Blue and Kavinsky

[bluelilyblue]

I start with this moment mostly to emphasize the point that Blue and Kavinsky are clearly shown to have history, and that the shape of that history is made out to be a very overt question (that is of course never clearly answered, because this is TRC we're talking about). But also, even in this first scene, Blue's reaction towards Kavinsky seems to speak to some sort of personal affront. He seems to have either done something that makes him substantially worse than the other Aglionby Boys, or to be why she dislikes Aglionby Boys in the first place.

 

Oh, boy. This scene in Nino's is hilarious, and it took all my self-control to not repost it in full. Do I have to point out the incredibly obvious sexual overtones in the way that Blue describes his full lips as vulgar / "like he'd swallow her"? Because, seriously. Then there's the fact that the only other person we see Kavinsky use endearments with is Ronan -- in the substance party scene he refers to the girl in his car as "bitch", so even if Blue brushes it off, the way that he interacts with her does not seem to be his typical. He also stands "too close", which seems like behavior that's similar to how touchy he is with Ronan. And the way that she describes him as "something to hurt you" comes off more as her personal perspective: ie, that Kavinsky hurt her at some point.

 

So, Blue brushes him off, because of course she does. But she also blushes at the endearment. But then he catches sight of Ronan and company, and leaves her behind, feeling insignificant. So point one is that Kavinsky's behavior here isn't that out of line in terms of interactions between a waitress and a customer. Kavinsky does not pointedly do or say anything cruel to make her feel insignificant. And Blue is clearly accustomed to handling customers -- compare how she talks about working at Nino's more generally or her interaction with Gansey in book one. She is generally very good at viewing these things as Aglionby Boys being terrible, rather than something that reflects on her worth as a person. She accuses him of not even listening to her, but "my party's already here" is clearly a response to her question. So it's not literal -- she feels ignored.

Blue's response to this interaction only really makes sense to me if she's expecting a deeper connection / level of engagement than as a waitress to a customer, so she wants him to spend time on her as a person. It only really makes sense, if she has history specific to Kavinsky, so that there's a personal connection that allows him to get to her. Because this isn't just a dismissal by a stranger, but by someone whose opinion she at one point valued.

And this dynamic has clearly been happening for a while at this point considering the ways she says that he "always" makes her feel this way. So I feel like given Blue's character, the fact that she hasn't managed to find some way to deal with this or "guard herself against it", speaks to it being emotionally complex for her in some way.
 

Blue's comment about "him not hitting on you is a good thing" comes completely out of nowhere in this scene. So again, this goes back to the fact that Blue has expectations of Kavinsky that are not being met, that are based on some kind of shared history, that has clearly gone awry. Clearly there was a point in time where Kavinsky wouldn't have left without flirting with her.

There are obviously many different ways to manifest that, but I prefer to read it as that they are exs / that they dated at some point prior to Kavinsky discovering Ronan was a dreamer. Because as I'll go into more later, Blue clearly has a lot of unresolved anger at Kavinsky. But she also clearly still has all these confused quasi-romantic feelings, too: wanting him to flirt with her and having to remind herself that it's a good thing when he doesn't. Kavinsky likewise seems to be more affectionate towards her than he is with the girls at his parties, but doesn't touch her like he does with Ronan. And I think when you're seventeen, figuring out how to handle your ex and those residual feelings can be really difficult.

Also this scene is told from Blue's POV, so it's also worth noting the way that after Kavinsky walks away, her attention follows him even as she fills up table fourteen's tea. She even arguably seems more aware of the chemistry between Ronan and Kavinsky than Ronan himself.

 

So, for context: The Gray Man is a hit man who is romancing Blue's mother, and they're talking about Kavinsky. And she obviously still holds a lot of ire towards him. Not just because of suggesting that a hit man murder him and make him feel worthless, but the exchange with her mother: Maura didn't raise her to be violent, but sometimes bad things (Kavinsky) happen to good children (Blue). And this has clearly reached the point of being completely and wildly out of proportion to their interactions on page.

Also, given that Dream Thieves involves Blue cheating on her boyfriend with their ghost friend, picking a fight with said boyfriend and breaking up with him so that she could pseudo-makeout with his other friend-- she is clearly in the midst of working through a lot of romantic feelings very badly. Which I think could understandably make her feelings about Kavinsky more raw. She has also just learned about Kavinsky being a dreamer, meaning that he both didn't tell her and is yet another person with real powers (unlike hers) and that he spent the weekend with Ronan, dreaming The Pig together.

So there's also potential for her to be surly about his dynamic with Ronan, either because it implies her ex is "infiltrating" her new friend-group, or being about Kavinsky and Ronan in particular -- in Raven Boys, Blue talks about wanting to court Ronan's favor and earn his approval because "the approval of someone like him, who clearly cared for no one, seemed like it would be worth more". And I will resist the urge to talk about Ronan and Kavinsky, but suffice to say that however you read it, there is clearly some kind of connection there.

Blue having special knowledge of Kavinsky. But specifically the line about this part of Kavinsky not being very Aglionby to me seems to imply a level of closeness: that Blue knew him well enough to know various parts of him, facets he had and personas that he used, and to be able to conclude that this one in particular was less Aglionby than the others. Also, the tone of this whole segment where she talks about Kavinsky's 4th of July party has a decidedly complimentary tone.

Linked mostly for the callback to "always" from the Nino's scene, and also for the fact that Blue seems far more certain than someone who only knew about the event through rumor and reputation.

Continuing on that vibe, we have this bit. Where Blue seems to backhandedly imply that she's been to this party every year. Also I'd argue that it seems to imply that it not mattering if you had a license as long as you know how to hit a gas pedal is also personal experience. (Did Kavinsky tease her at one point about if she could reach the pedals?) And the complimentary tone continues.
 

So yes this insult fits into a pattern established earlier with Ronan, but Maggie explains this dynamic as being about "Kavinsky making gay jokes to see if Ronan is gay"... which clearly does not fit what's going on here. You could also argue that the ordering of their names implies that Kavinsky's eyes find Blue first. Which is to say that it sort of comes across like insulting Gansey is really about Blue: what if the boy you like is gay? And considering her jibe at Adam about kissing Gansey, likely something she's considered already.