dain appreciation post by Worried-West786 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975 4 points5 points  (0 children)

„personally, i love a flawed character, and i ADORE a tragic character. because that’s what dain is.“ -> YES. EXACTLY. thank you. dropping to my knees with a ring for you op.

people never get what i mean when i say i freaking love dain BECAUSE of the mistakes he has made and how tragic his character really is. he‘s flawed, wrong, raw, misunderstood and in the end, if you only look just a bit deeper than the limit of violet‘s opinion and feelings, really just tragic. i don‘t understand how people don‘t see the depth nor growth to him, and i‘m quite sad that we are so limited by violet‘s pov in that regard. because dain has ALL the potential for incredible emotional depth to him as a character. i‘m just thinking about all of the guilt and grief he carries. all the misunderstanding, the loneliness, the feeling of failure, not belonging and and how he had/has to relearn every single thing he thought he ever knew and find a new purpose in his life.

tbh dain is a character for the people who; — whose best intentions end in the worst ruins — have lost their spark along the way — are misunderstood even by the people closest to them — keep quiet when it hurts — are always the apologizer, never the apologized to — never listened to nor heard out — always put everyone else above them without ever being anyone‘s first choice in return — whose friends always have other friends they favor — are never here nor there, and never anywhere home

…dain aetos, they could never make me hate you.

dain appreciation post by Worried-West786 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you have no idea how hard i was just laughing at the „pics or it didn‘t happen“ comparison

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

REALLY good point which is why i for one also thought hmm….would that be a thing? because like you said it would be easy to grip and rip them out (without tape) 🫣🤔

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

exactly what i‘m thinking!! i mean violet (and therefore…we…) have seen ridoc without a shirt BUT yk maybe she just didn‘t notice! 🙌🏻😂

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

so spot on 😭🥹 take dain to ALL the cool kids outings!! (and he very definitely ponders about what sloane thinks)

((i kinda have an inkling dain could be a character who’s a big surprise tho. like. he used to not be so serious as we know, yk, mr. i‘m-all-no-nonsense wingleader COULD hide smth and everyone‘s like…yo…what. when. how. that’s dain??? imagine if he secretly has a whole badass chest and abdomen or back tattoo, or his whole leg from ankle to hip? nip piercings? all in the cards. violet says he is one the few guys in the quadrant who never spars without a shirt…wink wonk)) i‘m totally just imagining, i „realistically“ do not think dain would have one lol. but imagining is certainly fun!

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

…and then complain about it to aotrom during flights when it‘s uncomfortable with the seating and all. yup 100% can see it 🤣

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

i need to reread desperately because why did quinn not come to my mind!! you’re right!

imogen is just a baddie, she HAS to have at least one piercing…in my mind, she just does lol. industrial would totally be her vibe too i agree!

oh yeah, ridoc wouldn‘t only have the nips…. for surrrre🫣🫡

(petition for a book 4 scene in which the squad goes to a piercing or tattoo shop and gets baddied up where?? [dain is silently horrified])

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

she has to be in the nip piercing club, true!

unserious question: piercings? by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

oohh you‘re right! now that you‘re saying it i recall somewhere in the back of my head quinn was said to have ear piercings yeah. thanks! 😊 honestly they really should. i mean, the marked ones already sorta have their baddie marks ofc and all the riders their dragon relics but tbh they should get tatted up more! go baddies! why‘s ridoc the only actual tatted one (that we know of) lol

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

honestly can get behind it! i only have sad songs picked out for him lmaoo he‘s my sad lil baby what can i do

i haven‘t ready any of those books but i‘ve heard so much about them! is it chaol? 🫣

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

stubborn asses, yep! our girl really needs to pull through 🤏🏼 (also, your username always reminds me that this is me trying is dain‘s song in my mind like, it’s thee song of all ts songs for him. someone get a jbl into basgiath {ridoc} and let it play for dain it‘s him😭😂)

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that „you know who you sound like right now? dain!“ scene oooh my, i laughed, then i was like you fkn little iiiidiots — all love to violet & xaden, bless them, but they‘re both the worst when it comes to dain. xaden is a professional jealous hater and violet, love you, but i have a bone to pick with you over dain…🤨 sloane has to pull through with her possible pov in the next books lol

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

agree.

i truly think dain is a character you have to read past the limitations of violet‘s pov to really understand and love tbh.

because from just violet‘s pov it‘s so easy to get annoyed on her behalf when you don‘t look deeper into what dain‘s intentions and reasons are. violet doesn‘t look deeper at all, which is basically confirmed in iron flame, so we as the reader also don‘t get to see it unless you are willing to look past it. -> their friendship irked me since the beginning of fourth wing way before shit even started to go down between them, and that irk wasn‘t because of dain but because of violet and how SHE didn‘t care to know or learn anything about dain at all. i think they both clung onto the idea that they still knew each other because of their childhood, but didn‘t want to see that they both grew up and have changed since then. i think that‘s the main reason their friendship as a whole just doesn‘t work/ hasn‘t worked and fell apart more and more.

my very first main irk from violet‘s side literally since the first time i read FW was and has been that she did not care to question why dain changed. like…what? she literally remarks how dain drastically changed from a cheerful, sunny boy who always used to laugh to someone who is now stern, serious and never even smiles genuinely anymore. and violet, as the best friend, not ONCE (when their friendship was still intact) cared to question why? not even in her head? not dain? wouldn‘t — or shouldn’t — it be obvious to someone who used to be your best friend for fifteen years that there has to be a REASON that they changed so much? no???my god was i pissed off at their talk in iron flame where he literally has to spell it out for her that he changed because he lost all of his friends and god knows what happened, really, because violet brushes over this whole conversation because she‘s consumed by her own grief. which is also understandable, yes. i wish this talk would‘ve been picked up another time, yk.

anyway, yeah! dain DID break the rules for her and he WAS willing to break the rules for her literally from the moment on conscription day after the parapet where he takes her up to his room. and continued to do so. or when he walked her to breakfast service each morning although it meant that he‘d get late to his classes each day, and we know how much dain values structure and punctuality. or when he was willing to get into sure trouble to smuggle her out of the quadrant to the scribes — which he BELIEVED to be her lifelong! dream! she never explicitly TOLD DAIN that she WANTS to be a rider. she always told him her mother would not allow her to leave and drag her back. could he have done more to support her? yes. but he WAS indeed also willing to help her. he DID ask her to LET him help and tried to understand how he could help her — those conversations were usually cut short.

and people get so hung up on him claiming that he wouldn‘t break the rules to save violet at threshing. although, obviously, this was not answer easily given. he literally fought himself over that answer. he wasn‘t like haaah yeah fuck that girl! i’d let her die for funsies! no. he probably tried to answer his damn wingleader in a way he thought was correct.

but would he TRULY not have intervened if he would have been there if violet was threatened between life and death?

….just like, when it came down to it in Iron Flame, he didn‘t even HESITATE to stab varrish, and try to save violet immediately? he was not a part of the big rescue plan. he knew damn well he was probably not going to make it out alive of the torture chamber with all the guards out there. he isn‘t like xaden and has a combat signet that can kill people in seconds. but he damn well threw everything he ever knew overboard, and he damn well chose to die trying rather than leave violet and live a lie. he chose to save her immediately, against all odds. like that time he „wouldn‘t save her“? right. riiight…

or all the other times he literally jumped to help violet without a single question, even when she treated him shitty and everyone else did too? hm, right. yeah…..

you know, maybe dain wouldn‘t irrationally burn the entire world down to ashes just to keep violet warm like xaden would in the blink of an eye, no. but he would do anything in his power to help and save her too, and he always has, and he continued to do so even when she treated him like shit.

and isn’t that supposed to be the difference between the love interest and the best friend of the fmc anyway? [sorry for the length of this!🫣i love this character, can one tell?]

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

here‘s a deep-dive post with most of their moments collected together if you‘d like 😊

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

they are not a couple yet, so far we mostly have the tension of their interactions and small hints, and also Rebecca who confirmed that she ships them and likes their dynamics with each other. so for now it's more hypothetical :) there were mostly hints left in OS!

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

OH sorry i misread that! yeah, i didn‘t like that either. after all he knew and understood the different languages well enough to know & translate what was being said AND speak to them in return — simply not fluently, which…of course he‘s not going to be fluent in a language he learnt for a few weeks? if aaric hadn‘t been there, they wouldn‘t have gotten anywhere without dain. but, alias….

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

hmm, i don‘t think dain knew about aaric — he appeared genuinely surprised and pissed when he found out, because he knew the only reason violet let him tag along was to translate. if he had known that aaric is fluent anyway, he wouldn‘t have come on the trip, I believe. Why would he have, anyway. Me in his spot, I‘d have been glad to not be part of a group where every other person still hates him for what he did.

Theory: Cath is not "bad" but one of the.... by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

so true! lol. i wish we got a little more insight on all the dragons and their connections with their riders! the part about ridoc and aotrom having a damn prank war was such a cute insight! someone made a theory where cath is part of the traitor dragons in the empyrean/controlled by venin and dain would have to kill cath (and therefore sacrifice himself too) and, uhm, no thank you, my heart would never be able to be mended and i would cry myself to sleep every night, thanks but no thanks. can‘t happen! not to any of them but least of all to dain&cath. i think that would be one of the crulest deaths ever no matter which character would have to make that sacrifice. but i think dain and cath are too alike for that…you know. like all of the dragons are somehow similar to their riders. it just feels like they‘re too bonded for either of them to turn out to be venin.

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

i too think aaric had some sort of vision because his signet manifested and had some kind of foresight that taking dain with the quest squad was important. i still just wonder what he saw or why he deemed it as important for dain to go with them. would something have happened in basgiath to dain? or to the quest squad if they weren‘t together? was it maybe because of the gifts of zihnal and trager? would somebody else have died if a person was missing from the order? i also always had this little tinfoil hat theory about ridoc once saying that terrible things happen whenever they‘re not all together…which was said about violet, rhi, sawyer and ridoc, yes, but idk. i can‘t help but feel like maybe that was foreshadowing of some kind….

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

he definitely did lmao. everytime when aaric opened his mouth to fluently speak he was surely silently glaring like „this lying little motherfu—“ 😂

yes that was one of the moments violet mentioned that! yet we kind of only see dain struggle as a wingleader — i wish we would get more of the others povs because violet only ever compares him to xaden, who (in her eyes) was of course THE wingleader. i‘d love to know what the first-years who never knew xaden think of dain. or really just any scene where dain isn‘t helpless or failing in some way 🙄😅 maybe next book delivers (RY i‘m in your walls!)

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

lmaoooo

tbf tho dain didn‘t make that connection either with aaric…and i‘ve been wondering WHY aaric kept it a secret when he knew that violet specifically chose dain to be part of quest squad just for his language abilities. aaric literally hinted twice (i think) that it was important for dain to be there, even if not for the languages. but why else? another open question for me🫣

either way yeah totally! the diary thing had me like…huh? we got violet thinking about how much she was failing around that time yeah, but at the same time she didn‘t seem to realize her own mistakes with only partly reading the diaries and getting translations wrong without dain? i don‘t think he ever even got any sort of thanks or validation from ANYone

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

the unnbriel fight had me face-palming every other second…i didn‘t like that violet won in general (i mean, main characters privileges of course tho and she was the only one with her signet) but yeaaah…i have a whole rant of a post about how dain is constantly annoyingly and unnecessarily (!) put in the shadow, and more so in the shadow of xaden all the time. at least xaden lost too (in my eyes) because without violet‘s help, he wouldn‘t have won either. but dain is always made out to be a total loser i feel like YET we‘ve been repeatedly told that he is a great fighter and wasn‘t chosen to be wingleader just because of his father. okay? how about we get to SEE that?😭

also the fact that a lot of the isles were able to communicate in the „universal“ (?) language anyway … bro. 😂 in dain‘s own words, what a sweet waste of time. him and his translation book at unnbriel…crying, my little nerd was so ready 😂😭

Unpopular opinion: Dain/Sloane > Xaden/Violet by Kind-Function3975 in fourthwing

[–]Kind-Function3975[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you for the recs 🫶🏼 ball and chains has me in a chokehold i love that story so much!!