#What does BMI mean?

[diabetes-health-corner]

Understanding Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is a calculation based on an individual's weight and height. It is calculated by dividing an individual's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (kg/m²). This simple numerical value is validated by research to estimate body fat levels. While BMI is essential for assessing potential weight-related health risks, one must consider a holistic viewpoint of a person before jumping to any conclusion.

Read more on BMI: https://www.freedomfromdiabetes.org/blog/post/body-mass-index-bmi/3957

[multifandomthoughts]

Support Team + Engineer with a Plus Sized Reader

Medic

Actually prefers larger people (heavy) and absolutely adores you for it. Despite being a bit awkward with his compliments, he absolutely tries his best. You may have to ask him to repeat what he says again because it’s so quiet and spoken under his breath.

When you have to do a physical with him, he makes sure to give you your space and find ways to make you feel better in what is considered a stressful time. When the results come out and aren’t what is considered normal for BMI, Medic immediately rips up the paper. He thinks it’s absolute nonsense since your blood work looks fine.

Whenever you have an issue physically, he does his best to take you seriously, and find the root of the problem, rather than explain it off on your weight. He wants to make sure that you’re healthy and that you aren’t pushed to the size because of your weight.

If anyone ever makes fun of you for your weight or dares to say anything about it, expect to find that person in a body bag, or used for parts for his new experiments. If you catch him in the act, all he does is smile and wave at you.

Spy

He has been with many people of all different backgrounds and sizes so he loves absolutely every single part of your body. Is another person who does not take kindly to you insulting your own body.

Has more than once transformed into you with his disguise device just to show you the specific parts of the body that he loves so much. Definitely has done it when you’re away just so he can stare at your body. Also sometimes when you’re out shopping, when you’re not sure how something looks, he’ll use his disguise kit to show you.

He’s an amazing cook. Anything your heart desires, he can make. You want an omelette for breakfast? Done. A rare steak? Enjoy it. He just wants to make you as happy as he possibly can.

Absolutely ravishes you behind closed doors. He’ll kiss any part of your body that you don’t love about yourself as well as trace his fingers down the specific area. Also insists on showing you how much he loves you with gentle massages.

Sniper

Sniper is a family man, and everyone who’s met him knows that. So when wants to introduce you to his family, he’s nervous about what his parents will think about you. To his delight, they love you, and don’t judge you for your size. They’re just happy that he has someone he loves that has a relatively normal job and life. (They’re bound to find out the truth later.)

He loves having you in his camper, hanging out with him and bothering the shit out of him. (Affectionately.) It used to be pretty bare bones, but now it has a bunch of things that remind him of you, and a bunch of little snacks for when you come to hang out.

When he’s sniping and you decide to come along, he makes sure that the spot he’s in is comfortable and safe for you to be in. He doesn’t want you to get stuck, or be an open shot for an enemy. It would kill him if anything happened to you.

He loves knitting you little things, and it makes you happy because sometimes it’s hard to find clothes in your size. Now you no longer worry about it, because you know that if you ask, he’ll make you something.

Engineer

Engineer absolutely loves serenading you with his guitar, and wants you to feel as special as he possibly can. He does it even more so if you’re ever feeling insecure or upset about your body.

Loves having you in the workshop with him. Because you’re larger, you’re able to lift and hold larger things, taking a lot of the weight off of his shoulders. It also means he doesn’t need to worry as much about you getting hurt as you’re larger.

He loves having you to his big family outings, as it’s boisterous and a bunch of fun. And because of the amount of people, and because he’s Texan, you never ever go hungry.

He loves having campfires, just the two of you. It warms his heart to have the person he loves spend time with him. You help him make the fire, and he either roasts marshmallows, or roasts sausages, whatever you’re in the mood for.

[es-draws]

If You Gain Faster, Does It Go to Your Belly?

Strap in folks, we’re going to take a deep dive into the Science of Weight Gain™. And for those impatient readers, the answer is…

Yes! Gaining weight quickly does seem to lead to more belly gains

As a precursor, I am not a doctor or medical researcher. I thought this study was interesting, and wanted to talk about it! But please don't take this as advice. Please don't go and gain based on the information presented here.

Let's start with some definitions. What types of fat are there? There are generally two categories - subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous is the fat we all know and love; the soft fat that forms just under your skin, and is most commonly associated with the appearance of being "fat". This fat can form anywhere on the body, and is generally considered to be the healthier kind of fat. Then there is visceral fat, which is fat that accumulates deep in the abdomen behind the muscle layer. This kind of fat leads to a "ball belly" or "apple" shape, where the midsection is rounded but also firm, since fat is under muscle. Visceral fat surrounds organs, and for that reason is generally considered to have higher health risks.

Next, when you gain weight, what normally contributes to where the weight will go? There's a lot of research that shows this is mostly determined by genetics. What foods you eat, what exercises you do, and other environmental factors contribute little to where the weight goes[1]. In general, people tend to gain more subcutaneous fat than visceral fat[2].

So now to the question at hand - anecdotally among gainers, it's said that if you gain weight quickly, it will go to the belly. Is this true?

Turns out, a study has already been done on this very subject.

Let's talk about the Science™

23 subjects (15 men, 8 women) - all of whom were relatively thin (23.6 BMI) - were placed on an "overfeeding interval" of 8 weeks, where they were given 400–1200 extra calories over their normal intake. This was done in the form of ice cream shakes, snickers bars, or boost meal supplements[3]. In particular, this overfeeding period is similar to a lot of the rapid weight gain methods used in the feedism community.

Participants were weighed daily, and body fat was measured at the beginning and end of the study. Body fat was broken down into 3 categories; visceral fat, upper-body subcutaneous fat (fat around the midsection), and lower-body subcutaneous fat (fat around the butt and thighs).

Here are the results: on average, subjects on average weighed 158 lbs to start, and gained around 8 lbs over two months. On average, they gained 1 lb of visceral fat, 2 lbs of lower body fat, and 4.5 lbs of upper body fat.

What does this mean? It means that during rapid weight gain, over half of the fat gained goes to the belly. But importantly, it goes to subcutaneous fat - the fat directly under the skin that we associate with soft, jiggly bellies. Very little went to the visceral fat associated with firm, round bellies.

Anecdotally, this seems to correlate with what’s commonly seen with rapid weight gain in the feedism community. Most gainers, especially thinner gainers, tend to notice rounder bellies when they first put on weight. But this weight also tends to be soft - often times, gainers can still squeeze and squish their midsection, which seems to prove fat has built up just under the skin. Later, once they've gained more or the weight has settled, the fat may distribute more evenly over the body. Again, this is just anecdotal. But the data seems to support what we see!

There are still some things this study does not answer. There's no data published on biological differences, for example. There are almost double the amount of men compared to women in the study, and AMAB folks are known to gain more upper body weight compared to AFAB folks. We do not know if these participants are gaining in different ways. Also, while subjects were on average at a healthy BMI when the study began, we know that BMI is a flawed metric. It does not mean they were all thin. Some may have been overweight, or may have gained weight or lost weight previously. These factors might also contribute where weight is likely to settle, and we cannot infer from the published data alone.

And though this study shows that gaining weight quickly will lead to belly gains, it doesn’t answer why. For this I have a theory, but that will have to wait for the next installment of the Science of Weight Gain™.

So there you have it! If belly gains are what you’re searching for, gain and gain quickly! But be careful… once you start, it may be hard to stop. And soon you may find that your newly-formed belly is just the start.

[1]There's research showing sugar-dense and high-fat foods leads to more visceral fat gains, but proportionally this is very small compared to genetic or sex factors.

[2]AMAB folks, in particular, are more likely to gain visceral fat.

[3]This study sounds like a feeder's dream and it gets my blood up just reading it. How do I become an official Science Feeder™?

[transmutationisms]

i don't like or use the word "overweight" wrt human bodies but i think when criticising it it's important to name & respond to the judgment actually being made. "over what weight" this is very much a question that proponents of this word have an answer to, it's a simple bmi cutoff claimed to indicate various health risks. the problem with "overweight" isn't that it lacks specific meaning or even that it makes a normatising judgment per se (though it does), it's that evidence of a direct causal link between higher weight & health problems is scant, & the assumption that the former causes the latter ignores social determinants of health, the effects of medical fatphobia, etc. human bodyweight has always varied pretty widely, relative to the rest of the animal kingdom, & generally speaking there's a lot more leeway health-wise when it comes to gaining weight than to losing it. forming the critique this way also helps us make sense of "underweight", which for too long has been defined also by a rigid universal bmi cutoff that ignores the fact that a person can be under their optimal or set weight without necessarily being emaciated or having a bmi below 18.

[themonsterthing]

I Like Being Different

Originally published on Medium:

This morning, I got pancakes with a friend and insisted before that we learn how to load her power chair into my car so I could take her myself. In case of an emergency, I wanted to know how to do it myself, so that I could be there for her. Over many delicious pancakes and much coffee, she shared that she was really impressed with her new GP — someone who actually listened and helped! (For the disabled community, this unfortunately A Big Deal.) What was most impressive about the new GP was that she never pushed the issue of getting my friend back to “not needing the chair”. So many medical professionals, so many humans, see that “normalcy” as what we all must want, so to not have someone push that agenda was sadly a shocking delight.

For a lot of able-bodied, thin, neurotypical people, when trying to relate to someone with disability, they think the goal for us is to be a skinny able-bodied neurotypical. When, in fact, for almost every disabled person I know, the goal is to have a body that lets them do what they want.

We don’t want to fit in. One of the first and biggest hurdles to being disabled is loving our body as it is. And once we do, why would we want to give that up?

I lost so much weight in the hospital, because of a brain injury and resultant coma. (It happens when you eat through a tube for two a half months.) I was a stick — I hated it so much. I felt like I was gonna fall over in a strong wind. Plot twist: according to the BMI (which everyone knows is bullshit), I was “healthy.”

HA. I looked awful. I looked wrong.

Currently, I now fall into the “obese” category. And I love my weight. The goal is not to be skinny, when I think about my health. The goal to have a body that does what I want it to. I want to walk everywhere, and I can. I love my bigger body, because it no longer feels like I’m going to fall over. I feel safe, I feel powerful, I feel right, in this body. Can I do everything I want, with my body? No. But no body can, and accepting the limitations of my disability doesn’t mean I’m different in that way. It just means I am more aware of where those boundaries are. (A metaphor: to a bird, not being able to fly must make us disabled. But no human thinks of their body as “wrong” because they can’t fly. My body is not “wrong” because I can’t run. I’m just different.)

Example: my voice is kinda wrecked (neurological complications from the brain injury). People often hear me and they think I’m sick. But, to be honest, I kinda love my voice. As a non-binary human, I don’t sound like a girl, and I don’t sound like a boy. I sound like me. Kids love me. Animals love me. I am a quiet, husky, non-threatening, non-gendered mystery.

The problem is not my voice, not how I feel about it. The problem is how my voice works in society. Am I sad that ESL people struggle with my voice, that I can’t really learn to speak secondary tongues; that I can’t sing? Very much. Am I sad that I can’t really work a regular job? I mean, not really, but not being able to afford to live is a huge problem in our capitalist hellscape.

As another friend put it, “capitalism is what handicaps me, not my disabilities”.

A lot of disabled folk share this feeling. (Not everyone! We are not a hive mind!) The problem is not how we navigate the world within our disabilities, it is that access is so limited that we often can’t. There are events my friend can’t go to her, in her chair — hell, she actually can’t even come to my house, since I live in a tiny old narrow many-staired inaccessible San Francisco apartment. So I go to her. There are places I can’t go, as a quiet human — bars are pretty much off-limits except for a Tuesday at 3pm (I don’t drink either though, so…). Access to the world is defined by the broad general category of ability — and it should be! I’m not saying that the world should not be built for the majority. But what I am saying is that there should be option, there should be asterisks, fine print, for those of us with different needs, and that it should not be world-ending to find those. It should not take a fight to accommodate us.

And for some of us (many of us), it should not be assumed that we want to get back to the “default”. We like being different. We just want a world that is okay with us thinking that.

That people assume that able-bodied neurotypical that everyone wants is harmful — not everyone wants that. And even if they want it, not everyone is capable of it. So we need to stop the myth that we can only find happiness in the “default”. That’s not only not true, it’s actively harmful. It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to want to be different. It’s also okay to fit in. It’s okay to want that, too.

Everyone just wants agency over their lives, and disabled people deserve that as much as the able-bodied.

[underneathitalldeepdives]

Gwen's Lyrics: Late To Bloom & Sooner

A few weeks ago, Gwen's unreleased song "Sooner" was posted on YouTube for the first time. The song, written by Gwen, Shane McAnally, Busbee, and Amy Wadge, was added to BMI in 2019 and seemingly came out of sessions Gwen had with those writers in the spring of 2019. (Another song written during this time called "You Kissed Me Back To Life" was spotted on BMI the same day as "Sooner." We still have not heard that one.) 

Fans at the time immediately guessed what "Sooner" might be about - Gwen's wish that she had met Blake earlier in life. Gwen posted what would turn out to be a line from the chorus under a throwback photo of Blake in September 2019:

This was about a month after the song title was discovered on BMI by fans, but time passed and nothing ever came of it.

As we know, Gwen eventually released a new studio album, "Bouquet," which did not include "Sooner" but included another song with an extremely similar theme - "Late To Bloom."

Here are the lyrics to "Sooner" and "Late To Bloom" side by side:

When comparing the songs, the thing that sticks out to me is that "Sooner" seems a little more personal and raw. It has a sad tune, includes striking references to Blake's previous marriage and his late father, and is more reflecting on the time that was lost. It's interesting her honesty about wishing he wouldn't have loved anyone else before her.

If she'd released this song, the line about "all the years you had to fake it" would have definitely gotten people talking. My opinion of this line is that it means that Blake and Miranda, same as Gwen and Gavin, had a lot of ups and downs, but as a public couple they always had to put on the best face for people and not let anyone see the cracks that were there. They had to pretend things were great even when they weren't (which is why their divorce came as quite a shock to the public).

"She didn't even know she wasted you" seems like a sister line to "And only a stupid girl would let you go" in "Rare" — Gwen likely believes Miranda took him for granted and didn't appreciate him the way that she does. But she is envious of the time that Miranda got with him before they met, time that she believes was wasted with the wrong people who just hurt them.

In contrast, "Late To Bloom" has a peppy tune and is more optimistic. It has more generalized lyrics that don't reference anything too deep, but still has a personal touch, talking about them riding in Blake's truck and picking flowers. The lyrics show that she is enjoying the present and looking toward the future, rather than dwelling on the past with so much melancholy.

It's possible the difference in tone between the two songs is due to the fact that "Sooner" was written when Gwen and Blake had only been dating a little over 3 years (and thus were only 3.5 years past their divorces), while "Late To Bloom" was written when they'd been together more than 7 years and were now married. It could be that the more time Gwen has gotten with Blake, the less it stings that they met so late because they have continually filled their years together with valuable shared experiences.

Shane McAnally would say that working with Gwen during those spring 2019 sessions (which included writing "Sooner") and hearing about her relationship with Blake helped inspire him while writing "Nobody But You."

“I had worked with Gwen Stefani, just a few days before I went in to write this song,” McAnally said. “When I heard the melody, it made me think of Blake, and it sounded like a love song. I just said, ‘We should kind of write this with them in mind.’”

“One of the main things we talked about was her and Blake, and she just was telling me how happy they were and how glad they were they found each other at this part of their life and they're just truly in love,” he says.

I notice in the lyrics of "Nobody But You," there is again the similar theme to "Sooner" about wasted time:

"All the wasted days, all the wasted nights/I blame it all on being young/Got no regrets, 'cause they got me here/But I don't wanna waste another one"

The longing to have found each other earlier is also expressed in Blake's 2021 wedding song, "We Can Reach the Stars," in the line - "We always said we wished we'd met long before we finally did."

Gwen again touches on this theme in a line of "Empty Vase" - "Why, why did it take so much time? You've always been the one I've been trying to find"

It's obvious that this thought has loomed large in Gwen's head over the years, how different things might be if she had been able to meet Blake earlier in life.

I wish she had released "Sooner" because it is a very honest and touching song, but listening to it actually made me feel a little depressed, too. It's just rather sad! I'm grateful there is a more cheerful and hopeful iteration in "Late To Bloom," showing a sunnier view of the theme of meeting your great love later in life.

[stylesclarified]

Hi! http://youtube.com/post/Ugkx3ofi1sUAUbsISr7TwTu5Tp7JN853X8D6?si=hkiK_ll2BTkcT0O6

Are you able to debunk this?

I'm actually working on another post atm (in between a million work meetings that are driving me up the wall), but I think this should be tackled relatively fast, it's so nonsensical.

For years, we've been fed a narrative that positioned Harry Styles as the creative centerpiece of One Direction.

No, we haven’t. Louis and Liam have discussed songwriting in countless interviews. Just straight up false from the start.

But what if I told you the documented evidence tells a completely different story?

"The" documented evidence shows none of them had significant creative input. I discussed this in detail here.

Let's start with the facts. According to official BMI and ASCAP databases

First of all, BMI and ASCAP share a database called Songview. If you don’t even know what you’re talking about, maybe sit this one out.

– the registries that track songwriting credits –

They’re not “registries”; they’re Performance Rights Organizations. It’s obvious from the start that this person has no real understanding of these topics.

Louis Tomlinson contributed to a staggering 38 songs across One Direction's five albums. Liam Payne was right behind him with 37 credits.

It’s actually 37 for Louis and 34 for Liam, but that’s largely irrelevant since their contributions are usually estimated at only 5-10% of the full songwriting credit. I broke it down in detail in the post I linked above.

Meanwhile, Harry Styles accumulated just 20 credits – the fewest of any member.

Well, actually, Harry wrote 21 tracks—fewer than Liam and Louis but more than Niall (17) and Zayn (11)—so this claim is just plain wrong.

You can quite literally count the writing credits from this article. Each of them is mentioned once in the main text and once at the bottom (except Zayn, who also appears in the notes), so just subtract 2 from the total count (or 3 in Zayn’s case).

These aren't opinions, folks – these are verified industry records.

This is just a goofy thing to say after providing verifiably false information.

Julian Bunetta, one of One Direction's main producers, confirmed this in a 2018 Billboard interview, noting that "Louis and Liam were always the most active in writing sessions. They had natural instincts for pop structure that were remarkable." Yet somehow, this reality never made it into the mainstream narrative.

So, that's a fucking lie:

I have a feeling we'll see a bunch of these made-up quotes.

The disparity extends far beyond songwriting. Multiple sound engineers and producers have gone on record describing how...

Source? Who were these engineers and producers? Does this person know what "going on record" means?

If they'd "gone on record"... there... had... to be a record. Where is it? We need names and dates...

Louis would "stay until 3 a.m. tweaking backing vocals that weren't even his,"

There's so much wrong in such a tiny sentence.

1- Louis himself can't sing. His own vocal takes, the final ones in 1D albums, are often flat. And I'm not even talking about backing vocals. I'm talking about the main vocals.

2- What does "tweaking" even mean in this context? It can't be singing over them, because he barely sings any backing vocals as it is. Does this person mean go over them on autotune? Stack them? That would land him a producer role and he has never produced a single 1D track.

Producers for Midnight Memories:

Julian Bunetta, Carl Falk, Tom Fletcher, Teddy Geiger, Danny Jones, Jacknife Lee, Dougie Poynter, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Matt Rad, John Ryan, Jamie Scott, Toby Smith, Ryan Tedder

Producers for Four:

Julian Bunetta, Pär Westerlund, John Ryan, Teddy Geiger, Steve Robson, Matt Rad, Jamie Scott, Ian Franzino, Afterhrs

Producers for Made in the AM:

Julian Bunetta, Jesse Shatkin, John Ryan, Afterhrs, Johan Carlsson, Jamie Scott

3- Where, physically, did he stay until 3 AM? Because they had zero input in albums 1 and 2, and most parts of albums 3 to 5 was recorded in hotel rooms while they were touring.

Like this:

They recorded in their hotel rooms putting mattresses up to help with soundproofing. Most of the last several albums were recorded this way.

There wasn't really a lot of studio time. And if there had been studio time, it'd have to be booked. You can only use it for the amount of time you've hired it. You can't just stay until 3 AM.

Louis wouldn't be able to go over vocal tracks on his own either. He'd need the vocal stems and the programs to edit them, which he absolutely wouldn't have. I mean, the fact that he was never credited as a producer says enough.

while Liam was "meticulous about vocal takes, often doing many more than required."

I’m sure Liam would’ve loved to be meticulous. Honestly, I think they all would’ve preferred that, but that’s not how it actually worked in reality. It’s one of the reasons their albums sound so poorly produced. They didn’t have time for multiple vocal takes—they were recording in their free time between shows while touring. Their voices were already exhausted from performing, and they just didn’t have the physical time to do things properly.

Just listen to the vocals on any random 1D song. They sound robotic and underdeveloped, and the way they sit in the mix feels awkward. At times, they even sound like chipmunks. The one I'm linking below, Fireproof, is one of the better-produced tracks they have and it still sounds like shit.

Compare to any random song of Harry's. Listen to the way the backing vocals sound and how the entire sound is mixed...

Or Niall's... and this song was produced by the same team as 1D!

Liam did not do "many more vocal takes than required" because none of them did.

According to these sources, Harry was more of a "get in, do your part, get out type" in the studio.

Once again, who are these sources? Names? Where did they say this? The fact that 1D barely went into the studio already makes this whole "statement" sus.

Even more revealing are the accounts of how band members supported each other. When Niall Horan struggled with confidence in his vocals, it was Louis and Liam who consistently advocated for him.

What’s the connection between a lack of confidence in one’s vocals and someone advocating for you? Does this person even know what "advocating" means? If Niall was struggling with his confidence, what he needed was support and a hug, not advocacy.

Former tour personnel have described how Louis would declare "If Niall's not singing, I'm not singing" when management tried to minimize Horan's contributions.

Source? Why would "tour personnel" know about this? This is the kind of conversation 1D would have with their producers, and tour personnel wouldn’t have been present in their hotel rooms or in the studio (the few times they recorded there).

Niall always had more solos than Louis, so why would Louis even say that in the first place? And why would management have any control over anyone’s contributions? An artist’s management doesn’t get to dictate what happens in the studio—that’s 100% up to the producers. Sure, the producers might be following orders, but those orders would come from the record label, not from the management.

Meanwhile, Liam provided technical coaching and emotional support to both Niall and Zayn when they faced challenges.

Liam provided emotional support to Zayn? The same Liam who had an actual fistfight with Zayn backstage? If you say so lmao

What's fascinating is that we simply don't see similar accounts of Harry taking on these supportive roles.

Harry at his guitarist Mitch's concert in New York (left) and at his keyboardist Madi Diaz's concert in London (right)

Harry signed Mitch to his record label...

When one of his live band members left to pursue her solo career, Harry gave her an opening act slot in her home country—for his sold stadium show there, btw. This is them right after:

This is Harry cheering on Pauli Lovejoy, his musical director, when Pauli opened for him in Wembley:

All of Harry's live band members got an opening act slot at Wembley. I think the man is as supportive as a person can be.

We didn't get to see this side of any of them in 1D because 1D's team had other priorities.

Sandy Beales, their touring bassist, revealed that "when Niall was going through that rough patch with his confidence, it was Louis and Liam who were constantly building him up. Harry was more... separate. Not in a bad way, just focused on different things."

So, Sandy Beales never said this. I know, shocking this person would just... make it up. I searched up and down for this quote and it straight up doesn't exist. I don't think Sandy would be too pleased to see his name being used in this way.

There's no indication Niall ever suffered with his confidence, for the record. That's literally old Larry fan fiction that Niall himself has denied.

This isn't about tearing down Harry Styles. He brought undeniable charisma and a distinctive voice to One Direction.

This is absolutely about tearing down Harry Styles, and the ending of this text will show it.

But the evidence suggests that the foundation of One Direction's musical output – the songwriting, the production involvement, the vocal arrangements – was built more substantially by his bandmates, particularly Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne.

Once again with "the" evidence while not providing any, let alone all of it.

Louis and Liam had ZERO involvement in 1D's production and vocal arrangements. Z E R O. And their involvement in songwriting was minimal. They have a lot of credits, sure, but the involvement in each of those songs was minimal. I literally broke it down in a post not too long ago, which I have already linked.

So why the disconnect? Media studies professor Dr. Emma Collins may have the answer. Her 2022 research documented how management deliberately positioned Styles as the band's centerpiece regardless of his actual contributions. She found that Styles received 64% more media coverage than Tomlinson despite the latter's substantially larger creative input. "What we observed was a textbook case of media narrative construction," Collins wrote.

Hey, so, quick question... is this fanfiction? Am I reading fanfiction?

Like...?

Once again, "management" would have no hand in this. That would be their publicists. The insistence of this obscure, almighty figure of "management" denotes that this person is a straight up conspiracy theorist. Probably a former Larrie disillusioned with Harry's choices and how much more successful he is than the rest of his former bandmates, particularly Louis.

This manufactured narrative continued into their solo careers. Industry reports show that Columbia Records allocated approximately three times the marketing budget to Styles' debut compared to his former bandmates.

Why would Columbia, which only signed Harry as a solo artist, allocate any marketing budget to the other four? This person isn't just making shit up—they actually don't understand a single part of what they're talking about with such confidence. This is fanfiction.

Louis is signed to BMG, Liam was signed to Republic, Niall is signed to Capitol Records, and Zayn was first signed to RCA, and is currently signed to Mercury Records.

If this person is trying to say that Columbia allocated three more times the marketing budget to Harry than his bandmate's record companies did them, she should've... said that. And how would that be Columbia's or Harry's responsibility?

Industry reports show no numbers for any marketing budget, btw. That's not information you can actually get as a layman. We know Harry's three record deal was for aproximately $80 million, but that folds together production, distribution, and promotion, so it tells us factually nothing about his marketing budget. We have no numbers for any of the others.

His connection to Jeffrey Azoff, son of industry powerhouse Irving Azoff, provided extraordinary industry access that the others simply didn't have.

Okay... and??? How is that Harry's moral failure? The others should make connections then. They had the exact same tools and access Harry did.

By 2015, during the "On The Road Again" tour, crew members noted Styles' increasing isolation from group dynamics. Tour photographer Cal Aurand revealed that "Harry had essentially created his own operation within the operation. Different transportation schedules, different security, different accommodations." This separation foreshadowed his clean break from the band once the hiatus began.

In a shocking turn of events, Cal Aurand didn't say this. In fact, Cal is a very close friend of Harry's and would probably chop his tongue off before divulging anything about band dynamics to the media or "insiders", positive or negative.

This is Jackson, Cal Aurand's son...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cal Aurand (@calaurand)

You know, this Jackson

Harry's godson, Jackson. Who was born after the band broke up...

The pattern has continued throughout Styles' solo career. While Tomlinson, Horan, and Payne have repeatedly supported each other's projects, attended each other's performances, and spoken warmly about their shared experience, Styles has maintained a deliberate distance from his One Direction past.

Harry Styles maintained a deliberate instant from his 1D past by.... performing a 1D song every single time he did a live show? Including singing it with his guest when he headlined Coachella?

Or what about the several minutes he dedicated to the band in his documentary, which you can watch here at about 14 minutes:

Also... Harry very much has seen Niall in concert...

And vice-versa...

As music journalist Alexa Richards observed: "Louis, Niall and Liam discuss One Direction as a formative, positive experience and maintain connections with each other. Harry speaks of it as something entirely in the past, a chapter closed rather than part of an ongoing story."

Is anyone else shocked to learn that "music journalist Alexa Richards" doesn't exist?

Her quote doesn't exist either:

What would be the problem with One Direction being "a chapter closed"? It's been TEN YEARS.

What emerges from all these accounts is not a simplistic villain-and-hero narrative, but rather a more nuanced understanding of how the music industry creates and maintains certain perceptions regardless of behind-the-scenes reality. It's about how media machinery can elevate one member while minimizing the critical contributions of others.

All these accounts are made up. This person didn't include a single real and verifiable quote and all the stats they did include are verifiably wrong.

In Louis Tomlinson's 2022 documentary "All of Those Voices," he reflected: "I realized I'd spent so much time trying to make sure the band succeeded that I hadn't always fought for my own place in it." It's a poignant statement that speaks volumes about the unbalanced dynamics at play.

I haven't finished watching Louis' documentary (I've been putting myself through it to write another post), so he very well could've said this. That sounds like his repeated underdog narrative. I also wouldn't be surprised if this person made it up either.

It's not "a poignant statement that speaks volumes about the unbalanced dynamics at play," because if Louis did say this, he still didn't mention anyone else or any dynamics.

Also, the documentary came out in 2023.

I encourage you to look beyond the carefully crafted narratives we're often presented with. The true story of One Direction's success is far more complex – and in many ways, far more interesting – than what made it into the headlines.

You should take your own advice because this was a mess.

A#HarryStyles is a selfish bitch no doesn’t deserve someone as amazing as #LouisTomlinson.

Ah, the truth comes out. That's what's behind this drivel. This is what The Hags do every single time, btw. They're all former Larries who hate that Harry has become so much more successful and killed all their Larry (and One Direction returning) fantasies. They behave like bitter exes themselves. Not only as if "Larry" was a real thing, but also, as if they knew for a fact they had broken up, and they were personally involved in said breakup.

#OneDirection will never reunite because Harry sold his soul for fame and the others want nothing to do with him.

This is plucked straight up out from the blog by The Mayor Of The Hags. YAWN.

He lost the brightness in his eyes because he sold his soul.

Yeah, look at this soulless man

He lost the brightness in his eyes, you hear me!

Do these people think we don't have an internet connection? What's going onnnnn?

Harry is one big humiliation ritual in front of us.

The whole "humiliation ritual" talking point is nothing more than a far right conspiracy theory. Just FYI.

If #LarryStylinson is true … Louis is the prize.

It's not true. And Harry has better taste than that.

Harry is just a miserable mess enslaved by the industry.

If he's so enslaved, how come he's been able to not release music for nearly three years? How does "the industry" allow that and why?

I'm trying to reason with a cuckoo, of course.

Louis is the one who is free.

Both are free. They're rich white men who don't have to work another day in their lives to live comfortably forever.

GET. A. JOB.

Speaking of, I have to get back to mine. Bye!

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Oh doctors still don’t know what causes type 2 diabetes btw. They’re still telling people it’s weight related despite no evidence beyond it being seen in people with higher BMI scores. Which I cannot emphasize enough does not mean much and I cannot emphasize enough that correlation doesn’t mean causation. In the US more white people get cancer than black people but that doesn’t really mean you’re more at risk of cancer for being white it just means there are a lot of white people here.

[themculibrary]

Steve And Bucky (Stucky) Masterlist 6

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five

a day in the life (ao3) - powerfulowl (StuckyFlangst) E, 20k

Summary: Steve Rogers wakes up on Tuesday October 30 1956, and doesn’t seem to remember his life that well. Why does every day feel so familiar? And why does he keep getting visited by tall, dark, handsome men who remind him of Bucky?

Amaryllis by paperstorm E, 70k

Summary: So do I remind you of someone you’ve never met, a lonely silhouette? And do I remind you of somewhere you want to be, so far out of reach? I wish you’d open up for me, ‘cause I want to know you … amaryllis bloom. // In 19th century Europe, Bucky and Steve are members of neighboring royal families. Steve is the heir to a throne he does not want, and Bucky is the neglected third child waiting to be married off and forgotten about. Trapped in unhappy lives by seemingly immovable circumstances, they find a way out in each other.

and the river flows beneath your skin (ao3) - Deisderium steve/bucky E, 114k

Summary: In which Steve and Bucky are forced to room together their senior year at boarding school, and accidentally soul bond to each other even though they kind of hate each other. All they have to do to get out of it is not kiss each other for a year so the accidental bond will fade. How hard could it be?

At Face Value (ao3) - lambchop33 E, 64k

Summary: Steve Rogers is leading what he thinks is a pretty normal life in Sanctuary, a bustling city with a large population. And a big wall around it. He has a good job and good friends. Totally and completely normal–except for the face he sees in his dreams. Every night. The face of a stranger. One he’s hopelessly attracted to. When that stranger unexpectedly drops into his life in the form of Bucky Barnes, Steve’s got to figure out what it all means, and how to handle it when his totally normal life suddenly is anything but that.

Chase This Light (ao3) - leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) T, 58k

Summary: In the modern world, where the creatures of myth live side-by-secret-side with mundane humanity, Steve Rogers is one of the gifted humans who straddles the line between mythfolk and mundane, and he's never told anyone about the day he healed a dragon.

Living in the city in human form, Bucky's managed to shed most of dragon-kind's more unpleasant tendencies, but he's never quite managed to shake the tendency to get attached, especially not when it comes to the healer who saved his life.

When healers start going missing, Bucky will do anything to make sure Steve isn't one of them, something that would be a hell of a lot easier if Steve could stand the sight of him. Of course, Steve might feel differently if he knew Bucky was the dragon he'd saved all those years ago.

First, Do No Harm (ao3) - BarqueBatch, SkyisGray E, 77k

Summary: James Barnes should be just like any other patient Steve sees in his Brooklyn clinic, but the mob enforcer bleeding all over his waiting room chair apparently didn’t get the memo.

honestly thought i’d be dead by now, but what you can trust is that i need your touch (ao3) - orphan_account E, 105k

Summary: Bucky is 37 years old; he’s unmarried, hasn’t had a Sub of his own, is definitely not ripped, comfortable at his job as an Advanced Practice RN at Brooklyn General ER, and just got his Five Years coin from AA. Steve is 26 years old; he’s unmarried, his last and only Dom has Alzheimer's, he's worryingly muscular, uncomfortable in his job as the government’s poster Alpha for masculinity and strength, and worries more than he should about his BMI. Unfortunately, Steve and Bucky meet initially in a not-cute moment. Bucky’s tired as shit thanks to the sudden alien invasion that shook New York and Steve is tired as shit because he hasn’t slept more than 20 minutes at a time in – well, since 1936, probably. Bucky’s Alpha instincts get irritated at the sudden presence of another "Alpha" into his territory and Steve’s suppressed submissive tendencies latch onto this grumpy bachelor Alpha and he only suppresses it further. Bucky’s grumpiness and Steve’s duckling impressionism aside, both of them are a mess. But since both of them are a mess? Their messes seem to fit pretty well together.

No More In Darkness, No More In Night (ao3) - OllieoftheBeholder steve/bucky, clint/phil T, 37k

Summary: He is the Asset.

He is the Winter Soldier.

He is a weapon, a blade honed to perfection and then kept in a sheath, a gun cleaned and loaded and then locked in a cabinet, an object to be used and put away until needed. He is a machine, a thing, an it.

He is a man without a country, without a past, without a face, without even a name.

He is running.

And someone is catching up…

Only the Good Die Young (ao3) - ZenaidaMacroura M, 23k

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a paramedic who is doing pretty good. He’s got a good crew, a good family, and a good job.

And then he meets Captain America.

May contain: Awkward conversations, even more awkward conversations, people hiding to avoid said awkward conversations, descriptions of paramedics doing paramedic things, Steve Rogers running in a very tight shirt.

Raise Your Glass (ao3) - minkeys steve/bucky E, 10k

Summary: Bucky knows Steve in ways that his 21st century friends could never even begin to imagine. Or at least, they couldn’t until tonight. It’s about time somebody corrected all those historians that painted Steve as a straight-laced, God-fearing soldier, and what better way to do it than over a harmless game of “Never Have I Ever.” What’s the worst that could be said?

Read, White & Blue (ao3) - JJK  T, 99k

Summary: Librarian Bucky helps freshly desfrosted Steve learn how to use computers and catch up on everything he missed whilst he was in the ice. Featuring mutual pining and cute awkwardness.

Runaway (ao3) - ABrighterDarkness, mandy3000 T, 20k

Summary: In which Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes grow up together under circumstances that no child should have to face, and Bucky paints Steve daydreams of a better life together, if only they could run far enough.

swallow my pride (ao3) - mwestbelle E, 6k

Summary: When Bucky first came back to SHIELD, Natasha took Steve aside and quietly told him that he needed to be patient. She didn’t offer up more than that, but Steve understood. He's been patient. If patience is a virtue, then he thinks he should be up for that sainthood that Tony’s always joking about him getting by now.

The Blind Leading (ao3) - SkyisGray E, 43k

Summary: Steve is specifically told not to fraternize with the independently contracted Winter Soldier.

the universe expanded (ao3) - foreverthyme M, 105k

Summary: There is no life without Bucky, or Steve and Bucky from the beginning onward and every place in between.

Treasure (ao3) - BlueSimplicity, greywrites E, 94k

Summary: Steve has finally reached the age where all those from his homeland journey out into the land of the Six to begin the most important quest of their lives; the search for the one thing that will give his life meaning, and allow him to finally grow into his true potential - his Treasure. Except, just three months in, it looks like Steve will never complete his task, dying as one of the Lost. Or at least it appears that way until a mysterious and deadly stranger named Bucky emerges from the shadows, in a dance of blades and blood, saving Steve’s life. Through circumstance and desperation, the two become travelling companions, Bucky teaching Steve about these strange lands he has found himself in, and Steve getting the both of them into more trouble than even Steve knows is good for them. As time passes, and their friendship grows, Steve learns that Bucky has secrets of his own, and a task he has sworn to fulfill. Steve only hopes he can change Bucky’s mind before it’s too late. It takes him far too long to realize it, but Bucky might, just might, be what Steve has been searching for all this time, and unless he can alter Bucky’s course, it’s not only Steve who will be Lost, but Bucky as well.

two gentlemen of brooklyn (ao3) - rooonil_waazlib E, 7k

Summary: Or, five times Steve and Bucky weren’t married, but sort of were, and the time they figure it out.

We always know (ao3) - bangyababy steve/bucky, bucky/thor M, 32k

Summary: Steve and Bucky were best friends until middle school when Steve overheard Bucky saying it was weird he didn’t talk. Soon after, Bucky moved away and they never spoke again. Almost fifteen years later, they’ve somehow managed to become roommates.

We Set a Precedent, and Now I’m Living With It (ao3) - Voylitscope_speed T, 8k

Summary: Work friends Bucky and Steve get into the habit of helping each other escape uncomfortable, awkward, or bad situations. Their escape plans get increasingly elaborate as their friendship gets increasingly close. That's probably why their whole office thinks they're actually dating.

When you stop being a ghost in a shell (ao3) - Bittersweet_in_Boston E, 12k

Summary: The first time the Asset hears about the Captain, it’s by accident.

[pinehutch]

When I say that I want to be evil

what I mean is I want to be powerful. What I mean is I want to be free.

Some weeks ago I spent more money than I should have on my first ever (ever!) two-piece swimsuit. You have to understand that as a child I was told I was fat, and as a teen I was told I was fat, and as an adult I've always been fat*, and you can't read your way out of the shame caused not strictly by the word but by its connotations.

(I know, because I've tried. I have been trying for almost twenty years. Looking for plus-sized fashion brought me to the digital 'fatosphere.' It made me a better person as I learned about another dimension of intersectionality and about power and oppression. It made me feel like I could wear clothing that I liked. It made me more informed about the diet and wellness industry. It's been over 20 years since I first read a critique of the BMI; it's been almost as long since I started wondering why gros/se in my close-second language didn't have the same (haha) weight to it as fat does, in my first.)

At the tail end of June, days long and scorching, I stepped into a two-piece swimsuit with a deep-v neckline and my whole midsection exposed and I spent the day in full view of dozens (hundreds?) of strangers. Cold, cold water on the joints; warm, soft pools for the evening. My hair got bigger and bigger. My neck and chest sunburned. My midriff stayed comically, blindingly pale, and everything else? It was lovely; it was fine. I rarely thought about my body, unless it was 'this feels nice' or 'my swimsuit is so pretty.' I took a selfie, even, though I deleted it. I was worried that posting it would count as thirst-trapping; shame has cored out and replaced so much of me. It was a good pic, though, and I wish I'd kept it.

What was true of me that day: I was a quite tall, very fat femme person whose feet swell with arthritis and whose hair takes up the entire frame and who's had cellulite since grade eight. What else was true: many people complimented my swimsuit. I looked out across the valleys and the mountains from the top of my almost-six-feet. I let my shoulders roll back and smiled at the sight of my bare skin gone blue-wavering-dappled beneath the surface. I stood tall. I made eye contact. I enjoyed delightful company, and let that enjoyment extend to the simple pleasure of having a body that felt fairly good, in garments I had chosen for the joy of it.

You can't read your way out of shame; it's only part of the equation. I didn't go swimming the next day with my family members, because I didn't want to feel them looking at my body and being disappointed that What A Beautiful Girl turned out like I did (though: if What A Beautiful Girl then why You Need To Watch What You Eat?). But for an entire day I felt like anyone else, gentle enough, good enough, in my skin.

It would have been good for me to swim with my family that weekend, because I'm finding that - as in all things - the practice is important. You can't read your way out of shame, not entirely, but in working with and through it there's maybe a chance to rewrite our stories.

There's a fallacy that I think a lot of us fall into, when we're trying to counter and challenge fatphobia, both culturally and in ourselves. It's the fallacy of the Good Fat. It's why I want to tell you about how two-pieces are maybe a better swimwear choice for me because of the drastic difference between my tits and hips vs my waist. It's why I wanted to post that selfie, so people could shoutycaps and fire emoji me on twitter. It's why I want to craft this post into a narrative where spending a single day mostly-unburdened by body shame has led to a hot girl summer, and I'm walking for miles every day and going to the pool four times a week. (I'm not. I still have a day job, and writing to do, and a physical disability, and the ol' depression. I'm more active than I was three months ago, and working to improve that, but still. It's not a lot.)

It is, simply, the same lie as we tell ourselves along so many different axes of marginalization: that as long as we are exceptional in a way equal and opposite to our marginalization, we'll be fine. It's the model that says you earn the right to exist fat and unashamed by being healthy, by being active, by being hot. Sorry my hip is squished against yours on the airplane; at least I've got a nice face and good hair and am well-dressed, wanna admire my hip-to-waist ratio about it?

There's no such thing as a Good Fat because we live in an inherently fatphobic world. I mean: airplane seats are too small for anyone average sized. I mean: 20 years ago I was a size 16/18 and couldn't fit into the newer lecture hall seats at my university without a lot of stress and embarrassment. I mean: I can't buy a compression sleeve for my arthritic joints at the drug store. If I ever needed to take Plan B, it might not work because I weigh (as do most adults of my acquaintance) more than 165lbs. You cannot be hot enough or active enough or well-dressed enough to escape from this; the only option is to be Not Fat.

But why on earth would we want to accept this? We know the system is fucked up and evil, and so: we want to be evil. Just a little bit, just enough. We want to be hot villains. We want to serve cunt and to be cunts. We want to nailcare emoji, fire emoji, crown emoji, and we want to take no prisoners unless it's between our thick thick thighs. Sit on their face; if they die, they die. It's fun and sexy, in a world where "everything is sex, except sex, which is power" to dig in and grab handfuls of what looks like empowerment, fuck the rest of it, get what makes you feel best.

It's a mirage; freedom doesn't live there.

Because of course fat people are hot. Fat bodies are desirable. Fat bodies are strong, sometimes, and athletic, sometimes, and powerful in whatever way you'd like to read that. That's true no matter what.

And yet (this will hurt) fat bodies are still (I'm sorry, I'm so sorry) not good enough. If the system is the problem, your individual empowerment is not the (whole) solution.

When I say that I want to be evil, what I mean is I want to be free. I want the strange rare days I've known I was desirable because I was desired, specifically and individually. I want the days where I grant myself dignity. I want the day where I lived peacefully in my mostly-naked body around hundreds of strangers, and went to bed happy.

Reading is input, it's taking in. I can't read my way all the way out of fatphobia, out of body shame because that's like trying to put out a forest fire 2000km away by throwing baking soda on your stove element. (Not harmful, but insufficient and misdirected.) It has been so helpful to know that other people wrestle with all of this, in ways that are more intelligent and expert than mine; it doesn't change material reality, though.

It's not the shame that's the problem, but where it comes from. It's not my internalized fatphobia or low self-worth or lack of body confidence that keeps people from life-saving medical care because their doctors were obsessed with their weight instead of their symptoms. My soft abdomen has never shamed a stranger on the internet, my calves (never in tall boots) haven't forced someone to buy a second seat.

Maybe it's time that I redefine what I mean when I say I want to be evil. I want to be a hot villain that was justified in their takedown of the status quo. I want to put a crown on every head. I want these thick thighs under me as I pull you into my lap and love you, and to use those fire emojis to make room for new growth.

I want us all at the pool together, celebrating as the sun sets.

*I'm using "fat" to here mean something like "size 16 US women's or larger," but there's no good definition

[never-forget-viva-la-pluto]

HOUSE MD SPOILERS below the cut

I just LOVE the ending. I hate it, but I love it and I want to talk about why it was actually so fucking good.

Tbh I love that Wilson, not House, is the one diagnosed with cancer.

Like it would have been so easy to end on the tempting note of House's actions having consequences and his drug use wrecking his body to the point of precancerous conditions that manfiest into the death he craved and nearly saw several times in the series, but they didn't. They could have given the character who is too disabled to exercise and has a diet of drugs and alcohol the cancer, but they didnt.

They said, no, the one who eats well and exercises regularly gets cancer. The one who blow dries his hair every morning and never does drugs(except the times he was roofied by House) and takes care of himself is diagnosed with terminal cancer and there is nothing to be done.

Because that's how cancer is. You can be in the best physical and mental shape of anyone and still lose to cancer, and fast. Sometimes the guy who eats nothing but fast food and has never checked his bmi will be the one whose organs last longer than his friend who eats balanced meals everyday and never done a thing to harm his body. Because that's how cancer is.

Cancer doesn't spare you because you're supposed to be the Watson to his Sherlock. Cancer doesn't spare you because you're an oncologist. Cancer doesn't spare you because your friend is the one who does drug and youre clean. Cancer doesnt spare you because all your meals were homecooked and made with your body's health in mind.

In this story, Sherlock fakes his death so Watson won't have to die alone. Because even the best detective is rendered useless in the face of his best friend's cancer.

I love that the story stuck to its guns and shot Wilson in the dead center of his clavicle.

Because "Cancer is Boring".

For a show that never stops trying to one up itself every episode to come up with the most insane medical conditions, ending it with the patient being Wilson, and the prognosis being simple, boring cancer was the best choice I think they could have made even if I hated it.

Because I wanted Wilson to live, I wanted House to turn around and find some crazy thing that would mean he is okay and it never happened. Wilson was just going to die, because it's cancer.

Simple and boring, but heavy and painful. I wanted Wilson to live, just like everyone who has lost a loved one to cancer wanted them to live, for a doctor to find something else and make it all better, but that's not what cancer is.

And for it to end on that note, really solidified this show in my brain as one to be remembered. Because, despite everything in the series, all the metaphors to geniuses and God and brilliance and remarkable feats, this show is true to itself to ALWAYS cut House down to a broken man again.

He gets his old flame back, and he still loves her, but it won't take long for that to end bitterly.

He does experimental medication, it fixes his pain and he can do the thing he loves again(running/jogging) and he ends up broken in his bathtub pulling tumors from his leg and ultimately has to call someone to help him.

He gets goes to rehab, gets clean, and wins the love of the main female lead, but he falls off, he gets suicidal, he loses her, and then he goes to jail.

He helps people while in jail, then he gets out of jail, he fixes his relationship with his best friend, he helps people at his old job, his best and only friend is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he lands himself in a burning building while tripping hard and takes that chance to throw everything away for this friend who will only be with him a few more months.

At the beginning, middle, and end of the show it really says "God doesn't limp."

Dr. Gregory House is just a man.

[pinesfamilyguidetotheweird]

Gravity Falls Thoughts: Ford and Trauma™ (Part 01; because I know I'm turning this into a multi-part series)

So...when you start to think about it, Ford has been through a lot. Because of Gravity Falls' nature as a 2-season Disney cartoon, I feel that we've only scratched the surface of all the crap this man went through.

And thanks to the fandom...good Lord in Heaven, all the flippin' Trauma!!! Sweet Moses...

I mean, other than Bill Cipher and Weirdmageddon, Ford has a level of trauma that not a lot of people have.

Of course, Ford isn't the only one with Trauma™. Really, all four of the Pines are traumatized in some way. I mostly want to focus on Ford for now.

Now, most of the trauma Ford is given is fan speculation/interpretation. The thing is though, is that these traumas would make sense if Gravity Falls was given a more serious direction. (sort of like Steven Universe, a show that is more emotionally driven)

Okay...first things first, nutrition.

In a previous post I've made (I think it was about the Feral Ford headcanon; which I may or may not go into further detail in this series), I said something along the lines of how Ford wouldn't be all that bothered by weird looking food or could even stomach strange food combinations.

While a part of me still thinks this, another one thinks of something else thanks to reading a lot of fanfics of his essentially living off of nutrient pills.

This is from Ford having to be constantly on the move to avoid Bill's reach during his travels. I'd imagine it's a rare occurrence for him to be able to sit down and have a decent meal, either at an establishment or even hunting for food. Not only that, but you have to remember that a lot of the places he went to probably don't have food suitable for humans.

So, Ford has probably taken to nutrient pills so that way he's always on the go, among other foods he's able to preserve and carry.

The thing is, living on mostly nutrient pills could only take you so far before it could be more of a bad boon. Nutrient pills wouldn't exactly give you the appropriate amount of calories a human adult male needs. Especially if they are constantly in danger.

This can lead to some malnutrition.

Yes. I took time to research this so we can properly make Ford's life more like hell.

Signs/Symptoms of Malnutrition (according to NHS)

(Other than the main concern of weight loss and BMI being low)

reduced appetite

lack of interest in food and drink

feeling tired all the time

feeling weaker

getting ill often and taking a long time to recover

wounds taking a long time to heal

poor concentration

feeling cold most of the time

...feeling cold most of the time...

"feeling cold most of the time"

...And who wears a turtleneck sweater/trench coat combo during the summer?

And, lastly, Low mood, sadness and depression.

Furthermore, it would seem that Ford would have developed a low tolerance to actual food (other than bland, mushy stuff) and is probably incapable of eating a whole meal without throwing up.

It's a struggle to be sure, especially if Ford already has a history to forget meals, even as a child (may or may not be projecting here as someone who forgets to eat)...not to mention the months of paranoia due to Bill prior to being sucked into the Portal.

I'm honestly imagining a scene in which Abuelita (bless her soul) tries to feed Ford when she sees how skinny he is...or at least what she perceives as skinny. And no one (no one) can say no to Abuelita Ramirez. And it's Mexican food. There is absolutely nothing bland about it. And Ford does his best to eat it...only to scurry into the bathroom after three bites. He didn't mean to be rude. It was honestly very delicious. Ford's body just couldn't handle it at the moment.

At least Abuelita is understanding of the situation and becomes Stan's right hand woman on his quest to help Ford with his eating habits.

...Great, another idea for an upcoming fic...I had a title in mind but I feel like I should call it *Trauma* Ford Edition.

[iateyourburrito]

How Much Does the H.E.V. actually Weigh?

Hey folks. So as a resident loser and wonderer of useless things I have been trying to figure out how much the H.E.V. Suit from hl2 actually weighs.

There’s no actual good indicator in hl1 for how much the mach 4 weighs so we’re going to be focusing on the hl2 mach 5 model.

Part 1: The Puzzle

First thing that I did was figure out how many cinderblocks gordon weighs. In one of the First puzzles in the game after you get your HEV and the Crowbar + 9mm You have to use 7 cinderblocks to make one side of the See-Saw go down enough that you can jump to the other side. However, if you use 6 cinderblocks it will act as a See-Saw, leading me to believe that gordon, with his crowbar and his pistol, weighs about 6.5 cinderblocks.

Part 2: Cinderblocks

Now, there’s a few different types of Cinderblocks that exist. There’s the standard ones with the two holes and the prongs which I’m sure many have seen before. But the thing is, Is that the Cinderblocks used in the game are not standard Cinderblocks.

For reference:

This is a chart comparing cinderblock sizes and weights.

And this is a half life 2 cinderblock

As we can see here the cinderblocks used in half life are the largest and therefore the heaviest cinderblocks on aforementioned chart. (bottom right)

Therefore a singular cinderblock used in the game weighs 52lbs/23.5kg

“But wait Tony!” you say “What about the weapons??”

fear not loyal half life fan, I’ve got that covered.

Part 3: The Weapons

So after reviewing a couple videos and confirming, the two weapons you have at the See-Saw puzzle are the Crowbar and the 9mm

Now after a little research, The 9mm weighs about 1.7lbs/.77kg

The crowbar weighs 18lbs/8.2kg

Part 4: The Guy himself

I want to preface this that this is a lot of speculation that’s based on game lore.

So, Gordon. He’s 6′2″ and looks like a bean pole.

i mean seriously look at this guy. He looks like your average STEM dad.

But the thing to remember here is that he has been going through Hazardous Environment training, including the Hazardous environment course. Along with being taught how to use the H.E.V. which the weight (we will get to it at the end of this post) will absolutely need him to bulk up at least a little for it.

So now we’re assuming that he has an athletic body type.

Unfortunately the USAmerican health system HEAVILY relies on BMI as a “Healthy Weight” indicator so that’s what i have to use (I tried finding something else if anyone has some good resources for this it would be wonderful if you replied or reblogged this with those)

According to places like Banner Health (which is what i used as reference) the average 6′2″ Athletic man falls between 171-210lbs/77.6-99.25kg. I assume here that Gordon falls around 202lbs/91.6kg

Part 5: The Math

Okay so, we have the weight of the cinderblocks used, we have the weight of Gordon himself, and we have the weight of the weapons. Fantastic! Now to do everyone's least favorite thing, Math.

First The cinderblocks since they’re the foundation (haha get it) of our entire project here.

52/2= 26lbs                                                                  23.5/2=11.75kg

52x6= 312 lbs                                                               23.5x6=141kg

312 + 26= 338lbs                                                         141 + 11.75= 152.75kg

Next we’re going to get the weight of the two weapons

1.7 + 18= 19.7lbs                                                              8.2 + .77= 8.97kg

Great. Now we have all the numbers we need.

338-19/7= 318.3lbs                                                         152.75-8.97= 143.78kg

318.3-202= 116.3lbs                                                       143.78-91.6= 52.18kg

YAAAYYYYY WE FOUND IT OUT

The H.E.V. weighs 116.3lbs/52.18

congrats :]

[teddy-the-queer-wizard]

queer wizard back at it again

barely started t and honestly if it doesnt work out (if i dont like the changes or it becomes illegal idk) i honestly do not care

i feel like ive given myself permission to *live* my life however i want to, moving towards things i *want*

do you know other than maybe like "oh shiney new toy i an afford" (like a game system or something) ive never really decided or thought about things that i want from life. things that would make me happy.

because if you dont have strong desires for things they cant take them away from you and youre only a little disappointed

im in such a good mood.

and like because my family knows i want to transition and is (currently) leaving me alone about it i dont have to sneak around about everything that might give me away or have my family stumble upon my bag of needles and think in doing drugs

i can just try and experiment and do things and care about things

like. ive always been a depressive anxious person. and im not silly enough to think thatll go away just because i have what essentially is a new hobby and am planning on shopping for things (gotta love that retail therapy)

but like. hey if im getting on t, im going to be greasier. smellyier. to counter act that i need to shower every day - ah but i want to keep the pink hair so i gotta work on taking care of my hair while bathing my body every day - ah but ill need clean clothes everyday - ah but your sheets have to be cleaned regularly too - ah but ill be at work where I'll probably be sweaty and i dont want to actively stink at work like that one guy who was hated for it - ah but i want top surgery and they wont do it if my bmi is too high maybe ill have to start working out like my friend does

you see where this is going right? this *one* thing has me rethinking how im taking care of myself because while i am lazy if its something i care about its worth the effort... which means i gotta care about myself

i know therell be days i struggle or skip things or whatever but honestly thats not going to take away from the amount of effort i will hopefully be putting in pretty regularly.

and im planning for my future with my friend. making active steps to do things to make it happen and figure out how we're going to get there.

im prioritizing not just what i cant not do, but things that will make me and my friend happy. or make things easier on us.

im investing in life for the first time in my life and thats pretty cool

[adventremnant]

Hey,

I love how no-bs and matter-of-fact you are in these 😂❤️‍🔥

A question though: I can't find sailrabbit on Google play. It might not be available in my country, I think.

I have fitatu though. Is that good enough?

Idk if I can guess the body fat percentage on my own though, and I don't really have the money to pay for ai or premium

Help? Please?

It's not an app, so you shouldn't have to worry about what's on the Polish (guessing you're Polish based on fitatu) app stores - when I say to Google, I mean to search it using Google.com. It's a website. He does maintenance on the website every week so that might make it give you an error when you click on the link.

Body fat percentage ranges are pretty easy to eyeball once you get a sense for them - but here's a basic guide. If you're a normal weight by BMI, input 25, if you're overweight, input 30, if you're class 1 obese put 35, class 2 put 40, and class 3 put 45.

AI also doesn't know or analyze anything. Don't pay for that.

[ed-recovery-affirmations]

Can being overweight be healthy?

This is a complicated question, anon. My go-to question is: over what weight? We know now that the BMI scale is largely inaccurate and does not take into account height differences, muscle training, breast size and other factors. I also know that many people have different ideals of what's a normal or "ideal" size.

I'm not a doctor. I do know personally know many people whose natural weight - as in no dieting, but no overfeeding - set them as being considered fat. I also know that a lot of those people ended up feeling shame for this, and spent lots of time putting themselves through restriction, various crash diets, and a traumatic level of hatred toward the bodies they lived in. Many of them did lose weight doing this, but at great cost to other aspects of their health, such as their hearts, gallbladders, brains, stomachs, and GI tracts. Would it have been healthier to leave well enough alone and stay fatter? I think so.

But I also think that health can be really complicated and a lot of people end up having to make choices as to what aspect of health they must prioritize. So, for example: say you need a medication that has a side effect of weight gain. Do you accept the weight gain, or do you deny yourself medication that you might need? Say that you used to be a runner, but then you got a permanent knee injury and gained weight from being less active than usual. Do you prioritize treating your knee, or do you keep running on your injury to maintain the same weight? Or do you give up something else, like restricting a favorite food, for no other reason than because you feel you must retain that body shape at any cost? Say you have recently given birth to a baby, and the pregnancy caused you to gain weight. You want to breastfeed, but you're struggling to produce enough milk when you diet. Do you focus on the diet? Or do you focus on your journey with your new baby? Now say you are diagnosed with an invisible disability. Your doctor advises you against heavy exercise because it would be dangerous, but your natural weight is bigger. Do you choose to exercise anyway and risk the consequences of further disabling your body? Or do you think that you should have to restrict your food intake simply because you have a disability? Now what if you also have a comorbid diagnosis that impacts your GI tract, limiting what you can eat already? (Yes, some people are in the situation of having multiple disabilities.)

Do you think that people with these conditions should have to disclose all of their personal health history in order to be accepted for being fat?

(How many people disclose these personal things, do you think, and are not believed anyway?)

If you live with these conditions, and are making the best decisions you can for your own health in every given moment, do you think that it's a healthy choice to accept a co-occurring hatred for your own body at that given time? Do you think it's always the healthiest thing to pursue thinness?

Life is not simple. Managing one's body needs will not always come down to a series of simple choices. It's always going to be a balancing act where each individual needs the liberty to choose what THEY are going to prioritize to live well. And it won't be easy for everyone else to tell, at a glance, what those carefully-selected choices looked like for that individual.

I'm someone who is not fat, but who does have a chronic health disorder. Am I more healthy than a fat person who does not have the same disorder?

All you can do, anon, is focus on the choices that are right for you. That might mean giving up restricting if your body feels better when you don't, even if that comes with significant weight gain, just as an example. It might mean you've spent so much time hating your body that preserving your mental health means avoiding dieting or diet culture. I can't tell you what the right choices are for you as an individual; I can only tell you to listen to your body's cues and use the information you have available to you in order to set your balance of choices as close to "correct" as you possibly can. Nobody else could understand your process for this, nor could you understand theirs if you don't live their life. And that means nobody else gets to judge you, or your body, at a glance. Loving it properly means taking care of it to the very best of your ability, and yes, sometimes that might mean letting it be naturally fat. And I think there'd be a lot fewer EDs in the world if we weren't always so afraid of that.

I hope this helps!