Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

The Gay Couple in Varus's New lore is not the problem

MontethePython·11/30/2017, 8:58:51 PM·104 votes·5,233 views

Although it feels a little shoehorned in, and riot could have made a much more fleshed out and interesting Gay champion, that part is not really the issue.

The issue is that they took the relatively fleshed out and interesting story of Varus's old lore, which involved Varus being torn between his duty as a soldier and his true desire to abandon his post in order to protect his family during the noxian invasion, with it ending in tragedy and Varus giving up his humanity in exchange for the means to avenge his family, and changed it to a new story that is essentially Kayn with a plus one, only this Kayn and his plus one are gay. Wait, are we sure this isn't just literally exactly Kayn, but plus one?

The issue is not that Riot are trying to make Varus gay, although a new champion would be a much more respectful and interesting outlet for that anyway in my opinion, Hell, isn't Kayn Gay or Bi according to a few rioters? They could just make it official. The issue is that one of the few pieces of lore that captured this certain Family vs. Duty side of the classic revenge story, and was somewhat relatable and unique, (Plus it had a bit of a punisher vibe, which i am i sucker for the punisher and always have been) was tossed aside for two and a half men with the half being Rhaast #2 with a side of diversity. The new story is completely dis-interesting in my opinion.

42 Comments

Baron of Bread11/30/2017, 11:25:35 PM20 votes

It isn't Kayn +1 because Kayn intentionally grabs a Darkin to gain power with the intent of controlling the Darkin inside, while Val was attempting to save his lover's life through a magical pool of water (and discovered it wasn't just a pool of water) only to end up with a power up and vengeance obsession. Not really similar stories at all, other than the end result being a battle for control, but one battle is force of wills (Kayn) and the other is love vs hate (Varus).

ForgottenLuck11/30/2017, 10:36:34 PM8 votes

Man, the poll seems so wrong, whats wrong with liking the new lore? The old lore was bland and typical, and though this one offers a bit similarity with the Kayne one the thing that makes it different is HOW they plan to overcome the Darkin, Kayne believes he can overcome it and take control while in Varus lore they hope to defeat it and go back to who they were.

CatSith11/30/2017, 10:40:32 PM6 votes

They didn't make Varus gay, they made him into a Dark kin. They just introduce two gay people who revived him and now are stuck with him.

HowPlayGAEM12/1/2017, 6:40:06 AM5 votes

The gay couple isn't the problem.

Killing the hetersexual couple in favor of the gay couple IS

This is the standard MO of the LGBT movement and it's disappointing Riot has decided to go down this path. No RP purchases from me ever again.

Kloqdq12/1/2017, 1:06:02 PM4 votes

My main issue is the 3 not becoming 1 but rather just 1 body with 3 minds fighting for control. Frankly it's pretty terrible the way it's laid out and it causes for some really confusing writing. During the whole comics and stories, not even Varus could be bothered to know which is which so the reader should get the impression to not care either. Plus, they all short of bleed into one another.

What i wish happened is instead of 2 fighting for control, instead of the human winning or darkin winning. What I wanted to happen was no one wins. Darkin and Human combine and become more a force of just pure vengeance. Like the two are fueling one another. Think like Hulk and Bruce and overtime the lines blur and Hulk and Bruce just become 1 whole new person. I wanted Varus and Human to become that. It is certainly a lot more interesting at least in my mind than 3 people that are hard to pick apart fighting for one body so it's just messy.

Personally, the old lore was very bog standard. It's just a super simple story that had already been developed to it's fullest. Varus in the old lore was gone and was never going to develop further because he can't. He gets revenge and his done. There is already other stories in league that do the same concept but have it more fleshed out in some regards. The problem with old Varus too is similar to the new lore, I just don't care about the ones lost. They gave me no reason to be invested other than telling me a sad story. This could have been fixed sure, and the old lore could have worked, but it wasn't much different from the new one.

Both are just lacking overall from my point of view and neither is better than the other.

Raxistaicho12/1/2017, 2:20:15 AM4 votes

The worst part is all they HAD to do was find/replace the cursed pool with the Darkin Bow.

Çhåryzård12/1/2017, 5:10:59 AM3 votes

Varus himself is not gay, why do people think this.

In the new lore, Varus is a darkin. He uses the 2 gay hunters that unlock his tomb to create a single body for his essence to physically exist in.

The hunters were gay, and the hunters no longer exist. Varus himself is a darkin that used the 2 hunters to create a new, single body for himself.

Camulos12/1/2017, 4:43:04 AM2 votes

Problem is, there is another, far more popular champion which has almost exactly the same backstory... Yasuo Yasuo.

Ionian
Meant to guard a temple and it's contents
Wants to run down to the battlefield instead
Loses someone important to them because of their choices
Travels the world in search of Justice/Vengeance

Only difference is that Yas ran down and abandoned his post, saving his family but costing him the Elder; Varus guarded the corruption but it cost him his family. Yeah, I know Varus came first, but there was no way they were going to retcon Yas.

CrazedPorcupine12/1/2017, 5:29:21 AM2 votes

Personally, I like the new lore more for how much it reveals about Ionian culture, along with Darkin History alongside everything else, along with the truest form of "Love vs Hate" conflict.

Dengeden12/1/2017, 6:00:01 AM2 votes

I'm not sure if I missed any of the old Varus's personal but this Varus is also torn between his desire for revenge and family. He (or they, depending on how you look at it) was also consumed by demonic energies to save someone he loves.

Kerrigan 4 Prez12/1/2017, 2:05:34 AM2 votes

I voted for the old lore solely because of how you worded the question. I care little about his quest for revenge, in terms of characters I actually enjoy the new lore more, even accounting for the extra detail they added. But I loved the setting to the story, a lose-lose situation that would test what he valued more, his friends and family or the whole of Ionia. He made the logical choice and then he had to pay for it, as good a story as I've heard. But I think going forward the new lore will be better, it will allow for more flexibility in who he can interact with outside of Riven and maybe Swain.

GreenLore11/30/2017, 9:46:37 PM2 votes

Overall I feel like none of the 2 is better than the other.

The new one gives some insights about the darkin and actually gives us a personality to the corruption(and in general it is more detailed).

However the old one also had a lot of interesting aspects,despite revenge stories being fairly mainstream(also I kinda hoped that lee sin actually destroyed the village of Varus by accident,that would have been a really dark and interesting plot twist in my opinion).

LiL Bunnie FuFuu12/1/2017, 7:57:27 AM2 votes

I like gay. I don't like awful writing (heartlight anyone???)

Dreamspitter12/1/2017, 3:18:26 PM2 votes

{quoted}

Although it feels a little shoehorned in, and riot could have made a much more fleshed out and interesting Gay champion, that part is not really the issue.

The issue is that they took the relatively fleshed out and interesting story of Varus's old lore, which involved Varus being torn between his duty as a soldier and his true desire to abandon his post in order to protect his family during the noxian invasion, with it ending in tragedy and Varus giving up his humanity in exchange for the means to avenge his family, and changed it to a new story that is essentially Kayn with a plus one, only this Kayn and his plus one are gay. Wait, are we sure this isn't just literally exactly Kayn, but plus one?

Valmar and Kai != Kayn. They are not the same.

Kairoptra12/1/2017, 1:56:34 PM2 votes

You’re the one who’s flanderizing Varus, not Riot.

No, this is not Kayn, and let me tell you why. Yes, they both involve Darkin, but that’s about where the similarities end. Kayn made his deal because of his ambition and his lust for power. He wants to use Rhaast’s power to one day succeed Zed and lead Ionia into a new age. Val and Kai are lovers who became tangled in a dangerous deal. Val just wanted to save Kai, no matter the cost, and now must resist the alien urges of vengeance Varus imposes on him. Kai just wanted to pass peacefully, but was dragged into this mess by the one he loves. He now must work with Val to find some way to undo it. As you can see, they are two very different stories that happen to both involve Darkin. The way work together isn’t even the same. Kayn wields Rhaast as Rhaast slowly corrupts him. Varus tore apart Val and Kai’s very flesh to create a new body. Now they fight for control and occasionally one is able to wrest control, but for the most part it’s Varus.

Vekkna12/2/2017, 4:49:06 PM1 votes

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

RosaElia12/1/2017, 6:45:53 AM1 votes

Personally I like the story of the new Varus, but I prefer the old Varus though. The old Varus that lost everything to the filthy Noxian invaders, his wife, kid, friends, and home. It truly made Varus more tragic and corrupted with vengeance. In new Varus' lore he isn't even the man anymore, but that's not that big of a deal for me, and he only lost his heartlight. Technically Kai didn't even die they just pulled a Dragon Ball fusion and became a 3 in 1 coffee. His mother and village remained during the failed invasion and in my opinion that's where all the tragedy is lost. Old Varus didn't have a place to even call home anymore after the attack, but new Varus can come back to his home in Pallas.

Hovering Hentai12/1/2017, 2:33:10 PM1 votes

Is Kayn confirmed to be gay/bi and in love with Zed? I honestly thought that was just fan theory

Arkhan12/1/2017, 8:48:41 PM1 votes

The problem with this is, people who dislike something are far louder than people who enjoy it.

I love the new lore. And I'm glad they changed it to something more unique.

Syneidesis12/1/2017, 11:52:55 PM1 votes

How much more can you get fleshed out when you have to address three individuals in one lore when they have the standard bio and color story, plus 2 comics and a music video

Raoul12/1/2017, 11:55:15 PM1 votes

But the new lore is PC, that means its better, no?

HalcyonDweller12/2/2017, 12:03:02 AM1 votes

I think I prefer the new lore, but I think that Riot could have done more to preserve that duty vs family part of the old lore. The fact that he knowingly freed the darkness was super core to Varus in my opinion and should not have been stripped away to be replaced with a random villager who just didn't know what he was getting himself and his loved one into.

AQA47312/1/2017, 6:54:00 PM

I loved old Varus, but in a, "Aw, I feel so bad for him," sort of way. Thing is, Varus's family was fridged so he could go darkside and corrupt himself for revenge. I'm so sick of stories where the family dies because broody emotions. Like someone was saying, every JRPG protagonist ever, and a good number of western protagonists, too. My favorite part of new Varus is that Val's family is still alive. That part delighted me to no end. I've seen it before (though I can't quite recall where), but I love the dynamic of having a bunch of people sharing a single body. It's interesting, too, because it's essentially a rage-driven demon with two very moral humans who are in love with each other. They understand Varus because they've heard of him and know that he's evil. Varus thinks he knows Val and Kai because he just makes assumptions about humans and thinks he's right. While Varus as more control of their form than the two humans, it's clear that he's a fish out of water and that's great to see with an all-powerful demon guy. I don't think Varus is going to change, but Kai and Val will really give him a run for his money in terms of coming out on top in the battle for control. I think the new lore is a vast improvement, even after reading all of your comments. Honestly, you just sound bitter.