Diwata living in a tree near Keith’s place. Shy around strangers. Always smells like flowers.
Gotta up your flute game first to charm this snake.
Tammy: Oh I know! True Love's Kiss! It's gotta work, right?!
Keith: Only in fairytales...
Hibi-Hibi: Soooo, there's this really nice girl that's a... gourmet of sorts.
Keith: That's not my type at all.
Gods in mythology and religion can be a bit heavy-handed with their punishments.
Haliya: I'm sorry! I just miss my little brother so much!
Cruz: It's fine.
Haliya: How about a hug to say I'm sorry?
Cruz: Now what do we do with Bakunawa's serpent form?
Haliya: Oh, um... she's a shapeshifter, but she's cursed to stay like that.
Keith: Then let's try breaking her curse!
Hibi-Hibi: If I recall, we can...
[Ask the curser to remove the curse]
Haliya: I've tried. Kan-laon's not gonna budge on that.
Tammy: Isn't that a volcano?
Hibi-Hibi: The volcano is named after the supreme god in this part of the land. Actually, we're near said volcano!
[Cause or wait for the curser to die. Or force them to remove it]
Haliya: He's more powerful than me, and I don't like this method.
Cruz: Aren't you a goddess of war?
Haliya: Warrior goddess. I fight if I have to, not revel in warfare.
[Overpower the curse]
Keith: Bakunawa is still cursed until now so... she can't?
Haliya: Yes, and even if the two of us somehow work together, it's likely still too powerful.
[Use a spell, ritual, or item to break it]
Myan: Can't you make one Hibi?
Hibi-Hibi: I'm not as strong as a god, and I doubt something conveniently potent like that exists. Even if there's one, we don't have the time to search for it.
[Fulfill the conditions of the curse, if there's any]
Haliya: Ah, she has to "stop coveting the moon". The curse is her punishment for attempting to eat the moon after all.
Cruz: Oh, so she's grounded.
Keith: Good luck trying to convince a big angry snake...
[Wait out the curse's duration]
Haliya: It's for eternity...
Tammy: Woof.
Keith: Well, this is looking hopeless...
Tammy: Don't say that!
A warrior goddess should at least be able to move this fast!
The original version was just boobs-in-the-face for the last panel, but I think we’ve seen enough of that in anime.
Cruz: Now let's... hey, where's
Cruz: Hal-
Cruz: Behind me..!!
[BLOCK]
Haliya: You... blocked my hug.
Cruz: No more surprise hugs for me, no siree!
Keith: Oh yeah, he did get hugged a lot by random women back then...
Tanananahhh~ I swear this is the only way to receive magical items if you’re blonde, especially if said magic item can change your age. I also love Kingdom Hearts because it’s an Action-RPG, has Disney + Final Fantasy characters, and for inventing the dab.
An alternate idea for the third panel was him just thinking about dabbing and/or Fortnite/Minecraft/Roblox, whatever it is kids are into these days (s-shut up, I’m still young at 28!). I’m reluctant to use memes or pop culture references since I’m not even sure which ones are known here in the Philippines. Still, I’d rather draw him dabbing than just a boring standing or surprised pose. I’ve also drawn Myan dabbing in the past just in case you’ve missed that.
Let’s see if I can make Cruz look actually younger rather than just a chibi version of him. Chibi is not that bad though, since chibis are cute, and cute equals young-looking. I’ll try either way!
Hibi-Hibi: It's done, here you go Cruz!
[Cruz received a Belt of Youth!]
Cruz: Now how do I turn this on? Do I have to bring out my inner child or something?
Hibi-Hibi: Just think childish thoughts!
Cruz: Oh, I know just the thing.
Tammy: Put.it.on! Put.it.on!!
Tammy: Of course he dabs to transform...
Cruz: Gotta take advantage of my license to be a dumbass again!
Keith: Like you needed a license for that.
While Cat Nine isn’t horror/the place for horrible transformations, Hibi would’ve attempted to control Tammy’s transformation. Diwatas are powerful, but there’s only so much she can do with a goddess’ curse.
Hibi-Hibi: Indeed I can but... transforming is dangerous if you aren't a natural shapeshifter or without magical safeguards.
Cruz: my pants need a safeguard
Hibi-Hibi: Imagine a clay figure representing a person, and magic the hands that will shape it. Underneath its touch, the body is fragile, pliable. The mind even more so.
Hibi-Hibi: You can guess what'll happen if you aren't careful! A properly enchanted agimat can protect you from most of these dangers.
"Magic": whoopsie!
Hibi-Hibi: Tammy's lucky that she merely became a werewolf. It's not the worst thing that could've happened to her!
Tammy: So lucky, yayyyy...
On a whim, I tried used vector layers for the lineart this time. It has some convenience, and resizing/correcting is a breeze, but yeah, like BlueDavrial says, it kinda looks too clean. I can kind of agree, and while I use some Post Correction when drawing lineart, it’s a lot more obvious with vectors. It’s not bad though, and I say it’s a lot closer to my “style” when I was using Adobe Flash before this Episode.
Time for a little bit of worldbuilding even though I’m not sure if I’ll ever use it here in Cat Nine!
I figure that transforming is pretty complicated (and dangerous), but some are more complicated than others. Here are my reasons for them:
Cruz: What, you're gonna change me back into a kid?
Hibi-Hibi: If you'll allow me!
Hibi-Hibi: Changing one's age is the simplest of physical transformations, so I can do it quickly.
In order of difficulty:
1. Age
2. Minor body modification
3. Sex
4. Major body modification
5. Species
6. Matter
Cruz: Alright. Better me than using actual kids as a lure.
Myan: You have to call me Ate¹ Myan! (¹big sis)
Hibi-Hibi: Right. Like with Myan's collar though, I'll need something to enchant and turn it into an agimat². (²amulet/talisman)
Hibi-Hibi: Now... give me your belt!
Cruz: {gasp} H-Hibi?!
Tammy: Take.it.off! Take.it.off!! (awoo awoo)
Keith: Can't you just... magic him directly?
♫ Hide yo kids from the big bad wolf, big bad wolf, big bad wolf ♪
Or maybe there’s no need, cause an angry Haliyan mom is more than enough.
EDIT: Thanks for your input guys! Poll’s closed, and I’ve applied the changes!
Also I’d appreciate it if you guys can help out with the poll below! I was thinking of adding in the “told to Keith” text again just to remind you guys that Keith cannot see or hear Haliya, so everyone near him have been repeating what she’s been saying to him. Not all of you will remember that face though, so I think it’s good to put remind people of that fact every now and then.
Our Discord mod and my patron BlueDavrial propose overlapping speech balloons, with the text/bubble colored according to the speaker (pink for Hibi for example).
I like the text reminder since it’s just a simple reminder, it’s less work, I’ve seen it used in manga a lot, and space in the comic is usually limited. Meanwhile, the overlapping speech balloons make the panel more visually interesting and breaks the immersion less, albeit making it slightly cramped. I’ve really only seen overlapping balloons used when they’re interrupting someone though. What do you guys think? I’ll maybe change the first panel depending on the result of the poll.
Poll closed and removed!
Haliya: You see, this whole mess started because of my little brother Bulan. He was soo adorable, everyone loved him! Bakunawa included.
Keith: Jealousy can literally turn you into a monster huh.
Tammy: If the Haliyans have sons, maybe they can help? They might need to remove their masks though.
Hibi-Hibi: Um, let's not.
Tammy: You're right, let's not expose the kiddies to danger.
Hibi-Hibi: Y-yeah, danger... (for us!)
Cruz: Not to brag, my Ma said I was a handsome boy, see?
Myan: All parents say that!
Haliya: But your mother's right!
Cruz: Yeah, too bad I can't go back to being a kid!
Hibi-Hibi: Well now, this is where I come in!
AHHHH I guess I got a lil better since then. And oh boy I still have no idea how to render water, much less the ocean haha.
Fish waifus coming soon obviously, though maybe not this Episode. I bet there are some things that’ll cause anyone to scream if they’re real, like Pokemon. Which one would be yours?
Haliya: We have our weapon now thank you, but we still have to decide the battlefield, lure her there, and then deal with her serpent form.
Cruz: No prob!
Hibi-Hibi: That's one down I suppose.
Haliya: Like our previous battle, open waters far from land and humans will suffice. Still, it won't be easy fighting in her element again even with the tawlis' and mermaids' help.
[whoosh]
Tammy: Waait... Mermaids are real?!
Haliya: Yes they're-
Tammy: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Keith: Get a hold of yourself woman! Your howling could replace the fireworks!!
Tammy: AHHH!! B-but mermaids-! AHHHH!!
The village that bangs drums together, stay together.
And here’s another poll, it’s been a while. Sorry for the dumb broken image, I have no idea why it’s there!
Poll closed and removed!
Tammy: Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?! Will it work?!!
Cruz: Yeah, but we'll need way more than what we have.
Haliya: Did you think of something?!
Hibi-Hibi: Fireworks!
Myan: Ehhhh? Those things?!
Haliya: Yes, fire will work! Let's start a big bonfire, then perhaps the whole village can bang drums together!
[Tammy tells this to Keith]
Keith: No no no, "fireworks" are the flashy things that go boom at night! (I feel like I'm talking to myself...)
Haliya: Ohhh those! My followers banned them in this area long ago to "not disrupt the sanctity of the moon".
Yep, it is indeed time to bring out the fireworks from page 155. I don’t know if “fireworks” would be the first thing you think of that’s hot and loud, but I’d say the fireworks they’ve brought is still somewhat fresh in their minds since they planned on launching them tonight and it’s only been what, an hour or two since they got Bakunawa’d.
And they might just only be video games, but it helped Cruz not panic when the Bakunawa showed up.
[Keith was filled in on the details, and the group take a seat...]
Keith: Hmm, the best result would be stopping the Bakunawa without a fight...
Tammy: Not that I'm an expert or anything, but how realistic is that?
Haliya: If it can't be avoided... then fighting without us killing each other would suffice.
Hibi-Hibi: And don't you worry Keith, we'll relay what Haliya says to you.
Cruz: Is there anything we can use against her? Some sort of weakness perhaps?
Haliya: Well... she was always sensitive to loud sounds and heat.
(flashback from page 155)Cruz: I think it's time to bring out the fireworks!
