YES TO ALL OF YOUR THOMASTAIR TAG ESSAY!! and yeah I agree that alastair's altruism (regardless of personal cost) and his false bravado (that only increases when he gets more uncomfortable) is a really interesting character choice - it's painful as a reader to hear the other characters' opinions on alastair, because we all know how wonderful a person he actually is😭
Thank you!!!! And you’re so right!!!
Also, Alastair truly is out here lonely and isolated but at the same time heavily like don’t perceive me as good or bad... in fact, don’t perceive me at all... I will be taking no credit or criticism.... Unless you are my mother or Cordelia please refrain from mentioning or thinking about me at all
Like even with Thomas he went oh I like this getting to basically be a blank slate with him and then the slate was no longer blank and that was painful with Thomas thinking he was awful and then after the sanctuary (where he let his guard down outside of the possibility of anyone else’s perceptions) it was painful with Thomas thinking he was amazing and Alastair went never mind don’t perceive me either you aren’t allowed to tell me I’m bad but you can’t tell me I’m good either, we exist on separate planes of existence now












