#the bartimaeus sequence

[lejay-the-impossible]

The memory of Ptolemy

[silverfeatheredserpent]

Bartimaeus & Nathaniel

I wanted to draw this picture on a tablet, but then I wanted to transfer it to canvas with paints. Now, from the outside, it seems to me a little religious, but in fact it's not at all.

I really like the image of Bartimaeus in the days when he lived under King Solomon and Ptolemy - despite all the evil that the magicians did to him, he still remained himself.

He also saved Nathaniel's soul.

After all, we all understand that if it hadn't been for Bartimaeus, Nathaniel would have died long ago and the callous and cold John Mandrake existed instead. I won't say that I'm 100% satisfied with the result, but I got creative pleasure painting these feathers, shadows on clothes, splashes of rain and emotions on their faces. Aloof, incredibly strong mentally, but at heart a very lonely Nathaniel, whose only friends were silent books - the last time he cried was when Mrs. Underwood died, the only person he loved.

And he was left alone.

Among the greedy, corrupt, vile wizards, there is only a boy who has been attacked by everything at once. This song symbolizes the British government in my head - "a flock of crazed birds." Vultures who pretend to be colleagues, but in fact are just waiting for you to make a mistake.

Bartimaeus, on the other hand, is calm. He understands all this. He's seen too much over thousands of years, so I think his help for Nathaniel wasn't entirely imposed by his endless Imprisonment. After all, despite everything that followed, he never revealed John Mandrake's true name to anyone and did no harm.

I'm sure such an inventive genie could have found a loophole.

But he didn't.

He stayed with him until the end. This peace with a hint of truth is what I wanted to show. The way the genie covers the real Nathaniel with his wings from the dank downpour on his soul, from the real demons longing for his death, and calms him down.

Bartimaeus was the last person Nathaniel showed his tears to. Nathaniel was still himself only because of Bartimaeus.

And while darkness, bad weather and demons are raging outside, there is silence, tranquility and a starry sky under the powerful wings.

[narinick]

Bart prompt week 2025, day 2

English breakfast

Hi, it’s baby Nat.

[tarragonthedragon]

Greetings, fellow Bartimates!

It is once again almost that time of the year: time for the annual Bartimaeus Sequence Prompt Week!

This year, it will run from Monday 7th April to Sunday 13th April with further reminders closer to the date. As for the prompts, we've partnered with Kitty's old workplace - "The Frog Inn" - and whipped up not one, but two prompt menus for you to pick and choose from!

Every menu offers a choice of 5 different daily prompts for you to play around with (counting the drink itself as well). You are free to interpret them as you wish, combine different prompts or stick to just one per day, and hop between lists depending on what gets your creative juices flowing.

The medium of choice is up to you: fanart, fanfic, cosplay, aesthetic boards, music, paper crafts, everything is welcome - go frogwild, remember to tag your delicious creations with #bartprompts25!

MORNING MENU:

Americano - 07.04 slice of life, bittersweet, AU: meet-cute, Kitty

English Breakfast - 08.04 hurt/comfort, canon-compliant, library, Nathaniel

Hot chocolate - 09.04 cuddling, warm & cozy, AU: everyone lives, Mr Button

Frappé - 10.04 casual, banter, pre-canon, Rebecca Piper

Smoothie - 11.04 domestic fluff, costume ball, AU: animals, Asmira

Fruit juice - 12.04 comedy, action/adventure, AU: sci-fi, Queezle

Soda pop - 13.04 fluff, friendship, AU: fix-it, the resistance

EVENING MENU:

Champagne - 07.04 elegance, jealousy, AU: high fantasy, Jane Farrar

Wine - 08.04 drama, character study, AU: royalty, Solomon

Gin and tonic - 09.04 blood & injury, favourite spirit, AU: roleswap, Faquarl

Vodka martini - 10.04 crack, post-canon, mythical creatures, Bartimaeus

Jägerbomb - 11.04 London, fire, fight/violence, Jabor

Suffering bastard - 12.04 hurt/no comfort, horror, sickness, Honorius

Blood and sand - 13.04 character death, grief/mourning, bad ending, Ptolemy

[ironyscleverer]

sometimes I look back on the Bartimaeus Sequence and marvel at how well developed the system of slavery was, to the point where, in order to uphold the system, the magicians had to base their whole society around dehumanizing themselves and policing each other.

Think about it. Nathaniel was bought as a toddler, and stripped of his name, his family, and every other piece of humanity he could’ve possibly possessed at six years old. He was then handed over to a magician who taught him to depend on slave labor as not only a source of power, but also an integral part of his identity. He was taught to be dependent on slave labor in every way, and yet constantly fear the beings that he enslaved.

He was taught value political power and safety above all else in order to assuage that constant fear, because the oppressor always fears the revenge of the oppressed.

He was taught to use the differences between humans and spirits to justify their enslavement, because there must be a reason they deserve it and you don’t.

He was taught to distrust kindness and altruism, because if a world exists where kindness and altruism have value, then there exists a world where slavery is wrong. Where all the abuse and pain that generations of magicians have put themselves through to uphold the system of slavery was for nothing.

And in this context the metaphor of the true name as a source of both extreme power and vulnerability for spirits and humans alike, to the point where magicians hide/destroy/forget their birth names and by extension their humanity in order to contain that weakness is just so achingly perfect and scrumptious and I just-

Idk. Sometimes I think about that.

Edit: I think I may have unknowingly plagiarized this from @agape-emo-eros so uhhh, just gonna tag them here. Idk it was in my mind palace or smth. Sorry dude.

[impassiverevelation]

It’s a little interesting that Bartimaeus likes to remember Ptolemy before he changed. Because, yes, he was healthier and had his youth, but that was also the Ptolemy that hadn’t made the gesture of going to the Other Place; the Ptolemy that Bartimaeus doubted.

[asexualreptile]

Day 3

From the evening menu: Faquarl- AU: roleswap- favourite spirit (not you Faquarl, sorry babe)

Remember that scene in AoS where Bart is stuck at the Tower of London and Faquarl gets him out on order of Lovelace? Yeah, that one. Except that now it's Faquarl stuck in the bowl and Bart getting him out with the ring-thingy. No way Bart will ever let him live that one down lol

Faquarl being stuck and still absolutely towering over Bart amused me.

References: Glowing coconut octopus for Faquarl

Spur winged lapwing for Bart

[nadiajustbe]

Day 1 — Americano

The Stranger (a tale of Kathleen "Kitty" Jones)

It was insanely hard to put "meet-up" in there, but I managed! I have all my other works for prompts as WIPs rn, so exuse me If I'm somewhat late with them. All love to this fandom and all its incredible fandom AND all the joy you bring me. So I bring you a little pain, as a proper Bartseq fan, as a treat.

[mesmeropants]

The final moments

With Nouda bearing down on him, the glass palace crumbling, and the smell of detonations still fresh in the air, did Nathaniel think of the Underwoods? Did he remember his childhood burning away while another demon lunged for him? Did he think of Ms. Underwood dying for the petulance of a boy she loved?

Did he make his sacrifice and see the death he had avoided before?

Only years ago, and yet a lifetime apart.

For all the traumas and internal tortures that Nathanial wrestled with, the death of the Underwoods was rarely mentioned past the first book; it always felt like it was a wound so deep and internalized into ‘Nathanial,’ that Mandrake dared not even think about it even when he troubled himself about Kitty’s assumed death. I like to think that in those final moments he thought of Ms Underwood, and the boy that could have met his end were it not for Bartimaeus.

[lunyselene-art]

he's so shaped...

[aisheng]

Siren bart🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️

[lejay-the-impossible]

Happy late birthday to @jonathanstroud. Bartimaeus got here from the Other Place to say hi, Lockwood got you a cup of the finest tea and Scarlett is gonna try not to swear much (she pays extra today)

[silverfeatheredserpent]

Illustration for the fanfiction "The town where we were cursed"

PG AU Nathaniel was rescued after the explosion, and now he remains one of the few powerful wizards in London.

Ordinary people are unhappy, the city is on the verge of chaos. John Mandrake takes over the management of the remnants of the government, but it is sorely lacking for everyone at once. And then someone else got into the habit of brutally killing wizards.

Unable to cope with this alone, and also lost in himself after the rise of the demons, Nathaniel again calls Bartimaeus to help him solve a series of terrible crimes.

Some time later, Bartimaeus and Nathaniel manage to find out that the wizards were killed by their own spirits under the influence of an unknown artifact.

When they manage to find the culprit, Nathaniel accidentally falls under the influence of this curse… (I like this simple illustration, so I decided to post it here, thank you)

[narinick]

Bart prompt week 2025, day 1

Americano

Kitty, au, meet cute, slice of live.

That’s basically one of my all time favorite fanfics and until today the ONLY ONE I’m aware of that’s Kitty/Ptol/Bart, which is truly sad because they are so beautiful together. I can’t recommend it enough!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13001022

So in the scene I illustrated, Kitty moves to Oxford post canon and works in a bar that’s frequented by students, and this particular student seems very familiar.

[green-grinning-glitter-ghosts]

thinking about Ms Lutyens like what other people did she work for how many magicians apprentices did she tutor how many of them did she have to watch grow up into terrible people how many of them was she deeply patient and kind with because she knew she was the only person to be kind and patient with in their lives like. how much did she see. how much of the system did she witness she probably knew exactly how bad it was. she was ready to hit a man over Nathaniel how many more times was she in that position.

[ironyscleverer]

Ok I reread the first chapter of the Amulet of Samarkand yesterday because I’m trying to write a screenplay and it’s so telling that when Bart gets his command to steal the Amulet, his FIRST thought is that Nat is being manipulated. He sees this tiny child asking for something dangerous and is immediately all “where’s your terrible evil master? Who’s making you do this?”

Obviously it turns out Nat really is just a menace, but it’s funny that we’re only like 3 pages in and Bart has already outed himself as a total softie