#slagar the fox

[knightofthenewrepublic]

Just the warrior family, casually ending villains’ careers!

[forestcrittervillains]

Left: Slagar- You know this one Reaver from Fable, you know this one too Reynard the Fox Right: Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday Tatujapa fox boy Gotz von Berlichengen, mercenary knight famed for having an iron hand prosthetic, being a poet, and supposedly one of the first people recorded to tell his enemies to eat his ass

[rose-of-redwall]

Thoughts on Slagar

I was talking with my lovely partner about Slagar the Cruel. He hasn't read the books, but he's absorbed enough from my ramblings and things to form his own thoughts (:)). Slagar always seems to be a fan favorite of those who only know just some about Redwall, which I think is great. Slagar is great (awful).

The conversation started with me saying "Do you remember Chickenhound/Slagar?"

He says "Of course. He's the one with the cool checkered mask right?"

"Yes he's the one with the mask. So, same dude [Chickenhound and Slagar (spoilers, haha)], right? I HATE Chickenhound, but I think Slagar is so great I love him."

So that's point one, I think it's kind of funny about me. Slagar is so fun and evil and camp, but I will just never ever forgive Chickenhound for being stupid and the worst.

Then, boyfriend had some really interesting thoughts that I'd like to share! Thoughts from a new audience, if you will.

"The checkered mask and cape is so cool because it completely conceals the very defining features of a fox, like the shape of the head and the bright orange color, but it does it by replacing it with such a striking pattern that it also erases the shape of him. But it’s so unique and so bold, even more so than a fox. He stands out so much yet is so mysterious and anonymous. Very fey." I said, "AND it conceals his broken face. So it replaces something he hates with something recognizably scary but also costumey. I don't know how to explain, but it’s powerful and monstrous because it’s so fun but at the same time he’s so cruel." Boyfriend says: "It does more than that, it makes him a new kind of beautiful. (I’m just projecting and romanticizing though it’s your book you know more.)"

I wanted to share because I thought this was so interesting! Thank you, goodbeasts all!

[artofthegreyscalerainbow]

Day 8: Fox

There are a lot of foxes I could have chosen, and even though I haven’t gotten to Mattimeo yet in my reread of the series, Slagar is just too iconic to have not drawn for this prompt. I can’t wait to get to the audiobook for this one, the only voice for him I currently have in my head is Tim Curry’s from his role in the animated series. 

“I am Slagar the Cruel. You are my slaves now.” The silk sucked against his face as he spoke. “When I say walk, you walk. When I say run, you run. If I decide you may live, then you will live. If I take it into my head that you may not live, then I will see to it that you die. If ever you should get the chance to escape or make a run for it, my little toy here will bring you back.” 

The fox swung the weapon and hurled it. Flailing viscously, it wrapped itself around an oak upright at the end of some pews. The three metal balls slammed hard into the timber, snapping it off like a dead twig. 

As Fleabag retrieved the weapon, Slagar shrugged carelessly at the captives. 

“If you had any back legs left at all after my little toy hit you, I’d have to dump you in the nearest ditch because a slave that is crippled isn’t much use to anyone.”

Mattimeo swallowed hard. The cruel one clearly meant every word he said. 

--Mattimeo, by Brian Jacques

[roadsidegrave]

Did you read and love redwall too??? It was my favorite book series growing up, I read every single one over and over again. Do you have a favorite book or character(s)?

YES me & my best friend & my brother were obsessedddd with redwall growing up it was such a huge part of my childhood. weirdly violent for kids books + extensive food descriptions so I feel like they were a gateway drug to asoiaf. I really liked a lot of the villains I think my faves were slagar the disfigured fox guy in mattimeo who wore like a silk mask to hide his face, & ferago (? idk spelling) and his wretched son who were like roose & ramsay if they were weasels

+ also I was always a little bothered by how they were very “morality is determined by species” so I liked any character that was an “evil” species but was portrayed as sympathetic (gingivere from mossflower, rosca from pearls of lutra) or “good” species who were morally greyer (my specialest guy folgrim the fucked up cannibal otter who got exiled from his clan for being a cannibal)

[kitterary]

Book Review: Mattimeo by Brian Jacques

The third addition to the beloved Redwall series takes place during the summer of the Golden Plain. Preparation for a great feast are underway at Redwall Abbey, and the young mouse Mattimeo is contributing his share of the labors. But Mattimeo is the son of Matthias, the guardian of Redwall Abbey, and it is this fact that makes him the target of a fiendish kidnapping plot contrived by the vicious fox, Slagar the Cruel. When Matthias and his brave followers abandon their homes and face enslavement for the return of their children, the captive Mattimeo stands to prove his worth--and an unexpected hero is born.

And again, Brian Jacques writes his characters in a way that makes them feel incredibly unique from each other and still within the realms of reality for the world. Mattimeo, son of Matthias and Cornflower, is a known troublemaker in the abbey. He feels so completely unique, moreso even than Martin to Matthias shown between Mossflower and Redwall. And despite being a troublemaker and being a bit full of himself, Mattimeo still feels likeable. The returning cast of the first book felt completely welcomed except for one: Slagar, previously Chickenhound. Slagar feels like a completely different character between the two books, and I feel like he just should have been. His insistence on exacting revenge on Redwall really would not not change if he was just another fox gathering young woodlanders as slaves. Slagar just in general was a lot less interesting of a villain than both Cluny in the first book and Tsarmina in the second in my opinion.

SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD:

The deaths of both Warbeak and Log-A-Log hit HARD. It helped that I already had an attachment to these characters, but moreso both of them died in ways that felt like perfect situations for them. Warbeak fought to protect her friend Matthias, putting her own safety aside; Log-A-Log died with a smile on his face because he followed through with his promise to help find the woodland children.

The reveal of the cult-ish activities in Loamhedge was interesting, and I would love to have gotten more information about it all. Unfortunately, that entire part of the book just felt kind of thrown in and not really expanded upon; however I know there are still 19 books in this series to read and things are constantly being expanded upon in those stories.

Mattimeo makes a point to Slagar that he will kill him, and this is the turning point for Mattimeo as a character. He goes from just troublemaking childhood antics to rage and becomes a leader to the other woodlander children enslaved with him, becoming more of an adult. However: Slagar dies in a very anti-climactic way, robbing Mattimeo of his chance to really prove himself as a warrior and exact the revenge I felt he rightfully deserved. The end of the book makes it clear that Mattimeo does in fact become the next warrior of Redwall, but I feel like that would be more deserved if he were given the chance to actually prove himself. This is the first time where I felt like the main villain's death was disappointing within the series.

Despite all of this: I still hold this book up as an example of a near-perfect story. My ratings are less so about removing points for plot issues and more on how much I enjoyed it, and I absolutely loved Mattimeo and will absolutely be re-reading it again someday.

Final rating: ★★★★★

[shewhowantsmouseears]

Tim Curry was Slagar the masked fox, remember him?

I do remember the character, but didn't know that was his voice actor! Now that I'm remembering his scenes, it does click!

[galaxyafterdark]

I... Am... ChickenHound.

Been rewatching the Redwall series and had the pleasure of hearing Tim Curry's voice coming out of Slagar the Cruel. Brings back good nostalgia~

[lostmousemaid]

Slagey's back. Tell a friend.

[subtleshenanigans]

Presenting Slagar The Cruel!! Background is his Stellar Lunaris cloak.

I looked up ‘damage from snake bites’ which was a huge mistake but uh. Yeah this dude has dead flesh.

[seoxys6]

Some people do #Inktober this month, I do #Foxtober where I draw a fox every day! Here are Day 6 to 10! Day 6: Nick Wilde (Zootopia) Day 7: Foxy the Pirate (Five Nights at Freddy’s) Day 8: Slagar the Cruel (Redwall) Day 9: Maid Mariann (Robin Hood) Day 10: Ash (Fantastic Mr Fox)

[ranarh]

A map of the lands of the Redwall novel series.  I created this in collaboration with Stoneflask Studios and it will be available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheGeekFind . The characters are of course (clockwise) Matthias, Orlando the Axe, Slagar the Cruel, and Cluny. It was a lot of fun to paint such lovable characters - and the villains - and put my own spin of anthropomorphisation on them.

[fuzzhugs]

[baronboar]

Did some twitter requests today!

Ko-Fi  ★ Patreon  ★ Gumroad ★ Twitter

[cacaobeanvanilla]

“You want to take a peak at my belly, eh?” Maaan, I love this character so much. He deserves some belly rubs, he may be a bad fox but he’s got a naughty side to him if you have a wild imagination like mine. ;)

🎨 @betsythebeaver

[spidermilkshake]

Sela the Healer and Son Chickenhound

... soon to be known as Slagar the Slaver... the little turd. XD

Found this half-finished drawing hanging out in a binder, and so got around to adding color to it finally! I really tried to show Sela as an exasperated, though perhaps brow-beating, momma fox just trying to run the Family Hustle... meanwhile, Chickenhound's set on being a little turd. XD