Forgot if I mentioned it before but getting a bit sick about drawing them walking haha. Well, I’m really only getting sick of it since I feel the poses for walking are limited, but yeah, there are only so many poses possible when walking. Might as well accept the fact that some poses are “repetitive”, and at least I’m getting some slight animation practice with it since it’s basically the walk cycle.
Oh yeah, these two girls are Muse’s OC and Jugemu’s “Rias Gremory” from High School DxD.
Keith: ...you celebrating something or going to war? Isog: Ah, the party's already started.
Isog: During eclipses in the past, loud noises were believed to disorient the Bakunawa. That was before our cult was formed so we're not sure how true that is, but the tradition stuck.
Isog: Now it serves to celebrate Haliya's victory too so it turned into the Eclipse Feast as we know it. You can guess when the feast is held.
Isog: Just so you know we're not all slacking off! The Bakunawa is likely to appear during eclipses, like this evening. Waywoods Guard: (I hope Isog brings back some food...)
Isog: That's why guard duty is important so I deserve a quick stop at the Feast before we continue riiiight? And I'm sure you're all hungry from all this walking. Keith: Uh sure, why not.
If you’ve been wondering what the symbols are from, they’re from Baybayin, an old Filipino script. Apparently, they’re originally read/written from bottom-top though when the Spanish came here they changed it to left-right (or rotated), which wasn’t a bad idea actually. Anyway, I just like it cause it looks cool. Play around with Baybayin yourself using this translator.
Not that I want to focus on religion or politics into the comic, but the Philippines is majority Roman Catholic, so it’s no surprise some of the characters will be Catholic/Christian.
Haliya worshippers were possibly real. Dunno their actual name, if any, and excuse me if I took some creative liberties with them.
Sorry it’s been taking so long guys, I’ve been finding it difficult to write the dialogue/narration for the 2nd set of panels for this page. Just can’t seem to articulate it properly and I’ve realized I can’t really improvise the story every page, at least for these story-heavy Episodes. So I’ve been brushing up on my writing and English skills (English is my 2nd language), and doing as much research as I can regarding the manga industry. That last part seems unrelated, but I was thinking that I might pick up on some of the useful habits and techniques of mangakas (particularly with efficiency), and I’m interested on how the heck some of the famous mangas make around 19 pages per chapter/week (like One Piece). In short, they have insane schedules and their lives basically revolve around their manga so… I’ve given up on playing video game (again) so I’ve also been a bit cranky the past week or so haha.
Cruz: So Isog is it? Mind telling us more about yourselves and your uh... indie religion? You have an interesting culture here!
Isog: Not at all, and it's fine to call us a cult! Now, where do I start...?
Isog: We are the Haliyans, named after our Goddess Haliya. Cruz: Oh, like Christians. Isog: She is the goddess of masks, the moon, and battle, so naturally we're all about those! Cruz: Oh, not like Christians.
Isog: Yes, except our Goddess is real. Like, these other "religions" should be the cults am I right? Cruz: Oof, quite the bold claim! Okay so... what about your masks?
Isog: Before facing the Bakunawa when it was rampaging long ago, Haliya donned her enchanted mask and vowed to never remove it until one of them is slain. Haliya won in the end, but only managed to seal her away that time.
Isog: We wear masks to show our resolve like our goddess, but as time went on, now we also wear them for other reasons like art, fun, or work. More importantly, Haliya also taught us the Mask Arts, the secrets to making enchanted masks. The one I'm wearing for instance enhance my senses. Helps with guard duty you know? Plus it's cute.
Isog: In fact, the masks you're all wearing have Night's Vision, and I think you can already guess what it does. Us Haliyans are already blessed with it so we don't require a mask, but you'll need them since the only lighting we have in the village is moonlight. Unfortunately it doesn't let you see colors that well. Keith: Hmm, apparently the Bakunawa cursed me so I can't perceive the moon at all, therefore I can't see moonlight. Thanks for letting us borrow these. Tammy: It might be dark for us "normal" people anyway because of the eclipse.
Isog: I-is that what the Bakunawa cursed you with?! What a truly horrifying curse!
Not exact translation but she said *”Good evening darlings!”. They’re using one of the other dialects in the Philippines, which I have no idea how to speak, though I can sort of understand it even with the main dialect of the country with the help of dictionaries and Google Translate. Combined two words that mean “cover, shield, protect… or maybe hide, secret/hidden” + “moon, or moonlit” to come up with Hinabulanon, so it’s something like Hidden Moon Village (what is this, Naruto? haha).
Dunno if it follows proper naming conventions, but it sounds cool enough to me. “Isog” means “brave” and seeing that she’s based on Polt the Kobold, I think something like that would be fitting for a warrior/guard. Could also call her “Ido” for dog. in the end it doesn’t matter that much, and Fishmeistercod (the suggester) went for Isog anyway.
The new guards here based on Skye and Nikky’s suggestions. Sorry Nikky, couldn’t make her that short for storytelling reasons!
[Back to reality - Hinabulanon Village] Isog: Ma-ayong gab-i mga inday! (Good evening darlings!) Guard A: Halt you...! Oh it's just Isog. Guard B: Oi oi, what's this?
Guard B: Found some husbands out there for yourself didn't you? Guard A: Can I have one please?
Isog: ...fiiine. Cruz: At least buy me dinner first. Keith: hey.
Guard A: Haha! Well guests, just be on your best behaviour and you'll find no problems with your stay! Guard B: I'll be your dinner~ ...I'm winking if you can't tell. Isog: come in, come in!
Finally after a year, two of the female characters from that suggestion appears: Fishmeistercod’s “Polt” and Legendofcatbro’s characters. And yes, they’re all gonna be wearing masks, so uh, if you want to design their masks, now might be a good time. Else I’ll just make stuff up as usual!
Thanks for submitting your suggestions everyone! If I need more background characters I’ll ask, buuut it might be patron-only in the future since I just wanted to try this fan-submitted background characters thing out and well, now that I’ve tried it, I want to reserve that privilege to my patrons. Not to mention the additional work and time for designing some of them, even if you’ve got a character ref/sheet on hand. Sorry!
[After some walking...] Tammy: {pant pant} Is it getting hot here or is it just me? Hibi-Hibi: Yes. Our exit's near a volcano in the material world, which is reflected in the Waywoods.
Hibi-Hibi: Aaand... here's the exit, and the guardians.
Hibi-Hibi: Stand back, let me do the talking. Ehem- How do you do guardians?
Guard A: Diwata. Cat. Wolf... men. Guard B: State your business or leave.
Hibi-Hibi: I wish to seek help for my friends here. They were cursed... by the Bakunawa.
Guard B: {gasp} S-she has returned?! Guard A: You poor things!
Oof, having an actual story/lore/worldbuilding is tough for me since I’ve drawn more than written, plus I have to draw the thing too… Oh well, all part of the job I suppose!
That guy is a tikbalang by the way. Copied the notes below just in case you can’t read the text.
Tabi-tabi po: Polite way to say “Let me pass”. Usually said when traversing forests or relieving one’s self to avoid offending the spirits, elementals, or diwatas that live in the area.
Hibi-Hibi: All woods in the world are connected to the Waywoods. And yes, we're not exactly on Earth anymore. If you get lost in heavily wooded areas, there's a chance that you'll end up in here. One may also enter it willingly like we did. These Woodways are usually near places of power.
Hibi-Hibi: These entrances are normally invisible to human eyes, but if you've passed through a Woodway once, you'll always know where to find that specific Woodway again. Some powerful entities like diwatas, me included, have domains in the Waywoods centered around their home. Like my tree for example.
Hibi-Hibi: Various creatures also call the Waywoods their home such as...oh! This gentleman over here.
Tammy: T-tabi-tabi po... Cruz: Tabi-tabi po! Myan: ...tabi-tabi po? Keith: Tabi-tabi po. (Tabi-tabi po: Polite way to say "Let me pass". Usually said when traversing forests or relieving one's self to avoid offending the spirits, elementals, or diwatas that live in the area.)
Cruz: We should've brought flashlights or something... Keith: Yeah, I'm not too keen on an evening walk in the woods. Hibi-Hibi: Us girls can see just fine, don't worry we'll guide you.
Tammy: Wow, I can see clearly as if it's afternoon. A small blessing with this curse I guess... *sniiff* hmm?
Tammy: The air is fresher here. Cruz: And it's not that dark ahead. Myan: ... Keith: Do we still need to... Hibi-Hibi: Yes, keep holding hands until we're past our shortcut-
1st panel roughly shows their heights. Forgive me though for forgetting them myself, especially with Myan in some of the previous pages. Though I might break that “rule”/modify their heights as needed if it makes panel composition easier since differing heights complicates things.
And ughh, sorry if the shadows here are kinda meh (hopefully it’s just me). Most of my focus for the page was spent on drawing the 1st panel (multiple people holding hands are…whew!), and the dialogue for the rest of the page. Just wanted to finish the page no matter what since I still want to finish four more pages before September is over. And I suppose rendering the campfire’s light+shadows is getting a bit little tiring, so I guess it’s time to figure out a simpler way to shade stuff. But hmm, they’re heading into the darkness of the forest so I might not need to learn that for now.
Tammy: ...what? Cruz: You got ruff paws. Myan: Mwine awe vewy soft and suppwe! (Mine are very soft and supple!) Hibi-Hibi: E-everyone holding hands? We're going on a little walk!
Keith: Pardon, a walk? I thought we need a boat? Hibi-Hibi: Not with this shortcut. I'll explain on the way.
Hibi-Hibi: Just follow me, and you may want to hold on tight if you don't want to get lost in there for decades! Keith: Wait, what was that last part?
Keith: So, what now? Hibi-Hibi: I know a guy. We're a little closer to them since we drove all the way here.
Hibi-Hibi: Buuut they're still a couple of islands away. Cruz: Oh. Boats aren't available at this hour.
Hibi-Hibi: Yes, and I should mention that when the eclipse ends, there's a chance that the curse might end on its own...
Hibi-Hibi: But the odds are against us and it's likely that it will be permanent too since it's a goddess' curse after all. If we don't break it in time that is.
Hibi-Hibi: Good thing I also know a shortcut. Now, hold hands everyone!
