#one-half of four horsegirls
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moonlightswritingandstuff · 2 years ago
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happy anniversary and- where are you?
Relationships: Maruca Chebota/Linh Song, background implied Stina Heks/Sophie Foster, implied pre-Maruca Chebota/Linh Song/Biana Vacker Characters: Maruca Chebota, Stina Heks, Tam Song, Biana Vacker, Linh Song Extra stuff: Percy Jackson Fusion, Fluff, Anniversaries
Linh's half-sister Stina is the only person in the Poseidon Cabin when Maruca visits it in search of Linh.
"'Sup," she says. "That reminds me. I still need you to teach me that one sword trick."
Maruca laughs. "I'll do it when you and Sophie kiss and make up."
"Is that your way of saying never?"
Maruca shrugs. "Maybe. Anyway, do you know where Linh is?"
"No. She might be spending time with Tam, though."
«»
"She's not here," Tam, Linh's half-brother on their mother's side, says.
"Maybe I'm here for you."
Tam rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right. Anyway, I think she's hanging out with Fitz in the Aphrodite Cabin today?"
"Thanks!"
«»
The Aphrodite Cabin is as pretty as always. It's pale pink, purple, blue, and white, and either looks like a bi dream or a pastel palace. Maruca's never been able to peg either one as a solid answer.
Biana's alone inside, sketching a random dress. Maruca's always been a fan of them, and sometimes Biana's able to make the dresses.
Nevertheless, Maruca instantly gets distracted by Biana's sketches. This time, it's a water-inspired dress that almost looks like it's made from sea.
"That's super cool," Maruca says.
"Thanks!" Biana grins, and Maruca forgets to breath for a few seconds. "Don’t tell her, but it’s for Linh.”
"Do you know where she is?"
"Nope, sorry."
«»
And so Maruca goes to the place she should really have checked first.
She really should've thought that the daughter of Poseidon would be near the water first.
And, as always, Linh greets Maruca with a smile and a custard burst.
"Fitz made it," she explains.
"Ooh, you got the good stuff."
Indeed, Fitz's creation is as good as always.
"Happy anniversary," Linh says, smiling.
Maruca matches it. "Happy anniversary," she says, and kisses Linh.
A comprehensive guide of parents based on my notes:
Maruca - daughter of Ares
Stina - daughter of Poseidon
Tam - son of Hades
Biana - daughter of Aphrodite, legacy of Apollo
Linh - daughter of Poseidon
Sophie - daughter of Athena
Keefe - son of Zeus
Dex - son of Hephaestus
Marella - daughter of Hephaestus
Jensi - son of Athena
Fitz - son of Aphrodite, legacy of Apollo
Calla - a nymph
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void-kill · 7 months ago
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ok is it just me or has the kotlc fandom been a lot more... straight? recently? like i feel like im not seeing as much queer content regarding the characters lately
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cthulhusstepmom · 1 year ago
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The Horsegirl-ification of Gideon Coal
“Kremy, are you absolutely certain this is a good idea? I think it would be fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that these are simply mundane horses.” 
Leaning against the only mostly unstable temporary fence that the hands had constructed for this stretch, Kremy offers Frost a sharp toothed grin where he paces off to his right. 
“That’s the thing you gotta understand Frost: it doesn’t matter if they’re real or not. The kids will believe it and the parents will pay for it.” 
“Yeah and some people are just stupid plain man!” Gideon adds, leaning back on the inside of the fence.
“That’s exactly right! Even the halfway intelligent folks will pay just to see how fake they look.” 
Frost grumbles but seems to acquiesce, eyes turned away as the pattering sounds of bear feet and bare feet approach the paddock.
“Gricko! Did you bring what I asked for?”
“I did indeed, but first and most importantly-” the goblin pauses for dramatic effect. “Look at how precious Hootsie is with her little unicorn horn! Ooh aren’t you the most precious unicowlbear!” And she is precious, toddling behind her father with a bulging satchel and a headband with a unicorn horn attached to it. Allowing Gricko his moment, Kremy steps forward and retrieves the satchel from Hootsie, making a mental note along the lines of ‘mule and enforcer, pay in rats’. Within the satchel is a selection of wooden horns, ranging in length from about six inches to eighteen, each with varying texture, weight, and stain. 
“Gricko this is incredible! You did all of this last night?” Kremy asks, only half paying attention to any answer he may receive.
“I told you I was good with my hannnds Kremy.” He slurs slightly, wobbling just the smallest bit.
“I had taken that for a sexual euphemism. I apologize.” Frost says, taking one of the horns and examining it. 
“Well I did have a lot of Trice Melon.” 
“The fuck is a trice melon?” Gideon cocks his head.
“A try smellin deez nuts.”
“You’re fucking dead as soon as I’m over this fence you son of a bitch! I’ll kill you, you’re brain’s gonna splatter all over this fucking-”
“Gid Gid Gid!” Kremy placates with a hand to Gideon’s already heaving chest. “Gricko’s just tired, let’s not destroy all of Turblek’s or whatever his name is hard work and torch the paddock while we’re at it hmm? Frost, would you kindly take Gricko to bed?” 
“Yes, that would seem to be the best course of action. Come along Gricko, I’ll let you finish today’s sudoku puzzle.”
“Eugh you can keep it Frosty, you know I hate the number ones.”
Turning away, Kremy startles for a moment when he realizes his hand is still on Gideon’s chest; quickly dismisses how Gid hasn’t protested its placement. 
“Right, now we can get some fucking work done. You have the glue?” 
“Right here.” He smiles, gesturing to a glass filled with a viscous amber substance. “And I already tested it, it washes right out. Frosty may be missing a few patches of hair from tries one through four.” 
Kremy puzzles for a moment. “Where?”
“You don’t want to know man.”
The horses in the paddock are serene, grazing and mingling amongst each other with nary a care in the world. After a long week of travel they’ve certainly enjoyed the day of rest while carnies run to and fro setting up the tents and attractions. They’re a motley crew, ranging in size from a couple of ponies all the way up to a handful of old drafts. Kremy isn’t sure where most of them came from, being perfectly honest. 
When they’d first upgraded to wagons over tents he had allowed Gideon to guide the majority of the purchasing. Walking in lock step, trying to understand all the technical things he had to say; Offering his own input where it mattered and then haggling the price down as Gid loomed over his shoulder. He hadn’t had the slightest idea where to get horses beyond a livery stable and that wouldn’t do if they were to be moving long distances. Gid had disappeared into the crowd at a pub one night before returning with a grin and leading Kremy to an auction house on the edge of town. Kremy had felt like a sore thumb as they’d perused their options, Gideon occasionally stopping to run his hands over one horse or another, asking questions or sharing jokes that flew completely over his head. When it came to the actual auction, Gideon had leant down beside him, breath steaming in his ear as he instructed him what to bid, when to fold and when to press. That night they walked out with eight horses and two mules and, Gideon assured him, good deals on all of them.
Since then their little herd had grown, not from any auction house trip however. No, some days on his free nights, when he wasn’t tinkering with his rigged games, lounging in their shared wagon while Kremy did paperwork, or out on the hunt for a good time, Gideon would simply wander off. Never so abruptly that it would be hard to follow him necessarily, but gone all the same. And he’d come back with another horse. Usually it wouldn’t be much to look at, skinny or scarred up or old or lame. But over time and under Gideon’s watchful care, dull coats would turn glossy and haunted eyes would turn warm. 
So Kremy doesn’t need to know where they come from, only that they’re theirs now. 
Such a saccharine sentiment doesn’t do much to make this any easier however.
“Fuck!” he yelps, yanking his hand back as the little pony nips at him once again. “Would you kindly fucking stand still and let put the stupid horn on your stupid head!” 
If horses had eyebrows one of them would certainly be raised in defiance as the pony most decidedly does not stand still, kindly or otherwise.
“Woah what’s going on over here man?” 
“My patience is being tried.” Kremy tries not to sulk, defeated by an undersized horse.
He can see the laugh bubbling in Gid’s chest as he runs eyes over the situation. Hands covered in sticky glue, bleeding from a cut that feels worse than it looks, shirt certainly ruined, and a defiant pony staring him down like he’s the bad guy here.
“Alright Witch Stomper he’s had enough. C’mere let’s get you sorted.” And like magic the pony turns and trots up to his partner like a dog fed from the table; allowing him to affix the curling black horn to its forehead with little difficulty. 
“I’m telling you Gid something’s wrong with that animal, it has evil in its eyes.” He growls, straightening his clothes as best he can without sticking anything together. 
“Ah c’mon you kidding me? Stomper’s a good boy, he can just tell you’re not comfortable with him. Taking advantage of your inexperience, that's all man.” A single piercing blue eye glares into Kremy’s soul for just a moment too long before the pony tosses its head and moves off to continue whatever nefarious deeds it was in the midst of before Kremy came along. “C’mon we’ve only got a couple more to do.”
And so it seems. While Kremy was engaged in his battle of wills, Gid had gone through most of the other horses. Following close behind the larger man, all the while keeping a watchful eye for a vengeful pony, Kremy admires the ease that Gideon has with the animals. Hulking beasts eagerly offering their noses for a quick pat or snuffling into pockets for treats, letting this man walk among them and accepting him with zero hesitation. 
“Lady and Stormy should be it, you have the bag?” He hands the second to last horn over to Gid, offering the glue with it. “There we go, s’all right girl. It’s okay, it’s okay.” He continues, voice low and comforting as he approaches the mare.
Lady is their newest acquisition, or Gid’s newest acquisition to be more accurate. A pinto with patches of russet and a bold white stripe running up her face. She’s a pretty thing, even to Kremy’s untrained eye, but she’s skittish and along her coat he can see patterns of scars that would probably point to something if he knew more about horses. She’s been in their company for about a month but she’s still tentative at best and downright flighty at worst. None of the hands can even get close to her when it’s time to get hitched up and ready to go, leaving her instead solely to Gid and their wagon at the head of the train, paired up in a team with an old mule Kremy thinks is named Rusty, one of the originals that they’d purchased at the auction.
Looking at her now you wouldn’t know it, with how calm she is as the horn is carefully glued to her head.
Gideon looks over his shoulder, stroking the mare’s flank while the glue sets up.
“C’mere, give her a pat.” He holds out a hand, beckoning insistently. 
“I don’t think that’s a good idea Gid, you know horses don’t like me.” Kremy crosses his arms in front of himself, it’s something in his gator heritage he’s sure. The scent of a predator or some such thing. 
Gid huffs a laugh.
“This look like a horse to you? You are looking at a 100% bona fide unicorn.” 
Kremy huffs if only to stifle a laugh. “Gods are you stupid.” 
Still he moves forward. Tentatively at first but when the mare stays in place a small bit more confidence creeps into his step. He’s just a step past Gideon when Lady blows a worried breath through her nostrils, pinning her ears back and pawing at the soft summer grass with one hoof. Hurriedly he begins to take a step back, only to collide with a wall of warmth as Gid steps forward behind him. It stuns him for a moment, robs him of words as his head is filled with hot air and thoughts of warm laughs and cigar smoke. 
“That’s it, it’s okay.” 
Kremy’s not sure if he’s talking to him or the horse. 
“Gimme your hand.” As if saying no was an option at this point.
His hand fits well in Gideon’s but that’s no surprise; he’s watched those clever hands long enough to do the arithmetic. His brain nearly leaks out of his ears like a poorly sealed shepherd's pie when he feels another hand on his waist, guiding him with gentle pressure to take another step forward; and another. Until he’s standing so close he can smell the scent of horse sweat and well oiled tack leather, a scent that follows Gideon. Gently, mostly of his own initiative after a little encouragement, he lays one hand on the flank of the mare, brushing over it with an almost delicate touch. When she doesn’t make any move to startle away he scratches through the short hairs of her hide like he would a dog. It’s relaxing, oddly: simply petting this animal, feeling the rise and fall of its great billowing lungs. Admiring the power of it, the beauty. Absorbing Gideon’s heat at his back. 
“Ain’t that something.” Kremy doesn’t look up, doesn’t need to, can feel a pair of dark eyes on his face. 
“You know Gid, horses aren’t really my pot of gumbo so to speak. But, I think I might come around to unicorns.”
anyone else notice that line at the end of ep. 48?
Kremy, approaching the unicorn, "What does Gid do?"
just me? amazing.
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just-a-honey-badger · 2 years ago
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Hi 🙋🏻‍♂️
🍍 What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?
🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…
hi! tysm for the ask!
🍍 i don't know if this counts as an au, but road trips are the best thing in the history of the universe. i also like the ones where nobody dies. *cough* marauders era *cough*
i don't love soulmate aus, though i don't know why. i do think they may have potential. i also hate things like veela aus.
kotlc human aus, though i've written at least two, almost never go well. (key word almost, the best one i've seen is a sophiana fic by @an-ungraceful-swan)
🍐 oh, i have so many of these.
nobody shall die. ever. more so in golden era fics, but also with kotlc kenric and jolie and stuff.
dpecifically with drarry, i get rid of the sectumsepra thing because. angst. i don't like angst.
such a lack of canon gayness; whether it's drarry or wolfstar or sokeefitz or marellinh or dorlene or marylily or hekster or the four horsegirls or or or
lack of canon pocs! hermione is black, the vackers are desi, james potter is desi, harry potter is half desi, the list goes on!
there is such little information about the marauders, oh my god! i love writing about these guys.
terrible ships! in my mind, remadora and hinny don't exist in my mind.
plus so, so much more that i haven't included. authors fuck up quite a bit sometimes.
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synonymroll648 · 3 years ago
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Making Memories in Florence, Italy
Pairings: The Four Horsegirls of the Apocalypse (AKA Maruca Chebota/Stina Heks/Linh Song/Marella Redek) and all the ships inside that
TWs: Explicit language, and I think that’s it!
Summary: “After all, that’s what brought us all together, isn’t it? The freedom to be who we are without repercussions?”
All four of them had been shoved to the side time and time again. All four of them had been pressured to be people they weren’t, to keep up their guard and facades to the rest of the world. But around each other, they could let those walls down. They could say what was really on their mind, could act how they really wanted to act. In a world where it felt like everyone was against them - because everyone nearly was - they were safe with each other.
OR: Linh, Marella, Stina, and Maruca get the well-deserved gelato they missed out on when the classic Sophie & Co. went to Florence.
Word count: 2.7k
Ao3 link
Fic under the cut :)
Florence, Italy, would forever be classified in Linh’s mind as a pretty nice place to be. 
Cream houses topped with rust red shingles could be spotted from almost any angle. Cobblestones clumped neatly together to make flat-ish paths for vehicles and passerby to travel along. Chatter on top of chatter on top of chatter filled the streets, and even if Linh did know whatever human language they were speaking, she probably wouldn’t have been able to decipher much anyway. 
Crowds like this, swarms of people that pushed and shoved and shouted a bit too much like the ocean for Linh’s liking, usually unnerved her. Usually sent her mind spiraling back into all the times where everything had been too loud in the buildup to her giving into her hydrokinesis, to all the water droplets begging, Play with us! again and again and again. 
But she had people with her. People that she cared about dearly. People that treated her the way she treated them. People that were holding both of her hands, and leading their little group towards something they insisted they all deserved. 
That was the one trait they all had in common, if Linh could only pick one thing. The drive to strive for what they wanted. 
Linh was quiet about that drive, because she didn’t want people to shove her away for being too opinionated, but her girlfriends sure as hell weren’t. 
Today, Stina was showcasing that drive in a lot of ways. She’d shown up at Choralmere for their hangout (they didn’t even bother to call it extra training anymore) and immediately announced that apparently the “classic” Sophie & Co. had gotten gelato in Florence before they’d joined the Black Swan, and since they had not been extended the same courtesy, she was light leaping them all to Florence with the cobalt pathfinder she’d stolen from her dad’s drawer and getting everyone some gelato unless anyone was opposed. 
No one was opposed.
And right now, she was showing that drive through the way she held her head up high, through the way she didn’t bother to slouch to not stand out for being way taller than the average female, through the way she was scouring the map in her hands with a determined temper of steel in her midnight blue eyes that could’ve cut metal in half.  
Stina didn’t hold either of her hands, but she stuck close to the three of them. Maruca and Marella were the ones who clung to her as she clung to them. 
Stina was the tallest in their group, but Maruca was right behind her by just an inch or two. Maruca’s hand was a bit bigger than Linh’s. It was steady in hers, swinging their connected arms to and fro. Her expression was as cool and collected as the bright blue streak in her hair and the sunglasses shielding her eyes, but the way her muscles squeezed Linh’s palm tighter than usual told a different story. 
Was she excited? Was she nervous? Was she both? Linh wasn’t sure. But she did know that she appreciated the way that the afternoon sun painted Maruca in bold strokes.
On the other hand, (Linh cracked a smile at her own pun,) Marella was obviously as giddy as it got. A huge grin Linh swore was as bright as everblaze was slapped onto her face. Maruca had joked about it being permanent, which had earned a fond “Shut up,” from Marella, but Linh had been considering the same thing. 
Marella hadn’t stopped smiling since Stina had asked to drag them to Florence. And there was an extra everything about her, right now. An extra bounce in her step, an extra spark in her eyes, an extra mile her mouth ran per minute. It was extra cute.
“We’re turning right, guys,” Stina called, looking over her shoulder to look at them for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. Only a few feet separated them. She patted the obscurer bulging in her pocket in what looked like a subconscious way.
“Are we there yet?” Marella hollered over the din. 
Linh didn’t see Stina roll her eyes, but she could clearly sense it. “I’ll tell you when we get there,” 
“Can you at least tell us if we’re close? My legs are shorter than your guys’, I have to take two steps everytime you guys take one.” 
Maruca tugged Linh and Marella around the corner Stina disappeared behind. 
“We’re coming up on two miles,” Stina said. “We could’ve light leaped straight to a nearby tourist attraction, since there’s a lot of those around here, but I decided to leap us a good distance away and take a roundabout route to reduce the risk of getting caught.”
Marella was probably about to say something, but Maruca beat her to it with a dry remark. “You’ve gone into Lady Stina speech mode,” she observed. 
Stina spluttered out a laugh of sorts, tossing a chunk of her unruly curls over her shoulder. Half of the frizzy strands fell back into her face anyway. “Do I need to apologize?” 
If it hadn’t been for the bashful laugh, Linh wouldn’t have known if she was sarcastic or serious. “Not unless you’re forcing yourself to be Lady Stina and you’d rather just be Stina,” she chimed in.
Slowing a little, Stina spun around and started walking backwards, hands jammed into her pockets. The slight wind flapped around the fabric of her gray pant suit, and the white blouse she had tucked into her belt. Her gaze softened as it raked over the three of them. “You think I can be both?” 
“You can be whatever you want to be around us,” A vehicle vroomed by, and the chatter around them only kept getting louder the further into town they got, but it was just background noise. It was just background noise to her soft tone. It was just background noise to the upturn of Stina’s mouth, to the rare crow’s feet forming around her midnight eyes. “After all, that’s what brought us all together, isn’t it? The freedom to be who we are without repercussions?” 
All four of them had been shoved to the side time and time again. All four of them had been pressured to be people they weren’t, to keep up their guard and facades to the rest of the world. But around each other, they could let those walls down. They could say what was really on their mind, could act how they really wanted to act. In a world where it felt like everyone was against them - because everyone nearly was - they were safe with each other. 
“Yeah,” Linh’s girlfriends agreed in hushed whispers. Memories clouded all their voices and minds. Memories that served as reminders of how special what they had was. From crying in each other’s arms instead of bathroom stalls about whispers behind their backs to weaving flower crowns for one another in unicorn pastures. 
But the moment is broken by a sharp, “Shit, we passed it!” from Stina, and a facepalm. 
The group broke out into laughter. 
“For fuck’s sake, Stina!” Marella’s fingers slipped out of Linh’s in favor of throwing both of her hands up in the air. Exasperation fueled her voice, but it was good natured. 
Stina herded them back half of the length of the sidewalk before finally dragging them into a shop. A bell jingled overhead as they passed through the glass doors.
Standing around like Stina’s personal entourage of ghosts instead of chatting with the person behind the counter was weird when she ordered for everyone. (“Leave the social interaction to me, I’m the one with a fancy translator gadget Dex made,” Stina tapped a bumpy square tacked onto her scrambled registry pendant for emphasis. “Plus, they won’t understand you, and they’ll think you sound like babies. It’ll definitely draw unwanted attention.”) But it got them each small cups of gelato with textures Linh didn’t think she’d ever seen in food before, which was worth it. 
They found a deserted bench that could fit them all soon after exiting the shop and turning the obscurer back on.
Maruca jolted when she tried to take a big bite of her gelato. “Why did nobody tell me that it’s cold?” she accused. 
“It is?” Marella cocked her head to the side as she looked at hers. Strawberry slices like rubies sunk in semi-drippy, pink gelato. “Mine just feels soft and a little cool.”
Leaning across Linh to get a better look, Maruca flicked her sunglasses up to rest atop her dreadlocks. “What the fuck?” Disbelief colored her colorful word choice. “How is yours melting already? We literally just got out of the shop,” 
“And we’ve literally roasted ripplenuts using Marella as our aurenflare before,” Stina shot back. “What did you expect?” 
Linh burst out into giggles. 
Eternalia, that night had been fun. Maruca had leaped over to Solreef to grab ingredients to make some human concoction called “s’mores” (“Tiergan’s always got a stock of human goodies - it’s mostly a bajillion Ben & Jerry’s ice cream thingies for when he wants to cry to the Beatles, but they probably have this too,”) and occasionally tossed marshmallows for Marella to catch with her mouth. Stina had spitroasted swizzlespice for them all to eat once Linh had monologued about how good it must’ve been, just to try it. And Linh had made water puppets for her girlfriends to gawk at - from aquatic, faux unicorns that splished and splashed at real unicorns to dozens of little dancing water blobs. 
Marella kicked Linh in the calf so lightly that it was more light a harsh-ish nudge. “Stop giggling,” she pouted. 
Linh turned, offering a big smile. “How about no, strawberry sapphic of mine,” 
From beside Marella, Stina put her chin on Marella’s head. Marella spluttered out a weak complaint; Stina informed her that this was a better viewpoint. Stina flicked a silver strand of Linh’s glossy hair. “I want a fun title like that,” she whined. “Strawberry sapphic sounds so…”
“It sounds like an aesthetic name,” Maruca finished. 
Stina snapped her fingers. “Exactly!” 
“How about ‘horsegirl of the apocalypse’?” Marella pitched in. 
Laughter erupted out of Linh and Maruca like lava out of a volcano. 
“No,” Stina protested, voice sharp. “For the last time - just because my family is famous for rehabilitating unicorns does not mean that equines are my whole identity.” 
“Of course they’re not your whole identity,” Maruca said. She flipped her sunglasses back down over her eyes again. A smug smile was plastered onto her face. “You’re also gay.” 
Even Stina couldn’t help but wheeze. “Very gay,” she agreed. “Very big lesbian.” 
“Very big lesbian horsegirl,” Marella added. Stina scowled at her, but there wasn’t any fire behind it. 
“Very big lesbian horsegirl of the apocolypse,” Linh corrected. 
“Very big lesbian horsegirl of the apocolypse,” Marella agreed. 
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Stina groaned. “Why are you guys like this?” 
Linh put on a too-sweet mask of an expression. “Because polyamorous is just a synonym for chaotic,” 
Her girlfriends gave their agreement. 
“Polyamorous is also a synonym for I have a completely fucked schedule,” Stina said. 
This time Linh was nodding along. Though she knew no one had it worse than Stina, with her regent work, they all still had quite a bit going on. 
“Okay, if I’m a lesbian horsegirl of the apocolypse, you guys have to get equally bad titles. Nothing cool like ‘strawberry sapphic’.” Stina insisted, taking a bite out of her gelato so big that it probably would’ve left Elwin fretting. They followed her lead. Marella’s gelato was almost strawberry soup. 
“I’ll be a lesbian horsegirl of the apocolypse with you!” Linh suggested. She took another bite of gelato. The strawberries were juicy on her tongue, akin to the taste of lushberries. She wondered if they could make lushberry gelato at Maruca’s house or something sometime. I’ll bring it up later. “I like alicorns, and I rode an alicorn once, so that qualifies me as a horsegirl, right?” 
Maruca gaped at her. “You rode an alicorn, and didn’t say anything?” 
“Greyfell’s an awesome flier, but he’s not very comfy to sit on.” Linh played it off, but truth be told, that flight with Sophie and the alicorns had been most of what kept Linh afloat for at least a week. 
“That does qualify you as a horsegirl.” Stina confirmed. Jealousy barely tainted her words. Linh could tell she was holding back a lot more emotion than what she was showing. Setting down her cup of gelato next to Maruca’s hand, she reached up to peck Stina’s cheek. “Thank you for my compensation,” she said, and her voice sounded a little lighter. 
Pride bubbled up in her chest like a water fountain. Mission accomplished.
Maruca slurped up strawberry flavored residue at the bottom of her cup. “It’d be pretty funny if we were just known as the lesbian horsegirls of the apocolypse,” 
“I am not a horsegirl.” Marella insisted. 
“Stina said she wasn’t a horsegirl either, and we still decided she was a horsegirl,” Linh said. 
Faint shouts of droplets yelled at her. Confused, she looked down, and Oh, that makes sense. Strawberry gelato was beginning to melt into strawberry liquid in the cup beside Maruca’s hand. Linh picked it up and started shoveling it down. No more hydrokinetic yelling on nice dates with my girlfriends. 
Girlfriends. Eternalia, that word held so much euphoria.
“Because Stina has the background to be a horsegirl. I have no such background.” said Marella.
“You went unicorn riding with us,” Stina said. “If Linh going on one alicorn ride counts, then that counts too.” 
Because Linh was an exceedingly kind individual, she turned her attention to Maruca as she swallowed her last bite of gelato. “So you’ve accepted that you’re a horsegirl?” 
Maruca snorted. “I was a horsegirl by association long before I rode a unicorn for the first time. Now I know all their names by heart.”
“That sounds awesome,” Linh breathed. 
Maruca shook her head, a fond smile plastered onto her face. “Did you know that when you get excited these little dimples pop up?” With one umber brown finger, she tapped the edges of Linh’s smile. Giggling, Linh ducked her head. 
Feeling light didn’t happen often for Linh Song, in the hectic life she led. So she appreciated when it did happen. So she appreciated the moment she was living in. 
Linh tilted her chin up and leaned in for a peck. Maruca’s smile tasted like strawberries. 
“Hello, fellow horsegirl,” Linh greeted. 
Maruca broke out into laughter. 
Marella broke away from her argument with Stina. “What’d I miss?”
Linh opened her mouth to spit it all out, but Maruca was quicker. “I admitted I was a horsegirl by association before I was a horsegirl by experience. Therefore, you are definitely a horsegirl, if reluctantly riding a unicorn doesn’t count.” Maruca leaned over Linh, putting both a hand on top of Marella’s and sugar onto her tone. “Even if you’re a closeted horsegirl, or a horsegirl in denial, you’re still a horsegirl. And we support you.” 
Plastic spoon still clamped between her teeth, Stina choked. When she recovered, she wheezed, “Debates like these are so much better than the shit we talk about in Team Valiant meetings. I’ll take closeted horsegirl talk any day over Neverseen raids.” 
Sighing, Marella slumped against Linh. “Fine. We’re the four horsegirls of the apocalypse.” 
Stina pumped her fist. “Victory is ours!” 
Maruca held her hand out for a high five. While Linh murmured half-joking sweet nothings into Marella’s ear with her arm slung around her shoulders, Stina and Maruca’s high five morphed into some crazy secret handshake. High fives up, down, left and right clapped above Linh’s head, then an amused “What the fuck are you doing? We don’t do twin butterflies, we do pointer finger taps, dumbass,” triggered a rollercoaster of a conversation that Linh didn’t have enough motivation to follow. 
Linh let her mind wander away from the present, into the helium-esque feeling floating through her veins. Into how Florence, Italy was going to stick in her brain as a pretty nice place to be - not primarily because of the views and holy goodness that was gelato, but because of the memories she was making here with her girlfriends.  
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