#truly healthy eating means accepting all foods

[theladykit]

Billion-dollar idea: we need motivational coaches to help people stop dieting.

[loveemagicpeace]

💕Astro notes🏹

☁️Capricorns and Taurus always set limits for themselves in the sense that when they decide something, they stick to it and that's how it is. They stick to certain things because they are determined.

✨Mars in fire sign in 12th -u do so many risky and fearful things but this is good for you. The more you do the things you fear, the better you feel. Many times I also notice that people who have mars in the 12th house can manifest pain or something about their appearance, in the sense that they go to get tattooed and they won't be in pain.

🥂You truly got to know someone who has Capricorn rising when you see them like three,four maybe five times. They are very secretive people and do not like to share many things about themselves. Intimacy it's a big thing for them they will not get intimate with people who they are not comfortable with.

🍸People who has pluto in their 3rd house are obsseded with cars. Also because pluto shows your obsession you can also have obsessive thoughts or obsessively thinking about someone.

⚡️People who has capricorn placements in particular (mercury, venus & mars) are big car lovers. They know a lot about them and talk a lot about them. They always have some business of their own, which includes some things related to cars. I don't know why but a lot of people with these signs drive or love BMWs haha.

❤️‍🔥People who have Venus in Leo or Sagittarius are very passionate people. They do everything they do with passion. They cannot imagine love without passion.

🌙Chiron Sextile Ascendant-you can easily find support in comunuty. Your tramums can be public or you share them with public.

🦋Uranus in 1st house makes people very special, different and interesting. And people always remember you even if they only see you once. Many times I notice that these people cannot be compared to anyone because their beauty is so unique. Many times I notice that people are jealous of them because of this.

💘The sign you have in the 8th house is the sign that will stalk you the most on social networks or in general. And it's also the sign that's most obsessed with you. All the planets that the person has in this sign will indicate that the person is obsessed with you or wants to have you for themselves.

🐚The most spiritual connection u will have with the sign in your 12th house. You can receive the most empathy and warm advice from this sign.

🍦Zodiac signs that love to eat are cancer, taurus, leos, sagittarius( they will really enjoy the food). They will always make time for good things. Meanwhile, I notice that people who have Virgo, Capricorn, Aries, Libra, Aquarius don't take time to eat or eat something small. They don't put much on food or things like that. Especially if they are surrounded by work.

🌌Having a north node in Scorpio means your life journey is all about learning to accept that change is constant. North node in virgo represents a point in your natal chart that signifies your soul's evolutionary path and the lessons you are meant to learn in this lifetime. These people are creative, artistic, sensitive, spiritual. North node in sagittarius means that in your lifetime you're meant to find your fate ,your believing system & your true meaning in this life and also growth.

📀The most healthy sign to hang out with is sign u have in your 9th house. Because the sign in this house represents everything you can learn, how you can grow into a better person. You will always have an honest and direct relationship with this person.

💡You would only understand people with first house placements if you also have them. Because if you don't have 1st house placements you will have hard time being with these people cuz people with first house placements have this confidence, can be little selfish or do things in a more selfish way. They are unbothered about a lot of things. And they can easily express themselves. And when you don't have 1st first placements it is harder for you to find compatibility with them.

🫧People with second house placements know their true value. Always when I'm around with these people it feels like I know that they value themselves & things around them. When I'm with them, I feel that they really appreciate me and somehow they will never invite me to some cheap place, but there will always be something beautiful and luxurious. I feel appreciated by them.

🌊🔥People with fire/water placements are very passionate, emotional, intense. Water is always getting into emotions seeing things for emotional side & they can quickly feel things through emotions. And fire is a about passion,anger and about doing. They will not be just emotional ,they will be angry emotional(crying out of anger) also they can do some really crazy things -sometimes I feel like they black out and when they are angry they are completely different person is like they got blinded by the anger. They can also be emotionally impulsive.

-Rebekah📀☁️🫧💘

[factual-fantasy]

Here is your reminder that the Octonauts fandom is going to be PATIENT, will RESPECT your boundaries, will WAIT for your possible return to the fandom, and will NOT pressure you into anything. Any Octonauts fan that does otherwise should not count, because they clearly do not know what it means to be an Octonaut.

An Octonaut is patient, kind, helpful, and respectful, even if things don't go the way they want it specifically. They will care for the creatures(in this case, people) that come to them regardless of how they want their day to go.

Octonauts are selfless; they do not let what they WANT get in the way of what others NEED. They do not prioritize themselves over others. If you never return to the fandom again, THAT IS PERFECTLY FINE. Because that is what I'd best for YOU. It may disappoint some, but as long as you are safe, happy, and healthy, it should not matter what people WANT out of YOU and YOUR art.

If you do decide to come back to us, then we welcome you with open arms. There aren't enough of us to form an overall opinion about the fandom, and sadly bad experiences can taint the entire look of our community.

Trust me, I've had PLENTY of bad experiences myself(probably TMI, but I once had someone DM me to roleplay something where them as Captain Barnacles had insomnia, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and a crap ton of other things and I as Shellington had to comfort him and whatnot. And then Captain Barnacles got his arm ripped off and they never messaged me again. This was on WATTPAD. They have since removed DMs, and I can see why. So bad experiences can definitely ruin one's image of the fandom.)

But if you enjoy the Octonauts and that's what you want to draw, don't let idiots stop you!! Octonauts do not discriminate and any hateful person who calls themself an Octonaut never truly learned what it means to explore, rescue, and protect.

An Octonaut is meant to protect and care for their communities, and unnecessary aggression or rude comments should not be tolerated!!! Not by you or by us! Guilt tripping is not good either!

AND: Remember to drink water, eat food, get some rest, and take time for yourself! Have a lovely day/night factual :3

<XD The Octonauts fandom is a tough subject for me for a lot of reasons.. I guess now would be a decent time to finally open up about some of it..

To start, I have had more art theft/reposters, art tracers, copying/heavily adopting all my headcannon/design choices.. in the Octonauts fandom, more than every other fandom combined. Including FNAF. 70% of the time when someone shows me an account that has reposted my art? Its one of my Octonauts comics.

I'm pretty protective of my work and I like to keep things to myself, so having all of these happen so frequently in this fandom has kind'a spooked me away..

And I get it, the fandom is not that big. Chances are when someone has a different/unique/good idea, everyone is going to adopt it into their Octonauts universe. I get it.. but that doesn't stop me from feeling really uncomfortable about posting Octonauts artwork. And I also get that a lot of the people in the Octonauts fandom are really young and don't realize that reposting is theft, or that blatant tracing is theft. That doesn't stop it from being really frustrating to see and very discouraging.. especially when you say "hey, you traced my artwork, please don't do that.." they just straight up don't listen 💀

What's frustrating is that despite not having posted anything Octonauts related in a long time, I STILL deal with constant theft and art tracers. I had to block a few recently after they denied clearly tracing my art and refused to take anything down.

Not even to mention the people who have bashed me for not head cannoning Kwazii or Calico jack as trans.. I totally understand that its a widely accepted headcannon, but my Jack is just a rare male calico and Kwazii is a regular male tabby/calico mix. The constant "why dont you draw kwazii with top scars?? are you a transphobe?? stop misgendering kwazii he's trans!!" is really annoying..

Another thing that really bothers me is the constant crab comic asks. Despite explaining multiple times that I do not want to continue drawing that comic, I still get constant asks like this,👇

This was sent after a simple eye study of the Octonauts. And it said that I'm still on the fence about Octonauts. What part of that post makes you think I'm gonna go back to the crab comic?

I understand that a lot of these people are young and just don't understand that all this stuff is wrong or could be making me uncomfortable. But currently I just don't have the patience to deal with all this junk.. So until I can get my patience back or find a work around for this, Octonauts is officially back on the shelf. 😔

[limarieb]

currently thinking about reader, who’s notoriously grumpy and angry all the time, being tough around everyone except their girlfriend, wanda…

although you’re seemingly grumpy with everyone else, you never appear to have any complaints about her. (maybe you’re biased, though... or maybe she's just better than everyone else.)

your anger never manifested physically, though; you only ever fought with your words or actions, like the silent treatment or harsh glares. after years of therapy, you have gotten better at keeping your comments to yourself until you were in a safe place to vent them out. you used to write in a journal before wanda; however, now that she’s in your life, she has offered to be your sounding board for all of your issues because she knows how much it all truly affects you.

while she completely and utterly loves you for who you are (personality and issues included), there are some things that she tries to implement in your daily life in order to further help you with your irritability. for example, she introduced a system for creating healthy dialogue so you avoid getting too heated, either at someone else or when you're simply ranting to her, and saying or doing something you might regret. she also implemented a traffic light system in regard to your emotions and irritability levels: red meaning "don't want to talk" or "too pissed to speak," yellow meaning "i'm not very happy right now, and i want to get it off my chest," and green meaning "i'm doing okay at the moment."

after a few weeks of doing a trial run with the system, she also began to use it; not only with her own issues, but for setting a boundary for herself if she was not in the headspace to provide you the support you may have needed.) so far, these changes have truly worked wonders for maintaining a healthy relationship with wanda, promoting the necessary honesty and communication.

when you do decide to talk to her about something that was bothering you, she would always make the time to listen to all of your rants about everyone and everything being dumb and stupid, whether it be over text or in person. it wouldn’t be mere passive listening, either; she would actively listen to your voice and try to provide advice when needed. if she figures advice isn’t what you need in the moment, she’ll just affirm your feelings and cuddle with you until you calm down a bit.

and you just accept all of her affection — no questions asked. with wanda, you find you actively seek physical touch and words of affirmation, unlike in the past. the second she touches you, even in a non-sensual manner, you absolutely fold. she can't help but adore how soft you have become around her, and she's grateful you have grown comfortable enough with her to simply feel your feelings around her.

(and may the gods above forbid any of the team members mention your newfound softness with the witch, for then they must face the wrath of your anger and her protectiveness.

sam entered, discovering her cuddling you on the couch in the compound's living area one day and decided it was the funniest sight. so, he naturally made a joke about it, stating how she must be the one who "wears the pants in the relationship" despite the personality differences.

"you better start running," the only words that left the sokovian's lips, eyes turning scarlet red.

he scrambled away, and you simply snuggled her closer.)

one of the best dates she planned, in your humble opinion, was “stress-reliever” themed. you both were having a… not very good week, so she decided that the two of you would take the day off to focus on yourselves. she took you to a rage room, in which the two of you took turns smashing everything. afterwards, she drove you both to a secluded picnic area, where you both wrote your deepest woes and secret onto a plate and then smashed them into tiny pieces and proceeded to eat your feelings with all of your favorite foods, which she packed.

she has learned over the course of your relationship that your anger and irritability was a product of both your genetics and your family. not that it has bothered her, because truly it hasn't — you've been nothing but kind and loving toward her. although, wanda, with her inherent empathetic nature, can't help but feel upset sometimes that you had to endure all of that unhealthy hostility while growing up. she just internally hopes that she has helped heal some of your inner child, at least.

occasionally, you have doubts about yourself, thinking you, in all of your 'darkness' and rain-like moods, were not worthy enough to be dating someone like wanda, who you viewed as the practical embodiment of sunshine. she reaffirms the depth of her feelings for you (and all of your various rants) each time you begin to feel like this, stopping the negative thoughts before you begin to truly spiral. she also takes the time to remind you her life is not always ‘sunshine and rainbows,’ given her history in sokovia and then hydra; and, yet, you still love her the same — so why would it be different for you? (it's during times like these that you appreciate how your girlfriend is a literal witch.)

...

a/n: well, i promised, didn't i? enjoy this "little" drabble as a little treat since my interview for that graduate school program went well!

[spectres-n-soap]

A Soft Breeze - Ghost x Reader x Soap

Content Warnings - Therapy, pregnancy, afab!fem!reader, angst with comfort

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

“Why do you lash out at others?” Dr. Miller asks. The session had been going relatively normal, he had started out with the usual base questions he did every time.

“How are you?”

“I’m doing my best.”

“How’s the pregnancy?”

“Healthy for the most part.”

And it felt he was coming out of left field with that question. It must have been obvious how much of a divergence from the norm it was because he tries to back track but you stop him.

“It's easy.” You admit. Admission feels like poison or acid, eating up at you now that you’ve spoken it to life. It was easy, it is easy, to lash out at those around you then to confront the source. You scream and yell, throw things and break down instead of admitting the truth that no one deserves your anger. No one deserves the grief that eats you up and that you refuse to acknowledge until now. “It’s easy to lash out at others then take a moment to reflect.”

“Do you feel bad afterwards?” He asks as he writes down something of note and you cringe a little. Just another thing to add to the ever growing list of things wrong with you. That’s what you’ve concluded that means, that whenever he writes something down after you say something, that it's another thing wrong with you. You won’t dare to ask him if it's true; he’ll probably lie about it for propriety.

“Yes.” You still beat yourself up over the baby shower and every time you’ve yelled at Simon. “I feel awful afterwards because I know they didn’t deserve it.”

“So why do you take it out on Simon specifically?” Dr. Miller asks and you stiffen. What a loaded question, you thought. “Just off the top of your head, why?”

“Because it feels like he’s trying to replace him.” You say, throat becoming tight at the thought, horrible and malicious. “And I know that he isn’t and that it's not right for me to think like that.” Dr. Miller takes notes, his hand moving quickly over the lined paper in front of him as you speak and it takes everything in you not to stop or call him out on it. “It should be Johnny here. Not him.”

“You know that Johnny is dead.”

“Yes I know he’s dead.” You snap, “I know he is, alright? But it doesn’t stop me from wishing he wasn’t.” You put your face into the palms of your hands and sigh. “I’m a terrible person.” You whisper.

“No, you’re just a person.” Dr. Miller says, “There is no such thing as a good or bad person, just people who do good and bad things. Sometimes more of one than the other.” He sets down his clipboard and leans forward, “It's good that you are able to find what the reason is, now we just have to work on finding ways of expressing those feelings without hurting those around us.” You nod slowly.

Simon is waiting for you in the parking lot, a surprise for you. “Hey, I was thinking we could eat out tonight, to celebrate another therapy session.” You scrunch your face up and before you can retort anything he says, “Just accept the free food.” You truly cannot debate with that logic or offer and you get into the vehicle with him.

It’s not a fancy restaurant but to be honest, you might’ve tried to strangle him if he had. Just a simple sandwich place, the food is good and the restaurant surprisingly serves other things than just sandwiches and drinks. You opt for an italian sandwich and some tomato bisque on the side with crackers. 

The silence between the two of you is natural, especially as you eat and therefore become unable to speak without being rude. The restaurant isn’t bustling with tons of other people, in fact it's rather quiet for the time of day. You think it's because of the fact it's Wednesday. “I’m sorry.” You say after finishing your soup.

“What’re you apologizin’ for?” He asks and your cheeks warm.

“I’m sorry for being awful to you all the time.” You say, “It's not okay for me to treat you like that and I don’t know why you stuck around after everything.”

“Because you’re Johnny’s bird.” He says, “I’m doing right by him, I’m making sure the person he cared for and the baby he never knew existed are safe.” He states and you shake your head.

“I don’t get it.” You mutter and he chuckles softly, the sound warms your belly more than the soup did.

“You don’t have to.”

You get a call from Mrs. MacTavish the next day, “I was thinking about what you said the other day, about not feeling prepared for motherhood and I did some looking.” You vaguely hear some mouse clicking and she starts again, “I’m gonna send you some links to places holding parenting classes.” You glance at your phone and see the links copy and pasted into the text chat. “You should attend them, I think they would be very useful. Have a good rest of your day dear.” You say your goodbyes and tap on one of the links.

Just as Mrs. MacTavish said, it is for a place holding parenting classes throughout the week, you look at the next available one and feel your heart rate pick up. Two days from now, it will be held at a nearby library in the afternoon. Simon glances over your shoulder and asks, “Thinking about going?”

“It would be smart for me to go.”

“But do you want to?” He asks as he sets down his dirty mug into the sink to wash later. He leans against the counter and you shrug.

“Wouldn’t hurt to go, just to see if I like it.” Your thumb hovers over the register link before you finally tap it and send in your information. Putting down just how far along you are in your pregnancy feels surreal. Seven months along and nearly at your eighth. How did the time pass by so quickly? 

[jurijyuu]

Scratch an Itch Chapter 27: Fool Me Once

Link to full chapter on AO3

Ynna’s POV

Two days. You hadn’t left your room in two days. Hunger, both regular and infernal, gnawed at your insides as you sat curled in a ball by your window. While Charlie and Angel brought you food, you ignored their concerned urging. This was punishment, after all. Punishment for your foolishness, for trusting so freely, for taking Alastor’s sudden interest in you for granted in the beginning. 

For still wishing you could hear his soft old timey music and humming white noise right now.

God, you’re pathetic.

You should have known when he struck that deal that he didn’t view you as any exception to his tricks. No. You knew. You just chose to ignore it. Alastor had always been a psychopath, willing to undermine and torture others for the sake of entertainment. Beneath the seemingly effortless charm lay a monster and just because he moved with grace and breathtaking elegance, considerate and attentive care with you, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t turn his monstrosity against you still.

You should have known when he gave you that blood potion, created from self-harm just so he could lessen your pain. What it symbolized, a selflessness within that sociopathic mind, allowed you to accept his twisted nature so long as he sincerely cared about you. But he never cared, did he? Not truly. Not enough to put the sanctity of your body over his ever hungry craving for something to stimulate his sick mind. 

You understood all this now, in the calm after all your tears had been cried. While most of the fault lay with the one who conspired against you, it was also fair to share some of the blame for being too naive and trusting. However, understanding all of this didn’t stop the deep-seated anger and sadness that he cut into your heart with each dish he admitted to tampering. In fact, it only made it worse.

A laughing smile and a wink as he delivered the punchline. A light nudge to make sure you didn’t step on shit. The unforgiving curve of his back as sharp eyes smirked at you.

Pathetic.

Leaning against the cool window pane, your faint reflection mimicked your sighs. Maybe if you sat under the windowsill, you could grow roots and survive the rest of eternity on water and photosynthesis. That seemed fitting since it was your stupid mouth that got you into this mess.

Alastor’s POV

It was only the second day of Ynna’s self-imposed isolation but he already ran out of excuses to pass by her doorway just to see if this time, he could chance upon her emerging. Only a little over 48 hours and his promise to wait for her already seemed a bite too big for him to chew. And yes, he had meant to use a food-related saying. Food and dining were all he could think of when it became clear that Ynna was not only rejecting everyone’s company, but she was also rejecting her meals.

As an individual who shared his love of food, starving herself was too drastic of a move. Even when it made her queasy, the goat would still eat because her appetite wasn’t one to be ignored. It was one of the things he adored about her. Was she rejecting her meals because he was the one who cooked them? The thought stung more than it should have though her lack of trust in his entrees and snacks was understandable.

He tried not to fret, not to appear to be fretting. Not in front of the princess and her worried questions or Vaggie and her angry accusations. He had no desire to share details of their quarrel to anyone. It was just that he heavily disapproved of this act of self-harm. 

He stared at the closed door for another moment, seeing the shadows subtly move in the crack under the doorway. She was still in there, moving about, pacing, it seemed. There was that, at least. She hadn’t thought to run away or get drunk out of her mind again. She still seemed healthy enough from what little he could gather without crossing anymore of her boundaries. It would be so easy to send his shadow to watch her but that would be another invasion upon her that he couldn’t afford. 

Perhaps, tomorrow; tomorrow he could see his dearest.

[egberts]

i hope you take this as the genuine question it is and not someone trolling or trying to be obtuse. i think i just spent about an hour writing this! 😅 i am fat, i first learned about and “became a part of” so to speak the body positive/fat liberation community my senior year in high school (8 years ago now). i cannot stress enough how much this question is coming from a well meaning place i just am curious your thoughts on it.

(re:girl dinner)

when we talk about body positivity, it’s understood your health is not determined by your size, no one can look at you and determine how healthy you are. your health, as well as the amount of food you eat, also has no bearing on your moral character. eating a conventially unhealthy amount of food doesn’t give anyone the right to try and shame or silence you, no matter their personal feelings or discomfort for various reasons (“you’re glorifying an unhealthy lifestyle!!” etc).

these principles are not even a question, so why do they not apply to people eating smaller quantities of food? why is the knee jerk reaction to call out how unhealthy it is and how they’re glorifying an unhealthy lifestyle and encouraging others to do the same, especially when that’s what fat people have been accused of forever? it seems so, so disconnected from and counter productive to the entire point of liberation from societal body/diet standards.

if it’s purely concern for the possible encouraging or egging on of harmful eating behaviors, even that could be said to go both ways. i struggle with binge eating disorder and have horrendous troubles with impulse control. to the point that concepts like intuitive eating would leave somebody like me lying in pain on the floor after a triggered binge. i know i personally have to be careful with what i eat because trigger foods could end with me sick. yet how downright inappropriate would it be to make that the problem of someone just enjoying a larger meal? someone who goes about their diet in a different way and has different limits than me? or god forbid even just also struggling with binging!? i mean, underlying eating disorder or not, whether they eat that way frequently or not, none of these things really make it okay regardless to comment on how much someone’s eating or propose that showing the amount of food they eat is not okay.

something i personally have had struggles with in my journey of self acceptance and navigating life in a marginalized body is having to unpack the aspects, and what i believed to be values, of my body positivity that i clung to for reasons that weren’t truly in line with fat liberation. so much of my activism was just me serving my insecurities because i hadn’t truly worked through them yet. just remember to check in on yourself sometimes and really dig into the root of some of the values you hold and make sure they’re coming from a place that’s beneficial.

tldr; someone showing off their small meal is fundamentally and healthwise no different from someone showing off their large meal. neither is inherently bad nor good, it just is. so why do we show double standards(on an across the board principle)?

I cannot stress enough just how flawed your comparison of fat people existing to people promoting two almonds and some water as "girl" dinner is not the same thing. yes, fat people are ACCUSED of glorifying disordered eating, but they are not actually doing that. people who use the term "girl" dinner are actively linking the act of eating small amounts of food or no food at all with being a girl, that's the major takeaway from this discussion. this isn't about shaming big meals vs small meals, either. this is about calling out actually actively advocating for eating nothing for dinner and going to bed. nobody is looking at the thin people promoting girl dinner and calling them out for being unhealthily skinny, we're calling them out for promoting not eating, which is something your body needs to do to function or your brain will shrivel up and you'll die. "girl dinner" is a depression meal, it's food when you can't afford groceries, it's a snack between something more substantial. also, how can you actually come to me and think that defending the slippery slope into eating disorders is a logical thing to do? tiktok is full of teenagers, dude, somebody needs to tell them that it's not fucking healthy to eat a slice of cheese and nothing else for dinner. this also isn't about shaming people at home living their personal lives and eating what they can to get by, this is about people actively posting to thousands of young impressionable followers that it's cool and fun to eat nothing, and in some cases it's literally being used to justify weight loss and being skinny. I would legitimately be just as critical about this if it was fat people eating piles of donuts and calling it lard dinner. but ultimately none of this even matters to either of us, I'm not going on tiktok and telling the teenagers that they're learning dumb shit, I'm not going and personally calling out the women responsible for corrupting a harmless trend, I'm just here sitting on my couch giving my opinion on my blog, and while you might not be on your couch you are certainly here giving your opinion in my ask box, at the end of the day we are just two clowns honking around 🤡

[starryoak]

So! That Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon sure is a great show! So much so that I made an OC for it! Please click the link so you can see it where tumblr doesn’t ruin the quality

The thing is, though? I kind of came up with her to fix the most significant flaw I saw in the ending, one that I’m not sure anyone else is going to be insane enough to actually think is a flaw like I do.

The thing is, this flaw is connected to some pretty major endgame spoilers, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, you really can’t stick around; this entire character’s story is intimately tied to the ending of Dungeon Meshi.

Ok! So, to start off, explaining my perspective requires knowledge of one fact; Marcille is my favorite character in the series, for one specific reason. I am extremely thanatophobic. 

I have an intense, all consuming fear of death that used to leave me literally wracked with actual physical pain from the nightly panic attacks I would have obsessing over my own impending mortality, something that only stopped because I take intense mood dampeners, not because I ‘got over it’.

So, obviously, Marcille’s backstory and motivation resonated deeply with me, her fears and obsessions over her friend’s mortality, the omnipresent specter of death trailing behind her stealing all her loved ones away, how she grew up with the looming knowledge of her father’s increasing age and his inevitable passing, something that hit me even harder because not only do I do the same thing, obsess over my parents increasing age, but Marcille’s dad physically resembles my own.

Her goal of equalizing the lifespans of the races, ultimately… I think it’s a noble one! It is the ultimate injustice of living that death is inevitable, one that I genuinely believe is worth solving. I don’t actually know if we ever will, it is probably impossible… but that doesn’t mean we should give up. Back in the 1300s, smallpox was inevitable. Now, it doesn’t exist outside of a lab! For most of human existence, half of all people died before puberty. Now, child mortality is down to less than 5%. https://xkcd.com/1520/ sums it up pretty nicely.

And then, the ending of the series. Well. Look. It’s not just that I disagree with how the series ends with “well, if you just eat right and exercise, that will release you from grasping your own mortality”. I mean, it is a lot that. But I’m used to series ending with some form of “people with a healthy fear of their own mortality are evil/insane/stupid/cowards”, hell, most characters genuinely afraid of their own death in media are villains!

Not only that, to a certain extent, it’s very logical that the series end with a moral about accepting the circle of life. It’s inevitable when the series focuses so much on food, because death is an unavoidable part of that cycle; to eat, we must kill. Even vegetarians can’t escape that fact, with how much we’ve learned about how plants are more alive than we once thought. 

It's not that the series ended with that moral that bothers me, or at least. I wouldn’t be as bothered as I am, if it was just that. There’s another couple aspects to the ending that I feel were mishandled. One of them is one I think that if most people were honest, would also agree, or at least understand why I think it’s a misstep, and one that only someone who’s insane in the exact same way I am would even care about in the first place.

I’ll start with the reasonable criticism first; I think, if they wanted to really sell me on the idea that Marcille is truly changed and has come to accept death as a natural consequence of life like she says she has when they discuss the potential of Falin’s resurrection failing… Falin should have died, then. 

It’s not that I’m not happy she’s alive, or that I don’t want her and Marcille to be together, but rather, it rings extremely hollow to me to have Marcille go “Oh, I’ve learned to accept death, after all of this journey, if Falin’s resurrection fails, I can accept that.” and then have her not have to test that newfound conviction. 

It feels too convenient, like the series couldn’t actually commit to that moral fully. Beyond that, if anything, I would think that the journey they went on would make Marcille more firm in her desire to resurrect Falin, if anything. 

But I can understand the logic they want you to go with, I just think that it feels like a cop-out to try and sell me on this “death is the natural consequence of life” moral, and then go “oh, except for Falin. Falin gets to live, because she deserves it.” 

Why does she deserve it more? Why did you say all that if not to set up the failure? So you could reassure us “don’t worry, Marcille doesn’t have those naive, stupid ideas about improving the lives of the short lived races anymore, she’s learned better! Now she understands that some people just deserve to live longer than others!” Admittedly, that’s me being uncharitable, but it just feels wrong to me.

Now, onto the second, more insane person critique, one that I don’t think anyone but me even thought about, and one that I think most people would think is being too nitpicky. 

But the thing is, it relates to the worldbuilding, and as much as people will likely want to tell me “you’re thinking too hard about a minor aspect of worldbuilding”, the thing is that Dungeon Meshi, above all, is very obviously a labor of love from the creator, and she clearly thinks about her worldbuilding a lot! 

So it feels like saying that I’m overthinking it is dismissing her intricately crafted world as not worthy of engaging with fully. You can’t have it both ways, where you only want people engaging in your worldbuilding if they’re saying something positive.

Anyway; it has to do with a very minor, throwaway panel in the discussion of the history of the Winged Lion/demon’s interaction with the world outside its dimension in chapter 87; where it’s revealed, offhand, that the differences in lifespan between the races is in and of itself caused by the demon granting wishes, as can be seen here. 

And. Well. That sits wrong with me. What happened to the conviction that it’s inherently wrong and twisted to use the demon’s powers? What happened to the conviction that they need to reverse all the changes that the demon forced on the world? Oh, so, since it happened so long ago, it’s no longer a problem? It’s only a problem when someone wants to use the demon to equalize the lifespans?

And I realize it’s insane to care this much about such a minor, throwaway line, but honestly? I think both my complaints about the ending stem from the same root frustration with the hypocrisy of it. Death is natural and worth accepting, except Falin’s death, then she deserves to live because her friends worked so hard for it. The demon’s powers are inherently wrong to use and must be reversed, except when it happened thousands of years ago, then it’s just the way things are and we have to get used to it.

What bothers me especially is how unforced of an error it was. Just have the differences in lifespans be because the world is a fundamentally cruel and unjust place, like it is in real life! You don’t have to ‘explain’ it, because it’s not something that needs explaining. 

But now that you’ve brought it up, suddenly I have to ask, well, why were their demon wishes valid and not Marcille’s? Because you said that the demons powers were inherently warped and twisted and that they had to undo all of the damage it caused. And I do agree that the demon was causing damage and needed to be stopped! I just dislike the hypocritical criticism of Marcille’s entirely reasonable desire to not outlive all her loved ones by centuries.

Anyway. So, how does this tie into my OC? I’ll get to that!

This is Lymsie Bens, and she’s a half-foot mage, something that, if you remember, is actually a fairly rare thing for her to be! So how did this come to be, considering Chilchuck says that most half-foots fear higher magic, on account of them being unwilling test subjects for elves whenever they got too close?

Lymsie grew up the daughter of an older couple of relatively rich and very well off half-foots, Benbur Sams and Pamsie Hobs, living in a town in the Eastern Continent not all that far from the magic school that Marcille and Falin attended, and ever since she was young, she grew up with one thing weighing on her mind; The deaths of her parents. 

Oh, no, her parents are still alive! Even by the time of this picture! 

But she still knew it would happen. She loves her parents, more than anything in the world, and she would look at them every day and count the grey hairs, the wrinkles, small as they may be, considering they’re half-foots, and look youthful for far longer than the other races. 

As much as the other races wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at them, they were old! Or at least, older than most couples usually are when they had children, and Lymsie was incredibly aware of it every time she looked at their faces, and saw them getting older and older.

And that didn’t even get into her own fears. As a child, she tried to befriend the gnomes that went to the private school her parents had sent her to, one that had mostly gnomes and where she was one of the only half-foots, and while racism meant she didn’t succeed very often, the times she succeeded, she would always end up having to graduate friends within the year. 

She would find herself outgrowing them quickly, and her friends would look at her with pity, like she was just seconds away from keeling over, like they shouldn’t get too atttached to someone who would die so soon. 

It made her realize something that left her feeling cold and scared; she was going to die. And not only was she going to die, she was going to die far sooner than she wanted. Well, she didn’t ever want to die, but she especially didn’t want to die so soon!

Eventually, she started feeling bitter and resentful about the whole thing, how unfair it was. Not just that the long lived races had all the power and money, but that they had the lifespans they did at all! 

And maybe it would have been easier not to resent them as she grew up if making friends didn’t get harder and harder as she grew up, as kids started picking up prejudices from their parents and started caring about their social status enough that they don’t want to be seen being friends with a half-foot… maybe she would have grown up a little more well adjusted.

As well, while the private school was definitely fancy by the standards of half-foots, it wasn’t a very affluent one for gnomes, and as such, the magic they taught was rudimentary at best. 

The teachers clearly didn’t expect the half-foots to get anything out of the classes, to the point where they were practically left alone the whole period, while the teachers focused on the more ‘promising’ students.

But Lymsie wasn’t willing to let that happen to her, to be left behind like her fellows; she wanted to learn magic if it was the last thing she did. She knew there had to be a solution to her problems with magic. 

So, despite the teachers’ prejudices, she applied herself, and she forced them to acknowledge her skills. They didn’t like it, but they had no choice but to recognize her skills for what they were; extraordinary, especially for a half-foot, a race supposedly predisposed against magic.

After Lymsie graduated from school with the highest honors that the school was willing to give her, she found herself looking for higher education in the arts of dungeon and healing magic, having learned all she could at the level she was at. 

She first tried to apply to the highest magic school nearby, the same Marcille and Falin attended, but there was a problem. The school refused to accept a half-foot, even if she easily passed the requirements.

A half-foot simply didn’t have the raw magical talent that was required for higher learning, you see. No matter how she begged or pleaded, she couldn’t change such a simple fact of biology.

Lymsie wasn’t satisfied. If she couldn’t get into that school, there were others in the world. She simply would have to say goodbye to her parents, secretly fearing, no matter how ridiculously, that they would die before she could get back.

Her parents supported her in her endeavors to learn magic; they were proud of their daughter’s accomplishments and how far she’d come, even if privately they felt her goals unrealistic.

Lymsie eventually found a school willing to teach her, but it was an uphill battle. Magic schools just weren’t made for half-foots; it was a struggle to use furniture made for elves and tallmen, but she refused to give in. Simple setbacks like a little discomfort wouldn’t stop her.

She poured herself into research, defying those who coddled her, cooing over how cute it was she was even trying, when everyone knows that half-foots simply can’t channel the mana required for true magic.

She focused her research on the magic of healing, the art of resurrection had to be connected somehow! She knew there had to be more to it. As she researched more, it became clearer and clearer that there was something missing to the discussion, some secret hidden and kept out of textbooks, and she wanted to find it.

Lymsie’s research deepened, spending her days glued to every book she could find in the library, excelling in her studies and at every test, she was making a name for herself among the school for her talents. 

In truth, it wasn’t exactly a good reputation she was garnering. Her stubbornness and bitter affect didn’t make her many friends, something she eventually realized herself, but it was too little, too late. 

She couldn’t win back people who were determined to see her in a bad light, for having the opinions she did and the skills she had, so she pressed on ahead anyway. Eventually, she had learned everything she could through conventional means, and she had a choice.

She could head back home to her parents, accept defeat against the insurmountable weight of her own mortality, live out the rest of her life content she had beaten the odds and learned what she could. 

Or, she could keep searching. Keep pushing the boundaries she had come across in her research, the walls she had encountered that seemed deliberately put up to stop her from attaining her goals.

There was only one choice for Lymsie, in the end. To keep going. In truth, she already knew where to look, though only because of warnings to stop; dark magic. Of course she had heard the rumors, of powerful magic that elves possessed, of how they would kidnap half-foots for cruel experiments to test the limits of what magic could do.

While she had heard those warnings, the idea didn’t dissuade her; in fact, it excited her. There was potential, magic beyond what she had learned, if only she could find it. It meant there were people out there testing the limits of what could be done with magic!

If she could learn what the secrets were to it, the power could be hers! The idea of being spirited away, of experiments that stretched the boundaries of conventional magic, it was a dream!

It didn’t matter to her that it could be dangerous, it became a private fantasy of hers, to imagine herself whisked away to the land of the elves, to see magic beyond her wildest dreams.

Lymsie would dutifully send letters to her parents informing her of her research, but she kept her fantasies and pursuit of dark magic secret. She knew that her parents would worry for her if they found out she had such dangerous intentions. She didn’t want them to worry, though not enough to stop her search, of course. 

She chased after every rumor of dark magic she could, though she began to learn the art of not being a colossal bitch to everyone she meets, of playing into stereotypes to get what she wanted. 

It never seemed to get her closer to her true goal, the rumors of ancient magic not enough to satisfy her ultimate desires, no elves willing to indulge the fantasies of a single half-foot, until one day, out of nowhere, the sky opened up. 

From massive tears in the fabric of the sky itself, long and terrifying arms descended down and began to pluck people out of their homes and villages, massive eyes peeking out from the dark void beyond the stars above.

Destruction rained, for a brief moment, the world itself seemed like it was going to end. But what Lymsie saw was the culmination of everything she had ever hoped for. Ancient magic, pouring out from the heavens themselves, right there for her to see.

And then it stopped. As quickly as the chaos began, it ended, and with it, Lymsie saw her dreams falling away as well. She knew then, she had to discover what happened. Whatever it takes, she knew that she would do it. Her goals, for once, finally seemed to be in reach!

Even with the desire of elves to keep their ancient magic hidden, in the end there was very little they could do to hide what had happened; the secret of the dungeon’s magic became known. The infinite well of energy that existed beyond the stars, the malevolent will that only desired to feed, and, of course, the entire kingdom that had sprung up overnight.

Rumors flew, of the king who had conquered and devoured the demon, and what was more, of the mysterious mages that had ruled the kingdom before him. The lunatic mage, who rumors say had cursed the kingdom with immortality, it was confirmation; the impossible could be done. Magic could free her from the shackles of her fate.

There were even more rumors, of resurrections and ancient magic, so much that Lymsie couldn’t discern fact from fiction. They couldn’t all be true, could they? She would never know, unless she tried.

She set out to the Golden Kingdom, to uncover the truth at any costs. It was a long and grueling journey to be undertaken alone by someone so small, but her affluence helped lighten the load. Though nothing could keep the travels from being long, it became clearer and clearer as she kept on, that the Golden Kingdom was alive with ancient magic, a kingdom that had been touched so deeply by the past that the very ground was charged with mana.

She was singleminded in her goals, to seek out the truth of what had happened that day, to uncover the center of this grand mystery. And luckily, the kingdom was abuzz with travelers, it seemed that whatever had happened had left the kingdom in dire need of subjects, and they were accepting anyone. 

Moreover, they were accepting anyone, of any race. Lymsie had never met a kobold or orc before in her life, and suddenly she found herself surrounded by them. Not only that, but they were welcome as much as any other. 

Lymsie tried not to hope, tried not to let herself believe that she could be accepted as well, if other ‘lesser’ races had found themselves welcome, could she be as well? It was almost frightening to imagine after how long she had spent being rejected by others.

There came a point, as Lymsie settled into her base of operations (she refused to call it a home without her parents beside her), that she realized there was nowhere else to look but to the castle itself. The newly crowned royals were the center of all of this, she was sure. 

She investigated every rumor, every errant piece of information she could, playing the conscientious citizen who simply needed to know what kind of place she was living in. She was but a small and simple half-foot who didn’t want trouble, you see. 

She received bits and pieces of information that told the story of a small circle of the highest echelons of the kingdom, who had come from nothing; privately, she suspected this to be a falsehood. 

Who could believe that elves would not have swooped in to appoint their own leaders? She suspected that this tale of simple adventurers rising to power through their wits and guile was simple mythologizing, something all dynasties did to establish legitimacy.

The king, who had devoured the demon, who had destroyed the only hope Lymsie had of solving her problems, and the sister who was rumored to have been resurrected from certain death, beyond anything anyone had done before, the half-foot who ran the adventurer’s union, at the side of royalty? It was so unbelievable that Lymsie had to uncover the truth of it all.

The sister of the king, the one who the most fantastical and obviously false rumors had claimed to be a dragon, was clearly the center of what had happened, and Lymsie knew she had to reach her. If rumors of her death were in any way true, she was the key to everything Lymsie desired.

Sneakily, she began to worm her way upward. With her money, it wasn’t hard to establish herself among the elite half-foots, and though she had no real interest in adventuring, she joined the half-foot’s guild, happy to pay their fees if it meant she could learn more about the mysterious leader who supposedly had ties to the king.

Asking around, it became clear, the rumors were true. He indeed knew the king and his mysterious sister. Waiting for her moment, one day, it happened. A woman walked into the guild while the leader was there, and Lymsie knew instantly, this was the mysterious sister of the king.

Mana radiated off of her like a flame radiated heat, and her eyes were a sight that sent Lymsie off, her predatory gaze giving her an unnatural and threatening aura. Lymsie watched as the union leader talked with the dragon woman, something that Lymsie had no choice now but to believe was true.

Lymsie couldn’t interrupt, but she now knew her target. She would talk to this woman. Discover the secrets she had hiding that had summoned the demon into this world. She approached the union’s leader warily, approaching the subject as casually as she could; was that the king’s sister? Were the rumors true?

She kept it as light and airy as she could, that this was mere gossip to her. The leader was cagey, unwilling to give up any information of substance, as he rightly pointed out it was none of her business. 

Realizing she had nothing more she could learn from the leader, she watched as the woman left the union and slipped out as well, staying as far as she could from the very obviously dangerous girl while still keeping her in eyesight, she was surprised to see the king’s sister stop to talk excitedly with another woman… or at least, she assumed she was a woman, given she had so little experience with orcs, she wasn’t sure.

She waited until the king’s sister was long gone, and walked up to speak with the orc woman.

The woman (my friend @vacamariposa’s OC! Thanks for letting me borrow her) introduced herself to Lymsie as Vur, and Lymsie suddenly realized that she had heard rumors about an orc working at the castle, something that many of the Golden Kingdom’s inhabitants found relevant for reasons that Lymsie very deliberately didn’t want to know.

As Lymsie tried to play her usual weaselly and evasive probing game, she found that the orc woman happily would gossip about the dragon woman, whose name was apparently Falin, and about any topic that Lymsie asked. Asking about Falin gave her a veritable wave of information, as Vur was apparently friends with the woman, and she got to hear outlandish stories of how the kingdom’s first feast was apparently made with the body of the dragon that Falin had been transformed into.

But what was more interesting to learn wasn’t anything about Falin, but rather came up when Lymsie asked how on earth a woman could have ended merged with a dragon; she learned of another woman she had never heard of before, an elf named Marcille.

Apparently, there was another mage the kingdom had besides the lunatic, and what was most interesting to Lymsie was how the orc gossiped of the elf’s strange obsessions with ancient magic; neuroses that landed dangerously close to her own.

Though Vur didn’t know her nearly as well as Falin, she still was able to tell Lymsie where she could find this mysterious elf, though Lymsie privately wondered if she should have been so willing to divulge these things to her, she thanked Vur and prepared to meet this mysterious Marcille woman.

Which lead to the fated meeting between minds who, by all rumors, would have to agree. Lymsie woke up early in the morning and headed to the castle. Being a half-foot made sneaking in perhaps easier than it had any right to be and definitely was because they assumed anyone who’d have problems with Marcille would be likely to be another elf, but in the end all it took was some minor trespassing on castle grounds.

And, as Lymsie knocked on the door, she was greeted by the surprisingly unassuming face of the mage who had apparently brought the demon to the surface, and introduced herself as a researcher of ancient magic.

“I sincerely apologize for my actions as lord of the dungeon!” were the first words out of Marcille’s mouth, at the same time as Lymsie asked “Are you still pursuing your research?”, answering her question in a way Lymsie truly hadn’t expected.

What do you mean, you’re sorry? You perform feats of magic that I’ve been dreaming of my whole life, and you’re apologizing!? Lymsie couldn’t believe it! And, alternatively, neither could Marcille!

Marcille, flustered in her usual manner, asked how on earth Lymsie could see what she did as a good thing; all the damage the demon caused and all the lives ruined weighed heavy on her mind.

Lymsie responded that Marcille’s mission, the one she had summoned the demon for, was the most noble cause that she could think of, one that she herself pursued; the secrets of immortality.

Marcille responded, no, you don’t understand, immortality is a curse, watching your friends grow old and die around you, you lose all sense of self, she’s seen it happen!

Lymsie scoffs, of course, how expected of an elf to think of how it feels to outlive someone; newsflash, asshole, she doesn’t want to be outlived either. Marcille sputters in confusion and anger and slams the door in Lymsie’s face.

Well. That could have gone better. Lymsie isn’t giving up, she decides, and she’s back the next day, knocking on Marcille’s door, and shoving her foot in the door before Marcille can slam it in her face. Marcille snaps at the half-foot, why can’t you understand that it’s wrong to decide someone else’s lifespan for them!?

Lymsie spits back that it’s awful convenient for her then, that Marcille is doing just that by hiding the research she had worked on from the world! This back and forth goes on for hours, Lymsie getting more and more infuriated by how Marcille doesn’t seem to grasp the potential she abandoned, while Marcille grows more and more conflicted.

Everything Marcille thought she had learned over her journey, flashing before her eyes; the acceptance she had felt she had over death was slipping away, clawed from her tooth and nail by Lymsie’s acerbic arguments.

Marcille began to doubt, really, as they argued, whether or not she really was as over it all as she thought; she knew that her friends said that the secret to a long life was simply eating well, exercising and staying healthy, but her father had done that, and she still vividly recalled how he had withered away in front of her despite his supposed ‘health’. All the health in the world couldn’t erase the simple fact that death was inevitable.

Lymsie could tell her rhetoric was working, she didn’t necessarily understand the intricacies of Marcille’s neuroses, but she could see Marcille faltering, the elf not being one to hide her emotions on her face.

As the arguments continued, Marcille lost much of the acidity in her retorts; part of how she knew that her quest to conquer death was wrong was that the citizens of the Golden Kingdom already had immortality, and they had become miserable and listless over the thousand years the kingdom remained buried.

Lymsie counters that many of the citizens returned to the surface and had resumed their lives, though now aging, clearly they weren’t miserable anymore. Maybe, just maybe, they were miserable because they were trapped in a single place under the watchful eye of a lunatic who took any complaint and punished them severely for speaking out of turn; perhaps that had something to do with it?

Marcille couldn’t deny the sense that Lymsie was making, but ultimately, her friends didn’t want to live forever, they wanted to grow old and die, as much as that frightened Marcille, it wasn’t her right to decide for them that they should live alongside her; she couldn’t use the demon to make versions of them that would stay with her forever, that’s what she had learned.

Well, Lymsie huffed, that’s all fine and good for them, they can die all they want for all she cares. Marcille gasps in offense, but Lymsie presses on; you’re right, you don’t get to decide who lives or who dies or for how long. But why can’t she decide for herself? Why does she just have to accept her lifespan? Can’t there be some middle ground here? 

Marcille feels a little pit in her stomach, realizing that she agrees. She’s terrified of that fact, though, terrified of falling into the habits and allure of the demon; and then Lymsie counters, why do we have to use the demon? Why can’t we research a way to live longer using the magic that already exists? Falin had been saved, hadn’t she?

How come Falin deserves to live and Lymsie’s parents don’t? As Lymsie asks that, Marcille’s heart breaks. She sees the despair on Lymsie’s face and recognizes it intimately. Lymsie explains, finally, a little softer, manipulatively; her parents are old, and she wants to spend as much time as she can with them. It’s not fair that she doesn’t have much longer with them.

As Marcille’s eyes begin to water, Lymsie realizes she might have gone too far, even as her rhetoric clearly worked, she clearly touched something deep inside Marcille she hadn’t known would hit.

Marcille sighs; she says  needs some time to think this over, and shuts the door on Lymsie, who isn’t sure if she’s won or lost this argument, as she realizes she has tears on her face as well.

Marcille spends the night ruminating on everything Lymsie said; she had always thought of the difference between lifespans from the perspective of outliving everyone she knew. She had never thought about what it would feel like to be someone on the other side of the equation; living your life knowing there were things you could never do or see, because there simply wasn’t enough time.

Marcille had always seen the length of her life as a curse, as a burden she had to carry, but seeing someone who saw it as a blessing… she had never encountered that before.

Even with how King Delgal had feared death so much that it had become forbidden in his kingdom under Thistle, she had seen that as simply an obstacle to Falin’s resurrection, background dressing to an adventure and nothing more.

She knew what she had to do.

The next morning, Lymsie shows up at Marcille’s door, and instead of having to force her way in, Marcille opens the door and invites her in. Please, why don’t we have breakfast together, so we can discuss our research together?

Lymsie gasps, she can’t help but reach for Marcille’s hand and shakes it as hard as she can. Oh, thank you thank you thank you, so so so much! She knows they can do it! You were a powerful enough mage to resurrect a woman from only bones, she’s heard!

Marcille is, admittedly disconcerted how much Lymsie apparently knows about her adventure, but that’s not important, she can find that out.

Now, Lymsie and Marcille work together to find a way to equalize and extend lifespans, for the shorter lived races first, but even elves; everyone in the world deserves to have the choice to live as long as they want; healing magic should theoretically be capable of this; if they can bring people back from the dead, there’s no reason that they should just have to accept old age.

In the end, they may or may not succeed, I haven’t decided. But they certainly contribute to the nascent field of what is known as “science”, magic written down for the masses, when previously science was the domain of elves alone, and they test the boundaries of medical magic together.

Lymsie doesn’t get along very well with any of the other members of the main cast; she blames them for how Marcille was almost convinced of the divine right of longer lived races to rule over the shorter lived ones, and while Marcille protests that framing, that’s really what it boils down to, right?

Longer lived races just deserve to live longer, the shorter lived races just have to accept their fate; nobody should try to change those facts, because what if I personally like shitting myself and dying?

… yeah, Lymsie still isn’t a very polite woman. She knows Falin is important to Marcille, and she’ll act civil enough around her as long as the subject of their research never comes up. And the less said about the rest of the group, the better. Their dynamic with Lymsie is… volatile, much like her personality.

As well, the dubious spy work that she did to infiltrate the castle eventually earns her heat from the vizier, Kabru, but it’s not exactly her problem they had prepared for elves and received one angry little half-foot, she says. Kabru is simply incensed that such an egregious gap in their security existed in the first place. What if Lymsie had ill intent?… did Lymsie have ill intent? He still isn’t sure, but it’s Marcille’s choice to work with her at all, not his.

Essentially, Lymsie is my answer to the ending of Dungeon Meshi and the failings I think it has. I don’t hate everything about the ending, I truly think almost every other aspect of it is perfect, even defeating the demon itself. I just resent the framing of how equality between the races is seen as a bad thing; and no, they don’t frame it that way, but that’s what it comes down to, isn’t it?

If a real life ethnic group had a life expectancy a tenth of the upper class, that would be considered the gravest injustice in the world; hell, to a certain extent, life expectancy is a matter of class; the rich can buy their health while the poor suffer and die, when we have the technology for that not to be the case!

I understand that I’m taking fictional worldbuilding entirely too seriously, but I find it fun, so I’m going to do it! This is my podium and you all are my audience to preach politics.

Lymsie’s design is inspired by several characters, though surprisingly not Frodo Baggins, despite appearances. Her hair was inspired by Barbara and Barbie from a manga called Shadows House, as well as a little bit of Rei from Persona. One aspect you may notice is that she has the same white eyes as Marcille, something IIRC no other character has, to symbolize that she sees the world in the same way as Marcille! Her outfit was inspired by the uniform of the magic academy Marcille and Falin went to, but with different sleeves, because I couldn’t figure out how to make them looked swamped on her. Maybe someday I’ll be brave enough to try long sleeves. Her clothes meant to look somewhat baggy on her, like they’re made for a child of a different race, not her size.

A lot of her personality was inspired by a specific song; “Show Me The Way” by Billy Talent; despite the song not necessarily being meant as being about the inescapable inevitability of death and only mentioning it in passing. It also works with her dynamic with Marcille, like, I can see an animatic in my head of it; I’d go into it further, but the post here is already so long that I think I’ll just save it for another time.

[urstruly-ghst]

pre-nrc deuce spade hcs dump!

note : i always imagined pre-nrc deuce as the classic trope of the 50's-80's trope bcz HIS JACKET... anyways, i might drop a fic of prom night deuce! is he going to be a staple now... yeah. he's my hype boy!

cw : gn! reader (but one part, i say "for the girlies" that is for the girlies!) food mention!

deuce spade

Deuce has always had a knack for fixing things with machines, so when any new features of the magic bike come out. Still, he can’t afford it (which is most of the time); Deuce would meticulously read every article to recreate it with his rooky magic and somewhat expert skills. 

The guy had many inappropriate photos from a particular magazine before he dated you; when Deuce knew he was serious with you, he burned all those photos. In front of his mom too! (Though his mom just thought he was burning old test papers). Must prove he is an honest guy, ya know?!

While he likes calling you things like babe, sugar, darling, and the like, he actually prefers to call you by your name because it sets you on a different standard from his other flings. Yes, flings.

Pre-NRC Deuce isn’t a player, but he needed some flings here and there to keep some reputation up. It wasn’t all that serious—a few waist-holding, gigs, and a ride on his magic bike, and boom. Week over, and so is he. 

He religiously avoids slang when in your parent's house. Deuce is not the prim and proper boyfriend your parents dreamed you would have; hell, they never dreamed the delinquent would fall for their precious child! Fate truly brings a rowdy punch to your dreams!

He never washed his jean jacket because he was scared it would fade in color. Deuce learned that he should’ve cleaned it after the moment you avoided him like the plague. It smelled like sweat and grease! 

He would take you out to prom and then never dance with you because he felt like the stares of people were overwhelming. (You both danced underneath the stars, though! 100/10! It was way better than cheap gymnasium lighting.)

For the girlies, he likes to tease you when you wear very light pink clothing and calls you his “Barbie” (if that ever exists in TWST, but let me have it!), but he refuses to be Ken because “Ken’s a prick, shows up in that plain and prissy attitude!” 

Gifts from him are so sweet! Plus, it's a good pick because Mrs. Spade helps in the gift-giving! The gifts range from practical, and so like Deuce Spade with the spunky little flair you always see him in.

Once upon a time, Deuce would sneak into your house just to eat a helpful of fries and burgers from a local restaurant chain that he always slumps in for a late-night snack. He’d bring his phone and plug in an earphone to share with you as you listen to a podcast or your playlist.

Deuce loves your playlist; it is PINNED on his home screen.  

MORE PRE-NRC DEUCE SPADE NOT KNOWING WHERE TO GO FROM HERE TO THERE BECAUSE GOING TO NRC MEANS LEAVING YOU.

Wait, imagine prom night was also the night Deuce slowly eased into his now NRC persona. OR HIS ACCEPTANCE NIGHT.

The fights you two have always end with you both crying. Healthy relationships are hard to maintain, but you both fight for this!

[johaerys-writes]

I love disasters!AU so so so sooooo much. It added ten more years to my life expectancy. I wish to see your writings forever, if possible.

Anyway, I have a question! How old are Patroclus and Achilles in 2024, roughly? I assumed they'd be in their late 30s or early 40s by now, and wanted to make sure.

And do you have any hcs about them in their 20s, 30s and 40s that you don't mind sharing? Like, are they still together? I goddamn hope they are. What do they do for a living? What are their relationships with their parents and friends? Any hc would be sooo welcome! Have a nice day!

First of all, I love you for sending this ask dear anon 🫶 Any opportunity to talk about my favourite boys adds ten years to my lifespan LOL don't mind if I do

So the age question is kind of tricky because you're a walking disaster and yet- isn't set during a specific time period. Like the Phthia years have a 90s vibe, and the Athens years have a late 90s-early/00s vibe, but I never really had a specific year in mind. It's just vibes mostly lol. But like, assuming we start in the 90s, then I think in 2024 they'd be late 30s, early 40s. And of COURSE they're together, haha. I honestly don't see these two separating at all in that AU, not even as a joke. They're each other’s ride or die and I'm not saying it's exactly healthy (oops 🤣🫣), but I highlyyyy doubt either Achilles or Pat would even consider the possibility of taking a break.

As far as jobs and studies go, Achilles finishes his Architecture major in Athens, then probably does an internship in an architectural firm while Patroclus works part time as an usher in a small theatre and also as a theatre production assistant whenever the opportunity arises, helping making props and procuring materials and generally just running errands for the crew and the director lol. Then they move abroad for Achilles to do a masters degree (in their mid/late 20s?), I was thinking probably Italy, and Patroclus of course follows him. After a bunch of coaxing and convincing, Patroclus accepts Peleus' offer to pay for his studies as well, so the two of them spend a couple really lovely years just studying and travelling Italy and seeing all the sights and eating ALL the food and gelatto etc, and generally having the best of times. And then eventually they come back to Athens where Achilles opens up his own architectural firm (with daddy's help ofc), and Patroclus does his PhD in dramaturgy and starts teaching shortly after (hot professor Pat PLS 😩🤲)

As for the relationship with their parents and friends: they both have a really good relationship with Peleus, better than they did when they were younger. Turns out now that they're older Peleus is great for taking them to expensive restaurants and teaching them about wine and stuff, or taking them on boatrides (with his divorce mini yacht LMAO). Thetis is also in Athens and Achilles does see her often, most times on his own, sometimes with Patroclus. Pat and Thetis are not besties by any means but they get along for the most part. But I still don't think Pat ever truly warms up to her tbh, and Achilles doesn’t push it.

They still often go to Phthia for the holidays so they see Ajax & co, Menelaus and Agamemnon both stayed in Phthia as well so they see them too. Odysseus returns from time to time but they lose contact with him after several years. Dio and Briseis do actually get back together after college for a couple of years, but it just doesn't work out unfortunately, much to Diomedes' disappointment 😅

So yes Achilles and Pat are definitely together by the time they're 40, definitely living together, definitely have amassed an army of dogs at this point haha. Like shortly after the main fic ends they get another dog, and by the time Laika sadly passes away, they already have at least a couple more. And it just snow balls from there. Eventually they move into a bigger place with a yard somewhere in the northern suburbs of Athens, and they just have their cosy little life with their dogs and their vast collection of books, and it's just really really nice for them :')

[ed-recovery-affirmations]

How can I get help without my family finding out? I don't want them to worry about it, but I do recognize that I need help as soon as possible.

Anon, this is a tough one to answer because I don't know your basic living situation. However, if your family consists of healthy, non-toxic people with a basic level of caring about you and your general safety, then I'm going to tell you something that may be hard to hear: you should open up to them. If you can't do it all at once, maybe you could ask for help researching therapists in your area, and say you're experiencing some mental health struggles and that you want to seek the support of a professional. If you choose to do it this way, perhaps you could take some time ahead of the conversation to map out what you are willing to disclose. Write it down on paper. It's natural for friends and family to get concerned and to care about the people they love, so there will be questions, and you might have a less stressful time in the discussion if you know ahead of time what you want to say. "No" statements can also be helpful in regards to some questions - "I don't feel comfortable answering that at this point in time" for example.

You could also let them know that it's really hard for you to open up and ask for help and that you really need them to make this easy on you. Another list you can make ahead of time is "things my family can do to be supportive of my disclosure." If they're a loving family, they will WANT to help you, and it may scare them to not know how, so having some guidance from you might actually set a positive starting point. It's a family's job to worry when one of their own is suffering, anon. I know that can be hard to accept. But their worrying means they care, and letting yourself be supported and cared about can mitigate much bigger problems that could arise in the future.

However, if your family situation is more complicated than that, or if you are suffering abuse in the home and are not safe to disclose, I suppose you should research your specific eating disorder and look into therapeutic techniques that frequently help those suffering. Try to establish safe spaces in order to practice eating normally, and take frequent breaks when you are in an unsafe space in order to remind yourself that this unsafe environment is not normal and not what you deserve. If you are able to create a safe space, remind yourself that you are safe to explore food and recovery freely. When you are up to it, try exploring your relationship with food and try to be free to enjoy each bite you are able to take. If it's hard or feels negative, it's okay to sit with those feelings and feel them. You will have to continue to practice that after eating, giving yourself self-care in the ways that work for you and reminding yourself that you deserve to love yourself even when it's difficult to. Create a mentality of self love, so that you truly BELIEVE you deserve better.

I hope you have people around you that you can open up to even when it's the hardest, scariest thing you have to do, anon. And I hope you have people who listen and respond with love.

[serafheljadeeeee]

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 & 𝟰 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗬

Everything that exists is vibration. We all are made of energy. When our vibration increases we feel lighter, positive and happy but when it decreases we end up feeling low, depressed, fearful and insecure.

After all, we all are humans and on a daily basis we experience a variety of emotions. It is absolutely normal to feel sad, angry, low, joyous, happy and so on. But as we raise our vibration, these emotions flow through us easily than getting stuck within, as they generally tend to.

Raising your vibration isn’t about being constantly happy and in a la la land. It’s about attuning to the frequency of the Universe. The way we talk to ourselves and others, and ourselves determines our frequency. Let’s start with ourselves first. Are we rude to the self, feeling guilty, judging ourself, and taking life too seriously? Are we thinking, “I am not good enough, I am fat, I can never do anything right, life sucks.” What if every word we spoke appeared on our skin like a tattoo? How would we communicate then?

Honestly, every word has a vibration and it becomes your reality. The harder you are on yourself, the lower the vibration. The main tool to raise your vibration is to live joyously and find fun in the simplest things. This of course takes most of us back to our childhood where there was no fear of the future or bitterness of the past because we were always living in the present moment and mostly having fun.

𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

You are mostly happy, energised, enthusiastic and optimistic. You start attracting positive people and good things into your life. When an unpleasant situation arises, there is a deeper knowledge that it is for your good and you are protected.

𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

You are mostly moody, depressed, lethargic, angry, insecure and fearful. Negative people mostly flock to you. ‘Why me’ attitude. You mostly play the blame game. You constantly judge yourself and often use negative words like “I’m unlucky, life sucks, I don’t like my body etc.”

𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 — is the quickest way to raise your vibration. Be grateful for little things like perfect health, a great meal, family etc. Love and appreciate the self. Love your flaws as much as you love your assets. Stop surrounding yourself with negativity — negative people, news and gossip.

• 𝘕𝘰𝘯-𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 — realise that we all are on this path to learn and accept others with kindness. Let things flow, don’t be a control freak. Use positive speech. Talk to yourself and others with kindness. Stay away from negativities in social media. It is a trap.

Spend more time with yourself, go inwards and give more time to your family. Have fun. Laugh more. Live in the present. Exercise is the mantra for a healthy mind and body. Eat higher vibrational food such as fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds. Stay away from processed, canned, frozen food, meat and sodas. Listen to music. Sound uplifts you and encourages a deeper connection with your highest self. Living in high vibration doesn’t promise end of bad days but it definitely guarantees a better life, making you feel truly one in a million.

𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗗𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗬?

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘊𝘌𝘗𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘌𝘟𝘐𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌

The first of these to look for is whether or not you believe your understanding of the workings of the world and the fact that you have ascended means you can hold yourself in higher regard than other people who have not yet awaken; if you believe there is any rationale in condescending thoughts toward others, chances are you haven’t yet started awakening yourself, and just that you acknowledge there is a higher form of consciousness which helps us make life better for ourselves and those around us.

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘊𝘌𝘗𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘖𝘍 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙𝘚𝘌𝘓𝘍

Second, a significant sign of heightened vibrational frequency which we can notice, is based on our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we exist. If you see life as a bunch of sticks, stones, people, and mundane artifacts, chances are you haven’t awakened to the point of opening your eyes to reality, yet. Conversely, if you look out and see yourself as a spiritual being having a human experience, notice the beauty and light of all life as observed in absolutely everything (yes, even darkness is beautiful), then you’ve likely reached a slightly heightened form of understanding.

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘊𝘌𝘗𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘖𝘍 𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘗𝘌𝘖𝘗𝘓𝘌

A third teller is how we approach interactions with people, particularly pertaining to learning or teaching opportunities. If we approach interactions with our ego in the forefront and have a driven goal to convince them of our perspectives, or to tell them theirs are wrong, we are likely not yet awakening. This isn’t just because being of a higher conscious understanding means we are less hypocritical or less aggressive (less aggressive energy, maybe…), but the ability to stop projecting our own negativity on others as well as your focus being on your own growth more than theirs. To acknowledge that teaching is teaching and not preaching, so to speak.

𝘚𝘌𝘓𝘍-𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌

The fourth observation I’d like to mention is highly important in acknowledging spiritual growth: you find yourself practicing self-love. To understand that whatever is happening in your life can help you to reach a higher state of understanding and no longer expect yourself to maintain a reputable level of “perfection” while getting upset with yourself for not managing it. To have grown spiritually a person must see the world as it is: beautiful and stunningly imperfect. And you, as part of the world, will never be perfect either. For one to actively practice forgiving oneself, caring for oneself, and with the goal of improving oneself, is a sure sign that ascension and transcending to a higher vibrational frequency is in the process. That is, as long as it isn’t while being condescending.

[naramdil]

Dearest hafsa,

I had reached out to you back in February of this year anonymously about my relationship and how unsettled i felt.

Well, I had my last conversation with him yesterday and I’m left with so many questions. It was seemingly going well for a bit after a lot of ups and downs with us. But He pretty much was not communicating with me regularly recently and it made me really anxious + unimportant. He basically said that he’s going through a lot mentally and falls off the face of the earth occasionally and doesnt respond to texts or calls from people in this period. I realized i cannot accept someone who has communication issues like this. He also said he has a really bad feeling about us and was afraid he wasnt good for me at this stage of his life.. and it all hurt a lot.

I learned a lot from this man despite how things ended. He is a lot older than me so he comes with his own experiences and insight. I learned about myself, my relationship with allah, how community and family is really important. I learned so much from him the last two years I have know him and still care about him and his akhira, even if he thought he was risking my akhira by being with me. He decided to make a choice to let go, despite my opposition.

I just don’t know if I’ll be able to find a strong connection like this. It takes a lot out of me to emotionally open up to a man and i thought i was almost finally done with this process… and this time it was physical, which makes it harder for women to heal from i heard. This was my first time i was physical with him in my 30 years of abstaining. Alhamdullilah i didnt let it go that far but it was definitely physical. Now I carry this with me. I just dont know how to let a man in my life anymore. How it could ever top the connection i had with him. How will it get better than this despite the challenges we had?

I really admire you and appreciate your insight. You are also a married woman now (alhamdullilah!!!) so I reached to you because I know that you value a safe, peaceful and spiritual marriage. I definitely didnt feel at peace with him. I questioned, i sought, i overthought. But I still feel like I would rather go through that than start this whole rishta process all over again. Astaghfirallah.

I guess my question is… does it get better? Will the man Allah wrote for me not give me these mixed feelings? Do I have to get through this awful bridge to finally reach him? I love that you’re in a healthy place right now with your manz, mashallah. Would love some advice, if that is okay of course 🩷🩷🩷

I have been sitting on this because I really don't know how to answer. I want to say that yes it does get better, but you have to have faith that it will get better. but beyond having faith you have to actively choose to be better, to make better choices, to choose to be around people who make you better and make you feel better. when you find the right person it truly does feel so easy. no drama, no heartache, no questioning if you're making the right decision.

but I also think that you have to work to build trust in yourself and trust in Allah to open those doors. like you can't just want to be more healthy, you have to define what that means and implement goals to get there, right? you can't keep eating the same foods and expecting a new outcome. so it's kind of the same thing. you can't go back to the same types of people, you have to want better for yourself and actively seek better.

I hope that things look up for you and that you find fulfillment, stability, and peace 💗

[soft-bellied-tannies]

Chubtober Day 19!

Today's Chubtober prompt is Virtual from fatguarddog's list. This is definitely an idea that I hope to expand on one day with a deeper look into the build-up between Namjinkook, especially the side stories with Vminkook roommates and their own relationships.

---

Jungkook had convinced himself to create an anonymous account and start connecting with online feeders after finding that simply viewing content just wasn’t enough for him anymore.

He thought it was the perfect way to participate in his kink consensually without physically committing.

He put his editing skills to good use, creating impressively believable morphs of his own photos. 

He had met a few men and women that he tried to connect with, but all of them were a bit too intense or demanding for his taste.

Jungkook just wanted to participate in a fun little roleplay for his own pleasure.

He never intended to even show his face, let alone build a relationship with anyone online. 

It was honestly just going to be Jungkook using his old college pictures when he was very into working out as before pictures with some pictures of himself now with a bit of editing as progress photos.

He was still a lanky guy, just without his previous muscular stature.

It was completely hypothetical for his enjoyment, rarely even eating the foods his online "feeders" suggested and never accepting the money they attempted to send for his groceries or deliveries. 

All that changed when he met Jin and Namjoon.

The couple had been dating for years, spending the past few years in a feedism dynamic until Namjoon hit his personal weight limit.

Very forthcoming with their own interests and experiences, Jungkook was overcome with his attraction for Namjoon when Jin walked them through the entire process of his partner's gain.

They were kind and encouraging, understanding and compassionate all on top of checking every single one of Jungkook’s boxes for his interests. 

They knew all the methods, tips, and boundaries.

Jin was motivated and invested in Jungkook’s progress while Namjoon gave him suggestions and guidance through his supposed big meals and growing size.

Jungkook kept telling himself to back out as he got more invested, but he couldn’t walk away from them so he continued taking random photos of himself in oversized clothes to edit more and more weight on his unchanged body. 

It all came to a frantic, desperate moment when Jin and Namjoon asked him to meet in person.

Jungkook had slipped up, telling them about his annoying new neighbors which led to a conversation about the struggles of the Seoul rental scene.

The moment the couple found out their online “feedee” lived in the same city, it seemed silly to limit their relationship to virtual means. 

Jungkook was overwhelmed and made the ridiculous decision to stuff himself silly before their first date.

He knew a few days was nowhere near enough time to even put on a pound, but Jungkook still ate and ate until he couldn’t anymore. 

The panic binge ended in nothing more than some uncomfortable bloating and indigestion - absolutely nothing to physically show for his poor decision.

His roommates, Jimin and Taehyung, had to listen to his spiral as he forced himself to eat an entire box of choco pies.

Jungkook claimed that if he ate enough to at least look bloated, their reactions may not be as bad.

Jimin told him it was a stupid decision, but if the couple truly liked him, they would understand if he explained himself.

He also scolded Jungkook for eating like that with no prep or research because he was making Jimin nauseous just by watching him push through all the food he ate in a matter of days. 

Taehyung just kept telling him to let the couple feed him for real.

He could see that Jungkook was already falling for them and wanting to give in to his interests so he needed to fully enjoy this opportunity for a fun and healthy relationship. 

With the bolstering words of his best friends and the intense hope for happiness with Jin and Namjoon, he showed up at the cafe with a stomach ache and a speech to admit his wrongdoings of basically catfishing this sweet couple into thinking he was actively gaining. 

Although Namjoon and Jin were shocked to see a skinny, cute guy show up for the date, it didn’t detour them in any way.

They had fallen for Jungkook’s sweet personality and passionate enthusiasm before any discussion of his weight was even on the table. 

Also, Jin made it quite clear that if Jungkook was consenting, they would have a fantastic time feeding Jungkook for real - tracking his gain and hitting actual goals.

With that in-person dynamic and a thriving relationship, Jungkook would certainly need new clothes sooner rather than later, but he never needed to edit his photos again.

[shaftking]

It would be one thing if the fat acceptance people accepted that they were obese and the consequences that come with it, but they don't. They try to push it as a good thing to be with no consequences. Even the heavily increased food budget cannot be mentioned. They try to snuff me out if I bring up how my binge eating disorder is genuinely affecting me and is an eating disorder. That is what I hate about the fat acceptance people.

But I dont ride that wavelength. I recently broke my binge eating trend by figuring out allulose pulls me out of the binge eating-mindset almost immediately. Add in the fact that my doctor and I figured out a medication that reduces my heavy muscle fatigue, making me able to lift some weights again, and I am set. I am now at a point where I am eating around 1200 calories a day and lifting weights while watching/listening to My 600 Pound Life as motivation (you know, it is what not to be.) They're 10 pound weights, sure, but I am a girl and do not want to be strong. I just need to do enough to both lose some weight and reduce some of the constant pain.

Will I post this on my own account? Maybe once I am far enough to not be called a hypocrite by the fat acceptance group. But it's a big change that definitely feels better than their stupid logic. I wish they would let there be discussion on how other disabilities can lead one down the path and how the weight just makes those disabilities worse. I wish saying "binge eating is an eating disorder" wasn't taboo. It just all sucks.

Good for you on working on yourself! I know that shit is hard. Tbh if you’re morbidly obese, even taking daily walks counts as exercise in the beginning of a weightloss journey. I wouldn’t stress about them too much as it relates to your own health and wellness journey, because it seems to me that no matter what you do you can’t please them because they are largely just looking for ways to excuse their own behaviors and put others down to try and quell their own insecurities.

And yeah fat activists absolutely hate people talking about their binge eating disorder because they’ve either decided to categorically ignore that it exists, or they have just decided that their binge-restrict cycle (if they binge eat and aren’t simply just eating way more than normal) is actually normal.

You also do bring up a good point about the cost it takes to maintain such a large weight a lot of the time. It can cost a whole lot to be eating what it takes to be morbidly obese, and it’s pretty laughable that fat activists will try to claim they are “food insecure” or aren’t eating enough when they’re either secret eaters (ie unaware of how much they are actually eating on the regular) or they are unaware of just how man empty calories are in the ultra processed food that dominates their diet.

Not to shame snacking or the occasional bag of hotchips, donut, ice cream sundae, or big mac, etc because I think a truly healthy relationship with food means that you can still generally have fun, nothing foods like these now and then but that most of the time you eat mostly healthy and stay as mobile and active as you are able. I just want people to be honest with themselves and do the best for themselves that they can, and to be realistic about goals and expectations.

[swugarbunny]

HOW TO BECOME YOUR BEST VERSION IN 2024

5 things you need to start doing to become your best version

Healthy Diet

Being healthy is one of the most important things in someones life. Having good health expands the range of things you can do, even in your day to day life. A few things you should be doing to stay health is having a good diet, exercising, and getting good rest. All of these are equally important and work together to have a happy and healthy body! When I say having a good diet, that absolutely does not mean have a exaggerated calorie deficit and under-eating. A healthy diet is one where you should be consuming 1600 calories at the least and 2000 to just maintain the weight youre at. But there is more to a diet then just calories. You should be eating carbs, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins. When people tell you to stay away from fruits because of the sugar dont! Those are natural and healthy sugars that are MEANT to be in your diet. All of those health tips you see about cutting out natural foods are total myths. The only things you should be cutting out are processed and unnatural foods instead of cutting out the healthy natural ones. We are meant to be eating what is naturally native to the earth. A healthy diet will truly consist all of your food groups (link to article on what you should eat). Another thing that needs to be in your diet is WATER. Water is so important for your body. It brings nutrients to your cells, gets rid of waste, brings protection to your joints and organs, and maintains body temperature. Its overall super beneficial and great for you! Please make sure the have THREE meals a day and each of them being balanced meals with your food groups in them. If wanted I can go into more depth and provide you with meal ideas!

2. Exercise

Guys I know it's hard to start a workout journey, but once you get it going YOU WILL BE ADDICTED! Exercising is amazing for your body and seeing results is one of the most satisfying thing, seeing the work youve done pay off. Research has shown that working out can improve your brain health and mental health. It's not just good for you physically, but mentally too! Of course it has its incredible physical effects like changing your physique, but it also reduces risk of disease, strengthens your bones, and increases your life span. Us as humans absolutely need to workout because of the fact that our species has evolved and we dont do physical labor like we used to do many many years ago. We have to get our physical exercise one way or another right? If you would like workout routine suggestions, workout channels, and workout videos just say so!

3. Set Goals

If you dont have any goals then what are we trying to accomplish!? of course becoming a better version of yourself is a goal, but you need to come up with goals for YOURSELF!! of course everyone wants to be a better person, but everybody has something personal to themselves that maybe they want to accomplish. no matter how big or how small or how accepting people in your life like your parents or friends might be of it, if its important to you then go for it. I dont just want you setting goals that you think you can reach, i want you setting goals that you might think are impossible right now, but once you reach them youll see that it wasnt as impossible as it seemed. pushing yourself to do more then what you think you can do instead of just going for what you know you can do will truly test your limits and see your true capabilities. take time to discover your strengths. I believe that goals are essential in life to really know what you want to achieve. with that being said it is definitely an important part of becoming your best version.

4. Surround Yourself with Good People

I know some of us definitely know or are even friends with some people who probably arent the best for all of us and our lives. the best solution to this is cut them off. I dont care if you think its mean or you think they are good people, i need you to really think about it and ask yourself these questions: are they a good influence, are they smart, and if theyre my friend how are they benefitting me? once you have your answer you need to determine if theyre worth keeping in your life. from a first person experience, the group of people your friends with directly influences your choices and your personality. not only have i experienced it, but ive watched people over the years change because of the groups of people they started hanging out with. having a good group of people in your life and good influences is one of the most important things for your mental health as those are the people you see probably almost everyday. the best way to find your group of people, is to be yourself. you probably hear be yourself in cheesy movies, but its true. you need to be your true self to find people that actually like you. one of the only ways to make friends is through common interests, hobbies, and experiences. so in other words being yourself will get you true friends that are good for you and fit you. so becoming a better person doesnt just rely on how you are, but how the people you choose to be in your life influence you.

5. Confidence

being confident is often mistaken for being arrogant or egotistical, but its just having love for yourself and being aware that youre amazing! confidence is more important then some of us think. it makes us more successful, improves our mental health, and just makes us happier. confidence in everything we do gives us greater motivation and helps us believe in ourselves more ( relating back to the goals! these are all connected ) in every thing you do in your daily life. confidence helps each and everyone of else make decisions for ourselves and saying no to engaging in risky behavior and activities ( OMG CIRCLING BACK TO FRIENDS TOO??). being confident is simply one of the most important things to have as it literally affects everything we do every day in our lives. always stay confident in yourself in every single way, from your decisions to your looks.

i hope you all can benefit for the five things that will improve you as a person in 2024 !!! if anybody has a suggestion for more posts , workout channels , and anything you may want to see in the future feel free to dm me !!!