notail no-goodnik

Storage side blog for various fanart and fanfiction.

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A Song of Ash and Arrows Trailer (in progress)

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*~*

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am eighteen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. District 13 took me in. Peeta was taken prisoner by the Capitol. He died by President Snow’s hands. Prim died by Coin’s. I was not allowed to die by my own. I need an escape. Beetee is offering me an escape…

A Song of Ash and Arrows

I sit at the kitchen table, alone in the darkness, the book I made splayed open in front of me. The only sound in this house is the crisp and steady turn of each page. I am on autopilot, looking but not seeing.

Greasy Sae and her granddaughter have come and gone. I’ve proven I’m capable of cooking for myself again but she’s still making sure I eat, and I accept the company. Or I don’t have the heart or the fight to turn it down. Even Buttercup curls up on the table and I don’t yell at him to get off. He sits in a loaf, purring, watching me. As attentive as Greasy Sae. I guess I must be getting bad again.

Suddenly his paw shoots out and pats at something, startling me out of my stupor. I almost swat his paw out of the way when I do a doubletake at the page.

It’s Prim. The photo he tapped. And next to her, my drawing of Peeta.

A dull ache hiccups in my chest, shooting up to my throat. I try to swallow it back down, but even so, my fingers trace the images on the page. There’s an actual photograph of Peeta too somewhere, on another page I think, but I thought it would be a nice tribute to his memory to try to draw him. It’s nothing compared to Peeta’s paintings, or the illustrations I know he would’ve gladly added to these pages, but it’s enough to elicit a reaction from me.

I wonder sometimes if he would’ve drawn Prim, if he had been there, if he had known…

There’s no question, I realize as I remember his painting of Rue. I don’t wonder. I know. He would’ve picked a primrose from the forest, pressed it in the pages, surrounded her with a crown of them in his art…

Buttercup takes another swing at the photo, at my hand, and I notice I’m pressing my fingers so hard against the page that they’re shaking. I swat back at him this time and abruptly slam the book shut. The sudden motion and noise on impact startle Buttercup so much that he scampers and jumps off the table.

I storm upstairs to bed. The cat follows shortly after. He curls up next to me, waiting for me to sleep, the way he used to with Prim.

I wish Prim were here. I wish Peeta were here. I want either, both, in Buttercup’s place.

I sleep for hours. Possibly more than the cat.

Sometime in the afternoon, between Greasy Sae meals, I decide to go see Haymitch. He has nothing going on, I have nothing better to do besides hunt. As always, we are a match made in hell – or at least the Victor’s Village.

I greet his geese when I arrive. I like them well enough, find myself amused by them. It’s nice to be hissed at by an animal that isn’t Buttercup. He hasn’t been doing as much hissing at me these days anyway, which is unnerving – and then depressing when I remember the reason. Some of the geese flutter their wings at me, and it makes me think of the ones Cinna made. Reminders are everywhere in District 12.

Missing the luxury of Haymitch having Hazelle for a housekeeper, I push open the front door and brace myself for a sour smell.

It doesn’t come. Or, rather, it’s not as bad. Have I become accustomed to it after all this time, or has my sense of smell gone dull…?

From the look of things inside, this does not appear to be the case. There’s no vomit, no liquor bottles on the floor, at least half as many wrappers discarded in various places. Haymitch has cleaned up. Or someone else has. And the answer is draped on the couch next to him, freshly untangled from his arms and staring wide-eyed back at me.

“Effie?” I say, because there’s nothing else to say. The answer to “what are you doing here” is pretty clear.

“Katniss!” Effie breathes, still straightening her wig. “Oh, good, you’re here.” As if there’s nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to see here.

“Knock next time, sweetheart,” Haymitch drawls. There are no bright lipstick marks peppered on his face where I expect them to be. Except I think I see a shimmer of pink and gloss when I squint. Looking at Effie now, I notice she’s dolled… down. Her wig is more contained, her makeup more subtle.

“Should I come back later…?” I ask dryly, already wondering how best to drive this image out of my head.

“Yes,” Haymitch replies.

“No,” says Effie at the same time, hasty as she stands from the couch. “No, I’m glad you’re here.”

Haymitch makes a noncommittal grunt, but Effie rounds the table and strides over to me, engulfing me in a perfumed hug.

“It’s good to see you, my girl,” she murmurs in my ear. I try not to cringe when I smell Haymitch on her breath.

Nicely, I hug her back, and give her a pat of greeting. “I didn’t even know you were visiting,” I say, making sure to fit a hint of accusation in my tone.

She picks up on it and has the sense to look embarrassed, batting her eyes innocently after we pull away. Her lashes are still shiny and glittery. “I was going to come by your house at three,” she assures me.

“It’s a quarter past,” I inform her.

Effie looks briefly horrified, which allows me a small spark of joy. “Well, no matter,” she amends, but shoots a dour glare at Haymitch, who looks rather pleased with himself. She picks something up off a counter and hands it to me. “Here, a letter for you.”

“Who’s it from?” I ask preemptively, accepting it from her. I can’t register the name or handwriting just yet, but I venture a guess. “Annie?”

“Oh, have you been writing to Annie?” Effie asks with a smile.

“Now and then,” I tell her, and lose my filter. “I guess when you’ve both seen your district partners decapitated, you tend to gain a sense of camaraderie.”

Effie exhales sharply. “Katniss!”

“Sorry,” I say. Using humor to cope doesn’t actually make it any easier. But it does bring a wry, knowing mouth quirk to Haymitch’s face. Not exactly a smile, of course, but acknowledgement. He won’t laugh, but he knows.

“It’s alright,” Effie sighs. “I suppose there’s a ring of truth to it.” I think she’s gotten somewhat used to my shock factor.

Flipping the envelope in my hands, I glance back down and finally make sense of the name. “It’s from Beetee.”

“Yes, I imagine he’ll mention whatever brilliant creation he’s been working so hard on these days,” Effie remarks, making a face as she examines herself in Haymitch’s cracked mirror. “He’s been at it for months and he won’t tell a soul what it is. But I suspect if there’s anyone he’d share his big secret with, it would be you.”

Beetee. I don’t hear from him nearly as much as I do Annie, Finnick, or Johanna. Not at all, really. I initially chalked his silence up to guilt because of the bombs, but it sounds to me like he’s simply been in a world of his own, inventing away in District 3. I tear open the letter, confusion giving way to curiosity.

Dear Katniss,

I hope this letter finds you well. Or, at least, in good health. First, I must apologize that it is so many months overdue. Ever since the war ended, I have devoted my time and efforts to a top-secret project I believe you will find particularly interesting. The few times I have spoken to Effie, Haymitch, Finnick, Annie, and Johanna, they have mentioned you are still going through a great deal of emotional and physical pain. I cannot refute that I am possibly to blame. Words cannot express my sorrow, nor how much the thought haunts me. Too much has been taken from you. Too much loss, in too short a time, for someone still so young. However, I think we can help one another.

I offer you a potential escape.

Perhaps this is too much of me to ask, but I invite you to please come see me at my workshop in District 3. You will be the first to find out what I have been working towards. And perhaps, if you are so inclined, the first to experience it for yourself.

Regards,

Beetee Latier

I squint at the words on the paper, unsure if I’ve read them right. Beetee’s expertise is in weapons and wiring. The war is over; what can he possibly have that I want? The tiny chip that holds hours of songs…? No. He’s too smart to think that’s enough of an escape for me.

“What’s he want?” Haymitch asks, keeping his voice gruff to contain his interest.

Lowering the letter, I look over at him and Effie. “He wants me to come to District 3,” I say, but try to bury my curiosity as well. “Am I not still bound to District 12?”

“That was until further notice,” Effie reminds me. “Beetee has cleared it with Paylor and you are free to visit him as you please.” She eyes the letter with heightened interest. “Did he tell you what his newest invention is?”

“No,” I tell her softly. My grip crinkles the edges of the letter. “But I’m going to find out.”

On the train, I lean my head against the window and stare outside as the world races by. I see a lot of green, which should encourage me. Instead I am just tired.

Effie is my escort to District 3, probably so I don’t do anything to hurt myself on or off the train. It makes me feel like I’m on my way to another Hunger Games with Peeta. I try to ignore it. She tells me Haymitch mentioned my book to her and I tell her a few things he and I have included, like Rue and Boggs and Maysilee, and Effie keeps sighing, “Oh, Katniss,” so I don’t tell her about the drawing of Peeta because this tires me too.

When the train stops, she directs me to the Victor’s Village and leaves me there to go meet up with an old friend, which makes me feel like a child being dropped off at school. I shrug it off and find my way to Beetee’s workshop. Since there have been only two victors from District 3, he made use of the space in the extra houses when he ran out of room in his own. Wiress’s is available too, now, but I figure he’s chosen to respect and preserve her space.

He’s clearly put his winnings to good use. There’s a winding staircase that leads to a vast, technology-packed basement. Screens, wires, and machines everywhere. I recognize a lot of equipment from District 13 and the Capitol. There’s even a tall glass cylinder and metal plate that looks like it’s ready to launch me into an arena.

I hear movement and tinkering, so I call out, “Beetee?”

A head pops up from over in the corner. “Katniss,” he says, his voice weary but warm and relieved at the sight of me. He rolls past some equipment and makes his way towards me with a smile of greeting. There are bags under his eyes and his beard has filled in considerably. It’s clear he’s spent a lot of all-nighters working on this project of his.

“What is all this?” I ask, cutting to the chase. “Why did you ask me to come here?”

He waves me along and wheels himself to a computer where he types something in and flicks at the screen a few times. Then he turns back to me.

“First off, I never officially extended my condolences to you, and I wanted to do so in person,” he says softly. “It didn’t fully hit me until Coin gathered us for the vote. Seeing you there, but no Peeta… I couldn’t… and your sister so soon after…” He is like Wiress, his words fading in the air. He takes my hand in his. “I’m truly sorry, Katniss, for what happened that day.”

I don’t know what to say, but I don’t have Peeta to say things for me. “I know,” I push out. “Why else.”

“I told you, I think we can help one another.” He releases my hand, straightens his glasses, and peers at the screen again, dragging images this way and that. “After the war, the innocent lives lost… lives of the victors torn apart by grief… guilt devouring so many of us from the inside… I dreamed of worlds where wrongs were set right. Of second chances – third chances. Of timelines where we won with the least innocent blood spilt.” He glances over at me. “Perhaps you’ve heard of the string theory?”

I nod; I have a vague idea of it. “I didn’t think the multiverse or parallel dimensions were your kind of thing.”

“They are now,” he says, elbowing a stack of physics books out of the way. “And that, Miss Everdeen, is exactly what I’ve been delving into for the past few months.” With that, he taps exuberantly at a few more buttons and gestures behind him to the glass cylinder, which begins to come alive inside with shimmering, sparking, and vibration. It reminds me of the force field in the training area with more flecks of color.

“What is that?” I ask, baffled by its energy.

Beetee smiles. “A portal, if you will,” he tells me. “A means of multidimensional travel. And I believe I’ve finally made it work.”

I stare at the portal in quiet disbelief. “Beetee, that’s not possible…”

“The same could be said about our current technology by people who lived a thousand years ago,” Beetee counters. “Five years ago, many people thought it impossible to overthrow the Capitol and end the Hunger Games. Yet here we are.” He looks over at me, solemn but proud. “Impossible things happen every single day, Katniss. I’ve always endeavored to make the impossible, in fact, possible.”

Pretty words. “Can that thing bring back my sister?” I deadpan, trying not to raise my voice. “Can it bring back Peeta?”

His smile plummets. “No,” he says. “I haven’t – I don’t know yet for sure. It was designed with that and you in mind, but such close, specific alternate timelines… the odds of it taking you there—”

“—aren’t in my favor,” I finish for him, my bitterness choking me on that last word.

“I need to test it,” Beetee clarifies quickly. “Think of it, Katniss. It can take you away from all of this. Take you to a different world, a different time. It’s, as I said, an escape.”

My muscles begin to unclench, but my mind is buzzing just like the portal. If it’s true, then what he has done is amazing. I can’t deny that. My interest is piqued, even though I try not to show it.

After a long pause, I ask quietly, “Why me?”

“Why you?” he repeats, like the question is amusing yet strange to him.

“Plenty of people have suffered, from the Games and the war,” I point out calmly. “Why me, why not Haymitch?”

“Haymitch has Effie,” Beetee replies, and I bristle. Of course I’m picked because even Haymitch has someone to love and I don’t. Poor, lonely Katniss, who lost Peeta and Prim on the same day and drove away Gale after it all. Even Johanna, who claimed there was no one left she loved, has apparently rarely been apart from Finnick and Annie since the war’s end. But I’m the crazy cat lady who eats Greasy Sae’s meals and bursts in on Haymitch and Effie’s kisses.

All of this must show on my face, because Beetee takes one look and continues.

“He’s also old, Katniss. Old like me,” he says. “He’s tired of adventures and wants to rest at home with Effie and his geese. But you are still young. You have your whole life ahead of you. I know you think there is not much left for you here… I figured if anyone needed a fresh start, it would be you.”

“I have nothing left to lose,” I murmur to the floor.

I know deep down Beetee is right. I don’t want to be in District 12 anymore, where I am living just to live and all that I used to survive for has gone. I would miss my mother, who is in District 4, and Haymitch, but it’s not enough. He of all people knows what I’m going through, but he cannot help me. He cannot give me what I need. The only escape he can offer me is in a bottle. Beetee, on the other hand…

“Given some more time, weeks or more likely months of readjustments,” Beetee muses, poring over his books and screens and data, “it’s possible I could perfect it enough so that we could directly locate the parallel universe where Peeta and your sister are alive. But it’s ready now.” He peers at me hopefully over the top of his glasses. “I just need a test subject.”

I consider the portal for a moment, watch as it pulses invitingly. “So it’ll take me someplace different?” I ask. “Someplace new?”

Beetee nods. “I don’t have exact control over where you might end up. The possibilities are endless. But I will ask you to wear a very small camera so I’ll be able to see for myself and establish a connection from both ends. Perhaps then I will be able to locate you, and send things to you if you have need of them.”

Might, possibilities, perhaps… there’s a lot of ambiguity here. I really am a test subject in this situation. A tentative question comes to mind. “Will I be able to come back?”

Beetee tilts his head at me knowingly. “Will you want to come back?”

I falter. His question is better than mine. He was right to select me as his test subject – we can help one another. If this thing works, I will go to a universe that is not ravaged by Panem’s war, or haunted by the Hunger Games. Maybe a vast wilderness filed with wildlife where I can lose myself in the forests and the ghosts can’t find me.

If something goes terribly wrong, well, then maybe I will just be gone. Gone like Cinna and Peeta and Prim and Rue. And Beetee knows that would make me happy too.

“I’ll need some time to think about it, and say my goodbyes,” I tell him, and crack a wry grin. “Get my affairs in order, as it were.”

“Of course,” Beetee says encouragingly. “Make all the preparations you need.”

The portal thrums with potential, with promise. I walk over to it and place my hand gingerly against the protective glass, feeling the energy inside. My heart and stomach do flips, and I almost pull my hand away, as if afraid the portal will somehow suck me in and take me before I’m ready. Then I realize I’ve been ready since I woke up in the hospital after losing Prim.

“I just want to be someplace where the train ride is officially over,” I say quietly. “Someplace I don’t have to be the Mockingjay anymore.”

I see Beetee’s understanding smile through his reflection in the glass. “I think that can be arranged.”

Somehow, I convince Effie to take me to District 4 so I can see my mom. I stay with her for a while, taking the chance to visit Finnick and Annie and their son – and, of course, his auntie Johanna.

Deep down, I know there’s still a part of Finnick that thinks I blame him for Peeta’s death, so I try to put it to rest before I go. It’s not like Peeta’s mind was in his control – it was barely within Peeta’s. None of us, not even Peeta, could have expected that moment of clarity during the battle with the mutts. But he must have remembered how Finnick saved his life in the Quell, he must’ve remembered he had Annie waiting for him. That’s how I’ve managed to rationalize his sudden sacrifice.

He was gallant to the end, too gallant for his own good. At least he got to die as himself, like he always wanted. And now he and Finnick are even.

It helps to see Finnick plays games with his son, knowing Peeta gave him that. But my smile still fades when the childish laughter triggers something in my mind, like a dream, and I imagine the little boy with blond curls playing with Peeta in the Meadow. Maybe I’m there too, watching, even holding a baby sister we named after Prim.

I once wished for a world where Peeta’s child would be safe. It’s here now, a world without the Games, and maybe one day I could’ve given him this. The boy with the blond curls and the Seam eyes. Or another girl could if I wouldn’t, but I hate this thought more than I ever hated Gale’s hypothetical tribute partner or the girls he’s probably kissing in District 2.

I only know that I mourn Peeta’s children, even the fictional one that died in the Quell. I mourn the happy ending he deserved. So before I leave, I kiss the red hair of the baby boy whose father he saved.

Maybe I overdo it a little when I hug Johanna goodbye. Although she returns it, she pulls away after a generous ten seconds and searches my face with knowing eyes.

“You’re not just leaving Four, are you…” she says, in a tone that adds more.

I shake my head. “I’ll explain more in a letter,” I promise.

“That is proper etiquette, I guess.” She sighs, arms folded across her chest. “I don’t suppose there’s anything I can say or do to stop you…?”

“No. It’s just something I have to do,” I tell her, and offer a half-hearted shrug. “Who knows, if it’s possible, maybe I’ll come back someday.”

Johanna looks baffled. “I mean, sure. If you believe that…”

A light goes on in my head, and I laugh. “Just wait for the letter.”

When I hug my mother goodbye, though, I make it last. Because Johanna is basically right. Odds are, this portal could be a one-way trip. If I go through, I’m dead to the world. There is no coming back.

The next time Effie arranges to meet Haymitch, she meets up with me and we share a ride back to District 12. I try to subtly spend as much time with them both as I can without walking in on any more kisses. This is hard to do – the subtlety, not just the timing – and Haymitch eventually calls me out on it while we’re alone.

“Alright, what are you up to, sweetheart?” he asks. “Months of hibernation after Peeta’s death, and then you come back from your little Beetee trip and suddenly you’re so…” I watch him dance around the word clingy. “…social. You’re like a cat that’s always underfoot.”

I look up from the floor, swallowing as I search for my resolve. “I might be going away for a while,” I say. “I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Haymitch studies me closely. “You don’t know ifyou’ll be back,” he realizes, because even in the most bizarre of situations, the man knows me.

I keep my answers vague and my requests and instructions clear. He’ll be looking after Buttercup and the house while I’m gone (begrudgingly, of course). I’m leaving the book in his care, too, since he helped make it. Lugging it around with me might not be feasible. I already thought of this, so I asked Beetee for a favor. Now copies of the pages will be saved in a small handheld device, if I ever want to look back. Only a few tangible photos are coming with me.

At home, packing is an ordeal. I’d planned to travel light, but Beetee advised me to prepare for anything. A winter coat for a blizzard, a wetsuit for a world of water. He’s even considering getting me those night-vision sunglasses from my first Games, in case the world has gone dark.

“Feels like I’m going back into the arena,” I say idly to Buttercup, who is hovering in the doorway. He’s doing that cat thing where he wants to watch me but not from the same room. Since he’s a stupid cat, and not Beetee, he has no idea what I’m talking about, so I turn and go back to my packing.

The mockingjay pin rests inside the opened silver parachute on my desk, waiting for judgment. I pick it up, hearing the pearl and spile roll and clink at the disturbance, and weigh it on my palm, unsure. I told Beetee I didn’t want to be the Mockingjay anymore. But this is a symbol from my district. A district I am choosing to leave behind…

I sigh and let it drop back into the parachute, which I am taking with me. If anything, I want to keep it with me to remember Madge.

Peeta’s medallion goes in there too. I’ve replaced Gale’s picture with his since I cannot bear to have Gale next to Prim anymore. That’s the last reminder I want to carry with me.

After stuffing in a few more supplies, I zip up my bag and head downstairs. Effie will be heading back home so she’s escorting me to District 3 again on the way. I’m sure she’s confused despite whatever Haymitch may have told her, but I have a letter written for her just as I have for everyone else. Despite her puzzlement, she’ll want to leave on time, so I quicken my pace as I make for the front door, but a rusty meow startles me.

I look down, and there’s Buttercup. Prowling, threading through my legs, leering up at me. It occurs to me suddenly that he’s been making a lot of noise today. Like he knows I’m going somewhere. He keeps meowing, making short little noises that seem inquisitive and even demanding, though I know I’ve already fed him. I’m pretty sure he just wants to get in my way.

“What?” I ask him. “Oh, don’t pretend like you’re going to miss me.”

He gives that helpless kitten mew, then continues circling me relentlessly, even starting up a rattly purr.

Disgusting, I think. Have some dignity. But I don’t know which one of us I’m talking to as I lean down and pick him up.

I almost feel bad for the little beast. We’re more alike than I care to admit, and while we can both survive without each other, we would not be better off. Besides my mother in District Four, we are each other’s last living shred of Prim. I’m not sure I have it in me to take that away from him.

Holding him in my arms for once, rather than by the scruff, I look him in those dirty yellow eyes of his. “You would just end up eating Haymitch’s geese while you were there, wouldn’t you?” I accuse him.

He licks his chops, as if agreeing with me.

I like those geese. And Haymitch doesn’t have to worry about vermin if Effie’s been getting him to actually clean his place up once in a while, so there’s no point in dumping Buttercup on him. I wouldn’t wish this cat on my worst enemy, let alone Haymitch.

With a defeated sigh, I stuff him in my game bag for old time’s sake. For better or for worse, Prim’s ugly old cat is staying with me.

“If it turns out to be a world full of water, you might end up finally drowning after all,” I warn him as I walk out the door.

Buttercup rumbles a low growl inside the bag. He’s too stupid to know I’m bluffing.

The cat stays securely in the bag while we’re inside Beetee’s workshop, since I just know if he gets loose he’ll bite something important and screw things up. Instead, he makes occasional muffled growls and yowls as Beetee and I make our final preparations. As promised, Beetee’s managed to compress a few things (coat, clothes, food, arrows, medical kit) so that they fit in my one pack, because that’s all I’m carrying besides my bow and game bag.

“Makes you feel like you’re going into another arena, doesn’t it?” Beetee says with a wry smile, watching me slip the night vision sunglasses into a pocket.

I shake the pack to make the glasses settle in deeper before pulling the zipper. “It’s all of the Cornucopia with none of the Bloodbath.”

He chuckles and turns back to his screen, tapping and clicking at the program until with a small lift of his glasses he looks satisfied. “Alright. We should be good to go.”

After one more tap, the portal starts up with an ethereal shimmer. A soft whirring sound signals the rising of the protective glass and it finally hits me that I’m meant to step into that energy. I take a deep breath and sling the pack on over my shoulders, silently reminding myself that I’ve faced worse. To go into the unknown is better than to go on decaying in District 12.

Beetee attaches the tiny camera to my shirt and shows me how to turn it on and off. It’s a little thing, but in case my microphone and earpiece don’t work, he just wants to make sure I’ve made it over okay. Besides that, he’s interested to know what it’s like wherever I show up. I can tell he’s excited about this, and I feel sort of guilty for initially hoping the thing might just obliterate me from existence.

Once I’m set and secured, squirming game bag in hand, I approach the portal and take one last look at Beetee. “Any final words of advice for me before I go in?”

“Hm,” says Beetee, fidgeting. He’s even more nervous than I am. “I guess that is the kind of thing a mentor would do.” He tilts his head at me. “What would Haymitch usually say in this situation?”

There’s no doubt what he would say if he were here. I can hear him in my head as if I’m already wearing the earpiece.

“Stay alive,” I murmur.

Beetee laughs. “Yes. Please try to do just that,” he says, tapping at the keyboard. Then he sobers, straightens his glasses, and looks up at me. “Good luck, Katniss.”

I nod at him. “Thank you,” I say, and trust that he understands the double-meaning.

Then I step onto the metal plate, turn, and watch the glass case descend before the energy engulfs me.

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What Shatter Made Of - RaveDJ

Mashup featuring Lindsey Stirling & Lindsey Stirling ft. Kiesza, Lzzy Hale made at rave.dj

i've just discovered this site and it's given me way too much power

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Frozen Stirling - A Lindsey Stirling Unexpected Musical

Beginning?

Foreverglow – (Anna and Elsa playing with snow in the beginning)

Starry night Speck of white Would you know you're made of light If you were born into the dark? Did you know Down below Worlds beyond would see you glow Long, long after you're gone? Your shine won't last forever But you'll forever-glow

(possibly the song cuts off when Anna’s hit by the snow)

Those Days – (Anna and Elsa growing up without each other)

I remember, I remember those days Laughing out loud, staying up too late Staring out the window whilst I see your face I remember, I remember those days (I remember those days) We had a little bit of time but it's never enough Remember driving playing all night, we'd been talking 'bout love Now that you're gone the show is story’s done We had a little bit of time but it's never enough (no it's never enough) I remember, I remember those days [x3] I remember those days

Where Do We Go – (When their parents die)

We're sailing We're sailing, aren't we? It's hard to tell the water from my tears "Don't worry, Have faith," they told me It was easier than in my younger years Now that I'm older, now that it's colder Life keeps on crashing Day after day, like a wave after wave We did everything right and now I'm asking Where do we go? Oh When our prayers are answered Where do we go? Oh When our prayers are answered but the answer is no Tell me where the wind blows Tell me where the wind goes Where do we go? We're dreaming We're dreaming, aren't we? 'Cause you're still with me sometimes when I sleep This hallway, I'll walk it bravely And all the cliffs and fault-lines in between Now that I'm older, now that it's colder Life keeps on crashing Day after day, like a wave after wave We did everything right and now I'm asking

Where do we go? Oh When our prayers are answered Where do we go? Oh When our prayers are answered but the answer is no

Love’s Just a Feeling – Coronation Day?

(Elsa, getting ready for coronation)

I wonder what I'm running from Stay inside and barricade the doors Miss the sun to avoid the storm Would do anything to feel the warmth I wonder where I'm going wrong

(Anna, prancing about the castle and the grounds) Cause love's just a feeling Some kind of emotion

(Elsa, mentally preparing)

When you need the healing When you're all broken

(Elsa & Anna) Don't overthink it

(Anna) Before the moment is stolen Cause love's just a feeling

(Elsa, nervously) (Anna, excitedly)

And right now I'm open, I'm open

(Anna, meeting and falling for Hans) I wanna fall like I won't hit the ground I wanna dance like nobody's around Walk on the edge and not look down Follow my heart and lose my head into the clouds It took a while but I'm here now

(Elsa & Anna coronation drama) Cause love's just a feeling Some kind of emotion When you need the healing When you're all broken Don't overthink it Before the moment is stolen Cause love's just a feeling And right now I'm open, I'm open

(Elsa accidentally shows her powers)

I hold my hands up Afraid of so much It's time I let it all go Maybe I've lost touch In all the blind love I'm gonna let it all go

(Elsa flees and Anna chases after her) Cause love's just a feeling Don't overthink it Cause love's just a feeling Some kind of emotion

(Anna collapses at the fjord) (OR races off on horseback without hesitation) Don't overthink it Before the moment is stolen

Shatter Me – (Elsa’s Let It Go moment)

I pirouette in the dark I see the stars through a mirror Tired mechanical heart Beats 'til the song disappears Somebody shine a light I'm frozen by the fear in me Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me So cut me from the line Dizzy, spinning endlessly Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me [Violin drop] Shatter me Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me

The Upside - Anna’s Journey to the Mountain

The dark side of the moon All these new feelings got me so confused I wanna cut it loose Not sure that I can do this without you Now I'm lost and I'm broken Deep in like the ocean Heart's been cut wide open Changing and I know it The other side of you That's what I've been trying to get used to But you know I am

(Anna, climbing mountains) Holding on and I'm upside down On my way to the upside now I'm on my way, on my way out I don't know if I'm right side up I'm inside out but I won't give up On my way, I'm on my way To the upside now To the upside now The upside now To the upside now

What You’re Made Of/Shatter Me (reprise) mashup – Anna confronts Elsa in her ice palace

What You’re Made Of – Anna

Lights go down inside your head again The walls are thin Like they're closin' in Lost yourself inside a broken mirror 'Cause that's what you fear But I'm still here Push me out, I'll pull you closer When you think that it's all over Know that you will never be unloved by me Oh, you're bigger than this moment Might be bent but you're not broken Know that you will never be unloved by me 'Cause I know what you're made of I know what you're made of

Shatter Me (reprise) – Elsa

Somebody shine a light I'm frozen by the fear in me Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me So cut me from the line Dizzy, spinning endlessly Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me

What You’re Made Of – Anna

Burned out with the fire in your eyes But you're gonna rise 'Cause you know how to fight And you might fall down further than before But it takes hittin' the floor To know you're worth much more

Shatter Me (reprise) – Elsa

If I break the glass then I'll have to fly There's no one to catch me if I take a dive I'm scared of changing The days stay the same The world is spinning but only in gray If I break the glass then I'll have to fly There's no one to catch me if I take a dive I'm scared of changing The days stay the same The world is spinning but only in gray

What You’re Made Of – Anna Push me out, I'll pull you closer When you think that it's all over Know that you will never be unloved by me Oh, you're bigger than this moment Might be bent but you're not broken Know that you will never be unloved by me

Shatter Me (reprise) – Elsa

Somebody shine a light I'm frozen by the fear in me Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me So cut me from the line Dizzy, spinning endlessly Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me

What You’re Made Of – Anna

'Cause I know what you're made of I know what you're made of

Shatter Me (reprise) – Elsa

Shatter me

Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me I know what you're made of I know what you're made of Said, I know what you're made of (You will never be unloved by me) I know what you're made of I know what you're made of I know what you're made of

(Possibly have Elsa’s ice blast come right after a “Shatter me” and cut off one of Anna’s “I know what you’re made of” at the same time)

(Warmer in the Winter could fit in here somewhere for Kristoff and Anna?) (optional) (if so, cut off a final “’cause I’m warmer in the winter with you” with Anna’s sudden shudder of shock and cold from her frozen heart while Kristoff catches her)

Something Wild – Kristoff getting Anna help and taking her home

You had your maps drawn You had other plans To hang your hopes on Every road they led you down felt so wrong So you found another way You've got a big heart The way you see the world It got you this far You might have some bruises And a few scars But you know you're gonna be okay Even though you're scared You're stronger than you know If you're lost out where the lights are blinding Caught and all the stars are hiding That's when something wild calls you home, home If you face the fear that keeps you frozen Chase the sky into the ocean That's when something wild calls you home, home

Our Love Goes On And On – Anna betrayed and freezing in room

(Anna grieving against door)

There's an old familiar silence When I'm lost inside my heart I can't hear the voice inside me So I look up to the stars

(looks out window?) There is darkness ever waiting I can feel it in the air

(sees Kristoff running back to Arendelle) So I call upon my angels Are you still there?

(Anna escapes castle) When the wind bends the branch to softly touch me When the band plays your song

(Anna pushes across the fjord) I feel strong enough to keep dreaming

(Elsa is confronted by Hans) Even when I'm all alone

(Elsa collapses in grief) Our love goes on and on

(Kristoff and Anna see each other) When the wind bends the branch to softly touch me When the band plays your song

(Anna spots Elsa and rushes to save her) I feel strong enough to keep dreaming

Even when I'm all alone

(Anna freezes solid) Our love goes on and on

Brave Enough – Elsa grieves for Anna

(Elsa touches Anna’s face in disbelief)

There's some things I should have said I was too afraid It was just so hard to let you know Now it's all too late What we had was beautiful I didn't want to wreck it all Every day I think about the truth

(Elsa starts crying) I wish I was I wish I was Brave enough to love you Brave enough to love you I wish I was I wish I was Brave enough to love you Brave enough, brave enough Brave enough to love you…

(Anna begins to thaw)

Lose You Now - Anna thaws, Elsa hugs her

Elsa: (gasps) “Anna?”

(Anna, smiling) I'll keep you in my life somehow (Elsa) And even when the lights go down, down (Anna) I'm not gonna lose you now (Elsa & Anna) I'm not gonna lose you now

(Elsa and Anna hug) (as everything thaws around them?)

[cambrand]

[cambrand]

(tbh this started out as a list of angel beats/heartbreak cure comparisons so that’ll probably be obvious here)

-plays in trees -"not dead yet" (66) -runs at mist like olaf -"sorry i'm late" (68) MY HEART -"nothing i ever did was good enough for him" runeard is kimito -"the goofy boy who can barely manage not to fall out of a tree" (87) gdflsjkfg;jslfdgklfgd -"your voice is like an angel's" (92) -you're such a moron (96) -"I leapt to my feet and ran over to her, taking her injured hand in mine" (97) -"It's not a waste of time. ... Not to me anyway. ... Because I get to spend it with you." 🥺 -bro that almost kiss on page 100!!! it's so TPS chapters 17 and 36 <3 -wtf Johan sounds hot -like I kinda like him already but I hope I don't get Hans'd by him. Plus he's six years older than Iduna but very enthusiastic to see her and doesn't like Agnarr apparently?? sounds like romantic rivalry which is... hm. -(106) ok damn 180 mood swing Johan is definitely kinda sus for taking credit (108) -SHADDUP JOHAN -Iduna has....  fab gymnastic skills (110) -overly dramatic swooning motion just like her daughter! (111) -(about Agnarr's mom) "This woman's eyes looked unbearably sad. As if she held a terrible secret." (116) DID SHE THO?? -damn, Elsa knows that feel bro (117) -HELP I'M SO USED TO MY OWN SLOWBURN I'M NOT READY FOR AGNARR'S CONFESSION (119) AAAAAAAAAAHHHH -IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK AND THEY'VE ALREADY KISSED THIS IS GONNA HUUUUURT -Agnarr obviously doesn't end up with Runa so I wonder how her life turns out? -Okay if Blodget (strong IF) knew Iduna's fake parents wouldn't she know they didn't have a kid? -Johan for GALE'S SAKE DUDE SHE'S SIXTEEN MF YOU HIRED HER WHEN SHE WAS FIFTEEN BRO -I KNEW IT I KNEW HE WAS GONNA HANS ME (131) -I hate him I hate him so much he's a big ol Hans-Gaston-Kinchan -And she's such a Yuri (not letting him see her cry) ("I have always taken care of myself") (138) -ok what really is going on with the purple sheep (150) -I feel like Peterssen must have a connection with the Northuldra... I just remembered he was there when the dam was being constructed but is it deeper than that? (152) -Agnarr: "...imagining every shadow was an evil presence, lurking and waiting to take me away, too." (153) NAOI? -(image: the DID YOU F__ MY MOTHER SANTA" meme except "WAS AGNARR'S MOM MAGIC, FROZEN?") -IDUNA MET YOUNG OAKEN (171) -Okay Zain is so right about this ice harvester woman being Kristoff's mother but also I want to know the tune she sang to get the trolls to talk to her. (173) -"I don't want to remember him!" (176) HEARTBREAK CURE HEARTBREAK CURE AHH! -"Who would want their memories wiped?" (178) The Programmer, Yuri, probably you... -Rita gives me such Makishi Hejjiguchi vibes. Or the Ayame Naoi who didn't stay. (182) -they even clash like Naoi and Yuri! And Iduna has Yuri's indignation (190-191) -Question... could Johan be at all behind these attacks? For "Iduna's own good"? (194) -She sings songs about reindeer! She and Kristoff would get along so well (198) -"You are your own person, Iduna. You always have been. It's one of the million qualities I love about you." (207) -"[Agnarr's mother] was such a sweet soul. So smart, creative. When she laughed, you couldn't help but laugh with her." "He tried to give her everything, but she wanted nothing. Nothing except the one thing she could never have. Freedom." (215) I literally can't decide if this is Ayame, Makishi, or The Girl. (also what if it meant freedom to use her powers?) -(218) Brownish-redhaired girl, wearing a searing blue dress that matches her eyes, doing whatever she wants?? Sounds familiar. -I'm so glad Runa apparently accepted Agnarr's rejection. I was (well, still am) a little suspicious that the king of Vassar arranged this attack so that Agnarr would need to marry into his family. Hoping Runa's at least not involved in it? (239) -THIS BOOK REALLY IS ABOUT TO PULL A HEARTBREAK CURE (242) -OMG I KNEW IT WAS VASSAR (269) -GO RUNA. (278) -I wish Runa could be like an aunt to Elsa and Anna, and tell them what their parents were like. (280) Imagine if she was Rapunzel's mom? -IDUNA PROPOSED THE NORTHULDRA WAY OMG (283) -"'Do you ... have magic?' he asked slowly." (326) Iduna says no magic runs through her veins BUT WHAT ABOUT RITA? -"The girl you grew up with, the one you married? She was always me. The real me. And my love for you? That's always been real too. I love you more than anything in the world, and I always will." (327) NAYURI AFTER THE OG CONCERT. -Agnarr: "I would go to the ends of the earth to help her." Tia Dalma: 👀 (330) -"There is no other life on earth I would rather have lived." (335) 😭 -Oh my God Iduna really got to see Free Elsa and Queen Anna I just got chills (337) -In her last moments she sings her siren cry, oh my lord that's literally haunting, that's probably exactly what Elsa hears.

[cambrand]

2:58 pm (12-18-15)

 I'm gonna record my notes as I read Lunar Chronicles books. Today I rented Cinder and I'm already on page 24, and here's what I think so far:

 Despite reading the opening flap, at first I had no idea what was going on :) Lotsa techy mechanic stuff.... but I like it, y'know? Meyer writes it like it's a regular thing, describing android/cyborg parts. Makes me feel like I'm part of this decade/century/society.

 Iko's a precious baby. Like a lil Ooyama or a Lola Martinez. I also love Kai (or Kaito), he's already adorable

 Adri sucks though. She's very Bev. What's she got against poor lil Iko???

 And I'm intrigued about this plague....

 Wow, fuck you Pearl. (That's reaaaaaally shitty, that they just draft cyborgs to be guinea pigs for plague testing bc they don't value them)

 What does the "many of them had been given a second chance at life by the generous hands of scientists" thing mean?? I think it's referring to the plague-testing, but like.... what if... in this Lunar Chronicles universe, some cyborgs are just people who would have died in their physical human bodies but then scientists let them continue living as cyborgs? Like rebirth only in a cyborg body? (like what if Cinder had died young, a teenager, and this was her new body? idk... it reminds me of Skinned. OOH OOH I WANNA READ SKINNED) ....okay wait i think this is canon.

 so Adri would never volunteer Cinder because that would be the end of her only income and she'd never worked a day in her life-----HMMM I WONDER WHO THIS MIGHT REMIND ZAIN OF.

 "and it seemed that lately a disproportionate number of those chosen were from New Beijing and the surrounding suburbs" is this an important detail because it seems like a fishy important detail.

 Cinder: "Why would the prince dance with me?"

Iko: "Because you won't have grease on your face this time." (oh my god I love Iko so much)

 "No one appreciates what I do for them" SOUNDS FRICKIN FAMILIAR

 Peony is way too cute and adorable. So is Iko. Ten bucks says they die. Or at least one of them does.

 are we going to find out that Cinder is somehow connected to Queen Levana---like for all I know, there was some sort of relation there and Cinder was just programmed to not know about it

 OH MY GOD I WAS JUST TRYING TO OPEN IT BACK UP TO PAGE 44 AND I ENDED UP AT PAGE 48 AND I SAW PART OF THE ENDING OF THE CHAPTER, LIKE THE WORDS "HANDS" AND "PEONY SCREAMED" AND NOW I'M PRETTY SURE SINCE THEY'RE IN A JUNKYARD--------A FILTHY DIRTY JUNKYARD-----SHE WAS SCREAMING BECAUSE SHE CAUGHT THE PLAGUE AM I RIGHT?!?! i guess i'll have to find out.

 "some conspiracy theorists thought the princess had survived and was still alive somewhere" um can i just point out that this Princess Selene was three when she supposedly died and Cinder was eleven and orphaned when Adri's husband found her........

 "they'd found traces of the child's flesh in the ashes" OKAY BUT THAT'S JUST A PETER PETTIGREW IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING. (and ashes, FIRE...... CINDER!!? HELLO?!?!?)

 if i really wanted to go wild i'd say Iko is the nanny.... or maybe that the nanny had fled with Selene aka Cinder and staged their deaths.

 a rat, huh? remember what rats used to carry? the bubonic plague... Peony is so fucked.

 so the car's a yellow-orange pumpkin color.... PUMPKIN... and Cinder wants to restore it to its former glory... what if she DROVE it to the ball?! fuckin pumpkins, man.

 a dark spot.... fuckin called it.... sure isn't a hickey

 MY POOR PEONY... she's like a little Prim... poor baby.

 wait.... WAIT!!! Cinder is literally HUGGING Peony right now and she's not getting any symptoms of the plague. IS IT BECAUSE SHE'S A LUNAR?!? maybe she can't get sick from the plague but she can carry it... if it was really her who gave it to Peony and not the junkyard.

 Iko is incapable of ignoring Adri's commands.... wonder if that will come into play later.

 Ohhhhh... human-to-cyborg theory confirmed.

 What's with Dr. Erland and his visions.... is he a Lunar?? or is a Lunar messing with him-------is the assistant one? I'll be keeping my eye on Fateen.

 OOHHH LOOKY HERE. Cinder has dreams of lying on a burning pyre... ANY RELATION TO SELENE'S SUPPOSED DEATH?!?

 holy fuck the disease is like disappearing in her body she's super immune

 HOLY FUCK I THINK DR. ERLAND IS A LUNAR.

 "at least that's what they told me" your liar aunt and uncle, right Cinder? what happened next? did a crocodile take out a knife and give you a lightning scar?

 lmao, Kai doesn't like Lunars. At all. That'll be awkward when it turns out Cinder's one.

 "unless she's just biding her time, waiting for us to get so weak we won't have any choice but to surrender." Weeelllll. I know what this series is going to be about!

 you know what would be fucked up----if Queen Levana (and/or other Lunars) were the ones that started up the blue plague, or caused it on the Earthlings, just to fuck with them and make them weak---and the reason why Cinder is immune is because she's a Lunar. Because the Lunars, like, invented that shit.... or had a bunch of Lunars already come in contact with it to develop an immunity...

 I LOVE MAKING UP THEORIES/HEADCANONS IDK

 KAI BROUGHT UP THE LUNAR HEIR............ YES OFC YOU'VE MET HER POSSIBLY!!! IT'S CINDER.

 "she had died in a fire thirteen years ago" when she was THREE! AND HOW OLD IS CINDER?! SIXTEEN. Maybe this is supposed to be obvious.

 "they never found a body" WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU. PETER PETTIGREW SHIT.

 "Right. Excellent plan. I'm so comforted now that we've had this talk." I fucking love Kai he's such a sarcastic lil shit

 Erland: "Do you realize you're missing tear ducts?"

Cinder: "What? Really? And I thought I was just emotionally withdrawn." holy shit Cinder and Kai are meant for each other

 Daaaaaaaamn, Kai is flirting up a fucking storm. Guy's got game.

 "How could she know? So soon?" Another reason for me to believe Levana and/or the Lunars are behind this plague. maybe they could even literally track when the emperor was gonna die.

 She's been threatening war for the past twelve years..... isn't that how long the plague's been going on???

 the fucking bruises and rashes are blue-ish.... just seems like a Lunar calling card.

 Erland and Iko seem like possible fairy godparents.

 "'The chances that you have ever crossed paths with one is extremely unlikely.' He smiled, a teasing, close-lipped smile." HE KNOWS SHE'S LUNAR. THAT'S WHY HE'S SO AMUSED.

 okay for real Erland has got to be a Lunar, he just explained that Lunars escape to Earth sometimes and he seemed alarmed when he heard that Queen Levana was coming. ....Though he could also be concerned for Kai's sake, as shown in the passage after that.

 Okay he's totally about to give Cinder the 411 on her Lunar status. He probably wants her to not be there because Queen Levana's Lunar skills could see through Cinder's glamours IDK WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

 "Miss Linh, from your blood samples I have deduced that you are, in fact, Lunar." YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 LUNARS ARE IMMUNE TO THE DISEASE. BOOM. "Lunars are the original carrier hosts for letumosis" BOOOOM!!!! "You aren't [contagious] now, because your body has developed means of ridding itself of the disease" I AM SO GOOD AT THIS

 Erland has no idea but I still think Cinder is Selene

 "Kai risked a glance at Torin and saw that he held Levana's gaze without outward emotion" HOLY FUCK TORIN IS A SHELL. YOU IDIOT SHE'S GONNA KNOW. SHE COULD KILL YOU. ...Torin might be a shell.

 get your shit together Kai

 Cinder I knew this from the moment you came to the palace but oh honey you are so fucked

 "the gift is such a fundamental part of our internal makeup" OOOHHHHHH

 HE'S LUNAR!!!! I AM SO GOOOOOD!!!

 #NotAllLunars

 Poor lil Crescent Moon ;_;

 it better NOT be a trick, I love little Peony!!!

 WINTER IS LEVANA'S DAUGHTER OMFG i should have known. oh... stepdaughter.

 noooooo!!!! PEONYYYY

 if that antidote actually works then Cinder will have saved Chang Sunto's life. Maybe he'll repay the favor???

 damn levana was gonna have sybil make the servant take out her own eye that's messed up

 !!!! Chang Sunto is gonna be ok!!! i think.

 THAT BITCH ADRI DISMANTLED IKO

 whoa... whoa... whoa.. wait... is she gonna use her old foot to go to the ball

 no i guess not.. not yet anyway.

 OH MY GOD is Cinder talking to Cress??!?!?? the HAIR! THE HAIR!

 "i've programmed all the spyware that Levana's used to watch Emperor Rikan these past months" YOOOOOOOOOOOO i think i called another one

 ohhh shit Pearl and Adri are going to be so pissed if they recognize her in Peony's dress

 OOOHHH HOOO HOOO WHAT'D I TELL YA. THE CAR IS THE PUMPKIN CARRIAGE

 Careful you dingus it's raining IT'S HARD TO DRIVE IN RAIN EVEN IF YOU'RE USED TO GASOLINE CARS

 oooh, calling it now, "Why didn't you tell me?" and "I would have understood" are referring to Peony's death or something, Kai thinks they're talking about that and Cinder thinks, of course, that they're talking about cyborg status.

 "who..." "who didn't know her?" I AM SO FUCKING GOOD.

 OHHHH SHIIIIIT SHE KISSED HIM lmao of course the music stopped

 holy shit holy shit Queen Levana outed her as a shell! though she's not really a shell... but that's Lunar talk.

 holy fuck Levana's trying to make her shoot herself

 okayyyy so does Kai now know Cinder's cyborg?

 this is so fucking intense   ....... man I hate those "was it all a lie" scenes THOSE THINGS CAN'T POSSIBLY ALL BE LIES OKAY

 "You're even more painful to look at than she is" ((i wish there was an emoticon for the face i have and the emotions i am feeling))) DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN. DUDE.

 yaaaaay erland's here! lmao he used his mind tricks on the guard, i love him

 "My dear girl. You are Princess Selene." BOOOOM.

 what the fuck. erland. he set up the draft to find her. didn't a lot of cyborgs die because of it?? oh lord. stars... erland you are a problematic fave.

 heyyy Selene's birthday is the same day as Uncle Mert's

 aaaaannnd I am DONE with Cinder at 1:10 AM December 19, 2015. Saturday. would've been done sooner but i took like a two hour pause when Mom and Leah got home and then there was HIMYM and FG on sooo...

 12:21 PM December 19, 2015. Saturday. (Aka: I FOUND SCARLET and I'm gonna read and comment on it) (okay no wait I'm going to try to make a hell of a lot of mashed potatoes and then I'll get back to it)

 okay it is [ 12:57 PM ] and the potatoes are cooking and I'm gonna start reading now!!

 SCARLET

 oh NICE, Scarlet's French! Just like Cinder is from China

 wow those dicks dismissed her case, they don't care about a poor missing old woman :///

 shut up Roland, Cinder could kick your ass

 ewwwww the creepy bar guys are saying suggestive shit about Cinder! she's sixteen! and broken and helpless and dirty in that vid... buncha creeps.

 omfg Scarlet just climbs up on the counter and turns the screen off SHE'S LIKE A MAMA BEAR :D (maybe like Ayame)

 "My grandma's not crazy!" Is Scarlet both Red Riding Hood and Belle? I mean she's French and she's smart and bold and defending her "crazy" grandmother the way Belle defended her father, and both of those old family figures ended up disappearing/getting lost and Scarlet/Belle wanted to find them, and maybe Wolf is like The Beast?

 "Better be careful, Scar, or you're going to end up just like the old--" I wonder if Roland knows something.

 daaaaamn ! Wolf's got Roland in a chokehold!

 so Scarlet noticed numbers on the fighter's forearm (LSOP962) and also when Roland grabbed at him, "he might have grabbed an iron bar for as much as the limb moved" I wonder if Wolf is at all cyborg... just wonderin

 Scarlet has red hair and grows potatoes I have found my child <3 SHE HAS A RED HOODIE TOO---well of course she does, dummy

 he doesn't know what carrots are IS HE LUNAR OR CYBORG I'VE GOTTA KNOW.

 "what farm animals don't love a wolf?" lmao I love them both

 i know what's going on, Thorne's hearing Cinder escaping from her cell...... will she help him though???

 God the most wonderful thing about this series is that so many characters are sarcastic lil shits <3 <3 <3 <3

 Whoa Cinder really can't control her Lunar gift. Thorne got a lil worshipy for a minute there. Don't worry, I know he's meant for Cress.

 "The pail slipped from her fingers. The chickens squawked and darted away, before clustering back around the spilled feed" Marissa Meyer writes like.... like a film. The way she writes, I can picture the scene and expressions in my head. The timing, the sound, the surroundings. I love it.

 who's this guy??? her grandpa? her dad???

 i swear the dad was going to be my first guess I swear to you

 wait a second wait a second..... okay, "they" gave him the poker, which I imagine is like some sort of fire brand?? "she watched me do it" implies he did something to himself, but he also says "she let them do this to me"

 which suggests to me that "they" = Lunars. Because Sybil could make that one servant almost take out her own eye, so Lunars (not just Levana) could make Scarlet's dad burn himself with a poker while his mom watched.

 oooooOOOOOooooo!!! CALLED IT.

 calm DOWN SCARLET!!! The L probably stands for Lunar..... makes me think Wolf is a Lunar... maybe lots of Lunars have codes like that.

 "Is it just me, or is this a big moment in our relationship?" I love Thorne so much already.

 well well well! looks like Cinder's controlling her Lunar gift a little better. I understand the guilt though. She's hesitant... she's like early-on Rick Grimes with Lunar powers.

 wait a minute, how come there's no dark bar over the first line of text in a chapter in this book?

 y'know Kai if you knew who Cinder really was you'd be doing all in your power to make sure she stays as far away from Levana as possible...

 "She passed a girl with hair dyed like a zebra's and a man on a leash being dragged around by a curvy escort-droid" this society needs some kinkshamers.

 Okay. If Wolf is Lunar like I suspect, he could use his gift to make his opponent hurt himself. Or distract him.

 definitely a werewolf

 okay so L doesn't stand for Lunar---but I still feel there's a connection there. Especially after Kai saw the pictures of Levana's secret army. Those were wolf-like, right?

 ohhoho shiiiiit now Kai knows Erland's Lunar

 literally gasped aloud, is Iko gonna be the new auto-control system?!! I can't wait for her to meet Thorne.

 IKO'S BACK!!! <33

 oh my god I was just kidding about the Iko/Thorne friendship that I am totally about to ship but Iko was just complaining that she was big and hideous as the Rampion ship and Thorne was like "NOW JUST HOLD ON ONE MOMENT THERE, LITTLE MISS DISEMBODIED VOICE" and I feel like this is the start of a beautiful canon friendship

 "Youre... rather handsome, Captain Thorne" NICE

 oh my god "And you, my fine lady, are the most gorgeous ship in these skies" fucks sake Thorne you're flirting with a ship

 who the hell is Ran supposed to be ...... not Kai in disguise, right? nah...

 oh my GO D I SHOULD HAVE RECOGNIZED THE NAME WHEN I SAW IT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. MICHELLE BENOIT.

 "it would be easy to abuse someone when they never recognized it as abuse" damn... that's heavy

 no scarlet dear the teeth aren't implants

 wait what if ran is wolf's brother .............. if not i guess he must be a lsop .... ok he might be both

 aha! knew he was a lsop.

 "What exactly have you told her, brother?" BROTHER. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

 omfg she fucking shot wolf

 SCARLET'S DAD IS A LUNAR!!! i feel like that idea popped into my head earlier... really wish i'd written it down if i did

 Marissa Meyer certainly knows how to write sexual tension. Like seriously. I'm impressed.

 *Elsa voice* "YOU CAN'T FUCK A GUY YOU JUST MET."

(well i mean she could) (it'd be better than marrying one she just met, sorta) (but it'd similarly be in her best interest not to) (then again who am i to shame the sexual exploits of a woman in a futuristic society)

 she's doing it on purpose bro

 THEY ARE SO GONNA BANG

 I'm still brotp-shipping Cinder/Thorne hardcore and if I didn't know about Cress/Thorne I would be rooting for Thorne/Iko just a little bit if i'm gonna be perfectly honest they're really cute

 but Cinder and Thorne make me really happy THORNE JUST KEEPS ON PLAYFULLY FLIRTING I WANT CINDER TO THINK HE'S ANNOYING BUT SECRETLY CARE A WHOLE LOT ABOUT HIM I WANT THEM TO BE BFFS

 lmao THORNE THINKS SCARLET IS THE PRINCESS

 ummm..... wait. Scarlet is 18, so she's two years older than Cinder.... Scarlet was thirteen when she went over to her grandma's house without sending her a comm. Cinder would have been eleven. Maybe at the time, the grandma was angry because Scarlet could have discovered her Lunar cyborg ward.

 "I can't imagine what a burden she's been for you all these years" IT'S GARAN. HE'S TALKING ABOUT CINDER. Scarlet thinks her grandma wants to be rid of her!! aww!!!

 THE L DID STAND FOR LUNAR I FUCKING KNEW IT

 um.....Scarlet's grandma, she's being left alone and not monitored (I know she says "of course they monitor me" but I'm still suspicious). What if one of the Wolves is posing as Grandmere?? That's how it goes in the fairytale, right? or what if they do that eventually? they're Lunar, after all, they can trick Scarlet's mind.

 IF ONE IS POSING AS HER THEN SCARLET IS LITERALLY TELLING THEM EVERYTHING. OH MY GOD HONEY STOP.

 it was FUCKING RAN!

 I can't wait for Cinder to meet Scarlet, it'll be like a frickin crossover

 AWWHHH I KNEW IT WAS EMILIE.

 I was about to mentally kick Wolf's ass for assaulting her but that was fairly clever

 "At least we have each other" I love Thorne I love him so much

 NOOO YOU PIECE OF SHIT WOLF THAT'S MY FAVE YOU'RE BITING.

 wait what tf happened to him (oh maybe it was the darts)

 I get the feeling Grandmere's gonna fuckin die

 "I don't care about the stupid princess" (if you listen very closely, you can hear femslash shippers rubbing their hands together greedily and readying their fingers to type Scarlet/Cinder fanfics)

 FUCK YOU RAN.

 "they've turned you all into monsters" what were they before? I thought Levana was like... growing wolf creatures for an army... were they originally just regular Lunars?

 omg what if Cinder and Thorne save her

 oh Wolf ok.... okay! but it's page 386 and I was promised a meeting between Cinder and Scarlet

 LMAO CINDER SAVED HER WITH THE DART JUST AS SHE WAS GETTING TO WOLF AND HE FELL UNCONSCIOUS ON TOP OF HER

 oh Kai sweetie... don't do it...

 oh shit Cinder's watching and he's gonna announce his stupid ass engagement to Levana

 it's like Katniss watching Peeta being interviewed by Caesar in Mockingjay like WHAT ARE YOU DOIN MAN??

 aaaaaand here is the scene that, in a movie or show, would get everyone shipping Scarlet and Cinder to be quite honest. "It sounds to me........ that it will be all your fault."

 ("Cinder's tirade ceased and she gaped at Scarlet. Between them, Thorne settled his chin on his palm as if watching a great show") I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM HE IS ME

 Iko: "I don't compute."

Thorne: "That makes two of us."

(I love them I love their banter they are my faves)

 ("'I know, I know. She seems a little'--crossing his eyes, his swirled both fingers around his ears--'but it's really part of her charm, once you get to know her'")

I love them. I love Thorne. I love Thorne/Cinder interactions. Their friendship is so pure. (and I ship it a little) (ok maybe a lot) (I am so screwed)

 omg poor Iko she has to overhear everything

 Aaaaand I am done with Scarlet at 10:46 PM on 12/19/2015 Saturday. I HAVE READ HALF THE SERIES IN TWO DAYS.

 I want to start Cress now but I fear that I may have already become Thorne/Iko (and even Thorne/Cinder) trash. Oh well, let's just see how this pans out.

 It's late, so I'm going to hold off for a little while.

  Alright. It is 12:33 PM on 1/4/2016. I want to make food but I also don't want to put off reading Cress any longer. Good thing I have fudge mints. Let's crack this baby open. \m/

 Oh, fun fact, I already have a bit of an Angel Beats cast for these guys. I know for sure that Hinata is Thorne. I think Cress is gonna be like Yui.

 Like for example, she's imprisoned. She doesn't get out much apparently.

 She talks to her Little Cress! I know it's just a screen but that's so cute! Kind of like her own little Pascal the chameleon.

 Oooh, she can Lunar-propaganda-camouflage her room in 22 seconds. She's good.

 Ohhhh! It's short for Crescent. Like the moon.... clever...

 Wow, Adri and Sybil---and Cinder and Cress---have something in common. "All these years I've persuaded Her Majesty to let you live..." like it's such a grand gesture and a burden to keep them.

 "Sybil cared only about Cress's failures" that's people for ya

 oh my goodness Wolf is helping Cinder train. I live for this. I live for a group of misfits treating each other like family or friends and interacting with people other than their love interests. And also Thorne is hysterical as always.

 I'M SCREAMING THORNE AND IKO MAKE THEIR BEAUTIFUL DYNAMIC DUO DEBUT (in this book that is)

 Iko: "I fully agree with Captain Thorne's priorities. As this may be my big net debut, I'd like to be looking my best, thank you very much." Thorne: "Well said, gorgeous." (winks) "And I would like the rest of you to note Iko's proper use of Captain when addressing me. You could all stand to learn a thing or two from her."

Iko: (blushes)

They are so cute, oh my god. Must enjoy them for now until Cress/Thorne becomes canon and adorable.

 Cinder: "You can help me pick out a tiara when we're done saving the world" OOOOOOH (I love you Thorne but lmao get wrecked)

 Awww! Wolf and Scarlet approve :D These guys really are like a family already. Slowly forming.

 "Despite how Cress yearned for companionship, it was always a relief when Sybil left her" (yep, better to be alone) (very Lydia and George)

 Cress is a Thorne fangirl. 1) That is PRECIOUS. 2) I feel you. 3) So does Iko.

 Wait, Cress made the Rampion invisible? Wasn't Cinder supposed to do that? Did she do that?

 oh my god... if Thorne did all that, bless his beautiful heart. And Cress is a daydreamy fangirl this is in fact very adorable

 WOLF/SCARLET SCENE HELL YEAH ----- hold that thought Wolf is all shiny-eyed proud of Cinder, that is the sweetest thing, he's like Han Solo with Rey

 aw.... she's keeping a distance because he's a LSOP.

 aha! and now we know what those bloody harvested chips were for... or where they were going.

 ooooooooooooooooOOOOH yes Wolf DID say that!!!

 Iko: "Is she blushing? She sounds like she's blushing."

Thorne: "She's blushing. Actually, Wolf is also looking a little flustered--"

Thorne keeping Iko up to date on the gossip and cuteness, their bond is so pure

 "'Focus, please,' said Cinder, and Scarlet could have kissed her." THE STAMPEDE OF SCARLET/CINDER FANS. I HEAR IT.

 "just as a mustached man in a large hat appeared on the screens, thumbs hooked into his belt loops" why do i get the feeling that this will be a lot funnier if I picture Eggman

 MECHANIC. Guess who's heeeeee-eeeere?

 lmao way to make a first impression Thorne.... your first comment to Iko was "JUST WAIT A MINUTE LITTLE MISS DISEMBODIED VOICE" followed by singing her praises and calling her gorgeous......

 ....and all you have to say to Cress is, "ACES, IS THAT ALL HAIR???" "IT WAS LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN A MAGPIE NEST AND A BALL OF YARN AFTER IT'S BEEN MAULED BY A CHEETAH."

 bro...

 (they're definitely Hinata/Yui)

 (and Scarlet is Yuri) (or she's certainly hitting Thorne like her ^^)

 Thorne: "But you're a prisoner." Cress: "I prefer damsel in distress."

Thorne: (devious charming half-smile)

aaaaand that is the moment I started shipping it. around 2pm.

 (Taking a break now because reasons!!)

 Aaaaaand resume one hour later at 3:00pm (also just put on the water for pasta)

 hmmm, how big of a role in this series will Tashmi Priya play? she seems p cool

 "Delete anything that has to do with love, respect, or joy, and I'll sign on the dotted line" Kai, my sarcastic little Emperor, I missed you and your saltiness

 if Dr. Dmitri Erland wasn't supposed to have a strange accent, I'd want him to be played by whoever plays Dale in TWD. What's Erland supposed to look like, anyway? I like picturing him as Dale <3

 Erland is like... the Han to Cinder's Rey .... or the Luke... it'd be pretty cool if he turned out to be her dad. I mean nobody knows who Selene's real father is.

 "Levana was a murderer? Well, he had helped her become one." whAT?!?

 and just who is that ten year old boy/wolf

 how the fuck is a Lunar showing symptoms of letumosis.............. maybe it's because the kid's a shell... maybe Levana's (or the Lunars) have messed with the disease so that it hurts shells too? like i know erland said the disease was mutating but what if that's.... on purpose.

 oh shit oh shit oh ship it's Sybil

 aha, there's a recorder in the Emperor's office. spying all along. though maybe they already revealed that

 3:46 pause bc talking to mom

 6:54 pm, resuming.

 jfc Sybil just get the hell out

 her parents meant to have her slaughtered? or is that a damn lie?? Sybil probably just stole her and guilt tripped her, what if Cress is like royalty too or s/t

 Jacin??? I've heard the name Jacin. Is he good? Will he become good? ISN'T THAT THE LOVE INTEREST FOR WINTER????

 Iko and Cress, best friends forever? Thorne are you suggesting an OT3 because I am game

 Cress isn't more than five feet? she's little just like Yui :D

 awww, Cinder does care!

 WOLF to the rescue ..... or not

 OR REALLY NOT

 OH SHOT that was a typo but a fitting one omg Scarlet shot Wolf

 JACIN SHOT SYBIL, KICK-ASS. lmfao the liar

 i gotta say i'm loving Cinder's reactions here ("'Thorne--' Her voice broke. 'Where's Thorne?'" and "She shrieked and slammed him into the wall. 'You're lying!'") Cinder was just teasing him about his flying skills and now he's gone and SHE WANTS HER PILOT BACK i love them

 Jacin has a hunting knife? Is he a huntsman character? SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN? Jacin/Winter???

 "I serve my princess. No one else." is he talking about Princess Selene, or.... is Winter a princess too because then he might be talking about Winter.

 omfg... no way... Thorne's gone blind. just like in the story. (and he cut her hair, just like in Tangled!!)

 damn, smooth operator kissed her hand

 heyyy, Cress is on Earth! She's living Maria Robotnik's dream rn.

 "Just wait until you meet our spaceship. She's a riot." Already gushing about Iko. Incredible.

 "I don't have a jacket. I've never needed one." What are you trying to say, Cress? Has the cold never bothered you?

 lmao instead of taking Cress into his arms for comfort---Thorne SHAKES HER TO MAKE HER STOP CRYING. I have Angel Beats cast them well.

 okay 8:53 pm taking another break bc food. .... resuming at 8:58.

 I knew I would love Priya ........ (stopping at 9:30ish)

 3:14 PM. Saturday. January 30, 2016. (I'm so burdened with school!!!!! and i have no inspiration for Heartbreak Cure or its prequel!! heLP ME)

 Is Cress hallucinating??? .........yep, just as I suspected. a mirage. :\

 "Yes. Luna. The rock in the sky that you are destined to rule. I trust you're familiar with it?" Erland is fluent in sarcasm and I love it.

 "Oh, good, more strategizing. My favorite." Oh Cinder, I missed your biting sarcasm most of all..... (she reminds me of Rey)

 This Aimery guy is pissing me off.

 I hope Torin is forever loyal to Kai because I just have a really bad feeling somebody's going to be a traitor and I really don't want it to be Torin? Maybe I'm wrong and just trying to cook up theories again.

 oh good lord Kai thinks Scarlet is Selene. Am I remembering wrong or did someone else guess the same thing?

 "If this girl is the missing princess, then she is currently being held captive by a dangerous felon, Your Majesty." well he's not wrong... Scarlet's been captured by Sybil Mira right?? she's very dangerous.

 you do SO idolize her you lovestruck goof

 oh my god Thorne and Cress are cuddling in their sleep that is my favorite ship trope ever

 "'Captain,' she murmured. 'I think I'm in love with you.'" holy hell

 "Cress--hey, no more sleeping. I need you." Congratulations Marissa Meyer. I officially ship the hell out of it.

 Cress is an absolute drama queen and I love her very much. (Oooh, that squeak, you know who she also reminds me of besides Yui? Cat Valentine. And I hereby pronounce Thorne as Beck)

 THORNE CALLED CRESS HIS WIFE HOW DID CRESS NOT PASS OUT ON THE SPOT???

 oohhhh okay now she's passed out. poor dear.

 wait, so... Jacin did want to be a doctor? Noted. (I wonder if he's trying to protect a little sister) (...or a princess) (or both)

 oh my god Cinder misses Thorne don't you just want to give her a hug

 "Levana's not so bad, once you get to know her" I think I love Jacin

 I can't believe Cress and Thorne are doing the fake married trope, this is too pure a ship

 oh shit oh shit just as Marissa Meyer was making me fall for this ship (he called her "my dear"!! I LOVE THAT IN AN OTP) now Thorne's crushing Cress's admiration of him. Ouch.

 But they're still getting along, okay good.

 "I'm going to take a bath." "Good idea. I'll be right behind you." OMFG THORNE

 i was about to say GDI Thorne but then I read the description of the woman on his lap and her skin is warm brown and her hair is blue?? I'm like 110% sure I've seen spoiler fanart of Iko having a body just like that. IS THAT THE ANDROID BODY THORNE IS GOING TO GIVE IKO?!?! omfg and she's already on Thorne's lap.

 I can't believe Thorne gets Iko a body that's "net-drama beautiful" and elegant.

 uh oh I hope Jina can be trusted if Cress is going w/her and she knows Cress is Lunar. I like Jina but I gotta take everyone who knows someone's Lunar identity with a grain of salt. I want Cress to be safe.

 OHHHHH HSHI SHIT!!! CRESS NO!!! damn it Jina.

 Thorne kinda reminds me of Jack Sparrow----CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow, that is. I dunno if I've mentioned this before.

 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I KNEW IT!!! "She was for this android... spaceship... friend of mine. It's complicated." bless his dear sweet heart.

 Lunar trafficking... this is gross but truth in literature.

 Okay well at least Jina's taking her to Erland. ....THAT MEANS CINDER AND THORNE ARE GONNA BE REUNITED <3

 Kai's opening his eyes to anti-cyborg racism. Good boy.

 wtf?? it was Erland's idea------- oh yeah, that's right. my problematic fave.

 "But as of now, the draft is over." Damn right. I mean Erland already got what he needed out of it, it doesn't need to continue. I'm so proud of Kai, he's such a good emperor.

 Jacin: (to Cinder) "Oh, come on. Please don't tell me you're obsessing over this wedding because you actually think you're in love with him?" Iko: "I am. Madly."

(I love Iko so much)

 I KNEW IT. I KNEW HE WAS TRYING TO PROTECT PRINCESS WINTER. I knew it wasn't Selene he was talking about.

 Cinder: "Do you... do you love her?"

Jacin: "Don't try to push your swoony psychodrama on me. I'm sworn to protect her."

(I'll take that as a yes.)

 YESSSS CRESS SEES RAMPION!

 Haha! Finally someone Erland's taller than.

 HOLY FUCK OIfsda ofdao iohf aodj H(OLY G FUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ERLAND IS ---------- HOW DID I NOT REALIZE ---- CRESCENT MOON!!!!! ERLAND IS CRESS'S FATHER!!!! i think. i'm pretty sure.

 crescent may apparently be a popular name??? but i'm just really sure.

 and his daughter fuckin clocked him lmao

 AHHHHHHHHHH PATERNITY CONFIRMED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Yeah congratulations Cress you punched your dad

 WAIT WHEN DID THORNE GET HERE? ....wait what if it's a Lunar trick---no it can't be, she's a shell? Okay, good, I was hoping he was a trick at first because if he was here already it would mean that we'd missed out entirely on a Cinder/Thorne reunion and I simply cannot handle that being skipped over, but it's just been established that Cinder hasn't seen him yet. So that's fine that he's real.

 Dr. Erland: "Cinder is here. She's safe."

"Thorne grinned, the biggest, most enigmatic grin Cress had seen since the satellite." (This sentence fills me with so much joy.)

 WAIT IF THORNE IS HERE THEN MAYBE HIS ESCORT DROID IS HERE TOO AND HE'S GONNA GIVE IT TO IKO OMG I CAN'T WAIT!!!

 yep there she is!!!

 oh my god oh my go d I am so excited Cinder's about to reunite with Thorne and I'm just kind of squealing here typing this because I'm still not ready

 Cinder: "Thorne?"

Thorne: (head jerks around) "Cinder?"

Cinder: "Wh-what are you--how? Where have you been? What's going on? Why are you wearing that stupid bandanna?"

("He laughed. Gripping a wooden cane, he stumbled toward her, waving one hand until it landed on her shoulder. Then he was hugging her, suffocating her against his chest)

Thorne: "I missed you too."

Cinder: "You jerk. I thought you were dead!"

 I am so happy. They give me life.

 Save for Scarlet (and Iko atm), the whole group's back together. Plus Jacin and Cress. I love this.

 I'm sorry I had to reread that a few times I thought Wolf was literally dead.

 Oh my GOd oh my god the people from the village/city/Farafrah (?) are going to fight for her.... what if they die and Cinder feels guilty?? "I never wanted anyone to die for me" (y'know like Katniss & Harry)

 Please don't hurt the crowd please they're too good they're so loyal and kind oh my god this is not going to end well

 "Jacin grabbed the escort-droid's wrist and pulled them along after them" (hey wait a minute don't people ship Jacin/Iko? I feel like I've seen that pairing before)

 "All she knews was that they looked ridiculous. Clothing that twinkled and floated and glowed. Faces painted to look like solar systems and rainbow prisms and wild animals. Brightly colored hair that curled and wisped, defying gravity in order to create massive, elaborate structures. Some of the wigs even housed caged songbirds..."

(these Lunars sound like people from the Capitol. .... Have I mentioned that before?)

 oh shit

 oh shit

 Scarlet!!! don't cut off any appendages!!!

 okay who is this person who is asking for Scarlet to be her pet? I think I trust her. ...I think... I THINK SHE MIGHT BE WINTER! going by the "Father would have given her to me."

 SHIT WHAT DID SHE CUT OFF

 "when Rapunzel saw the prince, she fell over him and began to weep, and her tears dropped into his eyes." (flower bloom and glow, let your power shiiine...)

 Cress, don't you bristle at the girly squeal. That is Iko, and she also has Thorne's heart, and I expect you to play nice.

 ("followed by a blur of blue that fluttered into the medbay and slammed into Thorne, nearly knocking him off the lab table) MY OTHER FAVORITE SHIP TROPE, TACKLE HUGS!

 OH WAIT JUST A SECOND THIS WHOLE SCENE IS PURE FLUFFY GOLD I AM DYING

 (He grunted. "Wha--"

"I love it!" said the escort. "I absolutely love it! It's the best present anyone has ever given me and you're the best captain in the whole wide galaxy! Thank you thank you thank you!" The android took to smothering Thorne's face in kisses, ignoring his struggles to back away on the table) THAT'S JUST A SYNONYM FOR PEPPERING HIS FACE IN KISSES AND THAT'S ALSO MY FAVORITE SHIP TROPE.

 ("Iko, let him breathe," said Cinder, appearing in the doorway.

"Right, sorry!" The android grabbed Thorne's cheeks and planted one more adamant kiss on his mouth before pulling away) and here we have a canon Thorne/Iko kiss and I actually screamed a little.

 Cress honey I know you're jealous and I ship you and Thorne too but please understand Iko and Thorne are also soul mates.

 I am just so happy for Iko, I... I cannot believe.... my precious sweetie has a BODY!

 Cinder: "It starts with kidnapping the groom."

Thorne:

Cress:

Wolf:

Jacin:

Iko: (raises hand)

Cinder: "Yes, Iko?"

Iko: "That is the best idea ever. Count me in."

(I'm cracking the hell up) (and yes I agree)

 "The last thing she wanted was to be paired with Wolf." (Oh really? That's Marissa Meyer code for "this duo is going to be hella interesting")

 "The morning of the wedding arrived" aka shit's about to go down

 "punctuated only by Iko's and Thorne's occasional chatter" GOOD

 wait a min are we about to come across the part where Cinder reunites with Adri and Pearl??? ---------------- !!!! OH MY GOD SHE'S AT HER APARTMENT oh she's under a glamour, that's not as fun... yet.

 I can't believe we're seeing a more... vulnerable side of Adri.           ...... OOPS, never mind!

 wait a minute. ... she's tricking her! she's doing the lunar thing! wouldn't it be better if Adri MEANT it?? Does she mean it, even a little bit? I can't help but feel skeptical, since Cinder's pushing the guilt on her. It seems artificial. I want to know what Adri really thinks, for sure.

 "Iko had also taught her to pinch her cheeks and nibble on her lips until they flushed a nice pinkish color. She was, against her better judgment, beginning to warm to Iko." (THAT'S BETTER)

 HAH! Wolf is pretending to be Cress's husband. But yeah, they've definitely only got a Naoi/Yui dynamic going on. (minus the bonding over picking on Thorne/Hinata)

 Oh my goodness "This Scarlet... you're in love with her, aren't you?" Cress/Wolf heart-to-heart ohhh this gives me ideas.

 Awww, poor Thorne. Has to leave Cinder and Iko behind. ..............oh my god wait he's with Papa-in-law

 ohhhohoho I knew that was why Erland was giving him a hard time. (Erland stop it! I'm a Thorne/Iko shipper and all but I can't have my fave being mean to my younger fave)

 wait who is this woman. what if she's Priya. ...........ok never mind.

 "Your hair is a mess, by the way. Honestly, Cinder, can't you look presentable for more than five minutes?" Iko is officially the mom friend.

 "Priya stood stiffly before them, even more put together than usual in an emerald and silver sari." (Slytherin Priya confirmed)

 WAIT it was Priya??? Priya's an android???

 KAI/CINDER REUNION.

 okay wait nvm maybe they found Priya after she switched clothes with the android.

 yeah it took me about a second and a half to remember Cinder has darts that she shoots at people.

 Torin is a good man. Despite the death threat.

 I'm sorry what

 do not dare tell me that my Thorne has the plague. do NOT.

 oh thank stars.

 ??????????? what???? DIMITRI NO!!! YOU CAN'T BE DYING. SOMEBODY CURE MY PROBLEMATIC FAVE. HE NEVER EVEN GOT TO TELL CRESS!!!

 (Iko bent toward her. "That dress looks amazing on you," she said. "Cinder, doesn't she look amazing?") yesssss, the ot3 is real

 ok so the blood of the ungifted is in the antidote. and the plague was manufactured in a Lunar laboratory to weaken Earth, as biological warfare. (just writing this stuff down to look over it and compare it with the theories I've written down) (to see how much I've predicted)

 oh my goodness, she WAS named after the lullaby!!!

 oh my poor Cress, my poor Erland, I can't believe this, they found each other and now she's losing him IT'S NOT FAIR

 she has her father's eyes :/

 it's NOT FAIR

 IF THEY HAD HAD MORE TIME SHE WOULD HAVE LOVED HIM

 fucking Sybil

 she's as bad as Levana

 NO WOLF NO

 WOLF HOW DARE YOU RIP IKO'S THROAT

 damn nice Thorne/Cress kiss

 I mean I feel a little betrayed because Iko's neck just got snapped but hey yeah!!! stormy kiss in the middle of a battle! i do like that trope.

 wtf is going on with Sybil

 I really need to know what the deal is with this wedding band of Levana's

 who the hell is Dr. Sage Darnel--------------whoa whoa wait is that like the Lunar name of Erland oHHHHHHHHHH ERLAND WAS AN ANAGRAM

 Reptilian skin makes me wonder if he could be like Rumple. Just something to think about for casting.

 why did Levana call Cress her "little golden bird"

 I don't believe a word of it. Jacin is tricking her, he's probably just trying to get back to Winter. (honestly I really just don't want to believe it)

 FUCKING ERLAND'S LAST WORDS WERE THE LULLABY I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION

 Thorne: "I'm honestly not sure I would recognize real love if it was..."

Cress: "If it was what?"

(IF IT WAS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM)

 Oh damn he crushed the one other reason she believed he was heroic back then.

 AWWW now he believes she's not in love with him!!! Poor Thorne.

 Ooooh Scarlet's lost most of her left pinky. Ouch.

 Who's this girl with her? I don't wanna jump right to Winter but I'm very curious. ..........She's the girl who spoke, so I think she must be Winter.

 "the other [friend] has gone missing... and I don't know if he'll ever come back" She's talking about Jacin!! She must be Winter!

 Winter talks like Luna Lovegood.

 I love when Iko fangirls over Kai. It's frickin adorable.

 This whole Kai/Cinder scene is so heavy, damn.

 AHHHHH SHE TOLD HIM SHE'S PRINCESS SELENE. (question is, is he gonna believe her) (not everyone has an orange lie light)

 okay good he believes her. I should have figured. As stubborn and angry as he is, he's also clever and he can put the pieces together.

 he thinks her cyborg stuff is BRILLIANT. this is a good improvement.

 WRIST HOLDING THOUGH

 HAND KISSING

 THESE SHIP TROPES ARE TOO GOOD

 AHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHH KAI KISSED HER IM YELLING

 oh my god wait

 I just saw what was on the other page

 The people of Farafrah were massacred...... I knew this would happen.... just like the Districts in Hunger Games and the villagers in OUAT.

 SHE JUST --- LEVANA JUST FUCKIN SENT A BUNCH OF LUNAR SOLDIERS TO KILL THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED HER. THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE HER BREAD AND FRUIT AND DREW STUFF AND oh my god

 she reminds me so much of Snow right now.... she feels responsible for all these deaths and all this blood and she just does not know how to be a queen though

 "Now, let's never talk baout you being related to her again. Because I'm technically still engaged to her, and that's really weird." (now there's the Kai I know and love <3)

 Torin as leader of the Commonwealth. I approve. For the time being.

 (Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I am finished! 10:27 PM. Saturday 1-30-16) ('Bout damn time! 168 to 550. I read 382 pages in like.... seven hours. Not bad.) (Maybe now I'm refreshed and inspired for HBC.) (I wonder if Fairest is available at the library though) (OH MY GOD IT IS) (IT'S ON THE SHELF IN THE TEEN ZONE) (I'M GOING THERE TOMORROW because the library's closed lol) (but I'll read Fairest and then I can read Winter because I OWN it!!!)

 The following reactions are probably going to be neater, shorter, and with less keyboard smashes because I read Fairest at school and on the bus this time, and thus, without my laptop, I recorded them in a notebook.

 I don't have my laptop so I'm going to write my reactions here. 9:31 AM. February 1, 2016.

 Already sounds like Cinder's experience. Like aunt, like niece.

 But is this a dream? Or a memory? Or both?

 Damn, is that Channary? Ok yep a dream at least

 "There were many types of beauty" even Levana knows that!

 WHOSE FUNERAL? Channary? Selene's? Some love interest??? holy shit Levana is 15 in this

 Oh... parents... Anna was her age when her parents died.

 ...Shit. A shell killed her parents. You'd think there would be better Lunar royal security for that.

 WELL THAT'S FUCKING BRUTAL

 What is with the lack of love in this family or society, for that matter

 "The queen who never stopped laughing." Sounds creepy, and sinister, like the Joker.

 CHANNARY FUCKIN BACKHANDED HER. Damn, Levana had it rough. (But she was also just as cold)

 I figured as such. Not that she was secretly ugly, but that the burning was a memory. Must have scarred her badly.

 Aha, Evret Hayle. And we come to Levana's love. Hm, she has good taste. I wonder if he'll serve her as loyally as Jacin serves Winter. ... I bet he's gonna die.

 Ah. A wife. And a kid. Wait a damn second, ten bucks says the kid will be her stepdaughter Winter, and Evret and Solstice both die.

 She could always glamour herself to look like Solstice, right?

 Mmm, glowing starbursts....

 Levana likes wearing gloves. How very un-Elsa.

 Geez, Levana... with all that salt, no wonder you're so thirsty.

 OOOH BOY. And just when I thought CHANNARY catching her like this was bad.

 CHANNARY YOU DICK

 How very vampiric. I hoped at first it was wine, like symbolic blood.

 Her birthday's right after the coronation. That's rough, buddy.

 DAMN, illusionist.... trigger warning much?

 Seventeenth year??? I thought she'd turned 16.

 Dr. Darnel!!!

 Levana's dad came up with the beast soldiers??

 KING MARROK CAME UP WITH THE BIOLOGICAL WARFARE SHIT. Levana seems to be a daddy's girl.

 I gotta say, Levana's very intelligent. Even at this tender age.

 So this is where shell discrimination came from. Used for government/monarchy's benefit. Very realistic.

 I like that Levana likes Sybil Mira at first sight

 "It had taken all of Levana's efforts not to ask if that was the same reason she lifted her skirts all those other times too." DAMN shots fired!!

 Yeah Solstice is gonna die in childbirth. Or Levana's going to do some sabotage. Or both.

 (aw crap I gotta go 10:31 am)

 (11:51am I have a couple min.)

 Huh... are Levana's motives good or not

 Levana please, his wife is dying

 jfc levana show some consideration

 That was a weirdly maternal thought for her

 I knew Solstice wouldn't survive

 Winter (?) was born on Seddie Day!

 "She served her purpose" I was gonna say GEEZ Levana -- but... that's all Levana knows about family.

 Garrison Clay! Must be related to Jacin.

 Evret's about to friendzone the hell out of her. And he has every right to. But seriously, Levana, pull it back.

 YOU ARE LIKE 16-17. CHILL.

 (end 12:05pm)

 (resume 1:24pm)

 Oh my God Levana don't do it. That's so creepy. He just lost his wife, he doesn't want to see a fake.

 Yep. Pushed him too far.

 She's MANIPULATING HIS MIND WIT H THE GIFT (end 1:32pm)

 (2:50pm)

 Mental note: use p. 86 for hypnosis reference.

 No dear, he loves Sol.

 Channary, dear, you're barking up the wrong tree with Constable Dubrovsky.

 Hm.... at least Levana cares about true love. Channary's a little... Joker-y. (That's not fair, even Joker loves Batman) "Love is a war!" Makes me think of OUAT. (end 3:01pm)

 (resume 5:31pm)

 "I don't care what you think. I'm going to marry him." WELL SHE'S NOT WRONG. (is she?)

 So that's where the red hair came from.

 Ooh, he kinda threatened her.

 Hm, no wonder Kai had his doubts about his feelings for Cinder. It's hard to tell what's real.

 WINTER CONFIRMED.

 Poor Evret. He's the one being taken advantage of.

 This is so fucked up.

 Aw, Jacin and Winter are together as lil babies ......... Jacin tried to look at her!

 Kinda reminds me of Robin Hood and Zelena, with Evret potentially loving a kid that was borne of Levana.

 SELENE IS COMING!!!

 I wonder if Levana can't have kids because of her disfigurement. (end 6:00pm)

 (2-2-16 6:25am)

 Selene has come!

 I'll say one thing about Channary. She knows good aesthetic.

 Holy shit does Channary have some kind of letumosis thing?

 Levana please she's just a baby

 Aw, Cress :) ..... aw, Cress ... :(

 Lmao Channary was a Cinder (Selene) / Kai shipper

 Wait what? Maybe it's been too long since I read Cinder but I thought Levana had something to do with Channary's death. I guess not.

 Aw! Jacin, Cinder, and Winter were baby friends.

 Gotta hand it to Evret, he's actually making an effort. I guess he really meant it when he said he wanted to be her friend.

 I wonder if Evret would help Cinder escape? Like, not just the nanny.

 People will always rationalize anything. Even murder.

 I can't believe Channary burned her.

 Wonder if we're supposed to know the nanny

 "A familiar meatiness" well that's gruesome

 Still think Levana can't have kids

 "After all, Winter couldn't grow up to be queen" or could she? What if Cinder gives her the throne?

 THEY KNOW.

 Oh yeah, Dr. Logen Tanner. I remember him. Scarlet's grandpa, I believe.

 I feel like Dr. Eliot's gonna die.

 Wonder if we'll ever know Cinder's dad. (7:22am end)

 (11:18 am)

 Damn, if anything Sol loved Levana

 Something bad is going to happen to Evret soon, I can feel it.

 She ACUALLY RELEASED HER GLAMOUR

 Ooh, flashback?

 So if Channary used her gift on Levana's impressionable mind, maybe that emotionally stunted her a bit.

 Channary is so messed up wtf

 Whoa wait, Channary got burned first

 Breaking the mirror! Good dramatic effect

 Who is this "he" who incapacitated the guar----oh let me guess, Levana got an assassin so that she could ditch Evret and have Rikan or Kai.

 She had Evret killed, that's not fair. I liked him.

 Whaaaat? She's lying, she's not going to marry Joshua -- YEP, killed him too, she could pass that off as avenging Evret's death.

 (And I am done?! At 11:56 am 2-2-16)

It's 2-2-16 at 8:16 pm and I'm gonna start Winter.

 "As cold as the dark side of Luna" (immediately makes me think of "mysterious as the dark side of THE MOOOOOOOON")

 Oh Levana, don't pretend to care about your parents' assassinations. ...Though I guess it must be something about honor or loyalty with her.

 Winter has icy fingertips and wrists. I know she's supposed to be Snow White but this is super Elsa rn (or Frozen Anna)

 Hm, regolith poisoning. Seems common. Wonder if it made Levana think of Channary.

 Making them carry out their own execution is so.... vile.

 Winter is also very Luna. Luna Lovegood that is.

 Why is she so consumed by ice???

 WHAT. JACIN NO. ......I feel like it's been too long since I read Cress, and yet it's only been a few days. Just feels like I missed something about Winter, and when did Jacin get taken?

 Oh wait... I feel like I do remember Jacin saying----yep, and I was convinced he was tricking her.

 Kinney.... KINNEY. I've heard of him!

 So where did Winter get the scars, anyw----okay wait a sec my money's on Levana's fingernails

 Ohhhhhh so Winter is the way she is because she doesn't use her gift.

 Awwwww oh my god that's right, Winter and Cinder played together. In the nursery. Before her "death." Oh my gosh I can't wait for them to meet again.

 SHIT HOW MUCH DID THAT GUY HEAR

 Winter: "Do try to think of me when you can."

Jacin: "Try, Princess? I can't seem to think of much else."

Marissa Meyer does an EXCELLENT job of making me ship things.

 Hm, I think I missed hearing Kai/Cinder mechanic banter.

 That's right, Kai would need an empress. Would Cinder rather be an empress or a queen? 'Cause if she wants to be empress, Winter could kinda take over as Queen of Luna. Maybe?

 Kai volunteered to be mind-manipulating practice? talk about character/relationship development, damn

 What's Ryu's story I wonder... he reminds me of one of those pups in Game of Thrones.... what're they called? dire wolves?

 just a damn second. If Winter is Snow White then Scarlet must be Rose Red. (And also---Snow and Red Riding Hood are friends in this canon too!)

 "But it's a sour apple petite. A Lunar delicacy that is--" "one of your favorite, yeah, I know." (of course it is. Snow. Apples.)

 Oooh, Wolf's parents. That should be interesting.

 Cress being the mom friend to Wolf, that's precious. I knew I'd like their dynamic. Tough hulking broody wolf guy and the teeny tiny optimistic fun blonde Rapunzel girl, it's a nice combo.

 "I mean, and everyone else too, of course." Nice save, Thorne. You're real smooth. ;o

 what Levana's doing seems too good to be true. She's up to something with Jacin and Winter, just can't figure it out yet.

 is he mad at Winter or s/t? does he not like this idea?

 you know damn well what he means by "i care about you more than i should", you guys have been flirting since the beginning of the book and beforehand

 trust me iko you're not missing out on tuna and pickled asparagus

 Wolf pretty much swooning as he says "She shot me in the arm once" >>>>>

 he's like "what a woman"

 (cue Otonashi going like, "My girlfriend stabbed me in the chest once. Beat that.")

 Awww, Kai being nice to Wolf.... :')

 Holy shit can Thorne see Cress? IS HE CHECKING HER OUT??

 Iko just JUMPED INTO THORNE'S ARMS GOD BLESS

 ("Oh!" said Iko, launching to her feet. "Captain! You can see!"

 Thorne's attention skipped over to the android seconds before she launched herself over Cress and into his arms. Thorne stumbled against the wall and laughed.

 "Iko?" Thorne said, holding her at arm's distance and drinking her in. The dark, flawless skin, the long legs, the braids dyed in varying shades of blue. Accepting the scrutiny, Iko gave a twirl. Thorne clicked his tongue. "Aces. I really know how to pick them, don't I?"

 "Sight unseen," said Iko, flipping her braids off her shoulder.)

 And that is why they are my favorites. I adore their dynamic so much.

 "Oh Cinder, I've missed seeing your face when you make sarcastic comments in an attempt to hide your true feelings about me." What a dork.

 KAI IS ME. He's not even jealous (I guess he knows he doesn't need to be) he just thinks they're hilarious.

 Oh boy, I know what's going to happen in this thing for Thorne/Cress. Mutual pining, both think it's unrequited. Ah, that's some good stuff. <3

 I still love that Kai is part of the gang now.

 (It's 10:17pm and I have school tomorrow so I'm going to stop right here)

  It's 12-19-16 (a year after I first read Cinder) at 12:20 PM and I've caught up by reading my reactions to the series and also re-reading the first 81 pages of Winter so now I'm going to finish this series once and for all!

 "It was a friendship that was to be cherished, as she cherished all the friendships she'd made aboard this ship. She wouldn't ruin it by wishing things could be more. She would be grateful for what afection she did have." (1. To all the people who say they're in the friendzone, this is how you do it. Take note.) (2. This is so precious. They really are a family.)

 Like... it's not about pretending that friendship all you want. It's about respecting what the other person wants. Letting things play out. Not seeing friendship as a consolation prize.

 I swear their battle plans remind me of the SSS

 So Cress knows Cinder isn't as brave as she pretends. Scarlet has made that observation too. Must be kind of obvious, like an orange light.

 Reading all of this, the death tolls, the call to supplant Kai, the body counts... feels like I'm watching another disaster movie.

 It's kind of like the ship is their Afterlife but now they have to move on and fight

 I don't want Kai to leave, they need more family moments! But I do understand, much like Cinder. He has responsibilities to attend to.

 Damn, he has so much faith in her. Unlike Cress and Scarlet? That's sweet.

 Okay, the entirety of page 94 is fic inspiration. Also, I almost forgot about Nainsi, and I miss Peony too now that I think about it.

 when Iko gives Kai a cereal box and Kai's like "Yum?" lmfao bless their hearts

 I literally squeaked just like Iko when I read that Kai hugged her. BUT it also might have been a side effect of reading that he hugged Cress! ... well, it was a quick farewell embrace but I love that they're on a hugging basis.

 oh my god i was so preoccupied with the Kai/Cress hug that I failed to move on to the fact that Iko literally fainted on the spot, the little fangirl. Hope Thorne isn't too jealous.

 lmao why did Wolf punch him??? was it supposed to be affectionate? because that is.... concerning! or wait "ready when you are" must mean he was supposed to get roughed up so he would look like a victim when he got back to Earth

 "Do I get a goodbye kiss too?" Thorne oh my GOd

 Thorne: (raises eyebrow at Iko)

Iko: "I would love to give you a good-bye kiss, Captain, but that lingering embrace from His Majesty may have fried a few wires, and I'm afraid a kiss from you would melt my central processor."

Thorne: (winks) "Oh, trust me, it would."

I AM DYING

And then he wanted a kiss from Cress. I swear this is like when Chandler accidentally kissed Monica in front of everyone and so he had to offer Rachel and Phoebe kisses too.

 Okay Thorne and Kai are gonna be alone together. Thorne is the Hinata and Kai is the Otonashi so this will be fun (but I almost want to think of them as having a Hinata/Naoi dynamic? Because Cinder can be sorta Yuri)

 "Does she really call herself my girlfriend?" oh lord Kai is a dork, I am so glad I'm reading this series again so I can see fresh new evidence of him being a dork

 "Oh, I wouldn't know. We haven't spent an evening gossiping and painting each other's toenails since the kidnapping." This book gets even more pure with every turn of the page. Also this is essentially what they're doing right now, gossiping about girls.

 "She wouldn't be the cuddly cyborg we've all come to adore" Marissa Meyer will you stop making me love Thorne more with each passing sentence??

 Also just as I suspected, Kai and Thorne's bromance is blooming. And Kai is the Will to Thorne's Jack

 AHHHHHH KAI JUST PARDONED THORNE <3

 "as Japan appeared on the horizon" try not to run into your Angel Beats counterparts it would destroy the time space continuum (listen i don't know what I'm talking about but Thorne/Kai may be on par with Hinata/Naoi)

 "But... she's my ship." I just read that in Jack's voice.

 Oh my gosh Thorne thinks he's gonna be all alone after this. I bet that really is bothering him even if he's trying to laugh it off. (He predicts Scarlet and Wolf are gonna live on the farm together with their "cubs" = CUTE)

 DUDE, MORE BRO-ing OVER GIRLS

 Kai: "I like you too, despite my better judgment." Thorne: "You'd be surprised how often I hear that." I am so happy right now, I just... my heart is overflowing with joy.

 My God, the mutual pining in Thorne/Cress is sublime. I even say this as a Thorne/Iko shipper.

 And then there's the Jacin/Winter thing with the bodyguard trope. I swear Marissa Meyer writes or reads fanfiction.

 Wait a minute, Winter embroiders? What is it that her mother, Solstice, used to do? Wasn't it something similar? She would be so proud. ....Ah yes, I just read forward, "my mother was a great seamstress", and "she embroidered my baby blanket" (I KNEW IT).

 No it is NOT silly to hold onto a baby blanket! Emma Swan could tell Winter a few things.

 "Come on, Princess. You know how I feel about you. Everyone knows how I feel about you." That's what I'm saying! Winter knows damn well! Or she ought to. ...Aha, yes, she confessed.

 Ouch. I understand why Jacin had to throw the flower crown in the trash, but that hurts. Poor kids!

 I missed Torin. What is it with me and side characters? (Aw, he hugged Kai! I forgot that he must be like a fatherly figure to him. Maybe an uncle)

 Torin is "skilled at disguising his emotions"? Didn't I have a Lunar/shell theory about this? I still feel like we're gonna learn something about him.

 Really don't know what to think about blowing up Luna. Kids like Astrid live on it. I get that Kai wants to protect Earth though. This sounds like something that could come between him and Cinder.

 "Oh, I fully intend to form an alliance with Luna. I just intend to put a different queen on the throne first." MIC DROP.

 What's Levana fidgeting with? Does she still have that wedding ring?

 Cress and Iko are playing a game together. I am so here for this. (Diamonds and rubies? Sounds like they're playing some kind of SU game)

 "'This plan will work,' said Wolf forcefully, like he was threatening the plan itself." I swear Wolf might actually be Knuckles.

 Well I for one had expected more of a warm "happy to be back" greeting between Thorne and Cinder. But I guess you don't paint a captain's ship? Especially when Captain is King. Nice code word there Thorne.

 ("Cinder opened her mouth, then hesitated. She had clearly expected a different sort of greeting.") (What kind of greeting was that, Cinder?)

 Ohhhh, that's why he's mad. Because Kai said it's not Thorne's ship. And maybe because of the pining for Cress. At least he still likes Kai. (Damn, he's really goin' after Cress now isn't he?) (I swear, everyone on this ship is a bunch of matchmakers)

 "Mortified, she found herself fantasizing about crawling down to the podship dock and getting sucked out into space" Cress bless your heart but isn't that a little extra

 Oh my goodness Cinder gave them an out and Iko's like "girl you're dreaming" and Thorne was like "Iko's right" and Cinder's family is so loyal

 "The secretary winked, very un-diplomat-like." I love Iko's tell.

 "'I'll have a whiskey on the rocks,' said one of the security personnel. Cinder-the-assistant cast a cold glare at the man. Thorne." Amazing.

 Those visions are so gruesome... but it's really cool the way Jacin helps Winter through them. (Almost makes me think what she's seeing is the blood of innocent Lunars, or Levana's parents... it's a thought)

 Ewww, Aimery is proposing. The way Jacin says he looks at Winter, I don't want to think about the way he treats women he's attracted to.

 Aimery needs to take the "no" and back the hell off.

 If Kai is meeting Winter then that means CINDER is going to meet Winter soon too! COUSINS REUNITED!

 So Levana forced Winter to mutilate her own face. Close to my theory of the fingernails but not quite.

 What if Winter escapes Levana's side and sneaks the group out of the ship before it can be searched? I think that'd be a fun twist. It would let Cinder meet her cousin. And then Winter could lead Wolf to Scarlet.

 "I've ben waiting for you to admit you wanted my body" goddangit Thorne you flirt

 (I paused at maybe 2:35 because of an email)

 (Resuming at 2:50pm?)

 Thorne's gonna sacrifice himself (more or less) as a distraction to help Cinder, Cress, Iko, and Wolf get away. That's super selfless. I think I know what he's doing... Kai told him that it's better for him to start proving Cress right than lingering over how he proved Cress wrong. He's trying to be the guy Cress thought he was.

 Geez, Wolf, you'd think you'd understand what Thorne is going through

 Kai is so good. I hope his sass doesn't get him or Torin killed.

 Did... Did CRESS hack the system?

 (closing at 3:07pm)

 So some reading time was lost because I spent yesterday hanging out with Paul, Leah, and Matt, and watching Rogue One! Resuming on December 20th 2016 at 11:02 AM.

 Oh my goodness Winter is helping Cress hide, this is the sweetest thing ever to wake up to and also Winter is so clever bless her heart, she really is like Luna, she can use her "quirkiness" to get rebellion stuff done

 Marissa Meyer describes the architecture perfectly. I'm impressed.

 Man, Thorne is a wreck. .............Guess who has inspiration for how Naoi acts in the six month HC period he's without Yuri? :D (mental note: refer to circa p193)

 Yeah, they've been relying on Cress.... but what if Winter shows up?

 Wait a minute. I was reading the "I'm so sorry, Thorne" part and thinking "say sorry to Iko, she's most definitely in love with Cress too" (damn my Hinata/Yui/Shiina shipping) when I immediately thought of Iko's love interest Kinney. When's he gonna show up, anyway? Is he going to help them? Or is he going to make trouble at first?

 AHA Winter "forgot something down in the ports" just as i suspected this is gonna be GOOD

 "Guard Jacin was not her favorite Jacin" now what does that remind me of? "Singing Princess Emma isn't my favorite model." Jacin and Winter really are true love <3

 I like that Winter enjoys sensory details like the crisp, crinkly texture of paper. I feel like if Hermione was like Luna, this is the way she would describe books.

 Awww, Jacin sounds almost fond of Cress. That's adorable. He and Winter can be her parents or s/t

 I feel like people will eventually notice that Wolf is using his identity to get them around, I mean he's a missing person.

 HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON "'I think it's meant to be thought provoking,' said Cinder." I think it's supposed to be a meme. Sounds like someone watched Finding Nemo.

 Wait, the Regolith Mining place? Couldn't somebody get regolith poisoning over there? Cinder's mom sure did. (Ah, but Cinder's already thinking like a ruler)

 Just think... all those exhausted workers... how many of them have wished for Princess Selene to come back alive and take back the kingdom

 Wolf's about to be reunited with his mother <3 ............ Marissa Meyer please do not kill her off

 "Ze'ev?" "Mom." HELP

 I hope Maha gets to meet Scarlet

 This book is actually kind of fun to read out loud so forgive me if I take chunks of breaks between notes?

 Actually if Cinder doesn't want to be queen I would be 100% for Winter taking the throne,

 "He felt like he was being encircled by a python, smothered and choked." Interesting. The Evil Queen was compared to a cobra in OUAT. Similarities!

 OH SHIT. The hunter is actually finally getting sicced on Snow White!

 Days are passing?? How long until the wedding? ...Well I mean it's very likely that's off considering Levana knows of Kai's treachery but still.

 wow. guess who adores Jacin and Cress's dynamic now? Terrible that he never did anything to help her, but I appreciate that he's making up for it now. And Cress's courage and selflessness is super admirable.

 Scarlet's like a zoo exhibit. Isn't it messed up that people used to do that on Earth with real people too?

 Ryu is a good boy. Also orange-sunglasses boy got what was coming to him. Four for you, Scarlet.

 I knew Ryu had a story! Apparently he's the son of the original wolf they gathered DNA from for the soldiers. (so... brother in law?)

 I'm almost tempted to read Winter's voice as Snow's but I can't decide to read "Hello, crazy, how are the castle walls today" as Belle or Red.

 YOOOOOOOO Winter/Jacin kiss!!!! ("You must know. I cannot remember a time when I didn't love you. I don't think such a time ever existed.") (incredible)

 okay, swear to god, this kiss reads a whole lot like the one i have planned for Heartbreak Cure (so ref p243)

 JACIN WHY.

Well. I know why. But..... Ryu....

 Honestly Winter and Scarlet's bond is so good. I miss Scarlet and Cinder but this has won me over.

 Who sent the "BE CAREFUL, SCARLET." Was it Cress? Or, I mean, Scarlet does have some Lunar blood doesn't she?

 I must say, Jacin is better than Scarlet at responding to Winter's hallucinations or episodes

 I hoped for a second that a shuttle would open and they'd see the gang inside, that would have made for a fun reunion

 "Winter was mesmerized by Scarlet's confident hands" alright that's an interesting thing to notice and embolden

 Hey, that's pretty neat. Scarlet is fire and Winter is ice.

 "She felt hollow and cold inside. Easily shattered." (Lindsey Stirling song plays aggressively in the background)

 I don't like the implications of what Aimery was probably doing to that servant. Very dark. Needs to be addressed, but... very dark. And also I see why Winter regretted her actions.

 ??? When the hell has Levana defended Winter from the laughter? I thought she encouraged it. Or instigated it.

 "Cinder knew he was taking her loss harder than any of them. She'd sensed from the moment they were reunited in Farafrah that THorne felt a responsibility towards Cress, but for the first time she was beginning to wonder if his feelinngs didn't go deeper than that." Cinder, my God woman, CATCH UP.

 WOLF SMELLS SCARLET. And he's gonna bring Cinder and Winter together!!! BLESS.

 alright Scarlet just gave Winter her hoodie. that's, that's pretty shippy??? (which is odd because they come from two ships that remind me of Naoi/Yuri. Then again Cinder/Kai reminds me of it too. It's everywhere)

 Scarlet you are about to meet your boyfriend's mother

 WOLF!!!

 Fuck yes, Wolf/Scarlet reunion kiss, Winter who???

 Thorne even whistled, now that's the charming rascal I know! And Iko is positively fangirling... Girl I understand you 100%

 "When was the last time you ate?" Thorne cares. Thorne/Scarlet is my brotp jam.

 CINDER (SELENE) AND WINTER ARE ABOUT TO REUNITE I am so ready for this.

 "'Stars,' whispered Iko. 'You're beautiful.'" Good lord everyone has the hots for Winter! (except Wolf. Good on him)

 Hm. Cinder and Winter have some work to do on the best friendship thing but not a bad start?

 "There was an edge to his expression, like he didn't trust anyone who was more attractive than he was" Thorne is my favorite. I cannot stress this enough.

 Wait. Wolf's mom isn't home. Scarlet is here. I am going to be upset if for some tragic reason they never get a chance to meet.

 I missed Wolf/Scarlet moments so much. Their dynamic is fantastic.

 Thorne: "You two are giving me a stomachache." Cinder: "I'm pretty sure that's the meat." (Although Thorne and Cinder could give them a run for their money)

 Oh, I see. So as much as I support the alternative of Winter being queen, the Lunars would lose their gift if she sat on the throne. (But is that a terrible thing? I thought Winter didn't like the gift)

 I love Wolf's mom, Maha loves Scarlet, and now I am concerned for Maha's safety in this book.

 Thorne: "When do we start planning a revolution again?" Someone's antsy to take action now that he knows Cress is alive

 Oh my God it's Pearl. I have been WAITING to see this family again. And now that it's here, I... I don't know how to proceed. But oh no, Pearl is not even close to redemption yet.

 Did... did they eat Adri?!

 If Scarlet was able to compliment the speech rather than rolling her eyes at it like she does everything, that's gotta count for something!

 Oh my god this is awesome! The citizens are freezing the guards to protect others. This is encouraging. They're protecting each other. They're making a stand. That skinny guy. That woman. That hunched old man.

 Maha: "Yes, I will risk my life for this fantasy." This sounds uncomfortably like foreshadowing, Marissa Meyer.

 Cinder may be grateful for her friends' lack of reverence, but ever since she mentioned that their presence bolstered her I've been convinced they feel the same way seeing her there, they're in awe of her leadership.

 Levana's going to manipulate Kai into addressing the public in a video. Reminds me of when Peeta did the same while he was brainwashed by the Capitol.

 I can't believe Levana really thinks the citizens ever loved her

 Wait a minute. The quote opening book three. It's about Winter not letting anyone in. What if it's discovered that Winter is alive, and Levana uses a disguise to do the apple thing, and then Jacin finally finds her?

 You probably did smell something, Wolf, your nose tends to do that in this book

 Oh God Maha's gonna die. Being right sucks.

 Cinder's family loves her so much (I'm pleasantly surprised Wolf doesn't blame her for the situation). They're all keeping her from going out there.

 I don't know how I feel about Cinder manipulating her friends with her gift, but I do understand. I just worry Maha will be in more danger

 I HATE BEING RIGHT!!! Why do mothers have to die right after their sons are reunited with them after so long? I'm being a hypocrite MM why would you do this

 Wait. I'm less sure that Maha was the one who was shot

 At least Aimery was hit

 I know who Thorne and Scarlet remind me of, besides Hinata and Yuri. They remind me of Rin and Ayame. Makes sense, as Rin is Hinata's son and Ayame is Yuri's daughter.

 Can Lunars please stop separating Scarlet and Wolf?

 Kinney.... KINNEY. Iko's gonna meet Kinney!

 Thorne's gonna be so pissed that Iko thinks Kinney is prettier than him

 Winter stabbed Jerrico and Kinney shot at him! What a nice turn of events. Is Kinney going to be good now? I know he didn't approve of hurting Winter.

 "And here were just keeping her holed up in a tiny little house in a completely random mining sector. Why didn't it ever occur to us to try and keep her hidden?" DRAG HIM

 no but... considering their banter? Kinney seems like he might be the Hinata to her Yui. (So we essentially have two Hinata/Yui couples here)

 Cress? Is Cress there? There was a whimper! ........No. I swear my real first guess was Pearl, but I couldn't remember why she would be whimpering or why they'd want to be reacquainted

 The jeweled comb! They're doing the other things before the apple!

 I knew it was Kinney! Kinney and Cress have officially met now. Cress can decide if he's good enough for dear Iko.

 Was this one of Kai's own guards from the Commonwealth that cracked a smile or was it a guard assigned to him by Levana? Because if he cracked a smile I would be curious to know which guard he is and if the gift was really from Levana. ........Oh, it's a finger. Never mind! Talk about passive aggressive.

 What if it wasn't really a finger? It was just an object glamoured to look like Cinder's finger, and Levana or somebody had gotten the idea from the way Cinder glamoured napkins to be wedding invitations?

 Oh crap, this isn't the rehearsal, is it?

 KAI SNORTED. DURING HER VOWS. HE SNORTED.

 He's not gonna say "I do." Tell me he's not. This is supposed to be where someone bursts in.

 The hell? Is Levana glamouring herself to look like Cinder? That's just weird. But 1,000,000 points to Kai for pulling a Beth Greene and not ending up like a Beth Greene

 Gross though, they're actually married. Poor guy was forced to kiss her.

 SHORTCAKE. Apologies to Cress but that is precious.

 Jacin and Cress see Iko. And if Iko's there, then that means, three guesses who's with her

 "oblivious that oxygen intake wasn't an issue" okay considering the circumstances that's kind of hilarious

 Cress/Thorne/Iko group hug oh my god what did i do to deserve this? "She had never been so happy" You and me both, Cress.

 "I get stabbed and she gets to marry Kai. That just figures." Iko continues to be my absolute very favorite.

 I was lowkey thinking please leave the Linhs alone but Adri never ceases to be terrible (although to give MM credit, I get why this is an injustice and that Adri misses her husband and daughter) (I don't really know what I expected from this family)

 Levana thinks Adri knows about the little invention that helps control the Lunar gift ....Yep, there it is.

 Swearing fealty to Levana. Pathetic.

 Tell me at least Pearl will pleasantly surprise me, enough that she will help Cinder instead of dismember her.

 Cinder is seeing Levana how she really is. This is wild. She's seeing past the glamour, thanks to her cyborg side. That's some intense vulnerability on Levana's side. ...She can RECORD it??

 I can't remember this whole series totally well but I feel like a cyborg jumping out the window into potential water might not turn out that great

 Only just freshly married and already the empress-to-be was just about to make Prime Minister Bromstad stab himself with a fork. Just a little preview of what they have to expect with her on Earth. (what if there are people like in 2016's election going "Awww, just give her a chance!")

 whose ribcage was that

 THE INTAKE OF AIR I JUST DID WHEN I READ "CAPTAIN" Oh my God Thorne saved Cinder!! SO blessed. So moved. So grateful.

 As weak as I occasionally am about the CPR trope, five stars to MM for dismantling the romantic aspect of it here. "There was a violence to this they hadn't shown." Too true.

 Cinder's leg and hand aren't functioning? Reminds me of Violet in Feed by MT Anderson

 I'M LAUGHING THORNE JUST LITERALLY DID THE "HAVE YOU TRIED PUTTING IT IN RICE" THING

 Alright, so Winter and Scarlet have gone underground to find the wolf soldiers. Is this where we'll learn what happened to Wolf?

 Reminds me of Aragorn. Legolas, and Gimli going into the caves to recruit the ghost army

 Awww, Winter kissed Scarlet's head. <3

 Oh my God I don't think I ever made the connection there! Did I?! The realization feels familiar. That Scarlet's grandmother was considered crazy and she loved her, and everyone thinks Winter's crazy and Scarlet has certainly taken to her too. Because she knows (or knew) that both of them are brilliant in their own way.

 A hundred men. (insert Shiina voice here) Consider your forces a hundred men stronger.

 I just want to point out that in Little Red Riding Hood, she DID briefly get eaten by the big bad wolf

 "There are ladies in our presence" this reminds me of that tumblr post where the girl was at a military base and a soldier turned to her and was like "do you understand what he said because i fuckin don’t” and the soldier he was talking to was appalled like "CAN'T YOU SEE SHE'S A LADY WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS MARINE"

 I can't believe this guy's name is Strom. I'm officially obligated to like him. He's very Negan-level charismatic anyway

 I cannot believe it's 7:20pm and I'm only on page 488 what is this monstrocity of a big beautiful book

 "Except for these scars" "Where'd these come from, pretty lady?" Oh no. Oh no. "You wanna know how I got these scars?" Now I can't get the idea out of my head of Winter meeting the Joker.

 Okay, now that the wolf soldiers see that Winter has Lunar sickness, and deliberately does not use her gift, I think they backed off. Unfortunately the thaumaturges are here? Fingers crossed for the wolf soldiers to side with Winter and save her!

 "Is that so?" Ooh, I was right. They're pissed.

 YEEEEEEAAAAHHH they're turning on the thaumaturges! And sort of protecting Scarlet and Winter! ...Wait what's happening to them

 Winter is enticing the wolf soldiers with the idea of feasting on the queen's flesh, what kind of next-level Brothers Grimm material is this

 SHE EVEN HOWLED. Winter is something else.

 I swear to God it's like Yuri Nakamura recruiting Guild members... what with weaponry available right above their heads

 "Leave it to Winter to make a bunch of sadistic, hot-headed predators get all swoony over her" I'd love to see these guys watch Frozen (No really it'd be like the army guys reacting to Let It Go)

 "I am a girl made up of ice and snow" Winter is essentially Elsa, Luna, and Kanade combined and it's fascinating

 "Or maybe it was just Winter, who could make a rock fall in love with her if she smiled at it the right way" And now she reminds me of Cream and her superpower of attracting robots

 I swear I thought a wolf soldier was going to give her a piggyback ride

 "Death is not good enough for her" Levana is absolutely about to do the sleeping curse motif. But how will she pull that one off?

 That's so sweet how protective Iko is of Cinder <3

 Wait, no, that can't be Jacin, he's with the others ---> it's a glamour ---> Levana must be doing it ----> This is the "old lady offering an apple" trick

 Yep, it's the old lady, and she's probably got that apple candy that Winter likes.

 SHE JUST GAVE HER LETUMOSIS DIDN'T SHE. I had no idea that was coming. I thought it would be a real sleeping curse, but this... this is unique!

 Oh crap. She passed out. Hopefully the wolf soldiers will smell the disease on her instead of getting infected? ....YEP. But not before Scarlet touched her. Whoops?

 A suspension tank. Like a glass coffin. That is an excellent twist.

 Scarlet's right, thanks to glamours anyone could be the enemy, including that doctor

 NOOOO. NOOOO. You are kidding me! I mean I knew Scarlet was touching her and that it was bound to happen but it still shocked me when she saw it on her arm

 Good lord will the people of Luna stop brainwashing the dudes?

 "Earthens have the sweetest flesh" that's not necessarily violent though!

 No, it does matter what Garan was doing to Iko, I would like some answers and I won't have another intriguing mystery dangled in front of me with no conclusion

 "As she watched, Scarlet seemed to be bossing them around, pointing her finger toward the main doors of the clinic" amazing, Scarlet is already the wolves' fearless leader

 Oops. Now Jacin knows.

 I think the relationship between Kai and Torin is really cool. He's still got a father figure in his life.

 Wow. Kai is prepared to sacrifice himself. He really does make a good Emperor.

 The Artemisians really are like the citizens of the Capitol, having a party and dressing wildly even with all the chaos going on in other districts and areas

 Okay at first read I laughed when Thorne found out one of the Lunar women he flirted with was a man under a glamour and he was like "Well played, Lunars" --- but then I thought, wait, maybe that "man" prefers for people to see a woman?? Glamours are probably REALLY useful for trans people!

 Wait wait the Lunar woman kissed Thorne??? I accidentally read a page or two ahead before this -- or I glimpsed the page and I was like, "Damn, I spoiled a Cress/Thorne kiss!" but joke's on me I guess?

 "I think I'm in love with you" Well I'm offended on behalf of Iko and Cress. Is that part of a Lunar emotional manipulation or is Thorne being melodramatic?? (note: must refer to p595 for angst)

 DAMMIT I SPOILED THE REAL ONE but honestly (raises 100/10 sign)

 Whaaaaat? I had to reread the section again where Luisa showed up and yes that would make a lot of sense that he thought he was talking to (and kissing) Cress, since the real Cress happened to be alone somewhere else when Luisa walked up to him. ("You've been wanting that awhile, haven't you?" OHHH. OH. YEP. Confirmed.) And yes, yes he did tell her that he loved her.

 WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP SACRIFICING YOURSELVES TO DRAW GUARDS OFF (well at least that means Thorne and Iko have this in common)

 Yay! Scarlet and Cinder are reunited and Jacin's about to find Winter! (But also how often do Scarlet and Cinder hug honestly) (what a treat) (they're like Jade and Tori) also somebody give Scarlet the damn antidote

 So the huntsman approaches the glass coffin. This is so pure. The way they describe the flowers and Winter sleeping, I kind of picture Rue's final resting place and Peeta's artwork. Amandla Stenberg should play Winter.

 "She was still a princess, and he was still nothing." God I want to work on The Potter's Son right now. (funnily enough, Jacin's last name is Clay)

 I want to watch a movie version of this so much

 Scarlet and Jacin both have loving nicknames for Winter ("Trouble" "Princess" "Crazy") and it's cute as hell.

 It really doesn't matter if no one could say she was beautiful, Jacin and Scarlet still looked at her with love when she woke up. I think that goes to show that the people will love Winter no matter what she looks like

 Okay I want to know what the orange liquid is that Lunars keep offering people

 Awwwww! Kai/Cress hug! And he's comforting her, and I don't know why but I think their friendship is really sweet.

 Look who Cinder's become. She's really become Selene. And the Lunar citizens and Winter can see it.

 (Okay, I'm tempted to go on, but it's 11:42 PM and I'm gonna stop reading on page 657. Book Five is an acceptable place to stop) (Especially for a 823 page book)

 (It's 9:33 AM on 12-21-2016 and I have 166 pages to read. Let's do this thing!)

 It must pain Kai to have to stifle his brimming sarcasm around Lunars.

 "It was a relief to hear that Thorne wasn't already dead." Aw, Kai does care...

 WOLF. Wolf is at the coronation! I'd know those "blazing green" eyes anywhere (and apparently so would Kai)

 Cinder missing the "infinite data within her grasp" reminds me of Feed and Stupid Perfect World and reading it I'm so used to Adolescent Lit class that I feel I should be typing it down under a theme. But also her missing the pros of being a cyborg is some cool character development (or at least a turn of events)

 AAWWW Cinder and Iko love each other!

 Even Wolf in his reformed state wants to maul Levana into bloody scraps. (And now we know exactly how the wolf soldiers on Cinder's team are feeling) For another thing, I almost wonder if something in Wolf wanted to help Kai, and it wasn't just his ravenous hunger.

 "All at once, the Earthen dissent hushed" Sounds like Levana is manipulating her citizens and guests as empress already.

 Strom and Iko. Cinder has a bloodthirsty wolf soldier and an android protecting her. She really is a fairytale princess!

 NO. I hadn't thought of that! ...Maybe I did. Briefly. But not enough that I expected Levana to control her like this

 IKO JUST SHOT LEVANA. MY FAVE, AT IT AGAIN. Never mind, she shot Wolf. That's at least two of his female companions who have shot him. Will he swoon over Iko too? Nope, he'll attack her.

 Are they going to play the Levana footage yet? YES, FINALLY! FINALLY.

 "They were scars created from burns. Cinder knew it with absolute certainty." Because she and her aunt have that in common.

 She lost her glamour?! Too distracted and shocked to hold it up. So in this state she really shouldn't be running back into the palace -- more people will see her how she really is!

 The Lunars in there are such Capitol middle-class citizens. Must represent rich people in America reacting to protests "stop playing at war games and get back to work, lazy buffoons that they were"

 I think it's pretty special that Torin -- basically the father figure to Kai -- is the first to call Cinder "Linh-daren"

 Oh my God isn't that what she did with a tech thing when she first met him? (the ol' "have you tried hitting it" ploy)

 I swear I thought Scarlet would have to draw Wolf out of a hypnotic soldier trance with the power of true love but I'm impressed it doesn't seem to be turning out that way.

 Thorne's much nicer to Iko than Kinney is. If Kinney's going to be Iko's love interest, he's going to have to take a few classes from Thorne (like the "How To Date Robin Scherbatsky 101" thing Barney took from Ted) (I think Thorne would respond very well to Kinney standing on a chair and saying, "O Captain my Captain")

 "Kinney was sneering contemptuously at Kai's hand on Iko's broken arm" What is that, repressed jealousy? Because of an android? Fascinating.

 "Jacin was holding her hand, his fingers strong and tense, like he was afraid she would vanish if he loosened his grip" Well! More and more evidence is pointing to Jacin being Otonashi

 NO! NO. NOT STROM. I LOVED STROM.

 Aimery Park can go to hell. And leave Jacin and Winter alone for once. I don't trust this scene, it feels like Winter is going to get hurt, or Jacin is going to get more injured than he already is. Aimery just brought up Winter's gift, and I feel like she's going to use it for the first time in this scene to protect Jacin (but that would hurt because it would compromise what she stands for, wouldn't it?)

 "Waited too mnny years"? Gross. Old creep.

 What the fuck. He's actually going to make her do it herself.

 SCARLET AND WOLF! Well mostly Scarlet, but good show young Ze'ev.

 Um. Wait. Scarlet's bioelectricity is claimed. By Winter? MY MONEY IS ON WINTER. I don't mean to celebrate Winter compromising her morals and forcing Scarlet into battle, but... this is pretty damn significant!

 Scarlet killed Aimery through Winter's control. Now that is a fitting end.

 I wouldn't call Aimery's grin "charming." Doesn't have the right connotation. I would go with "smarmy."

 Well that's pretty gory. Winter hated that guy so much.

 Marissa Meyer is incredible at describing Winter's mind and mental illness.

 Cinder reminds me of Yuri looking for the computer room

 I think it's meaningful that Thorne is the one here with Cinder as she and Levana confront each other. Speaks to their friendship. Also, the aunt who married her niece's boyfriend. Sounds like a Jerry Springer episode.

 She actually has sympathy for Levana. Like Harry, coaxing Voldemort to try for some compassion before the end, before it was too late.

 I'm surprised Levana didn't tell her the truth about how Channary died.

 "Love is a conquest. Love is a war." Levana really does belong in Once Upon A Time.

 If Thorne gets killed off, I will be upset. This is putting it dangerously mildly.

 lmao Thorne punched her in the face while she was rescuing him ("Sorry! That's me." but that is so you)

 "Thorne jabbed the knife into her thigh. Cinder screamed. 'Still not me,' he said" I swear to God

 CRESS SHOT THORNE I'M LAUGHING WHAT A GRAND ENTRANCE

 AND THORNE STABBED HER IN THE STOMACH THIS HAS SWITCHED FROM HUMOR TO TOP-NOTCH ANGST AND IS SOMETHING THEY'LL HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IN COUPLE THERAPY

 Less funny! Thorne is sobbing! Levana please stop manipulating my favorite into mortally wounding two of his best girls

 Yeah I'd trust Wolf with Cress too.

 "No, Levana was a monster, but it wasn't because of the face she'd kept hidden all these years." Her monstrosities were buried much deeper than that." This is a good message, and it's important it came from Cinder.

 It's like a mental arm-wrestling match

 Wait, what snapped?!? Other than the hold on her mind?

 I feel slightly suspicious of Levana's surrender.

 YEP SHE JUST STABBED CINDER IN THE HEART

 Wait what the hell is Emilie doing here? Is everyone back on Earth now? How much time has passed?! I need to see some aftermath here!

 Scarling, I forgot about that nickname. So cute. I'm just glad the little "Scarling" is alright

 "You're the only one, Ze'ev Kesley. You'll always be the only one." God I love them so much, they are fic inspiration. (Also the fact that he's half-man, half-wolf mutant just confirms even more -- they're Beauty & Beast)

 Just curious: have they fixed Cinder's cyborg brain? Is that confirmed by the green text in her vision?

 The uncertainty of Levana's death until this scene makes it somewhat anti-climactic, but I'm glad it's been confirmed

 She was out for three days. Welcome to the 3-day coma club, population: Harry Potter, Yuri Nakamura, and now Linh Cinder (or, if you will, Selene Blackburn)

 wait a minute, I wonder if the theme of three days coincides with Jesus. Must be a savior thing.

 That Lunar gift explanation makes sense. It's like the stomach muscle. If you've been eating very little for a long time, your stomach will be tiny and you won't be able to handle a seven-course meal. Also, now I feel less pleased that Winter used her gift to save Scarlet and Jacin.

 I knew it. I knew this would be the scene. They didn't do it to wake her up and cure her of the plague, but she's sleeping again now and this is the moment.

 A kiss woke her up but it didn't cure her. Respect to MM for showing that you can't love mental illness away! Besides, nothing wrong with Winter being the girl of ice and snow.

 Cinder didn't graciously hand out forgiveness and she didn't sentence them to anything nasty. She just turned away from them. That is so... cool. She's not obligating herself to kindly forgive her abusers, but she isn't taking revenge either. I have a lot of respect for that lack of reaction.

 Poor dear. Being a queen freaks her out. Her "speeches" are extremely relatable. She is so on the spot. But she got rid of Levana and that's something.

 "She knew that just because one cyborg had saved the world didn't mean they were ready to give up generations of prejudice..." This is a perfect example of why the USA finally having one black president doesn't mean white people don't still have a huge hold of the power or that racism is over. MM is great at metaphors and addressing racism through cyborg prejudice.

 Cinder is getting much better at addressing the public. Must be because she's passionate about these issues.

 I KNEW THAT WOULD COME UP AGAIN. I legitimately just gasped in realization. So that's what Garan was doing with Iko.

 Oh my God she's totally going to give Thorne his ship and clemency.

 Thorne hasn't been to see Cress, likely because he's guilty about stabbing her in the stomach. I mean, that would do it. (And she's feeling guilty about the fingers) (Oh lord, it's going to be like Taismo) ("I'M TERRIBLE!" "NO I'M TERRIBLE YOU'RE FLAWLESS AND GOOD" "NO I'M NOT AS FLAWLESS AND GOOD AS YOU") (well that doesn't usually sound like Thorne but he can get pretty self-deprecating around Cress)

 AHHH I KNEW IT! Cinder got Vargas to give Thorne the Rampion! And she made him a letumosis antidote deliverer. Sounds like Elsa with Kristoff -- and Cress is his Anna!

 A missing fingers club I love those nerds so much

 "Or I could take you... anywhere. Anywhere you wanted to see." I can show you the wooooorld

 "Her body became liquid, and she thought, if they could bottle him, he would make the best pain medication." WHAT A LINE. I expect to see that in sparkling hot fuchsia lettering in a 2005 myspace icon immediately.

 Oh my God wait a minute Thorne is a flirtatious goofy thief, maybe he is Aladdin?!

 Also Cress and Thorne are adorable, but I would very much like for them to reunite with Iko soon. Though likely Kinney will get to her first.

 I feel immense satisfaction at a light-hearted android like Iko claiming Levana's wardrobe for herself

 She can change her eye color now! Like a mood ring! That is awesome and I am jealous

 Luna's official colors are white, red, and black. Now I know where Shadow comes from (Cress makes for a great Maria Robotnik)

 Thorne: "Ha! I told you I could get him to call me the captain." God love him.

 The whole family is together. <3

 For crying out loud, somebody install poor Iko with some functional taste buds!

 A smear of yellow frosting on her priceless gown. It wouldn't be Cinder at an important celebration without a few smudges and smears

 "Thorne, Cress, Wolf, and Scarlet had already left" This hurts as much as the AB graduation or the huge gaps in Clannad Afterstory where the gang isn't together

 "somehow, a marriage alliance doesn't sound so bad" see that's what I'VE been thinking!

 "It occurred to me that if I could find the cyborg that fit this foot, it must be a sign we were meant to be together" Marissa Meyer truly does fairytales like nobody else.

 "I'm going to make it a law that the correct way to address your sovereign is by giving a high five." "That's genius. Me too." My God, Thorne would love that.

 I think the fact that Cinder is considering dissolving the Lunar monarchy is heavy evidence that she's the ruler the Lunars need right now. But also I understand abdicating. Honestly I thought she'd be a cool empress.

 "I will personally extend invitations to the entire Rampion crew. We'll make a reunion out of it." I am inwardly crying here.

 Dumping the cyborg foot into the water. A heavy ending. But I wish all her friends had been there to see it.

 STARS, I NEED STARS ABOVE.

 (And I am finished at 1:17 PM. On Wednesday, December 21, 2016.) (It only took me..... I just did the calculations.... 20 hours and 57 minutes to read one book? Bah. I blame snack breaks)

(I cannot believe I finally finished Winter! This book was mammoth.) (And no I have no excuse not to clean the upstairs bathroom)