#major varrish

[neuroticgoblin]

I would like to commend Rebecca Yarros on creating the single most insufferable character in the history of literature. Congratulations ma'am. I hope that Major Varrish dies a very painful death.

[amanita-muscaria-lover]

"Give us a second, and keep Aetos breathing for now," -Iron Flame (chapter 36, page 323

[bestbookfriends]

Inspired by pro-Dain posts from @violetriorsons and @skyfallscotland

[somewhere-in-the-rain]

The Empyrean as shitposts (part 6)

I will keep making these until the sun explodes.

Xaden Riorson

Violet Sorrengail

Sloane Mairi

Major Varrish (I hate to include him, but this was too funny to me)

Mira Sorrengail

Fen Riorson

Imogen Cardulo

Jesinia Neilwart

Andarna

Brennan Sorrengail

Ridoc Gamlyn

Garrick Tavis

Liam Mairi

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

I love the idea of Bodhi coming to you for comfort after a long day, especially given all the additional stress that he and the other marked ones are under

Changed it a bit because you know me but here we go... My first little something something for our lover boy!

warning: contains some slight spoilers from iron flame. Nothing major but still wanted to give you a warning.

Not giving up on us

Almost nothing managed to get under Bodhi's skin. Just like his cousin Xaden, he could pull up a cold wall and no one would manage to get a single look at what was going inside. He was able to shut off his visible emotions. Leave all the problem-solving and brooding over something when he was alone or at least among the people he trusted but this mess that unfolded after the Parapet... God damn... At this point, Bodhi didn't even know who he was blaming and who was he mad at.

All he remembered was how he instantly reached for you the moment that flames erupted. He wasn't even thinking about it. His brain worked on its own. And in sight of danger, the only thing that mattered to Bodhi was that you were safe. Even if it wasn't what a good rider should have thought of first. He had pulled you both on the ground. His larger frame practically covered all of your body. And that all would have been fine. Everyone would have presumed that he as a section leader was protecting one of the cadets in his wing. If only...

The moment the heat died down and Tairn had chased Solas away, Bodhi had pulled away ever so slightly, his palm instantly cupping your face as he looked you over. The way your eyes seemed slightly glassy. And that's when the panic set in and all of his instincts kicked in. "Hey, look at me", he tapped your cheek as he pulled away, "Love, can you hear me?". You blinked up at him feeling your head throbbing from the impact. You were sure it was nothing you just had to let it pass. Lay low for a few minutes.

Bodhi had carefully brushed the hair away from your face, panic slowly settling in. You caught his hand pulling it away. There was no room for little touches like that. Not here. You shook your head slowly, "People", you muttered and Bodhi's eyes instantly snapped up. Verish and other wing leaders had their eyes set on him. And even if they hadn't, they've seen it. Don't think too much of it, Cuir, Bodhi's dragon, had mused but he knew better. Should have known better.

Nor was he surprised when he got pulled for an urgent conversation. Nor when he was assigned to the flame section. He saw it coming. They were going to do everything to separate you two. Weed out the threats of whatever that was starting to form between you two. Bodhi missed Xaden often but now even more so. In situations like this, he realized just how much having his cousin around meant. Was he pissed to find out that you were made the section leader of the tail section now? Yes. Sure, it was a higher rang and you deserved it but something deep within Bodhi screamed that it was done on purpose so you two would have even less time together.

And it slowly was driving Bodhi insane because the whole day after the incident he didn't get to see you. Nor did he know anything about your health. Did anyone even take you to the healer? Did you have a concussion? He had shoved his stuff angrily into the bag, so he could change rooms. It was almost unbearable considering that most of your stuff was already there. You two had quietly settled in. Your smell was all over his stuff. It felt safe. It felt like home. His haven. But more than most Bodhi hated the thought that all of this might put you in some kind of danger. Varrish was already all up on Violet what if that wasn't enough? What if he will want to have another play toy? That could very well be you.

"Sulking much?", your voice made Bodhi flinch. He had slipped out to stroll through the fields after an excessively long conversation with his new wing leader. "No", he muttered back, already hating the way his tone sounded. "Right, Ceir said just that", you rolled your eyes as you moved to sit down next to him. Both of your dragons were on rather friendly terms meaning that even if you two couldn't talk directly to them, they still were willing to help you find one another or warn one another when needed.

You leaned against your boyfriend's shoulder, letting your chin rest there. His stiff demeanor softened but you could sense the distress lingering. "How's your head?", Bodhi murmured, turning to kiss the side of it. "It's okay, just a little whiplash. I feel perfectly fine now", you reassured him. Hoping that it would ease his nerves but to no success. "What is it Bodhi?", you breathed slowly pulling away so you could see it better.

"What do you mean what is it?", he huffed, throwing the bits of grass he's been plucking from the ground across the field as he stood up. "I'm not hurt, all the people we care about are fine too", you stated. "They fucking pulled us apart because they know", Bodhi hissed through gritted teeth. "They would have changed your position regardless of what happened out there, Bo", you tried to reason with him. The loss was too big, they were lacking options when it came to repositioning.

"They know, that's the problem. Did you see the way Varrish was looking at us?", Bodhi tried to stay as quiet as he could but his angry gestures spoke loud and clear. "So what? We're breaking up now?", you said, crossing your arms over your chest. Bodhi instantly frowned as he moved closer to you, "Of course, we're fucking not". You let him wrap his arms around your lower body as you held onto his toned arms, "Then don't stress over it. We've got this", you cupped his face softly, "You can handle yourself so can I". You reassured him, leaning in to kiss the side of his jaw. "I just hate the thought you haven't to go through extra shit just because you're with me", Bodhi hissed through gritted teeth. "Watch me do it with my head held high", you smirked at him, "I'm not giving up on us", you whispered. Bodhi let out a sigh. His grip on you tightened as he rested his forehead against yours. "I'll never give up on us", he breathed. You smiled up at him, pushing up to kiss his slowly. Missing the feeling of him against your lips after such a long day. The warmth. The smell of him. "You know now that I think about if...", he breathed, "We're a dang hot couple. Both section leaders", Bodhi mussed. You let out a chuckle as you shook your head, "And it had only taken a couple of minutes for your ego to grow twice the size". Bodhi let out an awful fake hurt hiss as he wrapped you up in his arms pulling you even closer into his embrace, "With a girlfriend like you, what do you expect?", he purred against your ear.

[anothermarkedone]

THERE’S LITERALLY NO RIDOC FICS AND I THINK THAT’S CRIMINAL! So thank you for being an absolute legend and taking requests for him 🙏🙏

I was thinking what about a Ridoc x reader who is Dain’s little sister but she’s the completely opposite of him. A Weasly twin style prankster who thinks rules are just suggestions. I’d love to see the shenanigans she and Ridoc get up too while also trying to keep their relationship a secret from Dain bc we all know he would freak out

Fourth wing pranksters

Word count: 834 Pairing: Ridoc x Aetos!reader A/N: I saw this request and was immediately inspired. They're head canons, I hope you don't mind nonnie.

Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

One thing was crystal clear

Under no circumstance can Dain find out about you and Ridoc

It’s bad enough that his sweet darling little sister would start dating a guy

But Ridoc?! 

The guy who’s known to be the best prankster in the entire quadrant?

Hell to the fucking no

It’s bad enough that you don’t follow the rules, no matter how much Dain and your father try

You don’t need someone to enable you and join in your behavior

Not as a classmate or as a friend and certainly not as your boyfriend

But if you play it smart, he won’t easily find out

He’s too busy drooling 🤤 over Violet, glaring daggers 😡 at Daddy Xaden 🥵 and being a stuck up rule follower

He’s literally Percy Weasley 🧑🏻‍🦰 since we’re talking about HP references

There was a silly tradition in Fourth Wing that when it’s someone's birthday🎉, they bring a snack🧁 to Battle brief

And it just so happens that Dain’s birthday was the next day

The day before his birthday, he had roped you into helping him make your grandmother's famous caramel apples

He told you that he needed your help last minute of course, so you didn’t have an excuse ready😑

The perfect opportunity for a prank, if you say so yourself🤫

When you and Dain were finally done, you wished him a happy early birthday and told him that you were going to study for a bit with Violet.

He knew that Violet was still pissed at him for reading her memories without permission, but he never expected that his sweet fragile Violet would insure that there would be retaliation

*Cue evil laughter*😈

Dain of course insisted to walk you to Violet's room, to make sure you were safe, he claimed, definitely not to maybe see Violet🤡

You walked into Violets room (or rather, Violet pulled you through the wards that 💪🏻overprotective 🥵Daddy Xaden installed)

You used your signet to see through the wall and waited until you saw Dain walk away

The second he was gone, you slipped out of Violet’s room and into Ridoc’s, who was already dead asleep😴

You climbed on top of him and settled in his lap

Of course, he’s a horny bastard and had other activity ideas🥵

You promised him whatever he wanted after he helped you🤭

He was 100% in after you explained your plan, as if he wasn’t already after your spicy promise😏

You two sneaked into the kitchens

You two went to make another batch of ‘caramel apples’ but oh no😱! there are no apples left😥!

Guess you two have to use the onions…😈

While you started making your grandmother’s caramel sauce, he went to peel the onions

It was one hell of a job to get it done before battle brief, especially since your promise didn’t do anything to lessen Ridoc’s horniness

There were a lot of steamy kisses and inappropriate touches🤤

But Ridoc’s ice signet 🥶 came in handy when the ‘apples’ were done and they had to be cool enough so that it seemed that they had cooled down during the night

You two sneaked the actual caramel apples 🍎 into your room to snack on later

Then you went to battle brief

Once you two were seated with your squad, Dain came in with the tasty onions🧅

He handed them out to professor Kaori, professor Devera and, to your slight horror, even to major Varrish

When Dain handed them out to your squad, you quickly warned them not to eat them🙊

The whole time, you and Ridoc had trouble to keep from bursting out in laughter🤣

Professor Kaori had just started battle brief, everyone’s apple temporarily forgotten in favor of taking notes, when major Varrish suddenly leaped from his chair with an angry shout🤬

Pieces of onion falling from his mouth🤮

Ridoc’s hand squeezed your inner thigh, as if that would keep him from bursting out in laughter

Varrish demanded to know who did it

Of course Dain was his first suspect, but professor Kaori pointed out that it was not something Dain would do😯

Everyone checked their own apples and found onions under the thick layer of caramel

Bodhi subtly suggested that one of the first years could have a signet that can change objects, which would make sense, since the first years had only just bonded their dragons, so they have no control over their signet🙄

And thus, Varrish’s rage turned on the first years

He ordered everyone to leave, except the first years and Dain

You shot your horrified brother a (hopefully) comforting look 😬

As soon as your squad was out of the room, Ridoc grabbed your hand

In his other hand, he held his onion and he was busy licking the caramel from the vegetable🤢

Sawyer laughed that he was disgusting, Violet was satisfied with her small petty revenge and Rhiannon was shaking her her head while mumbling how she was stuck with idiots

Ridoc gave your friends an innocent wave, before dragging you off to fulfill that promise that you made.🥵

[ashleybenlove]

To Major Varrish about Varrish:

"Oh, no." Kaori shakes his head. "I think you abuse your power in general."

DAMN!!!!!!!! SAY IT LOUDER!!!!

[skyfallscotland]

Shall we talk about this?

Though there is some debate, it is greatly believed that turning venin heightens one of the dark wielder’s senses. It is this scholar’s belief that the one responsible for the death of King Grethwild developed keener eyesight. For not even the best of His Majesty’s royal fliers could see through the darkness the venin hid within to slay our beloved king. —Major Edvard Tiller's Unaccredited Study of the Venin, Property of the Library of Cordyn

And how that might be related to this?

“What the hell is that?” Ridoc mutters. “I don’t know,” I whisper, writing the letters RSC in the blank book in front of me. “But you know everything.” His eyes widen. “Clearly not.” Seems to be the theme lately. “Don’t know what it is?” Professor Grady asks with a grin, staring straight at Ridoc. “Good—our tactics work.”

I feel like if he's across the room, he shouldn't have heard that right? I mean mutters and whispers? How big is this room? And yeah, I have a vendetta. The guy is sus af. He technically shouldn't know about the venin, given that it's usually majors and above who are told (I think?) and he's only a captain, ie. Mira's level, but he's also sort-of-working-with Varrish, or at least in his orbit and that guy's venin suspect number one. He's also on team 'we-developed-this-signet-blocking-elixir, which??? The guy is just...ugh. Bad vibes.

I don't even want to touch on the other implications of that excerpt (ie. the historical king of poromiel-slaying venin potentially being a shadow-wielder) though I will say, for a brief moment, I had convinced my delulu self that Liam (baby with supposed farsight and evidence towards an ice-wielding signet) might be a venin and not dead before I realised we were there when he died. Although... 👀

KIDDING! ....mostly. I just miss him ok, I know we said no more resurrections but...just the one, por favor? 👀 (for legal reasons, this is a joke, and by legal reasons I mean don't come for me, I'm fragile)

Anyway, in conclusion, Grady is a venin. I will be taking no questions at this time.

[heartfeltletters-written]

we never knew peace - chapter update

start from the beginning

“I wouldn’t say they’re false rumors since you barely made it out alive.” He kept provoking, watching her to see how far he could push. Imogen closed her first, but other than that contained herself, which Violet was glad for. This game would be fun to play.

She gave him a wide smile, “Tell me Major Varrish, are you watching your back?” He furrowed his brows but didn’t turn, his ego too great to do exactly what she was provoking him to do “Would you be able to leave a fight unscarred if someone sneaked on you? Put a dagger to your throat, ready to slice it, would you be able to make it out alive?”

[biggestqiblifan]

I need Major Varrish to die already.

Also, VIOLET IS BACK WITH THE SASS!

[krispysnovelideas]

varrish just gives me major ick

mans is so greasy he can be used to oil a wok twice over to fry rice

[maybeclever]

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros- Book Review (Spoilers after the cut)

Rating: 3.75/5

I adored the first book in this series. I thought Violet was a strong, relatable character, and it was refreshing to have disabled MC in a high fantasy setting-especially a setting so focused on violence and warfare.

Going into this book, I was worried by its turn around time. I understand that novels can be drafted for years before they reach a publisher, but it's always a warning sign in my head when sequels come out so quickly. And I'm afraid, to a certain extent, time was not on Iron Flame's side. I love the epic fantasy genre, so length doesn't scare me away, but for what happened in this novel, it was WAY too long.

Plotwise, it was just fine. I liked some of the things that were done, and others I did not. And, like all novels, the climax built up the tension and there's epic scenarios, but the resolution left me just… fine.

That's not to say there was stuff I didn't enjoy. There was a lot I did. There was great growth in side characters, and we saw the introduction of great new characters and got to explore new signets. That said, a lot of what I did like contains spoilers so I need to save that for under the cut.

Overall, it's the second book in a five book series. It suffered from major second book syndrome, and I just worry that there's not enough substance to sustain a five book series. What I enjoyed, I enjoyed a lot, but we'll see how far that carries the series.

SPOILERS BELOW FOR PLOT SPECIFIC LIKES AND DISLIKES

Likes: Violet had a conflicted reaction to Brennan's survival. Violet chose to believe in her friends over keeping secrets. Violet called Xaden out when his protective instincts turned smothering rather than supportive. Andarna being disabled was surprising, but rooted in character decision which made it so impactful. The idea to offer representation this way was bold, and refreshing, and I adored it. Secret 7th dragon type. Lilith Sorrengail was a flawed person and mother, but she loved her children until the end. Most of Part 1 as a whole

Dislikes: It felt like Yarros knew what story beats she wanted Vi and Xaden's relationship to hit at the beginning and end, but because the book was so long, they moved in circles CONSTANTLY. Any growth was always immediately forgotten for the sake of drama. Varrish was a terrifying and horrible man that was built up to be a terrible villain and road block for the characters. He only lasted half the novel. I wish we had more time to come to terms with Lilith's love for her children. Even if she died early book 3 instead, it would have felt more impactful. It still was emotional, but I didn't find it to be as heart wrenching as she was aiming for. I'm gonna say it. I wasn't a die hard Xaden fan after the first book, his refusal to see Vi's side in this book annoyed me, and his "sacrifice" at the end didn't affect me. Is he endgame? Yes, probably. Am I excited by that prospect? Not if it's all going to be like this.

[glenrocklibraryteens]

Book Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Title: Fourth Wing Author: Rebecca Yarros Page Count: 623 Pages Genres: Fantasy, Romance Rating: 3 stars This sequel to Fourth Wing picks up right where the last book left off. Violet’s world has been turned upside down after the major plot at the end of the first novel, and she must return to Basgaith War College with an entirely new understanding of the nation she lives in. Before reading this book, I heard it wasn’t as good as the first one. Although I have to agree with that, I did thoroughly enjoy this book and found myself just obsessed with the story as Fourth Wing. The highlights were the characterization of Violet and Xaden, as well as smaller characters like Rhiannon and Ridoc. I loved the banter between Tairn and Violet, which I personally think was even stronger in this book than the first. I also liked reading about how Violet’s guilt about Liam manifested throughout the story. I thought the drama between Violet and Xaden was too drawn-out, and the plot itself was a low point for me. Many of the scenes felt very unnecessary, especially considering how Violet struggled to make progress towards her main goal in the story. Throughout the book, she tries to discover how to raise wards that would save countless lives. Instead of progressing towards this goal, she continued to try and fail. The true solution felt very convenient after she struggled so much. Many moments in the book felt as though they were only dangerous or high-stakes to add more action to the book. They didn’t serve any true importance to the plot, and on some occasions, the characters even acknowledged that some near-lethal challenges only occurred for ‘bonding’ and were not even necessary within the world. This took away from the emotional impact of character deaths during these scenes. Although I think the majority of the characters were portrayed with depth and realistic actions, I had trouble taking the new villain seriously. Varrish often felt cartoonishly evil, as his personal motivations were never fully explained. He was cruel and murderous for the sake of it, and I never felt like there was a proper reason for his actions. He stood out among the rest of the cast because of how 2-dimensional he seemed. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the first one. It wasn’t perfect, but I found it very entertaining and absorbing. I would also recommend it for someone looking for an easy fantasy read, as the world-building is very interesting but the plot is not particularly refined. I read this book on vacation and found it to be a perfect beach read. It is not necessarily a good book for someone who wants a rich plot, but there were still many twists and turns that I enjoyed.

[theheelerbooklifereads]

It took me about 55 days of reading Iron Flame and I have finally finished!

I will not summarize Iron Flame due to Fourth Wing spoilers, but I will say it picks up right off where Fourth Wing ended.

First of all, Iron Flame in my opinion still falls under the category of romantasy, but I feel like this installment heavily skirts towards high fantasy. With this on edging more on higher fantasy, it has reminded me of the reason why I love fantasy so much. For majority of reading Iron Flame, I ended up tabbing and annotating the book (towards the end I stopped because tabbing and annotating with a broken wrist is a real pain) and I found that this book has so much more world building.

For the first chunk of the book, I spent so much time wanting to chuck my book across the room whenever a certain new character showed up. You know how many of us hate Dain? Well, let's just say Dain is more of a delight compared to the new character named Varrish.

Fourth Wing had me loving Tairn and his snark, but Iron Flame had me loving Adarana more. With her being in her adolescent phase, she was constantly challenging everyone, snarky, defiant, curious, angry, and well to summarize-she really embodies and nails the whole teenager phase. I was totally here for the grumpy, old man Tairn and defiant, teenage Adarana dynamic.

Xaden and Violet were great and their relationship is continuing to grow as they learn to trust one another. I find their relationship to be pretty real with having to learn trust, respect, and how to be vulnerable in a relationship.

I had so many theories running wild that I would write on sticky notes in my book. Some were right, some were in the ballpark, and some of them were utterly wrong. I kept hearing how shocking the ending is and while I found it to be an oh crap moment, I was not left in shock and I think that is because I knew beforehand it was something big, so I was prepared. Plus, there is a storyline from a popular book series from the mid 2000s that reminded of the direction of where that storyline is going.

Overall, Iron Flame was so good and I loved it more than Fourth Wing (even though I loved Fourth Wing a lot) since this was more high stakes, more world building, discovery of secrets/the world/the characters individually/relationships.

I am really looking forward to book three.

[fw-gt]

Okay, here’s my long ass $0.02 again…

Iron Flame spoilers obviously

To me, he’s kind of a parallel to Dain. Ultimately, I think he let ambition and conditioning get the best of him.

Violet puts a lot of trust in Nolon, has pleasant memories of him (he clearly has always taken care of her), and she has a positive outlook on him to begin with, just like she did with Dain. For the majority of her life, he was a symbol of good.

I think it’s worth noting that when Violet describes Nolan the first time we meet him, Violet says, “The man is 84 if he’s a day.” So he’s older than Lilith, older than Melgren, and he probably knows he has limited time left to leave some kind of legacy.

So I think Nolon started out “good” and that he meant well throughout most of the story, but when leadership approached him with the challenge of mending a venin, he saw it as his opportunity to leave himself a legacy, and a damn impressive one. One that would be celebrated for years, and if it worked, one that could save a lot of souls.

Some quotes to back this up:

I think he genuinely had high hopes for mending Jack, because when Jack ruins the ward stone, Nolon says, “Jack don’t do this…You’re better than this. You can choose!”

But I think it was more ambition driven than he’s willing to let himself admit because when Xaden is reading his intentions during that same scene, Violet says, “It’s almost like he expected this,” and Xaden replies, “Because he did. He wants to mend him. He’s been trying to mend him since May. He’s too weak to shield his intentions now.”

I think he was ambitious and wanted to leave his mark on the world. Maybe go out with a bang. But he also wanted to do something good.

And as far as drugging and torturing Violet goes, I don’t think he did either of those things without some burden on his conscience. Yes, he had the opportunity to defy Varrish (like he did in their original RSC training when he left the door unlocked for her and distracted Varrish so they could escape), but he insisted Varrish give Violet a chance to explain, and it wasn’t until she avoided explaining that he begrudgingly gave in to the torture. He truly believed Violet to be a traitor at that point, and Varrish didn’t give him much choice beyond outright insubordination.

Some more quotes to back up my thoughts

Nolon clearly didn’t want Violet to be tortured because after he drugged her, he says things like, “Clear this up quickly and we can return to trusting each other.” And, “I wanted to be wrong, but then Markham sounded the alarm…and I saw you standing in the courtyard with a scribe satchel.” And when Violet implies that it could’ve been a different book in the satchel, he says, “And had that been the case, you would’ve woken up in the infirmary with a headache and my most sincere apologies.” Varrish also acknowledges in this part that Nolon insisted on giving her a chance to talk before any torture.

This is a man who has been a Navarrian dragon rider for almost 65 years. That’s over half a century of being conditioned to follow orders and to believe Navarre’s military and leadership are the pinnacle of good. That’s 64 years of trusting a system and believing that their approach of risking lives outside of Navarre to ensure the safety of those within its borders is the righteous path. That’s so, so much conditioning that he would have to undo in the matter of like 7 months. Dain’s conditioning and rule following only spanned over 21 years. I’m not trying to negate the impact that had on Dain. 21 years is also a long time to believe in something and to be molded into the person someone else wants you to be, but Nolon has committed his whole life to this cause. I think he’s just really been conditioned to believe that Navarre is on the right side of history, therefore Violet is a traitor. And he probably doesn’t want to accept that what he’s fought for over the past 64 years could be wrong.

So I view him similarly to how I view Dain. My instinct is to hate him, but when you take a step back you can see the influences that led to his decisions, and can make excuses for him in a way. And I think now that he sees the destruction his ambition and conditioning have allowed, he would probably go back and change it if he could…just like Dain. I think the biggest difference is that he isn’t a dumb (I say this affectionately) 21 year old. He’s a fully grown man who shouldn’t have been so weak.

Editing to add that even though I think Nolon would’ve been “good” while Angel was there, I don’t think she would’ve had the best experience with him. Not because of anything that he did wrong, but because I imagine he would’ve mentored her like he probably did Brennan. And since they were wrong about her signet and she was in pain any time she tried to use it, his influence to her probably would’ve had negative connotations, even if it was just subconsciously.

I’m doing more outlining for our fave healer gf and I have another question for the assembly: how do we feel about Nolon?

I have mixed feelings (tipping toward negative)… I know he used to mend Violet’s injuries all the time and he was really nice to her back then, but then the whole thing with him mending Jack Barlowe (was that him trying to cure Jack, or was he in on the evil plan??) and him drugging Violet(?!)…

edit to add: and him mending her over and over when she was being tortured / interrogated and not objecting at all??

do we think he ended up on the right side of things by the battle at Basgiath? was he even there? :[