Ramblers Rising - Red Rising Chapters 16-19

[00:00:00] Should we play our intro?

[00:00:02] Oh yes, I am so ready

[00:00:05] No you're not

[00:00:07] What?

[00:00:08] He thinks he's ready, he's not

[00:00:31] Hello and welcome back to another new episode of Ramblers Rising. I'm your host Richard

[00:00:36] And I'm your other host Aaron

[00:00:40] And today we're going to be going over chapters 16-19 of Red Rising

[00:00:46] These are some good chapters

[00:00:48] Hell yeah they are, this is going to take us to the end of part 2

[00:00:54] Oh really, this is right up to the end of part 2, we're making good progress

[00:00:59] Yeah, it's uh, not my favorite part of the book, but that's alright

[00:01:04] You know, we get some big things happening though

[00:01:07] Darrow becomes a gold, the thing that happens at the end of this part is kind of fire, I'm not gonna lie

[00:01:15] Get to learn a little bit more about the Peerless Scarred as well, which is really interesting

[00:01:19] Get some good lore drops in this set of chapters

[00:01:22] Yeah, Nero does not stop yapping about how amazing the Peerless Scarred are

[00:01:28] He really

[00:01:29] I mean, let's be honest, Nero O. Augustus is always glazing the golds

[00:01:34] Yeah, but not like I glazed Cassius, so

[00:01:37] I mean, he's not even dedicated

[00:01:40] You have no idea, I would glaze Cassius so much more if you knew about his later stuff

[00:01:46] Well, looks like we gotta get through this book and then halfway through Golden Sun for me to finally understand

[00:01:52] Looks like we gotta get through fucking Dark Age to understand, buddy

[00:01:56] Oh, oh, yikes

[00:02:00] Yeah, yeah, idiot

[00:02:02] Richard, what have you been up to lately?

[00:02:06] Um, Terrifier 3

[00:02:07] That's a wonderful combo

[00:02:09] I mean, not quite, but you know

[00:02:12] Well, Terrifier was fucking disgusting, but

[00:02:15] If you're into horror and gory, nasty shit, highly recommend

[00:02:20] Yeah

[00:02:22] Personally, I don't know if I'll be watching that

[00:02:25] I'm like sort of a horror

[00:02:29] enjoyer

[00:02:30] I wouldn't say I'm a fan though

[00:02:31] Like every once in a while I'll watch a horror movie and enjoy it

[00:02:34] But the whole slasher flick thing

[00:02:37] Watch Hereditary

[00:02:38] I've seen Hereditary

[00:02:40] Oh, I so have

[00:02:42] Oh my god

[00:02:44] The lower

[00:02:47] So

[00:02:50] With this set of chapters

[00:02:53] How do we start off here?

[00:02:54] What do we want to jump into first?

[00:02:57] Yo mom

[00:02:57] Uh, we're gonna jump into

[00:02:59] Chapter 16

[00:03:00] The Institute

[00:03:02] Ooh, this

[00:03:03] Not gonna lie

[00:03:04] Some of the information in these chapters

[00:03:06] Kind of

[00:03:08] A little more than we need

[00:03:09] And I was kind of fumbling for

[00:03:12] What to even put in this outline, but

[00:03:14] That's alright

[00:03:15] We can always

[00:03:16] This can be a little bit of a shorter

[00:03:18] Like wrap up episode for the

[00:03:20] Part

[00:03:21] Yeah

[00:03:22] Just cause there really is like less

[00:03:25] Content in these few chapters

[00:03:27] Yeah, we definitely get like some character introductions

[00:03:29] But that's about it

[00:03:31] In this

[00:03:32] We do find out though

[00:03:34] Darrow

[00:03:35] He gets his test results

[00:03:37] And they

[00:03:39] They go through like this really long

[00:03:41] Questionnaire like vetting process

[00:03:42] To make sure he didn't cheat

[00:03:45] Because

[00:03:45] My boy Darrow only missed one question

[00:03:48] Out of a couple hundred

[00:03:51] Yeah, I

[00:03:53] I love the idea that they're like

[00:03:55] Oh this motherfucker

[00:03:56] He's so good at this

[00:03:58] We need to check if he's cheating

[00:03:59] Cause I don't think that they do that for anyone else

[00:04:02] No one else performs well enough that they

[00:04:03] Feel the need to examine them that closely

[00:04:06] I think they did it for like

[00:04:09] A couple other people

[00:04:10] But yeah

[00:04:12] It's very rare that it's

[00:04:14] Like this

[00:04:16] I mean Darrow actually gets

[00:04:19] A little

[00:04:19] A little award for

[00:04:21] You know, once he gets into the Institute

[00:04:23] He gets an award for being so

[00:04:25] Smart and awesome and goaded

[00:04:27] Yeah, and before sending Darrow

[00:04:30] Straight into the belly of the beast

[00:04:31] And

[00:04:33] Essentially throwing him into the deep end

[00:04:35] The sons of Ares give him a Pegasus necklace

[00:04:39] And it opens up when he says Ayo's name

[00:04:41] And he chooses to put the

[00:04:44] Hymanthus pedal in it

[00:04:46] That he brought with him from his hometown

[00:04:49] Yeah, it is kind of like a cute little

[00:04:51] Cute little

[00:04:54] Memento

[00:04:54] And it's nice that he always will have that with him

[00:04:58] Yeah, I agree

[00:04:59] I think that

[00:05:01] Having a little piece of Ayo

[00:05:03] With him is really

[00:05:05] It's a good reminder for him

[00:05:07] I like we said a few times in the past few episodes

[00:05:11] Having those reminders of where he came from

[00:05:13] It's going to be so important for him to hold on to

[00:05:16] I guess his humanity

[00:05:18] Not just like his heritage as a Red

[00:05:21] But holding on to what makes him different from the other golds

[00:05:24] Now that he's physically the same

[00:05:27] Yeah, and we do definitely see in this

[00:05:29] Batch of chapters

[00:05:30] He starts to kind of like

[00:05:33] Drift into the gold mindset here and there

[00:05:35] I mean

[00:05:36] We'll obviously talk more on that later

[00:05:38] But it's very interesting that he really does drift into it

[00:05:42] Like he starts calling people pixies

[00:05:44] He starts feeling the need to humiliate people

[00:05:47] All that crap

[00:05:49] Yeah, the power goes to his head a little bit, doesn't it?

[00:05:53] I mean shit, if I looked like Daryl Olikos

[00:05:55] Sorry, Al Andromedus

[00:05:58] I would have the power going all to my head

[00:06:00] It'd be crazy

[00:06:02] Yeah, because what, he's like eight feet tall

[00:06:04] Just pure muscle

[00:06:08] He's definitely

[00:06:09] There's a reason why the golds have a bit of a superiority complex

[00:06:13] The power goes to their head just a little bit, I would say

[00:06:18] No, really? They would never

[00:06:19] People in power would never abuse it

[00:06:22] That's never happened before

[00:06:24] Absolutely not

[00:06:25] And we get an introduction to a really important character

[00:06:28] That sticks with us through the entire series

[00:06:31] Julian

[00:06:32] Yes, Julian

[00:06:34] Sorry, go ahead

[00:06:35] I was just going to say that he's a young gold

[00:06:39] And a relative of another character that we're going to meet in a little bit

[00:06:43] And they talk, they bond a little bit

[00:06:45] He's kind of a smaller kid, right?

[00:06:48] Yeah, he's smaller

[00:06:50] He's...

[00:06:51] He really does glaze his brother

[00:06:53] I can't blame him

[00:06:55] But yeah, he's a smaller kid

[00:06:57] And he really does look up to his older brother

[00:07:00] That's kind of like the focus of...

[00:07:02] Not the focus of their conversation

[00:07:04] But they talk a lot about his older brother without giving away his name

[00:07:08] Mm-hmm

[00:07:10] Yeah

[00:07:12] We get another really important character introduction

[00:07:16] Oh my god, I love this guy

[00:07:18] I know you do too

[00:07:19] Yeah, he's one of my favorite characters

[00:07:22] A small kid with some anger issues shows up

[00:07:25] And he insults Darrow and Julian immediately

[00:07:28] And this kid is named Severo

[00:07:30] He has the nickname Goblin

[00:07:35] I'm not sure

[00:07:35] Does he have the nickname yet?

[00:07:37] He's...

[00:07:38] No, he gets it like first day in the Institute

[00:07:42] So in like four chapters

[00:07:43] But I mean...

[00:07:45] He's called a goblin because he's a fucking small kid

[00:07:48] And his temper and also he has some goblin habits

[00:07:51] Yeah, he definitely does

[00:07:53] But he's such an amazing character

[00:07:57] He definitely is top three for me

[00:07:59] I love this guy

[00:07:59] Yeah, he's...

[00:08:01] He's five

[00:08:03] I'd say he's five

[00:08:04] And then Mustang

[00:08:05] My beloved gets fourth

[00:08:07] And then...

[00:08:09] You know my top three

[00:08:10] My top three is goaded

[00:08:11] I do

[00:08:12] And Goblin slash Severo

[00:08:15] gives them a little bit of lore dump

[00:08:17] Telling about the passage

[00:08:19] Which is an important test in the Institute

[00:08:21] Richard, what does Severo tell them about this passage?

[00:08:26] Honestly?

[00:08:27] Kind of nothing

[00:08:28] He really just tells them that it's an important like...

[00:08:31] It's an important part of the Institute

[00:08:33] And that it kind of like culls off the weaker kids

[00:08:35] But we don't actually know how

[00:08:38] Or anything

[00:08:38] We don't really know what...

[00:08:40] What happens in the passage

[00:08:42] We just know that it exists

[00:08:44] And that it's very...

[00:08:47] Scary...

[00:08:47] Yeah...

[00:08:49] And then Nero Augustus

[00:08:52] The Arch Governor of Mars

[00:08:55] Gives a little speech to the Institute kids

[00:08:57] And he talks about the importance of the scar

[00:09:01] And explains that those with it are without equal

[00:09:06] Or...

[00:09:07] Peerless!

[00:09:17] Peerless!

[00:09:19] Yeah...

[00:09:20] It's a solid like...

[00:09:21] Two pages...

[00:09:22] I wanna say...

[00:09:23] Like it's really just talking about like...

[00:09:25] Discrimination against the low colors

[00:09:27] Is based...

[00:09:28] Even though it's actually not...

[00:09:30] He's lying...

[00:09:31] And how the might of gold...

[00:09:35] We're amazing...

[00:09:37] You know...

[00:09:37] And you guys aren't any pixie whelps

[00:09:39] I think I remember that exact phrasing

[00:09:43] Yeah...

[00:09:44] It's once again showing us that...

[00:09:47] Nero Augustus and the golds in power are just...

[00:09:51] They're ruthless and they want to instill that in the new generation

[00:09:55] So...

[00:09:56] And you already see Darrow kind of adopting that mindset

[00:09:59] Like you mentioned earlier that Darrow is kind of leaning into the whole pixie...

[00:10:04] Uh... pixie thing and...

[00:10:06] Going on a bit of a power trip and...

[00:10:08] It's just...

[00:10:09] I think that...

[00:10:11] It rubs off on them very quickly

[00:10:12] I also think it's interesting that the Arch Governor of Mars would show up to the Institute himself

[00:10:18] But yeah...

[00:10:19] So there's...

[00:10:20] And this is like some lore that we get later but it's not...

[00:10:23] I wouldn't consider it spoilers...

[00:10:24] It's just world building...

[00:10:25] There's only one Institute on each planet...

[00:10:29] So...

[00:10:30] That's like the most important...

[00:10:31] And that's obviously the most important like school for the golds...

[00:10:34] So that's why he...

[00:10:35] I think he technically runs it...

[00:10:38] Um...

[00:10:38] I don't know that much about the like bureaucracy lore though...

[00:10:43] Yeah...

[00:10:44] It's kind of an interesting idea that...

[00:10:46] In addition to his position as a governor...

[00:10:50] That he's also...

[00:10:53] Kind of the head of the school leading the next generation of Martian golds...

[00:10:58] Yeah...

[00:11:00] So...

[00:11:00] The kind of dual importance of...

[00:11:03] Raising a new generation to be ruthless while also ruling is...

[00:11:07] I think it's interesting...

[00:11:09] He's kind of a mentor in some capacity to all of these kids...

[00:11:13] Yeah...

[00:11:14] And we definitely will see that later on...

[00:11:16] But um...

[00:11:17] Next up in his speech...

[00:11:18] He also mentions Persephone...

[00:11:21] Who is the...

[00:11:21] The red girl who sang the silly song and then got murdered for it...

[00:11:25] I think this is the first mention of her...

[00:11:27] I'm not gonna lie...

[00:11:28] I might have missed it...

[00:11:29] But I think that's it...

[00:11:31] So she's becoming like this...

[00:11:36] Ethereal...

[00:11:36] I don't know what word...

[00:11:38] I'm kind of fumbling right now...

[00:11:41] Like almost...

[00:11:42] Like saint-like or a martyr...

[00:11:44] For the cause...

[00:11:46] Yes...

[00:11:47] That's what I meant...

[00:11:49] Yeah...

[00:11:51] And...

[00:11:51] Nero does end his speech by saying that he will scar them...

[00:11:55] They gotta fucking earn it...

[00:11:57] He doesn't use those exact words...

[00:11:59] But...

[00:11:59] Well yeah...

[00:12:00] But close enough...

[00:12:01] He's like...

[00:12:02] You will be scarred by my sword...

[00:12:04] But first you must earn it...

[00:12:07] Yeah...

[00:12:08] Which I think is another interesting part of the whole ritual of becoming a peerless scarred is that...

[00:12:14] As the head of the institute and the arch governor of Mars...

[00:12:17] He is the one who does it himself...

[00:12:19] Which is...

[00:12:20] It's very cool...

[00:12:22] Yeah...

[00:12:22] And I also think it's interesting...

[00:12:24] That they get it on their fate...

[00:12:26] Like everyone gets it on their cheekbone...

[00:12:29] It's a very...

[00:12:31] Like I get that it's supposed to be like very out there...

[00:12:34] Because it's...

[00:12:34] It's status and that's the gold's whole thing...

[00:12:36] But it's just kind of crazy...

[00:12:38] It is...

[00:12:40] It's another one of those pieces of this society that has some kind of religious or culty like undertones...

[00:12:47] You know...

[00:12:47] Where there's this whole process of getting a scar on your face after going through all of these trials and tribulations to become a top member of the society...

[00:12:59] And the whole process of going from being a gold to becoming a peerless scarred is...

[00:13:06] It feels very ceremonial...

[00:13:10] And...

[00:13:10] I don't know...

[00:13:11] I feel like I always kind of look at things through kind of a spiritual or religious lens a little bit...

[00:13:16] Even though I'm not very religious...

[00:13:19] But I just find traditions and religious ceremonies really interesting...

[00:13:25] So I...

[00:13:26] I see a lot of allusions to that in the way that the golds operate...

[00:13:32] Yeah, no, for sure...

[00:13:33] I mean, they're with you...

[00:13:34] That's why I think...

[00:13:35] Because he does...

[00:13:36] Pierce does a really good rap with...

[00:13:38] You know, building on those themes...

[00:13:40] I'm excited for whatever he does next after Red Rising...

[00:13:44] He said fantasy...

[00:13:45] Like high or dark fantasy...

[00:13:47] And that's gonna be fire...

[00:13:48] That is...

[00:13:49] Yeah, I'm...

[00:13:50] I gotta read that whenever he gets around to writing it...

[00:13:53] Because...

[00:13:54] I can just imagine the world building that he would put into a fantasy book...

[00:13:58] And...

[00:13:59] It gets me excited...

[00:14:01] Oh, you like world building and fantasy?

[00:14:03] You know what you should do?

[00:14:04] Read...

[00:14:05] Cosmere stuff, bro...

[00:14:07] I'll read Cosmere when you read Game of Thrones...

[00:14:11] I will read Game of Thrones when I'm done with Cosmere...

[00:14:13] I've got like...

[00:14:14] 15 more books...

[00:14:16] Or...

[00:14:18] Watch House of the Dragon...

[00:14:21] Mmm...

[00:14:21] Too hard...

[00:14:23] Wow...

[00:14:23] Okay...

[00:14:24] I see how it is...

[00:14:24] I don't even...

[00:14:24] Bro, I don't even have HBO...

[00:14:26] It actually is too hard...

[00:14:28] You can have my login, motherfucker...

[00:14:30] Oh my god...

[00:14:31] Free stuff...

[00:14:32] Let's go...

[00:14:32] Free stuff...

[00:14:33] Let me just read out my password on the air...

[00:14:37] Yeah...

[00:14:39] Okay...

[00:14:39] A...

[00:14:40] B... C...

[00:14:41] Mhmm...

[00:14:42] Mhmm...

[00:14:43] Mhmm...

[00:14:43] Yeah, shut up...

[00:14:44] Oh, that's it?

[00:14:45] Okay...

[00:14:46] Fuck you...

[00:14:48] And...

[00:14:48] Do you have anything else to add to chapter 16 before we move on to the next one?

[00:14:54] Um...

[00:14:55] Not really...

[00:14:55] Nero just likes to yap...

[00:14:57] I mean, he could be a rambler if he wasn't such a prideful son of a bitch...

[00:15:03] Yeah, he...

[00:15:04] I...

[00:15:05] I mean, we wouldn't fuck with him for other reasons, but he could be the fourth rambler...

[00:15:09] In another life...

[00:15:10] I mean, at this point, he can just take Chase's place.

[00:15:13] Fuck that guy.

[00:15:14] He beat me in Dragon Ball last night, and that hurt.

[00:15:18] He beat me in Crusader Kings last night, too.

[00:15:22] Sounds like we're in agreement, then.

[00:15:23] Let's get this guy out of here.

[00:15:26] Yeah...

[00:15:27] And...

[00:15:27] Let's move on to chapter 17, the draft.

[00:15:31] Richard, how does this chapter start off?

[00:15:34] Um...

[00:15:35] Starts off with the House Apollo, like, representative, the proctor, coming up to him and saying...

[00:15:41] Like, asking if he wants preference to House Apollo, given that that's, like, the house that his family...

[00:15:48] His fake family, anyways, has been in.

[00:15:50] And he...

[00:15:51] He says no, and in...

[00:15:53] I don't remember the wording, but the comment he makes is really cocky.

[00:15:57] And that's just showing us more of, like, that transformation into a goal, not just physically, but now more socially.

[00:16:04] Yeah.

[00:16:06] Now, do you think that Darrow is really adopting these traits as part of his personality, or is it still mostly an act that has kind of been instilled in him by characters like Mickey and the other people who trained him on how to be a gold?

[00:16:22] Well, so, at this point, it does seem like an act.

[00:16:26] In chapter 19, though, we get his internal thoughts on some stuff, and we know that it's not an act.

[00:16:32] Not fully, at least.

[00:16:34] But obviously, we'll have to get there in a little bit.

[00:16:37] Stop jumping ahead, bro.

[00:16:38] Come on.

[00:16:39] Calm down.

[00:16:39] Oh my goodness.

[00:16:41] Alright.

[00:16:43] Um...

[00:16:44] That's...

[00:16:46] Really interesting to me that he's just so fucking cocky.

[00:16:49] And I also like that he denies the whole House Apollo thing.

[00:16:54] It really does show that he's not trying too hard to fit into it to where it would become suspicious.

[00:17:02] Like, he's playing his role and he's playing it well, but he's not kind of overdoing it and being overzealous about being a part of his fake family's legacy.

[00:17:14] Yeah, he's more...

[00:17:16] Well, like, I think the...

[00:17:18] If I remember correctly, the exchange was like...

[00:17:20] They were talking about the test and he said...

[00:17:24] The proctor says, like, what do you think of your test results?

[00:17:28] And he says they speak for themselves.

[00:17:30] And the proctor's like, well, I asked you to speak for them.

[00:17:32] And he said...

[00:17:35] He said, like, I took a piss on your test.

[00:17:38] Which is true.

[00:17:39] He did kind of slay.

[00:17:40] Yeah.

[00:17:42] He took the piss out of it.

[00:17:44] He really did.

[00:17:46] As the British would say.

[00:17:47] As the British...

[00:17:48] You mean the gold brows would say.

[00:17:52] And the House Mars Proctor decides to approach Darrow.

[00:17:57] This is when they have a fun little exchange and the proctor punches him.

[00:18:05] Yeah.

[00:18:06] And tells him he can't punch back.

[00:18:08] And what does Darrow do, being the outside-the-box thinker that he is?

[00:18:12] He fucking kicks him in the shins.

[00:18:14] I love Darrow.

[00:18:15] He's so silly.

[00:18:16] It's so perfect.

[00:18:18] I absolutely...

[00:18:20] I love when he does shit like this.

[00:18:22] Because Darrow...

[00:18:25] Pierce Brown really has a good way of incorporating some comedic stuff into these books.

[00:18:32] Uh...

[00:18:33] And a lot of it just revolves around Darrow sort of bending the rules or operating outside of ways that you would typically think.

[00:18:43] So I really appreciate whenever he writes in something like this.

[00:18:47] Yeah.

[00:18:48] I definitely like that too.

[00:18:50] Just because like other books that I'm reading and stuff now, I'm starting to like guess stuff that there isn't a lot of like foreshadowing or hints at purely because I think of like, okay, there's some crazy out-of-the-box shit in Red Rising 24-7 that I just wouldn't expect.

[00:19:06] So I kind of used that train of thought.

[00:19:10] In like Stormlight especially.

[00:19:12] And Dante refuses to answer if I'm right or wrong on this thing.

[00:19:16] And he's just like, I think I'm right.

[00:19:18] And it's a huge implication for what's going to happen in the next book.

[00:19:22] But who knows?

[00:19:23] Who knows?

[00:19:24] Yeah.

[00:19:25] See, you're better than I am.

[00:19:26] If I had a question like that, I would probably Google it.

[00:19:29] I want to so bad.

[00:19:32] But like my favorite character in this series, my honor remains.

[00:19:36] Can't do that.

[00:19:38] Wow.

[00:19:39] Pretending he has honor.

[00:19:40] I see how it is.

[00:19:43] Yeah, I am lying through my teeth.

[00:19:45] But that's all right.

[00:19:49] Several proctors approach Darrow other than just the Mars and the Apollo proctors and ask him about his goals.

[00:19:58] And Proctor Mars is the one who ends up choosing Darrow after discussing with advisors.

[00:20:04] And one of his advocates ends up being Lorne O'Arcos, the third greatest man on Mars.

[00:20:13] Hell yeah.

[00:20:14] I love Lorne.

[00:20:15] He's so silly in Golden Sun.

[00:20:17] Yeah, he gets some really good characterization.

[00:20:21] He's just kind of like the badass, older, grizzled warrior.

[00:20:25] And I'm a sucker for characters like that.

[00:20:28] I am too.

[00:20:30] I like that he's become more of like a philosopher now that he's done being the quote unquote rage knight.

[00:20:36] Which, that's just a hard title.

[00:20:38] Come on.

[00:20:39] It is.

[00:20:41] And despite being the rage knight, he seems like a fairly put together and calculating person.

[00:20:48] He's not what you would expect from someone who had the title of the rage knight.

[00:20:54] Yeah, I definitely like meeting him after, you know, Darrow and Nero and pretty much everyone that talks about Lorne O'Arcos.

[00:21:04] Like he was considered the greatest Olympic knight for however long he was an Olympic knight.

[00:21:11] I think he was for like 40 years.

[00:21:13] Yeah, that sounds about right.

[00:21:16] Yeah.

[00:21:16] And like, they just again and again, oh my god, he's such an amazing warrior.

[00:21:21] And you meet him and he's more of a philosopher at this point.

[00:21:24] Like, obviously he could still, he could still piece some people up.

[00:21:29] But there's a lot more like philosophy ingrained into him now.

[00:21:33] And I enjoy that.

[00:21:34] I think it's a better way than just kill people.

[00:21:38] Yeah.

[00:21:38] Once again, I'm going to go back to a Game of Thrones comparison that Richard won't get because he hasn't watched it or read it.

[00:21:46] But.

[00:21:47] Unbelievable.

[00:21:48] Lorne O'Arcos is kind of like the Barristan Selmy of this universe.

[00:21:53] Like, member of the Kingsguard who is old and but is still able to cut some people up.

[00:22:02] We get a name for the Mars Proctor as well.

[00:22:05] His name is Fitchner.

[00:22:07] We do.

[00:22:08] I love Fitchner.

[00:22:09] He's a good character.

[00:22:10] I do too.

[00:22:11] He's a really cool guy and very charismatic too.

[00:22:15] Got a lot of charm.

[00:22:15] Oh, indeed.

[00:22:16] I mean, he's an asshole about it.

[00:22:18] Like the whole smacking Darrow and telling him he can't hit back.

[00:22:22] But he's silly.

[00:22:24] He gives some people their call signs.

[00:22:27] So he's kind of goaded for that.

[00:22:29] Yeah.

[00:22:30] And I think that Fitchner is one of those characters who every time you see him doing something that's a little bit cruel,

[00:22:36] or a little suspicious to one of the characters in the Institute, you know that it's kind of out of a place where he wants them to improve and do better.

[00:22:46] Or at least that's how I read it.

[00:22:49] I'm with you on that, actually.

[00:22:50] I would say a lot of what Fitchner does is like that tough love concept.

[00:22:55] It's a little too tough sometimes for some people.

[00:23:00] But I'd say his actions definitely impact Darrow positively, Severo positively, maybe Cassius if I'm remembering right.

[00:23:12] But yeah, I definitely I like Fitchner's character a lot.

[00:23:19] He gets a lot of good moments in this book.

[00:23:23] And I think that he plays the role of mentor to Darrow very well.

[00:23:31] Definitely once Darrow gets into the Institute, Fitchner has to be a little more hands off.

[00:23:37] But up until them up until that point when Darrow goes in, I think that they're the way that they interact with each other is tense, but also very understanding and collaborative.

[00:23:52] Yeah, they definitely get along a lot better than you'd expect based on like all of the other proctors that we meet just don't seem like they've got that.

[00:24:04] Like they understand how to truly be someone's mentor, whereas Fitchner seems to actually lock it in and like he helps.

[00:24:13] I mean, we really only see him help the main characters, but we can assume that he helps other people to, I guess, maybe a little bit.

[00:24:22] Yeah, you kind of get the idea that he's the only one of the proctors who actually gives a shit about his job.

[00:24:29] Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[00:24:31] That's a better way of putting it than I put it.

[00:24:33] LMAO.

[00:24:34] LMAO.

[00:24:35] No, I think you I think you put it very well.

[00:24:38] But yeah, I think that Fitchner has got a little bit more of a stake in his little class than the other ones do or at least cares a little bit more.

[00:24:49] The other proctors seem like it's all just a game for their entertainment more than anything.

[00:24:54] And Fitchner doesn't give that impression as much.

[00:24:58] Yeah, we do see him kind of fucking off a little bit here and there.

[00:25:02] But at the same time, come on, who doesn't fuck off at work here and there?

[00:25:06] Exactly.

[00:25:09] For employment reasons, I am always 100% attentive at work and never would fuck off at work at all.

[00:25:16] Yeah, me too.

[00:25:17] Me too.

[00:25:17] Me too.

[00:25:18] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:19] And that is the end of chapter 17.

[00:25:23] Oh!

[00:25:24] Chapter 8...

[00:25:25] Oh, is it?

[00:25:25] Real quick.

[00:25:26] It is, but I don't think we...

[00:25:28] We were talking about Fitchner so much we forgot.

[00:25:30] Darrow did get picked 10th overall.

[00:25:34] Um, he was the first pick for House Mars and he was the 10th pick overall out of a thousand kids.

[00:25:40] Out of a thousand?

[00:25:42] Goddamn.

[00:25:42] Okay.

[00:25:43] Yeah, 10th is pretty good.

[00:25:44] I would have expected...

[00:25:46] Honestly?

[00:25:48] No, I was about to say that I would have expected him to be higher, but since he's not from a significant family and has just got a lot of aptitude, I think that 10th overall is a pretty solid spot for him to be in, given his background.

[00:26:05] Yeah, for sure.

[00:26:06] I mean, because you think about the top...

[00:26:09] You know, obviously there's premiers who are like the ones who just gotta get put in, so like, you know, people whose families are like Bologna level or higher, like they just kinda get pushed into the Institute and their parents pick their house for them.

[00:26:26] We'll meet one of those next chapter.

[00:26:28] Those kids suck.

[00:26:30] Yeah.

[00:26:31] And speaking of those kids, chapter 18, the classmates starts off with one of Darrow's classmates, Antonia, making a comment about how he's in line to be Primus, the house leader, which is denoted by a little bar next to his name on the leaderboard.

[00:26:48] Um, it's what, you have to have three of those bars which are some kind of, like they're markers of exceptional actions or behavior and that's how you become Primus.

[00:27:02] Yeah, I don't remember if it's three or five or ten.

[00:27:06] I feel like five might be it.

[00:27:09] Um, I'm not gonna lie.

[00:27:11] I'm kind of fumbling on this outline, but that's alright.

[00:27:14] Darrow gets it though, for being a smart guy, for only getting one point off on the test.

[00:27:20] And that is why he's in line to be Primus.

[00:27:24] Yeah, so he's already out the gate with a little bit of an advantage on his fellow, um, fellow golds, which is pretty, that's a good sign for him.

[00:27:34] He's on his way to becoming influential in gold society.

[00:27:39] And just a few chapters ago, he was a little red who had no real agency or power in the world.

[00:27:46] And now he's on his way to becoming one of the most powerful people in the entire solar system.

[00:27:54] Yeah, imagine if he became like the Reaper or something.

[00:27:58] That would be kind of crazy.

[00:28:00] Whoa!

[00:28:01] The Reaper with a sling blade that is shaped like, whoa!

[00:28:05] Whoa, that's crazy.

[00:28:07] Where'd that come from?

[00:28:10] And we get another character introduction to Priam, a very spoiled premier, which is a gold whose house was selected by his family.

[00:28:19] Yeah.

[00:28:20] And...

[00:28:20] We find out...

[00:28:22] Sorry, I didn't put it in the outline, that's my bad.

[00:28:24] It was just in my head.

[00:28:26] Um, we learned that Priam, on top of being a premier, like the reason he is a premier, is because his mom, who's a senator, owns Phobos and Deimos, Mars' two moons.

[00:28:38] So that's why he's got like that high-born status.

[00:28:41] Damn.

[00:28:42] Uh, do we know is, are these two moons like, are people living there?

[00:28:46] Or is it like a mining colony?

[00:28:49] Or, is it terraformed?

[00:28:51] Uh, or is it pretty much just like his family is influential and we don't really need to dig deeper than that?

[00:28:56] So we don't really see Deimos in the series, but we do see Phobos.

[00:29:00] It's very much like...

[00:29:03] It's similar to how Luna is described, except obviously on a smaller scale, because Luna's the capital.

[00:29:08] Or the moon.

[00:29:10] Um, but yeah, it's definitely...

[00:29:13] It's like a city, almost, built into Phobos.

[00:29:16] It's, it's cool.

[00:29:18] Okay, interesting.

[00:29:20] Um, I'm glad that you're here to give us these lore tidbits that I don't know about.

[00:29:25] Uh, maybe if you read the books, maybe just maybe we'd be in a better place.

[00:29:32] Who could say though?

[00:29:33] Who could say? I mean, what do I need you for if I know everything?

[00:29:39] Uh, mmm, I'm just amazing in every way, shape and form. So that's why you need me.

[00:29:45] I'll get an AI, Richard.

[00:29:47] What? Don't do that.

[00:29:50] I've got enough of your voice clips to create a, probably a convincing AI of you.

[00:29:56] I don't believe that's true, but alright.

[00:29:59] I don't believe that's true either. I also don't know how to do that.

[00:30:02] Yeah, idiot.

[00:30:02] And don't really have any interest in learning.

[00:30:05] Idiot. Dumbass.

[00:30:07] So, Priam joins Mars along with Cassius.

[00:30:11] Severo, oh my gosh, you're gonna flame me. Cassius.

[00:30:13] Sorry, Richard.

[00:30:14] Cassius, my goat. My goat. You do not disrespect him.

[00:30:18] Severo.

[00:30:18] You can disrespect his younger brother Julian though. Fuck Julian.

[00:30:22] Yeah. Well, Julian's a nice guy.

[00:30:26] He is. Sure.

[00:30:28] He's a nice guy.

[00:30:31] Oh, thank you for fixing the twins thing, by the way.

[00:30:35] Well, guys, when I was reading through the outline this morning, I was like, there's one thing I should change here.

[00:30:42] But no, yeah. We learned that Cassius and Julian are fraternal twins. So they're extra close with each other as twins tend to be.

[00:30:52] I forgot the word last night and I wrote, they're twins, not identical. And I think I even wrote next to it, I forgot the word.

[00:31:00] So thank you for fixing it.

[00:31:01] You did indeed write that.

[00:31:04] Yeah, I really shouldn't do these outlines at three in the morning, but it's just so silly.

[00:31:08] Yeah.

[00:31:09] I feel like the outlines come out better when they're done at three in the morning.

[00:31:12] Right?

[00:31:13] I'm just a procrastinator at heart. What can I say?

[00:31:16] Some of us do our best work in the 11th hour.

[00:31:20] Or the third hour.

[00:31:22] Or the third hour.

[00:31:23] That's true.

[00:31:24] Julian really looks up to Cassius for approval, which is very typical of brothers, you know?

[00:31:32] I think that the fact that they're twins, Richard, there's a phenomenon with twins where one of them is normal and one of them is weird.

[00:31:45] If I was a twin, I'd be the weird one.

[00:31:49] Which one do you think is the weird twin?

[00:31:52] I think the weird twin would have to be Julian because Cassius is just so goated in every way, shape and form.

[00:31:59] Like, if you look up the definition of goat in the dictionary, it's literally just a picture of Cassius Albalona.

[00:32:07] Really? If I go on Urban Dictionary and just type in goat, it'll be a picture of him?

[00:32:12] Sure. Why not?

[00:32:13] Yeah.

[00:32:14] Can you make edits to Urban Dictionary?

[00:32:18] Probably.

[00:32:18] I could probably actually get that up there.

[00:32:22] I'd find a way.

[00:32:24] You know those people who just edit Wikipedia articles to false things for fun?

[00:32:29] Oh my god, I love misinforming people. Holy shit. That's so silly.

[00:32:33] I feel like we should start doing that. Just drop the whole podcasting bit and start spreading misinformation.

[00:32:40] Honestly, I think we just start spreading misinformation on the podcast.

[00:32:45] Yeah. Did you see that there was a Bigfoot sighting in North Dakota?

[00:32:50] Yeah, I actually did. Did you know that... Nah, nah, no.

[00:32:55] I'm afraid of what you were going to say just then.

[00:33:00] Horrific. I'm not going to misinform people. That would be evil and malicious.

[00:33:04] Well, I'm going to start doing Bigfoot sighting updates.

[00:33:09] Alright, you do that. I love how they're always blurry and just out of a clear shot. So crazy.

[00:33:15] We should do a whole podcast reviewing that show where they are trying to find Bigfoot. Finding Bigfoot, I think is what it's called. Holy shit.

[00:33:24] Finding Bigfoot. Wow. That would be a crazy name for a show about looking for Bigfoot. Maybe even finding him.

[00:33:32] That show was my jam when I was a kid. I would sit and watch and laugh at that show for hours.

[00:33:38] Yeah, loser. I could tell. You weren't a Ninjago kid.

[00:33:41] I was a Ninjago kid.

[00:33:44] Yeah? Yeah, were you? Were you really? Who was your favorite character?

[00:33:47] I was. Lloyd the Green Ninja, obviously.

[00:33:51] That's fair. I prefer Kai because he kind of like locked in after Lloyd became the Green Ninja and he was like, I gotta protect this kid.

[00:34:00] But to each their own.

[00:34:02] The Blue Ninja was always awesome too.

[00:34:05] Oh my god, you mean Jay? Bro didn't even know his name.

[00:34:09] Darrow just decides that he's going to go to sleep at the end of this chapter.

[00:34:14] Much like you did at 4am last night.

[00:34:18] Yeah, actually that checks out. Just about.

[00:34:22] And when Darrow wakes up, we're in chapter 19, the passage.

[00:34:27] Yeah, he's getting embodied. He wakes up and there's four obsidians called crows, which are like, they're a rank below the stained, which are like the most skilled obsidian warriors.

[00:34:42] So they're called crows. I love crows. They're pretty cool.

[00:34:45] And so these four crows are just peeing the ever-loving shit out of Darrow.

[00:34:49] Yeah. So wait, I have a question.

[00:34:52] Yes.

[00:34:55] The crows, they're above like regular obsidians?

[00:34:59] Yeah, they're more like, I don't want to say an elite force of fighters because that's what the stained are.

[00:35:06] But they're stronger than normal obsidians. I can tell you that much.

[00:35:11] Okay, so maybe like the lieutenants to the...

[00:35:15] They're like the bronzies. How's that?

[00:35:17] Okay, interesting, interesting.

[00:35:21] Um...

[00:35:21] I am hoping that at some point we get some deeper looks at the obsidians because I think that the whole idea behind them is really interesting and I'd like to see the...

[00:35:34] Bro's guessing about Morningstar happening. That's so crazy.

[00:35:37] Yep.

[00:35:39] Um...

[00:35:40] And these obsidians are dragging him through the halls, like, fucking ragdolling him around with a bag thrown over his head.

[00:35:47] Yeah.

[00:35:48] Poor Darrow, man.

[00:35:49] This is where from his, like, POV, from his perspective, we're getting in his head and he's like, don't they know I'm a gold? Like, what are these gory damn crows doing to me? And he starts to get a little...

[00:36:03] Yeah, a little racist against the obsidians. And then he really, like, he kind of catches himself like, wait a minute. That's a pretty smart test because you're taking, like, pampered, spoiled brats and doing this to them and they're gonna just kind of lose it based on how they're being treated, not on what's about to happen to them.

[00:36:20] Yeah. And correct me if I'm wrong, but when Darrow first gets, uh, like, scooped up by the obsidians, his first thought was kind of that he had been caught, right? He thought that they thought...

[00:36:34] Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's like, oh my god, they know that I'm a red. They know that I'm a ruster. This is bad. But they don't. It's all part of the Institute.

[00:36:46] Yeah. Which, it's a really interesting test. The whole... As we get further into the Institute, there's so many tests that they give them that are just batshit crazy. And...

[00:37:00] Yeah. I just find it to be really... The way that they basically abuse their children in the process of making them peerless scarred. Not basically, they do abuse their children in the process of making them peerless scarred. It's no wonder that they're all such psychopaths when they grow up. Because as teenagers, as children, they are physically, emotionally tortured and pitted against each other. Not exactly a healthy way for someone to grow up.

[00:37:29] Yeah. Yeah, you think about, like... I mean, they're younger than we are. And they're going through this shit. They're like 18. I want to say everyone... That's like the rough age for everyone in the Institute. Like, it's like going to college. And this is their college, bro. They're just fucking... They're going through it. I don't know how else to explain it.

[00:37:51] Yeah. I mean, as a current college student, I can say, with absolute certainty, Darrow's experience is very different from my own.

[00:38:01] When they drag Darrow through the halls, they end up throwing him into a locked room with Julian, Cassius's younger brother. And Fitchner pops in, tells him that there's only one spot, and tosses a single house Mars ring on the ground, emblazoned with the Wolf of Mars and the Star of the Institute.

[00:38:24] Whew. This is some stressful shit right here.

[00:38:27] Yeah, Julian starts kind of, like, begging Darrow. He's like, please, like, I'm a house Bologna. You can't do this to me. Like, I need that ring so bad. And Darrow just kind of...

[00:38:41] Darrow goes dark, you know? Like we said last week, you know, he's a good man, but he wants to do bad things. And this is definitely a bad thing that he does.

[00:38:51] Yeah. He, um... Sorry. Oh, okay. So they start beating the shit out of each other. But Darrow is just stronger. He hits him really hard in the sternum. And, you know, nice loud crack and Julian starts gasping for breath and falls over.

[00:39:10] Yeah, he... I mean, that was a pretty big punch from Darrow in order to kill this guy.

[00:39:19] Yeah, but hey, he got the ring. He got the drip. All right? That's why it's important.

[00:39:25] Yeah. Got the one ring to rule them all.

[00:39:29] That kind of is actually what it is, believe it or not.

[00:39:33] And I really like the sort of imagery that they have, that this signet ring has the Wolf of Mars and the Star of the Institute on it.

[00:39:44] I think that the different symbols that they choose to represent, the houses and everything, I'm a big sucker for those kinds of details.

[00:39:53] So I like the heraldry that they include here.

[00:39:56] Oh, yeah. It's amazing. It definitely creates some interesting, like, symbolism clashes, too, like later in the series.

[00:40:08] It's just an interesting thing. I mean, I can't go too deep into detail, of course, but that's all right.

[00:40:14] Yeah, there's a lot of... it changes a little bit as the series goes on and things take on new meanings.

[00:40:20] And, I mean, I'm starting to see that a little bit just as far as I am, and I'm not very far in the series.

[00:40:25] So, got a lot to look forward to with that, if you're a heraldry and symbolism nerd like me.

[00:40:35] And Darrow, he's taking his first life. A piece of him is dead. A little bit of his innocence.

[00:40:41] Not that he really had much left. I mean, he...

[00:40:45] Yeah, I mean, I guess I shouldn't have said he's taken his first life, because, like, he did kill EO, technically.

[00:40:52] But, you know, this is the first time he's directly killed someone of his own accord.

[00:41:01] Yeah, I wouldn't count EO as the first life he's taken, just because it was more of...

[00:41:08] She was gonna die anyways, and he was just kind of putting her out of her misery, and it was a mercy kill.

[00:41:15] I mean, that would definitely... I feel like that was the more impactful death for him.

[00:41:21] And then Julian's death is...

[00:41:26] I don't want to say it's less impactful, because it has some pretty big story implications.

[00:41:30] Yeah, I would say it's less impactful on his character alone.

[00:41:35] Julian's death, that is.

[00:41:36] Whereas EO's was like, obviously...

[00:41:38] I mean, he...

[00:41:39] Book six, he still has his moments where he's like,

[00:41:42] yap, yap, yap, EO, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[00:41:44] I don't care. Mustang and Darrow belong together, alright?

[00:41:47] Yeah.

[00:41:49] I'm very surprised that with how Julian is smaller in stature and not super strong,

[00:41:57] that the Bolognas even sent him to the Institute, let alone allowed this to happen.

[00:42:04] It feels like an influential family like that would kind of pay their way through having him get through the Institute,

[00:42:12] or just keep him at home.

[00:42:16] What are your thoughts on that?

[00:42:19] I think it's crazy that they sent him in, given that he...

[00:42:22] He also, like...

[00:42:23] They stated it once, like at one point in the book,

[00:42:26] he also didn't score well on the tests.

[00:42:29] So it's not just even that he's not the strongest,

[00:42:33] he's also just not the smartest either.

[00:42:36] So he's kind of mid.

[00:42:39] And Darrow punishes him for that.

[00:42:43] Yeah, I mean, that's just the way this society is set up.

[00:42:49] We've said it a few times that the strong are the ones who come out on top,

[00:42:54] and the weak are the ones who suffer.

[00:42:58] Or even just the average people are the ones who suffer.

[00:43:02] And not a great system.

[00:43:05] It's a very cutthroat, dog-eat-dog.

[00:43:09] And I think that Darrow is sort of maybe buying into it a little bit at this point with his newfound power.

[00:43:20] He 100% buys into it.

[00:43:23] But one of the last things his internal monologue is about before he kills Julian

[00:43:28] is that he literally calls himself Darwin's scythe.

[00:43:32] He's really buying into it this early.

[00:43:35] It's kind of crazy.

[00:43:36] Yeah, the whole...

[00:43:38] Just calling yourself, that is very...

[00:43:41] It's a little scary.

[00:43:43] It's got scary implications for Darrow,

[00:43:45] and it makes me think that at some point

[00:43:48] he's going to have a moment where

[00:43:50] he feels more like a gold than he does

[00:43:53] like a red now.

[00:43:55] And I mean, especially in his soul.

[00:43:58] Physically, of course, he is full-on gold.

[00:44:01] But I think that he

[00:44:03] is going to have a moment

[00:44:04] where his philosophy is going to be challenged.

[00:44:07] And it'll be a little scary

[00:44:09] for us as viewers.

[00:44:13] Yeah, I mean...

[00:44:15] Darrow, I love him.

[00:44:17] He does awesome stuff all the time.

[00:44:19] Like, he's metal as fuck sometimes.

[00:44:21] But holy shit, as like an actual person,

[00:44:24] he is terrifying.

[00:44:26] Like, mm.

[00:44:27] The Reaper?

[00:44:28] Uh-uh.

[00:44:30] Cassius, on the other hand?

[00:44:32] Would.

[00:44:33] That's all I can say.

[00:44:35] Yeah, Cassius is...

[00:44:39] He's something else.

[00:44:40] He really is.

[00:44:41] He's a...

[00:44:42] He's on the hear-me-out list, alright?

[00:44:45] He might be the greatest single rival to Darrow physically,

[00:44:50] I would say.

[00:44:54] I...

[00:44:55] I would agree with that, actually.

[00:44:57] At least...

[00:44:59] There's maybe one better rival later.

[00:45:03] But that's...

[00:45:04] That's whatever.

[00:45:05] Yeah.

[00:45:06] And then, tactically, it's someone else.

[00:45:08] It's the, um...

[00:45:10] Fuck.

[00:45:11] The bad guy in this book.

[00:45:13] Can't say his name, but you know who I'm talking about.

[00:45:15] I do know who you're talking about.

[00:45:19] Which...

[00:45:21] I...

[00:45:21] I said something earlier that I wanted to connect to it just now,

[00:45:24] but that would be a major spoiler.

[00:45:27] We can talk about it off-air after.

[00:45:30] But anyways...

[00:45:31] Oh, of course.

[00:45:32] That's the end of part two.

[00:45:34] Which...

[00:45:34] This is a fairly short set of chapters.

[00:45:37] Or...

[00:45:38] Not necessarily page-wise, but it was a fairly short set of chapters,

[00:45:41] and, like, what happened in it.

[00:45:42] It was kind of a lot of setup,

[00:45:44] and basically just getting us ready to see Darrow in the Institute,

[00:45:49] and setting up some tensions going forward,

[00:45:52] and establishing some characters.

[00:45:53] Which...

[00:45:54] It's interesting that we're...

[00:45:56] Kind of in...

[00:45:57] Still the setup phase.

[00:45:59] We're...

[00:46:00] 19 chapters in,

[00:46:01] and we're just getting done with the setup,

[00:46:03] and now we're really getting into the meat of the story.

[00:46:06] I would say.

[00:46:07] Yeah.

[00:46:07] The good thing, though,

[00:46:08] I'll say about that,

[00:46:09] like, yes,

[00:46:09] it's a long,

[00:46:10] very long setup.

[00:46:13] But...

[00:46:13] I would consider it to be very worth it afterwards.

[00:46:17] Like...

[00:46:17] The later chapters go kind of crazy,

[00:46:20] and Aaron, I think you can agree with me on that one?

[00:46:25] I...

[00:46:25] Yeah, I would 100% agree.

[00:46:27] The later chapters...

[00:46:29] I mean,

[00:46:29] I think I read the first half of this book

[00:46:32] in maybe the course of a couple of weeks,

[00:46:35] and then I got to the second half of the book,

[00:46:37] and I was done with it in about two or three days.

[00:46:40] Yeah.

[00:46:41] Like, that's crazy.

[00:46:42] And I love this book,

[00:46:44] purely because it ramps up.

[00:46:46] It's not as bad as what they call

[00:46:47] the Sanderlande

[00:46:49] in all of the Brandon Sanderson books.

[00:46:51] That's where, like,

[00:46:51] all of the really crazy, awesome stuff

[00:46:54] happens in the last, like,

[00:46:56] 150, 200 pages.

[00:46:59] And it's peak,

[00:47:00] don't get me wrong.

[00:47:01] But I prefer...

[00:47:02] I would prefer it to be, like,

[00:47:04] spread out a bit more,

[00:47:05] and that's why I like the way Pierce does it.

[00:47:07] It's not insanity.

[00:47:11] Yeah.

[00:47:11] Sometimes the insanity is really cool,

[00:47:13] but at the same time,

[00:47:16] I think that having a little bit more of a slow burn

[00:47:19] is also really rewarding in storytelling.

[00:47:23] I mean,

[00:47:25] obviously it depends on what you're into.

[00:47:27] I'm with you, though.

[00:47:28] The slow burn is a lot better,

[00:47:30] for me at least.

[00:47:31] Yeah.

[00:47:32] I mean,

[00:47:32] obviously I'm a big lover of political drama

[00:47:35] and things of that nature,

[00:47:38] so the slow burn always is entertaining to me.

[00:47:41] But, I mean,

[00:47:42] who doesn't love some good fast-paced action sequences

[00:47:45] where the character needs to think on their feet

[00:47:47] and really get shit done?

[00:47:51] Yeah.

[00:47:52] I mean,

[00:47:53] Darrow does lock it in

[00:47:54] in a lot of those scenes.

[00:47:56] I'm not gonna lie.

[00:47:57] And that's why I love him.

[00:47:59] It's also interesting, though,

[00:48:00] because, I mean,

[00:48:02] Darrow does lose a good amount, too.

[00:48:05] Like,

[00:48:06] I don't know.

[00:48:07] It creates a very interesting,

[00:48:09] it's very well done,

[00:48:10] because you won't see it coming all the time.

[00:48:13] Sometimes you will,

[00:48:14] but there are other things that happen

[00:48:17] that you're just kinda dumbfounded by,

[00:48:19] and that's fun.

[00:48:20] I like that.

[00:48:22] Yeah.

[00:48:22] There's a lot of great twists and turns,

[00:48:24] and I'm looking forward to talking about them,

[00:48:27] because now it feels like we're done with the setup of this,

[00:48:31] and we can,

[00:48:32] and the Institute is gonna be just absolute batshit crazy.

[00:48:37] I've got so much to say about when they're in the Institute.

[00:48:41] I've got so much to say about Golden Sun,

[00:48:44] the gala.

[00:48:45] You know, Darrow.

[00:48:46] I love the gala.

[00:48:48] That is in my top five chapters of all time.

[00:48:50] We could probably do a whole episode just on the gala.

[00:48:54] Dude, I could do a whole episode just on the fucking ending of Golden Sun.

[00:48:58] Are you kidding me?

[00:48:59] That, oh my god.

[00:49:01] You wouldn't know that.

[00:49:01] I wish I could relate,

[00:49:02] but I haven't seen it,

[00:49:03] or haven't read it.

[00:49:04] I haven't seen it!

[00:49:05] Well, technically,

[00:49:06] I guess you haven't seen it,

[00:49:08] because you gotta see to read, bro.

[00:49:11] I do.

[00:49:13] Not all of us are audiobook listeners.

[00:49:17] Yeah, I love being an audiobook listener,

[00:49:19] because the narrator is so goaded.

[00:49:21] I do need to invest in those audiobooks,

[00:49:23] or just audiobooks in general,

[00:49:25] because there are so many times when I'm sitting around like,

[00:49:28] oh, I wish I had an audiobook to listen to.

[00:49:30] Really?

[00:49:32] Yeah, I do.

[00:49:34] Maybe I'll get an Audible subscription or something,

[00:49:37] but do I really want to add another subscription to my life?

[00:49:40] I have an Audible subscription, and it's fire.

[00:49:44] Yeah.

[00:49:44] Could be worth it.

[00:49:45] Could be worth it.

[00:49:48] Any final thoughts on the end of part two,

[00:49:52] or anything that we've talked about today?

[00:49:55] Obviously, I think that what just happened,

[00:49:58] chapter 19, the passage,

[00:50:00] is super important for the rest of the book,

[00:50:01] because obviously,

[00:50:02] Darrow and Cassius,

[00:50:03] they're broskies.

[00:50:05] They're close, you know?

[00:50:06] And that's...

[00:50:08] Hopefully, nothing will ever come of Darrow killing Cassius's brother.

[00:50:14] No one would ever find anything out about that, right?

[00:50:17] No, it's all highly confidential information,

[00:50:20] and there will definitely not be conflict in the future.

[00:50:25] Yeah, and it definitely isn't going to create a distrusting environment

[00:50:28] in general for House Mars.

[00:50:30] Ooh!

[00:50:31] Wait a minute, it might!

[00:50:33] It might!

[00:50:34] Yeah.

[00:50:35] It's really sad,

[00:50:37] the way that the gold's just so division,

[00:50:40] and...

[00:50:41] Damn.

[00:50:42] They're such assholes.

[00:50:43] I can't stand them.

[00:50:45] Yeah, and then you think about Darrow as the king of the hill

[00:50:48] at the end.

[00:50:49] I love Darrow.

[00:50:51] My pookie.

[00:50:53] And...

[00:50:53] So I did mention that I was going to have feedback for this week.

[00:50:57] I'm pushing that to next week

[00:50:58] so that we can have a longer feedback section.

[00:51:02] That's smart.

[00:51:03] Yeah.

[00:51:04] So I do believe

[00:51:08] that we can let people know how to get a hold of us, Richard.

[00:51:11] Do you want to tell people how they should?

[00:51:13] Unless you had any final thoughts.

[00:51:15] Uh, no, that's all I had.

[00:51:16] Do you have any final thoughts?

[00:51:18] No, I think that I

[00:51:20] already yapped too much today.

[00:51:23] That's fair.

[00:51:24] That is fair.

[00:51:25] You do yap a lot, honestly.

[00:51:26] Someone needs to stop you.

[00:51:28] Someone should.

[00:51:30] That's crazy.

[00:51:31] But, um, yeah.

[00:51:33] So, there's a few ways you can get in touch with us.

[00:51:35] We have our email,

[00:51:37] radioactive at thelorehounds.com.

[00:51:39] We also have a channel set up for radioactive ramblings

[00:51:42] in the Discord server for the Lorehounds.

[00:51:45] You could send us a message,

[00:51:46] chat about the show,

[00:51:48] tell Chase that he needs to read the book

[00:51:49] so he can be, uh,

[00:51:50] he can join in on the podcast some more.

[00:51:52] But, you know, whatever.

[00:51:54] Whatever.

[00:51:54] That's neither here nor there.

[00:51:55] Yeah, what's crazy is I literally live with the guy

[00:51:58] and could lend him the book.

[00:52:00] And he still doesn't want to do it.

[00:52:01] And he texts me when we're recording and says,

[00:52:03] shut up.

[00:52:04] That's crazy.

[00:52:05] Like, that's crazy.

[00:52:07] Um, we also have a contact form,

[00:52:10] or you could leave us a voicemail

[00:52:11] at thelorehounds.com.

[00:52:13] We have a Twitter,

[00:52:14] or an X account,

[00:52:15] whatever,

[00:52:16] whatever you want to call it,

[00:52:17] at radioactive141.

[00:52:19] And we'd appreciate a rating on Apple Podcasts,

[00:52:22] Spotify,

[00:52:22] or whatever else you could possibly be listening to this on.

[00:52:26] It helps other listeners like you find us.

[00:52:29] And all of that information

[00:52:31] that Richard just mentioned

[00:52:32] is going to be in the show notes.

[00:52:33] So if you, uh,

[00:52:36] are looking for how to contact us,

[00:52:38] always just check the show notes of our podcasts.

[00:52:42] Before we let you go,

[00:52:43] I also wanted to say thank you so much

[00:52:45] for, um,

[00:52:48] tuning in today.

[00:52:49] I,

[00:52:50] this has been such an exciting podcast to do.

[00:52:52] I,

[00:52:53] I've been having a lot of fun with it.

[00:52:54] I think Richard,

[00:52:55] you've,

[00:52:56] I'm getting the impression

[00:52:57] you've also been having fun with this one.

[00:52:59] I like yapping about Red Rising

[00:53:01] just a little bit.

[00:53:02] All right.

[00:53:03] Just a little bit.

[00:53:04] Um,

[00:53:05] but before we let you guys go,

[00:53:08] there is not only

[00:53:10] Ramblers Rising

[00:53:11] and Radioactive Ramblings as a whole.

[00:53:14] We are a part of a greater

[00:53:16] group of affiliates

[00:53:17] called the Barovian Alliance.

[00:53:19] Broadcasting Network.

[00:53:20] And this is spearheaded by the Lorehounds.

[00:53:23] The Lorehounds is our parent podcast.

[00:53:25] They were kind enough to give us this platform

[00:53:27] and help us get things started

[00:53:30] when we started doing Fallout.

[00:53:31] Right now,

[00:53:32] they've got some coverage going on

[00:53:34] for, um,

[00:53:36] Agatha all along.

[00:53:37] They just wrapped up Rings of Power

[00:53:39] and they're also doing some periodical check-ins

[00:53:42] with the penguins.

[00:53:43] So,

[00:53:43] go give them a check,

[00:53:45] a little listen,

[00:53:46] and

[00:53:47] I,

[00:53:47] they're fantastic.

[00:53:49] They're really entertaining.

[00:53:50] So,

[00:53:50] go give them a listen.

[00:53:52] And there's also many other affiliate podcasts

[00:53:54] like ourselves.

[00:53:55] Got Rings and Rituals

[00:53:56] who cover,

[00:53:58] uh,

[00:53:58] the Rings of Power

[00:53:59] through the lens

[00:54:00] of everyday rituals.

[00:54:01] And I know that they've got some things cooking

[00:54:04] now that the second season

[00:54:05] of Rings of Power is over.

[00:54:07] They'll be revisiting that series

[00:54:08] at some point in the future.

[00:54:10] Woolshift Dust,

[00:54:11] which is spearheaded by the Lorehound Alicia,

[00:54:14] is currently on a little bit of a hiatus,

[00:54:17] I believe,

[00:54:17] but they're going to be coming back

[00:54:19] as soon as Silo Season 2 premieres,

[00:54:21] which is very soon.

[00:54:24] Properly Howard movie review,

[00:54:25] where Anthony and Steve,

[00:54:26] a academic and a stand-up comic,

[00:54:28] rate movies on a scale of better

[00:54:30] or worse than a Ron Howard film.

[00:54:32] They are currently on a season break,

[00:54:34] but

[00:54:34] they released a surprise

[00:54:36] Penguin review.

[00:54:37] Seems like everyone's talking about

[00:54:39] the Penguin right now,

[00:54:40] and I can't blame them

[00:54:41] because that show is fantastic.

[00:54:44] I,

[00:54:44] uh,

[00:54:45] I haven't watched the Penguin.

[00:54:46] I haven't watched the Penguin.

[00:54:47] I don't have HBO,

[00:54:48] bro.

[00:54:49] Oh my god.

[00:54:49] Gonna send me your password.

[00:54:50] I'll send you my login

[00:54:51] after we're done here.

[00:54:53] Yeah,

[00:54:53] you better.

[00:54:53] The Star Wars Canon Timeline podcast,

[00:54:56] which is also spearheaded by Alicia,

[00:54:58] and

[00:54:59] it's really a fantastic podcast

[00:55:01] if you are a lover of Star Wars lore

[00:55:03] and want to know a little bit more.

[00:55:05] And last,

[00:55:06] but certainly not least,

[00:55:08] is the newest affiliate,

[00:55:10] Nevermind the Music,

[00:55:11] which

[00:55:12] they're

[00:55:13] really chugging along

[00:55:14] in their first season.

[00:55:15] The editing is fantastic.

[00:55:17] The hosts are fantastic.

[00:55:19] Mark and Nicole,

[00:55:20] they're super entertaining.

[00:55:21] So,

[00:55:22] go check out that new podcast,

[00:55:23] and they've got,

[00:55:25] I believe,

[00:55:25] eight episodes out now.

[00:55:27] Just

[00:55:27] super entertaining,

[00:55:29] super accessible,

[00:55:29] even if you don't know a lot about music

[00:55:31] like myself.

[00:55:32] So,

[00:55:33] go give all of those podcasts a listen.

[00:55:34] There's going to be links

[00:55:35] to all of these shows

[00:55:36] in our show notes.

[00:55:38] And thank you guys so much

[00:55:39] for listening today,

[00:55:40] and we will see you all

[00:55:41] in the next episode.

[00:55:43] Thanks for listening.