agiftedglider:

“…But you did. You claimed his cholesterol was high, judged solely on the fact he’s overweight.

To snap is to be a living being. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself about that. It’s excusable, because everyone alive had done it, and everyone alive will inevitably do it again. That’s part of the psyche, that’s not something that can be stopped. Even the most calm of beings have their breaking points. Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the fact you do get your stress out in a healthy way. There’s nothing unhealthy about carving ice. It’s not self deprecating, unlike many other ways to cope with stress, such as over eating, as he does. Be proud of that.

He was under stress. As you’ve just explained on behalf of yourself, people do things they don’t mean when they’re stressed. I think it’s worth apologizing the next chance you get. He may apologize too. It’s frustrating when it seems like someone isn’t listening, but a bad habit isn’t something a person can break in just on day. It won’t go away overnight. Consistent positive reinforcement is the only way to break a bad habit. That’s why it’s no surprise that he was still doing it on the second day.

…That’s good to know. I’m glad you told me. I’ll do that then, and next to him, you can be the first to know his medical information. Your heart is, and has clearly always been in the right place. You just lost control of your brain for a second. All you can do is forgive yourself, and move on. Dwelling on it won’t help either of you.”

"I’ll be honest and say that I only looked at the box for the expiration date and not the ingredients label. It wasn’t on my mind at the time and now that I look back on it, I feel stupid for not checking. I put it back in his bag right after and never looked at it again before he left.”

“I know that I’m human but the words I spit out tend not to be. I keep myself in a soundproof basement for that simple reason. I just never want anyone to be hurt by the crap I spew around down there. It ends up being so loud because I have my headphones off. I cannot hear myself otherwise. I never want to hear myself when I’m like that.”

“I was raised on a berry farm then became a trainer and then a champion. By the time I retired, I guess my eternal patience had worn through by fast-paced battling. I’m trying to get it back with my own berry orchard but it’s rather slow going. I… I really want to apologize too. I fucked up, for lack of a better word.”

“I still haven’t told him that the berries I grow have medicinal properties to them for that reason alone. And… Thank you.”

“Thank you for, well, punting me out of my funk. And thank you for giving me the chance to abate my fears. I… I honestly don’t know what I’d do if my fears came true. I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s… He’s like a little brother to me now.”

agiftedglider:

“Honestly? I could care less what mood you’re in. I understand you must be stressed, but your worries are unfounded. Furthermore, it is wrong of you to make that claim. Who on Earth gave you any right to immediately assume someone’s health if they have never been examined by a licensed physician?

Fun fact. Being overweight doesn’t mean you have high cholesterol. It doesn’t mean you have high blood pressure. It doesn’t mean you have high blood sugar. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at a higher risk for diabetes. It doesn’t mean you’re going to die early. These are all painfully common misconceptions, and before you try and say ‘I know that’, you were just shouting at an anonymous bystander about how you know his cholesterol levels.

I have a Silver back home who’s about his size. His cholesterol is perfect. His blood sugar is normal, and so is his heart rate. He’s also, while not the most athletic, working up a fairly good stamina because he exercises a little bit every day. A cruel bystander would still address him as ‘fat’, and yet, he’s just as healthy as I am, if not more so.

When someone has a self deprecating habit, you do not yell at them. You do not tell them they’re going to die, and you do not guilt them. Do you know how that makes a person feel? It makes them feel worthless. Like they should go ahead and do it anyway, because who cares? You certainly didn’t seem to. A person could hear your shouting from a mile away. Sometimes people need to have information repeated to them. Not everyone gets it through their head the first time. As someone’s friend, you should acknowledge that.

You’re the one who acted poorly. Not him. That does not make you a bad person, or an ‘asshole’, as you call it. I certainly have no doubt you care, or you would not be having such an emotional response. But it’s important to channel those emotions properly, or you could lose someone forever. Some people don’t give second chances.

Long story short: Don’t make claims without facts to back it up. Don’t make people feel bad for not getting something right on the first try. We all screwed up ten or more times before we got something right. Channel your emotions instead of letting them destroy you this way.

I hope my words have been helpful in one form or another. And out of concern, I will take it upon myself to examine him. I am not a certified doctor, but I am an honorary nurse, and a medical intern. I know how to check cholesterol, blood sugar, and all of those other important things. I’m the one who did it for my own Silver.”

"I never said his weight was linked to his cholesterol, I never said anything about blood sugar and I never said anything about blood pressure. My father had a lot of the bad cholesterol when I was a young kid and he had a heart attack while working on the family berry fields. He would have died had my mother not called an ambulance when she did.”

“My father was built as a typical farmer would. The only problem he had was his diet. Sure he burned off the calories quickly but it was the cholesterol that stayed. Recently my mother got a report of high bad cholesterol and worked her hardest to get her good cholesterol up and the bad down. I am TERRIFIED of that happening to someone else. I know it doesn’t excuse my behavior. I know it doesn’t.”

“I’m more than aware that I acted poorly. I’m more than aware that I had my basement window open when I was using the hacksaw. I get that, alright? And I’m trying to change my attitude for the better but there are times I just snap. I have to lock myself in the basement with the hacksaw and a block of ice just so I don’t hurt anyone with my yelling. I try to take every precaution I can so no one is hurt when I snap. Triton opened the window for a breeze and we both forgot to close it. I started the hacksaw again and the rest is history and there may be a new hole in the basement wall.”

“I want to apologize to him but I don’t know if he’ll even listen to me anymore. He’s already lumped me in with everyone else who calls him the f-word, from what I hear. I honestly did try telling him about expiration dates and food poisoning. I wanted to tell him about the risks but I felt like he ignored everything I said. I hadn’t been worried about his weight at all. I was worried what was going on inside him and I admit I went too far. I admit it fully. I just… I just needed some time with the ice to get out frustration. I didn’t want to say things I didn’t mean. Of course that was ruined with the open window but you get my point.”

“I beg of you. Please put my fears to rest with that. And whatever you do, please don’t call yourself a medical professional, a nurse or anything like that. Call yourself a magic healer or something similiar, he won’t accept medical help otherwise.”

“Whoa whoa whoa lady. You need to slow down.”

“What do you want? I’m not in the best mood right now.”