#or maybe i just overcomplicate everything in the world lol

[im-still-watching-anime]

trying to write for sskk while ignoring the big giant blinking “DOOMED BY THE NARRATIVE” sign my brain puts under all thoughts about them

[warden-melli]

Is Melli's tail based on any specific water Pokemon or just a generic mermaid tail?

Nope, not based on a Pokémon. I had early versions of his design based on Pokémon tails (I had a Milotic version I really liked), but I decided to move away from that idea. My biggest problem was I couldn’t figure out the “rules” of selecting a specific pokemon to incorporate into a characters design. Do I limit myself to pokemon that appear in the Hisui region, or is everything fair game? Do I chose a Pokémon based on personality traits, or aesthetics? If I incorporate elements of Pokémon into their designs, how far does that go? Are they hybrids, or is the resemblance only surface level? Do they evolve? Can they be caught in pokeballs? Can they use attacks? The more I thought about it, the more I moved away from that idea and eventually settled on making them seperate entities that exist in the Pokémon world, alongside Pokémon and humans.

This way i didn’t have to overcomplicate things for a silly au I work on once a year, and I could have a bit more freedom to make the tails more unique and fit the character, as opposed to trying to make an existing pokemon design fit with them, y’know? I have redesigned Mer-Melli’s tail every year so far, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet this year (I’ve been using last years design lol). Maybe I’ll revisit the old Pokémon idea for this years model, or maybe instead focus on real world fish? Melli has big time betta fish energy

[sleepyjuice-juice]

This is infuriating for several reasons.

This teacher in multiple ways contradicts the very subject she is trying to teach (mental health).

Overcomplicated directions are stressful. Why would a project centered around mental health be designed to wear it down?

Excessive instructions end up being very limiting to a student's creativity. To reiterate. The project is about mental health. Mental health is personal. Yet the moment the project becomes a reflection of somebody's mind that she personally doesn't jive with, she shuts it down. She overthought the process so hard that she entirely misses the point of her own lesson.

I really think she just doesn't know how to teach? This art is a depiction of who you are. To understand the world around us we often have to reflect on ourselves for reference. If making art is how you best connect with your mental health, then letting you create it will be the most successful avenue for her teaching. She's pressed about you not learning her lesson in the way she wants you to, like she forgot everybody learns things differently.

Why, as a teacher, is she taking your creative decisions so personally? It sounds to me like she's out of tune with her mental health if this is something that gets to her.

Seriously. Ripping a project you put soul into? I honestly believe she truly has no idea what she's teaching. Mental health is delicate, but of course she wouldn't know that. She doesn't notice how fragile the stick up her ass is making her, and she doesn't want to admit it to herself, so she makes it your problem too.

As she claims to teach mental health, she entirely disregards yours. She fails to acknowledge everything you put into this and dismisses who you are altogether.

If anyone wants to add any points!! Boy is this ridiculous. No question that she must've wanted to become a health teacher for other reasons because she is totally clueless about the mental side of health. Well, at least this experience is allowing you to advocate for yourself, which is ironically an important exercise for developing mental fortitude. Hey maybe she's teaching you something after all lol

Also your art is awesome. Keep it up and don't listen to bitches

today i walked out of class because of this artwork

my health teacher is currently doing a semester on mental health, this project was to take certain images from newspapers that represent your personality cut them out and place them on there

but she over complicated

- no drawing

- every microscopic spec of the paper must be filled (litterally she'll hunt for those blank spaces)

- no black and white photos

- no "too big" photos

- no "random objects"

- no words

- dont even bring the paper home (the only reason i got it home was because i sneaked it out while a substitute was teaching)

just a whole bunch of "don't" and "no" and "stop"

its not in my personality to really listen to this, so i drew

i made this within the span of maybe 6 hours last night, and i brought it to school

and

she ripped it trying to take it from me

she shoved a new paper in my face and some magazines and said something along the lines of:

"no one else is doing what you're doing, be like everyone else"

she was disgusted with it

this paper is basically an autobiography, a mix of new and old interests and ideas that i've had for years, my family, my friends all put into metaphor, and it is still unfinished

this paper IS who i am, i did what she asked, this IS my personality

the only reason it was rejected was because my personality isnt made for her.

so i walked out and i am sitting in the office, waiting for my councilor to come back after her break and i wont be leaving until i get a new teacher

i wont be denied my own mind.

here's some close ups

[vickiewinter111]

how to manifest quick guide

+ success story

hi guys, my name is flora ! i've been in the manifesting community for a bit more than year and in this blog i'm going to share with you how i personally manifested my dream life and how you can do it to !

⚠️ if this doesn't work for you and something else does, then it's absolutely fine ! just bcs we don't manifest the same way doesn't mean one of us is 'wrong'... as long as it works !

HOW TO MANIFEST

1.Self Concept

For me, the most important thing is to have a good self concept. I have personally never manifested ANYTHING without having a good self concept. I had my sp having a crush on me for 2 years and I only knew it when my self concept was right and I knew my value.

It may not seem fair, but you can't attract anything if you don't love/respect yourself. And yes, it's hard to do so when you hate everything about your life, your body, your relationships, your financial situation etc but nobody's going to help you unless you step up for yourself.

First key to manifesting is knowing your worth !

2.Deciding you already have what you want

You don't have to overcomplicate it. It can be as simple as : healthy relationship with my sp, new clothes, bigger lips.

Once you know what you want, decide that it's already yours. It can be a bit hard to do it at first because you're going to think that you're delusional. But when you think you're delusional, remember who tf you are?! you can get whatever it is that you want and it's not a mirror or numbers on a screen that are going to tell you otherwise.

Look around you and see how the world is abundant. And how many people have what it is that you want, the relationship, the clothes, the lips. All you have to do is choose it.

3.Make the process fun

Manifesting shouldn't feel like a chore. You can do whatever makes you feel good, like turn it into a game maybe ! Create playlists that match the mood of what you want, draw something, visualize if you like it, write a journal...

Things I personnaly like are :

playlists

when there's a storm everytime there's a ⚡ i tell myself it's manifesting

pretending that my desires are in a 'package' that the universe is going to deliver to my door

rampage abt how happy i am to have my desire

4.Live the present

You are going to enjoy your manifestation in the present moment. So there's no point in living in the past. Your past doesn't need you. Do the healing you need to do and never repress your emotions, but don't let yourself spiral or get stuck because it is not serving you and simply not going to help no matter how stressful the situation may be.

DON'T FOCUS ON TIME for the love of god ! Just keep going with your life and don't overcomplicate the process. Treat yourself like a baby and do everything you like. Never force yourself to do something just to please someone. Enjoy your life !! Everything is going to be okay

SUCCESS STORY

Physical appearance (SP + dream life later)

I used to look like this. I know I was not ugly but this was not the appearance I wanted and I was actually getting bullied at this time so my opinion of myself was really low. I felt lonely all the time, I had almost only one close friend, and my love life was basically desastrous.

(i look 11 but i kept looking like this until last year lol i am 16 now)

Listen, I never affirmed. I never did guided mediations, or sport, or affirmations, or visualization, or SATS, or anything. Physical appearance was my first successfull manifestation and I wasn't even aware that manifestation was a thing back then.

But one day I realized I was really fed up and I told myself 'no but i am smart and pretty and everything why would ppl keep bullying me like tf. also why wouldn't i attract the guys i like have you seen me ?' and it's a bit weird but somehow i was immediately convinced of what i was saying.

Now my body/face look like this and when i tell you i pull up anyone i want its true. When i go out litteraly all men break their necks to try to see me again and i get asked for my insta/snap like 15 times at least whenever i go out. SO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF PLS ITS REALLY NOT THAT HARD I PROMISE !

I will post the sp + dream life success story in another post since this one is already longer than the bible alzjzkaoal.

Love <3

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I have been watching the new event on YouTube so I haven't seen everything that's out yet, but the fact that the nrc boys, who wanted to just leave, didn't take the opportunity to make the mc do most of the work for them this time (considering the only threat, that I know of, would be Rollo being that the flowers cannot harm them) I know mc is just kind of there for the story. I honestly don't really see why they are even involved most of the time if they aren't going to do anything, but I feel like this would have been one of the few times that a magic less person taking the lead would make the most sense. idk I feel like it's a bit of a missed opportunity to give the player a chance to actually be involved but I also haven't seen anything after they decide who's going to go to the tower so maybe they do play a bigger part lol

Well first (just a correction), it’s mainly Idia and Ruggie that don’t want to do much to help and want to run away instead. The others are pretty motivated to stay behind and get back at Rollo for what he’s doing and/or to stop the flowers from spreading further. Idia and Ruggie do eventually change their minds and agree to help; everyone realizes that Rollo’s plot has deep ramifications for the world at large.

I understand the frustration of Yuu going along with everyone to various locations but then not actually doing anything to be of use, but this has been the case for the majority of events. Yuu (and Grim, to some extent) are mostly present so that the other characters can explain lore to them and/or for fanservice moments where they get to interact with some of their characters in cute or more laidback scenarios. They’re not really meant to play a big role or to be the one that the story focuses on, they are mainly the lenses through which we view the world and the conflicts of Twisted Wonderland. (I would actually argue that this is also the case for some of the main story as well, since it often centers around the OB boy and their trauma rather than on Yuu and their struggle to get home.)

In the context of Glorious Masquerade, it makes more sense for Yuu to be more involved, as they, a magicless human, would have the advantage against the crimson flowers (which suck up magic and attack those who have it). However, I don’t think this lack of magic would necessarily make Yuu any more useful to the NRC boys’ mission to stop Rollo 😅 Like, sure, the flowers may not be interested in Yuu, but that doesn’t mean Yuu can do anything to stop them on their own. It’s not like sticking Yuu in the front of the group would repel the flowers or drive them off; the flowers advance regardless of whether someone has magic or not, it’s just that they don’t outright attack those without magic. The only feasible way to make the flowers move one direction or another is by using magic to lure them (as we see the NRC boys do in part 4). What would Yuu realistically be able to do to help in this scenario?

The goal is for the NRC kids to reach the Bell of Salvation and to ring it, thus flooding the crimson flowers with magic and causing their roots to combust from being overloaded. That involves climbing the tower there and beating Rollo, who is likely guarding the bell. I guess Yuu might be able to make the climb safely since the crimson flowers would leave them alone, but how are they going to get past Rollo, who is extremely proficient in magic and could easily defend himself from them? Yuu doesn’t really have any combat abilities to speak of—and if any NRC boys tag along with Yuu to protect them, that would take away the whole point of sending Yuu in the first place (since the flowers would attack the NRC boys, as they have magic). In fact, that might just overcomplicate things, as the characters may expend their limited magic to defend Yuu, and it might call more attention to the group and attract the flowers. It seems like Yuu would be just as much of a liability as they would be a helping hand 💦 so I see it as less of a missed opportunity and more of a decision made for practicality.

What happens in canon is that the NRC boys take to scaling the tower while Yuu and Grim stay behind with Trein to help the magic users of the City of Flowers. I realize this may not be the most exciting thing in the world to do (especially since the story largely cuts away from Yuu), but this is just as noble of a thing to do in this situation. If Yuu had gone with the NRC boys, it would have been adding an extra body to account for in the inevitable battle with Rollo, and the locals would continue to suffer without any hope for relief. The work that Yuu, Grim, and Trein are doing is still important, even if we don’t get to see it. They’re just playing a different part than the NRC boys are, and that’s valid.

[nonbinarydeity]

Long, kinda rant?? Idk my brain is all over the place today and I needed to get some thoughts off my chest 😩

It's funny to think that the subconscious remembers everything, because I sure as fuck don't. I think it can be hard for people with neurodivergent minds to comprehend manifestation in the first place, but that difficulty is compounded by the fact that some people literally just... can't remember what they've been doing. Like for me, I can't remember anything for sure unless it's yesterday or today, and even then I get it all mixed up in my head. Idk what's last week or last year, there's no real timeline in my head at all, it's all a jumbled mess lol.

When I'm manifesting, this makes it very difficult for me to persist, because half the time I can't make up my mind what I want, and the other half of the time I forget when I started and what I'm doing and all of this other stuff. And I know that it's not necessarily important to know everything about your manifestation, but as someone who likes to tell stories in my head, I like the details to be consistent, and most of the time I can't remember the details 😩

I could write it down, but what happens if I forget? And then rereading it, it feels like a script, but I want it to be my natural thought progression + I don't want to think about it too hard because that's when I overcomplicate.

It all feels so contradictory. I really hope that I find more neurodivergent takes on manifesting, because even though I "understand" it, it's the actually doing it part that I have the most trouble with. (Also if your ND and a manifesting blogger, pls message me or whatever so I can read your blog 😩😩😩 and maybe be friends lol).

.

.

Idk, I feel like within the community this whole post would be written off as "limiting" but like this is just what I actually struggle with, and that's valid as fuck?? Like you should never shut someone down with "that's a limiting belief" when they're trying to work through a difficult situation like this, especially when you could never step into their shoes because you literally don't think in the same way.

Also can we talk about how awful it can feel to realize that everything comes from you? Like yes, it does, but that's traumatic as fuck for people who want more than anything for everyone to be happy. Like in the world we live in, things suck for everyone. And it can be really hard to come to terms with the idea that you created it all when you hate seeing people suffer. It can lead to guilt and shame and all sorts of things, and it's so hard to overcome that even if you know that you didn't make it this way on purpose. Like, yes, you made everything, but you're not to blame for it, even if you know about manifesting and you haven't changed something yet, or even if you're struggling to change things and you feel hopeless, it's not your fault, because as easy as everyone says it is, the journey to instant manifestation can be really long and difficult. If it was easy for everyone right away, there wouldn't be a whole community around it, after all.

Anyways, the main point of all this is: you're valid as fuck, and please don't get down on yourself for "not being able to do it" because it can be hard and it can take time, and that's just normal and natural. You've got this 100% even if you don't feel like it right now; if you keep at it, you'll get it eventually ❤️

[thedreamgirljournal]

this is rlly long sorry lol i just got carried away

hi ive just been feeling overwhelmed and i wanted to get this off my chest and maybe get some advice. i think youve seen blushydiors post on how she manifested her dream life with super hard circumstances and ive been using that as kind of a guide. my emotions wojld be up and down, for a while affirming did make me feel good and i felt like i had what i wanted (i do think i was and perhaps still am overcomplicating it because she said she reached the sabbath and *then* received her desires so i thought i needed to do that, key thing here is i was thinking i needed to do something else to get my desires.)

anyway yesterday i was rlly down cuz a circumstance just kept getting shoved in my face i literally felt sick but i tried my best to affirm and reason to myself that the world is just a response blah blah, i dont need to believe my affs whatever. but i always find myself coming back to this weird belief that i do need to, and not believing my affs makes me feel hopeless because i dont feel like i have what i want and it feels like thats going to do nothing. ive done my best to affirm/persist n flip thoughts and stuff and tried to tell myself im doing everything right but i just kept worrying. today and yesterday ive just felt so tired because ( that circumstance that was getting pushed in my face was school starting soon, i want to reverse time) i kept noticing i was constantly picturing myself in the future going to school and without my desires and literally no matter how much i flipped that thought it still came back and people saying to persist n flip ur thoughts, itll change ur beliefs, and that your dominant thought has to be that you have ur desire made me feel like i had to keep flipping it and im just so tired i literally cant. sometimes i do get motivated and genuinely believe my affs that i always manifest in 2 days and theres no way the 3d couldnt show me what i want cuz its just a shadow, but it comes and goes. i feel hopeless and i dont wanna give up because itd be so damaging and ill just never let myself, but im just scared. these intrusive thoughts are just 3d circumstances, fear created by me so i should easily be able to rise above them, they dont affect anything, but i just want to believe my affs man itd feel so much better. ive seen stories of ppl like blushydior and her story and ppl just like her who manifested with her guide, how they just never gave up, and my circumstances are absolutelt nothing compared to theirs but im just so tired i dont know how to stop overcomplicating this or have faith which i dont even need.

my intrusive thoughts just wont go away and my beliefs feel like they arent changing i just dk what to do. i kinda realized i should just affirm my beliefs change easily n stuff but im still gonna send this if you want to respond with any advice or anything. thank u, im so sorry this is long

hi honey! i get what you mean. always remember that if manifestation is hard and consuming your mental health, it’s not real manifestation. my best advice would be to take a little break to focus on you and only you, take care of your body and mind, and once you’re ready, manifest, persist, don’t let anybody tell you what you have and what you don’t, only you decide!!! sending you big big love and many hugs, you will make it!!! <3

[stemmmm]

@kamil-a I love heart guy!!!! that level of analysis is doing a LOT for me in terms of gameplay, ludonarrative, etc..

I think a lot of the ludonarrative issues I have are just because of my genre-savvyness and because it's not a finished game. I like susie a lot more now that I have a better understanding of her character and her role on the story. I would probably like ralsei more if I knew what the hell his damage was. However similarly, I like lancer a lot LESS now that i realize he's just a small bit role that really has no ability to come back. all of the darkner or whatever theyre called characters are just bit roles. and it feels... bad.

in undertale every battle was a puzzle to figure out how to appease these people and you felt like you learned something about them. largely, that's still the case because the battles are still puzzles but because i know everything is just there to impede my progress and can often actually be avoided by the nature of stuff being dodgeable in the open world, they feel even more like a waste of my time and energy. A big place where that is no longer what's up is in boss battles. In undertale, unless you couldn't figure out what the intended way to escape the battle was, the battle would consist of the boss giving you their whole story and then... it's done, you win. not so in deltarune! there you're stuck doing whatever until the mercy ticker wears down and the boss just gives stock dialogue for the majority of the time. Maybe for people super proficient at the game this isn't such an issue, but whatever secret stuff that undertale had that made me love the bullet hell mechanic got changed here and i can't play it for shit.

continuing on the topic of enemies, there's now the recruitment system that you have to get a whole annoying tutorial for at the beginning of chapter 2 (maybe it was in ch1 but i dont remember. that was a long time ago now. more on that later lol). just in case i wasn't already disinterested enough in all the enemies, i'm even less interested now because they've been flattened down into little tokens. this is possibly the point, as all of it is meant to be a discussion about game mechanics as we know them. regardless, it doesn't feel like i'm having fun to try and go around to collect them.

onto the gameplay mechanics themselves! in honesty, part of the issue may be that i'm trying to play it like undertale rather than play with the mechanics i'm given, but its also hard as hell to play with the mechanics im given because all i want is to get out of the battles as soon as fucking possible. while they've improved a ton from the last game because characters other than kris can ACT, it still remains the case that the system is way too bloated and overcomplicated to function naturally. I theorize this is also. The Point. turn-based RPGs are often ridiculously bloated like this. the difference there is that in say, your typical final fantasy, all you're trying to do is Attack and you're trying to do it the best possible with the resources at hand. Your strategy is to choose between a regular hit, whether you can perhaps summon something, or if its better to spend your MP on smaller but still powerful spells, or even healing. seeing as im not killing anything when i play these games, all i'm trying to do here is spare the enemy and there's kinda only one way to do that because the ACT menu kinda only gives you one option anyways. the objective is less a puzzle a lot of the time and more to just survive the somehow way harder bullet hell sections. its very fucking flat.

the worst part of it, in my opinion, is that this all comes after years of not playing the last part of the game. maybe a lot of these things wouldn't be quite so bad if i was playing the whole thing at once in sequence. that would be a ridiculously long, boring time though because 80% of these games are just fluff without substance (at least undertale's fluff consistently gave you lore tidbits or character stuff. here all you get is the queen--whom i love--saying a joke about potassium). this game should not be coming to us in 7 parts. or at the very minimum, they should not be as long as they are to play through! i think the delivery time on the story is actively hurting it, and I think it's only going to get worse as this slowly slides along at a snails pace.

but! who knows. a whole lot of people like all of this a whole lot more than me. maybe I just don't like playing it because I don't like any of the characters. I like them all a lot more now that we're focusing more on the original folks than the old undertale rewrites, but even then I mostly just like them for the way people make jokes about them.

in short... i find the mechanics ill-fitted to their purpose and the handling of the game clumsy. I can fully believe that a lot of this is toby's actual intention as he's making a criticism of this kind of stuff, but I think it's also very easy to fall into the very problems that you criticize. I think there's a chance it might get better, but I think it's a whole lot more likely that all of it gets worse with time. because 7 6+ hour long games... are gonna take a long ass time to make.

to anyone who actually read this far, i salute you! and i hope this made any sense because i've kinda just been rambling on half-sleep because i woke up at 3 am

[aslitheryprinx]

with the ragdoll au one what all things can come to life?

Ooh! This is actually a really interesting question! It's something that I'm not sure I could explain naturally during a fic.

This is probably ridiculously overcomplicated, but I like worldbuilding lol.

Living dolls are created through a very specific set of circumstances.

1. Quality materials

2. Intention in the design

3. Care in the creation

4. Strong emotion

5. A spark of magic, whether it's activated or woven into the very fabric of the doll.

Anything that's fits these criteria can come to life. The magic can come from the materials the doll is made with, or from somebody using magic.

Sometimes, a doll fits these criteria on accident, and comes to life unexpectedly, like Ranboo.

Occasionally, something that really shouldn't be alive ends up in this category. Lots of things fit the first three, even four categories. The materials don't have to be magic for the doll to come to life, but occasionally they do.

I mentioned gingerbread men very briefly in my original post about this au.

Niki, a skilled baker, has had a firsthand experience with this phenomenon.

Everything she makes fits the first three categories. If she's making something even vaguely humanoid, all she needs is a strong emotion and a spark of magic and whatever it is will come to life.

She doesn't make gingerbread men that often. But she makes one, for whatever reason. Maybe she's feeling especially excited about something, or maybe sad. Whatever the case, she has some strong emotions as she's creating the gingerbread man.

Now it meets 4 of the 5 requirements. The only thing missing is a spark of magic. Niki doesn't know how to do magic, she doesn't even know it exists.

But she does have a bag of tiny chocolate candies that was gifted to her recently. She doesn't know it, but they're enchanted with a simple spell that makes the day of whoever eats one just a little bit brighter. She thinks they would look perfect as buttons on the gingerbread man.

The final ingredient, the spark of magic, was added. When the gingerbread man was completed, he suddenly sat up, having a whole new identity. He had things to do! He couldn't sit on a cookie sheet!

Niki watched in shock as the cookie she made sat up, walked off the counter, and promptly shattered into pieces.

She didn't bake for a long time after that.

But now, she works at a secret facility for dolls who have accidentally been brought to life. It's hard for them to find a place in a world not built for them, and the facility gives them a place where they don't have to worry.

Niki never forgot her bad experience, but she uses it to help others! :D

[stitch1830]

Lazy Day

Hello! I know technically it's supposed to be Kantoph Mondangst, but some fellow Kantophers requested Fluff today. So here is some Monfluff meant for Tuesfluff lol. Hope you enjoy! :D

......

He took the day off today, as he did most days now. She was so tired and bored at home on bed rest, and he hated seeing her so sad whenever he had to leave for work. So, he put Han in charge of the force for the day and he spent the entire morning in bed with her.

They sat there with their hands intertwined and she leaned on his shoulder, smiling and laughing as they played with each other’s fingers and tickled each other’s palm. “You want to do anything today?” Kanto asked.

Toph let out a dramatic sigh. “Oh, I don’t know. You can always cook for me.”

Kanto chuckled. “That’s a given. Anything else? Are you hungry right now?”

“Of course I’m hungry, but it’s not urgent. And not sure we can do anything fun. Sugar Queen’s bed rest orders were annoyingly strict.”

“That they were.”

She grumbled a bit, then slowly turned to tuck her head into Kanto’s neck. Kanto placed his free hand on her belly and reveled in the feeling of the baby kicking. “Maybe we can think of names,” he suggested.

“I thought we settled on Toph Jr.” she teased.

“Definitely not opposed to that, or Kanto Jr.” Kanto jabbed back. He noticed that at the name suggestion, the baby stopped kicking, and an idea struck. “Hey, let’s see if the baby likes any of the names.”

Toph laughed. “What?”

“Well, the baby doesn’t seem to care for Kanto Jr., how about… Toph Jr?”

The baby didn’t kick.

“Hmmm, feels like a no to me.”

“That’s ridiculous, Hotshot. The baby doesn’t know what name they want!”

“Let’s find out!” He replied. Kanto sat up, and Toph returned to laying on her back as he leaned toward her with his hand firmly on her belly. “Okay, baby badgermole… How about… Ano?”

No response.

“Okay, not that…” Kanto said, and Toph laughed. “How about Shayi?”

Kick.

Kanto swiftly turned to Toph, elated. “Feel that? We might have a winner!”

“Don’t I get a say? I have to give birth to the melon head.”

“Okay, fine. Not Shayi then?”

He watched her wrinkle her adorable nose. “Nah. Think of something else.”

Kanto hummed as he rubbed Toph’s stomach. “What about Kasha, baby?”

“What’s with all the girl names?” Toph asked.

“I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

“So are we just gonna be screwed if we have a boy?”

“True,” he admitted. “Okay, boy names… Ruon.”

The baby kicked and Kanto grinned. “How about that? You like Ruon?”

Toph smiled and leaned up to kiss him. “Ruon for a boy, what about a girl?”

“Not a fan of Kasha?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. It’s nice… But it could be better.”

Kanto nodded and thought hard about a name for a girl. It had to be something Toph, Kanto, and the baby liked.

So he thought about names and people that impacted his life in one way or another, of a name that was meaningful and special and well-thought (and perhaps later he’d revisit boy names… They decided that one a little too quickly for his liking).

This kid was going to be their everything. Their pride and joy and half the reason they would get out of bed, the reason they would work to make the world a better and safer place, and their priority from here on out. This baby was their precious little gem, the thing that would shift their perspective of the world forever, and the product of Toph and Kanto’s love.

Perhaps that was a lot to put on their baby, because it was just that: their baby. There was a chance he was overcomplicating matters, and that wasn’t the point of this exercise. What was he doing calling their unborn baby a precious little gem and how it would shift their foundation and—

Or… Maybe he over thought it just enough that an idea popped into his head.

Gemstone. Fine gem. Lin.

Simple, meaningful, fitting.

Kanto leaned in toward Toph’s belly and rubbed it, whispering, “What about Lin, baby? How does that sound?”

A strong kick met Kanto’s hand, earning a laugh from both him and Toph. “Lin, huh… I like it. I think we found a winner for a girl name,” Toph remarked.

“I think so,” he replied with a chuckle. Kanto went back to Toph to lay down next to her.

“You were quiet for a while, what were you thinking about?” Toph asked.

Kanto shrugged as he faced her and kept his hand on Toph’s growing belly. “Nothing, just—” He stopped talking when he looked down at her stomach, and his heart nearly stopped at the realization.

It wasn’t anything bad, but simply a moment where he was awestruck.

Their baby was so big already, and they still had a few months before they would finally arrive. And yet, it seemed like yesterday Toph told him the news.

A single moment and a bit of time showed how much their baby had grown, and it left Kanto speechless. He was speechless because baby Beifong was growing so much already, and because Toph was giving him a gift so beautiful and practically unimaginable.

He lay there with his hand on Toph’s stomach, so in awe and so in love.

But she could sense his heightened heart rate, and she asked him after she placed a hand over his, “Hey, everything alright?”

“I’m—I’m fine, babe. Just…” he turned to look at her, and he couldn’t help but smile and kiss her cheek. “I’m just so happy right now. And have I mentioned recently how amazing you are for making our baby as we speak?”

Toph blushed, but replied with her natural snark. “You could stand to mention it more.”

She turned her head toward his, and he kissed her. Long, slow, and fully on the lips. With his forehead pressed against hers, and their noses touching, he whispered, “I love you, and you’re absolutely amazing.”

“I know.”

Kanto smiled at her cheeky grin and closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of just getting to stay at home with his family and feeling the vibrant kicks of their baby.

The blissful moment didn’t last long. “Hey, Hotshot?”

“Hmm?” He hummed in response.

“Remember when I said I was hungry but it wasn’t urgent?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, now the baby really wants jerky and prunes with jook.”

He instinctively raised an eyebrow. “The baby?”

“Yeah. No way in Oma I’d actually eat that shit all together. Your kid has gross tastes.”

Kanto chuckled and sat up in bed. “What am I gonna do with you two?”

“Make us breakfast is a good place to start,” she replied with a smug smirk.

As he opened his mouth to provide a jab in return, he stopped himself when he looked at her. With her smirk and unruly hair and mischievous bright eyes, she was too cute to “argue” with at the moment.

Instead, Kanto kissed Toph’s belly and then her lips once more for good measure, and said, “Order is coming right up, Chief.”

[tylerwritez]

Tuesday, june 22 2021

I've noticed I'm getting "the shiverys" or "the twitchy" a lot today. Like every time I FEEL something I take a moment to violently tic.... every time I think about certain things I tic.... good things, bad things, things from an hour ago and things from years ago. Tic, tic, tic.

Also, I have... some stuff to explain. Its really no big deal, but you know me: I'll freak out about it anyway. Basically I dissed my friend (rightfully so) around the time that we had just met cos they did something that threw me off.

He saw it in my phone... NOW. it's not RELEVANT anymore and I've since redacted that criticism...and now I gotta explain it to him anwyays. Oh well. I'm good at this stuff. I can get myself outta any situation. I dont even know why I'm talking like this tho... it's not a "Situation" it's just smthn I gotta explain rq.

Oh, today's song recommendation is Spirit Crusher by Death. I'm a huge Death fan...

Also! I gotta study... for my replacement exam. How stressful. Its about photosynthesis, but like, it's not simple. We went DEEP inside those fucking leaves.

One sec, lemme hook up my IV tube

Not an ACTUAL IV tube... just my headphones. But since I'm so #emo, it might as well be a fucking IV tube with the way that I cant live without it.

Its 3:08 and I'm walking home now. I was upset last night but me and Star have made up now lol... it was thAt easy. I'm so defective, making shit hard when it doesnt need to be.

It's so hot out damn. Idk. I had school today, so I had Bio class... I ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION for once. I had lunch with Star and her friend group, and I honestly kinda feel like they're MY friends now too, even just a little bit.

Actually, I used to rant about feeling lonely like all the time but now I have so many friends it's crazy they all keep inviting me places and it's like people WANT ME AROUND... idk. It makes me happy.

Today I gotta ask if tommroow after school I can go to Bee's house to watch Supernatural (famous homoerotic ghost show)

I should also add songs to Erin's spotify playlist for our picnic saturday which I still need permission to go to.

I gotta ask for Wednesday after school to watch Insidious with Jay  which is apparently really good

Also hes the friend that I gotta explain stuff to... the DrAmA... the ThEaTrE....

Update my dad said yes to hanging out with Bee but first I'm gonna miss school to fix my broken brackets on my braces

Also turns out the house I THOUGHT we were moving into has substantial damage from shifting so... we aRENT moving there.

In case you didn't know, shifting is when like the house that's been built literally SHIFTS like it moves around.

Anwyays Jay just texted me... I'm gonna change into shorts since it's hot, set up my study area,.... and respond to him.

The time is 3:22 p.m.

Wish me. Luck.

Luck is plentiful! As it so often is in my risky, risky life.

I play my cards right. It's a learnt skill.

But also there wasnt much to explain since it passed already and was tiny anywyas.

XD so I've made up with the whole goddamn world by now.

Its 6:31, we saw 1 house. Only one. Its kinda hot out but I'm gonna bike now since we just had supper. I finally finished my homework... I just have to finish one mixed media piece as my final project for art!

Friday is my replacement. On photosynthesis and cell resp. We know this. But what I didn't mention, or I dont THINK I did, is that if I finish my art project before then I have the second block FREE!!! Me, Star, and her friend

A are planning to leave for second block and maybe get mint chocolate chip ice cream!

Also I might eat her out XD

Anyways idk. I hope I can bike tonight to call Jay.

I keep accidentally using people's real names here then having to correct it... I dont know how much i care about MY identity being discovered... but to have my friends doxxed would suck.

Man I feel bad abt saying fuck star last night cos we made up....

Wait we r looking at another house? Idk I'm in the car still waiting to go home

Oh wait no now we r goin home

Its 6:39... I hope I still have time.

I went biking, called Jay. Went home. Idk, friendly conversation... we talked more tonight and I also talked to my other friend A. Jay is... I LOVE HIM?? SO MUCH??? I feel so happy. Talking to him thinking about him seeing his STUPID FUCKING FACE JESUS. his eyes alone... I could stare at his face all day probably. I want to kiss him... hOLD HIS HAND... omg... huG HIM!!! Eofjwpxjwie he's so sweet like I can't even... and I'm proabably not good enough for him like. Wtf. Hes easily a 10. And I dont rate things outta 10. How tf do I end up with HIM? Doing stuff, as friends. Like wHAT. I guess I got lucky XD. He says he loves my personality and I'm hot XD ofc I dont see it myself. But like. JESUS CHRIST he could proabably easily pull whOever. XD me?

Whatever though. As long as we r together and stuff. I LOVE HIM A LOT. he said he loved me. Every time he says that it makes me so overly happy.

Maybe I'm just sappy and stuff.... whatever. I think it would be nice to be hugged by him.

Yeah I'm cheesy.

I'm sorta tired now so maybe I'm not writing the best.

I just keep thinkinf about love. Love is a muscle of evil suggestion. But how evil can it really be? I am just a human being and that is all. Everything else is applied. I am just a human being with soemthing in my heart that pulls me all over the place. Love is this strange thing because I'm fucked up and to be able to love without that fucked up part of me, without the damage... is this complicated, hard thing to do and I can NEVER tell if I'm doing it right but I know I'm DOING IT. I know I FEEL LOVE. And soemtimes it's such an intense thing like when you go to surf on a wave at the beach with ur belly but u hit it wrong and it's so big and overwhelming it washes over you and PULLS you down to the bottom and smushes your face into the sand and YOU CANT BREATHE jesus Christ it's like that.

Or maybe I just want to experience love as it should be felt.

Obviously all of my problems surrounding this Damage could be easily fixed if I went to therapy but. there are reasons I can't.

I LOVE a lot. Too much for my own good. Enough to hurt me, get me into trouble, etc etc but also... enough to liberate me. I LOVE. I love Jay. So much. LIKE. MY BRAIN ORBITS AROUND HIM CONSTANTLY THINKING OF HIM AND PRAISING HIM AND MWUAH HE IS SO LOVELY I BOW BEFORE HIM...

I think as much as I love, a lot of the times I tend to focus even more on BEING loved.

If I am told I am loved, and shOwN I am loved... it is one of the most powerful things. Especially since I was literally emotionally neglected in childhood... yeah. I feel like I'm always trying to fill that hole.

Not EVERY feeling I have is for that reaosn but sometimes, if you tell me you love me, show me you love me, hug me,... I'll like start crying,,, that's the childhood emotional neglect kicking in. If you call me #smol and #cute and say I look young and fragile which happens more often than you'd think XD, I know I'm not supposed to like that shit, so I act like I dont....but I do. Which is PROBABLY ALSO THE CEN 🤪  like whatever lol

Anwyays I'm fucked up

You see how quickly things become complicated in my mind?

Convoluted? Is that the word?

Whatever. I OVERCOMPLICATE THINGS COS I OVERTHINK THEM BECAUSE I'm LITERALLY MENTALLY ILL IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. I'm not joking. I obviously have unresolved undiagnosed "issues"

I do Suspect things, though.

I can make a list

Maybe I shouldn't.

Maybe I will.

I shouldnt.

Whatever.

I used to hate when people brought up my self harm. I would actually panic. I still self harm but now? Now I'm fine with anyone  talking about it as long as it's not an adult who can get me into trouble/force me into therapy over it. Because really? I kinda like having it mentioned. It's kinda validating and it's like hey... people can see that I'm sick.

I dont do it so people talk to me about it though. Dont get me wrong. If I did, I'd go vertically on the arms, not for suicide but so it healed and people would ask XD.

My scars are actually VERY hidden... cos I never intended for ANYONE to see. But for those who DO see them,,,, it's nice soemtimes to have people express concern.

I dont wanna be PITIED or anything, but idk I just think to myself "wow, they're CONCERNED... about ME... they arent angry or mean... they didnt yell at me or threaten me... they respect my autonomy and privacy...

And they CARE ABOUT ME..." and it makes me cry.

That's also the CEN.

I dont know. I just like when people express genuine concern. Even if they see and then just ask if I'm okay. That's all it takes cos then I go wow.

Its validating and irs lovely because finally people care... FINALLY PEOPLE CARE. FINALLY I GET SOME EMPATHY OR SYMPATHY AND NO ANGER.

Even just having them brought up tells me its noticeable enough

My brain does this thing where it thinks nothing bad that's ever happened to me was Bad Enough for me to be upset about.

And I dont know... its nice sometimes to be told shit like "omg that looks so bad" or to see that people who do see my cuts are somewhat shocked or revolted... it's nice because I go... "hey, it was bad enough for them..."

Or to have people comment on them with concern. Just ANYTHINT WHERE PEOPLE NOTICE IT AND ARENT ASSHOLES ABOUT IT IS VALIDATING.

Because I'm not used to that...

Because CEN

I'm. The worst perosn on the fucking planet.

I should kill myself.

I suddenly actually feel so self hating I do want to kill myself... oh god.

I ruin everything. Everything. Everything. Everything. What have I done. Like. Why. Oh god.

I'm just remembering when Star said my kindness seemed like an act. And how I've been called out for seeming fake like 2 other times.

DO I SEEM FAKE???? I DONT EVER PUT ON ACTS OF KINDESS.... CONCIOUSLY? but the very idea that I could be perceived that way...

Should I like not try to be nice or some shit?

Jesus christ she hurts my feelings even now when it was a long time ago.

But I cant blame her. I can't blame anyone for how i feel except my parents because they left me with fucking. Heart nerve damage or some shit.

I'm tired and now I'm sad too. Goodnight guys.

[marvel-mega]

Hi dear, could you write a Remus x Slytherin reader where she's confident and outgoing, flirting with Sirius and partying with James idk and Remus has a huge crush on her and she does too, and she tries to flirt with him but he's so insecure and shy and thinks she's not serious? Thank you😍

A/N: Of course!! I love this idea because in my eyes Remus is so soft and I would not mind validating that cutie all the time. Here you go hope you enjoy! thank you so much for submitting a request <3

word count: 1.4K 

warnings: sad remus, that's it lol  (Y/N/N means your nickname)

Being sorted into Slytherin wasn’t that big of a surprise to you, you were apart of one of the oldest pureblood families in the wizarding communities. You were friends with one of the students going to Hogwarts you imagined him being sorted into Slytherin knowing his family's history and when he wasn’t you were surprised, but happy for him. He never seemed to fit in with his family, funny being the black sheep in the Black family. The boy I’m referring to is Sirius black the biggest flirt in the world. Not that you minded it was kind of fun the back and forth between the two of you.

So when Sirius introduced you to his friends; James, Remus, and Peter. The boy with shaggy black hair and cute glasses caught your eye as he did with any girl at Hogwarts but it was the boy with curly brown hair that took your breath away. Remus Lupin you came to find out was his name. He was quiet, reserved and so kind. But you couldn’t tell him how you felt, he wouldn’t like you; a Slytherin and best friends with one of his best friends it would just overcomplicate things, you told yourself so you decided it would be best to keep your feelings to yourself.

Being friends with Padfoot and Prongs had its perks especially when the boys won a quidditch match and you were invited to the obligatory celebration that ensued. You were walking from the Slytherin common room to the Gryffindor common room with all of the marauders, but you and Sirius had walked a little ways ahead from the other boys and began walking side by side. “So when are you gonna tell him?” Sirius asked you almost as casually as if he was asking you the weather. You faltered almost falling, but quickly recovered by saying, “Well I was going to tell James that he doesn’t have a chance with Lily in the slightest but I’m his friend so maybe I'll tell him after the 50th time she regrets him.” Sirius said nothing but gave you a look that said you-totally-know-who-I’m-talking-about, “I'm only letting you play dumb because you look so cute doing it.” You laughed, “Oh stop it Sirius or our parents might reconsider that arranged marriage.” You respond grabbing his arm and pretending like you were walking down the aisle. Unaware that Remus saw this whole interaction you and Sirius just laughed as you entered the common room.

You were never afraid to draw attention to yourself if you had fun while doing it, so as you entered the party was already in full swing. “Let's go dance Prongs!!” You knew Sirius had already made a b-line for the firewhiskey and you did not have enough fire whiskey in you to ask Remus to dance and Wormtail was not the best dancer. So by process-of-elimination, that’s how you ended up dancing with James. The two of you were just dancing as you usually did then James spun you around so your back was against his chest and began to place his hands on your sides to move your hips. James bent down to your ear and said, “From where I’m standing I see a win-win situation for both of us,” You were confused and before you could question the mischievous plan James was thinking about he continued. “You can make our dear old friend Moony jealous and I can make my lovely Lilypad jealous if we keep up what we’re doing tonight.” You couldn’t help but laugh and as you did you scanned the room for Remus and found him shooting daggers into James’ back and you went back to dancing. You grabbed James’ hand and spun yourself around so you could face him and went to his ear and said, “You are so evil. But let's see if your little plan works Prongs.”

So that’s what you did you kept dancing with James throughout the party and as you left to get a drink he turned your head around and saw that Lily had already taken your place and was dancing with the dark-haired boy. Her back to you and James beaming at you, relishing in the fact that his plan had worked, you raised your cup at him before looking for the curly-haired boy that you couldn’t stop thinking about all night. But you couldn’t find him? Your heart dropped while James’ plan worked for him his plan seemed to backfire for you and you lost Remus. Quickly finding a sulky looking Wormtail you asked him where Moony had gone and he mumbled something about wanting to see the moon? You left the common room without even thinking he wanted to see the moon? You didn’t want to waste time running up to the astronomy tower so you look out of the schools' many windows and saw someone sitting beside the black lake and you made your way down to the figure.

You knew that Remus didn’t like parties but you felt hurt that he had left without saying anything to you. “Remus?” You called out as you got closer to him you saw him slowly turn towards you at the sound of your voice, then turn his head back to the water where he watched the giant squid swim. “Hey, Rem.” You said as you sat next time him but again no response? “I missed you at the party.” He snorted, “You seem comfortable enough with James I didn’t think you’d notice if I left.” Your heart gave a jolt as your realization came true, the plan that had worked so perfectly for James ended up making things worse for you. “No Remus that wasn’t what you thought it was I promise.” Remus was already starting to get up and leave, “You don’t have to explain yourself Y/N/N. I don’t blame you James is charming and handsome.” Remus was starting to feel defeated. “Moony please let me explain.” He lifted his head and you saw tears in his big brown captivating eyes. “Moony,” you said before putting a hand on one of his shoulders. “I think you are just as charming and even more handsome than James.” Remus looked at you his expression blank, “Y/N I appreciate you comforting me but I don’t appreciate you lying to me.” You were taken aback by his outburst, no he didn’t yell but you had never outright heard Remus speak about his insecurities. “Rem I love everything about you I’m not lying to you I would never lie to you. I love your eyes, and how they shine when you talk about something you love. I love your smile and how you aren’t ashamed to smile brightly. I am constantly amazed at how strong you are not only because of your ‘monthly issue’ but because of how I have never once heard you complain about it or blame others for it. You are so smart and courageous.” Remus looked at you waiting for you today ‘just kidding!’ and runoff. “Remus please, believe me, I have never been more serious about anything.” A tear fell down your cheek, "I’m sorry Remus I just thought you felt the same way I didn’t mean to bombard you with my stupid feelings.” Remus grabbed your face, ever the gentleman waiting until you were done talking, and kissed you. It was one of the best kisses you’ve ever had to date. As you pulled away you couldn’t help but feel like someone had just kicked all the air out of your lungs, when you saw how truly beautiful Remus looked with the moonlight creating a halo around him. And Remus was just thinking how radiating you looked under the moonlight. “Remus I like you.” Remus took a deep breath and looked at you. “Why.” He whispered. “Remus,” you said feeling heartbroken that Remus thought like this. “I think you are so amazing, handsome, kind, and brave and so many other things that I hope to be able to remind you every day until you agree with me.” Remus was utterly taken aback that someone had felt this way about him, let alone you the most beautiful young woman at Hogwarts. He couldn’t help but beam down at you, he was on cloud nine. James' plan did work in your favor, as you walked around the lake holding the boy of your dreams hand.

[quietlysatan]

An Invincible Summer - ShanaStoryteller, AO3

Link: Here!!

Rating: T for read the warnings, but don’t worry too much because of them

Favorite Quote(s): I legit wanna tattoo this next quote on me somewhere

"Oh, the things that can be accomplished through ignorance of their impossibility," 

And this Straight Up Fact

“There’s no such thing as cheating as long as you win,” Natsu says, and the brat’s not wrong.

This one’s just funny

“Chouza,” Inoichi forces himself to say evenly, “Your teachings produced Ebisu and goddamned Gai.”

“Genma’s pretty normal though,” Chouza sighs, “I never could get through to that boy.”

Gently Gai casually caring about Kakashi’s well-being is my entire reason for living, speaking of which if someone wants to come be my Gai that’d be really fucking nice because us Kakashi’s don’t do too well on our own

He hesitates, but says, "Not that I do not find your newfound mentorship to be a most youthful endeavor, but -"

"I don't know," Kakashi interrupts his friend, "I met her while she was taking her genin exam and she, I don't know, adopted me or something. She just keeps showing up."

Gai nods thoughtfully, "Stubbornness is a useful skill to have when trying to cultivate a friendship with you." Kakashi elbows the other man, but doesn't protest besides that. "She's a good cook."

And this one because I love it when people Get It, ya’know?

That's really why he won't say anything, why he won't reveal that the Kyuubi's container and the fourth Hokage's child is still alive: they already killed him once. Naruto and Shikamaru are the same age, they would have been in the same class, and the idea that anyone could want to harm his innocent, precious son makes his blood boil 

And this one, for accuracy

"This sounds like a most youthful endeavor. I will bring Anko! She will fan the flames of youth in our young Konoha blossom!"

Both Itachi and Kakashi look at Gai, horrified. "Please don't," Itachi says weakly, like he knows it'll fall on deaf ears but he has to try anyway.

"Don't worry," Gai attempts to assure them, going into his Good Guy pose, "They will produce youthful flames of feminine excellence!"

"They're going to burn down Konoha," Kakashi says flatly.

Gai's hair and teeth sparkle in the sunlight, and he doesn't attempt to deny it.

Another important one

"The world is a terrible place," she says, and she has to swallow before she speaks again, "and it's full of terrible people. But I don't have to be one of them." 

I love that Natsu-chan has great balance, this is my number one favorite character trope, and I wish more people would write it

She bends down to look at him upside down, and Itachi can feel that she's not using chakra to stick onto him, and sometimes her balance just isn't logical. 

I just love the idea of tiny genius Naruto, and I love that Natsu-chan is a seal master at like, fucking seven and a half lol

Itachi knows it's actually far more complicated than that, but just as he does not tell her minutia of the past shinobi wars in their history lessons, she does not overcomplicate her explanations of sealing. Usually he's grateful for that, but when she appears to break every known law to sealing and chakra, he's not.

"That's," he blinks and he's not going to tell her it's impossible because it clearly isn't, "new," he settles on.

A mood honestly

Inoichi now feels the urge to bang his head against the table top, because 'a huge pain' to Natsu is 'literally impossible' to everyone else.

Another mood honestly

Inoichi watches his former genin dig in with resignation. “When are you guys going to start picking up the tab? Feeding you all isn’t cheap you know.”

Hana swallows her mouthful, “Sensei, I am but a lone healer’s apprentice –“

“I have been a chunin less than a month,” Kabuto pouts, wounded, “and already you seek to profit-“

“Do you have any idea how much sealing paper and ink costs?” Natsu demands.

“Okay, okay,” Inoichi grumbles, but it’s not very effective considering he’s smiling, “I take it back, jeez.”

Okay so, since this is a 100k+ word fic, I’ve been doing this thing lately literally just now on this fic review where I only feature quotes from the first chapter (Depending on length.) but, I’m making an exception because I’ve never seen these three characters and my thoughts on them summed up so well by someone I don’t know which is to say anyone, no one I know cares about my interests really lol

"Maybe a little," he admits grudgingly, "Sakura's really smart, but she acts dumb for some reason. And her endurance is really bad. She probably would have been failed on that alone if she didn't have such good aim with shuriken. And Sasuke's good at like, everything, I still don't get why he didn't graduate earlier. He's just so-" Kiba rubs his hand over his face.

"So what?" Hana prompts, even though she's heard this particular complaint before.

"Sad," the genin sighs, "He's miserable all the time, and he works hard and if you yell at him for long enough he'll work with you, but - crap, I don't know. He's got this really great poker face so you think he's just a big jerk, but I can smell his emotions, the big idiot, and he's just this sad lonely kid who won't listen to anyone."

Hana hums, because if she opens her mouth she'll probably start cursing the Hokage and his dumb rules and his dumb ideas, and that is not the type of thing that leads to a long life.

Just one last quote because dudes, guys, pals, friends of mine it’s important and you should all stop and read it.

 “Thanks for being cool with – everything. I’m really happy you’re not mad at me for not being honest with you.”

“You are my friend,” Gaara says warmly, “and you have always been honest about that.”

Words & Chapter(s): 136,306 words of greatness, and 6 full chapters of nicely done completion

Summary: When Naruto is five, he's gutted by a drunken civilian and presumed dead.

Six months later a girl with ash pale hair and dark blue eyes enters the Academy. 

(Guys I swear on my cool as fuck username, and all around internet personality as practically satan and probably Lucifer and whatnot that nobody we like stays dead or severely injured)

Score: 13, this is one of my favorites for a reason, this is actually my second technically third time rereading this in as many weeks

Pairing(s): Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, background Haku/Zabuza, but don’t worry anything you’re thinking of is addressed quite nicely in the fic ultra background but still there’s a lot of relationships and I’m not going to tag them all

Warning(s): Naruto technically dies more than once because this is Naruto we’re talking about but they also technically don’t??? You gotta read it, but basically temporary character death, only the bad guys stay dead in this one.

Nobody knows that Naru-chan lived so there’s that angst for you, however, to be fair it’s not like this whole story is just characters mourning and crying and whatnot, at this point it’s mostly just passing thoughts and memories which, again, to be fair, does almost feel worse at times... Huh, regardless it’s not overly angsty

Kakashi is adopted whether he likes it or not by Natsu-chan, we love both of our emotionally fucked over fair-haired ninja in this house so you won’t have to worry about that sorta fic coming outta nowhere from me BTW... but anyways, Kakashi freaks out a bit, much like the abused dog he always reminds me of, but Natsu is the sweetest and most gentle, yet forceful person he could’ve possibly caught the attention of. (This is canon)

The Akatsuki are still bad, BUT ITACHI ISN’T technically SO WHO FUCKING CARES!!!! (The Massacre still happens tho...)

Mentions of The Flower District and what that implies, and also things a Kunoichi might definitely do

Oh my fucking god the Hyuga... Who would willingly do something so horrible as that? Of all the things... Warning for... The Hyuga branch family situation, it’s dealt with nearly as soon as we are informed but, gods, my blood ran cold, and my face whited out, my sister thought someone had died when she saw my face haha,,, who the fuck does this? And do they die? In canon I mean? I think I only watched up to the chunin exams or Pein’s attack, I can’t remember which tho...

Natsu cries because people are nice to her sometimes. And honestly that’s fair, I burst into to tears once because I imagined someone kissing my forehead softly so, Natsu is completely valid... Sidenote, I’m touch-starved and have no cure for this beyond younger siblings and my cat because I don’t have the ability to ask my mom for a hug without literally gross sobbing and I have A Thing about embarrassment sooooo... yeah if anyone has some therapy justu for me that’d be nice

Mentions of Gross Men that apparently want to have Natsu’s increasingly growing collection of the absolute most dangerous people she can befriend pay them a visit. And by that, I mean an old fuckwit has the gall to leer at a TEN-YEAR-OLD and a FUCKING THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD!!!!!! Ugh, I hate those kinds of pathetic worms.

On that note, there is technically underaged things going on, but they are also Ninja soooo???? They’ve killed people and are technically in their version of an army, and by the laws of their lands they’re all adults, actually I’m pretty sure by shinobi life expectancy Kakashi is middle-aged, Inoichi is a senior citizen, and Hiruzen is a walking corpse tbh

Alcoholism??? I don’t really think it is but I’m not sure, but some characters do drink often, and usually when stressed courtesy of Natsu and co. but still... I don’t actually know if it is because it doesn’t actually happen much, more like every few weeks/months

Mentions of past sexual assault, and attempted past sexual assault, neither happen in fic or to any of our main characters, the experiences are not graphic though they do talk about it in chapter five, it’s not to graphically described.

Also, a bunch of off-screen lemon

A Thing (That I copy-pasted from the author so that all of you will see it and not say a single word against it.): If you thought Natsu was too mature for her age - she has seen and been through some really horrible shit. But also: my cousin has, since he was like 4, hung out with kids that were about 4 years older than him because those were the kids that were in his neighborhood or whatever. Point being, even after he started school, his main group of friends was consistently older than him. He very quickly adapted to that, and to this day (he's 12) hangs out with that same group, and considers children his own age 'kids' because he adapted to the behavior of the group he was surrounded with. I hardly believe Natsu would be any different.

And also

4. Quick little note because some people mentioned liking my portrayal of the Sandaime. I base his decisions/motivations (and Itachi and Danzo's to a certain extent) around this quote by Clementine von Radics: "It is so hard to live half monster, to hurt everything you love by trying to protect it wrong."

Pros: Watching Natsu just casually disregard the idea of gender with little to no thought is the greatest thing anyone will ever experience beyond, I dunno, the party we’re all gonna collectively throw when soggy Cheeto dies (I still haven’t decided which song we should make chart number one when that happens)

Given that I’ve technically read this three times you should already know the writing is fucking amazing, like, whoa, mind blown type of amazing, like, wow, so good, I usually hate rereading something I’ve read before, and especially so soon after the fact but geez Louis is this fic amazing

Natsu is just as easy to fall in love with as Naruto, and they are still the same people with slightly different personalities as is to be realistically expected with a situation like Naru’s was.

Also, GENDERFLUID REPRESENTATION DONE FUCKING AMAZINGLY IS ALWAYS A PLUS!!!!!!! 

The author manages to convey a very realistic genderfluid character in an incredibly believable manner, while also still keeping Natsu/Naruto themself. They’re still the Naruto that we knew and loved, but they’re different too, as is to be expected. when Natsu is a girl no-one stumbles, she is a girl without a doubt, even the author doesn’t trip up on societal expectations, and when Naruto is a boy there is next to immediate acceptance of this fact with absolutely zero (0) Zero bullshit from transphobes, which, as a genderfluid person myself, is always fucking nice to see. You’ll have to read it to know more though.

Natsu running around creating seals is honestly the greatest thing ever, and the end scene with the village made me cry a lil bit, and dammit this fic is so fucking good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, there’s a scene, where Natsu heals Kakashi, and the way the author handled explaining the intimate not sexual relationship between two of my favorite characters ever is just, so subtly beautiful, the sibling-bond these two have is beautiful, and a part of me wants to cry sometimes when I read it, and usually do cry a little when I get to this scene, and only partially because of what happened directly before it.

I love the way everybody just gets up and moves past their trauma and just decides to politely ignore it, oh they still have it, they still deal with it, but they care, and they are careful about it, and even though it hurts them like a knife-wound to the kidney in slow-motion they still get back up and keep fucking going. That’s hella admirable and I can respect that, I can respect even more that they slowly but surely let themselves heal as time moves on. This fic is beautiful on so many different levels but it is this one perhaps, that is the most magnificent. Perhaps.

Sasuke is adorable and depressing and adorable and I love it. And Ino is still a bad bitch but she’s a kid so we only see it like a handful of times in the first two chapters. The Akimichi/Yamanaka/Nara are all great, and I occasionally pity Inionchicause like, he’s putting up with a well-informed seal genius that’s still hyper, a slightly frightening medic-kunoichi with giant dogs, another slightly more frightening medic-nin who isn’t the greatest fighter but damn can he be intimidating and also really good at pointing out “Certain Things” while judging you about them which, honestly, is my greatest pastime. Itachi is so sweet and then so tragic oh my gods, and Natsu never even considers giving up on him. Kakashi is so sweet, and he slowly becomes less of a beaten dog as time goes on and I just love all of these characters.

Except for Hiruzen. Well, no, I still love this particular incarnation of Hiruzen, for all that he’s got one hell of a pathetically small backbone, I get why he does shit. But that doesn’t make me happy. Still, he’s better than dumbledouchebag. Granted that’s not difficult, and you might have to actively put an effort in to be as bad as that guy, but still. Plus, his hearts in the right place, and he’s less about the greater good then... certain disgraces to teaching and being in charge of a large group of people... Hiruzen is actually kinda sweet and admits he has issues and actually has an excuse that’s understandable for the shit that he pulls which is great, if sadly uncommon.

Anyways, Sakura is terrifying, and I remembered why I had a crush on her. She’s so badass, also, she ends up Princess Mononoke basically which, honestly, is fucking great, and the best thing we could’ve asked for, I love all of these characters so much!!!

Aesthetic: It reminds me off beefy stew (We don’t eat beef, so we used vegan soy beef stuff instead, and it was just as good.) it reminds me of the warmth, and friendship, and home that I felt after my mom and I make dinner together with nothing but a little music on and jokes passing back and forth between us. It reminds me of scraping my knee and having my friends help me to their mom, it reminds me of loyalty and compassion. It reminds me of dancing outside at night, alone in the forest with nothing but the moon for company and wind for music. It reminds me of the first time I realized that I could love someone despite their gender and that I should despite mine. It reminds me of finely spun handmade lace, and all it’s delicate while also reminding me of the sturdiest of steels, it reminds me of so much. It reminds me of acceptance, and understanding, and so much more. If I were to say what food and drink it reminds me of, I’d say chicken noodle soup, and sweet lavender-lemon tea.

Music Aesthetic: So, I made a playlist while I was reading this the first time around, and instead of a gif or twenty like I would usually prefer to do I’m going to add that playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbhXmTSBbAyjk0m1b4BZUp3t0RHL83LDK

But if I were to add a gif or two it’d be these

Because something about this fic reminds me of rainy days with tea and baggy clothes.

Every time Natsu/Naruto decided to fight ever, to be honest.

[ais-n]

Hello I was wondering if you could share with us how you come up with plots for your stories and how you handle when you can’t figure out the details and all the key points and make it fit with the characters ? Thanks

Hi :) I’m not sure if I’m the most helpful, because honestly most of what I write is just “what makes sense to me”.. Maybe it’s easier to say, I like to think of the characters as actual human beings, and then put myself in their shoes, and then what would they be likely to do? And once I know that, plot usually follows. A lot of times I start with an idea of a character before an idea of a plot - or at least, an idea of what characters match the scene in my mind, and then I flesh out the characters a bit before fleshing out the plot. But sometimes I do flip it.

Also, I get bored suuuuuuuper easily. So my plots are usually stupid complicated or just stupid lol Because I get bored with things that are too straightforward, and lose interest, and don’t want to write it anymore.

So, I guess, it usually goes something like this for me:

I get a scene in my mind - it may be an impression of a moment (like the sunlight streaming through a window and the dust motes dancing in that beam) or a piece of dialogue between two people; it may be very specific, or super vague.

I write the scene before I forget or lose inspiration.

I figure out who the characters are based on that scene, but it may be a very clear idea of everything about them, or it may be vague.

I start thinking, what would happen to result in that scene? What is the context of this? Is that window in an asylum, a jail, a school cafeteria, a castle, a suburban home, a train, or…? Is that dialogue between strangers, friends, lovers, family, a judge and an attorney, a store clerk and a customer, a person talking to their dog and pretending to answer for the dog, or…?

Usually I try to think of something that isn’t easy. I personally always like there to be contradiction in everything I write, if at all possible, because that makes things interesting to me (since, as aforementioned, I have a shit attention span for things lol). So, let’s say the dialogue is about person A’s favorite book and person B is like eh it’s okay but this other one is better. The easy way out is having that conversation occur in a library or bookstore, or on a commuter public transit, or at school, or something like that. So I usually try to think of, what would be an unexpected piece? Like, what if the conversation is happening between two people who are the sole survivors of a horrific plane crash into the ocean, and they never met each other before this, but right now they both managed to scramble onto some of the detritus and they’re trying to keep themselves from freaking the fuck out until help (hopefully) arrives?

When I get at a loss for what to write, I go for the five senses (and sometimes the sixth). I like to describe the environment in taste, touch, sound, sight, smell, or intuition. The ambient temperature is hot but when the wind gusts, it brings a touch of cold. The ice has nearly melted and it crackles beneath steps, giving way to the miniature oceans beneath. The moon is heavy and so bright no light is needed, and even the stars are like a child’s toy laid out in light bulbs across the sky. Or the emotional context - be it purely mental, or more often also a physical reaction to that emotion. Heart pounding, fingers trembling, breath catching, that sort of thing. Usually I find that if I can ground things back to that, I can ground myself back into the character, and at the very least they can respond to that stimuli, and from there further actions or dialogue or whatever can follow.

I almost never force characters to follow a plot. It’s my personal believe that that’s not a good idea. I think it’s way better to meander away from the planned plot according to what feels right for the characters, and if that planned plot is important enough, eventually it will be natural for the characters to end up right back at that spot. The reason I feel this way is because as a consumer of any media (and as a writer) I’m super character-driven, so if a character stops Making Sense, it loses the rest of the story for me no matter how wonderful or horrible the plot may be. Because then all I can think about is how that feels OOC and it kicks me out of the world the story had brought me into. But if the character continues to make sense AND there’s a boss plot in the background, it’s frickin awesome, and only makes everything even better in the end.

When I can’t figure out all the details, I just figure out the details I can, and leave what I can’t. Then I keep writing what I’m doing, and inevitably later on I’ll get an idea that seems at first like it will work in this direction, but with enough “Oh so if that’s the case, then wouldn’t…?” it always connects back and not only answers questions I had, but also makes it a stronger story, and sometimes gives me more questions going forward (in a good way). That process takes forever sometimes, but I’ve had some really fun ideas as a result so I think it works.

Also, sometimes you can’t answer literally every question. Sometimes there just has to be a detail left unfinalized.

I feel like if you let the characters inform the plot more than the plot informing the characters, it’s easier to keep things in sync. If you have a plot that isn’t working super well with the characters you have, then I will sometimes just create new characters either to be the MCs instead, or else just introduce some new element that upsets the plot and lets it recalibrate with the characters, to bring everyone back on track. Then, from there, being mindful of the characters while navigating plot points. Being willing to completely remove entire plot points if they no longer fit, and introduce totally new ones that were never planned.

As a specific example for that - in ICoS, we planned the whole story to be one book. Afterimage wasn’t going to happen at all… the original plot was like, highlights of the first book, skip over Afterimage and most of Interludes and like half of Fade, and kind of jump to the end but we only vaguely had that idea at that time. That was the plan. If we’d forced the characters to follow that plot, I think the story would have suffered. It was because we realized they would detour into Afterimage territory that we followed along for the ride, and then Interludes was a natural reaction to Afterimage, and early Fade was a natural progression from what came up in Interludes, and then early Fade set the background for middle Fade which led into why things went the way they did in late/end Fade. It’s kind of just like, take a plot point you like, and follow it through to its natural conclusion completely ignoring everything else, just like, plot it out in bulletpoints based on how you imagine the characters would react to things and what is happening in the world itself and how things would go. Then look at that and see how it fits. If you’re keeping in mind the psychology of the characters along the way, then a lot of plot is actually just repercussions of human reactions to previous plot points - be it the human reaction of the MC, or the human reaction on a larger scale. War as a result of human inferiority and superiority. A death as a result of a character’s brash nature. A child resulting from human love. Insecurity over relationships resulting from a human’s previous terrible experience. Things like that.

If there was a plot you super wanted to do, but now it no longer works because of xyz reason - in my opinion, yeah, see if you can get it to work, but if it really just doesn’t at all, then don’t be afraid to completely remove it entirely and just throw that into a totally different story. Who says it all has to be in the same book or series? If it seems like a fun idea but that idea isn’t served well in this context, then bookmark that for another exploration and let this story play out as authentically as it can. Then, in the new story, you can set things up more tailor-made for that plot point you wanted to do, letting it really shine in this new setting more than it would have if it might have felt forced or fit into the other.

I’m not sure if that’s zero help… it’s possible I’m a weirdo in the way I write, I’m not sure. My problem is I actually like to start a story not HAVING a plot… I like starting with a scene, making characters to fit it, writing more, making things up as I go, and getting a feel for the world, characters, environment, that way. Then I will sit down and plot out based on the knowledge I have of the characters and world at that point. But I also usually only plot to a certain point and then leave it open-ended like, “Probably after that something happens, then lots of stuff I don’t know, and the end is maybe this but who knows?” And that way as I write, I have freedom to come up with plots in the near or far future that seem really fun and fit well with what’s happening in the story itself. And if I had no plot super far into the future, or if I did but it was kind of vague bullet points, it makes it a lot easier to add a bunch of bullet points in between to flesh it all out. That way, everything naturally flows, because everything was informed by something that has already been there.

This isn’t always the best plan. I get bored easily sometimes, and stop writing the entire story. So I don’t know if this is the best way of doing things lol It’s just my weird ass way of doing things, because I tend to get way too excited about way overcomplicating things, so for me it’s way more fun to have a super vague future idea so that I can spend more time focusing on making the current stuff I’m writing actually be fun to write, instead of always having to look ahead to a plot I actually want to write but can’t because I have all this other crap I have to get through first.

If that wasn’t helpful (or even if it was) and you want me to go more into anything or have other questions or whatever, just let me know :) Sorry about the long post :(

[callioope]

WEELLLLL that went about as expected. I’m glad I set the bar real low. 

We’ll start with Good Things cuz the list will be shorter

Luke throwing his lightsaber off the cliff. LOL. unexpected. i still love Luke. will always love Luke. Even after the horrible character assassination this movie committed against him.

Oh right good things

hmm

Paige Tico

Rose Tico

Finn and Rey just wanting to reunite

Poe Dameron and everything he says and everything he does. I mean he makes mistakes but that’s great! Mistakes are okay! Mistakes are character development! He learns from them. I love Poe. I love Oscar Isaac.

LUKE’S REUNION WITH ARTOO!!!! OMGSJFKSJDFKAJDFKSJDF 

Luke: you can’t convince me 

Artoo: *shows projection of Leia asking for Obi-Wan’s help from ANH* 

I died in that theater right at that moment I am now a ghost, a ghost haunting this planet after being haunted by the rest of that fucking plot shitshow of a movie

YODA!!! Look call me a Yoda apologist, hate me for liking Yoda, FINE WHATEVER but I still love Yoda. And like, I don’t disagree with the discourse about him being like a major failure of the Jedi. (I mean, I think that was kind of… the point??) But like. I was a big fan of him before the prequels came out and the prequels aren’t going to take that away from me. And I always like big lightsabers duels so idc what you say about the lightsaber duel between him and Sidious I fucking loved it so. Whatever. OH and another thing. Like yes, the big point in the OT is that like Luke DOESN’T listen to Yoda’s ultimate lesson of ���don’t go save your friends it’s a trap” but like don’t fucking tell me that Luke didn’t benefit at all from Yoda’s lessons. Is Yoda a good teacher? No. But did he have information that Luke benefited from learning? Yes.

Why the fuck am I ranting about Yoda in the good things section

Luke brushing his shoulder after Kylo Ren’s temper tantrum #2342387498 calling for all his fucking troops to shoot at one man (lol ok) failed

Are there that few good things?

Okay let’s see what else

Rose and Finn’s scenes were pretty damn good. Not sure how I feel about her kissing him and him not kissing back. The main reason I’m not fan of this is because it creates a Love Triangle and Love Triangles are the dumbest fucking plot I ever don’t want to read.

Every badass thing Luke does. Um like that pole swinging thing. And just. Luke ness. When he’s not moping and when he was actually joking around. like. Mark Hamill did an amazing job. An amazing job. They gave him shit for Luke’s story but Mark did all that he could with it and I love him.

Um is it weird that i fucking thought Luke was hot when he showed up on the salt planet???? gooooddd i fucking love luke skywalker he is the best

 Bad things:

I really hated the opening shot. Like I don’t remember what it even was, but I remember really hating it.

Lol what is military strategy

Lol what is politics

Lol what is running an organization (um both sides)

Lol what is the point of creating characters if you’re not really going to EXPLORE THEM. Main point: PHASMA. FUCKING PHASMA. THERE IS NO POINT TO HER CHARACTER AND I LOVE GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE AND WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU WASTE HER LIKE THAT. Does she not get backstory? Speaking of backstory: amilyn holdo. ALSO SNOKE! he’s your main fucking villain and you kill him off??? like where you do go from here? I DON”T KNOW HIS MOTIVATION like why does he want to rule the galaxy and cause chaos? like. i need an answer to that. who the fuck is he? I know that about Palpatine. Maybe we didn’t for the OT but like I do think Ian McDiarmid did a really good job being sinister and malicious and sneaking and conniving. idk i’m just not feeling there’s much interesting behind Snoke. He’s supposed to be this great villain that swayed Ben but he’s that easily defeated? idk man idk

LOL WHAT IS PLOT

Okay we got Yoda Force Ghost WHERE THE FUCK IS ANAKIN SKYWALKER

Look, this the problem with movies. This is why I just don’t like movies as a medium anymore: they overcomplicate them. They cram too much fucking shit into it. Look. A short story = a movie. A long book/series = a tv series. You can do ensemble casts but like it’s really hard to pull off. Love Actually does it well. In general I think action movies do it horribly – and it’s because they have so much other things they need to pull off as well. Love Actually is a bunch of short stories vaguely connected and cut/interspersed with one another. But blockbuster action movies have to juggle all these characters, interconnect them, create plot, build worlds, and have action sequences and it’s just a lot to juggle. I can’t think of a movie that does this well. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this. Probably I just don’t like the genre. I mean I generally do hate action scenes. But lightsaber duels are awesome and Poe kicking as in his X-Wing are awesome, so I’ll make an exception for those.

What the fuck was up with all the death fake outs?

Leia’s dead! Oh no wait she’s living in space because the Force? But she’s in a coma. Okay. That makes sense. Sideline an OT character.

Luke’s dead! Oh no wait he’s living he was just astral projecting??? (that’s not how the Force works) (especially after he didn’t fucking use it for all that time he was away?) (okay but don’t try to tell me he wasn’t using the Force at least a little when he did that pole swinging trick and harpooned the fish sooo….) OH WAIT he’s collapsing… he’s prone.. oh his hand moved. PHEW. Okay. Not dead. NOPE JK HE’S DEAD FOLKS.

Luke Skywalker is fucking gone, so, like, this movie is dead to me. Yep.

Like shouldn’t I be bawling my fucking eyes out? No. I’m just like. Calm angry. Like. What a dumb fucking choice.

Don’t fucking tell me there was no place for Lando Calrissian at a fucking casino. just. dont.

[gethealthy18-blog]

How I Meal Prep Intuitively

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/uncategorized/how-i-meal-prep-intuitively/

How I Meal Prep Intuitively

If you asked me 7 years ago what I thought of meal prep I would have told you it was essential. And at the point in my life, it was. I was rigid and inflexible with food. Food was something meant to be controlled, not enjoyed. Food was both a source of my anxiety and also my means of dealing with anxiety. My Sunday meal prep sessions were long, exhausting and in my mind, the key to health and wellness.

And then for lack of a better word: I woke the f*ck up. Many of you have followed my journey from disordered eating to intuitive eating, the process of which has been long and winding and always evolving. A few years ago I wouldn’t have been caught dead writing a blog post about meal prep. After years of restriction and control the pendulum swung in the opposite direction and I was vehemently against meal prep. I felt like all the services and blog posts out there writing and sharing tips and lists for meal prepping were perpetuating disordered eating and not allowing individuals to customize their food choices to their personal needs and the whims of life. And on some level I still feel this way. Unless you have a serious health concern and are working one-on-one with a nutrition professional, you really should not be following anyone else’s food or nutrition plan. Can you take inspiration for meal ideas? Absolutely. But just because Sally Sue insists on steaming her veggies on Sunday and pre-cooking her chicken doesn’t mean you have to. Which brings me to an important conversation topic…intuitive eating.

What is Intuitive Eating?

I’m going to briefly summarize this but basically the term “Intuitive Eating” was introduced by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole in their groundbreaking book by the same title in 1995. Though the concept is simple, it was very new for the time, discussing the principles of getting back to a healthy body image and living with food freedom. As diet culture continued to grow it emphasized the idea that only WE can decide how we eat, why we eat and letting go of food rules our culture has thrust upon us.

In the past few years I’ve watched this term get reworked in a way that it was never intended. The whole point of Intuitive Eating is that it’s not a diet. It understands that our food choices change based on the flow of our lives. While I certainly identify as an “intuitive eater”, I would never tell people I follow an intuitive eating diet. For me, intuitive eating means enjoying food and making choices that feel good for me. Absolutely nothing is off limits (except buckwheat and peas cause I hate them!) but I also don’t eat a plate of cookies for dinner or popcorn for breakfast. Could I? Totally. And in some ways I think this permission has empowered me with choice rather than a reaction to rules, but I don’t because I just wouldn’t feel great if I did.

So how does this all connect to meal prep? Up until this past year I didn’t think meal prep could work in conjunction with intuitive eating. I associated meal prep with rules and that strips away all of the joy of food for me. But recently my mind has changed. I found myself kind of scatterbrained and overwhelmed when it came to meal time. I also found myself eating out a lot because I put in ZERO planning when it came to food. I realized that I needed a bit more structure around my meals and that some forethought was not the worst thing in the world.

For the past year I’ve experimented with flexible meal planning and prepping and have found that I’ve been able to make intuitive meal prep work for me. I’m not slaving away in the kitchen trying to prep all my food for the week, and I’m also not running around my kitchen trying to figure out a meal when I’m already starving. So I thought I’d share some of my best intuitive meal prep tips with you.

My Best Tips for Intuitive Meal Prep

1. Know your Why

I truly believe in the power of intention. If your goal is to meal prep because you want full control of your food and want to make sure everything is 100% healthy, this is a very rigid approach to food. While I’m all for making healthy choices, it needs to come from a place of feeling good, not from a place of fear or self-hatred (which I see a lot). I want to share a few approaches to meal prep that I believe can lead to a sustainable habit:

Money – if you’re on a budget or saving, meal prep can save you a lot of money rather than eating out all the time

Easing stress – we all have busy lives with a lot of stress. If meal times are causing you extra anxiety, a little planning can’t hurt

Fun – One of the best parts of meal planning and prepping is finding inspiration and playing around with different cooking styles. Doing a little prep work can actually make meal time fun and dare I say, enjoyable!

Meal prep is not something that should happen if you don’t trust yourself at meal times. I used to be terrified that if I didn’t have healthy food on hand I would fall into a bit of indulgent eating. The funny thing is, I only did because I had so many rules around food. I eat cookies and pizza and pasta and foods that bring me joy because I can, not because I can’t and my lack of rules around food means that more often than not I actually enjoy salads and soups and healthier brownies. I trust myself around food. If you don’t, please take some time away from meal prepping to reestablish healthier boundaries.

2. Find Inspiration

One of the biggest pieces of meal planning is finding inspiration for what to cook. My best tip: make this fun but not overcomplicated. Keep a list of recipes you love from blogs, cookbooks and friends. I keep a running list on my computer so when I start planning my grocery shop I can decide what meals I want to make. From there I’ll go through ingredients to see what I need to buy and what I already have.

If you’re lacking inspiration check out Pinterest or ask friends for some of their favorite recipes. Or dare I say, check out the THM archives!

3. Plan a flexible schedule

I always look at my schedule for the week ahead and see where I have plans and likely won’t be able to cook for meal time. These are my priorities. After saying no to so many social engagements because of my fear and rigidity around food, I will never say no to something because I want to stay home and cook. That being said, I’m usually at home at least 5 nights a week, not to mention breakfasts and lunches.

I generally estimate I’ll need at least 4-5 dinner recipes, 6 breakfasts and 5 lunches. Most lunches are leftovers from dinner the night before (if C doesn’t eat all of them!) and breakfast is really a cravings thing for me but I try to have ingredients for 1 sweet (i.e. a smoothie) and 1 savory breakfast option (i.e. avocado toast). Most dinners I turn to my inspiration list. I also aim for 1-2 snack recipes if we don’t have packaged stuff on hand.

So to recap, I’ll plan:

5 dinner recipes (usually doubled for lunch leftovers)

2 breakfast recipes

1-2 snacks

This will change week to week depending on my schedule. If I have more social engagements, am travelling etc…it may look different. Flexibility is KEY.

5. Prep food that won’t go bad

One of the biggest realizations I had after my come to jesus meal prepping moment (lol) was that I’d often say no to plans because I already had food prepped that I didn’t want to go bad. I believe there are a multitude of reasons to say no to plans (I have big-time JOMO so this has never been an issue for me) but saying no because you already have sweet potatoes roasted is not a good excuse. The thing I’ve learned about intuitive meal prep is that the planning piece is more important than the prepping piece. I no longer spend my Sundays trying to precook all my food. Here’s what it looks like instead:

Start with a list of meals you know you’ll be home for (yes this can change but estimate)

Get inspiration for these meals

Make your grocery list (I order what I can from Imperfect Foods and fill out the rest with a grocery shop)

Precook or make things that will LAST – usually this means most of my snacks which won’t go bad after a couple of days

I don’t pre chop my veggies or precook proteins. Doing this infers I don’t have trust in my body that I will make choices intuitively based on how I’m feeling and/or prevents me from being flexible with my schedule if plans change.

*I understand that people have kids and families or unpredictable work schedules. My recommendation for this would be to make meals that you can freeze. That way your food won’t go bad and meal times don’t have to be stressful.

6. Assess how it’s working

Don’t take your meal prep as a given or write it off as impossible. Our lives and priorities are ever changing. I’ve been a rigid meal prepper and a vehement anti meal prep evangelist. Finding intuitive meal prep has been a journey for me and one that will change throughout my lifetime. If you’ve been meal prepping for years and find yourself burnt-out, uninspired and/or inflexible, maybe it’s time for a break. If you love flexibility and fun with food but find meal time overwhelming and stressful, play around with a little bit of planning.

And as always, come back to your why. Intention is everything when it comes to our choices to make sure you’re still connecting with yours.

As always, open to hearing your suggestions or anything I missed. Feel free to drop your best intuitive meal prep tips below.

Like this post? Here are some other healthy living posts you might enjoy:

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