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[argonnizando]

the locked tomb has to be described as "lesbian necromancers in space" for the same reason everything everywhere all at once's imdb page says "a woman tries to do her taxes"

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Okay, new theory.

I know that in the dramatis personae of Harrow the Ninth, Anastasia is listed after the seven first lyctors, and before Ianthe and Harrow. I had always assumed that she had tried to ascend after all the others… but we don’t know that.

Remember that message that Gideon found in G1deon & Pyrrha’s room? “…at this point we all know that he cannot fix my deficiencies […] say hello to Gideon for me” or whatever it says. I think that Anastasia wrote that.

I think that she tried to ascend third, after the tragedy that happened to Alfred and Cristabel. I think she and Cassiopea searched for a better solution, (typical sixth and ninth, am I right?) and Anastasia thought that she found it, but then (John made sure that) it failed. And then Anastasia was sent to the Ninth, and the others all resigned themselves to the eightfold word as the only way to lyctorhood.

If things happened in this order, then it maybe explains how Pyrrha helped Anastasia paint a nursery on the ninth. Because G1deon hadn’t ascended yet at that point…

[argonnizando]

tlt fans, if we all manifest really hard, tamsyn muir might be really kind to us, and griddlehark might even have two conversations in alecto!

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the tagline of harrow the ninth: the necromancers are back and they’re gayer than ever!

the gay necromancer in question: lobotomized herself, violently throwing up, hallucinating, someone is literally trying to kill her, hasnt slept in 6 days, putting her own bone marrow in soup, hiding under her bed and sobbing, in love with a corpse, wanting a hallucination to kiss her, bleeding out of her ears, haunted by her lesbian situationship’s mother (in a sword), will literally not let go of said sword and sleeps next to it like a lover (actual quote from the book), watching 3 10,000 year olds fuck, watching a man who has tried to kill her 10+ times make out with a corpse (different one—not the one she’s in love with), thinks sugar water with a drop of lemon has too much flavor, was stabbed in the hand by another lesbian, hallucinating her past completely incorrectly in order to cope terribly, having several meet-cute hallucinations with her previously mentioned lesbian situationship (who is dead), and killing planets

[argonnizando]

something i love about the way Genius is handled in the locked tombs series is that no two Geniuses are quite the same.

like, take our primary trio of necromantic prodigies, each of whom, in different circumstances, is referred to as "the greatest necromancer of their generation": harrow, palamedes, and ianthe.

palamedes became so powerful in pursuit of comprehension. he earnestly wanted to understand the material as completely as he possibly could. he was ambitious, yes, but never really for his own sake, only in the hopes of saving dulcie. when palamedes attacks a problem, a puzzle, a goal, all he really hopes to do is understand it. to gather up all the pieces of it and put them together in a way that makes sense. his genuis is founded on a relentless pursuit of the Truth.

harrow needs to be perfect. her life, her raw talent, were bought at such a steep price that she considers it a moral obligation to reach her absolute full potential beyond any reasonable limits. anything short of perfection would be wasting a gift that should never have been given to her in the first place. she is harshly self-critical, relentless, brutal. she martyrs herself on the altar of her own genius.

ianthe does not need to be perfect. she only needs to be the Best. she considers herself almost exclusively in comparison to other people. she loves nothing better than to feel superior. the brains of the operation, the puppet master, enough of a genius for two. so long as she is surpassing her nearest competitor, so long as no one is visibly out-doing her, she knows that she is succeeding.

and all of these mentalities are so beautifully informed by their upbringings. palamedes growing up in the lawyers, archeologists, and librarians house, harrow being taught from a young age that her very existence is a sin, and ianthe being raised in constant comparison to her sister. and each of these startegies produces different types of intelligence, also. different methods of problem-solving, different angles of attack. i love them all so much.

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She's learned to lock the fuck in, but it still keeps happening

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my experience with the locked tomb series thus far

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You know, as much as Gideon leans into the dumb jock stereotype, girl DEFINITELY did her reading. How else would she know a million ways to call Harrow a spooky weirdo?!

[argonnizando]

soup guide 101 from Gideon Prime

and Pyrrha's input

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The LIBERAL Tomb

IanTHEY

Naberius TRANS

Marta DYKEas

Palamedes GENDERtus

John GAYus

Commander WOKE

GAYdeon THEY Ninth

Ortus NiGAYnad

LOVEISLOVEday Heptane

Pyrrha

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Biblically accurate Falin

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love love love how tactile palamedes's expressions of affection are. hugging harrow so wildly he lifts her off the ground. touching his forehead to camilla's. holding gideon's hand after she recounts her traumatic past. kissing harrow's forehead, cam's knuckles, dulcie's hand. he might be the only man ever

[argonnizando]

Something I love about the romance in The Locked Tomb is how Gideon as our first POV narrator is like "this is Harrowhark Nonagesimus, she thrives on scorn and ambition and death" and as a seasoned enemies-to-lovers fan, my first reaction was "I love it, I support women's rights and wrongs, and I can't wait to see this cold evil character discover feelings eventually" but then the plot twist is actually that Harrow is a pathetic desperate emo who barely needs an excuse to say the most romantic shit imaginable. Which is already a good payoff and the characterization is superb, but then you see inside Harrow's head in the next book and discover that despite her trauma and 35 mental illnesses, she is so much of a fucking soft marshmallow simp that not even her DIY lobotomy can keep her from indulging in a coffeeshop AU (?!?!) to soothe her yearning soul. Which makes rereading GtN delightful because now you can read between the lines and realise like "oh wow, she was down bad the whole time and Gideon just didn't notice". It gives so much lesbian Pride and Prejudice that you can only fully appreciate during a reread. I adore it.

[argonnizando]

— The unknown book pages.

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Giving the people what they want (Gideon in armor)

Oldie that I never posted here??? BTW this is available as a print on INPRNT, consider checking out my stuff! The whole site is on sale for labor day weekend and I'm tight on $$$ this month. Every little bit helps 🙏

[argonnizando]

“The Tomb I will serve till the end of my days, and then see me buried in two hundred graves”

This book is everything.