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[RT][HF] A Practical Guide to Evil: Book 4: Chapter 31: Spectation
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Author: u/Zayits *
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URL: https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2018/07/16/chapter-31-spectation/
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Score: 70
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Created: 2018-07-16T04:05:50
Post:
Comments:
u/Iwasahipsterbefore [+27] (3 hours later)
I got a lot more respect for Thief from this chapter. Well written, intelligent characters are awesome.
Also, I think that Akua is playing a three level game here.
- Getting into an argument
- Losing the argument in order to further her redemption
- Through the argument itself, and not the outcome, change both her and Thiefs role in the story.
I think she's aiming to be the Devil on the shoulder with Vivenne as the opposing Angel.
No matter which tier of her plan works, she wins. If she wins the argument then she could start to influence thief, gaining a foothold that way. If she successfully throws the argument without being found out, then she furthers her redemption arc, and third, she can transition her role in the story to being a somewhat humorous, permanent addition, gaining a more permanent presence in Creation.
Or I'm thinking too much into it.
u/CouteauBleu [+18] We are the Empire. (9 hours later)
Or I'm thinking too much into it.
Yeah, I think it's a big point of this story that sometimes plans fail without fanfare. I think Akua just tried something, not as a master plan, but as a matter of habit, and Thief more or less defused it.
u/WalterTFD [+1] (9 hours later)
Strong agreement on Akua's aim being to be Catherine's shoulder devil.
u/ForgottenToupee [+23] (an hour later)
Professor Quirell called, he wants his level back
u/drunk_reddit_acount [+2] (15 hours later)
Is this a reference too something?
u/ForgottenToupee [+7] (15 hours later)
HPMOR, one of Professor Quirell’s things was always “playing one level higher than [Harry]”
u/TideofKhatanga [+14] (2 hours later)
I rather love seeing other people's description of Catherine. The way Thief is speaking, you would think that Cat is Archer with a crown. Though Thief has never known Archer before she turned Masego-sexual.
She’s kind of petty, her temper’s foul and if Hakram hadn’t stepped in she’d probably be a drunk. She ogles every pretty face that shows up even if they’re our enemies, and she cannot for the life of her shut the Hells up even when she really needs to.
Also, nice brag with the pretty face bit here.
u/CouteauBleu [+17] We are the Empire. (10 hours later)
She ogles every pretty face that shows up even if they’re our enemies
I love that part. "Catherine, can you please not flirt with the general in charge of invading our country? It's really embarrassing for everyone."
u/TideofKhatanga [+18] (11 hours later)
Characters on Catherine's "Would Bang" List: Ratface, Aisha, Kilian, Malicia, Akua, Wekesa, Indrani, Kendall, Vivienne, Malanza. She sure likes her eye candies.
u/drunk_reddit_acount [+2] (15 hours later)
Wait, is Cat bisexual? I thought she was gay
u/TideofKhatanga [+7] (16 hours later)
She's bi, though with a strong preference for women. She does mention at some point that her first few experiences were with Laure's fishermen boys and her description of both Ratface and Wekesa leave little doubt concerning her sexual leanings
u/signspace13 [+2] (a day later)
Honestly, I wish she would just get a do it at some point with anyone, I feel like she has way to much sexual tension built up, she has always been a very sexually aware character and I feel like not having an outlet for it is putting her on edge. I honestly can't blame her too much though because her options for companionship are really limited, as much as she seems to have slept around when she was younger the current her doesn't seem into casual anything, the only characters who I think could give her any kind of meaningful relationship are Thief (who is, as has been explicitly stated, painfully straight), and Anne Kendall (who we don't know all that much about really, besides that Cat trusts her in charge of Callow and the she finds her very attractive).
u/TideofKhatanga [+1] (a day later)
There's the problem that Anne Kendall is, like, 40.
u/signspace13 [+1] (a day later)
Yeah there is, I don't expect it to happen at all, she is just one of the few women in the series who seems capable of a wholesome relationship, and I think Cat is a bit past caring too much about social faux pas, I'm honestly surprised she didn't try to sleep with her just because she could, Cat has never struck me as someone who restrains urges that aren't actively harmful to her (like the drinking).
u/over_who [+12] Aleph you are going to die (15 minutes later)
I don’t think it matters, for the story, if Akua is really reforming. It only matters that she plays the role. And that story, with Thief in disbelief, means Akua will end up killing Vivienne
u/leakycauldron [+14] Imperium of Man (22 minutes later)
Disagree. Ubua is the solution to Grey's redemption bomb
u/LordGoldenroot [+9] (34 minutes later)
I think the redemption failed when pilgrim choose the grand alliance over callow.
u/Zayits [+5] (an hour later)
Or he saw Akua in Catherine's body and was aiming for her to join the party from the very start. If she's bound by the same oaths as Cat when she's posessing her, then the story may be applied to her while she, say, is let out to fight against the crusaders in Callow's hour of need again.
I mean, this was before the negotiations where Catherine turned the tables (though, given how Grey Pilgrim didn't need to signal the intermediary or prince Amadis, the redemption narrative might not have been an improvisation), but all four sentences said by the Pilgrim to Diabolist on her throne in Kaleidoscope VI can be viewed both as ones said to Cat and to Akua:
“Child,” he said, tone appalled. “What have you done to yourself?”
“Surrender,” the Great Elder said. “Abdicate. It is not too late.”
“You would argue this, after slaying thousands?” the Pilgrim asked.
“And you think your reign a better alternative?” the Grey Pilgrim asked calmly.
Note that the second one is a response to "I see you’ve been tossing around resurrections like they’re godsdamned solstice treats, too. Charming. Not going to have any long-term ramifications at all.” The third one is a bit of hypocritical nonsequitur if applied to Catherine's actions during the Battle of Camps, but we've been past that. As a reaction to finding out that Diabolist is still out and about, howerver, it sounds far more reasonable (especially as a response to "This doesn’t need to turn into a Named pissing contest.”).
In that context, refusing to help Catherine was raising the pressure that made her either fold (in which case the redemption is applied straightforwardly, since she now has to fight everyone that previously backed her to "amend her sins"), or resort to the drastic measures he no doubt saw her considering, which gives the next batch of heroes narrative advantage and makes her let Akua out more frequently, who either backstabs her (which brings us back to Evil turns on Evil) or behaves like a decent person until she has a chance to contact the Pilgrim again (which, aside from story of an artifact backfiring on its owner, would allow him more control over her "character development", or at least trick the villains to their doom).
I realle hope for Catherine figuring out a way of this trap, now that she heard the word "redemption" and can think about how exactly Akua is planning to get out.
u/CouteauBleu [+5] We are the Empire. (10 hours later)
I think people are putting way, way too much weight into story logic.
Practical Guide has so far done a lot more commenting on conventions than following any set of conventions (besides a general "the protagonist keeps winning and becoming stronger").
Black has built his career around finding ways to win despite story conventions. While many specific engagements have (probably) been decided by story logic, most large-scale conflicts have been a matter of logistics and ideology. The entire half of the first book has involved almost nothing but number-based military tactics.
Some events are decided by story logic, especially the most pivotal events. But not everything has to be. The idea that the Pilgrim will somehow "reform" either Cat or Akua in a way the will lead to their inevitable death seems incredibly stretched at this point.
u/haiku_fornification [+9] (4 hours later)
Welp, I didn't expect pre-Socratic philosophy to come up but here we are. Maybe at some point we'll get a philosophical/physical treaties on how a soul can be studied and exists independently of the body.
I'm fairly sure all of this argumentation is just theatrics on Akua's side, serving mostly as a means to increase her weight in the narrative. Not to say she doesn't think Cat will climb the Tower, just that she doesn't think argumentation could convince Thief.
u/WalterTFD [+8] (9 hours later)
Akua remains both very smart and very stupid.
Also nice to see someone point out the incredible force on the other side at Liesse. Diabolist fought the Woe and the Calamities together, no shock she got wrecked.
That is essentially the future Cat wants, methinks, maniacs facing a coalition of the sane, whether they call upon Gods above or below.
u/None [+5] (13 hours later)
So this has undoubtedly been mentioned in previous chapter reviews at some point, but what we've got here is an AI in a box scenario yeah? Immoral/amoral agent trying to get out, moral agents needing the invaluable information it can provide, and a gatekeeper to serve as the balance.
If that's the case, Thief seems to be behaving in a less than optimal fashion. I guess it could be argued that her emotions vs. Ubua are getting in the way, but still, you'd think she'd have set some ground rules for herself and Cat early on and then stuck to them. Things like limiting information going in, not letting the entity fraternize, and above all else not getting into petty arguments with it for the sake of your ego.
This last chapter kinda violated a lot of rules that I'd assume were pretty basic, for no other reason that I can see than to kinda-sorta show Cat that Akua is still scheming to get out? Is that really vital information that needed to be proved? If Akua is as intelligent and evil mastermindy as everyone thinks she is then Thief trying to one up her in the manipulation game seems a needless risk to take. Thief's already had to move the goalposts from "fate worse than death" to "she's a valuable resource that Cat promises to get rid of 'when no longer needed'", so I'd say the gatekeeper is on the path towards failure already.
Dunno, I just think if Thief wants to avoid her worst possible outcome of Akua getting freedom then she should really be pushing for her to be locked up in the dark and not spoken to until absolutely necessary.
u/ProfessorPhi [+3] (2 hours later)
On a side note, the Bard's theme song is totally Sympathy for the Devil
u/YTubeInfoBot [+2] (2 hours later)
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
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