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.
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About language brainrot. Imagine writer creator reader who finally learns how to write in Teyvat's weird symbols and they want to publish their book. They decided to do it anonymously to avoid the "aaaaaah our creator wrote the holy scripture" sort of situation. Except it didn't work. The reader's style is too different from the rest of the world, so even if they tried to simulate the flowery speech it wasn't effective.
Another thing. Reader who decided to read some local books to practice their reading. They asked for something simple and similar to their speech. But the only books merely similar to it are 2000 and more years old. It's funny how the older text is the more you can understand it. On this note. If reader write something i feel like it would be hard to understand for Teyvat's people.
Imagine a reader who is autistic or has any other NDs imparing their communication skills. They practically trained themselves to say sertain phrases in sertain situation. But it doesn't work in Teyvat. And everything just stacks at each other. Difference in speech, being a God (so people react weirdly to you), bad communication skills, not understanding nonverbal cues and so on. There's gonna be a lot of misunderstanding. I imagine how followers would walk on the eggshells not to upset and angry their God and reader who does the same not to say something people will get wrong. Again.
Reader who regained all their memories of creating Teyvat, they're super powerful and stuff. But they still struggle with the modern language. Because all the memories are like millions years old.
✨️NEXYLAZA UR SO FUCKING SMART AND CREATIVE✨️ UR BRAIN>>>>>> EVERYTHING
GIF Akashi (black hair) is all the people who read the Sagau/Isekai Genshin tag and Bokuto (silver) is STILL ME RANTING ABOUT LANGUAGE IN TEYVAT LMAO
They cant escape me, sorry people who just wanted to read SAGAU normal things, im filling up the tag💀
I HAD OTHER ASKS BEFORE THIS ONE AND AS I GOT THRU EM I WAS "OMMGGGG WE'RE GETTIN CLOSER TO NEXY'SSSS ASSSKKKK EEEEEEE"
YOU ARE A GODDAMN GENIUS
DHALALWKDHDHS
ME ABOUT THIS ASK:
(^ lol biblically accurate deadaquarius)
I DONT EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGINNNN
BRAINROTTING OVER UR ENTIRE ASK!!
♡
Also, its getting kinda old now, so here is the blunt language v. Teyvat's flowery language post for reference! :)
Hhhhhhhhhhh
IF U WRITE STUFF
AND UR IN WORDY TEYVAT LAND
AINT NO WAY,👏
U COULD EVEN, 👏👏
GET CLOSE👏👏👏
TO THESE BITCHES SPEECH👏👏👏👏
◇
Like,, imagine right now if i told you to write me 4 pages of an essay in entirely early 18th century vernacular.
(For reference: when the story Pride & Prejudice takes place)
... like??
Bitch aint no way u can do that and actually show that to a historian or an actual living person from that time period
and them actually say "wow! An excellently worded 18th century essay!"
💀.
◇
So tying into that whole, "the only simple texts are like literal cunnieform clay tablets or sm shit"
Your writing to them just sounds like if a scribe just copied off what one of those tablets said just onto paper HAHA
And like, if u try and dress it up, it just ends up sounding like its from a slightly later time period
Like if ur casual writing sounds like 1 million years ago, u being flowery sounds like 8-7 thousand years ago u cant win LMAO
◇
Omg ur trying to go to that-
wait whats it called,,fuck i dont know Sumeru good enough yet
The.. HOUSE OF DAENA GOT IT
Yeah so ur thinking "Oh what better way to learn a dialect?/vernacular than reading books by them!"
And u basically snatch Alhaitham at the soonest possible chance to take you there
(Bc when i went in, it was just random lore books everywhere so)
Needless to say you have no clue how this place is organized, so u convince him to direct you to books u can easily read first
Like as close to your speech as possible!! U tell him :)
.
..
...lol
It literally takes like 3 hours to get something readable LMAO
Bc when the poor feeble scribe initially brought you smth he thought was pretty old and close to ur speech, like just first thought,
... It sounded like it was from the middle of the 18th century to you lol
So, with a "hmm" and a squint at the dusty book you'd already given up on
Alhaitham slowly went around the library making a stack of books, dropped them off in front of you... not a single sentence.
...then he made a stack of scrolls...
..nope..
...a stack of stone tablets...
.....getting closer?? it was really weird seeing Shakespearean language carved into stone....
...and then, with a conversation to a second library secretary deeper in the library, past a caged area of shelves to protect them...
...he escorts you behind the restricted section towards the back filled with glass display cases.
(Several of which contain the most ancient looking sets of artifacts you've ever seen)
...Finally, u arrive at a long glass case of several clay tablets.
Half of which sound like they're from the 1910s-20s, and the other, even older half, sounding straight out of the 2000s..
..
....
......
...Good god.
(Good..you??)
These crazy speaking bastard-previously-video-game-characters were right.
...
You are suddenly, viscerally hit with the image of Zhongli's idle, "Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember, but where are those who share the memory?" 💀
◇
Alhaitham side eyes you,, (he looks,, very interested, yet also kinda concerned??? HIM, CONCERNED????!!!)
"Ahem, the texts before thy Greatest Lord art the eldest- well, perhaps, more appropriately, the eldest and most intact, pieces of written language known to our humankind."
...
....aYOO MAN 😭😭
...Ur just staring at these half cracked, baked clay tablet thingys, full of slang from like 2003-
Alhaitham coughs.
"Uh, thanks. ...Sorry about all the.. trouble with this..."
BRO HOW OLD DOES HE THINK U ARE NOW-
"This task assigned to mine own person was of no trouble to my mind or spirit, Greatest Lord, fret not about it any longer."
And with a sort of shell-shocked atmosphere surrounding both of you, Alhaitham walks off to check out some other restricted books, hovering nearby yet also trying to give u space LOL
Top 10 cursed images: Seeing "Chillax, bro, dude, and weeb" carved into ancient clay tablets that look like they would be part of the Egyptian exhibit back in ur world 💀
◇
You eventually just kind of end up writing a couple pages after studying the writings, going younger and younger (nothing has ever made u feel more powerful...yet also more old..)
You stretch, just as Alhaitham finally has made his own little stack of creaky old books
He seems very curious to read what u wrote, peaking a glance over the top of his book every so often (lol nerd, cute nerd... but NERDDD)
You just offer the academic lunatic what he wants 🙄
"Haha, wanna take a look? Some drafts are... closer than others..."
The scribe immediately puts his book down, not even saving his page,
"I would be honored, Greatest Lord."
Is he excited?? 💀 omfg
U very slowly hand ur most recent practice pages over, he curls his hand under his chin "hmm" ing
...Alhaitham shakes his head
"My..deepest apologizes My Creator, but this still seems, at the earliest, from when papyrus was invented, and not yet even into scrolls..."
OK BUT ALHAITHAM WOULD GENUINELY GIVE NO FUCKS ABT CRITIQING YOU, HE MAY BE MORE POLITE ABT IT BUT EVEN IF U DID MAKE THE WORLD HES GOING FOR IT
KAVEH HAS A HEART ATTACK BC HIS ROOMMATE GOT ONTO GOD LMAO
U let ur head plop on ur pile of papers, srry babe youll never be as fancy as Mr. Darcy 😕
And as ur resting there, contemplating just walking out and finding smth to eat instead- same
Alhaitham picks up another draft.
Except it's your first attempt.
As in, you didn't even try, first attempt.
You just made some bullet point notes or some Bs, in ur regular. modern. language.
Alhaitham knocks his chair over standing up so fast-
(HE GETS SHUSHED BY THE RESTRICTED LIBRARIAN LOL, also another person unafraid to scold God lol)
...he says its a perfect example of the oldest records they've found of writing on the continent, most of which they haven't even translated yet
He asks u to teach him how to read this/speak like this lol
♧
(^^^not my best work but hope yall got smth outta it💀)
I WAS LITERALLY GONNA MAKE A WHOLE POST ON THE NEURODIVERGENT EXPERIENCE OF BEING A GOD IN TEYVAT
ESPECIALLY OF THE LANGUAGE BARRIER VARIETY!!!
THERES JUST
ACK
aCK HDHAKD
SO MUCH
TO SAY
!!!
AHHHHH
OK BUT LIKE
IF WE ACTUALLY TOOK THIS TO THE EXTREME IM IMPLYING IT WOULD BE
LIKE TEYVAT SPEAKS SEVERAL DECADES BEHIND U- MAYBE EVEN ACTUALLY
CLOSE TO PRIDE AND PREJUDICE TIMES SPEECH
THEY WOULD LITERALLY BARELY COMPHREHEND YOU
IMAGINE TRYING TO TALK TO MR. DARCY 😭
THATS LITERALLY ALL OF TEYVAT
JUST
???¿¿?????!!! <- THEM ALL THE TIME
ESP IF UR NEURODIVERGENT
I THINK IT WOULD BE EVEN MORE PROOF FOR THEM TO THINK UR GOD
BC UR BEHAVIOR WOULD BE "OFF" TO THEIR NEUROTYPICAL ASSES,
YOUR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS,
LIKE UR MASKING MAYBE BUT
U CANT KEEP THAT SHIT UP ALL THE TIME-
ESP IN CRAZY ISEKAI CIRCUMSTANCES
AND LIKE-
(ok ill tone it down before i also get shushed)
U used to be a player!!
Which would maybe mean u got rlly comfy playing Genshin all the time!
...like i know im kinda stimming when im gaming (and my natural stim is rocking so yeah no way they wouldnt notice that 💀)
So, since u may be still yknow unconsciously wanting to be comfy (esp around ur mains/team/favs)
U probably have stimmed a little around them, which, not that neurotypicals dont stim, but like
They would notice after awhile
And esp people like Alhaitham, Zhongli, Ningguang, Xiao, Ei, Aether/Lumine, Kaeya, Diluc, Kazuha, Heizou, Shenhe, Kokomi, Sara, Albedo, Dainsleif- !! GASP- !! <- my bbygirl omg i forgot abt u before now im so sorry </3
(once again i have not checked a character list, forgive my sins my readers)
^^^ Are like pretty focused on you/observant, so they'd eventually pick up on it first probably
..
...
....which allsssooo means they're like, collecting all ur neurodivergent thingys lol to compile as EVIDENCE AGAINST YOU AS TO WHY THEY KNOW UR THE CREATOR LMAO
◇
Honestly the biggest factor against u is definitely social interaction,, srry love :/
(if it helps, its bc i know itd be my downfall too thats why thats there ^ 😔)
Mostly bc i have this idea/theory? obervation? that when I especially met Adepti for the first time
Esp ones that werent as close to human society for as long as some others (like think Xiao vs. Ganyu)
And for literally every other non-human people we've met so far in Genshin-
They kinda- they kinda, radiate neurodivergent energy??
Like, they're not adherring to social norms, and not in like a bad way,
But its still rlly obvious (i mean also its probably exaggerated for us as an audience) that theyre not human pretty quickly
coughzhonglicough
COUGHVENTICOUGH-
oh geez wow excuse me, cold weather must be gettin to me- ahem hem-
Anyway, like what Nexy said in the ask,
...
...Yall are all just tiptoing around each other 😭😭
Bc these ppl arent from Earth countries,
All their behavior is weird to you 😭
U dont know how to mask with them yet 😭😭
THE UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF MISCOMMUNICATION THAT HAPPENS ALREADY WHEN UR NEUROSPICY VS. NEUROBLAND PPL
IS LIKE, ALMOST WORSE??
Bc they cant even understand ur phrasing bc its so simple 😭😭😭
◇
Tldr: "Being Neurodivergent means ur a god, confirmed." - says all of Teyvat's denizens
◇
NEXYLAZA.
MY BELOVED.
I AM IN LOVE WITH UR BRAIN.
IF I COULD GIVE IT A HUG I WOULD🫂✨️👏👏👏👏
BC I WAS ALREADY LIKE IN THE BACK OF MY MIND LIKE-
*rubs my little rat gremlin hands together*
"hmHmHMMMM BuT wHaT iF mAYbE yOU reMeMbeREd cReATinG TeyVAT, hmHMHMMMMM"
AND FOR VERBALIZING IT WITHIN BLUNT LANGUAGE AU- !!!!!!!
(one of my favs, if u cant tell)
I would (platonically) kiss you right now dude.
Instead I give this:
♡ ily
And also, I AM GOING TO MAKE A WHOLE POST ABOUT THIS-
MAYBE EVEN A FANFIC, OR ONE SHOT AHDHAKFHSKLAAL-
UNTIL NEXT TIME MY BELOVED PARTNER IN CRIME <333
PSPSPSPSsppspspspssss Last Time! CLOSES TOMORROW @1pm CST: VOTE on my 100+ followers celebration POLL :)
Tell me what u wanna see me write about! PSPSPSPSpspspspssss
(U can vote even if ur new! :] )
THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING THIS ASK
THIS IS A TREASURE OF MINE NOW
GONNA HIDE IT IN MY LITTLE CAVE OF SCREENSHOTTED SAGAU POSTS <333 hehehehehehehehehehe
THIS IS LIKE PT2 TO MY ORIGINAL LANGUAGE POST AHHHHH
NEXY BIG BRAIN ILYSM <3
Cheers,
🌒🌧🌊Aquarius♒️🌌🌘
♡the beloveds♡
@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza lol ur own ask im a menace sorry
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