#thinking about rereading tdt

[aglionbyacademia]

“Ronan hadn’t known anything about who Adam was then and, if possible, he’d known even less about who he himself was, but as they drove away from the boy with the bicycle, this was how it had begun: Ronan leaning back against his seat and closing his eyes and sending up a simple, inexplicable, desperate prayer to God: Please.”

I’m going to be sick

[of-stars-and-moon]

Happy birthday Adam Parrish <3

[cabeswaterdrowned]

There’s a meta I want to write about the commagate breakup non breakup and how I think backtracking made such perfect sense for Adam as an extension of his attachment styles and just generally him in relationships literally since TRB and how there is so much about that choice that would be extremely interesting to explore and even I think could function so well as a climactic point to his identity crisis and force him to face some fundamental disconnects between his self perception and self that have always been there, but the maddening thing is that it’s framed narratively as a positive rather than Adam falling back into negative coping mechanisms. But I haven’t found a great way to articulate it all yet beyond steam coming out of my ears about it.

[thursdayg1rl]

you can click on the Noah czerny/blue sargent tag on a*3. but watch Out

[squash1]

THREES THREES THREES:

Oh hello. I want to talk about the stylistic/textual role of Threes in The Raven Cycle.

Threes – as a general concept and as a number – are a major symbol and motif in the series. Maggie tells us that threes are important from the very first book: from Maura’s favorite saying being “good things come in threes” to Persephone telling Adam that “things are always growing to three or shrinking to three,” threes are discussed at length in the text of the narrative. Maggie also shows us that threes are important as a motif/symbol for important aspects of the story: three Raven Boys, three Fox Way women, three Lynch brothers, three main ley lines, three sleepers, etc. Threes are, textually, incredibly significant in The Raven Cycle, and we know this because we are shown AND told it throughout the entirety of the books. 

We all know the significance that is given to threes in the story itself, but what I want to talk about is the usage of a thrice-repeated word or short phrase (going forward I’m referring to this as “Threes” or “a Three”) as one of Maggie’s writing signatures (across the series, there are 65 Threes). This creates a meta level to threes being an important aspect of The Raven Cycle universe. A classic example of a Three (one of my favorites, in fact) is from The Dream Thieves: 

“As they walked, a sudden rush of wind hurled low across the grass, bringing with it the scent of moving water and rocks hidden in the shadows, and Blue thrilled again and again with the knowledge that magic was real, magic was real, magic was real.” (TDT, 12)

In a way, the Threes join the intradiegetic (what is happening within the narrative itself) with the extradiegetic (what the narration is communicating solely to the reader). The reader and characters are told explicitly that the number three is significant, important, notable, and powerful. In using Threes as a writing signature after giving the reader that information, the Threes are designed to signal to the reader that this line, this moment, is important.    

So the question is: What Are The Threes Trying to Tell the Reader??? 

Amazing question. 

In my recent TRC reread, I was already keeping track of Threes, because I was curious to see how many times they appeared. And then my sister, who was also rereading, said something interesting (after reading this Three from The Raven Boys):  

“He was full of so many wants, too many to prioritize, and so they all felt desperate. To not have to work so many hours, to get into a good college, to look right in a tie, to not still be hungry after eating the thin sandwich he’d brought to work, to drive the shiny Audi that Gansey had stopped to look at with him once after school, to go home, to have hit his father himself, to own an apartment with granite countertops and a television bigger than Gansey’s desk, to belong somewhere, to go home, to go home, to go home.” (TRB, 370)

My sister said: “Adam’s like Dorothy.” And then she said: “Wait. Do you think the Threes are like a spell? Or… a wish?”

Which was……. Interesting. 

What I have determined, after completing my reread and spending way too much time analyzing this, is that a Three is either a wish, a hope, a longing, a prayer ��� or, alternately, a warning, a curse, a negative promise. 

In either sense, Threes are a foreshadowing of what is to come – whether it be good or bad. Threes exist to signal to the reader that they should be paying close attention to whatever is being said or observed.

Threes in….. Everything Else: 

Before we get too far into TRC Threes, let’s talk about the precedent for three being an important number in art, math, storytelling, etc. I found some interesting information about how three is a satisfying number for the brain: 

Grouping things in threes leverages the power of repetition to aid memory; denote emotional intensity or importance; and ease persuasion (research by Shu & Carlson (2014) found that three positive claims is the most effective for persuasion).

Three is the smallest number that the brain can still recognize as a pattern, and the brain loves pattern and repetition. This is true in visual art – having three main compositional figures to create a pleasing image – and also in storytelling and narrative. Using threes for repetition in storytelling is a very common occurrence. 

Some classic examples of repetitive threes are Shakespeare’s “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” or Lincoln's “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” In each of these examples, a repetition of three is used to create pleasing auditory rhythm. There is something inherently memorable about literary Threes. 

Perhaps the most interesting information I found while digging into the precedent for threes is about the rule of threes in folktales. This information happens to come from Wikipedia (side note: Wikipedia is a modern tool of collective consciousness and we should utilize it more). This page describes how in its most basic form, the rule of threes in storytelling is just beginning, middle, and end. Because this is such a common convention, writers tend to “create triplets or structures in three parts.” It then talks more directly about the use of threes in folktales: 

“Vladimir Propp in his Morphology of the Folk Tale, concluded that any of the elements in a folktale could be negated twice so that it would repeat thrice.”

This is especially interesting to me. The idea that an element of a folktale “could be negated twice so that it would repeat thrice” shows up prominently in the plot of The Raven Cycle – a book that is heavily influenced by folktale motifs – but also in so many of the folktales/fairytales we all know. A classic example of this would be Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Goldilocks must try porridge that is too hot, too cold, and then, finally, just right. The journey of these three actions is satisfying to the brain because it is a complete pattern: the third and final result of “just right” porridge is only satisfying because of the two “not right” porridges that preceded it. 

Getting back to Stiefvater Threes:

For anyone who’s seen The West Wing (and even those who haven’t), here’s a good way to explain what I think the Threes are doing. You know that thing they do during a The West Wing “walk and talk” where two characters will be throwing information and little quips back and forth at each other rapid-fire, and then suddenly, they will both stop walking, and the camera will stop moving, and they’ll say a line that contains really important information that you need to know to understand the storyline of that episode? That’s what Maggie’s Threes are doing for the reader. That’s what 6:21 is doing for the characters. It’s intentional: the writers/directors/actors/camera operators on The West Wing know that they’re throwing a lot of information at you, and know that they need to get you to pay attention to the most important parts somehow, so they do it by forcing the viewer to lean in and listen. It changes the focus and energy of the scene from something with momentum to something that pauses, and therefore makes you pause. 

The Threes compel the reader to pause and consider the information being delivered as more important than they might consider it if it was not written as a Three. “Maura’s expression was dark” does not read the same as “Maura’s expression was dark, dark, dark.” And in a text where characters directly state the magical importance of threes, compounded by three as an overarching motif, there is clear intention and meaning behind these written Threes.

In the context of TRC, Threes act as a fourth-wall break.

They are essentially a way to poke the reader and say: “Are you paying attention? Because you should be.” 

These Threes use a symbolic motif – the rule of three – that is already heavily discussed in the text – to get the reader to pick up on the internal motivations of the character who is “wishing” their Three or the narration which is using a Three to foreshadow some important aspect of the plot. 

The Threes are like the literary equivalent of a record scratch. It stops you in your tracks, breaking the established rhythm and making you take notice of what is being said in a new way. 

Let’s Look at Some More Threes (but just a few don’t worry)!

1. We get a classic Three, and a very Gansey Three, right after the group comes out of Cabeswater: 

“‘What about that thing in the tree?’ Blue asked. ‘Was that a hallucination? A dream?’ 

Glendower. It was Glendower. Glendower. Glendower” (TRB, 231).

Finding Glendower is one of Gansey’s core wishes, one of his core longings. Although this line is a literal answer to Blue’s question – he saw Glendower in the tree – in making it a Three, Maggie has given it added weight and meaning. It is prayer-like in its intention. It is almost an incantation: by saying it in Three, Gansey wishes it into being.

2. In The Raven Boys, after Gansey has bribed Pinter to keep Ronan at Aglionby and has learned that Noah has been dead the whole time they’ve known him, we are given this Three: 

“The Pig exploded off the line. Damn Ronan. Gansey punched his way through the gears, fast, fast, fast” (TRB, 311). 

This moment foreshadows what directly follows: a distinct lack of fast as the Camaro breaks down and Gansey is held at gunpoint by Whelk. This Three is not a prayer, but a warning, and an indicator to the reader that something important is about to happen. Had Gansey not been trying to go so “fast fast fast,” the car might not have broken down; because the Three incanted it, disaster follows. 

3. To return to a Three I have already mentioned, but follows the typical Three structure: 

“...to go home, to go home, to go home” (TRB, 370). 

In this scene, Adam’s wish is less about actually wanting to return to his literal home, because his house was never really a home for him. Adam’s wish/longing is for a home that he could return to, that he would want to return to. He is longing for a place/feeling/experience that does not exist for him. The Three in this sentence comes after a string of active wishes/longings, and by ending with this Three, it casts a spell of sorts, honing in on the truest underlying wish that Adam has. In using the phrase “to go home” three times, the narrative is making sure you, the reader, know that this want, this need, this wish, is the most Important to Adam, and will drive his actions for the rest of his story. 

Most of the Threes feel like this. They are often tacked on at the end of a sentence or embedded in a sentence. They’re an addendum to the action of the story. They’re like casting a spell – once to manifest, twice to charge, three to cast. 

…..And Some Other Types of Threes:

Then there are the Threes that don't follow the typical pattern of the same word repeated three times one right after the other, but are still a Three in a different way.

There are short phrases/sentences that are repeated three times throughout a page or chapter. In the prologue of The Raven King, we get this: 

“He was a king…

He was a king…

He was a king.

This was the year he was going to die.” (TRK, 1-3)

In this case, the Three acts as a promise of Gansey’s kinghood, but in ending the sequence with “this was the year he was going to die,” the promise of the three is given a condition: it is not going to be a joyful kinghood, but instead a kinghood intertwined with the death we’ve known is fated for Gansey.

One of Adam’s Threes from Blue Lily, Lily Blue, uniquely breaks the mold of Threes in a format that does not appear anywhere else in the four books: 

“It was his father. 

He opened the door. 

It was his father. 

He opened the door. 

It was his father” (BLLB, 242).

❋ (We’ll talk about this one more in-depth later.)

There are also a few “unfinished” Threes: 

In The Raven King when Ronan is having a nightmare (infected by the demon) about Matthew and the mask, he has this Three: 

“Ronan’s throat was raw. I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything! I’ll do anythi 

It was unmaking everything Ronan loved. 

Please” (TRK, 96). 

With the uncompleted Three, there is an uncast wish. Ronan’s wish is about Matthew, yes of course, but also about being willing to do anything to keep those he loves (ie. Adam, Gansey, Blue, his brothers) out of the reach of the “unmaking.” This unfinished Three serves to foreshadow the harm that does ultimately befall first Adam and then Gansey as a result of the unmaking of Cabeswater by the demon: without the Three spell completed, his wish is not fulfilled.

*This is Not all the uncommon/mold-breaking Threes, just a few that are interesting!

Do All Threes Come to Fruition???

The short answer is: No. Or at least not in that way. 

Once again looking at the text of The Raven Cycle, we are given an answer of sorts. In discussing Gansey’s predicted death, Maura says:

“First of all, the corpse road is a promise, not a guarantee” (TRB, 155).

This seems to apply to Threes as well. Threes are not a guarantee. They are a promise. Not all Threes come to fruition the way one might expect – or at all, for that matter. The important part of Threes is not that they will definitely come true, it’s that they could come true, because the Three gives them the potential to come true. 

Structure, Structure, Structure:

The main Threes structures are:

Three of the same word separated by commas: 

“magic, magic, magic” (TRK, 59).

A short phrase/sentence separated by periods:

“My father. My father. My father” (TDT, 369).

A short sentence that is repeated three times throughout a page/paragraph:

“Gansey did not breathe…

Gansey did not breathe…

Gansey did not breathe” (TRK, 209).

A word that is repeated three times and is connected by “and”:

“Round and round and round!” (BLLB, 224)

Italics vs. Non Italics:

Italics in The Raven Cycle are often used for character’s inner thoughts/anxieties. This continues to be true in the context of Threes. A Three that is not written in italics indicates a promise, or some foreshadowing of a plot point being foretold through the Three – it is typically more “real” – whereas a Three that is written in Italics seems to indicate a wish/hope/longing that is unattainable in some way. Italics almost always indicate a Three that may never come to fruition, or at least not in the way the character hopes it will. 

An example of this distinction can be found in chapter three (hah) (I don’t believe in coincidences and neither does Gansey) of The Raven King: 

First we are met with Ronan wishing/hoping to return home:

“That morning, Ronan Lynch had woken early, without any alarm, thinking home, home, home” (TRK, 24). 

This home, home, home, is in reference to the idea of home rather than the reality. Ronan is wishing to return to a home that does exist physically, but is not the same as in his memory – he wants to be at the Barns as it was in his childhood. 

Then, in the very same chapter, Ronan actually returns home and we are given this Three: 

“Slowly his memories of before — everything this place had been to him when it had held the entire Lynch family — were being overlapped with memories and hopes of after — every minute that the Barns had been his, all of the time he’d spent here alone or with Adam, dreaming and scheming. 

Home, home, home” (TRK, 27).

This second home, home, home, is about the actual reality of being in his childhood home – the good and bad that has existed in the years since the childhood he longs for. 

The Addition of AND:

The most notable use of “and” is in Noah’s very last chapter:

“Sometimes he got caught in this moment instead. Gansey’s death. Watching Gansey die, again and again and again” (TRK, 416).

When “and” is added into a Three, it becomes circular, cyclical. The “and” gives the Three a sense of infinity, or creates a loop of sorts. 

This Three operates in the same way “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” does in Macbeth – it is meant to convey the endlessness of time, a relentless cycle of tomorrows.

❋ While there are not many of these Threes with “ands” in The Raven Cycle, there are other examples of Threes or Three-like occurrences that fulfill the same purpose as the “and.” For example, remember this Three:

“It was his father. 

He opened the door. 

It was his father. 

He opened the door. 

It was his father.” (BLLB, 242).

In this case, instead of the word “and,” the Three (It was his father) is connected by “he opened the door.” This Three is accomplishing the same feeling as “again and again and again” – the feeling of being caught in an endless loop. 

Another example of an (implied) “and” in The Raven Cycle is: Gansey’s life. Gansey starts out alive and then dies as a child only to be reborn, and then killed again through his sacrifice, and then reborn for a final time. Gansey is Alive, Dead, Alive, Dead, Alive. And so Gansey’s life is a cycle of Three.

As with the Threes that contain “and,” Gansey starts where he ends: alive. 

Other Ways Threes Show up in The Raven Cycle:   

I will state the obvious once again: there are three Raven Boys, three Lynch brothers, three Fox Way women, three sleepers, three main ley lines (the lines that “seem to matter” to Glendower’s story), Gansey the Third (Gansey Three, Dick Three). 

There are also the more obscure: the “three kinds of secrets” in The Dream Thieves prologue and epilogue; each Lynch brother inheriting three million dollars from Niall Lynch; the three figures with Blue’s face on the tapestry and later as a vision in Cabeswater; Adam and Gansey going to DC for three days; the shield pulled from the lake having three ravens embossed onto it; Ronan having dreamt Matthew at the age of three; the door to the Demon’s room needing “three to open” it; Aurora Lynch staying awake for three days after Niall died. 

And of course, we have the ley line symbol/chapter header:

And then there are the 300 (three hundred!) Fox Way “villain” readings. (This was something that was particularly interesting to me.)

The first antagonist we meet is Whelk. When he comes for a reading at 300 Fox Way, he first pulls the Three of Swords. 

When the women all draw cards together, they pull identical cards for Whelk: three of the Knight of Pentacles, then three of the Page of Cups. After drawing, essentially, three threes (the Three of Swords, then two sets of three matching cards) in this reading, the first Three of the entire series appears: 

“Maura’s expression was dark, dark, dark” (TRB, 124). 

The second “antagonist” we meet is the Gray Man, who comes to 300 Fox Way in The Dream Thieves to “observe.” Maura, Calla, and Persephone are predicting which card is on the top and bottom of the stack and the first card, predicted by Calla, is the Three of Cups off the top of the deck that Mr. Gray is holding (a remarkably happy card in stark contrast to Whelk’s Three of Swords). 

When the third antagonist, Greenmantle, comes for his 300 Fox Way Reading he also draws the Three of Swords. The fact that each of the three antagonists come for a reading is in itself a sort of Three, but to further the importance of these moments, each of them draws some sort of three-related card. 

All of the examples I have touched on have been more symbolic references to Three as a motif of the books as a whole. However, Threes also show up in the literal number of times important quotes are said/written. 

I was tracking some of the most well-loved TRC lines to compile them, and noticed that the lines “don’t throw it away” and “safe as life” happen to appear exactly three times throughout the series. This was honestly pretty surprising based on the importance of those quotes – I would have assumed they showed up far more. Actually, they both appear twice in The Raven Boys and once in The Raven King. Threes, and the importance of Threes, is embedded so strongly into the narrative of The Raven Cycle that even the quotes we all think of as the most beloved of the series follow this rule of Threes. 

Now, could you chalk some of these up to coincidence? I guess. But Gansey doesn’t believe in coincidences so I don’t either. So what’s the point of all these Threes?

Conclusion???

In a literal, literary way, Threes are a fourth wall break to make the importance of a moment obvious, but I’m not sure what the larger “point” of Threes is. My best analysis comes from the idea of The Raven Cycle being all about time and Threes playing into the importance of time as a sort of record scratch or loop. The Threes, as a stylistic, written motif, seem to connect the time-based cycle the characters experience to the time-based cycles the reader experiences by reading the books. 

But my conclusion feels incomplete and so I would like to rely on the collective for this one – just about the most Raven Cycle thing you can do. So I’m asking you, the collective you, what conclusion would you draw? What do you think? 

What I do know for sure is that Threes are magic, magic, magic.

For Your Convenience: Here is the textual significance given to threes within the books (chronologically): 

And here are the Threes, Threes, Threes (compiled):

(If you made it to the end of all this, I love you. Have a gold star and a hug <3)

[wander-wren]

wrt to the “adam shouldve been a visionary” dreamer trilogy/greywaren post i’ve seen a few times (possibly reblogged?)….well, maybe, but also no.

it’s not that i don’t have my own gripes with tdt (namely, yes, not enough adam), but i just…i can’t get behind visionary adam. not canon visionary, anyway.

like. you’re telling me ronan “the choice was death or hurting adam, which wasnt a choice at all” lynch would have handled it with ANY amount of grace if adam “i will be your hands. i will be your eyes” parrish was given the ultimatum “hurt others every time you have a vision and live, or turn the visions inward and quickly die horribly”??? no!!

and maybe in this alternate version of tdt that’s the whole point, yknow. if that’s what you want, ABSOLUTELY go ahead, dream on about it, write the fic, send it to me i’d love to see. etc etc etc

but the point of the dreamer trilogy is that it’s about ronan. so if we’re keeping with that vision (ha), and with the basic premise of the series, then no, i don’t think visionary adam is a good idea.

which begs the question…what WOULD i have adam do?

[disclaimer i read each book as they came out and havent done full rereads since so my memory is spotty, pls correct anything i get wrong]

in all honesty i would keep call down the hawk essentially as it is bc i think it was good. it takes place during november, no? so potentially add in/exchange a shorter adam moment for thanksgiving break. he can help scry and figure out psychic things and be distrustful of bryde.

have winter break be during part of mister impossible. seriously where are adam’s school breaks lmao. adam is relentlessly practical and cares about ronan and he should be here to sow doubt and try to curb some of ronan’s more ecoterrorist tendencies. ronan can sneak around and hide from him and there can be tension and worry and anger. but also a lot of good pynch feelings still, ofc, bc its Them.

but don’t worry! they can still have a big fight/falling out over the ley lines/bryde/the ecoterrorism before adam leaves for school again. as silly as it is that ronan freaked out over an unread text when adam was literally napping, maybe this time it’s deliberate. or maybe adam really was napping again, or driving, or whatever. the rest of mister impossible can play out from there, or a condensed/reshuffled version of it to accommodate adam being there for a while.

greywaren can start the same, but for the love of god let ronan get out faster it is HIS BOOK. i do like henessey helping him do that i think its an important part of her character, and adam’s part in all that was very good and angsty so i wouldnt change it, but i would have it happen in the first half. ronan and adam make up and go off to do whatever was happening by the end of greywaren tbh i got confused. or something totally different! who knows.

also i just want to see adam interact with the actual visionaries and with carmen and henessey more and with bryde i think it would be very cool. very fun.

i also think gansey/blue/henry shouldve shown up literally ever at all but idk how they fit in so shh

[unganseylike]

i think i was following you the last time i reread trc phrely cause i recognise your icon. It's so hard to pic an icon for a trc blog cause it's a book and i can't draw but you really hit the nail on the head with the ganseyness of yours

thank you thank you. cant remember when i adopted this icon. for a while it was just a bee. The beautiful thing about trc/tdt is that there are so many random things that are recognizable symbols of it. bees and deer used to be big, now we see a lot of sargent paintings and depressed looking young men with dark hair. even milo from atlantis can be recognized in association w trc. the world is your oyster.

[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.

[folkdances]

do you still like trc/tdt and etc i finished reading greywaren recently. don’t love the way they wrapped up a lot of the plot threads it felt pretty rushed at times which I think was the main problem. that and how the apocalypse plot was pretty clearly thematically disjointed from what was going on with basically everyone. as a carmen and matthew enjoyer I wish both of them got a bit more resolution esp matthew but whatever. that being said I did really like a lot of the opening chapters like the whole first third. feeling every emotion. + it was nice to see everyone idk it reminded me I really like pretty much every character in this whatever I had fun reading it maybe if I reread it some of my opinions would change

i am still so crazy about trc yes! greywaren 😒 i think it was fun to read but i do not think it did a very good job of tying up all the loose ends the trilogy generated and i really do think that it's the weakest entry into the raven canon ... it is just, frankly, not as good - it's rushed is the biggest problem and that's what made the nathan plot-twist not really a plot-twist at all ... i do wonder how much of it is really mstief's fault, though, because i remember her discussing an alternative plan for the sequel trilogy that was much much more ronan-focused and a lot smaller in scope to the point where i do not even think the moderators were a thing, and she had to change that because of the publishing requirements.

[raedas]

hi scared anon here!!!! we r so back (from spring break). i don’t want to be here….. but my lovely queerplatonic partner and my friends r in this wretched building and thus i will endure. Endure. there is an ap lit test and a physics test tmrw i’m Not ready for but. fuck it we ball it’s the end of senior year anyway. i’m sorry you r not feeling well i hope u feel better soon!!!! sending my prayers <33333333 how is your spring break going so far what do u think of trc!!!!

omg hiii anon missed you :] AND BOOO im currently on spring break and having so much fun (ignoring tasks) GOOD LUCK WITH THE EXAMS!!! u got this + also yeah senioritis win.

rereading the raven cycle is sooo fun....... i sped through trb + tdt in the past 3 days im currently on bllb......... they are all friends and in love with each other and i might cry about it. also ronsey are like alternate universe sasharcy to Me

[cabeswaterdrowned]

for the ship asks: Noah/Blue and/or Noah/Blue/Gansey

Blue/Noah

Whether I ship it or not: yes I really do! They’re one of my favorite noncanon trc pairings tbh. I do think I was more actively into them on some previous rereads compared to recently but I still think they’re neat <3

Why I ship it or not: I mean they’re a lovely relationship whether you ship them or not, I love that Noah so immediately likes Blue (although obviously that was partly about her energy) that makes her feel more at home in the group, and as I mentioned in my notes consistently throughout the series when Blue is at her loneliest (the scene post the boat debacle in tdt / the kiss scene in tdt / the guiding counselor scene in BLLB) Noah will manifest and sort of reflect certain aspects of her feelings or allow her an outlet for them when normally it’s Blue who is the mirror to other chars, but Noah is also a mirror so that gets into an interesting territory the magic/world building of trc functioning as a metaphor for relationships and char work which is always my favorite way for magic in trc (and in many fantasy stories tbh but specifically in this context) to be utilized. So I think there is something very special to their scenes because of that thread and even though they don’t have as many as some other combos they tend to be emotionally impactful to me from that perspective. I generally enjoy when in paranormal stories there’s a blurred line or connection between love and death which is a big thing going on here but I’ll go into my thoughts on that in my Gansey/Blue/Noah answer otherwise I’ll be repeating myself. I also think while a lot of their interactions are very soft and adorable there’s often an undercurrent that’s just a little bit fucked up, such as Noah parasitically feeding off Blue’s energy (which she lets him do because she loves him so much..) or something of that nature, which makes it like. Real sweet but also real creepy, which is appealing to my tastes.

My opinion on their canon potential (chemistry, canon interactions, etc): well their kiss scene is definitely my favorite kiss scene in either series tbh but can you even call it a kiss with chemistry, or a kiss without chemistry for that matter, given it’s function in the story? That could be its own theoretical debate lol but I do think they consistently have really sweet moments of physicality such as the hair touching and hand holding and the pretzel-of-ghost-boy-and-not-psychic-girl scene. And like, it’s trc it’s the Gangsey there’s canon basis for p much everything ship wise.

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it (Favorite widespread hcs, pet-peeves, etc): I mean it isn’t that popular as a ship so would welcome more content around it.

Gansey/Blue/Noah

Whether I ship it or not: absolutely! one of my favorite triads in the Gangsey, actually there was a time a few years back where I would have called them my favorite that isn’t the case anymore since other ot3/triad dynamics have caught my eye more / I feel more strongly about at least 3 others than I do about this one, but it’s still really up there. Love them

Why I ship it or not: first of all on a thematic level there’s a lot to dig into with the three of them together. While obviously there is a lot going on in trc that is not the literal blurb, in theory the series is built around the idea of killing your true love with a kiss and the Blue x Noah kiss is essentially her first kiss with death because that’s what her kiss was always going to be, on my Blue Pinterest board I have a section labeled “her first and last kiss” (quote from that scene in the book) as my Gansey/Blue/Noah section. I just love the symmetry of the concept a lot. And then obviously just the transference kiss as a concept speaks to ot3 shipping imo. And then you have Gansey/Noah parallelisms re: their deaths and also the Whelk/Noah Gansey/Adam as foils part, and Blue and Noah being the two chars (besides maybe Henry which is a little different) who understand Gansey best which includes understanding his suicidality … there’s just a lot there that’s interesting imo and certain links between all three dynamics so that’s the perspective from which I enjoy it mostly.

My opinion on their canon potential (chemistry, canon interactions, etc): well Bluesey are canon and have plenty of chemistry imo, and I answered Blue x Noah already. I’m not going to say I think Gansey/Noah chemistry ranks high in terms of Gansey’s male friendships I do think it probably is the least homoerotic of them but like. There’s A Lot of competition to be fair. And there are moments (particularly the TRK scene where Gansey is swimming) that feel that way even if it’s less than other dynamics.

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it (Favorite widespread hcs, pet-peeves, etc): again mostly that I would like more exploration of it

[likeclarabow]

happy new year abby!!!!!!! congrats on meeting your reading goal, i’m glad that despite your busy life you’re still able to enjoy reading for yourself <3 some bookish questions, if you don’t mind …

what was your favourite reread of 2023? what book did you mean to read but ended up not? what books were you looking forward to but disappointed by? what book took you by surprise? your favourite series? your favourite standalone? your least favourite book(s)? what book did you write your favourite review about? and finally, what book(s) are you most looking forward to reading in 2024?

may this year be full of blessings to you!

hiiiiii love, happy new year!!!! i'm finally back on my laptop so i'm sorry this is a few days late <333

favourite reread: i did a lot of rereading this year and i loved them all but probably six of crows!! every time i reread that series i'm a little nervous that its not going to have the same magic it did the last time and it always does and this time was no exception its just going to be a forever favourite and i'm so glad i reread it

a book i meant to read and didn't get to: there were a few i meant to at the very least start over my break that i didn't get a chance to (this biography i picked up at a school social and the hundred years war on palestine by rashid khalidi), books i had on hold at the library but it was just never the right time (as long as the lemon trees grow by zoulfa katouh), and my book lovers reread that i was all set to start and then i didn't read for like 3 weeks

a book i was looking forward to that disappointed me: greywaren by maggie stiefvater was soooo messy plotwise and there were things i wanted wrapped up that were just not addressed in a satisfying way yes i gave it 5 stars the epilogue made me cry those 5 stars are for declan lynch and for how much i love the trc/tdt universe as a whole pls take my rating system a little bit seriously (so i guess it wasn't 100% disappointing i just wanted more from the final book) (honourary mentions to nine liars by maureen johnson bc it was sososo fun for 99% of the book but the very end was so unnecessary i'll never forgive her, and harlem shuffle by colson whitehead i liked the writing i just thought the plot would be different from what it ended up being)

a book that took me by surprise: the day of the jackal was supposed to be something i picked up for a few hours for shits and giggles since i've never had any real interest in 70's spy thrillers but i actually enjoyed it enough to finish! also these violent delights by micah nemerever surprised me because i did not know what to expect at. all. and i still dont know how to describe the feelings that book gave me but i certainly didn't expect them

my favourite series: beartown!!!!!! you know exactly why i don't even have to explain </3 (honourary mention to sandra gullands josephine b trilogy its one hell of a historical fiction series and i enjoyed it SO much)

my favourite standalone: rebecca by daphne du maurier!! its just the most beautifully written book that captivated me from the very first page <33

least favourite books: the last word by taylor adams (extraordinarily mid upon first read and it just seems so bleh looking back), ready player one by ernest cline (i can see why my boyfriend loves it but it just didn't appeal to me at all), 20,000 leagues under the sea by jules verne (jules verne knows sooooo many facts about the ocean and electricity and he put every single one of them in this book in very long paragraphs but i forgive my prof for making me read it)

my favourite review: i didn't really write any solid reviews this year (something i'm hoping to do more of in 2024) but my favourite mini reviews are the ones i left for wuthering heights and 20,000 leagues under the sea bc i think i'm funny and bc i think they sum up my reading experience quite well

books i'm most looking forward to reading in 2024: soooo many a curse for true love by stephanie garber, a man called ove by fredrik backman, alone with you in the ether by olivie blake, divine rivals by rebecca ross (!!), penance by eliza clark to name a few

[squash1]

Who is ur favourite trc/tdt character and who is the one you are the most like

i have been thinking about how to answer this for days because it’s like The hardest question.

not who i’m most like. i’m whatever you get when you combine declan lynch and gansey

and here is my “evidence” for that,

for gansey i am THIS:

for declan i am THIS:

i promise i am also a fun and nice person. i’m just a virgo with anxiety.

but as for my favorite character…….. i don’t knowwwwww. it’s like gansey or ronan or adam or declan. when i’m rereading trc i’m like gansey gansey gansey. he is sunshine he is perfect, i love him endlessly. and then. when i think about or read anything from tdt i’m like RONAN and then i’m like DECLAN. because declan is my special baby boy who i must protect (i am him). but ronan. my god. one of the most complex, deeply beautiful characters ever written imo. everything about him makes me crazy and i just want to give him a hug and a cookie and then let him be dangerous with all his love for humanity. so that doesn’t answer the question. and also i would like to add that i love literally ALLLL of maggie’s characters and that this was an impossible question :D

[hondayota]

Hello there! I just read your Sandman AU fic and really loved it. I think you managed to capture the essence of each character while still making it work within the Sandman universe. Can't wait to read more! I was wondering, if you read tdt, what you think about where each character ends up, and if you have any headcanons for them maybe. Have a nice day!

THANK YOU?!? i’m literally crying omg thank you so much! i did read the dreamer trilogy and i generally don’t have headcanons but i do believe in henry/declan divorce and adam being in a government position that involves watching dreamers/various supernatural effects that he would be well prepared for. also i think hennessy and farooq-lane should finally have happy lives idk. i need to reread for real b/c i only read greywaren once in october and i lowkey forgot half of it

[ronanessy]

[aspirationallyeldritch]

but also