#the raven and the goldfinch

[elainiisms]

god i love it when gay people are in evil toxic codependent love with each other

[droptheguillotineplease]

Raven Cycle commission from a while back

[nope-nora]

Richard Siken, “You Are Jeff” | Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch | R.F. Kuang, Babel: An Arcane History | Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story | Benjamin Alire Saénz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | Maggie Stievater, Call Down the Hawk | Olivie Blake, The Atlas Paradox

[tigtree]

me when the book’s titular motif is a raven

[satan-wishes-he-was-me]

on loving your friends more than you’re allowed too

flaming hot cheetos/clario//dead poets society//the goldfinch/donna tartt//?//nona the ninth/tamsyn muir//the raven king/maggie stiefvater//heartstopper vol 1/alice oseman//bad habit/steve lacy

[northlt03]

need 2 make friendz here pls pls

i love how many people like my art or my silly thoughts but i would love 2 be known <3

So I'm 18 and queer!!

Stuff im interested in:

Percy Jackson (Greek Mythology in general)

Really passionate about Epic the musical rn

The marauders (im so normal abt them i swear)

recently read AFTG and I AM OBSESSED

Currently reading the raven cycle I LOVE THEM SM

I love Louis Tomlinson!!!! and Hozier!!! And Taylor swift!!! and 1D!! And Harry Styles!!!

I love reading and talking about books

And I love love love art (got really passionate about it bc of ahb)

[twilightroses]

hot girl reads or whatever

[birdhism]

H A V E Y O U ?

[thepeculiarbird]

Last time I did a poll on who's the best gay ship/canon couple in your opinion and a lot of people were upset because their favorite wasn't on the list so here I'm making it again but with new options :)

I planned to buy The raven cycle , carry on and six of crows btw .

[crimson-spine]

It's been too long since I wanted to do a fanart of Auren, from the Plated Prisoner book series by Raven Kennedy The first time I drew her was a commission and I hadn't read Gild yet, so glad I picked it up 💛

[crushpdf]

Ronan & Gansey & Theo & Boris: save me from myself

[ donna tartt / the 1975 / the antlers / donna tartt / uncredited / richard siken / maggie stiefvater / fiona apple / donna tartt / john crowley / halsey / lorde / of monsters and men / maggie stiefvater / christian colomer / donna tartt / (uncredited, possibly eileen myles) / maggie stiefvater / @dodiesemineur ]

[rhysknees]

What to Read Next

[cryinglookingatsoulages]

people who create character playlists on spotify. i owe you my life.

[chyyy66]

IM MEETING RAVEN KENNEDY IN THE NEXT 4 HOURS !!!!!!! IM SO SO EXCITED

[tigtree]

hello!!! *offers you this fic i’m writing in exchange for your trc goldfinch au please* (whenever you have the time <3)

- @you-know-i-get-itt

hello!! yes!! i’m so sorry this has taken me so long, life’s been a bitch LMAO 😭 and THANK YOU FOR THE FIC!!!!! i just read it and you have such an incredible writing style, i always devour your fics! if you ever end up writing more for it, please lmk!!

okay, buckle your seatbelt because this AU is so scuffed and still remains unfinished (though i’ve been working on bits and pieces over the last couple of weeks) so i’m not sure how much sense this is about to make? apologies in advance LMAO

okay, so the snippet shared beneath read more is from the very beginning of the story… or the end, depending on how you view it. either way, it’s the beginning of the fic i’m working (slowly) on for this AU.

an important note about this AU is that the concept of dreamers/dreams is completely thrown out, because i was struggling to make it fit, and so instead of the Barns being full of fantastical wonders, it’s art. (which i’d argue is a fantastical wonder anyway, but like. not magical in a fantasy sense)

There’s an underground secret market for artists here, and Niall happens to be a pretty prominent figure. The Barns are full of sculptures and paintings and all kinds of artwork, though many of these fellow artists aren’t happy with Niall- he gets himself into some trouble over stealing art and reselling for a whole lot more money than it should have been. He does all of this under a pseudonym, manages to keep his dirty work anonymous, until they figure him out.

One thing leads to another, and Niall Lynch is found dead in the driveway by his middle son.

Aurora has been sick for a while, and the stress of her husband’s death contributes to the rapid decline of her health, meaning Declan has to step in to care for his brothers while their mother is in hospital. Declan had been helping his father for years with the scam- though he’d been morally against it in many ways- and knows that ‘the bad people’ will be back to claim all of the artwork from the house. He therefore packs it all away, and sets it on the drive with a note begging them to just take it, and please leave his family out of this.

Ronan views Declan’s hurry to get rid of their Dad’s stuff as an attack, a dismissal of not just his grief but of their father’s life. He secretly takes a painting from one of the bags- The Goldfinch- and stashes it behind his bookshelf.

I’m really aware that I’ve typed so much so I’ll be brief with the rest Aurora dies, and the freaking art mafia people realise there’s a painting missing- The Goldfinch- and Declan decides they’re moving to DC to get away. Ronan refuses, and ends up staying with Gansey for a while. Through Gansey he meets Blue, Adam and Noah, and things feel okay- until he returns briefly to the Barns and finds a letter containing both Gansey’s address, and Declan and Matthew’s address. He panics, makes his way to DC, confides in Declan about it, finds out they’ve been having ominous happenings relating to the art. Declan decides they’re selling the Barns and townhouse to move further, Ronan isn’t happy with this. More stuff happens, he ends up trading the painting with the agreement that Declan and Matthew will not be bothered again.

While all of this is happening, Ronan and Gansey lowkey have something homoerotic going on, and Ronan is tits-over-toes in love with Adam.

i’ll shut up now, but the gist of it is that The Goldfinch is a sort of physical manifestation of Ronan’s grief- he’s unable to let go of his father, of the past, but eventually has built himself enough of a support system to finally let go of his father and properly grieve. there’s also a focus placed on the small choices that build up, over time, into something more- the Butterfly Effect, and all that.

——————

It’s cold, this time of year.

Ronan’s hands shake as he fumbles through the junk drawer, his fingers numbly brushing over various wires, receipts and plastic soldiers as he hunts for a lighter. He knows there will be one in here- the centerpiece candle on the dining table was lit on what must have amounted to hundreds of occasions over the years. Aurora would send one of the children to this drawer to dig out the Zippo lighter they kept handy for Sunday dinners and Easter lunches, and would allow the chosen child- for she kept the names on a rota- to light the candle.

The lightbulb in the kitchen has stubbornly refused to emit any light tonight, and so Ronan’s not sure what he catches his hand on. He retracts it from the drawer with a hissed Fuck, presses the cut to his mouth and unceremoniously kicks the counter. His entire soul feels disregulated, like it’s jittering around within the confines of his skin, pushing and pulling and desperately attempting to claw its way out.

It’s like the painting had been fused to his very existence, and- with it gone- he’s missing a vital organ.

He braves the drawer again, this time proving successful as his fingers tighten around the cold metal casing. The weight is familiar in his palm as he hurries back to the sitting room, dropping to his knees in front of the wood burner and flipping open the silver cap. When he reaches through the door, twisting his arm until he can catch the kindling with the flame, he catches a glimpse of his reflection on the dark glass.

He can’t quite believe it’s himself. He’s grown since he was last in this spot, learning to light the fire with his father at his side, and something inside of him lurches at the bags under his eyes and the hard lines of his face.

He breathes.

Pulls his hand from the catching flames.

Shuts the metal door.

Doesn’t think about punching the glass hard enough that it’ll shatter, take his mind off of the painting, send his brothers calling, let them all live under this one roof again and pretend nothing bad has ever happened to them. Let them pretend they’re kids, watching over one another while holding down the fort until their parents return from another business trip.

He doesn’t think about the painting.

Which is to say that he definitely does think about the painting.

It’s a parasite- or maybe Ronan is the parasite. Hungry. Unable to survive outside of its host, feeding off of the thrill and the regret and the addictive nausea that overwhelmed him whenever he pulled back the plastic wrapping and caught even the briefest glimpse of canvas.

The little bird had taunted him. Begged him to set it free. Unchain it from its perch and let it go.

Ronan’s phone buzzes somewhere behind him, but he doesn’t move. Doesn’t pull his eyes away from the flames.

It’s probably Gansey. Insomniac Gansey, unaware that Ronan has just ripped his heart from his chest and sold it for his brothers. Gansey, looking for someplace to ramble about kings or someone to hang out with or someone to tell him that he’s alive. Ronan had never understood Gansey’s occasional panic over whether he’s really here or not- if a person is capable of worrying that they might he dead, they probably aren’t.

Ronan kind of gets it now.

Still, he ignores the phone. He lets the heat settle on his face, draw out the dead chill from his bones, and thinks about what he’ll do tomorrow.

[4amethyst]

Rereading gold, not me crying on the second chapter

“Don’t fall. Fly.

He’s grounding me, even when I have nothing beneath me but air”