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- Zed – “We meet again... old friend.”
- Shen – “We're not the men we once were.”
- — Legends of Runeterra Interaction
ShenZed is the slash ship between Shen and Zed from the League of Legends fandom.
Canon[]
League of Legends[]
Prior to their lore rewrite, Zed was an orphan taken in and trained by a great ninja master. The master's son, Shen, was the only other student that was his equal and every match between them ended in a draw denying Zed the recognition he sought.
Frustrated and jealous, he sought an advantage and found a sealed part of the clan's temple where he found a box containing shadow magic. When opened, shadows touched his mind and revealed secret techniques that allowed him to defeat Shen for the first time. Instead of receiving praise and recognition, the master knew Zed had used forbidden ways and banished him.
Humiliated, Zed wandered for years, teaching others in the style of the shadows and creating a circle of followers. When they were powerful enough, they returned for the box to obtain more power. At the gates, he was surprised to find the old master waiting, receiving Zed and his disciples as if they were welcome guests. The old man laid his sword at Zed's feet, declaring that he had failed Zed as his master. By banishing his former student, the master had doomed Zed to the shadows, instead of leading him to the balanced path.
The old man implored Zed to enter the temple, destroy the box, and lead his followers to balance. The dark ninja followed the master inside, returning unscathed and throwing the severed head of the master at Shen's feet. Zed commanded his followers to slaughter the master's students and seize the box. The old order fell, but some students escaped thanks to Shen's efforts.
Updated Biography/Marvel League of Legends: Zed (2019 - 2020) Comics[1][]
Zed was originally a Northern peasant boy named Govos who was a servant at a Kinkou monastery and dreamt of becoming a Kinkou warrior. The opportunity finally came to him when Kinkou Master Kusho ordered his son Shen to spar with him. Govos did not do well at first, but he continued to spar over and over again. On the last chance he had, Shen purposefully let Govos hit him. Govos' new family would nurse him back to health from the hours of sparring that occurred that day and Master Kusho would take Zed on as his student.
Though Zed’s passion shone through in every technique he perfected, he lacked Shen’s emotional balance. In spite of this, the two pupils became like brothers, confiding in each other their personal hopes and dreams. Govos was later given the name Usan by Kusho as well as being named his successor over his own son.
They journeyed together with their master to track down the infamous "Golden Demon" responsible for a series of murders in Ionia. When they finally succeeded in capturing this feared “monster,” it was revealed to be a mere man named Khada Jhin. Kusho stopped Usan from killing him, ordering that Jhin be imprisoned instead. Shen agreed with the decision and thus failed to console a bitter and resentful Usan. Haunted by the memories of Jhin’s grisly murders and the imperialistic forces of Noxus invading Ionia only worsened his disillusionment with the order.
Later, Usan found a box within the temple containing a magical ichor that gave him the ability to control shadow magic at the expense of tainting his mind with darkness. Usan left the Kinkou and taking on the name Zed, formed the Shadow Order, a group of former Kinkou disciples with a goal to defend Ionia by any means necessary.
Realizing that the magic within the black box was a requirement for his goal, Zed and his acolytes raided the temple. When confronted by Kusho, Zed made a deal with him to fake the latter's death in exchange for uniting Ionia to fight in the war.
After a violent coup the Shadow Order claimed the temple as their own and imbued themselves with the ichor. Shen was forced to take up his father's mantle and lead the surviving Kinkou despite his and the Kinkou's doubt in his ability to lead them. Though he did not reconcile with Shen and the Kinkou, they reached an uneasy accord in the aftermath of the war.
Years later, Jhin returns, freed by mysterious forces, and kills members of Zed's order, causing him to seek out Shen's help. After a confrontation, Shen refuses to work with Zed. After declaring the end of the armistice between the two orders, he and his student Akali set out to search for Jhin on their own, unknowingly followed by Zed.
They find Jhin in an Ionian coastal village but fail to capture him before he set off multiple explosions. The two are knocked into the water from the blast. Zed saves Shen from drowning and takes him ashore where Shen demands he fights him. While the two duel, Zed realizes that it was Shen's actions from their first spar that brought him to this point, not Kusho's. Shen brutally beats him unconscious and imprisons Zed.
Shen acknowledges that Zed saved him and was holding back in their fight on the beach and demands to know why he seemingly killed Kusho. Zed admits that it was to prevent Shen from joining him, as the Kinkou's existence was still needed in Ionia. Despite his fury, Shen insists that they hunt Jhin together like before on the condition that they keep Jhin alive.
The two travel to Piltover together and find Jhin, who has captured Akali as bait to trap them. Jhin is about to kill Shen in front of Zed until Akali stops him. Zed stops her from killing him, mirroring how Kusho stopped him from doing years ago.
Zed returns to Kusho, revealed to be the one who released Jhin. Kusho consumes the rest of the ichor and fights him, resulting in Zed killing him for real. Walking away together, his student and successor Kayn affirms his loyalty to Zed since he gave his life purpose and asks him if he would kill the man who did the same for him, Shen. Zed concludes that he may not have a choice now that the order has no remaining allies.
PsyOps[]
The two are featured on opposing sides with Shen as part of the psychic black ops team PsyOps and Zed in the psychic paramilitary unit Black Rose Group.
Cloudedge[]
In their Shockblade skins, the two were an elite operative duo in the Shockblade order tasked with protecting humankind from malevolent spirits and monsters. Shen stepped away from combat after he caused a mistake that nearly cost Zed's life and was unable to forgive himself. Zed still urges him to return to the front line with him.
Quotes[]
Comics[]
- “Maybe Master Kusho won't find me. But I know one person I can always trust...”
- — Zed referring to Shen
Legends of Runeterra[]
- Shen – “We both want what is best for Ionia.”
- Zed – “And only one of us pursues it.”
- — Shen's special interaction when an Allied Zed is summoned
- Shen – “You should have stayed away!”
- Zed – “You cannot escape your past.”
- — Shen's special interaction when an Allied Zed is summoned
The Bow, and the Kunai[]
- “The betrayal by his best friend and… the loss of his father… weigh heavy on him.”
- — Kennen to Akali about Shen's whereabouts
Fanon[]
The two were shipped since Zed's addition to the game in 2012. Like JayVik and Leodia, their primary appeal was as rivals/enemies and the Opposites Attract trope, especially because of their contrasting natures in lore and in-game. Zed is an offensive assassin and Shen is a defensive tank that shields himself and others).
After Jhin's addition to the game in 2016, their lore updates, and the release of the comic, their relationship became more nuanced, with Zed becoming more of a tragic anti-hero figure than a villain and no longer held any malice towards Shen. Some shippers were upset by the updated lore stating their relationship was more brotherly.
Since Shen and Zed act as masters/mentors of the champions Akali and Kayn respectively, they are commonly depicted as their parents and together as a family in fanworks.
On AO3, ShenZed is the most written relationship for both characters. Before Arcane, it was one of the most written slash pairings in the League of Legends tag.
Fandom[]
FAN FICTION
- ShenZed posts on Twitter
- Shen x Zed posts on Twitter
Trivia[]
- They share the quote "Without a sound" together.
- They have an in-game easter egg that activates if Shen and Zed are on opposing teams.
- Battle of Spirit and Shadow
- Shen must prevent Zed from using the full power of the shadows. Damage and take him down before he can kill 2 nearby allies.
- "Zed is too far gone. I will stand against his shadows."
- Zed must prove the power of the shadows against Shen. Kill 2 enemy champions near Shen while avoiding getting taken down by him.
- "Shen represents weakness. I welcome the might of the shadows."
- This interaction possibly alludes to how Zed does not want to kill Shen but will attack his allies to achieve his goals, and opposingly Shen seeks revenge on Zed.
- Shen must prevent Zed from using the full power of the shadows. Damage and take him down before he can kill 2 nearby allies.
- Battle of Spirit and Shadow
- Shockblade Zed can be seen in Frozen Shen's splashart.
- PsyOps Shen's sword can be seen in PsyOps Zed's splashart.
- According to writer Riot WAAAARGHbobo, Zed decided it was better for Shen to be disillusioned with him than for Shen to be disillusioned with his own father.[2]
- In the original draft of the comic, the ending would have had Shen appearing when Jhin imprisoned Zed, the same trap they used to capture him sixteen years ago. [3]
- League Lore YouTuber T B Skyen argued that their relationship in the comics could be read in a queer romantic context.
References[]
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| League of Legends Ships • League of Legends Characters | ||
| SHIPS | het | EzLux • Malza’Sai • MelJay • MelVik • RaXayah • Shadowcannon • SkyVik • Timebomb • YasuAhri |
| slash | Ezko • JayVik • JhinHwei • Settphelios • Shadowblink • ShenZed • TFGraves | |
| femslash | Akalynn • CaitVi • JinxQuinn • Leodia • Lightcannon • Melvika • MFIllaoi • Neekolee • StarryBlade | |
| poly | TFMFGraves | |
| family | Undercity Sisters | |
| friend | CaitJay | |
| CHARACTERS | female | Jinx |