

It's so, so good.

DracoPlato

yis

annemagnew

literally the thing i care about most

MathTans

I don't think anyone's confident to start out with. Or if they are, they probably need humility or whatever.

AndreaRosales

Wanda's magical girl design take 1 was based on Chris Lightfellow from Suikoden 3! I've never played a Suikoden game!

MathTans

Oh, huzzah for fandoms then.

annemagnew

look at that female videogame character with ACTUAL ARMOR

AndreaRosales

I love her design. That armor * kisses fingers*

JudgementScythe

We're going to fix that

AndreaRosales

20 CHEF KISSES FOREVER

Here's an old Wanda! I was inspired by FF games at the time so there ya go!

annemagnew

I still want to bring that pelt cloak back somehow!

AndreaRosales

another early wanda

RebelVampire

i really like the pelt cloak in that design

DracoPlato

same

AndreaRosales

Wanda's def. gonna bring pelts back in style!

MathTans

How long did you concept the comic before starting, if you don't mind the question?

Wanda's gonna pelt people?

annemagnew

@MathTans I came up with it during an internship I had in college, 2012 or 2013

I wanted to do a magical girl comic since forever, and I love Norse Mythology, so combined them. I had two ideas for the premise - the team either were reincarnated gods, a la Sailor Moon, or were just given the gifts of gods, a la Wedding Peach

MathTans

(I vaugely recall some of the bg from reading the between-volume-asides, but not well, and others reading the chat later might want to know.)

AndreaRosales

I was approached for the project in early 2014 if I recall correctly. I think Anne and Chris talked to some other artist friends of ours before they came to me.

We worked on designs and layouts for a good while.

Look at this sassy Sari. I love her attitude.

JudgementScythe

And the two of us talked about doing it for a bit but fell off until I felt the editing bug come back after time away from the industry. Then I was just like no we gotta really do this because you should be writing comics and I really am feeling making them again.

annemagnew

If I had gone with scenario B, the story would have taken place before Ragnarok, and Tyr would have been in the Baldur mentor role

AndreaRosales

OOOH BALDUR!

MathTans

Is Sari also a reincarnation, or is she just related to someone who is?

AndreaRosales

OUR FAVE TRASH BOI

I gotta throw up concept art of him

Original Baldur circa 2014!

He's vintage

annemagnew

It might have been better for the girls if Tyr was their mentor. He’s got far fewer issues about his dad than Baldur!

AndreaRosales

Baldur circa 2016!

annemagnew

Fun fact: Baldur’s entire outfit is lifted from the Balmain men’s catalogue, ca. 2014, when I wrote the first draft of chapter one.

MathTans

Tossing out the mention of Baldur's wife was clever. Helped to hint at his age and stop the shipping before it might've gotten rolling.

anne: that's awesome trivia.

RebelVampire

lol math you think thatll stop the shipping

annemagnew

please dont ship baldur with his dad/wanda with her son (also wanda's gay)

AndreaRosales

Fun fact! Rumiko Takahashi was a HUGE influence on the way that I ink Wanda's hair! I love her work!!

DracoPlato

rumiko is awesome~

annemagnew

i mean, like, do whatever you want, but also, Please Don't™

MathTans

RebelV: Eh, maybe not - I mostly ship yuri anyway though.

DracoPlato

loooooool

AndreaRosales

Look at these two dooooorks

MathTans

Was that an image of Shampoo?

DracoPlato

yis

AndreaRosales

Rumiko is the best!!

annemagnew

shampoo is the best ranma girl

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. This comic is directly influenced by Norse mythology, with the plot being about reincarnated Norse gods (Wanda being an incarnation of Odin). Was there any allusion that particularly struck you? Or, if you’re not familiar with Norse mythology, is there anything you wish you had a better grasp of to understand the story? Lastly, what do you think happened in the past that caused so many of the gods to be reborn?

AndreaRosales

Fun fact! Sometimes I get sections of my sketches done well in my sketchbook. Those sketches aren't always right next to each other, so I just stitch them together in Photoshop to make the final page layout.

Sometimes I get lucky and manage to sketch it all out right on the first take.

MathTans

A Norse is a Norse, of course, of course... honestly, I don't really feel like my lack of myth knowledge (outside of Marvel cinema and Dirk Gently) is a hinderance to enjoyment, and I don't really feel impelled to look into it. Though I do feel like reading the comic heightened my awareness.

As to what happened in the past... Odin wanted to see how the other half lived, and others were on board with that? Dunno.

AndreaRosales

@MathTans , you are great with puns!

DracoPlato

For me I felt a disconnect between Wanda and Odin and would have liked it more if she seemed more similar to Odin in a way that made me go, oh yeah, she totally was him

MathTans

Aw, thank you. ^^

RebelVampire

man math you are missing out on so many allusions :"D

MathTans

I don't doubt it.

AndreaRosales

I didn't know much 'bout Norse mythos as I mentioned earlier, so Anne let me borrow the Prose Edda and I read it in a week. Riveting stuff.

MathTans

Andrea - the stitching's neat, I hadn't even really thought about that aspect.

AndreaRosales

Thanks!

MathTans

Draco: Like more of a fatherly figure, or which? Just curious, not knowing the mythos as well.

DracoPlato

Yeah, or even more of just a connection to anything norse at all

RebelVampire

i cant pick an allusion i like most because i like them all. i fangirled a lot and had to stop myself to remain focused

annemagnew

We actually have the reason why on our About The Comic page, ahaha. TL;DR: Odin didn't feel like being dead forever, roped his favorites (and not so favorites) into reincarnating. It was a bad move, cosmically speaking. Thanks, Odin! What a great guy!!!!!

AndreaRosales

Other times I get ultra mega lucky and all the pencil roughs next to each other work out just fine! Anyway, back to mythos chat!

DracoPlato

for me Wanda read very much as a typical protag, and the norse stuff was just sort of pasted on but not really part of her

RebelVampire

@AndreaRosales whatever works. sometimes just gotta work with what you got the stitching is definitely creative

AndreaRosales

Odin wanted to keep cracking out cool ones with the gang.

RebelVampire

odin please maybe the others just wanted to vacation

JudgementScythe

lol

AndreaRosales

@RebelVampire Thank you! I like to see how I can piece things together. Working on comic layouts is a lot like piecing together a puzzle.

MathTans

The gypsy take (uh, should I even use that word?) is interesting, I felt like it tied into the "travelling to other lands" aspect. But maybe that takes away a bit from Norse origins? I don't know.

annemagnew

Odin: We could be dead forever. Or, hear me out.... we could not

Please don't use that world, but thank you for asking

She is Romani, though.

AndreaRosales

Odin had some free pizza coupons he needed to use! Also, "Gypsy" isn't the word to use. Wanda is Romani!

MathTans

Wanda does seem more reticent than a "typical protag", but maybe that's just me in terms of what I read.

Romani, thank you. (Derp.)

AndreaRosales

All good!

MathTans

I knew there was a term out there. >.< Cleverly set up with the nasty girls using 'gyp', by the way.

annemagnew

Also, @DracoPlato -- I totally get you. Connecting Wanda to Odin was something I've worked with. Without getting into too many details/future reveals: her mother (and father, before he died) didn't raise a terrible person, but that took work. There's something in Wanda's core character that connects her more to Odin as well, and re-discovering that is a part of her arc.

DracoPlato

ah, that's good if it can circle back around to it at least

MathTans

Odin bought a time share but it's only good every other century.

AndreaRosales

First ever drawing of the "God Squad"! Our first 3 gals of the series. Got my ladies in formation! Circa 2015.

MathTans

WHOA. Two weaponing with one of them being that axe? Daaaamn.

Nice shadows.

JudgementScythe

yeah I'm really excited to get to Aish. She's going to be the tank of the party and is SO GOOD

annemagnew

Freyja on the left and and Ullr on the right. Ullr I chose because I thought it would be fun, but actually, writing a character connected to a god whose mythological presence has been mostly erased is Hard

MathTans

Tank you very much.

annemagnew

@JudgementScythe i love tank sailor venus

MathTans

Now I want to see her with a love-me chain.

AndreaRosales

Our precious badass daughter WADNA!

Aish's design is awesome. She's got a sword like Ivy from Soul Calibur. I love drawing that.

annemagnew

@MathTans she has an evolving weapon. @AndreaRosales , do you have the bookmark for her? She's got a link sword there.

Yup, there it is

AndreaRosales

Just posted it, Anne!

@annemagnew I think you mean " WHOOMP THERE IT IS"

MathTans

So here's a question that you don't have to answer, but... are all the gods reincarnated at about the same age? Or is there some kind of hierarchy thing?

annemagnew

also true

MathTans

That is indeed a link sword. Shades of Signum from Nanoha.

AndreaRosales

I can't wait to draw ULLR just doing a crazy cool ski-by on some draugar.

annemagnew

They're all in the same age group, at the most three years apart. I think Freyja's older than most of them. Wanda and Ullr are the same age.

MathTans

nods And I'm guessing Baltur's wife is a reference I don't get.

RebelVampire

ah thats probably good. dont need to have any old folks cramping their style.

annemagnew

@MathTans Nanna is Baldur's wife. She and their son Forseti are ruling Asgard in his absence.

AndreaRosales

We did a promotional mini comic sample thingy back when we debuted at Rose City Comic Con in 2015. You can see a bit more here of how weapons look, etc.

annemagnew

fun fact: forseti actually looks older than his dad does

DracoPlato

oh that's really cool~!

AndreaRosales

@annemagnew It's not the years, it's the mileage!

MathTans

Wow, you did a debut at a Con? Neat.

RebelVampire

ah that page makes me look forward to future action scenes

AndreaRosales

Well, the first time we were about to launch, we took a mini comic

DracoPlato

nice!

MathTans

I guess having a dad like Baldur ages you faster on the outside.

Also I cannot spell.

annemagnew

I see Baldur as a pretty good father, actually. Much better than Odin was.

AndreaRosales

Here's a rough pencil of the next page of that mini comic we did. I was super giddy that I got to do some super cool action stuff.

MathTans

He does seem like he's doing his best, that's for sure.

annemagnew

Of the Odinssons, Baldur and Tyr turned out the most normal and well-adjusted. Unfortunately, Baldur has tons of issues about his dad that Tyr never did.

MathTans

Oh, wait... those two people communicating through the tree, were they his wife and son?

AndreaRosales

Guys, Baldur is trying so hard man! Dad jokes are hard to do!

annemagnew

No, those were the Norns. Two of them, Verdandi and Urd.

DracoPlato

gorgeous action panels~!

MathTans

<-- is a neophyte, or something.

AndreaRosales

@DracoPlato Thank you!!

RebelVampire

i just wanna say i really like Baldur as a character. i especially like that scene where theyre in the restaurant and wanda hides. and then baldur comes in and is like "i know youre there." i totally expected him to just walk on by, but nope. he was a smart boy.

DracoPlato

I'm enjoying Baldur as well

JudgementScythe

He's dumb. but he's not dumb dumb.

MathTans

I liked when Wanda's mom was all "where do you know her from?" and Baldur's like "....School?"

DracoPlato

haha i liked that too

JudgementScythe

WAIT WADNA I JUST TOLD YOU YOU WERE MY REINCARNATED DAD WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME FUNNY WHAT IT'S NOT CREEPY OR WEIRD AT ALL

DracoPlato

she should have embraced fatherhood

MathTans

"Go to your room."

RebelVampire

yeah i do have to wonder how baldur thought thatd go at all well XD like you dont just tell some teen theyre your dad.

annemagnew

he wants his dad to pay attention to him and tell him he's doing a good job (he is doing a good job right???? TELL HIM HE'S GOOD)

DracoPlato

poor baby

just wants some love

MathTans

Baldur needs head pats.

annemagnew

a decent amount of my favorite male characters remind me of this scene from IASIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBfnOtiJOWw

RebelVampire

wanda just needs to tell baldur shes going to the store to buy milk. then not come back. problem solved.

DracoPlato

oooh i really like the blue there

RebelVampire

ah im glad to see huginn and muninn in there too >v>

DracoPlato

yis

AndreaRosales

A Baldur from the character cards we give out at conventions!

MathTans

I wonder if Baldur has the stones for his task. Like, assuming all nine gods have stones.

AndreaRosales

Whoops, lol sorry for the double post

my computer is slow.

All the artwork on a 7 year old machine... ooooof

MathTans

Eh, my phone's older than that.

RebelVampire

(sppt math maybe get a new phone)

DracoPlato

is it a flip phone

MathTans

It has one of those little retractable antennas. Anyway. No prob if old computer.

DracoPlato

oooomg it has an antenna XD that is old

MathTans

I iz old. >.<

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At home, Wanda faces a lot of pressure from her mother to excel in her studies and pull herself out of their living situation. What do you think of this situation? Does the fact that they’re hinted to be discriminated against because they’re Romani affect your opinion? Do you think Wanda and her mother will be able to see eye to eye?

DracoPlato

wanda kicking ass

i had one too math, it's okay

I just don't use it now

MathTans

It's fair. As a teacher I'm not allowed to use a cell phone anyway, so haven't upgraded. (Btw, as a teacher, I also wanted to slap Wanda's teacher, but at the same time I could see where she was coming from.)

AndreaRosales

This has to be one of my absolutely FAVORITE goof images I've done while drawing this comic. I do a lot of em'. The relationship between Baldur and Wanda is one that I enjoy depicting a lot. I can't wait for all the fun shenanagins I'll get to draw them in later in the comic!

MathTans

"Baldur. I am your father."

DracoPlato

oh that's fair

and loooool

AndreaRosales

Oooh I like this question. They've all been super good so far!

DracoPlato

with the teacher, she should have known if the other girl's grades had drastically improved when wanda transferred there tho, perhaps

annemagnew

Wanda's time at school - and the teacher's dig at her - is a direct reference to how Romani students are discriminated against in Czech schooling.

MathTans

As to the living situation away from school, it felt genuine. (Painful, but genuine.) I'm not sure about the eye-to-eye thing, but they may both need some space for now.

AndreaRosales

Romani aren't treated well/respected in "mainstream" European society.

annemagnew

>> Roma children in the Czech Republic were segregated into “special schools” with poor curricula, lower teaching standards, and very few resources. “Testing” these children was a culturally biased process that resulted in the majority of them being pushed into the special education system. The system also segregated children with additional learning needs, unlike the inclusive education systems in the UK, Sweden, or other countries (https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/czech-republic-segregation-roma-children-continues)

MathTans

Draco - True, guess I felt like it was still start of the semester or something. Pretty sure her opinion was coloured by racism too, is the thing, so she didn't look for other explanations.

DracoPlato

yeah that could be

MathTans

Anne: That's kind of sad, but nice that it's authentic.

RebelVampire

yeah i really applaud the research into it

DracoPlato

my only issue with the bullying is I've read a ton of comics that start that way with the protag recently so I was a bit tired of the trope, so i have a bias there

MathTans

Friggin' "testing" mumble wumble argle wargle fargle.

I'm fine.

(I don't even teach in the US.)

AndreaRosales

I find myself being easily able to relate to Wanda.. my parents are Mexican and there was always that push growing up to be academically successful. That Romani are given such poor schooling is setting them up for failure and it's such a sad thing. It's something that's happened in a lot of places in the world. It's heartbreaking that Wanda is clearly very intelligent, but her brilliance can't be fully appreciated in such a biased school system.

JudgementScythe

the US testing system is so bad. I remember when they first really instituted it and it's like...take this multiple choice test to decide how much funding your school gets

AndreaRosales

That's so awful.

JudgementScythe

NO GIMME ESSAY QUESTIONS CAUSE THAT"S ALL I'M GOOD AT

MathTans

Somehow I made this talk about my job. Back to home life.

DracoPlato

teaching always relevant

MathTans

But it reminds me I have papers to mark.

I'm like Baldur. I want to do a good job.

Haha, steered it back.

AndreaRosales

You're doing a great job!

RebelVampire

i can understand both sides to the situation of their home life. cause i can understand why wanda's mom would want her to break the mold. but i side a bit more with wanda in that i think theres just way too much pressure

DracoPlato

oh cool inking~!

RebelVampire

as for seeing eye to eye, i could see them not being able to get over the odin thing.

AndreaRosales

Thanks! I really wanted to go for a high contrasty dramatic lighting thingy. Haha, I'm no good with words.. it's why I draw.

MathTans

I wonder how much Wanda's mom knows about the mythology thing. (Maybe the undead will make her read up.)

JudgementScythe

But yes... The home life was a really interesting thing to figure out. Wanda's home life, the pressure. The build. I want my life but because of my blood, I need to work 10x harder than anyone else for the same things and even then people will say I'm cheating for what I get

MathTans

Andrea - You do puns, that's good words.

annemagnew

(The bullying and constant pressure are part of why she's less like Odin than she used to be.)

AndreaRosales

I have a feeling we might get some insight into Wanda's childhood at some point... @annemagnew ?

MathTans

I would imagine Odin didn't get bullied much.

annemagnew

Wanda's mother wants her to break the mold, but in the mold she wants.

MathTans

Oooh, smol Wanda.

AndreaRosales

Hehe.. seeing eye to eye... Odin... good one, @RebelVampire !

annemagnew

@AndreaRosales no spoilers

MathTans

We saw a bit of that already, with the stargazing scene.

AndreaRosales

Gosh @annemagnew I just wanna share all the concept art and it's driving me crazy!

Uguuuu

MathTans

patpats

AndreaRosales

babbu Wanda is the most precious thing I've ever been fortunate to draw.

@annemagnew THANK YOU for writing babbu Wanda!

annemagnew

Yeah, part of the fun with her was, as I built the character, realizing her life circumstances are the exact opposite of her past life's. There's a core to her that's still Odin, but her circumstances and her context are so different.

AndreaRosales

A really great contrast of nature v. nurture!

MathTans

A bit of the nature versus .... Andrea wins.

annemagnew

That's true for a lot of them, actually. There are reincarnations who have contexts very similar to their previous lives', and others who have better (or worse) ones.

MathTans

It's nice that there's a mix that way.

Is it one volume per reincarnation for a total of nine? Or is that too far in the future to know?

AndreaRosales

Another goof!

annemagnew

Honestly the way I see this story going, it's going to run F O R E V E R

AndreaRosales

GOOD

I'm glad, @annemagnew because I seriously want to draw this forever.

MathTans

Hmmm.... and yet time passes in the real world. Like Indonesia might look different in ten years. Parallel Earth to the rescue maybe.

AndreaRosales

Here's a fun take on the toppling over due to sword weight page. Wanda's face in that last panel...

RebelVampire

poor wanda really needs to start working out. work on those sword wielding muscles

annemagnew

The way I see it right now - which I reserve the right to change! - the story starts in The Fall of whenever you started to read it, and ends in the following year's spring

@RebelVampire she gets a strength buff whenever she transforms

RebelVampire

lucky :"D

MathTans

So there might be a Christmas Episode.

annemagnew

Nanna thinks everything he wears is good. Which, you know. She's not wrong in this case, but that outfit is just... A Lot

RebelVampire

i really liked the art on the draugr. like when i saw them i definitely knew what they were and there's just something really appealing about them. in a theyre draugr kind of way.

DracoPlato

love the tails behind her~!

AndreaRosales

@annemagnew I'll have you know I'm animating the Christmas special.

annemagnew

Fun fact! Baldur's topwear is three layers: Leather jacket, blue sweater, full plate armor. (You get killed by mistletoe once...)

MathTans

"Zombies" "Draugr. And no."

AndreaRosales

OH NOESSSS!!!!

AndreaRosales

@annemagnew I don't think Baldur is quite fond of Christmas decor...

DracoPlato

Looooooool

RebelVampire

this is how wanda will escape him. trap him in a room of mistletoe then make a run for it

MathTans

Oooh, good point.

annemagnew

i'm not saying mistletoe is banned in new asgard, but i am saying it's considered in poor taste these days

AndreaRosales

Mistletoe is totally banned.

MathTans

I would imagine it tastes bad, yes.

annemagnew

baldur: you can hang it. it's fine. it's a traditional decoration gersemi: but you don't want us to hang it baldur: i didn't say that

MathTans

It's all in the cringe.

AndreaRosales

Fun fact! Anne had me reference Al Ewing's Mighty Avengers for the way that the Draugar lunge out. There's a fantastic panel of Ayala doing that in that comic.

RebelVampire

now im just picturing baldur glaring through a window, watching them to say with his eyes you better not actually hang that

AndreaRosales

Gods, I just love the image of Baldur death glaring the mistletoe away.

annemagnew

it's coming off as passive-aggressive, but he was trying to be polite and accommodating (and okay maybe a little passive-aggressive)

AndreaRosales

Mistletoe? More like mistle-don't!

MathTans

Miss-letoe.

annemagnew

baldur: i'm the god-king of the universe, not a tyrant

(some elf or whatever: can we establish a democracy then baldur: how did you get in my castle)

AndreaRosales

Fun fact! All 3 of us creators are in the most recent page of 9T! We're all in the dance club together!

MathTans

The two ravens, there's no connection to Sailor Mars, is there?

DracoPlato

awwww that's awesome

RebelVampire

ah thats cute. the more i look at that bg the more i can see how much fun stuff went into it

MathTans

Andrea: That's, like, the best easter egg. I was too focussed on He-man.

AndreaRosales

Teamwork makes the dream work!

Backgrounds can be super fun!

annemagnew

@MathTans the two ravens are Huginn and Munnin, Odin's ravens from the mythology

AndreaRosales

This isn't the first time Anne's been in the comic!

annemagnew

They're patterned here off of Pied Ravens, which were native to the Faroe Islands before they went extinct. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_raven

MathTans

@annemagnew Ok, cool, I suspected a mythology link was dominent but suddenly thought I'd check.

annemagnew

#DeadStuff

Fun Fact! Everything and everyone important in this story has been dead, is dead, or will be dead at some point

AndreaRosales

That's Anne in the front seat in front of Wanda on the bus!

@annemagnew true! my hand is dead from drawing so much!

MathTans

Wanda: "What are you writing?" Anne: "Uhhhh...."

AndreaRosales

it's also undead and keeps returning to life

MathTans

Also, that panel had the "she knows me" look that I caught and liked.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Towards the end of the first chapter, Wanda and Baldur find themselves attacked by Draugr. It later becomes apparent that these Draugr are being controlled. Who do you think is controlling the Draugr to attack Wanda? What are their end goals and do they have anything to do with the current peril the world is supposedly in?

AndreaRosales

Wanda skips cardio day.. yet she runs a lot?

MathTans

Oh yeah, crystal ball person who's likely Norse that I don't know.

The goal is presumably not to perfect reviving the undead in order to restore a family back to life.

AndreaRosales

Fun fact! That's Chris and I getting dinner at the restaurant where Wanda and Sari are!

JudgementScythe

That's definitely a thing that we get into over the next chapters. Chapter 3 is currently pretty big. Anne and I are reworking parts of the script to really fine tune it but yeah. The end of chapter 2 and chapter 3 definitely hit on that front

MathTans

But yeah, here's the thing... if he's (gender guessing there) testing Wanda, is it possible that he'd end up killing her in the process? Would that just mean Odin revives again at some later date? Is it even possible that this did happen before, person was tested and failed and Wanda's the latest in a long line of reincarnations?

(I'm just spitballing here, no need to feel you have to answer.)

RebelVampire

@JudgementScythe looking forward to it being addressed soon then.

MathTans

And if it's not a matter of testing, what's the grudge?

RebelVampire

i feel like if there were a long line of reincarnations, thatd be sad. so many ppl whose worlds were rocked cause baldur hunted them down O_O

MathTans

(Maybe it's back to the mistletoe thing.)

Yeah, though maybe Baldur didn't find the others in time or something.

AndreaRosales

Fun fact! This page's color scheme was heavily inspired by the cinematography in John Wick.

MathTans

Oh, speaking of colours, is there a particular reason why some pages get coloured? Or simply a time thing?

JudgementScythe

We wanted to set apart magic from the real world. When the magic is on...sort of Wizard of Ozzy

annemagnew

It was born out of timing, but think of the color as akin to an FMV in an old video game as well.

AndreaRosales

Wizard of Ozzy sans the eating of Huginn and Muginn

MathTans

snaps fingers Gotcha. Interesting.

FMV?

annemagnew

Whe we meet a new character, something very important happens, or it's magic time, we switch to color.

Full Motion Video

AndreaRosales

Yep!

MathTans

Ahhhh. (Stop... Magic Time! Dun deedundundundun...)

RebelVampire

oh that makes sense for the color vs. B&W thing

AndreaRosales

Hehehehe.. nice! @MathTans

RebelVampire

i really admire the city sho4

the city shot

MathTans

^.^ Indeed. Apparently there's a lot going on in backgrounds too.

RebelVampire

my cat decided to jump on the keyboard in that moment

annemagnew

I love your cat

JudgementScythe

It's one of the things I love. Too many artists ignore the background

Like I can't name the amount of comics I've read or been pitched that had no detail. Comics need detail

annemagnew

Andrea never skimps on the details :)

AndreaRosales

Thanks! Detail drives me crazy, but once I start getting into it, I REALLY get into it.

JudgementScythe

And there are a lot of people who ignore that element

AndreaRosales

OH MY GOOOOOOOD DO I TRY

I TRYYY ALL THE TIME

MathTans

One thing I've noticed a couple times, placement of words balloons doesn't quite flow... like, I'll read one, and then the next one I read I'll realize for context should have come first. It doesn't happen that often, and it might just be me not deciphering heights properly, but thought I'd mention it on the side.

AndreaRosales

Here's an early concept painty of Wanda! March 2015!

MathTans

In your institution?

AndreaRosales

@MathTans Yes, in my institution

I'm so happy I got to throw He-man Hey YAYAYAYA in there

Originally, Anne and I had talked about having Wanda and Sari go to karaoke.

and I wanted Wanda to sing that

MathTans

Heh. I used that meme myself once, kinda. I can't do backgrounds though, I can barely draw characters. So, mad props.

AndreaRosales

Like the joke would be that that was the big Euro-pop jam

DracoPlato

Ah yeah Math I had that same issue

with the speech bubbles

a lot of times i felt like i'd missed a page or I was somehow reading it wrong, the dialogue was often really confusing

MathTans

It happened more in the early pages, I feel.

Celes, the Sun of the Universe

@AndreaRosales that looks amazing!! (both the painting and the comic)

DracoPlato

yeah definitely more earlier on

JudgementScythe

speech bubbles are hard. You can see it took a while to get used to. It's one of the reasons it drives me crazy that letterers are so underpaid

AndreaRosales

Sketchbooks on my desk at my old apt./studio space!

JudgementScythe

same with colorists

MathTans

Fair.

AndreaRosales

Ahhh!! Thank you, @Celes, the Sun of the Universe !! I'm barely figuring out digital painting!

I've never taken a painting class in my life!

I'm wingin' it.

DracoPlato

ah I guess, generally it's good just to find the line of eye movement with them when reading

AndreaRosales

I studied graphic design and minored in animation in college.

Graphic design is my passion.

(actually no, comics arting is)

DracoPlato

like you should have the bubble you want read first higher than the next one

AndreaRosales

Lettering is HARD.

MathTans

Yeah. Though sometimes it was higher and yet my brain still tracked right to left.

JudgementScythe

like colors and lettering are incredibly difficult. And yet industry standards are like under $30 a page for colors on an indy book.

AndreaRosales

@JudgementScythe was really on my case about it at first.

DracoPlato

yeah same

AndreaRosales

He helped me get so much better at it

Coloring is super hard too.

MathTans

It's all about improving.

AndreaRosales

I've got MAD respect for colorists too.

I thumbnail, pencil, ink, shade, color, letter and do all graphic design/social media art for Nine Twilights.

JudgementScythe

and that's one of the things I love about the book. Look at page 1 and the latest. You can tell it's the same artist, but it's so good to see the growth she's gone through since the start

AndreaRosales

It can be a lot. Luckily, @annemagnew and @JudgementScythe are super great to work with. They're always looking for ways for making things easier for me.

MathTans

Much like the protagonist? ^.-

AndreaRosales

Oooh

I'll post page 1 and the most recent page!

Celes, the Sun of the Universe

@AndreaRosales you're welcome <3

MathTans

The website, also, good job on that. It even sparkles over the links. O.o

Sometimes it's the little things.

JudgementScythe

Yeah there are some things I really want to do with it to make it a little easier to update. But I'm happy with how it came out.

DracoPlato

oh with the website I had a lot of difficulty reading on there. Your Archive isn't up to date, and the clicking the image to go to the next page stopped working around where the archive left off, and your next arrow is at the top of the page and not the bottom, which makes me have to scroll back up to go to the next page which is super annoying

and it'd be super helpful if clicking the arrow keys would go to the next page and previous

i think i have a code for it if you want

JudgementScythe

Those are exactly the updates I want to make

DracoPlato

yeah I think it super needs it cause it was almost unreadable

AndreaRosales

Hey thanks @DracoPlato ! That's our next big project. Making the site easier to navigate.

JudgementScythe

well. It's also set up to click on the page takes you to the next page. But yeah currently there are nice things but boy howdy do I want to fix a lot of that stuff

RebelVampire

@AndreaRosales yeah comparing the pages you can definitely see so much growth in the art, and that's just super great~!

DracoPlato

yeah we were clicking the pages but that stopped working after awhile

MathTans

Really? Huh. I guess I only clicked on 'Next', so I didn't see a problem.

Though the scrolling back up for the next is something that could be amended.

JudgementScythe

oh I'll have to go back through and make sure all that is fixed up this weekend.

DracoPlato

yeah would love a next arrow button on the bottom of the page or the side

http://www.smackjeeves.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15038

Oh i think this is it for the keyboard arrows

AndreaRosales

Oh gosh... thank you so much @RebelVampire ! I'm melting! I really push myself a LOT to get better and better with each page. Do let me know if there's things that I can work on that improve the readability of action, backgrounds, etc.

AndreaRosales

Behind the scenes look! I ink my pages on my cintiq whilst jamming to Star Wars OST, or some other random video game OST...

MathTans

The amount of extra detail in those pages is crazy. Like night and day. Which... is almost a pun? Meh.

AndreaRosales

Awww.. I'm so proud! @MathTans

RebelVampire

@AndreaRosales i think math and draco both pointed out the most major issue already with the speech bubble flow. otherwise i think youre on the right track.

MathTans

Also, kudos/props for consistency in that first year and everything. That can be tricky.

Like, in terms of updates.

DracoPlato

yis~!

AndreaRosales

We have these super cute buttons of Baldur, pouty Wanda, Sari and Zora we sell at conventions! They're my fave.

MathTans

Those are cool.

AndreaRosales

Thanks so much for the advice, @RebelVampire !! That is so super helpful!

I was super worried about posting consistency

it's probably one of the biggest reasons why I was reluctant at first to join the team. I didn't feel confident that I could keep up.

MathTans

It'll be neat to see where things go!

AndreaRosales

I'm super glad that I was able to make it work, even when I got super sick this past winter/spring.

JudgementScythe

Yeah we didn't miss an update. Then illness and other things ate our backlog which is why we've switched to wednesdays and are taking a little time off to keep things from completely overwhelming her

AndreaRosales

I had to get surgery this past April. It was no bueno. I'm much better now though.

MathTans

It's all good. Make sure to stay healthy. Whoa, surgery even. O.o

All the best going forwards.

RebelVampire

glad to hear youre doing better~!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Andrea Rosales, Anne Mortensen-Agnew, and Chris Hansbrough, as well, for volunteering Nine Twilights for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support the team’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at [email protected].

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on The Changeling’s Sister by yondoloki. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (September 21st) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/The-Changelings-Sister

#comics #webcomics #indiecomics #ctparchive #comic tea party #comicteaparty #ctp #start faire #startfaire #comic chat #comic discussion #bookclub #comic bookclub #nine twilights #andrea rosales #anne mortensen-agnew #chris hansbrough

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fukasenanairo · 8 years ago

Text

Some thoughts on YP’s official translation and possible explanations

This post attempts to address a few complaints on the official manga release by Yen Press, and why I believe YP’s work is an insufficiently-edited take that actually tries to adhere to the original as closely as possible.

You might have seen me around, but I used to do some minor translations for this fandom. It is not to an extent as some of the more dedicated translators, and I am under no illusion that I am an authority in anything BSD-related. However, I can offer my two cents in a time where everyone is confused, enraged and/or anxious about the official translations and what may come next.

Now first of all, opinions are divided on the quality of the official translation. Some think it’s the most horrible thing since gacha games, others like it because it’s funny and quirky, the rest couldn’t care less or don’t want to comment in fear of sparking an all-out war. Personally, I believe the translator’s choices backfired on him somewhat, but it is by no means as bad as everyone seems to be saying.

A note on the translator: I will not reveal his name, but a quick search told me he has quite a reputation. To my knowledge, he has worked in the translation business for roughly 9-10 years, and has done translations for games and light novels including Kagepro and Nier: Automata. This is not to say he cannot make mistakes, but rather you should be very careful before you criticize him.

As for the list of complaints I see the most often (if I missed something, feel free to comment and I will try to address you personally).

1. The translation sucks!

2. Why do I need to break out a thesaurus every time I try to understand something?

3. Why does Dazai talk like ______?

4. For that matter, why do I want to punch a wall every time they say something?

5. That’s not what ____ means in the original Japanese!

6. Why do fan translations have them talk normally and the official does that?

7. What should I do if the translation is so headache-inducing and I want to introduce BSD to my friends?

8. But what if I want to support the series and can’t stand the official translation?

1. The translation sucks!

This is the complaint I see most often, and the one that is the most puzzling. To ‘suck’, a translation needs to be 1) inaccurate or 2) did not portray the original meaning. While YP’s work does make me feel iffy because they try to purple prose it up, I cannot say it’s wrong. The most I can say that it’s weird and needlessly complicated, and could have used an editor. This is the only complaint I have against Yen Press, and that does not make them bad.

Now if you hate the translation because it doesn’t click with you, then that’s your thing. To be honest, I don’t like the official translation either, but I don’t necessarily have to read it, and neither do you. Other translators exist. Japanese-learning resources exist.

2. Why do I need to break out a thesaurus every time I try to understand something?

That is a very good question, one that a lot of Japanese fans would like to ask as well. Let me tell you about the first time I sought out the raws for this manga, after I read chapter 29 (the latest chapter at the time). I had no clue what game they were playing. The authors go out of their way to use difficult, even outdated, kanji in a medium that’s supposed to be easier to read. Here is a list someone compiled:

Some characters have noticeable quirks (Akutagawa has his infamous ‘yatsugare’, and if you read EGS, you’ll have seen them once complain that “No one talks like Kouyou in the 21st century”.) Is it annoying? Do you just groan at some of those ridiculous words no one uses in the modern age? I can assure you, on the other side of the world, someone is feeling just the same way about the original.

3. Why does Dazai talk like ______?

Dazai’s speech is notably...strange. To be honest, I don’t know why he got hit the worst with the ye olde speech syndrome. However, there is a question from this 2014 interview that would put his speech in more perspective.

Interviewer: What is the world view you’re mostly going for?

Asagiri-sensei: “Stylish Taishou”. The stage is the modern age, but I thought it would be an interesting remix to combine the air of the authors, who lived in the Taishou era, with the stylish atmosphere of the modern age, using old-fashioned expressions and difficult kanji.

So if you think this Dazai is talking like someone straight out of a Victorian era novel, congratulations! The translator did his job. Taishou, from around 1912-1926, is marked by rapid Westernization, a continuation of the movement Fukuzawa Yukichi advocated at the end of the Meiji era. This is the period where a lot of Japanese authors started reading Western works like Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka or Emile Zola’s works, and consequently influenced by them. We do have a few authors (Mori Ougai, Natsume Souseki etc.) who were active around the Meiji (reform) era and some (Dazai Osamu, Nakahara Chuuya, Nakajima Atsushi etc.) who were mostly around Shouwa (militarist) era, but generally the atmosphere should be Taishou, the age of modernization and Westernization. I hope it adds to your enjoyment when you look back at the translation, official or otherwise.

4. For that matter, why do I want to punch a wall every time they say something?

Pretension. The text is unbearably pretentious – is what I thought. The wording is needlessly complicated. However, there is an example I usually use to explain this.

The word YP used to describe Dazai’s ability is “Annuls any ability he touches”. I needed to throw something when I saw that, because you can use “Nullify” and achieve the same effect.

And then I read the original. It’s sprinkled with kanji no one would see in anything they usually read. And I thought, isn’t the effect the same? The words mean the same. 珈琲 means コーヒー means ‘coffee’. 凡百 can be read as あらゆる means ‘everything’. But tell me, which would you prefer to read? And which do you think is in the original?

(By the way, the 凡百/あらゆる appears in the Japanese text of Yumeno Kyuusaku’s Dogra Magra. I remember seeing 珈琲 in Odasaku’s works. They’re all present in the actual authors’ works.)

So the YP translation uses SAT words the same way the original would use words you see in old novels and N1 exams. It pisses people off, of course. I didn’t read manga for a mental exercise. However, we can agree that for Bungou Stray Dogs, which tries to achieve a scholarly effect because of its characters, this is nothing unusual and even part of its charm. Afford it the same amount of concentration as you would a novel, and if you cannot, refer to the fan translation.

5. That’s not what ____ means in the original Japanese!

First, I’d like you to have a sufficient knowledge of Japanese to understand exactly what it means in the original before you make such a claim. If you do, feel free to comment on something you think is wrong. I’ll listen you out and amend my post as needed.

That aside, when I hear this, the worst offender is usually Dazai’s weird way of referring to Atsushi as ‘lad’. While weird, it is not incorrect. ‘Lad’ is an informal way to refer to a young man. Dazai’s speech is largely boyish and informal. I can question the translator’s choice and poor editing, but I will not say that’s not what it means. You may not like it, but that’s what the fan version is for.

6. Why do fan translations have them talk normally and the official does that?

As you can see, translators take plenty of liberties. On one hand you have fan translations who either work on a tight schedule or seek to make the text easy to understand, on the other you have the official that tries to keep the air of the work to varying degrees of success. Think of it as two ways to enjoy the work.

7. What should I do if the translation is so headache-inducing and I want to introduce BSD to my friends?

The anime, thankfully, is a faithful adaptation of the original work with wonderful voice acting and easy to digest subtitles. The fan scanlations are speedy, high-quality, and supported by most of the fandom. Lastly, the plot is interesting, and the characters are colorful. Give your friends a heads-up about the official translation – “the wording takes some getting used to” – and help them understand why it is the way it is, if you must.

8. But what if I want to support the series and can’t stand the official translation?

Because the fandom has grown over the years, there is a huge collection of official merchandise in many countries. If buying Japanese books are not an option, keychains, acrylic stands, figures etc. do not require Japanese knowledge and do support the original author. I especially recommend the official artbook – I do not regret a single cent I spent to buy it. The paper quality is top-notch, the art is stellar, and the comments (if you can read them) are a treat.

You should, as always, give feedback if you think it will prevent newcomers from reading BSD. Tell YP that while you understand why they made the choices they did, some of the word choices will turn people off, and offer some corrections as examples. People listen to you if you understand both sides of the argument and offer constructive efforts. Even if you don’t understand why, ask! With how much YP has done to reply to complaints, I’m sure they will not mind explaining.

However, I will advise against telling people not to buy the official or calling YP bad while not knowing why they decided to translate it like it is. Tell people why you do not like it, warn them that liking it is an acquired taste because of the reasons above, but let them read and come to their own conclusions.

9. Conclusion

I believe the BSD fandom is really lucky. Despite its initial difficulties, Japanese fans have stuck with its unique way of portraying the manga’s atmosphere. The English fans have dedicated translators who love the series so much they try to translate every available material.

The official translation may not be easy on the eyes, but it offers another perspective to the series many did not know about before. Like it or hate it, I believe you can learn to tolerate it. You can learn advanced/hard to understand words (you’ll use some of them in the SAT for the kids who are taking it) and just have an entirely different experience. While I was searching for the list of outdated kanji, I found a question where someone asked “Where can I find manga with interesting advanced kanji like Bungou Stray Dogs?” I think it’s a great attitude to take in regard to the translation as well.

And finally, Yen Press listens. The “Chuoya” thing was an honest mistake they fixed. They listened to complaints and toned down the pretension in volume 2. Rather than digging for faults and bemoan your ill fortune, I hope that you can believe in the winds this series is riding on, and wish the best for it.

#I literally just came back to word vomit and get out #to be fair I wanted to get this off my chest #I know I have another ask and this will only invite hate but sighs at least I said something #bungou stray dogs #I'll be happy if this helps change the mind of some people who are iffy about the TL

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