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The Journey of Self-Improvement

After their heart-to-heart of the roof of their dorm, Morty felt closer to Edmund than he ever had before. The attraction they had to each other was more than just physical. When the large cat told him that he didn’t need to be big, that he was okay just being the way he was, he almost didn’t know what to say. A weight that the rabbitkin didn’t know he was carrying was lifted from his shoulders.

While neither of them realized it at the time, those words proved to a catalyst for another change. Though the hare still had no further interest in seeing the inside of the fitness center, something started to take hold: A self-assuredness that he once lacked. Knowing that he has someone in his corner, who would always cheer him on, instilled a sense of freedom in Mortimer.

Thus, he found himself once more on the journey of self-improvement, but this time on his own terms. Before morning classes, it became a common sight among early risers to see the two lovers jogging together across the campus or around the city. More than a few times, they could swear that they even caught glimpses of Professor Enigma looking down at them from his rooftop runs. On those occasions, Mortimer thought to himself that if he kept at it, he might build up to the mind mage’s more complex movements.

And once he started getting comfortable with his progress, the lapine choose once more to branch out of his comfort zone by signing up for archery training. Though he never liked lifting weights the way Edmund did, as he pulled back the draw string and let loose an arrow, he was nonetheless grateful that those months gave him a head start in building up the upper body strength for his new area of interest. At least once a week, he could be found firing arrow after arrow. Though each shot was wildly off the mark at first, eventually they started to hit the target consistently. The clear, visible improvements in both his aim, and his stamina from the jogging, did wonders for the young hare who was so lacking in confidence not too long ago.

Even he could tell this was different. Before, he wanted to lift weights and get big not for himself, but for some twisted fear that his partner wouldn’t like him if it didn’t. Now, he knew better. He knew that he neither wanted nor needed to be the big guy like his boyfriend. He could be whatever he wanted to be, if he dedicated himself to it.

This wasn’t for Edmund, not this time. This was for Mortimer.

The piece from DeltaEpsilon, back in June of 2024, is a direct sequel to one of my previous stories where Mortimer tried to start lifting weights to impress Ed.

Something I’m acutely aware of, especially while writing The Case of the Titan Syndicate, is the sheer abundance of buff muscular men in my timeline. I’ve had body image issues myself growing up, and though I’m in a better place now I think about what my role could be in instilling similar body image issues in other people, even though that’s the last thing I want to do.

There was serendipity involved, as Delta was explicitly giving commissioners a discount at the time for characters who were very muscular. (I presume, but can’t confirm, that’s because he didn’t want to be typecast. It’s a common issue I hear from many artists in my friend groups.) Having previously commissioned him before, I knew his style well enough to know he could absolutely draw Morty, and since we were in alignment, albeit likely for different reasons, he was the best choice for this.

I’ve always held that the best way you can get someone to take their physical and mental health seriously is to convince them that they, as a person, are worth investing time into. And that’s the kind of character I envision Edmund being: Someone who brings out the best in others so that they start to believe in themselves. With Morty, I want to illustrate that as much as possible. You don’t need a six-pack to be sexy, or to be believe in yourself.