#League of Legends Trading Cards

[thedemonlady]

First look at Kayn's card in the new LoL Trading Card Game - "Project K"

How to play

[aurelion-solar]

Project K: The League of Legends TCG coming in 2025 Watch the trailer here!

[mayalet]

An artist trading card of Viktor from Arcane I did for jaqielimanu on insta :D

We did a little Viktor art trade! He is definitely one of my fav characters from that show :D

[waytray]

apparently there's going to be a Viktor deck, and i'm so excited for that (it's the only one I'm interested in!) here's the link to the twitter post: https://x.com/riotgames/status/1864822063409541324

and here's some screenshots of the mention of the viktor deck, and screenshots of viktor cards:

[hardcoregamer]

Details are scarce, but according to Riot, the game "has unique gameplay and is best when played with friends and in person." That doesn't say much, but they also shared a few of the cards, which show League characters like Viktor, Jinx, Volibear and Yasou, alongside location cards including the Zaun Warrens, which lets you get a small taste of what to expect.

[daretolovemyrambling]

the Medarda Clan

(picture above is from the arcane artbook, it's concept art for Mel, Kino, Ambessa and Kino's unnamed father. Mel's father isn't named or shown anywhere yet)

I don't think Arcane necessarily retconned this, so I wanted to talk about the Medarda Clan in the League of Legends Universe.

Mel Medarda, while banished from Noxus, likely still retained a high status because a part of the Medarda family also resides in Piltover.

It makes sense that Medarda family members don't just reside in Noxus. Ambessa says herself that she send Mel to Piltover in order to oversee their family's interests. And would it really be called "Medarda House" by Piltover residents if only Mel is in it? Mel would have also been only about 23 when she enters Piltover and 26 when she was a councelor in season 1 act 1 (here is a timeline I made for arcane: x) it's insane, even for her, to establish a well respected house in such a short time in Piltover.

In Legends of Runeterra (a Riot card game that explores the world of Runeterra in more detail), there is a card named Jae Medarda.

His description reads: "Heir apparent to Piltover's prestigious Clan Medarda, Jae preferred hunting ancient artifacts over managing the family business... much to his father's chagrin."

There also some other Medarda family members that we know of; on the League website you can find a map named "Medarda Heirloom", it shows trading routes the Medarda's use. It's a pretty old map though, I think it's from 2016 so I wouldn't really say this very relevant.

On the map you can find a letter by a Medarda Merchant named Jago writen to his nephew, Salob, who seems at risk of being banished.

I tried my best to make out every word:

Nephew Salob,

As much as I am forced to admire your frankly staggering & baffling level of self-belief in the face of numerous failures, failures that would have punctured the ego of the staunchest Zaunite braggart. I would like to confirm, in writing, that control of the Medarda Clan's commerical portfolio and access to the clan trade map. Which you have long coveted, shall not be granted to you - not now - not in time - nor never.

I suggest you take on a profession more befitting your natural talents - perhaps as a chem-lamp lighter - and be grateful to your aunt, my dear wife, that your ties with the clan are not severed completly.

This will be the end of the matter.

Sincerly,

Jago Medarda

The Medarda family seems to love exiling children that don't fit into the family.

I think Jago is now kind of retconned if Arcane is the new canon, or he's at the very least not the head of the clan and has married into the family. Sun Gates are what made a lot of the families in Piltover rich 200 years ago, it's not mentioned in arcane but we do see them in some arcane maps.

In Arcane Ambessa mentions that she fought battles from the Bloodcliffs to the Dalamor Plains. The Black Rose mentions that she might have had an affair while travelling through Basilich, at least fake-Kino claims that this is the area he heard rumors about Ambessa's affair in. I marked all these places with a red dot on the Runeterra map. Basilich is a Port City, if the affair really did happen here, Mel's father could be from any place in Runeterra.

I'm hoping they will expand on the Medarda family in the future, the Ambessa book will likely have some interesting lore about them in it. It comes out in Feb 2025.

From the Synopsis we already know that there will be a cousin of Ambessa that is named Ta’Fik. I'm guessing he knows that Ambessa had an affair and has bad blood with the Black Rose.

Ambessa Medarda: Warrior, general, mother. She is a woman to be feared, and the Medardas are unrivaled in their pursuit of glory. She has led conquests and armies. She has slain legendary beasts. She has made grave sacrifices in her ascent up the ranks. And for this she was rewarded: She entered the realm of death and was granted a vision of herself upon the throne of the vast Noxian empire. But before she can lead her empire, she must become head of her own clan. Yet the title is contested by her cousin and former confidante, Ta’Fik. He knows the bloody sins of Ambessa’s past. And he knows he cannot allow her to rise. They will fight a war for the very soul of the Medardas. But the war won’t be fought on battlefields alone. Ambessa’s daughter, Mel, can deftly break through the walls around anyone’s heart, and she’ll put her talents to use for her mother. Yet despite Mel’s strength, Ambessa sees only a child who lacks her killer instincts. Mel knows she can be the leader Ambessa wants her to be, if only she gives her time. With her family betraying her, enemies closing in on all sides, and unseen forces moving in the shadows, every day proves more dangerous than the last. But Ambessa will not bow. She will burn the world down to claim her place in it.

[brvans]

i cant stop thinking 'bout how it's canon ellies a fucking nerd. like it's just too cute. we obviously all know she loves her Savage Starlight comics and trading cards, but think about everything else she'd be into. definitely into tabletop RPGs like D&D, Warhammer, and Starfinder. also collects Pokémon and Magic the Gathering cards. as for video games, she's a Dark Souls girlie through and through. throw some League of Legends and World of Warcraft in there too.

she is me and i am her. my cutie patootie.

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Introducing Project K: The League of Legends Trading Card Game

A FUCKING PHYSICAL CARD GAME?! Wasn’t driving LoR into the dirt not insult enough? Oh this just REEKs “short-lived cashgrab”, especially with the re-used art assets. Which is a shame because as a previous MTG obsessed I should be the perfect target group for it but... I gotta be real my expectations are in the absolute shitter for this one.

Physical TCGs in MTGs tradition are just so predatory in their distribution model and pricing they make GW look like a charity. Also, the cards in this vid looks sorta cheap? Oh I can’t wait for them to flop on that one...

[timebegins-onopeningday]

Baseball asks, rpf-flavored

in honor of me forgetting to do round up posts for two months, I bring you a baseball rpf ask game:

60ft, 6 inches: What is your all-time pitcher-catcher romance and what would get them to confess their feelings for each other?

Trade bait: You can make two trades for your team for anyone in the MLB or MiLB. What two players do you trade for to create a top tier romance with existing players on the team?

We found love in a hopeless place: Whose relationship(s) are you powerfully compelled by on a team you absolutely hate, and why?

Cher - Believe.mp3: You have control of the clubhouse aux and you are determined to create some situations. What are you playing to set the mood and who in the clubhouse is the first to break?

Rule 5 romance: what rookies do you wish to see ascend the heights of AO3? And with whom?

Minor league blues: Which of your favorite fringe or minor league players are holding hands on the 9 hour bus ride to the next game? Are they doomed by the narrative or will they be franchise legends?

Sizzle reel: What is the wildest comment you've ever seen a player leave on the teammate's instagram and what are 3 ways their teammate could have responded?

Hall of Fame: Favorite romance between retired players and what you think they're up to now.

Hot Stove SZN: Create a chosen/found family or polycule (either existing on your team or through a series of convoluted trades) and tell us what tasks they canNOT be trusted with in the (club)house.

Pregame chess: Who is compelled by the raw sexual energy that the dweebiest player on your team exudes when he gloats over winning clubhouse card games?

Pennant race: Your favorite doomed romance between players on two rival teams and what bad decisions they make during the regular season or playoffs.

Cactus League: Who's taking their teammate(s) to In'n'Out for the first time and falling in love over milkshakes and lukewarm french fries?

Grapefruit League: Who's taking their teammate(s) to Waffle House and falling in love over a shared stack of pecan waffles?

Chosen One 4 Draft Pick #614: Who is your favorite superstar/just some guy romance and what does the superstar love about just some guy that makes him go "if you don't clap and cheer for him I'll blow this whole ballpark up"?

Time Begins on Opening Day: What's the most romantic thing about baseball and how will you leverage this into a love story for the ages?

[bsodas]

i was not expecting for ana to get any attention on artfight because her reference material is so old, but I thought i’d post a bit more of her anyway, even if this art is also…old

random accompanying facts:

- i am a terminal league of legends fan but gwen had no influence over her design, anastasie has been around far longer than my LoL obsession

- she has two- sorry, three siblings, and they all carry the same playing card aesthetic. Ana carries the diamonds symbol :]

- her scissors’ name is Sterling and it is her prized possession

you can find ana and all my other characters on my artfight below! I’m trying to revenge every attack this year

cheers!

[inventors-fair]

As Seen on TV: Cross Over, Design Through Runners Up

~

Our runners up this week are @brookeuwo, @misterstingyjack, and @xenobladexfan!

@brookeuwo — Gavilar Kholin, A Biography from The Stormlight Archives

Read Deeper is immediately a fantastic addition to the mechanics of Sagas, so I want to zero in on it for a second. The main benefit of Sagas is the largely automatic nature of their effects. You pay the cost once and—short of any additional chapter-specific costs like The Hunstman's Redemption—it does its thing for no additional investment. Asking for mana midways through opens a lot of doors, not least because the predictable nature of Sagas means that it's very easy to plan around in advance. It's a bit of a commitment, though, and investing in the Read Deeper cost and finding that you don't have enough mana left for your other plays, or vice versa, is pretty heartbreaking. It's the good kind, though. Also, if my understanding of what's being suggested by the formatting is correct, the Read Ahead can be placed on any of the chapters in a design. Perhaps even multiple? I like it. Admittedly I'm not entirely sure how well it represents the property of origin, but this is a well-made enough card that I'm fully willing to trust you know what you're doing.

@misterstingyjack — Jinx, Chaotic Instigator from League of Legends

Lamp oil! Rope! Bombs! Er...well, we've really only got that last one, but we've got a lot of them. Bomb counters are extremely interesting to me for one big reason: the word "tapped." Because they obviously change how you interact with the game (namely what exactly you're aiming your removal at), but putting the impetus on the opponent as well does a lot towards making the mechanic feel impactful for both sides. I also appreciate the built-in rip cord of a single detonation defusing everything else unless you hit them with a board wipe. Jinx herself is very strong, although the mandatory random discard is definitely enough to give you pause for thought. That said, I do worry that she's capable of piling the explosives a bit too high, too fast. Shoving all the bombs on one hapless permanent is essentially a Pacifism, and even though your opponent can simply leave it off to the side, a single well-placed removal spell is suddenly capable of shaving off huge chunks of their life. A "do this only once each turn" could go a long way.

@xenobladexfan — Trove Discovery from Xenoblade Chronicles X

Just getting the formatting gripes out of the way immediately: I'm going to assume that Segment Recon isn't intended to be an ability word given the precedent of Cases, so it's fine being unitalicized and you could probably also have recon be lowercase. That said, you should be using an em dash here, as colons are largely reserved for denoting costs. Okay, with that out of the way: this is really cool! I brought them up briefly, but this does really feel to me like a divergent take on Cases, trading an easier condition for the need to fulfill it turn after turn. I liked Cases, so naturally I'm going to like this too. I do think this is a bit on the unexciting side as a first foot forward for the mechanic, although a green common that cares about Treasures does actually say a lot about the environment of the set it's in. Still, there's more than enough here to imagine others of its kind. Although—with the usual disclaimer that I don't know enough about the source to be fully confident saying this—"Segment" feels like a bit of an awkward name for the card type. "Recon" is right on the money, but...I dunno, I'm struggling to picture what exactly the thing being depicted on the card is "segment" of. Perhaps something more like "node" to play them up as geographical features? Still, strong start.

~

And that's a wrap! Universes Beyond contests are always simultaneously the most fun and the most exhausting to run, but I've got a bit more left in me. If you're looking for commentary on your entry, swing by our discord for the rest of the day and I'll be happy to give my two cents. —@spooky-bard

[collidescopeeyes]

Time is a Roulette Wheel

Pyke: Pt 3

League of Legends | Pyke x F!Reader

Chapters: Prologue | Viego | Pyke: 1 - 2 - 3

Read the whole thing on AO3 here

SFW

He’s on deck tying nets. It's simple work, but time consuming. Over, around, cinch, repeat. Shanks is chattering to him about something or other, but Pyke's long since started tuning him out.

Across the deck, Iso laughs. He glances up without meaning to. She's talking to the wind mage, Addison; they need to stay on deck while they channel the breeze, and they like company. She tucks her hair behind her ear, blown loose by the wind, and he watches for a moment as she mimes something to accompany whatever story she's telling. He's never been the type to get distracted by a pretty face, but something about her draws him in like a fish on a line. Always has, ever since that first day when he realized she was one of the few honest things about a dishonest town.

He notices a suspicious silence. He glances to the side to see Shanks watching him, or rather watching him watch her. There's a grin on the other man's face he doesn't like. “So, when you finally pop the question, am I gonna be your best man?” Shanks crows, elbowing him in the side. Pyke lets his unimpressed glare be all the answer he needs, and Shanks leans back, hands in the air. “Alright, point taken, you scary motherfucker. God, you're the only man who could ship out with a real bed and a beautiful, talented woman to warm it and still be as sour as an old fucking lemon, y'know that?” He doesn't bother to respond to that. Over, around, cinch. Shanks presses on, undeterred. “You are gonna ask her to marry you, right? Truso’s gotta be paying you enough to afford a nice ring.”

His hands pause on the net. “Never thought about it,” he grunts, and that's true enough. Pyke's never been good with sweet words or grand gestures, not unless she wanted him to kill a giant fish for her. She's never mentioned wanting to get married. Was it even the same, where she's from? He's never asked, and she gets antsy when her past is brought up–he would too, if answering the wrong question had him coughing up glass. He looks at her and thinks my wife, and that's a pleasant enough thought. Never thought he'd be much of a husband, though. Never thought he'd find anyone he wanted to stick around for in the first place, either.

“Unbelievable, you are!” Shanks scoffs. “Haven’t thought of it, Bearded Lady’s hairy tits, man. How’d you land her, anyway? Certainly wasn't with your shining personality.”

Good question. Shanks is a pest, but he's not wrong. He shrugs. “She picked me.”

“C'mon, gotta be more to it than that,” Teal, another harpooner, plops down on the deck next to them. He makes no move to help with the netting. “How'd you meet? Bar?”

“He'll tell you if you help with the bloody net,” Shanks offers in what he probably thinks is a tantalizing voice. Pyke shoots him a glare, but Teal picks up a rope and starts working, and his knotwork is respectable so he supposes letting them pry into his personal life isn't the worst trade.

He sighs. “Buddy down at the slaughter docks nearly had his arm taken off, heard her clinic was good at stuff like that. She gave me a decent price, so I came back when I busted my leg. Lost my purse, but she offered to let me work it off porting for a personal project. Gig was decent, so I kept it on the side.”

There's a moment of silence. “That's it?” Teal says expectantly. “Nothing else?”

He thinks back. “We played cards a lot?” He says hazily.

Teal squints at him. “And she just, what, randomly decided to jump you one day?”

Over, around, cinch. “Pretty much.” Not that he hadn't been just as surprised. Plenty of looks linger on his arms and his muscles, he's not blind. He's got a mean face and a sour attitude to go with it, though, and not many women want to stick around for that. He'd been pleasantly surprised by her interest, but if you'd told him then she still wouldn't be sick of him in a years time he'd have thought you were full of shit.

“You motherfucker, I had money riding on this,” Teal hisses. “I thought for sure there would be alcohol involved.”

“I mean, why you?” Shanks laments. “Just why?”

“Because he's loyal and considerate and handsome, and if I hear this question again I'm going to start disinfecting wounds with vinegar,” Iso says mildly, her arms crossed. The other two were so focused on him they didn't notice her walking up. Shanks startles so badly he almost goes overboard, and Teal ducks his head in shame. Pyke staunchly continues his work, though that's really not a combination of words he would have expected anyone to apply to him.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Shanks says sheepishly, Teal mumbling the same. She nods, gives him a smile, and walks off.

“...you know we're just giving you shit, right?” Shanks says a moment later. “We're happy for you, really.”

“Shut up and tie the line,” Pyke sighs.

---

They collect more sea-beasts than they can store and start heading back a day ahead of schedule. No Jaull-fish yet, but you refuse to let your guard down until you're both safely back on shore.

You've thought about asking him to quit before. You're comfortable enough without the money. Seeing him out here changes your mind; this is his element, and he's worked damn hard to be here. You can't ask him to give that up for something that might not even happen now.

(Putting aside if he even would, just because you asked, but you don't want to think about that)

A week out from home, you're woken in the middle of the night by yelling. You push yourself up off of Pyke's chest muzzily, and he makes an irritated noise. There's a bell going off in a rhythmic pattern; Pyke listens for a moment before groaning “Pirates.”

You clamber to your feet and quickly start changing into your day clothes. Pyke, likewise, sits up and starts shoving his feet into his boots, grumbling. Despite being such an early riser, he hates being woken up. He shrugs on his cloak and passes you your knife belt, before rolling his shoulders and trudging out the door.

The deck is lousy with sailors running to and fro, getting ready to receive the ship plowing towards you. “Iso, good!” Truso catches you by the shoulder, stuffing what has to be far too many flintlocks in his belt. “I don't know how comfortable you are in a fight, but–”

“Pretty comfortable,” you say easily. He sags in relief.

“Perfect, as you were then,” he gives you a thumbs up and then immediately spots someone with a keg of something they shouldn't and strides off, yelling.

“Doc!” A sailor you vaguely recognize appears by your side. “If someone gets hit by a cannonball, how much of them needs to be in one piece for you to fix em?”

“Why?” You ask warily. He points at the railing, where Shanks is swinging a pair of bolas wrapped in a wet cloth.

“He reckons he can land it in a cannon barrel before it goes off, so it backfires,” he explains.

You look at Pyke in wonder. “How the fuck have you not died already?”

He shrugs.

—

“I get it now!” Shanks announces, huddling behind a crate as he frantically reloads his pistols. “She's with you because she's fucking crazy!”

Pyke barely spares him a glance. Any second now this bastard shooting at them is going to have to reload, and then Pyke is going to yank him onto their deck and stab him in the face–

Iso goes launching onto the enemy ship, using the crate they're covering behind as a step up. Love of his life plunging headfirst into active gunfire aside, he's not one to waste an opportunity, so he stands and launches his harpoon into the gunners shoulder and drags him against the railing Iso has just landed on. She doesn't even spare him a glance, just kicks him hard in the temple and moves on. Pyke doesn't make the conscious decision to go after her, but nonetheless finds himself halfway across the deck.

“That's what I'm fucking talking about!” Shanks yells as Pyke scales the rope still stuck between gunner and the railing. “Crazy!”

She moves like she has no concept she could even get hurt. He crests the railing in time to watch her throw knife after knife, hilts to throats and skulls and eyes. Two men approach from her side–he rips his blade from the body and throws it at the furthest one's knee, piercing it from the side, and pulls the rope taut to trip the other. She turns and launches a knife into his head before he even hits the ground, but in her distraction another pirate pulls a sword on her. He yells before he even registers the warning leaving his mouth, and she turns in time to take the blade through the shoulder instead of the throat. She kicks, sending the man stumbling back, and then rips the blade out of her shoulder and cuts him down. There's barely even blood on her shirt, how fast she healed herself. No pause in her movements from the pain, just focus in her eyes as she moves to the next target.

“Iso!” He yells, voice harsh with anger and adrenaline and a bone deep fear he's never quite felt before. The next pirate between them gets his blade to their throat, and he doesn't stop to look as he rips it out of them, just keeps heading her way. She glances at him as he approaches, and it's like she doesn't even recognize him for a moment. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” She blinks, and the fog clears, like she's coming back from somewhere far away. She glances down at the tear in her shirt where the blade was like she's only just noticed it.

“I liked this shirt,” she says mournfully. Someone swings at her, and she ducks under it and plants a knife in their gut.

“Stop getting stabbed, then,” he suggests tersely, catching a sword swing on his harpoon blade. “There's no fixing dead.”

She has the audacity to snort at him as she knifes the wielder of the blade he's fending off. A tide of sailors floods the deck, heartened by their charge. He sticks close behind her, watching her back and creating opportunities for her to strike, and together their knives cut bloody swathes through the pirates. He's never had much problem with fighting pirates, but there's a new viciousness in him with her on the line. It's a swift battle, but brutal, and they come out on top.

After, Iso fixes up their wounded, and Pyke watches her. Not for the first time, he's struck with the sensation that he's caught a glimpse of a ghost, that someone she used to be rose to the surface for just a moment. She fights like a pit rat, like someone who's been doing it so long that fighting feels like home. Her hands are soft and she doesn't have any scars to speak of, but she fights like she ought to. She has a past, and he won't ask because she can't tell, but he wonders.

She tucks her hair behind her ear as she sends the last of the wounded off, and blood smears on her cheek. He frowns. He knows where she keeps the clean cloths, at least–she’s particular where she puts things back home, and it's the same here. She gives him a soft smile when he kneels down and starts cleaning her hands off.

“You scared the shit out of me out there,” he tells her. She looks sheepish, at least. “I know you can fix yourself, but that doesn't make watching you get hurt easy.”

She shrugs one shoulder uncertainly. “I just…I’m used to it, I guess. Didn't have much choice, back when…” and she pauses, swallowing, feeling the edges of her curse.

He wants to ask, but knowing her she might just try to answer, so he doesn't. He folds the cloth over and wipes the blood from her cheek. “Goes both ways, y'know,” he says instead. Her brow creases in confusion. “You die, I'm gonna kill you.”

She laughs. “You don't have to worry about that.”

A knock on the door frame. “Cap wants you, Pyke,” he glances over to see a sailor, one of the men who prepares the sea-beasts for transport. “We’re stealing their grog and sending the survivors off with enough to get to land.”

Iso perks up. “There are drinks on the table?”

—

He forgot Iso is a lightweight. She doesn't tend to drink much at home, though most drinks in Bilgewater are watered down piss anyway so he's never thought much of it. The tipsiest he's ever seen her was at a going-away party for one of her regular patients and his old crew mate, a newly-wed couple off to try their luck in Piltover–to be fair, he'd also probably had too much to drink, because his only clear memories of that night are arriving, a cask of Freljordian mead, Iso trying to jump him in the back, and then trying to walk home carrying her while she mouthed at his neck and did her level best to wreck his tenuous self-control. This is probably as bad.

She's singing a shanty from her home, and aside from the fact that he's never heard of a place called France, it's hardly any different from the ones he's heard. She bellows the last line, and someone else picks up with another song as she catches her breath. She turns to look at him, eyes bright, and the way she smiles at him does something funny to his insides. He's not exactly sober either, he'll admit. She makes her way across the galley to the corner he's claimed–he’s not one for being the center attention, and everyone wanted a piece of hers after the stunt she pulled.

“Pyke,” she croons as she reaches him, half falling against his side. She rests her head against his chest and looks up at him through those pretty lashes of hers. He winds an arm around her waist, and she’s so soft that sometimes he feels like he's committing some sort of sacrilege just by touching her. His hands are made for bone and salt and blood, not softness or sweetness. “I can't believe your name is actually Pyke. I thought that was a nickname. Cuz of the, y'know,” she mimes throwing a harpoon. “Although I don't know what it'd be short for. Pycheal!” she says, then bursts out laughing at her own joke.

He frowns down at her. “That's like saying Iso is short for…” he pauses, struggling with his limited vocabulary. “Isometric?” He's pretty sure that's a word he's heard her say before.

She laughs. “Fuck, I dunno, maybe it is. I just picked it.”

He looks at her curiously. “Not the name you were born with?”

She shakes her head. “Wasn't allowed to use my old one, when I came here.” She gestures at her throat and he nods in sudden understanding. “I dunno why. Most of the rules make sense, but my name? Why the fuck does that matter?” She looks off into the distance, frowning. “All the Voidspawn have weird names. Maybe it's just important for them.”

He blinks. His understanding of the Void goes as far as that it's a big problem somewhere far away from here. “What does that have to do with…” he pauses, then shakes his head. He doesn't need to know, and she probably shouldn't answer.

She looks up at him again, this time with an odd look in her eyes. Remorseful, almost. “Sorry I got stabbed. And for jumping on the pirate ship. People kept calling me crazy and I realized that that's because that was a crazy thing to do, and I thought that if you did something crazy like that I'd be pretty mad at you, so. Sorry.”

He must be drunk, because the next thing out of his mouth is “D’you wanna marry me?”

She blinks at him. “Like, now?”

It's not a no. He swallows, trying to conceal the way his heart is flopping in his chest like a beached trout. “Sure.”

She squints. “Do you have a ring? Do people even use rings here?”

“Doesn't have to be a ring,” he says. “Buhru tradition is a trophy from a hunt. My ma got a shark tooth."

She blinks up at him, then pokes one of the shark teeth he wears on his belt. “Okay. Give me that one.”

He looks at the tooth she's pointing at. “What, just that one? You don't want a…special one?”

“That one is special, it's yours,” she says earnestly. “Some big fucking fish tried to kill you, and you said no. Just keep doing that, keep coming back home to me, and I'll marry you as many times as you want.”

He's not good with words, and his tongue feels thick in his mouth, so he just reaches over and snaps the tooth off its chain. She beams as he hands it to her, and he watches in bemusement as she bends down and undoes one of the leather laces for her tall boots. She fishes a knife out and cuts it halfway, and then sets the tooth against the wall and strikes it in the center as if her knife was a chisel. It cracks into two halves, the edges slightly jagged where they fit together, which she binds up as pendants with her improvised leather cords. Her creations complete, she stands up on her toes to loop one around his neck.

He swallows harshly as the bone settles against his skin. She hands him the other and turns around, pulling her hair out of the way, and he’s never been so careful about tying a knot in his life. When it's done, she turns to smile at him, and there isn't a thing on this earth that could stop him from kissing her in that moment.

—

You wake up with the worst headache you've ever had. You groan, throwing your arm over your eyes to block the light.

“Not even magic fixes hangovers, huh?” Pyke rumbles. You decide that wedging your face in between his arm and his side is much more effective means of blinding yourself.

“Aren't you supposed to be doing, iunno, sailor stuff?” You croak.

“Cap’n gave us a honeymoon off,” he says. His fingers trace up and down your spine. “May have had a few words with him about my wife getting stabbed under his employ.”

Oh yeah. That happened. Vague memories return to you about necklaces, and then Shanks insisting on doing a ceremony, and then a lot more drinking. “Do you think Shanks is actually a priest?” You wonder aloud. He claimed very loudly to be, but by that point he was also insisting he had personally executed the pirate's captain, so.

“Does it matter?” he asks.

You suppose it doesn't. It's Bilgewater–not like there's a marriage registry. Laws are only laws insofar as anyone can be fucked to enforce them. If Shanks said he was a priest, then fuck it, you may as well be married now. You lift your head up and rest your chin on his chest, next to the pendant. He cracks one sea-glass green eye and looks at you, not quite smiling but as at peace as you've ever seen him, and you think no, it really doesn't matter. You're happy right here, right now.

—

“Tell me again,” you grit out.

The captain–no point remembering his name, he's a dead man walking anyway–shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably. “There was a Jaull-fish. It almost sunk the ship. Pyke was already in the water, and the lines snapped–”

“Don't fucking lie to me,” you snap. “You cut the lines.”

He flinches, and tries to cover it with a scowl. “Ma’am, I know it's tough to hear, but I don't appreciate what you're insinuating–”

“I'm not insinuating anything,” you hiss. “You know what you did, and if you weren't already as good as dead I'd kill you my fucking self. Now get out of my house.”

“Ma’am–” he tries. You hurl a knife at him, and it embeds itself in the wall next to his head. He gets the message and leaves.

After, you sag against the floor. Stupid. Stupid, stupid man got himself eaten by a stupid fucking fish, and you were a stupid idiot for thinking that he wouldn't. It wasn't even the Terror–when he left, he said it was named something stupid, something to do with Guppies. Why was it still a Jaull-fish? What changed? What didn't change? What the fuck do you do now?

You scrub your wet eyes, trying to reign your breathing in. Fine. So he got eaten by a fish. He'll come back. With a list of names being manipulated by fish from the bottom of the world, sure, but he'll come back, and you'll fix him. You just have to find him first.

—

“Wh-what do you want with me?” The sailor asks, after he wakes up. One convenient thing about being a doctor is no one thinks much of you buying chloroform.

“Me? Nothing,” you say, watching him struggle against the rope. “But Pyke does, and I've got some strong words to have with him.”

His eyes go perfectly round. “P-Pyke’s not…he's dead, lady, I-I’m sorry, but he is, I saw him go down myself–”

“I know,” you say grimly. “That's why you're here.”

—

“Pyke?” You say cautiously. He looks up at you as he rips his blade from the sailors throat. You're not broken up about it–you’d followed the man for weeks before you got a chance to nab him, and he was a real piece of shit.

Pyke turns to look at you, and it's like seeing double. That's your husband, the man you've grown to love over the last two years, and it's the corpse you were expecting to see ever since you met. He looks almost the same as the day he left, except there's a trifecta of scars running across his face and his eyes glow with an unearthly blue. You already miss his eyes, the sea-glass green, the warmth in them. Now he looks at you like a stranger. “Pyke, it's me,” you urge, willing recognition into those awful blue eyes.

His eyes narrow. “You look…familiar. What's your name?”

“Iso,” you prompt, cautiously approaching with your hands up. The list is already in his hand from the last guy, but surely he already knows the names on it–was the Deep manipulating it already? Was he ever after the crew that got him killed? He glances it over, then frowns and shakes his head.

“That's not…” his voice is thick with confusion and his eyes are hazy. Then he glares at you. “Tell me your real name.”

You blink, an awful strangling feeling between hope and despair straining your voice. “How do you know that? Think, Pyke. You know I can't tell you.” Another step.

His eyes go to the list again. “Iso…Iso?” He mutters under his breath. “I don't know an…” he shakes his head furiously, clutching it with a groan. You wait with baited breath. For one glorious moment, there's a spark of recognition in his eyes–and then it fades, fogging over. He tilts his head, as if he's listening to something you can't hear, then shakes his head. “You're not on my list,” he says.

You're close enough. You launch yourself at him, sweeping his legs out and pinning him to the dirty warehouse floor. You feel him trying to come apart under your hands, his edges going damp and indefinite with seawater that isn't quite there, but you grip his time tight and force it back, back–until you can't anymore. It's the same feeling you got when you tried to rewind yourself back home, that something had changed so fundamentally that what you are and who you were are only connected in your mind, that the past was so far away nothing could ever bring it back. That the man you know is the gone.

“No, nonono,” you plead. Pyke looks up at you with blank, uncomprehending, blue eyes. “Give him back, you piece of shit. Give him back to me!”

“What are you–?” You can stop him from turning to sea mist under your hands, at least, wind him back to solid. He's trying to leave. Fucker. “Get off me.”

You grip him by the collar and pull him up, searching his eyes for something, anything. “Can they hear me, your new bosses? Can you hear me, you fish fucks? I'll kill you. I've killed bigger and worse and you picked the wrong man to take.”

He hisses under his breath, apparently giving his newfound ocean powers up and resorting to good old fashioned violence. He swings, and you duck back in time to avoid taking a fist to the face, but as your balance shifts he surges up and throws you off him. For a moment he looks at you, obviously torn, and then he vanishes.

“You motherfucker,” you seethe into the empty night.

—

You hunt him more intently than any bounty hunter. You don't really stop him from killing anyone, mind–near as you can tell everyone he kills makes Bilgewater a better place, but honestly in a town like this you could throw a knife in any given direction and accomplish that. You don't know where he goes when he's not on the hunt, but he only seems to come up in proximity to a dead body. Still, you dog his every step like a bloodhound. He doesn't quite try to kill you, but you obviously unsettle him, and he does everything in his power to avoid you short of giving up a kill.

“Who are you?” He demands, after the third time you track him down. “Why won't you fuck off already?”

You fish your pendant out of your clothes. “I'm your wife, you ungrateful fuck, and when you finally get your memories back in that thick skull you're gonna feel like a real asshole.”

His fingers go to his cloak, where his matching one would rest underneath the fabric. “A wife? No, I don't have a…” and this is the part that shits you off the most. That moment of clarity where he almost, almost recognizes you, and then it slips away. He clutches his head, and there it is, the cusp of understanding dragged away by whatever voices drive him now. He looks back up at you, and there's something oddly desperate in his voice when he grits out “You're not on my list. I don't know what you're trying to do or who you think I am, but you're wrong. Leave me alone.”

“Not happening,” you hiss, even as he turns and dives into the water. He's right, though, as much as you hate to admit it–this wasn't working. Being around you wasn't jogging any memories, and if it was, the Deep smothers then back down. Maybe you needed to go directly to the source, then.

—

“This is new,” you note. Pyke's blue eyes stare at you from the reflection of the water. You were only on this pier to drink your woes away–he's never sought you out before, and despite yourself, hope rises in you. “Is it cuz I killed that Jaull-fish?”

“You what?” He says, confused.

You sigh. “Guess not. Didn't help, by the way. Don't know if you've ever tried to negotiate with a giant murder fish, but they don't fold easy, even when they're drowning.” You rewound miles of ocean to before it was ever a sea just to air-drown a fucking fish, and it still got you nothing but a raging headache, a week comatose, and some increasingly exaggerated rumors about yourself, courtesy of the boat you paid to bring you out there.

He's quiet for so long you would've thought him gone, if not for his reflection in the water. Then, he sits heavily next to you on the docks, his blade in his lap. “Deep calls to me,” he says slowly, like he's not sure how to explain it. “In a thousand voices, all of them wanting blood. You make them go quiet, and they don't like that.” He presses his thumb to the edge of his blade. “They don't like that you call to me, too.”

You slide him a sideways look. “Do you even still have it?” You ask tiredly. “The pendant?”

He hesitates a long moment, as if he's struggling to focus. Then he fishes it out from under his cloak and looks at it, brow furrowed. You sigh. “You made me a promise, on that tooth. You said you'd come back home to me. But you're not home, and you're not even you, and I don't know if you'll ever be again.” You scrub your face with your hands. It's been months since he died. You're so, so tired. “I don't know how to fix you, Pyke, and I…I don't even know if I can.”

“I don't…” he says slowly, then shakes his head. “My head’s not right, I know that. Things keep changing on me, and most of the time that doesn't matter to me, but with you I feel…” he trails off.

“Feel what?” You prompt.

“When you're drowning, it starts to feel like home, like peace. It's breathing again that hurts the most.” That burbling echo in his voice goes distant, and you don't have to look to know he's gone.

You drink alone on the pier.

—

You haul your equipment out to the hill again. Hiring another porter seems like a pain in the ass, and you made a lot of money off that Jaull-fish, so you buy the land and build a cottage on it. Clinic gets less traffic now that people think you're some kind of sea-god, anyway.

—

Sometimes you see blue eyes watching you from the dark. He never comes close, and you don't either. He made his choice.

—

You find it. Your world, or something that looks so close it makes your heart ache. You project it onto a full-length mirror frame and you watch the world that used to be yours go by, until the sun fully sets and the crystals in your telescope dim and your world slides out of focus again. The mirror shows nothing but your own reflection, slumped to your knees before it. You hadn't realized you were crying until you see the tear tracks on your face.

You sit there, in the dark, for a very long time.

—

Pyke stays gone, until you turn around one day and he's right there. “Fish finally convince you I need killing?” You ask dryly. It's the only reason you'll let yourself think of for him being here, and they're about to be real fucking disappointed if that was the case.

His wide eyes, which were fixed over your shoulder, fly to you. “No, that's not…” he shakes his head, and then drops his knife, holding his empty hands up imploringly. “Don't go. Please.”

Your brow furrows in confusion, and you follow his gaze to your mirror–he’s arrived just as the sunset hit your telescope, as the light cast a window to your world into your home. It probably said something about you, that for all that you've watched that mirror every day for the past month, your chest burning with grief, the second he shows back up you completely forget about it. You turn back to him slowly, heart in your throat. “Pyke?”

He takes a step towards you, and then pauses like he's not sure he should. “I remember now. The Kraken Priestess, she did something to me, and I…I'm sorry. I know I hurt you, and I know my head still isn't right but I…” he looks at you pleadingly. “I’m here. I came back home to you.”

“Took your fucking time,” you say, voice tight, and throw yourself into his arms.

—

After you're done crying, and then punching him in the arm, and then kissing him senseless, you curl up on the couch in front of the fire.

“I don't know if it's the same, if that's really back home,” you explain softly, your head on his chest. He doesn't have a heartbeat anymore, but somehow he's still warm, still smells like the sea. “Looks like it is, but honestly, even if I could figure out how to actually get there without opening a gaping hole in this reality, there's no guarentee it'd be where I came from. And that's putting aside that it's been decades since…” you trail off, your curse at the cusp of burning in your throat. Honestly, nature of parallel worlds being what it was and with your fucking luck, you'd probably end up in the KDA universe or something stupid like that.

“I wouldn't blame you, for leaving,” he says, voice rough and low. “I'd hate it, but I wouldn't blame you.”

You glance up at him, at his blue, blue eyes. Then you swing yourself up to sit in his lap, cupping his face between your palms. He wraps his arms around your back, letting you turn his head this way and that, examining his face. The well-healed ridges of his new scar, and the glow of his eyes–they make his gaze seem much more piercing than before, like a shark. He's gotten paler, too–not much sun where he spends his time, you suppose. He still looks like him. “Why are you back now?” You ask softly. “What changed?”

He's quiet for a moment. “What Illaoi did…put a new voice in my head, one that wasn't the Deep demanding blood. The Mother Serpent is a thing of flow, of moving towards what you want, and after that anger was gone…what I wanted most was you.”

You make a reminder to yourself to heal every Buhru you meet for free. “Is it gonna stick?” You ask, voice thready with uncertainty.

He glares at nothing in particular. “It will. I'll make it. They want me to do their killing, I'll do it on my terms.”

“How do you know they won't just…stop keeping you alive?” You ask hesitantly. Your fingers trace over his chest, next to his pendant, where a heartbeat would be if he had one. It scares the absolute fuck out of you, that your powers can't help him.

“Don't think they can, not anymore,” he shrugs, careful not to upset your balance. “Whatever I am now doesn't belong just to the Deep, Mother Serpent saw to that.”

You hesitate a moment. “I don't care, about the whole…Blood Harbor Ripper thing,” you tell him. “I mean, maybe I would if those people weren't complete fucking scumbags, but apparently the fish have morals, so whatever. It's just…you know those people you kill aren't what you think they are, right? They weren't there when you died.”

He's quiet for a long, long moment. “I know. At least, sometimes I do. Deep gives me a reason to hunt, but I've never been much fussed about killing people who deserve it anyway.” He looks up at you, frowning. “I'm…crazy, I know that much. I know I'm not what you married, anymore.”

“You are,” you insist. “I knew…I mean, I didn't want to admit it, and by God did I try to stop it, but…I knew this could be you, and I married you anyway, and I meant what I said when I did. I don't care about…fucking eldritch murder fishes, or their hitlist, or that you're only breathing when you need to talk. As long as you keep coming home to me, that's enough,” you tell him earnestly.

He lets out a soft breath, and a rough hand comes up to cup your cheek. “I love you. You know that, right?”

You lean into his touch. “Obviously. I love you too.”

He chuckles. “Good, ‘cause I haven't told you that I'm going to the Shadow Isles to kill Gangplank yet.”

You blink again, this time in confusion. “Wait, what? Why? Didn't Fortune already kill him?”

He shrugs. “Apparently not. Deep wants him dead, Nagakaborous wants him dead, I get to renegotiate my contract if I kill him. Everyone swims away happy.”

You frown. “I'm obviously coming with you. And before you get all fussy, I can take care of myself, I literally can't die, and I'm not letting you leave me again."

He blinks. “You…can't die," he repeats.

“Did I not mention that? I swear I mentioned that,” you say sheepishly.

He looks at you, blue eyes searching yours, and then sighs. “Not like I'm in any position to doubt. Besides, Fortune’s probably gonna be happier to see you than me.” You give him a confused look, and he shrugs. “Swimming to the Shadow Isles would take too long. Fortune wants him dead, Nagakaborous wants me to kill him, Fortune recruited Nagakaborous' priestess to help her kill him. And she has a ship."

“So you were gonna just show up and ask to join the murder party, because she hired someone whose god hired you to help kill a guy who should already be dead?" You summarize slowly. He nods. “Well, okay, yeah, Fortune probably wants Gangplank dead more than she cares that you're a wanted murderer. Wait, do the fish want you to kill Fortune?”

He shrugs again. “She's near the bottom of the list. I don't work overtime for free.”

You can't help it. You laugh, dropping your head against his shoulder. “What, like you're getting a salary? A benefits plan? You should unionize.”

“I'm their only employee, I've got all the bargaining power in the world,” he says easily. He cups your cheek, turning your face to his so he can kiss you softly. “They're not keeping me from you again, I swear it.”

You lean into him, feeling him warm and solid and here, him, finally just him. Your husband, the man you love and the man you've dreaded him becoming since you met and the man you knew deep down he was always going to be. You don't know what exactly the Deep wants with him, or where the wind blows from here, but you know you're going to face it together, and that's enough for you.

[namantogwe]

The Future of Fantasy Sports: What’s Next for Players?

Fantasy sports have grown from a niche hobby into a multi-billion-dollar industry, attracting millions of players worldwide. With advancements in technology, new formats, and increasing global participation, the future of fantasy sports looks brighter than ever. If you love to play fantasy sports, you’re in for some exciting changes in the coming years.

In this blog, we’ll explore emerging trends, technological advancements, and what’s next for fantasy sports enthusiasts.

The Growth of Fantasy Sports: Where We Are Today Fantasy sports have evolved significantly over the past decade. Initially, most leagues were season-long, requiring long-term commitment. Today, players can choose from a variety of formats, including daily fantasy sports (DFS), best-ball leagues, and real-money contests. Fantasy Sports by the Numbers: Over 100 million players worldwide participate in fantasy sports. The global fantasy sports market is projected to surpass $50 billion by 2030. The rise of fantasy cricket, esports, and niche sports has expanded the industry beyond football and basketball. The increasing demand for real-time stats, interactive features, and cash contests is shaping the next phase of fantasy sports.

The Impact of Technology on Fantasy Sports Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and augmented reality (AR) are revolutionizing the way we play fantasy sports. How Technology Is Changing the Game:

AI-Powered Fantasy Sports Platforms AI is helping players make data-driven decisions with real-time stats and predictions. Fantasy apps now provide automated lineup suggestions based on player performance trends. AI tools analyze injury reports, game conditions, and opponent matchups to improve team selection.

Blockchain and NFTs in Fantasy Sports Blockchain ensures fair play and transparency by securing player data. Some platforms use NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to allow users to own unique digital assets like virtual player cards. NFT-based fantasy leagues are emerging, where users can trade and sell digital players just like in real-world sports.

Augmented Reality (AR) Enhancing User Experience AR will soon allow users to visualize fantasy stats in real time using smart glasses or mobile devices. Fantasy platforms may introduce AR-driven draft rooms, where players can create immersive team selection experiences. These innovations will make fantasy sports more interactive and engaging than ever before.

The Rise of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and Real-Money Contests Traditional season-long fantasy leagues remain popular, but daily fantasy sports (DFS) have gained massive traction. Why DFS Is the Future of Fantasy Sports: Instant gratification – No need to wait an entire season to win; results are determined in a single day or week. More flexibility – Players can enter and exit contests whenever they want. Bigger prizes – Many DFS platforms offer large cash rewards for top performers. Top DFS Platforms: DraftKings & FanDuel – Leading DFS providers in the U.S. Dream11 & My 11Circle – Popular DFS platforms for cricket and other global sports. Underdog Fantasy & PrizePicks – Specializing in pick’em-style fantasy games. As regulations evolve, real-money fantasy sports will continue expanding worldwide, making DFS more accessible to global players.

The Growth of Fantasy Esports and Alternative Sports Fantasy sports aren’t just for traditional games like football and basketball anymore. Fantasy esports and niche sports are seeing rapid growth.

Fantasy Esports on the Rise With the booming popularity of League of Legends, Dota 2, and Call of Duty, esports fantasy leagues are growing. Platforms now allow users to draft professional esports players and compete for points based on real-game performance. Fantasy esports appeals to younger audiences who are more engaged in competitive gaming.

Expansion into Alternative Sports Fantasy sports are moving beyond mainstream leagues, covering MMA, Formula 1, cycling, and even golf. Sports fans now have more options to play fantasy sports beyond traditional team-based games. As new fantasy sports markets emerge, we can expect a broader range of competitions and contests.

Social and Community-Driven Fantasy Sports The future of fantasy sports isn’t just about winning—it’s about social engagement.

Private Leagues and Group Challenges More players are creating custom leagues with friends, family, and colleagues. Social media integration allows users to share lineups, trash talk, and track leaderboards easily.

Live Streaming and Fantasy Sports Platforms are combining fantasy sports with live streaming, allowing users to follow games while managing their teams. Twitch, YouTube, and other live-streaming services now feature fantasy sports-related content, including expert analysis and player breakdowns. The social aspect of fantasy sports will keep players engaged and create stronger fantasy communities.

What to Expect in the Future of Fantasy Sports As fantasy sports continue to evolve, we can expect several exciting trends:

AI Coaches and Personalized Insights AI-powered fantasy coaches will suggest roster changes, trade opportunities, and weekly lineup optimizations.

Virtual Reality (VR) Fantasy Drafts Future fantasy drafts may take place in VR environments, allowing users to interact with other players in a virtual draft room.

Expansion of Legalized Fantasy Sports Betting More countries are legalizing fantasy sports betting, making real-money fantasy competitions more widely available.

Cross-Sport Fantasy Contests Platforms may introduce fantasy leagues that combine multiple sports (e.g., drafting a team with both football and basketball players). With technology, social features, and new formats, fantasy sports will become even more immersive and competitive.

How to Stay Ahead in the Changing Fantasy Sports World To play fantasy sports successfully in this evolving landscape, you need to adapt and improve your strategies.

Stay Updated on New Platforms Try out new fantasy apps that offer AI-driven insights and innovative gameplay.

Experiment with Different Formats Don’t just stick to season-long leagues—explore DFS, NFT-based leagues, and alternative sports.

Follow Expert Analysis Subscribe to fantasy sports podcasts, YouTube channels, and expert blogs to gain insights.

Engage with the Fantasy Community Join online fantasy sports groups and social media discussions to share strategies and tips. By staying ahead of the trends, you can become a top fantasy sports player in the years to come.

Final Thoughts: Play Fantasy Sports and Be Part of the Future Fantasy sports are more than just a game—they are a global phenomenon that continues to evolve with new technology, formats, and competitive opportunities. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, now is the perfect time to play fantasy sports and experience the future of this exciting industry. So, get ready for what’s next! Join a fantasy league today, explore new formats, and take your fantasy sports game to the next level!

[telodogratis]

Project K: The League of Legends Trading Card Game, cosa sappiamo sul nuovo gioco di carte collezionabili

Project K: The League of Legends Trading Card Game, cosa sappiamo sul nuovo gioco di carte collezionabili Riot Games sta per lanciare un gioco di carte collezionabili che non è la versione fisica di Legends of Runeterra, ma qualcosa di completamente nuovo. Powered by WPeMatico Riot Games sta per lanciare un gioco di carte collezionabili che non è la versione fisica di Legends of Runeterra, ma…

[hindustanmorning]

Riot Games has unveiled Project K, a tangible card game set in the League of Legends environment.

Riot Games, the studio that brought us League of Legends and Netflix’s Arcane series, is returning to the world of actual card games. The physical card trading game, codenamed Project K, will be set in Runeterra and will draw inspiration from the League of Legends setting for its champion designs. The video shows that the game will be playable in the famous 1v1 trading card game (TCG) format,…

[isfeed]

Riot is making a League of Legends card game

Image: Riot Games The League of Legends universe is expanding once again — this time with a physical card game. Riot Games announced today that it’s developing a physical trading card game set in the League universe. The game is currently known as “Project K,” and Riot says it’s working with an unnamed partner in China to release the game there in early 2025. As for a global release, Riot says,…