#rampion crew imagines

[lucydoodlessometimes]

Next up: Ze'ev Kesley, pilot of the Rampion crew and caretaker of Kesley Farms and Gardens!

the first major change for the au is, obviously, there isn't a reason for anyone to call him Wolf. Thus, he just has a slightly weird name that Thorne definitely struggles to pronounce. Also, he has Scarlets canon french accent, because accents give me brain. rot. Scarlet is about eye-level with him, because I imagine he's a bit shorter and she's quite a bit taller, so there's less height difference ( ;-; ). Additionally, he's just generally,,, doing better for this au. Less scraggly. Still not a fan of crazy lunar royals. period

(ps. happy birthday to me! party emoji <3)

Cinder | Kai | Cress | Thorne | Scarlet | Jacin | Winter

Original au by @healing-winston-pratt

#lucy doodles #my art #fanart #reverse au #lunar chronicles #lunar chronicles wolf #ze'ev kesley #scarlet benoit #tlc wolf #the lunar chronicles #marissa meyer #lunar chronicles fanart #tlc fanart #my fanart #no talk him he angy #was potentially my favorite part of this to draw #im STILL not all the way satisfied with scarlet in this. but we r getting there #tlc scarlet #lunar chronicles ze'ev #wolflet #them...... #i actually started with just. much more desaturated colors on him #and then i did an overlay and now the old one looks like a CORPSE help #i actually have really big feelings about how he looks #that man is built like a brick shithouse to me. and then i look at official art and hes SKINNY #cries #anyway i considered moving the links to a reblog. and then i realized thats a lot and i dont wanna #anyway please compliment me on this #i crave notes #and its my BIRTHDAY so you have to

[freddycartr]

i would give up my firstborn child to get the kaider wedding. ever since i finished stars above, i have thought of little else. like seeing what kai wrote for cinder for their vows? goddamn perfection. i could also see them doing a private ceremony with the rampion crew, with their family, without the media attention. it would be so intimate, private and perfect, exactly what they wanted, to say their vows in the company of those they love. kai and cinder are both breathless after their kiss, after they break apart, kai murmurs ‘i love you’ to cinder, and cinder whispers it back before kissing him again. thorne whistles loudly and they break apart laughing, before kissing each other again. toward the end of the night, the rampion crew vacates the dance floor leaving them alone, kai’s hands are around her waist and cinders around his neck. they would sway to the calm music, their foreheads pressed together. they can feel each others hearts beating at the same rhythm. kai is the first to pull away, looks her into eyes, and asks cinder “if you are not ready, then we can wait—” and is cut off with a kiss, before cinder says against his lips, “i want you, kai.” before she takes his hand and leads him to the room. the night is filled with love, gentleness, and desire, because they both have wanted each other for so long. and the morning after, they lay in bed, a tangle of limbs and sheets. cinder is woken up by kai’s kisses, slow and tender, his lips feeling like fire on her skin. cinder loves being in the warmth of kai’s arms, the feel of his body against hers, feels so right and she smiles at the memory their first dance at the ball, how she felt the same way, the sense of rightness at being within his arms. she never wants to leave, the warmth of him, his heat of his lips, is the most welcome warmth. she turns to face him, her fingers threading through his hair, she said, “you are breathtaking, kai.” his breath hitches, the memory of the night before lingering in the words, spoken from his lips in the night filled with heat. his smile is like the day breaking, as she pulls him close and kisses him. before they leave the warmth of the bed and each other, they share a long passionate kiss, and i love you’s murmured against their lips, neck, collarbones, shoulders and kisses that follow the words spoken against their skin. when they join the rest of the rampion crew in the kitchen, they are met with hugs and laughter. cinder pulls kai against her and kisses him, and the applause erupts, jacin let’s put a wolf whistle and thorne yells. i imagine thorne making fun of kai and cinder the morning after, kai blushing and cinder overheating and punching him. days after, they would do a wedding that is televised and they both wear traditional eastern commonwealth clothes. both looking fucking gorgeous. thorne, wolf or jacin fight over who gets to walk cinder down the aisle.

#kaider #my loves #tlc headcanon #kaider wedding #the lunar chronicles #the rampion crew #god kaider is so fucking beautiful #emperor kaito #kai tlc #linh cinder #tlc

[winterrhayle]

winlet headcannons for @deprivedmusicaljunkie (i answered ur ask and then my tumblr decided to make it disappear so ?? ????? ???????? idk)

scarlet and winter try to be together as much as possible, so when winter is travelling for her role as lunar ambassador, scarlet joins her, and when winter doesn’t need to be anywhere, she lives on the benoit farm with scarlet. winter likes the open air and the animals, and scarlet likes finally to be home (and wonders how empty the house would’ve felt if she had returned with nobody after her grandma’s death)

ignoring scarlets protests, winter names all of the animals on the farm, and upon realising that those animals she’d become so attached would be eaten, she ends up becoming vegetarian

winter is a permanent passenger princess in scarlets hover because both her and scarlet are concerned about the idea of winter learning how to fly. its for the best.

all of the rampion crew members have highly busy jobs, so winter and scarlet decided to make their farm a safe haven for all of their friends, they can visit whenever they want, no questions, no warning needed. they have bedrooms ready for everyone all year round (all hand decorated and personalised by winter), complete with clothes, cleaning supplies, and anything that they would need in their day to day lives. the farm becomes kai and cinder’s go to ‘holiday’ spot, as its private, simple, and honestly the extravagance of new beijing palace is nice but after seeing it 24/7, they prefer to relax in a more unadorned spot, where they get to live an easy life (for however many days off they are able to take) with only their close friends, the farm animals, and the open sky. 

scarlet is a monopoly god. winter is a scrabble academic there is no love when it comes to their competitions.

winter still has her princess wealth so she very constantly splashes her money by buying scarlet a lot of gifts, your coffee is too hot? here’s a coffee heater i got you. bad hair day? here are 70 hair products hand picked by yours truly that may help. hover engine is malfunctioning? don’t call cinder to fix it here’s a brand new hover, only costs 2,000,000 univs 😊 scarlet loves the gifts, but her favourites are always the ones winter makes by hand

scarlet sleeps from like 8pm - 6am, and when shes waking up, in her peripheral vision she can see winter just starting to go to sleep (tlc is set in the future so i like to imagine that winter is a doomscroller on whatever app she has on her portscreen, just like me)

^ winter and scarlet texting while winter is at work

#asks #bea tag #im putting it in the ask tag it still counts #winter hayle #winter hayle blackburn #scarlet benoit #winlet #tlc #the lunar chronicles #marissa meyer #mine #that ask genuinly took me a month to answer #professional procrastinator #it was rotting and burning a hole in my ask box

[impossiblesuitcase]

Hello, I like your stories, well, imagine that there would be a deviation between Scarlet-Cress where by mistake someone comes to Rampion Crew and becomes a team with everyone, but obviously out of nowhere one day they take a photo of the two of them together, and a certain emperor gets jealous

thoughts on this or similar situation?

Well this is kind of like what happened when Cinder and Thorne ran away together. When Kai saw that her accomplice was "undeniably good-looking" he "hated him immediately" because he hated the idea of Cinder running away with some handsome criminal. Obviously that fades when he sees Cinder again and realises that Thorne's interest is on Cress, but it would have been funny if that jealousy had run a little longer. Only problem is that Cinder couldn't conceivably give Kai reason to believe that Thorne stood a chance.

#the lunar chronicles #lunar chronicles #tlc #linh cinder #kaider #emperor kai #carswell thorne

[shayesinterlude]

I decided to reread the Renegades and Lunar Chronicles series (currently halfway through Winter)..

And now I can’t help but think, What would it be like if the Rampion crew and the Renegades met?

Ya know like a, “when two worlds collide” kind of thing??

Who’d be besties right off the back? Who’d need some to warm up to the other? What sort of shenanigans would they get into? Just imagine

I know immediate, Throne and Oscar would need supervision at all times.

#nova and cinder ?? #bonding over how they both save the world at age 16 #i’ll be thinking of this all night #tlc #the lunar chronicles #renegades #marissa meyer #nova artino #linh cinder #adrian everhart #kaider #found family

[ikosburneraccount]

if you had to pick a fav chapter out of any of the books, which would it be? (you can do one per book and/or multiple chapters lol just curious)

im answering this on mobile so if the formatting is fucked im sooooooooo sorry 😭 OK one per book here i go!!

cinder: the chapter where kai gifts her the silk gloves! mostly because during my reread i COMPLETELY FORGOT that this chapter happened and omfg the KAIDER in this scene was so intense. like kai’s thoughtfulness of the gift…like he never pushes her to take off her gloves but instead gifts her gloves that make her feel not only safe, but beautiful. literally on the verge of tears thinking about that scene because it was so tender and beautiful and like a testament of how much he thinks and CARES about cinder…also its his way of showing how much it matters to him that she attends the ball. like that scene makes me wanna SCREAM AND CRY AND CURL UP INTO A BALL!!! especially because of its cruel bittersweetness like kaider angst hits like nothing else…like i love kaider fluff but their angst…theres something in the sauce with them

scarlet: one chapter is so cruel for this one like the plot development in this book is probably the best bc of its pacing IMO like there are so many moments across the book that really make it SHINE BUT if its only one chapter it has to be the opening chapter where scarlet (bad bitch) gets up on the tavern bar and defends cinder!!! she is the ONLY character that takes into consideration and expresses empathy for cinder and her AGE and NEVER holds her cyborg or lunar status against her!!!! also the shirt comment in front of wolf is LMFAOOOOOOO LIKE NOBODY SAID THAT!!!!! but that is my favorite chapter. marissa meyer put her wrussy (writer pussy) into that one

cress: during my original read this was my FAVORITE but on reread this is now my least favorite book! too much cresswell not enough scarlet/winter or scarlet/wolf content. like marissa meyer did a great job giving us kaider angst and mutual pining but absolutely FLOPPED on the wolflet front like cmon girl. FAVORITE CHAPTER HMMMMMMMM its the one where cinder tortures thaumaturge sybil! its a testament to her growth and mastery of her glamour like she really is so powerful! i wished she used it more in winter TBH but yeah her torturing sybil was soooo satisfying and i wish she did it more. like she really is the GOAT

winter: okay this is gonna sound crazy but its tie between cinder throwing herself off the ledge into artemesia lake and cinder getting stabbed in the heart. I CAN EXPLAIN 😭 I AM NOT CRAZY!!! cinder herself off the ledge is absolutely FUCKING insane i won’t lie it makes me giggle cause like GIRL I GET IT BUT THROWING YOURSELF OFF A 5+ STORY BUILDING WAS NOT THE ANSWER!!!!! IT REALLY KILLED ME READING THAT LIKE CAN YOU IMAGINE WITNESSING YOUR GF THROW HERSELF INTO DEATH LIKE THAT….OKAY FOR THE OTHER SCENE i loved the cinder being stabbed in the heart scene which sounds SO fucked up but i liked it because marissa meyer did a phenomenal job carrying cinder’s voice and depicting the absolute exhaustion that cinder felt during that moment. like cinder was TIRED like she’s BEEN THRU IT!!! her getting stabbed in the heart was really a culmination of this pattern where cinder expresses kindness and forgiveness to those who’ve deeply harmed her and her showing levana empathy even after levana tried to MURDER her and everyone cinder loved is so…cinder is so selfless and loving and her getting stabbed was peak heartbreak (which i realize is a pattern. i loveeeee suffering) but also i desperately want to know how/why kai left behind the earthen leaders and how he FUCKING FOUND HER SO QUICKLY! also the fact that her last sight is of the boy she loved but she felt could never have just really makes me burst into tears like cinder baby girl if only knew how much YOU (not your princess or queen or fugitive status) were worth it to kai and everyone in the rampion crew GAH IM CRYING I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH!!

I SOUND SOOOOO UNHINGED BUT THESE ARE MY FAVORITE CHAPTERS <3 CINDER BABY GIRL I LOVE YOU. i just love so crazy quickly deteriorating from wholesome kaider/wolflet to cinder just…suffering LMFAO

thank you for the ask!! <3

#mine #the lunar chronicles #text #ask

[therampicncrew]

@words-of-tomatoes liked for a starter from Scarlet!

———

Months had passed in slow succession since the Rampion and her crew had dropped Scarlet and Wolf off at Benoit Farms and Gardens with a series of goodbyes that held no real sense of finality, but sometimes, Scarlet still felt like she was there - fighting for Wolf, fighting for her life, fighting for their freedom. In the darkness of her room, with Wolf’s arm draped heavily over her waist, she could almost ignore the chirping cicadas and the sound of the wind buffeting her windows, and imagine herself in the cargo ship once again, lying awake in one of the crew quarters.

Everything had fallen apart there. Her pillow was full of the tears she’d spilled for her grandmother, and she still couldn’t standing in the podship docks without remembering the press of an unfamiliar gun in her hands and Wolf’s blood dripping onto the metal floors as Sybil Mira twisted the very thoughts inside her head. But, everything that could had fit back into place there too. It had been the first place she felt she could really breathe after her captivity in Artemesia. The first place she really felt safe, even after their victory. She had so many dear friends now, not just Emilie, and she had Wolf now. She would do it all again for him - all the torture, all her weeks in captivity, every nightmare that had plagued her sleep since. All of it was worth it for him.

Scarlet reminds herself of that tonight as visions dance behind her closed eyelids, pumping adrenaline into her veins and speeding the steady beats of her heart. Acutely aware of Wolf’s too keen senses, she counts her breaths, focusing on a rhythmic pattern that almost seems natural.

One. Two. Three.

With every breath, her fingers trace small, slow circles across the back of Wolf’s hand, willing him to stay sleeping though she wouldn’t be surprised if he was already awake, waiting to see if she could calm herself this time.

Four. Five. Six.

She catches on to shift in his own breathing, and with a frustrated huff she turns onto her back. When she looks towards him, their noses are mere centimeter apart.

“You can drop the act,” she whispers, though she’s not really sure why. There’s no one else here to be mindful of. “I know you didn’t sleep through that. Sorry. Again.”

#✨ • threads | scarlet & wolf • #✨ • verse | stars above • #✨ • interactions | words of tomatoes •

[theyshareoneheartbeatnow]

COVID-128: A Lunar Chronicles Story

“In just a few minutes you’ll be hearing from Earthen Union’s lead medical researcher, Dr. Fuacino,” said Kai, his expression serious yet calm as he looked into the netscreen. He was used to this, of course. He’d been making public addresses to the world for years and had been in the media’s eye long before that. Still, it never ceased to make Cinder’s heart swell, just a little, to see him in his element. Being the leader he was born to be. She often wondered if she would ever be as comfortable in front of the cameras, despite how Kai and so much of her own royal staff persisted in telling her that she was doing great.

“For now,” Kai continued, “Lunar Ambassador Linh Cinder and I encourage you to continue using the protocols our medical experts have recommended to keep yourself, your family, and our society as safe as possible.”

“Wash your hands frequently,” said Cinder, reciting the words she’d said at the end of each of these press conferences. Words that she’d probably started to say in her sleep by now. “Avoid touching your face. And practice social distancing. It really is making a difference. We’ll see you back on Earth as soon as we can. Believe me, Iko—my adviser and public relations representative—has already started planning our celebratory ball for when this pandemic is over.”

“Stay safe, and take care,” said Kai. They both smiled at the netscreen for a beat, then Kai reached forward and ended the transmission.

They turned to each other and shared a mutual sigh.

“Another day, another press conference,” said Cinder, taking his hand. “You were great, as usual.”

He groaned. “Thanks, but . . . I know I don’t need to tell you how much I hate this. The world is facing yet another crisis, and here I am, stuck on Thorne’s spaceship. Again.” Despite his complaining, he gave her hand a squeeze. They both knew this was for the best. Most everyone on the planet knew it was for the best.

They’d been returning from Luna after a congenial visit with the newly instated Lunar cabinet when the outbreak had occurred—a new disease spreading rapidly across planet Earth.

“At least we learned a thing or two after dealing with Letumosis,” said Cinder as they left the crew’s quarters that had been set up as their official press room after the lockdown had gone into effect, suspending travel to and from Earth and leaving thousands of spacecraft, including the Rampion, orbiting the planet.

Kai chuckled humorlessly, dragging a hand through his hair. It was a habit that Cinder had noticed he did after every conference, almost like he had to untidy himself as soon as their transmission was over, transforming from the Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth back to . . . just Kai. Her Kai.

“We did learn a lot, didn’t we?” he said. “I’m embarrassed to think about how we handled Letumosis. Hardly any social distancing at all. Can you imagine—I even still held the annual ball!”

“And none of the markets shut down. I was working at my mechanic booth like nothing had changed. I mean, I guess my shop was an essential business, but still.”

“It would have been a lot better if we’d known to shut things down. Practice social distancing.” Kai shrugged. “Live and learn. At least we’re getting this COVID-128 taken care of a lot more effectively.”

A door opened in the corridor and Scarlet appeared, looking slightly bewildered, her mess of red curls tied into a messy bun on top of her head. “Is the press conference over?”

“Just finished,” said Cinder. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said, rubbing a palm into her eye. “Didn’t get much sleep last night, but I had to finish the tenth season of Friends.”

“What’s Friends?” asked Kai.

“Oh, this thing, it’s called a sitcom. They had a lot of them in the second era. Sort of like a netdrama, but”—Scarlet searched for the right word—“happier.” She shook her head, her eyes widening conspiratorially. “Anyway, now I’ve started watching this second-era documentary and I’m telling you, people back then were so weird. Did you know they used to keep tigers as pets?”

“Uh . . .” Cinder glanced at Kai, who looked equally confused by this statement. “You mean, real tigers?”

“Weren’t they nearly extinct back then?” asked Kai.

Scarlet nodded sullenly. “I’m so glad we don’t live in those dark ages.” Then she laughed as she started to retreat into the darkness of her quarters. “Now that your press conference is over, I should be able to stream the next episode. I swear, it’s tooth and nail fighting for bandwidth these days.” With that, she disappeared, shutting the door behind her.

Kai cocked his head, frowning at the door. “Should we be worried about her?”

“Let’s give it a few more days,” said Cinder. “We’re all coping with this in our own way, right? For Scarlet, that’s evidently binge-watching all the second-era media she didn’t have time to watch while she was too busy running the farm.”

Fast-paced techno music with a thumping bass drew their attention toward the cargo hull. It was followed by Iko’s chipper voice barking orders, drill-sergeant style.

“Six! Seven! Eight! Don’t quit now! You can do this! Push push push!”

Cinder followed the voice, though she already had a good idea of what she would find. In the cargo hull, Wolf and Iko were powering through their virtual wellness class. Iko had proposed it a few weeks ago as a way to help people take care of themselves while they were stuck at home, but Cinder had started to suspect it was as much for Wolf’s benefit as for their watchers’. Wolf, more than any of them, was suffering from being trapped aboard the ship for such a long period of time, but the classes had proved an effective way for him to burn off all his extra energy. And Iko enjoyed bossing people around, so they made a good team. Their classes ranged from yoga to kickboxing, and Iko had even thrown in a fair amount of self-care sessions, talking their viewers through guided meditations or teaching them how to make skin-care masks out of pantry staples (all the while pointing out the fact that her own manufactured skin was naturally flawless).

Today they appeared to be focused on strength training. When Cinder and Kai entered the room, Wolf and Iko were switching back and forth between push-ups and jumping jacks. It looked exhausting, but they both had huge grins on their faces, and a glance at the netscreen on the wall showed that they had more than half a million live watchers. A perk of already being semi-famous after the whole Lunar revolution thing.

“Okay,” said Iko, pausing to talk to the screen while Wolf pushed out a few more rounds. “Great job, everyone! We’re going to wrap up this workout with a cooldown and some stretching. Ship, reduce music volume by forty percent.”

As the volume lowered, Thorne appeared in the door to the cockpit. “Are you two almost done? I’ve got a podcast to do here!”

Iko shot him a glare, hands on her hips. “Excuse me, but we are trying to better the lives of people all over the galaxy.”

Thorne quirked an eyebrow. “And you think I’m not?”

“It’s a subjective argument,” Kai muttered, making Cinder smile. Not long after Iko and Wolf had started their virtual classes, Thorne had the brilliant idea to start his own project for the betterment of humanity. His idea was to start a podcast called The Happy Captain with Captain Carswell Thorne, in which he spent literally hours explaining how his listeners could become more awesome . . . like him.

His listener stats had also risen astronomically over the past weeks, and the gushing fan mail had started to pour in, which Cinder found baffling. When she’d brought it up to Cress, though, Cress had just shrugged and confessed that if Thorne had been recording a podcast when she was stuck in her satellite, she definitely would have been listening to it. “Besides,” she added, “he’s started taking live calls from listeners who want relationship advice, and surprisingly . . . the advice he’s been giving hasn’t been terrible.”

Speaking of Cress . . .

Cinder looked around, but she wasn’t in the cargo hull, and she couldn’t see her through the doors to the cockpit or medical room, either. “Where’s Cress?” she asked, as Iko and Wolf worked on some hamstring stretches.

Thorne shrugged. “She said she was planning something for us and we shouldn’t bother her. Another one of her games, I think.” Turning, he ducked back into the cockpit.

Wolf, pressed up into cobra pose, sniffed loudly at the air. “I smell pie.”

Iko turned to him. “Pie?”

A second later, Cinder smelled it too, as the aroma of pastry and sugared fruit, along with Winter’s serene voice, wafted in from the galley. “Behold! I discovered two cans of peaches and the cutest little bear-shaped bottle of crystallized honey.” Winter appeared, carrying a perfectly lattice-topped pie in her mitted hands. “The cabinets in there are truly a gold mine of possibility.”

“Don’t we still have a few dozen cookies and half a cake left from the last couple of days?” whispered Kai.

“Unless Wolf got to them,” Cinder whispered back. Which was silly, as Wolf’s ears immediately twitched toward them, no doubt hearing every word. He didn’t look too guilty, though.

Winter’s means of coping during their time aboard the Rampion had mostly revolved around stress baking. A whole lot of stress baking. For the most part, no one was complaining. Most of her creations had been delicious, though the dried-prune-granola-condensed-milk trifle hadn’t been one of her better experiments. Luckily, Wolf would eat anything.

Of all of them, Winter probably had the most to be worried about, anyway, at least on a personal level. Yes, Kai was concerned for his entire country and everyone was anxious to hear about the ongoing vaccine research, but Winter was mostly worried for Jacin. He’d been attending an Earthen medical school for the past couple of years in order to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, and had just started an internship when the pandemic hit. He’d been on the front lines, caring for infected patients, ever since. Winter was so proud of him—they all were—but there was also a lot of unspoken anxiety swirling through the ship.

“Someone will have to make an emergency supply run soon,” said Winter. “I’m almost out of flour and Scarlet promised to share her croissant recipe.” She passed Cinder and Kai, forcing them apart as she set the steaming pie down on top of a storage crate. Wolf sniffed again and licked his lips.

“I’m not sure croissants constitute an emergency,” said Cinder.

Winter stripped off the oven mitts. “If croissants aren’t an emergency, then I don’t know what is. Oh, but I did find a bag of almonds in there. Perhaps I could make almond flour . . .”

“Have you spoken to Jacin today?” Kai asked.

Winter shook her head. “He’s supposed to comm when he has a free minute.” Her smile trembled, but it was only slightly noticeable.

“All right, that’s plenty of sweat for today,” said Iko, finishing up with their last stretch. “At least, for those of you who sweat.” She smirked at Wolf, who was indeed looking a little damp around the edges, though his bright eyes appeared more exhilarated than weary.

He bounced from foot to foot, clearly still harboring more energy to burn. “It felt good to get moving. Hope you all enjoyed the workout. See you next time!”

Iko shut off their feed, then turned to the group with a wide smile. “I always knew I had the makings of a netfeed star! I just always assumed it would be in the guise of a great netdrama actress, not . . . you know, as a health coach.”

“You’re a natural,” said Winter. She flourished her hand toward the crate. “Pie, anyone?”

“Yes!” said Wolf, turning to loom over the delicious-smelling pastry. He looked ravenous, but managed to resist long enough to glance around the room. “Does anyone else want some?”

Cinder waved a hand at him. “You’ve burned off more calories today than the rest of us have all week. It’s yours.”

He took a slice that Winter had precut and gobbled it down in just a few bites. Cinder would have thought that maybe he was stress eating as much as Winter was stress baking, but she’d been around him and his appetite enough to know this was standard practice for him, and for all the lupine mutants that had come out of Queen Levana’s reign, for that matter.

Upbeat music started to pour out of the cockpit—the “theme music” Thorne had started using for the intro to his podcasts. It continued for a few seconds before fading out.

“Welcome back to The Happy Captain!” Thorne’s voice rang through the cargo hull. “I hope you’re ready to become even more awesome, with me, Captain Carswell Thorne, showing you the way. We’ve got an exciting show lined up—”

“What happened?!” Scarlet emerged from the corridor, looking frantic. “I was watching that show, and it was getting so good—this guy, he tried to have this woman killed and now there’s going to be a trial and I have to know what’s going to happen, but my signal just cut out and—” She paused and blinked toward the cockpit, where Thorne could be heard reading quotes from recent fan mail. A shadow fell over her face. “He’s doing his show live again, isn’t he? Can’t he just record it like a normal podcaster? When all eight billion of his doting fans sign on at the same time, it completely monopolizes the signal!”

Before anyone could answer, a bang made Cinder jump. She turned to see the hatch door that led down to the ship’s lower level lying open. Cress poked her head up, a grin stretched across her face.

“Oh good, you’re finished with your workout,” she said, climbing out of the hatch. “Perfect timing. I have a new game set up for everyone!”

Cinder managed to stifle a groan. Scarlet did not.

Cress heard it and frowned, hurt. “You . . . don’t want to play? I mean, you don’t have to. I just thought it would be fun . . . it’s kind of a team-building, educational, puzzle-type—”

“No, no, no,” said Scarlet, pulling her hair back to try to tame the snarls. Cinder couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time she’d showered. “That sounds great, Cress. Really. So much fun. I’m just not sure we’ve all fully recovered from yesterday’s murder-mystery game . . .”

“Or the game show from the day before . . .” Kai added gently.

“Or the spree of second-era-style party games . . .” muttered Wolf.

Winter hopped excitedly. “Oh, I liked the party games! Especially that pin the tail on the donkey one. A donkey! Of all things! Earthens are so strange. A lizard would have made more sense.”

Kai blinked at her. “Why would a lizard make more sense?”

“Because they lose their tails sometimes. And can grow them back. Clearly.”

“Ah.” Kai nodded. “So much more sense.”

Cress’s smile returned, but weaker now. “We could do more party games, if you’d rather . . .”

“Cress, we’ll happily play your new . . . whatever it is you got set up for us,” said Cinder, trying to sound enthusiastic. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”

“I’m game for anything,” said Iko with a wink. “Game. Get it?”

Cress gave her an appreciative smile. Of all of their quarantine coping strategies, Cress’s was by far the most . . . interactive. It was as though she were determined to show the rest of them that, as quarantines went, this was nothing! After all, she’d been stuck in her satellite, all alone, for seven years, whereas it had barely been seven weeks since COVID-128 had struck. It seemed that being stuck on the Rampion with her dearest friends was more or less a dream come true for Cress, and her goal was now to make their time in isolation a memorable bonding experience. She’d spent hours preparing highly involved and rather complicated experiences for them. There had been myriad crafts and scavenger hunts. Board games and “themed” parties. Treasure hunts and trivia competitions and various tutorials she’d found on the net, demonstrating how they could make origami flower bouquets or grow a potato plant from their food scraps.

Cinder was fairly certain she was getting a lot of her ideas from the many virtual homeschooling initiatives that had taken over the netfeeds lately. And sure, some of the activities had been fun at first, but the novelty was wearing off and the rest of the crew was pretty much over it, though no one had the heart to tell Cress.

“I’ve got it all set up in the podship dock,” she said. “Where’s Thorne?”

Thorne’s head popped out of the cockpit door, as if summoned. “Hey, Cress, get in here! There’s a fan question for you.”

Cress’s brow furrowed, hesitant. She approached the cockpit, the rest of the crew following behind. The cockpit felt less like a recording booth and more like a nightclub, with bass-heavy music droning in the background and a mix of fluorescent lights flickering around the flight panel. Thorne claimed he needed to have the right atmosphere to bring his A-game. And his listeners deserved his A-game.

Cress perched awkwardly on the edge of the copilot’s chair. They had all made guest appearances on the podcast from time to time, at Thorne’s request, but of all of them, Cress was the least comfortable speaking to Thorne’s adoring masses.

“All right, folks, we’ve just been joined by the luckiest girl in outer space, who has also made me the luckiest guy. My girlfriend, Cress! Okay, caller, what was your question?”

“Hello, thanks for taking my call,” came a male voice, which surprised Cinder. She’d expected it to be some fangirl wanting to know how she, too, could capture the heart of someone as dreamy as Captain Thorne. “There’s a rumor,” continued the caller, “that you’re pretty good at hacking software, and I have a favor to ask of you.”

Cinder traded suspicious glances with the rest of the crew. All except Winter, whose head tilted to one side, as if trying to listen more closely.

Cinder sensed it, too. There was something about the voice that was . . . familiar. She wanted to ask Thorne to turn off the music, but before she could, Thorne leaned forward into the mic. “Uh . . . sorry, but did you have a question?”

“My question is whether or not Cress could realign a satellite to take a photograph of the location on Earth at the coordinates I just sent, and then broadcast that imagery to the world? Or at least show it to the rest of your friends up there.”

“Sorry,” said Thorne, “but that sounds illicit and suspicious and, frankly, my criminal days are behind me. Next—”

“Wait!” Winter jumped forward, grabbing Thorne’s hand before he could end the call. “Cress, do it.”

“What?” Thorne turned to her. “This is clearly a scam. He’s trying to get some sort of free publicity for . . . something. That, or this is a nefarious setup, and I won’t be a part of it. Not on my show, which is billed as wholesome entertainment for the masses, you know.”

Winter raised an eyebrow at him. “Really, Captain? You aren’t a tiny bit curious?”

His jaw tightened. A few seconds passed before he groaned and threw his head back. “Yes, I am so curious! Okay, Cress, go ahead, overtake some government-controlled satellite imaging software to obtain whatever piece of blackmail it is this guy is after.”

“I already did,” said Cress, smiling over her shoulder at them. “And you should probably see this.”

They all leaned forward. A photo on the nearest screen showed a rooftop in the midst of a densely populated Earthen city. A landing pad for a podship was nearby and Cinder thought it might be a hospital.

Taking up nearly the entire width of the rooftop, someone had written the words in what appeared to be bed linens:

W-

I MISS YOU.

I LOVE YOU.

-J

A man stood not far from the words, staring up at the sky with a medical mask over his mouth, his yellow hair glinting in the sun.

“Jacin?” said Winter, stepping closer to the microphone.

“Hi,” he said.

She beamed. “Hi,” she returned, breathless. In the midst of her smile, tears started to cloud her eyes. “I love you, too.”

“I’m happy to hear it.”

A beat of silence was followed by Thorne groaning. “Terrible, you guys. You can’t let the silences drag on like that. We’re live, you know.”

Cress punched him lightly on the shoulder. “We’re missing you, Jacin. Are you all right down there?”

“As well as can be expected,” he said. “Our social-distancing tactics seem to be working. We’ve successfully flattened the curve in most of our major cities, and we’re optimistic about the new rounds of vaccines that are being tested.” He paused before adding, “Honestly, the biggest problem I’m having right now is that every time I try to comm Ambassador Hayle, some guy with a podcast is taking up all the signal and not letting me get through.”

For a moment, Thorne almost looked sheepish. “But, hey, have you been enjoying the show?”

There was another silence, before Jacin admitted, “I like when you have the rest of the crew on as special guests.” His voice was strained, as if it was physically painful for him to continue. “I guess I kind of miss all of you.”

“We’ll be together soon,” said Winter. She kissed her fingertips and placed them against Jacin’s image on the screen. “Now, Captain, could we please end this show so I can talk to our favorite medical intern in private?”

Thorne sighed. “Fine. Sorry, listeners, but true love calls, and I am nothing if not a romantic. It’s just one of the many things that makes me so amazing. Go ahead and add it to the growing list.” He winked—at literally no one, since none of his listeners could see him.

Cinder rolled her eyes, and she was pretty sure she wasn’t the only one.

She and the others vacated the cockpit, letting Winter and Jacin finish their conversation in peace.

“I know I’ve said this before,” said Cress, shutting the door behind them, “and you’re all probably sick of hearing it, but . . . difficult as these times are, I am glad we have each other.”

Scarlet nodded. “It’s nice to know we’re all in this together, isn’t it?” She entwined her fingers with Wolf’s. He smiled down on her, so wide that Cinder caught a glimpse of the fangs he was usually careful to keep hidden.

Kai nodded, draping an arm around Cinder’s shoulders. “And that we’re all trying to make the best of this situation. To find the bright moments wherever we can.”

“On that note!” said Cress. “Who’s ready to play my new game? There are clues and puzzles you have to figure out and a coded secret language! Oh, and booby traps!”

“Pick me!” cried Iko, jutting her hand into the air—while the rest of them grimaced.

“Or . . .” said Scarlet, “we could go see if this guy goes to jail and all the tigers are set free into the wild, officially restoring my faith in humanity?”

A round of agreement swirled through the group and they started meandering toward the corridor.

Cinder paused, realizing that Cress and Thorne weren’t following. Frowning, she turned back to see Cress looking disappointed. Guilt dug into Cinder’s chest, but before she could call the others back and rally them to give Cress’s newest activity a go, Thorne leaned over and pressed a kiss against Cress’s cheek.

“It’s been a long day in quarantine,” he said. “I’m sure everyone will be ready to play your game tomorrow.”

She turned to him, pouting. “Maybe I’ve been taking these activities a little too far?”

He shrugged. “It’s not your job to entertain us. But if you enjoy doing them, you should keep it up.”

Cinder stepped forward. “Thorne’s right. That murder-mystery one was actually really fun.”

Cress chewed on her lower lip, considering. “You know, I would have given anything to not be so lonely when I was on the satellite. I just want everyone to realize how lucky we are to have each other right now.”

“Trust me, Cress, we all know how lucky we are.” Tucking her against his side, Thorne guided her after the others. “In the midst of this sickness, there’s nowhere I’d rather be quarantined than right here. On my ship . . . with my crew.”

Cinder smiled. She couldn’t help feeling exactly the same way.

#cinder #marissa meyer

[deprivedmusicaljunkie]

thinking about cinder and karma (like the song)

'karma takes all my friends (the rampion crew) to the summit, karma is the guy on the screen COMING STRAIGHT HOME TO MEEE (literally kaider)'

like imagine it directed to pearl and adri its soo *chefs kiss*

AHHHHHH IVE NEVER THOUGHT OF THIS INTERPRETATION

ok but how could you not talk about “you’re terrified to look down/cause if you dare/you’ll see the glare/of everyone you burned just to get there/it’s coming back around”

LIKE??? EVERYONE YOU BURNED??? this stuff writes itself

#tlc #the t in tlc stands for taylor’s #the lunar chronicles (taylor’s version)

[ladyvesuvia]

Linh Peony as a Fan Fiction Writer

—————

[SPOILERS FOR THE LUNAR CHRONICLES]

i headcanon peony as a fic writer and she definitely had a blog dedicated to writing kai x reader fics and iko probably read them all:

• iko 100% brainstormed for fic ideas and peony always went ahead to write them. just…iko and peony geeking over kai x reader fics

• peony once wrote a prince kai x cyborg!reader and made cinder read it to try and get cinder on the fandom :))

• pearl was def not impressed, more so when peony made an oc named perla and made that oc the bad person in her fics (she was careful to not let pearl find out so peony made a new account)

• PEONY IS OUR BELOVED FANGIRL QUEEN.

• ok about the cyborg!reader: peony wrote that kai met the reader in a store booth

• “what if the reader — not cinder — hypothetically met prince kai in a store booth?”

• which made peony ship cinder and kai a bit more when cinder said she met kai :))

• i don’t wanna imagine peony as the one who ‘gets in their way’ so if she lived and met the rest of the crew, she — along with iko and thorne — would start a blog dedicated to kaider and make daily updates in it <3

• i think she’d be a bit jealous at first but as she got older she’d just laugh it off? i mean, she was fourteen and kai was eighteen so

• SO YEAH PEONY BEING A FANFIC WRITER.

—————

Taglist: @gingerale2017 @just2bubbly

#ves.writes #ves.writes tlc #the lunar chronicles #tlc #the lunar chronicles headcanons #the lunar chronicles headcannons #linh cinder #linh peony #rampion crew #the lunar chronicles imagines #lunar chronicles #marissa meyer #selene blackburn #kai #emperor kai #kaider #rampion crew imagines

[abookishgirlsguide]

Glamours are just real-life filters. Change my mind.

#i said what i said #can you imagine Queen Levana with the dog-filter #the lunar chronicles #the rampion crew #marissa meyer #linh cinder #emperor kaito #carswell thorne #cresswell #cress darnel #kaider #ze’ev kesley #scarlet benoit #princess winter #jacin clay #books #booklr #bookworm #book recs #the cruel prince #folk of the air #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #ya fantasy #books and libraries #science fiction #dystopian #faerie #loki tv series

[rapunzelfromthemoon]

I know I already did a Lunar Chronicles fancast (here) but hear me out...

Josh Heuston as Ze'ev "Wolf" Kesley

1996. Australian. South asian (Sri Lankan) and white.

Pictures taken from his Instagram (@/jheuston)

#I know he's not exactly middle eastern but #Look at him omg #He fits the physical description #maybe except for the height bc he's like 1.78 #but everything else wow #I just found him and I'm shook #the lunar chronicles #ze'ev kesley #tlc wolf #wolf kesley #fancast #the lunar chronicles fancast #imagine that arm tattoo says LSOP962 #the rampion crew #wolflet #rapunzelfromthemoon

[impossiblesuitcase]

i like to think that the only time the rampion crew has a pregnancy crossover is during cinders second pregnancy and winters first (and only in my opinion) and they are literally like a week apart. So winter and Jacin actually move into the palace for most of it and the girls LOVE being pregnant together. Cinders second is by far the hardest of all three, like she is so nauseas that she literally has to have a nurse come in and give her an IV just to be able to get out of bed. Winters is kind of medium in intensity but they go through it all together and both really enjoy having a partner through the whole thing. I Just imagine them going on walks together and eating their cravings together, online shopping for baby stuff together and calling anything and everything adorable. The boys just think their wives are the cutest of course.

That is so cute and very reminiscent of Annie and Nina in Father of the Bride 2. If you haven't watched those movies please do they're excellent.

I love the idea of a pregnancy crossover. I always thought it would be Cinder and Cress (for no particular reason) and Scarlet and someone because I think she has a lot of kids 😅. Cinder and Winter pregnant together is so sweet as well.

#tlc #the lunar chronicles #linh cinder #lunar chronicles #winter hayle blackburn

[forcedtoland]

jacin clay in "cress" (2/2)

hi!!! welcome to part 2/2 of me just talking about jacin clay because i finished rereading cress and i love him a ridiculous amount

remember when i said the second part would be up "in a few days"? yeah me neither.

part 1 can be found here!

this post will cover his moments in cress from chapter 29 and on. enjoy<3

disclaimers:

this post might include spoilers for all of the lunar chronicles series, since i sometimes make links with moments from the other books!

it will also probably end up being long because i have the wonderful tendency to overanalyze everything

for a bit of context, cinder just found dr. erland in farafra and is staying with him with part of the crew. part of crew being iko (still body-less and working full-time as a ship at that point of the book), wolf (unconscious) and jacin (barely trustworthy snarky potential-maybe-hopefully ally). not exactly an ideal situation, socially, for cinder.

jacin is painting over the naked lady on the rampion ship to cover it — HE DOESN'T GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS

he actually isn't getting paid at all he seemingly dislikes working with them and at that point he shows no clear motive to why he's helping them. i can't imagine how confusing that must be for cinder.

and yet he still cooperates. sure he throws in a lot of snarky remarks here and there (read: every 4.7 minutes) but he's still cooperating. and yet he's very much expressionless and keeps his mind blank all the time, shows no effort to seem trustworthy to the others... very much giving "oh i like to keep people guessing"

"Hey, mongrels, try to stay in the lines!" — i had to look up what mongrel means and even after searching i'm a bit confused but all i can say is that please do not let jacin babysit kids alone ever he'd terrorize them

wait but no he wants to be a doctor i like to think that he secretly is good with kids or maybe he only realizes that post-winter (when did this post turn into a hc)

"I’ve taken enough orders in my life.” YOU GO JACIN

no but he's kinda right even if he was harsh with cinder? the kids' painting was adorable but it wouldn't exactly be discreet when the entire world is on the look out for the rampion...

when cinder says “You have a funny way of showing loyalty.” and he just chuckles in response — and let the ambiguous loyalty misunderstanding continue

he chuckled

also stop being cryptic jacin this is why no one likes you /j

i really need to share this entire interaction because i was laughing so hard

Jacin’s concern turned fast to annoyance. “Your ship has some messed-up priorities, you know that?”

“Iko. My name is Iko. If you don’t stop calling me the ‘ship,’ I am going to make sure you never have hot water during your showers again, do you understand me?”

“Yeah, hold that thought while I go disable the speaker system.”,

jacin: ship, can you stop talking

iko: but i'm iko, the literal reason you have warm water and functioning lights i could literally cut off your internet access right now and make sure you always get locked inside the bathroom i will—

jacin: ok iko, can you stop talking

like he's just so annoying but i can't even be mad because it's so funny. my guy is stuck with people who don't trust him, outnumber him and could easily take him down if needed and he insists on antagonizing them at any chance he gets just because he can.

i love that the others never hesitate to put him in his place though like yess rampion crew humble him make him develop those social skills

i promise he's my comfort character

Cinder punched him.

Jacin stumbled against the wall, already chuckling as his hand came up to his cheekbone. “Did I hit a nerve, or was it a wire that time? You have plenty of both, right?”

what can i say.. if he gets punched again after this that's on him

thing is, jacin's so hostile when cinder is talking about her plan because he thinks she's just insane like ?? what is this 16 year old outlaw doing trying to overthrow a tyrant

you have to remember he has NO idea she is princess selene and he definitely did not sign up for this

at least kai believes cinder is doing it because she found princess selene. jacin never even considered the possibility of selene being implicated he literally just can't figure out what's wrong with these people and why they even think they have a chance against levana

long-ish quotes because jacinter<33

"I’m here because I saw an opportunity to get away from that thaumaturge without getting killed, and—” He cut himself off.

“And what?”

His jaw flexed.

“And what?”

“And it’s what Her Highness would have wanted me to do, although now she’s probably going to die for it.”

!^*#*%*@*×&#&#,,HERE WE GO

first let's appreciate the fact that he flexes his jaw and stops himself from mentioning winter

it's just. the fact that every time he thinks or mentions her his entire demeanor changes and it's so painfully visible. he's trained his whole life to hide everything from his face but he can never control his reactions when it comes to winter.

the way he abruptly cut himself off isn't something he can just shrug off. everyone noticed it. everyone knows he was about to say something important or he wouldn't have reacted that way. he probably knows that avoiding the question again (which is about the reason he joined them) would just make him more suspicious so he continues what he was saying and mentions the princess, basically confirming that he's not working for levana in any way.

also in the last sentence, and in a later quote too, he implies that something might happen to winter... and we all know what jacin does at the end of cress right

and then the big reveal, the moment we've all been waiting for: “Princess Winter. Who do you think?”

like sorry but he has NO clue why everyone would ever question who "the princess" is or why they're surprised and it’s just so funny to me? just thinking how in his perspective the rampion crew probably seem like a bunch of weirdos (like, on top of it all, you don't seem like you know who THEEE princess winter is? do better.)

“I thought maybe the princess would be proud if she heard about me turning against Sybil. That she would approve of my decision. But who am I kidding? She’ll never even know.”

HE WNATED HER TO BE PROUD OF HIM SHUT UP??????

i'm sorry but i just. they . i always talk about how jacin kept being a lunar guard no matter how hard it was for him so he can protect winter & his family but can we also talk about how one of the main things winter has always wanted was for him to be able to escape this life? even if it meant she would have to stay alone?

jacin and winter depend on each other's presence to endure the lives they've been forced into. they give each other a reason to tolerate it no matter how bad things get. and yet, all they want is for the other to be able to improve their situation.

jacin would do anything for winter, that we know. and since she's in no position to ever leave her situation (unlike jacin who technically can try, but would risk too much) the best thing he can do to help her is stay by her side, even if it means sacrificing a lot.

meanwhile, the fact that winter encourages him to leave means that she is willing to let go of him if it means him living a better life. considering her situation, her condition & the fact that jacin is literally her only friend, it takes so much selflessness to put him first like that.

they just want the best for the other. they love each other so much.

and obviously, jacin never planned on leaving her for good here, but for once he's taking initiative. he doesn't want to follow orders anymore. he took a chance. and winter would be proud of him for that.

“Do you … do you love her?”

He glared at her, disgusted. “Don’t try to push your swoony psychodrama on me. I’m sworn to protect her. Can’t very well do that from down here, can I?”

jacin, baby, you're also "sworn to protect" levana, i don't think that excuse really works here...

and there he goes contradicting me right after i said they love each other so much. but he didn't deny it, did he?

“Protect her from what? Levana?”

“Among other things.”

Jacin peered at her like he couldn’t figure out why he was wasting his time with such an idiot.

that last line@^*$ he really has no idea why his loyalty to his "princess" (the only current lunar princess) would ever cause so much confusion.

now, a necessary compilation of jacin clay being an absolute menace

when they're all surrounded by authorities and cinder asks jacin if he can control any of the humans, and he goes "Yeah, right." — he doesn't even TRY ???? also this shows that he doesn't believe in his lunar gift skills at all oh wow

this thorne/jacin interaction:

"In that case, has anyone seen my gun?”

“I’ve got it,” said Jacin.

“Can I have it back?”

“Nope.”

a MENACE i tell u

but also good on u for not giving a blind man a gun, jacin

"When he did talk, he tended to say something rude or prickly." that's my boy

take a shot every time someone describes him as looking extremely bored

“Let’s say you manage to pull this off, not that I really think you will.” — WHAT HAPPENED TO BOOSTING TEAM MORALE

cinder giving him instructions and him repearing "I know." after each sentence (until thorne cuts her off and goes "Cinder, he knows." — he might have saved some lives here)

also i need more thorne/jacin interactions i can't wait to reread winter & stars above

AND...... jacin betrays them

i'm going to be honest there i haven't read the 4th book in so long so i forgot some things related to that — like i know he did it for winter's sake but the exact specific reason is just a vague memory so i can't say much about this part

but we do get this scene with him and levana and i feel like it's so important to point out the fact that the queen herself decides to confront some "lowly guard" and you can even tell through their conversation how much she's just looking for an excuse to have him be considered a traitor... and obviously she'd love that to make winter suffer

jacin claims that he infiltrated the rampion crew as a spy and that he betrayed them after gathering info, etc.

he says that he's the one who gave sybil the location (did he though? i forgot lol)

levana tries to test his mind for rebellion but his mind is blank as always — obviously she's disappointed to not find anything but can we just talk about how ???? like even levana who has an EXTREMELY strong gift and an insane amount of practice can't even get near his thoughts and oh he's able to do that

NO DOUBT YOUR EAGERNESS TO RETURN ENCOMPASSED A DESIRE TO SEE YOUR BELOVED PRINCESS AS WELL

and THERE the "tiniest ripple of emotion" before he goes all blank again

sorry i know i've said this before but even after years and years of practice and mastering that expressionless face it takes the MOST MINIMAL mention of winter for it to break in an instant my heart hurts she's his weakness and he doesn't even try to pretend otherwise

like. he goes on saying he serves the entire royal family — first of all, very careful wording because levana would be the type to find ANYTHING to use against him (like i can totally see her going "oh, so you don't protect my beloved stepdaughter? that's treason" if he hadn't)

but also it prevents him from telling a full lie about it. idk if this makes sense but something i've noticed is that jacin is ok with lying / hiding many things but when it comes to winter, he goes with half-truths.

is it because he knows he can't control his expression anyway and that his emotions would give him away?

is it because he knows they would force it out of him if he tried to? (since he's used to being controlled)

maybe it's that something in him prevents him from denying it, like even if it's a lie he just can't say it...

idk... but i do know that he didn't attempt to lie about it even with the rampion crew

no one, not even lunars with their gift, can figure out his thoughts so it actually seems fair that we rarely have any idea what goes through his mind either lmao

WHEN JACIN FINDS OUT THAT CINDER IS SELENE AND HE DOESN'T EVEN TRY TO HIDE HIS EXPRESSION

it's like. Oh. Oh.

suddenly everything starts to make sense to him and i have to say it had me grinning

actually, thinking about it, it's kinda good that jacin acted like an antagonistic jerk for 90% of cress (guys i promise i love him) because can you imagine if the rampion crew trusted him? if they had shared their secrets with him?

not only would hiding the plans he'd have known about from levana have been nearly impossible, but he also might not have had a properly shocked reaction at dr. erland saying that cinder is selene and hide the fact that he had known like...

levana would have gotten to them so easily.

in conclusion, jacin clay is the reason the lunar chronicles has a 4th book in the first place. his sarcasm single handedly extended the plot. everyone say thank you jacin.

this is technically the last moment jacin appears in cress BUT if you think i wasn't going to scream about winter talking about him to scarlet, then there is no way you have been actually reading this post because of course i'm going to scream about it

first things first, she is playing make-believe doctor/patient with scarlet

I REPEAT: doctor & patient

this isn't even directly related to jacinter but i don't care i'm making it about jacinter

when she talks about jacin going missing :(((( i'm so upset can you imagine how hard it must have been for her... her going "and I don’t know if he’ll ever come back" and nearly dropping everything

i just find it so interesting that while jacin never shows his emotions, you can feel winter's strongly. like she's so physically expressive, and not just in terms of facial expressions.

"But I asked the stars to send a sign that he was all right, and they sent me a shooting star across the sky."

despite scarlet not really looking like she's about to answer her / cooperate, she just keeps going and asks whether he's safe... she's so worried about him i'm actually sad

more about how expressive winter is:

when scarlet confirms she saw jacin: "Glee spread over the girl’s face."

the instant scarlet implies that jacin might have been killed: The smile vanished and the girl shriveled away, tying her arms around her waist. “You don’t mean that.”

it's just so interesting how marissa meyer made them complete opposite in that aspect. winter shows her emotions in such an open, unfiltered way, to the point you feel that emotion yourself, meanwhile jacin...

“Jacin Clay,” she whispered. “Sybil’s guard, with the blond hair and beautiful eyes and the rising sun in his smile. Please, tell me he’s all right.”

i love this quote a lot because first of all you can just feel how in love winter is oh god she loves him so much (also it's just so endearing coming from her)

second of all, it's just the huge contrast between the jacin we've seen up until now and winter's version of jacin (who is technically his real personality)

and obviously, as i'm rereading this i can immediately go "awww" but i can imagine that when reading it for the 1st time, when you don't know either of them that well, you'd go ?? who? is winter just blinded by her crush that she sees what she wants to see? or has jacin clay actually been nice to another living being before in his lifetime?

and scarlet mirrors that thought perfectly because she's like,, well i remember a blond guard but definitely not a rising sun in his smile. or a smile point blank. also he tried to murder us.

and then winter doesn't even react to the last part. him trying to kill other people. she's absolutely unconcerned.

and it's not in a "oh yeah he does that sometimes" type of unconcerned (which i've seen with different fictional characters for who killing is a 'normal' thing). but no really, her lack of concern about it is because she knows he would never do that willingly.

she knows he has had to do things he doesn't want to do as a guard. that fact doesn't change the image of jacin she has, since she's known him for so long, way before he became a guard.

and i just love that because all the other tlc ships meet during the story's timeline, right? so they all have their moments where they don't fully trust the others, or doubt each others' loyalties, etc. especially in the early stages of each relationship, you have several moments where a certain action one does or miscommunication causes some sort of conflict between them.

take wolf/scarlet, for example, wolf also gets forced into doing things unwillingly, and despite knowing that, scarlet still hesitates in trusting him.

not that it's a bad thing! if anything, it's realistic. completely normal. even when you really care about someone, if you don't know them enough, sometimes 1 wrong move (even if it turns out you just misinterpreted the situation) can make you mistrust them for a while.

but jacin & winter are way past that stage like there is nothing one of them could do that would make them immediately think the other might be a bad person after all or anything like that. they just know each other too much for that.

plus, she knows how ridiculously rational he is all the time so she knows that if he did a certain thing, he had his reason and it was probably his best option at the time.

have i mentioned how much i love them btw

so. that was something.

pleeaaaase leave your thoughts in replies and reblogs let's talk about jacin i want to talk about jacin

i'm also planning on rereading winter at some point, too, and i'm wondering if i should make a jacin post for that. will it end up being 6 parts long? perhaps. but i'm still considering it.

if you somehow made it to the end and don't yet want to block me for how ridiculously long this post is, then congratulations! you are now officially a citizen of the Jacin Clay Nation. we are proud to have you here with us.

part 1

#ik i make fun of him a lot in this post but i swear i love him #jacin clay #the lunar chronicles #winter hayle blackburn #jacinter #jacin x winter #winter x jacin #cress #marissa meyer #tlc #tlc reread

[blankalikestoread]

just imagining the rampion crew watching encanto, and then surface pressure comes on and everyone is vibing and then cinder and kai are just sitting there like :👁👄👁

cause both of them had the fate of the fcking world on their shoulders when they were 16 and 18

#my babies #get them to therapy pls #lunar chronicles #kaider #lihn cinder #emperor kai #surface pressure #encanto #marissa meyer #the rampion crew

[kaixiety]

I like to imagine that Kai doesn’t find out about this part of the kidnapping until several years later when he hears his kid repeat it after being told a story by another member of the rampion crew

#lunar chronicles #the lunar chronicles #tlc #emperor kai #linh cinder #kaider