Not sure if I would considered that hot LOL but OK.
Not sure what I said to most of them other than "oh well" or oops I got fat I guess".
A couple of girl friends knew I was gaining on purpose because they were a part of our "gaining club".
I never have mentioned the girls gaining club thing here on FF but it was fun.

Really doubt it.

Never have understood the self harm /cutting thing.
Is hurting yourself a way to get back at someone else?
I admit my first gain was because I caught my hubby having sex with a very large woman.
I thought if he wanted a fat woman I would get fat just to piss him off but I knew he would never accept his wife being fat.
It did piss him off that I gained 60 lbs or so.

Let us know if it helps any.
Ice cream puts weight on me easily so it may do that on you YMMV of course.
I'm not an active gainer anymore so I don't eat ice cream much these days.

Worked really good for me.

Drink heavy cream a couple of times a day or eat a bowl of ice cream before bed.

Kind of what I did for a while.
Went back to college to get a business degree while working at my small business.
Few friends saw me for several years.
After 3 years or so I had gone from 115 to 190 lbs.
The people at school never really said anything about my weight because they saw me quite often and the gain was slow so it seemed normal.
Friends that hadn't seen me were shocked I was so big.

It can be odd at first but when you think of them as like you its not so bad.
Just like making a new friend it takes time.
Don't worry about labels or what term to call yourself because it really doesn't matter just be yourself.

I agree with Sadie.
Talk thru it is about all you can do.

If its something you are into then by all means have fun with it.