#also i know u wanted to do modern verse stuff so i threw this in modern verse !!

[nightscaped-archive]

“What, so you’ve never passed out before? Get you.”

At first, he was not aware of much at all besides the throbbing dizziness in the back of his head. The room was poorly lit and he couldn’t think straight for all the noise, the singing was dreadful and he found he was glad to be missing out on the karaoke side of things. Only bit by bit, his senses returned to him and the blurred image of his pulsing surroundings was beginning to sharpen. Kael was starting to realise his body had forced him to take a nap. On the floor. He couldn’t claim to be grateful for it but he’d slept in stranger places.

“Hey, people don’t usually notice this sort of thing. They’re  too self-absorbed”, said Kael, wistfully, reaching up to rest both hands upon Tidus’ shoulders. Really, he wasn’t drunk. Just vague and sleep-dredged enough that his natural filter, questionable though it was at the best of times, had utterly failed him. “You should become my bodyguar---” In a burst of enthusiasm, Kael sat uprigh, although did it much too quickly and much too suddenly, only to find himself colliding with Tidus. Forehead first.

continued / @leviathkand​

[marriedthedark]

Ladybug Week: Day 1 - First Date

Modern AU, 1.7k words

Ruby fidgeted nervously as she continued to stare at the front door to her apartment. Blake had told her she would pick her up at 6:30 sharp yet the green digital numbers on the nearby clock made he aware it was 6:40. She once again defaulted to smoothing out the skirt of her dress for the umpteenth time as she nervously wondered if Blake had somehow forgotten about their date. She soon shook off the notion as she realized there was no way Yang would have allowed her best friend to forget about her first date with her younger sister.

Ruby sunk into the old couch as she huffed with impatience. Why was it her idea to go to a fancy restaurant on their first date? She frowned slightly as she remembered Yang informing her that normally the fancy sort of restaurants she had in mind required some sort of a dress code. As a result, Ruby begrudgingly accepted the knee length red dress and black T-strap kitten heels her older sister had taken upon herself to purchase for her big night. Ruby hated dressing up, but this is what couples were supposed to do on their first date, right?

She glanced again towards the digital green numbers. 6:42 was displayed. Realizing only two agonizing minuets had passed, Ruby groaned as she threw her head against the back of the couch. The universe was really going to make her suffer in this stuffy outfit for hours before-

A knock as the door startled her to her feet; Blake was finally here! Ruby quickly scampered over to the entrance of the apartment before smoothing her dress for the final time. After a few deep breaths, she opened the door.

Sure enough, Blake stood on the other side. Ruby stared at her in awe as she took in the lovely cold shoulder purple gradient dress Blake had decided to wear that night.

“Wow, you look super pretty,” Ruby breathed out.

Blake couldn’t help but blush slightly at Ruby’s reaction. “Thanks, you look really cute as well.”

Ruby felt her heart swell at her date’s compliment. Perhaps her outfit wouldn’t prove to be such a downer to her night after all.

“Shall we?” Blake inquired as she moved over to allow Ruby to exit the doorway.

The duo began navigating their way out of the apartment building, making small talk as they went. By the time they had reached Blake’s car however, the conversation had been replaced by slightly uncomfortable silence.

“Um, Ruby, can I make a small confession?” Blake hesitated as they had finished buckling their seatbelts.

Suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious, all Ruby could manage was an awkward nod.

“I know going to this restaurant was your idea, but those sort of places aren’t exactly my…thing. I know I should’ve said something earlier, but I guess I was scared of disappointing you since you seemed so enthusiastic about it.”

Ruby could hardly believe the words she was hearing. Blake was just as uncomfortable with the thought of going to a stuffy high-end place as she was?

“Same! Honestly, I thought this is what you’re supposed to do on first dates. I didn’t really want to go either. I just didn’t want you to think the girl asking you out was this total lameo loser weirdo type of person…”

Blake couldn’t help but softly giggle at her date’s self- deprecating response.

“I don’t think you’re any of those things, Ruby. Believe me I’m flattered that you wanted to treat me to something so nice, but I’m quite relieved you feel similarly to the situation as I do.”

Ruby’s heart fluttered as she took in the genuine look of relief and appreciation on Blake’s face.

“Can I also confess something? I hate wearing these stupid things,” she muttered as she lightly kicked her feet against the car floor.

Blake found herself giggling again. Ruby seemed to have a habit of making her laugh more than she was used to.

“Well, I mean what I said back there. I think you look lovely tonight.”

Ruby diverted her gaze to her lap as she felt her cheeks warm.

“You can thank Yang for that. She went out and got me all this stuff.”

Blake hummed thoughtfully as she turned the key in the ignition. Soon after the old Camry purred to life.

“Since we’re in agreement then, how about a little change of plans? There’s this new coffee shop that opened on the other side of town that’s supposedly Edgar Allen Poe themed. I’ve been dying to go check it out, but only if you want to of course. I don’t mean to hijack your date idea or anyt-”

Let’s go!” Ruby interjected. She was practically bouncing in her seat with the giddiness of knowing Blake wanted to share this new experience with her.

~~

After 20 minutes of driving, Ruby and Blake arrived at the Nevermore Coffee and Tea House. Both girls grinned as the rich comforting scent of ground coffee beans met their nostrils. True to Blake’s word, the interior of the coffee shop oozed dark gothic aesthetic as the duo took in the dark colors and ravens scattered throughout the place. In the far corner a young women sat on a small stage with a guitar as she sang a gentle somber tune. Not far from her, a large book shelf covered the wall with rows of multicolored spines filling its shelves.

“I can see why you wanted to come here. This place is so cool!” Ruby bounced in place as she continued to soak up the atmosphere. “This so beats that dumb fancy restaurant.”

Blake smiled fondly at Ruby’s enthusiasm. It was so adorable how excitable she was over most anything. The anxiety and worry both girls felt earlier that evening had completely melted away and instead was replaced with the warm embrace of coffee and pastries.

After grabbing a table, both Ruby and Blake scoured the menu for potential treats. A truffle mac and cheese caught Ruby’s eye in addition to a cup of dirt (homemade chocolate pudding with a cookie crumble on top) and hazelnut hot chocolate. Blake meanwhile settled on French onion soup with an almond croissant and a cup chocolate rose tea.

Once both girls had placed their orders, Ruby noticed Blake’s gaze fixed on the large bookshelf. Apparently the shop had an “open book” policy in which you were free to take a book from the shop so long as you left one in its place.

“Ugh, I have so many good books I could’ve left here,” Blake huffed in disappointment. “I have to remember to bring one next time we come back.”

Ruby once again felt her heart flutter at the implication of Blake wanting to return to this place again. With her no less! The thought filled her mind with glee as they both navigated the bookshelf for something good to read. Ruby settled on an action manga she hadn’t heard of while Blake had selected an old poetry book.

“’Demon Slayer’ huh? I think I heard about that one from somewhere,” Blake though aloud as they both made their way back to their table. “I think it’s supposed to be good. You’ll probably like it.”

Ruby beamed at her selection knowing it was Blake approved.

“Well I don’t see what can be more fitting to read at an Edgar Allen Poe coffee shop than a poetry book. I’ve never been that good with words though,” Ruby admitted.

“I’m not that fond of writing poetry either, but reading it can be enjoyable. Some people are a lot better about articulating their thoughts and feelings than I am.”

“Tell me about it,” Ruby agreed wholeheartedly.

After several minutes of comfortable silence with each girl fully engrossed in their reading selections, their food had arrived to their table. Blake started with a small sip from her tea and was pleasantly surprised to how good it was. Ruby meanwhile sank her spoon into a glob of mac and cheese admiring the stretches of cheese still attached to her spoon as she bought it to her mouth.

“Oh my god I’ve never had mac and cheese this good before,” Ruby gushed with her mouth still full. She swallowed before continuing, “Yang’s isn’t even as good as this. Oh, don’t tell her I said that though.”

Blake smirked as she bought the piping hot cup of tea to her lips once more. “Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret,” she said with a playful wink.

The rest of the evening went extremely well with both girls talking about whatever came to their minds: the books they were reading, what sort of character tropes they enjoyed, how the live performer definitely forgot the last verse to her own song. Unlike earlier that evening, the minuets seemed to fly by like cars on the highway.

By the time Blake and Ruby returned to the apartment building it was nearly 11pm. Yang had given Ruby a “soft” return time of midnight, but Ruby didn’t want to leave Yang awake all night waiting for her to get home safely (which she would definitely have done).

“Tonight was so fun! Thanks for changing the plans Blake, I had an awesome time!”

Blake made no effort to hold back the grin that was spreading across her face.

“I did too. Thank you for asking me out. Next time you can chose where to go.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes affectionately as she stretched her hand out.

“Pinky promise?”

Blake followed suit by wrapping her own pinky around Ruby’s.

“Absolutely.”

“Good,” Ruby replied simply. Before Blake could say anything more, Ruby went ahead and quickly placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

“See you soon!” She blurted out before dashing out of the car and into the building out of sight.

Blake sat there stunned, her arm still outstretched. She didn’t need to look into the rearview mirror to know that her face was red as a tomato.

“Oh god, I hope my breath didn’t smell like onions...”

[wraithwolf]

so let’s talk about Shieda fucking Kayn——

first off, I actually want to give props to Riot because as much as I change shit around I'm genuinely glad we're continuing to receive lore that intertwines with other pieces rather than having a bunch of standalones that generally fail (and subsequently receive harsher criticism) solely because they have nothing to lean on. as expected some (most) people are unhappy with it but if nothing else I'm glad Kayn has lore beyond his little intro paragraph because y'all know they very well could've just gave us that and left it. (I'm not here to complain about the comm tho that's a separate post) basically, I'm Pleased and there's a lot to think about.

Initially, the decision to make Kayn a Noxian threw me for a Big Ass Loop™ because I was convinced the Order was exclusively for Ionians (more specifically, Ionians proved worthy by Zed) and while Kayn was still chosen by Zed there’s an underlying irony in this choice. We’re deep into the Ionian/Noxian war by the time Kayn is forced into it, and while Zed isn’t exactly the most Merciful or #Relatable person, imagine the intrigue a person such as himself had in seeing a poor, Noxian child with the drive and the anger of that of a seasoned warrior not only still holding on (considering Zed and co. didn’t arrive to the scene for two days after Kayn was dispatched) throughout all of the carnage that surely followed, but finding the strength to take up his weapon once again. For what it’s worth, Kayn was determined to fight for his life or literally die trying no matter who challenged him. We know Kayn didn’t know who was standing over him, but he was willing to fight anyway. I imagine Zed to have found it admirable, but at the same time beneficial: being able to change this boy and harness his rage, then unleash it against the same people that otherwise would’ve let him die at the Epool. The same people that sought to slay his own. I’m 50/50 about this because I speculated Zed had a reason for taking Kayn under his wing, but I didn’t expect the Noxian angle at all.

The thing is, there’s a lot more irony to this beyond Zed taking in a Noxian to use against other Noxians, as we can obviously see. Kayn resembles Zed in many ways— a familiar, stubborn arrogance alongside the same hungry determination that inevitably consumes him to be more than what he is, going as far as to seek an advantage through outside means - just like Zed in seeking out the Box to surpass Shen, Kayn seeks out Rhaast; only it’s safe to say Kayn is far more ambitious in his reasons for doing so, as in Kayn wants control of the fucking Order itself where Zed... wasn’t so bold, at the time.

It’s interesting to think about how an endgame for Kayn (and also Zed, since at least in Zed’s case we have to consider his current (????) involvement with Shen in an attempt to stop Jhin all over again and then add Kayn to the mix) would play out as it is almost entirely dependent on Zed and Kayn’s will alone. Should Kayn succumb to Rhaast, (which now seems a little more plausible with Kayn’s cockiness running amok through everything he does) I imagine the dynamic would change entirely as it goes beyond controlling Kayn as best as Zed can (I use control loosely because while I imagine Zed to run the Order as he sees fit, to make it a total dictatorship still seems like a little bit of a stretch to me if only because we don’t know how Zed reacted to Kayn returning with the Darkin scythe in hand and word that he Literally Killed Nakuri in order to bring it back) to having to deal with him without risking the rest of the Order and all of Ionia itself. They’ve already got Jhin running around, for gods sake, they don’t need a fucking Darkin along with him.

Ultimately, a lot like with champs such as Zed and Jhin, a real endgame is left up to the writer of said character and the overall interpretation itself. The way I see it, Zed isn’t going to be pleased with Kayn’s decisions to not only kill another member of the Order but also to voluntarily give part of himself to Rhaast in order to ‘control’ him; but again we return to Zed’s somewhat Ulterior Motive as to why he brought Kayn in in the first place. It’s not hard to tell that Kayn is confident, though overbearingly so--and from the looks of it, Zed isn’t The Happiest about Kayn’s behavior nor his choices but there are fragments of Kayn that Zed can recall in himself that might just allow certain things... to an extent. I’m in no way saying Zed just “o ok u just killed one of my students and defied my orders and also want The Order from me, Cool” because I’m laughing imagining the lecture/punishment Kayn actually receives after he returns with Rhaast and Kayn just scowling and grumbling the entire time but! I can see him allowing few aspects of Kayn solely because if he can convince Kayn that his strength comes from him, not Rhaast, Kayn can overcome Rhaast, and Zed can continue to shape him.

Also, let me add right now that while I don’t think Zed would risk much for him, (I’ve never supported 100% Evil Zed but I’m not a “Zed Did Nothing Wrong” stan either) I also don’t agree with the idea that Zed wants Kayn to lose himself to Rhaast, that Zed would send Kayn to deal with Jhin, or that Zed would even involve him in it. The risk, in all of these scenarios is vastly higher than the reward. Again, a Literal Darkin running around slaughtering everyone would mean further disaster for Ionia, and inevitably word would get around who brought Kayn (and Rhaast by relation) into the nation, and while Zed isn’t exactly a secret to all, I doubt he’d want to bring himself and his actions front and center. Kayn is still extremely young (eighteen-nineteen??) and while he’s in no way weak or stupid (s/o to Mint for mentioning this entire point to me i love u big hug) Jhin has years of experience on him. It wouldn’t be difficult for Jhin to take advantage of Kayn and either kill him on the spot or put him through worse knowing it was a stronger way to get to Zed especially if we can assume Kayn would completely underestimate him. For what it’s worth... my interpretation, specifically, has yet to know of Jhin at all. Whether or not he later on learns and what happens thereafter is to be decided. (*aggressively chinhands*)

Furthermore, in regards to the “wow he is so cliche” “wow he is so edgy” arguments that plague his Entire Fucking Existence and tag right now... yes. It was obvious he was going to be a little edgy and a little bit of a cliche. That doesn’t (and it shouldn’t) take away from the potential he has to further flesh out the lore as a whole. You gotta realize now more than ever that Kayn is young, one of the youngest champions (?) to have a fairly deep involvement with some larger scale issues going on within the overall story. I can name a few other champs that follow a similar path and are edgy in their own respects, but I’m not going to. The lore has disproved many things, one of them being that Kayn isn’t Just Edgy for the sake of being edgy. It’s very likely that as he grows and matures, a lot of his current mannerisms will fade/vanish entirely depending on what happens to him in the future. In a nutshell, being edgy doesn’t make him a joke, and he’s clearly not an unconditional, rampant Zed fanboi uguu kouhai xDdD like a lot of people were using at the forefront of their argument as to why they dislike him. 💁

TO CONCLUDE ... I like Kayn, I like his lore, and I’m really liking the possibilities for building him and taking him in a direction entirely my own. (and that’s just for main verse, let alone the possible skin aus, modern verse, what have you) Of course, it wouldn’t be a Blog by Hina™ without some divergence, but I’ll be figuring that out as I go. I already have some specific ideas pertaining to my interpretation exclusively, but they need to be tested/written down before I can really apply them. I am Happy, and I’m looking forward to keeping this going.

some additional stuff I noted/had confirmed to cover later but still want to mention:

nakuri calls kayn brother! the order is (at least somewhat) familial! miss me with that ‘nobody cares abt each other in the order’ shit

is it safe to say kayn’s abilities covered in the lore/in game (the wall walking and the ability to literally enter bodies for a short time especially) are things zed is also capable of? he couldn’t have learned them from anyone but zed, right?

A Big Old Confirmation that when kayn enters another body, he can see (and subsequently feel) just as the person would be for that moment. i’d like to think that eventually, kayn can fine tune this ability and utilize it for longer durations, however i imagine there will always be a risk from it and the victim will most likely always suffer afterwards. more on that Eventually™

another Big Confirm that rhaast’s control leaves both physical and mental effects on the body (however it happens a lot faster than i originally anticipated) and the longer the usage, the more this shows in the form of carapace. i’ll also be covering this at Some Point but even in kayn’s shadow assassin form, we see that the carapace is Gone (?) but in its place are dark dark marks, implying that even once rhaast is purged, remnants of him are still there most likely because of how long he was allowed to manifest. i’m still debating if this actually would hinder kayn’s eyesight / usage of his arm for a while should he overcome rhaast.

rhaast can be heard by more than just his wielder, which is something i wasn’t thinking was possible. however, this could be a conditional thing to where either rhaast can choose who hears him or the only ones that do hear him are those susceptible to his control. either? or? the world is yet to know.