#and zero willpower oof

[ncumenia-archived]

// When deity!Nina wants some attention, she slams her foot or both on the ground, pouting and pushing her head under your muse’s chin or shoves her face between their chest.

Pouty bunny deity noises.

[imaginejamesandsirius]

hiii, i don’t know if you’re doing requests still, but i’ll give this a shot in case. how about a jirius fic where they secretly like each other, and during a game of truth or dare, where their friends keep asking dirty truths (kinks etc) and then they dare them to kiss, then following that 7 minutes in heaven? with sirius lowkey giving james a lap dance and eventually smut? also i wouldn’t mine a ton of sirius on james’ lap makeouts because that’s ADORABLE

Truth or dare was the party game of choice in Gryffindor Tower, to no one's surprise. It always started out the same-- lots of dares. The more sloshed everyone got, the more they did truths because they-- or one person, at least-- couldn't reliably walk across the room without tripping. 

It was the long way of saying that Sirius knew a lot about everyone's sexual preferences despite never being involved in any of their sex lives. For example, he had zero interest in Remus, and yet he knew that Moony had a daddy kink. He also knew that Marlene liked to be on top, and that her and Dorcas had been each other's first kiss. When was he ever going to need to know that? Absolutely never. 

It did let him know a thing or two about what James liked, and he was a fan of that, for sure. James liked long hair and preferred men to women, even though he liked both. Sirius wanted to wave a hand in front of his best mate's face and say, "Hi, I'm right here!" but he figured that would be playing his hand a little too openly. 

They'd reached the point of the night where they weren't even asking truth or dare anymore, they were just asking questions. "Sirius," Dorcas said, pointing at him with the hand that wasn't holding a butterbeer. "If you had to shag someone in this room, who would it be?" 

He was tempted to say Lily just to freak her out, but this was a game of integrity and he wouldn't lie. Even though he was itching to see Lily's reaction. "Do I only get to pick one?" It would be a lot less weird for James if he got to pick more than one person. 

"Pick one guy and one girl," Wormtail said, and Dorcas nodded vehemently. 

"Yeah, that's good, pick one of each! That way, if you ever want to have a threesome, we know exactly who you'll pick?" 

"That's your reason for asking?" James asked, face scrunched up like he thought that was weird as hell. 

Sirius hummed, looking around. "I guess... Lily and James." He toasted the room with his own beer then took a sip. 

"I can't believe you said Lily first," James said, shoving him. "I should be your first pick." 

"You should? Why?" 

"Because I'm much better looking, duh." 

"Don't worry Potter," Lily said, looking slightly disturbed, "you can have all of him." 

"Oof, be careful there, Lily. Don't make promises you can't keep," Sirius said. 

"If I could give you to him, I would." 

*

Sirius thought about that. A lot. Like Lily could wrap James up with a bow and hand him over to Sirius, and then he could do whatever he bloody wanted with him. 

Of course, he didn't say anything about it because that was the way to madness, and he assumed that no one else remembered it or cared enough to think about it. The next time they played truth or dare proved that theory wrong. 

Almost immediately, Sirius was dared to it on James's lap and stay there for the rest of the night-- or until a different dare moved one of the two of them from their position. It was weird that Mary cared that much, but Sirius didn't think too much about it until all of James's dares could be done while he stayed exactly where he was. 

Even then, he wasn't suspicious until it came back around to him and Marlene dared him to kiss James. "And I mean really kiss him. I want tongue, none of this chaste kisses to the cheek rubbish." 

"It disturbs me that you've already thought about exactly how you want this to go," Sirius joked, but he turned head and put a hand on the side of James's face. He was about to snog the love of his life in front of all their mates. No big deal. Don't panic under the pressure and the fact that everyone was looking at them. 

He only had the chance to worry about James feeling awkward about it for a moment, because James was kissing him back just as fervently. James was as warm in his mouth as another shot of firewhiskey would've been, only more pleasant, somehow. The first swipe of his tongue against Sirius's bottom lip made his fingertips tingle. 

He gripped James tighter and idly wished that he knew what James tasted like. All he could taste right now was the liquor they'd both been drinking. Or maybe it was only the liquor he'd been drinking himself that he could taste, which was worse, because then he had nothing about James to remember later. Except for the way he held onto Sirius's waist like a lifeline and leaned into his mouth. He got the feeling he'd remember that for a while. 

Sirius didn't really know how long they were supposed to kiss-- all Marlene had said was 'with tongue' and 'not on the cheek'-- so he figured he'd just go until James stopped kissing him back. To his tipsy mind, it made perfect sense and wasn't suspicious in the slightest. He didn't think anything of it until they finally broke apart, and everyone was staring at them-- with the exception of Moony and Wormtail because the former was tracing something on his palm and the latter was attempting to peel the label off the bottle of wine he was holding. 

The girls, at least, were all staring at them. Lily blinked. "Well damn. You know, there's a muggle party game called seven minutes in heaven, and I get the feeling you two would excel at it." 

"Uh-huh," Sirius said dumbly. He wanted to say something funny-- or maybe ask what the game was, because the name didn't tell him very much-- so that they'd stop staring at them like that, but now that his attention wasn't on James's mouth, he was free to notice other things. Things that he could feel pressing against his arse because he was on James's lap, and it hadn't been there before. James was hard. Because of him. Because they'd kissed, and also probably because Sirius was on his lap. He licked his lips and moved his arm down so that it was hanging around James's shoulders. "Hey, Moons. Truth or dare." 

"I dunno, are you going to make me snog someone?" 

Sirius rolled his eyes and tried to pretend he wasn't effected by kissing James. He didn't think he was pretending very well, but he was just going to ignore it until he got so sloshed he wouldn't be able to tell whether or not people believed him. "No, you big baby." 

"Then dare." 

Sirius's mind had been rather effectively wiped from kissing James, so he cast his eyes around the room, hoping something would inspire him. 

The rest of the night passed in something of a daze for Sirius. James got dared to take his shirt off a few rounds later, and Sirius had to pretend like he couldn't feel every single centimeter of James's bare skin under his arm-- because of course he put his arm back once the shirt was off. He didn't say anything to James about being turned on by their kiss, and he certainly didn't say anything about the fact that his erection didn't go away. 

(He said 'the rest of the night' but honestly, it was more like ten minutes. Ten at the very most. He had to end his night in the game early because he couldn't bloody think.) 

Sirius declared that he was done, but he couldn't get to his feet because he didn't want to expose James like that. There was only so long that his control would last however, and he'd officially past his limit. 

James nodded and reached for his shirt. He had to lean back, and it was a touch awkward as he pulled his shirt back on, but it did stop Sirius from having to constantly catch himself from staring at his chest or the curve of his shoulder-- Sirius had never been particularly attracted to freckles before, but he almost couldn't tear his eyes away from the trail of freckles along the top of his shoulders. 

"Well whatever, I still wanna drink," Remus said, snapping Sirius out of thinking about James's shoulders even though they were no longer bare to him. 

"I'm with you," Marlene said, and Dorcas nodded. 

"Yeah sure," Peter agreed, but Lily and Mary shook their heads and went up the stairs to their dormitory. 

"C'mon," James muttered, giving Sirius a nudge to stand. 

Sirius only hesitated for a second before getting to his feet-- if James thought he could hide his hard on or that no one would care, then that was his prerogative. 

They stumbled up the stairs, and since James was behind him, he shut the door and leaned against. "Thanks for not saying anything. I know it was kinda-" He stopped talking because he couldn't finish his sentence with Sirius's mouth covering his own. He moaned, kissing Sirius back. Their fronts were pressed together, and Sirius was able to stop worrying about holding himself back. "What are you doing?" he whispered. He said it like he had to say it but didn't necessarily want the answer. What was obvious to Sirius though, was that James wanted to keep kissing him. Like the hard on and the moan and kissing him like that hadn't been enough of a clue for him. 

"Finishing what we started," Sirius said, putting his hands under James's newly donned shirt to get his hands on skin again. It should be a crime that he'd ever had to take his hands off of him in the first place. If it hadn't been for where they were and their friends in the room, he probably wouldn't have. 

"Can we finish it on a bed?" James asked with an eager-- and now relieved-- smirk. "The door's about as comfortable as it looks." 

Sirius laughed, leaning back and pulling James with him. They would've been able to get to the bed a lot sooner if Sirius had been willing to let go of him, but he didn't want to take his hands off him, and his mouth was right there. No one on the planet would've had the willpower to step away from James with his eyes that intense and his lips parted and glistening. "You've got to get this bloody thing off," he said, tugging ineffectually on James's shirt. 

"I will if you will," James said immediately. 

Sirius pulled off his shirt, and James did the same. Kissing James while they were both shirtless was even better than before-- something he hadn't been sure was possible. Feeling all that warm skin and being able to claw at James's back in a bid to bring him closer was driving him wild because there wasn't a way of him being closer. He pushed James onto the bed and climbed back on his lap because, honestly, it was the best place he'd ever sat. 

He rolled his hips and they both groaned, so he did it again. Again and again so that it was a constant fire in his veins. 

James's hands went to his hips first, then slid around to grip his arse. Tentatively, at first, then more boldly when Sirius pushed back into it. 

Sirius knew that he was going to come soon, and a part of him wanted to get a hand on James's prick just in case this was his only chance. But it felt too damn good to stop what he was doing, and he could feel the heat rising in his cheeks that meant he was really close, and he wouldn't have been able to stop right now for anything. 

But then James stopped kissing him to suck on his neck and Sirius whined and- his hips jerked unsteadily, and for a moment, James kept moving like he had been when he suddenly tensed, biting down on his neck a little too hard. 

Chest heaving, Sirius wondered if he could just fall face first into the pillow and go to sleep. His blood was still thrumming hot in his veins, but he knew that in a couple minutes, all he'd want was to wrap up in a blanket and get a solid ten hours of rest. 

James rested his forehead against Sirius's shoulder, breathing just as hard. "Sorry I bit you that hard," he said. 

Sirius giggled, unable to keep from feeling giddy-- a combination of having had an orgasm and the fact that it was James that had given it to him. "I'm sure I'll forgive you." 

They sat like that for a little bit, just leaning against each other and catching their breath. 

"Don't shag Lily," James said. 

"O... kay?" Sirius said, completely thrown. "What are you on about?" 

"I don't want you to shag Lily." 

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. Why do you think I'd do that?" 

"Well," James said, sounding discomfited, "last time we played truth or dare, you said that if you had to shag someone in the room, it would be me or Lily." 

"It's a good thing you're cute because by Merlin, are you stupid," Sirius said. He tilted his head to the side so it was resting atop James's to take the sting out of his words. "I- sodding hell, mate. I'm not here because of some stupid dare or because we'd been drinking." 

"Mm." He nuzzled a little closer. "Good." 

[catty-words]

fic commentary meme! 'there'll be much mistletoeing' chapter four, the section between "I only lied about one, immaterial detail" through "Nathaniel can feel his resolve slipping"

ah-ha! the exposition behind the plot twist - always a hard thing to write without being too on-the-nose. and this was especially challenging for me because of the way it fits into the premise of the fic, which is essentially how would rebecca and nathaniel – already set on the paths they’d been too far down to turn back on in canon – be changed by running into each other during the slightly more vulnerable and open-ended college years?

so…

“I only lied about one, immaterial detail.”

“Immaterial? You let me believe that we were cheating last night!”

“That obviously didn’t pose enough of a moral dilemma to stop you.”

written as this was while season three was airing, this bit is a wink at canon, a way to turn it on its head. instead of hiding cheating, there’s nathaniel thinking he’s helped rebecca cheat only to find out that he’s actually in the clear on that front.

but the way he was still willing to sleep with her even given that in conflict with rebecca’s instinct to lie in the first place – and keep lying – is me playing with the way they’re both a little too comfortable bending the rules to get a situation to suit them and how it makes them similar/prone to understand each other at the same time it creates a rift in their dynamic.

He wishes he could leave it there, wishes he could get up and go back to his room and then spend the rest of his break peacefully, knowing this weekend really was just one big joke. But his stupid, inconvenient feelings goad him into asking

speaking of the premise of the fic, as in canon, nathaniel kind of longs for the simplicity of life before rebecca, but he’s been irreversibly touched by her and cannot pretend that’s not the case

“You could have told me the truth any time after meeting me and before sex,” he points out.

Rebecca wrinkles her nose. “And ruin the mood?”

a warning bells moment that complements rebecca pointing out that it’s like they’re in a movie when it snows. she’s swept up in the rom-com meetcute of it all. she was playing a character to a certain degree. and even though hanging out with nathaniel – and paula and darryl – on this random weekend will eventually have a positive ripple effect on her life, this pov is what necessitates the time hop at the end of the fic.

“Pretty much what I told you. Josh and I met in the Excelsingers and we dated for a bit. The only difference is, instead of being in a long-term relationship, Josh and I broke up when he moved back to California.”

“And your reason for embarking on an extremely dangerous trek across the country?”

“The same,” Rebecca says, eyes focused on her lap again. “Josh really did send me an email about Christmas being our holiday. So I—I thought it would be a good idea to prove him right.”

the excelsingers was always this universe’s analogue for the camp rebecca and josh attended together, but instead of meeting him randomly on a street in new york, this rebecca gets an email. before she gets her ‘i just happened to be here!’ moment, though, nathaniel accidentally intercepts her, is his regularly judgey-of-josh self, and convinces rebecca maybe the thing with josh isn’t as perfect as she’d thought it was before she’s actually committed herself to the delusion. like a more drawn-out 2.11 scenario where the elevator is nathaniel’s apartment.

“That’s—” Nathaniel pauses, looking for the right word.

She jumps in, “Crazy and dramatic and weird. I know. You don’t have to say it.”

He hmms. “I was thinking more along the lines of stupid and unnecessarily desperate.”

and the way nathaniel does this convincing? by backhandedly telling her that she doesn’t have to try that hard to keep someone’s attention, the subtext being that he’s very into her even given everything they’ve been through in the last couple days.

but also, rebecca expecting the shoe to drop on her weirdness – which, like, oof

“And, okay,” he says, a teasing smile playing on his lips, “a little crazy.”

She gives him a disapproving look, but he can tell by the way she’s scrunching her mouth all tight that she’s really just trying to hide a grin.

and this was trying to be a bit of a nod to the “you’re crazy” / “little bit” pen attack exchange, wherein rebecca displays a theretofore unseen comfort with owning that wilder side of herself.

“So if not for the guilt over cheating, why’d you leave?”

A few emotions play over her face, but she cycles through them too fast for him to really follow. Finally, she flashes him a saccharine smile.

“I thought we already covered that. Crazy, yeah?” She punctuates her own non-answer by pointing to the big, fake grin with both hands.

rebecca reflecting on the way she’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. instead of being earnest about that, though, she goes for a joking tone. because nathaniel won’t tell her he forgives her and she’s still kind of on edge about whether or not she messed this up.

also, i hope you can see the end of 1.11 influence in her facial expression. “i ruin things. that’s what i do.”

He nods once even though he still feels unsatisfied. “Where does that leave us?”

“You tell me, dude,” she says, nudging his leg. The casual contact is enough to send his heart jumping up into his throat, and Nathaniel can feel his resolve slipping.

and finally, even though the discomfort of having been lied to has not gone away entirely, these two have an intense physical draw and zero willpower so. you can probably guess what comes next.

[flourishingbatter]

Turn 14

 With how all the attacks heading straight for him had left one thought on his mind ; their constant denials. That alone was the problem and like hell he'd just have them return. It just wouldn't happen.

 Though, he'd catch wind of Corrupt going for the portal and within that moment, the titan quickly crouches down before ascending into the air with a mighty leap, causing both Revak and Lillith's attack to fail, save for a faint trail of ink that coated the cuff of his pants.

 Once his sights zeroed in on that specific omega, he would then dart his left hand out and snatch their head, slamming them face down into the ground. In turn would also mush Happy underneath Corrupt. Not long after that, Johnny lifts and tosses them away, one was Happy quickly finding themselves atop a certain demoness' head while the other would collide with Paul, which thankfully, had managed to be caught.

 Though, Hollow's words and reasoning alone would catch the attention of the titan and soon after, shot his leering gaze towards the ex-king.

 "And you think them being stuck there to never see the light of day is any better?! I would protect you all if you had all not chosen to go against what I find is the best for you because clearly, I have to enforce something here! Hell, I call it tough love because apparently you're all giving me reasons to do this!"

 Despite his argument, the depiction of the soul flickering would begin to speed it's course of blinking and staying in focus. Seems something was in the works that had managed to strike another chord.

 "The more you continue to struggle, the more I'M going to retaliate with your pathetic nonsense!"

Avarice | @thesmilingtragedy

A sigh. Avarice had blanketed himself in torn vines, laying on his side.

 M e h... what's the POINT? If we keep FIGHTING, so will h e... Meh... why BOTHER keeping the portal O P E N? Maybe I should just CLOSE it and w a i t... Meh...

Corrupt | @corruptedflora

[Corrupt has Expected to be Caught in Some Way, but Not have His Screen Slammed Right into the Ground Along with Happy. His Face Become Nothing but a Haze of Static from the Unexpected Hit. Luckily it hadn't been Smashed to Bits, but a Crack had been Made from the Impact.

 He Hardly even Noticed Paul Managed to Catch Him. He Held onto the Sides of His Head Till His Face Returned from the Static, Gritting His Teeth.]

 [He Mumbled a Curse and Insult Directed to Himself Quickly, Looking to Make Sure Happy wasn't Dead from being Sandwiched Between Him and the Ground. After Spotting the Flower Atop Sela's Head, He'd Sigh a little in Relief Yet Still Distressed. Still Gathering His Senses, Corrupt Slowly and Gently Patted Paul's Cap Silently Before Speaking up a Moment Later.] *...Uh... Thanks, Bud... Sorry.

Paul | Flourishingbatter

Promply letting out an audible OOF!!, The mushroom stumbles back upon the impact before righting his stance. Blinking, he is...Quite surprised by how he had managed to catch them and quickly placed them down while hearing their apology. 

 "H-Hey it's no worries! Don't needa apologize for that."

 After his response, he darts his gaze over to Sela, mostly trying to check if that other flower was alright. Swiveling his direction back to Johnny, a most determined look set on his face glaring towards the titan.

 He was ridiculous but he needed to remind himself that Johnny needed help, with a physical approach if it needed something like that.

 "Johnny! Would you stop and listen to yourself?! I don't care if I'm gonna be a broken record but friends don't hurt friends! What happened to the buddy I knew!?"

Revak | @blazing--soul

[Revak growled, witnessing Johnny escape his attack, and he would shoot off in pursuit, hands alight in flame, landing only to witness his seal over the portal and his words to Hollow. This didn't even encompass how much his treatment of Corrupt and Happy horrified and enraged him.] 

 [Fists balled, the titan's shifting of the blame to everyone else was the final straw. He wanted to retaliate with violence? Well... Revak would give him something to retaliate to.]

 * BULLSHIT!!! I've been looking for a way to break the barrier in my timeline since I got to that godforsaken timeline I'm in!! [He'd launch himself into the air, propelling himself overtop their captor with a burst of flame and a single frontflip.] * I've seen timelines where it's been done!! And I REFUSE to listen to that utter SHIT streaming out of that throat of yours!

 [Upon reaching his front, he'd thrust his palms forward, propelling him backwards towards Johnny, a boot aimed directly for that flickering screen of his.] 

Sela | @the-junk-sela

Sela had braced herself for what was to come, having him jump so close to her caused her to stagger after she readjusted her position.

 Feeling something else hit her head, though, she glanced up to see the flower atop her head.

 An exception would be made for Happy in this situation. It's not like he wanted to be flung and almost stabbed on her horns.

 Straightening up, her fist clenched. But her attention was momentarily drawn to Avarice. "Avarice, you close that portal and you'll be giving him exactly what he wants. And I wouldn't ever forgive you for that!" She turns to Johnny, voice raising.

 "You're going to fucking KILL us without batting a fucking glitchy eye. If anything is the real threat to our lives, it's you! YOU'VE done this to yourself!! I'm done with this. You're not any friend I want, you alpha male fuckhead." 

Vainglory | @puppet-time

Vainglory let out a frustrated growl, his tone clearly disgruntled. The inkling was under the impression that he had failed, however he noticed a decent amount of ink had found its way onto the titan's leg.

 The ink flower's twisted into a collection of devious smiles and with both willpower and natural abilities, the traces of ink on Alpha's leg because to shift. Three ink tendrils squeezed their way out from the ink, and proceeded to wrap and twist around the titan's leg like an infection. 

His plan to temporarily immobilize the titan was clear to other observers. The only gamble was pulling it off. 

Lilith | @ribbcn-bxnes

[* ..Was it just her? Or was her aim just COMPLETELY off??? Hell she was a better marksman than this! Probably just still needed to adjust to her current size or something. Either way, seemed like their words were just donking off his damned screen or some shit. As they've been this entire encounter... Honestly, why were they even still trying? Lilith already came to her conclusion to stop retaliating with words and to fight back with action. If it meant this was the only way SOMETHING was meant to get through to him You fight for a cause, right?]

 [* Steam hissed from her jaws and she began to maneuver off to the side in a trot. She could see Revak making his attack, but figured that alone would end up with him being grabbed again. As of right now, they couldn't chance being grabbed only to be sent flying. Corrupt and Happy were only.. slightly lucky.]

 [* A few long strides to step over anyone below before Lilith would lunge forward in half ramming speed. Enough to perhaps bump Johnny right into the hybrid's boot. ]

Happy | @happyflowey

Happy screamed just before he was smashed underneath Corrupt then screamed again when he was flung. This would have probably been funny, given the almost cartoony nature of how it happened, had it not been for the circumstances their in. 

The flower was dazed and confused on top of  Sela's head, finally breathing after screaming and getting smashed underneath his boyfriend. After a wheeze and a cough he felt a bit of pinkish blood coming from one of the bruises on his head. He looked at it confused, and then the confusion turned into an angry scowl. 

 * Yeah I'm fully fucking convinced you're a threat to everyone here, Johnny! Way to give a pal a concussion!..... He barely realized he was on top of Sela's head and well, could have been literally turned into an unfortunate ring toss ring to her horns.

 * ........ I'm pretty sure I could have literally died just now, either by being smashed with a tad bit more pressure or fucking stabbed by a horn.  You're doing a poor job of expressing protection or love! And I don't wanna associate myself with someone who's just going to fling me and Corrupt around whenever he wants to because he feels like he has "reasons"!

 He used a very mocking tone when he said, "reasons",  and he  remains on top of Sela, hanging onto one of her horns carefully while trying to recover quickly. She hadn't said anything about him being up there for the time being so he's using that time to recover quickly.

 * Nobody is giving you reasons, you're doing it yourself, and you're gonna keep going until you kill everyone, accident or not! Hell I just want to leave with my boyfriend to continue a goddamn date I had been wanting for so long... is that too much to fucking ask for?  IS IT?   I didn't ask to be smashed on the ground and FLUNG TO BE NEARLY STABBED. I'M SURPRISED I'M ALIVE, PAL.

[soysaucevictim]

Last week of current challenges... except for the DGC, because I fell a bit behind schedule there. Oops.

-

Dec. 21

I woke up pretty much at noon.

Played some cards and wasted a lot of time on the usual. Only did a couple of my planned exercise for the day.

First, today’s DD. 30 infinity circles with EC. Not much to say, other than it was pretty enjoyable!

Last, Day 21 of the ‘19AC. 1′ single leg half squat. This was on the challenging side - mostly because of needing to focus on balance.

By the time I had intended to get the rest of my stuff done, bro went to bed and closed his door (so I couldn’t use his pull-up bar.)

Yeah... Didn’t do DGC stuff again, either. But I did get to bed in the yellow zone. So there’s that.

-

Dec. 22

Another day I got up at about noon, having set my alarm for that. Maybe it will press me towards fixing my sleep schedule... but today won’t be that day.

Did much of the usual, with exercise interspersed.

First, today’s DD. 40 single leg bridges with EC. This was pretty doable and a nice way to get my day moving! :D

Second, Day 22 of the ‘19AC. 4′ side leg raise hold (2′/2′, lateral decubitus.) This was pretty doable but intense. I especially wanted to make sure to hips were stacked and not leaning, for a bit more effort. At least, I think so.

Third, Day 25 of the KMC. 160 side kicks, switch halfway. Did 80/80 in one go, pretty handily.

Fourth, Day 25 of the DHC. 2x10″ dead hangs. Not much to really comment on these days. I do like them though, during low energy days.

(After distractions for far too many hours and getting upset over personal stuff...)

Last, Day 22 of the DGC. I’m grateful:

For tofu and it’s culinary flexibility.

I could try these “Devil’s Spit“ pickles grandpa mentioned some time back. They’re pretty good!

Nobuo Uematsu for making some of my favorite music, growing up.

Fuck it. It’s almost 7AM when I’m writing this entry. Thought about putting the DGC shit off. But fuck it.

-

Dec. 23

I woke up after 2PM, today. Oof.

Picked up some meds and did a bit more of the usual, before today’s exercises.

First, today’s DD. 3′ half jacks with EC, barely. Took about 3 tries, the problem was too much sugar/caffeine, not enough water, and going too fast to sustain the pace. First go was ~2'+1' = 114+100. Second go, was still too fast/inconsistent, but the third was at a more slow & deliberate pace - with a total of 109 reps. Whew! That was a fun challenge.

Second, Day 23 of the ‘19AC. 30″ push-up plank hold. Did it in one go, but it was kinda sloppy. Regardless, It was just good enough for me. :/

Third, Day 26 of the KMC. 160 turning kicks + 160 side kicks. Did it in 1 set of (80/80) + (80/80). This was made more tough after doing so many half jacks earlier. But I’m glad I was able to manage.

Fourth, Day 26 of the DHC 1′40″ dead hang. Done in 50"+25"+10"+15", with ~20" rest in between sets. That was pretty fucking brutal & required a bit of psyching myself up for it - but I still find it fun.

(After making the family dinner...)

Last, Day 23 of the DGC. I’m grateful:

For the Final Fantasy series of videogames.

For Sanders Sides, for the entertainment and inspiration.

For the patience and encouragement from clients past and present.

I did get to bed like an hour earlier than the night before, but still squately in the red zone. :I

-

Dec. 24

I got up a bit before 3PM today. Bleh.

Did much of the usual before exercising.

First, today’s DD. 40 split lunges with EC. This took a bit of willpower to get through - but I'm happy I could manage. :P

Second, Day 24 of the 2019 Advent Calendar. Last day to this challenge. 4 minute relax (child’s pose). I thought this was a wonderful way to end the Advent Calendar. And it was pretty soothing to kind sit there and just meditate a bit. And overall, I rather liked the theme that everything here were holds of some kind - felt very unified! :D

Third, Day 27 of the KMC. 100 double turning kicks. Pretty handily did it in one set of 50/50.

Fourth, Day 27 of the DHC. 2x10″ dead hangs. This was pretty simple and fun. Swung a little more in the second set than ideal. But 10″ is pretty easy, now.

(After spending some time doing planning the next few months’ exercise regimen...)

Last, Day 24 of the DGC. I’m grateful:

That my brother has been doing the dishes more, despite me not telling him to do so (I had intention to do the dishes today, but he just took it upon himself.)

That I have some good foundations to build on in terms of fitness.

For chocolate, existing. :,D

After a shower and some games, I got to bed. It was earlier than yesterday, but still in the red zone. :P

-

Dec. 25

I woke up just shy of 1PM today.

Did a bit of the usual before heading out to the grandparents’ place for the holiday.

Had a pretty good dinner, played some cards, had some tense moments. But at least Grandpa didn’t call the cops on the uncle. It’s sad to say that’s an improvement.

First, today’s DD. 2′ meditation with EC. It's always lovely to take a moment to meditate, especially after some tense moments.

Third, Day 28 of the KMC. 3x 40 turning kicks + 40 side kicks. I did it in one superset of 3x (20/20 + 20/20). Pretty simple and to the point work.

Fourth, Day 28 of the DHC. 1′50″ dead hang. I managed it in 1'+25"+20"+8". Wound up with a blood blister though. I was thinking I would stick some bandages on it for the remaining 2 days of this challenge.  but various forums be like "open, clean, and dress it." :I

Last, Day 25 of the DGC. I’m grateful:

That there were some things that were good/okay about how the day went.

That I’ve opted not to go to the facility tomorrow - so I can sleep in.

That I’ve some good ways to plan ahead when it comes to exercise.

I went to bed only a few minutes earlier than yesterday.

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Dec. 26

I got up a bit before 2PM, I think.

After a bit of the usual, I went straight into my exercise.

First, today’s DD. 2′ leg extensions with EC (donkey kicks). I counted exactly 100 reps by the end. This was a bunch of fun! :D

Second, Day 29 of the KMC. “16 balance kicks side & turning both each leg, no putting your foot down.“ Had a few moments of wobbling and nearly losing my center - but I’m glad I could do things pretty well.

Third, Day 29 of the DHC. 2x10″ dead hangs. I decided to approach it with some bandaging on hand with the blister. It was a bit tough, but the blister didn't rupture. That leaves tomorrow with a bit of a question mark. If it's going to pop, that's when I think it'll happen. orz

(After some distractions...)

Last, Day 26 of the DGC. I’m grateful:

That the blister didn’t pop just yet.

For educational YouTubers.

For Leftist voices, in general.

...

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Dec. 27

I woke up just a bit after noon, today. Yay.

I did a bit of the usual, before reserving some more trips and archiving the last couple months’ DDs. Then, I started on my exercise.

First, today’s DD. 2′ arm extensions with EC. I counted 147 reps by the end of it, and I'm happy about keeping it above 1/sec. I had a lot of fun with this one! :D

Third, Day 30 of the Kick Master Challenge. 200 turning kicks + 200 side kicks, done in 2 sets of 100/100. Did get mildly winding, but still manageable.

Fourth, Day 30 of the Dead Hang Challenge. 2′ dead hang. I walked into this with some trepidation, but I got through it better than I expected! It took 6 sets to do it, but I got it done (45"+25"+10"+10"+17"+13"). I bandaged my blistered hand... and it didn't tear open! Huzzah! \o/

Dead/clotted blood mass may've torn a little bit away from nearby capillaries, what with some brighter red being visible. Did rub off a bit of superficial layer for offhand and the calloused ridging is a bit tender underneath - but no surface injuries at least. I count that as a personal victory! And now - my hands will get their much needed break from the pull-up bar.  \o/

Last, Day 27 of the DGC. I’m grateful:

That my hands didn’t tear open, during the DHC. Despite it feeling a bit touch and go for a minute there!

That I only tentatively slotted in the Flex Hang Challenge after that. Because, oh man. That’d be a bad idea.

That I have plans to be excited for, in terms odf exercise... which I’ll get into, right after this sentiment.

-

Summary & Plans:

A day late, but I finished all my challenges but the Daily Gratitude Challenge (ETA in 3 days, barring further interruptions), in Dec. 27.

Altogether - I greatly enjoyed the Kick Master Challenge for expected reasons. I also liked how the structure had a few variations to go through. I was mostly able to keep the “in one workouts” to at most 2 sets, shortened the rests between all sets to a bare minimum, and didn’t fall out of the balance days even once! (I did contemplate on bounce-switching more often than I actually did, partly to mind the knees.)

I surprisingly really enjoyed going through the Dead Hang Challenge! I found it more fun than holding planks, DESPITE flirting with tearing my hands open near the end of it. Thankfully, using bandages in the last 2 days were enough to stave that disaster off.

As far as metrics for that went:

I hit a PB of 1′. Which I’m proud of

I had to break incremented days into multiple sets for 9 days (12 & 16-30), ranging from 2-6 sets, with ~15-30″ rests in between.

My plans starting tomorrow (technically today, but shhh...) are as follows.

I’m going to spend the next 6 weeks doing the Knee Conditioning Program I found a bit ago. The first week, I’ll be doing free-form warm-ups for each day. I think I’ll cycle through upperbody, ab, and (low/mid-impact) cardio workouts, as a complement.

Then, by the second week I’ll either jump in with the new DAREBEE Program(s!) Zero Hero, Baseline, or re-run Cardio Go! and use them for some supplementary cardio/rounding and warm-up. This will depend on which I feel will be more compatible with where I’m at.