carys-the-ninth:

carys-the-ninth:

i think the primary difference between my perception of Harrow & many other peoples’ is that y’all primarily see her as Goth (which is a counterculture aesthetic that allows for self-expression) and i primarily see her as Nun

yes the nun aesthetic of the ninth absolutely whips (skull face paint! robes! bone corset!) but harrow is not spray painting shitty thrift store boots and fucking around with black lipstick for funsies. the face paint is sacramentally blessed. there is an established canon of liturgical skulls to be chosen from. her robes are vestments of office. all that skeletal mass has a purpose.

the modern parallels, IMO, are much closer to “only novitiate in a decaying abbey trying to get them vaguely into the 20th century” or “eldest daughter desperately keeping the family business afloat in her dying hometown” than they are to cool goth girl