Death is temporary. I'll love you forever.

Oh, but had the artisan who made me created me instead – a worthy woman... ...I would say "how lucky am I"

Father in heaven who did miracles for our ancestors with fire and water... ...Who would then transform me from a man to woman? Were I only to have merited this being so graced by goodness...

What shall I say? why cry or be bitter? If my father in heaven has decreed upon me and has maimed me with an immutable deformity then I do not wish to remove it. the sorrow of the impossible is a human pain that nothing will cure and for which no comfort can be found. So, I will bear and suffer until I die and wither in the ground. Since I have learned from our tradition that we bless both, the good and the bitter I will bless in a voice hushed and weak: blessed are you [HaShem] who has not made me a woman.

Steve rants about Robin 🙄👩  in 3.03, but it’s *snaps fingers* easily about Eddie 👬💙🤗 

also uncle:

once got captured by the earth kingdom army buck ass naked bc he really wanted to go to a hot spring in enemy territory

betrayed zhao at the Northern Water Tribe with no escape plan and then spent 3 weeks starving on a boat

immediately went to a spa resort upon publicly committing treason

ate a poisonous plant and, in the spirit of Two Fish Hook Sokka, was going to solve the problem by eating another potentially poisonous plant

decided the safest place in the world they could go was the city he once FAMOUSLY laid siege to for 600 days

instead of lying low or giving a modicum of a shit about people recognizing him, overachieved himself into becoming one of the most well-known restaurant owners in said city

Shane buying a specific toothbrush because he remembered Ilya's favorite color. Shane finding old Russian cartoons on YouTube that Ilya mentioned watching as a kid. Shane sitting up with him at night while Ilya curls against him in the bathroom trying not to throw up. Shane playing with Ilya's curls while they watch a movie on the couch, intertwined. Shane buying a loon magnet and putting it on the fridge in Ilya's apartment. Shane learning how to cook Russian comfort food and accidentally stumbling across the same recipes Ilya's mom used to make. Shane not teasing him, but quietly sitting in those moments with him, when Ilya pretends his vision isn't blurring all because of a pot of Shchi.

There is love in the things he gets to have. Waking up next to Shane. Laying in bed in the cottage as it rains outside, dozing off together to the sound of thunder in the distance, the bright light of day diffused by thick, grey clouds. Errands and tasks, grocery shopping, cleaning the kitchen, and picking out birthday gifts for Hayden's children. 

There is love in the things he gets to do. He gets to make sure there's always cold ginger ale in the fridge. He gets to calm Shane down with careful touches and soft words when the panic of existence threatens to creep in. He gets to buy Shane new clothes in Shane's favorite colors. He gets to change the windshield wipers on Shane's dumb British car. He gets to kiss Shane whenever he wants, with no ulterior, sexual motive, which is a lot. He gets to brush his fingertips over scattered freckles.

There is love in the gratitude. The gentle "thank you"s Ilya gets from Shane, soft and sincere, words he never got from his family. The kisses to his forehead that make him feel like his entire life purpose is to keep Shane happy. The soft smiles he gets to see when Shane realizes Ilya solved a problem before Shane knew it existed. 

There is love in grand gestures. In big plans and big moments. In events and public showing. 

Ilya knows that love. Loud and performative for the world to see, and he adores it. He loves showing people how amazing his life gets to be, he loves he can show the entire world how lucky he is to have what he has, who he has. 

But this love; this quiet, reliable love lives behind closed doors. Calm and unassuming. Found not in bright lights or public speeches, not in the moments of orgasmic passion, but in quiet mornings and late nights. Dirty dishes, rainy days, and cold sodas. 

Ilya thinks this particular kind of love might be healing something inside of him he didn't realize was so hurt, having grown accustomed to the pain it left him with. He swears he feels something in his chest glow in those moments of love. Love most people are foolish enough to overlook or take for granted.

WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS MY FAVORITE TELEVISION SERIES OF ALL TIME (it's not out yet)

@pscentral​ event 36: trios alec hardison & eliot spencer & parker