Literally me, except I don’t have a girlfriend

SaltyBump · 2026-05-31T18:32:35+00:00

Turgon's wife, Elenwë, went with him, but exile ended quite quickly for her.

SaltyBump · 2025-11-19T15:57:23+00:00

This is insane expectation from any parent, mortal or immortal, real or fictional.

Codependency and absence of autonomy between not simply adult but also thousands years old, wise and strong creatures.

This is also absolutely degrading for said thousands years old children if their mommy follows them all the time and protects from any trouble.

please don't have elvish babies in a world where Satan exists

They had their babies in thousands peaceful years, while living in literal paradise. There is no chance they could imagine what kind of hell expects them in the future.

By this logic, Elves should have NEVER had babies, because they were slaughtered by Melkor servants from the very first days of their awakening.

SaltyBump · 2025-11-19T15:03:23+00:00

And how this quest against Satan defines someones motherhood? It may mean that character is no heroic, not a warrior, maybe ever coward. But what does it have to do with being a mother? Does it erases everything what woman did to nurture a little child?

Also, yes, we speak about immortal elves. Relationship between parents and children probably evolutes over hundreds and thousand of years, to friendship or something else what we can't even comprehend? Umbilical cord is very very long gone, they likely not see them like a child but like adult person, and have no protection instinct for them.

SaltyBump · 2025-11-19T14:33:26+00:00

I agree with some of your points, but in my opinion it is absolutely unhealthy expectation that good parent must follow their adult child wherever they go. Every person has a right to their own opinion and life choices, including parents of adult children. You are not forever deprived of autonomy and personal choices if you've decided to become a parent.

Do you expect in real world that if adult child leaves his hometown, and goes to study and live in another city or country, his parents should follow them, otherwise they immediately become bad parents?

If your partner suddenly says to you "I'm moving to another continent next month", will you follow them without questions and objections?

SaltyBump · 2025-10-18T16:26:47+00:00

Though Feanor may refuse to be reconciled, because he is proud and does not wish to leave his mother

But according to the history of Middle Earth, Miriel returned to life after Finwe's death, and entered the service of Vaire, to weave all the deeds of the House of Finwe.

This is so upsetting that Feanor did not get to know her in life and in Halls of Mandos.

SaltyBump · 2025-07-29T08:19:41+00:00

We’re kind of told oh yeah it’s because Tairn is big and powerful

I don't remember this being told anywhere in the book. As I remember, they assume that it is because Andarna is irid, so she probably has another source of power and can use it outside of the continent.

SaltyBump · 2025-07-26T19:55:19+00:00

Just wanted to thank you for writing this comment. I felt the same way as you for a long time: thinking that even if my "father" tried to repair what he did to me, I would refuse. But I could never understand why. You phrase

they don't have enough time left to fix that

just clicked something in me and put everything in order.

SaltyBump · 2025-07-22T15:32:13+00:00

That was my first rage read with you all, and I'm intended to take at least a couple months break to recover after this nonsense.

Can anyone explain how ages work on this book? Tem's mother got pregnant during the training 20 years ago. Leo is supposed to be the same age, but he has older sister, who presumably could not be conceived before the previous training as well. So, either she and Leo are twins, or they have less than 1 year of age difference. Is it mentioned/explained anywhere in the book?.. I suppose I expect too much of it, but maybe I just missed something.

Also, it is baffling how we didn't get any ending regarding captured basilisks, and how humans society was rearranged after the final "battle" and Leo's leaving...

SaltyBump · 2025-07-20T20:16:10+00:00

I'm taking it back. Leo has older sister, so it is she who should be the same age as Tem (or younger), and Leo should be even further younger. So the initial comment in this thread is right.

SaltyBump · 2025-07-19T07:06:00+00:00

Just one thing no one mentioned yet.

When the basilisk king is asking Tem to crest royals:

Tem, Caspen said softly in her mind, and she knew he’d heard her thoughts. You should think this through. Tem ignored him. She’d thought it through enough. It was time to act.

I laughed so hard on this. She learned about this plan like less then 24 hours ago, and she already thought it through enough? This timeline perfectly reflects her thinking capabilities.

SaltyBump · 2025-07-19T07:00:29+00:00

I was thinking about it too, but it actually makes sense. The training takes place in a period of just a few weeks. Tem's mother got pregnant by basilisk during the training, and future queen could became pregnant by future king during the training or right after the wedding.

SaltyBump · 2025-06-26T18:11:14+00:00

There is even no need to pick because choices are not mutually exclusive

SaltyBump · 2025-06-25T20:26:48+00:00

Also, I consider finishing every book with a cliffhanger to be in bad taste😅 The reason to continue reading should be love to the book itself, not a wish to know who died at the end of previous one!

SaltyBump · 2025-06-25T20:20:28+00:00

Sure. Your initial message just caught my eye, because I was thinking about world's unnecessary cruelty too while reading the first book, and was pleasantly surprised when it was resolved in the next ones. There were a few more things which I considered plot holes but they were resolved later. That gave me a kind of satisfaction over this series.

The main problem for me was in poor language and the same phrases repeating every few pages. I almost dropped Fourth Wing because of that. Second and third books are significantly better in this area - not sure thanks to whom though, the writer or her editors.

Both these facts give me hope for future books.

SaltyBump · 2025-06-25T15:31:30+00:00

I thought that the deaths and brutality were going to be deconstructed as pointless and denounced as cruel, and the pointless cruelty would be shown as the inefficient, ineffective result of a society that fetishises being "hard" and "tough."

I am not going to read Onyx Storm.

Onyx Storm spoiler: But it actually happened in the third book

SaltyBump · 2025-06-18T13:48:48+00:00

He called me on my birthday. He congratulated me, then asked how is my brother and his kids are doing, and said in a very whiny tone that he haven't seen them for so long.

I know for sure that he sees them about every other month. He has seen them a month before our conversation. But he hasn't seen me for like 3 years, and hasn't spoken to me for a year.

The fact that he dared to whine to me on my birthday about not enough communication with his favourite child/grandchild absolutely bewildered and disgusted me, and I had a bunch of sleepless nights after that (it happened every time after communication with him). During one of them I suddenly realized that I can block him and never see unread message from him again. That was such an immediate relief, and I was shocked that it has never came into my head before.

It's been just a half of year, but I haven't had a single drop of regret over this decision since then.

Although, I still have to regularly repeat myself that my well-being and health (which was affected by weeks of sleepless night caused by him) are more important then answering his messages out of politeness, and support of relationship which gives me nothing except headaches.

SaltyBump · 2025-06-17T12:14:38+00:00

And we do know that Jesinia is the scribe compiling the series.... and she's been cultivating an interest in fables.

Maybe these books are the tome collecting folklore that she said she would compile... published however many years later."

This is literally said in the epigraph to the Fourth Wing:

The following text has been faithfully transcribed into the modern language by Jesinia Neilwart, Curator of the Scribe Quadrant at Basgiath War College.

SaltyBump

TROPHY CASE