I Found This Blog Today (yes, I Know, I Am Late To The Party Because I'm New. You'll Just Have To Tolerate

I found this blog today (yes, I know, I am late to the party because I'm new. You'll just have to tolerate me being excited about older things for a bit, hehe). Anyway, it's a great blog and this is a clever review, 10/10.

Read on to hear my "Thoughts on Good and Evil" (I almost typed Veil) and my Other Responses.

Thoughts on Good and Evil

I think that a lot of people agree that it would have been nice if Jacques wrote more about creatures whos morals did not match the stereotypes of their species. Upon further thought, though, I am happy to recognize that this has been explored! The deeper he got into the story, the more complex his characters got, so this is a message of hope for all beginning readers!

Jacques does hold the idea that "if you are bad you are bad, end of story." He has said that this is because Redwall is a children's series, so he wanted to make it simple for children to understand and relate to, which real human stories can't provide in the same way... "cunning fox vs. noble mouse," you see.

Of course, I don't like this, but I see no reason that we can't make a rat or a ferret a kind creature! It's our right to expand upon the idea that anyone could be good. (And it's also true that cold-blooded murderers are less redeemable than a cook who was rude to a hair or a father who wanted his daughter to stay at home.)

Brian says there are no grey areas and I simply do not believe him <3. Brian, you tell the story, but maybe you don't get everything right. At least, for my purposes, that is how I choose to view the wonderful creatures that fill these books.

Other Responses- Spoilers Ahead!

I would agree that the atmosphere is immaculate! I love it and will never stop talking about how I want to be friends with all of them.

Clowny is badass in a very bad way, "tell the devil Cluny sent you" is a line that I've always liked- he is so haughty to imply he is above the devil. Just... wow.

Skullface's death really was a shocking event; the book starts out showing you the peace and culture in the Abbey (as well as how sweet young Matthias is), and then changes perspectives immediately to show how powerful and grotesque Cluny the Scourge is. Skullface not only illustrates this- of course- but his story really tells you what you're in for in the rest of the story(ies). I just got the graphic novel version of this book, and the retelling of Skullface's death is particularly shocking in a visual format.

Thank you for your review! I have always loved lists.

Also, I have always thought that Killconey was an awesome name.

Reading every redwall book in publication order: Redwall

I finished Redwall like two nights ago and I’m only just now writing the review of it! Okay, lets dive in. (this is not a critical review, its just a bunch of my thoughts dumped into one spot)

Blurb:

Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well… until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming–Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde–Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice–a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back… and become a legend himself.

Death count of named characters: 21

Death count of unnamed characters: literally unknowable. But definitely over a hundred.

Rating thing: Fun romp with a lot of plot in it, lots of characters to root for, and very satisfying to read.

Keep reading

Hello, goodbeasts all! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sable Rose, nice to meet you!

This is a drawing of me based off the art of Laterose (who I have a similar name to, which is special <3)

My story takes place shortly after the events of High Rhulain, which is one of my favorite books. I simply love the cultures that everyone in that book got to meet, it's full of nice characters.

One day, I hope to go on adventures like those in the Redwall books, but I value my time in the Abbey just as much... after all, I've been here forever! I also like creating art of all sorts- but particularly fiber art, so there will be no shortage of such content on this blog.

In reality, I greatly enjoy the sense of community that Mr. Jacques filled the Redwall books with, it's one of my favorite parts of the story. Likewise, I am so grateful to be a part of the real-life Redwall community that I've found through my lovely friends here on the internet. Connections are important to me <3. These stories are a part of my life that I hold dear, and I'm so glad to meet you and share in their beauty!

Just for fun, this is a self-portrait of simpler quality that I also made. (Since creating my introduction, I have collected a multitude of portraits housed in my tags! Please, read on!)

I can be found here on Tumblr, of course, but if you would like some more Rose content I also reside on Instagram (but be warned, there is a large percentage of real-world content on my other social media platforms. I don't forget Redwall, though!)

On Tumblr, I have made some resources and archival works, I've tried to collect them under #the library. Another one of my projects is #queer redwall, and I put all of my things under the tag #rose of redwall. So, see the tags for more!

I hope you enjoy my profile, come rest with me <3 you're welcome to stay as long as you like.

I love the dappling, this is wonderful!

Martin the Warrior.

The the sequel to my Rose drawing. I’m not as sure as this one as I was about that one, but oh well, I tried.

Reblogs are welcome, reposts are not.

This is so fun to consider! Wow!

Not Rat, Not Weasel, and Nothing In-Between

My own headcanon for what Razzid Wearat really was. I know he's called a "Wearat"--and rumored to be this hideous rat-weasel hybrid crime-against-nature... but uh no! I prefer the idea he was simply an animal from a bit outside the usual Euro-centric cast of species which the locals were terrified of since they simply didn't have any kind of idea what it was. Similar to how human beings "chimerize" their descriptions of unknown animals (example--describing a binturong as a "bear-cat", believing it to have a bear body and a cat face, or some mix of features despite the binturong being neither of these), the "Wearat" would be more accurately called a Moonrat--or a Gymnure. The Moonrat/Gymnure is actually a close relative of the Hedgehog! Physically it has a clearly carnivorous face and dental structure much like a hedgehog or a shrew (the "weasel" aspect) but form-wise is a bit more rat or really opossum like. The intense "ugliness" is really a matter of subjectivity--they're really not much different looking than moles and shrews, so... XD

Pictured is how Mossflower residents typically only see the Moonrat--in the form of a long Corsair, ranging far and wide from their homelands as part of a pirate crew--likely driven out of their own community for their willingness to pillage and exploit, much like how I envision most Corsairs, Sea Raiders, Searat crews and the like are.

This is one of my current favorite drawing of Rose. She will always hold a special place in my heart, first of all because she was awesome but also because she held such a special place in her story. Also, fact that she and I share a name... I like to think that connects us <3

Ocean Shores

Rose from the redwall universe. good mouse

Are you guys ready to meet Arflow?? I hope you're as excited as he is!

@/mole-supremacy kindly included the link to my video (again, thank you for sharing my work!), so check that out if you're so inclined, but here is the rest of my Arflow content:

The audio in my original video is as follows:

"This is Arlfow. He's a hand-customized plush representation of the otter character from Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques in the Redwall series. When he was in his young seasons, he said goodbye to his parents and younger sister Matunda, left his holt, and began the journey of a hero. Arflow really was a hero in his story, but I suppose you'll have to read the book to find out how, I don't want to give away any spoilers. Anyway, Arflow is happy that you could watch his little photo series, and be on the lookout for an in-depth video about him on my page."

Of course, I have since made that "in-depth video..." here it is! It shows all of the clothes and accessories I made, as well as a little bit about their stories.

Again, I thank each and every one of you for the love you've shown me. I have had such fun time making and sharing Arflow!

Someone made an Arflow stuffed animal