#the strouds

[soul-siren]

"You're a Failure, and your family died knowing it."

I finally finished it!

I got majorly distracted with only 2 sections of this left, and it gathered dust for a bit. But here it is! All the angst!

My Emmit Hawke, purple and unromanced. He's just very tired and never given a break, so might as well strand him in the Fade, right? (I love my Hawke, promise)

There was originally a part 2 that has a bit more of a hopeful tune to leaving him behind, but I dunno if I'll get to that. We'll see.

[hiddenvioletsgrow]

My favorite thing about Lockwood is the fact that he tries so hard to be cool but he is literally an actual human disaster and sixteen, so whenever he makes a slick one liner he’s internally going “yessss that was SO cool, I nailed that” and then Lucy and George are cheering in the background because they also think he’s So cool. But Holly and Kipps both absolutely do not, because they are full legal adults so they’re like “oh my gosh the cringe rn, I can’t believe this is my boss”

[paragonraptors]

for science (because im curious)

if you have more than one worldstate, pick for the one you consider your "main"/"canon" worldstate or the one you plan to use first for da4! also feel free to lay out your reasoning in the tags gushing about your dragon age runs is accepted and encouraged here.

[bobbys-not-that-small]

Jonathan’s Goodreads Q&A section is a goldmine

whoever wrote the salty snack one is a GENIUS

[theartfulv]

Lucy painting!!!

Trying to relearn how to use watercolours and just had to paint my fav girl!!

(And happy St. Paddy’s Day lovelies!)

[thepalerimitation]

Jonathan Stroud is so magnificent at writing female characters that my jaw dropped when I looked at the book jacket.

Lucy being abrasive but also nervous when first meeting Lockwood. Holly describing Sir Rupert Gale getting too close to her and breathing down her neck. Flo being severely traumatized by ghosts, leading to her mania and homelessness.

I seriously cannot even get into how good so much of the commentary was in Lockwood and Co. Talking about CPTSD, Lockwood’s suicidal behavior, child labor, capitalizing off of tragedy, large corporations, like Stroud is that guy. But there is something so amazing about him writing such relatable and compelling female characters that makes him one of my favorite authors of all time.

[schokoleibniz]

all five books summed up in one sentence

[womaninwinter]

This is soooo messed up when you know the wider context.

[peachymaryobrien]

2024? Idk, I'm still here

[vryfmi]

[id: a pencil drawing of an opening scene to Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase. Lockwood, turned away from the viewer, and Lucy, facing him, stand at the steps of a house and look out into a front yard. the sun is setting./end id]

Part I. The Ghost

joining @blue-boxes-magic-and-tea's TSS read-along and sharing a rather old drawing from my own old reread

[geekgirles]

They're family

[eudociacovert]

Rereading the Lockwood and Co. books and one of the things I love about them is how the world always feels lived in. Stroud doesn't write side characters and background characters as static, they react and adapt and change, even the ones we never even talk to. For instance, Bunchurch has an entire arc and we experience it exclusively through Lockwood's snippy asides about them, it's so cool. This is definitely something I want to try and do more in my own writing.

[mellowkotto]

Don't mess with a teenage girl and her emotional support skull

I know the skull was scorched after the explosion but I forgot ijbol

[vangoghsmissingearr]

I'm so normal about them

[narinick]

Lockwood and co my love!

One of my favorite scenes from the creeping shadow! Do you recognize it?? The bluewhale line cracks me up every time.