YA Love Triangle Week: Team David vs. Team Zane

Team David vs. Team Zane

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Team David

Team David is represented by Danya of A Tapestry of Words who is now taking over this portion of the post.

Currently unavailable for photos. Off saving the world.

"SWM, mid-teens, born and raised in the Smoke. About 5'10" with an athletic build. In my spare time I enjoy both planting and cutting down trees, and saving people from the city's clutches. Looking for a spunky girl to share some adventures with as we subvert the plans of Dr. Cable and her minions. Must hate Special Circumstances."

All right, so there are no personal ads in Uglies...but I think David's might sound something like that! I liked him from the beginning and even when Zane popped up on the scene in Pretties (actually, *especially* when he was introduced) I was rooting for David all the way.


Now, for the reasons why...

He has outdoorsy skills. 

“This was David, who taught her how to make a fire, how to clean and cook fish, how to navigate by the stars.” 


He fights the system. 

“But even if we blow it tonight, and both wind up under the knife, at least someone will still keep fighting. Making trouble, you know?”


“I hope it’s us, making trouble,” Tally said.


“Me too.” 


He's loyal.

"Tally, I’m just saying: I’ll be here when you’re done.”


“You?” She shook her head.


“You’re not alone, Tally. Don’t pretend you are.”


He's honest. 

“You really think I’m beautiful?”


“Yes.”


“More beautiful than Shay?” 

They both stood silent, their mouths gaping. The question had popped out of Tally before she could think. How had she uttered something so horrible?


“I’m sorry.”


David shrugged, turned away. “It’s a fair question. Yes, I do.”


“Do what?”


“I think you’re more beautiful than Shay.” He said it so matter-of-factly, as if talking about the weather.


He sees beyond the face.

“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”

And okay, so Zane might be a good-looking, charismatic guy who likes adrenaline rushes...but at the end of the day, when you want the one you can really count on? David, hands-down.
 

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Team Zane

Team Zane is represented by Caitlin from Scarrlet Reader who is now officially taking over this post.

Zane
When I first started The Uglies series I had an immediate connection with Tally and her adventure. I loved reading about this strange world of Uglies and Pretties and Specials. Though, one of the things I didn’t really connect with was David. From the very beginning when Shay first mentioned him, I thought of him as suspicious. Even if he turned out to be someone that helped people escape into the Rusties, he was never one of my favorite characters. It wasn’t until I read the second book in the series, Pretties, that I knew I found a character I would like to be with Tally or just in general!

I have found that a lot of people find this a hard question to answer: David or Zane? I really see only one option though. Zane was the rock that held Tally to the ground. Without his support she would have never made it to where she did. One of the first things that immediately attracted me to Zane was the fact that he knew there was something wrong with pretties’ brains and he fought against it! I really never considered that until he showed up with his coffee and determination. He put in motion Tally’s rebellion. It was Zane who convinced Tally to take the pill that was suppose to cure her, and he understood that the real Tally was still inside her just trapped behind a stupid pretties’ mind.


“’I wasn’t waiting for this,’ Tally cried. ‘I don’t want anything but to be a Crim!’


He pointed to the letter. ‘Yes, you did.”


‘That wasn’t me. She said so herself.’


‘But you-‘


‘Maybe I changed my mind!’


‘You didn’t change your mind. The operation did.’” (Zane & Tally pg.93 Pretties)

Then, there is the fact that Zane willingly took the risk of taking one of the two pills with Tally without knowing what would come of it. He saw that she needed him in that time and helped her. After that he was nothing but support for her. During this time Tally was going through a lot and it was Zane that kept her sanity in check. I highly doubt she would have been able to go through taking the pills by herself. Another thing is Zane did the best he could to help tally get back to the New Smokies. And the fact that he didn’t know a lot about them and trusted Tally was really important. By the end of Pretties you can tell that Tally is in love with Zane. She chooses him over David already and I didn’t even see him as coming back into the picture again. Some may argue that her brain was all messed up while falling for Zane but in the words of Tally:

“’It’s not the way Zane looks, David,’ she said, her voice trembling with anger. ‘It’s because he makes me bubbly, and because we took a lot of risk together. It could just as easily be me lying here, and he would stay with me if it was.’” (Tally pg. 356 Pretties)

If I haven’t already convinced you I have yet to bring up the point that David so easily gave into thinking that Tally would choose Zane because of his looks. If he really loved Tally and would have had more faith in her that she wasn’t that shallow and accepted that things change, maybe even for the better. But then we go into the finally installment of the series Specials. It is in this book that we see thetrue love that Zane feels for Tally and vice versa. Zane knew that there was something wrong with him and he knew that he had brain damage and that it was kind of Tally’s fault. But did he ever show any sign of resentment towards her? None. If anything he was just even more determined to show Tally that she could overcome the mind tricks that had been placed in her head, that she was strong enough to get through it.

“’You can rewire yourself again, Tally,’ he said. ‘The fact that they made you into a Special means you can change.’”(Zane pg.142 Specials)

Zane was there for her until the last moment he was able to. He fought for her, sacrificed so much, that it hurts to think about his outcome in the end. He pushed Tally to do what was needed to be done and kept her sane through it all. And where was David through all her struggles? Well, not there to help her. So if the question ever comes up: David or Zane? I think I’ve made it clear who should be chosen.

“Zane lay back and closed his eyes, and was silent so long that Tally thought he had fallen asleep again. But then he said softly, ’You and David could both be right. Maybe humans are programmed… to help one another, even to fall in love. But just because it’s human nature doesn’t make it bad, Tally. Besides, we had a whole city of pretties to choose from, and we chose each other.’”(Zane pg 358-359 Pretties)

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So there you have it! Please vote who you would choose based on these two arguments and stick around for more guest posts and the final round of voting!