Gansey ponders. It feels ridiculous to say that yes, he would like to be good at violence. Ronan is good at violence, it hasn't done him any favors. It feels equally ridiculous to say he doesn't want to have some proficiency in violence. He's been held at gunpoint. He's been punched in the head by both Lynch brothers because he's the only one dumb and principled enough to get between them. He's battled against Nightmares. He's died twice and after being that inconvenient to his friends he would prefer not to repeat the experience again for the duration of a natural lifespan.

"I'd like to be less useless," is what he settles on. "There just aren't always other options."