Second Army disorganization
Siege and Storm- Chapter 14
One of the most frustrating and famously nonsensical passages of Grisha trilogy, easily explained through doylist approach- the author's inability to write strategy or politics and demands of the genre, requiring a weak, unfit heroine to defeat immensely powerful opponent way out of her league:
Alina: Oh no, they dare to oppose me again! :(
Isn't that why would you want to establish a council in the first place? So you get constructive criticism and suggestions to do things better?!
My objections to the notion Alina came up with representation of Grisha can't be more obvious:
Army is a structured organization. There are ranks and councils by default. No amount of ignorant teens will persuade me calling it "Second" makes it otherwise.
Any big organization has a structure. Even if Second Army were only about education, there would be councils and posts on different levels. Hell, school system works that way.
Alina: I'm gonna have the useless ones represented, because we're not doing things like the Darkling, but that doesn't mean I'll respect them myself or abandon my prejudices. Fucking nerds. Weidos...
Another YA nonsense- you cannot put people into categories based on their physical predispositions, and expect the mental ones to fit accordingly. You can have a huge, muscled guy, skilled in delicate handiwork. You can have a tiny wisp of a girl beating the living shit out of you (popular trope by itself).
Now why should sensitivity to metals get you a spot in labs, if you're a strategic genius? Or incredibly skilled, witty rhetorician? Isn't it more likely you'd be required to complete basic training to stay healthy and prevent accidentally endangering others, while being assigned to whatever you're most useful at?
And what about those weak or less intelligent ones? Are they bringing coffee and arranging entertainment?!
It also fits this fan interpretation, that Materialki are often neuro-divegent, so they are tend to be kept away from battle for their own sake.
Alina wasn't involved in practical running of Second Army before. Just because she doesn't know about something, it's not a totally fresh idea.
I'd be afraid of a girl, who almost murdered a bunch of people for asking questions, too.
At this point, I'm gonna run with the idea that all the older Grisha are torn between face-palming and silently laughing their assess off (so Alina doesn't overhear and her clique doesn't resort to violence).
“But what do they do in there?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to hear the answer.
“Only the Corporalki know. But there are rumors that they’ve been working with the Fabrikators on new … experiments.”
Shadow and Bone- Chapter 8
... and that says nothing about the field, or the little groups in noble houses. People tend to stick together with their own, when in strange enviroment. I'm sure such bonds dissolve immediately after their return "home".
I've also delved a little into the sitting order here.
A few lines earlier, Alina noted Materialki didn't show up to complain. Who is so horrified then?! Not them, for sure.
Ironically, this fits into Fabricator-brain theory linked above AND the most logical explanation- Materialki have basic self-defense training, but only those, who are able to, continue. Alina isn't particularly friendly with any of them, so how would she know no one had EVER bothered to teach them? Alright, there are none in her class, but as far as we know, it consists of a Squaller, an Inferni and a Heartrender. Not the most saying sample.
Having a third of all Grisha helpless doesn't fit into the picture of Aleksander's leadership:
“That’s what Botkin always says. ‘Not showy, just to make pain,’” I said, imitating the mercenary’s heavy accent.
“Smart guy.”
“The Darkling doesn’t think Grisha should rely on their powers for defense.”
Shadow and Bone- Chapter 17
You don't have to become another Bruce Lee, you only need a chance, when they drag you out of bed in the middle of the night.
What tradition?
This is rather well-written group of angry, disorganized people. It might start with a reasonable goal, but soon everyone talks about something else than others, and the message gets lost in the noise.
Tradition doesn't equal "the way things are done". Neither of them is the same as "the need for structure and people knowing their places". The third one is a legitimate concern, although one could argue it's exactly what Alina's attempting.
This whole scene very much reads like:
The author is desperate to prove the Heroine isn't quite useless- she has good ideas!
Look!
*whacks a hundreds of years old stategist and survivor par excellence with stupid stick*
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Me: You know what, let's do short snippets; small one-shots; almost-drabbles. Just to get this hyperfixation out of my system. It'll be quick!
Me, days later: Okay, I suppose we can interconnect them a bit -- though they're NOT chapters! -- and maybe reference one of the light novels. Just for context. To give a sense of when in the timeline this happens. Yeah.
Me, weeks later: Re-rewatching the early episodes of Naruto Shippuden that I just rewatched literally a couple of weeks ago for quotes/speech patterns/vocabulary/etc., rewatching the Akatsuki recruitment game cutscenes, skipping forward to the war arc to watch relevant scenes for note-taking, skimming through exactly 43 episodes to find the *one* scene I needed that no one online had an episode number for, rereading relevant manga chapters, rereading three light novels, search history includes debates on whether puppets are immune/resistant to genjutsu (for literally a throwaway line in a flashback X_X), theories on how this asshole turned himself into a puppet in the first place, medical articles on the human body with particular attention to the brain/brain functions, and English translations of the ops/eds of the relevant episodes for title inspiration.
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Jinx: "Shocking discoveries!!" 😘😲 (10 pictures)
#Jinxmanhwa #Jinx @_MinGwa #KimDan #JooJaekyung #징크스
The essay "Shocking discoveries!! 😘😲" (10 pictures) is finished. Feel free to comment. Chapter 15 is now included. Retweet/like it as support. Thanks.
Please support the authors by reading the manhwas on the official websites. This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/jinx_en But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. Here are the links, if you are interested in the first work from Mingwa, BJ Alex,…
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Siege and Storm- Chapter 14
She ain't stupid.
I live for those moments of lucidity Alina occasionally experiences.
Do those Grisha even know Darkles' "crimes"? Did Alina bother to tell them, or does she still assume they read her mind, so they're updated?! Is there a scene missing? Where they meet and she explains what happened?
She did promise she will, but then she stormed off and went to sleep as far as we know...
Again- did Alina reveal Darkles' past "offscreen", or are those Grisha just expected to figure out what she's talking about?!
Three-front war going on, with one of those sides being ancient semi-mythical power. Our Heroine:
Yeah, I don't think my ally's trying to get into my pants THIS TIME...
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about evermore chapter 14…
spoilers for chapter 13 !! please read this post for those who are waiting for chapter 14 :>>
just to make sure we’re clear here, please don’t put your expectations too high on chapter 14 as to prevent yourselves from feeling possibly more disappointed :DDD the goal in chapter 14 is to show diluc’s feelings, thoughts and experiences as well as what his relationship with jean really is (so yes, theres slight jeanluc there so feel free to ignore this chapter and proceed to versadies’ version)
as for versadies’ version, itll most likely be posted a few days after the og chapter’s release since i havent written anything for it so i apologize to those who are looking forward to the other version DD:
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