#calla and ronan parallels

[lizpaige]

okay but that moment when blue is “missing” aka hanging out with jesse dittley in bllb and calla finds her with gansey looking all shakey and nervous and calla says that they started to “assume you were just dead in a ditch somewhere” like in trb when ronan thought gansey was dead in a ditch when he missed world hist.

[romantichopelessly]

invitation to speak more about the secret good td3 in your head, if you so desire!

Ok so I sat on this ask for DAYS because I wanted to have some cohesive, great answer, but the thing about The Dreamer Trilogy that haunts me is that I can never come up with good concrete thoughts about how to fix the issues I have with it, which is why I reference the “secret good td3 in my head” because it can never fully leave my head in any real way. That being said here’s a list of some elements I would change to make my secret good td3, in no particular order.

The visionaries don’t exist. Liliana, Persifal, etc. are just psychics that keep getting visions of the end, and die for reasons other than their power. Explaining what Visionaries are and subsequently over explaining the magic system of td3 is part of what made the trilogy so confusing and ruined a lot of the magic that the TRC universe already had for me. We don’t need concrete explanations, and psychics can still fill this role. The changing age and exploding added nothing?? to the narrative?? that I can think of?? We can even keep the age gap for Carliana if we want to, just make Liliana an older psychic like Maura/Persephone/Calla. It will even add to the excellent Carmen-Mr. Gray parallels.

Lean more into the themes of the age group. TRC is a coming of age story. It’s about being 17/18. It’s about learning your inner self and getting others to see the true you. TD3 should be more about being 19/20/21. To me, TD3 at its peak is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6. Which is uniquely about the horror of being in your early 20s, losing support systems, having to learn to be a full self-reliant person, grappling with what your parents did to you, and the crushing loneliness of not being around Your People anymore. TD3 has all of these themes, but I really think they need to be fleshed out more, and given proper conclusion that isn’t just “yippee everything is fine now!”

Greywaren is longer. I think almost everyone agrees that Greywaren, as a book was just too short to wrap up all the plot lines set up, and does almost none of them justice. That book needed a whole rewrite. In theory, I’m completely fine with how it opens—Ronan being in a dream coma was foreshadowed from CDTH, and is an idea that I’d actually thought of as interesting before even reading the book. Other elements of this book like Declan’s rampage, Matthew going rogue, etc are great directions for the characters, I’d just want to rework them. I could make solo posts about any of these.

The Pynch breakup either doesn’t happen, or is set up further in advance and lasts longer. Personally, I lean towards the latter. Adam and Ronan’s conflict is set up from the very beginning of CDTH, or even from Opal (Adam warring between wanting to stay with Ronan and needing to follow through with his lifelong plans, and being frustrated that Ronan never asks for anything from Adam (specifically, to stay) ((side note: perhaps Adam’s insecurity here about Ronan respecting his boundaries so thoroughly stems from both having a family that never would respect his wishes, and Gansey (Adam’s model of love, Adam’s model of everything) having to learn not to ask things like that of Adam. What does it mean that Ronan never even tries?)) AND Ronan dealing with the crushing loneliness of being left and dealing with the consequences of having a long distance bf who is more successful than him). So they needed to have an argument about this. It’s also just in character that these two would not be perfect communicators. So. My idea: In CDTH we get no Adam POVs, just Ronan’s side of the story. We see, rather than Ronan just getting upset over one missed text, that Adam begins to pull away after the murder crab incident. We the audience don’t know why, other than Ronan’s unreliable narration and insecurity. So when Adam doesn’t respond to that one text at a vital fraught time, Ronan does what he does best, shuts down, pulls away and self destructs. Then MI rolls around and we start getting Adam POVs. We learn that after the murder crabs, Adam was throwing himself into trying to fix the nightwash situation for Ronan (Adam is not in contact with Declan here, unfortunately). After visiting for Ronan’s birthday and seeing the Lace, Adam starts to have dreams/premonitions about the end of the world (no visionaries in this universe, just psychics who are/were close to dreamers getting the visions!!). So he obviously sets out to fix this alone too. He calls his best approximations to contacts in this underground world that aren’t Declan. Henry and Mr. Gray. (+ maybe also Maura & Calla) ((Also don’t worry Henry doesn’t leave the Sarchengsey trip, just advises Adam on where to start)). Now that Adam has lost contact with Ronan (he was busy and missed the message and Ronan went off the grid like in canon), he goes full throttle into trying to solve everything while managing being his perfect Harvard persona (this gets him close to a breakdown, very reminiscent to Dream Thieves). Perhaps we get to see Adam and Declan working together to acquire sweet metals and understand the underworld of magic together. He and Ronan fight the one time they get to talk over the phone, Adam because he is truly scared Ronan will be the one to end the world, Ronan because he feels like this is another person perceiving him as a failure and wanting to control/baby him (+ he hates Adam hanging with Mr Gray and Declan of all people). By the time Greywaren starts, Adam is wrung out and hurting and Ronan is dead to the world, so yeah. He doesn’t think he can spend emotional energy playing safeguard to his boyfriend’s coma corpse. And then by the end of the book they have an actual argument/discussion no “they didn’t need words” cop out.

The number of Dreamers/Dreams has to be reduced. It’s cool to say that dreams were always integrated into this world, but it creates so many plot holes it isn’t even funny. There is no way Niall could have passed off the Greywaren being a box that brings dreams to life if Dreamers were such a common occurrence. No secret can be kept that well, someone in the black market would have known, and thus Greenmantle/Mr. Gray/Laumonier/ect WOULD HAVE KNOWN !!!

Declan does not have all his character erased by suddenly loving his mommy and daddy. Seriously what the fuck was that. Declan suddenly deciding to forgive his father because actually Declan was secretly the favorite child first is INSANE. Especially after seeing that that changed because Niall and Mor WANTED TO KILL HIS BROTHER!!! The two tenants of Declan Lynch in TRC were protecting his remaining family and fucking hating that Ronan idolized Niall just because Niall loved him best. So why make Declan turn around and do the same??? Suddenly Niall wasn’t so bad because actually he let Declan be shoved into a car trunk during a shootout out of love. I hate this plot line. Family doesn’t have to be forgiven. Understood, that’s one thing. Forgiven?? Not always. Sick of it. The real takeaway from seeing those memories should have been closure to Declan’s arc of learning that dreams should be viewed as people completely.

I definitely have other points but I cannot think of them right now. And I want to post this so I will. But TD3, as you can see, makes me an insane person.

[bluesey-182]

okay so im just spit balling here, but hear me out: in terms of personality and the role they each play in their respective groups, I've always felt like there's a parallel between maura and gansey, and an even stronger parallel between calla and ronan, but the theory that it's intentional always fell apart when i got to persephone because she's a bit like adam, and a bit like noah, without really being either of them. UNLESS, and hear me out: persephone is noah (quiet, elusive, mysterious, delivers omens that seem insignificant until suddenly they're not, is the friend that dies), and neeve is adam if he didn't have his friends. bc adam has always been a little villain coded, but the thing that keeps him from actually tipping into villainhood is his attachment to his friends. (and then there's the contrast of maura and neeve being estranged half sisters and gansey and adam being almost brothers with how close they are)

[friendofcars]

I'm ALSO rereading(re:listening to) trc at the moment and we are coninicedentally at pretty much the exact same place. Anyway nice to know someone else is going feral at all my favorite parts.

Also sidenote. I love the gray man and would be intrigued to hear your thoughts on him 👀

hi i love that we're reading in sync! how do you feel about the audiobooks? i couldn't handle them at first but i've come to appreciate their charm lol

the gray man is most interesting to me as a point of comparison for adam and gansey. i love the wry narration in his chapters and his interactions with maura, calla, and persephone although i do think it's baffling that he gets woven into the family with so little conflict wrt the niall lynch murder.

re: adam, i think it's absolutely worth looking at their respective tarot readings and how they're both associated with swords, with the gray man pulling cards of a higher number and presumably further along the path of swords than adam (more alone, calmer [more repressed?], more dangerous) whereas adam having the opportunity to find balance and master all four suits (which are represented by the magician card. persephone talks about balance in the pulling another card chapter!). i'm not tarot knowledgeable especially outside the series but jam unloneliest (who is very much tarot knowledgeable) and i have had some really great discussions about this!

aside from tarot, they have so much in common- their pragmatism, their practical natures, their eye for detail (probably stemming from hypervigilance from abuse), their disdain for little incompetences, their relationship to family and violence and abuse and being on the run and estrangement and home, etc. i have a whole list going in my notes.

the gray man and gansey are also linked through their respective quests: for "the" greywaren and glendower, respectively, and their contrasting motives for and attitudes towards searching. gansey is searching for magic in an often mundane world, for a purpose in life, for a way to fulfill what he feels is his obligation to the world, for answers he feels he needs to keep living, whereas the gray man is searching so he can survival on a much baser level. they both fall in love with henrietta (and in the process, blue and maura).

the gray man's dream about the knife attack in tdt ch 11 is one of my all time favorite passages in trc and it parallels with adam's experience of not being able to separate himself from his father's abuse, feeling as if he is both abuser and survivor and weapon all at once. the knife specifically also ties into ronan as a knife or spear or something sharp on which you could cut yourself, tools vs weapons (as both magic and knives can be both), and him inheriting the mitsubishi with the knife decal on it at the end of the book?! the symbolism...

i also wonder if the gray man and his brother had a lot of additional development that didn't make it into the books and spilled over into carmen and nathan's dynamic in td3 (knives, scissors... it's not a huge leap), although i do think the rather faceless specter of the gray man's brother makes him more fearsome.

what do you like most about the gray man? would love to hear your thoughts too.

[jordanshenessy]

I got Dream Thieves sooner than I expected! It's good to get back into the groove of the series.

I definitely missed Ronan and all the moments where it's revealed how sweet he is and how he comes off as mean or rude because he is protective of the people he loves. I particularly appreciate his relationship with Matthew (such a golden retriever, the sweet boy!!!). I almost wonder if his rough exterior is perpetuated by the way people treat him- like even the way Calla calls him "Snake", surely that must continue a cycle where he feels the need to outwardly be a "bad boy".

Golly gee, I forgot everything Blue goes through in this book- kissing Noah, breaking up with Adam, her night car ride with Gansey. This girl sure has the romantic drama!

It does make me sad, though, how Noah kinda loses his importaces after the first book? Like, ofc he's still there and the catalyst of it all, but... he's a fading boy.

Also, I know the whole point of Adam's story is that he's changing because of Cabeswater and the power/influence waking the ley line gives him. (Maybe even the confidence to pave his own way in life!) but the line about him and Gansey being on perpendicular paths, not parallel ones, actually hit so hard. Like yeah... sometimes life's that way, and it really does suck, and you just have to keep on living it, even if your best friend has to follow a different route.

(I forgot Kavinsky died, but whoooooops. I also kinda love and hate his role, like ik he kinda has to be there for Ronan's Adam awakening, but also... I feel like he really pulls Ronan into his toxic circle before he goes out.)

Anywayyyy

Thanks for listening to my ramble. I'm taking a book break before Blue Lily, Lily Blue, but I will be back!

Take care ♡

Hiii! Ronan 😔✋ he was going through it in this book and I also think it’s bc he’s just always feeling like he’s so other and doesn’t fit into this world bc of his dreaming and everything (especially given greywaren) So yeah Ronan goes through life with a hard exterior bc I think after his father’s death, he has the stress of making sure he doesn’t become a cause of another one. He’s had to learn to keep his distance and try not to care but he cares so much and it fucks him up inside. Also the tension between him and Declan and how Matthew ironically tethers him in this world bc Ronan loves him so much and after Declan’s pov in the dreamer trilogy the lynch brothers will forever have changed me.

Kavinsky ma boi! (I actually also hated him when I was first reading lmao)

Omg blue was also going through it in this book 😭 and also when I first read it I was so annoyed that Adam just kept wanting to kiss blue and wasn’t taking the no (like being all pissy and sad) cuz I was like she shouldn’t. have. to give. you. a reason! But then I was also like Adam just wants to be loved and to be wanted and blue DID want to kiss him but she didn’t want to risk it cuz like imagine you kiss a dude bc you think ur not soulmates and then u end up killing him anyway OOF so their breakup was so angsty but much needed cuz they just were not ready for each other (Adam bc he was just getting frustrated blue was keeping something from him and Blue bc she wasn’t ready to tell him about the curse)

And so! When blue and Noah kissed I was like this is so fucked up just let them all kiss each other 😭

I will also always be so bittersweet about Noah bc from a storytelling perspective yes him fading away and being forgotten is important but also…noah come back 😭

Adam and gansey will always take my organs and mix them all up in my insides like a salad

They are so alike. They are so different. They want to be each other. They want each other. They want they want they want.

“I wish you could be kissed, Jane,” he said. “Because I would beg just one off you. Under all this.”

Cannot wait for when you reread blue lily lily blue have a nice break mwuah mwuah 💕

[hellasummerhqs]

you've mentioned character inspo/influences for some of the skeletons and i was just wondering, what's your personal character parallel for each skeleton? thank you!!

this  took  some  time  and  extra  research  –  i  don’t  remember  anybody's  name  ever  —  but  here  i  am,  greyzy!  as  you  mentioned,  those  are inspos/influences,  so…  you  can  see  the skeletons  here  and  there,  just  remember  that  the  whole  thing  will  be  in  your  hands,  dearest  friend,  and  i  can’t  wait  to  eat  meet  em!

a  pretty  portrait :  chrissy  cunningham  /  nancy  wheeler  from  stranger  things  (2022) ;  claire  standish  from  the  breakfast  club  (1985) ;  brooke  maddox  from  scream  (tv  show,  2015) ;  helen  shivers  from  i  know  what  you  did  last  summer  (1997) 

a  train  wreck :  eddie  munson  from  stranger  things  (2022) ;   dandelion / jaskier  from  the  witcher  (tv  show,  2019) ;  patrick  verona  from  10  things  i  hate  about  you  (1999)

a  perfect  view :  fred  jones  from  scooby-doo  (2002) ;  steve  harrington  from  stranger  things  (2016) 

a  misfitting  shoe :  lily  iglehart  from  sex  education  (2019) ;  robin  buckley  from stranger  things  (2019) ;  eddie  kaspbrak  from  it  (2017)

a  rage  bait :  trent  sutton  from  friday  the  13th  (2009) ;  jacob  custos  from  the  quarry  (2022) 

a  broken  ruler :  the  colonel  from  looking  for  alaska  (2019) ;  samantha  giddings  from  until  dawn  (2015)

a  genius'  hideout :  velma  cardellini  from scooby-doo (2002) ;  lisbeth  salander  from  the  girl  with  the  dragon  tattoo  (2011) ;  ashley  brown  from  until  dawn  (2015) ;  abigail  blyg  from  the  quarry  (2022)

an  impossible  riddle :  sokka  from  avatar:  the  last  airbender  (2008) ;  richie  tozier  from  it  (2017)

a  sore  talisman :  blue  (and/or  her  mom  +  calla,  persephone,  ya know, the gals)  from  the  raven  boys  (2012) ;  megan  from  until  dawn  (the  movie,  2025)

a  crooked  hairbrush :  cady  heron  from  mean  girls  (2004) ;  emily  davis  from  until  dawn  (2015)

a  misplaced  crown :  richard  campbell  gansey  iii  from  the  raven  boys  (2012) 

a  boil  over :  ronan  lynch  from  the  raven  boys  (2012)

a  wounded  animal :  adam  parrish  from  the  raven  boys  (2012) ;  todd  anderson  from  dead  poets  society  (1989)

a  living  statue :  rachael  leigh  cook  from  she’s  all  that  (1999) ;  maki  kuwana  from  blue  period  (2017)

a  lost  stare :  marty  mikalski  from  the  cabin  in  the  woods  (2011) ; chewie  from  friday  the  13th  (2009)

a  terrified  lamb :  noah  foster  from  scream  (tv  show,  2015) ;  randy  meeks  from  scream  (1996) ;  ryan  erzahler  from  the  quarry  (2022) 

a  tragic  headline :  sam  carpenter  from  scream  v  (2022) ;  theodora  crain  from  the  haunting  of  hill  house  (2018) ;  michelle  from  10  cloverfield  lane  (2016)

a  double  -  edged  sword:  maeve  wiley  from  sex  education  (2019) ;  santana  lopez  from  glee  (2009) ;  veronica  sawyer  from  heathers  (1989)

[allsassnoclass]

For AU Game: Raven Cycle AU? -Annie

@carouselstars

STOP i saw this and gasped because i literally have 20k of a raven cycle au already typed up (prologue posted here back in the day) you don't even know how excited the thought of this makes me you don't even know!!!!!!

Michael, as Ronan's parallel, doesn't have a thing about secrets like Ronan does (RONAN'S SECOND SECRET WAS--), but instead has a thing about promises. How long after someone dies are you allowed to break your promise to them? How do you keep a promise to yourself when you also hate yourself? Is it enough to keep yourself safe for someone else because you promised them you would, not because you want to for yourself?

Niall Horan makes a beautiful appearance as a Henry Cheng parallel, and the Vancouver Crowd is actually the UK Crowd (aka 1d)

Ashton built a soundproof room in Monmouth (former factory turned home for 3 rich teenage boarding school boys) so that he can drum when his insomnia kicks in. He and Michael used to joke about forming a band that only practices late at night when neither of them can sleep

i cannot describe to you exactly how much i want to write the almost-kiss with ashton and luke. literally the thing that inspired this whole journey i'm on. it's a pretty standard scene to include so maybe it doesn't count for something like this but i would LOVE to write that scene (so i guess the fun fact would be there's an almost-kiss scene in the first book)

i would make this a three-fic series rather than a four-fic one by managing to combine the dream thieves and blue lily, lily blue. this would mostly be accomplished by doing away with the villany of kavinsky, smushing him and jesse dittley together and making them both roy. who knows how i'm handling greenmantle (i certainly don't)

fun bonus fact, the main character parallels are as follows: ashton as gansey, luke as blue, michael as ronan, calum as adam, ryan flemming as noah. the ladies of fox way would largely stay the same (there is no one else who could replace them in the 5sos public circle lol) with the exception of maura, who would of course be replaced by Liz. persephone and calla have a slightly larger role in this, as I am doing away with neeve altogether because i simply do not vibe with her :)

in general, a raven cycle au i think would need to be shifted a decent amount in order to make it work, if only because there is So Much going on and the characters are so distinct. i personally have never seen the point of completely copying a book/movie and just switching out the character names, and the characters in the raven cycle are so unique and the story is decently character driven, so things would have to change with our boys taking their place. ashton is still definitely a gansey-esq character, but he also feels a lot more external pressure because i've added a whole side plot with his grandfather (i am insane) and external pressure caused by needing to uphold a positive public image for his mother's political career. i am in no way making mr. hood abusive, but the poverty still impacts calum significantly. however, his choice to move into st. agnes is caused by his sacrifice to cabeswater and his dad finally getting a better job and moving to washington dc (calum is trapped not by his home circumstances, but by the sacrifice he made. he wants to get out of henrietta, but when he's finally offered the chance his loyalty to his friends prevents him from doing so). michael is an only child and i cast him as a character with plot-important siblings, and the lack of declan and matthew is definitely going to change things for his story.

overall, i think the changes would ensure that this au would still be fresh and enjoyable for fans of the book series, while keeping with the spirit of the series and general large plot. if there are people who haven't read trc and want to after reading the fic, they'll still be surprised and delighted by maggie's characters and writing as well (although i would recommend reading the book series first as she's obviously going to tell it much better than me lol).

obviously i talked a lot more with this one than prompted lol but in my defense i have been brainstorming this since 2020. it's a good time! i love thinking about it!

Send me a potential AU and I'll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story

[tessasilverswan]

oh no realizing that must have sucked. at least we remember him :(

hmm i don't think i could pick just one but i definitely have opinions on most if not all of them (under the cut bc i sure love to keep adding words to sentences)

what are yours?

the gray man and gwenllian are definitely up there. his narration is unique and interesting and i love his arc (and also. the adam–mr gray parallels are fascinating). gwenllian is at times incredibly annoying but i love her. i feel sorry she was buried with glendower when the decoy grave could have been literally anyone. she kicked ass and now deserves to get a weird hobby. henry appeared out of nowhere but i adopted him as fast as gansey & blue did. my boy. kavinsky is also interesting because he's not a good person but he has absolutely no large-scale relevance. he's just a mean wet rat. and so lonely. declan as the uptight oldest sibling is very dear to me, and opal is a cute feral animal i want to look at but not touch. i ABSOLUTELY ADORE calla. jimi is a sweetheart. i like persephone's vibes. seondeok is badass. i aspire to be half as competent & efficient as helen one day

i don't dislike maura as a person, but i wish i got more from her character than "lax mom". i don't think orla's despicable but i don't really like her either. the greenmantles i found annoying, piper somewhat less so, but colin is just like a cornered cartoon villain throwing around empty threats. malory was refreshing, but at one point i was like "what's he even doing in the states other than occasionally converse with gansey and irritate ronan?" the concept of the laumonier three-person entity (laumoniercerberos? now i'm imagining the 3 heads fighting for space in the mirror to talk to piper sorry XD) was interesting but i wish they had been scarier. this one might get me burned at the stake but i find matthew a bit flat. neeve, they could never make me form an opinion about you. i think i'm siding with gwenllian regarding artemus; he feels too small to have spawned blue, though i guess becoming a tree at will is pretty cool

something else i just realized about why i find trc so poetic is that maggie keeps giving importance to things and then actually delivers on them. threes are important? everything comes in threes. time is not linear but circular? most if not all of the characters have circular storylines or themes. for gansey & noah it's described explicitly, but the others' are too. ronan bc he's both a dreamer and a dream (one of the wiki page spoilers). then adam, with his fear of losing control & hurting his loved ones like his father, being made to hurt the gangsey (except it's a demon and it's not him but the point still stands). i need to think more about blue but so far the being a tree kid to "no, really, she's actually a tree kid" pipeline is also very on the nose. everything is connected and most of the times that connexion goes back in on itself to make a cute little circle. and i find this very satisfying because otherwise the main idea or thesis of time being circular would just feel like mystical mumbo-jumbo

time being circular is so important to the storyline and i love how maggie doesn’t just say it for the sake of saying it but it’s actually connected to the storyline in a meaningful way and she finds ways to bring it back up and intertwine it in the plot (and then when i think back to that last noah chapter when it said he was like jus reliving a timeline it makes me crazy because like. all of this has already happened as it’s happening yk?)

all of the repeated motifs and symbols are also some of my favorite parts of rereading- like each of the cars and home settings reflecting back on the characters (eg the trailer, monmouth, the barns, st Agnes, fox way, litchfield house etc and then all of the cars) and then also as cars representing relationships and all that

all of your thoughts are so cool please never stop telling them to me (i want your brain)

[tyrianlynch]

During my raven boys reread I’m noticing all of the parallels drawn between the three main women of fox way and Gansey Ronan and Adam.

Calla is obviously Ronan’s equivalent, being dark and brooding and mean but also loving and fiercely protective. Calla has the gift of psychometry, a rare magical talent, while Ronan is obviously the greywarren and a dreamer, also a rare gift. During the first reading, Calla says “A secret killed your father and you know what it is” even though the other women are insisting they don’t give specifics, showing that Calla, like Ronan, is no BS, and prefers telling the truth over all else, no matter the consequences.

Adam and Persephone mirror each other, which we see a lot more of in bllb, but in trb the most fascinating parallel I think is the way Persephone can be very withdrawn, being described as quiet and messy, but she clearly has a very active mental life. She has her thesis, all of the sewing projects in her room, baking pies, etc, whereas Adam has fixing cars, studying, the quest, etc. All things that keep their minds busy but keep themselves away from others, unknowable in a way.

And this leaves Maura and Gansey, which is a parallel so hilarious and so true that I lose it just thinking about it. They both are the unofficial leaders of their groups, not just in the way that they guide the other less streamlined members who get distracted by their big thoughts or their spite, but also in the way that they relentlessly take care of their groups. They are who the others would choose to lead them into battle. And although Maura hates Gansey in the beginning, I think she understands him far more than she lets on

[squash1]

oh god. the parallels between declan and adam are life ruining.

because, truthfully, adam and declan are the same except that adam was able to have Close, dependable friendships as a teenager that helped him to move past some of his childhood trauma. ronan, gansey, and blue (and all the people that come along with them) taught adam to trust people far earlier than declan was able to learn the same lesson.

in blue lily, adam trusts his Whole consciousness with blue & calla bc he’s learned that he would do anything for them and they would do anything for him:

but it takes declan until greywaren to get to this place of trusting another person:

declan finally trusts carmen because he sees her as an ally at a time when all he needs is an ally. and all i’m saying is that declan Never had friends he could rely on. he never had family that offered him unconditional support. he relied on himself solely. and so for a long time it was declan lynch, army of one. just like — pre-ganseyronanblue — it was adam parrish, army of one. adam and declan are on the same arc, the same journey of learning, just moving at vastly different speeds. and that’s okay, it’s necessary, it happens. but it’s also really fucking sad.

[sophygurl]

The Raven Boys quotes, chapter 15

There’s too many I want to pull from this chapter for a bunch of little quote posts, so have this longer cut-together one instead. This is all about the raven boys and the fox way ladies meeting and interacting and analyzing one another for the first time and it is just so full of goodness. 

“Gansey. This was Gansey.

And that meant that the journal belonged to him.

That meant that Adam belonged to him.”

“Because of course President Cell Phone had brought most of his posse from Nino’s, everyone but the smudgy boy. They filled the hallway to overflowing, somehow, the three of them, loud and male and so comfortable with one another that they allowed no one else to be comfortable with them. They were a pack of sleek animals armored with their watches and their Top-Siders and the expensive cut of their uniforms. Even the sharp boy’s tattoo, cutting up the knobs of his spine above his collar, was a weapon, somehow slicing at Blue.”

.....

“Only Calla and Ronan remained standing, and they regarded each other warily.

It still felt like there had never been this many people in the house, which was utterly untrue. It was possibly true that there had never been this many men in the house before. Certainly never this many raven boys.

Blue felt as if their very presence robbed something from her. They’d made her family dingy just by coming here.”

.....

“Gansey and Adam shared some sort of private conversation with their eyes. It was the sort of thing Blue was used to transpiring between her mother and Persephone and Calla, and she hadn’t thought anyone else really capable of it. It also made her feel strangely jealous; she wanted something like that, a bond strong enough to transcend words.”

.....

“Blue liked how polite he was. It seemed different from Gansey’s politeness. When Gansey was polite, it made him powerful. When Adam was polite, he was giving power away.”

.....

“To offer the deck to Ronan, Blue had to stand, because he still stood near the doorway with Calla. They looked ready to box. 

When Blue fanned the cards, he scanned the women in the room and said, “I’m not taking one. Tell me something true first.”

“Beg your pardon?” Calla said stiffly, answering for Maura.

Ronan’s voice was glass, cold and brittle. “Everything you’ve told him could apply to anybody. Anybody with a pulse has doubts. Anybody alive has argued with their brother or their father. Tell me something no one else can tell me. Don’t toss a playing card at me and spoon feed me some Jungian bullshit. Tell me something specific.”

Blue’s eyes narrowed. Persephone stuck out her tongue slightly, a habit born of uncertainty, not impudence. Maura shifted with annoyance. “We don’t do specif-”

Calla interrupted. “A secret killed your father and you know what it was.”

The room went deadly silent. Both Persephone and Maura were staring at Calla. Gansey and Adam were staring at Ronan. Blue was staring at Calla’s hand”...

“Now, Calla pulled her hand away; she’d reached to touch Ronan’s tattoo right where it met his collar. His face was turned just slightly, looking to where her fingers had been.

There might have only been Ronan and Calla in the room. He was a head taller than her already, but he looked young beside her, like a lanky wildcat not yet up to weight. She was a lioness.

She hissed, “What are you?””

.....

“He cast a quick glance at Calla at this, obviously realizing that he was walking a fine line between “polite” and “Ronan.””

.....

“Gansey replied, coolly polite, “Oh that’s quite all right. How much for the reading?”

Standing, Maura said, “Oh, just twenty.”

Blue thought this was criminal. Gansey clearly had spent more than twenty dollars on the laces for his Top-Siders.

He frowned at Maura over his open wallet. There were a lot of bills in it. They could’ve been ones, but Blue doubted it. She could also see his driver’s license through a clear window; not closely enough to make out the details, but close enough to see that the name printed on it looked a lot longer than just Gansey. “Twenty?”

“Each,” Blue added.

Calla coughed into her fist.

Gansey’s face cleared and he handed Maura sixty dollars. Quite obviously this was more what he’d been expecting to pay, and now the world was right again.”

.....

““Look we’re all adults here,” he started,

Calla made a face as if she disagreed. 

Gansey squared his shoulders and continued, “So I think we deserve the truth. Tell me you know something but you don’t want to help me, if that’s what’s going on, but don’t lie to me.”

It was a brave thing to say, or an arrogant one, or maybe there was not enough of a difference between the two things to matter. Every head in the room swung to Maura.

She said, “I know something but I don’t want to help you.”

For the second time that day, Calla looked delighted.” 

[torydarixs]

I'm reading blue lily lily blue and my favourites until now is- eVERYTHING

- the gangsey laying on their backs staring up at cabeswater????? blue making blue lilies rain on them?????? you don't realize what these two phrases 'Gansey’s eyes opened as petals landed lightly on his cheeks. As his lips parted, ever-wondering, a petal landed directly on his mouth.' did to me. i can'T explain it

- ronan being forced to whistle or sing while they go into the cave to explore so they don't lose track of time?????? help and the way he just smirked and started with "sQUASH ONE SQUASH TWO—" i lovE HIM

- blue????? and gansey??? trying to be subtle but they're oH SO ANGSTY I CRI. the finger tips touching, the phone calls???????? ohmygOd

- the gray man. that's it. he's amazing he's like— like randall?? bryce's step father?? wow there must be something about hit men and sharpshooters who are unnecessarily kind. when he was teaching calla how to fight and said "i can show you how to unhinge my jaw!!" please i love this man

- gansey and adam's friendship. gansey and ronan's friendship.

- NOAH CZERNY FUCKING FLUFFBALL OF A GHOST I ADORE hiM SO MUCH I WOULD DIE FOR HIM AND NO I DON'T CARE THAT HE'S ALREADY DEAD. HE LOVES GLITTER I'M CRYINF. AND HE LOVES B L UE EE. AND WHEN HE SHOWED UP TO HER SCHOOL ON HER FIRST DAY AND BLATANTLY EAVESDROPPED AND COMMENTED WHILE SHE WAS WITH THE COUNCILLOR????? help. "RuDE" "you should see her shoEs. poiNTy" "i'd be wAY more suNSHiney if i was a counselor" yes my love of course no doubt you should be hired right away

in conclusion? i love them

maggie not giving us the full version of the squash song is a hate crime.

BLUE AND GANSEY AND THEIR FINGERTIPS AND "this was not allowed" AND "oh, jane" AND "you shouldn't, but i hope you do" AND THE GLANCES AND THE YEARNING AND OH MY GOD ANOTHER DAY GOING INSANE OVER THEM

i loVE the gray man like dude really just showed up and went "uh hey so i killed your friend's father but he was an asshole anyway and like blue your mom is pretty so yay?" and they all just went along with it i adORe him (also bryce's step father and gray man YES i fucking love parallels)

the gangsey's friendship, period. blue and her boys were all in love with each other and all that *wipes tears*

NOAH CZERNY I WOULD DIE FOR HIM HE'S SO ADORABLE HE'S LITERAL SUNSHINE HE'S SO SMOL AND BABY AND FLOOF AND CUTE AND JUST AKSJDHF I LOVE HIM HE'S MY HEART MY LOVE MY REASON FOR EXISTING

[gaybluesargent]

calla johnson is a lesbian and i would lay down my life for her

[astudyinfreewill]

hello. has the possibility that persephone was a visionary been discussed? i know some people think adam might be one, and i'm thinking about their last convo and persephone saying her and adam aren't like the others. also her death not really being explained (like, they think she was scrying for maura but they don't know, right?).

hi there! hmm i don’t think i’ve seen any discussion of that around but… frankly i don’t think it’s likely?

it seems like there’s a good possibility adam might become one, yes, simply because it’s a key element in the new trilogy and he already has a strong connection to a dreamer. but there are a few reasons why i don’t think persephone could have been one:

visionaries experience intense, vivid apocalyptic visions which are very hard to control: if that had been the case with persephone it would in all likelihood have been mentioned

visionaries are psychically locked in to dreamers and can pinpoint their locations: persephone did not have any particular connection to niall, ronan, or kavinsky

being a visionary is a short-term gig: it is implied that the visions get progressively more intense and hard to handle, potentially to the point of going insane or dying (parsifal is described as close to done and getting fragmented... not ominous at all); persephone lived a relatively long life and was of sound mind until the end

to me, persephone telling adam they’re not “like the others” simply refers to their particular brand of being psychic. every psychic in trc has a special talent or skill (maura sees the future in dreams and is good at interpreting, calla has psychometry, orla works best over the phone, neeve was good at numbers); persephone seems to have been the most talented one at seeing the future/scrying/astral projection, and being so tuned into her psychic abilities made her seem distant and aloof and a little more uncanny than the others; adam is always written as a parallel to persephone, so it stands to reason his talents would be similar. 

as for her death... i agree we didn’t get a full explanation of it, no, but i see no reason not to believe the on-page version - i.e. that she was looking for maura and scried too far away from her body, causing it to die. personally, i hope that her spirit is still in the ether and will make an appearance in the new trilogy, perhaps through adam’s own scrying, like a spiritual guide. he’s certainly gonna need the help.

[friendofcars]

I know a lot of people have pointed out that Maura, Calla, and Persephone serve as mirrors for/are counterparts of Gansey, Ronan, and Adam, but before she is Adam's mirror, if she is at all, Persephone is Noah's. As time loops, Noah has died, is dying, will die, and so will persephone- something of which I think they're both aware. they reflect each other's ghostly qualities. more on Adam later, though!

(in hindsight, part of this list reads like diagnostic criteria. unintentional on my part. take from that what you will. this is also really long. it gets more analytical towards the end.)

From a more meta (?) perspective, I think the purpose of Noah and Persephone being parallels to one another is to foreshadow Persephone’s death (in concert with her name) via parallel descriptions and narrative roles to noah: a lot of her descriptions and actions are ghost-like, not just generally, but Noah-like too!

1. appearance and impressions: light, vague, approximate, ephemeral - except for their dark eyes

“There was something out of place about his clothing, his mostly combed-back fair hair.”

“Persephone knelt on the edge of her bed, draping a crimped pale cloud of hair around Blue’s face.” (I think it's also worth mentioning here that the woman who dies in Opal is described as cloud-like).

“[O]ne was smudgy, just as he said, with a rumpled, faded look about his person, like his body had been laundered too many times.”

“He looked pale and insubstantial in the yellow, late-night light of the room behind him; the skin beneath his eyes was darker than anything. He looked less like Noah than the suggestion of Noah.”

“For a second, all that seemed to be visible was his pale face; his dark clothing invisible and his eyes chasms into someplace unknowable.”

“Noah’s chin ducked farther, his expression somehow black, his eye sockets hollowed and skull-like. Were they looking at a boy? Or something that looked like a boy?”

“He thought of what a cruel mockery that mirror-version of her had been, the terrible child-creature from his ritual before. Nothing like this airy whisper of a person in front of him now. ”

“When pressed, people often remembered Persephone’s hair: a long, wavy white-blond mane that fell to the back of her thighs. If they got past her hair, they sometimes recalled her dresses — elaborate, frothy creations or quizzical smocks. And if they made it past that, they were unsettled by her eyes, true mirror black, the pupils hidden in the darkness.”

“Persephone blinked up, her black eyes a little far away.”

“A mirage had appeared at the end of the exit ramp, only now that they looked a bit harder, it was a real person, behaving like an unreal person... Her hair was a blond frothy cloud and her skin was chalky. Except for her black eyes, everything about her was as pale as the psychic beside Maura was dark.”

“He was, Adam noted, nearly disappeared already. He was more the feeling of Noah than actually Noah.”

“He thought of what a cruel mockery that mirror-version of her had been, the terrible child-creature from his ritual before. Nothing like this airy whisper of a person in front of him now. ”

Even her tarot cards resemble Noah: "Spidery lines and smudgy backgrounds suggested the figures on each card..."

2. movement and body language

“Czerny was on the ground. Not dead, but dying. His legs still pedaled on the uneven surface beside his red car, making drifts of fallen leaves behind him.” Re: drifts- I associate both Noah and Persephone with air (especially as a symbol of dwindling life).

“Persephone was a poor but energetic sleeper; her midnight shouting and nocturnal leg paddling ensured that she never had to share a room.”

Like the tarot cards, Persephone's belongings look and act like Noah's dying body: “Most of the bed was covered by strange, embroidered leggings and plaid tights running in place...”

“Noah seemed about to put his hands in his pockets and then didn’t. Noah’s hands seemed to belong fewer places than other people’s.”

“She twirled a hand around in a vague sort of way. Blue took this as a sign to find a place to sit.”

“Behind her, Persephone stood in the doorway, her hands clasping and unclasping each other.”

“Noah made a series of incomprehensible gestures, more agitated than she’d seen him.”

“ Noah immediately spotted Gansey and made a generalized flapping gesture.”

“Persephone flapped a hand as if it was too difficult for her to explain.”

“When he straightened, he realized Noah had drifted from his room to stand near Gansey.”

“Persephone tended to get caught in odd drafts and blow around.”

“Behind them, the stairs creaked, and both Calla and Blue leapt...She’d gotten over her shock and was now merely angry at being shocked. “You should make some noise when you enter rooms.”

“Noah. You’re creepy as hell back there.” In the deep, shadowed entrance of the church, Noah stood silently.”

“Because it was rare that Blue noticed the moment Noah actually appeared.”

“Persephone, and the furniture lurked against the walls.”

Both Noah and Persephone often seem childlike in comparison to their friends, too, emphasized by their preternatural knowledge of the story (Noah's through nonlinear time experience, Persephone's through psychic ability).

3. quiet and distant voices

“Persephone’s tiny, breathy voice said, “It’s available. I mean, open.”

“Her dainty, child’s voice was soft enough that Blue had to hold her breath to hear it. ”

“Oh dear,” Persephone said in a small voice — and Persephone’s voice was already quite small, so her small voice was indeed tiny — but she turned and went up the stairs. Her bare feet were soundless as she did.”

“One at a time?” Persephone suggested, her voice nearly inaudible.”

“Noah’s voice, cool and barely there, whispered in her ear. “Please say something to them.” ...Noah’s voice was faint but desperate. His distress hummed through her. “Please.”

“He thought he heard Noah’s voice, distantly... “I’m sorry. Can you say it louder, Noah?”

“Noah, who could go unnoticed for hours, whose room was pristine, whose voice was never raised.”

“Persephone’s quiet voice cut through Maura’s and Calla’s increasingly loud competition.”

“Noah, who could go unnoticed for hours, whose room was pristine, whose voice was never raised.”

“Persephone finally spoke up in her tiny voice.”

“Now,” Persephone said, and her voice was very small and soft. “Are you the Magician? Or aren’t you?”

“She sighed deeply. She sighed a lot.”

“Even though Ronan was snarling and Noah was sighing and Adam was hesitating, he didn’t turn to verify that they were coming.”

4. obscurity/evasion of others' memories

“-it was always difficult to know details when it came to Persephone-”

“Adam,” he demanded, “what is Noah’s last name?” Before Gansey had asked, Adam felt as if he must have known. But now the answer slid away from his mouth and then from his thoughts entirely, leaving his lips parted. It was like losing his way to class, losing his way home, forgetting the phone number for Monmouth Manufacturing. “I don’t know,” Adam admitted.”

“Everyone had been surprised to discover Persephone had a last name.”

“Maura offered, “It’s the Russian in you.” “Estonian,” Persephone replied.”

and soon after,

“Maura gestured toward the third member of their group. “And Persephone is Russian.” “Estonian,” Persephone corrected softly.”

The fact that only a handful of characters can see Noah also applies here. A lot of the examples in the appearance section also fall under this category!

5. recycled language: from other people and other points in time

“Good morning,” Persephone echoed. “It’s too early. My words aren’t working, so I’ll just use as many of the ones that work for you as possible.”

“No,” Adam said softly. Persephone echoed, “No?”

“He’ll be a champ,” Blue said, punching Noah’s arm lightly. “I’ll be a champ,” repeated Noah.”

“Is that all?” she whispered. Gansey closed his eyes. “That’s all there is.”

and then,

“Noah, standing next to a pile of plywood and four-by-fours, asked, “Is that all? That doesn’t seem like very much.”

and a three part example:

“Ronan was right. Things felt bigger. He may not have found the line, or the heart of the line, but something was happening, something was starting. Noah said, “Don’t throw it away.” This is right after Ronan kills the wasp in Monmouth and deposits it in the waste basket, but Noah is, of course, referring to Gansey's second chance at life, for which Noah has sacrificed himself.

and

“Don’t throw it away,” Noah whispered. “I’m trying not to,” Adam replied.” This is right before Adam takes the Camaro to Cabeswater to stop Whelk. Noah is now referring to Adam's chance to make a sacrifice to Cabeswater and wake the line, to supplant himself in the story where Noah left off. This is perhaps the point at which Adam definitively sets along the path that leads him to Persephone, but first, before he goes, he mirrors Noah one last time: “Noah stood directly in front of him, hollow eyes on level with Adam’s eyes, smashed cheek on level with Adam’s ruined ear, breathless mouth inches from Adam’s sucked-in breath.” The parallel injuries, the opposing presence/absence of air (read: life)- it's a turning point! It's almost as if Noah starts to cede his mirroring of Persephone to Adam in this moment- he doesn't lose the qualities he and Persephone have in common, but they become secondary as Persephone's primary role in the story crystalizes as a mentor to Adam. I think you could also consider Persephone not as a mirror to Adam but a lens- microscopic, telescopic, or both. She's instrumental in his psychic awakening and self healing and does so by teaching him to shift his perspective, to look both within himself and far beyond himself, finding the connections in between. I still think Adam and Persephone mirror one another, especially with regard to their generally quiet and distant demeanors and psychic abilities that distinguish them from their friends, but it's a parallel that gets crafted mid-story, not a parallel that frames the story from the start- even if Adam is inherently psychic independent of his sacrifice, which I think he is!

and finally,

“Goodbye,” Noah said. “Don’t throw it away.” I don't think this needs any further commentary:(

6. relationships with friends: noah + gansey and persephone + maura

Gansey and Maura can also be considered mirrors of one another; given Gansey's experiences with falling into cavern pits, the Henry hole in the ground situation, etc., we can tenuously equate Gansey's (second) death with Maura's disappearance into the caves. Noah knows that Gansey is fated to die through his nonlinear experience of time (time along the ley line in particular, I believe). Persephone is implied to have known Maura was going to disappear too: when the characters return to Fox Way in the epilogue of The Dream Thieves and find Maura's note, we read: “As Persephone climbed the stairs, Calla said accusingly, “This is your fault. Did you know this was going to happen?” Noah is also aware that he cannot stay in the story forever ("I'm almost gone anyway"), and it seems to me that Persephone knows she will die too (mainly because her giving her tarot cards to Adam seems like a precautionary measure/a parting gift). I'd even go as far as saying that Noah dies for Gansey and Persephone dies for Maura, although they "die for" their respective friends in different ways (Noah designates his death as a sacrifice for Gansey's life; Persephone dies in the process of trying to save Maura's- but unlike Noah's death, her death is not integral to Maura's survival. Two distinct actions and outcomes, but not entirely unrelated ones. I'd argue they both make the biggest sacrifices for Gansey/Maura in their respective groups of friends.).

And because I can't not make this about Adam again, Persephone herself doesn't see Adam as like her: in the prologue of Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Persephone comments on how new to life he seems (in contrast with her agelessness), how she isn't suited to bargains like he is, and especially this:

“She was a far better psychic when she had her two friends Calla and Maura with her: Calla to sort through her impressions and Maura to put them in context. Adam seemed to have potential in this department, though he was too new to replace Maura— no, that was a ridiculous way to put it, Persephone told herself, you don’t replace friends. She struggled to think of the proper word. Not replace.”

Like the Gray Man (see "Adam Parrish and his band of merry men" which sort of happens in a contrived way in TD3 w/ the Crying Club being rather unmerry men), Persephone recognizes Adam as a leader of the kids' quest, much like Maura's leadership amongst the psychics of Fox Way.

7. other notes

I think it's worth mentioning that Noah doesn't enter 300 Fox Way until after Persephone's death. I haven't reasoned out why exactly, but I think it's intentional.

They're both harmed by literal mirrors (not narrative foils nor the Blue/Gwenllian type of mirror)- when Gwenllian possesses Noah, Jesse Dittley halts the possession by putting a mirror in front of Noah, which makes him incredibly distressed. Persephone, of course, dies between the mirrors in perpetuum in the Fox Way attic.

In the epilogue of The Dream Thieves, Persephone and Adam flank Noah as Ronan brings Aurora into Cabeswater: “And there was Noah, shoulders slumped, hand lifted in an apologetic wave. On one side of him, Adam stood, hands in pockets, and on the other side was Persephone, her fingers twisted together.” In the same section, Ronan realizes Aurora looks like Matthew, which to me serves as an implicit reminder to consider how Noah and Adam are similar to Persephone as well.

I don't really have any summative thoughts on this, but I think it would have been incredibly cool if Persephone turned out to be a ghost as well... but alas...

[ao3feed-pynch]

by Seek_The_Mist

In every story worth telling, a hero would rise to the challenge of monsters and win the battle to save the world. No one had ever bothered to tell Ronan about the fate of a hero in a world that had overcome the edge of disaster. The Pacific Rim has been closed for more than three months, in the most impressive feat of the Jaegers and the Pan Pacific Defence Corps, when Ronan Lynch comes back alone from a surprise attack to the Greywaren. The world has been saved from the apocalypse but greed towards formidable weapons is quick to return. The Shatterdome will have to brace for the impact and find a way to counter the threat even before fully understanding it. A story of shattered people, scarred families and found families. A story about what you stand for, when destruction comes from the shadows. Beyond saving the world, this is a story about finding your place in it. Written for The Raven Cycle Big Bang 2019

Words: 13141, Chapters: 2/7, Language: English

Fandoms: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, Richard Gansey III, Henry Cheng, Blue Sargent, Helen Gansey, Declan Lynch, Maura Sargent, Calla Lily Johnson, Richard Gansey II, Mrs. Gansey (Raven Cycle), Niall Lynch

Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish, Henry Cheng/Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Warfare & Post-warfare setting, Canonical Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Blood and Violence, Sabotage, Worldbuilding, Drift Compatibility, Getting Together, Explicit Sexual Content, Canon parallels in AU setting, Jaeger Pilots, Epic Battles, Wordcount: Over 100.000