The Bookmonger Society

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There is a fanfic so infamous that it has its own merch, its own warning label, and its own Wikipedia page. It's a fanfic so good that people print it, bind it, and then weep over it like scripture. This is not a traditionally published book, and yet we have one sitting here, so I'd love to learn how you acquired it.

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It's actually there's some conflict around this. There's two sides to this argument. So on the one hand, because fanfic is completely free. Yeah, right. It's completely unethical to profit off of someone else's work. However totally because of it takes resources and time to print and bind a book by hand. Someone like you should be compensated for those resources.

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It is a service. It is a service and other people believe no, you should not profit from this in any way. Yeah, but this book basically altered my brain chemistry and became my personality for a large chunk of time. So I was like, I will have the physical copy. So what is manacled? Well, it has a plot so dark that it's essentially a Handmaid's Tale meets Harry Potter and Hogwarts.

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If Hogwarts starves you, steals your memories, and then literally fucks you. Welcome to the Book Manga Society. Today we're going to tackle Magical by Sending You, which is a legendary mini fanfic and it throws you right into a dystopian nightmare with Hermione Granger instead of Harry Potter as our state's favorite baby vessel. Nice. And we are writers. And so we're going to come at this podcast a little bit differently.

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We're going to talk about world building. We're going to talk about fertility politics, some of the trauma and some of the tropes that exist in this book. And whether the villains wife just has to be a bitch for us to root for Hermione and Draco to fall in love and Andrea has never read Harry Potter. That's right.

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Leah is going to help me get educated. And if you are in the same position that I am, where I was like, I don't even know what this is I'd never heard of manacled before. Then this is your you can dip your toe into this whole world with me and with us. And Leah's going to help make the landing nice and soft.

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Let's dive in. Let's do it. All right, so our first segment is called bookmarked. And this is, kind of like a previously on kind of a segment, where we're going to talk a give a little bit of background and a little bit of vibes instead of just plot. And then we are going to go into something called the margins, where I'm going to give, notes that I talk basically in the margins.

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I do not have a printed manacled. And if I, if I wrote in the margins of this book, how would you feel about that? Would you tell me you might not wake up tomorrow? So, I wrote in the proverbial margins, of my of my notes that. So we're going to cover where we are in the book, and some of where I am emotionally after reading the first five chapters.

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So this podcast is all about chapters one through five before the real shit goes down. I here in chapter six. Okay, so this is our first episode of the Book Mongers Society, and it's my first fanfiction. As I already mentioned, it's your first podcast. I'm a podcasting legend, as they say, nobody, nobody says now, but I have done podcast before.

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And so, let's talk about why we wanted to start with manacled. So I came across manacled just on the internets. It was it blew up like it was destroying the internet. And I'm an avid reader, but I had never read a fanfiction before, and I was like, well, if it's getting this much hype, yeah, it's got to be good, right?

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So I figured out how to download it and, I it's a it's over 1000 pages and I devoured it in two days. Yeah. Couldn't put it down and that's incredible. And then I sat in a booking over for days. Yeah. What do I what do I do with this enormous vacant hole that is manacled? So anyways. And then I fell down into some other fanfiction rabbit holes for a while, and then I just decided to reread it again because you just can't beat it.

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So when you approached me about this podcast, I was like, hey, I am very obsessed with manacled at the moment and the authors, and then you actually got a book deal to essentially republish this. Yeah, very excited for her. Yeah. Yeah. So republish this in a traditional setting. So basically she's going to tell a very similar story.

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But outside of the Harry Potter world. So yeah, within her own world and context. So that comes out on September 23rd. So just a few weeks. And so this is very exciting. Yeah I'm losing my mind about it. It's fine. So perfect opportunity to do a deep dive on. Yeah. Manacled. And then afterwards we can talk about Alchemist and how they compare.

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Yeah. So as I mentioned, Lee and I both. Right? Neither one of us are published authors. Traditionally, I self-published a book in 2018, so I was amped to read something that someone self-published and got a ton of traction over, and that the readers were able to get behind and make famous by themselves. Right. It's kind of like the Wall Street Batch guys, right?

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Like it's kind of like all of the people get together and say like, no, we really like this. It's good. Yes, she starts a lot of sentences with she, but fuck you, I like it, you know? And so. Oh, I, I've probably sworn maybe 8 to 10 times. So perhaps you being the mother, the warnings for people with children or feelings.

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Yeah. So there are two warnings around this one. One, the content of manacled is very dark. So there are a lot of themes around, captivity and rape and loss of rights. And so that can be very triggering for some people. So if you choose to read it, all of the trigger warnings are at the front of the book.

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Please be conscientious and read them. And also because we are talking about very adult content, please be wary of any little listening ears that you may have around you. Yeah, this podcast is probably not one that you put on while you're driving your kids to and fro from school. Truth? Yeah. Maybe at night for you, you know, when in the comfort of your own bedroom.

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So with that said, let's get into our second segment, which is the margins again. Leah has read this twice, so, she can't really give, kind of like, go back in time and give, like first impressions or thoughts because you're ruined because you know how this story ends. So I will be driving much of this segment because these are mostly my impressions of having just read the first five chapters and never read fanfiction.

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And, I will just say this to to brief this as well. Okay. So I believe that there are probably two groups of people who are going to listen to this podcast. One are people like Leah who are raving fans of this work and eagerly looking for any content that they can consume that keeps them closer to manacled while they wait for the next book.

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And then there are people like me who are maybe fanfic curious, who would like to maybe dive into it, but they've heard there's a lot of serious, you know, so they maybe want a friend and a partner, to go through this process with. And so if you are in the first camp, I do have some critical thoughts on this work.

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They come from a very loving place, as I've already said. Like, I love that she got published. I think she's very talented. I am into this book, but I am not without critique. So just know this isn't going to be like a gush fest, okay? I mean, it is clear, like it wasn't edited right and because of the way it's released, she and other fanfiction writers release it one chapter at a time.

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Yeah. So there is a, you know, there's a little bit of repetitiveness. There's. Yeah, obviously, you know, copy editing wasn't done. So there are some, some things. But that being said, it's still a five star for me. Yeah. Yeah, I totally, I haven't started yet because I'm not done. But all right. So let's talk about just the first pages.

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So, you know, we open on her mini in itself, a dark soul, completely sensory deprivation. Yes. You just made it a word. If it wasn't, I don't know, completely sensory deprived. That's fun. Okay. I like deeper five though. I'm into it. And then she's doing her best like CrossFit routine. Right. She's getting that body together down there.

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I will say the word burpees did take me the story for a second. I was like we get it done without that. No she's on this burpees. She's she's really doing it. But it's very well written. The it puts you right into the world. And then she steps out into light, shocking. And she gets put in these manacles, which basically while she's in the manacles before.

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Right in the in the prison, she's in manacles already. Already wearing the manacles. Yeah. And so the manacles, keep her from being a are are female wizards. Wizards or they would would wizard dresses. They're witches. Oh they're witches. They're just witches. Oh. Okay. So she keeps witches down? Yes. I mean, it would work for wizards, too, but essentially it represses their magic, right?

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And it kind of like it seems like it makes their magic work against them. Yeah, it kind of backfires on you. Yeah. Yeah, it's a real. It's a real problem for her. And so, the other thing about this world that we're getting pulled into is Harry, who is dead. Harry Potter. I mean, big deal. Dead.

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Ron also dead. The weasel's also dead. Yeah. And. Yeah. So everyone's basically toasted, and Hermione is left. She's she's the remainder, but she's got no powers, and, the the bad guy, the Voldemort. Voldemort. Valda. Well, you're right. Voldemort. Is it vulgar or Voldemort? Voldemort. Voldemort. Voldemort. I'll say it real fast anyway. He the dark Lord.

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I'll probably just call him Ron. The dark Lord is in charge. And, and part of what he's created is essentially The Handmaid's Tale. I want to back up. Just go ahead. Okay, so in the original books, the war ends when you know Harry and Hermione are 17. Okay. And this fan fiction takes a different turn. So rather than Harry winning at the end, the war keeps going for seven more years.

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And at the end of those additional seven years, Voldemort wins. Okay, yes. So, all yeah, Harry, the Weasleys, all of them get killed, tortured, and then Hermione gets captured, put into the cell for like 16 months. Yeah, yeah, it's a long time. So complete. And she can't hear. She can't see for six months, so she.

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Yeah, he uses physical exercise and mental exercises to keep herself sane. Yeah. During this time. And then at some point, they decide, hey, you know her? You could be useful in this repopulation efforts. And so many of the wizards have been, you know, killed off. We need to repopulate the wizarding community. Let's have a what was the Handmaid's Tale?

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That's right. Yeah, yeah. Because they've tried to procreate between themselves in the 28 families, and it's just not working. Right. So the 28 families are essentially the, like, old wealthy families that have never introduced any muggle blood into their family. Right? Muggles. Muggles. It's such a cute name for humans, right? Is is it a muggle, a human?

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Basically, we're muggles. Yeah, yeah. Isn't it so cute, little muggles? Let's go to point number two. I like thinking about plots mostly to understand plot devices. Right? Like, I love thinking about, caper. And one of the things that you always got to do in a caper is like, introduce some new person into the scene so that you can explain to the reader what's going on.

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Right. So, like, I kind of I love, like figuring out like, okay, what is the plot? And then how are they going to use, you know, strategic plot devices to reveal details to the reader? And so this is really interesting little genre bender, that we have here, because we obviously have fan fiction. And so the cornerstones of fan fiction are typically like canon remixing, right?

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Yeah. And, but you mostly maintain the magic system and then you, in this particular case, have an alternative universe structure where, again, Harry Potter's dead and they lose the war and that whole thing. It's kind of like, you know, metaverse. If people watch, like Rick and Morty. Right? Like it's a different version of the same world.

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And then of course, you have dystopia because like Handmaid's Tale, your existence has been reduced to baby making, and then you got the Italian totalitarian to the lattes. You don't realize when you read that T's in that one. There's several T's in that word. You got the totalitarian regime and the state controlled reproduction, dehumanization, the war aftermath, lots of themes there.

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And then you have the mystery.

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Fragment of memory, puzzle pieces coming together slowly revealed betrayals and secrets. And then, what else? So there is also, yes, okay, twisted love story and involved in all of this. And I don't want to give any of it away, but but it is kind of given away in like the category itself. Yes it is, which I can't pronounce.

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That word still the drum. Germany. Oh, Germany. Yeah. So yeah. Draco. Hermione. Yeah, I mean, it's it's given away in that it is given away. And I think, yeah, people would kind of categorize categorize it as romanticism. It kind of falls in there. So yeah, how we get there, I think definitely has some twists and turns, but it is a major theme.

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Okay. And because I was so this was when when was she writing this? When did this come out like 2000. What do we have computers here for if not to look up facts? Really? It's like three years. Really? No. Let me see. Okay, well, let's buy more than Earth. Right? Well, let's find out.

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Let's get to the race.

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2019, 2019 is when it was finished. Okay. When did you read it? So I read it a year ago. Oh, okay. So you're like, So I would imagine by that time then everybody knows that it's like, are there other I cannot say that word from Germany. Yeah. Yeah. Thousands probably. Yeah. There is a whole dramedy universe.

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Okay. The people are really into this. Yeah. Anyway, I think there is a lot of allure to a morally gray romance. Okay. Went. Yeah. And she's like the only isn't she really, like, the only female character that it would happen with, like what other female character is there in Harry Potter? I mean there are no other like main ones.

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I mean, yeah, you could arguably say maybe like Luna Lovegood maybe, or Ginny. Yeah, but Hermione is the only one, so you got to hook her up with the morally gray character. Yeah, because we love her, Minnie. Oh, we adore her. Minnie is a freaking badass, right? Yeah. So you got a that's your only option? Yeah, if I like doing it, I guess.

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Okay. So let's talk about point number three. Which are excuses to get, behind this romance. So of course, again, I'm not a Harry Potter person. I, you know, see, Hermione is like a nice girl, you know, it's a nice little quiet academic. She's not quiet, but, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, very studious, half muggle.

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I like. That's clear to me, right? A little bit of an outcast, because of her, you know, mud, blood. So that's my understanding of, Hermione. And I really don't know anything about this Draco character again, because you haven't read this. Yeah. So Draco was, like her high school bully. Like he was relentless in in bullying her.

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And so not only is it just the muggle ness of it or so, yes, it's mostly the mugginess, but also Draco is actually very intelligent, and Hermione had higher scores in school than he did, even though he had all the best tutors, he had all the best resources. He comes from one of the, you know, wealthy, you know, royal 28 fam pureblood families.

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Yeah. And so there's also, you know, this element of jealousy. Like she shouldn't be able to perform at the level I can. Yeah. Oh my god. Okay. It's so very early on they're talking about the High Reve, which is the High Reve. I'm supposed to be waiting for all the canon stuff for the end, but I'm already off script.

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So is the High Reve a concept in Harry Potter that the dark Lord has, like a right hand guy? No. So this is something that is new to this universe. Okay. And so there's all of this, this there's this. Like, the High Reve is like this killing machine, basically, like killing is, bad thing. You're not supposed to be killing people with your spells or power or.

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What is it? What is it called? Yeah, the killing curse is what it's called. The killing curse. Yes. So you're not supposed to be doing that, but this. And it's supposed to, like, take a lot out of you when you do it. But this High Reve character can just go on a killing spree one right after the other.

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Boom boom boom. We should not. Yes, most people cannot do that because yes, it is extremely draining. It takes a large amount of hate in order to produce the curse. So we find out like fairly early on that, so there's Pi Reve, and then her mini, gets shipped off to, and gets and like the verbage that they use is owned by Draco, right?

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So like, she is basically his property, old school slave style, like, not a human property of this man. This is essentially the Hogwarts class reunion from hell. Oh my god. Yeah, I could not stop thinking about every person that Hermione meets is like, hey Hannah girl, what happened to your eyeball? You know what I mean? Like, everyone she meets is in a state of just like.

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Like most class reunions, people mostly just get fat. But Hermione is like, yeah, dude, what happened to your eyeball? Oh, my God, that person's dead. And that person's dad will. Well, surely not everyone could be dead, right? Like she just keeps naming people to, like, nope, dead. Dead. Or if they're alive, they're about to be a sex slave.

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So. Right. So there are really two paths that the. And all of these girls then must be half muggles, because you can't be a witch without being a little some some wizard blood. Right. Don't you need some blood of the wizard? No. So, Hermione is completely muggle born, so both of her parents. Oh. Totally muggle. Oh, I thought she was a hazy no.

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Oh, well, color me surprised. Okay, so some of them are just straight, Or are all of them straight muggles, then? No. Some of them do come from magical families, but they still find themselves sex slaves because they're the enemy. They're part of the order of the. Yeah, so they're part of the resistance. So yes, this is their punish.

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Yes. Okay. So that's pretty much it. You you either die or become a sex slave if you were part of the resistance, or maybe there's some that have gotten away. Maybe there might be some people who escaped. Maybe some people are still in prison. But yeah, anyone who was found who was part of the resistance is not in a good place, right?

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Right. Really, really rethinking their life choices, probably. And again, I really knew nothing about this. So when it turned into like The Handmaid's Tale a little bit, I was like, and they're in the same exact outfits. I was like, yeah, interesting. Like we're just going right there. But it is such a different dynamic because in The Handmaid's Tale, these are all strangers like you have people who are mostly like political climbers, right?

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They didn't, like, win a war necessarily. Like a lot of these people that are that get handmaids are just like bureaucrats and they're getting like strangers and they haven't done anything great. Like handmaids are just like, you're friable. Yeah. Viable, fertile women. And they're just like, all right, now you get owned by this man. Whereas this is like.

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It's like a consequence of war. And then you all know each other. And I just was thinking about, like, my own high school class, and I was like, oh, my God. It's like horrifying. Horrifying to be, like, owned. And in a situation where you're going to be raped every month by this dude that you like, went to you like, were better at history then, like, I just.

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And what's even more horrifying, so painful is the reason the manacles are so horrifying is not just because they repress your magic. It also makes you incredibly compliant. Yeah. So it compels you to just willingly do whatever they ask you to do. Yeah. And it also compels you not to hurt yourself. So not only are you in this situation, you also can't escape.

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It's intense. So speaking of the walls, right? Because I think as a writer, you're trying to kind of close off every exit, right? That the reader would be like, well, why doesn't she just write? Well, why wouldn't she just and like, I think she does an incredible job of like, nope, can't do that because of the manacles. Nope.

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You can't do that because of the, the mind poking. What is the mind fucking thing? I'll go. I think it's pronounced Aquaman. See? Okay. I'm not. I feel like we should look this up. Hold on. Clemency. Clemency? Clemency. Clemency.

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Occlemency. Occlemency. Okay, so, isn't there, like, a Lego clemency? Yeah. Fuck. Is that? I think I should like that one.

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I like that one up, too. It's kind of. Okay, there's two sides to the coin. Right? So, clemency is the ability to control your own thoughts, to arrange your own thoughts, hide your own thoughts. Oh. But, legitimacy, if I'm pronouncing that correctly, is the ability to. Yeah, enter someone's mind and read their minds. And it is painful, right?

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For the person whose mind you are entering. Right. Because our minds don't really want intruders, right? We don't like people in there. We're like, I don't know that that space is no no no no no no no, I don't want you to be up in this whole business. That's nuts. And so. Okay, so the so the Lego lament, see if we're going to listen to it.

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Get ready. Here we go. Legitimacy. Legit. Legit. Legit. Legitimacy. No. Look, I can't even say no. Legitimacy. Legitimacy. I would not have guessed that that guy becomes a Jill. Do you know what I mean? And then if you're someone who has the power, you're called a legitimate legitimize, a legitimate to say no legitimacy. Okay, this to me feels like kind of like Superman.

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You know, how Superman can just do everything? It's like, why? Why pick one thing when you could just, like, do the trump card? All the things? Yeah. Like, that's what was me legitimacy feels like to me. I don't know, it's like there's something about it that feels like too good to be true. Do you know what I mean?

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It's like, oh, okay. Like so now she can't even have a thought to herself. Right. Like you can just. Yeah, pop in there and read all the thoughts. There is a little bit of nuance to it in that, it does take a certain amount of skill to do it. So some people are better than others, both at, you know, entering the mind and finding what they need.

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So it's not like you just hop in there and can all of a sudden see every single thought that they've ever had in all of their. And so, like an Easter egg hunt, right? Yeah. You're just like, digging around. I got one here, you see. Oh, Candy. No, no, this is amazing. Oh my God. What's that? Ooh.

00;26;00;21 - 00;26;23;21
Masturbation. Oh. Oh. He's on one for later. Now that she has the manacles on, she can't actually arrange her thoughts the way she could before. So I'm giving away a little bit of a spoiler here, but. Oh, okay. She was a natural Aquaman's, so she could very effectively arrange her own thoughts and hide certain thoughts and store them, repressed certain emotions.

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That kind of thing. So before being imprisoned and before the manacles were put on, she was actually very adept at this. And so now that she doesn't have this ability, she's much more vulnerable than she was before. So it's also highlighting that juxtaposition. Okay. And is this a concept that's in Harry Potter a little bit, although it goes into way more detail in in this, as does the healing abilities too.

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Yeah. You'll see as you go through. So yes, healing is a thing in in the original Harry Potter books, but it is much more nuanced and complex in the story. Okay. And one thing I think is worth touching on too is this mind poking, as you call it.

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Really highlights the strong thing that that will see throughout. I won't give too much away, but the steam around memory and identity. So when Hermione comes out of the cell, she's missing about a year and a half of her memories. I shouldn't say missing. They're locked away. And so much of what happened in that time to find who she was, who she is, and now she's missing that critical piece of herself.

00;27;40;22 - 00;28;03;11
Yeah. So it also, you know, layers into all of these other elements of just who she is as a person. Yeah. Like amnesia is kind of an overused trope, but I really liked it in this context. Yeah. Well, I'm, I'm reserving how much I like it because it feels it feels a little, like I said, a little too, too convenient.

00;28;03;14 - 00;28;25;21
But, let's see. So she's doing this thing, right? Like where she's, like, acting pliant and cooperative and then in her mind, thinking like, oh, I'm going to get out of here and I'm going to like, do all of these things. But like, she knows that they're going to read her mind, so why are you bothering? Maybe it's just one of those things where it's like, it's impossible to stop thinking that, I guess.

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Right? You can't not think about that. And they are of the opinion that if you think all you want, there's nothing you can do about it. Yeah. Anyway, you know, because the manacles will prevent you from doing anything that will allow you to escape or hurt yourself. Yeah. So you can plot all you want. You won't be able to act on any of it.

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Be as creative as you'd like. Said. So my last and final note here is, I do think Sandlin is, just a master of sadness. Really, man, I know she is. She writes sad. Really, really. Well, starting at the beginning, when she's in this dark cell and her mind is going through it all the way through, when she is just trying to get through a door and down the stairs and like the trauma that she feels.

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I mean, it is it is all super, super well-written. I agree, she is just a master of writing trauma and the effects of the isolation, the, the imprisonment, the, you know, grief and pregnancy. Once we get to to those points. Yeah. But in a way that doesn't feel overly self-pitying. Yeah, it it's just so quietly devastating. Yeah.

00;29;41;18 - 00;30;06;17
It's so well done. Yeah. There's no, like, sobbing and like, speeches and, you know, there's there's not even a lot of blood really. And, you know, obviously she's not using the word sad, but you're just like, oh, man, this, this, this is this is a situation. It's heavy. Our girl has found herself in. And it feels raw in a way that's not, like, overly dramatized.

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It just feels. Yeah. And I think, like, there are there are elements of the way that this is written. I kind of like, poked fun at it at the beginning, where there are a lot of sentences that start with the word she. Yeah. And like if you go to an editor, they're going to be like, you need to mix this up.

00;30;21;07 - 00;30;47;21
But I very much like when people compare writing to music and that there is a rhythm that exists in writing that sometimes I think overly edited books get away from. And I'm very interested to see what her style looks like after it goes through an edit, because I think despite the fact that, like, there are some fairly nontraditional decisions that she's making as a writer in here, they all really work.

00;30;47;21 - 00;31;09;10
Yeah. And she's had the freedom to do it. So yeah, I agree. I think that's one thing we should definitely touch on once Alchemist comes out is how much of those little pieces she's been able to create magic out of actually get to stay. Yeah. All right. So, right after we say that she is a sad savant, I feel like we should have some sort of palate cleanser.

00;31;09;13 - 00;31;35;01
Okay, and so the palate cleanser that I have, for you, it definitely says more about me than the text. But when they covered rules for keeping Handmaid's. So there's this whole rule book, basically, that Draco and his wife Astoria. Yeah, that her name Astoria. Astoria. Get. And, by the way, I do feel like I wish that they had a name for this, right?

00;31;35;01 - 00;31;58;12
Like they called the handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale. Handmaids? But, like, what are these people that are. They're called. Yeah. They don't have a dedicated name. Like your designated baby vessel. Like there's no. Oh, right, right. That's like, they need a name, like rent a womb, so you know what I mean. Or something. It's just so like. But anyways.

00;31;58;12 - 00;32;18;13
Okay, so they're like getting the rent a room, rules of engagement. And it said no cursing or torturing or physically abusing her. And I go, what do they care if you curse? Well, you're, like, able to rape them, but do not say fuck you. You know what I mean? I was like, that is so weird. And then I realized it was cursing.

00;32;18;13 - 00;32;41;04
Like, was your day never even occurred. Like that's how non Harry Potter fan fiction my brain was at, at the beginning of this book because I was like, why wouldn't you be able to say like, fucking shit? I mean, you're already taking everything else from them. Okay, so the next section is the writer's desk. So in this section we're going to talk about, some techniques, narrative structures, thematic choices.

00;32;41;04 - 00;33;20;08
We're going to try. That sounds boring, but we're we're fun. So we're fun writers delightful. We're fun writers, damn it. And so we're going to keep it as, interesting as possible. So my first point here is the very first thing that I thought when I read this, which is, God, she gets such a great shortcut. Fanfiction is such an, because, like, I am in the process of editing, sci fi fantasy book that I wrote and what you reveal about the world and how you get someone into it without too much exposition is so fucking hard, and she is able to just pop you into a cell.

00;33;20;08 - 00;33;37;16
And you already love Hermione. You know, Hermione. So like, you don't have to explain anything about her. You don't have to explain anything about the context of she's a witch and she's all like, you just know all of those things already and you just get to dive right into the goods. I was like, oh, I'm so jealous. House is already built.

00;33;37;16 - 00;34;06;22
All you got to do is decorate it. Yeah. I mean, but one thing. So yes, it is a bit of a cheat code for the writer, but it's also kind of a cheat code for the reader in some respects. Absolutely. Sometimes as a reader, I'm like, I just don't have the emotional energy to learn a whole new world and all the new rules and all the new people that I don't care about yet, and all the side characters and all the new like, I can't.

00;34;06;22 - 00;34;27;18
So I'm just going to like, drop into a world that I already know, just like in a parallel universe. Yeah, yeah, totally. I, I was, I was like, this is fun. I mean, I was like, okay, I already get like, but I get less of it. So I have to put more energy in because I don't know what legacy legitimacy is.

00;34;27;20 - 00;34;50;14
Obviously. But but yeah, I, it's, it's such a great cheat code. So then I read being Draco, so I was a little like this High Reve concept is like built up and he, you know, is like this. Oh, my God, nobody knows who it is. Nobody knows who it is. And then, she like, goes to the house of the High Reve, and then she turns around and she's like, oh, it's just Draco.

00;34;50;16 - 00;35;08;09
Like, I felt like it was a little, like, climactic, where I was like. I felt like it should at least have like a beat, like a paragraph of like as heat, I don't know, like as the side of his face and, you know, like it was just very like, oh, yeah. Draco. Sorry. And then it's Draco. Yeah. Yeah.

00;35;08;09 - 00;35;40;25
There wasn't a lot of shock value there. However, because of all the things we've talked about previously, is that moment was very intriguing because to your point, yes, that's your high school bully who you are now essentially a sex sex slave to. Yeah. And on top of that, one of the the nuances is because he is in the, you know, pureblood family line, her being assigned to him to produce an heir for his family is also something that's probably infuriating him.

00;35;40;28 - 00;36;00;13
Right? Yeah. Because, like, you know, him and his wife can't have children first. Yeah, but a story of sucks anyways, so, you know, he doesn't even want to make a baby with her about. Okay, I know you hate on the story and you think that she is like, the ultimate trope, but I actually, I feel bad for a story.

00;36;00;13 - 00;36;28;26
Yeah, because she has been raised in this society where, you know, she had very high expectations. And in this world she made all the right choices, right? She did. She went to all the right parties, you know, talk to all the right people, went to all the right schools, married the right person. And still it wasn't enough. And still she's being basically brushed aside for, you know, something that is out of her control.

00;36;28;28 - 00;36;46;11
Yeah. Well, because she sucks. She doesn't. She does. She. She is a bitch. I need you sucks. Yeah. Who wants to be around an asshole? You know what I mean? Like, she sucks. I mean, but she's got no personality. All of them suck. At least Draco's got a personality. Oh, yeah. I'm good. Okay. Yeah. You know what I mean?

00;36;46;11 - 00;37;02;26
Like, she's like, she's like wallpaper. She just is. They're an ugly, you know what I mean? Ugly? Where'd you get that from? Ugly. Like as a person. Oh, ugly as a person. Yeah, yeah, yeah, actually, she's a fine looking girl, I don't know, I don't remember the description of her as a character. Is she from Harry Potter? Yeah.

00;37;02;28 - 00;37;23;01
Oh, yeah. So she's. Yeah, from the original. But she's not a main character by by any means, but. Yeah. No. She's there. Yeah. I feel like, well, we're we're jumping ahead. Yeah. Which is fine. We listen, we can jump ahead. Let's we're going to make the next point about a story because now we're on her. So here's my thing with the story is, I do think she's a trope.

00;37;23;01 - 00;37;46;22
I think, I, I would like something that surprises me about her. I see your point. I was not bothered by this. I know, I like, I, I can't see I'm not a sticking point for me. If I'm going to learn a character's name. So if I'm going to learn your name, I like, want to get a feel for who you are.

00;37;46;27 - 00;38;10;25
And, I just think she seems a little too two dimensional. Like I want a third dimension that really makes me like, ooh, okay, now I get you. So. Okay. I'm also curious. So you touched on, like, you know, tropes and cliches. How would you define the difference between a trope and a cliche? I don't know. I think I don't know, I don't know, I, I they're probably very similar in my brain.

00;38;10;25 - 00;38;36;11
What's the difference now? I was just curious because I know you hate a cliche, but tropes are something that can be, you know, used as a tool. Yeah. So I didn't know if you saw any nuance there for your brain did the same thing. I think they're they're pretty much the same thing. Yeah. Like a cliche. I tend to think cliches more, like a phrase and tropes more is like a mechanism.

00;38;36;18 - 00;39;03;00
Maybe is the only difference. Okay. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's right. Okay. So, the I was also, again, because I knew nothing about this book. I do know research after time. And, I was surprised at fertility being such a big mechanism in this book. Because I have a very similar thing. Like, in my world, the humans are dying off, and there's this big, like, how do we repopulate in their world?

00;39;03;00 - 00;39;17;21
It's all about the wizards. How do we repopulate the wizards? We killed off a bunch of wizards from the war, and now we need this Handmaid's thing. But it really goes into, like, mostly handmaids thing after that. Like, you kind of forget, like, even when you mentioned, like you killed a bunch of people during war. I was like, oh, that's right.

00;39;17;24 - 00;39;43;03
That's a big deal. That's why they need to repopulate. And so I think the most interesting thing to me is like, I, as a childless woman, think a lot about legacy. And so, to me, a lot of the themes in my book, the and the reason that there's a fertility crisis in my book is so that it makes the characters think about their own legacy and like, okay, if humans leave this world, what are you going to leave behind?

00;39;43;07 - 00;40;03;24
What would you do to help or hurt the other species that are left behind? Like how tribal are you to your species is basically like what I'm challenging my characters to have to think about and do. But obviously my lens on that is very different as a childless woman. And so it was very interesting to me that she wrote this, like right after giving birth.

00;40;03;26 - 00;40;49;01
So there's like both of our worlds have this crisis that is based on fertility. But she is like solving that in her real life by having a child. And I am like actively not by not having children. So I think it's interesting. My point is like how how themes like that are colored by the writer's personal experiences. And that's why I fucking love writers and reading, because like, this is the same concept with two very different perspectives that we then push on to our characters in a lot of regards to like, live through and figure out and I think by nature then force ourselves to do the same thing.

00;40;49;03 - 00;41;14;28
Damn. Grow deep. I know you had a child, I, I do have I still have a child. Oh well, that's good, but what do you what did you think as you were reading it as, you know, somebody who actually, did the whole the child birthing thing. So I am someone who personally, I didn't have strong instincts to like.

00;41;15;00 - 00;41;43;26
Yeah, carry on like my DNA. Oh, come on, it's such nice DNA. However, I do think that she's still pulled a lot of her experience in you know, going through pregnancy. And her postpartum was obviously weaves throughout this story and that I could relate to really strongly. So I obviously in no way speak for, for all pregnant people.

00;41;43;29 - 00;42;14;08
But I had a really challenging first trimester, right, where I felt very disassociated from my body. My mind didn't feel like mine, my body didn't feel like mine. I think about that was my experience. Even after choosing to be pregnant like that was my choice, something that I wanted. Like I couldn't imagine that experience. If it was something that was pushed on you and something that you didn't even want.

00;42;14;08 - 00;42;38;08
And so that was a really interesting dynamic to me, as well as some of the little nuggets she leaves to like, okay, you're going to get to this in in the next few chapters. But like she has these excruciating headaches. Which, you know, I feel very much like a migraine and someone who has chronic migraines. I felt those scenes so viscerally.

00;42;38;08 - 00;42;59;03
Yeah, because I experienced that so much more even, postpartum. More so even then when I was pregnant. Anyways, so there's a part of me that also wonders if migraines are something that the author struggles with. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know that there's a, there's a there's a slick way to connect this next point to what we just talked about.

00;42;59;03 - 00;43;30;10
And so we're just going to do it. We're just going to force the issue, which is that, one of the things that I love to think about is the idea that everyone is a hero of their own story. It's one of my favorite concepts in humanity, right? Like not just in writing, but the idea of if you have conflict with somebody at work and you think they're a fucking asshole, like, well, they probably think you're a fucking asshole, you know, like everybody thinks the best of themselves and they think that they're coming from the, the right perspective.

00;43;30;10 - 00;43;51;02
And so the interesting thing for me, as somebody who has not read Harry Potter, but I, but I so I need to confirm this with you. But like, does JK Rowling ever give you like the Dark Lord's perspective? Like, do you ever see behind the curtain, what's going on on? I don't even like, where do they have a castle on a hill somewhere I like.

00;43;51;02 - 00;44;26;05
I like a vision, like Transylvania in my head. Oh. Which I don't know, but, like, do you ever get his perspective or his minions perspective? No. You never read from their point of view. And so that's one thing that I really enjoyed about. Okay, so this whole book is from her mind's perspective. Totally. But you do get a little bit more of that, like behind the curtains sort of feel in part two of of this book, in one of the early chapters, her mind gets taken to the dark Lord.

00;44;26;05 - 00;44;53;21
Yes. And he has a little poke around her brain. And, one of the things that I thought was really interesting is that if this is our first view as like Harry Potter fans, I'm not. Well, I guess I shouldn't say us if it's your first view into, like, what happens behind closed doors of the dark Lord, I feel like it would have been really fun to have him just, like, egregiously shed on the order of the Phoenix.

00;44;53;21 - 00;45;18;23
I think it's like fairly subdued to some degree. Like they even call the order of the Phoenix the order. And I feel like the bad guys would never use such a positive term. Right. Like they, they would give you'd give your enemies some nickname that isn't so positive as the order, because the order sounds big and important. You, you know, give it some bullshit moniker, like, like the shorter, you know what I mean?

00;45;18;23 - 00;45;38;20
Like you like, like order murder. Yeah. I don't know if that's rebels or something like. Yes, yes, yes yes. Voldemort using the the term the order to talk about Harry Potter. Like it just felt like, man. Like I wish he would like, go for them. Yeah. So rather than just using their actual name. Yeah, he would actually.

00;45;38;20 - 00;45;59;27
Yeah. Yeah, I get that. I know this is something that you explore in your books and how important naming is. Yeah. How it really can define so much about a perspective and, and the people and one thing that I think was highlighted really well in this book is, is this theme of hope. And I'm going to come around to this going nowhere.

00;45;59;27 - 00;46;13;25
So the name, the order of the Phoenix, obviously, you know, there's the Phoenix built into the name, which is all about, yes, the city we live in. I'm sorry.

00;46;13;27 - 00;46;56;00
It's about us and that obviously we're the center here. But all about, hope and renewal. And one of the things I really loved about this story and, about her Minnie's role in the order of the Phoenix is that there's this really strong juxtaposition between the two sides of what I would consider hope is. So on one side, we have, you know, Harry and and Ron and his band of minions who have this, like, very shiny, you know, view of hope that like, oh, this is all just going to work out if we give it enough time.

00;46;56;00 - 00;47;16;15
Yeah, we're the good guys. Yeah, we're the good guys. Obviously we're going to win. It's going to be fine. And yeah, yeah, you just got to stick it out. Whereas Hermione is view of hope is is much more realistic and raw. And I kept thinking of this, poem that played over and over in my head as I was reading this book, and I'm going to find it here in just a second.

00;47;16;15 - 00;47;39;10
But it goes. People speak of hope as if it is a delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spiderwebs. But it's not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go. And that felt like Hermione through the entirety of this story.

00;47;39;14 - 00;48;08;09
I love that, I got goosebumps, right? Yeah. Okay, so the other the other interesting thing, Lee and I are both writers, and she is a more, she's more good reader than me. But then we are also marketers. And so I think that a lot of the reason that I tend to fixate on, like, what you call something and how what you name something gives it a certain perception and a feel and a vibe is because we're marketing.

00;48;08;09 - 00;48;25;04
And so, you know, I think, you know, the order of the Phoenix feels like big and good or whatever. It's got a good brand. Yeah. And Voldemort, you know, he doesn't have a bad brand either. It's just darker. It's like Wednesday Addams, you know, like she's a little dark, but it's. It works for her, you know, like, black lipstick looks good on some people.

00;48;25;04 - 00;48;49;10
It has a presence. And so I, I think that there, I wish it would have been played with a little bit more, but, you've totally turned me with your whole, hope diatribe. I love that. Okay. So, I also, I have to be totally honest, I am missing this is my last point, and it's kind of harsh, but, like, I am missing a little, little bit of give a fuck.

00;48;49;10 - 00;49;12;15
I just I'm like, a little, this is like, a little bit of it is missing for me. Mostly because, like, I, I feel like again, it's a little bit of that, like trump card issue that I have where I think, you know, Voldemort has won the war and it's like, okay, we've got this girl and she's obviously dope.

00;49;12;17 - 00;49;36;13
And she knows something. She knows something that is going to destroy me. And it's like, okay. But like, like really like you killed basically everyone. Like, she knows something that is going to, like, harm you in such a such a serious way. I feel like it. It feels really petty for someone who is called the dark Lord, you know what I mean?

00;49;36;16 - 00;50;07;28
Yeah. So she. Because she's the last surviving member that they have. Yeah. They do believe that there are more out there. And so. Yeah. So you bring on a really good question. So why would a very powerful dark Lord feel threatened? Yeah. By one woman who has memories about the last year of the resistance. Yeah. I don't know I mean I hope it's worth it as the only thing I can say.

00;50;08;01 - 00;50;36;05
Like it better. She better, she better be baller there. Better be some cool. But I'm in it. I'm, I'm going to keep reading. Okay. So we had this whole section planned called Cannon Food at which I think is a very funny name. It was very I mean, as with myself when I thought of it, and we've already covered, like most of the things, point one is that this is like it's a, it's Handmaid's Tale cosplay with like, the bonnets and the red dresses.

00;50;36;08 - 00;51;00;14
And I don't know if Crotchless tights are part of the wardrobe for The Handmaid's Tale. Yeah, I think it is. Is it? Yeah. For two imaginations, easy access and just a deeper sense of vulnerability. Yeah. So that's like Cannon point one. And then I just have like, logistics, rapid fires here that we haven't covered all of them.

00;51;00;14 - 00;51;21;14
So let's just go through them and make sure that if you are a listener who doesn't know shit about this world like me, how old is Hermione supposed to be in this? So in the original books, the war ends when she's 17. This goes on for, yeah, another seven years, but then 16 months she's in the and then jail.

00;51;21;14 - 00;51;51;25
So maybe 20, 25 okay. Like that I mean she's we're marketers. We're not mathematicians and bunnies somewhere in there. All right. Mid 20s I can do I remember maybe 20s is or is time to be like okay, so there's this line where Voldemort, calls Hermione a good friend of Harry Potter, the boy who died. So, like, is Harry Potter not famous in this world, like the Harry Potter or, like, just call him Harry or just Potter?

00;51;51;29 - 00;52;19;04
Like, is the is it necessary to say like Harry Potter, the boy who died? So yes. Quick lesson. So in the original story, Harry Potter is known as Harry Potter, the boy who lived because, because when he was a baby, Voldemort tried to kill him with a killing curse, but couldn't. And so that's why he has, you know, lightning bolt scar right in his forehead.

00;52;19;04 - 00;52;45;17
So because he was known as the boy who lived, that's him just rubbing salt in the wound by calling him the boy who died. Oh, okay. Villain. Shade. No. Dead. Amazing. Oh, my God, so mean. Actually, now that I know the context. Sheesh. Okay, so next rapid fire, there is a flashback where Lucius Malfoy, looks up at Ron and screams this is for my wife.

00;52;45;17 - 00;53;05;21
And I was like, where's the previously on Harry Potter information? Because I was like, what happened to your wife, bro? What happened to his wife? Yeah. So I think part of this is again, this is where it varies from the original. So in the original, Lucius, his wife, Narcissa, she survives. Great name, by the way. Right? Yeah.

00;53;05;24 - 00;53;31;16
But in this parallel universe, she dies. So it's doing a couple of things. It is giving the readers context for like, oh, she's just another person who did not survive this war. Okay. And obviously this has brought on a lot of vengeance in Lucius. So it's giving context for the motivations behind the characters and showing where it's varied a bit.

00;53;31;19 - 00;53;54;25
Okay, okay. So that's Draco's mom. Yes. So Lucius then Narcissa, are Draco's parents? Okay, okay. Next. What is a Death eater? Because I thought that they were, like Dementors or like ghosty ghosts. And then I kept reading, and I was like, wait, are these just guys, like. Just like, I mean, dudes, they're basically. I mean, like, wizarding fascists.

00;53;54;25 - 00;54;22;12
They're okay, you know? They. Yeah, they're, you know, marked and branded. Oh, and they wear masks and so, I don't know, they're just kind of like magical Nazis, but like in robes. Okay. And then, like Corbin. Yeah. Lee and thorn thin like Raleigh. Like not ghosts. Just douchebags. Yeah. No, those are just some of the, like, minor villains in the story.

00;54;22;12 - 00;54;45;26
Okay. And then the sacred 28 Golf Club, right? Close. I mean, we talked about this a little bit, so there. Yeah. The, like, wealthy, pure but pure blood families. Yeah. Yeah. 28 of them left. So they're called the sacred 28. So Draco's family is one of them. A story is family is one of them. Right. Okay. So, that's the the rapid fire.

00;54;45;27 - 00;55;17;17
So I think this is my last point on this, which is, I and like, I feel like I am not as in love with these first chapters as you are because I don't know Hermione as well as you do. Yeah. And, I struggled a little bit to, like, really understand who she is, but we did when you mentioned that part of the interesting thing for you with her, because I actually didn't realize that all of her memories from, like, that year and a half were gone.

00;55;17;17 - 00;55;40;08
I thought it was just like pockets of the memories. Yes, that is fair. So there are large chunks. So it is not a sweeping right. But like the most important like transformational chunks. I assume are like in the missing parts. Yes. And so I didn't, I wasn't really thinking about that, but I was like trying to connect like who, who was her mind to some degree.

00;55;40;08 - 00;55;58;26
Right. Like she has for the most part not a lot of like inner sarcastic monologue, but every once in a while, like she when she's talking about because she's wearing the bonnet of the Handmaid's Tale and she's like the stupid wings of the bonnet, acted like blinders, like, I like I was like, okay, so like, is that who she is?

00;55;58;28 - 00;56;22;00
Like, is she like a little sarcastic and, you know, witty in that way, or is she a far more serious character? I was struggling a little bit with that. Yeah. So in in the original books we don't get any of the inner monologue. Oh, you don't know. So I know she is a main character, but we don't get any of her inner monologue like we do here.

00;56;22;00 - 00;56;50;21
So some of this is, you know, obviously the author's interpretation. So in the original, her mind is very, very sharp. She is witty. She's very observant. But I, I love this level of like almost like this dry, caustic humor. And you can really just feel her bitterness and exhaustion after all that she's gone through. So yes, some of this is pulling from the original and some of this is the author's interpretation.

00;56;50;27 - 00;57;11;01
Yeah, okay. But I, I want I want to get to know Maya a little bit more. I feel like I'm going to as soon. Okay. That brings us to our mostly last segment, which is, dark marks and darker thoughts. And the third great title for a segment, if I do say so myself. So in this segment, we are going to admit things that we shouldn't.

00;57;11;01 - 00;57;34;09
I'm mostly going to do that because I'm the one who's reading this for the first time. Plus, you know, you've made it to the end. And this is our first episode, and so you deserve a reward for sticking with us. And so point one is, magic exists in this world. They're magic. They're wizards and witches. Lots of magic.

00;57;34;11 - 00;57;39;04
Why do they have to bone to make a baby?

00;57;39;06 - 00;58;09;22
Yeah. Like, why don't they just have, like, I don't know, like an Brianna's implant, a kiss? Yes. Easy peasy. I mean, this really comes down to. Yes, you could. They could just use the muggle in vitro fertilization, but they don't. And that's the point. The point is the power play, the dehumanization, the the punishment of it all. So yes, they could absolutely figure out a much more convenient way to do this.

00;58;09;22 - 00;58;15;05
But the point is, the dehumanization.

00;58;15;07 - 00;58;34;12
That's just not very nice. It's not very nice at all. That's that is the point. Yeah. I think I was like, I was like, is there no witch in this? Like, like group of dudes? That's going to be like, guys, I figured this out. You don't actually have to put your penis in them at all. We can just do it by magic.

00;58;34;14 - 00;58;58;14
Yeah. We think I'm women. We know the solutions. Yeah, that's the problem. They're just, you know, this is why we need to be in rooms of power. You know, we would come with all of the great solutions, okay? And then when Astoria gets her rules of, like, how to keep a handmaid, basically, she's allowed the opportunity to watch.

00;58;58;14 - 00;59;24;20
And I secretly wanted her to be, like, into it. She is, dark. I know Dark Thoughts is the name of this. And then it got me thinking, like, is there porn? Is there like, witch and wizard porn in this land? Okay, well, this was originally a children's story, to be clear, but yeah, but now it's not now.

00;59;24;20 - 00;59;49;19
So is there a porn? I mean, I assume that, okay, in this book it's not talked about explicitly, but yeah, in Harry Potter fanfiction. Absolutely. I mean, there's porn. Yeah, yeah. Like any society with humans, I'm sure porn exists. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I well, I was because there's some elements of Harry Potter that always feels like, like 18, 12 timeframe to me, you know what I mean?

00;59;49;19 - 01;00;11;16
Like, back in, like, they don't have cell phones. Why use a quill? Just use a fucking pen, right? Yeah, yeah. It's right. Like, it's very, like 1912 to me. And I guess that's why I'm like. I'm like, I don't know, like, do they have TVs? Like, do they have porn? I like because otherwise like a story. Might I suggest watching it like I wanted her to be, like deviant, you know what I mean?

01;00;11;16 - 01;00;17;08
Like you're gonna make her evil. Make her fucking deviant. I mean.

01;00;17;10 - 01;00;47;21
Yeah, rape porn is dark, even for us. For this. I mean, if it was three consenting adults. Yeah, totally different story, but it is not. Yeah, they make a story to make a story a worse. Yeah, but I think that's real dark. Okay, my last point is, shower me with. No thank you. Which means, if I'm going to be in a situation where I'm forced to have sex with somebody I went to high school with, I am not showering beforehand.

01;00;47;26 - 01;01;06;29
Like, I'm going to try to make that. Like I will silently resist with my sense. I mean, I totally agree with you. However, she's wearing the fucking manacles. So when is it part of the protocol? Yeah, when they say, like, come in and prepare your sort of cover. Yeah, that's just so. Yes you are. It just adds on to the horror.

01;01;06;29 - 01;01;23;20
Right? So not only do you have to go through this, you have to make the process more palatable and comfortable for the rapist. Okay. So this is like genius. Then by Scanlan. Yeah. Yeah. Like this is a genius move of like like I didn't even pick up on that. She's genius. It's amazing. I mean, it's great. It's the.

01;01;23;21 - 01;01;43;23
And there's a few more of those types of nuggets to as you go through where you're like, yeah, what a mindfuck of just having to like, make this easier for your captor. Oh yeah. Yeah. Okay. So this is the actual last segment and it's called to be continued because we are going to keep reading this book. I'm going to keep reading it.

01;01;43;25 - 01;02;12;26
Leah, are you reading it again? I, I, I had read it a few weeks ago, so I'm still fairly fresh, so but you know what? Let's just go for round three. Yeah. I know, okay. So this is where, I'm going to do some wild speculation about what I think is going to happen next. And we're all going to read Leah's face and try to see if she can, not give away if I'm close or far off.

01;02;12;27 - 01;02;35;04
I have no acting skills. Okay, here we go. So my point number one, the parents. Why so mysterious? Right. So Hermione's parents are mentioned like four times. And the bad guys, they just breeze over all of the memories of her parents or, like, I don't really like childhood. Okay. Yeah. They, like, took you to a park. One day, you know what I mean?

01;02;35;04 - 01;02;53;24
They're like, I don't care about any of this. And so to me, I feel like that's that's that's pretty tricky, right? Yeah. I feel like they're going to be important, for sure. Am I supposed to comment on. No, I don't know if you want to. Well, you can't say if I'm right or wrong, but I don't know.

01;02;53;27 - 01;03;04;15
Well, if. Yeah, strategically, all of these memories were missing. What would.

01;03;04;18 - 01;03;26;29
How? Giving too much away. You see, I'm on something. All right, on to number two. Okay. So my second theory is that Draco designed her chains, right? So, like, there's all of this, like, how did he get to be high Reeves so fast and whatever. So, like, he must have done something amazing. And so it could just be that he has killed, like, a bunch of people or whatever.

01;03;26;29 - 01;03;45;27
And that's like, my guy, you know, you're an amazing, you know, amazing killer. That's my job. I'm going to promote you, you know, like, that could be what they're doing. But, I don't know. I feel like it has to be something extraordinary. And these manacles seem to be, like, very surprising to Hermione. So it's not like they existed before.

01;03;45;27 - 01;04;09;28
And she knew about them. These are like, fuck, these things really suck. So somebody brilliant must have done this. I think maybe it's Draco. Okay. And then, my point number three is kind of cheating, but I think Draco and Hermione actually end up falling for each other. I think there might be something between those two crazy kids.

01;04;10;01 - 01;04;31;18
And it's, you know, the worst kept secret. But I do, you know, I think I think there's going to be something there. Well, yeah, I mean, it's a drama fanfiction, but, like, have you figured out the how of it all that is? Well, of course not. I'm only five chapters in. Leah. Get on it, girl. All right, well, I'm going to read chapters six through 25 next.

01;04;31;18 - 01;34;19;21
And, we're going to chat about that in episode two. I can't wait, Mark, thanks for joining us. Bye bye.