If You’re Reading This: This Is Your Sign That Your WIP Is Worth Writing, Is Worth The Effort, And

Fantasy Guide: Horses, Steeds and Mounts

Horses are a staple of fantasy. Instead of writing them as emotionless vehicles lets give them life.

Horse Terminology

Mare: female horse

Gelding: castrated male horse, big boned and gentle

Stallion: male horse, more agressive

Foal: baby horse

Filly: girl baby horse

Colt : boy baby horse

Yearling: a horse a year old, too young to ride

Pony: small, smart and sturdy,

Colour

When writing horses, we like to colour them in. Make sure to have a look at my colours post for some symbolic choices.

Appaloosa: white hair and dark patches

Bay: red-brown, dark, mahogany bay, red bay, sandy are all common shades but bay must always have a hint of black.

Black: black but keep in mind that pure black is very rare.

Chestnut/Sorrel: reddish coat, may have brown/rws

Dun: yellowish commonly but can be reddish yellow horse

Paint/Pinto – white patches

Palomino: golden coat, white mane

Piebald – dark-skinned, with large splotches of black and white

Roan: blue or strawberry; mixed colored and white hairs. A blue roan has black and white manes, red roans have white manes.

Physical signs

These all tell you what the horse is telling you. Listen to your horse.

Blow: exhaling through the nose. This indicates curiousness and often followed by nuzzling.

Breathing: Yes, check if the horse is breathing first. Always a good point. But yes, horses have a resting breath that is relaxed. Changes to this could mean anxiety or fear.

Ears are up and pointed forward: alert and interested

Ears are pointed out to the side: Sleepy, tired, unwell or submissive.

Ears are pointed up: unwell or bored

Ears are back and pinned flat against the head: angry and aggressive. Fuck off right now or you’ll catch these hooves.

Neigh/Whinny: a sound made to look for company in people or horses.

Nicker: usually means “hello” in either a friendly context or a mating context. Mama horse will nicker to their kids.

Scream: usually while fighting some other horses.

Snort: exhaling through the nose sharply which is code for where’s the danger.

Feeding time

Horses need to be fed and it’s expensive. Horses are the most costly thing for a castle or army to have. It takes money to field a large calvary so make sure you have some food on board.

Apples and fruit.

Barley

Bran

Grass

Hays

Oats

Root vegetables – beetroot, carrots, parsnips, and turnips

Tack

Corn

Tack

This is the term for your horses kit. This will be a basic list.

Saddle: Your seat on the horse

Stirrups: supports that hang from either side of the saddle to support the feet.

Girth: A belt that fastens the saddle to the horse.

Bridle: The bit that goes over the horse’s face

Reins: connected to the bridle and ensures you have a grip

Bit: this is what the horse has between its teeth.

Horn: a raised portion of the saddle that sits at the point where the saddle is close to the neck.

Blanket: a drape of fabric used to warm a horse or stop rubbing from the saddle.

Things you ought to know about horses

Riding bareback (i hear you laughing, pervert) is actually quite hard and dangerous

Horses have limits and most can’t gallop all night without a break

Horses often break legs and sometimes must be put down (honestly fuck you Veronica, #cobalt deserved better)

Horses die in battle, not all horses make it out (you go, Joey)

Common horses mentioned in fantasy

Destrier: The most popular war horse of the medieval era. These horses are only ever really used by knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was not the most common horse but it was considered the desired of horses even being called “the great”. Usually male, these horses were renowned for their agility able to turn quickly making it suitable for battle. Destriers are expensive. When one looks in the histories you seen them going for almost ten times the price of another breed. The breed has since died out but scientists and equestrians have since been trying to reproduce them.

Courser: This was the more commonly used and available war horse. It is fast and strong horse ridden by knights and men-at-arms. They were not expensive than the destrier but still would cost a pretty penny.

Rouncey: A commonly used horse used anything and everything. Mostly used for riding, the horse could be trained for battle.

Palfrey: Would be an expensive horse for riding. It was a slender horse with an ambling gait so it was prized for traveling over distance.

Hunters: Or more commonly called Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred is a fast horse and an agile one. Though vest for racing, the thoroughbred was mostly used when the nobility went riding in hunting excursions.

With the sun shining on the bright day, it was rather nice out. Taking her time as she took a small walk, hands in her pockets a bit unaware of herself. So she had to find someone that was identical to herself normally.

It shouldn't have been that hard of a task. Taking a small stop at the store to get a small bit of ice cream for herself. Just some rainbow sherbet in a small cup, as it was a brighter day out. Wondering if she should get him something, but what if he didn't like ice cream? What if she didn't find him? A few thoughts went through her head as she walked down the street, spacing off a bit.

What if our muses swapped bodies?

He'd notice as soon as he woke up! He'd just be really, really confused by how thin his arm is and how it's not quite blocking the light out of his face the way it should… but his first assumption would be that it's kind of nostalgic and like being a little kid again. Like, really little, since he was kind of chubby quite early on, so...

He'd just think he's dreaming and roll over. ... then get really confused, not just by, uh, the suddenly very different figure, but also, the hair? Whose hair is this? Lavender? ... he didn't dye it, he sure as heck didn't grow it out, he'll have to sit up, trace this hair to... his own head?!

He'd freak out, check a mirror, scream--scare himself even MORE by screaming in a woman's voice--and try to contact people he knows and trusts (Bashou, Vicious, etc.), first announcing in an utter panic that he woke up a woman and ask if they know if the Professor experimented on him or something, etc.

It'll probably take him a moment to realize, wait, he remembers this body and this hair... that girl who drew on him once?! Did he even have her number?! Did she do this?! He'll want to track down Blizzard and figure this out, maybe she has his body?!

Chapter 139 Recap and Notes

Holy shit, what the hell happened!?

This is the chaos that Mephisto was talking about back in chapter 130? If Satan is defeated it'll warp the world.

Mephisto has been floating inside the disembodied Satan, it's simply Gehenna on steroids.

Now that Gehenna has broken into Assiah, we have an ugly mismatch of worlds....and possibly, according to Mephisto, times.

Despite everything, Mephisto has luckily survived. But he has yet to learn what is coming next; for the first time in his existence, he doesn't know the future. The world as he knows it has become unpredictable. He's also been trapped and possibly unconscious for quite some time, within Satan.

It's been two years since Satan lost his body, and the entire world has gone to hell literally, with Gehenna and demons coexisting with the humans in a dystopian realm. We have True Cross still intact and under the command of Arthur Auguste Angel. Who, no doubt, rules with an iron fist under the careful manipulation of the Uzai. Check out his robes. For a minute, I thought Shiemi was the new Paladin and Angel was dead, but they pulled the old "bait-and-switch" character intro.

Check out Angel's face. He has the mottled look of a demon that's straining its human vessel. We know Angel is a clone descended from demons, but technically he's human with a Lucifer temptaint. His own original body wouldn't have rotted away like that, because he was in charge of his own living flesh and had balanced powers.

So, does that mean that Angel didn't really survive in the last chapter and that he was replaced by something else? Was he possessed by a very strong demon? Is that demon co-existing and controlling the weak-minded Angel? I don't know for sure, but it ain't right.

Our other favourite exorcists, Shura, Lightning, Yukio, and Shiemi, are nowhere to be seen, and Shima has become a star amongst the Order. The same Order he undermined while working for the Illuminati. Shima was that lazy guy that hated responsibilities and didn't give a shit about his friends and family. He's now a world-stage star and a heart-throb. That ain't right. But predictable...he's self-absorbed and self-indulgent. Being a star gets him closer to hot chicks, and he'd walk away for that alone.

Predictions? I have a few.

Sometime in the last two years, the True Cross order took on a hardline approach, banishing anything or anyone that was part demon. Under Angel's stubborn rhetoric, their existence would have been traitorous. Rin, Yukio, Shura, Lightning, Shiemi, and Kamiki would become outcasts for their apparent Demon DNA and heritage. Angel is the same as they are, but he denies it!! And the Uzai have carefully protected that lie to remain in control.

True Cross did something horrendous and divided their ranks.

And thus, we see Paku comes back into the fold. She's older and war-torn. She's seen some shit and is trying to find or tell people the truth. Something ain't right.

True Cross has become Evil, and Rin and the others have established a Rebel counterforce. And check out Rin! He's in control of Amaimon's familiars!! Hobgoblins. Plus a really big dragon...so does this mean that Shiemi and Rin are working together and Amaimon is along for the ride as the servant of Shiemi. Curious! He has an Amaimon-styled, shredded cape, jeans and a scarf....at least he's comfortable.

At least we can feel a slight relief in all this chaos.

Mephisto's alive....and he's free!!

sending so much love to everyone who feels like they’re never chosen as the best friend, as the partner, as the favorite. sending love to all of you who have been treated and felt like second best. sending love to all of you who have felt rejected and unwanted. to all of you who have had to try really hard to fit in because you felt like you never will. 

you are so loved. you will be seen and heard by the right people. you can trust that you are valuable and not defined by other people’s perceptions of you. if someone doesn’t see your worth, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

hello beloveds ☺️

Hey can yall reblog this if you're an aoex fan who 1) isn't a weirdo who ships incest and pedophilia and 2) isn't transphobic or queerphobic in general (so not an exclusionist)

The fanbase is kinda small so I wanna try to find other fans I can click with lmao

I haven't seen dancing pumpkin guy ONCE this year, are you guys okay?

More reblogs!!!

if you’re a new tumblr user from tiktok or IG or something and only like posts and dont reblog them yeah people will think you’re a bot and block you but you will also make this website actively worse. they want “algorithmic” users like you, served recommended posts through likes, not people who just follow each other and respond to the direct chronological feed. there is a reason this website is still better than the rest, even with all its problems, do not ruin this

I can't wait to see what everyone does!!! Have fun 🤍✨

show, don't tell:

anticipation - bouncing legs - darting eyes - breathing deeply - useless / mindless tasks - eyes on the clock - checking and re-checking

frustration - grumbling - heavy footsteps - hot flush - narrowed eyes - pointing fingers - pacing / stomping

sadness - eyes filling up with tears - blinking quickly - hiccuped breaths - face turned away - red / burning cheeks - short sentences with gulps

happiness - smiling / cheeks hurting - animated - chest hurts from laughing - rapid movements - eye contact - quick speaking

boredom - complaining - sighing - grumbling - pacing - leg bouncing - picking at nails

fear - quick heartbeat - shaking / clammy hands - pinching self - tuck away - closing eyes - clenched hands

disappointment - no eye contact - hard swallow - clenched hands - tears, occasionally - mhm-hmm

tiredness - spacing out - eyes closing - nodding head absently - long sighs - no eye contact - grim smile

confidence - prolonged eye contact - appreciates instead of apologizing - active listening - shoulders back - micro reactions