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What the Deuce, Vi!?

AQA473·1/14/2017, 7:21:07 AM·1 votes·1,786 views
http://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/vi-color-story

I'm a bit behind with the new lore (RIP Institute of War) and only just started reading the stories from the big Piltover update when Camille was released. The stories are okay, not as lovingly crafted as what came out of Dawngate, but passable for a moba game. Certainly better than anything to come out of Overwatch. But that's not what I'm here for.

Vi has lines in the game where she refers to Caitlyn as "cupcake." A big reason for this is because she has cupcakes in her Yordle Traps, but also because of their relationship with each other. They're clearly close, Caitlyn more-or-less being Vi's biggest shot at changing her image and making a real difference in the world, whereas she only caused damage in her previous life. "Cupcake" is a pet name for, arguably, the most valuable person in her life, and should not be used with anyone else.

(See attached link) The story "Interrogation 101" has Vi interrogating Caitlyn's most recent catch from her story "The Thrill of the Chase," Devaki. I don't know who this Devaki guy is, but he sounds like a standard street punk from Zaun. Vi starts beating on him, getting into her usual punch first ask questions while punching routine, and calls him "cupcake," almost like how a torturer might call their victim "sweetheart" or "honey" in that condescending, sarcastic tone that's meant to be demeaning and dehumanizing.

This completely undermines what the pet name means. How can she use this with Caitlyn now if it's just a go-to insult for thugs? It doesn't even make sense for that situation. She's not exactly the kind of person to refer to a perp with flowery language like that. I have a feeling Riot added this line into the story simply because it's fanservice. We know that Vi uses this word and it would be fun to see her use it in the official lore, we get it. But I think that whoever wrote this piece didn't realize that Vi only says "cupcake" when talking to or about Caitlyn. It's a jest, like calling a friend "princess." It's a sort of inside joke that Caitlyn doesn't take seriously but it still irritates her (hence the debuff when Vi taunts an enemy Caitlyn).

The story's been out for a little while now, and I don't know if anyone's mentioned this little discrepancy yet. But with it, I think I might not read anything else that they produce for the world of Runeterra if they're willing to not only retcon commonly held belief, but twist it and undermine any meaning something loved once held. Yes, it's just a word; yes, the lore doesn't affect one's ability to enjoy the game, but I find this as a problem with the lore, and isn't it our job as the consumer to give feedback to a company we care about?

I recently purchased both the Caitlyn and Vi statues, both being wonderful works of craftsmanship and I recommend them to anyone. And now I am a consumer of Riot's new attempt at story inclusion. Critique of their writing style is for another time (the issues that plagued the overbearing stories of the Gangplank/Miss Fortune Bilgewater event still remain in current stories) but this was of personal concern to me.

Kill the summoners, take away the Institute of War, retcon the very game itself (what are the Fields of Justice, anyway?), but do not ruin League of Legends best character. Reworks for champions refine what their original themes and stories were (Sejuani, Trundle, Twitch) while others continue an already known and beloved narrative (Warwick, Gangplank) but none have perverted something core and unique to their character. Vi isn't even due a rework, and yet the published lore is already contradicting a well-established and modern champion.

10 Comments

HalfTangible1/14/2017, 7:26:52 AM2 votes

"Pet-name"?

Buddy,-"cupcake"-is-a-put-down-meant-to-show-that-the-person-doesn't-think-much-of-you.-It's-a-cliche-as-old-as-cupcakes.

I-think-you-read-too-much-into-Vi's-interactions-with-Caitlyn.-She's-messing-with-her-partner-on-the-police-force.

Fetus Kicks2/1/2017, 5:01:45 AM1 votes

Lol, I think you're overreacting a bit. Yes, she calls Caitlyn cupcake and while before the lore we all could have assumed that it was because of the cupcakes she uses for her yordle traps, now we can assume something different. For example, when I was in high school there was a new kid that moved from a ghetto-ish part of NYC and he had the habit of calling people cupcake. He called me cupcake once and I asked him what that meant. He said you call someone a cupcake who is soft on the inside. A softie. So Vi knew Devaki from her street days and obviously her and Cailtyn must have a close relationship due to the fact that they're partners. In "Interrogation 101" she calls Devaki a cupcake because while he's trying to come off all tough guy and shit, she knows he's actually a pussy and is soft. Now, even with her use of the word cupcake directed at someone like Devaki you can still argue that it's used in a more intimate way when used towards Caitlyn. Why? Because here you have the big bad legendary hard ass Sheriff of Piltover and her partner is calling her a softie. Probably because Vi knows her the best and has seen her when she's not holding up her hard-ass act for the rest of the world to fear. Chill though lol, we get it, you ship CaitxVi. Same. But you should be less salty after reading the new lores because in the last paragraph of both Vi and Cailtyn's new lores, there are slight hints thrown in there that their relationship might be more than just work partners.