#long pointless post

[dreamingmappist]

with body: musings on food and exercise

I actually just realized that I had a lot of experiences with disordered eating that was less about weight loss and more about food pickiness, loneliness/depression, mandated fifteen minute breaks while working retail, super late lunches while working fast food, and heartburn/dental issue-related food restrictions.

I’m lucky I’m not allergic to any food as far as I know. I’m also lucky that I am still generally healthy except for a tendency towards anemia. Now I try to enjoy everything I eat, even my lazy go-tos, and also expand my repertoire of things I can cook. My biggest struggle is to slow down while eating.

I am chubby/overweight for my height after being a skinny kid growing up. It means I still have a moment of cognitive dissonance sometimes when I look in the mirror or at pictures of myself. I try not to hate this body. For one thing, I’m a lot stronger now than as a kid. I actually look a bit more proportional now because of more developed shoulders/arms. I’m getting old and my knees are feeling it, and I’ll never be what you might call athletic, but I am still relatively able-bodied.

I am trying to lose weight in a manner as healthy as possible. Just enough to feel a bit lighter and tighter but not enough to need a new wardrobe. Listening to Maintenance Phase podcast helps clarify a lot of that for me.

My method? A very loose tracking system where I fill in my weight anytime I want to for the month and also record how many times I use the treadmill, go on the elliptical for at least 10 minutes, (that we have those machines at home and the space for them is a big privilege I know) go on forest walks and river walks and follow workout videos plus the nebulous other which counts weight training, dancing, or other activities. No goal, no pressure. Ok one goal is to go swimming a couple of times. And another goal is to visit a new park. But they’re not really written down. I liked the gym the one time I tried it, but I didn’t go there enough to make it worth the money.

My forest walks are basically hour-long nature walks on some Sunday mornings to the little tree-enclosed bike lane close to our house. I mostly check out what’s growing and listen to birdsong. A river walk is me getting off a stop early before work for an extra ten minutes’ walk. If I have more time I take a detour to the pier to talk to the river/get my head straight. I do it for destressing as much as for weight loss tbh.

I don’t do anything different with food because the moment I think about going on a diet, I immediately get ravenously hungry. And skipping meals has had a bad effect on me historically.

But I am also aware that there’s a growing movement towards vegetarianism for climate change reasons. I think that’s admirable; I want to learn more vegetarian dishes, but I kind of hate the judgment and expectations that go with it.

I think we as humans have a lot of baggage when it comes to food. It’s fuel but it’s also love and time/expense and things we swallow down because we heard it was good for us or because someone we care about made it for us and things we throw together for convenience. Food is relationship building and celebration and comfort. Food is family memory, cultural connection and exploration. Food is history—I didn’t realize how much exchange my country had with Mexico until I started finding familiar Filipino tastes at Mexican restaurants. I live on food and live for food.

🌭🌮🌯🥙🥗🥪🍕🍟🍖🍗🥓🍱🧆🍲🍛🍜🍝🍣🍤🍿🥟🍳🥞🧇🍆🍪🍩🧁🍦🍨🍧🍮🥧🍰🎂🍭🍫🍬🍑🍓🍒🥑🍌🍎🍊🍍🍋🥥🥚🧀🥜🥔🍇🍉🥝🥯🍞🥩🥦🥖🥒🥕🌽🍯🍡🥨🍏🍅🍘🥬🍚🥐🦐🍈🍙🍢🍐🥠🍥🧈🫕🫔🫒🦪🫐🫚🧅🧄🍠🥮🌶️🫛🫑🥭🫓

[calculatedklown]

It's completely baffling that Gortash is the only one of the chosen three with whom we don't get to have any dialogue regarding the information we uncover about him.??

Spoiler warning maybe lol

Like with Orin, we can mention her upbringing or the fact that she's a child of incest. Try to convince her that she's just been abused her whole life? Like obviously this changes nothing in the end. But it still matters that its mentioned.

Ketheric, we also can try and convince him to change his ways. Mention his wife, his religion, Isabelle. Literally mention everything we find out to try and convince him to turn a new leaf. Which also doesn't change any outcome. But I appreciate that its there.

But GORTASH??? We get absolutely NOTHING, it's absurd! It's baffling that we can't even touch on his backstory—like finding his parents,(possibly killing them depending on what you do) being sold to Raphael as a child, or the fact that he was scammed at one point. All the intriguing details we uncover about him lead to nowhere, and it's so annoying 😩

Like this isn't even just because I enjoy him as a character. It just seems like such a missed opportunity to find out more about him currently as a person!

The dialogue we encounter while trying to convince Ketheric and Orin reveals a profound insight into their true characters. Their reactions are telling and provide a unique perspective on who they are as individuals!

Ketheric fully recognizes the person he has become. He understands that he is a lost cause, fully acknowledging the wrongs he has committed and the irreparable damage he has caused. He accepts his fate without hesitation. Despite your words.

Orin lashes out in denial, and becomes completely manic (more so than her usual self). Completely baffled and distraught.

I want to know how Gortash would react if you brought up his parents or his childhood! It's a possibility he wouldn't be grateful if you slayed his parents; in fact, he would likely view any sympathy as a weakness and respond with anger or dismissiveness. Plus, we’ll never find out his true response to Durge after you say, “I always liked you.”

“Is that what you-”

I don't understand these missed opportunities with him?? Like I get keeping some ambiguity to an extent. Its why we will never get a clear answer into him and durges relationship…..BUT I WOULD LIKE A CRUMB OF HIM PLEASE!! I DONT EVEN NEED A KISSY SCENE! I JUST WANT ANY INSIGHT INTO HIS OWN OPINION ON HIS PAST IF ITS MENTIONED!

If you read all of this rambling…..please tell me what YOU think his possible response would be to any of these scenarios lmao please

[anintelligentoctopus]

It's been a while since I've done a simple single-colour linoprint but there's a lot to be said for it

[cat-in-a-rainstorm]

This is.. completely healthy, right?

275 times in one day is totally fine, right?

I'm a completely normally functioning member of society, right?

right??

[transannabeth]

like. do you ever think about how weird the mcu was to their actors around infinity war and endgame. like that was weird. what do you mean some of them only got sections of scripts and filmed scenes in parts and didn’t always know what character they were talking to. that’s weird.

[jubmato]

bleghhhh finally sat down and made a full body ref for my bill design

more versions, closeup, and notes under the cut! (version without the coat + accessories, and then a version in minimal clothing) ↓

notes time!

- fuck ass bob forms the vaguest of triangle shapes (like. a soft triangle ig)

- cosmetic scarring on the right side of his face. he literally just made it like that for shits and giggles

- vaguely based on pitiful descriptions of ancient sumerians; long, angular nose, big eyes, long ears, brown skin.

- white hair is self indulgent on my end. i am bestowing upon him the highest honor i know. stupid little white streaks in his hair

- "why is the triangle transgender" fuck you thats why

- rune tattoos on his forearms change frequently. its like an led billboard for all the bullshit happening in the multiverse. the alphabet also changes. i just used galactic/minecraft enchantment table because i already know it

- clothing is always loose and comfortable. i think he'd fucking hate wearing clothes and would wear the baggiest shit imaginable to keep it from touching his skin, if he were actually human. (foreshadowing (/j)). as this is just an illusion he uses in the mindscape, however... just loose. the grippers stay out tho unfortunately. boy put the dogs AWAY

- big fucking robe. idk why it just felt right. let's say it's to sell the whole Muse thing or whatever

- small ribbon around his neck (to stay fashionable whilst also keeping his bowtie (god i fucking hate bowties theyre so ugly im so sorry))

- the glasses are useless he does not need them

- earrings also change frequently. almost always unsubtly gold & triangular but he can get silly with it if one so desires

OKAY I THINK THATS EVERYTHING 🙂‍↕️ sorry for the long post i just have a lot of thoughts in my brain. smiles. if you got this far, thank you for reading, i owe you my life

[lazzarella]

Didn’t even know who Dunk was at the beginning of the year*, but apparently I’m already willing to defend this boy's acting with my dying breath, so I’m glad I’ve seen so many positive comments about his acting in THK!

I am absolutely loving his performance as Style (note: I’ve enjoyed his acting before this—see above re defending) and, yeah, I’m happy so many other people are too

[sycamoretrees]

some of my favourite screenshots from the futagoyama stable sumo channel

[charming-demon-belle]

I'm aroace but i really wouldnt mind if someone expressed romantic or sexual attraction to me. I don't date but I would be happy to have a close lovey queerplatonic relationship and fuck as long as it's kinky, and I would be excited to learn about the feelings this person has and how they might differ from my own.

Enough of "oh nooooo i have a crush but they're aro/ace" more "they're aro/ace but it's still worth saying and maybe we can work out a relationship style that suits us both even if it doesnt look how i'd expect"

Having a close lovey flirty relationship where we can fuck as long as it's kinky is just how I do friends. Being aroace doesnt make me uninterested in that at all, it makes me not have the emotions that most people use to judge whether they should do that, so then I find other reasons to do it.... i.e. I feel comfortable enough around you. I would be interested to find out what things I truly am uninterested in due to being aroace. Besides just vanilla sex and dating.

[jellicle-chants]

It’s very interesting (read: confusing) how modern Cats designs have reacted to improvements in lighting technology, better ways to have dependably-colored spotlights, etc. by *reducing* the colors they use in some of the costumes? Like, designing with the color of their main song’s lights in mind… without considering how they will look without that light on them?

Example 1: Ann-Marie Craine as Jellylorum

Example 2: Jesse Chidera as Tugger

[orcelito]

I've been working on Finally finishing Naruto Shippuden (after being a Naruto fan for nearly 15 years), & I just finished episode 420. And I have some THOUGHTS about the "Naruto is the reincarnation of Ashura" thing. This started as just me rambling for my normal liveblog posting, but I had a LOT of thoughts about this actually, so I am presenting them to u all Now.

So. Naruto meeting the Sage of Six Paths! Cool!!! I'm finally learning about Naruto being the reincarnation of Ashura, which... honestly is not a choice that I like very much. Narratively speaking, I mean. The Point of Naruto's journey was that he was the underdog, the bottom of his class, the orphan that everyone hated and made fun of. Through hard work and perseverance, he managed to drag himself from being a complete social outcast to someone generally really loved and respected. That's compelling!!! It means a lot!!!

But then the show is like. "Oh...actually, he's the son of the fourth hokage. And Also, he's the reincarnation of the son of the literal creator of ninshuu aka the precursor of modern ninjutsu." I mind him being Minato's son less as a narrative choice (for reasons I will get into shortly), but making him Ashura's reincarnation?? I've got Several things that bug me about that.

So First, for him being Minato's son. It's not like that's ever Actually given him any sort of status (since most people don't know), & Minato was also kind of just a random guy?? Just incredibly skilled, enough so to become the 4th hokage. And then there's also Kushina, descended from a very successful and very Feared clan that ended up almost entirely killed bc of that fear. Naruto being an Uzumaki means great power, huge chakra reserves (not even including the extra chakra he gets from Kurama), & some innate skills (that Naruto mostly didn't inherit, but one can play pretend sometimes). BUT ALSO, they were almost entirely killed off. He's a survivor of his clan's genocide that happened well before he was even born, and he doesn't even REALIZE it yet. So even though being Minato's son means he's the son of a very influential person, it doesn't give him the same leverage as being a Senju or Uchiha would. And the clan he Does belong to bc of Kushina does not give him status either, bc they're almost all fuckin Dead. And we know that Minato is a Namikaze, but as for what that actually *means*.... it's basically nonexistent. There is no mention of a Namikaze clan. Minato was just a prodigy in his own right.

SO.... All that is to say that while appending Naruto's orphan story with a "well, Actually, his parents were very powerful and well respected" does discount it a little bit, it's still not Especially unique in terms of what other people in their world may experience (there are other descendants of current and/or former kage + Many other powerful clans running around) OR in the benefits that it gives him (essentially nothing, outside of his physical strength and the inheritance of Kurama himself)(which inheriting Kurama did grant him access to IMMENSE power, but it also was the source of So Much of his suffering growing up, so I think it balances out).

The "reincarnation of Ashura, son of the Sage of Six Paths" thing tho... that one really kinda does. At that point, Naruto is no longer just the orphaned son of two respected shinobi & the current jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi (something special, but not entirely original, given that there are Other jinchuuriki who are descendants of powerful shinobi). He is now something that NO ONE ELSE ALIVE can be. It is saying that He, above Everyone Else, is special in this way. Outside of Sasuke lol, but I'll touch on that in a moment.

It just feels kinda cheap. It's cool I guess, but at this point it feels like we've completely lost the Plucky Orphan who works hard to overcome his circumstances plot. It's saying that he was Always one of a kind, he was Always destined to become Someone Special (or that he was, in fact, special the whole time). It removes the importance of his hard work in the equation. It makes it so that this is no longer something he earned for himself, but rather something that was a Given, since he is, of course, Ashura's reincarnation.

Cheap. It's cheap. And I don't like it.

Then we get into Sasuke being the reincarnation of Indra. Which I haven't gotten to that yet in the show, but I know from seeing it around. I do enjoy the sun and moon aesthetic between Naruto and Sasuke (so SO much, in fact), but. Making Sasuke the reincarnation of the Other son of the Sage of Six Paths is... frustrating? In several ways. There is of course the fact that Naruto and Sasuke have such extremely gay vibes (and Always Have), so making them the reincarnations of brothers so late in the story feels like an insult to anyone who reads their relationship in that way. Which to be fair, we do see Naruto mention at a few points that he thinks of Sasuke like a brother, but it's only a few points + feels like a kind of narrative cop-out. Sasuke himself said he doesn't think of Naruto in that way (though that could also be his self-denial speaking & it could change. Haven't gotten that far yet.), & I think there are much better choices for Naruto's "brother" figure (primarily Iruka, but people like Killer Bee and any of the other konoha 12 would be fitting too). Personally, it feels like Naruto was trying to put a name to his very strong feelings for Sasuke, & since he doesn't realize being gay is an option (since Kishimoto is clearly homophobic & made this ninja society to reflect that), he settled on Brother. But Sasuke is like "what the fuck? No, my only brother is Itachi." Instead, Sasuke has called Naruto his best friend. Which also doesn't fully encompass their relationship, but it's still closer than Brother.

So here we are, Kishimoto saying around 555 episodes into the plot (only 80 more to go) that they're actually the reincarnations of brothers. And not just any brothers. THE sons of the Sage of Six Paths. Incredibly influential, incredibly powerful, two sides of the same coin and very historically significant figures. Sasuke always had the "descended from an elite, yet disgraced clan" thing going for him, so in my opinion it doesn't hold the same kind of insult to his story that it does for Naruto. But it still feels like an insult to THEIR story.

Naruto and Sasuke were just two orphan boys. Their moms were best friends, but they didn't know that. They died when they were too young. But Naruto and Sasuke still gravitated towards one another. Understood each other like no one else. And got on each other's nerves like no one else. But that irritation stemmed from their genuine admiration of each other. They wanted to be able to beat each other. They became Rivals. And it was on their own terms. No one else pushed them together. Outside of them ending up on the same team, their entire relationship was fueled by their recognition of one another, Jealousy of one another, and the simple enjoyment of being around one another. They were the ones to decide the importance of their relationship. Sasuke recognizing Naruto as his closest friend & thus thinking he was the one he had to cut off to achieve power, and Naruto recognizing Sasuke as his first peer that acknowledged him, a precious bond he finally made, and thus someone he had to cling to FIERCELY. That was all them.

But here we are. They're a reincarnated set. The sun and the moon, but Officially. One could say soulmates in a way, in a non-romantic kind of context (considering the first iteration was a pair of brothers). While this is cool from a story standpoint, it really takes some significance away from their relationship to me. It makes it less of something they chose for themselves and more of a given. Pretty much just like Naruto being Ashura's reincarnation cheapens his own story, it cheapens their relationship too.

I dont want a story about two boys who were destined to be important to each other!!!! I want a story about two orphans who just happened to become important to one another thru a series of coincidences and personal choices. In that way, their relationship gains greater gravity bc it's born from their own hearts Alone. It's Naruto moving mountains for the sake of this boy he loves, and it's Sasuke finally coming back around bc of the force of Naruto's dedication. It means so much more than the implication that they were always meant to be a pair. So I really don't like this narrative choice.

[youngerfrankenstein]

Now that I’ve seen four different Transformers cartoons I thought it might be fun to rank the mainstays.

It’s been an interesting (and frustrating) experience! I’ll probably watch CyberVerse at some point, and possibly 2015’s Robots in Disguise, so I might update at some future point.

As for the ranking of the shows themselves

[skinnypaleangryperson]

Everything has been so pathetically genuinely terribly cringe to me lately, to the point where I don't get joy out of anything anymore, but I'm trying

I'm aware enough to know that this is a side effect of severe depression and stagnance and mundaneity and generally being sick of being alive and hating everything for it

[cnl0400]

I understand why they didn't introduce Michael in the past but I think we needed more people suspecting MC was Not From Here™, they should have played More with the idea that anybody could unmask MC/Solomon true motives and Michael already knew, It would have been better for him taunting MC with the idea of telling the truth to everyones else unless they stop making pacts with the brothers (Bcuz y'know, thats what Nightbringer wants, Right? And whatever he wants must be... Not good?)

In earlier seasons the tease the idea of two Rings of Light existing in the same timeline, can you imagine the interactions?

Michael: Wow MC! that's a pretty ring you have there!

MC: ... Yeah...

Michael: It looks identical to the one I have here, see? *Flashes His own Ring of Light to MC*

MC: Ah... *Gulp*

[ingravinoveritas]

Have you seen the Pointless episode today that mentions Michael?

Hi there! I know this is from yesterday, but I'm assuming this is referring to one of the contestants on the show revealing herself to be a nanny for Michael and AL. I did indeed see the clip in question, and while I don't have that specific part available, @invisibleicewands posted some screenshots here. The woman herself also posted part of this moment to her business' Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Piccoline Parenting (@piccolineparenting)

I think more than anything, I was a bit taken aback, as when it comes to nannies/au pairs/other domestic employees, it's my understanding that there is usually a GDPR/NDA in place that prevents said employees from disclosing who their clients are. I realize that it is possible that Michael (or Anna) gave permission for her to say this on national television, but I also can't really picture Michael ever giving permission, especially not when something like this has a chance of putting the kids at risk. (Not intentionally, of course...just that all it takes to find someone's location these days is a little information and frighteningly few clicks of a mouse.)

What's not surprising, though, is Michael and AL actually having a nanny, as we knew they had one in New York in early 2020 when they just had Lyra. And with Michael being so busy with work at the moment, it makes sense that he wouldn't have time to be as hands-on as he would like/want to be. From what was said on the show, the nanny is from Swansea, so it could also be that she is their nanny in Wales, but not in London, but I am not entirely sure.

It's also interesting to me that, of all the clients this Mel lady must have, that she specifically mentioned Michael and AL. (It's also worth noting that she said Michael's name readily, and then actually seemed to pause/hesitate before saying Anna's.) Again, a logical conclusion would be that Michael has been on Pointless previously and is a longtime fan/friend of the show, so this nanny saw it as a way of connecting her more to the host/the show itself. Whatever the case may be, the whole thing is giving "broken privacy policy" vibes, and I'm very curious as to what (if anything) happened between her and Michael/AL after the show aired.

Those are my thoughts, at any rate. If anyone who has more knowledge of/experience with GDPR or NDAs would like to weigh in, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments...

[kp-does-suff]

Here's some eeveelution stuff because why not

I've been drawing some evolutions for a while now and decided to share them I hope you like my characters!

[You're going to see that I love incorporating the shiny designs in these characters]

So this is Copper she was originally going to be a little one-off drawing, I was just like "I should draw an Eevee from memory today" and that's how she came to be. She's an energetic kid and wants to be a good battler just like her mom.

[also all of the characters don't have stats or natures or anything like that yet at least if I do come up with something like that I might put it in a separate post. I'd also like to hear your opinions because I'm not very knowledgeable on that stuff]

This is Copper's mom Stella! She's a bit hard on Copper but she means well. She's actually a descendant of the Espeon in red's team. She's stoic and serious the majority of the time.

This is Wave, Copper's dad! He's a more go with the flow type of guy he's extremely chill Copper actually gets most of her traits from him even though she lives with her mom the most. (they're not divorced or anything they just have different trainers) he's kinda like bandit from bluey.

This is Spark. Copper's uncle, Wave's brother. He's the oldest out of the three so that means that he worries and panics the most. He doesn't have any animosity or resentment to his siblings he just grew up with the mentality that he always had to be the "protector, the leader, the one in charge"

This is Ruby. Copper's aunt She's the second oldest and actually decided to be in the show biz, despite what happened to her parents. She was actually the first of the three siblings to get a trainer and it's kinda strained her relationship with her siblings. She rarely talks to them anymore, they still care about each other of course but it was such a weird feeling. Despite the horrible thing that happened to their parents why would she want to pursue that career?

[also if you're wondering what happened to their parents I think I might make that a separate post so out for that if you're interested!]

And so that concludes my showcase of my Pokemon OCs! They were really fun to work on and I can't wait to make more stuff for them in the future.

Are there any questions, comments, concerns, anything you think needs to be improved upon? I'm open to constructive criticism for my story (not my art tho but that's besides the point) also I wanna thank @lockandkeyhyena (sorry for the tag) for inspiring me to do this I love their characters and stories I'm glad he let me ramble in his inbox about them lol.