⸫ // thorned rose.

it’s because of the challenge he poses to her on all fronts that leblanc became excited,  that they,  as officially put by a dev who worked on swain’s rework,    “    are each other’s reason for waking up each morning,    ”    and as long as it takes for her to come to term with it,  and as much as she loathes to admit it,  leblanc is very much in love with swain.

if anything ever happened to swain,  she would lose almost all of her passion.  she would become extremely bored.  there is no reason to wake up each morning.  there will never be another like him.  there will never be anyone to challenge her.  swain is the pinnacle of it all.  she might just raze the earth across all of runeterra and set fire to it all.  nothing would matter.  she had a taste of more,  a taste of something exciting,  how do you go back to a world without color  ?

leblanc is calculating and careful in her schemes.  she doesn’t just wage a war just because she feels like it.  there is purpose to it.  if it’s something for noxus to gain,  or to shift the balance in the world  ----  there is always a reason.  she is not cruel,  she does not act without reason.  but if she ever did lose swain,  she might lose that care.  even with her own goals,  even with her enjoyment of watching the cogs in runeterra’s machine spin,  what is it worth if swain was not there with her  ?  if the world burned,  she wouldn’t care.

please read !! this is very important !!

if you have any questions by the end of this post, if you stick through it, and i hope you do, please feel free to ask !! however, if you don’t wish to read character - specific information, and some of this is a headcanon so i do suggest reading it but it’s not necessary, just skip to the bottom for the information regarding how most interactions should go and what - not.

i suppose i should start, now that my activity is picking up here again, with a post detailing critical information regarding leblanc, which i may add to my rules page at a later date because it is really important, and it is really important to me, leblanc, and my blog as a whole that this is adhered to, otherwise i will be dropping threads. it isn’t to sound harsh but meta - gaming is an extremely big no - no for me, and i know how easy it is to write in dialogue or prose into replies that give your muse information that they otherwise should not possess, and considering the nature of leblanc and with there being so much secrecy surrounding herself and her life, as well as her livelihood, it’s important, so i ask that everyone, please be mindful and careful !!

now, i’m going to get into specifics !!

if you are familiar with league of legends, you know who leblanc is, and you may be familiar with her lore, whether loosely or intimately. you will know that she is a deadly assassin who weaponizes magic, and she is the head, the matron, of an underground organization consisting primarily of other assassins, as well as informants and cultists ( re : swain’s parents were more or less manipulated into becoming devout followers, that eventually led to leblanc further manipulating swain into taking the lives of his own parents ), infamously known as the black rose.

the black rose itself is a known organization, and it is relatively common knowledge that it is headquartered somewhere within noxus, though few, aside from those who are necessary or those who were able to dig up the information, will know it’s within the heart of noxus. there are, of course, several locations in which black rose agents reside, not simply within noxus, and will have a number of safe houses scattered across runeterra.

again, as mentioned in my rules, i work with both current and retconned lore into shaping not only my portrayal of leblanc, but the world in which she resides as well, so my vision of noxus, and runeterra as a whole as a result of it, will differ from canon and may differ from the views of other writers / players.

that being said, i still run with the old lore of the immortal bastion being the fortress within the heart of noxus, its capitol and capital, though, because of the recent changes to mordekaiser and previous changes to lore, the fortress itself was rather named in in his honor. leblanc makes most of her business from within the immortal bastion ---- she is an extremely busy woman, and rarely makes appearances herself in person, both for convenience and her own safety. she is an immortal witch who has lived for centuries, not only because of her own prowess, but because of her slippery nature that comes with her magic. she often sends her clone out for menial tasks, which are still necessary, or for reconnaissance. if it’s of special importance, she often does like to go out in person, with her true physical form, but it’s rare,

she has lived for centuries with few being privy to the truth of her identity, and that is the purpose of me writing this post.

she runs what is essentially a cult, one that has its thorns piercing the heart of noxus, and thus requires utmost secrecy.

previously to leblanc’s updated lore, before it became official that she is an immortal witch, that was my headcanon ( this is just me patting my own back ), as previous lore had written that leblanc was merely a title, a moniker of sorts, and one body became the next leblanc, and with the power of illusionary magic, they could all assume the same face ---- i hated this lore and i am more than pleased that it’s no longer canon, not that i ever accepted it as such anyway.

leblanc has lived for centuries without anyone knowing the truth of her identity. she is known famously under many nicknames, such as the pale woman, but no one knows who she really is. of course, people have come across her in person, she cannot remain hidden within the shadows at all times ( and she would absolutely hate it, too ), so she adopts an alias, emilia, though her true given name is evaine. she does not go out of her way to introduce herself unless she finds it necessary in order to build a foundation of trust in order for her to successfully manipulate someone, and she will never give her real name. the only people who are privy to the truth of her identity are those within her inner circle ---- most importantly, jericho swain, and then vladimir, who i have seen as her right hand, and draven and darius. elise is also privy to her identity, and perhaps talon and katarina, but for the most part, she does not directly interact with even members of the black rose who are not of her inner circle, in order to maintain her secrecy and to prevent the breaking of the illusion of mystery.

another exception includes her victims, such as darkwill, if she deems it fit or necessary, to reveal herself in full to them. she begins their relationships under the guise of a political advisor, and she is actually quite a talented one at that and has done wonders, as well as horrors ( always intentional ), for the nations beneath her thumb, and she often has seduced these men in order to get what she wants ---- a canon fact, though my spin in this is that she has never given herself to anyone in her true physical form, it is always a clone.

the point is : your muse, unless you write the above muses ( and i am not interested in writing with any swains, simply of my own bias ), will not know who leblanc is. they will not know she is the black rose’s mistress. they will not know her real name. they will not connect the dots between leblanc being “ the pale woman ” just because leblanc is almost deathly pale, because if people could connect the dots between that just based on her appearance alone, her identity would not be such a well - kept and well - guarded secret / mystery. they will not think she is slimy or manipulative ---- they likely will not even realize her manipulative nature, because leblanc is incredibly charming. she is beautiful, she is seductive, and she is a master who has perfected the art of slipping into someone’s life and tying them around her fingers. she has a natural allure that people are drawn to, she knows just the right things to say all the time, she knows how to get into someone’s head and prey upon their weaknesses and their desires. she is ethereally beautiful, she dresses in a manner that accentuates the curves of her body that draws people’s attention, she speaks in such a slow and sultry manner that you cannot help but to be entranced. she is always smiling, and having lived so long she has perfected a faux - genuine smile. your muse should have no true reason to ever be suspicious of her until she explicitly gives them reason to, and by this time, it’s typically far too late into her game of manipulation.

leblanc is not a good person. she is a villain in all her might, and she is deadly and dangerous. that being said, she is not cruel or evil. she is a villain, but she is not evil nor does she needlessly slaughter nor does she pick out any and everyone to manipulate. chances are, your muse will go along thinking the pair of them are friends if she has use of them, though it will be poorly one - sided ---- she does not make friends, she does not want friends. she is not cruel simply to be cruel ---- there is always reason and method behind her actions.

i have another modern verse where it is the events of league lore in a modern setting, similar to how i have it on morgana, and in leblanc’s case, again, it’ll probably be similar to the likes of my mafia au for modern contexts, but unlike my main mafia verse, leblanc is the same immortal witch from in game.

i’ll write up these posts whenever i find the time !!

oh, and because i’ve been obsessed with ffxiv for the past few weeks, i have a ffxiv au for leblanc in which she is an ascian, more so with her own agenda compared to the likes of her brethren, but an ascian all the same, and i’ll write a post on that eventually as well.

     “it’s kuchiki to you,” silver gaze scrutinised her a moment, the marble of his face not betraying his irritations, though, he imaged she very much felt the same. they were not exactly known for their positive working relationship in the brief amount of time it had existed. but it worked so far, somehow. they were still tiptoeing around one another, learning the worth the other had. even if he was standing on her property he wouldn’t play the politics of it with a gentler hand, he would always border on arrogance.

      “there is no need to doubt my men, let alone my word. if you want an insurance, you can have it.”

full lips tightly pressed together in an instant, though they reverted just as swiftly as to not betray her ever - growing vexation. as cool & aloof as she could appear upon the surface, leblanc was a tempest to be feared, a force not easily reckoned with. petite as she was, she was ever the deadly blossom, having been the lethal poison to men who towered over her with ease. if her prowess was not enough to strike fear within anyone’s heart, the threat of the reachers her power should have been intimidating enough alone. however, she knew that byakuya was not easily intimidated, & for that alone, she had to offer him a modicum of her respect.