#I almost cried but I DIDN'T

[luminousjellyfishy]

At least three (3) years later and that one oneshot still makes me cry

[f1-stuff]

Abu Dhabi GP '24 // Last podium as teammates 🫂

[micamone]

hewwo

[dreamyluigi]

some doodles based on this fic by @roscolate ;w; because holy shit this tore me apart, my heart ached then exploded it's so good

[sunderwight]

Honestly fascinated trying to figure out how both of Ambessa's kids ended up being diametrically opposed to her whole jock spartan might-makes-right mentality.

Tthe obvious answer, of course, is that Ambessa's husband (Kino's dad, and the guy Mel thought was her bio dad until recently) was way more of a diplomat and way less of a fighter, both philosophically as well as in terms of skill. And that he's the one who passed this on to the kids.

This fits well enough as an answer. The guy in the portrait certainly looks more like a talker than a fighter, and we know that Ambessa has a thing for pretty, submissive men thanks to her whole introduction in S1. Also, regardless of Mel's genetics this is presumably the man who raised her and is her father in the "nurture" sense of the equation, so it would be completely reasonable for her to take after him.

However, there are a few issues here.

One is the fact that even when Mel is talking to who she thinks is Kino about the possibility of one of them being a bastard, or of a bastard half-sibling existing, neither of them mention their father at all. While I doubt either of them would hold illusions about Ambessa remaining faithful to a spouse (for all we know the guy's still alive while she's off carousing with twinks), you would think that if both kids were close to their dad or took after him particularly, there'd be at least a passing mention of him in the midst of this discussion.

Maybe Mr. Medarda died a long time ago, though. Perhaps it's a topic so buried that it's an established habit to simply never mention it. Or maybe there is an issue of estrangement between him and his children for other reasons. He doesn't seem to have factored into Ambessa's decision to send Mel away, nor is his potential grief brought up around the subject of Kino. Despite confirmation of his existence, he seems (ironically) to be out of the picture, though it could also just be that the writers wanted to leave their options open for what he might be like in case another Arcane-adjacent series comes into production. I am fairly sure that Mel is the most likely character from Arcane to create continuity into a show about Noxus or Demacia or something, if we get another LoL series, especially since her story feels the most unfinished.

However, there's another possibility, which is that Mr. Medarda up there was such a nonentity in his kids lives that he doesn't come up because there's not much of a relationship to acknowledge. In which case, even if he is more of a diplomat (and he and Ambessa were a political marriage, presumably?) it'd be hard to credit him with influencing the kids so significantly.

One of the interesting things about Mel and Kino is that even though they are at odds with their mother on a lot of topics, topics that even seem to tie into prevailing Noxian cultural ideals (so, things they'd have been overall raised to believe in by the rest of their house and not just their mother too), they are also kind of astonishingly confident in expressing themselves?

So, somebody must have been supporting their alternative viewpoints and validating them as opinions worth expressing, even if they weren't things Ambessa approved of or actually wanted to foster in them as opinions/philosophies.

I think an interesting option is that it was Ambessa herself who did this, actually.

Ambessa's lore mentions that she figured out really early on that Kino did not share her temperament at all. Also, that she started searching about for ways of ensuring not only her house's domination, but the survival of her children specifically. Because the succession in a Noxian noble house doesn't seem to be guaranteed by birthright, which means that Kino and Mel would probably face rivals from their own family if they seemed too weak or vulnerable to lead, and someone else contested it. An easy way to remove a "weak" leader would also be to just kill them off. That's even apart from external rivals (like the ones who actually did kill Kino).

Which means that even if her kids had different values and priorities, Ambessa would probably have wanted them to still present those opinions with ferocity and confidence. If they cower to her, they will cower to others, and that's worse than them just not being aggressive combatants or warlord types. If you're gonna be a peacenik weirdo (by Ambessa's standards) in Noxus then you better damn well still be an assertive one.

I like this idea partly because the image of Ambessa trying to balance her kids having totally alien opinions about things like the value of life and importance of compassion, with trying not to actually beat down their spirits about it. Just spending a lot of their formative years being like, ugh, I have to listen to my nerd ass loser children tell me why they think mercy is a good idea. Such a fucking chore. Anyway great job presenting your arguments kids, lots to think about, let's go get ice cream. Then Mother has to fire one of your military tactics instructors for daring to call you a couple of wieners. Again. Even though she's right.

[catboydreamer]

"overgrown anger" ajax/tartaglia x reader

you and ajax have a complicated relationship. he makes it complicated, as your feelings are quite simple. you love him endlessly but he seems to never be able to decide. 

it frustrates you to no end; endless nights of being awoken at one am by him knocking on your window and you let him in. you always do even with a pout dragged across your lips some nights. even if you punch him as soon as he gets inside. even if you have friends over, he will put a finger to his lips and say, “shh. i’ll be quiet”. and if you dare to try to move on, and how dare you, he will grab the man up by his arms and haul him out the front door (though he itches to throw him out the window but he knows better with you) (he cannot burn every bridge). he never directly confronts the problems he creates by one am visits. of course, in the morning he’s gone, the only traces of him are his ajax sized imprints in the mattress. 

there’s always more for you to comment on with him. he creates more scenarios wherever he goes, and god damn is he wherever you go. if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he was obsessed with you but you do know better. you’ve known this man since you were seven. you’ve seen him fall in love once and it wasn’t exactly pretty in the end but during? he was nothing like this. with her, he was straightforward in his affections; he spoke his affections clearly, brought her flowers at least once a week, and always held her hand. he was gentle and calm but looked at her with a smile on his face. 

to admit things you didn’t really want to, you were quite devastated discovering your own selfish feelings for him. you felt so guilty the entire time as you’d smile weakly and make an effort to become his girlfriend’s friend. she was kind, the type of person you could never hate and yet, every time you looked at her you felt a bitter taste in your mouth. 

secretly, relief flowed through your body the day that thye broke up. you were there for the entire thing too; you saw the cold and lifeless look he gave her as he tells her its over. its a side she’s never seen but a side you’ve seen countless times. 

you never ask him about it, just walk quietly beside him waiting for words to tumble out but he turns to you abruptly and asks you to accompany him fishing. he never speaks of her again. he never cries or looks upset, either. 

something about the break up felt wrong but you couldn’t put your finger on it…

bonus: you see her around town a few weeks after he broke up with her and she gives you the coldest glare you have ever seen. you simply assume its because you are associated with ajax. her mouth moves to say something but her eyes widen and she walks off… very strongly. minutes later, “boo!” comes up from behind your ear. it was ajax. 

since growing older, he’s not as prominent in your life as before but he still visits at one am if nothing else. its not every night but it is frequent. 

anxiety starts to eat at you about the whole situation. you don’t want it to stop per say because you really do miss him but you wish he would just be honest. constantly, you feel as if he’s hiding something from you. something unknown lays behind his icy blue eyes. you both know it and inevitably he will have to reveal it to you. 

still, he plays with you, giving you a toothy grin one day as he hangs onto your every word but he’s gone the next day. you won’t hear from him for weeks as you constantly look for him in the crowds and stay up until four am waiting by the window. and just when you think you are over him, he’s right there all over again. sometimes you wonder if he’s real and just once, do you let this slip. its gotta be the hundredth time he’s done this back and forth with you and you’re reaching your wits ends. you try so hard to hold back the lump in your throat. the air feels heavy again, if only on your end with your racing thoughts and sweaty limbs. he’s cold again, leaning against the window sill with a far off, faded look in his gaze. he isn’t even looking at you. your chest fills with a hot boil of overpowering warmth. 

you puff your cheeks with hot air and let it all out with a huff. for the record, the action does nothing to sizzle the heat. next, you wipe your hands on your fluffy pajama pants and stand up. 

your voice is so small when you speak(smaller than you’d like it to), “ajax?” 

for a split second, you see his gaze flicker to you, and is that a softness around the edges? no, you are imagining it within your dreary and delusional mind. “what.” he’s back to the deadness you are slowly starting to get used to. at least you try to tell yourself that. 

“just..” you pause, letting out a frustrated growl, “are you even real anymore?”

he twists his body towards you, a twitch of a cocky smile on his lips. “would you like to test that?”

before he can take back what he said, you are marching up to him. his icy blue eyes widen and he tries to put his hands up slowly but you are too fast. before you can control the bubbling anger that fills your senses, your hand comes in contact with the plumpness on his cheek. hard. 

he stares at you in shock, and you stare back. shocked and still very angry. you don’t even want to apologize despite not meaning to do it. 

your breathing is uneven and heavier with every breath. 

he doesn’t say anything, not sure what he could say at this point. he only watches you, seemingly searching for something in your gaze before he leans his head back and closes his eyes. a red mark starts to form on his cheek. 

“thats for leading me on.”

he doesn’t even move as he speaks, “i never-”

“oh, but you did. multiple times. or did you forget?”

his eyes fly open. oh, he remembers. how could he ever forget that? the one night he let himself indulge and become intoxicated by your touch. 

he gulps down the bitterness, “no. i didn’t.”

you take a step forward into his space, close enough he can feel your warming breathe. “then, explain it to me. all of it.”

he aches to trace a finger over your jawline. his fingers twitch at his side in response. he tries once more, “then, can i kiss you?” 

you frown. “no! you can explain your behavior. i’ve got time.” 

he sighs dramatically, “fine. i’m sorry to disappoint but there’s no tale to tell. i’m not worthy of you. that much became painfully obvious to me, quickly.” 

your hands move to grip into his biceps. “what. what does that mean?”

he rolls his eyes. “oh, you know? im unworthy of your love and affections. don’t you know this already?”

your grip gets stronger. he lets you do it without a sound. “uh, no? what the hell, ajax?”

for the first time all night, he truly looks at you. he devours you with his gaze, searching for any semblance of hesitation or deception in your eyes. they are as pure as ever. if not a little more blazed. “you’re not lying to me.”

you say nothing, your eyes give him all the confirmation he needs.

he wipes a hand across his lips. “shit. shit. SHIT. I fucked up,” you’ve never seen this raw, pure fearful look that creeped into his eyes. 

a bitter smile creeps in, “yep. you did.”

he’s frozen. “let go of me.”

instead, you creep even closer so that there is no distance between the two of you. your grip loosens on his arms and slowly travels up until they stop on his jawline. “i can’t,” your voice breaks in half. the same half he broke into a million little shards. and he’s responsible for piecing them back together. 

he stares at you wide eyed, bottom lip slightly trembling. you know better than anyone that he’s fighting back tears. not for long, not if you keep looking at him like that. “please,” he’s begging you at this point.

your heart breaks for him but your heart is more broken. so you whisper to him, “i won’t. i won’t allow it.”

he leans his forehead against yours and screws his eyes shut. tears slowly drip from his eyes down his cheeks. they don’t stop for a long time. 

at some point you have led him to lean his head against your chest as quiet cries leaving his mouth. 

he hasn’t cried in a very long time. 

your hand reaches to stroke strands of hair in a calming motion. 

once he’s ready, he slowly pushes himself off of you. his eyes are bloodshot red and he turns his head to the side. you aren’t holding him in place but you also don’t need to. he knows you aren’t going anywhere. 

“ajax. you need to hear this. please listen.”

he doesn’t make a sound but he doesn’t protest either. progress.

“i’ve loved you since we were thirteen. i never stopped, even for a second, despite what you put me through as a result.”

ajax opens his mouth to speak for a moment but clams it shut in the next. 

you sigh and out come the words, “you are worthy of a grand love. i don’t want to come off too strong but… if you’ve reacted this way, i must mean a lot to you, huh?”

ajax turns to face you, a fiery gaze lingering within his face. “you don’t understand. you mean the world to me. you’re better than the air i breath. i don’t need to breathe if it means you get to. i can’t live without you, and i’ve tried.”

you can’t help but grin, you’re just so happy. finally you can feel how you feel out in the open. you mind is racing at the same pace as your heart. 

ajax leans down, close enough that he’s only a hair away from your lips, “does this mean i can kiss you now?”

you wrap a arm around his neck and pull him down towards you. sealing the night with a kiss is all the confirmation anyone could ever need.

you just have to work on his self esteem issues because holy shit this whole scenario could’ve been avoided!

[r-aindr0p]

Uhhh stuff I doodled during the family event.

I often do french jokes/shitpost but uh yeah I'm also half finnish, 'twas an event on this side of the family.

So I doodled a few moomin characters from memory :') (+ finnish names beside, 'cause who the fuck is "Snufkin" ?? I only know Nuuska Muikkunen sorry)

It was a childhood cartoon /media and I have so much admiration for Tove Jansson's illustrations tbh, I wish I had half her skills, I only recently learned that she did illustrations for the hobbit novel omg

[screechingfromthevoid]

@disastertourwaterdeepedition

Sorry for the weird fucking post but like tumblr straight up ate your ask?? I had to search and screenshot from my email??

Its like super fine I love big rants and big feelings (especially about the blorbo of the month).

Whoa buddy if you wanna talk about a rant. This got so long I'm putting it under a read more.

I'm not sure any of this is above board conscious thought process. When he looks to Orym, when he thinks about how he feels about Orym, I think Dorian, king of compartmentalizing, gets a rush of all three of the things in the post. He gets a little too lost in thought looking at the way Orym's hair now tries to curl against his ear or how well tailored the armor is to his body, he first gets hit with the Will guilt. Then he thinks about "ohmygodtheresawaron" and he'd shovel all of that down. Because its not time to think about Orym and him. But he knows by the way Orym watches him "sleep". He knows by the way Orym refused to be princess carried in Aeror. (Seriously dude Dorian princess carries everyone. It would have been less suspicious if you let it happen). He knows because Orym didn't see his husband when they were in Zephrah. But when he dares himself to actually think about a possible future together, he uses the big three to shove it down. And no, he has no clue that Orym thinks he doesn't return his feelings. (Wow you're right. Pronouns are hard)

Lol to finally answer your question: I'm not sure! Because the thing is! Orym has gone down twice in a battle with Dorian there! And honestly if Orym being on death's door doesn't make either of them confess, i'm not sure what will! (thats a lie I do have an idea). But like Orym went to the moon and back and almost died on the moon and all the count communicate to Dorian was "I miss you"!! Orym nearly died twice in one battle and he didn't think to give Dorian a sloppy, "If I die again I want to have kissed you once" kiss before going in for another round of getting hacked on. Dorian watched him go down and had to bring him back from death's door (one failed save scared the shit out of me) and he didn't think to give Orym a "We need you, I need you" kiss.

My unfortunate thought process, which I can't decide if I want it to come true or not, is that Dorian has to get hurt. Like when I say hurt I fucking mean it. Taken down in a round or two, two failed death saves, hurt. Because then Orym will have to face losing Dorian again. Face losing the man he loves, again. He pours a healing potion into Dorian's mouth because warlocks don't have a single healing spell. (Just checked). Orym feels so helpless in saving Dorian, because a healing potion isn't nearly enough to keep him up. He starts to cry over Dorian's (now conscious) body. He whispers between sobs "Not again, not again. Dorian you can't leave me. I love you, please, I never got to tell you, please stay alive." and Dorian, having heard all of that, reaches up to cup Orym's cheek and says. "Alright, just for you though."

Or something like that.

As much as I would love for them to be adults and just talk to each other. I know thats not going to happen. (Please, Robbie, Liam, prove me wrong.) So I think major tragedy will be the reason they confess to each other. Because they're idiots in love with a lot of weight on their shoulders.

[1imina1]

[cookkoo]

Drawtober 2023 day 3: Path

"Have you decided to take the path of strife?"

[1][2]

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

(Alright, going to stop procrastinating and finally make this post.) After playing through the new trilogy in French to see what was different, here are some things about the French localisation of Spirit of Justice I thought you should know:

First of all, I usually like the French and English versions of the games equally. This marks the first time I've actually enjoyed the French version... more than the English one?? Especially Turnabout Revolution? Don't get me wrong, I already loved it in English, but I think the next time I replay it I'll actively choose French. Idk man it just hits different when a bunch of French people are talking about revolution and overthrowing the tyrannical regime etc

Oh yes, speaking of which, yes, the "Japanifornia" parts of the game take place in Paris, France, as usual. No, I have no idea how Kurain village can be next to the mountains and also the sea while also being in the vicinity of Paris. I also don't know why the entire population of a small country in the Himalayas are fluent in French and use it on a daily basis. But seriously, the main characters mention SO OFTEN that they're French and from France, like, all the fricking time. Remember the incredibly Japanese rakugo case? Imagine that taking place in France.

The Khura'inese pun names are hysterical in French. An example that English speakers can get too: the first culprit's name in French is Sterh'uey Tu'heiven. I'm not making this up. That's his name.

RAYFA'S FRENCH VOICE ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE A TEENAGER INSTEAD OF A 30 YEAR OLD, THANK THE HOLY MOTHER

Unfortunately the Holy Mother giveth, but she also taketh away, and they gave Nahyuta a crunchy old man voice that doesn't suit his ethereal appearance at all...

Athena has now added German and Italian to her random English and Spanish phrases from the prev game. I mean... it made sense before, since she was meant to have lived in the USA in this version, but now I guess she just does it for fun? Who knows

French Roger Retinz uses €50 notes (euros) to fan himself instead of dollar bills

Inga's full name is "Inga Karkhuul Kel Nomh Bowkhou Tro'lon Pohm'peu Eh'Duhr Apronh Ons'ai Khura'in III" ("quel nom beaucoup trop long, pompeux et dur à prononcer")

Nahyuta's nickname in French is just "Yuta"

Ema and Apollo now use informal pronouns for each other, so do Ema and Trucy now, Maya starts using informal pronouns for Apollo from almost the first moment she meets him (though he uses formal pronouns for her lmao), and yes Dhurke and Apollo use informal pronouns with each other the whole time, even when things are awkward at the start. Rayfa and her mother always use formal pronouns for each other, which is a little depressing.

AS FOR NAHYUTA AND APOLLO... HOHOHO. Obviously they're both using "vous" (formal) in court, but in the scene afterwards Apollo switches to "tu" (informal) when he asks Nahyuta if he remembers him. Later in Turnabout Revolution, Apollo has gone back to vous but he's at least saying "Nahyuta" rather than "Prosecutor Sahdmadhi" or whatever (I think that happened in the English version too). Then during the final trial, after that one insanely angsty scene, Apollo starts using tu again and even (internally) uses the nickname Yuta once! Nahyuta eventually starts referring to him as Apollo and starts using tu after finally openly acknowledging Apollo as his family aaauuuuuugh ;o;

(Listen Apollo usually always tries to be formal and professional in court so this is a big deal!!! It's a big deal to me at least!!!!!!!!!)

In the English version there were a few times our good ol' American Apollo had a sort of "haha I'm just a foreigner I don't know anything here" vibe which... no you're not lol. The French version didn't have that (or at least toned it down a lot) and made him feel less like a tourist and more like an immigrant returning to his old home country with complex feelings, which he is. It makes it more personal that he's the one to bring about the revolution imo -- he's not some random foreigner swooping in to save the day, this is his home and his family, he belongs here. (As an immigrant myself I find aspects of him relatable and will defend his Khura'inese backstory to the death DON'T TEST ME)

The "what's crack-a-lackin' homie" line in all its glory:

[kessilover]

Mergana AU : Strategic Sparks

In a competitive corporate world, Merlin and Morgana with a long-standing rivalry are forced to team up for a high-stakes pitch. Despite their differences and playful banter, their undeniable chemistry reveals a connection neither is willing to admit.

[kithtaehyung]

3tanniversary survey audio answers: ep. 2 | transcript under the cut

[ 241107 ] Hi, my loves. Welcome to episode 2 of three years with 3tan audio answers.

For this question, we have, "what point did you realize that your popularity and story were becoming bigger than you anticipated? Slash, how did that shift from just being a fic to it being a community feel?"

2022 was a really big year for 3tan in general, but I think it was because.. even though I said I wasn't like a schedule person, it was getting updated like either every month or every two months. And when you're constantly putting out a series like that, it's just inherently gonna get more engagement because it's gonna keep showing up, if that makes sense.

To be very honest with you guys, I don't think about things in terms of popularity or follower count or whatever. It's more of the engagement level, and that is when - 2022 is when the engagement level started skyrocketing. And (laughs) a big contributor to that? You're not gonna believe this if you weren't here at the time but if you were here I think you're gonna get this when I say.. 3tan bro. (laughs)

3tan bro was the key because everyone had either their own member - like they imagined him as either Seokjin, Hoseok, or Namjoon - but some people didn't. And it was a huge debate that just got to hilarious proportions, we even had the most ridiculous answers like Psy (laughs)

Honestly I think that was the icebreaker because there was a lot of people that were just reading it, but then they finally got into it, into the whole interaction piece and it made a lot of people more comfortable interacting - with me or with each other because people were (laughs) people were talking to each other via the inbox and I was just being a messenger at that point. Like I was just the poster and they were just debating, arguing, laughing with each other and it was just great.

So Stay was.. I think Stay was the big, the big jump. And then after that, it just became its own thing. Like we started really becoming a community at that point.

And honestly, I miss it. Thank you for this question. It's making me reminisce on a lot of stuff and just thinking about the people that.. used to be here.. Umm. That probably aren't anymore.

I think about.. I think about a lot of you even if I don't know your real name. Like if I just know you by your emoji or something and you haven't sent in an ask in a while, I hope you're doing well. I'm grateful for all of you and I try to remember as much as you as possible. Whether it's your birthdays or, umm…

Yeah. Anyway, next question!

"What are your favorite parts? I wanna know." Ooh, my favorite parts? Definitely Fireworks. That whole thing, I keep saying this, but Fireworks.. Fireworks just has its own emotion and feel that I will never be able to replicate. I still think about that balcony a lot.

Stay, the water scene (laughs) along with many of you. That was a big turning point too because we saw Yoongi finally, like, be himself instead of.. You know, he surprised us all and that was a really, really good moment.

All the scenes in the kitchen, you know me. The kitchen is a super important place for these characters and by extension myself. And.. some of the ones I can't talk about yet. (laughs)

But yeah. Also the I love you scene. Honestly? That one came out of nowhere. That one surprised me, too. And as soon as he said it, I.. just cried.

So take that as you will. And yeah.

-

some of my fave parts that didn't make it into this cut bc i was put on the spot (shh yes i could've put a script together but i'm also busy LOL):

forfeit. my god. that whole chapter is a favorite part.

the moments with reader's friends, and tae.

speaking of friends, JUSTICE FOR FRIENDS! that whole chapter!!!

now that i'm hearing my answers, i didn't specify any spicy parts lmao but definitely the OG three tangerines, like that, friends, and broken pt. 2 are my fave spices. :))

wanna submit your own question? fill the survey out above or send in an ask saying you'd like an audio answer!

[duckysamlake]

I have decided to start posting art on Tumblr 🧍🏻

my instagram

[mysticfemme]

kind of went to my first ever pride today but not really cause I only stayed 20 minutes and missed the parade because I was on my own and knew I'd get overwhelmed. I did not see one single dyke HOWEVER a baby gay teenager gave me a bubble tube and said I looked cool

[gophergal]

That's where you'll find me. Swaying with the rhythm of the wind, waiting for your touch