Attempts at Creativity

Needless to say she isn’t happy about this.

I love how everyone has decided Celine is the stereotypical dad who Ignor their own issues till it almost kills them 😆.

Celine is the dad who ignores her own chronic health issues until it almost kills her and she is also the farmer that used masking tape to wrap up broken fingers before getting back to work 😔

Celine is told that she has to "take things easy" and "maybe think about some time off" for "her health."

(What the doctor had actually said was, "Kang-nim, I have seen better numbers from hostages and prisoners. Please take better care of yourself.")

And she is grumbling the entire time about it until Rumi hits her with, "Do you not want to see me grow up?"

"Rumi, what are you talking about?"

Rumi shrugs and looks away.

"Well, the doctor basically said you were going to die if you didn't take time off," Rumi says. "I just thought maybe you'd want to, I don't know, see me grow old first? Maybe get married, have kids?"

"Of course I want to see that."

Rece ptionist: Oh Kang-nim! What a surprise! What can we do for you.

Celine: Yes, I…I was constructing a new fence and I noticed my back was starting to hurt.

Receptionist: Ah. I see. Did Rumi-nim ask you to come in?

Celine: No I… Thought it best I come in on my own.

Receptionist, sweating: …and…how much would you say your back hurts? On a scale of 1-10.

Celine, wincing from pain: I’m here, aren’t I?

Receptionist, to nurse: Get a room ready. Now.

Receptionist, to Celine: And did you manage to get the fence done before coming over?

Celine: No, I did not.

This is in part because Celine herself had a severe eating disorder as a younger person, and while she’s recovered to the point where she understands that what was happening with her and the other Sunlight Sisters was Not Okay and she really really wants to make sure that it never happens with her girls, she… has some weird ideas about what food is Okay and Healthy and Safe for her especially and about how to get people to eat in general

Which is why Rumi is the most chill around food but also does just kinda treat it as a necessity sometimes. She heard “food is fuel and you should give your body what it needs” constantly growing up, and so like she doesn’t do messed up “food as reward” or “food as overindulgence” viewpoints really but

She will just get disconnected from her body and forget to take care of it. Or sometimes, eventually, lowkey avoid taking caring of it. Because fuck it, she’s not a machine, she doesn’t need to be in perfect shape, why not go on an insane spiral and do something that sucks the whole way down instead?

For Zoey, it’s not the “what is having a body” autism as much (though that does happen to her), but the “I have sensory issues and food is An Experience” autism

Of course, it’s not like she can say that she doesn’t like mushrooms or that the texture of rice turns into something Evil the moment it’s even a little overcooked or she just finds lentils really very unpleasant. She can’t be picky and cause problems and make someone make a special meal just for her

(Her parents had a tendency to lash out. Maybe. Just a little. It’s fine! She’s not going to be a problem! It’s fine!)

Getting Zoey to express an opinion about food is a level four friendship achievement

Mira, meanwhile, grew up in the dance world, and so that came with a lot of bodyshaming—both from her teachers (too tall, anyone with an ounce of fat on them was fat (derogatory)) and from her family (too muscular, not feminine enough, etc)—and a lot of pushes towards restricting how much she ate and what foods were acceptable

Celine likely developed a lot of unhealthy eating habits for herself, but I imagine didn't apply those same things to Rumi, especially as Rumi was growing up. Before it became apparent that Rumi was going to be an idol, I think all Celine cared about was that she was eating healthy. And they've already got a leg up on that because they can grow most of their own fruits and veggies. There was probably a period of time in Rumi's life where "Cece I'm hungry" was answered with "The mandarins on the tree out back should be ripe by now".

And I can see that helping Celine's view on eating, somewhat. It gives a bit of control back to her. It's not just that she's eating "healthy" things like vegetables and fruit, but it's food she grew. She knows it's ok because she watched it develop from a seed. She was there for every step of the process, from the initial planting all the way up to the cooking or canning, depending on what she's doing with it. And the act of cooking - mostly for Rumi at the start - opened up the ability to see food in a different light. She started with the Most Healthy options: a lot of veggie or vegan dishes, ones touted as "the best for you and your kids" with a lot of organic ingredients and nutritional information. But slowly, very slowly, she starts to learn that it's ok experiment. Try new things. Indulge a little. Food is fuel, but it could be good fuel and she's always wanted to learn how to cook the abalone she always sees at markets.

It helps Zoey, as cooking means certain ingredients can be omitted or modified to suit her needs. And it's never a problem because it's a new way to try something. Celine keeps a recipe book of her own, one almost as messy as Zoey's notebooks thanks to all the notes about modifications and experiments. And the idea of cooking to take some control back is something she passes on to Mira. Celine recognizes similar patterns, though thankfully not nearly as ingrained in the teen...Yet. Thankfully Mira got out of there before it could get worse. Whenever Mira starts to get that "I'm hungry but it's not dinner yet and I don't need to eat right now" look Celine calls Rumi over. "Go show Mira the mandarin tree."

(As the child of an Almond Mom TM, my experiences were the opposite: getting access to chips? Cookies? White bread? Sugary cereal? Sugary anything? My siblings and I went wild for it)

Picturing baby Rumi staying over at a friend’s house shortly after starting school and having snack with them,,,,, losing her mind over a bag of Doritos. The kid’s mom has to call Celine because Rumi is crying. They don’t do a lot of playdates after that

I also like to hc that Celine taught Mira and Zoey and Rumi to cook!! It feels very right to me that she would’ve wanted to make sure they could take care of themselves as much as possible, and that they knew enough about food and nutrition that they wouldn’t start listening to diet culture bullshit and forget about how much energy demon hunting takes

And it's stuff like that she teaches them. A lot of it ends up under the guise of "as Hunters you need to be prepared for anything, and if there's a demon apocalypse you should know how to make noodles". I'm actually picturing training excursions where she dragged them out into the woods to make campfire dinners or something. (Along with some good foraging/fishing lessons as well). Because as long as there's justification for it, then they're allowed to do it.

This is in part because Celine herself had a severe eating disorder as a younger person, and while she’s recovered to the point where she understands that what was happening with her and the other Sunlight Sisters was Not Okay and she really really wants to make sure that it never happens with her girls, she… has some weird ideas about what food is Okay and Healthy and Safe for her especially and about how to get people to eat in general

Which is why Rumi is the most chill around food but also does just kinda treat it as a necessity sometimes. She heard “food is fuel and you should give your body what it needs” constantly growing up, and so like she doesn’t do messed up “food as reward” or “food as overindulgence” viewpoints really but

She will just get disconnected from her body and forget to take care of it. Or sometimes, eventually, lowkey avoid taking caring of it. Because fuck it, she’s not a machine, she doesn’t need to be in perfect shape, why not go on an insane spiral and do something that sucks the whole way down instead?

For Zoey, it’s not the “what is having a body” autism as much (though that does happen to her), but the “I have sensory issues and food is An Experience” autism

Of course, it’s not like she can say that she doesn’t like mushrooms or that the texture of rice turns into something Evil the moment it’s even a little overcooked or she just finds lentils really very unpleasant. She can’t be picky and cause problems and make someone make a special meal just for her

(Her parents had a tendency to lash out. Maybe. Just a little. It’s fine! She’s not going to be a problem! It’s fine!)

Getting Zoey to express an opinion about food is a level four friendship achievement

Mira, meanwhile, grew up in the dance world, and so that came with a lot of bodyshaming—both from her teachers (too tall, anyone with an ounce of fat on them was fat (derogatory)) and from her family (too muscular, not feminine enough, etc)—and a lot of pushes towards restricting how much she ate and what foods were acceptable

Celine likely developed a lot of unhealthy eating habits for herself, but I imagine didn't apply those same things to Rumi, especially as Rumi was growing up. Before it became apparent that Rumi was going to be an idol, I think all Celine cared about was that she was eating healthy. And they've already got a leg up on that because they can grow most of their own fruits and veggies. There was probably a period of time in Rumi's life where "Cece I'm hungry" was answered with "The mandarins on the tree out back should be ripe by now".

And I can see that helping Celine's view on eating, somewhat. It gives a bit of control back to her. It's not just that she's eating "healthy" things like vegetables and fruit, but it's food she grew. She knows it's ok because she watched it develop from a seed. She was there for every step of the process, from the initial planting all the way up to the cooking or canning, depending on what she's doing with it. And the act of cooking - mostly for Rumi at the start - opened up the ability to see food in a different light. She started with the Most Healthy options: a lot of veggie or vegan dishes, ones touted as "the best for you and your kids" with a lot of organic ingredients and nutritional information. But slowly, very slowly, she starts to learn that it's ok experiment. Try new things. Indulge a little. Food is fuel, but it could be good fuel and she's always wanted to learn how to cook the abalone she always sees at markets.

It helps Zoey, as cooking means certain ingredients can be omitted or modified to suit her needs. And it's never a problem because it's a new way to try something. Celine keeps a recipe book of her own, one almost as messy as Zoey's notebooks thanks to all the notes about modifications and experiments. And the idea of cooking to take some control back is something she passes on to Mira. Celine recognizes similar patterns, though thankfully not nearly as ingrained in the teen...Yet. Thankfully Mira got out of there before it could get worse. Whenever Mira starts to get that "I'm hungry but it's not dinner yet and I don't need to eat right now" look Celine calls Rumi over. "Go show Mira the mandarin tree."

I did few extra baby Derpy drawings for my last comic post. Enjoy! 🥰✨