what is going on here? 
gideon is a butch jock trapped around magic nerds, who dosn't really care for necromancy or the goth aesthetic of the ninth cultists. one of the things i find intruiging about her is that for about the first half of her book, she doesn't seem to realise what story she's in (and as a result neither does the reader), treating it as an action/adventure and slowly coming to terms with the fact that it is really a tragedy after the fourth meet their fate. and it's a reasonable assumption, she makes bad jokes and reads sexy comics and cares more about hot women and pushups than whatever apotheosis the scions are vying for - she doesn't feel like a tragic figure, which only makes her arc more heart-wrenching.
as the series progresses she slowly sucuumbs to her genre, from normal teenager to lyctor-ghost to an empty-hearted zombie prince as, on a more meta level, she goes from main character to distant narrator to third-act reveal. to me her arc is all about agency and disillusionment. she wants to escape the ninth, to make a name for herself in the cohort and for Harrow to be impressed by her. she wants her parents to be big important poeple to prove the ninth wrong for treating her like shit. and she gets it all in the worst way possible. she leaves the ninth for canaan house as Harrow's cavalier, impresses her (and more) through her swordfighting skill, and makes herself indispensible to Harrow by through ascension to lyctorhood. her mother is the hero martyr of the rebellion and her father is literal god, but one is dead and never wanted her anyway, and the other only keeps her around for his own security. as Kiriona's life is everything she claimed to want at the start of the first book, but she hates it because it, like her, is not real. just as she is half a soul stuffed into an animated corpse in the fascimilie of a person, her life is a plethora of empty titles and accolades masquerading as real achievement. her father, famously the only necromancer capable of full resurrection, will not do it for her. despite her power, renown, and allegedy loving parent, she is instantly willing to abandon it all the moment she thinks it will save Harrow. being useful to god tided her over for a while, but as soon as she could she returned to her true wish; being needed by Harrow.
her relationship with Harrow drives me crazy. as the only children of the ninth, Harrow adored and Gideon abhorred, the two always hated each other. they never had a kind word for the other, and tore each other apart at ever chance. that is, until they have one (1) conversation about their feelings, realise they were taking out their own self hatred on each other, and immediately swear to die for one another. from then on, all she wants is to be Harrow's cavalier. and while it stuck me a bit at first, it completely makes sense for their characters. Gideon, despite being a bit of an asshole, has a good heart. she gets on well with the sixth and fifth, takes care of 'Dulcinea', tries to protect the fourth, and is generally pretty friendly when she has the option. she hates Harrow because Harrow is an asshole, but after hearing the reasons why, and the fact that Harrow doesn't actually want to hate her, doesn't even blame her for her parent's death, of course she's willing to try again. the new side of Harrow, the side that tries to protect her, that says please and compromises and treats her as an equal, Gideon serves without hesitation. in her eyes love is servitude; and because she imagines Harrow doesn't feel the same, she is willing to destroy herself as an act of love because she sees it as the best thing she can do. they've only ever had each other, were the closest thing the other had to peers, even when they hated each other. both hated themselves and assumed the other hated them because - with circumstances considered - they should. they were pitted against each other by the ninth, so once they escape that and sort things for themselves, all of that old bitterness is instantly converted into fierce devotion because it's always been the two of them. now it isn't Gideon against Harrow and Harrow against Gideon, it's Gideon and Harrow against the world. (a little more on Harrow's perspective later)
for real though i had not realised how starved i was for cool butch characters until i read her. i need her i need to be her i need to smoke a joint with her. she's everything to me personally.
