#wof analysis

like there’s blue. who despite being of the oppressed class was at first fine with it. just like “yeah we can’t choose our mates and yeah we can’t enter hivewing areas without permission and when we do we’re treated like freaks. but that’s just how it is. it’s supposed to be like that :)”. and it ends up being him being a more direct victim, but having a community of those around him (luna, swordtail, io, and then cricket) to show him that it’s not okay. that just because the hives are built with the silkwings at the bottom doesn’t mean it should be. and eventually seeing his own past idea of helplessness with the other flame silks in the prison. and just shows that you can be against this social stratification without necessarily having to be violent. there are other actions that can be taken.

then with cricket. it’s all (as i’ve read so far. once again. haven’t finished but can see where things are going) about her truly realizing the depths of the struggles of the lower classes. first with her connecting with blue over not being under queen wasps hivemind control and protecting him. to then how she is with sundew. when cricket has been indoctrinated her entire life with propaganda. that leaf wings are evil, they’re violent, they want the downfall of hive society, they’re assholes. then the first first leafwing she meets is exactly as she was warned. with sundew being an asshole in personality and wanting to quite literally burn down the hives. one of their first interactions is sundew basically forcing blue and cricket to steal the book of clearsight for her. yet cricket finds the humanity in her. sees that sundew and the leaf wings have been hurt irrevocably so by the genocide. that she’s not as bad as the propaganda would make it seem and knowing that she is deserving of life. and developing more and more empathy. when they see the statue of queen wasp killing a leafwing while trying to contact the chrysalis she realizes how fuxked up that is and they she never stopped to consider it before. never put much thought into it besides just “yeah that’s the statue showing the might of queen wasp” and not even realizing it was a leafwing.

just like. overall it talks a lot about various peoples in society. those that are oppressed but try to be one of the Good Ones™️ and those of the oppressors that are only recently realizing their internalized biases.

I've seen a lot of people saying that the ship felt rushed and I don't particularly agree.

(post doesn't contain spoilers to the plot, just a couple of words they shared with eachother and briefly mentions Mulberry's condition)

1. Umber to Mulberry

See, Umber was delirious when they first met, hence his strong reaction to Mulberry:

"Maybe Umber was delirious from nearly dying, but it looked like the kindest, most handsome, noblest face he'd ever seen in his whole almost-too-short life. (…) Even his voice was kind and handsome and noble. The most perfect voice in the world. As if the moons could sing. (Umber was definitely a little delirious.) (…) He felt as though he should sit up, but he also didn't want to move and have those warm talons let go of him. Also, the world seemed to be doing a bit of a weird swooping in and out thing."

Can still call it rushed and simplified but imo counting what the target audience is and what the circumstances were, it wasn't handled that bad?

Later he wasn't so sure about Mulberry's reaction to his feelings, hesitant on how to act ("How could he possibly compete with all the dragons who adored him? Probably Mulberry wasn't thinking about him either... although sometimes their eyes would catch across a courtyard, as though Mulberry was looking for him, too.").

Also, Umber has a type- he already had a crush on Qibli, a warm extrovert loved by the masses, a type of a leader (?) (Umber looks like he misses Reed's reassurance and needs someone confirming that he does things well, Peril-like, which isn't too good to himself but that's who he is now)

And right after escaping Jade Mountain, he found Mulberry, warm, reassuring dragon, liked by the masses. And it's honestly kind of fun how often he tries to find in Mulberry someone who could lead him (like Reed did) but Mulberry simply isn't that kind of dragon. Two idiots waiting for the other to make a move

2. Mulberry to Umber

Umber fell for him quick and Mulberry slowly responded, we could see he was anxious knowing what Umber feels and maybe connecting it to the effect he has on all dragons.

"<Oh> Mulberry said, setting the seaweed down without meeting Umber's eyes. <<Um, that's a really sweet offer. Thank you.>> Something about the way he said it sounded more like a no than a yes, though. (...) A wave of anxious kindness swept through Umber (...) There were no specific words, but the feeling was warmth, curiosity, gentleness, and no, no, I really like you, too. He looked up in surprise and Mulberry let go of him quickly, as though he'd said too much, even though he hadn't said anything at all."

"<<I don't know... They think I'm, sort of, doing magic? And maybe I could teach it to them, except honestly I'm not doing anything on purpose and I can't pass it along. So I keep thinking eventually they'll realize that and then decide it's unfair and be so mad at me.>>

<<I can't imagine anyone being mad at you,>> Umber said. <<I bet they would love you even if you weren't magic.>>

Mulberry looked down at his talons and didn't answer."

3. Mulberry

Mulbery is anti-Peril, everyone loves him but only for his power. And Umber is like Clay (not only for liking a red lad), he loves him despite it, wanting him to just be happy

The mountain range of Pantala is said to be cursed because of the mysterious ruins there, which Wasp destroyed all evidence of. This is because they held the BeetleWing palace. It is generally avoided because of this and because of the extremely harsh conditions.

SilkWings can be (almost) cleanly separated into the more moth-like SilkWings (thicker build, floofier, slightly duller scales, larger wings, but smaller overall) and more butterfly-like SilkWings (slimmer, longer antennae, less flexible wings, curled claws, MUCH flashier colours).

HiveWings aren’t all descended from ClearSight: when ClearSight saved everyone, BeetleWings started trying to have dragonets with more black scales as a tribute to her. The only HiveWings really descended from ClearSight are the royal family: the idea that all HiveWings are her family is (VERY) old propaganda to make HiveWings seem superior.

Kestrel shifted her wings in a shrug. "I have no idea. Webs scrounged you up somewhere after we lost the SkyWing egg. I never cared where, because I knew you weren't important."

"Oh, go away!" Tsunami burst out. "Everything you say is hurtful and mean."

"Everything I say is true," Kestrel said.

"I don't think you'd be good for me," Peril said, staring up at her. "I never imagined you like this."

Kestrel hunched her shoulders. "I am the way life has made me. Take it or leave it."

I genuinely don't understand anyone who says that Kestrel could've had a "redemption arc." Her response to her own long lost daughter saying that she never thought she'd be this cruel is just going, "This is how I am, and nothing will ever change that."

Kestrel herself admits in the second to last scene we ever see her in that this is just how she is and there's no room for improvement for her. If she truly believes this (which I think she does because if not she would've changed something about herself before now) then there's nothing anybody can do to help her.

This is why I'm satisfied with Kestrel dying the way she did. There was nowhere for her to go, her character ends here because she's denied herself change over and over again. She decided to constantly take her anger out on children for 6 years, she decided to treat them as horribly as she possibly could, even now when finally reunited with Peril she acts the same as she always had.

Can we just. can we just talk about how much they love each other

Snowfall is such a guarded person, and Lynx slipped past those walls so easily. At first, it scared Snowfall. Lynx knew that it would, and she was so, so careful and intentional with letting her know that yes, she knew her. Snowfall noticed that. She saw how deliberate Lynx was, and was terrified because nobody had ever seen through to her core the way that Lynx did. But Snowfall trusted her. Every single safeguard and threat and word that Snowfall had thrown at her had been so gently caught and placed to the side that she couldn't help but trust this dragon, who saw her and knew her so much more than anyone ever had, and still didn't hate her.

And three moons, the sheer amount of love and adoration that Lynx has for her. She loves her chaotic wife so much. They balance each other out so well, both pushing each other to be better because of their competitive nature. Lynx's patience balances out Snowfall's impulsivity. Snowfall is dense - but Lynx is blunt.

They're both smart but such idiots around each other and I think that's honestly such a special dynamic 'cause like, Snowfall is the queen. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't let her guard down or her mask fall the way it does around Lynx. Lynx puts her at ease so much - such to the point that Snowfall can be the silly chaotic impulsive dragon she is without any anxiety.

And honestly? Let's be real - Lynx had been pining long before the courtyard scene. Snowfall is dense as a glacier so she wouldn't have noticed anyways. Lynx is an observant dragon, we know that about her. And Snowfall? At first glance, she appears to wear her heart on her scales - just an arrogant, contentious, bossy princess. But when you look deeper, none of that is true at all. She's not contentious, she's stressed because her future depends on her being better than her sister. She's not arrogant, she needs to look confident otherwise the royal officials will take advantage of her. She's not bossy, she's anxious and hates making decisions. But she needs to look competent, she needs to prove to everyone that she would be a better leader than her sister. Lynx noticed that. She never held it against Snowfall when she acted like that, because that's what it was. Acting.

And in the courtyard? She knew exactly what to do when she noticed Snowfall having an anxiety attack. If it had been anyone else, Snowfall would have reacted like she had been stabbed. But the way Lynx calmly removed the sensory distress from the situation, it was intentionally gentle and slow. Lynx didn't move suddenly, she didn't try to talk to Snowfall - that would have made her spiral more - she just wrapped her wings around her, without a word.

She knew exactly what to do. Lynx knew. she knew that Snowfall had these panic attacks. so she did for her what she did for herself. Lynx likely had panic attacks too - from stress about school and family relations. And whenever that happened to her, you know what she did? Lynx wrapped her wings around herself until she calmed down. Exactly like what she did for Snowfall that day. She knew, guys. She cares for Snowfall so much.

Lynx makes every effort to make Snowfall feel safe. She knows that being near other dragons is exhausting because of how much masking she has to do. It happens to her too. So she invites her to the one place no sensible icewing would be in the middle of the night unless they were an absolute seal-brain - the ocean. Where no eyes could see them, no ears could hear them, and the only sights and sounds were that of the ocean. And it works. Snowfall hates that Lynx was right, but it really does help her relax. Lynx isn't always right, but when it comes to Snowfall? She knows better than the rest of phyrria.

Three moons...

Thorn's introduction is so weird, especially compared to how she's characterized for the rest of the series. Like the first time she was introduced, I was fully convinced she was running the equivalent of the Sandwing mafia.

Like the first thing said about the Scorpion Den, where the Outclaws reside, is this:

Which, fine, they are Nightwings so obviously they'd have baised information. But when they go to meet the Outclaws, they're not allowed in without some sort of offering:

Okay, they are grown Nightwings, so I suppose a contribution might make sense since they'd probably not come because they're in need of something. Whatever. But he specifically said "no one" gets inside.

.

Anyway, Six-Claws finds Sunny hiding behind them and escorts her inside the city. She's approached by an assassin-for-hire and given his card and Six-Claws says this:

Mind you, Six-Claws is essentially Thorn's right-hand man.

Then we're introduced to the fact that the Outclaws feed dragonets:

This is something that's clearly meant to make them seem like good guys in both Sunny and the reader's eyes. But also, it's mentioned that most of the dragons here are starving or injured so they're likely impoverished. Which really begs the question, what were they giving to the Outclaws to get them to let them in? Isn't it kind of fucked up to demand something in exchange from a desperate dragon?

.

When they come across the Oasis the city is built around, we have this exchange:

You guys see how this sort of thing is a problem, right? Like this would read as villainous?

It would be one thing if this was prevention from any one group taking control of the water, but no. They control it because then they can control the city. Granted, guarding any sort of vital resource is automatically very suspicious regardless of how good your intentions are. But hey, they are intended to prevent crime and this is a very effective way of controlling the territory. Fine.

.

Anyway, we're introduced to Thorn and she kills Preyhunter. It would be one thing if Preyhunter had attacked her, but that's not at all what happened. I'll just put here the full excerpt:

This is not at all a reasonable reaction on Thorn's part. Generally, in any media, when someone kills the messenger, they're the bad guy or at the very least not the greatest pillar of morality. Because killing the messenger is a disregard of someone's life and a show of lack of emotional control considering you lashed out not at the person causing you harm, but the one who had the unfortunate job of telling it to you.

Hell, Preyhunter was the more reasonable one here. It takes Thorn grabbing him by the neck and throwing him on the ground, then threatening him with her tail, and then nearly burning him with fire for him to fight back. And does he use his built in throat flamethrower? No, he uses his claws instead. The way it's written heavily implies even this is just a blind panic reaction. And Thorn kills him.

.

The book never goes into how messed up this whole situation was. A few paragraphs later, we have these thoughts from Sunny:

Ah yes, murder is okay as long as you feel bad about it and the person attempted to defend themself.

Also she 100% did not have to do that. There's genuinely a level of insecurity you need to have to feel the need to prove to someone who is very clearly at your mercy that you have power over them.

.

It is later explained that Thorn does this because she thought Preyhunter was lying, but when Fierceteeth confirms that Morrowseer is in fact dead and the Nightwing Kingdom was destroyed, we have this:

Sunny is fully convinced Thorn intends to kill Fierceteeth for telling her a fact she doesn't like in a tone she also doesn't like.

If this were any other book, hell if this were any other character, they would be a villain. I actually genuinely can't think of a single villain in WoF who has killed some sort of messenger or bystander because they didn't like something that was told to them. Like, that is villain behavior 101.

When Sunny and Thorn mention killing Preyhunter, all she says is this:

"Yeah, sometimes you gotta show your gang your teeth by throwing down and killing a random dragon who let you know that the guy you hate is dead because you thought he was lying but as it turns out he wasn't lying and pretty much died for nothing, Beetle"

"Beetle?"

"My pet name for you!"

Am I tripping or is the sudden shift in conversation weird? After this Thorn is presented as being level-headed, kind, wise, and, in general, a good leader.

.

So what we have is:

You must give something to the Outclaws to be allowed into the Scorpion Den

Said Scorpion Den is full of impoverished and injured dragons likely fleeing the horrors of the war

It's implied Six-Claws at least has hired the services of enough assassins to recognize that the one here is "too expensive" and "barely competent"

The Outclaws feed dragonets up to the age of 8 for free every day

The Outclaws control the only water supply in order to control the town

Thorn kills a guy who tells her a message she doesn't like and dismisses this action as "showing your teeth" essentially

Please, I need to know it's not just me. Like this reads as some sort of desert mafia, right?

It would be one thing if just Sunny herself was idealizing Thorn because she was her mother and realized she wasn't as good as she thought she was, but no. All of the Outlcaws' and Thorn's actions are not only justified, but seen as a necessity in the narrative.