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To the Wardes dog's lover. Rage was very much a factor.
Overlady: Attack of the Minions (Thread II)
- Thread starter EarthScorpion
- Start date
- Fantasy
Well holy fuck was this quite the chapter. Joseph just fucked up hard in his underestimation of Louise and mistaking her for her elder sister. And that might just be what gets him killed. As it should.
Not sure what Louise has up her sleeve with Jessica and Vetid, as well as how she intends to not catch any Void, but I get the feeling that the latter isn't going to work out given that the bits themselves look eager to reunite.
Not sure what Louise has up her sleeve with Jessica and Vetid, as well as how she intends to not catch any Void, but I get the feeling that the latter isn't going to work out given that the bits themselves look eager to reunite.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
*cross-posted from AO3*
On one hand, from the outside, the Vallieres' handling of Cattleya's vampirism could be mistaken for a noble family hiding away a family member who cannot perform magic correctly.
On the other hand, Louise was right there blowing up spells in front of Joseph's niece and everything!
And Joseph's evidence, Cattleya's treatment, means he never considered Louise as even a past, now dead, Heir of Void.
Louise is really going to need that date after all of this. I think Joseph just metaphorically stabbed her self-confidence in a vital organ.
Louise failed to ever cast any spell and failed out of the academy. Her entire family had been lying to her for years about her sister and confidant's vampirism (and per Cattleya herself, they (likely) all thought Louise was unobservant and gullible for not figuring it out). Her fiance and other confidant replaced her almost immediately with a woman he had certainly already been emotionally, if not physically, cheating on her with. Her first and only friend, and love, considers a romantic relationship with Louise to be literally incomprehensible. She probably had a crush on the primary schoolyard bully who emotionally traumatized Louise so badly she still has trouble believing anyone could find her attractive. And now it turns out she was so unremarkable and is so forgettable she wasn't even considered to be a possible Void Mage by someone with access to all the relevant evidence.
Ouch.
On one hand, from the outside, the Vallieres' handling of Cattleya's vampirism could be mistaken for a noble family hiding away a family member who cannot perform magic correctly.
On the other hand, Louise was right there blowing up spells in front of Joseph's niece and everything!
And Joseph's evidence, Cattleya's treatment, means he never considered Louise as even a past, now dead, Heir of Void.
Louise is really going to need that date after all of this. I think Joseph just metaphorically stabbed her self-confidence in a vital organ.
Louise failed to ever cast any spell and failed out of the academy. Her entire family had been lying to her for years about her sister and confidant's vampirism (and per Cattleya herself, they (likely) all thought Louise was unobservant and gullible for not figuring it out). Her fiance and other confidant replaced her almost immediately with a woman he had certainly already been emotionally, if not physically, cheating on her with. Her first and only friend, and love, considers a romantic relationship with Louise to be literally incomprehensible. She probably had a crush on the primary schoolyard bully who emotionally traumatized Louise so badly she still has trouble believing anyone could find her attractive. And now it turns out she was so unremarkable and is so forgettable she wasn't even considered to be a possible Void Mage by someone with access to all the relevant evidence.
Ouch.
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It has been a long time since I've read the story and I probably need to reread it, but don't you mean: when it was torn from the ground?
I thought Albion was originally a sky fortress made by the first? overlord.
- Location
- Castle Oblivious
I mean, given the scenario and the stress, she is probably too baffled and relieved. After all this shows that while Joseph is intelligent and resourceful, he is not as informed as he tries to paint himself. If he is not bluffing, which I do not think he is, he assume Louise is Cattleya and…
Correct me if I am wrong but they have such -heavily- incongruent body types that it shows he does not even know how Cattleya looks like.
As you mentioned Jospeh probably mistook vampirism for being hidden away for being failed mage…which means he does not know Cattleya is a vampire hence why did not link Cattleya to Carmine.
This, this right here is how Louise is going to win. Joseph thinks he knows everything, he knows her every move, and he has created that illusion but he knows less then he thinks he does. He could be fucking with Louise, again, but he is gloating. He is revealing how -clever- he is and it is falling flat.
What I am saying is, the slight, the underestimating her plays into her advantage. I am sure the gooey feelings of smashing this into his face will at least balm that burn.
Because -holy fuck Joseph got close- good thing her parents were great at hiding the vampirism. Hell, this might help Louise feel better.
See Cattleya, Joseph also missed it! No, I do not care he did not live with you, he is an evil Void obsessed overlord if it was obvious he would have caught it. You and our parents are just better at hiding then you thought.
Amused Bystander
Herald of 'She who Umu's' Be Brave!
- Location
- Philippines
Sheer numbers combined with ressurection spam. Gotta love it. Attrition warfare at its finest.
Maxy is being genre/trope savvy here i think.
I agree with this as well.
Is it wrong to say Maxy makes sense here?
Missing Overlord Crown get!!!
Yes who wouldnt?
*Spittakes* Say what!!??! Joseph thinks Cattleya is the Overlady he is currently facing right now?! So near, yet so far in his thinking.
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- Reader
I know right. I want Henrietta to laugh so hard she knocks over her chair, even with the gag on. I want Titania to be all "I'm sure it's an easy mistake to make" so he has to deal with sympathetic prisoners, and then Louise goes "It's really NOT! Catt is well over a foot taller than me and disinctly wider in her- her hips are- we have different figures! Also I know she's cheating on her diet! Just because I can't check for bite marks doesn't mean I'm not keeping track of how much she has Jessica "Let out" some of her dresses! Only an idiot wouldn't tell the difference!"*Spittakes* Say what!!??! Joseph thinks Cattleya is the Overlady he is currently facing right now?! So near, yet so far in his thinking.
Connelly
As useless as a penguin with mittens
- Location
- Salamanca, Spain
I merely lurked here because I only knew one half (Overlord) of the cross, and not a lot at that. But gotta say the idiotic hilarity of the assumption during a climax has not only crossed the fourth wall to slapstick our faces, it's threatening to travel to the future and prepare us a fun time. Good stuff.
A notable thing about this fic: in contrast to the supposedly educated and intelligent characters who tend to blink and miss when reality says hi, the moronic and smooth brained minions have an habit of saying things that, be them stupid or tactless at face value, one would be hard pressed as to call factually incorrect. As much as they vex and confound Louise, they aren't the greatest threat to her sanity.
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It helps that the named Minions that get attention are centuries old and highly experienced magical creatures that are designed to be helpful to Overpersons. Louise has repeatedly speculated that beyond their obvious value as basically the only mooks an Overperson needs that the First had clear intentions with Minions to help with magic through their general Minioness making it easier to call on the emotions that fuel Void Magic. Add to that the trait of minions to adapt to new roles by looting potentially being the tip of the iceberg of the most useful quality of Minions and it being thousands of years since Minions were created and our quirky miniboss squad being composed of centuries old Minions and it's pretty obvious that they're useful to all the newbie overpersons who could inherit the Minons. Louise having actually bonded a bit with her main Minions and being pretty well bred for the position probably helps her more than most would though.
Joseph mentions the Void to Henrietta in context to the power that her love dug up that then went to the half elf. Pretty sure that Henrietta is aware that Louise's power is related to the other Overpersons but wasn't aware of the whole 4 pieces and Brimir bit.
Ok, after some time reading I can infer that Joseph is sheltered and Narcissistic, so he will associate that all other Overpersons had the same experience as his.
Cattleya was young when Loui got to her, and the Duke and Duchess did hide her vampirism, Eleanor was a know scholar at the University so she could not be the Void heir, Louise is the third daughter, she did attend the academy, also she is considered dead. Cat didn't, so in his mind Joseph saw her as his mirror in Tristain. That is his point the void would only choose Overlords/OverLadys from the same circumstances. His!
While he is in control of the tower because the mind of Evil give better control over dark magic, the place is deep on Louise Magic, also he admitted he feel very little, while Louise can channel a lot of Hate and Anger to power her Magic, don't forget that it was the children and the minions that killed on the Island, Louise could take some time to rest and recover her spent Magic, and she still has one more ace underhand to play, also Joseph is alone at the Island, he is without his Marked Familiar, so Louise can take her time to break his stage while Fettid can use, sneaky knife to the back, on the Mad King of Galia.
Good thing that Louise learned the difference between she with and without the EVIL to the point that she can use the Anti-Hero archetype, to be EVIL and HERO at the same time by killing the Mad King, rescuing the Maidens, and being Dark, Moody and Depressed in her Inverted Tower, in a deep cave.
Cattleya was young when Loui got to her, and the Duke and Duchess did hide her vampirism, Eleanor was a know scholar at the University so she could not be the Void heir, Louise is the third daughter, she did attend the academy, also she is considered dead. Cat didn't, so in his mind Joseph saw her as his mirror in Tristain. That is his point the void would only choose Overlords/OverLadys from the same circumstances. His!
While he is in control of the tower because the mind of Evil give better control over dark magic, the place is deep on Louise Magic, also he admitted he feel very little, while Louise can channel a lot of Hate and Anger to power her Magic, don't forget that it was the children and the minions that killed on the Island, Louise could take some time to rest and recover her spent Magic, and she still has one more ace underhand to play, also Joseph is alone at the Island, he is without his Marked Familiar, so Louise can take her time to break his stage while Fettid can use, sneaky knife to the back, on the Mad King of Galia.
Good thing that Louise learned the difference between she with and without the EVIL to the point that she can use the Anti-Hero archetype, to be EVIL and HERO at the same time by killing the Mad King, rescuing the Maidens, and being Dark, Moody and Depressed in her Inverted Tower, in a deep cave.
Really, taking out a load bearing bad guy who is powering all of his minions (who are attacking both your home and your homeland) is enough of a Hero Move that I'm sure Karin drilled her daughters in it.
I don't see the logic in Louise being some sort of anti-hero here. A hero would have blown up the island and wouldn't be enjoying the siege as much as Louise has been (at least as much as she can given the overall situation) and wouldn't be looking forward to setting Joseph on fire and generally beating him. This is pure Valliere bred evil. Loyalty to and desire for the crown alongside a general bloodthirst and love of villainy neatly explains Louise's actions here. If anything is happening, we're seeing Louise properly come into her own as an Overlady. She's commented on feeling like a proper one at a few times over the last few chapters. I suspect that Karin's influence and a generation of white sheep Valliere have amounted only to the seemingly contradictory last ingredient to Louis' plan. Like how putting salt in sweets can make them better without actually making them salty, some Good instincts and teachings haven't seemed to actually make the generation of Vallieres that Louise is part of all that Good.
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Argh, the cliffhanger, it burns!
In other words, I think he just delivered what would have been a vital blow... to a piece of armor plate he wasn't expecting. And he is shortly to realize that this has put him off balance and well in range to be counter-stabbed.
Nah, I don't think so. Oh, you're right up to a point, I agree, but I think Louise is going to be more focused on the now. Old Louise was unremarkable, let herself be tricked, let herself be walked over. New Lousie? Sure, she still has some social problems, most notably with Henrietta, but she's gotten a good rapport with her sister, and those problems of hers that can be solved with violence -- well. And the thing is? Joseph is one of those. And he thought he held all the cards, she was already trying to subvert that... and he's just told her that, no, he's indeed not as good at this as he thinks he is.buli-buli said:
In other words, I think he just delivered what would have been a vital blow... to a piece of armor plate he wasn't expecting. And he is shortly to realize that this has put him off balance and well in range to be counter-stabbed.
Hmmm...
So, he thinks Louise is Catt. If he knows Catt is a vampire, he's made a fatal miscalculation! If he doesn't... they might as well be interchangeable, unless he's got some specific aspect of the plan for Catt that doesn't work for Louise.
More consistently interestingly, Louise isn't magically depleted - she is instead invigorated! That's point number two.
Point number three is that it was Louise's magic that awoke the ancient Evil workings... not Joseph's. Louise thinks that's probably why the ambient Evil is so wonderfully tingly, but I have to think that there's something deeper at work, too, that's going to mean Louise being the one to awaken the island's inner Evil is more important than Joseph thought it was. And Louise is very familiar with using an artifact-tower of the First Overlord, while it seems Joseph is not.
So, he thinks Louise is Catt. If he knows Catt is a vampire, he's made a fatal miscalculation! If he doesn't... they might as well be interchangeable, unless he's got some specific aspect of the plan for Catt that doesn't work for Louise.
More consistently interestingly, Louise isn't magically depleted - she is instead invigorated! That's point number two.
Point number three is that it was Louise's magic that awoke the ancient Evil workings... not Joseph's. Louise thinks that's probably why the ambient Evil is so wonderfully tingly, but I have to think that there's something deeper at work, too, that's going to mean Louise being the one to awaken the island's inner Evil is more important than Joseph thought it was. And Louise is very familiar with using an artifact-tower of the First Overlord, while it seems Joseph is not.
- Location
- Castle Oblivious
Joseph is projecting super hard. He is projecting on Cattleya, the younger sister hidden away in the shadow of a skilled heroic older sister he did not even think about the younger sister.
He also thinks Louise is empty like him, hungering for the void to feel whole…
Given that Louise willingly took on the Gauntlet again, forcing it to choose her, without any killing involved?
Louise is Jospeh, she was like Jospeh and that is her win condition.
"Killing now, breakdown later."Argh, the cliffhanger, it burns!
Nah, I don't think so. Oh, you're right up to a point, I agree, but I think Louise is going to be more focused on the now. Old Louise was unremarkable, let herself be tricked, let herself be walked over. New Lousie? Sure, she still has some social problems, most notably with Henrietta, but she's gotten a good rapport with her sister, and those problems of hers that can be solved with violence -- well. And the thing is? Joseph is one of those. And he thought he held all the cards, she was already trying to subvert that... and he's just told her that, no, he's indeed not as good at this as he thinks he is.
In other words, I think he just delivered what would have been a vital blow... to a piece of armor plate he wasn't expecting. And he is shortly to realize that this has put him off balance and well in range to be counter-stabbed.
This is gonna be a very awkward moment for Jospeh indeed. He just embarrassed himself in front of the heart and a hand. Also I think your right, this scene, this chapter in a sense is to establish that Jospeh does not understand Louise and thus cannot predict her aswel aa he claims he can.
…thats makes a hysterical amount of sense.
Given his intelligence he would have linked Vampire Catt and Carmine -so- he assumes Louise is tired from being sickly.
Jokes on him Overladying is good for Louise' cardio!
- Location
- Nice try
Joseph also probably unaware that Louise has found the Green Hive, that means she now has the full roster of her scouts and assassins.
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Remember that Louise is specifically doing something he would never think to do. I'd say it's have Fettid free Tiffania. Not sure what she wants Jessica for.
- Location
- Georgia, US
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I suspect he correctly deduced that the sickness is a cover but wrongly assumed that it was because she was a Void mage and her parents were covering it up.
It's the kind of assumption that makes perfect sense given the information available to him, that it's entertainingly wrong is just a bonus
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I wouldn't say it's just this scene and chapter as far as establishing that to the readers; we've already been seeing some of that, though this is admittedly pretty stark. But as far as Louise knew, yes, and in fact as I believe she'd just been thinking: he seemed to have pretty much everything planned out, he knew so much more than her, she'd have to drastically change the game to even have a hope of winning, but he might have caught on...Lizard Knight said:
And then, he reveals that he even knows her name.
...Except it's the wrong one. And that mistake, so far stark to her, when he delivered it with the same confidence he'd shown with everything else... well, what does that do her her morale concerning her ability to overcome the other things he was so confident in?
And so we have Lousie, boosted strongly by the fortress's power, her Good morals (protect the innocent, etc.) and her Evil desires (How dare he strike against me so?!) in full alignment that he needs to go down, and now with the certain knowledge that Joseph isn't as good as he thinks he is. He's still experienced and powerful; this isn't going to be a cakewalk for her, I expect. But I also expect Joseph is now in for rather a bad time of things.
...Actually. Thinking on it...Lizard Knight said:
Might he think that Carmine is Louise?
Cattleya is the Overlady, obviously, but she got a loyal vampire from somewhere -- oh, hm, and didn't one of her siblings die recently? Maybe she set out to do something about that and get a minion in the process!
Hm... No, I don't think so. That's part of it, maybe, but Jessica's supposedly integral to it, which she wouldn't be to Fettid freeing Tiffania, and Louise mentioned needing open air, which also doesn't seem like it'd be required for Fettid.Randino Treviani said:
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I said I don't know what Louise needs Jessica for. I never claimed that fettid freeing Tiffania was the entire plan. That's a half baked plan if ever there was one and Louise doesn't do those. It's simply a none overlord bit that Joseph wouldn't see coming. Not every piece of the plan is something Joseph would never do, as he would very clearly slaughter the albigone loyalists to accomplish his goal, something Louise is all to happy to do.
As for open air, a freed Tiffania can use her void rift spell to tear away stones in the tower wall the same way Lois damaged Tiffania's room when she cast it. Lois could do this herself, but it could be the plan requires Joseph's attention on her while the space is made somewhere he isn't looking, possibly so he turns her back on her for 1 moment, though I could be wrong about that part.
SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
Louise did vanish in a vampire haunted area. Because she was captured by vampires who wanted to feed on her, even....Actually. Thinking on it...
Might he think that Carmine is Louise?
Cattleya is the Overlady, obviously, but she got a loyal vampire from somewhere -- oh, hm, and didn't one of her siblings die recently? Maybe she set out to do something about that and get a minion in the process!