Thyaeria and Autumn Lily, translator and editor of Desolate Devouring Art!

[Jaspaaar]

At 4am GMT on April 21st (which is 12pm midday GMT+8, 9pm on the 20th for PDT, and midnight EDT), Thyaeria and Autumn Lily, the translator and editor of Desolate Devouring Art, will be hosting a question and answer session!

You may also know Thyaeria from his numerous previous translations, including Tales of Demons and Gods, The Sovereign's Ascension, and The Great Ruler!

Feel free to post your questions now in advance, and they'll be responded to once the event starts. You might be interested to know why Thyaeria started translating, what kinds of edits Autumn Lily normally makes, or simply what their hobbies are. 

[Genaroac1]

Hi, my question is:

This novel is a harem one, I want to now; 1. If this is going to be a big harem 8 or more o a small one? 2. If the girls of the harem is more like decorations or they are going to be like for example Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, they fight and all that?

Another thing I want to now if this going to be a solo journey or with his experience he is going to bring the clan with him and create a powerful clan and army and all that?

[Erudite_Birdy]

‷₍𐑲ᐠ  ͒ᕑ₎ʃ𐑲 

What do you do to relax after an insanely difficult day of translating/editing?

What are your top ten favorite books of all time? (If you're a bookaholic like me, feel free to mention more than 10.)

If you could swap places with a character in a book, who would that person be? (If you want to live multiple interesting/adventurous lives, tell us about more than one!)

What are your favorite things to eat? What are your favorite things to cook? If you're a foodie, what are the best foods/dishes/meals you've ever eaten?

Do you have any pets? What are their names and why did you give them those names? What do they do that makes you happy or annoys the heck out of you?

What are a few of your hobbies? How did you get into them and why do you continue to do them?

If you were rich beyond dreams of avarice, what would you travel to see/do and why?

What questions do you wish you had been asked in this Q&A and what are the answers to those questions?

[kkaliff]

Hi, is there a manga of this?

[Thyaeria]

On 4/19/2024 at 9:38 PM, Genaroac1 said:

This novel is a harem one, I want to now; 1. If this is going to be a big harem 8 or more o a small one? 2. If the girls of the harem is more like decorations or they are going to be like for example Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, they fight and all that?

It's tricky to answer without spoiling parts of the novel, so to answer your questions, it will be a big harem. As for the second part, I'll admit I haven't read that far yet. I like to read as I go, like dozens of chapters ahead, but not the entire book. This is to keep my passion from going since a book is easily a 3-5 year project.

On 4/19/2024 at 9:38 PM, Genaroac1 said:

Another thing I want to now if this going to be a solo journey or with his experience he is going to bring the clan with him and create a powerful clan and army and all that?

I can't remember if he brought the Xu Clan (if that's what you're referring to) along with him, but I remember him establishing his force with many old faces from the Great Yan Dynasty even after joining the cultivation world.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What do you do to relax after an insanely difficult day of translating/editing?

I tend to take a stroll when I get stuck or after an insanely difficult chapter. It helps to clear my mind! That means I can stroll outside at 2-3 a.m.

Either that or I just lie on my bed and go through YouTube, Netflix, etc.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What are your top ten favorite books of all time? (If you're a bookaholic like me, feel free to mention more than 10.)

I'll be honest, but I hardly read any English books now. I mainly read Chinese novels because they relate to what I do.

Also, there are more varieties of Chinese novels, and I'm more into sci-fi and apocalypse these days.

But if you're talking about English books, my all-time favorites are the Harry Potter series and Rick Riordan's (the Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus series). I also read others, but they were more casual read to pass the time.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

If you could swap places with a character in a book, who would that person be? (If you want to live multiple interesting/adventurous lives, tell us about more than one!)

Harry Potter series! I don't think anyone can refuse the wizarding world!

I like Fred and George Weasley. They're easily my favorite, not Hermione and her two useless men.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What are your favorite things to eat? What are your favorite things to cook? If you're a foodie, what are the best foods/dishes/meals you've ever eaten?

Frankly, I don't have any favorites, as I have a wide palate. My 'favorite' changes over time, but I've recently been into Italian food.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

Do you have any pets? What are their names and why did you give them those names? What do they do that makes you happy or annoys the heck out of you?

I do have a dog.  My sister named it Poppy, and I never asked her why. We accepted it pretty quickly. *shrugs*

There's one thing that annoys the heck out of me. So, my dog gets excited whenever someone comes home, and she gets so excited that she starts peeing on the ground despite being toilet trained. Imagine coming home after a long day outside and having to clean up the mess your dog made for being too excited to welcome someone home.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What are a few of your hobbies? How did you get into them and why do you continue to do them?

Reading Chinese novels, mainly because of what I do now and to kill time. I used to like traveling, but I just got too lazy for that now.

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

If you were rich beyond dreams of avarice, what would you travel to see/do and why?

I used to like traveling because it was fun, but I became too lazy to travel as I got older. But if I were rich, I would probably see myself living overseas. I would probably stay in a country for a couple of months before moving to the next country. It gives me more time to explore the country instead of a rushed vacation trying to visit various places in days and tiring myself out.

I like living overseas in various countries, adapting and trying different cultures. I think it would be a fun experience!

On 4/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What questions do you wish you had been asked in this Q&A and what are the answers to those questions?

I had thought about this question for the past 20 minutes but couldn't think of a question I wished I had been asked in this Q&A.

4 hours ago, kkaliff said:

Hi, is there a manga of this?

Not that I know of. But I have a strong feel they might produce a manga for it. Most novels produce manga and anime if they perform well on the Chinese publisher site.

[AwesomeGrace]

I want to know how you started translating @Thyaeria

And how @Autumnlilystarted editing! 

Also, what's your favourite novel on Wuxiaworld?

[Autumnlily]

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What do you do to relax after an insanely difficult day of translating/editing?

Honestly, after a busy day, editing is kind of a relaxing activity for me. I get to read new chapters while I edit them. 

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What are your top ten favorite books of all time? (If you're a bookaholic like me, feel free to mention more than 10.)

It's a long list. Here are a few: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Alchemist, the Harry Potter series, and the Hunger Games series. Some of the all-time favorite classics, like Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Pride and Prejudice, and Sherlock Holmes, never get old.

Additionally, I have also enjoyed reading Invincible and Love Code at the End of the World and am currently enjoying reading Desolate Devouring Art on Wuxiaworld. Being an editor, I can't help being a bit biased about the books I have edited while working with an amazing team of translators. 😉

I have some books (The Second Coming of Gluttony, Damn Reincarnation, and Field of Gold) on my to-read list from Wuxiaworld that I have heard good things about, and I am sure I will be adding some of them to my favorites list. Let me know if you have any more suggestions. 🙂

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What are your favorite things to eat? What are your favorite things to cook? If you're a foodie, what are the best foods/dishes/meals you've ever eaten?

I am a big foodie. I enjoy all kinds of cuisines, but my all-time favorite is Butter Chicken. 

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

Do you have any pets? What are their names and why did you give them those names? What do they do that makes you happy or annoys the heck out of you?

Yes, we have a Black Lab named Bagheera. You can see his cute furry face on my Discord profile picture.

When we adopted him, his resemblance to the black panther Bagheera from The Jungle Book was striking, and we knew that name would suit him perfectly. He is just a cute ball of energy and our furry baby, so simply having him around makes me happy. Hahaha, he doesn't technically annoy me, but I always find it amusing how he routinely wipes his muzzle on my pants after eating his food as if I were his personal towel.

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What are a few of your hobbies? How did you get into them and why do you continue to do them?

Gardening, reading, and traveling at the moment, as summer is around the corner. My hobbies kind of change with the season, but I would say reading and traveling stay constant. I always had a green thumb and enjoyed gardening with my grandparents as a child; that passion has remained with me. 🙂

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

If you were rich beyond dreams of avarice, what would you travel to see/do and why?

Everywhere around the world. I would just spin the globe, randomly point at a place to visit and fly there. Hahah! I love experiencing different cultures and have a lot of friends scattered around the world, so I would start by visiting them one by one. 

On 4/19/2024 at 10:12 AM, Erudite_Birdy said:

What questions do you wish you had been asked in this Q&A and what are the answers to those questions?

What's my favorite season, and why? The answer is all four seasons, with autumn and summer being my favorites. Summer is my favorite for its warmth and sun, and autumn is my favorite for the beautiful colors and activities like pumpkin picking, fall foliage viewing, etc. And don't even get me started on the delicious pumpkin spice latte... 😉 

4 hours ago, AwesomeGrace said:

And how @Autumnlilystarted editing! 

Also, what's your favourite novel on Wuxiaworld?

Reading has always been my passion; I also write my own stories. In 2019, I was looking for some exciting novels to read, and dMomo, also an editor at Wuxiaworld, introduced me to the translated web novels on Wuxiaworld. I started reading The Second Coming of Gluttony, which dMomo was editing at that time, and found it very interesting (I have yet to finish reading it, and I am sure it will be going on the list of my favorite books from Wuxiaworld once I catch up on it this summer.)

dMomo enjoyed editing and working with all of you amazing people here at Wuxiaworld and encouraged me to apply to be an editor. I had prior experience editing in academia and really enjoyed it, so I emailed you, passed your test, and got assigned as an editor for Invincible in 2019. 🙂

I think Invincible is my favorite novel on Wuxiaworld, as it was my first project. However, I am enjoying reading and editing Desolate Devouring Art at the moment. I enjoy Thy's translation style, and the more I progress into the story, the more interesting it becomes. The plot development is slow, but I am at a point where the author is finally starting to lay down the foundation for a bigger plot. And after a busy day, I just like the light reading aspect of it. 

I have yet to read more books from Wuxiaworld, as I have been enjoying reading/editing the books I have been working on since 2019. Hopefully, I will get more time from my busy schedule in the summer to explore and read the titles I mentioned above. 

Edited April 21 by Autumnlily

[Thyaeria]

14 hours ago, AwesomeGrace said:

I want to know how you started translating @Thyaeria

Also, what's your favourite novel on Wuxiaworld?

If I remember correctly, I started translating somewhere around 2015. I was an active reader before translating but gradually got tired of waiting for translation. Back then, not every novel pumps out 1/2 chapters a day, and 3 chapters a week was the norm. It was messy back then because you had to jump to multiple sites to read the novels.

I think I got tired of waiting and went to read the Raws, in which I saw a novel I liked (TDG). So I tried translating, and that's how I started on my WordPress site before being invited to Wuxiaworld.

Coiling Dragon was my favorite novel in Wuxiaworld. The novel made me move to the Raws, where I eventually started translating. I hardly read any Chinese novels on Wuxiaworld, as I can only read the raws, but I do read Korean novels, too.

I'll just list down the novels that were enjoyable for me: Soul Land 3, BTTH, ATG, Child of Light, Overgeared, Seoul Station's Necromancer (The first Korean novel I've read), Spirit Realm, Star Gate, and WMW.

[Swsws]

Hi, with Qidian going global with their Webnovel platform, do you think the translation landscape for Chinese and Korean web novels has been changed?

I've noticed a significant decrease in comments on official and fan translation sites since then. It seems like reader engagement has dropped – previously, there would be at least 20 to 30 comments, whereas now it feels like only well-known novels generate much discussion. Do you think this is a real phenomenon, or am I just biased?

[Thyaeria]

5 hours ago, Swsws said:

Hi, with Qidian going global with their Webnovel platform, do you think the translation landscape for Chinese and Korean web novels has been changed?

I've noticed a significant decrease in comments on official and fan translation sites since then. It seems like reader engagement has dropped – previously, there would be at least 20 to 30 comments, whereas now it feels like only well-known novels generate much discussion. Do you think this is a real phenomenon, or am I just biased?

I think it's a real phenomenon. Many Chinese terms were new to everyone back then, and everyone could create 10-20 jokes for each. For example, Mount Tai, slap face, etc.

But as time progressed, more people got used to the terms and weren't so 'fresh' anymore.

Furthermore, many genres were new in the past, and everything was new to everyone, like cultivation novels, VRMMO novels, and celebrity novels. However, as more of the same genres were being translated, nothing seemed fresh after some time.