#consuming a repellant for something he knows isn’t there but irrationally fears the same

[crispycostumes]

and the third instalment in all our favourite show: i think too deeply about richard campbell gansey the third and his mint leaves. this will follow the same route as the others, and as such, it is a list (and pseudo-analysis) of every time mint is mentioned in conjunction with gansey in bllb (post 1 and post 2)

the first time is after noah has his freakout in the office of blue’s guidance counsellor and she goes to monmouth

“Blue arrived at Monmouth Manufacturing before anyone else. She knocked to be sure, and then let herself in. Immediately, she was enveloped with the comfortable scent of the room: the faded library-smell of old books, the cool odor of mint, the must-and-rust scent of century-old brick and ancient pipes, the note of funk from the heap of dirty laundry against the wall.”

(gansey’s home smells of mint, this still makes me sad)

the second time is after he and malory arrive at monmouth and they start talking about Iolo Goch and who he was to glendower

“He paused to locate a tiny microwave. He examined the interior of a mug before filling it. Pulling a mint leaf from his pocket to suck on, he spoke around it as the water heated. “Really, if Glendower were Robin Hood, Iolo Goch would have been … that other guy.””

(i think there is so many interpretations that could be made about this scene, it’s so interesting to see him do what we can establish is a nervous habit and coping mechanism for when he feels very anxious while talking about one of his favourite things) (something something actually finding glendower was his worst nightmare) 

the third time is just a few paragraph after that when he finishes with the tea

“He turned, mug in hand, and suddenly they were an inch apart. She could smell the mint in his mouth. She saw his throat move as he swallowed.”

(once again, many interpretations. We know he chews absently when he’s immersed in something while anxious so it would make sense to assume that he chews quickly when he’s feeling very anxious about something. making a cup of tea in the microwave doesn’t take long. thoughts thoughts) 

the fourth time is after noah has another freakout and blue pulls the plug on him

“Noah sat in the middle of the floor, papers all around him, a mint plant spilling dirt by his hand. He was all hunched over and shadowless, his form slight and streaky, barely visible at all. He was crying again.”

(notable about this is that it says A mint plant. not THE mint plant or GANSEY’S mint plant singular like it did in previous books. from this i think it’s safe to establish that there’s more than one mint plant in this room) (no im not ready to talk about noah yet okay)

the fifth time is after blue has her argument with orla about loving the raven boys

““You know what I think, Orla? I think you’re a big, fat bully —” Blue barreled right into Gansey, who had stepped inside the front hall. For a moment she smelled mint, felt the solidness of his chest, and then she wheeled back.”

(not very notable on its own, i know, but it adds to the immediate association these characters have between gansey and mint)

The sixth through ninth time is the car ride when he and blue talk about just wanting to pretend they could be together and kiss

““Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.”

(gansey, just gansey, is so very closely tied with mint to the people who love him and who he loves in return)

““And then we never speak of it again,” Gansey said, mocking himself softly, and Blue was so glad of it, because she had played the words from that night over and over in her mind and wanted to know he had, too. Gently he tucked her hair behind her ears — this was a fool’s errand, because it had never been behind her ears to begin with and wouldn’t stay. But he did it again and again, and then he took out two mint leaves and put one in his mouth and one in hers.”

(oooh the things i could say about this miniscule part of this scene alone but let's keep it short, they’re doing something they promised both each other and themselves not to, they’re meeting in secret in the middle of the night, everything about this is something that would lead to gansey feeling an enormous amount of anxiety even if he feels happy to get to be with blue,, and then he’d probably feel guilty about the happiness and it would lead him to spiral into more mint) (and let’s not talk about how it was probably him trying to in some misguided way make her feel better about meeting in secret through doing and sharing something that he uses to cope when he feels bad and can’t talk about it)

“She rolled the mint leaf over and over her tongue. She felt shivery with cold or fatigue.”

“Now he exhaled, but he didn’t disagree. The clock in the Camaro didn’t work, but it had to be dangerously close to morning. They switched places; Blue curled again in his coat, feet up on the seat. As she tugged the collar up to cover her mouth and nose, she let herself imagine that this place was rightfully hers. That somehow Adam and Ronan already knew and were already okay with it. That her lips carried no threat. That Gansey was not going to die, that he wasn’t going to leave for Yale or Princeton, that all that mattered was that he had given her his coat with its wheatgrass and mint on the collar.” 

(wheatgrass and mint, the smell that, to blue, IS gansey)

the tenth time is after they bring gwenllian back to fox way and leave her to live there.

“Gansey put a mint leaf in his mouth; it was impossible to not think of the night before, when he’d put one in hers. “She stays here, for now. That wasn’t me, that was Persephone. I offered to fix the first floor of Monmouth. That might still end up being what happens.””

(yes i know this has more romance than anxiety but bear with me. he’s still in an anxious and uncomfortable situation he doesn’t feel in control over. he’s worried and scared. also the car ride and his feelings for blue (even though she makes him quiet) would probably lead to him feeling guilty and etc since he’s keeping things from his friends and lying to them)

the eleventh and last time in bllb is when he and blue are hugging after she starts to cry when calla and the others leave to go get maura from the cave

“He pulled back, wincing through pins and needles, and gave her a mint leaf before sitting back against the bed frame beside her.”

(“he could not tell who was comforting who” so what does he do when blue is feeling anxious and afraid and he’s not good with words or comfort? he does the only thing he knows how, the only thing that he knows would help comfort him in times like these, he doesn’t leave her and he gives her a mint leaf)