i know it’s very much taken for granted now but it’s still hilarious to me that gideon the ninth introduces you to the most miserable barren goth desolate skeleton planet in the world and you go. oh damn. guess this is what the world is like in this scifi story. and then the main characters get off the skeleton planet and the rest of the world is normal and everyone’s like, what the hell is up with these weird disturbing skeleton women. gross!
so funny to me how augustine and mercymorn were like “don’t worry guys. we have a plan to distract god. just wait for the signal, you’ll know it when you see it.” and the signal was to just start having a threesome with god on the dinner table right in front of harrow and ianthe
i know most of us are on Alecto’s side because of *gestures broadly* reasons but given
a) how tazmuir likes to recontextualize stuff
b) the OG lyctors were scared shitless of her (Augustine saying she was a mad monster in a human suit and John went and made her worse? like i know they were pissed off about the resurrection beast stuff but there has to have been more to it than that?)
c) in the poem that is Christabel Oct’s namesake there is a MYSTERIOUS BLONDE WOMAN who is NOT HUMAN and moves into the castle and BEWITCHES THE LORD and CASTS A SPELL ON CHRISTABEL SO SHE CAN’T WARN ANYONE
i just. sort of. you know. i wonder. if it means anything.
oh
oh no
oh jeez
im assuming everyone but me knew this as tazmuir gave an interview before gtn was out where she said alecto was named for one of the furies
I finally read the three books about the lesbian necromancers in space, and what can I say… Don’t know what’s deader me after reading or the books themselves.
I was going to post this with a nice, slow contemplative track, but then this happened.
Honestly, I’m enjoying the vibe.
A bit of slo-mo battle ballet, a good demonstration of how much “area denial” is possible with a Zweihander or Montante - a bodyguard armed with one could block an entire street while his principal was hustled to safety - and one of the few situations where spinning around in combat isn’t just a Hollywood affectation.
Not sure about skipping in the air, though…
This clip - where the swords are moving at more like realistic speed - actually includes some bodyguarding.
NB that if a two-handed sword is too heavy, say 5kg / 11 lbs and up (the one in this post is 6.6kg / 14½ lbs) it was made for carrying in processions, not for fighting; such swords might not even be properly tempered for combat use.
Despite their size, combat two-handers
weren’t especially heavy, no more than 3.5kg / 8 lbs, while the OP and the one in the following pic from London Longsword, with their narrow blades, may weigh even less. It meant they were both fast and nimble; with the long grip as a lever and dominant hand as its pivot, a cut or thrust could change direction faster than an opponent might expect.
So while clever stuff like ducking in behind the swing might work, if it didn’t work, the not-so-clever person could be in a world of hurt. Even if the blade didn’t cut them (the edge might be out of alignment, it happens) getting a full-force wallop on the head, shoulder or arm
from five feet of steel
is something anyone with sense would rather avoid.
Those little spikes on the blade near the hilt (”parrying-hooks”) function as a secondary crossguard and on some swords - like the one on the right in the photo below - are much further along, with the ricasso section covered in leather for a better grip.
Holding it like this shortens the weapon by almost a foot for fighting at closer quarters, in a combat style that IIRC abandoned great sweeping strokes and relied more on the point, as if the sword was a spear that could also inflict cuts (as some spears can do).
The wavy (”flamboyant” / “flamberge”) edges didn’t make the blade cut better, or cause worse wounds, though you’ll see such claims made on the web * but they looked cool and the increased use of water-powered grinding wheels meant they were a lot easier to create.
Start with a plain blade, grind on the fancy edges, and there you go.
* If wavy edges were so much more efficient than straight ones, there should be a lot more cut-dedicated historical swords - sabres, katanas, scimitars etc. - made that way. And there aren’t. Indo-Persian swords with wavy blades or serrated edges seem to demonstrate swordsmithing skill and conspicuous consumption more than improving the weapon’s fighting quality.
This one has serrations on the back of the blade, where they have nothing to do with the cutting edge at all….
Another suggested effect is that the wavy blade or edge - especially on a sidesword or rapier - made parrying uncomfortable for those not used to it, giving the wielder an advantage. This is possible, but such swords are rare and unusual, suggesting the “advantage” if it existed at all wasn’t enough to make it popular.
I’ve got a private theory that a lot of
the wavy-edge Zweihander / montante
swords currently on display date from after such weapons went out of use, and were made (or older ones pimped up) that way as decor because it made them look more impressive
when hung on mansion walls.
YMMV on that one.
They’re also still part of the equipment (regalia?) of the Papal Swiss Guard, and are carried on parade in a distinctive way.
Interesting detail: these swords have parrying-hooks, but they’re right up against the main crossguard with no room for a hand, so are no use for their intended function.
My money’s on them being repros-just-for-parade. After all, the Guard have given up on metal helmets and now wear 3-D printed thermoplastic ones; I’m wondering when the rest of their armour will go the same way.
Realized I never made a real post including the meme in my header, so graciously made by @michael-pemulis when I told her that I realized that Tamsyn Muir’s Homestuck ass has made Blue Lips by Regina Spektor relevant again while making a “Jodcore” spotify playlist.
Rotating something new in the ol’ Locked-Tomb-rotted melon.
Sarpedon is a ruler of Lycia famously killed by Patroclus during the Trojan War, and there is a struggle for his body until it is rescued by Apollo and conveyed to Hypnos and Thanatos (sleep and death) for burial.
I’m like well huh, maybe someone’s gonna kill Sarpedon, who’s our Patroclus.
Well, if we have a Patroclus, who’s our Achilles?
Gideon’s death is what undid Harrow, the way that Patroclus’s death undid Achilles.
Here’s the kicker: Harrow’s mother Pelleamena is named for Achilles’ father Peleus, according to the gtn name notes. a fun detail that seems incredibly specific for a character we never see alive. Tamsyn Muir, what the fuck are you up to.
Will Kiriona kill Sarpedon? I guess we’ll just have to see.
(though to be fair, Harrow’s father is named for the Trojan king Priam, who was on the side of the people Achilles and Patroclus killed, so who knows, this is just a fun little idea I’ve been rotating in my head). How much of this is gonna end up Iliad-based? We already obviously have the Dios Apate.
I have a Locked Tomb-specific blog now!
I’m a little rough on my *Iliad* knowledge, so I’m gonna have to actually go back and familiarize myself with it, but here are some other Iliad parallels that I’ve noticed so far! (Please feel free to add any I’ve missed, like I said I’m a little rusty).
1. Palamedes was originally going to be named “Diomedes,” who is, to quote TM, “Athena’s favorite goodboy in the Iliad.”
2. Protesilaus was the first hero to die at Troy, and the first person to die “during”/because of the Lyctor trials.
3. Rhodes, where Dulcinea is from, is a Greek Island said to have participated in the Trojan War.
4. Priamhark and Pelleamena are named for Priam, the last king of Troy, and Peleus, hero, king, and father of Achilles.
5. The Erinyes are mentioned, at least briefly. The Erinyes also being known as the Furies, of which Alecto is one. She is specifically the Fury named for “Unceasing Anger,” meant to punish moral crimes, especially if they were committed against other humans.
The Aenid, which also kind of deals with the Trojan War, sees the Goddess Juno command Alecto (spelled “Allecto” in that text) to essentially wreak havoc on the Trojans. She takes over the body of a queen (Queen Amata) to make a big fuss and convince all of the Latin mothers to riot against the Trojans. She also disguises herself as a priestess and appears in a dream, persuading Turnus, Roman King of the Rutuli to begin a war against the Trojans, which he mocks her for.
Do these bits have *anything* to do with Juno Zeta, Alecto, Ianthe “going to see a man about a queen,” or Harrow being a priestess replacing Alecto in John’s Dream?
I guess we’ll just have to see. This is just what I’ve got off the top of my head at the moment. I am at work lol.
(Also wondering if Corona joining BoE makes her the Helen of Troy in this Iliad, also making “Ianthe went to see a man about a queen” relevant)
EDIT: just thought about Ianthe and her apples. Is Ianthe seeding chaos with her apples of discord??? I mean it *is* Ianthe. Probably not. I’m picking at the loosest threads at this point.
My ADHD would not let me focus at work today, so running with my Iliad parallels, here are the Greek Gods each of the OG Lyctors correspond to, in my very humble opinion.
Jod - Zeus, obvs. King Boy, the Big Man. Known for having random children with mortals, making them Half God. Was tricked into sex in the OG Dios Apate.
Augustine - Poseidon. Master of the River, “brother” of King Boy.
Mercymorn - Hera. I had trouble with this one, but this comes down mostly to her associations with pregnancy and childbirth, both pre- and post-Resurrection, and the involvement in Dios Apate.
Gideon - Ares. This was another obvious one, with the Second House being the military, and being located on Mars. The skull on the Second House Lyctoral door in Canaan House might also be a ram skull, ram for Zodiac Aries.
Cassiopeia - Athena. Wisdom, knowledge, the color grey. Etc.
Ulysses - Dionysus. We know almost nothing about him, except he loved to throw sexy parties. Case closed.
Cyrus - Apollo. Again, we know close to nothing about Cyrus, but we know he was a painter and apparently had an appreciation for art (even if it was only nudes of himself and his bestie).
Cytherea - Aphrodite. Not only does the Seventh House have a preoccupation with beauty, Cytherea is a real Greek island that has associated itself with Aphrodite.
Anastasia - Hades. Hades was not an Olympian, and Anastasia is not a Lyctor. Both were banished, essentially, to manage the dead, only revered by those in their realms. The Ninth House is on Pluto, and of course Roman Pluto corresponds to Greek Hades.
I have not yet decided on any for Ianthe and Harrow, or if this is a more “senior Lyctors only” theory, but I love the thought that Ianthe and her apples might make her an Eris with her apple of discord, which I would *love* to see with an equivalent Athena/Hera/Aphrodite, Cassy/Mercy/Cyth.
If anybody wants charts for the skulls that I modified, shoot me a dm!
All of the round buttons besides the big Nona button are from FanFlairShop on Etsy! She’s in a tlt facebook group I’m in, and is super great. She has a TON of tlt buttons, and some mugs! (I also have her “HERE IS THE GRAVEYARD AND WE ARE THE GRAVES” mug and lemme say, it’s 10/10)
The two enamel pins and the Nona button were pre-order/promotional items from the publisher.
Best scene we never saw in Gideon the Ninth was when Ianthe broke into the final laboratory to find the last secret of the lyctoral process, saw “YOU LIED TO US” painted in giant red fresh letters all across the wall, and went “Mm, well that’s none of my business” and turned around to cannibalise babs anyway
