12 KiB
[RT][HF] A Practical Guide to Evil: Book 4: Interlude: Kaleidoscope V
-
Author: u/Mystrl *
-
URL: https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/interlude-kaleidoscope-v/
-
Score: 60
-
Created: 2018-06-01T04:01:50
Post:
Comments:
u/Mountebank [+20] (an hour later)
You know what would be maddening? It's been heavily foreshadowed that Cat is being set up in a heroic situation right now--what if an opportunity for "redemption" (as in switching sides to the Heavens) appears and then Akua steals it to be revived? And then Akua, being genre savvy enough as she is, manages to stay within the boundaries of being a "hero" while also going around happily wreaking havoc as she likes.
The White Knight is already basically Two-Face from Batman and he still counts as a hero, so Akua might be able to find some niche as well. Praesi are all about being pragmatic and using any sort of power they can get their hands on including demons and Devils, so why not exploit the Heavens as well?
u/HPMOR_fan [+8] (3 hours later)
That's very interesting. Akua as an enemy of Cat but as an evil hero, abusing the power of the heavens for all the wrong reasons.
There are a lot of possibilities. Either Grey or Saint may recognize Cat is different and try to save Cat from Akua. I've had a thought since the two old heroes mentioned the five great heroes coming together to face a huge evil, but they don't know who all the other heroes will be. Will Cat be one of them? Or maybe Grey could give Akua a new body if she repents.
Also, promises Akua makes in this body should be binding on Cat if/when she returns.
u/OmniscientQ [+5] (19 hours later)
Also, promises Akua makes in this body should be binding on Cat if/when she returns.
I came here to bring up this very thing. Akua can promise all kinds of bullshit and Cat will be compelled.
u/CeruleanTresses [+2] (a day later)
Oh damn. I hope Vivienne shuts that down ASAP. Theoretically she should be able to command Akua not to make any oaths.
u/signeti [+6] (an hour later)
I would be super disappointed if this was some kind of redemption arc. I don't like idea of Cat as hero at all. I think she makes great villain.
I hope that she will remain without Name. Idea of her kicking around Named without Name of her own is quite appealing to me. She always played a bit of different game, then everyone around.
u/HPMOR_fan [+10] (3 hours later)
I think they are suggesting Akua will abuse the redemption loophole to save herself, not that Cat will switch to being a hero. Though if Akua becomes a hero while using Cat's body, Cat might be bound by that when she reclaims it.
u/notagiantdolphin [+2] (8 hours later)
I think the thinning of the Mantle of Winter at Saint's hands is foreshadowing. She'll lose it eventually, if only by assorted machinations to get her ' back' in the story proper. Probably after she somehow satisfies Larat.
Who knows, maybe it'll happen very soon - Akua somehow taking the mantle and Cat's oaths that she swore on it, running around as a storybound icequeen. Terrifying thought, even if Cat got a name.
u/ForgottenToupee [+17] (an hour later)
Here's my current theory: Akua didn't actively do anything to possess Cat's body. She just took advantage of an opportunity, and in a surprising turn of events, it was the lesser of two evils.
Given the control that Thief has, the first thing she should have done was to order Akua to spill the beans as to what happened and then try to fix it. Since Akua is still in control, either a) they don't have ability to fix Cat, or b) Akua doesn't know what happened to her. Either way, that's bad, because she's a really really really good mage.
So what happened? Going through the paragraphs where they initiated "Absolute Positioning," it reads to me like they were projecting themselves into some sorta astral plane kinda deal. And when the portal was forcibly broken, they got shut out of their bodies. For Masego, that led to his body to cease functioning. For Cat, that led to Akua trying to step in, and for some reason, it wasn't instant. From Kaleidoscope I, we got a pretty grotesque description of what was happening to Cat's body, where it was constantly trying to remake itself. I think that was Ubua fighting a manifestation of Winter for control of the body. When she wakes up, she comments "Well that was a thing," which I think refers to the fight she just had.
Thoughts?
u/HPMOR_fan [+4] (3 hours later)
That makes sense. You may be on to something. Larat may have done something too, in Kaleidoscope IV. Did Cat wake up, then switch to Akua after Larat stabbed her? Otherwise why did he do that?
u/notsureiflying [+14] (4 hours later)
I understood that Larat realized Akua (or no-Cat) was coming and was there to try to stop it.
u/HPMOR_fan [+5] (6 hours later)
Could be. Larat kept laughing though. And he said this
“Perhaps I’ve decided to dispose of my shackles,” he suggested. “Or merely to hack away at dead wood.”
Larat wants Cat to let loose him and the power of winter. Akua will not be as restrained. He only respects the Fae part of Cat. He just hacked away a part he didn't like.
u/rumblestiltsken [+1] (a day later)
He thinks of Akua as dead wood, for being a human bond of cat's. He wants her to leave humanity behind, but connections like that ground her.
The first part about disposing of shackles is just malevolent Fae trolling.
u/CeruleanTresses [+3] (a day later)
Now that I reread that part I think you're right. When Cat initially wakes up, the narration specifically refers to her as "Catherine Foundling," and the first thing she says is very Cat in tone. After the stab, she's still Catherine while she's beating Larat up, but after that she's "The Queen of Callow" and "the queen." The writing seems to telegraph that Cat was controlling her body before the stab and that Akua took over around the point where Larat started laughing. I might be reading too much into it though.
u/CeruleanTresses [+13] (an hour later)
I think Vivienne might have messed up. Wasn't Catherine intending not to kill the princes/s? Vivienne only forbade Akua to kill the Grey Pilgrim, and Amadis is death flagging like hell.
u/ForgottenToupee [+5] (2 hours later)
She was, but that was in a conversation with Ime and I don't think Cat actually agreed to it.
u/HPMOR_fan [+2] (3 hours later)
I assume she will be leading the hunt as well. Larat was promised the crowns so it would fit for him to get them now.
u/Mystrl [+9] (34 minutes later)
No way this could end poorly /s
u/cyberdsaiyan [+10] (an hour later)
And we all thought only Catherine would attempt a foundling gambit.
Or... could it be? Like the Grey Pilgrim said, are her subjects becoming more inclined to think the way she does? It's amazing writing that we can't really distinguish this from what Juniper or Thief would normally do, this really seems like a last ditch effort at salvaging it. But would the old Vivienne really be willing to let Akua have even a minuscule amount of power?
u/Sarkavonsy [+10] (an hour later)
I think a bigger problem is that we can't differentiate whether they're under the influence of that whole magic corruption thing the Pilgrim believes in, or whether they've just grown and changed as people, the normal way, between books 3 and 4. So trying to theorize either way is going to be impossible - any change that can be ascribed to one theory can just as easily be ascribed to the other.
Also, Thief is officially not a hero anymore, so that might be influencing her in subtle ways too. Personally, I think that Juniper would have been ruthless enough to try this even in book 3, and certainly by the end of it.
u/ForgottenToupee [+7] (an hour later)
Perhaps not, but I feel like one of the pivots in her life, so to speak, was throwing her lot in with the Lone Swordsmen and then nearly getting brainwashed by Contrition. That seems to have been the point where she stopped being "Old Vivienne" and became "New Vivienne." She became ruthless, but now she's also desperate. And we all know, that combination makes for good, rational, ethical decision making.
u/HPMOR_fan [+3] (an hour later)
If I remember correctly, Named were exempt from the brainwashing. But it could still have been a turning point her.
u/CouteauBleu [+4] We are the Empire. (6 hours later)
I like the characterization we're getting on Prince Amadis!
This chapter is doing a lot more to humanize him than I felt we got from other chapters. I hope we get the good stuff like that for other Proceran princes.
u/AurelianoTampa [+12] (9 hours later)
The throw-away line about Arnaud writing his "bastard son" was interesting too, because it seems out of character with his previous characterizations (either as a foolish blowhard from the Proceran nobles, or as an emotionless psychopath from Grey Pilgrim). If GP is right, then I highly doubt Arnaud is writing to his son - or if he is, at least it's not out of any emotional connection. He's likely working his own angle and the letters he sends are encoded. The question will be, who is he working with or toward? Potentially he's a spy for Cordelia, but with Amadis's thoughts about an invasion by the Dominion of Levant, my money's on them being involved.
u/JdubCT [+5] (10 hours later)
As much as I love Akua the nemesis she lost her big game. We really need her firmly on Cat's side or gone permanently.
u/signeti [+2] (an hour later)
So it come basically to what I sad a few chapters back. Army in shambles and desperate gambit afoot, again. Its a bit disappointing that author seems to recycle that narrative so much.
u/Chesheire [+7] (9 hours later)
Army in shambles
Army isn't in shambles, just on the backfoot right now. They've taken casualties but the command structure and the core force still remains. Only their
- Artillery
- Levies
- Vanguard
- Mages
Are wounded/lost. They still have their Shock Troops, their Cavalry, Sappers, Scouts, and the rest of the Vanguard that is in fighting condition.
It's not all lost - they're probably on more even footing now than they were before.
and desperate gambit afoot
Nope. I'm waiting on this one, because it doesn't look like it. I trust in the author to keep things fresh and these turn of events don't seem to by your typical "Foundling Gambit."
During Cat's formative years, it was a hallmark of her lack of ability and foresight, but due to her recent resolve I choose to believe that she wants to outgrow that desperation and is now relying on her people to succeed rather than do everything herself again.
u/signeti [+3] (10 hours later)
Their army literally can't take a field in fear of additional loses. Juniper herself said that if they lose any more men it will take year to get back on their legs. And that discounts mages, knights and sappers which they can't really recruit that fast at all. Given there is Crusade on their border this seems like a bit of problem.
So, they let Akua pilot Cats body into deciding battle, guided by commands of questionable strength. And you don't think that's desperate gambit? The person, who fucked them over so many times as deciding factor on war. Sure nothing can go wrong with that. Even if its her people and not Cat herself, its still desperation that drives them. Its like the only way they can accomplish anything is with moves like that and its getting a bit tiresome.
u/themousehunter [+1] Sunshine Regiment (a day later)
I'm scared for Cat's body going into battle with Akua at the helm.
u/CouteauBleu [+1] We are the Empire. (6 hours later)
SMBC jokes? Really?
u/VVhaleBiologist [+1] (7 hours later)
I must have missed this, to what were you referring to?
u/CouteauBleu [+5] We are the Empire. (7 hours later)
The couch gag of this chapter with "just a war" is the bonus joke of a SMBC cartoon.
u/VVhaleBiologist [+1] (14 hours later)
Thanks! Been reading smbc for years but completely missed that reference.