This rant was inspired by @freddycartr's post here because it's all I can ever think about and I'm probably insane ๐
enjoy <3
Cinder and Kai are truly two sides of the same coin, and their connection is so powerful because it's rooted in shared trauma and mutual understanding. Both are thrust into unimaginable circumstances at a young age -- for Kai, it's the death of his father and the pressure of marrying Levana to save his country. For Cinder, it's the death of Peony and years of abuse from her adoptive family. They're both carrying the weight of responsibility while also battling internal fears: Kai fears losing his autonomy and becoming a puppet, while Cinder fears she'll die alone, never seen as fully human because of the prejudice against cyborgs.
Kai was drawn to Cinder because she was refreshingly honest and didnโt treat him like a prince or a celebrity -- she saw him. Her lack of awe challenged him and made him feel real in a way few others ever had. In contrast, Cinder was so used to being avoided or looked down on, and Kai was the first person who looked her in the eyes and treated her like she mattered. For someone who had spent her whole life being dehumanized, that kind of genuine attention was revolutionary. She was terrified of him discovering who she really was, not because she didnโt trust him, but because she finally felt safe, and the idea of losing that was unbearable.
They both craved something rare: to be seen for who they are beneath the labels -- not the prince, not the cyborg, but just Kai and Cinder. And in each other, they finally found that.
That elevator scene in Cinder -- when Kai asks, โImagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everythingโฆโ -- becomes hauntingly prophetic. Once Cinder learns sheโs Princess Selene, that question isnโt hypothetical anymore. Sheโs literally forced to choose between her life as she knows it and the hope of saving others. Itโs a turning point, and it links them even more deeply: both of them carry the crushing weight of their nations, expected to sacrifice everything for the greater good.
And thatโs why theyโre such a perfect match -- not because they complete each other in a cliche way, but because they understand each other in a way no one else possibly could. They know what itโs like to be seen as something other than human. They know what itโs like to feel completely alone -- until they found each other.
Okay, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk ๐
โYouโd be surprised how often that works.โ
๐๐ฆ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐, ๐ผ๐ก ๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐๐๐, ๐ผ โ๐๐ฃ๐๐'๐ก ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐กโ. ๐ผ โ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐ก ๐ฆ๐๐ข. ๐ผ โ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ , ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ก๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐กโ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐๐ข๐โ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ผ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐; ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐กโ๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐. ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ก ๐ก๐, ๐กโ๐ โ๐๐๐๐ก โ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐. ๐ผ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ , ๐ผ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐๐๐. ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐โฆ ๐ผ๐ก ๐๐ ๐คโ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐๐ข๐โ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ก. ๐โ๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข'๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐โ๐ก, ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ผ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข. ๐๐๐กโ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ผ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ , ๐ผ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐๐ . ๐โ๐ ๐พ๐๐๐โ๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐ก.
โWilliam Thatcher, A Knightโs Tale โ Theย Letter
snow really convinced himself lucy gray didn't love him (after she wrote a whole song about him and tried to run away with him) and then forty years later told sixteen year old haymitch abernathy that dying in the arena would be dodging a bullet compared to loving a covey girl. top 10 situationships gone horribly wrong
โSome people are artists. Some themselves, are art.โ
This YouTube comment has been on my mind since I finished SOTR so this is what I came up with:
Lucy Gray was the mockingbird, living on the outskirts of district 12 and was there at the wrong time when they were forced to stay there after the Dark Days. They were subjected to the Capitolโs politics despite not being a part of Panem, technically speaking. Lucy Gray became part of the Games and, likewise, the mockingbird became affiliated with the Capitol through the jabberjayโs release into the woods, but it still continued to sing its own song.
Haymitch was the jabberjay, a Capitol tool that did what it had to in order to survive. The Capitol thought they could control them, but they retaliated in the form of rebellion. Haymitch refused to be a piece in their game and tried to end it, and the jabberjay, in the eyes of the Capitol, created a freak of nature that showed the Capitolโs lack of complete control.
Katniss was the mockingjay, a slap in the face of the Capitol, something that was never meant to exist. Together, the song of the mockingbird that lived on for generations and the stubbornness of the jabberjay that refused to die, the mockingjay had the best of both worlds. It was a symbol of rebellion and unity.
๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต'๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ, ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ฐ'๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ, ๐ข ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ง๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ, ๐ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ, ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ.
โUnknown author, The Last Unicorn (inspired by Peter S. Beagleโs novel)
โCaptain?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?"
He squinted and, after a thoughtful moment, shook his head. "No. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder.โ
As much as I absolutely regret spoiling most of the RA series for myself (I unfortunately have the self-control of a five year old, and the wisdom of a duck) itโs admittedly kind of fun watching pieces of future plot-lines slide into place without any foreknowledge about how it will. Examples, and huge spoilers ahead:
โข Halt โlyingโ to Deparnieux about being Hibernian royalty. And then denying that he was to Horace afterwards. Crazy work. It felt like I possessed illegal knowledge.
โข Malkallum actually being Malcom. I was aware of there being a healer named Malcom, but little else, so I was somewhat excited to put together that they were the same person.
โข Not as much of a connection, but I definitely got wide-eyed when I read that Tennyson was working with the Genovesan assassins (which is where I left off, soโฆ I guess I canโt say no spoilers but I still hope to be a little left in the dark for Haltโs Peril lol).
Moral of the story โ donโt read fanfic until youโve finished reading/watching all the canon content. But there are sometimes some pros that come along with knowing stuff prematurely. Still, itโs hardly worth it in the long-run :,)
and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, shall be liftedโnevermore! โขโขโข nineteen years of living on this planet and still somehow unable to make connections properly โข infp 9w1 โข in a perpetual state of indecision between reading or writing more โข trying to maintain a sense of whimsy admist the gruelling nature of everyday lifeโขโขโขrangerโs apprentice โข the lunar chronicles โข the hunger games (and many more)
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