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picnokinesis · 4 months

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plottier / character focused thirteenth doctor fic recs

Ipseity by WalkerLister (43k, 10 chapters, gen) summary: Eight months since the Doctor sacrificed herself on Gallifrey, and Yasmin Khan is still struggling to move on. However, when she comes across a familiar face who is not acting like herself, Yaz may finally get the answers she has been looking for surrounding the Doctor. However, those answers will be revealed in a way a bit more dangerous than she had been anticipating. //Okay, so no one is surprised that I like the amnesiac!divisioned!13 fic, but in my defence, it's absolutely fabulous. This one was written waaaaay back in mid-2020, so we all knew that 13 was in prison and everyone was pretty sure that Jack was coming back due to some bts detective work, but that was about it - so, for obvious reasons, it doesn't align with ROTD, but it's such a fun one, guys, I love it a lot. Also, y'know, thirteen in a leather jacket and snarling at people? What more could you want?

don't have to make it to the moon by Ymae (28k, 7 chapters, gen/thoschei) summary: After New Year's, Ryan decides to stay traveling in the TARDIS for another little while. Only, the Doctor's rarely alright, and between experiencing the wonders of the universe, Ryan wants to figure out what's happening to his friend, too. //I love Ryan so much. He's such a wonderful character and I always love it when fics focus on him, or have him as the pov character. Unfortunately, fics like that are a bit few and far between, but this is one of them, and it's absolutely fantastic. It really delves into his character, but also his dynamic with the Doctor (especially after he talks to her in ROTD and she admits that she's scared and angry), and it's just auuuuuuugh so good!! And, it's also go some great whump and psychic content, with the Master showing up to cause trouble, alongside some gorgeous world-building, so I enjoy it very very much.

Ghost War by riptheh (25k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: All the Doctor wants to do is pass the time, and help a friendly face. So when a young man with a strange tattoo and a psychic wound shows up, she dives right into the mystery - and finds herself flung far into the future, mindwiped and alone, fighting a war that by all rights, shouldn't exist at all. A war she could help end, if only she could figure out who she is. //Oof, this one. It's absolutely stunning. This author really has a way of taking some absolutely fascinating and mind-bending concepts and just running with it, and just nails it each time. I feel like the less I say about the plot of this one, the better, because it sort of unfolds as you go, but please just trust me when I say that it's absolutely fantastic.

Lifelines by Sue_Denham (40k, 11 chapters, gen, wip) summary: Lifeline: a thing on which someone or something depends, or which provides a means of escape from a difficult situation. Set just after the events of Spyfall, the Doctor has a few things to work through. //Okay this fic is one of my favourites that's been posting over the last year or so - it's a brilliant exploration of Graham and Thirteen, and how different races deal with loss, guilt and death. I honestly think the best kind of sci fi takes concepts that we sort of take for granted, and then shows them in a completely new light. That's what this fic does. Also, Graham is just wonderful for the entire thing - though, as a note, Yaz and Ryan do end up somewhat side-lined, so bear that in mind if you're particularly looking for fics about those two, but I forgive it because it's such a great look at Graham and the Doctor. It feels like a character focused tie-in novel, y'know? Also it's pretty angsty in places, naturally, but that's what I'm here for haha.

Disordered by Echo (44k, 7 chapters, jack/13) summary: Messing with memories is always a risky business. Messing with your own memories, now that's just asking for trouble. The Doctor is very good at asking for trouble. And Jack is very good at finding it. //Ohhhhh okay so. This has been one of my absolute favourite Doctor Who fics for a long while. Definitely the shippiest of this list, but it's so lovely and such an excellent look at the Doctor facing the consequences of trying to get back her Division memories in the aftermath of s12, as well as the relationship between the Doctor and Jack across multiple regenerations. It's just so so good, flowing smoothly from very angsty to very soft, and the Doctor and Jack's voices are just spot on (especially considering that we see different versions of the Doctor, this is a particularly impressive note). Highly recommend!

The Trial of the Doctor by wreckageofstars (20k, 5 chapters, gen/thasmin, wip) summary: Haven is a planet at the edge of time, on the brink of destruction. Ravaged by the Time Lords and a war that time forgot, its people are desperate for justice before it’s too late, and the Doctor might be the only being left in the universe who can provide it — because she was the one who started it. So why can't she remember doing it? //Okay okay so, this one has only recently started posting but I've known about it since about 2020 and ohhhhhhhhhhh my goodness, GUYS. If you're not following this one, you need to be. It's a mix between Doctor Who at it's finest, Kafka at it's most unsettling, and Douglas Adams at it's most absurd, and it's delightful. There's so much in this one, and as always this author is just spot on with all the characterisation - especially Thirteen, who suddenly finds herself being prosecuted for a crime that she can't remember, and is forced into a situation where she's physically incapable of telling a lie. It. Is. Marvellous. Also there's a cockroach lawyer, whom I adore HAHA

lighthouse keeper by BlueLillyBlue (57k, 12 chapters, gen) summary: The Doctor is missing, and the fam is concerned. Featuring Yaz being a badass, Ryan being a cutie, Graham being a granddad, Jack being Jack, and the Doctor's complicated moral code. Also: space prisons, galactic war, the Doctor's time war trauma, the Doctor caring about people in her own weird and repressive way, and, most importantly, Thirteen wearing Jack's coat. //Oh, this one is such a favourite of mine. It's very angsty, so if that's not your schtick then - well, then you're kinda scuppered for all of my recs, to be honest, but this one is a bit on the dark side. Oh, but it's fantastic. Again, this one feels like a tie-in novel, and this author (as I think I've said before) is just incredible at crafting these very vivid worlds and really hard-hitting stories. The situation is pretty dire and desperate, and the Doctor is often faced with the fact that not every plan works out, and sometimes the only choices are bad ones. It's just really excellent guys (also! Thirteen in Jack's coat!!)

angel ellipsis by SleepyMaddy (36k, 8 chapters, gen/thoschei) summary: When the Doctor and Yaz find a planet in ruins, they’re only half surprised to discover the Master is responsible. But when his plan backfires, suddenly they have no choice but to work with him to stop his former allies from tearing the universe apart. It goes about as well as one might expect. //OKAY SO. This one is SO much fun and SO great - in particular, if you like the Master being a tricky bastard, but also getting screwed over by his own plans? You'll love this one. Everything about it is so vibrant and brilliant, and aaaaaahh man it all comes together in such a satisfying way. As with many of the authors on this list, this author just really gets these characters and how they tick, with some absolutely beautiful prose, and it's just such a joy to read.

nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light by river_of_words (6k, 1 chapter, thasmin) summary: Two weeks since Yaz got the most confusing rejection she ever hopes to get and the Doctor seems to have decided to blame Yaz for every single one of her furiously conflicting emotions. At this point she’s sort of asking to get hit. And at this point Yaz is sort of curious to find out what the Doctor is going to say that’s going to make her meet that request. //These next two fics are a lot shorter compared to the others, but I really wanted to include both of them because they're great and SO interesting to me. With this one, it digs into the Doctor and Yaz's relationship in the aftermath of LOTSD, and the ways that the Doctor does not actually talk about anything but does also tell Yaz more than anyone else. It's about the frustration that builds between them and the way that they're still finding more comfort in each other than anyone else. It's also a little feral, which as a thoschei shipper, definitely had a lot to do with why I liked this one haha. Anyway, it's really fantastic - really quick paced and emotional, and packing a LOT of punches with mostly dialogue in a very effective way. Go read it!

we'll do it right by daring_elm (3k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: She's never really noticed Yaz's perfume before. Shoulders relaxing, nausea subsiding, the Doctor inhales again, filling her lungs with jasmine and sandalwood, steel and glowing crystals and her box out of time. She can be back with Yaz within minutes of her leaving. She can save the child, change the foundation of Gallifrey and still return to have a picnic on Soria T4. //Okay so I loooove love love this one because I just adore it any time someone explores the Doctor's reaction to the Timeless Child stuff after the fact, and this one is just so wonderful. The characterisation is just fantastic, and then just the progressive spiral of the plot as we follow the Doctor on a mission that is doomed to fail by the nature of her own timeline. It's about how by trying to change the past, all you do is mess up your present and your future, and I love that a lot. Augh, it's a gut punch and a half - highly recommended!

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frogprincessmack · 8 months

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Vicky Schmidt means an insane amount to me and since people seem to like my Monster Roadtrip posts I'm going to be a bit delulu and think y'all will listen if I ramble about why I love her so much.

This will contain spoilers for her hitchhiker DLC and mirror event, if that wasn't obvious! 1- Back when I first played the original game with my friends, two of them would always fight over who got to be Oz. I am not a fan of conflict, so I would always choose her because I loved her design. 2- Before the Monster Roadtrip DLC came out, we would have the mirror events that gave us a little about the PC. I know this might sound weird because Vicky's is so silly, but hers hit me right in the soul. I have done exactly what she has done in my own mirror, but with frogs. 3- Finally meeting her in the DLC!! She is a Woman Of Science, as I hope to be one day in the future. (Hoping for that bio degree y'all! 💪💪) She has an interesting relationship with her religion now that she's died into the monster world. She can snap from energetic goofball to "serious Vicky." Biggest of all, she can't quite understand when people are asking rhetorical questions, and gets super obsessed with niche things that she spends hours watching youtube video analysis on. 4- There's mystery behind how she died, and it seems like it was a pretty tragic death. Brian and Polly both died with at least one family member, and Liam chose to get bitten. Vicky? Vicky died all alone. Her family was the one that turned her into a Frankenstein because they were so devastated by her early loss. Do you see all of those stitches around her body? What kind of death could have caused her to need all of those...?

TLDR, She's just like me fr but with a more interesting backstory that I want to know more about. Vicky Schmidt for class president 20XX!

#vicky schmidt #monster prom vicky #vicky schmidt monster prom #monster prom #monster roadtrip #monster camp #shes my everything #i love her so much #i'm so normal about them

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iwannabejustlikethewind · 2 months

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Hear me out… TMA entities x IDV. Like if the IDV characters were avatars of them. Focusing mainly on survivors, but I threw a few hunters in for good measure.

The Buried would be Andrew. I mean it’s perfect really. His whole thing is going underground, and he even has the Claustrophobia trait. Norton could also work, as he did bury all those miners in the cave and was under immense financial hardship. I think he’d be a victim of the Buried more so though.

The Corruption I feel would best be portrayed by Melly. Since she loves bees, she could be a Flesh Hive for them. And her unhealthy relationship with her husband could also add to the whole corruption thing.

The Dark is one I’m a little iffy on, but could be a couple characters IMO. I could see Jack, Ann, Sangria, or maybe Nightmare? Like all of them vaguely have dark themed powers, but not specifically The Dark level stuff. So idk.

What immediately comes to mind for The Desolation is Emma and Leo, for obvious reasons. Those being Emma burning Kreacher alive and Leo’s entire life being destroyed + dying in his factory fire. I see Emma more so an Avatar, and I feel like Leo would be more of a victim of it. Like Emma saw what happened to Leo and was drawn to the Desolation. Philippe also could be an easy one, as he’s all waxy and fire-y.

The End is quite clearly Aesop. His obsession with death is the perfect complement to The End. No further notes.

The Eye is a pretty general one, so I think it could match Orpheus, Alice, Helena, Keigan,and Eli. Orpheus and Alice are like the main character kinda of IDV, so it makes sense for them to be The Eye. Also they always wants to solve mysteries and learn more about the manor, even if it hurts them. Then, Helena is just super smart, so it’s practically a given she’d be Eye. Kiegan’s power is also pretty similar to the Eye, observing survivors and storing the information, and her whole record keeping thing. Also Eli and Helena I think would just be aesthetically interesting. Like you see the vision right?

I honestly think there isn’t a character that would match The Flesh. There’s not really any body horror in IDV, so there nobody to match. Maybe Percy, but he’s not really a good match

The Hunt would match well with Naib, as his whole life is pretty much finding and killing people. I could see an argument for Bane, but I’m not fully sold on it.

The Lonely is another one I’m not sure about. Jack is foggy yeah, but not particularly lonely.

The Slaughter is another one I think Naib could belong to, being a mercenary and all. Martha also seems like a good candidate, but I’m not sure she really fits the violence. Other than that, I think that a lot of the hunters could match the Slaughter a little but I’m not sure.

Though I don’t think she’s looks wise very The Spiral-like, Yidrah would very much fit the Distortion. She causes people to have dreams and stuff, so that could easily transfer to illusions. Also, I think Emil would be a victim of the Spiral possibly, because of his very fragile mental state.

For the Stranger, firstly, I think most of the Hullabaloo cast would be part of it simply because they are circus people. Maybe Margaretha would be the Nikolai stand-in, idk. Either way, I also think Matthias would be part of the Stranger, because of his whole puppeteering thing and because Louis is just too uncanny valley not to be. Anne I feel could be a victim of the Stranger if not an Avatar. Perhaps she’s a witness to one of her toys being creepy or she becomes a Not-Them, but idk.

For The Vast, I think Charles is ultimately the best choice, if only because of his connection to the sky. Not much else to say about it. Maybe Anne also because of her connection to flying, but that’s very loose. Grace could also be a candidate, as deep water is another manifestation of The Vast.

The Web is pretty obviously Violetta, are because spider. I also see Matthias, because of the whole puppeteering thing.

The Extinction would best be portrayed probably by Bonbon, just because he’s the only ‘computer’ thing in IDV.

#this came to me in a dream #/hj #identity v #Idv #the magnus archives #tma podcast #my mind is a whip of madness #totally didn’t mistake Aesop for Edgar for like weeks and didn’t notice..

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frankenfaandom · 2 years

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Can you do a sick or exhausted Mary goore x reader? Or something where Mary isn’t feeling so well and the reader watches over Mary?

Did I see this as soon as I woke up and wrote it immediately? Have I only been awake for 20 minutes? Yes and yes. Ty for the request!!

Warning!!! Immense fluff and adorableness under the cut!

[Not my gif] [he's just rlly hot]

It's pouring outside and Mary is aggravated that he can't go out and enjoy it. He's currently on bed duty, his arm in a cast and his fever high. How he managed to break his arm and catch a cold? Well, this man is full of mysteries and sadly that is one of them.

"Can't we go out for a bit?" Mary whines, uncharacteristic of him. His voice is gruff and raspy from a mixture of him just waking up from a nap and being utterly sick.

"Pretty sure you can't get your cast wet." You say, sitting down beside him, the bed dipping inward. "Plus, you have to rest. Lots of sleep. And I mean it." You brush his sweaty hair from his forehead causing your boyfriend to set out a sigh of relief. "And then tomorrow I'm making you shower."

"'Thought I couldn't get my cast wet." He mimics you, rolling his eyes. If he could slump back into the bed more, he would, just to show his annoyance. Mary's eyes find yours after a moment. He pouts his lips a bit.

"Shut up." You lean down to press a kiss to his damp forehead. It's obvious that Mary's trying not to smile.

"Ay-" Mary takes his free arm to your shoulder, gently pushing you away. "Don't you dare get sick because you couldn't resist kissing your sexy ass boyfriend. I know it's hard, doll, but you gotta live without me--" He's trying to joke, but his words get stuck at his throat and he starts to cough.

You pull away, letting him do his thing. Once he stops the coughing attack, he lays back and closes his eyes. "Maybe some more sleep'll do me some good. I dunno." You smile, feeling a little victorious.

"Thanks Mare." You stand and move an inch to the bathroom, opening the drawers for the cold medicine. Upon finding it, you realize it's almost completely gone, so you pour whatever is left for Mary. "Okay Mare, medicine time."

When you look back to the bed, Mary's playing dead. His tongue is out and his eyes are half shut. You roll your eyes and flick his shoulder, causing him to wince. "Don't do that!" You say in unison.

"Take your medicine." You shove it in his face. "Take it or I'm not cuddling with you tonight." You know you'd still cuddle with him. If he's sick, not sick, took his medicine or not. Mary knows that too, but he takes the little shot glass from your hand with a scowl on his face.

Chug the medicine down, slam it on the nightstand like a shot, and then he's gulping down water like his life depended on it. Had he forgotten it existed?

After a hot minute of the weirdest chugging sounds, he stops, puts the water down and wipes his mouth.

"Better?"

"A little. Medicine doesn't kick in like that. Also my arm's still broken."

"I meant the water, dumbass. When was the last time you had any? I told you before work if you didn't--"

"-If I didn't drink water I'd get kicked in the ass by you, yes. But jokes on you, I'm into tha--"

"Mary Goore!" You laugh, slapping his thigh playfully. "I swear, you're going to be the death of me."

"Hmmm, maybe. Come're." The clock reads 20:24 as Mary coaxes you into bed. You quickly make way of your clothes, putting on one of Mary's shirts instead, and you climb into bed.

"Ohhh yeah." He sighs, pulling you closer. "That's much better. See? All cured." He suppresses a cough, which turns into a worse cough so he moves away just for a moment. He falls right back in place beside you. "All cured." You laugh, holding his face with a hand to give him a kiss.

"Thanks for taking care of me. I dunno what I would've done if you weren't here"

"Probably would've died by now." You joke, but shake your head. "Of course, Mare." You squeeze a little closer, his body is like a fucking heat radiator. "I love you." You look up to watch his expression which softens and he closes his eyes.

"Love you too, doll."

#the band ghost #ghost #ghost bc #mary goore #mary goore headcanons #mary goore x reader #beloved mary #mary goore/reader #mary goore beloved #repugnant band #repugnant #pls comment and repost it means the world to writers #ghost band

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kathildeisabird · 6 months

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My Mathilde rant i wrote on the brink of unconsciousness last night:

Haven’t rlly thought on how i would start this but OMG MATHULDE LORE I NEED RN I NEED IT SM

TAKING IT ALL INTO CONSIDERATION OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN, MATHILDE IS SO INTERESTING TO ME

AGHHHH IDK WHERE TO START OKAY OKAY I COULD ABSOLUTELY DEFEND MATHILDE WITH MY LIFE LIKE… MATHILDE IS NO LONGER ALIVE NO NEED FOR EARTHLY THINGS I WONDER IF SOMETIMES MATHILDE HAS FIGURED OUT THE NEVER CHANGING LOOP THAT IS LIFE BC CURRENTLY IN THE CAMPAIGN THE GANG MAY OR MAY NOT BE WITNESSING ANOTHER FORM OF A WAR THAT IS BEING CAUSED BY EDDIE WITH ALL THE CHAOS IT HASNT BEEN SAID HOW OLD THEY ARE BUT MAYBE LIKE A FEW HUNDRED YEARS DUE TO THE FACT THEY DONT REMEMBER HOW THEY DIED MEANING THEY COULD’VE SEEN ALL THE PHASES THE WORLD HAS GONE THRU BUT I FEEL LIKE WITH MATHILDE THEY HAVE NO SENSE FOR EARTHLY THINGS ANYMORE SO THEY JUST. IGNORED IT ALL. JUST LET THE PHASES OF THE WORLD PASS THRU AS THEY CONTINUE BAKING… IM PRETTY SURE IVE SAID THAT BEFORE ACTUALLY WHOOPS

ANYWAY MATHILDE MATHILDE MATHILDE

WOAH “MATHILDE ISNT SCARED OF DEATH THEY’VE ALREADY GONE THRU IT”… THAT LINE I ALWAYS THINK ABT IK IK ITS LIKE OBVIOUS BUT ITS SO INTERESTING TO ME IDK WHY IT RLLY ADDS THAT YEAH MORALITY ISNT A THING FOR MATHILDE ANYMORE BUT ITS THE FACT THAT OH YEAH. THEY WERE ALIVE AT ONE POINT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED A LOT OF THINGS BUT I FEEL LIKE MAYBE MATHILDE IS A LOT MORE CLOSED OFF?? WITH LIKE LIFE I MEAN. MAYBE AFTER THEY DIED THEY IMMEDIATELY STARTED WORKING FOR THEIR FAMILY BUSINESS AND EVEN BEFORE THAT THEY DIDNT RLLY EXPERIENCE A LOT OF THINGS WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE??? BRO I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IM YAPPING ABOUT ANYMORE IM SO TIRED

JACQUE YOU LITTLE FUCKER WHAT ARE YOUUUUU WHAT DO YOU WANTTTTT UGHHHHH I NEED TO KNOW MORE I FEEL LIKE JNN IS SPOT ON ABT JACQUE BC THEIR THEORIES R SO GUD JACQUE PROBABLY BEING A DRUID STUCK IN WILD SHAPE

MATHILDE TO ME IS VERY BLACK CAT CODED I DONT RLY KNOW WHAT I MEANS WHEN I SAY THAT BUT THEY R LIKE A CAT. THE WAY THEY TREAT THIER PARTY MEMBERS CUZ LIKE MAYBE THHEY CARE ABT THE GANG (OBV ELLGA) BUT OTHER TIMES ITS HARD TO TELL. BLACK CATS R ALSO NORMALLY V MYSTERIOUS JUST LIKE MATHILDE BUT JUST TO ADD ON AGIAN MATHILDE ONCE CALLED BARNEY A FRIEND BUT HE KEPT MISGENDERING THEM SO THEY JUST KINDA… WHICH IS IS REAL

#tales from the stinky dragon #stinkydragonpod #tftsd #rant #mathilde confiseuse #Mathilde #i need more content of them rn #IM STARVING

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lycanlovingvampyre · 1 year

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MAG 180 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: cutting the French tamarisk in my garden.

Okay I had an epiphany today!!! Since this would have been the finale for the season hiatus in a world without Covid I already wondered in my post for MAG 176 if there also would have been a trailer for the last act in this case. Cause there never has been a trailer during a season hiatus, just the season trailers. But for act III there actually is a trailer!... So, what if there was also a trailer planned for this one (cause it's going to be the last stretch of episodes of TMA, so why not?) and since this episode stops at Jon and Martin finding Salesa's bubble, the trailer could have been an Upton House apocalypse boyfriends scene!

MARTIN: "In fact, this time, when you start to… intone, I’m going to find a nice soundproof mausoleum, and just, just chill with whatever horrors they’ve got lurking in there. Y’know. Maybe play a bit of I Spy or something." That's the spirit! (ha... spirit!)

MARTIN: "I-I’ll start. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with… T–" JON: "Tombs." MARTIN: "Cheater." JON: [Indignant] "I did not!" MARTIN: "Your turn." JON: "Fine. I spy with my little eye… Literally everything." [MARTIN LAUGHS] [JON LAUGHS] [A NEARBY TOMB LAUGHS] [LAUGHTER STOPS WITH TENSE SIGHS] Can't have shit in the apocalypse XD That poor tomb is probably super sad now that they didn’t like it joining in on the funnsies... Also, when I heard the mention of I Spy the first time I knew this would end in Jon saying something like this, it was just so obvious xD

Jon: My unending thirst for knowledge made me lose my humanity and I've done so much damage... Also Jon: Holy fucking shit, a mystery! Quickly, I need to find out what it is!!!

MARTIN: "Just so you know, this… this is an adorable look on you." JON: [Impatient] "Yes, yes, yes, yes…" MARTIN: [Humouring] "Alright, then. Lead on Scooby, let’s go solve a mystery, ooooh…" This is indeed pretty darn cute.

I don't get that statement ^^' So someone died, who was a horrible person to the subject and the subject is forced to hold a sugar-coated eulogy.Still oppressed by that person even in death (= corpse biting the subject). But all that before this last scene? Also with the mausoleums and such I always thought this would be an End domain. But what the subject is going through with the eulogy doesn't sound like End to me at all. Quite the opposite, it's not ending with that person's death...

Why is there a peacock at Upton House? xD Those birds are loud af! (Speaking about the soundscaping when they first find the bubble.)

MARTIN: "But it’s… it’s fine. It’s better than fine. T-There are trees. Look! Like, real trees!" JON: "It’s beautiful." Okay, I think THIS is so important! Jon also thought the Mortal Garden is beautiful and stuff, showing his monster side. But, if anyone ever had any doubt about Jon's humanity, this is telling us, there is plenty left! Being able to appreciate something that is not pumping horror happy hormones into him.

MARTIN: "Okay, so where would they be?" JON: "No idea." That little laugh after "no idea"! He's so happy to not Know things^^ Happy to be just Jon and not the Archivist.

MARTIN: "I’ll tell you what, it is more convenient when you know everything." Yeah, Martin, we know you have a thing for monsters xD By the way another good example for them being able to tease each other.

ANNABELLE: "You can relax, Mr. Blackwood. You’re safe here." MARTIN: "I don’t feel it." ANNABELLE: "Not something I can help, I’m afraid." I mean, that's kinda Annabelle's thing. Not being helpful...

SALESA: "Hoo-hoo-hoo! Excellent! Come in, come in! Ah, a pleasure to meet both of you. Thank you Annabelle." You know, just a few days before I first listened to bis episode my spouse and I rewatched The Matrix trilogy and this accent reminded me so much of the Merovingian.

SALESA: "The one and only. I must say I’ve been, uh…" [JON AND MARTIN COLLAPSE WITH A SMALL SNORE, FAST ASLEEP] ANNABELLE: "I did say this might happen." Excellent comedy! 10/10

@a-mag-a-day

#a-mag-a-day #mag 180 #tma #tma spoilers

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thereareeyesinsidethetrees · 43 minutes

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it's been a while since i've talked about any of my aus, huh

let's do that real quick! first a very simple au where the main point is the stans twins being physical manifestations of the concept of life and death, and then a much more in-depth au involving mystery trio kind of (don't get attached)

warnings for death (of course) and emotional suffering for the first au

warnings for cosmic horror, violence/blood/near death experience, both physical and emotional suffering, and in general Significantly Bad Times™ for the second one

au the first!

the first au is exactly what it sounds like. i've thought about this one for a while but never mentioned it because i don't want people going 'well obviously the reason ford is death and stan is life is because ford is evil incarnate and stan is perfect and can do no wrong' because that's not why i gave them their specific roles

i just felt it fit their personalities better? also cause stan's (somewhat unhealthy) 'family is everything' mindset fits a personification of life better and ford's 'if it sucks, hit the bricks' mindset fits a personification of death better

(also ford gets to hang out with extinct species and stan has to mourn when he realizes he hasn't interacted with any in a long time, so who gets the better deal really)

really though, this ford is essentially always in a state of mourning for. obvious reasons. stan spends most of his time watching various organisms live, and ford spends most of his time sitting with them when they die. and the two don't interact very often because of how busy they always are (i did give ford an emotional support ghost thylacine though, so he's not always alone)

the mystery twins, through means i do not wish to think about nor go into, end up in a state of limbo. the stan twins take them in, alternating between who spends time with who so everyone gets a fair amount of bonding time

it does help ford a bit, but it also puts him on edge because the last thing he wants is for them to have to watch things die. instead, he introduces them to various (more friendly) ghost creatures and teaches them about decomposers

stan's time with them is somewhat easier, what with his job essentially being to make sure things are still ticking, which includes a lot of looking at baby organisms for long periods of time. he does make sure not to show the twins any species that are. uh. low on members, so to speak

the stan twins got into a lot of fights when they were younger. stan's not exactly a fan of mass extinctions and ford couldn't seem to get him to understand that he does not, in fact, kill them, he just shows up when they die, and yes, stanley, there is a difference

they had. a pretty long time to work it out. that's all there really is for this au (at least for now)

au the second!

in this au, ford focuses on astronomical anomalies. one such anomaly he notices is an increasingly unnerving lack of stars. some that were there before seem to have just. disappeared. he figures, 'well, a lot of stars that were documented in the past just don't exist anymore, and we stop seeing their light after a while. even if these examples are unusually recent all things considered, it's not enough to be worrisome yet'

so he starts keeping track of asterisms. he gets his hands on some star charts, makes a few maps of specific ones himself, and starts observing. every time something changes, he marks it off on the corresponding chart. after a little while, he decides that something is definitely wrong here (he's starting to space out more and more often, for longer periods of time) and he calls up fiddleford for help

fiddleford gets to work on building some machines so they can more easily observe this anomaly and, more importantly, properly record its happenings. he finally gets to computer his majigs. and things go well for a while, except for stanford's newfound problems, but it starts to have an effect on fiddleford after a while. he sees something in the void that ford doesn't. and he's starting to trust it more than he trusts his friend

fiddleford keeps this to himself, of course. ford doesn't seem to really notice. what ford does notice is that the gemini constellation has started to go

somewhat reluctantly (though with his hallucinations and absence seizures and bleeding from the eyes and fiddleford's unusual coldness, it's getting hard to care) he calls up his ma, finds out where stan's currently staying, and sends him a postcard. because, sure, maybe stan can't help, but at this point he's starting to feel like his brother should know and also he's getting a little desperate

stan pretty quickly notices that there's something off about the handwriting and language and the stains of the postcard and gets on his way because something has obviously gone wrong here

he expects to have to talk to ford down from doing something, or maybe have to help him get out of dodge because people want to hurt him or something. he does not expect to walk into the house and see his brother bleeding on the floor because his assistant tried to murder him (is this why ford sent for his help? what in the hell is going on?)

stan is confused, to say the least. he pretty easily overpowers fiddleford (how weak was ford? what happened?) and manages to get his brother to a hospital

needless to say, he's a bit surprised when ford wants to return there upon recovery. he's even more surprised when he's shown the anomaly and hey where the fuck are castor and pollux. where are a lot of the stars around gemini actually?

ford gives him a basic rundown and explains that he thinks something about the anomaly caused fiddleford's murder attempt, though he's not sure why it only affected him. stan asks why he hasn't heard about this considering that this is kind of a big deal. ford doesn't know

they're about to hear a lot about it

#death #blood #violence #cosmic horror #seizures #here's a thought: what happens the first au's stan twins have to deal with a necromancer #ironically the darkness of these two aus isn't because i'm depressed (though that's probably part of it)#i just like the ideas- especially for the second one

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twistedtummies2 · 1 year

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Top 15 Portrayals of the Scarecrow

A while back, I did lists for what many would consider the four key villains of Batman: Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and Riddler. I recently updated those countdowns, should you wish to go back and revisit them. However, lately, I’ve been on sort of a kick for another great antagonist of the Caped Crusader…that being the Master of Fear himself, Scarecrow.

Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. Scarecrow, is perhaps one of the most analogous villains to Batman himself in the Dark Knight’s Rogues Gallery. While all of Batman’s best villains tend to parallel the hero in some fashion - either acting as a dark reflection of the Caped Crusader, or as a direct contrast to him - I would argue the Scarecrow is the one who most obviously and directly has this comparable element. Batman’s entire modus operandi revolves around intimidation and fear; he dons the trappings of a mysterious creature of the night and behaves in seemingly ghoulish ways as a means of frightening his opponents. He is also a being of great intelligence and cunning, using his scientific and deductive reasoning to outwit and pursue his antagonists.

The Scarecrow mirrors this quite directly: Jonathan Crane is a psychiatrist, a brilliant man, who wears a creepy costume and uses a variety of weapons to instill fear and spread terror and horror throughout Gotham City. The most notable of these weapons is his patented Fear Toxin: a hallucinogenic substance that causes people to experience their worst fears with shocking realism. The difference is that while Batman uses his mind and his scare tactics to mortify criminal scumbags, the Scarecrow is far, FAR less moral: abused and tormented constantly as a child by his family and his peers, Crane is an out-of-control sadist who wants nothing more than to see all of Gotham City scared quite literally to death. Sometimes he uses the excuse of furthering the cause of science as his motivation, but it’s always clear that Crane is simply a cruel man lashing out at what he perceives to be an equally cruel world. In a way, he is the most obvious example of who Bruce Wayne could have become if he’d allowed his heart to be twisted to evil.

The Scarecrow is a villain who has had a steady sort of rise in popularity over the course of his long career in comics. He’s more popular nowadays than he probably ever has been, but he’s not quite as iconic as characters like Joker or Catwoman. Still there’s been some decent reinterpretations of him beyond the comics. So, today, I’d like to give attention to my favorites! Without further ado, here are My Top 15 Portrayals of Scarecrow!

15. Dave Wittenberg. Wittenberg provided the vocal effects for the Scarecrow in the first LEGO Batman Video Game. (In the first game, none of the characters actually spoke, they just…sort of made noises. XD ) In the first game, Batman has to take down three separate groups of allied villains, each with their own sinister plots to foil. The Scarecrow is one of several villains - including Harley Quinn, the Mad Hatter, and, of all people, Killer Moth - who joins forces with the Joker in the third chapter of the game. He agrees to help in an elaborate scheme that will destroy Gotham Cathedral, and spread a deadly gas all across the city. Scarecrow serves as a playable character on the villain’s side of the story, as well as in the “freeplay” mode of the game; for the hero side of the story, he is the designated “vehicle boss” for the Joker’s chapter of the game, as he uses a suped-up crop duster to spread his Fear Toxin across the city. The heroes thus have to hop into the Batwing to stop him. The character would later reappear in other LEGO titles, but this was the only major role he ever really played. Playing as the Scarecrow - even in LEGO form - is a lot of fun, and the biplane boss is pretty cool, too; ultimately, I just feel other Scarecrows are more impressive.

14. Jim Meskimen. Meskimen voiced the Scarecrow in the gloriously wild crossover film, “Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same title, the story focuses on Ra’s Al Ghul and the Shredder working together in a mad scheme to - of course - destroy Gotham City. As part of their elaborate plan, the two villains make a deal with the Joker, who releases several of the inmates inside Arkham Asylum, and then douses himself and them with the mysterious green goo called “The Ooze,” causing all of them to transform into human/animal hybrids. In the case of Jonathan Crane, he transforms into - what else? - a giant crow, and does battle with both Leonardo and Batman himself. Scarecrow turns out to be one of the more prominent rogues of the bunch to appear, as the haunting images he forces Leo to see under the power of his Fear Toxin come back to haunt the leader of the TMNT later in the picture…however, I’ve never really liked the look of Crane prior to his transformation, and his role is ultimately just too small for him to get any higher placement.

13. Don Messick. Messick was one of the earliest depictions of the Scarecrow in other media to exist. He played the character in the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon series “Challenge of the Superfriends,” an early incarnation of the Justice League. In the series, Scarecrow is one of the (unlucky) thirteen villains who make up the nefarious Legion of Doom: a coalition of supervillains, led by Lex Luthor, who have banded together with two simple goals in mind. First, destroy the Superfriends…and second - you guessed it - take over the world. Messick’s Crane was a wonderfully creepy character, with a very off-putting design and a disturbingly raspy, sinister voice; he was one of the most unsettling villains of the whole group. Oddly enough, the Scarecrow did NOT use his signature Fear Toxin as his weapon of choice; instead, he apparently had control over a flock of trained crows, which he used to help him spy on people, commit robberies, and do all sorts of other dastardly deeds. I have a lot of nostalgia for this show, and I do love the look and the voice for the Scarecrow. However, much like with the previous two versions, there just wasn’t enough time devoted to the character for him to be a truly grand interpretation.

12. Andre Stojka. Stojka played the character in a follow-up series to Superfriends, entitled “Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.” The series took place in the same continuity as the earlier Superfriends show, but by now, the Legion of Doom had disbanded, and its villains were working all on their own. Scarecrow appeared in one of the most well-known episodes of the show, “The Fear,” which delved into the dark and tragic origins of Batman. It was here that we met the Scarecrow’s alter-ego of Jonathan Crane for the first time outside of comics, and it was also the first time the Scarecrow’s signature tactics of making his foes’ worst fears come to life was finally put to use. In the episode, Crane masquerades as a well-meaning psychiatrist, attempting to help the police and cure Batman of his mortifying fears…while, in reality, he commits daring heists as the Scarecrow, using not Fear Toxin but “Fear Transmitters” to bring to life the horrors of his nemeses. While I personally feel Don Messick’s voice and appearance were more frightening, Stojka’s Crane - despite getting only one episode to his name - has more layers to his character, and more time to shine, as well as having his signature gimmick in some fashion. This was the first time the Scarecrow really started to come into his own in other media, I would say, and this episode served as a template for basically every future introduction to the character.

11. Dee Bradley Baker. Baker’s Scarecrow is perhaps the quintessential example of the character just not having enough time to fully come into his own. Baker played the character in the TV series “Batman: The Brave and the Bold;” in the series, most of the episodes were opened up with a pre-titles teaser (similar to a James Bond movie, for example), which would usually be disconnected from the rest of the episode’s story. The Scarecrow served as the antagonist of the teaser for one of my favorite episodes of the show, “Trials of the Demon.” In the teaser, Batman teams-up with Jay Garrick - the original Flash - to combat both Scarecrow and an original villain, Scream Queen (a sort of evil Black Canary). It’s Halloween, and Scarecrow has somehow managed to infect all the pumpkins in Gotham City with a special form of his Fear Toxin. While Flash and the Scream Queen have a merry chase throughout the city, with Garrick using superspeed to gather all the pumpkins before it’s too late, Batman does battle with Scarecrow and his goons directly. Baker’s voice was glorious, and I love the design of Scarecrow here, as well as the way he’s depicted as a strong physical fighter, along with his Fear Toxin’s effects. This easily could have been one of the greatest interpretations of the character in animation…but unfortunately, this Teaser (along with a non-speaking role as a villain in the video game based on the show) was really the only role Scarecrow had in the entire series. I really wish we could have seen more of him.

10. Christopher S. Field. Field plays the Scarecrow in the online game “DC Universe Online,” where he serves as one of the mission bosses. The mission is one for the heroes’ side of the game: the Player is sent on a mission to rescue Batwoman, who has been kidnapped by Crane. Both the Player and Batwoman end up trapped by Scarecrow in a huge arena, flooded with a special form of his Fear Toxin. The battle involves multiple stages, as Crane uses the Toxin to bring to life numerous hallucinations, all based around specific phobias. It’s a fun boss fight, and Field delivers one of the better vocal performances of the game. His Scarecrow is theatrical and over-the-top, but also genuinely creepy at some points. Definitely an underappreciated portrayal of the character, in my opinion.

9. Robin Atkin Downes. Downes played the Scarecrow in the two-part animated adaptation of one of my all-time favorite Batman stories, “Batman: The Long Halloween.” This classic tale takes place at an odd sort of “middle time” in Gotham’s history: on the one hand, many of its famous supervillains - like Joker, the Mad Hatter, Catwoman, and, obviously, Scarecrow - already exist and are active. However, they are still very much “on the rise,” with Gotham’s gangster families - the Falcones and Maronis - being the real major threat to the Gotham populace. The story, in a way, tracks the fall of Gotham’s old guard of criminals, and the takeover of the supervillain; an evolution in the way crime works in Gotham City. The film is a pretty faithful and solid adaptation, in some places even improving on the book. Downes plays a truly creepy take on the Scarecrow, with a dangerously dark voice. He first appears in the second half of the film, where he escapes from Arkham Asylum and teams up with the Mad Hatter, the pair of them, in term, joining forces with Carmine Falcone in a plan to kill Batman. The visuals for Scarecrow, as well as the actor’s vocals, are really fantastic, and I’m glad that the film jettisoned the bizarre writing tactic Jeph Loeb used in the book of having the Scarecrow speak almost entirely in quotes from Nursery Rhymes. (He does something similar with the Hatter, but him speaking in Wonderland quotes is one thing; Scarecrow talking in Mother Goose language never really made sense to me.) However, once again, the Scarecrow is just a supporting player in the events that unfold; he’s fun to watch, but other versions just do more with the character.

8. Charlie Tahan & David W. Thompson. This is where things with the Scarecrow, in my opinion, start to get REALLY good. In the TV series “Gotham,” we get a great new interpretation of Jonathan Crane’s beginnings. In Season 1, Jonathan Crane - played by Charlie Tahan - is still a teenager, living with his abusive father: a scientist named Gerald Crane, who is experimenting with a chemical formula that will one day become Jonathan’s own patented Fear Toxin. At the end of Jonathan’s story arc in Season 1, he ends up exposed to these chemicals, which causes him to go completely insane as he begins to hallucinate visions of a demonic scarecrow monster chasing him around. Later, in Season 4, Jonathan returns, and a series of events causes him to completely lose his grip on reality, thus becoming the Scarecrow. Tahan left the show at this point due to scheduling conflicts, so for the remainder of Season 4 - as well as into the 5th and final season - the Scarecrow was played by a new performer, David W. Thompson. It was interesting to see a younger version of the Scarecrow, effectively just seeing the character get started on his evil path, and the reimagining of his origin story - inspired by the incarnation from the New 52 continuity - was pretty well-handled. The only reason this Scarecrow doesn’t get higher on the list, is that - while I personally think Thompson’s Scarecrow costumes were better than Charlie Tahan’s, and he had a more menacing voice to accompany them - the character sort of takes a downgrade after Tahan’s departure, as he ultimately just ends up playing second fiddle to other villains, like the Valeska Brothers and Bane. Once again, they didn’t really DO much with Scarecrow in his later appearances. Still, it was always cool to see him, and I do like what both performers did with the part.

7. Dwight Schultz. Schultz played Jonathan Crane in the direct-to-video Halloween special, “Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!” The film focuses on the Mystery Inc. Gang trying to stop a horde of man-eating monsters, and features no less than three special guest characters: Bill Nye the Science Guy, Elvira...and, of course, the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow is the secondary antagonist of the film, as he starts off as a red herring figure, seemingly the villain behind the evil goings on. However, it’s later revealed he’s not responsible, and he actually joins forces with the heroes to stop a greater threat. There is so much that’s AWESOME about this Scarecrow that it’s hard to list everything succinctly. It bizarrely shows the strength of the character by surprisingly NOT having him team-up with Batman (the Dark Knight never even appears in the story), and by having him never use his patented Fear Toxin. He has to stand up on his own terms, without any of his usual support structures. I also like that the special actually takes Crane pretty seriously; there’s humor involved, make no mistake, but neither Schultz nor the writers turn the Scarecrow into a joke. He’s a bit of a ham, and is revealed to actually be a sort of fanboy for Elvira, but he’s also able to be legitimately threatening and dangerous. Finally, it’s really neat to see Crane go from villain to reluctant hero in this story. He doesn’t help out of the goodness of his heart, but seeing him work together with the heroes - ANY heroes - is just something I don’t think has really been done before. I never would have expected a Scooby-Doo Halloween special, of all things, to give us one of the most fascinating depictions of the Master of Fear to ever exist in animation…but by Gadfrey, these mad fools found a way to do it!

6. Henry Polic II. The portrayal of the Scarecrow in the first three seasons of “Batman: The Animated Series” seems to be somewhat polarizing. I personally think this is a great interpretation. While ultimately not especially frightening on his own accord, Henry Polic II gives us what I would argue is one of the most comic-accurate renditions of the Scarecrow to date, with some of the most fun episodes to his name. This take on the Master of Fear would prove rather influential; performers like Dwight Schultz, Christopher S. Field, and Dee Bradley Baker all seemed to take a leaf out of this man’s book, with Scarecrow voices that were able to be both creepy and quite melodramatic. There’s really not much to say about this version; in my opinion, it’s a classic interpretation.

5. Robert Englund. In the fighting game “Injustice 2,” Scarecrow appears as a member of a reimagined version of the classic Legion of Doom, this time led by Gorilla Grodd rather than Lex Luthor. While, much like in Superfriends, he actually doesn’t have that much to do in the actual main story of the game, Injustice’s Crane wins major points largely due to the medium he’s being presented in, combined with his voice actor. As far as the former goes, Crane is a playable character in the freeplay and Arcade modes of the game, as well as a recurring boss in the main story; this means we get a lot more time to enjoy him when compared to Superfriends or some other interpretations. Heck, the aforementioned Arcade mode basically gives you a special story with Crane as the villain protagonist, which ends with him on track to become a veritable God of Fear intent on spreading terror to the entire universe: that’s more than a great consolation prize, in my opinion. The way Jonathan Crane is allowed to work in this kind of medium is also pretty imaginative: the Scarecrow pictured here, you see, is actually a monstrous hallucination that appears as a result of the Fear Toxin. The real Crane (who has a design inspired by the Nolanverse version of the character) is a much shrimpier and less physically imposing individual; the Nightmare is what we are really fighting. Speaking of Nightmares…you can’t really go wrong with Freddy Krueger as the voice of the Scarecrow, can you? Disregarding previous forays into the DC Universe, playing such characters as Felix Faust and the Riddler, Robert Englund basically already played a depraved Master of Fear and made his bloody career out of it. If making him the Scarecrow wasn’t the most ingenious vocal typecasting I’ve ever heard of in my life, I’d like to know what else would fit that description.

4. Cillian Murphy. I actually revisited these films recently, and I have to admit…I was a little torn on whether or not Cillian Murphy’s depiction of the Scarecrow really deserved this high a place in the ranks. In some ways, upon revisiting the character in these films, he’s better than I remember, and in other ways…I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s WORSE, but he’s more underwhelming. The reason why is very simple: I think the actual DEPICTION of the Scarecrow is a pretty solid one. Interpreting him as a corrupt doctor at Arkham Asylum itself was a nice new twist to the origin story of Jonathan Crane, and I personally think that Cillian Murphy - while by no means an OBVIOUS choice for the role of the Master of Fear - delivers an absolutely spellbinding performance across all three pictures. There’s also a lot of great visual moments and scenes for the character, in general, that just sort of collect in one’s mental soup and stay there. This is especially true in the first film: the sequence where he reveals himself to Falcone, the scene where Batman gasses him right back, the imagery of a fire-faced Crane racing through the misty streets of Gotham on horseback a-la “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” all of it is just breathtaking to see in action. And, of course, there’s definitely credit to be given with the fact that Murphy’s Jonathan Crane is the only antagonist who appears in all three movies of the trilogy, and - aside from Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in the DCEU, perhaps - he’s the only cinematic Batman villain to HAVE that distinction. The real issue with Murphy’s Scarecrow is simply that, like so many other versions of the character, he never really gets to shine in the spotlight. He’s always working in the shadows of other, more prominent antagonists. In the first film it’s Ra’s Al Ghul, in the second film it’s primarily the Joker, and in the third film it’s mostly Bane. I feel like if Murphy had been given a starring role in a movie, at some point, he could have been one of the greatest cinematic Bat-Rogues of all time, and easily could have made my Top 3.

3. Jeffrey Combs. When “Batman: The Animated Series” entered its fourth season, entitled “The New Batman Adventures,” the decision was made to revamp a lot of elements of the show. The most notable change was in the visual style; all of the characters were redesigned to fit the new aesthetic. While some of these redesigns were fairly minor in their adjustments - such as with Two-Face, Clayface, and Harley Quinn - a lot of them were quite drastic in how they changed the characters. With the Scarecrow, not only was Jonathan Crane given a newer, much more horrific design - apparently inspired by Leatherface from “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” - but also a new voice artist to replace Henry Polic II. Who better to tackle the Master of Fear than Lovecraft’s Reanimator, Jeffrey Combs? For many fans, this was the first truly frightening version of the Scarecrow put to the screen. Much like with Andre Stojka, Combs really only got one major appearance in the part, but it was certainly a memorable one: in the episode “Never Fear” - inspired by the comic book story “Fear For Sale” - the Scarecrow uses a new form of his Toxin that, rather than instill fear, takes fear AWAY from the victims. It doesn’t sound so bad, right? Well, here’s the thing: fear is largely what gives people self-preservation and common sense. We typically avoid doing dangerous or illegal things at least partially because we fear the consequences of such actions. Without fear, we have far fewer inhibitions. Scarecrow thus plans to plunge Gotham into a state of chaos, unless he’s paid for the antidote. This Scarecrow would reappear briefly in another episode, “Over the Edge,” but he was really more of a background presence there. He would also return, complete with Combs’ voice, as the first villain featured in the beat ‘em up video game “Rise of Sin Tzu,” where he uses a variant of his Fear Toxin to summon ghostly visions of some of Batman’s other enemies to help him do battle during his boss fight. This, to me, is still one of the greatest versions of the Scarecrow ever made. Once again, the only real issue with him is one wishes we could have seen even more of him…and I’m very grateful to report, that is the last time I have to say that phrase. It certainly does not apply to my top two choices.

2. Dino Andrade. While “Batman The Animated Series” and the Dark Knight Trilogy were instrumental in introducing the Scarecrow to a broader audience, I think many would agree the Batman: Arkham Games were what officially cemented his popularity as a character. Until these games came out, while I heard a lot of people say the Scarecrow was one of their favorite Batman Villains, I almost never heard any of them say he was their ABSOLUTE favorite. But, ever since then, it seems like almost any time people name their favorite Bat baddies, Scarecrow is at least in the Top 3, if not number one. Dino Andrade played Crane in the first game of this series, “Arkham Asylum,” and most people agree that the Scarecrow Nightmare Sequences were probably the best part of the whole game. Andrade described the character as “essentially a demon” and “a Shakespearean villain,” and his performance definitely matches both these descriptions: much like some other Scarecrows on the list, it’s a vocal set dripping with melodrama…but unlike such performers as Henry Polic II and Dwight Schultz, there is absolutely NO humor to Andrade’s diabolical and deranged Prince of Panic. He’s a truly unhinged, nightmarish figure, easily one of the most frightening versions of the Scarecrow ever created. While Scarecrow is not the main villain of the game, this is a case where I actually don’t think he’s underutilized at all. Partially due to the nature of the story and the medium its presented in, Crane feels as if he really does get his just dues in this interpretation, neither overstaying his welcome nor coming across as glanced over. Andrade would reprise the role in a spin-off game of the series, “Arkham Underworld,” where players were actually able to play AS the Scarecrow, along with a few other villains (namely Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, and Riddler). His work there is just as magnificent.

1. John Noble. After years and years, and numerous interpretations, of the Scarecrow being a character who occasionally stole the show but never really claimed the spotlight, “Arkham Knight” finally gave the character the break he’d been needing. In the third and final major game of the Arkham series, Crane returns not just as a supporting antagonist, but as the main villain of the story. While the Joker certainly has a role to play, and the actual main ANTAGONIST is the titular Arkham Knight, the Scarecrow is the rogue whose actions and desires really drive the plot forward. He is the mastermind behind all the misery befalling Gotham City in this tale. John Noble - an actor renowned for his dark and sophisticated voice - plays Crane with urbane frostiness, presenting a more intellectual and manipulative Scarecrow than the one in Arkham Asylum. The game even offered updated reinventions of the Nightmare sequences from the first game; instead of stealth-based platforming sections, they instead became obstacle courses and action sequences in the Batmobile, but with the same hellish and depraved scope. While I wouldn’t say Noble is my definitive Scarecrow, I would say he was, at the same time, the Scarecrow who had a little bit of everything: able to use fear not only through his Toxins, but simply through psychological warfare, and with truly frightful appearance and a performance to match. I fear there is no doubt in my mind that he is My Favorite Portrayal of the Scarecrow.

#list #countdown #top 15 #dc #comics #batman #batman villains #villains #scarecrow #jonathan crane #best #favorites #portrayals #actors #acting #movies #film #tv #animation #video games

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life-love-and-lotr · 9 months

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@chaos-in-bright-pink-hair-dyes Killjoys Week 2023 Day 2- Smoke

Smoking was banned within Battery City. It was considered an unclean pastime that only damaged the lungs of its hardworking citizens. But Frank had already decided that scarred lungs were worth the freedom he felt when smoking, so made his weekly trip to the black market to buy a packet.

This time the trip took 10 times longer than it usually did due to the abnormal drac patrols polluting the streets. It wasn't unusual to see the masked figures, but the sheer numbers were concerning. The only time that they came down in such numbers was when there was a break-in (or out) in the middle of the city. And that always ended in chaos.

Frank pondered the mystery as he walked, taking his time to not get caught. He ended up in the familiar warehouse that held the market. Illegal weapons, android parts, and medications, all ready for purchase. The target for Frank was a man who only went by the name Horseshoe Crab. His attire, an all red ensamble complete with top hat, made it pretty obvious that he was a killjoy. A killjoy who always had a knack for getting out of sticky situations. If anyone here knew what had happend, it would be him.

"Hey Horseshoe. Were you the reason why there are so many drac patroles out? Seems like something you would do."

The older man, looking mockingly shocked at the accusation, stuck his hands in the air in defeat.

"What do you mean? I would never do anything to rile up the pigs. How very dare you. Seriously though, it wasn't any of the Suitehearts. From what I heard, two of the top Scarecrows sons just escaped the city. They have become true killjoys now. Good for them thats what I think. Anyway, want your usual?"

Frank had to blink away the sudden reilisation from his eyes. His mother had two brothers come through her transition house just two days ago. They looked too clean and scared half to death. The youngest didnt look much older than 8, the oldest being the same age as Frank. She had shooed him away from the room when helping them, then sent them away faster than most. She must have known how important they were.

"Thanks. Hey, tell Doctor B we might need more medication. That breakout is gonna cause hell on the voluenteers. And I know mom will wanna be prepared when shit hits the fan"

"Will do. Be careful out there. They are getting more dangorus every passing day. Wouldn't want to bury my best customer now would I?"

Frank did his best to squirm his way out of Horse Shoes inevitable head rub, messing up his sholder-length hair. No matter how hard he tried to be a sarcastic asshole, he always ended up just being a true Suiteheart.

"You to. I don't wan't my favourite dealer to go completly out the window do I?"

After handing the credits over Frank left, a single pack of cigarettes in his hand. He waited until he got to his usual quiet smoking place before pulling one out. He was able to climb through a slot in the wall surrounding the city and perch upon the top. It looked out onto the desert, a beautiful sandy expanse that Frank could only dream of getting to. Just like the two mystery boys.

As he lit the cigarette, he thought about them. How they were just left to learn the desert on their own. He worried about them as the length of the nic stick shortened. And as the final smoke cloud breifly covered his view, he considered what it would be like if he left. Nobody would care enough to send an army to bring him back and he sure as hell wouldn't have a transition house to go through. His mum would string him up by the neck if he even asked to leave.

A sudden noise pulled Frank away from his contemplation. He didn't even get the chance to stamp out his cigarette before his vision flashed white. As he was pulled away from the safest place he knew, the packet fell to the floor. The last reminder of the boy he used to be

#killjoy week 2023 #danger days #danger days the true lives of the fabulous killjoys

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exandriababes · 2 years

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GUESTS OF THE CHAOS CLOVER ☘️

Yara Vonnegut!

Yara was a powerful addition to the story and important figure of the Chaos Clover. They met at Rupperdook and helped her retreive her family from a man named Adam, who had connections with the Volstrucker. She was one herself, though that is a life she wishes to put behind. Leaving a powerful message to Tonitrua Pasternikas, Yara Vonnegut set with her TEAM to run away from the prying eyes of the Volstrucker. Here's her playlist, made by our honoured guest @peixotizando 🧡 PLAYLIST

Angel - Massive Attack

For obvious reasons :P

Armed and Ready - Casey e Jeff Williams

“Feel like I’m finally unbroken feel like i’m back from the dead my strength back and confidence growing out of my way ‘cause I'm armed and ready”

Ever since you woke up, you feel lost. You lost arm became a strenght, so, now, you're ready. It's not everyone who can make the best of a flaw.

Burn - 2WEI

You're a killer. You were made for it. Either you kill or it isn't going to be pretty. It's not like Weiss, Blake e Ruby. It's not poetic, it's not a dance, it's not silent. It's loud. You destroy. Your eyes become red and you just go. You know how far you can reach. You burn and you go through the end.

Free Fall - Ok Goodnight

Not even your wings are enought to lift the lack of their presence. But, that doesn't mean you can't survive the fall. You would to anything for them.

“Rage seems to fill her heart with fire as she sings a flame that burns her prison gates”

God’s Gonna Cut You Down - Christian Larsson (cover de Johnny Cash)

Your origin is no mystery, you know who you are and what is your potential. But you don't know what He wants. He gave you life, but what dos He want from you?

Home - Casey e Jeff Williams

For you, it was always easy to find family in other people. Family is everything to you, it always was. You're afraid of being alone, and for a period of time, you were. Nothing is more scaring than being alone. But these people are helping you find your own, and, oddly enough, you can see a bit of your own family in them.

Journey (Ready to Fly) - Natasha Blume

“But let me tell you, I’m ready to fly I survived through rainstorms, sandstorms I fought the war, now it’s time to go home”

Killer - The Hoosiers

“I hate my work but I’m in control I'm fearless now but it cost my soul”

You're tired of your job, tired of being good at what you do. Tired of listening "You fascinate me" from those above you. Tired of being an experiment. You don't wanna be a monster, nor a machine anymore. You can have your own path and doubts.

Nevermore - Casey e Jeff Williams/Adrienne Cowan

For reasons………….

Red like Roses - Casey e Jeff Williams

It's them. Your family. Your sister. Your best friend. The love of your life... You shouldn't be apart, no one should dare to tear you apart. But you'll get them back. You'll protect them.

Simmer - Hayley Williams

Wrath is welcomed. It always was. It heats your body, activates a strenght that only you can access. Your anger is to proctect. You need to proctect those who need you and anger helps you. Wrath is welcome.

Through the Valley - Ashley Johnson (cover de Shawn James)

“I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and I fear no evil because I’m blind to it all and my mind and my gun they comfort me ‘cause I know I’ll kill my enemies when they come”

Weapon - Against the Current

You're a weapon, they use you and you know that. “Machine” they call you. You listen and you know what it means. They mold you and that's what you become.

You just hope it won't leave you alone in the future.

You’ll Be In My Heart - Phil Collins

“My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can’t be broken I will be here, don’t you cry”

She's your perfection. The love you can't describe, that no one can understand. She's your sister, she's everything for you. Your heart outside your body.

You’re No God - Laura Marling

Sometimes, you can let yourself be protected.

#yara vonnegut #wildemount campaign #chaos clover #critical role #mighty nein #tonellia #camellia thelidryv #exandria babes #finlas beltune #kairy poverst #rumblecusp island #tonitrua pasternikas #juniper chaos clover #eir chaos clover #volstrucker #caleb widogast

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katherine-traylor · 1 year

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Belated review: 'Midnight Mass'

My partner and I often have trouble choosing what to watch. She’s seen almost everything, for one thing, and I hate making her rewatch things. The overlap in our tastes also isn’t that wide, so it can be difficult finding something we both enjoy. Last week I randomly picked Midnight Mass, though, and it turned out to be a very good choice.

To make it clear: we are not horror fans. I walked out of IT about ten minutes in, and my attempt at watching Ju-On ended after ten seconds. We’ve both been curious about The Haunting of Hill House, also by Mike Flanagan, but we weren’t together when it came out and neither of us wanted to watch it alone. (Maybe now we’ll try.) Jump scares are the real issue, at least for me. I feel them like a physical assault, and that’s not a feeling I want in my entertainment media. Fortunately, Midnight Mass doesn’t have too many,, and the ones it has are for dramatic effect, so I didn’t mind them too much. Overall, it’s a beautiful series, with great acting, wonderful music, and gorgeous cinematography.

SPOILERS below, for obvious reasons.

We start with Riley Flynn. While driving drunk, he causes an accident that kills a teenage girl and is sent to prison for four years. The story begins when he comes home to the dying fishing community of Crockett Island. At the same time, Erin Greene, Riley’s childhood friend and sweetheart, has come home pregnant from a bad marriage. She’s settling into life as a single mom-to-be, taking her own mother’s place as the island’s only teacher. At the same time, Sheriff Hassan, one of two Muslims on the island and a recent transfer from New York City, is trying to build a meaningful life in a small, hostile town where there’s nothing much to do. His son resents him for bringing him here, and both are generally made to feel like outsiders. Meanwhile, the island’s few teenagers do their best to keep themselves sane in a place where nothing interesting has happened in years.

Then something does happen: to the shock of everyone in the congregation of St. Patrick’s, the local Catholic church, a new priest has come to fill in for the old priest, Monsignor Pruitt, who supposedly fell ill on his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The new priest, Father Paul, is very good at his job: kind, charismatic, and a talented preacher. Everyone seems to like him, and attendance at mass is going up. Good things are happening, relationships are forming, upswing, and the community as a whole seems to be on an upswing.

At the same time, though, some pretty nasty things are happening, too. (Content warning, if you’re thinking of watching this show: there are lots of animal deaths, including one very graphic one that’s extremely awful.) Father Paul seems to know more than he should, and in general there seem to be lots of secrets for an island with 127 people on it.

Then a genuine miracle happens at St. Patrick’s, and suddenly the mood changes.

I won’t completely spoil the rest, but I will say we were just a hair disappointed by the revelation of what’s actually happening in town: the truth wasn’t quite as mysterious and strange as the first episodes suggested. But it was a really neat twist on the trope.

The priest (played by Hamish Linklater) was a cool character: earnest, devoted, well-meaning, and tragically misguided. The congregation was also mostly devoted and well-meaning (though, critically, not all of them were) and I thought the director did a good job showing the positives and negatives of deep religious faith. Mike Flanagan apparently grew up Catholic and is now atheist, and you can definitely see that in this series. The incorporation of religious music is very effective, and it’s neat how key moments of the story are set at key points during Holy Week, building up to a catastrophic midnight mass on the eve of Easter Sunday where everything finally goes down.

The final scene of the show is really beautiful, and it’s a great callback/final summation of all those religious themes, with what felt like a reenactment of some of the earliest days of Christianity. It was clearly very deeply thought through, and really effective. Addiction, the show’s other main theme, was really well dealt with, treating the subject with both honesty and compassion. The series also has things to say about life in a small, traditional, dying community. The depiction was really strong, but if it had been possible, I would have liked to see just a tiny bit more of Crockett Island before everything went to pieces. I’m not even sure what state it’s supposed to be–Maine, maybe? It’s not important, I guess, but it would have been nice to know a little more about some of the extras who died horrifically during the course of the show.

One of the strongest points of the series was Bev Keane, played by Samantha Sloyan. She was a fantastic villain in that I absolutely hated her from moment one. Well done. She’s a kind of person who feels very familiar, though I can’t think of specific examples: a judgmental zealot who resents all the sinners around her for having a good time, and who can’t understand why everyone seems to be happier than her when she’s following all the rules and they’re not. There was some interesting little-girl imagery her portrayal (hair in a single braid down her back, Peter Pan collars, a high-necked white dress for mass, and a general air of “malicious tattletale” attitude”) that shows you she’s always been like this. Having never matured emotionally past “teacher’s pet,” she has no real depth of soul and isn’t able to understand genuine human relationships. There’s a brief moment at the end where she seems to have gained a hint of maturity, but (spoiler) it doesn’t last. It was a really compelling performance and added a lot to the show.

Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli) was another strong performance, though I would have liked to see just a little more of him throughout the series. I loved his relationship with his son and the way the show dealt with the issue of religious conversion and intergenerational culture gaps, plus the irony of Hassan bringing his son to Crockett Island for safety in the context of what actually happened. I would have liked to have gotten a bit more backstory earlier in the series, because I felt like his big monologue (episode 6, I think?) tried to push too much info into too little space, but Kohli is a great actor and did an excellent job.

Riley (Zach Gilford) was probably my favorite performance. I absolutely loved him. Remorse shone through every moment, every gesture, and every word he said, and the dream images of Tara Beth were incredibly vivid and effective. I absolutely understood what he had gone through, where he was coming from emotionally, and why–after being gutted by the guilt of accidentally killing an innocent human being–he would make the choice he did rather than live through that again. The AA meetings between him and Father Paul were some of my favorite scenes. Another of my favorite characters was Joe Collie, a distorted reflection of Riley, who was also incredibly well acted (I would like to see more of Robert Longstreet).

Erin Greene, probably the main female character, was not my favorite. She was… fine… but her line delivery was a little too theatrical for me, and her big final monologue went on for WAY too long. But the actress, Kate Siegel, is apparently the director’s wife, so I guess I should get used to her if I’m going to keep watching Flanagan shows. I did love the relationship between Erin and Riley, though (from the beginning to the end). Another strong note was how Riley and his parents kept trying and and half-succeeding at reconnecting with each other throughout the story after the physical and emotional rift caused by what Riley did.

The show did have a few downsides. My main pet peeve was the lighting: though the show was set during early spring, the constant darkness and general color palette kept making me think it was October. There really is a difference between spring and autumn light, and in a series where so much of the action happens outdoors, I think that should have been taken into account. (Just looked it up and apparently it was filmed in fall because of COVID, which is understandable but unfortunate. I think it would have been better to wait a few more months.) I also felt that the last two episodes of the show were weaker than the first five (possibly because of who was missing). Overall, though, it was a really good series and I definitely recommend it.

I’d like to watch other shows and films by Mike Flanagan, but I’m worried they’ll be too scary. The Haunting of Hill House is one of my favorite books (I reread it almost every autumn), so I’m definitely interested in that adaptation. I’d also like to see The Fall of the House of Usher when it comes out, since we read that story in high school. I’d like to read The Turn of the Screw before I tackle The Haunting of Bly Manor (which is based on that book), so I’ll put that one off for a while. What spooky, creepy, pretty, and not-too-scary horror shows and movies would you recommend?

Image source here. Original blog post here.

#midnight mass #flanaverse #mike flanagan #horror #religion #vampires

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quickficss · 2 years

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The Witcher Character Symbolism (Last updated Sept 13 2022)

Ok so I’m a sucker for symbolism, and as a writer I know the importance of it. It’s like little hidden clues throughout the story to notify observant viewers to what’s really happening. The symbolism within the Witcher is pretty obvious to me but may not be to others, thus I’m writing this. (I’m only going off what I’ve read so far in the books, not the games or Netflix series.) I’m also trying to find what these symbolisms mean to the slavic culture specifically because the language it was first written in is polish. If I’m wrong on anything feel free to correct me. I will be updating as I read through the books as I’ve only read the first three. I’m a slow reader but I want to memorize everything.

Geralt

Obviously Geralt is constantly referred to as a wolf or a white wolf. Wolves have been used for mythological and spiritual significance all around the world. They’re most commonly contributed to strength and loyalty. Some cultures make them the symbol of the warrior, and other cultures make them the symbol of the devil. In Slavic culture and Serbian poetry, the wolf is a symbol of fearlessness.

In Slavic mythology there is a God named Dažbog, whose earthly body is that of a white wolf. Dažbog is the God of the Sun, believed to be the ancestor of all Slavs. He was also considered the God of Nav, Slavic underworld of the dead. This could have nothing to do with Geralt and is just a coincidence, or it could be a nod to the fact some people see him as a good person and others see him as a blood hungry monster driven to kill. Idk I just thought it was cool.

Dandelion/Jaskier

Ok so we know at this point Jaskier is polish for buttercup, but is translated to Dandelion in the English translations for the book. I’ll look into both these flowers and the colour yellow, because both flowers are yellow and I think that may be important.

Dandelions symbolize growth, hope, spring, and transformation because they transform from yellow flowers to fluffy white puffs. They are also sometimes associated with wish-making and healing.

Buttercups symbolize joy, happiness and friendship.

Yellow symbolizes a ton of things, but mostly joy, hope, and the sun.

In the books, Geralt considers Jaskier to be a close friend he can rely on. They easily have friendly banter and get along fairly well, even when they argue or disagree on some topics. I think these flower symbolism’s show what Jaskier means to Geralt as well as what his destiny is. As a young man Jaskier had wanted to get away from his family and responsibilities to become a traveling bard, a wish he fulfilled. He helps Geralt heal and grow multiple times, and is known to bring happiness (mostly) wherever he goes.

Yennefer

In the books we are constantly reminded of the fact she smells of Gooseberries and Lilacs. She wears black and white and has purple eyes.

It was difficult for me to find anything on gooseberries because of a 1890 novel named “Gooseberries” but this is what I was able to find. Gooseberries typically allude to a happiness you don’t yet have, are trying to obtain, or you will never have.

(Purple) Lilacs symbolize first love, spirituality, beauty, pride, and infatuation. There are more but these are the most common ones. Again I think this alludes to what Yen means to Geralt and her character. She’s prideful and a powerful sorcerer. She’s ultimately forced to be drawn to Geralt because of the last wish he made, causing them to sorta forcefully fall in love. We know Yen isn’t Geralts first love, but she is the main love interest.

Black and white together often symbolize the balance of two opposites. Black typically means death, mystery, power, elegance and sophistication. White typically means cleanliness, goodness, serenity, and integrity. As someone who often wears black at white, I know it causes an eye catching contrast, making one stand out a bit.

At the end of “Blood of Elves” this conversation between Ciri and Yennifer takes place:

“What are you looking at like that?” “At that tree, That linden tree.” “And what’s so interesting about it?” “Nothing, I am simply feasting my eyes on it. I’m happy that... I can see it.”

A linden tree is symbolic for maternal love and fidelity. This illudes to the fact Yennifer now wishes to be in a motherly role for Ciri, and to be faithful to her in that role. Its very sweet.

Ciri

Ciri is represented by a sparrow. A sparrow symbolizes power, empowerment, vigilance, and community. They are mostly seen as symbols of hard work. They are known to be responsible and dependant on one another. Throughout history sparrows have been harbingers of both good and bad luck.

Triss

Triss Marigold has the flower Marigold right there as her last name. Marigolds symbolize despaired love, affection, and a drive to succeed. (as well as death in Mexican culture but I don’t think that applies here). In the book Blood of Elves, Triss is constantly trying to get in Geralts pants despite him continuing to politely turn her down. She states that she envy’s Yennefer, She mistakes his kindness for romance. Another character even points this out:

“Never make the same mistake, little Witcher-girl,” he(Yarpen) murmured, indicating the wagon with his eyes. “If someone shows you compassion, sympathy, and dedication, if they surprise you with integrity of character, value it but don’t mistake it for… something else.”

Despite all that, she still wants to succeed at winning Geralts affection.

This is the end of the post for now. I may be reading too much into it but I love doing it. I think it’s fun and others may enjoy it. This will be updated later so save this post or check in occasionally. Reblogs appreciated.

#the witcher geraskier #the witcher jaskier #the witcher geralt #the witcher yennefer #the witcher ciri #the Witcher Triss marigold #triss merigold #the witcher books #the Witcher analysis #the Witcher symbolism #the witcher

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dolokhoded · 2 months

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hii this is the-reynolds-pamphlet (this is my main and i cant get rid of it LMAO im not active on here)

re what you said about the s4 pacing. LITERALLY i wrote that whole other post as an answer to another ask i got about how the chosen's storyline really sucks in some aspects and i said the pacing is going to be incredibly off for season 4

okay first of all. there's a huge timeline issue in season 3 concerning the holidays and how much time passes since season 1, i was gonna make a whole other post about all the timeline inconsistencies but i didnt get around to doing it (i probably should). but like at this point it has been one year minimum since s1, realistically it should be three years if the end of season 4 is palm sunday. then like ??? theyre gonna spend the entirety of s5 on ONE week? and for fucking what. i thought they wanted a "bingeable" proper show with pacing and everything, why would they zero in on that

but anyways about ramah. first of all im 99% sure it's because her actress has schedule conflicts and likely wants to drop out of the show (that's why she mysteriously left to go talk to her dad in season 3). but also it's kind of obvious that they're using her death as character development for thomas for the rest of the series (which is gonna be like 2 weeks maximum over 3 seasons anyway. unless they continue onto acts but that poses another huge pacing problem.) which is pissing me off like?? i had the same reaction when tamar was acting weird for like one (1) episode and then she told mary everything and just left. why would you not give them proper character development established over a long period of time and just confine it to singular episodes like that. im pretty sure tamar's backstory won't be brought up again lmao. also ramah doesn't really have much of a personality (which sucks because i got the impression she was a bit of a rich daddy's girl and there was potential for character exploration) and her character hasn't even been that established so like... partially it's easy to kill her but on the other hand, it isn't as emotional especially bc she wasn't even here the last season.

also remember how in the other post i was like why are they literally giving consistent character arcs and emotional plot for matthew, mary, simon & eden, and james & john but theyre basically forgetting everybody else exists. yeah like james just fucking launches himself at someone and gets knocked out in season 4 which is great but how long are they going to be just keep throwing new arcs for the main cast and keep ignoring thaddeus' existence. btw i watched a clip of That Scene in s4 (i didnt realize what it was when i was watching it lmao) with thaddeus and james and they're basically asking jesus why he's talking about dying. so thaddeus stays personalityless while big james is over there getting concussions #maincharacter. im not saying that scene w/jesus isnt necessary but im saying its thad's big scene and it is once again about Not thaddeus

this entire thing is incredibly bizarre to me because they COULDVE made an actual show with fleshed out characters and everything ??? they confined themselves to 8 1-hour long episodes per season, which of course restricts how much storytelling they can do while keeping in all the major gospel events they need to put in. but like first of all they couldve Not Done that. i think their audience wouldve gone insane for more episodes. second of all, if they WERENT gonna carry on character arcs and give everyone a fleshed out character then why did they introduce them as such??? i mean it was probably because they wanted to spark interest and then just forget about it but that kind of sucks. why did they do this lmao they literally had the opportunity to make it better

ok v rushed reply cause i have to go to the library the bus is coming in 15 minutes which means all the law students are leaving which means empty spaces BUT

you're so right the chosen's timeline is fucked up atp i can't really tell when it's been a day or a week or like. a couple months it's. i dont understand what theyre doing and why theyre doing it like this. cause like. even the characters who do have decent arcs like matthew and simon peter and james and john are not being developed properly cause the timing is so goddamn off. and i Know that in this new season they're gonna try to make john like Rise Above and start to kind of live up to his name as the favorite and have more understanding of jesus' teachings while james doesn't which is very stupid to me cause like. When. i think it was last season that this guy was bragging about getting to plough a field. how are they going to have john transition into one of the most competent disciples just. doesnt make sense.

and ALSO !!!! the reason all of these arcs are being so rushed is because they never get a break because as you mentioned literally nobody else gets any character developement. i wanna see more of thad. and little james. and nathanael while we're at it, and zee, and philip, and mary and tamar's friendship. why are they just throwing shit in there and never expand on it at all, unless you're thaddeus, in which case you don't even get that.

also i have a.,., suspicion, kind of, on where they're going with big james, and i can't be entirely sure, i'm not saying i'm correct, but just in case. Leave Tamar Alone ! i'm begging you ! dallas ! leave tamar alone ! not every single one of your female characters needs a romantic subplot ! i know big james is pretty and you want to give him a love interest so the repressed christian women in your audience keep watching your show, i see him, but for the love of christ actually ! leave tamar alone ! i know that if this happens you're only going to utilize her character for romance LEAVE TAMAR ALONE !!!!

#asks #leave her ALONE I SAY !!!!!!!

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wondereads · 1 year

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Personal Review (01/02/22)

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Summary

After her mother's tragic death, Bree Matthews starts attending UNC-Chapel Hill's program for advanced high schoolers. She expects her life to change, but she doesn't expect to discover a secret society of the descendants of King Arthur and the Round Table. They work to protect people from demons, the Shadowborn, but their Order hides secrets, ones Bree is more closely connected to than she realizes.

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

While the idea of a secret society of magic users, one the main character is specially connected to, is nothing new, this execution is so original. The Legendborn and the way their magic works is intriguing and unique, and it immediately pulled me in. On top of the fantastical adventure and magical tournament (sort of) premise, there's a mystery going on in the background as well. It's quite a bit, and it only takes place over a few weeks (poor Bree), but it's well-paced and makes it so that there's never a boring moment.

There are multiple reveals throughout the course of this story as Bree discovers more and more about the world of the Legendborn and her involvement in it. They are built up to, and the plot twist at the end in particular impressed me. It seems so obvious looking back, but it definitely took me by surprise, just the way a good plot twist should. It also really upset the norms of the world the reader has gotten accustomed to by now, changing everything in anticipation of the next book. The plot is just really solid in pretty much every way, and it was a great breath of fresh air for me.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The characters of this story are very strong in my opinion. Bree herself is a great main character. She has the impulsiveness that I associate with YA leads, but she's also clever and knows when to keep her mouth shut. Her journey through grief is nuanced and portrayed very delicately, and her relationships with the other characters are well-developed and subject to change. One thing I particularly loved was her early conflict with Alice. Instead of just an established friendship, which could easily get boring, Bree and Alice fight and make up, the way one would expect from two teenage girls entering a new environment.

The character relationships were just so good in this book. The members of the Order, at least the ones we know, are all very distinct, and their connection to Bree differed from one to the next. Even characters who didn't like her at first weren't automatically portrayed as evil. Yeah, we as readers don't like them, but when push comes to shove, they're loyal to the cause. Even the antagonist, who is pretty much just straight evil, doesn't feel like a cardboard cutout. It's very clear what sort of environment caused them to become this way and what values they have.

I will say that the I felt like the romance was progressing a bit too fast for me. Within a matter of weeks, or really days, Bree and Nick are in what seems like the perfect relationship. Thankfully, Deonn slowed down and brought in some conflict, which helped hold my attention. Also, their instant attunement is explained, very well, and I don't think the romance subplot is anywhere near over.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The writing in this book had a similar vibe to a lot of YA fantasy novels, though every once in a while a line or comparison would stand out to me. Bree has a good voice, and despite this book being in first person and from her perspective, I never found myself getting bored with her.

While the writing itself was good, I have to praise the pacing, which is just on point. There's always something happening in this book, but it never feels overwhelming. Major reveals are spaced out to keep the reader interested without making it all happen at once, and the progression feels natural and smooth. I especially appreciated the time skips that gave more realistic time periods to process events or make decisions.

Meaning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This book is magical realism about the descendants of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and that's the main focus, but it's impossible to talk about this book without discussing the way it portrays race and class. Legendborn does an absolutely phenomenal job of discussing institutionalized racism without making the whole story about Black trauma, when it's really about Bree's adventures and experiences. Bree faces racism, blatant and subtle in pretty much every aspect of her life. The book starts with her getting picked up by a police officer (while her white friend gets off scot-free), and the Order is a fundamentally white organization. Bree's story is about racism, but it doesn't hesitate to include it, and it's done in a way that will make the reader uncomfortable without putting Bree through unnecessary trauma. Some moments that particularly stood out to me are these very subtle microaggressions that come from otherwise very likable characters, and I think they were a great inclusion. Sometimes white people who are good allies make mistakes, and it's their responsibility to own up. Those characters apologized and did better, but Bree is never expected, especially by the narrative, to immediately forgive them or brush it under the rug. Overall, a very realistic and nuanced depiction of modern racism.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I have heard so many good things about Legendborn, and I'm incredibly pleased to say that it's all true. If I hadn't been so busy, I easily could've finished this book in a day despite it being 500 pages. The plot is engaging and fast-paced with tons of unique worldbuilding, the characters are fleshed out, sympathetic, and distinct, and I really liked the romantic aspects. On top of all that, Legendborn discusses race and class without pulling attention from Bree's story, and it has a crazy plot twist at the end that will definitely have me reading the next book. I highly recommend this one, especially to those who prefer magical realism or have an interest in Arthurian legend.

The Author

Tracy Deonn: American, Legendborn is her debut novel which one the Best Young Adult Novel Ignyte Award

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

#books #review #legendborn #tracy deonn #fantasy #ya #magical realism #arthurian legend #king arthur #poc author #poc mc #black author #black mc

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