Semimonthly Discussion Post #1

[deadfinch]

Welcome to thelockedtomb's semimonthly discussion post.

Thank you to everyone who filled out my survey last week. The votes on the frequency poll were pretty split; in an attempt to strike a balance between everyone's preferences, I'll be posting a new discussion entry every other Friday at some variable point in the morning, PST. Feel free to send me feedback about how this is or isn't working for you as we go forward.

Since this is our very first discussion, there won't be any particular topic. (For those of you interested in the idea of totally optional discussion topics, feel free to submit some ideas to me here!) This might be a good opportunity to introduce yourself (if you haven't already), what you enjoy about the series, your favorite characters, your theories, your predictions, your questions, what you're hoping to see in the next book, etc. You can also talk about the fannish side of things: swap plot bunnies, solicit feedback on some meta you're working on, try to sell people on your favorite crackship... or whatever else you can think of! The post is your oyster.

There is currently no policy regarding content warnings. I welcome feedback from the community about how we'd like to handle this going forward.

For obvious reasons, this is not a spoiler-free zone. We'll approach the subject of a spoiler policy once Alecto approaches the shelves.

Comments

[deadfinch]

i'm finch! i've been a fan of tazmuir's since her homestuck era, and i'm still kind of blown away by how much the locked tomb series has taken off - not because it doesn't deserve the popularity, which it definitely, definitely does, but because it's always kind of stunning (and inspiring) to watch someone you were familiar with only in a fannish context break through the stratosphere of mainstream popularity like that. she's an excellent writer with a genuinely unique voice and i'll read basically anything she publishes, as a rule.

my favorite characters (so far) are ianthe (in all her terrible gooeyness!), camilla, palamedes, cristabel (even with what little we know of her), mercymorn, john, and augustine. i ship harrow/ianthe and cam/pal most ardently, though i'm a multishipper of the "everyone is being homoerotic with everyone else and i am here for it" variety.

i read each book on release and haven't reread any of them since - i'm waiting to do a big reread right before alecto drops. (that might be a fun thing to coordinate here, if anyone has the interest and the time to join me.) as such, i always feel extremely intimidated joining in on discussions. there are so many little details i clearly missed my first time around! i'm like, alright, there are people floating around here who have PhDs in Locked Tomb Meta and comparatively speaking i'm like, a wide-eyed first year undergraduate. but i enjoy reading other people's theories. this is the first canon i've been into for a good sweep that actually encourages that sort of deeper engagement.

[biodamped]

Hey all, I'm Lil - I have no brand identity to speak of, so you may already know me as palamedesrektus. I've dabbled in and out of many fandoms over the years, but it's been a heck of a long time since one sunk its hooks in as deeply as TLT has. I first read GTN back in 2020 as a pandemic survival tool, but despite falling in instant love with the nerds of the Sixth House, it didn't occur to me to check for any public fandom circles. That happened last November, when I emerged from NTN in a fugue state. xD

I've currently got a very slow re-read underway, to support a very slow (and large) fic project I'm working on, and I'm having a great time spotting all the little details I missed the first couple of times round. As far as faves go, I'm unapologetically team Cam/Pal (RIP to the friends who expected me to love Gideon/Harrow, I didn't do this on purpose); I will go for hours about these two if given the chance. I also adore the terrible teens, and Magnus and Abigail, my beloveds - really hoping some or all of them make it back for Alecto! I'd also love to see more of the minor characters we've been introduced to - We Suffer, Juno Zeta, Pash for starters. (I do think it's pretty safe to say we'll get at least some of these in ATN, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up TOO much lest I disappoint myself.)

[themorikelife]

TLT has a very large and very lovable cast attached to it! I would love to see more of the Canaan Crew return in Alecto the Ninth. Their arcs seem like they would be incomplete if they weren't given at least some page-time! I'm dying for some Gideon & Pash interaction. Do they know they're cousins? Are they angsty about it? I think We Suffer/Juno Zeta is the unintended milf4milf ship of all time. Juno is SO charming, and her charms cannot and will not be resisted!

[meikuree]

jumping in just to say that I am FULLY on board the Juno/We Suffer milf4milf train.

also, hello biodamped and it's nice to have you here -- would love to hear about that fic project if you want to share!

[biodamped]

Hello!! (We love a We Suffer/Juno Zeta in this house)

So - I definitely will talk about it/share at some point, because if I try to work through everything I want to do mentally, I will probably go insane. xD I kind of want to sound out where the best place to post about it as I work on it is, because I know Cam/Pal isn't everyone's cup of tea. But in a nutshell: it's essentially a series of connected fics; they will almost all function as stand-alones and I'm posting them out of chronological order, but they do all take place within one timeline in one (AU from the events of Nona) world, so I've listed them as a series on AO3. What I've written so far is over here, and at the moment, I'd say I've got 8 or so planned stories to go?

It was only ever meant to be one fic (I read Nona, I had a lot of feelings, I had to write something from Cam's POV basically immediately) but when I got to the end of it, I realised that I sort of wanted to know what came next, and then I had another idea for something set pre-canon and then... I basically sat down and wrote a long timeline of Sixth House nerd interaction. And now I'm slowwwwly writing them all. There's only one which will be a direct sequel and require reading an earlier work, which is what came right after the events of the first one I posted last November, "i carry it in". That's the one I need to do the re-read for, because it will include a lot of events from Nona, and a fair few events after Nona... and I imagine will be incredibly AU by the time we get Alecto, lol.

[biodamped]

We Suffer/Juno Zeta is SHOWSTOPPING, my eternal admiration for the people populating that AO3 tag!! (I would love to see Gideon and Pash interacting, absolutely. The world's bitchiest cousins? I think so.)

[themorikelife]

Greetings! I'm KT. I've been a fan of TLT since 2019 when I read Gideon the Ninth and started joining fandom circles almost immediately after Harrow the Ninth came out. I legit took two days off work so I could read Nona the Ninth (it also aligned with an extended weekend vacation with my family so I didn't have to tell my boss I'm taking off work to read a book XD)

It's been a hot minute since I read the source text. I attempted to re-read Gideon the Ninth last year but I kept getting distracted by fanfic and other things, so I'm thinking my next re-read will start with Harrow the Ninth.

All the power to the people attempting to make predictions for Alecto the Ninth. My only prediction is there should be a one-line reference to Frontline Titties of the Fifth, and that reference should mark it as a real publication, courtesy of Gideon's newfound influence as an empire figurehead. XP

One thing that kind of sits with me with regard to these books is that Nona the Ninth feels like a break in the pattern with regards to Point of View. I know it's the first act in a larger book, so I'm curious if other people have similar views or feelings.

Gideon the Ninth has our girl (best girl imho) Gideon as the main POV. Harrow the Ninth is all about Harrow but has the surprise reveal of Gideon as the POV all along. And though Gideon appears in Nona the Ninth, she's not a POV character, which kind of bummed me out on the first read. I may be the only person bummed by this, so I'm curious how other people felt about it. Gideon is perhaps my favorite character of a large and extremely lovable cast. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and other ways you think Nona the Ninth feels like a smaller part of a larger whole!

[meikuree]

[waves] it's nice to see you here! I think time's proven that any attempt to predict AtN will just result in Tazmuir blowing everything out of the water and/or blowing our collective minds, so I'm not really seriously speculating, but I like watching for what'll happen.

I've a number of thoughts about the use of POV in the books -- NtN did feel too sudden a change in pov to me, but she grew on me and I warmed up to her eventually + her pov's pretty interesting on a few levels, thematic and setting-wise.

[themorikelife]

Hi!! *waves back* It's also nice to see you here!

Nona grew on me too. I love how happy she is and how that's juxtaposed with all the sadness happening around her. I also love how willing she is to love. Would love to read more of your thoughts on her POV if you're willing to share!

[dreamy]

Not much to say, started reading this series in late 2021 and was HOOKED immediately! Gideon is my favorite, and then of course dear Nona. I love to indulge in Griddlehark fanfics - sadly, my favorites were removed from AO3 by the author a few months ago and I don't know why. Otherwise, I'd leave them in the recs entry...

My favorite AU right now is: what if Gideon were taken and raised by BoE?
My favorite crackship is Pash x me, because I can fix her. (Just kidding, I like her exactly the way she is. A hot mess!)

For anyone jonesing for somethin' good while waiting on the extras that will come in the Nona paperback, and then Alecto, I recommend reading AK Larkwood's The Unspoken Name. The main character is a butch orc on the run from the cult she was raised in. There's a sequel, which I don't like as much but it's still good and these books also have memes in them? Lesbians and memes? So that's that on that. 👍