#catholic lockwood

[womaninwinter]

God bless AO3 user booksandfireflies for this excellent and highly valid thought. Also reigniting my desire to write the JPII encyclical about the problem that no one asked for (but I know some of you freaks (affectionate) would read)

[justjudethoughts]

Jessica Lockwood for sure had a strong devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux. I don't make the rules. I simply obey the vibes.

"When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens, I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth." - St. Thérèse

[synestheticwanderings]

Unholy Ghosts

Shifting around, he feels for the goggles in his bag. He takes them out and turns them carefully in his hands. They alone were worth the trip to Aldbury Castle. He lifts them up to his face. Green other-light glows from the shelf above him and he starts.

Or, Quill spends a night in a closet with the skull.

part of the tin soldier series

People, though they must die, are not born in order to die, but in order to begin. �� Hannah Arendt

Quill doesn’t know what time it is, just that he should be asleep. He would like to be asleep. But Karim is sprawled diagonal across the double bed and Lockwood is tossing and turning on the cot with Lucy’s name on his lips.

He’s too old for this.

So he takes his pillow and slips out of the room, going downstairs to the kitchen. The storage closet is packed with their kit and potato sacks, but it’s darker and quieter, so he tries to make himself comfortable. There are a couple of lumps in odd places that he knows he’ll feel in the morning, but he figures it’s better than a knee to the gut or an elbow to the face for the third night in a row.

Still, he finds himself restless. He tries all of his tricks: breathing exercises, some light yoga, walking around the kitchen, making a cup of tea. But even though he’s exhausted, he’s also too keyed up. He’s—well, what is he exactly? Three days ago, he was staring at a wall with no job and no prospects. Three days ago, he hadn’t Seen a ghost in years. And now, he’s—his thoughts trail off. He can’t quite locate himself or name what he’s feeling.

Read the rest on Ao3.

[lilaccatholic]

Finally actually posting chapter one of my Kipps Appreciation Weekend fic!!!

If you're seeing this in the daylight (EST) hours, hound me for chapter two. If you're seeing this in the nighttime, yell at me to go to sleep.

[argentumcor]

@womaninwinter now you've got me thinking of L&co., if I were a more organized writer I'd write a thing about the anti-gnostic themes of the sensual (not that way, rather 'of the senses') good vs. hedonism themes in the books. The enjoyment of food and so on and how that matters feels like a common theme in the series. That hobbit-like aspect of the good guys, to include Barnes with his photos, vs. the kind of cold, flashy, and even dangerous (relics on display at Fittes, collected by others) spectacle of the Problem world.

Free idea to a good home.

[lockwood-fic-recs]

An Unbroken Chain

by SciroccoOrion on ao3

Rating: G | Category: F/M | Relationship: Lockwood/Lucy

Lockwood carries reminders of what he has lost with him. When one of those things is found again, he begins to realise that things do not always stay lost, perhaps not even him.

[argentumcor]

@womaninwinter​ Statue version of Don and Celia’s gravestone.

glasnevin cemetery

[notbecauseofvictories]

have you read priestdaddy by patricia lockwood? I think you would enjoy it! it made me laugh out loud

Yes, I have! One of those rare books I owned a physical copy of, because it hit such a soft place in my gut that I couldn’t not. (Owned past tense, because I gave my copy to my mother, with no expectation of return.) A book about being a Midwestern Catholic, dragged towards a god somehow realer than your disbelief, and how warm it is; how difficult to outrun. Also somehow screamingly funny, in between the parts that made me cry.

I may not be a Catholic anymore but Catholicism and its faith is still a vulnerable bruising place in my heart. I know when I read something by someone who knows where that place is.

Disastrous. A nightmare. A pleasure and a joy.

[womaninwinter]

Stupid reasons the L&co characters are catholic:

- George: believes in the doctrine of Purgatory

- Lucy: carries a skull everywhere, memento mori AF (also has six sisters, one of whom is named Mary…)

- Kipps: ginger therefore Irish therefore catholic

- Lockwood: literally actually catholic, his parents’ grave has a statue of the BVM on it!!

[justjudethoughts]

"In my deepest wound, I saw Your glory and it dazzled me."

Thinking about how Lucy wouldn't have met Lockwood and George if she hadn't lost her old team. How she wouldn't have been an agent if her parents had loved her well. How she found love and family and friendship precisely because of all the pain she had been through.

Thinking about how George and Lucy got closer after the Bone Glass. How it took him feeling alone, him feeling abandoned, Lucy almost losing him for it to finally click that he was loved. For Lucy to finally realize how much she loved him.

Thinking about how it takes falling beneath Aickmere's for Lucy to realize she needs to apologize. How it takes Lockwood almost losing Lucy to realize he messed up, too.

Thinking about how it takes an adventure to the other side for Lockwood to be vulnerable with Lucy.

Thinking about how Jessica's death glow saves Lockwood, Lucy, George, Flo, Holly and Kipps. Thinking about how it was there for years, so, so strong, but Jessica never came back. She stayed there for Lockwood. Not to come back and see him. Not to tempt him to touch her. But to let her death bring him life. To let her suffering mean something.

Anyway, Happy Feast of St. Augustine.

[synestheticwanderings]

we may not live to see our glory

He curses under his breath and quickly makes the sign of the cross again.

Quill runs into Lockwood in an unexpected place during the Black Winter.

part of the tin soldier series

Quill digs his nails into his palms. He needs to wash his hands clean, lay his burden down, and try to ease some of the gnawing guilt that’s sitting in the pit of his stomach.

He sighs. It would be so much easier if he’d actually done something wrong.

But that’s the rub, isn’t it? Every single step of the way, he’s done the right thing. He’s followed all the rules, he’s waited his turn—everything he had ever wanted was right there in his grasp. And then he followed Lockwood & Co. into Aickmere’s and it all slipped away as if he’d been holding water in his hands.

Read the rest on Ao3.

[lilaccatholic]

Catholic Lockwood and Co fandom hold onto your hats because the brainworm squad and I have evil, evil, beautiful things in our brains, and we might just put them to paper

[argentumcor]

Eyes to See

More Catholic Anthony Lockwood here. We’re going to make this tag happen.

[nathaniel-underwood-is-an-intj]

Literally just finished Notorious Scarlett and Browne

In that hyper stage where I just have to share my thoughts so excuse the ramble. (Spoilers!)

Sneaky Bartimaeus reference? Very reminiscent of Nat and Kitty's parting. I love how It's easy to find similarities between Storud's stories and characters without it feeling too repetitious.

The revelation about Thomas didn't surprise me- I'd read the summary for the third book but before that I felt it was kinda obvious she was like the reverse of Lockwood. But her middle name being Josephine absolutely did surprise me (unless I missed it being mentioned before?) but omg does the name suit her!! Made me realise we don't know what Jo and Ettie's surname is which I'd like to know!

Lighthearted moments I liked:

But also I was so confident Albert was my favourite character (love all of Stroud's psychologically messed up male protagonists anyway so it wasn't exactly a competition) but then in came Mallory omg - a more fucked up version of Albert that has absolutely no qualms about killing people?? Sign me tf up baby I love him so much! I said Nat has Catholic guilt vibes but oh boy Mallory is the BLUEPRINT for catholic guilt 🤌🏼🤌🏼

Maybe an unpopular opinion? But he definitely deserved better! I want to see him developed more as character and see more of his personality shine through rather than just be a vague threat from Stonemoor. I found his self assurance and egotistical nature really interesting considering years of child abuse - we kind of see it with Nathaniel but it's mostly an act and bravado whereas that does seem to just be what Mallory is like.

I'm loving the found family vibe as well - it was nice to see Jo and Ettie have stayed with Scarlett and Albert and the addition of Sal Qin at the end is really sweet. And I just think Mallory would fit in perfectly with the found family trope. None of them are really great people so he fits in so well 😭 I know I'm deluding myself thinking two people with the same power and background could be given equal space in the book so Mallory's end is probably final. But it was a little more vague so maybe? 🥹 What do we think does anyone else want him back? Also I know mentions of an adaptations are out there and I can't get the image how the last chapter would look on screen: Albert and Scarlett discussing the fight, thinking about the future joking about how Mallory is under several buildings and the future looks so bright. And then post credits we just see him come crawling out the revine. Or is that too cliche? But a small dose of cliche is healthy in a western vibe book right?

Mallory goading Albert before their fight was actually really cute as well; he was 🤏🏼 this close to being a mentor to Albert like an annoying af big brother or something 😭 I can picture him flirting with Scarlett as well purely to be irritating.

And I understand Albert being upset about Mallory killing the watchman - Albert does feel bad about hurting people even in self defense and it contrasts to Mallory not caring at all, but I was surprised that it was such a strong catalyst for his rage? Mallory kind of inadvertently helped them by getting rid of someone who could sound the alarm.

I just really love Mallory's pursuit of perfection leading to his own self hatred and I feel like it could be explored more with him as a character. Nathaniel gradually became more fearful of uncleanliness and disorder as he lost control of his life but it's cool to see the concept of a character viewing themself as impure and being filled with self hatred because of that (again gimmie those catholic guilt vibes all day long.)

I also like how he hasn't got the fear of his power that Albert has; Albert fears himself Mallory hates himself instead. But he also hates 'normal' people too which is really interesting, he just seems so lonely that's why I want him to join the little ragtag group 😭

Dr Calloway's death felt very justified but Mallory's (potential?) death just felt hollow because he's exciting and doesn't feel like his story was filled out enough. But then again we don't have any information about Calloway- not even a first name. The effect it gives is of a faceless entity of an institution. Even the description of her wearing glasses gives the impression of dehumanising her- If anyone knows anything about the Stanford Prison Experiment that's the impression she leaves. And that lack of knowledge about her is fulfilling in a way. No real personality shines through because she's been dehumanised. But Mallory is different - we see little glimpses of his personality, he's less of a faceless entity.

And even when Albert is trying to convince him to join them (whether this was supposed to be a trick or genuine I wasn't sure- Albert is kind enough to have been genuine but also I don't know if he'd want to risk Joe, Ettie and Scarlett) his reaction shows the cracks in his confident swagger. He's furious when Albert suggests society hates him, even though he's stated it himself many times and says he's accepted that fact. It kinda gave me the impression he's just trying to convince himself he's okay with being an outcast an completely alone but hearing it from someone else reminds him of the trauma of having it pointed out by Drs in Stonemoor and the defence mechanisms start to kick in.

And during his fight with Albert we see him have a real connection with someone- he and Albert share strange moments bordering on bonding with each other. I think it's a connection they both need because no on else has such similar shared experiences. I don't even want a redemption arc for him- he's irredeemable in the same way Scarlett and Albert are which is why he fits in with them so much!

Anyway what do people think? Do you think Mallory will return? Do you want him to? I'm so excited for the last book to come out and so scared I'll be disappointed 🥲

Aside from Mallory; the will they won't they of Scarlett and Albert is stressing me out! I can't decide if they're even meant to be shipped or not. It doesn't help that Albert's age is left really vague - Scarlett makes him sound quite young in comparison to her but Albert says she's hardly older than him so idk. I know Stroud tends to keep these things vague on purpose but this seems more so than usual which makes me think I'm crazy when they have adorable moments together.

I kind of get the impression Albert has a sort of crush on Scarlett but she views him as a little brother. How does everyone else see them?

[lockwood-fic-recs]

The Torment

by PiningLikeFineDining on ao3

Rating: E | Category: F/M | Relationship: Lockwood/Lucy

(Click for summary)

Anthony Lockwood wasn’t sure when the torment had begun or how long he had been burning. All he was confident of was that he was surely dying. He had never experienced anything remotely like the scorching inferno of agony he was currently surrendered to.

A Vampire AU where Lockwood is turned into a vampire during Black Winter.

[dangerously-human]

Twice in The Hollow Boy, Lockwood leaps for Lucy and it's not enough. The first time is jumping between her and a ghost on the Wintergarden staircase and he still can't save her, Holly has to. And of course, that's still when I think he had his oh moment, realizing he's in love with Lucy and has been for a while, so there's an emotional leap too and he's too scared (etc) to tell her in the aftermath, and they end up more distant than ever. The second is when he jumps into the Aickmere's pit for her, and that time he is able to save her on a literal level - and how delicious that he's saving her from the hollow version of himself, which is exactly what got between them the first time - but on the emotional side of things, he tries telling her how he feels, as best as he can manage for now, and it's not enough, he still loses her, just days later.

And to add to the anguish, @womaninwinter's response to this was, "Not being enough as a theme for Lockwood in THB - how did you make it worse???" Which, like, there's a lot to unpack there, actually, in terms of Lucy and Lockwood's parallel journeys in that regard. A lot of repetition in this book of Lockwood trying, and somehow always getting it wrong. Which is something we saw Lucy struggle with so much in the earlier books, and she's just beginning to develop some confidence in her decisions now, only to be met with resistance that she interprets as Lockwood not believing in her. So actually, maybe parallel isn't the right word - their development in the "not being enough" realm intersects here, painfully, because they're dealing with the same problem but at different angles and keep catching on each other's edges.

Which brings us to the Black Winter, and Lockwood's scheming to reconnect with Lucy and maybe, just maybe, convince her to come back. There's a huge hole between them now that he's afraid he can't really stretch far enough across to reach her - and maybe it is shaped a little like Aickmere's, what he tried to confess to her (about his past and the future he's only just beginning to hope for and his heart his heart his heart) and she still ran - and what if he takes another leap and she still doesn't take the hand he's offering? What if she never takes his hand again?

(Not like I need any reasons to be more devastated about The Hollow Boy and Lockwood's spiral during the Black Winter, but hey, I just finished the first very messy draft of the sleepless/Catholic Lockwood/hands fic - the one inspired by Won't Give Up by Colony House, please join me sometime in sobbing about how well that fits for both Lucy and Lockwood - and in the meantime, had to inflict this thought on everyone in a more meta form. You will be seeing it again in a more narrative format later, but that's not ready yet and I'm having too many feelings about it not to at least say something about it now.)