"A marriage ending isn't a failure at all. I spent eleven years with her. We were so in love that we couldn't image life apart from each other. We got our own place, adopted a dog, and supported each other through school. I thought if tow people loved each other enough the rest would fall into place, except... love isn't everything.
And I didn't want to believe that, but we were sitting in counseling one day, talking about our future and I realized we were describing two completely different lives. Where we'd live, what kind of life we wanted, what made us happy. And it hit me that- I love this woman and this woman loved me. And after eleven years of loss, grief, career changes, we were so deeply in love... but we weren't aligned. And I kept thinking 'We just need to try harder. We can find some compromise to make this work,' because that's what you're supposed to do when you love someone, right?
But the reality was, we had just become different people. Her trade school took her in one direction, my graduate degree in another and trying to force us back into who we were five years ago wasn't coming from a place of love. It was coming from a place of fear. Fear that, if this ended, it meant we wasted eleven years. But sitting there across from her, I realized: That's not how love works.
Those eleven years happened. They were real. The dog, our home, showing up for each other through grad school and trade school. I wouldn't change a single thing because loving someone doesn't mean you're meant to stay with them forever. And letting go doesn't erase what you had. We measure marriage by whether it lasts forever or not, but what if we measured it by whether it mattered?
What if we measured it by the love we gave, the life we built, and the people we became? Because love's job isn't to last forever, it's to help you become fully completely yourself, and sometimes the most loving thing you can do is give each other permission to be yourselves, separately. But the dog doesn't know were' divorced. He just gets two Christmases now."
Pulled this from this guy Preston Rakovsky's Instagram (@prestonrack) because it is a beautiful perspective on love, marriage, and relationships in general.
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Want to hear something funny? Akinator would have been called AI if it was released today. None of this "AI" bullshit is actually anything intelligent. It's programs and algorithms and computer mimicry. It learns nothing. Chatgpt and openai and midjourney are just Akinator. The term "AI" is just a marketting ploy thats working painfully well with the people who don't understand that this tech has been around and in use for YEARS. Akinator was relased in 2007. Its just slightly more advanced Akinator tech, but its not anything artificially intelligent. I really wish we'd stop calling it "AI"
i love you fanfic authors that write AUs. i love you fanfic authors that write canon. i love you fanfic authors that write unhinged things specific to their niche interests. i love you fanfic authors that write against the grain of fanon interpretation. i love you fanfic authors that add to fanon interpretation in even more rich ways. i love you fanfic authors with low self confidence, with all the confidence in the world, with 3000 subscribers, with 2 subscribers, who have written a million words and ones that have written 100. i love you fanfic authors who haven't written a word yet but the stories are still knocking around inside your head. i love you fanfic authors!!!!!!!
woah!! when did i get 2,000+ followers?! thank you all so much! i recently passed boards and started working in the ICU! 🩺 so i'm adjusting to new routines and all that... but once i get settled, i hope to share more art- i'm even MORE obsessed with drawing than before so don't think i'm not drawing- 🤭🥹 HAHAHA. (everything is on bluesky.)
i really appreciate all of the support throughout my art journey (and joining me for the ride as i rant and just ramble endlessly) and it truly means a lot in my life! i'm certain that i wouldn't be here if it weren't for a lot of you 🥹 (especially because i joined tumblr to follow my favorite people here... heh... 🤍)
and here is a little art/doodle dump since i'm totally behind on posting my art here-
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nine times out of ten the headcanon I work with when writing Zutara fics, especially post-canon fics, is that Zuko comes to terms with his feelings for Katara way sooner than she comes to terms with her feelings for him. Like in most of my fics he’s been in love with her for years, has even accepted that she’ll never return his feelings - and then she starts having ~revelations~
but right now I’m writing a fic where Katara falls first and Zuko is an oblivious loser, and frankly it’s reeeeeeaallly fun and also kind of…makes sense to me? Zuko is the kind of person who’s spent a lot of his life keeping secrets from himself, especially about the way he feels about things, and coupled with what I think is probably a pretty obvious propensity to believe he doesn’t really deserve to be loved or cared for given his long history of abuse, it’s just been kind of delightful to write this idiot falling in love without realizing that he’s falling in love
or perhaps more accurately, realizing he’s been in love all along
BuckTommyFluffebruary Round Two Day 17 - Gift Giving
This is day 17 of the challenge by @bucktommyfluffebruary and I had a hard time coming up with good gifts for them to exchange. I think I made some good decisions in the end.
Gifts
Read on ao3
Rating T/ Words 947
Their second sixth month anniversary was going well. They were out at a restaurant (definitely not Micelli’s) that Maddie had recommended to Buck about a month ago. She and Chimney had gone for Valentine’s Day and had a great time. Buck had to admit, as he dropped a couple small mushrooms in the bubbling soup tureen in the middle of the table, that this was really fun.
“We should get another order of mushrooms,” Tommy said, dropping a few more in the broth. “They’re really good. And maybe some more of the beef.”
“Along with some bok choy,” Buck nodded, fishing his mushrooms out. He dipped them in the sauce he’d made at the beginning of the meal and ate them. “I like bok choy a lot.”
Tommy hummed, surprise flickering across his face before he nodded. It was different this time around. They were talking more. Letting each other see more of the soft bits each had kept safe behind walls. Telling each other about their likes and dislikes. It was nice, seeing the layers and what lay beneath. Their relationship felt stronger, more secure, with a deeper foundation than what they had before.
They ordered more items for the hot pot. The buzz of conversation flowed around them as people talked and laughed over their own meals. The restaurant was new, having opened only a few months ago. But it was busy. They both could see why. Choosing their own ingredients and cooking them in the broth was fun. It was kind of like dinner and an activity. It had been great so far for their anniversary dinner.
By the time they finished cooking the last of their ingredients, they were both full. After paying for dinner, they walked out to Tommy’s truck hand in hand. They still talked and laughed, swapping stories about work or about family and friends. Once in the truck, Buck stopped Tommy from starting the engine by clasping his hand in between both of his.
“Hey, I’ve got a gift for you,” Buck said, nervousness in his voice though he held Tommy’s hand with confident fingers. “I kept it here to give it to you after dinner.”
“Oh?” Tommy asked, wiggling his eyebrows salaciously at Buck. “Is it something safe for the public?”
“That comes later,” Buck laughed, squeezing Tommy’s hand. Then he let go to dig through the glove compartment. “I hope you like it.”
Buck pulled out a small box wrapped in a ribbon. Tommy’s breath caught until he realized it wasn’t quite the right size and shape to be a ring box. Not that he was expecting one. Mostly. Never mind the fact that there was a box of the right size and shape hidden in his extra street clothes in his locker at Harbor. He took the box automatically when Buck held it out. He glanced up at Buck once then opened the box.
Inside was a set of cufflinks. They rested on a soft gray pad which highlighted the colors. They were made of gold and were capped with a round blue stone that matched Buck’s eyes. A T was engraved in the middle of the stone. Tommy lifted them out with careful fingers, running the pad of one finger over the engraving. He looked up at Buck, surprise and wonder on his face.
“You mentioned last time you wore a suit that you didn’t like the cufflinks you had with it,” Buck said, nervously playing with one of his nails. He kept his eyes on the cufflinks, not meeting Tommy’s eyes. “I thought that maybe these would be better. The stones reminded me of you.”
“They’re the same color as your eyes,” Tommy murmured, reaching over to cup Buck’s jaw. “I love them.”
Buck smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. It was soft and sweet, their lips moving slowly against each other. When they broke apart, Buck rested his forehead against Tommy’s. Their breaths feathered over their lips and Buck couldn’t help another quick kiss.
“I’m glad you like them,” Buck whispered. “I wasn’t sure. Especially since you don’t wear suits too often.”
“I’ll wear these whenever I wear a suit from now on,” Tommy promised. “They’re perfect. I also have a gift for you.”
While he didn’t have a physical item associated with his gift, he did have the confirmations in his inbox. Tommy pulled out his phone and scrolled to the email that confirmed the reservations he’d made. Then he turned the phone to Buck so that he could read it.
“A cabin on the beach for two days?” Buck asked, his eyes widening as he read. “Tommy, this is amazing! I can’t wait.”
“I wanted to take you somewhere where we can just relax and be with each other,” Tommy said. He leaned in and kissed Buck again. “I want you to myself for a little while.”
“I want that too,” Buck murmured. He handed Tommy his phone back and cradled his face in his hands. “Happy sixth month anniversary part two, baby.”
“Happy sixth month anniversary part two,” Tommy echoed through laughter. “I like this one better.”
They kissed again, taking their time to explore each other’s mouth thoroughly. Then, as the windows started to steam up, they broke apart. Laughing, Tommy started the engine and drove to his house. They kissed their way up to the front door, Buck pushing Tommy against it and kissing down his neck. They continued to laugh and kiss all the way to the bedroom where Tommy tipped Buck into bed. Then followed him down onto it, ranging his body over Buck’s, still kissing every part of skin he could reach.
