#incorrect kai mark

[projectincorrectgarden]

Diana: Just be yourself.

Damon: 'Be myself'? Diana, I have one day to win Kai's parents over. How long did it take before you guys started liking me?

Mark: Couple weeks.

Eloise: Six months.

Grace: Jury’s still out.

Damon: See, Diana?

Damon: 'Be myself'. What kind of garbage advice is that?

[incorrectromanceclub]

Ivo: Time for plan G. Danielle: Don’t you mean plan B? Ivo: No, we tried plan B a long time ago. I had to skip over plan C due to technical difficulties. Kay: What about plan D? Ivo: Plan D was that desperate disguise attempt half an hour ago. Kay: What about plan E? Ivo: I’m hoping not to use it. Joncière dies in plan E. Lou: I like plan E.

[ribbonsfallaway]

JOHNNY: One fiss-huh... Two-ah fiss-huh... MIGUEL: Are you serious? JOHNNY: You picked a hard one on purpose! ROBBY: It's a Dr. Seuss book, you fucking dipshit!

[jynxedshapeshifter]

you know what, while i'm looking through my aai screenshots, have some silly ones that made me laugh

lang literally fucking howling

edgeworth specifying that not just does he have a house instead of an apartment, but kay knows where he lives and will 100% use it for stolen camera cane storage

"your gavelship"

eustace greeting everyone by calling them losers (eddie's sprite makes this much funnier imo)

"tooth de-kay"

i find the lack of punctuation here really funny. "i've never uttered a grammatically incorrect sentence in my life" my ass, miles

cake crimes: the musical

eustace's staring competition with the forensics guy

"WHY IS THERE A CHISEL IN THE DOG!?!?!?!?"

"small mountain of evidence"

"his relationship with logic is tenuous at best"

nerd

that is way too many question marks

"perfectly reasonable molehill"

"franderella"

i want to start using this as a reaction image

[luxthestrange]

Incorrect quotes#1001...MC?Part 1

If the Halloween Killer Mask events were canon...This is basically how Mc & Mammon met...Halloween is a state of mind people-

In an abandoned warehouse, Mammon is in a Tv watching His Target Mc shacking in their chair their head moving,as the straps on their wrists and legs keep them...

Mam*Looking confused through his mask*...Eh...Mc?

Mc*Continues to shake uncontrollably*!?!

The view of them with tense music and screams...a total Saw camera angle leaves the serial killer dizzy-

Mam*In his real voice now*-Woah woah wait wait!Whats wrong with ya, lunatic?

Mc*Stops and looks at the tv,confused*...whats wrong with me?-IM SCARED!

Mam:...Of WHAT?

Mc*Stares at him*...

Mam*Stares back*...

Mc:...of what-OF THE GAME!?

Mam: But I haven't even explained how the Game works-

Mc*Nods at that slowly*Yeah but your gonna do something nasty to me...

Mam:...Ok!-Yes I am but at least let me finish first explaining the game and then you get scared of whatever, okay?

Mc: Oh-Ok ok-go on!

Mam:Ok-MC THE DEVICE BESIDE YOU WILL CRUSH YOUR SKULL-

Mc*Continues to shake uncontrollably*!?!

Mam: WAIT DAMMIT!?-FUCK!?-What happen?!

Mc*Stops and looks at the TV*...W-well now you did say something that freaked me out...

Mam: Fucking dammit!-LET ME FINISH! Let me finish- 'Kay?

Mc: Ok ok ok...

Mam*Sighs and nods* Thanks...-LIKE I WAS SAYING THE DEVICE BESIDE YOU WILL CRUSH YOUR SKULL WHEN THE CLOCK I NTHE WALL MARKS ZERO TO TURN IT OFF YOU MUST PULL THE LEVER INFRONT OF YOU BUT IN DOING SO...YOU'LL ACTIVATE THE LITTLE DEVICE THAT CUT YOUR HANDS, YOU CHOICE MC...YOUR HANDS...OR YOUR HEAD?~...Let the game beg-

Mc*Continues to shake uncontrollably*!?!

Mam: FUCKING DAMMIT MC!?-WHAT PART OF LETTING ME FINISH DIDN'T YA GET!?-

Mc*Continues to shake uncontrollably even worse than before*!?!

Mam:...Mc?

Mc*Continues to shake uncontrollably even worse than before, foam coming out their mouth*!?!

Mam*Panics and and screams in worry*MC!?-

[residentialsinyomakai]

Yokai Watch Blog Masterpost!

_____

Hiya! 🍌💬💜So basically this post'll be for any kind of Yokai Watch related kinds of blogs! Inactive/semi-inactive stuff will be marked appropriately!! If I miss something or you have a blog you want added, feel free to let me know! In the same vein, also tell me if you want your blog removed, or to not be @ mentioned. I'll include short explanations next to some, or muses for ask blogs!! Anyways...

_____

Ask/Rp Blogs:

@ask-mr-movien - Mr Movien/Directator

@thatoneyellowthing - Ittan-Gomen/So-Sorree

@yomakai-chairman - McKraken

@squiddiliusmckraken - McKraken + Tensei!McKraken

@what-a-calamarity -McKraken again!

@yokaiwatchrp - All (to my knowledge)

@askbabblong - Babblong

@fifty-paws-in-a-trenchcoat - Nyans & occasional Komas

@yo-kai-zazel - Zazel, Enma, Ed Zoff, Azriel (OC)

@whispergallagher - Whisper Gallagher-Glass (AU)

@whispers-through-time - Whisper, various time periods

@chipped-buchinyan-ggrr - Buchinyan (She-Ra Crossover AU)

@katietheweirdgirlinclass - Fumika/Katie

@ask-the-watch-holders - Watchholders + partners (+ more!)

@he-knows-all - Hi No Shin/Hinozall || Inactive (?)

@yokaitm - Misc, Yokai and Watchholder

@thereallyrealghoulfather - Gogogo Godfather/The Ghoulfather

@madd-doctor - Dr. Maddiman

@egaroni - Leadoni Assistant to aformentioned!

@ushio-starbin-yurei - titular ocs of @/mika-chaos-bean ^u^

_____

Gimmick/Help:

@urf4v-izin-ykw - Get a tribe assigned to your fave!

@ykw-sexyman-polls - Rating yokai on a scale of 1-10 based on how much of a tumblr sexyman they are

@ykwrarepair - Rarepair request blog :0

@yokaiusaqr - QR codes

@yokaiwatchconfessions - Confession blog

@relatablepicturesofwhisboi - Whisper photos :)

@yokaisuggestion - "[blank]? It must be the work of a yokai!" (Inactive)

^^^ Translations, JP pronoun usage, and more from @Kaialone!

@allnyata-blog - Gifs from the show

@manjisubs - Fansubs (1)

@spectersubs - Fansubs (2)

@eve-chin-anime - Fansubs (3)

@shitty-yokai-watch-a-day - Poorly drawn yokai daily for a year (Sporadic/kinda over)

@yokai-watch-fashion - Fashion and outfits from the series :>

@daily-yokai - As it reads; occasional daily yokai art

@yokai-watch-taggers - Tagging Yokaiblr

@yokai-watch-incorrect-quotes - Incorrect quote blog (unsure of status as of current)

@youkai-watch-z-blog - Japanese medal/cataloguing

@ykw-and-pkm-poems - Namesake once more

@sparkleonwhisper

@yokaiwatchphotodumps

_____

Projects & Rewrites:

@yokaiwatchfadetowhite - Comic loosely based on first game of the series with interesting changes!!

(Could've swore there was more here....whoopsie doodles!!)

_____

That's what I've got for now :) See you some other time!! Happy watching the yokai or whatever they say in Springdale

_____

(Hiya! Edit Yōmakai from 18/4/25: sorry if you randomly get tagged! Js updating some things ;=u=)

[icy-watch]

Ok, and that was the end of s2p2 of Ninjago: Dragons Rising.

Lots going on at the end there.

There are Emotions here.

So predictions for next season.

The Fab 5 are going to be the main antagonists. That's pretty much a given at this point. It's going to be a tough fight, but there's going to be only 1 person or being who'll be able to defeat them:

Ras's master.

I still have no idea who or what that could be, but they're this giant looming threat over everything. They are, ultimately, going to be the final threat.

I feel like they've been pulling some strings and really want Arin, not Ras, by their side. And as soon as Arin masters Shatterspin, they're going to ditch Ras.

That's just what I'm feeling rn.

And then there's Jay. Nya and Kai are going to find Jay. I"m not sure if they're going to ever restore his memories. I would love to believe that they'll be able to, but I think there's something lost about Jay's memories that are with Wu.

As in, Wu is somehow keeping Jay's memories from him for his own protection or something.

Oh, wait if Jay knows where Wu is and what's going on with him? Hmmmm. That's an interesting plot thread to go down. I might play with this idea later.

And, finally, the reason Wu caused the Merge. The idea I proposed while watching the episode feels... tangible. Wu caused the Merge bc if he didn't so something the Fab 5 would be unbeatable. They needed Elemental Powers in order to stop them.

This completely contradicts my prediction about about Ras's master being the only thing to defeat them, I know, but my brain is thinking many things and I can't control it.

And we have left now is to wait until the next season is released.

Correct and incorrect predictions below the cut.

Correct

The Forbidden Five caused some problems in the past and were sealed away or something. "Problems" is putting it lightly. Very lightly. It's implied they committed genocide. Multiple times.

The Forbidden Five were the last students Egalt and Rontu had. I had this marked as confirmed, but it's been so long since I last watch that episode to actually say yay or nay.

There is a portal gate at Mysterium. It wasn't confirmed in any of the episodes t appeared, but as it was in the City of Temples Monastery, it's safe to assume it has 1 as well.

Either Kai or Lloyd will be able to do the Rising Dragon technique first. Kai was first, and Lloyd was third. 😊

Something's up with Egalt, and Wyldfyre knows what it is. Sadly, she knows exactly what is is, bc she lost family members to the same disease.

2 members of the Fab 5 escaped and the second 1 is possessing Jordana. I think this was rather obvious to me.

We'll see some old friends at the Tournament of the Sources. We got Tox and Neuro and Mr. Pale and Chamille and maybe some others I forgot about.

Jay is either going to be a random competitor in the Tournament or 1 of the members of the Wolf Army. Por qué no los dos?

Bleckt can't be trusted. The fact I switched from Bleckt to Roby.

Zeatrix will make it decently far into the Tournament. She actually did. Before she lost and tried to kill Lloyd.

By the end of the season, Arin will join Ras. Technically, yes, he did.

Nokt and whoever's possessing Jordana killed the Matriarch. This became obvious. It was less obvious whether or not Ras was in on it or no.

There's a lot of manipulation in the Tournament to either help Ras or the Fab 5. Help in the form of an old man with buttons.

The City of Temples Monastery won't be how they get Kai and Bonzle back. It'll be something with the dragon horns. I'm genuinely surprised that this was the actual solution. Holy canoli.

Nokt and his sister are using Ras. He really is very easy to play with. They were holding a string in front of him and he was batting away at it, believing he was in control of everything this whole time.

Bleckt and Ras have been conspiring, but it has nothing to to with the missing horns. Yeah, their whole plot together was the subplot for the season. Nokt and Rox's plot ended up being the main 1.

Something will interrupt Sora and Nokt's fight. I'm counting Bleckt shifting the platform as an interruption. It wasn't what I assumed would happen, but it did keep Sora from actually winning the round like she should have.

There is going to be a fight between everyone and the Wolf Army. I feel like this was a given.

The rest of the Fab 5 (+ Kai and Bonzle) will be freed at the end of the season. This was another 1 of those things that felt like it was a given.

Jordie is going to get free from Rox. This 1 also felt like it was a given.

Incorrect

Sora is going to struggle with learning the Rising Dragon technique. She didn't even learn it.

Arin is going to do the best out of everyone learning the Rising Dragon technique. *sad laughter into a pillow*

Ras is sacrificing the Writers to keep control of the Wolf Army. Well, he was sacrificing them, just not to keep control of the Wolf Army. Actually, that resulted in him losing control of the army.

Bonzle was the reason none of the Finders could leave the Land of the Lost. She wasn't directly responsible for keeping them there, although she failed to mention that the spell holding them there was gone.

Bonzle was captured by the Administration. Not really... Jay tried, I'll give him that.

Zane, Cole, and Gandalaria won't realize Bonzle's been taken until after the fight. She managed to get away from Jay. Although, it would have been fun to see the 2 of them bonding a little bit.

Bonzle will be rescued. More like, she's going to save Kai from spiraling in the Nether-Realm.

Kai, Sora, and Wyldfyre will free Zane, Cole, and Gandalaria from the library. They were able to come up with a small solution all on their own.

Arin will join Ras at the end of the first half of the season. He made it much longer than that!

Lloyd will have another vision before he and Nya find Arin and reach the temple. He did not.

Beatrix will make a comeback this season. lol

Arin will find a clue as to where his parents are in the City of Temples. Ras saying he knows where Arin's parents are is not a clue. That is straight up manipulation and lies.

Frak is being used to get to the ninja bc of his history with Arin. Honestly, this would have been a good path to explore. But that would have meant that Ras would have to actually talk to his students rather than talk at them.

Zeatrix is the villain of the season. She never even stood a chance.

Wylfyre is either going to be completely oblivious to Roby's flirting and have it pointed out by Sora, OR she's going to notice and flirt back, turning him into a puddle of simp. Or the secret third thing where she's bad at flirting and so is Roby. They're both beans.

The Administrator called for the Matriarch to be killed. Nokt and Rox did that all on their own.

Roby is the 1 manipulating the Tournament. He was a bit too eager to have the ninja participate, and very into having the Most with the Tournament. But he's just a bean.

Nya left to find Jay. She and Riyu got kidnapped by Nokt and Rox.

The Fab 5 did something to sever the connection Nya and Riyu had with Kai and Bonzle. They did, indeed.

Arin will join the Fab 5 at the end of the season, instead of Ras. He ran after them, but he didn't actually join them. He was going after Ras.

Partial

Lloyd's vision is def going to happen. My predictions about exactly what are mostly accurate, but I thought it was Beatrix (like everyone else) and not Zeatrix. So, it sits in partial for being mostly accurate.

Riyu knows something's up with Arin. Sort of? But not really? Not in the way that Arin needed someone to notice that something was up with him.

Something bad will happen to Bonzle and Euphrasia. Euphrasia came out of the Blood Moon Ceremony with only being scarred mentally.

Nya's going to leave the group to go out and find Jay. Well, she did leave the group. And originally it was to go find Jay, but she got a little sidetracked.

Frak and Jordie will join the ninja at the end of the season. Frak did. Jordie is MIA.

Unconfirmed

The Monastery will be destroyed by Ras at some point, officially marking the end of Wu's time as master and the permanent start of Lloyd's. I'm genuinely still waiting for this to happen. It seems very possible.

The 3 Wu Theories: He's the Energy Dragon under Imperium. Or, he's running a tea shop somewhere. Or, he's the Administrator. I have a lot of ideas as to where Wu is at, tbh.

The Administration is playing a part in Ras freeing the Forbidden Five somehow.This all depends on who the Administrator is.

1 of Arin's parents is the Administrator. This would be terrible. I kinda want it to happen.

Wu caused the Merge for a good reason. Something had to happen to either merge the Realms or let them be destroyed. Waiting to see whether this 1 will be right or if Wu truly is evil.

Nokt was expecting someone other than Nya to participate in the Tournament. Someone who's not Kai. This is most likely Kai, but I still kinda feel like he was expecting a relative we don't know about yet.

[psychic-refugee]

Not only do I think the novel ISN’T canon Wenclair, I don’t think it’s canon Wednesday, to be honest.

It’s not enough that the book was approved and published. It should actually be accurate to the source material, the TV show.

If the Powers that Be approved the novel, then they approved errors and emphatically different narrative concepts that are in direct conflict with the TV show.

What exactly does that say about how much they cared about the content of the novel?

Overall, the TV show and the writers, Gough & Millar, are the controlling narrative. IMO. If the book is in conflict with the TV show and what the writers themselves have stated, then I can dismiss the novel.

Tehlor Kay Meija was hired to write the book, and it was approved for publishing. I cannot infer more than that on anyone’s motivations. Certainly not if they approve of ship.

I disagree with Meija’s interpretation of certain scenes, and I can point to obvious and glaring mistakes.

“In the baby-blue-wallpapered room, I open my bag.” p. 32

Here, we clearly see that not only is the bathroom not blue, she does not open her bag. Full scene:

It stays on her back. She taps the bag and orders Thing to give her a nail file. The bag flips open on its own and he gives her the file.

The book has a lot of these unnecessary and should have been easy to fix mistakes. I’ve seen some rude replies where they ask “Did you watch the show?” Interpreting certain thoughts and actions as sapphic or not is a matter of opinion. This is just flat out wrong.  

There are provable errors not only in description but dialogue.

The tone and characterization of Enid and Wednesday’s interaction is different with the incorrect dialogue and descriptions.

The entire book is like this. It has wrong or dropped dialogue and deviates from the original narrative concepts of the TV show.

Every character has been done a disservice by this book.

It seems the people you should ask if they watched the show are Meija and whomever approved publishing the book, errors and all.  

The book with its lack of details I think misses a lot of nuances that we see from facial expressions and body language on the show. Details on the possibility of what others are thinking via facial expressions and body language are inconsistent throughout the book.

There is an annoying plethora of exclamation marks that makes it seem people are yelling or excited when I think they’re actually trying to portray emphasis. That’s just a pet peeve of mine and I fully admit it’s petty, but it does make some, like Kinbott, seem more manic than the show intended.

“Well Wednesday, I hope you don’t think of me as your adversary,” [Kinbott] says. “I hope we can forge a relationship built on trust! And mutual respect!” p 30

Kinbott does not have this kind of excited inflection when speaking to Wednesday, ever. She always remains calm and uses a soothing voice, like she’s trying to talk to an unwilling cat. lol

I think it was a mistake to hire Meija, who specializes in children’s books. The TV show is aimed at teens, but also has a strong nostalgia factor for those who grew up in the 90’s and the movies. I think Netflix is aiming for a wide audience of older teens and adults. With the violence and “edgy” aesthetic and leanings, I think a writer for an older audience would have been more appropriate.

This book was clearly made JUST for children. The bigger print, low word count, and very simplistic narration make it for an elementary grade reading level. It feels very dumbed down.

Wednesday the TV show is not meant to be for that young of an audience.

I think if Gough and Millar had written the novelization, it would be much different not only in style but accuracy.

At bottom, Meija is an outsider to this fandom and did not do a good job.

[salparadiselost]

In the last chapter its mentioned that Bruce would be questioned who his owner is if he went on a long journey alone without Clark. Do Taurs have to have special documentation to travel if they’re not obviously post ponies? Actually, are most taurs taught to read/write for that matter?

Thanks for the lore question!

So taurs need identifiers but it isn’t the form of documentation. Taurs not only wear clothing, but they also wear a certain amount of equipment depending on their jobs. Different jobs have different requirements, of course, but there are some similar motifs. Taurs will almost always have the equipment of leg guards and a style of chest harness. Many of them also wear tail wraps, jewelry around their spurs, or additional harnesses on their back.

The identification comes in on back leg guards or some harnesses. There are pieces that humans have designed to specifically be impossible for a taur to put on or take off on their own. They need a human’s help to wear these pieces, which usually signifies that they have a human’s consent to be out on their own. Other humans would be very suspicious of a taur that wasn’t wearing something that necessitated human help.

Bruce, on his own, would be stopped and checked to see if he was wearing back leg guards or to see if there was evidence that he put his gear on himself (checking for messily tied laces or incorrect placement because a taur couldn’t reach to put something in the right place). He would be constantly questioned despite wearing the king’s mark in other places on his wardrobe.

Of course, this is one of many methods taurs are controlled and this is honestly one of the less restrictive requirements. Some stables are more… extreme in making sure their taurs can’t escape and that they are even more dependent on human guidance.

As for reading and writing, I don’t think most are taught it. They are taught according to their jobs and most taurs are tasked as carriage horses, draft laborers, steeds, things like that. Those types of things don’t require reading and writing and favour that the taurs depend on humans to do it for them. Most nobility don’t want educated taurs; they want taurs that will follow their orders and only provide input in the exact right situations. Nothing more. Post taurs would be taught reading and writing to make deliveries and I think it’s one of the few jobs that need it.

Hope this is of interest and thanks for the lore question. Love these horsies.

~ Kay

[projectincorrectgarden]

Police: You’re under arrest for trying to carry three people on a single motorcycle.

Jett: Wait, what do you mean THREE?!

Police: Yes…three.

Kai: Oh, my God— What the fuck!?

Police: Wha―

Cassidy: MARK FUCKING FELL OFF!

[maritime-melodies-multiverse]

Maritime Melodies Across the Multiverse

Being introduced to things like the multiverse is... an experience. You feel so much smaller.

"...Marie...?" Callie mumbled, lip quivering. It's like her brain couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. This is Marie, even if her face was covered by a large respirator and goggles. She recognised everything, even her beauty mark, peeking out from under the mask. By all accounts, this is Marie Cuttlefish.

But it didn't feel like Marie. She walked differently. It was a hunched over, heavy gait, propelling her weight forwards and not as gracefully as her cousin would. She was unmistakably her cousin, yes, but... not really. She was taller... with her face being different in a way that was uncanny to Callie. The mask and goggles could've contributed to that, but masks and goggles don't shift the structure of the face's temples, or the size of one's forehead.

Marie didn't care about any of that, though. "Quit with that. You know it's me." She walked closer, and took off her mask. "I'm still dead to you, by the way."

Dead to her? What does that even mean...? Callie pulled a face as she tried to think, but Marie realised how that sounded, and decided to give her a better hint. "...your me is still dead."

She didn't understand either way. "You're hurting my head. Ca-can we start again?" Callie asked, a look of bafflement painted clearly on her face.

"We literally just starte- ghg. Fine."

She kicked the Lobster, before walking over to a bench and sitting down. Meanwhile, the cops searched the rest of the building. They won't find anything else. Marie didn't find any other anomalies.

It took a second for her to think of a place to start. If she just went into end-game multiverse theory, Callie wouldn't understand. She'd have to ease her into it. "'Kay, explaining the intricacies of the multiverse would instantly explode your pea brain, so we're starting small."

"Hey!" Callie retaliated, offended by that comment.

"It would."

"Anyway, imagine I have a rock."

Marie takes some rubble, and puts it in front of Callie. She seems intrigued by it, leaning in close and touching it. Marie fires an unsavoury glance at her, annoyed and frustrated. She's getting tired of her acting dumb, when clearly, she can act more mature. She wasn't four. "The rock's not important. Stop staring at it like that."

"But what if it is."

"Shut up."

"Anyhoo. The rock, ladies and gentlemen, has an infinite amount of instances of itself throughout other worlds."

"So it is important."

"Let me explain. Please."

There's one thing Marie doesn't miss about Callie, and that's her insistence to worm her way into every single place she can when speaking. She'll try and be smart and Marie will have to put her back in her place. This is one of those times.

"We call these different worlds 'universes'. If you can think of a universe, it already exists out there in the 'multiverse'."

"So the rock can..."

"Forget about the rock, it didn't work."

Marie leans back on her seat, and slumps down. She looks prepared to provide a dumbed down explanation, and a dumbed down explanation she will provide. "So, the multiverse contains an infinite amount of possibilities. There's an infinite multiverse of me and you, and everyone you know. However... most of them aren't Inklings."

Aren't Inklings? Callie raised and eyebrow at that, and leaned forwards at Marie. She's heard about the people before Inklings, but... she didn't know that there were other...

Guh. That hurts her head. "Whaddya mean...?"

"What I mean, is that they're all mostly humans. You know those bones people find a lot? Those are human bones, and everything we know about humans is completely incorrect."

Callie's pea brain explodes. She can't comprehend this information, and stares aimlessly forward. "For eel...?"

Marie picks up on her bafflement. She actually finds it really cute. She misses when her Callie would have those pea brain explosions. "Yeah, it's nuts. Took a while for us to even speak, because it turns out, that Inklish is complete gibberish to humans."

She cracks a smile, from under the mask. It's hard to pick up on, but Callie manages. "Wanna meet some?"

Marie stands up, and reveals a special watch-looking thing. It's streamlined, and has a neon orange screen, which glows with this otherworldly aura. It feels foreign, as if it couldn't possibly exist here. It didn't fit with Marie, either.

Callie stammers, looking at the watch with an uneasy look on her face.

"I mean, I have to protect Inkop-"

"Inkopolis can wait a day."

"..."

Weighing her decisions... Callie turns and looks out at the night sky behind the windows of the Institute. What does she have to lose...? After all, she doesn't have to go to work tomorrow... because she's fired.

There's not much to lose. She heaves a sigh, signalling to Marie, that she gives in. "Alright..."

"Let's go."

(yahaha! new part done! now with sparkly coloured text!!

[fordphilipsfictionlibrary]

Ronin, Book 1, Chapter 34

Since leaving the boats behind and setting off on foot into the boarlands, Koga and his small troop had come across two more Inoshi bands. Both had received them with trepidation, both had heard Koga’s story and responded with a refusal to even consider bringing them to the war chiefs and both had responded to Koga’s challenge with anger and threats. Koga did not think they had been in real danger either time, but he worried that if he spread too much ill feeling amongst the boar, they would ignore his summons instead of taking the bait. 

His gambit was a risky one. Ideally he would have appealed to the Inoshi leadership, boar who had managed to grow old in a society that did not value weakness, and helped them see what was so plain to him. Yet, without any way to do that, he was stuck marching around hoping to rile up enough boar to create a small army of angered allies. Even if the whole body of Inoshi warriors did not come, there might be a few young, brash warriors who wanted to show their mettle. Even a pawful of those brutish beasts could help turn the tide of a pitched battle.

The only thing that made him second guess his decision to go north on foot got closer with every step they took. The Kai-Ken lands were relatively small thanks to Inoshi encroachment and a few early wars won by the Shikoku and Akita before the peace talks began in earnest, but the Kai-Ken guarded them diligently. It was going to be hard to slip past them and even harder to fight their way out if it came to that. Eleven Akita samurai, even with over half that number being blademasters, would not be able to fend off an entire Kai-Ken force. 

As they camped for the final time before attempting to cross the border, Denji made his concerns known for the tenth or twelth time. “We should swing out towards the Shikoku lands, my Lord,” he said, eyes searching the trees as he did. “I know their role in all of this remains uncertain, but the Kai-Ken cannot be trusted. If they were to lay paws on you…”

“I would expect you to remove them, Denji,” Koga said. “We cannot be stopped now. We’ve come too far, the moment of battle is too near.”

As if summoned by his words, torch lights suddenly burst to life in the trees to the north of them. Before any alarm could be sounded, a force of fifty samurai came hurtling out of the once dark forest, surrounding them, but not advancing near enough to engage. Koga was up on his feet in seconds, katana drawn and Denji at his side before the circle was complete, but that didn’t matter. Flight at this juncture meant certain death and that was not an option for the Lord of the Akita.

“Well, well,” a wolf snarled as it stepped forward, Hokkaido armor and badge of rank clear in the dying light, “Lord Koga if I’m not mistaken? I saw you once as a pup and don’t think I could forget that golden coat of yours. When we saw Akita sailing south, we never thought we’d find such a prize.”

Koga eyed the surrounding force and gritted his teeth. There were four other Hokkaido mixed in with the maybe thirty or so Kai-Ken, but the real shock were the fifteen odd Shikoku glaring at him from their ranks. Koga tried to fight the despair growing in his chest as his paws began to sweat. So they had just been hiding in the shadows it seemed. Damned cowards. And now he’d given them an easy victory, fool that he was.

“You are mistaken,” Denji growled, weapon still at the ready. “Lord Koga is safely in the capital. This is my Captain, Jun. You flatter him, I’m sure, but you are incorrect.”

“I’d know that face anywhere,” one of the Shikoku said, moving forward lithely and cautiously. Koga had always thought of these gangly wolves as closer to giant foxes than apex canines and this display did not dissuade him of the opinion.

“Back away!” the Hokkaido barked at the advancing Shikoku.

“Relax,” the wolf said calmingly. “He has a mark behind his ear, or he will if this is truly Lord Koga. If you’d like to risk checking, be my guest Hannato.”

Koga felt a mix of confusion and hope as the two wolves stared each other down. He had no such mark anywhere on his body. Whether this Shikoku was mistaken or up to something was yet to be seen, but Koga suddenly returned to a state of alertness while also trying to play along.

“You do it,” the Hokkaido growled after a moment. “If he runs you through, don’t expect help. I’m not risking his hide if he is Koga. Lord Kyokan will want him alive.”

“I understand,” the Shikoku nodded, keeping his own sword in paw as he crossed to Koga. Bending his head forward roughly, he made a show of checking behind Koga’s ear, but his real intention was to deliver a message. “Don’t hesitate, move quickly, spare the Shikoku.”

Letting Koga’s head go, the Shikoku turned to face the Hokkaido captain. “Well?” the wolf asked. His only answer was the Shikoku’s blade removing his head from his shoulders in one practiced slice.

“Attack! Spare the Shikoku!” Koga roared even as he watched the Shikoku turning on the Kai-Ken and Hokkaido that had moments before been their allies. 

The battle was short, but bloody. The Kai-Ken and Hokkaido seemed more focused on the traitors in their ranks than their almost-prisoners and that gave the Akita the opportunity to strike. The element of surprise had helped even the odds early and by the time the bloodletting stopped, all of the enemy samurai had fallen. Among them lay two more of Koga’s Akita and five of the fifteen Shikoku. 

“Who are you?” Koga asked once his surviving Akita had rallied to his side and the surviving Shikoku had joined their leader across from him.

“Unachi,” the Shikoku said, bowing slightly. “I am sorry for my rough treatment of you Lord Koga, but I saw no other way.”

“I would not dream of holding it against you,” Koga said truthfully, “but I must wonder, what is going on? The Shikoku have remained a mystery to me for too long. Are you allies or opportunists?”

“Allies,” Unachi said, wiping the blood from his sword on his leg. “Since the day Kyokan exerted his control over our clan, we have been working from within to unseat him. We knew you would eventually rise to face the mad-wolf and our leaders decided that until that time, we must remain in a position to help you.”

“Well you’ve held up that end of things quite nicely,” Koga said. “I am forever in your debt, Unachi of the Shikoku.”

“We can save talk of debts for after the war,” Unachi said. “We only have a short amount of time before a second party comes looking after the first and there are things you need to know. First, there are no Shikoku sympathetic to the Hokkaido, not one, and if you should come across them we beg you do not kill them unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. Second, there are other turncoats in his ranks, Honshu and Hokkaido alike, as well as in all of the wolvish capitals. Only the Kai-Ken serve him fully and that is out of desperation and fear. Pity, but do not trust them. Third, there is an active plan to strip him of his mercenaries and our contacts in the Grand Army say they are close to making it work. I tell you all of this so that when the time comes, you might show mercy to those merely caught up in Kyokan’s madness.”

“My goal is never retribution, Unachi,” Koga said, “but I must know one more thing before we depart. How did you come to be here? How are the Shikoku managing to remain both in and outside his circle?”

“It is not so complex as it seems,” Unachi grinned. “Kyokan has no real power over us. We evaded his assassins and kept the Hokkaido from entering our city. We had the benefit of Honshu warning and avoided the pitfalls of foolish leadership like the Kai-Ken, but most of it was simple logic. Any time he asks us for assistance, we agree, yet we do not march. Until your army is handled, there is little he can do but send angry messages and thinly veiled threats. When we heard an Akita patrol needed handling, we finally agreed to come along and they were happy to have us, well, not happy, but willing to accept the extra swords.”

“I hope this rescue has not blown your cover,” Denji said, respect in his voice as he finally sheathed his sword.

“It will be hard to explain away,” Unachi shrugged, “but we are so near the end of this, I highly doubt it will matter. Me and my troops will just return to our lands and hope the Hokkaido and Kai-Ken assume us dead.”

“Will the Shikoku march with us when the time comes?” Koga asked.

“That is our plan,” Unachi said, but there was something in his voice Koga did not like.

“The plan, but…?” Koga asked.

“There is a growing feeling that your army might be able to defeat Kyokan without assistance, especially if his mercenaries depart. I worry that if things tilt too far in your favor beforehand, the Shikoku leadership will hedge their bets on your victory and instead of marching hold back, just in case you are defeated. From the start their goal has been to protect our clan, not the island. I see this as short-sighted, but it is not my decision to make. I simply thought you should be aware.”

Koga did not like this answer, though it rang true in his ears, but he disliked standing in this exposed wood more. They had only just narrowly escaped disaster and he doubted they would be able to manage it a second time. “I understand,” he said simply. “Can you lead us into safer lands? I worry that to press on through the Kai-Ken territory will end in more bloodshed.”

“We can take you to Shikoku lands and you can return through the Shika forests from there. You may run into some enemy foraging parties, but they’ll be mostly rats, maybe a few martens,” Unachi said.

“We would be forever grateful,” Koga said. “Please, lead the way. We must not linger here.”

(Chapter 35)

[adamwatchesmovies]

Shark Encounters of the Third Kind (2020)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established…

My friends keep telling me I’ve seen at least one shark movie worse than Shark Encounters of the Third Kind and I think they might technically be right. This movie lasts an hour and fifteen minutes while Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast is an hour and NINETEEN minutes. Right now, however, those four minutes don’t matter. Showing this movie to someone would be a surefire way to turn them into a lifelong enemy, except no one in their right mind would sit through this deluge of watery feces. There isn’t a single, solitary thing about this film that’s “good” or even “not terrible”.

A trio of treasure hunters looking for a sunken Nazi ship filled with gold stumble upon a flying saucer. To distract the Earthlings on the surface, aliens begin mind-controlling nearby sharks and sending them to attack anyone with the misfortune of being in the water.

I'd say "If you can’t get decent footage of a shark or afford the special effects required to create some, don’t make a shark movie" but if there’s any use of stock footage (besides establishing shots) I could forgive, it would be of ocean predators swimming. SEofTK establishes itself as complete trash right away when it shows us what is without a doubt the absolute worst underwater scene ever been filmed. Your average TikTok filter is more convincing. Even if there was some kind of twist after that scene, like if someone pulled off a set of VR goggles and the whole thing was revealed to be a simulation or video game, it would be inexcusable but at least you can kind of understand what the filmmakers were thinking. Shooting underwater is hard. You're tempted to give director Mark Polonia a break but then, they unleash stock footage… of normal house cats. There wasn’t ANYONE on the production team with a pet? Come on. And it’s not like those cats are for any kind of important moment. It’s just to establish that a patient of Dr. Kay Radtke (Jennie Russo) is mentally unstable. From there, we get so many reuses of the same shot you could turn this into a drinking game. Your average school lunch must have a bigger budget than this entire film.

If you thought borrowed footage was the worst Shark Encounters had to offer, think again. Now, it goes without saying that the performances are so bad they could turn anyone watching them to stone, that the script is worthless, etc. What you probably wouldn’t expect is how unconvincing the gore effects are in this… horror comedy? I’m not sure what genre this belongs to besides “torturous”. At one point, we get closeups of a severed head and you can see the individual strands in the mesh used as a base before it was covered in plaster and papier-mâché. If only that was just a one-time thing. Whenever there are sharks in this movie, every incorrect technique is used to bring them to unconvincing life. We're repeatedly subjected to cheap-looking props, unconvincing and flat CGI models, equally shoddy 3D models and close-ups so jittery you can barely tell what’s going on.

Then, there are the aliens, who are clearly just two dudes in crappy Hallowe'en masks. You can practically see their human faces in the eye holes and the gloves used to give them Ninja Turtle-like hands fit so poorly they wouldn’t convince anyone under any circumstances.

I’ve said practically nothing about the characters or the plot because there’s nothing to say about them. You can’t remember anyone’s names, why they’re there, what they look like or who’s been eaten already because it’s impossible to care about anything that’s going on. How could you when even the filmmakers didn’t care? All they wanted to do was squeeze out a product with a name that would lure people in. It didn’t matter to them if we left Shark Encounters of the Third Kind angry or depressed or anything.

Shark Encounters of the Third Kind is a waste of time. Only an insane person would see it all the way through and doing so wouldn’t mean anything. No one will congratulate you for sitting through this shower of filth. No one will feel sorry for you if you're miserable while watching because, at the end of the day, you’d have only yourself to blame for the pain you're enduring. (November 2, 2022)

[truckreincarnation]

Dead Reckoning || CH5 Trial

Moments after the two leave, a battered paper bird flutters haphazardly down from above. In its beak is an official-looking scroll, which it gently deposits on Alvarie’s head.

“Oh, a letter.” Ignoring whatever is going on, Alvarie reaches up and unrolls the letter on her head to read it to the class in full detail.

 “‘Alvarie, the situation has grown politically tense.’ Yatta yatta yatta. ‘Communication is a nightmare at the moment.’ A bunch of useless information. ‘The other rulers are either afraid of the supposedly regicidal incarnates or want to attack the weak Calamity under the guise of stopping them.’ More useless shit. ‘Apprehend the person or people responsible for this so that I do not have to invade Calamity. That would suck. I hate swamps. You are the hero, figure it out.’” Shrugging, she puts the letter in her pocket. “So, my Khan is stressed.”

In a jittery flash of blue, Manami settles on the ground in front of Alvarie, fiddling meekly with both sets of hands in the same manner she always has.

"Aha, well, I've already confessed to the murder...! Do you, um... need it in writing? If you give me a minute, I can go put that together for you!"

“Normally all you would need is somebody to claim they did it and it would help if the Demon King Army took credit,” Alvarie muses. “But it says here that apparently some Calamitan nobles vying for power have begun claiming that it was a plot concocted by all the incarnates in the ritual with the goal of destabilizing the region. This idea was probably set up in tandem with foreign powers who are siding with those nobles and looking for an excuse to send armies to put the guy they want in charge. So… No idea how to handle that honestly. I guess I'll need to kill somebody.” 

As the Deputy stands up, Esmée loses the ability to be guarded in this moment. Instead scoffing at the others words; though the eyeliner stains on her cheeks don't exactly build her up to be threatening. 

"And we're just taking Nams word for it?" The nickname is back, at least. Some trust returning- the key word there being some. 

"The lynchpin still needs to take responsibility. And we likely want closure on that regard. While the political scene isn't my biggest strong suit, pressing someone til I get answers and seeking something selfishly is. Not that that's a bad thing." 

She flashes a smile Manami's way. 

"Sooo...I'm gonna put your words under doubt, kay? I know you got shapeshift business going on, but the claw and teeth marks were too...I don't know. Not You?" A beat, "They moreso matched how we saw the portrait of Calum look during the...case with explosive…" She looks away, "And from what I remember of alibis, you weren't near the ballroom, right? Plus~ what was discovered in the post office recently, the letters from Ocelot."

Her eyes narrow. 

"I'm accusing Ocelot of the crime of killing the king and suggesting that you lied about what you did, putting your words under question. If I'm wrong- I'm wrong. But hey. You gotta give me proof that I'm incorrect first, kay love?"

“...”

An unreadable expression crosses the Deputy’s face for a moment. The way her body glitches and contorts makes it impossible to tell what she’s thinking or feeling, but it all seems to resolve itself a moment later.

“Fine! That’s cool!! I’m sure if you just prove my involvement beyond aaany doubt, they’ll have no choice but to listen if they don’t want to start an all-out war with every other faction vying for control of this dump. Trust me - I will be walking away from this as the undisputed killer of King Calum IV.”

[cosmiclatte28]

shopping

in the super market

kai : (scanning the shelves)

kai : (looks around, to Lucas) Have you seen my Mark?

lucas : *shakes his head*

kai : this calls for a drastic meassure

kai : MARCO!

mark : (from nearby) POLO!

kAI : THAT CAME FROM THE WATERMELON SECTION, DIDN'T IT??'

lucas : I AM NOT SHOPPING WITH YOU TWO AGAIN!

[accirax]

@vivazaki i was worried it wouldn't fit into a comment, so i'll write it in a reblog! plus, now i get colors. anybody whose opinions i changed my mind on, i'll put in green.

16. Grace Madison (same as before; her behavior and personality just seem too contradictory)

15. Jean DeLamer (his personality and talent don't seem to relate to the apparent themes, visual or narrative, at all)

14. Jett Dawson (moved down. on second thought, Jett being the mastermind is a little too silly to be reasonable)

13. Ingrid Grimwall (moved down. upon review, it feels even more random than before)

12. Damon Maitsu (moved up. this might just be more distance from the prologue = more time since i've actually seen Damon's thoughts, which were the main thing that convinced me he wasn't the mastermind, but i can't help but feel like Damon being the mastermind would at least have more of a point than several of the people now below him. there are a lot of logistical issues with how the prologue is set up, though)

11. Eloise Taulner (Eloise is the ch2 killer in my mind until proven otherwise. sorry Eloise stans)

10. Wenona (moved down. again, "cold billionaire who hates unions is secretly orchestrating the death game" is a little too on the nose for me. as it turns out, thinking about it for longer just makes me even less inclined to believe it)

9. Kai Monteago (i have no idea how seriously they're going to take Kai's character. he might just be comic relief, but they also might have something more to say about social media and fame. in either case, i think there are decently low odds that Kai would be the mastermind)

8. Eva Tsunaka (moved down. some insightful commentary about why Eva could be the first victim is making me less confident that Eva will get to the point of being a real mastermind contender... or even seeing another class trial again. it's been a while since i've seen the prologue, though, so maybe my opinions are just being swayed by others)

7. Wolfgang Akire (i hope everyone enjoyed what was basically my fanfic about Wolfgang being the mastermind. more likely to be an AU than canon, but i still think it'd be cool if true)

6. Mark Berskii (moved up. you were right, Mark should have been WAY higher than i had him. still, though, his personality seems a little too meek to pull something like a killing game, especially alongside Tozu and Mara, off. but, we've also only seen the prologue, so it could obviously be an incorrect impression or an act. unrelated, but his name is really fun to say)

5. Toshiko Kayura (moved down. similar to Diana, the fact that literally everyone seems to think she's suspicious now makes me think she might not be. also, she is a literal child. i can't say that Mark would look weird working alongside Tozu and Mara and not acknowledge that Toshiko would be the same)

4. Desmond Hall (king is "succeeding" by doing literally nothing. i really don't suspect Desmond that much, there just aren't really any flaws i can spot with him being it)

3. Diana Venicia (moved down. i changed my mind, i think she's probably a red herring now. i don't know how much of an audience the team expected to have, but they must have guessed that, with a game of their size and production value, they would garner a lot of fans. thus, there's no way they would have expected all of their obvious mastermind flags to fly under the radar. if Diana really is the mastermind, they'd have to cope with, like, a zillion people guessing it from day 1, which is probably not what they want? unless she's revealed early or meant to be a "hide in plain sight" kind of person-- like a chameleon?-- that is)

2. Cassidy Amber (i've also seen a good number of people calling Cassidy as a first victim. i really hope that doesn't happen, because her voice acting is awesome. for whatever reason, although it's equally likely to Eva, the suspicions don't really hurt my impressions of Cassidy's mastermind prospects at all? i guess it's more about how i perceive the character. for Cassidy, that hasn't changed)

Ulysses Wilhelm (Ulysses becomes first by default, i suppose. he is pretty suspicious, though, so it's understandable)

okay, more people changed than i expected. i think it's because, this time, i was asking myself directly, "if you told me that (example:) either Wenona or Kai was the mastermind, who would i believe?" instead of just thinking of it in a vacuum. watch me change this again two seconds after i post this.

thank you for your continued interest in my thoughts!

as of now my top mastermind suspects are mark, desmond and ulysses n i think originally i was very very sure ulysses would be the mastermind but now i'm leaning towards more mark. probably because i was always suspicious of him before the prologue even released. it's a little embarrasing looking back but i tell you i was dead convinced he was evil and for the last question i just think people should be more suspicious of mark. come on. look at him. his ass is not just victim or survivor-who-gets-character-development-after-jett-dies. come on guys

fair enough! well then, hopefully you won't be upset that i left Desmond and Ulysses above Mark, at least. perhaps not so much Diana, Cassidy, and Toshiko, though. damn, do i just hate women? (/j)

i have to admit, i did initially peg (ha ha get it like p:eg) Mark as a survivor-who-gets-character-development-after-Jett-dies. but, i also think it's valid to think that, because a lot of people might have had that first impression, his character will actually go elsewhere. that line of logic was what made me change my mind about Diana, after seeing how many people thought she was the mastermind.

spoilers for DRA, DRDT (thus far), v3, SDRA2, THH, and SDR2 under the cut!

in my opinion, it's really hard to make theories about Eden's Garden-- or any fangan, really-- based off of the prologue alone, because we don't know what their writing style is going to be like. for example, we have no idea how they're going to treat their first victim.

do the writers plan on making a first victim out of an initially less important/highlighted character, like Linuj did with Kiyoka in Chapter 1 of DRA? it has the downside of sacrificing a character who hasn't really made much of an impact early on, but has the benefit of allowing yourself to really establish and focus on your most important/late game characters. if this is the case, we might have to worry about, i dunno, Kai or Ingrid, who didn't have particularly standout plot moments in the first chapter, being the first victim.

or, do the writers plan on making a first victim out of one of the characters that's gotten the greatest highlight so far, like DRDTdev did with Xander in Chapter 1 of DRDT? that has the upside of making sure that everybody knew his character and was invested in his story before he died, but had the downside of making his death more predictable, because he was "throwing up death flags" with all his content.

either option is entirely valid, and up to the discretion of the writers to decide what works best for the story we're crafting.

in DRA, Linuj decided to invest his resources into making Yuki, Akane, Tsurugi, Rei, and Mikako (and to a lesser extent, Teruya, Satsuki, and Haruhiko) the most interesting and best-developed characters he possibly could, and thus, decided to use the first trial as setup to Tsurugi's eventual delusions of grandeur by making Mitch intend to kill him. however, it does leave characters like Kiyoka, Mitch, Ayane, Kanata, and Kakeru relatively underdeveloped and forgettable (if you don't do their free times, anyways).

in DRDT, the dev clearly has an agenda about making sure that every character has at least one highly focal scene before they exit. Xander was Teruko's support throughout the entire prologue, and had multiple scenes of discussing the mastermind with Teruko alone; Min aided Teruko throughout almost the entirety of Chapter 1's investigation; Arei had a very memorable breakdown moment where she revealed a lot about her character. based on that history of writing, i'm less inclined to believe that someone like Hu, who we haven't focused on that much thus far, will be the killer, and more inclined to believe that a character that's been spotlighted in the ch2 daily life, such as Eden, Levi, Ace, or Whit, will be the killer.

obviously, we're not talking about the first victim here, we're talking about the mastermind. however, similar principles can apply. if p:eg's mastermind is in the game for the entire time, i have no clue if they'd be more of an over-the-top obvious mastermind like SDRA2's Mikado, or an under-the-radar camoflauged mastermind like v3's Tsumugi.

and, that's even assuming that the mastermind is one of the members of the cast! i don't think that's actually been confirmed yet. the mastermind could be a hidden/external threat like Junko in THH, or could be a forgotten side of one of the "innocent" participants like Hajime/Izuru in SDR2.

going back to my original post, a mastermind like Mikado could be someone like Wolfgang; a mastermind like Tsumugi could be someone like Mark; a mastermind like Junko could be, i dunno, Cara?; and a mastermind like Hajime could be someone like Damon. but, with only a prologue under their belt-- even if it is a prologue with a class trial in it-- it's hard to judge what sort of writing the writers will favor. the fact that there are multiple of them makes it even harder to determine.

this all was really barely related to your ask. i just wanted to write it out, as it's been on my mind for a while. thanks for bearing with me :,)