#prince gideon au

[m-to-the-6th-power]

Gonna start doing WIP Wednesday, I'll either share snippets I've written that ive got planned for later in the fic. Based on an idea from this tumblr post that put the plot bunny up for adoption.

Gideon stared down at the paper for a long tense moment. A commission, not only that but an officer's commission. 1st lieutenant in the cohort. Sponsored by Aiglaminaie and marked with the seal of the Ninth. Signed by both the Revenant, no Reverend Mother and Father. She looked up at her teacher. "Why?" She asked plainly and openly, sensing a deeper current just waiting to pull her under. 

"You need freedom. The house needs from you. I convinced our lady to let you go with this commission if you swear by The Tomb and The Rock that you will keep your tongue in your head, return after your commission is up for at least five years, and if you will keep an ear to the ground for any who have no love for their house," Aiglaminaie gave a stern look to Gideon. "Any new blood would be a blessing. And I'm sure if anyone can draw a crowd, it will be you Nav." 

Gideon felt a surge in her chest at that, not quite pride but close. "And what? Convince them to come and live here? I hate it here, how will they feel?" 

Aiglaminaie looked at Gideon for a long moment, peeling her layers away slowly. "There are many who tire of war, of fighting. There are chances for silent contemplation and art here. It is mysterious, and it is holy. Those will be your selling points." 

Gideon nodded, "Freaks and geeks, got it," Gideon said, holding up a hand to forestall Aiglaminaie, "I'll try to get anyone i can, maybe I'll even find a nice older swordsperson for you. To take over training of course. Any preference?" 

Aiglaminaie stared at Gideon for a long moment before her mouth quirked up into what for anyone else would be a smile. "As long as they are sufficiently deft with a blade, theirs or others, I'm sure they'll do just fine." 

Gideon gave an honest smile and a hug to the only person who had ever loved her on the Ninth. "When do I leave?" 

"The shuttle arrives in 2 hours. Pack your bags and be ready. Lady Harrowhark wants to see you before you leave, she'll probably just run over everything I've already covered. But until you're on that shuttle you're still a member of this house first, don't make her regret sending you."

Gideon grasped Aiglaminaie by the shoulders. "I will make you proud," She said before turning and starting to gather items around her cell. 

Aiglaminaie gave a soft, "You already have Nav," before leaving the cell. 

------ 

Gideon arrived at cohort headquarters five hours later, her shades firmly in place and head spinning with the press of humanity all around her. It should've only taken 4 from the time Aiglaminaie had first given her the commission, but as usual Harrowhark Nonagesimus had to waylay Gideon for an hour being spooky and all around weird. The first item in her itinerary was to get her picture taken, then the physical testing, and finally getting her room assignment and new wardrobe.

As Gideon waited in line, the person behind her tapped her shoulder. When Gideon looked, she saw a girl about her age, tan with a necromantic build, with brown hair the color of Drearburh dirt and eyes the color of ink. "Yes?" Gideon asked, attempting politeness. 

The girl blushed immediately, looking down at her hands now clasped in front of her. "I'm sorry to bother you. I just wanted to say that I think your hair is gorgeous, and I really like your glasses."

Gideon felt her mouth drop open, shocked at the compliment. "Thanks," Gideon said, feeling her chest puff slightly as she felt the warmth spreading up from her stomach. "I really like your eyes. It's like looking into space." 

The girl thrust out a hand, "Eleanor Chatur. Necromancer of the Fourth House. Commissioned Second Lieutenant. Available." 

Gideon felt shock roll through her at the forwardness and took the hand carefully, she didn't want to get in trouble before her picture was even taken for breaking another soldiers hand. "Gideon Nav. Two hander swordswoman of the Ninth. Commissioned First Lieutenant. Also available for a late lunch after all this."

"It's a date," Eleanor said, grinning. "But just a warning ninth, don't forget. The Fourth is all about fidelity." She said, imbuing the last word with such import that Gideon felt a shiver go down her spine. 

Gideon was searching for an appropriate quip as a head popped out of the door next to her, "Next picture."

Gideon turned to Eleanor, "They'll have to lock me up to keep me away," Gideon said before turning back to the man standing at the door looking peeved. "Let's meet in the cafeteria around 3."

As Gideon sat for her picture, lenses tucked safely in her pocket and appropriately solemn look on her face, she felt her head spinning. The first day of the rest of her life was starting off well. She was joining the cohort, away from Nonagesimus, and she had a date. Nothing was going to bring her down today. 

That is right up until the terminal began to beep incessantly and everyone in the room trained their weapons on her. "Place your weapon on the ground and place your hands on your head. Slowly."

Gideon did as instructed, staring down the barrel of the gun pointed at her face, the interior like the yawning void of space. "What's this about?" She asked, feeling cold bands begin to wrap around her ribs. 

"Your picture triggered quite a few warnings in our system," One of the men inside said, reading off the terminal. "What's your mother's name?"

"What's yours asshole?" Gideon responded before her verbal filter could fully catch up. "I don't know, okay?" Gideon said plainly after only a moment. "She landed on the Ninth in a haz suit with me, I survived, she didn't. Couldn't get anything from her but my name."

The man nodded slowly. "Fine, fine. You'll be held in the brig pending communications with the first house," The man gestured to the one standing closest to Gideon, "I'm sure we'll get this all figured out with no issue lieutenant, and you'll be able to get back to your duty in no time."

As Gideon was lead away the bands tightened around her chest. 'I'm not making it to that lunch date am I?'

-----

The first day was the hardest. She was free of the Ninth house. She was at the cohort to become a soldier, and she was already back in a cell. The cuff on her ankle was disturbingly familiar in a way that made her skin crawl and the spot between her shoulders itch. She didn't even have her sword.

The floor felt odd against her hands. It was slightly soft and had give. It made her pushups harder to do, but star jumps and sit ups felt better overall. She felt herself slipping, like her recent height had been built on a dune made of Drearburh silt and it was starting to slip away faster and faster, skeletons from Nonagesimus forming from the silt to strike her down for her hubris of believing she could escape a cell. 

After her training and a meal, a double helping of spiced ground beef covered with a vibrant yellow cheese that did not look safe and strips of potato with the skin still on in parts covered with salt, she felt better. She stopped and thought about her options as she lay down to sleep. They had said once everything was cleared up she could return to duty. She would find Eleanor and explain that they actually had locked her up and hopefully get that date. She would take the field, first on the ground, hopefully in a battalion with Eleanor as her Necromancer. As she began to imagine what it would be like in the field, Eleanor and her in the officers berth together, sitting together and chatting after a long difficult battle. Eleanor removing Gideon's leathers, running her delicate hands over her shoulders from behind her, reverential like she was something precious and holy. Eleanor resting her head between Gideon's shoulder blades just beneath the knob of her spine and saying, "That was truly exceptional. Your skill with a sword is unparalleled." The hands run down her sides, nails dragging softly along her ribs and abdominal muscles, coming to rest at the hem of her cohort undershirt, skin just barely brushing skin. "Color me impressed Griddle,"  Was the last she imagined before sleep took her under. 

When Gideon first awoke the next day, she had a moment of extreme disorientation. Had everything, being freed from the ninth, coming to the cohort, meeting Eleanor, been a dream? Grief welled up in her chest, cold as a night spent outside in a Drearburh winter. She began to spiral downwards faster and faster like a shuttle caught in the gravitational well of Dominicus until finally she looked down at herself and noticed the stark white of the cohort undershirt and briefs she wore. The image of those instead of loose, flowing, black, Ninth house sleeping gowns immediately snapped her back to reality and released gravity. 

Gideon took a long moment to appreciate that at least one part of her freedom was still fully intact before levering herself up in the bed, tucking one foot under her thigh, the other ankle under her calf and deciding on a next course of action. She was going to fall behind in her physical fitness and classes sitting in here, the first could be mitigated by training, the second she would have to try to train herself in that area too. With that acknowledgement, Gideon stood and went to the door of her cell, three hard knocks bringing a cohort sergeant to the other side. 

"Chow is still an hour out Nav," The sergeant said with the faintest familiar accent and a glance at his watch. "I've known a few fresh Niners, was one myself 20 years ago. All of us were one step away from scurvy when we first showed up. I think I put on as much weight in my first two weeks from proper nutrition as I did the training."

At the mention of food Gideon realized that she was ravenous. "That's great Sergeant but not what I was gonna ask about," Gideon said shortly, "Can I get books in here? Something to pass the time and all that?" 

The sergeant nodded, "Oh yeah, you can get textbooks, comics, fiction and nonfiction from the library, just about anything they put on flimsy except skin mags. You can get skin mags from the store. Get them from the PX too, older issues are cheaper but they're fully digitized. Got stuff going back almost to the resurrection itself," He stopped and studied Gideon's face slowly, "Don't worry too much, most soldiers throughout their career will spend at least a few days in the brig, normally it doesn't result in a loss of station or anything, just a slap on the wrist really."

Gideon gave the man a grin, his reassurance surprisingly effective with that sight Niner lilt to his voice. "Thanks sergeant... I never caught your name," Gideon realized with a sheepish grin. 

"Anastas Nav," The man replied easily, spreading his hands. "I guess that almost makes us family huh?"

Gideon blinked, remembering the question from yesterday. She'd never had a family. The feeling was... nice was a good word for it, if a bit vague. It'd give Ortus conniptions to hear her be so lazy in descriptions. "I'll take any family I can get here," Gideon responded. "Any chance you could get me some books on tactics, strategy, anything that might be useful for a commissioned officer? And, if I promise to get you back for the cost, a skin mag?"

Anastas laughed, "The learning style books, sure, sure. No problems there. Unfortunately the skin mags are technically contraband, sorry cousin," He shrugged with a rueful look as if to say 'My hands are tied,' "It's a real pain when you're in here a week for a simple pub brawl and you got a copy of Fidelity of the Fourth and Naughty Nuns of the Ninth that you've barely creased waiting in your berth."  

Gideon's mind ground to a screeching halt at that. She felt her ears warming as she blushed, remembering Eleanor's comment and something fuzzy from her dreams the night before. "I'm sorry, what were those titles?" 

"Oh, I forgot you're fresh from the Ninth. You don't get those all the way out there. You've only got Mithraeum and Playadept right?" He asked as a bell began to ring, sounding the time. "And that's the chow bell. I'll see about getting you an extra helping of food like last night, and after my relief shows up, I'll see about getting you some light reading material."

Gideon's stomach took that moment to growl, low and sustained. "Thanks, if there's anything I can do for you once I'm out, just let me know."

Anastas nodded thoughtfully. "My old sergeant, man by the name of Ajax, always said the better the officer the sooner they end up in the brig," As he started walking away he called back, "When you're running this place, just remember your dear cousin Anastas."

Gideon found herself grinning when she started her workout, even in a cell with no clue of when she would be released, even with her fate fully uncertain, she had family. Someone with her name, someone who would claim her. She got entirely through her sit ups and push ups, standard and clapping, before the scrape of metal on plex sounded, a tray of food slid into the room. Just behind it was two truly massive cups of a black liquid with small wisps of steam coming off of them, with a bowl of white powder and a red and white carton following soon after. 

"Took me a while to get there," Anastas said from the other side of the door. "They were getting ready to clear down to begin lunch prep, so I got as much as I could grab. I need to take the sugar bowl, that's the white stuff, back PDQ, so go ahead and make up your bari how you like it and slide that back on through so I don't get busted down to cleaning the pissers, again."

Gideon moved the tray, watching it bow slightly in the middle as she lifted it and sat it to the side. She took 3 heaping spoonfuls of the sugar for each cup and slid the bowl back through. She opened the white and red carton, taking the hint and adding a small pour to each cup, suddenly entranced by the way the color shifted to tan as it spread through the drink. When she took her first sip, she found it sweet and smooth, feeling energy flow into her. When she turned to her tray she found a tray so loaded with food a necromancer would have been hard pressed to lift it. Slices of bread piled 5 high on one side, a pile of crusty looking almost bread on the other covered with a light glaze of some brown liquid, between them a massive pile of something a much milder yellow  with chunks of the dangerous yellow in it with three different kinds of meat, a patty that looked similar to her meal last night, something more tubular, and almost flat strips of meat dark red and white, all of this overtop of finely shredded potatoes, somehow clumped together and deep fried. 

Gideon Nav ate, no Gideon Nav feasted. She took a bite of everything before digging in with wild abandon. For the first time in nineteen years, she was sated, she was full. She found herself with a half piece of bread, pensively sopping up the last remnants of grease from the tray and thinking. While she ate Anastas had dropped off her books and she had started leafing through them. The books on tactics was fairly dense, and supremely dry, but Gideon had lived within hearing range of Ortus Neigenard for years. She could soldier, or well prisoner, through this. 

Through the day, Gideon studied, Gideon ate, Anastas dropped by after his shift had ended and chatted with her for a while. It was a bit strange when she stopped to think about it. She was in prison, back in a cell, but her needs were being met more strongly now than ever before. At least she wasn't in the dark any longer. 

After a few hours of reading Gideon felt an itch begin to crawl up her spine like she imagined a necromancer drawing her fingers slowly up her back would feel, barely there and ghostly. It made her squirm as she imagined Nonagesimus drawing those bony fingers along each knob of her spine. The feeling made her want, no need, to move. She did star jumps and push ups until the feelings abated. When she felt like herself again, Gideon settled back on her bed and studied more. The fingers came back faster the next time. Gideon forced herself to buckle down and focus solely on studying even with the distractions. She didn't notice how fast time was moving until the clatter of metal on plex sounded, a tray of food being pushed through the door towards her. She ate less ravenously this time, slowly working her way through the tray of food, still studying between bites. 

When sleep finally came for Gideon Nav, she fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of all the tactics she had absorbed through the day. She dreamed of working next to a necromancer that she never got a good look at who despite the action still found time to take hold of Gideon's hand at the end of the fighting, turning her palm inwards and pressing her lips softly to her palm, leaving a smudge of alabaster and charcoal paint behind. 

It was 2 weeks later when Gideon awoke to the sound of a tray sliding through the door. When she saw Anastas standing on the far side, a grin split her face. Anastas had been a great friend so far, even though he'd come from the Ninth, he might be willing to return. As she took the tray she leaned against the door. "You came from the Ninth, right?" Gideon asked, trying to figure out how to broach the topic. "How'd you like it back then?"

Anastas shrugged, "It was okay. I still have my prayer bones, and I still sometimes send off letters. The only one to consistently reply has been Orty," Here Gideon gave a mighty snort, "but that's not too surprising. Most Niner kids don't need to learn their letters, and he adds replies for most everyone still kicking. I know that almost all the other Nav kids died in that bad vent flu that went around. I'm glad at least one of us survived. How... How many others made it?"

Gideon felt a hot flush of shame as she thought back to the Ninth. "I'm not a true Nav kid, Anastas," Gideon admitted in a small voice, suddenly finding her fingernails incredibly interesting. "My mom crashed down the drill shaft in a haz suit with me in a bio container. She wouldn't give the necromancers anything when they pulled her spirit back, just my name, Gideon. They named me after what she said and gave me the last name Nav. I don't have any family, not really."

Anastas laughed, causing Gideon's head to snap up to meet his eyes so fast her neck gave a frightening pop. "My dad was like that," Anastas said by way of explanation. "Most of the Nav kids, you just have to go back 1 or 2 generations and you'll find the beginning of the line. You just don't have any tracing to do. But you're a Nav all the same. You're one of us Gideon Nav. Gideon of the Ninth; cousin." 

Gideon felt warmth pooling in her chest at his words. They didn't need blood, they didn't need a traceable link, they were family. "Thanks Anastas, that means, well, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Gideon said, finally meeting his eyes. "As for the flu, only I survived. Nonagesimus wasn't quite born yet, and everyone else got taken," Gideon said. 

Anastas had the look of a man doing numbers in his head before opening his mouth. "Wait a minute, when you say Nonagesimus, do you mean Harrowhark Nonagesimus? The Reverend Daughter, future leader of the Ninth?" Anastas asked, the shock doing strange things to his voice. "That's the girl you left behind that you've been dreaming about?"

Gideon felt her face flushing in rage at the implication, anger causing her jaw to drop just before a call from the guard post interrupted. "Nav, Gideon, you have a visitor, prepare yourself."

Gideon jumped at the voice, shoving her tray out of the way of the door and running her fingers through her hair quickly, trying to make herself presentable before pulling her aviators over her eyes. After another long moment, Anastas opened the door to a truly massive man with dark red hair cropped short. His biceps put Gideon's to shame, and his green eyes looked out of place on his face. "Um, hi?" Gideon ventured, "Can I help you?"

He looked her up and down once, focusing on her hair. "My name is Gideon Pyrrha, I'm the Third Saint to serve the King Undying, one of his Fists and Gestures, an Immortal, and your father," Gideon Nav felt bands tightening around her chest at his name, growing tighter with every word spoken, the last word knocking her back against her cot with shock. "I'm here to take you home."

[procrastinationaccount]

Wait, have we considered how fucking repulsed Harrow would/will be at the sight of Ianthe Naberius? Literally the antithesis of what she tried to do in HtN, making the empty shell of her cavalier a monument to her own ambition and an instrument of her power. Like hghhhhh. She disdained Babs in life, her only positive memory involving him was Gideon knocking him down, but if/when she sees him being used as some grotesque puppet I think she's going to blow a fucking gasket.

[skewered-smiles]

A sad Prince and her bone empress. 👑

[hannahhook7744]

Ouat Next Gen (Part 1);

Henry Mills.

Jacinda Vidrio (also known as Jacinda Mills, Ella Mills, Cinderella, etc).

Lucy Mills.

Grace Hightop.

Violet Morgan.

Gretel Ava Zimmer.

Hansel Nicholas Zimmer.

Wendy Darling.

Alice Jones || (but as a Captain Swan baby).

Hope Swan Jones.

Neal 'Leo' Nolan.

Gideon Gold.

Margot Hood-Mills.

Roland Hood.

Prince Philip || (aka P.J).

Alexandra Boyd.

------------------------------------------------------------

Look, I'm not the biggest fan of season 7 but I am a fan of a couple of the characters. So. Here we are. This is canon divergent because in this version of adult Henry is main Henry and Lucy is his daughter. Alice is Hope's twin here. Robin didn't die. And the descendants characters may or may not exist in this world (I haven't decided yet). Inspired by @ouatnextgen .

[loudlittledemon]

Me: I could totally be a warrior knight, fighting with abandon for my enemy/lover, not even feeling the blows because my love for them-

Also me: gets pleurisy from a faceplant that knocked the wind out of me trying to herd a baby sknuk out of the street

Anyway here’s the little shit in question. She made it, I didn’t get sprayed, win win for both of us…minus the pleurisy.

[churten]

I have been persuaded by butch4butch griddlehark truthers.

But now I need some fic recs, if anyone knows some

[haphazardlyannotated]

Have a little AU that randomly appeared in my head during grocery shopping today.

Gideon has finally escaped from the Ninth. She's enlisting in the Cohort. Her photograph is being taken for her new recruit file!

Except the facial recognition thing alerts on her, and suddenly she's being locked in a cell on suspicion of being Commander Awake Remembrance Of These Valiant Dead.

Gideon is still trying to process the disbelief of going from one cell to another when the door opens and the actual freaking Saint of Duty walks in and tells her she's his daughter, which seems unlikely, but hey, they both have red hair and muscles, and more imortantly, Harrow is going to throw a fit when she hears about this, so nice to meet you, dad!

G1deon immediately takes his assumed child to meet Jod and his fellow Saints, which very quickly results in no more fellow Saints.

A very depressed Jod tries to play house as a family unit of what he calls "Daughter, godfather and god-father". Gideon almost wants to go back to the Ninth.

As Jod is seriously short on Lyctors now, he sends out the recruitment letters. Gideon, who has been traumatised seeing her dad stick hs tongue down the throat of the real life inspirations for her magazines, asks to be allowed to go supervise.

And so the Nine Houses receive letters informing them that their Emperor has a daughter and she's going to guide them all on the path to Lyctorhood!

Harrow, who isn't handling the loss of her codependent rival/crush very well is a devout daughter of her House is ecstatic at the chance to show Griddle that she DOESN'T need her restore her House to glory.

She arrives at Canaan House determined to prove that she doesn't think about Gideon at all the Ninth House is as proud and faithful as ever. Her skull paint is intricate. Her posture is regal. Her whole being is cloaked in an air of mystery. She will make a good impression on the sacred Crown Prince.

Her Divine Highness enters.

It's Gideon fucking Nav.

Only the combined efforts of all other House Heirs narrowly stops the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House from strangling the Crown Prince.

Pyrrha Dve immediately begins to plan the wedding.

[lastflowerofyourhouse]

funniest thing about my orpheus and euydice post is that i've seen multiple people now respond to it as if gideon is orpheus, when gideon is very obviously eurydice.

that's the thing about gideon. she's eurydice and she's sleeping beauty and she's the prince(ss) in the tower and she's also a butch with a sword. when she has any degree of agency she loves to be the hero but when she's trapped by outside forces she always ends up playing the damsel.

the obvious flip-side to this is that harrow has almost never really needed to be protected. she's been victimized plenty, but she's been very proactive in dealing with situations. she looks frail and bleeds from interesting places more than she really should, but she plays the hero. she's orpheus walking into hell. she's the prince discovering the glass coffin. and she might've been, but wasn't, the hero come to save gideon from the tower.

this is very cool and interesting and should be incorporated into fantasy aus more often.

[waterlilyvioletfog]

See the thing is, you read HtN and like yeah, obviously lobotomizing yourself so a dead girl’s soul doesn’t get cannibalized is completely fucking wild and you probably have to love someone at least a little to do that, but Harrow has spent the whole book having tension with Ianthe and fervently claiming to be in love with the Body— and then you get to Act V and Harrow is literally weeping wailing feral about Gideon, constructing Prince!Gideon AUs (which, she doesn’t know about Gideon’s paternity!! She is simply drawing upon a (romantic!!!) genre trope!!!) and role reversal AUs and fucking coffee shop AUs about Gideon, and she’s refusing to go back to her own body, and Abigail and Magnus and Dulcie so obviously and completely believe that Harrow is in love with Gideon because they directly compare them to Abigail and Magnus, and she says she’s saving the last dance. Agh!!! Aggghhhhh!!!!!!

[nona-gay-simus]

Harrow The Ninth AUs brought to you by the mind of directly a traumatized, repressed demisexual lesbian teenager:

"What if Griddle was a prince(ess) and I was the underdog heir to the ninth house and had to present myself at a PARTY as a possible suitor? And there was FOOD. And Coronabeth was near by being hot and charming."*

*I don't believe it was ever confirmed it was Gideon,but she was a suitor for someone and considering the other AUs revolved around Gideon, I think it's a reasonable conclusion.

"What if Griddle was the ninth necromancer and I was the disinherited second cavalier and it was my fault we fell out as children because I stole a sacred heirloom but she saved me? Also, I had to fight Ortus for the honor of representing her?"

"What if I was in the army and I made friends and Griddle worked in a coffee shop and I got to see her biceps? And she knew my coffee order based off vibes?"

Harrow, buddy. Are you okay? Do you need a glass of water? Maybe one of those biscuits?

[ernmark]

Question for The Locked Tomb fans who are deeper into it than I am (I've only read through it once, so there's a lot I'm sure I've missed or forgotten).

Is it possible that in addition to everything else symbolic, familial, etc, that Gideon being renamed Kiriona serves as a workaround for Harrow?

Specifically, the way Harrow whammied herself so hard that she couldn't even hear G1deon's name without automatically swapping it out. I know she worked through a lot of that in The River, but right then she was very specifically cut off from her body. Given everything that's happened since then, I can't imagine there was a lot of opportunity to actually repair the damage Harrow had done to herself-- and between her lyctor 'invisibility', all the weirdness going on with Nona, and... Pretty much everything else, would anybody else even have been able to figure out what's going on or how to help mend it? What would a reunion with the Gideon she knew have done to her?

Did her fanfic AU visions recontextualize Gideon in a way that was easier for her soul to handle? Did seeing her again as Tower Prince Kiriona serve to shift that context?

Is this anything, or am I spouting gibberish?

[m-to-the-6th-power]

Happy WIP Wednesday more prince Gideon au. This time, 2 different conversations between Gideons.

"Wait, you're a necromancer right?" Gideon asked, taking in the Saint of Duty. "I thought all necros were scrawny little fucks with noodle arms. (Rude!) Sorry El. What I mean is, is there some reason that you worked out? Other than the obvious, using weapons."

"More blood, and better oxygenation of that blood, makes me a better necromancer. Plus, the beefcake appeal."

"So all the protein from cheesed burger patties helped you bulk up?" 

The Saint of Duty laughed riotously, mirth clear on his face and Gideon couldn't help but grin back. "No no, well yes, a nice burger fresh off the barby is a super convenient way to get good protein. Or a nice steak with grill marks can make almost any meal feel a bit special. But I mean the body type. Some people like their partners to be more physically bulky, big muscles, taking up space, all that. So another benefit of working out is being attractive to a certain subset of people. Although I've noticed it is a bit more pronounced in your mothers people than in the houses."

--------

"Your mother once told me that she'd welcome me into Blood of Eden if I wanted. It would've taken me killing John, but if I did that, she said she would name me herself. 'The Sword of the Lord and Gideon,' was the name she wanted. I was to be her sword that struck down the vile serpent. I couldn't do it. Not after what he did to A.L., to die is the only true way to escape grief, and he deserved that mercy least of anyone and even more so now."

Gideon's eyes darkened as she thought of the emperor, that familiar flame of injustice burning inside her chest like Dominicus itself. “He should still die. I don't give a damn about his grief. What about Pyrrha?”

Gideon the First looked down at his daughter and gave a small, almost secret, smile. “You don't understand, but I didn't think you would. Pyrrha is dead, and I miss her terribly. Losing someone like that is an ache that never goes away. But for us, the lyctors, it's a wound with scar tissue. It doesn't hurt as much most of the time, unless you really press down on it,” He paused here to gauge his audience, taking in the set of her jaw and shoulders. “But for John, it's an open gaping wound. It can't heal over because she's alive. She's alive and she's there, and he can't go to her and sit with her. It can't scar or scab over, and so it must fester.”

Gideon looked up at her namesake, rotating what he said around on a platter in her mind. She wanted to give it plenty of time to sink in. She wanted badly to share her theory about the other soul that she'd met in his body but in a flash of insight realized that it would be unbearably cruel. To tell him his cavalier was still alive in the recesses of his mind, not fully gone, would subject him to that same pain he was wishing on the Emperor. “Would it press down if I asked questions?”

“No, as long as they aren't overwhelmingly sad. She would've looked at you like her own kid.”

[liesmyth]

the locked tomb holiday exchange rec list

Behold! The good, the magnificent, the sad! The filth and the angst and the feelings! The weird shit that would make TazMuir proud! 💀🎉✨☠️🔥🎊

Here are some favourites from a skim of works posted for @tlt-holiday-exchange, both art and fic. They are MANY and they are JUICY. Find the entire collection HERE, and keep an eye on for authors reveal coming soon!

ART FILLS

A Beautiful Fairy Tale. Wake tells little Bomb a bedtime story but she can't mention a princess without talking about guillotines. Rated T.

Dubious Curiosity. Nona is curious. Nona loves everyone. And Nona wants Cam. (Camilla/Nona) Rated M.

Fingers In Her Mouth. Camilla Hect misses the Warden. Maybe he can lend a helping hand… even in death. (Camilla/hand!Palamedes) Rated M.

just guys being bros. Camilla/Gideon. Gideon touches a boob! A very happy new year to awkward butch lesbians everywhere. Rated T.

Pyrrha Dve Appreciation. Pyrrha & Nona, soft hugs! Rated G.

Stealing Breath. Camilla/Gideon butch-off make-out session. Rated G.

To Shreds, You Say? Pyrrha/Mercymorn/Wake fucking nasty. Rated E.

FIC FILLS

a buried and a burning flame. Coronabeth fucks Gideon's corpse. Rated E.

For all intents and purposes the corpse of the Ninth’s cavalier is a bad lay. That’s all fine, though.

a grave, deep and narrow. Camilla/Palamedes, GtN AU, Character Death, Tape Recorder Conversation Redux. Podfic included! Rated T

Only Lyctors were meant to leave the First House alive. Ianthe insists on bringing Coronabeth; Judith dies of her injuries. Camilla is stranded alone at Canaan House — alone, except for the persistent hallucinations of her necromancer.

affix. Coronabeth/Harrow, humiliation kink, improper use of bones, dom!Harrow, GtN era. rated E.

Cytherea doesn't go to Canaan House AU - Corona overconfidently approaches Harrow in the hopes of exchanging lab keys. Harrow humbles her quickly.

AITA for telling my dad I didn't like my birthday party? Gideon & John, In-Universe Social Media, Character study, Rated T.

I (20F) told my dad (45?M) that I wanted a cool birthday party, but he threw me a terrible birthday party instead. Am I really the asshole for telling him I didn't like it?

and kings shall come out of thy loins. Gideon/Ianthe, crack treated seriously, body horor, SNAKES. Rated M.

Ianthe saves God from the stoma and the River and all she has to show for it are these fucking snubes.

come, dearest heart. Lyctor Palamedes AU, HtN era. Camilla/Palamedes, Pyrrha/Palamedes, Pyrrha/Camilla/Palamedes. Rated E.

In Canaan House, Palamedes Sextus unwillingly ascends to Lyctorhood to put an end to Cytherea the First's rampage. He's left heartbroken, grieving, and terribly, terribly lonely.

Don't Care If You Think I'm Dumb (I Don't Care At All). Gideon/Ianthe, Gideon as Kiriona, Unwholesome Tower Princes Bonding ft. bad sex and retail therapy. Rated E.

The newly christened Kiriona Gaia is not having a good time on the Mithraeum. At least she has Ianthe there to make her worse.

Follow Your Dreams, Never Let Them Die. Gideon/Harrow, Pokemon trainers AU! Rated T.

On her Pokemon Journey, Gideon Nav approaches the mysterious Drearburh City Gym - but something feels oddly familiar.

Gaia's Natural Market. modern AU, retail hell, Harrow/Gideon, Harrow/Ianthe, Gideon/Ianthe. Rated T

RING-A-DING-DING, the Holiday's are here! And nothing says "Give!" like the bounty of the Mother Herself, so come on by to GAIA's Natural Market! Treat your family to a home-cooked meal with only the PUREST of ingredients - all Produce Organic, all Products non-GMO, and all Smiles Authentic and free of Toxins!

Good Girl. Coronabeth/Ianthe, puppyplay, muzzles, rated E.

Coronabeth is Ianthe's big dicked bimbo puppy. Ianthe's into it.

Goodnight, New Rho. Camilla & Nona. Domestic Fluff, Missing Scene. Rated G.

Nona gets a bedtime story. Camilla reminisces about growing up with an older sister. They both sleep well, despite a notable lack of dogs.

In the Empire of the Deeps. Gideon/Nona/Ianthe, Gideon/Ianthe, Pirate AU, monsterfucking-adjacent, Nona is an eldritch sea creature. Rated E.

A chance encounter on the beach. Ianthe is manipulative, Kiriona is sad, and Nona is not as innocent as she seems. Sometimes, you might yearn for one person and meet another one. Sometimes, you have to take what you can get.

just like normal. Ianthe/Coronabeth, Cytherea is also there. Penis in vagina sex, Exhibitionism, Squirting. Rated E.

Ianthe gives herself a cock, and Corona is increasingly bewildered that she hasn’t been allowed to sit on it yet.

language of its own. Camilla/Palamedes. Worldbuilding, idiots to lovers, pre-canon. Rated T.

Camilla Hect has to do an erotic poetry final.

Masochism Tango. Porn with feelings, knifeplay, vivisection, lyctor-typical everything. Rated E.

Two occasions in which Pyrrha Dve had the pleasure of being under Cytherea's knife, and Mercymorn had the pleasure of Pyrrha Dve.

METHODS OF SUBDUCTION. Judith/Cornabeth, Judith & Varun. Planetary science rizz. Rated M.

Varun the Eater teaches Judith Deuteros how to flirt.

midnight mass. Mercymorn/Cristabel, pre-canon, Character Study. Rated T.

A lifetime before the resurrection and two decades before the apocalypse, a novice nun and a third-year medical student discuss goodness, passion, and salvation at midnight on Christmas morning.

motherhood. Mercymorn uses flesh magic on Wake. Hate sex ensues. Body horror, motherhood as violence, canon compliant. Rated E.

“I will kill you,” you say, with all the placid fervor of a religious convert. When you’re on the edge of real violence, you lose that tense little furrow in your brow—it’s beautiful, really. “Please give me a reason.”

My Love Overflows. Corona/Ianthe, Strap-on, Dirty talk, Impact Play, Hair Pulling, Bladder control. Rated E.

The one in which Corona pisses all over herself at Ianthe's whims.

name and rank. Judith/Coronabeth, Judith & Varun. Judith's failwoman swag! Rated T.

As Judith lies dying, she has nothing but time. Varun the Eater uses it to teach her how to flirt with the Princess. Don’t worry. Varun has got this!

New Rule. Mercymorn/Pyrrha, Ranch AU, stablehand Pyrrha, boss/employee relationship. Rated E.

Never hire stablehands who are too handsome and capable for their own good.

no shade in the shadow of the cross. Cytherea/Mercymorn, angst, fisting, two pillow princesses NOT making it work! Rated E.

Cytherea and Mercymorn have an ill-timed tryst.

per my last email. Camilla/Palamedes. Academia, banter. On peer review and multitasking. Rated M.

“Warden,” she said patiently, “you want me so badly it’s making you stupid."

RISKING OUR LIVES FOR UNIVERSITY HOLE???? 🤯😳 University AU, Team 69. The hole is a basement to be clear! Rated T.

The difficult part of visiting the local haunted house for a feature in the university magazine is not actually the visiting; it’s the writing about it afterwards.

So Messed Up. Ianthe/Coronabeth. Puppy play, collars & leashes, tail plug. Rated E.

Ianthe using her flesh magic to give Corona a big cock for petplay because she loves the idea of her sister being a big dicked bimbo puppy girl who just wants to rut into her.

The Great Gamete Gambit. Camilla & Palamedes, Pre-canon, worldbuilding, sixth house reproductive practices. Rated G.

Palamedes and Camilla have an important package to send, but there's been a heist in the gamete repository! Can the 15-year-old Master Warden and his cavalier crack the case?

The Sextus Scandal. Camilla/Palamedes, Epistolary, Pre-Canon Divergence. Rated E.

Transcripts and documents relating to the disciplinary hearing and subsequent resignation of Master Warden Palamedes Sextus.

Ways to Be Perfect. Babs/Colum Asht, GtN era, Rated M.

When Naberius first glanced across the supper table at Colum Asht, he didn’t immediately get the impression that he was liked.

The end!

Thank you for making it this far. If you enjoyed any of these works, or anything else in the collection, please drop a comment to make our creators feel appreciated <3

[post creators reveal exchange wrap post]

[mayasaura]

One of my biggest hopes for Alecto is that Harrow has a minute of going full Carrie revenge insane upon finding out what they did to Gideon’s body. Like. Throughout Canaan House and especially in the AUs, we get the sense of Harrow having a deep desire to protect Gideon’s body even if it is in her own solitary goth nun way. She wants Gideon to put more consideration into the danger of avulsion before agreeing. She tells her afterward not to price her life so cheaply. She makes Cam and Pal check on her multiple times. She leaves her bread in a drawer. She’s fully on board to throw Camilla towards possible death in the interest of keeping Gideon safe. And then when she finally sees her in the coffee AU her description is just so soft and loving even when she’s about to pass out because she saw her arms, and continues that way until the end of the book. When Ianthe thinks it’s Harrow in Nona she’s surprised she isn’t violently storming the compound to recover Gideon’s body. Anyway she should find out how BOE and Jod treated her body and go on a tiny insane revenge spree. As a treat.

You are SO fucking right. Deep down inside Harrow is that one gif of the girl holding puppies and crying because she can't protect them, only the puppies are a butch lesbian determined to throw herself into a meat grinder.

I think Harrow might be a little grateful for the unbreakable bones and indestructable skin part of Jod's deal re: Gideon—she may have done that herself in Canaan House, if she'd known how—but the rest of it? The gaping wounds, the leaving her dead? Kill Bill sirens. She has been trying so hard to protect and preserve Gideon, to give Gideon a life, and when Gideon's own father has the chance to restore her he just slaps her together with crazy glue and calls it fine? That is not fine.

If she ever finds out how Gideon's corpse was being treated while her murderer lay in state on a bed of flowers... Man, I would not want to be in the room where that happened.

It would be so cathartic to see her tear into John over his part of it. Gideon already went apeshit on him for how he treated Harrow, so it's only fair Harrow gets to have her go. It's equality!! If We Suffer could somehow be there to be held accountable, too, so much the better.

And after that, what I really really want to see is Harrow turning the soft and loving vibe from the Baristar AU on the real Gideon, and channeling that protective fury toward protecting or restoring Gideon. I know it's probably not going to be exactly how it happens, what with everything else going on, but that sleeping beauty fakeout has me hungry to see Harrow try to ride in and rescue her prince.

In abscence of her body, Harrow's soul dreamed of Gideon's eyes; and in abscence of her soul, Harrow's body dreamed of Gideon's hands. If we don't get to see some pay off when she has those hands to hold again, I'm gonna have to chew my own fucking leg off.

[yourheartonfireblog]

So, I've been thinking about The Locked Tomb as a whole, particularly about how Tamsyn Muir pulls off the trick of making a dramatic tone and perspective switch with every book, yet it still feels cohesive as a story and a series.

Something that just clicked for me after a reread of Harrow the Ninth is noticing that a motif obviously present in HtN is actually running through all the books, in a way that supports this constant resetting at the beginning of every novel. And that is Alternate Universes. As in, like, the fanfiction concept of AUs.

Massive spoilers ahead for the first three books of The Locked Tomb:

Probably the biggest link between the books is the structure. All three books of The Locked Tomb roughly follow the same narrative pattern; the narrator/protagonist starts the story hopelessly outclassed and the least informed person in the situation in which she finds herself. At first she is passive or blocked from action, but there's a realization/revelation that she is not as helpless as initially thought. She builds in power and action (and this is rewarded with exposition dumps to catch her and the reader up on what is actually happening). The final act is a fight to the death and as she is dying the narrator makes a sacrifice of her own body in a way that manages to preserve at least part of her consciousness outside herself.

(The secondary narrative in Nona the Ninth -John's confession- loosely follows this pattern too. Except of course John makes a different decision in the final act of his story.)

More than just the structure, each story is a variation on the same themes. Some of them are obvious. Power and how people use it/ abuse it. The narrator's relationship to their own body and how it becomes an expression of trauma.

But another less obvious theme, right from the first chapter of Gideon, is the narrators all have some connection to an Alternate Universe version of themselves/ their lives.

I'll admit this theory is weakest in GtN. But I don't think it's a coincidence that Gideon's entire life plan is inspired by military-themed porn mags - a smut AU, if you will. She's also the only one of the narrators who regularly indulges in daydreams that give her the strength to fight and struggle forward. Also not, I believe, a coincidence.

In HtN things start getting more on the nose - unlike Gideon, Harrow has magic. Rather than accept reality, Harrow uses her power to lobotimize herself into creating and living in an alternate reality, while retelling an alternate version of the prior book. This of course is the book with the infamous role swap/ Regency ball / barista AU sequence, just in case you didn't get what's going on.

But NtN is equally about AUs - Nona is the story where the universe conspires to give Harrow and Gideon the alternate universe of the life they both wanted. Gideon (or at least her body) does turns out to be the daughter of the emperor and the crown prince of the universe. Harrow (or at least her body) gets a found family who love her and a brain that is 100% free of the horrible truth of her abominable origin. We spend most book wondering just who is in that body, Harrow or Gideon, and that's part of the point. The trauma is so deep Harrow and Gideon are unrecognizable as people if their slate is wiped. So of course Nona turns out to be a secret third option.

More to the point, NtN is the book where we learn that the Nine Houses are, in fact, John's shitty self-insert AU. Harrow had a little power a and lobotimized herself, John had more and lobotimized all of humanity he could get his hands on, remaking them into this bizarre and baroque universe centered around worshipping him as a god-emperor. The planet of New Rho, outside John's direct control, is bursting with life and chaos and mess and humanity that is missing entirely from the glimpses we get of John's universe. It's no wonder the other survivors call everyone in the Nine Houses zombies - they are, in fact, brainwiped slaves to John's whims whomever he will pick up, put down, resurrect, and murder exactly as he thinks is best.

I'm very excited for Alecto the Ninth and how this is going to play out now that we've met all three of the people in this relationship, and everyone is in the same place in the right body.

[flo-nelja]

Obscur-echange, session 19

Bonjour !

Cette année encore a lieu l’échange de fics et fanart sur les fandoms rares en français obscur-échange.

Si avec le filtre “français”, votre fandom a moins d’une page sur AO3 et sur ffnet, alors c’est bon ! Vous pouvez le nominer, vous pouvez en nominer un nombre illimité ! Tout fandom nominé deux fois sera retenu.

On peut y trouver des fandoms énormes en anglais qui n’ont jamais marché en français (Mob Psycho 100, Gideon the Ninth, The Old Guard), des fandoms francophones (Le Petit Prince, le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Gradalis), des fandoms tout neufs (Gloutons et dragons, The Summer Hikaru Died) ou des fandoms qui sont rares partout.

Pour nominer des fandoms, c'est là : https://obscur-echange.dreamwidth.org/262540.html

11 avril-25 avril : Nomination des fandoms ! Chacun fait une longue liste de ses fandoms rares préférés, tous les fandoms qui ont été cités deux fois sont retenus !

26 avril-9 mai : Fiches de participation ! C'est le moment des inscriptions, chaque inscrit.e fait une liste avec la liste de ses fandoms, personnages, ships, genres et thèmes préférés. Il faut être multifandom, car chaque fiche doit contenir au moins dix fandoms rares !

10 mai - 25 mai : Requêtes ! Chacun regarde les fiches des autres et envoie des prompts à quiconque peut écrire quelque chose qui l'intéresse

Juin-juillet-août : écriture / dessin ! ON envoie les oeuvres au fur et à mesure, elles sont postées anonymement.

1er septembre : Tout le monde devrait avoir reçu quelque chose ! On désanonyme et on reposte les oeuvres.