#choosing horses

[smashpages]

If you’ve read just about anything by Lisa Hanawalt or watched BoJack Horseman, which features her character designs, then you know she likes horses. So it’s no surprise then to see this comic from the New Yorker site that went up at the end of last year, which details why Hanawalt is “Choosing Horses” over having kids.

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[tubbytarchia]

Art request, if you have the time - I don't know if you're doing the fandom trait swap ask game, but if you are, something really cute would be to swap the traits from your two main pairs - fire moth Tango and sheriff centaur Jimmy!

HOW COULD I POSSIBLY RESIST SUCH A REQUEST

[dnd-smash-pass-vs]

On the left, Yuan-ti Malison! These actually come in three flavors: Snake head, Snake arms, or Snake legs! That is having snakes instead of arms, for those curious. Outside that, basically just a person that can plant a suggestion in your head.

On the right, the first thing we ever polled, the birds that DMs fear, Aarakocra! Roughly 5 ft (1.5 m) tall with a 20 ft (6.1 m) wingspan and comes in all sorts of plumage! The males are also known to be notorious flirts!

[penciled-palominos]

Hello Horseblr!! It's your resident horse girl once again! Today I come with a gift!

MY OWN HORSE-TOBER PROMPT LIST!!! I've never seen one of these done before but I thought hey! Why not make my own!! Sorry, it's so close to october when I'm posting this for the first time, I meant to make this like a week ago but I forgor

I actually made 3 different versions, just for fun, all technically have the same words but they're split differently, we have all 31 days of October in the first list, then only the odd days, and only the even days, just for people who may choose to only do it bi-daily :))

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAG ME IN ANYTHING YOU MAKE WITH THIS LIST IF YOU SO CHOOSE TO USE IT!!

Feel free to also do any days you feel like and don't feel pressured to do all of em or even do to em on the day they're meant for! Just have fun!!

[Image ID: Above is pictured 3 peices of paper reading at the top in bigger lettering "Horse-Tober 2023" [a mix of the word horse and october] Below that is each day of October numbered out 1-31 followed by a prompt placed to the right of the number, they read as follows:

1. Desert

2. Food

3. Pinto

4. With other animals

5. Mythical

6. Fandom

7. Draft Horse

8. Party

9. Donkey

10. Pottery

11. Spirit

12. Ocean

13. Meadow

14. Games

15. Relaxation

16. Old West

17. Plushie

18. Skeleton

19. Painting

20. Foal

21. Flowers

22. Vintage

23. Buttons

24. Wild

25. Fear

26. Technology

27. Racing

28. Fairy

29. Costume

30. Pumpkin

31. Kelpie

The other two photos read off the exact same header of the page "Horse-Tober 2023" but each only has either the even or odd numbers of the 31 day list End ID ]

This is my first time attempting to add like an ID to a post, so I really hope I did it well?? If there's something to fix, please let me know

[kokiyoh]

There something about “Low honor Arthur” that makes me feel…things. 👁👄👁

But “Good honor” also…👌

[wildbasil]

group therapy (they make each other worse)

[nervousmonolith]

mlp mcyt au except Purpled is just human because it's against his boundaries to draw him as a horse

[clonerightsagenda]

Tried and failed to make a coherent post about this but the Granny Weatherwax moment that lives with me forever that I never see quoted is the “what has he ever done to me, that I should hurt him so”

[mllenugget]

Well here I was thinking that I would only get to draw Twitch streaming roleplayers riding horses with RDR2 Well I thought wrong

This scene actually led to nothing, but, hi hello if you don't know me I only have one thing on my mind at all time and it's called "horses" take a sit make yourself at home you'll see them fairly often 'round here [Clip]

[Process under the cut]

[arilphys]

color study / painting practice / warmup of this fluttershy i found earlier :)

[frayedcircus]

secret life smp lizzie designs!!!!

i saw lizzie’s final episodes and immediately lost my mind

she’s living a sad little fairytale and there is significance and tragedy in everything that happens to her !!

sorry everyone else but lizzie is the main character. secret life ended when she died. i don’t make the rules.

pumpkin head, yellow and red life versions below v

(sorry i ended up writing a LOT in the tags whoops)

[pcktknife]

idgaf what lauren faust say earth pony pinkie>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>pegasus pinkie FOREVER

[all-thestories-aretrue]

There are many jokes floating around the shadowgast nation about the nature of Caleb and Essek's relationship (eggplants and winky faces abound), and most of them are good natured and perhaps true (eventually or at some point). I find most of them entertaining and sweet, but some of what I have stumbled across post-reunion have highlighted that it's only a joke up to a certain point to me.

Please keep in mind that everything in this post is my opinion and my opinion only. I'm not asking that anyone agree with me. This post is mainly for me because I felt like I needed to make it.

I have seen several comments/posts/tags in many different places talking about Essek and Caleb and that scene in the reunion, and describing it as horny or saying they can't keep their hands off each other or following up that conversation with sexual intimacy. I know a lot of these comments or conversations are not malicious or ill-intentioned, and I understand that people are excited for the first new content in nearly 2 years.

But, one thing I have appreciated about Critical Role is the variety of sexuality and genders represented, including various asexual and aromantic identities. Essek is confirmed by Matt on Twitter to be demi (romantic or sexual is unclear to me so it could be taken as either. If anyone has any other sources I would greatly appreciate them). As someone who identifies as aspec, I deeply appreciate the representation that Critical Role has given me.

The shadowgast scene in the reunion was not sexual to me. It's only been six months since the end of c2, which granted, I have not completed yet. As of this writing, I am in the middle of episode 133. Whatever is going on between Caleb and Essek is still very new, especially for two people who thought they would never have love. An aspect of being demi is that it takes time and closenes and a strong emotional bond for romantic and/or sexual feelings to develop. Six months, to me, feels like an incredibly short time for those feelings to take root for Essek even if he is on the path of developing them.

Seeing people make light of Essek's sexual attraction or feelings for Caleb or treat them as common place or casual, even innocuously, has made me feel as though this aspect of Essek really is ignored or forgotten about sometimes. Not by everyone nor, I would even doubt, the majority. Maybe not intentionally or maliciously or maybe it's a lack of understanding about demisexuality or aspec identities.

This is a feeling I have had for a while, and I mean this about nothing in particular but rather a sum of the parts I have encountered over the months.

In addition, I think Essek's sexuality can be overshadowed by how sexual Caleb can be/is. He makes comments throughout the entirety of the campaign that directly or indirectly reveal his sexuality, and that part is clearly important to him, even if he has not acted on it in a very long time.

I am not saying that Essek is NOT sexually attracted to Caleb or that their relationship does not involve sex at some point or at the time of that scene. I do think, at the very least, that Caleb and Essek would have a conversation about it as some point, and I find it likely it would turn sexual. At the very least, Caleb is attracted to Essek. Liam has confirmed that. I would guess those feelings are a combination of romantic, sexual, platonic, etc.

But I cannot imagine, and again this is my opinion, that feeling sexual attraction or acting on it for the perhaps first or second, maybe third time, is not a life-altering moment for him, let alone acting on it. From what see of his character, he's extrmely gaurded, extremely lonely, extremely shameful. Showing his emotions and attraction to Caleb, or to anyone really, is an extreme show of trust and vulnerability, and I don't think it should be taken lightly.

Treating it, at least in those early months, as though it is common or casual, something taken for granted, feels, to me, as though it undermines the importance and gravity of Essek's feelings, whatever they may be. Further, it undermines aspec identities, relegating them to sidelines if it is even acknowledged at all. I feel as though a lot of the jokes ignore Essek's demisexuality and how integral it is to how he builds relationships and interacts with people.

As someone who is aspec, I find it disheartening to see these sort of jokes and offhand comments being circulated about a character who is confirmed, canon aspec whose identity centers on deep bonds that take time to develop. Applying sexual under/overtones to scene where a small chaste kiss and an innocent pet name are shared feels like, in a way, a forced sexualization of a new, developing relationship that may never turn sexual.

There is such little aspec representation in media, and Critical Role does a fantastic job of showcasing a variety of aspec identities which is so, so rare. To turn around and have the fandom ignore or disregard these identities (intentional or not) that the cast and crew work hard to incorporate feels bad. It makes me feel as though I still have to fight for my identity to be seen and understood by people who, theoretically, support and want to understand and respect various identities, who claim to love Essek and Caleb and their relationship. It hurts.

I have spent a lot of time convincing myself that I and my sexuality belong in the queer community, that I deserve to have a voice, that I deserve to be respected and heard. With my feelings about Essek and his demisexuality, I didn't feel right standing by any longer and remaining silent when these portrayals were bothering me.

I am not asking anyone to change their opinions, to agree with me, to change the fic they write, the art they draw. The Critical Role fandom is beautiful and amazing and absolutely incredible. I have met so many kind, caring, wonderful people since joining. It's an experience unlike any other. But, I needed to make this post for me and anyone else who was feeling like me.

[buddiedaydreamer911]

i kinda want eddie and tommy to suddenly have an alpha battle for buck’s attention

i kinda want eddie all puffed chest and tommy all glaring at his friend

i kinda want buck to literally be between eddie and tommy, in a “who are you choosing” way

i kinda want christopher to appear in front of buck, calling for him and for buck to easily forget the whole “eddie? or tommy?” and approach christopher

i kinda want tommy to be smug that buck hasn’t made a choice yet

and i kinda want eddie to just cross his arms and smirk knowing that buck chose HIS son, choosing him by extent

i want eddie to fight for his buck and i want tommy to take the challenge

((this will be my next fic to write so stay tuned!!))

(((read the tags)))

[yamsgarden]

Dunno why, kinda rly like that silly trio