#tsc deep dives

[edwinspaynes]

My super unpopular take is that all the miscommunication is what makes TLH so good. It's essentially a display of what makes the characters tick, and the way that they resolve it all shows how they fit together and what the spaces between them represent.

At its core, TLH is a series about trauma.

James has been sexually abused for years, making him unable to communicate about his lack of free will and the lies that his life were made up of. Cordelia grew up in an abusive household and is just now learning that her life isn't what she believed it to be. This of course makes it hard for them to communicate since both of them were blindsided by this new knowledge that all of their past experiences were lies.

Matthew has PTSD from his perceived misdeed, his Great Sin that has made him believe he's a murderer for years; he loathes himself, makes self-destructive decisions, and refuses to communicate as a result of the self-punishment stemming from that. Part of this punishment and self-harm is throwing himself into James and Cordelia's relationship to break his own heart and pay penance. Matthew miscommunicates to HIMSELF that this is what love is and this is what he deserves.

Alastair's canonical cPTSD puts him in the position of a protector who must keep secrets that have left him feeling broken and unlovable. Thomas, who has loved him since childhood, cannot speak of it for fear of upsetting his close-knit friend group. Not to mention that in his grief he's extremely rash.

Only by talking can they make their situations better, can they fit the puzzle pieces of their lives together and heal. But they have to wait until they're ready, and seeing when and how that happens is both a massive character study and a study in trauma. The things trauma makes us do and makes us hide.

This is the point of TLH. This is literally the reason it works.

[edwinspaynes]

I think that, to a point, this is true. However, I also do not think that there is any way that Alastair, at this stage in his life, could have really bonded with James or (especially) Matthew.

As you said, "Matthew evaded victimisation through his charms and privilege."

Alastair says in Chain of Iron that

The thing about Alastair is that, no matter how James and Matthew's life had really been before coming to the Academy, Alastair already viewed them as incredibly privileged. And this is valid! No matter how parentified Matthew was- and I fully agree that his upbringing was unfair and traumatizing- it is not similar to the systemic way that Alastair has been abused by society.

Matthew's parents do love each other. Regardless of how Matthew's home life looks, he will always be shielded by a society that fails to protect Alastair. Henry invented Portals and was a hero in the great Clockwork war; any achievements that Elias had are completely overshadowed by his current embarrassing behaviour. Matthew is white, and very rich; Alastair is viewed as an outcast in British society for his skin tone and does not have the riches to garner respect from those assholes. Even James's allegorical racism* cannot compare to what Alastair faces, because he is always going to be shielded by parents who love him and run the London Institute.

Alastair's view of James, Matthew, Christopher, and, yes, Thomas as privileged kids was never going to go away. And this was a reason that he admitted to bullying them. (I also personally understand this and think it's semi-valid, by the way. I can't blame a 15-year-old who has been consistently treated badly for this).

My point is that I think that, yes, James and Matthew hate the Academy as Alastair does. And, in a theoretical world, they could have bonded over that. But in reality they never were going to because Alastair's abuse by boys like Piers/Thoby/Augustus extends beyond the walls of the school while James and Matthew's does not, at least not to the same degree. And Alastair understandably was always going to view James and (especially) Matthew as part of the same abusive system that his bullies-turned-really-bad-friends were part of.

It would not matter if they had the time to bond over it. They never would have at that point of their lives, before Alastair gained some perspective and James/Matthew understood that Alastair truly does exist in a wildly different reality than they do.

*I also want to note that I personally do not view allegorical racism for supernatural factors as comparable to real racism. Obviously it is bad and needs to be acknowledged, but it is in my mind not the same thing. This may impact my views of James and his position in society vs Alastair's.

The real tragedy of the Matthew/James & Alastair relationship and what happened at the academy is that they could’ve 100% bonded over hating that place had they had an opportunity to open up to each other the way James and Matthew did with each other.

It just struck me that the people viciously bullying Alastair where the same close-minded people that bullied James as well.

They all developed different coping strategies depending on their own unique circumstances and personalities: Alastair felt forced to adapt because he had nowhere to go, feeling unsafe at home, James pretty much tried to disappear into his books, and Matthew evaded victimisation through his charms and privilege while actively trying to get home so he could reassume his parentified role in caring for Henry.

Obviously James & Matthew were kind of cut out for each other, and as mentioned they all had different circumstances, plus Alastair was a lot more disadvantaged socially from the onset, but I think if they had been in the same year and gotten lucky he might’ve had a chance to get along with James and/or Matthew.

Because even though they weren’t aware of it, their very antagonisation of each other (just like James & Matthew initially) stemmed from their different reactions to what was a similar experience with and disgust for the society they where thrown into at the academy.

[purplebass]

I was thinking about the relationship between Alastair and Paris. Paris was the city where he and Thomas met again after the Academy, but it also is the city where Alastair was born. I want to believe that he likes Paris because it is a place where he feels like he belongs because, after all, his life began in that place. He moved from country to country his whole life, and along he brought his cultures: he is Persian, but he is also British. For the sole fact that he was born in Paris, he may feel like he also belongs there. Paris is also, after all, the city where he and Thomas met again. In many ways, it represents the city where their relationship was given a second chance. Paris is the city where intellectuals often retreated and also an "escapist" city. Thomas and Alastair find each other there by chance and use Paris to get to know each other better and they do it by enjoying each other's company with books, with art, with cinema. What they create in Paris stays when they get back to London, and we see how they seem to have formed a friendship there - a friendship that began in Paris. So, Paris, you see, it's a meaningful place to Alastair

[darcyolsson]

@a-grayscale-galaxy these tags ... exactly. i feel like this is 99% of the reason why im still obsessed w tsc as a whole after a decade of books that are, let's be real, not even that good a lot of the time. as can be expected whenever one writes a 20+ book long series over the span of 20 years that covers more than 4 generations of the same families, there's a lot of unintentional (and sometimes intentional) implications and strange things happening and exploring that endlessly is so fun. and magnus bane is always there too. i love tsc forever

[edwinspaynes]

No, but Gracetopher is Thomastair's tragic mirror and I think it's time we talk about it.

We have Alastair Carstairs and Grace Blackthorn. Both abuse survivors; both in unspeakable situations. Both people who have done horrible things at a young age because that's what they had to do to survive. Both very alone, with no one to love them but a sibling that they have a forced distance with.

Both perceived as monsters.

And then there are the Lightwood cousins, inseparable since birth. Thomas, a poetic dreamer with his head in the clouds, and Christopher, a scientific innovator who's well up there, too. (Both are also almost certainly autistic imo, but I don't want to derail this canonical analysis with my headcanons.)

They forgive.

And they're the first people in Alastair and Grace's lives to show them kindness, to reach out a hand and give them the grace they need to grow.

Thomas sees the best in Alastair, teaches him that he is loveable, that he deserves to be happy and share love, because love is the best thing we do.

And Alastair, as he deserves, is now "perfectly happy with everything exactly as it is." In Thomas's eyes, he has found hard-earned joy; he has found peace he never had.

Christopher sees the best in Grace, too. Where Thomas sees the pure and unfiltered love that Alastair holds, the selfless sacrificial affection, Christopher sees in Grace a will of iron and a beacon of strength. Grace, who has never been valued for anything more than her beauty, is finally seen as intelligent and passionate in Christopher's eyes. And, because she is these things, because he asks for the "honor of her opinion" and believes her "brilliant," she is, for a short time, herself.

And then Christopher dies.

Thomas and Alastair grow closer, and they have the chance to bring out the best in each other. Alastair opens up emotionally; Thomas becomes more confident. In the end, they become who they truly are because they find solace in each other. But Grace...

Well, Grace is right where Christopher left her. He left her no choice but to stay there forever, dust collecting on her pinned-up hair.

Without Christopher, she no longer has that mirror. She loses the only person to see her as she is - a strong, smart, brilliant girl with unfiltered and unlimited mental potential.

That's the tragedy of Grace Blackthorn. With a mirror, with those eyes (or crooked spectacles) that she could see her true reflection in, she too could have been happy. Alastair is the proof. But now, she does not get that. She is alone again. Dare I say that she is doomed by the narrative.

And yet. Yet.

There is a glimmer of hope, because Grace saw who she really is in Kit's lavender eyes, if only for a moment.

It's a far cry from Alastair's happy ending, and the story of Grace Blackthorn is in my opinion probably the most tragic in TSC.

But still.

She knows, deep down, that she can be more than a monster.

She can be a scientist.

[codename-adler]

🌻🌻🌻

thing is, when i dive so deep into something i love, i can't talk about it. almost at all. like The Hunger Games? my final project for an SFF class was a rewritten ending of the first book bc i legimately could not write an essay about it.

anyhoo. same thing goes for aftg. like i mentioned somewhere, it took me years to manage to make this blog what it is, write fanfic, posts, interact, and hardest of all the funny stuff. but i came around. in the aftermath of this godforsaken miracle curse of TSC, i'm not sure how to proceed bc it's too fresh too close too much. i'm also looking at things mere hours after the end. tomorrow might be different!

all this to say, i'm thinking of going back to my All For The Game Cinematic Soundtrack project, years in the works, bc that does not involve talking! basically, i'm building a soundtrack as if aftg was a TV series, episode by episode, season by season. i'll be adding TSC to that.

the format went through many changes, at first looking like this:

now it's starting to look like this:

my playlist is currently 529 songs & 35h04 long! i'm very specific about every little thing possible, but i see it all so clearly, right here in my head, how the scenes go, the angles, the lighting, the beat... ah! how i wish i could produce it for real... i was very lucky to find a kinship in the marvelous @cielalune in how she wrote her breathtaking TLoU AU x aftg fic turn out the lights.

ty jo for the ask xx

[medeaaasworld]

I'm also scared to read tsc not because it's too angst-centered for my mental well-being, but because I'm afraid I'll get too involved and dive deep into jerejean abandoning my ongoing andreil fanfic😀

[aboutnavi]

My Thea-Kevin post is getting some attention lately because Nora is back for TSC and I just have to say people… y’all are so easily swayed it’s hilarious - get a fucking opinion, maybe? Or does everyone really need someone to tell you what to think? It’s an old post, I stand by it. I also completely respect Nora’s protectiveness over her character (Thea) and even more the fact that she gives the fandom freedom to think about them and their story - and here I am, thinking.

It completely breaks my heart the disregard for Kevin and his crooked-built personality (I’ve wrote this on a post before, because I do like his single minded Exy life, but the character was just poorly written, and I do argue about maybe being the fact AFTG is written in Neil’s POV and Neil pays losely attention to anything) but hey, maybe that’s me and my over obsession with characters I really feel deserves more. It also breaks my heart some of you steadily believes in not getting better, or being changed by the things you love. I would give it a try in not being so misarable, it might help.

This said, I’m so excited to see what Nora will make of the characters in TSC, because these characters are very dear for me. I’m also an old lady in fandom-culture so canon actually means shit to me. I’m excited about TSC? Yes. Will it change how I view the characters? Lol, no ❤️ By the end of the day, when online fandom bickery becomes too deep, I just block my phone and go dive in the ocean. It’s call having a life 🫶🏻

[rikomoriyama01]

been watching stuff abt cults and correctional programs past days and im itching to make nest deep dive but with tsc on horizon it feels like unnecessary effort till we see what the new book will establish

[meyhew]

Seed 😭😭😭😭 I’m back😭😭😭 I was last here crying about one day. I’m back to cry about all for the game OHMYGOD.

I read the books and TSC all for the first time over the last week and I’m… unwell. I’ve been scrolling and deep diving on here and have so much fomo of missing out on when this was an insanely active fandom cause it looks like everyone was having such a great time omg. But just. OHMYGOD. My heart. Neil 😭😭😭😭 Andrew!!!! Kevin!!! Jean omg I’m truly never gonna be over this. The Neil and Jean parallels I’m gonna be sick.

I came across mentions of lessons in cartography and how it’s based off the extra content Nora shared. Soooo might jump into that next 😅😅😅

Just wanted to come cry to you and see if you had any thought and comments to share 🙂

hii SORRYYY this has been sitting in my inbox for days…. i’m so sorry but omg. isn’t it CRAZY to read for the first time??? i remember reading the trilogy three times back to back bc i just could not get enough. and then i devoured all the extra content (which isn’t on nora’s blog anymore but u can find here). im not even gonna lie bro it was such a blast to be on here back in the heyday of it all. nora was so active, there were so many fandom wide jokes. i highly recommend searching up neil’s jortventures on youtube and watching all of them in order.

i thought i might be normal about it all now but then i read tsc and i was 18 all over again. jean moreau… oh his extra content bits had already ruined me and he’d held a special place for me but reading his story… watching him struggle… i wanted to sob. he’s just a boy :( eagerly awaiting my rainbow crate aftg box so i can read from the hardcovers

i never read lessons in cartography but i know everyone raves about it. it was THEE andreil fic of all time for a very long time, i just never rly got into fic for the fandom. they’re such uniquely fucked up characters i fear no one will ever Quite get them the way nora writes them so i shan’t venture past that. but god… what an insane story

[purplebass]

The Last Hours may divide the TSC fandom a lot, but I still think that it manages to come full circle at the end. The closing scenes of CoT happen at Hyde Park, where everyone is gathered for a picnic. This is nothing new, since the TLH gang also has a picnic in Regent's Park in chapter 4 of Chain of Gold. The main difference is that in the CoG, the park is the place where the equilibrium is broken by the demons' attack while in CoT the equilibrium is restored and the characters who survived are moving on with their life. It isn't unusual for an author to end the story where it began. TLH has a tie-back ending, which means that the plot is brought back to where it started and the reader often has a sense of déjà-vu because some events often repeat themselves in a different way (Barbara being attacked at the party in chapter 3 of CoG and Alex being kidnapped at the Christmas party in chapter 20 of CoT are also examples of this kind of tie-back storytelling). The ending of CoT is set in the summer of 1904. Summer is the season of maturity, and it's the moment when flowers and trees are at their peak. And it is also set in a park, which is the symbol of renewal and new beginnings. This ending is a nod to the beginning of the series too, because Cordelia and Alastair arrive in London at the end of summer in 1903 (for them, that was also a new beginning). You may either love or loathe TLH, but I don't think the plot is completely all over the place in terms of structure

[edwinspaynes]

I think sometimes about people saying that Cordelia is the only neurotypical member of the TLH cast and haven't been able to figure out why I rebel so hard against that sentiment. I figured it out yesterday.

It's because Cordelia exhibits massive golden child syndrome, and I realized that that's in and of itself a type of (c)PTSD.

She's anxious about her connections with those around her, especially Alastair and Lucie. With James and Matthew, she's avoidant to the point that she will not communicate any feelings until later in ChoT because to do so would be confronting those emotions. She's always saying that Elias viewed her as similar to him (while Alastair was like Sona), and she seemed to have created some sort of proxy-idea in her mind where she is the one who's like her father even if their differences could not be more stark.

Combine that with the fact that she's sheltered to the point of not noticing Elias's alcohol despite a) bottles laying around the house, and b) his concerning violent public behaviours like those we see at her wedding. She's clearly in the mindset of "everything's fine; this is fine," and it's not. She's not, because she's shoved her head in the sand since her father showers her with the attention that she's not getting from Sona and Alastair, who are in different, massively bad predicaments of their own.

And Cordelia copes by being perfect. By being Elias's special daughter, the one who's like him, who's the bearer of Cortana walking in the Carstairs family legacy, who's bright and sunshiney and happy and perfect.

I also want to note that I think Cordelia has some very valid abandonment trauma. While I do inarguably think she should have defended Alastair more, she literally felt abandoned by him (and Sona) for seven years because he emotionally pulled away. There were wildly good reasons, and Alastair's sacrifice deserves recognition (he is the best person), that doesn't negate the fact that she did not know those good reasons and felt abandoned.

I think this seems pervasive in her internal narration, too, as she tries to get closer to people without expressing deep-seated feelings (such as pent-up frustration with Lucie or her profound love for James).

@faithfromanewperspective @thevagabondexpress

[amchara]

Other than burnout, another aspect to consider too for TWP is there will bes less emotional baggage to existing characters and the need to keep it canon compliant.

In The Wicked Powers - our main characters will be a (different line of) Herondale, two Blackthorns, a Rosales, a Morgenstern, a Joshi, and a Pederoso. Rather than the same Lightwoods, Carstairs, Herondales and Blackthorns that we saw in TLH.

I'm hopeful that will spur some new storylines and hopefully means Cassie can take a more risky approach (as she did in The Dark Artifices) in letting characters' story arcs follow through to their natural conclusion, rather than being hampstrung by their need to survive the narrative to be the ancestors of our modern day gang.

Honestly, after finishing cot im afraid to read tje wicked powers coz what if cassie ends up making it as dissapointing as tlh???

Like i just really hope her break helps her and she csn rest and come back to her writing because her last 2 books (coi and cot) did not feel much like her at all. I seriously expect so much from her. Pls god let cassie recover from the whole pandemic and covid burn out so she can make twp justice

[occatorcreator]

Sooo

I headcanon that Victim and Second are the same stick figure

Gonna put extra Victim doodles and my ramble of this hc under the read more

Remember the whole deep dive on how stick figures came to life? Yeah I did that because of this headcanon of mine, I just wanted to see what details there are and construct a timeline of events how I see them

So, the Animator names and creates Victim. Victim dies because the Animator doesn’t save the Flash file and they are gone…

Or rather they should be. Victim is very unhappy with the fact they only had 2 minutes to live and simply forces themself to live, summoning a great power to do so. This lets them end up in the Orange stick figure frame that the Animator was drawing. Victim is surprised it worked, overjoyed in fact that they get the second chance, but they also know that the creator is watching them.

Now I don’t know if Victim recognizes the Animator as the same person who created them or not, but either way they do not want to loose this second chance by getting caught. So they freeze and wait until the Animator is gone.

They meet with RBYG and become instant friends, but there is an issue… names. I think the stick figures would introduce themselves, but Victim doesn’t really like their name? Their creator only named them Victim to make them the victim of his cruel games, it just got bad associations. Orange is a nickname the others give them and, while Victim likes the nickname, they still want a name that is their own.

Unfortunately the Animator returns. He deletes everyone and cuts their life short again. They should be dead again when the Animator ends their task, but they refuse.

Why should they die? They defied fate to get this new life, they got new friends even! Now they’re gone and they’re all that’s left. they refuse to loose it all again! Why do their creators think they have gall to take away everything and everyone from them?

The name finally clicks. They were Victim, come back for a second chance at life. The animator will pay for this, he should know that they are The Second Coming of their old creation and they won’t be dying again anytime soon!

And the rest is history

Other things to note

1. Victim/TSC has no recollection of the time passing. They don’t even know it has been years since their first creation in 2006 and second life in 2014. To them it was like a blink. Victim in the void depresses me

2. They don’t know who The Chosen One is. The big problem with my hc is that task manager calls Second “the Chosen One’s Return”… then again I consider the description as implying Second as reincarnation of TCO which AVA V (somewhat) retconned with TCO being alive… it’s… odd…

3. This will get its own text post, but Second’s powers aren’t exactly one to one to TCO or TDL’s powers. The reason I headcanon Vic as Second is due to the fact that Second is largely ordinary fighter who uses surroundings to attack much like Victim did in the first short. I think of the powers Second has more as “the power to survive” - they’re like a phoenix in this regard

4. The animator and their friends do not know Second is or was once named Victim. I’m on the fence if Second recognizes the animator as the same person or if they don’t and think they are separate people (either option gives great angst potential)

5. Despite my doodle having Victim talking to Orange as a different ghostly person, they are one and the same. That was more to illustrate Second’s thought process of gaining new life (though Victim & Second living in a symbiotic way is also an appealing story idea)

[lordeasriel]

Getting to know you meme!

I was tagged by @jamlavender thank you very much!!!

Favourite time of the year: Spring-Summer, which is Brasil is essentially the same thing except spring is windy af. I like rainy days as much as the next person, but nothing beats a sunny, windy day!

Comfort foods: Pastel, which is a kind of deep fried pastry with different fillings (my fav is chicken and cheddar!) and Panettone, cause I’m a Christmas baby!

Do you collect anything: I don’t think I do. Maybe different pens? It’s not deliberate tho.

Favourite drinks: Orange juice, sprite and a good old caipirinha, which is a Brazilian cocktail featuring lime (usually, cause lemon is expensive here), sugar and cachaça(tm).

Favorite music artists: I shift a lot between artists, especially when they release new music, changing the vibes I met them by, but I currently really enjoy Jonathan Bree, Tom Rosenthal and CMAT. They’re very unique to their styles and I enjoy their music very much. I also really enjoy peremotka (hopefully that’s how it’s written in roman alphabet!) Their post punk vibes are smashing!

Current favourite songs: No Face by Haley Heynderickx, I Like it When You’re Gone by Tom Rosenthal, Valentine by Jonathan Bree, Peter Bogdanovich by CMAT

Favourite fics: I haven’t been reading a lot of fics recently, but I have some all time favorites to recommed!

Safe as Houses (Vera Claythorne/Philip Lombard): very good, very smutty, very sad;

Bird of Passage: The Book of Dust centric, this follows spy business from Oakley Street during TSC. I wholeheartedly recommend it if you want more to dive into Lyra’s world!

Lyra’s Uncle: some good old AU, giving Asriel a little brother and making it all very sad. Sami writes a lot of good stuff, but this is my favorite piece of hers.

Applied Heresy (Marisa/Asriel): Honestly, I love this fic to bits, I have it downloaded on my kindle and phone. It is the best Masriel experience pre-show you’ll get. The writer also delves deep into Lyra’s world pre-TBOD, but she makes it seems so believable and it’s good old worldbuilding! If you haven’t read this yet and you’re in the HDM fandom, what are you doing????

Favourite video games: I’m a massive Bioware fan, so my favorite games feature nearly everything they’ve ever done. I lovethe Mass Effect trilogy (especially the 3rd one, sorry lol) and I love Dragon Age and I have a devotion to Star Wars: The Old Republic! Been playing it strong for 8 years and I love it pieces. That is excellent Star Wars, Disney don’t interact please lol

I’ll tag @queenofnabooty @cozcat @moustache-bonnet (please feel no pressure to do this, bye)

[edwinspaynes]

I think that sometimes people look at Zachary and think that he only exists to be Emma's ancestor. But I really disagree with this, to be honest.

Of course, that is part of his purpose - to fill in a narrative gap. Which isn't a bad thing, he was definitely a planned part of the book and that's part of the reason Cassie made him.

But Zachary is, above all else, an important part of Alastair's arc.

Alastair grew up in an extremely fucked up situation because of his father. He spent his life basically being Cordelia's super secret secret parent and protecting her, basically serving as a human shield to protect her from Elias's abuse and worst traits.

Now, Elias is dead. Zachary is a blank slate that Alastair knows will not be subjected to abuse or mistreatment. This gives Alastair the chance to have a more "normal" relationship with a sibling, even if he's way younger than Alastair. It affords Alastair the chance to be a brother figure who cares for him in a normal way.

Zachary is also Alastair's ticket to actively breaking the cycle of abuse. Which, as Alastair is wonderful, he will of course do. We also get to see this in the canon a bit in the epilogue, where Alastair is constantly spoiling Zachary and being the person who shows up for him. He even sings the song that his and Cordelia's father sang to them as babies, repurposing it in a positive light.

Zachary can grow up truly happy, and Alastair knows it. He can get the childhood and the early life that Alastair never got, and unlike both him and Cordelia,* Zachary won't be dealing with familial trauma well into adulthood. It's a great narrative choice, honestly. Hats off to @cassandraclare for this one. It hit a good spot.

This is in my opinion the reason that he will be featured in Thomas and Alastair's Better in Black story. His presence in both Alastair's life and his partner's gives him the opportunity to form and nurture a new sort of healthy familial relationship, and it will be such a blessing and a pleasure to see that.

*I could spend hours unpacking Cordelia's trauma and have already made a post on it before, but like, if you don't see that she has a lot of epiphanies and realizations to work through in the future... I don't know what to tell you, sorry.