^^ Actually, I think it's just his nickname based on the first update, when he's tattling to the teacher about what they're doing out in the hallway (when they're supposed to be punished).

It's the same reason Qi Fang is called "Mophead." There's nothing special behind it, his hair is just a messy mop. xD

I love how every page and almost every frame in this entire comic has a shot in it that would make an epic avatar...

I really, really like this manga. Every update just puts a smile on my face. :D

I really, really like this manga. Every update just puts a smile on my face. :D

Can anyone from China explain tattletale to me? Is he like a very ardent communist nationalist? Is that the joke? And if so, is that a common trope?

I don't think it's that the Communist leanings are the joke, so much as the contrasting attitudes expressed by the side character.

The nickname "Tattletale" and the businesslike-appearance suggests a character that is bossy, stuck-up, toadying; a born bureaucrat.

However, the dramatic and romanticized patriotism of protecting the Chinese Communist flag from the rain doesn't immediately fit that fussy image. It's strangely old-fashioned. And as the other characters note by their surprised reactions, it's bizarrely dashing.

Additionally, there's his appearance as a sort of epilogue to the three friends seeing the confession umbrella. As the more "main" characters are still processing the day's events and on getting home, Tattletale skips off in the rain like a dandy.

Effectively, he's a straitlaced-looking individual that is actually surprisingly odd.

I apologize if this is too many words; I think I enjoy over-explaining things.

edit: oh yeah, not from China. But hopefully it was informational.

Yeah, thanks for your interpretation. I would have to say that I do not believe he is skipping off into the rain "like a dandy" it seems more like he is marching into it. Tattletale seems stoic, and carries intense nationalism. Again, I was just wondering if being an ardent nationalist is a common character trope/archtype.

I am Chinese-Cuban and there are many ardent communist nationalists in Cuba. Many.

I have a question: Chinese is a complex and varies language... and also one of the worst translated ones. What I mean is, that it's never been phonetically translated (as far as I know). How should I pronounce the character's names?

I mean, the tomboy's name is Sun Jing and the the girly girl is called Qui Tong. The problem is that sometimes the "i" is pronounced as "er", I've heard "Q" pronounced as bouth "K" and "Ch". My personal frame of reference is pretty limited, as I've only played the Dynasty Warriors games (my main point of reference)- which has only recently gotten a handle on the changeover between Cantonese/Pinyin/English... Sorry, if I sound like a dumb white guy, but I'm just curious.

last edited at Jan 31, 2015 3:28AM

Oh, I love this. Definitely will follow this.

I have a question: Chinese is a complex and varies language... and also one of the worst translated ones. What I mean is, that it's never been phonetically translated (as far as I know). How should I pronounce the character's names?

I mean, the tomboy's name is Sun Jing and the the girly girl is called Qui Tong. The problem is that sometimes the "i" is pronounced as "er", I've heard "Q" pronounced as bouth "K" and "Ch". My personal frame of reference is pretty limited, as I've only played the Dynasty Warriors games (my main point of reference)- which has only recently gotten a handle on the changeover between Cantonese/Pinyin/English... Sorry, if I sound like a dumb white guy, but I'm just curious.

Qui Tong would be Ki Tong, Xiao is Shao, as far as I know, if it is at the end of a name, it's the the equivalent of -chan. The word itself means "tiny." And I'm not sure, but I think Sun Jing sounds like it reads.

I'm by no means fluent in any sort of Chinese, I know more Russian and Japanese than anything else (and even then I'm not fluent) lol.

the whole tattletale thing was bc someone posted tan jiu's manhua to a site called 'this can only happen in japan' without any crediting to tan jiu and tan jiu was really unhappy about this and was like no don't do this i'm chinese. she drew the flag bc if ppl were going to take her stuff wo crediting back to her they'd at least get her nationality right

last edited at Jan 31, 2015 8:06PM

Bojack727:

I have a question: Chinese is a complex and varies language... and also one of the worst translated ones. What I mean is, that it's never been phonetically translated (as far as I know). How should I pronounce the character's names?

I mean, the tomboy's name is Sun Jing and the the girly girl is called Qui Tong. The problem is that sometimes the "i" is pronounced as "er", I've heard "Q" pronounced as bouth "K" and "Ch". My personal frame of reference is pretty limited, as I've only played the Dynasty Warriors games (my main point of reference)- which has only recently gotten a handle on the changeover between Cantonese/Pinyin/English... Sorry, if I sound like a dumb white guy, but I'm just curious.

Kitsune Spirit:

Qui Tong would be Ki Tong, Xiao is Shao, as far as I know, if it is at the end of a name, it's the the equivalent of -chan. The word itself means "tiny." And I'm not sure, but I think Sun Jing sounds like it reads.

I'm by no means fluent in any sort of Chinese, I know more Russian and Japanese than anything else (and even then I'm not fluent) lol.

No, "q" in pinyin is never "k"; it is approximately like the "ts" in "cats".
 
 
As for how to pronounce the names...
 
 
short answer:
 
 
"Sun Jing"
Note that there are some non-optional 'shorthands' in pinyin; hypothetically, without these 'shorthands', it would have been:
"Suen Jing"
pronounced: swuhn dzeeng

"Qiu Tong"
Note that there are some non-optional 'shorthands' in pinyin; hypothetically, without these 'shorthands', it would have been:
"Qiou Tong"
pronounced: tsyou toong

Note that it is "Qiu Tong", not "Qui Tong" as misspelled above.
Just for completeness's sake...
"Qui"
Note that there are some non-optional 'shorthands' in pinyin; hypothetically, without these 'shorthands', it would have been:
"Quei"
pronounced: tswei

Qi Fang
pronounced: tsee fawng

Qin Xiong
pronounced: tseen shyoong

xiao ("little")
pronounced: shyao

xuezhang ("upperclassman")
pronounced: shweh jawng
 
 
long detailed answer:
 
 
Before I begin, here is some 'prerequisite' information...

Pinyin is the romanization scheme of Mandarin Chinese. (It is not used for the other Chinese dialects.)
It is the official romanization scheme in China, Taiwan (since 2009) and in Singapore -- basically, all countries where Mandarin Chinese is the official language.

First off, I want to point out one particularity of pinyin.
There are 3 specific 'shorthands' for 3 specific 'finals'.
These 'shorthands' are NOT optional; they must be applied.

The 3 'shorthands':
- "un" is actually 'shorthand' for "uen".
- "ui" is actually 'shorthand' for "uei".
- "iu" is actually 'shorthand' for "iou".

So for example:
- "sun" is actually "suen".
- "gui" is actually "guei".
- "qiu" is actually "qiou".
 
 
OK, now let's get to the names.
 
 
"Sun Jing"
Remember that there are some 'shorthands' in pinyin (explained above); hypothetically, without these 'shorthands', it would have been:
"Suen Jing"
pronounced: swuhn dzeeng
where
s = normal English "s"
w = the "w" in "Gwen"
uhn = the "en" in "Allen" or the "on" in "action"
dz = approximately the "ds" in "fads"
ee = the "ee" in "see"
ng = the "ng" in "king"

"Qiu Tong"
Remember that there are some 'shorthands' in pinyin (explained above); hypothetically, without these 'shorthands', it would have been:
"Qiou Tong"
pronounced: tsyou toong
where
ts = approximately the "ts" in "cats"
you = the "io" in "adagio"
t = normal English "t"
oo = the "oo" in "look"
ng = the "ng" in "king"

Note that it is "Qiu Tong", not "Qui Tong" as misspelled above.
Just for completeness's sake...
"Qui"
Remember that there are some 'shorthands' in pinyin (explained above); hypothetically, without these 'shorthands', it would have been:
"Quei"
pronounced: tswei
ts = approximately the "ts" in "cats"
w = the "w" in "Gwen"
ei = the "ay" in "say"
"qui" rhymes with the English word "sway".

Qi Fang
pronounced: tsee fawng
where
ts = approximately the "ts" in "cats"
ee = the "ee" in "see"
f = normal English "f"
aw = the "aw" in "law"
ng = the "ng" in "king"

Qin Xiong
pronounced: tseen shyoong
where
ts = approximately the "ts" in "cats"
een = the "een" in "seen"
sh = approximately
y = the "i" in "adagio" (glide)
oo = the "oo" in "look"
ng = the "ng" in "king"

xiao ("little")
pronounced: shyao
where
sh = approximately like "sh" in English
y = the "i" in "adagio" (glide)
ao = the "ow" in "cow"

xuezhang ("upperclassman")
pronounced: shweh jawng
where
sh = approximately like "sh" in English
w = the "w" in "Gwen"
eh = the "eh" in "meh"
j = approximately like "j" in English
aw = the "aw" in "law"
ng = the "ng" in "king"
 
 
Not sure how clear these explanations are; hope this was useful.

last edited at Feb 1, 2015 3:42PM

For some reason i thought the manga was Korean, until this chapter when i see the Chinese flag.....

No wonder there was none of those Korean~ish drama

Really like the series through. Well mixed of SoL and yuri. This and "her majesty" quickly changed my perspective about Chinese comics

I thought it was Korean too. You don't see enough Chinese comics translated into English. Heck, this is the first I've seen with a queer character.

the whole tattletale thing was bc someone posted tan jiu's manhua to a site called 'this can only happen in japan' without any crediting to tan jiu and tan jiu was really unhappy about this and was like no don't do this i'm chinese. she drew the flag bc if ppl were going to take her stuff wo crediting back to her they'd at least get her nationality right

Huh, I thought Tan Jiu was a guy. At least, that's how he/she seems to be depicted in the Mosspaca Advertising Department strip.

their alter egos are male, tan jiu and old xian are female, moss is male

Ohmygoshhhhhhh new strip asking her to dry your face like a baby i can't u little cheeky kwdwedd

the whole tattletale thing was bc someone posted tan jiu's manhua to a site called 'this can only happen in japan' without any crediting to tan jiu and tan jiu was really unhappy about this and was like no don't do this i'm chinese. she drew the flag bc if ppl were going to take her stuff wo crediting back to her they'd at least get her nationality right

Huh, I thought Tan Jiu was a guy. At least, that's how he/she seems to be depicted in the Mosspaca Advertising Department strip.

their alter egos are male, tan jiu and old xian are female, moss is male

Good to know.

Indeed, thank you.

In the new strip, anyone notice the guy friend is missing in the background?

y r the pics getting smaller??? @A@ i cant read it!!

the whole tattletale thing was bc someone posted tan jiu's manhua to a site called 'this can only happen in japan' without any crediting to tan jiu and tan jiu was really unhappy about this and was like no don't do this i'm chinese. she drew the flag bc if ppl were going to take her stuff wo crediting back to her they'd at least get her nationality right

Huh, I thought Tan Jiu was a guy. At least, that's how he/she seems to be depicted in the Mosspaca Advertising Department strip.

their alter egos are male, tan jiu and old xian are female, moss is male

Good to know.

Indeed, thank you.

In the new strip, anyone notice the guy friend is missing in the background?

I'm sure we will see him in one of the next strip all alone, abandoned x)

Ohmygoshhhhhhh new strip asking her to dry your face like a baby i can't u little cheeky kwdwedd

She's surprisingly smooth now that she's gotten over the initial hitch of starting a conversation.

I know right she had me at that cute girl finish omg !! Smooth Sun Jing is kjxdnkwj but I'm also dying to see whipped
Sun Jing later when they eventually get together.I love that her and mophead seem to be the goofy bunch that play around and are apparently pretty social

y r the pics getting smaller??? @A@ i cant read it!!

Press the resize button at the top right!

I'm glad to see you like this~中国人表示追着坛九大大的跟新www

He wasn't abandoned >.>

last edited at Feb 7, 2015 11:19AM

Chapter 41 Didn't exactly begin how I imagined, was a bit disappointed that that sort of compliment wasn't picked up. It was obviously flirting. I blame Qi Fang.

I need a wingman like Qi Fang tbh

One of my favorite things reading this is how Sun Jing and Qi Fang are total bros. It's so rare to see in yuri a friendship between a lesbian and a (most likely straight) guy that feels natural, makes both characters more likable and doesn't threaten at all to go het.

And indeed, he is still about!

Chapter 41 Didn't exactly begin how I imagined, was a bit disappointed that that sort of compliment wasn't picked up. It was obviously flirting. I blame Qi Fang.

Well they are going to a ramen shop so there is plenty of time for that line to be discussed in earnest when they are stuff their faces.

And x2 about Qi Fang and Sun Jing are just awesome together. And I feel so bad for their classmate lol! That guy is just so friggen huge! X-D

Yeah I got my Mophead abandoned in the water !!!! =D

last edited at Feb 9, 2015 12:37PM