Rebecca Yarros Denver Q&A

I was just at RY’s Denver tour stop and I thought I’d share some highlights. She was feeling a little generous today (home state + last tour stop), and it was hosted by the Fantasy Fangirls, so we definitely got some great questions and equally interesting responses and tidbits. (Things within brackets are just my thoughts.)

Venin Stuff

Q: Was JFB involved with venin before he even entered Basgiath?

A: No, he wasn’t.

Q: How did JFB know so much about feathertails in Fourth Wing?

A: What he knew was mostly common knowledge about feathertails. (She didn’t elaborate too much and was trying to be tight-lipped)

Q: Can she tell us anything about Xaden’s new brother?

A: The person felt like they were not enough, and that’s why they reached for power from the source. She said there are hints peppered throughout OS. She also said to pay attention to who’s missing at the end. But I didn’t quite get if by end she meant the final battle or the last chapter. (On hearing this, I felt pretty certain it was Bodhi. We got to see a a lot of instances where he was frustrated with how much he could do/was being allowed to do. Whereas I never got the sense Garrick was struggling with confidence or a sense of purpose.)

A little while later, there was a Bodhi question:

Q: Why did she pick “I Look in People’s Windows” as Bodhi’s song?

A: It’s because he feels like he’s Xaden’s shadow a lot, and he gets viewed as Xaden’s heir. He also feels like he’s the spare.

(To me, this seemed to tie in with her earlier response about the new brother feeling like he was not enough. So again, stronger case for Bodhi being the one who channeled but this is just my interpretation of it)

Signet Stuff

Aaric manifested his signet in OS. It took him a bit to realize what was going on, he initially thought they were just strong gut instincts.

Q: What percentage of Vi’s second signet have we seen? A: About 10%. It’s because nobody realizes the potential of it yet, as it’s considered to be an inntinnsic ability and people who had the signet would have been killed. There’s only one person alive who can teach her about this signet. (Has to be Berwyn right?)

Q: What percentage of Vi’s signet from Tairn have we seen? A: 85%. Her signet is power and she wields it as lightning. She just has to learn to control it better, otherwise she’s almost there with it.

Q: What percentage of Xaden’s second signet have we seen? A: 50%.

Q: Will Xaden have a third signet? A: She doesn’t like to overpower her characters. It’s all about working together with your squad and unit during battle. There’s also a reason why some of the marked ones have stronger/second signets. (She didn’t elaborate beyond that though)

Oddball Tidbit

Q: Are Kaori’s records on the dragons accurate? And why? (Thanks u/Forfeit32 for clarifying!)

A: We only know a dragon’s name through what the rider tells the roll-keeper after Threshing. We never hear it from the dragon.

(She seemed to either be implying that a dragon could be fudging their name when they first say it to the rider or the rider could be giving a wrong name?! The Fantasy Fangirls were shocked by this too. Cue feverish theorizing on this sub 😅)

Music Stuff

Q: What Taylor song (from any of her albums) would be the general vibe for Book 4

A: Look What You Made Me Do

(I legit screamed yessssssssss! Give us more badass Violet!)

I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me, I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

Q: First 3 songs on the playlist for Book 4? A: All from TTPD:

Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

Misc Stuff

The emerald ring was made in OS between when we first saw the dagger/sword, and when we see it later in Aretia with a gem missing.

The first thing Ridoc would do if he lived in present day was download Tinder 🤣

One of the questions that caught her completely off guard on her OS tour is about contraceptives in the FW world. When she heard that she was like “What are you guys out there thinking?” (To me, that just seems to add to what we already learned from the St Louis event that she’s not considering an accidental pregnancy plot)

ETA - Jesinia and Broccoli are the only characters guaranteed to survive the series.

ETA 2 - There was a question about why pirates and kraken and the emerald sea were mentioned in OS. She said she leaves crumbs along the way as she writes to give her options for future books. Sometimes these crumbs become relevant and important details, sometimes they don’t get used at all in later books. And sometimes they may even be used in a future series 👀. (Make of that what you will!)

ETA 3 - She said Malek is her favorite god in the world. (I didn’t catch the reason she gave.)

Bonus scenes/Cut scenes

She was asked about Aotrom and Ridoc’s Threahing and she said maybe she’ll do a bonus scene about it some day

A scene from IF that she’d love to write is Xaden finding out about Vi being captured and interrogated, all the way up to the rescue. But she can’t always write the chapters she wants to as it may give away info for later books prematurely.

There was a chapter where Vi’s squad went to get Papa Sorrengail’s research from Aetos’s chambers. But it got cut in editing cos the book was getting too long.

Overall, I feel lucky I got to see her. She is such a genuine, wholesome and sincere person, not to mention hilarious. She was so thankful and appreciative of this fandom and community too. She also talked about how surreal the first week sales numbers have been, how something like this hasn’t been seen since Harry Potter, and how grateful she is to us all for making the series what it is 🥹. She totally deserves all the success and hype! Keep slaying, queen!

(Edit - I’ve made a few edits to my original post based on clarifications from other folks in the crowd. If I got anything wrong, do let me know!)