#aleja's liveblog

[aleja-liveblog]

1.20 chapter thoughts

I wrote a really long deep analysis last time but fuck it I’m not gonna write it again, half because I don’t feel like it and half because I don’t actually remenber what I wrote. 

So this chapter was both interesting and traumatizing. We all know why and I don't think it bears repeating. Absolutely every part of the Tower and every person inside is deadly, evil, and the seer rhyme is totally appropriate for both. You could not pay me to go in. also Black is a little bitch to both Catherine, a random High Lord, and Malicia. What else is new.

Malicia is Tiana for now, I can not be the first person to think of this.but since I’m pretty sure apgte fandom is not that big maybe I am. If I am, yay me. Either way, apparently she’s the most gorgeous woman alive and she’s gonna kill Catherine with either her looks or a knife. Either works. At least Catherine powers are growing, so maybe she’ll kill Malicia first. Wouldn’t be surprised if the story ended with Empress Catherine (though considering all the names, maybe she’ll be Empress Catastrophe, who knows) 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20 #chapter thoughts

[multishipper-baby]

Toko se está portando mal con Aoi y es tipo

#meme #spanish #liveblogging #por favor aleja tus sucias manos de mi nena #o te las voy a cortar #anda a abusar sexualmente de byaku que él no se queja (?

[aleja-liveblog]

it was impossible not to think of something sinful when looking at her

oh wow, ok Catherine do you need some water right now. Calm your thirst 

Fluidly, with the easy grace of a hunting cat, she rose to her feet

yeah she probably does hunt people for sport. wouldn’t surprise me

“All kneel for Her Most Dreadful Majesty Malicia, First of Her Name, Tyrant of Dominions High and Low, Holder of the Nine Gates, Sovereign of All She Beholds,” a harsh voice rang out.

the nine gates is new and interesting. Wonder if this will be important later

Without thinking I was halfway to doing the same when a hand fell upon my shoulder.

“We,” Black said, “do not kneel.”

you guys should have seen my eyebrows. Black are you sure? I know you’re her right-hand man but I feel like Cat will die if she doesn’t kneel

He’d spoken quietly, but in the hush of the room the words reverberated like the crack of a whip

He probably did this on purpose. Wants all the nobles to know where the real power is (how is he not dead again?)

The sentence was heavy with meaning, a claim and a declaration both. We do not follow the law. We are the law. And if you want me to kneel, come and make me.

If Cat can read this, Malicia definitely can. How is he not dead? Malicia either finds him too useful and has a plan in the wings to kill him if he gets too bitchy OR they have history and she’s fond of him (maybe she’s in love with him? best friend? father figure? (how old is she again?))

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

Also some fanart shared with me by @magmasliveblogs They said this is Akua. I dont remenber who akua was, buts its been a while so maybe its a minor character cause i can’t find her in my notes. She’s very pretty though and the art is great 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #fanart

[aleja-liveblog]

I schooled my own expression into something more neutral as I followed behind him, hearing the music that had been gently sounding in the background trail off as we did. 

I feel like Catherine’s neural face is still pretty goddamn expressive for these nobles. Also just record scratch, I wonder if this is because of Cat or if this always happens when Black shows up. 

The crowd parted before us as we strode with purpose, until we came to stand a few dozen meters away from the dais in the back of the room where the throne stood

oh i can just hear the dramatic music. Lets meet the Empress people

I barely looked at the throne itself, though it was a thing of legend, for all my attention was commanded by the woman sitting on it. I’d seen some beautiful women in my handful of years

you’re looking at a lengendary throne and the most powerful dangerous merciless woman in the world and you’re thinking about how pretty she is. God mood

I remembered thinking her hair looked like it was spun out of silver. She’d been pale as the moon and just as lovely.... sneaking looks at her smooth honey-coloured skin and amber eyes..the muscles of a swimmer and the mysterious smile of a sage.... gorgeous in a way I could only envy: generations of good breeding culminating in a perfect figure and flawless features that not even a sneer could mar.

There is an entire paragraph of Catherine being super gay and I love it. I hope Cat gets a gf one day

Compared to Dread Empress Malicia, they might as well have been pigs.

oh holy shit really? I wonder if this is magic cause you were really into Heiress

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

But now I was in their natural habitat, and though I despised them on principle I had to admit they were a stunning sight.

all nobles are like this

Tunics and dresses of every colour and every pattern, every one of them more exotic than the last. Silk and brocade, velour and velvet and half a dozen other cloths I didn’t even know the name for. The hair styles for both men and woman were outrageously elaborate, from braids with emeralds woven into them to a closely-cropped head with ever-changing arcane patterns shaved into it

I’m taking a moment to imagine it and its very pretty. too bad they’re all murderous scumbags

There were Taghreb and Soninke both, and the overwhelming majority of the people inside were humans

yeah racism. Wait I don’t think thats the right word. xenophobism? 

There were but a handful of orcs, and no goblins at all 

I wonder if the orcs are also wearing elaborate human clothes. Also no goblins? that's outrageous. rip Chider, you died for a worthy cause

That I could see, anyway. Given their size they might be hiding behind someone else

I doubt it. Remember why Chider wanted to be Squire

Black stepped to my side and his face might as well have been carved out of stone

ok game face on. God so much anxiety right now 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

Golden hooks jutted from the walls, meant for guests to hang their coats on

There was such a thing as being too rich (I feel I’m gonna look at this quote for a long time while here)

Black casually adjusted his cape over his shoulders 

he must be fabulous to see the court

My first thought was that there was no way the throne room in display could actually fit inside the Tower.  It was way too broad and the ceiling was high enough I half-expected there to be clouds trailing the ceiling

the wonders of perspective, rearranging, and/or magic 

The usual theme of black marble hard returned with a vengeance, but this once there was actually a bit of colour around: drapes of red, green and gold cascaded down everywhere like strange cloth pillars

yay! color again!

The floor was one single immense mosaic depicting a hundred different scenes

I do NOT want to see any of those. I just know they’ll be horrifying/gory/a sin against all the goods of humanity 

My attention almost immediately left the decor

sigh of relief at leaving the mosaic

there must have been at least several hundred people standing in the gallery, and all of them were looking at us

oh be very careful. All of them have probably killed at least one person and at least half are probably imaging our demise as we speak 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

Several eternities later

yeah, i feel you

I opened my eyes again and let out a breath of relief

sigh and she just showed weakness. lets hope Black doesn’t use this against her one day. 

Also this wasn’t part of my original reaction but I just thought now that having a dragonish creature that speaks a evil language as the only way to get to a place is actually pretty awesome security on their part 

a large, gaudier version of the balcony we’d come from

I feel everything from now on will be larger and gaudier

Without waiting for anyone’s permission I jumped down from our ride, dancing out of the way when the creature turned to hiss and snap its teeth at me

Run Cat run. (I would have been eaten trying to pet the goddam dragon)

The balcony led into a smaller chamber with a handful of wooden benches heavily encrusted with gold and jewels. I eyed a ruby the size of my fist that probably made actually sitting on the bench highly uncomfortable and sighed

so many things I want to say here. But I’ll just let Cat say it for me

There was such a thing as being too rich

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

“Everybody heard you telling it to take a bite in the Dark Tongue,” the Taghreb warrior replied, thoroughly unimpressed.

I don’t know whats funnier, that Black said that like a child or that there's a language called the dark tongue. Thats so fucking edgy my god 

“My pronunciation’s still a little off,” the Knight smiled sardonically. “I was trying to tell it to ‘take a hike’, I assure you.”

Sure Black, I totally believe you and I’m sure everyone else does

So I’m avoiding the High Lord of Nok, then.

yeah pretty sure the guy is dead. Black wouldn’t have left a job half done

The gargantuan warrior-woman spat out a harsh, guttural word in a language I didn’t recognize

the dark tongue perhaps (so goddamn edgy)

For a moment we were free falling and I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming

I’m sorry Cat but this sounds such fun. Remember if they wanted to kill you it wouldn't be so convoluted 

My old fear of heights was coming back with a vengeance

oh no. poor Cat (funnily enough my Kat, the one I know in real life is also afraid of height. I think. I’m pretty sure she is)

I close my eyes and clasped the handles hard enough I was sure my knuckles turned white.

oh poor baby. kind of want to hug her

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

For the first time since we’d entered the Tower there were other people around,

oh good. the emptyness was creepy and menancing

guards wearing the same armour-and-mask as those outside standing between the archways in the same creepy silence

seriously are these normals humans? and if they are, are they’re tongues ripped out to keep them quiet? The fact they have a demon gate and a hall of heads makes me doubt every other protection/beings here 

No railing here, and wasn’t that just horrible architectural design? It’s like they want someone to slip and fall.

...think about this for a second Cat

paused for a heartbeat. Hells, they actually might

There we go

Strike two for the evil architecture school theory.

haha. strike 3 and thus get free ice cream (thus I think the heads should have been strike two)

reptilian shriek resounded from above and a dark shape flew down towards the balcony. A grey-skinned creature with bat wings the size of a small house landed on the edge of the balcony, hissing hatefully at us in a way that displayed its bloody saw-like teeth.

oooh. horribly dangerous mode of transportation but oooh

“What is that?” I asked, taking a wary step back. “Some dragon’s inbred cousin?”

hahahahaha. lets hope batsy here doesn’t know english 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

“There’d be no practical way to enforce the ban,” he explained. “Any half-decent warlock can summon something if they get their hands on the right manuscript.

oh very good points there. Enforcing laws aimed at warlocks must be horrible, especially with something they can do so easy  

It was almost reassuring to hear him slip into his teaching voice, given our surroundings.

its kind of funny that Black has a teacher's voice. He’s the bogeyman and has a teaching mode

“An erosion of Imperial authority,” I replied after a moment. “If the Empress can’t enforce her own laws, people are going start breaking more than that single one.”

How can you be so smart (I would have never thought of that) and yet so stupid other times. Ah the duality of humans

“The myth of Imperial omnipotence is what keeps Praes together,” he murmured. “We must manage that illusion carefully.”

..yeah that seems impossible in the long term and theres no way Catherine is gonna keep that illusion by the end of this story 

After the general level of nightmarishness displayed by the last two I’d expected yet another sight I would wake up screaming about in the coming weeks but it was surprisingly mundane.

yay. its sad that mundane hallway is a yay

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

“How high up are we going anyway?”

sigh, in a better world she would be asking this to throw him of the tower

dwelling on the subject would just have made me angrier. A little anger would be enough to keep me steady, but if I worked up any more than that I’d lose focus.

i’ll dwell for you, dont you worry about that 

“Official Imperial Court functions are held on the twenty-fourth floor,” the green-eyed man replied.

“That doesn’t sound like a coincidence,” I muttered.

24, 24. Have we heard this number before? Well, 24 hours make a day. 

....I just looked online and apparently 24 is  “a symbol of priesthood... closely connected with heaven”. holy shit the irony levels are off the charts

“It’s been some time since the numerical value was used to facilitate devil summoning,” Black noted. “The Court still remembers when they came to collect with Nefarious.”

oh so they want protection from the devils. Well thats as good as any reason for the gigantic irony here. Seeing Nefarious being dragged to Hell must have been very traumatic indeed

“It doesn’t bother you at all that the godsdamned Imperial Court used to summon hellspawn?” I asked. “I mean, you know things are going downhill when the rulers of a place make literal deals with the devil.”

Well they are out and proud of being evil. Making deals with the devil is just one more step down 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

“The necromancy keeping the heads alive goes back to the Declaration,” Black mused. “No one’s been able to reproduce it since, and not for lack of trying.”

THANK GOD. And I truly hope the sick bastard who made this is rotting in Hell, suffering as much as the heads

“Well isn’t this place just a nice little box full of fucking horrifying surprises,” I growled.

...just be careful and dont think, what could be more horrifying? Very likely each surprise will be nastier than the last

A more specific word of warning would have been nice.

YES YES. What the hell Black, I would have loved a specific warning. This was sick

Like say ‘Hey, Catherine, there’s a hall full of humans heads just ahead. So you know, heads up!’”

heads up. hahaha. Oh Catherine even when traumatized you’re hilarious

“I was interested in seeing your reaction,” Black admitted shamelessly

fuck you fuck you fuck you. I wish I was there so I could have vomited on your nice shoes. What makes me even more mad is that Catherine impressed you with her reaction so you get a prize here 

if we hadn’t been in the Tower I would have shown him some of the more insulting gestures I’d learned in the Pit.

oh please do show him. Its the least he deserves. (and that would be one of the least evil things this Tower would have seen)

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

Souls couldn’t be destroyed, the House of Light said

well, either Black is lying or the House of Light is. Ordinarily, I would trust the latter but why the hell would Black lie about that 

not except by-

oh never mind. needed to read more. Seem neither is lying 

“That thing was a demon?” I choked.

Oh yay I was right. Well not yay cause there is a demon that sucks soul at the gate. That takes out the excitement. Whats wrong with a human gatekeeper, much safer and not a FREAKING DEMON

“From the Twenty-Third Hell,” he said.

...Is that good, bad, how many hells are there exactly and are they ranked randomly or by how worse they are from each other 

“Weeping Heavens,” I whispered. “Who uses a demon as a doorman?”

Craze people who have a death wish and thinks of themselves as gods. I’m with Catherine here, that is an insane use 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20

[aleja-liveblog]

A LOT LOT LOT OF REALLY LATE ASKS

While I’m here, @lilietsblog send me a bunch of asks a while ago (back in october) that first I forgot about and then I felt awkward since it was months ago. But since I’m still here, I’ll push through the awkwardness i’ve been avoiding since December 

Note they send a bunch, some numbered but apparently the second one is missing. @lilietsblog i dont expect you to remenber after months but if you do...

Also this is so fucking long that im putting a keep reading 

About Catherine and Rat Company (1): these are war games monitored by adults. They are intended to be training, and even though winning/losing also matters, I imagine major breaches of discipline (ie straight up disobeying the person supposed to be your commanding officer, which was Catherine with Nauk incapacitated) would be remarked and punished anyway. In the army it's more important to obey than to be clever or the whole thing can't work.”

No comment since I know nothing about armies but i’ll take your word for it 

(3) You keep suspecting Name shenanigans, but you think if Catherine was a side character and someone else became lieutenant and then led them to actual successes against First Company they wouldn't be cheering that person on and swearing eternal loyalty (until evening anyway)? It's just how people work. Charismatic leaders are a real world thing, not just a story thing. Story can enhance what's already there, but Speaking has been explicitly called out so far. Catherine isn't doing that.”

Really good point. Also consider this, I will suspect Name shenanigans until the day I die. The story will end, I will be in my deathbed, and I will tell my grieving family that it was Name shenanigans in apgte

“(4) The subtler effects of Name shenanigans are mostly in coincidences and luck. What COINCIDENCE it is that Cat was placed in the loser company willing to rally behind ANYONE who gave them even a modicum of success. What COINCIDENCE it is that they went up against First Company, making Cat look even more impressive in context. And, uh, the fact Cat got lieutenant's position is explicitly no coincidence, just Black's fiat. That's being apprentice to the head of the army for you.”

See above for my take on this (also I truly hope in my deepest of hearts that you know its deep Name manipulation because you already read this and am trying to throw me off. Because I would love a story about confronting Tropeworld, please give me this) 

“(5) To bring characterterization together a little bit: remember how Sergeant Ebele in Rat's Nest liked Cat and encouraged her? Remember how Cat fast-talked her way into a rebel group? Remember how she called herself out for being too much of a brave idiot when she went to save that girl in chapter 1? She's just in the exact position to show off and capitalize on these traits that were there from before Black got involved.”

Really good Catherine analyzing and I agree. After all theres a reason Black picked her. BUT it can be Cat being charming and leadering material, AND name stuff. I dont trust the Names and Roles at all. 

“(6) These are TEENAGERS in a WAR GAME. LEEEEEROY JEEEEEEEEENKINSSS!!!!!.... tl;dr it would take a mind-controlling Name to get these children to act DIFFERENTLY in this situation lmao”

Oh yes, holy crap this is just lord of the flies. However,I’m still side eyeing everything

 “ God this will give birth to so many more rumors. Who laughs in the middle of fighting?" this is called adrenaline and I'm not saying ANYONE would but it's at the very least a real thing lmao (if you're of Catherine's temperament~)”

Are you sure? Absolutely sure?  I didn’t want to know that and I’m pretty sure there will still be rumors even if that only makes a small percentage of the ones that will pop up (hell we just seen the Blackguards take Cat in front of her classmates, god the rumors everywhere)

(I am not saying whether there are or not Name shenanigans involved, why that would be spoilers. Just pointing out that it comes together as is, either way)

Name shenanigans  Name shenanigans  Name shenanigans

(the psychological parts come together, anyway. No comment on jumping over rolling logs)

oh yeah we’ve already seen its pretty impossible and it tipped of Hellhound 

...

and a comment from when I returned last month

WELCOME BACK WE MISSED YOU 

I was gonna keep this one to myself but I’m already commented of everything else from lili so why not. thank you :)

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #asks

[aleja-liveblog]

There we stood, the two of us clad in steel and black like a pair of crows surrounded by birds of paradise

oh this metaphor is awesome. yeah, gonna plagiarize it for my essays

The only two people still on our feet among a sea of kneelers. I felt a shiver go down my spine at the sight. It felt like power. It felt like a beginning, though of what I was not sure.

Enjoy it while you can Catherine. Either you’re gonna fall dramatically or you’ll rise so massively that you’ll get used to the thrill

Also yeah, the beginning of your end, or the Empire’s end, or Malicia’s end. Its SOMEONE’s end

Dread Empress Malicia smiled as she sashayed toward us – just looking at the quirk of her lips made my heart clench.

Catherine please. I will give you water somehow if you continue, I dont care if you’re not real, i will

“Welcome home, Amadeus,” she said. “I see you brought along your Squire.”

I just heard the tan tan taaaan.  lets hope her voice is hideous or Catherine is gonna melt into the floor. 

#aleja's liveblog #apgte #book 1 #1.20