Vampire apostrophe @vampire-apostrophe - Tumblr Blog

hey remember when Gideon quotes the vow between Naomi and Ruth to harrow at the end of GtN?

the land that shall receive thee dying

in the same will I die

and there will I be buried

the lord do so and so to me and add more also

if aught but death part me and thee

well my first thought was that are the cavalier vows in this world but great care is taken to show that Gideon does not know the cavalier vows, only learning ‘one flesh one end’ after mentioning it and having someone immediately realize she’s not a cav because of it.

So I have theories.

A) Harrow knows the Cav-necro vows and therefore Gideon absorbs them

B) Gideon is more of a hallucination then we are lead to believe and this is Harrow’s brain hallucinating that is Gideon saying this

C) Considering their current use and the blasé attitude towards lesbian relationships… these culturally are wedding vows. They’re the only vows Gideon knows that mean something and she speaks them because she needs some way to vow. To swear herself to Harrow.

#the locked tomb #harrowhark nonagesimus #harrow nonagesimus #gideon nav #gideon the ninth #tlt spoilers #tlt

This might be a weird gripe but I stumbled on some locked tomb content on YouTube and I kept seeing comments about why Nona was better then the other two books and then just… listing things Nona did that the reader liked more.

Yes Nona has a bit different setting/pacing/tone and those are all important but just because you liked it doesn’t make it better. Harrow the Ninth was meant to be more difficult to understand its the story of a schizophrenic teenage girl stuck with the creators of her empire and forced to play the systems weirdest game of House. Gideon is about a girl who grew up intensely isolated getting put smack dab into an intense political/academic/dangerous situation.

They are all incredibly written books but each one has its own goals and focuses. HtN and GtN aren’t worse books because they are set in the empire. You can’t judge a fish against a monkey for how well it climbs a tree.

#nona the ninth #harrow the ninth #gideon the ninth #the locked tomb #tlt spoilers #tlt

Reverend Daughter Gideon who is kind and caring and protective of Harrow Nova and never once considers to free her. Who forgets the power she holds especially as she starts realizing how deeply she cares for Harrow.

Gideon who is desperate for actual recognition not as a title but as a person. To be Griddle instead of My Lady. Gideon who feels a duty of care towards her cavalier that is inextricably linked to her ownership of Harrow Nova.

Gideon who is so irreverent that she completely forgets the fact that Harrow is hers to command. That Harrow is unable to leave and too bound by honour to ever consider disobeying an order no matter what it may be.

#Between Gideon being desperate for affection and Harrow feeling unable to be anything but the perfect cavalier things might get messy #Not to say Nova doesn’t snark or question Gideon but at the end of the day she would probably obey #Gideon is her direct superior both societally and religiously and Nova probably would recognize that she’s a good person.#It just gets angsty when Nova #who doesn’t accept personhood is paired with a girl who forgets the power she wields and wants affection #Also yes this is meant to draw a parallel between Gideon and John #Harrow Nova #the locked tomb #reverend daughter gideon nav #Gideon deveti

thinking about my modern au where the ninth is a decided cult in a mountain region and realized that I Needed Ortus to be there.

Then I realize that modern day Ortus would 100% run away and become a high fantasy author…. But what if he tried to take harrow with him.

Little baby Harrowhark being woken up in the middle of the night by her cousin promising adventure. She doesn’t want to go on an adventure but then he promised cool new books and she certainly wanted that. So she went into the woods on their way to the nearest bus stop not knowing they weren’t planning to go back.

It fails. Obviously. Ortus does get out though and becomes an author and never forgets that he abandoned a child to the Ninth. Harrow remembers her sullen cousin even if it takes her years to realize what that night actually was. Later on she may even figure out why he tried.

#It never would have worked for long you cannot kidnap a small kid and expect her to be quiet even if you were ‘saving’ her #He tried though and he thinks the fact that he only tried once makes him a despicable coward #Bonus points if he there is some motivation that harrow knew nothing about #harrowhark nonagesimus #ortus nigenad #the locked tomb #harrow the ninth #gideon the ninth #Gtn modern au #Ninth cult au #Also my roommates au

I love how everyone is arguing and it looks like it’s going to be some complete redirect of the plot until Nona starts actively dying and then everyone instantly stops giving a shit about motivations and goes back to opening the tomb.

Nothing matters, not the apocalypse, not god, not the possible antichrist they are awakening. Just that Harrow’s body/Nona’s soul survives. Who will fall on the sword first? They are all ready to do so.

#Tlt spoilers #The locked tomb #Nona the ninth spoilers #Nona the ninth

Just remembered that the other houses thought Camilla wasn’t a strong fighter in GtN and I wonder how they’d think about Harrow Nova.

She’s doesn’t look like a ninth cav. Has small piercings and bracelets and belts and robes with embedded bones instead of heavy panniers. She talks in a way that is extremely intelligent, is married to tradition, and clearly has pretty great necromantic understanding. Gideon Deveti on the other hand is large and carries many bones. Shes funny and irreverent and no one can quite gauge how intelligent she is. (Very, she’s just also mostly instinctual in her necromancy, 18 year old, and surrounded by pretty girls for the first time in her life)

Do they maybe see Harrow as some kind of counterweight to Gideon? Here to harp the irreverent Reverend daughter about tradition and remind her of theorems and diplomacy. Gideon seems to want to be friends with everyone so it’s weird she has such a prickly cav but would be in character if she chose someone she liked as a person to escort her.

Then someone tries to duel Harrow and Gideon (who otherwise is quite protective of the younger girl) goes,

“alright. Hyoid down cavaliers mercy. Harrow make sure not to break this one too hard”

#I know it’s necromancers mercy but I think harrow making her opponent cry mercy just works #Also Harrow Nova’s a badass but maybe the fact that she’s a tiny teenager and her necromancer is making puns helps to soften that fact #The locked tomb #Gideon the ninth #Harrow Nova #Gideon deveti

From the very second she touches down at Canaan house Cytherea seems completely fascinated by the ninth and while there’s a few good reasons for her to be so interested I have to assume that her morbid aesthetic ass is just delighted to see that there are still people out there who are committing to a Theme.

She’s just a high femme/romanntic/fairycore girlie looking at two Trad Goths of indeterminate gender and going. ✨Respect✨

#cytherea loveday #cytherea the first #the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #gideon nav #harrow nonagesimus #harrowhark nonagesimus

Interesting to me that Bunny actively insults Henry by calling him a Jew and then at Bunny’s funeral we see Henry sprinkle a handful of dirt over his grave which is a Jewish tradition.

#Henry winter #bunny corcoran #the secret hos

Love that Richard really believes that he has successfully fooled his friends into thinking he’s rich.

Even if it was the nineties and he could convinced pull off the pincemeal collection of thrift store designer as 80s eccentricity to people who had been raised with ‘quiet luxury’ there’s still very little to convince me they bought it.

Throughout the novel we see the nuances of how they live. Some live on trusts, others inheritance or allowances. Theres new money there’s old money. Theres people with the signifiers of wealth who barely have a cent in the bank (Bunny). There’s a lot of different ways to be wealthy and everyone seems very sure of what kind of ‘wealth’ the others have. I don’t think Richard would have been able to fake it because it takes him months to even understand it.

#That kind of wealth is meant to be exclusionary by nature #I think by the time bunny is grilling him about school everyone knows and are mad at him for the rudeness #The secret history #tsh donna tartt #Richard papen #thinks he’s a better liar then he is

Started Secret History and the only thing I know for sure is that Donna Tart has read Lolita and that Emerald Fennel has read Donna Tart.

#The secret history

just started The Goblin Emperor.

…

I am a little confused by the sheer volume of names/titles/political aspects. I think this book uses You/yours as formal and thee/thine for informal like English used to. Maia seems really sweet though. Would stab for him.

#the goblin emperor #Tge reading #Please tell me anything you think will help me understand #maia drazhar

vampire-apostrophe

Cavaliers tend to be around the same age/older then their necromancers.

We all know Gideon is 18 and internally she is the most 18 year old to ever be 18. Shes also super muscly and wearing skull paint that probably hides the leftover baby fat and pimples.

What if everyone at Canaan house just assumed that Gideon was a good 5-10 years older than Harrow like the 2nd/7th/8th houses. What if they thought that Gideon was being quiet so to not disagree with her young master and was offering counsel in private.

What if they thought Gideon was the voice of reason only to talk to her and realize nope-. The ninth is just two bickering teenagers with no adult supervision. Emperor help them all.

oh-jod-dammit

This would make Camilla's read in As Yet Unsent that she was "no older than 17" a lot funnier too tbh ajwoiejawoieg. The average person assuming at first Gideon is like mid 20s, versus Cam and Pal who saw her distressed and then heard her speak within a few minutes are like "oh that's a baby" lmao.

Bonus points too that Harrow is probably not even 5 feet tall and "was acutely aware she might be mistaken for younger." When they try to pass Nona as Harrow they borrow clothes from the smallest BoE member they can find and then cinch a lot of belts really tight to make those work. Gideon thinks Harrow looks no older than Jeannemary (14), Joli thinks Nona can't be more than 14 at most even as someone who's dealt with knobbly undergrown kids, and Hot Sauce (14) has an easier time passing for an adult at the broadcast than Nona. (And of course there's Mercy buying that she's 15 and reducing her age forever but you know.)

Imagine everyone thinking Harrow is probably around Isaac's age until they talk to her enough and even then they're not entirely sure. And looking at big mute brute Gideon like "Damn, she really has to put up with this brat." And surprise they're almost the same age and equally petty lmao.

(And then we get River Canaan where Ortus really just does have to put up with this kid, rest in peace.)

vampire-apostrophe

I do think Magnus could have guessed that Gideon was early 20s looking after a baby (4th house age) Harrow.

Gideon, to him, is an a stoic and principled ninth Cav off her planet for the first time and looking after her young necromancer. A damn good sword, protective and cool under pressure. He never realized Gideon was also a baby til the river.

#Gideon is not a baby anyway but Magnus at his old age of late 30s has decided everyone is a baby if your age ends in teen #Also I feel like Gideon might still have a slightly crackly teenage voice that signifies just finishing up puberty but Y’know vow of silenc #harrow the ninth #harrowhark nonagesimus #gideon the ninth #harrow nonagesimus #gideon nav #the locked tomb

I took my blanket out of the dryer and it was different (felted where it once was soft) it was pink and fuzzy and a gift from my grandma (it was the first Christmas gift in years). It had been in the dryer to long I realize now (too late. Always too late.)

The towels were barely dry but my blanket was wrecked. It was pure polyester (it was carelessness, my fathers curse)

I could barely touch it but didn’t want to let it go either; I spent a half hour with a lint roller and a hairbrush trying to scratch out the matted fibres. (Trying to couch it back to softness with all the harshness I know)

it’s not same. Won’t ever be the same.

#Poetry #prose poetry #prose poem #I hate pure polyester I can never remember how it reacts to cleaning.

elevenbenevolentmammoths

"I should have stayed home and gotten married."

"As though anyone was even offering."

Hey Ianthe quick question. Yeah that's a very funny own but I just gotta ask. You aren't planning on, uh, forcibly binding his soul to yours in any sort of Holy Union where two people become one in the Eyes of the Lord, right? You're not gonna do something like that and then TAKE HIS NAME FOR YOUR SURNAME

#WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY.... sobbing lmao #That’s so fucking funny

Cavaliers tend to be around the same age/older then their necromancers.

We all know Gideon is 18 and internally she is the most 18 year old to ever be 18. Shes also super muscly and wearing skull paint that probably hides the leftover baby fat and pimples.

What if they thought Gideon was the voice of reason only to talk to her and realize nope-. The ninth is just two bickering teenagers with no adult supervision. Emperor help them all.

#Judith wants to commiserate about being into older women but she doesn’t actually want to talk to Harrow #the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #harrow nonagesimus #gideon nav #tlt spoilers #harrowhark nonagesimus #tlt #Griddlehark #Canaan house

batmanisagatewaydrug

hello fellow non-Black tumblr users. welcome to my saw trap. if you'd like to leave, please name one (1) Black woman author who is not Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Octavia Butler, or N.K. Jemisin. bonus points if she's published a book in the last five years.

evegoldenwoods

For my own future reference, and for anyone else who wants it, a list of authors mentioned in the notes. (I cannot promise this is comprehensive, there are a lot of reblogs and I might have missed some.) I've included a link for each author, where possible I've tried to find one that leads you to their books, prioritising own websites/publishers, falling back on wikipedia otherwise.

If you find any mistakes in the links let me know and I'll edit. This post will be in two parts, because I literally broke tumblr with how many authors there were. I think it's about a hundred and fifty.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé - speculative fiction

Marguerite Abouet - graphic novels

Elizabeth Acevedo - fiction, poetry

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - fiction

Tomi Adeyemi - young adult fantasy

K Ancrum - speculative contemporary young adult

Lily Anderson - fiction

Ashley Antoinette - fiction

Ama Ata Aidoo - poetry, fiction, plays

Kemi Ashing Giwa - speculative fiction

Kalynn Bayron - young adult, fantasy

Malorie Blackman - childrens' books, young adult

Natasha Bowen - fantasy

Gwendolyn Brooks - poetry

Natasha Brown - fiction

NoViolet Bulawayo - fiction

Constance Burris - speculative fiction

CL Clark - fantasy, speculative fiction

Wahida Clark - urban fiction

Lucille Clifton - poetry, fiction

Alyssa Cole - romance, thrillers, graphic novels

Kamilah Cole - fiction

Claire Coleman - fiction, essays, poetry

Maryse Condé - fiction, non-fiction, plays

Emma Dabiri - non-fiction

Edwidge Danticat - fiction

Angela Davis - philosophy

Carolina Maria De Jesus - memoir

Hayley Dennings - fiction

Tracy Deonn - fiction

Nicky Drayden - speculative fiction

Tananarive Due - horror, comics

Camille Dungy - memoir, poetry

Esi Edugyan - fiction

Zetta Elliot - childrens' books, teen fiction, adult fiction

Bernardine Evaristo - fiction

Conceição Evaristo - fiction, non-fiction

Eve Ewing - poetry, fiction, non-fiction, comics

Radna Fabias - poetry

Namina Forna - young adult fantasy

Latoya Ruby Frazier - non-fiction

Stella Gaitano - fiction

Camryn Garrett - fiction, middle grade

Roxane Gay - fiction, non-fiction, comics

Nicole Glover - fantasy, speculative fiction

Nikki Giovanni - poetry, essays

Jewelle Gomez - fiction, plays

Annette Gordon-Reed - non-fiction (history)

Pumla Dineo Gqola - non-fiction

Deanna Grey - romance

Yaa Gyasi - fiction

Andrea Hairston - fiction

Lorraine Hansberry - plays

Saidiya Hartman - non-fiction, theory

Alexis Henderson - dark speculative fiction

Adriana Herrera - romance

Talia Hibbert - romance

bell hooks - fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Pauline Hopkins - fiction, non-fiction, plays

Nalo Hopkinson - speculative fiction

Jordan Ifueko - comics, fantasy, young adult

Samantha Irby - non-fiction

Justina Ireland - science fiction, fantasy, comics

Meka James - contemporary and erotic romance

Tiffany D Jackson - young adult

Beverly Jenkins - romance

Alaya Dawn Johnson - speculative fiction

Micaiah Johnson - science fiction

Mariame Kaba - non-fiction

Petals Kalulé - fiction, poetry [Petals is noted as using she/they, I'm not 100% sure of their gender identity and past a certain point it feels weird to investigate too much]

Mikki Kendall - fiction, non-fiction

Jamaica Kincaid - fiction, non-fiction

Zaire Krieger - poetry

Nella Larsen - fiction

Karmen Lee - romance

Kirsten R. Lee - young adult

Margot Lee Shetterly - non-fiction

Audre Lourde - poetry, non-fiction

evegoldenwoods

And here's part two:

Terry Macmillen - fiction

Robin Maynard - non-fiction

Amber Mcbride - poetry, young adult

Janet Mock - non-fiction, screenwriting

Brittney Moris - comics, young adult, fantasy

Bethany C Morrow - fiction, science fiction, young adult

Leila Mottley - fiction, poetry

Beatriz Nascimento - non-fiction

Leticia Nascimento - I think non-fiction primarily

Gloria Naylor - fiction

Zora Neale Hurston - fiction, non-fiction

Grace Nichols - poetry

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu - fiction

Trifonia Melibea Obono - fiction

Shirlene Obuobi - comics, fiction

Nnendi Okorafor - science fiction

Melatu Uche Okorie - fiction

Chinelo Okparanta - fiction

Helen Oyeyemi - fiction

Nell Painter - non-fiction

Morgan Parker - poetry, non-fiction

Nikki Payne - romance

Koleka Putuma - plays, poetry

Claudia Rankine - poetry, plays, non-fiction

Sarah Raughley - young adult

Dia Reeves - fantasy, horror, science fiction

Kiley Reid - fiction

Stacy Reid - romance

Djamila Ribero - philosophy

Legacy Russell - fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Layla F. Saad - non-fiction

Sofia Samatar - fiction, non-fiction

Liselle Sambury - fantasy

Analeigh Sbrana - romance, fantasy

Namwali Serpell - fiction

Ntozake Shange - plays, poetry

Christina Sharpe - non-fiction

Nisi Shawl - fiction, alternate history

Jamison Shea - dark fantasy/horror

Patricia Smith - poet

Tracy K Smith - poet

Zadie Smith - fiction

Sister Souljah - fiction

Kiki Swinson - fiction

Mildred D Taylor - young adult/children's lit

Katerina Teaiwa - non-fiction

Teresia Teaiwa - poetry

Angie Thomas - young adult, middle grade

Leah Thomas - non-fiction

Spike Trotman - comics

Tloto Tsamaase - science fiction

Nikki Turner - urban fiction

Maxine Tynes - poetry

Ngozi Ukazu - comics

Shola von Reinhold - fiction

Wanjikũ wa Ngũgĩ - fiction

Jasmine Walls - graphic novels

Alice Walker - fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Jesmyn Ward - fiction

Monica West - fiction

Phyllis Wheatley-Peters - poetry

Rita Williams-Garcia - young adult, middle grade

Stephanie Williams - comics, non-fiction

Tia Williams - fiction, romance

Raquel Willis - non-fiction

Jamila Woods - poetry

Jacqueline Woodson - childrens' books, young adult, fiction, poetry

Alexis Wright - fiction, non-fiction

Zane - erotic fiction

Fiona Zedde - fiction

bespectacledbunnys

Attica Locke - Mystery/Thriller Fiction

Oyinkan Braithwaite - Fiction

Isabel Wilkerson - Non-fiction

leebrontide

Hell yeah!!!

ahundredhundredheartbeats

Hey non-Black people this is not an ally test! You don’t win an ally badge if you can name another author! It’s a reminder to seek out more diverse reading material AND a reminder to acknowledge the underrepresentation of Black women in the publishing industry!

listens to trad folk music: “Hey this is a Hozier reference.”

listens to Jazz standards: “Hey this is a Hozier reference.”

reads classical literature: “Hey this is a Hozier reference.”

turns on the news: “Hey this is a Hozier reference.”

Falls in love: “hey-.”

#Hozier #the bog man #Funky bog man with a lot of intertextual references specifically to the black community #Andrew Hozier Byrne

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