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- I love you … I love you, I love you, I've missed you so much. Please be real. […] Oh, God, Ianthe. This is sick. Look at him. I hate you.
- —Coronabeth Tridentarius in Nona the Ninth
Tridentarii is the family ship between Ianthe Tridentarius and Coronabeth Tridentarius from The Locked Tomb fandom.
Canon[]
History[]
Coronabeth and Ianthe Tridentarius are twin sisters, and the heirs to the Third House. Coronabeth is the older of the two, while Ianthe is ever so slightly younger. Both are tall, blonde young women, with Coronabeth beautiful and golden, while Ianthe appears as her eerie, pale shadow. At the time of their birth, Corona had removed Ianthe's source of oxygen, and thus their parents risked intervention and removed the younger twin by surgical means. As they grew into young girls, it became clear to the twins that only Ianthe had the desired necromantic abilities. However, their father wanted a matched set of necromancer twin daughters, and the twins didn't want anything to separate them. Thus, at age six, they invented the lie that Coronabeth was also a necromancer, with Ianthe using her own abilities to fake necromantic aptitude for Coronabeth. This meant that the twins were together at almost all times, both out of necessity to maintain the facade and a desire for closeness to one another. They were so close growing up that Ianthe, at age 21, even claims that she and Coronabeth had only spent three nights apart in their entire lives.
Gideon the Ninth[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Harrow the Ninth[]
During Harrow the Ninth, the twins were separated for the duration of the book. Newly-minted Lyctor Ianthe was with the Emperor and his other Lyctors at the Emperor's great space station, the Mithraeum. Coronabeth, meanwhile, was under the custody of the insurgent group Blood of Eden, steadily becoming radicalized by them and becoming a member of the group in her own right. She was presumed dead by many, but not by Ianthe. Despite the separation, their bond remained a prominent motivating force for both twins.
Nona the Ninth[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Quotes[]
- “The other two were young women, both blond, though the similarity ended there: one girl was tall and statuesque, with a star-white grin and masses of bright gold curls. The other girl seemed smaller, insubstantial, with a sheet of hair the anaemic colour of canned butter and an equally bloodless smirk. They were actually the same height, Gideon realised; her brain had just deemed that proposition too stupid to credit on first pass. It was as though the second girl were the starved shadow of the first, or the first an illuminated reflection.”
- — thoughts of Gideon Nav in Gideon the Ninth, Chapter 7
- “Everyone's blind. Corona? A born necromancer? She was as necromantic as Babs. But Dad wanted a matched set. And we didn't want anything to separate us—so we started the lie. I've had to be two necromancers since I was six. It sharpens your focus, I tell you what. No … Corona couldn't've stopped me becoming a Lyctor.”
- — Ianthe in Gideon the Ninth, Chapter 34
- “She took Babs. And who even cares about Babs? Babs! She could have taken me.”
- — Coronabeth after Ianthe kills Naberius Tern to become a Lyctor in Gideon the Ninth, Chapter 34
- “Ianthe always said we were born cursed.”
- — Coronabeth in "As Yet Unsent"
- “Ianthe "Love My Twin, Also Murder" Tridentarius”
- — Harrowhark Nonagesimus describing Ianthe in Harrow the Ninth, Chapter 27
- “Coronabeth and I spent three nights apart in all our lives, and the second time she cried so hard that she threw up … I hope she's sleeping easy now. When she doesn't, she gets bags under her eyelids you could carry water in.”
- — Ianthe in Harrow the Ninth, Chapter 27
- “She could not bear meetings, or any kind of organised activity where she might be forced to deal with anyone else’s opinion, which you found strange considering that she had spent her entire life at the hip of her twin sister.”
- — thoughts of Harrowhark Nonagesimus in Harrow the Ninth, Chapter 36
- “Lately you found yourself praying that the traitor was not Ianthe, all the while having seen for yourself the living Coronabeth in the arms of Blood of Eden: the twin who, as far as you could tell, was the only human being Ianthe loved more than herself. For the sake of this sister Ianthe had held your gaze while sliding a knife through the palm of your hand.”
- — thoughts of Harrowhark Nonagesimus in Harrow the Ninth, Chapter 36
- Ianthe – “Corona.”
- Coronabeth – “Don't touch me. Don't fucking touch me.”
- Ianthe – “Shush-a-shush, my darling. Shush. Shhh. Here we are. We're fine. I've got you, love.”
- Coronabeth – “Oh my God, you're so cold. He's so cold.”
- Ianthe – “He's dead, sweetheart. It's me in here. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
- Coronabeth – “How could you? How could you?”
- Ianthe – “Please touch me. Ill die.”
- Coronabeth – “I love you … I love you, I love you, I've missed you so much. Please be real.”
- Ianthe – “I'm real—we're real…”
- Coronabeth – “Oh, God, Ianthe. This is sick. Look at him. I hate you.”
- Ianthe – “No, you don't. You always say that. Don't cry, honey … you can't cry if I can't cry with you. It's not fair. I can't cry at the moment unless I do the tear ducts manually. Look at you … more beautiful than ever, even with crappy jewellery and a million split ends. Studs, darling? Earrings on a diet?”
- Coronabeth – “Don't do that. Don't say what Babs would say.”
- Ianthe – “You know I always said what Babs would say, except when Babs said what I would. We kept you honest. Come here, my heart's love.”
- — Ianthe and Coronabeth's reunion in Nona the Ninth, Chapter 20
- Coronabeth – “She listened to me. I owe her.”
- Ianthe – “Oh, that's not special. Anyone would listen to you if you unbuttoned your top two buttons. Well, no, not Deuteros, you were never in her line. Look, I'm taking you both in, so you can relax. You just look so beautiful when you're nervous.”
- Coronabeth – “You're a dick.”
- — Ianthe and Coronabeth in Nona the Ninth, Chapter 20
- Nona – “But…Oh, also, Crown's boyfriend said he wants everything, especially Camilla and someone called Harrowhark Nonagesimus, and we have to give it to him by sundown.”
- Palamedes – “Yes, she was always demanding. In point of fact that's not actually Crown's boyfriend, Nona, it's her sister, but I don't think anyone could blame you for getting confused.”
- — Nona and Palamedes Sextus in Nona the Ninth, Chapter 21
Fanon[]
As a key relationship for two of the major supporting characters in The Locked Tomb, the Tridentarii relationship is one of the more popular in the fandom. Many fans have at least some degree of interest in the dynamic between the twins, even if it is not their main focus. Though not explicitly canon, many fans feel there is incestuous subtext between the characters, and thus both platonic and overtly incestuous depictions of their relationship are common.
For some fans, the incestuous nature of sexual or romantic depictions of Ianthe and Coronabeth's relationship is a deal-breaker and something they neither wish to partake in nor see fanworks and discussion of this nature. For others, exploring an incestuous side of the sisters’ relationship is merely taking the already extant subtext between the characters in the books one step further. Indeed, the author of The Locked Tomb series, Tamsyn Muir, is on record stating that she supports all manner of shipping, including those "problematic or cracky," while specifically mentioning other incestuous ships from the fandom.[1] Some fans who do not necessarily ship the characters together still feel that the incestuous subtext is present in the text. Even platonic fanworks may channel the uncomfortable degree of closeness that exists in their canon relationship.
Another prominent theme of the Tridentarii relationship is the abusive and manipulative nature of their bond. With Ianthe holding an upper hand in their relationship from a young age due to faking her sister's necromantic abilities on her behalf, Coronabeth is at her mercy before the secret is exposed. In addition, Ianthe often speaks to Coronabeth in a belittling fashion and is very manipulative, though Coronabeth is also capable of considerable manipulation in her own right. Their connection is also highly codependent. This toxicity offers fruitful ground for fans who wish to explore their characters and dynamic together.
As an incestuous pairing, the Tridentarii currently have 212 works on AO3. The platonic version of their tag meanwhile has 113. Because the Tridentarii twins’ characters are so deeply intertwined with each other, it is also common for either version of the relationship to appear untagged in works with a different focus. This includes both works about other pairings for their characters and those about completely unrelated pairings like Griddlehark. As a ship, it is rivalled by Jodybeth for Corona and Harrianthe and Kirianthe for Ianthe.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Coronabeth & Ianthe tag on AO3
- Coronabeth/Ianthe tag on AO3
- TUMBLR
- Tridentarii posts on Tumblr
- Tridentariicest posts on Tumblr