Submission (#462) Approved

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has met Buttercup that the Guide lives for the experience. There is a motor in him powered by an infinite battery, and only the firmest of hugs or tightest blanket burritos can hold him down - and even those don’t have a perfect success rate. He is speedy, excitable, and *very* easily distracted - dozens of half-done chores and projects litter the ranch, picked up by critters or Orion to either tidy away, try to finish, or to attempt the most difficult task on the ranch; convincing Buttercup to slow down and finish what he started.

There will be no shock in discovering most of Buttercup’s hobbies involve moving. Gardening, exploring, crafting - anything that gets his hands working and body in motion. He finds himself bored easily enough that he is desperate to occupy his time as much as possible, and take whatever route will finish the task the quickest. From this, Orion has turned into somewhat of a Health and Safety Inspector for the ranch. Going over Butter’s work, making sure he didn’t leave out a crucial nail since “it didn’t seem *that* important!”, setting up checklists everywhere to remind Buttercup to water *all* the plants, yes, even the ones in the different garden bed. Maybe it would be easier for Orion to keep his bondmate on a leash. Sometimes he might consider it.

A fact that may stun those who call Buttercup a friend, who know his need for speed, who joke about whether he should check for any Slabs in his pants - is the Guide’s lesser-known enjoyment of photography. *Amateur* photography, maybe, but photography nonetheless. It is so hard to get Buttercup to sit still most photos of him are in motion - even the best attempts are betrayed by a rogue hand, an overexcited wing twitch. Yet, photography prevails. His favourite subject was critters, of course, followed closely by his dear Orion, however much he protested. Anything could be a subject, though - trees, flowers, cool rocks,

Orion was shocked the first time he sensed Buttercup still, positioned in such a way he was certain he’d never encountered before. Sure something terrible had happened to his wee bondmate, he had hurried over, not at all caring at the angry squeaks of a sleeping Slabster as it jolted awake and scurried away. Buttercup was incredulous, asking where the fire was - and it better be a pretty big fire, because that was a perfect shot! And he was holding something, something square - he reached forwards, and Buttercup hadn’t hesitated to touch their hands together to grant Orion sight. He could have been certain he was dreaming as he stared at the camera in Butters’ other hand.

After recovering from the initial shock, Orion has come to adore catching Buttercup in the act of photography. Watching from afar as he holds steady hands firmly around the camera, making the slightest adjustments again and again until he finds the perfect angle. At the end of the day, Buttercup is still himself, and plenty of his photos still come out blurry - but maybe that’s just part of the charm. Orion treasures every photo he develops, and if he can’t talk Buttercup into displaying them, keeps them hidden away using a ‘secret’ hobby of his home. No matter the end results, though, Buttercup enjoys the act, and isn’t that what really matters? He certainly thinks so.