Salty Thyme

(the raven boys edition here)  (the dream thieves edition here)

he wouldn’t be our beloved nerd son if he wasn’t the most embarrassing teenager on the planet:

has a citrus-yellow v-neck sweater in addition to all the polos

knows how to tie a carabiner to a rope

walked right off a cliff into a hole in the cave in cabeswater… like right the hell off it, no warning, no preamble, nothing, just down he went

thinks about whether or not a magical forest has the same priorities as he does

almost missed his exit because he was doing the forbidden by *gasp* touching a girl’s fingers

dislikes confronting the consequences of his folly directly (idek man this kid is just such a nerd)

is knowledgable about the drapery that was lost to the English in Mawddwy because of course he is

uses ‘ignominy’ conversationally

wants to actually be glendower

makes a joke about sending letters to hell and then decides faxes is funnier (it’s not)

was excited to learn a mountain’s old name

is too inhibited to pee in the woods- like he genuinely has an internal monologue about how adam parrish is a beautiful and unattainable creature that gansey aspires to be because he can pee in a bush

has a number of chip bags reachable from the toilet (in his defense this is also ronan’s fault and probably noah’s too)

thinks about how blue’s mouth was the last thing to touch a spoon before he puts it in his own mouth

can be used as a verb (ex:“'Don’t Richard Gansey the Third at me,‘” Orla replied.”)

has a fancy face and knows it

is shit at making tea

as if welsh kings weren’t enough: “What do you know about the blue-winged teal?”

uniform-free days at aglionby make his anxiety worse

runs with dead welsh kings (as opposed to henry cheng who runs with the vancouver crowd)

is apparently always in the aglionby newsletter like he’s fucking ross geller and every other student is monica

is a caucasian with great hair

is a child millionaire with a kitchen-bathroom-laundry all in one

referred to the ley line as a ‘mystical interstate’

thinks the feeling of the floorboards on his bare feet is sensuous and distracting

has been victimized by the beverages of 300 fox way

said ‘how rotten’ to express displeasure at the idea of adam having to leave his presence (did i mention he’s 17?)

mocks himself

thinks a suburban is a soulless vehicle

is distracted by blue wearing coveralls (which are objectively the least sexy clothing item one could wear besides maybe a onesie??? what is wrong with you gansey?)

says ‘jesus christ’ to hide his retreating testicles

‘i feel peculiar about this’ is his reaction to finding a tomb in a cave

feels a little better about himself after ronan’s exasperated ‘god, gansey’

does not think it is a wise idea to untie the raven-haired lady who possessed his friend’s bird

is willing to help the raven-haired lady who possessed his friend’s bird but will put her back in the coffin if she bites him

knows that switchblades are illegal in virginia

has a ‘vacuous prep boy stare’

has a very pleasant and neutral aura

finds illegitimate daughters being used as shrill graves distasteful

once thought ‘mornings like this one were made for memories’ cause he’s a giant fucking nerd

doesn’t know if adam is a boy but knows that henry cheng is a boy???

is exempt from students not being able to come and go freely through the faculty room by virtue of gross favoritism

‘you marvelous creature’ is a thought he has for the second time this series

is such an embarrassing blabber-mouth about glendower that even the judge presiding over adam’s case asks him if he’s found the sleeping king yet

would probably like a convenience store that adam, a hick, considers even more hickish

(maybe)(probably?) knew the answer to one of gwenllian’s riddles

actually said ‘have a care’

his (and blue’s) wonder made the valley of bones holy

and incase you were wondering he’s still got his #1 dad mug:

“We’re counting on you. Don’t just stare at me. Nod like you understand. Good.”

shouted “my ears are bleeding!” because ronan’s music was too loud for him- he is SEVENTEEN years old omg

“Ronan, feet down.”

“For that matter, if any of us thinks they won’t be able to contain themselves going forward, I suggest we turn around and come back another day or the party in question waits out here.” -okay dad

is such a dad that even gwenllian makes fun of him “Yes, Father!”

used his stern voice to tell the skeleton’s to wake up and they did

and is still just as in love with and willing to do absolutely anything for his friends as always:

is proud to know adam parrish

makes a joke about romans just to see adam smirk

plans to ask glendower for noah’s life (even though i’m pretty sure he already knows he himself is going to die)

silently hands his jacket to blue when he thinks she might be cold

“I can’t stress how strongly unwilling I am to put anyone in this room in danger.”

is grateful to have finally found adam, ronan, blue, blue’s family, noah, and roger malory

doesn’t even remember making the decision to move when he hears a crash coupled with adam’s name

offers adam “friendship of the unshakable kind. Friendship you could swear on. That could be busted nearly to breaking and come back stronger than before.”

the courtroom scene

just… the courtroom scene

tells adam that he did his best, that people are proud of him, just because he knows adam needs to hear it

has lived with ronan’s grief long enough to recognize [grief]

“I can’t live with this,” Gansey said. “If anything has happened.”

and also heartbreakingly broken and beautiful:

like the entirety of this book is basically gansey having an existential crisis slash nervous breakdown

it’s painful how unsure about everything, including himself, he is

doesn’t know what he is if he’s not looking for glendower

used to have screaming nightmares (maybe still does sometimes)

also used to have screaming daymares (maybe still does sometimes)

is relieved when he thinks that he’s unworthy of uncovering glendower’s* coffin (*it’s not actually glendower’s coffin but gansey didn’t know that)

can’t stop believing in the nearness of death

like i cannot stress how much gansey is just an existential crisis on legs for the entirety of this book

doesn’t like good-byes

seeks a king who rules by request not by command

“I just — I believe I’m having a panic attack.” (polite as ever, heartbreaking as ever)

oh and incase you forgot:

ronan still doesn’t know gansey is going to die but

“if you let him die, that is not keeping me safe”

hahaha i love death and being dead

“Here in the Pacific, 200 metres down, we enter an alien world… This is barreleye a fish with a transparent head filled with jelly so that it can look up through its skull.” - Sir David Attenborough