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[RT][HF] A Practical Guide to Evil: Book 4: Chapter 3: Chat
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Author: u/Yes_This_Is_God *
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URL: https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/chapter-3-chat/
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Score: 81
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Created: 2018-04-18T04:01:08
Post:
Comments:
u/drakeblood4 [+34] A Practical Guide to Evil (an hour later)
It's really hard to differentiate between Praesi highborn flattery and Akua having some sort of pathological attraction towards people even more ruthless than her.
u/TideofKhatanga [+27] (4 hours later)
Akua having some sort of pathological attraction towards people even more ruthless than her.
That's the Praesi mentality, "Iron sharpens Iron". To a Praesi (or at least, the Tower's nobility), the best person you'll ever meet is your worst enemy. Malicia has the same relationship with "Dear Tasia" and "Dearest Cordelia". The line between obsessive hatred and maddened love is very thin, and the Praesi think lines are made to be crossed.
u/Sarkavonsy [+10] (14 hours later)
I never thought I would see a non-Homestuck-related situation where Kismesissitude would be a useful concept to refer to, but here we are.
u/aeschenkarnos [+6] (16 hours later)
Also the kiss/kill dynamic in multi-triggers in /r/parahumans. Multiple people acquiring superpowers at the same time are a multi-trigger, each gets a little piece of the other ones' main powers, and kiss/kill is an obsessive dynamic that can arise between them.
u/Zayits [+3] (a day later)
That's more about multiple claimants to the same Name, tbh.
u/CouteauBleu [+27] We are the Empire. (2 hours later)
Oh my god this chapter was so intense. I want all chapters to be like that from now on.
Never while on campaign, or attending affairs of state. The oath was to end with our reunion, whenever that may be.
... He's going to die and never see her again, isn't he?
u/MoralRelativity [+12] (7 hours later)
Shit.
u/panchoadrenalina [+26] (21 minutes later)
EE is one of the few writers that can pull off both battles of words and battles of blades.
There were feints, dodges and stabs while both were sitting in a fantasy version of the hall of mirrors of Versailles.
Loved the chapter.
u/Ardvarkeating101 [+15] Father of Learning (55 minutes later)
DAMNIT CAT AKUA SHOULD BE SCREAMING RIGHT NOW, NOT GIVING ADVICE!!'
u/Zayits [+6] (3 hours later)
Yeah, Akua's likely been flattering Catherine to build up overconfidence and make her misstep at a crucial moment.
u/Razorhead [+23] (4 hours later)
I don't think her goal is to make Catherine fail though. Don't get me wrong, if she can revive herself in some way by fucking Cat over I have no doubt she'd go for it in a heartbeat. But if that's not an option, I think she'll want to realise her goals (chaos, magnificent feats of war and horror, and Evil in general) through Cat instead.
Also, don't forget that Praesi highborn adore overwhelming strength, cunning, and deceit. It's completely possible Akua gained a lot of respect for Cat when Cat managed to kill her.
My opinion is that she's really giving Cat helpful advice, while slowly trying to get her to turn her into someone like her: a ruthless and violent villain. It's the only way she can influence the outside for now, so there's no reason to fuck Cat over when she will receive no benefit.
She's like a corrupting little genie.
u/None [+8] (7 hours later)
Hence the 3 wishes joke, good observation, but I think that akua is indeed screaming most of the time, 9r at least that's what I understood when cat binded her again.
u/akaltyn [+1] (2 days later)
With her limited ability to act in the world flattering Cat as much as possible and convincing her that she would be a valuable ally is probably her only way of getting out of the binding. So her incentive is to make Cat like her and be genuinely helpful
u/paradoxinclination [+11] (3 hours later)
Letting Akua's unquiet ghost have any contact with the outside world in any fashion is something that can only end badly. Cat's playing with fire here.
u/IDKWhoitis [+14] (9 hours later)
Playing around with fire is one of those traits that define Catherine Foundling.
u/None [+9] (19 hours later)
Cat doesn't play with fire.
She douses herself in napalm and bear hugs her enemies.
u/TheEngineer923 [+1] (19 hours later)
Green fire especially.
u/WalterTFD [+10] (8 hours later)
Cat, when you note that Cordelia 'always chooses her words so carefully'...that's a trait you need to emulate. You are literally bound by your spoken word.
It is cute when it is an oath to Hakrem re: your drinking. It could be much worse when you are talking to Diabolist.
u/haiku_fornification [+6] (3 hours later)
Cat, talking to the bound soul of your biggest rival is so last century.
u/Ceins [+5] (5 hours later)
At no point during the chapter/conversation did Cat seem like anything else than what she usually is. No Fae mentality or brutality to be seen. And I get that becoming Fae was supposed to be becoming more rigid and such. But then why does Cat make such a big deal out of drawing Winter into herself if nothing really changes.
u/Wolpertinger [+14] (5 hours later)
It's very possible that the rigidity and unchangingness that Fae have was in part applied to the Cat we already had - it's not going to completely erase her existing personality, but it might make that ruthless, somewhat angrier person stay that way when she might have had a change of heart otherwise. She's introspective about how she's been fucking things up, but being Fae might make it harder for her to adopt a new mindset or way or doing things, so she might just keep making the same mistakes. Plus, if there was any time for her to have maximum self control and refuse to let her emotions get the best of her, it was there.
u/None [+6] (7 hours later)
Agree, I think I old cat would have succumbed to call Cordelia out on her sin being as bad as hers
u/Oaden [+1] (a day later)
It makes her more rigid, but it makes her more rigid as Catherine.
In the story this has generally showed itself as her being unable to back down. Like versus the winter king, when she swore she would unmake him. That was her name aggravating her existing issue.
Presumably when she's channeling winter, she is literally unable.
u/IAMATruckerAMA [+1] (6 hours later)
Is there an audio version of the first book available? I know Worm and HPMOR have podcast versions.
u/ErraticErrata [+7] (a day later)
There is not. I won't allow any either, for legal reasons.
u/IAMATruckerAMA [+1] (a day later)
Thanks for the info