6 : 21

i think ronan consciously changed adam to kavinsky and let me explain why:

before ronan falls asleep he thinks about “the dark bags beneath Adam’s eyes” (Stiefvater, 235) last which shows that it was on his mind last before he started dreaming

now if you know a bit about dream theory you know that it talks about your unconscious (or the id in freud’s words) that comes up during dreams because usually you repress this. during sleep, however, there is no conscious that suppresses hidden feelings or emotions which causes you unconscious to run wild in your dreams. i won’t bore you with quotes but look up some essays if you’re interested in this!

back to the main thing tho: adam pops up first because ronan’s unconscious finally has the freedom to come up and it takes ronan’s feelings for adam the ones he has represses so far, with it. what is interesting is that you can link the intricate design of the tattoo to the complicated feelings ronan has of adam!

however, ronan is not a normal person. he can (to some extend) control his dreams.

“As [Adam] traced it further and further down on the bare skin of Ronan’s back, Ronan himself disappeared entirely,” (235) 

what i think happens here is that the ronan that is looking at dream ronan getting touched by adam takes control back, which makes dream ronan disappear. 

kavinsky replaces adam but the “tangled pattern of ink” (235) gets “smaller and smaller” and it becomes a celtic knot, which is a much simpler design than how ronan’s tattoo is usually described

so, i think that ronan replaces adam with kavinsky because it is easier to feel something (anything really) for kavinsky, someone he thinks he deserves because he doesn’t love himself, instead of adam, one of his best friends and the person ronan thinks he is not good enough for. 

the simplification of the tattoo signifies not only that ronan’s feelings for kavinsky are simpler but also that ronan sees himself being with kavinsky as simpler than being with adam

**Please note: If you have not yet read CDTH, this post is made of spoilers and it is not for you.**

Things that made me LOL:

DBAG LYNCH, MANAGEMENT, SARGENTO

Gansey being chained to a tree in Oregon - kinky!

Ronan texting a picture of his elbow that looks like a butt

The floaty leaf blanket cow transport system

Gasoline

Chainsaw being a quitter

“Why don’t you just say ‘I love you’?”

Chainsaw’s pooping blanket

“Ronan Lynch wishes he was that badass.”

“Is badass one word or two?”

Things Ronan likes to eat in 4 bites or less:

Burritos

Waffles

Expired baked beans probably

Get your mind out of the gutter

Things Parsifal does not like to eat at all:

Soups

Sauces

Meat with pink centers

Crusts on baked goods

Frosting

Strawberries

Sandwiches

Not his mother’s Bienenstich

Things that surprised me:

Chainsaw being a psychopomp

Ronan being completely banned from the Harvard campus

No Adam POV

Parsifal dying and another visionary being introduced so soon

Things that confused me:

Bryde

Boudicca

The new Fenian

The Lace

So basically all other potential villains besides the Moderators

All of Ronan’s dream things showing up at Great Falls - WHY?

Biggest WTF moments:

Confirmation that Aurora is not Declan’s mother

One of the fucking double-sided murder crabs made it all the way from Boston to Virginia

Parsifal’s body being split between two ages

Adam not responding to Ronan’s texts

Nearly all of the Hennessy dream clones being killed

Words that were repeated enough times to catch my attention:

Uncanny (10 times)

Crumbs (8 times)

Rabbit(s) (14 times)

Warren (2 times, 3 if you count Warrenton) (not to be confused with Greywaren)

Declanism (4 times)

Prime Declanisms:

“Time’s money.”

“Let’s please grease the wheels.”

“Walk and talk?”

“This created a situation that put me in a difficult place.”

Things I googled:

How to pronounce Caomhán, again.

Sargent’s Madame X

Just a fuckton of art, really. Too much to list.

Labyrinth on Harvard campus

Fenian

Even more things that broke my heart:

Matthew realizing that he’s a dream

The Niall Lynch copy dude hugging Declan and telling him he’s proud of him

The Moderators taking out the soft old rainbow teapot Zed

Declan realizing that Jordan is a dream and “he didn’t have it in him to love another dream”

Things that were so, so satisfying:

“I expected more complexity from you, Carmen.”

The Fairy Market

Canon Bi Hennessy

Ronan being 100% comfortable with his sexuality multiple times on page and in front of others

Declan getting Ronan a membership to the zoo for his birthday

Adam feeding Ronan a cherry tomato

The potential of Carmen/Liliana

The number of times Declan curses his father

Ronan introducing Hennessy to Lindenmere

THE SWORDS!!!

Pretty much the entire book, okay???

More thoughts in list form posts:

CDTH Sampler

“what fresh hell is this?” gansey asked pleasantly 

“beholden to me?” gansey suggested pleasantly

“how are you doing? well, i trust?”

top shelf

“aquamarine is a wonderful color and i won’t be made to feel bad for wearing it”

“i just think there’s quite a lot of hooey you have to wade through to get to them.”

it’s exemplary

perfectly adequate

“well.” gansey blinked. “okay.” about being held up at gunpoint 

“pardon?” gansey asked politely 

“I have a colleague-” ronan sniggered when gansey used the word colleague 

“my words are unerring tools of destruction, and i’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them” god gansey are you an old victorian man??

beg pardon

“don’t use that tone on me.” 

couth? uncouth?

“i’m rather slovenly at the moment, i know”

astonishingly charming 

“do you ever think your humor veers too much on the side of prurient?” 

for maximum ignominy

“what can i do for you, mr. cheng?” gansey,,,he’s a 17 year old boy just like you,,,,

have a care

“parrish wants to know if you killed yourself dreaming just now please advise”

both busy, alas

we remain optimistic 

kids these days

+bonus:

Dear opalparrxsh,

I knew that I did at some point and went looking for them just now, but because my computer has been hacked by Russians twice in the last year, I’ve lost a lot of files and couldn’t find them. I did, however, find a strange scene where Mr. Gray was building a treehouse, and another one where Henry was living in a florist shop and studying crime, and then this

and also this

and also 196,000 other words of WTFery. 

urs,

I think it’s pretty clear that his second secret is more than a crush, it’s his romantic and sexual identity as a whole. Ronan knows he’s gay he’s just not ready to tell himself until Kavinsky asks him outright and he’s not ready to accept himself until Opal asks him why he hates himself. It’s not 100% clear if before that point if Ronan considers himself sinful because of his dreaming, his sexuality, or both. 

The Dream Thieves is interesting because Adam is still technically portrayed as Blue’s love interest, yet his interactions with Ronan are all meant to set up the reveal at the end of the novel that Ronan has feelings for Adam. Ronan’s second secret being Adam is not truly a plot twist because the novel has been building up to it. However, Ronan’s feelings being explicitly stated reframes the way the audience sees all Ronan and Adam’s previous interactions. One of Adam and Ronan’s last solo interactions in the Dream Thieves includes Adam mentioning that he knows Ronan is the reason his rent is changed, showing that even if he does not currently return Ronan’s feelings he pays attention to Ronan. The Dream Thieves also ends with Adam and Blue’s “break-up” which leaves the rest of the series open to further explore Ronan and Adam’s relationship.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue is when Stiefvater begins to truly emphasize Ronan and Adam’s relationship. Even though it is still platonic, this is the book when Ronan and Adam’s interactions are no longer strictly offhand. Ronan visits Adam at work, they team up to take down Greenmantle, there’s a whole chapter of them shopping together, Ronan takes Adam to the barns. This book sets up them becoming a couple, because while Adam still does not return Ronan’s feelings, it shows that they function as a pair outside of the entire group. Even without emotions being clearly stated, the affection they have towards each other (platonic or romantic) is obvious. Stiefvater also continues to include the offhanded lines that build up to Ronan and Adam getting together (Ronan looks at place in Adam’s apartment, Gansey does not, Ronan looks put together for Adam’s court hearing). 

I think it is only mentioned once, but Ronan is described as having a very Roman nose. 

These are often described as being beak-like, having a bump or hook.  Focus on Adams’ hands, long thin, almost claw-like ( especially in demon possession scene)  puts a whole new meaning on the “ beak and claw” quote…and here I thought I was done finding new shit Maggie foreshadowed or hinted at.  Am I the only one that did not catch on to this?

THE RAVEN KING CHAPTER 31 - comic adaptation PART 2 **IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE 4TH BOOK AND DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED PLEASE SCROLL THROUGH!!! **PART 1