#tosab

[vryfmi]

happy pride month to a-spec people of Scarlett and Browne series and them only. be a-spec do crime be outlaw abolish government etc etc

[id: three drawings: first one is a sketch of characters, each with their hand raised in gestures of showing a thumb down (Albert), middle finger (Scarlett) and stop hand (Mallory), perspective making their hands look comically large. over the characters are pride flags: aroallo, aroace and ace, respectively. top text spells “NO” in capital letters and it's overlaid with flame and asexual and aromantic pride flags. second one is of Albert about to hit Calloway with a iron railing, above them tumblr post reads, “"what if you havent found the right one yet🥺🥺" what if i hit you with a metal pole”, first part being attributed to Calloway. the drawing is overlaid with aroallo flag. third is a drawing of Scarlett pointing a gun at a viewer with a grin-scowl, above her tumblr post reads, “as an aroace, im particularly dangerous, because i wont fuck or marry. i only know how to kill.” the drawing is overlaid with aroace flag./end id]

+ references under the cut

posts referenced are by @/life-gives-you-lemons and @/jamierthanyou

[id: image of three cut out and photoshopped together stock images of men, each have their hand raised in gestures of showing thumb down, middle finger and stop hand, respectively. perspective makes their hands look comically large compared to their bodies./end id]

[lejay-the-impossible]

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

[fiasvsesvit]

hm.... reminds me of something..

wait, isn't this..

A LOCKLYLE REFERENCE

[oatmealdoodles]

they match each others freak but like… in the opposite direction

(also go read The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, I must spread the word…)

[edmeom]

The Legendary Scarlett and Browne SPOILERS

Let's gooooo!!!!!!

Shhh.. They're communicating..

[jynersosbaton]

Idk if this fandom is still active but these books are my faavvvorite

[somecleverreference]

As of Notorious we’ve officially hit 2/3 of the Stroud character trifecta with Super Competent Rebel Girlboss and Cocky White Boy ft. Big Coat. Now all we’re missing is Sarcastic Non-Human Fighting Power Of Friendship Allegations

Watch book three feature a mysteriously lucid Tainted serving cunty one-liners

[galriando]

I'm EXCITED

[capitainecorbeau]

Scanned a Scarlett and colored her

[vryfmi]

personally, i loved the whole series*

[*] the asterisk is there because i only really appreciated it after finishing book 3 and getting that wink-wink nudge-nudge worldbuilding moment closer to the end. that was the moment books went for me from "yeah, it's a nice series" to "i need to write extensive analysis on every single thing about tosab".

before that i just enjoyed the books for Stroud's writing style, the way he writes his characters, their interactions. i agree that the story is a lot simpler and less grand-scale adventure compared to any of his other book series. though tosab series reminded me more of his standalone books because they are very narrow focused, enclosed stories about a few characters, where fantasy elements are means to explore one or two main themes. (i.e. why is there a dragon in "the buried fire"? are there any other dragons in the world? wrong questions. was micheal preconceived for corruption or was it dragon's cult influence and them prying at his alienation? what value does family hold? who will come to you even at your worse?)

but to sum it up. if you didn't enjoy first two books and expect a final book to wrap it all up, make every story line suddenly work—it won't. tlsab answers some of the questions but it isn't as clear or revealing as one might hope. i'd say it could've benefited from being split into two books to refine its two story arcs and give more space to breath and explore other things.

i will put the worldbuilding spoilers under the cut so feel free to read it or not.

to put it shortly, i find worldbuilding brilliant because it's very concealed. we as a modern reader know the world before "Cataclysm" and know what could've caused wastelands, mutated animals, mutated people. we know why sea level had risen, why temperatures are higher, why there are deserts in england, why are there burning regions across the sea. we know why london lagoon is crater-shaped. but not the characters who were born into this devastation. (slight spoiler ahead) there's a cool moment in the finale where characters describe a tank but never name it as one. because they don't know what a tank is. (that's not the wink-wink moment but i still find it cool)

personally, i loved this approach to worldbuilding, the ever looming "so what had happened?" question at the back of your mind, when the answer is this simple, this obvious to you but not to the characters.

Genuine question for readers of Scarlett and Browne…

I’m debating whether to pick up the last book or not, and I’m wondering, did anyone who was feeling iffy about the series have their mind changed by the last book?

Because I was excited for the series but it feels much younger than either Lockwood and Co or Bartimaeus and it never really got to the world building or thematic depth of those series in the first two books imo

Anyway, I want to trust that Stroud will pull everything together in the end, but i was genuinely bored by book 2, so I cant decide…

Pls let me know your thoughts if you have them

[pompomnium]

This is my impressions from the fifth and sixth reading of the original book.

I finally finished reading the first part of the book, relying on the dictionary but managing to read it on my own. Bartimaeus' part is more difficult! Maybe because there are more metaphors and peculiar expressions?

I read TOSaB 2 with the help of the DeepL translator, so I may try reading 3 on my own. But if it's a book I haven't read yet, I'm too curious about the rest of the book and I'm afraid I won't be able to stand my own reading speed.

[vryfmi]

ah yes, my favourite stroudverse duo:

a badass no nonsense girl with anger issues and too much empathy for her job.

and a former doctor's experiment green boy who's constantly in her head (literally)

[id: a sketch of Scarlett and Albert passing by Lucy with skull in a jar, his ghost manifesting from it. Albert is smiling and waving at the two, Scarlett is sticking her middle finger at them, Lucy and Skull return the gesture. the only things coloured in are Scarlett's hair and Lucy's sweater with orange, and Albert's cardigan and Skull's jar and ectoplasm with green./end id]

[fiasvsesvit]

j. stroud's characters as typical tiktok brainrot comments

(mostly lockwood and co)

lucy "this pmo" "ho is you cool?" "oh..."

george "flying cars they said..." "post this on ig reels" "me when I lie"

lockwood "I love whatever is wrong with you" "mind you this my first impression of you"

holly "hope this helps!", "that's nice honey"

kipps "I'm employed, what does this mean" "I gently open the comments..."

skull "you're funny Imma follow you home" "nurse... she's awake..." "do you do weddings"

kat "go girl dive us nothing" "I'm gonna lie this is funny" "men used to go to war"

barnes "and the world kept spinning" "the bills CANNOT be that high"

bartimaeus "raw, next question", "hey so this is actually insane!" "I did not learn English for this"

nathaniel "idk leave me alone" "keys"

Scarlett "your parents should've slept that night" "I'm gonna hold your hand when I say this" "I ain't reading allat" "this is FIRE🔥🔥🔥🔥 put it out"

albert "yk what hell yeah" "big fan of whatever this is" "We're cooked chat"

mallory "it's not too late to delete this" "I'm employed what does this mean" "mind you, this is my first impression of you"

[emlovesatla]

Recently read The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne and boy was it good! Adventure, creepiness, humor, and friendship mixed into an awesome story. Definitely recommend!

I finished reading TOSAB a few days ago (I made quite a pause. For half a year) and it was astonishing. Once again a perfect Stroud book. I already have TNSAB on my shelf and I hope to start it soon.

[oatmealdoodles]

TOSAB by Johnathan Stroud is a good book and you guys should read it

Bonus doodle:

Tell me this isn’t their dynamic

[edmeom]