#which is. well. it's hitting harder than it usually does due to Stuff Currently Going On In My Life

[katabay]

bayek and hepzefa, checking out some ruins, talking about stuff.

ngl my favorite detail about origins is that if you revisit siwa after narrative events, bayek will tell hepzefa about things he's been up to :')

[pa-panda-heroes]

Is it alright to request Bakugo, Todoroki, & Kirishima finding out that their usually well put together s/o secretly smokes (only to cope with stressful stuff like a rough home life) but now that she’s with them she tries to quit but then a bad mission happens & they walk in as she’s shakily holding a cig? Happy ending pls. Sorry if it’s complicated recovery isn’t linear & ive been feeling bad just thinking abt going back to it.

Sweetheart, please don’t apologize! I understand, okay? No judgements whatsoever. I’m really sorry you’ve not been feeling well, but keep fighting, love. You can do it!! You got this!! I’m so proud of you for taking this giant step for your health <3 and so are the boys :> I put it under a cut because it’s long ^^

Katsuki, Shouto, and Eijirou with a s/o who’s trying to quit smoking (Scenarios)

Warning: slight mentions of relapse, smoking

Katsuki:

He knew. He knew you’d had a particularly bad day handling an awful situation - the kind of job any hero (maybe even Katsuki himself) would pass off onto a rookie so as to avoid having to deal with it. He knew you’d been trying your hardest to quit smoking. He knew you only picked it up as a way to cope. He knew it was hard. He knew it all. He was right there with you.

Yet it didn’t break his heart any less when he got home from his own hero shift to see you trembling and holding your head with both hands, an unlit cigarette nestled between your shaky fingers. A lighter lay on the coffee table in front of you, seemingly forgotten but not really. Your sniffling was loud, and it pained Katsuki to hear it, as if with each sniffle the hand around his heart squeezed tighter and tighter.

“Y/n.” He doesn’t say or do much else, and neither do you. It’s quiet, save for your sniffling and occasional hiccups. Katsuki sighs, not out of frustration, not out of pity, and certainly not out of anger. Well, maybe there was a hint of anger, but it was not aimed at you. It was aimed at whosoever pushed the put-together, organized you to this habit which was giving you a run for its money. Quietly, he moves to sit next your trembling form, wrapped in the plush blanket you got him for his birthday last year. It smelled like him. No smoke, no ashes. Him.

“Just take deep breaths,” he says quietly, afraid to spook you, as he slowly brings up his arm to wrap around your shoulders and bring you close. You’re rigid. Stiff. And so unlike yourself. “Don’t feel bad, y/n. Stuff like this... it’s hard. There’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to recovery. No one gets it right on the first try.” It’s hard, rewiring your brain not to crave a certain substance, or anything else, really. Katsuki hasn’t dealt with this firsthand, but as a hero he’s seen enough to know no one gets it right on the first try; sometimes people slip up.

“People slip up. And that’s fine,” he continued softly. “They just need to push themselves back up and fight back even harder. I’m so fucking proud of you, alright? And you - you’re tough as hell, you know that?” He stops, as if to gauge your reaction. And react you do. You bury your head in his chest, dropping your hands to your lap without a word. Saying something is too much right now. The cigarette is still between your fingers, but Katsuki gently takes it from you and tosses it onto the table.

“Maybe you don’t realize it, but you are.” Katsuki pats your shoulder furthest from him, leaning down to whisper at you. “You’d have to be, to put up with me and my bullshit,” he jokes with a pinch to your cheek, and finally you chuckle with a wee grin. “No, seriously! I always leave the toilet seat up, I scream at the TV, I never put my laundry right into the hamper, and I always forget to wash dishes... I’m kinda hard to live with.”

“You also kick in your sleep,” you quip with a giggle, voice tiny and meek yet full of love and spunk.

“Ah hell, do I? See, the list goes on and on.”

You shake your head wistfully, your grin growing by the second, but then it leaves you for something sweeter, something quieter. “Thank you for helping me quit, Katsuki.” The gentle lilt in your voice is music to his ears, though he wouldn’t outright admit it.

He huffs at you playfully. “Aw, shaddup. With everything you put up with from me, I’d say we’re even.” He almost seems bashful at your thanking him. Maybe he is.

“No, not quite. You also walk around naked at the worst possible times.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”

You turn to look up at him, eyes gleaming - and not from tears. “My friend really didn’t need to see you walking around in your All Might boxers.”

He shrugs it off. “She should’ve knocked. And you shouldn’t have bought them as a gag gift, babe.” Katsuki flicks your nose gently, leaving you to you wrinkle it and recoil from him.

“Jerk!”

Shouto:

Damn paperwork.

His back hurt, his eyes burned, and his wrist was currently cramping.

Yet it was better than everything you dealt with on patrol earlier. He wasn’t sure how you made it back in one piece like you did.

With a yawn he decided that’s it, a break is most certainly due. So he’d go looking for you, maybe even just five minutes together would make him a new man. But he couldn’t find you. Oh. Shouto wasn’t panicked by any means, but he was in a hurry to find you. He knew if even after one relapse, no matter how short-lived, you would beat yourself up about it better than you do villains. Even if there was no need to. Relapse happens sometimes.

Finally, he found you in the alleyway behind the agency. And he found the cigarette. It was lit, snug between your lips and slowly developing ash. Your hand was so shaky, Shouto was worried something was medically wrong for a second before he realized himself. He called out to you, a hand reached out as he approached. You jumped in your skin, head jerking his way, one lone tear trail on your cheek. “Y/n, please put that out.”

You wipe your nose with the back of your hand unceremoniously, but it didn’t bother him. “I’m sorry,” you breathe. “It’s just- it’s hard. I feel like I’m trying to put myself back together, but I’m missing a piece. Does that make sense?”

Shouto looks at you gently. “It doesn’t matter if it makes sense to me,” he says clearly. “As long as you understand it and talk about what you’re feeling, I’m happy. Why don’t you tell me more about what you’re feeling right now? It helped last time.”

“Overwhelmed. I’m overwhelmed as fuck.” You suck in a breath and bring your fingers to your lips to pick at them rather than take a drag.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Being a hero is hard work.” He’s being supportive. He understands; he’s a hero, too.

“With everything at home when I started... and being a hero...” your voice breaks, “pushing one down for the sake of the other and trying to hold myself together and quit... it sucks, Shouto.”

Your love’s eyebrows pull upward with worry. “I’m sorry, love. You always do your best, you do so well.”

You glance at him with tears in your eyes before dropping the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with a drawn out sigh. That... actually felt nice. It hurt, too, but it was nice.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I want you to talk to me when you’re craving, okay?” Shouto’s hands grab yours, thumbs rubbing the back of your hand soothingly and slowly. “It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing. I want you to talk to me. I want to help.”

You nod quickly, unable to form words as tears well up and your lips fight against you to grimace. You wipe at your eyes with your free hand, sniffling all the while. You choke out a quiet “thank you,” and swallow thickly, only for Shouto to lean toward you and plant a kiss to your forehead before pulling you in for a warm hug in the cool alley.

“Dont thank me,” he whispers, squeezing you tight for emphasis. “It’s only natural I want to help you. I love you. All of you. No matter what.”

You nestle your cheek to his shoulder. “Even if I fuck up?”

“Are you kidding? Of course, y/n. I’ll always be so proud of you for fighting on.”

Eijirou:

“Hey, y/n-“

You blink at him, cigarette between your lips and lighter in your shaky hand. Your eyes are puffy and your cheeks are red. The flame of the lighter licked the cigarette but did not light it, and then suddenly died out as you pulled your thumb off the plate below the wheel. You reached up and closed the window of the bathroom before sitting back down on the side of the tub with your hands in your lap. “Please don’t be mad...”

The grin he wore just before he saw the cigarette faded. “Hey, I’m not mad.”

“I had a really bad day and... I dunno.” You looked down at your hands and the lighter and cigarette within them. “I just needed one. Just one. To deal with it.”

“But...” He hesitated, worried he’d come off too chiding. “Remember? ‘Just one’ turns into two, then three...”

You nod. “I know, I know, but...” Your sniffle hits his ears and it’s hard to hear.

“I’m not mad, or trying to be mean... I’m just worried.” Eijirou scratches the back of his head almost awkwardly. “Why don’t we go for a walk, yeah? Get some fresh air, too?”

You didn’t feel like it, but agree anyway. Eijirou doesn’t take you anywhere in particular, just walking and turning here and there when he felt like it, your hand in his all the while. You’re quiet the entire time, but he speaks enough for the both of you, talking about everything he sees or whatever a certain sight seems to remind him of. His hand squeezes yours every so often, as if to remind you that you don’t need to say anything, as long as you let him do this, let him distract you, let him help you - how ever you want to word it.

But suddenly he stops and turns to you, red eyes bright and gleaming. “Can I ask something selfish of you?” It’s sudden and unlike him to ask something like this.

You’re taken aback, but nod anyway.

“Any time you get the urge, any time you catch yourself reaching for a cigarette, will you promise me you’ll get out and take a walk?” Eijirou’s voice is quiet and soothing, yet you pick up concern. “Or just get up and walk around if you’d rather not go out. Please? Even if I’m not around...?”

You smile at him, his expression immediately relaxing upon seeing it. “Promise.”

“Good! I don’t know how well distraction would work, but maybe it’ll help.” He shrugs and continues walking again, pulling you with him. He had a point. Some fresh air did feel nice, and hearing the birds chirping as you walked by a small park was relaxing. That, mixed with the warm and kind hand of your lover, seemed to wash away the awful day you’d experienced. It was so soothing, you wondered why you hadn’t thought of this sooner.

With a sweet sigh, the tension in your shoulders dies downs an you relax, finally, for the first time in a while. This was Eijirou’s doing, certainly. This walk would only be half as pleasant without him, but you promised. Push comes to shove, you could go out for a coffee or snack break on your walk to keep yourself occupied.

“Hey, Eijirou.”

His hand squeezes yours before he turns to look at you. “Hm?”

“Thank you.”

He gives you a toothy, closed-eye grin. “O’ course, sweetheart!”

[atsukashii]

❝jealous, love❞ // e. kirishima

SYNOPSIS: ➛ contrary to unpopular belief, Eijiro Kirishima does get jealous, especially when sleazy guys are trying to hit on his girlfriend

» CHARACTER PAIRING: eijiro kirishima x fem!reader

» WORD COUNT: 2.1k

» GENRE: aged up characters, post u.a

» WARNINGS: fluffiest of fluff, protective kirishima, y/h/n - your hero name

« masterlist || ao3 »

Being a pro hero and trying to juggle your personal life is harder than you anticipated. There are things that you see people take for granted that pro heroes physically can’t. Like being able to plan dates with your boyfriend of three years. 

You and Kirishima had learned the hard way that it was almost impossible to plan dates. This is purely due to the fact that you would and can be called into work at any moment of time. After multiple dates that ended up with either you or Kirishima having to run out because of it, you both decided the next time you really wanted to go out and do something, you were requesting the day off, so there would be no interruptions of any sort unless the world was ending. 

As you glance down at your phone out of pure habit, you have a feeling that the world would not in fact end tonight. Instead, you and your boyfriend are going out to a fancy dinner that you had prepared for, two weeks in advance - just to be safe.

Threading your golden earrings through your lobes, you stand up straight and tilt your head slightly at your reflection in the mirror. You’d decided that you were going all out for your date with Kirishima tonight. Dressing yourself up with full glam makeup, and brand new red dress you know Kiri will love, that now brushes your thighs. The look completed with your nude strappy heels fastened to your feet, you were finally ready. 

You check the time once more before grabbing your clutch from the dresser and leaving your bedroom, stepping down your hallway towards the kitchen. Kirishima leans against the island bench of your small kitchen, texting on his phone as you enter. As soon as he hears your heels click against the wooden floors though, his attention snaps to you and the phone almost falls from his hands. For a second, you both stand in complete silence, until Kirishima breaks by moving towards you. Gently, he takes your hand and presses a soft kiss to your lips.

“If you weren’t already my girlfriend, I’d date the hell out of you.” he breathes, making a giggle escape your lips.

“Well it's a good thing I’m already your girlfriend isn't it then.” You smile, looking up at him. God, he looks so attractive. He’s outdone himself for your date tonight as well. A black button-up shirt stretches tightly across his chest and matching slacks makes it all too much for your brain to comprehend.

“That’s what I tell myself every day.” He says grinning. Even after all this time, compliments from Kirishima make you blush - and really, you should be used to it with the amount of verbal loving he puts on you on the daily. The man is seriously smooth, and the ultimate confidence booster. You love him dearly for it. 

“You good to go?” he asks, offering you his arm. You don’t bother to bring a coat with you as you wrap your arm around his. It’s summer and with a jacket, the heat would be way too much, which is the only reason you can afford to wear a dress right now. 

Together, you leave your shared apartment and walk to the restaurant that's located just a few blocks from where you live. You’d seen it one day on your way back from work and decided that you and Kiri just had to visit. With classic white tablecloth covered tables, flowers, and dim lighting, it was the perfect romantic setting for a date with your long time boyfriend. When you’d stepped inside, you were seated at your table and quickly ordered before holding up your now delivered wine glass to your boyfriend with a small smile.

“To the first date and relaxing evening in far too long.” Gently, he touches the tip of your glass to his own and beams at you.

“And to many more.” 

❀ ❀ ❀

It’s late when you leave the restaurant, but you both decide that the night itself is still young. On your way home, you decide to stop in at the store to get some wine to have at home. Walking into the store, you both give the man behind the till a kind smile before you slink down the aisle currently displaying too many types of wine for you to choose from. You are about to turn to your boyfriend for help when his phone goes off. His eyebrows furrow as he pulls his phone from his back pocket. You go to check your own, in case the world seriously has it out against you and is, in fact, about to end, but Kirishima places a hand on your arm. His phone already pressed against his ear.

“It’s not urgent, pick whichever one you want babe. I’ll be right back.” He explains and places a tender kiss to your brow before walking away for privacy. Obviously, he didn’t want to ruin your good mood with work talk, and it's that kind of forethought that is one of the reasons you love Kirishima. Your happiness and health are always at the forefront of his mind, whether it be taking care of you when you're sick or comforting you after a heavy day at work, he’s an actual godsend. 

Your eyes scan over the numerous bottles of wine, still unsure of which one to get. Now that Kirishima’s gone elsewhere and not here to help, you’re tempted to close your eyes and point to one in hopes to find an option. Suddenly, the artwork on one catches your eye and you reach towards it, only to stop when a voice fills your ears. One that's definitely not your boyfriend.

“Need a hand with anything darling?” Your eyes move to the stranger, standing a few feet from you with a smile on his face. Your hand hangs uselessly in the air as you watch his eyes track slowly from your face, down your front, and back up again. Even though his smile seems somewhat kind, the look in his eyes screams creeper and is grossing you out. Your eyes track from the man, looking over the top of the aisles in hopes of finding your red-headed boyfriend, but you can’t seem to find Kirishima anywhere. Placing your attention back to the stranger, you resist the urge to wipe your now sweaty hands on your dress and instead give him a kind smile in return.

“I’m good, thanks for the offer though.” You say, hoping that this means the conversation is over. But apparently the guy doesn’t get the hint and stuffs his hands into his pockets.

“Say aren’t you that pro hero, y/h/n?” He asks. You honestly didn’t think you would be noticed tonight, your boyfriend yes, but you? Not so much. Though, much like Kirishima, you were climbing the hero ranks at a speed that seemed to be catching attention. I shouldn’t be surprised, you think; as yesterday you helped your close friend and fellow pro hero Chargebolt bring down a villain that was very publicly known. The media had been spreading the story like crazy, and it wouldn’t blow over for a while. Or until you were outshined by another top hero or something major happened. You don’t mean to make it sound like it's nothing, because you’re proud of your skill and your job, you’re just not a fan of reporters and media is all. 

“Yeah, that's me. But I’m off duty right now.” You explain, suddenly reaching forward and grabbing whatever bottle of wine off the shelf you can get your hand on, to get out of the conversation. As you turn to leave, the creeper’s eyes trail down your torso again, his lips lifting in a satisfied smile. He just graduated from creeper to pervert. You’ve been trained on how to best communicate with people, but pervs still and always will creep you the fuck out. 

“What's a pro hero like you doing here all alone on a Friday night?” Gross.

“I’m here with-”

“Sorry about that babe, Bakugou was just having a go at me about some paperwork.” Kirishima’s voice interrupts and you’ve never been more glad for your boyfriend's presence then you are right now. Once he reaches you, Kirishima looks at the perv and instinctively wraps his arms around your waist. 

“Picked one yet?” He asks you, nodding to the bottle of whatever in your hands. 

“I think so.” You say, feeling a lot more relaxed with Kirishima’s arms around you. 

“You’re Red Riot.” The guy says making you both rotate your attention to him. Kirishima gives him a tight smile, that to anyone but you would look completely genuine. But you know Kirishima, and he’s pissed at the way the stranger is looking at you.

“Nice to meet you.” Kirishima nods, before letting his hand slide down from its perch on your waist until it rests on the small of your back, right above your ass. It’s a possessive move and one that makes you relax slightly against him. Kirishima isn’t normally a possessive person, except for when it comes to you. You know that he hates that people tend to pay attention but he has never made it out to be your fault. It’s a similar thing when he’s in hero costume and guys and girls alike drool over your boyfriend's ripped physique - you amongst them. 

Kirishima suddenly turns his back on the stranger and you instantly become weak at the heat in his eyes. It’s not just attraction swirling in his ruby gaze, but jealousy. Something that he doesn’t usually express often. 

“Ready to go beautiful?” He asks, laying it on thick. You nod your head in response and begin walking to the counter with the bottle of what you now see to be red wine, with Kirishima right behind you. You know there’s logic to the reason he’s sticking to you like glue so that the perv can’t see your frame from behind Kirishima’s bulking one. At the register, you’re practically sandwiched between the front counter and your boyfriend, who somehow has the coordination to simultaneously hold you and try to tap his card to pay for the wine before you can, but he fails. He had demanded to pay for the dinner tonight, so you’d requested to pay for the wine, which he agreed to. Sighing in defeat, he slips his wallet into his back pocket as the guy behind the till wrap’s it all up. You lean back into Kirishima’s chest as you feel yourself finally relax again, Kirishima follows by resting his head on your shoulder. 

“Thank you. I love you, Eijiro.” You whisper to the air, and you know he’s heard you when his arms squeeze around your middle in response, a silent code that he returns the sentiment. 

Saying a kind thank you to the worker, you and Kirishima walk out of the store. Once you’re outside, he can’t help but glance over his shoulder and outright glare as if the shop has physically harmed him. 

“Babe,” you say, trying to smother a giggle. Kirishima looks back at you with raised eyebrows and an innocent look on his face.

“What?” shaking your head at his antics, you both stop at the traffic lights and wait to cross the road. 

“Are you jealous, Kiri?” Your tone is teasing, and the bulking man lets out a dejected sigh, pulling you once again tightly into his side as if he can’t bear the act of not touching you right now. His arm wraps around your waist as the lights change, allowing you to keep walking. 

“I hate it when people stare at you like that. Can they not see that it makes you uncomfortable? And to do it so blatantly, that guy was gross as hell. Are you alright?” He asks and you nod in agreement, whilst falling for him a little bit more.

“I’m okay, and I'm glad you were there to save the day, Mr. Hero.” You smirk and the beaming grin that covers his face makes the awkward encounter completely worth it.

“Whenever you need me, babe, I'm there.” You both know it's corny as hell, but you don’t care. Kirishima practically drags you across the road before stopping you, leaning down to place a soft kiss on your lips. Your heart flips inside your chest at his actions, something that hasn’t changed since your first kiss.

“I love you so much y/n.” Grinning against your boyfriend's lips, pure euphoria floods your system. 

“I love you too big guy.” You pull back, entwining your fingers with his and begin to walk backward, pulling him alone. “Let’s go home and drink this hopefully not crappy wine and watch tv.” 

“Babe, you know just what to say.” He fake groans whilst walking next to you, the bottle of wine in a paper bag tucked under his arm like a ball. God, he’s perfect. 

©️ 2021 all rights reserved to atsukashii, do not change, edit, translate, or repost any works on any platform.

[popculturebuffet]

The Three Caballeros Ride Again Review!: And Ladies (Ride of the Three Caballeros)

Saludos Amigos! I’m back with yet another comics review! And we’re back on The Ride of the Three Cablleros! Thanks again to WeirdKev27 for commissioning this retrospective. It’s going to get pricey and I greatly appreciate it.  PREVIOUSLY ON RIDE OF THE THREE CABLLEROS 

In short.. a bunch of short segments of varying quality, a very thirsty Donald hitting on ladies, the first appearance of Panchito and some very good music. A fun time was had by all. Along with a LOT OF drugs by the Disney Animators. The film wasn’t a huge success, but out of the 6 package films, it was a fan faviorite alongside the Mr. Toad and Ichabod movie, and thus was rereleased quite a bit, as well as being one of the first of this era to end up on VHS due to it’s cult popularity.  As for Panchito and Jose they’d get plenty of success overseas, with both getting solo series in their respective home countries, Jose himself having just resumed having comics again this year, and being rightfully massive characters. But despite being a hit with fans across the world.. in the US... they were pretty much shoved in the Disney Vault for a few decades. Jose would show up on the Wonderful World of Disney, in it’s various forms, three times after the Three Caballeros while Panchito just vanished aside from reuses of the Three Caballeros footage. Their careers in the US just sorta vanished for a few decades. But as suddenly as they vanished, our boys returned triumphantly. Naturally being the most used out of the duo, Jose would show up for the first time in decades during Mickey Mouseworks, a show full of new late 90′s produced Mickey Mouse shorts, all but two of which would end up being recycled for the much more popular and well loved House of Mouse, which would feature the triumphant return of the Cabs to animation after so long away. We’ll get to that next time, as just a year before the Cabs had already reunited in the pages of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories in one of Don Rosa’s best loved tales. The Ride of The Three Caballeros was something Don Rosa had wanted to do since he got the job writing Duck Comics in the first place. As he explained in the back of the complete library edition named after this tale, Uncle Keno isn’t the biggest fan of the Donald Theatrical shorts. Having experienced the Carl Barks comics first, and having built his career around them later, he just wasn’t a fan of the goofier, angrier, less nuanced theatrical short Donald, often feeling like he was an entirely different character from the one he loved. And.. honestly he’s not wrong. Both were built for entirely different kinds of comedy: While both did slapstick, Slapstick, along with standard comedy shenanigans, was the main weapon in Shorts Donald’s comedic arsenal. Barksian Donald, while not immune to slapstick, was more like a well built sitcom character: Multi layered, sympathetic when he needs to be, but still having tons of faults to be exploited for laughs and to play off other characters. As a result while I like Donald in the shorts I do prefer Barks version of him, and the shorts Barks did are usually the best of both worlds, combining Donald’s everyman schtick with his slapstick schtick. Of course later cartoons would pick one or the other or combine both, but I do get his point and at the time he wrote this story the only cartoon show starring Donald was.. Quack Pack.. which I can only imagine his reaction to seeing that train wreck. 

But as you can probably guess there was one exception and it was The Three Caballeros. Don genuinely enjoys the beautiful music and the wonderful chemistry the three have. So after a trip to Mexico gave him the perfect setting and the fire in his belly to finally do it, he finally wrote the story. And since they weren’t Barksian characters and hadn’t had any other apperances in decade, Don also took a dive into their comics. Since Jose was more of a fancifial freeloader in his comics, Don decided to ignore this characterization and go with his own based on the film: A latin playboy and lounge singer. And i’m okay with him doing that, as unlike say with Marvel and DC when they destroy a character, Disney characters are both more fluid continuity wise and his is still rooted in a version of the character, and he’s fully accepting and apologetic that some fans hate him for this. Also for some damn reason they redesigned Jose at some point in his Brazil to look like this:

This is far from the dumbest comic book costume change i’ve seen, but it’s certainly one of the most lame, as his original outfit is dapper, stylish and fits the Brazilian version of him well. And it’s not like you CAN’T update the classic Disney characters with modern appearances. Quack Pack, which has somehow come up twice in this review, did so great with Donald and Daisy, giving them new clothes and a haircut in Daisy’s case but both still look great. Same with Goofy for Goof Troop who just wore a dad sweater and bow tie, which puts him in the small but significant club of “Bow Tie Wearing Characters who have defined my life” with Opus the Penguin and the 11th Doctor. You can update a classic character’s’s appearance without coming off like...

Which given Jose’s outfit there is horrifyingly similar, says something. Anyways, Rosa had more use for Panchito’s stories, which had him as a cowboy protecting small towns with the help of his trusty steed Senor Martinez. Rosa loved both aspects and thus used them here, with Martinez getting a makeover to fit Rosa’s style better. Rosa is also the one to popularize Panchito’s last name, having found it on a scrap of research, not realizing the character’s last name was not at all widespread and thus giving him a canon one that has stuck to this day, and sighing in relief when he finally got conformation from another fan this name was indeed something Disney had used after loosing his research scrap.  So with the two boys characters set, a plot set up and a whole sequence planned we’ll talk about on the way “The Three Caballeros Ride Again!” was born. How good is it? Well join me under the cut and i’ll tell you. 

We open in Mexico, specifically near the Barranca Del Cobre, aka The “Copper Canyon” of the Sierra Madre, a natural land formation simlar to the Grand Canyon that Don Rosa saw during his trip and thought would make a great setting. While larger than the Grand Canyon, Rosa figures in his notes it simply isn’t as popular because it’s more isolated than the Grand Canyon and that, combined with it having trees inside distracting from it’s rugged beauty, makes it much harder to build a tourist industry around. The four are headed to El Divisadero, because this comic is determined to kill me with it’s difficult to spell names apparently, where Huey, Dewey or Louie spouts off for no particular reason about the currently being built Chihuahua El Pacifico Railway. Seriously the boys might as well be the security guard from Wayne’s World in this comic, their role for most of their brief page time is just to set up stuff for later. I mean i’m fine with setting up your setting but there are better ways than just spouting off tons of exposition apropos of nothing. 

Donald has driven the boys here for a Woodchuck Jamboree. I did actually look into Jamborees, as before this it only had ever come up in one of my favorite movies of all time, Moonrise Kingdom, and mentioned occasionally in the Ducktales Reboot. Jamboree was first used for a worldwide scouting Jamboree but has gone on to mean a huge gathering of scouts, with the Boy Scouts of America having one every four years, so odds are it’s just a big yearly or quarter yearly thing for the woodchucks. Still it would be nice to see a big gathering like this in the series, especially since several of our cast are involved in them, including the possible power trio of Huey, Violet and Boyd, and Della and Launchpad could easily be slotted into the plot as seen in this season’s premiere.. as could Dewey and Louie if they really want to since according to Frank their members.. they just aren’t nearly as invested as their brother, and thus  don’t do Woodchuck stuff unless he drags them into it, as seen with “Day of the Only Child” in the series itself. It does make sense: Dewey doesn’t have the survival instinct or patience for camping, and Louie hates effort, the out doors, and doing things for anything but profit. Scouting is all of that.  So the boys have driven all this way for the Mexican Jamboree, as they’ve been carefully raising their tarantula Tara, and the Tarantula Breeding Badge is only given out in Mexico, which is plausible: Different branches of a worldwide organization would have different awards and what not in different countries. And Tarantula’s are also native to mexico so that makes sense.. and I want you to apricate that I’m afraid of spiders, not cartoony ones, for instance, this is adorable. 

Galvantula4Life. But real life ones or realistic looking ones? Yeah no fuck that. So I had to go to the Wikipedia entry and see several horrifying looking sizeable spiders for this one tiny fact. Your welcome. Tara ends up on Donald’s face with the boys assuming Donald is sad to see her go instead of you know FUCKING TERRIFIED A GIANT SPIDER IS ON HIS FACE. This gag does not work.. but probably because as I said i’m afraid of spiders and this is my nightmare, you little sociopaths. 

The boys however worry about what Donald will do for the weekend as they prepare to board the bus to the Jamboree... why it’s meeting in an out of the way town like this I have no idea, but i’d guess plot convince. They realize he has no friends, which Donald shrugs off, and they REALLY shouldn’t say to his face, but ruminate on it once he leaves to do whatever after vaguely talking about friends he had in the past. 

I like this scene even though it annoys me a bit: Ilike it because it does set up how Donald really DOSEN’T have any friends in the comics. It’s part of WHY Rosa was drawn to the Cabs: Their one of the few equal relationships donald’s ever had, people who treat him as a partner, in both sense probably, a friend, a true amigo. As the boys point out Scrooge is a monster to him in the comics, paying him 30 cents an hour which I actually put into an inflation calculator to get an accurate read on how little that was by 2020 standards.. and it’s 3 dollars an hour. Hence why I call him a monster, why that bit hasn’t aged well, and why Rosa REALLY, REALLY should’ve retired it. It dosen’t help reading that knowing Disney largely treated Rosa the same way is cringe inducing at best, if not for any fault of his own. It being cringe inducing for an employer horribly mistreating and underpaying his employees though is his fault, he’s a grown ass man, even in the 90′s this had to be a problem, be better. 

And yes i’m being hard on Don Rosa but just like with the comics thing, I simply expect better from the man given just how much respect I have for the guy. His art is gorgeous, his research is immaculate, his knowledge of old films is wonderful and his love for them so infectious i’m tempted to seek the ones he’s mentioned in notes out. He’s a truly wonderful guy and one of my faviorite comic writers.. but I have to treat him fairly like I do ANY of my idols. Just to prove that, I love Grant Morrison, especially his run on New X-Men, but a lot of it hasn’t aged well including some of the language and the entire subplot with Emma manipulating Scott into having an affair when he wasn’t in the best mental place and she knew that and was acting as his therapist, and treating that as a regular affair REALLY doesn’t play well nor should it have. I love Al Ewing, with all my heart and soul, but his run on Ultimates, while having some great worldbuilding and a spectacular cast, ultimately wasn’t very good after the first arc. Not terrible but not good. John Aliison, of Scary Go Round and Giant Days fame, while impressive has had plenty of stories I just didn’t like for various reasons and will probably get into some day and some parts of his stories haven’t aged well. It’s the hard but necessary part of being a critic: You have to be objective and see all the parts of a creator’s creation, not just the ones you like and call them out when they screw up. To me being a fan isn’t about just blindly loving something, it’s about knowing WHY you love it and being willing to call out faults while still thoroughly enjoying the work. There’s a fine line between being blindly loyal to someone, which has created Zach Snyder's awful cult of personality that I hate so much, and being an overly critical shithead and I hope I’m straddling that line. 

Back on the scene after that filibuster they point out Gladstone, who himself is a monster to me for how he doesn’t lift a finger to help his nephews or cousin, and constnatly flaunts his luck to Donald, and is a bit more than teasing especially since he tried to, you know, steal your house once boys. That’s canon.. that’s a barks story so it’s canon here. You.. You remember that right? He tried to steal your house. And we will be getting to that one next month, just you wait.  Finally the Daisy part that annoys me slightly. The boys being sexist.. was sadly the style at the time this story is set, the 1950′s, and thus plays better for me than it does in Ducktales, as their just little boys and don’t know better. Them assuming Girlfriends aren’t like having friends, while accurate though does bother me a bit, but only because the way this story treats Donald’s relationship is PRETTTTTYYYY bad and this sets that up. But we’ll get to that.  Thankfully this foreshadowing of terrors to come is quickly forgotten as we get a GENUINELY great two panels of Donald lamenting his lack of friends. It just works really well, selling his loneliness and how isolated he truly feels without any, which while I have friends I can relate to as I only really hang out with on regularly. 

This is what I was talking about. While I will point out Rosa’s flaws.. their truly outweighed but his artistic mastery. In just three panels he really has a truly emotional and heartrending scene, and just that one close up among them is all we need to get the true depths of Donald’s loneliness. I can be hard on the guy, but it’s because he’s one of the best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be and thus I hold him to a high standard.  But with that we transition to...

Or rather first his boss at the hotel, whose pissed his headliner has skipped out on him again to woo a lady, and while he plans to fire the guy, only isn’t throttling him because he figures one of his “Senorita’s” boyfriends will do that for him. And while I do like Jose as a playboy i’m not really fond of him trying to have sex with someone in a relationship, as it puts both him and the person he’s having an affair with in a really bad light. It does fit the character, I just don’t have to like it. As for this particular Senorita, it turns out her boyfriend is a notorious Bandito and is thankfully out of town. So yes, Jose is essentially acting out Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay and the Americans. 

Naturally just like the song, said Bad Man returns, Alfonso “Gold Hat” Bedoya, a machete wielding baddie who while understandably pissed about another man making time with his girlfriend, is less understandably about to murder Jose. Though unlike the song, Alfonso’s Lady, rather than help Jose, encourages her boyfriend to murder him and clearly has a fetish for cheating on her boyfriend with various men and watching as he kills him which.. Jesus. This is why while I don’t LIKE the idea of Jose hitting on women in a relationship it does work here, as he’s still not nearly as bad as either of these two, so it evens out. Jose escapes with his umbrella but crashes.. right into the back of Donald’s car. Rosa, Alfonso’s lady, encourages him to murder both of them for funsies, and being a brutal thug, Alfonso obliges and shoots at the car. And since, to quote the duck himself, Donald doesn’t like being killed “Even a little”, he books it out of there. 

Alfonso doesn’t peruse them though. He’s on the trail of a treasure hunter who has a map to the lost town of Tayopa, which contains untold silver, but before he can do that he has important buisness to get to. 

I fucking love that gag and that Rosa snuck more adult gags in there knowing plenty of Duck Fans, such as myself, are grown men, women and others who can handle this sort of thing, while still slippnig it past the kids. 

Donald, once the fear’s worn off a bit, starts to wonder WHY he’s running when he’s not the one who pissed off the guy, and ignores Jose’s good point about the fact Alfonso really dosen’t seem like a guy who sees nuance.. until Donald sees a wanted poster for Alphonoso and keeps driving. He eventually gets far enough away to feel safe.. and confront the guy who got him into this mess. 

Now kiss. While sadly, they do not, we do get a lovely warm reunion between old pals. Rosa keeps their past vauge as, correctly, he pointed out in his authors notes that the Cabs movie really had no plot, accurate, so instead just vaguely alluded to Donald having known the two in his pre-daisy and boys past and likely had similar adventures to the movie, but adapted more for Rosa’s barksian universe. Jose explains he often finds himself cash poor and thus hits the road to drum up some money, and Mexico is a great place for that as it has plenty of tourist money. 

Though as Jose talks about their past we get the most uncomfortable running gag of the story. 

While Donald’s paranoia here is played for laughs.. it just.. isn’t all that funny that Donald’s relationship with Daisy in the Rosa canon is apparently sooooo deeply unhealthy that just HEARING about him having a romantic past before him, as Rosa confirmed this was pre-daisy in his notes, causes Donald to panic and worry she actually somehow heard this. It just isn’t funny.. it speaks of MASSIVE relationship issues and some form of domestic abuse on Rosa!Daisy’s part. It’s stuff like this why there’s only a handful of Donsy relationships I like: Her treating him like shit is reduced to a punchline, instead of being used for character growth. It’s also why I’m deeply dreading covering “Legend of the Three Cablleros” at the end of this retrospective. I just don’t like when Disney media treats Daisy expecting too much of Donald or being hyper jealous of him as hilarious and while I take this more as the story not ageing well rather than barks fault, as since then Domestic Abuse against Males has become a more widely known and talked about issue, it still doesn’t’t make it plesant. It just makes this not entirely his fault. Just like it’s not Stan Lee’s fault this panel is both deeply hilarious and uses a now kinda racist term. 

I named an entire youtube channel after that.. we all have our regrets. I also bring it up since currently Harry’s become terrifying villain Kindred... and thus the current big bad of an entire Spider-Man run and the being hopefully bringing one more day into the light and hopefully leading to it’s undoing.. once had a goofy mustache he genuinely referred to a “Fu Manchu Face Fuzz” that for all we know he regrew under the mask. 

Donald fondly remembers the old days of being a badass adventuring team and decides, screw it, let’s go show that Gold Hatted Paloka whose boss.. but being Donald ends up driving them into The Copper Canyon instead. Our heroes end up lost in the canyon and , fitting for Donald get shot at. I can only imagine his thoughts right now. 

Their mysterious attacker threatens them.. before revealing himself to be Panchito, whose glad to see his friends having mistook them for Alfonso. Turns out HE’S the mysterious treasure hunter Alfonoso was after, to no one’s surprise. We get another deeply unfunny “Daisy’s only a thousand miles away gag” as the boys reminisce and get introduced to Panchito’s horse, Senior Martniez. He also tells the boy about his map.. but how he’s hit a snag as the lost town where the silver, from a silver mine.. is now buried under pounds of volcanic rock, a volcano having erupted. This is artistic license as Don Rosa admits there aren’t any known volcano’s in Mexico, but that they also still haven’t found that missing town, so this was his explanation.  All is not lost as Donald’s globetrotting with Scrooge meant he knows his history.. and thus spots an old mission which, at the time, were used by preists as cover for secret mines. Donald naturally bungles his way in and we get the much better running gag of the Cabs thinking Donald did something amazing when he really just wondered into slapstick. They end up down the shaft, with Jose deciding Donald can’t do all the work, and finding a secret entrance under a sanctum sanctorum.. a religious thing I have no idea what it ii s but is clearly where Dr. Strange got the name. Regardless they find some old kegs filled with pure silver. As Panchito puts it: 

And he did ideed. In a nice moment that shows off his character, Panchito has no hesitation for sharing the wealth: He wouldn’t of got this far without his friends, and he wont get the Silver cashed in without their help. He also fires off his guns in celebration.. forgetting their in a cave, a gag I genuinely like. 

After some off screen loading and hoisting, the boys are slowly on their way out of the canyon, with Donald’s Car and Senor Martinez pulling the cart with the silver together. With some downtime the three talk about what they’ll spend the money on. 

About what you’d expect. A big beautiful music venue

For Jose, and a nice ranch to retire at for Panchito. Both despite being wondering souls would love a simple place to call home, in their own personal styles. While they are BIG goals, their also likeable and understandable ones: Jose just wants to stop having to do all these tours and carouse and party and perform at home. Be his own boss, and live his own dreams instead of working for whoever will put up for him. Panchito just wants to retire from being a wondering hero to a peaceful life of farming, an honest reward he well earned. And Donald? 

This is easily one of my faviorite moment’s of Rosa’s, one that really cuts to comic donald’s character: Sure he can be lazy, a trickster, hot tempered, and overconfident.. it’s why we love him.. but at the end of the day he genuinely loves those boys and their his first prority and I can see why the reboot took that trait and made it his defining one. They may annoy and frustrate them and he may pull a switch on them, 50′s after all.. but he loves his boys and knows they’ll do great one day and despite his spendthrift ways when given big money.. their all he can think about. Sure Donald probably has his own personal dreams, but instead of going big and retiring he’d probably just take only a small sliver of that money to open a humble hot dog stand or something, so he could have something of his own to provide them, while still giving most of the money to their college. Scrooge is who we all want to be.. Donald is who we are at our core: Flawed people who just want to do our best. It’s why I love the guy so much.  The boys rest in the small town of El Divisadero, which like the town we started in is a real place, though both are much smaller, even as of 2000 when Rosa made his visit, so he had to embelish slightly. THey stop at a local watering hole only to find Alphonso. While Jose is naturally worried, Gold Hat has moved on to Panchito and wants to know why he’s here. However Donald thinking quickly says he’s part of their nightclub act, and we get a rousing version of the three cablleros, which when reading this I synched up to the song. I won’t put it here, as it’s too big for tumblr and it really works more as a whole, but needless to say, it’s the highlight of the comic. While Rosa did have doubts about putting a musical number in a comic, and it’s often trickey, he makes it work with the energy, vibrance and number of gags, that compensate for the music not being there. There’s tons of great gags, from Donald getting thrown out  window, to the stone faced crowd who only cheers when Alphonso ends the number by whacking the three with one of their own guitars.  Alphonso quickly realizes what’s goin on, finds the silver, and then hyjacks the train. The boys take off after him in the car, as Donald triumphantly states “The Three Cablleros Ride Again!”. The three head after Alphonzo, who finds them when trying to release the other cars to increase speed, and then shoots at them. It seems hopeless... until donald gets launched into the air, into a cactus then back into Alphonzo knocking his guns out in a great bit of slapstick. The Conductor, likely not knowing about the others or not carring, detaches the cars though, so our heroes and villian are now sent rocketing through the world’s most dangerous railway. Which, as you’d probably already figured out, is very real and what inspirited rosa to use this setting and thus indeed wind through dangerous mountainsides and over thin cliffs like a real life Donkey Kong Country level.  Eduardo still has his machete though and easily beats Jose’s umbrella, but some more Donald slapstick and him apologizing to daisy about the senioritis as he wishes her goodbye seriously GET SOME COUPLE’S COUNSELING IF THAT EXISTS IN THE 50′S. It puls his sombrero down over his head, and with jose’s umbrella top landing on it, carries him off where he ends up in a lazy asshole sheirff’s jail for a gag. The boys however continue going back.. and the railway is unfinished at this time in history and while they save the silver, their fucked. But Donald has a plan, running to the back of the cars to get his car, and while it has trouble starting, Panchito throws some chilie’s in the tank to get it moving again.  The boys find the silver.. but when one barrel spills they find out it’s not actual liquid silver.. but quicksilver, which was used for silver refinment. So while i’ts shiny, and toxic so of course Jose sticks his hand in before knowing what it is, it’s worthless. Probably. The boys.. all have a nice laugh over it. I love this moment. Sure the boys lost their dreams.. but like Scrooge, the three belivie theirs always another rainbow. What matters is the journey they had and the reunion that restored their friendship. Donald also muses the boys are smart enough to get their own scholarships anyway, so it’s no big loss.. but he does have to get back to Disvadero as the jamboree ends tonight and Jose agrees as he now needs a job again. The owner balks, understandably since Jose missed a performance to get laid and then disappeared overnight.. but the Hotel Owner is visiting so as long as he can provide a big act he’s good, and while Jose is worried as he already gave them his best, the boys naturally pitch in to be the cablleros once more. After all

So we close on Huey, Dewey and Louie returning, still worrying about donald, when they find him on stage. We then end on a truly heartwarming and great last few panels. 

Final Thoughts: What else can I say? This story is beautifully drawn, as usual for Rosa, well paced, fun and really fleshes the Cabs out from the movie. It has a warm, fun adventurous tone and it’s nice to see Donald in the lead since Rosa usually did Scrooge stories and thus Donald was the justifiably surly sidekick instead of the main man> here he’s in the spotlight and gets to show just what he’s made of, while still being the hilarious mess we all know and love. The story honors the original film well, while forging it’s own path and is beautifully built into history. My only real complaints are the nephews being annoying, Alphonso’s somewhat overwrought accent, and of course the daisy gags.. but it’s all HEAVILY outweighed by one of Rosa’s finest hours and easy enough to ignore. Check this out if you can. It’s a classic for a reason. 

If you liked this review, you can commission your own by messaging me on here or at my discord technicolormuk#655 for five dollars a comic story or animation episode. Whenever the ride resumes next, we’ll coming on down to the house of mouse to see the boys return to the screen. In the meantime keep an eye on this space for regular Ducktales reviews every Monday, including once this run ends as I intend to start playing catchup, loud house reviews whenever, my tom retrospective that’s returning soon, and my retrospective on the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, with chapter 2 of that also coming soon. Until then, there’s always another rainbow. 

[depressedtransguy]

im tired so I can’t think of a threat but if you read this and you’re not @angelwiththeblue-box ue-box then I’ll cut off your uvula and make you drown in your own blood

Anthony was just stepping out of the Sanctum when he got the call on his glasses. They buzzed gently against his face as his sister's name flashed right in front of his eyes, reminding him that his sister was the only person connected to his spectacles. And she only called him for one thing. "I will thank every god in the multiverse if you tell me right now that you're not in prison again," Anthony whispered with a seething rage as he answered the call, his fingers flexing on a stress ball.

Her overly long silence wasn't comforting. I'm in prison again.

Not knowing whether to scream or break things, Anthony just inhaled sharply as his stress ball popped. "Frigga, I'm about to go on a date! With Atreo! Remember, the Greek god of a man that I'm somehow dating?"

I remember.

"Is there at least not anyone there who's going to immediately kill you? Can you wait a night? Please?"

There was a huff from the other end. You're going to leave your sister in prison for a night to have sex with a mortal?

"Well he doesn't make me break him out of space prison!!" Frigga was right of course. He had to help her. And normally he didn't mind it, it was cracking codes and breaking laws, two of his favorite things, but Atreo was... hot. And Anthony was gay. It was unfair. But like the message of every single Fast and the Furious movie, family came first. "Fine. I'll help. But you owe me big time."

Okay okay, I owe you I owe you, just help me get out of here.

So with the gay side of his mind screaming at him to go hook up with a man carved out of stone, he teleported into his lab and plopped down into his swivel chair with a huff, then letting it roll him over to his main computer. "What prison are you at?" He started up the monitor and tossed his destroyed stress ball over his shoulder.

The Xandarian one.

Anthony groaned. "Again? Stop going to Xandar! They know you're a war criminal!"

It was just a little treason, don't be such a bitch.

"It's not the crimes, it's the fact that you keep going to the places where you know you'll be arrested. I'm a felon on at least 12 planets, but at least I'm smart enough to avoid them," Anthony pointed out, tapping the correct coordinates into the computer before dragging out the 3D model of the building and spinning it around in his hands. "But I guess it's better than one we've never broken out of before. Even though you'll probably be locked up twice as much and have three times as many guards making sure you don't get out. Fun. Really really fun." Anthony double tapped the side of his glasses to increase the volume on her end. "Where are you right now?"

I'm in line for my mugshot. My wrists are locked together with power dampers and there's a guard ready to taser me if I take a wrong step, but besides that I'm pretty free. So I was able to tap the piece with my shoulder and they just think I'm crazy talking to myself. Same place as last time.

The young scientist increased the size of the hologram prison until he spotted the room she was talking about and he then pulled it out before pushing it back into the computer. The camera footage from that room immediately popped up. Due to Frigga being arrested so frequently, he had already programmed the entire hologram with the codes needed to access both their camera and security system. It just made the whole process a lot simpler. "Alright I'm in." Anthony rolled forward in the chair and squinted at the monitor, increasing the picture with two outstretched fingers until he could zoom in on where his sister stood waiting for her mugshot to be taken next. "Oh my god, you put up another fight didn't you?"

...Maybe.

With a groan Anthony leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You may be powerful Frigga, but you, with your wrists and neck locked, and your powers suppressed, and four Xandarian guards surrounding you, you absolutely will not win in any situation." And it was obvious she didn't win that time either. A black ring was around her eye with blood dripping down her philtrum and her chin, as well as what appeared to be another bruise on her left cheekbone.

Says the guy with more scars to mark his battles than me.

She was right. She was. But that didn't mean he liked it. "This isn't about my problems right now, this is about yours," Anthony pointed out. "Focus on listening to directions. I don't want you to get hit again." Even though she was messing up his date, that's not how he wanted to get revenge on her. He already had a better plan that was calming his anger just from knowing they'd be even in the end.

You're not breaking me out now?

"Surrounded by guards and other unstable patients and chained up to your ass? I'm not stupid. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

A sigh came from her end. Fine. But I need to get a new prison breakout guy. My current one's too slow.

Anthony laughed back. If he was suffering emotionally, then she could too. It was only fair. "I'm the best in the business honey, don't underestimate me. And I don't make you pay me. Calculating the exact price of a hacker-if we ignore the fact that they would have to be available for you at any time since you get arrested way more than the average person-with the amount of times I've helped you out, including now, that adds up to about... $14,191. And we're poor."

Fuck you.

"Fuck you too, I'm out of fourteen hundred dollars and a date. Now just pretend to be obedient for the next 20 minutes and I'll get you out."

I still hate you.

"I hate you too."

The siblings fell into silence as Frigga's arm was grabbed and she was then pushed onto the platform, right in front of the electronic height measurer that all mugshots had for some reason. In her flat shoes she rose up to the marking of 6' 1". Which did annoy Anthony a bit, as he sort of received the short end of the stick when it came to tall genetics, but he swallowed his jealousy and listened to what the officers had to say while she was scanned and her pictures were taken. ACAB might be true, but they did have some pretty interesting banter.

She's back again? one guard, who Anthony nicknamed 'Terry' on the spot, commented with a hint of sarcasm.

Yep, the other guard, nicknamed 'Jake', responded with a small *pop* on the 'p'. The bounty's big on her, I'm surprised she wasn't handed over sooner.

Well she's escaped out of here thrice, so she's obviously got some tricks up her sleeves.

Jake let out a low whistle. Three times? That's gotta be a record.

It is. She just... slips through our fingers every single time. I don't know how she does it. Maybe with an accomplice or something, something that our camera's can't detect, maybe a brother or a parent or a friend, but there's no way they'll get through this a fourth time.

The two space cops laughed and assumedly bumped their fists together based on the small popping noise that came from the other end. Anthony only smirked and then tuned out their annoying voices when it moved to annoying prison stuff to then jot down the information typed out on the wall where she stood, describing her ethnicity, criminal background (there was a lot of that), special powers, descriptive marks, etc etc. He didn't look up when she was told to turn to her side.

You're paying attention, right? I can hear you writing something, Frigga suddenly interrupted.

"I have to record all the information they have on you to figure out if it can possibly be exploited. I'm organized Frigga, and anything can be important."

Frigga just groaned. Just get me out.

"Patience... is a virtue."

Patience can kiss my ass.

"You can kiss your ass goodbye if you don't shut up and follow the guards; I can see them looking at you." Although it was mostly to shut her up, he technically was telling the truth, as one of the guards broke out from the group to grab Frigga's bicep and pull her away from the mugshot space. Normal prisoners moved on their own with guards nearby, but three time escapists were snatched and moved on their own. Which Frigga wasn't used to, nor did she like. If Anthony wasn't there to bargain with her for her peace she definitely would have put up another fight and made practically everything ten times harder for herself. "I'll lead your escape plan in the direction of killing that guard," he offered as a reward if she stayed calm. A pretty useful tactic that both of them used on each other whenever something that they weren't good at was involved and needed to be done.

And it worked as usual. Frigga just huffed and pushed her shoulders back in order to hold her head high as she was walked toward where she would be temporarily staying, knowing she'd get to slaughter the person manhandling her in the end. Anthony followed them through the different rooms along the different security cameras.

More and more shackles were added as they went. A muzzle slapped on that thankfully still let her speak, new and bigger handcuffs, legs chained together to be dragged along the floor, and a full on torso restraint, all with Frigga looking more and more annoyed. It was actually pretty funny. Not that Anthony would say that aloud since he knew she'd just get (rightfully) mad. Although he had clicked record a minute prior and planned to laugh his ass off in front of her later. Once no one's life (but his) was in danger.

Eventually there were enough chains on her and she had reached her single containment facility, so while one guard lifted her up from the ground, the other opened the door for her to be thrown inside like a sack of potatoes before they then slammed it shut. At that Anthony had to laugh audibly at.

Oh fuck off.

"You didn't- they just- they just fucking threw you-" Anthony struggled out, wheezing through the words due to how hard he was laughing. It was so fucking funny. "You should have seen yourselffff."

Get me out of prison quicker so I can kill you quicker.

Anthony had to take another minute or two to stop laughing before he could actually get to work. "Alright, could you describe your surroundings? I have no quick way of getting in there."

Fine. I'm in a small, most likely vibranium room, about four feet by ten feet by... 12 feet. There are some sort of magnets in the back that connect to the chains' padlocks, so as soon as I was tossed in they snapped together, so now I'm hung up kinda like Jesus Christ on the cross. The room besides the door is bare.

"Any cracks above or below the door?"

Not a thing. They really don't want me to get out of here.

"But you will. Could you describe your chains to me? I didn't get a good look when I was watching you before."

The links are about three inches across, the metal an inch thick, and the cuffs are as heavy as Jeff, being almost four inches up and one and a half inches thick. They cover most of my forearms. The color is... a dark gray with a little hint of navy blue. Uh, I should paint this scene. I think I could really piss some Christians off with it because no joke, I'm exactly positioned like Jesus was in the El Greco pai-

Silence followed for a few seconds. Anthony was planning on telling her to focus once her sentence was done and comment on her mention of Jeff, their childhood 15 pound cat, but the end of it never came. So he just zoomed in on the door and increased the volume on her side once more. "Frigga? Come in Frigga."

There wasn't even silence on the other end. Static started to come through. "What the-" Anthony's work didn't produce static. His inventions and creations didn't create static. Ever. "Frigga tell me this is a joke, what's going on?" There had been no movement at the door, and as he was forced to take Frigga's word about the room's layout, there was no other entrance to it. "Frigga. Come on."

The only reason he was snapped out of the repeated cycle of him adjusting his glasses and repeating his sister's name was because his other senses perked up and he caught the feeling of a presence behind him. A certainly unfamiliar one. But before he could even turn or react, he was snatched from behind and his whole world went black.

~~

Frigga was being manhandled again when she woke up. "Ugh, did you dickheads knock me out again?" she hissed as she twisted in her shackles, surprised to be out of her personal prison with no warning, but still angered. "I was thinking about painting, asshole." She was struck in the face (as expected) for her rudeness. At least Anthony didn't scold her for it. Could you do your best to not piss everyone off while you're vulnerable? That would be great, is what he always said. As your doctor I have to tell you that it's a stupid ass thing to do. But he said nothing.

In fact there was no sound at all from Anthony. Not even breathing. Just static...

Wait. "What's your name?" the guard holding her up by her biceps demanded before she could properly think about where her brother was. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? You guys have arrested me four times! In fact I should be asking you that, are you a new hire or something? I didn't see you the last time I was here."

The guard brought his arm back to hit her again, but that time the other one stopped him. "Her sleeve is torn. She's telling the truth; she has been arrested multiple times."

"Then explain why she isn't in the system!"

"I can't. But she's not lying, so you shouldn't hit her. Let's just bring her to the mugshot area, get a photo, and then put her in the hardcore containment facility so we can figure this stuff out on our own," he bargained with the more unstable guard.

The guard did agree after a bit more negotiating, and soon enough Frigga was brought back to the mugshot area and positioned on it. It didn't look like the same one she was in just minutes earlier. Well, it looked... similar? Yet... outdated. Like the old system they used to use. She didn't say anything aloud, as she knew that would just get her hit again, but she tried to imprint the oddities in her mind as best she could. Dammit why did Anthony get Dad's photographic memory?! she mentally hissed as details vanished from her brain almost seconds after. Why do I have to be forgetful?

"Turn."

"Yeah yeah, I know I know," Frigga grumbled, reluctantly doing as told and then eyeing the information they were presenting about her on the screen. Some of it was from the identifying marks and tears on her clothing, like her escapist status and such, but most of it had come from the special type of scanner that The Kyln owned that could identify everything from hidden objects on the body down to a being's DNA. Hers was correctly listed as 50% Terran, 50% Jotunn. Her ear piece wasn't recognized just like Anthony had designed. But, in an odd turn of events, none of her powers were listed as they usually were. Not one.

After the scan was done, leaving both the guards and the young demi-god with more questions than answers, Frigga was grabbed by the bicep and led over to a containment facility. Not her usual single one, but a seemingly group one with approximately 13 more people inside. Only a few had handcuffs. And no chains were added to her, leaving her completely open spare her wrists, which was a ridiculous oversight on their part. (There had been a lot of weird oversights on their part by then.) At least it would be an easy break out. "Anthony, are you there?"

No answer.

Frigga bent her arms and reached over to press into the ear piece in case it accidentally got turned off when she was passed out. She said her brother's name again, ignoring the looks she got from other hardened criminals inside. "If you're fucking with me you are so dead when I get home."

"Hey crazy, stop talking to yourself, some of us are trying to nap here."

The familiar voice made Frigga stop in her action and turn toward it. "Rocket?" The other guardians also laying down looked up at the call of his name. "What- what are you all doing here? You're supposed to be in New Asgard."

They all looked extremely confused. "What? Look, lady, I don't know who the hell you are or what New Asgard is," Rocket continued, reluctantly pushing up to his paws and rubbing out the flat spot in his fur, "so I guess I'd prefer for you to talk to 'Anthony' because what you're doing now is creeping me out even more."

"Okay- no. I'm not the crazy one here. Everyone and everything has been weird, and now you guys too? Come on, this isn't fair."

"Hey, isn't New Asgard that place where Thor was living before he joined us?" Quill questioned as he too sat up.

Rocket only groaned. "Great, let's get more people in on this conversation. Peter, please don't enable her, she's obviously lost her head."

"What do you mean she lost her head, her head's right there on her shoulders!" Drax chimed in, getting up and gently shaking her back and forth with a grip on her shoulder to show that her head was really on there.

Frigga was used to Drax's typical maneuvering and his deafness to sarcasm, so him moving her back and forth was the least of her worries at that point. It was the others. "Mantis, come on, you remember me, right?" Frigga said in exasperation, being the only one in the room who was completely lost making her a bit worked up. Especially since she didn't have Anthony in her ear. He was always with her when she was arrested; in one way or another.

Mantis seemed to sense this and walked over to press her open palm to her revealed bicep. "You feel... desperate."

"Well I am desperate because I'm the only sane one here but you're all looking at me as if I'm the crazy one. Rocket, Quill, Drax, Mantis... Groot! Come on, you all know me," she went on, just waiting and practically praying that one of them would grin and tell her it was just a stupid joke. But that didn't happen. In fact the only change in their expressions was Groot looking up and murmuring something about it being too loud for him to play his game. "Oh come on!" With a huff she plopped down on the floor and rested her head against the wall's cool steel, bending her elbows again to cover her eyes with her hands and hoping that it would all just disappear. But, as one might guess, that didn't happen, and in fact she felt someone move over and sit next to her. Most likely out of pity.

It was Quill, of course. "What's your name?"

Maybe they were hit with some memory loss thing. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation. So Frigga opened her eyes and turned her head toward him. "Frigga."

His eyes widened a bit and Frigga got a little too excited. "Do you finally recognize me?"

"No- sorry, but that's just this- guy that I know's mother's name. Frigga," he gently explained with a slight blush and a nervous scratch at the back of his head.

The movements were a little confusing at first, but then Frigga realized that they were coming from the mention of Thor, and didn't have to do with her at all. But why would he act like that? Thor and he had been dating for decades. Since before she and her brother were born. She and baby Anthony were at their wedding. He was in a little blue tux and she in a little green dre- wait a fucking second. "Quill... What year is it?"

"What do you mean? It's 2024. What else would it be?"

Frigga gasped and jumped to her feet. It all clicked at once. Why the guards didn't know her. Why all the technology and architecture seemed older and outdated. Why her own uncle and the guardians didn't recognize her. She hadn't even been born yet. But the only question still there was... how? And also, why? But in order to have a prayer at answering those questions, she had to get back to Earth where she knew the Avengers as well as her parents would be. Although they technically weren't her parents yet. God are they even dating yet? It didn't matter. She just needed to get there and hope that Anthony was there too. The only problem (besides every other problem that she had) was that she had never escaped a prison without him before. They could only do it with each other. It seemed like a major roadblock... until she glanced over at the raccoon.

"Hey, Rocket, could you remind me again of how many prison's you've broken out of?"

Rocket, who had clearly been trying to ignore them but was just accepting his fate as his name was called once more, turned toward them with crossed arms. "About 24. What's it to ya?"

A small smile spread over Frigga's face. "And how many times out of here?"

"Just the one."

"Great. If you bring me to Earth, I'll help you get out."

He scoffed as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "And why would I need your help out of here?"

"Because I've escaped here three times myself. And, you don't have Gamora, nor is Groot an adult as he was last time. Earth isn't even that far from here, just a few jumps, so why not pad your escape with me- a demi-god by the way -and just take me there in return?" she bargained, getting more and more calm and excited as her thoughts clicked together. Sure, everything was still weird, but at least she was able to get a grip on her situation.

Based on his extremely annoyed expression, Rocket knew that she was right and that they could use the help, yet was extremely reluctant to admit it. "Demi-god? We already got a half celestial, I don't think we need any more half- things," he tried to point out.

But Quill was on her side. "No, no, I think we should hear her out. Especially since I don't even have the powers of a half celestial anymore. If she's escaped from here three times then she could really be a big help for us. They've changed a lot of things since we were last here, and we're in a new area. And, although I'm not sure how she knows about Gamora and Groot, she's right about that too."

Rocket snarled as Frigga smirked and raised her arms up at him in a shrug. "The man's got a point."

"That man is also an idiot. But fine. You can join us, and we'll bring you to Earth."

Frigga grinned wider as Rocket moved closer and removed what seemed to be some sort of bobby pin from the back of his head, making her cuffs fall off in under a minute. She rubbed her sore wrists and thanked him. "We should probably pick up Thor from Earth anywhere, I'm pretty sure he's still there with the Avengers," Quill pointed out as he joined them and glanced at the red rings on her skin. "Why were those so tight?"

"Well, due to my powers they need to restrict me so I don't just slaughter them all and escape like that, and they usually do that with overly tight power dampers," she explained to him as she continued to try to get the blood flowing normally back into her hands. "You get used to it. Especially since they get steadily tighter and tighter due to the guards' fear in me increasing every time. I killed a bunch last time so the chains applied doubled. Until I woke up in 2024 of course, but I'm ignoring that for now."

Quill very obviously had no idea what she was talking about, but as he wasn't one to judge with making sense he just smiled at her. "Good, you can do it again."

"After this stunt? Fuck yeah I'm going it again."

<finish prison scene and go to anthony>

Stephen had no idea why he was being called to Avengers Tower. Except for the occasional meeting that he was forced to attend that he usually managed to escape early from, he had never been asked to go to their living and working quarters. So he couldn't imagine what the problem was. "What's the situation and how can I get out of it quicker?" was the first thing that fell out of his mouth once he stepped out of the portal. He was met with the stares of all six Avengers and Loki. Great. "What the hell happened?"

"We found a kid."

Definitely not what Stephen expected Tony to say. "What?!"

"Okay that was a shitty explanation. Just look." The group parted to reveal a body rested on their couch with handcuffs around his unconscious wrists. The only indicator that he was alive was the small rise and fall of his chest. He looked young, easily 18, with dark brown hair that slightly fell over his forehead, and glasses over eyes of a hidden color. Stephen noticed most of all was that he had two thick scars on the dorsal side of his hands; one for each. "We found him in our meeting room. There's no identifying items on him, and his fingerprints aren't in the database, so we have basically no idea who he is."

"So what can I do?" Stephen questioned.

"Ask Loki. He's the one who requested you."

Only then did Stephen look up to lock eyes with his fellow sorcerer. One that he had never really gotten along with. "You?"

"To be fair I didn't request you, I just said it would be useful to have another magic user here. John Doe here has magic practically radiating off of him," Loki tried to explain without making it seem like he wanted Stephen there, hints of forced annoyance and real nervousness leaking through. The 'John Doe' reference was imprinted in the sorcerer supreme's mind without a clear reason. Since when does he know Midgardian terms? "Can't you sense it?"

Stephen could. There was a large amount of power coming from him. "It's a multitude of different types. I can't even distinguish them; they're all so mixed up."

Loki agreed. "I was planning on picking through his memories, but due to the mixture of magic and power, I thought it'd be more safe if I waited for you to hold him down if anything goes wrong." An uncomfortable amount of silence passed between the two, unknown whether to continue genuinely or be sarcastic and snarky. "Not that I think you're capable of it, but you're sort of better than nothing."

There it was. The Avengers looked around at each other as they were described as 'nothing', the sorcerers forgetting about anything that wasn't the other, as usual. "You're very kind, Loki," Stephen drawled out with a sarcastic smile.

"I am, aren't I?" With that he jumped over the couch and kneeled down next to the body, gingerly going to place his fingers on his forehead.

But just as they brushed his skin the entire tower shook lightly and made everyone look up. FRIDAY spoke up to fill them in. The Guardians have arrived, sir. And they have a guest on board.

"Well that was quick," Thor murmured under his breath. "They're getting better at escaping."

"Were they in prison again?" Bruce questioned.

Thor nodded back. "I'll go greet them, you guys stay here and figure out his identity." With a small wave the god of thunder then left the room, and all other attendants watched until he left the room and then they all turned back toward the boy on the couch. Except- oh. Fuck.

"Where did he go?" Loki whispered.

"I'm right here."

The entire group swiveled to see the boy formerly laying on the couch sitting in a chair behind them all, his legs and arms crossed tightly, handcuffs done, and a stern expression on his face. "And I'd like to know what the hell is going on."

"You're the one who somehow got into our tower, why don't you explain it to us?" Clint shot back.

The boy only looked at him with a face void of all amusement. And with eyes that were a colored a blood red.

[chainrattle]

info on seven/rk under the cut !

pre-maw ( arc zero ) ; the runaway kid wasn't always some nameless face trapped within the depths of the maw ; like any child, he came from a family. a beloved child of one to a perfectly normal grandfather and grandmother. his parents whereabouts didn't bother him, since the devoted care of his grandparents was enough. during his childhood he was spoiled rotten, lavished with gifts due to being the only child. one tragic day, however, changed everything when his grandmother passed away due to unknown causes. despite the horrors of the world, outside their little ranch far away from cities and boats, his grandfather went out to bury his wife where she had asked to be buried.

left all alone, the boy waited for a total of a week before he set off to find his elder. a mistake on his part. while searching desperately for his remaining family, the boy was attacked— someone aimed a hit on his head that knocked him out cold. a swelling bump, oozing of blood, now on his head. this hit made him remember little of his past when he finally awoke on the maw. the images of his family now hazy faces that only became more distorted by the day. while he has no clue who gave him his head injury, it certainly caused escaping the maw to be harder.

( in later loops, the head wound heals and becomes less of a injury— making it easier. but there is still a scar on his head from it )

canon ' the maw ' ( arc one ) ; everything that takes place here is when the runaway boy is within the metal walls of the maw. the sequence of events follows canon closely, with him waking up in the children's room and escaping his prison— roaming the depths and killing the granny with his quick thinking. he's captured by the janitor and briefly encounters the feared heroine six before taken away to be moved to the kitchen. an attempt he easily escapes, though he falls once more back to the bottom. calling upon the nomes to help him, rk finds solace in his only friends when they get the furnace ( or known as the 'heart' of the maw ) started. when he escapes through an elevator, the lady is below him.

finally, the boy is in the lady's quarters. where he fends off from shadow kids with his flashlight and finds the statues needed to escape. he makes the fatal mistake of catching the lady staring at her reflection, however, and this proves to be his end. the moment she catches him, she twists him into a nome and he's destined to waddle off, becoming six's meal like the loop wants him to be.

canon divergent maw. in most threads, the story will become canon divergent as the boy interacts with others aboard the maw ; be it monsters or children. sometimes he will meet the same fate despite his partnerships ; becoming a nome for six to eat. sometimes six doesn't eat him. sometimes the boy in blue actually escapes, or the lady kills him where he stands. these different scenarios occur after the first loop, where stuff starts to alter— slowly, but surely.

canon divergent ' pale city ' ( arc two ) ; entering pale city only occurs if he escapes the maw, be it alone or with a partner. either way, seven ( a name he earned on the maw that he heard whispered about ) typically ends up separated ; isolated and alone in a foreign city. in most loops, it's rare he encounters the hunter considering he starts in pale city— but there have been a few times where he travels to that location and gets caught himself. a consistency, however, is that the boy stumbles upon the school quickly. with a hunger for company, he's easy prey for the bullies. while entering the building, he's relentlessly pranked, harassed, and physically harmed— but he pushes on.

not a solid choice to make considering his persistence and cowardice nature ( he can't bring himself to hurt other children ) is what makes the bullies want to keep him. brought to the teacher, seven is forced to stay. it takes five to six weeks for him to finally wiggle his way out of his hell ; be it alone or because of the help of another. with new scars to carry he keeps off the grid for a good while, avoiding big buildings like the hospital until he needs to treat some festering wounds.

by the time he gets to the doctor's in most loops, six and mono have already taken care of him ( or they're currently in the building when he arrives ) and he's free to only deal with the mannequins. but for the most part, he's in and out fast. being sneaky and cautious makes the hospital scene a little easier for him to handle. there's nothing significant in the building for him, though he does linger in the room with all those markings for the longest time.

in most scenarios, it's rare for seven to make it to the tower or lay eyes on the thin man. by the time he's in the streets again, six has usually dropped mono and repeated the cycle. which results in seven dying from the viewers so he can start back in the maw with six. seven is only freed from the loop when it's broken by six and mono ; forcing him to rely on others for his own fate ( and how messed up is that? )

more canon divergent pale city. when seven's in pale city, a lot of things aren't consistent due to the fact he isn't supposed to make it this far. sometimes he sticks with a partner the whole time, other times he's alone the whole way through. occasionally he sticks with mono and six until after the doctor's area ; typically dying in the collapsing building or, if he's lucky, at the hands of monster six ( again, he dies if the loop is to restart, he can never make it to the end with mono and six unless the loop is going to be broken ).

DUE TO THE LOOP in general, and due to seven mattering little in the grand scheme of things ; there's only some consistencies. his past always remains the same, he's always given the head injury, he awakes on the maw first, kills the granny, and is gifted the companionship of the nomes. sometimes the lady kills him, sometimes she turns him into the very thing he loves so much, and sometimes six eats him. the only thing that remains the same in every loop in pale city is seven being trapped in the school ; everything else changes for the most part.

› › » › ›

seven & six ; a friendship that forms despite it all! his fate is intertwined with six's, being the nome she eats when she's at her starving point. but there's more to them than that— with seven seeing bright yellow and feeling familiarity swirl in his chest. she reminds him of the horrors within the maw, yet six also makes him think of doing the impossible. out of all his companions, six is the one he will have always known the longest— even if he's only known her at a glance before. though it's true that the girl's powers scare him, make him debate her morals even, this doesn't stop the runaway from loving six. he can't quite get pass her powers, or ( if he learns ) the fact she ate him, but he can love her despite it. and he always does. for her sake, he even keeps his feelings on her supernatural aspect quite so he doesn't make her feel bad. also, she's a comfort to him due to their shared experiences in the maw— something that they mostly share alone.

seven & mono ; an unlikely bond that should've never formed ( in the loop's eyes ) but it blooms nonetheless. seven's never hung out with many boys before, so he's very shy and nervous around mono upon first meeting him. his typical cold behavior melts fast as he feels the pathetic urge to impress mono, though he tries to hide this well. they both typically have fun swapping stories about six, both viewing her in a slightly different light— which makes it even more fun to discuss. at first that's all they seem to have to talk about ; six this, six that! seven clings to this conversation topic because he wants to keep talking to mono, but they settle into other topics eventually. forming their own experiences together ( like saving six perhaps ) helps make their bond separate from their one with six. of course, like with their mutual friend, seven is uncomfortable by mono's powers— and would definitely be disgusted by the fact mono becomes the thin man. however, he keeps this to himself again. trying to get over his issues with mono during his own time since he really does like him.

seven & five ; five is the kid that seven never feels threatened by, or envious of. she seems to love the nomes just as much as he does, which is something that will tie him to any child, but she also doesn't have powers ; like mono and six have. that fact comforts him in her presence, knowing that she's ordinary just like him. she made it this far by survival skills alone and he's impressed by this fact, along with being taken with her humourous and determined nature. all in all, the boy quickly relates to her and lets five in, her presence lightening the burden on his shoulders. she makes him laugh and smile harder than most and he quite likes their history with water. these two have a lot of things that glue them together, relating in ways seven can't with most of the other kids.

seven & the nomes ; with little rememberance of his actual family, the nomes have fit together to make him a new one. there's a sense of belonging that tugs him to the nomes, feeling understood and seen by the peculiar creatures. the nomes understand what its like to fail, to never be able to taste the fresh air of new lands. seven sees himself in each of them and, despite the nomes usually not being in any real danger, the boy is fiercely protective of his new family. they know his every thought, constantly spilling his deepest thoughts and secrets to them because it's easier when he knows the nomes can't tell anyone. there's lots of trust in this dynamic, and seven sees himself as one of the nomes.

[himbo-buckley]

Why do you think the show treats bucks past/mistakes as SOOO much worse then everyone else’s when in reality most of the characters on the show(Bobby, Eddie, Shannon,Doug, Abby,Hen, Athena and to a lesser extent Chimney) have done objectively worse shit then he did

Hello, friend!

Okay, first of all, thank you for the question, you really made me think there! I had to like put on my Evan Buckley playlist and take a shower to think about it (it’s a process okay?)

Now, while I wholeheartedly agree with you that anything that Buck 1.0 did was no where near as bad as the stuff everyone else pulled, I *do* suing your friend and by extension your whole friend group because you are mad at one of them - not matter if it was justified or not - *is* definitely up there with cheating on your wife or lying to a woman to get laid.

(Also the fact that you omitted Maddie from the above list is very valid, friend!)

I think generally it comes down to three factors, which are the characters who point out Buck’s mistakes for us, his age and this being a TV show.

I would argue that while we see Hen, Athena and Chimney point out some of Buck’s mistakes, aside from Athena in the pilot were she was more than justified in her yelling, it’s usually about making fun of him. Buck, Hen and Chimney especially have a sibling relationship and in such a relationship you do make fun of each other, while Athena in general likes to point out every one else’s mistakes.

Though I do have to say that Athena, next to Buck, has had to endure the most consequences for her actions what with being suspended several times in the course of the show - it’s just that due to her character it doesn’t stick as much as it does with Buck. Also, due to her not being a firefighter like the others her storylines are far more separate from the rest of the main cast, meaning there is less screen time available to do anything about her mistakes.

Which is the first factor that plays into why Buck’s mistakes get pointed out so much more, because they always tie into the main story and are connected to most of the other main characters - because Hen cheating on her wife, Chimney lying to Tatiana or even Eddie doing his best fight club impression were all bad things but generally had hardly any influence on the lives of everyone else. Buck suing them - or even just stealing the firetruck to have sex with a girl - did.

Also due to this there is a lot more available screen time to be dedicated to discussing the things because it affects and involves the others as well.

The other characters we generally (and mostly) see pointing out Buck’s mistakes are Maddie, Eddie, Bobby and Buck himself.

Maddie of course is Buck’s sister and she is older by a few years and feels responsible for him and for taking care of him, so her pointing out when Buck does things wrong comes from a place of concern and trying to keep him from making any worse mistakes.

With Eddie, I think, there is this thing where in my opinion Eddie thought Buck couldn’t really do any wrong until the lawsuit happened. Buck is after all his most trusted person and I do think Eddie has the highest opinion of him - which is why when Buck did let him down it hit way harder than it would have with any one else, because with them Eddie expected it. Also nearly all scenes where Eddie points out Buck’s mistakes, aside from the grocery store fight and the first apology scene, are either him teasing Buck or deflecting because of his own feelings, like in the second apology.

Now Bobby actually ties in with the third factor which is age:

Buck is the only one who begins the series new to the job and unfinished - of course Eddie is new to firefighting as well but the show does put a lot of effort into showing *and* telling us that he already knows his shit in 2.01 and is not an actual probie due to being an army badass. Buck on the other hand side is seen at times struggling with his job and the challenges it presents in Season 1, like in 1.02 or when he tells Abby about his shaking hands in 1.05.

And Buck when we meet him is only 26, has probably never had a real job before (and by real I mean one that actually means something to him and he wants to built a career on because bartending IS a real job) and is in general a little immature, while the other characters have all been at the jobs a while and know what they are doing and how to deal with it, which is why Bobby isn’t as worried about them.

Because no matter what I think about Bobby’s relationship with Buck, I *do* think he feels more responsible for him than he feels for Chimney and Hen and Eddie, because Buck *his* probie and it’s Bobby’s job to teach him and form him. Also Buck really looks up to him. The others all have prior experience they can draw from to make their decisions while Buck at least in Season 1 still needs someone to guide him because he doesn’t have that (which is by the way the source of all the conflict in Season 3 because by now Buck *does* have the experience and *can* make the choice himself but Bobby doesn’t see that).

And because of this Bobby is more inclined to point out Buck’s mistakes as he is less his equal so to speak as the other firefighters / characters who are considered proper adults and firefighters from the get go.

It’s also why Bobby gets involved in his private life way more than he does with the others because he does have somewhat fatherly feelings for him and because Buck, who is always looking for guidance, lets him.

The last and maybe most important point is Buck himself pointing out past mistakes, I’m thinking for example of him referencing to Buck 1.0 in 2.08 or apologising several times to Eddie. You see, friend, sadly our Buck does not see the amazing person he is but does in fact have horrible self esteem and abandonment issues leading to him being a little codependent and far more willing to buy into anything that someone else has to say about him and every and all critic hitting him way harder than it would anyone else and not trusting his judgement sometimes - think of Athena who does suffer consequences as well but just brushes them off because she considered herself to be in the right, while Buck, even when he thinks he is in the right as seen with the lawsuit, lets others opinions of his actions colour that (THE GROCERY STORE! THE GROCERY STORE! THE GROCERY STORE!).

(sidenote: I’m a little mad we never got to see and hear Maddie’s opinion on the lawsuit as she was the only impartial character. It could have been interesting)

Now, a few more things before I let you go:

Bobby obviously hasn’t suffered a consequence since Season 1, which is why I dislike him so much and also am waiting patiently on @chimbuckleys who is currently writing a meta on this exact thing, much like Abby who due to being played by Connie Britton is in the right even when she clearly is in the wrong because the showrunners love the actress.

Doug, since you mentioned him, I would say suffered some pretty dire consequences what with being killed and all - which is also why we might not see anyone point out how bad his actions were. (Also a wife beater is objectively bad and we don’t need the show to keep telling us this, so they give us a ‚the best revenge is to move on’-storyline with Maddie instead.)


Shannon is sort of the same problem what with her being dead. Also I do think the show points out several times how bad her actions were, specifically through Eddie *not* trusting her with Christopher until his hand is sort of forced - which can be contrasted to him letting Buck see Christopher almost immediately after they made up because Eddie does understand by 3.09 why Buck did what he did and he has forgiven him. (Also Eddie isn’t the most verbal person at the best of times and anytime feelings are involved isn’t his best of times which is why we don’t hear him point out her mistakes all the time to her or anyone else.) (Also the whole trying to be a family again thing.) (Plus we should mention his parents who *do* point out her mistakes every episode we see them in.)

And to round this up: The elephant in the room which is Hen and that fucking surgery in the ambulance which I didn’t mind to much on the first watch because I bought into the show just brushing it off but has since become a source of rage and anger for me which is why I am putting it in the same box as the therapist scene in 1.02 which is labeled: Shit the writers wrote because they needed the characters to realise something but didn’t really think about the implications. (The lawsuit keeps getting put in and taken out as well)

ANYWAYS, I hope this „short“ ramble is a satisfying answer, friend and you’ll come back! It is a very layered question and I’m sure if you ask another meta writer they will give you a very different answer

(also I am expecting some hijacking as I think this is a topic a lot of people have feelings on so please, feel free!)

[musette22]

Kiss the Boy

Pairing: Chris Evans x Sebastian Stan (Evanstan)

Rating: G

Word count: 1419

A/N: Fic number two in my 700 followers celebration! I’ll be posting a short fic every Sunday for the next four weeks. A while ago (like, last year lol) I had a conversation with someone on here (pretty sure it was @safire182??) about that interview where Sebastian admitted he tried picking up girls with his rendition of ‘Under the Sea’ from the Little Mermaid. I wanted to see what would happen when he tried it on Chris. So, it took a little while, but here’s the fic - short but (hopefully) sweet! ❤

Read it on AO3

The blinds in Chris’s trailer are adorned with a hundred and twelve tiny, printed daisies. He knows this because he’s counted them. Twice.

With a heavy sigh, he picks up a pillow and puts it over his face, idly considering smothering himself with it. He’s just so bored.

He doesn’t usually get bored because there’s always some adventurer’s biography to read, some political travesty to rant about, but in his current hungover state he doesn’t think he can summon the mental energy for any of that. They’re doing a night shoot for The First Avenger today, meaning all the cast has the morning off. Which suits him fine in principle, since most of them went out on a bit of a bender the night before, but unfortunately, Chris is incapable of sleeping in when he’s had too much to drink. He’s been awake for three hours and already he’s going out of his mind.

On a whim, he digs his phone out from between the couch cushions and shoots Sebastian a quick text.

C: Bro, I’m bored. Are you bored?

Sebastian replies within thirty seconds.

S: OMG I AM SO BORED

C: Wanna come to my trailer and be bored together?

S: Omw

---

Being bored together is a lot less awful than being bored alone, but it still doesn’t change the fact that they’re both still bored as fuck. Usually, they’d be chatting a mile a minute, talking about everything from work to philosophy to space stuff, but today… You know, hangover.

“Let’s watch a movie?”

Slowly, Chris turns his head to look at Sebastian, who’s slumped next to him on the couch, long, denim-clad legs stretched out in front of him.

“Sebastian,” he says gravely, “you’re a genius.”

Huffing, Sebastian counters, “If I was, I wouldn’t have had those last three shots of tequila yesterday, now would I?”

Chris makes a face. “Meh, maybe not,” he grins. “So, what d’you wanna see?”

Seb rubs his tired eyes. “Nothing with explosions, please. My head’s doing a pretty good job of that all on its own.”

“Tell me about it,” Chris groans, cracking his neck and shoulders, then blows out a slow breath before casually suggesting, “So, Disney movie?”

Sebastian chuckles. When Chris just keeps looking at him expectantly, however, it seems to dawn on him that Chris is serious. “Really?” he asks, surprised, before suddenly snapping his fingers. “Oh yeah! You’re a huge Disney nerd.” He grins impishly. “How could I forget?”

Chris doesn’t even bother denying it. It’s not exactly a secret at this point, and besides, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Disney movies are works of art and he’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.

He hands Sebastian his laptop, open on Netflix. “You pick.” He’s feeling magnanimous.

A few minutes of humming and hawing later, Sebastian decides on The Little Mermaid.

“Oohh, excellent choice!” Chris crows, punching the air.

Sebastian winces. “It is?”

Chris nods and claps a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “Did you know,” he says, leaning closer as if he’s letting him in on a secret, “that I know all the words to this one?”

---

Chris wasn’t kidding. He basically recites the whole first quarter of the movie verbatim, including all the different voices. Sebastian is reluctantly impressed.

When the first notes to Under the Sea start playing, Seb is suddenly hit with a memory from his childhood.

“You know,” he says, turning to Chris with a lazy grin, “I used to try and pick up girls with this song when I was little.”

Chris gives him a quizzical look. “As, like, Prince Eric? He’s not in this scene, is he?”  

Sebastian blinks. Does… Does Chris think he looks like Prince Eric? He can’t help but preen a little at that. He supposes he has got the hair for it. Still, that’s not what he meant, so he clarifies,

“No, no, as, you know – Sebastian?” He snaps his hands in his best impression of a crab.

“Oh my god,” Chris breathes, delighted. “That’s incredible. So how did that work out for baby Seb, huh? I bet all the pretty girls wanted to hold your pincers, am I right?”

Seb rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I wish,” he sighs dramatically, letting his head fall back against the backrest. “It was not a success.”

That makes Chris’ forehead furrow up into a frown, which Sebastian can’t help but find endearing.

“You’re shitting me,” Chris says. “Surely girls would totally dig that?” He huffs out a laugh and adds, “I know I would.”

Suddenly, an excited glint appears in his eye.

Uh oh, Sebastian thinks, and sure enough, a moment later, Chris pokes him in the side and orders, “Try it on me!”

When Sebastian just makes a face, Chris, the bastard, turns the puppy dog eyes on him.

“Aw, come on, Seb,” he says, pleading. “I’m dying to experience this thing first-hand, buddy. You’ve gotta give me a sneak peek.”

Sebastian stares hard at Chris for a second, then lets out a sigh.

“Fine,” he says, sitting up and reaching for the laptop. He skips back to the beginning of the song and warns, “You asked for it, pal,” before clearing his throat and starting to sing along.

Although, ‘singing’ may be a strong word for it. Mostly, he’s just goofing around, imitating his crustacean namesake, trying and largely failing at a Jamaican accent. To be fair, he does know most of the words, and the ones he doesn’t he just sort of na na na’s, and it’s not long before Chris is cracking up, head thrown back and clutching his chest. His laugh is so infectious that it’s a testament to Seb’s acting prowess that he doesn’t break down laughing too, just keeps on singing, determined now to give Chris the full Sebastian experience.

When the song gets to the The newt play the flute bit, Seb decides to crank his performance up a notch. Turning to face Chris, he spreads his arms wide and basically starts serenading him, throwing in some shoulder shimmies and exaggerated winks for effect. That only makes Chris laugh harder, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes now as he lets himself sink back into the cushions.

As he nears the grand finale, Seb plants one hand on the back of the couch and hovers over Chris, who’s sliding slowly onto his back, dropping sideways until he’s slumped along the length of the couch, clutching his stomach. 

“That's why it's hotter, Under the water,” Seb croons loudly, singing the last lines directly into Chris’ face. “Ya we in luck here, Down in the muck here, Under the seaaaaaaaaaaaa!” 

As the last note dies out, it’s replaced by a rather abrupt silence.

All at once, Sebastian becomes acutely aware of the fact that he’s basically lying on top of Chris, as well as of all the places their bodies are touching. Since they’re both still breathing hard and there is also only about an inch or so between their faces, Sebastian can feel Chris’s warm breath fanning his face. Chris is still smiling, cheeks flushed and blue eyes sparkling, and his lips… Have they always been this pink?

Sebastian feels flustered all of a sudden, his eyes flitting restlessly over Chris’ features, feeling oddly like he’s seeing them for the first time. His heart is thudding heavily in his chest, and he’s still breathing faster than usual, but all of that’s no doubt due to his rousing performance. Nothing to do with his sudden proximity to Chris, no sir.

A few seconds tick by in which they wordlessly stare at each other. Then, gradually, very slowly, Chris’s smile starts to fade, and Sebastian watches in fascination as the look in Chris’s eyes turns from amused to curious, and then to… intent?

He has a split second to think holy shit, before Chris is surging up and pressing a quick kiss to his lips, there and gone again.

Sebastian sucks in a sharp breath, staring down at Chris with wide eyes, heart pounding in his ears.

“Wh- what was that?” he asks weakly, voice cracking on the last word. His lips are tingling, the phantom touch of Chris’ mouth on his.

Chris blinks up at him, looking a little shocked himself.

“Guess it worked,” he whispers, after a beat.

“Oh,” Seb nods, dazed, and then Chris is burying his fingers in his hair and pulling him down for another kiss.

Sebastian lets him.

[imaginesforyourfandom]

Loving Her: Alex Morgan - Chapter 14

A/N: This is dedicated to a couple of my craclheads. Also, an official WARNING is in effect. There are some heavy topics in the story so please be careful. Better safe than sorry.

(Y/N) POV:

I was numb. I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. I never thought I could feel pain like this again. It was one thing when just a few people in my life knew. It’s all different now. The world knows. They know what I am. A disappointment. An abomination. Never really being good enough. A burden. Selfish. The thoughts that plague me when I’m alone. They are out there for everyone to know now.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Becky asked me as I shook my head.

“No.” I said shortly as she sighed. I walked away from her towards the field without talking to anyone.

I knew that it wasn’t their fault that this has happened, but I didn’t want the pity that they were looking at me with. I have never done well with being given sympathy. I just wanted to continue training and keep going in my day like usual, but I had a feeling that they weren’t going to let me. The looks that I was being given were starting to become extremely annoying. I know they have all seen the video and had heard the words used to describe me. Certain people had made a point to avoid me completely due to a certain reference in the video which I thought to be a smart decision. I didn’t have the patience to deal with anyone right now.

I wanted nothing more than to disappear and fall off the face of the planet. I wanted to go and crawl into bed and never come out again. It’s hard enough trying to push out all the bad memories that had found its way back into my head. My emotions had gone into overdrive as all the past pain I have felt resurfaced and overloaded my feelings. My head had yet to stop hurting and the pain in my chest had yet to subside.

As our practice started, I could already feel the tension starting to become too much. I was barely allowed to train due to having my hamstring be a little injured. Which means that my usual stress reliever was taken away from me.

“Light training” Dawn said to me as I nodded. For most of training, I was off by myself. I had started to get lost in my thoughts. This really was my worst nightmare come true. No one could fix this. No one could take away the pain I was feeling in my heart.

All the memories of that time in my life have resurfaced and has completely thrown me off of everything. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. All I want to do is crawl into bed and shut the world out. I don’t know how to face anyone outside of the people who hadn’t known about this.

“Hey.” I turned towards Alex who had a soft look on her face. She walked towards me pulling me in for a hug. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not” I mumbled as she nodded her head. She pulled away and gave me a sad look.

“I know.” She said as I stared at her. I wanted to accept her comfort, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to be comforted right now.

She was called back to practice as I continued doing the light training on the side. Eventually, I was able to walk back into the locker room. I elected not to shower or anything. Doing light training was a piece of cake for me…so barely any sweat. Worst comes to worst I’ll take one later.

I started feeling irritation build as everyone continued giving me concerned looks. I was so not in the mood. I grabbed my stuff before exiting the locker room. I made my way to the bus that we were using as I found my seat and sunk down a little. The ride back to the hotel felt short as I immediately made my way to Alex and I’s room.

I walked in and placed my stuff on the bed as I tried to keep my composure. I wanted to scream and yell and destroy something as I felt my emotions build. I felt arms wrap around my waist as Alex rested her head on my back.

“Please talk to me.” She said though she sounded like she was pleading with me.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I said as she sighed. “It is what it is.”

She placed a soft kiss on the back of my neck as I closed my eyes. I was trying so hard to let myself be comforted by her, but it wasn’t happening. I needed more time before I could accept it from her or anyone else.

“I’m here if you change your mind.” I nodded my head as she stood for another moment cuddling into my back as I rummaged through my bag. “I’m going to go see Kelley and them for a few minutes, but I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.” I mumbled as she gave me one more kiss before exiting the room.

I stood for a moment as soon as she was gone. The silence in the room was deafening as I tried to fight back the tears. I bit my lip as I tried taking deep breaths. My throat was tightening up and I was finding it harder to breath. I didn’t realize how much I needed to be alone until right now.

I have been surrounded by people since the day started and haven’t had a time to really be alone and process. I glanced down at my phone as I scrolled through the messages from Sebastian and Santiago. They had been trying to talk to me all day, but I had yet to answer them. I don’t know if it was shame or embarrassment even though I knew out of everyone they would understand the most.

As my thoughts continued going at a mile a minute, my breathing was becoming shallower as I started feeling nauseous. I ran into the bathroom emptying what little contents of breakfast I had into the toilet. I fell to the grounded as I started sobbing to myself.

After a few minutes, I had stopped crying for the most part. I had yet to actually watch the video that had ruined my life and I guess now would be the time. I pulled my phone and out pulled up the video that was still trending on twitter. I clicked on it as a fresh wave of tears hit me.

“Welcome back to CBN news as we are currently joined by Brian (Y/LN), the father of current US Soccer Star (Y/N) (Y/LN). Thank you for joining us Mr. (Y/LN).”

“Oh, please call me Brian.” He said as I felt more tears fall. I wasn’t even trying to stop it from happening at this point.

“So, I understand that you and your daughter are quite estranged? Is that right?”

“Yes, we haven’t spoken in some time…”

“Can you explain why that is?”

“If I can be frank, she chose the life of sin over her family.” I paused the video as I continued sobbing. Once I was a little more composed, I pressed play. “She is the abomination of our family.”

“So, does that mean that you have not been viewing this addition of the Women’s World Cup?”

“I have been watching. As has my whole family…obviously we want to support our women’s team, but with so much controversy surrounding the team and having to watch my daughter play…I won’t lie I have found it quite difficult to enjoy this wonderful game.”

“Bullshit.” I mumbled to myself as I continued watching the video.

“Look, I’ll be honest with you. I love my daughter. If she were to give up this life of sin, I would happily accept her back into my life. All I want is my little girl to come home.” I clenched my jaw as it started playing pictures of me when I was younger. Pictures of me with my family and my siblings. “This is not the life I had envisioned for my family…and when (Y/N) is ready to stop running around playing these silly games…she will be welcomed with open arms.”

“So, do you support her and this team at the World Cup?” the interviewer asked as my dad seemed to think about it for a moment.

“It would be anti-patriotic of me to say that I don’t support my countries national team in a world tournament…but if I could change anything…I don’t necessarily think I would want to send my daughter to represent our great nation…I would prefer a player who is closer to their religion…maybe a Jaelene Hinkle.” I watched them finish out the interview as the screen went black.

It was definitely worse than I thought it was. I felt the pain in my body start to become unbearable as I tried to find some control over myself. The more I tried the harder I cried. I haven’t cried like this in a while and honestly, I hate that for me.

I was so caught up in myself that I hadn’t heard the door open before I looked up to see Alex standing there with a look of concern. She immediately was by my side as I tried to wipe away my tears.

“It’s okay. I got you.” She said as pulling me into her. She started rubbing circles on my back as I sobbed into her shoulder. I clung to her like she would disappear if I let go. “You’re okay. Nothing can hurt you.”

“It hurts so much…” I whimpered as she started running her fingers through my hair. “I just want it to stop…”

“I know.” She pulled back and stared at me. I think she recognized that I was still having somewhat of a panic attack. She took my face in her hands forcing me to look at her. “Match my breathing. Slow breaths. In and out.”

She continued trying to calm me down as I started to relax a little. This was one of the biggest reasons that I needed her. She brought me comfort when nothing else could. My heart hurt less whenever she was around. I was always going to need her.

“That’s it.” She said as I started to return to normal. I was still letting out a whimper hear and there as I continued sniffling. “It’s alright.”

“I’m sorry.” I said as she shook her head.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” She said as I looked down. We sat in silence for a minute or two before I spoke up.

“I’m an abomination.” I whispered as Alex closed her eyes and started shaking her head.

“No. No. No. You are not an abomination. You are the greatest person I have ever known.” She said as I stared at her with teary eyes. “I can tell you and so can anyone else you talk too…you are a gift to all of us. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you. You are everything to me and more.”

“I just wish I didn’t exist sometimes…” I mumbled as she shook her head again.

“You may feel that way…but I am so grateful for your existence. You are undoubtedly the love of my life and every life after this…”

I stared at her as she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Her lips felt soft compared to my dry cheeks. I leaned into her a little as my body finally wanted the comfort that she was giving. I closed my eyes as she continued holding me and running her fingers through my hair. To be honest, if my mind wasn’t in such turmoil…I could definitely fall asleep in her arms.

“Can we talk about something else?” I asked softly as she nodded her head.

“Let’s talk about something I actually care about.” She said as I shot her a weak smile. I know she was joking by the way she smiled at me. Her humor is what I needed right now. “Like my marriage proposal?”

I chuckled to myself a little as I stared at her. I knew the moment she asked me what my answer was going to be. The idea of living without her was physically painful. Was there ever any other option?

“Catching me when I am vulnerable.” I said as she frowned. “Smart.”

“We don’t have to talk about it. I was just changing the subject. I can change it again.” She said with a look of worry on her face.

“You know…the day I realized that I was in love with you…it was the worst day of my life…” I said as I continued sniffling a little.

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” She said as I looked at her.

“It was the worst day of my life because I realized that I could never love anyone the way I loved you.” She smiled and looked down slightly. I smiled as I waited for her to look back up at me. “I don’t want to say yes, and you think its because of everything that has happened today. I want you to know that I love you more than anything. I don’t feel like I exist without you. Maybe that’s not completely healthy, but its true. I want to marry you because there is no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you.”

“I love you so much.” She said with a grin as she kissed me. “So, we are engaged then…”

“I guess so.” I said as she smiled at me. She pulled me in for another kiss as we sat there on the bathroom floor. “God, this day is so weird.”

“Yeah” she said laughing as she stood. “Come on.”

I took her hand as she pulled me up. We walked into the room as I watched her move around the room. I thought about what a shit day today had been. I don’t know if its because of that or the fact that looking at her right now…I see my future…but I don’t want to wait.

“Let’s do it now.” I said as she stopped and stared at me.

“Do what?” she asked with confusion. I smiled slightly.

“Get Married.” I said as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“What?” she asked me as I smiled at her. She gave me a look as I approached her.

“Hear me out.” I said as she crossed her arms. “I have waited literal years to be with you. I have known since forever that you are the only one meant for me and when I say I don’t want to wait another second…I mean it…I want to be married right now.”

“You’re serious.” She said with disbelief as I nodded my head.

“Deadly.”

“What about our friends and my family and…”

“We could still have a wedding with the ceremony and stuff…we would have to get the marriage certificate beforehand anyway…we just won’t tell anyone that we got married.”

“…and I thought I was a little crazy when I asked you…” she said as I grinned.

“Also, we are in France…arguably the most romantic place in the world. Why not get married when we are here on the verge of winning the world cup?”

“Some points are being made…”

“I’ll take the heat for not waiting…but I want to be married now…”

“Okay…” she said as I grinned. “Let’s get married.”

I grinned as she grabbed her jacket. We went to exit the room and ran right into Christen and Becky. Both gave me concerned looks as I shook my head.

“Can’t talk now. Got to go.” I said taking Alex’s hand in mine and moving past them.

“Hold it.” Becky said as I stopped and groaned. “Where are you going?”

“On a date.” I said as Becky gave me a skeptical look.

“Where are you really going?” Christen asked giving me a serious look. “Don’t lie. I’ll know if you lie.”

I looked to Alex who gave a slight head nod.

“We are going to get married.” I said as they both gave me looks.

“I said…don’t lie.” Christen said as I raised my eyebrows a little. She gave me a more serious look. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly.” Alex said as I nodded my head. “You can’t say anything though. It’s a secret.”

“Do you want to be our witness or witnesses?” I asked as they both stared at me.

“We came over here to make sure you were okay…because we knew that you were having a rough day…and now you’re getting married?”

“Yes…your point?” I asked as Alex gave me a look.

“Be nice.”

“You don’t feel like you’re rushing things?” Christen asked crossing her arms.

“Look, as long as she is still on board to do this…we are doing it. So, you can either come and be our witnesses or shut up about it. It doesn’t matter. All I know is I am getting hitched today.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” Christen asked as I frowned.

“Maybe a little.” I said as I looked to Alex who gave me a small smile. “Crazy in love.”

“Oh Jesus…” Becky said as I turned towards them.

“Look, I know you think this is crazy. I know you probably don’t approve, but I have never been surer of something I have wanted than this…she’s the love of my life. I know it and you know it. This is the right decision. It doesn’t matter if we get married now or tomorrow or even years from now…because the love I have for her is never going to change. I will never change my mind.”

They both gave me looks of concern before they sighed. They seemed to have a silent conversation before both nodding their heads.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Becky asked as I looked to Alex who shrugged.

“No.”

“For fucks sake…” Christen mumbled pulling her phone out. A moment later she smiled as she turned her screen towards us. “This one has great reviews. They are also 24 hours so…”

“Then, what are we waiting for?” Alex said as I grinned at her. The four of us then went down to the lobby and exited the hotel. It wasn’t long be we were at the chapel. We quickly started filling stuff out as we filled out the documents we would need.

“Which one of you is changing your name?” Christen asked holding the paper.

“Me.” I said quickly as all three looked at me. “What?”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to.” Alex said as I nodded my head.

“I’m sure. I don’t need to keep my last name. There’s nothing good about my family. I don’t want to spend forever dwelling on what I don’t have. I’d much rather appreciate what I do have and build a better future for myself.”

“My last name it is then…” Alex said looking to Christen who had a small smile on her face. Christen was definitely coming around to this.

“Okay. That should be it.” Christen said handing us the paperwork to look at. We made sure everything was correct before turning it back in.

We waited for a bit before it was time for us to have the mini ceremony. We had changed into some more formal clothes as I was wearing a little suit and Alex had elected for a white dress. I stood at the alter waiting for Alex to walk down. Becky was next to me as Alex had chosen Christen to stand in place of a maid of honor type thing.

“This is crazy.” Becky said as I nodded.

“It sure is.” I said as music started to play. Christen came down first giving me a small look as I smiled at her.

I felt my breath get caught in my throat as Alex was next. She looked beautiful as I stared at her in amazement. She looked breathtaking now…I could only imagine what she would look like on the actual day when we have the big ceremony. Becky and Christen both moved a little and were filming on their phones as Alex and I stood facing each other.

The guy started talking going through all the traditional marriage stuff as I stared at Alex. She looked so good.

“Vows?” he asked us as I looked to Alex. She smiled at me shaking her head slightly.

“You know…the roads we took to get to this moment were really long. The pain we went through and the heartache we had to go through to find our way to each other. Almost unbearable, but I thank god every day that he brought you to me. After everything that happened, I didn’t think that I was ever going to find love again…find in someone who manages to be stubborn yet compromising. Someone who is so not sympathetic yet manages to be the most kind-hearted person I know. No one makes my heart beat the way you do. No one understands me the way you do. You have the softest heart of anyone I know and I can’t wait to get to spend the rest of my life getting to know everything about it. As dumb as it may sound, you are what makes my world spin. The sun and the moon don’t rise and fall unless I have you around. Everything is dull without you. I don’t ever want to go a day without your smile in my sight. Your touch sets my skin on fire and when you look at me it feels like I am standing in a spotlight. You make me feel like I can do anything and everything. I know that with you by myside, I’ll never be alone again. I am so unbelievably in love with you (Y/N) (Y/LN).”

“How the fuck am I supposed to follow that?” I asked as she laughed softly. “I’ve loved you for so long. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance to show that, but I knew I could love you better than anyone. I’ve said it before, but I am so serious when I say that the day, I realized I loved you, I knew I would never be able to love anyone else that way. The path to get to this moment hasn’t been easy.  It’s been the most stressful thing, but every time I look at you, I know it was worth it. I know I would go down that path again just to make it back into your arms every single time. I don’t trust easily…but I trust you more than anyone…I know you don’t believe me when I say that, but it’s true. A lot of things don’t make sense to me…I’ve made more mistakes in my life doing what I thought was right…but I can confidently say that you make the most sense to me. I didn’t think I could ever open my heart like this, but this love is undeniable. The mere idea of ever being without it tears me apart. No one else has the power to hurt me, but I am right here giving it to you because I know my heart is safe. I am so unequivocally in love with you Alex Morgan. You’ve always been and will remain to be the greatest thing that I have had the privilege of loving.”

The officiator continued going through everything as we eventually were pronounced wife and wife. I grinned and pulled her into me giving her a kiss. She smiled as we leaned our foreheads against each other. We had on cheap rings that barely counted as rings as I made a silent promise to myself to get her a better one.

“Okay…like that was cute.” Christen said as I grinned. “I can’t believe you’re married.”

“Believe it.” I said as I grinned at Alex. “Also, send me the videos.”

We exited the chapel and made our way back to the hotel. I was ecstatic as we reached our room after making Christen and Becky promise not to say anything. I grinned at Alex as she was looking down at her phone. My wife. Jesus. I will never get tired of saying that.

“Babe come to bed.” I said as the forward looked up at me. She tilted her head a little as I opened my arms. She climbed into them resting her head on my chest.

“You know what I just realized…”

“hmm?”

“We didn’t have sex before marriage.” She said as I looked at her. “Though, not for a lack of trying. Because let’s be clear…I have tried.”  

“God, I hope the sex is good…” I mumbled as she shot me a look, “Like not to be mean, but definitely grounds for divorce.”

She slapped my shoulder as I grinned at her. She leaned down and kissed me as I held her close. We had training tomorrow, so I knew for a fact she wasn’t going to want tonight to be our first.

“Where do you want to honeymoon?” I asked as she cuddled into my chest.

“We can talk about it. I think we might have to wait until the offseason to go on our honeymoon.”

“Yeah…I think so too.”

“We can make up for all the lost time when we do that…” she said giving me a small smile as I grinned at her.

“Yeah…maybe we should just go to a fancy hotel and then just never leave the room.” I said as she chuckled.

“I want to go somewhere cute.” She said as I nodded my head.

“You can pick a place. I’m not picky.” I said as she nodded.

“I know…do you have a preference on anywhere though…like tropical? Or something?”

“Anywhere we get to go swimming…it’s my favorite thing to do with you…”

“You just like stare.” She teased as I grinned.

“Yeah…have you seen you? My wife is the hottest woman I have ever seen.”

“Perv.”

“Yeah…well you married me…”

“I can’t believe we are married…” she said as she stared at me with a grin.

“Yeah…you don’t regret it do you?”

“Never.” She said kissing me. I smiled as we laid there for a few more minutes. I was enjoying just getting spend time with her. This day had started out being absolute crap. My dad had put all my business out there letting the whole world know that I had been disowned for being gay.

There were people supporting me and people saying it’s what I deserved. Mostly though I was gaining a lot of support. I keep asking myself why he would do this during the middle of the tournament, but then I remember that he doesn’t actually care about me. It’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when he did. I hadn’t seen anything about the rest of my family, and it makes me wonder if they even knew he was planning on doing that. My brother probably did and encouraged it, but my mom and sister. My mom has never been one to stand up to my dad or the things he did. I haven’t forgot that she had told me that she was sure I would grow out of it, but what about my sister? She had always done whatever she could to protect me. Did she know that he was going to expose me to the entire world? What if she had changed her mind about me? What if she also thought I was an abomination? It’s been a long time since she had talked to me so that really wasn’t a far-off thought…

The family I had wanted so badly…all I ever wanted was for them to accept me. I wanted them to tell me they loved me. Was that so wrong? To be loved by those who are supposed to love you. Family love is supposed to be unconditional, yet they threw mine away so easily. My mind started drifting towards Alex and the team as I continued thinking about family.

I had a family. It took me a real long time to realize that. I had Sebastian and Santiago who had taken me in without a second thought. They never let me go a day without knowing how much they care. The rest of the team had always been there for me too whether I knew it or not. My kids who had never really left my side when everything went down before. Even if they knew I was wrong, they didn’t leave my side. They made sure I was okay and that I had someone to talk to. They were teaching me to be more open and just to enjoy the life I have been given.

I had Becky who despite recognizing me as a whole mess, had never once turned me away. She had let me cry and feel the pain while also telling me how much of a good person I was. She let me be me without having to apologize for the parts of me that weren’t so great. She accepted me the way a mother should accept their child. I don’t think I could ever tell her that she reminds me of my mom though…that might be a little embarrassing and I just know she won’t let me live it down. And Christen, a relationship that is so complicated for me. I hurt her and broke her trust, yet she was still there for me never once making me feel like I was a bad person. Even when I devastated her…she always reminds me to stop and breathe and make sure I am okay before anything else. She accepted me into her life without a second thought. I really need to learn to be a better friend to her, because she deserves better than the bullshit, I put her through.

Then, there’s Alex. The girl I have loved for so long. The one I had known I needed the moment she entered my life. The spark between us and the way we interacted just made sense. No one has ever understood me that much that fast. She just seemed to get it whenever I spoke and the way she spoke just stole my whole heart. The way she looks at the world. The way she is a role model to those who look up to her. She worries so much about being a good person, but also just enjoying life. Life has been unkind to her. She’s told me before that she is damaged though I disagree. I am damaged though. Maybe that’s why we both are so drawn to each other. We have both had our hearts broken in half. So, together we make a whole. She’s my person. The one I will always need. Part of the reason I married her. I don’t know what the future holds for us given how hectic our lives are. I know though that I can’t wait to explore life now that I have her by my side for good.

“Hey…” Alex said softly reaching up and wiping a stray tear from eye. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I said as she gave me a concerned look. “Just got lost in my thoughts.”

“Are you sure?” she asked as I nodded.

“Yea. I was just thinking about you and the girls and my boys…the family I didn’t know I had until recently.”

“Well…you and I are officially family forever so…” she laughed as I nodded

“Yeah I guess we are…and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you Alex.” I said as she grinned at me leaning up to give me a kiss.

“I love you too.” She said as she gave me another kiss. She made sure our alarms were set for the next day. It was one more day of training and media before we would have to play against the Netherlands in the final. I was hoping I would be healed enough to play which according to Dawn. I should be so…I don’t know if I am more excited to get to play on my birthday, play with my wife, or play in a World Cup final…mark it as all of the above. All I know is, these next few days are going to be very interesting.

To Be Continued…

[thecorpulentbeagle]

Okujima Week 2020: Alternate Universe

We are nearing the end of this challenge – I hope that you have enjoyed so far!

This story is AU, or Alternate Universe. I spent much less time than last year deciding what universe to set this in. Anyone who knows me knows that when I’m not writing fanfiction, working, sleeping, or eating, I am playing Fire Emblem Three Houses. It’s a really fun game, and a lot of the mechanics are similar to Persona 5 (it even has some of the same voice actors). If you like Fire Emblem (or are a fan of medieval times) and Persona 5 (which I assume that you do since you have read this far in the challenge), I encourage you to pick it up!

I would like to ask those who are commenting to please make sure that you mark if your comments contain spoilers for Fire Emblem Three Houses! Though I have personally, many people may not have finished all of the routes yet, and I’d like to keep them spoiler-free. This story will only feature information that can be obtained in Part One – basically information that you learn in the beginning of the game so that you know how the world is set up, and basic facts about the characters. If you are still unsure, feel free to skip this chapter and come back once you have finished Part One.

One more note: I began writing this before the “Cindered Shadows” DLC, so characters and plot points from that route will not be in this story. However, one class will be in this story, but that in and of itself isn’t a spoiler.

Here is the fanfiction.net link.

Please enjoy this sixth part of the Okujima Week 2020 Challenge!

As always: THIS STORY WILL NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 ROYAL, BUT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5.

Okujima Week 2020 Challenge:

Not Just a Crest:

Alternate Universe

-Haru-

“Rah!” Haru swung her training axe down, flinching slightly as she made contact with her opponent’s training gauntlets.

“Ha!” Makoto batted away the weapon with one hand, using her other to punch her opponent’s side.

However, Haru jumped back, bringing her axe back to her side to ready it for another swing.

“Great dodge, Haru!” The girl in question smiled at her companion’s compliment.

“Thanks! You’re doing well too. I can imagine it’s hard to block a heavy swing like that with one arm.”

“Thank you! But flattery will get you nowhere!” Makoto moved forward, swinging her right fist.

Haru moved out of the way and quickly swung her axe to collide with Makoto’s left arm, hoping that it would sting enough for her to lose use of it for a moment.

Her prediction worked. Makoto’s arm dropped to her side, and she prepared to strike with her other.

But Haru expected this, so she made a quick feint and punched Makoto’s exposed side.

“Gah!” Makoto flinched.

Haru took advantage and swung her axe back up, striking the very place she had just hit.

Makoto jumped back, holding her side. “You’re relentless!” She seemed happy and animated despite the obvious pain she was feeling.

Haru merely smirked before charging in.

But now it seemed that she had fallen for Makoto’s trap.

While Haru was stronger, Makoto was faster. The brawler quickly dodged out of the way of Haru’s incoming axe and slammed her gauntlet into the small of Haru’s back, effectively knocking the wind out of her.

Before she could recover, Haru felt a strong force in her abdomen, and realized that Makoto had kicked her there.

She couldn’t fight anymore without being able to take deep breaths. Haru dropped her weapon and raised both hands, the universal signal for surrender.

“Giving up so easily?” Makoto taunted.

Haru nodded her head, not able to breathe enough to form words.

Makoto seemed to realize that something was amiss. Her confident smirk faded and was replaced with a look of utmost concern. “Haru? I didn’t break anything, did I?”

Haru smiled and shook her head. It seemed her diaphragm had stopped its spasms enough for her to breathe. “I-I couldn’t catch my breath…. f-for…”

Makoto was by her side at an instant. “Hey now. Don’t force yourself. I did hit you pretty hard. I’d be more surprised if the wind wasn’t knocked out of you.” She unstrapped her gauntlets from her hands and let them drop to the floor with a clatter. She rubbed a circle on Haru’s back, which soothed the girl.

Haru took a few more deep breaths. “I always forget… that brawlers… kick as well.”

Makoto chuckled. “Yes. Brawlers tend to be a little more versatile in their fighting techniques. We don’t always hit hard, but we can surprise you. Although I must say that I’m surprised as well. You don’t usually use your fists. Have you been training some in gauntlets as well?” Makoto asked.

Haru nodded. “Yes. I’ve asked the professor for some extra training. It’s nice to have a back-up in case my axe breaks or something.” She bent down to pick up the weapon and twirled it in her hands. “I’ll admit that I’ve learned some techniques from sparring with you as well.”

“Well, I think that’s enough training for now.” Makoto moved her hand away from Haru to rub her own side. “I can already feel the bruise starting to form. You really do hit harder than almost anyone I know.”

“I suppose we have my Crest to thank for that,” Haru automatically replied. She regretted it almost instantly. It was a hard habit to break. She had been told her entire life how important her Crest was, and that it was the only reason for her strength. Her family (specifically her father) had said to her many times that she should bring up her Crest in conversation whenever possible. It was the only thing that she was good for, and it would be what would land her a rich and noble husband one day.

Makoto reached out and placed a hand on Haru’s face, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Perhaps in part, but it’s also due to your training.” Then, she added the sentence she always did when Haru’s spirits fell in such a way, “You’re more than your Crest, Haru.”

The girl nodded. “You’re right as ever.” She reached up a hand to place it on Makoto’s. “Thank you, Makoto.”

“Of course.” Makoto stroked Haru’s cheek with her thumb, which caused her to sigh and lean even more heavily into her comforting palm.

--

“I’m glad that the Dining Hall had these today!” Haru cheered, sitting down at a free(ish) table with a plate of the Sweet Bun Trio. These were among her personal favorites.

“Indeed.” Makoto chuckled at her friend’s behavior and sat down across from her.

Haru knew that Makoto was not as fond of sweet food as Haru was (well, maybe not so much sweet as unhealthy), so she appreciated that she was supporting Haru by copying her food choice.

A lighthearted chuckle brought both girls’ attention to one of their many dining companions. Mercedes was looking at the two younger students, her eyes bright. “It makes me very happy to hear how excited you are about this meal.”

“Ah. Did you prepare it with the professor, Mercedes?” Makoto asked.

Mercedes nodded. “I did! So I hope that the two of you enjoy.” She lowered her voice. “I saw how dispirited Haru looked when you both entered the Dining Hall, and the best cure for sadness is sweetness!”

Haru hadn’t realized how publicly she had been displaying her emotions. Though it was common knowledge that Mercedes was particularly adept at reading people. Either way, Haru needed to acknowledge her kindness. “Thank you, Mercedes. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course! Thank you for talking with me. I’d talk with Annie, but she’s a little preoccupied at the moment.” The three girls looked over at the aforementioned student, who was currently stuffing her face with the delectable sweets. It didn’t even look like she knew that she was being talked about.

Haru giggled.

“She does look… happy…”

Haru cleared her throat with surprise. It sounded like she herself had spoken those words. It seemed as if Makoto and Mercedes had thought so as well, as the two looked at her curiously. However, even though the voice was similar, the tone was decidedly more somber than Haru’s usual inflection.

A thought struck her. Turning her head to see who else was near the group, she saw whom she had suspected. Marianne was sitting next to her, also with the Sweet Bun Trio dish, and she was looking at the group with a sad smile.

“Ah, Marianne! I’m so sorry. I thought that you were Haru.” Mercedes bowed her head slightly towards the girl.

“No need… for apologies…” Marianne poked at her food. “I know that I sound… very similar to Haru.”

Haru giggled again. The similarities between their two voices was a hot topic of discussion among the residents of Garreg Mach. It was said that the two were actually the same person that had been split in two, with Haru inheriting the more bubbly and happy aspects, and Marianne displaying the calmer and more depressed ones.

Haru didn’t appreciate that people thought of Marianne as only a sad person, as she herself had seen the girl smile. Though Haru had to admit that sight was rare.

Wanting to see that smile, Haru placed her hand on Marianne’s free one. “We should use it to distract our enemies. Think of how confused they would be to think that one person was in two places at once!”

Marianne gave a small smile, but didn’t look up from her food.

“Forget Haru and Marianne!” The group once again turned their collective heads towards the latest dining companion. Caspar gave a loud belch as he pounded his chest with his fist, which caused Makoto to scrunch her face up in slight disgust. Haru realized with amusement that Linhardt (who was sitting next to him) was making a similar expression.

“You know who really sounds similar? Makoto and Lady Rhea!”

“That’s true!” Annette had paused from her meal to join the conversation. “You really need to take advantage of that, Makoto.”

“Oh, Annie. You’ve got crumbs all over your face.” Mercedes proceeded to raise a napkin to her best friend’s face, wiping them off as the other protested about not being a child.

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not?” Caspar whined. “You could get away with all kinds of stuff! Excuse yourself from class… excuse me from class!”

“Exactly why did you enroll here in the first place?” Linhardt spoke up, rolling his eyes at his friend.

“Shut up!” Caspar roughly shoved the other boy, who grumbled. “I meant the boring stuff, like reading.”

“I happen to like reading,” Makoto replied.

“Can you even read, Caspar?” Annette teased.

“Besides,” Makoto hastily interrupted before Caspar (who had opened his mouth to retort) and the girl started a fight, “how would I do that? I’d have to be standing behind a wall or a door so the person couldn’t see me.”

“Lady Rhea is a very public figure. She enjoys being with the people, so that would be a difficult thing to accomplish,” Mercedes added.

Knowing he was outnumbered, Caspar merely mumbled something unintelligible before turning back to his meal, which caused everyone to laugh.

The rest of the dinner went by in a similar fashion, with the students conversing about what they had done today, and what they were looking forward to (and not looking forward to) tomorrow. Haru eased herself into the rowdy yet comfortable atmosphere, trying to forget about her worries from earlier. Even though Garreg Mach wasn’t perfect, it allowed people from all walks of life to spend time together, and Haru deeply appreciated that.

In the Dining Hall, she was just Haru the student, rather than Haru Okumura, the heir to one of Faerghus’ noble houses.

Before too long, Haru had finished her plate and turned to look at Makoto, who had finished a few minutes prior. The other girl was talking with Mercedes and Annette, who were laughing and nodding at whatever she had been saying.

Haru was glad to see Makoto getting along so well with her peers. When the two had started at the Academy together, Makoto had been more reserved. Not as much as someone like Marianne, but Haru could tell that she was not comfortable conversing with others when there wasn’t a specific social protocol to be following.

Haru had done her best to break Makoto out of her shell, and over the past few months, it seemed to have worked. She was also delighted to have gained a good friend in the process.

The two hadn’t really talked about their social standings, as it wasn’t a concern for them. However, Haru had been able to parse out that Makoto was a commoner from Faerghus with an elder sister. Neither of them had a Crest, though that didn’t stop either of them.

Sadly (and this had taken Haru quite some time to get from Makoto), her mother had passed early, shortly after Makoto was born. Her father had been a knight, and he had passed away a few years ago in a fight protecting merchants from wild beasts. It was a common occurrence unfortunately, though it didn’t make it any easier for those who were left behind. Sae, Makoto’s older sister, had had to put her own plans of becoming a knight on hold to help care for Makoto.

It was a testament to Makoto’s skill that she was able to get into the Academy at all, given how expensive the tuition was. Since Haru was from a noble family, it was a non-issue for her. However, Makoto had demonstrated talent early on, and her father’s and sister’s reputation helped her get recommended and eventually accepted.

Despite all of these setbacks, Makoto had persevered and had actually thrived. Haru truly admired that.

Even though Haru had entered the Academy with relative ease, she also had a difficult family situation. Her mother had passed early on in her life as well, and she did not get along with her own father at all.

She’d been a little bit cagier with her history, going so far as to not even tell Makoto that she was a noble, as she had been burned in the past. It wasn’t that she wanted to lie to Makoto, but she didn’t want the other girl to only be friends with her because she was a noble. However, Makoto did know about her family affairs, and she sympathized with her.

But then, Haru realized, she was getting caught up in depressing thoughts once again. Banishing the thoughts from her mind, she smiled and tapped Makoto’s shoulder, getting her attention. “Ready to go?”

Makoto nodded. “Yes. I can walk you back to your room, if you’d like?”

Haru blushed slightly. It was hard for her to not feel flattered. Considering how much she respected the other girl, it came as no surprise when, one day, she realized how deeply she respected Makoto. It also helped that the other girl was polite and charming, even when she wasn’t trying to be.

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

The two rose up together, with Makoto picking up both of their plates and cutlery. “That’s very sweet of you,” Haru commented.

She smiled when she saw that she had drawn forth a blush on Makoto’s face. “O-Of course! You’ve had a rough day. It’s the least I could do, really.” She hesitated before adding, “Especially considering that I hit you so hard that I knocked the wind out of you.”

A chuckle drew their attention to Annette, who was grinning at them. “What were you two getting up to? I mean, I know that people are into different things, but what –ow!” Her wide smile collapsed and turned into a snarl as she looked at Mercedes, who was smiling sweetly at her. “What was that –?”

“Have a good evening you two!” Mercedes waved at the pair, interrupting whatever Annette had been planning to say.

“Thank you.” Makoto bowed her head slightly before turning around to leave, Haru following after her after exchanging goodbyes with the rest of the table.

After depositing their items at the counter, the two students walked outside, the slightly cool air feeling good on Haru’s skin after being in the crowded Dining Hall.

“It’ll be autumn soon,” Makoto commented as the two made their way to the dorms.

“Yes. I love all of the seasons, but fall is especially beautiful.”

“Hm.”

The two walked in silence, though it wasn’t uncomfortable. However, Makoto seemed to think it was.

“Apologies for… not saying much.” Makoto laughed nervously.

“Not to worry!” Haru bumped her playfully on the shoulder. “I know crowds can wear you out. I’m perfectly content walking without saying a word.”

“I see.”

Haru took a deep breath, appreciating the calming atmosphere. Most students were either in the Dining Hall, the Training Grounds, or in their own rooms. The few people who were outside were fishing, and they were silent, trying not to scare the fish away.

She saw that one of the people fishing was the professor, who currently had a basket of fish lined up next to them. She giggled as Byleth whipped another fish out of the water and calmly plopped it down into the already overflowing basket. The professor merely pulled another basket towards their side and cast out another line, either ignoring or being oblivious to the small crowd that had gathered and was currently ogling them and their large haul.

After a few more minutes, the two reached the second floor, where Haru’s room was located.

Haru opened her door and beckoned Makoto inside, who nodded and followed, closing the door behind herself wordlessly.

“Please make yourself comfortable.” Haru gestured towards one of her chairs as she situated herself on her bed. Makoto did so.

“Would you like to talk?” Makoto asked quietly after a brief moment of silence.

“About what?”

“Haru, there’s no need to have your defenses up with me. You know that.” Makoto crossed her legs and folded her hands together, resting them in her lap.

“Are you going to be my therapist for this evening?” Haru joked, not wanting to launch right into a serious conversation.

Makoto laughed. “That is one of the few things Garreg Mach cannot prepare you for.”

Haru lied down on the bed on her back, straightening her skirt. “Perhaps, but a War Cleric can probably solve a lot of problems.”

“True. A Warrior would be helpful as well.”

Haru giggled, acknowledging Makoto’s compliment.

“I’m not going to force you. But I want you to know that I’m here for you.”

Haru sighed. “It’s nothing more than my Crest.” She raised a hand and looked at it before making a fist. “I know it’s a blessing to have one… but I can’t help but notice… how many problems it’s caused in my life.”

When Makoto said nothing, Haru continued, “Everyone here is nice, and no one cares whether or not I have one. Well, other than Professor Hanneman, but his is more of a professional interest.” She placed her hand back down at her side. “But I can’t help but worry that, once I’ve graduated, my father will put his foot down and force me to take a husband to pass on this… horrible blessing.”

“What if I have a child that bears a Crest? Of course, I’ll need to continue having children until one inherits mine.” Haru shivered slightly at the thought. “Once I do… then I’ll be forced to watch my own child be put through the same fate as me. The cycle will continue.”

At Makoto’s continued silence, Haru turned her head to see what her reaction had been to Haru’s sudden monologue. “I… haven’t put you to sleep, have I?”

Far from an expression of boredom, Makoto had a look of intense rage on her face. Her eyebrows were so furrowed it looked painful, and her frown was similar to when she was about to slay one of her enemies. Haru’s heart skipped a beat seeing such an expression on her usually calm friend’s face.

“Haru. You never have to worry about talking about your struggles. I’ll listen as much as you need me to.” She breathed out roughly through her nose. “And I will always be as furious as I am now when you talk about your family situation.” Haru saw that Makoto was making fists. “The fact that you have to worry about any of this… is appalling. And worse yet… I can’t help.”

Haru looked at her confused. “But Makoto, just being able to talk about my problems with you is enough.” She gave her a sad smile. “Having these thoughts and feelings without having an outlet for them… would be maddening. I’m able to deal with them because of you.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Makoto stood up, causing Haru to sit up. Makoto immediately looked sheepish and lowered her voice. “That’s not what I mean,” she repeated quietly. “I meant… that if I were a nobleman, I could help. I could marry you, and then your fate would be a little bit more bearable.”

Haru looked at her incredulously. “Marry…?”

“However, I am neither a noble nor a man, so I can only stand by and offer support.” Makoto sat back down, looking tired. “You deserve more than that fate, Haru… so much more. I know that being a commoner presents its own struggles, but a noble’s… are awful as well.”

“You…” Haru was shocked. Too many surprises were hitting her at once, and she was already struggling to keep her emotions in check. “You would want to marry me? And… you know that I’m a noble?”

Makoto gave a small smile. “I feel that neither of those facts are particularly shocking.” She stood up and sat down next to Haru, resting a hand on one of hers. “Those with Crests tend to be nobles. Plus, commoners usually to get to marry who they want. I have no such restrictions, for example.” She squeezed her hand. “True, there are some commoners who worry more so about their marriage partners, but worry to this degree is restricted to nobles. In addition, look where we are right now.”

“Hm?”

“The second floor is for nobles, with very rare exceptions,” Makoto explained. “Finally, my father and sister served and want to serve as knights for the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and I’d like to as well one day. We know the names of all of the royal houses, and once I learned your surname, well… I put two and two together.”

Now that Makoto said it all out loud, it seemed silly that Haru could have ever hoped to keep her status a secret to her. But there was a more important fact on her mind now. “And the marriage…?”

Makoto blushed. “Um.. yes. That.” She cleared her throat. “Haru. I know that we’ve only been friends for a few months now, but I do care about you.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t want to propose marriage right now, as that’s a bit soon, and it wouldn’t work in your situation. However, I would like to court you, if you would allow it.” She raised a hand to Haru’s cheek. “I know… that your father probably already has a husband lined up for you the moment you graduate and return home. I’d… like to support you, have you enjoy these next few months so that when you do marry… at least you’ll have made some pleasant memories about romance in your life.”

Haru was speechless. Apparently, she had been too consumed with not showing her own feelings that she hadn’t realized how strong Makoto’s were in return. “Makoto…”

“If you’d rather not, either because you don’t care for me in that way, or you just don’t want to because you’ll have to stop eventually, then please let me know. All I want… is to make you as happy as you’ve made me.”

“I do care about you in that way. Truly, Makoto,” Haru finally responded, turning her head to kiss her friend’s palm gently. “You’re right that I distanced myself because I didn’t want to… lead you on, only to have to suddenly break up with you to pursue a husband.” She sighed. “I’m sorry about not telling you that I was a noble. I should have guessed that you would’ve been able to figure it out, but I so desperately wanted someone to like me… for me, as cliché as that sounds.” She giggled.

“Even if it is cliché, it’s the truth, and I can understand your desire for it.” Makoto wiped a tear off of Haru’s face. She hadn’t even realized that she had been crying.

“And if I might offer a glimmer of hope. That situation may not even happen. The three lords that are currently next in line all seem to have much more… lenient attitudes towards status and customs.” Makoto smiled. “Each generation becomes slightly more progressive, so hopefully, Crests and the like won’t matter so much.”

“As much as I’d like to believe that, I’m afraid that change doesn’t happen so quickly without a catalyst.”

“Perhaps. If that doesn’t work out, how would you feel about eloping?”

Haru choked on air, spluttering at the suggestion. “You would really consider that? We’d have to leave the Kingdom to avoid my father’s wrath.”

Makoto shrugged. “People have done that in the past, so it’s not technically unprecedented. I would miss Sis though.” She shook her head. “But all of this is a bit beside the point, as we haven’t even confirmed if we are going to be a couple.”

“Oh, of course.” Haru cleared her throat. “I would be honored to be courted by you, and would like to court you as well, for as long as we are able.”

Makoto chuckled. “Another thing that gave you away was your formalities.”

Haru laughed. “Hey! You speak formally as well sometimes. And I noticed that you didn’t give me an answer.”

“Should I? I offered first and you accepted.”

“I would like you to say something.”

“Of course.” Makoto cleared her throat. “Thank you, Haru,” she said earnestly.

“Thank you, Makoto.” Haru leaned over and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek, which caused her to blush.

Even if it was only temporary, Haru was determined to spend as much time as she could with Makoto. And to figure out how many ways she could tease her, as she was quite cute when she was embarrassed.

Haru was chained to her fate, but chains could always be broken. And they would find a way to do just that.

Together.

--

For those of you who played both Persona 5 and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I’m sure that you heard the similarities in voices of some of the characters. I remember when I heard Rhea’s and Marianne’s voices for the first time – I immediately looked at the voice cast for the game, and confirmed that Rhea/Makoto and Marianne/Haru share voice actors!

It was hard not showing preference to any house, but now that I’m writing comments, I feel comfortable in saying… Blue Lions Best House!

Just kidding! All houses have their merits, and Golden Deer and Black Eagles are both great. I just have a bias towards Blue Lions since I played that route first. Feel free to let me know which house is your favorite in the comments!

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed. I will see you tomorrow!

[nonbinaryresource]

Sorry if this is in the FAQ my iPad is super old and won't load it but I'm questioning nonbinary. I talked to my parents and they're very supportive. My mom said she would get me a binder, but then she talked to my therapist (not v familiar with gender stuff), who had heard that binding was dangerous, and now she wants to wait. How can I convince her that so long as I bind correctly, it's safe? I've done a lot of research in trans circles and I know the safety rules.

Congrats on coming out and having it go well!

Unfortunately, I can’t give you exactly what you ask for. The sad truth of the matter is that there’s a whole lot we still don’t know about trans health due to cissexism and not prioritizing our health. We’re discovering more about binding everyday. At this point, we really cannot say that it is completely safe even when following the proposed safety rules largely because we haven’t had the resources to put together actual studies on this.

Here is one study that looked into the safety of binding. One thing that becomes clear from that study is just how many trans people don’t follow our current guidelines of binding, which makes it even harder to study how safe binding can really be. Unfortunately, knowing the rules and following them are two different things. D:

Plus, life happens. You think you’ll be home in 8 hours to take your binder off, but then there’s traffic or a surprise outing you need to go to and you never even get the chance to slip in a bathroom to take your binder off - or maybe you do but you didn’t think to bring a bra and can’t go braless in whatever shirt you’re wearing. You think you won’t be exercising but then you’re late to a meeting and rather than risk getting fired, you decide to risk it and run the rest of the way to work. Things happen and even if you have every intention of closely following the safety guidelines for binding, you end up breaking them sometimes.

So, the thing is, I think it’s a good guideline to treat binding as such: choosing to bind is a choice we make in a balance between risking our physical safety and improving our mental health.

Which sounds big and scary - but I think a lot of life choices go along these same lines. Every day for my ease of comfort (including my time and energy), I make the decision to drive to work, even though I am risking serious bodily energy if I get in a crash. Even if I follow all the rules and drive safely and wear my seatbelt, in the wrong accident, I could still suffer serious impacts. A couple days a week, I make the decision to practice muay thai, which includes sparring with other people. I do this for the sake of my physicality and mental health, but it comes at the risk of my physical well-being. If someone hits me too hard or in just the right spot or I don’t block or dodge like I’m supposed to, I could suffer serious injury.

Life is made up of decisions that come with inherent risks. And it’s really unfortunate and really frustrating when you’re of an age where you’re not being allowed to make these decisions for yourself, especially when it is your mental health that could/will suffer. =(

Here’s some things I think you can do:

- Use a compression shirt (usually available in around the same area as sports bras) or appropriate style sports bra in the meantime. These won’t flatten you as much, but they will help out, definitely. (Here’s some info on alternative binding methods.)

- Dress in ways that help distract from your chest. A lot of people just go with really baggy clothes and sweatshirts, but you have options! Shirts with diagonal or vertical stripes. Slightly loose button-up shirts. Shirts with non-geometric patterns (ie, randomly placed and abstract patterns). Dark colored shirts. Layers - jackets, cardigans, vests, scarves, the like.

- Talk to your mom about finding a therapist who is more familiar with trans identities and can support you better. Being trans really colors all of your experiences, and you deserve a therapist you don’t have to fight with on these issues or educate on these issues, and you definitely deserve one who isn’t actively working to undermine you.

- In the meantime while seeing about getting a better therapist, how much have you talked to your therapist about trans issues? Unfortunately, I can’t find any good trans resources for sharing with a therapist, but here’s some ally resources that might be helpful for such a task.

- Keep an open dialogue with your mom about how you’re feeling. Have you talked to her about why you want to bind? Does she know all the research you’ve done on binding? Have you shared the safety guidelines and that you know they’re there for a reason and plan on following them to a T? Have you discussed the benefits you think binding will bring you? You say you’ve done a lot of research, so it doesn’t sound like I have much to provide you - in fact, you may already have all the tools you need to talk to your mom about binding and asking again if you can try it.

- Remember when you talk to your mom to do your best to stay calm and level. Take breaks from discussions as needed. Parents especially can be set on edge if they perceive you as whining or yelling. It can be a lot easier to be heard by them if you can display great maturity.

Good luck! I honestly think you’ve got a good handle on this. It may take time, but keep your head up.

~Pluto

[samandmaxanotherway]

ADDITIONAL INFO: SAM

this is a bit of a masterpost for additional information regarding sam! this will be updated from time to time & may contain info from other posts on this blog, but basically it’s a way to keep everything in one place without needing to dig through the tag to find everything. info under the cut!!

BACKGROUND INFO

Sam was named in dedication to Sameth, who passed away about a month before he was born.

Was a notably quiet baby. Even when he was two and beginning to learn how to speak, he didn’t say much or make much sound. This did cause a bit of concern for his parents.

He spent a lot of his time with Max, & pretty much refused to hang out with anyone else - mostly because many other kids picked on him growing up. Max was the only person who didn’t call him names.

Came up with the idea of Freelance Police in about the third grade or so.

Showed signs of being pretty intelligent for a kid his age & had some serious knowledge in regards to technology growing up. Given the time period, though, he was bullied relentlessly for it, & at some point when he was 13, he dropped it entirely, & adopted an attitude that was adverse to nerdy stuff.

He was 14 when his sister was born.

In his middle school years, Sam’s depression & anger issues became more apparent. There was a period of time where he had a much harder time getting out of bed & hated going to school, & he began lashing out at his parents, peers & teachers (though, thankfully, never Max). This all came to a peak when he got in a fight with a kid who’d been bullying him for a long time. After that, he was recommended by his guidance counselor to attend therapy.

(Due to the events that led to him first attending therapy, Sam has a very complicated relationship with it, & in his experience, has never found it particularly helpful for him)

(Oh also he found out he was gay during these years too, & it was during a health class while they were showing a diagram of the human muscles. yes this is the story im going with lmao)

At some point during high school, Sam grew fairly quickly & ended up pretty thin & lanky as a result. Around this time, his body dysmorphia began, & he would often wear hoodies & long-sleeved shirts to try & cover up as much of himself as he could. He often dreaded going to gym class specifically because he was forced to wear more exposing clothes.

He’d ended up developing an interest in literature & theatre during his time in high school.

In the summer prior to senior year, he’d been sent to a summer camp to try & help some of his self-confidence issues. As a result, he came back at the end of summer fat & buff, as well as with a newly discovered love for fishing.

(It is important to note that during this whole time, Sam hadn’t even considered the idea that he might have feelings for Max, & he was either oblivious to or brushed off any flirting Max may have done towards him.)

About prom time, Sam had been asked out by somebody for prom, & had accepted seeing as no one else had asked him. Well, he ended up being stood up by that person, having apparently been asked as a prank. He’d been upset about it, but then Max found him & cheered him up. Max had even tracked down that person & made a complete mess of their car. It was in that moment that Sam realized he was in love with Max.

Shortly after graduation, on Max’s ‘’first’’ birthday (July 10th), Sam took Max out into the woods for a stroll & confessed his feelings to him there. It was then that they decided to first become a couple.

Sam knew he was going to end up living on the campus of his college at the end of summer, & mid-August he ended up getting stressed about it simply because he didn’t wish to leave Max since he genuinely loved him. He ended up waiting until the very last minute before he had to leave to ask Max if he wanted to come with him. Thankfully, Max said yes. so yeah sam basically snuck his boyfriend off to college lmao

Met Flint in college - they were dorm-mates throughout the entirety of their college days.

Shortly after graduating college, Sam & Max became official Freelance Police.

OTHER CASES

The only pre-”Another Way” case that isn’t already a canon case is the Brainwashing Mailmen case, which takes place post-S2 but pre-S3/AW. Basically, Max had been hypnotized into becoming a mailman after signing something for his delivery. Sam had to sneak in, dressed as a mailman, & save him by burning the contract with his signature. He’d ended up unveiling a whole conspiracy involving other people being brainwashed into mailmen, & to make a long story short, their mailman, “Guy”, had actually been Satan, who was seeking a new way of gathering souls since Hell had been frozen over.

SAM/MAX (’FREELANCE HUSBANDS’)-RELATED

At some point post-”Another Way” but pre-Hit The Road, a proposal happens. Basically, Max - who has the ring - tricked Sam into getting on one knee & holding it, & Sam decided to go with it & proposed. (this later leads to a lot of them arguing who technically proposed to who)

Since their dating anniversary is on July 10th, their wedding anniversary ends up being on August 28th.

Max’s nickname for him is ‘Firefly’.

Sam likes to lay his head on Max because he likes to hear his heartbeat.

Sam can sleep through a lot of Max’s racket. However, if Max says his name, he immediately wakes up, as if he was never asleep.

POST-”ANOTHER WAY”

Shortly after getting married, they end up inheriting Maximus & Sameth’s old house. Since then, they now live separate from their office.

Struggles quite a bit with PTSD & Survivor’s Guilt from the events of “Another Way”.

During the Glitch in Time verse, Sam is a noir detective who did know Max when he was younger but forgot about him over time. However, Max was the original motivation for him becoming a detective.

POLTERGEIST

Sam, at first, when he’s essentially a ghost inhabiting a copy of his body often has a hard time actually staying in his body & sometimes ends up floating off if he’s not paying attention.

During the ending of Dysfunction of the Gods, Zeus ends up fusing Sam’s ghost with his body, making him immortal & unlocking many of his current abilities such as Electricity Manipulation & Invisibility, as well as the ability to see & speak to the dead.

When Sam uses too much energy, he ends up ‘fritzing out’. He gets stuck in ‘Ghost Mode’ & his form physically distorts & gives off static. It’s a little painful & it takes a little bit to come down from it. Thankfully, Max usually is there to assist him.

If injured while in ‘Ghost Mode’, Sam bleeds blue. As well, if he’s in enough pain, he ends up going invisible as a defense mechanism.

He also involuntarily turns invisible if he’s incredibly depressed.

He blushes blue.

Sam’s chest & stomach glow blue with white veins when he is experiencing deep feelings of love, whether it be romantic or platonic. If one touches it, little lights go through the veins.

His body has this weird habit of contorting whenever he phases through walls, so any time he does it, all you can hear is his bones cracking.

In the Glitch in Time verse, Sam’s powers weren’t unlocked until he reunited with Max - in which they then are unstable due to his lack of knowing how to control them. It isn’t until he remembers the original timeline that he gets ahold of them again.

He trained with Maximus somewhat to try & keep control of his abilities.

Although he can turn invisible, it’s more that he is as if he’s made of glass than see through. This means that if he were to stand in front of an object, you would not see the object through him since he would be obscuring it.

Despite being able to see & speak with the dead, because he generally is not fond of other spirits that aren’t friends or family (or benevolent, on the odd occasion) being near him, his family or his home, it is rare that spirits actually approach him for any length of time.

MISC. INFO

Personal voiceclaim for him is Travis from Bradbury 13: A Sound of Thunder

Sam is 33 during the events of “Another Way”, placing it in about 2012

Insulting Sam in a very personal way (e.g. calling him stupid or useless) is a surefire way of upsetting him & risking him not wishing to speak with the person again.

Good at improv humour & especially good at not cracking a smile while doing it.

Sam is actually allergic to grapes.

Absolutely despises mailmen & doesn’t trust them. The case involving them didn’t help.

Has several scars on him including: Two bitemarks from when Maxthulu had bitten Sammy, a bullet scar at the top of his left shoulder, a bitemark on his right arm, & lightning scars that spread from his tailbone all the way to his right shoulder thanks to his electric-based abilities.

[malachi-walker]

Rhythm & Blues Worldbuilding: Magicats

Since I finally got the rock star au up here and I'm working on the next chapter, I thought I'd share some of the worldbuilding ideas I've incorporated or plan to incorporate regarding how a world shaped by hybrids in addition to plain old humans would differ from our own. And since Catra of course is the protagonist along with Adora, it'd behoove me not to start off with the Magicats. ;) Though I do plan on making a post later covering the other kinds of hybrids as well (also for the love of God, crew-ra, please give me names for their individual races so I don't have to come up with shit like "lizard-kin". I'm begging you.)

World building goodness under the cut.

Quick note: although I do draw some indirect inspiration from real world cultures (specifically the clusterfuck that was colonial condescension to anyone who wasn't them) I do deliberately try to avoid taking customs from any real world culture. Because that has... Unfortunate implications. So most of what I discuss here is stuff I came up with on my own, but if something does match up with the real world it is unintentional on my part and feel free to let me know.

Standing with the other races

Out of all the hybrids the Magicats tend to be the most isolationist and closed off to outsiders, partly because they have a very small population size to begin with and partly because they along with the lizard-kin got hit hardest with the animal/predator comparisons. Although the current world has mostly gotten over that bullshit apart from some racists (note: I specifically use the term racist instead of speciest because writing speciest makes my memories of my editing teachers screech in the back of my head, but also because a running theme in the rock star au is that hybrids are still PEOPLE and should be treated as such, and drawing attention to it with words like "species" kinda defeats that purpose.) the average person on the street still doesn't know a whole lot about Magicat culture, and most of what they do know likely comes from old stereotypes or really suspect sources rather than actual Magicats. This is improving as more Magicats make their way into the public sphere and the internet has opened up new pathways for their voices to be heard, but it is still a work in progress.

Biology

General rule of thumb for Magicats for me is finding good middle ground between cat characteristics and people characteristics. Good example is that unlike cats, Magicats can eat chocolate, but too much of it in a short amount of time can build up to toxic levels. There are apps available that let them keep track of how often they can indulge. Same thing with alcohol; alcohol and Magicats is similar to a person with a very mild, non-lifethreatening allergy, i.e. they can get shitfaced very quickly on a comparitively low amount and it takes a bit longer for their body to metabolize out of their system. This is actually based on personal experience with my dad, who only drinks once in a blue moon and is thankfully a very mellow/happy drinker, so watching him get sauced on one-and-a-half rum and cokes is a pretty fun time. XD

Other dietary considerations: they're not complete carnivores, but they do have a greater meat to other food groups proportion than humans. Like sixty-forty percent, and heavy carbs and starches make up the smallest percentage of their diet because it's harder for their digestive system to process. Their front two molars are pointed like a predator's but their back molars are flat like humans'.

Like Catra has demonstrated in show, they possess phenomenal reflexes and agility, as well as heightened senses of smell and hearing--the hearing in particular is their primary dominant sense alongside vision. Speaking of vision, like cats they are red colorblind and shades of yellow are washed out compared to what we would see, but they see the rest of the color spectrum just fine. But like humans, they have a sharper clarity of vision than a cat would and aren't nearsighted.

Oh, and while it probably won't come up in the series itself, they do experience a heat cycle about once per year, but unlike in most fanfics they are still fully in control of their faculties and decision making capabilities. A Magicat in heat is no more likely to be sexually attracted to someone than they would be outside of heat, and it really pisses them off when people imply otherwise. It's kind of like when a human woman has her period but also feels horny. So if they don't want to get with a partner they should be left alone or treated like any loved one dealing with a rough period: patience and warm blankets.

Cultural Stuff

We're getting into the fun stuff now, though some of it will be saved for a future fic where Catra takes the time to learn about her own culture during her three years of homelessness. (Also please note that a lot of these are just general touchstones and actual viewpoints may differ from Magicat to Magicat.)

1. Magicat culture is an interesting mix between interconnectedness and individuality

And by that I mean that as a culture, Magicats do consider themselves to be an interconnected unit and to have a responsibility towards one another to assist as needed. However, they also have an emphasis on the individual as a complete being in and of themselves. This shows up most prominently in interpersonal relationships: unlike humans, who place a great emphasis on things like monogamy and marriage and the solidity of family units, it's not uncommon to see Magicats who are single parents of any gender, or never have kids, or maybe have a lifelong partner but never get formally married. That's because their culture makes it clear that one person is already whole on their own, and while having a partner or family is always nice it's not a requirement. It's up to each individual Magicat to decide what they want out of their lives, and there's usually no judgment whether they decide to get married and have kids or just stay single for their entire lives.

With that said, if a Magicat decides to get formally married (as in making an actual declaration of "this is the person for me") it is a BIG DEAL. Because again, culturally speaking it isn't a requirement, so making that commitment is a huge deal for them, and they often make that permanent. So if a Magicat decides to settle down completely with a partner, they use freeze branding to permanently turn a section of their fur white in a way that look similar to a quarter sleeve tattoo in a very distinct geometric pattern*. That basically tells every other Magicat on sight that this person is wholly dedicated to their chosen beloved. Younger Magicats will also use cold branding to replicate tattoos like other races, but the marriage brand is always distinct, both due to the particular geometric design work and because it is always on their dominant arm, to signify that they are offering their strength to their beloved for the rest of their lives. If their partner is another Magicat they will also get a matching brand, otherwise it depends on the particular race (humans typically get tattoos.)

*My personal mental image of what this resembles is similar to Maori or Pacific Islander forearm tattoos, but not a 100% match because 1) cultural appropriation is gross and 2) the logistical practicalities of doing that via freeze branding would be insane. So that general vibe but simplified. Feel free to flex those imagination muscles.

And before anyone asks... This may or may not come up later in the au. ;) ;) ;)

2. They have certain social rules dealing with other Magicats.

These will be explored in greater depth during the fic, but basically a lot of Magicat etiquette centers around who the other Magicat is to you and stuff like location. For example, they'll typically use honorifics to refer to Magicats who have been teachers to them or assisted them in some way as a show of respect.

The most obvious rule of etiquette to outside observers is that whenever two Magicats meet for the first time and wish to demonstrate respect for each other, the one who approaches the other will come forward slowly until they are just a bit beyond arm's reach. They will then take a half step forward with the leg that corresponds to their dominant hand and then offer that arm to the other. This is the cue for the Magicat being approached to mirror the pose regardless of what their dominant hand is (up until then they will remain in a straight and relaxed position and wait for the signal.) Once this is done, the two will clasp forearms and briefly dip their heads forward into the other's space for a single shared breath before breaking apart. This is a sign that they are now free to move closer to one another and can now interact in a way that is indistinguishable from what outsiders would consider normal conversation between new acquaintances. The purpose of the greeting is for the one approaching to demonstrate their respect for the other and ask to be let into their space; telegraphing which arm they favor symbolizes showing someone a strength of yours and is a sign of trust.

Again, this doesn't apply to all Magicats and the younger generation in particular tends to eschew or pick and choose what etiquette they follow, but in general they do like it when the old traditions are observed, especially by younglings. They don't use this system of etiquette with other races and usually instead adapt their behavior to the person they're interacting with.

Other Misc. Details

I was originally going to have Catra be a motorcycle lesbian because duh, but while doing my due diligence in researching motorcyle safety I ran into a few reasons why that isn't a good idea.

The first is that part of the reason why motorcyle helmets work in the first place is because the evenly curved surface provides an equal distibution of force when striking something. This is why novelty helmets like ones with cat ears or stuff of that type are considered dangerous; they break up that curved surface and thus can't redistribute that force as evenly. So not only would a motorcycle helmet like ours be uncomfortable for a Magicat and disabling to one of their primary senses, trying to design one to accommodate their ears would increase the danger to them in case of an accident.

The second is that I've already established in the au that overheating is a constant concern for Magicats, and proper protective clothing for human motorcyclists already carries a huge risk of overheating us without the added consideration of having fur. So it would be a trade off between solid protection at heavy risk of personal discomfort and overheating or eschewing that protection and increasing the chance of serious injuries. And yeah, Magicats have good enough senses that they could probably backflip or throw themselves clear if they're about to crash, but just getting off the bike isn't gonna do much if you then smack into another vehicle at 60 mph.

And that's kind of a shame, because otherwise Magicats would be ideal safe motorcyclists. Their spacial awareness and sense of balance is phenomenal, and they'd be great at anticipating and reacting the movements of other drivers. I just couldn't make it work with rock star!Catra because she's a lot less reckless. Canon!Catra I could see taking the risk. Don't get me wrong: if you wanna make Catra a sexy, motorcyle riding catgirl you have my full support. I just couldn't justify it in this au.

Honestly, there'll probably be more later, but I'm tapped for now. Would love to hear what if any of you have any thoughts. And of course, if you like what you've read and haven't already, check out my rock star au under the Rhythm & Blues tag or the masterpost list. ;)

[thelastspeecher]

King Stansort AU - Shermie

During a break from working on my thesis defense, I opened up my Stansort AU doc on a whim to reread some stuff, like I often do.  And I stumbled across something I had written but never finished, so never posted.  So, naturally, I finished off the thing (it was almost done anyways) and here it is: Shermie finally showing up in the AU where Stan marries a foreign princess and becomes a king consort.  Think of it as something to tide you all over until I update “Recoil” next week.

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              “Mr. Pines?”  Shermie looked up from the stack of homework he was currently sifting through.  He beamed at one of his favorite students, Devin.

              “What’s up, Devin?” he asked kindly.  Devin chewed on his lip.

              “I, um…”  Devin took a breath.  “Do you have a brother named Stanley?”

              “…Yes, I do,” Shermie said.  He leaned back in his chair.  “How did you know that?”

              “Well, for Social Studies, we have to bring in a current event every week and explain it,” Devin said, talking much faster than he usually did. Dread began to mount in Shermie’s chest.

              If Stan’s on the news, that can’t be good.

              “And my mom, she was helping me find a current event to bring in,” Devin continued.  “She likes following royal stuff, even royal stuff from places like Denmark or whatever. Not just England, like most people.” Shermie nodded silently.  “So she told me to- to use this.”  Devin dug a piece of paper out of his backpack and placed it on Shermie’s desk.  “I thought that the guy looked sorta like you, and then I read that he had the same last name and was from New Jersey like you are and is- is that your brother?” Shermie stared down at the piece of paper.  It was a printout of a news article from online, with a large image at the top of the page.  The image was a picture of two people dressed in fine clothes being showered with petals. And one of the people was unmistakably Stan.

              “Yes, that is my brother,” Shermie said in a thick voice.  He cleared his throat.  “Do you need this back or-”

              “No, I’ve- I’ve got two copies.  Just in case you wanted to keep that one,” Devin said.  Shermie nodded.  “Are you upset?”

              “What?  No! No, I’m not.  Just surprised.”  Shermie smiled in a reassuring manner.  “And thankful.  Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”  Devin nodded jerkily.  “You should probably go if you don’t want to be late for your next class.”

              “Right!  Okay, bye, Mr. Pines!”  Shermie waved at Devin as he raced out of the classroom.  He looked back at the article resting on his desk.

              “American Pauper Marries European Princess”?  That’s…how did Stan do that?  I doubt any of us would be able to marry royalty, but Stan seems the least likely.  He’s not refined at all.  Shermie picked the piece of paper up and stared intently at the picture.  There was no one else it could be, other than Stan. Stan seemed well-groomed, well-kempt, and euphoric as he beamed at his new wife.  Guilt trickled into Shermie.  Stan had been kicked out while Shermie was deployed and was long gone by the time his tour ended.  It was something that weighed on Shermie; the wondering of whether things might have gone differently if he’d been there or gotten home sooner or even tried just a bit harder to find Stan.  Clearly, I didn’t need to, if he married a princess.  But still…

              “Hi, Mr. Pines!”  A voice shocked Shermie from his thoughts.  He forced a smile at the flood of students entering his classroom.

              “Hello, Bethany,” he replied, unable to see her in the mass but recognizing her voice.  He shook off the guilt and regret.

              I have to focus.  My students don’t deserve to lose out on English class just because I found out where my brother is.  He managed a half-smile.  Even if they’d prefer to spend the whole period doing anything but learning.

----- 

              When he arrived home, Shermie dropped his bags by the front door, kissed his wife Amelia and their young son, Caleb, and made a beeline for the desktop computer.  A quick search on the internet for “Stanley Pines” resulted in dozens of hits about Shermie’s younger brother, almost all linked to his relationship with royalty. Specifically, the royal family of the small European country of Lirone.

              Lirone?  I’ve never heard of it.  Shermie clicked a few links, trying to get as much information as quickly as possible into Stan’s current circumstances.  Then again, I’m not a geography teacher.  He spent well over an hour diving into articles on Stan, Lirone, and the Lirone royal family, only stopping when his wife called him for dinner.

              “In a minute, love,” he said absent-mindedly, still focused intently on an article detailing Stan’s wedding.  Amelia walked into the living room and propped a hand on her hip.

              “What exactly are you doing?” she asked.  Shermie tore his gaze away from the computer screen.

              “I know where my brother is.”

              “Well, yeah, so do I.  He does research in Oregon.”

              “No, not that brother.  My other one. Stanley,” Shermie said.  Amelia frowned, confused.  “He made a big show of being allowed to drink champagne at our wedding.”

              “Oh!  And then, because he was talking about it so much, got told he couldn’t anymore?”

              “Yep.  That’s him.” Shermie looked back at the computer. “I don’t know if you remember, but he got kicked out while I was on tour.  I tried to track him down when I came back and- and I couldn’t.”

              “But now you know where he is.”

              “Yes.  One of my students gave me a news article today about him,” Shermie said.  Amelia sucked air between her teeth.

              “Oh, that can’t be good.”

              “No, it’s- honestly, it’s better than good.  It’s astounding.  Stan married a princess.”  Amelia’s jaw dropped.  “That was my reaction, too.”  Shermie clicked on another link, this one leading to contact information for the Lironian royal family.  “I need to talk to him.”

              “Honey, I don’t know if you should,” Amelia said gently.  Shermie froze in the middle of filling out a form. “He married a princess and never told you or Ford or your parents.  If he wanted to talk to you, he woulda sent an invite to the wedding, right?”

              “I…”  Shermie’s hands fell away from the keyboard.  “…You’re right.”  A weary weight settled on his shoulders.  “He has resources available to him.  If he wanted, he would have been more than able to contact me.  But he chose not to do that, even when he got married.” Shermie hung his head.  “I can’t- I can’t really blame Stan for not wanting to talk to me.  I shoulda tried harder to find him, I-”  Amelia walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

              “Don’t blame yourself.  You did what you could.”

              “Yes, but-”

              “Maybe he just needs time.  I’m sure he’ll reach out when he’s good and ready.”

              “Maybe,” Shermie mumbled.  Crying began to emit from Caleb’s playpen, which was set up in the middle of the living room.  Shermie got up from the computer.  “I’ll take care of the little stinker if you want to serve up dinner?”

              “Sure thing,” Amelia said.  She kissed him on the cheek.  Shermie walked over to the playpen and picked his son up.  He glanced back at the computer.

              Amelia’s right.  I need to let Stan make the first move.  But that doesn’t mean I won’t keep an eye on him and what he gets up to.  I am still his big brother, after all.

----- 

              Shermie turned on the news.  For four years now, he’d been following the actions of the Lirone royal family. Perusing pictures of them at events, watching speeches translated into English, and being moved to tears by announcement of the princesses’ birth.  He was still heartbroken that Stan had yet to contact him, despite being a father now.

              But that’s not what’s important at the moment.  What’s important is that Stan’s wife was shot and they still haven’t caught the would-be assassin.  Shermie sat down on the couch to wait for any updates. The phone rang.

              “Amelia, would you mind?” he called.  The phone stopped ringing.  He could faintly make out Amelia asking who was on the phone.  The news segment changed.

              “In international news, we’re receiving word that the royal family of the small European country of Lirone had a visit this last month,” the newscaster said.  Shermie leaned forward.  “The news of the visit was public information in Lirone, but kept out of international news organizations, due to the country’s unique privacy laws.  However, now that the visit is over, we can retroactively inform an international audience that it occurred.”  A picture appeared on screen of Stan and his daughters walking in a garden.  Shermie smiled.  “Apparently, the visit was from none other than the king consort’s estranged twin, a Dr. Stanford Pines.”  The picture zoomed out, revealing Ford walking with Stan and his daughters. Shermie’s smile was wiped away.

              What?

              “Shermie,” Amelia said, walking into the living room.  She held out the phone.  “It’s for you.”

              “Sweetheart, I’m not sure I-” Shermie started, his eyes still glued to the television screen.

              “It’s Stan.”  Shermie’s head whipped around.  Amelia nodded.  “So are you gonna take it, or should I tell a literal king that you’re too busy watching TV to talk to him?”  Shermie held out his hand.  “That’s what I thought.”  Amelia handed him the phone.  Shermie swallowed and held the phone up to his ear.

              “…Stan?” he croaked.

              “Yeah.”  At the sound of his younger brother’s distinct voice, Shermie could feel tears welling up.  “Yeah, it’s- it’s me.  Look, I, uh-” Stan took a breath.  “I figured it’s about time you knew what I’ve been up to.”

              “I know.”

              “Wait, you do?” Stan asked.  There was a muffled commotion on his end of the call.  “Danny-”  Stan said something in a foreign language.  A high-pitched voice asked a question in the same tongue.  “Non.”

              “Apr-”

              “Non,” Stan said, more firmly.  He barked out an order, still not speaking English.  There was another muffled commotion.  “Sorry about that,” Stan said.  “It’s a little bit crazy over here.”

              “I know.  Being a father is difficult.”

              “You know about-”

              “Yes, Stanley,” Shermie said.  “I know you married a princess, who became a queen.  I know that you have twin daughters.  And I know that your wife was recently the subject of an assassination attempt.”  Stan was quiet for a moment.

              “How?” he finally asked.

              “One of my students stumbled across an article about you when you were married.  I’ve been keeping track of you since then.”

              “I…”  Stan seemed at a loss for words.  He finally let out a small laugh.  “Well, there goes the whole little speech I had planned.”  Shermie smiled.  “Ford had no clue.”

              “Stanford is brilliant.  But he tends to focus his observational skills on things other than human interactions.”

              “Yeah.  You’re right.”  Stan cleared his throat.  “So, uh, Ford, he- he actually visited us here in Lirone.”

              “The news just mentioned that.”  Shermie leaned against the back of the couch.  “I’m honestly surprised you invited him.”

              “I didn’t.  Turns out his research partner is my brother-in-law, Fiddleford.  Ford saw what happened to Angie on the news and convinced Fiddleford to let him visit.”

              “Really?  During such a tumultuous time?”

              “Yep.  It didn’t go well.  I, uh, I actually kicked him out.  But that’s not- that’s not why I’m calling.  I’m calling to…”  Stan took a breath.  “Invite you to the castle.”  Shermie sat up straight.

              “Wait, what?”

              “It’s- my kids, they deserve to know my side of the family.  I shouldn’t keep them from meeting you and Mom, just ‘cause I don’t know how to let go of a grudge.”

              “But you don’t want them know Pops?”

              “Oh, hell no.  If Pops shows up, he’s getting kicked outta the country right away.”

              “Smart move.”

              “But yeah, I- I want my kids to get to know their Uncle Shermie.  They really liked Ford and he’s not half as good with kids as you are, so I know they’d love you.”  Stan paused.  “And…I wanna see you, too.  It’s been a long time.”

              “It most definitely has.”

              “So you’ll visit?”

              “Of course!”

              “That’s- that’s great.”  Stan sounded relieved.  A muffled voice said something on Stan’s end of the call.  “I gotta go.  But, uh, I’ll have my people set it up, okay?”

              “You won’t be-”

              “I don’t really have the time to set it up myself,” Stan said.  Shermie’s heart sunk.

              Right.  He’s a king consort.  He has more important things to do.

              “We’ve got the best people working here, though, and they’ll call you to iron out the details.  I really- I really gotta go.  There’s a debriefing and-”  Stan cut himself off.  “You don’t need to know about it.  All right, bye.”

              “Bye,” Shermie said, barely getting it in before Stan hung up. Footsteps sounded.  Shermie looked up.  Amelia had joined him in the living room.  She raised an eyebrow.

              “Well?” she asked.  Shermie let out a long sigh.

              “It looks like I’m going to Europe.”

----- 

              Shermie nervously drummed his fingers on his lap as he stared out the window. His luggage was packed in the trunk of the town car that had come to pick him up from the airport.

              “I’ve never had a chauffer before,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. The driver glanced at him but didn’t say anything.  “Not a talker, then,” Shermie mumbled to himself.  He looked down at the bag sitting by his feet containing gifts for Danny and Daisy.  His mouth went dry.

              That was a mistake!  Why did I bother getting presents for literal princesses?  They can get anything they want.  He took a deep, calming breath.  Relax.  It’s going to be fine.  He resumed looking out the window.  While he’d been distracted, the car had turned down a long, winding driveway leading to a castle.  Shermie swallowed.

              The town car came to a stop.  Before Shermie could even reach for the handle, the driver jumped out of the car and opened the door for him.

              “Thank you,” Shermie said.  The driver merely nodded.  Shermie grabbed the bag with his nieces’ presents and stepped outside.  He turned to the driver.  “Do you know where Stan is?”

              “The king consort got caught up in a meeting,” a voice said.  Shermie turned around again.  A man strode over.  He was short and slender, wearing fine, tailored clothes.  The man stuck his hand out for Shermie to shake.  “The name’s Lute.”

              “Lute…you’re one of the princes?” Shermie asked.  Lute grinned.

              “Yep.”

              “I recognize the name.  As well as, to be honest, the nose.”  Lute laughed.

              “I’m not offended, don’t worry.  The royal nose is large and distinctive.”  He blew his dark bangs out of his face.  “It’s also one of the first things both your brothers mentioned when meeting me.”

              “That sounds like my brothers,” Shermie said.  Lute raised an eyebrow.

              “You mentioned it as well.”

              “Fair,” Shermie said lightly.  The driver set Shermie’s items on the ground next to him.  Lute looked down and caught sight of the bag containing Danny and Daisy’s gifts.

              “What’s in there?”

              “I-”  Shermie rubbed the back of his neck.  “This is stupid, but I brought Danny and Daisy some presents.”  Lute was silent.  “I just- I felt bad about missing their birthdays and- I’ll bring them back.”

              “Why?”

              “Well, Danny and Daisy are princesses.  They can get whatever they want.”

              “Pfft.”  Lute snorted. “Not quite.  Do they have access to more than the average child? Yes.  But Angie and Stan don’t want their daughters to be spoiled.  Not to mention, they rarely get American items.” Lute smiled reassuringly at Shermie. “Trust me, they’ll be happy just to meet you.  When you give them gifts?  They’ll be – ah, what’s the phrase – over the moon.”  Shermie smiled back hesitantly.  Over Lute’s shoulder, he saw the large main door open.  His mouth went dry.  A man exited the castle and walked over to Lute and Shermie.

              “Uh, heya, Sherm,” Stan said awkwardly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his tailored slacks.  Acting on impulse, Shermie abruptly embraced Stan.  Stan stiffened in shock at first, but relaxed and returned the gesture. Shermie broke off the hug.

              “Hello, Stanley.  It’s good to see you again.”

              “Yeah, uh, you- you too,” Stan mumbled.  He cleared his throat.  “Um, come- come inside.  If the girls don’t see you in the next five minutes, they’re gonna riot.”

              “That’s the only reason you want me inside?” Shermie deadpanned.  “You’re not concerned that if I stay out all night I might freeze to death?  Or be attacked by bears?”  Stan rolled his eyes.  “You don’t want me to come in because you want to catch up with me?  No, it’s because your daughters will be upset? Sure.  Whatever you say.”  Stan punched Shermie on the shoulder playfully.

              “Shut up and get your ass inside the castle.”

              “Well, since you asked so nicely…” Shermie said slowly.  Stan let out a laugh.  Shermie beamed, glad that his tactic to make things less awkward had worked.  “Don’t worry, I’m as excited as your daughters are.”

              “That’s a high bar, Sherm.  They loved it when Ford was here.  I think they’re expecting someone that looks just like him.”  Stan looked Shermie up and down.  “They’re gonna be disappointed.”  Shermie rolled his eyes.  Stan turned around and began to walk back to the castle.  “No use delaying their disappointment!  C’mon, Sherm.”  Lute and Shermie exchanged an amused look.  Stan stopped at the door to look back.  “I’m a king, Shermie.  I can have you court-martialed.”

              “You may be a king,” Shermie said, picking up his luggage, “but you’re also my little brother.  If you court-martial me, I’ll have no choice but to tell the press all about Mr. Tummy.” Stan grimaced.

              “Fine.”  He sighed in an exaggerated manner.  “I won’t court-martial you.”

              Shaking his head to hide his smile, Shermie followed Stan and Lute inside.

[themockingcrows]

Two Fates, Two Kingdoms ch. 19: A Broken Moon

While Dirk puts on the strongest of faces for his command, not all is well behind the curtains. AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2606711/chapters/63960421

Notes: Hey ya'll, sorry for the long wait! It's been. Well. It's been one hell of a time, as I'm sure you're all well aware. But no time like the present to get back in gear.

    “How long has this been happening?” Jake asked. He’d managed to get Dirk to his room, where the king promptly pushed away from his helper to heave in a bin. His lips were tinted red as his fingertips when he was done, and he looked just as ashen as he had in the hall. Dirk’s steps were shaky as he wiped his mouth and hands before walking to his bedside table for a glass of water to slowly sip.

    “Some months now. It’s not daily, thankfully, but every few days.. Something will set the coughing off, or my stomach will roil. Blood above and below.”

    “What does your physician say of it?” pressed Jake, looking sincerely worried now. Here he’d been wanting to question the fellow and have a chat, and now all he wanted to do was stuff him into a set of pajamas and force him into bed.

    “That I need rest. Less stress. Gentle diet, more time in bed, more sleep. The usual,” he said once he’d finished his glass of water. Dirk took a seat on his bed then and carefully pulled off his shoes, arranging them precisely in position to where they’d been that morning. “A lot of things I won’t be doing.”

    Jake lifted a brow and crossed his arms awkwardly, uncertain of what to do with himself, where to sit. Eventually he went to a spare seat and tugged it closer to the bed to continue speaking with the king.

    “And why not?”

    “Because I’ve more important things to be doing. If you’ve not noticed, I’ve been rather busy with this whole running a country thing, and if I ease up everything will fall apart like a stack of cards.”

    “You’ve siblings. And advisors.”

    “Bah.”

    Jake frowned. This.. didn’t make any sense. Was this how the country was being run this whole time? By a single man running himself into the dirt to juggle everything at once? It wasn’t at all how his family had been taught to spread out the rule. There were no advisors weighing in to take some of the thought and effort out? Nobody to bounce ideas off of? Not even his siblings to weigh in or take responsibilities of lesser important tasks? No wonder there was so much time for the sisters to spend writing, there was little else for them to really do in the castle by way of giving orders or fulfilling duties.

    “If I may..?”

    “You may not,” Dirk said promptly, “but no doubt you will anyway, so spit it out.”

    Clearing his throat for a moment, Jake soon leaned forward on his elbows with a concerned expression. “I see that you’re wanting to handle everything on your own for whatever reason, but what’s your plan for when that inevitably fails?”

    “Oh. Quite simple. It won’t fail,” Dirk said. “This was an unforeseen circumstance, but it’s being taken in stride and adjusted for.”

    “And your siblings, do they know?”

    “Roxy and Rose do. Dave would have known as well, had he been around to see it. They do me the favor of not bringing it up, and if they make the mistake of bringing it up it gets dropped plenty quick,” Dirk said. He rose to his feet, pace slow and easy as he crossed the room to rummage in his wardrobe for a change of clothes. “Do me the favor of not trying to kill me for a few moments. I’d hate to have a near death experience in my underclothes.”

    “Wh- I’d never!” sputtered Jake, taken aback enough he recoiled physically in his seat as Dirk looked pointedly at him before excusing himself through a door which he left cracked to continue the conversation as he changed. The soft rustle of clothing moving and hitting the floor followed Dirk’s words.

    “Is this all you plan on doing, then? Question my motives and methods, offer ham handed advice as an outsider, appeal to emotions and concerns, and then wander off feeling better about yourself?”

    “I-. No, I just-”

    “Or are you going to pose my family as the be all end all reason for doing things instead of my entire kingdom and everyone inside of it who rely on me.”

    “N-no, just. I was.. I was just..”

    “You were just what, then. Not here to guilt me, not here to offer advice supposedly despite already trying to do that here and there, not here to try killing me.” Dirk reappeared in a long night shirt, bare calves on display as he went to dump the clothing into a hamper before returning to sit on his bed properly, ankles crossing. “Consider me curious.”

    Jake stared for a moment before looking hurriedly to the ground, trying to refocus and get his words together. It had happened again. The same reaction as before, robbing his words and making his mind shrink back as if he were being chewed out by his father. The exact same way.. Licking his lips, Jake finally lifted his chin.

    “Teach me to do what you’re doing. What you just did.”

    “...If you don’t know how to change into night clothes on your own, are you intending on sleeping in the nude, or..?”

    “Not that!” he cried. “Just. The forcefulness you have is different to my own! I know how to sound official, I know how to sound powerful, but the effect is very different. When you speak it commands attention, when I speak it’s more requesting it. When you snip and snap your words they’re sharp as blades, when I do it it’s. ...It’s very not,” finished Jake lamely.

    Dirk stared at him, sized him up, and seemed to be weighing his options.

    “You, a prince who has apparently abdicated all positions of power as it is, are asking me, the reigning king of the land that’s currently allowing you to stay within it with certain restrictions due to the being at war with your country of origin, how to.. be a better royal leader.”

    “Or leader in general. A bit more callous,” Jake admitted. “I was meant to be next in line for the crown before we left. I could have done it, if pressed, but not well. Not really, not with my heart entirely in it. But hearing you speak? It’s like hearing my father’s words cut the air! How do you do that?!”

    “Are you out of your fucking mind or just stupid.”

    “You see! Like that!” Jake said, pointing Dirk’s direction, face lighting up. “Just like that, how do you do that so easily!”

    Again Dirk stared at his earlier helper, trying to decide if he really was crazy or pulling his leg, before he finally cracked a lopsided grin. Okay. He’d bite.

    “...Fine. You’re a strange one, but I’ll consider this your one direct request allotment while staying here. First lesson: stop acting like an overly eager puppy in conversation, it sets you up for failure.”

    “Like a-? Oh. Yes, of course,” Jake chuckled. “My apologies, I’m not normally like this when important things are happening, when I’m focused. I’m just a bit excited is all.”

    Dirk looked away as he slipped up into his soft bedding, slender legs disappearing beneath the sheets and blanket before shuffling to remain propped up during conversation. He’d be back up soon as this Prospitian left his damned room, but for now he may as well humor his concerns and give the appearance of resting or at least a supposed intention to rest.

    “Oh, of course,” he said, though his tone belied his belief. “You’re only like this because of me, surely.”

    “Because of being somewhere so new with someone who has the talents I’d like to acquire, yes!” Jake said, apparently none the wiser to Dirk’s inner thoughts. He beamed in place, a perky sun in the presence of an exhausted moon.

    “Lesson two: cease being an open book. What people can read from you should be merely the specific script you’ve laid out for them and nothing more,” Dirk said, leaning back into his cushions and crossing his arms over his stomach. Okay, this was more comfortable than sitting upright, especially after the coughing fit. A little longer wouldn’t hurt anyone. “I know you can’t be this hopeless. Show me your face you wear when you’re conducting official business.”

    Jake was like a different man. It took a moment but he straightened his back, tamed his smile and pulled up the charm instead. He was appealing and looked approachable, and when he finally spoke it was with soft enunciation that bespoke confidence. All in all, when he was trying, Jake looked a bit like a different person.

    “Like this?”

    Dirk frowned.

    “You seem to have a firm enough grasp on everything already, why are you asking for advice and acting like an imbecile the rest of the time if you’re capable enough at first glance.”

    Jake sighed and slumped somewhat.

    “Because it’s all an act. You don’t seem to be acting much at all, you just have this air about you naturally. How can I do that?” asked Jake, frowning. “I’d like to be able to just have it be like a lit candle, happening while I wanted it to without needing to focus the entire time on it, then be able to snuff it out when the work is done without it being so drastic.”

    “You’re asking the impossible,” Dirk decided with a shake of his head. “The most I can offer is some advice, but you’re asking the impossible and I can make no promises as to that.” It was getting harder to will himself away from the cushions, and he could feel fatigue creeping up his body from his toes like spreading frostbite, but the trap was already set. Damn it all, it looked like rest would be coming his way whether he wanted it or not, at least for a time. “Everyone wears masks, you just need to be more strategic in how you are while removing it or placing it on so it’s less shocking, it seems like.”

    Jake continued to frown, but he looked like he was parsing Dirk’s words closely as he could, trying to weigh the options out.

    “I don’t think everyone’s always wearing masks, that would be no way to live,” he said. “But you’re right in the donning part of the equation I suppose. Perhaps I should mind myself closer whilst the mask is off, it’ll feel more natural to put it on then?”

    Made as good of sense as anything else Jake had thought of.

    When Dirk didn’t reply with the same speed as before, Jake glanced up from the middle distance he’d been staring at in thought, surprised. The king, still gray in the face, was settled in repose with his chin gently turned at an angle, head drooping down towards his chest. Slow, even breaths made his chest rise and fall beneath the blankets, and every so often he’d imperceptibly twitch a muscle here or there as if trying and failing to rouse himself. Sleep had claimed him, whether he wanted to be claimed or not, and Jake couldn’t help but grin a bit. Unconscious Dirk didn’t seem nearly as imposing a figure. If anything he looked younger than he was when the crease between his brows was gone, making him look more similar to Dave than before. Perhaps it was this similarity that made Jake’s hand reach out to smooth the bangs away from Dirk’s brow before he froze and yanked his hand back as if stung and rose to his feet. Easy now, mind your manners, mind your hands. Don’t do weird things in a place that’s potentially going to kill you on a whim.

    “Perhaps we’ll continue speaking later,” Jake said quietly once he calmed himself down. He bowed, a sign of respect he felt he owed Dirk even if the other wasn’t awake, before he quietly turned and left the room, sliding the door shut with a gentle click behind himself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    “Jake?” Dave asked, surprised when the elder prince entered his chambers. John was reclined on the foot of his bed comfortably as if he were back in his own room, head cradled on the palm of his hand, and Dave was propped up with his back against his lover’s stomach and hips so they could share a book together. Another book was open in front of John, acting as a translation key they could both access. “I was wondering where you went, you were gone for so long.”

    “Dirk and I shared a few words and time got away from us,” Jake chuckled after a moment.

    “Really? I didn’t think that he’d have shared his time with you, based on how he was acting before,” Dave admitted, marking his place in the book before closing it and setting it down at his side.

    Jake came closer before sitting on the bed as well, humming as he settled near John’s feet and leaned back with his weight on his palms. He lifted his chin a bit and clucked softly, pursing his lips as he thought over his words. “Mm. Perhaps it’s the elder brother in both of us, but I think we hit it off fairly well enough. Was allowed into his chambers and we discussed a few things, I believe he’ll be more interested in talking tomorrow though. He seemed quite sleepy when I left.”

    “Dirk? Sleepy? Hah, I haven’t seen him sleepy since I was little,” Dave admitted. “It’s like he never sleeps. He’s always into something, up to something, making things, doing things.. Any time I used to try going to his room, he was always already awake.”

    “Well. Maybe he was just feeling a bit tired from all the sudden changes the day has brought and the stress such things bring with it,” Jake said, shrugging his broad shoulders. He could still see the red drips between those pale fingers, the seething look in those golden eyes. A proud, pained, haughty man doing his god damned best to pretend everything was perfectly fine with more effort than even his body could keep up with... There was an unspoken honor Jake felt on keeping what he’d seen secretive, and that unspoken promise would be honored to the best of his ability. It wasn’t his secret to divulge, and what little trust he’d managed to scrape up between them so far would be thrown out the window in a hurry if he opened his trap now. “Aside from that though, how did you two finish your meal? Well I hope?”

    “Oh, yes. We just started tucking back into that book again and.. Jake, it’s kind of amazing,” Dave admitted. “I think we have a real treasure on our hands.”

    “Or a real sack of lies, depending on how you look at it,” John said quietly, gaining a huff from Dave. He reached for the closed book and wiggled it a bit for emphasis. “If we’re reading this correctly, this accounts for the missing prince and princess of Prospit and Derse proper, back before the war.”

    Jake quirked a brow. “How so?”

    “They apparently wanted to be wed without the political mess hanging over their heads. They wanted to marry for love.. So they fled,” Dave said. “Dropped responsibilities, made it look like a massacre and fled to Skaia.”

    “What’s the purpose of that though? Wouldn’t they know that the fighting would just break out?” Jake said with a frown. “If that’s the truth, they should have just come back and explained things when everything started to grow worse.”

    “Maybe they did,” Dave said. “We haven’t gotten too far in it, and there’s more of the book to go. I can’t imagine why anyone would turn their back on their country in such a way though.”

    John cleared his throat. “Oh, I don’t know, it doesn’t seem that far fetched considering I abandoned Prospit to bring you to Derse. Is your memory acting up again, Dave? Headache coming on?”

    Dave rolled his eyes. “This is very different. We were already deep in war for this long, it would have continued even if I came alone. I don’t know what can be done to stop something like this for certain.. But in the past, before there was this much history of bloodshed, what purpose would such a stunt serve? It makes no sense to me.”

    Jake reached over for the book and flipped through it for a moment till he realized it was in Skaian, then handed it back. “Pity, I feel such a book would do well with some illustrations.”

    “Don’t you have things with your prince in them? Books with illustrations I mean,” Dave asked curiously.

    “Oh, yes, here and there. To not forget him,” he said. “...It does seem odd that they’d not include her as well, but then again perhaps it’s for the best. Avoided making her look like some horrid crone out of anger.”

    “She was lovely, and I’ve no doubt the prince was handsome,” Dave said. “But I agree, I’d like to see them together at least once. If this is true and they loved each other enough to run away from everything, they must have been very devoted to each other already.”

    “For an arranged political marriage that’s rare,” John said. “I already know some of the people my father had eyes on for marriage prospects and honestly I can’t imagine a romance like that happening from such a quick meeting...”

    “What, you didn’t want to kiss me after I wound up beneath your bed like a beast when I was first in your chambers?” Dave asked with a smirk, reaching back to ruffle John’s messy hair. He wound up squeezed around the middle for his troubles, dragged backwards when John rolled with him in his bearlike grasp till he was shuffled for dear life and squeezed bodily with his legs and arms at the same time between laughs. “I yield! I yield!”

    Jake smiled softly at their antics. This was the entire reason they’d left, at the core of it all. To protect this.

    “Even if it wasn’t immediate, it was still surprising you two wound up hitting it off as well as you did. If you’d just wound up blending in like any other servant I don’t know how our lives would have turned out differently.”

    “I’d rather not think of the alternatives,” John admitted. “It’s been enough of a ride to just get here, and even with the bumps I’m happy. Satisfied.”

    “Satisfied wearing a collar in my brother’s court?”

    “Eh. We’re not being forced into actual servitude, I can bear wearing some heavy jewelry for a while,” he chuckled, releasing Dave finally and finding himself even more pleased when the Dersite didn’t flee his side, instead tucking himself nice and close in a more comfortable position. “Besides, it’s all a formality. Nobody’s treating us any different.”

    “We’re getting stared at plenty,” Jake corrected.

    “Can you blame them for gawking? A set of Prospitians suddenly in the heart of the castle, wandering around with the missing prince? You stand out a good deal.”

    “Yeah, we’re twice your size.”

    “You’re also terribly handsome,” Dave smirked, clearing his throat when he could all but hear Jake roll his eyes playfully. “Anyway. ...I’m glad you and my brother apparently get on, Jake. Things could be a lot worse if you didn’t get along with him. My influence or not.”

    “Speaking of your influence,” Jake said, “what are your plans for things? If you remain and the marriage takes place.”

    “I plan on doing what I can, but I don’t plan on pushing myself,” Dave admitted. “I’ve been away and out of the loop for so long I’m concerned I’ll be seen as a novelty more than as a prince anymore, at least for a time. People will be wanting to see me just to see me, not to hear what I’ve got to say.”

    “See you and your pet Prospitian,” John joked, taking up Dave’s hand to kiss his fingers. The slim digits wiggled briefly in front of his lips before going still once more, letting him do as he pleased.

    “What about you, Jake? If things are well and we remain, are you going to stay too? Or go adventuring?”

    “Mm. I’m not certain… It doesn’t feel quite right to just leave, anymore,” Jake admitted. Not since his talk with Dirk, at least. “I believe there are things in Derse I could learn, for instance. And if there’s any hope of Jade or Jane achieving power-”

    “We’re still hoping Prospit doesn’t unleash a hellish attack on us for my taking you two here,” Dave interrupted, worrying his lip for a moment. John squeezed his hand and he ceased his nervous nibbling a moment later.

    “I have faith in Jade and Jane,” John said. “They’re capable and intelligent, I doubt they’re going to just keep following orders forever.”

    “...Are you suggesting they stage a coup?” Jake asked.

    “I’m suggesting they stage a coup,” John said with a grin. “Jade has the military at her command, and she’s the best they’ve got. If she took power from father… then she and Jane would be the ones in command.”

    “And they’d be willing to listen,” Dave said. “Or, at least, to talk with my brother about all of this.”

    “Well. I doubt it will just end the war overnight. Even if a peaceful solution is found, or something of importance is done, there will be infighting for ages,” John said. “This much bad blood doesn’t just disappear. But it would stop Skaia from being in such a militarized zone, and we’d stop waging constant skirmishes back and forth for territory. Instead we’d be able to join forces to settle outbreaks of violence as they occur and try to integrate people along the lines more than what they are now.”

    “You know, for someone who claims to not have much of an interest in politics, you’re quite adept at them,” Jake said with a grin. “I suppose we’d best start finding ways to send word to the girls we’ve arrived safely, strike up some form of communication in case they need assistance.”

    “Hey, I must have picked SOMETHING up from all those lessons I had to sit and listen to over the years. Also… what assistance can we really give?” John said with a shrug. “We’re three. Any assistance from Derse would be frowned upon, I believe.”

    “It would look like we were taking over, instead of putting someone level headed on the throne,” Dave agreed. “I think right now, the ball is in your sisters’ court.”

    “I think right now it’s too late to be talking politics when we’ve barely been here and in one piece for any length of time,” John said with a yawn. “What time do we sleep ?”

    Dave stretched a bit, popping a spot in his upper back. “Any time I suppose. It’s not as if we have an audience to attend to in the morning. Just breakfast with my family.”

    Breakfast with the family sounded so casual, it was almost easy to forget how things stood now, how they were being kept. How tense things truly were behind the civility, now that the added threat of danger was looming on the horizon. No, Jake decided. Dave was home and celebrated, and things were going to be positive, at least for a little while. He would deal with Dirk in his own way while learning from him, perhaps. Grease the wheels for their younger siblings and their romance.

    After all, what better could come out of a war between two parties than star crossed love like this? He glanced over towards Dave and John, who were caught in a fit of murmuring quietly to each other as they adjusted things around them, sorting out where to set the books they’d been looking over so they’d not get damaged before Rose could see them, trying to decide if John wanted underneath the blankets or not as Dave himself casually tucked himself into place.

    The world was gone for them, and all that existed was a sweet, slightly somber bedtime routine that had taken place so many nights in reverse that he’d honestly lost count. They exchanged a chaste kiss before Dave nestled into the crook of John’s shoulder and chest, both glancing down to the foot of the bed at Jake with a grin.

    “Feels odd to have beds again, doesn’t it?” John asked. “Even if we weren’t outdoors for that long, not being in a sleeping pack is strange.”

    “Same with not all huddling together,” Dave admitted.

    “Well, you two seem to be huddling plenty,” Jake said with a grin of amusement.

    “...There’s room for one more,” Dave said, patting the other side of the mattress. “If you’d like company in a new place for the first night, I mean, rather than making do in the cot.”

    “Rethinking my offer of taking turns servicing you, eh?” Jake joked, already moving to take the invitation. He slipped up with a jingle behind Dave, giving him room but being more than content to snatch one of the many cushions for himself to use with his head and a folded arm.

    “Perhaps. You’ll make a fine source of warmth,” Dave chuckled. “Though, I’d recommend you both get under the blanket. The fires are warm now, but they’ll die out by morning, and I don’t want you two getting sick so soon, after finally making it here.”

    Without a word, the brothers rose up and slipped beneath the offered covers, soon curling closer together, Dave in the center like a pearl hidden between the shells of an oyster. He smiled softly, content and comfortable, and feeling safer than he had before. Even in his own home, learned habits of safety died hard, and it wasn’t till his friend was near as his lover that Dave could settle down and sleep.

    John followed not long after, exhausted after the long day, but Jake remained awake a time longer, green eyes alert and lingering in the dark. Wondering as to what the other royals were doing, and if a certain golden eyed king was still asleep or if he was awake once more burning the midnight oil running a kingdom on his own ruined spine. When sleep claimed him, it was dreamless and dark as ink, but miraculously… restful.

[calorieworkouts]

The Ultimate Butt Workout

Who does not desire buns of steel? No one, that's that. So if you desire a wonderful butt, you can quit looking due to the fact that today we're going to reveal you precisely how to tone your butt. No, we're not chatting regarding making use of the 'Butt Gun' device ...

You're going to uncover the outright best exercises to shape your booty to buoyant posterior excellence, without having to spend for Brazilian Butt lift surgical treatment (yes, it exists). If getting the gluteus you've always needed audios fascinating to you - check out on!

Before we begin, allow's talk regarding the exercises you do not want to do. The fundamental policy is: if it gets on an equipment, you most likely shouldn't be doing it. The very best workouts are typically mosting likely to be compound exercises with weights, cable exercises or bodyweight exercises.

To make things simpler, we're mosting likely to provide you the exercise in advance and after that show you how to do it underneath. Without more trouble ...

Pin this workout:

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And if you intend to print this workout out:

So, currently that's out of the way, let's come down to booty-burning company. First things initially, a little key: if you intend to workout your butt truly well, prior to you dive in to the major exercises, you need to see to it your glutes are mosting likely to be fully engaged ... and the most effective means to do that? Fire up your glutes prior to you struck the exercise. This is additionally known as glute activation, or merely as we like to call it: heating up your butt. Now you may be wondering why we require to do this. Other than helping to stop injuries, there's an additional reason: thanks to the excellent old 9-5 spent resting on our tush, the majority of people have weak glutes, tight hip flexors and tight hamstrings, which indicates if they dive straight into the exercises they don't target their glutes, however rather other muscle mass like the upper legs (quadriceps in the front, adductors on the within and hamstrings at the back).

We love attractive, defined thighs as long as you do, but unless you activate your glutes first you will not be striking that butt as properly as you might be. So if you desire to see a real booty change keep in mind to start by obtaining those glutes fired up. And if you're wondering: yes, these exercises will certainly provide you outstanding thighs too!

Did you recognize: 'Glutes' in fact describes 3 muscles: the gluteus minimus, the gluteus maximus and also the gluteus medius. The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body and also one of your most effective muscle mass. It's function is basically to keep your trunk upright as well as do things like stand, stroll, run, climb up stuff. So thank your booty for being so awesome!

Now, let's jump on to exactly how to actually do this workout.

Warm Up

Before you begin on any of the workouts ensure you've done a 3 - 5 minute heat up first - jogging instantly, jump-rope, and so on. We have actually chatted concerning exactly how crucial it is to workout, so obtain that blood pumping.

Glute Activating Exercises

Before we enter the mechanics of these glute activation workouts, let's go right into a little extra information concerning why we're doing this. Earlier we told you that activation has to do with aiding to avoid injury by heating up your backside - all that's real as well as there's one more reason: to construct glute awareness. With these activation exercises you desire to concentrate on making a more powerful mind-body (or must that be a mind-booty) link with what it really feels like to contract your glutes when you're doing the later workouts. This is essential since in those workouts it's simple to utilize more powerful muscles like your upper legs as opposed to targeting your butt, which suggests that even though you're doing the workout, you wont obtain as near as excellent results. So maintain your concentrate on that booty! And also incidentally, these activation exercises are likewise great for your butt - so it's a two-for-one deal.

Glute Bridge

Glute Bridge exercise video

Remember when you're doing this exercise to obtain a truly great tightening in the glutes. When you press your butt, picture that you intend to crack a walnut in between the cheeks - some individuals also find it helps to think: 'glutes, glutes, glutes' or 'butt, butt, butt'. It may appear a bit weird, yet it's simply a means to concentrate your recognition on the muscle mass you wish to function and also reinforce that mind-body connection. That's something you'll desire to do with all the glute exercises.

Is the vanilla Glute Bridge too easy? Switch it up with one of these variants which enhance the problem:

- Marching Glute Bridge - Weighted Glute Bridge - Single Leg Glute Bridge

Hip Thrust

Hip Thrust exercise video

So you can see that the hip thrust is almost identical to the glute bridge, except it has a much better series of movement (ROM) as well as needs much more force to complete the motion - which means it's an amazing exercise for obtaining a fantastic butt. Once again, if the typical version is as well very easy, after that change it up to a harder variation, however bear in mind to make certain you keep great type - you truly desire to press those glutes on top of the motion as well as stay clear of getting the reduced back.

- Heavy Hip Thrust - Single Leg Hip Thrust

With both the Glute Bridge as well as the Hip Thrust, novices must generally begin with the vanilla variation as well as after that develop up to the harder versions, the single-leg variations are harder to do (while maintaining proper form) because they need even more core stabilization.

Quadruped Hip Extension

Quadruped Hip Expansion workout video

Even though it looks simple, you obtain remarkable glute activation with this workout (even a lot more than with squats according to a study done by the American Council on Workout). Make certain you maintain your core engaged and also don't curve your back. For an extra tough version, you can get a companion to use resistance to your foot of the leg pressing upward.

Lying Side Clam

Lying Side Clam exercise video

This exercise targets the gluteus medius and also is normally rather easy to do, so truly focus on the high quality of the action. To make this exercise much more give even more bang for your buck, capture your glutes 3 - 6 times in the open clam position.

Lying Hip Abduction

Lying Hip Abduction exercise video

A usual mistake individuals make when doing this workout is elevating the leg as well high, so you desire a maximum angle of concerning 45 levels or else you not target the right muscles (due to the physiology of the hip joint). To make this workout harder, you can do the pinhead lying hip kidnapping variant which will certainly make it harder.

Bird Dog

Bird Dog exercise video

The guardian is a great exercise for enhancing core stability and shoulder strength in addition to targeting those glutes. When you remain in the 'flying placement' ensure you obtain a good contraction on your glute muscular tissues, yet beware not to twist or drop your back - you want to develop a straight line from fingers to toes. The various other common mistake people make when doing this workout is overextending the leg, once again maintain your body as level as feasible - if it assists imagine you're creating a tabletop.

Main Glute Workout

Okay, that's the glute activation done! By currently you ought to really feel like you've extensively heated up your butt muscle mass, that's due to the fact that those workouts are fantastic for getting an excellent butt in as well as of themselves. Now we're going to take it further, the next workouts are really going to provide your glutes an excellent exercise. As a matter of fact, it's these exercises (in addition to the hip thrusts from earlier) that are the mainstay of building a lovely butt - so ensure you do them! Keep in mind, the entire factor of doing the glute activation previously was so that when it came to doing these exercises you would generally be targeting your butt instead of thighs (although they will certainly additionally obtain an excellent workout too), so maintain your concentrate on getting an excellent tightening on your butt muscular tissues when doing these.

Squats

If you intend to get a hot butt as well as lovely legs after that crouches are mosting likely to be your brand-new buddy. If you're looking for bang-for-buck possible after that look no additional: squats are just one of the only exercises which will certainly function 75% of your muscles - they're like a full body exercise! So with that said in mind, we're mosting likely to do 3 variants of the squat to truly hit the glutes from several angles.

Full Squat

Full Squat exercise video

The squat is a fantastic exercise, but it's crucial to get your type right and the video clip above offers a great synopsis on how to do it properly. If you wish to make it a lot more difficult you can add some weight (either a kettlebell, a single pinhead or a set of dumbbells):

Full Dumbbell Squat workout video

One essential point to note is when you turn up from the squat you wish to squeeze your glutes yet don't over arch your back. Make certain you take note of your type, since squats offer you so much bang for your buck that it's certainly worth getting your kind like feasible, particularly prior to you begin including heavier weight.

Wide Squat

Wide Squat exercise video

Studies have actually shown that the large squat obtains a whole lot more glute activation than the narrow squat, and because you're reading this to obtain a sexier butt, that's why we're doing them. You can likewise do even more difficult variations by holding 2 pinheads on your shoulders or utilizing a weights as you would certainly for a heavy squat (as well as for that, it's ideal to 1. have a watchman and 2. use a squat shelf).

Bulgarian Split Squat

Bulgarian Split Squat workout video

This is a fantastic exercise for glute as well as leg muscle mass interpretation and development. If it's too difficult for you, then you can support yourself with your hand (on a chair for instance) up until you accumulate the stamina to do it alone - if that's as well challenging then try out the split squat till you get more strength in your legs. If you intend to make it extra tough, you can include in some dumbbells.

High Step Up

High Step Up exercise video

The video over is a great explanation of the technicians of the workout, one thing to bear in mind: you do not intend to press off too much with the leg which remains on the flooring, to put it simply do the majority of the deal with the stepping leg. To make it much more tough you can enhance the height - the greater the step the extra it works your butt:

High Step Up exercise video

And a great enhancement to this is adding the reverse lunge on the downward activity as shown listed below:

High Action Up with Reverse Lunge workout video

We actually like adding the reverse lunge, due to the fact that it simply implies you obtain more bang for your booty and also that's what it's all about!

Deadlifts

Deadlifts exercise video

Last exercise! The deadlifts are excellent for targeting your hamstrings and also glutes - begin off with the standard deadlift (2 legs) if you're simply starting and as you develop up strength you can go on to the single-leg variation. If you're doing the single-leg variation, see to it you do both legs and with either variations make certain you obtain an excellent capture in your glutes.

Cool Down and Stretches

By now, your butt should feel like it's had a very great exercise, so complete off with a 3 - 5 minute cool off. Currently is likewise a good time to do some stretches to enhance adaptability, position as well as glute activation when you return to this workout the next time!

The stretches you require to do are identified by the setting of your pelvis. If your butt sticks out (anterior tilt), then you'll need to stretch your hip flexors since they're possibly as well limited. Those of us that have desk-bound jobs are a lot more most likely to have tight hip flexors due to the fact that resting throughout the day puts them in a reduced, energetic setting which essentially indicates we go to higher danger of tight hip flexors (which is component of the reason we're attempting standing desks currently). If however, you have weak hip flexors (i.e. swayback) you'll require to be enhance them. As always, talk to a specialist first.

Hip Flexor Stretch

Hip Flexor stretch video

You can also extend your quadriceps along with the hip flexor (iliopsoas muscles) with the adhering to alteration:

Hip Flexor and Quadriceps stretch video

Note: for the above stretch, we extremely advise utilizing the foam pad for you knee since trying it without (like we did the very first time) was NOT fun.

Piriformis Stretch

This next stretch is for your piriformis.

Piriformis stretch video

That's the stretching done! Bear in mind to do each stretch on both sides and most notably ensure you extend safely.

Engage Those Glutes Whenever You Can

So that's the end of the core glute exercises, yet if you wish to take it to the next degree as well as really enhance that mind-body link then bring glute activation to your day-to-day life. We understand that the glutes are made use of when you walk, run, rest and stroll up the stairs (or climb up uphill), so you can make use of all these activities to concentrate your interest on your booty. You can you a little tip when you walk: 'Glutes, capture! Glutes, capture' like you would certainly for 'left, right, left, right' - it seems silly, yet it will really get that glute activation going. Another point you can do to generate little daily micro-workouts is 1. take the stairways and 2. utilize them as a high action up workout - when you take a seat as well as stand up usage that as a squat.

Remember, these micro-exercises are not suggested to change your routine workouts, yet just a means to enhance them as well as bring higher glute understanding. So squeeze that butt as frequently as possible.

Now it's your turn: What are your much-loved glute exercises? Did you try this exercise? Was it challenging enough for you? Allow us know!