The original Blood Moon skins were from issue 22 of the JoJ, where Akali and Shen were performing a play for the Ionian festival. It's the reason why Kennen does not have a blood moon skin, but Kalista has one....
Why?
RiotAnt in Oz24 votesWe liked the idea that the story of Kalista is known all across Runeterra... but different cultures may tell her story differently, as well as have a different idea of how she looks, since most of them - the lucky ones, anyway - have likely never actually seen her.
For example, how the people of Freljord tell the story and picture her may be quite different to the people of Bilgewater... And perhaps in some Ionian versions, this is how they might portray Kalista.
Look at the way the idea of dragons is different in different cultures in our world, though they all come from a similar mythic place.
So that... and it looks cool.
Hope that helps!
Cheers!
Shíny5 votesI guess that works, I'll just add a little head-canon and think that the tale of reina is just like grimm fairy tales. As time went by the story got cleaned up and got a lot less graphic. I really don't think kalista could get scared or let her prey get away ;)
ShadowKnight12246 votesThe Blood Moon is symbolic of scary/threatening things in the Ionian culture. The demon chasing Reina was wearing the Blood Moon mask because he was scary/threatening, and Reina dons the mask when she becomes scary/threatening. Probably Kalista's skin isn't a reference to the tale itself but to the tradition of associating the Blood Moon with that sort of thing. Kalista is, almost by definition, scary and threatening.
Chromatic Eagle5 votesWe liked the idea that the story of Kalista is known all across Runeterra... but different cultures may tell her story differently, as well as have a different idea of how she looks, since most of them - the lucky ones, anyway - have likely never actually seen her.
For example, how the people of Freljord tell the story and picture her may be quite different to the people of Bilgewater... And perhaps in some Ionian versions, this is how they might portray Kalista.
Look at the way the idea of dragons is different in different cultures in our world, though they all come from a similar mythic place.
So that... and it looks cool.
Hope that helps!
Cheers!
That could go over a lot better if it was explained in her upcoming story. I hope more skins receive story connections.
MrBuffington7 votesI know this is probably going to get the "no guarantees" response, but I just wanted to take a shot and ask if future Kalista skins might also be related to her portrayal in other cultures?
RiotAnt in Oz3 votesCool idea. I like it, and have mentioned it to the Skins team...
MrBuffington1 votesSo...could this now work for Thresh and Elise too? XD
Thanks!
EDIT: What I mean is, since Thresh and Elise are getting bloodmoon skins, does this relate to their portrayal in Ionian culture, and could future skins also follow this model (being related to their portrayal in other cultures)?
Ptarlorr1 votesthe new skins are super cool!!!
ChârIes2 votesThat actually is a really cool idea. I'm kind of hoping that there's a Pharaoh (Or Shuriman) Kalista where she appears in an exotic dress, her W into Egyptian Cats, and her ult turns her soulbound into an image of the Sun (imagine seeing a great ball of light being held up by her! :3). Thanks for the info!
Furudo1 votesWe liked the idea that the story of Kalista is known all across Runeterra... but different cultures may tell her story differently, as well as have a different idea of how she looks, since most of them - the lucky ones, anyway - have likely never actually seen her.
For example, how the people of Freljord tell the story and picture her may be quite different to the people of Bilgewater... And perhaps in some Ionian versions, this is how they might portray Kalista.
Look at the way the idea of dragons is different in different cultures in our world, though they all come from a similar mythic place.
So that... and it looks cool.
Hope that helps!
Cheers!
What I've heard about her seems to be would better be applied to Aatrox. I still think they should've been connected.
Ephidel3 votesDang, that's actually pretty cool logic. Like Santa Claus, for another example. Santa Kalista confirmed.
Ink Rose15 votesBecause perhaps Kalista is the actual spirit from the story.
Jakethenight13 votesSomething something retcon.
Havenscythe11 votesRiot doesn't care about lore anymore
Done2510 votesBecause Riot logic.
Demonsolder212 voteslol
The Red Warden7 votesDon't you remember what they said, besides events the lore and gameplay (meaning skins) will be completely separated and not matter to each other at all.
Hammerman7 votesSame reason why Ezreal and Vi have debonair skins, because fuck everything you've ever believed in :(
But seriously, Debonair Taric, Debonair Braum now please.
EmpireEmadika2 votesYesyesyes. Debonair Braum.
LeeDark2 votesNo, Debonair is clearly a Piltover thing.
Sukishoo1 votesVi has Debonair cause clearly Vi was a guy ;)
TheSaltyScourge6 votesFuck you thats how.
Padagi5 votesI don't think the skins have any bearing on the lore at all... Inspired by the lore perhaps, not not affecting the lore or derived directly from it. The skins are just supposed to look cool.
There are a lot of skins that don't make sense in the lore and that's because they're not supposed to.
Are9 votesI don't think the skins have any bearing on the lore at all... Inspired by the lore perhaps, not not affecting the lore or derived directly from it. The skins are just supposed to look cool.
There are a lot of skins that don't make sense in the lore and that's because they're not supposed to.
Most skins in themselves do not have any bearing in lore. This is not the case for Blood Moon Shen and Akali.
Narasimha6 votesYou're looking at it backwards. They were placed in the JoJ AFTER the skins were decided on.
Padagi1 votesOk.
But if 99% of skins have no bearing on Lore, why can't Kalista's just be a one off fitting into the theme of previously existing skins (regardless of their ties to now retconned lore)?
Tenant2 votesMost skins in themselves do not have any bearing in lore. This is not the case for Blood Moon Shen and Akali.
That doesn't mean other champions can't also share the theme and need to also be canon.
Skins have always had an extremely loose tie to lore, and in the case with the Blood Moon theme now, it's merely a theme that represents an Ionian tradition. Akali and Shen may have had ties to it in the actual world, but no one should be offended when Riot wants to capitalize on a cool skin by using a cool theme.
AbrahamBaconham4 votesPerhaps they merely saw an opportunity to make a really kickass-looking skin and took it.
GreenLore2 votesSimply because it was fitting for her. Even though shen and akali have some meaning to the lore,that doesn't mean they can't expand the skin-concept and use it for non-canon skins as well.
gay skarner 2 votesLike.. Kalista has a mysterious past and is super old... So perhaps she's not a follower but a leader if you get my drift. There are possibilities for this to make tons of sense and tie in with other characters/their cultures. So uh, yeah.
DeathByWaffle2 votesR-r-r-r-retcon
Sydelle2 votesEven if anyone were to answer you, what makes you think you can trust the answer? The truth is most Rioters don't have a clue as to why her skin has a Blood Moon mask, and those that DO know may feel somewhat uncomfortable discussing that in an open forum. Even a Rioter asking another may receive an answer that is not more than a lie "Seemed cool."
There comes a time in your life when you must know that some things are kept a secret because only by your arriving at the conclusion on your own are you deemed worthy of the knowledge. Such is the path.
These are Dark Ages, made darker by the fact that information is plentiful. The truth hides among a million plus strands of hay, whereas before we had... a lot less hay. What hasn't changed? The fact that you are still only one person, not 10, not 1000 and certainly not ten thousand. Before you had to find the voice of truth among a few hundred. Today you have to find it among ten million.
Know yourself so you can trust your questions. Know when your questions are lightspawn and when they are darkspawn.
When there is no answer for something you ask, seek the answer. You've received a real quest, the type that actually matters, and one that may not end till the day you die.
Never forget to keep looking at the skies. In them, there's a map.
Every day and every night is a battle. If it doesn't feel that way to you, you are dying. If you feel a poke upon your shoulder, shaking you and whispering you, Wake Up! Then be glad. Not everyone is chosen to wake up. Some will sleep. Forever. Do not thank me if your eyes happen upon these lines. These are not my words.
Icestar11861 votesWhose words are they?
Sydelle1 votesWhose words are they?
Whose words are they?
Icestar, you are a smart fellow. You don't just take quests but you give quests. I'd like to think those words I wrote to you belong to a positive being, but you are free to make your own judgment.
I'm sorry I summoned Ant to your thread. He's mad at me 'cause I called him out on having an unjustified appreciation for vengeance (he said "Kalista is not malicious" in another thread, Kalista's Q&A). In essence, he was saying that, when vengeance is directed at beings that committed a sin in the past (betrayal), vengeance is good. Now THAT is what happens when the only person that defines right vs wrong for a developing kid is Batman. -.0 Vengeance is a virus in all of its forms (including the avenging role) because it never ends till someone takes the higher road. Left unchecked, one act of vengeance can domino-effect “beautifully” (no, horribly) to lead to the extinction of the entire human species.
Of course, since my words made him mad, then all I needed to say was that you may not get an answer in order for him to immediately answer. Do you see what happens when you put vengeance in any type of pedestal? It controls all your actions, rots your brain, and makes you look like a tool. I’m sometimes a tool too! Like when I get mad if someone is fapping to the altar of vengeance, you know. It’s an endless viral loop till someone stops.
I could have sworn I saw Ant writing that he did NOT like the Blood Moon skin in the Kalista Q&A but when I went back to find that post, I did not find it (either because it was deleted or he never wrote it; let’s allow room for both as that’s fair). The post did exist, however. A Rioter clearly stated they disliked the skin.
Since you are a smart fellow, you should know that when you ask something, especially in a public forum, you are likely going to get a heavily processed answer (especially if it comes from a Red). Let me show you an example: When Ant writes: “We like the idea of the story of Kalista known all across Runeterra,” he means “we like the idea of creating champions whose myth is known all across planet Earth in one form or another.” He’ll revisit the same wordplay in the closing of the post, potentially to hint at Ao-Shin’s upcoming release. When he talks about “in some Ionian versions, this is how they might portray Kalista [with the blood moon mask]”, you should understand that he IS actually referring to an Asian country (presumably Japan, and I think China is currently involved in removing blood and skulls etc) that, like I am often found doing, frown at the release of more demonic shit (especially when the creation appears to consume the brain of one it’s makers).
I’m not Japanese, but I AM an islander. If I were born in Runeterra, you’d find me in Ionia and I’d constantly be at odds with Shadow Isles spawn. In human life, there are alignments within people that make them be immediately at odds with other people that are “aligned” differently. If I see anyone writing about vengeance as a potentially “good” thing (not even in character), that will set me off (especially when I realize the audience is American kids that potentially only got Batman, an absent father, and zero spiritualism in their upbringing). I mean, to me, what he did was take the heel of his boot and put it on the head of thousands of kids born in quicksand. It doesn’t fly with me. Do I think he means to be evil? No. Do I think something was lacking in his upbringing? Yes. Should anyone feel ashamed of this? No. I had things missing too, but 13 years in a monastic school was not one of the things I missed having. It was a sacrifice my parents made for me.
Anyway, I’d recommend any kid that reads my post (and is not completely mad at me) to purchase a telescope and trade a couple of League games each night to peer through that peephole. Cos ain’t nobody that’s going take care of your ignorance when your being ignorant makes you so “deliciously” powerless and zombie-like.
Icestar11861 votesI have no idea what a word of that meant.
Sydelle1 votesI have no idea what a word of that meant.
Diligence and patience are OP. Don't worry about it. I answered your question on the first paragraph, 3rd sentence.
The rest of my response was mostly directed @ Ant about Kalista.
TL;DR: I have a giant yellow question mark in my head that initiates the quest: “How many demons does one League need?”
Ark Angel HFB2 votesSadly with the lore retcon I just don't care about the lore anymore...
Maybe in a few years if there is something of interest I might get back into it, But with no adjacency in the world and no central connecting force where the characters interact... I just don't find much of the lore compelling.
The lore has become another generic world with swords, guns, & magic. Where characters fight and kill, or not, each other.
forist1 votesFor the same reason that yasuo has a high noon skin: it fits his theme and character model well, so why not?
LeeDark1 votesNo, Yasuo has a high noon skin because of the heavy influence Kurosawa's samurai movies had on spaghetti westerns.
forist1 votesum.... so twisted fate's skin must also have been a reference to samurai films, huh?
LeeDark1 votesNo, Twisted Fate is the gambler motif. Get an education.
forist1 votesI guess your precious university didn't offer a class on detecting sarcasm.
LeeDark1 votesI answered your question. If you want people to detect sarcasm in text, you have to be a little clearer. As sarcasm, it was pretty fucking stupid, anyway.
forist1 votesJust marveling at the irony of someone telling me to "get an education" when he can't even detect sarcasm. Here's a tip in etiquette tho: don't insult someone's intelligence just because they ask a question. You won't be very fun at parties, if you do. :)
Anomander1 votesMaybe she was akali's understudy?
LeeDark1 votesWell, you refer to the JoJ, which Riot says, "F U, not canon." And you refer to an Ionian festival that may not even exist anymore.
But clearly, the retcon is something we desperately needed...
My guess is that now skins are just skins and have no actual meaning.
Tenant1 votesSkins can tie into lore, but they're mostly never canon at all. This is just an example of the a skin theme double dipping; representing an actual thing in Ionia, but still not especially canon.
Athenes Lulu1 votesShe looks fitting to be the actual "evil spirit".
What if she was?
LeeDark1 votesSo, which is it? Were you asking a question, or was it sarcasm? If it was a question, then I'm sorry. Asking if Twisted Fate referenced Kurosawa's films is kind of a stupid question. If it was sarcasm, then I'm perfectly within my right to insult your intelligence for idiotic sarcasm. Either way, it's time for you to STFU.