When she does come to earth, he makes sure she’s not overwhelmed with people - very limited staff and no journalists or cameras if he can help it. And asks the chefs cook everything he knows she likes. From the time she became queen of luna, he already has a suite picked out for her in the palace. For whenever, if ever, she comes to stay.
If Kai impresses her with something or goes viral on the net she always tells him not to forget her when he’s famous.
In Gilmore girls there’s a line where one character tells a girl who’s meeting her long-distance boyfriend in real life to “hold the phone up to her ear so her boyfriend will recognise her” and I definitely think a variant of this joke would have been said to Cinder when she goes to Earth.
Her glare still makes him feel like “a grain of salt,” so if he has to tell her something daunting or how he broke something (again), he’ll put a hand across her eyes and say it. But it only ends up making her laugh.
They’ll regularly eat off each other’s plates or take drinks from each other’s hands to share.
He wakes her up for a birthday with a cupcake with an unlit candle. Just a private moment between them two and to show how much he knows her, and it makes her feel better about things that are still hard to talk about.
He absolutely does not forget about the half-promise of dancing lessons that’s given at the end of Winter, and prior to the next annual peace ball, he sets time set aside to teach her as much as he can. I could go on forever about how amazing this is like it needs a 50,000 word fic but I’ll restrain myself.
Agree with the headcanon that she helps him during his most anxious moments. Puts a hand on his knee when she sees it bouncing or slips a hand into his under the table, both of their expressions unchanging but he gives her hand a squeeze as a discreet thank you. When at the beginning, she’s up on her own, giving a speech or leading a meeting and she’s still not used to it all, she finds him in the crowd - he’s already looking at her - and he calms her down.
There’s an old crack-canon from ye olden days on tumblr where someone says he accidentally calls her babe on national television and is beating himself up over it. This actually happens.
They often play chess together. It’s something he used to play with his dad and a game that cinder loves - OG strategist. They take turns beating each other and it forms a little healthy rivalry.
Much like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama being caught on the kiss cam at the pre-olympic basketball game, so too do Kai and Selene end up on the kiss cam on live television. Watch Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ kiss cam and that’s what I picture for them, with Cinder laughing probably more from being flustered and a bit embarrassed while Kai loves it.
As emperor and empress they visit lots of schools together as part of diplomatic missions and fundraising events, even participating in a lot of the activities. I think they jokingly race each other in one video and you can see Kai point behind her to make her look at something and he gets a split second head start and darts off while she has to catch up after him. It’s these sorts of moments that humanise them as a couple in people’s eyes.
They have play fights and she tries to use the tactics Wolf taught her. At the end of the day biology wins out and he still is stronger than her. She sulks after that.
They’re both pretty private but after many requests and when they’re an established couple, he recounts how they met in an interview, how they fell in love (maybe Thorne’s podcast??). He says he couldn’t stop thinking about her, he asked her to the peace ball and well…he smiles fondly, “we all know what happened after that.” Interviewer says no, what happened. “Oh! She rejected me.”
As practically the most famous person in the world, my darling Cinder ends up getting a lot of attention, both wanted and unwanted. She ends up having more admirers than she’s prepared for, even the sons of political party members or celebrities. There’s especially one guy, we can call him Adam, a son of one of the union members who’s not much older than her, and it’s obvious he has a huge crush on her. Cinder and Kai are both secure enough in their relationship that it’s never an issue but Kai does use it as healthy fodder for teasing. They’ll be planning the wedding and she’ll ask him if they should have shrimp and he says, I don’t know does Adam like shrimp? Or, do you think Adam would like egg-shell for the bathroom walls? Many similar jokes and definitely enough that she threatens to hit him.
He brushes the grease spot off her forehead. Every chance he gets. Even if there's nothing there, he has an unconscious habit of gently brushing the hair off her brow in that spot and she knows he's going to kiss her. It makes her wait in anticipation which makes him laugh and yeah. YEAHHHH
"Don't forget me when you're famous" canon dialogue. I've thought often before about them sharing food, and their PR team telling them off, like "Your Majesty, it's not appropriate!" Kai does not listen.
Him calling her babe on national newsfeed. The first time is an accident. The next time is not 😉
Oooh, yes, I can see them playing Chess. Kai accuses her of using her retina display to make moves for her 😂. The kiss cam definitely happens. I think if they're at a game, the net would generally be flooded with people's angles of them just sitting and watching together, particularly of them freaking out over her casually having her arms wrapped around him and vice versa. I imagine lots of pillow fights and Cinder sulking when he overpowers her. Her spite is what motivates her at the gym.
"Oh! She rejected me!" I know that moment will blow up the net.
Dear friend, you always spit bars whenever you post your kaider thoughts. Do you have any that you've been cooking up recently, if you'd be willing to share? 🤔
AHHH ty ty, okay I definitely lean more analytic aka character analysis than creative (headcanons). There’s a reason I've never posted headcanons and it is because I’m very bad at them so please make room for that in your heart.
Okay oops there will be Part 1 and Part 2, I got too into it.
This one sort of ties into a longer, Cinder-focused headcanon but I always picture her finally getting a mechanical engineering degree after stepping down as queen. When Cinder was first adopted by the Linh family she begged to go to school. She has a real propensity for learning and is naturally very intelligent but was denied by Adri. Even Garan would find ways to gently let her down as he’s quite skittish when he first adopts her, and would think possibly the less people who saw her the better. A lot of her concepts were self taught and she secretly always wanted to get an engineering degree, even dabbling in some projects for her own enjoyment. I see her leaning heavily into advanced concepts like theoretical physics and mathematical sciences. She does some work with larger companies as a mechanic because she’s quite sought after and her work sometimes overlaps with that of an engineer. Everyone can tell she enjoys it. Senior engineers even encourage her or place her forward for young engineer scholarships and honorary achievements but Adri always forbids it - both because time spent studying would mean a dent in business hours and revenue but also because she is steadfast in denying Cinder things that she wants. After Cinder steps down as queen, she gets accepted into the same engineering course that she had looked at a hundred times. Kai is so unbelievably proud of her. He knew from the start how intelligent she is and how much of a private dream it was for her, encouraging her to do it multiple times.
With her quick interface and natural intelligence, she gradually picks up more languages than him. Each time she switches to a different language (speeches, conversations with other political figures), he’s captivated. I definitely that in a lot of her self-teaching in her long hours as a mechanic, she tries to attain a fundamental understanding of the most common languages which comes in CLUTCH as a diplomat.
The imperial palace has a MASSIVE indoor pool and one of the forms of exercise the young prince does is swimming since a life in politics does not an athlete make. Kai turns out to be a very talented swimmer, and it’s one of the only forms of exercises he actively does regularly. He’s fully aware of Cinder’s fear and…incompetence in the water (not her fault, she’s literally built to drown). He commissions a prosthetic leg with her measurements, built out of something lighter like carbon fibre that will weigh her down less. She still fights him each time he begs her to go in with him but he finally wears her down. Eventually they’re both in the water and he’s beside her, calmly guiding her through every swim, with a hand under her, enough pressure so she knows he’s there but letting her get the hang of it cause he knows she can. Eventually he calms her down enough that she’ll put her head under. Side note: the first time they all go to beach or the river near Scarlet’s house, Thorne does bring little kiddie arm floaties for Cinder. When they’re all swimming together, Kai always has a hand near her.
I do love the whole dynamic of Kai teaching her things because she is such an impressive person that these moments are few and far between. Kai would love it too. The beginning of her reign is hard for them as a couple as they have to cope with the distance but he’s her one-stop call for all stupid questions and insider tips. When they’re together in person, he makes her practice her speeches in front of him. I think of Cinder as a confident but slightly introverted person, and more quiet around people she doesn’t know. Public speaking (when not absolutely essential and facilitated by the adrenaline of a revolution) is a struggle for her. Kai makes her look him in the eye while practising, eventually moving closer and closer till she can’t keep looking away. He has anxiety but truly no social anxiety, and is a natural public speaker. There’s a lot of Kai making her laugh, words of encouragement, Kai doing serious improv as outrageous reporters or party leaders until they both can’t keep on track.
More than once, Kai is pictured with a hair tie on his wrist. Stylist team are aggrieved each time.
Kai asks Cinder to the next annual Peace Ball at the end of Winter and we see that he’s relieved and happy when she finally says yes. I think he also asks her not to betray and publicly humiliate him this time and she says sorry etc etc but she is in politics.
He calls her Cin. Without a doubt. Not even a question in my head. And he calls her Linh when he’s teasing her. I try to think of nicknames she has for him and I think later in their relationship she does call him things like love or honey. But at the start, he so rarely is referred to by his name by the people around him since his parents passed, and he just wants to hear her say Kai.
In my head, during the events of Cinder and before the ball, they spend more time with each other at the market. It’s a bit of a tricky situation because she knows its not right and will only lead to their imminent self-imposed separation being harder for her. She feels she’s not appropriate for him but he can’t help wanting to see her, especially after his father passes and staying in the palace feels more alone and suffocating than ever. Anyway, she teaches him to drive (she self-taught very young due to her business) and he criticises how fast she goes while she maintains she’s just a confident driver. It’s a joke between them that he’ll never get in the hover with her again. At the shop, he hangs around even though she tells him to go home. There are long stretches of talking, and long stretches of her working on her various jobs for clients and him reading his own documents. And they’re comfortable like that. In my head there’s a sort of shabby back-room/office since this is the place Cinder spends all her time. (All mechanic shops have a garage for people to drive in cars so I really think the place is bigger than we think.) He loves it there. She jokingly gets him to help out under the guide of it being “good for him.” He doesn’t mind at all. Being there, it’s the most he’s felt like himself in months. It’s sort of this time that he thinks about more and more when he thinks he won’t see her again after the events of Cinder. She still won’t ever let him buy her lunch even though he sees she’s there most of the day without eating enough. She walks into her shop one day, he’s not around but there is food and a cup of coffee on one of the small work tables.
There’s a street dog that periodically roams the market that gets very attached to Cinder. Was a puppy when she first started there so it’s been years that she’s seen him. Sometimes he comes into the shop to sleep on the ground and she lets him, giving him whatever food she has. He’s an absolute sweetheart and its usually him, Cinder and Kai somehow all in the shop at the same time sometimes. It breaks her heart to leave him when she’s planning for her escape from New Beijing, but she knows some of the other shopkeepers will look out for him as they usually do. He’s tried to follow her home a couple times which makes Adri furious. She doesn’t see him for a long time but sometime in her reign as queen and on a diplomatic mission to the commonwealth, maybe even one that brings her closer to the market as people want to see her revisit it, Kai has put out the word for someone to find the dog, and when he sees Cinder again he goes crazy with joy. Cinder is also a bit overwhelmed. And it definitely becomes a viral clip with the dog jumping all over her and Kai grinning. And yes, Kai adopts him into the palace for her.
LOVE LOVE LOVE. Of course, Cinder does a mechanical engineering degree at some point. I mean, c'mon, that's basically canon. She's not gonna throw all her mechanical skills away!
Also for YEARS I have dreamed of Kai helping Cinder learn properly how to swim (and get over the trauma of drowning) except in my brain it was in an outdoor pool. But let's be real: New Beijing Palace probably has multiple pools, both indoors and outdoors. And yes to him teaching her things and guiding her! Too often we depict Kai as the less useful/competent one in the relationship which is a war crime! He is very intelligent and surely a great teacher. And of course he calls her Cin. Anyone who disagrees, I'm sorry, we're kicking you out of the fandom.
The hc about them hanging out at her booth is so sweet. It reminds me of this AU I had where they meet much earlier and have moments like that--just getting to know each other. Sigh, such a shame the timeline of the first book is only two weeks. If only.
the time tlc is set in surprises me sometimes lol. Like the fact that we're probably a few generations older then JANNALI. The rampion crew are great great great grandchildren fr
Nah, it's a lot further in the future than that.
In Marissa's timeline, you have First Era, Second Era and Third Era. We today, the common era, are in the Second Era.
World War III happens and sometime later the moon is colonised.
60 years later it becomes a republic.
An unspecified amount of time later, Cyprus Blackburn makes himself King.
Marissa's website says this all happens centuries before the Third Era. The Lunar Monarchy is said to be very old, and since Marissa says that the gift spread through Cyprus and his descendants' promiscuity, there needs to be a fair few generations for it spread to everyone on Luna. In Winter Kai walks down a "long hall" lined with the portraits of past Lunar rulers, so there has been many monarchs, not just a handful. Then:
World War IV finishes and the Third Era begins.
Michelle Benoit is born 56 T.E so Jannali is presumably born around that time.
The events of the main books happen 126 T.E
All this considered, TLC takes place anywhere from 300-500 years from now, though it could be even more. Here's a potential timeline:
The moon is colonised approx 2060.
Then another 60 years it becomes a Republic, taking us to 2120.
Several centuries of the Blackburn monarchy pass, so let's say the Third Era begins 2300.
Then 126 years of the Third Era takes us to TLC happening in 2426, roughly 400 years away from us today, 2023.
TLC will be about 15-20 or so generations away from us right now. I think it can only be around 300-500 years because you would expect tech to be more advanced if it were 600+ years.
edit: also! Universal language is a new language combining English, Spanish and Mandarin, so that would've needed time to form! After all, we can still read and understand Shakespeare from 500 years ago, so a new language would need several centuries to develop.
am i the only one who thinks that cinder would try to dismantle the commenwealth's monarchy as well? like it doesnt make sense for her to do so much work getting rid of luna's monarchy only for her to become a monarch again
also kai would definitely hear her out (at least) like he had no issue when she said she wanted to end the lunar monarchy
@gingerale2017 I agree. Cinder is never actually stated to be anti-monarchy. She's anti-abuse of power.
Scarlet summarises the differences between Lunar Monarchy and Earthen Monarchy perfectly, saying: "Though there were only two monarchies in the Earthen Union...Scarlet had grown up in Europe, a democracy...She generally figured, to each his own, and clearly the countries of the Union were doing something right to have gotten through 126 years of world peace. But that wasn't the case with Luna. Something was broken with their system."
Cinder states that she wishes to dissolve the Lunar Monarchy because "it will happen again. Some king or queen is going to brainwash the people." So the issue she has is how the gift allows leaders to abuse their power and subjugate the outer sectors. We do know she is referring to the gift specifically, because she explains in Wires & Nerve "any candidate running for office must be outfitted with a bioelectrical security device," so they cannot "manipulate anyone into voting for them."
Why not just make the Lunar royals have a bio-lock and keep the monarchy? Because the Lunar monarchy is autocratic, meaning the ruler has complete power and couldn't be forced to install the lock, whereas anyone running for grand minister knows and consents to the fact they must have the lock installed. The EC monarchy does not have the gift as such as detrimental playing card.
Cinder states that the Lunar government needs "division of power, some checks and balances." The Eastern Commonwealth has this. Kai has a cabinet and he only has executive power. He would not be able to introduce, write, and vote on every bill. Transforming the governmental system of a country has sweeping economic ramifications, so unless it is needed or strongly desired, it would not be in the EC's best interests to change.
Cinder herself never expresses disdain toward the EC monarchy. She feels shock and sadness over Emperor Rikan's death, and she watches and supports Kai's coronation. She states that Kai will make a great emperor, and that the Commonwealth "belonged to Kai."
This is why I don't believe Cinder would attempt to dissolve the EC monarchy. And as for the point of her not wanting to be queen, she is actually more invested in stirring change than she lets on! At the very beginning of the series, she tells Iko to "petition the government" to allow androids at the peace ball. As soon as she becomes queen, she sets to work on signing the Treaty of Bremen, reforming cyborg policies, opening Earth-Luna immigration, disturbing the antidote and recalling the wolf soldiers, all while recovering from a stab wound. She then plans and executes a complete overhaul of the government system in only the first two years of her reign, after equalising economic conditions in Luna and rehabilitating shells and wolf soldiers.
These are not the actions of a girl who has no interest in being a leader. These are the actions who someone who wants social change and is willing to bring it about, even having "pride" in her identity. She was, of course, scared of the responsibility, but she still declared, "I'm the rightful heir!" and was determined to reclaim her throne. Cinder was a victim of the Eastern Commonwealth's socio-economic prejudices. Why would she not be all the more enthused to incite change there?
So would she embrace the role of empress like she was born to do it? No, she will likely never feel like royalty. But she would surely be an effective and competent leader, and she would genuinely enjoy helping people. We know this because she chose to become an ambassador once she renounced the throne. If she really hated these public roles, she could've gone back to life as a mechanic. But she chose that role, because in spite of all her fears, she does want to help others.
If she doesn't mind the EC monarchy, Cinder is not so presumptuous as to change the governmental system just so she doesn't have to be a monarch again. As she herself acknowledges, "If she wanted to be a part of his future, she'd have to be a part of all of it." And if Cinder were to tell Kai he should consider dissolving the monarchy, he would be hit very hard. He already feels like an "imposter" in the role, so to hear from the person he loves the most that the system is inadequate, he would feel like a failure. Cinder knows how much the Commonwealth means to Kai. Why would she knowingly cause him that much distress?
In summary, I don't think Cinder would ever try to dismantle the EC monarchy because it does not fail in the ways that the Lunar Monarchy did which spurred her to change it in the first place.
Do you think Kai and Cinder ever discussed having children prior to their engagement, or was it treated more as a given that she would be expected to produce at least one heir? If so, do you think she’d bring up her perfectly intact reproductive system? Cinder using that information to jokingly seduce him
I think the topic was awkwardly brought up early in their relationship. Although by the end of Winter Kai is already set on Cinder becoming his wife, the issue of an heir would have to be addressed. If Cinder wasn't interested in having children, it's better for him to know that sooner rather than later. While they were separate, we know they were using vid comms frequently, so I imagine at some point they were vaguely on the topic of kids (maybe a guard or maid had a baby), and Kai not-so-subtly transitioned into "...have you ever thought about it?" "About what?" "You know...having kids?"
Given that they would only be 17 and 19 at this stage, it would be awkward, and considering Cinder had lived her life thus far believing no one would be interested in her, kids are definitely out of her radar. She takes time to think about it, imagining Kai as a father--knowing he would be wonderful at it--and also imagining what a blend of them could look like in a child. It makes her all giddy til she's struck with a pang of guilt, like she's indulging in a forbidden fantasy. Then she has to correct herself and remind herself that it's not an unrealistic fantasy, it's a possibility. However, as a teenager, that sort of responsibility feels momentous and terrifying, nor does she have the guts yet to imagine herself as a mother. So they talk again and lightly agree that both of them are interested in being parents one day.
After that, I doubt they ever touch on it much again while dating. Once they're engaged, they likely talk out the logistics of when they plan to have kids. But until they are married for a few years and have baby fever, I don't think it's a regular discussion point, except to joke about how often the press and public harass them about it.
What do you think is the reason as to why scarlet and thorne don't seem to care about cinder's cyborg parts? Do you think it is because they just happen to not be prejudiced- or do you think perhaps the situation of cyborgs is worse off in the eastern commonwealth than it is in other regions?
As with any marginalised group in society, hatred towards them is not entirely universal. It's important to remember the fact that, while several characters we meet from New Beijing are prejudiced towards cyborgs, that is only based on the characters we get to meet. We really don't have a great enough sample size to determine the true public attitudes. As Cinder is on the receiving end of the discrimination, she generalises the entire public as being against her. This wouldn't be entirely true. Some we meet from New Beijing are not intolerant, such as Garan, Peony and Dataran. I doubt Tashmi Priya would be against cyborgs, and even Kai isn't actually against them; he is ignorant and passively accepting of the policies governing them until he changes. Even Torin doesn't express any particular disdain for cyborgs either.
Cinder has basically no social circle before the series, so she couldn't truthfully say that everyone she could possibly encounter would, with certainty, hate cyborgs. It does seem like, of all the locations in the series, this discrimination is more prevalent in New Beijing than anywhere else. Logically, this is the result of the cyborg draft--something that doesn't exist elsewhere and perpetuates the idea of cyborgs being inhuman.
Scarlet and Michelle are shown to be outsiders in their town, showing sympathy to the "misunderstood" groups, unlike the narrow-minded townfolk in Rieux. And yet we see cyborgs treated normally at the underground fights nearby, so evidently again, the attitudes are not universal. Thorne is the child of two people who would--in my opinion--definitely discriminate against cyborgs. Yet he doesn't. Perhaps it's because, as a criminal and someone rejected by his own family, he understands what it's like to be an outcast in society. Or perhaps it's just his nature to love instead of hate.
Yes, cyborgs in New Beijing are treated more harshly than cyborgs elsewhere. But just the same as there are common trends of racism and ableism today, yet within society there are still many people who reject such mistreatment, there would be people unaffected by these views on cyborgs. Moreover, because the series is primarily told through Cinder's perspective, we don't see a true depiction of the social attitudes towards cyborgs on Earth as a whole, only her experience of it. While this prejudice is evidently rampant throughout Earth, characters like Thorne, Scarlet and others confirm that individuals do not always share the view of the wider population.
I find it so funny that Kai is considered a conspiracy theorist yet Thorne also fully believes Selene is alive and yet he's considered just a rational guy 😂😭 poor Kai fighting for his life against the allegations.
Sometimes you’re such a millennial gen z and I love it lol
If this is in reference to my 'mmm whatcha say' post, that meme is a timeless masterpiece perfect for any generation. Also I wrote that post like 5 years ago; it was more popular back then.
This is the second time someone has said I act like a millennial 😑. I am definitely Gen Z; however, considering that it seems like the majority of the fandom on here now are mostly 15-year-olds, then yes, I am an older Gen Z in comparison. Maybe the reason I seem more 'millennial' is because I'm one of the adults in the fandom and write/act like one?
i know this has already been addressed on here before, but how do you think kai would learn about how hard it was for cinder to live with adri? like do you think they sit down and have a serious conversation about it or...? maybe they get into a fight one day and kai throws his hands up in frustration, and cinder flinches or smth which sparks that conversation.
also (⚠ slight tw ⚠) what are your thoughts on cinder experiencing some kind of sexual violence at some point in her life? because i feel like it definitely happens at some point (either when she was living with adri and easier to exploit because of how young and pretty much defenseless she was, or after she becomes empress and is surrounded by so many people and thrown into a lot more uncomfortable situations).
so sorry for the heavy topics! i just want to hear someone else's opinion on those two things, if that's smth you're comfortable with loll. thank you for listening to me ramble 🙈🤞
I don't really think they have one singular, serious conversation about it. I think Kai picks things up slowly as Cinder gradually mentions throwaway details. Then eventually, that results in several more in-depth conversations. We know that Cinder tends to bottle up her feelings, so part of me imagines that it isn't until she begins working through the abuse in therapy that she feels she is able to fully lay out everything to Kai.
We know he already vehemently dislikes Adri and Pearl without even knowing the full picture, so I imagine he's not surprised to learn of the extent of the mistreatment. Internally, he's furious, but he focuses on being sympathetic and comforting to Cinder rather than raging. Adri only slapped Cinder once, so I'm not sure if she would flinch when someone raises their hand. The other time Adri tried to slap Cinder, Kai was the one to stop her. So if she did have a reaction, he would probably piece together why himself.
I know people would make sexually derogatory remarks towards Cinder, as that is already canon. And I'm sure there are plenty of creeps who try to perpetrate some act of violence towards her. However, I don't believe she would suffer a serious act of sexual violence. Her security as queen and as the empress is tight, and Cinder herself is a trained fighter. I don't see anyone successfully attacking her. Attempts, yes. Successful, less likely.
Before, when she lived with the Linhs? There is the possibility that someone harassed her at her booth. Though if it were more than verbal harassment--an actual assault--it would be strange that it's never mentioned in the book series. Cinder is pretty open with the reader about her trauma. That would be too significant not to mention. So do I think she is verbally harassed? Yes. Sexually assaulted? Personally, no.
If ever there is a Lunar Chronicles movie/tv series, all I ask is that the last battle against Levana and Cinder gets a fan edit where each time a character is injured mhm whatcha say plays over the top.
Like
Thorne stabs Cinder in the leg
mhm whatcha say, oh that you only meant well, well of course you did
Cress shoots Thorne
mhm whatcha say, oh that you only meant well, well of course
Cinder is jealous. She's jealous of her step-sisters. They have pretty clothes and soft hands and a doting mother. She has none of which. Her sister Peony is her only human friend and even seeing her in a ballgown sparks "envy" in Cinder, because Peony gets a dress and can go to the ball. Cinder can't.
She doesn't believe she could be pretty. She's too clunky, she's not curvy. She pins it down to being cyborg or just naturally inadequate. Cinder doesn't have nice clothes or fancy things. Kai gives her gloves and they are "the most beautiful thing she had ever owned." And then they are ruined, like all the pretty things in her life. She has to survive, endure, and with that she doesn't have time for prettiness.
But Kai's first impression of her is that she's "cute" and "pretty." He calls her pretty in public, and he calls her pretty in his private thoughts. "Your pretty new mechanic in the lobby", "the pretty young mechanic at the market." He finds her gorgeous with her glamour, and his "knees threatened to buckle" in her beauty. Everyone else thought she was gorgeous, but no one was swooning the way he was. The glamour had amplified the attraction he'd already had towards her.
Thorne, upon seeing a cyborg stumble into his jail cell, has the first instinct to flirt with her. Not recoil, because of her metal and skin, but flirt because she's a girl and that's his favourite pastime. And what distinguished her from the many other pretty girls he normally flirted with? To him, "her irritation made her prettier". Her disgruntled personality, who she is, is her prettiness.
Adri tells Cinder that if she can't cry, she can't feel love. She does love, she loves so much, but she doesn't have time to grieve her sister or her anonymity or her freedom when she has a revolution to start. She has to tough it out.
When she's bound up in Kai's arms she feels safe, delicate, "almost like a princess."
Cinder pretends she doesn't have a crush on Kai because having a crush on a celebrity is "preadolescent," the trademark of immature, lovesick teenage girls. How can she be girly when she's a grimy mechanic? She "doesn't know the first thing about makeup", because do you think Adri would have ever let her buy some to try? Would Cinder have even bothered, believing nothing could improve a cyborg?
She dreams of "going to the ball and dancing with the prince." And when Iko teases her, Cinder says, "we all have our weaknesses". It is a weakness to be in love, because someone like Kai couldn't love her. She imagines being at the ball, "jealous of the girls who swooned to catch Prince Kai's attention." Jealous that they can be open with their attraction, jealous that he would pick them over her.
But he loves her. And when he does, she can't process the feeling "of being desired". She wants to carve 'C + K' into a wall, then berates herself for such "whimsy." Because deep down, she's always wanted to be wanted, and that truth is her weakness. But war doesn't last forever, and soon, she has no reason to hide that. There's no reason it would be a weakness.
Cinder is comfortable in baggy cargo pants and messy hair but she also dreams of wearing a beautiful ballgown. She loves her coronation dress. She calls the empress crown 'stunning.'
She never becomes obsessed with frills or glitter, but she slowly leans into soft, pretty things. She has a necklace from Kai and her engagement ring. It's sparkly and yet, Cinder, the so-called 'tough, aloof tomboy' thinks it makes her metal hand look "elegant". Maybe she starts wearing bracelets and earrings because they don't bother her when she isn't working on something mechanical. She doesn't even notice until Thorne jokes that she wears more metal in jewellery than the whole metal of her hand.
Maybe she buys herself a new set of tools with pink and blue iridescent handles simply because finds them pretty. Maybe when her friends tease her about how in love she is, she starts to acknowledge it.
Cinder is not some stereotype of a leading female character who is strong and as such cannot be feminine or soft or emotional. Was she given the chance to be?
Let her be soft. Let her be delicate. Let her pretty.
