#they found peace in each other

[bxbu-chuu]

Tooru is 33, he's lying in bed scrolling on his phone. The screen's light reflects on the shiny gold band on his ring finger, and he instinctively turns to his side when it catches his attention. Shoyo is sleeping like a log, no matter how many years have passed since 5 AM alarms for jogs and practice, his husband never really got out his routine and is mostly in bed and asleep by 10 PM.

On the other hand, they say bad habits die hard and Tooru never managed to sleep at a decent time. Right now it's a good opportunity, though, to just stare at the tan, freckled, calm face resting on the right side of the pillow. To take in the smell of salt air coming through the open window and and realize there's dog hair all over the bedding and Shoyo's bright orange hair.

It hits him, then, just how happy he is. How much he enjoys getting into bed at 1 AM, warm and inviting after Shoyo's been asleep for hours- just to get woken up at ungodly hours and dragged, in what is basically pajamas, to walk their dog. The joy it brings him to share delicious home cooked meals at the tiny table in their terrace.

He's never had much impulse control, so he's not even surprised at himself when he reaches for Shoyo's shoulder, shaking him awake. His husband scrunches his face in an adorable, sleepy expression and makes a small noise of acknowledgement.

"Have I ever told you what Iwaizumi told me after our last highschool match?"

Shoyo's expression is now more or less equal parts intrigue and annoyance at being woken up for no good reason. "What did he tell you?"

"He said I'd never be satisfied no matter how many tournaments I won. He said I'd be that guy that chases volleyball forever."

Shoyo gives him a tired smile. "I don't blame him for thinking that, you had all the odds in your favor."

Tooru can't help but think about winning the Olympic gold, the feeling of "I made it" still fresh on his mind despite the years. He thinks back to the moment he called Shoyo at the airport in Argentina, tears of excitement in his eyes when he told him that he was retiring and they could finally be together. He spares another quick glance at the wedding ring on his finger before returning his attention to the man in front of him.

"I'm just glad he was wrong."

[symphonyofsilence]

Let the poor man rest.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji might be an unstoppable force, but Xie Lian has 800+ years of practice of being an immovable object.

(poll results here for context)

[randomness-is-my-order]

something about wei wuxian and wen qing’s relationship is so profoundly heartening and i think it’s because, in that first life, they were each other’s confidants in the sense that they voluntarily allowed the other person to see them at their most vulnerable and trust the other to take care of them. wei wuxian trusted wen qing to carry out the golden core transfer and trusted her when he was helpless on that bed, his core cut out from him. and wen qing could think of no one else but wei wuxian to help her when she was in her most dire circumstances, trusting him to help her and her family out when no one else would.

“all that pride–all gone.”

at her lowest, wen qing went to wei wuxian and allowed him to see her that way. partly because her family was so much more important than a game of saving face and partly because if there was someone who would see her in such a state and not think ill of her and continue to respect her, it was wei wuxian. because he’s also been at his worst, circumstantially, and it was exactly in those days that their initial bond/friendship was forged.

there is alot of talk about debts when wwx and the wens are concerned but i think the way they helped each other transcends the obligation of debts. of course, you simply cannot overlook who was owed what, given the setting but it’s interesting that we have this passage to make us reflect on the true nature of wei wuxian and wen qing helping each other:

when wei wuxian had bid her farewell, carrying jiang cheng on his back, wen qing had told him this: “no matter how this war ends, we do not owe each other anything from now on. our debts are cleared.” her haughtiness was clear as day in his memory. but last night, she had clutched his hand in a death grip and almost dropped to her knees as she pleaded.

“wei wuxian…wei wuxian…wei-gongzi. please help me. i have no one else to turn to. you have to help me save a-ning! i really have no one else, i can only come to you!”

it’s the way that following wen qing’s refuge of wei wuxian and jiang cheng, there was a sentiment of: oh the wens did this to you and now we, also wens, have helped you just to compensate a little. let’s settle these debts and leave them behind. and this is despite wen qing clearly stating that the wen clan’s actions do NOT reflect her own and that she’s only ever saved lives, not taken any. and yet she declares “our” debts as cleared as if she had taken some accountability anyway. it’s part that and part her attempt to obscure what her actions towards wwx and jc truly were: an unconditional show of support and help. and wei wuxian knows this and it is only reasonable and honorable to still see the help as a debt owed later down the line.

and the same thing repeats itself when wen qing comes to wei wuxian and explicitly asks for help. there is a sense that this isn’t about some give-and-take or reciprocation of prior debts. it is simply a person reaching out to someone in their most desparate times, hoping their hand will be held. and wei wuxian does hold her hand and they remain each other’s staunch supporters through the rescue and the hellish survival in the burial mounds that follows.

wei wuxian trusts wen qing with his wounds and wen qing opens up her most loved ones to wei wuxian’s care. for two people who spent their lives looking after their loved ones, shouldering massive burdens and going through the destruction of their respective clans, their intrinsic understanding of each other makes their bond so special, so grounded. they both took massive risks to help each other out and they both did what was right over what was easy to extend that help to each other.

despite my fair share of problems with the cql, i appreciated that scene with wq and jc where wen qing made it clear that she couldn’t pursue anything with jiang cheng because he wouldn’t stand by her. he simply didn’t have the guts. and this is reflected in the novel canon, in the sense, that if debts owed are the metric to measure who could have helped wen qing, jiang cheng was also on the list and he was obligated to aid her as much as, if not more than wei wuxian (and i say this because the whole reason wwx ended up staying under wen qing’s extended care was because jc was injured. he would’ve left as soon as he was discovered had he been alone). and yet wen qing doesn’t ever approach jiang cheng. her only option is wei wuxian because she knows, deep down, that he would truly help her and go to greater lengths for her than any debts would warrant. that he would understand.

and thing is, despite being the outliers of their clans, they both (+wen ning) embodied their mottos. “attempt the impossible”/“knowingly do what you know you cannot do” for the jiangs and “every kindness should be returned” for the wens (very hilarious ik) and that is just one amongst the hundreds of commonalities they shared.

and all of this doesn’t even account for the fact that they basically died for each other. if this isn’t platonic love at its best, most brutal, most beautiful, then what is?

[saturnniidae]

HTTYD 2 is ten years old today, it was my first exposure to the franchise and despite its many glaring flaws i can't help but love it and hold it so close to my heart.

This scene is a great example of why.

I love it so much. It's a heart-wrenchingly beautiful reminder that as good as he is, Hiccup is not some perfect hero. He is still just a person, a flawed human being who has cracked under the pressure of his circumstances and is barely given time to grieve his fathers' death.

(I adore scenes like this — It humanizes characters so much more, and just adds to that layer of perceived realism.)

And you can see the regret on his face as soon as he says it. But in that moment he doesn't do anything about it; he's still processing Stoick's death, and he only snaps out of it when he sees Toothless is under the Bewilderbeast's control again and Valka has to hold him back from attempting to go after him.

What he said and did to Toothless there was a momentary lapse in judgment fueled by grief. And later, as he breaks Toothless out of the Alpha's control, you can see he feels terrible about it. About how, even if it was brief, he pushed away his best friend. And he loves Toothless so much.

The way he talks to him literally breaks me every time I rewatch it.

"It wasn't your fault, you'd never hurt him, you'd never hurt me."

"Please, you... are my best friend, bud. My best friend."

And when Toothless comes back he just looks so elated to see Hiccup.

Though, Something that's even crazier to me is the fact all this takes place over less than a week. Once he gets toothless back and Drago is defeated, he is immediately made chief. And with the state berk is in, he is given presumably no time to properly mourn Stoick, or to fully adjust to the presence of his mother.

(though I feel his and Valka's relationship will never be what it could've been. He knows she chose not to come back, and that is a blow to their newly formed and fragile bond that, as much as they love each other, is not something she can ever fully make up for.)

But at least through everything, since the beginning, the one real constant he's had has been Toothless.

They're friendship was built off a mutual feeling of out-of-placeness, then unconditional trust and unwavering loyalty.

they love each other so much it makes me wanna throw up

[scamguy]

im trying to read post canon yoohankim fics and i can't be bothered to look for them on ao3 like...... im not going to lie a lot of it is really boring.... its fluff in a way that really doesnt appeal to my taste. uh oops I just wrote a bunch of shit in the tags

[tytangfei]

-I seem to have transformed from a mere swallow into a high-branch phoenix. Yet, in reality, there is no difference. For the Shi family, I'm someone who can be discarded and replaced at any time. There's only obedience for me. No way to retreat. In the past, I was used to surviving one day at a time. Now, in the palace, I just want to protect myself.

-So then why do you oppose your father's wishes?

-Do you truly possess your so-called "complete peace of mind"? Now, Prince Sui holds all the power in court. I can see that you stand under a precarious wall. I can also see that you want to be a wise ruler. As your principal wife, protecting you is protecting myself. The Shi family has never been my fallback. I only share the same boat with you.

ARE YOU THE ONE (2024) - EP. 30 CHANG HUA SEN as ZI YU & YUAN YU XUAN as SHI XUEJI

[astragatwo]

If the pm requests are still going I’d love to see Xiao done in your style :)

wwwwww Xiao is so cool and wonderful and handsome

[cubbyyyy]

Andreils peaceful violence

In my other post I mentioned how Andrew and Neil are never afraid to point out each others flaws because they know the intention is never to actively hurt the other.

I wanted to expand on that.

Andrew and Neil both have violent tendencies. It’s a result of their life and circumstances. Life never showed them kindness, so they never learned it. They don’t know how to be gentle, they don’t know how to be kind, how would they? The world never was kind to them. Being raised with brutality, seeing the worst of human life doesn’t make room for much softness.

So they leash out. Andrew with his knives. Neil with his mouth. If someone does them wrong, they aren’t afraid to snap. Their temper is hard to control, life was too unfair to them to teach restrictions in their behavior.

Yet. They learn to show kindness, in their own way.

Nicky once asked who humanizes who in this relationship and the answer is both.

Their kindness is in their trust to say what’s on their mind and knowing the place it comes from. Both aren’t afraid to address each others flaws but for once in their life they learn not to leash out, not to snap as an answer. Why? Bc they know it’s what needs to be said and that’s the only reason why it’s being said at all. It’s not to hurt and it’s not to break the other. And they trust in that. Their bad sides aren’t overwritten, they don’t pretend like the other is flawless, they aren’t afraid to address sore spots, instead they take it in. And learn. It’s a peaceful violence. Pretending like their wrongs don’t exist would be brutality. It shaped too much of their characteristics to be overlooked or talked down. They would never learn to grow out of their tendencies if they wouldn’t hold the other accountable for it, so they do it and they know the kindness that comes from it. I want you to be better. We are better than this. We deserve more than this.

Their violence isn’t an answer, their violence became a question. You want to be like that? They say. It’s peaceful.

little extra;

Andrew and Neil are kind. They don’t let the other stay the way the are. They force each other to learn, to be better, to not give in. I see you and I won’t let you become what you think you are. Your future doesn't need to be as dark as you make it out to be. Lets become something together.

Andrew and Neil are gentle. I will listen but I hear the lie. I will point out that lie and wait till you hear it to. They aren’t nothing, they are everything and eventually they know it too.

Andrew and Neil are soft. I will kiss you rough while exploring every inch of you, feel every angle bc i want to know you. Your hand is rough and tender and all I can think about is how it’s your hand and how that makes all the difference.

[theborgqueen2]

I wonder how many people Chakotay has killed. I mostly view him as the calm, gentle one compared to Kathryn "Give me a phaser rifle and I'll solve any problem" Janeway but between the two of them, chakotay probably has more blood on his hands - more experience in one on one violence. That guy used to he a high ranked officer in a terrorist organization after all.

[horny-ex-catholic]

I love that I assumed i was 100% a submissive bottom for the longest time, and then I got a partner who made me feel so safe and comfortable that I discovered I'm in fact a switch

[beautiful-rebellious-sunflower]

welcome home

[rangersoup]

The difference between the Lone Star fandom and the OG 911 fandom is so funny to me. Like for the most part the Lone Star fandom seems so peaceful and serene. And then the 911 fandom is rabid trash panda that runs around mauling people.

[miracleghast]

does somebody know what each streamer in pirates smp calls their chat cause for now I have

Seagulls: Acho's Chat, Tubbo's Chat

Sea Salt: Owen's Chat

Rats: Martyn's, Olives, and Eloise's Chat (her mods are cats which is cute!)

Magpies: Scott's Chat (Mods are Crows ?)

Parrots: Kyle's Chat

Ghost Parrots: Sausage's Chat

Adoring Fans: Krow's Chat

The Voices: Michela's Chat, Cleo's Chat

The Waves: Ros's Chat

Crabs: Oli's Chat

I can only watch so many perspectives, so please tell me about the ones I've missed or need to add, or if I've gotten any wrong!

I know this information is pretty trivial but I'd be fun to learn (especially after the war that happened after scott raided acho)

[marianettes]

ILY ATLYS

[wearenotswans]

I just found out my childhood best friend passed away a few months ago and the grief that’s encompassed me is so heavy.