#Diogenes Pendergast

[imaginependergast]

Imagine

The Penderpals forming teams to see who could finish an escape room first.

To be fair I set Pendergast and Diogenes as team leaders and put the rest (including Proctor to make things even) into a randomizer. The teams are:

Pendergast, Coldmoon, Proctor, Hayward

Diogenes, Constance, Corrie, Vinnie

I love the chaotic energy of Team 2 and think they would win. I think Constance especially would be good at finding hidden doors or handles from her lifetime at Riverview Drive. I think Diogenes would also have a similar instinct when it comes to obtuse combinations whereas Corrie and Vinnie would be good at connecting the dots to the more mundane aspects of the puzzle or make connections to things in the room that might be related to the real world (e.g., solving parts of the room by figuring out clues related to song lyrics or something).

Assuming they each had to do the same room, which team do you think would do it faster? My vote goes to Team 2.

[one-flesh-one-end]

reblog if you think constance should kill pendergast and then peg diogenes on the regular

[mydearaloysius]

[scratchzane]

they really put my boy diogenes dagrepont bernoulli pendergast out to pasture like "he's in the big 1880 new york in the sky with a hot girl who reads de sade and all the crime he could ever hope to commit"

[meridian-gold]

Pendergast Series (Preston & Child) playlist

Playlists are my passion, so I thought I'd put together a small one with descriptions of why I picked every song.

Terrible Thing, AG - this one reminds me in general of Aloysius. The heavy instrumentals and the melancholic longing lyrics are reminiscent to me of his character, as seen by others in universe - dark and cold yet oddly magnetizing and enticing.

Killer, The Hoosiers - seeing as this one is from the POV of a killer, this reminds of me of the general vibes of the books - particularly City of Endless Night and The Cabinet of Curiosities.

Take Me Out, Scissor Sisters - I prefer this cover to the original, although that one is superb as well. Also matches the general vibe of the series - this one reminds me of the Diogenes trilogy books.

Wolf Like Me, TV On The Radio - I don't remember on whose blog I read that they associate Still Life With Crows with TV On The Radio's songs, but I agree so much! This song especially reminds me of the aesthetics of that book in particular.

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Paul Simon - this one reminds me of all the romances in the book as they tend to either be short-lived or on-off for a long time.

Dracula Teeth, The Last Shadow Puppets - atmosphere of the later books - Verses for the Dead and City of Endless Nights in particular with the silky smooth vocals and big city vibes.

Smooth Operator, Sade - ever since it was mentioned in the Cabinet of Curiosities, it became a series theme song for me.

Dangerous, Son Lux - dark cerebral lyrics click so well with the feeling of the books to me and the beautiful string melody peppered in makes this song so cinematic.

Stand By Me, Ki:Theory - Helen trilogy soundtrack for me. Trailer-style remixes of old songs are my guilty pleasure and this one reminds me of Pendergast/Helen romance so much.

[bethnalgreen]

The Preston and Child Books

Welcome to my corner of Tumblr, and my first-ever post. Sorry about the length!

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

I can't even remember when I first read "Relic," the first novel in what became the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It was probably sometime in the 1990s. I do have specific memories of reading "The Cabinet of Curiosities" in the summer of 2002. My sister and I had just moved to New York City, and I was working at Barnes & Noble. You could borrow any hardcover book from B&N to read as long as you put a protective book cover on it. I spent several late nights reading it in our sublet, scared half to death and definitely entertained.

For the next six years, I was a passionate fan of these books. I even managed to snag an audiobook version of "The Book of the Dead" before its official release date (not from B&N) because I was going to be on a plane that day and wanted desperately to read it ASAP.

It's hard to believe that's been almost 15 years ago. I'm still reading the P/C books, and looking forward to them, but I've found myself increasingly disappointed in them.

I don't want to just dump on them. I write for fun but have never finished a story, and I truly applaud the imagination and dedication evident in even the books I truly dislike. (And there have been a few. I give every P/C book a second chance, but it doesn't always make me like it more. The novels I love have been read at least half a dozen times.)

The sticking point for me in the last half-dozen books or so has been the character of Constance Greene (she's so special she can't just be a Green, she has to be a Greene.) She's like a female version of Agent Pendergast, minus the empathy, charm, and any other personality trait that makes him tolerable.

Pendergast can be a pill, that's for sure. But I always manage to root for him, because he does occasionally show signs that he's human. Constance may as well be a robot ... actually, that could explain a lot. Pendergast's outrageous intellectual and physical feats can be explained to some degree by his wealth, his education, his experience in special forces, and his FBI training.

Constance, on the other hand, was picked up off the street at age six by a sociopath. He molded her into exactly what he wanted in a companion. She had more than a century to practice the harpsichord, study languages (Gaelic, really? How convenient), and read hundreds of books on esoteric subjects. She apparently never left the house during that time, which is why her physical feats really beggar belief.

As much as I like "The Book of the Dead," this crap with Constance started then. She'd been a long-term shut-in, but she somehow was able to track Diogenes all around the world, get the better of him in Florence despite his meticulous planning, and outthink him on the slopes of Stromboli.

From there, it's only gotten worse. She's become an "all-knowing ninja," to quote someone on Reddit. She can fire a machine gun after watching (with ill-concealed boredom, no doubt) a man show off the weapon for a few minutes. She can swim, even though she couldn't just a few weeks earlier. She becomes an adept at Chongg Ran after a few lessons (of course she does!).

And what makes it all worse is this gross quasi-romance that's taken up too much time in the series. Constance has convinced herself that she's in love with Pendergast, and she won't take no for an answer. (He's told her "no," with words and body language, more than once.)

If Pendergast has to have a romantic partner, doesn't he deserve better than a short-tempered, monomaniacal sociopath? This woman threatened to kill him in "Blue Labyrinth" for reminding her about her dalliance with Diogenes, then planned her own suicide as he lay dying in the hospital. She saves his life because she's obsessed with him and is dependent on him.

I haven't yet read "The Cabinet of Dr. Leng" -- given how Constance-centric it sounds, I've decided to get it from the library instead of spending my hard-earned money on it -- but I'm hoping the trilogy is a way to gracefully get rid of her. Have her fall for a man back in the 1880s and stay there. Hell, have Diogenes pilot a spaceship from Area 51 back into the 1880s and whisk her off to Mars!

She's taken up enough space in this series. Please, guys, just ditch her already ...

Favorite P/C Novels

Relic, Thunderhead, The Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows, The Book of the Dead, Fever Dream, White Fire

Least Favorite P/C Novels

Brimstone, Cemetery Dance, Crimson Shore, Obsidian Chamber, City of Endless Night, Crooked River, Bloodless

[billsmithbackjr]

Have a Cursed Video lmfao

[commodoresam]

Guess who’s next?

[witdiseased]

Aloysius and Diogenes Pendergast

Ave, frater, atque vale.                    Hail, brother, and farewell.

[imaginependergast]

Imagine

The Penderpals playing MarioKart (8 Deluxe, to be specific)

Pendergast: Doesn't really get it, isn't very good, but does improve after a few rounds. Tries to think logically about using items but, since he isn't great at the game, his usage isn't usually the best. If he manages to get into first place he has a good chance of staying there. Plays as Rosalina in the Mercedes-Benz W25 Silver Arrow.

Diogenes: Also not great, but gets better. Picks up on how to use items pretty quickly and prefers the . Like his brother, if he gets into first he'll probably win but getting there is the challenge. Always tries to go for short cuts but probably forget to turn off steering assist so that ends up not working much of the time. Plays as King Boo in the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster.

Constance: Also doesn't get it, isn't good, but doesn't really improve. Probably has the worst time playing and gets gently ribbed by Pendergast and Diogenes. Doesn't really use items unless she's frustrated (with Pendergast or Diogenes) and then she just spams them. Plays as Daisy in the standard cart.

D'Agosta: Probably has some fond memories of playing early video or arcade games with his son. Never gits good but most often ends up in 3-5th place. Doesn't put as much thought into using items as other people but when he uses items it tends to work in his favor. Plays as Mario (if not by his choice, by Hayward making him) in the Pipe Frame.

Corrie: Is the best player and most frequently wins. Is the person who gets animated if they're feeling competitive (think turning their hands like it'll make them turn more). Uses items strategically and more often than not successfully. Enjoys teasing Pendergast about how he finally found something he isn't good at it. Plays as Dry Browser in the Flame Rider.

Coldmoon: Is the next best player and tends to come in 2nd or 3rd behind Corrie but it's not uncommon that he wins. He picks up on learning the tracks quickly and uses items strategically. His favorite is the banana peel and just drops them at random and is especially happy when Pendergast spins out. Plays as Link in the Comet bike.

Hayward: Has a good time despite being a pretty middle of the pack player. Is happy when she makes 2nd or 3rd place. Ends up getting playfully competitive, especially with Vinnie. Forgets that she has items so doesn't use them too often. Plays as Luigi in the Mach 8.

Bonus! Proctor: Doesn't show any emotion and, suspiciously, seems be working to help Pendergast win. Has a special interest in using items to delay Diogenes. Plays as Bowser in the Mercedes-Benz GLA.

[one-flesh-one-end]

all you freaks who love insane little men. why is no one but me participating in the babygirlification of diogenes dagrepont bernoulli pendergast.

[mydearaloysius]

Hello! I’m not the original anon that asked about the songs associated with Pendergast but I agree very much with what you said about each book having a separate vibe! (Also thank you for introducing me to Tool and TV on the Radio - I loved them (Wolf Like Me is now my favorite) And the piece you linked for Diogenes is beautiful.)

I wanted to ask you your thoughts on the character of Constance. I’ve noticed she’s somewhat of a controversial figure in the fandom. What do you think?

Also, I love your art so much - now the only way I picture Pendergast, D’Agosta and Coldmoon is as you depict them.

- D.E.

Thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️

So Constance has become a love/hate character for me. She can be incredibly badass, but she can also be unfathomably psychotic, lol.

Initially, she seemed okay to me in Brimstone and the Diogenes trilogy. But then she started to become pathetic. She wanted Pendergast to love her in a way he's just not available for. She's like a daughter to him. Dude had to get himself drunk just to kiss her, lol. But thankfully, she gave up on him. However now HE'S the pathetic one running after her, lmao. I dunno. Right now I'm not a fan of her, but I have enjoyed her in the past.

I enjoy books with characters that make me feel this way toward them, lol.

[gluku-pikron]

What's a guilty pleasure of yours?

lunchables. still go feral for lunchables.  i was denied them as a kid and all that means is that now as an adult i am finally playing catch-up with the average child’s lunchable consumption over a five year span. (they are horribly wasteful though, all that plastic and packaging, so i do try to have some restraint and only get them once every couple months.)

my other guilty pleasure is... agent pendergast novels.  they’ve gotten sillier and sillier as the series has progressed (frankly, cabinet of curiosities was one of the better ones, as well as the diogenes trilogy, and i was very salty about them killing off smithback). i also have embarrassing shipping opinions about them, mostly in that i don’t actually much care for vincent/aloysius but that seems to be The Ship for whatever small fandom there is on ao3. ah well. rarepair shipping is just in my blood, i suppose.

[calamitous-madness]

Dance of Death

Excerpt

**spoilers**

Pendergast put his arms gently around her waist, looked searchingly into her eyes.

“Diogenes makes it a game to find out a person’s deepest fears. Then he strikes a deadly, well-aimed blow. He’s driven people to suicide that way. But his words are hollow. Don’t let those words stalk you. To know Diogenes is to walk in darkness. You must walk out of that darkness, Viola. Back into the light. And that also means away from me.”

“No,” she murmured.

“Go back to your island and forget about me. If not for your own sake, Viola, then for mine.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then, in the harsh light of the squalid cell, they kissed. After a moment, Pendergast disengaged himself and stepped back. His face was uncharacteristically flushed; his pale eyes glittered.

“Good-bye, Viola,” he said.

[bionysian]

@dadcastellanos

diogenes pendergast in the pendergast series... my fave mental candy floss type of books to read. and LMFAO YEAH WOA THERE POUND FAMILY

OH ive heard of the pendergast series, i just haven’t ever sat down and read them. i’ll have to do that sometime