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redhoodieone · 3 years

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His Girl Part 2

Warnings: Language, SMUT, heartbreak, and fluffiness.

“Jay…” Y/N breathes against Jason’s lips. Her eyes shift from his emerald eyes to his adorable pout. “You don’t want this with me. You shouldn’t want this with me.”

Jason pulls back from her and his face falls. The look of heartbreak pains Y/N, but she can’t help but feel the way she feels, because why would someone so attractive and perfect like Jason want with a short, chubby, and plain looking girl like her?

Jason lifts Y/N’s chin so they can see eye to eye. “I’ve wanted you since the day I met you. Sweetheart, when you first looked at me, I was done for. You know, I never believed in God. You know damn well I’m not the religious type, despite the jokes from the league who say I could have been a priest in another life,” he says with a small smile. He holds his hand up as if he’s taking an oath. “But I swear to God when I first saw you, I thought you were an angel. You stood there, you were lovely and gentle, and at that moment I knew something good had to exist in this fucked up world because you were brought into my life, and you made me want to be a better man...for you.”

“Dick’s right. He’s right about me. You don’t want me, Jay. I’m nothing special. I’m not beautiful. I’m not skinny. I’m not smart, funny, or even interesting,” Y/N admits.

“How can you even say that to me? Did you forget our talk last summer?” Jason says carefully, his gaze never breaking hers.

“I didn’t forget, Jay. I just don’t think we should start anything up between us. It’ll just-”

“So, what am I not good for you?” he snaps, his tone is harsh as he accuses her.

“What? No! I didn’t say that. Why are you so mad at me, Jay?” Y/N asks quietly.

“I’m not mad. I’m hurt,” Jason admits, before he decides he can’t stand the distance between them anymore. With both hands, he roughly grabs Y/N’s hips and pulls her body closer to his. He moves one hand up her back until he’s holding the back of her head; forcing her to keep her eyes on him. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to see you talk to other guys? Do you know how difficult it is for me to stand by and see these other assholes get to touch you, kiss you, and fuck you? Do you realize how close I’ve gotten to ‘accidentally’ shooting Dickie-bird in his balls just because you were flirting with him? I couldn’t stand it sweetheart, and I still can’t.”

Y/N’s eyes widen in surprise at Jason’s confession. The pull is too strong for both of them to ignore. Jason takes a chance and lowers his head to kiss Y/N. His lips are initially warm and rough, but they fit perfectly against her gentle and soft lips. The second Y/N kisses Jason back with as much fervor, he realizes his feelings couldn’t be one-sided.

The kiss wasn’t deep yet. They barely pull back enough to breathe before Jason takes the reins and rests his forehead against hers. He teases her by leaning in to kiss her but then pulling back when her lips chase after his. She inhales sharply when his scent fills her nostrils; his exotic, smoky woods, sandalwood, and spices make her weak in her knees that she has to hold both his forearms to keep herself steady. Luckily, Jason manages to hold her up, and he brings her close enough to grind his evident bulge against her core. “Please...please let me show you how much I want you. Let me show you how beautiful you are to me and how much I want all of you,” Jason whispers against Y/N’s lips.

Jason’s green eyes burn into Y/N’s eyes. She licks her lips. “Okay,” she breathes out.

Jason surges forward and slams his mouth against Y/N’s. He wastes no time licking her bottom lip, seeking entrance to taste her and have her in ways he’s always imagined. When she opens her mouth wider, he falls deeper when he realizes her taste is addictive, and he knows this can’t be the last time he’ll kiss her. Their tongues rub and stroke each other’s, and he bites her bottom lip.

He pulls back only to see if she wants more. The look of lust in her eyes is enough. He carefully pushes her backwards until the back of her knees tough the bed. She crawls up to her pillow so she can lie down, her hair fans out around her, creating an illusion of an angelic halo.

Jason looks down at Y/N with adoration. He knows for a fact he’s never looked at a woman like this. He knows she’s the first and will be the last woman he’ll look at like this.

He can tell she’s nervous to make the next move. He smiles softly and begins to undress himself. Kicking off his boots and socks, he shrugs off his jacket and his Kevlar armor. He notices she’s watching intently, biting her bottom lip.

Jason can’t help but smirk. Once he shoves down his pants, he’s left in just his boxer briefs, which nearly exposes how hard his cock is for her.

He crawls on the bed until he’s hovering above her. His hands move to her pajama pants, but he doesn’t pull them down just yet.

“Are you sure you want this?” Jason whispers to her. His voice is deeper and rougher.

Y/N nods her head. “Yes, I want you, Jay,” she whispers back.

Jason kisses her softly to help her relax. He tugs her pajama pants down to her knees. He pulls back from her lips and sits up when he realizes she’s not wearing any panties. He raises an eyebrow and smirks. “No panties?” he teases.

“I...I don’t like to sleep with underwear on,” she confessions shyly. He thinks it’s cute when she blushes.

“That’s perfectly okay, doll. Now that I know, maybe I can join you in bed sometime?”

Y/N giggles at that as she watches Jason move down until his face is in front of her pussy. She quickly sits up and tries to cover her modesty.

“Wait, you-you don’t have to do that. It’s okay. You don’t have to,” Y/N stammers.

Jason smiles softly at her. He quickly sits up to kiss her, to get her to relax. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to sweetheart,” he says, as he helps Y/N remove her top so she’s completely naked in front of him. His hands rub her arms, chest, and stomach, which seems to help her lie back down. “I want to eat you. I want to eat this delicious, wet pussy so much that you’ll be cumming all over my face.”

Y/N blushes more as Jason grins smugly and winks at her before he lowers himself back down to lick her folds. She gasps out in surprise and reaches down to grab his dark hair to tug.

“Oh God,” she whines out.

“Fuck baby girl, you taste so fucking good. You’re sweeter than apple pie,” Jason moans out.

He sucks her clit on the borderline of pain and pleasure, and when he releases it, he can see her pupils dilate with lust.

Jason smiles against her pussy and uses his fingers to part her folds so he can circle her clit with his tongue. He knows he has experience going down on women, but he also realizes that every woman is different. Deciding to show her a few different ways to cum, he switches up his methods. As he continues to rotate between licking and sucking Y/N’s clit, he pushes a finger inside to warm her up. And with all the noise she’s making, he knows he’s on the right path.

“Oh fuck...Jay. Finger me harder,” Y/N pleads.

He keeps his eyes on her. When she tries to close her eyes, he slaps her thigh. “Keep your eyes on me, sweetheart. I wanna see you cum,” he demands.

Y/N opens her eyes, and it makes everything better for him. Just feeling how tight and wet she is drives his cock to twitch hard in his underwear. He adds a second finger and strokes up against her walls. He can feel she’s close to cumming just by her clenching his fingers. He licks and sucks her clit faster and harder, as he drives a third finger inside her and rubs against her g-spot. He has her now. She’s going to cum for him and he’s excited as fuck.

“Oh, fuck! Oh, my God! Jay! I’m cumming!” Y/N cries out. She sits up and pulls his hair harder.

Jason keeps his eyes on her and hums for her to go ahead and cum. He refuses to take his eyes and mouth off her. He needs her to cum.

With his fingers fucking her pussy loud enough to create that wet, sopping sound, Jason wraps his mouth against Y/N’s pussy to catch her cum. He moans in delight at her taste, and he can feel his cock leaking more precum in his underwear. Once she calms down from her hard orgasm, he quickly stands up and pulls down his underwear.

Y/N is stunned to see Jason’s cock. She knew he was big, partly because of his pants and boxer briefs displaying his rather big bulge. But seeing it in person and up close is different. She knows he’s above average, but his cock is thicker than she imagined. She swallows hard when the red, swollen tip leaks precum.

Once Jason’s completely naked, he climbs on top of her. Y/N reaches to stroke his cock, but he gently moves her hand away. “As much as I’d like you to touch my cock and maybe suck on it, I don’t want to cum that way. I want to cum in you,” Jason says softly.

When his cock brushes against her pussy, Y/N knew she needs inside her. “I want you to cum inside me. Please...please fuck me,” she pleads.

Hearing her beg does something to him. Jason kisses Y/N hard and moves his hand between them to push his cock inside her. She gasps breathlessly as he groans at how well she’s taking him. She’s tight, warm, and wet, and he knows he’s not going to last long. He looks down at her and his heart swells at the fact that she’s looking up at him as if he is her world. His hands move all over her body, tracing scars and stretch marks, as her own nails scratch down his arms and back.

Y/N takes Jason by surprise when she bites his jaw and giggles when he nips her neck. The intimacy between them is what makes them happier in the moment. But when the tip of his cock brushes against her g-spot, she clenches around his cock, causing his thrusts from going slow to fast and hard now.

“Jay...fuck me harder. Faster, please,” Y/N begs breathlessly.

Jason’s hips slam into hers, his pelvic bone rubs deliciously against her clit. She squeezes around him again, and he knows he won’t be able to last longer. “Okay, sweetheart, okay,” Jason chokes out. He angles his thrusts to be deeper and to hit her sweet spot every time.

She wraps her arms around him and brings his face down to kiss him. He moans against her mouth, and not being able to breathe properly is doing something to him. He quickens his thrusts and moves a hand in between them to rub her clit hard and fast to match his thrusts.

Y/N and Jason break apart to breathe and she throws her head back. He watches in awe at her falling apart because of him, her orgasm takes him by surprise. She cries out his name. She cums hard around his cock and soaks him in her sweet juices that forces his own orgasm out of him.

“Fuck...Y/N, fucking Christ,” Jason moans loudly. He grunts hard and moans when he slams deeper inside her, coating her insides with his seed. He squeezes her hips and thrusts a few more times until he’s sure she’s gotten all his cream.

When he pulls his cock out, he can feel himself get hard again from just seeing his cum seep out of her pussy.

Jason inhales hard and collapses next to her. His arms instantly wrap around her, and she willingly cuddles against him. Fear runs through him, though. “Please be mine...” he dares to whisper. He wonders if she even heard him. The fear of rejection scares him more than anything right now.

“Yes, I’ll be yours,” Y/N whispers back. She kisses his chest and lies her head back down on him. She falls asleep to his even breathing and his hand rubbing her back.

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The next morning was a rude awakening for Dick Grayson. He couldn’t believe his own eyes. Out of him and his family, Jason was supposed to be the shallow, man whore who slept around with girl after girl every night. Jason was supposed to be less likely one to find a girl, actually fall in love with her and be serious. Because anyone who knows the Batboys knows each of them are viewed a certain way.

Bruce is the playboy billionaire.

Dick is charming and sweet.

Jason is rough bad boy.

Tim is intelligent and kind.

Damian is a cute demon spawn.

And even Alfred is a badass savage.

When Jason and Y/N announced their relationship, Dick smirked to himself. He knew there was no way Jason was ‘serious relationship material’ and he knew their relationship would end before it even started.

He’ll fuck up. He always screws up because he inevitably fucks up everything he does, Dick thinks to himself. And once he does, I’ll be there for her, and she’ll be mine.

But Jason never fucks up, not with Y/N. To everyone, Jason and Y/N are beautifully perfect together. Dick does manage to fix his friendship with Y/N, and the two are closer than they’ve ever been. It isn’t until after Jason and Y/N’s one year anniversary that Dick finally accepts their relationship.

Because it wasn’t long until Jason got Bruce and Alfred’s blessing to propose to Y/N. The engagement ring is a beautiful black solitaire diamond, and the reason doesn’t confuse Dick at all, because Y/N isn’t like other diamonds.

Their wedding is something out of a fairy tale storybook. Dick had to admit that seeing Y/N in a wedding dress made him cry, because he knew she would have the time of her life with Jason on the honeymoon.

Three years later, Jason and Y/N announce they’re having their first child together, a boy, the news actually made Bruce tear up because Jason and Y/N were giving him his first grandson.

Call it fucking karma, but Dick finally saw just how beautiful Y/N was, as a wife and a mother.

But Dick was just a little too late.

And now she was Jason’s.

His girl.

#dc comics #batman #dc comics batman #jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd smut #jason todd x reader smut #jason todd x y/n smut #red hood #dick grayson

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madyxtothemax · 3 years

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The Pit Stop - Part Two with @MyArrowBends

Madyx:

<The minute he agreed, my grin stretched into a broad smile. I was sure it gave me away entirely, but that was alright considering he'd pretty much just called us both out. Atticus was making it really tricky to remain professional. My gut was telling me when I laid eyes on the goods I was going to be full on dickmatized. I already had his dick on my mind in a way I didn’t ever have it on my mind, mostly because anything beyond surface attraction was extinguished as soon as the wick got lit. I may have wanted it, but as soon as my temptation registered, my chemistry stripped me of it. It was fucked. Deeper interest meant distraction and therefore, thanks to the nature of my kind, there was something to keep it in check, kind of the equivalent of a hormonal response.

The reaction numbed my own receptors in favor of amplifying the one whose itch I was scratching. That was how it worked, their ultimate pleasure at the expense of mine. But, as was the way of nature, in order to thrive and evolve, there were loopholes, even for the fae. At the edges of my consciousness, something was hinting at the idea Atticus qualified.

Was I interested? Hell yeah, I was interested and nothing so far had dulled for me, my antenna was still receiving, confirmed by a jump of my dick against my zipper. The awakenings kept coming and I was going to stop asking why to avoid any jinxing. There was a tugging at the back of my mind; I knew there was something about Atticus that was allowing this exchange. He was unique. I was chasing an internal lead but I couldn’t quite catch what it was. Not yet.

When he pulled his sweatshirt up over head, I didn’t miss how some of his t-shirt dragged up his abs with it before falling back down due to gravity. Fuck if that little flash of skin didn’t leave me wanting to hit rewind and watch it all over again.

I had to get a grip. Seriously.

Right. Business. I stretched back from my spot to grab the consent forms that required his autograph, handing it over to him.>

Formalities. Let’s talk about some specifics. Pain? Are you good with it? There’s an option of using a numbing agent. Check box three if you’re declining.

Because of the nature of this piercing we’ll go with a larger gauge. I’m thinking either an eight or a ten. I brought out some twelve gauges but something tells me those will be too small. <Casual, real smooth, Madyx, why not just tell him you think he’s going to be impressive?> Too small with the gauge, the greater the risk of rejection.

I’ll drop the first piercing a certain distance below your head, it may be instinct to start higher on the shaft but if you want a Prince Albert down the line, you’ll want to leave some space.

Are you with me so far? Any questions? <clearing my throat because suddenly I was really thirsty> And when you’re ready, go ahead and whip it out for me. <There it was, heat in my cheeks and a smirk on my lips because I was giddy about seeing his cock, and hadn’t been shy about expressing it. I was ready to go for broke and blur every last line.>

Atticus:

-It felt like so much was suddenly happening all at once, which hadn’t that been what I was asking for when I told him to get needling me? I suppose it was. Couldn’t fault the guy for taking that request as seriously as he had when I originally asked about piercings. Madyx had been nothing but a professional on task, even through the flirting. He seemed to be dealing with things much better than I was. And that was a good thing, I didn’t want a guy with nerves and shaky hands coming at me with a needle. Hell no.

A clipboard with a paper had been handed to me along with instructions to fill it out. Pain, numbing, more piercings. Woah. That needed addressing before any ink hit the page.-

Uh. No. I won’t be getting a Prince Albert. I can tell you that with confidence. Something about it feels…just not for me. But you can still make the judgement on placement regardless.

-Nodding to myself, I picked up the pen that came with the clipboard Mad had given me. I read over the words on the consent form, though they didn’t stick, I had to give them a couple more passes before I caught the gist of what should have been an easy read, my mind was still too preoccupied with everything, it didn’t have room for unimportant things like informed consent for a body modification procedure. I laughed as I realized it had been the same for me when I was working the nine to five.- Paperwork, yeah? Does anyone ever enjoy that part of these things?

-I focused on filling in the blanks, and was surprised at how steady my hand felt. The nerves I was previously feeling seemed to settle right into anticipation and excitement. As I got to the part about pain, I hesitated. I knew I had a pretty decent pain threshold. I had survived falling out of my childhood treehouse, broke my ankle and still managed to hobble my way back into the house before I felt any real pain register.

I checked the box to forgo the numbing. It felt a little like cheating myself on the whole experience anyway. I didn’t want to look back on this night and regret having missed out on even some pain. Pain was the counterbalance to merely existing. It let you know you were alive.

When he asked me if I had any questions, I shook my head no and looked up just in time to see his face flush with heat. Well now. My grin was instant and full as I passed him the completed paper. All doubt about his invite to stick around being out of pity fell away as fast as I could unbutton my jeans. That red on his cheeks told me he was just as affected by me as I was him.

There was nothing left to do but put myself on display for him as instructed. Full wood be damned, I swung my legs around to rest on the outstretched part of the chair and pressed my back against the upper part as I pressed my feet down using the leverage to lift my hips up as I lowered the zipper, and in one smooth motion I pushed my jeans and boxers down enough to give him all the access he needed to get the job done.-

Madyx:

<I eyed the paperwork, scanning into my head all of his preferences. I was thrilled by the fact he hadn’t opted for the numbing, but I didn’t think I’d add any bonus pain. We’d see how he handled the forceps and go from there. Setting the clipboard aside, I tried to avert my eyes, I really did, when it was curtain call time. I didn’t want him to feel as though I was going to sit there and gawk, but I’d be lying to myself if I wasn’t looking forward to the reveal. Shit, if my peripheral vision was any indication, I was in a world of trouble. I cleared my throat. Oh man.

I’d encountered plenty of cock in my life and wasn’t lacking confidence when it came to his, but my attraction was throwing a wrench into the mix. Hello nerves. Here he was, cock out and I was the one hesitating. I stalled… getting everything I needed to make the piercings happen all lined up before finally finding my balls again. Rotating on my stool, my eyes went immediately to his...full staff.

Holy shit.

His dick was...the Adonis of dicks. I tried to casually rub my gloved-hand over my mouth to hide the way I was grinning on sight of it, but it was too late. It was NOT professional but I couldn’t help it. I was also full of gratitude because I had asked him to hang out before the reveal; I didn’t want him to feel objectified. The sexual tension between us was arresting but it wasn’t the only thing driving the mood. Atticus seemed to be throwing off this vibe - no - a distinct message, that if he were going to get any pleasure out of the deal, I’d have to indulge in my own.

I finally lifted my eyes to make that contact with his and smirked for what felt like the fiftieth time in the course of thirty minutes. It felt dirty. It felt right. It felt easy. I wondered how his desires would shift if I told him my pleasure would be his body under mine before my lips wrapped around that Adonis cock. And that that would just be the warm up.

While my mind surfed these waves of fantasy, there was suspense in the silence, but it was not uncomfortable. I was overdue on throwing some dialogue into the mix.> I can work with that.

<Yep. I could. I could put in normal hours, plus overtime and then some holiday while I was at it. Ten gauge was going to be perfect. He definitely had the size for the eights, but his dick was too gorgeous to let the jewelry take center stage. I should have fucking known... it matched the rest of him.>

I’m pretty confident you know yourself, so I believe you on the Prince Albert, but who knows what five years might change. <Grabbing one of the brushed steel barbells, I brought it up to set it against the back side of his shaft, below the head. I knew the metal would be cold against his skin and I couldn’t help myself from making contact. Gods...he was so hard, and it was apparently making my own cock want to stand up and shake hands. I inhaled through my nose to calm my shit, because I still had work to do. I moved the placement of the barbell down.> Number two I was thinking it should sit... right here. <I increased pressure this time, resisting every urge to add some fae enhancements to the mix.> Thoughts? Do you want to see how any other styles look, make sure this is the right aesthetic? Not that you can’t swap it later, but I want you to like what you walk away with. <Ouch, somehow saying the last part stung and made me immediately want to retract the words for how they made me feel. Thankfully there was a double frenum piercing at hand, and that fact kept me anchored in the moment.>

Atticus:

-If ever I felt like I was living my life in slow motion, it was right now. Once I had shoved my jeans down, I settled into the chair and waited. It was much like ripping a band-aid off. Quick, easy, mostly painless. I looked over and watched as Madyx turned toward me, and almost laughed, he was doing his damndest to not outright stare. He was failing. I could see his gaze moving all over but it kept returning to my cock. That did wonders for the nerves I had been previously feeling about the whole situation.

I could see the grin he wasn’t quite able to hide with his hand and if that wasn’t the most endearing thing I had seen, I didn’t know what was. It was obvious he was needing a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts, and I wanted to put him at ease, make a joke, something, but I was already struggling as much as he seemed to be. What a pair we were right now.

Then, something must have righted itself for him, because he looked me dead in the eye and fucking smirked.

Guess his thoughts had figured out where they wanted to go because he immediately followed that smirk up with a comment about being able to work with what I had on display. I laughed hard. More of the slightly awkward tension between us melted away in that moment. I was about to tell him he had no choice but to work with it because I wasn’t looking to have any cosmetic surgery done, but he once again brought up future piercings. I shook my head.- Seriously, I’d rather you tattoo your name across my forehead than get a…

-I trailed off as he brought a barbell up to check for sizing and all further words died on my tongue. I swallowed them down as the cool metal hit heated skin. It was light, barely there at first, but the second one I felt firmer pressure and all I could do was nod at his recommendations.-

You’re the expert here, Mad. I trust you. Despite the current circumstances, I’m not exactly the flashy type, so go with whatever you think will look best. Better yet, choose what you would want to have. Yeah. Go with that. That’s what I want. What you’d choose if you were me.

-The idea of having hand picked barbells felt right. It would be something I could have with me to remember this night and experience. I knew I wouldn’t forget anything about this, or Madyx for as long as I lived. Everything from the moment I walked into the shop felt like I was living right in the middle of what would be one of those memories a person wished they could relive over and over again once it was over. His comment about walking away with something I liked hit right in the chest, and that took me by surprise.

At no point during any of my travelling west had I felt the desire to put down roots, and now, this guy was sewing seeds of doubt and wonder. I wasn’t sure what to do with that. Sure, he asked me to stick around after the piercings were done, but that didn’t mean he meant for more than the night. Did it?-

Madyx:

I like you, Atticus, and there is no way in hell I’d let you get my name on your forehead. Maybe your ass, but not your face. <more smirking as I set the jewelry down> Promise me you won’t ever mess with all that gorgeous.

<My tone was firm and unyielding, even with the understanding he’d been joking. He didn’t need any extras, he was almost too-easy on the eyes, his good looks authentic even under his pseudo-disguise of road wear. I was just about to ease into the comfort zone and cruise at a lazy pace, when he hit me with another heart-punch.

My head leaned to one side and my grin lifted on the opposite end when he asked me to pick out the barbells for him. While I knew they were anything but permanent, something kicked at me deep down, an awareness that this was more than just a casual request from him. It was for me too. Hello fireball of feelings. I let every level hit me without putting up a defense. I was stunned, honored, aroused and touched in all the right ways. And….there was my heart again, banging so hard in my chest I felt the throb in my dick. My smile was broad and open.>

That’s a first. In my ten plus years of doing this, nobody has ever asked me to pick for them. Thanks for that trust. <I hit his eyes with mine to hopefully convey the conviction in my words. I already knew what I was going with for him, but I was going to show him why. I picked up one of the brushed steel 10-gauges and held it between us.> These...are understated. Also underrated, if you ask me. I promise you I’m not trying to pawn off inventory, but these have been overlooked by one-hundred percent of clients. Not only do they match your energy…these are going to leave any partner with a some extra sensation for the matte surface of the balls. It may be subtle, but not negligible. Check it out while I get you ready. <I dropped the barbell into his hand and redirected my attention to his cock. Damn. He definitely wasn’t flaccid. I switched out my gloves, snapping on a new set because I’d been premature with the first pair, even if they were just for show. A perk of being inked or pierced by a pleasure fae was the zero risk and accelerated healing for the recipient.

I went about setting up the sterile environment, framing his crotch with surgical drape before opening up an antiseptic wipe to prep his shaft.> This might be a little cold. <I popped my brows and then swiped up and down the backside of his dick. Sweet hell, it was challenging to keep my head in the game. After I finished up with that, I pinched the skin below his head, it was tight, but I could get the needle through without risk of injury. Grabbing the forceps, I clamped the skin to hold it in place, lifting my eyes.>

Take a breath with me, Atticus.

When you’re ready. Just say the word.

Atticus:

-I had been expecting laughter, to have my request of Mad choosing the hardware for me brushed off on some kind of professional boundary or limitation given the personal nature, and how once used, the barbells couldn’t be returned if I didn’t like them. None of those things happened. Instead, I found myself holding a slightly rough piece of stainless steel, after being told to give it a feel. I rolled it between my thumb and index finger while my brain caught up with the compliments he had paid me only moments before.

He liked me. That’s what he had said. I already figured as much, but getting the vocal confirmation was nice. I’d need it to remind myself if I went and got all doubting Thomas again. As I considered the way the brushed metal dragged over the pads of my fingertips, I chuckled to myself at how casually he had suggested tattooing his name on my ass. The idea struck me in a way that didn’t leave me feeling like I had earlier when he asked if I had been interested in getting some ink. And what a conundrum that left me in.

I reminded myself I still was not the tattoo type, not by a long shot then shook my head to get my brain back online before I could make any more snap decisions, because getting two piercings was plenty of snap decisions for one night. The whole sticking around afterward was not being counted as a secondary snap decision. No way, it was all one, a giant umbrella of snap decision making.

Madyx’s voice brought me out of my head and straight back into the present along with the rude awakening that was a cold swipe along the underside of my dick.- Shit. -I laughed in surprise then forced myself to pay the fuck attention. I had completely missed the whole paper apron thing that was now on my lap happening.

If I wanted to replay this memory in my mind in the near future, and I knew that I would, I’d need to absorb as much detail as I could. Gaps and missing steps did not a proper memory make. Solid memories were supposed to fade slowly, over time, leaving you with just the feelings the experience gave when the images failed to be recalled. That was the way nostalgia worked, and I wanted tonight to give old and grey-haired me of the future so much nostalgia it would last me until the very end.

Mad’s grip as he worked to prep for the first piercing was firm and sure, practiced and professional, and surprisingly not at all painful. My skin had already felt stretched tight, but somehow he managed to get a grip and place the clamp on where he wanted. My heart kicked against my chest. This was happening. Only moments away from him jamming a needle through my skin. No big deal. This was what I wanted. My eyes never left his hands as they held the clamp in place. Then, when his voice hit my ears I looked up to meet his gaze, and inhaled deeply as he instructed, like he just knew I needed it. After a couple of thudding wooshes of my pulse in my ears, I exhaled and nodded at him.- Yep. I’m ready. Do it.

Madyx:

Just keep taking nice slow breaths for me, Atticus.

<I pinched the skin below the forceps then clamped the spot for the second piercing. The stage was set and it was showtime. I licked between my lips before I realized what I was doing. I couldn’t help it, even with all kinds of hardware obscuring the view, his dick was making my mouth water. The only thing that stopped me from winding down that road of fantasy was the overriding desire to make the experience everything and all about him. Vibe or not, this was about what he was going to take with him, and not in the way of body jewelry.

I looked up again, finding the anchor of his eyes while I disinfected the needle I’d just popped out of its packaging. Without even realizing it, I noted our breaths had remained synced, and that connection ran through my veins like wildfire.

Refocusing back on the task at hand, I positioned the hollow needle and I took a steadying breath, then counted down in my head… three… two… one. I pushed the needle through his flesh, before sliding the piercing in behind it in a fluid and seamless exchange.>

One down. You’re doing stellar.

Keep breathing.

How are we doing, Atticus? <I nearly dropped a hand to his thigh to soothe...but that would have been too blatant, too soon. But… I wanted to. Damn it. I really wanted to.>

Atticus:

-I WAS NOT READY. It was too late to back out. I didn’t want to back out. His hands were on my dick, I didn’t even have time to properly enjoy that because the second pair of metal forceps were clamping more skin right below the pair he had already situated in place. It was tight and only slightly uncomfortable. A sample taste of the pain to come. I was brimming with anticipation and my heart was pounding even harder than it had been moments ago.

Mad was there with the save, reminding me to keep breathing. I nodded my head and did as I was told, eyes never leaving his hands as they worked. And then, as he sterilized the needle, I looked up and our gazes locked for a few seconds. I hoped I was still breathing because it was really happening now, and gods I didn’t want to pass out on him.

Holy shit, when did the time suddenly start going so fast, it had just been all flirting and fun and now it was all HERE YOU GO, ASSHOLE, THIS IS WHAT YOU ASKED FOR.

The first needle passed through my flesh.-

Oh my FUCKING hell. Shit bags on fire. -It was painful, not agonizingly so, but still heady and palpable in a way that felt like a rush. The adrenaline that had already been pumping through my veins during his entire set up along with my anticipation had given me a tool I could use for the next piercing. Mad was there again with his very helpful “Keep breathing.”-

Thank you needle stabber extraordinaire for that reminder.

-Was he going slower this time?! WTF, WHY? I almost had enough time to ask, the words died on my lips as the second needle was pushed through as steadily as the first one had. I watched in some kind of daze as he threaded the ball onto the second barbell. I didn’t remember seeing the first one being screwed into place, but then again, I had been creatively swearing my way through the pain that wasn’t really as bad as I had expected it to be. The thrill of the moment and the whole experience lingered for me before slowly beginning to recede, being replaced with a dull aching throb that promised to stay the night and well into the next few days, like an unwanted house guest. It was akin to the lingering effects of being sacked. Breaking my ankle had been a far more acute, searing pain. This I could handle.

I exhaled hard and leaned my head back against the chair before looking over at Mad and grinning so I could answer his question.- Good. I think? -I paused to assess my faculties, and decided that I was indeed feeling pretty damn good and shit I wasn’t completely hard anymore, but still at a pretty decent semi.- Yeah. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, not that I’m saying it feels good like a blowjob feels good. But definitely not as bad.

Madyx:

I prefer Mad to “needle stabber extraordinaire” but I still wouldn’t kick you out of bed if you insisted on calling me the latter.

<Bookending the statement with a wink, I completed my work before letting him steep in the breadth of involuntary reactions he’d earned. I couldn’t stop my thoughts from drifting the way of being buried inside of him, riding out the experience while physically connected. The adrenaline started to wear, I could tell because his skin was less flushed with color, despite the golden tan he’d likely picked up during his travels. When he dropped his head back against the rest, I absorbed his spectrum of reflexes like a sponge, the subtle diminishment of shock giving way to evened out inhales and exhales, and the slow grin that manifested in complement to the startling blue of his eyes. Talk about piercing. Fuck. The longer I stared, the more gorgeous he got. While his dick hung out in the open air, I kept my eyes up north, memorizing the features that were partially responsible for stoking my hunger to connect. Not that I’d forget him, he was already branded on my brain in searing relief.

My grin widened at his answer, but the brows popped at the mention of a blowjob. I grunted, completely uninhibited, wanting to strike without warning and suck him down my throat, but I resisted again, looking to amp up that sexual tension. I snapped off my gloves and tossed them into the closest trash can, licking my lips for what felt like the hundredth time in his presence.>

That an invitation, Atticus?

Because I’d really, really like to make you feel good.

Still up for a celebratory beer? I’ve got a fully stocked bar, too, if you want something stronger to commemorate the night.

<My eyes flicked back to his cock which I’d neglected to tell him he could put away.> They look so bad ass. I mean, your dick is a stunner on its own, but now it has the addition of hardware to entice. Flash with caution.

Atticus:

-Invitation. Was what an invitation? Had I missed something? I thought I had been paying pretty decent attention now that he was no longer stabbing my dick with needles, but maybe my concentration was more focused on the lingering throb of my pulse at the double piercing sites. I tried to rewind my brain for a minute to find a clue, and failed. Then, when Mad said he wouldn’t kick me out of bed and followed that up with how he really wanted to make me feel good, I connected more than a couple of dots.

We were moving out of heavy flirting and right into the possibility of something more. Shiiit. Yes. Please.

I chuckled low when I realized he was referring to my earlier talk of a blowjob. That had to be the invitation he was asking about. Did I want more than just flirting shamelessly? My dick said DUH. It had wanted more at first sight of Mad, that much was obvious. While I contemplated all the ways I could say yes without coming across as desperately eager, I faintly registered the sound of something hitting the floor though I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Mad’s to see what it was. I was stuck in this moment of possibility, I already knew I’d be tipping myself in the direction of answering all the what ifs I’d have if I declined. My head nodded before I could find my voice when he mentioned a beer. A drink sounded like a great idea, especially the thought of sharing one with him. And then after, by the sounds of it, we could be sharing a bed. I hoped. God how I hoped.

I opened my mouth to accept his offer and then laughed loudly when he complimented my cock, he was talking about more than just the work he’d done. Fortunately, he gave me something I could focus on. I didn’t think offering a lame “thanks” would really convey the way his words twisted up my gut, not to mention the slight heat it brought to the back of my neck, my palm itched to rub at it, but I resisted. Displaying embarrassment at a compliment wasn’t what I wanted to do, not after I’d managed to survive the whole hard dick show and tell from only ten? fifteen? minutes ago.

Besides, how did one even reply to having their junk being called a stunner. I had zero clue. I felt so far out of practice. The flashing I could work with, however. After taking a moment to angle my dick to get a better view of the piercings, I grinned over at him and swung my legs over the side of the chair, and stood up. Tucking myself back into my jeans was a slower than normal process out of fear of doing something to bring on a sudden jolt of holy-shit-how-could-I-forget-I-was-just-pierced pain, fastening the buttons of my fly was handled with more confidence. I even managed to multi-task by answering his question.-

I’m no expert, but I think your work is great. Thank you. Now, about your sage advice...since I’ve already flashed you for more than the customary quick glance, does that mean I no longer have to exercise caution with you? -My brow lifted in teasing humour before I quickly spoke again.- Wait. Maybe save your answer for when we’re having that beer you mentioned.

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hawkinshellfire · 3 years

Text

Right Where You Left Me

Chapter 4 - Betty

But if I just showed up at your party

Would you have me?

Would you want me?

Would you tell me to go fuck myself

Or lead me to the garden?

Staggering down the long country road that leads back to his neighborhood, Hopper balls his fist and swings at the air. The world before him was blurry and he probably should have waited to sober up a bit before walking home, but he couldn’t bear to stand there and watch Joyce flirt with Lonnie and pretend she didn’t care that their friendship was falling apart.

Watching her place her hands on someone, the gnawing feeling in his gut that he first felt at prom reappeared. It adds to his light-headedness and suddenly the world is rotating on a tilted axis and he doesn’t know up from down. He remembers the way he felt at prom, watching them together; he was ready to knock Lonnie out cold, and for what? Because Joyce was paying attention to him? Because she seemed to enjoy the way he held her close?

Since that night, he wondered what Lonnie whispered in her ear while they danced. He knows it’s ridiculous to concern himself, but he can’t help it. He was experiencing the feeling from prom all over again tonight, the pull towards Joyce and the desire to tell Lonnie to back off. But it wasn’t his place to defend Joyce and even under usual circumstances when he knew she considered him as one of her best friends, who was he to stand in the way of her happiness? Who was he to feel this way when he was the one who abandoned them for a relationship?

As he continues to walk on, he’s struck with a question that leaves him baffled. Who was he to Joyce - and who was Joyce to him?

Surely, she considered him a friend, but did she see him as something more?

To him, she was everything. She was his best friend, his favourite smile and the smartest, most driven woman he knew. She was sunshine on a cloudy day even though she hid that side of her away from the rest of the world; he knew he was privileged to see beneath the façade she showed everyone else. He asks himself the question over and over as he walks, adding to his answer until he finds himself standing at the edge of his driveway.

He asks himself one final time before heading inside, willing his subconscious drunk mind to give him the answers he’s so desperately seeking.

Who was Joyce Horowitz to him?

Someone he couldn’t live without.

As he fumbles for his house key, he realizes that while he left the party alone, there was a chance Joyce would leave with Lonnie. The thought darkens his chipper mood and he feels sick. He makes it to the washroom and turns on the shower. Stepping out of his party clothes, he lets the cold water wash away the smell of cheap beer and cigarettes. He pounds his fist against the wall and hangs his head beneath the water, allowing the cold droplets to sober him up. He tries to force all thoughts of Joyce from his mind, but it’s useless. She’s there, laughing at something one of her friends said, her hand grazing Lonnie’s shoulder. She’s alone at the library, sitting in the sunlight that streams through the window next to her favourite table, reading. She fills every crevice of his mind and it isn’t until he steps out of the shower to dry himself off that he realizes he hadn’t thought about Chrissy once tonight. Instead, he’d been focused on Joyce and the anger that spiked throughout his body when he saw her with him.

Staring into the mirror, Hopper swallows hard. He wasn’t jealous, was he?

-------

Hopper had always considered himself to be a good person, but after the events of the past few weeks, he was beginning to wonder if that wasn’t true. The worst thing he’d ever done was what he did to Joyce. He replays their conversation over in his mind as he tries to fall asleep, wondering where he went wrong and if there was anything he could do to make things right.

“Look Joyce....” He drags his hand through his hair and tries to begin his apology but his lungs are filling with water and he’s drowning. When he finally manages to force air into his lungs, and find his voice and he stutters. “I’ve realized that… you know … lately I’ve been a really shitty friend and I-”

His heart sinks when she raises her palm to stop him from continuing. Her faint laugh shatters him and leaves him feeling broken. “Save it, Hop,” she rolls her eyes. “You’ve made it pretty obvious that there are other things that are more important to you than our friendship. Spare me the pity speech and let’s both just move on with life.”

Pity was the last thing he felt towards her. Rage because of her stubbornness, anger with himself for letting things get this far and desire. The last one catches him off guard, but it’s rooted in the way she stands up for herself- he finds it attractive.

“Joyce,” he calls after her. His voice carries and she stops immediately and turns to face him.

“What?!” she exclaims.

He doesn’t utter another word, instead he takes two long strides and closes the distance between them. His hands land on her hips and his lips come crashing down on hers as he hoists her onto the hood of his car. Initially shocked, she freezes against him but the moment her back makes contact with the metal of the car, she’s kissing him back. He’s faintly aware of the hollering behind them, but none if it matters. The way her heels drive his calves forward, his feet planted firmly on the ground between her legs, causes a low groan to roll off his tongue and he kisses her harder.

She’s the first to break the kiss, pulling back so that she can place a trail of kisses along his jawline. He closes his eyes and savours each touch, the delicate flutter of her lips against his skin setting it ablaze. When she reaches his ear, she tugs on it with a smirk and leans forward to whisper in his ear.

“Hop,” she breathes. “Take me home.”

Hopper jumps up and realizes he’s in bed and it was all just a dream. One hell of a dream, he thinks to himself. He leans back against his pillow, processing, when his eyes widen and it hits him.

Shit. He was jealous.

“Whatcha’ doin?” Chrissy asks. She’s sprawled out her stomach on top of her pink comforter, her English textbook open in front of her.

“Homework. Like you’re supposed to be doing,” Hopper reminds her with a smile.

After a slow start to the morning and some contemplation over an extra coffee to help with his raging hangover, he headed over to Chrissy’s to spend the afternoon studying. Only, he realized after arriving that when she invited him over to study, she didn’t actually have any intention of getting school work done.

Chrissy’s house was located in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Hawkins. A long street where all the trees were properly trimmed and there wasn’t a lawn with a blade of grass out of place. Her large white house, located on the street corner, stood proudly amongst the smaller ones along the road and always made Hopper feel small. Both of her parents were out for the day, meaning they had the house to themselves for the entire afternoon.

After insisting they work in her room; a room that was covered in more pink and lace than Hopper had ever seen, Chrissy quickly grows bored of her textbook and begins whining.

“You invited me over to study, remember?” he smirks.

It was no secret that Chrissy didn’t care for her grades, but unlike her, Hopper was hoping for a term of excellent grades so he could apply for football scholarships and get the hell out of this small town. While Chrissy was the one who filled his mind with ideas about leaving Hawkins, her parents were funding her escape plan and Hopper was going to have to work for his freedom.

“I remember,” she replies, “I just think there are more fun things we could be doing.” She reaches over to where he’s perched with his back against the headboard of her bed and goes for the buckle on his belt.

“Some of us need to ace their science test on Monday if they want to get out of this hell hole,” he reminds her.

“Aren’t you glad I convinced you that there’s so much more to life than what this place has to offer?”

Was he? Before dating her, he never considered moving away from Hawkins. His friends and family were here, there were plenty of good paying jobs, what more could there be? Now that they were together, people (particularly adults) always fawned over how great it was going to be when he and Chrissy made it out of Hawkins and started a life for themselves because they were, as it was so often put, perfect together.

He tries to keep focused on the textbook page he’s reading, but his mind is racing. Nothing about this afternoon sat right with him. Chrissy hadn’t asked how the party was, even though he asked how her evening with her friends was, and he wondered if somehow she knew what he’d dreamt last night.

“Earth to James,” she waves a hand in front of his face.

“What?”

“I said, aren't you glad I convinced you to get of this god awful town?”

“Oh, yeah.”

She slides closer to him and smirks up at him while reaching for and closing his textbook. He knows that every guy on his football team would be insanely jealous of the position he currently found himself in. Home alone with Chrissy Carpenter. Hell, he was sitting in bed with her while she tried to get his attention. He would be the envy of his classmates the moment he told this story, but something in him wishes he’d chosen to study at the library because he actually wants to do well on his test.

“Why don’t you finish reading that later?” she smirks. She climbs into his lap and straddles him, her hands falling to his shoulders.

“Then what would I do now?” he flirts. This was the part he was good at. The flirting, the teasing, what came after that. It was simple, mindless and a distraction from the chaotic storm going on in his mind.

“I have some ideas,” she purrs, capturing his lips in a kiss.

They tumble back onto the frilly pink covers and he doesn’t study another thing all afternoon. Before declaring he should head home for dinner, they lay side by side beneath the covers and his headache returns. He feels nothing. He’s laying next to her, their hands intertwined but he felt more in his dream about Joyce than he did just now with Chrissy.

It was a good distraction, made him feel good for a few hours, but he admits inwardly that that’s all it was and that maybe he and Chrissy weren’t as perfect as everyone made them out to be. They’d slept together before today, and each time Hopper thought maybe he would feel something more. While it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t the way he knew it was supposed to be.

He kisses Chrissy goodbye and packs up his book bag and promises to call her after dinner. On the way home, he blasts the music to distract him from any unnerving thoughts. He liked Chrissy. He really really did. But….

On Monday morning, Hopper and Benny decide to hit the gym and sneak in a workout before class. With the most important game of the season coming up, both were determined to impress potential scouts before their senior year.

“Are you going tonight?” Benny asks between reps.

“Going where?”

“Joyce’s party,” Benny states, confused.

“Joyce is having a party?” Hopper stares blankly at Benny and sets his weights on the ground. “On a Monday?”

“You didn’t know? Shit, I thought I saw you two talking at the lake. You’re still not talking?”

“We’re talking,” Hopper mumbles.

“You didn’t know about the party,” Benny points out.

Tossing his arms up in frustration, Hopper groans and exhales a deep breath. “Joyce’s parents would never let her have a party, you must have misheard.”

‘I’m telling you man, she’s having a party. Her friend Josie told me at the diner yesterday. Anyways, I’m going to hit the showers. Let me know if you want to go tonight. I’d be down to check it out.” He pats Hopper on the shoulder and leaves him alone in the gym.

In all the time he’d known Joyce, her parents never once went away. Not together. There were several occasions when her mother would go away for the weekend on business and Joyce’s father would fail to return home for a few days while she was gone, but they’d never announced they were going out of town together.

Even if her parents had gone out of town in the past, Joyce hated most of the kids in their class she would never waste her energy on throwing a party. Whenever he convinced her to attend one with him, she always complained that she didn’t like anyone there and extended her empathy to the host who would, in her words, “be stuck cleaning up someone else’s mess.”

And now she was going to be the one stuck cleaning up someone else’s mess. It didn’t make sense. Maybe that Josie girl wasn’t as good of an influence as he once thought. He does another set of push ups, biceps quivering with each dip but he pushes through and hits his goal of twenty-five. Once again, he finds his shower thoughts lingering on Joyce and he decides that he needs to rid himself of this uneasy feeling and sort out his emotions. He needed to know once and for all if what he was feeling was rooted in jealousy, and the best way to do that was to confront Joyce. Plus, going to her party would give him another chance to try and apologize. If he was lucky, maybe this time he could say the right thing and save their friendship from demise.

She wasn’t exactly happy with him the last time they spoke, and he wonders what she’ll think about him showing up at her party. He knows her well enough to know that she’ll think he’s there to keep an eye on things; he’d always been protective of her, especially when it came to her home life. Aside from that, would she still be angry with him or would she be willing to hear out his apology and make amends?

He decides the worst thing that could happen is that she refuses to speak to him, though he doubts that will be the case. Joyce was never one to walk away from confrontation, if anything, she thrived in situations that involved it. She hadn’t exactly invited him, but Benny made it seem like it was an open-invitation for the junior class and he was a member of that class.

Joining Benny in their first period class, he claims his seat and turns to his teammate, “Alright, I’m in. Let’s go to the party.”

He completely forgets he has plans with Chrissy but when he mentions the party at lunch she folds her arms over her chest and tells him she doesn’t want to go to a party with a bunch of “younger kids.” Hopper conveniently leaves out the fact that it’s Joyce’s party and doesn’t push after she tells him she doesn’t care if he goes without her. She excuses herself early and Hopper tells Benny he’ll pick him up at 8 o’clock for the party. He catches a glimpse of Joyce from across the cafeteria and offers her a weak smile. She pretends she doesn’t see him and turns her back to him.

Pulling into Joyce’s driveway, Hopper is hit with an unexpected wave of nostalgia. He’s immediately content with his decision to come; he missed her. The boys hop out of the truck and grab the pack of beer provided by Hopper’s father. They round the side of the house and Benny follows Hopper down the path leading to a gate into the yard. Joyce’s house, though small, had a massive backyard, complete with a massive rose garden maintained by her mother in the summer months and an old wood deck.

The sound of the partygoers drifts up over the fence before Hopper has a chance to push open the gate. He and Benny enter the yard on the far side of the lawn and wave to a few classmates that are scattered across the yard. He immediately spots Joyce, wearing her typical dark leather jacket, leaning against one of the deck railings in the middle of the party. Her dark hair is parted and hanging loosely over her shoulders and she has a drink in her hand. She looks up and they lock eyes for a moment before he pulls away due to the unbearable tension passed in their silent conversation.

“Damn, some party,” Benny swoons. He claps Hoppers back and takes the lead, weaving through the crowd. He settles at a patio table covered in drinks and places the case of beer down.

Hopper immediately reaches for one of the cans and swiftly downs it to steady his nerves. He has no reason to be nervous. This was Joyce. The same Joyce who he once made laugh so hard her drinks came squirting out of her nose. He takes a deep breath and reminds himself that he’s here to right a wrong and sort out how he feels.

He notices a blonde from their first period class named Helen making eyes at Benny and he shrugs in her direction.

“Someone has an admirer,” he teases.

Benny pops open a can and smirks at Hopper, “I’ll be back later. If I don’t come back, even better,” he winks. Hopper shakes his head and watches as Benny makes his way over to Helen. He says something that makes her laugh and Hopper knows just by the way they're looking at each other that he won’t be driving Benny home anytime soon.

He busies himself by talking with a few of his teammates and finds himself polishing off his third beer while talking to Allen, a student who was in his fifth period class. Allen starts off by asking him about Chrissy, but Hopper only manages to mumble an excuse about her being busy and unable to make it to the party before he gets distracted watching Joyce with a few girls he doesn’t know.

He vaguely registers Allen say something about how lucky he is to be dating someone like Chrissy, but the only sounds that really resonates in his ears is the sound of her laugh from across the party. To be polite, Hopper asks Allen about his own girlfriend, a redhead named Abigail who was also in their fifth period class. Allen’s words fall on dead ears as Hopper can’t help himself from watching, mesmerized by the sound of Joyce’s giggle. When she catches him staring, her smile fades into a scowl and he forces himself to look away.

He’s pretending to be engaged in his conversation with Allen when she comes darting across the lawn and smacks his forearm, knocking him a step back and away from Allen. He stares at her with wide-eyes, amused, and lets her shove at him again. He hardly falters on the second swat to the chest, and he allows his amusement to show with a smirk. She only managed to move him the first time because he was caught off guard, but next to him she’s tiny and her gesture only manages to wound his ego.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” she screams at him. He’s convinced that the ways she’s staring at him may cause him to burst into flames, he’d never seen her so upset.

“What’s wrong with me?!” he exclaims, “You’re the one who came over here swinging.”

A few people nearby turn their heads to observe the screaming match and Joyce blushes. She steps closer to him and lowers her voice before asking her next question.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m at the party?” he plays dumb.

“You know what I mean!” she raises her voice again.

“Just trying to enjoy the party,” he repeats. He raises his palms to show her he has no intention of fighting with her.

“Alone?”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I was talking to Allen before you rudely interrupted us.”

They both turn to where Allen was standing and discover he’s long gone.

“Where’s your girlfriend tonight?” she says. He cringes at the way she says the word girlfriend.

“Not here.” He doesn’t offer any further explanation. “Look Joyce. I need to talk to you.”

“Because our last conversation went so well,” she laughs. There’s a strange look in her eyes that he can’t place and he presses on.

“Joyce, I care about you and I’m worried. Throwing parties because your parents are away, talking to all these people when we both know you can’t stand most of them, ignoring me…”

“Ignoring you? I’m ignoring you?! That’s rich, Hop.”

“Is this because of Chrissy? Is that why you won’t listen to my apology?”

“Please, I don’t give a shit about Chrissy.”

“Then would you care to fill me in on what the hell is going on here? Because one second everything is fine and the next you can hardly look at me. I know I screwed up by bailing on you but I’ve been trying to tell you that I’m sorry.”

Joyce paces away from him, folds her arms and then paces back. “Do you have some type of alarm that goes off in your head when I’m happy?”

“What?”

“You show up here, at MY party and insist that you care about me when really all you want to do is apologize so that you'll feel better about yourself. You know what, go fuck yourself!!”

She moves to turn and storm away but Hopper catches her wrist before she can and he stares down at her with pleading eyes.

He tugs on her arm gently, and when she gives into his pull, he leads them away from the party and towards the dead rose garden along the side of the house. Reluctantly, she follows him, though she digs her heels in and gives him a hard time.

“Hopper what the hell!” she protests, looking back in the direction of the party. “You can’t just drag me off and…”

He has her pinned to the wall on the side of the house before she can finish speaking. His body envelopes hers, his hands frame her face, planted firmly on the brick behind her ears and he leans down to eliminate their height difference and forcefully place his lips against hers. She stills when he first presses her up against the wall, but he notices she’s kissing him back almost instantly. He grinds into her, pressing her flush against the wall while he angles his head to deepen their kiss. She tastes like stale cigarettes and cherry chapstick and he’s certain he’s never felt so light-headed. The moment he brings his hand to cup her cheek, she pulls back and instead of experiencing the sensation brought on by the taste of her lips, he’s met with an open-palmed slap.

“What the hell are you doing?!” she shoves him away from her and walks away from the wall.

“Joyce, I-”

“You what?! Saw me having a good time and decided it would be fun to ruin it?”

“No, that’s not…”

“Not it? Hmm, let me see, got bored of Chrissy and thought why not drag me into the mess that is your love life?”

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “I thought that maybe you wanted me to…”

“Why the hell would I want that?”

“Don’t you…” the words fail him once again and he impatiently drags his hand through his hair.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence! You didn’t do that because you thought I wanted you too, and I think we both know that. Now,” she huffs, squaring up to him, “why did you do that?”

He wants to tell her, to say something, anything, but he can’t tell her how he feels because he isn’t sure himself. All he knows was that the feel of her lips against his has left him breathless in a way he didn’t know was possible and that he wants to kiss her again. Instead of saying something, he awkwardly blushes and looks away.

“Can’t say it? Figures,” she scoffs. “Get the hell off my property.”

She storms back into the yard, leaving Hopper alone in the garden of dead roses.

Unable to locate Benny, Hopper leaves the party almost immediately after Joyce abandons him in the garden. He’s not sure what came over him back there. Something about the way she was standing up to him, when she told him to go fuck himself, he found it attractive.

The realization rattles him but no more than the revelation that arose after kissing her. Why did he kiss her? The short answer, he wanted to. More than anything, he wanted to know what it felt like to taste her lips. The more complicated answer was because he selfishly wanted to know if he was jealous watching her with Lonnie. He was. Incredibly fucking jealous.

He didn’t regret kissing her, but he did regret the fallout it caused. Standing there, looking into her big brown eyes, he was certain Benny was right. The way Joyce asked about Chrissy told him she was jealous, and that meant what Benny said about her being interested in him had to be true, so he kissed her.

Don’t lie to yourself, he shakes his head. You kissing her had nothing to do with what you thought she wanted. It was selfish. You did it because you wanted to. You would do it again because you liked it.

He went to her party so that he could sort out how he felt and all he managed to do was confuse himself further and make Joyce angrier with him. Kissing Joyce was better than he dreamed it would be. He felt that kiss in his toes. If Joyce hadn't stopped them, there’s no telling how far things would have gone. There was definitely something physical there. He runs his thumb over his lower lip, the ghost of her kiss haunting him. Definitely something there.

But, did he want more? Joyce was attractive, he wasn’t blind and it was now clear that he was sexually attracted to her, but was there an emotional connection? - a romantic one?

He’s half way through his walk back home (he decided he’d had one too many beers to drive) when a car horn blares from behind him. He turns back and spots Chrissy leaning out of the driver side window of her dad’s oldsmobile.

“James, get in,” she smirks. Stopping the car, she waits until he climbs into the passenger seat before she continues down the road to his house. They don’t say much on the drive, Hopper too preoccupied with his own thoughts and Chrissy wondering why the hell he was walking home, but she wasn’t daring enough to ask. He doesn’t ask where she’s coming from, or comment on the irony of her timing, he just sits and lets the silence consume him.

“Do you want to come in?” he mumbles when they arrive.

“I’ve got to get my dad's car back. Tomorrow,” she smiles. She leans over the center console and places a kiss on his cheek.

He waves and walks up to the front door. Once she’s out of sight, he lets out a deep breath. He had to laugh, what were the odds that Chrissy would be driving down Joyce’s street at the exact time he decides to leave it? It had to be a cruel trick of fate, someone punishing him for kissing Joyce when he was with Chrissy.

Kissing Joyce. Jesus. He hardly has time to over analyze the awkward encounter with Chrissy in the car because his mind is still back in the rose garden.

He feels more confused than when he left for the party. He rehearsed his stupid apology speech for hours, went over what would happen when she saw him at the party, but none of the pre-planned scenarios in his head panned out.

He heads to bed a mess of questions. What if he hadn’t showed up at Joyce’s party? What if he told her he missed having her in his life, because he did. If tonight taught him anything, it was that Joyce was one of the best things in his life. He would give anything to rewind and fix things. They would have gone to the party together and made fun of everyone who got drunk and did something stupid. They would ditch the crowd and pass cigarettes back and forth and he would steal a kiss when he drove her home. Except, that last step didn’t fit with his proposed rewind and he knows it’s too late to go back.

Before he drifts off to sleep, he concludes that he doesn't know anything anymore.

I don't know anything

But I know I miss you

#Jopper #stranger things #Multichapter #AU

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chelseyhartley1 · 4 years

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20 Best Kettlebell Exercises For Women

Conditioning, toning, strengthening— kettlebell exercises can do it all for you.

Thus, it is no surprise that kettlebells are the favorite full-body workout tools for most trainers. Available in several weights, you can start with the lightest kettlebells and go up as you advance.

It produces that slender, fit and athletic female body that looks awesome without the bulkiness that other kinds of weight training generate. Read Here: 5 Best Home Gyms of 2020

So, if you are planning to enhance your fitness level and get that enviable body, try these 20 best kettlebell exercises for women!

20 Best Kettlebell Exercises For Women

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Best Kettlebell Exercises For Women

1) Traditional Kettlebell Deadlift

A bilateral movement involving the use of both hands can challenge you to lift weights while stimulating several muscle groups at the same time, in this case, the core, back, and glutes.

Standing, place a kettlebell between your feet that are hip-distance apart.

Hold the handle with both hands. This is the deadlift position.

Push your shoulders back and down while tightening your core and keeping your back flat.

Lift the kettlebell up to stand straight. Keep your feet into the ground and make sure to squeeze your glutes.

Put the kettlebell back to the ground, ensuring a straight spine.

2) Single-Hand Kettlebell Deadlift

From the bilateral movement of the traditional kettlebell deadlift, a unilateral movement with the single-hand kettlebell deadlift adds an anti-rotation component. It keeps the ore engaged and is great for building stability while preventing injuries.

Standing, place a kettlebell between your feet that are hip-distance apart.

Hold the handle with one hand.

Extend the other arm in front or to the side and make a fist.

Push your shoulders back and down while tightening your core and keeping your back flat.

Lift the kettlebell up to stand straight. Keep your feet into the ground and make sure to squeeze your glutes.

Put the kettlebell back to the ground, ensuring a straight spine.

Complete 6 reps before switching hands or alternate hands every rep.

3) Sumo Kettlebell Deadlift

For this exercise, you will want to grab another kettlebell. It is a muscle-producing exercise that boosts the legs and glutes, allowing you to carry heavier items and prevent injury.

Standing, place 2 kettlebells between your feet that are wider than hip-distance apart. Your toes should also be turned out to the sides slightly.

Hold a handle with each hand.

Push your shoulders back and down while tightening your core and keeping your back flat.

Lift the kettlebell up to stand straight. Keep your feet into the ground and make sure to squeeze your glutes.

Put the kettlebell back to the ground, ensuring a straight spine.

4) One-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

This move works the entire posterior chain while challenging your balance. You need to move with total control and with stability.

Standing with feet together, take a kettlebell with one hand.

Now, lift the opposite knee at hip height.

Kick your free leg out keeping your core tight and making a straight line from heel to head.

To balance, keep a slight bend on your standing leg.

Pull the back leg forward while engaging your thighs and glutes until your torso is in an upright position.

5) Kettlebell Goblet Clean

With this move, the kettlebell needs to move in one straight line, working your legs, thighs, glutes, arms, and core.

Standing, place a kettlebell between your feet that are hip-distance apart.

Hold the handle with both hands.

Push your shoulders back and down while tightening your core and keeping your back flat.

Lift the kettlebell up in a straight line up to your chest and holding the kettlebell at its horns.

Keep your feet into the ground and make sure to squeeze your glutes.

Put the kettlebell back to the ground, ensuring a straight spine.

6) Kettlebell Dead Clean

This move is pretty much like the single-hand kettlebell deadlift but challenges your arms, glutes, thighs, and core more.

Standing, place a kettlebell between your feet that are hip-distance apart.

Hold the handle with one hand.

Extend the other arm in front or to the side and make a fist.

Push your shoulders back and down while tightening your core and keeping your back flat.

Lift the kettlebell up in a straight line up to your waist before you drive your elbow back and moving the kettlebell into a rack position.

In order to prevent the kettlebell from knocking your wrists, make sure to keep the kettlebell close to the body.

Put the kettlebell back to the ground, ensuring a straight spine.

Complete 6 reps before switching hands or alternate hands every rep.

7) Kettlebell Swing

This is one of the most popular ballistic kettlebell moves, starting with a solid hip hinge and working the core, glutes, legs, and arms.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart while the kettlebell is in a hike position.

Hold the handle with both hands.

Swing the kettlebell between your legs, ensuring that your glutes, core, and thighs are tight.

From between your legs, power the kettlebell up to chest height while keeping your feet pressed into the ground.

Continue swinging until 12 reps.

Swing the kettlebell between legs before putting it back on the ground in the hike position.

8) Kettlebell Goblet Squat

This exercise is a great move that fires up your glutes and quads as well as engaging your core at the same time.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Hold a kettlebell at the horns with both hands, chest high. Your elbows need to be pointing down the ground.

Sit back into your heels and push your butt down and back. Make sure to tighten your core and glutes.

Push off your heels in order to go back to the starting position.

9) KettleBell Offset Squat

Another great kettlebell exercise that strengthens your glutes and core, a kettlebell offset squat also challenge your balance and stability.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

With one hand, hold the kettlebell in the rack position.

Extend the other arm in front or to the side and make a fist.

Sit back into your heels and push your butt down and back. Make sure to tighten your core and glutes.

Push off your heels in order to go back to the starting position.

Complete 6 reps before switching hands or alternate hands every rep.

10) Kettlebell Goblet Lunge

A move similar to the goblet squat, a kettlebell goblet lunge strengthens your glutes and legs.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Hold a kettlebell at the horns with both hands, chest high. Your elbows need to be pointing down the ground.

Take a big step forward with your left leg, tapping your left knee to the ground and forming 2 90-degree angles with your back and front legs.

Push back with your front foot to go back to the starting position.

Complete 6 reps before switching legs or alternate legs every rep

11) Kettlebell Goblet Reverse Lunge

This is pretty much the same as the previous lunges, only here you will be taking a step backward, testing your balance and stability.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Hold a kettlebell at the horns with both hands, chest high. Your elbows need to be pointing down the ground.

Take a big step backward with your left leg, tapping your left knee to the ground and forming 2 90-degree angles with your back and front legs.

Push forward with your back foot to go back to starting position.

Complete 6 reps before switching legs or alternate legs every rep.

12) Kettlebell Goblet March

This move challenges your grip and forearm strength as well as ensuring your balance and keeping your core engaged.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Hold a kettlebell at the horns with both hands, chest high. Your elbows need to be pointing down the ground.

Lift your right leg off the ground and bending your knee until the height of your hip.

Then, bring down your right leg.

Alternate legs continue for 12 reps while standing tall and keeping your core tight.

13) Farmer’s Carry

Pretty much the same as the Goblet March, only this one mimics the act of carrying heavy grocery bags upstairs.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Hands-on the side, with each holding a kettlebell down.

Lift your right leg off the ground and bending your knee until the height of your hip.

Then, bring down your right leg.

Alternate legs and continue for 12 reps while standing tall and keeping your core tight.

14) Half-Kneeling Halos

A kettlebell exercise that challenges your arms and core, this one helps keep your torso stable. You need to do this one on a mat.

Kneeling on the mat, hold a kettlebell with both hands around the horns to the chest and in a bottoms-up position.

Rotate the kettlebell in a circle around your head to create a halo at eye level.

Make sure to keep your abs tight, and shoulders are down.

One circle is one rep.

15) Kettlebell Floor Press

With this exercise, you will need to maintain a flat back through the entire move in order to ensure that you are activating the right muscles.

Standing, place 2 kettlebells between your feet that are hip-distance apart.

Hold a handle with each hand in the squat position.

Lift one kettlebell off the ground to your rib cage, keeping your back and shoulders back.

Bring it back to the ground and lift the other kettlebell and bring it back down.

That’s one rep.

16) Kettlebell Bent-Over Row

A more challenging version of the row, this one stimulates your back muscles in a very different way. It even has an anti-rotation element for your core while forcing you to maintain stability in a split stance.

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, take a step back with your right leg.

Place the kettlebell next to your left foot and holding it with your left hand. Make sure to keep the weight on your front leg.

Extend your right arm in front or to the side and make a fist.

Row the kettlebell towards your rib. Make sure to maintain the proper form.

Bring it back down to the ground.

Complete at least 6 reps before you switch sides.

17) Kettlebell Figure 8

The Kettlebell Figure 8 is a great workout that targets a lot of muscle groups including the chest, quads, back, glutes, biceps, and abs.

Stand with feet hip-width apart.

Assume a half-sitting pose by bending your knees slightly. Make sure to keep your back straight, shoulders back and chest out.

Hold the kettlebell with your right hand and passing it around outside of your right leg.

Reaching the back of your right leg, pass the kettlebell to your left hand and passing around the outside of your left leg

Reaching the back of your left leg, pass it to your right hand.

You completed a figure 8 and that’s one rep.

18) Kettlebell Gorilla Row

With this exercise, you will need to maintain a flat back through the entire move in order to ensure that you are activating the right muscles.

Standing, place 2 kettlebells between your feet that are hip-distance apart.

Hold a handle with each hand in the squat position.

Lift one kettlebell off the ground to your rib cage, keeping your back and shoulders back.

Bring it back to the ground and lift the other kettlebell and bring it back down.

That’s one rep.

19) Half Turkish Get-Up

The Turkish Get-up is a total-body kettlebell exercise that comprised a series of movements. The full Turkish get-up starts with you lying down and standing to your feet. However, this half variation makes it easier for women by rolling onto your free forearm while engaging your shoulders and abs.

Lie on your back.

Bend your left knee to the side with your foot flat on the floor.

Extend the right hand to the side with your left hand straightly holding the kettlebell above your chest. This is the starting position.

Roll onto your free forearm and pushing your left hand up,

Pause then slowly lie back down on the floor. That’s one rep.

Complete 3 reps before switching hands or alternate hands every rep.

20) Kettlebell Thrusters

Challenging your shoulders and legs, this power training move will get your heart pumping.

Stand with feet hip-width apart.

Hold a kettlebell, chest high, with your left hand in the rack position.

Extend your right arm in front or to the side and make a fist.

Do a squat.

The post 20 Best Kettlebell Exercises For Women appeared first on In One Fit.

Source: https://inonefit.com/best-kettlebell-exercises-for-women/

from Best Home Gym Equipment – Expert Fitness Reviews and Comparisons https://inonefit.wordpress.com/2020/03/12/20-best-kettlebell-exercises-for-women/

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calorieworkouts · 5 years

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The Need For Speed: 8 Running Tips

It's running season - time to celebrate! With a lot of fall races showing up right nearby of all sort of distances, there are a lot more runners than any various other time of the year aligning on treadmills and striking the walkways and also tracks. While running actually can be as simple as placing one foot before the other, everybody always has area for enhancement. Look into these 8 methods to increase your rate and also nail your finest time yet!

Interval Training

One of the very best means to enhance your speed is to integrate interval training. Alternating between 2 mins of running as well as 1 minute of recovery for 20-40 minutes. If you have an objective rate in mind for a future race, go for 0.5 miles per hour faster than that pace throughout the speed period. To recuperate, stroll or jog, whichever really feels finest but likewise challenging to your body.

Practice makes best, so ideal your form.

Stand tall as well as relax your shoulders, maintain your arms turning backward and forward as opposed to bent on the side, as well as arrive at the middle of your foot with your feet directly under your hips. Concentrate on your form throughout your next couple of runs and also see your times go down!

Inhale, exhale.

Focus on your breathing! To ensure that your muscles are getting sufficient air to power your body through your hectic run, inhale as well as exhale via both your nose and mouth. Taking deep breaths through both the nose and also mouth will certainly permit your body to deliver the maximum amount of oxygen feasible to your body, quick! Oxygen resembles food for your muscles, so those quick legs will say thanks to you.

Stretch!

Stretching maintains your muscle mass flexible and also injury totally free. So, make certain to stretch after each run for at the very least 5 minutes. Target your hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Holding each stretch for 30 seconds on each side a minimum of twice will assist you recoup and also tackle your following run with fresh legs.

Grab a six pack.

Abs, that is! Incorporating extra core infiltrate your routine can assist enhance your rate. A strong core is the essential to appropriate running form. Add 5 minutes of core work (abdominals and also back) right into your regular every other day to begin seeing as well as really feeling the benefits.

Hit the weights.

Strength training will raise the power in your legs, providing them a lot more capability to drive you via your runs. Concentrate on your large muscular tissue groups like your quads as well as hamstrings, but don't disregard your inner and also outer upper legs to shield on your own from injury. Just two stamina training sessions a week can be enough to make a difference in your run times.

Pour a mug of coffee an hour prior to your run and view its unusual impact on your time!

Caffeine has actually been shown to raise speed and coffee is one of the healthiest kinds. If you're really buckling down, don't fret, high levels of caffeine is still a gotten rid of performance improving replacement. Elite athletes and weekend runners alike can take advantage of a warm mug o' joe!

Refresh your gear and also treat on your own to a brand-new set of shoes.

Your footwear take fairly the pounding when you're logging significant mileage. An excellent set of running shoes will not last a lot longer than 300-400 miles. Keep an eye on your gas mileage to be certain you do your feet a support as well as change your footwear promptly. If it's been a while considering that you've rotated in a fresh pair, you'll definitely feel the difference!

Start incorporating these little adjustments right into your runs and enjoy your times reduce gradually yet surely. Enhancing your speed is no very easy feat (no pun planned!) yet it can be done. Hold your horses and also consistent as well as your effort will certainly pay off when you cross that finish line!

#pilates workout #workout

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xxkellsvixen19xx · 5 years

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Forget Me Not Jim Mason x Reader 50 First Dates AU Pt 5

@michael-langdon-appreciation

Y/N figured it out.

Jim was determined to drive her crazy. Either that or he’d been taken over by aliens, and the body snatchers had forgotten to program the clone for sex.

No, that wasn’t right. She was still getting orgasms, lots of them, delivered in a timely and most enthusiastic fashion on a regular basis. The man's tongue should be enshrined- when it came to going down on her, he was talented and thorough enough she couldn't walk afterward.

Actual sex was the issue. Sex hadn't yet happened, and after three weeks of exploring lots of other pleasurable activities, Y/N was more than eager.

On the nonsexual side, her unsatisfied libido had her directing frustrated energy into a variety of art projects. She couldn’t seem to stop herself. The fight with numbers had turned into an addiction with creativity. As the baby growing inside started to make itself more apparent, her interest in things she had never tried before continued. Her brothers had been thrilled at the suggestion of getting her gift cards from craft shops for Christmas.

The doorbell rang, and Y/N turned to answer it. She peeked outside to discover Jim waiting for her.

She pulled the door open for Jim. How the man managed to make a jean jacket look sexy was damn unfair. "Hi."

He straightened from his easy slouch. "Hi. Can I come in?"

Y/N shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She turned back to her project, pretending to ignore him, but she knew he was there, all right. Just was tired of his bossy ass. Silence loomed until she finally peeked over her shoulder.

Jim shrugged. "It's a nice day. I wanted to go for a walk." For some reason his wording only upset her more.

"Fine. Have a nice time." She turned her back and ripped a page violently from the magazine, examining it for the best section to add to her mosaic.

Cold fabric wrapped around her as he leaned against her back. "You mad at me?"

"I thought you were walking."

"With you, Y/N. I want to go for a walk with you."

"That’s not what you said,” she pointed out snarkily. "And far be it for me to insert myself into your plans."

Jim lifted her from the chair and forced her chin up. "Okay, point taken. Will you come with me? It’s pretty outside, and we should take advantage of the nice weather."

Like some damn yo-yo, her mood rose instantly. Y/N couldn’t hold on to her anger. "I'd love to go for a walk. Give me a minute to change."

Thirty minutes later they were strolling through the birch trees at the edge of the town park. The cool January air burned her throat slightly as she breathed, but it was still refreshing. Flowers blooming on the branches against the shockingly blue sky.

Jim had her hand in his, fingers not interlocked but connected just the same. "You look like you’re having a ton of fun with the crafts. And sewing. And painting."

"Post-concussion syndrome. Doctor finally gave me a name."

"Really? That's cool."

"Yeah. I suppose. The brain’s a neat thing. I damaged part of it, so now the pathways or whatever shifted in new directions and poor, I'm an arteeeest:"

"Creativity everywhere."

His comment hit the wrong way.

"I know my house is a mess," Y/N snapped, then instantly felt guilty.

He squeezed her fingers. "I didn’t say anything about the house. Don't jump to conclusions."

"But it is a mess, and that’s not like me, but dammit ..." Y/N jerked her hand free and paced to the edge of the trail, staring at the sky as she attempted to find her sense of peace. "My God, this is insane."

He had the guts to laugh softly. “Y/N, I’m not judging you. Or expecting anything from you-"

"Yeah? Well maybe you should."

That dangerous grin of his widened. "Oh?"

Ass. "Is there something wrong with my body, Jim? You afraid of hurting the baby if we have sex? I mean, you can't be afraid that I’ll get pregnant, because, hello, that ship has already sailed." Jumping from arts and crafts to sex in under a minute. Go, Y/N!

"You're not happy with our sex life?" Jim asked.

A growl escaped her. She marched across the short distance between them to get in his face. "We don't have a sex life. We have you deciding when to turn off the heat, and I'm getting tired of it."

"Agreed."

His instant response pierced her bubble and deflated part of her anger. "You agree? Then why are you being such a pain in the butt?"

Jim let go of her hand and cupped his warm palm to her cheek. "You know how you wanted to be invited along on the walk? Not just me assuming that you would come?"

"Yeah?" Where was this going?

He stroked a thumb over her cheek. "You have changed since the accident, and I like the new Y/N. I like how she's bolder, and more outspoken. I think it's fascinating that you've suddenly got this artistic side, but there’s one thing you're not doing."

She nuzzled against his hand, placated a little. "And what's that, bossy pants?"

A low rumble of amusement escaped him. "You're still not deciding what you want then going for it."

There was a twist she hadn’t expected. "I thought you said I was bolder?"

"You are ...and you aren't." Jim enclosed her in his arms. "You're bold as brass for a moment then you cut back like your response is a bad thing. It’s not, Y/N. If you want something, take it. If you don't want something, stop beating around the bush."

Y/N slipped her hands around his neck. "Well, if you insist, I can think of something I'd really like to do."

"Hmm." Jim stroked her cheek. "Go on, Angeleyes, boss me around and get some practice."

They couldn't get back to the house fast enough. But when they arrived, Y/N didn't simply demand he take her into the bedroom. No matter how daring she felt that was one step further than she could take right now. There was something else she could do... "Take off your clothes," she ordered.

He lifted one brow, but his hands went to his buttons. "I like how this is starting."

She grabbed her drawing pad and a set of charcoal pencils, and his expression fell. A laugh escaped her. "You should see your face right now."

His shirt was open, sliding from his shoulders. "This is your call, Y/N. Take what you want."

Oh, she had every intention of it.

She rotated the easy chair, sitting to enjoy the view as Jim continued to strip. No fancy dance moves, just honest- to-goodness, solidly built and one-hundred-percent-naked male being revealed in her living room.

She stared at the curve of muscles across his shoulders. The flare of his biceps and lovely firm chest. He stood with his arms crossed, seemingly at ease in spite of being naked. Well- defined stomach muscles, that V-line muscle framing his lower abdomen. His cock nestled in a thatch of dark hair.

Y/N's fingers flew over the page, her gaze darting back and forth between the picture and her model. She was going to be drooling in about thirty seconds if she wasn't careful.

It took an amazingly short time to put on the page the sex-on-legs that was Jim.

"Out of curiosity, you putting a fig leaf over my cock?" he asked.

"No." Although, she wasn’t sure how to draw that part of his anatomy. It had most definitely changed appearance since he’d stripped, rising to a length she longed to explore more closely. "You're making it tough, dude. When I said nothing moves, you didn't listen very well, did you now?"

A burst of laughter escaped him. "I guess not."

Y/N abandoned the drawing materials behind her and rose to her feet. "I need to get hands-on for this next part."

Jim smiled, but said nothing.

It was like being in a candy store for grown-ups. She slid her hands over his arms and across his chest, savoring the warmth. The scratch of hair on his limbs against her palms. The rapid beat of his heart under her fingers as she explored his chest, pressing a kiss to the center of his torso.

"I think you should get naked as well," Jim suggested, his voice low and husky.

She thought about it for a second. "I'd like that."

He was over her in a second, helping her strip. Pulling off clothes and touching her everywhere and this was what she'd longed for. Both of them involved, kisses pressed over heated skin, hands touching intimately.

She wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked, loving the softness of his skin in contrast to the hardness beneath. Jim covered her hand with his and increased the pressure, guiding her as his torso tightened, moans of pleasure escaping his lips.

A slow bend brought her close enough to lick the head of his cock, her tongue tracing the slit, teasing him. He let her play, one hand holding his shaft so she could access the head, wetting him briefly before covering him with her mouth and sucking lightly.

"You’ve got about ten seconds before I blow,” Jim warned.

Y/N pulled back with a pop as she released him. "Hair trigger?"

"It's been a while."

The realization it had been months since he said they'd had sex hit in a rush. "You've been abstaining for too long."

He went willingly with her into the bedroom. One firm push on his chest toppled him to the bed, and she crawled on top.

The pregnancy had begun to affect her body, but she loved the changes so far. Better skin, more sensitive breasts, just the trace of rounding to her belly.

Jim ran his hands over her as she straddled his hips, obviously enjoying the changes as well. "Whatever you want. I'm yours."

Y/N rocked herself over his cock, pressing the hard ridge against her clit repetitively. Smooth strokes that slowly brought up her pleasure and seemed to please Jim as well. He held on to her hips and helped her move, his eyes pinned to her chest as her breasts swayed.

Then she couldn’t wait any longer. Y/N lifted her hips and directed him into her core. Her hand brushed Jim’s as he held his cock upright, and their fingers connected as she slowly eased herself down. One rock after another as she opened around him, taking his thick shaft into her body.

"Sweet mercy, Y/N. So good."

She paused, filled completely, squeezing lightly to enjoy the sensation. Testing for pain, or anything that worried her, but all that registered was pleasure.

Connection.

An itch to be scratched ...now.

She shifted over him. Rose and fell with increasing tempo until she was at the edge of exploding. Jim cupped her breasts, lightly pinching her nipples, and she gasped at the streak of ecstasy that washed through her system.

Jim caught her by the hips and raised her slightly. "Stay there," he ordered, waiting for her to get into position. As soon as she obeyed, he thrust upward, increasing the pressure, the speed. One hand slipped down to touch her clit, thumb firmly in position over the sensitive point. He rocked his cock in and out of her body until she shattered.

Waves rolled her from the inside out, heavy and lingering from having been so long in the making. Anticipation had nothing on the reality, as he continued to fuck her through her orgasm, finally clamping down on her hips as she caught her breath. He jerked upright, his cock deep as he came. Another set of aftershocks rocked her core, leaving her head spinning and body swaying with pleasure.

He curled up and caught her against his chest, kissing her face, running his fingers over her back. They sat there for a long time, intimately connected, until their breathing got back to something near normal.

Jim stroked her cheek. "Was that what you were hoping for?"

"Hmm." Y/N rested her head on his shoulder, kissing his neck lightly. "I think so. We might have to try it again later, just to make sure."

"If that’s what you want."

They laughed together, slowly coming down off the high. Y/N felt different inside. Not the sex, but in taking another step forward. She might have lost some of her memories, but she was making new ones. She might have lost some of herself, but the new her wasn't that bad of a person.

And the guy currently is touching her like she was beautiful, precious and amazing? He wasn’t hard to accept as a part of the new life she was facing.

Credit to @carolthors

#jim mason #tribes of palos verdes #fan fiction

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blankdblank · 6 years

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Old Enemies Pt 4

Added in songs - "Shatter Me" (Lindsey Sterling feat. Lzzy Hale), and Brave enough – Lindsey Sterling (Feat. Christina Perri) Love the songs – had to go a bit on the nose for the second one

Tags –

@himoverflowers, @theincaprincess, @aspiringtranslator, @fizzy-custard, @evyiione, @red608

Languages - Khuzdul, Kurdu, Elvish, Rohirric, Hobbitish

…

A soft grumble came from you, your head nuzzling closer to the neck of the Dwarf snoring below you, his deep rumbling breaths raised then lowered you again, each rumble inching you slowly from your sleep, your eyes adjusting in the dark room after opening them, rotating your nearly numb shoulders and finding your arms curled under Thorin’s head. Grumbling again while you slowly slid your arms free one at a time earning a near growl from Thorin at the change before his arms curled tighter around your back drawing a quiet giggle from you that signaled a mumbled Khuzdul sentence that ended in “Bunnanunê” before his head turned to kiss your forehead. His warm lips against your slightly chilled skin paired with his next mumbled sentence, whatever it was, bringing a small smile to your face while sighing through another snuggle against his heated skin.

Doing your best to remember yesterday was merely an act, each thought flooding into your mind that what you’d hoped to happen between you couldn’t possibly come to light, settling to the fact it would have to stay trapped in your imagination, a life you could never claim. Second in line to a throne of his own for a race that would mostly learn eventually of your lineage and grow to hate you and any man bound to you, not even mentioning what would happen to the Dwarf or any possible children.

No, you’d stay in your dreams and possibly spend the rest of your life alone, through your near 2000 year life, unfortunately for you, not once has an Elf of any physical appeal to you been interested in any form of romantic relationship, also due to your kin, leaving you little choice in a love life. Though ironically enough you’d had a small string of Kurdu speaking Dwarves to claim as yours, at least until their families had found out about your lineage, the longest barely reaching over a year, ruined by a story your Father had posted with your picture on it. That pained expression from his face at your last time of seeing him still etched into your mind, driving you to break from dating, the choice that grew easier as you’d submitted to the mandated training easing you through the transitions and surrounding you with enough Dwarf eye candy to drive the painful sting from the front of your attention deep into the back of your mind forming into a familiar daily dull ache.

Another grumble came from under you as Thorin’s arms loosened while his snoring had ended through his normalizing breath and his eyes sluggishly opened at the ringing coming from his phone on the table by the bed, he grumbled again slowly sliding his hand from your back and squinted as the bright light hit his face causing his eyes to glow. Your head rose from his shoulder to rest against your palm, propping your arm up beside his head, he grumbled again shutting off his phone and sliding it back onto the table and locked eyes with you, smirking up at you drawing in each detail of your face through your mess of curls as he mumbled, “Someone told my Mother I’m engaged, apparently it made the news last night.” An unintentional giggle escaped you dropping your head back to his chest while he began to chuckle curling his arms around your back again while he raised the covers over your shoulders again, “She could have at least waited to call till breakfast.” His phone rang again which he promptly ignored along with the next three.

“You’re not going to answer them?”

He chuckled again, “Nope, she’s just going to have to wait until I figure out what I’m going to say to her.”

“You can’t just say you were helping to keep a group of Dwarves away from me?”

He chuckled, “No, I could have easily have ordered them away, I’m the one that chose to act out an engagement.”

You rested your chin on his chest to look at him while you brushed back your hair earning a smirk from him, “Why did you bother with the ring at all.”

His eyes closed as his head settled back against his pillow grabbing for the first lie flashing into his mind, “Just curling around you wouldn’t have been very convincing, but with a ring like that with my rank would easily silence anyone.” Opening his eyes and turning his head to glance at you again, “If you don’t mind, where’d you get it?”

“It was my Mother’s and her Father’s before her and so on, after My Aunts and Uncles died I got the Ring and control over Doriath.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, “I thought you weren’t next in line, and above that, that Doriath was destroyed.”

You drew in a quick breath wetting your dry lips, “The Silvan Elves that followed my Mother moved to Greenwood, the remaining followed after Luthien’s Son to Rivendell and Lothlorien after Thingol passed, leaving full control of Doriath to me after he passed.”

He nodded drawing in a breath and curling his arm around the back of his head propping it up with a smirk, “So you have a Kingdom?”

You nodded, “Technically. If you can call a shielded abandoned island covered in ruins a Kingdom.” You looked at his phone again with a smirk, shaking your head through another giggle, his smile widened at the sound, then again as your hair pooled out on his chest. The light from the sunrise slowly poured in the room over the thick curtains before his alarm went off, which he shut off with another grumble at the thought of having to be parted from your contact again before his phone rang yet again earning a loud groan from him.

You gently slid off of him with another giggle, moving to the end of the bed, his head rose to watch you slide to the end before uncurling his arm from behind his head, sitting up with a sigh then scooting after you, sitting at your side smirking at the short distance between your feet and the floor before asking, “Need a shower?”

You shook your head, “I’m fine, got some spare clothes in my bag.”

He smiled as you stood watching his shirt slide back down from your upper thighs to your knees as you ran your fingers through your hair brushing it back again before he stood, heading for his dresser to grab a new pair of briefs, “Well I’m going to so you’ll have the room to change.” Smirking at you again before heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

You headed to grab your bag from the other room, grabbing your purse and reaching in nearly to your elbow to one of the dozens of hidden pockets inside the enchanted bag, pulling out a smaller bag full of your clothes. Laying out a pair of black jeans, one of your nicer button down light blue shirts along with a black tank top and a dark grey vest to add over before choosing your favorite pair of knee high purple socks, heading to his room with the clothes as his curtains and blinds in his living room were drawn.

Glancing at the door hearing the sound of him entering the shower with a soft gasp, at your best guess, due to a frigid rush of water covering him, smirking while you gripped his shirt across your chest reluctantly pulling it off and quickly dressing and heading to his dresser and dropping the newly folded borrowed shirt that before grabbing your boots and starting to pull them on while he came out of the bathroom.

His large smirk falling on you tying your second boot, freshly dried in his new briefs with his toothbrush in his hand with toothpaste newly added to it leaning on the doorway and pointing into the frigid room behind him, “Need the sink?” Smiling at you awkwardly before turning and shoving his toothbrush in his mouth rubbing his forehead with a soft groan, he’d hoped you’d missed, biting your lip to contain another giggle before hopping off his bed again and going in to claim the spare toothbrush he handed to you, once again the mirror only showing your forehead making you smirk as you coated your toothbrush again. He dropped a dry towel on the counter and placed his toothbrush back in his mouth to grab your hips and set you on the sink, the same as the night before, finishing his normal routine as you brushed, rinsed and gargled. Twisting to face the mirror combing your fingers through your hair to add in the start of a four part braid that pulled into a ponytail watching him from the corner of your eye smirking to contain his laughter.

“You wouldn’t be laughing Mr Dwarf if the roles were reversed.”

A deep chuckle escaped him as he finished combing through his hair and started the braid to hold it back, “That would probably be true. How do you manage it in yours?”

You turned to look at him, his smile grew meeting your eyes, and leaning forward to hear the supposed secret you were drawing him closer to hear with a wagging finger and a smirk, “My Nephews bought a bigger mirror.” Another chuckle came from him while his fingers wove the ends of his braid together before securing it in the large silver clasp, pulling back again and heading for his kitchen, you dug through your bag to add the small line of eyeliner while you heard his soft humming through his cooking that nearly made your heart want to melt.

Rolling your eyes through a soft groan you turned again, hopping off the counter, adding everything back into your bag and folding the bag into the size of a small coin purse to slip into your pocket after removing your phone and checking it while you walked back into the living room, he smirked at you again noticing the near serious expression on your face, “Everything alright?”

You glanced up at him with a small smile, “Ya, just, Krull and Karll from The Eorlingas.”

His brows rose setting his hands down on the high counters, “The who now?”

“The..”

“Ya, no I heard that part, how exactly do you know them?”

“We um,” You could see the tensing in his arm muscles and the distinct possessive flash in his eyes sending a wave of uneasiness through your stomach, “We served together, met back in Rohan centuries ago before we joined.”

His expression twisted slightly in confusion before it softened, “You wouldn’t happen to be the Panhandling Princess, the one in the rabbit mask?” You nodded and his smirk came back, “You sing in Kurdu though, perfectly I might add, even I struggle with it, how is it you can’t speak Khuzdul?”

“My Mother taught me Kurdu, in Valinor it’s mostly Kurdu and Quenya, and some of the Stiffbeards and Ironfists that speak Kurdu are in the Kingdom near Rohan, as you know, and when I joined nearly half the Tirion force was Kurdu, it’s easier than Khuzdul, at least at switching from Quenya.”

His smile grew while he finished the breakfast, grabbing the plates and utensils motioning to the table for you to take a seat, “Most Dwarves thought the whole banished Silvan Princess history for the rabbit was a gimmick, and your voice, is incredible, a lot of the comments I’ve heard can’t believe you’re really an Elf to sound so fluent in our tongues.” You curled your legs into the tall seat smiling at him as he set the meal before you then claimed his own seat with a smirk, “So you are all good friends?”

“Mhmm, had a rough patch at the start but we got through it.”

His eyes met yours as he chewed covering his mouth, “Why’s that?”

He caught your pause and smirked again, “Well, sort of dated Krull and Karll’s Cousin, didn’t last long.”

He swallowed and asked coolly, “Why’s that?”

“Found his One, had to give her some space to get used to being around, ended well, I’ve got 5 godchildren to prove it, massive creatures that they are.”

He chuckled filling his fork again before giving you another curious glance, “You date Dwarves often?”

“Elves, at least the well educated ones know purple eyes belong to Thingol’s line, though until they catch my eye appearing, let alone being Noldor was more than enough to turn me away, Dwarves, at least the ones I dated gave me a chance. My last ex was a Dwarf, right before I joined the forces.”

He drew in another steady breath, “Didn’t end well?”

You swallowed and exhaled, “Not really, his parents found out about my family. And no it wasn’t the first time I’ve been dropped for it.” He nodded dropping his eyes to his plate unsure of what to say to smooth the conversation over for him to ask you out again, his eyes met yours again when you said, “There’s not going to be some Dam bursting in here dragging me out is there? Bit early to be dealing with that.”

He chuckled rolling his eyes as his phone stopped ringing again and his Mother’s next message filled the room as it played back her recording, “No risk of that, my choice has to be strictly monitored, which is why my Mother won’t let up, though hopefully she won’t involve my Sister, she’d be the one to do the dragging if there was any.”

You glanced over at the clock on the wall then back to him with a smirk, his eyes followed your trail and quickly shoveled a few more bites back into his mouth then stood and rushed to his room to get dressed, “Be back in a bit.” Allowing you another good look at his body as he hurried into his closet only to pop back out, “Should it be more relaxed today?”

“Well I’m in jeans, up to you though.”

“Hmm.” He vanished back into his room only to return again with his normal boots under a nice pair of black jeans with a dark blue button down shirt and a jacket over it with a small smile holding out his hands earning a chuckle from you in your spot at the sink while you added your dishes along with his to the drying rack after clearing the table, washing and rinsing them. He walked over then leaned on the counter dividing you with a smirk, “You didn’t have to clean them.”

You locked eyes with him and smirked, “I always clean before I leave.”

He nodded again with a chuckle, glancing at the clock again then back to you with a slightly hopeful look, “Did you want to ride with us today?”

You drew in a steady breath and released it tapping your fingers on the counter, “Might be best to head in separate.”

He nodded and straightened up, “Guess we should head out then.”

You walked around the counter joining his side and bumped his arm with yours drawing a chuckle from him when he glanced down and caught your smirk, “Come on, can’t make it that easy for your family to come after me.”

He rolled his eyes heading over to grab his case beside yours and turned to pass it to you, locking eyes with you again with a slightly stern expression, “None of my family is coming after you, I won’t allow it. You’ve done nothing to deserve it, they’ll see that.”

Accepting your case with a small nod before he led you both to the door, ignoring the next nearly screaming message from his Mother and locking the door behind you, turning to face the main door only to step back as his Cousins had returned with another two workers with your new window, all bowing their heads to you as Bofur said, “Don’t you worry now Miss Pear, we’ll have your window fixed up for you nicely when you get back home.”

You glanced at him with a smile as Thorin quickly translated it for you before responding to his Cousin and leading the way outside, your eyes adjusted in the bright light from the slightly late sunrise before noting the group of birds staring at you from the gate across the street with a splash of red in the early morning sky. Thorin caught the pause in your step, glancing back at you then following your gaze before his eyes locked on the building across from you with a quizzical look, “What’s wrong?”

Your eyes stayed fixed on the birds and you mumbled reciting a poem your Mother had taught you to interpret particular omens, “One for sadness, two for mirth, Three for marriage, four for birth, Five for laughing, six for crying, Seven for sickness, eight for dying, Nine for silver, ten for gold, Eleven a secret that will never be told.”

His eyes dropping to the crows cawing out, counting out the eight before a pair flew off, then another three followed by another pair leaving the one solitary cawing crow before it flew off towards the red sky behind it, “So, Death, Marriage and Sadness?” Glancing at you.

“All before a blood red morning, I’m missing something.” You glanced up at him before shaking your head, “Don’t mind me.”

“Blood red morning?”

“It means blood was spilled in the night, something happened somewhere.” He glanced back again to see you already heading down the few stairs and hurried after you.

“You sure you don’t need a ride?”

You turned and smiled at him again, “It’s not far, see you there, besides they’re staring.”

He groaned through a nod knowing who you were referring to, watching you turn again and hurry off down the street before drawing in a deep breath and turning to join his relatives.

Dwalin added his case to its spot in his trunk and crossed his arms while his two Nephews flashed him views of their phones as Fili said, “53 texts from Grandmother, 53!!”

Kili, “All since last night, only got to fall asleep after promising we’d get you to talk to her.”

Dwalin chuckled at the groan coming from Thorin as he placed his case in the trunk carefully before shutting the door while Dwalin said, “How’d your date with Jaqi go?”

Thorin locked eyes with him trying to fight his smirk, “Learned a lot about her, we should get going.” They rolled their eyes and followed him into the vehicle.

Dwalin, “Really, like what?”

Thorin smirked, “Mostly about her Family and her time in the Elven Forces.”

Dwalin’s brows rose, “Really?”

Thorin nodded, “600 years. It’s where she met The Eorlingas actually.” They all glanced at him, “They served together.”

Dwalin, “Hmm, Also heard from Bofur, something about a window and a wasps nest.”

Thorin, “Neighbors kids must have knocked it off their building, the nest flew straight into her living room.”

Dwalin smirked as Fili asked, “How’d she know we’re related to exterminators?”

Thorin, “She didn’t, I heard her scream, let her stay over for the night.”

Kili leaned forward with a smirk, “Nice plan Uncle.” He glanced back at his Nephew raising a brow, “No plan, her window was broken, couldn’t let her stay there alone.”

Fili, “What about her training, sure she could manage.”

Dwalin, “That doesn’t matter boys, a Lady should be safely tucked into bed each night, least your Uncle could do was lend her his, even if he shared it with her.” He smirked over at Thorin, who was currently shooting him a stern gaze and receiving a chuckle in response as the boys scooted closer to them, “Scrub all you want but you still smell like apples.”

Thorin grumbled while his heart pounded remembering the feeling of you curled above him and looked out the window missing your touch already.

Once again hopping onto the trolley you sighed placing your phone back into your pocket after leaving a message for Feanor, checking in on how things were going, through a creeping feeling about the first call he’d missed of yours in over a century before smiling at Bilbo as he shuffled closer to your side once again with a growing grin. “Have you heard the news?”

“About what?” Drawing your bottom lip trying to ignore the growing feeling of unsteadiness.

He leaned in closer and whispered, “Apparently Thorin’s engaged!”

Your eyes widened in mock surprise, “Really?”

His eyes narrowed at you with a half smirk, pulling out his phone to show you the picture they’d snapped of you both showing off the massive ring on your hand curled around the bowl you were holding while Thorin leaned forward in what appeared to be in the process of leaning in for a kiss “Jaqi, Your hair might be in the way but I’d know that ring anywhere, what happened?!”

You drew in a quick breath and leaned in a bit closer as he nearly shivered in excitement, “There was a group of Dwarves that wouldn’t leave me alone, he got them to, we ate, he walked me home.”

He nodded with a smirk, “Oh, he walked you home?!”

You rolled your eyes nudging his shoulder gently, “He’s my neighbor Bilbo, ask him.” He glanced at his phone again.

Dropping his voice even softer, “But it looks like you’re about to kiss!”

“We didn’t though, I was telling him about my Family. Didn’t want to be overheard.”

He nodded then glanced at you curiously, “How’d he take it?”

“He agreed I’m not my Family, promised to soften it when his relatives find out.”

His smile grew again, “Well that’s a good sign at least.” His fingers tapped the screen of his phone and your phone chimed soon after causing you to roll your eyes, “You two did look cozy together, thought you might want to have a copy of the picture, have you seen him since?”

You nodded, “His Mother heard about it, wouldn’t stop calling.”

Bilbo chuckled, “Wonder how she’ll take it.”

You sighed, “She sounded pissed, and him not answering seemed to irritate her more.”

His eyes widened while he followed you off the trolley and towards the rehearsal building, “He really ignored her calls?” You nodded and his mouth opened for a moment before you’d approached the additional line of security around the front entrance, Bilbo swallowed as he spotted the line of Massive Ironfist Dwarves standing guard, whose heads all turned to look at you both with stern expressions until the largest of them stepped forward with a growing smile and spoke out in thick Kurdu, “There’s our Bunny, wondering when we’d get to see you pop up, they’ve got your mask inside.”

You giggled and accepted the large hug he’d lifted you into, “Missed you boys.” Giggling again as he set you down and stepped aside and switched to Hobbitish, “Master Baggins, Pleasure to meet you.”

Bilbo nodded quickly, “Pleasure to meet you as well.” Following after you as you waved at the now smiling group, “See you at dinner after.” They all nodded and turned back to their former line spotting the next group of Dwarves heading in after you.

Drawing your phone again you eyed the picture again with a soft sigh and clutched the phone in your hand, spotting the Durins already near your chair after setting down their instruments and shooting you large smiles, you headed over setting down your case after Bilbo hurried to set down his and return to your side. You caught Dwalin edging Thorin closer to you earning an elbow in return before he shot you another large smile before his eyes fell to your phone when you held it out to him nearly causing his face to drop completely in shock as you said, “Found out why Your Mother is so mad.” He glanced at you eyeing you closely for a reaction, “Bilbo showed me.”

He nodded and mumbled, “That would do it, it looks like, we’re about to...”

His eyes raised suddenly to spot the tall dark haired Dwarves stepping up behind you, one using his finger to make your braid swing as his twin lifted you in a tight hug mumbling, “Give us a kiss then dearest Princess!” earning a laugh from you as they kissed your cheeks before two equally tall blondes, with slightly pointed ears, joined them taking turns kissing your cheeks before shooting you large smiles, both claiming a hug before you were set down again.

The Dwarves in the room all nearly ready to drag you from their arms until they spotted the Rabbit mask that Eomer pulled from behind his back, “Brought your mask Little Bunny.”

You giggled again accepting it while Krull set you down, asking, “So you got the music we sent you?”

You nodded as you turned to face the group with a large smile, “Yes, worked out a few different parts for it.”

They smiled again as Karll said, “Good, knew you’d be able to manage it.” While Theodred eyed your height with a smirk playfully marking your height against his chest with his hand before chuckling and grabbing the small folded bag in his pocket and digging around shoulder deep, causing a brief shock at the group of Dwarves behind them, not seeing such a bag, before mumbling, “Mhmm, got you something, you forgot them at ours last summer.”

You glanced over with a soft gasp accepting the tall heels dangling from his hand and giggled as Karll turned you towards the empty chair behind you, “Better get those on. Our mics only go so low Princess.”

Sitting in your chair you’d shot him a playful glare through his wink, raising your foot to rest on the seat as you introduced the Durins and Bilbo before the rest of the orchestra got a turn to speak with them as you got ready, you added your boots to your bag you’d pulled from your pocket, and drew your violin to get ready as Thorin headed back over to you handing you your phone back, “Didn’t want to forget this, oh, hope you don’t mind, added my number so I could send the picture to my phone.”

You shook your head with a large smile, “Not at all.”

He smiled again and headed back to his seat to go over the sheet music they’d handed out for the background layers, adjusting the last chord after sliding your phone back into your pocket and stood to hug Nord, the tall redheaded Dwarf who films your rehearsals for the music videos later, getting a peck on the cheek from him as well before he helped you into the rabbit mask that covered the top of your face curling around your ears and rising into two large ears secured around your ponytail.

They all watched as the blondes pulled on their horse masks similar to yours also using their ponytails to hold them up while the Dwarves pulled on their Rams masks, complete with horns, also secured with their braided ponytails before they claimed their spots in the glass booth behind the Orchestra and you followed after. Theodred claimed the Drums as Eomer switched on his keyboard with Krull pulling on his bass leaving Karl as the main vocalist except for a few songs where he broke out his harp with you in the middle. Through the first run through the Orchestra played it alone and got it nearly perfect needing only a few instructions at sharper cutoffs before recording the second, on the third your group played alone and the last two were recorded together.

"Shatter Me"

[Verse 1 –Rabbit(You):]

I pirouette in the dark

I see the stars through a mirror

Tired mechanical heart

Beats 'til the song disappears

[Chorus: Eomer/Theodred 1st, then Karll, Krull]

Somebody shine a light

I'm frozen by the fear in me

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

So cut me from the line

Dizzy, spinning endlessly

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

[Violin drop]

(Rabbit) Quenya

Shatter me!

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

[Verse 2:Eomer 1st/Karl]

If only the clockwork could speak

I wouldn't be so alone

We'd burn every magnet and spring

And spiral into the unknown

[Chorus: Eomer/Theodred 1st, then Karll, Krull]

Somebody shine a light

I'm frozen by the fear in me

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

So cut me from the line

Dizzy, spinning endlessly

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

[Violin drop]

[Bridge: Quenya - all]

If I break the glass then I'll have to fly

There's no one to catch me if I take a dive

I'm scared of changing

The days stay the same

The world is spinning but only in gray

If I break the glass then I'll have to fly

There's no one to catch me if I take a dive

I'm scared of changing

The days stay the same

The world is spinning but only in gray

(Only...)

[Chorus: You/Eomer/Theodred 1st, then You/Karll, Krull]

Somebody shine a light

I'm frozen by the fear in me

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

So cut me from the line

Dizzy, spinning endlessly

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

[Violin drop]

(You/Karll, Krull)

Me...!

Shatter me!

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me!

.... Second Song .....

Brave Enough

[Verse 1]

(You)

There's some things I should have said

I was too afraid

(Eomer)

It was just so hard to let you know

Now it's all too late

[Pre-Chorus - Krull]

What we had was beautiful

I didn't want to wreck it all

Every day I think about the truth

[Chorus – You/Karll both switching between languages]

I wish I was

Brave enough to love you

(All)

I wish I was

Brave enough to love you

Brave enough, brave enough

Brave enough to love you

[Violin Drop]

[Verse 2 – You/Krull both switching between languages]

Stripped away the walls I built

Like no one ever has

The hardest part's we'll never know

If we were meant to last

[Pre-Chorus – You/Theodred]

What we had was beautiful

I didn't want to wreck it all

Every day I think about the truth

[Chorus – You/Karll both switching between languages]

I wish I was

Brave enough to love you

(All)

I wish I was

Brave enough to love you

Brave enough, brave enough

Brave enough to love you

[Violin Drop]

[Outro – All switching between languages]

Brave enough to love you

I wish I was

Brave enough to love you

Brave enough, brave enough

Brave enough to love you

…

The Orchestra all asked for translations for the lyrics but were promptly turned down, each claiming their own photos with the group while a few commented on their shock at your being a part and apologizing for not noticing sooner. Once all but the Durin’s group had cleared out you’d switched your shoes back again earning a soft huff from Theodred switched to Rohirric, “You’re not staying in them?”

You glanced up at him as the group turned back to you after removing their masks, “Not a good day for heels.”

Krull took a step closer with a slightly alert look as the other’s posture stiffened signaling the Durins that something was wrong while Thorin quietly translated, “Crows and blood in the sky this morning, and Feanor missed my call.”

Eomer’s eyes narrowed for a moment, “It’s been nearly a century since that’s happened right?”

You nodded, “I missed something.”

They all nodded before Karll said, “We know the rules, any signs you spot and we’ll fall into place.” Making your smile grow as he helped you up with Theodred claiming your case, their group leading the Durin’s to Thorin’s and your places to drop your instruments before heading out to eat.

Without the masks you’d eased through the crowds easily enough though as your main course arrived and you reached for your fork the screens along the wall lit up with not so breaking news about an attack in Tirion.

“Late last night former King Finwe’s forces attacked the small city of _ along the coast, reports are coming in of injured by the thousands with the death toll in the hundreds.” Thorin glanced at you noticing Karll’s hand going to grab yours with a sting of jealousy until he noticed the electricity circling your hand and fingers trembling in its spot above your fork with a bright white flame in your palm while bright streaks of light coursed through your eyes and a small curl of heated swirling air came from your nose at each exhale while Krull claimed your other hand that was doing the same.

His eyes locked on you as they delved further into the story and your eyes dropped to your plate, wishing he could curl around you at the rage he saw coursing through you at your injured people, the screen soon after flashed back to the various games as the Dwarves headed back to their lives not noticing the lone Silvan Elf in their midst with single silent tears on each cheek.

Forcing down your meal you did your best to stay in the conversation with the Eorlingas around you assisting you with the translations, though as you glanced at the dessert menu, from a twinge in your stomach you instinctively reached for one of the pockets on your purse drawing out a generic brand looking pack of gum and asking, “Gum anyone?”

The Durin’s all looked on curiously accepting the pieces after they saw the band members all claim them, each slowly starting to chew on the gum and blow a bubble from theirs before popping it and swallowing the small lump of near grass like taste at Karll’s whispered instructions, while the Durin’s across from you spotted you folding the wrapper and sliding it in your mouth.

All sitting quietly watching you placing your ring in your bag and sliding it in your pocket before they noticed the others in the restaurant slumping over and one by one sinking into the growing blackness surrounding them, lights began to flicker around the slumping figures. Within moments their vision warbled only allowing flecks of light as their bodies lowered heavily to the tables before them with strange callous warped hands sliding onto then gripping their limbs tightly before they lost themselves completely.

“Breaking News” Flashing in Khuzdul on screens through the Dwarvish Countries and nearly all of Middle Earth in various languages, “Durin Heirs taken!”

The Dwarvish Police Force filled the restaurant all staring at the large symbol on the wall marking out the name of the most recently deceased enemy of the Durin Line, “Azog” each of them scoffing at the ridiculous implication while Prince Thrain and King Thror stood whispering to each other before turning to see King Thranduil rushing into the door and heading straight for them.

Thranduil, “Which booth were they in?”

Thror raised a brow, pointing over to the booth with smears of blood across the top and over the seats, “What’s the matter?” Watching as he rushed over and crouched examining the booth before noticing the small cut in the front where one of the metal snaps that secured the leather had been pulled out, kneeling he leaned closer working his finger in the small hidden pocket and drawing out a small patch of cloth with a red eye on it and a small chain with a butterfly shaped locket on it. The Dwarves all stepped closer to examine it with open mouths, Thrain asked, “How’d you find that so easily?”

Thranduil kept his eyes on the locket dangling it from his fingers by the chain to examine the torn cloth with his other, “No better than a Silvan Elf to find hidden objects or messages.”

Thror snorted, “And just what message would that send?”

Thranduil locked his fiery gaze with the Elf King’s, “The woman in the photo with Thorin from last night, this is hers.”

Thror edged closer, “So you know this mystery fling of his, who is she?”

Thranduil’s eyes narrowed at his dismissive title for you, quickly snapping back, “King Feanor’s Sister.” The Dwarves’ mouths all dropped open again, “If you’ll excuse me, I have to inform the King that not only was his Country, that is still partly currently in flames attacked, that his Sister has also been taken.”

Thrain stopped him, giving him a severely concerned gaze, “Do you know whose taken them? Does that have any clues?”

Thranduil clenched the fabric between his fingers curling it tightly in his growing fist, “There’s only one being foolish enough to have taken her, Morgoth. Your Son should be back soon enough, whatever his plan he’ll be wanting her alive and he’ll need them well taken care of for her cooperation.” With five long strides he was back out into the city again headed for his Kingdom to break the ever growing bad news to King Feanor, the only hope they all had was resting on if the blood coating that table was yours or not.

Pt 5

#Thorin x Reader OC #Hobbit #lotr

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andrewdrobins · 6 years

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The Knee Fix

A gallon of milk a day, a barbell, and a spreadsheet named after your favorite eastern bloc weightlifter is the simple recipe for back squat PR’s, lower body strength, and chronic knee pain.

Spending the last 20 years as a strength coach, physical therapist, and athlete, I have witnessed every squat cycle that has ever graced the internet. Embarking on McCallum’s 20 rep breathing squats, Wendler’s 5-3-1, Smolov, and baby Smolov, you are guaranteed two things:

Increased and imbalanced lower body strength

Knee pain

Sadly, without proper training and perfect technique, you cannot have one without the other.

Knee pain, however, is not limited to strength athletes or squatting. Running, lunging, jumping, and landing have created an epidemic of knee pain among all athletes.

Structural imbalances, poor movement patterns, and excessive volume create the perfect storm for knee pain. Fortunately, you already possess all the tools you need to assess and heal yourself.

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Anatomy of the Knee – The Middle Child of the Lower Body

The knee gets no respect.

Positioned between the hip and ankle, the knee is the middle child, often forgotten, until it acts up and sidelines your training.

The sequence of joints in your body creates a symphony of mobility and stability that allow you to move through a full range of motion. In the lower body, the hip and ankle are mobility joints. They flex, extend, and rotate. To counterbalance the mobility of the hip and ankle, the knee is a stability joint connecting the upper and lower halves.

The knee is the largest joint in the body, connecting the femur, shin (tibia), and patella (knee cap). When you experience knee pain, you are feeling the soft tissue, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons surrounding the joint. When the soft tissue becomes inflamed, through stress and overuse, the brain recognizes a threat to the joint and fires a pain response to that area.

Despite the knee being the area of the pain, it is just a symptom…a symptom of poor movement, mobility, and stability from the hip and ankle causing the knee pain.

3D render of a male figure holding his knee in pain with muscle map

The Hip – The Top of the Chain

The principles of functional movement state that joints are designed to absorb impact from the largest joints to the smallest. The hip, attached to the glutes, hamstrings, and quads, is capable of supporting heavier loads than the smaller knee and ankle joints. Knee driven squats, or initiating the squat by pushing the knees forward, violates these principles, putting excess tension on smaller musculature and connective tissue.

Additionally, the musculature of the hip needs balance. Humans are built to be rear wheel drive animals. Sitting throughout the day turns off the glutes and hamstrings and creates quad-dominant movement patterns. This seated position also shortens the hip flexors leading to tight hips, an inability to reach full hip extension, and excess stress or pulling on the on the knee.

You may not experience chronic knee pain today, but you can see the signs of future pain by watching your movements. For example, the most obvious sign of missing glute strength is knee valgus squatting. Knee valgus is the term describing when the knees track inside the toes during squats, jumps, and landings. When the glutes do not fire properly, the knees will cave in, especially under bigger loads. Knee valgus squatting puts an extreme shearing force on the connective tissue in the knee.

3D Balance Assessment

Can you stand on one leg for 30 seconds while reaching North, East, South, and West with your other leg? Both sides?

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The Ankle – Down the Chain

Below the knee, the ankle is just as problematic to the knee as the hip.

The ankle is designed to flex, extend and rotate. Ankle dorsiflexion, the ankle’s ability to flex the toes towards the shin, is a critical component in knee health.

With every step you take, the foot rolls from heel to toe. A tight calf or Achilles tendon will block the ankle from reaching its full range of motion in your walking stride. When the ankle stops short, the knee absorbs more impact with each step than it is designed to. The problem is compounded as you add the intensity of sprints or long distance running. Higher intensity, higher reps, and more weight being absorbed by the knee accelerates inflammation.

Mobility is not the only issue. Arches in the foot create stability in the ankle. A collapsed arch (flat feet), characterized by the toes pointing out when walking, creates instability in the ankle. When the foot collapses, the instability moves up the chain causing the knees to slightly cave in. Over time, this shearing force on the knee moves into the connective tissue, specifically the ACL, leaving the knee vulnerable to injury.

Jump and Land Assessment

On a 12” box, jump and land. Do your knees track inside your toes at any point in the movement?

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A Process, Not a Pill

Beneath the muscles, connective tissues, and joints, movement is a series of signals firing from your brain to your body. Correcting a knee driven squat, activating the glutes, or correcting structural imbalances in the hip is a process, not a pill.

You can practice the way your foot contacts the ground, develop arches, create length in the calf, and stabilize the ankle.

Mastering proper mechanics and loading patterns builds confidence and creates long term change. There is nothing innately wrong with squat cycles or running long distances. However, at the core of long term progress, you must have a foundation of healthy tissues and movement patterns.

Structural Balance Assessment

Can you hold a side plank with a neutral spine for 90 seconds on each side?

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Morning Mastery

Learning the foundational movement principles of knee, ankle, and hip health doesn’t mean you have to spend thousands of dollars at the chiro or therapist searching for answers. The answer is in your movement, mobility, and stability.

If you fail any of the three assessments, you’re at risk for suffering from long term knee pain.

To start this process, we have created a simple, six-minute morning routine to help you eliminate your knee pain. To gain instant access to your free morning routine, click the link below.

Thanks for reading!

Anders

The post The Knee Fix appeared first on Shrugged Collective.

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shaizstern · 4 years

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Article from NYT: Sneak In Some Exercise

Yes, we are moving less. But on Zoom, no one has to know you’re doing squats.

Elena Xausa

By Kelly DiNardo

There’s a reason “Covid curves” and “the Quarantine 15” are now commonplace terms. While researchers are beginning to look at the connection between the pandemic and weight gain, it’s apparent that we’re moving less during this topsy-turvy period: A preliminary study published in May and led by Iowa State University and Trinity College Dublin reported an average 32 percent reduction in physical activity once social distancing went into effect.

Being active is a huge health boost. It improves mood, reduces stress, increases energy, enhances brain function, lowers risk of chronic disease, and so much more. And research published in medical and health journals continues to emerge supporting the idea that unless you’re training for something specific, like a marathon, short bouts of exercise throughout the day have the same benefits as continuous workouts. Here are a few ways to sneak in some extra movement.

Move while you wait

Use the time it takes to brew coffee, warm up lunch or boil water to squeeze in mini-workouts. Rotate through 10 reps of each of these until the microwave dings.

Kitchen Counter Push-ups: Stand facing the counter and place your hands on the edge just slightly wider than shoulder width. Keep your arms straight and step your feet back so your body forms a plank. Keep the heels lifted, abdominal muscles engaged and back straight. Inhale and bend your elbows out to the side as you lower your chest to the counter. Exhale as you push back up.

Side Lunges: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing forward. Take a wide step out to the right as you press your hips back while keeping the left leg straight and both soles of the feet on the ground. Push yourself back to the starting position and lunge to the left.

Standing Bicycle Crunches: Stand tall with feet slightly wider than your hips. Interlace your hands and place them behind your head with elbows wide. Raise your right knee up as high as you can as you simultaneously twist your torso to the right and draw your left elbow to the lifted knee. Alternate between sides.

Milk Jug Swings: Grab a bottle of milk, water or orange juice, and make sure the lid is on firmly. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and hold the jug with both hands. Bend your knees, shift your weight into the heels, lower the butt back and bring the jug between the legs. Drive through your heels and simultaneously straighten your legs and extend your arms horizontally in front of your chest, contracting your abdominal muscles and squeezing the glute muscles as you rise. As the jug descends, shift your weight back into the heels, hinging at the hips and returning to a slight squat.

Multitask your muscles

Find moments throughout the day to incorporate movement into more mundane tasks. It’s not difficult.

Toothbrush Squats: Use this two-minute morning routine to wake up your lower body by squatting while you brush your teeth. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up, bend your knees and push your hips back until the back of your thighs are parallel with the floor. Pause so you’re not using momentum to push back up. Then, drive through your heels and press back up to standing.

Vacuum Lunges: Step into a full lunge when vacuuming or mopping, and you’ll engage the lower body and abdominal muscles. As you reach the vacuum forward, step one foot forward, bend the back knee and lower straight down. Keep your torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel, pull the vacuum back and return to standing. Alternate legs.

Dishwashing Lifts: While standing at the sink, add in calf raises to tone the lower legs and glute muscles. Lift your heels and come up onto the balls of your feet as high as you can. Squeeze your glute muscles at the top and lower your heels.

Toothbrush Rolls: Foot massage improves circulation, decreases stress and releases endorphins, all of which promotes better sleep. Use your before-bed brush to roll out the feet. Place a tennis or similar ball under the ball of your foot. Put as much weight on it as you can tolerate, and roll the ball back and forth the length of your foot several times. Repeat with the other foot.

Walk while you talk Take that work call outside for a walk. Start by asking if it’s OK to walk while you talk, and let them know they may hear some background noise. Be sure to use earbuds or headphones. Then pick up the pace as much as you can without huffing and puffing while you talk. If you can, aim for a speed of three miles per hour (or a 20-minute mile). Lastly, remember that not every meeting is walk-and-talk appropriate.

Zoom and move

When you can’t slip outside for a walking meeting, turn off the video and sneak in a short desk workout or stretch session. Again, consider whether it would be appropriate for you to do so.

Trash Can Taps: Stand in front of a small garbage can and shift your balance to one foot and then tap the edge of the can with the other. Repeat. Speed up to make it more intense.

Triceps Dips: Scoot to the edge of your chair (make sure it’s stationary). Place palms flat on the edge of the chair with fingers facing forward. Lower yourself until your elbows are bent back between 45 and 90 degrees. Keep your back straight and close to the chair. Press into your palms to straighten your arms and return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.

The Prayer: Sit upright with both feet flat on the floor. Bring your hands together in a prayer position in front of your chest. Push your hands together as actively as you can for 30 to 60 seconds and release.

Wall Sit: Stand with your back against a wall. Walk your feet out and slide your body down until your hips are level with your knees and your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds and release.

Standing Hamstring Curls: Stand in front of your desk and lightly hold onto the edge for support. Shift your weight onto your left leg, bend your right knee and bring your heel to your butt. Lower the foot. Repeat 10 times and switch legs.

Interrupt your regularly scheduled sitting

Use your binge-watching TV time to your advantage. Instead of skipping the closing credits, recap and opening credits, rotate through 10 reps of these couch moves until the show returns.

Couch Climbers: Face the sofa and place your hands on the seat at shoulder width and step back to create a straight line with your body. Engage your abs, squeeze your glute muscles and push the heels back. Hold this plank position for 10 seconds. Then draw one knee and then the other to your chest as if you were running. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Hip Thrusts: Start in an elevated bridge position with your upper back resting on the seat of the couch, feet on the floor and knees bent. Interlace your hands behind your head, hinge at the hips to lower your bottom to the ground and squeeze the glute muscles to lift back up to starting position. Repeat 10 times.

Decline Push-up: Come into a high plank position with your feet on the edge of the sofa and your hands on the floor at shoulder width. Lower your chest toward the ground by bending your elbows out to the side. Push up to the starting position. This is an advanced push-up variation so do as many as you can without compromising your form.

Original Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/at-home/coronavirus-at-home-quick-exercises.html

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northshorehealthandfitness · 6 years

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[caption id="attachment_63728" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo: Courtesy of the American Council on Exercise[/caption] On paper, the squat is as basic as it gets: You go down and then stand back up. But this booty-burning exercise is actually pretty complex. Squats require you to recruit more than just your glutes to get low, especially when you add weight. The functional movement pattern demands strong hamstrings, quads and core — not to mention good mobility in the ankles, knees and hips. With all those moving parts, you might be wondering: Does my squat form make the cut? Enter: the American Council on Exercise (ACE) bend and lift screen. Jacque Crockford, MS, CSCS, ACE-certified personal trainer, says, “The bend and lift screen not only reveals whether you have proper form, [it can help] exercise newbies address postural weaknesses to prevent injuries.” According to Crockford, proper squat mechanics include: trunk and shins parallel to each other and the ground when at the lowest point; heels remaining on the ground with knees tracking in the same direction as the feet; and thighs parallel to the ground. Chances are, one — or more — of these cues are off. And the test below will reveal the source. Just remember to start with the basic bodyweight squat. “By finding the right squat mechanics prior to loading the body with external weight, it will reduce the risk of injury and prepare the body to engage the correct muscle groups,” Crockford says. “This will allow for improved power and strength development leading to increases in performance.” RELATED: How Low Should You Squat? (And How to Improve It)

The ACE Bend and Lift Squat Test

Here’s how to do the bend and lift screen at home or the gym with the help of the trainer or a friend:

Stand with your feet hip-distance apart. Place two broomsticks or dowels on the floor outside of each foot.

Squat down to grab the broomsticks and lift them off the floor, while maintaining a squat for one to two seconds.

Have your trainer or friend observe the position of your feet, knees, hips, torso and back and write them down.

RELATED: 6 Squat Variations for Total-Body Strength [caption id="attachment_63729" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo: Courtesy of the American Council on Exercise[/caption]

5 Ways to Score Proper Squat Form

Based on your assessments, follow these tips from Crockford to land proper squat form from the ground up.

1. Feet

If your heels lift off the ground… Squats don’t require any fancy footwork, but your positioning says a lot about how solid your squat is. Your feet should be be a little wider than hip-distance or shoulder-width apart and firmly on the ground. “The bend and lift screen is a great way to see if the heels raise, or knees track improperly prior to loading the body with weights,” Crockford says. As you lower your body to the ground, you want to keep your weight on your mid-foot and heels. This positioning helps you activate other muscle groups instead of putting extra pressure on your feet and ankles when you squat lower. Ankle mobility, or ankle dorsiflexion (the ability to lean your shins toward your toes without lifting your heels off the ground), is also a factor in your squat. Ideally, you want 40 to 45 degrees of dorsiflexion for a proper squat. As you stand back up, move your shins away from your toes (plantar flexion), and keep your feet firmly on the ground.

2. Knees

If you collapse your ankles and knees inward…. It’s all about that base, and when it comes to proper squat form, that includes the positioning of your knees. Your glutes are the primary mover of a squat, but if you’re squatting lower than your body can handle, it will make you feel weak in the knees (and not in a good way). Proper squat form requires your knees to grow slightly further apart as you lower your body, rather than collapse inward (valgus knee position). As you get low, Crockford says your glutes should be engaged to prevent pronation (aka rolling inward) of the feet. “Placing a band on the thighs above the knees and pushing outward during the squat motion will help engage the external rotators of the lower body,” Crockford says.

3. Hips

If you lead with your knees instead of the hips… A strong squat starts with a hip hinge, shooting your booty back behind you. If your hips aren’t cooperating, tight hip flexors could be the culprit. “The hip flexors help to pull you down during the lowest portion of the movement. A squat with a limited range of motion might be from weak hip flexors,” Crockford explains. You’ll know how strong your hip flexors are when you can squat lower, and your knees grow farther apart during the eccentric phase of the squat. “Dynamically stretching the hip flexors prior to loaded squats is key to achieving depth and eccentric strength,” Crockford says. As Crockford suggests above, squat with a resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. “This will help to activate the external rotators of the hip when standing. Deadlifts are also a nice addition to the squat, which helps to increase the strength of the posterior chain,” she says.

4. Torso

If your chest falls forward… Your body should have a forward lean of about 45 degrees during squat. If you find that you’re leaning any more than that, it’s likely due to weakness in the core and/or lack of upper-body mobility, Crockford says. “To correct this, I recommend doing a front squat, which places additional forward load on the body. You can also do it with a dowel across your shoulders to keep the chest up and back,” she says. “Decreasing the range of motion is always a good place to start.” As you’re driving your hips back, brace your core by contracting your abdominal muscles to keep it engaged. This will help prevent your torso from collapsing and will keep your body upright. RELATED: 4 Moves for a Better Back Squat

5. Back

If you overarch or round your back… Squats can put pressure on your spine, especially when you add weight, so it’s important to have proper form to protect your low back. Keep your shoulders down and back to help prevent overarching and rounding your posterior. Or, try holding a dowel overhead to help loosen tight back muscles and activate them. “The trunk angle should ideally be parallel to the shin angle at the lowest point of the squat. To maintain this angle, keep your gaze forward (not down or up) and neck neutral,” Crockford says. Once your shin and trunk are parallel, you can increase the depth of your squat. Read More 50 Butt Exercises to Sculpt Stronger Glutes So You Want to Do a Pistol Squat…Here’s How Lower Body Blast: 5 Moves for Your Butt, Hips and Thighs

The post How Strong Is Your Squat? Try This Trainer-Backed Test appeared first on Life by Daily Burn.

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hutchhitched · 7 years

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Black and Blue

Written by: @hutchhitched

Rating: E

Prompt 23: Everlark gets drunk for the first time (one or both, canon or AU) [submitted by @xerxia31]

Summary: On Katniss and Peeta’s graduation night, they attend a party to celebrate completing high school. Armed with a whiskey bottle and fear that he’ll miss his chance, Peeta approaches Katniss and asks her to share his company and the alcohol. Both of them are surprised when she agrees.

Author’s note: Like my other story for the @everlarkficexchange, this one is tardy. My apologies for the delay, but I know @javistg and @xerxia31 understand. Val, I hope this makes you smile all the smiles. ILY!

“Want some company?”

Katniss startles and glances upward at the sound of the gentle, masculine voice. Her incredibly popular and equally good-looking classmate stands to her right, a sheepish smile on his face and a hint of humor in his insanely blue eyes. He gestures to her side with the bottle in his hand, and she nods without saying a word.

“Happy graduation, Katniss.”

She huffs and stares into the distance. “I didn’t realize you knew my name.”

“I make it a point to know the names of all my classmates, especially ones as pretty as you.”

She coughs to cover her laugh. His line is so contrived, she can’t believe Peeta Mellark, the wordsmith and valedictorian of their senior class, said it out loud.

“Thanks, Peeta. That almost sounded sincere. Happy graduation to you too.”

He grins and drops his head before responding, “Almost sincere, huh? Maybe I need to work on my game.”

“So, I’m a game?”

“No! That’s not—” He cuts himself off and shakes his head before trying again. “Yeah, can we start over? Hi, Katniss. Happy graduation. Can I sit with you? I’d like a chance to talk to you before we never see each other again.”

“Why would you care if we never see each other again?” Peeta’s audible sigh slices through her, and she shoves aside the rush of guilt it causes.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he murmurs and unscrews the lid on the bottle he holds.

“You’ve always been the nice one. I’ve never been any good at making friends. We both know that.”

Peeta doesn’t attempt to dissuade her or agree. He simply sits next to her and focuses on a spot in the dark. When the silence between them stretches to an uncomfortable length, he lifts the bottle, takes a swig, and then asks, “You want some?”

“Pretty personal question,” she deadpans and then bursts into laughter at his chagrined expression. When he starts to rise, she grabs his elbow and pulls him back down beside her. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop being contrary on purpose. And yes. I would love some.”

He hands her the bottle, and she glances at the label briefly before rubbing her palm over the opening and lifting it to her lips. Peeta studies her as she gulps down the swig of whiskey and gasps when the liquid burns down her throat.

“First drink?” he asks as she hands it back to him.

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to drink. It’s not like it’s a character flaw to have my first drink at my graduation party.”

His lip twitches at her words, and he reminds her, “I thought you were going to stop being contrary, and I didn’t say there was anything wrong with not having had a drink before. I just asked if this was your first. It’s my attempt to try to get to know you. You know, the deep stuff.”

She waits for him to swallow some more before taking the bottle from him again. She guzzles a fair amount, and then leans back on her elbows as her face flushes slightly.

“That tastes terrible. Why do people drink it?”

“Not sure,” he admits. “To get drunk, I guess. It can’t be because people think it’s good.”

“What’s that feel like, I wonder,” she muses and flips her braid back over her left shoulder. Warmth radiates from Peeta and practically burns against her skin.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been before.”

“Never been drunk or never good?”

He pauses for a moment and smiles wryly. “Maybe both.”

She turns to study him and is struck by the steady set of his jaw and the pinkness of his lips and cheeks. Dark blonde curls flop over his forehead and tumble over the tops of his ears. From the side, his long eyelashes tangle together in the light from the fire where the rest of their classmates joke and laugh together. Plenty of others are drinking too, and several couples are wound together—some kissing while others paw at each other before slipping into the darkened forest. The soft sound of lapping water reminds her of the river she can’t see, but it doesn’t stop either her or her companion from trying to make out the other shore in the dimness.

“You want to try it?” she inquires and watches his face as he considers her proposition. “It’s the first night of our adult lives. Might as well do something new, right?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m not the biggest fan of change. I kind of like things the way they’ve been for the last few years.”

“Peeta… I’m sorry I never said thank you.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he offers quietly. “Just drink with me tonight.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why is that what you want? Why is that enough?”

She’s serious. She doesn’t understand how someone as kind and gentle and thoughtful as Peeta is and as has always been wants so little from other people—especially her when she owes him so much.

“I just want to spend some time with you,” he answers with a shrug.

There’s no irony in his voice, nothing that indicates he’s anything other than sincere, which makes no sense to her. No one is that selfless and giving in her experience. No one else she’s ever known has taken so little from her without wanting more. No one else has given her so much without expecting something in return. It’s unnerving, but it seems to be genuine coming from her classmate.

“I’m not that interesting,” she says.

“I think you are. I always have.”

She sighs in response, unwilling to argue with him about her merits or lack thereof. She knows better, but if he wants to think she’s amazing, that’s his problem.

“Fine,” she snaps. “Hand me the bottle.”

He hands it to her, and she takes another slug before passing it back to him. They sit quietly for several minutes, listening to the sounds of their classmates and the gentle current of the creek.

His bulk next to her is nice. His presence is comforting, and his body heat warms her chilled skin. She didn’t think to grab a jacket before she left her house this afternoon. The May evening is chilly in the river valley.

When she shivers, he glances at her and asks, “May I?” before slipping his arm over her shoulder and tugging her into his side. She gasps at his solidness and goes rigid before sagging into him.

“You’re so warm.”

“I’ve had quite a bit to drink,” he confesses and hands her the bottle again.

She swallows and burps, which then turns to an uncharacteristic giggle. “I think maybe I have too.”

She grins as she shakes her head and realizes the trees sway as she does so. The combination of Peeta and the alcohol she’s consumed makes her head swim, and she drops it onto his shoulder.

“You smell amazing,” she drawls and nuzzles into the crook of his neck where she inhales against his heated skin. “What is that? Cinnamon… And something else. Something spicy.”

His fingers trail along the inside of her elbow. Goosebumps follow where he caresses her, and she wonders what it would feel like if he ran his hands over more intimate places.

He chuckles and murmurs, “Dill. I made some bread this afternoon. You probably smell it on my clothes.”

She looks up at him and falls into his cornflower blue eyes. His breathing slows as he studies her face, and her lips part slightly. Her limbs weigh thousands of pounds, and her lids won’t stay open as he leans toward her and brushes his lips against hers. She moans softly as sparks erupt between them, and he tilts her head backward and increases the pressure of his mouth.

His lips are soft in places and chapped in others, but she doesn’t mind. The texture sends ripples through her, and she wonders why she doesn’t care about anything—including whether or not any of their classmates will see her kissing one of the most popular guys in the entire school. She, a nobody with hardly any friends and almost no credit to her name, is kissing Peeta Mellark.

Katniss turns her body to face him squarely and wraps her arms around his neck. Intertwining her fingers in his mane of curls, she leans into him until he tumbles onto his back and pulls her astride him. His mouth and tongue slide against hers, and he emits barely perceptible pleasured grunts every few moments.

She stretches over him and gasps when she feels something hard against her thigh. Instinct drives her to shift so her knees grip his sides and her center presses against him. He pushes up into her, and they both moan so loudly they break the kiss.

“Katniss,” he hisses, his voice hoarse with emotion. “You are…”

His eyes are glazed. She’s not sure if it’s from booze or lust, but she smirks while he struggles to finish his sentence. When he can’t seem to find the words, she lowers her face to his and kisses him again. This time she controls the pace, and it’s not long before her hips pulse in rhythm to the languid coupling of their tongues.

Heat builds between her legs, and she hums her approval when she feels slickness increasing where the fire grows. She adds a circular rotation as she rocks against him, and it’s not long before she realizes he’s making noises that are much too loud for their public setting.

She stops abruptly, and he whimpers his displeasure. She raises her head and glances around the clearing. A few people around the fire cast sidelong looks at them, and her face floods with shame so hot it scorches her cheeks. She scrambles off him and grabs the bottle before stumbling into a grove of trees a few hundred yards away.

“Katniss, wait!” he calls to her in a stage whisper. “Wait!”

She trips over something and lands in a heap, allowing him to catch up with her. He drops to his knees in front of her, and she raises the bottle to her lips and takes long, slow sips that make her throat bob. He licks his lips and traces the sinews of her neck with his thumb before pressing his mouth to her jawline.

Katniss isn’t sure how it happens, but suddenly he’s on top of her. His weight presses her into the uneven grass, and she wraps her legs around his waist. He snaps his hips against hers as he kisses her, and she slips her hands under the hem of his shirt to run her short nails over the bunching muscles in his back.

He pumps against her, his hard length pressing the seam of her jeans against a pressure point that sends sparks radiating through her limbs. He breaks the kiss and ducks his head so his lips graze her earlobe. He pants her name with incoherent sounds until he yelps and shudders against her.

“Katniss,” he groans and stills instantly.

She bucks upward again, and he rolls off her quickly. Confused, she opens her eyes and props herself up on her shoulders to stare at him. She can barely make out his features in the dark, but he won’t meet her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she grumbles. “Why’d you stop?”

Her ragged breath matches his as he gulps air. He curls onto his side away from her, and she fights a rush of humiliation.

“Peeta,” she barks, “what the hell is going on?”

“I need to stop.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“I need to stop,” he repeats without moving.

“I don’t understand,” she retorts and shoves his shoulder. She shakes her head and a wave of dizziness washes over her, which only fuels her anger. “I thought you wanted to spend time with me.”

Peeta rolls from his position to sitting but still refuses to face her. His shoulders droop, and he hangs his head while she fumes behind him.

“I, uh…” he stammers. “I kind of, um… I need a towel or something.”

“Stop talking in riddles.”

“I came in my pants.”

His words are barely audible, and she’s not sure she heard him correctly or wants what he said to be true. They’re both still drunk, she knows that, and her stomach is roiling more than it was when he started kissing her.

“You… You what?”

She bites her bottom lip as soon as the words leave her mouth. He’s clearly already embarrassed; there’s no need to shame him. He doesn’t answer, so she lifts her hand to his shoulder.

“Catnip, where are you?”

Her best friend’s voice slices through the trees, and she swivels to locate him. She doesn’t want him to find her like this, so she scrambles to her feet and steps sideways into a tree. Righting herself, she stumbles a few dozen feet to her left before replying.

“Here! I’m here, Gale.”

Only a few seconds pass before he emerges in front of her. Tall with dark hair and gray eyes almost exactly the same as hers, he’s an imposing figure as he glowers at her in the darkness.

“Are you drunk?”

“Noooooo…” she scoffs and waves her hand at him. She lists sideways and almost falls, but he catches her.

“We’re leaving. Your mom asked me to make sure you got home safely tonight. I think you’ve had more than your share of fun.”

She shrugs and sags against him. “You might have to carry me.”

Her knees buckle, and she stops fighting. She barely registers Gale’s concerned questioning before she slips into blackness haunted by Peeta’s blue eyes.

****

“Rise and shine, Katniss! Welcome to post-high school!” Prim chirps as she bursts into her sister’s room and pounces on the bed.

Katniss groans and grimaces. Her head pounds, and she claps a hand over her mouth as her bed rocks. “I’m going to throw up,” she garbles and springs from the bed to stumble into the bathroom. She makes it just in time, falling on her knees to empty her stomach into the porcelain bowl. She has enough presence of mind to pull her braid over her shoulder as she purges the bottle of whiskey she and Peeta shared the night before. She collapses onto the bathroom floor, shivering and sweaty, and wishes for death.

“I see you’re making good decisions now that you’re an adult,” Prim drawls. “You looked better when Gale dragged you home last night, and that was bad enough.”

“Oh, fuck. Gale…” she groans. “He’s going to give me so much shit for this.”

“Especially since you’ve never so much as had a drop of alcohol before last night.”

“I’ve never had a reason to before last night.”

“Oooooooooooh, tell me,” Prim insists and leans against the doorjamb. “What happened? I’m still floored you actually bothered to go to the senior bonfire. Never thought my serious, goal-oriented older sis would let down her hair for something like that.”

Katniss curls into herself and squeezes her eyes closed against the verbal onslaught. She gags and struggles to control herself before she can force herself to speak.

“I didn’t exactly have time to spend my life partying, Prim. You should know that better than anybody.”

Water runs, and Katniss sighs as a cold washcloth cools her forehead. Her younger sister helps her into a sitting position and forces a cup of water and a few pills into her hand.

“Take those. Doctor’s orders,” she chides gently. “Drink the entire glass, and then get back in bed. I’ll make you some breakfast.”

Katniss collapses onto her mattress and pulls the covers over her head. Despite how awful she feels, a glimmer of excitement sparks at the back of her consciousness. The memory of Peeta’s mouth on hers and him rigid and bucking against her flashes behind her eyes as she tries to ward off her hangover.

She wonders briefly what happened to him after she staggered away last night and into her best friend’s company. Had he returned to the party with the rest of their classmates, or had he slunk off and escaped the rest of the revelry? Something nags at her, but she can’t put her finger on it. All she can really register is how much she enjoyed making out with him and wonders if it’ll ever happen again.

She’s startled awake by a dip in the mattress next to her and the smell of bacon. Her stomach turns at the aroma, but the greasy breakfast food causes it to rumble so loudly, she startles herself.

She moans contentedly as the salt hits her tongue and nods to her sister. “Thank you, Prim. I really needed this.”

“You’re welcome. Better enjoy it because you still have to buy groceries before Mom gets home from work tonight.”

Katniss curses and chomps on a bacon strip. “Why?” she wails dramatically. “Why me?”

Prim giggles and crosses to the door. “Sleep it off, drunk girl. I’ll wake you up in time to go to the store.”

****

“Oranges, rolls, milk, ground beef,” Katniss mumbles repetitively in an attempt to remember her grocery list without having to look at it constantly.

She hates grocery shopping. She always has, but her throbbing headache and cotton mouth make this trip to the local market more irritating that normal. When she turned sixteen, her mother put her in charge of shopping for food. She pauses in the produce section and glances over to the bakery where she first noticed Peeta two years prior. Shuddering with embarrassment, she shakes off the memory of the day she forgot her wallet and couldn’t buy the items in her cart. Her kind, blonde, blue-eyed classmate saved her by insisting he pay. Too mortified to argue, she’d accepted and run without bothering to thank him.

And then she’d dry humped him on the forest floor when they were both hammered.

“I’m the worst,” she mutters and stuffs a few oranges into a plastic bag and stomps back to the dairy section where she bumps into a solid wall of muscle.

“I’m so sorry. I—” Peeta stammers to a stop and steps back, his cheeks flaming. “Katniss. Hi.”

“Peeta…” She racks her brain trying to figure out what to say, but there’s nothing. Suddenly, her stomach rolls, and she drops her basket and sprints to the restroom.

Several minutes later, she emerges to find her grocery basket sitting on the bench outside the bathrooms. There’s also a receipt. He’s paid for her again, and he’s nowhere to be found.

****

It’s been three weeks since graduation, and Katniss is struggling to keep her mind off the night of the bonfire. She lies awake at night remembering how the aroma of the burning wood mixed with the way Peeta’s skin smelled of cinnamon when she inhaled against his neck. When she’s restless and can’t fall asleep, she remembers the feel of his hands on her bare skin and the hardness between her legs as he moaned her name. When she’s particularly frustrated, she slips her fingers between her legs and circles her clit as she grows wetter. She rubs until her back arches off the bed, and she pulses and groans in relief.

Peeta awakened something inside her that night—a hunger she didn’t even realize she had—and now she wants more.

****

The air is hot and muggy as she settles into her bed. Her thin nightgown clings to her moist skin, and she can barely stand the light sheet that covers her. Her braid clings wetly to the back of her neck, and she feels feverish. Frantically, she kicks of her underwear and gasps when she dips her fingers into a puddle of moisture between her legs. She’s so slick already, and she just started touching herself.

Spreading her legs and lifting her knees into the air, she concentrates on recreating the graduation party in her mind. The heaviness of Peeta between her legs, the rasping of his voice in her ear, and the sheen of perspiration on his forehead as his eyes slipped closed in ecstasy.

She’s almost too slippery, and she grunts in frustration as her fingers work to find purchase on her clit. She bucks under her hand, and one finger slips slightly downward just enough to spark something much more intense. She bites her bottom lip and slides her finger into the waiting warmth. Experimenting, she pulls it out and skims her nub before dipping it back in again. Heat floods from her core and through her limbs, and she closes her eyes as she pleasures herself in this new way.

A gentle breeze wafts in her open window, and she hears the cicadas and other insects that haunt the mountains where her hometown lies. Her hips move of their own accord, and she’s just about to reach a pinnacle when her cell phone vibrates on the table beside her. She grabs for it and stares at the number, confused why someone she doesn’t know is calling her in the moments before midnight.

“Hello,” she answers roughly and grimaces at the huskiness in her voice.

“Katniss?”

“Who is this?” she demands and pulls her fingers free from the juncture between her thighs and wipes them on the hem of her nightgown. She’s lost her chance to finish.

“It’s Peeta. I’m sorry for calling so late.”

Stunned into silence, she waits for him to continue as the corners of her mouth twitch upward. He couldn’t have known, but knowing he called her while she was masturbating to thoughts of him sends a rush of power through her.

“Peeta,” she whispers, pleased beyond words that he’s reaching out to her.

He coughs, an embarrassed one to hide his nervousness, and continues. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Katniss. I know we were drunk, and you left with Gale, but—”

“But what?” she asks, practically breathless with desire.

“But I meant it all,” he admits, his voice a caress of velvet in her ear. “I’ve liked you for years, Katniss, and I finally worked up the nerve to talk to you, and I’m scared about leaving for college without seeing this through. I’d really like to spend some time with you again this summer.”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, I, uh…” he stammers as she trails her hand downward.

“Maybe you can convince me,” she offers. “It’s okay to try.”

She’d been so close before, and the sound of his voice in her ear sends shivers through her. He falters and stutters, but he does as she asks and tries hard to persuade her to meet him later in the week. She makes encouraging noises into the phone as she drives herself closer to the edge. He proposes a specific day and time just as she climaxes. She mumbles a contented “yes,” and he happily thanks her and disconnects the call. Sated, she drops her phone onto the mattress and slips into a deep, dreamless sleep.

****

Their first date is as fun as anything Katniss has experienced, and it turns into another meeting followed by another. Before she knows it, she’s spending every free moment with Peeta and every night alone in her bed furiously relieving her frustration that he hasn’t laid a hand on her since that night in the woods.

Two weeks before he’s supposed to leave for college, she decides she’s going to have to do something to get him to act before it’s too late. When he picks her up, she suggests they head to the Slag Heap, the affectionate name given to the wooded area where high school kids park when they want privacy. Peeta stammers over his words for a few moments before snapping his mouth shut and nodding. He shifts the car into park and taps his fingers on the steering wheel instead of looking at her.

“You think anybody else is going to show up here tonight?” she asks softly and reaches over to put her hand on his leg.

“I—I don’t know.” His voice cracks when he answers, and he coughs nervously.

“Do you know how many times I’ve relived the night of our graduation party?”

“No,” he wheezes as she slides her fingers up his thigh and teases the flap of his jeans. She’s inordinately pleased he seems to be hardening before they’ve even kissed.

“Almost every night, Peeta. Lying in bed…thinking about you…mmm.”

“Thinking about me losing it in my pants?” he asks sheepishly. “I’m sure that’s exactly what you wanted that night.”

“Then maybe we should try again. See if your control is any better.”

She leans forward and kisses him, catching him by surprise and throwing him off balance. She moans at the feel of his lips on hers, and she gasps when Peeta opens his mouth and slides his tongue against hers. Longing so intense it physically hurts floods her, and she fists his t-shirt as she pulls him closer to her.

“Why did it take so long for this to happen?” she groans and twines his curls around her fingers.

“Fear of rejection,” he grunts in response and wraps her braid around his hand.

“None of that here. I want more.”

He kisses her hard and then climbs into the backseat. She scrambles after him and sighs when he runs his palms under her shirt and against her feverish skin. She arches into him, desperate to feel his body against hers. He hesitates briefly and then slips her shirt over her head and tosses it onto the floor. He dips his hand inside her bra and cups her breast as she squirms under his touch. With trembling hands, she reaches for his waist and unbuttons his jeans. He wriggles out of them, and she leans back so he can settle between her legs.

He’s hard, the same way he was the night in the woods, and with only his cotton briefs covering him, he juts upward impressively. Suddenly shy, she wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and kisses him deeply. They buck together for a few moments, and she can feel him shudder.

“Peeta, I—”

“I have a condom,” he blurts. “If you want to, I mean. I don’t— I mean, no pressure. Whatever you—”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she answers before shedding her clothes. When they’re both naked, they gasp as their skin fuses together.

She hears a tearing sound and presses her forehead to his shoulder as she waits for him to be ready. He nudges her open and rubs the tip of his cock along her slit. She mewls and begs for something she’s not completely sure she understands but wants so desperately she can’t put it into words.

He pushes in slowly as desperate grunts rip from him. She yelps as he fills her, stretching her so far it hurts. He stills for a few moments, trying to control himself, but then he gives in and thrusts into her.

She clutches at his back, her nails digging into his skin as he pumps into her. The pain mingles with the delicious warmth spilling from their joined bodies. His skin slaps against hers, and both of them emit noises that urge the other to continue.

He tenses, and she chants, “Keep going. Don’t stop. Keep going. Don’t stop.”

“Katniss, I can’t— I’m so close,” he whines, clearly trying to hold on as long as possible.

He loses his rhythm, and she flexes around him. With a hoarse groan, he quakes, and she feels him pulse inside her. She rocks her hips against him in a futile attempt to chase him over the edge, but she’s not there yet. Disappointed, she cradles him against her as he struggles to regain his breath.

“Hell,” Peeta finally manages to sputter, “that was… holy hell. And I think I need to work on that stamina thing.”

Katniss bursts into laughter. He’s so droll, so charming, so self-effacing. It’s adorable beyond words, and she rarely uses those anyway.

“I probably wouldn’t complain if you did, but I won’t anyway,” she teases and grins at the bemused smile on his face.

“You’re so considerate.”

“It’s true. I am. That’s what people always say about Katniss Everdeen. Considerate.”

Peeta’s bark of laughter rolls from him and reverberates through her where their skin touches. She’s still so turned on, and she shivers as the waves ripple under her skin. His eyes darken slightly, and she swallows a flash of apprehension.

“Maybe I can make it up to you,” he suggests and shifts to slide down her body.

“Peeta, what are—? Oh my god…”

His tongue traces her slit, and her head falls backward with a thud against the car door. He settles between her legs and pushes her thighs apart so he can gain better access. When she’s splayed open, he proceeds to bury his face in her pussy.

What he’s doing to her feels so good, she can hardly breathe. She tries to stay quiet, but sharp yelps and squeals fall from her lips before she can stop them. When he lays his tongue flat against her clit, she stops thinking and grips his hair to hold on. She curses as he winds her tighter and screams her surrender when she snaps. As she spirals back to earth, she wipes the sweat from her brow and releases an awkward laugh.

“You’re forgiven.”

He chuckles and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before kissing her. “See? You are considerate.”

“No, I think that’s you. You were just very, very, very thorough…I mean, thoughtful. I can’t form sentences.”

“And you haven’t even had anything to drink.”

She hugs him closer and whispers into his ear, “The second best idea you ever had was getting me drunk.”

“Second best, huh?” he asks. “What was the first?”

“Asking me out.”

“Asking or eating?”

His blue eyes are all she can see when he leans in to kiss her again and smothers her bark of laughter. When he finally breaks the kiss, she murmurs her answer.

“Both.”

#everlark fic exchange #springtime edition 2017 #hutchhitched #prompt 23 #xerxia31

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zeeman960 · 5 years

Text

Single Dumbbell Arm Exercises

Lifting with only 1 arm or one leg is very important. the matter is, we’ve got some coaches who say it is a waste of your time whereas others limit their unilateral training to simply the lower body. the previous cluster is simply plain wrong and also the latter cluster is shortchanging their athletes. Here are the 5 best upper body unilateral exercises that build muscle and strength.

How Can A Thin Guy Get Larger Arms Fast?

For the quickest results and also the biggest arms, you wish a mix of muscle-targeted workouts and also the right mode changes.

Blast Your skeletal muscle. Your skeletal muscle run down the front of your arm. … Target Your skeletal muscle. Your skeletal muscle are the most important muscles within the back of your arms. … Eat sort of a massive Man. … Take a possibility.

Single Dumbbell Exercises

Turkish Get-Up

The Turkish Get-Up may be a full body exercise that challenges your endurance, quality and core strength—all with one dumbbell.

To Perform A Turkish Get-Up:

Lie on your back, bend your right leg at the knee and keep your left leg straight. Hold a dumbbell in your manus on top of your chest and leave your left arm on the ground.

Keeping your eyes on the load, use your core to prop yourself up to a sitting position and push off the ground along with your left elbow.

Slide your left arm out thus you’ll be able to push off your palm and bridge your hips as high as potential whereas keeping your eyes on the load. you ought to have 3 points of contact—your manus and each feet. once you are high enough, pull your left foot beneath and your manus off the ground in order that you are movement.

You should currently be during a movement position along with your left knee on the ground and your right arm command out straight on top of you. Your eyes ought to still be targeted on the load.

From there, push yourself off your front and back feet to stand up to a standing position. consider it like doing a Split Squat. Follow the movements in reverse to come to the beginning position. Sets Reps: 3×6 both sides.

Goblet Squat

The Goblet Squat may be a lower-body exercise. one in all its biggest edges is that it’s nice follow for correct Back Squat type. The Goblet Squat may be a easy movement that needs solely one dumbbell, however do not discount its edges. Watch the video play list on top of for an indication from strength and acquisition coach microphone Boyle.

To Perform A Goblet Squat:

Hold the highest of the dumbbell with each hands in associate degree underhand grip. Your wrists ought to be facing one another. It ought to appear as if you are holding a giant goblet, thence the name. the highest of the dumbbell ought to be touching your bone and also the bottom of the dumbbell ought to be touching your abdomen. Slowly lower yourself into a squat, keeping your knees behind your toes and your butt back. Your weight ought to be in the main on your heels.

Keep your chest up and your shoulders back, making certain that the dumbbell continues to be touching your bone and your abdomen.

At the underside of the movement, your thighs ought to be parallel to the ground (or past parallel), and your elbows ought to be barely touching the insides of your thighs. Drive up through your heels, keeping your knees out, your chest up and your butt back. Sets/Reps: 3×10.

Single Arm Dumbbell Rows

Single Arm Dumbbell Rowe nice for making certain that each side of your body are being trained equally. they are easy nonetheless effective, that is why programs like Georgia school Basketball and Oklahoma Wrestling incorporate them into their coaching. they will be done each separate and with the support of a bench. The separate possibility may be a bit harder, thus we’ll cowl the latter possibility. try the video on top of to be told the way to properly perform Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows.

To Perform A Single Arm Dumbbell Row:

Assume a small squat position and place one hand on a bench. Hold the dumbbell in your different hand with a neutral grip and keep your arm straight. Your back ought to be arched slightly up and your knees ought to be out.

Pull the dumbbell toward you, keeping your arm near your aspect. Maintain a neutral grip. Keep your knees out and your back arched slightly up throughout the movement. Once the dumbbell is simply below your chest, slowly lower it to come to the beginning position. Alternate arms between sets. Sets Reps: 3×8 every arm.

Concentration Curl

The Concentration Curl may be a powerful exercise that needs simply one dumbbell. they’re effective as a result of they isolate the skeletal muscle and very force you to follow correctitude. Perform some sets of slow, controlled Concentration Curls and you will have a good arm pump going.

To Perform A Amount Curl:

Sit on a chair or bench along with your knees wide and also the elbow of 1 arm firmly on the within of your thigh.

Hold the dumbbell with associate degree underhand grip and lean slightly forward. Keeping your elbow against your thigh, curl the dumbbell up. to stay your articulatio plana within the correct position, specialize in keeping your pinkie clad throughout the movement. Here’s associate degree example of excellent type. Maintain a small forward lean throughout the movement. Sets Reps: 3×10 every arm.

Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

The Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press works your chest muscles sort of a ancient Bench Press, however it adds a core-stabilizing part. It conjointly addresses any muscle imbalances you would possibly have in your higher body and chest, as a result of it forces each side of your body to try and do equal work.

To Perform A Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press:

Lie on a bench along with your feet flat on the ground. Hold one dumbbell straight come in front of you, and place your different hand against your waist.

Lower the dumbbell slowly whereas keeping your core and higher body stable. Use the hand on your waist to stop yourself from twisting or turning.

Once the dumbbell reaches chest level, push it copy to the beginning position, continued to stay your body stationary and stable. Alternate arms between sets

Overhead Skeletal Muscle Extensions

Stand along with your feet hip-distance apart. Hold one dumbbell (go for your heavier weight) with each hands, bending the elbows behind your head. Straighten your arms to raise the dumbbell into the air, then slowly bend the arms to lower. This counts in concert rep. Do 2 sets of fifteen reps.

How Am I Able To Strengthen My Arms With Dumbbells?

Basic Bicep Curl and Overhead Press (90 seconds) Hold dumbbells ahead of your body, palms facing up. Curl dumbbells to shoulders. Rotate the weights thus your palms face in toward your face, and press weights up and overhead. Slowly reverse the motion to bring arms back to begin. Repeat for ninety seconds.

Unilateral Training Is Very Important

Strength may be a ability that wants constant refinement. So, altogether abandoning bilateral lifts for unilateral lifts is not a good strategy to enhance the massive compound movements. However, incorporating unilateral lifts into a balanced set up recruits antecedently untapped motor units for strength, power, and muscular development. By rising motor unit enlisting, you’ll need a bigger range of muscle fibers at your disposal for your massive lifts.

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK

Why A Weber

Try AWeber free for 30 days! – AWeber Communications

Single Dumbbell Arm Exercises was originally published on LeFit Fitness

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gymnasticcrazy-blog · 5 years

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Each New Year I post here for those of you taking up swimming for improvement, exercise or weight management. This year I am sharing swimming secrets of long time swimmers like myself that you never see written elsewhere and no-one explains http://bit.ly/2CMN1fJ

Hi all,

I am mod of /r/swimming and an experienced marathon swimmer (over thirty open water swims greater than 10k).

Swimming is a sport that when done consistently will allow you to pursue it for an entire lifetime and reward you for doing do.

/r/swimming is a great resource, especially if you use the search bar, as there is almost no question that hasn't been asked and gotten an answer previously.

Here's last year advice.

I've said previously that there are no tricks or secrets in learning to swim. But it’s not entirely accurate about other aspects of swimming. These are secrets in that experienced swimmers know them, but it can take a long time for others to learn. These are the nuggets of knowledge that get passed in changing rooms and on decks, and are part of what we might call swim culture.

This should help collect some of the “soft” knowledge that experienced swimmers gain over time and so many new and improving swimmers haven’t yet learned, especially if they are not part of a swim group.

Lane Etiquette

By far the most annoying thing for swimmers are people joining the lane who have no understanding of lane etiquette used around the world by experienced swimmers. Actually this often includes the lifeguards on duty many of whom (most in my experience) don’t understand either.

Below are four simple rules. Yes, I know as a beginner you think this is too much, but people don’t play golf with a hockey stick, so I don’t know why non-swimmers think swimming is different. Here is a comprehensive explanation of lane swimming etiquette if you are inclined. * Ask or let the swimmer already in the lane know you are joining. * Don’t start swimming or turn in front of a faster swimmer. * The fastest swimmer has the right of way. * Stay aware of what everyone is doing to avoid collisions and frustration for all.

Goggles

Because every swimmer in the world has an opinion and will happily entertain long discussions about goggs.

No anti-fog will last on goggles longer than a couple of months

Spit into googles for a simple reasonably effective anti-fog. Never touch the inside of the goggles.

Use a 2/3 water, 1/3 baby shampoo mix, swirl it around and rinse it out for a more effective anti-fog

Most “high visibility open water goggles” aren’t high visibility and are seriously over-priced. The google design offering the most visibility are clear Swedish goggles (aka Swedes). Which are also the cheapest.

More expensive goggles does not in any way mean better. Blame triathletes for the escalation of costs. The best goggles I’ve bought in years were €4 in Lidl the summer before last.

There is no such thing as a generic “best google” answer. Competitive swimmers/online swimmers most often respond Vanquishers or Swedish Goggles. Vanquishers are not available in Europe anymore & Swedes (Which I wear myself in the pool and I show you how to fit here) aren’t a good idea for beginner swimmers. I also wrote this article about understanding the different kinds of goggles so you can choose based on your own requirements rather than other’s opinions, because I had never once seen anything like this by any of the goggle manufacturers, or anyone else.

Silicon straps don’t last long. Bungee straps are a great replacement.

Two thirds of my swimming time is spent with my face underwater exhaling. I can see everything including guys jerking off, teenagers and older couples fiddling with each other and numerous erections.

Technique (Front crawl)

The name of the stroke is front crawl. Freestyle means that in competition you can swim any stroke, and since crawl is the fastest, it (mostly) gets used, so a lot of swimmers think crawl is freestyle and visa versa. Someone will probably even say in the comments here that no-one calls it front crawl. Front crawl is extensively used outside the US and is the accurate term.

BLABT is the acronym for the process most swim experienced teachers use to evaluate stroke and teach front crawl. It stands for:

Body position

Get horizontal in the water. Not being horizontal is the most common reason for swimming slow.

Push your chest forward and down into the water. Try to swim downhill!

Keep your head low and steady, don’t allow it to swing to the side. Imagine you are an a rotisserie spit that enters through your forehead, your whole body rotates around the centre point. If you raise your head, it’ll cause the rest of your body to sink.

Clench your butt cheeks. (Core muscles are used for position and rotation, doing this helps engage them).

Legs

In an elite swimmer, the maximum propulsion that comes from kicking is only 15% of overall speed. But to do that requires the body’s largest muscles and disproportionate amount of energy. (Long distance swimmers like myself do very little or no kicking).

Fixing the kick is important for beginners so the legs don’t slow you down or cause you to sink. Kicking wildly (especially common in runners or triathletes) is more likely to cause you to slow. This is also part of the horizontal body position above. From what I have seen most triathlete swim coaches get this completely wrong and spend far too much time focusing on a better kick.

You are not riding a bicycle. Kick from the hips, with only a little movement in the knees. New swimmers often have a big wide kick or their legs sinks, or both. This slows them down.

While reading this, see if you can point your toes like a ballet dancer. If you can’t, start stretching your ankle while watching TV or while sitting at a desk. Not being able to point your toes while swimming is like pulling a weight behind you.

Try swimming with your toes clenched into a fist. Yes, just like Die Hard. This will stop you kicking from the knees. You won’t be able to do it all the time, but it will help you understand what your position and kick should feel like.

Arms

Reach forward. No, further.

Pull back underwater. But only when your palm is facing backwards behind you, not when they are facing the bottom. This called the Catch, when your hand starts effectively pulling.

Keep pulling, then pushing backwards until your thumb scrapes your thigh.

Try to always keep your elbow above your hand, at every point in the stroke. * This is not easy, and take a long time to get right.

Breathing

Exhale underwater

Hum a little to get used to controlling your breath and exhalation

Try sinking to the bottom of the pool with no arm or leg movement. This will help you learn breath control. Only do this when there is a lifeguard present.

Rotate your head out of the water, don’t lift it. Don’t look forward or around. There is no forward visibility as part of standard front crawl, and learning this is a separate activity.

Timing

Both arms and legs alternate and all actions are smooth and continuous.

Breathing is to the side.

Rotate your hips to drive your arms to reach forward.

Swimwear

Buy your swim suits one size smaller than the size you think you should wear based on your street clothes because water causes fabric to expand. You can’t see it but others can.

Wear your swimsuit in the shower after your pool swim, it’s easiest way to wash out the chlorinated water. Suits will last up to four times longer. * Polyester suits lasts longer than chlorine tolerant fabric, and feels largely the same.

Swimsuits are currently in a “shrinking phase”, that is, getting smaller. Male briefs are becoming more thong like with very narrow side panels, female racing suits are getting cut much higher at the rear. You can find different cuts, but it can sometimes take a bit of work.

Never wring the water out of your swimsuit, it will weaken the fibres and seriously reduce its longevity. Simply squeeze it or use a suit spinner if there is one available.

Baggy board shorts should not be used. Beginner and many intermediate swimmers have problems with drag. Board shorts add even more drag and make improving your stroke even more difficult.

If you insist on using baggy shorts, please wear something tight underneath, because I have seen too many scrotums and assholes and I’m not even a paid professional.

How you look or feel in a swimsuit does not correlate with how well you swim.

There are three materials for swim caps: cloth, latex and silicone. Cloth is comfortable but otherwise useless, usually used by hotels to keep patrons from getting hair in filters. Latex lasts moderately well but snags hairs more. Silicone which is most expensive lasts longest but is also thickest and may be too warm for some people. No swim cap lasts for ever though. I never get more than a year from a cap.

Swim caps will last longer if your dry them between uses, and better yet sprinkle with talcum powder.

If you have a problem with the swim cap coming off your head while swimming, look for ones which have parallel ridges running around the inside edge.

Pool Hygiene

Pool swimming took a leap forward in the 1960s once reliable swim googles became widely available and training sessions for Olympic swimmers were able to last for 3000 metres or even a whole hour!

Goggles are essential for pool swimming because most pools use chemicals to make the water safe. I have a longer post explaining the interactions of pool chemicals and people in more detail here.

Pools that have a strong chlorine or chemical smell are LESS clean than pools that have little or no odour. The less the chemical smell, the cleaner the pool water.

Pool-water colour has little relationship to pool water quality. Most pools use pool tiles to make the water look blue. Some even add small amounts of copper into the water for the same reason.

Just because you’ve read that swimmers pee in the pool doesn’t mean you have to. But if you do want to stay being a swimmer, you should probably reconcile yourself to the fact that you are absolutely swimming in dilute urine. If this is really troubling you, best of luck with your sex life.

It may not be chlorine that’s making your eyes burn. The pool may have the wrong water acidity (high or low). Soda-ash is added to pool water to control this.

Of course, if there are too many organics (sweat, urine etc) in the pool, then more chlorine must also be added to balance the pool.

Food & drink & peeing

Cold air in the pool deck or changing rooms, cold showers etc, evaporation of water from skin all cause the skin temperature to drop. This raises blood pressure as less blood flows and the hormone that suppresses urination is reduced. All this causes you to need to pee more. It’s completely normal.

Therefore swimmers need to be more careful about hydration. Experienced swimmers will always drink during training.

Yer Mammy was wrong. You can swim after eating. All marathon distance swimmers like myself have to eat/take nutrition during swims for example. However, your body will be using air to digest food and use energy for exercise at the same time, so you will feel sluggish at best.

Effort & Diet

It is extremely common that new swimmers, regardless of or more likely due to prior experience in other sports, underestimate the overall difficulty of swimming and overestimate how much energy they are expending. If you haven’t mastered breathing and are desperately out of breath this does not mean you expending significant energy.

Calorie consumption rates in swimming given by website, apps or wearable fitness trackers or watches cannot be trusted because the variables are too varied. Weight, water temperature, stroke, experience, rests, set and session duration all play a part. I could say it’s almost certainly less than what any of those are telling you for an hour swimming.

Pools are lower than body temperature and conduct heat away. So your body does start using energy to retain heat. The effect lasts after the swim is over. This makes swimming an appetite enhancer. Swimmers notoriously eat a lot. For beginner swimmers, you need to learn to control this.

Most people with a good but average diet will have sufficient energy in blood and liver stores to sustain two hours of high intensity exercise. So it is not essential to “pre-load” in advance of daily swimming

How much should you swim?

How much you should swim depends obviously on your goals. However since swimming is technically difficult skill, it is safe to say than more swimming is better.

But how much? As a general guideline I recommend four times a week, 2000 metres at a time is a good aim. Beginners won’t be able to swim anywhere near this distance, so let’s say 40 minutes a session.

Injury & other physical problems

“Swimming is low impact sport, with little chance of causing injury“. This is a widely repeated misconception. Apart from the obvious, front crawl injuries to the shoulders do occur, caused by overuse and poor technique. You can get injured with only a small amount of swimming.

The best ways to reduce the risk are to improve your technique and ALWAYS do a little backstroke each session. Backstroke is a stabilising exercise for front crawl. It helps strengthen the opposing muscles in the shoulder muscles to assist in keeping your shoulders balanced. It does not have to be a good technique to be effective.

Does sleeping on your side cause discomfort? The cause is almost certainly tendonitis. This will not get better by itself, or with rest or by reducing swimming. I recommend some deep tissue massage, direct icing and physiotherapy, in that order as required, with massage & ice fixing ninety percent of problems.

Water in your ear is easiest dislodged by bouncing on the heel of the leg on the same side as the water. If this doesn’t work, have a shower and stand with your ear up under the water. If this doesn’t work, try a drop of rubbing alcohol (surgical spirit). Wear ear plugs if this is a repeat problem.

Asthma prevalence is correlated to regular swimming. The simplest and most effective treatment is to use your Daily Preventer, that you may not want to use daily.

Chlorine sensitivity causes very runny nose, sneezing, sore, red or streaming eyes. The simplest and most effective treatment is to use a nose clip. They take about one day to get used to, and are 100% effective.

Okay folks, I'm off to the pool My log resest itself from last year's million metres and I'm once again back to the start.

Remember the best swimmer in the one having the most fun!

submitted by /u/TheGreatCthulhu [link] [comments] January 03, 2019 at 12:36AM

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bethanybusche · 7 years

Text

MMA Speed review!

Okay lovely people - it is time to review the first workout in the Core De Force program! It has been a couple years since I have done an at home cardio program so it may take me a little bit to get into the swing of things.

You will notice I am bigger than a few years ago thanks to hormones, lifting, and an altered way of life. The added cardio should help me shed some weight - we shall see!

For the record - I am tracking my calories and macros using MyFitnessPal everyday, I weigh myself every morning, I take specific Douglas Labs supplements for my goals and body thanks to Eric, and I keep a spreadsheet of everything (including how I feel everyday).

Here it is - my MMA Speed review:

Total Time: 27 minutes

Equipment: none

Well the menu music is exciting. The workout music not as exciting.

Aw, there are the cuties – Jericho and Joel. The people behind them are cute too - Jessica as the modifier, a blonde Barbie chick in a pink sports bra, two skinny boys, and a quiet smiling girl in the back.

Warm-Up:

This is 2:04 of jogging in place (or marching in place), pulsing side to side and opening up your chest (arms open and close), shoulder rolls forward and backward while pulsing, alternate toe tap, hip openers, and torso rotations.

Or, as I like to call it, throwing my daughter’s toys that are strewn all over the room into buckets to make room for myself and muttering things like ‘we have too many toys’.

And then there’s me in the front yard flailing around:

Okay – here we go. The only thing to be nervous about is that you have never done this before. So – listen, laugh, and wiggle. I appreciate not knowing what is about to come!

There are six 3 minute rounds.

Round 1/6:

Jab, Cross, Roll B, Roll F

Jericho will explain it to you and I found myself reading the screen the first few times. Get in your stance and jab, cross, roll backward and then roll forward. Rinse, repeat for 60 seconds. Always come back to your guard. Do not hyper extend (over extend) your elbows or you will wonder why your arm feels like it is hanging by a rubber band later.

High Knee Jump Rope

After a minute of the combination, you go into your first ‘spike’ as they like to call it. This can be considered your heart rate riser and lasts 30 seconds. Pretend to be jumping rope and bring your knees up as high as you can. A couple of these guys sure jump rope interestingly… watch the guy in the green shirt. :) This only lasts 30 seconds – so give it some effort.

You do this combination followed by the spike one more time before you get about a 25 second break. You can add intensity as you get to know the moves and hit a little harder and bring your knees up a little higher.

Round 2/6:

Rear Knee, Switch Knee

This is a rear knee and then you step back, step forward, bring the other knee up. Remember to lean back, clasp your hands overhead and up front and drive them together. If you put some actual effort into it, the crunch in the core can be beneficial. Pull the heel under your butt and push through the knee. Do this for 60 seconds.

Up/Down Jab, Cross

My first thought here was – holy hell how is Jericho rotating her feet so quickly? Jabs up top and then you squat low and jab low.

Repeat the combination and the spike one more time.

Round 3/6:

Cross, Hook, R Knee, Switch Knee

This took some brain power. I laughed at myself for a while. I had to read the screen to do the combination or I would screw it up. This is a cross (back arm), hook (front arm), rear knee, switch leg knee. I like this combination because you have to keep moving and, if you try hard enough, you work the core. Joel is so tall it looks like he is going to fall over when he does the knees. You should know the drill by now – 60 seconds of this.

Up/Down Hooks

Again with the rotating of Jericho’s heels. This girl is Gumby. You hook left right (or right left) up top and then squat down to hook left right down low. ‘Bend your knees, use your legs’. Think of this as sanding down a spot in the floor with your feet. I am just kidding. Aim for – ‘head, head, body body’.

Repeat combination and spike one more time and you get a break.

Round 4/6:

F Uppercut, R Uppercut, Hook, Roll F, Roll B

Joel sure is a fan of the uppercut. They instruct you to ‘crunch down’ into the uppercut before raising the fist. It took me a few fumbles to figure this out. He visits ‘street fighter Sophie’ in the pink to emphasize the core control and power in her punches. ‘Good job street fighter SOPHIE’. Just in case you forgot.

Rotating Uppercuts

This can be fun – twist your core and uppercut left right. He pretends to have a ‘pad’ near Jericho’s eye level and she hits his hands. Imagine punching as hard as you can.

The second time around, Jericho goes a little nuts with her speed.

Notice my hair in action:

Repeat combination and spike one more time and you get a break

Round 5/6:

Cross, Hook, R Knee, Double Jab Cross

Well this one is fun because you get to double jab and move forward. I had to read the screen for a while until I figure it out. Luckily, this goes slow enough to not get twisted up in a spider web. If Shaun T were doing this, he would have added flying burpees and sped it up 5 times.

Roll, Jump, Roll, Jump

Then, we move to STREET FIGHTER SOPHIE to check out her abs. Jericho also tells us that she is a new mom and is working on getting her abs back. Interesting. Luckily this strike is only 30 seconds long and it may be the hardest part of the workout so far – but very manageable. Your legs should start feeling it.

Repeat both one more time. ‘CRUSH THIS COMBO’ and add more distance in the double jab and power in the punches.

Round 6/6:

R Uppercut, Hook, Cross, Switch Knee

This is your last round – so finish the dang thing with a vengeance. As Joel says – ‘It’s your last skill guys – why would you coast through this?’ Start with the back arm and uppercut, hook the front arm, cross the back, and knee.

Ground to Fighter Stance

With 5 minutes left, Joel says they saved the best spike for last. Oh great. This is basically a burpee. ‘Turn your body into a spring’. Basically – hit the ground and get back up as fast as you can into a fight stance. I was doing great – coasting along – until these burpees. Since I am doing two-a-days (I lift at 5am) my body felt like lead and wanted to lay on the ground. A short nap.

Joel continues to talk because he is talented, and finishes out the last strike (burpees) with everyone.

Cool down

There is about 2:40 of a cool down stretch including a standing calf stretch with a shoulder stretch, quad stretch, hamstring stretch, upper back stretch, and chest stretch. Jericho gives you a pep talk about getting stronger and better as you continue the workouts. Joel loses some balance. They talk about how much fun it was and I wandered around the room drinking water and taking selfies. The people in the video did some fancy high fives to the exit fade to black.

I am going to pick up this lady bug right here...

Final Thoughts:

I did this workout in the evening since I lift at 5am every morning (except some Saturdays and Sundays). I usually do not have energy after work but ate dinner beforehand and did pretty well. At first I thought it was easy-peasy and then I started asking myself ‘why am I sweating so much’? My watch time and calories includes the Learn It & Work It workout as well so I assume I would burn 200-300 calories with this workout. This is a cute little workout that would be good for beginners or someone wanting to move around for 25-30 minutes!

See you for the next one!

#beachbody #coredeforce #athomeworkout #fitness #fitmom #mother #cardio #workoutathome #dvdworkout #beachbodyondemand #mma #dumbbellsanddiapers #jab #punch #hook #momswhoworkout #weightlossjourney #pressplay #mmaspeed

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