#apgte

[eldritchwyrm]

please read A Practical Guide to Evil

#once again i am on my bullshit #the first book is shaky but i PROMISE. i PROMISE it is worth it #a practical guide to evil #apgte #pgte

[booksandchainmail]

I think the single funniest case of "focus of narration reflects POV character's perspective" (ie certain POVs noting architecture, or clothes, or other setting details in ways other POVs don't) was Practical Guide to Evil, where it gets revealed about 5 books in that every single time the narration goes into lavish physical description of a character, that reflected the main character checking them out in a way she thinks is subtle (it is not)

Catherine limped in ahead, eyes considering as she took in the sight of the full roster of the Blood as well Princess Rozala. Liveried servants offered refreshments that all refused, and Hakram noted with exasperated amusement that his warlord’s eyes were lingering a little longer than necessary on Rozala Malanza. Half the Blood too, though he was surprised that among the men she seemed to prefer the almost orcish frame of Yannu Marave to Razin Tanja’s, who was much closer in age. As she was less than discreet he wondered if offence might accidentally been given, but if he was reading the expression correctly Lady Aquiline Osena looked more flattered than anything else by the roving eye. He met Vivienne’s eyes in shared aggravation behind Catherine’s back, though he figured at least they should be pleased she’d not been undressing the First Prince of Procer with her eyes. That might go over poorly, he thought.

#pgte #practical guide to evil #apgte #a practical guide to evil

[resplendent-chungus]

My favourite Catherine Foundling Moment is when she gets bitter some guy she knew as a kid asked a different girl to the fair instead of her, and is then immediately like "Well tbf if it were up to me I'd have taken her myself so like. Yeah."

My second-favourite Catherine Foundling Moment is when she makes an offhanded remark (in her brain!) about glass houses and throwing stones in the middle of some argument and then pauses to be like. Well. Actually if someone's rich enough to have a glass house they should probably be stoned. And then she goes right to visibly suppressing the urge to have the last word. In the argument she ignored to imagine stoning the rich.

#apgte #pgte #a practical guide to evil #practical guide to evil #god i love catherine. eternal blorbo. lame bisexual asshole who has a soul-draining day job as queen and general and high priest of darknes

[swordandscytheandpen]

i love Vivienne's character a lot for how little screen time she's had so far

#mine #pgte #apgte #practical guide to evil #a practical guide to evil #i hate how many tags this thing has

[johnybones56]

Killing a God with my girlfriend, my girlfriend, my evil wife, my former blood-brother/accountant, and the world's most autistic man (complementary)

#a practical guide to evil #apgte

[cat-appreciator]

Thinking about A Practical Guide To Evil, which has its flaws, but which definitely has a really good magic system. The Names and their Aspects is just so good (at least from my perspective as an itinerant fanficcer), I could noodle about infinitely making up Names and Aspects for them. It’s a bit like characters in DOTA; this character has a certain deal or aesthetic going on, which gives them a limited number of moves, now let’s toss them like tomatoes in a salad and see what happens when they interact.

APGTE is also really good at making those interactions feel really satisfying when they’re pulled off. Just a series of magnificent bastard Xanatos gambits all the way down.

Unfortunately the Name and Aspect system is deeply tied in with the setting’s narrative causality, there’s not really an easy way to loot it for parts like the terrible magpie gremlin I am. Oh well!

#APGTE #A Practical Guide to Evil #fanfic #worldbuilding #magic systems #mostly just me being enthusiastic tbh

[caramel-popkorn]

when is that pgte webtoon coming out i need that shit like water

#practical guide to evil #a practical guide to evil #pgte #apgte

[crowns-of-violets-and-roses]

#apgte #pgte #practical guide to evil #a practical guide to evil #new poll because I forgot see results #No Cat because the protag winning is boring

[blackholebinding]

May 2023

Fanbinding of A Practical Guide to Evil by erraticerrata. Also my first attempt at rounding a spine!

#bookbinding #my binding #apgte #rounded spine #my typeset

[fallowhearth]

So I finished A Practical Guide to Evil and wow - very good! Strong recommendation from me if you are looking for a completed web serial to read. I know a fair few Wildbow readers follow me, check this one out if you haven't already, especially if you like fantasy as a genre. Also highly recommended for Malazan fans, as the author is clearly a fan as well.

A few award winners (no spoilers) -

Best boy: Kairos

PTerry's Ceramic Atheist: Anaxares

Best parenting: the evil wizard and the literal devil, somehow

Spirit of the Bridgeburners: Robber

Most lovable old horror: Rumena

Most hateable old horror: Yara of fucking nowhere

Most disastrous bisexual: you might think this would be Cat, but no, shout out to the Barrow Sword

Best Dread Emperor: Irritant, the Oddly Successful, my beloved

Also thanks to (I think) @st-just for posting about this series, as that's what put me onto it.

#a practical guide to evil #apgte #Errant errata

[project-catgirlpillar]

Average a practical Guide to evil character has three titles actually Just a statistical Error. Titles Catherine who lives in a Cave and has had three Names, two callowan/Praesi noble titles, two fae Mantels, three drow titles and one epithet is an outlier and should Not have been counted

#idk man #if you really want to you can count both versions of squire separately in which case she has four Names #which brings her number of titles up from eleven to an even dozen #if you were willing to force it you could say that many callowans also called her whatever the noble title attatched to marchford was #as opposed to lady of marchford #i wanna say marchioness? really not sure though #a practical guide to evil #apgte #catherine foundling

[caprice-nisei-enjoyer]

“We don’t have any purebreds,” he told me. “They’re too costly to field. The Order uses mostly halfbloods and Vale breeds.”

“I’m aware,” I said. “I need you to find the shoddiest, sickliest goat we have and paint it white. Not well, though, just kind of half-heartedly. Try to make it a female one if you can. Send it along with my letter, when the time comes.”

The orc cleared his throat a little too quickly for me to buy him looking at me this disapprovingly.

“This is how you deal with Kairos, Hakram,” I told him nonetheless. “He’s not like Malicia or the Dead King, he doesn’t give a damn about respect or rules or making deals that’ll last longer than a moon’s turn. I offered him steel and honey and an elaborate insult – it should do the trick.”

“We’re not made of goats, Catherine,” Adjutant reproached.

This is probably my favorite punchline in the whole series

#apgte

[booksandchainmail]

you call me villain cast the word as you would a stone; seek to bury under scorn of herded multitude, and yet forget my Name: I am empress most dread, savage ruler of yet fiercer race; did you expect meekness of me? you call me villain speak it a curse as if Hells were grasping instead of grasped; as if I had knelt. you dare? I am tyrant, bringer of calamity; crowned and crowning glory of mine empire be fearful now tremble; for my reach is long my wrath is great patient but unrivaled above or below and I will be Triumphant

– Extract from the play “I, Triumphant”, author unknown, banned by decree of the Tower under Terribilis II

From the web serial A PracticalGuide to Evil, by erraticerrata

#pgte #practical guide to evil #a practical guide to evil #apgte #dread empress triumphant #villain

[resplendent-chungus]

#A practical guide to evil #apgte #pgte #Practical guide to evil

[swordandscytheandpen]

This is exactly where I hoped Anaxares's character was going. His philosophy is, in some ways, a refinement of Black's (no coincidence that both were explored in the same chapter.) Black finds the system of Names and Roles unfair - but unfair to villains. He wants to force his way to victory, just to prove that it can be done. He wants to win the game that's rigged against him. Anaxares, in contrast, finds the system unfair to everyone, Named and otherwise, and acts accordingly. He's not trying to win the game, he's simply refusing to play it. I like this approach, and it speaks a great deal to my own takes on many matters of social politics (gender, nationalism, etc.)

It's also worth noting that when Black made his big move a few chapters ago, when he Destroyed Akua's Liessen array to try and maintain a crumbling upper hand, the Wandering Bard was there laughing. She seems to be basically the personification, or at least the warden, of stories in this setting, and the more Amadeus struggles the more he gets caught in her web. Anaxares, though? I think this is the first time we've actually seen WB rattled. She was even, apparently, shunted out against her own will. Anaxares might actually be an issue for her, and I deeply hope he gets the chance to meet Cat at some point.

Anyway, Anaxares is probably my favorite character after this little speech, aside from Cat herself.

#mine #pgte #apgte #a practical guide to evil #practical guide to evil

[egodb]

I started reading _A Practical Guide to Evil_ a few days ago, and I'm already over 10% done (which is great reading speed for someone who usually finishes maybe a book a year).

I vibe a lot with the finding a Name and figuring out the Aspects part of the world building, because ain't that so true fr fr? Behave in opposition to your nature is stressful, and that's a story beat. It's great. I love it.

#apgte