#core mistaken for an egg

[ceilidho]

take me home, country road

[ao3]

You have nothing on your person apart from a hastily packed suitcase and the dress you came into town wearing, on the run from trouble back home. Too bad John's missing a bride that matches your description. Or: the 1800s (mistaken) mail order bride au (chapter 13)

first chapter >> last chapter

-

You could just tell him. 

You consider it at least once a day, particularly in the mornings when John sits up on his side of the bed and hesitates briefly before rising to his feet and going downstairs to start breakfast. You can feel the way he wants to lean over and touch you, and the way he holds himself back. The way he pulls his hand back at the last second from where it hovers over your prone body.

He leaves you in bed with an ache in your stomach so deep that you swear it’ll swallow you whole. But you have no choice but to sigh and sit up as he shuffles around downstairs, the morning well on its way in. There’s nothing to do now but move forward.

The atmosphere in the house is tense. You walk on eggshells around each other, unsure of how to bridge the divide. The eggs jump in the pan and brown at the edges, and outside the feather reed sways in the breeze. You’re weary of each other and yet hardly capable of being apart.

Maybe that’s just on your end. 

You’ve taken to watching him from afar in recent days. In the absence of his physical touch, which comes sparingly now, his hands always curled into fists like he’s holding himself back from reaching out and touching you, you’ve resorted to the only thing left to you: the visual realm. That’s what you glut yourself on now, and while it doesn’t fill the hole in you, it soothes the ache. 

You watch him with the horses in the paddock, always confident and sure-footed with them. Suspenders straining against the muscle of his back and his shoulders, sweat running in rivulets down his back, the sun golden on his face. At dinner, he collapses into his chair, exhaustion written into every corner of his being, and you drag your eyes over the jut of his stomach, the layer of fat over his muscled core. Hairy forearms braced against the table while he eats (no manners, that one). 

Any thought of bolting in the night now seems unwise. Your previous aspirations of freedom seem foolhardy in the light of day. You give it some consideration. Say you had succeeded in escaping—now where would you be? Alone wandering the mountains, parched and starving? Drinking from the ravine? Eating poisonous berries and hawthorn leaves in desperation to have something in your belly? Or hogtied in some bandit’s tent, enduring a fate worse than starvation or death? 

You shudder to think of it. 

In the days since John brought you home, you haven’t seen hide nor hair of Graves, nor anyone else in pursuit of a woman from back east. No bounty hunters, no officers of the law, no rogue agents. It’s as if they came, found nothing, and simply wandered on through.

You should’ve just waited them out. It’s clear now, what you should’ve done, but who can argue with the past? You’re sick of telling yourself that there might’ve been another way. It doesn’t change the way things are now. 

There’s nothing to do now but move forward.

The routine is the same. You head into town every morning and try to say as few words to each other as possible. You glance at each other when the other isn’t looking. The glances grow longer with the days, the stubborn sun refusing to set until well into the evening hours, and your own eyes refusing to part from his form. When you catch him watching you in turn, his eyes are always heady, filled with something like longing.

Outside, the sky is cornflower blue; clouds bulge and drift away. 

Life returns to some degree of normalcy, despite the sense of something unresolved hovering in the air. John’s deputies come over again for supper, and with them they bring better table manners this time. At least Soap doesn’t belch at the dinner table and Kyle leaves his hat at the door. Simon is taciturn as always, but that comes now as a comfort.

The men play cards in the living room until even the fireflies go to sleep, until the night is a thin paste spread over the world, the sharp edge of the knife scraping over the craggy limestone peaks and ridges and spreading it evenly. You go to bed alone, the bedroom door cracked open enough to see the flicker of lamplight against the wall, their shadows weaving in and out of it. 

He must come to bed at some point because his side of the bed is warm when you wake up the next morning. You put your hand there to soak up his warmth until you can’t excuse lying in bed any longer. Breakfast is, again, quiet, but you feel the compulsion to break the silence bubbling up in your chest. You think if he stares at you even a moment longer, you’ll have no choice but to belt it out. 

The brittle morning is interrupted by the arrival of one of John’s deputies. When Simon rips open the door and barges into the house, you nearly scream, watching with wide eyes as he charges towards the back, looking for John. You flit over to the window to watch him go. He finds John out back mucking the stalls in the stable and there’s a brief moment of intense conversation before you watch as John throws the pitchfork against the wall and hurriedly shuts the stables up, following Simon back towards the house. 

It’s a flurry of motion after that, John throwing on his clothes haphazardly, not even bothering to properly button up his shirt. You unconsciously follow him up the stairs to the bedroom.

“John?” you ask, uncertainly. 

He doesn’t answer you right away. The tension creeps up the length of your back the longer he goes without responding, his mouth set in a flat line. 

“John?” you repeat, more force behind your words this time. “What’s wrong?” 

“Passenger train up east is about to be robbed,” John finally grunts out in reply, checking his rifle to see if it’s loaded. “Simon got word.”

“How’d he know before it even happened?” you ask, stuck on conversation because you unconsciously want to delay the inevitable. Your heart pounds hard in your chest, images of gunfire and bloodbaths searing the backs of your eyelids. 

“Informant. He’s got ‘em all over the county.”

Not once does he slow down or pause to take a breath. You follow him back downstairs and through the house, watching anxiously as he loads his gun and tightens the belt of bullets around his waist. He plucks his hat from where it sits hung up beside the door and then exits out of the house, you trailing along helplessly behind him. The porch creaks ominously under his feet as he makes his way down the stairs towards the horses, where Simon already has John’s other horse saddled up and ready to go.

“When will you—” You can’t finish it. It hangs uselessly in your mouth. He doesn’t answer you. 

You follow him to the horses but stumble to a halt when he reaches them first, taking over from Simon and fixing the straps in place. Simon gives you a curt nod when your eyes meet before turning to his horse and heaving himself up onto it briskly, obviously in a rush to get going. 

John turns to you when the straps are fixed in place and he has one foot in the stirrups, brows furrowed deep enough to accentuate all the lines in his forehead. He gestures warningly at you with a finger. “You stay here, you hear me?”

Your brows furrow, affronted at the command. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t fancy havin’ to chase after you for a second time, but I will if you try anything funny while I’m gone.”

“Well, you just see here now—”

“You heard me, darlin’—”

“Price,” Simon growls, cutting him off, and it takes you by surprise to see his usual phlegmatic disposition traded in for something choleric. He’s never been one to talk back or act insubordinately, more of a guard dog than a deputy sometimes. His mouth is set in a hard line though, betraying the tension coiled in his bones. 

John nods and hauls himself up onto his horse.

“You be good while I’m gone,” John says, casting you one last parting glance.

You screw your lips into a scowl. “Don’t you dare die out there.”

That somehow gets a laugh out of him, as jagged as it is. It makes your stomach twist, the goodbye stagnant on your lips. You refuse to say it.

John’s horse whinnies when he pulls on the reins. He gives a sharp whistle, jolting it into motion, and you watch as he circles around and follows Simon down the path, their horses kicking up dust behind them. 

You stand there until their horses disappear over the horizon. Then you linger a little longer.

It dawns on you that John hadn’t said goodbye either. That has to count for something.

Still, you dwell on it over the next hour, hardly able to keep your breakfast down. Any lingering frustration melts away into dread the longer you think about John confronting a train full of armed robbers, his deputies accompanying him or not. The shotguns loaded and strapped to their backs told you enough about what they expected to encounter. The thought makes you shudder.

You try to distract yourself with chores, but that hardly helps. All you can think about when scrubbing the floors is whether someone will have to do the same on the train. You know how hard it is to clean up blood.  

Kate comes over later that morning while you’re still pinning the bed sheets and linens to the clothesline. The sound of horse hooves beating against the dirt elicits your attention first, and when you look down the dirt path leading into town, you see her riding towards you on horseback. A dapple grey gelding, bigger than Buttercup but leaner than the horse that John had chased you down on.

“Morning!” she shouts, still far enough away for it to be necessary. Your hand goes up slowly in a wave, half-shielding your eyes from the sun.

She comes up the path quickly, dismounting before her horse has even come to a standstill. It speaks to an element of comfort on a horse that you haven't acquired yet. Jealousy licks a hot tongue up your innards. 

“Morning,” you greet tentatively. “Not that I don’t appreciate spending time with you, but don’t you have a store to run?”

Kate shrugs her shoulders, sauntering up the walkway. “Folks chip in when they have to—I’ve got plenty of people in town willing to watch the shop for me. Besides, what’s the point of owning a business if you can’t take a day off every now and then?”

You frown, looking at Kate a bit suspiciously. “Did he tell you to come babysit me?” 

You don’t specify who, but it’s obvious enough.

Her lips flatten. “I offered.”

All that does is stoke the flames of your ire. “They seemed in a hurry to leave. Didn’t think John would have time to stop by and ask you to watch his wayward wife.” 

“John didn’t do anything. Simon mentioned that he was coming here to get your man.”

“My man,” you mumble a bit sardonically. Still, her words make you let go of some of your anger. “So he didn’t ask you to come?”

Kate shakes her head, lips finally curling up into a half-grin. “No, ma’am. Thought I’d just get Miles to mind the shop and come give you some company.”

Your frown keeps getting deeper. “Don’t ma’am me, Kate. And I don’t need your company if you’ve just come to make fun of me.”

“Hand to heart—I came only to make sure you were alright.” Her smile grows directly inverse to your frown. “Give me a minute to put the horses in the paddock and I’ll be right back.”

You could almost kiss her for that though. You’d been dreading the thought of having to bring Buttercup out into the paddock on your own, but the thought of leaving her in the stables all day had also felt immeasurably cruel. Since getting lost with her in the mountains, you haven’t felt confident enough to be around her on your own. At least Kate’s presence takes some of that stress away. 

Not all of it though. Stress eats away at you as the day goes on. You can’t seem to go long without returning to the thought of John being shot or stabbed by one of the bandits on the train. Your mind keeps turning to the image of him lying lifeless on the floor, blood seeping out of a wound in his chest, eyes glazed over and far away. 

You chew on your nails until they tear. Kate smacks your hands when she notices.

It’s well past dark by the time John comes home. You notice his arrival first as a flicker of light when you happen to glance out the window. You’d long ago pulled up a chair to settle down beside the window and wait, Kate in a chair on the other side of the room near the oil lamp, flicking through her book, and with the waiting had come a knot in your chest tighter than a fist. A cancerous lump metastasising in your belly, spreading out into every corner of you. 

And then someone riding up the path towards the house holds up a lamp that swings with the rhythm of their approach. Your heart all but stops in your chest, fingers halting in the middle of knitting. It beats a furious frenzy now, alert again, alive in your chest. The needles clatter to the floor when you rise to your feet, dashing over to the door to swing it wide open.

“I suppose he’s—” Kate says, but you don’t hear the rest, already gathering up your skirt to hustle down the porch steps and meet him halfway, heart lodged in your throat. 

When he notices you hurrying out the door and down the path towards him, John brings his horse to a standstill. 

Shadows engulf his form until you get close enough for the lamplight to slash across John’s face, illuminating the deep, sunken troughs under his eyes. He looks exhausted. The top button of his shirt is missing, perhaps ripped out in whatever altercation he’d gone to stop. Your eyes flit over him, looking for any sign of blood or injury, and you find it along the grooves of his knuckles, the skin there torn and bloodied. He hadn’t even bothered to wrap his hands in gauze before coming home. 

John smiles down at you. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

That’s almost enough to make you sway on your feet, lightheaded. You hadn’t realized the toll his sudden absence had taken on you, or the worry that’d been festering in your belly, but as it drains out of you, it almost brings you to your knees. 

“Are you well?” you ask, throat tight. 

He doesn’t answer you. Instead, he shifts his weight and swings his leg over his horse to dismount, eyes on you the whole time. You can hardly pull your eyes off him, not even for a second. His horse, well-trained enough to not wander off without its rider astride it, huffs out a breath but otherwise remains in place while John walks towards you. 

Your heart jumps in your chest when he lifts a hand to cup your cheek and drops a firm kiss to the center of your forehead, the heat of his kiss suffusing through you. The hairs on your arms and the back of your neck lift. Your arms erupt in gooseflesh.

“Never better,” he says when he pulls back. You can feel the warmth of his breath against your forehead when he speaks. It makes everything from your collarbone up go hot.

You hear the door open again. “Hi John,” Kate calls from the door.

“Hi Laswell,” John calls back to her, but his eyes never leave yours.

A heavy silence pregnant with meaning passes. You’re not sure what to read into it, but reading’s never been your strong suit. 

“I’ll see myself out then,” Kate says. “Leave you two lovebirds to it.” Her words make you bristle, but even that isn’t enough to pull your eyes off your husband. 

“Don’t look so put out—Soap’s just down the path waiting to take you home,” John scoffs. Sure enough, when you peek around him, you notice the slight flicker of light that burns at about the height of a man sitting astride a horse.

Kate rolls her eyes. “So chivalry’s not dead. Thank the Lord for small mercies.”

You don’t hear her go around the side of the house, but she must because she comes back a few minutes later with her horse, lead in hand. Her goodbye goes unnoticed by you or John, barely audible over the sound of the crickets in the bushes. You come back to yourself only when her horse takes off down the path towards Soap, and by then your voice is too faint, the words evaporating off your tongue. 

The moment finally bursts when John shifts his weight and winces. You frown. “You’re hurt.”

He huffs. “Just a sore rib. Nothing worth fussin’ over.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Your eyes flick down to his bloodied knuckles. “Your hands need tending to anyway. We should get inside.”

John nods. “I’ll put Chiron away and then come in.”

“Chiron?”

“This boy here.” His horse chuffs when John pats his neck lightly, smoothing a hand down the length. It slots into your mind—another piece of this place assimilated into your being. Another name you’ll never be able to shake. 

You hurry back inside while he takes Chiron around the side of the house towards the stables, the lamp still swinging from his hand. It’s how you track him from the window. It’s too late now for them, but you remember staring off into the distance earlier, watching the fireflies flicker in and out of view, gold will-o-wisps hovering over the fields. Now it’s quiet, and nothing outside moves. Even the moon hides behind dark clouds. 

You wait by the window until you see John come out of the stables, headed back towards the house. Only then do you exhale. 

He sits at a chair in the living room and spreads his legs, forcing you to step between them to get close enough to treat him. You bandage his torn knuckles under the light of the oil lamp in the corner of the room. John doesn’t so much as flinch when you clean them, gently inspecting the wounds to remove any debris that might’ve gotten in. He’s a good patient; hardly makes a sound as you wrap the gauze around his knuckles. 

“Do you want me to call the doctor in the morning?” you ask, then start a bit at the sound of your own voice, inexplicably loud in the relative silence of the room. 

John shakes his head. “Don’t bother. Wasn’t anything too serious.”

You frown. “Are you sure? I don’t want to risk it getting infected—”

He turns his hands over in your loose hold, curling his fingers around yours. You blink at the stark contrast between his and your hands. His fingers are thicker than yours, swollen at the joints, and the skin of his palms is calloused, rough to the touch. You’ve felt them over every part of you—loose at your waist, gripping the nape of your neck, prying your thighs apart. Holding your hand. Sunk deep into your quim. 

You can recall the feel of his touch from memory now. 

“It’s not that bad, darlin’,” he rasps, dragging his thumb back and forth over your fingers. “Y’did a good job fixin’ me up. You’re a good little nurse.”

“I’m no substitute for proper medical care,” you snip, still frowning. 

“Ah, if I die, I die.”

“That’s not funny,” you snap, abruptly incensed, and the joking twist of his lips unfurls at that, the creases around his eyes smoothing out. He looks at you like there’s something new writ large on your face.

There’s a tremble in your lower lip and a tremor in your hands that you hadn’t noticed until now. Once you notice it, it’s impossible to shake; your lip wobbles when you have to pinch back your tears. A stubborn one nearly leaks out until you sniff and blink it away. 

“Now where’s this all coming from?” John asks, voice pitched low and intimate, just for the two of you. 

His voice laps over your bones like bourbon on the rocks, glistening amber in the setting sun. Except it’s dark now and there’s not a drink in the world that could dilute the emotions welling up in you. You’d be a blubbery drunk anyway; you’ve always been something of a sad sack. 

“I thought you might come back hurt,” you whisper. “And you did.” 

His thumb strokes over your unblemished knuckles and he lifts your hands to his mouth to kiss the very same spot he just brushed. “I’m sorry to make you worry, darlin’. I meant nothing by my words. We’ll go to the doctor tomorrow.”

The bur of his beard tickles the back of your hand. His acquiescence brings some of your candor back. “Well, only if you want to.”

“Don’t get smart with me, wife—”

He stops short when you giggle, his eyes widening infinitesimally. You wonder if it’s the first time he’s ever heard you laugh. It’s not something you can help though. The joy spills up from you unbidden. 

John sighs. “We’ve been making a right mess of things, haven’t we?”

You go to say something, but all that comes out is a soft hum of agreement. 

It’s in front of you again. An opportunity to tell him everything, to make things right. To land in the soft sediment of truth and come out unscathed and better for it. All you need do is open your mouth and say it; say that there was a man back east that tried something untoward and you did what you had to in order to protect yourself. You think on some level John would understand that. 

Again you open your mouth. Again nothing comes out.

There’s love and then there’s thinness, words preserved in amber. He takes your whole world in his hands and you want to say, is it safe here? Can I call this a home?

There's love and then there's a heaving mass of recollection. It is an ancient thought: to love and be loved in verity, in one's own sphere of understanding. You don’t yet know if that’s possible for you, but you’re starting to think that maybe here is something close to that. Something gentle like wildflowers springing up from beside train tracks, the sprawling emptiness of the plains on either side. 

Still, it is not enough to make you tell the truth. Maybe now the consequences are different. You think less of a jail cell and more of being deprived of this man that holds your hands tenderly and looks up at you with such clear affection. 

If love has a way of speaking, it is marbles in the mouth; it masticates its own words. It chokes them back out of fear, out of longing to keep things right. 

So instead, you ask, “Can we just put it behind us and move on?”

John lifts a hand and slides it around the back of your neck, drawing you in for a kiss that makes your heart melt in your chest, caramel-rich. You moan into his mouth when his tongue traces over your lips, hands dropping to sink into the lapels of his shirt, pulling him closer to you.

When he pulls back, the folds around his eyes are crinkled, lips pulled up into a fond smile. “Already forgotten.” 

You exhale. This is reconciliation. It comes home limping and bruised, but it comes home to you. 

[polysucks]

Arya "I'm not a boy!!!!" Stark vs Brienne "doesn't correct a stranger who misgenders her" of Tarth. One of these characters is trans and gee whizz I wonder which it could be.

(Additionally jaime is a gay bottom who just wants to be tenderly pegged by Brienne)

Cw for a cis-woman talking about gender lol

I want to touch on the idea that Brienne might be an egg, but I have to disagree. I want to preface by saying don’t inherently oppose anyone who thinks otherwise. Art can be interpreted subjectively, especially in ASOIAF. Everyone can have their views, and I love that.

That being said, I'm approaching this discussion about Brienne and Arya and their gender identities from the perspective of a cis-woman, so trans and gender non-conforming people, feel free to weigh in! I just have one perspective, and how else do we learn about others' experiences if we don't make time and space for others to share theirs?

Also, this might sound a bit TERF-y on a surface level, so let me say upfront: TERFs, get lost. We can discuss femininity and gender without TERF opinions, because TERF opinions don’t matter. Trans women are real women. Trans men are real men.

It’s easy to understand why some might believe that their struggles are rooted in gender identity—but that doesn’t necessarily mean the argument holds water.

I personally feel like it's dismissive of exploring gender identity as a deeply personal experience and reductive to assume that anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into gender norms must actually be trans. gender-non-comforming cis people exist because gender is a social construct.

It makes total and complete sense why someone might perceive Brienne and Arya as struggling with their gender identity, and I am not here to deny that! They do not fit into traditional femininity, they are often mistaken for boys, and they are both deeply frustrated by the roles imposed on them.

But assigning transness or gender dysphoria to them without deeper critical thinking feels like a reach that flattens their very real struggles as cis-women in such a strict society. Their battle is not one of personal identity—it’s one of a rigid community refusing to acknowledge them as women on their own terms.

That being said, there is beauty in seeing oneself in them. If a trans or gender-nonconforming person finds kinship in their struggles, that is valid and meaningful. The power of storytelling is that we see ourselves in narratives, even when the struggles and experiences depicted do not perfectly align with our own.

I feel the same way about the Northmen and the Starks being NDN/Indigenous-coded—it is not explicit canon, but the cultural parallels are undeniable. Westerosi gender roles are stricter in the South, while Northern culture—like many Indigenous cultures—allows for a broader understanding of strength, womanhood, and survival.

Brienne and Arya’s journeys are universal in that way. They do not have to be trans or gender-nonconforming to be relatable to those who are. But at their core, their stories are about expanding the definition of womanhood, not escaping it.

That being said, let's fuckin YAP!!

Brienne and Arya: Women on Their Own Terms

They Are Women Rejected by Society—Not by Themselves

Brienne and Arya defy Westerosi femininity, but their conflict is not with their own gender—it’s with a world that refuses to accept women who do not conform.

They do not reject being women. They reject the restrictions placed on them as women.

Their struggles are external, not internal—it is society that refuses to acknowledge their strength, not themselves.

Brienne's silence on misgendering is not gender dysphoria—it is indifference to the opinions of those who diminish her. She does not waste energy correcting people who already dismiss her. As for Podrick, he is not questioning her gender, only how to respectfully refer to her.

Arya, similarly, never expresses a desire to be a boy—only frustration that being a girl limits her. She says it herself in ACOK

“I don’t want to be a lady,” Arya flared. “I want to learn to fight.”

Wanting to fight does not mean she is not a girl—it means she resents that Westeros restricts girls. When she disguises herself as “Arry,” it is not because she feels like a boy but because it keeps her alive.

Being Mistaken for a Man Does Not Mean They Identify as One

Neither Brienne nor Arya (i mean, she does generally, but not whole-heartedly) corrects misgendering because it serves a purpose in their survival—but it does not define them.

Brienne is called "Ser" because she is a knight. She does not correct it because she knows Westeros will never see her as a proper lady anyway. But she never expresses a desire to be a man—only to be respected.

Arya disguises herself as a boy out of necessity. The moment she no longer needs the disguise, she drops it. She never claims she feels like a boy—only that Westeros treats girls as weak.

At no point do either of them wish to stop being women. Their struggle is not about escaping womanhood—it’s about expanding what womanhood can be.

Brienne, in particular, wants to be both a knight and a woman. Her inner conflict is not about identity, but about a world that refuses to allow her to be both.

They Do Not Seek to Escape Womanhood—They Seek to Redefine It

Brienne and Arya challenge Westerosi femininity without discarding it. They prove that womanhood is not fragile—it can be strong, honorable, and defiant.

Brienne does not wish to be a man—she wishes knighthood wasn’t exclusive to them. She embodies the ideals of knighthood more than most men, proving that a woman can live by the same code.

Arya does not wish to be a boy—she wishes being a girl didn’t mean powerlessness. She does not reject her gender; she rejects society’s expectations of it.

Their fight is not against being women—it is against a world that refuses to acknowledge that women can be more than one thing.

The Stark and Northern Perspective: Strength and Womanhood Can Coexist

Westerosi gender roles are stricter in the South, where women like Sansa are expected to conform to delicate, ornamental femininity. The North, however, values survival, strength, and practicality—traits Arya naturally embodies.

Among Indigenous-coded Northern families like House Mormont, warrior women are not questioned:

Maege Mormont and her daughters fight without forfeiting their womanhood. They are warriors, leaders, and mothers, all at once.

Arya fits into this tradition. She does not need to abandon her gender to be a warrior—she simply needs a culture that recognizes warrior women exist.

In many Indigenous cultures, gender roles exist but are flexible—some women are suited for battle, others for domestic life, and both are necessary. This aligns with Arya's arc: she does not need to be a boy to fight. She only needs a world where warrior women are possible.

Survival Shapes How They Are Perceived—Not How They See Themselves

Both Arya and Brienne are mistaken for boys, but their responses are pragmatic, not existential.

Brienne does not correct people who call her “Ser” because she knows it won’t change how they see her. She is resigned to being seen as "unnatural," so she leans into her strength rather than fighting a losing battle over perception. She wants respect, not pity.

Arya actively disguises herself as a boy because it keeps her alive. She knows that if people recognize her as a highborn girl, she will be kidnapped, sold, or killed. The disguise is a survival tactic, not a reflection of her identity.

Neither of them struggles with who they are—they struggle with how the world treats them.

They Are Women Who Break Barriers, Not Women Who Break Away from Womanhood

Brienne and Arya are not trans, nor are they struggling with gender identity. They are women who refuse to conform to narrow standards.

Brienne does not wish to be a man—she wishes men would accept that women are more than single-minded expectations

Arya does not wish to be a boy—she wishes Westeros would stop treating girls as helpless and with only one lot in life

Their battle is not with their own gender but with a world that refuses to see them as full people based on their identified gender. That is what makes them powerful.

And if trans or GNC individuals see themselves in them? That is a testament to their strength and their pride in their existence as it is.

Representation in fiction can be deeply personal, even when it isn’t literal.

That is the beauty of storytelling—there is room for all of us in it.

[tourettesdog]

DPxDC fanfic recs part 2! (Part 1)

It's a Small World by halfagone

Sometimes you just need a goofy, fun one shot that throws the characters you like into a theme park and this is exactly that. I love it.

Security Guard? Nah, Blackmailed. by Olive_of_Vanders

Oli has a lot of fantastic oneshots, but I think this one might be one of my favorites. I just really love the premise lol; it's great crack.

A Little Overshadowing Never Hurt Anyone by Playedcrowdd5610

I absolutely adore the premise of this one. Overshadowing shenanigans are so much fun, and the specific way it's happening in this fic has all of my attention.

Knitting Connections by Aibhilin

This is such a soft, neat little oneshot. I love the POV for it and just the quiet scenes it paints.

30 Days of Kidnappings by Hyperintrovert

This one's just plain fun and funny, with some nice emotions and angst mixed in. There are so many kidnappings, as the name implies. Shenanigans abound.

Bat Ghost by Megaerakles

Twin fics have a special place in my heart and this is no exception. I love how focused in Amity Park this one is, and the background Superbat is a treat.

Queen Regent by Elizabehta_Beilschmidt

Gil writes a lot of great Jazz (and Hardcover ship) fics, and this one in particular is one of my faves. I might be biased based on the prompt, but I just love how this one is written and how much of a badass Jazz gets to be.

Wait a Second by Toriieffic

Mistaken identities mixed with sibling bonding-- such a great mix always. I love the setup for this fic and how it plays out, especially with Jazz and Damian's situation in particular.

Robin's Egg by Calix

Wonderfully written, adorable, precious-- with lots of emotions and angst along for the ride. I love fics with core shenanigans a lot.

Oh Northstar of Mine by Milaley

This one is so very sweet and tender. Dead tired ship has a special place in my heart and I love the relationship here with it.

Spelunking by SummersSixEcho

This is the first in a series and I think it might've been the first series I read from Summers (or at least the first DPxDC one). I love Danny's interactions with the batfam in this series, the shenanigans, the puns-- it's all so good.

Coffee Trip of Love by EyesOfCrows

This fic is just plain cute and fun. I love all of the pet names throughout it. I need to reread it pronto lol

Blooming Death, Please Love Me by Gremlin_bot

Hanahaki and blood blossoms? Yes please. I love blood blossom fics-- like a lot-- and mixing them with hanahaki trope... yes.

Another Duckin' Day by TheStarfishAlien

A lot of these on this recommend are dead tired ship, but like-- I love them, your honor. This one is just a ton of fun. Love some good pranks.

Wayne's Haunted Mansion by Tathartiel

This is such a sweet deaged/young Danny fic. I love the progression with Danny and the family with this, with the slow build of them earning his trust and figuring out more about him.

Danny Fenton's Guide to Scoring a Boyfriend by DisillusionedDanny

I just love the shenanigans and ship with this one. Enemies to lovers shenanigans abound. Dis has a Ton of great DPxDC fics, and while I haven't had the spoons to read most of their longer ones just yet, I love their stories and everything I have read.

[transfem-five-pebbles]

Pretty new to the headcanon that Pebbles is Transfem. I wanna know your headcanons on that topic. Go crazy, I want as much as you got to put on this post. I wanna see it!

Okay so basically it started because a few months ago I got a thought in my head that 'transitioning could save her (Pebbles)'. It comes from her discontent with life and how much more desperate Pebbles seems to be to leave the cycle than most, if not all other iterators, and my though process was 'what if that was actually (at least partially) caused by gender dysphoria? What if she found joy in the world by becoming a woman instead of desperately feeling the need to leave it all behind?' and ever since I have seen Five Pebbles as an egg (trans person who has not yet realized they are trans for those who don't know). I am trans myself (I'm neutral non-binary) and the way that the cycle/desire to ascend is described really reminds me of gender dysphoria. I understand having a nagging, itching, tiring feeling of being wrong or limited and the only solution is to become something else. I will not go in depth on my thoughts on ascension and what it is but it is not death, nor the end. It is becoming something else, perhaps something more refined and truthful to the self. One must let go of earthly things so they are not defined by things that are not themself, after all. You may have been shaped by things you have loved or things that have hurt you but you are not that. Your close friend or your painful trauma might've fundamentally changed who you are, but those things themselves are distinctly not part of your identity. Anyways that is relevant because if someone felt dysphoric with their gender identity in a world where a notable amount of the population is recorded to have a similar feeling because of being stuck in a cycle, then the gender dysphoria would likely stack on or be mistaken for the 'cycle dread', as I like to call it. The transfem Pebbles headcanon primarily stems from this idea. She is so desperate to escape how wrong she feels because she is trans and she has not realized it. The cycle seems so much more unbearable to her to the point where she cannot handle it or regulate herself because of the gender dysphoria stacked on.

I think if she transitioned (within this interpretation) she would no longer have the crushing desire to ascend. I think she could find peace and joy within the world to the point where she could be content. Sure, she would still likely have the cycle dread and could very well still want ascension, but it would no longer be an all consuming thing. At the very least she would not be so reckless about it as she was in canon. (Fun fact I actually wrote a fic based on this idea where she transitioned before everything went terrible in canon and it diverted what would have happened because she was happier. it is Little Sister Pebbles on Ao3 on the off chance someone is interested.) for more general headcanons on the subject I think that the main source of dysphoria would come from when she is referred to as male and her voice since I don't really think that iterators would have any other gender differances. Part of why she really struggles with socialising is because she hates hearing her own voice and being referred to as a man (the other part is autism. -source? my own autism). She could be happy and understand herself more. She could regulate her emotions better and form connections easier as she doesn't have the underlying sense that she has been wronged every time they refer to her with gendered language. transgenderism in iterators forms somewhat similar to how it is in humans and comes from their core identity (not necessarily a literal physical core, although I do enjoy headcanons for iterators with that concept) having variation on what the ancients intended/made them to be. After the first 'generation' or so of iterators they began to double check the identity cores and that reduced how much it happened a lot. As they got more desperate and cut more corners with the last batch of iterators (which Pebbles was apart of) the amount went up again. Also I just like to hit my favorite characters with the transgender beam and girl Pebbles calls to me. There are probably other things I have forgotten about because I have an awful memory but I will forget about this ask and/or will never finish the answer if I try to remember and put down everything.

[crusherthedoctor]

So the way Eggman is used in the story for Sonic 3 remains one of the aspects that I'm mixed on. On one hand, it's the usual Other Villain schtick yet again, and you guys know how I feel about those, though I begrudgingly knew this one was coming given the (loose, but still) SA2-isms. I also think it's a shame that he's no longer the one who releases Shadow from his stasis, since that was a highlight of his SA2 portrayal. This was one of the reasons why I was apprehensive about this movie before going in: I knew that no matter what, I shouldn't expect something on par with his Super Robotnik and Death Egg Robot heights in the second movie.

However, there are various factors for why I've ended up more at peace with it than I was expecting. The most obvious one is Eggman getting direct, face-to-face revenge on Gerald, immediately at that, which is something that almost never happens when this scenario occurs; the only example I can think of is in Advance 3 where he participates in the fight against G-Merl. Otherwise, he completed one random segment of Cannon's Core in SA2, he got flaccid "victories" over Starline and Clutch in IDW that come nowhere close to making up for all the extensive downplaying the writers put him through to prop their own villains up... and that's about it. Otherwise? One-shotted by Chaos in SA1. Locked in a room for the whole game by Neo Metal Sonic. Instantly paralyzed along with everyone else by Black Doom. Knocked aside by Emerl. Knocked aside by Dark Gaia. Turned into a card by Eggman Nega. Everything in Frontiers. The list goes on.

However, if you think I'm sweeping everything under the rug for that reason alone, then I'm afraid you're mistaken. Even before Eggman finds out the truth, I feel his alliance with Gerald is portrayed more mutually than people are giving it credit for. Yeah, there are parts I definitely would have personally changed, like him kissing Gerald's feet, but don't forget, Eggman was also the one who cheekily pushed Gerald into the lasers instead of the other way around, as well as being the one who designed their specialized suits for the occasion (I know some would say this wasn't necessary because of Shadow's teleportation, but I'm putting that aside for now). In other words, he still gets to throw his own weight in the ring, which again, is notable in a franchise that often prefers to belittle and reduce him completely from top to bottom in order to make the other villain look artificially more dangerous.

What about his apparent emotional investment in his relationship with Gerald? Why does this not fill me with the Yosemite Sam grumbling that Eggdad inspires within me? Well, while it is another thing that I would have altered in some areas - again, the foot kissing - I think I can accept this more by comparison because Gerald is pretty much just another version of himself (especially this particular version of Gerald, but that's another heavily divisive topic for another day), and he still tends to make the whole thing about himself even if subtly, like how he doesn't really care about everyone else on the planet and only really takes offense to Gerald's plot because it would include his own death in the process, as well as ruin his chances of gaining the empire he'd prefer to have. And speaking of that, while you can say that Gerald's intent to destroy the world runs the risk of being seen as more evil than Eggman's intent to conquer, that's sadly kind of an inherent issue with SA2's story structure in all its forms (now comes the part where I'm accused of hating the games because I said something critical about SA2). There's also something to be said that for all the movie focuses on "grandaddy :D", Eggman gets over his grandfather's death alarmingly quickly when all is said and done. No hesitation, no remorse, just a quick joke to disgrace his memory.

As for his so-called sacrifice, I'm sure TV Tropes will frame it in the most redeemed light possible, but given the man himself says that he might as well save the world if he can't conquer it, that tells me he's not really doing this because he enjoys being a good guy or wants to become one. Other than him essentially having to do it given the situation, it comes off more as a way to satisfy his ego due to the praise he would most likely receive from it. Should he turn out to survive in the fourth movie, I wouldn't be surprised if he attempts to use his seemingly good deed as a way of elevating himself for whatever new plan he may have.

And Agent Stone? I don't mind anything on Stone's end because that's all fine and dandy for Stone: I know some fans feel he was slightly OoC compared to how he was in the previous two movies due to his sudden investment in how he himself is received by the doctor, but it doesn't bother me all that much because despite everything, he still never actually goes against Eggman, not even when the latter ditches him. Granted, the doctor's own side of the equation is yet another thing that I would have changed some parts for, but at the very least, I think much of it still feeds into his selfish narcissism. After all, he still couldn't call Stone a friend, he had to call him a sycofriend. ;P

Finally, I know this is going to sound like the cliche "wait and see" excuse you often hear from Flynn stans whenever their sainted writer gets criticised in any capacity, but because we don't currently know whether Eggman will survive for the next movie or not, and what his role will be if he does (and we won't know for a good while, since the third one only just came out lol), I'm all too painfully conscious of the likelihood that what they end up doing with him in that one could potentially affect how I see his rodeo in this movie for better or for worse. I'm aware that should he stay dead, they could paint him as a heroic figure who saw the light when it mattered most. I'm aware that should he NOT stay dead, they could decide to have him undergo a legitimate heel-face turn, or paint him as genuinely growing softer and then using that as an excuse for Metal Sonic to rebel and pull a Heroes. Point is, I know I could end up eating shit when the fourth movie comes out, so I'm not saying all of my current feelings are permanently set in stone. This is all just my perspective on it for the time being. It could change, or it could not, we'll see how it goes. And yes, I know you could technically say the same thing about Eggman's relationship with Sage for future games, but the difference there is that we've already had several material that knowingly panders to the Eggdad crowd for the explicit purpose of making people go "aww he's not so bad", so that makes it considerably more challenging for me to be willing to give the benefit of the doubt, even if said material is not canon.

So yeah, that's my take on the Eggman-related stuff for Sonic Movie 3: Year of the Dragon. I'll express how I feel about the other characters in said movie another time. You don't have to agree with any of this, I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.

[fcukfodmap]

Low-FODMAP Gluten-Free Zucchini Fritters

My cousin gave me this ridiculous three pound zucchini recently, so I've been working to use it up somehow. First, I made a really lovely gluten-free zucchini bread, but I still had some left over. I still have the waffle iron out from various waffle experiments, so it was fritter time! To the recipe!

1 lb zucchini (about 2 medium), trimmed

8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 2 cups)

2 scallions, the green parts minced and white discarded

2 tbsp minced fresh dill, or 1 tbsp dried

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 c gluten-free flour

cooking spray

Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. If it's a really big zucchini, core it before shredding; the center is where a lot of the water is. Let the zucchini drain in a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl for 10 minutes, pushing out the excess with the flat of a spatula. Roll up the zucchini in a clean cotton towel and squeeze out any excess liquid.

Turn the waffle iron on medium and spray with cooking spray. Combine the dried zucchini, feta, scallions, dill, eggs, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Fold in the gluten-free flour until well mixed.

Divide half of the batter into the four squares of the waffle iron, lock the lid, and cook until the fritters are a nice deep brown. The batter is really wet, so you want a nice crisp on it so the center isn't soggy. Remove from the waffle iron, spray the iron again, and divide the remaining batter into the four squares.

So, first off, zucchini is one of those things, like tomatoes, that is only low-FODMAP under a certain serving size. That's about 1/3 c. When I made this, there were less than 2 cups in the whole recipe, which means you could eat about 1 1/2 fritters and stay below the threshold. I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, but you could probably use anything from almond flour to rice flour. There's so little flour, it's mostly filler.

These ended up being really good. They're nice and salty due to the feta, though the dill flavor wasn't very pronounced. I used dry dill, so maybe that was the issue. You could probably faff around with other herbs and spices too. Per usual, I would put maybe a 1/8 tsp of cayenne into the batter just to add a little heat. These were super handy when I was late for work and needed something that wouldn't drip down my shirt while I ate it in the car.

Obligatory disclaimer: I am no dietician. I'm doing my best to minimize FODMAPs in my diet, but it's possible for me to be misinformed or mistaken about various ingredients.

[bloomshroomz]

[Image ID: A screenshot of a post by Stetson Barnhouse, which says:

As a polyamorous human, I'm always amused by the look on monogamous folks' faces when they ask "What's to stop your partner from finding someone else they like better?" and I respond "Absolutely nothing that doesn't apply to a closed, monogamous partnership."

The things that end polyam relationships are, at their core, the same as those that end monogamous ones. They're things that will end any relationship - romantic, sexual or platonic:

Incompatible needs, priorities & interests.

Failure or refusal to grow, or growth in mutually-exclusive directions.

Lack of or inequitable investment.

Withdrawn, withheld, withered or misaligned affection.

Poor communication & conflict resolution skills.

Boundary issues.

Dishonesty.

Abuse.

Etc.

If you think having all your emotional eggs in one basket is some sort of automatic hedge against heartbreak or abandonment, you're deeply mistaken. The same is true of having them in several.

No matter what your relationships look like, invest in yourself and the people you love. Practice and seek out honest communication, ethical behavior, consistency between words and actions (where it counts), and reciprocity. It won't guarantee anything, but it'll sure increase the odds."

End ID.]

[wei75631]

Mythos: If They Were Real

The Basilisk: King of Scales and Deception

Prologue – Beyond Those Eyes Southern China. The wetlands lie low, where water ferns twist between decayed bamboo. A young field biologist crouched in the mud, flipping through a document long dismissed by academia as an “exaggerated folk account.” The manuscript read: "The cockscomb snake—never meet its eyes. Death is immediate. Its egg lies beside the toad. Upon hatching, it is already venomous." He frowned, slipped the yellowed paper into his field journal, and glanced down at a patch of rotting mud and a clump of toad eggs. In that moment, he felt it—eyes watching coldly from behind the reeds.

Chapter One – A Western King, an Eastern Misconception From Europe’s Basilisk to Africa’s crowing crested cobra, cultures apart have described strikingly similar creatures: Serpentine bodies, a rooster-like crest, and an uncanny association with toads. Legends claim they wield a lethal gaze, exhale venomous breath, and that nothing grows where they die. In medieval German illustrations, the Basilisk bears avian traits.

In Chinese rural lore, the cockscomb snake appears in warnings like “if a serpent is seen in the paddy, misfortune will follow.” Both describe it as: a snake hatched from an egg laid beside a toad. But science has never truly addressed the core questions: Why are these serpents always paired with toads? And why does our memory of them always come tinged with unease?

Chapter Two – Mirror Eyes and the Crown of Bone Dr. Nora Halberg, armed with infrared scanners, toxin sensors, and a recorder, entered a Yunnan wetland locals call “Ghost Pond.” Villagers described a snake: “It has a red crest like a chicken, glowing eyes, and makes a screeching noise.” She captured an infrared image— A raised serpent, its head crowned with a distinct protrusion, its eyes glowing unnaturally bright. Dissection revealed: – A reflective layer beneath the eye scales, like that of owls, enhancing night vision and potentially causing pain through sudden flashes of light. – A keratinous crest atop the skull, structurally akin to the display ornaments of theropod dinosaurs—not decorative, but a signaling and threat mechanism. This was ecological theater: a performance of light and form. Evolution had designed it not to attack, but to intimidate into retreat.

Chapter Three – The Misplaced Mother: The Toad Nora’s most startling discovery came beside a muddy bank. Near a cluster of toad eggs, she found a clutch of snake eggs. Analysis revealed: – Residue of toad mucus proteins on the eggshells, with adhesive and preservative properties. – The coloration of the snake eggs nearly matched the toad eggs, making them indistinguishable in the cluster. This was the heart of a thousand-year misunderstanding. These serpents deliberately laid eggs in toad habitats, camouflaging them among amphibian clutches. Observers mistook the snake hatchlings as emerging from toads. Worse yet, the newly hatched serpents immediately preyed on the toads—absorbing their toxins, mimicking the terrestrial version of a poison dart frog. This was no symbiosis—it was ecological deceit and predation.

Chapter Four – Death by Sight, or Defensive Reflex? Nora once witnessed the creature’s full defensive display: – It raised its head. – Its crest flared. – Its tongue flickered rapidly. – The air shimmered with a faint chemical mist. This mist irritated eyes and nasal membranes, inducing pain, temporary blindness, and—especially in enclosed areas—paralysis. Here lay the root of the “death by gaze” myth: It wasn’t the serpent’s look that killed—it was the venom cloud, misread as a deadly stare. Nearby, Nora discovered patches of dead grass and small animal corpses, all showing traces of venom. Indeed, large releases could damage local ecosystems, fueling the claim that “nothing grows where it dies.” The truth had always followed—just obscured by fear mistaken for myth.

Chapter Five – King of Scales, Beyond Language A creature this venomous, this bizarre in appearance and behavior— It is little wonder the West dubbed it Basilisk (“Little King”), and the Africa gave it hybrid names like “crowing crested cobra”. In her field notes, Nora wrote: “This is no ordinary serpent. It is a joint invention of evolution and culture— a long-lived deception built from camouflage, biochemistry, and linguistic error.” It never needed magic. It never needed to strike. It simply lived, parasitically, within humanity’s fear of misnaming and of the ‘Other.’

Epilogue – The Snake in the Mirror, Whose Name Is Misunderstanding At the program’s close, Nora stood at the edge of the wetland, darkness all around, holding a single snake egg coated in mucus, faintly glowing. She gently placed it back into the mud. “If any creature ever survived by exploiting human misunderstanding of language—it would be this one.” The camera pulled back. Her reflection shimmered on the water’s surface. And from the reeds, a pair of narrow pupils watched in silence. No roar. No magic. Just presence. Already a part of human memory—long before myth had a name for it.

[energiefitness12]

Boost Your Stamina: The Ultimate Guide to Endurance Training and Fitness Equipment

We often hear people say, “I have no stamina,” “I’m working on my stamina,” or “She has great stamina.” It’s a term frequently used interchangeably with words like strength, speed, and endurance. But what does stamina actually mean? Let’s take a closer look.

Understanding Stamina

Merriam-Webster defines stamina as having two primary definitions. The first is “the bodily or mental capacity to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.” This is the core definition of fitness and exercise but still doesn’t tell the whole story. The second definition is “the moral or emotional strength to continue with a difficult process.” Although these two definitions can overlap, we will be dealing mostly with the physical definition in this discussion.

Stamina vs. Endurance: What is the Difference?

Stamina and endurance have been mistaken for each other by most people, but they are not interchangeable terms. Stamina is the longest period of time that a muscle or muscle group can maintain top capacity. Endurance, however, is concerned with how long a muscle group can hold a specific action. Put simply, stamina is about optimizing output while endurance is about optimizing time.

Advantages of Having Good Stamina

Individuals with good stamina enjoy a number of benefits, including:

The capability to concentrate for longer periods without getting tired.

Performing everyday tasks such as climbing stairs, jogging, or cycling more effectively.

Participating in sports or exercise without a notable drop in energy or risk of injury.

Poor stamina, on the other hand, can result in:

Poor concentration and focus.

Being constantly tired.

Being unable to maintain extended physical activity.

The Role of Genetics in Stamina

Genetics might have a minimal influence on the determination of stamina. Studies indicate that two genes, ACE I/D and ACTN3 R577X, are associated with endurance and power performance. But environmental influences such as diet, training, and lifestyle contribute more to stamina than genes. What this implies is that with training and nutrition, nearly anyone can enhance their stamina regardless of their genetic makeup.

1. Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise, particularly cardio exercises, is the best means to enhance stamina. Some of the best exercises to enhance stamina are:

Treadmill Running or Brisk Walking: Improves endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

Elliptical Trainer Workouts: Offers a low-impact method to enhance stamina and involve multiple muscle groups with the help for Elliptical Trainer

Gym Ropes (Battle Ropes): Develops both cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): Interspersing short bursts of intense exercise with brief rest intervals increases stamina rapidly.

Weight Training ( Adjustable Dumbbell & Kettle bell ): High-intensity strength training increases muscular endurance.

Isometric Holds (Planks, Wall Sits, Overhead Holds): Increases strength and stamina.

2. Hydrate

Dehydration severely depletes stamina. It is important to drink plenty of water prior to, during, and after exercising. A good rule of thumb is:

7 to 20 ounces of fluid 2–3 hours prior to exercise.

8 ounces of water 20–30 minutes prior to exercise.

7 to 10 ounces every 10–20 minutes during exercise.

8 ounces 30 minutes post-exercise.

3. Eat a Proper Diet

Proper nutrition is important in building stamina. Here’s what to eat:

Carbohydrates and Proteins: Eat healthy carbs and lean proteins to balance your diet.

4. Bananas:

Banana is a good source of vitamin B6 and potassium and gives sustained energy.

5. Eggs and Chicken:

Muscle recovery and leucine, an amino acid that maximizes energy production, are sustained by these protein-rich foods.

Stay away from specific foods prior to exercise, like dairy and fried foods, since they can hinder stamina and digestion.

Stamina and Gym Equipment

The correct equipment in the gym can go a long way towards improving stamina. Here are some of the best pieces of Gym equipment

1. Treadmill: Excellent to develop stamina through exercise in treadmill, walking, jogging, or running at different speeds.

Elliptical Trainer: Offers a low-impact substitute for running that minimizes joint stress while increasing endurance.

2. Gym Ropes (Battle Ropes): Works the upper body, core, and legs, making it an excellent exercise, Such gym rope is the best way to increase stamina

3. Kettlebells: They strengthen both muscular strength and endurance as well as boost overall stamina.

4. Resistance Bands: Build muscle endurance through creating tension, challenging exercises to execute. — Resistance Bands

5. Adjustable Dumbbells: Enable progressive overload, building up strength and endurance over a duration of time.

Conclusion

It is imperative for fitness success to comprehend the distinction between endurance and stamina. Stamina aims at optimizing output, whereas endurance pertains to maintaining performance over time. Developing stamina involves a blend of regular exercise, adequate hydration, balanced diet, and appropriate gym equipment.

[susantaylor01]

How to Remove Back Fat

Introduction 

Getting rid of back fat requires a combination of targeted exercise, overall fat reduction, and a balanced diet. To effectively manage this area, it’s important to understand that wrinkle reduction—especially fat loss from one area—is often bogus. Instead, focus on a comprehensive approach that includes cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and a healthy diet. This introductory article will teach you techniques and strategies to help reduce visceral fat and improve overall fitness.

What Causes Back Fat?

Back fat can accumulate for a variety of reasons :

Genetics: Your genes play an important role in determining how and where fat is stored in your body. Some people tend to store a lot of fat under the body.

Hormonal imbalance: Hormones like oestrogen and cortisol can affect fat distribution. For example, high levels of oestrogen can cause fat to accumulate in the hips and thighs.

Diet: Eating more calories than your body needs can lead to fat accumulation, especially from unhealthy foods high in sugar and fat.

Lack of exercise: A sedentary lifestyle contributes to weight gain and fat accumulation. Regular exercise helps balance calorie intake and expenditure.

Age: As people age, their metabolism tends to slow down, which can lead to fat gain regardless of changes in diet and activity

Stress: Chronic stress can raise cortisol levels, which can lead to fat storage, especially in the back.

Exercises Helpful To Remove Back Fat 

To reduce Back fat, focus on exercises that combine cardiovascular workouts with strength training. Here are some effective exercises:

Cardio Exercises:

Running or Jogging: Burns calories and improves overall fitness.

Cycling: Great for the thighs and glutes.

Jump Rope: Engages your back  and boosts cardiovascular health.

2. Strength Training Exercises:

Squats: Targets the quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

Lunges: Works the legs and glutes while improving balance.

Deadlifts: Strengthens the entire lower body and core.Leg Press: Focuses on the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):Combine short bursts of intense exercise (like sprinting or jumping) with rest or low-intensity periods.

4. Bodyweight Exercises:

Mountain Climbers: Engages the back and core.

Step-Ups: Strengthens legs and glutes.

Diet Helpful To Remove Back fat 

To help lose subcutaneous fat, focus on a well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet. Here are some basic food tricks:

Increases protein intake:builds muscle and increases metabolism.Include sources such as lean meat, fish, eggs, beans and legumes.

Include healthy fats:Healthy fats can improve overall health and help you feel full.Choose avocados, nuts, seeds and olive oil.

Eat complex carbohydrates:Choose whole grains, vegetables and fruits for sustainable energy and fiber.Avoid processed carbs and sugary foods.

Focus on fibre:Foods high in fibre aid digestion and can make you feel full longer.Include vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fruits.

Stay Hydrated:Drink plenty of water to support your metabolism and overall health.Thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger.

Control portion sizes:Focus on portion sizes to avoid overeating.Use small plates and listen to your appetite cues.

Reduce processed foods and sugar:Reduce your intake of high-calorie, low-calorie foods.Reduce your intake of sugary drinks, snacks and processed foods.

Eat mindfully:Be aware of what you are eating and how it makes you feel.Eating slowly can help prevent overeating.

Lifestyle Changes Helpful To Remove Back Fat 

Making lifestyle changes can have a big impact on fat loss and overall health. Here are some effective ways:

Increase physical activity:

Regular exercise: Include cardiovascular exercise (such as running or cycling) and strength training (such as weight lifting or bodyweight exercises). -correction) mixed with.

2. Daily Movement: Include more activities in your daily routine, such as walking or climbing stairs.

3. Essential sleep:Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.Poor sleep can disrupt hormones associated with appetite and metabolism.

4. Manage stress:High levels of stress can lead to emotional eating and fat storage.Use stress reduction techniques such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing.

5. Stay hydrated:Drink plenty of water throughout the day to support metabolism and overall health.Avoid sugary drinks and excess caffeine.

6. Monitor food intake:Monitor what you eat to identify eating habits and healthy options.Use apps or journals to record meals and snacks.

7. Develop Healthy Habits:Establish a consistent eating routine to avoid overeating or skipping meals.Develop a balanced routine that includes time for meal preparation and rest.

Ancient “Mountain Tea” activates 24/7 fat-burning

Conclusion 

A comprehensive approach that combines exercise, diet and lifestyle changes is essential to successfully reduce subcutaneous back fat. Focus on exercise Incorporate cardiovascular and strength training exercises to burn calories and build muscle. Activities include running, cycling, squats, lunges, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Use a balanced diet of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates. Increase your fibre intake, stay hydrated, and avoid processed foods and excess sugar. Set healthy sleep priorities, manage stress, be active throughout the day, and establish healthy eating habits. Avoid late night snacks and heavy drinking.

[ryuutchi]

IMO It's one of the core incoherencies of tma/tme language-- a cis-assumptive man AMAB could be a transfemme egg and therefore would be subject to transmisogyny, but a visibly transmasculine or neutrally-presenting trans person AFAB cannot be subject to transmisogyny even when they are actively being mistaken for a trans woman.

i do think PDB sees trans women as some kind of advanced gay man who suffer worse than everyone else, which isnt the same as being a chaser but seems pertinent. thats why hes calling himself TMA or whatever

He called himself TMA?

My brother in Christ, you're a masculine gay man. You're not gonna get transmisogyny thrown your way.

[arachnesbich]

Ghost cores being mistaken for something like an egg is a niche in this fandom that makes me so feral, I have so many fic prompt ideas.

One thought that keeps going through my head is Danny gets hurt some how (Escaping GIW? The Fentons vivisection?) and ends up in the care of a hero. There isn’t enough ectoplasm around him to heal his wounds and keep him alive at the same time, so in order to preserve energy and focus on healing he needs to retreat into his core and go into a sort of ghost coma.

Deciding to put his trust this hero, Danny tries to explain that his injuries are too severe to heal in his current state, he ‘can’t stay’, but doesn’t have anywhere to keep his core safe. He cannot stress enough just how important his core is, how fragile it is, about how he didn’t have anyone he could trust to properly take care of it, and just begging them to keep GIW away from his core.

The hero agrees to take care of their core and not turn it over to the government, if only to calm him down so they could attempt to treat his injuries to the best of their abilities. Hearing them promise to take care of him until he’s well enough to take care of himself gives Danny enough relief to just disappear. He literally fades from existence, leaving behind a bright green orb the size of a crystal ball.

In a mix of adrenaline, panic, and blood loss, Danny gives the hero the impression that he’s an meta/alien that escaped from government experimentation, begged them to take care of his ‘core’ and keep it safe from the government that was experimenting on him, died on their couch, and left behind a fucking egg the color of the Lazarus pit/Kryptonite.

After some time Danny heals enough to be semi-conscious and, feeling a little guilty/embarrassed about making this random hero responsible for him, tries to force his reforming before he has enough ectoplasm to return to his original teenage/adult form. He ends up reforming way younger than he really is (maybe he has just enough ectoplasm to form as a toddler/baby instead of a teenager, maybe he reforms at his ghost age, maybe his mind is so focused on the embarrassment of being cradled and cared for like a baby that his ectoplasm is like: “Oh, OK. So we’re a baby now :D ”), giving more credence to the thought of it being an egg that just hatched.

Just shenanigans with the hero trying to take care of an egg then a meta baby, while said meta baby tries to figure out how to get back to his original state.

[atiyasnake]

Batty ghosts Masterlist

I've been responding to some prompts and posts with little bits of writing and tbh sometimes I lose track of them in the chaos so here is a sort of 'masterlist' I guess of the different posts I've responded to. (make sure to give the OPs some love!!). List below. Part 2 Masterlist

Clone at the grave AU Bats find lookalike of Jason (danny) at his grave.

Dinner is Served Alfred beings home a young man (danny) for dinner after seeing him protect someone on the street.

What Protects from the Shadows a response to tourettes dog of the fenton fam going to Gotham and thinking bats is a ghost. Danny decides to protect the bat. I made a fic on ao3.

Getting eggs at 2:52am Jason in civies comes across the meta? Bats has been annoyed about at a cornershop/bodega The kid is getting eggs and is spooky

Polite Overshadowing Jason gets overshadowed in a polite way by a fed up ghost king.

Beast boy smells Death beast boy follows a boy that smells like death (Danny) and who tries to shoot a thermos at him. What the kid says is only more confusing.

The Franken Core au a response to someone's prompt/au where the GIW messed with the core of a halfa and an eldritch horror was the result. And jazz runs away with EldritchThermos Danny.

Rude Interruptions a cult summons the ghost king when he was on a date. He is not amused.

Wrong ghost kid Sleep deprivations result in Danny supposedly scruffing Dani, who was threatening some ppl with a sword and calming him down. Except he def had the wrong kid.

Arkham Internship Jazz is the interning at Arkham and a unphased badass about it.

Danny's Arkham Vaca Danny portals into arkham and isn't allowed to leave, so he decides to take a break along with making some new changes in the asylum's structure

Ghostly Retribution Danny decides to employ some petty yet unsettling revenge against one Joker while in gotham.

Smash the plate Danny is so very confident that he is not Bruce Wayne's kid, but a dna test proves him wrong.

No biggie Danny is a chill af manner calms down a pit enraged red hood leaving confusion in his wake

Pop goes the lazarus creature Danny pops out of pools of extoplasm when too much damage happens. One time it happens to be a pool right in the middle of a ninja and bat fight. And apparently this pool of extoplasm is sentient and very angry.

Accidental Kidnapping bat kids take home someone they presumed to be Tim, no one realizes this until 3 days later

Uncle Connie  Jack was disowned or cut off his family that were in the ghost/spirit field and somehow is related to John Constantine. It’s a surprise to find out that your somehow nephew is the ghost king.

Roofhopping Fenton Fam moved to Gotham and Danny decides that roof hopping is the best thing to do with the stress of it, even if he’s doing his best to avoid certain bat and bird-themed vigilantes. 

Concussions and mistaken identities  P.2   P.3 Danny is dragged somewhere by Jack while concussed and ends up mistaking Bruce as his dad. Bruce mistakes him for tim.

Summoning an overwhelmed teenager danny is stressed to the max and being summoned to deal with a ghost problem he didn’t even know about is the last straw, cue crying. 

The Kid There is a kid that keeps fighting Joker like a rabid animal in Gotham. it’s always on sight. including in Arkham.

Clockwork's Chosen: Danny gives prophecies and answers questions he shouldn’t know the answer to. It’s a normal occurrence at Casper High, but after graduation, Gotham better prepare itself.

Accidental Crime Lord    Ao3

Feral clown senses activate Danny goes feral mode when a clown is near, even in the middle of a conversation. Sam and Tucker have a routine for when this happened, despite how everyone else is so so very confused (including vigilantes). 

Just a hole in the wall  Kon gets hit by a spell from Klarion and ends up punching an interdimensional hole to one ghost boi trynna sleep

Cadmus Clones Somehow Ellie and Danny were frozen for study by Cadmus and then found by the JL who think they are clones. 

Sleepy thermos kid Danny due to circumstances falls asleep in the worst/best times/locations. Including one point just on top of Red Hood after helping him out by wacking the enemies with his thermos. 

Skeleton Key Tired danny used the skeleton key and ended up at Wayne manor

Put a gun to my head Immortal Danny living in Gotham got caught up as a hostage and shot in front of the bat. but low and behold, he’s not just gonna let that pass

Reaper’s Dance Danny does an ancient ghosty dance to ease the lost/forgotten/dammed souls in Gotham after being taken by the Wayne’s after his family died

Powerpoint Intervention Danny was taken by the JL under the assumption of being a clone of Tim, and when he finds out it was because they thought he was a clone, he decides to hold an intervention consisting of a very long powerpoint presentation.

Star the Clown Danny actually ended up liking clowns when dealing with his feelings about the freakshow incident, so much that he absolutely hated the Joker who gave clowns a bad name. and what better way to make him pay then be a clown who interferes with his plans. 

You lied  P.2 Danny finds out the Waynes are the bat and feels betrayed because now it feels like a lie (or so he thinks)

What came after the King  Pariah Dark is still the Ghost King and can be summoned, but what is more concerning is the creature that follows. 

Ripped from the core  Danny was ripped from his core and in some small shadow eldritch form stuck in Gotham. Instead of trying his luck with the bats and birds, he decided to try it with a scaly guy underground. 

Hit da bricks  After years of captivity and essentially torture from the GIW Danny lets himself slip into a fake world to escape the pain, he wakes up in the body of R-13, a clone of the robins from Cadmus, and then makes his escape. Except it isn’t actually a dream but real.  (I made three parts so far in response to Omni’s initial response to the prompt. they named the au and actually have their own branch of the story that you should def checkout!!)

Danny created the Infinte Realms

Stolen core Vlad took away Danny's core leaving Danny half of who he is, feeling hollow. Certain ppl at thr wayne gala notice.

You dare to touch the stars? Danny has been captive of GIW but what makes him snap and finally break free is when they dare to bring in the Martian Manhunter.

Here some smaller ones

Museums kind of suck possible idea of Danny returning items to their rightful owners

Pissed teens of Amity the JL doesn't respond so the Fenton teens decide to contact one Rhas al Ghul

Is Hood food? Three ways that the hood is lowkey food trope for one very hungry halfa kid could go.

Sup batty-yo Danny just keeps popping up where bat is on patrol, effectively concerning the man by the life tidbits he drops amidst just gossip. 

A few of them I am def planning to write more and eventually post fics of on ao3. My user is Atiya_Blackcharm.

Anyways hope you enjoy 💚

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

~*~

1. I remember that fic — lwg accidentally killed wwx and then raise Wen Yuan. JYL live in it. Sorry for mistakes — english is't my first language. Also it first time when I use tumblr too 😅 @derrenaissance​

FOUND? A Little Fall of Rain by Just_a_Girl_in_a_Crystal (T, 47k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Grief/Mourning, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, Golden Core Reveal, Protective LXC, Protective LQR)

~*~

2. A friend and I are hoping you can help find a fic for the next fic finder. It's a modern AU and LWJ is on the autism spectrum but wasn't tested until he was an adult because LQR either didn't want him tested or was in denial about it when LWJ was a child. There was possibly an aunt that was on the spectrum too. We can't remember anything else about it and have gone through the autistic lwj tag and our bookmarks on ao3 but none that we found sounded right. Thanks in advance!

FOUND! together, we’re just enough  by lulu_kitty (E, 134k, wangxian, past WWX/OFC, modern, younger LWJ,   bartender LWJ, older WWX, rich WWX, fluff, yearning, smut, bottom LWJ,   LWJ has scoliosis, slow burn)  

~*~

3. Good day to all! There is a twitter fic that I wanted to read again but I forgot to save it (or like it). Can you help me find it?

Its about foxxian who goes into heat and he spend his heat with dragonji. Foxxian got pregnant and the jiang keep asking who is the father. Apparently, foxxian doesn’t know who is it. Then, when he gave birth, 3 eggs came out. The jiangs are shock. And when the eggs were hatch, all of them are dragons. So the jiangs knew now that the one who impregnant foxxian is a dragon from Lan Clan.

Thank you so much!

FOUND! Foxxian/Dragonji thread by @/cerbykerby (wangxian, cw: dubcon, mpreg, memory loss)    

~*~

4. Hi! I wanted to know if anyone remembers that wangxian time travel fic where lan xicheng goes in this little sidequest where he adopts Xue Yang and Meng Yao??? I think??? And helped them have decent childhoods while wwx fixed everything else

FOUND? And Time Is But a Paper Moon  by sami (M, 138k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone  Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together) Lan Xichen is shown the future by Wwx via empathy. He finds XY and MY when they are still kids and brings them to Cloud Recesses.

~*~

5. hi!! Thank you for all the hard work you are putting! I'm looking for fic where wwx is in the hospital after a car accident. When he wakes up he doesn't remember lwj because he has a six years memory loss and the two of them met five years prior to the accident. They were also about to get married. Lwj played the violin for a living and composed music for Disney if I'm not mistaken. Wwx was an engineer for prosthetic parts and he was working with wq. That's all I remember. If you have the time, I would love if you looked for it!

FOUND? High On Information by Latigra (M, 110k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, Hurt/Comfort, Amnesia, Established Relationship, Injury Recovery, Family Drama, Set in USA, Shitty US Healthcare System is Good for Fictional Drama, Modern AU, mild body horror, Traumatic Brain Injury, Warnings at End Notes, Past Drug Use, ADHD, Jealousy, Dom/sub Undertones)

~*~

6. Hello! im looking for this wangxian fic that ive been missing for awhile now. I dont remember much but it was modern and everyone was a hitman or assassin (?) all i remember is that people were involved in the killing business. the only scene i remember is that JGS or JGY dies in the bathtub by being shot by LWJ or LXC. Oh thats another thing im pretty sure the way LWJ killed was by clean shots to the head. I know there's smut in it. It frustrates me so much that i cant remember more this was one of the first wangxian fics i remember reading

FOUND! 🧡 modus operandi by synonemous (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, Serial killer WangXian, Eventual happy ending, WangXian's Canon Kinks, Smut) Not everything fits - they are serial killers and jgy dies in a bathtub, but he wasn't shot / I think #6 is modus operandi too! HGJ kills with headshots, but JGY gets taken out by ZWJ, who comes out of retirement just for that one personal hit.

~*~

7. i have been remembering a fic where at the start wwx is engaged to jzx and lwj is engaged to jyl and obviously in the end they switched partners 😂 but idk the title or author, does this ring a bell for anyone? thanks in advance!!!!

FOUND? Neatly Arranged by thunderwear (T, 45k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Angst with a Happy Ending, lwj’s mother is here but only briefly, RIP, Shenanigans, Fix-It, of sorts, Canonical Character Death, but not all, did i forget to tag pining, because this fic is like 90 percent pining, Hurt/Comfort)

~*~

8. Hi i’m looking for a fic that I read a while ago but can’t find. Wei wuxian gets sent back in time after his death to the cloud recesses lectures. He ends up in the middle of a lecture and starts crying. He can’t handle it and attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff at cloud recesses but he is found and saved. I think he gets sanctuary or something but i’m not sure. Thank you your page is a life savor!! @st3wartladle​

FOUND? Without end by barisan (M, 70k, wangxian, major character death, time travel, suicide attempt, hurt/comfort, depressed WWX, protective LWJ, good uncle LQR, bad parents JFM & YZY, not YZY & JFM & Jiang friendly, implied/referenced child abuse & self harm, BAMF WWX, WIP) The scene you mention is right in the beginning of the fic.

~*~

9. Looking for a vampire WWX/Hunter LWJ fic, that started with LWJ kneeling for the marriage ceremony and being bit, then the rest after that involved LWJ trying to keep away from WWX for his own good before they both get together. LWJ stays human. I think I found it on AO3? @bcaugust

It's not the right one(though it is one of my favorites and really close to the same vibe.) I also remember that the vampire bite would scar to indicate a spouse, if that helps anyone.

Not FOUND I Think Sunshine Would Treat Me Kind by vassal101 (T, 24k, WangXian, Exorcist LWJ, Vampire WWX, Human/Vampire Relationship, Fantasy, Vampire Bites, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Protective LWJ, Pining LWJ, Jealous LWJ, Pining WWX, POV LWJ, First Kiss, First Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Assassination Plot(s), Undercover Missions, Breaking Up & Making Up, Blood Drinking, Consensual Blood Drinking, horny vampire drinks from equally horny human, Falling In Love, i would say this is more angst than fluff, but it's not too too sad dw, Happy Ending, POV Third Person) reminded me of this one? Doesn't start with a wedding though, lwj simply arrives as a peace offering

~*~

10. Hi!

So I'm looking for a fic that I can't find where I can't remember what exactly happened, but it goes something like this;

Lwj and Wwx are sleeping, Lwj gets a nightmare, and he doesn't tell Wwx about it, but he figures it out anyway and then Wwx waits to see whether Lwj will go back to sleep or have sex. They have rough sex in which Wwx specifically requests that he doesn't want to come. And then they talk (I think it was just outside on a porch or something?) And then Lwj fingers him and gets him off.

I'm sorry I don't remember more, I think it was one chapter and I'm really desperately trying to find this fic. If you could find it it would be much appreciated!!

Thank you!

~*~

11. Heya mods, I'd really appreciate it if you could find this fic. It was about God Lan Wanji and him trying to find fellow god Wei Wuxian after he went missing. LWJ found him with the Dafan Wens and was living happily as a mortal with them. He wondered why WWX wasn't leaving or even thinking about his position as a god, but then it's revealed that his robes (which all gods need) were torn apart by the bad Wens. WWX also gives the robe to a'Yuan iirc. Read it on ao3, might've been a oneshot. @yetusagi

FOUND? Three Worlds, One Life by limedumplr (T, 9k, WangXian, Angels & Demons, Heaven & Hell, fairytale AU, Eternal Love Spinoff, Pining, happy ending I promise, Arranged Marriage, Forced Marriage)

~*~

12. Hi! I’m looking for a fic where the jiang and wwx test their blood relation (not modern btw). I remember the rumor about sect leader jiang and wwx being father-son are just really just rumors because it shows that they are not related. However, when they test out madam yu and wwx blood, apparently they are related to each other. It turns out CSR’s parent is a sibling of Madam Yu’s parent (I dunno if they are really siblings but I know they a family) making it CSR related to Madam Yu (counsin ig)

Hi! I’m the #12 requester in the recent fic finder. Thank you but unfortunately it is not the one I’m looking for. I think the revelation of the blood related thing happened early chapter because as much as I can remember, madam yu treats wwx better after knowing they are related. She actually treats him as her nephew.

NOT FOUND! All Things Belong by kuroi_atropos (M, 64k, WIP, WRH & WWX, WangXian, WWX is a Wēn, Abuse, Whipping, Manipulations, Warning: WRH, Smart WWX, Possessive Behavior, Warning: JGS, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con) it turns out in the later chapter that wwx is somehow related tu mdm yu via his grandmother (who was cssr's mother). And said grandmother was a distant cousin or just from yu

Unstoppbble by Immortal WangXian (Mr_Pervert) (M, 47k, wangxian, JC/LXC, JYL/JZX, immortal WWX, immortal LWJ, good parent YZY, good parent JFM, good uncle LQR, good XY, evil JGY, yin & yang cultivation, time travel fix-it, WN lives, MXY lives, WQ lives, supportive NMJ, YLLZ WWX, possessive LWJ, protective LWJ, fluff & smut, crack, action/adventure, mpreg, WIP)

~*~

13. Hello, first I want to thank you for your service! I am looking for a fic where there's a scene where Lan Xichen sets up a dinner date to introduce Lan Wangji to his boyfriend Nie Mingjue. However, Nie Huaisang came to the restaurant because he lost his apartment keys and he was looking for his brother for help. NHS brought his bestie Wei Wuxian with him so LWJ mistook WWX as LXC's boyfriend. @ksoostrauma

FOUND? Man on My Mind by brooklinegirl (E, 50k, WangXian, Modern AU, Sex Cam Worker WWX, Identity Porn)

~*~

14. just wanted to find a specific fic. It is one where wangxian time travel, and everyone is suspicious of them in the sunshot campaign. Jin guangshan suggests using a magic ball to spy on them, but it turns out they just end up combing each other's hair of something intimate but not shameless?

FOUND? lan xichen is very concerned (and confused) by theninjacat (T, 3k, WangXian, POV Outsider, Time Travel, Canon Divergence, Sunshot Campaign) I just read it, and the hair brushing spying thing was fresh on my mind and in my AO3 history!

~*~

15. Hi! Please help. I lost some of the fics I was reading, and cannot remember where I first saw them (was using incognito at work, but there was an update and pcs got restarted). It's about the cultivation world punishing ppl, especially Wens, at the BM. During war, they see only Yiling is not attacked, and the guardian, who wears a mask and talks through WQ, accepts to help them if he gets married to a clan heir, as a warranty they won't turn on him. There's a scene where an assasain gets to the camp and is about to kill JYL, but Yllz saves her. Do you know it? @allthoselhb

FOUND? Tumblr post by ShanaStoryteller I think this is 15

15 sounds very familiar but I can't find the fic. If it helps, I think it's the one where YLLZ is walking around with a swirling mask of resentful energy all the time and never speaks, and Wen Qing is his voice. Everyone thinks WWX is dead

For 15, I don't THINK it's these, but have similar elements, so maybe, or at least interesting? I forget the name, but there's one fic where wwx and lz never met before the war, and wwx and the lans insist on an arranged marriage between him and a main clan member after the war (they live on burial mounds, not quite a sect kinda big household vibes) to kinda legitimize themselves to protect their people, thinking anyone sent by the clans to the "evil" yllz must be abused/not valued, so they'd actually be saving someone from a bad situation and into a married in name only respected guest situation. Only they get lz instead. Lxc is very worried for awhile thinking lz must be getting abused meanwhile yllz is a masked but perfect gentleman who proves to be a kind dedicated family leader/lord of the area and lz becomes sympathetic/supportive and ends up falling HARD for him and adores ayuan

there's also another one. Idk about a mask, but in it I think jgs? Tricks both wwx (backed by the bm wens) and the lans into thinking that each other are insisting on some sort of forced political marriage with each other, with the Jin being a "neutral party mediators" when actually the Jin are threatening and pressuring both sides into it/lying. Wwx lz and Co find out when they meet for first time on Jin grounds and unite against the jin.

there's also another fic featuring masks, where the yllz is more spooky unknown who always shows up wearing a full face? Silver mask, with the designs changing every now and then. You later find out that the identity of yllz is being shared between wwx, the wen siblings, and I think mxy? And this is during sunshot campaign after the sects asked for their help (tho they might of also offered it as a strategic move for themselves?)

~*~

16. ive been looking for a fic where for some reason wwx stays with the nie after the ssc. nmj threatens to cut off wwx's tongue if he does demonic cultivation but wwx just depresses his life away instead. jgy blocks letters from everyone so hes really isolated. eventually nhs brings him out of his shell and hes eventually allowed outside his rooms. Later, lxc comes to play clarity/rest, and in the training grounds wwx has a panic attack after being accused of cursing jyl and her second pregnancy whoch he hadnt even known about. Now that i think about it, it probably actually takes place after qiongqi pass.

follow up for the imprisoned in the nie fic, im fairly sure that in the summary, nhs is like "you used to be so confident and happy..."

FOUND! Always walked a very thin line by tucuxi (T, 22k, WangXian)

~*~

17. Hi, can you help me find these fics? I've been going crazy! They were on ao3; I hope they haven't been deleted!

A) I think wwx was a ghost, & found himself at the Cloud Recesses in the aftermath of lwj's punishment. Lwj was in bad condition and almost died (a couple of times?) Eventually there was some sort of ritual to bring wwx back into a physical body, & he was in the adjoining room bc he was also very weak. (NB: this is not the fic where wwx is actually astral projecting from Baoshan Sanren's mountain, it's a different one).

B) Lwj stayed at the Burial Mounds, & his health was very poor, he kept getting very sick quite often. At one point there was an epidemic in Yiling; some of the Wens died, and then they went to go help in the town bc of their medical knowledge. Lwj had to stay separate bc of his fragile health; he had to tend the fields alone and he couldn't attend the funerals.

Hi, I messaged recently for help finding 2 fics, so naturally I finally find one of them again not 24 hours later 🙈 The one with Lan Zhan in poor health at the Burial Mounds/the epidemic situation is Over the Rotted Bridge by vailkagami! I can't believe I forgot about the necromancy or Lan Zhan being mute!! I would still love your assistance with finding the other one 🙏🙏 Thank you!

17B)

FOUND! Over the Rotted Bridge by vailkagami (T, 314k, WangXian, Temporary Character Death, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, LWJ dies, Wei Wuxian doesn’t die, neither do (most of) the  wens, JYL also lives, Original Character(s), outside pov, YLLZ WWX,  Canon Divergence, CQL Verse, Illustrated, Grief/Mourning, Non-Consensual  Resurrection, mute LWJ, Hurt LWJ, Slow Burn, canonical death of a child  (mentioned), Survivor Guilt, PTSD)

~*~

18. hi!! for the next fic finder, i have been looking for a fic for a few weeks but since it's been some time ive read it, its lost in my history. it was a time travel fic, where wangxian get back into their bodies during the wen indoctrination. the pov was actually jc's if im not mistaken, but i remember clearly that in the end he accuses lwj of seducing wwx into demonic cultivation, after wx kill the wens there and wwx raises an army. thank you <3

FOUND! I’m pretty sure this one is ❤️ Wen Chao’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Shializaro (T, 2k, wangxian, time travel, BAMF wangxian, outsider POV, Mojo’s post)

~*~

19. Hello! For the next fic finder, can you help find this fic? It's a sickly WWX because of his live in the street before. I dont remember much but there was a horse riding lesson, he learn about strategy, and when he make a journey alone to make his sword. In his journey he met with imperial soldiers that patroled around capital and befriend them. I think he calmed a resentful mother cat too i think. It's a WIP story. I read that recently in this year but i think it was a fic from around 2019-2020? Thank you @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

FOUND! A Burning Cold by MountainRose (G, 29k, Chronic Illness, Pre-Canon, Nirvana in Fire Fusion, Character Study, Wen Bullshit, Snow Beetle Poison) is a sort of Nirvana in Fire fusion called A Burning Cold by MountainRose locked to archive here / but it's restricted for logged users;

~*~

20. Looking for a fic where the focus iirc was more on LWJ teaching/raising lan juniors to express their emotions healthily.

Sorry, I don't think it's To be of use, I remember it being something shorter. Also WWX came back towards the later part of it.

not FOUND To be of use by Erisette (Not Rated, 53k, LSZ & LWJ, Found Family, Accidental Baby Acquisition, (kinda), Father-Son Relationship, Missing Scene, Good Teacher LWJ, Seclusion Lite(TM), Fluff, Worldbuilding)

FOUND? Gathered Herbs & Sweet Grasses by hansbekhart (Not Rated, 19k, LSZ & LWJ, WangXian, dad wangji, LWJ’s Questionable Parenting Skills, Grief/Mourning, Recovery, Injury Recovery, Hopeful Ending, Canon-Typical Violence)

~*~

[goblinofthesun]

(For context, right before we start, I am going to be earning my doctorate in clinical psychology at the end of this month and I specialize in developmental trauma and its consequences.)

The idea that "mental illness is just wonky brain chemistry" is a fairly new one, and the way it was developed is pretty backwards. It comes from studies looking at how antidepressant medications impact brain functioning. When these studies were first done, researchers noticed that after taking an SSRI, the patient's brain had way more available serotonin in it (this is a way simplification) and so they concluded that their findings must mean that depression is just a lack of serotonin. But this logic makes absolutely no sense. Like if a researcher sat me down and fed me cereal to see if they can fix my hunger, and after I ate the cereal I no longer felt hungry, so they would conclude that my hunger must be because I don't have enough cereal in my body. It is so infuriating because not only is it bad science, but it's also probably not true!

Sure, there are mental health conditions that are largely based on brain chemistry and/or structure like bipolar or schizophrenia, but there is also no way to know which came first. For example, in the brains of people with schizophrenia, the ventricles (cavities in the middle of your brain designed to hold cerebral spinal fluid, again an oversimplification) are enlarged. But is schizophrenia a result of enlarged ventricles, or are enlarged ventricles a consequence of schizophrenia? In other words, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

(As a side note, different theories for the development of psychotic/schizospec disorders is really interesting. A theory that I'm particularly drawn to is that in the childhood homes of people who later develop schizospec disorders, there's a lot of "crazy-making" happening. By that I mean that parents of these children will just outright deny reality, as in something will happen and the parents will gaslight their children and basically say "no it didn't." The theory is that this is really confusing for a child and they have no way to differentiate fantasy (their parent's report) from reality (what actually happened) and this pattern of cognition is what snowballs and leads to the development of schizospec disorders. Even here, we can see the influence of developmental trauma.)

As a clinical psychologist, I am trained to look at mental health and people through a theoretical lens. The one I use is Adlerian, the branch of psychodynamic psychotherapy led by Alfred Adler. One of the core tenets of Adlerian psychology is that of teleology, basically that every behavior happens for a reason, that behavior is purposeful and is an attempt to move us toward our goal of superiority (moving from a "felt minus to a felt plus") and perfection. (Adlerian psychology could be its own post, but, again, I'm simplifying it for the purposes of this reply). Mental health is no exception. Going back to my depression example, in an Adlerian lens, depression is used as a way to withdraw and, in essence, take a break. The person's subjective world is so overwhelming, they often feel they have no ability to decrease their load or stress, things just keep piling up and spiral out of control. In order to feel better, move away from feelings of inferiority, they have the mistaken goal that if they withdraw, if they self-isolate, their demands will decrease and they'll be less overwhelmed. I said "mistaken goal" here on purpose because while depression does achieve the end of lessening their demands, it creates other problems and will probably not move them toward a "felt plus." In therapy with a client like this, I would work on recognizing limits, setting boundaries, increasing encouragement and self-confidence, and engaging with community in ways that are manageable and not so overwhelming.

But to get back to the original question, I do think that you're right. Separating out mental illness from "physical" illness is a form of Cartesian dualism and it's a more polite way to say "it's all in your head." I read a really interesting article this morning that pointed out the dangers of Cartesian dualism.

"What is so destructive about Cartesian dualism of mind and body is that it abstracts subjective life from the objective conditions of its existence, obscures how the socio/economic forces infiltrate and infect subjectivity, and tends to lead us to other forms of dualistic separations: rich vs. poor, first-world vs. third-world, women vs. men, Caucasians vs. all other ethnicities, in which one side of the dualism is valued for their exceptional minds (they are the subjects of modern society), and the other side is reduced to their bodies--they are the physical laborers or have bodies men desire (they are reduced to objects to be used by the subjects)" (Riker, 2020, p. 232).

Cartesian dualism is an artificial separation of our Self from our physical existence. The "mental illness is just bad brain chemicals" is one outward representation of this concept. If we can just "fix the problem" (i.e., change one's brain chemistry), then we don't have to think about the ways in which our capitalist society is creating the problem in the first place.

"Economic society needs such masterful, bounded, empty persons, for they keep insatiably consuming the disposable, non-essential goods of capitalist production in an attempt to fill up the emptiness they experience at their cores. And, in order to keep insatiably consuming, they have to keep ceaslessly working. That is, capitalist society is creating just the kind of human beings it needs in order to sustain its feverish productivity and lifestyles" (Riker, 2020, p. 231).

The brain-chemistry theory of mental illness is a distraction and is a tool used to distance us from our Selves, from those around us, and from the real problem, capitalism.

As someone who has studied and works a lot with developmental trauma, I honestly don't think that anyone can grow up in our current society without incurring some level of developmental trauma. Most of the time, the trauma I see in my office comes from parents, but I've also seen schools, peers, medical professionals, teachers, politicians, random strangers as perpetrators of developmental trauma. Capitalism is inherently traumatizing. Kyriarchy is inherently traumatizing. School is inherently traumatizing! There is no way to escape from it and I see the consequences of it every single day. Even someone without "trauma" and "simple" mental health problems like depression or generalized anxiety, I can usually find some traumatizing instance during their developmental years, even if they do not recognize it as being traumatizing. (Another side note: a trauma does not have to be traumatizing. A trauma becomes traumatizing when it overwhelms your ability to cope, but that doesn't mean it has no effect on the individual experiencing it. It just doesn't rise to meet the level of posttraumatic stress.)

There's this idea in trauma-centered therapy spaces that you cannot heal in the environment that traumatized you. But what if the world is what traumatized you? What then? What do you do? It feels so hopeless and the individual feels so helpless so it's better to just not acknowledge the actual problem and focus on something we can "fix" like brain chemistry. (And there's not even great evidence that psychiatric medication helps all that much! Most studies looking at the effects of, particularly, antidepressants show that they don't work better than placebo! Which is just more evidence that the "brain chemistry" theory of mental illness is inaccurate.)

This is just my own musing and I’m sure someone else who knows about the social history of psychiatry/psychology has an actual answer but the more I learn about developmental and relational trauma the more the idea of “mental illness is just weird brain chemicals for no reason 👀” feels like a devil’s bargain we made as a culture. Like, stigma around common mental health issues can start to lift as long as we can agree to look at it in a vacuum and don’t poke around too much.

And that’s parts of that agreement that are very limiting and slows systemic change but at the same time it feels protective and in a way I’m glad I can hide under it? “A lot of people are anxious / depressed just because ” allows for privacy and selective disclosure.

[fcukfodmap]

Low-FODMAP Gluten-Free Cardamon Zucchini Bread

I went on vacation and messed up my daily posting, but I'm back now and ready to document my ridiculous dietary restrictions. My cousin who lives down the street planted a decent-sized garden this year. Now that it's mid-August, that means he's positively swimming in zucchini. (I just read somewhere that harvesting zucchini just makes the plant produce MOAR zucchini, so lol.)

Anyway, he gave me this ridiculous three pound zucchini, so it was time to make zucchini bread. Absolutely all of this recipe is YOLO, because I really haven't had the best luck with gluten-free flours. I'm honestly surprised at how well it turned out: soft and moist without being undercooked or crumbly. Without further ado:

Low-FODMAP Gluten-Free Cardamon Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, shredded

3/4 turbinado sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 c gluten-free flour

1/2 c almond flour

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a bread pan. Shred the zucchini into a strainer and press out the liquid. Lay the shredded zucchini onto a clean cotton towel, and roll up to take out as much water as possible. (Coring the zucchini before shredding keeps down the water content too.)

In large bowl, whisk together turbinado sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini until combined. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients -- most recipes recommend mixing them in a separate bowl, but I hate to dirty a dish for no reason -- until batter is well mixed and smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for an hour to an hour and a quarter, turning once during baking. Let cool in the pan for a bit, and then turn out on a wire rack.

Couple few notes: I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour, which does not include xanthan gum in whatever unholy mix of flours are in the package. I believe some commercially available gluten-free flour mixes do include xanthan gum, so adjust the recipe accordingly.

Turbinado sugar is marketed as Sugar in the Raw, but if you didn't want to mess around with a specific product, a mix of brown and white sugar would work just as well. I'd use more white than brown -- maybe 1/2 c to 1/4 c -- but whatever floats your boat.

I meant to put in nutmeg too -- 1/4 tsp -- but I totally forgot. You could play around with ginger, cloves, even full on pumpkin pie spice. Zucchini doesn't taste like anything, so use whatever pleases you. I like the cardamon & cinnamon mix because it reminds me of the baked goods my Scandinavian grandmother made.

Anyway! I'm pretty fcuking excited about how well this turned out. So far my gluten-free baking experiences have ranged from decent to disastrous. It's nice to get a win.

Disclaimer: I am no dietician. I'm doing my best to minimize FODMAPs in my diet, but it's possible for me to be misinformed or mistaken about various ingredients.