Brock - TFT Unit Splash Art by Valentine Tran

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Brock - TFT Unit Splash Art by Valentine Tran
â â â â â i know what danger stirs â â â â â â â â â â â â beyond ixtals borders. â
â â â â â â â â .â â â â ixtal stamps â â â â â â â . . . ⥠+ â + â» appreciated !
Qiyanas face kills me and I couldn't get a good pic of Zyra but LETS GOOOOOOOO
Also #arcane for engagement
LoL - Skarner Is Right
"Oh man, I wonder if I'll draw other champions from this game later down the line"
<proceeds to have an idea that requires half the goddamn roster>
Famous last words, huh?
Real talk, delete that last sentence from the final paragraph of Skarner's bio:
"The only one Skarner can trust is himself, and he'll do anything it takes to protect Ixtal and its people. Even if that means becoming the root of their destruction, himself."
And his "destructive paranoia" immediately gets downgraded to "fully reasonable and healthy paranoia". I bet I haven't even pictured a fifth of all the insane bull-- going on outside of Ixtal, and half of the things on the pic would be enough for me to vote for eternal isolation, thanks.
This was a lot of fun to put together, even if it took a bit longer than I would have hoped. I ended up reading and/or listening to quite a few lore bits, all of which I really enjoyed... and my god, the story of Nasus and Renekton just nuked my heart. I want the god-warrior bros to make up and live happily ever after! I don't even care what happens to Azir and Shurima in the background, I want the brothers to get a happy ending, pls, Riot!!
So what's the lesson to learn from all this? #SkarnerIsRight
Other LoL-related works
Skarner sketchdump 24-04-03-06
2024.04.13
A Bluebird in the Green, Chapter 3: The Empress's New Fool
Rating: Explicit (Smut, canon-typical violence)
Ships: Jinx/Neeko, Jinx/Qiyana Yun Tal
Genre/Tropes: Action/Adventure, Smut, Shameless Smut, Jungles, Hidden Cities, Action & Romance...well 'romance', Political Intrigue, Prisoner, Escape Plans, Battle Training, Toxic Situationship, Trans!Fem Jinx, Qiyana is Everything.
Chapter 3: The Empress's New Fool
Summary:
For Jinx, formerly of Zaun, raidin' a Piltie poacher camp deep in the Shuriman jungle with her new freaky, shapeshiftin' sweetie, Neeko, should've been a walk in the park. Only one complication; they weren't the only interested party... And now Jinx finds herself the 'guest' of the mysterious and hidden jungle empire of Ixtal, specifically, of the prodigiously talented-and extremely aware of it-Yunalai princess, Qiyana. With this self-absorbed but searingly hot mage almost as intrigued by Jinx's knowledge of their mutual enemy, Piltover, and her talents with its arcane machinery, as she is disdainful of everything else about Jinx, just how will Jinx navigate a deadly dance of wills with the most powerful mage in Ixtal, while planning to get out of this secret mage empire, back to her adorable Lizard Girl and her quest for her airship...? And, more importantly, how can she make this uppity bitch want her so bad it makes her look stupid?
Long been disappointed in how boring the Rose is as a secret spy organization, so here's some regional ideas to build in more intrigue into Leblanc/Rose/Noxus spy narratives so they have to actually be smart about their intel operations
Different regions have unique qualities to them. These qualities should be genuinely engaged with by narratives, not ignored. Qualities include some cultural, some physical, etc. and all alter how Leblanc/the Rose/Noxus operate and what intel they can even get:
Demacia: LB like most Noxians find Demacia a painfully annoying thorn in their side. Petricite walls and shadowy interventions of the veiled lady make most magically assisted infiltrations next to impossible. No clones, no teleportation, no swapping bodies, no magic assisted interrogations or information sharing, etc. Any and all espionage has to be done the old fashioned way. The Rose/Noxus has to play "fairly" or not at all. "Grit and spit" methods like trying to recruit local agents (Demacians can spot a foreign accent a mile away despite efforts to hide it), bribery, extortion, etc. However, this leaves Leblanc's plans dependent on mortals who are flighty at best of times.
Targon: LB can send spies and clones to Targon but doesnât derive much value from them directly. Understanding Targonian celestial divinations is difficult enough at the best of times, and prophecy more often than not will bite you in the arse no matter what you do, but the mountain does produce a treasure trove of prophecies that she can use for misdirection elsewhere in the world. Isolated geography and the constant eye of celestial empowered inquisitors make intel missions high risk dubious reward so LB sticks to gathering divinations for use in other regions.
Piltover: Clan Inteligencers, particularly those empowered by hextech, are an equal match for Rose agents and other Noxian spies. The trade connections the clans also hold make them capable of similar global reach as the Rose and equal in blackmail and bribery potential. Tit-for-tat escalation is a high risk as agent actions in Piltover can quickly result in counter espionage actions by Inteligencers across the globe where the Rose might least expect. Infiltration of Piltover is easy due to its high level of societal openness, but care has to be done in order to avoid a cascade of reprisals across the Empire.
Ionia: Raum, a historically valuable asset, proved quite limited during and prior to the first invasion and was not much use in gaining intel in Ionia. Kinkou wards, the land's spirits, and peculiarities of Ionian burial practices made it difficult for Raum to consume secrets from Ionian dead. The demon was only easily able to consume the secrets of stagnant souls of Noxian dead that were categorically rejected from an afterlife by the spirit of Ionia. So his role was repurposed for gathering secrets on Noxians who fell in battle rather than on Ionia itself. Other demonic vassals in the Rose's employ were more useful to the war but ended up destroying most anything of value in the process.
Freljord: Lissandra and LB have long had a détente of sorts between them. Frostguard are near impossible to infiltrate due to their iceborn preponderance and cultish socialization, and Liss is limited to collecting dreams of Noxians she's able to seduce from afar, not break into Noxus itself. Harsh terrain, Freljordian culture emphasizing familial bonds, and territorial nature of the tribes make Rose infiltration extremely difficult. Secrets of Freljordian resiliency remain just out of touch.
Ixtal: A man after her own heart, Skarner's eyes are everywhere with his vibration-based panopticon which makes direct infiltration a no-go. Able to sense even the slight change in someone's gait after being replaced by a clone, many Leblancs and agents die quickly or have to avoid drawing any attention to themselves thus making their effectiveness severely degraded. Ixaocan isolationism and rigid caste structure based entirely on elemental magic similarly makes high value infiltrations unlikely simply due to an inability to blend in. Ixtal still has value, however, as the traps woven by the Ixaocan arcologies and the general Ixtali jungles are a bounty of for repurposing. Poisons, plagues, and new monstrous creations from the local fauna can be collected (at great risk, often resulting in death of agent).
A slight reoccurring theme is that despite being extremely well connected, LB rarely if ever can reach the "true value" in other societies, and is forced into just shallow repurposing. A good pararel to how Noxus deals with other cultures and how shallow their "inclusivity" really is.
Queen of Thorns
I didn't need any justification for Qiyana and Jinx to be the best of frenemies, but I still appreciate it. Seriously tho, I can totally see him here to just undermine Piltover's project. Zaun could always use more allies.