#AS IF SHE WERE ACTING LIKE CORONABETH

[nose-coffee]

okay okay so corona and ianthe's mother's name is canonically "violabeth" (whence "coronabeth" gains the "beth"). viola is latin/italian in origin, meaning purple; corona means crown or wreath. congrats, your third house monarch (whose assigned house colour is purple) is called purplebeth and crownbeth

but also! in pondering this, my mind was also drawn to viola from shakespeare's twelfth night - one half of a pair of twins, forced by circumstance to take on the guise of her brother for her own safety. we talk and talk abt who out of ianthe and corona came up w the "corona should pretend to be a necromancer" scheme, and also who enforced it; but is it not fucked up if it was violabeth? (especially considering ianthe specifies their father as the one who "wanted a matching set") and if it wasn't, isn't it still fucked up that, based on literature that existed before the houses, their mother's name is all but a prophecy?

[clipartdinosaur]

Griddlehark Fics

I have read an absolutely insane amount of Griddlehark fanfics in the past few months so I figured I could make a like...list of all of my favorites that I bookmarked. I'm not sure if anyone will use this but if anything it will be for my own self-indulgence LOL. Just a heads up, this list WILL contain spoilers up to Nona the Ninth, so proceed with your own discretion. Anyway here we go!

(♥︎ = favorite!)

Short (<15k):

"By the Sword" by JeanLuciferGohard (2.6k)

The Reverend Daughter of the Ninth, Necrosaint, Ascended, the greatest bone adept in an Age, does one push-up, and collapses. Harrow does not beg for her cavalier. Harrow rakes her hair back and snarls, “Nav, I am going to unzip your cranial sutures. One by one. And zip them up again sideways.”

"Your Necro Questions Answered" by Magichorse (8.8k)

Syndicated columnist "Nav the Cav" offers a sympathetic ear to cavaliers across the galaxy and dispenses practical, no-nonsense, real talk advice on how to properly manage and care for your necromancer.

"A Lesson in Bones" by Magichorse (3.8k)

One of the laboratory trials at Canaan House compels Harrowhark to swap bodies with her cavalier. What will Gideon do with the power of the most talented bone adept in generations at her disposal? Nothing good, probably.

"Visions of Gideon" by tothewillofthepeople (13k)

Oh my god they were roommates...

"true love's kiss, or something equally nauseating" by corpsesoldier (4.6k)

She was where she needed to be. She was going to pull her necro out of this godforsaken tomb, end the game of musical bodies they were playing, and then everything would be all right. Harrow would be alive. And Gideon was going to give her shit for approximately the next myriad for not just taking what she’d offered and saving them a whole lot of trouble.

"The Big Warm Dark" by decalexas (haelstorm) (2.7k)

Gideon Nav knows how to swing a longsword, brandish a rapier, bridge the gap between life and death, punch the dead in the face, and maybe overthrow an Empire along the way. What she doesn't know how to do is reach for the girl who made all of this possible.

"carrion comfort, despair (not feast on thee)" by NotAFicWriter (5k)

Some time after Alecto wakes, Harrow and Gideon finally have a moment to speak to one another. Hearts are bared. Teeth are bared. Intentions are bared. It all comes at great personal cost (emotional honesty).

"never exhale all the way" by pigflight (1.2k)

Harrowhark paints Gideon's face.

"such an almighty sound" by CountingNothings (10k)♥︎

“I need you to marry me,” Harrow says, a propos of absolutely nothing that Gideon can see. And, uh, okay, this is not what childhood best frenemies say to each other upon discovering that both of their graduate programs have weird residence requirements. “What,” Gideon asks, “the fuck?”

"A Handsomely Dangerous Thing" by zoicite (1.5k)

Had Harrow ever looked at Gideon and felt pride before? Surely not. It sat like a tumor in her chest, a cancerous lump that had grown where it did not belong.

"How it didn't happen" by Nary (1.5k)

"How did you lose it?" Coronabeth asked, more softly than her sister's shrill voice. The group assembled at Canaan House barely knew her, and yet here they were, asking the most irritatingly personal questions, and acting as if they were being kind and thoughtful by prying into her secrets. "I dropped my pen into a vat of acid and reached in to grab it without thinking," Harrow said dryly. Coronabeth recoiled, screwing up her pretty nose. Ianthe looked unsure whether to believe her or not. Their meatslab of cavalier just stared blankly. "The Daughter of the Ninth House was blessed in this manner from her birth, as a symbol of her strength and power over the mysteries of necromancy," Ortus interjected. Harrow glared at him. "Oh," Coronabeth said, an expression of disgusting sympathy on her flawless face. "But then you would never have known who your soulmate was!" Harrow's glare intensified. "My soulmate is bones."

"Halcyon Nights" by Morike91 (10k)

It was hard to tell what was worse: feeling the full warmth of those unguarded honey eyes fall on Harrow, or watching them narrow in recognition and contempt, their warmth now hotter with something else.  “What can I get you?” It has been at least four years since Harrow last heard the voice of Gideon Nav, but it was still as familiar as her right hand. 

"I completely fucking hate you" by ClaraZorEl (7.5k)

In the coming weeks, Harrowhark learns an unfortunate great deal about Gideon Nav. The kind of porn she likes, the number of bread rolls she can fit into her mouth at once, that she always leans too heavily on her left leg when she fights but can do fifty-seven push-ups in a row without stopping, that her biceps rates 11/10 on the scale of good biceps, that her laugh rumbles like an army of skeletons, and most importantly, that she can’t fucking stand her. Gideon Nav is so grating that Harrow has no doubt she will be her undoing. OR Harrowhark Nonagesimus has been invited to Canaan University's ball. But to successfully represent her house, she needs a cavalier, and unfortunately, her only option is her least favourite barista from her least favourite coffee shop.

"A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them" by pipistrelle (7k)

"In the end, she poisoned Ortus; so it was Harrow Nova who walked out to the shuttle a half-step behind the Daughter of the Ninth, the chain of Samael Novenary wound about her offhand wrist, the black blade of the Ninth at her side."

"The Only Prayer We Know" by pipistrelle (12k) [Part 2 of "A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them"]

It's like a bad joke: two cavaliers (alive) and two necromancers (one dead) walk into a rebel faction of humanity, looking for a new life -- in every sense of the phrase. What they find is each other, and (in some cases) themselves.

"The Flames of Hell Are Warm" by silverapples (7k)

In which Harrow is a repressed evangelical Christian and Gideon performs burlesque in a lesbian nightclub. Feat. nipple pasties, chewing gum, and a steaming mug of gay coffee (wake up and smell it, Harrow).

"Necro Business" by rnanqo (1.6k) ♥︎

“Gideon,” you said carefully, “I will need to examine your mouth. Various structures, primarily the jaw, but also the lingual muscles—the tongue—” You stopped there. Your cheeks were going red, probably with indignity. “Yeah,” I said, a bit too loudly, “yeah, sure. Do it.”

"Holy Cross, Alaska" by softieghost (10k) ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Harrow meets Gideon. They go through it together.

"my love will be your armor" by TheKnightsWhoSayBook (2.3k)

"The princess has a right to bestow her favor on whoever she wishes to win a match," Gideon tells her. "Are you going to?" "Why would I? I don't want to marry him," Harrow answers bitterly. "Do you want me to win?" Princess Harrow will be engaged to the winner of the tournament, and her only champion is her useless bodyguard Sir Gideon Nav, who isn't going to save her. Unless...?

"The Meaning Of The Word" by pipistrelle (8.4k)

Harrow, along with a good percentage of Canaan University's necromancy students, has the flu. Gideon has a lot of feelings that she is in no way equipped to handle. It's a tough week.

"(i shine only with the light you gave me)" by sashawire (1.7k) ♥︎

God prods, gently, “Even just starting with their physical description, and we can go from there.” “Imagine,” you say, from somewhere outside your body, “the worst shade of orange you’ve ever seen in your life.” * Harrowhark receives her saintly title.

"i will learn to love the shears" by corpsesoldier (4.7k)

The avulsion trial left Harrow's hair in a sorry state and Gideon offers up her expertise with a blade. Or, Gideon gives Harrow a haircut.

"The Titty Texts: A Work of a Stupendous Titty Nature" by EleniaTrexer (3k)

Gideon accidentally sends Harrow boobs. And then just keeps on sending them.

"can we start over?" by breeeliss (10k)

Gideon needs a tutor. Harrow needs someone to get her out of college gym class. All in all, a pretty straightforward arrangement to make with your ex.

"Dark Mode Enabled" by senseoftheday (12k)

Tech Company AU in which a certain Sales bro with no filter decides to ruin Harrow's life (and feature roadmap) by initiating the cross-functional project from hell. At least, Gideon has the decency to work remotely, and Harrow's new office crush makes some pretty great coffee.

"deconsecrated graves" by emotionsandphenomena (4k)

Gideon and Harrow got out of the cult they were raised in. Okay, what's next?

"settle up in heaven" by liesmyth (3k) ♥︎

“Isn’t this arrogance, Harrow?” Kiriona says. “Think you could fix what God couldn’t?”

"Quoth the Maiden" by Sarsaparilla (10.9k)

The bold outlaws Nova Hawk and Gideon meet for the first time on a narrow log-bridge. But is it really their first meeting? Or: what if Robin Hood and Little John were both lesbians?

"twice in a blue moon" by sinshine (8.7k) ♥︎

Gideon snapped out of her depressing reverie and blinked at her. "That's a really good idea." "Obviously," said Harrow, and it was only a little bit condescending. "Step one, sneak out of the party. Step two, acquire the necessary items at a store. Step three–" Harrow gestured vaguely at the deer in Gideon's hands– "And step four, profit." [G&H rush to fix a smashed snow globe that Dulcinea made so that Cam doesn't kill them before the clock strikes midnight at their NYE party. The fact that Gideon is back in her hometown after a long time away and she and Harrow have unresolved romantic tension is secondary and definitely won't be a problem.]

"It Came From Planet Slut" by LockedTombMemes (8k)

Well. Evidently going undercover to an Idan society fling in order to deliver a message to a high-profile BoE agent was a tits-out kind of look.

"Apostate's Yuletide" by sinshine (12.6k)♥︎

Gideon raised one eyebrow comically high. She smiled easily, erasing any hint of the anxiety that Harrow might have sensed. "What's with all the questions today?" Harrow huffed indignantly and fidgeted with the blanket draped across her lap, worrying the frayed hem with her fingers. "I thought your ego would appreciate the interest." "Yeah, but it's weird coming from you. I'm used to you monologuing, not playing twenty questions." "Perhaps it's a Christmas miracle," suggested Harrow, with an expression so absolutely devoid of joy that Gideon couldn't help but laugh. [Harrow and Gideon burn down a church on Xmas.]

"when it's over" by Adertily (2.5k)

Harrowhark had sworn to herself to live to see the girl in the locked tomb awaken. Alecto has risen. Now God is dead, along with everyone who had ever been dear to her - and Gideon has returned as a distorted creature. The war is over. Harrow wishes she could be too. Or: A character study based on Harrow's suicidal ideation and Gideon's determination to never run anywhere unless she absolutely has to.

"Supernova Bloom!" by sinshine (13k)

"It's just for a week, and then you never have to see me again," said Gideon. "I don't have time to find anyone else." And, "Please." Slowly, Harrow took her hand off the door and cautiously turned around. Gideon watched a dozen unspoken questions flicker across her face. She voiced none of them, but eventually settled on an expression of grim resignation. "I suppose I could suffer you for a week." [Gideon needs help getting her new flower shop ready for the grand opening. Harrow needs cash.]

"I still need your teeth around my organs" by sinshine (7.8k)

Although she was a beloved Daughter and a talented necromancer, Gideon's greatest vice was that she dearly loved to fuck around and find out. Knowing this, perhaps it shouldn't have been as shocking when she lifted one of Nova's hands, flipped it over, and kissed her palm. [4 times Gideon kisses Harrow, 1 time Harrow kisses Gideon]

"cuckoo, cuckoo" by sashawire (1.2k)

What Wake gives it is not a name. To do so would be a moronic, unnecessary cruelty. But she does deign to give it the microscopic dignity of a title, a goal, a purpose. Bomb. Eighteen years later, in the rubble of a once-sacred home, Harrowhark Nonagesimus reaches up and touches Gideon Nav’s grit-covered, blood-rimed face, splits a laugh like the world is ending, and calls her “flower.” * Six times God's unwanted daughter was nicknamed, and once she wasn't.

"my teeth will only cut your lips, my dear" by sashawire (<1k) ♥︎

Gideon chomps into her tongue as hard as she can convince herself, stifling a very dignified squawk. Her eyes water, Emperor’s left tit that fucking hurts, but—it works. Blood weeps from the bite marks, creeping down the back of her throat, up into her nasal cavity, staining her teeth. Okay. She has blood in her mouth. Blood that, somehow, needs to get into Harrow’s mouth. * Step #6: Consume the flesh.

"fifteen percent concentrated power of will" by surreptitiously (9k)

Teaching someone to do a push-up is a love language, when that person is very annoying.

"GHAZAL WHERE I'M BEGGING YOU TO TOUCH ME" by igneousbitch (12k)

You had your body and I had mine, and it was a miracle. Your hands against my face were a miracle. The rest of your meat attached to your hands was a prayer answered and a promise broken, but we were flush and gasping and alive, and Harrow—I really thought you might’ve kissed me then. But I felt it happen. The way your breath suddenly stilled, and your body locked up beneath mine, remembering. How with splintering gentleness, you pushed me away. “I’m so sorry,” was the second thing you said upon waking. The first thing had been my name. Stranded in a safehouse on an Edenite moon, Gideon and Harrow try to put themselves back together.

"catch you on the flip side, sugar lips" by corpsesoldier (4.9k)

Maybe if Harrow's brain runs enough scenarios, she'll find a way to keep what she's lost.

"hand to heart, I swear" by corpsesoldier (5k)

Gideon has a broken heart, and there's only one necromancer who can fix it.

Medium (15-30k)

"If you're doing it right you'll break their ribs" by almostnectarine (22.4k)

"How do you know Nonagesimus has gone somewhere dangerous?" asked Isaac. "Have you wired some kind of alert system?" "It's, uh. It's on the schedule," said Gideon. "I just... forgot. Because of the bread." Nobody was convinced by this, least of all Gideon. "It's a Ninth House thing," Gideon went on, backing away with increasing desperation. This was a slightly more plausible explanation, if only because nobody wanted to look too closely at what fell under the awful skeletal-ribbed and rotting umbrella of Ninth House things. "Gotta go—!" And she was out the door, gone. But it wasn't a Ninth House thing, except inasmuch as it was happening to the only two representatives of the noble and decrepit Ninth House on this quite literally godforsaken rock. Gideon knew Harrow had gone somewhere dangerous—knew that Harrow was back in the lab where they had only just completed a horrible trial—because she could see it, clear as day: an awful overlay on her vision of that terrible dangerous room and a pair of terrible dangerous hands drawing some kind of ward next to the plinth. The hands were definitely Harrow's. This was definitely a problem.

"If Home Is Where the Heart Is (Then We're All Just Fucked)" by JeanLuciferGohard (17k) ♥︎

When Gideon Nav gets a call that her ex-girlfriend, who never bothered to change her designated emergency contact, is in the hospital, she goes against her better judgement and responds. Everything after that just gets more complicated.

"blue gray green lavender" by smolranger (29k) ♥︎

Laser Radial sailor Gideon Nav just wants pass her classes, win a few regattas, and keep her head down. FJ sailor Harrowhark Nonagesimus has grand plans to qualify for the Olympics, preserve her parent's legacy, and save her home town. Despite the ties binding them together, the two have kept their college lives carefully separate for two years. But when Harrow's helm, Ortus, suffers a concussion mid-way through the fall season, their carefully separated lives collide. Harrow needs someone capable of taking Ortus' place for the remainder of the season or her Olympic dreams — and Canaan College's entire sail team — are in peril. And Gideon is her only option.

"Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" by zoicite (24k)

Harrow and Gideon and times they have (and also have not) shared a bed over the years.

"Disney World, Florida" by softieghost (24.6k) [Part 2 of "Holy Cross, Alaska"]

After the events of Alaska, Harrow thanks Gideon the only way she knows how: devotion. -- Chapter 3: The journey concludes. More confessions.

"we've got a good thing goin' " by sinshine (14.6k) ♥︎

“Not to sound ungrateful, but being here makes me wish that you had left me for dead,” said Harrow. Gideon had been staring hard at the face of the fountain’s statue. She was pretty sure that it was carved in the likeness of Naberius himself, but she didn’t want to say it out loud and make it true. She shook her head and turned to Harrow. “Leaving me to live out eternity in your bony sock puppet of a body? Hard pass.” Palamedes and Camilla shared a look. It was the mutual understanding of two people who had been trapped in close quarters with the bickering of Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus for far too long. [Team 69 hide out in Babs's vacation home. Because it's not like he's using it anyway.]

"Cake by the Ocean" by zoicite (15k)♥︎

Okay, so the thing was, Gideon had always been shit at plans. She knew that. Everyone knew that, but this--she really didn’t think it would be this hard! Gideon’s voice was like the least memorable thing about her. Bargaining her voice for a well-shaped set of human legs--that really should have worked in her favor.

"careful fear and (un)dead devotion" by sinshine (23k)

[Gideon and Harrow wake up back in their own bodies but both of them are missing large parts of their memory. Camilla tries not to kill everyone.]

"who ya gonna call?" by igneousbitch (24k)

“Fret not, honeybun.” Gideon shook her red hair out of her eyes, belligerent. “I’m not totally sold on your whole skepticism thing.” “Well,” Harrow said, ignoring the nickname. She turned to the rest of the room, clearing her throat politely before addressing the empty air. “Ghosts, if you’re real, give us a sign. Make a noise. Move something. Send a shiver down our backs. Whisper softly into Nav’s left ear—” “I seriously fucking hate you.” - (Casual sex and paranormal investigation. Not necessarily in that order.) (or: the Buzzfeed Unsolved AU in which Gideon is ready to fight a ghost, and Harrow just wants to be haunted.)

Long(>30k):

"Beneath a Blue and Foreign Sky" by zoicite (35k)

Harrow has a decision to make.

"A Heart Full Of Sutures" by Rohad (40k)

All Gideon wanted was to get outside and ride her motorcycle. No part of that plan had included eight weeks in Canaan Medical Center with a broken Pelvis and the meanest little doctor this side of the eastern seabord.

"Midnight at the Mithraeum" by zoicite (66k) ♥︎

It'd been two years since Gideon Nav gathered her wine key and her gaming license and escaped The Locked Tomb, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar managed by the hateful Harrowhark Nonagesimus. Now, dealing tables at The Mithraeum Hotel & Casino, things were really looking up. So when Gideon scored a date with the most beautiful showgirl in the Gilded Halls of Ida, the last thing she expected was to wake up married to her old nemesis and former coworker. The story starts the night of Gideon's date and alternates between the events leading up to the wedding and the weeks that follow as Gideon tries to navigate life married to someone who claims to want nothing more than to forget she exists.

"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by pipistrelle (90k)

Being the journal of Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus, chronicling the journey of the Emperor's warship Cenotaph on its hunt to slay an immortal Resurrection Beast. Or: the Moby Dick crossover AU that nobody asked for.

"The Darkest Night, The Brightest Light" by eternaleponine (50k)

Harrowhark has known for a long time that her home's financial situation is dire, and not getting better. She has plans to fix it all, but can't implement them until she turns eighteen in a few months. When her parents announce that the best (perhaps only) way to save Drearburh is to marry off its heir, Harrow realizes the timeline has changed and she needs to take action now to save her home... and herself. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all. Enter Gideon Nav. Detested foe, and Harrow's only hope.

"putting your fist through a thick sheet of glass (i know you don't want to)" by oretsev (46k)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus and Gideon Nav have always been at each other’s throats, and the animosity has only intensified since the death of Harrow’s parents. But when a car accident leaves Gideon without any memories of her past, Harrow sees a chance at the clean slate she’s wanted for years. Becoming involved in Gideon’s recovery assuages some of the guilt, but as she and Gideon become closer and increasingly involved in each other's lives, Harrow worries that some of her secrets may be more than she can atone for.

Ongoing:

"semi-charmed kinda life" by strangedelight (182k+) ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Gideon asked questions. Harrow surprised her with answers. They reached an agreement; they decided to be smart, to be patient. Gideon made a promise, Harrow gave her one in return. Wait and see. OR the year is 1994, and Gideon and Harrow leave their small town for life in the city. OR team 69 roommates au only this time it's the 90s

"Intern the Sixth" by apocalypticTaco (33k+)

ADDRESSING THE HEIR TO THE NINTH HOUSE, OR PRESUMED EQUIVALENT: PALAMEDES SEXTUS, HEIR TO THE SIXTH HOUSE, PRESENTS HIS COMPLIMENTS TO THE NINTH AND REQUESTS A FORMAL ARRANGEMENT WHEREIN HIS MASTER WARDEN AND CAVALIER APPRENTICESHIP UNDER THE NINTH FOR FOUR YEARS IN EXCHANGE FOR THE SIXTH’S SERVICES. *Details to be discussed. Please turn to back page. Timeframe variable. Services and agreements variable upon the Ninth's request. An internship of this caliber is highly unprecedented and likely unheard of, but any information valuable to the Ninth and into the Tomb will remain undisclosed upon request; Primary experience and study is required as the Master Warden has already decided upon such being his final thesis prior to his end studies. No takebacks, no denials. Pleased to meet you. Palamedes Sextus, Heir to the Sixth and Master Warden and Camilla the Sixth, Cavalier Primary and Warden's Hand of the Library

TO THE MASTER WARDEN: FORMALLY REJECTED.

"What's Eating Gideon Nav?" by labyrinthineRetribution (40k+)

After a miserable fifteen years at Blessed Saint Anastasia's School for Girls, Gideon's luck finally changes.

"We Have Always Lived in the Apartment" by labyrinthineRetribution (171k+)

John looks up from his Jack and Coke in drunken curiosity. "What's with the face, Harrowhark?" he asks, genuinely concerned. "Contrary to popular belief," Gideon butts in, "her face just fuckin' looks like that, bitch." She tends to use "bitch" as liberally as commas when off her ass. "You're piss drunk," you shoot back. "And you, my good bitch, are just as contemptible as the day you clawed your way up from Hell." - It is Harrowhark Nonagesimus' birthday, and it only gets worse from there.

PWP (basically):

"I'll hold in these hands all that remains" by corvidlesbian (6.5k) ♥︎

“Do you want me to try?” Gideon said. “What?” “You got all hot and bothered without me trying. Do you want me to try?” Their newfound habit of cuddling gets interesting.

"sting of a wasp" by brightbolt, imperfectlyctor (42k) ♥︎

"You’re a virgin,” Gideon said, testing it out. "Huh." Harrow didn’t like the sound of that huh. She knew Gideon’s noises, and that was a thoughtful, sinister huh. That was the same huh she’d made before putting canned tuna in Crux’s work boots. Her eyes narrowed. “What.” Gideon cocked her head to the side. “Is there a reason you’re waiting?” There was no judgement in the question— only genuine curiosity. Perhaps it was this that made Harrow more inclined to answer. “I don’t have the time to look for someone new,” She shrugged. “And my available pool is… somewhat limited.” “Well,” Gideon said, with just a hint of conspiracy in those glittering golden eyes. “If you ever want to change that, you have my number.” What? What? Harrow blinked. “What?” Or: the five times Gideon and Harrow successfully bone, and the one time they don't.

"Suckle, Honey" by zoicite (7.9k)

“You crave my juice,” Gideon accused. “I do not crave your juice.” “Fuck, you do though. You went off to explore that study alone, without your cavalier, using a key that I nearly gave my life for, and then you snorted some powder that made you crave my juice! Harrow. I never would have let you sniff powder from a ten thousand year old jar.” This was untrue--Gideon probably wouldn’t have noticed Harrow breathing in a puff of jar powder until it was too late--but it sounded like something Camilla Hect might say, so Gideon went with it anyway. Camilla definitely would have stopped Palamedes from accidentally sniffing old as fuck Eighth House jarred juice addiction powder.

"Five Times We Hatefucked and One Time We Didn't" by rnanqo (8k)

“Fuck you,” you said. “Fuck me yourself, you coward.” You ran a hand through my hair, fisted it, and pulled my head up. From here I had a spectacular view of your weird blown-out seething expression, like I was the worst thing you’d ever seen. Also a view up your blood-crusted nostrils. Choice. “Maybe I will, Griddle,” you said. “Maybe I will stop fucking you over and start fucking you." Gideon and Harrow realize, abruptly, that their hatefucking is no longer hatefucking.

"a call to motion" by groundedsaucer (coasterchild) (10k) ♥︎

Harrow and Gideon watch a porno.

"put her canine teeth in the side of my neck" by stranded_star (8.8k)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus is getting a PhD and a divorce. Against her better judgment, she goes out to the bar to celebrate and meets an incorrigible, absolutely ripped salt-and-paprika butch who takes her home and gives it to her good. To her horror, it's the best night of her life, and she sneaks home with her tail between her legs. Harrow has more important things to worry about - like raising her daughter and building the next stages of her career. But when her daughter's favorite teacher, someone named Griddle, turns about to be the Gideon she met at the bar, she's forced to contend with allowing herself (and her daughter) to find the happy ending she never thought they'd have. Featuring MILF!Harrow, Teacher!Gideon, and a very amused Camilla Hect.

"The Wound That Swallows" by seelieunseelie (7.8k)

Harrow can make out an uncomfortable amount of detail about Gideon’s body beneath. Powerful, strong as ever, yet somehow vulnerable for its supplication below Harrow’s. “Are we gonna get this over with?” Gideon says in a voice softly scratchy. She blushes then when Harrow sits on the edge of the bed. “It will hurt,” Harrow says. “Yeah,” Gideon says. “I think I can handle it.”

[liesmyth]

My Coronabeth Dominant Twin manifesto is simple and it's as follows: there's no way the twins could have planned for Canaan House.

John requesting new Lyctors wasn't something anyone in the Houses would've expected to happen in their lifetimes with any meaningful probability. This means that when the Tridentarii started the double necromancer ruse, they expected to carry on for life. It was an arrangement that benefited Corona vastly more than Ianthe.

What Ianthe got out of it, as far as we know: Corona would rule Ida, which she isn't keen on (as per NtN). But it also meant that Ianthe signed up for a life in her sister's shadow, with everyone regarding Corona as the perfect heir and Ianthe as the lame spare. Worse, for Ianthe, everyone believed Corona was the better flesh magician (as per As Yet Unsent). There's a lot more in for Corona in this arrangement and a lifetime of mild humiliation for Ianthe. As we see during the reveal in GtN, she was just dying to tell anyone that SHE is the necromantic genius of the pair, actually.

On their relationship with Babs: in GtN, Gideon notices that Babs obeys Ianthe's orders over Corona's. She also notices that Corona looks shocked about this — to me, this means that it's NOT something Coronabeth is used to. Pre-Canaan House, they are equals in their ruse. At Canaan House, it becomes obvious that if Ianthe ascends she'll leave Corona in the dust, and their relationship has to change. I don't think the way they act around each other from Canaan House onwards is at all representative of their relationship back on the Third, and I don't think Babs deferring to Ianthe over Corona is something that has happened often before, if at all.

There's the bit where Corona routinely threatened suicide to get her way since they were teenagers. In NtN she's doing it to save Camilla's life, but she reminisces fondly about it like it was something she did often to get her way, like it was a fun mind game they played with each other.

You've also got Ianthe calling Corona a bimbo and insulting her and whatever, and me arguing that Corona pulled the few strings doesn't make Ianthe good but as things stand I'm much more inclined to believe that, before Ianthe attained Lyctorhood, Corona was the one in charge — and I’m also firmly convinced that she’s using BoE for her own ends, and we’ll see her Fuck Shit Up in AtN.

[abigail-pent]

My friend read Torah this morning, and it was the portion with Cain and Abel, and we were talking about it just now. And of course since I've got TLT brainrot, I'm thinking about Cain and Abel in the context of Cainabeth and Abella/Ianthe and Coronabeth. Some thoughts:

Cain was the one who had the idea to make a sacrifice; but the implication of the text (per my friend) is that the sacrifice he made wasn't "good enough," because he wasn't sacrificing the best of the land.

Abel, by contrast, does sacrifice the best of his portion (the animals) and this is why his sacrifice is accepted.

Cain is essentially told "better luck next time," at which point he kills his brother and hides this. G-d asks him "where is your brother, his blood cries out to me" and Cain says "am I my brother's keeper?" and he is forever cursed because of the blood he sheds.

Since I'm hearing this story again with Ianthe and Corona in mind, my read on the Cain and Abel story has now become: when G-d tells Cain to do better next time, to make sacrifices that are worthy, and specifically to sacrifice the best of what he has, Cain asks himself, "what's the best of what I have?" and the answer is "my brother, Abel." this is of course a deeply misguided Lyctor-ish kind of thought, and like the Lyctors in TLT, this act fucks up his sense of self -- so he hides, but cannot escape the curse that this murder puts on him.

Interestingly, in the text it isn't clear that it's G-d who curses Cain. G-d tells Cain that he shall be more cursed than the ground, and Cain blames G-d for putting this curse on him. The curse is that he won't be able to use his gift anymore -- he was a tiller of the soil and the curse is that he won't be good at that anymore. So he has to wander the earth. And in the text, when G-d puts a mark on Cain it's so people will know not to kill Cain. I hadn't paid this much attention to the text before but it's actually pretty easy to see a read in which the mark of Cain is not a curse, but an amulet protecting him from the consequences of his actions.

So... who is who, in TLT? On the one hand, seems clear to say Cainabeth -> Coronabeth and Abella -> Ianthe. Ianthe makes a sacrifice (Babs) which is accepted, so she can ascend. Corona makes a kind of sacrifice (pretending to be a necromancer all her life even though what she wants is to be a cavalier; asking her sister to "take [her]" instead of Babs) and it is not accepted; she doesn't become the furnace of her sister's Lyctorhood. And if that's the read, then if this parallel is actually going to play out in its entirety, Corona will kill Ianthe. But is she her sister's keeper? Ianthe is definitely Corona's keeper; we see that over and over again. We see it in Harrow's letters; we see it in the way she has been covering for Corona for her whole life; we see it in the fact that Ianthe says in Nona that she has a plan for "us to be us" again. Corona is not exactly Ianthe's keeper; she's definitely submissive where Ianthe is dominant; she does betray Ianthe to Blood of Eden, but she's so grateful to Palamedes for not hurting Ianthe, and just over and over we see that she doesn't want harm to come to her sister. Her values and actions are in conflict with the empire that Ianthe has come to symbolize, but it isn't at all clear that Ianthe isn't trying to subvert the empire from within, so they may not be working at cross purposes at all. Corona is not not Ianthe's keeper, and she does feel responsibility towards her.

On the other hand, the order of the names in the GTN end matter suggests Cainabeth -> Ianthe and Abella -> Corona. After all, of the two, it feels clear to me that Ianthe has to be the "worse twin." I just don't know if there's scope for Ianthe to kill Corona. As spectacularly awful as she is, Corona is the one person who's consistently important to her. G-d is not (she didn't say the prayer, her motivation to ascend is ultimate power and pictures of her face). But at the same time -- her sacrifice of Babs is certainly not her sacrificing the cavalier that's most important to her. Really, Ianthe's sacrifice is a lot more like Cain's sacrifice than it is Abel's. She refused to give up the best of what she had, instead giving up Babs -- nobody cares about Babs -- whereas Corona absolutely does give up the best of what she has. She literally gave Ianthe her whole life, and Ianthe didn't even want it. (ooh bonus Corona/Gideon parallel, I've got chills.) Corona's sacrifice is worthy in the way Abel's sacrifice was worthy; it hasn't been accepted yet, but who's to say that it won't be? What throne will she mount? Will someone bind her down?

A lot of this question -- who is Cain and who is Abel -- comes down to asking, who is G-d in the Locked Tomb? John claims the title, but he has all of his power because Alecto chose him; so isn't Alecto actually G-d here? Isn't Alecto the figure who could accept or reject a sacrifice in this tale? Or put a mark on someone to protect them from being killed? (Is the Lyctoral eye-switch a form of the mark of Cain? I think so.)

Also a lot of this question could be answered if you just assume that what we're looking at is a subversion of the Cain and Abel story and not a straight retelling. And I think we're more likely to be dealing with a subversion; in which case probably neither twin will kill the other.

I do think everything that follows after the murder feels extremely Locked Tomb. Being cursed to wander the earth, or the universe (Blood of Eden); having to give up the skill that made you you (HTN I'm looking directly at you); G-d putting a mark on you that makes you unkillable (Kiriona Gaia hello). The elements are extremely there.

so... not clear I've come any closer to unraveling the mysteries. but it's been fun anyway. good Shabbos, hope you enjoyed this little drash.

[dabblingreturns]

So reading the excellent tags in @liesmyth 's excellent post has taken me down a few excellent rabbit holes in my own brain

And here is the first thing that came of it

I would enjoy being around coronabeth more than ianthe.....but I, as a reader, feel more confident in my understanding of ianthe than than I do of coronabeth.

I know what makes ianthe tick...first priority is always her sisters safety...next is for her own personal ambition....lastly is a fascinating need to match peoples expectationsof her. Ianthe lies for her sister.....she kills for power, and if those two dont matter she hams up her "loathsome depraved villian" act

And that third thing is what makes her the iconic creature that we know and love....most of the time we spend with ianthe is in Harrow the ninth....in that book, and for the first time in her life, ianthe's ambitions have been fulfilled and her actions can't effect coronabeth's safety. Those two core motives really only come up as her buying protection for coronabeth from Harrow via "the work" and stopping augustine from killing jod....and more importantly the nine houses at the end (and not getting killed by her teacher through the judicial employment of kinky arm surgery)

In between these events, and we get to see ianthe come into her own as the largest ham in the entire series and the best frenimes* ever......and it's great...she is loathsome.....she is the worst.....she is evoking absolutely the perfect reactions from everyone around her.

And I get that urge to be the simple problem inside the complex trap.....she is playing the class clown on her own terms.....ianthe is even worse than gideon when it comes to taking any attention as positive. Gideon only takes negative attention from Harrow....but ianthe is addicted to attention....

And I get her....don't always like her...but I get her....she's smart ambition drama queen who loves her sister..... I feel confident I know how she would jump.....

Coronabeth through....she's an enigma....she's smart....and charming and obsessive... but mostly she's a liar......

she has been betrayed, been captured, then changed sides and gained new rank and name...but she's still a habitual liar...nona notices the weirdness between Crown and pyrrha were Crown tries to give pyrrha the reaction Pyrrha expects but it's an act.

I still have no clear understanding about why Corona pretended to be a necro....was it for power? Or freedom? Or a need to be by her sister? Idk I have no idea why she joined blood of eden...was it for freedom...or revenge?....or to protect her fellow captives? Was it for her own ideals....or some long term power play that was sort of implied....

I know she has threatened to kill herself multiple times in fights with her ianthe....I know that tern was terrified that her secret would get out...I know that Crown care about judith to some extent and that her sister had some influence over her....

In short....I'd trust Ianthe to sware on corona's life....but I'm don't think I could identify anything I'd make Crown Him with Many Crowns sware an oath on.

She's a wild card. And a powerful one at that...

*I actually think Ianthe is a pretty good friend to harrow....but since neither of them no how to have a friend, frenime is the best they ate capable of.

[mayasaura]

A lot of Coronabeth's deal seems to be being attracted to the unobtainable. Chasing everyone's approval. Like, what first drew her to Judith was that Judith never acted like she wanted to be at her parties. She's kept chasing her for over a decade despite or because of Judith keeping her at a polite icy distance.

So I'm really wondering how she would have reacted if she'd known that Judith reciprocated. Now, after Blood of Eden, after fighting tooth and nail for Judith's life when no one else seems to care, that's something else. But if it had been five years ago, when they were both teenagers, would she have lost interest in Judith as soon as she had caught her?

[spockandawe]

Another Ianthe thought! It's idly bothered me since reading Nona the Ninth that she would so willingly board the immortality train without Coronabeth. Not in a this-is-bad-writing way, but like I'm missing a little puzzle piece. If Ianthe actually wanted to escape Coronabeth, it would make sense, but if the codependence cuts both ways, then I was missing something critical. But that post about whether Ianthe modded Corona to be extra extra beautiful has stuck with me, and it shook something loose.

Now I'm wondering if Ianthe wasn't planning to be immortal alone, and instead she was planning to manually drag Corona along for the ride as well. All the other necromancer/cavalier pairs we see, it's a massive emotional deal to consume someone you were so close to, we get hints that Augustine and Mercymorn were trapped into it via suicide pact, it's so strange that Ianthe was so much more READY than any of the other necromancers to eat her cavalier.

And you know how this idea does make sense? It makes sense if Ianthe was already willing to do the work of two powerful necromancers to keep Coronabeth with her as they were growing up. Clearly Ianthe could have been terrifyingly competent on her own and only slightly less Aesthetic, and it would have just taken one instance of leaving Corona hanging out to dry and outing her as a non-necromancer, and instead, they kept up the act even to the point of arguing their way into the first house together.

Corona is crying as she asks why Ianthe didn't eat her, and I was with her at first, my best guess for why Ianthe was so eager to bail was resentment (and I still think that's an ingredient in the codependence soup, just not the key one here). But I'm forgetting someone! Yes, he comes in last place in that three-way dynamic, as well as the third house narrative, in a way that is fascinating to me, but the two of them are as intimately tied to Naberius as any necromancer is tied to their cavalier. More than most, arguably, Judith is pretty harsh on the cradle cavalier dynamic the third house apparently leans into, and he's been helping all along to hide that Corona isn't a necromancer.

I've fairly well convinced myself at this point that Ianthe was so ready to devour Naberius not just for the sake of ambition (though, again, I think that is an element). But once she's solved the mystery of lyctorhood, then she's confirmed for herself that Teacher was right, there's no path forward for both of them... as lyctors. I would have expected anyone else in the cast to agonize much harder over killing their cavalier, so does that mean Ianthe and Naberius don't have that particular relationship? No, I don't think that's it, I think they are attached in an alarmingly intense way (her guest to her birthdays was always who would annoy him the most), just like a typical necromancer and cavalier. It's just that this degree of attachment is dwarfed by how much Ianthe and Corona revolve around each other. What's really key is her ability to keep Coronabeth intact, and like, sure, it would be nice to keep Babs with them in SOME capacity, but there's a clear priority order here, and eating him means he's still technically around.

In summary, Ianthe became a lyctor without Coronabeth because she intended to bring her sister along manually if necessary. Consuming Babs is an incredibly easy decision if it means Corona won't be able to die and leave her, and he's still here, kind of, which is close enough. Obviously I could be off base and I will be delighted to read whatever character notes taz muir lays in front of me in the next book, but in the space of writing this post I took myself from 'hm, I wonder if this makes sense' to a pretty firm headcanon, so here we are.

[treeofnonsense]

🖤 tridentarii

💜 kasjory

Other half of your ask! Tridentarii 🖤 (I wrote this in the student union with no shame):

“Sister dearest, won’t you kiss me?” Prince Ianthe Naberius, the Saint of Awe, ran her hand through Coronabeth’s hair. She’d had it combed and perfumed and properly moisturized just hours ago, and now it lay in rippling waves over Corona’s back like it was supposed to as she knelt beside Ianthe’s throne. Still a few tangles and split ends to be worked out, but it was quite good work from a team of skeleton servants, and, really you can’t expect much more from me can you, when you’ve been living in this horrible place for years – I mean honestly, with this humidity it’s a miracle you look this good. Between the hair, Ianthe’s nagging, and the new shimmering dress sourced from the palace of necromantic corridors, it almost felt like home back on the Third again. Corona would have sunk into the familiarity like a warm bath, except…

…except it wasn’t her leg she was leaning against, it was his. Far too thick and meaty for her waifish sister, smelling like starched fabric and tomb air instead of whatever horrible perfume Ianthe had been trying lately. When she looked up she saw a skeletal version of Naberius instead of a skeletal version of herself – and it wasn’t even a good copy! His hair was all wrong, he had bags under his eyes, and the suit was way too garish for him; the real Naberius would have pitched a fit if he saw this in the mirror. Nobody cares about Babs… but she’d never expected to look him in the eye again.

“I won’t while you’re wearing his face. It’s obscene.”

Ianthe scoffed, and all the skeletons around them twitched their heads a little. All that Lyctor power, spilling out even over lightyears; she’d always had too much, enough for two necromancers. “I come back to this miserable little planet for you, and this is the thanks I get? A fight and a stillborn revolution? What else would you have me do, you fool, come down here myself and go regally loopy?” She laughed, but Naberius’s fingernails dug into Corona’s scalp. “Maybe you would, joining your little revolution. What are they calling you now, Crown? You don’t know what a real crown looks like, not until you’ve seen the halo of a dying planet. I could give you that, Corona, if you’d just listen to me, if you’d let me stand in front for once in your life…”

At that the old habits took over, and Corona said something reassuring and saw from the tilt of Ianthe’s head that she didn’t believe a word of it. Her words never changed anything, but they’d both performed this dance so many times that the steps were trodden into their souls. And why, why? – because back on the Third it gave Corona power, because whatever Ianthe’s whining she would still keep up the act, still polish Corona’s image to a mirror shine. Because she needed Ianthe like she needed air. But this wasn’t the Third, and she knelt at her sister’s throne, and Naberius’s face made it crystal clear that Ianthe didn’t need Corona at all.

And they were waiting for Camilla, whose only crime was loyalty, and for Nona, who had once been Harrowhark, or maybe Gideon, and now was clearly something entirely her own. Because no one else had ever done what Nona had – looked straight into Corona’s halo and seen the center even through all the glare. Corona thought she loved their two incumbent visitors, in her own broken way… they certainly deserved better than this. Why couldn’t she have them and her sister? Couldn’t Ianthe play nice, just for one day?

Not on her own. She needed Corona for this, even if she didn’t know it. Corona tilted her face up and put on her best Crown Princess pout – tears were already filling her vision, so it wasn’t hard. Ianthe recognized the submission, the old pattern, and made Naberius smile. “See now, not so hard.”

“I hate this. I hate him.”

“We’ll be together soon enough.” Ianthe kissed her, and even lightyears away, in a different body, it was the same kiss as a thousand times before. Only the tears were Corona’s silent rebellion.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

[mercyisms]

Niche Nona liveblogging: Day Three - Five

And we continue my copious and niche note-taking and very predictable reactions. Previous and future installations can be found here. Spoilers for up to page 282 in the hardcover or up until Day Five. Also very, deeply cool to reblog or reply or come yell in my askbox. Whatever you please.

Puppy love “just made you want to open the puppy’s lips and play with the puppy’s teeth.” God. Some of these observations are simply too good.   Pouring several out at “You’d never act like you were married to me” and “Landmine people” (at first sight!?) and “I mean, also redheads. Love a redhead.” Pyrrha Dve I am still free on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday and my hair is very technically red. I’ll work on the Molotov cocktail personality. We have clocked Nona’s skin being described as an egg carton (brown ones, I assume? Not grey) and Corona having “skin like amber.” We are very much paying attention to these descriptions. “Crown Him with Many Crowns Thy Full Galant Legions He Found It in Him to Forgive” – I don’t have Wake’s full name handy right now, but we are noting the gender happening in “Crown Him” but also that hymn is pared with what I am seeing is an excerpt from the Côte d'Ivoire national anthem (Thy Full Galant Legions) plus a song by Dominion Road called Mutiny Within. Mutiny Within, well! That seems very apt for Coronabeth. But with the play off of Dominion Road, we have three name-parts that all evoke sovereignty. Fitting + perhaps this will idk be mobilized in some way in the text. (Also compare “He Found it in Him to Forgive” with John’s professed “There can be no forgiveness.” Possibly a useful ideological difference to map?) Noting the portrait of Wake (Pyrrrhaaaa) but also the plastic flowers, which is very logical but a bit different from Blood of Eden’s previous associations with more organic substances. Then again, war zone commanders can’t, we suspect, be choosers. (Though, of course, they were never entirely organic! Just thinking, thinking.) “Let us move on from playing games with how clever and how old you are. I am not impressed, and they annoy my colleague.” + “Yes. Good. The intel, I mean, not anybody’s romantic history, which I abhor.” I do not abhor We Suffer and We Suffer. In fact, I love her, and also while she would loathe it, there is a little slight waft of Mercymorn energy. I’ll say, I will. An itch, you see, of “mean lady” is being scratched. “When Nona was angry her cheeks went red and her voice got squeaky.” Terrifying implications for whoever’s body she’s in. Also Nona’s relative smallness to Coronabeth/Crown --> that’s a point in Harrow box, to be sure. “There were bones inlaid in the sides like fossils in a dried out riverbed…” Aesthetics of environmental collapse + frankly, the ship just sounds sexy (152). Great design. “Assume the worst, ignore the best… Do not catastrophe.” Wake content, we love to see it. Oh, also, of course the No Hopers comment is fascinating, though the extent of my knowledge on the historic/Christian adjacent “No Hopers” is Emily Dickinson. So. I’m noting it, but I’m likely not someone to take it up. Source Joyeuse and Source Piotra AND Source Aegis AND Source Chrysaor !! God I love all of these BACKSTABBING DEMI-GODS. Joyeuse and Aegis seem very straightforward as far as code names. I am totally unsure what to do with Augustine as Source Piotra?? Why? Is it to do with St. Peter and can someone explain that to me? Not sure why Cytherea’s been given the name of a dude who sprouted from Medusa’s fallen head / Pegasus’s… sibling? Y? But I love any mention of that beautiful, beloved, evil girl and it is very dramatic. I’m sure she’d like that. (How much say did the Lyctors have in their code names and did Mercymorn insist on absolute near-literality? If so, Mercymorn, your self-preservation game is so weak. I love you.) “Lyctors take the very flooring from beneath our feet. We cannot see them coming. We can never stop them. When they arrive the clock starts, and another home is taken away from us… our children stateless, our grandchildren perpetual nomads.” Love an insight into Lyctors-in-combat. Fascinating. Devastating. The worst part of me was dying to see some of those old fuckers fight, I must admit (156). “The Eighth was killed by something we don’t understand.” WHEN are we going to talk about the stoma and the teeth and WHATEVER happen to Colum?? What ate him??? My true, teethy love. It's necessary to talk about Chapter 13 all together, so the fact that Nona and only Nona hears the Captain (sensitive, immensely, to Varun/RB7?) say: “Dust of my dust…what shape they made you fill—we see you still—we seek you still…you misused green thing—come back to us—take vengeance for us” – I mean, this has to be RB sweet talk from one Resurrection Beast to another and I am deeply interested in listening to the planets talk and not in an astrology way. But also we are bookmarking “the Captain didn’t say anything when you came into the room. She only screamed.” & Nona’s capacity to understand the scream as language, and potentially screams as planetary (post-trauma? post-destruction?) language. IF all is as I assume, that’s a fascinating thread to pull on later. “Camilla was gone and then we met Harrowhark, and she came back” devastating, btw. “Love that melodrama. Is there Eighth somewhere in your family tree?” Please. Please. Show me the Eighth. Show me what Mercymorn and a nun (????) wrought and also, I am certain, abandoned. Show me this million-fold cult. “That meant Nona was only being ordinarily selfish, not dangerously selfish.” I love you, Nona. “You’re scared of Pyrrha, and you do think she’s nice-looking, but you’re confused when you think that so you don’t look at her very much. You want Camilla to cuddle you but not in a—a sexy way. I think you want Camilla to look at you like you look at me. And you’re in love with th—” [e Captain, surely.] Yum. Desperate to know, though, Coronabeth’s intel on The Saint of Duty & Gideon/Pyrrha’s inter-empire reputation per “I’ve heard too much of the Saint of Duty to trust Pyrrha Dve.” “That’s why I should ask you what I look like, and ask my sister what I’m feeling… You’ll always tell me I look beautiful and she’ll always tell me what I want her to think.” Equally invested in the Tridentarii situation but especially the implication that Corona believes she can deceive Ianthe (175). “He never liked losing control… he could not be coaxed to sleep unless she stood in the doorway, or in the worst times stroking her thumb between his eyebrows, down the bridge of his nose.” A very ‘I am paying deep attention to the John/Alecto (??)’ vibes to you too (188). “M-- had brought her best friend, the nun” The stadium getting to their feet, chanting Cristabel! Cristabel! Cristabel! And I am the stadium, entire. Also of course the very neat “And then A—brought in his little brother who was a hedge fund manager. A—Junior was useless but he was a darling, I couldn’t fault A—for adding him into the mix.” Because of course Cristabel and Alfred are introduced together, as A—and M—were. We have completed a set that is very dear and darling to me. (Mildly losing it over Cristabel and Alfred being less named and rendered, instead, in the possessive in relation to A—and M—. I’m crawling the walls over it a little, actually.) Although, I will say, they are the detail throwing me most for a loop right now. I have to recalculate all of my assumptions about Cristabel and Alfred. Cristabel? Wildly competent and brisk and a nun?? Applying to and arguing with the Vatican? Insisting John keep office hours and learn practical lessons from Christ? I am listening. I am fascinated. I’m tearfully rolling up my weeaboo Cristabel headcanons and getting ready to replace them with new and equally dazzling colours. (Okay, but what if she has Neon Genesis Evangelion energy?? Did Madoka not die for our sins??? Here’s how weeaboo Cristabel can still win, etc.) Likewise, Alfred being Augustine’s younger brother and not older or a twin is the last thing I expected. Even more so than hedge fund manager. (God, what a family. I am imagining it now.) I really thought Augustine specifying he was a few inches taller than Alfred but clearly wearing heels was a secret little hint that they might be twins but Augustine had a warped and inflated ego. This, this is good too. “A—and M—were making black jokes about taking volunteers from the crowd for the skeleton army,” They future-hate each other. They can’t stop working together. They have the same sense of humour. They ruined my life. “I can’t believe nobody’s ever going to laugh at my jokes again… It’s all gone, I’m the only one left. It’s just me and you and no more jokes.” (193) Genuine pathos here, for me. This is truly John characterized at his most #millenial, this chapter. But ALSO cf. some of the early things I’ve pulled out around Nona and Nona/Alecto’s atonement to loneliness vs. the profound loneliness and isolation of John. And now: terrible occupation politics. Good. “Prince Ianthe Naberius the First, the Lyctor Prince, the Saint of Awe” + “Crown Prince Kiriona Gaia, heir to the First House, the Emperor’s only daughter” + “Tower Princes” – we note, of course, the Gender and this move to, with the end of the emperor’s lyctors, tower princes. Ianthe and Gideon being prices is very interesting to me. We also note that Cytherea’s naming convention (disliked by Augustine and Mercymorn, all too apt for G1deon) has been adopted by Ianthe, which is… fascinating. Also, John renaming Gideon with an Indigenous name and the pivot back? to Indigeneity in the empire – fascinating, rich stuff. Also I was today years old when I realized Gaius was maybe not a play on like “just some guy” or any of the characters from Tacitus et al. but potentially the masculine of Gaia as in Earth. God!!! “Pretending you can bandage bipeds” I cannot remember where I learned the fact that a vet is more ideal in an apocalypse situation than a doctor, but it’s in my brain and you can have it now too. (You want someone with more diverse than specialized knowledge, is the thought process.) (Again, I cannot remember where I learned this, so who knows if it’s valuable. I would also very much take a doctor in a doomsday situation, personally.) Which reminds me: this book is really making me wish I had a more useful degree to ingratiate myself to our future undead leader. And also it is, again, patently unfair that John is a science guy and that well-read. It’s not the unkillable thing that’s OP to me. It’s that he can quote Poe and do math. Smh. “Chance to be her, huh? A little independent living for once?” “It is my enormous privilege to be they.” I am very EYES EMOJI at whatever is happening with Angel but also with their gender more broadly. (215) I feel like I have not commented on how much I love all of Nona’s school friends, but I really do & think they are deployed ingeniously, I do. Perhaps we can discuss it later, but I fear I have more Old People adjacent things to transcribe. Sorry to teenagers everywhere. “[John] was scared of that—he was always scared of the water” (219). We are both fascinated by the scope of John’s powers but also comparing this to Nona’s (Alecto’s??) love of salt water… (CAN John swim? Asking for a friend.) “’Don’t follow me, I’m mad.’ … She wondered again why anything that hurt them only hurt briefly, but that anger took such a long time to go away.” (220) I’m. “When M—had been all, I will not accept those numbers, I will not accept a plan that incorporates reproductive injustice…” We stan a girlboss and a feminist. Also “I couldn’t follow, but A—could” – god, love an awful man who, again, can do mental quadratics. “M—freaked out…. And A—agreed with her, which was how you knew it was really, really bad.” 😊 Also if you knew how prominently generational ships had featured in my life this past year… And, like, that one forgotten Canadian generational ship show, where I think one wing of the ship is just Amish..? It sure is an idea. “They left you. They left you….  She said, ‘I don’t remember.’ He said, ‘I cannot forget.’” I mean, look, God being the only person (I assume, based on Mercymorn and Augustine having this gap in their memory as well) who can remember the death of the planet, and at the hand of trillionaires and ineffectual governments… and neither being able to forget or let go or forgive… and becoming that himself… It’s compelling stuff, I think. I think. (It’s very [redacted] of him. I need to run this take by someone before I post it outright, so, sorry, just noting it here so I remember.) “Another plastic echo of buttons. The same voice answers, but not the same person. The conversation that followed was filled with weird pauses, as though they were actors in a play who couldn’t quite get their cues right.” (229) Take this whole recorded conversation and pull my heart out through my eyeballs. Also adding it to latent thoughts abt sixth house epistolary forms. “Love and freedom don’t coexist, Warden.” A lot about love in this book, and all books, and this line… We are highlight it for later. (230)  (“I am your end.” As in, I will destroy you? As in, I am where you reach your limits? Or I am your limits, your boundaries? Every way you cut it: good. A fun twist on ye olde oath.) “[Pyrrha] was teaching Nona how to dance.” Someone write that fic, too. Someone (Tamsyn) confirm or deny the number of terrible dad moves Pyrrha has or if she exactly dances or what. We note that Lemuria is a fake and sunken city. (239) “Edenites go through people like water… His dads are baggage.” (250) We remain interested in this third ‘civilian’ pov, but also belatedly noting that the increased proliferations of languages, genders, and family formations really does show you have regimented and controlled House life (or elite House life anyway, as we can only really speak for the upper-class representatives) is. It is smart and, again, revealing. “Time exited her body.” (255) re: depictions of violence, death, and John’s potential abilities. Also just very effective writing. “It was A—‘s little brother who said, Well you have to understand money is one big shared hallucination…” Obsessed with Alfred being a hedge fund guy who makes these caveats. I am listening, I am learning, I am adjusting my perception of Alfred Quinque. And also someone, apparently, semi to totally fluent in crypto. Incroyable. “M-- and A—were a united front, and that was scary as fuck. It was always frightening when they stood together.” We have been taking too many shots re: every time John points out A + M acting as a united pair!!! This feeds me. This truly does. “A—and M—looked at it, and looked at me, and they said, Do it.”  + “And that’s when A—and M—stepped in to negotiate.” “They were hitting the table like in a police drama, like, We can end this whenever we want! The ball’s in our court!... I was like Wow, sorry guys, I don’t really know either of these two, they’re very unexpected and mean. I came here to have a good time and I think they’re being very harsh.” This alone could nourish me for weeks, but also Mercymorn/Augustine horrible TV serial AU when. Also deeply revealing for how John has always positioned himself, really. Characterization! We love it! His hands and his fingers and his gestures and his angry, way harsh fists. (274) “Nona… let out a long, bellowing scream, one that went on for ever and ever… and she was screaming blood as well as sound.” (276) Noting for scream-as-language purposes. Good. Good. Good. Good. God, this is so well structured. Inhuman how Tamsyn can say so much and plot so tightly and it’s all so fast as well. 300ish pages just whizzing by. The Acts are strong, etc. You know the drill, more from me here.

[empty-pizza]

thoughts on harrow the ninth chapter forty-three

SHE REMEMBERS

AND I AM CONFUSED

LET ME KEEP READING AND GET MY BEARINGS ON WHAT'S GOING ON

this is fucky

it's not just retelling the memories harrow thinks she has

it's on some level a state of existence — where? not the river, is it? in harrow's mind? harrow was in some form experiencing it, but what part of harrow? when? underneath, in the subconscious? when she sleeps?

and are these somehow the real abigail and squad, or just in the mind? was this less false memories and more a play that abigail and squad were acting out for her?

has memories. a revenant.

harrow explains how taking away her ability to comprehend gideon takes away her ability to incorporate her, right. pretty much called a while back, after settling on memory fuckery over time fuckery. the crude systems she refers to include replacing gideon's name with ortus, naturally.

but she is, in fact, being haunted. hmm! hmm! a battlefield inside of her soul! raised an army to fight alongside her!

this is all being presented in a fairly lowkey way for something that PROVES WRONG MOST OF MY GUESSES ABOUT WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON! LIKE YEAH I GOT A LOT RIGHT, ABOUT REMOVING MEMORIES OF GIDEON, BUT I FELL FOR THE RED HERRING THAT THIS IS JUST FALSE MEMORIES! IT IS A BATTLEFIELD INSIDE HARROW'S SOUL. THIS IS ALL ADDING UP.

this definitely justifies this plot beyond just like... being for the sake of a twist. no, it was necessary to get as much of it as we did. it makes it worthwhile both because it's a real, relevant plotline, and because it's about real characters.

hmmmmmmm. i could be entirely wrong that the narration is gideon. that the sleeper is gideon. i could be right, but i could be wrong. it could be the body in the locked tomb. why does it refer to The Body instead of My Body, then? hmm. but the sleeper honestly makes more sense as a representation of an invasive soul than as a representation of gideon. that said i still think there's a fairly good chance it's gideon. i dunno, i just think that's a bit cooler.

but also, harrow didn't do any of this intentionally, it seems? did silas kill himself for the sake of leaving this because he thought it was lame? but didn't he kill coronabeth too? she's alive. maybe that was just a memory, not the real soul.

hmm. is she really being haunted, though? we're running back to the question of, how truthful is it that she entered the locked tomb, and how truthful is it that she saw the body this whole time? because it didn't seem like she saw the body during gideon. she did tell gideon that she entered the tomb, so i still feel like god is just wrong when he says she couldn't have. but then why would this be only starting now, this invasion? was the soul just, laying dormant? maybe it only decided it wanted to take over once she became a lyctor, since that'd be more useful than just a plain old prodigy necromancer.

"what a waste of a woman, to have ended her life at the bottom of the ladder" harrow is referring to my pecking order, and no, abigail wasn't at the absolute bottom. coronabeth was.

some of this is explaining things that were already clear, like how she just replaced memories of gideon with memories of ortus. but other stuff is wild. like i think i said earlier, it's a ply she was directing. how the people involved in the play that realized some of the other people were parodies of themselves. ooh, i wonder if i can notice that in some of the chapters — notice that they're acting weird. if you're reading this, i'd love comments pointing out specific examples.

okay, so this is just while she sleeps. wild.

man. this is such a clever thing to do with the structure of your book. remix the first book in such a way that's re-interpreting the old ideas, re-exploring characters that didn't get a chance, and still make it a relevant new plotline.

man. i really enjoy where these mysteries landed. i predicted a lot, correctly. and that's satisfying. but other aspects shocked me and surprised me with what was possible. i try very hard to hedge my bets and not go all in on things i shouldn't be sure about. but as time went on, i still made one false assumption — i thought it was just false memories, since it seemed like memory fuckery was the main thing going on. and it was more, and i was fairly gobsmacked. good book. very ambitious.

i do wish it was earned a little more instead of just finally dumped on us. i would have enjoyed if the mysteries were something that waking-harrow engaged with more, that she tried to figure things out, at least attempted some deductions about what her old self's plans were. engaged with the letters more. but this is still fairly good.

i do think i wasn't like... hit as hard by these twists as i wanted to be. i don't know how much of that was my own expectations, or too much confidence in things that ended up short of correct. i dunno. on a technical level this is really cool and well done but my adrenaline isn't pumping (and that happens, with really mind blowing twists).

but hey! there's still over 20% of the book left for craziness!

[lockedtombbrainworms]

Examples of tgirl swag in The Locked Tomb so far

Pyrrha Dve. Obviously has it now she's actually been hit by the necromantic transgenderification ray, but had it before despite actually being cis. It's why Augustine was so horny for her.

Ianthe Tridentarius. Sorry folks, but I'm right. You know what I'm talking about. Wet Rat Girls With Powerful Autism, Unite. Tried to cut her own arm off because it didn't work right and nobody else was helping her. That's just like DIY HRT, except more likely to stain the carpet. Wears filmy rainbow stuff.

Camilla Hect. Described as having a surprisingly deep voice. Loads of weapons. Autistic as fuck. Knows deep down why the Warden is the one "cis guy" who seems to get her, but isn't pushing on that because people have to figure things out in their own time. Doesn't dress especially girly but never gets misgendered because she's just Like That.

Coronabeth Tridentarius. As discussed in a previous post, is an example of the rarely-seen Lesbian Faggot, a group commonly known to possess tgirl swag. Clockycore aesthetic makes Ianthe cringe a tiny bit inside.

Anastasia. Goth scientist girl. Enough said.

Examples of tboy swag in The Locked Tomb so far:

Matthias Nonius. Actual trans icon. Short king. Fought Gideon the First in a battle I can only assume was charged with sexual tension the whole time (while Pyrrha watched from G1d's subconscious smoking a mind-cigarette). Had Ortus the Ninth acting unwise.

Samael Novenary. Just something about that name screams it. Also he fought with a chain. Goth tboy legend. Wore platform boots to make him taller than Anastasia because it gave both of them gender euphoria.

Naberius Tern. I know, he's a piece of shit, but he's a fancy piece of shit with a pompadour and flashy outfits who can embroider as well as he can swordfight. Comparatively rare example of a cis boy with tboy swag.

Teacher. This old motherfucker must've done something to get tasked with looking after a bunch of dysfunctional baby queers. His whole vibe is "I transitioned when your parents were knee high, there is no drama you young folks can get into that will shock me". Cassiopeia the First looked at possible bodies for the 100+ souls she was trying to find a single home for and went "no, we need the MOST tranpa dude imaginable".

Honourable mention: Palamedes Sextus. Pal is something even rarer than a cis boy with tboy swag. Our buddy Sex Pal is a closeted trans woman who trans dudes interpret as having tboy swag because there's something about them that says "this person is shaped like a friend".

[wigilda]

okay so i finished reading gtn and here is my hot take:

i do not view relationship between harrow and gideon as romantic or sexual - they are not lovers. the pool scene, to me, was two young adults finally talking to each other about their shared trauma - that of harrow's parents committing suicide - and sorting out shit they've been through. these two were the only chidren of ninth house who lived, and they didn't have any other peers, forcing them to interact with each other more than would happen in other case. yes, harrow bullied gideon, and she explains why pretty well. now, why gideon forgives her? because their relationship is that of two siblings. they literally act like two siblings. they fought as kids, they disliked each other, but both of them overcome it later. i see no romantic interest for harrow that gideon clearly has towards dulcinea/cytherea and (here it's a pretty clear sexual attraction) coronabeth.

in conclusion - after reading gideon the ninth (with following books i, of course, might change my mind) i view harrow and gideon's relationship as sibling-like. it was a great surprise for me to find out people see them as lovers, and i have nothing against such reading, but myself i am of a different opinion.

[rozecrest]

hey um did you know Awoke very calm to discover the princess. Too weak to argue. Asked her instead from my position as a Cohort captain and a fellow child of the Nine Houses, and on the strength of our childhood acquaintanceship, not to lose the faith and give in to Blood of Eden.

Instead of making promises the princess said, Acquaintanceship? I’ve known you since I was eight.

I said, I know.

She asked me if I remembered the first season my father came to visit her mother and father, when I’d been nine and she and Ianthe had been just a year younger. I said, Yes (because I haven’t ever forgotten). She said, smiling, You were so hard to play with! I only got you to unbend by the end of the visit. I remember running . . . falling headlong, smashing flat on my face . . . You came over to help me up, so I pretended I was hurt much worse than I was. I always used to fake to Babs that I was about to die to make him cry when he was little, but he’d stopped really buying it, and I found myself doing it for you . . . I couldn’t believe you fell for it. It was wonderful, like being in a play. You were so cute, so chivalrous. I’d thought you would be boring to the core, but there you were, playing the sad soldier when I pretended I was like to die.

:readmore:

I said, I knew you were lying the whole time.

She said, laughing, You did not! You just don’t remember! You were holding my hand and saying you’d stay with me until it was all over! You just don’t remember!

I didn’t call her a hypocrite. The princess has never indicated she remembered anything. It’s not like we reminisced about childhood much; a letter here and there, cursory thank-you notes. Congratulations on promotions. I never had a promotion without sooner or later the arrival of flowers—if I was at home—or if I was shipside, a bundle of dizzyingly coloured flimsy, painstakingly folded into petals and sepals. Blatant shades of red and purple.

She said, Did you know? Every birthday we got to have one person we’d invite and our mother and father would get to invite the rest, and Ianthe always invited whoever Babs didn’t want to see at the time, and I always invited you.

I said, I assumed your parents made me the invitation.

She said, It was always me. I had so much fun seeing you. You were the only person who acted like they had to get through the party for duty’s sake, and everyone else was there acting like they’d rather die than be anywhere else. Even your cav pretended she was having fun . . . But there you were, wearing your uniform, freezing me out. Perfect Captain Deuteros. Perfectly boring Judith Deuteros. Mummy said you were just the most completely Second House specimen ever to live. I went over to you when everyone else at the party would have eaten glass to talk to me . . . I had put a lot of effort into making them feel that way. There you were, and you weren’t even grateful. You were immune. You wouldn’t even tell me any good war stories when I’d been researching wars for days just because I knew you were coming. Jody, you can’t die on me. I’m so alone now.

I said, It’s been a long time since you called me that.

She said, You won’t die on me, Jody. I won’t allow it.

I said, Better death than being hooked up to that stele.

The princess was crying. She said, Won’t you say one real thing to me? Won’t you show me one single solitary human thing? Or are you going to die talking to me like it’s just another party you wish was over already?

I told her, Don’t cry over me, Coronabeth. You and I both know there’s no reason to.

[ninthhousedyke]

Nona The Ninth Live Blog - #2

ALRIGHT

SO

I’m on chapter 15.

My thoughts are as follows:

I fucking KNEW Crown was gonna be Coronabeth!! It was maybe chapter 3 I thought, “wouldn’t it be funny if Crown were Corona because Corona means queen? And then I WAS RIGHT!

On that note. “I don’t even know you anymore Coronabeth.” LIKE WHAT? I wanna know what kind of falling out happened here.

Nona wanting to know what everyone finds sexy was so cute. Pyrrha loving toxic and explosive redheads was not at ALL evident! /sarcasm

On that note. Palamedes wtf

Nona just fucking READING Corona too like. Don’t feel bad Cor, we all want Camilla Hect to cuddle us and look at us like we’re the most fascinating thing in the world.

Also poor Judith. She’s a prisoner AND suffering from the resurrection beast. (That is what’s up above the planet right? Like it’s gotta be.)

I would die for Hot Sauce and Honesty and Kevin. Still debating on Ruby and Born.

The Angel and Noodle have gotta be important somehow.

Man these people REALLY hate necromancers.

Love how We Suffer is all “Lyctors have helped us do some great things” but is also like “Lyctors evil don’t trust Dve” and also like “hey how fast can you make Nona a Lyctor we can fight with?”

Pal and Cam are totally gonna die *sobs aggressively*

WHERE’S GIDEON’S BODY? No one has mentioned her and Cam’s whole “we lost something important” in the battle that happened post Harrow makes me think John got his hands on her somehow. Or they traded her for Harrow’s body maybe??

Pyrrha holding Camilla in her arms is a SCENE I NEED DRAWN

Pyrrha Dve can hold me in her arms any day of the week.

Everyone thinking Pyrrha is a pimp is hilarious.

Also since I’m on a Pyrrha kick, her staring at Wake’s portrait was sjsgdkagdksgdkdg SHE STILL LOVES HER GINGER PSYCHOPATH

Love how so many BOE members have cool shortened versions of their names like We Suffer and Crown and Wake but then there’s fucking Pash. You really got the short stick there baby.

Also the double machetes? I can already tell Pash is a character I will want to top me.

“Boobs and hair” lmao dont do Corona dirty like that Pash. She’s also got insanity in her family tree.

Speaking of insanity, when do we get to see Ianthe again. Almost missing her.

Nona having a crush on Cam tho…like join the club babygirl

John casually traumadumping in his dreams to “Harrow”. Is it actually Harrow’s soul and they’ve met in the River? Is he creating Harrow in his dreams because he feels she would understand the burden of needing to save your people? The fear of being seen as a sin?

So the trillionaires who escaped Earth as it was dying became the Blood of Eden now. Loving the “there are no good guys” theme here.

Ulysses and Titania being child corpses who were John’s first necromantic acts going on to create the Fourth House and it’s child soldiers is making me feel some type of way.

Cassiopeia and Nigella were in love *screams*

Wonder if John protected Mercy and Augustine more than his other Lyctors because they were his closest friends as humans….

John grave robbing corpses and Pyrrha being annoyed she has to clean it up rather than being annoyed he GRSVE ROBBED CORPSES is amazing

There’s probably more thoughts I had but that’s all I can think of for now! Gonna read more tonight and post thoughts maybe late this night or tomorrow morning. But I am enjoying Nona so far! It’s not too confusing like HTN but it’s definitely missing the spark of GTN.

[ryttu3k]

Rereads done, so here are some pending questions I have before Nona's extremely impending release! Links to all parts of the reread below, questions beneath the cut. Spoilers for everything released so far, including the first six chapters of Nona the Ninth.

Gideon the Ninth: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4, Acts 4-5

Harrow the Ninth: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4, Act 5

Extra content: Paperback extras, Mysterious Study, As Yet Unsent

For comparison, here are the questions I had pre-Ht9, and their answers:

1) There was something about Naberius fighting Ianthe - does that mean that there's still a part of Gideon alive in Harrow?

And how!

2) What happened to Gideon's body? Harrow was right next to her!

Legitimately still unsure about the order of events here. Will elaborate further below.

3) Speaking of others at Canaan House, are Coronabeth and Camilla still alive?

Yup!

4) Who actually is Gideon? Her mother called out that name, who turns out to have been someone from the long distant past, and she's named thus. She also survived the poisoning and a trial that should have given her brain damage, if not outright killed her, and those gold eyes are mentioned a lot. So who - or what - is she?

Lesbian space jock Jesus.

5) Is Harrow ever going to face the repercussions of her conception (the words 'destroy us from orbit' were mentioned), entering the tomb, or her parents' fate?

Still unanswered!

6) Who is the girl in the tomb? Is this Alecto? Is this A.L? Both?

Still unanswered!

7) If Cytherea was the nice, human, ethical one, what the fuck are the other Lyctors like?!

A pack of assorted bastards. On the other hand, most of them are probably dead now.

8) So like... haven't the Houses just lost a whole bunch of their heirs and leaders? What's that going to do for stability? Third might be okay if Coronabeth is still alive (and/or sane), but what about the others?

Still unanswered!

9) If Gideon is gone, who's going to make the, "Lyctor? I hardly knew her!" joke? :(

She can absolutely make those jokes and we love that for her.

Questions still unanswered from above:

What exactly was the order of events after Cytherea's death? BoE takes Gideon's body, and Cam, Judith, and Corona. The Emperor takes Harrow and Ianthe, and Cytherea's body. Neither would leave the other be. IIRC Mercy was the one who arranged it, so did she ensure BoE got in first and didn't find the Lyctors, or did she go down on behalf of Jod and just pretend she never saw Gideon's body, Cam, Corona, and Judith? And given that Harrow was literally sitting with Gideon's body, how did they get separated? Did Harrow pass out? Is there some memory tampering going on?

Is Harrow ever going to face the repercussions of her conception (the words 'destroy us from orbit' were mentioned), entering the tomb, or her parents' fate?

Who is the girl in the tomb/the Body? Is this Alecto? Is this A.L? Both? Other option: Anastasia? Does 'A.L' stand for anything in particular?

What's the long-term implication for House stability, given that most of them just lost their heirs in one swoop?

Questions from the Gt9 reread:

Gideon mentioned she 'screamed like she was dying' whenever she was brought into Castle Drearburh as a kid. Was that just a kid being terrified? Some kind of ward? Picking up on all the child ghosts there?

Glaurica says, "I know the things that befall cavaliers, my lord, I know his fate!" Was this just knowledge that cavaliers quite routinely die to protect their necromancers, or did she know something about the Lyctoral process?

"You're bound to the Locked Tomb... and at the end of the night, the Locked Tomb is me." How literal is Harrow's statement?

Whose sunglasses were they? Top candidates are Anastasia, Samael, Matthias, Wake, or, uh, Alecto.

Do the carvings on each of the Lyctor study doors have any significance?

What exactly are Gideon's abilities? The time slowing down thing is particularly of interest, and spotting the thanergy hotspots.

What's going to happen with Camilla and Palamedes? Potentially, Harrow might be able to... I don't know, grow a body from the remaining hand bones, could he inhabit those? Healing requires thalergy, would Harrow (or, potentially, Gideon!) be able to harness it and just make him a new body?

Who wrote the letter to (presumably) Pyrrha, found in her and G1deon's study? What deficiencies is the writer talking about?

Did Gideon actually die during the siphoning trial? I suspect she did and it just... didn't stick. Would she have revived after her death by spikes if Harrow hadn't taken her soul?

Why was Cytherea's murder of the Fourth teens so sadistic?

Why did Teacher hate water so much? What's the significance of salt water (surrounding Canaan House, the salt water confession pool, and surrounding the Tomb)?

Who's the 'poor child' Teacher refers to?

Was Cassiopeia really killed by an RB in the River? She was described as cautious, why would she do something so reckless?

Did Anastasia help the Sixth on making Teacher and the skeletons?

What's at the bottom of Canaan House?

What happens when a planet dies? Specifically, what happened to Earth and the sun?

How did Pal push along the turbo-cancer in a Lyctor’s inscrutable body, or are they only inscrutable to another Lyctor? And if it could be advanced, does that mean it could have also been reduced?

What do Cytherea's words to Gideon mean? "Please. You don't even know what you are to me... You're not going to die here, Gideon. And if you ask me to let you live you might not have to die at all. I've spared you before." Was she allied with BoE?

Can Jod actually separate Gideon and Harrow? Would either of them let him even try?

How does Jod know what's going on back on Drearburh?

Questions from the Ht9 reread:

What's up with the discrepancy in the number of RBs?

Harrow is the 87th 'Nona' of her line. Just a prefix or something else?

That murder attempt in the infirmary was ridiculous. Trying to kill a Lyctor with a pillow, really? Was that Ianthe testing Harrow in some way, fixing everything up before calmly taking a seat?

Is there any significance to the pillars in Cytherea's tomb?

Can a Resurrection Beast return after being forced into the abyss?

What does the Body mean by, "The water is risen. So is the sun. We will endure"?

Why is John's callsign 'JG' and not ‘JA’?

What caused the apocalypse?

Is there anything to the physical resemblance between Harrow and the Body?

Who is the man that Ianthe is going to see, and what queen? Corona is probably the queen, but who's the man?

What lies beyond the River?

What happened between Cristabel and Alfred?

What are John's plans? Why the expansion, why the revenge?

Questions from the extra content:

Who wrote the letter in Mysterious Study, and who to?

Current status:

Harrow's body has been claimed by BoE. We will soon learn that it's inhabited by Nona, who is a question mark, and in the company of Pyrrha (in G1deon's body, vacated after his death) and Pal and Cam (both in Cam's body). Gideon's body is currently being held by BoE. Who knows where Gideon's soul is, last seen staring up at the Body (speaking in 'the wrong voice twice removed') and then dying, or Harrow’s soul, apparently either in a River bubble or in the Tomb itself. Questions related here:

Who (or what) is Nona? Where is Harrow's soul? Where is Gideon's soul? Was that really the Body/Alecto? Whose soul was in it?

[masctoast]

Oh my good goddamn, I just realized having read As Yet Unsent

In Chapter 46 of Harrow the Ninth:

“Oh, shut up, Harrow’s cavalier,” [Mercymorn] said hysterically. “I’m trying to think. You’re not her—she isn’t driving you—but you have her eyes. Why? When they showed me your corpse I didn’t think to check the eyes. Stupid, Mercy. Oversight. I thought I knew what you were, though I didn’t want to believe it…”

I realize now she’s talking about when she demands BOE show her Gideon’s body bc it’s not rotting or anything but during Harrow the Ninth i assumed it meant she was there to intercept/facilitate whatever the hell got Camilla, Coronabeth, and Judith to BOE and round up the baby Lyctors and figure out what the fuck they’re gonna do with maintenance now that Teacher is gone

But she’s talking about when she was meeting with BOE and had to fix up Judith’s insides, so like also at what point before did she leave and meet with them?

Epiparodos is Nine Months and Twenty-nine Days before the Emperor’s murder, so from that I’m concluding the time that Gideon dies so Harrow can be a Lyctor and save herself and Cam is roughly 10 months before, and the only time factor Judith gives is 5 months in captivity

So since the three of them meet up with Harrow 2 months before the murder, there’s a 3 month window where Mercymorn could have bounced and met with BOE, and if Augustine was covering for her somehow that narrows is further to 2 (I’m not sure how long the time span is I’d have to reread the Act but the beginning of that act is 4 months before the emperor’s murder)

So I guess it’s like. When did Mercymorn go to see Gideon’s body? What was she doing when Harrow was flipping the planet alone and meeting Camilla, Coronabeth, and Judith? How the hell did they all get to BOE before the Emperor’s forces got there?

And why didn’t she check the eyes, I assume they knew it was Harrow’s cavalier’s body, like did she assume they just switched over to Ninth House classic black eyes, double style anyway, or did she see that baby looked like Wake and was named Gideon so was probably just his and the Mercymorn/God baby never got to the Ninth even if Gideon’s kid with Wake somehow did since she comes to the conclusion that Wake must have carried the baby of Wake/God only when she sees Gideon

When I wanted to make this post I just had my first paragraph thought and like only get this big thing going as I went