#&&. rakan ( v: redeemed )

[charmerquilled]

Re-listening to Rakan's voice lines while I draw, and one major thing I noticed is the absolute SALT he is pouring into the ocean. Granted, this is played over the top for comedy sake, but at the end of the day...he still died for his friends. He perished FIRST. He didn't even know his friends abandoned/fled Xayah until his eventual resurrection by Zoe. So needless to say, he is very TICKED off and hurt that they failed to protect her too. How can one come to trust former teammates completely after that? All this talk of working together. Protecting one another. All the positive pep talks... To him at this point, they are empty promises if it doesn't fit a particular circumstance. He will forgive far easier than Xayah, but he will still certainly not forget what his former team did. And with him adjusting back to life, especially after a very evil arc, his bitter and sarcastic behavior will bleed through into his playful demeanor at times. No matter if he is glad to be home or not. There are still a lot of layers of trauma that happened within the last few years, and not even therapy will completely help with that ( lbr the therapist will need a therapist after Rakan and Xayah). He is trying to fit back in along with Xayah. And like a chameleon, he blends pretty well in an attempt to adapt to the unusualness of being back. To fake this normalcy he wants but will never get. Obviously, those colors will flicker and reveal that he is not truly 100% himself anymore.

[starguardiancentral]

Curiosity killed the cat, incoming polls to see who is the most popular Star Guardian by team!

Burning Bright: Lux v Jinx v Janna v Lulu v Poppy

New Horizons: Ahri v Ezreal v Soraka v Syndra v Neeko v Miss Fortune

Star Crossed: Redeemed Xayah v Redeemed Rakan v Orianna v Senna v Seraphine

Valoran City: Kai'sa v Akali v Taliyah v Sona v Ekko v Nilah

Outer City: Quinn v Rell

Star Nemesis: Morgana v Zoe v Fiddlesticks v Corrupted Rakan v Corrupted Xayah

First Stars: Gwen v Zoe v Harp v Syndra v Akshan

[charmerquilled]

I was discussing with Twinnie, and we both believe that Purified Rakan would definitely be indifferent towards his former team. I don't think he wants to outright hate them and lose them as friends, he would at least want to TRY to give them a chance. But I do believe he cannot trust them anymore as a 'TEAM' , hence why he won't go back under Ahri, Fortune, or Neeko as a 'star guardian'. Basically, as Twinnie put it - "I don't want to hate you, but also fuck you, you left your teammate behind to die???"

[charmerquilled]

[charmerquilled]

"HEY ZOE. REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE SUPER BIG, AND I WAS SUPER SMALL, AND I STILL W̵̬̋R̸̭̈E̶̹̐Ç̸̀K̵̫̅Ẹ̷̆D̵̺̍ YOU."

[charmerquilled]

"You know I like you baby. Because you're a little good, a little bad, and then a little good on top."

[charmerquilled]

Honestly, it's super fun to think Rakan being even more of a wild card than usual. Now that he is redeemed and back home, he still believes that both the twilight star and the first star are both... meh in concept. Twilight star wasn't what it was all cracked up to be, and then the first star did nothing to help him and Xayah out when they were left for dead. So he gracefully and proudly dances along the rim of both light and dark, forging what he believes is right in his eyes. He won't let anyone else ( Well, except Xayah. ), or some otherworldly sparkly light tell him what to do.

[charmerquilled]

I spent way too long on this sketch to make it look nice, but I wanted to draw the redeemed birbs feeling comfy in their ‘dark’ forms since it’s forever a part of them too!! Maybe they are listening to Senna fan girl about something 🥺

Please don’t reblog unless you are @rebelquilled !!

[charmerquilled]

📱- I’m on a walk and I suddenly chuckled to myself. Because what if people were brave enough to ask SG Rakan and Xayah to be in their galaxy themed haunted attraction during halloween. Since they are basically zombies raised from the dead with magic and people know star guardians exist by this point.

Them being able to appear in their ‘corrupted’ forms since it’s now forever a part of them and the duo are trying to reclaim it as their own. 💪

But I’m also amused by the fact that the owners would totally say “be evil and scary but plz don’t hurt anyone.”

[charmerquilled]

It’s probably something the colorists overlooked ( I mean, they couldn’t decide on Xayah’s hair throughout the month ), but even in his ‘redeemed’ state, Rakan’s eyes are still GOLDEN in hue, just like they were when corrupted by Zoe’s magic. 

But as seen in this icon from a flashback, they were blue before the whole dying event on the lonely planet. 

Maybe, they remain a golden yellow because he balances corruption much like Xayah. Not on a grander scale than she does, but it will always be apart of him. I mean, It literally breathed life back into Rakan, thus it will always flow in his veins. So much like the purple streak in Xayah’s hair, it’s one of unique visual traits that remained within him! 

And honestly. He’s fine with that. It really makes his eyes pop...

[charmerquilled]

   Continued from here!~ 

--  @stahri-light​

     A soft snort was given to elude an actual response. Honestly, Rakan’s memories of the past - before the whole dying thing - were fuzzy at best. Zoe twisted them so badly, that there might as well be a body buried below the tombstone that Ahri had perched herself upon.

     The man who he once was....well. 

     He currently isn’t standing here now. 

     Or so the Lhotlan believed. 

    That all changed...and not in a way anyone ever wanted. The she-fox was right about that.

     Broken fractals of memories floated around the shattered remains of his head like fragments. Some of them were sharp and he tried to avoid those. But sometimes, that was futile. They had a funny way of piercing the side of his skull in one way or another that hurt. The others were frustratingly out of his reach, and he doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to grab ahold of those. And a certain few could be captured like firelights, if only briefly. They always had a short blast of warm memories. Of the team smiling, goofing off, and laughing. Then everything went dark.

     Distracted hands encouraged a few shriveled blooms upon the graves to open, but his ears perked in attention at the sweet song of magic. But the distortion of the melody made a chill go down the length of his spine. Oh no. Talonsteps hurried too him over to observe the magic that hovered within his friend’s hold.  Rakan breathed out a shaky breathe of disbelief. No. No, no, no...

    “Ahri...” Concern filled the depths of his voice. Large but gentle hands attempted to reach out, but there was a moment of hesitation. Zoe’s laugh teasingly haunted him in the back of his mind like a ghost.

    Quickly, he snuffed out the light, and allowed his hands to hold both of the vulpine’s pristine palms close to his chest. There was this habitual NEED to absorb the darkness, like he had done for his beloved Xayah so many times. 

    But no words were exchanged for a few heartbeats. If only the quickened pace of his breath could speak for itself.  

    “How long, Ahri? Tell me the truth.” He squeezed her hands, finally.  “How long has this been happening?”