“Assemble editing is by definition picking up where timecode left off and continuing the wriitng of said timecode along with image.”
Not so. This is very dependent on the deck. Many, many decks will not pre-read the timecode and will simply write timecode from the preset or from the last timecode they wrote, if they’re in record run, or from time of day or some other time, if they’re in free run. This is regardless of the TC that’s already on the tape.