Harold vs. Curly

I don't mean this to be a popularity contest. I'm just curious, who would you guys rather see with Rhonda Wellington Lloyd?

To me, it speaks volumes that Rhonda sometimes initiated moments with Harold. There was a two way attraction there, even if she didn't like to admit to it. It's not just dragging him onto the tunnel of love, it's that, like Phoebe and Gerald, they're often standing together, and they interact a lot.

Now to Curly...I adore the freak. There's no denying the kid's hilarious. But does he have a chance with her? Sadly...probably not. While Rhonda showed appreciation for him in "Curly's Girl", I don't think he can ever make it passed the 'friends zone' with her (and even getting there will take some work). I can't think of any time she flirted with him unless it was putting on a show ("Curly's Girl") or in a backwards attempt to get him to leave her alone ("Deconstructing Arnold" - sheesh, Helga, that was awful advice).

Anyways, that's my two cents, but I'm really curious about everyone else's. Also, I'm being lazy and not finishing the Harold/Rhonda oneshot I've got on my computer, one of my 2 full length stories, starting the Curly/Rhonda/Harold story I'm planning (in my defense, this is research for that one), finishing an amv or even studying for that test I'm gonna have tomorrow at work, so feel free to make your answers long! ....I like distractions, okay?

You know, that's a pretty tough question. For me, at least. I like both sets of pairings, pretty much equally since you can't really compare them, they're both pretty good in their own rights.

Harold and Rhonda have had a neat attraction and connection with each other, and would make a nice pair. :3

Curly and Rhonda...well, they have a lot of growing up to do and need more time together...with Curly maybe not harassing her too much. It's hard to say, since it would go against principles for Curly not to be himself. But like I said, growing up. Who knows how Curly could turn out.

So really, it's all up in the air. I'm cool either way, to be honest. Team Harold or Team Curly, either way is cool to me. Not very decisive, but you know.

But I guess everyone will get into some good debates! That should be interesting. :3

Oh, I'd be cool with either one, I just think Harold/Rhonda is the more realistic one. Curly's basically Helga without the filter.

*Slips a couple coupons for free Gammelthorpe brand ice cream into NintendoGal55's hand* Just a... little gift. To help you get off the 'right' side of the fence. If you know what I mean, and I think ya do.

Yay! Ice cream!!! Thanks, Curly! You win my vote!

May the forest be with you. Bye! *Skips off*

Curly, bribing us is not gonna get Rhonda to like you.

You just don't understand the GENIUS of my plan. Rhonda loves to be popular, right? If I'M popular, then she'll have to like me! Right? Am I right? We'll be PS. 118's perfect power couple!

NintendoGal55 wrote:Yay! Ice cream!!! Thanks, Curly! You win my vote!

Eeeeexcellent. Works everytime.

...that's actually not a bad plan.

...We really need Harold here.

Wow, good question.

Which do I think is more appealing? CurlyxRhonda, hands down. They're so perfect for eachother it almost hurts sometimes, but they're also so unlikely, for that very reason. A lot like ArnoldxHelga. Unlikely, but perfect.

HaroldxRhonda I'm cool with, but I think it's hard to get intrigue off of something so obvious, and frankly... a little boring. I'm not saying they're bad, and I have read a few good HaroldxRhonda fics, but CurlyxRhonda is so much more interesting and inviting.

Which is more likely? I believe I already said. RhondaxHarold is obvious and highly likely, while CurlyxRhonda is... not. You have to look real close to see it, but I think she's kind of in denial that she likes him, kinda like Arnold with Helga. I mean, liking a freak like Curly would ruin her rep, so it's obvious that she wouldn't WANT to like him, so of course she keeps him at arms length... but I think Curly is more... a free spirit with tons of passion in... just about everything. What's not to love there?

It could explain all the Harold flirting, too. Maybe she's just so in denial that she's seeking some kind of outlet to PROVE she's not interested. And... Harold doesn't seem too into girls, anyway. I know he will be one day, but... I really do prefer him with Patty. I think they're sweet and there's so much potential for romance. So much chemistry.

So, I really am more on team CurlyxRhonda than anything. I still like RhondaxHarold, because I think they're cute... but I just don't think they're as cute or intruguing as CurlyxRhonda.

Plus, I saw in the "April Fools Day" episode, right when Arnold came up to Helga and said, "There you are, Helga. Just in time for the tango." If you look in the backround, there's Rhonda on Curly's arm, and later on you see Harold and Patty dancing. I think Craig prefered it that way too. RhondaxCurly, and HaroldxPatty. It's all perfect that way.

This is how I think about Curly


XD
He's a teenage dirtbag! He does have a sweet side, but he'll always be a creep. If he'd only show a little more of that sweet side..

Harold on the other hand, is sweet and gentle. And I adored them together with their egg Courtney
So, sorry Curly, but my vote goes out to Harold

And I still like Curly to be with Eugene when they grow up

He won't always be a dirtbag! For Pete's sakes! He's NINE! There's a lot of inbetween there.

And this is exactly what I was talking about before. If you look at 1:42, you'll see Rhonda giving him this adorable smile while he's being all animated. I think she thinks he's cute.

And I don't like CurlyxEugene... at all. I mean, I guess I can see Eugene possibly being gay, but Curly? No. He's definitly not. And even if he was, he wouldn't be with Eugene! They're never around eachother in the show, and I don't even think they're friends. It doesn't make sense in the least. They're really just... no. They're just no.

But all of you people can do what you want! I can't stop ya! I may not understand it, and never will, but whatevs.

CurlyxRhonda all the way here, baby!

You know, the funny thing is I am extremely attracted to Curly. Too bad he's a cartoon.

Ugh! Curse my curiosity!

Why the heck do you people like that pairing so much? You claim it to make loads of sense... but I don't see any at all. So why?

Hakuna Matata, Weird1

...Hakuna Matata


Thank you, Freddie, for helping me remember these wise words

All right so I am going to probably write a book here and you can feel free to disagree, but this is all stuff that I feel pretty strongly about.

1) On Curly/Rhonda and why it is THE WORST - Okay, so their ENTIRE pseudo-relationship in canon is based on the idea that Curly has a crazy, obsessive crush on her and Rhonda is REPEATEDLY SAYING NO.

There is never ever a point where we see Rhonda reciprocating his affections and, at best, she tolerates them. Well, fuck that noise. Rhonda doesn't like Curly and he keeps PUSHING and HELLO ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP. To him, Rhonda is nothing but a conquest - she WILL love him even if he has to BLACKMAIL her into loving him.

So we have Rhonda saying "No" while Curly continues to push her - doesn't back down, doesn't respect her thoughts, feelings or actions and is SO SET on "winning" her that he BLACKMAILS her into dating him. And THEN, when she finally gets to dump his totally skeevy ass she is PUNISHED by her peers.

What the FUCK, Hey Arnold?!

And here's the thing. I loved Curly in the early seasons and I adore him sometimes in the later ones too. But EVERY TIME I see him hanging all over Rhonda who has REPEATEDLY and FORCEFULLY turned him down I want to punch him in his stupid face.

That is not how you treat the girl you claim to love. That is not how you treat ANYBODY. No means NO, asshole.


2) Harold/Rhonda and why it has MY HEART - (copied from DA) "I honestly don’t know what happened to make me love this pairing as much as I do now. It’s the one I request from people the most often. It’s the one that I have been drawing the most art of recently. It’s the one that I find sexy and adorable all at once.

I love Harold. Okay? He is my second favorite character and I totally pander to him and get defensive when people hate him, because I relate to him on some really weird level and it feels like maybe they hate me too. ‘Weighing Harold’ BREAKS me.

I love that is he cowardly and stupid and wrong about almost everything and he doesn’t seem to have much faith in himself, but at the end of the day he does do the right thing and he gets so worked up about doing that right thing that we get to hear the Paggliacci theme and he’s dramatic and silly and I adore him.

And Rhonda likes him too.

I like that she is vain and pretty and popular and top dog and self-assured and she still fell for Harold and acts on it in such an awesome nine-year-old way. I love that she’s the one who sticks up for him in ‘Weighing Harold’ while simultaneously having the same reaction of her peers. I like that she’s trying to fix him up, change him, because I like to think that it won’t work or will, but then she’ll realize that she liked him better before that change.

I like to think that he falls for her because she keeps pursuing him and he likes the real, affectionate attention and he thinks she’s the greatest thing in the world except they probably fight a lot and she always thinks she has the upper hand, because she doesn’t think she actually loves him at all, but OH MAN DOES SHE HAVE IT BAD.

I don’t know. I just love them together very, very much."


3) Harold/Patty make excellent FRIENDS - Really, Patty has helped Harold grow as a person (also interesting to note that she has helped RHONDA grow as a person as well). And their friendship is one of my favorite developments in the later episodes.

However, I honestly find the idea of them together to be boring as heck. Plus, IMO Patty is a total lesbian.


4) Patty/Rhonda's canon gay - WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE GAY. Haha, no seriously "Polishing Rhonda"? It is just one big testament to how gay Patty is for Rhonda. They are probably my #1 F/F pairing in Hey Arnold!


4) Curly/Eugene and EXPLOSIONS - (copied from my DA) "I love it. It has something to do with Curly being dangerous and Eugene being danger-prone and how probably everyone would be TERRIFIED ALWAYS when they came to parties together and stuff. Also, because Eugene is so gay (and totally crushed on Arnold for a bit Y’KNOW IT’S TRUE) and I want him to be so happy forever and because Curly would never be afraid of Eugene being a jinx.

I like that it’s unexpected, but could possibly have canon undertones that I only realized were there after falling for the ship first: Curly obsesses over Eugene in ‘False Alarm’ and Eugene says he can’t believe how good Curly looks in a wedding dress in ‘Ghost Bride’."

*high fives Alyssa*

Yes! I totally agree with you!

I suppose, logically, that Rhonda and Harold make more sense....

*sigh* But I still love me some RhondaxCurly. I kinda feel like Rhonda might ahve given him a chance later on, like high school or even college. Because we all know he would have followed her. In the long run, I think she would have gone for Harold.

Of course, that also gets rid of Harold/Patty, which I always thought was sweet.

It is okay to love Rhonda/Curly and I think that maybe in the future things could be different for them, but for me that would involve him backing off completely and moving on to someone else and then later on they reunite somehow. But I have issues with "I'll follow you until you love me" because it totally invalidates Rhonda's opinions, feelings, etc.

I am pretty okay with Harold/Patty, but I just like 'em more as BFFs. *shrugs* I think they're incredibly boring as a romantic pairing.

Nah. I just think of them as my crack--pairing.

Curly doesn't have a lot of friends, even among the so called 'geeks' in our class. I know he can be out of line sometimes, but the truth is, I think he's just lonely. He obsesses over Rhonda because there's nothing else in his life... except for her. When she pushes him away, it's like he's being pushed away from the one thing keeping him happy and sane. So he clings to her even more tightly. After being rejected by Lila so many times I sort of know how he feels. Well... not to such an extreme level, but enough to sympathize with the guy.

Curly would do anything for Rhonda. He doesn't force himself on her out of selfishness or lust, he does it because he desperately wants to be the one to make her happy. It's his way of validating himself. I'd feel different about it if his attraction to Rhonda was based on something shallow.

I wish Curly would listen to reason and find some happiness of his own before trying to give what little he has away. When Rhonda dumped Curly in front of everyone... we pitied him. She's his entire world. Some of the other kids think he's pathetic, but I know he's a good person inside, if he could only stop worrying about all the respect and love he doesn't have-- he might actually get some. Curly doesn't need to act crazy to receive attention. Unfortunately, I think that's the only way he knows how to get people to notice him.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you. Don't hate Curly. The way he treats Rhonda isn't right... but he deserves your understanding.

You know, that's an interesting point. I guess given Curly's outward actions and the way he goes about everything else he does, I guess it's hard to overlook. Sure he's extreme and makes those around him feel weird and uncomfortable, but at the same time he is a human being and has feelings. He's just different, and I think you're right, lonely.

I guess many people pertain his actions to be lust and because she's popular and really pretty. Yeah, he may not treat her exactly right, but I guess you can say his heart is in the right place.

Maybe he just needs to do some growing up, maybe get an outlet for his craziness or something.

Aw, don't worry Arnold. I still like Curly. I just hate the way he treats Rhonda, because it reeks of abuse to me. I just hope he finds something or someone else to distract him from her at some point. If he just backed off of her a bit, I wouldn't be so disappointed in him.

I kind of imagine that another girl will show up who is attracted to Curly's craziness. He'll be stunned for a bit, but I think he might calm down after a while.

Haha, I imagine his crush on Rhonda just completely stopping one day for no reason. I feel like his attention span doesn't allow him to crush on people for super long.

Perhaps Rhonda will miss the attention once he stops giving it to her?

Don't try to defend him, Arnoldo. Dude's a freak of nature. Crazy as a loon.

On the other hand I think his attempts to date Rhonda are totally hilarious.