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liltalle · 21 days ago

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Sorting A Practical Guide to Evil - Sorting Hat Chats

This web serial is one of my favorite stories of all time, and it's all about differing perspectives on morality and the effectiveness of different methods—perfect for SHC. (The premise is a girl of the heroic mold joining up under the Dread Empire to help her people when all the attempted heroes have failed—reminiscent of Baru Cormorant if anyone's read that.)

I've had sorting notes in my back pocket for years, and it's high time I put them out into the world. I don't know how many people here are still into it, it's still live if anyone wants to try it, but there will be spoilers below. The basics of the sorting system are explained here, archetypes reference found here.

Catherine Foundling - Badger Lion. The Dark Protagonist sorting, I love it. Cat is very clear that her loyalty is to Callow, and a core theme of the story could be described as the lengths Loyalists are willing to go for what's theirs, how they shed Idealist restraints, and how they discover that sometimes playing nice is actually the practical way to get what they want. Cat is contrasted early on with William, who at least performs Lion, with his naive idealism about the ideal of Callow, the King, the banners, "freedom". Cat insists that it's about the people and their well-being, under whatever flag. She is attached to Callowan culture, grudges and so forth, "she is Callowan, in the end", and those ideas drive her decisions, even as she breaks with some of them. It's a source of conflict and sadness for her, that she's gone against her people to help them, that they hate her, that she can't last as Queen. Her Primary becomes more open as she goes on: she comes to see Praesi as more diverse and human, she adopts the Fifteenth and its varied peoples until she becomes a banner for all oppressed people's under the Praesi, and her aegis eventually extends over all of Calernia when it's clear that the only way to solve her problems. But her heart never seems to leave Callow. She regrets sacrificing personal loyalties for what she needs to do, but she always does it. And the recklessness and ruthlessness of her Lion Secondary is legendary in-story. Everything explodes around her, she sacrifices her own life as an opening gambit, her power depends on an unbroken string of victories, she's a Thresher (as the Pilgrim describes her) driving deep loyalties and animosities. She picks up a Bird Secondary model from Black as the story progresses, learning to stand back and scheme from a distance rather than risking herself, and it reaches brilliant heights at the Prince's Graveyard, she relished the planning and stayed steps ahead of everyone else, but she's a brawler at heart.

Amadeus of the Green Stretch - Badger Bird. The King / Mob Boss archetype is on point. An inveterate schemer, de-facto king of Callow, always has another sword or sharper in his shadow. Maddie tries to convince Cat that he's on the side of Evil spitting in the eye of the Heavens, but as @lilietsblog argues eloquently here, his true loyalty is to Praes. He raises the idea of Evil as a group for Cat to put them on the same side, and engage that Lion Sec defiance, avoiding the clear fact that their loyalties are to Praes and Callow, and those are likely to clash at some point. He hates much about Praes, but Alaya correctly points out to him that he can't butcher his way into being born in a different homeland. Everything he does is to break the cycle that's devastated his homeland (and Cat's, but that's not his problem) since its foundation. Watching Nefarious' rout and learning about the grain problem are formative experiences for his path. His break with Alaya is a clear split between their different Loyalties: he's loyal to what Praes could be, needs to be, and is willing to break it to make that happen, while Alaya is a Snake in need of control, and she's content to play the game if that's what she needs to do, reform is a nice idea to her but it's not a moral imperative. Amadeus dies for it.

Akua Sahelian - Double Snake (Double Bird model). - Akua thinks she's a Double Bird early on, with all her speeches on "iron sharpens iron" and the glory days of Evil, her elaborate brilliant schemes and devices. But it's not where she truly shines. She becomes something different after Catherine beats her on the terms of her philosophy and shatters her plans. She's a spirit bound to a cape and she... works with it. She's endlessly subtle and seductive, she plays the Woe off each other and inserts herself into the group with alarming ease. She loves flirting with Catherine, she prides herself on her resilience - a Snake Secondary. As for the Primary... oh, poor Akua. She was deliberately Burned young, when her mother ordered her to kill her only friend by her own hand. Akua remains attached, amazingly, to her father, and a little to Barika, though she doesn't want to admit that one. Her father's death is one of the times we see her truly wounded. When Catherine beats her, her philosophy says that she belongs to her now, but that bond becomes something else. The easy companionship of the Woe, that Akua's so deftly maneuvering into, makes her feral. She describes being invited to a fireside feast with Cat's friends as maybe the cruelest thing ever done to her. Because there's nothing in the world she wants so much as love like that. Catherine herself becomes Akua's focus, someone she wounded beyond all forgiveness becoming the only person she wants... (God, this story. My unBurning Snake Primary bleeds with hers.)

Hakram Deadhand - Double Badger. We have a Evil Peacemaker too, it's so good. Hakram is Burnt at the beginning, not because of trauma, but because nothing's really inspired him until Cat. Her project brings him to life, and he loves it... until his people need him. It's a terrible decision, but in the end, the orcs are his in a way Callow is not. (These conflicting Badger loyalties between people who love each other do make my Snake sad.) And he, along with Scribe, is one of the most brilliant Badger Secondaries I've ever seen. He has magical paperwork-speed abilities, he doesn't sleep, he maintains vast networks, he's explicitly the power behind the throne. And when pushed to a crisis with Vivienne, what does he does but sacrifice himself, embodying the solution, trading a piece of himself for her trust. He's kind and scary and thorough, I love it.

Indrani - Double Snake. Girl's a pretty easy sort. She cares about her hedonism and her freedom and her friends. She's a flirt, she talks a lot but carefully doesn't reveal much. She's the one to tell Cat how deeply the personal loyalty she's offered means to the Woe. She singed under Hye's harsh treatment, put that cruelty onto her fellows, but with Cat's kindness, she unBurns that part of her Primary, reconciling with Cocky.

Masego - Double Bird. Another on-the-nose stereotype, our magnificent autistic boy. He's got a speech about his world collapsing before his eyes was a formative experience for his effort to understand the nature of reality. He's frank that apotheosis is a higher priority for him than his friends, but he does work them into his system a little. He invents a new theory of magic. He's unsettled by Cat's recklessness, he's tempted by knowledge, he's a magpie when it comes to arcane tools... I want to talk about him more because I love him, but I think this one's solid (it could be the standard autistic Bird Secondary model, but he seems very comfortable with it, so, Occam's Razor, it's his base).

Vivienne Dartwick - Lion Snake. I have a less of a read on Vivienne's internals, but this one makes the most obvious sense. Her loyalty shift is different than Catherine's, and I think it's suggestive how Cat leans on Viv as a moral compass when she doesn't trust herself. While I don't remember the details of why she joined the Woe, Hakram convincing her to stay I think points strongly to Lion. She doubts herself and her worth, and it throws her into a spiral, until she knows, by Hakram's brutal in-her-face sacrifice, that she's trusted and needed. And then she lights up again. Her Secondary... she's literally doing the Robin Hood thing, she fits the archetype. She doesn't build her network quite like Hakram, she doesn't seem Built at all, she's quick on her feet, but not great in a direct fight.

Alaya of Satus - Double Snake. Alaya's formative moment was when her father was nailed to the floor of her inn by the Sentinels. She was powerless to protect someone she loved, and then she was kidnapped into one of the most dangerous environments on Calernia. Her Primary got a little Exploded wrt her need for control, she sharpened her Secondary to terrifying subtlety, and she became Empress. As I said above, her break with Maddie about her need for control ("Praes is a game that can be won") vs. his moral drive for reform ("Praes is a mold that can be broken").

Scribe - Snake Badger. - Scribe's function is to serve Amadeus (even without his knowledge), and her abilities are the apotheosis of a Badger Secondary - unobtrusive, insanely fast at paperwork, can maintain a cross-continental spy network from a tent. (I'm so jealous.)

Sabah - Snake Lion. - Sabah fights with the Calamities because they're her friends, and is happy to go home to her husband when they don't need her. She's slightly sad about the heroes she has to kill, but if they're in her way, she doesn't regret it at all. Her hammer, and the directness of the Beast? Very Lion Secondary. She gains power on her vision quest when she just... asserts loyalty to the Calamities and fucking kills the god.

Wekesa - Snake Bird. Another Occam's sorting. Wekesa blatantly cares about his husband and son, his friends, and his fun research. He refuses to run a mage academy for Amadeus' project because it would be annoying. His specialization in wards and creative use of that is one of his edges. And it does fit the archtype.

Hye Su - Lion Bird. I'm a little baffled by Hye, but this one might work. Her need for freedom points to an Internal Primary, and she doesn't attach to people really. She dedicated to herself growing stronger, doing ridiculous things like visiting Keter to see one of the few people who can still challenge her. She fights the Queen of Summer, because (and is vicious about her dignity, she doesn't kill them for annoying her because Amadeus would be bothered, but it's a very shallow Snake model). And the Secondary, I'm going off of vibes: the impulse to perfection, to turn herself into the weapon, the hard work, resonates with my Badger Secondary, but she doesn't network at all, and it feels more like a Rapid-Fire Bird, learning new tricks for Keter's traps every time, but internalizing everything so she'll be ready for anything. Her tools, her Aspects, are meta, they're about learning, and they're very dangerous, but I think it's a superficial similarity to a Badger's become-the-tool method.

William of Greenbury - Burnt Snake, Lion. I'm taking the more interesting choice here. William is tormented by a choice he feels he can never be forgiven for: butchering his sister to save himself. While any Primary is likely to find this horrific, a Snake would find it the most pointedly devastating. And running with this theory, we find William trying to model a Lion Primary by running to Contrition. I think a True Lion would hate himself a little less, would see a righteous cause as meaning something in atonement. William feels that the debt can never be paid down. That Burning's in his Name, he's the Lone Swordsman, he doesn't connect with anyone anymore. And the Lion Secondary seems straightforward. While he's not the best inspirational leader, he mirrors Cat in ruthlessness and blowing stuff up and self-sacrifice.

Cordelia Hasenbach - Double Badger. Another of the many nationalist Badger Primaries in this cast, Cordelia is loyal to Procer. She only seeks to rule it when it's clear no one else can save it from itself, she works herself into the ground, crosses lines with superweapons, all for her love of her country. And her power is in her mastery of etiquette, that thing the Lycaonese usually scorn, Southerners don't expect it of her, but she triumphs in the Highest Assembly in her darkest hours via mastery of the rules even in the midst of a coup. I can feel her Secondary's delight at winning within the system despite the chaos around her. And she refuses to cheat by taking a Name, she's no better than anyone else, they're all citizens of Procer and no one is above the law. She's only tempted by one when she seems to need one for her people to be safe.

Hanno of Arwad - Double Lion. I'm a little confused about Hanno, but the coin is definitely about a Burnt Idealist leaning on something external to himself, which he then loses, so he has to learn to trust himself again. And he feels more like a Burnt Lion using the Seraphim as an infallible external system (imitating Bird). Secondary-wise, he's offended by the suggestion of deception. In the trial of the Red Axe, he expects his heroes to be good, fights Christophe to the ground when he has to, but refuses further action, he feels betrayed when Cat and Cordelia come up with a clever solution around him.

Juniper - Lion Bird. Juniper's in love with war, the challenge. Not because it's an orc thing, she avoided her responsibilities to draw battles in the dirt, but because she wants it. Glory is motivating to her, she wants to fight battles like no one's ever seen, she revels in it. And her methods are very explicitly Birdy: she likes a versatile toolbox, and she's the best at using it. Only a Built Secondary could plan out a battle, see the crossbow she has pointed at the enemy in her mind's eye... and go to sleep, confident that her forces will win without her.

Robber - Double Snake. The beautiful little gremlin. He wants to be free of the Grey Eyries, he delights in mayhem, bloodshed, and pranks, he's loyal to Cat personally and gives no shits about the rules (to Juniper's exasperation)... love him.

Pickler - Double Bird. A simple guess: she loves engineering... and that's kind of her whole thing, she wants to make cool new ballistae, Robber and Nauk's attentions are nice but they're not her focus...

Kairos Theosodian - Bird Snake. In the Artist archetype with the Joker, he's got a philosophy about why he's truly Evil, and delights in chaos and betraying everyone around him and using that chaos as a ladder until he goes out in glorious making-a-point.

Phew, that was so many characters (I could add Grey Pilgrim, Saint of Swords... but it's long enough for now). I haven't brushed up on the books in a while, let me know if I got any details wrong.

This book has much to say about morality and problem-solving that I feel I should have more meta relating it to SHC, maybe I'll work it out another day, it'd be very fun, but I've wanted to post this for actual years, so... here it is!

#shc #sortinghatchats #a practical guide to evil #pgte #catherine foundling #akua sahelian #liltalle sorts

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