#the lynch brothers. the brothers lynch. or whatever. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

squash1 · 3 months

Text

THREES THREES THREES:

Oh hello. I want to talk about the stylistic/textual role of Threes in The Raven Cycle.

Threes – as a general concept and as a number – are a major symbol and motif in the series. Maggie tells us that threes are important from the very first book: from Maura’s favorite saying being “good things come in threes” to Persephone telling Adam that “things are always growing to three or shrinking to three,” threes are discussed at length in the text of the narrative. Maggie also shows us that threes are important as a motif/symbol for important aspects of the story: three Raven Boys, three Fox Way women, three Lynch brothers, three main ley lines, three sleepers, etc. Threes are, textually, incredibly significant in The Raven Cycle, and we know this because we are shown AND told it throughout the entirety of the books.

We all know the significance that is given to threes in the story itself, but what I want to talk about is the usage of a thrice-repeated word or short phrase (going forward I’m referring to this as “Threes” or “a Three”) as one of Maggie’s writing signatures (across the series, there are 65 Threes). This creates a meta level to threes being an important aspect of The Raven Cycle universe. A classic example of a Three (one of my favorites, in fact) is from The Dream Thieves:

“As they walked, a sudden rush of wind hurled low across the grass, bringing with it the scent of moving water and rocks hidden in the shadows, and Blue thrilled again and again with the knowledge that magic was real, magic was real, magic was real.” (TDT, 12)

In a way, the Threes join the intradiegetic (what is happening within the narrative itself) with the extradiegetic (what the narration is communicating solely to the reader). The reader and characters are told explicitly that the number three is significant, important, notable, and powerful. In using Threes as a writing signature after giving the reader that information, the Threes are designed to signal to the reader that this line, this moment, is important.

So the question is: What Are The Threes Trying to Tell the Reader???

Amazing question.

In my recent TRC reread, I was already keeping track of Threes, because I was curious to see how many times they appeared. And then my sister, who was also rereading, said something interesting (after reading this Three from The Raven Boys):

“He was full of so many wants, too many to prioritize, and so they all felt desperate. To not have to work so many hours, to get into a good college, to look right in a tie, to not still be hungry after eating the thin sandwich he’d brought to work, to drive the shiny Audi that Gansey had stopped to look at with him once after school, to go home, to have hit his father himself, to own an apartment with granite countertops and a television bigger than Gansey’s desk, to belong somewhere, to go home, to go home, to go home.” (TRB, 370)

My sister said: “Adam’s like Dorothy.” And then she said: “Wait. Do you think the Threes are like a spell? Or… a wish?”

Which was……. Interesting.

What I have determined, after completing my reread and spending way too much time analyzing this, is that a Three is either a wish, a hope, a longing, a prayer – or, alternately, a warning, a curse, a negative promise.

In either sense, Threes are a foreshadowing of what is to come – whether it be good or bad. Threes exist to signal to the reader that they should be paying close attention to whatever is being said or observed.

Threes in….. Everything Else:

Before we get too far into TRC Threes, let’s talk about the precedent for three being an important number in art, math, storytelling, etc. I found some interesting information about how three is a satisfying number for the brain:

Grouping things in threes leverages the power of repetition to aid memory; denote emotional intensity or importance; and ease persuasion (research by Shu & Carlson (2014) found that three positive claims is the most effective for persuasion).

Three is the smallest number that the brain can still recognize as a pattern, and the brain loves pattern and repetition. This is true in visual art – having three main compositional figures to create a pleasing image – and also in storytelling and narrative. Using threes for repetition in storytelling is a very common occurrence.

Some classic examples of repetitive threes are Shakespeare’s “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” or Lincoln's “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” In each of these examples, a repetition of three is used to create pleasing auditory rhythm. There is something inherently memorable about literary Threes.

Perhaps the most interesting information I found while digging into the precedent for threes is about the rule of threes in folktales. This information happens to come from Wikipedia (side note: Wikipedia is a modern tool of collective consciousness and we should utilize it more). This page describes how in its most basic form, the rule of threes in storytelling is just beginning, middle, and end. Because this is such a common convention, writers tend to “create triplets or structures in three parts.” It then talks more directly about the use of threes in folktales:

“Vladimir Propp in his Morphology of the Folk Tale, concluded that any of the elements in a folktale could be negated twice so that it would repeat thrice.”

This is especially interesting to me. The idea that an element of a folktale “could be negated twice so that it would repeat thrice” shows up prominently in the plot of The Raven Cycle – a book that is heavily influenced by folktale motifs – but also in so many of the folktales/fairytales we all know. A classic example of this would be Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Goldilocks must try porridge that is too hot, too cold, and then, finally, just right. The journey of these three actions is satisfying to the brain because it is a complete pattern: the third and final result of “just right” porridge is only satisfying because of the two “not right” porridges that preceded it.

Getting back to Stiefvater Threes:

For anyone who’s seen The West Wing (and even those who haven’t), here’s a good way to explain what I think the Threes are doing. You know that thing they do during a The West Wing “walk and talk” where two characters will be throwing information and little quips back and forth at each other rapid-fire, and then suddenly, they will both stop walking, and the camera will stop moving, and they’ll say a line that contains really important information that you need to know to understand the storyline of that episode? That’s what Maggie’s Threes are doing for the reader. That’s what 6:21 is doing for the characters. It’s intentional: the writers/directors/actors/camera operators on The West Wing know that they’re throwing a lot of information at you, and know that they need to get you to pay attention to the most important parts somehow, so they do it by forcing the viewer to lean in and listen. It changes the focus and energy of the scene from something with momentum to something that pauses, and therefore makes you pause.

The Threes compel the reader to pause and consider the information being delivered as more important than they might consider it if it was not written as a Three. “Maura’s expression was dark” does not read the same as “Maura’s expression was dark, dark, dark.” And in a text where characters directly state the magical importance of threes, compounded by three as an overarching motif, there is clear intention and meaning behind these written Threes.

In the context of TRC, Threes act as a fourth-wall break.

They are essentially a way to poke the reader and say: “Are you paying attention? Because you should be.”

These Threes use a symbolic motif – the rule of three – that is already heavily discussed in the text – to get the reader to pick up on the internal motivations of the character who is “wishing” their Three or the narration which is using a Three to foreshadow some important aspect of the plot.

The Threes are like the literary equivalent of a record scratch. It stops you in your tracks, breaking the established rhythm and making you take notice of what is being said in a new way.

Let’s Look at Some More Threes (but just a few don’t worry)!

1. We get a classic Three, and a very Gansey Three, right after the group comes out of Cabeswater:

“‘What about that thing in the tree?’ Blue asked. ‘Was that a hallucination? A dream?’

Glendower. It was Glendower. Glendower. Glendower” (TRB, 231).

Finding Glendower is one of Gansey’s core wishes, one of his core longings. Although this line is a literal answer to Blue’s question – he saw Glendower in the tree – in making it a Three, Maggie has given it added weight and meaning. It is prayer-like in its intention. It is almost an incantation: by saying it in Three, Gansey wishes it into being.

2. In The Raven Boys, after Gansey has bribed Pinter to keep Ronan at Aglionby and has learned that Noah has been dead the whole time they’ve known him, we are given this Three:

“The Pig exploded off the line. Damn Ronan. Gansey punched his way through the gears, fast, fast, fast” (TRB, 311).

This moment foreshadows what directly follows: a distinct lack of fast as the Camaro breaks down and Gansey is held at gunpoint by Whelk. This Three is not a prayer, but a warning, and an indicator to the reader that something important is about to happen. Had Gansey not been trying to go so “fast fast fast,” the car might not have broken down; because the Three incanted it, disaster follows.

3. To return to a Three I have already mentioned, but follows the typical Three structure:

“...to go home, to go home, to go home” (TRB, 370).

In this scene, Adam’s wish is less about actually wanting to return to his literal home, because his house was never really a home for him. Adam’s wish/longing is for a home that he could return to, that he would want to return to. He is longing for a place/feeling/experience that does not exist for him. The Three in this sentence comes after a string of active wishes/longings, and by ending with this Three, it casts a spell of sorts, honing in on the truest underlying wish that Adam has. In using the phrase “to go home” three times, the narrative is making sure you, the reader, know that this want, this need, this wish, is the most Important to Adam, and will drive his actions for the rest of his story.

Most of the Threes feel like this. They are often tacked on at the end of a sentence or embedded in a sentence. They’re an addendum to the action of the story. They’re like casting a spell – once to manifest, twice to charge, three to cast.

…..And Some Other Types of Threes:

Then there are the Threes that don't follow the typical pattern of the same word repeated three times one right after the other, but are still a Three in a different way.

There are short phrases/sentences that are repeated three times throughout a page or chapter. In the prologue of The Raven King, we get this:

“He was a king…

He was a king…

He was a king.

This was the year he was going to die.” (TRK, 1-3)

In this case, the Three acts as a promise of Gansey’s kinghood, but in ending the sequence with “this was the year he was going to die,” the promise of the three is given a condition: it is not going to be a joyful kinghood, but instead a kinghood intertwined with the death we’ve known is fated for Gansey.

One of Adam’s Threes from Blue Lily, Lily Blue, uniquely breaks the mold of Threes in a format that does not appear anywhere else in the four books:

“It was his father.

He opened the door.

It was his father.

He opened the door.

It was his father” (BLLB, 242).

❋ (We’ll talk about this one more in-depth later.)

There are also a few “unfinished” Threes:

In The Raven King when Ronan is having a nightmare (infected by the demon) about Matthew and the mask, he has this Three:

“Ronan’s throat was raw. I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything! I’ll do anythi

It was unmaking everything Ronan loved.

Please” (TRK, 96).

With the uncompleted Three, there is an uncast wish. Ronan’s wish is about Matthew, yes of course, but also about being willing to do anything to keep those he loves (ie. Adam, Gansey, Blue, his brothers) out of the reach of the “unmaking.” This unfinished Three serves to foreshadow the harm that does ultimately befall first Adam and then Gansey as a result of the unmaking of Cabeswater by the demon: without the Three spell completed, his wish is not fulfilled.

*This is Not all the uncommon/mold-breaking Threes, just a few that are interesting!

Do All Threes Come to Fruition???

The short answer is: No. Or at least not in that way.

Once again looking at the text of The Raven Cycle, we are given an answer of sorts. In discussing Gansey’s predicted death, Maura says:

“First of all, the corpse road is a promise, not a guarantee” (TRB, 155).

This seems to apply to Threes as well. Threes are not a guarantee. They are a promise. Not all Threes come to fruition the way one might expect – or at all, for that matter. The important part of Threes is not that they will definitely come true, it’s that they could come true, because the Three gives them the potential to come true.

Structure, Structure, Structure:

The main Threes structures are:

Three of the same word separated by commas:

“magic, magic, magic” (TRK, 59).

A short phrase/sentence separated by periods:

“My father. My father. My father” (TDT, 369).

A short sentence that is repeated three times throughout a page/paragraph:

“Gansey did not breathe…

Gansey did not breathe…

Gansey did not breathe” (TRK, 209).

A word that is repeated three times and is connected by “and”:

“Round and round and round!” (BLLB, 224)

Italics vs. Non Italics:

Italics in The Raven Cycle are often used for character’s inner thoughts/anxieties. This continues to be true in the context of Threes. A Three that is not written in italics indicates a promise, or some foreshadowing of a plot point being foretold through the Three – it is typically more “real” – whereas a Three that is written in Italics seems to indicate a wish/hope/longing that is unattainable in some way. Italics almost always indicate a Three that may never come to fruition, or at least not in the way the character hopes it will.

An example of this distinction can be found in chapter three (hah) (I don’t believe in coincidences and neither does Gansey) of The Raven King:

First we are met with Ronan wishing/hoping to return home:

“That morning, Ronan Lynch had woken early, without any alarm, thinking home, home, home” (TRK, 24).

This home, home, home, is in reference to the idea of home rather than the reality. Ronan is wishing to return to a home that does exist physically, but is not the same as in his memory – he wants to be at the Barns as it was in his childhood.

Then, in the very same chapter, Ronan actually returns home and we are given this Three:

“Slowly his memories of before — everything this place had been to him when it had held the entire Lynch family — were being overlapped with memories and hopes of after — every minute that the Barns had been his, all of the time he’d spent here alone or with Adam, dreaming and scheming.

Home, home, home” (TRK, 27).

This second home, home, home, is about the actual reality of being in his childhood home – the good and bad that has existed in the years since the childhood he longs for.

The Addition of AND:

The most notable use of “and” is in Noah’s very last chapter:

“Sometimes he got caught in this moment instead. Gansey’s death. Watching Gansey die, again and again and again” (TRK, 416).

When “and” is added into a Three, it becomes circular, cyclical. The “and” gives the Three a sense of infinity, or creates a loop of sorts.

This Three operates in the same way “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” does in Macbeth – it is meant to convey the endlessness of time, a relentless cycle of tomorrows.

❋ While there are not many of these Threes with “ands” in The Raven Cycle, there are other examples of Threes or Three-like occurrences that fulfill the same purpose as the “and.” For example, remember this Three:

“It was his father.

He opened the door.

It was his father.

He opened the door.

It was his father.” (BLLB, 242).

In this case, instead of the word “and,” the Three (It was his father) is connected by “he opened the door.” This Three is accomplishing the same feeling as “again and again and again” – the feeling of being caught in an endless loop.

Another example of an (implied) “and” in The Raven Cycle is: Gansey’s life. Gansey starts out alive and then dies as a child only to be reborn, and then killed again through his sacrifice, and then reborn for a final time. Gansey is Alive, Dead, Alive, Dead, Alive. And so Gansey’s life is a cycle of Three.

As with the Threes that contain “and,” Gansey starts where he ends: alive.

Other Ways Threes Show up in The Raven Cycle:

I will state the obvious once again: there are three Raven Boys, three Lynch brothers, three Fox Way women, three sleepers, three main ley lines (the lines that “seem to matter” to Glendower’s story), Gansey the Third (Gansey Three, Dick Three).

There are also the more obscure: the “three kinds of secrets” in The Dream Thieves prologue and epilogue; each Lynch brother inheriting three million dollars from Niall Lynch; the three figures with Blue’s face on the tapestry and later as a vision in Cabeswater; Adam and Gansey going to DC for three days; the shield pulled from the lake having three ravens embossed onto it; Ronan having dreamt Matthew at the age of three; the door to the Demon’s room needing “three to open” it; Aurora Lynch staying awake for three days after Niall died.

And of course, we have the ley line symbol/chapter header:

And then there are the 300 (three hundred!) Fox Way “villain” readings. (This was something that was particularly interesting to me.)

The first antagonist we meet is Whelk. When he comes for a reading at 300 Fox Way, he first pulls the Three of Swords.

When the women all draw cards together, they pull identical cards for Whelk: three of the Knight of Pentacles, then three of the Page of Cups. After drawing, essentially, three threes (the Three of Swords, then two sets of three matching cards) in this reading, the first Three of the entire series appears:

“Maura’s expression was dark, dark, dark” (TRB, 124).

The second “antagonist” we meet is the Gray Man, who comes to 300 Fox Way in The Dream Thieves to “observe.” Maura, Calla, and Persephone are predicting which card is on the top and bottom of the stack and the first card, predicted by Calla, is the Three of Cups off the top of the deck that Mr. Gray is holding (a remarkably happy card in stark contrast to Whelk’s Three of Swords).

When the third antagonist, Greenmantle, comes for his 300 Fox Way Reading he also draws the Three of Swords. The fact that each of the three antagonists come for a reading is in itself a sort of Three, but to further the importance of these moments, each of them draws some sort of three-related card.

All of the examples I have touched on have been more symbolic references to Three as a motif of the books as a whole. However, Threes also show up in the literal number of times important quotes are said/written.

I was tracking some of the most well-loved TRC lines to compile them, and noticed that the lines “don’t throw it away” and “safe as life” happen to appear exactly three times throughout the series. This was honestly pretty surprising based on the importance of those quotes – I would have assumed they showed up far more. Actually, they both appear twice in The Raven Boys and once in The Raven King. Threes, and the importance of Threes, is embedded so strongly into the narrative of The Raven Cycle that even the quotes we all think of as the most beloved of the series follow this rule of Threes.

Now, could you chalk some of these up to coincidence? I guess. But Gansey doesn’t believe in coincidences so I don’t either. So what’s the point of all these Threes?

Conclusion???

In a literal, literary way, Threes are a fourth wall break to make the importance of a moment obvious, but I’m not sure what the larger “point” of Threes is. My best analysis comes from the idea of The Raven Cycle being all about time and Threes playing into the importance of time as a sort of record scratch or loop. The Threes, as a stylistic, written motif, seem to connect the time-based cycle the characters experience to the time-based cycles the reader experiences by reading the books.

But my conclusion feels incomplete and so I would like to rely on the collective for this one – just about the most Raven Cycle thing you can do. So I’m asking you, the collective you, what conclusion would you draw? What do you think?

What I do know for sure is that Threes are magic, magic, magic.

For Your Convenience: Here is the textual significance given to threes within the books (chronologically):

And here are the Threes, Threes, Threes (compiled):

(If you made it to the end of all this, I love you. Have a gold star and a hug <3)

174 notes · View notes

sagesskies · 4 months

Text

ᴛᴏ ꜱᴛᴇᴀʟ ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ I

✒ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀʀᴅᴇɴᴇʀ'ꜱ ꜱᴏɴ, ᴡʜᴏ ᴋɴᴇᴡ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ.

ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇꜱ: ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱɪꜱᴍ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ʜᴏᴍᴏᴘʜᴏʙɪᴀ, ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴄᴜᴏᴜꜱ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴇᴅ ᴏɴʟʏ), ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ɪꜱ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴀᴘᴀᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄ

You always loved a good romance.

Sure, it was looked down upon for a man such as yourself to be reading a novel instead of a thesis, or helping your family manage the estate, but you never cared. Your siblings all begged you to do your job as the first born, and take charge, especially now with your parents growing old, but again, you never cared.

Currently, the book you were reading was one with a most interesting premise. A young noblewoman is mugged by a dashing thief, and instead of punishing him, orders for him to be made her guard. Between the two, a beautiful romance blossoms. And to think their first meeting the thief thought to steal from her.

You chuckle, “The only thing he managed to steal from her was her heart,”

Before you could turn to another page, you hear the sound of heavy footsteps marching to your room.

You sigh, it’s probably one of your siblings. What would they complain about now? Perhaps your laziness, perhaps your waste of intelligence, maybe this time they’ll complain about your lack of a wife.

When the footsteps stop outside your door, you brace yourself for whatever nonsense they’ll be bringing to you today.

“I cannot believe this- [Name], have you heard?” Your brother burst into your room, looking dishevelled, and clutching a piece of parchment tightly.

You set down your novel, “Heard what exactly?”

James slams the piece of paper down on your table, “Your loverboy,” He sits down on the leather armchair across from you, “He’s back in town, and he’s apparently come to ask for your hand in marriage!”

You blink, not many things can render you speechless, but this is certainly not what you expected to hear today.

What did James mean, your loverboy? No matter how good your looks are, and no matter how many people you’ve slept with in the court, you don’t have a loverboy. Hell, you’ve made sure that none of your family ever found out about your various affairs.

“What, who-” You shake your head, “James, what exactly are you on about?”

James simply taps the paper, “Just read it, [Name].”

Sighing, you pick the letter up and do as you're told.

—

To my dearest, [Name]

Good day to you, my love. I am writing this to inform you of my return to the estate. I apologize for my sudden departure all those years ago, I assure you that I will never leave you again.

You may be wondering where I’ve been all this time. Well, I anticipate that you’ll be pleased to learn that I’ve been studying under the esteemed lawyer Maxwell Yates, you may remember him from multiple cases such as that of Nathan Lynch, Carol Wolf, and Jonah Hewitt. According to him I am the best student he’s ever had.

But enough about me, I’ve heard you are still yet to wed. Though it is no good for a man such as yourself to remain a bachelor, especially at your age, I cannot express to you enough my happiness that you’ve remembered our promise and saved yourself for me.

Despite the distance these past years, I promise to you I have not strayed away from you. You are the only one who understands me, who accepts me, and sees me for who I am, my dearest [Name]. You are the only one for me, and that will never change.

We may still be separated for now, but I promise you, we will not be apart for long my love.

Best regards, your future husband,

Glenn Alston

—

You set the paper down, and you bury your face in your hands.

You can hear the pity in James’ voice without even looking at him, “I know that you and Glenn were close, and had a special relationship, but you cannot marry him-”

You raise a single hand, and he stops speaking. You sigh, and sit up straight, “I won’t marry him, James,” You smirk when James looks visibly relieved, “Same sex marriage may be legalized, but I won’t dishonor the family name by engaging in sodomy.”

James groans, “You know that’s not why we’re against it,” Your family may have high standards for you and never failed to express their disappointment, but they weren’t narrowminded, god imagine how horrible they’d be if they were.

You chuckle, “Yeah yeah, he’s still the gardener’s son even if he’s some sort of bigshot lawyer now.”

"And you won't authorize his entry into the estate, right?"

That makes you wonder if you should. Regardless of how you feel, Glenn's father would still like to see him again, even if the man ran away. And Glenn would be a useful asset to the estate, considering how your other lawyer was already getting old.

You shrug in response, "Probably not." You say that to only appease your younger brother, who'd surely throw a fit if you said otherwise.

James nods, clearly satisfied, “Well then, I’ll be going now,” He glares at the romance novel, “And please stop reading that senseless drivel, [Name].”

You roll your eyes, and ignore his protests as you push him towards the door, “This ‘senseless drivel’, is what your fiance reads in her pastime,” You raise a brow at him, “I’m sure you don’t want her to hear what you said about her hobby.”

James sputters and tries to find the right words for a decent comeback, but clenches his fists and huffs in frustration, “Fine! Keep reading then,” He turns to leave, but then stops, and turns his head to look at you, “Wait, what did Glenn mean by you remembering your promise?”

“Aaaaand that’s my cue to close the door,” You grin at him, though it’s strained, “This was fun, bye bye Jamie!”

“I told you to stop calling me that-” The door closes, and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

Your gaze settles back on the piece of parchment. You walk over to it, and pick the letter up.

“When did his penmanship get so neat…” You can’t help but feel a twinge of envy, writing was never your strong suit. Well, you never really had a strong suit. No matter how hard you tried, your performance would be mediocre at best. No amount of sucking up from your instructors would change that.

Despite the bitterness you feel, your eyes soften as you trace Glenn’s elegant strokes. Your mind can’t help but wander to when he first asked you to teach him how to write…

—

Rarely did you ever willingly go to the library, much to your parent’s chagrin. The entire atmosphere was so stuffy, and you hated how quiet it was. It felt dead, and the old lady who worked as the librarian didn’t help. You swear, one day she’ll fall off the stepladder and her ghost is going to haunt the library for eternity.

Today was a special occasion however, it was Glenn’s twelfth birthday, and because you forgot to get him a gift he got to request something from you. He didn’t tell you exactly what he wanted, all he told you was to meet him at the library.

You sigh as you walk inside, ignoring the librarian’s glare when you don’t bother to minimise the sound of your footsteps.

Sometimes you wished Glenn could be a normal kid, and ask for something like a sword, or a new kite, or something else dumb kids liked to play with. But then again, if he was anything normal then you wouldn’t like him very much.

The library was a large room, with various shelves all arranged according to genre, like an actual public library. Your mother told you there were many ancient books and tomes within the shelves, all brought here by your ancestors. You tuned out most of what she said if you were being honest, the only other thing you remembered her saying about it was that there was a book that could make a mini explosion happen.

You wandered through the room, looking for Glenn. It didn’t take you long to find him, the dark-haired boy was carrying a stack of books in his arms and set it down on one of the tables. You waved over to Glenn, and sat beside him.

“Why are-” Before you could finish your sentence, Glenn, very rudely, placed a finger to your lips and his hazel eyes hardened into a glare.

“Lower your voice, [Name]!” He whispered, “We’re in the library.”

You glared back at him, and licked his finger. Glenn yelped, and immediately pulled back quickly, nearly toppling out of his chair. The noise he created earned him a stern: “Shhhh!” from the librarian.

Glenn pouted, his cheeks flushed and his ears red. You smirked. It was so easy to fluster him.

“Anyways, before you oh-so rudely interrupted me,” You spoke softer now, “Why are we here?”

Glenn was still clutching the finger you licked, and he avoided your gaze, and muttered something under his breath.

You rolled your eyes, “Geez man, I only licked your finger.” He was acting like you bit him instead, or something else weird. Sighing, you grabbed his chin and turned his face towards you, “Seriously, speak up.”

Glenn gently pulled away, having learned his lesson now, and then cleared his throat, “I, uh… I wanted to ask…” He took in a deep breath, “Couldyouteachmehowtowrite?”

“Uh, what?”

Glenn sighed, “Could you teach me how to write?”

“Oh,” You blinked, and then furrowed your brow, “That’s it?” You expected him to ask you to read him some big boring book about history or something, this was way more manageable.

“Yeah, I don’t want to keep asking you to read for me anymore,” He pushed a pad of paper towards you, and handed you a pencil, “It’s embarrassing.”

That was true, at his age usually he should be the one reading to others, but people from Glenn’s social class never learned how to read unless they were being sponsored by a noble family. But Glenn never seemed to mind before, what changed?

“Did Emil tease you again?” Emil was the asshole son of the captain of the guard, your presence always warded him off from picking on Glenn, but you couldn’t always be there for him.

When Glenn didn’t respond, you sighed. Glenn had some weird complex about being seen as capable and dependable in your eyes, but you could care less about whether or not he could handle himself. Unfortunately, you were never the best at expressing your emotions.

“Emil’s a little prick,” You ignored Glenn’s soft gasp, and started to write the alphabet on the pad of paper, “Guys like him are everywhere, Glenn. Stop caring about what he’s saying, his words don’t matter.”

Glenn muttered, “But they still hurt.”

Glenn, for how much he tried to look tough, was always so sensitive to what others thought about him. It was another way you two were so different from each other, he could never stop caring, while you just didn’t.

You set the pen down after finishing the letter z, “Yeah, that’s because you let them.” You glanced at Glenn, since he was shorter than you, all you could see was the top of his dark hair. You wondered what the expression on his face looked like.

Glenn remained silent, and so you sighed, “Anyways…” You handed the pencil to Glenn, “Copy this.”

When Glenn finished, you took a piece of empty paper from the pad, and handed it to Glenn, “Now do it again, this time without the reference.”

You weren’t a good student, in fact you were a terrible one. You never did your homework, you barely showed up to class, and whenever you did you never paid attention. Glenn was unfortunate to be stuck with such a lousy person for a teacher.

When Glenn handed the paper back to you, you hummed, “Well, it could be worse.” That was being generous. Glenn managed to remember A, B, and C, but completely skipped D and E, somehow messed up G, and seemed to have merged I and L. However, it was… okay. Considering how this was his first attempt.

Glenn frowned, “It’s terrible isn’t it?”

You ruffled his hair, “It’s not bad for a first try man, hand me the pencil,” You take it from his outstretched hand, “So, this is not how you write G, this is how you actually do it..”

You and Glenn stayed in that library till it was five pm, and you were both being shooed out of the library by the old hag, and then separated when Curtis took you to get ready for supper.

Perhaps you weren’t such a lousy teacher after all when Glenn was able to write properly only three weeks later. You still remember his smile when you read the letter he wrote to you for your birthday, and you still remember the immeasurable feeling of pride you had for him.

You can still remember the letter he left for you, the day he disappeared. The warm, wet tears that fell onto the parchment, as you struggled to read through Glenn’s handwriting. The emptiness in your chest, like Glenn ripped your heart out and took it with him when he left.

—

How things have changed.

You wonder who taught him to write cursive, was it Maxwell Yates? A fellow student? Perhaps it was a young woman, who fell in love with him like you did, and wanted to have his heart like he had stolen hers.

You let out a shaky breath, and place the letter in the same drawer as the other one. When you open the drawer, and see the weathered parchment, the tear stains, and the childlike scrawl, you feel your chest clench.

“You’re over this, [Name],” You remind yourself, “You’re over him.”

You fold the paper, and set it down with more care than you should’ve given. You close the drawer, and lock it.

You look at your novel, and realise that you’re not really in the mood for romance anymore. You pick it up, and set it back on the shelf.

#yandere oc #yandere male #yandere male x reader #Glenn Alston #angst #x reader #male reader

119 notes · View notes

mildew-dread-mold · 1 year

Text

REASONS TO VOTE RONAN AND NOT AANG FOR BALDSWAGSUMMIT

they may be both bald by choice, but ronan would have had dark luscious thick curls, can grow stubble overnight, and has to shave everyday (or enough that it is an explicit part of his daily schedule). not only is ronan bald by choice, he puts much more effort into being bald by choice than aang’s prepubescent, mostly hairless ass.

aang isn’t even bald all the time. at one point he is unconscious for a while and then goes undercover with hair, which spans at least half a season (i think?). ronan on the other hand was also in a coma for a good chunk of time but had not grown enough hair to be mentioned. ronan spends more time in his franchise bald than aang does.

in addition to this, when aang is in his dreams he has hair. ronan is bald in his dreams as well. who’s the ultimate bald now?

aang is bald because of what? his culture? which is cool and all but ronan is bald because when he has hair he reminds himself (and others) too much of his father whom he found dead in his family driveway when he was 15. ronan has a better bald-backstory. his baldness stems from a unique and heartbreaking place. aang is literally just a magic monk.

my friend tried to make the point that aang has a cool magic tattoo (which doesn’t have to do with baldness but does perhaps have to do with swag?) and i’d like us all to notice that ronan has not one but TWO tattoos, one of which was gotten to spite his older brother (swagful) and the other of which is a religious metaphor for dragging himself out of eden and rejecting paradise for mankind, and also is magical and keeps him from falling into a coma again (doubly swagful).

maggie stiefvater frequently uses the word “skull” instead of “head” when talking about ronan’s head because he is bald. which weirdly is a really nice synonym for “head” if you ask me. swagful AND bald. baldswagful. which is what the poll is for. aang may be from a cartoon and thus have no written description but you couldn’t call aang’s head a skull. that sounds wrong.

ronan gets bitches. like an overwhelming amount. adam gansey orla kavinsky. aang has gotten one singular bitch.

aang is 112 years old but ronan is a god so he’s been being since the start of time or whatever.

ronan is also an eldritch horror. nothing much more swagful than that. especially not some element bending pacifist kid.

if ronan loses his friends family enemies and everyone would bully him mercilessly. he would genuinely be devastated. adam would be like “sorry i don’t date bald men ranked below top 5” and blue would say “i could get an undercut and keep half of my hair and still beat your ass.” he would actually never recover mentally physically or financially. aang on the other hand would be perfectly fine. his friends would be like “it’s ok aang we still love your bald self” except for toph but aang wouldn’t care.

(if you don’t want to read all that i’ve bolded and italicized the key points.)

for all of the above reasons and more you should

Vote Ronan Lynch

for baldswagsummit2023. he is balder and more swagful than aang could ever dream to be.

#ronan lynch #trc #baldswagsummit2023 #ronansweep #and all that jazz #vote ronan lynch #slap his bald head #baldposting

496 notes · View notes

princessmaybank · 2 months

Text

WELCOME GUIDE

・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・

Masterlist

(I'm constantly updating this Welcome Guide! So please make sure you come back and check every once in a while!)

・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・

About Me

Name~ Jade (You can call me princess or Jade, whatever works for you)

Age~ 21

Pronouns~ She/Her

I have a JJ roleplay account: @jj-maybank-69 come say hi ;)

・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・

My Kinks/Interests

•Hands Kink (Rings 🥵)

•Being Called Princess

•Daddy Kink

•Switch (I like both Dom & Sub)

•Love TorD Situations

•Tattoos

•Enemies To Lovers

•Best Friends To Lovers

•Being Praised

•Brothers Best Friend

•Best Friends Brother

・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・

Who I Write For

As of right now I only write for JJ Maybank but I would like to eventually move onto other people. Here is a list of some of my celebrity crushes I'd be willing to write for (probably some of their characters):

•Rudy Pankow

•Colby Brock

•Drew Starkey

•Ross Lynch

•Kellin Quinn

•Noah Sebastian

•Matthew Gray Gubler

•JuicyFruitSnacks

I have a longer list but here are some you might be interested in!

・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・❥・

Fandoms I Am In/What I Watch/Listen To:

OBX, MCU, S&C, The Boys (YouTube), Smosh, Fear Street, Bailey Sarian, Rick and Morty, Bob's Burgers, Miraculous, etc.

There is so much more, but this is the stuff I'm involved with most (in no particular order).

41 notes · View notes

lizpaige · 1 month

Text

sunday snippet 📦

i got nothing like cute/juicy this time around. i'm just trying to write more and sometimes that means it all ends up getting cut, but here's a snippet from the declan outsider pov pynch chapter 2!

The Lynch brothers were helping Ronan move into his first apartment in DC. When Adam transferred for the third time to Georgetown and his financial aid and scholarships no longer covered room and board, they agreed to find a place together. Declan offered to help set up some of the apartment tours, but in the end, Adam found this affordable one bedroom on his own.

It was a secure access building with a doorman and 24 hour security. It was a 10 minute metro ride and 20 minute full commute to Georgetown, a little longer of a commute to his new auto body shop part time job, but not unreasonable. He somehow managed to convince Ronan to compromise and split the rent 50/50 despite Ronan’s barely-touched trust fund. He had two years left of college, two years where even though DC was closer to Singer’s Falls, neither of them could stand the time apart anymore.

“Why do you have so much stuff?” Matthew whined, hefting a cardboard box onto the desk in the living room.

“We’re giving you all the lightest boxes,” Declan winced at the loud bang as Ronan let go of his side of the couch. “We’re the ones doing all the work here.”

“And you had way more shit when I helped you move to DC,” Ronan groaned as he stretched his back before knocking off Matthew’s hat and ruffling his curls. “I didn’t complain.”

Matthew swatted him away. “Yes you did!”

“Did not!”

Declan raised his gaze to the ceiling as his brothers fell into an exhausted half-hearted wrestling match on the couch. He decided to take the time to look around the place.

Declan trusted Adam’s judgment more than Ronan’s on the affordability, security, and overall fit of the apartment. So when Ronan begrudgingly told them a move-in date, Declan offered to help them move in. Somewhat because Adam seemed hesitant about the extra cost of hiring movers and also because Declan wanted to scope out the place.

The apartment itself was a modest one bedroom, with a large windowless closet marketed as a “den” by the apartment complex “perfect for a home office,” but Declan thought that was a joke. The bathroom was clean, spacious. There was even a washer and dryer in-unit and a dishwasher in the kitchen. The complex itself was pet friendly, although Chainsaw was not with them currently. No doubt she was shredding up Declan’s couch in their Boston apartment with Jordan.

In the bedroom, in the corner by the window, were three modest boxes and a potted plant on the window sill. These were not boxes that they moved in, so these must belong to Adam.

It was then that Declan really realized most, if not all, of the stuff they moved was Ronan’s. Adam, despite being on his own for years now, never accumulated a lot of stuff. Even when he would visit the Barns or Boston for a week-long holiday, he would only ever have a small duffle bag over one shoulder with just enough room for a change of clothes and whatever textbooks he needed to complete his homework.

Even the furniture they brought upstairs - the old desk was from Ronan's room, that they basically let collect dust as soon as they were old enough to have their own desks at school. The couch was another Barns hand-me-down, as well as some of the kitchen items.

It all belonged to Ronan, legally, so Declan didn’t speak to it. Just another observation he kept to himself for fear of starting another argument. Even though they didn’t argue as much anymore, they still happened to fight. That was always going to be inevitable with the eldest Lynch brothers. Declan just knew how to avoid the landmines with a higher survival rate now.

#declan lynch #ronan lynch #adam parrish #post greywaren #pynch #pynch fic #sunday snippet #the raven cycle #trc #trc fic #the dreamer trilogy #tdt

25 notes · View notes

adancingdragon · 8 days

Text

Ok but - I came to the Dreamer trilogy for Ronan because he was my fave in TRC but I definitely fell for all three Lynch brothers, Hennessy & Jordan, and maybe even Carmen and Liliana during the course of these three books. Maggie Stiefvater, the writer that you are!

None of the characters is wholly good and/or easy; one might think Matthew is because he is always good-humoured and happy but then he is faced with an identity crisis and a rebellious phase and grows so much through it! And Adam seems to be perfect at first, having made it to Harvard and all, but he struggles and he hides himself, and only person he’s truly open with, and then he is more open and honest with himself at the end, after going through the potential loss of that person, and realising there is more to him than just being this ideal student who’s made it.

And we’ve probably all started out hating Declan a little after the events of TRC but with every page, he gets more nuanced, we learn about his past, his parents (and how he’s their only ‘real’ son, whatever that means), and he becomes someone you don’t only feel for but begin to understand and wish a happy future. - which he finds, unexpectedly, in a dream. Jordan starts off as one of many copies and struggles to find her way to her own life, always craving it, always asking herself why she’s got only half the memories she should, and how she could lead a ‘normal’ life, could she commit?

Hennessy seems almost unlikable at the start but then she does grow on you - because of how she cares for her girls, her unlikely friendship with Ronan, what we learn about her past and her upbringing. But she also disappoints us with betrayal and looking only after herself - she’s complicated! - and then she does save the day aka Adam and you notice how integral she’s become.

And Ronan. The words used to describe him at the start of Call Down the Hawk make him seem almost cruel, not at all like what you’d expect your protagonist to be like. But we follow him as he struggles and grows and challenges himself - from trying to fit in, to creating a mentor he’s always craved, to scaring away the people he loves most, to realising he’s rooted in both worlds and choosing one, to realising he’s Greywaren, to committing to an eternity with the person he calls his second self. What a journey.

This has been a wild ride. Thank you, Ms Stiefvater.

#and I’m sure I could go on and on and on but this for now #the dreamer trilogy #maggie stiefvater #ronan lynch #adam parrish #Greywaren #tdt #tdt Spoilers #Spoilers #thoughts #declan lynch #matthew lynch #jordan hennessy #my heart

20 notes · View notes

thedocs-in · 2 months

Text

Cecil's Family

So let's start at the beginning, I should also disclaim, that I'm absolutely bullshitting this timeline. As I see Cecil in his late 50's or early 60's so I'm using that as the basis for all of this. In my personal fic I have it that he's 58, so I'm sorta using that as my base line. But feel free to put him at whatever age you want.

And buckle up, this is rather long. I can't condense things to save my fucking life.

Oh, I do also have another young Cecil fic planned that has his dad in it. Sorta basing it off a story my grandpa told me involving his own dad when he was younger. I will also get more headcannons out about Cecil's dad, and other family members if people want them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cecil was actually named after his grandfather who died in 1944 during WWII.

Now widowed, Susanna ‘Sue’ Stedman was left to look after their two kids, Cecil’s aunt Sarah, and his father Lyle.

Now, Sarah and Lyle are only a few years apart, with Sarah being the older of the two as she was born in ’35, while Lyle was born in ’37. Making them 10 and 7 at the time of their dad’s death.

A year following the death of her husband, Susanna would marry another man in 1945 by the name of Peter Briggs. And he… was not the best father/husband.

And he wasn’t a fan of raising another man’s kids

But a year after being married Susanna and Peter would have a kid together, this being Sarah and Lyle’s half-brother Ollie Briggs

Unfortunately, there were complications when Ollie was born which led to Susanna’s death. Leaving all three siblings in the care of Peter. Who was certainly not thrilled to be taking care of three kids by himself, especially if two of them weren’t his own.

Because of that, the three ended up in an orphanage. And thankfully, they were never separated, due to the help of a pastor who ran the orphanage. But as soon as Sarah turned 18 she had already been working for awhile and found a way to help her brothers and be there for them.

And as soon as Lyle was able to, he quickly got a job to help take care of his younger brother. Landing a job at a mechanic shop in the town they lived in.

(I kinda like to think that Cecil was born in Alabama, mostly cause that’s where his VA is from and I swear, if you listen carefully when Cecil talks you can hear a slight southern accent.)

Now, Lyle had built a bit of a reputation in town. While he was a good man, he certainly didn’t take bullshit from anyone and would kick someone’s ass in a heartbeat if they were doing something wrong.

Cough cough, this is where Cecil learned it from cough cough

This man had an extremely strong moral compass. If you were being a jackass, harassing anyone, being a bigot, you best hope you don’t do it in front of this man.

Because of this there were a few times he wound up in jail, with the pastor who helped him growing up or his sister having to bail him out.

Eventually when he turned 20, so in 1957, Lyle would be drafted and have to serve in the Vietnam war, getting discharged in ’65 when he was injured and lost a lung.

Ironically this man chain smoked like there was no tomorrow, while serving and after he was discharged. Resulting in Cecil picking it up sometime in his late 20’s.

A month after getting back, Lyle did go back to his job. And would meet Cecil’s mother, Bonnie Lynch.

Bonnie is a little bit of a bitch, and you’ll understand why in a moment.

Now, she was born in 1940. I don’t exactly have anything in terms of her family or her own history. I think the only thing I had was that she came from a well off family.

Those two got busy and a couple months later, surprise, she’s pregnant.

Now, Lyle is a good and honest man. And he tries to do the right thing and proposes to her.

However, she turns him down. And straight up tells him, “I’m not interested. I’ll have your kid, but as soon as they’re born. They’re all yours.”

She is the deadbeat mom.

(I have this little headcannon that Lyle kept that ring he proposed with and eventually gave it to Cecil for when he finally settles down.)

cut to cecil saying he’s married to his job

But regardless, Cecil is born sometime in late ‘65 and his mom just straight up leaves after like a month or two.

Now Lyle isn't alone in taking care of Cecil. As his sister is willing to help. Considering by this point she's married and has at least two kids with a third on the way.

Ollie on the other hand was off at college, thanks to the help of Lyle and Sarah putting money towards his education.

But Lyle is still a single father raising a child and it wasn't easy.

Bonnie would go on to be an even bigger dick, because 10 years later, she would end up having two more kids who she would actually raise. Well, "raise". She let those kids do whatever they wanted.

So somewhere out there Cecil has two half-brothers he’s met once and then never talk to again.

The one time they met with him was when their mother died, in like 2012, and he just didn’t want to get to know them. He thanked them for telling him and sent them on their way.

By this time, he was already director of the GDA, so, it’s not like he has a lot of time for family stuff anyway.

But he tries. Especially to see his aunt Sarah who is getting up there in age, and suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Though, by time we see Cecil in the show his dad has long since passed, having died from lung cancer in '96.

Cecil's family isn't overly large. And it's certainly not the happiest story. But his family is a loving one, and looks out for one another.

He does have a lot of cousins though.

#cecil stedman #invincible #invincible show #image comics #invincible comic #headcannons #i had to go digging in one of my discord servers for this #i forgot about some of this stuff #and sorry its so long #i tried to condense it #but i failed

25 notes · View notes