#can you tell i reread tid yesterday

[spraypaintstainonawhitewall]

DEMON POX OH DEMON POX

just how is it aquired?

one must go to the bad part of town

til one is very tired

DEMON POX OH DEMON POX

i've had it all along

no not the pox

you foolish blocks

i meant this very song

FOR I WAS RIGHT AND YOU WERE WRONG!

[edwinspaynes]

Saw your answer yesterday, about how you don't feel like the TLH characters are teenagers, except for Lucie. AND I AGREE. I still need to reread TLH to have a coherent thought, but from what I remember of the books, the way the characters reacted to certain situations felt very mature for their age. I'm currently rereading the series in publication order, and I can 100% tell that the TLH characters are more aware, and solve their problems in a more "grown-up" way. They have adults issus, and they fix them in a very adult way (except for the miscommunication trope, but that's the YA genre). I don't know how to explain it, but when I was reading TID, they have heavy issues to deal with , like, accepting death, and dealign with chronic illness, the trauma of being the reason your sibling died, and the torture Tessa went through, etc. but how they act around these stuffs is still very childish sometimes, which makes sense because they are 16 and 17 years old. One of the example that comes to mind, is when Will storms out of Jem's room, when Jem was going to tell Tessa about his illness, or him leaving Tessa wondering the halls of the Institute the first night, just because she pissed him off. Like, that's very childish, and I don't see any TLH character do that, except for Lucie (when she got pissed at Cordelia in Chot, and had their fight). Personally, I never minded Lucie in the books because for me she was the only teenager character in the series. We read that she was very well sheltered and loved, and never had to deal with big problems like the others (abuse, alcoholism, neglect, grooming etc.), and most of her reactions to situation (running away to save Jessie) and not thinking of the consequences, reminds me of the some of the rushed decisions the TID trio took (getting engaged at 16 because Jem is dying, Jem becoming a silent brother because he was scared of what was gonna happen to Will and Tessa, and Will rushing to save Tessa on a horse in the middle of night, with zero back ups).

This turned to be a long rant, just to say that James, Cordelia, Anna, Alastair and Matthew are way older than their ages in the series.

"...when I was reading TID, they have heavy issues to deal with , like, accepting death, and dealign with chronic illness, the trauma of being the reason your sibling died, and the torture Tessa went through, etc. but how they act around these stuffs is still very childish sometimes, which makes sense because they are 16 and 17 years old."

YES!!!!! This is why I roll my eyes when people say "it's just the historical setting." The TID characters DO feel their age, maybe like 18 or 19 if we're going to be pedantic about it, lol.

"We read that [Lucie] was very well sheltered and loved, and never had to deal with big problems like the others (abuse, alcoholism, neglect, grooming etc."

Honestly, I think this is why Lucie feels so out of place in the story to me. I very much view TLH above all else as an exploration of trauma and how it sits and festers in the space between people and those they love. But with Lucie, there's very little deeper impact for her story, and it makes her appear extremely frivolous. And also the way that she behaves toward Cordelia, who is going through some deep shit, makes me want to rip my hair out. I think you're right about her acting her age, and honestly I might be less annoyed with her if she were in a novel that felt YA - but compared to everyone else, I'm like, "why is this preteen having a temper tantrum?" Lol. But yeah, I think that you're correct that she acts her age, and perhaps I'm unfair to shirk her for it, but my point stands.

I do feel weird likening her to Herongraystairs, though - a torture survivor, someone who's literally in the process of dying, and someone who's going through the daily trauma of having to be someone else. Like, I get their decisions. Especially Jessa engagement. Let that bro carve out a little happiness for himself before he meets the reaper at 17, lmao.

This turned to be a long rant, just to say that James, Cordelia, Anna, Alastair and Matthew are way older than their ages in the series.

Oh, yeah. They're definitely core offenders, but I also think that Thomas, Grace, and Christopher feel older than they are. Especially Thomas, he reads as like a clumsy adult to me which is Relatable. But Grace feels so in place in this trauma exploration, and I feel like Thomas and Christopher occupy unique spaces in it too both as traumatized individuals and as those who spur healing in two of the most traumatized characters in the narrative. Maybe one day I'll unpack every TLH character's place in the character study of trauma that I view the series as, that might be a fun little essay. Because that's why I love TLH so much, and why I love the miscommunication so much.

ANYWAY YEAH thanks for this ask <3