Work Text:
Julian
- His approach to understanding it is very clinically informed. He's seen it before once or twice and does plenty of research after falling in love with you
- Part of being a doctor means being able to stay calm when he's responding to a condition, so when he's helping you address it he may seem unusually detached
- This proves entirely untrue when he's not working through a rough patch with you
- He loves you, he adores your body, and wants desperately for you to reach a point where you feel comfortable owning and inhabiting your own self
- And also seeing you in any discomfort or pain just makes him sad
- There's one tiny problem - he's so harebrained himself that his eating habits are nearly as bad as yours
- It forces him to start taking better care of his own body in order to support you in taking good care of yours
- He loves to boost your spirits by going out of his way to treat you like a god/ess among mortals
- If you let him he will go over every body part you possess (with an anatomical chart to reference) and compliment every single one
Asra
- Their approach is much more emotionally/intuitively informed. They probably don't know much about eating disorders beyond what you experience
- But he is determined to understand your experience and be there every step of the way
- They keep small quantities of healthy snacks that they know you like tucked in the corners of every room so that you have constant access to good food without feeling overwhelmed
- He also carries small pouches of different options in his bag for when you two are out and about
- Does all of the above so subtly that you never feel pressured
- If you're going through a rough patch they'll build a pillow pile and hold you in it with the lights dimmed so it's easier to be vulnerable
- If you want to talk he'll listen. If you want to sleep it out he'll join you in your dreams and take you on the most beautiful adventures
- If there is anything - and I mean anything - that you feel insecure about, they will admire it relentlessly until you're too flustered to remember why it upset you
Nadia
- Her relationship to food is that of a foodie
- So while she picks up on what's going on very quickly after she meets you, she has no personal point of reference
- She takes two approaches - tackling the issue at its emotional source and taking measures to build different habits
- She has an uncanny ability to ask all the right questions, so you'll be unpacking everything contributing to it with her for many hours
- She also consults with the chefs for meals that aren't too intimidating to eat but are jam-packed with nutrition
- If eating full meals gets distressing for you, she'll set up a schedule of smaller, balanced snacks through the day and hold you to it
- All in all this can feel like a lot of pressure at first. You're not used to this level of involvement and it's intimidating
- Once you talk to her about it she'll dial down the intensity. However, that much structure and openness does build new habits that really help
- She loves to dress you in the most beautiful clothes and tell you how she loves you in them.
And how she'd love to take them off
Muriel
- Of everyone you know, he can relate the most
- His own relationship with food started improving when he met you and you got him to eat something just because it tasted nice
- Your own difficulties really showed up during your trip and training with Morga
- One moment she was getting impatient with you and the next he was coming to your defense. It was the first time you'd heard him speak like that
- He's been your biggest support ever since. Quietly checking in with you a few times a day, carrying some bread and cheese in his pocket at all times
- Since he knows you're able to enjoy the way things taste (something he struggles with) the two of you work on cooking together
- You collect spices and recipes and introduce him to new flavors, and his involvement in turn makes things feel safer to eat
- You two are slowly turning each other into foodies and to your friends it's the plot twist of the century
- Food security is a love language for him. On rough days, he'll hold you in his arms in front of the fire, slowly feeding you a slice of toast over the course of several hours
Portia
- She loves food. Making it, eating it, sharing it, starting (and winning!) fights with it -
- So your symptoms startle and unsettle her. It's clear that you would only be like this if you were unhappy about something, and she hates seeing you unhappy
- At first her approach is to barrel through it. She cooks every good dish she knows, she spends hours baking the most indulgent treats, she sits you down at a veritable feast and waits for you to eat it and cheer up
- But you don't dive in, and you don't seem to be overjoyed. She's a little hurt
- Once you explain, she's very quick to understand and empathize. She invites the Palace's kitchen staff to eat something they haven't cooked for once so it isn't wasted
- She starts taking her cues from you instead. She never pressures you to eat but she'll always have something on hand
- If you mention a dish you're craving or have fond memories of, she's making it for you
- Mazelinka's soup is canonically magical and very healing. You will be regularly dosed with that
- It's her idea to be as distracting as possible around meal times so you can't get stuck in your head about anything. It somehow helps
Lucio
- He spent three years drooling over food he couldn't eat. As a result, he is so overly tuned in to hunger and eating habits that he notices yours uncomfortably quickly
- No tact whatsoever
- "Hey MC, what's up with you [insert symptoms here] all the time?" (One short explanation later) "... Well can you stop?"
- He doesn't like feeling left out so you're going to have to give him a satisfying explanation before he drops it
- He cares about you so much, and he trusts your judgment more than his own, which is why the last thing he asks you is:
- "What can I do to help?"
- If you just want small, gentle reminders and check-ins, he'll do his best and have Mercedes and Melchior cover for him when he forgets
- If you want to talk about what causes it, he'll put all of his attention span into listening to you and then rapid-fire random coping ideas
- Some of which are actually quite helpful
- If you want to build different habits he'll do it with you. (Five food breaks per day so none of them make you too full? He's all for it)
- Has his own methods of hyping you up: "DID WE MAKE [ED] OUR BITCH TODAY?!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! HELL YEAH WE DID!!!"