Cogitating

[Cairn Destop]

Hedgehogs need more love as well. *nod*

So true.  I do believe Brian Jaques hates them as he portrays them as fat, lazy, or stupid.  In "Triss," the hedgehog companion was a discardable character.  All he did is get himself knocked out.  

It was one reason I created Cairn.  I thought hedgehogs needed a hero.

Granted, badgers are ANYTHING but neglected, but the point still stands, I rarely read about one that I like.  :P  It would make me FAR happier to see someone take one of those and make me fall in love with it than if someone wrote a Wearet. 

Wonder if I should direct you to my Vermin Badger series.

[Dozystoat]

(Aside from which, everyone knows that jerbilrats are only good when dipped in chocolate and eaten!  Really.)

Here, here! ('oo's Justin? >.>)

Bats: It's the nose. You just can't fall in love with something that has a nose looks like someone wiped butter all over an inside-out tricorn hat. Moles suffer from the same problem. If you look at the most popular species, you'll notice something - all the noses are adorable.

Hedgehogs: I don't really see stupid hedgehogs in Redwall. Some are rather wise, in fact. Sure, there are one or two duds in the series - Triss is not a good example of <i>anything</i>. Mostly, they're down-to-earth, hardy creatures. I wouldn't say that not being agile exactly counts as being "fat". They'd more ... ponderous. Tansy was great, and Ambrose rocks to this day.

Monitors: Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting tired of them. RV2, TED, QBV - er ... so that's three I know of. I'unno. They all seem sort of the same to me. There's not enough fear. In the books, they were cannibals if I recall, and very much feared. Itzal got away with not being feared by making the character a bumbling, foreign, bespectacled runt - think a short fry-cook version of Twoflower from the Discworld series. I don't remember Kamilah all that well anymore, but Izlude didn't quite hold the fear over the rest of the vermin's head. The NPCs in QBV's story seemed more to respect her because of her position as seer/Captain's go-to lizard than because she was a fearsome creature in her own right. So, if anyone's going to put in a lizard, I want to see a brute of a monster whom the other characters are scared spitless around.

I seem to recall that by the time of High Rhulain they were saying that 'Cats hadnt been seen in Mossflower for ages'.
(Which makes Sandigom's appearance in Mossflower all that more interesting. How did Gingivere find her so fast?)

Easy one! Gingevere (Tsarmina's brother, not the Squire) was in Mossflower before Redwall was built. High Rhulian takes place in about as far into the future of the series as you can get without tripping over Doomwhyte.  ;) There must be over a hundred years between the two.

[The Jerk]

(Aside from which, everyone knows that jerbilrats are only good when dipped in chocolate and eaten!  Really.)

Here, here! ('oo's Justin? >.>)

The Annoying One Who Would Not Die (alternately, a robot, depending on which story you're reading.  :P)

[Balmafula]

There's not enough fear. In the books, they were cannibals if I recall, and very much feared.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Stoatsy.  

Yes, everybeast was jumping-out-of-their-fur scared of them at the very beginning of the story, but there is certainly a shift because I recall there's a time when the corsairs almost look down on them.  I believe Lask was especially fearsome because he was the biggest, strongest monitor around, although true, being a cannibal lizard did help.  

If I recall correctly, Itzal was very small and non-threatening (which I think you did mention), while Izlude was rather scrawny, so yes, they were monitors, but they weren't big, tough brutes like Lask... which I think was better, actually.  And, if you'll notice, there are plenty of beasts in both of those stories who were scared, or at least apprehensive, about them 'cause of their lizardyness.  If I recall, in fact, Izlude's entire character was based on her immensely creeping everybeast out ever.

But regardless, not all monitors ever have to be juggernauts of PHEAR; that would be like saying "Grah, Sootpaws and Gunnar are kinda meh 'cause they're not smartyboots backstabbers like the foxes in the books!"  

Why cannot our scaled ones find lurve? *munches on a chocolate jerbilrat*

[Opal]

Alas...my poor little Sootsy...I knew him well... :'(

[foxpen]

But regardless, not all monitors ever have to be juggernauts of PHEAR; that would be like saying "Grah, Sootpaws and Gunnar are kinda meh 'cause they're not smartyboots backstabbers like the foxes in the books!"  

That would have been my other fox character, who never made it past the top three of the possible picks. Oh, my poor snootypaws...

[Opal]

...Are you saying you were Sootpaws's original author? If so, can I glomp you?

[Airan]

I think there was actually a 'male ferret' category for Redscape but I dont recall seeing a ferret in the top 10. I wonder why that was?

Nallmian said that the writers of all the three ferret characters chose to do different characters.  This led to the runoff election which Pearl won.

[Magical Fish]

Personally, I'm hoping for either no mustelids or just one. I've never seen how stoats, martens, weasels, and ferrets are sufficiently different to warrant multiple spots in contests (ok, fine, martens have fluffy tails. Big deal.).

[Dozystoat]

There's not enough fear. In the books, they were cannibals if I recall, and very much feared.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Stoatsy.  

Yes, everybeast was jumping-out-of-their-fur scared of them at the very beginning of the story, but there is certainly a shift because I recall there's a time when the corsairs almost look down on them.  I believe Lask was especially fearsome because he was the biggest, strongest monitor around, although true, being a cannibal lizard did help.

If I recall correctly, Itzal was very small and non-threatening (which I think you did mention), while Izlude was rather scrawny, so yes, they were monitors, but they weren't big, tough brutes like Lask... which I think was better, actually.  And, if you'll notice, there are plenty of beasts in both of those stories who were scared, or at least apprehensive, about them 'cause of their lizardyness.  If I recall, in fact, Izlude's entire character was based on her immensely creeping everybeast out ever.

The shift happens when the lizards are put on a corsair ship and taken over to Mossflower - the cold sets in on them and they get sea-sick, which is where the vermin begin to lose their fear and realise how pitiful they can really be.

I haven't read QBV all the way yet (printed it out though, so it'll happen), but the fear that Izlude had seemed to me to be more from her position as creeptastic voodoo queen, than because of her species. After all, the vermin on the ship would be used to her ... I'm hoping more beasties on the land side of the story get the berets scared out of them by her. The slaves were scared, and that was nice.

'm not saying all monitors should be hulking things of RAR! (though I dearly want to see a giant one like Lask again) - 'm saying they should be more frightening on a regular scale, for what they are, rather than who they are or what they do. And not always, throughout the whole story, but just enough in the beginning. Just enough, rather than not-so-much-at-all. XD

...

No mustelids?! *dies*

... actually, you have a very good point. The body shape is all the same. The personalities don't differ enough. Martens can climb very well - but then again, so can weasels (they can swim too, weasels'n'stoats.) Ferrets just have the coolest species name to say aloud ever; otherwise, there isn't much difference from a purely character point of view. I do hope if mustelids get in that the authors will study up on their critters to make a more realised animal. There are a lot of quirks and habits that could be used to make their mental process more interesting, instead of just ignored as if they were all skinny humans.

[Balmafula]

but the fear that Izlude had seemed to me to be more from her position as creeptastic voodoo queen, than because of her species.

Seemed to me like a mixture of both. *shrug*

I admit that I'd also like to see a big tough monitor, though.  I think there was one I saw in a top 30 somewhere (DO I WIN THE AMBIGUOUS REWARD YET? :D) who was all rough 'n tough 'n stuff and it made me happy.  Of course then it made me sad, 'cause he was never chosen.  Alas.

And mustelids do need love. 

[Orion]

Personally, I kind of want to see a squirrel. Yes, there's this whole stigma surrounding squirrels and otters and such, like they're always these great, grand warriors, and it's been done a hundred thousand million times and oh-my-goodness-they're-oh-so-cliche.

But really, there was a cliche squirrel? If done right, I wouldn't mind seeing a fighter squirrel get in (although if there's a projectile weapon, make it a sling. So much cooler than a bow). Or another off-the-wall one like dearest Desmo.

[Jarrtail]

And mustelids do need love. 

I really enjoy mustelids in these sorts of contests, as they're one of the more versatile species, and they always seem smarter than rats.
No offense to rat fans, of course.

[Wolverine]

I'd potentially argue that point, Jarrtail. Rystan and Sebastian from QBs II and IV were fairly well educated, and possibly the smartest cast members of their contests. (It's been so long since I read either one, though...) 

RedScape's Sheriff Brull has also had moments of frightening cleverness. Not book smarts, per se, but he's definitely street savvy.

I think intelligence (or lack thereof) is really not limited to a particular species type. (Although foxes seem to get an inordinate amount of, er... "special" characters. RV2's Ewyn, MM's Sootpaws, and RedScape's Zula, all foxes, all... special.) It's also been done with rats (Wolcum, ROCS2), ferrets (Levet, ROCS1), and even owls (Pierce, QBIV). If a lack of intelligence is done well, it can be really interesting. If not... well, quite a few of those characters were the first one voted off.  :-\

[Jarrtail]

I'm not talking about in the contests. There are some exceptionally intelligent rats there, for sure. What I was using for my reference was the books, in which the mustelid characters are for the most part more educated than the rats.