#henry cheng aroace king

[ronanlynchdefender]

Ranking The Gangsey by How Asexual I Think They Are

1. Henry Cheng - 100% canonically aroace. Completely supported by the text. In a queerplatonic polycule with Gansey and Blue.

2. Richard Campbell Gansey III - SUPER a-spec coded in my opinion. Values friendship above all else. His main conflict in the series is learning how to juggle 4 different queerplatonic relationships at the same time.

3. Blue Sargent - Demisexual-coded. She just wants to be friends with Gansey forever with maybe some sex far down the road. Her solution to knowing she will kill her true love with a kiss is simply to never kiss anyone ever. Easy peasy. Also all the scenes where Blue keeps Adam from kissing her are asexual coded.

4. Ronan Lynch - Some ace-spec tendencies but overall I think just a gay allosexual. Too many car=sex metaphors. Most asexual thing he ever did was laugh at Gansey and Adam gawking at Orla in a bikini which was mainly because he’s gay, but as an asexual, I probably would have had the same reaction.

5. Noah Czerny - Straight allosexual. First time we meet him he is a gawking at an Ashley. Even as a ghost he still manages to make out with a girl.

6. Adam Parrish - 0% Asexual. 100% Down Bad Bisexual. Attracted to any remotely hot person: Ronan, Gansey, Blue, Orla, Helen, Colin Greenmantle, Random Guy in Car Magazine

Happy pride to all my fellow asexuals and TRC enjoyers (but especially the ones who project their sexuality onto Gansey) 🖤🤍💜

[unnecessarilygrandiose]

I know many people think Henry is bi coded and honestly, I agree with them cause I definitely ship sarchengsey. But we get that scene in Blue's school where he says he's Henrysexual right? Which is just a joke, but it could be open to interpretation. Maybe he's only attracted to people named Henry (I kinda think that this is unlikely). Or maybe like Narcissus he's attracted to himself (which. Valid. If I were him I'd be too.)

But. What if that means. He is. ✨Aroace✨

[ronanlynchdefender]

An Aromantic Asexual Reading of Henry Cheng

Happy International Asexual Day! I had a lot of fun making “An Asexual Reading of Gansey” post, and so of course, I had to make a post about The Raven Cycle’s resident aroace king, Henry Cheng. Unlike Gansey, I think Henry is written with the intention of being canonically aroace. Henry, himself, implies as much, and the way his character is developed also supports this conclusion. In other words, the text does not lie. The man is aroace.

Henry Comes Out

A thought occurred to her. “I don’t need to remind you I’m with Gansey, right?” “Naturally not. I’m Henrysexual, anyway. Can I take you home?” (TRK, pg. 234)

I interpret this moment as Henry stating in clear terms that he is not interested in anyone romantically or sexually. While it is phrased somewhat as a quip, it is significant because, as we see throughout The Raven King, Henry is very intentional about how he uses his words and what words mean. He doesn’t need to comment or joke about his sexuality, but he does. He does it casually too, “I’m Henrysexual, anyway.” He phrases it almost as an afterthought. Clarifiying not only is he not interested in Blue, he is not interested at all.

Platonic Longing

So he had no real way to explain how he felt about trying to befriend Richard Gansey and the members of Gansey’s royal family. (TRK, pg. 266)

He felt 20 percent guilty for longing to become friends with Gansey and Sargent and Lynch and Parrish. The Vancouver crowd was great. They just weren’t enough, but words failed him to say why. (TRK, pg. 267)

Can you just imagine little Henry Cheng looking at Gansey’s friend group and longing to be a part of it? Honestly, I think all of us as readers can relate to Henry’s desire. We all want to be friends with them. We all want to be in their inner circle.

What Henry craves more than anything are those queerplatonic bonds that the raven boys have with each other. This is a kid who has grown up without anyone really understanding him, except maybe his mom. And here he is, in the least likely of places, witnessing this friend group possess exactly the type of relationships he has always craved but never had words to truly describe.

Not “Just” Friends, But Just, Friends

“You had RoboBee looking out for me.” “It was friendly. That was a friend thing.” He seemed anxious for Gansey to believe that his motives were pure, so Gansey said quickly, “I know that, just   I don’t meet many people who make friends like I do. So   fast.” (TRK, pg. 360)

I think this moment parallels the moment with Blue where Henry is clarifying that there is nothing else going on other than platonic vibes. He is not romantically or sexually interested in Blue or Gansey. His motives really, truly are just friendship. I think Henry is also nervous in this scene because he doesn’t know if Gansey will accept him as a friend. Henry is really desperate to be accepted as one of Gansey’s friends, his inner circle. Even though his desire is not romantic, Henry is still putting himself in a vulnerable position where he could get rejected. And Gansey is quick to try to dispel that anxiety. It’s a sweet moment between the two of them, honestly. And I think many of us can relate to the simple desire of just wanting to be someone’s friend without any romantic or sexual implications. I mean, that’s all many of us want. Just friends. Maybe very, very special friends that we feel inexplicably intense connections to but friends nonetheless.

Soulmates, But Platonic

“We’re friends at once, we would instantly do what friends would do for each other. Not just pals. Friends. Blood brothers. You just feel it. We instead of you and me. That’s jeong.” (TRK, pg. 360)

Not romantic. Not sexual. But a secret third thing. Throughout the whole series we witness Gansey’s very complicated feelings toward his friends, and here comes Henry Cheng with the perfect language to describe what Gansey is feeling. And who better than an aroace character to introduce the concept of platonic soulmates? Although, I would argue that what Henry is saying here is more than just platonic soulmates. It’s pure connection. It’s community.

Three’s A Crowd, Except When it’s Sarchengsey, Then it’s A Queerplatonic Polycule

Gansey had bid for a gap year and won. Henry had already planned on one. It was all convenient, as Blue had spent months planning how to cheaply hike across the country post-graduation, the destination: life. It was better with company. It was better with three. (TRK, pg. 434)

I just absolutely love that Henry agrees to accompany this true love pairing across country as their platonic third wheel. It’s fantastic actually. The idea of Bluesey being all romantic and shit and Henry is just completely unbothered. Completely content. Love it.

Also, Blue and Gansey could’ve very easily gone on a romantic road trip by themselves, but instead they thought hey let’s invite our good friend, Henry Cheng. Because who the fuck cares about true love? We’re all platonic soulmates here.

Also, extended vacation with your queerplatonic polycule. Need I say more 

Cars and Sex???

“Rumor has it that his father gave him a Fisker for his birthday and he’s too afraid to drive it.” (BLLB, pg. 154)

“Stop. Stop. Get in my car. You know what? You drive. This thing scares the piss out of me.” Henry tossed him the keys. (TRK, pg. 348)

In a book series where car driving/racing are constantly used as metaphors for sex, I find it very interesting that the most canonically aroace character is also afraid of driving his car. Coincidence?

Okay maybe I included this point partly as a joke, and maybe this is a stretch, but here me out. This isn’t some throwaway character detail. This is mentioned or referenced multiple times. At the bus loop, during the chase for Glendower, after Blue and Gansey’s late-night date, immediately after we are introduced to his character. Anyway  

In conclusion, Henry is an aroace king, and we needed way more of him in The Raven Cycle. He’s funny, dramatic, and brings a levity that some of the other characters don’t possess. A great, sorely underused character.

I may make more of these asexual analyses posts about The Raven Cycle because I have a lot more I want to say about the series as a whole, so you can follow me for that if you’re interested. I’d also love to hear other people’s thoughts.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and happy ace day!!!!!

[ronanlynchdefender]

henry cheng is a great character