#all of this characters are legends and so is he

[rjalker]

Plain text: "Le Morte d'Arthur is not canon. It's literally fan fiction."

Le Morte d'Arthur is not fanfiction, it is quite literally a compilation of all of the existing stories. That's not the same thing as fanfiction.

And you can't have fanfiction without copyright law. So even if it weren't a compilation and were original stories, it would still not be fanfiction.

The only difference between fanfiction and an official continuation or change to the story is copyright. You can't have fanfiction if there's no copyright law.

As I said in my other reblog, Chrétien de Troyes also did not invent the Lancelot character, he was just the first one we know of to write it down. These were oral stories long before anyone wrote them down. Most people back then couldn't read. Regular people were not learning to read and write. They were just telling stories like people do.

Finding out that Lancelot was apparently the invention of a french writer is absolutely hysterical to me. 12th century french poet sitting around reading arthurian romances and thinking "yeah these stories are pretty good but I think what they really need is a french guy who shows up and fucks arthurs wife"

[thewinter-eden]

Upcoming Posts

Let me know which ones you want to see first!

Crack!Horror SKZ Series :

One shots. Dark comedies with gritty themes, satirical humor, and happy endings. These are meant to be STUPID and FUNNY, not imperative literature. Light or suggested romance, sfw. I don’t condone any of these behaviors btw.

Bang Chan

You Live Like This? - home invader!Chris breaks into your home one night to rob you blind, only to realize you’re too poor to rob. Fear, threats against your life, light violence (no harm), concerned Chan, terrified but exhausted reader, Netflix.

Lee Know

That Your Man? - mugger!Minho holds you and your bf up in a dark alley one night, ready to give you the old ‘your money or your life’ routine, but when your bf pushes you into the line of fire so he can run away, Minho has second thoughts. Fear, Minho has a gun, attempted mugging (obv), asshole bf, coffee.

Seo Changbin

Blink Twice if You Need Help - stalker!Changbin has been following you for weeks. He’s looking for his next target, and he’s obsessed with you. While he’s watching you, however, he learns the secret you keep—you’re being routinely robbed by your addict brother. After watching this cycle of abuse end with you crying almost every night, Changbin takes pity. Familial abuse, drug addict brother, Changbin’s a repeat offender, satirical but definitive death of character, ice cream.

Hwang Hyunjin

Don’t Look At Me Like That - hitman!Hyunjin’s next target is you, the child of a foreign diplomat. But when he shows up to do the job and finds you ambivalent to the threat upon your life, he can’t help but ask what the hell is wrong with you. Terminal illness, asshole family, political enemies, death of minor character, kidnapping.

Han Jisung

You Called? - demon!Jisung is summoned by your friends during a drunken college party. They’re trying to scare you, pretend to summon a demon and then lock you in the basement until they decide to let you out, but then the demon actually comes, but he thinks your friends are jerks. Fear/comfort, edgy but soft Jisung, terrorizing of minor characters, truth or dare.

Lee Felix

All Ye Who Enter Here - ghost!Felix is said to haunt the abandoned mansion at the end of Blacktree Road. Legend says all who go into the mansion are never seen again. When you decide you’re sick of your friends being afraid of a literal house, you rise to the challenge and go inside. Spoiler alert, Felix is real, and he can’t believe you’re dumb enough to walk into a haunted house. Hauntings, killings, creepy Felix, light tormenting (no reader harm), tea party.

Kim Seungmin

Damn Puppy Dog Eyes - werewolf!Seungmin saves your life from a pack, inadvertently earning your unwavering loyalty, even though he’s just as much a killer as they were. Sometimes he can’t decide if he wants to wrap you up in bubble wrap to save you from your own idiotic self or dump your annoying ass back where he found you. Fear, attempted murder, werewolves hunting humans, reader makes dumb decisions, Seungmin’s gonna pull his own hair out, cuddles.

Yang Jeongin

Do You Need a Straw? - vampire!Jeongin is starving (thirsty?), and your best friend would rather offer you up as his personal capri sun than face her own doom. Jeongin takes the deal, but when he hunts you down, he knows you—you’re his older sister’s best friend, and you don’t take him seriously even for a second. Innie? A vampire? Okay, Edward, if you say so. Killings, blood, threatening, attempted murder, your friend’s an ass, Jeongin’s not good at threatening you, unplanned night swim.

Tell me which ones interest you!

[venussaidso]

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝘁𝘂-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮

warnings: mentions of drug abuse and suicide.

���𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 (2006)

A Ketu film related to one's roots, ancestry, heirdom, and hunger for power. All themes which I have touched on to be Ketu, and will be further exploring in the future.

It stars Magha Moon Steven Strait as the protagonist and Mula ASC Sebastian Stan as the antagonist.

Magha Moon Steven Strait plays Caleb who is grappling with the legacy of his ancestors. He is the leader of the covenant.

Sebastian Stan portrays the power hungry force who wants to will the power of the covenant's members. The other characters are portrayed by Moon nakshatra natives. All of them are warlocks who have supernatural powers inherited from their powerful ancestors. Sebastian Stan's character is “a teenage warlock who is the descendant of the long-banished fifth family of witches from the Ipswich Colony, who formed a covenant of silence to protect them.”

Rohini Sun, Mula Moon Toby Hemingway & Rohini Moon Taylor Kitsch play the other members of the covenant.

Moon nakshatras, along with Ketu nakshatras, are constantly seen in witch roles; such as almost the entire witch cast of AHS: Coven being portrayed by Ketu nakshatra natives!!!

𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘺𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴 (1978)

Another Ketu film about one's ancestry roots and their pressure around legacy – this time starring an Ashwini native.

The story follows Dave, played by Ashwini Sun Eric Roberts, the grandson of a powerful clan leader.

The Stepanowicz family represents a deep connection to Romani traditions and their way of life, emphasizing the importance of lineage and cultural identity. The clan leader, recognizing the importance of preserving their traditions, seeks to pass on his leadership role to his Ashwini grandson who he deems worthy.

𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘊𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 (2021)

In this film, the Ketu native is depicted as running away from his roots, meaning to forge a new life separate from his past. Shang-Chi is played by Ashwini Sun Simu Liu. And his father is a powerful leader of the Ten Rings terrorist organization.

Instead of Shang-Chi rejecting his roots entirely, he learns to embrace his strength, face his past and accept his lineage, choosing to redefine it on his own terms.

𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 (2007)

When the King of Far, Far Away dies, Arthur Pendragon learns that he is next in line to the throne. But he doesn't want to rule, as he lacks the confidence and fears he isn't capable of being a king. But due to his roots, though unknown, he has no choice. He is voiced by Magha ASC, Mula Moon Justin Timberlake.

According to legends, King Arthur Pendragon is a folk hero who ruled Britain. I find it so f*cking awesome that he has been portrayed by Ketu natives through movies/TV shows. And being already voiced by Justin Timberlake, who is especially Magha Ascendant, validates my other observations even more of this heirdom theme in Ketu nakshatras. It really all started with my The Spoiled Brat Archetype post, which turned to providing more old money character examples. Now, Magha nakshatra is literally symbolized by a throne, representing heirdom, authority, power, and especially ancestral lineage.

Magha Moon Clive Owen portrays Arthur Pendragon in the film King Arthur (2004) while possible Mula Moon Bradley James plays the folk hero in the show Merlin.

Mula ASC Alexandre Astier plays King Arthur in the show Kaamelott. And then Mula ASC Graham Chapman is King Arthur in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Ashwini Moon Iain De Caestecker is King Arthur in the series The Winter King. Mula ASC Boris Karloff played King Arthur in the video production of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Ashwini Moon Sean Patrick Flanery is King Arthur in the show Guinevere. Magha Sun Mel Ferrer played King Arthur in Knights of the Round Table. Mula ASC Kenneth More is King Arthur in the film Unidentified Flying Oddball. Mula Moon James Faulkner is King Arthur in the mini series "Wizards" Battle Royal.

Also, in the series Succession, the character Kendall Roy is pretty much the heir to the media empire of his powerful father. He is portrayed by Mula Sun Jeremy Armstrong.

In the series Royal Pains, Mula Moon Andrew McCarthy plays Marshall Bryant who is the heir to the blender fortune. While Ashwini ASC Ezra Miller plays his son, Tucker Bryant, now the great-grandson of the inventor of the blender.

I've given a lot of examples of Ketu female characters who exhibit a lot of power-hungry tendencies first, especially to the point of instability. This is not uncommon at all, though I see it less with Ketu male characters. But it's interesting how much power they all gather, magnetize or internalize.

I talk more about their dynamic with Rahuvians in this post, and it's interesting how they interact.

While Rahuvians struggle with Maya while they rise in power, Ketuvians struggle more internally. The trope of the rich kid who struggles with extreme mental issues or drug abuse tends to be Ketuvian. In the film The Gentleman (2019), Ashwini ASC Eliot Sumner plays Laura Pressfield who comes from old money. Laura struggles with drug abuse and wants to escape from the culture. In the series Political Animals, Mula ASC Sebastian Stan plays T.J. Hammond who is the first openly gay child of a U.S. president, struggling with drugs and alcohol as a way to numb himself. In the film Franklyn, Magha ASC and Ashwini Moon Eva Green plays Emilia Bryant who comes from a wealthy family but is an unstable artist who has deep emotional struggles which lead to her suicide. In the film American Psycho, Ashwini Moon Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman who comes from wealth but he is deeply mentally ill and internally miserable. In the series Succession, Mula Sun Jeremy Armstrong plays Kendall Roy who comes from wealth but he suffers from drug addiction. In the Spanish series Elite, Ashwini Moon María Pedraza plays Marina Osuna who is top in her class and is from an extremely wealthy family — yet she is deeply troubled, ill and spirals out of control, going against her family. In the Indian version of this series, Class, Ashwini Moon Anjali Sivaraman plays the same character. In the film Cruel Intentions, Ashwini Sun Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Kathryn Merteuil who is another Ketuvian rich kid with a drug addiction. Magha Sun Amy Adams played the same character in Cruel Intentions 2; and in the 2024 series remake of the story, Ashwini Sun Sarah Catherine Hook plays the same character but with a different name, Caroline Merteuil.

[nights-at-crystarium]

eye of the storm

A random scene that takes place a short time after episode 54 of Fragments. It's yearning o'clock in the old man town.

───── ⋆✧⋆ ───── His city twinkled and shimmered with a myriad artificial lights as he took in the sight from his favorite spot atop the watchtower. "When did it grow so vast?", he mused absently as he let the tranquility of the moment wash over him. Space and time ever shifted around him, bubbling, swirling, flowing gently or rushing like a stream, yet there he stood, at the eye of the silent storm, at the center of all, unchanging, eternal. He could recall the image of the shanty town as if it were there just yesterday, a creaking and sighing mess that threatened to collapse in on itself, and today, somehow, a magnificent city sprawled in its place, standing tall and reaching wide, enticing more and more people with the promise of tomorrow. He'd only blinked once or maybe twice, he thought with a wistful smile, and life did what life's wont to do.

It was a strange feeling, to be an inextricable part of this lovely society, at the same time to not belong to any given part of it. Were he to descend from the tower, walk wherever his feet would take him, knock on this crystalline or that wood-and-metal door, yes, of course, a familiar face would greet him and welcome him with all the warmth, and yet, it wouldn't be the selfsame kind of warmth that these people shared among each other. He was a caretaker, yet an outsider, everyone's favorite character, yet a legend veiled in mystery, never someone held by the loving hands. Links, he was all but made of links, - to the Crystal Tower, to every last resident of the Crystarium and beyond, - all these connections swirled around him, though never quite reached the center, silent and hollow.

"Exarch! Exarch! Frank!" - a pleasant voice pulled him out of his trance-like state. All smiles, the owner of the voice strode into the field of view, across the lawn and towards his tall perch, poised to jump up right to where he sat. Exarch didn't scramble to his feet, - that'd give away things he needed to keep hidden, - and waved with pretense ease. His mind raced. Shake himself awake, improvise, come up with a lie or a half-true excuse to leave as soon as possible, before the two of them could end up sitting next to each other, framed by the city lights and cradled by the starry sky. Not again. Never again.

He fumbled his way through a short conversation that he wouldn't be able to recall after running, - why did he have to run, again? - down the cold blue corridors to his crystalline chamber, lurching in the general direction of the bed, and burying himself in the sheets and pillows like a grub would hide itself in dirt. He played it safe. He managed. All was well, the status quo preserved for the day, and, gods willing, there wouldn't be too many days like this. A century of planning and waiting didn't prepare him for this.

Bit by bit, adrenaline receded, leaving his body limp and sluggish. He blindly reached out and pulled the disarrayed sheets over himself, not caring to undress. To return to that moment, he mused, to indulge in a simple human need, a single kiss, perhaps, would it truly put his plans in jeopardy? Knowing the grim and absolute answer, he let out a rattling sigh, and curled up tight.

Left unsupervised, his mind flipped through those freshly made memories, the sight and sound and scent and almost-touch and almost-taste that would infuse themselves into his very essence. He would carry all of that with him to - ah, wherever his borrowed eternity would come to a logical conclusion. The setting sun, the haze, the sway of foliage above his head, the tickle of grass under his hand, the softly speaking hero - close, so close, and, all of a sudden, closer still, their breaths mingling on the precipice of something beautiful that mustn't be.

As risky as it was, that moment, that would be his to keep. A prize. A proof of something he'd never hoped to achieve: to attract the man he was attracted to, not as a bumbling scholar from a lifetime ago, but as his current self. The alarms blared in his weary head, for one misstep today could spell doom for the past and future alike, and yet, somehow, he took relish in suddenly having to walk the razor's edge. Of course he would. He hummed to himself in a neutral tone, drifting, softly sliding to the dreamy state once more, to the recreation of that moment shared with his hero, rewritten so that neither of the two would pull away.

───── ⋆✧⋆ ─────

Also published on ao3, I'd appreciate your kudos and comments.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

What do you think of season 2 of arcane? i've seen quite... a contrasting reaction from the public when compared to the reaction that s1 got

[cracks knuckles] ok, first some context: I was, and still am, largely unfamiliar with the League of Legends video games, which probably colors my perception of Arcane as a whole. The first season was incredible. 10/10 no notes. It's a masterpiece of animation hands down. One of its many strengths is that it sticks to a self-contained story that does not require lore knowledge or even knowledge of who the characters from the games are. It's a character drama wrapped in a steampunk/sci-fi/fantasy aesthetic. It tells a grounded story that follows its characters as their arcs play out all the way through to the end. I love it and habitually rewatched it while waiting for season 2.

...And then season 2 came and it kinda went. I enjoyed the season. The animation, music, voice acting, all incredible and it's what makes the season a joyride. But that's pretty much what it is. A joyride. That grounded story and character drama was largely dropped for bigger stakes and it feels like the season lost the plot. You were invested in the Zaun/Piltover conflict? Let's have Jayce give a half-assed speech about working together to defeat a common enemy and give Sevika a token seat at the councillors' table. You wanted to see how Jinx and Vi's relationship developed after the bombing? Well, Vi says "my sister is gone." Until Vander/Warwick shows up. But they don't really talk about their relationship or how much they've both changed. They're just cool with each other know.

Did you want to see how Jinx deals with the fallout of killing her father figure and embracing the role of the Mad Bomber? Well, she kinda mopes for a bit. Finds a street urchin that magically cures her of her mental instability. oops, street urchin is dead. Jinx is depressed now. fun. It's not like the marketing lead us to believe that Jinx was going to be an actual antagonist, right?

right?

Now, I know trailers and posters can be misleading but come on. Season 1 ended with her fully becoming Jinx and I feel like she was more Jinx-like there than in season 2.

We got less of the sisters than in the first season despite being the emotional core of the story. Part of that is the escalating conflict and having far too many antagonists. We have Ambessa, Viktor, and the Black Rose and they all take up too much screen time (this last one was a huge ??? for me as a noob to the games. Actually, Mel's whole arc in season 2 was so divorced from season 1 that it feels like they just gave her magic powers just so she could participate in the fight). The other part is that when the sisters are together, they don't really say or do anything meaningful. The dialogue is rather boilerplate and there's no emotional weight to their scenes. It's just there.

That's really my problem with season 2 as a whole, it just feels like it's ticking off boxes to get to the big action sequences, and even some of those felt superfluous (did we really need a fight scene with Smeech? Smeech? Who the fuck is he and why should we care?). The funny thing is that, there are a lot of good ideas here. Jinx feeling conflicted about suddenly being seen as a symbol of the people? Awesome! Caitlyn falling under the sway of Ambessa as she mourns her mother and gasses innocent civilians in her mad pursuit of Jinx? Great! Viktor slowly losing his humanity and becoming the Machine Herald while Jayce struggles to right what they have wronged and get his friend back? Excellent! The problem is that they're all crammed together and don't get room to breathe, so everything is rushed and unsatisfactory.

When your first season ends with four people at a dinner table that explores their character dynamics and your second season's climax looks like a Marvel movie, there's a problem.

(also, side tangent: Silco and Vander's backstory was shoddy and contradictory. Making them BFFs with Vi and Jinx's mom was a bad idea. It cheapens Vander's decision to leave behind a life of violence and adopt two orphans. It introduces a plot hole that Silco wasn't around for the kids' childhood and makes that moment when he tries to kill Powder extra weird. PLUS, we have the ever lovely trope of fridging a woman and making her the catalyst of conflict between two male characters 😒

although this season did make me ship these two, so there's that👍)

(another mini tangent: I'm not fond of making a time traveling Viktor the one who gave baby Jayce the rune stone. That scene was one of my favorites from season 1 and the mage actually being Viktor just makes the world feel smaller and less enigmatic YMMV).

So there you have it. An overall okay season but one that pales in comparison to its predecessor.

[momomallowart]

I also drew him in her Arcane fit ʕ⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴥ⁠ꈍ⁠ʔっ✨

I finally watched Arcane and realized they're just the same character so I swapped their clothes ʕ⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴥ⁠ꈍ⁠ʔ

[jinxedruby]

Whumptober Day Thirty-One: Used as Bait

Featuring Legend and Warriors.

wow hi hello I finally DID IT I can finally rest Sorry for the wait! But here's the conclusion to days fourteen and twenty-seven (where Warriors and Legend fight some hunters in the woods), and the conclusion to Whumptober 2024! God I'm tired lol

Heads up for some major violence, injury, and minor character death (bad guys) in this one.

AO3

First part | <- Previous part | Next part -> (may or may not do art for this one, we'll see lol)

-------------------------------

Legend’s knee throbbed with each and every step. He stifled the urge to groan or hiss, pulling his lips into his mouth and clamping them between his teeth. He kept one hand wrapped around the loaded crossbow, the other darting out to steady himself against every tree he passed. He wanted to stop and sit down the moment the adrenaline had worn away, but the hunter kept walking so Legend kept following.

A poorly-placed step drove a sharp thorn of fire up under his kneecap. He smothered a grunt against his closed lips, hopping on his good leg. He took the briefest of moments to lean against a tree, knocking his forehead against the bark and shutting his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer. His knee, his throat, his head, every part of him ached and burned. At this rate, even if the man did lead him to Warriors, which Legend had begun to doubt, Legend probably wouldn’t be in any fit state to stage a rescue. Or body recovery.

Legend screwed his eyes shut tight until he saw stars, shoving back the nagging voice. He opened them again, took a quick breath that hurt his throat just like every other inhale, and pushed away from the tree. He peered around it to ascertain the man’s location before hobbling after him once more. The moon hung large and bright in the sky, palely illuminating Legend’s path. The shade of the woods still hid some bumps and roots in the ground that Legend occasionally stumbled over, but the moon provided enough light that he could tail the man at a safer distance.

A faint, low din pricked at Legend’s ears. He slowed, softened his steps as much as he could in order to strain his hearing. The din grew louder as he followed the hunter, enough for Legend to make out the sharp s’s and t’s of speech. His heart thudded against his ribs. The hunter must have heard the voices too as he suddenly picked up the pace, muttering something under his breath. Legend didn’t speed up, electing to stay low and move slowly, switching from following the man to following the sounds of voices. The speaking stuttered into silence, a sharp yell rising above it.

“Hey, it’s me, it’s me!” Legend heard the hunter shout. A moment passed, followed by a different voice responding. The hunter replied and conversation ensued, but Legend couldn’t make out any words, only scattered syllables. The din of talking resumed. Legend picked his way through the forest, keeping a close eye on his surroundings for movement or the glow of a fire.

“...st someone got something,” a voice ahead of him said. He crouched slightly, knee protesting at the action. He sank his teeth into his lip and ignored it best he could, slinking from bush to bush.

A snort punctured the air. “Yeah, the others did. You three are the only ones that came back.”

At least four of them. Legend mentally filed the information away.

“Yeah, because that guy is a trained swordsman!” a new voice called angrily. “I thought we were too far out of the way for knights!”

“We are.”

“Clearlynot, I watched him take out four of us like it was nothing!”

“We’re plenty far from Castle Town, he’s not a knight!”

“How would you know? You’ve been sitting on your ass this whole damn time-”

“In any case-” a third voice cut in loudly, silencing the brewing argument, “-he’s not a threat anymore. Let’s all just take a breath, alright? No need to be going at each others’ throats.”

A few begrudging grumbles of assent responded. Legend stiffened, mouth dry. They were talking about Warriors. A brief wave of despair washed over him at the man saying Warriors wasn’t a threat anymore. Legend tightened his jaw before his mind could spiral with every horrible scenario it could conjure. They used present tense when referring to the captain. Which probably meant he still lived. Legend took a slow breath, blinking quickly. He refocused and shuffled forward. The low drone of voices resumed, snatches of inconsequential conversations drifting past him. A branch of a bush rustled as it scraped along his arm and he winced at the sound. The hunters made no indication of having heard and he forced himself to continue forward. He still couldn’t see the light of a fire, navigating only based on their voices. The closer they sounded, the tenser he grew.

He very clearly heard one of them clear his throat. Blood rushed through Legend’s head and fingers, aching in his knee and throat. Any second, he expected a man to come around a tree just ahead and spot him. Every second that it didn’t happen only left him feeling more wound up.

He poked his head around a bush. A man sat on a fallen log only a few paces away, back turned to Legend. Beyond him stood two men before short stacks of cages, the moonlight glimmering off the metal of the bars. Legend risked leaning out just a bit farther to get a better lay of the land. Two more men sat on the ground at the right edge of the small clearing, chatting idly. Legend slowly ducked back behind the bush. Five hunters. Five, and his state could hardly be called fit to fight. His head spun. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, rubbing his brow. He’d need to think about this. He couldn’t charge in, he’d be caught or killed immediately. If he just knew where they had Warriors…

Staying as quiet as possible, he carefully peered around the bush again. Now that he got a better look, he could see the two men checking each cage. The cages were made mostly of wood, only the front of them having a metal grate. The night made the insides of the cages dark with shadow and difficult to see. Legend couldn’t tell if any of them even contained anything. Only one cage rose above the men’s heads, the others varying sizes of medium and small.

A little whimper pricked Legend’s ears. It rose to a soft cry that sounded feminine. One of the men sighed and moved to a cage that barely reached his knee. He gave it a swift kick, a watery yelp mingling with the crash of metal and wood.

“Quiet,” the man demanded gruffly. Another small whimper rose from the cage before falling back into silence. Anger bubbled in Legend’s gut.

“Getting kinda late, isn’t it?” Legend’s eyes flicked over to one of the men sitting on the right. “Should someone look for the others?”

“We can wait a bit longer,” the one sitting with his back to Legend said, voice clear and loud from the proximity. “If they don’t get back soon we’ll take what we have to the couriers.”

“We’d better get good money for that swordsman,” one of the men before the cages grumbled.

A man on the right barked out a hollow laugh. “Doubt it.”

“Why?” The other man by the cages turned his head, revealing his profile. Legend recognized him as the hunter he had followed.

“’Cause he just turned into an animal.” The man on the right pointed to a small cage at the edge of the stacks. “A very normal one, at that.”

The hunter Legend had followed picked it up, tilting it back to peer inside. He snorted. “That… yeah, alright.” He shook his head and set the cage down with a thud. Half behind the other cages. Legend’s eyes widened slightly.

The men continued to talk but Legend unconsciously tuned it out, gaze fixed on what must have been Warriors’ cage. His heart thudded against his ribs, picking up speed as a plan hastily whipped together in his mind. Carefully, he turned away from the hunters and silently moved deeper into the woods. After what felt like a safer distance away, he began circling around the edge of the camp. He caught glimpses of the men or the cages through the trees. He used those brief glances to guide himself around behind the cages. The stacks of cages formed a makeshift wall between him and the men, since the backs were solid wood. He moved closer, gaze darting between the cages and the two men seated at the edge of the clearing. They were the only of the five men in line of sight of where Legend needed to go to reach Warriors’ cage. Legend stalled behind a tree, skin alight with nerves. He swept his gaze across the cages, the trees, gauged the distance between himself and Warriors, trying to figure out a way to get to him without the hunters spotting him. He chanced another look at the men.

Their spots at the edge of the clearing sat bare. Legend blinked, stared, a mix of dread and impatience churning in his gut and making him feel nauseous. He glanced around himself, half-expecting to see the two men sneaking up behind him. But the woods around him stood empty. He returned his gaze to Warriors’ cage, jaw set in determination. Whatever the reason the men had moved, he couldn’t miss his chance. He loosely fastened the crossbow to his belt to free his hands. Steeling himself, taking a steadying breath, he hurried out of the cover of trees.

His heart crashed about in his chest. Adrenaline buzzed through his veins as he closed the distance between him and the little cage. He continually tossed glances about, making sure the two men hadn’t made a surprise reappearance. His knee burned from the half-crouch and quick pace, pain radiating down his shin and up his thigh. He gritted his teeth and pressed onwards.

After a few more steps, he reached the cage. He dragged it fully behind the other cages, staying low and hidden. He turned it around, ducked down to look through the metal grate.

A large bundle and black and white lay in a heap at the back of the cage. Legend narrowed his eyes as he fiddled with the cage’s latch, trying to get a better look. Royal blue fabric stood starkly against the monochrome, a little scarf wrapped around the animal’s neck. The bundle moved, feathers rustled. A small black head lifted, a little tuft of fluff at the crown reminiscent of the captain’s hair shifting at the movement. Blue eyes blinked open and drifted across Legend’s face. Legend could have laughed with relief, instead giving a quiet huff.

The bird’s – the captain’s – beak opened, Warriors’ voice coming out in a soft croak. “Collector…?”

Legend quickly pressed a finger to his lips, eyes darting around himself. He glanced down at the latch again, figuring out to squeeze the metal loop and slide it out of place. He pinched a bar between two fingers to pull the grate open.

Footsteps pounded behind him. He didn’t even have time to reach for his sword. Arms wrapped around him, yanked him back. His damaged throat turned his yelp into a hiss as hands twisted into his tunic and hair, dragging him around the cages. He wrenched an arm free, swung a fist blindly. His knuckles grazed across a whiskered jaw, not nearly hard enough to do any damage. Then the man seized his arm again, wrapping his own around it and holding him by a fistful of his tunic. He struggled futilely against the two men as they wrestled him away from Warriors and around to the other three hunters. They twisted him around as he fought against them. He aimed a wild kick up towards one, dug his nails into the flesh of one of the arms holding him. The hand in his hair yanked back harshly on it, forcing his head back. An arm locked around his throat, the bruised flesh burning at the contact. The arm tightened, not enough to cut off blood or air, but enough to threaten him into falling still.

The hunter he had followed strolled forward, a dark grin on his face. “You really think I didn’t hear you following me, kid?”

Legend snarled. He lashed a boot out that the hunter easily skipped away from with a laugh. The arm around his throat squeezed and he choked. It loosened again a moment later so he could breathe. Reflexive tears stung in his eyes. He silently cursed himself. Of course. Of course, the hunter he followed must have quietly told the others about Legend and they’d made a plan. He put Warriors’ cage in an easily accessible place on purpose and Legend wanted to kick himself for falling for the trap so easily. The two men had vanished because they’d seen him coming and he felt like an idiot for not questioning it more.

“So he is alive,” another hunter said, moving closer. “How the hell did he survive that fall?”

A familiar clicking sound made Legend’s blood run cold. A hunter loaded one of the glass-tipped bolts into his crossbow, moving toward Legend as he did. “No idea, but this kid’ll be worth a fortune alone.”

“Oh?”

The man leveled the crossbow at Legend. Legend started struggling against the hunters holding him again, heedless of the arm tightening around his neck. He felt the light weight of the moon pearl on his chest. It worked to change him back before, it should work again, but he didn’t know if the bolt wouldn’t work at all and if the men would just decide to kill him in that case. The hunter squeezed the trigger and Legend flinched.

The bolt slammed into his stomach, glass ball popping open. A bright yellow flash filled his vision followed by the immediate, familiar sensation of shifting forms. Pain roared through his knee as the ligaments and cartilage shifted and stretched in spite of the damage. The same happened in his throat and a harsh yell ripped from it, only making the burning worse. The sensation ended as quickly as it began. Before he could even think to move, a hand wrapped around his rabbit ears and lifted him straight off the ground. Pain speared through his head at the harsh pulling and he yelped, squirming, trying to scratch the arm holding him.

“A pink rabbit?” a hunter exclaimed with delight that made Legend’s skin crawl. The voice laughed, the sound muffled weirdly by the hand around his ears. “There are hardly any rabbits left! Goddess, he’s big, too.”

“He’ll be worth a fortune, alright.”

“We could even haggle with this one. Lot of these creatures start to look the same after so many, but this one’s special.”

They continued talking as the man holding Legend swung around, carrying him toward the cages. Legend kicked and thrashed, panic flooding his senses. The moon pearl would kick in, right? Any second now, right? The cage the man brought him towards looked small. He didn’t want to find out what would happen if he transformed inside a confined space, he really, really didn’t want to find out. He struggled to scratch the hand holding him, kick at the arm, anything to stall for time. But the man held him at arm’s length, he couldn’t reach any part of him with his stupid little legs. The man crouched down, unlatching one of the cages.

Something jerked in Legend’s gut. His blood roared, fire screeched through his wounds as his bones and muscles shifted again. The man, suddenly holding a fistful of Legend’s hair instead of ears, shouted a startled curse, reeling back. Legend yanked his one crossbow bolt out from under his belt. Holding it like a knife, he jabbed it against the man’s leg, hard enough to break the glass ball. The man vanished with a yell in a puff of smoke and a flash of yellow light. Something small replaced him that Legend didn’t bother to look at, lunging to his feet. He ripped the loaded crossbow off his belt as he whipped around. The other four hunters gaped at him, some already starting to move. He zeroed in on the one that had shot him, yanked the crossbow up. He fired his final bolt into the man’s chest. The man stumbled and transformed into a squat creature with a squashed face and little horns.

The remaining three hunters all charged forward at once. Abandoning the crossbow, Legend threw himself to the side. Dirt shoved up under his fingernails as he desperately used any purchase he could to scramble to his feet. He lunged out of the way of the hunter that reached him first. The hunter streaked past him, cages crashing and toppling as he ran headlong into them. Several gasps and shouts rose from within the containers as they fell. Legend’s knee screeched as he struggled to run. He dragged in a haggard gasp, reaching for his sword. It raked along the scabbard as he drew it, the muscles in his forearm aching. The two hunters bore down on him and he hobbled to the side, crossing his sword across his body. One hunter delivered a strike to his blade that sent him stumbling. The second man attacked just as quickly. Legend barely moved in time to block the blow. He parried another attack, desperately searching for an opening to strike. Every time he saw one, he didn’t move quick enough to take advantage of it, slowed by his wounds and fatigue.

Legend caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, where the big hunter had careened into the cages. He tried to look, nearly caught a blade in his arm for the distraction. He blocked one swing, ducked under another. He wrenched his sword around, carving a slash along one hunter’s middle. The man grunted and stumbled back. Just as Legend started to move to attack the other one, a dark mass appeared to his left. His heart leapt into his throat, he frantically tried to move. Something heavy crashed into his calves, sweeping them out from under him and sending him sprawling.

He tried and failed to catch himself, the back of his head colliding with the hard ground. It felt like a spike driving through his skull, hot pain searing through his brain and blurring his vision. The fairy must not have fully healed his head from the fall. He struggled to move, frantically trying to gather his wits and sit up. A boot connected with his wrist, knocking his sword from his grasp. Another came down on his chest, forcing a wheeze from him and pressing him flat against the ground.

“Turn him back before he gets any ideas!” a hunter from somewhere to his right shouted.

“No, we gotta figure out how he turned back to a human in the first place,” the one pinning him down replied. He shifted more weight onto Legend’s chest, the collector’s ribs creaking beneath it. “How’d you change back?”

Legend mustered up a scowl. His eyes darted around as he looked for his sword. As he did, his gaze fell on the large cage just beside him. He could just make out a hulking figure huddled at the back of it. Intelligent eyes met his own, and the figure shifted forward. Even more weight crushing against his sternum snapped his attention back to the hunter.

“Tell me,” the hunter snarled, “if you want to keep your miserable life.”

Legend didn’t trust his throat to support his voice to any capacity. But he didn’t need to speak in order to glare daggers at the man. The man’s expression darkened. He shifted his foot upwards along Legend’s chest. The toe pressed into Legend’s throat and a surge of fear coursed through him. He thrashed, bent his legs and reached for his boot.

A familiar shout pierced the air. A flurry of black, white, and blue vaulted from outside Legend’s field of view. It collided with the man’s head in a mess of feathers and talons. The man yelled, reeling back and swatting wildly at the bird, at Warriors. His boot twisted away from Legend’s throat as he did. Legend sucked in a painful gasp, jammed his fingers down his own boot. He grabbed the knife hidden there, yanked it out, and plunged it into the man’s calf. The man roared, stumbling off of Legend. Legend shot away from him the second that he could. He scrambled to his feet, staggering a little. Warriors scratched and pecked at the hunter’s face, the streak of brilliant blue feathers on his wings flashing in the moonlight. The shock of Warriors’ display began to wear off on the other two hunters, the men refocusing on Legend. Legend took a step, desperately casting his gaze about for his sword. His knee gave out from under him, sending him crashing into the large cage beside him. He hissed at the pain, fingers curling into the holes of the metal grate. Something large moved next to him and he flinched. His head snapped up to see the hulking figure in the cage again. A beat passed. Legend made a snap decision.

He lunged for the cage’s latch. He fumbled with it for a second before managing to unlock it. Just as he began to pull the cage open, two arms wrapped around him and hauled him back. A yelp died in his throat, heart exploding in his chest. He threw an elbow back, trying to catch the hunter in the face or the stomach. He thrashed but the man didn’t flinch or slow, only moving to restrain Legend more securely.

A roar rose from the large cage. The door banged open and the figure charged out into the open. It appeared to be some cross between a deer and a lion, four hoofed legs and a feline-like head. The man-turned-beast charged for Legend and the man. The man hesitated for a moment, hanging onto Legend as if to use him as a shield. Then he seemed to think better of it, hurling Legend to the ground with a curse and diving to the side. Legend scrambled out of the way, the beast streaking past.

As Legend struggled to his feet, he caught sight of his sword laying in the grass. He hurried toward it, nearly toppled over as he stooped to grab it. As he straightened again, sword in hand, a sharp yelp struck his ears. He stiffened and whipped around in time to see a hunter finishing a swish of his sword through the air. Warriors sailed away from it and toward Legend, black and white feathers fluttering in his wake. He hit the ground in a crumpled heap and fell still. Blood roared in Legend’s ears. He hobbled towards him, knee burning fiercely.

A shout rang in his ears, the beast having successfully rammed one of the hunters and sent him flying. Another scrambled to get away from its rampage. The third strode toward Warriors’ motionless form. Legend quickened his pace, desperate to reach the captain first. The hunter moved faster than Legend, sword drawn and raised to strike. A fresh wave of adrenaline rushed through Legend, pushing the pain of his knee to the fringes of his awareness. He broke into a sprint, head pounding with each step. He reached Warriors in the nick of time, scooping the bird up off the ground in one hand and wrenching his sword up with the other. The hunter’s sword crashed against his, sending a jolt through his arm. He shoved the hunter’s blade back to give himself enough room to stagger a few steps away. He half-turned away from the hunter, keeping one arm curled around Warriors to hold him against himself. Chest heaving, he lifted his sword defensively between him and the hunter.

The hunter gave a rough, exasperated sigh, hand tightening around his sword. Only then did Legend register him to be the hunter he’d followed. “You are way too much trouble, kid.”

Legend scowled and lifted his sword a hair higher. The man lunged. Legend stepped to the side to dodge the first swing. He kept Warriors hugged to his chest as he returned the blow, careful to keep his body turned so the man couldn’t hit the bird. The hunter pressed the attack, forcing Legend back. Each step reminded Legend of his wounded knee. He struggled to ignore the burning pain, but he’d been ignoring it for over an hour. Not even the adrenaline could repress it very much anymore. Even so, he sidestepped, parried, attacked. He scored a hit across the man’s arm. The hunter slashed across Legend’s leg in response. Legend darted back from a swing. He unconsciously landed on his bad knee. It gave under him with a sharp ache, sending him stumbling. The hunter leapt forward. Legend tried to recover, moving while horribly off-balance. His knee twisted beneath him. He fell one way, the hunter’s sword sliced in the other. He felt the blade carve a jagged line along his chest before he felt the pain. He staggered to one knee as a feeling of fire burst from the wound, licking at the harsh edges in his flesh.

The hunter followed up with another attack that Legend narrowly blocked on its path to his throat. He followed the force of the blow onto his side, sending the hunter stumbling from the lack of resistance. His shoulder collided with the ground and he swung. The tip of his sword tore deep gashes across the man’s shins. He shouted, hobbling back. Legend rolled, trying not to crush Warriors, and shoved himself to his feet again. The wound in his chest burned in tandem with his knee. His vision blurred. He bit back a cry, legs feeling cold and farther away from his body than should be possible. He limped through the sensation, sword raised in a trembling hand.

The man recovered and charged forward again, albeit more unsteadily than before. Legend watched the swing come toward him, moonlight glinting off the blade. He skipped to the side at the last second, pushing all his weight onto his good leg. The man overshot, frantically tried to recover. Legend drove his sword through the man’s side before he could.

Legend wanted to vomit from the sound of flesh and muscle giving way to his blade. The hunter gasped wetly. Legend yanked his sword free before he could think about it. The hunter screeched, curling around the wound and collapsing to the ground. A shaky exhale passed across Legend’s lips as the man writhed weakly, groaning in pain. He unconsciously tightened his hold on Warriors as he lifted his sword again. He only glanced at the man once to aim before plunging the blade through the man’s heart to put him out of his misery.

He took a short breath and forced his focus elsewhere, turning away from the body. The pain of all of his wounds combined gave him a very easy distraction. He abruptly found himself on his knees, face screwed tight as fire danced through his body. Shakily, he lowered Warriors to the ground. The captain stirred weakly and Legend let out a breath of relief. He glanced up just to make sure they weren’t in immediate danger. One of the two remaining hunters lay motionless on the ground some distance away, a couple limbs twisting at odd angles. The beast fully occupied the attention of the last one, the man running every which way to avoid its ferocious attacks. Legend returned his attention to Warriors, reaching toward his neck for his moon pearl. He didn’t know if Warriors could take a potion as a bird or not. But forcing him to change forms when Legend didn’t know his injuries wasn’t a very good option, either. Even so, he pulled the moon pearl from around his neck and reached into his pouch. Better to have both out, just in case. He dug out the potion he’d tried and failed to take earlier, setting it down beside the moon pearl. He pursed his lips, glancing between the two items. Then a particularly sharp pain speared through him.

He hissed, lowering his head into his hands. His chest burned as he lifted his arms, his head ached from the resulting flinch, so did his knee and- goddess he just wanted it to stop. But, of course, he couldn’t drink a potion because his throat hurt too much to even speak, let alone swallow anything. He wearily shifted from his knees to sit down, suddenly so exhausted he thought for a moment he might pass out right then and there. He hesitantly swallowed to test and that nearly sent him into a painful coughing fit.

“Collector?” a voice murmured.

He blinked, forcing his eyes to focus again. Feathers rustled as Warriors shifted on the ground before him. The bird stiffened suddenly, letting out a hiss. Legend reached toward him haltingly, unsure what to do. His eyes darted across Warriors’ form, trying to figure out the issue. Warriors moved like he was trying to sit up and Legend carefully helped him. He’d noticed it when picking him up earlier, but the captain was surprisingly light for being larger than Legend’s head. Then again, Legend had never held a bird before. As Warriors got settled with his talons under him, Legend noticed how his right wing remained splayed out beside him, not folded against his body like the other. Legend found himself staring at it, at Warriors in general. He recognized the kind of bird Warriors had become. A magpie, he thought they were called. They’d roost in trees in his uncle’s orchard sometimes.

“Oh, thank the goddess,” Warriors sighed, looking up at Legend. “When you went over that cliff, I thought…”

Legend pursed his lips and looked away. Before Warriors could say anything else, Legend nudged the potion toward him. Warriors eyed it for a moment, somehow managing to frown despite having a beak instead of a mouth.

“You’re blee-”

Legend didn’t let him finish the thought, shoving the potion toward Warriors. When Warriors parted his beak to speak again, Legend gestured roughly to his throat, gingerly tugging down the collar of his undershirt to more fully reveal the bruises that must have been there. Warriors’ eyes widened.

A shout and loud crack stole their attention. Legend’s head snapped up to see the beast on its knees before a tree, dazed. The last hunter darted out from behind the tree with a laugh. He must have tricked the beast into running headlong into it. As the hunter moved, his gaze fell on Legend and Warriors. His eyes darted across them for a moment before moving behind. His eyes widened then narrowed. He’d seen the body. He started toward them and Legend’s stomach dropped into his gut. He wouldn’t survive another fight. He couldn’t even stand anymore, as his knee sharply informed him when he tried.

“The cork, Collector, help me get out the cork!” Warriors called.

Legend’s gaze darted down to see Warriors unsuccessfully trying to pull the cork out with his beak, only managing to rip chunks of it out. Legend quickly yanked it out with his fingers and tipped it forward. Warriors dipped his head into the bottle, beak snapping as he drank the red potion. He glanced up to see the man having already crossed half the distance toward them.

Warriors yanked his head out of the bottle, gave his wing a couple experimental flaps. Seemingly satisfied, he spun around toward the man, wings spreading to take flight. Before he could, Legend snatched up the moon pearl and pressed it to Warriors’ back. Warriors yelped as his body abruptly stretched and shifted. The little scarf around his neck grew to full size, tumbling down the back of his green tunic. He ended up on his hands and knees, remaining stunned for a moment.

“That works, too,” he said. Then he lunged to his feet, grabbed his sword from its sheath, and charged forward to meet the man.

His gait seemed unsteady, but even so, it could hardly be called a fight. The moment Legend realized Warriors’ victory was inevitable, he slouched down, vision doubling and dimming. Goddess, he was tired. He didn’t realize he’d been tipping to the side until Warriors caught him, calling his nickname. Legend’s eyes fluttered open, Warriors’ concerned expression slowly swimming into focus before him.

“Hey, hey, I don’t have a fairy,” Warriors said, voice echoing slightly. “You have to get up, we need to find the others so they can help.”

Legend started to nod but stopped as his gaze drifted past Warriors. The beast had begun to move again, giving its head a light shake. Legend still held the moon pearl in his hand, fingers tightening around it. He took a breath, struggled to draw himself up with Warriors’ help. He lifted the moon pearl so the captain could see it then pointed toward the beast. Warriors turned to follow the gesture. His eyes widened, stunted words of shock halting on his tongue. Legend gestured with the moon pearl again, tugging on his pink hair when Warriors turned back. Warriors stared at him blankly for a moment.

“Your hair is pink,” he said.

Legend scowled and weakly swatted him. He pointed to the beast again, it now having stood up and turned toward them. He tapped the moon pearl to his hair. He resisted the urge to smack Warriors again. Realization dawned on Warriors’ face.

“It’s human like us,” he murmured. “Is that it?”

Legend bobbed his head only once, his skull pounding too much for anything more than that.

“And this is the item you used to turn me back just now,” Warriors concluded, pointing to the moon pearl. Legend nodded again, more weakly, as the desperate energy that came from trying to make himself understood drained from him.

“Okay.” Warriors dug around in his pouch for a moment before withdrawing a roll of bandages. He held them out to Legend, the other hand also held out palm-up. “I’ll go change him back. You put pressure on the cut in your chest in the meantime. We don’t need you losing any more blood.”

Legend dropped the moon pearl into Warriors’ waiting palm and took the bandages. Warriors lingered until Legend began to unroll them before nodding curtly and hurrying toward the beast. As Legend slipped the bandages through the tear in his tunic to press against his chest, he watched Warriors speak briefly to the beast. Then he touched the moon pearl to the beast’s forehead. Hooves morphed to hands and feet, fangs receded, the head narrowed, and soon enough, a very tired-looking bearded man knelt in the beast’s place. He blinked, lifting his hands and turning them over before his eyes. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he chuckled in relief. He looked up, firmly grasping Warriors’ hand in thanks. Then he pointed toward the other cages. Warriors gave a nod, leaving the man in order to go open the cages. Legend counted the beasts that Warriors freed and his heart sank. Only five or six. Dozens more had been reported missing from the town.

As Warriors transformed the others back into humans, the first man staggered to his feet and made his way over to Legend. Legend watched in a sort of daze as the man approached him, half his focus going toward keeping himself upright, the other half trained on keeping the bandages pressed to his bleeding chest.

The man knelt down before him, catching his gaze and holding it. “I can never thank you enough, son.”

Legend blinked. He lifted a hand to flap it weakly. The man chuckled and caught it, holding it much the same as he had with Warriors’.

“No need for modesty,” he said, beard shifting as he smiled beneath it. Even if Legend could speak, he was too tired to formulate any kind of response.

Time slurred as Warriors helped the remaining captives. He returned to Legend, the worry lines in his brow blurry in the collector’s warbling vision. He knelt down before Legend, reaching out again to help steady him. He said something about wrapping Legend’s wounds and Legend just nodded, focus drifting somewhere out of reach and refusing to return to him. He hissed as Warriors wound the bandages more properly around his chest. The captain stood and asked him something at some point, but Legend couldn’t quite hear him anymore. The lack of response apparently answered his question, the captain kneeling back down. He gently grabbed Legend’s wrists and turned around, guiding Legend’s arms around his neck. Somewhere in the back of Legend’s mind, he thought he should protest, but the exhaustion outweighed his shame by a long shot. He shuffled forward as much as he could, so, hardly at all. Warriors made do, reaching for Legend’s legs. His hand closed around Legend’s knee and Legend hissed, pressing his forehead to the back of Warriors’ neck. Warriors’ said something, his hand shifted higher so it didn’t grip Legend’s knee. Then he stood.

The change in equilibrium filled Legend’s head with vertigo. He closed his eyes, fighting back nausea. Gravity bounced slightly as Warriors began to walk. Legend felt vaguely aware of the small group of people they’d saved walking with them. But with his eyes closed, the exhaustion leapt forward and clung to him like sap. He thought he heard Warriors saying that they’d find the others, they’d be okay. He sagged against Warriors’ back with a sigh. He couldn’t really open his eyes again anyway, the exhaustion easily winning the half-hearted fight. He trusted Warriors’ words and finally let himself drift away into sleep.

[arcaneweaving]

I'm so fascinated by sevika as a character because she's so tragic, and so unique in many ways. she's an arcane OC, she's not part of the league of legends, but also, she seems not to have any internal motivation for her actions. she's not a character that any memorial is built to. she's not the voice of the people, nor is she their figurehead. her choices, viewed in and of themselves, often seem pointless or contradictory: she (one can only assume) was involved in the initial revolt of Zaun against Piltover, then betrays Vander once peace has been established. she accuses him of being weak for not warring against Piltover, then helps Silco terrorize and weaken Zaun with shimmer for years. She hates Jinx, then she saves her. She hates the council, then she joins it. The only interpretation in which her choices make any sense is that Sevika acts only in the interest of Zaun's greater good. She is, fundamentally, a martyr for her nation.

her choices (misguided or not) are borne of a near-total, self-sacrificing loyalty to her nation, the nation of Zaun. at each turn, Sevika's makes the choice that she thinks will further the cause of Zaun's sovereignty. Sevika is not so concerned with "Sevika" as an individual with wants, needs, or personhood. her impetus is that of-- as her name suggests-- a servant to a cause bigger than herself.

Sevika chooses Silco over Vander because Vander has (even in the name of peace) inhibited Zaun by allying the Underground with Piltover. She sacrifices her arm to save Silco because she believes that he is capable of unifying the Underground into Zaun once more-- she believes he could lead Zaun to battle, by whatever means necessary, even if it means creating soldiers of addicts. She conspires to keep Vi away from Jinx because Zaun needs its loose cannon in the fight against Piltover. The morality which others in the show are beholden to is not part of Sevika's motivation because the ego of personhood is not part of Sevika's motivation. She's not interpersonally loyal (she is loyal to Zaun's citizens: "We don't hand over our people"), she isn't above killing children, she's not a mother or a sister or a daughter. She is utilitarian. She's a revolutionary.

Ironically, this is why Sevika is not compelling enough to convince Zaun to rise from the ashes. After all she has sacrificed-- her body, her spirit, her peace-- when she tries to unify Zaun on her own, they refuse to hear her. The raised consciousness of a comrade seems distant and cold to a hungry son or scared mother. The comrade is impersonal, and so therefore unpersuasive. "It's no secret we got history. Blood spilled on all sides. But we grew up on the same streets, ate the same scraps. Like it or not, we're in this together. Enforcers raiding our homes, Noxians down our throats, innocents getting carted off to Stillwater. We gotta choose right now whether we're gonna throw in the towel or make a stand together." She gives the most radical political speech of the show, but she is no orator. Sevika's motive supersedes individualism. She says, "Not as Firelights, or Jinxers, or washed up goons. As Zaunites!"

The crowd's response to this call to arms is, "We wanna see Jinx!" They want a person, not an ideal, to rally behind. Despite this, Sevika doesn't indulge her ego. She does not want to be a hero, or a figurehead. She does not want to be praised. In fact, when she realizes that Jinx is the symbol that the people have chosen, she takes great pains to brace Jinx for the role, to ensure that Jinx-- alive or dead-- shows up for Zaun.

In the end, when Sevika joins the council, she again sacrifices a fundamental part of herself for the greater good of Zaun. She is lonely and out of place and hated there, but she takes the seat because Zaun needs her to. She may be seen as a traitor to the Zaunite cause. The council is the last place on earth that Sevika belongs-- but she goes there. To the end, she is a servant to Zaun.

[jedi-valjean]

Max Rebo or Neel— What's the difference?

A lot of people are confused by the fact that Neel and Max Rebo are, apparently, not the same species. As I've been watching Skeleton Crew, I've picked up on some key differences that really set them apart. On the surface, they both look like blue elephants, but the resemblance pretty much stops there. Let's dive into the differences:

Anatomical Build

If you're a fan of Max Rebo, you're probably aware that his "arms" are actually supposed to be his feet! There's a whole article about this. Ortolans have occasionally been depicted in canon according to their Legends body plan (which does include legs,) but you can see an example of their armless depiction here:

It goes without saying that Neel's species (which is currently unnamed) does not follow this body plan.

Hair

This one's pretty easy. Ortolans have never been depicted with hair, implying they cannot grow it. All examples of Neel's species have been depicted with hair. Honestly I don't think I even need to attach pictures for reference since I'm going to be posting so many already.

Snout, Mouth, and Facial Area

This is where it gets interesting. Compare the snouts on these two images.

With the Ortolan character, an arms dealer known as the Dragon, we can see that he has a small mouth under his snout, just like Neel. But his nose is long, round and bulbous, with no nostrils. Neel's, by comparison, is more like a tapir's, with nostrils on the end and a wrinkled, tapering shape. Neel also has adorable little cheeks, which Ortolans do not.

Also note that Ortolan snouts are prehensile, per this comic:

I think it's safe to assume that Neel's species can't do this. I will say, however, that I cannot really imagine Max Rebo's live action counterpart with the range of motion necessary to curl the end of his snout like this. It does somewhat resolve an issue regard holding things and walking at the same time, but it still strikes me as slightly odd.

Eyes

This is another big difference that you can spot right away. Max Rebo (and all Ortolans) have round, lidless black eyes. Neel's eyes are more humanoid— they have sclerae, irises, lids, and if you zoom in on the picture below, you'll see lashes.

Basically, Neel can blink— Max can't. (There are comics that contradict this, but unlike the example of the prehensile snout, this can be handwaved as a stylistic choice.)

Digits

Another extremely obvious difference is in the digits. Max Rebo's hand-like feet have five digits ending in suction cups. (Fun fact: Ortolans use these suction cups to absorb food and drink!)

Neel, on the other... hand, has four digits, which do not have suction cups, but fingernails:

Coloration

Ortolans are uniformly blue except for the pink ends of their suction-tipped digits. Neel, on the other hand, has pinkish purple coloring on his palms and the underside of his snout and ears.

Back Flap

Ortolans, at least in some depictions, have a fatty flap on the back of their heads. I can only find these two examples:

But Neel doesn't have one (because he's a different species.)

Height and Sexual Dimorphism

Ortolans are generally depicted as shorter than humanoids, as shown here:

Neel, however, is the same height as his peers, and his parents are the same height as the human adults in the show:

There also appears to be some sexual dimorphism in Neel's species— while the proportions of his mother's head appear to be similar to her middle school-aged son, his father (who I could only find in this one shot, unfortunately) has a much larger head and a longer snout. It appears as though he also possesses tusks, though I'm not entirely certain.

Ortolans do not appear to exhibit notable sexual dimorphism in any depiction; this is an image of a female Ortolan bartender:

Ears

Finally, the ears appear to be subtly different. Ortolans have big floppers that don't appear to have a significant degree of muscle support— they're just flat blobs. (I'm putting a picture of Max Rebo's model from The Book of Boba Fett, but I'm very salty about it. It falls short of the original on the left in so many ways.)

Neel's ears appear to have more structure to them— they're bisected by what seems to be some sort of large sinew or pair of sinews. They appear as though they may be prehensile to a degree. (Although it's been suggested that Ortolan ears are actually flippers, I have not seen evidence of this in official media.)

So next time you see an Ortolan or a member of Neel's species (which will hopefully get a name soon,) you'll be able to tell the difference! Putting a picture here of one of Neel's younger siblings 'cause I like it and don't really know how to end this post

[gunsatthaphan]

13/10/1998 - happy birthday to actor, legend, bestie, crush and personal heart killer khaotung thanawat 🫶🏻✨💓🫳🏻🐈🧎🏼‍♀️😌💝

[the-phantom-peach]

Have you ever drawn Ghirahim? He’s one of my favourite bosses

More times than you can ever believe. But that was mostly when I was like 12 and I was obsessed with him haha. Of course, I never stopped liking him, but I only recently started drawing him again and I gave him a minor redesign.

[ricky-mortis]

I heard that Corey Dorris sang Show Stopping Number at Innit- so I present: Corey!Hidgens

[jadecantcreate]

ceramic booker

based on this little guy i found on pinterest!

[luna-loveboop]

Time. Worried about Wars.

Time. Worried about Wars. Time is worried about Wars- Time has to be so freaking scared for Wars I-

Warriors is going into his first dungeon which has challenges for how he should deal with it, and Time is stressed. Ima rant about it

At this point (update Entrance) Time is obviously... well, terrified. His concern for mr. stubborn after his injury is obvious and he wants to make sure it does not happen again

And his concerns are valid- they are all now painfully aware of their lack of skills in working as a team. And they are heading into a dungeon- where that instantly results in stuff like this lol

And then Wars openly says that he has never done this before

The group is obviously uhh concerned that he hasn't done this or had any dungeon experience

'No dungeon experience?' / 'Has he even seen certain monsters before?'

Time wanted to stay in a group for safety- but they have to split up. Dungeons are cramped and messy and small, and Wars is used to fighting on a battlefield - not this sort of setting

And they still joke around about it- and Wars instantly starts analyzing.

'Tell me. Give me the intel' / 'This isn't practical'

Honestly Wars' response to this is pretty cool- it's totally in line with who he is as a captain and hero. He instantly starts thinking about it and treating it as a different type of battlefield to figure out strategy. Also I think it's pretty cute that he said 'intel' even if he's grumpy about asking the others for advice and what a wallmaster is

Wars can handle it and learn what a dungeon's like- I think it'll be fun to see him go through his first dungeon :D

But. He's still never done a dungeon before. It will be interesting to see how that develops in this arc... and let's not forget he's pissed the shadow and his emo sword off before. This isn't where he fights best and Wars is particularly vulnerable in a major way.

Time was already stressed about mr. stubborn Twilight, but hearing that the captain, that Warriors isn't prepared for this is. Extra scary. I just think he must be really concerned for him- for all of them. And now mr. reliable is in a learning position and not a leading one

Their faces fjdkfsjdksjsk

But these are his boys and he'll have to trust that they'll be ok. Therefore I think this was Time's thinking:

Time, thinking: "Dungeon. A dungeon oh this is dangerous- no one can get hurt-"

Wars: "can't say I've really been in one"

Time, absolutely sobbing internally: "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE RELIABLE ONE"

.

Art by @linkeduniverse au :))

:)

Hey, don't worry too much about it I'm sure it'll be fine :) (mostly)

[lonelyzarquon]

# pure oliver putnam™

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING 3.10 Opening Night

[joshuamj]

Linktober Day 1: Mirror

Prompt list I'll be trying a few days from!