Once again, I am awfully late.
Apr 22 2008
Miho Ura
By Axel Terizaki on Apr 22 2008, 15:10 - Characters and Artwork
This character appears at chapter 4.
Miho is in the same school than Ayako, but more precisely in Ogata's class (different than Ayako's.) She likes to be the center of attention of everyone and especially of teachers. Quite gifted in studies, she is a little less good in sports. She'll meet Ayako in chapter 4. A friend, A rival? You'll see by yourself. Miho seems to have a crush on a person Ayako knows...
The artwork above has been done by SaturnAlice and colored by Mystical. Thanks to them! :)
Apr 18 2008
Miyuki Suzumiya
By Axel Terizaki on Apr 18 2008, 09:13 - Characters and Artwork
At 23, Miyuki is a young "office lady" in a big publisher company in Tokyo. She is just starting her career and has already met someone at her workplace, Seiji, but neither of them can afford living outside of the familial cocoon due to financial difficulties, even if they think about it often. Miyuki is Ayako's big sister. Even if the two sisters aren't that close, Miyuki seems to care a lot about her younger sister, even if Ayako doesn't seem to always appreciate the attention.
As Ayako is often seen with her cousin Aoi, Miyuki is quite close to Aoi's older brother, Kenji.
Apr 16 2008
Ayako Suzumiya
By Axel Terizaki on Apr 16 2008, 17:15 - Characters and Artwork
In the Characters and Artwork category, you'll find a lot of drawings from several people concerning Blind Spot, namely from Rosalys, who's the main artwork creator.
We'll inaugurate this section with the final design of Ayako, in black and white first, then colored.
For the actual pictures, just continue reading... :)
I am pretty satisfied with the design Alice decided on for Ayako. I gave her some instructions of course, and even if we didn't understand each other well at first, she perfectly knew how to capture the idea I had for my own heroine: a girl capable of showing different feelings and faces.
The little object she holds in her hand is actually a monocular. It's more or less introduced in chapter 2, but she'll only get it later in the story.
The name Ayako is inspired from Ayako Kawasumi, one of my favourite voice actresses.
I won't say more though so you don't get too spoiled. :)
Apr 3 2008
Karen Sakazaki
By Axel Terizaki on Apr 3 2008, 16:01 - Characters and Artwork
The only daughter of a japanese mother and an american father, Karen is the second best friend of Ayako .
(thanks to Rosalys for this)
A little over protective with Ayako at times, and a little jealous for everything else, she'll keep accompanying her at school when Shizuka will choose to go to another school. Karen is an athletic girl, with her tall height and her long legs which intimidate a lot of her classmates.
Karen arrived in Ayako's life about 3 years before the beginning of this story. She will meet Ayako when she'll be transferred in her class upon her arrival in Tokyo. She'll want to take care of her immediately at school along with Shizuka, without really telling why. Does she have something to hide?
Feb 26 2008
Newsletter
By Axel Terizaki on Feb 26 2008, 18:05 - General
I did set up a newsletter system on the right, if you don't like to use RSS feeds or simply don't know how.
Write down your e-mail in the suited field, solve the CAPTCHA (write the letters and numbers shown in the image next to the field) to show me you're not a robot, and subscribe. You can also unsubscribe this way.
You'll receive a mail every time a new post is made.
Feb 5 2008
Shizuka Makihara
By Axel Terizaki on Feb 5 2008, 18:51 - Characters and Artwork
Shizuka is Ayako's childhood friend.
She is from a family of lawyers, and her parents want her to become a defender of innocent people, but Shizuka has other plans in mind and develops a passion for fashion, modeling and hairdressing.
She'll help Ayako with her appearance and will share her childhood with her and Aoi. She'll then become good friends with Karen when she'll get into Tokyo.
Shizuka is rather cheerful and confident. She loves teasing Ayako and Karen, but she suffers from a lack of independence her parents refuse to her.
Along with Karen, she is like a guardian angel for Ayako.
Please note that Shizuka's hair color is different on this picture than in the first chapter. This is absolutely normal and will be explained later in the story.
Jan 14 2008
Chapter 6
By Axel Terizaki on Jan 14 2008, 17:07 - Chapters
Yes, it's finally here, at long last. Sorry for the wait, and all that. I know I've been a bad author. :)
Nov 26 2007
Still alive
By Axel Terizaki on Nov 26 2007, 12:18 - General
(No, it's not the Portal song.)
For those who might worry, Chapter 6 is going to be difficult to finish. It didn't unfold as smoothly as I thought it would.
Hopefully, I plan to release it before the end of the year, yay.
Jul 26 2007
Chapter 5
By Axel Terizaki on Jul 26 2007, 17:48 - Chapters
This chapter took its time because of some RL issues here and there. I'm not especially happy with it and believe it's one of the worst chapters so far. I do hope however that you will at least enjoy it. :)
Jul 18 2007
Blind Spot's website opening!
By Axel Terizaki on Jul 18 2007, 10:00 - General
Finally, the english version of the website for Blind Spot is open!
Why use DotClear since it's a blog engine for such content? The challenge, you see, the challenge! Seriously, I believe that it should fit to the task I have for it, and visitors will be able to leave comments on each chapter.
Big thanks to SaturnAlice for her drawings and Pony for the DC2 Layout.
May 3 2007
Chapter 4
By Axel Terizaki on May 3 2007, 17:12 - Chapters
Time passes by, classes are beginning again. But there are a lot of surprises waiting for Ayako and Karen this time.
Apr 20 2007
Ayako Suzumiya - Fanart by Pony
By Axel Terizaki on Apr 20 2007, 11:11 - Characters and Artwork
And here is the first real fanart of Ayako, made by a friend called Pony
Jan 11 2007
Chapter 3
By Axel Terizaki on Jan 11 2007, 18:47 - Chapters
Ayako's going on an adventure in this chapter!
A little note about japanese language though, for those who asked: "Mou" is like a whine, or "Geez" in english.
Jan 2 2007
The Japanese School System
By Axel Terizaki on Jan 2 2007, 00:12 - Author's Notes
As you'll see, a big part of Blind Spot will happen at school, precisely highschool and college.
The japanese school system is divided as is
- From 7 to 13 years old : Grade school
- From 13 to 16 years old : Junior school
- From 16 to 18 years old : High school
Years are labelled after your level of school: Class 1-B for Ayako is actually the first year of highschool.
Some people might have noticed that too, but in the first chapter, the school year begins in April. In Japan, school year is divded in 3 trimesters: April-July, September-December, and January-March. There are 3 weeks of holidays from one year to the other, and one month of holidays in August.
There is no specialization in high school, but some schools are better placed than others to gain access to some universities. So it's very important ot decide on which school to go to early on. Students who can't follow the compeetition of school are reoriented to other schools and classes.
Students wear a school uniform here as you probably know. The uniform is sailor-inspired for girls and quite popular worldwide. For boys, it's usually pants and a black jacket with buttons, or navy blue depending on the school. Yes, depending on the school, uniforms change. Shizuka has a more elaborate uniform with a blouse and blazer, for example. The uniform is obviously mandatory, but students don't have to take it off when out of school. A lot of students go directly to the city for shopping or to have fun and only change out of it when they are home.
Students also have a summer and winter uniform. In summer, boys take off the jacket and show short-sleeved shirts, and in winter, girls gets warmer with more layers and uses darker tones and long sleeves.
Also, at the beginning of the year, student's places in the classroom are decided at random. They have to stay there during the whole year. For Ayako, however, it is a little special since she needs to be placed close to a power outlet and have Karen next to her.
If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments below.
Jan 1 2007
Honorific titles in Japanese
By Axel Terizaki on Jan 1 2007, 23:48 - Author's Notes
I thought it would be interesting to talk about the particles you can find at the end of names from time to time. This can be obvious for people used to read manga and watch anime, but for some of my readers, it's not always easy.
Japanese use suffixes that they attach to people's names, may it be to call them or talk about them. They are not always easy to translate in English, and are kept in the english edition of Blind Spot.
Here is a list of some of them, the main ones used in the story.
- -san : Politeness. Someone with -san behind its name is seen as a person you respect and don't know very well. This can also be used at your workplace to designate someone higher in the hierarchy. This is a little like "Mister" or "Miss". Not using it when talking about someone shows some kind of intimacy between you and the person you're tlaking about.
- -kun : That's the contrary of -san in a workplace environment: you're speaking about something below yourself. It is also used to name males. For example Ayako calls Ogata Shu "Ogata-kun". It is sometimes used for girls too, in a workplace environment. A teacher can call a student like this even if it is a girl.
- -chan : Very familiar, used mainly on little girls or between close people. You'll notice that Karen is not using -chan on Ayako, while Shizuka does almost everytime. -chan is also used between lovers, even if it's a girl calling a boy like that. Obviously not in public :)
- -sensei : Teacher, professor, doctor. Someone who has the knowledge.
- -sama : Very honorific, almost never used, except for joking. For example, God is called "kami-sama".
A little bonus now...
- sempai : Also written "senpai". A sempai is someone who works in the company or is a student at school for longer than yourself. First years often call Second years "sempai".
- kouhai : A kouhai is simply the contrary of sempai.
Dec 18 2006
Group picture!
By Axel Terizaki on Dec 18 2006, 11:17 - Characters and Artwork
Received as a gift for Christmas 2006 by the wonderful SaturnAlice, here is a nice picture of the main characters.
Sep 5 2006
Chapter 2
By Axel Terizaki on Sep 5 2006, 14:39 - Chapters
And here iss chapter 2 of Ayako's adventures!
Aug 1 2006
About the Artwork
By Axel Terizaki on Aug 1 2006, 14:31 - General
Even if it's not really said anywhere, I would like to say that artists are of course encouraged to make artworks of Blind Spot. You'll find ways to contact me on the right side of each page.
Jul 31 2006
What is Blind Spot?
By Axel Terizaki on Jul 31 2006, 13:49 - Author's Notes
Blind Spot is an original story created from my imagination, my experience and some research here and there.
Contrary to a few years ago, where I was writing a lot of fanfictions for the animated series Evangelion in particular, this story is 100% original.
A word about the story:
Ayako is a young highschool girl living in Japan, nowadays. She is living normally, surrounded by her friends. However, Ayako isn't an ordinary girl, she has magic powers! she is visually impaired, and her social life is impacted by this.
Blind Spot is a light novel, with a little bit of comedy and romance, but it is mainly a "slice of life". This slice of life will go from her teenage days to her woman, adult ones.
What's so special about Blind Spot compared to the stories I might have writen before? This is, first of all, an original story, but also a story in which I can tell of my experiences as a visually impaired person. In order to make it more challenging, and because I like sport (In a certain way...), I decided to make the story happen in Japan, and on a female character. It's a difficult exercise, since I live in France and am male. However, I have a lot of great people I can contact when I need input or advice on a particular scene or situation.
Concerning the place, I lived in Japan about 3 weeks, and I can count on some friends living there, and the various anime and manga I have seen and read to provide answers to my questions.
However, the story isn't meant to be real in all it's little details, I will then ask you to be forgiving of my possible mistake. Don't hesitate to tell me about it in a constructive way.
For me, this is an excellent storytelling and style exercise. For you, and for my friends, this can be a nice way fo knowing visually imapired people better.
Have a nice read!
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