#i also miss gansey BAD

[lowkeyfalleninlove]

Something about the raven cycle series makes me feel so cozy and like it’s mid-july with the windows open and you’re wearing your old converse from the 8th grade.

#trc #the raven cycle #i also miss gansey BAD #i have the raven king left to read before i say goodbye to my bbys #im gonna hold it off till the summer #blue sargent #richard gansey #ronan lynch #adam parrish #noah czerny

[wander-wren]

*holds up shield* don’t throw things at me but i have actually developed nuanced opinions on AI over the past couple of months. imagine that. but this isn’t a post about those nuanced opinions! i can get into them later

this is a post where i reluctantly went to chatgpt to perform An Experiment, because if there’s one thing i love it’s writing-related data and making fun of bad writing guilt-free. and now that i’m not ideologically opposed with every atom of my body to AI i can do that!

i chose to give ai one of my older fics (from 2022), both because it was short enough for the text box and because, given all the scraping drama, ai probably already has it anyway. i was very tempted to put in something original, but i haven’t yet.

then i asked it, first, to write something mimicking that style, to….horrible results. i also asked it to write a sequel to the fic, because i had written a sequel myself. i got….interesting results from that. i have some thoughts on how ai writes, what it could be used for, and what it should almost definitely not be used for.

let’s get into it!

so, to start off, i used my raven cycle fic hostage situation. it’s not my best, being both old and written in like an hour for whumptober, but it’s not the worst.

when i asked chatgpt to mimic the style, i expected it to create something similar (this was a kidnapping with torture h/c fic, so something like that) and to do its very best to write something that sounded like a thing i would write. you know, like the ai art that puts in specific artists’ names to get something like their style.

i did not get that. maybe i would have if i had given it a more specific prompt, like, write a story about X in the style of this story, but i didn’t and i don’t really want to go back to chatgpt again, so just…shh. this was still a useful exercise, i promise!

let’s start by looking at the openings of each piece.

first of all, it chose to change the names and some more specific details, but literally nothing else. also love how it switches from ronnie (ronan?) to theo (gansey) almost immediately and there is cassie (noah) and cassie (adam).

also they made my gay fic hetero. alright.

also, this introduces a theme that we see throughout this endeavor. the ai has little to no idea what trc is or who the characters are (actually it has no idea what anything is, i shouldn’t anthropomorphize, but it doesnt have enough data to pick up on patterns like it might with, say, MCU fic). therefore, it ruins one of my favorite things about writing fic, especially for trc, and that is making dozens of subtle references that probably most other fans would even miss.

for example, right here we have references to ronan’s never-ending battle with his phone, his father’s death, and, if you squint, that One Line that goes “jesus,” gansey said, “christ.” which i have heard talked about a few times and lives in my head rent free. i’m sure no one else thinks about it that much, but it’s a very specific inflection and i love it.

the one (1) thing i will say is that “theo’s breath catches” is totally something i would write, and the ai didn’t copy it from this fic. i mean, it’s still pretty generic, but it kinda feels house style-y to me. hm.

continuing on! let’s see what the video is

so basically it stripped out all the fun description. incredibly rude, this was my favorite part to write. again, i’m wondering if there’s something significant about changing “guy who had to be rescued” to a girl.

there’s also a lot of confusion on like, what’s happening and why on the ai’s side. it’s copying my words, but cutting a lot, so there’s no reason for, say, the villain commenting in her mental faculties—she didn’t seem disoriented before, and she hasn’t done anything now to prompt the remark. also, we “see” cassie and then the newspaper gets pulled away to “reveal” her. it’s very messy. we also don’t get cassie telling theo not to come for her, something that is pretty important in adam’s case, mr. self-sacrifice, lover of ronan.

what happens when boyfriend comes to the rescue?

sorry i’m laughing because theo is still gansey in my head and him having like, full tattoo sleeves is Sending Me.

once again, cutting out the good description and making it all generic. this part makes sense, at least, but it’s less interesting. the best parts are the dialogue and THE DIALOGUE IS MINE. verbatim.

the line “time blurs since the video, her only link to theo gone” is grammatically incorrect or at the very least clunky. idk why that got changed.

changed the lastname-firstname switch that is so very important to pynch. kay.

obviously theo isnt ronan and this technically isnt fanfic so we lose the kavinsky/matthew reference, even though that adds depth to the scene when you remember that almost exactly this thing has happened to ronan with someone he loves before, so this has to be very fraught for him.

let’s finish up with the ending!

so this part doesn’t make any sense in the EXTREMELY limited context of the ai’s story. at the very beginning, it said that one of the three has the ability to manipulate illusions (which in itself is a bit odd—shouldn’t it be create illusions? or can you only manipulate illusions that are already there? that’s not very useful), but that doesn’t have anything to do with violence. is the implication that our dear friends [checks notes] ronnie and cassie2 did this??

the implication in the original fic is that ronan used dream creatures or something similar; it’s his subconscious, not technically his own work depending on how you look at it. i don’t believe ronan would commit violence like this where adam could see (hence why he wanted adam not to look) because of adam’s history of abuse, but ronan also has a lot of anger and a lot of monsters in his head and a lot of love for adam. so.

because this is fanfic, i don’t have to spell any of that out. it just is. but in the ai’s story it doesn’t know why or how that part exists, it just copies it.

and then basic ending where the ai says the quiet/implied part out loud. boring.

it should also be noted that chatgpt generated stories only clock in at around 600 words. the three screenshots here are almost all of that generation, while my fic is almost twice as long.

so my main takeaway here, aside from “chatgpt is bad at my favorite part of fanfic” as i said, is that chatgpt can’t really effectively mimic a writing style that isn’t generic or very close to it, because of the whole “most likely word” thing. and if your style is very generic than other human people already write a lot like you and/or could mimic you very easily.

i don’t have an outside perspective on what makes my fics recognizably mine (tell me?), but i’ve had a lot of people comment on the way i describe emotions. which is cool, because i love doing that. i like implying things with body language (especially focusing on where someone is/isn’t looking) even more than directly describing what people are feeling. the ai’s style is very much about stating directly what characters feel, often to the point of redundancy, a huge pet peeve of mine.

so yeah, not uber useful for fanfic writing. tumblr photo limits prevent me from continuing with the second experiment (writing a sequel to this fic), but i’ll be back in a hot second to write that one.

#wren wrambles #gonna put all my proper tags on the reblog

[regisraven-a]

get to know the author!

name : taj 👑 pronouns : she / her. preference of communication : astral projection. most active muse(s) : ( counting my multi in ) nikolai, more often that i'd like it to be. but i am also pretty consistent with inej. experience / how many years : since 2016, i cant do math. but i started on fb rp ( 💀 ) much before ! best experience : the good ol' 2020 covid lockdown ! hate that it was a terrible time in reality but my rp career was ✨thriving✨ because it was also the time that I came back to rp after a break of 2 years. ( was buddy-reading grishaverse with a friend and it permanently rotted my brain ) miss those times :(( rp pet peeves : asking the dash for suggestions and then literally ignoring all requests like ofc you're not obligated to follow it up but at least dont say 'nobody gave me suggestions :/' and also ppl who think about rp too critically and bash those who don't like sorry i read/indulge in media to enjoy and not to analyse it in a petri dish like i'm a lab scientist. plots or memes : both! I would say I have a preference for plots but I'm so bad at plotting lmao so i like to wing it with rp memes and take it from there. are you like your muse(s) : NO LMAO imagine if i used the word 'repugnant' in real life, i'd be banished so fast. i dont have gansey's optimism, social skills, charisma or his prep-school fashion sense. also the lack of money and stuff

tagged by: no one! stolen hehe tagging: steal it from me & tag me in it so i can read about yall

#i will take any opportunity to talk about myself #✧ ♕ 〘 ooc. ⤳ being perfectly fucking civil.

[noyoucannotpushthevoid]

Fuck it, Characters from the Raven Cycle as things me and my friends have said, part 3 (consider this deranged dnd edition since they all came from our last dnd session)

"'You know what else tastes like Windex?' [Ronan] 'Windex' ([Blue] and [Adam] in unison)" cue horrified and concerned noises from Gansey’s general direction "Hey, those British kids love their porridge" - Ronan not making a good impression on Mallory "He talks like a birdman, acts like a birdman, walks like a birdman" - about Ronan as he strolls around with Chainsaw "If he brings death I think he's more than down to kill people" - about Mr. Grey "Regardless I probably fucked up" - Adam or Ronan "You could be a ghost...OOoooo~" - Noah "Hey the sun's up, get up idiot!" - Adam waking Ronan up for school after a st. Agnus sleepover "Hello fellow humanoids" - Greywaren as Ronan "I miss the desiccated corpse" - everyone about Noah "Bears are a genre of gay porn" - Ronan trying to prove a point "'What are you going to do with a cannonball?' [Gansey] 'I don't know, throw it at someone' [Ronan]" And from thence forward, Ronan was not allowed on any more trips to historical sites or national parks "You're a tax write off" - Declan @ Ronan "'We're going on a trip' [Henry] '...in our favorite pirate ship' [Blue]" in the Pig off on their road trip "Science bitch" - Henry "I'm ironman but if he worked at mcdonalds" - Blue (idk, but the vibes, y’know?) "I'm not going to say 'fuck me' because I know [Ronan] would say 'yes please'" - Gansey when he’s tired of Ronan’s gay jokes "Normal? In this economy?" - Adam (with vitriol) "I will cut off all your toes unless you give me a straight answer...or a gay answer" - Declan trying to get answer on anything from Ronan "You choose between [Adam], [Ronan], and me and you choose to kill the president. Good choice" - Blue @ Gansey when presented with picking between the people he loves (in the same sense as it was irl. Think fuck, marry, kill, but the only option is fuck) "First of all, fuck Greta Thurnberg" - Ronan, probably only to piss off Blue "I think we've established [Ronan] is willing to sacrifice civilization to not answer your question" "Oh, easy bake oven. Set it for 20 minutes. We're on our way baby" - Summer in Virginia (please take this with a grain of salt, I’ve never spent more than like 2 days in Virginia) "Aged like fine wine" - [Gansey] about a [several centuries] old dead body "How do I get that bad money?" - Niall Lynch "What are you? My mom?" - Ronan @ Gansey "You have this guy in your bedroom" - Adam when bi, and Ronan just shows up to St. Agnus to vibe "Try it, try it, I'm Kratos" - Ronan egging on Declan to punch him "Bonding!?" - said in horrified unison after Gansey suggests it (irl it was also said in horrified unison because it was our DM talking, following a very violent pc on pc fight...) "Out of character, you fucking cockblocked me" - Adam @ Gansey "I can do my anarchy in peace" - Blue

#the raven cycle #gansey #ronan lynch #adam parrish #blue sargent #noah czerny #henry cheng #I had to deafen myself twice things got so out of hand #i know far too much than I ever wanted to know about at least one of these people #at least there was no on page desecration or major acts of violence this session? #it was fun #what am I saying

[starcloud-nova]

omg bestie u read trc!!? tell me ur thoughts!! or not <33 i hope ure well <33

MOON HI omg i missed u how are you

YEAH yeah i finished call down the hawk like two days ago it was so ugh like UGH. im gonna have to find mi somewhere bc idk how i'll be able to wait until school starts back up. it's been like sooo hard for me to read books lately so it took me like a month to get through all of them minus blue lily which was my favorite and took a week but i still loved these shits so much.

favorite characters were like. gansey because he's gansey but also NOAH 💖💖💖💖💖 noah was soooo fucking. i love that kid so much and i'm so sad we'll never get to see what he was like before he died :(. noah also continually reminded me of @ aries so much and that's part of why i loved his character so much. he was so much like aries. ily aries.

my fave book was blue lily, lily blue. god blue lily was so good i loved every bit of it but the raven king !!! fuck shit that was some goooood horror like damn i wish there was more horror in novels like that i absolutely died at That One Scene with adam. henry was also a welcome change in pace from the chaos of the rest of the characters. i didn’t like him in bllb but he’s better now <3

let me tell you the books were naaaaawt at all what i expected because mostly i knew them as Those Gay Books that tumblr liked or maybe it was just this one blogger who liked them so anyways i was surprised at the plot. like. psychics :0 magic :00 not what i thought it would be. also the person i followed really liked gansey and adam and ronan and so when i read the summary of the raven boys i was like surprised that there was this random chick named blue. shocked, even. who was she.

they were incredible books tho i'll admit like genuinely would have me hooked if i could stand reading for longer than an hour at a time. like the plot was so well written and worldbuilding was so amazing and the characters were all so mwah mwah blorbo. it's only been like 6 months since i started book 1 (im pretty sure it was late december) i feel so nostalgic for the early days :). stupid fucking gansey with his stupid fucking notebook, ronan who had chronic “im obnoxious" disease. adam and his whole thing:(.

i find it so kind of funny sad how ronan and adam and like. and he. and. him punching adams dad like that was whew. also spent the entire book in distress that adam was sticking around so that he could ask glendower for the favor. :(((like that broke my heart ADAM YOURE STRONGER THAN THIS I SWEAR YOU CAN DO IT you are capable of great things babey:((((((.

as for book two. hmmmm. hmmmmm. im forced to admit i didn’t like the dream thieves as much. not that it was a bad book it was a great book but adam was like having a mental breakdown and so he was being mean to everyone and then ronan was taking drugs like candy under kavinsky’s supervision and that also made me sad. to quote myself “i always want more complex characters and storylines with realistic trauma and reactions until my favorite character is mean” snsjdjdnd. mr gray was like 🔫🔫🔫 i didn’t like him but then he was redeemed i suppose. he’s aight, esp with how he protected the kids in later books.

when i was reading i liveblogged in kestrel's server because @littlebluejane had read the books before me and provided excellent reactions to my reactions. was reading out of a paper book so i have like several pictures of pages of the best lines and ouch it hurts so bad. like the dynamic between blue and ronan was so good :(((asshole who cares and asshole who doesn't. the “wrong demon" line from when adam and ronan were driving around town haunts me to this day, and then blue and noah <333 they were in love but platonically.

[SPEAKING OF NOAH when i finally connected the dots in book four and got to the scene where NOAH is the one telling gansey that glendower saved him i lost my god damn mother fucking mind. like holy shit. HUHH. i will never recover. ever ever.]

i would mention shit from like cdth but i just finished it and the series isn’t done yet so we can’t find all the fun easter eggs and. mostly i’m just sort of reeling. so much happened in this book but mostly the summary on the inside was misleading because it implies hennessy and farooq-lane and ronan are all going to coincide but i don’t think farooq-lane even gets to look at the two of them. very misleading smh. parsifal was on my shitlist at first but after he died he’s off the hook ig. matthew and his whole THING killed me absolutely slaughtered me. also the implication that aurora was based off someone else. yeah. a Lot of stuff happened in this book. yeah.

ne ways this got so so long i’m sorry i had to relocate to my notes app bc i was like wait this doesn’t make any sense this is all jumbled up so then i regrouped i rearranged i rescouted and now we are here. at the end of this post. sorry moon sorry followers have fun reading all of this. read the raven cycle. four books all roughly 400 pages by maggie steifvater. good yes yes good.

#ask #tofumoons #long time no see <333 #trc spoilers #cdth spoilers #nova talks

[dxppercxdxver]

stopsign junction 🥀

time to synopsize this Wack Ass Dream i had and am now trying to turn into a story

picture mid 70s small town americana. well, small-ish, all the main characters attend this weird private school and shit. ANYWAY. late autumn air, golden glows, lots of brick and sweater vests, you get the drill

our protagonist is a boy named theo. he's super smart, got into this private school based on test scores rather than money, and has a sort of. bootleg eddie munson vibe going on. i know in my heart he would be a he/they in modern times. long hair, bassist, nail polish when he can get away with it, bit of the town freak (affectionate)

his best friend and other primary protagonist is a boy named ben. super rich family, has a bit of a reputation for being an asshole, but mostly he's just. very smart and bad at social cues. he may also be a bit hoh but honestly i can't decide with him yet. he's got a very. detached and ethereal thing going on? he always looks like he's thinking about something more important than you (he's not, he just looks like it). you read the raven cycle? gansey vibes

and they're best friends!! they live next door and have little secret codes they share with each other and know all the hidey holes and passages in each other's houses and can sneak between their yards and into their bedrooms easier than breathing. also, theo is Catastrophically in love with ben. oops

crux of the plot is that ben discovers something about their little town. any four way stopsign junction can be used to make minor wishes. they use it mostly for goofs at first? changing all the text in the neighborhood to french, fudging their class attendance records, etc. but then they realize something Weird is going on. someone else is using this stopsign trick for Nefarious Purposes

and now they have a mystery to solve that ties into the school and their families and really the town's history as a whole

i literally cannot synopsize all of it without taking Eight Years but the primary crux of the story is that ben Does realize his feelings for theo. and it's great. but then the antagonist makes a wish and erases their entire history together. and so theo must partner up with ben's girlfriend and the other local weirdo to undo it and solve the mystery before the town's temporal fabric unwinds for good

it was so vivid. i miss ben sometimes

#there's Way More to it but i don't want to be here all night shjshjs #my writing #radio free junebug #venomroses #ask game

[crimeronan]

Ok so I’m into the dreamer trilogy and haven’t read the Raven cycle...what is Declan’s characterisation/journey there?

THIS MIGHT BE THE BEST ASK I’VE EVER RECEIVED. IMAGINE I’M STANDING WITH MY ARMS SPREAD USING DIFFERENT VOICES AND HAND GESTURES TO REENACT THIS STORY FOR A RESENTFUL CAPTIVE AUDIENCE

also declan’s TRC storyline is like. equal parts horribly fucking sad and unbelievably fucking hilarious so. i will try to strike a Balance

FIRST OFF.  there is exactly one (1) declan POV chapter in the entire series. it happens toward the end of the last book. up until then, everything we know about him comes from the observations and narration of others.

he is also a very minor character.  his importance grows throughout the series, but almost all of his actions happen offscreen.  it’s not until the last book that we know exactly how much he’s been dealing with the whole time.

when he’s introduced in the first book, he appears as a plot device.  here is a two-dimensional horrible controlling hardass who doesn’t give a shit about anything but his future political career.  look at his fake, smug fucking grin.  how did someone like ronan end up with a brother like him??  doesn’t matter.  it’s a convenient excuse for ronan to live with his best friend in a drafty warehouse, which means more room for YA hijinks!

declan’s introduction scene is Embroiled in Capital-D Douchebaggery. according to the narration (from gansey and adam), he loves to fuck women and then never call them back, cozy up to powerful people, and bitch about how ronan’s ruining his life by being sad about their dead parents.  SOME people can just get over their dead parents, ronan!

this intro scene is also Extremely Funny i 100% recommend reading it even if u don’t read the actual series.  ronan makes a nasty comment, declan goes “why are you the way that you are” and tries to salvage his date, gansey utters the phrase “man whore”

then later that night things go like. actually bad.

declan shows up at the same pizza place where ronan is with his friends.  this scene is gansey pov.  gansey runs out to the parking lot to find the two of them Very Literally Trying To Kill Each Other.  you don’t see that violence in cdth - there’s only the TINIEST shadow of it when declan confronts ronan over matthew - so i Cannot Express Enough that someone is going to end up hospitalized at BEST. ronan’s already slammed declan’s head on the car, declan’s already grabbed ronan and beaten the shit out of his face, like.

you do not get good old-fashioned Declan Lynch At His Actual Worst in cdth. u might be thinking, THAT guy???? doing THIS????

oh yeah. things are real bad between declan and ronan.

after gansey breaks up the fight (and gets punched in the face for his trouble, albeit accidentally), declan tells ronan that their dad would be fucking ashamed to see him now & that he’s washing his hands of it & basically if ronan wants to go off and fucking die, he can.

this is like. just a couple months after the magical suicide attempt referenced in cdth

in the aftermath of that scene it becomes clear that ronan absolutely unequivocally 100% will kill himself if he has to live with declan. hence. why he’s living with gansey instead.  gansey spends that whole night petrified that the declan altercation will lead to another attempt, and for Good Reason

so like, that’s how we first meet declan. he’s an uncaring wannabe corporate asshole who does not give a fuck and who only exists to exacerbate ronan’s mental health issues.

but then the opening of book 2 gets real interesting.

book 2 is where we start learning more about the lynch family.  we learn that ronan’s father was a dreamer who sold his creations on the black market, we learn that that’s why he was murdered. we learn that ronan’s a dreamer too. we learn that there are very powerful people looking for the greywaren, an artifact that takes objects from dreams. those powerful people just don’t realize it’s a person, yet.

so here’s the assassin who killed niall lynch.

he goes to declan’s dorm.

with everything we know about declan, the kid should be completely unprepared.  he can box, but the assassin knows that, so there’s no real advantage.  he’s alone, and he doesn’t have an escape route.

declan pulls out a gun.

this is an unexpected turn of events.

unfortunately he ends up getting beaten half to death with the butt of said gun, because he loses the ensuing physical struggle for the weapon.  the assassin is like, i need the greywaren.  declan is like, i know it exists but i don’t know what it is.  i’ll find it for you.  i’ll get it to you.  then you’ll leave me the fuck alone

now with everything we know of declan at this point - his attitude toward ronan, his general demeanor, and this new knowledge that he knew about the black market - there’s one obvious question.

will declan sell ronan out if he finds out about the dreaming.

and like, okay. their relationship is antagonistic in cdth but it is NOT what it is in trc. believe me when i tell you that at that point, when you’re reading, you can pretty reasonably go, “oh, god.  oh god.  oh god please no one ever tell declan what the greywaren is.  oh god.”

declan has some other interactions with ronan and the gang throughout the book, mostly where he’s just a hardass who tells ronan to stop causing trouble.  adam’s the only one who notices that declan is scared.  like bone-deep shaking to the core petrified.  about Something.

probably getting beaten to within an inch of his life by the man who murdered his father.  that’s the reasonable reader conclusion.

so imagine how everything changes when you find out that declan already knows.  that declan’s known about ronan’s dreaming for longer than ronan has.  that declan knew exactly what and who the greywaren was, and he lied to a man who was ready to torture him for information, and he got away with it.

suddenly a lot of things recontextualize.

“keep your head down and stop making trouble”? people are gonna NOTICE your magic bullshit, ronan, we do not have time for this!

“stop hanging with that loser druggie friend of yours”? you mean the loser druggie friend who sells on the magic black market and doesn’t care about protecting himself or anyone else?

“i got super weird for no reason about ronan sleeping close to adam”? i don’t have fucking TIME to be homophobic i’m busy with your POTENTIAL TO MANIFEST NIGHT TERRORS IN FRONT OF WITNESSES IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

“i’ll find out what the greywaren is and bring it to you”? i’ll die. i’m making a bargain to die. i’m never giving you the greywaren and i know you’re going to kill me about it and that’s fine as long as my brothers are safe

ronan doesn’t know that he dreamed matthew.  declan knows.  he’s known the whole time.  declan tells ronan in book 3.  and then things recontextualize even further, because ronan’s death is also matthew’s, and matthew IS close to declan in trc.

but declan never tells the goddamn truth unless it’s his last option.  he doesn’t tell ronan that he knows about the dreaming and he doesn’t tell ronan what specifically wants to hurt him and the lack of communication fucking destroys both of them.

in the last book, ronan realizes declan loves him.

more than that, he realizes declan’s loved him the whole time.

this is when declan finally tells the truth.  things are getting bad, plot-wise, and declan is scared, so he comes clean.  he tells ronan that niall specifically tasked declan with protecting ronan from the market.  he begs ronan to run from the danger.  “let’s pour gasoline on everything dad left and start over.”

this is also when ronan realizes that declan’s childhood was very different from ronan’s own.  and that niall and aurora lynch were not the same people to declan that they were to ronan.  and that their father’s decisions are what’s driven the wedge between him and declan all this time

(he’s still struggling with the cognitive dissonance of this in cdth. i don’t think he knows how to adjust his perception of declan to fit this new information.)

aaaaand the final scene with declan makes me cry every time i read it so instead of summarizing, here’s the important part:

Ronan delivered a sharp tap to the object, and a small cloud of fiery orbs sprayed up with a sparkling hiss.

“Jesus, Ronan!” Declan jerked his chin away.

“Please. Did you think I’d blow your face off?”

He demonstrated it again, that quick tap, that burst of brilliant orbs. He tipped it into Declan’s hand, and before Declan could say anything, jabbed it to activate it once more.

Orbs gasped up into the air. For a moment, he saw how his brother was caught inside them, watching them soar furiously around his face, each gold sun firing gold and white, and when he saw the spacious longing in Declan’s face, he realized how much Declan had missed by growing up neither dreamer nor dreamt. This had never been his home. The Lynches had never tried to make it Declan’s home.

“Declan?” Ronan asked.

Declan’s face cleared. “This is the most useful thing you’ve ever dreamt. You should name it.”

“I have. ORBMASTER. All caps.”

“Technically you’re the orbmaster though, right? And that’s just an orb.”

“Anyone who holds it becomes an ORBMASTER. You’re an ORBMASTER right now. There, keep it, put it in your pocket. D.C. ORBMASTER.”

Declan reached out and scuffed Ronan’s shaved head. “You’re such a little asshole.”

The last time they’d stood on this roof together, their parents had both been alive, and the cattle in these fields had been slowly grazing, and the world had been a smaller place. That time was gone, but for once, it was all right.

The brothers both looked back over the place that had made them, and then they climbed down from the roof together.

#long post #REALLY long post #i haven't reread this so excuse any incoherence #trc #trc meta #not really but?? #suicide / #declan lynch #i love my idiot son #replies #Anonymous

[robobee]

an addendum to my henry&gray road trip au series that's a little more serious

-part of the reason mr Gray even agrees to help despite surface level grumbles is because like. he gets it completely. remember in TDT how he got a missed call from his brother and collapsed into a severe depression immediately. (the gray man is one of the most excellent reps of dealing with long lasting trauma jbtw Maggie went OFF w that) & how the only time we really see Henry actually shaken is NOT having a gun pointed to him but rather when he sees laumonier. if ykyk but freezing up like that is atrocious and I feel so bad for him

- the first thing Henry does is ask him if he actually ever felt better after killing his brother. and Gray's like well. I didn't feel WORSE. and Henry's like well my mother whom I trust implicitly is canoodling with the very men who've ruined my childhood and I am three seconds away from becoming a supervillain so I need this and I need your help.

-it'd be an interesting also bc even in tdt gray IS working actively against Laumonier’s goons (our boss is a French guy) plus in trk we realise that no, they are very much not over Henry and are still looking for him. obviously there is an inciting plot incident in my head too but I can't Say it here. uh think the deleted scenes kavinsky moment 🧍‍♂️

-I also think Henry genuinely is like. I thought having real friends would ease my trauma and paranoia but being able to kiss gansey sometimes does not actually work as psychological help . shocking.

-something I'm debating but am not solid on is merging this with another AU where henry is an ex-dreamer. need him to have a conversation where he pointedly tells Ronan he is not afraid enough, because they will find what makes you tick, they WILL rip it out . of course then robobee would be one of HENRY'S dream creations instead and it still hangs around bc he is alive even if he can no longer Dream yk? also we need some Nightwash moments for the vibes . anyways it makes the whole revenge plotline more like. oomphy

#this is just word vomit #but having thoughts. #trcaustuff #hengrayroadtripau. #tw abuse #tw trauma #tw kidnapping #i guess

[jellybeanbeing]

The Raven Boys Quotes

I actually forgot how much I love this series and I recently have been looking through them again so here are some quotes that are my favorite and/or resonate with me.

“His heart hurt with the wanting of it, the hurt no less painful for being difficult to explain.” (20)

“What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.” (38)

“It was somehow intimate in its complete lack of privacy.” (42)

“His code of honor left no room for infidelity, for casual relationships. It wasn’t that he didn’t condone them; he couldn’t understand them.” (49)

“Gansey could’ve had any and all of the friends that he wanted. Instead he had chosen the three of them, three guys who should’ve, for three different reasons, been friendless.” (50)

“Because it was never Ronan by himself, it was Ronan as part of the inseparable threesome: Ronan Lynch, Richard Gansey, and Adam Parrish.” (53)

“There was something hungry about all of the boys.” (58)

“They wore matching raw expressions. Different wounds inflicted by the same weapon.” (73)

“It was only Gansey who seemed afraid that Ronan would learn to live in the dirt.” (75)

“What she wanted was to see something no one else could see or would see, and maybe that was asking for more magic than was in the world.” (79)

“More than anything, the journal wanted.” (84)

“It had been a long time ago, but also, it was no time at all.” (91)

“Sometimes, Gansey felt like his life was made up of a dozen hours that he could never forget.” (91) 

“Everyone dreamed, only some forgot.” (97)

“There was something about his stare that took something from the other person.” (115)

“So many things survived here without really living.” (133)

“Gansey could see his irises moving underneath the thin skin of his eyelids, a dreamer awake.” (135)

“Gansey. This was Gansey.” (140)

“They filled the hallway to overflowing, somehow the three of them, loud and male and so comfortable with one another that they allowed no one else to be comfortable with them.” (140)

“It also made her feel strangely jealous; she wanted something like that, a bond strong enough to transcend words.” (144)

“’I don’t have a brother, ma’am,’ Adam replied. But Blue saw his eyes dart to Gansey.” (145)

“The approval of someone like him, who clearly cared for no one, seemed like it would be worth more.” (146)

“Something about Gansey made her feel so strongly other that it was as if she had to guard her emotions against him.” (148)

“In this room with Maura and Calla and Persephone, time felt circular.” (149)

“But more than that, he missed the Ronan that had existed when Niall Lynch had still been alive.” (159)

“‘Do you not want me to come?’   Something stuck in Gansey’s chest. ‘I would take all of you anywhere with me.’” (163)

“And now Gansey was king here, and he didn’t even know how to use it.” (174)

“Adam wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all Gansey, but he was tired.” (186)

“‘If magic exists, I just want to see it. Just once.’ ‘You’re as bad as Gansey,’ Adam said, but he didn’t sound as if he thought that was very bad at all.” (193)

“‘Is this thing safe?’ ‘Safe as life.’” (195)

“It was some private joy that she managed to be in on by virtue of being in the helicopter and, just like that, Blue was excited, too.” (197)

“The journal and Gansey were clearly long-acquainted, and he wanted her to know. This is me. The real me.” (205)

“You’re right, Ronan, it’s starting, something’s starting.” (207)

“It was suddenly difficult not to be excited by the idea of explaining it all to her.” (208)

“Gansey grinned at them both. He was hard to resist in this form: glowing with rows and rows of white teeth, a college brochure in the making.” (213)

“Everything was alive, alive. She breathed. ‘This is lovely.’ It was for Adam, not Gansey, but she saw Gansey glance over his shoulder at her.” (219)

“This was a wordless discussion, too, though she didn’t think either of the boys knew what they were trying to say.” (222)

“Gansey looked up to them, and she saw in his face that he loved this place. His bald expression held something new: not the raw delight of finding the ley line or the sly pleasure of teasing Blue. She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness. It was the way she felt when she looked at the stars.” (223)

“She felt like she was part of a dream this place was having, or it was a part of a dream of hers.” (225)

“Gansey had a sense of incredible rightness, then, with everyone assembled by the Pig... She was right like Ronan had been right, like Adam had been right, like Noah had been right.” (232)

“...and they were loud and triumphant and kings of Henrietta, because they’d found the ley line and because it was starting, it was starting.” (234)

“As Adam stared at his lap, penitent, he mused that there was something musical about Ronan when he swore, a careful and loving precision to the way he fit the words together, a black-painted poetry. It was far less hateful sounding than when he didn’t swear.” (238)

“Now, it was real. Magic existed, and Adam didn’t know how much that changed the world.” (241)

“This, Blue had discovered, was how Gansey got places—striding. Walking was for ordinary people.” (264)

“Ronan says that memories are like dreams.” (269)

“This was Gansey who had written the journal. The truth of it, the magic of it, possessed her.” (271)

“’You’re looking for a god. Didn’t you suspect that there was also a devil?’” (284)

“He wasn’t lost for words; he was observing.” (302)

“‘I want you to know, I was... more... when I was alive.’” (305)

“‘Coincidence,’ Ronan said, because it wasn’t.” (307)

“But it was him. He was giving everything that he’d worked for away.” (316)

“‘If you’d just asked,’ Gansey said, ‘I would’ve told you everything in there. I would’ve been happy to. It wasn’t a secret.’” (316)

“And his journal. He felt raw: the chronicle of his fiercest desires stripped from him by force.” (318)

“It’s got a lot of energy, so it’s like having you in the room all the time. But it’s like your boys. It’s quite loud.’ My boys! Blue thought, first in a huff, then flattered, then in a huff again.” (327)

“Above him, the stars were brutal and clear.” (338)

“Gansey was just a guy with a lot of stuff and a hole inside him that chewed away more of his heart every year.” (351)

“They were always walking away from him. But he never seemed able to walk away from them.” (351)

“He was full of so many wants, too many to prioritize, and so they all felt desperate.” (370)

“...to belong somewhere, to go home, to go home, to go home.” (370)

“Cabeswater was as literal as Ronan was.” (382)

“‘Onward and upward.’” (390)

#trc #the raven cycle #the raven boys #the dream thieves #blue lily lily blue #the raven king #maggie stiefvater #richard campbell gansey iii #gansey #blue sargent #ronan lynch #adam parrish #noah czerny #book quotes #books

[northisnotup]

So Gansey in CDTH, when he's stumbling on about Boudicca and 'bad ass' being one word or two... what did you think of his characterisation? I know it was brief but I have Thoughts (TM) and Questions. But I'd like to hear what you think.

I think that Ronan is correct and phones suck. By which I mean, Adam was only half right when he said that Ronan doesn't like phones because you can't posture through them, he also hates phones because voice and text only DO cut out a lot of tone indicators! Ronan is so very physical, he is so very good at seeing only what he wants to see, he is so good at narrowing his focus, but he is also really, really good at seeing past his friend's bullshit.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that what little we got of Gansey SOUNDED fine, but it made me very conscious, through Ronan's perspective, of how much of Gansey that we're missing. His gestures, his clothing choices, whether or not he was wearing glasses or contacts, etc.

No word of a lie, I think about the 'it's starting' conversation all the time in relation to these two and their weird, codependent, king and loyal knight, buoy and anchor relationship. That section, through Gansey's pov, is so flat. What did Ronan see on his face, in his posture, hear in his voice to know that he needed the company when two paragraphs before Ronan was insistent in being left alone?

My point is - Ronan knew him. And knows him. And so did Cabbeswater, because time is a circle. Cabbeswater knew that one day it would be a King, which is why Gansey could hear it in The Raven Boys, even when Ronan and Adam couldn't. I think whatever happened when Ronan dreamed Cabbeswater into Gansey, and Adam sacrificed his connection to make it happen, they were already very similar. They both loved Ronan. They both loved magic. They were already dreamy and powerful and magic and both-young-and-old.

I'm cutting myself off here because if I let myself keep going I'll just keep twisting myself into spirals and never stop.

What do you think?

#the raven cycle meta #the dreamer trilogy meta #the-prince-of-tides #time for north's opinion #feel FREE to slide into my dms about this #the reply button is there too #i'm a good discussion partner #i showed you my novel study pls respond

[of-stars-and-moon]

Hi!! So I'm really new to reading fanfiction, but I've read literally all your Pynch fics and I'm obsessedddd! *that sounds so creepy sorry but like you're literally my hero HAHA* Do you have any Pynch fanfic recommendations for newbies such as myself?

Aah thank you so much!! And no that's not creepy that's such a great compliment!! So I have previous recs here and this post has great canon compliant recs in the reblogs! Also you should check out @uncertainglobalfuture 's fic recs they have great recs too!

Now here are some more recs in order of their word counts:

August slipped away (into a moment of time) by @alteridemlynch - 1k - Canon compliant- Adam's leaving for school. Ronan reflects on their summer together, and knows he can't hold him back. (Based on August by Taylor Swift)

We'll take it slow (and grow as we go) by @pynches - 1k - Canon compliant- What do you do when St. Agnes is really cold? You share your hoodie and your bed of course!

This and more I sat divining by @astudyinfreewill - 1k- Canon compliant- The thing of it was, Ronan thought glumly, that Chainsaw was a filthy little traitor. It was hard enough to stop himself from spilling all of his secrets in front of Parrish; he didn’t need his psychopomp – one of his own secrets! – to expose him like this. Ronan had spent a long time trying to hide the truth of his feelings from himself. He had done this by keeping them mired in self-loathing and buried under self-destructiveness. But something had changed over the summer. The problem was that once he’d started – once he’d thrown open the floodgates – he’d been unable to stop feeling those feelings.

There’s dirt under my nails and fire in my heart by @tinyarmedtrex - 4k - AU- Ronan is fine being a single dad. He’s never minded that it was just him and Opal, his semi-adopted daughter. But when Adam, Opal’s substitute teacher, wanders into his life it forces Ronan to reconsider his perpetual bachelor status

What Happens When You Crash A Car by @fcstation1063 - 4k - Canon divergent- When Gansey gets called up to DC to help his mother, he makes a deal with Ronan. Ronan will show up and be presentable at Mrs. Gansey's party the night before the Senate election, possibly with a date. In exchange, Ronan gets to drive the Pig for three weeks. Ronan crashes the car, and ends up falling for the mechanic who fixes it

Skinny fleas by @hklnvgl - 15k - Canon divergent- “I don’t think I can wait ‘til Monday to keep reading,” Adam confessed, and it was the first time Aurora had seen him smile. He was missing a tooth.

“What’s it about?” Blue Sargent asked, also coming to the desk with the latest issue in a horror story compilation collection between her hands.

Adam bit his bottom lip before turning to face her. “Dragons,” he said, in a somewhat firm whisper.

That made Matthew’s head snap up.

“Dragons are cool!”

(School librarian Aurora Lynch befriends second-grader Adam Parrish)

We Fit All Adding Up by @toast-the-unknowing - 15k- Canon divergent- It's fifth grade and Adam is new to this school, new to this house, and new to having friends

A favour shared by @etoilegarden - 50k - Canon divergent- “That was on me. I’m Adam. Parrish. Ethan’s my brother.”

“Oh,” Ronan said, his surprise evident in his voice, “I thought he said - I was pretty sure he said you were his dad.”

“No,” Adam said, “he probably said ‘Adad’. He does that sometimes.”

Broken Things and Homecomings by @daisyapples - 90k - AU- Ronan Lynch has just returned from war; hot deserts, gunfire and bad memories. He's not sleeping or eating and the only thing keeping him functioning is his army buddy Noah. Adam Parrish got out. He got out of Henrietta, and then he got dragged back in by his dad's funeral and his mom's illness. Now he's back at Boyds trying to figure out how his electrical engineering masters ended with him becoming a mechanic

Finding that love song by @lydia-st-james - 190k- Canon divergent- Ronan Lynch dealt with his father’s sudden death by plunging into music. With high school coming to a close, and without any ambition to go to college, Ronan convinces his best friends to start a band. The only problem? They’re in need of a vocalist, and the young mechanic with the perfect voice is playing hard to get. (In other words, the gang makes a band AU.)

#pynch #asks #anonymous #feel free to add to this if anyone wants to! #pynch fic recs #fic recs #trc #the raven cycle #pynch fanfiction #pynch fanfics #Adam x ronan #pynch au #trc fanfiction #the raven cycle fanfiction #pynch recs #adam parrish #ronan lynch #pynch fluff #trc fic recs #answered

[the-lincyclopedia]

Songs Ronan Lynch wouldn’t like (but that remind me of him anyway)

The brainrot is due to @fanartshmanart​, so I guess this is get-well present part three? (Parts one and two were moodboards.) You’ve got me thinking about Ronan Lynch and Taylor Swift at the same time, so . . . this happened. 

Songs Ronan Lynch wouldn’t like (but that remind me of him anyway)

“The Best Day,” by Taylor Swift: It’s a song about loving your parents in an uncomplicated way, and despite Ronan’s bad-boy thing, his feelings about his parents are pretty simple.

“Great Central Way,” by Grace Petrie: This is a song both about growing up too fast and about feeling intensely connected to your home. Ronan’s got both.

“Illicit Affairs,” by Taylor Swift: “You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else” has always struck me as a Pynch vibe, and Taylor’s wistful songs about cheating always feel queerer to me than her other stuff (not that I think she’s queer--I’m just talking vibes of the songs).

“Ivy,” by Taylor Swift: This song has such a strong and ethereal sense of place, and, again, it’s a wistful Taylor Swift song about cheating, so.

“Long Live,” by Taylor Swift: This song is a fairytale about becoming royalty and being a teenager, which I’m pretty sure are also themes of the Raven Cycle.

“90 Days,” by Pink: Look. It’s a song about fast cars, okay?

“Somewhere Only We Know,” by Keane: I mean, Cabeswater is literally somewhere only a few people know about.

“All Alright,” by fun.: This is a song for when stakes are high and things might be a little dire, but at least you’ve got someone in your corner.

“Firebird,” by Owl City: This is a song about boys being friends, and about growing up, and a little bit about cars, too. 

“Daniel in the Den,” by Bastille: I don’t know what this song is REALLY about, but on the surface it’s about dreams and kings, which are definitely big motifs in the Raven Cycle. 

“Quarter past midnight,” by Bastille: Look, another song about driving fast. 

“Dreams,” by the Cranberries: Honestly, this is on here largely for the title, but you could make the argument it’s a Pynch song.

Bonus points--songs for other characters: 

“Up the Wolves,” by the Mountain Goats, for Declan: It’s kind of a song about hating your parents, and it’s kind of a song about missing your mother, and it’s kind of a song about moving on while still being so damn angry. 

“Brave Face,” by Frank Turner, for Gansey: “Make me a promise that when the world ends, you’ll kiss me and you’ll hold my hand” is, like, PEAK Bluesey. 

“Treacherous,” by Taylor Swift, for Blue: “Put your lips close to mine, as long as they don’t touch,” “Your name has echoed through my mind”!!!!!

“Under Pressure,” by Queen and David Bowie, for Adam: I cheated and googled other people’s picks of songs for Adam, but I have to admit this one is pretty perfect.

#a lin original #trc #the raven cycle #ronan lynch

[andrea-lyn]

The Recs (Less Travelled)

I’m excited to bring you the first installment of my ‘roads less travelled’ recs! I will be doing another round of this, probably once the Ted Lasso fic tag hits about 25 pages, and then I’ll also grab a couple more fandoms to collect in there! 

The Rules:

Each fandom/pairing was sorted on Archive of Our Own by completed works. Anything recced here was not in the first ten pages when sorted by kudos at the time of reccing. There may be some more well-known authors on this list, but the specific fics I’ve picked are ones that didn’t crack that top ten or just didn’t get much traction and I think deserve it, so hopefully I have also balanced it out with other under the radar (and still great!) works. As ever, I have a pinned post of my other recs (none have been duplicated from there), so you can also check those out! Under the cut you’ll find 10 recs in each fandom for:

Raven Cycle

Roswell New Mexico

The Old Guard

Inception

Star Trek (mainly Kirk/McCoy)

The Raven Cycle

savor all the little pieces by littlelionvanz

“Since when do you garden?”

Ronan snorted, “Since I grew up on a fucking farm, genius. Jesus who gave you permission to pursue higher education.”

the old grip of the familiar by littleseal

"There is a single black feather and a printed out picture of Gansey, Blue and Cheng standing in front of some fucking monument Ronan didn’t care enough to remember the name of. Gansey sent it to Ronan’s phone some time ago, but it sat in his messages until Adam picked it up and grinned at it so hard that, one afternoon later, Ronan cursed and kicked and glared his old printer back to life in order to print it out.

Fuck, he thinks, I’m in love with a hoarder."

Adam collects things. Ronan is in love with him.

No Sweeter Innocence Than Our Gentle Sin by gansey_is_our_king

Ronan Lynch has wanted to kiss Adam Parrish for a long time.

(alternately titled: four times that Ronan could have kissed Adam)

Cheers to Another Seven Years! by skyermirth

Adam left Henrietta for Harvard and never returned. Now, seven years has passed, and an unexpected work assignment has brought him back to a place and people he hardly recognizes.

Row, row, row your boat by emmerrr

“What. Why are you smiling at me,” he says suspiciously.

Adam shrugs. “You’re cute.”

“I’m not cute, I’m terrifying.”

“Terrifyingly cute,” Adam says.

and now the world is ours to take / and every single move is ours to make by thatlittleblackcat

"Adam was the scientist, Ronan was the data, and Orphan Girl was the key that explained the strange outliers that Ronan presented, his previously unexplainable actions."

//

Adam sorts out his feelings, Ronan helps him, Gansey is the number one dad friend, Blue is the number one mom friend and Henry tries to make Ronan smile. Otherwise known as the story of how Orphan Girl became Opal.

All These Things You Make Me Feel by SilverOpals394

It was late. Adam could feel the long day catching up to him as he left Boyd’s, all his energy exhausted. When he started his car, the tape deck whirred to life once more. He sighed and raised his hand to turn it off, but before he did a soft melody began to play.

AU in which the mixtape Ronan made for Adam only plays the murder squash song until Adam realizes he's in love with Ronan, too.

Ways to Communicate by Jalules

Blue Sargent reflects on an early memory (and gets busy with her boyfriends.)

(The two things are related, trust me.)

Hold Me Closer, I'm Safe in Your Arms by actuallyronanlynch

“You wanna tell me why I had to hear from Henry Cheng that my boyfriend was at the hospital?” Adam hissed, though his voice wasn’t as acidic as it could’ve been. Ronan took small victories where he could.

“You don’t have a cellphone,” Ronan pointed out flatly. “It’s not like I could’ve gotten a hold of you.”

arts and crafts and the inevitability of death by sunshineinthestorm

Adam comes to the public library in search of a study spot, not a boyfriend. 

But it must be his lucky day—because he ends up with a bit of both.

 Roswell New Mexico

a conversation between insignificant others by Bellakitse

“Hey…have you noticed that our boyfriends are madly in love with each other?"

“You noticed that too, huh,” she answers dryly, letting out a huff of reluctant amusement.

***

Forrest and Maria share a drink and a conversation and start a friendship.

Own Personal Hell by BeStillMySlashyHeart

Now that Isobel's getting the hang of her telekinesis, Michael decides to test out his telepathic abilities. It backfires. Badly. Now Michael's trapped inside his own mind and only one person can break him out.

Drop the Hammer by brightloveee

Max makes a new friend at the shooting range, who turns out to be even more bad-ass than he expected.

(Takes place mid-S1)

Boys Like You by forgadgetsandgizmos

Curly, dirty blond hair (the mere description ‘curly’ felt like an injustice) twisted in every direction off his head, a sharp contrast with the scruff darkening his strong jawline and scowl-ridden face.

Alex made a mental note to compliment Maria on her excellent taste in men.

—

Or, Alex has coffee with Maria's one-night stand, a man who he definitely does not have a crush on.

let's exchange the experience by lostin_space

Michael decides they need to quarantine.

OR

Michael floods Alex with love and care over and over and over.

This Is Hardcore by Anonymous

Michael makes a proposal. Alex accepts. Michael wonders what the hell he’s gotten himself into.

i don't know what to think (but i think of supernovas) by Milzilla

michael discovers that the console can talk. then, he discovers it can do far more than that.

iridescence on skin by Lire_Casander

In a world where (almost) everyone has a tattoo on their right wrist with one set of coordinates that point to the place where their soulmate is born, Alex thought he wouldn't be any different. He couldn't be more mistaken.

He has two.

The Real Thing by elliebird

Max checks on Michael the morning after Michael saves Max’s ass from Wyatt Long and his dumbass buddies. He sees more than he’s supposed to.

Written for a Tumblr anon who one of their friends walking in on them or anyone of them finding out about Michael and Alex in an interesting way 

Sundering by romancandles 

“You know it was just an Air Force balloon, right?” says Alex.

Michael smirks. “That’s what they want you to think,” he says, with a wink.

The Old Guard

Peer Reviewed by ishandahalf

[From:] Journal of Medieval Studies ([email protected])

[Subject:] Ad-hoc note from the editor

I have noticed an uncommon level of animosity in your responses to your reviewers (or rather, one reviewer in particular). I am writing to ask if you would please do your best to keep your interactions civil. In fairness, I have also sent a similar request to the reviewer you seem to have this friction with. I trust you will both try and remain more professional in the future.

Again, thank you for submitting your work to this journal.

Sincerely,

James Copley, PhD

Editor-in-Chief

Journal of Medieval Studies

An (accidental) academic epistolary romance as (inadvertently) documented via a (theoretically) rigorously blinded peer review process.[citation needed]

third for a word and the song keeps going Macremae

It was honestly shaping up to be a pretty uneventful year before the Vatican got on Nicky’s bad side.

Or: three times in 2008 that the team genuinely thought about killing Nicky if only to get him to shut up about the changes to the Catholic English Mass and his unrelenting opinions on them, and one time Nile did.

Apex Predators In Island Ecosystems (Freeman et al., in press) by Sixthlight

Palaeobotany PhD student Nile Freeman and her supervisor Joe al-Kaysani are invited to billionaire Stephen Merrick’s new project – a theme park full of cloned dinosaurs. What could possibly go wrong?

This Rough Magic by Marivan

When Joe came to Scotland to study the sea, he did not expect to also encounter a beautiful man claiming that A. he’s a selkie and B. they’re married because Joe picked up his scarf.

It sounds like a fairy tale and that’s a problem. Because Joe’s a scientist. And selkies don’t exist.

Wars for the broken by Yuliares

Five years into his exile, Booker is joined by a companion he never expected to meet. Together, they try to work on healing.

Sometimes they go down to the sewers just so she can scream and scream. “I like to hear it echo,” she explains. “Underwater, you can’t hear anything. Here, at least I can be heard.”

“I don’t feel like a warrior anymore,” she tells him, throwing bread crumbs at pigeons. “I feel broken.”

“You’re still a warrior,” he says roughly. “This is still fighting.”

a good (eighth) impression by deanniker

Over the next few months, Joe runs into Nicky every so often at the farmer’s market. Some weekends Nicky doesn’t make it, because of his work schedule - Joe doesn’t understand it because he doesn’t ask, though he does start to recognize when one of those missing weekends is coming up because Nicky will stock up on things with longer shelf-life. When they do run into each other, they make small talk and move through the stalls together.

Joe doesn’t mention it to Lykon when he stops by, because it is kind of weird, that Lykon’s ex-boyfriend texts Joe things like - If you’re here, the apples look particularly good this week and thank you for that recipe, I did not know what I was going to do with that much couscous

Or,

Joe wouldn't usually consider starting anything with his best friend's ex, but as long as they keep it casual, it shouldn't be weird... right?

get back to where you once belonged by tenderjock

Nile takes a sip of her cappuccino and closes her eyes.

(Booker and Nile get that coffee. Life happens, along the way.)

a house; a home by mehm

“Is this a kidnapping?” Joe asks as Nicky checks both their seat belts. “Like, I don’t mind. It’s just not quite what I expected for my birthday.”

In which Joe gets a birthday surprise, because that’s the stuff you have time for when you and the love of your life become mortal at the same time.

the ties that bind by damaskrose

“There’s a story I heard many times,” Andy begins, “in the Mediterranean. Threads of fate and three sisters. One to spin, one to measure, and one to cut.”

Clutter And Croutons by flawedamythyst

Joe and Nicky have an argument, and then Nicky talks to Nile about what it really means to be in a relationship for 900 years.

Inception

My Big Fat Slightly Annoying Wedding by jibrailis

Arthur and Eames elope for ~tax reasons. Certain people in their lives are not happy at the lack of a wedding.

Remember Sydney by pathera

When Eames shambles into the safe house outside of London, he finds a red light blinking on the phone.

For the inception_kink prompt:

Arthur is on a plane which is about to crash. No way anyone is going to survive. Instead of panicking he calmly calls the team's office and gets the answering machine. He hangs up before the plane crashes.

Give me Arthur's last message to the team.

 (TW: Character Death / Angst)

Of Such Deceitfulness and Suavity by delires

In which emotions manifest themselves in unusual ways.

YO, K2tog (it's like a code) by lazulisong

“Oh my God,” moans Arthur. “I’ve paid less for Somnacin. Good Somnacin.” A horrible thought strikes him. “How much is the yarn --”

“I want you to have an unguarded reaction,” Eames tells him, and pulls him up from the floor.

(They run an extraction on a knitter.)

hit the ground running by orphan_account

"I travelled halfway around the world for you. I dealt with the French for you."

Valley by wldnst

It's an old story: a knight, a prince, a kingdom in peril.

If This Is Rain Let It Fall On Me and Drown Me by Brangwen

We used to be so brave, Eames thought. Of the two of them, Arthur had always been the more fearless.

a gentle familiarity by jollypuppet

Two weeks later, Eames is on his doorstep with bad Italian takeout and a grin, and Arthur tells him he can sleep on the couch.

Your Crisis Cannot Be Completed As Dialed by sevenimpossiblethings

Arthur doesn't do snow, Ariadne is determined to be as Midwestern as possible, and blizzards make cell phone service unreliable.

Let’s Say I Do (I Do) by xsilverdreamsx

There were, perhaps some things worse that this, Arthur thinks, as he glares at the letter in his hand with his name printed clearly in bold ink, indicating his presence in two weeks for his esteemed marriage to one William H. Eames, III, at St. Catherine's Church in London, England.

Star Trek (predominantly Kirk/McCoy)

Show the World That Something Good Can Work by knune

Leonard McCoy is a doctor, not a personal assistant, and maybe that's why he can't stand working for Jim Kirk.

It's in the little things by winterover

Bones is bemused by a persistent secret admirer.

"Wedding" Away with It by pendrogon

One morning, Bones wakes up and he's single. By the same afternoon, he's married to Jim Kirk for Arbitrary Fic Reasons(TM).

How Long Will You Stay (For Your Whole Life) by withthepilot

Jim Kirk, deputy director of the Enterprise parks and recreation department, sees all of his hard work fall to pieces when budget specialist Leonard McCoy arrives from the state capital to cut Jim's budget and threaten the livelihoods of his colleagues. But thanks to a major parks project, Leonard finds a place in the department, as well as in Jim's life—and when all is said and done, Jim doesn't want him to leave.

All-Time Favorite by mardia

What to do when your best friend suddenly starts making new friends. 

Joy Ride by Cards_Slash

While running for their lives from an alien species Kirk had accidentally enraged, they come across a car. And well, if you were to come across a car while being chased by aliens that wanted you dead, and you possessed some lingering knowledge of how to drive a car similar to said car, you would have decided to drive it toward the nearest cliff too.

Also a gunfight.

Syncytia by epistolic

He’d signed up for Starfleet on an impulse, but Starfleet meant James Tiberius Kirk: the first – and second, and third, and fourth – big mistake of Leonard McCoy’s life.

Renovation by canistakahari

Jim has a whammy put on him by an alien death ray and he suddenly craves domesticity. He's crazy with longing to shop at space!Ikea and get potted bamboo and he starts looking into adopting AND HE HATES HIMSELF AND CANNOT CONTROL THE SHIT. Luckily, McCoy is drunk all the time and plays house.

17:08 by butterflycell

She'd watched the news holos with a sick feeling, searching for information that was completely obvious in its absence. Amidst the reports of the the Enterprise's miraculous recovery and the damages sustained, there had been next to nothing about the crew or her captain. Jim had been mentioned only in passing, his name shied away from as his first officer limited interaction to the bare essentials.

The Honey of Hybla by shrift

"Bones, prepare to be my date."

#recs #fic recs #recs project #star trek recs #inception recs #the raven cycle recs #the old guard recs #roswell new mexico recs

[tinyarmedtrex]

fluff- 22: “Are you hurt? What happened?” for pynch? because im a sucker for hurt/comfort 😅

This might be a little heavier on the hurt/comfort and light on the fluff but I hope you like it!

Take this as a missing scene or canon divergence. Whatever makes you happy!

Adam heard Ronan before he saw him. Ronan had stumbled into monmouth, not bothering to turn the light on, likely assuming that Adam was asleep. Adam was staying on the couch while his apartment was fumigated. It was inconvenient but there was no way that Adam could have afforded a hotel so this was his best option.

However, the combination of the lumpy couch and strange noises meant that he had a hard time falling asleep. Like tonight, he had been lying on the couch reviewing last weeks Latin conjugations when Ronan burst in.  It had to be past two AM. He could hear Ronan’s labored breathing and a hiss of pain as he grabbed something from a drawer. 

He sat up, flicking on the light. Then he stared at Ronan. He had a black eye and Adam could see several cuts and bruises on his face and knuckles. Adam was on his feet before he realized, walking towards Ronan. 

“Are you hurt?” He asked, keeping his voice low and even. He knew Ronan would hate it if Gansey woke up. “What happened?”

Ronan started then turned to look at him. “Nothing.” 

Adam gritted his teeth. For as far as he and Ronan had come there were still times when Ronan was better locked than a safe. He knew better than to push but not asking didn’t mean he was going to leave. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep anyway, knowing that Ronan was in this state.

“That won’t help you.” He said, pointing to the solitary band aid that Ronan was holding. “Let me clean you up.” 

Ronan hesitated but the nodded, letting Adam lead him to the sink. Adam wetted a towel and started dabbing at his face, gingerly cleaning it. The two of them stood close, maybe closer than necessary but Adam wasn’t going to complain. At some point Ronan’s presence had shifted from a stressor to a comfort and Adam liked knowing where he was, the closer the better.

As he worked Ronan’s eyes never left his face, watching him like a wounded animal who could bolt at any second. Adam had to resist the urge to make comforting noises to help him relax. Instead he worked silently, letting Ronan decide when to speak.

“You should see the other guy.” Ronan finally said as Adam brushed his cheekbone.

“Kavinsky? I have, he’s pretty unimpressive.” 

Ronan huffed out a laugh, his warm breath hitting Adam’s cheek. “Yea he is.” Ronan licked his lips before speaking again. “You’re good at this.” 

“I’ve had practice.” 

Ronan fell silent again and Adam felt bad. He hadn’t meant to make the moment any harder than it was. “Give me the band aid.” He said, reaching out a hand. Ronan slipped the bandaid into it, his fingers running over Adam’s palm. It was another indication of the change between them, Ronan touching him and Adam not drawing away. He could feel things shifting and found himself surprisingly interested to see where it went. He was determined to let Ronan take the lead though. For all the ways Ronan was impulsive he was also surprisingly cautious, especially about things he really cared about and Adam wanted to be one of those things. 

He pressed the band aid to Ronan’s cheek. “There, now you look like a bad ass.”

“I always look like a badass.” Ronan replied. Then he reached up, brushing Adam’s hair out of his eyes. Adam had to stop himself from leaning into the gentle touch. “Thank you.” 

Adam nodded, meeting Ronan’s eyes for only a second. He was far too close to doing something stupid and impulsive so he made himself step back and wash the towel, putting a little distance between them.

“I’d say anytime but really I’d prefer not to do this again.”

“No promises.” 

Adam finished washing his hands and turned to him, about to say that they should both get some sleep. Ronan jerked his head towards the TV. “Wanna watch a movie? I think Gansey has some ice cream stashed away.” 

A smile broke out on Adam’s face. He nodded. “I’d love to.” 

Ronan grinned back at him and went to grab the ice cream before they moved to the couch. If the two of them sat closer than they needed to, well, no one would know besides them. 

#pynch #tinyarmedtwrites #cleaning someone up after a fight can really be so lovely #:P #of-stars-and-moon