#thank you Jonathan stroud

[ethicsaesthetic]

I feel like it is a very important addition to canon that Quill Kipps not only bakes but takes the time and effort to make a decorative crust on his pies.

[yveni]

One of the absolutely wonderful things about Lockwood & Co. is that all the way to the very end, it sticks to the core idea of “these are just kids hunting some ghosts”.

Like yeah, the plot gets bigger for sure, but it doesn’t stray away from what was so endearing from the very beginning, which is getting to see some kids hunt some ghosts.

Stroud managed to work all of the amazing character moments, growth, and love into and in between some funky ghost cases and I think that’s what I love about these books so much.

[my-alter-egos]

FRANKLIN

[peachymaryobrien]

I love Lucy sm like life is shit from her pov, she's repulsive and never satisfied, BUT when it comes to Lockwood... girl just casually drops the most poetic lines about the way he makes her feel or the way he looks. She can publish a whole other book categorizing Lockwoods behavior, appearance and the meaning of every smile. She's is love loveeeeee

[c-herondale]

I have about one million thoughts about the Lockwood and Co series (most of them are just excited screaming) but hearing Lucy Carlyle say fuck just healed my soul and cleared my skin

[locklyle1kanij]

CONTENT!!!!!! OMGGGGG IM CRYING!

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CHRISTMAS STORY!!!!! post canon ithink

(images below)

[vryfmi]

KIPPS ANALYSIS? 👀👂

buckle up, it's a long one before we start: this thought process was made possible thanks to my fear of l&co tv series killing Kipps in teg storyline because it would be the biggest mistake writers could possibly make and here's why

Kipps is a key character for understanding the world that Stroud has made.

Each book has its own clear structure and themes that it focuses on. That said, the first book is an introduction, we get a first look at the main characters, enough to understand who they are but not to give all away all at once; we get a general idea of the world and its rules, as well as hints of an overarching plot. But it's very much on the surface, because now that the reader has a general idea, they are ready for more in-depth information. The second book focuses on the world and society, third on ghosts and talent, fourth gives us ghost lore, and fifth is a payoff. And characters, as an integral part of each story (although each book focuses on certain characters more than others) gradually grow throughout the books. All together it gives us an almost perfect sequence with great pacing and enough content to dig into it ourselves to make theories and headcanons.

So what my point is? Stroud is a genius.

The Screaming Staircase gives us Lucy and Lockwood's adventures, a tad bit of George too, ghosts are there, and of course a moral of the story - "adults are useless in this world“. This is the thought that runs throughout the book: Jacobs' screw-up, the emphasis on L&Co's independence as an agency, Fairfax and finally Kipps. As soon as we meet Kipps, he's a nuance - first of all, Fittes, secondly some adult supervisor with his agents on the run, finally he makes fun of MCs and has a history with Lockwood. However, George steps in just in time and says some rather interesting things: despite the medals on Kipps' jacket, his teams are screwing up just as much, and what George notices is that Kipps has the highest death rate of operatives under his supervision. And the cherry on top is a defeat in the sword fight. Doesn't he look like a minor antagonist?

The Whispering Skull. In characters, of course, focus is on Lucy, George, skull and Kipps. Overall Stroud gives us more insights into the world and how The Problem has changed England: we see the influence of Fittes, learn about relicmen, and how ghosts have changed the mentality of society (and driven some to madness, in Bickerstaff's case). That's good and all, but you know what Stroud is already preparing us for? You guessed it, suffering, which is why Kipps becomes an exposition of literally everything.

Through Kipps and his teams we see agents outside the protagonists. For readers cases of Lockwood & Co. are adventures, something packed with action, where things eventually work out in their favour. Compare it to cluster case, on which Kipps' team arrives including eight-year-old agents (via Lucy), which should be alarming, since these are very young children (Lucy herself was only in the night-watch kid at that age, and these are Fitties operatives already).

Chapter 29 shoves its fat hint right in readers' faces. Jopling and Bickerstaff have just been defeated and everyone is scattered in the graveyard. Lucy sits on the steps, Kipps sits a step below. A conversation starts between them that perfectly draws a line between them - both distinguishing and drawing a parallel. Yes, Kipps was an agent, was good at what he did, but where is he now? His talent has died out, while Lucy's talent is just gaining momentum. Her boundaries as an agent have been pushed, she's reaching new heights and wonders where that growth will take her next with type three ghost at her side. But then again, there's Kipps sitting there, a physical reminder that the talent will eventually fade away, that as an agent Lucy will be gone in four to five years. And Kipps knows it. He remembers himself, his peak, his reckless deeds and adventures, and how quickly it all came to an end.

By the way, interesting side note: Lucy mentioned that Fittes agents tend to be around 8-16 years old, although Kipps lost his talent when he reached his twenties and only then went into mentorship. So chronologically Lucy started developing as an agent at the same time when Kipps started losing or had already lost his talent.

The Hollow Boy. The whole Chelsea outbreak is a stroke of genius on Stroud's part: to show what happened to England without repeating himself. Genius and all. To show the panic as if for the first time, to introduce us to the operatives anew when we see agencies unable to work together, and finally to show the horror of what's happening, but now to make it as painful as possible.

Ned's death doesn't particularly hit the reader - we knew the guy, he wasn't the best. However, it's not the death itself that's important here, it's the reaction to it. It seems as if both Kipps and the rest of his team don't care all that much, the question of "how it happened" is a commonplace, and they give an explanation of how it happened in detail, with an assessment. Is that how you talk about someone who died on duty? About teenager? No, and that's the horror of it. Ned was one of hundreds of agents dying every night. He wasn't a sensation, death of children isn't a sensation in this world. But that's besides the point - Kipps cares, he even puts funeral first, not his job, which he's willing to throw away because of his own despair. Of course he doesn't want to send his agents into the thick of it and sit outside waiting, of course he wants to understand the nature of what's going on in Chelsea, but he can't, nobody can, and the situation is getting worse and worse. So Kipps' hands are down, and who can blame him for that?

In The Creeping Shadow, Kipps is once again confronted with the fact that society does not care for him. He's been given a promotion, but only for the purpose of shutting him down, keeping him out of the ghost business, even though it was the only skill he learned in life. Kipps didn't go into mentorship to command children, he simply had no other option. Neither did many agents who outlived their talent. Having left Fittes, we don't really know what Kipps was up to. Probably nothing, and where would he go? He responded to Lockwood's offer despite having nothing to offer their team. Kipps doesn't go there for the money, but out of habit, a desire to get back to what was once his routine.

And then there are goggles. To be honest, their sheer presence seems like a double-edged sword - are they a second chance or a burden holding, dragging him back? But they make Kipps the happiest we've ever seen, so let him have it for now.

And now the fifth book and again a side note: Stroud in his first draft of the book had killed Kipps after them crossing gates the last time around and even wrote the whole thing that way, but he came to his senses in time (alas, he didn't rewrite anything properly).

I have nothing to say about the first half of the book, because I have no complaints about it. The complaints start from a part with almost killing Kipps (and some other things, but that's not what the text is about). I'm not a fan, in fact, I'm a hater of what Kipps' death would have implied. It wouldn't have been heroic, it wouldn't have been a reminder that we are all mortal, it wouldn't have been the sudden punch in the gut that writers like to entertain their readers with (at least not with characters like Kipps). It would have been a major contradiction for Kipps' arc as a character-exposition, as a face of generation after generation that were sacrificing their youth for the quiet nights that never came.

And, worst of all, all of it could have been avoided very, very easily. Not wounding Kipps; the one who would have been feeling better on the other side would've been George, as he was already barely on his feet during the defence of Portland Row - who better walk chipper on the other side other than George? He'll of course survive, it's just that his condition is critical and everyone is trying to get George out of the building. But the important thing here is that Kipps doesn't stumble and fall to his death right before the finish line.

[queezleofprague]

quite honestly the Bartimaeus books had a huge affect on how I conceptualize government, and I can see it even more with my brother, who read the books even younger than I did. he would make comparisons between the bart sequence and the real world a lot, especially in regards to news and laws. I’m just rambling a bit, but there’s something incredibly powerful about a book series that staunchly condemns class systems, surveillance states, propaganda, and authoritarian governments, while also being appealing to twelve year olds.

[wonderwhump]

After watching Lockwood & Co on Netflix I read all five books by Jonathan Stroud. And they were easily one of the best reads I had for ages. 🤩

Thank you Mr. Stroud for these five masterpieces. I’m equally heartbroken that there aren’t any more books in the series and that Netflix doesn’t want to produce a second series. There would have been so much more brilliant stuff to come. 😢

[atatanya]

😭😭😭

……..

[janedoebby]

Hopefully by tomorrow this post is redundant but I’m really struggling to find any other show that is getting the same treatment as Lockwood and Co. I get Netflix would want to focus their attention on projects that have been proven successful like Wednesday, You and to a lesser extent Ginny and Georgia but they are doing such a disservice to the potential of upcoming shows. I know it’s been like a big topic lately (Netflix’s treatment of their projects) but I don’t know how leaving a show that yeah does have an established fandom but is still relatively small as kind of an unknown for most people using the platform is meant to be setting it up for success. I loved the teaser trailer but it was a sneak peak for a reason in that its main appeal was to people like us who know of the series. Being optimistic maybe the people at Netflix want to release a trailer closer to the release date alongside other promo so that it leaves an imprint on casual viewers rather than fans who were already planning to watch the show years or months in advance. However it does kind of stall the excitement for me at least since there are still so many questions that usually a trailer provides answers to in the lead up to it airing. Like the fact we are yet to have one scene of the trio interacting - we are yet to hear the skull talk - articles are the only indication of what the overall tone of the show is going to be - how much of book 2 could potentially be utilised ??? Netflix is just really testing our patience but stilllllllllll this could be just me shouting into the void since a trailer is posted in the next couple of hours. 🙏🙏🙏

[gaydelgard]

thinking about the ending of lockwood and co always makes me think about the ending of the bartimeaus trilogy

[somebluenovember]

whaaaaaat today just got so much better

the question is - do I have enough time to learn French??

also, could we have more Lo&C BOOKS, too, maybe *bats eyelashes in the most innocent way*

[paranormaljones]

Deeply deeply adore the way L&Co didn't take the Fittes Ball as an opportunity to put Lucy in a revealing dress just to tantalize Lockwood or something. Not that that would have been accurate at all to the books, and it would have completely gone against the vibe of the show anyways. But we all know how eager the entertainment industry is to sexualize female bodies and put female characters in uncomfortable situations for the "benefit" of the male characters.

But no. Lucy wore something that she could feel comfortable in, something practical and entirely beautiful. She didn't even wear heels! And when Lockwood came up to the attic and saw her in her dress, he looked at her with obvious wonder. Not blatant lust. (Again, obviously wouldn't have fit with the story but you know.)

Thank you thank you thank you to Jonathan Stroud, Joe Corn-adjacent, and everyone else involved in the production of this show for creating your main female character to be so very real and wonderful.

[peachymaryobrien]

The Creeping Shadow Spoilerzz‼!

Lucy had given Lockwood a new tie after the case of the Christmas Corpse. I bet when she left, he started wearing it constantly as a reminder that she was still looking after him. But it never worked, bc it would only remind him of another loss, reminding him that he couldn't make her stay.

And he's wearing it as a nice small detail going to Lucy's apartment , nervous, hoping she'll read between the lines and realize he was never the same without her being by his side. And she'll just come back.

[neil-gaiman]

Hi Neil,

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend and that it's peaceful and you're spending it with people you love. I wanted to let you know that I'm a big fan of your works and a big fan of adaptations of your works.

That said, I was wondering if maybe...just maybe...you'd be willing to help out the adaptation of a fellow writer? You may (or may not! You've got a lot going on right now) have heard that Netflix's adaptation of Lockwood and Co. by Jonathan Stroud was cancelled even though it was brilliant, even though it has a large following, and was on Netflix #1 for an entire week and stayed in the Top 10 for three weeks. There's a petition going around to try and save the show and we're just shy (by shy, I mean 54!) of 20,000 signatures. So it would mean THE WORLD if you could share it around to your fans who are so so lucky to get to watch so many adaptations of so many of your works.

Here's the link if you feel like sharing it. And if not, I totally understand.

Thank you so much for everything! I really hope you're having a nice weekend and that next week brings some progress with the Writer's Strike!

Best,

Anna

Happy to share it.

Having experienced the nerve-wracking process of getting Sandman renewed at Netflix, when we were number 1 in the world for four weeks, but it still all depended on the percentage of people who finished watching the whole thing within that four week period, as people were watching it and not binging it, you have all my sympathies.