Karen Marie Moning and her Alpha Ryodan

This week I have been watching and voting for Ryodan in the Vampire Book Club's Alpha Showdown(http://vampirebookclub.net/final-round-ryodan-vs-reyes-farrow-alpha-showdown-2013/).  I have also been reading the comments left by other people, good and bad about the characters.  So far many of the comments about Ryodan have been very negative.  And it made me begin to wonder about what we are really looking for in our Alphas.  

The true Alpha just is.

 He doesn't have to pretend, or impress anyone. Real alpha traits are being relaxed, speaking slower, more confidence (not faked cockiness), have a higher degree of naturally occurring muscle tone as well as higher degree of naturally-occurring male pheromone. 

Women tend to respond to alphas because alphas make women feel at ease. They don't try to impress women with conversational gymnastics, but will go up to women, remain in their space for prolonged periods of time without asking permission, or particularly saying much, and then calmly ask about mundane things, or make banal statements. 

So let's think about Barron's, did he do these things YES most definitely. 

 “I know part of what turns me on so hard, makes me so violent with lust, is that he's dangerous. I fell for the bad guy. I'm crazy about the one who's trouble. The alpha that doesn't play well with others and doesn't take orders from anyone.”
― Karen Marie Moning, Shadowfever

If you all remember the Barron's POV sex scene ( I mean who could forget right) and you can get in audio format with the wonderful Phil Gigante here  https://www.karenmoning.com/store/index.php?option=com_wbnanocart&Itemid=65

I remember when Karen first gave this scene to us, we read it and the comments started to fly, and more than a few were outraged at the thought that he might have done it for real but we were left with the question of did we think he really did. I for one think he did and I almost loved him more for it, but that is a whole other post that would delve way to far into my psyche that you all don't need to go;)  Barron's takes what he wants and is unforgiving about it, but like any true alpha he takes care of those he considers are in his "pack", the Nine, Mac, his son and even Dani to a certain degree.  But also like any good alpha he kicks those that aren't needed out like Fiona.  

(www.facebook.com/ /pages/Stuart-Reardon-Professional-Athlete-and-Model/255794284496232?fref=ts)

Now let's talk about Ryodan, in the Fever series I never heard any real hard feelings against him.  Then comes Iced and BOOM suddenly people hate him even though he hasn't changed from the glimpses of him we saw in the Fever series.  What has changed is the center of his focus....Dani a fourteen year old girl.  Before Iced on goodreads.com there was a discussion on the possibility for Ryodan and Dani to end up together and while there was a few grumbles about age nothing major.  So I ask is it the age or the violence that has turned so many people against Ryodan?

I think it is the violence, the fact that he is willing to beat the crap out of her to get her to act the way he needs her to.  So now we must ponder why he would do this is it just for the giggles, I don't think so.  Dani is an enigma, we don't know what she is, she doesn't know what she is but maybe Ryodan does or at least he seems to have an idea. 

“You’ll never be just anything. A tsunami can never be ‘just’ a wave.”
“Get off my chin.”
“I like that about you. Waves are banal. Tsunamis reshape the Earth. Under the right circumstances, even entire civilizations.”
I blink.
“You’re going to be one hell of a woman one day, Dani.”
― Karen Marie Moning, Iced (Dani O'Malley #1)

So he see something in her and maybe that something that we can't see or even fathom is the reason he is willing to hurt her. I think if I was around Dani I would want to hurt her just because of her attitude, don't get me wrong I love her MEGAness and I get she has issues from her childhood(don't we all) but if she was in my house I probably would have put the hurt on her a couple of time myself. My kids can attest I do not suffer foolishness. 

Ryodan also is protective of her in his own way and would probably be more protective if it didn't chafe her so much.

 “The more excited I get, the more I vibrate."
"Now there's a thought," Lor says.
"If you mean what I think you mean, you want to shut the fuck up and never think it again," Ryodan says.”
― Karen Marie Moning, Iced (Dani O'Malley #1) 

Dani care for him in her own way.

"When I thought I'd killed him, I felt more alone than I've felt in a long time. Like I couldn't stand walking through this city knowing he wasn't in it. Like somehow, as long as he was out there somewhere, if I was ever really in trouble, I knew where I could go and while maybe he wouldn't do exactly what I wanted him to do, he'd keep me alive. He'd get me through whatever it was to live another day."
— Karen Marie Moning (Iced (Dani O'Malley #1) (Fever #6)) 

So this story of Ryodan and Dani, we don't know where it will end but who are we to try and steer the course because of how it makes us feel. I would never presume to tell someone who they can love.

"You love someone because they sing a song only your heart can understand.”
― L.J. Smith