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corruptedcaps · 1 year ago

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The Corrupted Daughter

Finally after long last here is the follow up to this year's MARCH MADNESS winner The Corrupted Queen. Enjoy!

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Abigail strode loudly through her vast facility and ignored the various bowing her lowly employees were giving her. She usually loved basking in their sycophantic behaviour but right now she was majorly pissed off.

Slamming the door of her cavernous office shut, she approached her large ornate mirror and took a moment to look at her perfect reflection. It had been nearly 20 years since the various corrupted objects that now adorned her body had escaped from their cages and transformed her from a nobody scientist into the formidable queen bitch she was now. Despite the passage of time, the evil that powered her allowed her to remain unchanged, a vision of leather, latex and lethal power.

“Mirror where is Lilith, where is my daughter?” Abigail finally said having reminisced enough. Her reflection began to swirl and turn black. Over the years she had acquired many new artifacts that she absorbed in some way shape or form but some objects like the mirror could not be assimilated for obvious reason. However, that didn’t mean they were of no use to her.

An image began to reveal itself in the mirror, blurry at first and growing steadily sharper until she recognized it as the facility she was in. It showed the black windowless building from the outside with the name “QA” in giant white letters along the side. Of course most people assumed it was a company called Quality Assurance, but everyone who worked for her knew it meant Queen Abigail.

“This is it? Nothing more specific? I should have the metal department melt you down.” Abigail said disdainfully.

“I’m sorry my Queen but as you know your daughter is immune to-” The mirror began to speak but Abigail quickly cut it off.

“You don’t need to remind me.” Abigail said with a tone that told the mirror not to say another word. Abigail sighed annoyedly as she walked to her desk.

Each day her daughter was testing her patience. Abigail had once hoped that Lilith would one day stand side by side with her and rule together as a powerful combination but that idea was dashed when she tried to give her her first corrupted item at the age of thirteen.

Lilith had embraced being a spoilt brat for the first twelve years of her life in a way that made Abigail immensely proud. Lilith herself was looking forward to getting her first of what she assumed would be many corrupted items.

“Mommy what will this allow me to do?” Lilith said as she eagerly took the corrupted necklace from her mother.

“You’ll be able to make any boy your age your puppet. It’s just a small taste of the power you’ll-” Abigail had said but was cut short by a her daughter screaming. The necklace was heating up fast and Abigail barely got it off Lilith before it exploded.

At first Abigail thought it was sabotage and she had many members of her team tortured to find the truth but when she gifted a new item to Lilith and the same thing happened it was clear something else was at play.

In a cruel twist of irony for the Queen of Corruption, her daughter was immune to very same evil magic that fuelled Abigail’s rise to power. Abigail tried to console her daughter but as the weeks and months followed, Lilith grew bitter and resentful of all corruption. Before long it morphed into hatred directed at her mother.

The following years Lilith grew further from Abigail, rejecting her bratty life she had once loved. She became a kinder more gentler person. She started slowly destroying the many corrupted artifacts stored in the building. She soon went by ‘Lily’, feeling ‘Lilith’ was too evil sounding.

By the age of fifteen she had fled her home and found solace in the underground rebels that fought Abigail. With Lily on their side it became even easier to destroy the corrupted objects that Abigail sought.

Now nearly five years later, Lily was the leader of the rebels and had just destroyed the biggest shipment in the history of Abigail’s company. Abigail’s pressed her fingers next to her temples, her headache growing. She looked at the lockers that adorned her wall, filled with items of corruption she had collected over the years. At least she still had those.

Just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse the doors to her office burst and in strolled her daughter and a small contingent of her army. Abigail looked nonplussed however.

“Hello darling, having a sleepover with some friends are you?” Abigail said sarcastically as she rose lazily from her seat.

“Your tyranny ends today mother!” Lily said confidently. Abigail looked at her daughter with sadness, so much wasted potential.

“Oh does it? Well you might find that a little hard to accomplish when you’re fighting your own men.” Abigail said with a smirk and a flick of her wrist causing one of her many lockers to open. A simple pair of earrings sat inside but with the door now open and Abigail's command, the earrings flew through the air towards Lucy’s lieutenant. They would corrupt him into a formidable bitch under Abigail’s control.

However the man stood steadfast and as the earrings rocketed towards him. A the last second he suddenly produced a small box from behind himself and held it out in front. The earrings flew straight in and he closed the box shut. Abigail was shocked but didn’t let her smirking superiority wane.

“Clever girl aren’t we? Your little capture boxes are cute but my security will be by any second with an overwhelming amount of-” Abigail began.

“Corruption? I don’t think so.” Lucy said with a knowingly smile as she and her men parted, revealing a large stack of boxes behind them. Most were vibrating with the dark corruption inside but all were locked away safely. Abigail look worried for the first time in two decades.

“It’s over, I’m here to free everyone from this wicked evil, including you mom!” Lily said determinedly but Abigail wasn’t about to give up so easily.

With furious rage she started to command all the lockers to open and the various objects flew out towards the formidable army in front of her. Lily's men were too fast however, easily capturing opbject after object, while advancing towards Abigail.

In desperation, Abigail started to remove items from her own body and hurl them at the men. Bracelets, rings, boots, gloves, everything she could send at them she did, even as she felt her power wane by doing so. She knew if she could get just one of them she’d gain the upper hand but Lily had trained them well, they captured item after item with precision as they advanced on her.

Before long she was one the ground, all that was remaining were her notorious corrupted black pigtails. Lily’s men held Abigail down. Lily approached with a box in hand and quickly scooped the tendrils into it. Lily and her men watched as Abigail’s body convulsed and reverted back to her plain form of Abby. Still as young as the day she was corrupted but now lacking any power.

“Lily?…” Abby said groggily.

“That’s right mom, you just rest for now. My men will take care of you and I’ll get started on destroying these.” Lily said compassionately to her weak mother.

Lily stepped over towards the pile of boxes and looked at them dauntingly. There was a lot to get through but it would be all worth it. Opening the box in her hand she grasped the hair. Its strands weaved violently in her hand but Lily knew within a few seconds it would be nothing more than dust.

However when after a few seconds this didn’t happen, Lily instead started to hear a voice in her head.

“Lillllllly. Beautiful and pure Lily. Don’t you remember how good it was to be a spoilt brat? You were being moulded into being a corrupted princess and you loved it. Even now as a rebel you couldn't resist amassing an army of loyal followers. You’ve enjoyed the power haven’t you? Put us out Lily. You were to be a princess but let us make you a queen.” The voice purred.

What no one had expected was that Lily’s power to destroy the evil artifacts was dependent on her mother’s connection to the corruption. With her mother being purged of the evil, Lily’s power was suddenly gone, along with her immunity to being corrupted.

Lily’s breathing grew deeper as the voice of temptation started to overwhelm her. She could feel the hair pulsating in her hand, desperately needing to be set free. It's desire was infectious and Lily found herself starting to stroke the hair lovingly, almost in a trance.

“Wear uuuuuussssss Quuuuuueeeeennnnn Lillllllllttttttthhhhhh.” The voice hissed from the hair that only Lily could hear. Images danced in her head of being wicked and bad, of being all powerful and beautiful. Memories of her youth, of being a bratty bitch were flooding back into her mind making a wicked smile curl up on her lips as her panties became wet.

“Yesssss, it's what I deserve!” Lily purred as the temptation grew too much and she lifted the wig to her head. Letting go of it, she groaned as it snaked its way over her head and buried deep into her scalp.

Throwing her head back she groaned in ecstasy as the wig that was once her mother’s filled her mind with evil and depraved thoughts. A long since buried part of her mind was unlocked.

“Mmmm fuck yesssss! Make me into the wicked hawt slut I was destined to be! All of you!” She yelled as she began picking up box after box, letting the corrupted items out. Each item attacked her body with ferocity, even as it began to change rapidly.

Her breasts heaved and broke out from her small bra but were quickly captured by a tight latex dress. Long talon like nails grew from her fingertips as black latex gloves covered them like a sheath.

“I was denied my birth right for so long! Now I can become the bad bitch I was always meant to be! That I always wanted to be!" She groaned as she used her new power to open the boxes even faster. By the time her men realised what was happening, it was too late. They turned to see their leader had transformed into a wicked reflection of her former self.

“Lily! You must resist-” One of them cried out before Lilith rolled her eyes and commanded a corrupted item, a pair of pink stripper heels, to attack him. They wrapped tightly and quickly around his feet. The corruption slithered up his legs transforming him. Within seconds he had changed into a beautiful babe with big tits and blonde hair. Any conflict in his face melted away into an evil smile.

“Alan? No dude you have to fight it!” One of the other men implored to the new beauty.

“It’s Amber now worm, and why would I fight perfection. Don’t worry Queen Lilith will make you see our way.” The new bitch purred as a pair of earrings flew onto one of the other men. Amber giggled as she watched the man spasm as his body became feminine and beautiful.

Without the boxes to protect them, the men fell one by one to the wicked corruption of Lilith who felt her power increase with each new man she transformed. She could hear their voices in her head and she had full control over them. It was a little overwhelming at first but became more pleasurable as the seconds ticked on.

Abby however used her daughter's distracted mind to quickly slip out of the room unnoticed. Abby had been on the other end of this situation before and knew that Lilith would soon be unsatisfied with her power and would demand more and no one knew more than Abby.

With one last lingering look at her corrupted daughter, Abby vowed to save her family. Meanwhile outside in the dark night, the 'A' on the ominous building changed to an 'L'.

#f2f #corruption #bitchification #magic #corrupted clothing #evil bitch #power transfer #m2f #corrupted shoes #corrupted hair #corrupted wig #cc2024

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thr0wnawayy · 9 months ago

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"Canon" Perception: Why MHA's World Building SUCKS!

I figured I'd make this post because it's about time I discussed my views on "Canon" or as I like to call it

The Vanilla-verse

Why?

Because Hori's version of events feel like he opened a choose your own adventure game and clicked the most straight forward options available.

Quirk Awakenings Make No Sense (JJK mentioned)

@bibibbon might like this one.

It's no secret MHA's world building is, lackluster. It feels empty.

Characters not allowed to speak out or back against favored ones, Plot lines dropped, Victims shuffled off to the side.

But where Hori fails most of all is his power system:

But first Jujitsu Kaisen

Similar to Hori, Gege (I hope I spelled that right) also struggles with world building.

Firstly the concept of Cursed Spirits.

Monsters being created from "bad" or negative emotions can work as a concept. But it also heavily depends what is considered bad.

It could allow for the tackling of what makes emotions "bad" and tie in with the shows setting of a restrictive society that forces people to either mold to the pressure or be crushed by it.

Suppressing their true selves and emotions in favor of fitting in with the norm. (to evade social subjugation)

Instead, it demonizes what is a fundamentally intrinsic part of human existence, if nor most sapient life.

It also brings up too many questions that go unanswered: Like the historical implications. If spirits have been around for so long, then why aren't places like Japan (with it's bloody history and bleak present) overrun with then.

Why are spirits trying to replace humanity if humans act as the sole reason for their existance. After all: No Humans = No Cursed Energy = No Sprits

What exactly counts as a "negative" emotion and how much does it take to give birth to a cursed spirit. Stuff like that doesn't seem to have an answer.

[This is also coming from someone who has never interacted with JJK in their life]

Similarly Hori has the same problem with almost every detail in the Vanilla-verse. Stuff like: Eri's bullets, Quirk Singularity, Trigger and so, so much more is never elaborated on.

So pray tell, why did I chose Quirk Awakenings to be the subject of this section.

Because they prove that Hori has no idea what he is doing.

Quirk Awakening or QA's might just he the most frustrating thing in MHA. Doesn't matter if it's in Hori's-verse or someone else's.

It hardly fucking ends well and that's because it's so broad.

Take Himiko's quirk awakening.

At first glance, it seems alright. A tad off but not something to raise hell about.

That is until you look at her quirk.

Transformation is a quirk that relies on blood to work, Himiko cannot copy quirks partially because quirks are stored in the DNA of an individual and Transform can only copy the outward appearance of a person.

She needs to learn the individuals mannerisms and habits on her own, she doesn't achieve those by the default of her quirk.

(The same could be argued for her voice, it would be much more impressive if she trained it)

It would make much more sense then, for the evolution of her quirk to allow her to better mimic people. Expanding the scope of who and what she could change into and how accurately she could become a subject.

It also would fit the theme of 'becoming who you love' with the saying 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'

Instead, though. Hori decided to make her AFO lite and it is broken.

If she copies AFO, does she obtain his quirks?

Would her quirk awakening account for other quirk awakenings. Say she transforms into Shigaraki would she be as strong as him post MVA or would she be stuck with USJ-level Decay?

Ignoring the blatant retcon-ex machina of it being dependent on Himiko's connection (not like it mattered during the Forest Camp Raid!), It is massively over powered and it doesn't fit Himiko's themes.

Now, let's look at Twice.

Twice's quirk (Double) allows him to produce identical copies of anyone through a sludge like substance that excretes from the palms of both his hands.

Each copy is a little weaker than the original, if a copy makes a copy then that fragility doubles.

Twice's quirk is ties to his character by his trauma. To the point he's so fearful of turning to sludge, that he actively goes out of his way to avoid conflict.

This guy had to watch himself kill himself, clone against clone and until MVA, Twice isn't even sure he's the original.

Twice's quirk awakening works.

It works solely because of Twice's character and themes, it simply fits.

It makes sense, Twice was so traumatized that he actively suppressed a part of himself and by breaking through that barrier he can begin to grow stronger by accepting himself.

Twice's quirk awakening works because the peice were always there. It wasn't that Twice pulled this out of his ass, he earned it.

He not only unlocked a part of himself, he came back stronger. In this way the formula works

Quirk + Effort/ Character Growth = Stronger Quirk.

Rather than replace or rebuild, Twice's QA works with what was already present and it comes off wonderfully.

I wish I could say the same for our next "challenger"

I have plenty of complaints about Shigaraki as a character, plenty.

His quirk awakening is certainly up there, not on the top. But it's up there.

It takes the weaker aspects of what I mentioned above and uses it as a crutch.

Besides Shigaraki remembering and accepting his past, this QA has nothing going for it.

It's almost boring.

There's only so much you can do with a quirk like Decay.

All it does is expand the speed and radius. And while that works for what Decay is, a quirk made to destroy things. It's really boring from a story perspective.

Seeing Deika and later Jaku was cool, but just that, cool. It only really served to push things forward and what it pushed was horrendous.

Stepping away from the narrative side, let's discuss the In-Universe side.

Post MVA Decay has two advantages. It spreads really fast and it makes things explode:

So why doesn't it work like Twice's did?

Themes. Nothing about Shigaraki's QA ties in with the themes expressed in MVA.

As the protagonist of the arc, we should feel a connection with Shigaraki, but we never do. Mainly because we don't get that much time with him.

Besided the bonding he does with the LOV we are given little reason as to why Shigaraki ticks like he does, there's little to no theme-ing with Shigaraki.

Doctor Garaki says it best with this line:

What does Shigaraki have to show us outside of his past and the PLF.

Hardly anything.

We know he's an avid gamer and likes to destroy things.

That's it.

Even Magne had something before she died, somekind of concrete goal that aligned with her character.

Tomura has nothing we can attach that to and as such his QA falls flat.

And this set the standard for every other quirk awakening in the series, no I'm not counting that monstrosity Hori bulled with Bakugo .

Uraraka's, Midoriya's, Shoto's (implied) Awakening, they all fall flat because they don't match the themes that were set literal years ago. Hori doesn't know how QA work despite having written them.

If your at the point where you, as a writer, don't understand your own in-universe system. Then maybe it's time you take away some stuff.

Why Shigaraki fails as a antagonist (featuring: Nine and Hana)

I already brushed the surface of this topic in the last segment. I'll elaborate on it here.

Shigaraki sucks as an antagonist. I don't like to use Reddit due to the attitudes on there but had found something while looking for information.

I managed to find a post that I think sums up my issues with Shigaraki pretty well, even if I don't agree the rest of the post (mainly blaming Shigaraki for Hori's failures)

The main one being what is the LOV even doing?

Spinner brings up a good point why do they even follow Shigaraki, what can he provide them as a leader that they can't get by sticking it out on their own.

Shigaraki is spoon fed practically everything and once you notice, it kills any possibility of him being taken seriously.

Let's see:

Dabi, Himiko: brought in by Giran, AFO's associate.

Spinner, Mangne, Compress: Came aboard under the false pretense that Shigaraki had cooperated with Stain.

Gigantomechia: Kurogiri has to draw him out, gets arrested while doing so.

The MLA: Has to gain a quirk awakening just to match ReDestro's output and ReDestro hands him the keys almost immediately. Only reason the merger happens is because ReDestro and Spinner planned it.

Every single goddamn thing in this story is because of factors external to Shigaraki. He literally stands around until Garaki gives him a new quest-line like a fucking Bethesda NPC.

It was understandable in the USJ because Shigaraki needed to be introduced. He was at his base form and needed to grow, except that growth never happens.

The story just dances around him, he doesn't need to try because Hori will just force things to happen.

The entire Jaku arc is him throwing a tantrum and the benefits just falling onto his lap. It is sheer luck that the public made that correlation.

Because the Nomu's behavior don't line up at all with Stains ideals. Nor does Shigaraki's "philosophy", and that was what partly triggered the whole Hosu arc in the first place!

Realistically nearly every member of the LOV should have turned tail the moment they met Shigaraki in person and spent time with him for over five minutes.

The LOV only exists and works because Shigaraki takes the backseat.

The entire Camp Raid, the focus is on everyone but Shigaraki who does fuck-all until Bakugo gets captured and we see him at the bar.

You could pluck Shigaraki from the arc and nothing would change because the central focus was on Dabi and the Vanguard Action Squad. How is anyone supposed to take Shigaraki seriously, when he is second fiddle to his own team.

And it's pretty much the same in the Overhaul Arc what does he direct contribute?

Again, nothing. I've heard the term 'Talk no jujitsu' used and it perfectly encapsulates his response to Himiko's anger.

No one in the LOV has any reason to believe him, to put faith in him because the fuck up was so colossal.

Let's review:

Shigaraki knew someone (someone important, a villain) was coming, made no plan if things went south. Dabi had actually left the base to recruit on Shigaraki's orders! Meaning that Shigaraki is primarily to blame for the casualties dealt during this fight.

Already bad, but maybe he does something to reaffirm their belief in him as a leader. Nope.

His revenge plan hinged on Overhaul not deciding to kill two of his team members on a whim, or use them as bargaining chips. Sends them directly into enemy territory with no resources.

Put his teammates on a position where they are forced to kill a hero in order to evade capture, making them a priority target for society at large* and further pushing them away from possible resources. (*A society, mind you that openly mutilates and kills outlaws)

His relationship with his team members is near non existant: from the Reddit Post

Spinner. Shigaraki plays videogames with him off-screen. Never even shows any concern for his whereabouts after Spinner starts losing his mind and almost goes full Nomu off of his quirks.

Kurogiri. Shigaraki never shows any wonder or comment as to Kurogiri's presence, despite the fact that Kurogiri was his babysitter for a long time and he apparently missed him after his capture.

Mr. Compress. Shigaraki never shows any wonder or concern as to his capture.

Dabi. Shigaraki never interacts with him in any way that suggests real friendship.

Toga. Shigaraki never interacts with her in any way that suggests real friendship.

Twice. Shigaraki never shows any kind of wonder or any concern as to his death.

Magne. Shigaraki never interacts with her in a way that suggests real friendship. Side Note: he never really reacts to her death either.

Y'wanna know who does have a relationship with his team?

Nine:

Nine might be one of the few characters Hori has ever created that managed to make me give a shit about them outside of alternative (or fanon) materials.

He is everything Shigaraki tried to be as a character:

A solid goal: To create an ideal world for his allies and himself where their idea of the 'strongest' rule.

Connections: Everything Nine does, he does himself. His teammates ate intertwined with hin through their history, he actually saved Chimera's life and it's implied he also did this for Slice and Mummy.

Effort: Nine puts himself in harms way numerous times for the sake of his allies and their mission. He even goes through with Garaki's experiments knowing he will likely wind up as the experiment himself.

Nine is phenomenal for what he was: A character from a spinoff movie.

youtube

And then he was killed.

God Fucking Damn it Hori.

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Something that always bothered me about the defaced All Might statue was the laziness of it all.

In a way it reflected the direction MHA was headed, headlong into a kerosene coatdd dumpster.

I Am Not Here.

That's the best thing you could come up with? The falling action of the Arc and all you could conjure was that!?

When MHA ended, I said no, no fuck that and began putting some of the concepts I had made during MHA's decline to good use.

The logical conclusions went into Crownless Monarchy. Which serves as a continuation to what Hori failed for finish.

The rest?

The rest had been going into a side project of mine called:

I Am Nowhere

Or Nowhere for short.

Total Timeline Derailment is a phenomenon I noticed pop up in specfic works.

It occurs when an author throws out all stages of canon in favor of crafting their own story and shedding the limitations of the source material.

The story of Nowhere starts off modestly, following an alternative line of events where Hana's quirk causes a much larger scale massacre upon it's blossoming and the expands to show just how different this universe really is.

Such changes include: Hana's quirk being named and shown:

Soundwave: evolution of Nana's quirk and takes inspiration from Hana's name meaning (Flower)

Present Mic and Jirou losing their quirks in their youth (or as an infant in Jirou's case)

Himiko's parents making a deal with the Symbol of Evil himself.

Expanding upon Doctor Garaki's past and friendship with AFO.

The Yakuza going a different route (Overhual gets a new brother)

An alternate USJ: Christmas came early

AFO and Garaki both having successors.

And a ton of other things I need to flesh out more!

One may wonder what this has to do with my critiques on Hori's canon.

Besides being a pitch of sorts, this allows me to elaborate on how Hori seems to make mistakes one wouldn't expect of someone with as many years under the belt as Hori.

The one thing Hori always forgets is consequences. In Nowhere, Consequences are everywhere.

Enji shipping Rei off to the mental ward to cover up his abuse?

AFO takes interest and decides to pull some strings to get Rei transferred to Jaku General.

UA slacks on security?

Ok! Just let Hana bring Warmonger (USJ Nomu) along and have her kill Thirteen and nearly kill All Might in the same hour. Oh, and Himiko is playing the insider (of her own volition)

Bakugo rejects Midoriya's hand?

His abuses attract the attention of the Pale Sculptor herself, leading to him loosing both his parents in a "gas leak" ignited when Marsaru clapped his hands and caused an mini explosion to occur. [They get Rei's version of Nomufication] setting Nomufication forward by a decade in the process.

Ideally this story won't leave things out. Speaking of that I have one last thing to discuss

The whole debacle with the Winged Nomu and how some people don't know that it's apparently supposed to be Tsubasa

(yk the obscure character who only shows up twice and who we didn't get a name for until said reveal)

"What a Bomb to Drop", yeah it would have been better to "drop" it without needing to cram it into volume extras.

That right there is what gets me about Hori's writing, the lack of storytelling.

We shouldn't have an entirety different series just to understand why a character is they way they are (I'm looking at you Oboro)

I will say Vigilantes is leagues above it's parent series, even with the glaring flaws that plauge it.

Moral of the story: LEARN TO WRITE!

#bnha critical #bnha rewrite #anti mha ending #mha ewe #mha critical #anti horikoshi #anti aizawa #anti endeavor #anti enji todoroki #anti bakugo katsuki #anti bakugou #shigaraki critical

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adickaboutspoons · 2 years ago

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When a Steard is not a Beard

I want to talk about the significance of Stede's beard in the opening dream sequence of s2e1, and how we know from Lucius in the first season that "not every beard is a beard". Of course SOME beards are just beards - most of the Revenge and QA crew sport face fuzz of some sort or another, and it's just How They Look. But, narratively speaking, when attention is called to facial hair in this show, it's all about deception and hiding one's true self.

We have Blackbeard, who has built his brand around his eponymous facial fur, but feels stifled by the way the success of said brand has left him bored out of his skull, and frustrated by the way his reputation has been co-opted and twisted into something inhuman. (And by poor Taika's accounts, the beard itself was literally stifling; unbearably hot to wear, and how he could hardly move the bottom half of his face lest the glue start peeling off). It's only when Ed shaves it off at the academy that he's able to start really approaching the question of what it means to be Just Ed. And, of course, we have the way he smeared kohl across his mouth and jaw in a frightful simulacrum of a beard as part of his Kraken transformation at the end of season 1.

We have Jim, who uses a fake beard to conceal their identity while on the run after having killed Alfeo de la Vaca. Only once that beard is discarded are they able to really think about who they are and how that doesn't fit in the narrow parameters of a gender binary. We see them go back into the beard when they re-commit themself to the vengeance quest, posing as a bearded priest in order to capture Geraldo, but, again divested of the beard, Jim is able to consider whether completing the vengeance quest and allowing their life to be consumed with a family that is dead and gone is something they want, or if they might be happier committing themself to a different path, and finding a family that will give them the love and support their own no longer can. And then, of course, the way Jim paints on a simulacrum beard when they are forced into a life of violence as part of Kraken!Ed’s crew.

We have Heartbroken Voyeur Stede’s comment about how Calico Jack had nice hair, but “his moustache is weird.” Shortly after, we learn that CJ has been a duplicitous, manipulative asshole the entire time, his only goal to lure Ed away from the Revenge before the British came to kill Stede.

So what does it say that Stede is dreaming about himself with a full beard? To have Dream!Ed specifically comment on it? Because they’re calling attention to it, so, hey, hi, how are you? You have my attention!

I think it’s not JUST that Stede is casting himself in the role of the dashing hero with all the trappings thereof, indulging in a fantasy about a joyous, romantic reunion with his beloved. Because this fantasy has some MUCH darker connotations than the sun-drenched beach would suggest. This Dashing Hero™ persona isn’t Stede’s idealized self. It’s the culmination of all his insecurities about not being the kind of person who is worthy of the attention and love of someone as impossibly cool as Blackbeard.

(Incidentally, I think it significant that Ed, in the dream, ALSO has his full beard. This more than anything is what clues me into the fact that Stede is still trying to measure up to the Legendary Pirate Blackbeard - not Just Ed with his soft, beautiful clean-shaven face, nor even a more realistic version with a beard that’s coming in quite nicely, but isn’t anywhere near the epic proportions that it once was, as we see with the scenes of real Kraken!Ed)

We learn later in the episode that Stede has been dragging his feet about setting out to reunite with Ed in spite of the all the money he and the crew have managed to scrape together working for Jackie, and the true reason behind his reticence is that he is still genuinely convinced that Ed is better off and happier without him. Even when reunited with Lucius in episode 2 and Lucius suggests that Ed’s time with Stede was “as good as it’s going to get for [Ed]”, Stede’s response is that he’s “not ready to believe that.” Stede really just is incapable of conceptualizing a reality in which Just Stede could ever be enough.

(And don’t get me started on Lucius’ beard! Lucius who was the emotional intelligence of the crew in the first season, and is now a guarded, brittle, traumatized shell of who he was. He’s 100% for sure not hiding behind a façade of butched-up toughness. Nope. Not. At. All.)

So in Stede's dreams, he’s the epitome of the kind of guy that WOULD be good enough. The kind of guy who has a beard and wears leather pants (hello queer urge to become the person that you sexually desire, how are you?). The kind of guy with neat, tidy, barely even wavy hair instead of perfectly coifed cherub curls. The kind of guy who, if he wears a fine fabric at all, it’s wrapped around his waist where it can be mostly concealed by a thick, macho belt, and trailing in front of his crotch like a fabric phallus (and, say, if Ed feels like touching it, maybe there’s something else in the vicinity that he might also be interested in touching?). The kind of guy who is tough and competent and can kill without remorse or pity.

#ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2e1 #ofmd s2e2 #ofmd #our flag means death #my modest contribution to fandom

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the-nosy-neighbor · 24 days ago

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How do fairies relate to Welcome Home?

Final background info:

General rules for interacting with fairies:

Every rule has an exception

Everything has a cost

Perception can be reality or fake (so always try to see truly)

Never give what you can’t afford to lose, including your name

Look for the trap behind every word

If it looks safe it probably isn’t

Beauty is a poison that cannot be cured

And some relevant characteristics:

Known to animate or enchant objects: animating puppets, objects like a magically unblooming flower

Can transform things: we have seen multiple versions of realities, but also the powers to do things like make flowers bloom

Can provide humans with protection and benefits: at the very least, Wally enables a parasocial relationship as well as being educational

How do the fairy rules relate to WH?

Don’t tell them your real name--We have had a lack of real names of humans involved in the story. W uses an initial and either pretends to be a group or shares zero information about the WHRP group. We don’t know whether W is concerned about humans or puppets here. QA also does not have a true name, going by an alternate, Question Answerer. We don’t have a name, either. Wally wants to know us, and has spoken to us many times. He does want to know all about us. There hasn’t been a place for our name in the interactions, but we do have an assigned name, “You.”

As far as the neighbors go, we don’t know if those are their true names, and sometimes it appears that neither do they. Barnaby is adopted and has taken a chosen last name at least. Poppy is canonically trans, so that might not be her original name. Why would a star have a name? Julie Joyful is a bit on the nose, and seems to define her outward personality, rather than who she is. Given that a lot of the have spotty memories, chosen names are likely. Canonically, if you know a fairy’s true name, you can bind them to you or make them do things for you.

Don’t accept gifts from the fae—W has accepted gifts from the fae. They come with the contamination plainly visible. They have become obsessed to a level that leads to them missing food, sleep, and time, which is a very fairy-like consequence. (plus, they must be magically sustained somehow?) By extension, QA has accepted gifts from the fae, and has been contaminated as well. This has plainly led to some mental illness and isolation for both of them, which would be a potential outcome of accepting a gift from them. They are also experiencing ironic side effects, another trope with fairy gifts. W is seeking, looking for proof and begins to lose their sight (along with their sanity). QA’s involvement leads to more unanswered questions, which seems to drive them mad. As for us, Wally gifts us art, W gifts us the items they choose to share. Could we be experiencing effects from that?

Crossing fairy circles—we have examples of circles and spirals in a lot of places. Not sure if we have crossed the lines. Our ability to communicate with Wally might indicate that we have crossed into his territory in some way.

Gifts to fairies—No one has given a gift to the neighbors directly from our side to theirs. Our drawings of Wally could be considered a gift, as they allow him to see

Lying—while maybe not lying to us, these puppets engage in a lot of trickery. Julie, in particular, has lied in the last update when describing her interactions with the neighbors. She only seems truthful when alone with the black flower. There isn’t a nefarious reason for this, as she really seems to be trying to play the role she is expected to play. Howdy lies to Sally about the food. Poppy lies to Sally about being too busy to be in her play. They don’t seem to be following this rule.

Weakness—I won’t say something as basic as a weakness to iron is present, but Wally for sure took a hit after Homewarming. It has been presented as an inability to find us after the change to the web address. This could count as a traditional method of hiding from them by avoiding areas they frequent and using human invention to avoid them. Wally seems comfortable enough with human technology, so that may not be the case. He is obviously weakened, perhaps due to a lack of us giving him attention, which sustains him. It is a very clap for Tinkerbell situation. Surprisingly, though, Wally is missing in more places now than he was in the last update. We weren’t missing him on the home page or the guestbook. He is also missing on the News page and What’s Welcome Home.

Must be invited—“Let me in.” We have heard this from Wally, and it seems that at least QA heard it as well, since it is listed as a quote on their website. He was already in the website at that point, so he must be talking about letting him in somewhere else. I have always assumed he means into our reality.

Food as a trap—W seems to have fallen for this trap. By drinking Joy, I mentioned that they had a definite mood change and either experienced vision loss after or it was coincidental timing. Theory is that they are already compromised by exposure to the black stuff, but drinking something from that realm may open them up to much more intense effects.

Related to glamour—Included in the idea of glamour is not looking a creature in the eyes to avoid being bespelled. Wally is almost always giving eye contact, to the point that he draws extra eyes, looks at us directly from all depictions of himself, and uses our depictions to see out of. He says he is looking at us so that we can know he is speaking to us. In his radio interview (Live Interview) the interviewer says, “Yes—and you are quite the little charmer too, from what I’ve heard)”This most recent update has been one that he isn’t looking at us in most of the places he was before. Even in his secret message, he is in the dark, in a chair, looking away from us. It’s dark, but from what I’ve seen the consensus is he is facing away.

Next, fairy concepts about the home, and then probably some info about Julie and sibs and how they relate.

#welcome home #welcome home theories #welcome home arg #fairies #rules of the fairies

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redinthefaceandcheeks · 7 months ago

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The Continued State of RitFac: November 2024

Pardon the lack of any published stories or Author notes. The long radio silence is because the current story I have been working on since March 2024 has finally entered the editing phase. Now I finally feel comfortable enough with this project to share with all of you the big project. The story is a Choose Your Own Adventure story, and it is BIG. Currently, the biggest story I have ever tackled is clocking in at 71k works and 200 pages at the time of writing this.

It will be a POV Story where you, a meek college student pizza boy doing one last delivery order to the fraternity house WUF, the most popular, established fraternity on campus.

It is taking so long because it is true to the original vision I first came up with earlier this year. This adventure will have five endings, and if you are cultured about werewolf erotica, you can guess what each one focuses on. I also tried my best to make sure that each path was totally unique from the others, which has led to being a huge undertaking on my side. I do not want to give too much away about these stories, but some of the tags that will be included in this story will be: -transformation -paws -maws -torn clothes -leather gear -group sex -cumflation -sheaths One of the reasons why this project is taking so long to complete is that I have been giving myself plenty of time and breaks to prevent myself from experiencing burnout. So, with all those juicy details, what comes next? I still have to go back to edit and finalize the story so that there is continuity with the detail and tone of every ending. Then once that has been reviewed and edited, I have to import all the text and programming notes into the Twine game engine. Then I have to run QA checks on all my programming and then select a website to host the thing.

These are all daunting in their own right, but not impossible.

Because of the size, scope, and effort of this particular project, I will host it on a website shop with a suggested Pay What You Want price of about $5.00.

Do not worry, will be sure to allow the Pay What You Want price offer to accept $0.00 as payment. If you enjoy it, you can kick a few bucks over the enjoyment. I do want to reconfirm that after this CYOA is published I will be going back to writing more of my regular-sized stories and resuming my Author’s Notes series. While working on this project, I have still been jotting down a bunch of new kinky story ideas that I have in the drafts just waiting for me to use them up right after this project is completed. Make no mistake, I am chomping at the bit to write anything else besides this adventure. On a slightly personal note, I am happy to announce that I will attend two furry conventions in the new year! I will be attending Anthro New England as well as FurcationLand in 2025. I'm quite excited to attend and if you are in either one of those areas at the time, let me know! Finally, with the current internet and political landscape, I want to restate all of the other platforms I am on and where you can find me and my work:

Tumblr [https://www.tumblr.com/redinthefaceandcheeks] Furaffinity [https://www.furaffinity.net/user/ritfac/]

Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/RiTFaC] I have also become way more active on Bluesky now with more constant and droll updates on the editing process:

BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/ritfac.bsky.social]

Again, thank you all for the support.

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