Comments on: Annotated Chapter 48 Cover

By: J

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 13:07:05 +0000

I really don’t see how HR is a ‘more compelling’ villain than Ardaic. More dangerous, sure, but compelling? In a dramatic sense? HR is only really compelling in the actions of those who oppose him: he’s a force of nature villain. As a person, he’s a one-note psychopath who seemingly has no morals and just wants to manipulate those around him to help him to achieve godhood. He barely feels like a person, which is appropriate given how he ends up, but also ironic considering that the world he inhabits is supposed to be the ‘real’ one. I find it hard to imagine HR’s path from a child to the person he ends up being, and I don’t really feel compelled to try.

Ardaic on the other hand is extremely compelling dramatically: he’s the Peacekeepers’ former mentor who has close ties to all of them, and is torn between his sense of duty and his sense of justice. He’s a great sympathetic villain and his final face-off with Frigg is awesome, as well as his redemption.

HR’s conflict might have had higher stakes, but Ardaic’s conflict was definitely the one I was more excited to see resolved.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 05:54:00 +0000

People who choose to be a good cog in a bad machine are ultimately more responsible for the evil outcomes than all the psychopaths at the top.

Psychopaths make very poor cogs, so wouldn’t actually be able to run the monstrosity themselves.

By: Abnaxis

Abnaxis — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:53:02 +0000

Which to be clear, still works for Ardaic as a character and is good for him being on the cover.

This isn’t a criticism, I just saw the conflict as less “Good vs. Evil” and more “Good vs. Idiots Who Aren’t Smart Enough to Dump Evil on Its Ass.” Ardaic exemplifies that perfectly.

By: Abnaxis

Abnaxis — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:48:30 +0000

I don’t think I ever really got angry at Ardaic. I thought he was dumb and flawed, but in a “roll your eyes wtf do you do with people like this” kind of way. I never really hate a hate boner for him.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:25:53 +0000

I think most people had a pretty good hate-on for Ardaic at this point, so it worked well IMO