#efrafans

[trainwrecksys]

Bro I love these little bunnies

[groundselwatershipdowntvseries]

Thrush is Efrafan Owsla guard of Woundwort who work for Vervain and with co-worker a bolder rabbit Goldenrod. I would like to create a fantasy novel for Thrush and have him have a beautiful doe.

[wolperkinger]

@handfulofmuses said: "If friends can turn to enemies, enemies can become friends." (pipkin)

moss lets out a heavy exhale at pipkin's words. he's a strong, valiant little lad who shouldn't be here. the outsiders are their enemy, he knows that well, and yet when he looks at pipkin he hopes that the outsiders will come up with some trick worthy of el-ahrairah to get him out.

he decides--- against campion's warning--- to placate him. for now. if hazel, bigwig & fiver end up deserting pipkin then at least the lad had some semblance of a friend in efrafa before his end.

not that moss really knew how to be a friend. not that any efrafan did anymore.

he attempts to relax by sitting beside him, appear less frightening and offer some consolation in this dire situation, "i suppose that's possible. maybe you and i could be friends, eh pipkin?"

maybe efrafa and pipkin's warren could be friends? no. there's no way the could be possible.

[sketch-shepherd-art]

HOLY FUCK THIS GIANT ASS PROJECT IS FINALLY DONE

For a long while I've been inspired to do my own designs for Watership Down characters so here's a massive post of just that. Some designs are taken directly from various animated adaptations with no changes, some are a mix of various canon designs, and some are just entirely designed by me from scratch.

And yes I know there's a crap ton more characters in the book I didn't include (especially the Efrafans) but I can only narrow down my choices to so many so just bear with me. Who knows, maybe I'll continue this design series with even more characters someday

[krinsbez]

A Watership Down Meta/Headcanon/Rant

So, both @jaybutnotthebird and @stavarosthearcane have stated that, to their knowledge, I've not posted this on tumblr, and indicated that they would like to hear it, I'm posting it now!

So I don't recall if it was stated explicitly or was, like, a rumor, but everything about Gen. Woundwort makes so much more sense when you realize he's a hutch rabbit.

Why is he so enormous? Cuz he was bred to be big and fluffy, was fed flayrah everyday, and was taken to the vet if he got sick.

Why is he so afraid of humans? Because they were the first elil he ever encountered.

Why is everything he does in complete opposition to proper lapine culture and behavior? Because he grew up not knowing anything about it.

Efrafa is, in essence, an attempt to make a warren into a hutch.

OK got that? So, here's another thing to think about. Cowslip's Warren, or Strawberry's Warren, or the Warden of the Shining Wire, or whatever you want to call it...they also completely disregard traditional Lapine culture and behavior; they don't tell stories of El-ahrairah, they make weird poetry about the inevitability of death, they keep babbling about dignity, they make ART, etc. This, by the way, is why it and Efrafa come off as so viscerally wrong, because Mr. Adams went to the trouble of putting us in a rabbit headspace, so we can understand the full horror; it's not just Woundwort's tyranny or the farmer's snares, it's that they're unnatural and rabbits aren't meant to live that way.

Now, I know what you're thinking when I say that word, "unnatural", but put down the pitchfork.

Because Hazel and Co. do a LOT of things that is outside the realm of typical rabbit behavior:

Despite being Chief Rabbit, Hazel let's the others argue with and talk back to him.

They made friends with mice and a bird.

He adopted Cowslip's Warren's idea of using tree roots to create a big central chamber

Tales (the sequel short story collection) has them adopt a (obvs. less aggro) version of the Efrafan practice of having the Owsla run patrols

They busted out hutch rabbits.

They used a boat

Meanwhile, Sandleford, the Warren that our heroes fled, was apparently the epitome of a traditional Warren and of course they all died horribly.

So, what's the difference?

It goes back to the last lines of the first myth, part of which was used as the first animated film adaptation's tagline:

“All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”

(I bolded the important part)

Sandleford's Chief Rabbit (EDIT: The Threarah) decided he liked things as they were and refused to change, and his people died. Cowslip and Co. allow themselves to be farmed and treat death as an inevitability, and they're slowly going mad and dying one by one. Gen. Woundwort teaches his Owsla to respond to every situation by fighting, and they break and flee when the unexpected happens. The ordinary rabbits of Efrafa are forced to live like hutch rabbits and they're miserable and not having babies.

Hazel does weird stuff…but he does so because he's in a weird situation and has to adapt. He listens to the other's concerns and ideas, he keeps an open mind, he figures out what resources are available to him, and then figures out how he can use them to protect his people.

In short? Unlike Woundwort, Cowslip & Co., or the unnamed Chief Rabbit of Sandleford EDIT: The Threarah, he is cunning and full of tricks.

(I think one of the reasons the BBC miniseries from a few years back didn't hit right is that they failed to get this)

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk

[ihopesocomic]

one thing I genuinely love about your lions is the coloration of Edge’s family considering they originate from a desert. Often times regional coat variation in fictional animals is very overlooked, even in media where character design is varied

Edge especially because while he is extremely light colored, the dark part of his mane still shows that this is a male lion in his prime

Thank you so much! That was my vision was having them colored to match their environment. It's not always the case, but I enjoy the consistency and being able to tell who's connected based on color themes lol Like the Efrafans in Watership Down and the blue foxes in Animals of Farthing Wood.

I was initially gonna just make all the lions tawny and grey-ish cuz I felt confident enough in my character design to make them all different enough without making their colors not-liony, but that flew out quickly since I loved Diamond's colors too much to scrap them.

But thank you! I do like Edge's design. But drawing his fringe is a whole other problem I created for myself. - Cat

[lemonsinasoup]

"And then- then an enormous thing- I can't give you any idea of it- as big as a thousand hrududil- bigger- came rushing out of the night. It was full of fire and smoke and light and it roared and beat on the metal lines until the ground shook beneath it. It drove between us and the Efrafans like a thousand thunderstorms with lightning. "

A digital painting assignment for Watership Down to kick off my art Tumblr :] 

[docholligay]

For chat tonight: If you could pick one book to force everyone to read, which book would it be?

WATERSHIP DOWN WATERSHIP DOWN EVERYONE SHOULD READ WATERSHIP DOWN

It has:

Weird Efrafan rules for the military lit girlies

Commentary on human society and philosophy against the natural world for the lit majors

utterly needless vocabulary words for the fantasy kids

critique of the capitalist machine for all of us on tumblr

it's a YA/children's book for people who can't be convinced to engage with other media

"My Chief Rabbit has told me to stay and defend this run, and until he says otherwise, I shall stay here" for everyone who wants to scream

I've been drinking but also this is true

[watership-down-garden]

"Strawberry tried all he could to help me. He spoke very well about the decency and comradeship natural to animals. "Animals don't behave like men," he said. "If they have to fight, they fight; and if they have to kill, they kill. But they don't sit down and set their wits to work to devise ways of spoiling other creatures' lives and hurting them. They have dignity and animality."

Holly recounts how Strawberry addressed the Efrafan Council From Watership Down chapter 27: 'You Can't Imagine It Unless You've Been There' by Richard Adams

The strawberries pictured above are wild strawberries. The fruits are much smaller than the kind you find in shops, but the plants are far less fussy and require very little effort to maintain.

In my garden they serve the purpose of a low-level ground cover plant, which easily spreads about by sprouting runners, and they look quite pretty between the taller wild flowers and trees.

The leaves are also edible (though in my opinion taste quite bland). They will cope with shade but flower and fruit much better if they get a decent amount of sun (the ones pictured here seem to thrive very well in partial shade and have even managed to produce some fruit underneath an evergreen spruce tree).

My children love them.

[redux-iterum]

Ok Lynx, tell me all your thoughts on Watership Down and what u think WC can learn from...

This will also be directed at other mythic NAX starring cats that are inspired by warriors:

Lesson 1) "Realism" doesn't mean "nature documentary". Study your target species, learn how they function, ask experts about them, and so on. Interesting bits of culture can come about due to studying your target species, like the Efrafan does' response to their overcrowded warren.

Lesson 2) Lore. Use it. Dandelion tells many stories from rabbit culture throughout the book, yet Warriors doesn't get any stories about their culture until Secrets of the Clans, a supplemental source that not everyone is going to read. Imagine if Mistyfoot told Fireheart the story of How Leopardclan Won the River, or if some elder morosely told the story of How Tigerclan Got Their Stripes, or someone told little Firepaw the story of Lionclan and the Adders in the actual books.

Yeah, these are the main two I'd say.

[softboiledwonderland]

"With a kind of wry envy, Hazel realized that Bigwig was actually looking forward to meeting the Efrafan assault. He knew he could fight and he meant to show it. He was not thinking of anything else. The hopelessness of their chances had no important place in his thoughts. Even the sound of the digging, clearer already, only set him thinking of the best way to sell his life as dearly as he could."

more Bigwig = Boromir vibes

[groundselwatershipdowntvseries]

When you bully the wrong person

[wolperkinger]

taglist go brrr:

; out of carrots (ooc) ; owsla honour (pinned) ; questions & answers (asks) ; here's a thought (headcanons) ; bits & bobstones (memes)

; right hand rabbit (blackberry) ; efrafan corporal (moss) ; eyes of a mystic (silverweed) ; general's spymaster (orchis) ; more than a mouse (hannah) ; wounded warrior (holly) ; valiant streak (silver)

; brothers of manipulation (tv verse)

[sketch-shepherd-art]

just some random WSD OC's I made cuz I felt like it (specifically for the 1978 movie)

Rabbit on the top is Lavender, the sister of Violet and another one of the few survivors who escaped Sandleford's destruction. Bottom rabbit is Cloudberry, a former Efrafan doe who now lives on Watership Down after Woundwort's diappearance

[burninglikefire]

Random Watership Down Thoughts

- Vervain’s sense of purpose is completely dependent on serving Woundwort and he’s too afraid to find something better for himself. 

- Bigwig and Spartina’s relationship came out of nowhere and has the least development when compared to Hazel and Primrose and Blackberry and Campion’s relationship. I’m not saying the relationship is bad or that Spartina isn’t a good fit for Bigwig but Spartina went from being a spy in one episode and his lover in the next with little to no context or growth and they deserve better than that!

- Silverweed is severely misunderstood: He’s a good rabbit but his mystic powers made him an outsider and Cowslip made it worse by using him as a storyteller. 

- All of Woundwort’s hate stems from unresolved trauma from his past. Everything he did was inexcusable but he needs serious help (this is especially true in season 3. His mind just split after the first episode of the season). 

- Similarly while I’d love to see a redemption arc for Woundwort, I’m not sure if he can be fully forgiven for everything he’s done. I think he’s somewhat more redeemable than Cowslip though (he’s too sick in the head and only does anything if it serves him somehow).

- Hickory and Marigold’s design in the 3rd season kind of bothers me. Their designs are great, but they look so similar that I thought they were siblings at one point (this was back when I first saw them when I was little). 

- The Darkhaven rabbits are essentially a rabbit cult but the history of the warren sounds very interesting and relevant to Woundwort’s evil.

- Woundwort, Vervain and Campion’s relationship is the most damaged and abusive in the entire series and you can see how much it affects them: Vervain goes from respecting Campion to hating and resenting him while also conflicted about being loyal to Woundwort and being sick of him, Campion is heavily conflicted about betraying Woundwort and still struggles with it during season 3 but also knows it was the right thing and Woundwort never gets over Campion’s betrayal and tolerates Vervain.

- In a nutshell, Woundwort, Campion and Vervains relationship with each other is what break up and pop songs are made for.

- Blackavar was only relevant in the TV series for a few episodes but then disappeared (despite having a slightly bigger role in the movie) and Buttercup (from the winter episodes) was never seen or heard from again.

- I would have loved to see a spin off series about Moss and the Efrafans after they left Watership Down and see how their dynamics and relationships changed and see Moss as a leader.

- Skree is a missed opportunity to explore other possible allies with elil.

- Hazel and Primrose’s kittens gained some relevancy in season 3 (as the junior owsla) and that is why they are a consistent three with names versus the previous random baby rabbits we saw in season 2. 

- Vervain is both an asshole and a coward yet I somehow feel bad for him at season 3. 

- If Vervain didn’t survive at the end of season 3, I would have liked to see Granite survive and join Watership Down. That poor giant marshmallow deserves a better life.

- I think Campion had some feelings for Primrose at one point. I don’t know if I’d call it a crush but he does respect her and cares about her.

- Red Stone warren has the saddest history in the whole series.

- Bigwig and Woundwort are my favorites but I like just about everyone in the TV series. I can’t think of a single character I don’t like (yes I even like Vervain and Cowslip). 

- The TV series is full of complex characters. 

- I don’t know if it was originally written for it but the song Bright Eyes is the theme song for the entire Watership Down franchise and no one can convince me otherwise.

- Bigwig’s design in season 3 kind of reminds me of Cruella’s fur coat in 101 Dalmatians. I don’t know why the designs changed in season 3 but I don’t necessarily dislike them (I actually like Woundwort’s design in season 3 more than his design in season 2. I like Bigwig’s season 3 design too but it made me think he grew old when I was little XD). 

- Getting Silverweed out of Cowslip’s warren is arguably one of the few good things Woundwort did. Why? Because, while Woundwort only did it to serve his own purposes, him getting Silverweed would eventually lead to Hazel and the others bringing him to Watership Down and giving him the freedom and happiness he so deserved. He didn’t mean for that to happen but I would count this as an accidental good deed on Woundwort’s part. 

- Pipkin is the most wholesome character of the TV series as he see’s the good in everyone he meets and can make friends with just about anyone.

- Spoiler but the TV series ends with the Black Rabbit basically coming in and saying: “I don’t care who started it, I’m finishing it!” like a parent whose had enough of their kids bickering.

- You know you went too far when even the Black Rabbit of Inle is sick of your bullshit.

- Vervain has had countless opportunities for redemption but he consistently chooses not to take them. He’s either too much of a coward to take them or he’s not confident enough in himself to try. 

- Also, Vervain is no fighter but he enjoys having power over other rabbits.

- Just about all the Watership Down rabbits have relatable moments. 

- Speaker of The Past (or Speaker, she never got a name) mentioned that Hemlock (Woundwort’s father) had other sons before having Woundwort, implying that Woundwort had older brothers and was the baby of the family. Are any of his brothers still alive? Probably not but it makes me sad we didn’t get to see Woundwort get reunited with a surviving relative who later tries to reason with him…I think I have an OC idea now. 

- The idea that Woundwort might have once been someone’s baby brother is as cute as it is sad. I would have loved to know more about his family.

- Hannah is a mood!

- Woundwort still laughs about that ‘hedge wizard’ incident and never lets Vervain forget it. Meanwhile, Vervain is still convinced he saw a hedge wizard. The story doesn’t help his reputation at Darkhaven as many rabbits (manly Granite) tease him for it.

[lepurcinus]

Besides these two background Efrafans in the TV series never got a name. I'm gonna believe that they are Chervil and Groundsel 👌.