#unconditional love is a thing

[melodymorningdew]

I love being told that the help I'm given means I owe something to the person who helped me 🙃 Like don't help me, then.

[royalarchivist]

Fit: Yeah, they're all great, you'll like them a lot, you're in good hands.

Pac: You're in good hands, Empanada. One day, if you want to switch place one day, maybe? You know? Just let me know. Remember the thing we talked about yesterday, right? Yeah. Anytime.

Fit: [Chuckles] You two made a little agreement?

Pac: Yeah! Maybe one day it's going to happen, you know? I need to search for a hat just like Empanada's.

Fit: W- wh- wait, Just like in wait a minute, wait a minute. You want to switch places with Empanada? Is that what you mean?

Pac: Yes!!! She had the best mothers of all time! Like, imagine how she's going to be treated, like, she's going to be a princess! The princess of all princess!

Fit: [Stunned silence] Y- yeah, yeah! That- that- great. Just-

Empanada:

Pac: Yeah, you know, like– Tina and Bagi, you know, they are my mothers as well.* Mis madres, mis madres, mis madres, you know, 'cus of the meme, you know Fit, you know Fit?

Fit: Yeah yeah yeah yeah, I- I– Yeah. Yeah no, I get it, I get you, I get you, I understand. I understand. ...yeah.

Pac: [Laughs] Yeah.

Empanada: Drama

Fit: We say "fofoca", Empanada, in Portuguese, yeah. Fofoca, fofoca.

[nemo-of-house-hamartia]

Please, someone stop me from listening to Josh Groban, because otherwise I will end up DRAWING ANOTHER "MOTTIE AT BED" ARTWORK.

Like seriously, I cannot.

When I hear him sing "You have no idea" all I can hear is Mathias singing to Dorothea AND MY HEART CANNOT TAKE IT.

IT'S EXPLODING WITH SOFT TENDERNESS.

(and I have become the joke of my own household, because my husband, loving Josh as much as I do, now DOES IT ON PURPOSE OF PUTTING HIM ON OUR SPEAKERS, especially when he sees that I am busy working on something not Mottie-related. He knows how my brain works. HE KNOWS IT. So if sometimes you see me derailing, IT'S MR. NEMO'S FAULT AS WELL).

[samijey]

oh to be sami zayn and be so fiercely loved and supported by jey uso...

[marvelling-at-marvel-blog]

I know it was meant to be a joke, but it kind of breaks my heart that S2 Jamie thinks the best way to make friends is to buy all his teammates PS5s. The way his logoc

Like he really thinks his likeability is tied to his talent, money and looks. The way he says what better thing to spend money on than love just screams to me low self value.

I really think he struggled to make friends his whole life and most of the people who came in his life like him for his talent, star potential and what he could do for them.

Which means when Zava comes along in season 3 he probably legit thought he was going to lose all his friends. Now, they didn't need him on the pitch. So now I just want to give him a great big hug.

His S3 storyline really helps him learn what true friendship is.

[ilynpilled]

“The things I do for love,” he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove.

all this frothing insecurity is actually so funny if you consider that he is supposed to be the most beloved one by the rest. the bar is in hell with house lannister

[danikatze]

[ID in alt text]

I've made two Halsin and Tav sketches this week and I'm working on digitally colouring them, as I don't think I like them enough to post as they are, but this one I like very much :3

[chocolatecake47]

The Dragang found family is like:

Soren carrying Ezran up to bed when he falls asleep somewhere else, Callum braiding Rayla’s hair when she’s had a bad day (even when she’s too shy to ask), Rayla tearing up when Ezran is finally taller than her and she has to look up to talk to him, Callum tucking Ezran into bed and waiting for him to fall asleep sometimes rubbing his back or arms if he’s stressed out, Soren and Rayla eventually tearfully opening up to each other about all the abusive behaviors and screwed up things that happened in their upbringing and bonding over mutual understanding, Callum and Rayla comforting each other when they wake up screaming and crying from nightmares, Callum constantly drawing Rayla and his breath catching in his throat in awe a little when he sees her in a dress for the first time, Rayla making little flower crowns for Ezran and him wearing them just because, Ezran stealing jelly tarts from the kitchen and Soren going along with him just for the fun of it, Rayla and Soren brutally roasting each other and flipping each other off while Opeli stares gasping in shock at this “improper behavior” but everyone else around is trying to hide their laughter, Rayla sleeping curled against Callum’s chest some nights, Callum and Rayla doing the stupidest harmless best friend shit for no reason and Opeli just rolling her eyes, Callum telling Ezran about the memories he has of their mother, having little picnics in the gardens outside the palace on some warm days, Callum wiping his thumbs lovingly over Rayla’s markings, Ezran crawling into their bed after he has a bad nightmare and promptly falling asleep cuddled in between them, Rayla and Soren sparring together routinely, Callum and Rayla running their fingers through each others hair and sometimes running their fingers through Ezran’s curls, Rayla and Ezran teasing Callum about something “inappropriate” and watch him get bright red and start sputtering which sends them off into peels of laughter at his awkwardness, Rayla doing the girlfriend pout (not that she would even need to do this, lets be so real right now 😅) and Callum giving her the last bite of his food, Callum and Ezran just randomly crying together sometimes over their father passing, Rayla telling Ezran stories about the Silver-grove trying not to let her voice crack but Ezran noticing anyway, giving Soren random hugs when he feels lonely or misses Claudia, Callum closing his eyes and turning away sometimes as Ezran gets older and pretending for a moment that his dad is still there, Ezran sitting behind a pillar in the ballroom and watching Callum and Rayla slow-dance and pretending for a minute he’s watching his mom and dad, sitting around the fire enjoying each others company, Callum and Rayla immediately knowing when something is wrong with the other person and learning communication together, Soren giving Ezran unsolicited first kiss/first date advice, Soren light-heartedly teasing Callum about his disastrous first kiss, Callum taking Ezran’s crown off on hard days and kissing the top of his head where it rests, everybody laughing uncontrollably about something that is not funny at all in the middle of horrendous stress and sleep-deprivation and that only makes it more funny. Shooting looks to kill anyone who’s crossed lines and hurt one of them. That fierce protective streak they all carry for each other. Holding each other while they sob not caring about the tears falling all over them. Sending each other pointed glances and smirks from across tables full of fancy dignitaries. Finding pretty flowers and giving them to each other just because.

 Impulsive hugs. Forehead kisses. Draping blankets over each other. Curling up on each others laps. Leaning heads on each others shoulders. Late night whispers. Tearing up with joy at milestones..

Everybody reaching for each others hands in tough moments and gently squeezing as reminders of their presences, and sometimes just doing for no reason other than closeness and security and comfort and to just, hold each others hands.

I love you’s. Lots of them. Heartfelt and sincere and emotional and naturally and full of unconditional love. After bad days, after good days, after heavy conversations, after fun times, just random I love you’s so nobody forgets how loved they are despite all they’ve lost.

This is found family ❤️.

“The stakes are high, the water’s rough, but this love is ours” - Ours

“The best people in life are free” - New Romantics

“It was letting go of everything but you” - The Band And I

“Wherever we’re together, that’s my home” - You’re My Home

[jesse-pinko]

Every other aspect of Jesse’s trauma makes me go oh no poor blorbo :( but his relationship w his parents and thinking ab it in the context of the series aftermath actually makes me unwell… they never even knew him they only ever saw the worst in him and now they’ve had that validated by his own actions and they’ll never know how sorry he is and that he was a good kid at heart and they didn’t imagine it and they still love him but how can they have loved him if they never even knew him and only ever saw the worst in him *flatlines*

[n1ghteeea]

When they look at each other this way. That’s it. That’s the post

[mixelation]

ohhhh tori Does have real feelings? thats so sweet

tbh i think tori at first conceptualizes kushina jr as "my cool science project" and in that regard she does love them! she spent a lot of time and effort on this baby and she's going to make sure they grow up safe and healthy! she likes showing off her baby and going LOOK WHAT I MADE!!!! :D but she doesn't actually have anything approaching normal maternal feelings until she realizes kushina jr is like. an actual human with their own emotions. and now she's on the floor crying because her child loves her

meanwhile i think itachi is wildly unsure about having a kid bc he's like "i did agree to this for legal reasons, but also, have you met me." however the second he's handed an actual physical baby, some sort of sasuke-adjacent switch in his brain gets flipped and he's like: never mind, this baby is my new priority. i would kill for them

[symbologic]

Law thought he'd need to change the world to honor Cora's sacrifice

But he was already living Cora's legacy: Simply by being with the people he loves, the family he created for himself in the wake of Cora setting him free

You'd almost expect Law to wander alone for years after Cora's death. And in a different story? I think that's likely what would've happened so the MC could finally show him what love means

But Law met Bepo and the others within a few days of Cora's death

And so Law fulfilled Cora's dying wish — continued to fulfill that wish everyday after that, even — without ever realizing it. There is something so devastatingly beautiful about that

[possamble]

What are your headcanons about Marcille's mom if you have any? It's interesting that what drew Donato to her was cause she lived the history he studied, or that was said somewhere at least. She must've had an interesting life.

so this was going to be just a normal answer but then I realized I have a Lot of Things To Say. so here goes, a compilation of what we know for a fact from the canon, what I've extrapolated from the visual cues and details, and my theories based on all of that.

Things we know for a fact about Marcille's mother because they were explicitly stated in the manga and supplemental materials:

She was a court mage for a Tall-man kingdom at the southern part of the Northern Continent

Donato, a court historian, fell in love with her because she had lived through the history he was studying, and he courted her for 17 years (age 15 to 32) before getting married

She was a cheerful person who rarely showed extreme emotion and took things as they came

She always cooked a huge meal for Marcille on her birthdays

She remarried a gnome after Donato's death and a short distance away from Marcille's childhood home

Pipi, Marcille's pet bird, was actually older than Marcille and originally belonged to her mother (bird died at 62)

She was extremely heartbroken when Donato died and ultimately ended up instilling a deep fear of mortality in Marcille with her words

the only time she showed extreme emotion in front of her family was when Donato could no longer eat his favourite dish near the end of his life.

She scolded Marcille for being cruel to ants (implying she can have a stern side when needed)

Things that are explicitly shown but mostly through visual cues

She has a very distinctive style of dress always involving a ribbon choker (mirroring Marcille's habit of always wearing a matching choker with any of her outfits that don't cover her neck)

She was almost stereotypically good at housekeeping and traditionally "wifely" things (very frequently depicted wearing an apron or doing some domestic chore when not at work, seems to have been an avid cook).

She knits? (also, note the affectionate smile as she's looking at Donato and Marcille reading a book together in the full panel)

She was as excited for Marcille's milestones as Donato was.

She didn't tell Marcille much about elven food

(there are a couple things that this panel in particular implies:

She lived a good deal of her life (if not being born and raised) in a mainly elven country in the West, implied by her knowing enough of an elven region's cuisine to prefer Tall-man food over it

seems to have a pretty carefree and casual demeanour overall, if this is how she replied to Marcille asking her about it (sounds like she never gave her culinary preferences that much thought to begin with)

slightly related to number 2, it seems like she and Marcille had a fairly casual parent-child dynamic (especially in comparison to the Toudens' memory of their father)

(local elf tastes Italian food once and never goes back))

However, she seems a lot more... serious in most of the other times we see her? Almost like the very stereotypical archetype of a graceful elf.

Subsequent conclusions about her personality:

Usually pretty carefree and cheerful at home, has been a loving and attentive parent throughout Marcille's childhood (while not being so doting that she didn't discipline Marcille).

Slightly more conjectural theories on her personality:

Had a much more graceful and professional personality at work, which would explain the more serious portraits we see of her.

Given that both she and Donato had positions at the royal court, it seems a little odd that she'd go out of her way to do all the housework herself, so maybe she just enjoyed doing it?

Now taping all the evidence together and toeing the line between analysis and fanfiction:

It's clear that she loved Donato very much and was utterly devastated by losing him. But there's one thing that really stuck out to me in what little we see of her:

Doesn't she seem... angry? The way she's gritting her teeth, clutching the tablecloth, and how this is the first and only time we see her eyes opened that wide. In the following panel, you see her being quiet and dejected after her initial outburst. She's still crying very intensely, but her brows are furrowed, and she's not really responding to Donato's affection in her body language.

We're not told the details of how she felt about losing Donato other than that it upset her. But this, to me, implies that she was angry and resented that he was aging, that the end of his life was approaching. An "it's not fair" type of preemptive grief. And if this was the first and last time she cried like this in front of her family, she was either very good at coping in private... or very bad at letting herself feel unpleasant emotions until they become unavoidable and end up overwhelming her.

It's not too remarkable a detail on the surface. It's even reminiscent of what the audience has seen of Marcille. But... when it comes to the big picture, you'd think an elf who voluntarily chose to marry a tall-man and have a half-elf child would have been better prepared for this.

It kind of recontextualizes her cheerfulness to me.

"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay!" (or some variation thereof, depending on what translation you have).

And this is stated to contrast her extreme grief when finally confronting Donato's failing body and eventual death. But I'm wondering if... maybe this optimism was why she was so upset. What if she went into all of it thinking "everything's gonna be okay"? What if she was a little young by elven standards, and just followed her heart thinking that her own resilience would get her through anything?

Of course, only to get completely overwhelmed when she actually loses Donato. She turns into a completely different person. And that's heartbreaking on its own-- but what the audience sees is the effect it had on Marcille. Can you imagine being her, watching your invincible and upbeat mother suddenly lose all the light in her eyes in one go?

I've already made a huge post about how I think Marcille models her "work persona" off her mother, but another thing that stuck with me as I was looking for more details in the manga was this:

copy pasting from the other post i made about it lmao it's like... the second she resigns herself to lifelong pain and terror, there's another portrait of her mother facing her like this. with their heads bowed, in mirrored body language of resignation and despair and sorrow. Except it's posed like Marcille is still looking at her mother but her mother is looking away.

It took me a second to realize, but I think that it's a visual metaphor for the fact that Marcille's mother was the only long-lived role model she had-- and she failed to model healthy grief for her daughter. I don't say this as an accusation or to disparage her as a character, but just as a matter of fact. In her, Marcille was seeing herself older and losing a short-lived spouse or loved one of her own, and all she saw was hopelessness.

But her mother didn't mean to instill hopelessness and terror in her. She wasn't really thinking of how it would truly affect Marcille at all (at least, that's how I'm interpreting her looking down and away from Marcille in the metaphor), she was just sad. And she, in her own way, was trying to protect her daughter and help her prepare for future losses.

What she meant was "loss is inevitable, and you have to learn how to be in pain but live on anyway." What Marcille heard was "loss is inevitable, and you will be scared and hurt for the rest of your life."

Again. Marcille's mother doesn't feature explicitly in the story the way her father does -- but in so many ways, her shadow, her silhouette, her reflection is always hanging over Marcille.

All that to say... headcanon-wise (everything from here on is 100% without evidence lmao), I'd like to think that she matured and realized that she failed Marcille. I imagine her being regretful about it, wanting a chance to fix it but never finding a way to insert herself back into Marcille's life when Marcille is so so so busy becoming the most accomplished mage possible. I imagine her being herself again, now, so many years after her loss and after remarrying -- but with her cheerfulness tempered with a lot more wisdom and the pain of having gone through loss like that. I think the second Marcille actually tells her what happened in the dungeon, she'd want to go running to her daughter again -- if Marcille tells her the full truth instead of just being embarrassed she let things get that far. (oh, the tragedy of her wanting to be more like her mother and an accomplished adult who doesn't need to be babied... being embarrassed to actually tell her mother how much she fucked up...)

There's also the tension of her having remarried -- I know that there's at least a little bit of resentment that Marcille harbours about that, because she's childish like that at heart even if she makes an effort not to externalize it. I think that her mother would be aware of that, potentially adding to her sense of guilt and apprehension at trying to reappear/intrude on Marcille's life. I honestly don't think Marcille has met her stepfather -- or even considers him a stepfather rather than "mama's new husband" and kind of a total stranger. I think she and her mother actively don't talk about it in their correspondence, like an elephant in the room.

but, ultimately, I think her mother is on her side no matter what. Ancient magic? Dark necromancy? Sure, she'll feel guilty and like she was partially responsible for setting Marcille down such a painful path, but she wouldn't care. that's her daughter!! she would've moved back west and been petitioning for her at the court, buying a house right next to the Canaries barracks and visiting her every day that she wasn't on a mission. And if her husband had opinions on Marcille becoming a "dark arts user," he either gets over it or it's divorce with him. Yes, she might have had her optimism completely humbled by losing Donato like that -- but she's still headstrong and self-assured and she doesn't care what people think of her. It's her way or the highway and she's always going to be in Marcille's corner.

(She also needs a name lol. I went with Juno, just to be cute about "Marcille"s closest real life equivalent being Marcella, which is the female version of Marcellus, which in turn is a diminutive of Marcus, which was derived from Mars. Absolutely in love with Marcille potentially being named after Ares/Mars the fucking god of war btw)

[soahbee]

Short story time hey-hey! <3

One day when I was with my dad's house, R came through. Meanwhile I studied for the exams in the kitchen. (Dad helped me by listening to me when I learned the exam tasks) and when I heard the front door open, I thought it was my dad, so I said out loud to him:

"Dad, will you help me please? I'd like to tell you about this exam assignment!"

Girls.. who would have thought that it was not my dad but R???😵😭 Then I didn't get an answer right away and I kept writing in my notebook bla bla bla and didn't even look up when this omg sentence burned into my brain:

"Of course I'll help you angel!"

I obviously noticed that it wasn't my dad's voice and I immediately raised my head and saw R jokingly smiling at me.😱 I honestly felt like my head was going to be red, not just because he was here, but mainly because he called me angel. Okay, I know he was joking and he was trying to imitate my dad, but damn this situation made my heart skip a beat...😳😳

btw R really wanted to help me study, but then my dad came and pulled him away from me lol *sad*

[hualianisms]

the way HC grew up thinking he was weak, monstrous, repulsive, was told that he was cursed, and believed that he had to spend 800 years becoming better, stronger, more powerful, for XL, bc he wanted to protect XL -

but then he meets XL again, and shortly after becoming friends, XL tells HC that he doesn't care if HC is hideous, doesn't care if HC is a beggar or royalty, a ghost or human. later on, XL even tells HC that he doesn't care if HC is strong or weak, at his lowest or highest point, in worst or best moments - XL loves HC no matter what state HC may be in, he loves him simply bc he is HC.

and this unconditional love from XL is so important to HC, so healing for HC, and is exactly why it shaped HC so inexorably, both 800 years ago and 800 years later. bc XL truly is the kind of person who loves someone for who they are, not how they appear on the outside.

and HC fully reciprocates this unconditional love by loving XL no matter if XL is the god-pleasing crown prince or the broken husk of a man wearing bwx's mask trying to take revenge. HC returns this unconditional love by repeating XL's words back to him, what matters is you, not the state of you.

[magnusbae]

Dreamling - Comfort given freely - 691w

Dream has a hard time accepting all the succor he had received from Hob since his return in 2020.

▾▾▾

"Why?” Dream asks.

“I knew you needed it” Hob smiles at him “and I could give it, so what’s the harm in that?”

Dream averts his eyes, pride and hurt fighting inside of him. He does not wish to be so, he wishes not to be depended on anyone’s pity, on anyone’s scrapes of empathy— but oh stars, how he does need it, how much the empty spaces of the fabric of his soul crave it, want it.

He cannot face this man, cannot look him in the eyes and let him know that he had won. Won where others did not. Many had gained his affections, some had gained his love, but Hob....Hob had won his trust. He had won his trust and he had won him over.

He has the power over him, one of the Endless.

Something that should not be, shouldn't have happened.

“Morpheus?” Hob asks, a short silence, and closer “Dream” he says, gentle, gentle as if talking to a wounded thing, a hurt thing.

Is there no end to this man’s pity? 

Dream’s insides twists, for he knows that Hob is honest, and that Hob is true. He knows that he means it, means this care of his. Dream wonders if he should leave, if he was mistaken for questioning it. Perhaps he should accept it, allow his pride some rest. And yet—

“I love you.” Hob says.

Dream looks up, sharp, alert. 

“What?” he says, though he had heard him quite well. 

“I love you.” Hob says with a shrug, kind eyes looking sad “You don’t need to think so hard about it, there’s nothing to it other than that, I love you, I love you and I’d do anything for you” Hob finds his eyes, and smiles again, there's a deeply rooted fondness in that look.

For a moment, Dream's shadow distorts, the lights in the room flickering. He notices that as he notices the heat in his chest, at his neck, on his face. This body of his, this image he presents to the world, should not do things he does not choose to show.

Words that are his to command, that come so easily to him at most days, are lost to him now as he opens his mouth and no sound comes out in response to Hob's confession.

Love. He knows love. Bright and passionate, strong and wild, worlds consumed, galaxies worth of feelings— love is not this, not the calm patience of a friend, not the endless devotion, not the... soothing safety he feels in Hob's presence.

“You confuse.” Dream answers at last.

“No I don’t” Hob’s light reply comes without a hint of argument.

“Hob Gadling, you—”

“—love you?” Hob completes, this time smiling. 

Annoyance ignites whitin Dream, the heat on his face deepening. 

“Do not mock me.” he starts, voice raising a fraction, deepening a bit. He will not allow this. He will not stand here as a mere human makes mockery of—

“Dream, I don’t.” Hob reaches a hand— hesitates only a second— and takes a hold of Dream’s tense hand. “It’s okay if you don’t, I don’t expect you to, but this..” he presses their joint hands across his own chest “...is how I feel. I’d do crazier things for you than just care for you, " he stops as if he swallowed one last word, looking mildly bashful but with an unashamed smile on his lips. “tis just how it is” he says and squeezes Dream’s hand firmer against his chest.

Dream can feel the quick rhythm of his heart, can feel the roughness of his hand, can sense the human warmth of him— he can feel his love.

"I...understand." he says, and this is not true, he does not.

He does not understand this form of love. Does not know how to experience nor how to express it. Yet he finds himself wishing for it. Finds himself wanting not for the scorching heat of a dying star but for the soothing tranquility of a spring lake. Something calm, something without waves to drown him under. Something...safe.

Something that might just be Hob Gadling.