on the topic of bartimaeus, i don’t see this enough in fic, but i kind of dig a colder and more calculating view of ptolemy? like obviously he’s a good kid, but i always feel like the bartimaeus chapters paint him with a bit of a rose tinted glasses view, and even so, they kind of give me the idea that he wasn’t setting out to be kind, he always helped people but with sort of a “fine, i guess, get it over with quick” kind of vibe, and that he was really just looking to acquire as much knowledge as he could and bust some heads (in a spiritual sense, of course) with his discoveries on djinn and the other place. i almost see his kindness as a product of him not being a complete dick; he never goes out of his way, really, to enact it, but it happens because he can’t turn away those who need his help. he’s a schemer, a planner, and he’ll fight for true knowledge on a subject, he’s a good man, but he isn’t setting out to be a nice one. it happens as a biproduct of who he is, but it isn’t the CORE.