September 2023

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A digital drawing of Harrow, Gideon-in-Harrow, and Nona with black line art and colored in shades of yellow, brown, and orange. They are dressed for sleep and sitting on a bed covered in pillows, framed by curtains and strings of bone chips. The bedroom is lit by a jellyfish lantern hanging in the corner. Harrow sits in the center, wearing a modest set of pajamas and hugging her knees to her chest. She frowns at Gideon to her left, who is wearing a version of her body with longer hair and has sweatpants and a loose, long-sleeved shirt. Gideon sits cross-legged and looks back at Harrow, grinning as she stretches her arms over her head, revealing her midriff. She is mimicking the body pillow laying behind them, which has an image of Gideon in her own body. Nona sits on Harrow's other side, wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts. She leans towards Harrow with a smile and plays with her long braids. There are items scattered on the bed around them: Harrow's face paint kit, a clear bottle with a lemon on the label, Gideon's knuckle knives, a tape recorder, and a doll with a long ponytail that has broken manacles on the wrists and ankles. In the background, the wall is patterned with a skeleton damask. There is also a small bookshelf that, aside from books, also has a cat book end and a bell jar containing part of a skull. A sword is propped up on the side of the bookshelf. Above it on the wall, a rib cage is displayed decoratively. There is a bouquet of flowers protruding from the bottom of the cage, and a pair of sunglasses set on top of it. There is a darkened window with an Ianthe jumpscare in the very back, but don't mind her.ALT

Harrow, “Harrow”, and Harrow(?) sleepover

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ancientannoyance:

A sideways flipped drawing of a inside dustjacket flap cover showing three skeletons done in grey-ish linework on a black-ish blackground, dancing around. The background shows one large planet in shadow near the bottom right and one small planet in shadow near the top left. In between the dancing skeletons are one black key that is decorated with curlicules, one red key with a clover head, one decorative and ornate gold key with no teeth but dimples along the shaft, one plain grey key with a square loop and one long tooth, and a plain white key with a round loop and three plain teeth.ALT
Compilation of quotes from Gideon the Ninth; "- was another, smaller key dangling off to one side, gleaming golden, with an elaborately carved shank and deep pockmarks instead of cuts in the shaft." "Gideon noticed that their ring held a facility key and one other, in black wrought iron with curlicules." "The key appeared in Harrow's other hand, shining silvery white, austerely plain with a single loop for a head and three simple teeth on the shaft." "a thick grey key with unpretentious teeth, the kind you'd lock a cabinet with." "The new key was chunky and solid, and dyed a deep, juicy scarlet." "It was big; the shaft was as long as Gideon's middle finger, and the clover head satisfactorily heavy." "Palamedes drummed his fingers on the table. "Well. Forgive me the explanation, Ninth. I know you've been keeping track of the keys-" (Ha! Ha! Ha! thought Gideon. She hadn't.)"ALT

I’m doing a tlt book dust jacket art swap with a friend and for the left inside flap of the first book i decided to illustrate the facility keys, and it’s very amusing to me that gideon gives such precise descriptions of the keys without once going “wait a minute these aesthetics sound familiar …”

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thechekhov:

I may have fallen a bit too deep BUT.

The Houses.

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A series of digital illustrations of scenes primarily from Gideon the Ninth, both canon and speculated. Lyrics from the song "Francesca" by Hozier are overlaid on each image. The first drawing is of the Pool Scene, colored mostly in shades of teal. Gideon holds Harrow underwater, one arm around her back and the other cradling the back of Harrow's head. Harrow pushes her fists against Gideon's chest and her mouth is open in a silent scream, her shoulders hunched as she tries to pry herself out of Gideon's embrace. TEXT: Did you think I'd give up? That this might've shook the love from me?ALT
A two panel image, colored mostly in purples and orange. The first is of Gideon and Harrow from the shoulders up. Gideon has her back to the viewer and wet hair obscures her eyes, but her mouth is visible and she is grinning at Harrow as she rubs a towel over her head. Harrow is frowning, has one eye closed, and her mouth is open in protest, but she is blushing slightly. Harrow's hand is on Gideon's wrist in the pretense of pushing her away, but her touch is too light. TEXT: Or that I was on the brink? The second image is Gideon and Harrow getting ready to sleep. Gideon is laying on the cavalier bed with her arms behind her head. She has several pillows and is grinning with her eyes closed. Harrow lies on her stomach at the end of her own bed, hiding the lower half of her face behind folded arms. She watches Gideon with an unusually soft expression. TEXT: How could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily?ALT
A drawing of Gideon and Harrow during the fight with Cytherea, where they are hiding in Harrow's bone dome (lol). The scene is dim and colored mostly in variants of black and gray, but fingers of yellow light stream in from the top, slightly illuminating Gideon's face. Gideon is sitting on the ground, hunched over Harrow who is nestled in the V of her legs. Harrow lies on her side, her head cradled in Gideon's lap, and one gloved hand is stretched up to touch Gideon's cheek. Their skull paint is in ruins and both of them are splattered with blood. Harrow is tired but she smiles up at Gideon, who watches her with concern. TEXT: Now that it's done, there's not one thing that I would change. My life was a storm since I was born...ALT
A two panel image. The first is of Gideon from the shoulders up. She pulls Harrow's hand away from her cheek and looks back over her shoulder, at the broken fence. The colors for this are dark and tinted yellow in the way that things sometimes are when there is too much smoke in the air. TEXT: How could I fear any hurricane? The second image is of Harrow and Gideon from the waist up, lifting their sword. Harrow's cloak and bone corset are gone, but there is more blood on her than before, staining her mouth and chest. Her right eye is black and the left is yellow. Gideon stands behind Harrow, uninjured and unbloody, cradling her arms. The only visible part of Gideon's face is her smile. Shards of the broken bone dome are behind them and the image is mostly in shades of gray and tan. Harrow has more color than Gideon, and the blood on her face is very red. TEXT: If someone asked me at the end...ALT
A closeup of Gideon's face and part of her shoulders. She is dressed as Prince Kiriona and her eyes are not as yellow as they should be. There is a red slice in her throat that does not bleed. There are dark circles under her eyes and she frowns, gritting her teeth. Her unkempt red hair hangs in her face and a black earring dangles from her right ear. TEXT: I'd tell them, PUT ME BACK IN IT!!ALT


(i am not immune to hozier)

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thechekhov:

A black and white toned, manga-style comic of one of the scenes from The Locked Tomb series, specifically the Gideon the Ninth book. The first panel is open, with two speech bubbles. "I challenge the sixth for their keys. I name the time and the time is now," someone says, raising the blade of a weapon. In the below panel, Palamedes Sextus and Camilla Hect look up, glowering, at the figure, bracketed by his legs since he is looking down on them from the table. ALT
The middle panel shows Naberius Tern, who is standing at full height, pointing his rapier down at the two he challenged. From the sides of his panel are four smaller ones - the Fourth, Second, Ninth and Eight house look on in various flavors of shock. While the Fourth and Second don't bother to hide their indignation, the Ninth and Eighth are quietly observing. The next panel shows Coronabeth, looking a bit stupefied. “No, you don’t,” she begins to say. “Yes, he does,” replies Ianthe, who is mirrored in the opposite panel. “You need a facility key, don’t you? Here’s our chance. I suspect we won’t be given a better.” Judith Deuteros begins to turn to Ianthe, looking grimly alarmed. "You have no cause."ALT
The top panel focuses on Ianthe, still lounging on the chair. “Neither did you, if we’re all being honest with ourselves," she says to Judith. "Sextus was perfectly right.” The next two panels show Judith and Ianthe, their profiles facing each other as they argue. “If you want to cast me as the villain, do it,” says the captain of the Second. “I’m trying to save our lives. You’re giving in to chaos. There are rules, Third.” “On the contrary,” Ianthe replies, “you’ve amply demonstrated that there are no rules whatsoever. There’s only the challenge … and how it’s answered.” A small panel shows Gideon glancing over to the twins. Ianthe looks away and glances up at Coronabeth, who has been standing beside her chair, not looking at anyone else. She reaches out a hand to her sister and says, more softly: “This is for you, dear, don’t be picky. This may be the only chance we have. Don’t feel bad, sweetheart—what can you do?” Corona continues to stare ahead, a bit blankly. A shadow falls over her face. “I can do nothing,” she replies. Ianthe pulls her in, and they nearly tough foreheads, their hands tangled tightly. “Then let’s do this together. I need you," says Ianthe. “I need you,” echoes her twin. ALT
Another small panel shows Gideon looking back to the Sixths House. Camilla tightens a bandage on her arm, which is already bloodied. "Right," she says. "Second round." Behind her, Palamedes looks panicked and angry all at once. Gideon grits her teeth, suppressing a growl. A series of quick panels shows her gripping her sword and sliding her off hand into the knuckle knives. She looks as though she's about to surge forward when Harrow's speech bubble cuts through the panel: "The Ninth House will represent the Sixth House," she announces. Beside her, Gideon looks a bit startled. Naberius also starts, looking completely confused by the turn of events. Ianthe looks on, not surprised but annoyed. "The plot congeals," she says. "Since when has the Ninth been bosom with the sixth?" she asks. Harrow replies: "We aren't." Gideon's mouth begins to stretch into a grin. "Then--" continues Ianthe, but she is cut off. ""ALT
The page is dominated by a single vertical panel, showing both Harrowhark and Gideon, with Gideon standing firmly behind her necromancer, her rapier casually balanced on her shoulder. Her grin is wide, and her eyes shine through, even from behind her shades. In front, Harrow is pulling off her hood, her eyes narrowed. "Death first to the vultures and scavengers," she says. The background has grown dark, and both of the Ninth are lit from underneath, throwing them into rather appropriate spooky shadows. ALT

Harrow’s necromantic power includes the ability to create underlighting whenever it’s necessary.

Bonus:

A very quick and messy sketch of Gideon and Harrow. Gideon is lifting Harrow up with both arms and hugging her, a big smile on her face. "Thanks for backing me up, my midnight hagette!" she says. Harrow looks like a stick insect heading to a funeral. Her legs are awkwardly kicked up a bit, but she is otherwise stock-straight, and her eyes are wide and staring into the middle distance, though she is also visibly blushing. ALT