[aformerspellthief-blog]

Mun Update: Joining the Hiatus Crew

So I’m gonna level with you guys, because my activity’s been a bit lower than usual for the past couple weeks. A few things are going on:

First off, I’m angling for a promotion at work when my current supervisor heads off to law school. He’s putting me up for it so I’ve been shadowing him/taking on some of his responsibilities lately, which means I’ve had less downtime during the day.

Second, I’m starting my application prep for law school (applying in September to start night school in 2018) early to get all required essays drafted and documents in order, which means I’ve been redirecting some of my drive to write towards non-fiction instead of fandom stuff.

Third, I picked up the don’t starve games (and dragged @crescentsweep into that fandom, SORRY) a few weeks ago and am pretty damn enamored.

So, my attention’s been off League and my roleplay blogs. And I’ve noticed that a lot of my favorite people to collaborate with have been on and off hiatus, so I haven’t felt much pressure to maintain a consistent level of activity.  Considering that all that- and the fact that the community here is undeniably fracturing between the new and old lore adherent crowds- I’m not really eager to invest time on what currently feels like a… waste, to be completely honest.

For now, I’m going to be stepping away from this blog and @bymywill (and League stuff in general) for at least a solid month. That means I won’t be logging in to see my dash, check activity, or answer messages- like at all. So if you need to talk, go ahead and send me a message on my brand new personal blog.

[bymywill-blog]

but renfri :( Demacians help each other ! ecks dee !

fuck help this Demacian’s gonna KICK SOME ASS

[bymywill-blog]

Making a Prediction - January 5, 2017

So, Riot has, for the first time (to my knowledge) referenced the Ionian campaign in a new lore drabble released today. It was a very quick, blink-and-you-miss-it reference, but it was there.

I’m going to make a prediction right now about the direction they will be taking with Demacia in the new lore to justify Demacia’s lack of intervention in Ionia. And if I’m right, you heard it here first!

When Riot reworks Demacia, they are going to turn it into an isolationist state which refuses to engage in conflicts outside of its borders.

I can tell you right now that I don’t support this interpretation. I categorically reject it, in fact, in part due to the nature of Demacia’s original lore and the foundation of its ethical principles. Demacia has never been isolationist. Demacia has always operated under the belief that it is a paragon of human morality (whether or not that’s true) and that it has an obligation to spread that morality as far as its influence allows.

Or, to quote The Measured Tread: 

“In our eternal forward march, we must stomp out evil all across Valoran wherever it may grow. Leave no stone unturned: the roots of one ignored weed will inevitably corrupt the whole of the garden.”

This is one of the basic fundamentals of Demacian ideology. This is a principle it was founded under and still operates upon. 

Demacia is absolutely not isolationist. And, besides that, states do not become as big or as powerful as Demacia is (Riot has confirmed that Demacia is a dominant world power in new lore) by being isolationist. It simply isn’t possible.

In short, I’m posting this as a forewarning and so that I can bring it right back to the front if and when Riot tries to start with me.

[bymywill-blog]

ayyylmao

[thedanceofblades-blog]

diplomacy

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

Katarina gives a noncommittal shrug that she does not at all feel. “No one ever said I couldn’t come,” she says.

Because the relocation, and the increased guard, and the fact that he’s the fucking Prince of their most hated rival all scream it too loudly to be ignored. But no one’s told her for sure. Technically.

(Technically isn’t enough in Noxus unless you can beat down anyone who says otherwise. She knows very well that she can’t fight High Command and win.)

“I thought you’d still be alive,” she says, sitting down just out of reach. (Not that he could move much anyway.)

“I hadn’t felt like dying,” Jarvan replies- a considerable understatement, bordering on a lie. He has absolutely felt like dying several times since they moved him. In multiple senses of the world. On at least one occasion, he was almost sure Swain would kill him. On another, he briefly considered death as a pleasant alternative to the General’s company.

(He justified it, later, by reasoning that he would haunt the Noxians if they killed him here. He would be a far greater nuisance as a spectre, if nothing else.)

Somehow, that train of thought feels even more foolish now. He can’t possibly die here. It would disappoint his single Noxian fan.

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

It’s probably stupid that she did. She’s probably stupid, Jarvan thinks, for intervening in any way. Demacia would certainly have had her hanged, if it were a Darkwill in his place.

[thedanceofblades-blog]

diplomacy

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

@bymywill

It wasn’t the last time she visited the prisoner, even though it should have been. Katarina slipped into Jarvan’s accommodations again a week later, to much the same effect as the first time; her curiosity on his state sated, she left again, assuming again that she’d never return.

But then they moved him, and they put him under stricter guard–but outside, not inside. She didn’t have much time to watch, but when she made the attempt, she never saw anyone but Swain enter or leave. Ever. And that was… different. It couldn’t be whispers of a rescue coming, or she wouldn’t even know where he was at all, so…

In lieu of her original curriculum, Katarina had simply been absorbing all she could from within Noxus’s borders. She wasn’t as good as her brother was yet, but she had at least begun to learn some of his tricks at fading from sight; she wasn’t as quick as he was, but she could still run and climb things that weren’t strictly designed for either activity. It was enough to get inside just barely undetected.

Katarina steps forward, eyes scanning the dark corners for unseen observers. “Hello,” she says, because she can’t think of anything else.

At first, he wonders if the friendly Noxian is an apparition, or a dream. But as her voice interrupts the relative silence of the tent, he’s reminded of the searing headache that hadn’t quite left him when Swain did, and knows he would have woken up from that sort of pain.

“You’re back,” He says, and grimaces at how hoarse his voice has come to sound. His throat is dry when he clears it, but he soldiers on regardless. (He’s terrible at shutting up, he’ll concede that much to the Noxians.) “You’re probably not supposed to be here.”

‘Probably’ is an understatement- he tried to determine the purpose of the Noxians moving him when he first awoke in his new cell, and the only clear explanation he’d been able to put together was isolation.

(He remembers asking Swain why he’d been upgraded from public view, and then pain. He remembers wondering, aloud, if his jailers were so sensitive as to be unable to take his taunts, and more pain. He remembers spitting out that violence was the last refuge of the weak, and biting his own tongue at the retaliation his warden prepared for that remark.)

Swain wouldn’t answer him, but he isn’t stupid. He knows there has to be a reason for this new brand of captivity, he just hasn’t thought of it yet.

[bymywill-blog]

OOC

me: god i’m so disenchanted with this bullshit new demacia direction, maybe i should step away for a while

also me: replies to all of my active threads in 1 hr, 3 days after the bomb drops

[grumpyrunearchmage]

Small Talks [w/bymywill]

[bymywill-blog]

grumpyrunearchmage:

“Perhaps rotate those that guard the Rune on a two to three year basis.”  It would mean more visits to Demacia’s capital, but such changes have been made before to accommodate the amount of security around the World Runes that are held by the major nation of Valoran.  After that though, Ryze looked down at the table for a moment in thought, bringing his hands up to rest his chin on.  “As for a possible location…”  The words came out slow and drawn out.  “I remember many years ago, during the time of your grandfather, Jarvan the Second, it use to be kept within the dungeons below the palace.”

It really was a long time ago, even before King Jarvan the Third’s birth.  It was shortly after the Second’s death was when the Rune was moved to a different location till it ended up at the Mage’s Academy some thirty years ago.

“We could certainly arrange for a regular rotation.” He strikes a much more agreeable tone, as their discussion turns to locations within the capital. Most other details are fairly negotiable, as he understands it, so long as the Rune remains at home.

“The dungeons? I admit, I’m not sure why the change was made- but I can discuss that as an option with my father. I suppose you’re uneasy leaving it in the custody of our mages again; I can’t say that’s not understandable.”

[bymywill-blog]

alasfuror:

Fingers tap on her chin, pondering his questions. One by one, she wishes to eventually learn about each citizen of Demacia but alas, there are far too many. For now, she’ll settle for learning about those who she’s heard of before.

“I wish to know your opinion of her. I’ve heard bits and pieces of her family history and status as a Laurent, but nothing of who she is if that makes sense.”

He might have considered the question a poor excuse for a trap coming from anyone else in the Kingdom, but Shyvana has never been interested in politics. He doubts if she’s even aware of the controversy that surrounded the Laurents before he brought her to Demacia, and perhaps that’s for the better. It was too dramaticized, too politicized; for goodness sake, there was nearly a formal public execution.

(What did happen, he doesn’t consider execution. Even if the end-result was the same.)

“Hm... Well, from everything I’ve seen, she’s a complicated woman.” It’s such a cliche that his nose wrinkles when he says it- he grasps for any other summation, but falls short. “And in light of everything she’s been through in the past, well, decade or so, I’m impressed that she’s managed to keep her House from falling out of favor.”

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

bymywill:

“Given everything you know, did you really expect me to be an enthusiastic conversationalist?” He asks, and shakes his head before she might think of a way to answer. “Or do you just mean to applaud yourself for not beating me while I can’t retaliate?”

“I never turned you down; I heard you, and now I’m asking,” Asking, not ordering; he’s too smart not to realize that she might stay just to spite him if he pushes her too far, “Asking you to leave.”

The niggling anxiety pulls sharply at her. She doesn’t know why he’s trying to… to… placate her. She’s certain that, if she were her sister, she’d be able to unravel the plan behind a captured Demacian prince talking to her like she’s an equal (which she is, but she wouldn’t expect him to come to the same conclusion)–but she isn’t, and she doesn’t want to take the time to try.

Kat stands sharply. “Good luck,” she says. She means it to come out biting, but it sounds more genuine. Damn it.

She doesn’t see anyone else on her way out–but that means they didn’t see her, so she won’t question it overmuch.

[a-former-spellthief-archive-blog]

other people: give the new lore a chance!!!

me: 

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

Katarina grimaces before she can wrestle her expression under control. It’s coming too close to an order for her liking, but even if she stays out of spite she’s not sure how much longer she can get away with it. “It’s not for you,” she says. “But I’m surprised you’d turn down a visitor who just wanted to talk.”

She really, really shouldn’t be here.

“Given everything you know, did you really expect me to be an enthusiastic conversationalist?” He asks, and shakes his head before she might think of a way to answer. “Or do you just mean to applaud yourself for not beating me while I can’t retaliate?”

“I never turned you down; I heard you, and now I’m asking,” Asking, not ordering; he’s too smart not to realize that she might stay just to spite him if he pushes her too far, “Asking you to leave.”

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

He gets neither. Katarina shrugs one shoulder with a look of well, what can you do?

“I said it wasn’t treason, not that people didn’t act like it was,” she says. “Demacia has its own share of hypocrisy. We all do.”

She should go. She should really, really go. There’s a tingle on her back that she can’t explain, that has been wrong before, but that she’s learned to trust. Katarina looks at the door.

Jarvan is at a loss for what to do with this surprisingly tame Noxian. He leans back an inch at how casually she shrugs, regarding her with a raised brow and evident indecision until she looks away, towards the door.

He didn’t hear anything, but he wonders if she did.’

“Go ahead,” He says, in the tone of a man still used to dismissing his subordinates, “Don’t stay on my account.”

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

Katarina looks at him like he’s being profoundly stupid and it’s disappointing her a little. Which it is. “It’s not treason to say someone else is good,” she says. “If it was, we’d be killing ourselves in battles we can’t win just because we aren’t allowed to admit the other side would beat us.” Which… still happens more often than it should. But at least it isn’t illegal to do anything else.

“I’m sure we learned from fairly different history books, but is that not what your people have been doing for the better of two centuries?”

He smiles, the snide expression drawing attention from the way he tenses reflexively. He’s made comments like that before; they were more often met with solid blows than witty retorts.

[thecoffeelovingcat]

commissions for @crescentsweep 

i love u nabii :3c

[crescentsweep-deactivated202505]

OMG THANK YOU IT CAME OUT LOOKING SOO GOOD!! I LOVE IT ITS NOW MY PHONE WALL PAPER oh and @bymywill more gifts huhuhu

[bymywill-blog]

silvestreaelurus:

Even if he was teasing her, her lack of exposure to social cues would have let it fly right by her head. She saw nothing pretty about her name, only that it was given to her both by her biological parents and her jungle.

“Yes,” She said passively, adverting her gaze briefly. She decided it was better not to argue about something she didn’t know anything about. If he thinks her name is pretty, there’s no harm in letting him think so.

Most girls he knows would have been more flustered. He does feel something like appreciation of Nidalee’s stoicism, though- at least enough to propel him through the sentence that comes next.

“I’m... sorry that our hunting here disturbed you. We didn’t realize it was anybody’s home.”

It’s a stiff, labored apology, but he’s mostly sure he did it right.

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

Kat scoffs. “Please. Anything you could kill yourself with, you could kill them with. They won’t give you much.”

She’s not sure if he’s deliberately misunderstanding or if he honestly isn’t understanding what she, for some reason, is trying to say. “Some people just die faster than others, even if they haven’t been hurt much. You don’t seem like the type to give up like that.”

“I don’t think it’s the lifestyle choice you make it out to be,” He says after a moment, resisting a powerful urge to roll his eyes.

It takes a couple extra second for the rest of what she said to register- or, at least, for Jarvan to recognize something that seems so improbable as to have been imagined.

“...And if you intended to give me a compliment, I’m fairly sure that’s treason.”

Which is perfectly fine, of course. Noxian treason should loosely translate to a Demacian medal of honor.

[bymywill-blog]

thedanceofblades:

It hits her about ten seconds too late that there’s no reason for her not to just hit him. Even then, she just… doesn’t. There’s nothing to be gained but a flash of satisfaction–which would be instantly gutted by the knowledge that she was picking a fight she had no way of losing. She’d been raised better than that–definitely raised better than to let her vanity control her actions like that.

So instead, she just seethes internally at the roll of his eyes and moves on.

Katarina shrugs. “Even if they won’t give anything up for you, that doesn’t mean you’re not worth keeping alive. Or trying to, if you start giving up.”

“Giving up?”

He understands each of the things she’s said separately, but it takes him more than a second to link them together in any plausible way. It occurs to Jarvan, in thinking this through, that he isn’t actually trying to stay alive at all, when you get right down to it. He’s valued spiting his captors over preserving his own welfare at every turn.

It disturbs him for a moment, but not enough to do anything different. The damned Noxians shouldn’t have it easier, anyway.

“Do you mean if I meant to end my own life?”

He sounds offended.

Because he is.

If they want him dead, they’re going to have to do the job themselves. He isn’t about to do anything that remotely resembles cooperation.