Kill Six Billion Demons

Marquis, you do recall how a big chunk of the last book was Allison getting to know Cio better, and how they ended up kissing dramatically after nearly killing each other? How is that not a Bisexual Mood (tm)?

IIRC, Allison was not a cooperative partner in that scene.

But they talked about it after and decided to go on a date.

Regardless, evidently a lot has happened between those two that we didnt get to see.

Allison is right, Cio is not at all subtle in her seductions.

Then again Ally is a bit of a dumbass so subtlety might go over her head.

After that mention of how Cio almost left I'm expecting some kind of flashback or something to backfill the time skip.

Edited by Moopsball on Jan 29th 2019 at 6:05:41 AM

Body

I can understand being a bit disappointed we didn't get to see their relationship change/grow, but I feel like it's stretching it a bit to say this came out of nowhere. After the weird kiss (which, yeah, even though Allison didn't react negatively she didn't initiate it), they had an awkward talk about their feelings on the boat, and I definitely came away from that conversation with the idea that Allison was interested in Cio.

I mean, a heterosexual ship doesn't require you to make sure you establish that the protag is into men in GENERAL before she can be interested in a specific man. So why would this be any different?

Edited by LoniJay on Jan 31st 2019 at 8:00:12 PM

Whats that got to do with it? After hundreds of pages of UST, they start dating during a timeskip. Im pointing out how thats a little frustrating, is all. They are the two most central characters, after all, and how they relate to each other is an important element of the story.

Also, Allison resolves her internal turmoil after being mind-whammied by Incubus with an intense spiritual lesbian makeout session, remember?

Bad day. (NSFW)

Allison is still making terrible decisions, I see. It's not like the last time she accepted any kind of advice or help from Incubus it backfired horribly or anything.

Do Cio, or anyone, know about Incubus? If not, exactly how did Allison explain her actions to Cio? Did she?

BTW, this is the first time, I think, that we have seen them both naked. Cio lookin' gooood.

Ignition of the Heir

Spiritual Advisor

I didnt see this coming.

I was worried it would be one of the plot points person once again accepts the help of the bad guy despite how badly it turned out the first time but it seems like that won't be the case.

Praxis

Ki Rata.

Apparently they forgot the old saying "I taught you everything you know, but I didn't teach you everything I know."

Pretty rare for killing a pacifist to make someone more sympathetic, but there you have it.

They remind me of the Jedi from the prequels and KOTOR II, but a million times worse. At least the Jedi were right both times; the war was more complex than it seemed initially, and even if standing by doing nothing was a bad idea, just jumping straight in wasn't the right option either.

Here, though, there's no subtlety or machinations behind the scenes. They're being conquered by a random jackass, and they figure their pacifism is more important than anything else.

They think that their self development is more important than anything else. They are basically a type of nihilist.

I think it's more that Ki Rata is so obscenely busted that there's no situation that can be improved by deploying it, up to and including a genocidal tyrant rampaging through the local multiverse. It'd be like using a nuke to swat a fly.

Remember, we've seen what martial arts can do in this setting. The strongest martial art ever is going to be something utterly fucking ludicrous.

Edited by Iaculus on Feb 17th 2019 at 2:29:11 PM

I disagree. The lore entry for Ki Rata pretty clearly states that they have precise, small-scale techniques. The monks only care about their development, they they themselves have escaped the cycle of violence. What happens to everyone else doesn't concern them.

And to have the power and opportunity to intervene and choose not to means they they were okay with their entire world being plundered, the people slaughtered and enslaved, and the environment strip-mined.

"Even the sun was removed." You have to admire that level of single minded dedication. Just before killing them.