#ohhhh but she doesn't wear a mask as khepri

[trans-queen-administrator]

Ok so I saw this post and I don't want to derail it (check it out tho cool analysis). Masks in Worm are so so interesting to me, because they're something the top echelon of villains completely forgo. Slaughterhouse Nine, Birdcage Capes, Nilbog, Echidna, Moord Nag, all of them are unmasked, their identities are complete public knowledge. Masks are a privilege afforded to the Villains who play nice and don't try to blow up the moon, or kill millions, or spawn two thousand goblins, their identities are allowed to stay hidden as an incentive to Not Blow Up The Moon Please. And when the mask comes off, it means there's so much less reason for the villain to hold back because their little Not Blowing Up The Moon prize is gone so what's the fucking point of not doing anything to that smug rock? So when Taylor does get unmasked, there's two major things that signified. She has no reason to hold back anymore, which is why she's so brutal afterwards. She puts maggots in valefors eyes, she manages to kill the Butcher by trapping Cherish in an even worse hell, she ruins the chili, she kills Alexandria and Tagg in the most brutal way possible. Her restraints are gone, she has no reason to temper herself and every reason to lash out. The second thing it signifies is why her lashing out is so terrifying. By being unmasked, she's up there with the nine, nilbog, all the impossibly strong villains we know don't get the privilege of a mask. It tells the reader that Taylor is a villain on par with them, she's that terrifying and enough of a monster that she's not allowed to play the cops and robbers game Lisa tells her about.