I really waffled on Magnus, because I thought a GSP/GWP might be a good fit for him, but setter won out bc of his goofy ass dad personality. also bc I seriously doubt Magnus the GSP would have a CALMING influence on Jeanne the Maligator lol
hello nobody asked but i’m here to deliver. presenting: the cavs as dog breeds. photo sources and caveats after the cut.
Second House: Marta Dyas
UKC-registered German Shepherd, stock coat. A working breed characterized by its focus, confidence, and fearlessness; obedient to a fault. Strong intelligence, drive, and energy, but at manageable levels suited to all-purpose organizational use (unlike their more intense sibling breed, the Belgian Malinois). Dominates in Schutzhund (obedience & personal protection) trials.
Third House: Naberius Tern
UKC-registered Standard Poodle, red coat cut Continental. A breed with a reputation for wealth, beauty, and proud attitude, all of which distracts from its surprising intelligence and steady work ethic. A well-rounded gundog that, given the correct training and handler, dominates at both sporting and conformation events. Intolerant of rugged terrain (highland herding, search and rescue, etc.), though well suited to swimming.
Fourth House: Jeannemary Chatur
AKC-registered Belgian Malinois, mahogany coat. A legendarily intense and capable working breed, with high intelligence, drive, and fitness. With sufficient training to sate its drive for stimulation, becomes a fabulously impressive working dog. When fulfilled, will win obedience, Schutzhund, extreme vertical, and obstacle course competitions. Not well suited to scent work, diving, and herding, and lacks the patience for boring tasks like conformation. With insufficient stimulation or an unconfident handler, becomes a destructive, vocal, nervous wreck; can and will take its frustrations out on others. Benefits from the influence of living with calmer dogs. An AKC-recognized breed, but not UKC recognized; would be a source of strife with handlers that prefer UKC (… Third House).
Fifth House: Magnus Quinn
Show-line UKC-Registered Irish Setter, mahogany coat. The beautiful coat and regal bearing of this breed obfuscates its extremely goofy and friendly nature. Because of its beauty, playful attitude with children, and capability as a gundog, it is a sought-after breed of the wealthy. Working-line setters have higher stamina and intelligence for long days afield; show-line setters are suited to conformation and social settings, and are therefore wonderful family pets.
Sixth House: Camilla Hect
Unregistered Border Collie, lilac short coat. A breed with intense intelligence, focus, and drive; must be put to work constantly by its handler or will resort to self-destructive behaviors and be liable to develop strange obsessions. Movement at work is shockingly fast for its body size and build; does not speak while working, unlike other herding breeds, instead relying on glare-based intimidation. Well suited to rough terrain and independent problem solving. Lilac coat caused by rare recessive genes expressed thru inbreeding; causes grey brown eyes, as well.
Seventh House: Protesilaus Ebdoma
UKC-registered Afghan Hound, cream coat, unmarked. A lithe, long-legged athlete with regal bearing and a beautiful appearance. Independent, aloof, and generally indifferent to instruction, though loyal and affectionate with a single handler; will strongly resist a change in handlers. Whiplike tail.
Eighth House: Colum Asht
UKC-registered Great Pyrenees, white coat, slight tan markings. Unflappably calm; intelligent, but with a tendency towards indifference. A large, stalwart flock guardian that shrugs off being bloodied. Patient and careful with its flock and with children, but vicious against physical threats.
Ninth House: Ortus Nigenad
Black and Tan Coonhound. Large and strong, though without the cleverness of some other working breeds. Excels at scent-tracking over long hours. Highly vocal when bored (and, frankly, at all other times), with a booming voice. Handler focused, but can be very stubborn.
Ninth House: Gideon Nav
Australian Kelpie with red coat, or perhaps Red Heeler—lineage is unclear; genetic testing may reveal dingo ancestry. A vigorous and hardworking herder, with high stamina in rough terrain and harsh weather. Stocky and solidly built. Always eager for a job to do. Not overly affectionate, even with long-term handlers, but intensely loyal. Infrequently vocal; tendency towards shyness and reactivity around strangers and new circumstances. May have light brown (amber) eyes.
GSD: Minthe Hartman on Facebook
Poodle: Bijou Poodles, breeder site
Mal: Breed standard website
Setter: Brittanica
BC: C Bar C Ranch, breeder site
Afghan: AKC
Pyr: Intuition Farm, breeder site
Black&Tan: Showsight Magazine
Kelpie: AKC
Heeler: Jane Dogs
Also, some caveats: obviously, I wanted to find an Aotearoa native dog for Gideon. Unfortunately, because of colonialism, all Polynesian dog breeds I could find records of on short notice are extinct due to genocidal violence against their peoples. The history of dog breeds and the pedigrees thereto is one that is, like all history, influenced by colonialism. Also, I am very familiar with a large variety of breeds, but only those primarily used in dog sports, competitions, and working professions in North America. My choices of breed reflect both of those biases.
It's endlessly funny to me, that so many people read Nona the Ninth - a book where a group of indigenous people from a small nation in the southern hemisphere spend years trying to build a communal plan, begging anyone to take collective action, reaching out again and again for as many people to get on board as possible, only to be stymied again and again by the individually and structurally powerful, who simply didn't care (and couldn't care due to the incentive structures imposed by power) and just wanted to preserve their own power/lives at the expense of everyone else, only for one of their number to be singled out and given immense universe-altering power by a magical entity, which of course led to disaster and the collapse of their original goals because, you know, absolute power corrupts absolutely and will magnify even the most minor human foibles - and came away thinking ah yes, the point is that John as an individual is ontologically evil.
#i think people also forget john is arguably the most fucked up dude in human history and an unreliable narrator #he probably. can’t connect with who he used to be before necromancy #John The Guy and jod are different guys entirely #the regular scale of trauma does a lot to a normal human brain #john went through arguably the worst trauma a human person could possible experience #while being transformed into a godlike being #they’re not the same person #the same way mercymorn ‘we will not stand for reproductive abuse’ becomes ‘infants as fingers and gestures’ (via @monetarymollusk)
i don't get how you can read the end of john's story and not see someone undergoing a complete mental shattering it's not an excuse it's an explanation of why he did what he did if you had ultimate god powers dropped upon you from a great height then saw everyone you cared about hunted down and murdered in front of your eyes whilst the very people who made living on earth miserable and squeezed every drop of profit from it before abandoning everyone to die escaped in front of your eyes are you saying you could've kept your head in that moment? ( via @2impostors )
#john's backstory is SO important to me because it makes so much sense every step of the way#he lost the plot but like. every moment he went down that path.... i could see it.#that rage. that senseless thirst for meaningless revenge#and once he literally becomes god.. why hold himself to human standards of right and wrong? why care for single individuals at all?#and all of this tragedy is 100x better BECAUSE of the good intentions paving the way to hell#how do you look at john gaius 'no one knowingly left behind' 'begged for funds to reduce chance of damage'#'spents weeks trying to handle maternity issue bc people deserve a choice on whether to terminate their pregnancy'#beloved of alecto. she gave the world john because she loved the world!#how do you look at THAT guy and think he was irredemable from the start (via liesmyth)
Y’all know that theory that devils are souls that have been used to fuel a resurrection? John saying Harrow’s parents committed a resurrection, Cytherea calling herself the vengeance of the ten billion, Teacher saying there are ten billion angry ghosts in the facility.
The devils attacking the Ninth are not the ten billion. They’re the two hundred. The children whose souls Priamhark and Pelleamena used to fuel Harrow's conception.
Now, you may have noticed Harrow’s parents committed their resurrection nineteen years ago, and as of yet nobody in the Ninth House has sprouted long black tongues and eyelids with teeth. So why now?
In Harrow the Ninth, as Varun approaches the Mithraeum, the River empties of ghosts. Augustine says that ghosts flee before a Resurrection Beast. “Poor bastards are terrified.” And the Ninth House has a Resurrection Beast in the basement.
But then she leaves.
Alecto leaves the Tomb, leaves her body behind, and rides her connection to Harrow into Harrow’s body. And now there’s no slumbering planetary revenant to ward off the devils, so back they come. The very next time some Ninth geezer keels over, the devils take the wheel and it begins.
The devils didn’t come to the Ninth. They were already there. They were born there, and they died there. Priamhark and Pelleamena slaughtered two hundred children to save their House, and in so doing damned it.
There is something so profound about how necro cav relationships are meant to make the necromancer stronger and lead to the cavalier's inevitable demise upon reaching lyctorhood, but every lyctor we ever meet regards the loss of their cavaliers with maddened despair and it inevitably leads to every betrayal against god. The thorn in the side of John's empire is that he can't take loved away and all of his creatures will turn on him for making them try.
Ianthe is the only exception but only because she never truly had a cavalier. She has a sister and she will rather starve herself into an undying death until the sun burn out than eat her sister. The greatest necromancer from the house of gold and greed refuses to do that.
I am not even going to try unravelling the Sixth, that's THE can of worms to ever worm of cans. They saw the stages of grief and said "no, we're going heresy any lysis instead".
okay but we should talk more about edward miller's artwork for the locked tomb series. like. these are so beautiful. the only style in which i would like to see tlt adaptation.
illustrations by edward miller for subterranean press edition of gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir
illustrations by edward miller for subterranean press edition of harrow the ninth by tamsyn muir
illustrations by edward miller for subterranean press edition of nona the ninth by tamsyn muir
first few months of alectopause: damn can't wait until atn comes out
2023 alectopause: you know it's ok we can wait. i got some fics to write
2024 alectopause: here is 30,000 words on how john's characterization as emperor and lyctorhood interplays with colonialism, imperialism, sexual assault, and misogyny, featuring a full bibliography, a reading list, and peer reviewed by three mutuals
2025 alectopause: gideon would not fucking say that
2026 alectopause: what is everyone's blood pressure headcanons for the characters. i think harrow is orthostatic and gets a regular 90/50
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