#I just picked a few of my favorites

[portalwalker]

Pokemon Team Builder

Pokemon: "name," gender, nature Ninetales: "Flare," female, serious Pikachu: "Pika," male, serious Lucario: "Luke," male, brave Swampert: "Bog," male, relaxed Absol: "Sense," female, careful Gardevoir: "Gwen," female, mild

First Pokemon: Pika

Hardest to catch: Sense

Easiest to catch: Gwen

Hardest to train: Bog

Easiest to train: Flare

Team powerhouse: Luke&Bog

yoinked from @valiant-au-save-slot-a

Tagging...I don't have a lot of followers atm so I'm leaving this one up for being stolen I guess?

[starry-bi-sky]

don't you want to be a cult leader? - danyal al ghul au

this is mostly a joke post but i thought it was funny and had to share so--

his first mistake was, obviously, inheriting his father's inability to see an injustice and stand still. -- actually, danyal's first mistake was his lair being so big. a mountainous island with a large temple in the center resembling his old home in Nanda Parbat? With sprawling foliage and rivers and streams and waterfalls galore? What was he going to do with all that space? Let it go to waste? He had plants there! Native trees of the ghost zone growing from the soil! He couldn't let it all be left unchecked!

So naturally after helping a fellow teenage assassin ghost -- who he later learns is named Akihiko, -- from Walker of all people, he sent them over to hang low at his lair until it was safe enough for them to wander around the Zone. Walker couldn't get through Danyal's astrofield if his life depended on it, and trust him -- he's tried. Danny was clearing out debris from his stupid transport vans for weeks.

Honestly it wasn't so bad, he and Aki really quickly became fast friends and Danny loves having a sparring partner close to his level again -- he hasn't had this much fun fighting since he left the League. Aki was very dedicated and levelheaded, the both of them clicked really well because of it.

Nonono, the real trouble began after Danyal met some long-passed League members and allowed them to come join his island as well. Apparently they had made a few enemies of the zone, and maybe Danyal still felt some loyalty to the League. He couldn't just let them be left to rot. Their zealotry could be overlooked so long as they kept it contained and helped him take care of his island.

And it.. snowballs from there? He meets a teen squire aptly calling himself Ambroise -- whether that was his living name or not is yet to be seen -- who died during feudal france, who is just about as dramatic and passionate as every french stereotype makes them out to be. He calls Danyal "my moon and great muse" -- which is both flattering and little uncomfortable, but Danyal's grown up in the League as the Grandson of the Demon Head, he is used to mild worship. he passes it off as nothing more, nothing less. -- and while his energy is overwhelming on the worst of days, he helps Danny draw out of his shell more in ways that Sam and Tucker still struggle with.

Him and Aki butt heads a lot, but the two seem to hold the other in at least some positive regard, so Danny doesn't worry too much about them fighting while he's gone. It only becomes a mild issue when Aki also begins calling Danny "my moon". It's a little sweet, so Danyal brushes it off.

Then he takes in a troupe of ghosts some time after he defeats Pariah Dark and they begin calling him "great one" just as the yetis do in the far frozen. This is where he meets the twins -- a pair of sibling ghosts who call themselves Trixie and Missy (short for Trick and Mislead) -- who aren't quite as passionate as Ambroise but more energetic than Aki. Eventually they also start calling Danyal "my moon" and attach themselves to his hip, even within the living. They like to hide in his shadow and cause trouble for the rest of the students. He makes sure they don't hurt anyone.

He's pretty sure Aki is jealous, same with Ambroise, but he can't be too certain other than the fact that they become much more lingering (re: clingy) whenever he visits the island.. Something he's trying to do much more often these days due to the increasing amount of people living there now. Since when did he become so popular?

Then there's Pēnelópeia from the Greater Athens, who ran away from home and joined his Island after he ran into her while she was being chased by Skulker -- and he's pretty sure the reason was because of her chimeric appearance. Her strange eyes and mismatched wings and lion's tail and talons. She assimilates into his friend group very easily, she gets along well with Ambroise and Trixie and Danny usually finds the three of them climbing the trees to pluck the most fruit from the top. They can fly and he knows it, but they prefer to climb.

Then finally there's silent poet Akkara who comes from ancient mesopotamia, who gets along most with Aki -- which is no surprise there considering their similar personality dispositions. he watches Aki and Danyal fight each other and leaves comments on this or that that he notices. He writes Danyal poems on clay tablets and leaves them by his room.

They're one big mismatched group of outcasts, and Danny's got the other ghosts on his island to tend to, because they're living on his island and he wants to be hospitable even if he struggles with that. But he spends the most of his time with them.

Sam and Tucker are making fun of him. Tucker jokingly tells him 'careful Danny, at this rate you're gonna start a cult'. Danny really wishes he had taken that joke more seriously.

He just. keeps. collecting people. Wayward souls lost in the zone, looking for shelter or refuge from something or other -- whether that be another hostile ghost, or a past afterlife, or just a purpose. Danyal finds them, he takes them in, offers them a place on his island until they are ready to leave. Many seldom do. He's not complaining -- he has the space, and it feels like it's only ever growing.

His close friends, his "inner circle" as he's heard the others call them, keep insistently calling him "my moon". He starts calling them his stars, because then it only feels fair. They're his stars, this is his constellation. It becomes a thing; little star halos begin forming behind their heads, picking them out from the rest. He loves them so much, it's hard to place. Sam and Tucker are also his stars, but they reside in the living realm, they're his tie to Life. Meanwhile, his friends here know what it's like to be dead, and sometimes its nice to relate.

Those living on his island keep calling him "Great One" and he's beginning to notice zealotry in their care for his island. He really, deeply appreciates it. His close friends gain nicknames -- as his stars, it's only natural for him to pick them out from the cluster in the skies. Akihiko, his Sirius and bright star. Trix and Missy, Castor and Pollux, the twins and troublemakers. Ambroise, his zealous Antares and close friend. Penelopeia, chimeric and loyal Vega. And Akkara, his Arcturus and strength.

It's ridiculous how long it takes for him to notice; he is, of course, a deadly trained assassin. He is meant to be observant -- and normally he is! But somehow this becomes a blind spot. One that becomes too big to be dealt with by the time he realizes it.

He should've noticed when Aki, his Sirius, stood beside him one day while Danyal looked over his island and saw the sprawling spirits carrying on about their afterlife and bowing to him as they saw him, and said: "I looked down into the depths when I met you; I couldn't measure it." They aren't one for flowing prose, it took him so off guard he was silent for over a minute before he finally spoke.

Danyal should've recognized devotion for what it is, and yet he didn't. He should've recognized it when Antares began spouting praises about him, crowing about his radiance and resplendence to the heavens. He just brushed it off as Ambroise being Ambroise. He should've recognized it when Trix and Missy nearly broke Dash's leg after he knocked Danyal's books out of his hands, he excused it as them being protective. Of them coming from times where such violence may have been customary -- after all, that's what he used to be like. What he was still like, sometimes, when his emotions nearly got the better of him.

He should've noticed it when the people living on his island followed his word like gospel, looked at him like he hung the stars in the sky. When his friends gifted him a shawl with the moon phases delicately embroidered into it, with silver, shimmering thread and moving stars lovingly stitched into it. Their constellations seen clear as day in the dark fabric. When he found small shrines dedicated to him -- but they lacked any image of him beyond stones carved to look like moons, so he ignored it. When the religious imagery began popping up.

He really, really should've noticed it when a bunch of cultists accidentally summoned Antares, and Antares had turned to him when he arrived and called them heretics. But he was so centered on the fact that they had kidnapped one of his stars, that he hadn't paid much attention to what Ambroise had said.

Sages say that faith is blind, they should also say faith in you is even blinder.

It really only hits him one afternoon while he's sitting in Sam's room studying with Tucker, Missy and Trixie lounging at his feet, Aki sat on his right, Penelopeia braiding his hair, Ambroise draped against him, and Akkara lurking over him. Its one of the rare few times they're all in one room together.

It hits him like a bolt of lightning. He looks up from his textbook. "Oh Ancients," he says in no amounting shock. Everyone looks up to him.

"I've become my grandfather."

[skitskatdacat63]

2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Sebastian Vettel(ft. Mark Webber & Jenson Button)

[likesummerrainn]

My layers, all these sides, could you stick by for the ride?

Hangman Page Birthday Week 2024: ⤷ Day 6 - Favorite Relationship: Hangman/Matt Jackson @swervestrickland

[ferniforest]

Was is sky children of light? Like what do you do?

The character design looks really cool and overall it seems pretty interesting… perhaps it’s a game I’d enjoy?

Sky is a peaceful and wholesome MMO focused on flying, exploring, story, and community!

I love this game SO much! I could ramble about it for HOURS but I'll keep this short. Tons of neat and thoughtful features and it has the most wholesome video game community I know.

My favorite things about Sky:

no public chat! You have to choose to unlock chat with each person, which helps discourage toxicity!

It's literally so gorgeous. Taking pictures is one of my favorite activities. And the rendering engine is super optimized so it's never laggy

The devs are very involved with the community and new content comes out every couple of months, spaced out so it's not overwhelming but things stay fresh!

It is just downright so fun to play! Flying, skidding down snow and grass slopes, going through cloud tunnels, playing music, following light creatures, and making friends!

The map is big enough to feel like a whole world, but small enough that it grows to be homey and familiar

The emotes are so creative and adorable

CAPES

the story as a whole is meaningful and beautiful <3

Sky is completely free to play and I can not recommend it enough! It's also a lot more fun with friends so I'd love to play together if you're ever interested :D

[dirtytransmasc]

I love how you write and your mind that creates these scenarios, I didn't know I needed Ronal and Tonowari to adopt Spider. Thank you.🧚‍♂️Ronal would lose his temper if he knew or saw Spider's torture, that the scientists manage to hack into the military system to see their plans and find that video with the Sullys and Ronal, Tonowari and their children there. would see red. don't think you can hold back the urge to hit Jake or Neytiri.

context: spider finally gave into his injuries, and it was only after he passed out with a bloody nose and worrying brain activity, that they investigate his stay with the RDA and find the recording. cause angst.

ronal would have to be held back by eywa herself to keep her from hitting jake; he left him and couldn't be bothered until after he found out the boy had been tortured. she was mate of the chief, tsahik herself, she knew that sometimes you had to make choices that were unfair, soul shattering, but you carried that guilt for all to see, especially your own family. but jake hadn't, he had no guilt for leaving spider, no care for the boys condition, not a shadow of a doubt he made the right choice. he left a child with demons and he couldn't care less until he was forced to see the consquence's of his actions, to see the damage done. even then she doubts he would have felt much, no, he was guilty cause other people knew, people who watched him toss spider aside and forget about him for months. he was filled with shame, not regret.

she couldn't sympathize with that.

she could sympathize with the kids, they tried to forget because they couldn't do anything, couldn't hear "he's a strong kid" another time without their hearts breaking, couldn't survive with the memory of their lost brother on their minds, endless possibilities about where he was or what was happening to him plaguing them. she could sympathize with them as they witnessed their brothers torture, shielding their eyes to it, kiri leaving when she heard spider begging for them to just kill him, lo'ak and neteyam standing with stiff backs and teary eyes, both trying to remain strong despite the toll the video was having on them.

she could even sympathize with neytiri, who was not as apathetic as she attempted to let on, covering her mouth, begging jake to tell her why. "you said he would be safe, you said he would be too valuable to them to hurt." her tail lashed as she stared at her mate, then the child unconscious in the cot across the infirmary pod. ronal was unsure about the woman and her relationship with spider, but she could tell it was not as easy as she wanted to think, that it was layered and painful for both parties. all she knew was that neytiri never wanted any harm to come to spider, even if she allowed her mate to let it happen, she was under the impression they were doing what was best.

she didn't know enough about the scientists to blame them, but the mother in her wanted to rip them to shreds for being near her baby, but she tolerated them for the sake of more information. she was suspicious, they seemed to know the child well enough but didn't seem like they had been opposed to leaving him? she opted to ignore that train of thought for the boy's sake.

instead of screaming and shouting, past her initial blow up where she kicked jake out.

she saw red, the sound of spiders screams echoing in her ears, making her heart twinge. "get out," she spoke low, like a growl. jake didn't move, he would wish he did. "get out... or I will remove you myself. a child was tortured because of you, left behind, unthought of for months. you do not regret what you did, you just feel shame that its come back around to bite you. you do not deserve to see him and he does not need you looming over him as he recovers." she considered herself restrained, even if the look on jake and their mates face's told otherwise. she could have hurt him, she didn't.

he didn't deserve to be around the child, not now, not when he was suffering from jakes actions, she left him to be handled by her mate. tonowari was much better at hiding how he was feeling, so he could be somewhat peaceful as he assured jake the child would be cared for but that he would no longer be considered a sully, by anyone, and that he would taken into the tonowari family. his glare was enough to keep jake from arguing, and the gentle restrained push from the chief was enough to get him to go back to his pod, claiming he needed to take care of kiri who had refused to leave, not even to be with spider.

both the chief and tsahik limited spider's visitors to themselves, the scientists, their kids, the sully kids, and neytiri, sometimes, if their patience could handle it. there was a line between deserved animosity and outright cruelty, even if that line was like that of the blade of a knife.

ronal couldn't stop watching the video, over and over, watching spider fight so hard to not give them anything, falling for their bluffs, breaking down when they lied and said he'd shown them something. he screamed and thrashed and begged, he wanted them to kill him, rathering death then to give up the sully's, The People as a whole. he was so strong, stronger then most people she knew, and so very brave. he kept a strong face against the scientists who seemed dead set on breaking him, against the general who was grilling, against the machine that was worming its way into his mind, causing him great agony in the process. tstew 'evan (brave boy). every one of her boys screams was like digging a knife deeper and deeper into her heart, his tears like acid, the blood dripping from his nose making hers run cold in her veins. she knew she should put it down, listen to tonowari's pleas for her to stop torturing herself, but she wanted spider to be seen; she saw his pain, his sacrifice, his strength. if no one else acknowledged what he had done, she would, she would know even if she had to ingrain his suffering into her mind.

tonowari sat with barely contained emotion. if it was anger, sorrow, regret, frustration, even joy that he could finally call spider his own, maybe all of the above. he just knew he was feeling far too much and spider's unconscious body and agonized screams weren't making any better. he held onto his mate as she watched over the boy, listening to the children as they sat together, trying to wrap his mind around all that had changed in the matter of hours. spider was his child, he couldn't stand the man he once considered his brother, his whole perspective on neytiri had changed, and he was now faced the horrific capabilities of the RDA, what they did to his child and could continue to do to many others.

as a chief he was angry and terrified, as a father he wanted to hold his children in his arms and never let go, as a warrior he wanted to charge those demons and destroy them, the whatever else he was wanted to scream at jake, to question him, to beg him for answers, to ask neytiri why she couldn't mother him, why they couldn't just love the boy he now held so dear? his mind hurt, more than it ever had before, and now all he could do was sit. sit and try and find a course of action that wouldn't put his people, his children, his mate, Eywa and her creations as a whole, at risk, that would simultaneously not rip his heart, mind, and soul into shreds. he could only sit and wait and watch and listen. the na'vi didn't truly believe in a hell, but tonowari decided that this was his.

ronal only got rid of that forsaken tablet when spider began to rouse, crying out for someone, anyone, to hold onto, to soothe the fear that fluttered in his belly or the pain that radiated from his head down to his toes. she was at his side in half a heart beat, sending the scientists spiralling as they attempted to catch the thing before it fell to the ground and presumably shattered.

spider had the attention of his newly found mother, father, and siblings. ao'nung and tsireya had gone on the defense after only hearing clips of the recordings, deciding there that spider was theirs to protect now, theirs to love and cherish. they were angry too, in a much more confused way, even in comparison to their parents. they didn't understand; why did they hurt him, why did they use that machine, why did the sully's do nothing, who they should blame, who deserved their anger. there were easy answers, but none truly soothed them, none of them went deep enough to bring them any comfort. so instead they focused on their brother, making him feel safe and loved, making the nightmares go away. it ached them though, to see someone, let alone their baby brother, go through what he was going through, and it was taking little pieces of them away, bit by bit. that was ok though, it was worth it.

all the little family knew was that spider would need them, all of them, if he was ever going to heal. even the sully's, in time, maybe just the kids, maybe the whole lot if they managed to pull themselves together and make things right. but one step at a time, baby steps, to lead spider back from this frail state to the child of eywa that was hiding away somewhere in his beaten body and broken mind.

[maudiemoods]

YOU 🫵 tell me your favorite zombie movie(s)

[rosicheeks]

hmmmm… 7/25/22? 👀

-🌸

[delioncourtes]

when noah kahan said "if the sun don't rise till the summertime, forgive my northern attitude. oh, i was raised on little light" and when he said "i thought that if i piled something good on all my bad that i could cancel out the darkness i inherited from dad" and when he said "my house was designed to kinda look like it's crying. the eyes are the windows, the garage is the mouth. so when they mention the sad kid in the sad house on balch street, you won't have to guess who they're speaking about" and when he said "i was taking the wrong meds, feels good to be sad" and when he said "my mouth was designed for my foot to fit in it" and when he said "someday i’m gonna be somebody people want" and when he said "no thing so sure that i can't learn to doubt it" and when he said "i divvied up my anger into thirty separate parts, keep the bad shit in my liver and the rest around my heart. i'm still angry at my parents for what their parents did to them, but it's a start" and when he said "at the end of the day, i know there are worse ways to stay alive" and when he said "i'm terrified that i might never have met me" and when he said "i forgot my medication, fell into a manic high. spent my savings at a lulu, now i'm suffering in style. why is pain so damn impatient? ain't like it's got a place to be. keeps rushing me" and when he said "if all my life was wasted, i don't mind, i'll watch it go. yeah, it's better to die numb than feel it all" and when he said "i drink till i drown and i smoke till i'm burning" and when he said "collect every dream in these old empty pockets, in hope that i'll need them someday"

and when he said "it's an ode to the hole that i found myself stuck in, a song for the grave that i dug" and when he said "i only tell the truth when i'm sure that i'm lying" and when he said "i would leave if only i could find a reason. i'm mean because i grew up in new england. i got dreams but i can't make myself believe them. spend the rest of my life with what could have been, and i will die in the house that i grew up in. i'm homesick" and when he said "it only falls into place when you're falling to pieces" and when he said "the whole place is quiet. you miss something that you can't place but you can't deny it. don't know whether you want a place in the coast or the country. you can't stay here, it's hard to face and it feels too ugly. you light a fire inside, let it burn" and when he said "with a past box of photos i rip myself open" and when he said "feel the rush of my blood, i'm seventeen again. i am not scared of death, i've got dreams again" and when he said "a minute from home, but i feel so far from it. the death of my dog, the stretch of my skin. it's all washing over me, i'm angry again. the things that i lost here, the people i knew, they got me surrounded for a mile or two" and when he said "my medicine is drowning your perspective out, so i ain't taking any fault" and when he said "i ain't proud of all the punches that i've thrown in the name of someone i no longer know. for the shame of being young, drunk and alone"

and when he said "'son, are you a danger to yourself?' well, fuck that, sir, just let me call. i'll give you my blood alcohol, i'll rot with all the burnouts in the cell. i'll change my faith, i'll kiss the badge. just wait, i swear she'll call me back. 'son, why do you do this to yourself?'" and when he said "i'll turn up the music and i'll forget until it ends that i'm not ready to let go yet" and when he said "i'm in my car and i see the yard, the patch of grass where we buried the dog. and the world makes sense behind a chain-link fence. if i could leave, i would've already left" and when he said "i thought i had something, and that's the same as having something. i get mad at nothing, blame my dad for something. i pull no punches, then feel bad for months. thought i was raised better. tried to fake better, tried to blame weather and escape better. hope the skin heals where the pain enters" and when he said "i saw the end, it looks just like the middle. got a paper and pen and a page with no space. i filled the hole in my head with prescription medication, then forgot how to cry. who am i to complain? and now the pain's different. it still exists, it just escapes different and evades vision. makes the rain different, makes the news boring and my rage distant. yes, i'm young and living dreams, in love with being noticed and afraid of being seen. but i can finally eat and i can fall asleep. it's fine, fine, fine" and when he said "medicate, meditate, swear your soul to jesus. throw a punch, fall in love, give yourself a reason" and when he said "we spent so long just getting by. that's the thing about survival. who the hell, who the hell likes living just to die?"

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

Okay I thought I was done but apparently I'm not. I need to talk more about this banter you can get during the Legacy DLC between Aveline and Warden Carver because it makes me want to scream.

Aveline: I'm glad you found a place with the Wardens. Carver: Well, it's not the city guard, but it'll do. Aveline: Carver... it wasn't the place for you. Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I? Aveline: Well...

In my last post, I talked about how Aveline had no place telling the guard to refuse Carver's application, regardless of if he was "right" for the job or not. But I believe he would've made a great guard, and getting that job not only would've provided for him and his family during a desperate time, but would've prevented him from either fate of becoming a warden or a templar. He was unfairly robbed of a chance to prove himself because Aveline believed he wasn't right for the guard.

This is one of the banters I brought up but didn't go too in depth about. At this point, it's been between 3-6 years since Act 1, depending on if you decided to do Legacy in Act 2 or Act 3, and every line here is important.

Carver's response to Aveline saying she's glad he "found a place" with the wardens is so telling. Not being accepted by the guard is still on his mind after all this time. He wouldn't bring it up if it didn't still bother him, and implies that he still would've preferred the guard over the wardens.

Which... yeah. Listen, I'm a dedicated "Carver joins the Grey Warden" player. I don't like leaving him behind to become a templar, and I certainly don't like him dying. For me, the Grey Wardens are the best outcome he has. It’s where he seems the happiest and finds the most fulfilment, and it fits well with how I play my Hawke. But it obviously has some tragic issues.

Like the fact that becoming a Grey Warden only delayed his inevitable death within the Deep Roads. Eventually his Calling will come, and Carver will go back down there and fight until the darkspawn eventually kill him. I'm sure that's not traumatic to think about given he was a soldier at Ostagar and then watched Bethany die at the hands of an ogre. Oh, and there's the whole nightmares and voices thing.

Carver didn't choose this life for himself. It was either this or death, but a "what if?" still lingers in his mind about the city guard.

Something Aveline ruined for him.

And continues to ruin.

Aveline: Carver... it wasn't the place for you.

You hear that? In the distance? That's me screaming.

I must reiterate; what makes Aveline believe it's her place to tell Carver whether or not the city guard was right for him? Why did she think she should get a say in whether or not the guard takes him? What's made it HER call?

And still, after all this time has passed, she believes it wasn't right for him and she's unwilling to consider otherwise. Maker forbid she do some reflection and question if she was in the right for interfering at all, too!

Carver is standing right there before her, proving everything she said about him wrong, and she just doubles down. There's no reason to say this to him unless she's trying to remind him of his place; he's a Grey Warden, and she's Guard-Captain of Kirkwall's city guard. But c'mon, Aveline, he's hardly a threat to your precious guard anymore given the whole dedication to killing darkspawn thing he has now.

Maybe if you paid more attention to the threats within your guard, Kirkwall would be a safer place with less murder going around? Just saying!

But isn't that how it's always been? Aveline putting him in his place, making sure Carver remembers she's always outranked him?

Carver: Did you approve my application? Aveline: I can't make you a guard, Carver. Carver: We were both soldiers. Why won't they take me? Aveline: I was an officer. And I follow orders. Carver: [laughs] No you don't. Aveline: I also think of others before myself. You seem tired of that, and that's dangerous. Carver: Just when it's not my choice. You told them not to take me, didn't you? Aveline: Yes.

That he should remember who he's talking to?

Carver: I'm surprised you still travel with us, Aveline. Aveline: Carver, don't. Carver: You're ever so busy with the guardsmen. It must be a burden to slum with the refugees. Aveline: It's oddly comforting that you insult me like I'm family. Carver: That wasn't... no, I didn't mean that. Aveline: I know. But you should be glad that's how I took it.

That she's in charge?

Aveline: Your form's sloppy, Carver. Stiffen up or the darkspawn will take your blade. Carver: Right. I'll keep that in mind. Aveline: And you're angry, why? Carver: You didn't fare any better than I did the last time we faced darkspawn. Aveline: If they take your blade, people die. That's not happening again. Stiffen up. Carver: Yes ma'am.

Oh, and she used to spy on him [and Hawke].

Aveline: I don't like some of the people you've been associating with, Carver. Carver: Talk to my brother/sister. He/She's the one in charge. Aveline:  Maybe, but I know you get around. This city's full of people who are dead set on ending badly. I don't want to see you end up the same way. Carver: Would asking you to stop spying on me help in the least? Aveline: No.

That's their banter.

But sure, she's glad he found a place in the wardens. I don't think she's being ingenuine when she says that, but I think it's a little more complicated than a mere "congrats on doing well, I knew you could do it."

But Carver's response? Oh Maker's ass. It actually hurts me.

Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I? Aveline: Well...

I... what can I even say?

He accepts it, but you can tell it hurts to do so. It DID cost a lot. More than Aveline will ever understand. And it doesn't matter now! He can't become a guard now anyway, so what would be the point in him disagreeing with her? Carver acts as the bigger person here because he does get it, even if Aveline doesn't.

But it's that last part... that last damn part... Don't be alarmed, that screaming you hear is still me.

Here's the deal; Carver acknowledges that he could be an ass back in Act 1. Hell, he acknowledges it IN Act 1. For example, when you talk to him after finding your grandfather's will, he's an ass to you about Bethany no matter what you say.

But y'know what? You can be the biggest piece of shit to him and have Hawke literally call him a "lazy brat with a chip on his shoulder," and Carver will still be the one to be apologetic for what he said and attempt to explain his feelings.

"Brother/Sister... I feel... I don't know. It's like Mother taking things out on us. She was just scared. I don't have a place in the life she's trying to bring back…"

Carver can be an ass, but he's aware of that and actively tries to change his behavior. If you bring him and Fenris with you on the Mark of the Assassin DLC, there's a moment where Carver says, "You still don't like me? I've tried to change." And if you bring Varric, he once again acknowledges that he used to be an ass.

BUT... that being said. If you don't remember, "I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I?" is referencing back to this conversation in the barracks of Act 1:

Hawke: This must be a very different pace from serving King Cailan. Aveline: It's just one more change, though. The real end for me was Ostagar. What about you Carver? You were there. Do you feel something similar? Carver: No. Aveline: All right, then. Bit of a tit, your brother.

Now, I've already expressed my beef with Aveline over insulting Carver in the middle of the barracks just because he doesn't agree with her view point on Ostagar... but consider the fact that Carver says nothing. He just lets her insult him without a complaint! Carver Hawke, who tends to complain! And he says nothing!

Not only that, but he actually internalized that insult enough that years later he's able to repeat it back to Aveline word for word, and all she has to say is, "Well..."

This isn't the same thing as him reflecting on his past behavior and acknowledging his flaws. This is Carver accepting a snide jab Aveline made that hurt him because apparently he was wrong for not wanting to discuss any trauma Ostagar left him with as openly as she does.

Oh, and don't forget that any other companion you brought along dogpiles on, too!

Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I? Aveline: Well... Varric: No shit. Fenris: Insufferable. Isabela: Legendary. Anders: Maker, yes. Sebastian: I've heard as much. [If Hawke has a humorous/charming personality] Hawke: Spoiled, annoying, thick-headed, brattish little nitwit of a... oh, have we stopped?

Y'all ever wonder why he's so on edge or hostile with the other companions?

Also, I have to point out that Merrill is the only companion who doesn't say anything in agreement if she's there. In fact, across all their banter, Merrill's never been rude or insulting toward him. All she does is ask him if he's talking dirty to her and compliments him on what a great sworder he is. It's pretty obvious why Carver develops a crush on her, c'mon.

But to wrap this up-

This banter strikes a nerve due to how telling it is about both characters involved.

Carver has grown and done what he can to improve himself, but there's regret that lingers, a longing for a better life he could've had if given a chance. Maybe he would've failed, maybe he would've succeeded. But there's nothing he can do now, so he looks forward, just as he's always wanted to do. He's a damn good Grey Warden who wants to do right.

Aveline remains stagnant. She hasn't changed, nor has she improved, and maybe she would if she could figure out how to dislodge her head from her own ass. She still believes she was in the right to tell the guard not to accept Carver's application despite knowing the Hawke's were desperate and that Fereldan refugees couldn't find work. She knew Carver's a skilled soldier who fought at Ostagar just as she did. The guard wasn't the place for him so she's in the right to deny him any chance. Aveline knows best.

And y'know what, I think all I have left to say is...

Fine, Aveline. You're right. It wasn't the place for him.

Carver was too good for your city guard.

[naradreamt]

Set of eight rubber keychains released in 2018 to celebrate hide's 20th Memorial event

[wurm-food]

I’ve had the bestest day in this city and now I’m finally getting some solo adventure time 🥹

[personinthepalace]

favorite characters tag game!

I was tagged by @myfairkatiecat and @meiloorunsmoothie - thanks! :)

rules: make a poll of 5 of your favorite characters and see which one gets the most votes! and then tag five people

tagging @inked-out-trees @incendiaglacies @taran-wanderer @ravioliet @reallyhardy and anyone else who would like to do this :)

Character images below the cut:

Oona

Ezra Banks

Vanessa Wilcock-Wynn-Carroway

Emmett Forrest

Kate Wetherall - art by @greatkatewethermachine

[bonesandthebees]

man I'm glad I decided to read a game of thrones as a way to take notes for how to write rose... I just read about a huge battle with thousands of soldiers and it was so well done... now am I going to write a battle? no fucking way I don't hate myself that much but I know HOW to execute it in a very easy to visualize way and that's what's important

[suddenlymicah]

happy ides of march! time to kill ceasar

[ccrabapples]

hi I need HELP, I have a small collection of these motherfuckers

And they’re so beautiful and great but I do NOT know how to display them. They’re all shaped like that, facing the same direction, wide body’s with limbs sticking out and their heads dont swivel. I have tried for years to set them all up but it never looks very pretty.

Need advice, suggestions. Only taking criticism in the form of handwritten letters.