#locked tomb nomenclature

[winter2468]

There are so many languages outside the Nine Houses, but the Nine Houses have only one.

Given that John could have founded the Houses with any language, I think it's notable that he chose English instead of te reo.

(I'm pretty sure that they aren't speaking te reo because Kiriona is the te reo version of Gideon, and if everyone in the Houses were speaking te reo the whole time, then there wouldn't be any notable difference between Gideon and Kiriona. Given that John is from Aotearoa and went to university in England, the only other logical option for him to go for is English.)

There are a few interpretations of this:

John chose English because he didn't know enough te reo to found his empire in that language. This would be symbolic of how he's lost parts of his culture due to imperialism, and then the language itself becomes almost entirely lost, with only John (and any te reo speakers among the trillionaire ancestors of Blood of Eden) speaking it. Any te reo speaker resurrected to become part of the Nine Houses would have ended up speaking English. Their language would be colonised without their knowledge or consent.

John knew enough te reo, but chose to found the Houses in English anyway. This could have been for any number of reasons: unconsicous snobbishness from imperialist Western perspectives of English being a 'more sophisticated' language. Or just the fact that only about 8% of people in Aotearoa speak te reo. Even though he'd be resurrecting everyone to speak his chosen language anyway, unconsciously he would still consider it a fringe language, not something to be used universally.

It felt too personal. Te reo clearly matters enough to John for him to rename his daughter Kiriona, but it might have felt too close to home for him to have everyone in the Houses speaking it. He might have wanted to keep it privately for himself.

more discussion of locked tomb language

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #the locked tomb #locked tomb nomenclature #tlt #john gaius #jod #htn #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth #ntn #analysis

[na102]

I have a vague theory about who Nona is which is based on another vague theory. The Nona Body and/or Soul is whoever was In the locked tomb on the ninth but with Amensia. She( because so far all the options are women which I find cool) was in a Cryo pod on the ninth. (Supported by the ice box and spoiler except which mentions cryo sleep). My big theory is that the use of cryo chambers/sleeping causes memory loss. Or Amensia and especially the longer you use it the worse it is. I mean if you think about how cryo sleep theoritcally works its feasible to think that it causes some sort of Brain damage. It also makes sense how John saved humanity but there is no solid mention or memory as to what happened. Also a lot of the jokes and references to Pre reservation almost feel less like oral history and more like people going off what was left. For example magiznes and memes instead of actual memory. It feels like everyone is missing big pieces. Another reason why this is probably somewhat true is Wake. Awake Remembrance of these Valient Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back To Reality Oops There Goes Gravity. Obviously these are words and phrases. Now I originally thought that Awake was the most recent name what the commander was 1st named and Oops there goes Gravity is her ancestor. But it's not. Awake is the most distant ancestors with Oops there goes Gravity being similar to a first name. The evidence for this is that Military titles typically don't use 1st names they use last. If you're name is Jane Doe you're Commandor Doe not Jane. Its reasonable to believe they follow this same convention. Now the word Awake and the phrase Remembrance of these Valient Dead are two different names. With Rembrance.... Being a descendent of Awake. Now back to the main thing. You're a survivor fleeing whatever happened on earth leaving your cryo pod for the 1sr time with no memory of who you are what happened or where your from. The 1st thing you here is an automated voice machine telling you to Awake.

You make your name or are named by the very 1st word you remember hearing. The first word of Earth you remember being spoken too the last word spoken by something that remembers Earth. Everyone is named when they are born. And waking from that bod was a birth to who you are now it was the only birth you remember.

The BOE culture seems much less like they are decendenrs of people who remember earth and much more like decendennts of people who woke and had to figure out who they were where they were from ect from the remains of a civilation magiznes computer logs ect. The sheer cultural dedication to the preservation of memory except it's only fragments with no to little context. A mausoleum to a dead and forgotten culture/world. I don't think anyone but John truly remember the the pre resurrection. I think that's why Nona had Amensia so bad is because of how long she was in a cryo chamber. Sorry for the long post but I had to share this. Both the nine houses and BOE are fighting for a memory of the Earth.

In summary Cryo sleep causes Amensia. Which is why Nona lost her memories.

#the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #wake #commandor wake #theory #long post #John #nomenclature #of the BOE names #nona #harrow #gideon #BOE #nona theory

[winter2468]

Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead got defeated by a Woken Remembrance of Valiant Dead - Matthias Nonius.

Abigail Pent 'woke' Nonius by summoning him from the river,

Nonius is influenced by Ortus' Noniad (like speaking in meter): he's not just Matthias Nonius, he's Matthias Nonius as 'remembered' by the Ninth House

And Nonius is considered one of the Ninth's House's most 'valiant dead'

more discussion of locked tomb names

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #commander wake #awake remembrance of these valiant dead #matthias nonius #harrow the ninth #noniad #htn #the locked tomb #tlt #ortus nigenad #abigail pent #nonius #locked tomb nomenclature #parallels

[winter2468]

The name Dulcinea comes from the Latin word dulce, meaning sweet, which is even more evident when people shorten it to to Dulcie, which is very appropriate for her.

However, it also reminds me of the poem 'Dulce et decorum est' - a poem about young people being persuaded to go to war only to either die or be horribly traumatised. The poem's name comes from the line 'The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.'

This fits with the theme of John Gaius lying to the Lyctors, their necromancers, and anyone who's ever fought for John in the Cohort: the lie that they're suffering or dying for a worthy cause. Which is exactly why Cytherea, posing as Dulcie, wanted to kill him.

more discussion of locked tomb names

#locked tomb nomenclature #the locked tomb #dulcinea #dulcinea septimus #tlt #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #gtn #htn #john gaius #jod #cytherea #cytherea the first #cytherea loveday

[winter2468]

Cytherea is another name for Aphrodite, appropriate given that she spends Gideon the Ninth trying to seduce the titular butch.

Supposedly, Aphrodite first emerged from the waters off the island Cythera - and Canaan house is, in its way, an island in the sea from which Cytherea emerged as a Lyctor.

more discussion of locked tomb names

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #locked tomb nomenclature #the locked tomb #cytherea #cytherea loveday #cytherea the first #gideon the ninth #gideon nav #gtn #tlt #parallels #lyctors #og lyctors

[winter2468]

The fact that John took Gaius as a surname and gave his daughter the surname Gaia. Literally making his family suname ‘Earth’. As if bonding himself to Alecto was marriage.

more discussion of locked tomb names

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #the locked tomb #john gaius #jod #alecto #gideon nav #kiriona gaia #ntn #tlt #locked tomb nomenclature

[winter2468]

Alecto is named after one of the Furies (Erinyes). Her name means ‘endless/implacable anger’.

Also notable is that the Furies were known as the Kindly Ones - a conflict of rage and kindness, similar to how the Lyctors described Alecto as horrific, but Alecto tries to be kind to Harrow, in her own inhuman way.

Alecto the Fury was specifically in charge of punishing moral crimes such as anger, especially if the crime was a human’s anger against another human.

Which makes one wonder - who could be the other two? Megaera for jealous rage? Tisiphone for vengeful destruction?

more discussion of locked tomb names

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #the locked tomb #alecto #tlt #locked tomb nomenclature #the furies #erinyes

[winter2468]

My latest thoughts on Locked Tomb names: Palamedes

Palamedes is the name of a Middle Eastern knight of the Round Table. He was in unrequited love with Iseult - just as TLT Palamedes was in unrequited love with Dulcinea.

There is also some foreshadowing for his transformation into Paul. Arthurian Legend!Palamedes was pagan, then converted to Christianity. Locked Tomb!Palamedes becomes Paul, the name of one of the most famous Christian apostles.

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #locked tomb nomenclature #palamedes the sixth #palamedes sextus #palamedes #tlt #the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #nona the ninth #gtn #ntn #names #thoughts #parallels #paul #dulcinea #dulcinea septimus #camilla hect #arthuriana

[winter2468]

Juno Zeta, named after Juno, goddess of motherhood and family. Not only is Juno the mother of Palamedes, but she’s also very interested in family trees.

more discussion of locked tomb names

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #the locked tomb #juno zeta #nona the ninth #sixth house #palamedes sextus #palamedes #ntn #tlt #the mysterious study of doctor sex #locked tomb nomenclature

[winter2468]

The latest in Locked Tomb name shenanigans: The Angel’s forebear was named Emma Sen. The Angel who is the message and the Messenger. Emma Sen. MSN. MSN Messenger.

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #locked tomb nomenclature #the locked tomb #tlt #aim #the angel #nona the ninth #ntn #puns #the messenger #names

[winter2468]

Back on my discussion of Locked Tomb names with Pyrrha, as in pyrrhic, as in ‘(of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.’ Pyrrha Dve, who is immortal and indestructible and got that way at the cost of her original body, and the life of her closest friend.

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #the locked tomb #names #pyrrha dve #pyrrha #tlt #nona the ninth #ntn #harrow the ninth #htn #locked tomb nomenclature #thoughts

[winter2468]

Dulcinea is such a great choice of name for that character, though.

Because until Harrow the Ninth, we never actually meet her. We have Cytherea, impersonating what she thinks is a believable version of Dulcinea, and we have Palamedes, in unrequited love with Dulcinea but he’s never met her in person, and he doesn’t get to, not ever.

In the story Don Quixote, Dulcinea is Don Quixote’s imaginary lady love. He mistakes a farm girl, Aldonza, for Dulcinea, but aside from that he never meets her, because she does not exist.

Referring to a person as someone’s ‘Dulcinea’ implies idealistic devotion.

It’s such a fitting name for the character - everything from Palamedes’ unrequited attraction, to the fact that he never meets her, to the fact that we the readers don’t meet her at all in the first book.

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #dulcinea #dulcinea septimus #names #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #palamedes #palamedes sextus #locked tomb #the locked tomb #locked tomb nomenclature

[winter2468]

I’ve already talked about how Dulcinea is a great name choice for the character, but Protesilaus is a great choice of name too. In the Iliad, Protesilaus was the first Greek to set foot on the shore of Troy, and the first Greek to die. In Gideon the Ninth, Protesilaus is the first cavalier that Gideon and Harrow encounter, and also the first cavalier to die (because he’s already dead at the time).

#this is not a gideon the ninth quote #locked tomb #the locked tomb #protesilaus #protesilaus the seventh #names #gideon the ninth #gideon spoilers #cavaliers #iliad #protesilaus ebdoma #locked tomb nomenclature