#mel reads the katarina comic

[noxianwilled]

the whole opposition of ideals between those two, too. he says it doesn't matters, and that striking from the shadows would have ensured her safety and not put her in needless risk, while being a mercy that the target would die painlessly and quickly. but even before kat says anything it's obvious that's not as important to her. the dude didn't want a peaceful death, and he died fighting and knowing his work meant something - what she says she hopes is how she dies when she eventually dies.

[noxianwilled]

I have many thoughts about the comic and I don't think everything is great but as someone whose entire portrayal pre recent lore was 'Marcus really is dead bc Kat chose her loyalty to Noxus and Swain and killed her dad' the last couple chapters appealed to me specifically uahsuahduahd

[noxianwilled]

swain's birds actually woke her up...... like sure the dream was fucked up but? it could have been worse if he/them were trying to cause harm?

[noxianwilled]

NO BUT THEY ARE SO REAL FOR THIS LMAO

[noxianwilled]

the fact katarina is so suspicious of so much throughout the last couple of issues, to the point she suspects even talon, but doesn't consider marcus may have lied (like, i won't even say 'doesn't consider it may not be him' i don't think she is well-versed enough in magic to know that's a thing that's possible) about swain wanting the du couteaus out of the way.... like. girl. you're so close.

i personally think, confrontational as she's been shown to be before, the fact she doesn't go straight to swain for answers is also??? idk. but not even considering he may not truly be the one behind it feels so off specially when in the last issues kat herself acknowledges she basically has no family left with the "Mother and sister... left us. My brother... tried to kill me. And my own father is going to." like? girl? you said it yourself the connection between you and the rest of them is flimsy af? why would swain use you to get to them???

[noxianwilled]

girlfriends

[noxianwilled]

like i think? there's something interesting to be played with in the sense of talon remaining loyal to marcus, despite everything, and katarina obviously rebelling and resenting, and how even if they keep their bond as siblings that would linger between them, as well as the idea in katarina's eyes they're just both being made to be their father's weapons and they're both meant for more than that. but the execution was really off with the whole 'i always knew he was alive, you're just swain's pawn, i'll kill you and be the du couteau heir' in an outburst that 5 seconds later is over and doesn't show that lingering resentment. and on katarina's part, too, the matchy scars is just tacky

[noxianwilled]

not sure how i feel about the talon and kat part tbh. more thoughts later but i think if they didn't mean to make their bond as siblings real, it just ends up weakening that and the story that could've been kept with them not being close. like. this way just seems like they wanted to do both and committed to neither, and the result is not satisfying 🤷‍♂️

[noxianwilled]

what did i say before? girlfriends

[noxianwilled]

TALON AND MARCUS FIGHTING ZED???

edit: ok it was part of the dream BUT the fact katarina dreams about that/at least knows what zed looks like is. interesting nevertheless

[noxianwilled]

also this part... i do think lb is behind everything (is she this one dude too? maybe so) but regardless i think this obviously shows the real plan, hers or whoever else's, wasn't even to have the king die, at least not like that. clearly they expected a failure — which would have been a great way to escalate tension between demacia and noxus, if katarina was captured or killed and could be traced back to the empire. with how often she's suggested to be working for swain, maybe the plan was to pin on him that he sent an assassin to kill the demacian king? that could easily lead to war. whatever the end goal was, it's obvious katarina wasn't meant to succeed and much less escape this suicide mission, but she's just skilled and reckless enough that she did <3

[noxianwilled]

say thank you sylas

[noxianwilled]

she's such a liar, i love her

[noxianwilled]

i do love that one of her commentaries about swain after learning of the 'betrayal' is that he's fallen far from their ideals if he fears someone at the mere promise of strength because it makes it so clear how genuinely she believes in that ideal (and that all stregth is to be valued, that all of it is useful, that it's a waste to simply want to get rid of it)

[noxianwilled]

swain i see you're watching

[noxianwilled]

i also love the contrast of the two kills shown so far.... the first one is a deserter and she does away with his soldiers and strikes first from the shadows, then makes sure he knows why he's dying and that he'll be entirely erased of noxian records so it'll be like he'll never existed and he won't be remembered. but the second, even though she's there chilling in his chair, the thing is she obviously respects him. he's noxian military and an old man risking too much seeking for an adversary who can kill him in battle and it's being costly to noxus apparently but he's someone who served their country loyally. she gives him what he sought: a worthy adversary who bests him in combat, rather than assassinating from the shadows - and she thanks him for his service to the empire and says he will be remembered as a hero.