#REALLY THOUGH ITS INTERESTING TO THINK ABOUT because miko specifically is a character who's so centered around Adulthood and Strength

[harukapologist]

how come I've never seen anyone talk about the background noises when Mikoto is calling his mom in Double..... .. (tbf Double release was around the time I got really hyperfixated on Milgram so there may have been talks about it that I just didn't see because I wasn't well-versed in mil yet)

They sound like children's laughter to me... really peculiar

I'm going to make a post about them sometime. possibly. maybe

[trinketprince]

All the Youkaimatsus so far

JExcept sets that have all of them as the same youkais (Nekomata, Tanuki and the various Kitsune sets from Tabimatsu)

Pinup Poster from the Osomatsu Character Book #6 (July 2016)

A classic. The very first iteration of Youkaimatsu. Kind of hard to find since it was a bonus poster from the character book, so unless you were actively looking for the book, you wouldn’t find this.

Osomatsu - Kitsune (unknown how many tails he has but is often depicted in fan artworks as 6 or 9, 9 meaning strongest/wisest a kitsune has been, Spirit Fox)

Karamatsu - Karasu-Tengu (pun on Kara, Bird Man)

Choromatsu - Dodomeki (usually a woman cursed with long arms littered with many bird eyes because of greed. Most popular one imo)

Ichimatsu + ESP Nyanko - Nekomata (Two-tailed cat, legend says that cats who live longer than a 100 years gain a second tail)

Jyushimatsu - Rokurobi (available in two flavors. Long Neck and Floating Head. He is the former. Theorized to not actually be a youkai but created for entertainment. Also used as a literary device for a wandering soul.)

Todomatsu - Yukki Onna (Also a joke on Todo being scared stiff. Yuki Onna pull tricks on humans that usually end on the person’s death via cold. Has a harsh and soft side)

Youkai Units from The Great Youkai War event from Hesokuri Wars (November 2016)

Most popular Youkaimatsu set, this baby could get milked for miles, but for some reason isn’t. Has a lot of variants (Awakened, Darkness, Snow, Sakura and Hyakki Yagyou) and connected to a lot of other sets: Denki Mystery, Colorless Overalls, Mononoke and a bunch of others. She is the top DOGG set.

Osomatsu - Shuten-Douji (Oni Leader with a penchance for Sake, literally carrying a big ass bottle of it on his back, since he is the leader of the sextuplets and the one seen drinking beer the most)

Karamatsu - Aoandon (Summoned after 100 supernatural stories are told. Originated from the blue (ao) paper lanterns (andon) that were sometimes used to give a chilling atmosphere)

Choromatsu - Daitengu (Great Tengu, Tengus were theorized to be ascended souls, but also has its origins in a Dog Beast that looked like a comet. For some reason Dog Beast turned into Bird Man. The bird man’s beak is often anthropomorphized into long noses. Tells humanity to behave by throwing invisible stones at them)

Ichimatsu - Nine-tailed Kitsune (So wise. So powerful)

Jyushimatsu - Inugami (Dog God that possesses people)

Todomatsu - Bake-Danuki (also known as tanuki, mischievous spirits, mostly known in pop culture for their BIG FAT NUTS)

Dayon is a miko, a shrine maiden. Hatabou is an Onmyoji, an exorcist, Dekapan is a kannushi, a shrine priest. Totoko and Iyami are regular civillians

Youkai Hyakki Yagyou merchandise from Animate Girls Festival (September 2017)

One of the lesser known sets, considering that it’s just designs for a line of merch but their designs are so good? Why don’t people use these designs more often.

Osomatsu - Karasu-Tengu

Karamatsu - Nine-tailed fox

Choromatsu - Shuten-Douji (A possible reference to Season 1 Episode 2 where he gets the most drunk?)

Ichimatsu - Mizuchi (Legendary Water Serpent/Dragon)

Jyushimatsu - Kamaitachi (Beast that rides on dust devils. Cuts people using it’s scythe-like nails. The wounds are sharp but painless)

Todomatsu - Ungaikyou (A haunted mirror that can be used to trap spirits. The spirits in the ungaikyou can manipulate the reflection shown on it’s reflection.)

Kitsune Servant Set from Tabimatsu (September 2017)

Ok I know I said I wouldn’t cover the Kitsune sets from Tabimatsu since there are like 5 different Kitsune sets, but this one is noteworthy cause they have secondary Youkai traits other than the regular kitsune traits.

Osomatsu - Oni’s horns

Karamatsu - Tengu’s wings

Choromatsu - Orochi around his neck

Ichimatsu - True Kitsune (Or Nekomata’s paw?)

Jyushimatsu - Wanyudo (Flaming Wheel)

Todomatsu - I don’t know, but there’s something around his neck?

Japanese Youkai set from Shimamatsu (January 2018)

Shimamatsu was such a good game, what a shame it ended so soon. The 3D models were so cute. Edit: The two designs are from before and after evolution!

Osomatsu - Enma-san (A wrathful god in charge of judging souls in the afterlife. Resides over hell)

Karamatsu - Yamato no Orochi (Eight headed and Eight-tailed serpent/dragon)

Choromatsu - Kamaitachi (wields an actual scythe)

Ichimatsu - Youkai Catman or a Bakaneko (Catboy, furry)

Jyushimatsu - Yobuko (lives in the mountains, repeats whatevers shouted into the mountain, explains the phenomemon of Echos)

Todomatsu - Yuki Otoko (Snowman, a Yuki Onna basically)

“Inn” Osoma and Choroe from Osomatsu Season 2 Episode 17

A BUNCH OF PEOPLE REMINDED ME AND HOW COULD I FORGET THE BEST YOUKAI EVER. Osoma baby,,,, I’m so sorry..... Srsly, this skit was so good, I hope they make more skits like this where they make entirely new characters out of the framework of the sextuplets.

Osoma - A Zashiki-warashi, child spirits who live in store rooms or extra rooms, they died buried in their homes. Pranksters but meeting one is said to bring good fortunes to families. Osoma gets crossovered a lot with the other Youkai sets in JP fanart. A popular pairing is Dodomeki Chorosuke (from Denki Mystery) and Osoma also Kitsune Osomatsu (from the poster) and Osoma.

Choroe - Not necessarily a youkai, in fact in the episode she’s presented as just a regular human. But is theorized often to be a Yama-uba. An old woman banished to the mountains. She provides shelter to weary travelers (in the myth it’s just a humble shelter but you know. an inn is also considered a shelter) before eating them. In one story she eats the recently birthed baby of a woman who had to give birth in the mountains. 

Mononoke from Hesokuri Wars (May 2019)

Technically they are all the same type of being, Mononoke, but they look different from each other. Mononoke can posses individuals and cause suffereing and even death. And technically they aren’t Youkais but Onryos, vengeful spirits. But Onryos can also be used to refer to youkais and truthfully I just wanna include this set cause their designs are so cool looking. This set’s attacks contain glimpses of units of other sets. 

Osomatsu - Bear themed

Karamatsu - Wolf themed

Choromatsu - Rooster/Chicken themed

Ichimatsu - Spider

Jyushimatsu - Boar

Todomatsu - Bull or Ox

Edo Rock The Great Youkai Harvest Festival from Tabimatsu (October 2019)

This set is interesting cause rather than youkai alone, they are also musicians. This set also has another set like Hesokuri called The Great Youkai NEET which is basically the awakened versions, properly showcasing more of the youkai traits.

Osomatsu - Shuten-Douji (Again, we need to stage an intervention for you damn)

Karamatsu - Karasu-Tengu (Again)

Choromatsu - Mizuchi (actually riding said serpent)

Ichimatsu - Black Kitsune (Hot Topic, Goth version)

Jyushimatsu - Frog. Just. Frog. (could be a reference to the legend of Jiraiya, the ninja who could shapeshift into a frog/ride big frogs. His mouth is cover just like a ninja is too.)

Todomatsu - Kamaitachi (could be a reference to season 1 where Todomatsu wields a scythe)

Iyami - Oni (not sure if he’s any particular oni but he does have the horns and metal club)

Atsushi - Ibaraki-Douji? (White hair and singular horn, most imporant servant of Shuten-Douji)

Promo Merch from Sega Cafe collab (September 2020)

Edit: Thank you @zenryokubatankyu for notifying me! Another set of promo youkais! You can get them by random by ordering a drink or meal at the now-defunct Sega x Osomatsu collab cafe. And the return of F6? Damn I haven’t seen you since Season 2!

Osomatsu - Oni

Karamatsu - I’m not exactly sure but he seems like a Mizuchi, a water serpent/dragon. He also could be another legendary serpent/dragon though.

Choromatsu - Kappa

Ichimatsu + ESP Nyanko - Karasu-Tengu

Jyushimatsu - I’m not sure, at first i thought it might be a crab youkai judging from the legs, but upon closer inspection he has spider webs on his robes, so they may be spider legs instead. Could be a Jorogumo, a youkai that wields fire breathing spiders with it’s spider legs

Todomatsu - Bakaneko (I think? The veil could be the napkin a bakaneko puts on it’s head)

Ayakashi Sextuplet’s Retro Halloween Cafe merch from Web Kuji (October 2020)

Thank you @gradelstuff​ for telling me about this! Ayakashi are Youkai that appear above nearby bodies of water. Although the youkais they’re dressed up as (or are?) aren’t really what you would call ayakashi? Although it’s cafe themed, it isn’t actually from a cafe collaboration. These designs are merchandise meant to be won through lottery. So if say you really love Kara and Choro’s designs (I do), then tough luck buddy!

Osomatsu - Oni

Karamatsu - Now you may think he’s Dodomeki since he’s covered with eyes, but turns out there are two other eye-relateed youkai! Mokumokuren is a youkai phenomenon where eyes appear from torn paper walls and tatami floors, initially i thought this was it given the checkered pattern he was wearing. But he might actually be a Hyakume, a youkai covered head to toe in yellow eyes specifically. Underneath those eyes is a body of flesh roughly in the shape of a man. This Youkai isn’t particularly malicious, only detaching one of it’s many eyes to follow you and survey you for criminal activiy. He might also be a BackBeard, a youkai allegedly from the US, err that would make him a cryptid I guess? A Backbeard is often characterized as a shadow with a Yellow eye with a red iris in the center. Note: Backbeard’s true origins are not known as there doesn’t seem to be any cryprid called a Backbeard, it first entered the Japanese public eye as an antogonist in the show Gegege no Kitaro. Although ever since then this “yokai” has appeared in other media and games in Japan.

Choromatsu - He isn’t exactly dressed as it (only themed as it) but the youkai he represents is the one he’s holding, a Kasa-obake, One of my favorite youkais and it’s literally iconic. Thought to be a Tsukomogami, an object that gains a spirit after it turns 100 years old.

Ichimatsu - Edit: I’m not sure but he might be a Kuchisake-Onna. In the description attached to his teaser, it makes mention of specifically his wide smile, his dos dagger and his beautiful shirt. A kuchisake onna is a yokai that wanders in the street covering her face with a mask (skull mask for ichi) and a sharp object (his dos dagger). TW GORE DESCRIPTION: She asks you if you think she’s attractive and depending on your answer she muders you with her scissors, plunging it into you OR she takes off her mask showing her wide smile, her mouth slit at the corners to her ears and asks “how about now?” and depending on your reaction she cuts you in half with her sharp object OR she slits the corners of your mouth to look like hers. END DESCRIPTION. Ichi has the mask, sharp object, wide smile and “attractiveness”. Obviously it would be inappropriate to portray ichi in the same fashion as the kuchisake onna so he was probably given the internal organ tattoos to represent the gory yokai. (internal organs usually = gore in japan). This is speculah and he might be another youkai but this is all i can think of rn.

Jyushimatsu - sailor themed Jiangshi. Jiangshi are basically Zombies originally from Chinese culture. They hop around, and crave for life force. this little jyushimatsu has taken to tomato juice instead. (Bonus: the zombie that osomatsu is in the zombie set in hesokuri wars is also a Jiangshi)

Todomatsu - Kitsune (sly fox)

“The Night Path” Youkai from Osomatsu-san Season 3 Episode 6 (November 2020)

The latest and what sparked me to make this post tbh. This set reuses the Rokurobi design from the very first Youkaimatsu iteration! Full circle yo! I like to think of this set as an addition to the original youkaimatsu, since they’re both from the primary sources.

Jyushimatsu - Rokurobi (Again)

Totoko - Amabie (mermaid with three legs? prophesized about either good harvest or an epidemic, trivia: “Amabie” trended when Covid 19 hit the world)

Hatabou - Azukiarai (a youkai that originated from the sound of something like beans being washed near a river, anyone who comes near will fall into the river)

Dayon - Nopperabou (Faceless spirits that take the form of humans. They are harmless usually, they just scare humans)

Dekapan - Kappa (Mischievous River spirits)

That should be all of them! 

Recap: 

Osomatsu has been a Kitsune, Shuten-Douji (twice), Karasu-Tengu, Enma-san and an Oni

Karamatsu has been a Karasu-Tengu (twice), Aoandon, Kitsune, Yamato no Orochi and a Mizuchi (?)

Choromatsu has been a Dodomeki, Daitengu, Shuten-Douji, Kamaitachi, Mizuki and a Kappa (No repeats!)

Ichimatsu has been a Nekomata, Kitsune (twice), Mizuchi, Bakaneko and a Karasu-Tengu

Jyushimatsu has been a Rokurobi (twice-ish), Inugami, Kamaitachi, Yobuko, a Frog from Jiraiya and a Jorogumo (?)

Todomatsu has been a Yuki Onna (twice), Bake-danuki, Ungaikyou, Kamaitachi and a Bakaneko

You can definitely see a trend (lmao), I’m looking forward to more Youkaimatsus from Osomatsu-san!

bonus:

Osomatsu-san cameo from Yokai Watch!!!

[evilisk]

My Favorite Touhou Characters circa 2019

aka Here’s who I voted for this year’s popularity poll would have voted for if the Touhou Popularity Poll actually happened at the beginning of this year when I thought it was going to

= = =

Here are my 7 character picks:

Seiga Kaku

Miko Toyosatomimino

Yoshika Miyako *new*

Okina Matara

Saki Kurokoma *new*

Mamizou Futatsuiwa

Yatsuhashi Tsukumo *new*

Explanations for Each Pick:

Seiga: Surprise surprise, the person with a Seiga avatar is a Seiga stan (is that how you use that word?). Seriously though, I don’t have time to get into it now, but I genuinely love Blue Chinese Necromancer. 

Miko: Still the best Stage 6 boss in the series tbh. The only bad thing you can say about her is that her TD theme is kinda boring, but HM fixes that with its rendition of True Administrator. Otherwise, she’s leader of the best faction (Taoists), has the best extended family (Kokoro, Okina, Saki), has the coolest spellcards and design etc.

Yoshika: It's shocking but yeah, I've never voted for Yoshika until now. Too many characters, not enough voting slots tbh. There's always been one revolving spot in my picks, it just so happens that Yoshika gets her turn this year (just as Futo got hers last year). Jiang-shi are cool yo

Okina: Last time, I voted Okina out of hype for her lore (being a Sage of Gensokyo on par with Kasen and Yukari) but this year, I’m voting for her because I now legit enjoy her character. ZUN revealing that Okina’s intended as a powerful god of the disabled and other discriminated is super cool (so is having her manhandle dumb Hell Gremlin in VFiS)

Saki: Wily Beast and Weakest Creature ended up having the most fun cast in a while, so choosing any character to rep them was hard. I couldn't decide between her, Kutaka and Yachie. Ended up deciding on Saki because a vote for Saki is a tertiary vote for the Taoists / Ten Desires (yeah, I like the Taoists / Ten Desires, sue me)

Mamizou: This is my second consecutive vote for the Tanuki (or it will be, once voting goes up). It’s amazing how much Forbidden Scrollery changed my opinion of Mamizou. She went from being one of my least favorite modern Touhou characters to “favorite Youkai character in the series”. She’s easily one of ZUN’s most well-realized characters, after Reimu, Marisa and Yukari.

Yatsuhashi: Last spot was pretty hard to pick. I ended up going with Yatsy because, dammit, the Tsukumo’s, especially Yatsy, don’t get enough appreciation! I feel like there’s so much missed potential with the Tsukumo’s. I mean, they’re were born because of / for a failed revolution. They’re literal Tools of Revolution. How can you not think up anything interesting with a starting point like that? smh, I really need to get into writing fanfic one of these days. But yeah, they’re getting a vote because the sisters have so much untapped potential.

= = =

 Runner Ups:

Kaguya: Labyrinth of Touhou has slowly been changing my mind on Kaguya. She's too useful, like an easier to use version of Patchouli with more support capabilities. (NOTE: After playing LOT2, where she’s horribly nerfed, I will not be voting for her)

Any other Wily Beast Character: I really think the entire cast of WBaWC is perfect and while I could easily pick Saki for the Miko Connection, you cannot force me to pick between any of the others. I love the entire case.

Benben or Raiko: Already explained my reasoning for voting the Tsukumo’s but I specifically went with Yatsuhashi since she really gets the rough of it. I’ve actually voted Raiko before, so I didn’t feel a pressing need to include her, though I also think her “Horismriver” arc gives her more than the two Tsukumo’s. Benben doesn’t have it as good as Raiko, but Benben isn’t called “not-Yatsuhashi” like Yatsy is called “not-Benben” so yeah, easy vote there.

Marisa: Who the hell doesn't love Marisa? One of these days, we really gotta push for Marisa to reach first place. It is a disgrace that Koishi's managed to overthrow Reimu at least once yet our Ordinary Human Magician has never gotten to do so.

Kasen: This one's shocking to me since, for as long as I've been voting, I've been dedicating one of those votes to the Wild and Horned Hermit herself. I’m still kind of in shock at the idea that Kasen might never appear in a canon work again (as a latecomer to this series, I’ve literally never not known a time before WaHH). The combo of WaHH’s meh ending with Okina becoming more active lead to me not voting Kasen.

And that’s that. I’m not sure I’ll have the same list if / when we actually have a Popularity Poll this year. Labyrinth of Touhou 2 really changed my view of a bunch of characters. 

Here’s a list of other characters I’ve voted / considered voting (more for my own reference than anything else)

List of Previously Voted Characters (By Number of Times I’ve Voted Them)

Kasen Ibaraki

Yuuka Kazami

Aya Shameimaru

Yumemi Okazaki

Tewi Inaba

Ringo

Nemuno Sakata

Futo Mononobeno

Reimu Hakurei

Shorlist of Characters I’ve Always Liked, But Never Got Around to Voting (Because 7 Characters Of A 150 Character Cast Is A Stupidly Small Amount)

Kaguya Houraisan *new*

Yachie Kicchou *new*

Kutaka Niwatari *new*

Hong Meiling

Youmu Konpaku

Kanako Yasaka

Parsee Mizuhashi

Tojiko Sogano

Raiko Horikawa

Benben Tsukumo

Yatsuhashi Tsukumo

Akyuu Hiedano

Kosuzu Motoori

Marisa Kirisame

Elly

[gascon-en-exil]

What's your favorite depictions of religion or religious characters in FE?

I think I’ve approached this topic from a character angle often enough between my series on FE’s faux-Catholicism and light magic and my post on Natasha, so let’s tackle this a little differently. Breaking it down by setting:

Archanea (+Ylisse, for whatever that’s worth)

Weakly and inconsistently developed, as is par for the course here. I get the impression that the original conception of magic in Fire Emblem was that it’s all some form of religion or spirituality, and while elements of that have persisted throughout the series it’s not really clear in Marth’s games that, for instance, the way someone like Merric perceives magical ability is in any way distinct from the way someone like Elice does. Why do the remakes make Wendell a sage but Boah a bishop especially when Wendell is decked out like a pope? Does it even matter when you can just reclass them back and forth? At least Gharnef’s Dark Pontifex title is pretty cool and manages to be so while playing up this confusion.

Ylisse is...ugh. Lissa is not a cleric in the religious sense as far as I can tell (a trait she inherits from Mist), Libra is all steadfast albeit generic devotion to Naga and tasteless trap jokes, Brady is almost purely comedy, and if there’s any theological element to the position of Exalt it escaped my notice. The only apparent organized religion in Awakening is Plegia’s Grimleal, which is just sad (although it does neatly explain the direction they took with Fates, come to think of it). 

Valentia

Really strong in Echoes, benefiting considerably from the colorful and variously fleshed-out personalities of the Priory characters. Following on from Archanea, I do appreciate that even in Gaiden the setting commits to depicting the game’s magical classes as segregated between the continent’s two faiths; you don’t fight mages or clerics in the main story, only the arcanists, cantors, and witches of the Duma Faithful. It helps better characterize the followers of both Mila and Duma according to their magical practices. We know, on the one hand, that the followers of Mila blend simple everyday piety and austerity with vaguely Catholic (Marian, specifically, i.e..devoted to the Blessed Mother) rituals that are implied to be normally more lavish than we get to see in-game, in keeping with the hedonism of the Zofian upper classes - and with Catholicism at its best, as far as I’m concerned. The Duma Faithful, meanwhile, are casually sexist and totally into cavorting with and eventually looking like monsters themselves, making it little wonder that lay Rigelians seem to be less engaged with their church than the Zofians are with theirs. As I mentioned previously, however, Tatiana is a problem. Despite being a worshiper of Duma (mentioned in supplementary material but I don’t ever believe in game?) she’s a saint just like Silque and Genny and doesn’t seem to be much interested in the severity or fanaticism of Duma’s followers at large. Maybe she’s just too distracted by Zeke’s dick....

Jugdral

Disjointed? That’s a good word for this one I find. Again there doesn’t seem to be an organized religion that covers the entire continent at the time the games are set, although the Edda church takes that role in the epilogue. Spirituality among the playable cast is subtle but varied, in part because Jugdralians are willing to deify not just the twelve dragons who empowered the holy bloodlines but also the Crusaders who received their blood. Claud’s a martyr figure, but for all his defining fatalism I still don’t find him very interesting, and then we’re never given sufficient context to determine what faith Safy and Tina and Coirpre/Charlot are even practicing. Maybe it’s the same as the Edda church - and who knows what that even means - or maybe it’s not. It’s telling how easy it is to overlook that August was allegedly defrocked for performing torture when there’s so little sense of what the church in Jugdral even encompasses. And why does Edain think that becoming a cleric will lead her to find her missing sister - do the clergy routinely perform missionary work? As with Ylisse it’s the dark religion that actually has its act together here.

Elibe

It’s taken a recent replay of Binding Blade for me to recall this, but the Elimine church plays a fairly significant background role in the events of that game. Across both games there are a plethora of Eliminian clergy from different countries and from all walks of life, and both piety and corruption take multiple forms in these two games. I’ve noted before that Kenneth is a particularly memorable one for me even though he’s a one-off boss; something about a bishop preaching atheism (or secular humanism in the form of worshiping Nergal, close enough) really stands out for the irony. There’s also the contrast between the lecherous but (mostly) heroic Saul and the greedy Eliminians who support the coup in Etruria and the alliance with Bern. Yeah, none of these guys are model clergymen, but it’s how they specifically fail in their vocations that matters (and anyway, it’s not as though we know for certain that the Eliminians have vows of chastity. They probably don’t.). The GBA games are also the only ones to distinguish between priests and monks, and although that’s mostly a mechanical distinction it’s not all that common among fantastical depictions of Catholicism. I assume Renault was a priest before he promoted, if he’s saying Mass and hearing confessions. What were the FE7 localizers thinking...eh.

Magvel

Not quite as competently handled as Elibe, which is something that may be said of Magvel worldbuilding in general. Again the main religion feels a little formless; it’s presumably based out of Rausten, but since all the game’s playable clergy come from different countries and none of them can support each other I don’t really know what to make of it. The most interesting bits I covered in my post on Natasha, mostly pertaining to her support with Knoll and how it frames the contrast between light and dark magic as the conflict between religion and science. Dark magic as an intellectual pursuit into forbidden knowledge is unique to the GBA games as elsewhere it’s framed as a competing religious presence, but seeing as Grado’s dark research figures heavily into the plot I can run with that angle. Riev needed more backstory though, for the insight into the operation of the Rausten church if nothing else.

Tellius

Begnion is culturally something of a mess, pulling from the Roman Republic, the medieval Church, 19th century imperialist Europe (mostly the Anglos and their obviously overcompensating empire), and probably also Japan’s deified emperors. Despite the overtly Catholic trappings of their clergy it’s therefore difficult to parse out just how I feel about the worshipers of Ashera. It doesn’t help at all that the primary examples of Begnion’s clergy we get are the senators, who are all various flavors of terrible people up to and including the prime minister who’s been orchestrating omnicide for the better part of two decades. Doubly so when the PoV character for much of these interactions is Ike, who hates anything related to rule by heredity because it comes attached to basic social etiquette. It’s also odd that the only other named clergy, playable or enemy, in Tellius are a pair of commoner priests with no status or influence whatsoever who just happen to fall in with what will eventually become two of the biggest armies on the continent. And also like in Magvel, Rhys and Laura never talk to each other outside of generic “supports”, so good luck trying to figure out what comparative theology in Tellius would even look like. The Radiant Dawn saint outfits are great, admittedly, as is Oliver’s theme though he himself is the epitome of a joke character - and a tasteless one at that, in line with all those tired jokes about pedophile Catholic priests.

Norshido

Why does Nohr not have a Catholic Church equivalent? Their dark mages double as their clergy apparently, not that we see any evidence of this among the playable ones. I don’t know enough about Buddhism or Shintoism to comment on Hoshido’s clergy, although I get that Azama is a comically terrible monk. I wonder what the cultural significance of great masters using lances while priestesses use bows is? From what I gather the former are more like Buddhist monks while the latter resemble Shinto mikos, but isn’t the naginata traditionally associated with women in Japanese society? I’m completely out of my element here...moving on.

Fódlan

Jumping the gun a bit, but there’s such a huge focus on the church in promotional material that I can’t help but think this’ll be one of the more thought-provoking ones, for better or worse. As quick as everyone’s been to vilify the church I still hope that the Adrestian route at least gives you the option to support it, or at least not make them wholly evil. Oh, and bishops are back, yay!

[comicteaparty]

August 16th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on August 16th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Raison d'Etre by Cloud Fourteen (Funari and Leigh).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing Raison d'Etre by Cloud Fourteen (Funari and Leigh)~! (http://raisondetrecomic.tumblr.com/) For those new or in need of a reminder, 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, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

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

snuffysam

my favorite scene is the scene where inada gives yukina the journals, but only on a second reading. "hey tante, can you help me research-" "what's that? you wanted my sister's diary? you wanted my big sister's deepest, darkest secrets? you wanted to learn the most intimate details of your mothers' lives? that's what you wanted?"

Funari

Mueheheh~ Yeah, we love putting in stuff like that. Seemingly innocent comment at first, but during a reread? BONUS!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

in the retrospect i can only suspect inada was saving them for blackmail O_O

Funari

Little siblings...they can be such brats ;P

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

lets see, lets see. i think my favorite scene is when yukina is in the shadow place because i really like the tension of shit hitting the fan, the visuals, and then the comedic end where yukina and rie just wind up in a pile.

Funari

Ah, yes. Chapter 5 was when Leigh started putting in her two cents more into the story. I don't recall who came up with the exact direction there BUT that was a good one. It kinda encompasses Raison's story style as a whole - can get serious but then it has its comedic moments just kinda "whoop!" right back

A roller coaster of emotions

snuffysam

i really like that comedic aspect too

like in the story being told about miko and sachiko rescuing nozomi

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm pretty bad for being able to figure out relationships unless they're spelled out in black and white myself. Even the big reveal of "Kaa-san", I don't remember how long it took until I clued in to there being two mothers.

snuffysam

i think "oh, she's their daughter" was the first thing i thought of, but the way the characters' talked threw me off

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

LOL. i guess thats fair though. not sure how much anime you watch cause if you dont watch anime, yeah, kaa-san would probably just go right over.

Funari

Leigh: The "rescuing Nozomi" story was one of the first stories I was asked to help with back in Part 1. I've looked forward to that scene finally playing out, and was not disappointed!(edited)

snuffysam

i like how japanese mom is kaa-san and french mom is maman lol(edited)

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

My favourite scene was actually pretty early on. It was when Kregor was going after Sachiko saying something to the effect of "this should be easy" only to have Miko disarm his dagger and get into a whole fight.

Funari

Leigh: Made life a little easier as far as trying to write for these idiots ;p(edited)

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

In a sense it helped set up his other flailed attempts.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

another scene that i really liked was when yukina learned about the ascendent and decided that perhaps she should stop hiding and all that. i feel that was portrayed in a powerful direct effect of reading the journal.

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

(Yes, I meant flailed not failed.)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

any scene with kregor is a classic because kregor is that right mix of overconfident and screw up

Funari

Poor Kregor~

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: I watch anime. I got the reference, I didn't put two and two together that Miko and Sachi were married.

Funari

Leigh: I'm working on a page with Kregor at this very moment. So he's not going anywhere soon!(edited)

snuffysam

it's the first thing we learn about them math!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Snuffy: I did think that was clever about the two language mothers.

I have the mind of a goldfish!

Rebel: Yeah, that whole ascendent thing was good. I liked the side story of her with her mother too.

snuffysam

"eh, i just sort of forgot about this canon f/f ship" - math, 2018

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

We were in the future though!

Funari

A little something from Maman, and a little something from Kaa-san ;p

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm used to seeing them younger and courting.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello!

snuffysam

hey sj!

Funari

Hello there :3

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

(I'll be a bit in-and-out with my 2 month old, btw.)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hey sj~!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I see you're one of the creative talents responsible for this comic, @Funari

Really nice efforts ya got here!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well the important part, math, is that you figured it out eventually and saw that those ship sails moved at full force.

Funari

Thank you :3 I created the universe and the basic plot and some of the cast. Leigh created the other half of the cast and has helped string the plot together a bit better since chapter 5 :3

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ah okies!

Always appreciate a good team effort.

Also was not expecting that four year timeskip

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i have to say the timeskip surprised me too. not that it was unwelcome, mind you, just something that made me go legasp

Funari

I don't think anyone was, according to folks over at the c14 server or anyone who's commented to us besides one friend lol

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

Funari

Ever since Leigh started contributing more, it made twists even more likely. Sometimes she'll suggest an idea and smirk at me from across the room and...oh boy.. xD

snuffysam

yeah i was figuring part 2 would begin with the gang immediately going to rescue them but nope

it was a cool twist!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol XD

AV-chan

Hi, just dropped by to join the Raison discussion party here Favorite scenes? I think it's mostly the ones with Miko and Sachiko especially when they were in their teens

Funari

Leigh: smirks

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Also just wanted to say this is a really good suit https://78.media.tumblr.com/ea04508234ff49e7d6b78458cef47714/tumblr_inline_nal653HGRk1r87x2y.png

Funari

Hey AV! :3

snuffysam

but yeah @AV-chan , i absolutely agree

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello AV!

snuffysam

seeing miko and sachiko interact as teens is just the best

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

welcome @AV-chan ~! thank you for coming!

AV-chan

Hiya everyone

snuffysam

they're so perfect together!

AV-chan

I know right, it's just so cute seeing them get together

Funari

Leigh: I do love a woman in uniform @Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

miko and sachiko have a really nice and fluffy relationship so seeing them together is a happy thing :3

Funari

Awwww

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Women in univerm are always so awesome

especially the battle-ready ones

Funari

Leigh: Heheh~ YES! Sword Wife!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

A good sword wife

AV-chan

Totally

Funari

It personally makes me gush that you guys love the SachiMiko interactions x3

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Sweet to hear~

AV-chan

Maybe soon with Yucchan too but that's probably not gonna happen any time soon I think

Funari

Leigh: Smirks

snuffysam

i seem to recall on some page where yukina's mom (not sure which) called to her from off-screen, there was an author comment that went something like "i have no idea what her parents' designs will be lol"

that was a nice touch

Funari

laughs

AV-chan

I think it's mostly cause how I somehow witness the development and changes to your OCs Funari that makes me very interested in them as well

snuffysam

though to be fair, we hadn't seen what miko and sachiko looked like as adults yet, so that wasn't necessarily a lie

Funari

Leigh: I knew that Nari had been hanging with me for too long when that popped up!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh yeah, then it was a hat hiding things. Was that an accident?

Like, saying that?

Funari

That's the point! @snuffysam xD

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

speaking of designs tho, i really do like the adult designs for them. especially how sachiko has this sort of grizzled look now cause of the eyepatch

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

https://78.media.tumblr.com/bc036315fd6b663afa1ffaffa11a5e89/tumblr_p9i9zvvI3w1tzfltho1_1280.png Wow, the future sure looks... different.

Funari

Don't quite get what you mean there @MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑 Just want to be sure I know what you're talking about before I answer

AV-chan

A traditional house in the future?

snuffysam

people have traditional houses today, don't they?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 2. Throughout the comic, we continually see the appearance of Kregor who is out to cause a lot of harm at the behest of his boss, Lady Elianne. What do you think is so special about Sachiko’s blood? Does it have something to do with Allie or is something else afoot? Why do you think Lady Elianne targets Sachiko specifically and not anyone else in her family? Do you think Lady Elianne will ultimately succeed, or will everyone be able to stop her? Who even is Lady Elianne? Outside of Sachiko, Kregor also hunts Yukina’s friend Rie at the behest of the Tanuki Brothers. Do you think the initial failure will deter Kregor from trying again? If Kregor doesn’t try again, do you believe the Tanuki Brothers will leave Rie alone? If Kregor does try again, will he succeed or will something else stop him?

Funari

Stuff has happened to both between their teenaged years and when they're moms. Meta-wise, we're also not fans of works where adult forms of characters almost look exactly the same as the young forms but with smaller eyes or the like

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes, we do

snuffysam

it's clear that there's something important about the nakamura bloodline

Funari

The idea behind the Miyamotos' house is that was to hammer down the idea that they were pretty traditional. At least since Nozomi got married.

(and there are still traditional homes in Japan today ;P )

AV-chan

Ooh that's true

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

aah, alright X3

snuffysam

plenty of houses that are around today were built centuries ago, and plenty of modern houses try to imitate houses from centuries ago

AV-chan

That part with Sachiko being hunted has always piqued my curiosity in a way, like what's gonna happen next

Funari

Oh and my reaction to Question 2? ohhhhh that's pretty much what Part 2 is all about! So I'll just keep myself "quiet"

snuffysam

well we know what did happen next

Funari

And Leigh is saying she's just gonna keep smirking, so not much input from her either lol

snuffysam

lost her depth perception, for one

gained a shadow friend

Funari

True, very true...for the depth perception bit

Shadow friend? Ohhhhhh that happened sooner in her life

AV-chan

An interesting twist there

snuffysam

i mean "next" being after the latest journal entry that yucchan read

i don't think we've seen allie in any journal entries so far?

Funari

Nope, not in journals, though there is a Special comic that shows a specific moment in Sachiko's life relating to that

https://imgur.com/a/Q4J7v

snuffysam

i bet everyone is super jealous of yucchan's three moms

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

"How do you even get three mommies?"

snuffysam

japanese mom, french mom, and shadow mom

Funari

Leigh: Hey, I'M jealous of her moms!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

so in respects to the question, i recall elianne referring to the thing as a curse and how its killed her ancestors. but im starting to wonder if its not something on her mother's side but something on her father's side. because nobody on her mother's side seems at all bothered by any sort of curse and what not and it fits why kregor is targetting sachiko and not say her brother.

AV-chan

That's an interesting way to put it

I forgot if Sachiko's brother had a different dad

snuffysam

he did

Funari

He does!

Also BOOM! Good catch, @✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨ !

AV-chan

Ah that most likely it

Funari

Hayato was born through Rin's marriage with Japanese businessman Daichi Nakamura. Sachiko was....well, by all means, an illegitimate child from a guy in France that Rin knew

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Back, sorry @Funari ; I think what I was wondering was were Yukinas parents always decided from the start, and it was how they looked in the future that gave rise to the hat, or was the scene with her parents evolving as that scene began.

Funari

@MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑 Yukina was always intended to be Sachiko and Miko's kid. Her meta-conception was pretty much that basic idea

But, ahem, yeah. Something's going on with Sachiko's paternal blood that's related to Elianne. Some big stuff

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh yeah, Sachiko's dad is actually the head of some other huge NKP department or something... that's probably the reason the hit was put out on her?

Funari

The Rin (Favreau) side of things is mostly just "Oh, this family is one of the famous clans in the NKP!"

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i wonder if sachiko's dad knew about this so-called curse?

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Lady Elianne is Sachiko's step-mom.

Don't want her getting the inheritance.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

oh no the mom count increases to four now

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Mum's the word.

snuffysam

what's with men not telling their partners about their bloodline stuff lol

Funari

That was Leigh. This is what I put up with when she inks pages

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Hah! That's funny. Nice heart for penache.

AV-chan

Haha

Funari

Also, Math, you are NOT the only one who has mentioned a theory that Elianne is related to Sachiko like that

I can't say yes or no though

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

it seems plausible given elianne keeps saying the blood belongs to her. and thats usually something ppl say when theyre blood-related

and theyre evil that is

snuffysam

that's also the sort of thing you say if you're evil and want blood

like in general

AV-chan

Inb4 something like Elianne is the mother of Sachiko's dad

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Or they're vampires.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

or both

elianne is sachiko's vampire granny

AV-chan

Yeah

Funari

Leigh: Isn't that the usual plot twist nowadays?

AV-chan

It's still a good twist

Funari

Elianne is....SOMETHING!

Leigh: She's a real piece of work. A real PAIN IN THE PATELLA

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I wonder

Doesn't anyone else in the roster have badass suits?

AV-chan

Wanna see Yukina in that suit soon

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Speaking of Kregor - does the guy have good lawyers, or what? He keeps getting banished to be tried for his crimes, and he keeps getting off... sometimes even portaling away before he can be banished. Who is paying his legal fees?(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

it is a nice suit

Funari

The most we got right now is this

AV-chan

Elianne maybe?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

elianne of course

assuming she doesnt just bust him out of jail by other means

Funari

It's Elianne :P

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

She's a rules lawyer too then.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

speaking of kregor though, i do wonder for real if rie is still in danger. cause didnt kregor already get paid?

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"You didn't inflect properly, so my client goes free."

AV-chan

That long hair... Yukina grew her hair?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

its bad assassin form to take the money and not finish the job

Funari

Rie is out of danger

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

dat suit

I'll take it

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rie's mom might still pay a ransom.

Funari

Elianne has been working on something that's far more significant than the Rie thing and when Kregor told her he missed and hit Sachiko and Miko instead with her spell, she was like "Oh. OH. NEVER MIND ABOUT THE TANUKIS."

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"Ship... out of danger?" "You saved the ship." "The needs of the many..."

Funari

Kregor would do anything for Elianne by the way

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

He would do anything for love. But he won't do that.

AV-chan

That thing huh

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

That thing with the strawberries.

Funari

Also, Nozomi is on HIGH ALERT for Kregor to show up, so even if he tried to finish the deed, he's not gonna

Nozomi...is a tough little firecracker

With a crossbow

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel like this is gonna put them on the tanuki's shit list though then? cause id be pretty mad if i paid an assassin and then they were like "sorry bro my lady says we got better shit to do peace out."

Funari

Leigh: Tanuki vs Elianne. Round 1 (ding)

snuffysam

no refunds!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

FIGHT!

Funari

Leigh: No, for real, they're welcome to try it

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

true i dont imagine theyre actually a threat XD

but they could at least go around spreading ill founded gossip

the horror

QUESTION 3. Chapter 6 of the comic is a four year time skip after Lady Elianne inadvertently captures Sachiko and Koyomiko. What do you think Yukina has been doing for the four years? Has she been in France the whole time, or do you think she came back to Japan at some point? How do you think Yukina has been coping with her missing mothers, and what do you think she intends to do about it? In regards to other characters, how do you think they’re doing? Is Rie okay, or has something happened because of her grandmother’s heir? Do you think Rie’s mother is doing okay as captain, and what do you think the state of her marriage is? Are Sachiko and Koyomiko alive still, and if so, why haven’t they escaped? What, in general, do you think is going to happen now?

snuffysam

they'll hit lady elianne where it hurts - her wallet. leave a bad review, and nobody will hire her again.

Funari

As I read this question out to Leigh, she got this HUGE smile on her face

I think she likes this question :P

snuffysam

and yeah i think things aren't looking great for nozomi. a guy kidnapped her best friends in an attempted kidnapping of her daughter, all because her husband didn't tell her anything

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Probably stayed in France for two years then came back to Japan the final two

Just having a four year-long vacation

Funari

An interesting theory

Also @snuffysam - If that all happened to me, I'd be pretty angry and stressed out, that's for sure!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

And that's why you need a vacation

to get all that stress off ya

and plot your comeback

Funari

Nozomi needs a vacation like no one's business

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

Funari

Considering what we know of Nozomi's personality, and that the Captain in the NKP is the leader of the whole group...

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i think it largely depends on whats happening too. if its business as usual i think nozomi would be fine, but if crime shot up or something thatd be a diff story. albeit im sure stressed. especially if on the side shes been trying to inquire where sachiko and miko be at. and losing all the sleep. also wondering when rie's destiny will come knocking at the door

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Perhaps

Funari

We plan to do a special comic about Rie's grandmother finally showing up

Because Rie turned 18 within the 4 year timeskip

snuffysam

oh snap

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh snap!

Double Snap

snuffysam

hey total non-sequiter. how old was rin when she married mr. nakamura?

no wait i did the math on hayato's birth year totally wrong. ignore me.

Funari

Oh, okay xD

I was about to pull up my notes

But it's cool :P

snuffysam

np np

Funari

Oh by the way, I DID actually cover this question in a way. Theorize :P

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh my god

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

old enough to marry, but not old enough to recognize a potentially bad partner when she sees it

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That looks really nice

And lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

ah sweet the cat thing whose name i forgot found a friend

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I’d talk about what I would do if I found out that my partner was less then desirable but this isn’t life tea party so

snuffysam

he already had one though ):

Funari

Do not forget about Miko and Sachiko D: His first friends/family

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh...

snuffysam

yeah, exactly

Funari

And, as we can see in the drawing, yes, Nozomi is stressing hard during the past 4 years

snuffysam

he had a friend

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well okay, cat thing found a new friend. to combat the lonliness but probably more likely to get in elianne's way.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I wonder, what if the timeskip was only one year

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i really wanna know why elianne specifically referred to the cat as a renegade

Funari

Leigh: Well, he's done it once. What's not to say he'll do it again?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the timeskip wasnt only one year tho?

Funari

Koneko the Renegade~

snuffysam

well, this may come as a shock - but i don't believe koneko was born on earth

Funari

Or, if you've read the most recent pages, Ozadarr :P

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

Koneko is the real hero of the story

snuffysam

and we don't know how old he is at that. it's possible he's been a thorn in elianne's side since before miko was born

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that is the impression i got

that theres tons of past history here

and koneko is a sneaky sneak

Funari

Leigh: No one really knows how old Koneko is. Except us, of course

Funari

Koneko is very much a sneaky sneak!

And even besides the Elianne thing, consider that Koneko looked exactly the same between the 2000s-era journal flashbacks and Yucchan's present time...Red flags

snuffysam

plenty of cats look the same across, like, 30 years

not weird at all

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Mmmm

Very sneaky~

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but speaking of not koneko, im gonna be optimistic and assume sachiko and miko are alive and just being held prisoner. since elianne cant do the evil without memories or something apparently. meanwhile koneko fled to mexico or canada. O_O cause thats where all the criminals in popculture flee.

Funari

Those memories....they're pretty important

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

4 years of prison.

Sounds like hell

snuffysam

i don't think koneko's running away so much as looking for help

and hey, at least they have each other?

Funari

4 years of prison while suffering from amnesia!

Just imagine looking to the side, and there's another beautiful woman and you have NO idea who they are, and they're giving you that same look

snuffysam

at least when they get out they'll know for sure that love at first sight is a real thing?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

elianne is at least being nice if she puts them in a cell or something together.

Funari

Leigh: I like that remark! @snuffysam

They're in exactly the same place you saw them in the Interlude

So...sort of a prison?

Not the bars and concrete kind, but they're trapped in that weird bubble in a strange dimension (though the beginning of ch 6 mentions what it is in slightly more detail as a passing comment...)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. By Yukina’s time period, Sachiko and Koyomiko are pretty legendary. What do you think happened in the past that earned them such notoriety? Is it something to do with catching Kregor, Koyomiko’s Ascendant Rights work, or just everything put together? Speaking of the past, do you think Koyomiko repaired the relationship with her family at some point? We also see a brief flashback of how Sachiko lost her eye, so what do you think are the circumstances that brought that about? Aside from the past, do you think reading the journals about Sachiko and Koyomiko has helped Yukina in ways besides offering her a new perspective on them? Do you believe they will help Yukina find her raison?

snuffysam

"And for almost catching Kregor for good no less than sixty times, we give the medal of bravery to Sachiko and Koyomiko!"

Funari

The Kregor Katcher Award

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

(A half hour of crying baby later... )

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

poor baby :<

Funari

:<

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Regards the prior question, obviously the reason Sachiko and Miko haven't escaped yet is because they don't have their memories and don't know where to escape to. It's a fun Catch-22, because if they had their memories, they'd be put to death.

(Baby's had a bottle now. No, not the weird one, the other one. And not with the cold formula, the other stuff.)

Funari

Leigh: Right on the money

Leigh: There's a few more complexities involved, but that's the gist of it

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

That kinda seemed obvious to me.

(Am I making up for not realizing who the mothers were?)

Funari

Leigh: It wasn't supposed to be particularly hidden lol

Leigh: You're forgiven. For now

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

it was pretty obvious but ya never know when someone might have an interesting theory

like elianne gave them part time work and theyre like "sweet this pays way more than min wage"

Funari

Yeah, no that makes perfect sense. But, in this case, we weren't trying to hide anything extra there

We'll be adding more details in the next few updates actually

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Seconding Rebel

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Also regards the prior question, I feel like Yukina's been trying to train herself in France so as to (1) Not ask stupid questions like what's going on when in the middle of a tense situation, and (2) Learn from Cassandra about what to do to avoid flipping out after freezing at the end of said tense situation.

Funari

Thank you for remembering that Cassandra exists :3

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

LOVE the Cassandra angle. Gotta go to her for Ascendant issues.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i was wondering if we were gonna see cassandra again

Funari

VERY soon

snuffysam

i wonder if Yukina'll meet up with her grandfather?

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

I mean, she could be in Scotland, but she did speak French. shrugs

Funari

We're both very fond of Cassie

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Training during a break seems like a good idea. Especially for four years

Never skipping leg day either

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

As to the NEW question, perhaps they're legendary for their looooove. It was even pointed out how everyone in school knew back then.

Funari

Cassandra's well-traveled. She knows French, German, and a bit of Japanese thanks to having Miko as a very close friend

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

omg math. that would actually be hilarious if true. theyre legendary because no matter the trial their love was unconquered

Funari

WELL, in a personal sense, that may be true!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Does Yuzu + Miko = Suzaku no Miko? (hashtag Fushigi Yugi...)

Funari

Leigh: Certainly, when everyone who was at their wedding remembers them for their bond!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: True love did kind of conquor that darkness spell that hit Sachiko.

(I mean, it wasn't a kiss, but still... we can imagine that...)

Funari

heheh

Their love is pretty darn important!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, maybe Sachiko's already conquered her evil step-mom? Could be someone other than Elianne, maybe that was the big deal.

Losing the eye was probably a prophecy... darn those prophecies...

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Never underestimate it

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i am curious why sachiko didnt seem to block kregor in that flashback. like theres a point id think shed stop freezing up with fear, but maybe it was not at that time i guess

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, kind of interesting that in 2031 they don't have a prosthetic for that. Unless Sachiko wears the eyepatch as a badge of honour.

Funari

It was an incident related to Elianne. No prophecies this time, just some crazy stuff.

Sachiko definitely has a problem with freezing up

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: Maybe Miko was behind her.

Funari

The wound isn't natural

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hmm thats interesting it isnt natural

which makes me think man, that must of hurt even more

Funari

But yeah, deep down, Sachiko would prefer to solve things without violence. Miko's the more violent-prone one

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

As to Miko's family... I kinda doubt it? The way she referred to her mom and everything back then? The ascendancy stuff becoming mainstream might have helped, but I kinda doubt it.

Funari

Conferring with Leigh and

Eh, may as well just say it

No

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

The wound isn't natural... it's artificial. Sachiko's been a clone this whole time.

Gotcha. Probably why Miko wants to do things better with her family though.

Funari

Miko's mom's attitude never changed, so Miko never made up with her. Even Tomoko eventually moved away from her, though she still has a sort-of connection there. Sort of

Oh yeah. That's how she reacted to the abuse. It helped that she had folks like Sachiko and Rin around to show her what family can be like, and her dad WAS an okay man, but he was married to....that. She always wanted to be better than her mom

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, if anyone's a clone, it's probably Kregor. Explains why he was vanquished 60 times.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I man, how many people stride to be better than their parents? Just curious

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

haha i suspected. making up with ppl is difficult if it can be done at all in those cases.

you cant clone kregor

kregor is one of a kind

O_O

Funari

Leigh: personal experience

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Hmmm, if Miko had both Sachiko and a clone of Sachiko to spend time with at once...

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

math plz

theres already a threesome with allie in the mix

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Always room for one more.

One for the shadows, one for the daytime.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

A foursome?

Sign me up

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

anyway, idk if the journals helped yukina find a raison or purpose, but im sure her moms getting kidnapped certainly helped

Funari

(was trying to make this quick. It DOES seem like Kregor's got fans!)

snuffysam

"gee yukina, how come you get to have FOUR moms whenmmmmghg-" gets kidnapped by kitsune grandma

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Oooh, title drop. (Yeah, I was surprised that with all the French nods, Funari's not part French that I can tell...)

Funari

omg

Leigh: I think Rie would say that one mom is plenty, giving who HER mom is!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Kregor's the villain you love to hate.

Funari

And in regards to @✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨ - we're definitely moving towards a moment of recknoning for Yucchan

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

So here's a question I wanted to ask before we run out of time -- have we seen Pan in the future?

Did I just miss it?

Funari

Not yet

She's in the little "How things have changed" drawing, and there are plans, but officially not yet

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Ooooh, hmmmm. As long as she didn't turn to the dark side.

Funari

No, we can confidently confirm that Pan is still on our side ;p

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol

What about the light side

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Mr & Mrs Daggers?

Funari

fjfjgjfj

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i have wondered where pan has been too. i think from the time skip im most interested in seeing what rie's dad is up too given for all i know nozomi kicked his butt out onto the street into the gutter(edited)

snuffysam

good

Funari

OOF

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Okay since we're running out of time here I just wanted to say good luck on the rest of the comic and hope it all goes well, there's some seriously good reads hidden in there.

Funari

Thanks much :3

Any other quick questions?

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, funny thing is, I can kind of see why he'd bow to the pressure of not telling his wife about Rie. The thing I don't get is him not telling about who he was before the marriage, that's the weird transgression to me.

Funari

Leigh and I have certainly had lots of fun tonight! Glad you all have enjoyed what we've done so far!

Leigh: Mmmhmm (too secretive for his own good)

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Does "Cat" have a human form too?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You're welcome!(edited)

Funari

TECHNICALLY yes

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Hashtag catgirls?

(Or catboys, whatever.)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Funari

Catpeople

But yes, technically he does, but we won't see it any time soon. There are Reasons

raisons

Elianne's gonna do a huge exposition dump in the next few pages

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Cassandra's mother was secretly a catgirl.

Funari

She is...preparing for it

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Anyway, good job! It'll be interesting to see what happens as comic looks at other planes, as seems to be happening in the new pages.(edited)

(Or just people from other planes hiding out in ours.)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Cloud Fourteen (Funari and Leigh), as well, for making Raison d'Etre and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Cloud Fourteen (Funari and Leigh)’s efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana by Elaine Tipping. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on August 23rd from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/

[trulyhumblenarcissist]

Devilman: crybaby and other stuff

Odd-fitting clothes, bowl cut hair, weird running, weird moaning (jeez Miko's wank session was weird af), huge breasts and butts because why not?

At the end of the day I don't have very much to complain about this show. Before watching it did I think it'd be deeper? Yes. Did I find it horrible? No.

I mean this new anime is actually very successful in conveying the original Go Nagai "mood", even though the plot is a lot different. My problem with Nagai's Devilman is that it COULD BE extremely good, but it never gets me completely. I've almost read every single adaptation and time loop and they are all fine, but I don't want Devilman to be just "fine" because I truly believe in its potential. It's almost like I'm hoping for a complete makeover to bring this manga to a whole new level and I'm aware that probably my attitude is silly. If you don't really like this thing why are you obsessing over it?

I DON'T KNOW!!

As I said, there are different things that I love about Nagai's work.. He is a pacifist and his cynical view about humanity is just a proof of that. This quote from Oscar Wilde is definitely the most accurate to describe my thoughts about Nagai's morality

"Cecil Graham: What is a cynic?

Lord Darlington: A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.

Cecil Graham: And a sentimentalist, my dear Darlington, is a man who sees an absurd value in everything and doesn’t know the market price of any single thing."

This man's imagination, his feelings about the world, the struggle of life he's capable of portraying... All of the above has HUGE meaning, but the narration becomes almost disappointing when the focus is on the characters. Nagai's characterisation is boring and very lacking (in my opinion, obviously. I don't intend to enrage anyone, especially Nagai's stans lol). He created this beautiful scenario with Satan falling in love with a human and being punished by God to revive again and again in different ways the death of his/her loved one. Isn't this extremely heart-wrentching? Well at least it SHOULD BE, but somehow the emotional power of the troubled relationship between the two main characters is really watered down. The motivations behind Satan's actions are usually contradictory in all the different timelines; yes he definitely loves Akira, but we don't see an actual development of this feeling, we don't see the two of them being really intimate. They interact to fight the demons and then to fight each other, that's it. If I had to give some points to the new adaptation I would definitely praise the flashbacks about Akira and Ryo's childhood. At least those few moments create a comprehensible background for Ryo's affection: he's an angel reincarnated, he doesn't really feel like the people around him until a scrawny weird crybaby becomes part of his life. This is nice and sufficiently "deep", albeit in a very conventional/stereotypical way.

Akira, however, is just a really plain character in every adaptation/prequel/sequel whatsoever. His struggles as an outcast bullied kid together with his struggles against the power of Amon inside him are a pretty good plot point. This guy is lonely and sad as a feeble human and continues to be sad and lonely as a strong demon. Having power doesn't actually give you happiness... But the narration doesn't push on this specific point. Akira is a basic character without a full development. He is not tridimensional, especially in crybaby. In crybaby he is actually too smug and confident, the whole crowd of ladies turn into his groupies so quickly is almost embarrassing. This is another thing: gender identity and homosexuality are treated so poorly it is sad. In crybaby it is a bit better, probably because the adaptation is a 2017 child, but still... Nagai's "Devilman saga" began in 2014 and Satan is portrayed again as a sex crazed intersex person who wants to fuck Akira as soon as they see him (literally). Even this potentially beautiful never ending love between Satan and Akira exists just because Satan his hermaphrodite. Basically his "female part" is the one who loves Akira, because God forbid writing about a guy who loves another guy. This theme is twisted so badly in Devilman lady that I initially thought it was a joke. SPOILER alert: Satan splits into a female, Jun (our Devilman lady) and into a little boy who turns into a girl, named Asuka Ran, to fool the archangel Michael (but remember deep inside Asuka is always a man so he can love Jun, NO HOMO BRO). Jun travels in hell and finds Akira'ghost, they fuck, so it is actually Satan and Akira fucking but everything is ok since Jun is the female part of Satan, NO HOMO BRO. Then Asuka Ran turns man again and fucks Jun (I mean Satan fucking himself is so canon I can't even complain), Jun gets pregnant and guess what? She gives birth to Akira who can now be a living man again and fight side to side with Satan against the archangel Michael. The narration stops here. Here. I wanted more crazy stuff damn it!

Jokes aside, this is another problem: the best part is always skipped. We don't get to see Satan and Akira's fight. They are always just suspended in time, we know they fight and Akira dies and that's it until everything starts again. Yes I get it, Satan is punished by God to revive everything again and again so it is obvious that the story repeats itself, but still... It seems that Nagai's never really adding new interesting elements to the canon. It's just overlapping confusion. Actually a manga I really liked is Amon... This spin off about the demon Amon is not illustrated by Nagai (and I'm glad because the art in Amon is AMAZING) but it's still part of the continuity. The ending is good, but once again, it stops right before the fight.

I'm aware that Nagai wrote these stories a while ago and I also know that the Japanese idea of homosexuality is a bit controversial, but I hoped for something more since other authors did better (Miura depicting Griffith and Guts friendship for exemple). Better characterisation but similar themes, so it's just a pity that Nagai's works is still full of potential but poor in realization...

Disclaimer: I don't know anything about other works of this author, I'm only expressing my opinion about Devilman, however I'm aware that Nagai basically created the mecha genre and he broke lots of walls back in the day. He is considered a pioneer and a genius, I acknowledge his merits, but my critical thinking can't be silenced even though I haven't accomplished anything important in my life. That's the beauty and the horror of freedom of expression 😁

Peace I'm out

[comicteaparty]

March 11th-March 17th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 11th, 2019 to March 17th, 2019.  The chat focused on Raison d'Etre by Cloud Fourteen (Funari and Leigh).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Raison d’Etre by Cloud Fourteen (Funari & Leigh)~! (http://raisondetrecomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until March 17th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you believe are the nature and origin of Sachiko’s secret powers that make her Kregor’s target? What, if anything, might they have to do with Allie? What about the powers has supposedly killed Sachiko’s ancestors?

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Yo! Funari here and I will make the time to check on messages this week when I can! Leigh and I will joint-answer through my name. I'll make sure to note when Leigh is answering :3 (ex. Leigh currently says "hello ") We can't wait to hear your thoughts!(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Why do you think Yukina was so insistent on going to France after Sachiko and Koyomiko disappeared? In what ways has she or her life changed that might help or hurt her future goals? What is up with her new memory powers?

RebelVampire

1) im gonna name two cause i can and nobody can stop me. the first more serious one is the scene where kregor shows up for rie and then the fight rolls out. ive really come to appreciate how the event is laid out since things go from great to bad to whoops life changing catastrophe. its made especially sad just cause rie and sachiko were so close to kind of resolved their spat but whoops, no resolution for anybody. it was just a great scene that really upped the stakes and kind of changed the course of the path in a was that was refreshing and unexpected. the second scene im gonna pick is that small like 2 page scene where kregor is sick and elianne told him to rest. Like...legit did not expect that. As far as their relationship has been shown, it seemed angry and more boss/employee. But apparently Elianne cares a little bit about Kregor and i just love that. 3) right now its koneko. Cause Koneko's motivations and origin is a mystery i want to see delved into now. Koneko seems to be pulling lots of strings in the bg and this has really got me intrigued. And selfishly i just basically love a good mystery character who is definitely immensely more than they appear.(edited)

RebelVampire

2) So umm, going with Occam's razor on this theory. It seems most likely some ancestor of Sachiko got down with an umbrian probably. Some umbrian who was probably related to Elianne. Or maybe even Elianne cause who am i to judge how old Elianne is. I 100% think Allie is the manifestation of the powers and they're just all kind of shadow related. I just assume the ancestors were killed because theyre not the sort of powers the human body is supposed to be able to handle. 4) Honestly, I don't have good theories about the france choice. Although I do think that it might have been emotionally driven. Like people who suffer really horrific events usually don't want to be in places that remind them of it. So it makes sense Yukina would just want to gtfo of there. And France is at least semi familiar and has Cassandra. I think in terms of life change, I think shes just mostly matured more. So in essence is more fit to handle some of the emotional complications of what she needs to do. As for the memory powers, well, she is biologically Sachiko's daughter or so has been confirmed. And if Sachiko has weird powers that get her hunted, it stands to reason Yukina probably inherited something too. Something that might be muddling her normal Ascendant powers perhaps. But I definitely think she'll find a way to use it to help Sachiko and Koyomiko.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Koneko is a beloved character for sure. He is cute, he is cuddly (great for comfort!) He is...also apparently kinda good for saving lives!

And I had to look up what Occam's Razor was oop. But that's what Google is for! It IS a rather interesting take. We like to mix simple reasons within some complex ones to keep folks guessing. Is this one of the simple ones? We'll have to wait and see how it unfolds Though the "Elianne is litterally related to Sachiko" theory is one of the more popular ones even within the C14 server so you're not alone there!

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

One thing we can confirm, though, is that, yes...Yuki moved to France to get away from the bad reminders, the bad memories. Sadly it was just too much after the incident happened...The move wasn't an instant cure, either, but over time, it helped. She did meet a new girlfriend there!

snuffysam

One thing I'm curious about is when Allie first started appearing, how Sachiko reacted to her new powers, and so on. We haven't seen the shadow powers in any of the journal flashbacks in Part One, and we know Yukina's memory powers didn't start manifesting until recently, so maybe there's a connection there.

Alternatively, maybe Kregor REALLY goofed up that torture prison spell he used on Sachiko that one time and accidentally gave her some of Elianne's power.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Special 5 is a pretty fun read regarding that :3

http://www.raisondetrecomic.com/uastitle.html (for those that have read at least up to Ch 5, otherwise it's spoilers~)

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

The question hasn't been fully answered, but hints have happened for a bit, kinda leading to Part 2 (which will finally explain it...over time, heh)(edited)

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

A lot of the stuff since Chapter 5 has been with the help of Leigh. She's a really good writer that can put all these ideas together well while still keeping some things secret until "the time is right". I had a direction I wanted to go with this, but tended to get too wordy or expositiony at times. She helped reel that back a bit and organize it.

She's also good at working with what she's given even if it's not a lot, and boy, did I give her a hodge-podge of stuff from Part 1 lol But it's coming along nicely, I think~

She said she loves that @RebelVampire was surprised and enjoyed the sick!Kregor-Elianne interaction from Ch 6

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

If you guys don't mind, we would like to add our personal answers to Question #1~ For Leigh, it's a tie between two scenes in particular. One is Elianne's "I CAN'T LEAVE THIS PLACE!" scene in Chapter 6, especially the cats in the background as it's happening... and Nozomi's spectacular toss of Miko in Chapter 4 ("GET OUT")...especially when you consider how small Nozomi is (she's almost 5 feet tall exactly) As for me...it's kinda hard to pinpoint just one or two xD But I think I kinda like Special 3 in general. Especially for this page alone

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Do you believe that Yukina will be able to save Sachiko and Koyomiko? How might the lessons from the journals help Yukina in this endeavor? Do you think she still has more insight to gleam from them?

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Journal lessons, huh? > :D (SFW, just a little silly; a recent question answered)

AV-chan

Here's some of my inputs but I'll have to answer what I can still remember. In regards to Yuki's powers, I sense that it's either an evolved form of Sachiko's powers or branch type since Yuki does need to touch someone to activate it. Who knows what surprises we'll see I think I mentioned a fav scene before but I'll input another recent one that I liked... It's the specials where Miko was training to get buff again and Nozomi taunts her until she goes all out

That answer is really funny and cute @Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Oh yes. GET IN SHAPE!! (We hope to get the final part out soon but it has a good pause point atm!)

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

We're really enjoying the Yuki's powers theories by the way!

snuffysam

6) You know, I'm not sure Yukina will be the one to save Sachiko and Koyomiko. The animal buddies seem to be doing a decent job already, and I'm not sure they'll recruit some kid to help them. Though she could use her powers to restore their memories once they're rescued?

RebelVampire

that just makes me picture yukina slamming the door dramatically saying "I'm here to save you." and then everyone and the cats are just having tea saying nah we good.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Lmao

That's a pretty hilarious image xD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Aaand...a picture happened.

RebelVampire

omg thats great XDXDXDXD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Thank you

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Who exactly is Koyomiko’s pet cat and why did Elianne call him a renegade? Who is his white haired companion helping him? Why are they helping? How is Elianne a key to Shiva’s vengeance?

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Leigh: CAT QUESTION! :D

RebelVampire

5) definitely this one from the climax before the time skip. http://raisondetrecomic.com/chfivep40.html I love the use of the silhouette cause it really contrasts well with the yellow. i also like the angle is from over kregor's shoulder so it kind of makes the sort of distance view that really forces you to be in awe of this immensely show of power. 6) I'm kind of in the same thinking as @snuffysam in that Yukina will help restore their memories while the cat folk do the heavy lifting. Cause they really have done the hard part of getting them away from Elianne, cause now Elianne's only retaliation is to send Kregor. and well...Kregor has the cant even do one job disease it seems since he only even got sachiko and koyomiko by complete accident. XD I do think the journals might help though. Maybe it'll be like the Butterfly Effect or Life is Strange where she accesses memories by reading them.

RebelVampire

7) Probably Nozomi and Koyomiko, even though its been a while since then. On the whole Nozomi interests me as a character cause she seems to have changed the most significantly from when she was a kid to when shes an adult. And its really interesting to see the effects that those around her have had on her and how those relationships have changed. 8) I feel like Koneko is like some guardian who broke with society to stand against Elianne specifically. Or that he was somehow related to the people who originally imprisoned Elianne. Which if it's that latter one, I assume the other companion not Shiva is part of the same group. Shiva maybe too in a way, but I feel Shiva is trying to strike at an old acquantaince of Elianne's, cause maybe Elianne's past deeds were bigger than just her. Like she fell in with the wrong crowd or something. But to summarize, I think theyre like some fringe group about protecting people from people like Elianne who are less touchable maybe. As for why helping, I think Koneko is actually just pretty selfish and wants to save Koyomiko no matter the cost.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Leigh: (re: question 8 with @RebelVampire ) that was the point with Nozomi actually! Glad to see the comment on her. She is definitely a complex character and will be shown more in upcoming parts

Nozomi has a lot of concept sketches plotted out and has been a big focus behind the scenes, heh~

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

And, while we can't spoil, we can confirm that the light-haired companion to Koneko is the Celestial version of what Koneko is (which has been mentioned as being some sort of Umbrian)

Very similar characteristics, yet they both have some tiny variations~

Which DOES make one wonder....if the butter-cat can shift into a human form, does that mean Koneko has one, too?

RebelVampire

yes O_O

there is not a doubt in my mind he can

well could

cause i believe its either he wont or he cant anymore

i am just waiting for the day its real and then you flood the world with all the human pics O_O

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Hehehheheh

RebelVampire

actually tbf creators do a lot of what if pics so even if its not real there may be human pics someday

so you know what

my win regardless

XD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Leigh: It helps that you know he's going to be a handsome devil :p

RebelVampire

its true XD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Leigh: I mean, come on, look at him:

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What did Elianne do in the past that got her trapped and considered unwelcome in Umbria? What do you think she intends to do if she gets free? What’s in it for Kregor?

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Oooh, the art questions are the most curious

RebelVampire

9) One detail I think deserves attention story wise is Koyomiko's changing use accent. I find it vastly interesting that she has it as a kid/teen, doesn't have it as an adult, and then suddenly has it again post memory loss. It's a real curiosity and makes you wonder if the loss of accent is actually a conscious effort on her part everything. But also I just enjoy the consistency in that since doing consistent changes in accent in this manner can be an easy thing to forget. Art wise, I love the details in Rie's design that always seem reminiscent of a fox. Like the pointy tooth or pointy ears. Like even her hairstyle somehow invokes that feeling of fox, and I love that. 10) I feel like Elianne was just power hungry and delved into forbidden stuff. Like not world take over domination. But more just was like didn't draw any lines of ethics and wanted power for the sake of power? Mostly this theory stems from she doesnt strike me as a world domination type. Since so far her goal consists of "id just like out of this cave plz and thank you." I think the first thing she'll do when she gets free is go to starbucks so she can savor ordering her own coffee. And then ya know, plot revenge against those who imprisoned her or get her powers back if she gets free sans powers. As for Kregor, IDK man. Maybe he just likes money or maybe he deserves employee of the year award for being the most loyal employee ever.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

The little details: Miko's speech patterns

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Sachiko's head movements as an adult (phone doesn't have spoiler tags) is another thing we made sure to note

€heshire777

You can do spoiler tags on mobile, just put || on both sides of it.

like so

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Well just in case it doesn't work (have had update issues before), I managed to be vague anyway lol

RebelVampire

truly a beacon of inspiration to minions everywhere XD

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. How might Koyomiko and Elianne’s powers being opposite be significant to the story? Do you believe this gives Yukina an advantage in some way since she’s also an Ascendant?

Menchi

Finally found my way here, but I'll start by answering the two newest questions: 11. Frankly the strength of the comic so far has been continuing a story that feels unique compared to anything I have read before, juggling the feel of a slice of life story while building up to a big adventure. Also I'd like to throw in how surprising it was for plot to progress, the signs there for the story to go further but the bait and switch about how the story would progress was certainly amusing. :)

as for 12: I had not given it that much thought before now, perhaps in a "Only I can defeat you kind of way", though from the story so far that might be too obvious. ^^ but i could see Yukina being very effective at least in nulifying and protecting others from Elianne's abilities.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

@Menchi - Leigh is to the one to compliment with that. She has done an amazing job with the storytelling and coherency. Inks have gotten much better thanks to her too!

Menchi

heh, you been a good team together ^^

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Thanks. Means a lot. I had these ideas for a long time but she helped put it all nice and coherent~

Also the theories about Yuki (all of them)give us life

Menchi

Then begin the Yuki is the true bad guy theories xD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Ohhhhnoooo

Menchi

Yuki goes pure evil, Rie has to bring her back from the bring, cue feel good story of the year xD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

YuRi shipper ;p

Menchi

i admit it :p

Menchi

1. Now thats a tricksy one, but I would say my favorite storyline is at the start of chapter 3, when (without spoiling too much in case people drop in) the certain parts of the story start to cross together much more, and their involvement together became much more apparent. That it wasn't just a story that was looking into the past.

2. I am still holding to the belief that her father is some kind of Umbrian, or perhaps something else altogether... that or her father played with forces he cannot comprehend. :P For the other parts of this question I am unsure, but I am very curious to see where they go with these plot threads.

snuffysam

we do know at least one dad that lied about being an umbrian

could very well be two

i think the most unique aspect of the comic is its story structure. the first part is technically told entirely from yuki's perspective, but she's finding out about the past through others' recollections. and they're also potentially unreliable narrators, as seen through the chapter where koyomiko and nozomi argue with each other over the story of their meeting. it really gets into those themes of memory that I hope will be explored further in part 2

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Oh, Kazuo....He was definitely in some huge trouble...

I mean, can you imagine how that first secret came out based on what Nozomi said in that Interlude?

snuffysam

was caught sniffing a dog in the park

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Kazuo: Oh, I love you Nozomi Nozomi: I love you, too. Let's get married. Kazuo: Okay! (few months later) Nozomi: Oh, Kazuo, I'm pregnant! Kazuo: Oh....Um, I guess it's about time I told you that I'm actually a kitsune. Nozomi: WAT

snuffysam

AND HE DIDN'T EVEN MENTION THAT HE WAS ROYALTY OR THAT HIS FIRSTBORN WOULD BE TAKEN AWAY AFTER GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL

he's in the doghouse for sure

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Hoooooo boy

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Also a minor correction: Rie is the second kid Understandable to think it was 'firstborn' since that's how the trope usually goes but Hiroki is safe xD

snuffysam

ah yes that's true

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Nozomi had Rie knowing full well at that point that her kids were going to be halflings but then THAT happened and he kept it a secret when he really shouldn't have!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. What other changes do you believe the time skip has brought? In particular, what do you think has happened to Rie in regards to her decision about the NKP and her destiny to be her clan’s Inari?

RebelVampire

11) I think the comic's strength is its use of personal perspectives. Like whether its Yukina, Miko, Sachiko, or any other character, the comic does a really excellent job of switching to different perspectives at the right time to continue the story in emotionally compelling ways. It also makes the perspective changes worthwhile since each one youre always learning about each character on a more personal and intimate level that really helps connect you to them as the story ramps up. 12) I think it's gonna help when push comes to show since at the very least, yukina and koyomiko can probably defend themselves better against elianne compared to others. but other than that, im not seeing it have a big effect other than saving everyone's neck at the right time. 13) right now im just looking forward to seeing rie again and see what time skip rie looks like. and im just curious how everything worked out for her. also, human koneko. 14) I have an honest belief that Rie wants to stay in the NKP, but that shes struggling to get out of family obligations at the moment. And that she might have found a way, but it is tedious and drawn out. as for other changes in general, i feel like the NKP in general might have changed their policies a bit or something. at the very least, i hope they had a super big poster of Kregor that says "NKP's most wanted." which kregor brought to elianne to express his popularity.

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Ascendants are an interesting bunch. We're slowly learning more about them in the recent pages. At least, via quick comparison-like comments between folks involving Cassandra and Yuki's dad vs. Yuki and Miko(edited)

As for Rie, well, she's been shown in her adult form in recent updates ;3

snuffysam

i feel like rie wants to stay in the nkp, but that goal may waver slightly after sitting through all of tomoko's lectures...

i think there might be a strained relation between the nkp and umbria going forward. because, like, kregor was caught and sent to the umbrian courts, right? and yet, he was able to get out and snatch miko & sachiko. so the policy of "let umbrians deal with umbrian criminals" has some holes in it.

at least from nkp's point of view

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Hmm hhmmm

The lessons are important...but they sure are funny. Poor Rie xD

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

You know who is someone we want to show their reaction to what has happened since chapter 5? Rin. The founder of the Favreau-Tokyo Clanhouse, Sachiko's mom, Yuki's grandmother. She will appear soon once we're done with the hiatus but one wonders how she took it

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

Well, it's past midnight where I'm at and I figure the chat has quieted for the week, so with that, I'm gonna at least post this little thank-you doodle to those who stopped by this week before I forget. Thank you very much for the interesting questions and commentary!

snuffysam

thank you for being here and participating in the chat! it's always cool to see a creator at the tea party!

Funari (Raison d’Etre)

I try to whenever I can. I liked the week-long style better because I didn't have to make sure to take time off like I had to for the Thursday one xD This one I could jump in whenever I was available despite work in the way.

And Leigh was also here, at least in spirit. I just relayed her all the comments as they happened :3 She "answered" a few times, but for the most part, our reactions were too similar this time around to really do the separate comments

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Raison d’Etre this week! Please also give a special thank you to Cloud Fourteen (Funari & Leigh) for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Raison d’Etre, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

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