Fourth Wing (Pt. 1)

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to B and C Book Club. I'm Kristen. [00:00:04] Speaker B: And I'm Summer. The purpose of B and C Book Club is to bring you all the comfort and gossip of a regular book club. But just between you, me, and her. [00:00:13] Speaker A: You may be wondering what the B and the C stands for. Well, B stands for bliss, and the. [00:00:18] Speaker B: C stands for capybaras. [00:00:21] Speaker A: That came straight out of my butt. [00:00:24] Speaker B: I had nothing. There was nothing in my brain for 0.2 seconds before that came out. How's life, Kristen? [00:00:31] Speaker A: I mean, that's one of the most random C words that you could ever find, but. [00:00:36] Speaker B: Okay, I'm obsessed with this, so I guess it's not that random. But how's life going? [00:00:44] Speaker A: Life has been good. I've just been working a lot. [00:00:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel that. [00:00:50] Speaker A: What about you? [00:00:51] Speaker B: I've been working a lot because that's what we do. I've also been picking up, like, new hobbies. [00:00:58] Speaker A: Oh, yeah? Like what? [00:00:59] Speaker B: Creative writing. [00:01:00] Speaker A: Okay. See, I feel like when you read a lot, it is one of those things where you're like, I could do this. [00:01:07] Speaker B: Easy peasy. It's not easy. [00:01:10] Speaker A: It's not easy at all. [00:01:12] Speaker B: Not easy. [00:01:14] Speaker A: I have, like, three unfinished novels, technically. [00:01:17] Speaker B: What's the furthest you think you've gotten? [00:01:21] Speaker A: I've actually gotten to, like, chapter 35 out of 40. [00:01:24] Speaker B: Oh, that's crazy. [00:01:27] Speaker A: That was when I was young. How many pages is that? It's probably a good 300 pages. [00:01:32] Speaker B: And you got that far and you didn't finish it? [00:01:34] Speaker A: No. Well, I was doing it with a friend. We were doing it over several years. [00:01:38] Speaker B: Oh, several years. How long? [00:01:40] Speaker A: From middle of eighth grade to, like, sophomore year. [00:01:46] Speaker B: That's crazy. [00:01:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:50] Speaker B: Do you think if you read it today, it would be good? [00:01:55] Speaker A: There have been times when I look back at it and I'm like, this actually isn't bad. [00:01:59] Speaker B: That's good. Have a little faith. [00:02:01] Speaker A: I haven't. I have. I have all the. [00:02:04] Speaker B: Maybe you should be a published writer. [00:02:08] Speaker A: No. [00:02:08] Speaker B: What if we just did it together? We were like, here's this book podcast. But actually, here's what I'm actually doing with our lives. [00:02:19] Speaker A: That would be funny. Nothing gets published of the book podcast. We just end up writing about consistent. [00:02:24] Speaker B: I really didn't want to talk shit about authors before I became one, and now I understand them too well. [00:02:37] Speaker A: So this is update number one on our. On our book. You guys will be updated if we ever get any further. [00:02:44] Speaker B: Further. [00:02:45] Speaker A: I don't know. Maybe we can have a discussion about this. Maybe this just needs to be an off Mic conversation. [00:02:51] Speaker B: Do you want to help me write a book, Kristen? [00:02:54] Speaker A: I mean, if you have a story idea, I'd love to help you write a book. [00:02:59] Speaker B: Kristen. I have more than a story idea. [00:03:02] Speaker A: Oh, yes. [00:03:04] Speaker B: You asked me how far I've gotten. How far are you on page 220. [00:03:12] Speaker A: Really? That's good. [00:03:14] Speaker B: And I. I have my whole story written, like, in my head. [00:03:21] Speaker A: Right. [00:03:21] Speaker B: I have the whole storyline. I've learned recently. Not recently. I've known this ever since I tried to write script because, remember, I used to be a film major. [00:03:34] Speaker A: I know that I. [00:03:36] Speaker B: When I write dialogue, it comes off as cringy and, like, I'm good at everything else. Like, I'm good at the actual, like, story. Right. It's just when they start speaking to each other that, like, people are like, no person would say that. And I'm like, that's normal. You talking about. That's. That's my big problem. Maybe I'll have you be my book editor when I'm done. [00:04:05] Speaker A: I'll read it. I'll tell you my honest opinions. I actually, I've also edited a couple of other people's, like, books. [00:04:14] Speaker B: So I'll talk to you when I'm done. [00:04:18] Speaker A: Please. Anyway, that was a big tangent, but. [00:04:21] Speaker B: Maybe we'll just do a whole episode, our book concepts. [00:04:26] Speaker A: Okay. [00:04:27] Speaker B: Your old one and my new one. For this episode, we chose to read Fourth Wing because last week we did classics for Kristen. So this week we're doing fantasy novels for me. The Bold. [00:04:44] Speaker A: Yes. [00:04:45] Speaker B: I chose this book for Kristen to read. So I have read this, and I'm not going to pretend like I haven't read this because I cannot tell you what went in my head during or before or any of that, but I know what's in my head now. [00:05:02] Speaker A: Okay. Well, mind you, I have still only read up to chapter 20, which makes me excited. [00:05:07] Speaker B: Kristen. So fourth week is the book we chose, and it's by Rebecca Yarros. I will tell you, I do refer to Rebecca by Rebecca because I love saying the name Rebecca. And so at the end of Iron Flame, which is the second book, I literally sat in my room and screamed, why Rebecca? Why? So that's something that happened. And I will refer to her as Rebecca. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if that's weird for people. This book was published May 2, 2023. I just want you to know that when I actually read this book for the first time, it was like I was kind of just getting back into books. So I hadn't. I had read A couple of books before this one, but it was right when I was like finding my niche, you know. And this is a romantasy through and through. And I. [00:06:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I. I have heard about this book, but I didn't know anything about it because it was big on Tik Tok for a while. But I was just getting off of TikTok and so it was just something that was like, oh, you know, it's been a good fantasy book that's pretty easy to read. Fourth Wing is what I was hearing just a lot. Even though it's pretty big, it was just one of those things that it seemed like, yeah, not quite to the Twilight phenomenon, but it was. I feel like everyone was talking about it and I didn't know any of the plot details. Literally, I knew nothing about this book. I assumed dragons, but that was about it. [00:06:53] Speaker B: I will say it's an easy fantasy book for non fantasy readers, which is really important for. To get as big of a hype. Right. Because fantasy readers are such a niche group that in order for a book to be as big as Fourth Wing is, they need to be able to appeal to people who don't normally read that genre. So that's. That's part of the reason why Fourth Wing was so big is because it was easy for non fantasy readers to get into. [00:07:25] Speaker A: Yeah, but. [00:07:25] Speaker B: Yeah. So what, what are you feeling before we. We get into it? [00:07:33] Speaker A: Like, what was I feeling before? Or what do I feel now? Well, like I said before, I didn't know anything about it. So, I mean, I'm open to all books. I was just hoping that this wasn't like a bad book. Like, I know that you like it and I know that you've made a lot of people in your life read it, but there are just. Sometimes books on TikTok become popular and I read them and I'm like, why is there so much hype around this thing when it's just an average book? I've read a lot better books. [00:08:09] Speaker B: Yeah, but you also are the one who reads the big books, right? So like important books in history. So you're like, oh, that was an amazing book because of its historical value to society. So it makes sense that you would be like, fourth week is not as important as Jane Eyre. [00:08:34] Speaker A: Okay, well, that's not even what I'm talking about. I'm just talking about the overhype of something of. There are so many people that like this book. I'm not trying to shit on it like right away, but it is just one of those things. Of like, I don't know. Sometimes popular books are popular because they're good, and sometimes popular books are popular because one person said something and all of a sudden nobody can have a different differing. Your opinion on that? I don't know. [00:08:58] Speaker B: Bandwagon. [00:08:59] Speaker A: Sometimes it just happens. [00:08:59] Speaker B: You were scared it was gonna be a bandwagon book. [00:09:03] Speaker A: I was scared it was gonna be a bandwagon book. That's exactly it. That's probably the best way to describe it. [00:09:07] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, that makes sense. I will say that I didn't get. I mean, obviously I got out of the bandwagon because I read the book, but I saw a review for it on Instagram or something like that. That's what made me buy the book. But I did not see all. All of the tiktoks about it before I actually read this. So I did not have that preconceived idea. [00:09:35] Speaker A: And honestly, I didn't have that big of a conceived idea because I literally knew no plot, nothing legitimately, nothing. I could not. I. What I knew about this book before we started. I. Dragons. I don't even know if I could tell you. [00:09:52] Speaker B: Just dragons. [00:09:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Let me find. I knew nothing. I didn't even write what I knew about this book because I didn't know anything. And I didn't read the flap. I don't usually read the flap or the back cover, but that's just a thing. I either. [00:10:07] Speaker B: I thought that was just me. I'll start a book. I'll raw dog that book. [00:10:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I prefer to raw dog them, honestly. [00:10:17] Speaker B: Let's get into it. So, chapter one, There's a lot that happens. Chapter one. [00:10:23] Speaker A: There is a lot that happens in chapter one. Well, they have to set everything up and. Well, I appreciate the trigger warning. That's in the beginning of this book. And we also find out that this is Jenya New Wart, who's writing this, who we find out later, is Violet's friend. But it's conscription day, and Violet has only had six months of training, when most people train their entire lives. And it turns out that she's going to go into the Dragon rider quadrant instead of the scribe quadrant like she was supposed to. And her mom is a general in their hierarchy or their kingdom or whatever. And she says that all of her kids were dragon riders. So she insists that Violet, as soon as her father died, she insisted that Violet became a dragon rider instead of a scribe. And she will not back down from this, even if her daughter dies, which is rude. She's not. [00:11:18] Speaker B: Yeah, but I mean, all but the. [00:11:23] Speaker A: Reason that she was supposed to be ascribed was because her mom got sick when she was pregnant with Violet. And now Violet is sickly and she has, like, brittle bones, and she just probably isn't cut out to be a writer. She's also small. She's smaller than most. [00:11:41] Speaker B: She's just a small little girl. [00:11:44] Speaker A: She's just a small little girl. I. Yeah, I'm like, Sabrina Carpenter vibes. Just a small little baby that everyone's like, why are you here? Just a girl. [00:11:55] Speaker B: What do you expect from me? And I can't stop thinking about it. [00:12:00] Speaker A: That's what I feel like they think about Violet if, like, she's just so small. Pocket girl, like, why are you here? You shouldn't be here. You can't even get on the back of your jacket. [00:12:10] Speaker B: My favorite part about chapter one, though, is that we meet this guy and. Hold on. Doesn't he die in the first chapter? Yeah. [00:12:21] Speaker A: Yes. This is the guy that I was talking to you about when I was first reading it. I was like, don't you remember Dylan? And you're like, who? And I was like. And that tells me he's gonna die. [00:12:29] Speaker B: Yes, Dylan, he dies straight off the bat. And it's Savage of Rebecca, and I love it for. And it just made me like the book a little bit more from the beginning. I think that's just something like, people die. People die all the time. And most. [00:12:47] Speaker A: A lot of people die. [00:12:48] Speaker B: And most fantasy books will just not acknowledge that, and they'll keep everyone alive just constantly. [00:12:57] Speaker A: Yeah, that's true. There are a lot of people died in this. A lot of faceless people, but also a lot of named people that you're with for a long time, and then you're like. And then now they're dead, just like that. [00:13:08] Speaker B: So then after he dies, then her friend starts to go on the parapet. [00:13:14] Speaker A: Yeah, her sister gave her advice. She gave her a vest that has dragon scales on it. And she also gave her better shoes, and she repacked her bag. And so as she's meeting these friends, one of her friends has bad shoes. And so she trades a boot with her. And so then, yes, her friend Rhiannon goes ahead of her because they just became friends. Even though her sister said, don't make friends, make allies, she immediately was like, no, I want to start making good friends. [00:13:38] Speaker B: She was meant to be a scribe. She wasn't cut out for this cutthroat life. And she was just being nice. [00:13:43] Speaker A: And the other person that she meets in this chapter is Zaden. And Zaden is terrible because his father was a traitor. And he's also very hot. [00:13:59] Speaker B: Okay. Zaden's father murdered Violet's brother. Okay, yes, that's a very important plot point. [00:14:09] Speaker A: Okay, well, Xaden is mad because her mother oversaw his father's execution. And so they're both mad at each other. And she says something to that effect when they meet because she's supposed to be keeping it on the DL that she's Soren Gale. And immediately he finds out before she even gets on the parapet. Xaden finds out that she's who she is. And he's like, I don't even need to kill you. You're about to die. And immediately I'm like, she's going to fall in love with him. That's. That's the main love interest for this story. Even though they mentioned a childhood friend of hers earlier, and she says that she has a crush on him. I'm like, nope, it's gonna be Zaden, obviously. And then I wrote they're going to be bickering enemies to reluctant allies to lovers. And right now, where I'm at in the book, they've gone from bickering enemies to reluctant allies. Okay. And I'm assuming that by the end of my book, I'm going to get to the lovers. [00:15:06] Speaker B: You know what they say about assumptions? [00:15:11] Speaker A: It's true. Okay, so I guess that's true. [00:15:14] Speaker B: Now we're meeting Jack, Right? [00:15:19] Speaker A: Now we meet Jack, and he just hates everyone and wants to become a dragon writer so bad that he's going to kill anyone to get there. [00:15:27] Speaker B: He's just a dick. [00:15:28] Speaker A: He's just a dick. [00:15:29] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, that's literally it. He's just a dick. He has no other motivations here, especially after just meeting her. [00:15:41] Speaker A: Right. They just. Just doesn't like her. Doesn't think that she's strong enough to be there. So he just wants to kill her. That's it. [00:15:50] Speaker B: But eventually, he tries to kill her, obviously, while they're on the parapet, and then she makes it off. [00:15:57] Speaker A: Well, he kills somebody else first. He. Not he. He waits for somebody to come because he's supposed to go one at a time. So he waits for the person behind him to come and then throws him off and then starts yelling at her and is like, I'm coming for you. [00:16:09] Speaker B: I honestly forgot he murdered someone straight out the bat. Like that. [00:16:13] Speaker A: Yeah. After she thought that he was gonna push her off even before she stepped onto the parapet, which is why she, like, scrambled to get on. And then he killed Somebody. And then is like, I'm coming for you. Which I'm like, if you were gonna try and kill her, why are you screaming at her that you're coming for her? Just try and take her by surprise. [00:16:29] Speaker B: You know what? Rebecca really just wanted to make it seem like he could voice his actions. Okay, don't come at Rebecca like that. That's what every villain does. They say what they're going to do, and then they attempt to do it, and they never succeed. [00:16:51] Speaker A: And they never succeed. And I wonder why. Maybe if they didn't just monologue all the time, then they could get some things done. [00:16:58] Speaker B: Oh, there's one person who doesn't let villains monologue, and it's Deadpool. He's like, I don't need to hear the reason. It just murders them. [00:17:12] Speaker A: Please, can I just kill you? Okay, bye. [00:17:14] Speaker B: And he's great for that. But, you know, every other villain in the world needs to monologue. So he needed to scream that he hates her. It is going to kill her. As he attempts to do so. [00:17:25] Speaker A: Well, she makes it to the other side and is able to get a knife to his balls. And because of somehow where he's standing, she is technically a dragonrider who's made it, and he's not. So through a series of rules, she could kill him and get away with it, but he could not kill her and get away with it. So she ends up letting him go, but he still vows that he's going to kill her. And I'm like, look, you just got there, and already multiple people want to kill you. That's too many people. Not to mention you're about to face dragons who probably also want to kill you. Like, why? Why? You just have so many enemies, girl. Like, chill. [00:18:08] Speaker B: It's not her fault. She wanted to be a scribe. [00:18:12] Speaker A: I know. Anyway, this is when I made the assumption that Jack is going to be the enemy of this book, or at least the main enemy while she's in school. [00:18:21] Speaker B: Bold assumption, Kristen. [00:18:24] Speaker A: Okay, yeah, I'm making bold assumptions. I haven't read the book. I can make all the bold assumptions that I want. Okay. My other thing was, they could possibly become all in the future if she ever begrudgingly earns his respect. But I don't think that it'll happen in this book if that is the case. It has to be one of those things where it's been, like, multiple years, but they're still on the same side, and she's still going and she's still fighting, and then he's like, Fuck. Like I have to do what you say sort of thing. And like I kind of respect you. But that would be like either Iron Flame or the book. After that, I don't think it'll be in this book. [00:18:57] Speaker B: And with that, I'm going to move on. I can't comment. So. [00:19:05] Speaker A: Anyway, that was. That's my prediction. [00:19:07] Speaker B: And then you meet Dane. [00:19:10] Speaker A: Yeah, and then we meet Dane. Dane's. No, I hated Dane from the get. I was like, dane, I'm sorry. No, I mean he seems. He. In the beginning he's nice or whatever. He. But he's automatically like, why are you here? What are you doing? And she's says, my mom made me come here. And every single turn he's like, why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you still here? Why are you still here? And I'm like, dude, she already told you why. Her mom is not going to let her leave. Why are you pushing this so hard? It's so annoying. I was trying to save her. No, no, no, no, no. I don't agree. [00:19:52] Speaker B: And then she learns that she's in Zaden's squad because he specifically has her transferred. [00:20:00] Speaker A: He specifically has her transferred. She's under Dane's squad, but in Zaden's wing. Wing, which is fourth wing. [00:20:12] Speaker B: Right. [00:20:13] Speaker A: So that's how we get the title of the book. Crazy. So Dane is only a second year and he is in charge of the squad, but Zaden is a third year and he's in charge of the wing. So Dain is under Xaden, but Violet is under Dane. [00:20:29] Speaker B: Correct. [00:20:29] Speaker A: They have a lot of. [00:20:30] Speaker B: There's a hierarchy here. [00:20:32] Speaker A: They have so much hierarchy. And anyway, also the dragon can and will heal you if they think that you are too. Ah yes. [00:20:40] Speaker B: You meet the dragons in that beginning. [00:20:42] Speaker A: You meet the dragons. And it seems like she kind of has a moment with one of the dragons. And which dragon do you remember it was? It was Xaden's dragon. [00:20:53] Speaker B: Right? Seagull. [00:20:56] Speaker A: Because she. [00:20:58] Speaker B: That's her name. [00:20:59] Speaker A: She like holds its eye. And she was like, it feels like it's semi respected that I did that. I guess we'll see. I guess we'll see. For this one, I said, I wonder how much tension there will be between the boys. I assume she will win the begrudging respect of Zaden eventually. Then the next day they get their uniforms and they read the names of the dead from the day before. And she is in barracks because they don't get private rooms until they become writers. And they have sparring that Day. But Dane tries to check on Violet by herself before they get to classes. And he tells her that Xaden switched her into his wing because he wants her dead, but he wants to be able to do it legally, I guess. And then Zaden sees them leaving the little alcove they're in together. [00:21:54] Speaker B: They're not good at sneaking around. [00:21:57] Speaker A: They're not good at sneaking around. I sort of get that you can do it legally if she's in your wing, but also, it just seems like too much work to have her underneath you. I feel like you're supposed to protect the people that are in your wing, at least to some extent. So why did we do that saying. [00:22:14] Speaker B: But at the same time, like, if he. If she's under his wing, he could always like give her a mission or something that's dangerous to give her more opportunities to just die on her own rather than wait, you know. I suppose that's because he wants to do it legally. Right. So. [00:22:35] Speaker A: Right. [00:22:35] Speaker B: Legally you just have her go into dangerous situations. [00:22:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I guess. [00:22:40] Speaker B: And then that's when we go into the battle brief and we're going into all of the different types of dragons and the griffins and we're hearing about the war. And those are honestly some of the most productive chapters in terms of storyline. [00:23:00] Speaker A: Yeah. This is when we find out that the dragon's power is what makes the wards and why their kingdom is so powerful because no other type of animals can do this. The griffins have powers, but they can't make wards. And they find out that the wards are faltering on some of the outskirt towns and that the griffins keep attacking these towns and they seem to be looking for something, but they don't know what it is. And so it's just a mystery that has to be continued. We still don't really know what it is. Even at the point of book that I'm in at. I assume that's what the entire book is going to be about is eventually getting to that part, but I've not reached that part yet. [00:23:36] Speaker B: The next part you reach is the first training where she gets pinned against somebody else. [00:23:45] Speaker A: Well, it's IM, who's a second year, who is one of the mark children, which are the children of the quote unquote traitors who Violet's mother oversaw all of their executions. And so this person doesn't like her, obviously, and she ends up using her powers to go really fast against Violet. And she dislocates her shoulder and then breaks her arm. [00:24:09] Speaker B: Yep. And then she's outed because Dane carries her to the healers and he, like, flips his shit. [00:24:18] Speaker A: Yeah. And I know that she only had six months, but I'm like, girl, you need to get your shit together. [00:24:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:27] Speaker A: But while we're at the hospital, we find out that she has really brittle bones, and it's hard for her to heal quickly. She doesn't have the ligaments inside of her bones to help her move around properly, heal properly. And so she knows a lot of menders. She knows a lot of healers. Healers don't have magic, but the menders do. Her brother Brendan, before he was murdered, was a mender. And so she says that she needs them to mend her this time because her arm is actually broken. But this is going to be the last time. She doesn't want any help after this. But Dane, this entire time is like, we can sneak you out. We can use this as an excuse for you to go to the scribes. Like, don't get it mended. Just walk around in the cast and leave, basically. And then she passes out when she gets mended. And then she goes back to her dorm where she finds the journal that her sister helped. It was her brother Brendan's journal to help get through the rider quadrant. My thought on this chapter, chapter six, I said, dana's already too much of. [00:25:32] Speaker B: A liability because he keeps forcing her back into the healer's quadrant. [00:25:36] Speaker A: No, because he keeps saying, like, you need to leave. You need to leave. You need to leave. And I'm like, dude, just help her. Just help her. Why are you not helping her? Needs to leave. Then we find her out after curfew, and she's looking for poisonous berries, and she's looking for other various poisonous plants. And all of a sudden, as she's about to leave, she sees two riders come up. It's Imogen and Zaden. And then two dozen people show up, and it turns out that they all have rebellion relics. So that means they were all the children of people who rebelled. And it just seems like they're talking about survival. They're not really plotting anything. They're not trying to overthrow anything. They're not supposed to be around each other because they still have a stigma on them in this society, even though they're the. The children of them and not actually their rebellious. [00:26:30] Speaker B: And there's a law that they can't have a meeting of more than three of them at a time or something like that. And it. Which I think, yes, they're like, these are. These are children of Rebellion leaders. Why are. They're children. They were children. [00:26:48] Speaker A: They were children. [00:26:49] Speaker B: Why can't three or more of them hang out, you know? [00:26:53] Speaker A: Yeah, but also one of the first excerpts of the chapters. I don't know if it's in this chapter, if it's in a different chapter. This is when we find out that her mom, General Sorengale, actually didn't want the children to watch their parents executions. But the person above her made the call and decided that the children were going to watch their parents execution start. Yeah, but, you know, but I'm just saying, like, all of these kids hate her mother because she oversaw their parents executions, but she didn't want the kids there. Like, she was. Obviously it's not a good thing, but it's also like, not as bad as what they got. They didn't. She wanted them to have less of what they got. [00:27:44] Speaker B: She's trying to be nice, but didn't work out. Also, like, it's kind of crazy that they're. I mean, it's not crazy. They're upset. But just like, you're not a rebel because your parents were doesn't mean that like, sor. And Gale. Violet is like her mom because, you know. Right. So, like. [00:28:06] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, in this group, one of them asks, like, when do we get to kill Violet? And Garrett actually is like, chill the out. Like, she's not her parents. You. We don't want them. She. He basically says the same thing that you do. Like, we don't want them to judge us. Then why are we going to judge her? Based on your mom? No, Garrett. [00:28:23] Speaker B: I don't remember Garrett, but that makes sense. Okay. [00:28:28] Speaker A: Garrett. [00:28:28] Speaker B: Garrick. Okay, Garrick. Sorry. [00:28:32] Speaker A: Anyway, Garak says that about her, and Imogen is like, I want to kill her. A couple of other people agree. And then Xaden says, she's mine. I'm going to handle her how I want to handle her. And then everyone. Everyone leaves. And then Violet gets out of the tree. And then all of a sudden we see Xaden using his shadow powers. And he comes out and is like, what were you doing? You saw us. Are you going to tell anybody? And she says no. And they kind of get into a spat. And she throws his daggers at him. And he seems intrigued and curious, not at all upset. And I'm like, yeah, not even really Enemies, they're bickering enemies. They're not even. Like, he has no hostility towards her, even though she thinks that he does. I'm like, he. He doesn't even care about you at this Point. [00:29:17] Speaker B: So as a non fantasy reader, when you first read about his powers, his shadow powers, were you intrigued? Have you seen it before? What was your reaction to that? [00:29:28] Speaker A: I basically have no reaction to this. I didn't really think about it. I mean, I knew that there was powers and everybody had powers. His powers were basically the first ones that were introduced. I think Dane tells her about his powers and we kind of see Imogen's powers, but it isn't the same thing. I don't know. I haven't really seen shadow powers. [00:29:51] Speaker B: I've always thought shadow powers were so interesting. And the first person who thought of that was really smart because it's like something you wouldn't think of, but it's also like an incredible power. Like you can hide in the dark basically and travel with shadows and use the shadows to your advantage and stuff like that. Yeah. [00:30:10] Speaker A: And he seems to have incredible control over her shadows, which is something that she says it is a very powerful thing to have because shadows are basically everywhere. If there's any sort of light source, you can use a shadow. [00:30:23] Speaker B: Exactly. You can spy on people easier. Like, I always thought that shadow patter was really cool. [00:30:32] Speaker A: Not only that, but he can also sense what's in the shadows, which is also really cool. [00:30:37] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:30:37] Speaker A: All right. But I don't know, it wasn't something that I was like, oh, wow. I was just like, shadow power. [00:30:43] Speaker B: Okay, moving on. [00:30:45] Speaker A: My what I was thinking was, has he changed his mind already? Did his dragon tell him something about Violet? And because she tried not to be intimidated by it on the first day. And then I was like, can these dragons even talk? I'm not sure. I. We technically haven't heard them talk and I don't know if they can. And then I was also thinking that she was going to make her opponent sick, but she wasn't actually going to try and kill them with the poison that she was getting. She just wanted them to be a little bit more on her level. And I was right about that. I was like, she's a non lethal type of girly. [00:31:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:23] Speaker A: Which you. [00:31:23] Speaker B: The next chapters, when they reveal that they are like, they actually answer a couple of your questions. They answer that dragons can talk to their writers and then they answer that she obviously wasn't trying to get her first challenger sick and she picked breakfast duty so that she could get the people sick before she ever faces off against them. [00:31:49] Speaker A: Which is smart. [00:31:50] Speaker B: Honestly, it is really smart. [00:31:52] Speaker A: This is when we also find out more about the dragons and exactly what type of dragons are they will Encounter. They say there's only going to be 100 dragons that are willing to bond this year, which is 37 less than last year, which is 26 less than the year before that. And so there are less dragons coming to bond, but there are the same number of writers coming. And so this is just making it more and more competitive for the people that are there. There are even second years that have to repeat when dragons don't want to bond and they just have to basically redo the entire year again and hope that a dragon will eventually want to bond with them, which sucks. Yes, it does suck. [00:32:30] Speaker B: That's embarrassing. [00:32:33] Speaker A: That is embarrassing. I mean, she does have a couple of friends in her squad that were a second year. I think Sawyer is a second year who didn't get a dragon. The first time we learn about black dragons and how they are the smartest and the rarest. Only General Mel Green has a black dragon, and the only other black dragon hasn't been seen for five years. His last writer was killed during the uprising. It turns out his last writer was trying to actually revive Brennan because he had siphoning powers and he thought that he could use Brennan's mending powers to save Brennan and resurrect him, but it didn't work and it drained him and he died, which is sad. Yeah. And Dane once again goes up to her right before she's about to fight. Literally, they're standing in the circle and he's like, you know the person you're up against is going to try to kill you. And I'm like, that's so helpful, Dane. Thank you so much. James has the same reaction as me of like, yeah, I knew that was. I knew that already. Like, why are you telling me this? Why do you keep doing this to me? I just. So frustrating. Anyway, Jack taunts her right before she goes in the ring and she decides to throw her Daggett at him, just like Zaden suggested that he. She does. And Dane gets mad at her because he told her that she should just lay low. And she was like, laying low isn't working for me. So he needs to know that I could potentially him up. Okay. In order for him to not try to fuck me up. And basically we kind of get a montage of her poisoning people and winning, or poisoning people and getting like, one part of her body messed up, but for the most part she's winning all of her fights. [00:34:23] Speaker B: Yes. [00:34:25] Speaker A: The only thing I'm going to say with that is that she's smarter and more cunning than everyone gives her credit for. And then I said, which is why the black dragon will be her dragon, because black dragons are the smartest. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Right. So you think the dragon that's been missing is going to be her dragon? Theories, theories. [00:34:43] Speaker A: That was my theories. That was my theory. That was my theory. I was like, out of all the dragons that we've heard about and we've talked about, it's going to be the biggest and the baddest that she, this weak little girl, is going to somehow push the smallest. [00:35:00] Speaker B: Well, we'll see about that. Then we go to chapter nine, and Dane's being a bitch again. [00:35:09] Speaker A: Yes. Because Zaden is trying to fight Violet because her last opponent went to the infirmary too early and now she doesn't have anybody to fight. So Xaden says that she. He's going to fight her and he's going to teach her. [00:35:23] Speaker B: Do you think he teaches her? [00:35:24] Speaker A: Well, I think at this point, because so many weeks have happened. And he now knows, obviously in this fight, he tells her that, I know that you've been poisoning people. And I think he's intrigued at this point. And he is like, if nobody else is gonna help you, I know that Brianna is kind of helping her and teaching her and giving her extra lessons. And Sylvia said that he was too, as long as she helped them with all the history stuff. But I'm like, she needs more practical advice. And those people all. They're like in the same year as her. They can't give her as much practical advice as somebody who's already been here. And Dane obviously refuses to do it. So if somebody's going to do something, then Satan is apparently going to do it. And he also gives her a nickname of violence, which I thought was actually really cute. [00:36:11] Speaker B: Also think that's an adorable nickname. I'm not gonna deny you there. I literally love that nickname. I love your notes in this chapter. They're so funny. Are you kidding? You're like, God damn it. He's such a liability. Get Dane out of here. She's obviously not gonna change her mind. Chill the out and try to actually help her, why don't you? [00:36:40] Speaker A: Okay, this is chapter nine. By chapter six, I was like, get the fuck out of here. Chapter nine. I'm like, holy shit. Goddamn. You do. Like, obviously Zayden is actually trying to do something. Like he said he was like, I'm going to teach her. Should be in one piece. Like, he's the one who says, go smaller with your moves. Like, you are a small person. You should be trying to go quick. And easy and close. You shouldn't be trying to do exaggerated big moves like these. Even though he does it in a frustrating way. And she's super turned on the anti time. This is practical advice. She does need this. She needs to learn how to use her advantages that she does have. Her smallness and things like that. That's how you game the system. You don't try to act like everybody else. You try and do what works for you. [00:37:22] Speaker B: Right. So then we go into the part where we're at the first gauntlet practice. Dane is watching. He's being a bitch still. And Violet's trying to, like, make it, but she's realizing during this first practice for the Gauntlet that she's not going to be able to do this correctly and that it's really hard for her because she's. She doesn't have the height that everybody else does. That give them the advantage and the long arms and the long legs that give them that advantage to pass the Gauntlet. [00:37:53] Speaker A: Yeah, she always gets stuck at the same thing because it does kind of another montage here. And they have basically all of their training sessions with the Gauntlet, and she's still too small to climb up to one of the formations that they have to go through. And so she's. She's upset because she always gets stopped at the same place. But, yeah, she. One of her friends dies in the first gauntlet, and she decides to burn all of her stuff because it's tradition, I guess. The last person. Since her parents aren't going to do it, Violet decides she's going to do it. And then she meets Aiden on the way back from that, and he gives her advice. He gives her advice, and he says. [00:38:40] Speaker B: The right way isn't the only way. [00:38:42] Speaker A: We are at Presentation day in chapter 11. We. Dane tries to talk her out of doing this once again, which again, I'm like, bro, chill the fuck out. He says, what's changed? And she says, me. And I'm like, you fucking go, girl. Let's go. Okay. She makes it to the third challenge where she could never figure it out before. And she decides to use the rope that's on the side of the climbing wall for them to climb down and somehow jigger it up in order to climb over this wall. And then in the area that she's never been before, she decides that she's going to plunge her dagger into the side and help that climb up in order to get all the way over the edge. And once she's up there, they say that she's cheated, but she uses some weird rule about how the daggers that she carried across her on the parapet are part of her person. And so because it's part of her person, she can use any part of her person in order to get to the top. And so it's like a weird rule and. [00:39:40] Speaker B: And they refer to Zaden on it and he's like, fuck it, she did what she did. Moving on. [00:39:46] Speaker A: She's like, I should get a penalty for using the rope. You're supposed to get a 30 second penalty for that. But I don't deserve anything else because technically I follow the rules. [00:39:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I follow the rules. And somebody is upsetty spaghetti. [00:40:01] Speaker A: And again, I say she's smart and she can outsmart them, which is why the dragon wants her. I just want to speak to a point again. You're like, in my nose. [00:40:10] Speaker B: It's going to be the Black Dragon. [00:40:12] Speaker A: It's going to be the Black Dragon. So they didn't do too bad. They are going into the next part of the challenge, which is just where they walk through the area where the dragons are so they can kind of get a feel for them. And they also find out that a feather tail is in there when they're not supposed to be. A feather tail is usually very non violent and so they don't like to bond with writers because of that. [00:40:43] Speaker B: A feather tail is like what color again? [00:40:47] Speaker A: Gold. [00:40:48] Speaker B: Gold. Okay. Yes. So we, at this point, we know that it's weird that there's a feather tail. Your theory, she's going to bond with a black dragon. [00:41:01] Speaker A: Okay. I wrote a feather tail is when they normally is there when they normally aren't. They don't like to battle. And then I put an arrow. Maybe this one is Violet's question mark. [00:41:12] Speaker B: Oh, so now you think that one's Violet. [00:41:16] Speaker A: I still feel like the black dragon is going to be hers. But the black dragon is nowhere to be seen. And so right now I'm like, if there's no other dragon, then maybe the feathertail is the one. But I'm like, they would not put her with a small dragon. I feel like. So that's why I still am. Number one is black dragon. Number two is gold dragon. Feathertail. [00:41:35] Speaker B: Good theories. Good theories. [00:41:39] Speaker A: Yeah. I thought it was funny later. But anyway. [00:41:48] Speaker B: But anyway. [00:41:51] Speaker A: This is when Tina and one of her people that she hates in her squad, they say that somebody should kill it. [00:41:58] Speaker B: Oh, right. [00:42:00] Speaker A: They. They're like, somebody should kill it. And they're saying they as they're walking through because they're walking through the dragons with all of this. And they're supposed to be talkative. That's what they said before they walked in. And so they're just kind of having conversations as they walk through the dragons and they're like, dude, you shouldn't talk about killing a dragon in front of these other dragons. What are you doing? [00:42:17] Speaker B: Right. Which it's stupid. [00:42:20] Speaker A: A couple of them are killed. One of the one that could never make a decision is killed. And then Luca, the woman is killed, who was also being mean about killing the black dragon. They don't kill Tinan, who was the one who was making all the comments. And then I said, oh, this is when also two green dragons smell her because she has the dragon hide on and she thinks she's going to die. And then they just let her go when she describes that it was her sister's dragon whose dragon scales that she has on. [00:42:55] Speaker B: Which if you think about it like she's wearing their skin. [00:43:01] Speaker A: Yeah, well, she said they shed. It was shed. And then she. [00:43:05] Speaker B: Yeah, but it's like we shed cells like our dead skin, you know? [00:43:10] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:11] Speaker B: So like they're. She's really just wearing a dragon's dead skin, which is creepy weird. And I'd also be offended as a dragon. [00:43:20] Speaker A: Well, she's able, I said she's able to script by on the skin of her teeth. Somehow she's able to get through again. And then we are on Chapter 13, the Threshing. There are 147 people left, but they are still, as we have heard, only about 100 dragons that are supposed to be there to bond. That does not necessarily mean they will bond with everybody. The dragons call you with feelings. They don't talk to you unless you are their bonded person that they've chosen. She hasn't talked to Dane since the presentation. This is why we know Dane probably knows, but she doesn't know that Dane knows. They don't have a conversation until after this. [00:44:02] Speaker B: Right. [00:44:02] Speaker A: Once they're inside, she doesn't really feel connected to any dragon. So she climbs a tree to get a better look. And then as she's climbing down the tree, she sees Tinan, Jack and Orin. Orin is the first guy that she was fighting against and they say they're trying to hunt down their feathertail. They already know who they're going to bond with the dragons and they're like the dragons are going to bond with anybody else. So what we're going to do is we're going to hunt down the feather tail because it's too weak and we don't need it here. And it just needs to die, which. [00:44:30] Speaker B: Is just a bitch reason. Like, I feel like Rebecca could have come up with a little bit better of a reason why we needed to kill the little one, but it just makes seem like douches. [00:44:44] Speaker A: Jack has been a terrible person this entire time, so we're just gonna go with it. [00:44:49] Speaker B: That's true. Just terrible. People do terrible things for no reason. Yeah, I see you, Rebecca. [00:44:54] Speaker A: So she decides that she's going to try and warn it before the boys reach them. And she also got hurt while she was in this tree. So she's already down, basically. And she somehow makes it to the feather tail in time. And she just steps out in front of this feather tail and tries to make it fly away, but it decides not to. And we find out it doesn't have claws, it doesn't have teeth. It can't blow any fire at them. [00:45:25] Speaker B: It's just a cute little dragon. [00:45:26] Speaker A: It's just a cute little golden dragon. Zaden is there. He shows up with his dragon. And my thoughts at the end of this chapter are her saving the feather tail will get the black one to bond with her. [00:45:40] Speaker B: Okay, so the black one it is. That's what you decided at that point? [00:45:46] Speaker A: That was what I decided at that point. And then Zaden says because of the rules, he can't do anything to help her. But his dragon, Spageli might. I don't know how to say that. Dragon Seagull. S P A E Y L Stegle. Okay, Spagle. [00:46:08] Speaker B: I know. Rebecca. [00:46:11] Speaker A: Rebecca. Rebecca. [00:46:13] Speaker B: Come on. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Anyway, Violet uses one of her knives to get Jack in the shoulder, and he runs away like the little bitch he is. [00:46:25] Speaker B: He is little bitch. [00:46:29] Speaker A: Orin goes down. Tinan is about to give her a kill and blow when he starts to retreat. It looked like right about here was when Zaden was actually going to step in and do something. But then. So Tinan Tynan starts backing away. And behind her, protecting the golden dragon, is the unboded black dragon. And it speaks to her in her mind and tells her to move out of the way so that it can kill Tinan. And it does. And then it tells her, you should kill the one that's unconscious. And she's like, well, I'm not going to kill an unconscious man. [00:47:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Which is. Come on, make life easier. Just do the bad thing, Violet. [00:47:11] Speaker A: Really? And at this point, Zaden and his dragon leave. And then the black dragon says it's bonding with her and to get on his back, basically. And she can't do it. [00:47:22] Speaker B: It's pathetic. [00:47:23] Speaker A: She can't do it. [00:47:25] Speaker B: She's just pathetic when she tries to get on the back of the dragon. [00:47:28] Speaker A: Yeah. And his name is Taryn. [00:47:31] Speaker B: Yes. [00:47:32] Speaker A: And my thoughts were. I knew it. Great job, Violet. [00:47:37] Speaker B: You got the black dragon. [00:47:39] Speaker A: You got the black dragon. She start to fly off, and she slides off the back of his back because she can't get on. And he catches her in her claw and then throws her up and then catches her in her back and then throws her up and catches her on the back. And finally he uses some of his energy to keep her in the saddle. [00:47:57] Speaker B: Which is a weird concept to me. [00:47:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:01] Speaker B: Like, the dragon puts his energy into putting her in his saddle, and it keeps. [00:48:09] Speaker A: Eventually it, like, tarnishes his power. [00:48:12] Speaker B: It's weird. [00:48:12] Speaker A: It's weird. [00:48:13] Speaker B: That's one thing that I don't understand is how he can do that. And I will say that's like a big weird. I wouldn't say, like, unrealistic plot point, but, like, it's just a weird addition that, like, I feel like we could have gone about it in a different way. Rebecca. Yeah. [00:48:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:32] Speaker B: But. [00:48:34] Speaker A: I don't know. Rebecca. [00:48:36] Speaker B: Rebecca. Come on. [00:48:40] Speaker A: She asked why he bonded with her, and he says it's because she saved the golden Dragon. And she's. She's like, well, you should value strength. And he's like, don't tell me what I should value. I'm gonna value whatever the fuck I want. [00:48:51] Speaker B: Yeah, don't tell me what to do, Violet. One of. [00:48:55] Speaker A: They're very hostile towards each other. Only 75 dragons bond this year, and Taryn is obviously the best one. The best of the biggest baby. And dragons have a hierarchy, and Taryn is apparently on top of that hierarchy. [00:49:17] Speaker B: Basically because he's the best and the biggest baby. [00:49:22] Speaker A: And they have to give the names of their dragons as part of the record. And so she sees her mom there. There's a bunch of other people and officials there, and she's going over there. And then the golden one also talks into her head, and she's like, hey, you can get in trouble if you talk to somebody who's not your bonded person to, like, chill with that. And then she goes and tries to go chill. She gives her names to the roll call, and then the other one starts to tell her her name, and she's like, I don't understand. And they're like, which is. You need to give the name Ardana. [00:50:07] Speaker B: Butcher. [00:50:08] Speaker A: Butchered A R, D A R A Dana or Dana. Is that not What? I said no. [00:50:18] Speaker B: And Darna. Adarna. Andarna. Andarna. Anyway. Andarna. Okay. Glad we got that out of the way. [00:50:28] Speaker A: She gives both names of both dragons and everyone starts freaking out. My thoughts at the end of this chapter was okay. Was not expecting that. A twist. A twist. Technically I figured it out, but it's good. Hahaha. Good. [00:50:44] Speaker B: I love the enthusiasm. [00:50:46] Speaker A: Well, because I was like a twist. I was like not genuinely expecting them to both happen, even though I did guess both of them. I was like I wasn't really expecting both of them. You know what I mean? Yeah, it is a twist. I'm happy that I hadn't figured everything out. [00:50:59] Speaker B: And what chapter was that? [00:51:01] Speaker A: That was the end of chapter 15. Then everyone is mad. She goes to the med station. The dragons leave, but they tell her to stay close to Zaden. And we find out that Ree got a dragon. Most of the other people got a dragon. Dane pulls her aside and talks to her and tells her that she needs to give up Taryn and keep the feather tail because then she won't be in any harm's way. And. [00:51:33] Speaker B: And what were your thoughts on that, Kristen? [00:51:36] Speaker A: So much. First of all, they already said that it wasn't up to the humans to decide. It was the dragon's decision and he keeps just trying to undermine that. And I don't agree with that. Also, she has two dragons. She's the biggest dragon of all. Why can't you just be happy for her for once? I don't know. Like, get a little enthusiasm. [00:51:57] Speaker B: Come on, Dane. [00:51:59] Speaker A: And she. He says though, that if he. She picks Taryn, then Zaden will get her killed because Taran and Seagull are mated and so they can't be away from each other for too long. So basically, since she is tied to Taryn, she is also tied to Sagan, who is tied to Zaden. So now her and Xaden are reluctant allies. Oh, and I just hit my second point. [00:52:30] Speaker B: Re elected allies. [00:52:33] Speaker A: And I was like, yeah, I knew. How did I know? How did I know? I didn't think it would be like this, but here it is. Dane says that Xaden orchestrated everything. And then Xaden comes out of the shadows and was like, why would I do this? Why would I tie myself to somebody like her? [00:52:54] Speaker B: Also, how. Why would he do that when his life or her life depends on his life or his life depends on her life, you know? [00:53:02] Speaker A: Exactly. And then we find out that Seigel actually called for Taryn and then Taryn decided to Bond with her. It wasn't anything that Zaden did. This is when Dane says, there are rules and you shouldn't have interfered. And Xaden asked like, okay, so if you were there and you were in that situation, you saw that they were going to attack her, would you would have interfered? Would you have done that? And Dana's like, no, I wouldn't have done anything. I would have let her die. [00:53:27] Speaker B: And Violet's like, that's rude. [00:53:29] Speaker A: That's okay. No, she's literally like, yeah, that's Dane. I knew. I knew he would say that. Yep, that's Dane. And I'm like, why is he your best friend? [00:53:38] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying. But, you know, people become friends with people when they're in different circumstances, and it doesn't always necessarily carry out. And Dana's one of those. [00:53:51] Speaker A: Zaden says they're tied together now, and he could die if she does. And then. And now that every other cadet will try to kill her to try and get to Taryn because they thought that he wouldn't bind now that he has bonded. They think that somehow, if they prove to him that they are tough enough, that he will then bond with one of them, which is. [00:54:14] Speaker B: Dumbest theory. [00:54:16] Speaker A: The dumbest theory. [00:54:17] Speaker B: And it actually happens, I think, in. [00:54:19] Speaker A: The book with another dragon. Yeah. [00:54:22] Speaker B: Yeah. And that's just crazy. Like, if I was a dragon and you killed the person that I chose. [00:54:29] Speaker A: Like, who gives you the right? Yeah. [00:54:32] Speaker B: You know, why would I bond with you after that? [00:54:36] Speaker A: I chose that person for a reason. Like, why? [00:54:38] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:54:40] Speaker A: Anyway, I guess they automatically think if you're strongest, and if I was able to kill the last person, then. And some of the dragons won't even help you stay on, if you fall off, then they'll just let you fall to their death. So I guess some of them are like that. She gets branded by both of her dragons. They have the dragon council, and the decision is kept, and nobody can do anything about it. And she sees her brand through Ardana's eyes, and it's a little gold dragon and a big black dragon on her shoulders or something like that on her back. [00:55:12] Speaker B: Right. Which is the famous symbol for fourth wing. And you'll see it plastered everywhere and on all the merch, which I love. I love it. Yeah. [00:55:22] Speaker A: As soon as I realized that it was both dragons, I was like, whoa, everything makes sense. [00:55:27] Speaker B: Everything makes sense. [00:55:29] Speaker A: My thoughts were liability, underlined, exclamation point. [00:55:35] Speaker B: Dane. [00:55:36] Speaker A: Not again. Dane is so annoying. [00:55:39] Speaker B: I love that you just keep calling him a liability, too like, what is he liable for? [00:55:45] Speaker A: Because he's killed. That's. I'm like, he's a liability. Like, get him out of here. [00:55:52] Speaker B: He's the one who's gonna get. Get her killed. That's why he's a liability. That makes sense. [00:55:58] Speaker A: God damn it. Yeah, he's just. He's annoying. But now she has her own room. But multiple people are mad at her. Orin is mad at her because he couldn't get a dragon because she knocked him out. But also, everyone is nicer to her because she now made it past the first rounds, basically. And they said they wouldn't get attached to her because they. Most people die anyways. Why would you get attached to somebody who's gonna die before they get their dragon? [00:56:25] Speaker B: Which makes sense. [00:56:27] Speaker A: And now everyone who was friends with Zaden, basically all the marked ones, are going to be helping her out and. [00:56:36] Speaker B: Because he needs to keep her alive so he can stay alive. [00:56:39] Speaker A: Exactly. She goes through her first lesson and she keeps falling off the dragon because she refuses to let the dragon hold her in place. And oh, I forgot to say that in the end of the last chapter, Dane kisses her and she realizes that she's not in love with Dane anymore. [00:57:00] Speaker B: Yeah, she hates that kiss. Why? And it's. It's something interesting to see when a kiss with the person you've been like, longing for for a while. Because she was really into Dane before. [00:57:16] Speaker A: She was just so attractive. She came. Yeah, yeah. [00:57:20] Speaker B: Dane. Dane, baby. [00:57:21] Speaker A: No, I'm saying even when she was still liking, quote, unquote, Dane, she would feel this unimaginable attraction towards Zaden anytime they are together. [00:57:30] Speaker B: Right. But I'm just talking about Dane right now. So she. It says something that she was attracted to him before the writer's quadrant, and now that she is in the school, she's realizing that, like, he's not the best guy to be around. But she still had like, you know, they were best friends and they have all of these memories together. She knew him for so long that she, like, still was kind of giving it a shot until that kiss. And then she was like, this is not going to work out. [00:57:59] Speaker A: Yeah. And then in this chapter, he comes up to her and says, that kiss shouldn't have happened because he. There are rules and I am in charge of you, so we're not allowed to date. And she was like, when you said that we couldn't do this, I thought we were going to be on the same page about how we both didn't like it, but apparently he loved it. He just. The rules tell him that he can't. [00:58:22] Speaker B: He's a rule follower. [00:58:24] Speaker A: He is a rule follower. And then we find out that Imin is going to help her. Specifically Imagin is going to help her. Who was the one that broke her. [00:58:32] Speaker B: Arm in the beginning and tried to kill her. [00:58:34] Speaker A: Violet thinks that Imagine and Xaden are together. And my thoughts were I don't think they're together. Xaden already likes her way more than he wants to. [00:58:41] Speaker B: True, true, true, true. And what chapter is that? [00:58:44] Speaker A: That was the end of chapter 17. We're now on 18. She now works in the archives. She sees her friends. This is when we actually meet who quote unquote wrote this as the history. Her friend just Senya we may describe. Everyone's powers are starting to manifest. All of Zaden's friends are protecting her. Dana's mad at her again since she can't keep on Taryn while they're in flight. And they fight again, which is like. [00:59:12] Speaker B: What'S your problem, dude? It's not your problem, it's her problem. [00:59:16] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. And he's just so annoying. And oh, this is when I was going to try and find out what he said. Okay. This place cuts away the bullshit and the niceties, revealing whoever you are at your core. And so she basically says that back to him. And she's saying like I. All these things that you thought were wrong with me. I'm. This is who I am at my core. Like, why can't you except me, bro? Yeah, that I'm now a writer. I have a dragon. Actually, in fact, I have two dragons. And you need to calm the down and let me do what I'm going to do. [00:59:50] Speaker B: As she should. [00:59:51] Speaker A: As she should. [00:59:52] Speaker B: As she should. [00:59:55] Speaker A: And so she decides that she doesn't want to be friends with him anymore if he's going to be acting like this. Unless she decides that he's going to help her or do something instead of just constantly saying that she needs leap. And then she sees another person's power manifest and he can read minds, but it's an omnipresent like read minds where it never stops. You can just read your mind at will. Whereas Dane can see like your most recent memories. This guy can just read your mind. So it's bad. And so the professor who's in charge of the powers ends up killing him because it's just such a bad idea to have somebody like that walking around. [01:00:34] Speaker B: Which is crazy. Can you imagine? You like go all the way and then you get a power and they're like, turns out you need to die. [01:00:43] Speaker A: Turns out that's actually bad for everybody, even our side. So you're gonna die. [01:00:49] Speaker B: Yep. Too bad you're dying Rough, dude. You've got it rough. [01:00:55] Speaker A: And then she is dreaming when Taryn tells her to wake up, and seven cadets are in her room, and they try to kill her. Orin strangles her, and someone breaks her door. And then everything freezes. And my thoughts are, is this her or the dragon? I'm assuming Xaden is the one who breaks down the door. And then it turns out that it is Zaden who breaks down the door. And also, it is technically her dragon that stopped time. And once she reaches Zaden, which is just a couple feet across the room, everything comes back to normal. And he uses his shadow powers to kill everybody because it's against the code to attack a writer in their sleep. [01:01:39] Speaker B: And it's legal. He can kill him. [01:01:41] Speaker A: He can kill him. And then his friends Garak and Bodhi show up, and they basically take them all out, and more people show up and they take all the bodies out of her room, and they do who knows what with them. I'm assuming they burn them, but I honestly have no idea. Her ribs are bruised. And then he gets her into her boots, and they go out a secret passageway in the castle to go see Taryn because he is super mad. And Zaden is tearing into this dragon, and he's not supposed to be doing that because they're not bonded. [01:02:19] Speaker B: Yeah, it's not his dragon. [01:02:20] Speaker A: It's not his dragon. And they can't talk to dragons like that. But this is when we find out that Zaden can actually hear Taryn because Seigal is mated to him. And so Seagull can talk to her and Taryn can talk to Xaden. And so they really are just like a whole connected bunch. [01:02:43] Speaker B: They're a quadruple couple. What's that? Whatever. [01:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah. And the only person that Xaden can't hear is Ardana, because Ardana isn't connected to them and she's not there. Hatchling. Her parents died, and so basically the entire dragon horde takes care of her. But Hardana gave this gift to Violet, and because she's so young, she's able to give the whole gift to Violet. And it's actually very, very scary to give somebody your whole gift because they can use it, too. And it could end up killing both of you if you do it too much. And it also says that she's quote, unquote, still A feather tail. So I'm like, do feathertails change into other colors or like dragons? Different types. [01:03:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:03:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:03:41] Speaker B: Because a feather tail is just another word technically for a baby dragon. [01:03:45] Speaker A: Baby. Right. [01:03:47] Speaker B: So she is currently a baby dragon and her parents are dead. And she has this power that she just gave to Violet, and Violet can use it and basically end up killing Adarna. And so it's a lot of trust between the two in order for her to be bonded at such a young age. [01:04:09] Speaker A: Yes. And after all this happens, they basically decide that they're not going to tell anybody. And then Zaden is like, okay, who let these people into your room? And it turns out it's Amber, who was the one who was mad at her for breaking the rules before. [01:04:23] Speaker B: Because she didn't follow the rules. [01:04:26] Speaker A: She didn't follow the rules. [01:04:27] Speaker B: She was butt hurt. And then she didn't follow the rules and she got. Or she's about to get fucking killed. [01:04:35] Speaker A: So, yes, now we're in chapter 20 and Bree seems to know what happened, but nobody really else seems to know. And then Xaden comes into the room as they're all eating breakfast, and he. [01:04:46] Speaker B: He. [01:04:48] Speaker A: Ends up switching the best guy in the year from one of his other squads to this squad. Who's Liam? I'm assuming Liam is going to play bigger part in the second half of the story because he does become her bodyguard. [01:05:04] Speaker B: Basically, we meet Liam for the first time in chapter 20. [01:05:07] Speaker A: Well, we've heard about Liam. We know he's the best in the year, but we've never talked to Liam before. So, yes, I don't know anything about Liam. I'm assuming I'm going to be on Liam's side because he seems kind of decent. [01:05:21] Speaker B: Kind of decent? [01:05:22] Speaker A: Well, I don't know anything about him, but she doesn't describe him as somebody who's overly hostile or overly mean or anything like that. So I'm assuming he's like a semi decent person. You know what I mean? This is when then Zaden calls Amber out and accuses her. Dane refuses to believe it. He says that she cares too much about the rules to break them. And he wants to get Violet's memories, her most recent memories. But because part of her most recent memories are learning about Ardana and the Gift, she can't give him her most recent memories. And so she instead asks Taryn to give everyone who's there part of the memories. And Amber is found guilty. Taryn gets to kill her. And then her dragon is crying because it really hurts the dragons when their. [01:06:13] Speaker B: Rider dies when they're bonded anyway, which. And again, back to the. When I choose a rider, why would I reward you for killing that rider and bond with you instead? [01:06:24] Speaker A: Well, because they're so new in their bond. People say that, like, it's not really that big of a deal. In the beginning, at least that's what they sort of say. Because there was a writer who fell off, right, and then was able to bond with another person that was there. [01:06:43] Speaker B: Just moved on. [01:06:45] Speaker A: Just moved on pretty quickly. But they had already said that dragon has weaker bonds because it's bonded with so many people in general. [01:06:53] Speaker B: That makes sense. [01:06:56] Speaker A: Yeah. But the end of this one, I'm assuming at some point, even if they're not together together at the end of the book, that Violet and Xaden are gonna at least make out, do something. Maybe. Fuck, I'm not sure. They might not be like a couple, but are you hiding your vape to me for a reason? Are you trying not to give anything away? [01:07:19] Speaker B: That's so funny because I wasn't doing that originally and then you said something and I did kind of like make a face. And then I was like, well, it's a good thing she can't see me, right? [01:07:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [01:07:34] Speaker B: So those are your current. [01:07:36] Speaker A: What are your current thoughts on, like. [01:07:37] Speaker B: The dragons, the friends? Like, do we got any theories going on? [01:07:42] Speaker A: Okay, so again, I think Liam will play an important role. I don't know what type of role he's going to play. Maybe he's going to die at the end of this book. Maybe it's going to be one of those things where he's like a really good friend and then. Well, okay, I'm assuming that they're going to be in a war because in the First Council, they talk about how sometimes third years get called up in order to go to front. The flight front fight at the. Not the front. They never go to the front, but they usually go to, like a side battle. And even in that chapter, at the end, in the middle of the chapter, it's like, okay, so obviously Violet is gonna get called up. Like, that's probably what the overarching arc of this book will be. And then even at the end of that chapter, Violet says something of like, it seems like more than just third years are going to be called up. And then after all this bonding and learning what we know about Zaden, I am assuming that even if first years don't called up or if she's. I don't know if she gets to the second year by the Time this book is over, I'm assuming she has to go to the front and they'll actually go to the front front lines because she is bonded to Xaden and because he is so high up that something is going to happen where they have to go fight in the actual war and she has to go at least semi to the front lines and something's going to happen. I don't know what that'll be. I don't know if we're actually going to find out what the Griffins want. I'm thinking that we will, but I also don't know what the overarching arc will be for the entire series. So it is. I'm not sure if this is like a now thing or a later thing. You know what I mean? [01:09:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I know what you mean. [01:09:21] Speaker A: But I honestly have no idea what they could be looking for. I don't even know if there are clues. Like I remember things about the land and the things that they get and the things that they want, but I also don't know if there's been enough actual talking about. [01:09:35] Speaker B: I will say this. I think there are clues already about for the general idea for this series on what they're going to be fighting, but they're very minuscule at the moment. It definitely becomes a lot more apparent by the end of the book. [01:09:54] Speaker A: Yeah. I do definitely feel like this is probably the almost perfect place to start because even though she has her dragons already, and honestly I was so glad that we got her dragons by chapter 15 because I thought that the end of this book was going to be getting her dragons and that most of this book was just going to be her going through the academy because I didn't realize that they got the dragons the first year for some reason. I. I don't know, I thought it was like a little bit later in her journey. But the one thing I will say about this book is it's quick. Like you can quickly read it. It's a very quick timeline. She does kind of a couple montages in order for you to go through weeks quickly. And I do appreciate that because there. This is. This is a long book, but it does kind of. The pace is semi fast. [01:10:36] Speaker B: Yeah, it's got a decent. And it's not even semi fast. It's like a perfect pace to go along. [01:10:41] Speaker A: Yeah. And so I feel like I have now reached the setting up portion of like now she has her dragons. Now we can actually get to the plot, plot of what she's going to do with the dragons and how she's going to react to the world after she has these dragons rather than getting to this place and kind of setting the world up. But again, I don't know what it will be. I don't know what it'll look like. I think that Rhea is her friend. There is always a twinge in me who says, like, are they your best friend? Or are they the person that's going to eventually betray you? But that is just a me thing. I've read way too many books that have that type of plot twist. But because Dane is already somebody who is your friend and who is now not an antagonist, but is somebody who is so, like, for the rules that it makes it hard for him to help her, I feel like we already have that covered. So I think Ri will be her friend. I don't know if she'll stay alive past this book. I'm hoping she stays alive past this book, but honestly, I have no idea because they just basically kill everybody. The only people that I'm assuming get out of this book alive are her, Violet, and Xaden. Honestly, because they're the two of the. [01:11:50] Speaker B: Series, which makes sense. [01:11:53] Speaker A: Like, I have no hope for nobody. I have no hope for her sister. I have no hope for anybody. [01:11:58] Speaker B: You have no hope for her sister out of this book? Okay. I mean, I. I can see all of your theories. They all make sense to me. So I guess next episode we'll see if they actually pan out or if you're just crazy. [01:12:13] Speaker A: I might just be crazy. That's a possibility too. [01:12:17] Speaker B: Always a possibility. [01:12:19] Speaker A: Yep.