#gale the quarter horse

[mickimagnum]

Devin's Dude Ranch: Episode Five

*the camera pans down to show Echo Valley Ranch, soon after the sun has risen. a rooster crows loudly.*

Devin (voice-over): "Today is my solo date with Handra and I'm really excited to see him. I like our connection. It's comfortable and easy. And we have a lot in common. So, yeah. I can't wait to see what happens between us when we have more time alone together."

Handra (voice-over): "I barely slept last night I was so excited about our date today. I can't believe I get to spend the day with Devin. I don't know what we're going to do, but as long as I'm with her, I know it's going to be fun."

*the next shot opens with Handra approaching Devin. she's waiting for him between two horses, one of which is her horse Gale. Devin is smiling at Handra*

Devin: "Good morning, Handra!"

*Handra beams at Devin*

Handra: "Good morning, beautiful."

*he comes to a stop in front of her and they hug*

Devin (teasingly): "Can you guess what we're doing today?"

*Handra glances at the horses, then looks back to Devin and jokingly scratches his head, as if confused*

Handra: "I was hoping you'd give me a hint."

*Devin lets out a loud laugh, which Handra follows with his own deeper chuckle*

Devin: "Well, I thought we'd go for a ride. And maybe stop for some breakfast along the way."

*their eyes meet and Handra gives her a lopsided grin*

Handra: "I would love that."

Devin: "Alright, great! Let me introduce you my friends here. This gorgeous creature to my left is my horse, Gale. And on my right is the newest addition to the ranch. His name is Bellamy, and he'll be your mount for the day."

*Handra's eyes light up as he looks over Bellamy. He makes he way over and gently runs his hand down the horse's neck*

Handra: "Hey there, big fella. It looks like you and I are going to be pals today."

*Bellamy relaxes his head in Handra's palm and closes his eyes, enjoying the affection*

*Devin smiles to herself, as if making note of how well the horse responds to her date*

*After a few moments of allowing them to bond, Devin speaks up:*

Devin: "You ready to saddle up?"

Handra: "You bet."

*the pair mount their horses and begin on their journey*

*the next shot fades in of Devin and Handra riding along a trail that winds up a desert mountain. Their conversation is indistinct, but it is peppered with laughter and sounds upbeat and playful*

Handra: "A fancy pergola in the middle of nowhere? I feel like that's definitely for us."

*Devin's laughter rings out against surrounding rock walls*

Devin: "You would be correct, sir. Onward!"

Handra: "Yes, ma'am!"

*the pair ride up to the Oasis' pergola and come to a stop.*

Devin: "Well, this is fancy."

*Handra nods in agreement as he leans forward in the saddle and scratches Bellamy's neck*

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

*Stan, Milo, and Houston are around the bar in the kitchen having breakfast*

Milo: "So, what do you think they're doing?"

*Houston puts his fork down, sighs, and presses his finger against his temple as if to stave off a headache*

Houston (dryly): "I'm trying not to think about it."

Milo: "Because it makes you jealous?"

*Houston sits silently for a moment, his jaw clenched, obviously considering whether or not if he was going to answer*

Houston: "Yeah, man."

*Houston picks up his fork and begins shoving the food around on his plate*

*Stan looks on silently as he sips his coffee*

At the Oasis...

*Devin and Handra and now seated at the table under the pergola, enjoying gourmet french toast*

Handra: "I don't know if I told you, but you look amazing today."

*Devin, who just shoved a fork-full of food into her mouth, now hides behind her hand as she chews and begins to blush*

Devin: "Thank you. You do too."

*Handra smiles and and glances shyly down at the table in reply*

Devin: "You handled yourself pretty well on Bellamy on the way up here."

Handra: "I spent some time as a horse trainer, mostly training ponies for kids back home. So, I've had my fair share of time in the saddle."

*Devin cocks an eyebrow*

Devin: "Really? That is so cool! A fellow horse trainer; yet another thing we have in common. You know, I teach riding lessons and most of students are kids. I think getting people involved with horses young is so important."

*Handra smiles at Devin, his eyes shining*

Handra: "That's amazing. And I agree. It creates a lifelong bond and respect that's really, well...magical."

*Devin nods enthusiastically*

Devin: "Yes! Exactly!"

Handra: "You train and sell competition show horses, right?"

*Devin nods*

Devin: "Yeah, that's right. But, I've got a new project I'm working on, too. See, Bellamy's not just any horse that happens to be at my ranch. I plan to breed him with Gale. That's my the next phase: breeding and training highly pedigreed Quarter Horses."

Handra: "Aaahhh. That makes perfect sense. That's exciting for you."

*Devin smiles and cuts another piece of french toast*

Devin: "I think so," *eats the piece she just cut and after she swallows she says:* "So, what about you? What are your plans for the future?"

Handra: "I bought my ranch, but I'm still in the process of really getting it up and running. I guess I'm just having trouble picking a direction of where I want to go with it. I feel like I could make it all work, you know? I'm stuck in a cycle of analysis paralysis, I guess, surrounded by a bunch of half-finished projects and none of them are making me money right now."

Devin: "Maybe you just need to figure out what you're passionate about? What would be worth dragging your *bleep* out of bed every morning at 5am. What you want to bleed for. I mean, you grew up on a farm. You know this life will literally make you bleed."

*they both share a short chuckle*

Handra: "Yeah, I know you're right. It's just harder than I thought it would be. This 'being my own man' and starting my own legacy thing."

Devin: "If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth doing. And honestly, you should be proud of all you've accomplished so far. I mean, we all have rough patches. But, it's how you get over them that really matters."

*Handra smiles up at her*

Handra: "You're really special. You know that?"

*she returns his smile*

Devin: "Thank you. I've just lived an interesting life that has taught me a lot of lessons. Most of them the hard way."

*Handra reaches across the table and takes her hand*

Handra: "I hope to hear all about it some day soon."

*their eyes meet and they smile at each other*

Devin (softly): "We can do that."

*After a brief time lapse, Devin looks to the away and sighs*

Devin: "It's time for us to head back."

*the two then make their way over the horses*

*before they mount, Handra stops Devin, takes her hands, and looks into her eyes*

Handra: "Thank you for an amazing day. And for listening to me and being so kind and supportive. I am so lucky to have been given the opportunity to be here with you. And before we go back, I need you know how much I like you, Devin. I really, really do."

*Devin beams at him*

Devin: "You're welcome. And thank you for an amazing day. I also really like you too, Handra. I'm glad you're here with me."

*Handra then holds Gale steady while Devin mounts*

*Once Devin is in the saddle, she leans down and kisses Handra. It's sudden and catches him by surprise, but he begins to kiss her back, holding onto Gale to steady himself*

*after the kiss, they two separate, look at each other, and burst out into smiles*

*Handra then makes his way over to Bellamy, with a little extra swagger in his step, and mounts*

Devin (to Gale): "Alright, girl. Let's go home."

*as the pair begin the ride home they join hands*

Handra: "Wait, does this mean we're literally riding off into the sunset together?"

Devin: "It's only noon, cowboy."

Handra, in diary room: "After today's date, I now know for a fact that Devin is woman I've been waiting for. She's so kind, and smart. Conversation and just being with her is easy. Everything about her feels right. And...she kissed me...best kiss of my life." *smiles at the floor in recollection*

Devin, in diary room: "I really enjoyed being with Handra today. And when he opened up and was vulnerable...that meant a lot. Every minute of being with him just feels natural. So, yeah, I kissed him," *laughs* "I think I surprised him a bit. But I wanted to shake things up. It was nice. I can't wait to see him again."

Handra submitted by @bloomingkyras Milo submitted by @belsasim Houston submitted by @invisiblequeen James "Stan" submitted by @natolesims

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[howlingday]

Panthera Tigris Tigris Nikos

Jaune: Hey, Pyrrha? Can I have a hug?

Pyrrha: Of course, Jaune! (Hugs)

Jaune: (Sinks into her)

Pyrrha: Would anyone else like-

Nora: (Dragging Ren) MEMEMEME~!

Fun Fact! Bengal tigers are big. Females have been documented to reach 400 pounds, males 500 pounds, and occasionally larger specimens reaching 700 pounds. Royal Bengal Tigers are reportedly even bigger, with one specimen shot by David Hasinger in 1967 was reported to be 857 pounds, measured at 11 feet long, and left paw prints "the size of dinner plates," and it's last meal was a live water buffalo weighed down by an eighty-pound weight. It is displayed in the Smithsonian Institutions's National Museum of Natural History, in the Hall of Mammals.

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Pyrrha: Ready for our run, Jaune?

Jaune: You bet! Maybe this time I could-

Pyrrha: (Ear flicks) Oh, uh, why don't you keep warming up, Jaune? I need to grab something from the dorm.

Jaune: Oh, uh, sure thing, Pyrrha. I'll be right here.

Cardin: (Sitting on the roof) What the hell? Where's Nikos go- (Door swings open, Mauled)

Fun Fact! Bengal Tigers are fast. They can make short sprints of forty miles per hour, which is about the speed of a thoroughbred horse. An incident with a startled tigress mother with her cubs in Nepal in 1974 resulted in the death of a researcher who was hiding 15 feet in a tree. In 2007, on Christmas Day at the San Francisco Zoo, an Amur Tiger cleared a thirty-foot moat to maul three visitors who were harassing the tiger, killing one of them before being killed after four shots to the skull by responding police officer's .40-caliber-pistol rounds. It should be noted that the Amur was a captive tiger, raised from birth in the zoo. Imagine a wild tiger raised in the jungle.

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Pyrrha: Are you okay, Jaune?

Jaune: Y-Yeah, I... Wait, what about the goliath?!

Pyrrha: It's okay, Jaune. I took care of it.

Jaune: But how, Pyrrha? (Holding) Your weapons-!

Pyrrha: (Takes, Smiles) I took care of it.

Jaune: (Looks behind her, Sees dead goliath)

Fun Fact! Bengal Tigers are strong. Their bite force can reach up to a thousand pounds, which is much stronger than a pitbull's and about a quarter of a great white shark. Their prey includes deer, buffalo, bison, bears, rhinos, and elephants. A single blow can break a bear's spine, and easily decapitate a human.

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Jaune: Thanks again for letting us come visit, Mrs. Nikos.

Mama Nikos: Oh, Jaune, don't be so formal. We're practically family, so just call me Mama.

Jaune: Uh... No, I'll just stick with Mrs. Nikos, if you don't mind.

Mama Nikos: Oh, you are just so polite! I'm glad Pyrrha could have such a handsome team leader like you.

Pyrrha: (Blushing) M-Mom...

Nora: Can I have more meat buns, Mama?

Ren: Nora...

Nora: Oh, right! Khm! May I have more meat buns, Mama?

Mama Nikos: They're in the oven.

Jaune: So what do you do for a living, Mrs. Nikos?

Mama Nikos: I'm a personal fitness trainer. It's actually how I met Pyrrha's father. He said he could perform a perfect double twister kick, and I told him it was impossible unless he could twist and launch himself at a 167 degree rotation with a north-northwest gale blowing at 3.5 miles per hour behind him-

Mama Nikos: (Ding!) Oh! Meat buns are done!

Jaune: Huh...

Pyrrha: Don't worry. I didn't get it the first time, either.

Fun Fact! Bengal tigers are smart. Cubs are raised by their mothers for two and a half to three years. There are also notes of tigers imitating deer and bear calls. They will chase larger prey into water, tear at buffalo legs to bring them to the ground, and will flip porcupines from to their backs to avoid spines. There are also records of tigers killing 15-foot crocodiles, 20-foot pythons, 300-pound seals, and a 20-year-old elephant.

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Jaune: Hm? Hey, Pyrrha? Who's this standing with your mom?

Pyrrha: Hm? Oh... That's... That's my mother. She... She's not around anymore.

Jaune: Do... Do you want to talk about it?

Pyrrha: I... I don't know where to begin. She was my hero, but she did something really bad, and she died when I was really young. And I...

Jaune: Hey. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

Pyrrha: (Leans on Jaune) I was probably six years old when it happened. She and I were on our way to watch a tournament together, but then this guy came from out of nowhere. He shot at us and broke her jaw. She carried me back home, and then... She left that night. I didn't learn about what happened to her until just after getting accepted into Beacon. She... She went on a rampage and then... Then she...

Jaune: (Holds her) Hey, hey. It's okay, Pyrrha. I'm... I'm sorry to hear that. I'm... I'm sure she was a great mom.

Pyrrha: (Sniffles) She was the best. And, on the bright side, because of her, there's a new standard for huntsman and huntresses to follow. And she's part of the reason why I became a huntress. So I could make sure everyone follows the standard. Follows the example she set. (Smiles) I think she would have liked you.

Jaune: (Looks at family photo) I think I would have like her, too.

Fun Fact! In the first ten years of the 20th century, until her death in 1907, the Champawat Tiger, also known as "the man-eater" killed and ate 436 humans in western Nepal. She evaded capture and continued to kill until she was shot by British hunter Jim Corbett, who speculated the tigress lost her teeth years ago from a gunshot, forcing her to change her prey to much easier humans. He then went on to be an advocate for wild tigers and spent the latter years of his life devoted to their conservation, even having a conservation park in Nepal dedicated to him.

[rambleonwaywardson]

Clegan Olympics AU - Cross Country

Catch up via this masterpost if you're new here

AU summary: Paris 2024 Olympics. Gale is on the U.S. equestrian eventing team, Bucky is a U.S. gymnast, they meet on the plane to Paris, and a love story ensues.

Author's Note: Gale's cross country run, and Bucky meets Whiskey. I won't lie, writing about Gale and his horse here is pure self-indulgence.

---

Gale can feel the energy and anticipation coursing through Whiskey’s body, the excited tension in her broad shoulders, the set of her head as she carefully watches everything around her. Like a physical thrumming that extends from her and goes right through Gale.

Other horses and riders wander around the warm-up area at all gaits, sailing over practice jumps as they await their start times. Gale is the fourteenth rider to start on the Paris Olympics cross country course, and he’s trying not to let himself be nervous about it. Horses and riders are set off at three minute intervals to complete a high intensity course that ideally takes just under nine and a half minutes to complete. Benny had been the first rider and would have finished the course a while ago now if nothing went wrong. Gale hasn’t heard word of any major incidents on the course thus far.

Riding horses teaches you how to keep yourself calm even when calm is the last thing you feel. The moment you let your control over yourself slip, your horse can feel it. They can feel every tense muscle in your body, every hesitation you make, every doubt you have. Horses teach you to sit up straight, breathe easy no matter how shaky you feel, keep your heels down and your eyes forward and never let anyone know if you’re afraid. So Gale takes a deep breath and rides Whiskey through her nerves. He lifts a hand to his safety vest to make sure it’s secure, then checks the strap of his helmet for about the fifth time. 

He checks that his eventing watch is set to 9 minutes and 18 seconds, the optimum time for the course. They’ll be starting any minute now, and they’re walking around in circles by the start box, waiting for the signal to go. Whiskey keeps picking up a nervous trot, her tail in the air and her ears perked forward. Gale lets her go a few steps before bringing her back down. “We got this, girl,” he tells her quietly. He allows himself a quick look at the massive crowd that has gathered around the start of the course. Gale and Whiskey have run countless cross country courses together, many of them with sizable crowds in recent years. But this is on another level. He wonders if John is here anywhere, like he promised to be.

Last night, Gale spent quite a while assuring John that cross country isn’t a death sentence. On average, far less than a quarter of the riders at a top level event will fall on the course. A miniscule number of those falls will be anything serious. John protested that, according to Google, cross country falls can be fatal. Gale countered him by saying a gymnastics fall can also be fatal and told him to stop Googling things.

Subsequently trying to explain to John that he’s actually fallen off several times, including on cross country, and that, in an ideal situation, he knows how to fall “safely,” did not go over well. “You broke your fucking back!” John exclaimed incredulously.

“I did not break my back. I had a stress fracture in my spine,” Gale corrected him.

“Yes! You fractured your spine!”

“And you broke your leg! But here you are.”

They’d glared at each other for several seconds before John admitted, “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He’d never in his life expect Gale to just not do what he loves, no matter how much it may hurt, but that doesn’t make Bucky less concerned about this whole cross country thing.

Gale smiled softly at him, not used to having someone other than Benny or Marge care so much about his well-being. “Sounds like we’re in agreement, then,” he said. “I simply won’t fall off.”

It’s easy to be a little cocky when you ride horses. A good rider always knows the risks, knows their limits, knows their horse. But in the end, if you aren’t sure of yourself, you have to pretend. You have to fake it so well that you start to believe it. Gale and Bucky are the same, that way. They both know that their control over their sport stops somewhere, and all they can do is stretch their own skill as far as it’ll go and convince everyone else there’s nothing to worry about.

As Gale guides Whiskey around in another small circle and into the start box, he starts his watch. The whistle blows, and they’re off like a shot, galloping towards the first of 25 obstacles, a keyhole with brush across the top. The crowd pressed against the fences on either side of the course cheers and claps as they clear the first jump and barrel towards the next.

Whiskey soars over them all with ease, taking the corner jumps in a perfect line that will no doubt save them a few seconds on their time. She gallops uphill and downhill with just as much coordination as if she were on the flat. Even the coffin jump she hops over like it’s nothing. Gale remembers spending months with her when she was just four years old, trying to convince her that the ditch in the ground was just another obstacle to clear. Young Whiskey was convinced it was going to swallow her whole if she crossed over it, even throwing Gale into it once when she refused and ran out. But not now. Now, she’s invincible.

This, Gale thinks, is one of many things that made him fall in love with this sport. A horse has a way of making you feel like you’re flying. Like you’re untouchable. They teach you love and responsibility, softness and kindness, grit and determination. But they also take you for who you are and fill in all of the gaps. They take one look at every insecurity and worry you have, and they say, ‘I can fix that. Just hang on.’ Gale loves the tangible connection he feels with his horse. He knows her like the back of his hand, and she can read everything he thinks and feels by the way his muscles twitch, by the tone of his voice when he whispers in her ear. 

So when they run through this cross country course, Gale wants to win. But flying over jump after jump, galloping down the stretches between them, it brings him a certain kind of peace, too. Like he’s a kid again, riding for nothing more than the joy it brought him, the escape it allowed him. He finds himself grinning into the wind hitting his face. 

Gale and Benny had walked the course earlier with the rest of the riders, getting a good look at every obstacle and pacing out the lines they planned to take. The Paris course is nothing like anything he’s ever ridden before, if nothing else because of its splendor. It was designed with every little detail in mind, complete with pontoon bridges over the Grand Canal, giving a quintessential photo op for the Games. 

Aside from his awe over the course, Gale had been a little worried about the steep bank heading downhill, immediately followed by a jump straight into a water obstacle. Whiskey, still young, sometimes has a hard time balancing on the other side of downhill banks. She stumbles just the littlest bit now, and Gale has to fight to keep his weight back in the saddle until he can straighten her out. But she finds her footing and carries them over the next jump, straight into the water, which splashes all the way up to Gale’s face. 

They cross the bridges over the canal and loop around the park, through the trees and perfectly maintained hedges. As they head into the arena in front of Versailles, they’re over halfway through the course. Gale checks his watch. They have just under four minutes. There’s another large crowd gathered in the stands to watch the few jumps that are set up in the arena, and on their way out, Whiskey catches sight of someone waving a small U.S. flag over the rail of the stands. She throws her head up and spooks to the side, nearly unseating Gale, but he pushes her on.

Anyone watching on TV can hear the commentators laugh lightly and explain that Whiskey is still young for an Olympic eventer. Nine years old is the minimum age for Olympic horses, to ensure they have enough time to mature before facing intense competition. “She’s really doing extremely well,” they say.  “This is a young team, both horse and rider. And it looks to me like they may be the face of the sport for years to come.”

Gale and Whiskey have already put their small mishap behind them, though. There’s no room for dwelling on it. There’s only forward. With only a small handful of obstacles left, he can feel her tiring, but he knows she won’t give up if he won’t.

“Keep going, girl,” he whispers. Her ear flicks back at the sound of his voice before pricking forward again, and she keeps going. She’d run to the ends of the Earth for him.

—

Sometimes people tell Bucky that he’s insane. Usually it’s in reference to the gymnastics skills he incorporates into his routines, so he’s pretty sure they mean it in a good way. They tell him that what he does is crazy, especially considering the fact that the sport almost ruined his life.

But standing at the end of the cross country course, he thinks equestrians have given “insane” a whole new meaning. He actually said “what the fuck” out loud when the first rider – Benny – came galloping full speed down the final stretch, soaring over the jump at the end and racing to the finish. Because, seriously, at least Bucky has control over his own body. How can anyone tell him that he’s more insane than these people who sit on a horse’s back and charge through the woods at 20 miles per hour, clearing jumps that are several feet tall, often several feet wide, and sometimes include unnecessary twists like going downhill or through water? And what? They just trust the horse to not kill them in the process? 

That, Bucky thinks, is crazy.

Gale had tried to explain to him last night that it’s not as intimidating or dangerous as it looks. That, just like gymnasts, riders train for years, sometimes their entire lives, to be good at what they do. That the horses themselves are trained for years to be good at what they do. He tried to explain to him what the partnership between a horse and rider is like, the fact that he trusts Whiskey more than he trusts most other human beings. He’d given up eventually, though, with an amused shake of his head, telling Bucky that he’d come to understand eventually.

Bucky tried not to get too hung up on that word: eventually. That word implies a future. It implies that Gale sees a future for them beyond these games. This isn’t just a casual thing for him. It’s not just a summer fling.

Bucky has never been too great at commitment. Everything about his love life has only ever been casual. Too little love and too much life. But after only knowing Gale for a handful of days, he’s starting to think casual isn’t what he wants anymore. He isn’t sure if that scares him.

Eventually. He’ll understand eventually. Bucky decides that that’s something he wants: to understand. He wants to come to love Gale’s sport as much as he wants Gale to love his. He wants to know, as much as he can, what Gale means when he talks about the bond between horse and rider, what he feels when he looks Whiskey in the eye and can be so sure that she’ll do right by him. Gale told him that, when Bucky finally gets to meet the mare, all it will take is one look. One touch. And he’ll start to understand why Gale thinks the world of her.

Bucky knows essentially nothing about horses, but he hopes Gale is right.

So, he’s here. Exactly as he promised he would be. He’s standing with Marge at the end of the Paris Olympics cross country course, watching insane people charge over the final jump. Marge told him that it’s a keyhole. Enclosed on the bottom, top, and on either side. It’s designed to look like a horseshoe, with the Olympic rings stretched across the top. Bucky is, at least, thankful that they chose to stand here, rather than by one of the more complex obstacles. They’ve watched eleven riders come through so far, which means two didn’t finish the course. Marge has had the livestream up on her phone, but Bucky has barely watched it himself. He doesn’t need to see if and when someone falls. Not when he’s standing here, waiting for Gale to make it to the end.

Marge has quickly become a good friend to Bucky, too. He thinks she just has that kind of quality, a good energy – she’s a person you want to be around. So he’s really glad she invited him to watch with her, because he would be totally lost, confused, and probably freaking out a little bit without her. And, yeah, as Gale warned him, it would be a lot more boring.

She taps him excitedly on the shoulder as she cranes her neck to look down the final stretch. “He’s coming, he’s coming.”

Relief floods through Bucky as he turns to look in the same direction, and sure enough, there’s Whiskey, coming out of the trees around the turn with Gale on her back. She has eventing grease down her legs to protect them from the jumps, white contrasting against her sweat-darkened chestnut hair (chestnut, Gale had insisted. Not red.) Her head is much more forward than it was at the start, leaning more heavily on the bit, her nostrils flared as she sucks in as much oxygen as she can get. Her ears remain forward, alert and excited.

Bucky can hear her pounding hoofbeats against the ground as they run for the final jump, and he watches in complete awe as Whiskey seamlessly launches herself into the air from her hind end, clears the jump, and keeps sprinting for the finish. Gale looks up as he reigns her in, searching for his time on the board. 

“He’s under the optimum time,” Marge says to Bucky as they watch. She sounds impressed, and relieved. “And only a few points in penalties. They’re in really good shape.”

“Is that… surprising?” Bucky asks dumbly.

Marge looks at him and smiles, shrugging. “It depends who you ask.” When Bucky just stares at her, she laughs. “Gale and Whiskey are young. Gale is the youngest rider on the entire U.S. equestrian team. And Whiskey is the youngest horse. She’s the minimum age a horse can be at the Olympics. So, yes, to a lot of people this is very surprising.”

“And to you?”

Marge’s smile grows. “Not surprising at all.” 

Gale turns Whiskey in a small circle then, slowing her down, and his eye catches Bucky’s. Bucky is a little in love with the way Gale’s face lights up when he sees him. The way Gale urges Whiskey a few steps to the side to get closer. “You’re here!”

“I told you I would be!” Bucky calls back. And just for a moment, there’s no crowd gathered at the fences. There’s no score board or clock or cross country course around them. It’s just them. Gale is right by the fence now, reaching his hand down, seeking Bucky out, and Bucky reaches up to squeeze it in his own. He’s vaguely aware of an event photographer taking pictures of this moment. 

“Thank you,” Gale says sincerely, and Bucky doesn’t know what to do about the way it makes his heart flutter. Then Gale looks at Marge. “I think we did it,” he grins. 

“I think you did babe,” Marge laughs. “Now get outta here!”

Gale lets go of Bucky’s hand, and Bucky feels his fingers reaching out, chasing the loss, before he drops his hand back to his side. Gale nods to them both and urges Whiskey to trot off down the remaining extra bit of track, heading back for the stables. 

Marge grabs Bucky by the arm and starts pulling him through the crowd behind them. “Let’s go.”

–

Bucky is certain he isn’t supposed to be here, but Marge didn’t seem to get that memo. Or she doesn’t care, which is fine. When they approach the stables, there’s a few horses and at least double the amount of people milling about outside. Horses being untacked, hosed down, and hand walked to cool off, and collections of riders and grooms surrounding them. Marge leads Bucky straight over to Gale, who Bucky can now see is just as sweat-soaked as Whiskey. He’s removed his vest and helmet, leaving him in a white, sweat-marked team USA polo tucked into white riding pants that Bucky thinks hit him in all the right places. His hair is soaked and sticking up in crazy directions from his helmet.

The horse has been untacked, and Gale is holding her lead as a groom sprays her with cool water. Whiskey is shoving her nose against Gale’s arm, making him laugh as he rubs her forehead, right over a bright white misshapen star. Bucky manages to sneak a picture of it on his phone before Gale looks up and notices them approaching.

“Hey!” he exclaims, shoving Whiskey’s big head away from him and handing her lead to the groom, who scratches her lovingly behind the ears as he leads her away. Gale looks at Bucky even as Marge hugs him. “So? What’d you think?”

“You’re crazy. That was crazy,” Bucky insists. 

Gale laughs and rolls his eyes as Marge steps back. “Whatever you say.”

Bucky steps forward then, wrapping his arms around Gale. Gale freezes for a split second, then he hugs Bucky back, letting his tired body relax into him. “It was also amazing,” Bucky says.

“I probably smell like shit,” Gale mumbles self-consciously. He hears Marge stifle a laugh, and he knows it’s because he’s never once cared about how he looks or smells at the stables.

“I don’t care.” Bucky hugs him tighter.

When he pulls away, Benny has joined them, his horse already back in his stall. Marge hugs him, too. “You both looked incredible out there,” she says.

Bucky makes to step back, to let the three of them talk, but Gale reaches out and grabs his hand, keeping him right at his side. It feels weirdly normal, standing in a circle of friends, holding Gale’s hand, and Gale doing it like it’s nothing. It’s the first time they’ve really shared such intimate physical touch so openly.

Bucky wants more of it. 

“I think we’re in good shape,” Benny is saying. “I think we have a real chance of a medal this year.” If the US equestrian team gets a team medal in eventing, it’ll be the first since 2004. And they are bound and determined to make it happen. 

Benny looks over at Bucky. “Will you be there to watch our victory tomorrow?”

Bucky blushes, and he doesn’t even know why. “Oh, uh. I don’t know-“

“John’s got his own team finals tomorrow,” Gale says proudly, squeezing his hand. 

“Oh right, John Egan,” Benny mocks. “US gymnastics poster boy.”

Bucky is pretty sure he’s teasing him in a good way, but he can’t quite tell. Gale rolls his eyes and shoves Benny gently. “Oh fuck off.”

Then he pulls Bucky away from them. “Come on, I want you to meet someone.” He calls out to the young groom who is in the process of scraping the excess water off of Whiskey’s coat. Bucky learns that his name is Ken Lemmons, aka the only person Gale fully trusts with his horses other than himself. Kenny greets Bucky kindly and hands the lead over to Gale. “She’s barely even tired,” he chuckles, regarding Whiskey as she nuzzles at his shoulder. “Let me know if you want me to hand walk her.”

“Will do, Kenny.” Gale thanks him and the groom walks off, leaving them be. 

Gale turns his attention back to Bucky. “Bucky, meet Whiskey.”

Whiskey lowers her head the slightest bit, like she knows she’s being introduced. One big brown eye looks at Bucky curiously, her ears forward, her breath coming in hot puffs as she stomps her hoof at a fly. Bucky looks at Gale hesitantly, and Gale smiles encouragingly back at him. Then he takes Bucky’s hand in his own again and raises it up, presses it to Whiskey’s nose, Gale’s warm hand on top of his. Whiskey’s skin is soft beneath Bucky’s touch.

“You can pet her,” Gale says, taking his own hand away. 

Bucky lets his fingers rub up and down Whiskey’s nose, then the side of her cheek. When Gale tells him that she loves being scratched around her ears, he raises his hand to the top of her head and scratches gently like he saw Gale and Kenny do before. Whiskey leans into the touch, asking for more, and he laughs as he increases the pressure. 

Then she shakes her head, making Bucky pull his hand away, red horse hair stuck to his fingers. “Did I do something wrong?”

Gale laughs. “No, no she just does that. It means she likes it.” As if to confirm, Whiskey stretches forward to nuzzle Bucky’s hand again. “She likes you,” Gale adds. 

Bucky finds himself smiling, running his hand down her neck, still wet from the hose. He marvels at the way the muscles ripple beneath her skin, the way her huge hooves stomp on the ground, the sheer magnitude of her presence in front of him, all combined with the softness of her eyes. He feels like he’s maybe starting to understand what Gale meant. “She’s beautiful.”

“She is,” Gale agrees. Bucky looks back over at him, and the way Gale, sweaty and tired as he is, is framed so perfectly by the rays of sun behind him, watching, with so much love, as Bucky meets his horse for the first time – it does something to Bucky that he’s never quite felt before.  

“You’re beautiful,” he finds himself saying. 

Gale blushes, his hand still scratching Whiskey’s nose, but the way he smiles at Bucky then, so shy and so perfect and so unequivocally happy, makes Bucky feel somehow complete. 

---

---

Next Part

(Side note: much of Whiskey's personality is based off of my own mare and it's making me emotional because I love her so much thank you)

[scotianostra]

On 22nd November 1869 the clipper "Cutty Sark" was launched at Dumbarton on the River Clyde.

Cutty Sark was built for a firm of ship owners called Willis & Sons, headed by John ‘Jock’ Willis, whose ambition was that she be the fastest ship in the annual race to bring home the first of the new season’s tea from China.

She was designed by Hercules Linton, a partner in the Dumbarton firm of Scott & Linton. It is believed that he moulded the bowlines of Willis’s earlier vessel Tweed into the midship attributes of Firth of Forth fishing boats, creating a beautiful new hull shape that was stronger, could take more sail, and be driven harder than any other.

The company had never built a ship of this size before and ran into financial difficulties, eventually going bankrupt before she was completed. The final details of the fitting out had to be completed by William Denny & Brothers, Scott & Linton’s landlords and the guarantors for the completion of the work on the original contract.

Cutty Sark was towed to Greenock for final work on her masts and rigging. She was then taken to London to load her first cargo for China in 1870.

The ship was named after Cutty-sark, the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns's 1791 poem Tam o' Shanter. The ship's figurehead, the original of which has been attributed to carver Fredrick Hellyer of Blackwall, is a stark white carving of a bare-breasted Nannie Dee with long black hair holding a grey horse's tail in her hand. In the poem she wore a linen sark that she had been given as a child, which explains why it was cutty, or in other words far too short. The erotic sight of her dancing in such a short undergarment caused Tam to cry out "Weel done, Cutty-sark", which subsequently became a well known catchphrase. Originally, carvings by Hellyer of the other scantily clad witches followed behind the figurehead along the bow, but these were removed by Willis in deference to 'good taste'. Tam o' Shanter riding Meg was to be seen along the ship's quarter. The motto, Where there's a Willis away, was inscribed along the taffrail. The Tweed, which acted as a model for much of the ship which followed her, had a figurehead depicting Tam o' Shanter.

Unfortunately for Willis, the launch of the Cutty Sark coincided with the opening of the Suez Canal and the growing popularity of steamships. Steam-driven ships could pass through the canal, whereas clipper ships like the Cutty Sark could not. That meant that steam, ships could cut thousands of miles off the trip to China to collect tea. The Cutty Sark, though one of the fastest clipper ships ever built, was outmoded almost before it sailed.

While the Cutty Sark's career in the tea trade was less than a success, her next career in the Australian wool trade was where she truly shone. From 1883-95 the ship made the Australian run, bringing wool exports back to London.

The Cutty Sark consistently outsailed her competitors, and she dominated the wool trade for over a decade, earning a reputation for exceptional speed on the 2-month voyage. She famously once overtook and passed the steamship Britannia, travelling at a rate of 17 knots.

But once more the steamship spoiled the Cutty Sark's career, and once the steam vessels made the Australian wool trade their own, the Cutty Sark was sold to a Portuguese company. From 1895-1922 the ship (renamed Ferreira) was a tramp vessel, carrying cargo between Portugal and the far-flung corners of the Portuguese Empire.

In 1922 the Ferreira put into Falmouth to repair damage suffered in a gale. A retired sea captain named Wilfred Dowman saw the ship and determined to buy her. Dowman restored the Cutty Sark to approximately how she had appeared during her days as a tea clipper.

The ship was used for naval training until 1951 when it was sent to London for the Festival of Britain. She might well have been scrapped following the festival, but the ship was saved by the National Maritime Museum and put into dry dock at Greenwich in 1954, beside the Old Royal Naval College.

In 2007 a devastating fire broke out aboard the Cutty Sark, and it appeared that the ship might be completely destroyed. Thankfully total disaster was avoided, but the subsequent restoration lasted until 2012.

The Cutty Sark is in permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London as a museum ship, check their web page here https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark/history

[brain-rot-central]

I’m scared on what you have in store with the chapter 9.

Ohhh it's not that bad. *sips coffee in nonchalance*

I did sit with ch 9 for a bit yesterday and I'm about three-quarters of the way done editing it. I'm finally feeling more like myself lately so I'm back on the horse!

I was planning on having Gale make an appearance but due to pacing I may take that part and make it into the next chapter, as I could expand on Tavaria and Gale's interaction a bit more.

It wouldn't be a long chapter; basically something to kind of plug in some holes as to how Gale left off at the end of the game. How Astarion views him, etc. Basically how Gale played into the party dynamics, and then it would transition into the following chapter. I plan to have most of the companions play roles in the story (aside from Karlach and Lae'zel; in the game's ending for Sonnet, Karlach went back to the Hells and Lae'zel returned to the Githyanki to fight what is essentially the new civil war -- Minthara ceased to exist back at the goblin camp).

Again ch 9 is done. I'm just going over it with a very fine-toothed comb for continuity purposes and also because my brain is a different entity entirely day to day lmao. I will structure sentences one day, go back the next to look at them and go "girl the fuck are you trying to say, here," and totally redo them. I thankfully have a visual mind so I can see what these characters are doing rather clearly, as well as where they are. The challenge for me is describing that vision with words well enough that it translates into my writing, that way the reader can also see it.

Anyhow ch 9 is still in the oven. I didn't plan for this to be a big response but I guess I had a lot to say on the matter, lol.

Thanks for sticking around, I know it's been a while since I updated. I appreciate all the support I get from y'all. 🫂❤️

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Lamb Breaks the Seals

The first rider: conquest

1 Then I watched while the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice of thunder, “Come out!”

2 I looked, and before my eyes was a white horse. Its rider carried a bow, and he was given a crown. He rode out conquering and bent on conquest.

The second rider: War

3 Then, when the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature, cry, “Come out!”

4 And another horse came forth, red in colour. Its rider was given power to deprive the earth of peace, so that men should kill each other. A huge sword was put into his hand.

The third rider: Famine

5a When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come out!”

5b-6 I looked again and there before my eyes was a black horse. Its rider had a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard a voice which seemed to come from the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a shilling, and three quarts of barley for a shilling—but no tampering with the oil or the wine!”

The fourth rider: Death

7 Then, when he broke the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature cry, “Come out!”

8 Again I looked, and there appeared a horse sickly green in colour. The name of its rider was death, and the grave followed close behind him. A quarter of the earth was put into their power, to kill with the sword, by famine, by violence, and through the wild beasts of the earth.

The cry of the martyrs in Heaven

9-10 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I could see, beneath the altar, the souls of those who had been killed for the sake of the Word of God and because of the faithfulness of their witness. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to be patient a little longer, until the number of their fellow-servants and of their brethren, who were to die as they had died, should be complete.

The wrath of God

12-17 Then I watched while he broke the sixth seal. There was a tremendous earthquake, the sun turned dark like coarse black cloth, and the full moon was red as blood. The stars of the sky fell upon the earth, just as a fig-tree sheds unripe figs when shaken in a gale. The sky vanished as though it were a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was jolted out of its place. Then the kings of the earth, and the great men, the captains, the wealthy, the powerful, and every man, whether slave or free, hid themselves in caves and among mountain rocks. They called out to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand against it?” — Revelation 6 | J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Cross References: Genesis 3:8; Genesis 4:10; Exodus 29:12; Deuteronomy 4:10; Deuteronomy 32:43; 1 Samuel 6:20; Psalm 2:12; Psalm 76:7; Proverbs 5:5; Isaiah 2:10; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 54:10; Jeremiah 4:24; Jeremiah 14:12; Ezekiel 4:16; Hosea 10:8; Joel 2:31; Nahum 3:12; Zechariah 1:8; Zechariah 6:2-3; Zechariah 6:6; Matthew 10:34; Matthew 24:7; Matthew 27:66; Luke 15:22; John 1:29; Acts 20:24; Revelation 4:6,7 and 8

[simmie-stories]

Gen 4. Ariel #69 Mauricius & Castle

Eric is officially in the household! He's a clumsy genius, but he's quite the romantic as well. He's working on both the the Soulmate and Academic aspirations. Eric has already completed his first term of university.

Ariel has gained a few more traits and is working on the Royal Family Member aspiration (by KiaraSims4).

Max is already an Elder dog by now...

King Adrien is snobby bro, the King of Sulani. He's working on the Royal Family Monarch aspiration, in search of his own royal match.

Sir Grimsby is the Royal Secretary, but also a second guardian of Eric, as Eric and Adrien's parents both died when they were young. His aspiration is Neighborhood Confidante.

The first thing Ariel did in her new home was check her mail... she got the buried treasure plaque!

After she sorted through all her treasures, she finally completed her Curator Aspiration! 🎉

The Castle:

Awesome "Prince Eric's Castle" build by EA ID billyhinman. I redecorated the whole thing with a ton of cc and modified the layout a tiny bit.

Top Floor:

Ariel & Eric's bedroom and bathroom.

King Adrien's Room (where Eric likes to study and tinker, because... he's the main character here).

Main Floor

Main Kitchen

Living Room

Ground Floor

Throne Room

Servant's Quarters

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

Alas, she was bored of Sulani already, and ready for the honeymoon.

This is a frustrating place to live because it's on the water so they keep switching into swimwear.... we'll see how long we last here.

So much cc from my usual fav creators listed before, so I didn't link each individual one, sorry. @awingedllama Nostalgic Living and Boho living | @charlypancakes Lighthouse Collection | @felixandresims Chateau (2, 5-7), Colonial 2, Fairylicious, Paris 3, Florence 3 | @harrie-cc Heritage 1 and 2, Coastal 3 and 4, Country 1 | House of Harlix Baysic, The Kichen, Tiny Twavellers | Max20 Cozy Backyard | @myshunosun Daria, Gale dining, Herbalist Kitchen | @peacemaker-ic Hamptons Getaway, Hamptons Hideaway, Hinterlands Living, Hudson Bathroom, Lennox Kitchen, Oasis Chic Living, Vintage Glamour Addons | @pierisim Precious Promises, David, Domaine Du Clos, Oak House 2, Woodland Ranch 3 | @regalsims Royal Crystal Chandelier Neoclassical Living Room Chandelier | @imfromsixam Artz living, home basics, Kessler, Living Room for a Cozy family, Lux Bath, Small Spaces Laundry Room, Boho Bathroom, Boho Bedroom | @thecluttercat Mellow Moods, Hello Horses, Petits Pirates, Sunny Sunday Part II | @mlyssimblr Hanging World Map | @sp-creates Expanded Mermaids objects | Pufferhead. Thankful to @twistedmexi for the build cc report function in Better Build Buy...

Main Back Next

[trashbag-baby666]

Sir, you know it’s illegal to operate a horse while high? -A Curt and John comedy story.

What’s Waited Till Tomorrow Starts Tonight au (mota hs au)

For you king <33 @mangokittokatsu

Summary: Curt and John just wanted to go have a snack at his and Ken’s place…

WC: 520

C/W: mentions of smoking weed

mota masterlist!

John smiled and lazily waved at the car slowly passing him and Curt. Truthfully he was too high to care how slow the horses were moseying down the road. The girls were at school and Gale was working so that warranted John and Curt to spend the day like they were in high school again. 

Curt rolled three joints and bareback rode Arizona down to John and Gales. John was already on the deck sitting and waiting for him. 

After Curt turned Arizona out the two were sitting on the back deck with the first joint lit. 

The two relished in the nice, late fall day. It was warm enough that they were in just jeans and t-shirts. 

The two got through two and one third of the joints before Curt remembered Ken made a couple of pies the previous night. 

“Is that a cop?” John pointed ahead at a black ford explorer driving towards them. 

“Fuckin’ hell.” Curt flicked the half smoked joint he was finishing into the ditch. Curt and John both tried to look as normal as possible, waving to the officer as he passed. 

The two began to panic as they heard the car turn around and put on his sirens. They pulled the horses to the side unsure of what was about to happen. 

John sat himself up straighter and would lead with, ‘do you have any idea who my husband is?’ act.

The sirens turned off and the door of the police car opened and shut.

“Afternoon, gentlemen.”

“Officer,” Curt said and John meekly nodded. He knew he wasn’t going to get away with this. He could feel the squint in his eyes and knew they’d be bloodshot as all hell. 

“It’s medicinal, VA prescribed down in Denver.” Curt leaned down pulling up his jean leg to show the officer his prosthetic. 

“Where are you boys headed?” The officer asked, John feeling a small amount of anxiety fluttering through his chest.

“My husbands a lawyer.” John cleared his throat. Curt whipped his head around, his eyes pinched glaring at John.

“Sorry, officer. We’re just headed back to my place, it’s not even a quarter of a mile.” Curt scratched the back of his neck, “Won’t happen again.”

“Sir, you know it’s illegal to operate a horse while high?” The officer crossed his arm, “Do you have any more on you sir?”

Curt grunted and rested his reins on Arizona’s neck and dug out the small jar he had jammed into his pocket with a small nugget left. 

“I’ll let you off with a warning, but don’t let me catch you guys doing this again. Just as dangerous as operating a vehicle.” 

As the officer turned to walk away, Curt muttered under his breath, just loud enough for John to hear, "Yeah, because a horse is going to hit 60 on the highway."

John tried to hide his laugh as the cop pulled away and around them waving them off. 

“What a fuckin’ prick,” Curt snorted as soon as the cruiser was out of sight, “Jokes on him, i got another gram back at home.” -

taglist: @austeenbootler @coastiewife465 @executethyself35 @slowsweetlove

[heavensbeehall]

"Mockingjay", Chapter 11

Part 2: The Assault

Chapter 11: Katniss obsesses over the concept of "what it will take to break me" during her three days stuck in the bunker. She makes Buttercup chase the light, a fun game with all cats. And realizes that she is Buttercup and Peeta is the light. Snow is torturing Peeta solely to taunt her. He has no rebel information. There is only one person who really understands what she is going through: Finnick. Annie wasn't kidnapped because she had information. Finnick gives her his rope that he uses to distract his mind. Coin wants them to film something to show 13 is fine. Gale is weird. Peeta saved lives with his warning. Snow has dropped roses for Katniss because he's a weirdo. She cannot say the line "13 is alive and well and so am I" probably because she is not well. She is having a panic attack.

So now that "The Mockingjay" can't perform--they finally decide to try to rescue Peeta and the others. They really treat her like some kind of circus animal that performs for crowds or something. (Boggs is the one who finally arranges the mission. He didn't let Haymitch volunteer but Gale did.)

Thoughts

-- I wonder when exactly Snow was convinced Katniss loved Peeta. He says he's not convinced in "Catching Fire" but I don't think that's true. He was just trying to keep Katniss busy until he could subdue the districts however he has done it before. (She thinks he figured it out when Finnick did during the Quarter Quell.) Clearly she risked her life to save his multiple times in the first Hunger Games. I think he's just jealous that Katniss and Peeta's trauma bond evolved into an actual relationship but Snow never got to fuck Lucy Gray.

-- So Plutarch's hovercraft seems to have picked people up in order of their importance to him, right? Katniss was first (or at least she was in the movie). Then Finnick and Beetee. They make sense. Beetee is clearly doing the job of entire teams of tech people. And Finnick seems to have been an active operative in the Rebellion. Anyway I would really like to know if Plutarch would've picked up Johanna or Peeta next and if he would've picked up Enobaria at all if he had more time.

Quotes:

He attains celebrity status with his evening game of Crazy Cat. I created this by accident a few years ago, during a winter blackout. You simply wiggle a flashlight beam around on the floor, and Buttercup tries to catch it. I'm petty enough to enjoy it because I think it makes him look stupid.

Katniss is still beefing with this cat like Snow is beefing with her.

The pain over my heart returns, and from it I imagine tiny fissures spreading out into my body. Through my torso, down my arms and legs, over my face, leaving it crisscrossed with cracks. One good jolt of a bunker missile and I could shatter into strange, razor-sharp shards.

Katniss is very dramatic sometimes. I shouldn't laugh but it's very teenage angst! (She is 17 afterall.)

I carefully extricate myself from my blanket and tiptoe through the cavern until I find Finnick, feeling for some unspecified reason that he will understand.

"unspecified" meaning "because he is basically in the exact same weird-ass situation that I am"

"You did warn me, though. On the hovercraft. Only when you said they'd use Peeta against me, I thought you meant like bait. To lure me into the Capitol somehow," I say. "I shouldn't have said even that. It was too late for it to be of any help to you. Since I hadn't warned you before the Quarter Quell, I should've shut up about how Snow operates." Finnick yanks on the end of his rope, and an intricate knot becomes a straight line again.

I think all the adults should have told her this immediately instead of manipulating a teenage girl into doing what they want just because she isn't wordly weary yet.

"Want a sugar cube?" he asks in his old seductive voice. That's how we met, with Finnick offering me sugar. Surrounded by horses and chariots, costumed and painted for the crowds, before we were allies. Before I had any idea what made him tick. The memory actually coaxes a smile out of me. "Here, it improves the taste," he says in his real voice, plunking three cubes in my cup. As I turn to go suit up as the Mockingjay, I catch Gale watching me and Finnick unhappily.

Gale, I have had it up to here with your bullshit. I know you are a teenager too and are jealous but this girl has been misERABLE for weeks and she smiles once and you aren't HAPPY about that?

[jessicatredes]

if you're comfortable, i'd love to learn more about your hunger games oc, sutherland. she seems so cool! do you have anything you could share? 💖

awww thank you!!! im still kinda workshopping her character but here's what i currently have established for her :-) i wrote more than i though i would so under the cut lol

because suzanne collins named her characters with the influence of their district (i.e. glimmer from d1), i wanted to do the same for sutherland! district 10 is typically shown in the southwest of north america on panem maps, & sutherland literally means "southern land."

her faceclaim is emmy rossum! sutherland is around 5'6, and with her work in the fields of d10, she's got a slightly better build than those from other districts. she has brown hair & eyes, and is mainly dressed in a palette of oranges & browns.

at first she isn't really sure why she volunteered. she didn't know marlo or the hacketts well at all, but there was just something about seeing a family already so affected by the games having another child reaped. she was also going to be kicked out of her community home soon, because she's 17 at the start of the 68th games. during her interview with caesar, she plays up that she volunteered to win & is confident in her ability to, but really she didn't think it fair that a victor's child was reaped.

her main mentor is falabella hackett, marlo's mother. she coached sutherland to turn everything surrounding her reason for volunteering away from marlo & her family, and instead because she wanted to win the games. falabella didn't want any fallback on her family because sutherland decided to say she thought it was fucked up victor's kids get reaped.

in d10, she worked with both horses & cattle. compared to the other livestock raised there, she was happy to work with cattle since it felt "freer" working in the pastures & riding horses. bc im making her a #horse girl, if she hadn't volunteered, she would've liked to work solely with the horses raised for the capitol (tribute parade, etc.). as a victor she owns a couple herself & rides as her talent.

she knows the basics of leatherworking, but she prefers embroidery as a craft. after she won her games, her stylist always dressed her with something that had embroidery throughout it.

she had a similar mindset to gale (how different can it be killing an animal vs tribute) when entering the games. because of this, she made no attempt to make allies, even with her district partner tatum. she stuck to herself and avoided other tributes for the first few days of the game. she eventually would use bear traps scattered around the arena to take out most of the career pack.

speaking of bears!!! she almost dies to a muttation that's basically a crazy bear monster. it was down it the final three when it attacked her, but the other two tributes took each other out before she could be killed by it. the capitol initially had her keep the scars it gave her, since the citizens were so enamored by her survival. she is often gifted bear trinkets or furs, and she cannot stand it.

im not having her story have a huge influence/change on the source material, but i am retconing the d10 tribute dying in catching fire lol. i haven't decided if i want her to have been rescued during the games OR from the capitol yet though (either way she was in on the plan).

for the 75th games she volunteers again (technically making her the only person to ever volunteer twice lol) she's the youngest out of all the living tributes, doesn't have children, & knows she can help keep katniss alive during the quarter quell.

by the time cf & mj roll around, sutherland has been a victor & mentor for 7 years. she also has spent a significant amount of time in the capitol. while it appears she's paraded around by the same guy (justinian) all the time, they're both actually part of the underground group plutarch was a part of to overthrow the capitol. he also manages to get to district 13 for mj.

sutherland would absolutely vote no for a ceremonial final hunger games. ik the math wouldn't work out then with the vote at the end of mj, but idc enough to figure that out LMAO. she knows justinian's nieces/nephews & also can't imagine any child being put through that.

[mickimagnum]

With Devin's training, Gale went from a green 4-year-old to an Ultimate Horse Champion! And with Gale's title, Devin completed her Championship Rider aspiration and has a earned a title of her own: Grand Champion Trainer.

[mistypurplespark]

Chapter 23: Chaotic Situation

Chapter 23.1: Chaotic Situation

Translator(s): Zryuu

Chen Xing immediately understood why Fu Jian would make the decision to behead Feng Qianjun so quickly! He has to give the Murongs an account first to appease them for the time being.

He was going to behead Feng Qianjun to intimidate the Feng family, but more importantly……

“I must save him,” Chen Xing said, “He didn’t do anything at all, Feng Dage is innocent!”

“That’s their intention!” Tuoba Yan said anxiously, “Wang Ziye must have come up with this idea! He wants to lure you and the Great Chanyu out!”

Chen Xing understood the reason behind it, but he had to go! How could he just stand by and watch Feng Qianjun get beheaded?!

“What do you want to do?” Tuoba Yan asked seriously, “Tell me! What can you do? Rush in that recklessly to break him out of prison?”

Chen Xing looked at Tuoba Yan. Of course he wouldn’t ask Tuoba Yan to rescue Feng Qianjun by force for him, that would be too much of an imposition.

“Can’t wait for Xiang Shu anymore.” Chen Xing said, “Brother Tuoba, I need to go to the execution ground.”

Chen Xing has always been the type to take one step at a time. After experiencing the fall of Xiangyang, he had no doubt at all that by relying on his luck, even if he were to shout “HOLD THE EXECUTION” and rush in, he would be able to get Feng Qianjun out without any mishap.

Tuoba Yan couldn’t convince Chen Xing no matter what, so in the end, he could only say, “Okay! I’ll think of something! I’ll go see His Majesty

now!”

“You don’t need to care about this.” Chen Xing said, “You just need to send me onto the execution ground……to the execution ground.”

So Tuoba Yan could only just order his men to prepare a horse and let Chen Xing get into a carriage. Night had fallen. Before Chen Xing boarded the carriage, he suddenly felt like something was wrong. In the evening at the You period, a strange atmosphere had pervaded Chang’an City, and a strong gale suddenly stirred up out of nowhere.

“What’s wrong?” Tuoba Yan asked patiently.

Chen Xing shook his head and got on the carriage. On the way to the execution ground, Tuoba Yan exhorted him time and time again that he couldn’t come out and had to hide inside the carriage and watch from afar through the carriage curtains.

I’ll notify the Execution Supervisor,” Tuoba Yan said, “I’ll try my best.” Then he left on his horse.

Two quarters after the You period; the evening drums were beating, its “dong”s sounding one after another. A group started gathering towards West street under this overcast sky with surging, dark clouds. This was the first time in history for the Great Qin to execute a prisoner in the evening ever since the construction of Chang’an.

Chen Xing pulled a corner of the carriage curtain to look out; a high platform had been set up at the execution ground. On the other side of West street, it was filled with mostly Murong members dressed in fine clothes who was there to watch the execution. On the other end of the execution ground were the soldiers who were alert and battle-ready.

Within a short moment, countless thoughts had flashed through Chen Xing’s mind. If he wanted to save Feng Qianjun, then sure enough, only the simplest, and roughest method could be used—— rush out while shouting “HOLD THE EXECUTION”, then offer the condition of exchanging himself for the prisoner to keep Feng Qianjun alive for now, after which he would get taken away to meet Fu Jian with Feng Qianjun.

Someone suddenly knocked on the carriage from the outside, and a piece of paper came in through the carriage window.

Chen Xing, “???”

Several words were written on the paper: don’t act recklessly, I’ll save him.

Chen Xing immediately drew the curtain and saw the back of a Hu man, who seemed very familiar, but Chen Xing couldn’t remember where he had seen him before. When he looked at the direction he was leaving in, he saw that the man had mixed in with the crowd. A group of people had gathered in the distance to watch. Chen Xing’s gaze followed along, and under the dim illumination of the dark sky, he saw that in the midst of the ground standing about half a head taller than everyone else was Xiang Shu, wearing a bamboo hat.

Xiang Shu grasped his bamboo hat and lifted it slightly, exchanging gazes with Chen Xing, who was on the carriage. Chen Xing felt more at ease now. Since Xiang Shu was here, he must have a plan. What did he do the entire afternoon? Chen Xing scrutinised that group of people doubtfully and finally remembered……

They were the ones who came to visit Xiang Shu, the Great Chanyu, on the first day of their stay in the Weiyang Palace — the Hu tribes who had been neglected by Fu Jian.

When Feng Qianjun was escorted onto the platform, the crowd gathered at the execution ground grew restless; everyone from the Murong family was shouting angrily one after another.

Feng Qianjun’s hair was in a dishevelled mess while his face was covered with blood; both his hands were tied behind his back.

“His Majesty has issued an order!” The Execution Supervisor said loudly, “The Feng family’s Feng Qianjun entered the palace late at night and committed high treason by trying to assassinate His Majesty, the Divine Emperor! Thus, he will be executed here immediately——”

Chen Xing’s heart reached his throat. However, the gales at the execution ground grew stronger and stronger, such that in the end, wind interspersed with sand obscured the sky — chilly winds were howling fiercely throughout Chang’an City.

Resentment! Chen Xing drew the curtains of the carriage and dismounted. A gloomy darkness pervaded the execution ground; it had already been dusk, and now it was so dark that one couldn’t even discern the outline of their fingers. People everywhere were shielding themselves from the swirling sand and rocks with their arms. Feng Qianjun’s head was already spinning, and now he raised his head to look towards the sky.

The bell tower rang madly in the midst of this hurricane; Fu Jian, who was concealing himself in the dark, suddenly walked out, and stared at the sky in disbelief.

On another building along Chang’an’s West street, Feng Qianyi faced the execution ground as he sat in his wheelchair. He held the Yin Yang Mirror in his hands, and a black vapour instantly erupted — the resentment in the mirror world burst out in a moment and submerged the entire Chang’an City!

Xiang Shu was prepared long ago, but he didn’t expect such an event, so he promptly signalled to the men he had recruited at the last minute not to go forward. Chen Xing raised his head in the midst of the fierce gales and saw Feng Qianyi in the distance who was wearing a mask.

“It’s you?” Chen Xing shouted.

Although Feng Qianyi was quite a distance away from him, his voice was still clearly transmitted into Chen Xing’s ears.

“You actually managed to break through the array I set up for so many years,” Feng Qianyi said coldly, “And escape from the Yin Yang Mirror unscathed. I really underestimated you.”

Then without anyone’s notice, Feng Qianyi pushed the Yin Yang Mirror out that he had gotten back from somewhere, and a monstrous mass of black vapour burst out of the mirror and surged crazily towards Chen Xing!

Chen Xing roared angrily, “Bastard! Feng Qianyi! Laozi’s expelling you from the Exorcism Department!!”

Immediately afterwards, Chen Xing withdrew both his hands as well and threw them up to face upwards at a slanted angle — a resplendent light instantly burst out of the Heart Lamp, broke through the darkness, and rushed upwards against the current!

The black vapour swept over like a tsunami, yet it couldn’t get near Chen Xing; it avoided the Heart Lamp’s light as it swirled around the execution ground, then gathered to form shadow warriors. A howl of anguish could be heard from the executioner, and a massive amount of blood spilt out in an instant. The crowd began screaming in a panic as they started dispersing within the darkness!

Chen Xing turned back and once again looked at Feng Qianyi, who was situated on higher ground. For a moment, he couldn’t decide whether he should rush forward to seize the Yin Yang Mirror back, yet he heard Xiang Shu shout at another side, “Save people first! I’ll go capture him right now!’

His shout woke Chen Xing up from his trance, and he immediately rushed onto the execution ground. The black vapour was already circling around Feng Qianjun, revealing the figure of a warrior.

What do they want to do? Just before Chen Xing managed to get close, the warrior brandished its sword and moved to forcibly snatch Feng Qianjun away. Chen Xing suddenly understood — Feng Qianyi’s goal was the same as theirs: he wanted to rescue Feng Qianjun. He couldn’t make up his mind on whether he should just let Feng Qianyi save his younger brother, but Xiang Shu had already drawn close. With one flick of his sword, a loud “clang” sounded, and he had forced the shadow warrior away.

“Take him away!” Xiang Shu shouted.

Chen Xing immediately cut the rope around Feng Qianjun’s body with his dagger. A warrior suddenly rushed forth to kill them from behind, but

another figure appeared beside him and with a “clang”, parried with the weapon and guarded Chen Xing from behind — it was Tuoba Yan!

The black vapour burst forth again in an instant, and five or six shadow warriors rushed up from different angles. Blood sprayed out from Tuoba Yan’s arm as he blocked a hit for Chen Xing; he swung the halberd in his hands, and in the midst of loud blares, he had knocked all of their enemies away.

Tuoba Yan shouted, “Go!”

Chen Xing pulled Feng Qianjun’s arm, then half-carried and half-supported him to stagger down from the execution platform. Black vapour had diffused throughout the entire Chang’an City, as if it was a deep, dark night. Screams could be heard everywhere in the darkness.

“Leave this place!” Chen Xing shouted, “Everyone, run! Hurry and run! Tuoba Yan! Take care of him!”

Without any need for his reminder, the people knew that staying alive was important too and had already begun fleeing in panic. It was a chaotic mess outside of the execution ground. Chen Xing handed Feng Qianjun to Tuoba Yan, emitting a burst of bright light from his palm to try and discern the direction and shouted, “Where’s Xiang Shu?! Xiang Shu!”

I must catch up to Feng Qianyi immediately! He’s activating the Yin Yang Mirror! Chen Xing forcibly spurred the Heart Lamp a few times to search for Xiang Shu’s whereabouts, but someone grabbed his arm.

“Chen Tianchi?” That low voice asked. Chen Xing’s heart jolted — it was Fu Jian!

Fu Jian didn’t allow him any time to speak before locking down on Chen Xing’s throat and dragging him to one side. He shouted, “Where is Tuoba Yan?! Gather the imperial guards! Everyone, follow me! Get to higher ground!”

Chen Xing was still half-carrying Feng Qianjun as he was forcibly taken to a watchtower at West street. As he looked over from high ground, he saw

the black vapour sweeping across Chang’an.

“Capture Feng Qianyi!!” Chen Xing knew that the situation was really bad now; after Feng Qianyi’s array was broken through, he finally decided to activate the Yin Yang Mirror. Yet Fu Jian clutched Chen Xing harshly and shouted, “Explain everything clearly to me!”

“There’s no time to explain!” Chen Xing shouted back, “Let me go! I’m the only one who can stop Feng Qianyi!”

Fu Jian was stunned, but a muffled roar came from afar, as if millions of yaos were roaring at the same time. When Chen Xing heard that, he knew it was too late.

“Fu Jian, you’re in trouble now.” Chen Xing muttered.

Fu Jian let go of Chen Xing’s lapel and looked towards Chang’an City.

Chapter 23.2: Chaotic Situation Translator(s): Zryuu

Xiang Shu led the various Hu tribes to rushed toward the high-rise at Chang’an’s West street, but the top floor of the high-rise exploded with a loud blast and collapsed under the black resentment vapour. All of the resentment from within the Yin Yang Mirror’s mirror world had been released!

“Fu Jian,” Feng Qianyi’s voice echoed through the world, “You seized our Great Qin’s power, destroyed our Divine Land, slaughtered us Han people, killed my family, broke my legs……”

Chen Xing’s eyes suddenly widened.

At the same time, all of the bronze mirrors within Chang’an City flashed at the same time and shot out rays of black light.

Feng Qianyi hovered in the air, and there was nothing beneath his robe. He held the Yin Yang Mirror in his hands; runes were swirling everywhere as they shone with a purplish-black lustre. Shouts filled with dread could be heard throughout the houses in Chang’an City — it was close to a million cries that converged into a powerful flood, and Chen Xing’s spine went numb from listening to it.

The power of the Yin Yang Mirror was fully unleashed in an instant; all of the mirrors connected to the fantasy world in this moment, and all of the living corpses that had been locked up in the mirror’s Chang’an passed through the passage instantaneously and gushed out!

Screams could be heard everywhere in the city. Xiang Shu mounted his horse, spurred it harshly several times, and the horse rushed to the second floor along the weak tiles, then leapt high up into the sky before galloping onto the tower. Following which, Xiang Shu flew onto the bannisters, borrowed the momentum he gained to jump up again, and pulled back the

string of a huge bow that was about half the size of an adult, drawing a full moon arc——

Chen Xing broke out of Fu Jian’s grasp and rushed to a high point in the tower and shouted, “Break!” Then he used all his might to urge the light of the Heart Lamp in both hands to its maximum. When Xiang Shu’s arrow was about to leave the string of his bow, a dazzling light erupted from it, and it turned into a light arrow, then whizzed through the air with a swish after it was released!

That arrow drew out a trail of light behind it within the dark night, and with incredible accuracy, struck the Yin Yang Mirror in Feng Qianyi’s hands with a “clang”. The Yin Yang Mirror whirled into the air in an instant as it was sent flying. Chen Xing cheered loudly and rushed down the tower, while Xiang Shu landed on the ground. Feng Qianyi roared with great indignation; billowing black smoke shot out from underneath his robe and swiftly flew towards the Yin Yang Mirror!

“Intercept that mirror!” Chen Xing didn’t care about anything else as he shouted loudly.

In the next moment, another arrow flew over — it had been released from Tuoba Yan’s bow as he rode a horse along the street. As if it was part of a meteor relay, the second arrow struck the mirror. A soft clang sounded upon impact with the Yin Yang Mirror again, and it drew an arc as it flew towards the tower.

The flying mirror was less than thirty steps away from Chen Xing when it landed on the ground once again, but an arrow suddenly flew over from above that brushed by it obliquely and struck the edge of the Yin Yang Mirror with a “clang”. The mirror started rotating once again and flew towards Chen Xing.

On the watchtower, Fu Jian withdrew his long bow with a gaze full of alarm as he looked at Chang’an City in disbelief.

Chen Xing had obtained the Yin Yang Mirror, just as he had wished for. He couldn’t spare any attention to avoid anyone as he stood below the

watchtower and proffered up the magic weapon, then began casting his spell.

A white light burst out that buzzed and shook; the runes revolving in the air above Chang’an city flew over in quick succession as they got sucked back into the mirror.

“How could I let you ruin my plans?!” Feng Qianyi roared madly and flew towards Chen Xing while dragging a trail of billowing black vapour behind him. Before anyone could react, Xiang Shu turned sideways, slid over to stand in front of Chen Xing, and swung his long bow down. Fu Jian roared from above, “Release the arrows! Kill the sorcerer!”

Arrows of the imperial guards were released from their bows one after another and shot toward the sky. Feng Qianyi was apparently not afraid of ordinary weapons and only feared the light arrows in Xiang Shu’s hands, and he abruptly sprung up. Chen Xing took this chance to reverse the Yin Yang Mirror by collecting the black vapour that had blotted out the sky and successfully sucked it all back into the mirror.

Within an instant, the resentment that had pervaded Chang’an City returned to its original state, but pained wails were still ringing out in all directions.

Xiang Shu, “Suck the living corpses back!”

“I can’t!” Chen Xing said, “It can only suck in resentment! They’ve all run out now!”

Fu Jian hurried down and shouted, “Shulü Kong, explain this clearly to Zhen! What on earth is going on?!”

Xiang Shu, “I will give you an account, but not now. Jian Tou! Are you sure you want to start nagging here?”

“Report——” One of the imperial guards rushed over and shouted, “Your Majesty! The city is full of living dead people!’

Tuoba Yan spurred his horse to ride over and shouted, “Retreat and defend the imperial palace! Retreat and defend the imperial palace! Protect His Majesty!”

Fu Jian was incredibly furious, but he was powerless and could only wave his hand to order the rest to return to the palace. During the Xu period, the imperial guards clustered around Fu Jian as they returned to the palace. Xiang Shu immediately got Chen Xing to mount a horse. Fortunately, Tuoba Yan had made preparations beforehand and rearranged the city’s defense in advance. 50,000 imperial guards throughout the city resembled a tide as they flooded back to guard the inner city of Chang’an.

However, good times don’t last; when they arrived in front of the palace, cries of dread rang out from the inside.

“There’s some in the palace too.” Tuoba Yan felt as if his blood coagulated. He said, “Hurry! All of you, go! Take the mirror along!”

Chen Xing tried to use the mirror to suck in the living corpses, but the Yin Yang Mirror had already been refined with resentment by Feng Qianyi, so it was quite unstable and kept shaking. If he tried to force it, the resentment in the mirror world might just burst right out in an instant again. He immediately shouted, “It won’t work! The mirror’s on the verge of exploding!”

Xiang Shu led the warriors under his command and explained what had happened to them. Chen Xing couldn’t understand their language, but he saw that Fu Jian’s expression was extremely solemn. Xiang Shu then made a gesture, and everyone responded in agreement. They actually didn’t feel fearful at all about rushing into the palace and fighting this bunch of drought fiends that had suddenly appeared head-on.

“Wait!” Fu Jian suddenly said.

Everyone looked towards Fu Jian at the same time. Fu Jian remained silent for a while, then said, “Tuoba Yan, gather the troops in the city and send an order out to the four generals, just find as many as you can. The imperial guards will rescue the people in the city. Try to rescue as many as possible. Follow Zhen to Ahfang Palace.”

Xiang Shu said coldly, “You want to give up on all the people in Chang’an?”

Fu Jian said angrily, “The city is already in this much of a mess, and you can’t even see your five fingers outstretched in front of you, how can the army be mobilised?!”

Xiang Shu shouted, “Jian Tou! Did your courage and judgment all get devoured by dogs?!”

Fu Jian roared, “Shulü Kong! Are you the emperor or am I the emperor?!” “Don’t fight!” Chen Xing said quickly, “Xiang Shu!”

Chen Xing signalled to him with his gaze. Xiang Shu took a deep breath and dropped it. Tuoba Yan immediately issued an order to ready the horses and temporarily gave up on Weiyang Palace as he followed Fu Jian out of the city.

Screams and howls of anguish could be heard everywhere in Chang’an City. As soon as ordinary people saw drought fiends, the feeling of dread outweighed their fear of death, and they shrieked until their voices went hoarse. Chen Xing and Xiang Shu rode horses side by side, but Xiang Shu suddenly turned around and left.

“Where are you going?!” Chen Xing shouted anxiously. Xiang Shu shouted from afar, “Take care of Feng Qianjun!”

Chen Xing was about to turn around to chase Xiang Shu when Fu Jian rushed over from the side and grabbed the reins of his mount. He shouted, “Go! Chen Tianchi! Explain this to me properly! What on earth is going on?!”

“Let me go!” Chen Xing said.

Fu Jian, “Explain this first! Otherwise don’t even think about going anywhere else!”

Chen Xing didn’t dare to jump off his horse, so he could only follow Fu Jian out of the city while he gave a brief overview of the whole story. While he was doing so, he kept looking back as he worried about Xiang Shu’s

safety. Yet Fu Jian reminded him, “Then how should we deal with those drought fiends?”

“Chop their heads off.” Chen Xing said as he gasped for breath, “And take note to never get bitten or scratched at all costs. Living corpses carry corpse poison with them.”

Tuoba Yan caught up to them and heard their conversation. Fu Jian signalled to him, and Tuoba Yan nodded. Chen Xing continued, “There’s another way — burn them with fire.”

Although this idea was thought up by Chen Xing himself, no matter what kind of yao it is, as long as they are burned to ashes, they would not be able to do harm in the human world any longer. After they’re burned, it could contain the spread of their corpse poison as well.

Fu Jian said, “We’ll have to find a way to lure them outside Ahfang Palace, then use kerosene and saltpetre canisters to set them all on fire.”

Chen Xing couldn’t help but admire Fu Jian when he heard this. Sure enough, as the emperor of the north, he was quite capable after all. Fighting a decisive battle within Chang’an City would not only make it easy to injure people by mistake, but it would be quite impossible to carry out as well. However, once they were out of the capital, it would be vast and deserted, and there are a lot of plants in the wilderness that would make it easier for them to create a favourable situation.

“General Guanjun has arrived——” Someone shouted. “General Huwei has arrived!”

The military officers of Fu Jian’s court reacted very quickly and chased after the emperor until they were out of the city. There were more and more troops now, and in the end, there were at least 200,00 troops on the plain that were galloping in a grandiose formation towards Ahfang Palace that was more than 30 miles away from the city.

“Jia!” After Chen Xing left the city, he immediately turned his horse around to go back and look for Xiang Shu.

“Where is he?” Chen Xing’s heart was practically burning with anxiety. When he entered Chang’an City, his hand glowed with the Heart Lamp’s light that instantly dispersed the living corpses filling the streets and cleared a path. A lot of living corpses were pursuing the people in the city, and once caught, they would push them down onto the floor and bite them. Many people were trying their best to break free from their grasps; sorrowful cries and the shouts of killing were abound.

Wherever Chen Xing passed by, living corpses would flee in fear. Chen Xing shouted, “Leave through the White Tiger Gate! Go to Ahfang Palace! His Majesty is there!”

The people began dashing away like they had gone mad. Chen Xing was afraid that his horse would trample on innocent people, so he could only abandon his horse and travel on foot. He grabbed someone at random and shouted, “Where’s the Great Chanyu? Have you seen the Great Chanyu?”

Someone looked towards the inner city with dread evident in their eyes, so Chen Xing knew that Xiang Shu had killed his way back in again, so he quickly rushed into the street.

At this moment, Xiang Shu had already gathered thousands of people — both Hus and Hans included. There were more and more people now who were confronting the group of drought fiends that were moving collectively along the streets. Many people had picked up weapons from the ground and joined this group of people in a panic without knowing Xiang Shu’s identity. Some Hu people recognised Xiang Shu, so they rushed to kill with their lives on the line. Xiang Shu shouted loudly in the Xiongnu language, “Cut off the enemies’ heads!”

Xiang Shu was trapped on both sides, but a ray of light shot over from the end of the street that penetrated through the darkness. The army of living corpses all howled in anguish as they were routed one after another. Xiang Shu turned his head abruptly and saw Chen Xing standing at the end of the street with his head held up high, and traces of anger were apparent on his face. A warm, white light was being emitted from his hands.

Xiang Shu, “……”

Chen Xing shouted angrily, “What are you doing again?!”

Xiang Shu whistled, and the temporary army that he had organised began gathering all around him. He spurred his horse forward, extended a hand, and pulled Chen Xing up to sit on a horse.

“Exit the city!” Xiang Shu shouted.

The four gates of Chang’an were open wide, and everywhere was filled with people who were escaping in a flurry in the middle of the night. Xiang Shu led the Hu cavalry and had rescued quite a lot of people from within Chang’an City at some time. They gathered into a clamorous group, both Hu and Han were included within, and they all looked toward Xiang Shu with worry flooding their gazes.

A black figure wielding a halberd appeared in the direction facing the palace. As they observed that figure, they could tell that it was the shadow warrior that tried to hunt them down in the mirror world!

Xiang Shu wanted about to draw his bowstring, but the distance between them was too great, and it was difficult to aim at night, so he decided against it. Chen Xing urged his horse to come after him. Xiang Shu took a deep breath and looked at him.

“They’ve already retreated onto the Official Road.” Chen Xing said.

Xiang Shu kept his bow and said, “Follow me to kill our way back; I have something I want to ask Feng Qianyi about.”

“No!” Chen Xing said, “Xiang Shu! Don’t be impulsive!”

Xiang Shu said, “Your Heart Lamp can expel the drought fiends, follow me!”

Chen Xing said, “Then what about them?!”

Chen Xing motioned for Xiang Shu to look at the men, women, old, and young people he had rescued. He suddenly felt like Xiang Shu was really reliable at this kind of timing.

Xiang Shu gave up on his idea. Chen Xing said, “Go! Let’s talk about it

again later.”

[tri-poke]

They pack everything tight and manage to put in the sacks plenty more than they were sent to get. Even if some of it is perhaps a questionable trade. Zach isn't too sure that Orc alcohol will go over as well as whiskey would have but the rest should make up for it.

And down the hill they go after Gruiser douses her hearth fire and pats the door goodbye with what are clearly mixed feelings.

Gale decides that it is probably better to have Gruiser up behind Zach just to make sure no one gets dumb. "They all know how good a shot we both are. But someone might think your chivalrous and that you might not shoot for the risk but everyone also knows you're a quarter to the way as crazy as Cookie and would just yell shoot if you were a hostage."

So Gruiser awkwardly slings up behind Zach and tightens her green arms around him. Admitting sheepishly that she's never actually ridden a horse either, which somewhat explains the strength of her grip, there's also just that Zach is pretty sure that Gruiser is nearly as strong as a rex. For a moment he is surrounded by the smell of sweet fire smoke and a sharp clear smell like just after lightning has struck and then Demon Tooth gets some speed on her and the smell is whipped away to be replaced by the girl's excited laughter as they dash down the mountain side.

"I think your rexes may be faster than horses, too," she yells into the wind.

Gale shouts, "You ain't seen nothin yet. Come on Sweet Swift!" She kicks her spurs into the Rex's tough neck scales through the thick plumage of feathers to urge her on and the racing rex bolts down the hills in a fearsome display of speed, putting on a show of moaning at being so mistreated by being asked to run while carrying weight. What do they think? That she's a pack-rex?

Demon Tooth turns to eye Zach and then sneezes like a shrug and picks up speed herself but only enough to keep them in sight, refusing to do anything so hot-headed as run full out. Though she does treat Gruiser to one good leap, showing just what her huge back legs are capable of.

By the time they get to the drive, Gruiser is breathing like Zach remembers feeling the first time he ever got on a rex at a gallop.

Possibly more since they're riding toward a rolling dust storm full of monsters beyond her experience. Though there is the comfort at least of people waving to them as they approach.

Cookie slows the chuck wagon so that they'll meet at a stop and can switch the load like sane people at a stop.

Mundo also turns his rex, a large old pack gelding by the name of Unsung Troubles, off the point and around the Remuda, getting the old behemoth to snap threateningly at the unridden rexes to keep them in line instead of taking the move as permission to run helter-skelter any which way they can.

It's only as they're all meeting up that Cookie and Mr. Suver seem to catch on that there is more people coming back than left. Mr. Suver frowns, not quite sure what he's seeing yet but clearly not enamored of the idea of taking on a new hand he hasn't vetted. Cookie grabs out another cup of coffee... possibly as a threat with how thick and black she makes it, balancing all three in her hands as she sloops off the wagon bench. "Who you got there?"

Gale heels Sweet Swift up right before her father. "Now, Pa, I want you to hear us out before you make any mind up. See, we got some mixed news. And its complicated, see. You're gonna have to think it ALL through. Not just throw your hat at the first hook."

Mr. Suver grunts as Zach is slowing to join them. "Don't try to sweet talk me, girl. Your mother never taught you the art of it. What's complicated about getting some supplies?" He looks over at Zach. "Who talked who into what?"

[butdaddyilovehim99]

john who has never been near a horse, let alone on top of one, dating gale who grew up on a ranch, his family says he could ride a horse before he could walk. bucky manages to find excuses not to go near the animals on the ranch until gale gets him cornered, no excuses no where to go but into the saddle.

gale’s heart soars in his chest when he finally gets john up on his childhood horse, his bay american quarter horse mare that was born on the ranch when he was a boy. she’s on the tall side for an aqh, but still thick and stocky with muscle almost like bucky he had named her baby on the very day she was born because “daddy, she’s just a baby, so that’s what’ll call ‘er.” the first horse he ever broke, baby has always been levelheaded and easy to work with, sweet and gentle with him as a boy. that’s why he trusts her now, he knows baby will take good care of his john

john is blushing as he looks down at gale with a nervous gaze “you sure about this?” he asks as he grips the reigns, still trying to find a way out of this. gale throws him a soft smirk as he brings his foot up to his stirrup, grabbing the horn of the saddle along with his reigns so he doesn’t lose them.

“have i managed to find the one thing the you aren’t blindly overconfident you can do?” he pushes and lifts himself up into the saddle, other foot sliding into place in the stirrup. his palomino thoroughbred mare, blondie, shakes out her mane as he settles. “i never thought i’d see the day.” he tease john with a full grin and sees the moment all of john’s anxiety melts into pure determination to prove gale wrong. gale feels giddy with the prospect of how this ride will go

Where’s the artists who can draw this as Buck and Bucky??

[scotianostra]

On 22nd November 1869 the clipper “Cutty Sark” was launched at Dumbarton on the River Clyde.

Cutty Sark was built for a firm of ship owners called Willis & Sons, headed by John ‘Jock’ Willis, whose ambition was that she be the fastest ship in the annual race to bring home the first of the new season’s tea from China.

She was designed by Hercules Linton, a partner in the Dumbarton firm of Scott & Linton. It is believed that he moulded the bowlines of Willis’s earlier vessel Tweed into the midship attributes of Firth of Forth fishing boats, creating a beautiful new hull shape that was stronger, could take more sail, and be driven harder than any other.

The company had never built a ship of this size before and ran into financial difficulties, eventually going bankrupt before she was completed. The final details of the fitting out had to be completed by William Denny & Brothers, Scott & Linton’s landlords and the guarantors for the completion of the work on the original contract.

Cutty Sark was towed to Greenock for final work on her masts and rigging. She was then taken to London to load her first cargo for China in 1870.

The ship was named after Cutty-sark, the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns’s 1791 poem Tam o’ Shanter. The ship’s figurehead, the original of which has been attributed to carver Fredrick Hellyer of Blackwall, is a stark white carving of a bare-breasted Nannie Dee with long black hair holding a grey horse’s tail in her hand. In the poem she wore a linen sark that she had been given as a child, which explains why it was cutty, or in other words far too short. The erotic sight of her dancing in such a short undergarment caused Tam to cry out “Weel done, Cutty-sark”, which subsequently became a well known catchphrase. Originally, carvings by Hellyer of the other scantily clad witches followed behind the figurehead along the bow, but these were removed by Willis in deference to ‘good taste’. Tam o’ Shanter riding Meg was to be seen along the ship’s quarter. The motto, Where there’s a Willis away, was inscribed along the taffrail. The Tweed, which acted as a model for much of the ship which followed her, had a figurehead depicting Tam o’ Shanter.

Unfortunately for Willis, the launch of the Cutty Sark coincided with the opening of the Suez Canal and the growing popularity of steamships. Steam-driven ships could pass through the canal, whereas clipper ships like the Cutty Sark could not. That meant that steam, ships could cut thousands of miles off the trip to China to collect tea. The Cutty Sark, though one of the fastest clipper ships ever built, was outmoded almost before it sailed.

While the Cutty Sark’s career in the tea trade was less than a success, her next career in the Australian wool trade was where she truly shone. From 1883-95 the ship made the Australian run, bringing wool exports back to London.

The Cutty Sark consistently outsailed her competitors, and she dominated the wool trade for over a decade, earning a reputation for exceptional speed on the 2-month voyage. She famously once overtook and passed the steamship Britannia, travelling at a rate of 17 knots.

But once more the steamship spoiled the Cutty Sark’s career, and once the steam vessels made the Australian wool trade their own, the Cutty Sark was sold to a Portuguese company. From 1895-1922 the ship (renamed Ferreira) was a tramp vessel, carrying cargo between Portugal and the far-flung corners of the Portuguese Empire.

In 1922 the Ferreira put into Falmouth to repair damage suffered in a gale. A retired sea captain named Wilfred Dowman saw the ship and determined to buy her. Dowman restored the Cutty Sark to approximately how she had appeared during her days as a tea clipper.

The ship was used for naval training until 1951 when it was sent to London for the Festival of Britain. She might well have been scrapped following the festival, but the ship was saved by the National Maritime Museum and put into dry dock at Greenwich in 1954, beside the Old Royal Naval College.

In 2007 a devastating fire broke out aboard the Cutty Sark, and it appeared that the ship might be completely destroyed. Thankfully total disaster was avoided, but the subsequent restoration lasted until 2012.

The Cutty Sark is in permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London as a museum ship.