#tunesinthetomb

This is such an incredibly funny depiction of what it must’ve been like for our dear, tortured narrator of Harrow the Ninth (the framing of the little Gideons is literally the best!) It’s also the perfect picture of what it’s like to revisit the book with full context. I feel so bad for Gideon, but also it’s very funny and admittedly pretty hot (particularly with how everyone is drawn here!!) The Locked Tomb is sexy, funny, and sad, and this animatic is all those things wrapped into one.

I think this is the hardest I’ve laughed at a video in my entire life. The sense of timing is impeccable, the slow movement through every critique, the fact that the payoff is SO FAST and goes unremarked upon by Harrow kills me every time.

It is also such a delight to get to see scenes from John's past brought to life AND to see scenes that I've seen depicted many times in the past depicted from his perspective, because that's very unique. Seeing Dios Apate Minor contrasted with his body literally being destroyed to frame every action as sympathetic even while the lyrics tell us that the actions being taken are very reasonable is SO COOL.

This is forever the Lyctor anthem to me now. I am particularly fascinated with how this animatic uses the lyrics of the song chosen in their original form, while also allowing them to take on a completely new, bone-chilling meaning. The use of “you’ve got my eyes” is SO brilliant and nuanced and I could talk about just that forever. But I want to talk about how well this animatic dives into the heart of the unending cycle of Lyctorhood, how tragedy and violence and power and need feed into each other over and over and how all of these people have fallen into each other both literally and figuratively. This whole thing is both very chilling and very sexy to me (and the fact that it's sexy to me might mean there's something wrong with me, but we can't worry about that right now!) Also the "I was looking for a hooker and I found you" line ending on Gideon is SUCH A GUT PUNCH. You are using the lyrics of this song to repeatedly strike me in the face and body. I am very dazzled by this.

I don’t even know where to start with this one. It is the perfect overview of this series. Each scene and each moment with a character is so carefully and brilliantly chosen. The choice to use a song about The Locked Tomb (you should also listen to Death is a Girl btw that song is so so good) gives the artist so much room to explore and to hammer home what/who this is all about. I am in awe of how much ground is covered in this animatic and how much space can be held for Gideon, Harrow, Nona, and Alecto. The emotions that this animatic brings to life within me are the same ones that I feel when I think of the core of what makes me obsessed with this series. This is The Locked Tomb’s history flashing before my eyes, it is my life flashing before my eyes, it is a deep and beautiful understanding of this story in a way that blows my mind.

THIS ONE IS SO CUTE. I love how focused it is on intimate moments and on Nona spending time with people she loves. I love how the plot has to literally break through because she doesn’t want it and she doesn’t want to remember. It makes the ending such a gut punch as we slide into what was always going to happen, and all we have left are the memories. Also the way that light and glitching effects are used in this one is so cool I am obsessed.

This one is so sweet. It is the perfect, intimate bite of love and life with these four characters. Dancing in the kitchen in front of boarded up windows is truly the perfect encapsulation of what life was like for Nona. The body language in this one is so peak I genuinely adore the way that each character moves and carries themselves and seeing them touch and shift as they move together. This one makes me so happy and I can never watch it just once.

This is the Harrow the Ninth Animatic of all time to me. The artist perfectly communicates how nonstop everything is happening to Harrow, but how miserable and stagnant she is within it. Everything is so intense but also so agonizingly slow and it’s just miserable chaos for her. And I think the artist, in combination with the song (which was brilliantly chosen), perfectly draws you into this view of Harrow. What I also adore is the way that during the piano breaks (I don’t know music terms I’m sorry I hope that’s right) we dig beneath the miserable surface and find what underpins it. Those are always the moments when we break through tragedy and find love and that touches me so deeply. We are living in tragedy, but the artist picks the perfect moments to drop us back into love and remind us what ghosts linger in our lives and that makes me cry every single time! You’re breaking my heart, and also forcefully dragging me back into what made me fall in love with Harrow the Ninth in particular (also the “hot garbage pile on which I fucking sleep” while she’s sleeping in Ianthe’s bed is SO FUNNY). This is my favorite book and I feel extra in love with it when I'm watching this animatic.