ooh this is a hard one! (ㆀ˘･з･˘) i'm going to go out on a limb and say probably not.....?

like. people always talk about the 95-line stars that are languishing in the weird limbo between Really Established and Still Can't Break Free Of The Traffic Star Label, because even though they've had multiple successful projects, they just haven't had that finger-snap eureka moment

the thing is, most people work their entire lives in search of a breakthrough like cql was for xz and yb, and many of them never even reach that in the end because stardom is so fickle. breakthroughs in any industry — what more an industry as saturated as c-ent — are never just because of one thing; it's usually a cocktail of many different factors that just so happen to work together at that specific point in time.

xz + yb + cql was as much good casting and good work as it was good luck: it's still the only major danmei IP adaptation that made it out to the public entirely unscathed (no pulling from broadcast), and they got to do totally uninhibited press, even abroad like in their roadshow in thailand. that was probably unthinkable about a danmei live-action that skirted censorship, what more one that was made with 5 dollars and a dream and cast young idols with everything to lose if it goes south 😭

and!!! i could write an entire thesis about this!!! but i really, really do think that the danmei genre itself was a huge factor in catapulting them into the right places: the IP already had a huge fanbase from the novels. and even if not everyone was excited about it, they were at least curious or already familiar with it compared to an entirely original script. fujos/BL fans are an incredibly powerful consumer group that has immense spending power, immense willingness TO spend that money/time, and immense(ly enduring) real estate in pop culture conversations, so much so that they have the ability to push what would otherwise be small-time BL into mainstream circles (see: yuri on ice, heated rivalry). this is not to say that i think their success was entirely dependent on fujos, but it's a sizeable chunk of people that they would otherwise never encounter so early into their mainstream careers, so imo it would be remiss not to factor this in!

i think this novelty + publicity + fandom activity really tipped it over from "well-received live-action" to "wildly successful overnight sensation" because absolutely everyone was talking about it. i was deep in kpop circles at the time and still had heard about it from friends... and in an industry like entertainment, where glass ceilings are everywhere and success rides on momentum, this really compounds in making the stars seem like red hot assets that investors/directors/casting managers/agents should capitalise on now now now

and that's the kind of attention that really opens doors for you, the doors that will lead you into bigger and bigger rooms with the potential for better and better work

i think there is always a possibility that xz and yb, by virtue of the people they are, may reach their current level of success eventually, in an alternate timeline where they didn't do cql. but i'm 100% sure it would take so much longer and would be so much more difficult than it already was, because it's like trying to do a pole vault without, well, the pole......???..?/>...?

hello!! welcome to the fandom and i hope you've been enjoying your time here (´▽`ʃƪ)♡

to get down to business: i don't actually know this particular video you mentioned, so i can't speak about the authenticity of it or confirm if the actual spoken content lines up with the subs provided.

if i'm honest, though — and i say this gently, i promise! i just don't think there's much i can do to sugarcoat this — i don't really care for it... not because i'm trying to dismiss the fact that this video exists, or because i'm a cp fan who absolutely refuses to believe that this happened, but because i feel that the only people whose words hold any weight when speaking about the cp or the relationship is yz themselves. not their colleagues, not "industry insiders", not the media, not netizens or melon accounts or random people making proof videos. what right do colleagues or even friends have to speak on someone else's sexuality or their ability to do their job, especially when the person involved is a public figure and probably didn't greenlight being discussed this way over a public internet live?

also i think it's really important to remember that no matter how factually presented, it's just reality that all media is biased. fans will always have their biases (applies to both ends of the spectrum) and this bias will be reflected in the content they produce for their own fandoms.

if it's a This Is Why BJYX Is Fake compilation, things can easily be cut or framed or taken out of context to discredit the relationship and push the narrative that they hate each other. if it's a This Is Why BJYX Is Real compilation, the reverse is true: it'll be a collection of clips of the absolute best and cheesiest and most googly-heart-eyes moments to show you that there's no way this love can be denied. it really just depends which lens people choose to employ when reading them.

that's why i think it's a little pointless to be looking for or believing "proof" for or against them through third parties :') like yes! we all clown sometimes about random little anecdotes about them that have turned up on the web, or even things like the rumour house, but at the end of the day, everything should be taken with a pinch of salt and a generous serving of your own discretion. i feel like this is something that happens with time, but eventually you learn to make your own conclusions about yz: the things you believe are real, the things you believe aren't, the case you make for them, your own reasons why you think they're szd ♡

please don't apologise for the question! i enjoy thinking these things through and the challenge of sorting out my thoughts in writing ;v; i hope this perspective is helpful or at least some food for thought!

ahhh hello again!! thank you for the question too; i had a lot of fun thinking it over and i'm glad the reply was at least something worth reading (´ᵕ `♡)

i'm definitely not immune to clowning and cpn thoughts!!! i love/believe a lot of them, but i do like to be grounded in the way i speak about them because i don't want to enable the mentality that absolutely every single thing they do has to be about each other, especially when it comes to things like brand kadians and such (even though there have been some Interesting™ cases). imo they're comfortable in their relationship because they're able to be their own individual person, and i think how we speak about them should also reflect that c:

tbh i have a few different reasons but the main one is definitely similar to yours! i did it all in reverse and watched all the cql press/bts footage before i even got to the actual show, and i was shocked by how tame the actual (b)romance was compared to everything i saw off-camera... the touching for no reason, the stickiness, the way both of them complained when the other wasn't around, the way it always felt like they were entranced when the other person is speaking/in their own world even when people were milling around them. i think it all came to a head when i saw that infamous clip of a studio exec (?) allegedly asking them how long they've been together and xz's alarmed reaction when yb told him the cameras were still rolling? we'll never know what the exact question was but i always felt that reaction was fishy on its own lmao

and the other one is the backbone of my favourite "how many coincidences before we call it fate" saying :')

there were just very many things that lined up even if they had no reason to. like yb taking weekly flights through shanghai whenever xz was filming there, the Mysterious Suitcases, the packing vlog, the 29 helmet on xz's 29th birthday, the "i miss you" cap the whole time xz was in japan, the birthday letter language that uses a lot of word choices/concepts xz does... AND! cpn whispers that are revealed to be true years/months later, like the racing suit that people said was allegedly designed by xz and no one believed that but the bts footage reveals that yb did ask!!

like sure, it's all 90% conjecture! but it's even more improbable to think that two Totally Unrelated Stars have this many coincidences between them, especially when you're supposed to be top commercial rivals shdfjsfhsf

and lastly. well. whatever this is. i'm not even joking when i say this rewired my brain bc like how do i explain this 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

hello ♡ i'm still slowly making my way through the novel (there are 1500+ chapters and is still ongoing!) so this will be an incomplete description of his character, but let's go!

xz plays the main protagonist, qi xia, in his upcoming drama the infinite 10 days! as you've heard, he is a professional swindler/conman — he's super intelligent, great at strategy and using his brain to get out of sticky situations, and can be a little cold/reserved/blunt with others. yes, lying is second nature to him, but he's not the type to lie compulsively or just for the fun of it? he just doesn't reveal the whole truth because he keeps his cards close to his chest, and he has a lot of confidence in himself but distrusts people around him by default :')

⛔️‼️ OBLIGATORY "YOUR LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK" SPOILER WARNING ‼️⛔️

he wakes up after an earthquake to find himself transported to a strange place with people he doesn't know, and they are told they have to play a series of dangerous life-and-death games to survive, collect "currency", and use that currency to buy their way to escape. this is where he uses his intellect to play the games correctly and try to make it back to reality c:

we learn a little later in the novel that qi xia and the rest are actually trapped in a time loop which resets every 10 days (hence the title, infinite 10 days). his memory is wiped each time he is reincarnated, but he eventually starts strategising ways to retain bits and pieces of his memory across the time loops (hence the very interesting character poster we got when he was announced as the lead).

as the characters go through each reincarnation, they also have chances to gain abilities called echoes! qi xia's echo has to do with creating projections (kind of?) of people based on his own subconscious.

that's the tldr! i'm so excited to see how xz brings qi xia to life; he seems so cerebral and complex ;v;

there is no such thing as being late to the things you love!! it came into your life exactly when you can appreciate it most — i heard this saying once and loved it so much that i live by it today 🥹💖

this is such a kind message and made me very wibbly ;; thank you for thinking of me ;;;; i love reading other people's analyses about things like these too, so please feel free to share lengthy thoughts here too ;v;

i did some backtracking and besides me bawling about the cover, i actually?? have not said much about it??? except the fact that i thought the bed pictures reminded me of the drifting mv?? lmao i think i was so overwhelmed by how gorgeous the pictures were that i didn't even have anything worth sharing at the time

❶ the many seasons of xz
it's so interesting that you brought up that particular part about him saying he finds it hard to plan for the future; i've always thought this was one of xz's biggest paradoxes!! like on one hand, he's always so painstakingly deliberate and seems to plan things ages in advance to work towards them slowly (e.g. his album, the kind of scripts he's been getting, his photography exhibition?). but on the other, we've seen that he can also be unexpectedly spontaneous: deciding to take up xfire on a whim, the Emotional Support Japan Trip, the random night walks he speaks about...

this is just me going off on a thought tangent but i think xz has always been a mix of both, it's just the the planner side was more apparent because of his incredibly disciplined approach to work and how, especially when he was starting out, he seemed to work sometimes to the point of self-detriment...? he didn't seem comfortable even saying that he was comfortable ("i can't say i'm happy, but that i'm fortunate", portrait 2026). and because this was a time where he was taking up more interviews and being more open with press, that was more well-documented and ended up being the impression people kept with them the longest.

but i feel like there was a really palpable shift around ~2022-23 or so? i wasn't in the fandom yet so this is just from observation of media at the time. but it seemed like he started to take care of/prioritise himself more, to not stress about every little thing, and i think that change was both the cause and effect of how he seems to be more comfortable taking things as they come. i also think he's super aware of how fickle his industry can be; people can turn around at the drop of a hat so what's the point of thinking so far in advance... ("some outcomes, some things you want to control but are powerless to change") and! if you don't mind me saying — i'm me, after all!!! — i do think this was as much personal character development as it was yb's approach to life rubbing off on him after so many years together ;;

now he is, in his own words from the portrait interview, comfortably able to say that he is both happy and fortunate ♡

which is why i think the changing seasons concept was so apt!! after all: "all four seasons are fine. a person’s personality and their state of life are fluid."

❷ if xz is all four seasons then is he also all four elements?
... was my immediate thought when i was re-reading the interview.

because at first glance, he is, right? he has no air, but has an airy quality about him, like he's easy to work with, but is someone you can't quite pin down. he always feels so grounded, like earth, like there's not really much that fazes him. he is fire, too, but not in the usual way; he's hot-headed and a bit stubborn but never overtly so, and is more like a simmering flame than a full-on blaze.

but i think more than anything, he feels like water, and the elle interview really, really reinforces that. maybe it's the games i play, but water is always depicted as a conduit element, always with some sort of historical relevance to life and lore? and i thought this was reflected (haha...) in the way xz seems to speak about so many things

idk how to describe it but it always feels like there is a solemness about him, you know? he looks at things and speaks about them with a certain kind of weight: he says the set reminds him of space displacement; talks about how human life, as robust and vivid as it is, is just a speck of time in an infinite universe; observes how cruel the passage of time is. i don't mean to say that he's like sad all the time shdfjshfs but i think he really appreciates slow thinking and deep thinking, and it reminds me of the waters' depth.

he mentions navigating different characters, like the flow of water. he mentions switching between states of mind with props, like high tide and low tide. he's always curious about the what ifs and the what's out theres ("forever wondering about another life"), a little like the vastness of the ocean. he says he's the type to feel deeply, sometimes too much ("they are real, and whether it’s anger, pain, or sweetness, it all touches me deeply"), like how water absorbs or seeps into the things it comes into contact with.

now that i'm typing it out, this is more of a retrospective reflection than actually coming to any conclusions tbvh but the nature theme made my thoughts stray here ;v;

❸ maybe one day in the future...
i actually feel like he's already done what you said about shadowing people in their daily lives!! 👀 i can't remember if it was he himself or one of the production staff who said it, but he shadowed craftsmen to see how they work with their tools leading up to filming for gezhi town

very very honestly, it read to me like one of his signature Media Trained Answers AHSJAJSHA maybe because he did this a few times for sohu's fox interview!!! like he said he'll tell them next time, and then next time came around and he didn't have an answer, and they reminded him and he just cooked up something really humble on the spot haha

BUT!!! i love where your brain went with that!!! i would love to see xz do something like barack obama's working documentary, because i think he's the sort of person who sees the beauty in the mundane, honours the resilience of the everyday, etc. he doesn't do variety shows anymore anyway and this sounds like a departure enough from the genre to potentially be of interest to him...

... but we'll see, won't we :') maybe one day in the future :') when the tide retreats to reveal treasures in the sand :') ♡

(GOSH I'M SO SORRY THIS ENDED UP BEING SO LONG) (AGAIN)

hellooooo! of course, gladly ;v; 💖

the mdzs cafe where i live is being run by a dedicated collab cafe space called dimension poptown! and because it's a dedicated space with experience running these events, they're also really diligent about posting cafe details in full on their socials! you can see the full merch catalogue, full menu + what you get with each order + gifts with minimum purchase, and generally just lots more pictures/videos of the cafe itself on their instagram ♡

setup: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
the venue was about two shops large, with the merch store right in the middle between the tables/eating areas. the left side had an entire wall decal of the main cafe visual (the art was gorgeous and i remember being absolutely shellshocked passing by), whereas the right side had a sub-visual of wangxian and lotuses + standees of the main cafe visual. every table had a surface decal and mini standee of chibi wangxian to accompany you while eating hehe. it was all very white so occasionally it DID feel a bit sterile (wish the lights were off-white instead of pure white) but this is personal preference c:

merchandise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
there were three different visual sets that were replicated across the different merch items (main cafe visual + 2 sub-visuals). i wish there was maybe slightly more variety in the actual visuals because a lot of it was just white on white on white... but that aside, it really was gorgeous!! no notes!!

i was impressed with the sturdiness of the standees because they felt like whole acrylic shikishis and were not flimsy at all. the only thing i was surprised about was the laser ticket merch — i went to the tgcf edition of this cafe last year (the pop-up franchiser (?) in the region should be the same because the style and format is identical), and the laser tickets were sold in pairs and staff were able to indicate which box was for which visual you wanted. but the one at the mdzs cafe was totally random and came singular, so you could either get wwx or lwj for any of the 3 visuals ;;

i will say the display in the middle was well-done but could've been a bit better in terms of composition/maintenance! some items were falling off or out of place and i nudged them back into their spots hsdjhshds

food: ⭐️⭐️
the food was probably the most disappointing ;; they were very very pretty to look at in the menu pictures, but a lot of it wasn't available on the day itself for some reason... i had had lunch at a different place just before that, so i had the coconut parfait (lwj's dessert) and it was just a whole lot of cream and some flavouring. i didn't enjoy the taste at all but A for effort! and i think it's nice that there were drinks for the side characters like jc, jyl as well instead of just the two leads~

atmosphere:
i don't think it's fair for me to give a rating for the atmosphere because i purposely chose a quiet time to go :') i usually do this so i can take my time with pictures and be able to choose the best tables for photos! there weren't very many occupied tables that day and no cosplayers while i was there.

execution/overall experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i really did enjoy myself though (´▽`ʃƪ)♡ i think the cafe itself was easy to find and navigate, merch was clearly labelled/available, and the staff were pretty easygoing about things. what i appreciated was that you know exactly what freebie you're getting with each item on the menu, so there's no need to trade or wonder or beg for them to give you the one you want hsdjfsjfhshs

i wish they played mdzs music at the cafe! but idk if it was a choice not to, or if the mall didn't allow it (the space is in a mall), or if there might have been copyright/licensing/distribution issues so i wouldn't fault the cafe for it. just my own wishful thinking!!!

i hope the review + links helped you imagine what it was like, or transported you there with me for a bit hehe 🥹

IT REALLY IS OMGGGGGG it's still quite the wait, but i'm already so excited 😭✨

i knew it was a huge IP project, but listening to the production crew talk about it at the booting ceremony makes me realise how impressive the scale of it all is, not to mention how much planning has gone into it over the course of a few years... i'm so glad they approached xz with this script and that he said yes!

this is purely an educated guess, but if other franchises are anything to go by, the production team was probably already in touch with the author! the script supervisors/producers have read the novel for sure + had an idea of how much they wanted adapt, what would be a good stopping point, and what had to be cut out for broadcast → ran it by the author for his input → started planning in earnest. i imagine the 2-ish years waiting for xz's schedule to free up helped a little shdfjhsfhs

(i haven't read till there so idk if it actually is a good stopping point or not, but i'm willing to bet the series is adapted up till the end of the first book i.e. the first 300-ish (?!?!?!?!) chapters, which already sounds like a monster effort of an adaptation lmao)

‼️ NOVEL SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T READ IT YET ‼️

from a purely "i am so curious how the production team is going to make this happen" standpoint, it would probably be the bear fight 😭 like i can't even fathom how much cgi work will have to go into that, and how the actors will express the fear and tension of that scene

as for a scene i personally really want to see adapted, i'm torn between two!! and they're not even full scenes, just micro-parts of scenes shdfjshfjs ;o;

the first scene is when qi xia draws the "liar" card and has to brainstorm ways to lie without giving himself away while figuring out what's wrong with everyone else's testimony, and the second is my absolute favourite line so far: "i'm a swindler; you can only trust half the things i say" ♡

they may not seem like particularly impactful or exciting scenes but i think they're both crucial to setting the tone for qi xia's character — how he handles stress, how his body language will be like, the cadence and style with which he lies. i also think these two scenes are what will give us the best understanding of how xz interprets this character!!! is his qi xia a more solemn liar, cold and calculating and arrogant? or is his qi xia a more cavalier liar, cold and calculating still, but the kind to be confident and mask it with a small smirk/smile? those details aren't always conveyed in the novel so i think there is some creative liberty to be had with his facial expressions/inflection every time qi xia tells a lie and/or introduces himself as a person that you either trust or don't; he won't tell you what to do!!!

i ended up rambling again im so sorry shdfjshf but im really so excited for this project ;;;;; qi xia is so cerebral and challenging and complex of a role that i can't wait to see what xz does with him!

i should be thanking you for reading them!! 🥹 i love these mini essays and discussions because it keeps me thinking, and i'd already be super happy if even one person enjoys them ♡

i agree with you 1823%! stardom adds a thick layer of complexity to yz's case. because chinese media and entertainment, for better or for worse, is so deeply connected with and watched by the government, celebrities all have this unspoken responsibility to be "good role models" to the public and reflect state-sanctioned ideals. the more famous you are, the more this is compounded, because more people know you — what more people like xz and yb, who have been the face of MANY government-related campaigns (national songs, state-funded films/dramas, etc.)

imo unless there is some mysterious change of heart in the administration — where they decide they suddenly want to allow for stronger queer rights/representation/legislation — it will be incredibly difficult for them to come out and still continue to work at their current level as public figures ;; i'm happy to be corrected about this, but i don't think there have been any openly queer celebrities who have continued to enjoy unhindered work in mainland china.

though nothing will really be holding them back after they retire i.e. once career obligations are out the window, i think they probably would never publicly confirm any sort of relationship, period!! because why invite unnecessary attention when they probably would want to be out of the public eye once they leave the industry, you know? i think (even now!) they're just no longer the type of people to share something so private with the world; they've given so much of themselves already that i think they're probably more than happy to keep this little thing to themselves!

like i LOVE yz and truly believe they are szd and some insane higher cosmic power is writing their ✨ incredible love story ✨

BUT i've also always believed 2026 is just another year that will come and go, just the same as all the rest :') even if anything were to happen this year, i'd be banking more on like a joint public appearance or some big film award attendance together, or a silly and unexpected and unthinkable thing as one being at the other person's concert shfdjsfhjsfhs. a public relationship announcement was never ever on the cards for me personally

but hey that's just what i think!! who knows, right? :') yz have always been full of surprises ♡

if you don't mind me nerding out, i actually have some recommended reading on the topic in this ask i.e. queerness in china esp re: celebrities!!! i read these years ago when i first got into yz and bookmarked them because i found them super informational. i hope you enjoy ;v;

→ the industry climate for queer celebrities in china, according to a film/tv director who did a clubhouse talk session
→ the one time the cn government might have considered legalising same-sex marriage ft. yb's sneakers lol
→ an analysis of what it means to be a state-approved star in mainland china through the case study of andy lau — this one isn't 100% related, but i felt this fit here because it sets the tone for expectations of celebrities in general (re: their public persona, their relationship status) and how intertwined celebrity images are with the state's image

as much as i would like to scream 🗣️ yes 🗣️ from a rooftop because that chemistry was too good to keep to just one project... i think realistically we have to face the fact that, although the slim chance is always there, they're unlikely to :')

BUT! not for the reason(s) that people often bring up e.g. solos kicking up a fuss, The Nonexistent Government Ban™, etc.

i think it's more because they know so many people are hoping to see them in the same project again, given their history with cql, and because of that, they also know what kind of media traction they're going to bring in: no matter how much work they put in, no matter how visionary the script is, a big chunk of the publicity around it is going to be "explosive news! wang yibo and xiao zhan to work together again, XX years after the untamed!". the media will try to dig up whatever salacious details they can about how this second cooperation came to be, after years of never seeing each other in public, and the focus will be taken away from the one thing that xz and yb have worked so hard to make front and centre — their craft.

i can see them wanting to avoid these situations where the entire project crew gets inconvenienced or constantly hounded by the media for soundbites about yz 😭

++ unfortunately bl actors (or anyone who has acted as bl leads) are much easier to typecast than their peers... the moment you act together again, people will immediately start to wonder if the script is subtle bl and unconsciously pigeonhole you into it, if that makes sense? not that being typecast as a bl actor is a bad thing! but again it takes away from the work and imo that's just not the kind of discussion they would want to have ;;

all that said, i would be so happy to be wrong about this ahsjdhajdhasd like. it is also my dream to see them act together again because i think they've both matured so much as artists since 2018-19, and i think they would bring a new dimension to their chemistry onscreen ♡

MAYBE!! MAYBE ONE DAY!!!! when a director-scriptwriter duo that is SO renowned, SO revered, SO well-respected in the industry, offers them both a dual-lead script that is too good to turn down, and that no one can speak against... a girl can dream, right!!!

hi anon!!! thank you for your incredibly kind words that i am still working to deserve 😭💖 this wrinkly old brain is too wordy for her own good, but is always happy to be of service to fellow over-analysers and media readers so i'm grateful you enjoy having it around ;v; you make 1823% perfect sense dw!

"xz can never take a compliment to save his life" is the absolute truth omg. he still bats away any and all praise he gets from interviewers, from colleagues and directors, sometimes even from studio staff in the small snippets we do get to see these days... like yes it's a celebrity's job to be humble (not that he can be like "WELL YES! I'M ALL THAT!") but it's like this man is allergic to compliments shdfjhsfhs

which. i understand on a spiritual level. i think xz is the type to take compliments as pressure to do better lmao but that is a conversation for another day

anyway! the ABSOLUTE TOP thought spirals of all time from random interviews, along with their ranking on the 😭? meter, are:

a) "old cow eats young grass" (😭?)
b) "he brings the entire house when camping" (😭😭😭?)
c) yb: "there is no reason for loving someone, you just do" / xz: "how to not be alone for qixi next year? how would i know???" (😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭?)

these 3 collectively lead to one of my favourite silly little headcanons is that xz unleashes his true Cute Bratty Lowkey Passenger Princess Side™ whenever it's just the two of them, because yb brings out that inner child in him and feels like a safe place to be as full of whimsy as he wants ♡ like full-on asking for childish things, picking playful fights, twining their ankles under the table, curling up in yb's arms, letting yb hold all his stuff, the signature bunny teeth snarl we only ever saw during cql days... like. i think xz has a lot of natural cuteness that he keeps tucked away because of his venture into More Serious Work, and because he's tried very hard to separate himself from the idol image he used to have (and all the things that come with it like aegyo, variety shows, etc.)

but yb is only too happy to indulge! he knows gege can do everything himself, but why would he deny is beloved anything, and how could he, when he knows xz is only ever this uninhibited with him? :') after all, "between you and me, there is no need for 'thank you's or 'sorry's" :') he's been made to grow up so quickly — they both have — that he finds this pocket of childlike innocence so precious to him, that no matter how insane their world is, he can still always trust this thing to be a source of comfort in his exciting life ♡

at least, that's what i say on some days, and is what i believe happens on those days!

but i think their dynamic most days is a lot more like an old couple who've been married for 60 years 🥹 i imagine they're quite content to be sitting next to each other in total silence, doing their own thing, snacking off the same bowl or sharing a drink. one of them will order food for the other and set it out before leaving the house, or pick food off the other's plate. that type of quiet, slow, sleepy dynamic, you know? not because they've run out of things to say or that the excitement isn't there anymore, but more because they're always expected to say something or do something in their line of work that sometimes it brings them peace to just. BE. with another person. and they don't need words for that kind of comfort

we veered a little into Serious Territory here at the end and i have started rambling again so i will stop here!!!! one last silly headcanon for the road: i think they have gotten into playful fights before over how slowly xz eats (tiny kitty bites) vs. how yb wolfs down his food SHDFJSFSHS