penwalla

ch. 30
ok i've had a thought on how some of the inconsistencies in violet could be fixed. we know her dad is dead and he was a scribe. violet was heavily influenced by him? maybe he was anti-war, or opposed to violence. maybe he wanted reform of the rider school! that's where violet gets it, and that's why she wants the scribe quadrant. but he dies. maybe he's killed because he couldn't or wouldn't fight, and that's why violet's mom wants her to be a rider. or maybe he was killed doing something questionable, and violet's admission to the riders is a way of demonstrating her family's loyalty politically. hell, maybe she's conscripted foe his crimes! violet enters determined to hold true to her ideals, but in the dangerous environment of the college, eventually she is forced to kill. if violet knows her family's safety is on the line, that's motivation for her to avoid being sent by dain to the scribe quadrant. if the knowledge of her father's treachery is public, that's a way of connecting her to xylon.
enough fanfic. let's go.
im not recapping this sex scene beat by beat. sorry.
i personally hate this trope of "if we go on, i won't be able to stop myself" and also think it makes no sense for xylon, who had the self-control to become wingleader despite being literally branded a traitor.
i appreciate the nod to fantasy contraceptives.
lmao i have seen reviews of this book where the reviewers are clutching their pearls over the nasty, dirty sex xylon and violet are having...it's really bog standard porn. a little overwritten and repetitive. both of them lose control of their powers during and destroy something. that doesn't bother me.
like, this isn't kinky in any way. they both enthusiastically consent. it's like 35% making out/65% PIV. it's only unrealistic in the usual fictional sex way--everyone is athletic and inexhaustible, etc. actually i'm surprised violet's disability didn't come up.
afterward, she's touching his scars, and he tells her the story. they represent the 107 marked children of the rebellion, who xylon has personally taken responsibility for to prevent their execution.
violet actually apologizes to him. progress! xylon then tries to leave but violet talks him into staying, after they do the whole "we're not in love though!" song and dance. pretty standard romance fare. i like it.
scene change. morning after.
xylon has left her flowers (violets, of course) and cleaned up after himself. aaaww.
the professor in charge of wielding comes to get violet for practice. violet is a little nervous about him, since he's the guy who snapped the neck of that mindreading kid earlier. professor tells violet that he's fascinated by the way "nature finds the balance" in this case someone fragile like violet having such destructive power.
he then gives her some friendly advice: if anyone suspects she or xylon is disloyal, they'll be executed because they're too powerful to live. so be careful. violet gives him a canned answer, which satisfies, and they get to it.
she's trying to recreate the circumstances of the last time she used her power, but that was mid-coitus, so Big T is just laughing at her and xylon is sending her psychic horny images. this does work, violet declares herself a "certified badass", and then starts working on aiming.
chapter end. overall i would call this a successful chapter, too. as i said, i think most of the critique i've seen of the sex scene is way overblown, and i suspect coming from readers who don't usually read books with explicit sex? like there's nothing unusual about the sex in this book, it reads like other romance novels i've read. it's not particularly good but it's not particularly bad, either, and i think it's a convincing way of advancing xylon and violet's relationship. frankly yarros seems more at home writing smut than she does trying to plot and execute a fantasy novel, lmao.