#riverlander

[goldenshrikecomic]

Hi ! I am creating an oc based on your comic and I was wondering what kind of color palette would Riverlanders have. Also are there any breeds that can have yellow eyes ?

Some little dudes ripped from the pages. Dark hues exclusively, dark legs, helmets, dark around the eyes and back. I think the light one on the right wasn't meant to be a riverlander due to the size and weird colors, but maybe she's a half. Eyes would range in red-brown hues but maybe you could stretch it to mustard yellow.

Riverlanders have pretty strict design notes but you can just always make them into mixes. Mixed deer can pretty much have any features you want without making it a stretch. Deep wolf-yellow eyes are just for stonekrovns, but browns of all hues are very common for all other deer species. A cut canon character Retter had near yellow eyes, just pale ones:

[goldenshrikecomic]

I figure the chances of the two crossing paths are pretty slim, but how would stonekrovn’s feel about riverlanders or other fanged deer and vice versa?

They would likely be confused and find a hint of communality in the fact, but the truth is riverlander teeth are still vastly different and not meant for meat consumption, which is the reason stonekrovns are shunned for. Stonekrovns would still treat riverlanders as any other grasslanders, and riverlanders would treat them with the same distrust as grasslanders do. I imagine they'd be insulted if someone called them mini stonekrovns.

[goldenshrikecomic]

Saw this on twitter. Me thinks this most likely has been asked before but I haven't seen the answer:

How are non-straight relationships and characters viewed in the world of GS? I reckon it's different in each species.

(again, very sorry if this has been answered already)

This is a good image.

In GS universe the norm is that deer pair out of love, and seeing same sex couples isn't that uncommon. Especially deer with no strict herd culture or the pressure of reproduction are usually open to just love whoever, but there's species that think messing around without producting offspring is a waste of time and mind and should be discouraged. Examples of this would be woodlanders for sure, but also fielders, like Riptail's species. Then there's species with smaller herds that require reproduction to stay alive, like marshlanders and riverlanders. Those don't straight up discourage non-het lifestyle as long as they also aim to 'do their duty' for survival.

I don't want to write blatant homophobia so it's just not a common thing in this world. Woodlanders' beliefs are frowned upon by the most, and Nero and Runi's herd was just so straight they never thought about anything beyond.

[goldenshrikecomic]

I've been curious about something, what species of deer are many of the characters based on? Besides Wanderers(Moose) and Stonekrovn(Fantasy ~ ). So like... Marshlanders, Northerners, Coastians...

Marshlander (Nero & Runi) = marsh deer Fielder (Riptail) = roe deer Woodlander (Kasko) = whitetail Bush deer = pudú Riverlander = musk deer Lowlander = fallow deer Wanderer = moose

Those are the main ones that are based on real species. Stonekrovns have some elk influence, mostly the build.

[grumpyelf]

what is the riverlands hymnal?

Ah, I was waiting for this question! And I’m so very glad you asked it. ;u;

The Riverlands Hymnal is a book cataloging stories, prayers, poems, proverbs, etc. about the story of the Star and the Catfish. The overall synopsis, I supposed you’d say, is that the star and the catfish fell in love with each other and became men so they could be together. The Catfish, with its heavy heart, buried in the mud of the river, needed to be reminded that it was a man, that there was love and hope to be found in light. The Star came down to light the lantern on the riverbank in order to guide the Catfish and lift his heavy heart, and the Star hollowed itself so that the Catfish could fill it.

Here’s a passage from The Gospel of Cassiopeia, II:

And the catfish who hadbeen a man cried out,

Let me have hands that Imay hold my love,let me feel the weight ofall the skies in my palms;let my love become light,let me catch him as he falls,let him be hollow; I willfill him.And the star wept; thestar pined for the arms ofthe man,for the red-clay arms,wide as rivers. 

It’s a story that was created by Hannah, with assistance of Askee, and it’s rooted in Supernatural. But I asked if the story felt older than that, and Askee agreed. She said that stories have always been, and we just have to interpret them. Click the links on their names above to read more about the Star and the Catfish.

They also wrote All Things Shining, which is a fic about the trip that Dean, Sam, and Cas take along the Mississippi River to discover what this story and the Riverlanders are all about.

The story touched me on a very personal level, and I connect to it very strongly. I feel as if I was meant to find it. That’s why I consider myself a Riverlander; I don’t necessarily consider it a religion, but a metaphor for many things. It’s renewed a certain faith in me, as well as helped me appreciate many things in life. I cross my palms with stars for love, and I remember that there are those always watching me. If you see my blog title, it’s “lowly catfish though I be”, which comes from a children’s rhyme in the Hymnal.

“Cross my palms and hope to fly

Send me stars before I die

If my love be red-clay deep

Send me dreams to guide my sleep

Give me sky-love here to stay

Lights by night and dust by day

Lowly catfish though I be

Send a star to treasure me.”

I hoped this helped! ;u;

[oh! and if you’d like to listen to some music that reminds me about the story, rivers, rolling hills and prairies, etc  (one of my favorite playlists tbh), you can listen to my Riverlands playlist on spotify! c:]