#and ppl around me still think its only about distraction lol. thats why i often look stuff up bc you never know how your symptoms can relate

[tittyblade]

(not encouraging OR discouraging anyone from self diagnosis, this is an unrelated note) i feel like having a specific name for your symptoms usually helps out in your process of dealing with them better, (especially if you’re trying to find resources, you’ll know what to look for with a specific name), so here’s something i’ve discovered while doing research about this myself:

I have problems caused by similar, mostly texture-based stuff, so i was looking into how nd people figure out what their safe foods are (so i could make a list for my own), and came across this:

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/arfid/

(the list goes on)

so you know. nd people.

again, not meant to encourage or discourage anyone from self dx, if your food-related symptoms get to a point where it becomes something bigger than an inconvenience (as is often the case) here’s a name for it.

wanted to share this as i’ve only learned about it while doing nd-specific research, and none of the adults around me were informed enough to recognize these nd traits as i grew up, i feel like learning that this exists as a real condition can be very helpful if a) anyone’s experiences call for it, and b) a person is struggling to recognize their symptoms as real symptoms and not like something else (like personality traits, etc. anything invalidating). if nothing else, it can be the first step of finding more comfortable methods when dealing with it.

List of food specific ASD symptoms/signs(??) I showed growing up that my parents ignored and labeled as me just being annoying :')

- Refused to eat with "big" cutlery until I was 19

- At 20 I still refuse to eat with spoons unless I absolutely have to and when I do I will only use baby spoons (ice cream and soup can be eaten with spoons if you're fast enough)

-Would only eat off of my Rain Forest Cafe tree frog plate for like 10+ years and would have a meltdown if I had to use a different plate or if someone else used my plate.

- Peaches are my favourite fruit but I can't eat them because the texture is illegal

- .....I peel strawberries because I can't handle the seeds

- I was obsessed with making smoothies for a month but I didn't actually make one?

Lemme explain: I would spend hours looking up smoothie recipes and trying to find a well priced smoothie blender and when I finally convinced my mom to buy me one, I made one smoothie and realized that I couldn't handle the texture of it so it hasn't been used since...

- I would eat the exact same foods everyday for months until I got sick of it and the ingredients had to be the exact same

For example: Pasta casserole. I would only eat it if it was made with the exact same zero chunk ragu sauce and a specific noodle and if my mom used a different shape noodle I wouldn't eat it because I didn't like how the different noodle felt in my mouth...

- Sooo many foods I can't eat because the texture is bad

- My brain can't tell when I'm hungry (I just don't feel hungry sometimes) so I'll "randomly" feel super sick and then realize that it's because I haven't eaten all day or I'll eat when I'm not hungry because I feel like I just should

- Drank out of one specific special interest related cup for three years straight and would have a meltdown every time my mom took it to wash it even if was super nasty and really needed to be washed

- For some foods the texture of them feels fine in my mouth but I can't stand how it feels against my skin so I'll eat some hand held foods with cutlery

- When I was in early highschool I would always have some sort of candy because one of my huge stims used to be chewing up the insides of my mouth so I had to have candy so I wouldn't hurt myself

- I cannot eat with other people. The sounds, watching people put food into their mouths, the sound of forks against teeth, little crumbs sticking to people's lips, etc makes me nauseous and completely makes me loose my appetite

- I have to use my own cutlery because knowing that other people have had that fork (or occasional spoon) in their mouth makes me gag and lose my appetite (idk if this is asd or just me being a germaphobe but I'm adding it lol)

- Whenever I go to Asian supermarkets I stock up on peach, strawberry, and apple candy and drinks because I can't drink anything or eat candy that's not flavoured that way and Asian supermarkets always have a huge selection

- If I eat something greasy I swear I can feel the grease coating the inside of my throat and all over my face and my neurotypical friends never understand what I'm talking about so I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is a sensory thing thanks to asd???

- This is something else that the NTs never understand: Sometimes when I'm eating something the taste will completely change and it'll taste like the smell of something specific?

And example that happens a lot is when I'm eating potato chips or fries and they'll suddenly taste like the smell of manure?? Or occasionally they'll start tasting like the smell of peanut butter but not like the actual taste of peanut butter, just the scent? Idk if that makes any sense to anyone or if my brains straight up wack but it happens a lot with a bunch of random things.

I feel like there are more but this is already getting long so this is it until I think of some huge ones lol. I'd love to hear about other people's experiences!!

[ruvatia]

Sorry if this is a bit much with everything going on, but could I request a scenario where the Paladins + Matt & Lotor have a black s/o and they’re scared abt everything that’s happening in their country and are sad that racial injustice is happening? I’ve been rlly worried the past few days, but if this is smth too uncomfy I understand ;w; Thank you 💖💖💖

This got really long, I apologize but I turned it into half-headcanons with just the main paladins-- i apologize for not doing all the characters you’ve mentioned, but I don’t think they would fit all in a single post anyways www

On another note I hope you and every other reader take good care of their mental health; it’s important to be aware of what’s going on but it’s also important to be in the right mindspace to be able to tackle everything that’s being shared. It’s pain that’s been boiling for a very long time and there is absolutely no shame in taking some downtime to recover before heading back into current issues.

SHIRO:

If you were saddened, Shiro would suggest that maybe you switch to something else; if there was something that he knows will distract you and temporarily have you be a little more at ease, he’d do that!

But also maybe add a little twist-- extra soft blankets (fresh out of the oven! Screw the bills you’re worth it), extra cheese on your favorite dish, whatever it is that can make your smile a little wider, bigger or brighter just let him know!

Would give you hugs if you asked, but usually Shiro pets your head and brushes your cheek for comfort

He also does this when he wants to ask something of you, but thats another story

Why the TV was still on was a mystery to you, you’d stopped listening a long time ago. Your partner besides you noticed, and you felt the hand around your shoulder tighten his grip a little, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Hey, maybe we should watch something else?” he asked softly, brushing your cheek with his hand. “I can’t really listen to this anymore.”

“Yeah… Sure.” you replied, though it felt like an automated response more than your actual opinion.

“Okay, I’ll switch to that weird show Pidge recorded the other day, we agreed to watch it, right?” he replied, quickly grabbing the remote to change the program.

The first episode started playing, but the moment that it did, you felt cold as Shiro left your side.

“Where are you going?” you asked, your interlaced fingers the only thing keeping him close.

“Ah, I thought I’d make us something. We both kinda skipped dinner….”

He’d thought about putting something together that you’d like, maybe order dessert to surprise you but seeing the look on your face, leaving your side was the hardest thing to do right now.

So he gave in, and your both fell asleep until the doorbell rang with your delivery.

KEITH:

I have this headcanon that Keith isn’t very good with physical touch but after the end of voltron and after enough time of humanitarian relief, he learns how important it is for someone that’s in a specific state of mind

So the best he has to offer when his words fail is physical touch

Over your time together he’s learned what you need depending on your mood, and it helped him out lots when you were more vocal about it-- if anything he liked it when you asked for things that he could easily deliver, he’d do anything to see you smile

A hand came over your phone screen, Keith’s fingers lacing into yours and making you drop the device onto the crevices of the sofa.

“Why did you--”

“You’ve been staring at that thing for the past hour, biting at your nails.” he said in a worried tone. “That’s enough. We’re going to bed.”

“But it’s just--”

“We’re going to bed.” he repeated in a harsher tone, lifting you off your seat.

Keith sat down onto the bed first, pulling you into him. You both fell onto the bed, Keith quickly pulling the covers over your shoulders before his arms came around you.

“My alarm is my phone.”

“That’s nice, but we both know we have nothing to do tomorrow.” he replied right away, making you chuckle.

“Keith…” you called, your hands sneaking up to his face.

You brushed away some of his hair from his face as he gave you a complicated expression, unable to reflect the small smile you wore. He knew things were shit outside, that being apart from your family and other loved ones was a toll on both you and that lately negative thoughts have plagued you more often than not but Keith, despite his good intention was still somewhat of an awkward man.

“Thank you.”

He kissed you in reply and you both left it at that, glad that he had someone like you to meet him halfway.

LANCE:

Lots of hugs the moment he feels something is off with you

Will be a brat™ for the sole purpose of distracting you, bET

I feel like post-series Lance tries his best to be as observant as Allura and tries to understand others better-- but it didn't take a genius or incredible empath to know why your eyes looked like they were about to overflow at the sight of the news.

I’d like to think that Lance, with a big connected family is one of the paladins that very easily gets what you’re going through, wouldn’t be surprised he’s been called one or two things in his past either

That being said it doesn’t mean that he completely understands your personalized struggles with racial injustices that you encounter everyday; as another minority himself + coming from a culture and upbringing that might be different than yours, its a very different experience.

Memories flooded as the news anchor spoke about “lootings” and as you scrolled down your feed to see feeble attempts at sympathy from local peacekeepers. You sigh and retweet another thread, only to find something equally as shocking right after. You stopped commenting in quote retweets a while ago, you felt like you were constantly repeating that none of this was okay and that a reform was desperately needed. Rather than typing out your thoughts you typed out your name, address and email over and over again, signing one petition after the other.

Hearing sigh after sigh, Lance eventually put an arm around your shoulder. He startled you, but his soft voice made both your shoulders and your guard lower.

“Hey, do you want to make a midnight snack with me? I’m getting kinda hungry.”

“What about that new rule we were talking about? Not eating 4 hours before we went to bed?”

“Every diet has one or two cheat days, don’t they?” he replied, kissing one of your eyelids. “Come on, I’m sure your neck is sore from being like that for so long.”

In the end you both made some soul-food until a food-coma knocked you out until tomorrow. In the morning, you realized that Lance must’ve woken up in the middle of the night because you remember cuddling on the couch, and yet you’re waking up on the bed. Of course, still in his arms.

HUNK:

Having a sensible heart, I feel like both you and hunk would struggle a little about maintaining a healthy distance with current events.

Though overtime he would understand that keeping in touch with everything that’s going on is important, but not at the sake of burning out

His best bet, to him, to pull you out of a such a dark space is with comfort food

“Ok ppl feel like they want to eat a horse but they actually cant when they’re in that mind space Hunk, let’s make something sweet and small; something direct and straight to the point! Let’s add smiley faces on it!”

Your turned down the volume from the news, let your head fall backwards and brought up your forearm over your closed eyes. It felt warm and made it you realize that you had probably been staring very intensely at the screen as a wave of comfort hit your eyes the moment they were drowned in darkness. Letting out a deep breath, you stilled and let yourself bask in your thoughts until a familiar voice brought you back.

“Maybe a little bit more sugar? No, then it would be disbalanced. The base is already so sweet-- Ah, I have to take the cupcakes out or else they might get burned!”

You felt a smile grow on your lips, making you ignore the horrid news being broadcasted to turn to your partner that as usual, seemed to juggle ten thousand things to create a whole meal.

“What’s going on over here?” you asked, leaning over the counter to note that one of your favorite dishes was made and machines that were mostly used for baking had been brought out.

“Oh you know, just a little pick me up for my most favorite person ever.” he shrugged, but a smile soon came to his face. His hands were full but he leaned over, his lips meeting your cheek. “Things outside are a little dark, so I thought we could both use a little something nice.”

He turned on the machine after dropping a drop of dye to make it your favorite color and within a few minutes the icing was finished. Hunk scooped up a small amount on his finger and brought it to his lips and nod.

“Wanna taste?” he asked you, his finger dipping into the icing.

A mischievous grin spread on your features as you took his wrist and let his finger fall on your tongue, the sweetness quickly spreading through your mouth. The yellow paladin shivered as you let his digit hang in your mouth for longer than necessary, letting out a satisfied hum when you returned it to him.

“Tastes perfect.”

PIDGE:

She knew what could be fixed, she knew how to fix it but this meant she was also aware of how long such a transition would take

I think Pidge would be similar to Shiro: whatever she remembers that helps you be at ease, she would defect to that in hopes to maybe distract you for a while.

I don’t think Pidge is a very touchy person either, so if she reaches out to you _physically_ in worry, it’s a very clear sign she’s serious/anxious

I feel like she would reach out in other ways and then if she knew you were in a specific state of mind where touch was not useful, or if she just also wanted to try things out lol

As you watched the twisted information that was being shared on screen, another message caught your attention. Rather than a small red icon in the corner, a small window appeared in the middle of your computer screen.

<I found a way to modify notifications sent to another device.>

The video had stopped, every horrible gif about police brutality was paused and there was nothing else but the small window pidge had thrown onto your screen. You chuckled, and felt a pressure behind your working chair.

Another message popped up.

<You’ve been catching up with twitter for the past two hours. Surely you’re done now?>

A soft laugh came from you, making Pidge release a breath she didn’t know she was holding. You typed out an answer:

<Is it possible to be completely caught up with twitter? I follow like 500 accounts.>

<Okay, but half of them are just cat videos and the other half are just retweets of said videos.>

<Oh here I was thinking that this was an intervention to brighten my mood. We’re dragging each other’s follows now?>

<Oh please like you don’t want to be dragged, with that kind of follow list.>

<I can’t believe you’ve done this.>

You both laughed, before Pidge turned around and tapped your shoulder. She let her hand float in the air, yours coming to join it as a soon as your turned her way.

“Wanna take a nap?” she asked, letting her head fall onto your shoulder. “I had Chip make some hot chocolate, Hunk style.”

You squeezed her hand, putting your computer on sleep mode.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”