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one-squash-one-end · 1 month

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An unhinged recap of Ronan's homosexuality

Hi! This once again belongs to my big Raven Cycle analysis, click here for the masterpost.

Again, there's not much room for speculation here, but i had to write it for completionist purposes. I apologize for certain metaphores used, for the most part when I was writing this I was going through it (brain was fried).

Here u go (also spoilers for Greywaren)

d) Ronan Lynch

Next to Adam, Ronan is the only other canonically queer person in the Gangsey. A flaming homosexual with a car fetish (because there was something unbelievably sexy about cars at night). Ronan is the original Be Gay, Do Crime. (Adam is the Be Crime, Do Gay to that.)

You get the gist; he is seriously involved with one guy but used to have some bits of self discovery (not only on the topic of his sexuality) with another, which ended because that guy kidnapped his brother because despite being gay, Ronan unbelievably was not into him. I’m sorry, I really do not want to dissect the entirety of Pynch in here, that would go way too far and I bet there are so many people who could do and have done this better than I ever could, so I’ll stick to elaborating some more on how we find out that he is gay, considering I think he doesn’t say the word until Call Down The Hawk.

In the first book, Ronan does not get a pov, maybe because Maggie needed some more time to figure out how to make a character subtly and thirst over another character in a secret and homosexual way. Still we get some small hints, based on conversations with other characters, or just his behavior in general.

Gansey: “From now on I need all of us to be straight with one another” Ronan: “I’m always straight” Adam: “oh man that’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told” This, of course, is legendary. Ronan is gay, he jokes about it, Adam knows it. I genuinely cannot tell whether Ronan had come out to his friends, whether he just did it through jokes like this etc. If the latter is the case, I honestly doubt that Gansey would have known, as oblivious as he is.

We also have the case study of Declan and his Ashleys. Ronan seems to despise the heterosexual standards that his brother portrays, but it is not clear whether that’s because of heterosexuality, or because of Declan, because let’s be honest, in book one, Ronan would hate, absolutely hate, anyone Declan dates out of principle, because Declan’s just a bitch, or a manwhore, as Gansey would say.

Then it gradually all becomes very much obvious in The Dream Thieves. We got the parallels with religion, his nightmares (his night horrors/self-hate maybe being because of internalized homophobia?) and of course the secrets. The secrets you keep from yourself, the very obvious metaphor. Plus Kavinsky literally calls him the f-slur. You will very easily pick up on that if you’re not as oblivious as I was when I first read the book (I was in my Declan Lynch era with a tummy-ache ok?), but it is explicitly resolved in the epilogue. There is no more room left for ambiguity, thank you Maggie for ending the queer speculation yourself, within the book.

Then there’s gender, of course there’s gender. Gender is like Tad Carruthers, just always materializing out of nowhere, especially when you just want to stay away from it because it’s fake and a massive bitch.

Ronan definitely identifies as male, but if you look at this a certain way he is somehow trans or defies the entire concept of gender either way, considering he is a supernatural being, spirit, entity, that was just socialized as a boy. Ronan is like Cabeswater, or Lindenmere, which both don’t have a gender, obviously, they are forests. The Greywaren is often referred to as an “it”, which makes sense when people don’t know the Greywaren is human, but something about the entire thing smells very trans rights to me. Also that eldritch horror, not quite human at all, jumble of dark matter thing in Greywaren was just so gender of him.

Ronan would wear a crop top, there’s no doubt to me.

#still sorry about tad carruthers #ronan lynch #adam parrish #the raven cycle #trc #the raven boys #the dream thieves #the raven king #blue lily lily blue #greywaren #greywaren spoilers #the dreamer trilogy

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mildew-dread-mold · 1 year

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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

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squash1 · 11 months

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i’m thinking about declan lynch which is never good. but do you ever think about how trc/tdt is all about the importance of chosen family. ronan & adam & gansey & blue & noah and eventually henry are each other’s chosen family. and from a lynch brother perspective, ronan’s chosen family saves him time and time again. declan doesn’t have a chosen family mostly out of protection (& trust issues). he doesn’t have real friends, his past girlfriends weren’t meaningful/deep relationships, and his parents are either dead or absent. declan has matthew and that’s it. but even they don’t have a mutual relationship — declan acts as a stand in dad because that’s what matthew needs. declan and ronans relationship is strained at best. and so declan lynch is alone through his teen years and his early twenties. declan lynch is lonely and tired and in desperate need of someone to trust.

jordan is that person. jordan is the person declan chooses. and chooses to live with without lies or barriers. and this so fucking important because declan lynch thought he would be left with no family. he has done everything he can to keep what little family — regardless of how much they hate him — alive and together. but he knows that ronan was a ticking time bomb and he knows that if he loses ronan, he’ll lose matthew and he’ll be the only lynch left. BUT, by the end of greywaren, not only does declan lynch have his brothers, but he has jordan and by extension hennessy, and carmen, his first real friend.

and so when declan lynch tells jordan that she was the story he chose, i think we all need to really appreciate what that means for him. she is the promise of a family. not based on blood or obligation but out of mutual choice. and to declan, to everyone really, that is the only real thing in the world.

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lynchzitos · 2 days

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something about tdt makes me sooo mentally ill idk maybe just hennessy in white or adam parrish n the crying club or bryde bringing matthew back home or "you're a liar just like declan" or declan seeing color in his black & white life after jordan or ronan lynch between two worlds praying to know who he was and where he truly belong or "who would hennessy be without j.h. hennessy? jordan" or art making declan goddamn cry or where's my adam or mor and niall and cabeswater giving birth to ronan lynch or the barns being a paradise or you are made of dreams and this world is not for you or this is a story about the lynch brothers. the orphans lynch. they found out they were friends again.

#ronan lynch #the dreamer trilogy #tdt #adam parrish #pynch #declan lynch #matthew lynch #jordan hennessy #mister impossible #greywaren #trc #maggie stiefvater #i cant get over it #im insane

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itsbackwoodsbby · 2 months

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Black Love

Symbols: angst: ✺| fluffy: ☁︎| smut: ✿|

Not all of my work is 18+. But the work that is 18+, MDNI! Please and thank you.

I got the rappers, the singers, the actors, the influencers, the streamers, the athletes. WE GOT IT ALL! And YES I do take requests.

𓆩♡𓆪 Brent Faiyaz

☁︎ Nightime- Your daughter can’t sleep because she misses her daddy, who is back doing tours after your daughter’s arrival. This makes you wonder is this the right time to have another kid with Christopher.

𓆩♡𓆪 Daniel Kaluuya

✺|✿ Stay Away From My Son- You’re a single mother of two kids, Bryson, 17, and Brooklyn, 3. Brooklyn is a sweetheart. Not a tablet kid, always in her picture books, and lets you teach her stuff before she’s off to pre-k. Her troubled ass brother, Bryson, just wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a drug dealer to support the house. You try to tell him it’s okay and you can take care of it without him trying to help, especially in the way he is trying to go about it, but he just doesn’t listen. So now, you must do whatever it takes for Bryson to stay away from the local drug dealer, Daniel before he ends up dead like his daddy.

𓆩♡𓆪 Lashana Lynch

✺|✿ Formerly Known As Yours- Lashana is your ex. You two dated for five years and broke up three minutes before your sixth year anniversary because you caught her cheating on you. A few weeks later, you see she’s with the girl who she cheated on you with. You were hurt at the fact she didn’t even trying to get you back, she just got with her. There was a party coming up and you had to get your groove back or see if you got it.

𓆩♡𓆪 Stephen Curry

✿ Locker Room Sex- You were messaging Steph Curry for a while and then eventually he ghosts you. You were desperately in need to talk to him. For reasons. For answers, on what exactly is going on. You sneak in the Golden State locker room and you definitely get more than answers.

𓆩♡𓆪 Trevante Rhodes

✿ His Favorite- Trevante's favorite stripper is out of work for a while and has no one as a replacement. You decide that you want to be his favorite. Not just for the night. His forever replacement.

𓆩♡𓆪 Yahya Abdul Mateen II

✿ Yahya: The Musical- ICU- Yahya and you used to be together, until you both realized that you were better off as friends. You start dating again and none of the guys are really for you. a lonely night in your apartment makes you realize that Yahya might be one. O M W- As soon as you knew Yahya was done with the gym, you texted him that you needed that dick. He gets ready and gives you exactly what you want.

✺|☁︎|✿ Laying Low- You sell drugs with your boyfriend, Darnell, but you two constantly argue back and forth. One day, he tells you about how a man named Yahya is seeking revenge on you two for killing his cousin, Jayshawn, when you two were in high school. What happened next? Read it to find out.

#itsbackwoodsbby #celebrities #poc writer #black fanfiction #smut #x black fem reader #black fanfic writer #short story #black tumblr #black writer #black love masterlist #masterlist #request #itsbackwoodssbby masterlist

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jordanshenessy · 1 year

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Having a family is like I hate you I love you I want what’s best for you you never loved me I’m punching you in the parking lot I’m dreaming you a glowing orb I’m dreaming us another brother matthew put ur seatbelt on or so mary help me I hate ur boyfriend I hate your boyfriend Im getting punched again my dad dreamt me a moth he never loved me he loved me too much I don’t think I feel love I don’t think so not how other people do let’s dream a sentient eldritch forest into a human declan loved him and so ronan lived was ronan dead please nonononononono weeping on the pavement of the barns bc he’s dead on the seventh day the lynch brother became friends again

#trc #the dreamer trilogy #cdth #mister impossible #Greywaren #I’m going through it a little actually

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snippychicke · 2 months

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Aftermath--Chapter One

Summary:

Raymond Chestnut gets a harsh surprise when he realizes the body in his living room isn't actually dead. Now he has a severely injured white man, who tried to kill him, to deal with. Thankfully he knows a friend who might be able to help.

Lorelei was used to people coming to her for medical attention. But when Raymond brings Otto to her home, nothing could prepare for how her life was about to change.

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Well, if you followed me like... 3-4 years ago, you may remember I was quite into the Swedes from The Umbrella Academy...

I never got over them to be honest.

So here we are, I am proving my screen name yet again with a rewrite of an old story! That I never finished! But hey, my writing skill have definitely improved.

For those unfamiliar, go watch season 2 of the Umbrella Academy. The blonde assassins? Those were the boys that inspired the rise of ol' Ikea Mafia Fam. As well as the following story in which a white woman born in the 80's tries to write the perspective of a poc woman in the 60s. (and prays she is not being offensive in any way and begs forgiveness if she is.)

Also:

Herb did not, in fact, take away the dead body of the Swede Assassin.

It was still laying in Raymond's living room, long after everyone else had disappeared in flashes of blue lights. Wrapped tightly in the rug his sister had gifted him and Allison on their wedding day.

Silent.

Foreboding.

Raymond watched the unmoving figure as he sipped at his scotch. There was no way in hell he could move it by himself. And who could he trust to ask for help to move it?

To move him, Raymond reminded himself harshly. It wasn't an it, it was a ‘him.’ That was a human body resting in his living room.

Who, admittedly, had tried to kill him and Allison. But still, Raymond could at least acknowledge him as a fellow human. After all, Raymond had tried so hard to be the respectful and peaceful man his grandmother raised him to be. Even when faced with the violence because of his involvement with the protests, or being unfairly treated time after time because of racism, he never raised so much as a hand to another human being.

He shouldn't try to deny another man his humanity, even if he was a dead would-be murderer.

But he was still stuck with a dead white man in his living room. It didn't matter that the man and his brother had forced their way into their home (his home, now that Allison was gone, but he didn't want to deal with that heartache on top of everything) with intent to kill both of them.

All the law would see was a white man dead in a colored man's house.

He would go to prison… No. He was going to be lynched for this. Old-fashioned hung from a tree for the whole city to see.

Raymond tipped the rest of the scotch back and poured another full glass as the liquid burned its way to his stomach. All of his work, gone. He had abandoned his education and teaching position so he could do his part for the Civil Rights movement. He had hoped he could do some good.

And instead, he had made things worse.

It was probably a good thing Allison had…left to be with her family. It was comforting to know she was safe and alive somewhere somewhen. A small, cold, comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

His lips touched the glass for another swig when he heard it. A noise so soft and quiet he was sure he had imagined it. Still, it made him freeze, his body tense as he held his breath, eyes darting to the rug.

No. The man was dead. It had been hours since the attack. There was no way he could be somehow still alive.

Raymond shook his head, deciding it was probably just the house settling, and shot back the drink once more, feeling the burn in his throat match the burn of his eyes. His whole life had just ended. It wouldn't be long before he would join…

His somber thoughts were cut off by another sound, this one unmistakable.

A groan of pain.

Raymond startled and jumped to his feet, throwing his glass out of reflex towards the body, which grunted as the glass bounced off the rug and shattered on the floor. He grabbed a butterknife off the table and held it towards the body; the cutlery shaking in his hand as he stared at the body.

But there was only silence. For what felt like hours, Raymond stood frozen yet mentally daring it to do something. Anything. If it did, he would… he would…

The rug moved as another groan cut through the heavy silence. There was no doubting the haggard breathing and muffled moan of pain that quickly increased in both volume and frequency. Raymond cursed every foul word his grandmother would've washed his mouth out for and ran back to the kitchen to grab an actual knife. The long thick butcher’s knife his wife had used so skillfully once upon a time.

He pushed that thought away and stalked back to the living room, gripping the wooden handle tightly in his shaking hand. Raymond towered over the rug, knife poised to strike where he assumed the man’s chest was. He had to do something swift. Otherwise…

Otherwise what? He was already a deadman walking.

The knife clattered harmlessly to the floor as Raymond regained his senses. He was going to die either way, but wouldn't it be better to die innocent than guilty? Not just for his soul, but for the Civil Rights movement? His brother and sisters?

Raymond dropped to his knees and desperately undid the knots he and Allison had tied, allowing the rug to fall open. The man's face was no longer placid with death, but grimacing in pain, pale lips pursed as he sucked in haggard breaths. Blood was caked dry around the remains of his right eye, dark purple and black bruises colored his neck, while the rest of his skin was as pale as his blond hair.

"Hey, uh buddy," Raymond said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, earning a painful grunt that caused him to yank his hand away. "Right. Sorry. Let's… let's get you to a hospital." Except questions would be asked, and Raymond would definitely be arrested.

But… what if there was a chance he could avoid that? Someone that could help him and the man before him.

"Actually, on second thought..."

~❖~

Lorelei groaned as she fell into the old couch, slipping off her shoes and rubbing the ache from her feet. The third twelve-hour shift in a row at the hospital had left the young nurse sore and exhausted. This week had been crazy between the street shooting and the asylum patients escaping.

Then there was the man found in the woods. She grimaced at the memory of being briefed by the operating room's recovery nurse as she was assigned to John Doe for the rest of her shift because the white nurse had been overwhelmed and needed help (nevermind the black's unit had been just as understaffed before they had dragged her away). Even though the nurse had rattled off the injuries--including the traumatic amputation of his leg-- seeing the young man as white as the sheets, covered in bandages, left her heart sore.

Dr. Wilson and his team had done their best, but they all had their doubts. No one knew how long the man had been in the woods, wounded. It had been a miracle he hadn't bled to death. But there had been plenty of time for sepsis to set in.

Lorelei's eyes were starting to drift shut when somebody desperately knocked at the front door; hard and frantic enough to rattle the glass panes of the windows. Her eyes shot back open and she jumped up out of instinct, her heart thundering in her chest as she stumbled around the coffee table to open the door.

She knew it was going to be an emergency, knew that she should expect anything, but yet she wasn't prepared for Raymond Chestnut to be standing on her old porch, a man nearly twice his size leaning heavily on him with an ill-fitting tan suit covered in blood.

A very pale, very white man.

"What the hell?" she started, automatically shifting to the white man's side, having to lift his arm to sling it over her shoulder to help support his weight.

People coming to her was no surprise. It was normal for her the way people in their neighborhood would knock on her door for help, ranging from childhood bumps and bruises, injuries from teenagers getting into fights, and other emergencies.

But that was from people in their neighborhood-- which was very much a black community. And while she was about as white-passing as they could get-- barely passing the paper-bag test most days--her skin was still far darker than the man she helped Raymond half-drag inside.

Her stomach curdled at the wounds she saw, though the bloody mess of an eye was probably the worst. One slight touch to the unconscious man's cheek and he snarled as he shifted away, his other eye fluttering beneath its closed eyelid. "Shit. We need to get him to a hospital, Ray!"

"I know!" he hissed back, keeping his voice low despite the fact the door was closed and no one else in the old two-story house but them. "But can you imagine me pulling in the ER with him like this? I'd be lynched by dawn!"

"What even happened?" She asked, noticing the darkening bruise around his neck. Without hesitating she quickly undid the silk tie and ripped the white shirt open. There was no mistaking the shadowing of hand-prints that wrapped around his neck. Obviously not an accident, but if Raymond got in a fight, and one serious enough to do this kind of damage, why would he bring the man here?

Nevermind that Raymond was as pacifistic as it got, and she couldn't see him doing this. Hell, even if Raymond was fighting for his life, she doubted he could cause this kind of damage.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said with a dry tone, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Hell, I barely believe it, and I lived through it."

She shot him a look, "I worked in the ER on a full moon on Halloween this year. Try me."

Before he could begin, however, she stood and quickly disappeared into the kitchen. Raymond could hear the faucet running as she rummaged through drawers, and within a minute she was back with a basin of water and more than a few washcloths. "Well?" She snipped as she soaked a washcloth and wrung it out before starting to work on the caked blood around his eye, making the man hiss and flinch but not wake up.

"Him and his brother came to my house and attacked Ally and I. Allison did that," he gestured to the eye covered by a washcloth, "before telling his brother to kill him. Which I certainly thought he did when he strangled him, but…obviously not. So, here we are."

Lorelei paused and looked at him, confused and sure Raymond was lying to her. In fact, she was about to call out bullshit when she noticed the solemn look on his face. Raymond was a poor liar, and there was no way he could lie about something like this when he could barely keep a straight face about who had stolen the collards out of her abysmal attempt at a garden.

Yet there was nothing but complete honesty when he met her gaze, making her swear under her breath.

Allison, while always a bit different and headstrong for sure, was still a lady. Lorelei had a hard time seeing the hairdresser stabbing someone. Granted, being attacked in her own home would make anyone lash out.

But the attempted strangulation? And she told the man’s brother to do so, and then he apparently followed through with her command? How? Why?

As perplexing as the mystery was, right now it didn't matter. She had a patient to tend to, the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ did really matter. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and shifted to stand. "Come on, let's get him back in your car and get him to the hospital. We can say we found him on my doorstep like this. Dr. Cahoy is working tonight, and..."

The man's hand suddenly shot up and gripped Lorelei's wrist tightly, making her freeze and Raymond tense. The man's other eye was open and staring hard at her, the soft blue somehow violent. "No," he said, his voice hoarse and barely a whisper.

"No?" She repeated, incredulous. "I can't treat the trauma to that eye. We need to take you to the hospital."

"No," he repeated, his hand tightening slightly, his fingers easily encompassing her small wrist. For a moment, Lorelei feared he would pop her wrist out of joint. Yet after a brief moment his grip relaxed, though he didn't let go.

"You do realize you could lose your eye," Lorelei started, mentally adding 'if you haven't already.' The bloody mess concealed most of the damage, but she feared the worst already. Eyes couldn’t take a lot of damage before becoming blind, or needing to be removed. And, well, this one had been rather severely damaged.

The man stayed silent, his gaze not leaving hers. There wasn't an ounce of fear or worry in his expression. Just stubbornness and acceptance. "Fine," she sighed, giving in. "But in return for my services, you have to promise not to go after Ray and Allie, okay? Or any negro for that matter."

That was a big bluff for her to take, trying to demand that a white man make her a promise? Yet instead of being incensed, his gaze glanced briefly at Raymond before his eye fluttered close and he let go of her in apparent agreement.

Lorelei stood, rubbing her wrist as she mulled her options. This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. White men could get the care they need at the drop of a hat. They could get quality care no matter where they went. She needed to save her stores for those not so fortunate.

Yet something in her gut was leading her towards an idea that there was something was not quite right with the situation beyond the obvious. He only said one word, but there was a definite accent to it, and not one she was familiar with either. Her gut was telling her that she had to help him, and not just dump him off at the nearest ER.

"Ray, start boiling some water. Grab the pack of gauze and gloves under the sink too."

Raymond didn't ask any questions but nodded his head and followed her directions. Lorelei sighed as she touched the man's shoulder, making him crack open his good eye once more. "I'm serious here,” she continued softly yet firm. “I am not a doctor. I can do my best, but I doubt I can do anything to save your eye. You need a hospital."

"No," he repeated, though this time softer. Almost apologetic, as if he understood the moral quandary he was putting her through. Which, sympathy from a white man was just about as unbelievable as the rest of this.

She pushed the thought away. "Do you have any plans to hurt Ray or Allie?"

"...no." he closed his eye, becoming stoic but not before she saw a flash of something. Anguish? Regret? Or just pain?

"I'm holding you to that.” She didn’t much care about herself, but she wanted to protect her old friend and his wife. “Now, give me a name I can call you-- I don't need to be your real one," she continued as he looked at her strangely. "I just need a name you'll answer to."

"...Otto." That time she caught the accent but still didn't have an idea of where. Definitely not any of the local American drawls. Maybe that was why he was so much kinder than the usual white.

"Well, Otto, I'm Lorelei,” she returned with a tight smile. “And this is probably going to hurt like a son of a bitch."

#the swedes #tua #tua the swedes #tua otto #oscar tua #otto/oc #the umbrella academy season 2

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countrymusiclover · 5 months

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28 - Where We Started

Part 29

Family is More than Blood

@icefrye19 @secretdreamlandmentality

Laying on one of the beds in the supposed Mikaelson’s mansion as it is called. Staring at the ring I held in between my thumbs and index fingers I kept trying to piece together what I had apparently lost. My phone rang and broke the silence in the room. “Hello, who is this?”

“Don’t tell me that you have forgotten me, Rae.” It took me a minute before I could recognize that it was the voice of Cami.

Sitting the ring down in my lap I slowly replied. “How could I forget you, you are my one my sired vampires after all.”

“Well that's reassuring. I wish I could have the same hope for you remembering your husband.” She said softly before I changed the call to video.

“Why does everyone seem to think he is my type? I mean yes I adore the accent but I think I’d remember the man that everyone says I’m supposed to spend all eternity with.” I shake my head in a huff.

Cami sends me a half smile. “Raelyn, I know it’s hard to believe and I admit that he doesn’t exactly have the best track record. Until it came to when he met you.”

“What did you mean until I came into his life?” I questioned her, still so confused.

The young New Orleans vampire focused on my gaze. “He was the most ruthless vampire who ever walked the earth and had no emotion. Then you met him at the Mystic Falls bar and there was a light about you that he was drawn towards.”

“So a Beauty and the Beast type fairytale.” Shrugging my shoulders I tilted my head in disbelief. “Unfortunately Cami, we don't live in our childhood. The real world doesn’t mean that all the tales we were told can actually happen here as adults.”

“You just don’t see it because you don’t remember how you truly feel about him. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you but I’m just saying that you need to give him the same chance you gave him the first time you met.” Cami waited for my response.

I could sense that someone was watching me from the doorway so I hung up the phone quickly. “I’ll try my best. Talk to you later….using Cami and her ways of Psychology to convince me to give you a chance. You couldn't manage that yourself I see.” Shifting my gaze to the doorway I saw Klaus leaning with his hands behind his back.

“I must admit our therapist friend wasn’t a part of my plan. But I do hope you consider the advice she’s given you about me.” He stepped into the bedroom keeping his distance from me after our encounter the other day.

Hugging my knees to my chest I released a breath. “I may consider it. So what exactly do you want from me today?”

“Well my previous request hasn’t changed from the other night, Ms. Lane. So I’d wish to take you on a date again.” He clicked his tongue and came to sit on the edge of the bed where our gazes actually met for the first time this morning.

Tapping my fingers on my legs I paused for a moment in thought. “Okay I did agree to go out with you and I don’t back away from a deal. Where are we going exactly?”

“I already have a spot picked out. Don’t worry I know you’ll like it. Nothing too fancy just like you like.” Klaus responds turning on his heels vamping out of the bedroom keeping his answers vague. “Be ready and downstairs at six.”

Time seemed to go fast until it was almost five o clock and I still hadn’t decided on what I was going to wear for this date. Looking through my closet I grumbled typing away on my phone until I found Rebekah’s number. Holding it up to my ear she immediately answered my call. “Hey Rae, what do you need?”

“Bex, you’re uh…brother has me going on a date. I don’t remember him but I have no clue what to wear for tonight. Please help me.” I explained flopping down on the edge of the bed.

She paused and turned on a video call so I showed her the closest of what I had. She didn’t live in this town anymore and had made a permanent home in Orleans with Marcel. She finally responded, not finding anything that she knew would be good. “Hmm go to my old room and see if there’s a dark red dress and pair it with your brown ankle boots. Leave your hair down completely too.”

“I'm not gonna take your clothes, Bex.” I told her I would feel guilty if I did so.

The original vampire sent me a smile shaking her head side to side. “Don’t feel guilty, Rae Rae. We are sisters in law even if you can't currently remember bedding my brother.”

“Rebekah!” I scolded her, feeling my face turn red at the thought.

She sends me a raised brow with the same gentle smile. “It’s just me speaking the truth, Rae. Now go put on that dress and enjoy your date.” We hung up the phone and I went into her old bedroom. Slipping the dress over my head it fell loosely down my body. It was a good fit on my hips, short sleeve and it had a v neck cut out. It also fell just to my knees and paired it with my brown ankle boots.

Moving down the hallway I vamped down the stairs looking around the room until my eyes found Klaus at the bottom of the stairs. Sliding my hand down the railing I released a breath feeling his blue eyes scanning me up and down. “You look elegant as always, Ms. Lane.” He raised a hand to me and I placed my hand in his larger one.

“You don't have to call me, Ms. Lane. I may not be wearing your ring but you can still call me just Raelyn.” I responded to him allowing my gaze to trail him up and down. He was wearing casual clothing. He had a black jacket thrown over a dark gray shirt. I could also note that he was wearing a dog tag necklace that appears to have a blue gem inside of it. Raising my freehand I held it in between my fingers. “What's this gem? It wasn't there before, was it?’

Klaus shakes his head no. “It wasn't, I promise. I decided to add it to my necklace because it matches your eyes and it's the same gemstone your brother’s old necklace was made of.”

“You choose to represent me?” I smiled, dropping my hands to my sides, feeling touched. “That's kinda cute.”

Klaus sent me a bright smile hoping that his plan would work tonight and that everything would return to normal for the two most powerful creatures on the planet. “So shall we get this evening started?” He questioned me offering his arm and I looped mine through his and he vamped me out of the mansion and we ended up outside the local Mystic Grill.

“The Grill, why here of all places. I'm not complaining, just curious.” I glanced at the hybrid removing my arm from his before we headed inside and up to the bar. Klaus sat down first eyeing the bartender nodding his direction. “Old scotch and a Apple cider beer for the lady.”

The bartender left us alone and I put my face in my hands sending him a curious look. “How could you know that? I never told anyone what I like to drink.”

“I told you that I know everything about you, did I not?” He sent me a cheeky smile, raising his glass to his lips when the bartender brought them to us. “I also knew that you wouldn't want something big and flashy. And this spot has special meaning to us.”

Taking a long sip of my drink I knitted my brows together. “Special meaning how?”

“This is the exact spot where we first met. Can I show you?” He flipped over his freehand waiting for my reply. Lowering my gaze to his hand I slipped my fingers through his before a memory flashes through my mind.

A glass gets slid my way when the front door of the bar opened and someone walked up taking a seat beside me. "Strong scotch. May I ask what is troubling a lady like yourself?" My ears picked up on a British accent causing me to whip my head throwing my hair around.

The stranger smiles in my direction picking up a drink Matt had brought him that I hadn't noticed until now. "Unfortunately I don't talk to strangers so no." I scoffed, flipping my hair towards him.

The British man chuckled, taking a long sip from his glass still eyeing me from the corner of his eyes. I can feel my heart starting to flutter at hearing his laugh. "Then let's change that. My name's Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson." He sticks his hand out towards me turning in his chair to face me.

I nearly choked on my drink having to quickly sit the glass down. Hitting my chest as I have a coughing fit in an attempt to not choke. Eyeing him with uncertainty I put my hand in his shaking it slowly biting my lip. Klaus started to pull away but I siphon his hand suddenly twisting his wrist slamming him against the wall with my other hand holding him there.

"Ergh - what are you girl!" He grunts against the wall trying to break free.

Slowly walking up to him I keep my hand raised in front of me holding him there. Eyeing him up and down Klaus has dirty blonde hair and blue eyes that are now turning gold. He clutched his hands into fists still trying to fight against my grip. But somehow I knew I could take him, maybe now that I took my brother's power it gave me a booster. "There's something about you that I don't trust, Klaus. I trusted people closest to me and they betrayed me. So I'm not falling for your charms."

Turning my hand I dropped him to the ground where he growled up at me, heading for the door glancing over my shoulder I kept a brave face to him. "As for my name it's Raelyn Lane. I'd stay away if I were you, Mr. Mikaelson."

“Woah…I suppose not everyone gets to have an easy first meeting. So what other things do you supposedly know about me hmm?” I asked him in a teasing manner, resting my chin in the palm of my freehand.

Klaus sat his drink back down on the bar table. “One of your favorite movies is….”

“The Hunger Games Series.” We responded in sync where our faces got closer to one another until I drew back blinking my eyes a few times. Leaning back on my barstool I crossed my arms over my chest. “You can’t seriously know everything.”

The smile on his face turned into a proud smirk in a split second. “I’ll take that as a challenge, Raelyn Lane.”

“We’ll see about that, Klaus.” I took a long sip of my drink, closing my eyes briefly and heard a plate get slid across to me. I gasped choking on the liquid that went down my throat seeing steak and shrimp in front of me. “Holy crap. No, this is not acceptable.”

He intertwined his hands together, shaking his head in defense at me. “It is entirely acceptable. I told you on our first date that money isn’t an issue. That you deserve to have the whole world at your fingertips.”

“I still think you’re a really good stalker because there’s no way you can know all the little things that I like.” I cut some pieces of steak and ate in silence without hearing him get down from his stool.

Klaus watched the bartender he had compelled leave the room. The hybrid went over and took a microphone from the stage pausing while he stared at the heretic in front of him. Nothing had scared him for a thousand years except his father Mikeal, but the thought of losing her was even worse. He raised the microphone to his mouth slowly singing behind her. “ 🎶

Well, look who it is

Last call, I thought I'd get

How's your mama, how you've been?

Girl, it's been too long

Saw your sister at the Circle K

Heard baby number two was on the way

Hadn't seen her since her weddin' day

With you on my arm

It's good to hear from you again

Girl what a coincidence

I was just thinkin' 'bout that weekend out on Cumberland Lake

And that one time in Baton Rouge when we made out in the rain

Where we went chasin' fallin' stars on a hill at your daddy's farm

Don't be sorry for callin' me up right out of the blue

I was just thinkin' 'bout you

I was just thinkin' 'bout you.”

“Hey, I just gotta say I heard your song the other day

And it put a smile on my face when I started reminiscing

I've been on the edge of callin' you

And I'm so glad I decided to….” I trailed off dropping the fork in my hands slowly looking over my shoulder seeing him standing behind me. My heart skipped a beat recognizing the song that he had chosen. In a creepy and romantic sort of way he was checking the boxes.

Sliding off the barstool I walked up to him until we were almost pressed up against the other. Placing my hands over his that held the microphone we finished the song with me jumping around in my own free style dance at the end singing the last few lines. “I was just thinkin' 'bout that weekend out on Cumberland Lake

And that one time in Baton Rouge when we made out in the rain

Where we went chasin' fallin' stars on a hill at your daddy's farm

Don't be sorry for callin' me up right out of the blue

I was just thinkin' 'bout you

Oh, I was just thinkin' 'bout you.

If you're ever back in town

Do what you're doin' right now

'Cause I'm probably thinkin' 'bout you

I was just thinkin' 'bout that weekend out on Cumberland Lake

And that one time in Baton Rouge when we made out in the rain

Where we went chasin' fallin' stars on a hill at your daddy's farm

Don't be sorry for callin' me up right out of the blue

I was just thinkin' 'bout you

🎶 “

I finally stopped dancing around when my hair fell completely in front of my eyes. I tried my best to get it out of the way but I only made it worse. I finally felt Klaus place his hands on my head brushing it down and away with his fingers. “Can't take you anywhere can I, Rae?”

“I guess not, Klaus….You’re not so bad of a romantic.” I grinned looking up into his blue eyes resting one of my hands on his face that he leaned into.

He leans down where I thought he was going to kiss me again yet he only let his lips hover above mine. “I'll take that as a start….goodnight Raelyn.” He whispered and I shut my eyes seeing he was gone the second I opened them. Running a hand through my hair I covered my mouth with my hands releasing a breath figuring that whatever this was it was going to be interesting for sure.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

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thetypedwriter · 1 year

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Greywaren Book Review

Greywaren Book Review by Maggie Stiefvater

This book is a fantastic disappointment.

Of course, the book is good. Of course the writing is absolutely phenomenal. It’s Maggie Stiefvater. Even when I’ve questioned her plot or character development, I have never once questioned her writing.

She is a wizard with words. Her writing floats off the page and lives rent-free in my head for months. The way she concocts her stories fills me with delight and awe.

That was never in question.

The biggest question I had going into Greywaren was: will I get what I want?

The answer is no.

I think it’s mostly safe to say that a majority of readers saw the Dreamer trilogy as Ronan’s own triage of books. It was pitched that way to us as an audience and the way the books were presented was that it would be about the Brothers Lynch.

This is a lie.

Perhaps, Call Down the Hawk could be described as such, the first book in the trilogy, but every book since has fallen further and further away from the original premise.

The second installment, Mister Impossible, was almost entirely about Declan. And now the final book, Greywaren, I would argue, is about Hennessy and Carmen Farooq-Lane.

Now. I like Hennessy. I like Farooq-Lane. They’re great characters.

However, they are not the Brothers Lynch.

I don’t understand why authors do this. They promise things and entice readers with certain characters, plot points, and relationships, and then don’t deliver.

I’m sure Maggie has her reasons for writing the trilogy this way, and I’m not pretending to know what they are or that I understand the intricacies of her writing process or the publishing world, but I am just so frustrated that she wrote the trilogy this way.

Ronan, the so-called main character, is hardly in Greywaren at all, and half of the time when he does have his own chapters, he is either asleep, dreaming, or not taking part in reality. The amount of exasperation I have that Maggie made this choice is overwhelming to me as a reader.

In the original The Raven Cycle books, Ronan and Adam were my favorites. They were many people’s favorites, including, it seems, Maggie herself. Which is why she set out on a quest to tell Ronan’s own story.

Except what started as Ronan’s narrative quickly devolved into a tale featuring so many other characters that Ronan’s part became so diluted that it is barely there at all.

Once again, I love Maggie’s characters. Jordan, Hennessy, Farooq-Lane, etc, they’re all wonderful. If Maggie had them as side characters in the Dreamer trilogy and then set out to write a spin-off series featuring them, I would not be mad. I would be super excited and pumped to read such a cool installment.

But that’s not what I wanted, what I anticipated, or what I got.

Instead, the final book about Ronan Lynch and his brothers is really about unrelated side characters who somehow took center stage despite everyone wanting the opposite.

Irksome doesn’t even scratch the surface of it.

Greywaren itself is…fine. As I said above, Maggie’s writing is undeniably beautiful. I will say, though, the plot gets convoluted and hard to follow and the ending feels rushed and shallow.

This book essentially picks up after Mister Impossible, in which Ronan is asleep, along with many other dreamers or dreamt people who need sweetmetals.

Declan is trying to save everyone, Matthew goes through a rebellious stage, Hennessy is creating, and Farooq-Lane is trying to stop her brother, Nathan, from starting the apocalypse.

Honestly, when I think about it, this book simultaneously has so much going on and nothing going on at the same time. The overarching plot could be described as: Nathan is bringing on the apocalypse and people try to stop him as well as reawaken their sleeping friends. That’s it. That’s the plot.

However, it takes 300+ pages to get to the end, which then rushes through really essential reunions and revelations, because there are so many characters we have to switch POV’s between.

Additionally, there’s a lot of abstract things happening that don’t really contribute to the plot, even if they're interesting to read about.

Overall, this means you could read 100 pages and have a very minimal amount of progress because everyone is taking one small step instead of having one character (Ronan) taking many.

Jordan is hardly in this book, and Matthew, whom I anticipated seeing a lot of, is very cruelly shafted by having a sparse amount of chapters and a character arc that feels vague and incomplete.

After running away towards the beginning of the book, no real headway comes from it and then in the end, bam! Matthew returns to the Barns like nothing happened.

We don’t see the conversation between Matthew and Declan, we don’t see the reunion between Matthew and Ronan, and we certainly don’t get a scene with all three brothers, which, if you remember, is what this whole trilogy was supposed to be about.

In the same vein, Adam and Ronan, the couple everyone was most excited to see and read about, had a few paltry scenes in this whole trilogy combined. There are more scenes with Farooq-Lane and Liliana than there are with arguably, the main couple.

The injustice of this vexes me beyond words.

Even in this book, at the very end, the reunion between Adam and Ronan that we waded through 300 pages to see, is brief and from someone else’s POV.

What on earth? Really? This is the reunion we waited years for and we didn’t even get to experience it though Ronan’s own eyes.

As I write this, I realize that I feel cheated and shafted.

At this same time, I don’t know how fair it is to feel that way. It’s not my book or my characters, so who am I to demand anything of Maggie? I understand this.

On the other hand, this was a book pitched to us and advertised as a series about the Brother’s Lynch. I would very much argue that by book three especially, this is completely unfounded and untrue.

Did I still like the book? Yes, of course I did. However, I just wanted more. I wanted what was promised at the beginning. I wanted less abstract and confusing chapters and more chapters with essential characters actually talking, meeting, and growing.

I wanted resolution, development, and conclusions.

Instead, I got a muddled, albeit gorgeously written story, where all the characters felt full with potential, but never truly reached a point of promise.

Like I said at the beginning, this book was both fantastic and a disappointment in so many ways, a fantastic disappointment that will always leave me wanting more.

Recommendation: Read it. However, you’re not going to get the development or scenes that you want. Beware of this. Use fanfiction to fill in the gap that this trilogy wasn’t able to deliver on.

Score: 6/10

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daisyapples · 1 year

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Holy shit, you guys, I just passed a 100,000 hits on my A03 account. 100,000 hits on my little stories about boys in love! I’m gobsmacked! Thank you all so much. To anyone who has ever taken the time to read my stories, I appreciate you!

All my stories are under the cut! Thank you all so much!!

Raven Boys- Pynch

Broken Things and Homecomings

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.

Delivery Boy

Ronan Lynch was crying when he opened the door. He didn't look like someone who would cry; his shaved head, sharp cheekbones and violent mouth looked more attuned to anger than tears. The attitude he had in school, when he turned up, didn't exactly scream person who cried.

Except he was crying and Adam had no idea what to do so he just said, “Eh, that'll be thirty five dollars please.”

(AKA Adam is a pizza boy and Ronan is crying and they are not friends even though Gansey wants them to be.)

Where does the good go?

Ronan has no idea why Adam broke up with him. Two years have passed and he hasn't seen Adam since, but with them both being Godparents to Gansey and Blue's new baby, it's time to face the past and maybe find the answers he's been looking for.

Talk some sense to me

Adam just found out that without being married, he'll lose half his scholarship for his MBA. He's pretty sure he can blame the next words on temporary insanity, the words saying he's engaged to his best friend and they'll get married in the next five days if it means he gets to keep his scholarship.

Now he just has to convince Ronan.

That'll probably be the easy part considering he's going to have to hide the fact he's been in love with Ronan since he was eighteen.

Hear you me

Adam met Nomad on an Aglionby forum, and they've been texting ever since. He doesn't know who he is, but when they meet at a Halloween dance, and he finds out that it's Ronan Lynch, Aglionby's star striker and resident bad boy, he runs.

Only Ronan's not ready to let go of Harvardboy, the one person who seems to understand him as an artist, not a soccer player, who seems to understand his grief and make the world more bearable, whose allowed some light back into his darkened world.

Will Adam be brave enough to face down his stepfather Colin Greenmantle, and his evil stepbrothers, Kavinsky and Tad, to be with the boy he's slowly falling in love with?

The darker the night, the brighter the stars

In which Ronan is the prince, and Adam manages to save the kingdom.

Choices

Adam Parrish is rich. Ronan Lynch is poor.

When Adam's mom commissions the mysterious artist known only as The Dreamer to create a sculpture for her husband's 50th birthday, Adam and Ronan are pushed into each others orbit and they learn that their choices are the most important thing they have.

ghost of choices made

Ronan Lynch hasn't seen Adam Parrish in ten years.

Working for Greenmantle to protect his brothers, he said goodbye to Adam a long time ago, but when Adam's parents die, and Greenmantle insists Ronan protect him from the people after Adam's inheritance, they are thrown back into each others lives and have a second chance to make the choices they wanted to make years before.

(This is a continuation of my Choices fic but it focuses on what would have happened of Ronan had made a different choice in chapter 23.)

and I feel just like I'm living someone else's life

“Oh,” he says again. “You’re mine.”

Ronan smiles, and it is a smile made for war, and a smile made for love, and a smile made for holding the things you love tight and safe. “And you’re mine.”

and when the lights go dark i wanna feel you standing next to me

The world ended when the dead started to walk.

Adam has been alone for a long time, but when he finds four strangers and a broken down camaro on the side of the road, he agrees to help them reach the mysterious Barns and apparent safety from the walking dead.

Essay

The Vacuum of Silence: What happens when queer characters aren't allowed to speak

At the end of it all, this is not just a representation problem.

This is a narrative issue.

We deserved to see Bucky and Steve have a conversation on screen because the narrative demanded it. We deserved to see Dean respond to Cas because the narrative supported it. Eventually, pandering to the lowest common denominator within the audience means bad writing, means unsatisfying conclusions to stories which have been told over years, means wasting your audience's time.

Teen Wolf - Sterek

Compulsion

Wolf watched Stiles watching him. "Who are you?"

Stiles snorted. "Yeah, okay, pull up a chair and let me tell you my life story." He pointed at the mask. "This is not just to make me look badass. Although that is a handy side effect."

He shook his head. "No, I know you. Your scent." He inhaled deeply through flared nostrils.

Stiles took a step back. "Geez, man. Ever heard of manners? It's fucking rude to scent a person without permission."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Why do you keep saving us?"

"Dunno what your talking about." He rolled his bat nervously between his two hands. No one was supposed to notice. Although he knew that was a pipedream, a fairytale he clung to so he could feel safe. Being invisible to HQ was all he cared about. "I am just a helpful person who happened to be passing by."

Shaking the wings of their terrible youths

Stiles didn't expect much when he stopped a stranger being attacked in an alleyway.

He didn't expect the wolf following him around New York, didn't expect the help when he was sick, didn't expect the psycho blond attacking him, or the place to stay. He didn't expect the new family.

Oh, and he definitely didn't expect werewolves.

#a03 #fanfic #pynch #Sterek #Raven Cycle #teen wolf #derek x stiles #derek hale #stiles stilinski #ronan lynch #ronan x adam #Adam Parrish

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