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TT's removal and implications of Vilemaw/Elise lore

Whyte Lyon·8/2/2019, 12:21:50 PM·3 votes·5,828 views

First I wanna say, Im relieved that TT is being put to rest. I want to be clear though, I'm relieved predominately from the lore nerd's perspective. Treeline, as it stands today, is fairly (I'd argue entirely) disconnected from the lore's more modern approach to the Shadow Isles. Plus TT had been this lingering reminder of Riot circa 2012 when they tried to create lore and structure a character IP but failed to follow through on any substantial quality or consistency, a reminder of when the 'narrative department' was clearly non-existent.

But I digress. Since TT's retirement announcement. I've started to ponder if the narrative group at Riot have any impression/s about sticking with the concept of Vilemaw, especially Elise's story that connects them.

Personally, I've never been a fan towards the second-half of Elise's bio and the particular events that transpire. Which Vilemaw's inclusion is kinda the source of those problems. There's nothing particularly inspiring or endearing that reflects onto Elise's character while she's this monster's 'food deliverer'. Elise still fills the spider monster niche as she is, and as a champion she is of much more importance for the writers to develop actual lore and world-building for (ironically tho they haven't touch upon Elise in years now even with many Noxus & ShIsles updates).

Now I understand there are people here who hate retcons of any nature but legitimately is there anything to gain and/or be lost if Vilemaw was retconned? I'd argue that clearly League's IP doesn't need a Vilemaw. However, I am aware that the development of Elise and the TT map update came around 2012, im unsure which came first conceptually but I know at least, one inspired the creation of the other. So there's that for the argument of keeping these two figures narratively connected, as they were creatively produced together. But with Vilemaws exclusion from the game soon, is there still any value with having this spider-monster-demi god-thing within the lore any longer?

Obviously, TT's removal isn't indicative that any changes could or will happen to Elise's lore. But hypothetically and all things considered what do you think?

11 Comments

GreenLore8/3/2019, 11:37:59 AM3 votes

Honestly I feel like Vilemaw and Elise are in a pretty awkward spot lorewise anyway.

I mean Elise mainly lives and operates in Noxus, yet she is considered a shadow isles champ, which already seems odd. However Elise kinda feels superfluous in Noxus anyway, I mean we already have another immortal vampire-like noble Vladimir and another cursed beauty-obsessed seductress, that was turned into a half-animal hybrid with, Cassiopeia and both are members of the black rose too.

So Elise honestly doesn't bring that much new to the table in terms of themes or stories anyway :/.

And Vilemaw's his whole existence is kind of irritating considering that every other living being on the shadow isles was turned into a ghost(except for Yorick and Maokai, who were both saved by the waters of life), yet Vilemaw remained a corporeal being, implying that he was somehow able to fend off the curse. Not to mention that he is rather disconnected from all lores except for Elises, so no one would have problems if he was ever retconned.

So yeah I wouldn't be surprised if Elise receives a big overhaul to her character/story. And once that happens, there is nothing stopping Riot from removing Vilemaw from her lore.

Zyranium8/4/2019, 12:41:26 PM2 votes

I want Elise to be the new Vilemaw herself, it kinda diminish her importance in the lore that she only acquired the powers she has gained with the help of Leblanc showing her the way to Vilemaws nest, and also why do this creature needs a follower ? Is it sentient ? Because for now it just acts like a home pet that needs to be fed 3 times a day.

It's kinda an unpopular opinion, but I also want an overall rework for Elise, maybe make her spider model a little bit bigger ?

Pale Mask8/2/2019, 1:31:19 PM2 votes

Vilemaw is significantly more important to Elise than any other character in her lore, though. Her followers are slaves, LeBlanc is an ally of convenience, and her husband only exists to make her a figurative black widow. He's also the only thing tying her to the Shadow Isles right now.

Removing Vilemaw from her lore would mess up more things than it would fix. She's supposed to be a cult leader - someone who struck a pact with dark powers out of self-interest. Unlike Swain, who outwitted his "patron", Elise has a mutually beneficial relationship with Vilemaw. You can't separate the two any more than you can Illaoi and Nagakabouros or Malzahar and the Void; sure, you could pull a Lissandra again, but I personally wouldn't recommend it.

Alex Luu8/9/2019, 6:31:50 PM1 votes

let’s be honest they’re just going to make her a vastayan like they did to other champsAhri MonkeyKing

Ebonmaw Dragon8/2/2019, 10:06:19 PM1 votes

As a fan of Ebonmaw, the first Boss Monster of the Original Twisted Treeline, i can say that just because a character is removed from the game, it does not mean that the character no longer exist in Runeterra. Riot said that Ebonmaw was still living in Runeterra, even if he was Removed from the game when Vilemaw arrived.

Considering that, i guess that Vilemaw could be "alive" in the lore even if he was removed from the game itself.

AbiwonKenabi8/2/2019, 2:50:08 PM1 votes

Simplifying her role relative to Vilemaw as "food deliverer" is sort of missing things. She's a charismatic cult leader, she doesn't just run to McDonald's every once in a while and asks Vilemaw what he wants. Vilemaw is an entity she is worshiping, its her whole reason of being, the reason she is part of the Black Rose and why she's a spider lady in the first place. Serving Vilemaw is a large part of her identity, and she is doing literally everything in her power to maintain that connection and service him. Vilemaw is part of what makes her this sinister character in the first place: she runs a cult who worships and sacrifices itself to this malevolent being all for her's and Vilemaw's gain; they get nothing from this.

Like Pale Mask said, it would create more problems than it would solve to remove Vilemaw. It leaves a lot of blank space, so to speak, and you still have to explain how Elise gets her spider powers and pretty much anything replacing the Vilemaw cult is going to feel like a weak retcon in comparison.

Camille Ferrøs8/2/2019, 12:31:26 PM1 votes

I thought about it and I think it would be cool to get some lore progression but I'm like 99% sure nothing will happen since as we all know the lore is not connected to the game.