Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Match #14: Aura (Seed #14) vs Kaylee (Seed #19) goes to KAYLEE!

After a very well-fought, extremely close match, 
the winner is... 


KAYLEE!


Welcome to the YA Sisterhood! Thank you in advance for your participation in our Tournament of Heroines! We hope you make some friends (and not too many enemies), discover some fantastic books, and have a lot of fun! 

Some general rules before we begin:

There may be some spoilers in the following post. We've tried to keep it fairly general, but overall, this Tourney will not be spoiler-free. So beware.

Secondly, You are welcome to write your own comments about either character in the comments section, but we will not tolerate rudeness. The minute it crosses over from logical argument into character bashing, your comments will be deleted and your vote canceled.  POLLS WILL BE OPEN FOR 24 HOURS AND WILL CLOSE AT 12:01AM EST ON DECEMBER 15th.


And now for the match....



*Wipes Hot Pocket crumbs from mouth* *Clears throat* Hey there! It’s Brooke from over at Brooke-Reports, here to steal Aura’s boyfriend! Errr….i mean…here to be her advocate in the YA Heroine Tournament! You can follow me: @brookeworm33 OR her: @salvatore_aura on twitter to keep up with all the latest tourney news!  Be sure to support Aura by rockin’ the  #AuraFTW hashtag too!

ABOUT HER  

Aura Salvatore is currently 17 years old. She has brown eyes and straight dark brown hair. She sometimes likes to pin skull-and-crossbones barrettes in her hair to give her a punk-ish edge. So, she’s just your average everyday teenage girl-who can see ghosts. Yep. Being the VERY FIRST person born after the Shift means that she, along with every other person born after her, can see and interact with ghosts! She works for her Aunt Gina’s law firm, translating for ghosts on the witness stand. You might think that sounds like fun, right? Interacting with ghosts? But guess what, it’s not. Ghosts are pesky and can be extremely dangerous. Between old lady ghosts nagging her and teenage boy ghosts asking to see her boobs, Aura would give anything to make the ghost go away. That is, until her boyfriend, Logan, dies and becomes one himself. DUN DUN DUUUUN.


BEST ATTRIBUTES  

One of Aura’s best attributes is that she's EXTREMELY HONEST. She tells the truth even when she knows it might cause her to lose something in the end. 

Aura is also very determined. She’ll stop at nothing to find out the truth behind the Shift, because not only does it effect her, but the entire generation born after her.  She’ll stand up for what she believes in, even if she’s standing alone.

Aura is completely compassionate. Not only towards her loved ones, but others as well. She actually listens to the ghosts who want to pass on, she tries her hardest to help them. 

Aura is level-headed. She really doesn’t let her emotions get in the way of what she wants to accomplish. She doesn't rely on anyone else, not Mr. Kilt and most definitely not Mr. Keeley. She doesn't need a guy to solve her problems or fix things for her. She's strong and independent! 



☠ WHAT MAKES AURA A TRUE HEROINE  

Sure, Aura isn’t your typical kick-butt heroine. She can’t shoot a bow & arrow and she certainly can’t send a demon back to hell, BUT she has a ton of qualities that DO make her a true heroine. She’s compassionate and courageous and determined and funny and she knows what’s under Zach’s kilt—wait, what? Err…seriously though, Aura is literally trying to change the world! She's trying to keep the living safe as well as trying to help the ghosts pass on to their final resting place. If that doesn’t make her a heroine, I don’t know what does!

WHAT MAKES AURA JUST AS AWESOME AS HER COMPETITOR?  

YO! Logan Keeley here. As you may know, I do this music thing--I've been frontman for the Keeley Brothers and front-ghost for Tabloid Decoys. If you DO know me, you know Aura was/is my first and last love. So I'm majorly biased in thinking she's the greatest heroine ever. My archnemesis-turned-kinda-sorta-friend Zachary Moore and I were all ready to fight fight FIGHT for Aura, but Brooke and the Woman Upstairs (who you guys call "Jeri") talked us down and helped us get in touch with our feminine side. (Easier for me because I have no body and am, well, violet.)

ANYWAY, I promised to write Aura a song if she made it into the tourney, and instead of saying why she's better than her opponent, Brooke and I…did something a little different. Hope Aura and Kaylee like it, and hope you do, too. PEACE! 

xoxo, Logan

(Just A Girl by No Doubt: HEROINE REMIX!) 

Take these dumb contacts from my eyes
I'm half-blind, so it's no big surprise
I can't see the little things unless they're near
And it's all those little things that I fear….

Cuz I'm just a girl
With no slick superpowers
I won't even brandish a knife
Oh I'm just a girl, who kinda likes flowers
And just wants a regular LI-iiife!

Oh! I've had it up to here.  

The moment that I see a ghost
All of my friends, well, they just think that's gross
But don't you think I know exactly who I am
The only one who'll touch a dead man's hand.

Well, I'm just a girl
And that's okay with me,
'Cause I don't think the world's black-and-white
Oh, I'm just a girl
I like being a freak
'Cause it's more fun seeing violet at night.

Yeah, I'm just a girl
Tell that damn DMP
That they won't get a piece of my SI-iiiight!

Oh! I've had it up to here.

*slows down, funky guitar thing*

I'm just a girl...
And Kaylee's just a girl in the world...
But death just won't let us beeeeeee! 

*rocks out hardcore*

Oh, we're just 2 girls      
And our main activity, 
defeating scum,
Makes us really bummed.

Oh, we're just 2 girls
What's our destinies?
To find true love 
or to end up as nuns?

Yeah, we're just 2 girls, 
No apologies!
What we've become
is truly awe-SOME.

[can insert another chorus here, but not necessary]

Ohhhh, we've had it up to
Ohhhh, we've had it up to
Ohhhh, we've had it up to
Here.

ANYTHING ELSE?

VOTE b/c Aura’s Ultimately Really Awesome! And don’t forget to:



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hi everyone! My name is Rachel and I'm the blogger at Fiktshun. I'm super proud to be the advocate for Kaylee Cavanaugh of Rachel Vincent's amazing Soul Screamers series in this year's Tournament of Heroines.

If you were around this summer for the YA Crush Tourney, you may remember me as Tod Hudson's advocate. Yes, Tod is also from the Soul Screamers series. And just like me, he's one of Kaylee's biggest fans.

While there are so many amazing heroines who were nominated for this tournament, I couldn't help but choose Kaylee Cavanaugh to represent because not only is she an underdog in this competition - I'm all about #TeamUnderdog - but I've been Team Kaylee since long before this event and long before I started blogging.




About Kaylee

Kaylee Cavanaugh is your average, everyday high school student. She has long, brown wavy hair that even when straightened always manages to get the frizzies, blue eyes and a figure that is not eye-catching curvy like her best friend Emma's. She is normal. Until the day she found out she wasn't.

Kaylee is a bean sidhe (or banshee) who can sense when someone is about to die and whose job it is to sing for their souls and help them move on.

While her song sounds beautiful to male bean sidhes like Nash and Tod Hudson, to everyone else it sounds like she's screaming bloody murder. Not a great way to be popular - or to find a date - at Eastlake High.

Kaylee has not had the easiest life. Her mom died when she was young. Her dad was MIA for most of it. And she had to live with her aunt, uncle and her cousin Sophie who is everything Kaylee is not - popular, bitchy and vain - until her dad came back.

And then there's the fact that a dark cloud seems to hang over Eastlake High. Students and teachers alike seem to be marked for death. Not great for them. Not great for Kaylee who can't help but scream for their souls. In school. In front of everyone. Yeah. Mortifying.

But even with all of this, not to mention a boyfriend who has broken her heart more than once, Kaylee is still an amazing and loyal friend, a kind and selfless person and someone you would just want in your corner.



Kaylee's Best Attributes

Kaylee Cavanaugh is BRAVE. Sometimes a little too brave. She's willing to do whatever it takes to help her friends. Even if it puts her at great risk - like heading to the Netherworld to help Tod try and save his ex. She may be a bean sidhe but she doesn't have super-human strength. She can be killed. And with all the trips she's made to the Netherworld and interactions with the demons and other creeptacular things there, it's a wonder she's lasted as long as she has.

Kaylee is LOYAL. She's proven just how loyal she is to the people she loves over and over. She doesn't abandon them to save herself. She doesn't give up on them when things get tough. She stood by her boyfriend Nash's side for longer than any girl might. Even when he broke her heart. She helped her cousin Sophie on more than one occasion, even when she never deserved it. And she's been there for all of her friends and family whenever they've needed her. Which leads right into the fact that...

Kaylee is SELFLESS. She always puts others first. When things go wrong at Eastlake - and they always seem to go wrong - and people end up dying (what is it with Eastlake anyway?), she's right there trying to find out how to fix things. Even when her own life is falling to pieces, her heart is breaking, or she gets some news that would leave others curled up in bed sobbing.  She will always choose to help rather than wallow in self-pity.

Need a little more proof? Check out this video to see just a fraction of what Kaylee does to protect her friends!









Why Kaylee is a True Heroine

For all those reasons - bravery, loyalty, selflessness - and so many more. Kaylee is honorable, trustworthy, kind and generous, smart, incredibly determined, persistent and courageous.

She doesn't flee when things get tough. She gives those she loves second chances. She stays to fight even when the odds are not in her favor. She doesn't abandon her friends to save herself. She takes risks when it would be easier to play it safe. She relies on her own strength and ability instead of on others, but isn't too vain to accept help when help is needed.

And she chooses what's right, even if it's not what's best for her and even if it breaks her heart.


Why You Should Vote for Kaylee


Well, because Tod says so!




Seriously, though. Of course I'd love for all of you to vote for Kaylee. I'm not defending her just so that I can be in this tournament, but because I truly believe her to be amazing. She's always been one of my favorite female characters and still will be long after this event has ended.

I love her for all the reasons I've mentioned above, but I also love her because she's real. She isn't perfect. She makes mistakes. But she learns from them. She doesn't go out of her way to be hurtful. Even though Sophie and Sabine really test her on that one!

And she's so incredibly sarcastic.

Whoever said it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved was full of crap. -- Kaylee Cavanaugh My Soul to Steal
Had I sent him some kind of signal? Was I wearing my "I'm done with my virginity, please get rid of it for me" T-shirt? -- Kaylee Cavanaugh My Soul to Keep
As I have mentioned all the reasons why I think Kaylee is a heroine, I think I'll let Tod take it from here - though I've had to stop him a few times, before he said too much. Revealed too much. Or made me cry.

I know Tod even better than I know Kaylee after all the time we spent together over the summer, and I believe he is the best person - or bean sidhe-turned-reaper - to speak on why she's the heroine that deserves your vote.

"I've seen you fight, Kaylee. I've seen you step into that darkness for someone else, then claw your way out, bruised but still standing. You're that kind of crazy, and I live in that darkness. Together we'd take crazy to a whole new level." 
"...All I knew was that I wanted to be near you. Then you helped me with Addison, even though it nearly got you killed--I nearly got you killed--and I started to understand how special you are."
"...You're the brightest thing I've ever seen, Kaylee. You're this beautiful ball of fire spitting sparks out at the world, burning fiercely, holding back the dark by sheer will..."
"Kaylee, I would do anything for the girl who granted my dying wish."
Wow. I was right! I couldn't have said it any better than he just did right there.

So if you agree with me, and you agree with Tod, please VOTE KAYLEE FTW!







I hope we've done enough to show you just how awesome Kaylee is! If so, please click on that little button below that says KAYLEE. I will love you forever, and I know Tod will too!

And if you want to do a little more to help her in this tournament, spread the word on Facebook and on Twitter that KAYLEE NEEDS YOUR VOTE!




*VOTING IS NOW CLOSED*