SLAYERS CHALLENGE: WE WON

[art note: This is tradigital. There is no such category on dA! It is more traditional than digital, though, and most digital additions were made to blend with or embellish the traditional. I'll be making a tutorial post in a few days on all the changes I made and how they were done.]

Slayers Challenge wins. Slayers fans win. Anyone who likes to read books wins. Tokyopop wins. The Tokyopop staffers and affiliates who worked so hard for this win. Everybody. Wins.

In case you didn't catch the news, we're getting volumes 8 and 9 of the novels print-on-demand via web orders, as part of a very new thang Tokyopop is trying out. If we are good, and sales are good, and there's a big jump in Slayers fandom when Funimation releases the new DVDs, maybe Tokyopop will consider getting us all the way to volume 15. As it is, we have to thank Kara Stambach for pushing hard to get us to 8, which is where the current plot arc ends. She listened to us when we pointed out that leaving us at 6 leaves us on a cliffhanger. The usual purchasing process is buying 3 licenses at once, and so if they negotiated more they might have gone up to 9...which would have been more books, but it would have started a whole new arc that might never get released. D: Actually, this whole thing might change Tokyopop's buying process. They may research where arcs begin and end and buy in arcs instead of batches. So thank you Kara, and thank you everyone who raised your voice, everyone who sent a letter, everyone who spread the word. Thanks especially to those who stayed positive and believed that we could reach a company instead of fighting them. Even I had trouble believing that. It has been extremely hard to keep under control and WAIT. But everything paid off. Again, thank you so much to everyone for sticking through, showing your support, sending letters, fighting for these novels whether as a fan or an employee or both...you changed things, you BROUGHT these novels here, and you deserve an effing medal.

ALSO THANK YOU TO:

Eugene for lending support, spreading the word, and donating a drawing of all the helpers. I know we're all looking forward to it.
Sorako for spreading the word, coming to chats, lending support, and helping with the ongoing Slayers Central project. And heck, for me getting to meet you through this. XD
Mazokugirl for spreading the word, coming to chats, lending support, and helping with the ongoing Slayers Central project. Thanks also for all the chatting, which was very supportive and also just great fun.
Megs for opening up a topic at animeondvd.com's forums that helped us all get in touch with TP representatives for the first time. Best start to a campaign ever.
Peter Ahlstrom for his communications through said thread, for giving us the translation of the author's note at the end of volume 6, for starting relations off on a great foot and being a swell guy. Also, I hear he worked a bit on those novels, check your credits pages in your copies. Thank you for your editing work!
Jeremiah Bourque for translating these novels for Tokyopop, and for showing up as a complete surprise at the first SC chat and pretty much flooring us. Another absolutely swell guy. Thank you for telling us so much about the translating process, talking about Slayers, and basically just thrilling the socks off us fangirls. :3
Kelly Sue Deconnick for setting the standard for the Slayers adaptation in the early novels, and interacting with us over at the AOD forums as well. You are also swell and I love what you did with these novels.
Hanyaan for being there for chat, advice, spreading ze word, support, and cosplaying Slayers for great justice! And helping with Slayers Central. :3
BGEEZUS for spreading ze word, fan support, Slayers Central helping, being there, being awesome, almost making Min almost faint from the WHOA of meeting you and Sorako at the same time. XD;
Char for giving Slayers Challenge free webhosting, including for the chat that we did so much planning and meeting in. Thanks so much for your support.

And finally to Minerva , who started this damn thing, and had the energy, determination, and sheer fire to drive it. There's nothing I can say, really, that can do her justice. Please never, ever forget that Slayers Challenge is all thanks to her.

WE WIN THE INTERNET. THANK YOU.