Information

Love has a minion!

Aria the Spirit Panther

Love
Legacy Name: Torgue

The

Sweetheart Magnus
Owner:

Garrus

Age: 4 years, 4 months, 1 week

Born: December 20th, 2019

Adopted: 4 years, 4 months, 1 week ago

Adopted: December 20th, 2019

Statistics

Level: 7
Strength: 17
Defense: 10
Speed: 11
Health: 8
HP: 10/8
Intelligence: 0
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

dedicated pet to bestest bf and i

It is often said that many people will fall in love with three people in their lifetime. The first lover is often when they are younger and panders to a societal need to be in a relationship and things may seem like they are out of a fairy tale at times. This love also oftentimes occurs as a need or obligation to family members and, despite potential warning signs, both parties grin and bear it before ultimately breaking it off.

The second love is usually described as the hard love; one where one party really wants it to work and deals with the others' lies, manipulation, and other emotional or sometimes physical pain that comes with the relationship, thinking 'Oh, it will get better, it has to. This has to work out in the end!' or something along those lines. One party may be a little more narcissistic and abusive, so lessons are often learned in this second love. Some of these said lessons are more hard to learn or accept than others, with many falling into denial that anything is wrong or feeling like they have some sort of obligation to stay in the relationship.

Finally, the third love. Third time is a charm, as they say. Some people find their life partner on the first go, some it takes a couple more tries, while others still may search for an entire lifetime and never find the one for them. However, following the third time's a charm way, the third love is known as the one that lasts. By now, the individual in their third attempt at love has matured and learned lessons on what to expect and what should be reasonable. It's also a time where true colors shine through more -- and if the partner sees the true and genuine side of the other and it doesn't deter them, then that's it for the books. This love is sometimes described as happening so easily and so fast that it didn't seem possible; being accepted for who they are and being loved regardless of what baggage they may be carrying may be a foreign concept to some, but it's not an impossibility. It may not be a stereotypical love or what either party envisioned, but it's the one that'll last a lifetime and is the most meaningful.

But... what is love? It's different for everyone, but here are a few experiences from my personal perspective that help shed a small light on what love can be.

Love is going with your significant other to their appointments and being interested and/or concerned about any health issues they may have.
Love is being honest when something is bothering you and sharing it with your significant other.
Love is staying home to help care for your significant other if they're sick and going out to buy medicine for them if need be.
Love is having a bunch of inside jokes that you both giggle about like schoolgirls anytime a reference to one of your inside jokes gets brought up.
Love is not caring how much your significant other makes or doesn't make financially, and wanting to be with them regardless.
Love is not caring that the other has baggage or past traumas that still affect them and instead just wanting to be there for them and to comfort them in times of need.
Love is having enough trust in one another to not hover over their shoulder every time they're on their phone or computer and wondering what they're doing.
Love is being willing to try new things that the significant other likes; like hobbies, food, or watching a TV show.
Love is waking up early so you have time to cuddle with your significant other before you leave for work, and then sharing a big, long hug as soon as you get home.
Love is sending memes both wholesome and spicy to each other throughout the day.
Love is just enjoying the company of your significant other, even if it's spent in silence scrolling through drama and political posts or funny videos.
Love is feeling warm, safe, and comfortable in the presence of your significant other.
Love is having a rough day, coming home to a significant other who do what they can to make things better; like a special homecooked meal, cuddling, binge watching something, or being a literal shoulder to cry on.
Love is falling into your significant other's arms when you're on the verge of having a meltdown, feeling their arms wrap around you tightly, and feeling any stress, anxiety, and any other negative feelings just melt away.
Love is always caring about/being concerned about the physical and mental well-being of your significant other.
Love is wanting to make decisions with the significant other, no matter how important or inconsequential.

Love isn't perfect. It can have its ups and downs. But it is what both parties put into it. If only one is putting in effort, then both parties will not be happy. If one is there just to reap the benefits of a relationship, both parties will not be happy. It took me what seems like a long time to finally learn what real love is like -- and I know that many others out there have yet to find someone right for them. I am eternally grateful for having found such a great significant other and neither of us can see a future without the other. Our anniversary is December 20th and we're both very proud and excited with everything that has happened in the last year. We've both shared some very personal happenings in the past to help the other understand us better. We still struggle to be great at communicating everything to each other, but we've got better. We've not had any fights (a couple of misunderstandings at best), but I'd like to attribute that to neither of us being overly aggressive or having anger issues. When something does get brought up, we do our best to talk about it like rational adults, which usually leads us to realize that one or both of us didn't quite read the whole situation or one of us was a bit more narrow-minded before talking about it.

We have both introduced each other to several new things over the last year. We both shared an enjoyment for gaming and anime from the get-go. He has introduced me to some older games he's enjoyed; like EverQuest, Path of Exile, The Secret World, and Guild Wars 2. I introduced him to Fiesta Online and tried to get him to play World of Warcraft a bit. We both played Phantasy Star Online 2 and Genshin Impact for quite a bit when they first came out, but have been mostly focusing on EverQuest. I introduced him to The Dragon Prince, The Witcher, Black Clover, Studio Ghibli films, My Hero Academia, and several other animes and animated films that he's enjoyed. He introduced me to the American Pie series, Your Pretty Little Face is Going to Hell, Mars Attacks, and numerous other classic horror and sci-fi films. We've both introduced each other to new foods of varying degrees and with varying success and failures, but the main one was having him try real ramen for the first time (and not the single serving packaged kind you get from the store) and him saying store-bought ramen was ruined for him from that point on, and that he was constantly craving real ramen from that point on. We both tried a Japanese BBQ place together out of town, and now every time we pass through that area we will make about a 2-hour pitstop to eat there if it's open (Gyu-Kaku; I highly recommend the place). He introduced me to podcasts and I've found myself wanting to listen to podcasts on road trips with him now. I have a new fondness for the color purple, and we both have a song we will play for the other if we're having a particularly rough day.

It's a given that we aren't perfect, nor do we know absolutely everything about each others' lives. But we live together and are very happy together. We make each other feel loved and like a person. We make the other feel wanted and appreciated and do not go easy on saying 'I love you' to one another, nor any other sort of affirmation. We're both very grateful for the other and it just feels like life is finally worth living. <3

Custom pet overlay by dalice
Text/writing by me