Sadly we had to put her down this time last year due to cancer. She was only 8 but I will never forget her. These 8 years together were the best thing that ever happened to me. She was my anchor and she will live in my heart forever.
Grief is the price for love and if I had to go through it all over again, I would because no matter how painful her absence feels, I cherished my time with her more. I still remember bringing her home against my mothers wishes and keeping her in my room for 3 days before she was finally accepted.
Molly, I'll never stop loving you and I miss you every day. You have brightend my darkest days and I can only hope I have given you at least a fraction of the happiness you made me feel.
one of The Things about Ghilen Mahariel is how he naturally brings the party together by being the sweetest saddest little shmooper of all. he's often barely containing very raw very strong emotions while sharing very little of them openly, not for lack of trust, but for simply not being ready. but even before opening up, he manages to become fast friends with everyone there. their sad, wet little binkster. they find themselves working together in silence, running a long con of sorts, to make his life easier and help him smile a bit more often.
Zevran's "you're dalish?" conversation starts with a worry that he'll reopen an old wound and ends with Ghilen braiding Zevran's hair the way he does his own and telling wistful stories about Merrill and Ashalle.
Ghilen spends several evenings talking to Alistair about Duncan and the other wardens to help him grieve, and Alistair doesn't know why helping him cope is so important to him until much later, but it makes them both feel better, so he obliges.
Morrigan doesn't yet understand why he gives her all the shiny jewelry he can find, but he's so excited every time that she never argues when he tells her she deserves it.
Leliana and Oghren work together, actually work together, to find and wrap him a little present, and are immediately rewarded with the delight on his face at the realization that they've thought of him.
Sten is constantly offering his advice, at first only because Ghilen asks, but later completely unprompted, when he thinks it could spare him a little heartache.
when Wynne asks what being a warden means to him and he answers with, "i don't know :(" she isn't even disappointed. she's just glad he was honest, and reminds him to keep his goals in sight and serve the people.
Ghilen's eyes get glossy petting the sick halla in Zathrian's clan and everyone warmly congratulates him when he heals it, more or less collectively cooing at him for a job well done. what's best is that he doesn't even realize any of it is going on, he's just glad Tabris is there to make the really hard decisions so he can feed wildlife around the cities and be sweet to his little team of besties.
he really comes into his own after the blight and during the events of inquisition, but origins only takes place over a year, and it just happens for many reasons actually to be the worst year of his life, despite being the one he's remembered for.
My little love, from her first few days with me, where she cleverly instantly launched an attack on my mom's feelings by cuddling up to her feet...
... to her last year, sleepy and so much more shy (I was astounded to find so many pictures of her small playing with my toddler nieces and cozying up to various family members, I'd forgotten she used to be so social!).
Trigger warning: pet death
I'm pretty sure she was only in pain and confused for one day, it was blessedly fast. We spent the entire day with her, me sitting as close to her as I could when she kept hiding under furniture, and my mom and niece playing board games on the bed so I wasn't alone. When we went to the vet for the second time that day he told me I could take her home and she'd die during the night, but I couldn't bear the thought that she might be in pain or be scared, so I asked him to put her under. I told her I loved her to the very end but I think she was already too far gone to really know I was there. :/
I had been so stressed out for so long, about her and other things, and I had a big work event coming up that I was dreading with all my being, and I dearly needed a hard reset... and I guess always be careful what you wish for because her death granted me the break and the clarity of thought I so badly needed. She was also kind enough to leave me while I was being surrounded by family so I did not have to go through this and the aftermath alone. And she made me realize I did not want to continue carrying this absurd amount of stress around, and that some things needed to change.
I also won't lie, I had been growing increasingly worried about her health for over a year and through the pain and the loss, it is a huge relief to know that she's forever safe from harm.
Still I miss her dearly and I'm pretty sure my brain thinks she's just spending time in another place, most times it just feels like she's not here, not that she's gone forever. I'm looking at years of pictures to select a few to print out, and I still sleep with the bed cover she'd gotten last Christmas because I'm not about to erase every trace of her like she'd never existed.
She was my best pal for almost 17 years (she'd have been 17 next Wednesday), through my best and worst times, and all she ever asked of me was to feed her and hold her back paws while she slept.
I loved her so very much and I just hope that she knew I did, up to the very end. 💔
I had a wonderful opportunity to make some pixel art for this Welcome Home update!! Huge thanks to Clown for having me, I hope these brought at least 1% more joy to your peepers than the site already has 🙏
Aaron the believer, Neil the skeptic, Andrew the main cameraman. Kevin does research probably. There's vague ideas for everyone else but mostly I laugh about Dan and Matt being the editors bc they make the funniest edits
Thank you @jtl-fics for enabling me and having great ideas as always 😂💕