#|I blame finals fueled anxiety on this one... xD|

[thetableshavetabled]

I think one of the biggest ways people get Andrew wrong in fanon, especially with fics from his pov, is when he helps people just for the sake of it. Or out of the good of his heart, I suppose. It makes him out to be kinder than he is in canon, where all his deals for example are on some level self-serving. Andrew didn't offer to make the deal with Neil because he cared about or his situation. He was bored & Andrew fully expected Neil to either disappear or die at the end of it.

Anyway, do you have any other thoughts on TSC/TGR? It doesn't seem like you're a fan xD and personally I'm not either.

Andrew is a difficult character to write. He definitely didn't make the deal with Neil out of the kindness of his heart, but was it just because Neil was interesting, or because of Kevin, like Andrew claims? And the deal with Kevin has even more layers—interest, usefulness, Kevin's promise. Aaron's deal, though, that's the most complicated of all. I wish this didn't get watered down so often.

On TSC & TGR... I'm underwhelmed.

You have Jean who we all know and love, now one half of a dual pov with Jeremy who's... there. And I like Jeremy. A gay ex drug addict with a savior complex and crushing guilt over his brother's rooftop dive during a coke-fueled sex party, financially chained to the same homophobic family that blames him for Noah's death while he pastes on a smile and captains the Trojans? That's compelling material I would absolutely devour if the author wasn't shelving crucial elements with all the subtlety of a brick through a window.

Jeremy could complement Jean beautifully, but instead throughout the entire first book he is relegated to being Jean's narrative counterweight and remains frustratingly underdeveloped. Why make him a POV character only to drip-feed his actual story?

The second book do offer glimpses of promise, Zane, the Kevin/Jean interview, and Lucas processing Grayson's death—those had the buildup I crave. And it's not all doom and gloom; some scenes are genuinely well-crafted, which makes the overall flatness even more disappointing.

Any potential innovation gets suffocated beneath formulaic storytelling that prioritizes meeting genre expectations over delivering something actually interesting. Where's the intricate conflict, the genuine stakes, the narrative risk and the twists that keep you guessing? I'd settle for any character development that doesn't feel plucked from a template.

29 Trojans and we only have three that approach interesting: Jeremy, Jean and Lucas. Yes, there are loads of great representation. There is a lot of potential, but without any actual arcs its all window dressing. The Trojans' uniform virtue renders them forgettable, while every antagonist is cartoonishly cruel. Only the Foxes and Jean offer dynamics with any nuance whatsoever. I like slice-of-life scenes as much as the next person, but without anything engaging in between they just highlight the plot's thinness while ticking off every BookTok trope. For readers who appreciated the original trilogy's complex characters, emotional depth, and unpredictability, this feels like a photocopy of a photocopy.

I can map the entire emotional journey without turning another page: Jeremy-Jean will have their ineviatable romance, Jean and Kevin will have their requisite heart to heart so Jean can move on, the comic relief lesbians will continue being exactly as flat as the rest of the one-note Trojans who conveniently fulfill whatever narrative function is required to keep this plot inching forward. Jean's separation anxiety will be resolved through the dog (really? a dog?), Jeremy's family will maintain their antagonistic presence until Jeremy finally applies to himself the same standards he preaches to Jean about deserving better treatment. We'll witness Jeremy and Jean working through hypersexuality and sexual trauma via the "sunshine character with hidden darkness" and "grumpy character with a heart of gold" dynamic that's been done to death and beyond.

The most shocking moment—the house fire—only highlights how desperately this story needs genuine surprises and stakes. At this point, I'd even welcome a character resurrection (typically a cheap narrative sin) just to disrupt this procession of convenient coincidences and expository dialogue.

While the trial's portrayal remains uncertain, the outcome doesn't: Jean will recognize that both he and Elodie deserved better, rebuff his parents and the Ravens, reconcile with Jeremy, fully integrate with the Trojans, and continue his trauma recovery. With every beat so plainly telegraphed, I'm left wondering what's supposed to keep me invested in this story.