#when i was a child

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

I do not want to be alone today,

but I am going to be alone today

[piqued-curiosity]

Thinking about the time when I was probably around 13-15 and I wanted to go to the mall with my mom, but I wasn’t wearing makeup, and she told me “I’m not going out with you looking like THAT!”

[marshmallowprotection]

Okay so - Kait, please forgive me for this extremely cringe and just...'ugh, really? 🙄' request. ;;

...would Ray like a...let's say, who does very much not fit in to what's conventionally 'pretty'...?

I've always been a tomboy, through and through.

I've never even touched makeup, my skin isn't...great, and I've never worn a dress or skirt in my life.

...what would Ray think of that?! He certainly seems to like more...feminine girls.

...aaah ;;;

Ray, please like me! 😭😭😭

Hey, Anon.

Let's make one thing abundantly clear so you don't have to feel any self-doubt, Ray loves you no matter what. It doesn't matter what aesthetic you prefer to align yourself with when you choose what you like to wear or how you like to use style.

As long as you are the object of his affection, that's the only thing that matters to him. You mean the world to him because you are the person that you are. He is obsessed with you and only you. That means that it doesn't matter what you dress like, what you look like, or anything of that nature. You are already his idealized fantasy. 

You don't have to change anything about yourself nor do you have to fill a role to be the person he loves. He already wants you as you are so there's nothing you need to change or feel insecure about when it comes to your appearance, personality, or what have you. 

You don't need to change anything about yourself because he is already infatuated with the idea of you. 

He's been dreaming of the day that you could come into his life so he would finally know what it felt like the field desired by the object of his affection. You are the very reason he's been able to survive in hell for so long. He has been living in what is basically a stewing pit of Hell for God knows how long and the only thing that's helped him get through this suffering is the thought of knowing that one day you would be able to join him.

Then, it would no longer feel as though he's suffering because he would finally have the reward at the end of the line. Ray would be able to experience happiness at the Eternal party because you would be there with him and it would all be worth it. That's his goal.

The only thing you need to think about is how to convince him that you do like him as much as he likes you. However, I can see where you came to the conclusion that he might not be as obsessed with you as he might be with someone who loves to dress up!

Many of the people who like him in the fandom are people who love to play into his theatrics and love of fairy tales. Not everyone, but a decent chunk of people love the idea of being able to dress up and play the role of a princess or prince for Ray.

The reason why a lot of people play into this is that everybody understands that what Ray wants more than anything is to be able to live inside a fairytale where he is the prince that gets to whisk you away to happily ever after. You don't have to fit the conventional role of his love interest in that story aesthetically or whatever you think you need to fit to be his object of affection. This is more about him being able to fill the role that he wants more than anything.

This is about him being able to be your prince. It's honestly less about you being the princess/prince for him.

Don't get it twisted and don't feel insecure about yourself because you don't feel like you fit into a role that is staunchly more quote-un-quote, “feminine”, than you are comfortable with. You don't need to wear dresses or skirts, you don't need to have "flawless" skin, and you don't need to be something that you aren't.

What I mean by that is that you don't need to force yourself to be somebody else to be loved by somebody. If you are a lot more comfortable not bothering with makeup or frilly clothes, that’s fine! You don't have to be interested in those things nor do you need to use them to make him like you. He already likes you.

In fact, if you are trying to be something you aren't so you can feel affection from another person? That person isn't worthy of your time or care in the first place. The person who is the object of your affection should be somebody that loves you back without hesitation or contempt for things that make you— you. The person you're with should love you for who you are, not what you can be for them by erasing yourself. 

So, no, you don't need to be whatever you think you need to be to fit Ray’s “fantasy”. You don't need to be a princess or a prince to be the person he adores. All you need to do is be yourself. It doesn't matter who you are or how you appear, if you are his MC, then you are the most wonderful person he's ever seen in his life. Male, female, non-binary, or however you identify, Ray loves you just as much as you love him. Girly, tomboy, or whatever aesthetic you have, he loves you all the same.

Also, I hope you know that you do not have to be “conventionally attractive.” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and just because you don't fit some societal standard for what beauty is, doesn't mean that you aren't beautiful.

The idea of what is "beautiful" is constantly changing and it never stays the same. That's why you shouldn't hold yourself to standards because they never stay the same. All you need to focus on is being yourself and as long as you're happy with yourself, you will find somebody that understands you and cherishes you the way you deserve to be. 

Don't just apply this to this circumstance that you feel insecure about yourself when it comes to Ray.

Take that lesson to heart as somebody who has spent a long time unlearning what it means to be beautiful. Societal standards can really beat you down no matter how hard you try to like the person looking back at you in the mirror. Once you realize that the standard that everybody wants you to reach is not obtainable?

That's when you should focus on being yourself and enjoying Who You Are. It can take a long time to learn how to do that and I'm not saying it's the easiest thing you're ever going to challenge in your life. But, what I am saying is once you stop trying to feel like you need to be something you aren't, it feels like a weight leaves your chest and you can breathe.

None of us are ever going to fit what societal standards define as “beautiful.” You have to learn how to see the beauty in who you are. There's no right or wrong way to learn how to do that. Everybody has to take their own path when it comes to realizing that they don't need to try so hard to fit a bubble that isn't for them.

You don't need to change who you are to be loved. 

The people who really matter are going to be the people who love you as you are. 

[noctuary-of-one]

29.03.23

The present is a cemetery for the past and I linger like a phantom. I lowered old histories to rest, shortly before I unburied them. I lie in familiar coffins, ask ghosts what they'd be feeling if it were me instead of them. This moment is weathered like old pages, my fingers decayed right down to the bone. So long as I hold the shovel, the present is an eternal act of necromancy.

-one

[cherrybeetle]

BITTER WATER BY THE OH HELLOS OH MY GOSH HEAD IN MY HANDS SCREAMING OVER THIS THE LAST VERSE THE CHORUS OH MY GOSH

[likealonelysparrow]

This orange tastes like childhood; summers when I used to wear bracelets on my ankles, and put flowers in my mother’s hair, and run around barefoot even though the thorns would stick me, when my brothers and I would hide from the blistering heat, peeling our oranges and trying not to let the juice run all over our face and fingers would but we’d end up hosing each other off when we failed miserably.

[baccan0pe]

.

[your-greatest-queen]

I just saw a body positivity post mentioning the inclusion of folks with missing limbs and it kinda surprised me? In all my life, it never occurred to me that missing limbs would be considered weird or unattractive.

I think that's because I have family and know people with missing arms, legs, fingers, toes, etc. and so it was normalized for me very early on. Nobody ever made a nasty comment to my uncle about his missing leg. I never saw anybody look disgusted by my bestie's ex-brother-in-law's missing arm. I've never seen or heard these bad things, and so I've never looked at these bodies in a different way.

And this is a prime example of why normalizing and positively portraying things in life and media are so important.

If everyone was exposed to fat, queer, poc, disabled, mentally ill people, and more from the very beginning with little to no negative themes, imagine: how would we all think and behave?

It would be incredible. Fat kids could grow up not being embarrassed about changing for gym in the same room as their classmates. Kids in wheelchairs wouldn't be looked at with constant concern or pity. Queer kids wouldn't have to go through the possible trauma that comes with the idea of coming out.

As they get older, they would start being introduced to media that shows the struggles of their minority group(s). Yes, neurodivergent and mentally ill people need to know the ways in which life may treat them. They need to know that they may be denied a job or be looked down on purely because of their mental health. But as kids? Why would they need to feel embarrassed about admitting that they're depressed, bipolar, autistic, etc? All that would do is make their mental health worse. And of course, that logic doesn't apply to everyone. Black kids will still experience racism as kids. But that just means they need to learn about their oppression. It doesn't mean they need to only be exposed to negative media or media where black kids are watered down to nothing but victims. It took me YEARS to see a film with a black protagonist whose whole arc wasn't only their oppression. Please show us media where the oppressed aren't just oppressed.

It would be incredible if these things were normalized so that kids could enjoy childhood without the weight of the world on their shoulders. Learning about the stigma surrounding who they or their friends are can come later, once they've already developed positive, or at least neutral opinions. And I don't mean near adulthood like I was with the missing limbs thing. No, I mean kids don't need to bear these weights when they're fucking five years old. By five, I already thought missing an arm was totally normal, but that being chubby was the worst thing I could do. No matter how much bullshit I hear about folks with missing limbs, my thinking isn't going to back up. I don't have to unlearn anything here. I already have positive views pertaining to those kinds of bodies, so anything negative I may hear will only educate me. Fat bodies though? I've had to unlearn everything.

If we could give kids media and change the way we talk about the world, we could instil positive views in them early on, boosting their confidence and making the world better for other minorities. When the time comes that they need to really be educated on the negatives, they will be just that. Educated.

These kids would all grow up to be adults who don't look down on each other or themselves. There could come a day when we wouldn't even have to teach them fear and hatred. If all of these kids grew up like this and then raised their own kids like this, there could come a day when we don't have to tell the little gay kid that he could be beaten in the street for daring to hold a boy's hand or the poc kid that they could experience the same just for having a different skin colour.

Imagine a world where we could tell our kids "this is your history, it has not always been good" rather than "this is your life, be careful."

There's so much that needs to go into creating change, but normalizing things is such a huge part of it.

Imagine a world with minority groups being so normalized and accepted that it doesn't even occur to anybody that they've always been considered different.

Imagine.

[ihavewritersblockbutinreallife]

Anybody else find that show that you loved when you were younger and rewatch it and realize how...

Off it is?

Yeah that's what this is

It's literally a show about a twerking lemur

Sprinkle in (a lot) of dirty jokes

Some moral lessons (that King Julien never pays attention to) just to keep the kids learning

⭐️Musical numbers⭐️

And very colorful characters...

And boom! Great show right there still love it never gonna forget it

[psihoactiv]

i kinda wish i was the type of sweet girl who is up for dessert after a meal and doesnt immediately think 'those calories are better spent drinking' but here we are

[kingsephir]

Dude being married is like a superpower sometimes. I can like literally have a crush on another man, be chatting with him and he might have some sort of inkling but INSTEAD of being super flirty back they’re just a total bro???? AMAZING INCREDIBLE IT’S LIKE IM A MAN. MOSTLY IMMUNE TO THE WILES OF OTHERS 😩😩😩😩

Men chill with me women swoon over me????? I’m still feeling that first meeting party high.

I cannot believe how well it went oh my god.

[pettyprocrastination]

Living in a house full of people who all have anxiety but do not take MY anxiety seriously has got to be some sort of joke by God

[cemeterything]

are we still doing this because i have a late submission

[gifti3]

I wanna make a scrapbook but its just filled with characters i like lol

[july-19th-club]

seriously have been thinking about this all night long. call me autistic but the fact that 90% of workplaces the point is not to get your work done and then be done doing it but to instead perform an elaborate social dance in which you find something to do even when you're done doing everything you need to do in order to show your fellow workers that you, too, are Working . because you are at Work . disgusting why cant we all agree that if there is no work immediately to be done. we just dont do anything

[mydairpercabeth]

Ares saying he hates his own kids and the worst day of the year is when they visit him makes my heart break for Clarisse more. Clarisse fights so hard for scraps of her father’s attention and Ares sees her as just another nuisance. He doesn’t care about her unless she’s able to serve him. But Clarisse (like Annabeth) thinks she just has to work harder for him to love her. In her mind, it’s all her fault. Which is why she is so angry when little punk Percy strolls in at twelve years old, no training and unclaimed, and immediately defeats the minotaur. In three days hes already got the gods attention and his father claimed him. Of course she’s angry.