— Frank Bidart, from “Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016; ‘The Third Hour of the Night’", published c. 2017.

After a long day of travels, Yasuo finally found the perfect place to rest. He let his traveler's bag slide off his shoulder to hit the ground with a loud thud.

Yasuo let out an exhausted sigh and sat down underneath a tree to relax for a while. He pulled the hat that hung from the back of his neck and placed it on his face to take a nap.

@noxiandove

It was early spring. The fresh scent of flowers blooming and birds singing had always drawn Ivory to nature, even if she was rarely allowed to wander outside of Noxian territory, at least alone. Not that this applied, today - because she had been on a trip with the Noxian troops to the northern border, towards the Freljord.

With a lot of free time on her hands now that the mission was nearly over, the Dove swiftly escaped the Noxian camp to wander around the trees, and soon found herself lost in a gorgeous, blooming clearing. 

In fact, she liked this spot so much that she decided to climb up a beautiful tree, and took out her sketchbook, immersing herself in the beauty of spring and deciding to spend the rest of the day sketching whatever she saw.

---

Long hours were spent drawing and drawing again - drawing every bird, flower and bunny she saw, lost in her thoughts - however, and she knew it was coming, the Beast inside of her started to feel restless, and agitated. She tried to ignore him the best she could, occasionally feeling a tingle of pain down her spine, or an itch in her arm, her vein glowing purple every time it happened.

Until...

A sharp, stabbing pain ran through her spine and down her arms, and she yelped - dropping her sketchbook and all of her painting and drawing tools from the branch she was sitting on. 

She winced, expecting them to crash quietly in the grass - hopefully, nothing would be too badly damaged. But instead, the crash was loud, as if all of her stuff had hit a person.

Her shoulders relax a little as he speaks - eyes still carefully following his every movement. Yes, she understood what he meant. How could she not? Having to play nice and avoid being seen as any kind of threat had been part of her daily life since that... day. But surely he, Vladimir - the Vladimir, had more freedom than she did, he was powerful, people needed to respect him no matter what, right?

“Maybe being seen as a threat is...” She begins, hesitantly sitting down on the armchair in front of him, “...A good thing.” She folds her hands over her lap, “As time passes, their influence fades. Their strength diminishes. Their lives end. But you remain.”

“The leash is always temporary, but the power, and knowledge, you gain from being patient through it all, is eternal.”

Sometimes she was wise beyond her years, but surely being raised by the Black Rose since birth would do that to anybody.

“They may diminish but their ways of stopping creatures such as us grows. I’m sure you’re aware of how Demacia has been taking care of their mages” he says, however, there isn't a hint of annoyance in his voice. He seems to be rather calm, despite the topic they spoke of.

“Preferably I would like for that to never grow in popularity.“ he turns to her, eyes studying her form from too to bottom before speaking once more. “And what say you? You are a creature who has always been obedient. Even now you struggle to speak your mind with me, yet you've always been in my presence. Do you not have concerns about how terribly quiet the world has been? It's still. Even for a being as young as yourself, the quiet is unsettling, is it not?”

“Demacia is nothing,” The Dove immediately retorts, perhaps a little too boldly, quickly clearing her throat and sitting back in her chair, making herself as little as possible. “They’re... They’re fools, is what I mean,” She adds, “Mages are invaluable assets. Magic... is unbeatable. This is why they fear us. Why they fear Noxus.”

Truly, years of Noxian propaganda, coupled with Black Rose indoctrination, had succeeded in making Ivory a devoted patriot. Whether or not she truly, deeply believed in her own words was debatable, however.

“I...” The Dove hesitates, his words reasoning in her mind - painfully true words. Had she ever questioned her place among Noxians? Among the forces of the Black Rose? Surely she had, but... Ebony would always protect her, wouldn’t he? They were each other’s greatest doom, but also greatest strength. She would never be alone, never.

“...I don’t think I’ve ever felt true quietness,” She replies after a second of silence, “It’s like my mind is constantly buzzing... constantly keeping me busy. Aware.” Her fingers nervously play with the hem of her shirt, “Maybe the buzzing will go away with time. Maybe I’ll... feel empty someday, like... like...” She whispers: “...like you feel empty.”

Even after all these years, it was as if the woman was still incredibly intimidated by the mere presence of the hemomancer - barely able to stand still, eyes filled with apprehension.

“You are, yes - as always, sir.” She nods politely, imitating his gesture and clasping her hands over her waist, “And I try to follow in your footsteps, of course.”

She attempted to stay, well, polite and vague in her answer - hoping not to anger the man if she somehow misunderstood the tone of the conversation.

His eyes lock on her, a gentle sigh escaping him. "I am tired of behaving. I am forced to sit here idly, acting as a human would. For what? Because if I lift a finger the general and his followers would deem me a threat to the state, if they haven't already." He lifts his hand, metallic finger causing a red liquid to rise from his glass. The ball of crimson swirling, moving in the air freely as if it were a living organism with a pulse.

"This leash, it chokes the life out of me."

Her shoulders relax a little as he speaks - eyes still carefully following his every movement. Yes, she understood what he meant. How could she not? Having to play nice and avoid being seen as any kind of threat had been part of her daily life since that... day. But surely he, Vladimir - the Vladimir, had more freedom than she did, he was powerful, people needed to respect him no matter what, right?

“Maybe being seen as a threat is...” She begins, hesitantly sitting down on the armchair in front of him, “...A good thing.” She folds her hands over her lap, “As time passes, their influence fades. Their strength diminishes. Their lives end. But you remain.”

“The leash is always temporary, but the power, and knowledge, you gain from being patient through it all, is eternal.”

Sometimes she was wise beyond her years, but surely being raised by the Black Rose since birth would do that to anybody.

by Pascal Blanché

@noxiandove followed! -

His lips pull into a thin line, hands clasping across his lap as he leaned back in a chair. "I'm behaving." he says simply.

Even after all these years, it was as if the woman was still incredibly intimidated by the mere presence of the hemomancer - barely able to stand still, eyes filled with apprehension.

“You are, yes - as always, sir.” She nods politely, imitating his gesture and clasping her hands over her waist, “And I try to follow in your footsteps, of course.”

She attempted to stay, well, polite and vague in her answer - hoping not to anger the man if she somehow misunderstood the tone of the conversation.

New and revamped ref sheets for my League of Legends OC Ivory and her Void beast Ebony! Made minor changes to Ivory's design and completely revamped her wardrobe/aesthetic, but Ebony's design remains the same from their most recent redesign (2019).

Along with my other League of Legends OC Riley, Ivory and Ebony are also turning 10 years old in 2022! It's insane to think I've had them for so long, but I still love them so, so much.

; { so I was bored last night and ended up making that ship tier list for Ivory!! ofc I can’t include OCs so it’s just the canon characters :( yes somehow Cho'Gath and others are considered “gross” but under certain circumstances she could end up dating other weird things like Vel'Koz don’t look at me }

sexual tension prompts