billyshakesp

[billyshakesp]

Actually, this idea intrigues me. I totally forgot about Coronabeth tbh :). Then John kidnaps Coronabeth as leverage against Ianthe? Or perhaps against Judith. Hmm. Hand rubbing chin emoji....

The Sarpediad

I don't see much discussion about Admiral Sarpedon, which, I get. But I feel like he's such an obvious allusion to mythology that he has to be important in some way. So here are my thoughts on him; feel free to add on.

What we do know: Sarpedon is an admiral in the Cohort. He is in his sixties. John is obviously fond of him; in fact, John (allegedly) bedded him. That's kind of it. We don't get much besides his name, which means that my theories here will be speculative, but hear me out:

For those that need a reminder (which, if you're into TLT, can't be many, I'd imagine), Sarpedon was a legendary figure in the Iliad, and he fought on the side of the Trojans during the Trojan war. He was a formidable warrior, second to only Hector, if any. Ultimately, Sarpedon met his end at the hands of Patroclus, who was disguised as Achilles.

My theory: Pyhrra kills Sarpedon in combat as part of a larger effort to win back...somebody from the clutches of John. Pyrrha is not a direct Patroclus parallel, but Pyrrha is associated with Achilles-it was the pseudonym he (allegedly) used on the island of Skyros. So, it seems plausible that Pyrrha, or someone disguised as Pyrrha, would kill Sarpedon. As for the motive-I'm less sure of that. I'm not sure who Helen of Troy in TLT universe would be. My gut instinct says Gideon Nav, as she is a redhead, and she is a significant character. I honestly do not know. This post is more food for thought than fleshed-out theory; Sarpedon just feels important. Am I missing something? Please let me know. Thanks for your time and attention. Together we weather the Alectopause.

[billyshakesp]

The Sarpediad

I don't see much discussion about Admiral Sarpedon, which, I get. But I feel like he's such an obvious allusion to mythology that he has to be important in some way. So here are my thoughts on him; feel free to add on.

What we do know: Sarpedon is an admiral in the Cohort. He is in his sixties. John is obviously fond of him; in fact, John (allegedly) bedded him. That's kind of it. We don't get much besides his name, which means that my theories here will be speculative, but hear me out:

For those that need a reminder (which, if you're into TLT, can't be many, I'd imagine), Sarpedon was a legendary figure in the Iliad, and he fought on the side of the Trojans during the Trojan war. He was a formidable warrior, second to only Hector, if any. Ultimately, Sarpedon met his end at the hands of Patroclus, who was disguised as Achilles.

My theory: Pyhrra kills Sarpedon in combat as part of a larger effort to win back...somebody from the clutches of John. Pyrrha is not a direct Patroclus parallel, but Pyrrha is associated with Achilles-it was the pseudonym he (allegedly) used on the island of Skyros. So, it seems plausible that Pyrrha, or someone disguised as Pyrrha, would kill Sarpedon. As for the motive-I'm less sure of that. I'm not sure who Helen of Troy in TLT universe would be. My gut instinct says Gideon Nav, as she is a redhead, and she is a significant character. I honestly do not know. This post is more food for thought than fleshed-out theory; Sarpedon just feels important. Am I missing something? Please let me know. Thanks for your time and attention. Together we weather the Alectopause.

[billyshakesp]

My gif-making skills are rusty, but I MADE A THING 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[billyshakesp]

Quick, and Sophisticated, and! Devious.

I've been really obsessing over this one line in HtN:

"'Nobody could lead him where he didn’t want to go,' said God, and his patience took a solemn edge. “'You know that.'

'Lord! Don’t tell me that,” said his Lyctor, faintly smiling. 'I have built an entire myriad on the idea that I could’ve made him come around, given five minutes.'"

Because Augustine's whole thing is that he's charming and eccentric, in contrast to Mercymorn's perpetual gloom. This interaction took place during the dinner party, and it pertains to Alfred. I think this is the closest we get to the real Augustine, without his easy, charismatic facade. I thunk it makes a lot of sense, as well. Augustine regrets that he let Alfred die, and that he didn't do anything. He blames himself for allowing Alfred's death-he's blamed himself for millenia, because if not him, then Alfred-or God.

And I think Augustine's condecension towards Mercy and Cristabel fit here as well. I thunk Augustine sees himself in Mercy, and Alfred in Cris. He derides Mercy because he hates himself for what he allowed to happen to Alfred, and he grapples with his grief by trivialising Mercymorn's grief over Cristabel. For all that Augustine seems to not care for and look down upon Cristabel, he sure does mention her a lot. My interpretation is that Augustine cannot reckon with what happened to Alfred, and he doesn't know how to reach out to Mercymorn, the one person who may understand what he's dealing with. Instead, he uses Cristabel, or the idea of Cristabel, as a punching bag-so he can stay in this in-between space of contempt and self-hatred.

Tl;dr, Mercymorn and Augustine need to go to couples therapy. (To be clear I'm not implying an intimate, nor romantic, nor frankly platonic relationship between the two. But they are siblings. Brother and sister, forever bound by the blood on their hands. But also, they're just scared siblings clinging to each other the Empire dies around them.)

Thank you for reading, dear viewer.

[billyshakesp]

Understanding Monsters: Augustine and Mercymorm, John and Alecto

I find these characters and pairings in TLT particularly deep and visceral. So here are some of my thoughts on them. I'll be focusing more on John and Augustine in this post as they are outliers in TLT universe as powerful and significant male characters. Disclaimer's out of the way, here is my autopsy on these people.

The four mentioned in the title are truly some of the most conceptually disturbing characters I have ever read, period. This isn't exactly a new point, but the Lyctors in general are absolutely terrifying. They reside in the depths of uncanny valley. They are two people in a meat suit. Their lives have been painted over by grief for ten thousand years. They have singlehandedly orchestrated the deaths of solar systens. They are fundamentally beyond human experience, and yet. They are human. Or, at least, they have scraps of the humans they were buried within them. Again, the so nearly human but not human-ness which forms uncanny valley. Alecto is not a Lyctor, but she is five billion dead souls in a barbie doll, and the same concept apllies to her.

I personally love Augustine and Mercymorn's relationship. Not necessarily in a sexual, or romantic, or quite frankly platonic way. I just think they're such an exquisite case study on "the horrors of love." We know that Cristabel's death absolutely fucked Mercymorn up-and that would be the understatement of the myriad. I suspect Augustine has his own inner turmoil over the death of Alfred, though he doesn't show it. He does describe Alfred as "his other half." Alfred is his brother. He comments once that "I have built an entire myriad on the idea that I could have made him come around, given five minutes." Augustine's aloof attitude doesn't strike me as very genuine, but a facade. In any case, the two have suffered trauma beyond human comprehension. Yes, they're awful people, but in the end they have the humility to reach out and behold each other and understand each other. The interaction between Augustine and Mercymorn right after the capital-d Deicide might not be love, per se, but it is the first step in that direction. They have the respect, the humility, the humanity!-to take that step.

John and Alecto are...not that. Honestly, John's head is shoved so far up his ass and Alecto is so monstrous (not through any fault of her own, to be clear) that I don't know what absolution for those two looks like. Sure, John does love Alecto; he probably loves her more than Augustine and Mercymorn ever admitted to loving each other. The difference, of course, is that John's love is birthed from trauma and self-hatred. The difference, of course is that Alecto embodies all of John's vindictive, destructive tendencies, and John keeps clinging onto her. Augustine and Mercymorn may embody the worst of what Lyctorhood creates, yes, but together they try to rectify all of that. Alecto represents the worst in John, and John loves her and clings to her obsessively. There's a lot more to say about these characters and there is a lot more that I plan to say, but there's my mini-rant concluded. I really need to see Augustine and Mercymorn go a secind round against John in Alecto the Ninth (in a sex way? In a fatal combat way? Are they all literally inside of Alecto the Ninth, the person, while this is taking place? Find out in Alecto the Ninth, the novel, coming to shelves the myriadic year 20000 of our lord!). Thanks for making it this far, dear reader. Together we sleep the night, and we wait for the morning.

[billyshakesp]

The Living Tomb

One of the things about TLT as a story which I am kicking my feet and giggling about and that no one is talking about is how the books are, in a way, living documents. John knows about all of the events leading to humanity's extinction and subsequent capital-r Resurrection, but we don't. Because we are living those events as they play out!!!!!

NZ gets hit with seasons of wildfires in a few weeks? Probably John's team and their shenanigans. A major political figure gets assassinated? Jod damnit, not again! Elon Musk making an (insert massive sarcastic cough) awkward hand gesture???? Joke's on us-he's been dead for months, and that was John falling asleep on the job in an unfortunate pose or something; whatever justification he's willing to pull out of his godly ass to absolve himself. So put yourself out there, do what you love and do it like you're running out of time, and maybe you'll make a cameo in Alecto the Ninth ;)

Seriously though, have fun, be safe, make good choices, and thank you, dear reader, for your time.

[billyshakesp]

Ten Months Before the Emperor's Murder

Chapter nineteen of Harrow the Ninth is marked as ten months before the deicide; this timeline doesn't fit into the rest of the story. It is possible that Tazmuir and/or the publishers made a mistake, but, given Muir's attention to detail, I do not find this explanation to be satisfactory. Operating under the assumption that this dating was intentional, here are two cursory ideas I currently have.

The chapter marked ten months out from John's homocide accounts the first attempts of Gideon the First (or Ortus the First, as Harrow's narration (Gideon's narration? Griddlehark's narration) calls him) to end Harrow's life. Specifically, the chapter describes "The first time the Saint of Duty tried to take your life." The chapter never explicitly states when the first time was. Muir goes on to write, "It was only a few days into an internment within the Mithraeum," before she describes a murder attempt by Gideon on Harrow. Of course, the reader assumes that "it" refers to the first time Gideon tried to kill Harrow. But, technically, the connection is never made. Is it possible that Gideon the First intervened at Canaan House? We know the lobotomy took place nine months and twenty-nine days before the Emperor's murder, so ten months puts us at the very end of GtN. The question then becomes, "why?"-and I don't have a convincing answer. Gideon the First does not have, as Gideon the Ninth would put it, a fucking motive to return to the Nine Houses and kill Harrow. This leads me to my second idea...

That Muir meant Gideon the Ninth, as opposed to Gideon the First, had tried to kill Harrow ten months before Mercymorn tried to kill God. This theory, in my opinion, is more far-fetched (though both of these ideas are, admittedly, speculative and without much evidence), and it will require closer examination of the timeline. Let us assume that the current months system used in the west is used in the Locked Tomb Universe. It seems a bit of a stretch, but there is some evidence to back it up. Harrow the Ninth keeps time with months. Harrow prays that she will live for "a few more weeks," and she mentions the RB fight strategy merting taking place a month removed from her narration. Lastly, Gideon the First claims the RB will catch up to John in nine months when they reunite at Cytherea's funeral. Because of this, I will continue under the assumption that months are in use. Harrow the Ninth opens nine months before the Emperor's murder, at "the close of the myriadic year of our lord." I interpret that to be 31 December. Working our way backwards, twenty-nine days before is 2 December. Ten months before would be 31 November or earlier. The pool scene happens a day before Harrow becomes a Lyctor. Assuming that scene took place late in the day, then Gideon would have been angry at Harrow ten months before the Emperor's murder. The reasons why I find this theory far-fetched are two-fold: first, that Gideon the Ninth and the Saint of Duty have no connection besides sharing a name, and secondly because I don't know why Tamsyn Muir would include this. This detail doesn't really add much to the plot, nor does it really deepen our understanding of Gideon and Harrow's relationship.

In summary, I'm desperate for an explanation. These two explanations are not the only two which I believe possible. Feel free to expand upon or refute my ideas and to share your own. Lastly, thank you for reading.

[billyshakesp]

A *Highly Speculative* Theory Regarding Blood of Eden

All the Blood of Eden wings are named after cities in what we call the Middle East. These cities rose to prominence during the Persian Empire. One of the first great conquerers in Persia was Cyrus the Great. Is Cyrus the First associated with BoE? Again, highly speculative; the extent of my theory is "these two people share a name." I thought I'd post this on the offchance that someone has someyhing to add, though. Thoughts?

[billyshakesp]

An Inquiry Adressing Occultists of the Locked Tomb

In my copy of Harrow the Ninth, chapter nineteen is marked as "Ten Months before the Emperor's Murder." This date does not fit within the timeline of the rest of the book. Why? Why does it say ten months? Is it simply a misprint? Does anyone have the pertinent intel?

[billyshakesp]

An Inquiry Adressing Occultists of the Locked Tomb

In my copy of Harrow the Ninth, chapter nineteen is marked as "Ten Months before the Emperor's Murder." This date does not fit within the timeline of the rest of the book. Why? Why does it say ten months? Is it simply a misprint? Does anyone have the pertinent intel?

[billyshakesp]

american healthcare and its general attitude towards disabled people really is a piece of work. stay strong ＜3

Bro, I honestly wish America had assisted death. I have multiple debilitating chronic illnesses that will continue to progressively get worse over time. I’m 28 years old and I’m honestly miserable asf. I spend all my time at home and in pain. I don’t leave the house unless it’s for medical appointments. No social life, no friends, I get anxiety around most people because they usually don’t understand my illness. I can barely eat. I’m literally just fighting to survive. No matter how hard I try I’m not even able to just live and enjoy my life. No how matter hard I try to be positive it still doesn’t change the fact that my quality of life is affected.I rely on one person for all my daily task and that person has a life of their own so mine is just pointless. I’m TIRED and I’m just ready for this to be over. There’s so much I could say but unfortunately people won’t understand until is too late. And most people don’t care because it not THEM. I deal with this shit on my own everyday with no breaks while people constantly show me that they don’t give a damn about me.

[billyshakesp]

A while back there were some posts commenting on the SA subtext in the tlt books. Given that people seem more comfortable to talk about that subject now, I'll mention something tangentially related to that.

It always bothered me how much it is joked about a in text sexual harassment that happens in Harrow the Ninth. I'm talking about the deus apate scene. I know that Harrow and Ianthe agreed with getting Augustine's help and go with the plan he had. However they didn't agree to witness John, Mercymorn and Augustine initiating sex, and that is sexual harassment.

It doesn't matter that that "was their cue", he purposefully omitted an information that needed their consent, and to make it worse, at the time they believed Harrow was 15. The next chapter you read that Ianthe and Harrow were clearly upset for witnessing that. I've seen multiple interpretations that Ianthe finds it amusing because later she tries to kiss Harrow, but actually, she's also upset('old people should be shot'). When John uses humor to hide his emotions fans mentions the nuance of his character, but when other characters do the same, it seems to be taken literally.

I'm not stating that people shouldn't joke about this scene (not trying to police what people do). It's a very absurd moment in context so humor can be taken from it. It's just you don't need to lie about the characters reactions or minimize it.

[billyshakesp]

john 1:20 - “ he did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘i am not the messiah.’ ”

ITS HERE!!! i’ve been wanting to do this ever since i read this quote. also i just reread this chapter in nona and it makes me go fucking insane. tribute to my most favorite horrible little guy and the most genuinely horrifying writing i’ve ever read

(comic quote is from The Reunion by Katherine Applegate, translation for the bible verse googled. thanks bible gateway)

- the “bright line” is john’s understanding of the soul/his connection to the earth; the four-pointed star is more explicitly the soul, hence why it’s in the palm of cristabel’s hand after she shoots herself, and over john’s mouth as he begins the lyctor process. the bright line resolves itself into alecto at the very end.

- the frame of cristabel is actually the first that came vividly to mind—i loved the image of a bright-eyed, naively innocent, anime-girl-esque cristabel juxtaposed with the harsh reality of the gun to her head and her bloodied hand

- the splash on page two is when john reaches out and stops gideon’s heart, and i just loveee how it came out

- the final panel is also one i’ve had in mind for a really long time. i hope i captured the unsettling horror of john, feral and animalistic and unnatural, moments after he completed the lyctor process

[billyshakesp]

Harrowhark fully intended to go back to her body and consume Gideon's soul at the end of HtN.

I think the first time through, the ending reads otherwise, especially after what Dulcinea tells Harrow about something— potentially Gideon— controlling her body. But paying attention to some key details in that final section very clearly tells us otherwise:

I do think that she genuinely considered staying in the River as the Canaan house bubble collapsed, but instead she says no. She declares to herself that she's going to leave, as if almost to give herself the strength to do so.

She's already considered the options she has if she wants to avoid destroying Gideon's soul. None of them even slightly guarantee that she won't just end up back in her own body and destroy Gideon's soul anyway, because of the fact that a soul is naturally drawn to it's own body.

So, in spite of what Dulcinea tells her, she chooses to go back to her body because there are genuinely no other options left to her; it's either go back to her own body, or potentially go mad in the River and end up back in her body anyways. From what she knows, there is nothing else for her body to inhabit. There are no other known options but the two presented to her by Abigail.

That's why I think that if it was genuinely Harrowhark's intention to stay in the River and give her body up to Gideon, the narration at the end of HtN would've been very different.

It'd be weird if the narration didn't fully and clearly acknowledge— with all the repercussions that come with the choice— that yes, she was choosing to subject herself to the madness of the River to give Gideon's soul a chance.

So she chooses to go back, but when she leaves the Canaan house bubble, what happens next isn't something she expects. She's not buoyed up and out of the River and returned to her body.

Instead, she ends up pulled somewhere else:

She ends up pulled to the Locked Tomb. Or rather, some River dream bubble version of the Locked Tomb. There is a very obvious detail to show that this is not the real, physical tomb.

The altar is empty. Alecto's body is missing, even though we know for certain that her body should still be there.

So we know this is another dream bubble or something like one. But why doesn't Harrow awaken in her own body, if that's where she actually intended to go?

Because someone else is already in it:

Harrowhark couldn't wake up in her own body because Alecto had already taken her place.

We know this both because Gideon literally sees Alecto and knows she's come to take control of Harrow's body, but we also know this because Alecto's body is absent from the Locked Tomb bubble.

The chains being snapped and broken in the dream bubble represents the fact that Alecto's soul has escaped its prison, even though her physical body still lies in the real version of the Locked Tomb on the Ninth.

Importantly, her body is taken over by a soul much larger and much more powerful than hers, so Harrow can't necessarily force it out even if she wanted to. So with Harrow's body already occupied, Harrow's soul follows the only other link it could, which is the link that she's already established with Alecto's soul. That's how she ends up in the Tomb bubble.

But it is important to make it clear that Harrowhark's soul is still attached to her own body and she's not completely unmoored in the River. The final paragraph of the chapter hints to this:

While we don't know the specifics of the fight or how it even happened in the first place, we do know that Blood of Eden fights the Nine Houses. This is when they lose Gideon's body, and come into possession of Harrowhark's.

The side-to-side rocking like an explosion is mimicking what her body is experiencing in the physical world during the fight, and "faraway in a land she had never traveled" is meant to represent how her body is now on New Rho.

I'm convinced that what's going on between Harrow and Alecto in NtN is similar to what's happening with Palamedes and Camilla.

Harrowhark's body is still hers, and she's still there in some manner. But she's being superseded by Alecto, and for some reason unknown to even her, she's content to let it happen:

Personally, this course of events is a lot more interesting than Harrow purposely deciding to stay in the River.

In fact, the survival of Gideon's soul is only really possible because of some unpredictable quantity that no one was aware of— Alecto.

Alecto taking control of Harrow's body and giving Harrow's soul something else to inhabit in the meantime is quite literally the third option that Harrow was desperately trying to look for, and maybe that's why Harrow subconsciously decides to let Alecto stay in control and instead she goes to sleep in the Tomb!

It's just a more interesting read that more readily incorporates all the details the text provides us with. It paints a clearer picture of what's happening at the end of Harrow the Ninth, rather than just saying "Harrowhark chose to abandon her body for Gideon and remain in the river. Somehow, in the process of doing this she ends up in the Locked Tomb completely by accident."

My final read of it is that Harrowhark really did intend to go back. But as a consequence of Alecto's interference (whose interference was possibly to keep Harrow alive), she was given another chance to save Gideon's soul.

[billyshakesp]

REBLOG IF YOU ARE AGAINST TRUMP AND PROJECT 2025

REBLOG IF YOUR BLOG IS A SAFE SPACE FOR PEOPLE WHO NO LONGER HAVE ONE IRL

[billyshakesp]

The Agony of the Fall

Here's a small thing I noticed: when Harrowhark reawakens in her homemade Canaan House in the River, she describes the "microcosm of eternity between forgiveness and the slow, uncomprehending agony of the fall." She is, of course, describing the period of time in which she and Gideon enjoyed a relatively stable and amicable relationship; those precious few days together at Canaan House before Cytherea the First nearly caused humanity's extinction, the sequel. Harrow "falls" in her all-consuming grief for Gideon. However, this line can also be interpreted as thus: take the few minutes under Harrow's bone shield with just Gideon, Harrow, and Camilla. In this scenario, the line is much more literal in its meaning; Gideon and Harrow exchange what are essentially wedding vows. It's perhaps the one moment where they achieve a mutual adoration and respect for each other. It's the forgiveness. Then, the fall, of course, is the literal fall which Gideon takes, straight onto an iron spike. Gideon was Harrow's end, swifter than the hammer to the oxygen-sealant machine of her childhood, etc.

So, yeah. I think both of those interpretations exist simultaneously in that one line. It's so terrible and so beautiful. These books have actually broken me. I will never recover physically, nor emotionally. Thanks for reading.

[billyshakesp]

Please, spread this for those who might need it right now

U.S. suicide hotline: call or text 988 (available 24 hours)

U.S. trans lifeline: (877) 565-8860 (when you call, you’ll speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator. full anonymity and confidentiality)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) – provides 24/7 confidential support and referrals for individuals and families facing mental health and substance use disorders, including panic attacks and anxiety.

LGBT National Help Center: (888) 843-4564

Trevor Project: Call (866) 488-7386, text START to 678-678, or chat online.

Take care of yourself and each other. Please stay safe ♡