Ribbon Heeler

* Adult
* Kid

Ribbon Heeler is a tertiary character in the fanmade spinoff series, ***And Bluey!***. He's the son of Stripe and Trixie, and the brother of Muffin and Socks.

## **Appearance**

Ribbon has a multi-colored coat with various shades of gray, blue, and rust throughout. Like his mum, Ribbon has various spots all over his body, all of which vary in color. His body is a cream color, which he actually gets from his great-grandmum Beryl. He also gets his orange fur from her as well.

His tail has two stripes on it, as well as three spots. Its texture is a mix of both his parents'; not as fluffy and straight as Trixie's, but not as messy as Stripe's. He wears his father's old sweatband on his head to keep his bangs out of his face, which are in the shape of a lightning bolt.

## **Personality**

Ribbon is generally a very passionate and inspiring person. He's all about building people up and pushes them to reach their full potential.

Being that he's a track coach, Ribbon is naturally organized, disciplined, and patient. He always listens to people and tries his best to get to the center of their problems, as he never felt understood by his peers as a kid. Ribbon is extremely empathetic and will give someone the benefit of the doubt until they prove him wrong.

## **Backstory**

#### 2010

Ribbon was born to two loving, if a bit overprotective, parents. As far back as he could remember, Ribbon never felt comfortable in his own skin, thus being somewhat of a closed off recluse for much of his childhood.

#### 2014

One of his earliest memories that stick out to him was during his uncle Bandit and aunt Chili's wedding when he was assigned to be the flowergirl, thus having to wear a dress. Earlier that morning, he'd played with his dad's suit, taking a liking to his bowtie. However, he was gently reminded by the adults that he had to wear the dress. This set him *off*, upsetting him so much that he ran away and hid from everyone. Trixie found him hidden behind a fake tree and comforted her child. She got rid of Ribbon's dress and asked what he wanted to wear instead; he still had to look fancy when he threw the flowers down the aisle for aunt Chili. Ribbon asked for a bowtie, like his dad. Trixie tracked down Stripe and pulled him aside, where he helped Ribbon get the tie on; it was pretty big for a kid, but Ribbon seemed to be in much higher spirits for the rest of the ceremony.

#### 2025

Almost over a decade after uncle Bandit and aunt Chili's wedding, uncle Rad and aunt Frisky are getting married. This time around, Muffin is set to be the flowergirl, but they're having trouble finding a ring bearer. Ribbon shyly volunteers for the position, to which some of the older Heeler members, namely Chris, remind Ribbon that the ring bearer is typically a masculine role for young boys. Trixie speaks up and argues that if being the ring bearer is what's gonna make Ribbon happy, then he can do it. Besides, they don't necessarily have to follow tradition either. Frisky agrees with Trixie and gladly gets Ribbon set up.

As he's talking to Frisky more about her wedding, Ribbon politely asks if it's okay that he doesn't wear a dress or anything like that. She agrees, but kindly requests that he wears something nice for the ceremony, it doesn't have to a dress. Ribbon agrees, thanking her.

A couple of weeks before the wedding, Ribbon asks his dad if he has any old suits he can borrow. Stripe, confused, asks why. Ribbon hesitates and quickly shakes his head, mumbling a quiet, "nevermind", before making a move towards the door. Stripe stands there, puzzled, and brings the situation up to Trixie later on that day. Flashing back to Bandit's wedding, it suddenly clicks; she might have a vague idea of what's going on. The parents go to talk to Ribbon, who plays everything off and insists that he was only kidding. Trixie isn't buying it and reassures Ribbon that it's perfectly okay that he's more comfortable in suits; some people don't like girly things. Feeling a huge weight off his shoulders, Ribbon simply nods and smiles, though his smile is completely genuine.

The wedding goes off without a hitch and Ribbon actually enjoys himself this time. He congratulates his aunt and uncle, to which Frisky comments that Ribbon looked handsome in his suit. He'd never been called *handsome* before, but it made him happy nonetheless.

#### 2026

As he entered secondary school, Ribbon began to experiment more with his appearance. He'd grown out bangs in his early teen years, but grew to dislike them as he got older. That being said though, Ribbon didn't mind having longer hair on the top of his head. He went rummaging around in his dad's old chest that was found in the garage and dug out Stripe's old red, white, and blue bandana. It kept Ribbon's bangs out of his face, sure, but he still wasn't happy with his hairstyle. While his parents were at work, Ribbon made a poor attempt to cut his hair, which left him looking more like a plucked chicken. Trixie and Stripe came home later that evening and found it strange that Ribbon refused to come out of his room, so Trixie went to talk to him. She opened the bedroom door to find her child curled up underneath his sheets in a puddle of his own tears.

Trixie did her best to console Ribbon, offering to try and help fix his hair. Embarrassed, Ribbon agrees and is now sporting a buzz cut on the sides, which he actually doesn't mind. Trixie takes notice in the sudden, rapid changes in her child's appearance and questions him, trying to make sure everything was okay. Ribbon simply nods and reassures his mum that he's just trying new things is all. Trixie is now certain of what's going on, but ultimately decides to allow Ribbon to come to that conclusion on his own; it's his journey and identity, he'll come to that conclusion when he's ready.

#### 2028

For one of his first projects during university, Ribbon was tasked with having to care for and study a butterfly's life cycle. He thought it was pretty stupid; his major was physical education and health, why the hell did he have to look at *butterflies* of all things? After complaining for hours, he finally sat to start on the project and couldn't help but notice how cute the little caterpillar was. He would feed and care for it, even catching himself watching the little creature for hours on end as it began building its cocoon. Ribbon's mind drifted and found himself wishing he could just wrap himself up and come out the complete opposite. He then paused, as everything came together at once; he had his dream haircut, he felt over the moon whenever he wore tuxedos or anything masculine for that matter, he never felt comfortable living as a girl- was his answer right in front of him this whole time?

Ribbon joined his university's LBGT club in hopes of finding answers from others in his position. He listened to people's coming out stories, others shared their transition stories. Ribbon felt those exact same feelings they did. With the support of his newfound friends in this group, he started going by "Ribbon" and using male pronouns. He hadn't yet told his family, a bit unsure of how to approach the situation. Realizing there was no "right way" of coming out, he decided to drive home that weekend; Ribbon was scared shitless, having zero clue as to how his parents would react.

Ribbon's original plan was to come out during dinner, but his nerves got the best of him and he decided to wait until the table was cleared. As soon as dinner was over, Muffin jumped up from the table and excitedly told Ribbon about her new video game she got, urging him to come play with her and Socks. Not giving him a chance to answer, Muffin and Socks ran out of the room to set everything up.

Trixie notices how on-edge Ribbon is and asks him if everything's okay. This time, Ribbon takes a deep breath and is blunt: he discovered he's transgender and wants to live his life as a man. He pauses, nervously waiting for his parents' response. Trixie and Stripe smile and share a tight hug with Ribbon, the latter of whom cried tears of joy. Completely overwhelmed with happiness and relief, Ribbon allows himself to relax and goes to find his sisters, who are impatiently waiting to play video games with him. Ribbon agrees, but first comes out to them. They, being little kids, naturally have a sleugh of questions for their older brother, but eventually grasp a better understanding and are excited to have an older brother.

#### 2040

Ribbon meets his eventual husband, who is TBA.

## Gallery

Ribbon's first design, result from @teutoniic's ship chart on Instagram.Ribbon's Waxflower Challenge!