#henry cheng headcanon

[speciouspessimism]

hc that the kids at aglionby are 50/50 on if gansey dating blue is a cover for him being in a relationship with henry cheng or not. both blue and gansey get the “you’re not GAY?” like we talk about pynch dating at school but why not the insanity of private and public school kids being joint over the confusion of blue and gansey dating.

[karouvas]

I don’t want to go off in the tags of that no fandom post so much but your bisexual PowerPoint Gansey tags. The idea of Gansey not comprehending bisexuality during the road trip SO funny to me because it implies either A) post-Pynch, Gansey just thought Adam realized he was always gay, something that really assuages Gansey’s guilt about “stealing Blue” (he is So Insane) or B) Gansey fully thinks being bi is just an Adam Thing. Because he’s Adam Parrish! Of course he’d have a special sexuality just for him. If anyone would, it would be Adam!

for anyone wondering these were the tags: https://www.tumblr.com/lesbianbluesey/753538524458991616?source=shareI think both are Highly possible and hilarious, but I’m going to go with the former because I do enjoy leaning into the ‘Gansey’s repressed controlled republican parents reaaally messed up his worldview’ aspect of everything he has going on, and because your right this would totallly be something he takes as “I don’t have to feel guilty about stealing (‘stealing’ because like. there was a lot more going onto that but in his head) my best friends girlfriend anymore!” *head in the clouds from crazy ex girlfriend starts playing in the background*. Now I’m thinking about him potentially telling Blue about Adam and Ronan (since we never really see her learn about them so I think there are several ways that could have happened but one of them is through Gansey) and him framing it as Adam came out to me as gay and in love with Ronan, well first off I think Blue would be way more surprised about the latter part of that than the former, and she would also have a lot of different feelings about this revelation.

 First of all I think it would be the opposite of Gansey where she starts to feel More guilty re: their break up and wonders if saying he should kiss Gansey was homophobic of her (it wasn’t it was extremely funny and cool of her, imo), she also feels really bad that her first normal-ish relationship with a boy was with someone using her (which isn’t Not true for their relationship in a way, just not in the way she’s thinking of) and feels extra annoyed with Adam for the Ninos argument (which she should because he was out of line in that scene imo, even though I also love that scene because it’s hysterical to me for reasons I’ve previously addressed and I love when Bluedam are cunts especially to each other) now that she thinks he was never actually into her. But she doesn’t want to be homophobic, so I feel like Blue tries to be a bit Overly Nice to Adam after this for the rest of the school year and it really unnerves/scares him, and then Gansey on the other hand allows himself to be more overtly cunty with Adam than he ever has before during that time period which Also weirds Adam out but he puts it down to him going through a lot what with dying and all. This would actually explain some things about the dynamic shifts between trc and td3 if this happened… 

To be clear Blue is coming at this from the opposite end of background effecting world view from Gansey; unlike Gansey who doesn’t know he’s bi or that bisexuality exists Blue doesn’t know She is bi but does know bisexuality and polyamory exist because she grew up surrounded by it, in fact I’ve said it before but I think the reason Blue isn’t aware she’s bi is… well one reason is she hasn’t had many close relationships with girls her age who aren’t in her family due to not having had many friends growing up since she was largely othered/bullied and then grew an armor/self-isolated (I actually have a tentative headcanon that in addition to her being bullied for being generally different in her youth some of that bullying had a homophobic bent to it because of the way she dresses and what the psychics are associated with and it being Henrietta.. it just seems right, so I think that would be an influence also) but also more importantly, Orla would have been out as bisexual since she was in high school and Blue is a Contrarian tm and Can Not have the same sexuality as Orla. Just on principle. She did feel jealous sometimes watching Orla go on dates with boys and girls but put that down to just general she-can-kiss-people-without-fear-of-murder-lips-and-I-can’t jealousy. Also I feel like Gansey might be able to grasp bi women more than bi men because of a) unfortunate tropes around that time b) the 300 fox way women c) Possibly Helen who I think could be sapphic but whether or not she’s sapphic definitely thinks Gansey is gay, this is textually canon, and definitely wants Gansey to be covert about it won’t go into this more / putting a pin in that for now. But anyway I think both Blue and Gansey would be more likely to consider the other being bi than themselves, is the thing I was getting at there. 

Anyway! I definitely think that after being told of Adam’s gayness Blue immediately understands that Adam was in love with Gansey based on all of the first two books when thinking back, Gansey on the other hand does not even consider the possibility of Adam ever being into him (at least not consciously, possibly deep DEEP down there’s some wondering but repression + plausible deniability + not wanting to seem arrogant (because I do think there’s a gray area sometimes between Gansey being oblivious about certain social situations vs him just being very used to compartmentalizing and prioritizing the quest) keep this out of conscious thought). So I think both Blue and Gansey need an outlet to talk through some of their Adam feelings but know the other can’t do that for them, which leads to (not to self plug but! This might be a scene that comes up in my ‘Reading TRB’ fic at some point… since I am playing with some intentional parallels between Sarchengsey and Bluedansey there, or at least that’s the intention in the mess of everything I have going on there) them separately gabbing to Henry about their feelings re: their situationship break ups, the shifting group dynamics with Pynch etc. and I think their accounts of the whole mess are Very different so Henry keeps getting more confused the more he listens to them, he doesn’t even know if one of them dated Adam or neither of them or both and it’s very frustrating but also intriguing for him he just wants to know everything (and he has some additional context from his Gansey stalking which should be … an interesting comparison point). 

Also when Gansey learns what bisexuality he immediately goes ‘I realized something about Adam!’ Henry, simultaneously expecting this and also wary: what about him? Gansey: He only told me that he loved Ronan he didn’t tell me he never liked Blue, Adam must be bisexual that means he must have been in love with Blue because who wouldn’t be that means I’m a horrible awful person and don’t deserve to live 😭😭 Henry, under his breath: goddamnit I can’t believe I’ve been trying to fuck you Gansey: what?? Henry: __ 

this was a fun thank you!

tagging a couple other blogs who I hope will enjoy my insane spiral, at least a lil: @immaterial-pearl @crimeronan

[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) 🖤🤍💜

[mykelneedssleep]

Recently someone reblogged a post of mine from like 3 years ago talking about how the Gangsey would play get down Mr. President and Gansey would end up being Mr. President every time and I want to elaborate more on this idea

For those of you that don’t know get down Mr. President is played anywhere at any time and the game is started by one person putting their hand to their ear (like you would if you have an earpiece) and becoming the “secret service,” other people in the group will then join the secret service though the same gesture and when there’s only one person left that’s not in the secret service you yell “get down Mr. President” and tackle them. There’s also an alternative version where the secret service stays silent and they essentially sneak attack whichever poor soul is deemed Mr. President which is arguably the much more terrifying and entertaining version

In the context of the Gangsey it doesn’t matter which way they’re playing it because Gansey has no fucking clue what’s going on so he’ll see the secret service thing start and just kind of think to himself “interesting but whatever” and he ends up tackled every time. He is also incredibly intelligent but he would not put two and two together to think that these events are related in any way it’s just a weird coincidence that he happens to get tackled whenever people do that. He only finds out it’s a thing when someone points out that he always loses and he’s like “loses what?” and they have to explain it to him because no one considered that he always loses because he genuinely doesn’t know what’s happening

[owlsinleatherjackets]

one of the hardest decisions Gansey ever has to make is which college application essay he should write:

1) Finding Glendower, Finding Myself: What I Learned While Searching the World for a Dead Welsh King

2) My Gap Year Backpacking Through the American Heartlands

or 3) The Struggles of Becoming A Single Father of Four At Age Seventeen

in the end he is incapable of writing anything shorter than a 100-page dissertation on Glendower, and the “single father” essay just keeps turning into him waxing poetic about every one of his friends, so he has to go with the gap year. even this is subject to merciless edits from Blue and Henry (“you do not need an entire paragraph about that old trucker we met at a gas station in Iowa” “but it’s also a metaphor! he represents the tenacity and evanescence of the American dream!”)

[lizpaige]

sorry to offend but i'm grouping some together because there aren't enough choices

[noyoucannotpushthevoid]

Raven Cycle Headcanons

On a lighter note I have some Raven Cycle headcanons :))) (if these overlap with someone else's then, fuck yea, glad we're on the same page) (I also haven't read the books in a while, so if some of these are actual canon, pls let me know)

-Blue is a vegetarian and gets Gansey to be one too -Henry uses gottobe glued hairspray (it's like fucking cement when it dries) -Gansey cannot cook, but is still the one in the relationship that wears the cheesy apron -History professor Gansey supremacy -Weirdly enough, I don't think Ronan ever gets any more tattoos -Adam drinks his coffee black (it's for a purpose, it doesn't need to taste good) -Adam + Floger's instant coffee crystals (this is pure projecting. those are the shit) -Gansey gets grandma hobbies, particularly scrapbooking and knitting (blue taught him the latter) -Henry hoards scented candles -Noah would like ska music -Blue and Gansey get like one of those huge ragdoll kind of cats and name it Noah -Said cat eats Gansey's mint plants -Gansey wears socks with his boat shoes (I cannot emphasize this point enough) -He also wears a rash guard when swimming, because he is a dork with an anxiety disorder and definitely is afraid of getting skin cancer -They are all neurodivergent -They are all some flavor of queer -Henry is asexual (not to be confused with aromantic, got it?)

[one-squash-one-end]

I wrote a giant Raven Cycle analysis

Hi! Over the last year or so I've been working on a sort of essay about various themes in the raven cycle series, and I finally finished it a few weeks ago.

It is titled: "Why I love The Raven Cycle - An excessive analysis of the themes of friendship, queerness and growing up".

And since tumblr loves its meta (and bc I love peer validation) I've decided to start uploading it bit by bit here, making this the masterpost (if I can figure out the logistics of the linking lmao, bear with me)

(beware of spoilers up to greywaren starting at like 3b!)

Introduction

What even is the Raven Cycle?

Trust me, the characters are queer as fuck and I can prove it a) Blue Sargent b) Gansey c) Adam Parrish d) Ronan Lynch e) Noah f) Henry Cheng g) Honorary mentions

The Gangsey is a polycule

Analyzing the reoccurring themes a) Friendship b) Being a teen/growing up c) (Found) Family d) Magic (as a metaphor) e) Further themes I appreciate

Drawing a conclusion

Click here to start with the introductory parts!

1. Introduction

So here’s the thing: I love fiction almost as much as I love my friends. There’s something deeply comforting about the escapism, even if the book actually makes me want to scream and throw it on the floor (only one book has been thrown so far, I promise!).  Fiction is a healthy thing to occupy my thoughts with: headcanons! Quotes being on loop in my brain! Just fandoms!

And for me, if I am hooked on a book (series), it does not even need a good plot where a lot of things happen. In fact, I would say that my enjoyment of a book is made up of 30% plot and about 70% characters and vibes. If the characters are bland, if they do not make me feel much emotion, it likely won’t be more than 4 stars (additional info: I am way too nice rating books!). I really, really need to love the characters, to be able to relate to some aspects of them, or it just won’t become an obsession.

Since I have already started explaining that a bit, let’s look at this question: What is important to make a book special to me? 1. I need to cry reading it. 2. I have to think about it often, even weeks to months after having read it. 3. Obviously, I need to love the characters. 4. I need to be in the fandom! This can be hard with some books, but the internet is a whimsical space allowing you to find at least a small number of people who are obsessed with a work of fiction to a similar extent as you are.

Now, why am I elaborating on this so much? It’s because The Raven Cycle did all that for me. It is my favorite comfort book series at the moment, for all those aspects mentioned, but of course I cannot just leave it at that. No, I wrote a whole-ass analysis on headcanons and some of its themes. You’re welcome.

2. What even is The Raven Cycle?

The Raven Cycle is all I adore and live for (next to my friends). So, naturally, it’s a book series, specifically a four book young adult contemporary fantasy series by American author Maggie Stiefvater. The books in question are: The Raven Boys (2012), The Dream Thieves (2013), Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014) and The Raven King (2016), and yes I will admit that the publishing dates are a bit of a red flag. There is also the very relevant follow-up series called The Dreamer Trilogy (Call Down The Hawk, Mister Impossible, Greywaren), but it’s a lot less easy to get into that here as I do not know these entire books by heart, so I’ll stick to the original tetralogy here.

To stick to red flags, the books are set in the fictional Henrietta, a rural town in non-fictional Virginia, US, in the 2010s. However, that doesn’t really say *that* much about the plot, so let me summarize that really quick, because I can do better than the official synopsis! (Or let’s pretend I can.)

Blue Sargent comes from a family of psychics, yet she does not have any powers of her own. Even worse, she is a bit of an amplifier for the others, meaning she is always somehow but never directly involved in the business. As if that isn’t enough for an identity crisis, every psychic she has ever met has told her that her kiss would kill her true love. Yikes.

But because she is that amplifier, she comes to a church watch on St. Mark’s Eve, where psychics see the spirits of those to die within the following year. It’s important business, but to her it’s really just staring into the dark. Until she does actually see a spirit: That of Gansey. Of course this is not a coincidence. No, to add to this teen’s mount of problems, there are only two reasons why a non-seer would see someone’s spirit: They are their true love, or they killed them. Or, in Blue’s case, maybe both.

The aforementioned Gansey is Henrietta’s Golden Boy, the son of politicians (read: he’s fucking loaded). He does not run with the Republicans though, he runs with dead Welsh kings, meaning he has been searching for the probably dead, presumably sleeping Welsh king Glendower (*1350; †1416; yikes) for the past like seven years. Why the fuck would he do that? Well, legend says that he will grant a wish to whoever wakes him, and our favorite PTSD-ridden guy really wants that favor.

Aiding him are fellow Aglionby students Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch and Noah Czerny, plus Henry Cheng, though only a lot later in the series, but I really did not want to leave out that menace (affectionately) here. The paths of Blue and the boys cross because of Gansey’s search for Glendower, plus the fact that Blue works at a popular pizza place, but that’s a lot less whimsical. And, well, there’s the implication that Gansey might also be her true love, but perhaps she just kills him because of his bad fashion sense, it would be justified. Anyway, in true Famous Five fashion (Ronan is the dog; I won’t elaborate, the girls that get it, get it) they are of course not the only ones searching for the king, so it’s not completely a wholesome friend bonding activity all the way through.

Be prepared for: friendship and growing up, lots of treasure hunting, family mysteries, magical forests, illegal and slightly distasteful activities (our favorite of course), but most of all, heavily queer-coded (or even canonically queer) characters. Be Gay, Do Crime.

[alicanteathings]

IM SO FUCKING JEALOUS

LIKE JOE LONG I HAVE TO WAIT FOR POLISH TRANSLATION MISTER IMPOSSIBLE?? THE THIRD BOOK IS WAITING BIDNDPSJJDOJDHOD

[karouvas]

40 + each Gangsey member

40. Favorite book

but I found actually assigning each of them a favorite book too hard so instead I wrote up headcanons about their general tastes, maybe a couple things they would like and what I would recommend for them to read!

. Blue — well we know that she and Maura would read separate books together side by side at night and I have my headcanon based on that little mermaid line about Persephone reading fairy tales to her in their original forms. In my head I think Blue generally likes reading nonfiction about ecology and other things related to her interests, but also likes reading collections of short stories and poems (she has that poem she copied to the ceiling of her room but we never learn which one it is but based on that saying she likes poetry). I think she reads novels less because they’re less suited to her attention span (I see her as the type of person who likes reading but wouldn’t call herself *a reader* if asked because she feels she isn’t traditionally smart enough or quick enough with it and it takes a lot for her to buy into a story in a way if it’s a novel whereas with nonfiction books and articles she knows it’s about something specific that she likes such as nature or animals) than short form like stories or articles, and it’s rarer for her to find ones she really likes but like the few novels that she truly loves would be really impactful to her. Oh and the short stories and novels she is very into would be fantasy, she’d be like I’ll read total nonfiction or total fantasy anything in between is useless to me. 

 If I was giving her recommendations I’d want her to read Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie Mclemore in terms of novels but really generally her books, and The Lady of the House of Love by Angela Carter for a short story. And I’d rec her some Maya Angelou and Fatimah Asghar poems but come to think of it maybe Where The Caged Bird Sings would be her favorite book I could see it.. 

Adam — also reads a lot of nonfiction compared to fiction, but fiction he does read I think is probably either mysteries or classics. There might be an occasional thing he likes that’s ostensibly a tad too whimsical to be *Adam-like* as he would define it (since he often is drawn into those things and people despite himself) but in general realism over fantasy. I see a younger Adam, in what little time he has outside of working and managing school and his parents and all that entails, spending as much time as possible in the library since it means peace and quiet and escape and also knowledge which he is hungry for independently. I like to think he read like, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew in terms of books for his age range but also probably some like adult psychological thrillers. 

Obviously if I got to recommend any book to him I’d pick Mr. Ripley just to clown on him, I don’t think he’d love it though I think he’d have a lot of ambivalent feelings about it and maybe say that he hated it but think about passages all the time afterwards. For a book he’d actually enjoy in the typical sense… maybe Gone Girl, I feel like it hits a sweet spot in being a mysery and a revenge fantasy that are not too on the nose / have several degrees of separation from his life but still has enough elements that he could enjoy the catharsis of said revenge fantasy. I almost said we have always lived in the castle for similar reasons but then I thought that Adam might find the ending horrifying not because Mericatt kills her family that he would enjoy, but because she traps and isolate herself at the end and that’s her happy ending so he wouldn’t find be able to find that a victory if he related to her a bit, seeing as to him a victory needs to involve being accepted by society. 

Gansey — obviously he reads a lot of history and also I think a lot of mythology, primarily Welsh but I think he’d go on pipelines to read about other things a lot when they relate because so much mythology and folklore intersects. He and Blue once they get together probably read these together all the time and her background knowledge of certain things from 300 fox way probably impressive and turns him on a lot… also he and Adam probably read these together a lot and Adam was probably attempting a perfect balancing act between making sure he got to point things out to Gansey and seem smart so he would respect him and orchestrating moments for Gansey to read to him / lecture him in That Voice … anyway. But aside from that I also do think he reads a lot of different types of fiction, in every genre really but fantasy historical and classics would be his favorites I think. He’d love things like The Night Circus, I like the idea of him reading a lot of Emily Dickinson when he was 14 and recreating his death all the time, Tolkein obviously, probably some Sanderson I have mixed feelings there but do think Gansey would be a fan. I try very hard not to be too projection-y with chars in these types of hc things because that can be unfun, but I do think his favorite Jane Austen book is my favorite Jane Austen book which is Emma (I do have an idea for an au where Gansey is Emma and Blue is Knightley and Adam is Harriet but also maybe some of their roles interchange or intersperse with each other anyway..). For books he probably wouldn’t have read that I would recommend to him … I think reading some more low brow stuff might be good for him in a sense, maybe I’d put together a Shadowhunter books reading list for him. I do think if he read TID and TDA back to back it could help him figure out he’s bi and polyamorous. 

Ronan — well in this case I think it’s basically canonical his favorite book is Alice in Wonderland. I think Ronan’s taste in books is probably like he almost never reads but when he does he’s a huge snob about it, both ends of the spectrum. So I think like he loved Frankenstein obviously, and The Iliad. Thus if I was given the opportunity I’d rec him paranormal things he probably hates as a concept but I think he could get obsessed with if given the opportunity, maybe The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan or the Mara Dyer trilogy. The former he’d definitely project onto a lot since the first book is about brothers who aren’t dissimilar from him and Ronan, and then he’d be betrayed when the 2nd and 3rd books are about women. The latter he would say he hated but I know that man would devour them don’t ask me how I just do. 

Henry — going to confess that I haven’t actually read A Separate Piece but I read a fic once where it was his favorite book and that feels so correct I took it as canon from then on. I would recommend him The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin. 

Noah — I think would mostly like graphic novels, and I follow one series of graphic novels that I don’t think he would like much (Monstress by Marjorie Liu). Of the other comics I’ve attempted into the other one that I liked enough that I want to continue with at some point was Wicked + the Divine so maybe that.. I think him getting Ronan into it could lead to interesting results too. 

Ty!

[ronanlynchdefender]

An Asexual Reading of Gansey

A little while ago, I made a post saying Gansey should’ve been ace “because reasons” and then I decided to write a post detailing those reasons and here it is.

As someone who is ace, I think many ace-spec (and aro-spec) people conceptualize our romantic and platonic relationships differently than allo people might. When reading The Raven Cycle, I personally related to Gansey and how he thinks and feels about his friendships with the raven boys. Had Gansey been written as an asexual character, I think it would’ve added another layer of nuance to the unique ways in which he views these platonic relationships.

"What has he possibly done to deserve such a thing?" Helen demanded. "Are you sleeping with him?" Indignation cooled his voice. "Because friendship isn't worthy enough?" (The Raven King, pg. 303)

Gansey prioritizes his platonic relationships just as much as his romantic relationships. In fact, Gansey’s primary concerns in the entire series (aside from finding Glendower) are his intense (and often tumultuous) friendships. His friends are such a priority that he brides the headmaster in order to guarantee that Ronan gets his high school diploma. Helen assumes that only a romantic or sexual connection would motivate someone to do something so extreme, but Gansey pushes back on this idea. For Gansey, friendship is just as worthy and just as important as any other relationship. The words,  "just a friend," are meaningless in a Gansey world. If Richard Campbell Gansey III chooses you as his close friend, he will go to the ends of the ley line for you.

I think this is something that ace-spec and aro-spec people can relate to because we may also place higher value in our friendships just like Gansey does. Just because we don’t experience romantic or sexual feelings in the same way as everyone else, or at all, doesn’t mean we won’t still do batshit crazy things for other people.

For an ace or aro-spec person, platonic relationships can be just as strong as romantic or sexual relationships are for allo people. 

“Do you not want me to come?” Something stuck in Gansey’s throat. “I would take all of you anywhere with me.” (The Raven Boys, pg. 163)

This is just an absolutely beautiful line, and what makes it so is that Gansey truly means it. It’s so sincere and vulnerable. The things that Gansey values most in his life are his friendships, and he just wants all of them to be together forever. Besides finding Glendower, his dream in life is to literally live with all his friends in Monmouth. He begs Adam to move in with them. And I KNOW I am not the only ace-spec or aro-spec person who dreams about living in a big house with all their closest friends.

What was it about Blue? Adam was not suspicious of her, and he was suspicious of everyone. But then again, he was clearly infatuated. That, too, was unfamiliar ground for Gansey. (The Raven Boys, pg. 201)

In these couple of chapters when Adam asks Blue out with the guys and they find Cabeswater for the first time, Gansey is confused about Adam’s feelings toward Blue. There are a few interpretations: Gansey is jealous of Adam because he is attracted to Blue; Gansey is jealous of Blue because he is in love with Adam. Both of these interpretations are, of course, not mutually exclusive.

Regardless of any jealousy or attraction he may or may not be feeling in this scene, Gansey is genuinely confused because Adam liking a girl so openly is inconsistent with his perception of Adam. It is exactly as Gansey says. Adam doesn’t trust people.  To see Adam trust another person so suddenly and inexplicably in Gansey’s eyes is disconcerting to say the least.

At the door to the helicopter, Gansey looked back over his shoulder at them, his smile complicated when he saw them holding hands. (The Raven Boys, pg. 196)

Obviously, Adam has a crush on Blue, but this isn’t easy for Gansey to wrap his head around. It's easy for Gansey to conceptualize that Adam may admire this strange and quirky girl from afar at Nino's, but seeing them physically close after only 2 or 3 encounters utterly puzzles him.

I feel like a lot of ace-spec and aro-spec people can relate to the confusion around sudden attraction. We ask totally reasonable questions such as how do you know you like someone after only having one or two conversations with them?

If Gansey was written as asexual, one could interpret this scene as Gansey not understanding the nature of Adam's romantic or sexual attraction to Blue. It would not be Adam’s crush that puzzles Gansey but also the idea of crushes altogether.

[Side note: Just imagine a version of Raven Boys where Gansey is lamenting the downfall of his queerplatonic relationship with Adam because Adam has a crush on a girl. It’s not even too far off from what actually happens in the books. Lmao]

“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.” Gansey was aware on a certain level that the description was melodramatic, heightened, illogical. But on a deeper level, it felt true, and familiar, and like it explained much of Gansey’s life. It was how he felt about Ronan and Adam and Noah and Blue. With each of them, it had felt instantly right: relieving. Finally, he thought, he’d found them. We instead of you and me. (The Raven King, pg. 360)

How interesting that Gansey bonds with Henry Cheng, The Raven Cycle’s most aroace-coded character, about the concept of platonic soulmates. This point is pretty self-explanatory. I feel like a lot of ace and aro-spec people relate to the concept of platonic soulmates.

In conclusion, I think making Gansey asexual could’ve added another layer of nuance to the already nuanced relationships he has with all of the members of the gangsey. While it is evident in certain scenes that Gansey was not intended to be an ace-coded character, I still resonate with the ways Gansey feels about his relationships.

Also, I know I wrote about ace and aro-spec people in general for this post, but this is mainly from my own personal perspective so obviously the points I make are not necessarily representative of the entire community.

If any other aces (or aros) are reading this, let me know if you relate or if this is just a me thing. I’m curious to hear what other people think about this topic.

[clxec]

TRC fandom thinks Adam Parrish is a sweet soft boy forgetting that this kid murdered a man, framed another man for some of the vilest crimes known and is also portrayed to be the coldest, most ruthless of all them.

[bluesravens]

the kinds of dates trc characters would take you on

warnings: spoilers for trc in noah’s part

pairings: the raven boys x reader

ronan:

takes you on rides and makes you listen to his music.

he lets you have music control every other song and finally decides to make a playlist with a mix of y’all’s music tastes. adds more of yours than his.

gas station runs during these rides. i’m talking slushees, candy, chips, monsters, etc.

sitting in his car, eating and talking for hours. he opens up a lot, but he doesn’t like talking about sad things for so long.

takes you places to explore like local haunted/abandoned buildings. he likes taking edgy pictures in them if we’re being honest. tells you scary stories while you explore and randomly yells to scare you.

he knows all the best little unknown places and takes you there.

just likes to be in your company even if it’s just the two of you being together and not talking.

he actually really likes that

takes you to a record store and then makes fun of your choices like he doesn’t just listen to techno.

a big date he takes you on would be a nice dinner somewhere quiet with reservations or an arcade date.

absolutely ass at dance dance revolution but he likes the way you almost fall over laughing. just likes seeing you smile

laser tag but on opposite teams.

does not care that you are his s/o like at all. will literally destroy you no mercy. brags about it until you ask for a rematch.

does it again

at home dates are usually just hang outs, but he loves them. he likes just being in each other’s arms after a long day but if you ever say anything about that he’s gonna deny it

he’s basically up for anything but he’s probably gonna grumble about it.

noah:

likes quiet places

will take you to a library, cafe, park, or a bookstore

he saw an idea online where a couple will buy each other a book the other one likes, read them, and then talk about them so he asks if y’all can do that

it’s very fun and he has a great taste in books. probably chooses a classic or something contemporary

he just loves being around you he feels clingy and you probably need to tell him you don’t care if he’s always around

takes you to a spot he liked to study or hang out when he used to be in school. makes you a little sad sitting there because it was a place he liked when he was alive, but he likes sharing personal things with you

listening to music with each other at places like that. you too also sit in your car and listen to music a lot.

takes you to museums

takes pictures of you instead of the displays

he brings you to a couples dance thing once because he wanted to do something romantic and you both were awful but it was fun

not really a date but he loves slow dancing with you it makes him happy. he likes at home dates as well

loves the movies!

takes you to see horror movies so he can wrap his arm around you in the scary parts to “protect you”

talks about comic related movies with you for hours after the movie ended

buys you enough snacks to last like three movies

sneaks into another showing and then can’t stop giggling because y’all broke a rule.

as long as you’re in his company he thinks it’s a perfect date <3

blue:

takes you thrifting and then brings you back to her house to do bleach or fabric paint art on some clothes

LOVES picking out outfits for you when y’all go shopping

tote bag painting date. makes you one with your zodiac constellation

takes you to a cafe to study with each other. makes you try pastries she thinks you’ll like. she says she wants to drink black coffee to look mysteriously but can’t help but get the sweetest drink on the menu

you ask her to teach you how to read tarot and she makes an afternoon out of it. does a romance reading for you and then says “damn the cards say we’re not a good match :/“

asks you to come eat with her family and then you end up eating dinner with them more often than not. maura loves you

baking dates! she takes you to the store to get ingredients and then watches videos on how to ice baked good nicely. baking competitions with each other are not out of the question

brings you to her favorite shops in town and buys you things she thinks you like and you always do

going to bookstores and being a little too loud

making terrariums!!

she likes collecting pretty rocks to put in them when you two get to hang out

takes you go karting and gets really into it

races children and will hit them

she likes arcades and laser tag and all but go karting is her favorite amusement place thing to do with you

laser tag on the same team. against those kids from go kart. again gets a little too into it.

she likes surprising you

dates with her always involve some sort of creativity

adam:

another guy who loves taking you to the movies

takes pictures with the posters and he gets so excited it’s really cute

you two sneak in candy from the dollar store but still end up getting slushees at the theater bc you can’t resist

yawns and puts his arm around your shoulder in the theater because he likes seeing your face when he does

when he takes you to dinner he makes you get dessert even if you’re full

he takes you to niche shops he finds or antique stores and loves to paddle around for hours

tried to guess what items are haunted and makes you take pictures with creepy dolls

his dates are always so creative and so fun

stay at home movie/cooking/hang out dates

puts on a movie and cuddles up with you. makes popcorn and other movie snacks and you take turns picking movies

he likes disney movies even if he says they’re cheesy

feels bad he can’t take you on the kind of date ronan or gansey could but you tell him to shut up because if you wanted to date them you would

one of his absolute favorite things to do is put on a youtube cooking video and try to cook with you

he thinks it’s so funny and he loves recording y’all’s reactions to the food. is actually pretty good most of the time

ROLLERSKATING!!!

holds your hand around the rink and requests your favorite songs to the dj

stay in dates are never at his place because of his dad, but if you got some reason are at his house you usually just lay in his room and talk

he takes you on a study date but y’all just talk the whole time

takes you on the most heartfelt dates tbh

gansey:

loves taking you shopping

not even to buy specific things he just enjoys walking around and window shopping with you, but if you say you like something it’s yours

that being said he’s always worried you think he’s snobby you don’t you think he’s very generous

he likes to stay in a bit as well. you tell him you want to have a movie date and he ends up really liking it

brings you to dinner with his family every once in a while

research datesssss

his obsession with a certain dead welsh king very quickly grows to become an obsession of yours as well

pouring over books and showing each other stuff the other has already seen

takes you ice skating and is actually so good at it

he holds your hand the whole time and when you fall he laughs for a little too long before helping you up. it’s so funny

takes videos of you skating and posts them all

wherever you go his social media is going to be just you basically

takes you art galleries, aquariums, and museums and since you both enjoy that you take your time walking around

takes you as his date to formal events he has to go to and needs you by his side almost the whole time

his composure never changed but sometimes you feel his grip on your hand tighten.

introduces you to all the people there as his lovely s/o and then proceeds to gush over you and your accomplishments

takes you dress shopping for an event and turns into a full day date of shopping and then dinner

if you like a certain kind of food he researches all the best places in the area for that and then takes you there

he just likes seeing you happy because you make him so happy

henry:

takes you on really fun dates. like so fun and so spontaneous you can’t believe it. but in reality he’s been carefully planning it for a week.

if you are going out with him expect to be posted a LOT.

everyone on his snap and insta is going to know y’all are on a date and how lovely he thinks you are.

“on a date with this hottie” “on a date kinda nervous”

has a lot of spots he likes to go to alone or with friends that he takes you to.

you are the guest of honor at any party he throws or attends.

he takes you to hills or parks with good views and then says something really cheesy about how the view is nice but you’re prettier and is being dead serious

takes you to a horror movie and then spends the rest of the night trying to scare you

believes you are like the greatest ever and if he notices that you don’t also believe that, he will do everything in his power to make you. he gets very quiet and very serious and tells you how beautiful and important you are to him.

outbursts of affection in public and in private.

will talk about whatever media you both like for hours and hours with you.

really caring and thoughtful with dates yet tries to play it cool, but if you gush about him and the date he will blush

he finds a food, drink, item, etc he wants to try online and will make a day out of getting it and trying it with you

honestly the best bf ever

[monstersanonymous]

little TRC headcanons

Adam has a terrible sense of direction. He gets his left and right mixed up if he’s not paying attention and it irritates the HELL out of him

Gansey HAS to write everything down. He can’t remember it other wise. Monmouth is filled with post its, some are duplicates. His school notes are practically the lecture word for word

Blue has a bad habit of standing on her toes when she orders food. It’s built from when she was too short to see over the counter and she can’t shake it (i get so say this bc i do this and i’m 5 feet tall)

Ronan flips over his cups when he puts them in the sink. His mom used to make him do it because he was really bad about putting half full glasses in the sink and milk would spoil

Declan uses an exfoliant on his hands after someone mentioned his pencil callous after a handshake.

Henry is the kind of person to use half a bottle of ketchup, forget he has ketchup, and buy more at the store. There are three open bottles in the fridge.

Noah is terrified of almost all bugs. It’s the only thing he and Ronan really argue about; to kill or not to kill.

Adam drums his fingers when he thinks

Ronan is a foot tapper. An against the metal leg of a desk foot tapper. It’s the no. 1 reason teacher don’t like him, despite his general Ronan-ness

Gansey can’t keep a cactus alive. He has not idea why. Logically, they are the easiest plant to care for, but he keeps killing them. ronan says it’s a metaphor

noah chronically loses pen caps. it’s the closest gansey has ever come to pure rage towards him

henry is unreasonably good with photoshop. he uses it for both good and evil

[tamquamalteradam]

The Gangsey x Online School

the timeline in my brain for this is post-trc, but they’re all still in school for some reason

Adam zooming into Harvard from the barns: *unmutes* so I think that- *KREK KREK KREK* sorry that's just our pet ra- *sound of opal's hooves as she chases chainsaw around the house* so as I was saying

Adam takes Latin because pre-law track things and one day the professor hears Opal screeching in Latin and they're like "who was that?” and long story short Opal now sits in on Adam's Latin classes

Has a habit of barricading himself in rooms and working himself half to death, so he and Ronan make a deal that Adam can take over one of the Barns’ rooms to study when he needs peace and quiet on the condition that they eat dinner together and go to bed at a reasonable time

Online school works a lot better for Adam than it does most people, he has the self-discipline to stay on track and it’s a lot easier to manage his work schedule that way

Ronan does anything BUT class during class

Camera off, mic muted, sets his computer next to Adam as he's studying and goes to fix some fences, "tell me if something interesting happens"

Types (vulgar) Latin jokes into the chat, everyone in the class is lowkey grateful because any morsel of entertainment during Zoom Hell is a win

Adam: jesus christ lynch put on some pants

Ronan: no

(like i said he never ever turns on his camera so it doesn’t matter)

Except one time he forgets, so the whole class sees him in his boxers flipping burgers for lunch or something

Gansey has 2 moods: Attentive (TM) & Burnt Out

Would either dress up for class and have his camera on the whole time, or would roll out of bed in his pyjamas and catch up on his other classes’ work while listening to his lectures

Definitely does 99% of the work on shared documents because “everyone’s having a hard time right now,” picks up all his group members’ unfinished work

Turns on his mic first during breakout rooms to greet everyone, tries to be a “good team leader,” volunteers to report back to the class

Would be the only person to actually attend teachers’ office hours because he genuinely wants to talk about stuff from the lesson

Blue would either zoom in from under the tree in her backyard or from Noah’s old room in Monmouth

Would 100% be eating yogurt during class, when she’s done she heads into the living room to give Gansey the fruit bits

Blue likes online school because we all know she doesn’t care about anyone at her school lmao but I think she would prefer hands-on learning

Gansey and Blue fall into a routine of doing their classes and then heading out to explore some new place around Henrietta/the other surrounding towns

Sometimes both of them head over to Litchfield house and then it’s utter C h a o s (and the wifi probably crashes with that many people zooming at the same time)

Henry and Gansey would have fashion competitions, or show up to class with matching ties & complementary zoom backgrounds

Ok but Litchfield house study sessions where they play Kahoot using the movie projector !!!

Henry would definitely be that person who’s like “i’m going to get up at 7am, go out for a run and start the day refreshed let’s get this bread 💯” but never doing it

[royalswille]

“you can’t headcanon all your favourite characters as ace just because you are” well fucking watch me