hey what if the reason augustine and mercy have such conflicting feelings about each other is bc they rlly do hate each other but now they’re also alfred and cristabel, who rlly did love each other. have we considered this.
“Pyrrha crossed over to the truck, to Nona, and leant heavily into the interior; Nona could see that she was sweating, in exactly the same way she had sweated after the bottle of bleach. She mumbled ‘You knew this was happening. You knew this was happening months ago,’ and when Nona put her hand on Pyrrha’s, it was like Pyrrha hadn’t even noticed her.”
ok but the fact that harrow’s redemption arc is also gideon’s corruption arc. the fact that they come out of the pool scene nodding in agreement despite having come to two wildly different conclusions. the fact that their one moment of real open honest communication still somehow ends in a horrible irreconcilable disconnect.
like. harrow wants gideon to start walking beside her at the same time as gideon masters walking a half-step behind. harrow wants to share the bed the one night gideon sleeps on the cavalier cot harrow comes to fully understand and accept that treating gideon as a subordinate was wrong and unfair, at the same time as gideon stops thinking of herself as harrow’s rightful equal.
it’s fucked up it’s horrible and harrow is too caught up in all her feelings to see it until it’s too late and gideon has still just barely begun to figure it out.
i. i just. she could have lived for her but she didn’t know how.
because to do that, to acknowledge that that was even an option, she would have to view herself as being as worthy of life as harrow. and she didn’t. she didn’t and she couldn’t. it didn’t even occur to her. she could have lived for her but she didn’t know how.
[image description: a digital illustration of characters from the locked tomb trilogy, standing against a dark reddish background. ianthe is on the left with her arms wrapped across her chest, looking with disgust over her shoulder at gideon-in-harrow standing next to her. gideon’s pointing up at ianthe confrontationally and saying, “you’re in her dm’s, i died for her. we are not the same.”]
[Image description: Drawings of Palamedes and Harrow from The Locked Tomb that look like they are being privately interviewed on a reality show. Palamedes’s header says, “Palamedes Sextus, 20. Canaan House contestant.” He smiles and says, “Oh, Harrow? She’s my best friend and lifelong partner in necromantic research! Sometimes we solve murder mysteries together ❤️.” Harrow’s header says, “Harrowhark Nonagesimus, 17. Canaan House contestant.” She scowls and crosses her arms. She says, “Palamedes Sextus? Dangerous in the extreme. Possibly a murderer. Possibly a mass murderer. My investigations are underway.” End description]