#and I want to respect that and not subject anyone to it

[mywitchyblog]

hello! I really love your content, and I’ve been following you for quite some time. i think your opinions on various topics are very thoughtful and accurate, so i have a question.

i’ve been noticing a subject (particularly on shiftok😭) where many people express their dislike of others scripting traumatic events into their realities, included to create a more intense backstory for them. for example, scripting that they lost a parent when they were younger or went through psychotic depression as a child.

i’d like to hear your opinion on this. do you think it’s okay to script some kind of trauma or disorder? personally, I don’t see an issue with it since it doesn’t affect my life or anyone else’s, but i’d love to hear your perspective on this topic!

Oh, honey, you just brought up one of my favorite rant-worthy topics. Grab a snack because we’re diving in! 🍵✨

My ✨Personal✨ Take:

First, thank you for the love, darling! It’s always a vibe connecting with someone who actually gets it. 💅 Now, let’s talk trauma scripting, because whew, the discourse around this is hotter than Satan’s sauna.

Here’s the thing: your DR is YOURS. Period. Full stop. You can script a Disney princess life or the tragic backstory of a brooding anti-hero—it’s entirely up to you. If you want to script a life-altering trauma, go off, babe. As long as you understand what you’re doing, it’s valid.

Let’s debunk the idea that “scripting trauma is bad”: In your DR, you’re living that experience. It’s not just words on paper; it becomes your reality. So if scripting something intense—like losing a parent or battling a mental health condition—helps you process, heal, or simply add depth to your DR self, that’s your business. Trauma, when scripted thoughtfully, can even be therapeutic. For some, it’s about reclaiming control over a narrative that felt chaotic or unresolved in their CR.

But let’s be clear: this isn’t playtime. You will feel what you script. The loss, the grief, the psychotic depression? It will be as real in your DR as it is for someone who’s endured it in their CR. So, if you’re scripting trauma for kicks or because you think it’s “dramatic,” you might want to take a hard look at your intentions.

The Fanfic Shifters Rant (Aka I Hate These Hoes):

Now let me pop off on these Shiftok clowns for a second. 😤 You know exactly the ones I’m talking about: the “everything’s just a quirky little fanfic” crew who waltz into shifting spaces treating their DRs like a bad Wattpad draft.

These hoes (yes, HOES) script trauma the way they’d order a pumpkin spice latte—casually, without thinking. “Oh, I’ll just throw in some childhood abandonment and sprinkle in an abusive relationship for ✨character development✨.” Like, are you dumb? Trauma isn’t a fucking aesthetic. It’s not “flavor” for your DR backstory.

When these people romanticize trauma, they trivialize the pain that real survivors experience. And worse? They make the whole shifting community look like a joke. Imagine someone who’s genuinely trying to use their DR to heal from their CR trauma stumbling upon one of these idiots? Embarrassing. I hate these hoes with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. They treat shifting like a sandbox where nothing matters and then complain when they end up spiraling in their DR because “oops, I didn’t realize depression would feel like that.” 🤡

I cannot stress this enough: your DR isn’t a fanfic. It’s your LIFE. You’ll live it, breathe it, feel it—all of it. If you’re not prepared to shoulder the weight of the trauma you’re scripting, don’t do it. And if you’re scripting trauma because you think it’s cute or cool? Stay far, far away from me. You’re not just irresponsible—you’re dangerous.

TL;DR (But Make It Iconic):

Scripting trauma is okay—as long as you’re doing it with intention and understanding the consequences.

Don’t treat trauma like it’s a quirky little accessory for your DR backstory. It’s serious, babe. Respect it.

To the fanfic shifters romanticizing trauma: I hate you hoes. Y’all are the reason people side-eye our entire community. Fix it.

Remember, shifting is about creating your dream life, not trivializing the experiences of others or glorifying pain you’ve never lived. Be mindful, stay informed, and, most importantly, don’t be a clown. 🤡✨

[rius-cave]

It’s a bit strange that you only added “pro shipper” to your bio after someone felt uncomfortable that they spent money on your rape fetish comic without realizing that’s what it was (after which you literally blamed them for not assuming it was, despite no content warnings being anywhere, which was the only thing they wanted when they messaged you anyway)

You also only added it on Twitter, not here… I assume because you know Tumblr doesn’t like that. If you’re going to be in a community known for enabling abuse and pedophilia by allowing real abusers to go undetected in your circles because you all think fantasizing about abuse is normal, at least make it public everywhere. People deserve to know who they are talking to, especially since these are such touchy subjects.

Literally anyone you know who are into these things could be for real about it and you would never know unless you were too. There is no excuse for wanting to be part of any community that allows that to happen, and I don’t find it fair that people are being mocked with “respect your own DNI” as if that was the problem. They would have followed their DNI if they had known it applied to you… what they asked you for was putting a rape warning on StOP. Which you still didn’t do

I know a lot of proshippers are victims. But a lot of others are too, and we don’t appreciate being thrown under the bus in the name of “fighting purity culture” as if it’s the same as being anti-kink.

Anon I don't know if you're my ex-patreon supporter or if you're a friend of theirs or what, but it's funny to me that they kept saying they didn't want to start any trouble with me and then this happens lol ok I guess.

You also failed to mention I refunded all the money they gave to my Patreon and apologized for the confusion, I don't know how else I should apologize to them, if you or they want me to stop drawing StOP, that's not gonna happen 🤷 I've said everywhere, multiple times, that StOP is a fuck or die comic, whether you want to take that as dubcon or noncon or not is up to you. The way I write is not really that way because all parties are VERY MUCH into it by the time they start doing anything, but I am AWARE that I can't call it completely consensual just by the nature of the fuck or die scenario. Maybe this person just wasn't aware that fuck or die = noncon, that is.... Not really my fault, it literally comes with that label, I'm sorry :/

Also, my bio has ALWAYS said I'm proship lol I don't know what you're going on about.

It's not a thing I have on my Tumblr bio because before Hazbin, I didn't post any of that stuff to *this* Tumblr, now I've stopped giving a shit but just didn't think to add it to my bio because idk *shrugs* I didn't care that much. You want me to add the proship label here too? I will, I have no issue with it, I am not trying to hide and it's not because "Tumblr doesn't like that" I couldn't care less lolol.

And my friend, sighs, anti circles are known for having more real predators than proship circles. I can't even begin to tell you how many teenagers were groomed in anti circles because they thought it was a """safe space""" while adults in proship spaces literally want nothing to do with minors. I am open about who I am and what I like, I am not afraid to say it because I am not ashamed even if I get people like you in my inbox lmao

My tag of "respect your own DNI" is because people will think proshippers are gross and want nothing to do with them but they'll... Still be the first people to talk to you once they find out.... You're proving my point right now lmao

[rockscanfly]

i'm here from ao3 and your writing zoomies!! could you do charles discovering (early on in their pining/not yet couple days) that arthur frequently draws him in his journal? 💕

Charles knew, objectively, that Sean MacGuire wasn’t the cause of all of his problems.

Subjectively…

He was one more bout of annoyance from tying the little shit up in a tree and using him as panther bait.

Sean’s latest assault on Charles’ peace—and there’d been many, since rescuing the red-headed menace—began when the gang’s loudest braggart approached Charles at the guard outpost outside the gang’s camp at Clemens Point.

“Charlie! Top of the mornin’ to ya!” Sean sing-songed, holding something aloft, waving it about like a prized catch.

Charles squinted through the glare of the sun, then scowled, raising the guard rifle slightly. “That ain’t yours,” he said, indicating the worn, leather-bound journal dangling from Sean’s fingers.

Sean shrugged, scrambling briefly for a high seat atop a nearby boulder. “Big man came into camp at the tail end of my shift,” he said, pulling a corncob pipe from his pocket. “Needed to work on my reading to get Summers off me back, didn’t I? And King Arthur’s wee book here’s the only one in camp with pictures.”

Charles guessed the boy thought the pipe made him look sophisticated. In reality, it deepened the already strong impression that Sean was an overgrown kid playing at a man’s game, trying desperately to fill the bloodied boots his father had left empty.

Everyone in the gang knew everything there was to know about Darragh MacGuire and his fight for a free Ireland. It was hard not to, considering Sean never shut up about his old man.

It seemed to Charles, who had a much more complicated relationship with his own dead, twice-damned father, that Sean was forever trying to take on the guise of his father’s ghost. A way of honoring him, maybe.

His father’s memory was certainly the only thing Sean knew how to honor. As made clear by the mocking, lackadaisical way he held Arthur’s journal aloft.

Charles took a deep breath, forcing the anger building in his chest down. Sean had perched out of reach, and Charles didn’t want to risk damage to the journal before he wrangled it from the little thief’s hands.

“Give that here. Please.” Charles tried, gritting his teeth.

Sean laughed. “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t ya? Admit it, Charlie. You’re as curious as anyone about what the old man scribbles down in here.”

Charles sighed, pulling the rifle’s sling from his shoulder and leaning it against the boulder.

“You’ve got ten seconds,” he said, not dignifying Sean’s jab with a response.

Of course he was curious. But Arthur was his friend, and Charles knew to respect the man’s privacy.

Charles drew his knife from its holster on his thigh.

Sean smiled, a little nervous. “C’mon, Charles,” he said, scrambling a little higher on the boulder face. “Take it easy now, big man!”

Charles took a few steps forward, placing one foot on a foothold in the rock. Sean was scrappy but Charles was stronger. And he knew he had much, much more experience grappling than the skinny outlaw.

“Five seconds,” Charles warned, brows furrowing in a scowl that had sent grown men soiling themselves across ten state lines. “We can do this the easy way, Sean. Hand it over.”

“Don’t you wanna know what he wrote about you?” Sean squeaked, voice high with panic.

Charles paused. “Excuse me?”

“Well, I don’t know what he wrote,” Sean backtracked, a little confidence slinking back into his tone. Charles had flinched, and that was enough for him to get back on the front foot. “But there sure are a lot of sketches of you in here, big fella. Some might say more than strictly friendly, in fact.”

Charles rolled his eyes. “You’re lying,” he said. It wasn’t even a particularly good lie. Arthur had no reason to sketch Charles. Least, no more reason that he had to sketch anyone else in the gang. Sean was attempting to instigate mischief, per usual. “Time’s up.”

Charles stepped up, climbing the boulder one-handed. He paused when Arthur’s journal was suddenly in his face, thrust forward by the panicking Irishman.

“I ain’t no liar!” Sean exclaimed. “Look here!”

Charles blinked.

Taking up two pages, rendered beautifully in soft pencil lead, was a full body sketch of a man riding a horse, hair flying behind him in the wind.

It was cleverly rendered. Clean, dynamic lines gave the sketch a sense of forward momentum. The rider’s expression was joyful, grin wild and free as his eyes fixed on some distant point in the horizon.

It was also, undoubtedly, a picture of Charles riding Taima. Sketched with what could only be described as a loving hand, every detail captured, down to the precise curves of the scar on Charles’ cheek.

continued here on ao3

[grimme-and-specs]

John has just ordered a knuckle sandwich with a side of blade

Based off of this ridiculous screenshot I thought was funny:

I rewrote it for obvious reasons

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

you know if we do accept the last epilogue-esque sequence as a sort of dream/wish of ted's and therefore not necessarily canon, very funny if we then simply go "yeah, trent's book is called 'the lasso way' actually. he didn't change that. nope."

[villain-in-love]

Behold! The elves and the ship chart!

Imagine falling in love with a crazy woman that barged into your dungeon and continuously tried to kill you. Press F for Thistle. As well as for Kiera, for that matter, since she also didn’t expect for things to turn out like this.

This relationship is such a mess that nobody (even the pair themselves) can figure out what the hell is going on between them anymore.

Clarifications are, as always, under the cut:

♤ The age gap goes in several directions at once. Technically, Thistle is at least 700+ years older than Kiera, since he was a dungeon lord for a thousand years, while Kiera is only 302 years old. On the other hand, he’s younger in terms of physical and perhaps mental maturity. In my narrative, Thistle stopped aging when he was an equivalent of a human 17-19 years old. In the same way Kiera would be somewhere around 21-23 years old if she was human. (In any case, both are equally emotionally stunted and immature...)

♤ They’ll be together forever because Thistle is the living embodiment of “Bold of you to assume that death will get you out of this relationship”. Also after all the shit they went through (including what they personally put each other through), they became so attached to each other that they will kill you if you try to separate them.

♤ Though they don’t dress up much while in the dungeon, both are naturally pretty, but their deeply unpleasant personalities ruin everything. Therefore not a 100% cute couple.

♤ They were not thrilled about being in love. They more or less calmed down about it by now (mostly Thistle) and took on a new approach, but at first it was nightmarish.

Thistle also used to be especially infuriated by that fact because, like, he’s got a dungeon to run! The Golden Country to protect! He needs to find his brother! Meanwhile Kiera is literally the number one hazard. He already had to think about her a lot lately because of how troublesome she is, but now he completely lost the ability to get her out of his head. He’s so busy, he already knows what he wants, and he simply has no time nor need for this nonsense. The worst part is that Kiera started to slowly replace thoughts about Delgal in his mind, and Thistle is truly horrified by that.

Kiera took it all with a bit calmer “Damn, I need to hurry up in killing him”. She hates experiencing those kinds of feelings, she hates that she wants to be closer to someone again, she doesn’t want to get stuck with him in this dungeon for eternity, how can she possibly fail- She had one job, goddamnit. It’s her own fault for wasting time because of her own curiosity. Giving up because of falling in love with a target is pathetic and nothing like her. Especially when those feelings endanger her freedom.

♤ I don’t think Thistle would eat dry noodles even in the modern AU, but nutritional value is almost the only thing that concerns him about food. Would probably eat something incredibly bland or barely cooked and wouldn’t care as long as it keeps him functioning.

Kiera's relationship with food is a long and complicated story... In any case, she is rather picky and her eating habits are all over the place, but she genuinely finds healthier food options tastier most of the time.

♤ Just because Thistle rarely brings up Kiera and the fact that they’re in a… “relationship” (if you would call it that) doesn’t mean that he doesn’t spend a frustratingly large part of his day thinking about her. He’s just the type to obsess quietly.

And in any case, who is he going to tell about her? Soulless bodies of his family sitting in his dining room? His monsters? Villagers of the Golden Kingdom who are all terrified of him?

At least Kiera mingles with other adventurers from time to time.

♤ What draws them to each other is not only being able to understand each other due to their similarities, but also the fact that both of them are really fucking lonely. That’s the glue here. That’s why they latched onto each other so hard and so quickly. (Kiera might claim that she’s okay with being alone, but she’s still human)

♤ Regarding "What stands in the way". Basically, the problem is that they stubbornly cling onto their old priorities because it’s the only thing they have ever known. Thistle is nothing if he doesn’t serve the Golden Kingdom. Kiera is nothing if not a war machine. I guess they both see themselves as tools that are only allowed to have one purpose.

On another note, at this point Kiera tries to kill Thistle not only “for sport” and because she hates giving up, but also because she’s terrified of attachment. Thistle doesn’t make things easier for her, since he tends to get too attached, as well as controlling, and his idea of expressing love includes putting Kiera in the safe terrarium that he controls, so he could take care of her fo-re-ver.

So what we have is a “control freak vs free spirit” kind of problem. This does get resolved by the end of the manga and they come to a "compromise". Not willingly by themselves, though, but because of the circumstances.

♤ Regarding Thistle and “haven't experienced any genuine human connection in centuries” – yes, he had Delgal, but I think that that after everything Thistle has done, their relationship most likely became way more emotionally distant in the last few centuries, at least on Delgal’s part.

[bitegore]

ngl i think i kind of was a genius for being like 'yeah this character is a scary killyou cannibal scary killer who scary kills you' and then realizing that the way my worldbuilding works out is that there's a nonzero chance that if you leave literally any body parts over they can just come back, depending on what they believe in their heart of hearts can kill them. Of course she'd start eating her kills. She probably tried normal stuff first and then realized it didn't work and she had to try harder if she wanted to actually keep them dead.

[areyoudoingthis]

the thing about not fucking up my sleep schedule during the summer so that i don't end up having to suffer through a week of insomnia to fix it (aside from this being a new experience for me, usually i manage to unfuck up my sleep schedule in a day or two) is that staying up all night reading during the summer is literally the reason i stay alive. it may sound dramatic but i spend the whole work year subjecting myself to a hateful schedule of being up before the sun, and the reason i survive it is because i know come january I'll have night after night of reading for hours and hours and hours uninterrupted, peaceful quiet. I've been doing this since I was a child, it kept me going back then too, it's kept me going my whole life. i can't afford a lot of expensive pleasures like traveling, or buying that new gaming pc I've wanted for years, but i can stay up until 6am reading every day for a month. yes I'd love to avoid going through the hell week I've just endured ever again, but if you ask me to sacrifice my favorite summer passtime literally what's the point of being alive

[peachyykira]

just blocked someone who followed with my hometown area code who was the same age as me…

they didn’t have any pics where I could see their face (and honestly I’m not sure it was their content) but I don’t wanna risk it.

idk like… at least announce yourself or something if you recognize me lol.

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Perverse intrusive thoughts manifesting themselves in dreams is the actual worst.

[peridots-pixiwolf]

[Start ID. A green-toned drawing of two characters from an original universe, shown from the shoulders up. It's framed as though they're taking a selfie. On the left is Heathrow, a human with dark skin, long hair, a good number of facial scars, and two painted lines below each eye. He wears something akin to a green hoodie, with fluffy plant matter sewn into the back of the hood. On the right is Crassie, a half elf, which in this universe entails long pointed ears, a pair of short pale horns, a slightly rabbit-like nose and markings under her eyes. Her skin is olive-toned, sporting a couple distinct scars on her face and hand, and she's wearing what is essentially a bush and spiked glovelets. Both of them are smiling, Crassie a little bit wide-eyed and Heathrow with a fond expression. The background's a saturated green with the text "1 YEAR!". End ID]

A redraw-in-spirit of the post from last year's Feb 16 that introduced these two to my blog. It's their birthday :]

[celtrist]

I cannot. Stress enough just HOW MUCH I relate to this statement. I enjoy some Alastor ships (and heavily dislike some but thats sorta normal in fandoms), even if not my preferred type of relationship depictions. I also enjoy going the route of Alastor being someone not at all interested in romantic or sexual relations. But I ENJOY both. And I think shipping Alastor has it's place in fanon.

However, like OP said, there's SO MANY PEOPLE. Who make ship art of Alastor and just toss the aroace identity out the window. And yeah, it does not feel great. A character's worth in fandom is how shippable are they for the most part, and a character having a canon orientation that directly GOES AGAINST THIS while also being the fan favorite is pretty hard to swallow for some. Personally, it's never the shipping itself that bothers me as much as the people who do the shipping with Alastor.

And I mean, for the most part I only have vibes to go off of, but those vibes are typically not great I'll say. Which again, that's just my personal view of it and it's not like it's only people who aren't aroace that ship Alastor that I have this problem with (but the person I'm thinking about does a ship I really don't like and is going by their own relationships as an aroace person. So not sure how much that counts y'know?)

It's more that a character just is never allowed to not be interested in romance or even sex. A character can not be not interested in being intimate. Again, it's not the shipping itself, and it's not the shippers by themselves. It's that the fandom consistently ignores and honestly barely celebrates Alastor’s aroace identity, more the aro part than the ace part.

And while true, somethings people say really sound like they're trying to make it seem like "well it's totally possible for him to get with someone because it's a spectrum". Again, true, but it feels like it's uses as a less genuine reason sometimes and more like an excuse or desperation for the possibility of it being canon (this isn't everyone of course, it's just how it reads sometimes)

And the aro part, yeah it's a bit dubious as I don't think it was ever explicitly stated and if it was it was in past streams. But by the same token, Husk being pan was confirmed in old streams too and there's no question from anyone that that's his canon orientation. In addition, there's still a lot of things that do imply Alastor's romantic orientation being aromantic (like Rosie's comment about Charlie reads as her suggesting their dating not having sex. And referring to Alastor as "ace" might've been using the term as a catch all of aroace as it's often used that way). Again, it's not wrong, but people will more often remind others that Alastor was not confirmed as aro but no correction on him not being confirmed as homoromantic. Or at the least, they just really don't want to take the implications into account. Which again, fair, it's all only implied, but it certainly reads as "deer can't be aro". (As a side note, I cannot stress enough that there's nothing wrong with shipping Al but personally, the fact that one of the most popular ships involves an aroace character and it's rarely in a qpr light [which not a fan of referring a qpr as a ship but I digress and is a personal take], it kinda lowkey feels like if the most popular ship in the fandom was a canonically gay character in a straight relationship if you get what I mean there. Like if a ship like Angel/Vaggie was in the top three ships. There's nothing wrong with it, there is just a level of "hmmm" there for me. But hey, maybe I would change my tune if an actual alastor ship I liked got popular lol)

TL;DR I think shipping Alastor has it's place in fanon and is something I enjoy along with Alastor being purely aroace with no room for romance. There's just a lot of shippers who aren't aroace who seems to throw away or really wanna ignore this aspect of Alastor’s character that's really disheartening. Both aspects of his aroace identity is pushed aside, put into question of authenticity, and is rarely acknowledged or celebrated in the fandom. Hopefully you get what I mean, suck at explaining myself sometimes. And I don't know if OP necessarily agrees with me, but I certainly understand being someone who identifies as aroace (at least currently) and enjoy shipping Alastor while also feeling icky when I see other people ship him sometimes. And we obviously don't need shippers making daily announcements saying "hey I think aroace Al is fin" obviously. People are gonna focus on what they're having fun with the most and that's fair. But an occasional acknowledgment to the identity or a little more love give to aroace Alastor week or whatever it's called in the same level or at least closer level to the ship weeks he has would be nice. Not necessary obviously, and I'm content with the thought that at least the ships aren't really ever gonna be canon (hopefully), but it would be nice.

No hate to anyone, can't stress that enough. I ship Alastor too, it's not like I don't. It just reads like most people would really prefer him not to be aroace so ships can happen and they use workarounds to justify it possibly happening in canon. If you're aroace and uncomfortable with Al ships, you're valid. And if you aren't aroace and still enjoy shipping Alastor too, I'm not gonna say you're invalid for having fun. It's just as OP said, sometimes it feels icky when people toss the aroace identity out the window.

As an aroace person, it's so hard being a Hazbin hotel fan who loves most of the Alastor ships, because on the one hand, people are constantly complaining about how you can't ship him with anyone because he's aroace, which is just untrue, especially since Viv herself said to we can ship whatever we want, let me enjoy my representation how I want, but on the other hand most of the people who make content for Alastor ships aren't aroace and just completely ignore that part of his identity when making ship content, and it is so icky. It's such a struggle, like I just want accurate aroace ship content without being belittled, is that too much to ask 😭😭

[starlight-bread-blog]

Me: I shouldn't disturb Neil Gaiman. I shouldn't send an ask unless I really have no way of getting the information otherwise. I'll check old interviews and all the articles that vaguely mention the subject. Of course it goes without saying that I'll read though the FAQ in its entirety. Only then, will I send an ask. However, I'd be very polite and praise his work, as anyone would. I'd also keep it short, because I don't want to waste his time. But I'd keep it very very respectful. I'd be sending a message to a very talented, amazing author that deals with god knows how many like me. Or I'd just stay in the dark and not send him an ask. Yeah, I'll do that.

My Dash:

[insipid-drivel]

Horses: Since There Seems To Be A Knowledge Gap

I'm going to go ahead and preface this with: I comment pretty regularly on clips and photos featuring horses and horseback riding, often answering questions or providing explanations for how or why certain things are done. I was a stable hand and barrel racer growing up, and during my 11 year tenure on tumblr, Professional Horse Commentary is a very niche, yet very necessary, subject that needs filling. Here are some of the literary and creative gaps I've noticed in well meaning (and very good!) creators trying to portray horses and riding realistically that... well, most of you don't seem to even be aware of, because you wouldn't know unless you worked with horses directly!

Some Of The Most Common Horse + Riding Mistakes I See:

-Anybody can ride any horse if you hold on tight enough/have ridden once before.

Nope. No, no, no, no, aaaaaaaand, no. Horseback riding has, historically, been treated as a life skill taught from surprisingly young ages. It wasn't unusual in the pre-vehicular eras to start teaching children as young as 4 to begin to ride, because horses don't come with airbags, and every horse is different. For most adults, it can take months or years of regular lessons to learn to ride well in the saddle, and that's just riding; not working or practicing a sport.

Furthermore, horses often reject riders they don't know. Unless a horse has been trained like a teaching horse, which is taught to tolerate riders of all skill and experience levels, it will take extreme issue with having some random person try to climb on their back. Royalty, nobility, and the knighted classes are commonly associated with the "having a favorite special horse" trope, because it's true! Just like you can have a particularly special bond with a pet or service animal that verges on parental, the same can apply with horses. Happy horses love their owners/riders, and will straight-up do their best to murder anyone that tries to ride them without permission.

-Horses are stupid/have no personality.

There isn't a more dangerous assumption to make than assuming a horse is stupid. Every horse has a unique personality, with traits that can be consistent between breeds (again, like cat and dog breeds often have distinct behavior traits associated with them), but those traits manifest differently from animal to animal.

My mother had an Arabian horse, Zipper, that hated being kicked as a signal to gallop. One day, her mom and stepdad had a particularly unpleasant visitor; an older gentleman that insisted on riding Zipper, but refused to listen to my mother's warnings never to kick him. "Kicking" constitutes hitting the horse's side(s) with your heels, whether you have spurs on or not. Most horses only need a gentle squeeze to know what you want them to do.

Anyway, Zipper made eye-contact with my mom, asking for permission. He understood what she meant when she nodded at him. He proceeded to give this asshole of a rider road rash on the side of the paddock fence and sent him to the emergency room. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't have the permission from the rider he respected, and was intelligent enough to ask, "mind if I teach this guy a lesson?" with his eyes, and understand, "Go for it, buddy," from my mom in return.

-Riding bareback is possible to do if you hold onto the horse's mane really tight.

Riding a horse bareback (with no saddle, stirrups, or traditional harness around the horse's head) is unbelievably difficult to learn, particularly have testicles and value keeping them. Even professional riders and equestrians find ourselves relying on tack (the stuff you put on a horse to ride it) to stay stable on our horses, even if we've been riding that particular horse for years and have a very positive, trusting relationship.

Horses sweat like people do. The more they run, the more their hair saturates with sweat and makes staying seated on them slippery. Hell, an overworked horse can sweat so heavily that the saddle slips off its back. It's also essential to brush and bathe a horse before it's ridden in order to keep it healthier, so their hair is often quite slick from either being very clean or very damp. In order to ride like that, you have to develop the ability to synchronize your entire body's rhythm's with the rhythm of the horse's body beneath you, and quite literally move as one. Without stirrups, most people can't do it, and some people can never master bareback riding no matter how many years they spend trying to learn.

-You can be distracted and make casual conversation while a horse is standing untethered in the middle of a barn or field.

At every barn I've ever worked at, it's been standard practice with every single horse, regardless of age or temperament, to secure their heads while they're being tacked up or tacked down. The secures for doing this are simple ropes with clips that are designed to attach to the horse's halter (the headwear for a horse that isn't being ridden; they have no bit that goes in the horse's mouth, and no reins for a rider to hold) on metal O rings on either side of the horse's head. This is not distressing to the horse, because we give them plenty of slack to turn their heads and look around comfortably.

The problem with trying to tack up an unrestrained horse while chatting with fellow stable hands or riders is that horses know when you're distracted! And they often try to get away with stuff when they know you're not looking! In a barn, a horse often knows where the food is stored, and will often try to tiptoe off to sneak into the feed room.

Horses that get into the feed room are often at a high risk of dying. While extremely intelligent, they don't have the ability to throw up, and they don't have the ability to tell that their stomach is full and should stop eating. Allowing a horse into a feed/grain room WILL allow it to eat itself to death.

Other common woes stable hands and riders deal with when trying to handle a horse with an unrestrained head is getting bitten! Horses express affection between members of their own herd, and those they consider friends and family, through nibbling and surprisingly rough biting. It's not called "horseplay" for nothing, because during my years working with horses out in the pasture, it wasn't uncommon at all for me to find individuals with bloody bite marks on their withers (that high part on the middle of the back of their shoulders most people instinctively reach for when they try to get up), and on their backsides. I've been love-bitten by horses before, and while flattering, they hurt like hell on fleshy human skin.

So, for the safety of the horse, and everybody else, always make a show of somehow controlling the animal's head when hands-on and on the ground with them.

-Big Horse = War Horse

Startlingly, the opposite is usually the case! Draft and carriage horses, like Percherons and Friesians, were never meant to be used in warfare. Draft horses are usually bred to be extremely even-tempered, hard to spook, and trustworthy around small children and animals. Historically, they're the tractors of the farm if you could afford to upgrade from oxen, and were never built to be fast or agile in a battlefield situation.

More importantly, just because a horse is imposing and huge doesn't make it a good candidate for carrying heavy weights. A real thing that I had to be part of enforcing when I worked at a teaching ranch was a weight limit. Yeah, it felt shitty to tell people they couldn't ride because we didn't have any horses strong enough to carry them due to their weight, but it's a matter of the animal's safety. A big/tall/chonky horse is more likely to be built to pull heavy loads, but not carry them flat on their spines. Horses' muscular power is predominantly in their ability to run and pull things, and too heavy a rider can literally break a horse's spine and force us to euthanize it.

Some of the best war horses out there are from the "hot blood" family. Hot blooded horses are often from dry, hot, arid climates, are very small and slight (such as Arabian horses), and are notoriously fickle and flighty. They're also a lot more likely to paw/bite/kick when spooked, and have even sometimes been historically trained to fight alongside their rider if their rider is dismounted in combat; kicking and rearing to keep other soldiers at a distance.

-Any horse can be ridden if it likes you enough.

Just like it can take a lifetime to learn to ride easily, it can take a lifetime of training for a horse to comfortably take to being ridden or taking part in a job, like pulling a carriage. Much like service animals, horses are typically trained from extremely young ages to be reared into the job that's given to them, and an adult horse with no experience carrying a rider is going to be just as scared as a rider who's never actually ridden a horse.

Just as well, the process of tacking up a horse isn't always the most comfortable experience for the horse. To keep the saddle centered on the horse's back when moving at rough or fast paces, it's essential to tighten the belly strap (cinch) of the saddle as tightly as possible around the horse's belly. For the horse, it's like wearing a tight corset, chafes, and even leaves indents in their skin afterward that they love having rinsed with water and scratched. Some horses will learn to inflate their bellies while you're tightening the cinch so you can't get it as tight as it needs to be, and then exhale when they think you're done tightening it.

When you're working with a horse wearing a bridle, especially one with a bit, it can be a shocking sensory experience to a horse that's never used a bit before. While they lack a set of teeth naturally, so the bit doesn't actually hurt them, imagine having a metal rod shoved in your mouth horizontally! Unless you understand why it's important for the person you care about not dying, you'd be pretty pissed about having to keep it in there!

-Horseback riding isn't exercise.

If you're not using every muscle in your body to ride with, you're not doing it right.

Riding requires every ounce of muscle control you have in your entire body - although this doesn't mean it wasn't realistic for people with fat bodies to stay their weight while also being avid riders; it doesn't mean the muscles aren't there. To stay on the horse, you need to learn how it feels when it moves at different gaits (walk, trot, canter, gallop), how to instruct it to switch leads (dominant legs; essential for precise turning and ease of communication between you and the horse), and not falling off. While good riders look like they're barely moving at all, that's only because they're good riders. They know how to move so seamlessly with the horse, feeling their movements like their own, that they can compensate with their legs and waists to not bounce out of the saddle altogether or slide off to one side. I guarantee if you ride a horse longer than 30 minutes for the first time, your legs alone will barely work and feel like rubber.

-Horses aren't affectionate.

Horses are extraordinarily affectionate toward the right people. As prey animals, they're usually wary of people they don't know, or have only recently met. They also - again, like service animals - have a "work mode" and a "casual mode" depending upon what they're doing at the time. Horses will give kisses like puppies, wiggle their upper lips on your hair/arms to groom you, lean into neck-hugs, and even cuddle in their pasture or stall if it's time to nap and you join them by leaning against their sides. If they see you coming up from afar and are excited to see you, they'll whinny and squeal while galloping to meet you at the gate. They'll deliberately swat you with their tails to tease you, and will often follow you around the pasture if they're allowed to regardless of what you're up to.

-Riding crops are cruel.

Only cruel people use riding crops to hurt their horses. Spurs? I personally object to, because any horse that knows you well doesn't need something sharp jabbing them in the side for emphasis when you're trying to tell them where you want them to go. Crops? Are genuinely harmless tools used for signalling a horse.

I mean, think about it. Why would crops be inherently cruel instruments if you need to trust a horse not to be afraid of you and throw you off when you're riding it?

Crops are best used just to lightly tap on the left or right flank of the horse, and aren't universally used with all forms of riding. You'll mainly see crops used with English riding, and they're just tools for communicating with the horse without needing to speak.

-There's only one way to ride a horse.

Not. At. All. At most teaching ranches, you'll get two options: Western, or English, because they tend to be the most popular for shows and also the most common to find equipment for. English riding uses a thinner, smaller saddle, narrower stirrups, and much thinner bridles. I, personally, didn't like English style riding because I never felt very stable in such a thin saddle with such small stirrups, and didn't start learning until my mid teens. English style riding tends to focus more on your posture and deportment in the saddle, and your ability to show off your stability and apparent immovability on the horse. It was generally just a bit too stiff and formal for me.

Western style riding utilizes heavier bridles, bigger saddles (with the iconic horn on the front), and broader stirrups. Like its name may suggest, Western riding is more about figuring out how to be steady in the saddle while going fast and being mobile with your upper body. Western style riding is generally the style preferred for working-type shows, such as horseback archery, gunning, barrel racing, and even rodeo riding.

-Wealthy horse owners have no relationship with their horses.

This is loosely untrue, but I've seen cases where it is. Basically, horses need to feel like they're working for someone that matters to them in order to behave well with a rider and not get impatient or bored. While it's common for people to board horses at off-property ranches (boarding ranches) for cost and space purposes, it's been historically the truth that having help is usually necessary with horses at some point. What matters is who spends the most time with the animal treating it like a living being, rather than a mode of transport or a tool. There's no harm in stable hands handling the daily upkeep; hay bales and water buckets are heavy, and we're there to profit off the labor you don't want or have the time to do. You get up early to go to work; we get up early to look after your horses. Good owners/boarders visit often and spend as much of their spare time as they can with spending quality work and playtime with their horses. Otherwise, the horses look to the stable hands for emotional support and care.

So, maybe you're writing a knight that doesn't really care much for looking after his horse, but his squire is really dedicated to keeping up with it? There's a better chance of the horse having a more affectionate relationship with the squire thanks to the time the squire spends on looking after it, while the horse is more likely to tolerate the knight that owns it as being a source of discipline if it misbehaves. That doesn't mean the knight is its favorite person. When it comes to horses, their love must be earned, and you can only earn it by spending time with them hands-on.

-Horses can graze anywhere without concern.

This is a mistake that results in a lot of premature deaths! A big part of the cost of owning a horse - even before you buy one - is having the property that will be its pasture assessed for poisonous plants, and having those plants removed from being within the animal's reach. This is an essential part of farm upkeep every year, because horses really can't tell what's toxic and what isn't. One of the reasons it's essential to secure a horse when you aren't riding it is to ensure it only has a very limited range to graze on, and it's your responsibility as the owner/rider to know how to identify dangerous plants and keep your horses away from them.

There's probably more. AMA in my askbox if you have any questions, but that's all for now. Happy writing.

[harrysfolklore]

i'm begging for that ex!charles fic. ex!trope is always a must

comeback - cl16

summary: charles and yn break up after seven years together and they also break everyone’s hearts. did they find their way back to each other?

folkie radio: silly little smau for the end of the summer break! i hope you like this, i love the ex trope

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

2023

liked by charles_leclerc, arthur_leclerc and 302,268 others

yourinstagram 7 years with my love 🥹 to celebrate, here’s a picture of us circa our last year of high school when we were just little babies. i love you @/charles_leclerc 🤍

view all 3,963 comments

view all 5,037 comments

username1 AWEEEE

username2 THE CUTEST EVERRR

pascale_leclerc Mes bébés ❤️ ♥︎ by author

username3 THE STANDARD

username4 BABY CHARLIEEE MY HEART

landonorris I want what you have ♥︎ by author, charles_leclerc

lorenzotl Did I take that picture?

↳ charles_leclerc Most likely

↳ yourinstagram our personal photographer since forever

username5 the real high school sweethearts i can’t wait for their wedding ♥︎ by author

charles_leclerc Best seven years ever. Je t’aime ❤️ ♥︎ by author

↳ yourinstagram i love you forever 🤍🤍

liked by yourinstagram, maxverstappen1 and 1,028,634 others

charles_leclerc Happy birthday to mon amour @/yourinstagram ❤️ Seven years celebrating with you and I wouldn’t have it any other way, I hope I made you happy today, I love you

view all 39,836 comments

username1 HAPPY BDAYYYY YN

username2 istg this couple is everything to me

carlossainz55 Happy birthday @/yourinstagram 🎉 ♥︎ by author, yourinstagram

username3 BDAY PROPOSAL??

↳ username1 lmfao we wish

pierregasly Best party ever ! ♥︎ by author, francisca.cgomes, lancestroll, yourinstagram

scuderiaferrari Happy birthday to the Ferrari girl ❤️ ♥︎ by author, yourinstagram

username4 if they ever break up i’ll stop believing in love

arthur_leclerc Love you both ! ♥︎ by author, yourinstagram

landonorris I’m still drunk

↳ charles_leclerc This is no surprise to anyone

↳ username1 HEEELP

yourinstagram you always make me happy, i love you 🤍 ♥︎ by author

liked by carlossainz55, scuderiaferrari and 2,278,354 others

charles_leclerc and yourinstagtam After seven wonderful years together, we have made the difficult decision to end our romantic relationship. This was a mutual agreement and one made thinking about what was best for each other. While we may be going our separate ways romantically, we want to emphasize that our bond remains strong. We still share a deep friendship and hold a tremendous amount of love and respect for each other.

We kindly request that neither of us be subjected to any hateful comments or speculation from the media or fans. We appreciate your respect for our privacy as we navigate this new chapter in our lives.

-Charles & YN

view all 28,527 comments

username1 GOD PLEASE NOOOOOOO

username2 just fell to my knees

landonorris You will always remain as my favorite couple 🥲

↳ username1 LANDO NOW ITS NOT THE TIME

francisca.cgomes Love you both so much 💗

↳ username3 kika has been promoted to #1 wag now that yn is no longer in the picture

username3 well now my heart is broken

username4 i started reading this and i thought zayn was leaving one direction again

username5 THERES NO WAY THIS IS REAL. they’re high school lovers charles always talked about yn being his first love SEVEN years together how did this happen

pierregasly ❤️

username6 yn can’t leave her wag status, i suggest she dates russell now

arthur_leclerc You will always be family @yourinstagtam 🫶

↳ username2 why did this make me cry

username8 seven years and no ring wow

username9 i hope we still see yn in the paddock from time to time :(((

username10 having major isa and carlos flashbacks

username11 this is so sad. how can you fall out of love with someone you’ve shared nearly a decade with

username12 i will be crying forever over this

yourinstagram has added to their stories

replies:

username1 the fact that this is charles’ car 🥲🥲

username2 just in my char-yn heart

francisca.cgomes i miss you so much around here, any chance you could come soon? 🥹

↳ yourinstagram is still too soon for that kiks :(

landonorris If you ever want to come to a race just let me know and I’ll send you some passes okay

↳ yourinstagram you’re a cutie lan ty

leclerc_pascale Ma belle, We miss you so much ❤️

↳ yourinstagram ❤️❤️

2024

liked by yourinstagram, pierregasly and 1,204,062 others

charles_leclerc Testing doneeee.

Cannot wait for the first race of the season next week !

view all 39,044 comments

username1 IM SO READYYYYYY

username2 FORZA CHARLES

scuderiaferrari We go again 🙌

username3 let this season be good i’m begging

carlossainz55 🔥🔥

username4 first season without yn (yes i’m still mourning)

username5 season of single charles

yourinstagram best of lucks 🤍 you can do this ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 HUH???

↳ username2 AM I READING THIS RIGHT?

↳ username3 i had to triple check this wasn’t a fake account

↳ username4 YN BROKE PUBLIC NO CONTACT OMFG

↳ username5 GET BACK TOGETHER WE’RE BEGGING

yourinstagram has added to their stories

replies:

username1 UM HELLO THE AUS GP IS TOMORROW?

username2 my delusional ass wants me to believe you’re going to the GP

francisca.cgomes IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS ???

↳ yourinstagram 👀👀

↳ yourinstagram it’s very lowkey tho, i don’t want to be spotted so i’ll be hiding in the corners

↳ francisca.cgomes Don’t care, we’re grabbing lunch together

landonorris You freaking muppet, you didn’t fall me you were back in Perceval’s arms

↳ yourinstagram because i’m not, lan

↳ landonorris sure sure

charles_leclerc ❤️

liked by username1, username2 and 25,837 others

f1gossip Charles Leclerc and ex girlfriend YN spotted together at the Australian GP

view all 2,087 comments

username1 OMFGGGGGG

username2 AH I KNEW IT I KNEW IT

username3 THEY’RE BACK????

username4 please this was bound to happen there was no way they were breaking up for real after seven years

username5 it only took a year but WE’RE SO BACK

username6 y’all jumping into conclusions that they’re back together but yn could just be hanging out there bc she loves f1

username7 sadly i don’t think they’re back together

liked by charles_leclerc, lilyhme and 536,397 others

yourinstagram recents 💌

view all 7,836 comments

username1 my favorite dumps istg

username2 UMMM ARE WE ALL THINKING THE SAME THING

username3 ferrer jacket ? a man? miami? kika? YUP CHAR-YN IS BACK

francisca.cgomes Reunited and it feels so good 🤍 ♥︎ by author

↳ yourinstagram love you forever

landonorris Absolutely heartbroken bc I didn’t make it ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 hear me out, lando and yn 👀

↳ username2 wouldn’t sound too crazy tbh

↳ yourinstagram next time maybe!

username4 THATS CHARLES IN THE SECOND PIC JAHSIS I KNOW MY MAN

↳ username3 that’s also his jacket in the first pic

username5 GIRL ADDRESS THE RUMORS

arthur_leclerc Please bring cookies for dinner tonight ♥︎ by author

↳ username3 LIKE DINNER WITH THE LECLERCS ??

↳ yourinstagram on it 🫡

username6 CHARLES IN THE LIKES ASWELL

username7 everyone assuming that she’s back with charles have you ever heard about being friendly with your ex ♥︎ by author

↳ username2 liking this comment won’t fool us yn

liked by username1, username2 and 18,486 others

charlesandyn YN IS AT THE MONACO GRAND PRIX RIGHT NOW THIS IS NOT A DRILL !!!!!

view all 2,988 comments

username1 AHHHHHH OMFG

username2 WITH MAMA PASCALE TOO

username3 THEY'RE SO BACK TOGETHER

username4 guys don't get your hopes up of course she was going to be there this is such a huge day

username5 she's still part of charles' life even tho they're not together anymore

username6 CHARYN IS SOOOO BACK

username7 LETS FCKING GO

liked by charles_leclerc, lilymhe and 675,095 others

yourinstagram MONACO LOVES HIM BACK ❤️🤍 we waited so long for this day, but it was all worth it. it has been a journey to watch you fight for this dream for so many years, and i feel honored to be part of it today. everyone is beyond proud of you, charlie. congratulations

view all 9,550 comments

username1 OMFGGGGG

username2 MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS

username3 WE'RE SO BACKKKKK

lorenzotl 🙌🙌🙌🙌

username4 this is how a supportive ex looks like

username5 yn needed to be there for his monaco win i’m happy she still attended even tho they’re not together

username6 THEY’RE SO BACK TOGETHER THERE’S NO WAY

landonorris Not me crying right now ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 me actually

↳ username2 LANDO 😭😭😭

username7 AH I JUST NEED THEM TO CONFIRM THEY’RE BACK TOGETHER

pascale_leclerc ❤️❤️

fracisca.cgomes BRAVO CHARLES 🎉

username8 as much as i want the rumors to be true this is just a healthy friendship after sharing so many years together

username9 don’t give me “exes can be friends” bullshit THEY’RE TOGETHER

charles_leclerc ❤️ ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 DONT DO THIS TO US

↳ username2 JUST CONFIRM IT

liked by pierregasly, yourinstagram and 1,170,665

charles_leclerc Half of the season done. Some ups like realizing a childhood dream in Monaco and some downs, but it’s time to rest and come back stronger for the second half. I can’t wait to spend the holidays with some special people 🤍

view all 32,700 comments

username1 this picture is so iconic

username2 hi charles are you spending the holidays with your ex girlfriend hopefully your girlfriend again?? we would like to know

instagram have a great holiday king 😌

scuderiaferrari Here’s to a great second half of the season ❤️

username3 ARE YOU AND YN BACK TOGETHER ???

username4 and when he spends the holidays with yn

username5 summer break means char-yn comeback i don’t make the rules

pierregasly 🙌🙌🙌

username6 ignore this comment if you and yn are back together

username7 comment section full of char-yn comments GET A GRIP

yourinstagram 💘 ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 THERE SHE IS

↳ username2 THEYRE SO BACK TOGETHER

↳ username3 HARD LAUNCH HARD LAUNCH

yourinstagram has added to their stories

replies:

username1 BESTIE ARE YOU BACK WITH CHARLES??

username2 charles’ yatch ?? 👀👀

arthur_leclerc I hate you guys for not taking me with you

↳ yourinstagram romantic getaway sorry bro

iamrebeccad 😍

charles_leclerc Come back here ❤️

↳ yourinstagram you’re so needy

liked by username1, username2 and 38,735 others

f1gossip 🚨 CHARLES LECLERC AND YN SPOTTED ON A YATCH IN MALLORCA TODAY

view all 3,987 comments

username1 OMFG

username2 I KNEW IT I KNEW ITTTT

username3 PRETENDS TO BE SHOCKED

username4 ABOUT DAMN TIME

username5 AHH im happy they got back together they’re made for each other

username6 THE BEST COUPLE IS BACKKKKK

username7 THIS CURED MY DEPRESSION

liked by charles_leclerc, francisca.cgomes and 802,367 others

yourinstagram this love came back to me 🤍

tagged: charles_leclerc

view all 8,322 comments

username1 AHHHHHH

username2 IM LOSING IT

francisca.cgomes 🥹🥹🥹🥹 ♥︎ by author

username3 THE TAYLOR LYRIC JUST KILL ME ALREADY

arthur_leclerc Not me tearing up ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 😭😭😭😭

username4 they found their way back to each other i could cry ♥︎ by author

leclerc_pascale ❤️

username5 THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED

landonorris MY PARENTS MY PARENTS ♥︎ by author, charles_leclerc

↳ username2 he just gets it

↳ username3 lando was begging for this to happen

username6 THAT TWITTER ACCOUNT WAS RIGHT ALL THIS TIME

lilymhe the lyrics 🥺 im happy for you ♥︎ by author

charles_leclerc L'amour de ma vie. Forever ❤️ ♥︎ by author

↳ username1 AND IM CRYING AGAIN

↳ username2 DONT BREAK UP EVER AGAIN

↳ username3 they’re the reason i believe in love

liked by yourinstagram, arthur_leclerc and 2,736,399 others

charles_leclerc Heart full ❤️

view all 17,037 comments

username1 I’VE DIED AGAIN

username2 YES YES YES

username3 they even got a dog char-yn is stronger than ever

pierregasly 👏👏👏

landonorris If you need another one I can bark

↳ username1 LANDO JUST STOP

scuderiaferarri ❤️

username4 NOW GET MARRIED

username5 came back stronger than ever fr

username6 HANG THIS IN THE LOUVRE

oscarpiastri 🙌🙌

username7 can’t believe they were really broken up for over a year WHAT WERE THEY THINKING

lorenzotl We love you both

yourinstagram Mon cœur 💓 ♥︎ by author

[mewkwota]

So I drew this shortly after the older post above but didn't feel like including it until now (only because I chose to leave it unfinished, see there's no background anymore wahah). I still love the poses for this.

I wonder if on some nights Richter barges into Dracula's quarters in his other attire, and if so does Drac take notice of it? Of course he would, like what happened to the headband that's very noticeable.