The Wild Masks

[NOTaHFfan]

@Ghid

Why he got those square lookin pupils tho mans been peering at spongebob

How else am I supposed to represent Cordax’s rectangular Cars-like eye monitor in the form of a pair of cartoony human eyes?

This design can also double as a human spongebob, which is a nice bonus

@Ghid

I don’t know that Kohaku could show up to work in a crop top

That’s why she’s wearing a vest overtop it, which can easily be zipped up during work hours

There are only so many ways you can draw a generic hoodie or t-shirt, I decided to get a little creative. And it’s not like market fish stalls have the strictest dress codes in the world, I imagine

@Ghid

But otherwise, not bad

If you aren’t using this one in this book, doesn’t mean that I can’t

@Ghid

Ok calm down shakespeare

Ahh yes my favourite shakespeare quote
“nah, I’d win”

@Cordax

that outfit looks remarkably close to the demon slayer uniform

Not intentional but sure, that works I really don’t like demon slayer

I based this outfit on a stereotypical Japanese middle school uniform, which is what the suits from the show were probably based off of as well

@Cordax

I love it

@Cordax

maybe tomorrow(book of tears reference???)

This is not a BoT reference, that’s a reference to my entire existence

@N01InParticular

@MakutaOisli ‘s character

Nah nah he already appeared in a different role, he’s on the same side as the good guys… although this guy and him have suspiciously identical complexions and heights, so I wonder what’s that about

Sigh stay tuned for a new theory I guess

@N01InParticular

This is dreamspace Alexis

N01, not every woman with black hair is Alexis
These two don’t even have anything in common apart from hair colour… unless I am stupid and completely misread Alexis’s character

And since it’s another Togav mention, @N01InParticular post in Togav (I’ll do this each time someone mentions Togav in this topic)

Edit: added some more theories

When the wind is slow and the fire’s hot The vulture waits to see what rots

it is tomorrow, I recovered from Rukah’s devastating theory and I’m ready to you know… do the thing

@Ghid

Chapter Nine
Scabs

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@Ghid

The wide black brim of the assassin obstructed his perfectly round black-lensed sunglasses from view for a moment

Bro literally just went

@Ghid

The wide black brim of the assassin obstructed his perfectly round black-lensed sunglasses from view for a moment. He was dressed in all black, with the only exception being the tight-fitting dress shirt under his almost trenchcoat-like jacket, and stood inside the phone booth exhibiting blatant impatience.

The sniper guy is the first assassin who gets a full description, so I’m guessing that he’ll be a reoccurring character. I doubt that he’s a user, but a more or less important NPC seems reasonable.

@Ghid

“He broke my lens.”

Misread this as “broke my legs” at first and got confused. That’s what the combination of being an anime fan and interacting with Ghid does to a man. You can never catch a break and lower your guard if you don’t want your knees to be stolen

@Ghid

A thin line of smoke emanated up from the assassin, curling over the brim of his hat.

@Ghid

Another curl of smoke wrapped its way around his brim briefly.

This man generates smoke and there’s no mention of a cancer stick. Yeah this guy is certainly a reoccurring character alright.

This seems like a Mask power for sure (turning into smoke? Fire generation?), but he doesn’t seem to be wearing a mask. However, given the variety of Masks we’ve encountered at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised that his glasses or hat constitutes as a Mask as well. We know that Masks can be any shape, any material and have to cover some part of the user’s face, obscuring it, to be considered a Mask, so I’m placing my bet on the dark glasses that obscure his eyes.

Also, dark glasses, dark lenses, smoky lenses, SMOKE
It all comes together

@Ghid

There’s one or two little matters that will need to be cleared up with that news station which we may have you attend to tomorrow, which you’ll need briefing on.

Looks like Race’s daytime job is about to get a lot more fun

I can’t wait for her to stick a chopstick in this guy’s eye at the speed of sound right through his glasses for interrupting her lunch break

@Ghid

“Wish I was getting paid in painkillers…”

Only the real ones know that this originally said “I hate this job”

@Ghid

“I SAID TAKE A SEAT, GRANDPA!!”

A very bizarre thing for the bus driver to say. If the setting was something like the US or Russia, I wouldn’t even bat an eye, but given that it’s Japan we’re talking about, a place where being extremely polite to everyone is an integral part of the culture, this seems a bit out of place.

My headcanon is that he recently discovered his wife’s divorce papers, which is why he’s so angry

@Ghid

I’ve spoken to a few people who all seem to have lived in the states.

This implies that Ren himself is not from the States. The puzzle of his identity is slowly coming together

@Ghid

and it seems I’ve done a good enough job if an American’s complementing it.”

“Not quite that,” Ren replied with a light smirk.

Another confirmation. So, Ren has a Japanese name, is not from Japan, isn’t from the States either, has an American enough accent to be mistaken for one… what in the world could he be?!

Also I distinctly remember Fred saying something along the lines of “at least you know your real name” when talking to Kohaku. I wonder if he was referring to Ren in that line? (This is a rhetorical question btw, don’t answer it. I’m going to crack this one open by myself)

@Ghid

My flute hardly puts money bread on the table. I don’t have any special skills that could get me anywhere in society. All my have is my culture, my language, and my home.” His fingers tapped the hard fabric case resting against his knee. “And I’m losing just about everything but the flute.”

Ren tried to think of something to say, but it cut a bit too deep and too personally for him to interject anything other than bias. The old man seemed to notice this, too.

HAHAHAHAHAHA YOU ADDED THE THING!!! THE OLD MAN PUTS MONEY ON THE TABLE!!!

The old man’s speech about losing all parts of his identity and culture resonated with Ren a lot. There’s definitely something going on with him, but I still can’t put my finger on it. There’s just not enough info.
If we assume that Fred’s line was about Ren and combine it with this little character moment, perhaps Ren has some kind of amnesia or memory loss and doesn’t know who he really is???

@Ghid

With no verbal order to stop, and a complimentary smile from Ren reflecting back in the old man’s perfectly round sunglasses, the sharp sounds of the hichiriki filled the bus, pulling Ren’s mind off the stressful future which awaited him in mere minutes and directed it towards the melancholy of the old man’s words. What would be left after all this was over?

Honestly, despite this entire bus section of the chapter seeming the least important and seemingly being just simple set dressing, it was probably my favourite part. There’s just so much to unpack here and I have a feeling that it will become much more important in retrospect once we start delving into Ren’s backstory.

I’m loving how you’re including these more quiet, subtle moments throughout the book instead of constant action at breakneck speeds. I think it’s a huge improvement compared to the Bo_ (I’m definitely not making this statement too often)

@Ghid

t the door

So T stands for Tone, right?

When did this poor man turn into a door?!
Who could do such a cruel thing to him?

@Ghid

Ren snarled, jabbing a finger at the mask, which pretended to bite at it.

Love this little moment. Demon Mask is just having fun and goofing around, utterly unfazed by everything that’s going on around it. It definitely knows a lot more than the main characters could ever imagine

@Ghid

“𝒪𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒.” The mask chuckled, floating out to the pile of bodies, the black form which emanated downwards clinging to the wall as he traveled. “𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝒹𝑜. 𝐼’𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒾𝓉.”

And it’s also being extremely secretive about the nature of its powers. There’s definitely something it doesn’t want Ren to find out. Its power is definitely death related, as it can instakill and revive things, but there’s definitely some ketch that it doesn’t want anyone to know

@Ghid

“You move, I break her arm.” His muscular hand lifted Kohaku off the ground by the wrists, his impressive six-foot-four height only overshadowed by his incredibly wide shoulders and intimidating build. “She used to cry out in pain when I did that. But I kept telling her about what would happen to Corey if she didn’t shut her mouth more often, and after she bawled a bit I guess she got the message.”

Well, I’m sure we all knew this was going to happen as soon as these two were left completely unattended

But this guy is extremely bizarre. Knows Corey by the name and has the exact same height and complexion as Oisim. I doubt that Oisim betrayed the Masks, so I’m going to guess that this detail is here just to throw me off the right track. He’s just an assassin hired by whoever wants to hurt our main group.

@Ghid

The stranger grinned even wider, the rest of his face and eyes concealed by a pointed, scowling wooden mask. “You won’t snitch though, would you?”

Only the real ones know that this originality said “scowling wooden man”

“Pointed mask” makes me think of bird-like features. Perhaps it’s styled after the Yōkai Tengu, in a similar fashion to how Wild’s mask was styled after an Oni. Also, this essentially confirms that the Wild Masks aren’t the only ones who have access to these bizarre things.

The only user in the book who is somewhat bird related is @Hawkflight, mainly due to the “hawk” part of his nickname, but I think that saying that this guy is supposed to be him is a bit of a stretch, even by my standards.

Now, I wonder what kind of power this guy is going to have… the only thing I can associate with the Tengu is flight, but Rook pretty much already has that, so I doubt that it will be that.

@Ghid

But I’ve lost the weaknesses that go along with being in pain, so I apologize if you thought it would stop me.”

I am going to assume that him being unable to feel pain is related to the Mask, but I doubt that it’s the entire extent of his ability, whatever it may be. This is just a side effect.