#garen crownguard

[lamespin]

katgaren

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Since you don't think Jarvan IV x Shyvana will work, what are your thoughts on Garen x Katarina's longevity?

Excuse you, I think Shyvana x Jarvan can work perfectly fine!

... as a toxic co-dependent angst ship, perpetually stormy and marred by tragedy and resentment, that resolves in explosively feral sex and occasionally eroticized physical combat.

So okay maybe not a ship with a lot of longevity because it'll kill one of them sooner or later, but that's how Garen x Katarina is going to end too. They're just gonna be softer with each other along the way, each being the only source of softness either of them has.

[xingyueiri]

Demacia Best Uncle 10/10

[yoshdookie]

ive just started drawing again after like a month

[questionablecuttlefish]

What would Jinx do to Lux's family?

Annoy them, endlessly 🤣

Though I've also really enjoyed fics like Here For Diamonds Not Dames where Jinx is inexplicably adored in Demacia. I kinda wanna play with the idea myself because, stepping back, S2+ Jinx's role as a scrappy antihero who rose up against a corrupt regime that let Noxus come in the gate and inflict martial law on its own citizens, and that nearly unleashed an apocalypse on itself playing with dangerous Arcane power, might make her *explicably* popular in Demacia, actually.

Depends on the tone you want for a story though. You can go for full drama if Jinx gets vindictive against Lux's family for their treatment of Lux, or you can easily play it for fluff or comedy bouncing everyone's reactions to this wacky foreign chaos gremlin their golden daughter is mysteriously attached to ✨💛💙

[heraldoftheruination]

the shit i see on the enemy team when im on my 10 lose streak

[yarozlav9zz]

Lux: Jinx, meet my brother Garen!

Jinx *finger guns*: Sup big man...

Garen: If you break my little sisters heart I will smite the Demacia out of you!!!

Jinx *inner thoughts*: So this is how Caitlyn felt...

[blade-liger-4ever]

Paladins and Femme Fatales: A Tricky Romance

To be quite frank, I don't think there's anything wrong with a Paladin - such as Silverbolt in the middle right, or Captain America below him - romancing and even wedding a traditional Femme Fatale.

However, it is a very difficult relationship to pull off believably, never mind in a manner that could work. For one, in virtually all cases the Femme Fatale would have to actively work to redeem herself and turn over a new leaf, thus foregoing the vices and villainy she used in the past. The reason for this is because of the intrinsic evil in such acts, which the Paladin stands against at all times. His virtue and heroism is supposed to be an inspiration to her to realize she has fallen far in pursuit of short-sighted goals, or was manipulated into committing heinous act that aren't what she truly desires.

That's not to say the Femme Fatale changes her ways completely. She can retain her own independent attitude, but she must recognize she should change her tactics. If need be, she can still use her feminine wiles for a mission, but she should recognize the need to stop at batting her eyelashes at her targets before killing them. Things like this is what she needs to abandon, not her personality.

Allow me to delve into the Paladin/Femme Fatale relationships that could, did/did not, or may/may not work out to elaborate further.

Garen and Katarina, above, are a tedious example of the dynamic. I say tedious because both are so loyal to their respective countries that it's more than likely that those personal ties will prevent them from changing sides, and/or from changing for the other. Garen in particular is a Paladin to the hilt, exemplifying his homeland's espoused virtues of courage, honor, integrity, and justice perfectly. Thus he will not bend in any way, shape, or form to evil, least of all the kind that would require him to no longer practice any of the above.

Likewise, Katarina is both intensely loyal to her nation and is uncomfortably alright with indiscriminate killing as her line of work calls for it. That's not to say she's a psychopathic killer; rather, if her assassin duty calls for her to slay anywhere from one to a hundred targets in one night, Katarina will do it. She's called "the Sinister Blade" for a reason, something that contrasts starkly with Garen's title of "the Might of Demacia."

However, there is plenty of room for Katarina to change.

Although her lack of severe indoctrination is a writing oversight (especially when taking into account her sister Cassiopeia, who is a far worse and more unrepentant Femme Fatale than her elder sister), Katarina has enough self-awareness to recognize her flaws as compared to Garen's virtues and see that she's merely a tool for Noxus. Granted, she's far too happy in that position of being her homeland's lapdog killer, and too eager to flaunt her sex appeal, but Katarina's meeting(s) with Garen have led her to some self-reflection that allows room for growth. His devotion to his home and his people awakened her own sense of heroism, if only slightly, while his immovable stance on all that is right echoes with Katarina as she continues her assassin work.

Therefore, while it is highly unlikely that such a relationship could flower, the effect of Garen's heroism and virtues on Katarina is undeniable, and sets the stage for this Femme Fatale to change her ways in a believable manner down the road - should she choose to pursue that noble ideal.

Luke Skywalker exemplifies all that is good about both the Jedi as a whole and the Rebel Alliance. Mara Jade is the Emperor's Hand, a secret agent who went under the radar of all, yet somehow became the "symbol" of the Empire and, after some time, married Luke.

And yet, she never changed on account of her "love" for him.

Oh yes, Mara Jade abandoned the Empire. She became a solo agent for herself, and eventually joined Luke's Jedi Academy a whole year after she'd spent a trilogy trying to kill him.

But even after their meeting, after all their adventures, after their own wedding, Mara continues to witch at Luke, kill her/their enemies indiscriminately or if it suits her, and be a jerk in general. Not once does she apologize for her behavior, not once does she dial back her killing sprees, not once does she become less of a catsuit eye candy woman in order to cultivate the virtues her husband supposedly inspired in her.

And Luke, despite being a Paladin through and through, has no issue with this.

The reason they do not work at all is because Mara was this overpowered Mary Sue that everyone in the writing rooms of Lucasfilm (sans George Lucas himself, for which I am grateful) allowed to get away with scandal, abhorrent behavior towards friends/family, and outright murder simply because of her sex appeal to those in real life. Not even Timothy Zahn, for all the fans' screaming, did her well, because Mara should have been obsessed with nothing but killing Luke and taking over the Empire - which, additionally, was an actual dream of hers. Mara canonically (in Legends now, where she belongs outside of nonexistence) wanted to take Vader's place and rule the galaxy alongside the Emperor. The only reason she didn't was because it was no longer safe for her and she'd rather find a new outlet to kill and get away with immorality as she pleases.

Not once does Mara begin choosing virtue over vice. She repeatedly wears either tight-fitting or revealing clothing, verbally abuses her husband and in-laws, and then has the gall to be a hypocrite towards fellow Jedi who either fall to the Dark Side or end up having to kill with varying degrees of glee - and Luke just sips his drink and nods along like this is normal, while no one, not even spitfire Leia Organa Solo, takes her to task over this.

Luke and Mara are a childish/naive belief of what the Paladin/Femme Fatale romance is: all about the hotness of the pairing and no character development. Luke needs to steer clear of Mara and thus get her to realize change of herself is necessary for it to work. Or, if you go with her attitude as in Legends, then Mara should just bat his hand away and Luke should realize that she's happy in the darkness while he's content in the light, thereby closing a door on any possible relationship between them.

There are no other alternatives, and this is every bit the wrong way to handle a Paladin and Femme Fatale romance.

Now, while I'm not that familiar with Beast Wars, I have seen, basically, the whole of Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's romance. And now that I've had some time to think it over, they actually do work.

Silverbolt was essentially brainwashed to be a Predacon, but his deeply heroic Maximal Spark was so strongly true and good, that it actually overrode the brainwashing and let him switch to the good guys' side pretty much before the episode was over. A Paladin bordering on parody in his speeches of heroics and virtues, Silverbolt stood strongly against the evil Predacons and never wavered in the fight against them.

Blackarachnia, meanwhile, had a Spark of goodness buried very deeply under vice, nasty behavior, and a backstabbing, self-serving penchant. For a long time, her redemption looked out of place and superficial - and, to an extent, remained appearing superficial for a while.

However, as she encountered Silverbolt more and more, and his attempts to reach out to the goodness he sensed in her, Blackarachnia steadily let go of using her sex appeal and backstabbing for her own ends. She stayed rather snappy and occasionally selfish for a bit once she joined the Maximals, and while her attitude remained a toned down version of her original behavior, Blackarachnia successfully managed to become a heroine who loved Silverbolt back and began to treat him with genuine love and respect.

Unlike the other two examples, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt are done well because of the change he inspires in her. Blackarachnia recognizes the genuineness of his love for her, and though it takes a lot of struggling, she realizes the error of her ways and changes because he inspired her to become the woman he saw in her, and she fights every instinct, every temptation, to go back to her old self because she loves him that much.

This is why they work, and are an actually healthy/intelligent writing of a Paladin/Femme Fatale romance.

Captain America/Steve Rogers is a Paladin who will never do the wrong thing, always does what is right, and will not flinch for evil. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff is, essentially, a recovering Femme Fatale, who recognizes that she was brainwashed and used for evil, and even before they met went so far as running from her homeland and renouncing even her association with the place in order to make amends. Widow has spent her life since then atoning by fighting the good fight, killing only when no other option presents itself, and abandoning the vices she once employed, though she does use her prettiness to her advantage numerous times.

Now, there are still some things that would make the romance between Cap and Widow awkward. He's still chaste, steadfast, and regrets any killing he has to do. Widow, for all her newly cultivated virtues, is not very chaste, will question herself if she believes she traded one Red Room for another, and does not have as many qualms about being stuck killing as Cap does.

However, if you put in the work, let Cap and Widow put in the work, they could believably overcome these obstacles and Widow could become a better woman while Cap learns to both help her along that journey and trust that she will be able to make the hard choice(s) that he can't always do without him or her sacrificing either a part of their character or their virtues for a mission/each other.

That's my advice on the matter. I feel Paladins are generally in need of other Paladins for a romance to work, though there's something to be said about a Femme Fatale marrying a Paladin, if only because those last two examples are actually pretty workable. However, if you go that route, it must be done so that Love Redeems is in play; otherwise, you're just ruining what could be a beautiful romance and warping it into something disgusting or unrealistic.

I hope you enjoyed this, and have a new perspective on this particular romance trope!