something just occurred to me about the ending of Welcome to Derry. it parallels an old story, a very familiar one, and that's why the new Losers win.
it's the tortoise and the hare.
(and you know it could be on purpose thanks to our friend Maturin.)
It could have been out of Derry in a microsecond. It didn't need to do all of that extra shit, it's not like It needed a snack for the road. It is genuinely just fucking with the people of Derry and those who would see It caged again.
It goes to the middle school and kidnaps dozens of children, taunting them with the body of their dead principal and going out of Its way to perform for them. drawing them in and then capturing them in the deadlights.
It then parades the kids through town, Will included, baiting the new Losers. Ronnie wards It off with the dagger, and instead of just fucking off, It tries to get rid of the future mother of one of the OG Losers, wasting more time.
It could have just walked away from Shaw, but no, It wanted to settle that score too (and thank fuck for that; eat shit, Francis).
and then It just gleefully skips to the boundary it can now cross, deliberately slow, so sure of Its superiority even though It knows It died to a group not much bigger than this one. and Leroy is able to slow It further by blowing Its damn head off. twice.
It doesn't think It might not go the way It intended until Rich shows up to bring the magic number back up to 5, and that's when It starts taking them seriously, but by then it's too late.
It may have been faster and more powerful, but even a god can get in Its own way when the ego takes over. now It's trapped again, and Its preordained loss to the Losers Club is back on track.
Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”
So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”
Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.
Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.
If you're anything like me, you made it your mission to collect every single horse breed in Dragon Age: Inquisition. However. If you're anything like me, it annoyed the hell out of you to not have good parallels to real-world breeds for art references. This post aims to help with that, using some tomfoolery and shenanigans to give some vague approximation of region, build and color in order to find horse breeds that exist in real life and would make sense in Thedas.
This will be put under a cut after the first pony because this post got LOOONG. Enjoy!
The Ferelden Forder, or the Cleveland Bay
The Ferelden Forder is described as a "proud animal ... [that] ranges well beyond its namesake, at home in stables and armies across Thedas." In the game, the Forder is a beautiful rich dappled bay, with darkened legs, mane and tail. Given that Ferelden itself seems to be vaguely inspired by the regions present in the UK, the stout appearance, tallness and shapely body of the Cleveland Bay lends itself near-perfectly to the Forders, in my humble opinion. The only thing about the Cleveland Bay that isn't truly represented by the Forders is their white markings--Forders have a big white blaze on their face in Inquisition, whereas real life Cleveland Bays are considered inadmissable in the studbook with markings any larger than a small white star.
Despite that, I think the Cleveland Bay is an excellent point of reference to use when drawing Forders, and the color variations are perfect for learning how to shade all sorts of variations of bay ponies.
The Amaranthine Charger, or the English Thoroughbred
The Amaranthine Charger is described as "spirited but not unruly" and an "uncommon mount, sure to impress." Amaranthine is still within the borders of Ferelden--or at least neighboring it--but its proximity to the Free Marches had me stumped. It's my opinion that the Amaranthine Charger could go two ways: a lighter, faster breed, or a thicker one that's been crossed with that fineness. So, there are two good options I feel are representative of the Amaranthine Charger.
The English Thoroughbred or the Irish Sport Horse (otherwise known as the Irish Hunter). Both breeds are brave, both have some speed, both are generally seen as being handle-able, and they both come in an array of colors that could be fun for any artist wanting to try their hand at some funky markings and patterns. I only chose a black coat since that's what we see in the game.
The Orlesian Courser, or the Selle Francais
The Orlesian Courser is breed that is spirited, with a "lineage longer than most noble names." While technically the Selle Francais is a newer breed, it is made of a bunch of older French breeds being merged into one studbook. The range of height (155-180cm at the withers), more elegant conformation and refinement lends itself perfectly to a faster, more 'respectable' horse that still may be capable of carrying a knight or mounted combatant.
The Selle Francais typically comes in shades of bay, grey and chestnut, but other coat colors are possible, especially when crossed with other breeds.
The Dalish All-Bred, or the 'Some Sort of UK Pony Breed'
Dalish All-Breds are described in-game as being hardy and sure-footed, as well as a breed of "humble origins." New Forest Ponies are generally well-temptered and loyal, often used as family mounts or for children. Being a breed that often roams New Forest, these ponies are also rather brave and perhaps exceptionally well-suited to navigating challenging terrain, making them great parallels for the Dalish All-Bred. Ironically, while piebalds and skewbalds (the pattern presented in-game) disqualify New Forests from being added to the studbook, it isn't entirely uncommon to find such patterning within the breed. Other options for Dalish All-Breds might be Exmoor and Dales Ponies.
Green Dales Feral, or the American Mustang
The Green Dales Feral is said to have descended from stock that escaped the Qunari invasions in the North, which sounds an awful lot like the Spanish horses that worked their way over to America and became feral. Mustangs aren't often used by your average Joe, and the Green Dales Feral is also "rarely seen on the field." The horses are hardy, sure-footed and brave, and come in a variety of fun and interesting colors and patterns that are sure to dazzle and make for fun art studies. Mustangs also come in a lot of different shapes, so you can really customize your pony however you'd like them to look.
The Free Marches Ranger, or the Oldenburg
The Free Marches Ranger is a palomino in-game, so I did want to make sure the breed I referenced had horses in this particular coat color. The Oldenburg is a German breed; it's sporty, athletic and also rather even-tempered. Other options might be Holsteiners or Hanoverians, depending on how stocky you want your reference to be. With the Free Marches being such a loosely connected place, it's difficult to really pin down each city-state as being of a certain region, so I used the idea that often gets circulated that the Marches resemble German city-states and worked backwards from there.
The Asaarash, or the Iberian Horses
The Asaarash was another one difficult to pin down, as the model in the game seems to just be an armored version of the Green Dales Feral. However, the actual information blurb tells us that the breed is Rivaini in origin, resilient, and is used to carry messages across Seheron. There's a couple different directions here, but I chose to focus on the Rivaini origins of the breed and chose the Lusitanos and Pura Raza Espanolas to represent the Asaarash. They're powerful breeds that are tall and stocky, capable of carrying heavier loads as well as being used to work cattle. They're brave and particularly adapted to war, having been used as cavalry horses. Both also come in the chestnut coat.
If looking for a horse that would more closely match the 'speed' and desert adaptability of Seheron, I would recommend Egyptian Arabians as your starting point.
The Frostback Mountain Horse, or the Trotters and Saddlers
The Frostback Mountain Horse is used by the Avaar in the Frostbacks, making the horse hardy and adapted to cold by nature. I chose to look to Scandinavian horse breeds for this and discovered the Swedish Coldblood Trotter, a horse with some feathering (hair) around the legs that matches the in-game equivalent and comes in varying shades of brown and black. The game codex describes the Frostback Mountain Horses as being "fierce, loyal and not quite tame" which doesn't exactly match the psychological profile of these Trotters, but I felt the region and build apt enough regardless to overlook it.
Other options for mountain horses would be the American Rocky Mountain Horse or the Kentucky Mountain Horse (sometimes referred to as the Kentucky Saddler/Saddle Horse).
The Taslin Strider, or the Italian Saddle Horse
The Taslin Strider is described as a refined breed and is most common in Antiva's warmer areas. It's also described as being suited to long distances and spirited charges. I thought the Italian Saddle Horse, or Sella Italiano, would best fit this particular description. The Sella Italiano is a breed with a great degree of refinement, as evidenced by the beautiful floaty trot above and pricked ears. The Sella Italiano is also bred for show-jumping, giving it a degree of power and force. The breed also competes in three-day eventing and endurance, meaning it checks off the boxes for long distance riding as well.
The Imperial Warmblood, or the Lipizzan
You may be familiar with the elegant Lipizzan from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, with their elegant caprioles and levades. The Imperial Warmblood, being this beautiful grey and described as imposing, made perfect sense to be represented by the Lipizzan. The horses have all the refinement of a dressage horse with all the warlike structure of a good cavalry horse (the two are actually more entwined than you'd think). Additionally, the Lipizzan has near world-wide fame, lending itself further to the Imperial Warmblood's omnipresence when the Tevinter Imperium was at its height. Nowadays, the breed seems to feature more often in the Imperium's homeland, mirroring the current concentration of Lipizzan horses today.
The Anderfel Courser, or the Altai
The Anderfel Courser was a tough one, and I'm torn between two options. The Altai is a breed that is suitable for mountainous terrain as well as cold climates, which I think makes it perfect for the areas of the Anderfels that are freezing and rocky (think Hossberg in Veilguard). However, the Anderfels also has areas of arid, rocky and cavernous deserts, which left me stumped. I think a combination of the Altai and the loose 'Afghan horse' category (Qatgani would be an excellent keyword to start on those horses, or the sport of buzkashi for action-packed poses) would be best suited to this strange combination of climates. It also fits the Anderfel Courser's description of being highly uncommon across Thedas. Being bred for the Grey Wardens, I think the Altai and Afghan horses would likely be the best suited for their particular brand of excitement.
Some Quick Diagrams
I realize not everyone is as into horses as I am, and may be stumped on how to search for certain colors and patterns when looking up references. As a final little send off, I've compiled here a group of diagrams designed to help beginners look for color, markings and patterns without drowning in resources on [insert your search engine of choice].
As always, feel free to play with keywords and markings, and really, just go buckwild. These are fantasy horses, after all. But I know sometimes finding references that fit the image in your mind's eye can be tough, so I hope this post helps out, either with finding drawing references or just showing off some cool kinds of horses you may have never heard about before!
If you're interested in learning about medieval horses and their general uses and care, I would highly recommend watching Modern History TV's Everything You Need to Know About Medieval Horses for more information.
⚠️Here Be Discussion of Childhood Trauma and Neglect⚠️
I was in therapy since I was six, and of course I thought it was good for me.
Now, though?
I don't feel safe being genuine with anyone but a therapist.
Everyone else, I get defensive first, because a therapist was the person I saw most often as a child who didn't treat me like my feelings were inconvenient, or punish me for having them.
Some of the people who did treat me that way were children themselves, taught to by adults who should have been better parents to them, too.
For some of them, it should have never been their responsibility to figure it out when the people who should have known how couldn't teach them.
The only safe parent I had until I was in college was my stepmom.
I didn't appreciate her then as much as I should have, but I didn't know I was being neglected.
She did, and she tried to rein me in, but she had to fight my father just to get him to say anything and nothing changed, because my dad couldn't stand up to my mom.
No one would listen to him, anyway, I imagine.
It's hard to prove emotional neglect, but that's what it was.
What it is.
We neglect each other even now, while trying to hide it from the children, continuing the cycle because it's easier than facing the truth.
My mom needs HELP, and we're all just watching her break down, just like we did with me when my burnout started.
I can't watch her kill herself and call it survival anymore, but I can barely get shit done for myself.
putting my foot down with my mother. she's been apathetic to my needs for three years but now that she's in burnout suddenly i need to be more understanding.
i told her to start listening to me when i'm the one who's actually SURVIVING burnout, not actively continuing to make it worse, and i won't be treated like a child when i know more than her about this.
if i'm stuck with this parentification than by gods i am going to reparent us both or die trying.
wtfff literally ten minutes ago I was driving home and this song came on the radio and I cracked up THINKING about this video. What are tge fucking chances that it’s on my dash right now?
A mother's plea: Help us survive and protect my child who was born in war.
My name is Sahar. Like any young woman, I dreamed of a stable and happy life. I was engaged to Mohammad, and together, we dreamed of building a warm little home where we could start our life. We spent years preparing our house, but just before our wedding, everything was destroyed in an instant by the war.
I was faced with a choice: to leave Mohammad in the midst of this chaos or to stand by him and begin our journey together, no matter how difficult it might be. I chose him. We got married, not in the dream wedding I had envisioned, but under the harsh reality of war. Our new home became a fragile tent, offering neither comfort nor security.
After we got married, I received the news that I was pregnant with my daughter, and I live in constant fear for my unborn child. I am terrified of the world she will be born into—a world of poverty, hunger, and bitter cold. We have been displaced from our home more than nine times, carrying with us nothing but the burden of loss and the hope of survival. The house we dreamed of is now rubble, and the tent we live in barely protects us from the rain and cold.How will I protect my daughter? We struggle to find enough food. Basic necessities like milk, blankets, and clothing feel impossibly out of reach. The cost of survival has become unbearable. Every night, I am haunted by the thought: how can I bring her into this world, knowing I cannot keep her safe?
After a long pregnancy filled with pain and fear, after nights without sleep, I finally gave birth to my baby girl. She was born in the middle of bombing, surrounded by destruction and poverty—not in a warm room, not in a safe place. Her first cry mixed with the sound of explosions, as if she was announcing her arrival into a cruel world she never chose.
I gave birth to her with nothing but my heart. I cannot promise her anything. Poverty surrounds us from every side, and the cold reaches her tiny body before night even comes. My baby and I are suffering deeply, not because we ask for much, but because I am unable to provide her with the most basic needs: milk, warmth, and safety.
When I look into her eyes, I feel strength. When I look at my empty hands, I break down in tears. I am a mother trying to save her child from hunger and fear, in a world that has shown no mercy even to the dreams of children.😢🥹
To donate or support us, here is the link 👇🙏
Help Sahar and Mohammed Build a Safe Home for Their Baby
Sa… Jordan Brusso needs your support for Help Sahar and Mohammed Build a Safe H
From the depths of my heart, thank you for your kindness and compassion🥹❤️🙏
i caved. i'm doing as much as i can around the house because i hate being a hypocrite more than i hate my siblings for not doing more because they don't believe i'm disabled.
i'm actually concerned for my mother because she has stopped functioning at home entirely. bills are getting paid and that is it. which means that's the next thing to go and V and i will then be in charge of keeping the house entirely afloat.
with zero income as finding a job is hard as hell right now.
i'm actually concerned for my mother because she has stopped functioning at home entirely. bills are getting paid and that is it. which means that's the next thing to go and V and i will then be in charge of keeping the house entirely afloat.
with zero income as finding a job is hard as hell right now.
The cops very clearly planted evidence on him because they had to make an arrest because all eyes were on them and whoever actually did the deed was making them look stupid.
Why would the real killer hero have kept the weapon on his person and traveled two states over while carrying it and a manifesto in his bag, conveniently turning the crime into a federal matter? The same guy whose bag they found in a park, filled with monopoly money? Why did the police turn off their bodycams, take Luigi's stuff, drive a block away, turn their bodycams back on, go back into the restaurant, and then arrest him?
From the moment of his arrest, even left-of-center media has been presuming his guilt without examining anything (e.g. calling him "the killer" instead of "alleged" or "accused") and then when I say he didn't do it, the nearest person chimes in with some quip that tells me they think he did do it but should go free anyway. Don't get me wrong, I would have the same attitude if he had done it. But he didn't. It makes me feel like the only sane person in the world, even among my staunchly leftist friends.
If you've committed a crime and a detective gathers everyone involved in the room, especially if he's not actually a detective and is instead a novelist, puzzle-setter, psychic, fake psychic, dog, chess grandmaster, etc. ...
YOU SHOULD NOT CONFESS.
Every year, hundreds of people are put away by non-traditional "detectives" who have either inserted themselves into the case or are working with the police in a dubiously legal capacity as advisor. In 99% of these cases, the murderer gives a full confession even though the evidence against them is circumstantial at best and often requires a long just-so story which can only guess at motive.
If this happens to you, stay quiet, do not attempt to defend yourself or talk your way out of it, only say "I want a lawyer".
Now if you find yourself being investigated by a boy genius, magician's assistant, anthropologist, classics scholar, or philosopher, it's likely that refusing to talk to the police (or investigator with no legal authority) is merely the end of the second act, and by the end of the third act they will have you dead to rights.
YOU SHOULD STILL NOT CONFESS.
Make them take it to court. Force the eccentric detective and his straight-laced police partner to take the stand and explain their methods to a jury of your peers. Have your lawyer look at the chain of custody on the evidence, especially if you believe it to have been handled by someone who has only bumbled into detective work through their natural charm and/or unique set of skills and outsider perspective that come in handy more often than they should.
Know your rights. Don't let eccentric detectives put you away.
