#and dressage needs to be in this game by now :( there's so many ways to have fun and interact with horses outside of just racing and jumpin

[jorvikwildhorse]

i think if they just left lunging and dressage as special once-a-year limited time event activities i'd be really, really sad.

[renatedagmarmilada]

address book poems

THE MAGIC TREE

What will the smart card man be, the sanctity of the Thing to see

 Fires and caves were civilised then

Animals and slaves heeding, the Logi braves steaming

 New man assenting, new vid-kid not understanding

Uppsala and science sacrifices reacting

 Fire and burning, wannabee tribes all turning

Pur elemental and evil

 The parenting Prophets reign, eventually we see it was all sane

Vagr hiding in Labs holds his sway

 Man reverting to his savagery, lost his way and cannot pray

Unseen wall of flames grows higher

 Man retreating to his science, in descent with dissent

Riggin and the devil retreaving

 The next step coming without communion, on the path summing all utility

Odin leads the funeral pyre of the many

 Where will it lead for all the blind on high, what can it be the bifrost tie

The magic three…..

   CRYPTOZOOLOGY

 Once upon a past pariah the computer had arrived

Ishmael lampooned all thoughts in many visions and castellum

we all waited dumb with baited patience to sum

Whilst still enveloped in clouds of radiance too shrill

The shiver of the atmosphere to drill

All for the next century to shimmy the air in dressage

In all the din no one hears the message

 Now owing irredeemable irradiation research struts

Splintered skull from two officers rifle butts

These so safe on their island-prison protection

Sneer at the bravery which was then the direction

Secretly done and secretly kept unspoken

 That was the future agronomy using pain probes

Now just test us animal-lab-rats for your rats to sport

These stateless person have done their work for us

No longer needed over here though we poached them

Fly back from where we fetched you then

Before someone finds us at our faults

 The stateless person is always at risk

But you gave us your citizenship

Now flown irrefutably to Agnarr with no economy

Making each morning stiller than Grimnismal

Maidens lives destroyed again with liberality

Making a mockery of our lives, druids weep with astrology

Belua multorum capitum….

   COLD-CALLING BY ANNANEPT

 It shreds the senses

Stitches the soul

That old brown card

come from France

Je t’ amour

 Delivered to Saxony with its proclamation

From whitened Elysium fields

Aufanie to be after so many years

 Joined together now in a saxon-heaven

In Freki’s spirit of death science’s endless strangling

In love’s eternal tenderness starving

The trial continues silent and gaunt to eternity

 Only that cry still rents the wind

Torn from a grieving heart now still

That rendered the trenches null and void

Shot and gassed in the slimy mud of Goinn

Remembered for ever faithful to Irminsul

In an unknown death to the last

Left only his thoughts Embla to Askr

Meaning today what was said yesterday

Still fresh tomorrow under the Ash Tree

Love conquers everything even Atli

Stronger than life and death

Faded love on a brown postcard…

 IN AFFLUENZA’A GATE

 The pasts are gone for movers and shakers

Still living in pain whilst mannequins manqué

As the young make their games in repeated mantras

To cheer and jeer as we sit through each strain and hear

Remembering the malnutrition painfully suffered

They think only Africans know of potbellies

 What do they know of future’s chequered promises

We walleyballs who’ve seen all this before

Sit silently through our high holidays and lore

Knowing the fontanameter is a Lab which still peels

Yet connectionists hesitate hermetically sealed

say nothing…..remembering the President opening

the food stores for the people before the Liberation

 touching and tasting we banquet on our ambrosia

our glutton knows no bounds as you are finished

given with bounty along with animosity

forgotten the forlorn and hungry, even the Trinity

and all tomorrow’s duties are capitalizing

the empty earth to feed and all the generations to be

 just filling up with garbology from the media and labs

Lombard never uses his brain on this land by drabs

Food means caring and food should be sharing

This generous gift from nature

This solar-pond miracle from God…

 PREACHERIZE

 Low beamed lunchtime ceilings

Lamps flickering artificiality with bright flashes

Mustard smells of beery cooking

Mingles with the musty ale clinking

 It is Church time ceded again

Religion reigns fallen asleep

They don’t have heads here

It is the liquid communion trifling

 Acolytes celebrating God in style

Northern fashion mephitis

All London now use this Lab work

Every song has a few of its words

 Rosy landlord holds the sway

Services rendered for pay

The spiritual needs for stray

Of stomach and the palate stay

Enjoyments treaty of alliance strays

 We did not ask them

They begged us to come now culling

As Thomas a Becket forgets his calling…..

   BEAU MONDE

 Approve its whole totality

We have no claim

Tell me the truth of blame

And shout no more of toll or Imhotep

 Voices become Sotadic

But not much seeps sporadic

Waiting for designated decisions

In coloured strings of Thebes premonitions

 We have no achievements

In critical terms of the elements

Human populations stampeding

Expenditure socialised incrementing Ptolemy

 They begged come here to give

Without a thought we were just taken

Times needs needs be forsaken

And what after the slave labour bit?

 And now they don’t want or need us

Their Empire later they brought here to feed

And spend their seething spite on us

Forgetting it was not our but their need

  Grounds to be burnt bare

Incubus indigestible

All minimal socialism

As Richelieu swears…

  DYSERGY

 Crawling on nebula knees

Scraping the soil nefarious

Hurtling against currish time

Standing still in Stakhanovite space

Listening to Echo Booms

 Till the squadron of eyes are opened

Blinking from the schlep and shock yet again

Smarting from squeegee living schnooks

Shook with excruciating sights left cringing

Sempiternal lungs overblown behind curtains

Wishing for an end of research visions stinging

Solid matter replaced by intangible certainty

Fear shivering in molten leafy patterns

Masaryk’s children used as lab-rats for this State..

 Understanding life experiences and satire

Blasted together fulfils its svava selections

Schnor rules of the future perfections

Elemental disturbances ease the directions

Renewed to give it serendipity

Ullre’s ship sails yet again…..

 THE GOLD CARD

 Silent eyes full of knowing

Inhabiting their glass towers daily growing

Of a million, billion selected words

 Divulged to the rejected few still gnawing

The privileged on their pew

With syringed tongues spewing their floating sounds

 Filled the flavoured grounds of the few

Loki’s capacity reaches the echoes

For whose purpose and insensitivity anew

 Revisited thoughts surface

Building future reverberations

Of a new world taught

 In avalanches of thought

As the real knowledge

For others with more courage

 Not quite real humanity

With an invisible barrier

Uncrossable distaining carriers

 Distances twixt borders of sanity

Roaring answers in perfect grammatical order

In all of the globe’s geographical corners

 Have it all is the future

Shrieking silently tell the people

Nothing….

 LOTO-LOTO

  It seemed then with the Fence

Time came in hassock lengths

Laughter heard it all with friends

Smiling suns and giggling breezes

Chortling grasses and slurping teasels

 Then the world became unfrocked

Wretched winters all year long which rocked

Nightmares piercing all Human Rights

Nothing allowed on this isle

But no one notices anything in the fright

 Joy ended as tempests ride vis-à-vis

A northern frosty, fairy tale

Of green naked hands across another trail

Despairing mutants of the mumbling clouds

Waiting in that senseless life in shrouds

 And then suddenly a new morn sound started

Recovering, reconstituted imitations doubts..

It was all a false beginning and now a mockery

We did not understand our host’s real meanings

Still occasionally a memory had lingered

 Digging out proportional emotions which mingled

Nothing returns living to this effectivelessness

Sterile they call it in clouts of homelessness

Te deum streaks…

 SHUKA

 Demon necessity deems its dignity

It’s real name is called artificial isolation

Venerable verbal orgasmic ground created

By cruciferous normality eroded

Programmed lives by the State

 Secret truths screeching through walls of density

The other side used that method too

Seen by aberrant who taste their senses

Dictated to by years of empty blisses

Filled with the years of machine bruising kisses

 Still try giving love to hasty, throw them to the natives

Wiseacre annihilating creeping burdens of joy

Turning sin and crime with laws of science

Aged futures soured by a malevolence

Past and present disappears in turbid duty

 Left only in album images to press

Tear stained memories of sweetness

Told in toil with all its neatness

On the new machine for the next century

Research kills and maims relentlessly

 Prisons as have never been known before

Instantaneously better for the lucent

Luke asking questioningly of the Gnostic

Was that love or was it Lucifer?

 MANUMIT

 Each autumn attests to the fears

In odalisque crushed awareness

Glycerol sighs in the living frankness

Mourning the coming of the endless night

Evenings cocooned in a hauberk

 Disappearing in the hazy whispers of the harlequin

All post has been blocked yet again

This time stop all the contacts with America

Who knows what truth they might discover

From a victim’s simple letter chain

 Yesterday’s sunlight closing the circle of existence

Leaving flight to perchance and cancers activated

Hidden as the Princess’ bid in artificial romance

With all its limitations exposed to the harbinger

Fragility weakened and shrove the beast again proven

 To instinctive reaction precedes laboratory crimes

Records his honours and crucifixions

Withered the closing Book of legitimisation

The West has ceased in its democratic fixation

And you people are no longer humans not even animals

 Shrouding its warm heart beats like lemmings

covering the aligned music nature of lend-lease

‘not tested on animals, tested on humans in Britain’

Sarsparilla smilax sighs with savoi faire…….

 THE PALACE OF THE UGLY FROG

  Their house was in the blue moon

Silver, brilliant and full of bloom

 He was a great man

He was a special man

 The Emperor had a great need of him

Please return he begged, to rid the earth of evil

 Blighty paid Beijin ten million

For brutal experiments amongst the helpless billion

 As the Emperor bid

The man in the moon did

 His lady so lone followed him

On earth jealousy, became dissatisfied with him.

 The queen, saddened to placate them

Gave a magic panacea to save them

 This they both must take

To exist from now until eternity

 But in her jealousy, to spite her important and good husband

The wife swallowed the potion without the knowledge of her husband

 Instantly she was lifted and soared to the sky

Short lived was her joy after she returned to live alone just to pry

 The good panacea was for two not one

The panacea’s poison had turned her into a frog

 And still we watch as she cries alone.

[ijustwant2write]

A Secret Romantic-Benedict Bridgerton x Reader x Eloise Bridgerton (Platonic)

(GIF credit to @aryaofoldstones​)

Requested by anonymous: ‘Hello! I saw your looking for Bridgerton requests, I would love some Benedict x Eloise sibling fluff! They have such a good dynamic in the show and I need more’

(I wouldn’t mind making another part of this if people want it tbh)

Characters: Benedict Bridgerton x Reader, Eloise Bridgerton x Reader (platonic)

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

(Y/L/N)=Your last name

Warnings: Fluff, fluff, fluff

                                     *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eloise’s gloved hands clung onto her book as she and her family arrived at yet another social event, a ball once again. Her mama had ensured she was dressed to catch the eyes of men, and Eloise knew that meant there would be no room for intelligent conversation. With Daphne now married to the Duke, Eloise had more pressure on her shoulders than she imagined, having to find a suitor of similar standards. However, it wasn’t just her on the market, her brothers were too, especially Benedict (Violet knew it would be extremely difficult to marry off Anthony first, opting for the second eldest son).

Eloise smiled whenever her mama looked her way, though it quickly disappeared once she turned around. Benedict had been instructed to escort her sister around the ball to help seek out suitors, the men knew each other or something about someone; he could help her meet the right one.

“I cannot believe I am here.” Eloise moaned as she looped her arm through her brothers.

“Believe me sister, I do not wish to be here either.”

“Why must you parade me around like a horse at a dressage in order to find a new owner?” Eloise kept catching the men’s gazes, turning up her nose in disgust.

“So dramatic.” he chuckled.

She scoffed.“Well, if you’re going to advise me on who I should be marrying, I shall do the same for you. Now let’s see...”

Eloise looked around the room at all the women, wondering who would be the best match for her brother. Most of these women had no personalities, relying on their outfits to express themselves. Eloise knew of some ladies that were nice, though had nothing in common with her brother.

Eloise shrugged, tugging on her brother’s arm towards the door.“Ah, there’s no one here for us. Let us make haste and leave-”

“Oh no you don’t,” Benedict pulled her back,“we have been strictly told to stay for the night, even if it is just to socialise and...get our names out there.”

Eloise groaned a little too loudly, Ben ducking his head in embarrassment.“How long do these balls go on for?”

“I have never stayed for the full duration.”

“That’s not the answer I want to hear.”

Benedict glanced down at her, somehow only just realising that Eloise had brought a book with her.“Is that book sewed to your hand sister?”

“I brought it just in case I became bored. Which I am already.”

“I shall go and grab us some refreshments. Might as well enjoy them whilst we’re here.”

Eloise let her brother slip away, quickly finding a hiding spot by leaning up against a wall, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds. She opened her book, continuing where she left off, happy she brought a pencil to scribble down notes for later. The studying never stopped for Eloise. 

“Excuse me?” a woman’s voice interrupted her too soon.

Eloise tried her best to be polite, though her smile came off as sarcastic.“Yes?”

“Sorry,” the woman looked taken back,“I thought you were reading a book that I am reading at the moment, but I was wrong. I’ve disturbed you, I shall leave you alone-”

“Wait,” Eloise had now sparked an interest. No other lady had ever approached her like this,“I don’t mean to be rude. What book had you expected?”

“It’s oh so obvious, but I’ve been reading ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen. It’s the newest book out at the moment, and my mama lets me read it seeing as it involves a woman finding someone to marry. Although, it’s definitely about something deeper, that’s just what I told her.”

“I don’t indulge in romantic novels myself, but I am glad to hear of a female author selling her work.”

“It’s fantastic. And it’s nice to be able to read something without it being snatched out of my hands. Oh, where are my manners? I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Sorry, I’ve been dancing with men all night and none of the conversations have been as riveting as this so far.”

“Why am I not surprised?” they both laughed.“I’m Eloise Bridgerton.”

(Y/N) tried to not show her shock when she heard the surname. They were only the most talked about family, her mama had gone on and on about them, especially when Lady Whistledown mentioned them in her writings. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Might I ask what it is that you are reading?”

“It is to do with my studies. I truly hate these events, so I thought I would ensure my mind was being worked properly.” Eloise realised that could come off as rude, squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment.“I did not mean to offend you by that.”

“It really isn’t any bother.” (Y/N) giggled.“I rather enjoy these just for the dancing and drinks, I find promenading to be more successful in finding a suitor. Though I would much rather sneak off and see if I can get a few more pages in of a book I shouldn’t be reading.”

“Eloise, why must you go wondering off like that...” Benedict’s words trailed off as he approached his sister, spotting a beautiful woman stood by her.

Eloise’s eyes flickered between the two, and she smiled when she saw the adoration in her brother’s eyes. Cheekily taking the two glasses from his hands, she passed one to (Y/N), who awkwardly took it. (Y/N) had gazed upon the Bridgerton men in passing, they were very nice to look at. Of course, she never divulged in any fantasies about them, that would be silly. But seeing one in front of her had taken her breath away.

“Thank you brother.” Eloise said, taking a sip.“This is Lady (Y/N) (Y/L/N), a new friend of mine.”

He gently took her free hand in his, bending forwards slightly to kiss it. (Y/N) had this done to her many times, but this was different. Benedict made her feel butterflies in her stomach. Eloise could tell her mama was going to love this.

She cleared her throat.“We were just speaking of art, actually.”

(Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows.“We were talking about books.”

“I was about to move the topic along.”

“What kind of art would that be then?” Benedict asked, knowing what game his sister was playing. 

“The...drawing, kind.”

“Isn’t all art drawn?”

“No, it is also painted.”

“I think artists may sketch out a rough idea before painting.”

“Well you would know brother, seeing as you yourself are an artist.”

“I wouldn’t say that-”

“You paint, Lord Bridgerton?” (Y/N) asked.

“Ah, yes, and I sketch.” he hoped his cheeks weren’t turning red. 

“Anything in particular?”

“Mostly people.”

“Are you both attending the art exhibition my family are holding next week?”

“That’s your families’ exhibit?” Benedict became excited.

“Yes, my father collects a lot of art work. Then mother realised she could make a social event out of it, but at least everyone will be able to admire the work.”

“Would you believe it, we already have it noted down in our social calendar!” Eloise informed (Y/N). Benedict could sense her over-reacting, trying to keep a smile as (Y/N)’s face lit up in excitement. 

“Perfect!” (Y/N) looked back up at Ben, making him stand a little taller.“It will be nice to have someone there who knows about the artwork. It will make for an interesting conversation. Just don’t let my father lecture you, he will talk for far too long! And I know you will be too polite to try and get away.”

“My brother is very polite.” Eloise said.“In fact, I’m surprised he hasn’t-”

“Excuse me for the intrusion,” a young man said from beside (Y/N),“but I was wondering if we could resume our dance lady (Y/N)?”

(Y/N) was smiling, but Eloise knew that look; it was the face women made when a man who made them uncomfortable approached, but they had to remain ladylike and polite.

“Actually my brother just asked her and she said yes. You two best make your way to the floor before the music starts again.” Eloise nudged her brother.

Benedict was confused at his sisters offer, until he locked eyes with (Y/N) again. They were pleading him to sweep her away, she was even leaning away from this man. He had been disrespectful in some way, and he wasn’t letting (Y/N) go through that again (despite only knowing the girl for a few minutes). He smugly smiled at the man, holding out his arm which (Y/N) took a little too quickly. Eloise was happy with herself as the pair walked off, sending the man a death glare when he asked her to dance instead. Once he left, her eyes went back to find her brother, who was already dancing with (Y/N), both smiling and laughing. Her mama was going to be ecstatic about this. 

                                       *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eloise sat in the drawing room, obviously lounging with a book. Her younger siblings were being irritating as usual, running around her in circles. Before they arrived, she had peace. Eloise wanted a few moments alone, because she knew her mama would be bursting with questions about the night before.

“Ah, there you are.” Violet said as she walked in.

The book flopped into Eloise’s lap, a frown on her face. There goes her reading time.

“So, how was last night? Did you meet anyone?” her mama sat beside her.“You two, go play outside if you’re going to run around please.”

The children stopped as their mama spoke, sending each other devilish grins before they ran out of the room again, their giggling echoing down the halls. Violet went to shout after them, but decided to leave it be, there were more pressing matters.

“Well mama, do you see any suitors?” Eloise gestured around her.

Violet sighed.“Did you even try last night?”

“My life will not be reduced to a single night where I was forced to peacock around in order to please a man.”

“Oh, Eloise, must you make everything so dramatic?”

“Funny, Benedict said the same thing.”

“Actually, where is your brother? I have not seen him all morning.”

“He went out.” Eloise was relieved that the focus would now be off of her.“He’s calling upon a lady.”

Violet’s eyes widened.“What? When? Who?”

“Lady (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

“(Y/L/N)? They are quite reputable.”

Eloise rolled her eyes.“Mama, she is a lovely girl. I don’t think you should just judge her on what family she comes from.”

“Oh, so you approve of this girl?”

“I...I mean...Well, I only spoke with her for a mere few minutes.”

“But?”

Eloise let out a huff.“I enjoyed her company. I think Benedict likes her. I didn’t see him for the rest of the night until it was time to leave. He spent all his time with her.”

Violet became overjoyed.“Oh, what marvelous news! I wish he had told me. Do you know what he took to her? Flowers? Food?”

“I have no idea mama. Just wait for his return and he will tell you all the details. I am not a psychic.”

Violet was impatient as she awaited the return of her son. Poor Collin had also been questioned when he showed up in the drawing room, but he had overslept in bed, waking with a terrible headache. It seemed that it was about to come back to him when his mama bombarded him with questions as to why he hadn’t called upon anyone that morning. Eloise kept her giggles quiet, ducking behind her book when Collin sent her daggers.

Poor Benedict had no idea what was in store for him. His cheeks were aching from how much he was smiling. He wasn’t surprised when he arrived at the (Y/L/N)’s house and saw multiple callers for (Y/N). However, jealousy rose inside him when he thought about these men dancing with her, trying to convince her that they were the man to marry. He held a beautiful bouquet of flowers, remembering that (Y/N) had mentioned her favourite the night before. Looking around at any other flowers she received, he was glad to see no other gentleman had chose it. Surely that would show he was listening? He endured sonnets, stories, songs and boasting from the other men, trying not to show his dissatisfaction as each one stepped forward. There was pressure that her parents were there, especially when he realised he was the last gentleman, everyone else had left.

(Y/N) had been incredibly anxious when she saw Benedict that morning. He had been the only man she genuinely smiled at, hoping he came at his own will, not forced by his mama. The night before had been the best ball (Y/N) had ever been to. Benedict was sweet, charming, handsome and interesting. They were able to talk about anything and everything, no small talk involved like all the other men she danced with. He had swooned her, and here he was, calling upon her. 

Back at the Bridgerton house, Violet had not sat down since talking Collin’s ear off. Eloise was still in the drawing room with her, as were her two youngest siblings, munching on biscuits as they threw questions at their mama. She did not have all the answers, sometimes not even hearing them speak for she was too deep in her thoughts. At one point, she did sit, but beside the window, o the lookout for any signs of her son. When a carriage pulled up in front of the house, Violet leapt out of her seat, startling her children. She made a beeline to the door, standing there with her hands clasped together. When Benedict walked in, he too flinched, not expecting his mama to be there.

“Mama, how long have you been stood there?” Benedict asked as he walked past her, pinching a biscuit from his brother’s plate.

“She’s been waiting for you.” Eloise explained, also excited to hear about his calling.

“I hope you sat down at some point.” he joked, sitting beside Eloise and slouching.

Violet hurried to sit on the sofa across him.“You didn’t tell me you were calling on a lady this morning.”

“Well, we got back late from the ball yesterday evening, and I had to leave early to ensure I got there in good time. Though it seemed every other man thought that too.”

“There were many men there?” 

“Yes, quite a few.”

Eloise straightened up at her brother’s grumpy expression.“You really like her!”

“How wonderful!” Violet gushed. 

“Do not get ahead of yourselves.”

“But you do, don’t you? Otherwise you wouldn’t have called on her.”

Ben was lost for words. He couldn’t argue with that, and he did like seeing his mama happy.“Yes, yes I do. And it would seem she reciprocates the feelings.”

“This is such good news! I must see what our social calendar looks like, we must ensure you two spend time together.”

“Actually mama-” Eloise went to tell her about the art exhibit until Ben interrupted.

“Good idea mama.” he nodded, smiling at her as she walked away, a spring in her step. Once she was gone, he let out a big breath.“I just needed a moment without questions from her.”

“Well, you’re going to have questions from me.” Eloise angled her body to face him, her elbow perched on the sofa with her face resting in her hand.“I didn’t think you were going to call upon her. Are my match making skills really that good?”

“I hate to admit it, but yes, you have done an excellent job.” Benedict felt relaxed thinking about (Y/N).

“So, what happened this morning?”

“I took her flowers, she told me her favourites last night, and then I had to sit there whilst her other gentleman callers desperately tried to impress her. It was agony! Finally I was able to have time with her, and it was just...I don’t know how to put it into words.”

“Did you bring her anything else?”

Benedict became bashful.“I brought her a sketchbook, like the one I have. She mentioned how she used to often sketch when she was younger. I thought it would be a unique gift.”

“Benedict, you truly are a romantic at heart.”

“For her I am, yes.”

Eloise smiled for her brother, until a smirk fell on his face.“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Aw, is someone also a secret romantic?”

“No!” Eloise protested, quickly grabbing her book again.“I am just happy you found someone.”

“And you helped, because you secretly want everyone to find someone.”

“No I don’t! You’re ruining this moment now Benedict.”

“Don’t worry Eloise, you’ll find someone.” Ben joked.

She groaned.“You are insufferable...but I still want to go to that art exhibit.”

“To see love bloom?”

“N-no, to see the art work.”

“Of course, of course. But, thank you Eloise.”

She tried not to smile, but couldn’t help it.“You’re welcome.”

[phykios]

If I Were A Blackbird, part 3 [co-written with @darkmagyk] [read on ao3]

[ID: Picture of an attractive man with brown skin and black hair in front of a blue ocean. Only his face and hand are visible. His hand holds up his index and middle fingers in a peace sign, his face is hidden behind a pair of navy sunglasses with the letters USA printed across the bridge

Instagram caption: per_sea_jackson: Officially in Mérida. Let the games begin.]

Percy had been all over the world: for sailing, for Instagram, for the fact that Luke loved to travel and didn’t have many friends to travel with. Percy hated flying every single time, and was known to spend extra time on a boat to avoid it if he could, but he loved getting there. Being new places and exploring them.

Growing up in Westport had in many ways been a dream. The big white house with the perfect backyard, Luke and his mom and May. His mom used to talk about good schools and safe neighborhoods, and all the other things people moved to Connecticut for.

But being the only kid in class who wasn’t white, there had been a lot of nasty, mean comments about his mom being a maid (which wasn’t true). And then, in middle school, he started excelling in all the WASP sports: sailing and crew and fencing and horseback riding of all things, all while Luke had gone off to college, after a decade of Luke having his back. It had given him a rather homogeneous view of the world, and not a pleasant one, one that Yale, despite its best efforts, did not really do much to dispel. But the world was vast and strange and amazing, as wide and weird as his own insane family tree. Percy was reminded of that every time he stepped off a plane, or his preferred boat.

It was a crazy, comforting thought.

“Percy! Hey!”

And speaking of family…

“Hazel!” Percy wrapped his cousin up in a big hug, twirling her around, blocking traffic in the middle of the Mérida airport. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“There was an announcement and everything,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “I guess dressage isn’t sexy enough to make the news.”

His dear cousin Hazel was one of the youngest equestrian athletes to ever be on Team USA. The two of them had bonded near-instantly over their shared affinity for horses and gently bullying Nico to eat more, and no one had been happier than Percy when she had been accepted onto the Olympic team. She had originally only been an alternate, and wasn’t sure if she would be coming, but already her presence was combating some of his nerves. It was going to be so amazing to have someone here in his corner from the beginning.

“Do you need help with your suitcase?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s all taken care of.”

Percy whistled. “The di Angelo express, huh?”

“You know it!” She took his hand. “Come on, let’s go get a cab to the village.”

They cruised through the city, Percy pressing his face to the window to better see the white buildings, the heat rising off of the tarmac, and the international flags fluttering against the clear blue sky.

Mérida. Was. Amazing.

And hot. Goddamn.

Even just taking a quick stroll through the center of town, he was absolutely drenched in sweat. Ducking into a local shop down the road from the Monumento A La Patria (and holy crap, they were going to have to come back and see that at night!) for a bite to eat, Percy collapsed into his seat, fanning himself furiously with one of the tourist pamphlets Hazel had swiped for them. He was even seriously considering taking his shirt off.

“We should definitely check out the cenotes,” Hazel said, reading her own brochure, turning the page to him. “Just look at this water!”

“How the hell are you not a puddle right now?” Percy asked, panting.

She made a face at him. “I’m from New Orleans. Not my fault you can’t handle a little humidity.”

“This is not humidity! This is–this is torture!”

She snorted, looking out at the passers-by through a line of brightly colored shrubbery. “Damn yankee,” she muttered.

Percy’s eyes narrowed. “You take that back right now.”

“I’ll consider it if you buy me lunch.”

He grumbled goodnaturedly, already pulling out his phone. “You’re lucky you’re so damn cute.”

“That’s me,” she said. “The cutest cousin.”

“Undoubtedly. How is Nico, by the way?”

She smiled, taking a drink from her water bottle. “You’re the one who bullied him into going to your alma mater for school. Shouldn’t you know?”

“That was Luke,” Percy pointed out. “And it's summer. Didn’t you guys just get back from that sibling trip to the homeland? And I have to be honest, I have no idea what he did when you guys got back from Italy.”

Hazel’s nod meant he did actually know what Percy was talking about. “He’s well. Dad has him running ragged with work, but he was able to take some time to get me here.”

“And that was the first time he saw sunlight in months, I’m sure.”

Gently, she laughed. “You’re not wrong. But you know I have almost as much trouble with flying as you do. And I don’t even have a boat as an out. So I have to rely on fatherly and fraternal support.”

“You could have ridden your horse here.”

“Ha ha.”

After Luke, Percy was sure he had had his fill of cousins. But after they had discovered Nico and his sister in Las Vegas during a truly insane road trip when Percy was a kid, Percy had found he quite liked the little nerd, weird and broody and emo as he may be. And then, a few years later, when Nico had called them up in a panic, awkwardly explaining over the phone how he had accidentally unearthed his half-sister, Percy and Luke were honorbound to welcome her into the family.

Well, Percy was. Luke, preoccupied with grad school, had blown him off a little–but not before Percy had guilted him into sending enough money for food and transportation. Stingy bastard.

He hadn’t seen her since November, when she and Nico had come for Thanksgiving. She was a junior at Tulane (a choice Luke took pretty personally because getting family members into Yale was his second favorite hobby after crypto) and she and Nico had gone on some backpacking trip through California during Christmas break, and then to Italy at the start of the summer. An ironic juxtaposition, as Luke had taken the Jackson-Blofis-Castellan family to Paris for Christmas, and Percy had spent early summer training in California. It was so good to see her now.

Hazel wiped her mouth, gently setting down her napkin. “So. Percy.”

Percy swallowed. “Come on.”

“You’re not getting out of this conversation.”

“What, is my mom paying you to talk to me?”

She raised her hands, a placating gesture. “She just wants to make sure you’re doing okay. We all do.”

“Well, I haven’t exactly had time for dating,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Training and such.”

“You can’t tell me you spend that much time training.”

He huffed. “I spend the perfect amount of time training!”

She gave him a long, thoughtful look, then bites into a plantain chip. “What you do spend is too much time with Luke.”

“I don’t think that’s the dig you want it to be.”

Hazel sighed, a deep, long, drawn out thing. It reminded him of his mother. That was both a compliment and a pretty harsh take down. “Percy, I love Luke. He’s the douchey, white, older cousin I never wanted but will still send me money any time I ask. And you could certainly do worse for friends.”

Percy frowned. “A hell of a lot worse,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot.” Luke had saved his life, on more than one occasion. He bore the scar to prove it. Letting go of that loyalty was hard.

“I know,” she said, placating. “I’m not saying ditch him. He’s always going to be your cousin and your big brother. But I think I have a much stronger reason to hang out with just Nico than you have to hang out with just Luke. Even I managed to put myself out there a little bit. You could stand to expand your social circle a little. Include some other boys, maybe. Or girls.”

“I’ve met girls!” He was not pouting, but you wouldn’t know it from the way Hazel snorted at him.

“Uh huh.”

“I have! I even have girl friends!”

“Such as?” She rested her head on her hand, eyes glinting at him.

Mentally, he flipped through his rolodex. “There’s you. Obviously.”

“I’m touched.”

“Thalia. Um, Rachel. Uh…” Oh, come on. He has to have more female friends than that!

“So,” said Hazel, not even trying to hide her grin, “your three closest female friends are your two cousins and your high school almost girlfriend?”

Percy groaned, tilting his head back. “Okay, okay. Point taken.”

“Just think about it, okay?” She touched his hand, squeezing his fingers. “You’re such a wonderful guy. And you know I love Luke. I really do, but come on. There's a reason that he’s always begging me and Nico and you to come and hang out. It’s because otherwise his only social activity is hanging out with Estelle–a seven year old–pining after your mom,” that earned her a light punch in the shoulder, “or going clubbing with his co-workers. And he only hangs out with his co-workers to run crypto schemes.”

He squeezed back. “You know he knows those are cons, and just does it because he thinks the people he works with are assholes, right?” Luke and Hazel’s speculation arguments were legendary. “He doesn’t actually keep any of his money in crypto. Or any of ours. You keep way more money in gold.”

“You know that’s not the point,” Hazel said, “and gold is an old fashioned, stable speculation.”

“For the record, I do meet girls.” Automatically his hand went to his pocket, slipping out his phone to see if he had a new text message. He didn’t, but there was no harm in checking. “There was this girl I met just before I left New York.”

She leant in. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” A quick flash of golden hair and silver eyes crossed his memory, accompanied by a bright, sparkling laugh, like champagne.

“Any details you want to share?”

“She was an architect,” he said, “and she was beautiful.” There were plenty more details than that, but the gulf between ‘want to share’ and ‘going to share’ was wider than the distance from here to New Orleans. It had only been once, anyway: one night and one text. Hardly met the criteria for an ongoing relationship.

But still. There was something about that girl that he couldn’t shake, even a few days later.

“You’re smiling,” Hazel said.

“Hm?”

“You’re full-on grinning.”

He was, to his shock. He could feel it in his cheeks. “So? I like smiling.”

“You? Mr. Resting Bitch Face?”

“Me,” he replied, lightly kicking her ankle under the table. “I’m only smiling because you’re here, anyway.”

Hazel beamed at him, and he couldn’t help but match it, tooth for tooth. “Then you better start practicing when I’m not around. You’re going to need that smile for the podium.”

Lifting his water, he saluted her, and they knocked their plastic bottles together. “I’ll drink to that.”

***

The only thing worse than a fancy state dinner was a fancy state dinner that was ostensibly for her but wasn’t actually about her at all.

It was supposedly her birthday dinner, but you wouldn’t know it by the food. Or the company. The last thing she ever wanted on a day meant to celebrate her was to be stuck between her stepmother and her brothers, disinterestedly twirling pasta around in their forks while her uncle stood at the head of the idiotically long table, speaking boring platitudes about history and pride and the future of the family.

The food was fine, but nothing that counted as a particular favorite. The salad course didn’t even have olives. But she ate it gratefully, as she was meant to.

There were two hundred people here, and she knew about twelve, and liked and was liked in turn by maybe two of them. And Magnus was on the other side of the room, so unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough to claim her for the first dance.

At least it was just a waltz. The dancing was vestigial anyway, a holdover from a more formal time. Now Annabeth was light on her feet when she needed to be, but dancing was not one of those times she needed to be. Her partner, some higher-ranking member of parliament, politely pursed his lips as she stepped on his foot, and she could feel the back of her neck heat up, exposed to the room by her updo.

Just focus, she thought to herself, biting the back of her tongue. One, two, three, one, two three…

Every eye was on her as she moved about the ballroom, passed around between dignitary and celebrity and back again. With as much brain power as she could spare, she occupied her time by cataloging any stray details about her partners. Height, eye color, hair color… any male pattern baldness. You know, for reasons. “Princess,” her next partner greeted her, dipping his head. “How are you enjoying this day?”

“Very well, thank you,” she replied, automatically. An older man, his grip on her waist was just a little bit too tight, and his breath stank of onions. “And you?”

He had a number of medals pinned to his sash. What the hell was his name again? “A wonderful dinner,” he said.

There was not much more conversation after that.

Her next partner was shorter, but younger, with floppy brown hair and blue eyes. In her heels she was taller than him by a few inches. “Princess,” he said, his smile mischievous, eyes glinting. Annabeth was not sure she liked it one bit.

She smiled tightly back at him.

And then he looked down at her cleavage.

She sighed.

After the pig, she was whisked around to other dignitaries and members of state, before Magnus grabbed her, skillfully pulling her out of the sweaty hands of a rather infamous junior minister who enjoyed copping feels, and waltzing her away. “Oh thank all the gods,” she said. “I was getting real sick of being felt up by random government workers.”

“No problem,” he said, “but I’m actually here on reconnaissance.”

“What?”

“I have orders to transport you to someone else.”

“Huh? Oh–!”

And then he spun her into the waiting arms of her father. He stumbled a little bit as he caught her, nearly bowling over an elderly lady with white hair, dressed in a salmon taffeta storm who gave them the stink-eye before realizing who, exactly, she was stink-eyeing.

“Hello, dear,” her father grinned at her, bashful.

“Dad,” she said, her eyes still swimming a bit.

“I apologize for the ambush,” he said, “but I haven’t gotten to speak to you all day. How are you?”

She’d been in the country for two days already. If he wanted to get her alone, he had had ample time to do so beforehand. “Fine.”

“You look lovely tonight.”

Helen had picked out a light blue gown for her, with a sweetheart neckline that did absolutely nothing for her cleavage and sleeves that itched around the armpit. “Thank you.”

“Did you enjoy dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, good. Had a good flight back?”

“I did, yeah.”

Out of questions, he fell silent. They danced in awkwardness for a minute or two.

“When are you heading to Mexico?” he asked.

“In about a week.” And not a minute too soon.

He frowned a little. “I see.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“I didn’t agree that you were the best person from the family to send.”

That… stung. “Sorry you were overruled,” she said.

“What? Oh, no, I don’t–I didn’t mean it like that.” The music, some generic classical string quartet, came to an end, the dancers politely applauding the musicians. Annabeth joined in, her soft white gloves making almost no noise.

“Well, I already got tickets to the games. You can cancel my hotel if you want; I can find my own way.”

“That’s not–” He cut himself off, taking her in his arms as the music started again, leading her off to the side of the ballroom. “What I meant was,” he said, softly, “was that you’ve been working so hard lately. I thought you might want to take the summer to relax a little. Here.” Almost bashful, he turned away to grab a couple glasses of wine from a nearby waiter. Annabeth almost missed his last few words. “With us.”

“Oh.” Hard pass. “I… I can’t just take the summer off anymore, dad. I got a few weeks for the Olympics, but I have a few projects in the works back in New York that I need to get back to as soon as I’m done.”

His brow furrowed, he nodded. “I understand. Do you need any–?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” she said. She didn’t even know what he was going to ask. “I’ve got everything I need.”

He nodded again. “Good. That’s good.”

They stood together, watching the dancers for a while. It reminded Annabeth of a movie, almost, some kind of pretentious costume drama where all the men spoke of war and all the women connived to get their daughters on the throne, where everyone was having sex with everyone else and alliances were decided on the flip of a coin. She always used to hate those. There was never any strategy to them, just whatever shock value the writers could come up with.

“After the Olympics,” her father said, after some time, “will you come back?”

He didn’t say home, she thought. “For a few days, maybe. But it might be easier to go straight back to New York.”

“I’d… I’d like it if you came back.” He shuffled his feet, shoulders hunched.

What for, she almost said, unthinkingly. But really, what for? So she could spend three days recovering from jetlag in her apartments while he forgot about her?

“Would it be alright if I stopped by later?” he asked. “I can–I can bring some snacks. Popcorn. And we can watch something together, for your birthday. For old time’s sake.”

She should say no. She should say he didn't need his performative bullshit. She should say he wasn't going to show up, so why bother. But deep down, she was still seven years old and just wanted her dad to love her, despite him making it clear he didn't, never had, and didn't plan to.

"Okay."

And then he smiled at her, like he had over that plate of diner food all those years ago, and she felt warm inside, like she had just taken that perfect first sip of hot cocoa. “Excellent. I’ll see you then.”

“It’ll probably be late,” she said, giving him a chance to back out. “I don’t know how much longer this is going to go on.”

“Ah, just leave it to me, dear,” he grinned, placing his empty wine glass on the tray of a passing server. “You go ahead and get comfortable, and I’ll go ahead and make your apologies to your uncle.” And then he wandered off, in search of the king.

Well. At least it got her out of her own party, if nothing else. She slipped out through the special side exit, nodding at Hans, who valiantly suppressed a smile as he closed the door behind her.

She wasn’t expecting much. Best case scenario, her dad showed up and they very awkwardly sat on opposite sides of the couch for two hours; worse case scenario, her dad didn’t show up and she got to go to sleep early. Honestly, it was a win-win either way.

Slipping out of her dress, she threw it across her bed, vowing to pick it up before she went to bed, before going in for a shower–a long shower. She was still exhausted and sore from her workout that morning, and sitting all evening, perched on those decorative chairs, her feet crammed into a pair of heels, had done her absolutely no favors. Afterwards, she pulled on her old Harvard t-shirt and sweats, furiously scrubbing her makeup off in her bathroom. They always used too much of it, and it made her forehead itch.

She had just finished her curl treatment and was debating the merits of a face mask when she heard a knock at her door.

Swallowing, she paused, her hand on the spigot.

“Annabeth?” she heard her father say, muffled. “It’s me, dear.”

He… he was here.

To say he couldn’t make it?

But if he couldn’t make it, then he would have just texted her. Or not shown up at all.

Slowly, like in a dream, she went over to her door, and opened it. On the other side was her father, his nice suit and official sash exchanged for a pair of silk pajama pants and his own Harvard t-shirt. When he saw her shirt, he beamed, almost childlike in his joy. “We match!”

She smiled back, in spite of herself. “Come on in,” she said, standing aside.

“I can’t remember the last time I was here,” he mused, eyes wide as he took the apartment in. It was pretty clean, thankfully. The cleaning staff here were amazing, but Annabeth didn’t really spend that much time in it anyway. Her place in New York was much, much more of a home. And had the floordrobe and dirty dishes to prove it. “Did you change the furniture recently?”

Annabeth shrugged. “Dunno. Not like anyone asked me my opinion on interior design.” Despite, you know, her graduate level qualification in architecture and design.

“Oh.” Her father frowned. “Well, I’ll remind someone to remind anyone doing remodels or decorations that they should talk to you. I know you don’t live here anywhere close to full time, but I want you to feel like it's home. Because it is your home.”

That would be… nice. “Thanks.” His arms were full of things, she just realized. “Do you need me to take something?”

“Can I just put it on the table?”

She nodded, looking over what he'd brought as he spread it out. A couple of bags of popcorn, a jar of olives, a stack of DVDs and… “Did you send someone to get Dunkin?” she asked, picking up the familiar orange and pink box.

“Not all the way to Boston,” her father assured her, chuckling. “There's one in Copenhagen.”

She smiled despite herself. She remembered being very small, and being in Boston with her dad. Maybe before they moved back to Sweden, or maybe on one of the trips he liked to take her on, before he got married. He’d shared a donut with her, and told her it was the one and only thing that America did better than Europe. She took a donut hole and bit into the sugary, fried goodness. It was not as good as the one she’d had in JFK, waiting for her plane, but this one had also traveled from Denmark, so it wasn’t fair to compare. “What are we watching?”

“I have an old collection of classics,” her dad said. “Roman Holiday for me, Legally Blonde for you.” He smiled, grabbing the Roman Holiday first. “It's late, so it's alright if, when we’re done, you want to go to sleep. But I brought a few others, too.” Sune’s Summer, Lotta, and…

“Clash of the Titans?” She asked. They used to watch it on his old VHS tape, straight out of the 80s.

“We haven’t watched that one together in forever,” he said. “I had to at least bring it.”

She smiled. “Let’s get started, then. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

She hoped she didn’t look too guilty during Roman Holiday, praying that memories of Percy Jackson and his stupid chest would fade soon (even if, hopefully, the memories of his tongue would stick around), but then Audrey went on about duty and rules and Annabeth was reminded of hers, though she didn’t not think she was making quite the same sacrifice as Ann. Gregory Peck wasn’t throwing away his career for her.

She waited until Legally Blonde though, because Elle made her brave. Her father and his siblings might have gone to Harvard, and Annabeth might have spent several years living in America, but taking that leap, leaving the sheltered worlds she had known, and moving to Boston for school had seemed momentous in a way other, arguably more stressful things never had. Royalty, bravery, and battle were in her blood. But Harvard University, being a single girl in the big city, that all seemed harder, in its own way.

Elle Woods was brave, so Princess Annabeth would be too.

“I’ve been thinking,” she started, as Elle stood in line to buy a laptop in her Playboy bunny suit, “About my future.”

Her father paused, then sighed, and she felt her stomach turn in a way that had nothing to do with the day old donuts or popcorn. “I see.”

“I… Do you have any thoughts?”

“About your future?”

“Yeah.” He had gone through the royal marriage process. Maybe he could give her some tips.

He leaned back, his mouth twisting. “Well,” he said, “I don’t think I can really speak to it without knowing what you’re looking for.”

Was he really going to make her say it? “Any tips for finding a spouse? You managed yourself a wife who loves being a royal. I’d love some suggestions on how to replicate that success.”

Brow furrowed, he didn’t look at her. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“For what?” For marriage? Probably not. But for the crown… Did he think she couldn’t do it?

“For–”

And then she decided, she didn’t really want to know. Rushing forward, she interrupted him. “Besides, it’s not really a question of readiness, isn’t it? I mean, it’s going to happen anyway.”

“You’re still young,” he said. “You don’t have to rush anything.”

“Not that young.” Twenty-five? It might not be the Middle Ages anymore, when sixteen year old girls were married off to prevent war. But still, every day she waited, possibilities slipped away. “I’m not planning on getting married next month,” she offered, “or even next year. But soon twenty-five will be thirty, and thirty will be thirty-five. If I start now, I can be selective, I can find someone Uncle Randolph and the court of public opinion will approve of.” She wondered if he even registered that she didn’t include him in the list of approving parties.

“Still, there is no rush.”

“That’s why now is a good time,” she told him. “It has to happen someday. Putting it off will only delay the inevitable, and possibly make the stakes that much higher.”

“What stakes could be higher than who you marry?”

Was he for real? “The succession of the monarchy of Sweden,” Annabeth said, with as much ‘duh doi’ as she could muster without actually saying it. “Heirs are supposed to have kids. That’s how hereditary monarchies work.” He should know this. They’d both minored in poli sci.

But he shook his head. “That doesn’t have to be your concern. Not about this, not about finding a partner.”

“Uncle Randolph is the king,” Annabeth pointed out, as patiently as she could. “You’re his heir. And I’m your heir.” Unless he decided to go with one of the twins, which–no. “Finding a husband is inextricably linked to the succession of the throne.” She refused to believe that he’d married his wife, the dear Princess Frederick, without at least considering how she’d react to royal life. Even if, on the whole, it was true love, or whatever.

“You still don’t need to make it your concern.”

“You have a way for me not to take the future of Sweden, the future of our very ancient bloodline, into account for all of my decisions going forward?”

“Yes,” he said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. “you can abdicate your position.”

Well, that was…not exactly unexpected, but also, not exactly expected, either. Again, it was the brazenness of it all. “Interesting proposition,” she said, popping a donut hole in her mouth. Her mind ran through the possible responses. “What exactly would I get out of that?”

The real question was what he might offer her to do so: a new title? Money? Finally loving her?

Her father took her hand. When she turned to look at him, she nearly jumped–he was facing her, his eyes deadly serious in a way that she had rarely seen before. “My dear,” he said, his tone grave, “you could have someone who loves all of you.”

Stunned, she said nothing.

But he went on. “Your mother was extraordinary, and I loved her very much. I believe she loved me, too–but only one part of me. And then when I married, it was to someone who only knew the other part of me.”

Annabeth didn’t mean to scoff aloud. But her father looked up at her, a question in his sad frown.

“I mean…” she hedged, awkwardly, “what doesn't she like about you? Other than the fact that you had the gall to have me before she got her hooks…” He frowned, and she coughed. “I mean, before she met you.”

Her father sighed, a deep, world-weary thing. And she was sure she was going to get some platitude about what a good woman her step-mother was, how she was a very important and valued member of the family, the sentiment of ‘more than you are’ going unvoiced deep below the surface.

“She enjoys being married to a prince, and she enjoys being a mother to princes,” her father said instead. “She loves being a princess, and she loves that I made her one. But… for all the issues between your mother and I, I never doubted that she loved me for the man I was, not titles or family. If anything, I think bloodline proved a discouragement, but she chose me, anyway. Your stepmother loves the prince she’s married to. But I think the fact that I am that prince doesn’t really matter. As you said, she resents that I had you, before I met her. Which is ridiculous on any level, of course, but with you… with what you mean to me…” he trailed off, and shook his head. “There is very little I regret in this life, Annabeth, except for how I hurt you, but I will admit… sometimes, the loneliness can be grating.” He squeezed her hand. “You are too wonderful to bear that loneliness.”

Predictably, she blinked back tears. She had borne that loneliness all her life. What would be any different about marriage? “You don’t think I can handle it on my own? Being queen?”

“Of course you can,” he said, without hesitation. Like it was unthinkable. “With grace and poise. But you shouldn’t have to.”

Pulling on her hand, her father gathered her into a hug, placing his head on top of hers. With a start, she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she had actually hugged her father. It was an awkward fit, on the couch, their bodies too far away for them to really hug it out, her arms resting almost limply at her sides.

“Don’t keep punishing yourself because of my mistakes,” he said, resting his cheek on the crown of her head. “Please, dear. You deserve so much more than you’ve been given.”

She froze, for a second, before slowly snaking her arm up around him. Her body relaxed into his hold, muscle by muscle, and she shut her eyes, blocking out the light and the noise of the TV and the voice in her head which whispered to her warnings of trickery or subterfuge.

No. This wasn’t a ruse. She wouldn’t let herself believe it. Instead, she would simply breathe in his scent, old books and motor oil, and appreciate the moment for what she wanted it to be.

[leiascully]

Fic: Citius, Altius, Fortius (MSR, T)

This ficlet is dedicated to the commercial about the adopted Paralympian that makes me sniffly every time.  I don’t even know what they’re advertising.  All credit to AAVE for the “hip” slang Mulder uses and basically all cutting-edge words in American English.

The Olympic theme was more of a suggestion than a fanfare, but Scully still leaned forward and turned the volume down a few more notches.  She could feel Mulder giving her that crinkly-eyed smile.  She knew the remote worked just fine over the distance between the tv and the couch, but it felt like it worked better when she leaned.  It was like Jackson and his video games, a sympathetic movement.

“I don’t want to wake Gracie,” she said.

“Good plan,” Mulder said, and put his arm comfortably around her shoulders as she leaned back.  Jackson snorted and looked away, but peeked back at them to check in.  Scully was glad she was there for him, the Ginger from his journals, she and Mulder solid presences in his life, bracketed by the ghosts of his adoptive parents.

“I didn’t think you two would buy into all this jingoistic shit,” Jackson said.

“We are still employed by the United States federal government,” Scully pointed out.

“They’re basically our coworkers when it comes to repping the flag,” Mulder said laconically.  “Gotta respect the hustle.  Besides, compared to a lot of national anthems, ours kinda slaps.”

Jackson winced, predictably, at Mulder’s attempt to use slang.  Scully sensed Mulder mentally adding a few tallies to his side of the imaginary scoreboard.  It was all so sweetly familiar, a song she hummed in her dreams.

“Still,” Jackson said.  “It’s all so fuckin’ rah-rah America.  I thought you knew better.  Like you said, you work for the government.  You know all the shit they pull.”

“For two weeks every two years, I support the finest athletes that wealth, health, grueling training, and the opportunities inherent in living in the country possessing the world’s largest economy can produce,” Mulder said, a trace of irony audible in his voice.  “And also anyone competing against Russia.”

“It’s a distraction from all the shitty things happening in the world,” Jackson said.

“It’s a damn good one,” Mulder countered.  “At least they’re not supersoldiers.”

“Some of them might be,” Jackson grumbled.

“Those abs,” Mulder said, sounding a little mournful.  He patted his stomach.  “I should have gone for the upgrade when I had the chance.”

“When I was little,” Scully said slowly, “my mother would tell me that the prowess of Olympic athletes was proof that God loved us.  She said that their bodies were miracles.  I don’t think about it exactly the same way now, but there is something almost holy about that quest to go farther and faster than anyone else ever has.  In a sense, we fly without wings.  We climb higher than we thought we could.  We run faster and farther than early humans imagined.  We lift heavier burdens.  We test our nerve and our resolve in feats of endurance.  We subject our bodies to almost-unbearable forces and conditions.  We test the laws of physics, twisting in the air or gliding over the ice.  For a moment, we defy expectation, gravity, and in a sense, mortality.  The athletes of the Olympics show us the potential of the human body and the human spirit in a way that our daily lives don’t, and we feel like we are there with them as we perch on the edges of our seats, our bodies echoing their movements as if we could lend them our strength.  It’s possible that sometimes a distraction is a welcome respite.  For a short time, the world is focused on something other than war.  Many of the results may be predictable, but astonishing things happen and we learn to expect the unexpected.  Athletes from nations and peoples that have been overlooked and exploited dazzle us.  A runner falls and someone pulls them up.  Someone may shatter their leg and because of that tragedy, someone else realizes their lifelong dream.  The Olympics are a microcosm of our own attempts to strive for perfection, a supercondensed spectacle that reminds us of all our potential.  In pitting us against the people of other nations, the Olympics somehow unite us in the pursuit of a singular goal, reached by various paths: a gold medal, and the accolades of an awestruck world.”

“I love it when you give a dissertation on everyday life,” Mulder murmured, kissing under her ear.

“A spectacle that displaces the people who are already the most fucked-over,” Jackson said, but there was a little less disdain in his words.  “A profit machine for corporations and a propaganda outlet for governments.  It’s a slippery slope from athletic superiority to eugenics.  Only the strong survive.”

“George Orwell said that athletic competitions were essentially a proxy for war games,” Mulder told her.  She craned her head to look at him.

“I thought you liked the Olympics.”

“I do,” he said, “but Jack has a point.”

“Hell yeah, I do,” Jackson said.

“I wasn’t saying the Olympics are perfect,” Scully argued.  “Just that they could be perceived as creating a net good.”

The broadcast cut to commercial, sentimental strings music welling quietly from the speakers.  Mulder looked away, rubbing at his eyes.  Jackson chuckled.

“It’s that easy, huh?” he said.  “All they need to get into your psyche is footage of someone winning something and some sad music, maybe a Morgan Freeman voiceover.”

“Wait until you get old,” Mulder said.  “Then you’ll be welling up at every Visa commercial.  These ads are designed by experts in psychological warfare.  The Olympic mindgames.”

“They remind us of you,” Scully told Jackson.  “You weren’t supposed to exist.  You weren’t supposed to survive.  And here you are, capable of things your father and I could never have dreamed of.”

“Whatever,” Jackson muttered, looking away and definitely not dabbing his face on the shoulder of his t-shirt.

Scully settled back into the couch.  Grace would be waking up soon - she wasn’t an Olympic-level napper - but until then, she had a moment to enjoy the half-scripted pageantry of the Games, savoring the bittersweet combination of impossible victories and unpredictable defeats.  It wasn’t unlike her own life, in a way: she’d accomplished things she’d never imagined, uncovered truths too painful to endure, run up against her own limits over and over and overcome them all to be sitting here, in her comfortable home, with her stalwart partner, dragged back from the dead, and their miraculous children.  The glint in Jackson’s eyes as he argued with Mulder was more precious to her than any medal; the sound of Grace’s sleepy sighs stirred her heart more than any anthem.  She stood atop the podium of her destiny.

She leaned her head on Mulder’s shoulder and watched the marathon swimmers cut through the water, one stroke after another, keeping themselves afloat for hours. She understood their exhaustion.  She understood their triumph.

“I like the dressage,” Jackson said unexpectedly.  “It looks like mind control if you do it right.  I’m not, like, asking for a pony.  I just think it’s cool.”

“I knew we could find some common ground,” Mulder said.  “What’s your opinion on medals for horses?”

“Horse-sized medals,” Jackson said immediately.  “Bankrupt the IOC.”

“That’s your son,” Scully told him.

“No denying it,” Mulder said in a smug voice.  The broadcast changed to gymnastics and they all sat forward, watching in awed silence, as history was made.

[iscariotapologist]

sorry to potentially derail,, u know, the actual topic of this blog, but you’re a horse trainer !! that’s so cool, it was my dream job as a kid 💛 can you tell us a bit about it?

you have reached the point at which my two greatest passions in life intersect. one thousand words betide thee

i've always been a horse girl (gender neutral term), i took lessons as a kid for several years until it got too expensive, then volunteered for a while, then started working at camps as barn staff in high school. this summer i'm doing my 6th season as camp barn staff. i thought i was done but this lady was really nice and really wanted me to work there and i have problems saying no to people. however teaching summer camp is not the same as actual horse training and i don't intend to do it forever. i also do french classical dressage (as opposed to modern/competition dressage sorry for sounding pretentious but theyre different), i did 15 months as a working student for that over the pandemic and i'm actually going back there for like a month and a half before the camp starts because they need help and i miss my horse friends.

specifically i am invested in ethical, soft, compassionate, scientifically backed approaches to training and problem solving. also i'm literally two inches away from finally getting my fucking degree in animal science, which is related. i also would like to do internships/working student jobs in eventing and rehabilitation, and there's a place in spain i'm looking at going to as well. so i'm not actually a horse trainer yet, but hopefully that's where i'm headed (unless and until i break my spine at the age of 26 or something and then i will probably just study theology and become a nun)

now i'm going to make this tangentially about god because i never get to talk about the spiritual dimensions of animal training and husbandry but now i am because it IS a good church and one of my favorite things to think about and this is my blog. working with animals can be a deeply spiritual experience if you allow it to be. many people come to it (especially with horses) with the mindset that you must be "dominant" or "#1" or "the alpha" in order for the horse to "respect" and obey you. not only is this shit fucking obnoxious as hell, it has been disproven numerous times and no good equine behaviorist will ever be saying people should act like that towards animals. horses literally do not have the brain function to understand concepts like respect (or spite, or mind games, or intentionally being evil, or most of the other things people make up to justify undesired behaviors). which is not to say methods that perpetuate these ideas don't work, they can, but it is going to come at the cost of the mental, emotional, and possibly physical health of the horse and likely yourself, and it is going to create other issues that it cannot solve. incidentally, communities where this kind of mindset is popular tend to run rampant with sexism, racism, toxicity and abuse (fuck you clinton anderson, rick gore, george morris, etc). actual good horse training requires more work on yourself than the horse, which is why it can be very spiritual. it also takes longer than most people want. horses are honest and true to themselves, they cannot be otherwise, and in this way i think they are excellent mirrors and conduits for the divine. if you can know this and recognize that there is always a reason for what they do (even if it's not a "good" reason or doesn't make sense to you) and not pass judgment or take offense, then you begin to let go of your ego and move towards compassion and understanding.

horses also require a level of consistency and being present to build genuine connection that is difficult to maintain, but is so immensely important....they don't have a concept of the future. they are entirely in the present with what their past has taught them, an aspect of which may be whether or not they can know what to expect from you, which for a prey animal (really for all of us) is vital. animals know when you are not there with them mentally, and they understand lack of consistency. one of my favorite quotes regarding horses is from ray hunt "they know when you know, and they know when you don't." they are simply there, and if you can really be there with them, that is a very great gift.

a cornerstone of my philosophy about horses is that they (and we) want to "be seen and heard, feel felt, and get gotten" (sarah schlote) and i think this is also what god does for us. there is immense power in being with someone in their vulnerability with a total lack of judgment, it facilitates connection like little else. horses get trauma and have to relearn trust too and helping them through it is a very unique and rewarding experience. i channel the stability and peace and consistency i get from god when i work with horses and it's like the most important part.

also there's undeniably an esoteric aspect of working with animals that people don't necessarily talk about because it's hard or impossible to quantify. i say this as a person invested in science with a not insignificant skeptic streak, when animal training is reduced to pure quantifiable reinforcement quadrant behaviorism it becomes quite flat. this is the other side of the pendulum from "the horse is playing tricks on you" anthropomorphism. fortunately modern animal behaviorism has moved beyond the skinner box so i want to say this isn't really a problem and i'm definitely more concerned with anthropomorphization, but worth mentioning that science is a growing thing and there are areas it hasn't reached yet.

bonus pictures of some of my horse friends because this post isn't long enough 💞

[misssophiachase]

Right of Way

For @klaroline-events KC Bingo - Enemies to Lovers - On AO3 and FF

At the Palm Beach Equestrian Club, Klaus Mikaelson is the prince of the polo field and Caroline the showjumping darling. They immediately dislike each other but, at the same time, can’t seem to get out of each other’s way.

right-of-way (noun) \ ˌrīt-ə(v)-ˈwā \

1: a legal right of passage over another person’s ground

2: in polo - when a player has the line of the ball on their right, they have the right of way (ROW). Enforced to keep all players safe and avoid collisions on the field, players may only enter or cross the ROW if they can do so safely and with enough distance.

Present Day (February) - Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre, Wellington, FL

(Caroline)

“I hate you.”

“Well, I hate you too, Forbes,” he growled, “now are you going to keep talking or am I going to have to...”

Before he could go through with his threat she’d pushed him up against the stall door, his intense gaze only increasing her desperation.

“Has anyone told you that you talk too much, Mikaelson?” He didn’t respond, just leaned in impatiently, his mouth claiming hers greedily.

Caroline pulled him closer, grabbing ample handfuls of his number 3 polo jersey. He was warm and familiar against her skin and a delicious aromatic mixture of spice and sandalwood. She’d never admit it, but Caroline loved being close to him post match. They’d just won convincingly, no surprises there, but he was always more needy and urgent and the sex decidedly more explosive.

His mouth travelled down her neck and Caroline had to bite her lip to stifle a moan. She wanted to take her time and enjoy him but given where they were that wasn’t an option. Plus, she knew from experience that he would make it up to her later.

He was trailing kisses along the length of her collar bone now, his lips teasing the swell of her breasts and his tongue close to delving into the valley between them when she heard a noise in one of the far stalls.

It startled them and broke up their kiss. They started at each other intently, panting but at the same time holding a silent discussion with their eyes. Should they risk it or should they move apart and avoid suspicion? It seemed like a fairly easy decision. No one could know they were together but the strong magnetic pull between them made moving seem inconvenient.

A further noise and subsequent horsey neigh made them realise that, unfortunately, it wasn’t going to happen. Not now anyway.

“I don’t like you that much anyway,” she reiterated, shrugging her shoulders. If he was offended by her comment he didn’t show it. His crimson lips curved into a knowing smile, a rogue dimple making an appearance in his left cheek.

“The feeling is mutual, love. Don’t miss me too much.” He was walking purposefully through the stables before she had a chance to reply.

Asshat.

Caroline hit her head against the stall a few times, hoping that it would somehow allow sense to prevail but unfortunately she knew if he kissed her again she wouldn’t resist. She was supposed to hate the guy not be rubbing up against him every chance she got.

Caroline felt a soft nuzzling against her shoulder, looking up into the warm and expectant eyes of her chestnut mare Coco.

“Don’t start,” she murmured, patting her nose affectionately.

How did she get here? How did they get here?

It had all started out so innocently. You don’t like the person, you ignore them.

Simple, right?

10 months earlier (April) - Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre, Wellington, FL

Equestrian was the way of life in Wellington. In fact, if you didn’t ride, compete or spectate there was no point in actually living there. Home to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre and to the famed Winter Equestrian Festival, they lived, breathed and everything else horse related. Caroline’s mom and grandmother had both competed at a national level and were local legends in her hometown.

She was following in their footsteps and out of the three she possessed the most natural talent. While skilled in dressage, her forte was showjumping and there were hopes she’d one day compete in the Olympics for the USA. As much as Caroline loved horse riding, she didn’t love the pressure associated with it.

Her best friend Kat competed with her from a young age, but she maintained she only stuck it out because she couldn’t resist a hot guy in jodphurs.

It was a Tuesday, Caroline remembered because she had her private lesson. After arriving at the club, she noticed a few new faces. Two guys and a girl, all around her age. The brooding blonde was especially good looking, he looked kind of familiar but she wasn’t sure why.

He also seemed generally unimpressed with his surroundings as the director Jenna Sommers showed them the facility. Caroline hung back, but was still close enough to overhear.

“The stables were built in 2017, there are sixty 12x12 stalls, twenty wash stalls, specialty hay and grain storage, multiple dressing rooms, laundry rooms, office space, full sized kitchen and bathrooms. There are three arenas, one covered, one sand and one grass.”

“And the polo facilities,” the blonde interrupted, clearly impatient. His voice was very English and his tone incredibly brusque.

“The Polo Club is adjacent. It spans nearly 250 acres and includes seven state-of-the-art tournament fields that can accommodate multiple games simultaneously.”

“I suppose that will have to do,” he muttered. Caroline knew she was biased but the polo club was internationally renowned and held many top level national and international competitions, this guy was clearly hard to please.

“Oh, Caroline,” she didn’t realise just how close she was. Jenna was looking at her curiously and she could tell was relieved by the interruption. “Meet the Mikaelson siblings, they’re new to Florida and the States. Caroline Forbes is one of our very best show jumpers.”

They seemed intimidating from the outset as they looked at her expectantly and Caroline wasn’t quite sure what to say, until she managed to get something out.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The good looking one’s eyes flickered over her attire briefly before looking away. Charming. Well, two could play at that game.

“Rebekah is the same age, Caroline,” she said, gesturing to the blonde girl. “Maybe you could take her out to the arena for your lesson so she can look around?” Caroline figured it wasn’t a suggestion but an order.

At first Caroline thought Rebekah was incredibly uptight. Katherine would say she had a stick up her ass and Caroline was secretly glad her best friend wasn’t part of the welcoming committee.

She found out that the family were members of the exclusive Cowdray Park Polo Club in West Sussex and Rebekah’s older brother was skilled in polo. Rebekah excelled in dressage and was quite heavily involved in competitions like Caroline.

“So, I take it this isn’t that impressive compared to your previous club in England?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Your brother didn’t seem very happy with the polo facilities.”

“Niklaus isn’t happy with anything,” she drawled.

“Niklaus?”

“He hates it but I do it just to annoy him,” she offered, a slight smile crossing her face. Maybe there was a less uptight side to her after all.

“No, I meant that name sounds familiar.”

“He’s one of the best polo players in England and beyond, but don’t tell him I said that because I will deny it,” she groaned.

Now, it was all coming back to her. Caroline didn’t play polo but knew she’d seen him on the cover of quite a few magazines. He was incredibly good looking but from what she’d seen, he was clearly arrogant and self absorbed too.

“None of us are happy that my father was transferred for work but Nik is feeling the move the most. Elijah is off to Yale so is only passing through town and Kol is Kol.”

Caroline wasn’t sure what that meant, but she was certain she’d find out.

4 months later (August) USA v Argentina Display Match, Palm Beach International Polo Club, FL

“Look at that South American stallion in action,” Katherine purred from the sidelines. “And by that, I don’t mean the horse.”

Caroline rolled her eyes although it wouldn’t be Kat if she wasn’t checking out the talent.

The annual display match was a big event on the club’s polo calendar. People from all around the country and overseas attended and it was one of the premiere fashion events of the year. Although Caroline enjoyed it, something was making it less that way. Or someone if she was being specific.

Klaus Mikaelson.

Watching him take the field like he owned the place was a bad enough start to her day. In the four months she’d had the displeasure of knowing him, Caroline had decided that he was one of the most arrogant, conceited and smug idiots she’d ever met. Of course, the other girls at the club didn’t share her feelings and were all vying for his attention on and off the field. Caroline thought they were all pathetic for not seeing what she saw.

That he was an ass.

Caroline had every intention of steering clear of the guy but it seemed as if everywhere she went, he did too. It didn’t help that her and Katherine had been spending time together with his sister. It also didn’t help that he looked so attractive annoying her. Whether it was a flash of those dimples or a curve of his crimson lips, Caroline found herself doing all that she could not to jump him. And she hated herself for that. It also meant she was moody more often and it clearly hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“The grouchy look on your face is doing nothing for that stunning Burberry dress, Care,” Kat insisted. Caroline looked down at the white, fitted ensemble thinking her friend was right that it didn’t match her personality.

“Why do we have to watch this?” She growled, noticing Katherine was about to interrupt. “And I don’t want to hear about the South American stallions."

“Well, unfortunately the club has this really annoying policy whereby all younger members need to be present. Apparently, it helps with publicity and that means more members and we all know what that means.”

“Money,” she murmured. “I don’t like it but I get it. But since when did we become the cheerleaders for the guy’s polo team? I don’t see any of them at our show jumping meets.”

“As much as you don’t want to hear this, polo is more popular and it doesn’t hurt that the club’s star player is the best advertisement they’ve got.”

“If you say his name…”

“The club has hit a gold mine with Hottie Mchottie as a member and I’m inclined to agree.”

“You did that on purpose.”

“I could have meant anyone,” she smirked. “Okay, maybe. I have to admit, I love the way he riles you up, it’s like watching live action foreplay.”

“You have a one track mind.”

“And you, my dear, are in denial.”

“I can’t stand him and his pompous ass.”

“Talking about his ass again, are we?” Kat teased. “Anyone would think you were obsessed.” Caroline gave her a look which plainly said she wasn’t interested in engaging. “Have you considered relieving some of that sexual tension with him in the nearest stable on a strategically placed haystack? You might find that helps with your general mood.”

“Well, on that rather weird and erotic novel type note,” she growled, annoyed that Kat probably had a point. She couldn’t stand the guy but there was no denying her attraction. “I’m going to get a drink and then spike it so I don’t have to deal with your wild opinions.”

“Best thing you’ve suggested all day, get me one too,” she called out to her retreating back. Caroline could hear her laughter and it wasn’t helping improve her mood.

“Why are you in such a bad mood?”

What was this, pick on Caroline day? She looked over at Kol Mikaelson standing by the buffet table, his plate piled high.

“You realise you can come back again for more, right?”

“This is my third helping,” he said, gesturing to his food. “I don’t know why they insist on these tiny plates.”

“Probably so people like you don’t hoover up the entire buffet in one fell swoop and leave nothing for the rest of us,” she offered. “I’m surprised to see you actually.”

“Really? This is my dream come true, free food and beautiful women.” Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes.

The youngest Mikaelson had always been an enigma to her. Kol had absolutely no interest in horses. Period. Unlike his sister and brother he only attended the club on social occasions. She actually found him to be the most fun, not that she’d ever admit that.

“Of course,” she sighed knowingly. “I’m not sure why I said that. I can see the food has been a hit, how about things on the girl front?”

“Not yet, but it’s still early. I have to say Katherine is looking…”

“I’m going to have to stop you there,” she interrupted. “I love my best friend but she is a pariah and will devour you and not in a good way. Plus, she likes older guys.”

“Well, that explains her checking out Elijah,” he muttered, referring to when his older brother visited the club on a break from college a month earlier. “Any other friends for me?”

“Not any I’d introduce you to, Kol,” she joked, noticing his face falter slightly. “The day is still young though and I’ve caught April Young checking you out.” Given the way his expression changed, Caroline figured she’d buoyed him slightly.

“Of course she was,” he grinned. “So, why so glum, sugar plum?” He asked, placing his plate down and looking at her earnestly. “Usually Niklaus has to be in at least a half mile radius for this kind of reaction.”

“This has nothing to do with…”

“I’m his brother and, trust me, I know the signs,” he advised. “I assume you’ve heard about the Winter Festival then?”

“Well, it’s held every year,” she replied.

The Winter Festival was the premiere equestrian event running from January to April every year in their hometown of Wellington. It was considered the largest and longest-running competition in the world and attracted varying levels of riders from all over the US and beyond.

“Yes,�� he drawled sarcastically. “I meant about you and Niklaus doing...”

“Me and Niklaus?” His face was ashen now, clearly he’d misjudged the situation and her reaction. “Doing what exactly.”

“You’re going to have to ask him,” he blurted out, holding up his plate of food like a shield between them. “I have no intention of being the messenger who gets shot, especially when I’m so young and handsome and have so much to live for.”

“Gee, how dramatic. Just tell me, Kol, “ she pressed. “Trust me, my anger will be squarely directed at your brother. If you need any proof just look at precedent.”

“He told me that you two are going to be the faces of the festival,” he mumbled. “Do all the publicity and promotional things for it.”

“Unbelievable...” she scowled. “I’m going to kill him.”

She was gone before Kol could offer any rebuttal.

45 minutes later

(Klaus)

“No need to tell me how wonderful I am, Forbes,” he smiled, walking towards the stall leading his stallion Jet.

He’d happened upon her pacing outside his stall, her white dress doing nothing to hide her delectable curves. He’d almost lost concentration multiple times during the match thanks to that particular ensemble. Klaus wasn’t one who lost concentration often but was starting to realise that Caroline Forbes did something to him that no one ever had before.

Sure, he liked to give her a hard time and revelled in the way she reacted but she’d commanded his attention for months now. No one even stood a chance when she was in his line of sight.

It started when they met. Those golden waves and blue eyes were mesmerising but if Klaus was being honest it was the slight dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose that really drove him crazy.

“I’m not one of your pathetic, sycophantic groupies,” she hissed, finally coming to a stop and placing her arms across her chest defiantly. “I hear you’ve been making decisions on my behalf.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he said, leading Jet into the stall and removing his bridle. Klaus wondered how long it would take for the news to reach Caroline.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t just go around making decisions on my behalf,” she argued.

“The festival, I assume?” He asked feigning innocence. “They needed two photogenic, equestrian talents to promote it. If anything I thought you’d be flattered.”

“Wow, you really think I’m going to fall into a giggling heap because you called me both photogenic and talented? You picked the wrong girl.”

“I didn’t pick anyone…”

“Oh no you don’t,” she shot back. “I just spoke to Jenna and apparently it was all your idea.”

“She asked me for suggestions and I obliged.” Klaus figured that at least sounded half true, even if it wasn’t.

Klaus knew that if he was going to be stuck doing publicity then the only person he wanted by his side was Caroline. Yes, it was selfish, and now, probably in hindsight, a little creepy sounding but he wanted her to see there was more to him.

“If that’s true,” she accused.

“If you do this then think of all the benefits.” She gave him a curious look and Klaus knew he had her attention. “Sponsorship, fame, fortune.”

“Just because you want those material things doesn’t mean I do,” she answered. “There’s more to life than all of this.” Klaus detected a sense of sadness in her tone, like show jumping wasn’t her only ambition in life. Before he could respond, she did. “Anyway, why would I make a pact with the devil?”

“You know, I’m much nicer once you get to know me, Caroline.”

“Says Satan,” she drawled. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Well, you’re going to have about six months to see it,” he replied.

“This is not happening,” she insisted. “I’m going to tell Jenna that this was all your hair brained scheme and I want no part of it.”

“Now, even I know you won’t do that,” he said, knowing he was right. If she backed out on this it would be frowned upon by the upper echelons at the club, not to mention her family. “Look, maybe you might even have a bit of fun. Did you ever think of that?”

“I’ve never associated you with fun,” she murmured. “More like the impediment to it.”

“We’ll see about that, love.”

“If we’re going to at least pretend to be friends, don’t call me love.”

Klaus watched her walk away, her hips wiggling hypnotically from side to side. Jet nuzzled into his neck, almost like he was thinking the exact same thing.

“Hooves off, boy, I saw her first.”

2 months later (October) - Municipal Beach, FL

“Why exactly am I wearing high heels on a horse on a beach?” She asked, as someone touched up her make-up. “I think this is up there with the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s supposed to be artistic.”

“Well, it’s not. Anyway, who asked you?” She shot back, as he held onto the reins of her horse. “You get to wear comfortable footwear at least.”

“If it’s any consolation, red is your colour,” he said, gesturing to the patent heels she was wearing. She groaned, no doubt moving around in order to get more comfortable, but given she was wearing a matching ball gown, Klaus knew it was no mean feat.

“I’ll tell you where you can stick your consolation, Mikaelson.”

“Now that’s not the way for a lady to speak, is it Jigsaw?” He spoke to the horse she was atop.

“Remind me never to agree to do this again,” she mumbled, leaning down so she could say it in his ear.

Klaus couldn’t help but laugh aloud, she’d been saying it ever since the publicity campaign began in September. Photo shoots had become commonplace for them but they’d also just finished a nation-wide interview blitz where he’d be charming and Caroline had no choice but to follow suit. He might have also held her hand a couple of times and gone out of his way not to deny a possible romance between the newest equestrian darlings. The media had eaten it up of course and Klaus was in no rush for it all to end. Luckily, they still had a while until it all wrapped up.

Her frustration with him seemed to only add to his need to be near her. Klaus knew it was a tactic she employed and that the attraction between them was not only one sided. Caroline seemed to make it her aim in life to keep her distance but Klaus could feel it in her looks and her touch.

“You secretly love the attention.”

“Not bloody likely.”

“Someone’s clearly been around me too long,” he teased hearing the ‘b’ word.

“And don’t I know it,” she groaned, then attempted to sit upright again in the saddle. In the process her left shoe fell off and landed on the sand. Klaus sprang into action, kneeling down and picking it up. He noticed her looking downwards from the saddle and held it up to her foot.

“I think there was a fairytale about this once.”

“That’s fantastic,” the photographer shouted excitedly, what seemed like a thousand clicks sounding out from his camera. “Smile, Caroline, it’s your very own Prince Charming.”

“You’re never going to let me live this one down, are you?” She asked through gritted teeth.

“Never, Cinderella.”

One month later (November) - Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre, Wellington, FL

“That’s not the right of way,” he insisted, watching as she attempted to get the ball further down the field. “The line of the ball needs to be on the right.”

“But it’s my right of way,” she argued, moving the ball again.

“No, that’s cheating.”

“You are no fun, anyone ever tell you that?” She laughed.

“They want the faces of the festival to play in the charity polo tournament,” he said. “I don’t think the organisers would take too kindly to you breaking the rules.”

“Polo is entirely too civilised for my liking, far too many rules.”

It was at that point, her horse stopped dead in the middle of the field and no amount of encouragement was going to move her. Klaus swept in and took possession of the ball and rode the rest of the distance to score.

“Hey, that’s not fair! My horse is broken,” she shouted.

“That’s no way to talk about Scout, is it girl,” he grinned, trotting closer so he could rub her ears and mane affectionately.

“Sabotage, that’s what this is,” she growled. “I should have known when you gave me one of your fifty million horses for practice.”

“I have three and every polo rider should have a few to choose from,” he remarked. “And as much as I love Coco, she’s not a polo pony.”

“She wouldn’t cheat like this little lady.”

“Says the biggest cheater of them all,” he teased, nudging her slightly.

Caroline, not wanting to be outdone, pushed back until it became a full on play fight. Catching him by surprise, Caroline pulled at one of his stray curls causing Klaus to reel backward and off his horse completely. It had been raining overnight so the field was wet and muddy in parts. Klaus managed to fall right into one of them.

As much as he wanted to get angry and be upset, Klaus couldn’t help but think her melodic laughter was contagious and he started to follow suit. Pretty soon they were both in fits of laughter and Caroline wasn’t expecting him to reach up and pull her off the saddle and into the mud with him.

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

“Says the girl who started it,” he joked. “I don’t know, I think mud is a good look for you.” Before she could react he’d smeared it across her cheek.

“You did not just do that!” Caroline threw some back, hitting him square on the chest. “This means war, Mikaelson!”

“Bring it on, Forbes,” he provoked, pulling her into the mud with him.

45 minutes later

“I think we can safely say that our first polo practice was a disaster,” Caroline murmured.

They’d both showered in the centre’s bathroom facilities and were sitting outside waiting on some clothes to dry. Klaus was trying not to notice just how good she looked in a towel, her usually creamy skin tinged pink from the hot water.

“I don’t know, I personally thought it was a lot of fun, especially when I pulled you into the mud pit.”

“Of course you did,” she drawled. He noticed her eyes riveted by a stray water droplet running down his bare chest. It seemed like he wasn’t the only one currently distracted by the view. “I, uh, didn’t think you had it in you, to be honest.”

“Have what in me?”

“I thought you were far too into yourself to let loose and have a bit of fun,” she offered. 

“Wow, you really think that badly of me?” He asked, not exactly surprised by her account of him but also slightly offended. “Talk about judging a book by its cover.”

 “I’m sorry but you seemed unimpressed with everyone and everything here after you arrived in town.”

“I was homesick,” he replied honestly. “I still am sometimes. I never wanted to leave England. My whole life was there, my friends, my family. Florida is like a whole other world and I wasn’t sure how to act.”

“Yeah, it is intense.” The empathy reflected in her eyes was enough to tell Klaus she was reconsidering her views. “You do that confident, smug act a little too well.”

“Trust me, it was difficult. This place is like horses on steroids, well you know not the animals themselves.” Klaus couldn’t believe how stupid he sounded, he decided to blame it on her being barely dressed.

“I know exactly what you mean, although Wellington is all I’ve ever known.”

“You said something about there being more to life than this,” he recalled. “What did you mean by that?”

“The dreaded legacy.”

“Family pressure?” He guessed. Klaus knew from asking around that both her grandmother and mother had been champion riders.

“This life was it for them,” she murmured. “This is all they’ve ever known and they want me to follow in their footsteps but I’m not quite sure that’s what I want.”

“You mean there’s more to life than this equestrian dream?”

“I want to get out of Wellington, go to college next year and see what else is out there.”

“Have you ever considered talking it out with them?”

“Many times,” she shared. “But I chicken out every time. How do you start a conversation like that?”

“My step father is the opposite,” he offered. “Mikael thinks riding around on a horse is extremely unmasculine and that I should be doing more practical things in my life, like concentrating on college.”

“Wow, he sounds like a real…”

“Ass?” He answered for her. “I think he hoped this move would make me reconsider polo but I don’t really know anything else.”

“We are an extremely pathetic duo.”

“Maybe we need to do something to cheer ourselves up,” Klaus suggested, trying to ignore just how much he wanted to pull off her towel and play out every single fantasy he’d had starring Caroline.

“I’m not going to roll around in the mud again with you, Mikaelson.” He could tell by the way she was looking at him, biting her lower lip as her eyes devoured him, that she wasn’t opposed to it at all.

“I could think of other, more clean, ways to pass the time until our clothes are dry?” She clearly didn’t need to be asked twice.

“Now that you mention it, I think I missed a few spots,” she smiled, pulling him up by the hand and leading him towards the showers.

“I’d be more than happy to help with that, love.”

The tension that had been building between them for months finally dissipated in a shower stall. Her back up against the tiles as he moved inside her, the hot water falling down on them. Time stood still and they only emerged once the water ran out and they were forced back to reality in a cold burst.

As relieving as it was, Klaus was disinclined to ask too many questions in case the spell was broken. Caroline seemed just as reluctant. Suddenly, being near each other was all that mattered and any talk about their feelings pushed into the background.

Present Day (March) - Competition Arena, Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre, Wellington, FL

(Caroline)

“Only one circuit between you and the championship, Care,” Kat smiled, giving Coco an obligatory good luck sugar cube.

Caroline barely heard her best friend or the announcer over the loudspeaker, she was too busy trying to get into the competition zone. Usually, it was easy to block out outside influences but she’d been struggling for the last few weeks.

It had all started when Klaus decided to ask the question they’d managed to avoid for months now. They’d finished their ‘picnic’ at a secluded spot they secretly visited and rather than redressing and leaving as usual, he’d asked the question.

“What are we?” She’d frozen to the spot, unable to respond. They didn’t do this, they didn’t talk about their feelings or wherever this was going between them. They didn’t do anything.

“Klaus…”

“You and I both know that things can’t continue like this.”

“Why not?” She cried. “We’re having fun, we’re enjoying ourselves. Let’s not ruin what we have.”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know what we have,” he murmured. “I know that you make me happy and that the last few months have been the best of my life.”

“So, why do we have to put a label on it?”

“Because no one knows about us, we hide away like we’re ashamed of being together. I don’t want to do that anymore because I love you, Caroline.” He’d never said that before and she wasn’t quite sure how to handle it, especially mid-fight. His gaze was as intense as it was imploring.

“It’s just…” Caroline broke off, unable to explain how she was feeling and what she wanted. She knew she had strong feelings for Klaus but it scared the hell out of her. “You’re going to Oxford in the fall and…”

“So, you’ve had enough of me then? This was all just a game to you?” She knew it wasn’t a game but it was difficult to find the words. She was expected to keep on the equestrian track in the States and the thought of him leaving her there was too much. 

“Of course not,” she murmured, her gaze now firmly downcast to avoid his gaze. “I just don’t know where this is going and the sooner we realise that the better.” 

He was gone before she looked up and they hadn’t spoken since.

“Caroline, hello?” Katherine asked, waving her hands in front of her face animatedly. “Where did you go? If that was a sex trance, I want to know all of the dirty details.”

“I only told you about that because you’re my best friend, but I have no intention of going into detail, even if you’re giving me those pleading, sex-starved eyes.”

“No fun, bestie,” she pouted. “So, why do I sense there’s trouble in paradise?”

“There’s no trouble,” she offered. “We’re actually not seeing each other anymore. It’s really for the best given...”

“Are you dumb or blind or both?”

“It’s not going anywhere, he’s off to England in the fall and then what? I’ll still be here doing what I do.”

“And you sound so excited by that prospect.”

“You’re going off to Columbia, Rebekah to Harvard and I’m going to Brown, not because I really want to go there but because it has the best equestrian team.”

“You need to tell your mom that this isn’t the life you want.”

“Easier said than done,” Caroline groaned. “Did I tell you that I got into Oxford?”

“What do you think?” Kat drawled. “How could you not tell me this, I’m only your best friend.”

“I only received the letter on Thursday.”

“So, I’m officially confused. You want to go to Oxford, you always have. Doesn’t this mean that all the moaning and groaning about Klaus and a possible future is redundant?”

“Kat…”

“Caroline, I say this with love, but you’re an idiot. Yes, your family wants one thing but I think you’re old enough to make your own decisions. Plus, I bet the equestrian team at Oxford is pretty good, you know if you want to keep your options open.” She did have a point.

Caroline didn’t have time to respond though because one of the guys they knew from the polo club came running towards them frantically.

“Please tell me that’s not some new and really bad dance?” Kat asked, looking at him curiously.

“There’s been an accident on the polo field.”

“What happened?” Caroline asked, her stomach dropping. It could have been anyone but for some reason she felt like it was him.

“Number 3,” he panted. “Opposing team broke the right of way, there was a collision and he was thrown off his horse.”

“Is he okay?” Caroline asked, all composure lost. She didn’t care who knew just as long as he was going to be okay.

“They took him to hospital by ambulance, he was unconscious,” he replied.

Caroline handed Katherine the reins, and they held a conversation with their eyes. The decision about what to do was the easiest one she’d made. No championship was worth it, she was going to the hospital.

1 hour and 45 minutes later

(Klaus)

“He always was the most dramatic one in the family.” Klaus heard Rebekah’s voice as he started to come to. They all knew she was the most dramatic but liked to pretend she wasn’t.

“Oh, look,” Kol exclaimed. “I guess Rebekah having a voice like nails on a blackboard has finally come in handy. Welcome back, Niklaus.”

“Is this a nightmare?” He managed to get out, his gaze trained on his younger siblings.

“Wow, you made a joke,” Rebekah cooed. “Looks like big brother is back with an even worse sense of humour.”

“Can I have some water,” he rasped, his throat dry, not to mention a splitting headache. “And as much as I love your comedy act, can we please keep the yammering to a minimum.”

“Oh, he’s definitely back,” Kol joked. “How about I get some water and you find the doctor, Beks?” She hated that nickname and her scowl confirmed it.

They both left the room and Klaus had to admit he was happy to enjoy the silence and just close his eyes for a moment.

Although he wasn’t at fault, Klaus knew he’d been off kilter for a few weeks now and might have had a slight lapse in concentration. It was bad enough he hadn’t seen Caroline since their argument but the worst part was that she didn’t even seem to want to try and make things work for them. She also seemed embarrassed for some reason and that hurt more than Klaus had imagined.

Sure, things started off fun and as much as Klaus liked that he knew things couldn’t continue that way. Yes, he was off to Oxford but he hoped that she’d offer to try rather than giving up. He even told her he loved her and nothing. To say he was hurt was an understatement.

“Oh my god,” he heard her voice, almost like he’d summoned her or something.

“Klaus.” He could hear the emotion and the slight wobble in her voice. “What have you done?” He heard her take a seat at his bedside and felt her take his hand. Klaus knew he should have opened his eyes but he was curious about what she might say.

“Please tell me the other guy looks worse and if not I’m going to kick his ass.” Klaus had to fight the urge not to smile. She was incredibly adorable when she was being jealous.

“Can you please just open those pretty eyes so we can talk? I want to tell you what an idiot I was last time I saw you.” As much as he wanted to do just that and gloat, Klaus stayed still waiting.

“Fine, if you’re going to be stubborn about it,” she muttered. “A couple of things.”

“One, I was an idiot and if you expect me to admit that when you’re conscious, think again. Two, I was scared about losing you and what we have because my family has these overwhelming expectations and I was trying to be all things to all people.” Klaus figured she was just about done and then she continued.

“Three, I want you and I want us and I love you and I really regret not saying that the other week. And finally, four, I got into Oxford and I really want to go but I don’t want you to think I’m some crazy weird stalker..”

“You got into Oxford?” His eyes flew open and he spoke before thinking, he was that shocked.

“You were awake the whole time?” She growled, squeezing his hand tightly.

“Ouch, Caroline.”

“You deserved it,” she insisted, before relenting and loosening her grip. “Yes, I got into Oxford.”

“And you love me?”

“Well, there’s no point in asking given you heard it all,” she muttered.

“And you were an idiot?”

“I’m never going to live that one down, am I?”

“Probably not,” he smiled, pulling her closer. “But I wouldn’t have you any other way. Hang on, aren’t you supposed to be competing right now?”

“I was but decided I needed to be here,” she replied. “I need to start doing more of what I want with my life. But don’t let it go to your head, Mikaelson.”

“Come up here,” he asked, pulling her onto the bed so she was laying beside him. She felt familiar, comfortable and like home. “I want to make up for the last few weeks.”

“You want to do it in the hospital bed?”

“No, but someone is clearly over eager,” he chuckled.

“I’m so glad I’m in a hospital right now because I’m going to be sick,” Kol groaned, walking into the room with the doctor and Rebekah on his heels.

His reaction was predictable but Klaus and Caroline didn't really care, they were far too immersed in each other to even respond. Not when they had a future to look forward to and, after all of the initial animosity, it was most definitely worth it in the end. 

[charlierainfordsso]

Okay, since it’s Christmas/New Year, your local ginger Jorvik-obsessed grinch is feeling vaguely festive. So, as a present, I gift to you a long Charlie x Josh piece, which explores how they met and is full of nauseating fluff and so much sweetness you’ll probably have to go to the dentist for cavities. It’s under the cut, happy holidays- now let me grinch in peace.

___

When the roads of Jorvik became blanketed in at least two foot of snow overnight, traffic ground to a halt. There was no way lorries and cars were getting through this. The owners of the delicate warmblood horses tucked them away in their stalls, wrapping them up more carefully than any Christmas present. Suddenly, the landscape was dotted with hairy, sturdy ponies and cobs, the only horses capable of ploughing their way through the deep drifts to get where they needed to be.

But Charlie could.

Isolated from the rest of Jorvik, the rangers of Redwood Point worried about how they’d feed their horses. Rovar’s Gap had drifts up to their armpits. No feed lorry could get through there.

Right now, she was in Silverglade village, loading supplies into a well-crafted sleigh. Standing patiently at the front, their breath curling into white clouds of steam, were Dreamweaver and Foxfire, known more commonly by their stable names, Fancy and Sven, respectively. The two grey Irish cobs could have passed for twins were it not for Sven’s paler coat. It had been a long time since Chas had worked the two in harness together, but she’d dug the old leather out from her tack room, shined it up, and borrowed a sleigh from the Jarlassons, who bred and drove Clydesdales.

The two harnessed horses drew a crowd of curious children, all wrapped up to the ears in scarves and hats and mittens by their doting parents. Sven, good natured as ever, bent his great shaggy head down to their affection. Fancy kept hers up and haughty, but still had a crowd of admirers. The mare almost seemed to be posing, aware of how striking she looked in the brass and leather gear.

Charlie flicked her red hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand as she noticed a stir over by Steve’s barn. She glanced back at the loading process, but Courtney, Big Bonny, and Lance, who was back in the village visiting his parents for Christmas, rather than at Starshine, were all helping out. They seemed to have it well under control, so Charlie made her way curiously towards the barn.

She didn’t expect to see Josh holding court, but that’s exactly what she saw. Blankets and cushions were spread out over the floor of the barn, and a group of entranced teenagers were gathered while he told a story with lively gestures and his wonderfully free grin. He had a lock of his white-blonde hair falling into his eyes, and Charlie wanted to brush it out of the way. She’d offered to cut it, but he said he liked the longer length. And it suited him. Softened his features a little.

Charlie took her eyes off her boyfriend and let them wander over the group of teens. These few had chosen to stay for the winter Jorvik experience, rather than the oh-so-popular summer camp. She wondered how many of them would stay on at the end, like she had, two years ago now.

But then again, she thought as she glanced over to Josh with a small internal smile, I had love to make me stay, and that’s a powerful motivator.

None of the teens looked older than fifteen, and Charlie, though she was only nineteen, suddenly felt rather old, envying their fresh faces, their innocence, their differences all lost in the face of their shared love for horses. She hoped none of them would have to learn of the Soul Riders, and the fine and dangerous line they walked between good and evil to keep the two separate. Across the miles that separated Starshine Ranch and Silverglade, Charlie felt Stargazer sense her sudden weariness. She knew that the handsome chestnut Jorvik Warmblood raised his head from his grazing, gazing across the river as though he could see her.

‘Are you okay, dear heart?’ His resonant voice asked her gently in her mind.

‘I’m fine, fire horse. Not a thing to worry your head about.’ Her response seemed to settle him, but she could feel his concern linger, so she added; ‘Go back to your grazing. We’re not strong enough to do this for long without a headache yet.’

He sent her a wave of affection that she returned, then she felt his presence leave her mind as she returned to the here-and-now.

Josh was spinning the youngsters a tale that he’d once fooled her with; the Jackalope story. He hadn’t noticed her yet, so she leant quietly against a wooden column and folded her arms, listening to the same soothing drawl that lulled her to sleep on the bad nights. He didn’t understand all that she did to keep Jorvik and then the world from descending into chaos, but he knew all about nightmares. And he was the one thing that kept them at bay for her, just as she did for him.

“…I zagged and I zigged, but the beast caught me… with the razor-sharp teeth of a rabbit and the pent up anger of an antelope, it gored me through my favourite foot!”

Charlie covered her mouth with her sleeve, suppressing a snigger. She knew this game of his well. He’d see how ridiculous he could get before someone caught on. It was how they whiled away the long hours of herding cattle between Starshine and Mistfall, him with his story-telling and her backing him up, straight-faced, as they rode along.

“When the winter wind blows, I still feel the sting…” Josh dropped his voice ominously, and Charlie gained a petty amusement from the way the younger teens clung to each other’s arms, “…and my foot’s never been the same since. I won’t show you the scar, the sight of it would horrify you! To this day I can’t take my boots off in front of others.”

He straightened up from his looming posture and the young riders glanced at each other nervously, clearly spooked. Charlie remembered being at their stage well. Experienced enough to know that Jorvik was a magical place, and yet…not wise enough to know what to believe.

“What do ya think?” Josh asked cheerfully, seemingly unaware of his nervous audience, but Charlie caught the glint of mischief in his hazel-green eyes. He looked around, finally spotting her. She lifted one hand from her folded arms, gave him a tiny wave. He gave that heart-flipping grin of hers, and a sly wink. Play along. She could do that.

“Well obviously,” she said, keeping her voice neutral and deadpan as she pushed off the column and sauntered forwards, “you zagged when you should have zigged.”

Her words garnered the attention of the teens, and she heard their flurry of whispers. All things she’d heard before.

“…she’s the one who got trained by those weird druids…”

“…I heard her horse is the bravest in Jorvik …”

“…well I heard they’re both equally crazy…they ride stunts no sane person or horse would try…”

“…she knows Anne Von Blyssen, the dressage rider…”

But she kept her attention on Josh. The teens’ distraction gave him enough time to arrange his face in a very good mockery of surprise.

“You mean some kinda zig-zag manoeuvre? That’s so crazy it might actually work! Gotta pass that to my buddies in the US.”

“You do that.” Charlie remarked with a grin, before turning to the teens. “Alright kids, story time’s over. You guys have horses to take care of.”

They scattered faster than those unnervingly stealthy chickens at Sunfield Farm. Chas wandered up to Josh, stepping into his waiting embrace and wrapping her arms around his torso. She buried her face in his shirt, breathing in his scent. Pine and fresh air and saddle oil.

“Hi,” she said happily into his shoulder, tightening her hold as his hand stroked her hair, “what brings you to Steve’s?”

“Hi yourself darlin’,” he responded quietly, “picking up some feed for Mary’s sheep. What are you up to then?”

Charlie gestured vaguely behind her in the direction of the sleigh. “Taking supplies up to Redwood Point. Can’t get a lorry up that slope with the snow, never mind over the bridge.”

Charlie gave an internal shudder at the thought of any motor vehicle trying to cross that stone arch in snow. It was bad enough without. She felt Josh’s chin move on her hair as he looked towards the sleigh.

“Smart.” he said approvingly, and she felt a pleased warmth at the compliment, stepping back from his embrace to move around to his side. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and she put hers around his waist, as they wandered outside, strides in sync. “Looks like we’ve got a little time before they finish loading.”

Charlie gave a hum of agreement. She glanced over to the young riders, now fetching their mounts from Steve’s paddock. Their orange tops, swapped from t-shirts to thick fleeces for the winter, marked them out as visitors. Their loaned horses, the Jorvik Warmbloods that Moorland specialised in, were shaggy with their thick winter fur. Charlie was pleased to note there were a couple of boys among the riders. Moorland’s riding camps had always had a bit of a gender imbalance, but that seemed to be changing.

“I remember being one of them.” Chas said a little nostalgically, shooting Josh a mischievous grin as they ambled up to the runestone on the tiny hill behind Steve’s taking in the view. “Simpler times, eh?”

“Worse times,” Josh said firmly, “because I wasn’t with you.”

“You sap.” Charlie nudged him affectionately with her elbow, before standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, fully aware of just how cold her lips were. He retaliated by tickling her ribs under her thick fisherman-knit jumper and she squirmed away, putting her hands on her hips in mock-offence. He pouted teasingly at her, before opening his arms. Unable to stay mad at him, even as a joke, she accepted his hug.

“First time I saw you, you were one of them,” Josh recalled, gazing down towards Moorland. Chas cocked her head and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, “but I never told you about that, did I?”

Chas shook her head. “You have to tell me now.”

Josh cleared snow off the low stone wall and sat, pulling him down with her. “It was in the days before the ranch, when I still worked at Moorland…”

“A year before,” Chas recalled, “that was when I arrived.”

“Right,” Josh nodded, “your hair was all blonde and spiky and short then.”

Chas held a strand of her long red hair and examined it. Sometimes she still thought she could see blonde dye at the very ends, though it had been so long since she’d dyed it.

“Anyway, there you were, this spiky scrap of a girl with that stallion that everyone else gave up on for his temper, but you saw yourself in him…and I remember lookin’ at you two and thinking…”

They looked like they’d like to fight the world. And they looked like they might just win too.

That was what Josh thought when he saw them. Loretta had wandered over to introduce the newest batch of summer campers, giving him some half-hearted flirting since Justin wasn’t paying her any attention. As usual, the oblivious boy remained…well, oblivious.

They were the usual bunch of fresh-faced horsey hopefuls, wide-eyed and wondering. Most of them were British, and stared at his Western gear in abject fascination.

But she was different. It wasn’t that she wasn’t British. She was, and when she spoke it was a Highland Scots accent that sounded like the river rolling over smooth stones. It was her attitude. She stood apart from the others, tall and lean as a whip, golden eyes distrustful and sharp as a fox. At her back stood that stallion, Stargazer. Josh knew that stallion all too well. He was a rescue. Nobody knew his past, but he treated each human as though they were his mortal enemy. He’d launched the farrier through a stable partition just last week, and nobody in Moorland stables hadn’t experienced the fiery chestnut’s wrath. With the exception of Justin, the only human Stargazer seemed to tolerate. And even then, only barely.

Yet here that fiery devil-horse stood, muzzle nearly touching this strange girl’s shoulder. He was more fierce than a knight guarding a royal, or a dragon guarding a damsel, like in the stories Josh’s mother had read him as a child, tucked up in bed in their Wyoming mountain cabin. What kind of magic had she worked? Not, of course, that magic was real (or so he thought at the time) but if it was, she had to have used it.

Her hair was in spikes that seemed to represent her personality. When she answered a question her responses were often monosyllabic, always cutting. Her face was striking, a straight arrogant nose, a strong, sharp jaw, heavily freckled from the summer sun, but never showed a smile or even a twitch of her lips.

Josh was intrigued by her, he couldn’t deny it. His mother had never tired of reminding her that troubled people led others into trouble, but he found himself around the troubled ones, humans and horses alike, all too often.

“Charlie Rainford. Strange  kid.” Thomas had remarked, his dark eyes, so like his son’s, watching the new riders take care of their horses. The girl, Charlie, seemed to be in her own world with Stargazer, the usually temperamental stallion dozing as she brushed him. “Won’t talk about her parents or home life at all. Just that they sent her here to get her out of the way. Horses make her happy, and she’s a natural. I’d swear she’s ridden before- and maybe she has. But she’s reckless- rides like the Devil’s chasing her. And if she doesn’t, then the horse runs like it anyway. They’re bad as each other.”

Josh let his gaze drift to her again. “He thrown her off yet?”

“He tried. Bucking, bolting, nearly flipped over. Went the whole nine yards. She stuck like a limpet and hasn’t had a problem since.”

Josh was fascinated. What had made Stargazer take to her? Why hadn’t she given up on the sour horse like everyone else?

From that day on, as much as Josh tried to break the habit, he couldn’t help but notice Charlie Rainford whenever she was nearby.

“Really? I caught your attention even then?” Charlie was amazed. She remembered that first meeting. She’d been hurt and a little disoriented over her parents abruptly launching her to Jorvik, finally having had enough of her constant chaos and troublemaking in a desperate bid to get them to look at her, their daughter, rather than an expense, someone to be paraded at parties for all their rich friends then hidden away again. Jorvik was strange, loud and confusing. The only thing that had made sense was Stargazer, that let-down, angry look in his eyes the same as hers, and she’d known instinctively that all he needed was someone who wouldn’t give up on him.

She’d noticed Josh as she trailed at the back of the group, distancing herself. He’d seemed friendly, polite, but distant. A couple of years older than most of the summer camp riders. She’d heard the other girls whispering about him in the stables, about how “cute” he was. All she’d seen was another person to potentially let her down if she got close. So she’d stuck to Stargazer, the horse becoming her rock and anchor, the only thing that supported her as her world was turned upside down by magic and mayhem.

Eventually though, that had changed. The quiet, calming manner Josh always had around spooked horses had gradually worked on her, settling her. He’d shared his dreams of having a ranch with her, and in response to him letting his guard down, she’d confided her past in him. Though he hadn’t quite understood the whole Soul Rider business, he’d supported her through it, eased her grief over Elizabeth when the time came. And she always knew when he needed a distraction from his homesickness, or just someone to listen to him.

At the end of Charlie’s summer camp, she’d flat-out told her parents she wasn’t coming home. She was a legal adult, Jorvik needed her and accepted her for who she was. The other reason, of course, was her steadily growing love for Josh, which she hadn’t admitted to anyone then, not even to herself.

The admission of their feelings had come at Christmas last year, in a beautiful yet all-too-cliche mistletoe moment carefully set up by Alex and Maya (with how clueless those two were about eachother, Charlie thought, it was a miracle they’d clued into Josh and Charlie) at a party hosted by the Moorlands. And now, here they were. Charlie looked at Josh’s side profile, suddenly aware of how very lucky she was. He turned his head and caught her looking, smiling at her. She traced his features with her gaze.

“What are you lookin’ at?” he asked her, pulling her closer against his side. Charlie shook her head, feeling a faint warmth in her cheeks.

“Nothing at all,” she murmured, “merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

He tilted her chin up with a finger, dropping a sweet kiss on her lips before grinning at her. “And happy anniversary too.”

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Appendix 5

The Silver Rose: Silverglade’s Fashion and Equestrian Boutique

The Fashion for the Sterling Rose was one of the biggest, and actually the first, things that I did for this project. I went to school for fashion design and part of my identity outside of “indie author” is “fashion designer.” My love of games and my love of fashion design kind of grew up side by side. So, a job where I could design fashion and have it be in a game is kind of one of my huge dreams. It’s also one of my “responsibilities” in Mystic Riders MMO is to make the different “brands” of the different areas.

I wanted to practice more to prove that I could do clothes on figures that aren’t 9 head fashion figures and have them look good. Star Stable Online’s figures are actually about five and a half heads high. They’re between preadolescent and older teen artistic biological proportions. (An adult being 8 heads and an older teen being 7.5 or so.) I found some concept art on Tumblr and used those figures to basically redress them. I believe (though I can’t be certain) that Star Stable provides blank figures for both horses, equipment, and clothes to their concept artists.

This would save time and is exactly what I would do if I was in charge of the game. This is part of what they call a game document. Game devs love the game document and some won’t work for you if you don’t have it.

So, the clothes and equipment I designed are based off of the Winery Set and Silverglade Clan Riding Outfit and anything that said “Baroness” on it. I selected the purples from the clothes (way too many purples) to be my color palette.

I used their basic blocks (what I call the different styles the texture artists paint the clothes on for the game) and tried to design details that would fit together to create a mix and match line of clothes.

This ended up being 20 total outfits from head to toe including the Baroness’ Riding outfit and the Silverglade Clan Riding Outfit. There needed to be pants, shorts, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, dresses, hats, gloves, and I also made earrings and headbands because they added them to the game and I can.

I wanted the group to have a jockey outfit, a dressage outfit, a showjumping outfit, and at least one Western outfit (there ended up being two) and redesigned the outfits of a couple of the NPCs so they’d fit with the updated look of the area. Plus, Lin, Pauline, and Tyra are basically triplets and this needs to stop.

I tried my best not to make anything that wasn’t present somewhere in the game already. The details ended up being roses, the sporty racing stripe from the Silverglade Clan set, the dots from the Winery Set, ducks, pearls, and the Silverglade clan swirl like emblem.

I also did what we call in fashion, merchandising, of these items. When you merchandise an item, you take what you believe are going to be the biggest selling items in your collection and you make them in more than one color or material.

Because this is a game and we don’t really have to worry about store space, I merchandised every item to have at least two color swaps (the jockey outfit) to five color swaps. Any more than five and the images started looking confusing. I used the rose shape and filled it in with different colors to mimic the item being merchandised.

Hopefully with these clothes, the player could dress their character for everything from championships to a garden party. And these clothes could be expanded upon later to add more to the store if necessary.

For instance, I didn’t do any fall or winter clothes really because it’s eternal summer in Jorvik! They’ve also added a could new blocks since I did this, so we could do a handkerchief hem shirt and so on.

For the equipment, I merchandised by showing on the different saddles, and blankets of each style what the color combos could be. The clearest probably being the different leg wraps. Because they’re the same colors and to an extent they have the same type of decorations (the Silver Drakes Fancy Gear Set being the exception) you can still mix and match them together.

Merchandising is for the purpose of gaining more sales. Someone might like a style but want it in a different color. Having that color available means that they are more likely to purchase the item. (This is me, now, in Star Stable, going “where is that in black?”)

Then to complete a head to toe look, I researched makeup and hair options because I felt the Baroness would like old fashioned and elegant hairstyles for her ladies in the riding club. Then I tried to come up with makeup looks that were classic fifties or could be worn at night.

Jewelry is all about theme and variation. Take your theme and start mix and matching them together.

Then for fun, I took some of the details and gave them to the ducks. (Yes, I started with their Seagull in the game. It’s now a duck. Let’s not go into what I had to do to make it look like a duck.) Because who doesn’t want a cute fancy duck?

Whew... that is a LOT of images!

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[writingonjorvik]

Can We Discuss Passive Cooperation?

Another topic I can mostly discuss before the interview. Y’all, I promise it’s coming out soon. We’ve got one more person to hear back from, but with the recent outbreak and work from home situations, things will continue to get backed up. I promise it will be out soon, hopefully within the next week or two so you can listen while you run around doing Soul Riding. With that said, let’s get into this actual topic.

So if you’ve been following WoJ for a while, you know that I think SSO is lacking in providing on that MMO experience. And I also know statistically that that isn’t necessarily a popular opinion that folks want to see more. However, I think a lot of folks think when I say I want more multiplayer experiences, they mean content that’s locked behind having to PUG, and that’s not it.

Again bringing up GW2, one of the reasons I love it is because of its passive cooperation. There are a lot of ways that game encourages you to interact with others without needing to be in a group. Did someone die? You get experience for rezzing them. Is there a big event going on? Everyone participating gets experience for jumping in and helping. Want to do a meta? Just follow the one commander willing to give instructions and you’re good. That doesn’t mean GW2 gets it perfectly. There are plenty of folks who can be standoffish in more difficult content, but overall, the game has a really solid passive cooperation built into its PvE and reward players for playing together, without locking off a lot of its content by forcing them to.

And that is what I want to see more of from SSO. Right now, the only really supported co-op mechanics are all PvP, which in a lot of ways goes against the laid back vibes of SSO. Other co-op activities, like picnics and the disco, have only gotten minimal updates over the years. By in large, the only other co-op scene is role plays, and that’s got its own can of worms. Not that it’s bad, but it can be a little bit to get into. There are very little incentives to interact with others, to include that a lot of players want a block all option, something I hope doesn’t get added outside of maybe a reduce players loaded bar of some kind. This is supposed to be an MMO after all. While it would be nice in photo mode, it’s supposed to be multiplayer.

So, what are some ways SSO could bring more cooperation without forcing people to interact? Well, here are just a few suggestions to get folks already in groups and out of groups to interact more:

1. Quest Support

I think while SSO’s story should always be soloable, I think having extra dialogue options for bringing a group with you, particularly for people who like SSO canons where there are multiple chosen ones, is fun. It also adds a much easier way to help other players find hidden objectives if you can actually see their quest goals too, even if you can’t complete it for them. Things like being able to catch hens with friends or help them get their fish for the day are all options that would make some more grindy options more tolerable. Also, with the new quests building in this “candidates” potential, I think there’s more room in the narrative for other powerful druids.

2. Championships

I know I just said we don’t need more PvP content, but championships really need an update. I’ve talked about this before and in the interview, but I really feel like these need an update to feel rewarding again to do, and also combat small groups of players dominating these races.

3. Kudos

Something else that got brought up in the interview, so here’s your little sneak peak for now. Was suggested there is some kind of system where you can give kudos to a player for being helpful. This would be particularly helpful for encouraging players to help out newer players, to host events, and generally be a chill person. Potentially could be linked to some kind of reward, like the team can review players who got a lot of kudos in a month and give them rewards, or as a recommendation for future ambassadors and moderators.

4. Dungeons

I am only going to talk about this very briefly, because I have a full post planned on this topic and it’s in the interview, but I think some kind of escape room dungeon system would be amazing, particularly if some kind of instruction pinging system were added to the game.

5. Team Competitions

Ok, again with a PvP suggestion, but I know folks had hella fun in the old SML meet-ups where we did team competitions or club competitions. Even if it’s just 2v2 to fit in the current group system, that would be great. And I imagine clubs would have so much fun with that system, or dressage teams if we could ever make our own courses in game.

6. Events

I already talked about this in events and I’m sure the system is catching up, but what if during the Yule Goats, everyone collecting the goats built towards closing a portal? Like, there are still the basic ones as there were before, but repeating the whole day, every 15 minutes, another group portal opens up and everyone in the area needs to bring 10 babies as a whole effort. There’s no talking required, and it adds another source for a relatively grindy currency.

7. Other systems I’ve already suggested

Imagine getting to collect crafting supplies as a group. Imagine running around with friends to find the things you need to finish your home. Imagine a neighborhood system in Jorvik City for housing and getting to go see your friends’ homes in game. Imagine a daily login rewards system where doing group races is an option. Imagine these systems in game.

8. Co-op collection

Combined with the pinging section mentioned above, I think there should be a collection you can only get with friends, like that one star near Forgotten Fields. I think it should be separate from the stars, so there are these soloable collections, but there’s also this one you can do with your friends. Maybe they’re a little more challenging, or precursors to a bigger system (like a dungeon system), but I just think it would be cool. Even better if it’s replayable, so you can play it again every day for a small reward, and also so you can go back and help new folks gather them too.

9. Club Collections

Riding clubs so desperately need an update. But like, what if there was something to do while you’re in them? What if there were club only collections to unlock and/or upgrade the club hall? What if there were tools for making club races? What if riding clubs just got an actual update after SIX years? Look, I think this is just an underloved feature and I want to see it updated.

10. Community Objectives

I loved the “get to this many races” social media thing SSO did. I think they should do that more often, though with a variety of challenges that can be measured in game and don’t require social media. If there was a bi-weekly or even monthly goal like that, to get the community to get on and engage on something frequently, it’s more likely then that people will connect. It is technically co-op, on the biggest scale and I just think that would be amazing to see more of. 

11. More Fox Hunts

Another topic I recently brought up, the fox hunt. Y’all, I loved this and doing this was the most engaged I felt with the community since the first batch of stars. I want to see more of this moving forward, with loads of hidden achievements put in to encourage the community to get out there and look for secrets and work as a team with different skill sets. Just, there’s something amazing about seeing the community come together for something like this, and I love it.

12. Incentivizing Co-op

I think another thing SSO doesn’t do well is actually encouraging people to play co-op. Doing races in a group doesn’t provide any reward outside of achievements and champ rewards. There’s no reason to go back and do races in a group outside of maybe getting pictures in the circus. I know this gets into balancing economy, but having some kind of reward for actually doing group races would be a great way to encourage people to actually do those over just soloing the races with a group, like how most people will do group training. Like double horse exp, or a shilling reward, or something that makes doing a race in a group worth it outside of...bragging rights? Even if these were like, temporary tonics you could buy, like lures in Pokemon Go, but for horse exp, that would be something. I guess this depends on how competitive you are, but there’s not really a reason mechanically to get you to do races this way.

13. New Race Modes

I know this is another big system one, but imagine the Cloud Kingdom race with friends. Imagine the chaos of everyone bringing Shires to block everyone’s view of the race. Imagine a very basic item system with like a knockback, a stop, and a speed boost (all things already in the Cloud Kingdom race) as magic items. I suggested a full on 5v5 magic training race in the finale of SSL’s map which I still think would be amazing to teamwork out closing the seals and getting out while the other team hunts you down to run out the clock. Just like, these things would be amazing.

14. PUG Menu

I think a PUG menu is vital to not only easily finding groups to say do collections with or get help with quests, but also to get club and role invites out of Global. Why advertise in Global when you can just open the PUG menu and find or make an open group? It just organizes it a lot better, and it would probably cut down on spam.

And I’m sure there are a dozen more, but until I think of them, what are some of the things that would encourage you to play with others? Do things like the Chaos Stampede encourage you to hang out with the community? Is there some kind of co-op content that would get you to engage more with new players? Be sure to let me know!

[hcrsegirl]

╰☆╮MUSE 46 — wait, is that cerise “reese” du pont? is it just me or does the twenty-one year-old look exactly like abigail cowen? last i heard, they still weren’t over being exposed by the sentinel. according to the app, they can be credulous & turbulent, but i’ve also heard they're intrepid & audacious. can’t be too sure, people have a way of surprising you. all i know is that they remind me of vape scented smoke appearing in the middle of lecture , filming viral tik tok’s in public , the brushing down of a horse , forgetting a pencil but remembering to bring the juul to class & drinking homemade moonshine for barbie movie drinking games. honestly, the broadcast communications major should try to keep their head down. after the events of last semester, i wouldn’t want to be in their shoes. ╰☆╮

wow hey hi hello!! i’m kaya and this is my lil crackhead, reese!! this got really long because i never know when to shut up but if you want to plot pls hit me up here on tumblr or on discord at medieval 4loko gang#5402

P A R A L L E L S

gigi ( booksmart ) , keanu reeves ( always be my maybe ) , serena van der woodsen ( gossip girl ) , kirby anders ( dynasty )

T R O P E S

hard-drinking party girl , cloudcuckoolander , the trickster , upper-class equestrian , fleeting passionate hobbies , naive animal lover , fearless fool , playing with fire , parental neglect , fantasy-forbidding father

S U M M A R Y

born and raised in wilmington, delaware on the du pont family ranch, reese learned how to ride and compete on her family’s thoroughbreds. she’s a seasoned equestrian who typically competed in eventing and throughout the years had accumulated a series of ribbons and trophies between dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. definitely was a horse girl growing up and tbh still is???? definitely not the type to eat grass anymore BUT if given the chance she will not shut up about them.

a veterinarian before marrying into the du pont family, reese’s mother had their ranch doubling as both a home and veterinary clinic where the kids would help with the animals and keep them company. this caused reese to develop a soft spot for them, one that contributed to her going vegetarian at the age of 12 and eventually vegan at 15. it was also this love of animals that led her to wanting to help the environment they lived in and so her parents put her in girl scouts and eventually her love for the outdoors would cause her to join steinhardt’s outing club.

while her mother, eleanor, also helps out with the du pont family business of breeding thoroughbreds as well as run her clinic, her father, pierre, is a chairman of dupont, a conglomerate who got its start in the black powder market before expanding into chemicals for agriculture, materials science, and specialty products.

he was the type to have HIGH expectations for his family, expectations that reese never met. not that she cared to. definitely not a daddy’s girl, she’ll be the first one to call her father out for being a pompous douche straight to his face. probably quoted this to her father during a thanksgiving toast of “what are we thankful for this year”.

the black sheep of her family, even at a young age she could be found stirring up some trouble and almost always dragging one of her siblings or cousins along with her. a rebellious child who didn’t like being put into a box, she lived in a fantasy world of whimsy, often playing make-believe much to her father’s chagrin. she believed in all things fantastical from fairies to mermaids and while pierre tried to stifle those thoughts, they stubbornly remained.

even through her teenage years she’s held onto the firm belief that barbie lore is real. no one knows if she actually believes that or if it’s all of the drugs and her love for the movies getting to her head, but when confronted about it she will always be adamant that it’s a legitimate form of history.

speaking of history, her concept of it is slightly skewed?? def has weird beliefs of what communists are?? like you’re an android user??? suddenly she thinks you’re a communist????

tbh you could probably tell her something about anything and she’ll believe you without a hint of doubt. research?? she dunno her!! you could say the moon is a government con-job and she’d think it’s a fact??? super gullible and it’s a mess

i guess now would be a good time to preface that she’s dumb. stupid. an idiot. the list goes on but when i say she’s lacking brain cells… i mean it. the definition of head empty, she probably has a bunch of rocks where her brain should be sdfgh. but really, she can be innovative when she wants to be but academically she just doesn’t care to do well. in high school she ditched classes more often than not and was probably the kid smoking under the bleachers.

but where she lacks in intelligence she makes up for in brawn??? def the brawn over brains type who was a jock in high school. competed for her school’s equestrian team but also was on the fencing and archery teams. she once begged to be put into archery lessons after seeing the princess diaries 2 and fencing just came along not too soon after. she also used to run track and play soccer but those two sports ended after her senior year of high school although she probably still plays for the steinhardt’s intermurral league as well as any athletic competitions her sorority, tri-zeta ( zeta zeta zeta ) enters.

definitely the jack of all trades type except she’s passable at a whole bunch of things but good at none of them. probably can change a tire but it’ll need to be changed again soon. can bake a cake but it’ll be a little dry. the list goes on. she’s just very curious and picks up a lot of things but gets bored of them easily so she changes to the next thing.

okay i know i said she could bake a cake but she really…can’t. like with supervision she probably could but she’s impulsive and following directions for that many ingredients??? impossible. she just gets tempted to toss everything into a bowl and wing it and she does that every time. she can however make rice krispy treats. especially if they’re suppose to be edibles dfghj. but ya, don’t ask her to cook bc she can. not.

a stoner and overall drug connoisseur, she’s probably most known for being that kid who forgets to bring their backpack to class but don’t worry!! she remembered her juul!! has a collection of juuls on her person at all times. definitely that party girl who shows up hungover to class whenever she did bother to show up.

calls herself an entrepreneur because she used to sell edibles and other drug-related things and definitely was that tweet where she would give discounts if you signed an environmental petition or went to a protest.

has never said no to a dare EVER. you name it and she’ll do it. and if you dare her to drink cow titty milk or eat a piece of meat she’ll do it but it just makes you a dick dfghj

gets bored easily and tends to lash out and do something chaotic because of it?? the type to spontaneously light a couch on fire because she felt like it. a mild pyromaniac who once learned how to make a molotov cocktail. she can’t do it well. at all. but the one time she did try was also the same day she realized what a dumpster fire looked like.

i’m also not saying she’s out here to ruin your life for her own whims but like home girl has ZERO boundaries for anything. if you want to say she was a homewrecker in a past relationship??? honestly full send because it probably was her. morally she’s chaotic neutral and doesn’t care to be good or evil, she just wants to live her life of chaos and whatever happens happens. it should also be noted that she’s selfish. she puts herself first and others second always.

god someone pls try to start a fight with her. she’d either pat you on the head and ignore you OR go feral and just…foam at the mouth and bite you. probably claims to have gingervitis which is where she like…sprays vegan whip cream into her mouth and just… attacks you. for fun.

WOW ALMOST FORGOT but she’s a big larper!!! loves to go to the ones that are historical-esque where she can be an elf ( because she has a collection of elf ear tips dfghjk ) and acts as a knight/ranger by using her ACTUAL fencing, archery, and equestrian skills. she learned sindarin ( elvish ) for this but also she’s a big lord of the rings fan in general so it just worked out. her character’s storyline is her acting as her cousin, taay’s, protector but she has been known to enroll in a few competitions regarding any of her three skills.

currently selling moonshine alongside her roommates of trap zeta ( also known as the residents of the moonshine & roses subplot ) and so if you saw her running around with stolen pressure cookers, that is why !! making your own alcohol is illegal, but selling it??? even worse so they only sell it to trusted customers and anyone vetted by their usual customers. they probably have secret passwords and shit just like the prohibition period.

speaking of trap zeta, with the exception of fraternities on greek row, they throw the biggest parties. their jungle juice??? fire AND strong but also, they keep it in like....these dispensing chugs with a key so the only ones with access to fill them up or trap zeta themselves. they also have a stripper pole ( or two ) around their living room so like...ya get lit, get twisted, go off ig.

let it be known that their sorority, tri-zeta, is actually known for their stellar amount of community service but after the residents of trap zeta moved in together their sophomore year, the rep for partying started to increase and that’s why the home of muse 46-50 is nicknamed trap zeta. reese has probably been sent to standards way too many times and only got in and is still in bc her mother is a very generous alumni of steinhardt’s chapter of tri-zeta. 

a broadcast communications major, she’s a social media intern for steinhardt’s barstool page but most importantly has a whole tik tok account alongside her roommates dedicated to their college antics. think the hype house except it’s not pg-13 dancing and rly just their crackhead, drunk antics. might eventually make a playlist of tik tok’s that are probably posted on their account, we’ll see.

okay so you know the whole exposing of secrets from last semester??? reese doesn’t usually get mad but rn she Big Mad. like not only are they be scrutinized by the dean but their sorority is too and suddenly tensions are high between tri-zeta bc if trap zeta gets caught they all suffer and their chapter will be shut down and it’ll be a whole ass mess. atm she suspects their customers and even their somewhat rivals, the drug dealers of the ludes plot, but does she suspect anyone from the house??? no not rly

you can find her  stats page here and a wc page here

you can also find her pinterest board here

i also have a reese playlist here and a trap zeta playlist here

[bishie-haven]

Graceful Equestrian: What Should You Play?

Hello again, fellow Princesses and Princes!

Horses are such elegant creatures, aren’t they? Because of my older sister’s love for them when I was younger, I’ve seen and heard a lot about these animals. Although the one thing more impressive than horses are the riders and trainers able to tame them from being wild creatures to the majestic beings we see them as now.

And the best rider of all the UtaPri boys? None other than Camus, who has finally received his first Collection Event to wrap up Rotation #5!

Just like equine being trained for dressage, we need to run through what needs to happen before the real show can begin. And I’m here to help you do just that! Come on, let’s get to it!

(Note: Please read this guide until the end, I have something I want to say...)

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Despite Cecil’s little change in the Event Song type with Crown of Agna...the Alternate Arrangements aren’t finished yet. But unless our prince will get his audition song made into one in his next event, Zettai Reido Emotion should be the LAST ONE!

However, like I’ve said in every single guide I’m typed onto this platform, if you cannot acquire enough Event Song Passes over the course of the week...

DO NOT PLAY THE EVENT SONG (ALTERNATE ARRANGEMENT) MORE THAN ONCE A DAY!!

Now then, let’s start with the basic training with the reins: AKA our Plans of Action!

Plan A: Two for One

We have come to the difficult kink of Plan A: having both a ST☆RISH and Quartet Night member in the same event. However, we don’t have just Golden☆Star (2:14) that includes both of our long-haired bishies...have we forgotten the one song that shows off their ultimate sex appeal?!

Oh YES, Baby! My Strawberry! (1:54) is a great song to use during this event, not just because it includes the featured boys and is a Crowd-Pleaser in the second half...but because it’s just a pure BOP to enjoy!

Plan B: Separate and Swift

Alright, I’ve said this in 5 of my last 6 guides, you get it: for Camus, since he’s a QN member, Poison Kiss (1:15) is the best song for him, blah blah blah...what about if you’re sick to death of the quartet’s song from Maji Love 2000%? In the main tab, there’s a couple of really good options for the platinum blonde. Pairing up with his kouhai in Northwind and Sunshine (1:27) is a great song to play, or what about going with his groupmate, Ai, in Tsukiakari no Dearest (1:33) instead? 

Going onto Ren, the song you want to play for him is his jazzy audition song, Akuma no Kiss wa Honou yori Hageshiku (1:27) geez this is a long title...! But besides this, we also have his trio with his rival and senpai with Dream More than Love (1:34), AND his original group’s performance of Maji Love 1000% (1:41) to account for!

Okay, so we’re done with the basics, so now let’s get the saddle on with those Crowd-Pleasers!

“Graceful Equestrian” Crowd-Pleaser Songs

1st Half (Day 1-Day 4 (first half))

Joker Trap- 1:13 (PLAY!!!)

You’re My Life- 2:01 (Do NOT Play!)

Mellow x2 Chu- 1:44 (Play!)

2nd Half (Day 4 (second half)-Day 7)

Baby! My Strawberry!- 1:54 (Play...)

Saintly Territory- 1:58 (Play...)

Sekai no Hatemade Believe Heart- 1:28 (Play!!)

We’ve got the basic maneuvers, we’ve got the saddle, now comes the most important part: adding the rider! In our case, our rider is how we can get the most aqua corsages in our hands with the best efficiency!

Daily Efficiency

1st Half (Day 1-Day 4 (first half))

(Plan A)

Joker Trap/Baby! My Strawberry!: 8 times

Zettai Reido Emotion (Alt): 1 time

(Plan B)

Poison Kiss/Northwind and Sunshine/Tsukiakari no Dearest: 7 times

Akuma no Kiss wa Honou yori Hageshiku/Dream More than Love/Maji Love 1000%/Mellow x2 Chu: 8 times

Zettai Reido Emotion (Alt): 1 time

2nd Half (Day 4 (second half)-Day 7)

(Plan A)

Baby! My Strawberry!: 8 times

Zettai Reido Emotion (Alt): 1 time

(Plan B)

Poison Kiss/Northwind and Sunshine/Tsukiakari no Dearest: 7 times

Akuma no Kiss wa Honou yori Hageshiku/Sekai no Hatemade Believe Heart/Dream More than Love/Maji Love 1000%: 8 times

Zettai Reido Emotion (Alt): 1 time

Now normally I end these guides with some funny quip saying that the guide is done and that I wish you all the best of luck during the next seven days of chaos...but this time I want to address something that has been brought to my attention. 

Over the past couple months of releasing these Collection Event Guides, I have received multiple anonymous messages questioning the point of these posts. I have been asked why I recommend playing any other song beside Crowd-Pleasers, as they have “calculated” and said it would only take small minutes off their play time. I have even been accused of misleading players just because I talk about playing shorter songs instead of longer ones that can give a slight boost, and that I should put a disclaimer in every guide that those 6 songs...DO give that boost. I want to address these concerns real quick before I end this post. Nothing of what I say comes with any malice: I am simply answering the questions that those who asked have.

The shorter address relates to the message saying my guides are misleading and that I should provide a disclaimer:

While I believe that the guides I make are great resources, there is one resource that should be trusted even before me: the Shining Live app itself. When every event begins, no matter the type, an announcement is placed in every player’s inbox, stating all of the rules and the explanations of every aspect of that event type. For Collection Events, this also includes an explanation of how Crowd-Pleasers work:

But the bigger address goes to those questioning why I recommend shorter songs, songs with only one idol instead of both, or any other song instead of “the ones that get you more points”:

I make these Collection Event Guides for players of all types. I have talked to many players since I started creating these guides, and almost every single one has been in a different scenario. There are some people who want to go in it for the long haul over the week, trying to tier for their best boy. There have been others who can’t play the entire week and only have a short time span to get the cards they want. There have been people with LP gifts aplenty to spare, while others only have a limited amount stashed away and rely on the ones they can get through the exchange. Some have just wanted one SR copy, one UR copy, or even wanted to go all the way to the top of the ranks. There are many types of players in Shining Live, and many ways players may tackle a certain event.

And that’s why my guides are so multi-faceted. I state what the shortest songs are for those who have a limited time-span or are spamming at the last minute to pass the threshold of points or corsages needed for a specific reward. I explain different Plans of Action for idol combinations that aren’t the most common and that there is more than one way to tackle a problem. I show the times of each Crowd-Pleaser because, like I explained in the very first Event Guide that had these songs, Dreamy Aquarium: What Should You Play?, if you are in a state where you are not worried about LP, you can actually earn more points and corsages in the same time frame by playing more of a quicker normal song instead of a longer Crowd-Pleaser in some cases. I provide lists for Daily Efficiency for those wanting to net the corsage rewards for playing both songs of the featured idols and playing the event song enough times (if possible), as for those wanting the UR copy in the exchange, the highest cost there at 35,000 flower bouquets, this is one of the best ways to rack up enough to pay for it if they play throughout the week.

You do not have to follow every piece of advice I give in these guides. You could follow the Plan A route of Daily Efficiency through the week but play some of the longest songs in the game. You can play the shortest songs in the catalog but be completely unmatched from the boys featured. You can play every Crowd-Pleaser there is if you want to! What I put in these guides is not gospel:

You can pick and choose whatever you feel will help you in your specific situation, all of it or none of it. It is all completely up to you. 

And with me stating my peace, I hope you can enjoy this Collection Event, no matter how you choose to engage with it.

Hope to see you again soon, Princesses and Princes.

[robot-unicorn-attack]

alicia’s plotting ideas/notes??

SNOW (MARIVANA)

ideas & stuff!! feel free to message me either here or on urstyle or wherever else u have me, or comment directly on this post, to plot! ill put finalized notes w/ rest of snow’s info once we have it down :)

Sky - so since seraphina’s a newer racer, she and marivana don’t know each other super well? but they’re almost complete opposites, in terms of like racing specialties, and marivana doesn’t feel threatened by seraphina in any way. she probably keeps her distance whenever they aren’t doing things their agency has sent them on? 

It would be kind of fun to say that maybe, as a publicity stunt, twilight’s official statement is that snow has been mentoring sky behind the scenes? 

and they have to pretend that’s true, even though it’s not lol

LOL but it would be funny if one day marivana showed up at the track while seraphina was doing stuff and was just like, “so twilight wants me to teach you something that makes it look like i’ve actually been helping u. u free atm?”

but overall I don’t think marivana has too many strong opinions about seraphina, unless we want to create some kind of drama?

Ice - premade; tbd

Supernova - Marivana is…pretty indifferent? when it comes to Supernova. She knows who she is and what she’s done, of course-who doesn’t?-but if you think that she’d be starstruck and/or falling over herself when Supernova’s around her…well, you’d be wrong. Marivana’s had multiple trusted parties tell her that she’s just as good as Supernova was, at her peak, so she knows that she’s not a threat-for now, at least. Marivana’s a bit wary of the other racer, but also a bit curious to see as to where this comeback will lead.

So, depending on how much of the wedding and divorce was public....Marivana def would remember 1) the wedding, and 2) not giving a shit about it

The 2 of them have raced together, right at the very beginning of Marivana’s career? like 10+ years ago? and if As even remembers all that girly snow princess stuff, she could be like “lmao so twilight really pulled a 180 on her”

AHHHH so I know I never made this explicitly clear because I suck as a human being but - the deal with unicorns is that agencies/manufacturers/etc say that they’re just robots? agencies probably actually believe it, but in terms of the manufacturers they might be vaguely aware of otherwise but also don’t want to jeopardize any profits so they keep that shit on the DL

but obviously for ppl like Mari/As who have been riding for p much their entire life, they can tell when horses are distressed, happy/content, etc?

and robot unicorns are basically horses in terms of how sentient they are? 

so i have no fucking idea when this would happen, but the 2 of them mutually acknowledging that RUR is pretty fucked up for the unicorns?

also like....IT WOULD BE SO CUTE if the two of them sort of rolled their eyes at the same time about some kind of story regarding another rando racer who quit maybe a lil after As did (so the newer racers aren’t familiar with her)? and then they realize that they both rolled their eyes at the same time LOL

honestly just being Tired Grandmas together

anyway. @interluxetumbra LMK what u think!!!

Sunbeam -  tbd

Flower - Marivana knows exactly what 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 is pulling with Flower (her own agency did the same thing to her, after all), and she is not fooled at all. She’s not stupid; in the robot unicorn racing industry, nobody is completely, utterly unknown when they debut unless they had no prior experience with robot horses/unicorns in the past. Marivana knows that Flower probably had to work her butt off to stay with 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸, and she would bet her right hand that the image that Flower puts out to the public is just that - an image.

*chanting* AURIVANA AURIVANA AURIVANA

is the lil club plot we have how they meet/1st time they actually talk 2 ea other????

speaking of which - how do we want to write that? collab in a gdoc???

& then they just keep coincidentally running into ea other randomly????

aura saying something super Flower-esque and marivana just rolling her eyes and being like, “ok great now tell me what you really think about __” ??? lol

aura somehow discovering that marivana is into BOTANY, of all things????

maybe this is when she makes some sort of dry remark about the bio for Flower on the RISE website? “[Flower] grew up in a lush green meadow, hidden away from prying eyes by miles and miles of ice. How Flower managed to get the ice to melt for long enough to plant flowers and trees will always be a mystery.” and marivana’s like “lol magic my ass there’s literally no fucking way”

she explains it with a good amount of scientific jargon thrown in and aura’s just like watttttttttttttt :0000

literally hit me up ANYTIME i already adore them

also - their aesthetics as racers? put together? a+++++++++

OMG THIS IS LIKE WAY IN THE FUTURE BUT LIKE, we should say that their secret relationship somehow ends up going public for the ~drama~??? and instead of being super freaking pissed off, both of their agencies are just like “lmao okay ice queen x fairy princess? best ship” and use it for publicity?????

Flame - Marivana knows about 1) the image that she projects, and 2) that this image is pretty true to who Flame really is, for the most part. Her verdict? Flame could prove to be annoying, if she gets relevant while Marivana is still in the industry as a racer. Marivana doesn’t know what life not racing would be like, but she’s well-aware that she’s the oldest racer out there (well, besides Supernova, who doesn’t count. She’s making a comeback, after all), and that retirement is probably not too far out in her future. So, if Flame is still around within the next 5-10 years, then Marivana might start worrying about her. For now, she’s just the irritating racer with ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ who won’t ever stop causing a scene.

So they haven’t really interacted much yet, do we wanna say? 

they’re wary of each other because both their unicorns specialize in high power/strength so they’re like, more directly in competition?

are they going to engage in the RUA equivalent of a twitter fight??? in a publicity stunt that both of their agencies are putting on?

maybe snow has once insulted kehlani in an interview??? though it was fake/staged/scripted by her agency so she doesn’t actaully feel that way but ya know. doin it for the vine

and kehlani responds in kind, maybe at the behest of lazer, maybe not?. and it just keeps going???

but ya, marivana prob finds her personality kinda annoying so would generally avoid her unless kehlani approached first

Nyx - so like, snow probably thinks sol is way too flashy and all over the place, & does not engage her ever? she knows of the rumors of foul play, ofc, b/c who doesn’t, but she assumes that the rumors are super blown out of proportion (as rumors tend to be)?? and snow knows that if sol ever tries to target her/other ice world racers specifically, twilight will literally strong-arm lazer into dropping her. so she’s not that worried about that stuff????

definitely thinks her razor-sharp precision with U-800 is something to be admired, though, even if it’s not the flashiest skill like dressage or speed

OMG LOL spoiler alert but the 2nd event is a race on lava world, so they’re all on the main LW training/practice facilities in the days leading up to the race???? and we TOTALLY need to have them do that weirdly super aggressive staredown/pre-game smack talk sesh that they do in super extra sports anime LOL

Widowmaker - snow’s heard of her, knows of her, has competed against her, but since they both tend to keep to themselves they haven’t really talked? it could be potentially cool if eleni guessed about/found out about what actually happened with marivana’s 1st unicorn?? OMG DRAMA but what if she actually knew of the armed thief? who was on ice world for whatever reason lmfao we can hand-wave it. bonus points if she’s pissed that 1st unicorn killed the person?????????? lol

and it could be POTENTIALLY FUN to write a scene with them where eleni basically calls her out on the fact that, yeah marivana fucking hates twilight for deactivating the first unicorn so why tf does she still race for them/earn them so much money???

also marivana has literally no retirement plans atm so.....i have NO FREAKING IDEA if this would ever be possible or not, but if she somehow?? gets involved? with the people who wanna fuck up TEF govt for not giving a single shit about black hole ??? ? ??? ?? thru eleni????????//

idk dude feel free to just be like “lmao alicia that would never happen” if it feels too OOC!!! it’s also like 4 am & i’m only half coherent so ;D

but i literally have no idea in what context the calling out would be in!!! maybe if marivana saw some top sekrit info that eleni might have access to and was like “i won’t tell anyone at TWILIGHT if you tell me why you have this”? and eleni is like *eyeroll* “not like u have any reason to like ur agency”

Taglist: @ayzrules @bebemoon @jay-swagsby @filthysoulls @shiftyprincess @kzombi3 @now-on-elissastillstands

[the-kouchfort]

All the munday questions. All of them. Every single one. WRITHE IN YOUR HUBRIS

You asked for it

ᄏ: Play any instruments? Yep. I play the viola and the piano

ω: Have you ever dyed your hair? If so, what color(s)? Oh hell yeah. I’ve had it every color but yellow and orange. Blues and purples are my favorite.

△: Have you ever painted the walls of your room? Yep. It’s been a while, though.

【・ヘ・?】: Ever tripped in front a bunch of people? YEP. The worst one was in the parking lot of church when I was a kid. Fell on my face, broke the glass casserole dish I was carrying, and my dress went up over my head. So. Yeah. That was a fun one. Luckily, I didn’t get any glass in my torso.

＊: When was the last time you tied your hair up? (if your hair is long enough) A few days ago!

旦: Last time you drove your car (if you can drive/have one)? The last time I drove my own car was the night my severe anxiety was triggered. Whole horrible story, and the reason I cowered from thunderstorms for about a decade.

愛: Are you currently dating? Nope. I have been married for 20 years as of last Halloween.

太: When it’s New Year’s, do you make New Year Resolutions and actually commit to them? Nope. I used to, but now I know I won’t actually keep them, so why do it, and just feel awful about it later?

＠: Ever felt attracted to the opposite sex before? Mmmmmhm. I am bi/pansexual, so, there’s that ^_^

空: Did you ever throw up after one roller coaster ride or a few? Nope. I’ve ridden one coaster in my life, and never since then.

☆: Have you ever played games such as ‘Spin the Bottle’? lol, yep. Loooooong time ago.

⊙: Are you happy with where you are in life right now? .... this is a loaded question. I don’t have the inclination to unpack all of it right now, but lets just say... yes, and no. ピ: Did you like Pokemon as a child? When I was a child, it was the 70′s and 80′s, so... no ♪: Do you find yourself singing or humming to yourself sometimes? Allll the time.If I’m not humming randomly, or singing an actual song, then I’m singing random notes that sound good together with nonsensical sounds.

☁: Ever wanted to learn a foreign language? In 2nd and 3rd grade I learned both french and german (though I remember almost nothing of them.), and all through jr. high I learned Spanish and was fluent in it up to that sort of level, but I remember almost none of it, as well, through lack of anyone to practice with.

ス: Have you ever swallowed gum? Yup.

⅚: Post the link if your current favorite song. Omfg, this is a hard one. Music is the underlying fabric of my life. Sure, that sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Maybe this one, as it’s something that’s so fucking hard for me to remember, and I need the reminder every day:

undefined

ღ: Post a gif of what you’re currently feeling right now.

≘: Have you ever watched the sun rise? One of my favorite things to do was to go camping in the winter. One of my favorite things to do while out there in the middle of nowhere was to wake up early, and watch the stars fade, the sun rise, all while sipping a nice cup of coffee, and wrapped in a blanket in front of my fire. Ahhh, yes, good memories.

☄: Would you defend a friend if they were in danger? Always. Without thought to my own safety. It’s just part of who I am. ➍: Ever been to a concert? Was it fun? Yes, and yes.

♛: Do you like group projects? Deeeepends on what it is. If it’s a creative thing, then I’d prefer to work alone. Everyone has their own vision, their own creative style. I’ve seen group creaative projects go so wrong because everyone wants their vision, and they end up ignoring others’ input.

高: How often do you use headphones/earbuds? Every day. My hearing is way too keen to be able to deal with life without them. The Spouse likes to say I can hear a mouse fart a mile away. 

ಲ: Headphones or earbuds? Earbuds. Headphones kick off my chronic pain, and I do everything I can to avoid that pain.

♞: Showers or baths? SHOWERS. BATHS ARE GROSS. IT’S JUST YOU SWIMMING IN YOUR OWN DEAD SKIN, BODILY OILS, AND CROTCH AND BUTT STUFF. GOOD GOD NO.

✗: Walks on the beach or in a forest? Both? But if I had to pick, I’d choose a forest. Too many people at a beach now-a-days.

⊙﹏⊙: Which horror movie scared you the most? If any? The original IT when I was a kid, but only because of a very specific prank pulled by my best friend’s brother that had me screaming, and running. They found me a mile away, standing in the middle of the road (it was 1am), just staring at nothing, and swaying side to side. Clowns, after that, have been a terror for me.

^∇^: Has your best friend ever made you angry? Of course. We’re human. Also, everyone pisses me off at one point or another. However, she’s one of the two people who has pissed me off least often in the entire world.

(   ．＿．）: Do you think you are an awkward person? Depends on the circumstance. I’m more panic-ridden, and terrified than awkward.

メ: Cupcakes or muffins? Hm. Idk. They both have their plus sides. If there’s milk, then muffins. If not, then cupcakes.

♯: Would you like to be able to fly? YES. I’ve had dreams of flying since I was a kid. About as often as I’ve had dreams of swimming to the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean. Half of the time it was just something I did in grocery stores, for some reason. That is, until I started thinking about it too much, and lost the ability, and smashed into the floor face first. Sadly, it always happens.

ℝ: What color shirt are you currently wearing? Black, as usual. Æ: What color underwear did you wear yesterday? Parti-colored. Purple, blue, black, pink.

☪: Have you ever flipped off someone? Ohhh yeah.

♬: Cats or dogs? Uhhh... both? Almost all animals! I’d have just about anything for a pet, from spiders and snakes, to rats, to cats, ferrets, dogs, horses... yes. Lots. 礼: Would you swim in the lake or ocean? Yes. の: Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate, every time.

◐: Have you ever seen a meteor shower? Yes, and they’re always amazing. ᄇ: Have you ever broken a bone? Broke both of my wrists at the same time while helping my aunt to get her horse trained for a dressage competition.

ℨ: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? I... have no idea. I can’t pin it down to one thing. If I have to pick, then I’ll go nuts, and say to the edge of the universe to see what’s there.

♔: Know the Duck Song? The Llama Song? Banana Phone?  Yes, and fuck you. ۞: What shows did you watch when you were a child? Punky Brewster, Silver Spoon, things like that. ▼: Could you live without the internet? I mean... yeah, sure, but I would go fucking crazy locked in this apartment with no outlet, and no contact with people. Д: Strangest food you’ve eaten? Chicken feet? Menudo (tripe)? Shark? I’ve tortured myself by trying durian, something I will NEVER do again. *insert vomiting gif here*, gator? Buffalo? *shrug* Depends on what you consider weird? 까: Cookies or brownies? Brownies if they’re well-cooked and gooey, Cookies if they are similarly soft in the middle, and a bit crisp on the outside.

came back to the computer to actually post this. has been sitting here for a few hours now. lol. now back to bed for my appointment in the morning. boo mornings.

[griffinequestrian]

Can’t Keep Her Down: Charlotte Merle-Smith’s Will To Ride

By Justine Griffin for Heels Down Mag

Charlotte Merle-Smith was checking all the boxes.

She’d won the one-star at the North American Youth Championships her first time out. She secured scholarships to train with eventing legend, Phillip Dutton. She had been a working student at elite farms across the globe, learning under the tutelage of Jan Byyby, Paul Donovan and Carol Gee.

Charlotte wanted to represent her country one day at the Olympic Games. And she was well on her way to doing it, until a terrible accident in late 2007 left her paralyzed and in a coma.

A freak four-wheeler accident paralyzed Charlotte from the waist down for the rest of her life.

“You can do something 10 times in a row, but it’s the 11th time is when something goes wrong,” said Charlotte, now 37, about her accident 12 years ago.

“I’m not a crier. But the one time I can think of in my life where I ugly cried, was the day I realized I wouldn’t be able to ride in the same capacity ever again.”

Even during her lowest of lows, Charlotte knew she would ride again. She’d come to terms with knowing she’d never return to the (now) three-star level of eventing, but she was determined to find a way to clamor her way back into the saddle.

“I had a pretty good thing going for me up until that point. I had been very fortunate,” Charlotte said, reflecting on her young career. “But I always knew I was going to ride again. Some way, somehow.”

Adjusting to a new life

Charlotte returned to her family’s farm in Vermont to continue recovering and adjusting to a new life. Her parents would put her in the John Deere Gator and drive her out to the pasture so she could see her since-retired event horse, Ben.

The first time she climbed back onto the back of a horse was just a few months later.

“Ben was the type who could never stand still at the mounting block,” Charlotte said of her event horse, who after taking her up the levels, also packed her mother around the preliminary level. He’d come out of retirement a third time to be Charlotte’s first para-dressage mount. “But when we brought him out to stand after my accident, he was always still.”

It was an adjustment for Charlotte to find her balance in the saddle. And it was an adjustment for her horse, too. All the cues he knew that came from leg pressure would have to be rewired. In those early days, Charlotte spent most of her time just walking around the cross-country field in a western saddle.

But Charlotte was intent on getting stronger. She began researching adaptive ways to ride. She started riding regularly at a therapeutic barn, until her ability and ambitions outgrew their services. But it was there that Charlotte felt a glimmer of hope for what she was capable of again.

“That place was amazing,” she described. “I’d go there, and my face would hurt by the end of it from smiling so much.”

Para-dressage training

Charlotte began working with dressage trainers who specialized in training para-riders, like Missy Ransehousen and Hope Carolyn Hand.

“I had never seen a dressage saddle retrofitted with all these new aids before,” Charlotte recalled, of her first time riding at Missy’s farm.

Charlotte and Ben (Sportsfield Twist) would go on to show at the international level in para events along the East Coast, including in Wellington. And they were competitive. The pair was long-listed for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

But Charlotte’s dreams of riding in London would be sidelined after she suffered her first pressure sore, which would keep her out of the saddle for months leading up to the trial events.

Charlotte’s mount, Ben, was put down shortly after due to a pasture accident. Describing him as her heart horse, Charlotte said Ben was a “very regal old man,” even at the end.

Finding the right horse

Charlotte still has big dreams to make it to the Paralympics one day and represent the USA. She’s been on the hunt for a new para-dressage horse for more than a year. But finding the right horse to fit her needs hasn’t been easy.

“Because I show mostly at the walk and trot, the horse has to have very correct, fancy movement,” she described. “But it also has be willing to be retrained. Obviously I can’t use my legs. I ride with two whips. And many horses get frustrated or confused.”

It takes a year just to retrain a horse to understand new cues that Charlotte uses in the saddle. Then it takes about another year to build up confidence and ability in the show ring, she said.

“Even the best horses are confused at first,” Charlotte explained. “I want to ride for my country, but I have to remind myself that I want to have a successful relationship with my horse, first.”

Competing in CrossFit

While she continues her search for the perfect next para-dressage mount, Charlotte refuses to get discouraged. She joined a CrossFit gym at her home in Ocala and is also working toward competing in the CrossFit Open – a nationally recognized competition that names “the fittest person on Earth” in various categories each year.

Charlotte’s already competed twice. She’s ranked fourth in the world for the adapted division.

“It’s cool to meet people outside of the horse world,” she said. “Para riders don’t treat you like you’re handicapped. The treat you the same as everyone else. But CrossFit people, it doesn’t matter who you are. They push you to try your hardest every time.”

Charlotte describes herself as competitive, and while she can’t be in the saddle, CrossFit is giving her that same goal-oriented outlet.

“I’m competing against myself,” she said, with the goal of always getting stronger. “Even though I can’t feel my body, I’m very aware of it. CrossFit is similar to dressage in that way – you have to have finesse to be successful.”

[im-sso-extra]

Dressage in SSO

So I've thought a lot about this and I don't really think that the team could add actual dressage to the game without removing the old models.

The only dressage movements or exercises we can do right now, without any special animations which you have to pay ~970sc for and on all horses are stop-walk-trot-canter, turns and circles. If we were to call this dressage, it's very low level.

Anything above that, no matter how hard or easy, would require new animations on all breeds. We have piaffe and levade, but only on two certain breeds. So, the team would have to make those animations fit every model and also new ones. And there's a lot of dressage movements besides that. Extended trot would have to be a whole different movement, canter piruettes excist, half-pass, flying changes, passage...

So, if the team actually went and decided "Hey, we're going to make dressage, in it's full extent with every possible movement included, a thing that players can do in our game", it would take copious amounts of time, work, money and a lot more. Making piaffe a thing that all horses can do after completing a special questline, for example would be easier if they only had to do it on newer, objectively better models. Removing old models that would require even more resourses to be put in would be a very smart move. And maybe even the only way they could make it happen.

So, let's say that they make the decision to remove and replace old models and create dressage. Then what?

So far, the dressage movements that we do have can be done as soon as you purchase either a Lippizaner or a Lusitano. So how could other dressage movements be special, or how to make them Star Rider-exclusive, like jumping used to be, so that it would motivate people to buy a membership?

Quests, again similar to jumping, would be the easiest solution in making dressage somewhat exclusive. Let's say you unlock dressage at level X, at which point you need to be a Star Rider and have finished quests Y and Z. Then, you get a quest at the Riding Arena's 'dressage' side. You go there, and the NPC teaches you a simple pattern that you have to follow, with a new, very basic, movement. The game tells you how to do that (Press 1 while in trot for extended trot, for example). After you've finished the small questline, you can run the pattern once a day for XP like any other race and can now do extended trot anywhere, anytime.

After some time, you get another quest with the same NPC. This time, they teach you another dressage movement that's a bit harder, maybe you get another new race(there shouldn't be too many in one place) and after the quest, you can do the new movement.

This would allow the team to take their time with adding movements to ensure they work, while also giving the player a feeling of progressing and getting better, as they start small and learn harder and harder movements as they go along.

The dressage that already exists in the game should stay as it is, even if it means you can do piaffe on a Lusitano without doing the quest. This adds value to the horse, which makes players want to buy it and thus, buy Star Coins which SSO makes some of it's money off of. The levade should stay truly Lippizaner-exclusive, as it's mainly done using that breed of horses in a very special and specific place. Once again, this would mean that SSO can still make money by offering special things that can only be done on specific horses, similar to the Icelandics and tölt.

To sum it all up, dressage can only be added if they remove old models and do it step-by-step.