#HE'S THE OOGIE BOOGIE KING

[skysensei07]

Oogie Boogie Pumpkin King AU Lore dump

While he initially followed Edgar, one disastrous Halloween would lead him to later rebel against him, it was also here that he realized that he was simply using him as a way to maintain his cruel ideals for Halloween

in comparison to his original counterpart, this version of Oogie is like a fun uncle figure to the town, especially to Lock, Shock & Barrel

The Neon green he has whenever he's in a fully dark area has now become a permanent color

He still likes to gamble, just not with other people's lives, but as a way to settle disputes in case things got heated as well as for some fun games

The One-Armed Bandits and skeletons from oogie's lair are citizens of Halloween Town

His Pumpkin King outfit was created and designed by Edgar

On the outside, Oogie might seem jovial and joyful (which is mostly true). but deep down, he's burdened by the pain of losing his only friend as well as being the inadvertent cause of Jack becoming evil in the first place as well as the disappearance of Sally

While most of citizens of Halloween Town began to trust Oogie again after he kicked out Edgar, some of them still hate him for what happened last Halloween

Dr. Finkelstein used to be pretty overprotected toward his creations, especially Sally. but ever since her disappearance, his personality changed significantly, for better or for worse

No one knows what happened to Jack after The Pumpkin king competition, Oogie suspects that he might be hiding somewhere in the outskirts. however, he's too scared to see Jack after all that time, especially what happened between them

Recently, there have been rumors circling around claiming that people saw a figure wearing a ragged cloak on the outskirts, no one knows why nor who it is behind the cloak. but people who've encountered it say that it would mercilessly attack anyone who even dared to stare at it. however, recently, it started to gain a huge interest in Oogie Boogie

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

So i remember a post you did on how oogie boogie might've been mistreating lock shock and barrel do you think jack knew and just didn't do anything or something else

Referring to these posts.

--

I've seen some great interpretations of this *exact* topic in the TNBC Fandom!

Abuse victims can have trouble seeking help for their situations, or expressing it to begin with. I think this relates to Lock, Shock, and Barrel with Oogie Boogie - since they emphasize how "mean" he is in their song, I wouldn't be surprised if they lived in (secret) fear of him, and the repercussions that come with disappointing/disobeying him. They may have a fear of *outright* saying anything, since they would be eaten/punished for it if Boogie hears/sees them doing it. For this reason, I don't think they could've openly expressed what was happening to them with Jack Skellington - but I bet they tried to tell him (or others) in their own ways, or at least hinted to it.

But, as we see Jack's obliviousness in the film, there may be a chance he couldn't understand or really notice what was going on with Lock, Shock, and Barrel. And since they can't directly show/tell him, it may have been difficult to get him to realize and act on it.

However, I should also mention the song segment in Oogie's Revenge, during Rooftop Rumble. At the end of the song, Jack tries to warn the trio about their trust in Oogie, and how it will inevitably lead to his betrayal and their (possible) death. This points to him *knowing* that Oogie is using them for his own gain and 'rewards' them to maintain their trust, but Lock, Shock, and Barrel either refuse to part from Boogie (which can happen with some victims), or they simply **couldn't**. Or Jack just doesn't know about the deeper part of their circumstances with him.

Overall? I think Jack may understand *something* is going on, and has tried to reach out to the trio by separating them from him (and warning them that he's not trustworthy), since he specifically tells them to leave Oogie *OUT* of kidnapping Santa Claus...but they may be in the situation where they can't exactly leave him (at least, so easily).

[crystallizedtwilight]

Nightmare Before Christmas AU Overview:

🎃🦇🍂

OVERVIEW: This AU follows the events of the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. Taking place a few years in the future, it focuses on the adventures of Lock, Shock, and Barrel as young adults. The trio has since been welcomed into the town by Pumpkin King and Queen Jack and Sally, though they still live happily in their treehouse on the outskirts. They enjoy life under their own command, free from the now-deceased Oogie Boogie, causing mischief and pulling pranks on the good folk of Halloween Town. Throughout their continued adventures together they discover that growing means learning about themselves, each other, and dealing with change. But one thing remains constant—they'll always be birds of a feather, now and forever.

BACKSTORIES: The trio came to Halloween Town under unfortunate circumstances. Each of their families had lived in the human world, as many monsters do, either nomadically, elusively in the wilderness, or by masquerading. The trio were all born in different parts of the the world during the height of monster hunting. They were three fortunate cases who were found by other monsters and taken to Halloween Town as orphans.

Once in Halloween Town, the trio often ditched school, feeling they weren’t as accepted as the local kids, and deliberately caused trouble which earned them a bad reputation. The three bonded over a love of mischief and the feeling of being outcasts, so when Oogie offered them a life free of rules, they were easily convinced to leave the town entirely to become his henchmen.

Unbeknownst to them, the reason monster hunting took place during that time was because Oogie was rampantly devouring human children. Essentially, they were orphaned because their boss had given humans in several towns desperate cause to hunt the supernatural.

They would not come to learn this until after Boogie’s death. They grew up resenting humans for orphaning them and were horrified to learn that they'd worked for the monster who forced humans to defend themselves as well as let their parents take the fall. Nowadays, they choose to give the human world a chance by regularly traveling all over the world.

LOCK:

Lock is an imp, which is a type of devil. He has nocturnal vision, speed, and a natural desire to climb to very high places. He can often be found on the roof of the treehouse or up a tree when he needs to think. In the human world, imps are stealth hunters in deep forests, preying on deer and other local fauna. However, Lock has a diet of junk food and candy since he was raised without these hunting skills in Halloween Town.

Imps are naturally solitary creatures and dislike group settings, so no imp has ever come through Halloween Town. This, unfortunately, gave Lock a subconscious sense of loneliness and doubt. This is why he tries the hardest to keep the trio together by rejecting any change, which at one point resulted in a huge argument with Shock when she wanted to start attending coven studies a few days a week.

Of the three, Oogie’s abuse rooted itself mostly deeply within him, as Oogie played into the “who else would want you” angle Lock already felt as the only imp in town. He often overcompensates for his insecurities with arrogance and acts childishly, selfishly, and even meanly at times. However, under it all, he has a good heart and just wants to know that his friends aren’t going to leave him.

Lock and Shock are rivals who motivate each other, constantly bickering over which one of them is actually the leader of the trio. At the end of the day, they respect each other's skills and would do anything to keep their friend safe, but you'll never hear them say that.

Eventually, Lock begins a casual fwb relationship with Barrel, under the terms "as long as it doesn’t change anything”—worried that if they labeled themselves and it went sour, he could lose his friend. Barrel, who had always been in love with him, happily agreed to these terms. However, despite insisting that they were only friends, Lock finds himself extremely jealous when another ghoul, Belladonna, takes an interest in Barrel.

Lock is overwhelmed to realize that he actually does have feelings for Barrel but has likely missed his chance with him by insisting they weren't together, and Belladonna is probably better for him anyway. In an emotional confrontation where Lock accidentally scars Barrel’s arm with a bite, the two finally confess their true feelings.

SHOCK:

Shock is a witch, which is a type of magical entity. Of the three, she is the most confident and intelligent. Most witches will start coven studies at a young age to learn how to harness their magic, however, growing up under Oogie, she was discouraged from doing so. After Oogie’s demise Shock found herself determined to pursue her dreams of magic. Unlike how it had affected Lock, Oogie’s vicious words of “you’re not good enough” were only fuel to her fire, and she took all that anger and turned in into passion for her studies. 

She demanded that Halloween Town’s coven mentor her, even though she was older than the typical witch who was just starting her studies. The coven saw her passion and agreed. The studying has three phases: master flying, master potions, and master hexes, and one cannot be learned until the previous is mastered. The process takes years but Shock is currently deep in her potions phase and can often be found nose-deep in a book or foraging for herbs. Mastering hexes is her dream and she is eagerly chasing it.

One night, while out for a flight, Shock encounters a banshee crying in the moonlight. Shock learns that her name is Calliope and the human family’s line that she watched over had comes to an end. Shock instantly feels drawn to her and they quickly become friends. Shock secretly makes it her mission help Calliope feel happy again. Eventually, the two develop romantic feelings for each other as well.

BARREL:

Barrel is a ghoul, which is a type of demon that feasts on the flesh of cold, buried humans. Like Lock, Barrel was raised on junk food and candy in Halloween Town so that’s the diet he prefers today. Ghouls are naturally nomadic due to their diet, needing to find different graveyards to dig in to avoid being caught. However, many ghoul packs often breeze through Halloween Town for events, and are genuinely regarded fondly by the locals since they’re always polite and up for a fun time.

Of the three, Barrel is the most easygoing. He wants to hang out with his friends more than he wants to prank people, but is always up for fun nonetheless. He also keeps scorpions as pets. Regarding Oogie, Barrel walked away the least scathed because Shock and Lock intentionally took the brunt of his anger to protect him since he was the youngest. This left Barrel with a sense of guilt for not being strong enough to protect his friends back then. However he’s worked through that by deciding he would never let either of them be hurt again now that he could hold his own.

Barrel always had a crush on Lock since the moment he met him. The feeling was not mutual, and it wasn’t until Barrel kissed him much later in life that Lock even entertained the idea. Despite this, Barrel continues to love him timelessly and patiently, despite Lock still having a lot to work through and trouble recognizing his own feelings.

CALLIOPE:

Calliope is a banshee, which is a type of fairy that heralds death. She is sweet-natured and very new to the ways of Halloween Town, having grown up in the human world. She loves dogs since, like her, they also warn humans of danger. She has taken a liking to Zero in particular.

Calliope develops feelings for Shock who not only helped her feel at home in Halloween Town, but also helped her find her happiness when she never thought she'd smile again. Nowadays, Calliope is happier than ever before.

BELLADONNA:

Belladonna is a ghoul who lives in the human world with a pack of other ghouls. They masquerade as a human band/roadies, live nomadically, and actually put on some good concerts. Ghouls don’t kill or cause any harm to humans (they love their audiences!) but they do eat corpses by raiding graves at night. They breeze through Halloween Town once or twice a year for big events.

Belladonna is instantly attracted to Barrel when they meet at one of Halloween Town's formal parties. She is fun, good-natured, and helps Barrel learn about what his kind is up to in the human world.

JACK:

Jack still reigns as Pumpkin King, alongside Sally whom he recently wed. Regarding the trio, Jack feels guilt for overlooking them when they were children. Jack had a no-kill policy when it came to humans and Oogie Boogie did not—due to this conflict, Jack banished Oogie to the outskirts, and he is the reason the town has a guarded gate.

Jack was especially bitter about this rivalry, since he used to be friends with Oogie, and declared that Oogie would never be allowed into town again. Moreover, anyone associated with Oogie needed a by-name invitation from Jack himself before they’d be allowed into town. Even though the trio were just children at that time, Jack declared there would be no exceptions, and ignored the fact that the trio were actually in real danger with Oogie, which he found easy to overlook since they were so ill-behaved and rude to him.

At the end of the movie the trio have a change of heart and warn the townsfolk that Jack, Sally, and Sandy are trapped in Oogie's lair. Even though Jack was able to defeat Oogie before needing the town's assistance, this helped him see that the trio are actually good kids and he was wrong to ignore their circumstances for so long.

Nowadays, Jack tries very hard to make up for his mistake. He has declared that they are welcome inside the town, removed the gate, and regularly defends them when they prank the townsfolk (and Jack himself). Sometimes, Jack tries too hard, requiring their attendance at Town celebrations which the trio roll their eyes at. They regard Jack as a nerd, but know he is well-meaning. The mayor still dislikes them, but trusts Jack’s judgement.

SALLY:

Sally, now Pumpkin Queen, gets along quite well with the trio. Because she is so clever, she’s the only person in town they’ve never managed to prank, and she even managed to prank them once. Though Queen is her title, sewing is her passion and she happily has taken up the job as town seamstress, eagerly designing clothes for all the wonderful shapes that call Halloween Town home, trio included.

Shock actually enjoys Sally’s company and thinks of her like an older sister, even confiding in or asking her for advice at times. Lock is still a bit skeptical and cold with her since he is forever done with authority figures, though Sally finds him funny. Barrel likes Sally just fine, and really enjoys how soft and comfortable she makes all his clothes.

OTHER KIDS:

Growing up, the trio didn’t like the inner-town kids (Corpse Kid, Mummy Boy, and Winged Demon, as they’re referred to in the movie). The trio saw them as “goody-two-shoes” who grew up nice and cushy inside the town gate, happy to follow Jack’s ever order, and going home to loving families every night. However, the inner-town trio prove to not actually be so bad and take earnest steps to make the trio feel welcome in town after Oogie’s demise.

MISC FACTS: ▪️ The trio regularly utilize the towns tomb portals to travel all over the human world. They're particularly interested in celebrations or festivals that are similar to Halloween. They're technically not supposed to interact with human festivities so openly, as fear of the unknown gives monsters more mystery and therefore more fright factors on Halloween, but Sally knows they do so and keeps their secret: [1] [2] [3] [4]

▪️ They upgraded their treehouse to be more spacious: [1] [2] [3]

▪️ They gave each other piercings to signify them being friends forever

▪️ The three of them were brought to Halloween Town just days apart. They were then named as a unit after the merism. However, they did have other names before they arrived, though they no longer want to use them.

▪️ None of them know how old or when their birthdays are. They mark time in a very general sense by how many Halloweens it feels like they've had together.

▪️ This AU began as sketches in 2018 and I posted my first art of them publicly in 2020. I was inspired by the Photo Booth pin. I thought it would be fun if the trio took pictures in the more modern sense, capturing their shenanigans with selfies and documenting their mischief, which is why the first couple drawings are framed that way.

The second thing that inspired me was the screenshot of Oogie saying he’ll decide which of the trio to eat when they displease him, and the general theory that the masks in the treehouse are from previous victims whom he had eaten. I thought since Jack destroys Oogie at the end of the movie, maybe the trio gets the chance to grow up, hence an AU about their happy, older years.

ART TAGS:

🎃 Entire Nightmare Before Christmas Tag

💘 Lock/Barrel Tag

🩵 Calliope Tag

💚 Belladonna Tag

🤩 Fan Art of My AU Tag (THANK YOU!!)

INSTAGRAM:

best_trickortreaters

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

The Nightmare Before Christmas Lost in The Book: Over The Spiral Hill

{1} {2}

-

“ “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move;Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love.” “ You quote as Jack sang opera to your group, the earlier events of discussing music and dances for the festivities. 

Riddle comments at the words, “I never thought’d you’d be imitating Rook on this… Event.” The dorm head mumbles. You grin at the red-head. “He wishes, the song reminded me of a playwright in our world.” You gesture to Yuu. 

“ “Just because I can’t see it, doesn’t mean I don’t believe it.” “ You say the phrase easily, recalling it for this occasion. “That wasn’t from the playwright though… Still a good quote though, you think?” You ask your group, turning away from them. 

…

You felt your face become warm at the line, embarrassed.

-

“Yuu! Grim, Skully!” You happily show off the different details your outfit held. Reminding you of home, hints of Ramshackle hinted in a few stitches.

“Oh yeah, I didn’t realize your’s was a bit stranger than ours.” Grim says, circling around you curiously. 

“It looks good!” Yuu replied, keeping close to you, you laugh.

“It’s very beautiful!” Skully compliments as you blink. An idea forming into your head..

“Hmm, Yuu, I wanted to ask. Do you remember any holidays from ‘Home’?” You ask carefully, knowing the answer. You pick up Grim, watching the other human ponder.

Yuu eyes you back, eyes glazed over thoughtfully. “No, not as much as you.”

“Oh? What do you mean?” Skully joins in, listening attentively.

“They’re not from Twisted Wonderland!” Grim pipes up. “Grim, shush!” Yuu scolds, while you hand the fur-ball to them. Skully’s lips part slightly, shocked a bit.

“T-Then.. Where is it are you two from?”

Yuu shrugs, clearly not as comfortable as you were about ‘Home’.

“Uh- Let’s say, very far.”

“Worlds away-” Grim is interrupted by Yuu shoving their face his fluffy neck. “OI! Yuu! Quit it!” Grim swats at their hair as you take Skully’s attention away. Linking hands with his as the four of you walk.

“I wanted to say before, that our holidays are sorta the same and different. A few don’t even exist here.”

“Don’t bring up Chr- ACK! AGAIN?! Stop!” Grim whines at Yuu’s affectionate gesture.

“What is “Chr”?” 

“Oh- That’s a holiday from where from and it’s called-”

You pause. “Let’s say, it’s kinda like… “The opposite”, or more of.. Colorful, cold. Instead of pumpkins and autumn leaves. We have snow, depending on the region, along with carols instead of spooky-sweet melodies!” You wink.

“Instead of a “Pumpkin King” we have this guy called S-.”

Interrupted once more by Grim’s whines, you roll your eyes playfully. “There’s another one too, where we celebrate those who are…” You summarize the best you can. Smiling sadly, “it’s paying tribute to those we miss. To keep them remembered.”

You go on to another holiday, something along the lines of a rabbit and marshmallow birds…

Skully remains quiet, intaking all the knowledge you gave to him. The memories held within your mind, wishing to be shared. Just as precious as Halloween was to him.

Resolved settled within him as they walked further down the path to Jack’s house.

-

After the fiasco with Skully and the Oogie-Boogie squad, Jack had awoken from his slumber while Skully apologized. 

Halloween was back on!

Music played all around town, joining in on the merriment without a care.

Dancing with everyone, you twirl around with different dance partners. Grim, the fluffy beast, tried his best with taking lead with the waltz.

Settling down, you find one of the stray flowers beside you. Plucking it without much thought, pinching at the petals as you stop at a familiar voice.

Tossing the flower away, you readily take Skully’s hand. 

-

Flowers in hand, you walk back to Ramshackle. The graves greeting you as the wind slowly becomes small wisps. A book held tightly in hand, purchased immediately before everyone left Foothill Town. A melody humming on your lips, adorn in a familiar costume you commissioned Vil and Crewel for earlier. Vil even looked… Pleased at the flimsy sketch, seeing the vision easily. As it reminded him of something lost to him. Yuu and Grim follow a few steps away.

Grim held a can of tuna while Yuu carried a  small basket of candies. 

Ramshackle, alight with decorations of purple and green tinsel, along with Diasomnia’s own decor. 

Kneeling by a few unnamed graves, the three of you place the items down. Heading back inside for the rest of the Halloween party.

The ghosts greet you three excitedly, as your guests a few doormates chatter and relax. 

Letting your frown fade, you smile, hands craving over the edges of the portrait that laid above the unlit fireplace. The mantle covered in small decorations of colored skulls, candles and candies. The familiar pumpkin-colored eyes roaming down from above you and your guests.

-

[YALL IM SO PISSED THAT SKULL IS WRITTEN OFF! Im HOPPING TWST decides to put him in the game and give him a card.I’LL SAVE UP FOR IT! HANDS DOWN. I’ll probably be trying to cope a bit with small one-shot drabbles based around him. YALL I CANT!!! If anyone got my references at all let me know, Im so… AUGHHHHHHH! Anyway, thanks for reading!]

[gertritude-art]

truly is great to have a character who would naturally says sentences like "he's the pumpkin king, you know. he's even stronger than the devious oogie boogie."

[pianostarinwonderland]

book 8 foreshadow ⁉️ in MY halloween ?!?! 🤯 more likely than u think ! 😳

When I saw Jack Skellington in the last trailer before the Abema stream for this Halloween, I thought, "Oh. Oh this is going to be good. This is going to be so good for the main story."

I've always had a feeling that we were going to meet the Great Seven somehow, where the characters realize the revisions made in the stories they heard of them vs. what actually happened. After all, Twst brings up more than once the idea of history being revised (especially through Lilia's dialogue). And when the first Lost in the Book event with Stitch came out, that possibility has been made even more open. And now with the way this Halloween is written, it feels like a setup for main story.

Halloween, being Twst's biggest event, is the one event that the Twst writers like to use to foreshadow the main story. Halloween 2/Endless Halloween and Glorious Masquerade have been used as foreshadow to Book 7's events. The latter was also used as a kind of reflection of Book 6's story, so in some ways, GloMas was also a transitory period between Book 6 and 7 (and notably, the GloMas stream was also the same stream where they put out the last trailer for Book 7). However, more importantly, in the context of this post, it is worth noting that Halloween 2 came out when Book 6 was still in its first part. Hence, this Nightmare Before Christmas event foreshadowing a Book 8 while we're far from done with Book 7 is very much plausible and that's why I fully believe this.

Here in the Lost in the Book with Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas event, we have Skully J. Graves, a character whose aesthetic not only matches most with Jack Skellington but also idolizes him, who meets his Halloween idol. This is the first time we see any Twst character meeting not only their idol but the Disney character they are twisted from. This is huge! Considering how distant that Twst is set from the time of the villains and heroes, it had always seemed impossible that such a meetup could occur. But slowly, Twst is revealing to us that there are ways that this could happen.

But here's the truly delicious part: We witness Skully learning what kind of person Jack Skellington really is. To Skully (and the community that he grew up in), Jack is a feared Pumpkin King who values the solemn kind of Halloween. However, the real Jack is someone who wants to celebrate Halloween together with people and—at least in the setting of the event—leans towards a Halloween that is more festive and jolly, akin to his wonder for Christmas in the movie. And this shakes Skully to the core, so much so that we see him lose it in Episode 3. We watch him continuously push for his ideas, to the point that he puts his idol to sleep.

If this is foreshadow to Book 8, will we see our characters face that same disillusion? Is that why we have all 7 Overblot characters in this event? Because let's be real, while everyone has a form of admiration for the villains, those 7 are the ones who idolize the Great Seven the most. For fuck's sake, their OB phantoms are the Great Seven in some form. And more importantly: How will they feel learning that everything they've learned is wrong? Will they be like Skully and start fiascos as they cope with the knowledge that has been unfortunately bestowed on them? Or will they grieve for a bit before recovering quickly? Will they, like Skully, start aligning with the opposite side (Skully aligning with Lock, Shock, and Barrel and consequently, Oogie Boogie)? Or will they stay on the same camp, just with more wariness?

But once they get past that, what then will they do? What measures will they take to learn more deeply about the huge historical revisionism that occurs? Will they even do something about it? Where do we play in as the MC that receives these dreams about the stories that did happen?

Something that I do want to bring up is, how do they even meet the Great Seven? One could say, oh they could get sucked into another book, but for characters so grand and worshipped, it feels too little to do something like that. Besides, unless they do something different for the ending of this event, they will come out of the book, not remembering a single thing. Book 7 allowed us to peer into Lilia's past—which felt unreachable—through his dream. Is there a possibility that Malleus might use his unique magic? To peer into someone's dreams about the Great Seven?

... To peer into our dreams?

But imagine if somehow, the Great Seven were alive again and about to wreak havoc in modern Twisted Wonderland. How would they even be revived? I have an old theory about this where the 7 Overblots are used for it. Of course they are just theories made 4 years ago, but it remains as something that haunts me, especially when Idia outright states that someone has to be behind the OBs. We have yet to learn either what occurred between Crowley and Idia's parents in Book 6.

As an end note, it is very intriguing to see where Twst is going. I'm very excited how the main story will turn out from here, and what will happen once we get past the last dorm's arc.

[phuuca]

Jack Howl ; Casino Suit

Obtain: THE DOG BOSS (Pumpkin King) Showcase

THE DOG BOSS

[unlocked after Groovy-fication of Casino Suit]

When the trailer for the NbC event was first announced, I got excited because I thought there was a high possibility Jack was FINALLY going to get a halloween SSR card. Then I saw the leaks and held out for a hero that Jack Howl was going to be in it, but started sketching up a design I called "Joogie" (Jack + Oogie) just to satiate my excitedment.

And then the official lineup was announced and I was DEVASTATED he wasn't even a part of it.

So now I have a rewrite/AU of the NbC event with Jack in it XD.

Since there's already a Jack in HalloweenTown, I thought it would be a twist of cruel irony to have Jack's "Nightmare" Suit not be based on Skellington, but the antagonist of the movie: Oogie Boogie. Everyone be aligned with Jack Skellington except Jack Howl, who is aligned with Oogie Boogie.

Or, at least the ideals of these figures. I made this AU/rewrite before the announcement the TWST characters were going to interact with the actual NbC characters. So Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie were more akin to god-like figures similar to the Great Seven and the Righteous Judge.

...

..

.

That's a lot of information all at once. I should really be more mysterious about this AU, but I need to cover my bases before I give away more information about the plot...

[avionvadion]

What do you think about Skully now with that ending to the latest part?

Hmmm... my opinion is still about the same as it was before.

That said, I do think Skully is less twisted from Jack in general and more the Jack we could have gotten had Jack not had Sally steering him in the right direction at every corner. Because Jack may have been the protagonist of the movie, but he was also momentarily a villain. If Jack didn't have Sally, then after he was shot down there's a good chance we wouldn't have gotten "Poor Old Jack". He would have stayed a villain, and would have potentially tried to take revenge. He might have even pulled an Oogie from Oogie's Revenge and tried to become the Seven Holidays King.

There would've been no, "What have I done? What have I done? How could I~ be so blind? All is lost, where was I? Spoiled all... spoiled all. Everything's gone... all wrong. What have I done? What have I done?"

No guilt. No remorse. Just anger.

Because we do see him get angry. But because he had someone always reminding him about the good he has the capability to bring without taking over someone else's job, Jack reflects on himself during his rage, and realizes, "Well, what the heck? I went and did my best! And, by god, I really tasted something swell! And, for a moment, why, I even touched the sky! And at least I left some stories they can tell- I did!"

Skully never had the support system Jack did. He has the same stubborness as Jack, the same love of opera (Hehehe gods that reference to Oogie's Revenge still makes me so happy) and the same love of Halloween. But Skully isn't twisted from "Jack Skellington". No, no. Not the skeleton we all know and love, who's well-meaning, but stubborn and a bit... naive when it comes to recognizing the consequences his actions can have.

Skully is twisted from the "Pumpkin King".

The king of horror, the entity that strikes fear into all hearts. The one who makes walls fall, mountains crack, and flesh ooze and skin crawl. He is the darkness that lies within Jack's heart (gods this turned into Kingdom Hearts whoops) and is lashing out because the Pumpkin King in him can't stand how happy and joyous this Halloween is becoming.

And now, because "everything's... gone all wrong" Skully is taking matters into his own hands. He's put Jack to sleep, transformed Grim using his unique magic and stuffed him in a sack, and abducted Yuu- dragging them with him, with help from Lock, Shock, and Barrel. I don't doubt Yuu and Grim are going to be Sandy Claws in this situation. He's probably going to enlist Oogie Boogie's help in bring true terror to the town.

(I think there was a novel about how Oogie and Jack used to be childhood friends, but fell apart when they started competing to be Pumpkin King??? I'm not really sure. I only know about the PS2 game, Oogie's Revenge, and the Card Game- which gives a lot of interesting details about the townsfolk, and Long Live The Pumpkin Queen which features Sally as the main character. But if the novel is canon then I could see them potentially pulling from Jack and Oogie's childhood friendship to explain why Skully is working with Oogie. It'd be another parallel.)

WOW, this got long. Um, but yeah. I still really like Skully, lol. I'm really curious to see how the rest of this is going to play out and how we'll be snapping Skully out of his madness.

Baby boy went full on Yandere for Halloween, like DAMN.

[danika-redgrave124]

Do you think that if a Part 2 to NBC Book that Jack, Sally and the rest of the Nightmare Before Christmas people will remember the adventure from the previous books? I mean it end on a The End... ? at the end of the story, so there's likely going to be a Part 2 with Oogie Boogie because he's also an iconic Disney Villian and also we might get TWST Oogie Boogie maybe and it's kind of like the opposite of Skully at the end where he and Skully are rivals, but unlike Skully, TWST Oogie Boogie didn't change or never changed.

I haven't seen it confirmed that the Disney Characters forget the TWST Boys, but the TWST Boys forget the adventure they went on during the book when they leave book.

Do you think Jack will bring up Skully and ask if he became their world's King of Halloween?

[twisted-confessions]

I headcannon that our new Skellington Pumpkin King's name is Kent Jackson or Kent Boneman cause Kent is also the name for the Japanese Pumpkin and I hope he has his own Sally named Saul and his own Oogie Boogie too. Also Boneman sounded funny to me lol.

Welcome to Night Raven king 🙌

[twistedtummies2]

Top 5 Appearances of Jack Skellington

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I decided to use this opportunity to dedicate a short countdown to a film I’m very thankful for: the stop-motion animation classic, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Why today? Several reasons: first, Thanksgiving falls right smack dab in the middle between Halloween and Christmas, as far as major American holidays go, so it seems a decent date, given the subject matter. Second, recently the movie enjoyed its 30th Anniversary, so that’s definitely something to celebrate. Third, its producer - and the man many agree is most responsible for the feature’s existence, Tim Burton - got his long-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this very year. Fourth and finally, it is quite possibly my favorite movie, and certainly my favorite Disney movie. By that measure alone, I am supremely grateful for its existence, and so a day of Thanksgiving seems a good time to talk about it…and its main character. Initially, I was going to dedicate this list to the film as a whole, but after some deliberation, I decided to focus this countdown specifically on the main protagonist of the feature, Jack Skellington. Jack is an anomaly for a lot of reasons; he’s one of the few times - especially in a movie that now wears the Disney brand like a badge of honor - where the main character of the story really is my favorite one. He’s become almost as recognized as Mickey Mouse around the company, as their resident face of both Halloween AND Christmas. And as time has gone on, his popularity has only continued to rise. What’s great about Jack, and makes him so unique, is the way the character is both so complex and yet so simple, just like the film he’s from. This is also not taking into account the many dualities inherent to the character. He’s the Pumpkin King, the scariest soul in Halloween Town…yet he’s also a sweetheart and finds a sense of childlike wonder in the Christmas season. He’s a dapper, charismatic, theatrical, somewhat grandiloquent fellow…yet he’s also a complete goober, showing a great deal of naivete and not always thinking things through. He’s typically a nice guy who acts polite and friendly to most anyone he meets…but if you cross him the wrong way, or dare to hurt those he considers his friends, he’ll whoop you in a second without mercy. It’s this constant contrast of darkness and light, of the intellectual master of horror and the childlike innocent, that makes him so engaging and interesting. That, and the fact that - unique among Disney heroes especially - Jack kind of creates his own conflict in the story. Yes, Oogie Boogie is the nominal villain of the movie, but even he really only becomes a problem in the original film BECAUSE of Jack’s bad decisions. If you took Oogie out of the equation, Jack could ALMOST be considered a villain in his own right; thankfully, he realizes and learns from his mistake and is quick to make things right. I thought it would be fun to look at some of Jack’s appearances since the film, much as I have done with some of the great Disney Villains (coincidentally) in the past. Now, I can only count appearances I’m personally familiar with to some degree or another, so if any that YOU like are left out of the running, it’s most likely just because I haven’t read, seen, or played them yet. With that said, let’s celebrate Thanksgiving by looking at a character known for its surrounding holidays…forever proving, by extension, that this holiday is the middle child of the yuletide family. Ha Ha. These are My Top 5 Favorite Appearances from Jack Skellington!

5. Pumpkin King AND The Battle For Pumpkin King.

Not only are the titles of these two pieces similar, but so are their purposes. “Pumpkin King” was a video game tie-in to TNBC, which acted as a prequel to the movie. It was released in 2005. Nearly two decades later, in 2023, Disney would release ANOTHER prequel spin-off, in the form of “The Battle For Pumpkin King;” a comic miniseries later reformatted into a graphic novel. Both of these prequels tell the story of how the rivalry between Jack and his arch-nemesis, Oogie Boogie, got started, each with their own unique twists to the concept. As far as the game goes, playing as Jack Skellington - using a variety of crazy gadgets to defeat Oogie and his goons - is obviously a major part of what makes the title appealing. The comic, meanwhile, goes even further in showing how Jack became the Pumpkin King to begin with, and presents a more dramatic and tragic arc for the two enemies, in my opinion. Having read and re-read the comic a couple times now, and compared it to the game…I don’t think either is really a perfect prequel. Each has their own pros and cons, in terms of how things started between the two and how they tie into the film itself. However, one thing I like about both is that each has a different spin on presenting Jack and setting up the character we know from the movie: in each tale, the conflict with Oogie results in some subtle foreshadowing and parallels to the misadventures Jack faces in the film. I’d recommend checking both out, in some form or another, and deciding which you prefer yourself.

4. Twisted Wonderland.

Well, if you know me, you knew this had to be coming. I was over the moon when this Event was announced for the mobile game “Twisted Wonderland”: a game that is admittedly an acquired taste, but which I absolutely love to bits. For those who don’t know already, the premise of the game has the main character - the Player - being transported to an alternate universe, where they find themselves at a school of magic inspired by seven famous Disney Villains. Throughout the game, we encounter various characters based on these villains, along with other Disney characters…but it’s rare that we actually meet any of the original Disney figures themselves. When the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Event for Halloween of 2024 - entitled “Lost in the Book with Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas” - was announced, it wasn’t too much of a surprise to learn that a new character would be introduced in the event: Skully J. Graves, based on Jack Skellington. What was much more startling was when we found out that not only would we get this new addition to the cast…but that the player and their allies for the outing would be traveling to Halloween Town itself to meet the ACTUAL Jack Skellington AT THE SAME TIME. For me, this was just mind-boggling: getting to see both the actual Jack AND a new character inspired by him in the same Event at the same time was never something I anticipated. The result did not disappoint: Jack is totally and completely in-character for the Event, and his interactions with the students of Night Raven College are a lot of fun. Skully, as well, is a very interesting character, and the twist about his true identity at the end was, I will confess, certainly unexpected. This isn’t an example that I imagine a lot of TNBC fans would place among their absolute favorite appearances for Jack, but it’s definitely a big one for me.

3. Haunted Mansion Holiday.

This was Nightmare’s big arrival at the Parks, and it’s still one of the best things to come out of the film’s ever-rising popularity. In the early 2000s, Imagineers at Disneyland considered making a “Nightmare Before Christmas” attraction, but they weren’t sure how to go about it. The answer came in the form of a holiday overlay for the popular “Haunted Mansion” ride: ever since then, for a whole third of the year (almost half a year, if you count the time it takes to set it all up and then take it all down again), the Haunted Mansion is invaded by Jack Skellington and the denizens of Halloween Town, as they bring their own twisted Christmas delight to the home of the 999 Happy Haunts. While some people seem divided about this since-then-annual change to the famous attraction, most seem to enjoy both versions of the Haunted Mansion, and I am in agreement: the original ride is great on its own, and deserves to be enjoyed on its own terms (it’s my favorite ride at Disneyland), but the Holiday version with the TNBC cast is really fun and charming, too. Arguably the biggest highlight of the ride is Jack himself, most notably in the form of a magnificently-made animatronic of our favorite “Sandy Claws” that greets guests as they enter the graveyard for the ride’s finale. I used to be OBSESSED with this overlay, and I still love it a lot. I’m not the only one, either; the Holiday version remains popular, and has even been adopted into the Tokyo Disneyland Park. Japan has a huge following for TNBC…speaking of which…

2. Oogie’s Revenge.

Released at the same time as the aforementioned “Pumpkin King,” this game (originally made in Japan, hence the segue) was a SEQUEL to the movie. And, just like “Pumpkin King,” it was considered canon by a lot of people for a long time, until recent printed work left that more ambiguous. (In this case a novel called “Long Live the Pumpkin Queen,” which I’ve yet to read.) The plot begins a little less than a year after the events of the film: Jack still feels dissatisfied with Halloween, but he’s thankfully learned that taking over other holidays is not a good idea. So, he instead ventures forth into the real world for a couple of months to basically do some brainstorming and find some inspiration to make his own holiday more interesting. When Jack returns (on Christmas Eve, what a shock), he discovers that Oogie Boogie has been resurrected and has taken over Halloween Town! When he learns that Oogie has plans to get revenge on Santa and become “The Seven Holidays King,” Jack has to find a way to take back his throne and undo all of Oogie’s evil schemes before Christmas morning. As far as Jack himself goes, the great boon this game has is the option of actually playing as Jack Skellington himself, and getting to use different forms of him with different powers to combat Oogie and his minions. Chris Sarandon - who has provided Jack’s speaking voice since the original film, and gets to SING for him, too, in this game (he ain’t half bad, either) - delivers all of the moods and sides of Jack throughout the story with his usual enthusiasm, and the chance to explore Halloween Town in such wild depth is really fun. The game itself seems to be one people love or hate; most agree it’s not the greatest game in the world (though most agree it’s also not terrible), but it seems to be a 50/50 split between people who overlook its flaws and enjoy it, and people who feel it’s a lackluster and overly bizarre spin-off to a classic picture. Personally, while I do see some issues with “Oogie’s Revenge,” I’ve always had a soft spot for this game, and I still do. It’s definitely one of Jack’s shining moments, in my personal opinion.

1. Kingdom Hearts.

Given my love of the KH series as a whole, a lot of you probably saw this coming. However, I actually had a really hard time choosing between these games and “Oogie’s Revenge.” The greatest pro of “Oogie’s Revenge” is that Jack is the main character: you spend a lot of time with him, it’s all his story, and Chris Sarandon gets to sing as well as provide the voice in general. However, I think that - despite the fact Jack and his pals in Halloween Town (and Christmas Town) are only one small part of a much grander puzzle - the Kingdom Hearts series actually handles the character and his world slightly better…mostly just because of the writing. (And because they are better games, in general, when you really get down to it.) As far as Jack himself goes…honestly, I love how absolutely ADORABLE Jack is in the Kingdom Hearts universe. (How many undead skeletons can you call “adorable,” anyway? At the moment, I can only think of maybe four others…which is still a surprising number, honestly!) The games really lean hard into Jack’s childlike, exuberant, impulsive personality, but they also still give him elegance, charisma, and even touch onto a philosophical side we really haven’t seen anywhere else. Some of my favorite lines and moments in the games come from Jack, and of all the Disney allies Sora makes along the way, I think I enjoy his interactions with the Pumpkin King most of all. (He also isn’t too bad of a Party Member.) Sarandon delivers here just as powerfully as in Oogie’s Revenge, and a lot of the story-based elements I love about Jack’s character arc in OR are just as present in these games. Overall, while he may not be the star of the show, Jack is certainly a major highlight of these games. For me, and hopefully for many others, Kingdom Hearts will always be a shining moment in the King of Halloween’s career. It’s not an easy call, to be honest…but I’m gonna name Kingdom Hearts as My Favorite Appearance from Jack Skellington.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

James and the Giant Peach.

While this is a totally non-canon appearance, Jack cameos as the leader of a band of skeleton pirates in this cult classic adaptation of the Roald Dahl story. I have no idea if this decision was made because of budget reasons or because Henry Selick (director of both TNBC and this film) was in a whimsical mood, but either way, it’s such a weird but fun one-off return.

Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular.

A fireworks show performed around Halloweentime at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Jack acts as the host of the event, portrayed by a life-sized and absolutely immaculate puppet, crewed by multiple performers. This puppet has appeared in several other places since, including one of the “Nightmare Before Christmas Live” concerts!

What’s This? The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along.

Performed every Christmastime at Disney’s Hollywood-MGM Studios, this combination of stage pantomime and sing-along concert to some of the songs from the film is hosted by Jack. Our favorite Pumpkin King is played by the same great puppet that appears in the “Not-So-Spooky Spectacular” fireworks show!

[muses-of-the-memory]

In Memory of Ken Page who passed away in his sleep at age 70, September 30, 2024

He will always be our

Oogie Boogie Man,

and King Gator

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

The Battle for Pumpkin King #5

Here are my thoughts on the last issue of the comic. After this, I'll be writing a full review looking at the series as a whole. As always, Spoilers under the 'Read More'!

The last competition for the title of Pumpkin King between Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie is designing and carving their own giant Jack-o-Lantern. It's clear that they must complete it on their own, even cleaning out their pumpkins, and will be judged by 5 Townspeople.

Edgar suggests for Oogie Boogie to break the rules (again) by using Lock, Shock, and Barrel, this time to clean out his pumpkin for him. He says if Boogie wins, he can continue using his Lair, even having it as his own. While they clean out his pumpkin, Oogie wastes time by talking to the Judges and even taunting Jack, who questions why he isn't dirty from cleaning his pumpkin.

Jack starts to have doubts about himself and wonders why he's working so hard while things come 'naturally' for Oogie. He is comforted by Sally, who tells him he workd hard because it's natural to him, too, and is giving his all.

Oogie sends some bugs and snakes Jack's way to bother him while he carves. Lock, Shock, and Barrel start throwing pumpkin guts at each other inside, which sends a flurry onto Jack's pumpkin. Thinking quickly, Jack meshes it to look like hair on the jack-o-lantern. In contrast, Oogie's pumpkin is a mess from the trio's mischief.

The judges (as we all know) choose Jack's jack-o-lantern unanimously over Oogie Boogie's, winning him the crown of Pumpkin King. Boogie is furious and stomps the winning pumpkin down, arguing with Edgar and claiming his Lair as his own. He officially ends his friendship with Jack and storms off. Elsewhere, Jack suggests using Oogie's mess for a pumpkin pie, along with the Mayor's suggestion of a party to celebrate his victory.

Edgar congratulates Jack on his winning and claims he will retire to the pumpkin patch since Oogie is now in his Lair. He lays with the pumpkins lamenting Oogie's loss and their wasted potential as a team, but now he can finally rest.

Oogie, now in Edgar's Lair, claims everyone is against him, and vows no one will ever cheat him again.

---

This comic was a LOT of fun to read and buy, much like Mirror Moon was. But I think I enjoyed this one more, despite TBFPK not having as extreme concepts. I will go into more detail in my full Review - keep an eye out for it! ;)

#5 was a great wrap to everything, showing us how Oogie ended his ties with Jack and what happened to Edgar in the end. Crazy to think the previous Pumpkin King might be one of the many pumpkins in the patch now, if he's not already long gone by this point.

It's interesting how Oogie was easily manipulated by Edgar, cheated in the competitions, yet feels betrayed and cheated HIMSELF after he loses. He gave up his friendship with Jack over a potential team-up with Edgar, only to lose THAT in the end(except gain his Lair). I can see why he would take control over the trio down the line, seeing as they indirectly caused his loss for the crown. I bet he forever holds that to them....

Also, very sweet little moments between Jack and Sally. I wonder how their friendship grew in this way. And I'm happy to see how Jack won his crown, it's fortunate it hadn't been Oogie(unless, without Edgar's influence, he would have wanted to rule Halloween Town...better? And possibly had a greater chance in the Competition without his help?)

I have a lot more to say about this series, so I'll start on the overall review soon. If you can, consider buying the Issues, or the Graphic Novel that comes out next month!!!

[crystallizedtwilight]

🎃 LSBC Questions: Part 20! 🎃

Lock, Shock, Barrel, and Calliope questions that call for quick answers will be under the cut in batches of 10-15 🧡

Previous bulk questions batch

She wants to adopt every dog she meets honestly 🥹

If Oogie was in a gambling mood it usually wasn't a good thing.

Something equal parts dangerous and hilarious apparently! [x]

They already have their skincare routines down!

There's a couple of those in the lb tag 😚 Barrel is very romantic and Lock loves to be showered with affection as long as it's in private.

Thank you! And yes! They do prank each other on occasion. Gotta keep each other sharp! [1] [2] [3]

He did at first (and was too "cool" to tell anyone) but now he's an expert at capturing them.

Mike Cachuela, who helped design the trio, stated how he spoke with Henry Selik, the director of the movie, about who the trio could be. The initial concept was that that they were tasked with keeping Oogie Boogie imprisoned and feeding him bugs. However, this concept was later changed so the trio would be Oogie's henchmen instead.

No, all three of them love their natural hair colors! (Which, lucky, I've been dying my own hair for 10 years lol)

She gets up, makes herself some tea, and reads her potion book to clear her mind. If that's not enough, she'll go for a flight.

No. I'm aware he returns in several spinoffs—Oogie's Revenge, Kingdom Hearts II, one of the novels—but this AU uses the movie as the sole source material. Resurrecting Oogie is an easy way to reintroduce peril and doesn't require writers to explore who the trio are without him. That separation, freedom, happiness, and concept of the trio stepping into their own identities is exactly what I want to explore!

(Zero's Journey is my favorite tnbc book because the trio are shown carrying on happily without Oogie for once and I love that!)

❗️[SENSITIVE: TOPICS OF ABUSE]

The trio state that they believe they will be harmed for failure / displeasing Oogie across multiple media:

____

"We can't say, the boss'll whomp us if we do!" (whomp, verb: to strike heavily) - Lock [source: game, The Pumpkin King]

The trio tremble visibly at Oogie's feet, holding onto each other as he reveals his plans. [source: game, Kingdom Hearts I]

In an interview Stephen mentions that, out of the three of them, Oogie might be meanest towards Lock or treat him the worst. [source: Stephen Buckley, one of the main animators on the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas]

"If I were on his Boogie list, I'd get out of town." / "We do our best to please him and stay on his good side." - Lock, Shock [source: movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas]

"Jack will beat us black and green." - Lock, Shock [source: movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas] Through Jack has never shown himself to be physically violent, the trio assume all authority figures show their displeasure in this way.

"Don't hurt us, Jack! She's with Oogie!" - Lock [source: game, The Pumpkin King]

"'Stead of treated we get tricked. 'Stead of kisses we get kicked!" [source: stage performance, 2003 Disneyland "Haunted Mansion Holiday" wherein the trio perform an excerpt of "Hard Knock Life"]

"Looks like my no-good henchmen thought they'd cool their heels in Halloween Town 'stead of helpin' the boss man do his job...well, I can decide which of 'em I want to eat later." - Oogie Boogie [source: game, Disney Magic Kingdoms]

The camera pans out, displaying the masks of several previously devoured trick-or-treaters on the treehouse walls. None of these fit the trio's faces, revealing that Oogie has eaten several children in the past. [source: movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas]

[risestarkiss]

How would you do Rat King for Rise? I know the creators explained their own take, but I was obsessed for a while and came up with all sorts of things: At first, he was an evil wizard, then literal demon of hell, then he was a friend turned bitter enemy of Splinter(around the time he was just mutated), or sometimes mixing the ideas, etc. I could never get a full definitive take, and a lot of that was down to my not wanting to repeat stuff from the first movie or show. If I wanted to do Rat King for a potential sequel, I’d lower the stakes and make it personal, make it dire for the family specifically, no end of the world cliches.

Ooo, good question. The thing about the Rat King is that there are so many iterations it's hard revamp him into something new.

Hmm, let's see.... According to wiki: a rat king is a collection of rats whose tails are intertwined and bound together in some way. 

That gives me an idea.

In the show, getting bitten, getting puked up or on, or just being in general contact with another creature is enough to spur a mutation when hit with the ooze. Here, this rat got a whole mouthful of Splinter.

What if this rat was also hit with the ooze just off screen and became sentient. What if, yes he got bigger, but his main mutation was his mind. (Piebald got entire invisibility powers, and Ghost Bear is part ghost for some reason, so other mutant powers are not out of the question.) What if this rat was then able to make use of something like, oh I don't know, the mind meld ability due to the Hamato DNA. And, since it's in his nature to run with a colony of rats, that's exactly what it does...hundreds and hundreds of rats, all with one mind. His mind. Rat King's mind. Also, his physical form could be a bunch of rats under a blanket to make up a body, you know, all Oogie Boogie style but more detailed and more convincing. You beat up that body, or tear the fabric? No problem. A bunch of rats scatter everywhere with none of them being the Rat King himself. So what's the Rat King's beef with the turtles? There is none. Just like how he bit Splinter for no real reason, there is no reason for him to be what he is...Pure evil, plain and simple. He wants the world to devolve into chaos, and to burn for making him a mere rat. Might as well start with the Turtles.💅 Long live the Rat King.👑 Thanks for the ask! 💜

[lyinginbedmon]

I don't think any "fanon is better than canon" moment for me is ever going to top when I found out the backstory of how Jack Skellington became the Pumpkin King.

I imagined it as being an actual title of royalty, passed from parent to child. I envisioned little skeleton Jack growing up learning what Halloween was about and the best practices and traditions for upholding it. Looking up to his father, the previous Pumpkin King, as a role model of what it meant to take on such a lofty and storied position of authority.

I speculated that Oogie Boogie, the gambling boogeyman, had tricked either Jack's dad or some other ancestor into a bet and won the position as "the shadow on the moon at night". And that the seeming beef between he and Jack is actually a generational grudge.

Then I found out there's an actual prequel video game. How did Jack get to be king you ask?

He just impressed a bunch of people in the town of Halloween and they said "yup, that's our king alright". That's it.