Silver Elite: Chapter 26
Oct. 21st, 2025 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaWe open to Wren going to sniper class in the desert.
She gets to ride in a plane for the first time. Her classmates all talk about their preferred vacation spots, which of course Wren can't relate to. Once they arrive, Wren goes forward with her new plan of not sucking, and starts making perfect shots.
Wren stops once again to remind us that she likes Lyddie:
And like...at no point has Wren not liked Lyddie, so this is just boring repetition. By having every character in this book be obviously good or bad based on how they treat Wren, this book gives up on the idea of characters having any nuance. And it gives up on Wren's relationships with them having any point of interest.
I will also note that when Wren likes Lyddie, we get a description of Lyddie's personality, and when she likes Cross, it's just his abs. In a better book that would be gay subtext but in this one I think the author is just a hack.
"Instinct" is exactly the wrong word. Wren is not instinctively a good shooter! She's been practicing since she was a child! She is skilled!
Does Dani Francis not understand what the word instinct means?
Anyways, Wren is moping because Cross has arrived but he isn't praising her performance. She is truly one of the most pathetic protagonists of all time.
She shoots her own canteen to show off, which finally gets Cross to...scold her for showing off.
Next scene. Wren is mad because she only got a 65% on her shooting despite getting five perfect shots. I am going to guess that it is either shooting your own canteen to show off in the desert is stupid or that she isn't a team player. Her partner didn't get to shoot once in the previous scene, so it's possible that she was depriving Ivy of experience.
Next scene. Wren is still mad because Cross is scoring her badly no matter how well she does.
So Wren decides she needs to do something about Cross underscoring her, and asks Declan, her Uprising contact, to get her a map of the officer's quarters. What is she going to do? That's for next chapter, but I will guess she is going to break into Cross's room to confront him or something equally silly.
It is insane that Declan just gives her the information without verifying what she is going to do with it, considering her getting caught could blow the entire operation and Wren has already demonstrated she is an idiot.
She gets to ride in a plane for the first time. Her classmates all talk about their preferred vacation spots, which of course Wren can't relate to. Once they arrive, Wren goes forward with her new plan of not sucking, and starts making perfect shots.
Wren stops once again to remind us that she likes Lyddie:
Oh, this girl. I always want to give her a hug. She’s growing on me in a way I never thought possible. She’s just so…positive. Yes, she likes to gossip, but her heart is enormous.
And like...at no point has Wren not liked Lyddie, so this is just boring repetition. By having every character in this book be obviously good or bad based on how they treat Wren, this book gives up on the idea of characters having any nuance. And it gives up on Wren's relationships with them having any point of interest.
I will also note that when Wren likes Lyddie, we get a description of Lyddie's personality, and when she likes Cross, it's just his abs. In a better book that would be gay subtext but in this one I think the author is just a hack.
Squinting against the glare, I adjust the scope of the rifle, my fingers trembling with anticipation. It feels like forever since I’ve had the opportunity to shoot. I’ve been firing guns every day for weeks, yet there was no thrill. No excitement to take—and make—a challenging shot.
Now I’ve given myself permission to rely on my instincts. Or rather, the Uprising has.
"Instinct" is exactly the wrong word. Wren is not instinctively a good shooter! She's been practicing since she was a child! She is skilled!
“Next target.”
Target three is about eight hundred yards out. This angle is even more difficult. I glance at Ivy, who holds up her hand.
“No. Wind’s shifting. Wait.”
She’s got good instincts, I’ll give her that.
I wait, then take the shot.
Bull’s-eye.
And then the next one.
Bull’s-eye.
And the next one.
Bull’s-eye.
Yet my comm remains maddeningly silent.
Does Dani Francis not understand what the word instinct means?
Anyways, Wren is moping because Cross has arrived but he isn't praising her performance. She is truly one of the most pathetic protagonists of all time.
She shoots her own canteen to show off, which finally gets Cross to...scold her for showing off.
Next scene. Wren is mad because she only got a 65% on her shooting despite getting five perfect shots. I am going to guess that it is either shooting your own canteen to show off in the desert is stupid or that she isn't a team player. Her partner didn't get to shoot once in the previous scene, so it's possible that she was depriving Ivy of experience.
Next scene. Wren is still mad because Cross is scoring her badly no matter how well she does.
I score a 70 after our next Combat class, despite slamming Ivy’s ethereal face into the mats.If Wren would express that she's mad her mission is going badly, I would understand, but it's purely about her ego. She just can't bear to not be recognized as the bestest. And like, if this book was self-aware about Wren being arrogant and reckless, than that would be interesting, but I think we're suppose to sympathize with Wren here, and I simply cannot.
Seventy-two in Moving Targets, despite only missing three shots out of thirty.
Sixty-five in Archery. I deserve that one.
Knife Throwing? Sixty-two! That one is wholly unwarranted. My knives sank into every target like a blade through butter. Perfection.
“He’s doing it on purpose,” I complain at afternoon meal after enduring more than a week of mediocre scores.
So Wren decides she needs to do something about Cross underscoring her, and asks Declan, her Uprising contact, to get her a map of the officer's quarters. What is she going to do? That's for next chapter, but I will guess she is going to break into Cross's room to confront him or something equally silly.
It is insane that Declan just gives her the information without verifying what she is going to do with it, considering her getting caught could blow the entire operation and Wren has already demonstrated she is an idiot.
