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I don't mind Varus being 66.66% gay

GelsominoKiller·12/1/2017, 6:33:30 PM·62 votes·2,115 views

In fact, I think his new lore, as a standalone, is amazing.

Buuuut..

The new lore is a detriment to the original Varus' revenge trope. Previously, Varus was explicitly a warden of the pit of Pallas, so he KNEW what evil was lurking beneath. In the new lore, it is not clear if Valmar is aware of the consequences of his actions: he hopes Kai will be healed and everything will be fine; he's not signing a pact with a great evil that he knows will consume him. The intent is missing. This takes away a lot from the story. There is no self sacrifice.

What was amazing about Varus' previous lore is that you had this warrior that devoted his life to the protection of a great evil, but also loved his wife and child. He was torn between his duty and his family, (this aspect is nowhere to be found in the new lore), and ultimately decided to leave his wife and child to die slaughtered by the noxians. And for nothing: with his city falling under the siege of the invaders, the power of the pit of Pallas was doomed to fall in noxian hands. Grief and revenge moved him to steal that same power he sworn to protect, in order to get revenge.

In the new lore, everything happens so fast there's no time to meditate such a dramatic decision. Kai is dying faster than a racecar and Kalmar is compelled to save him. Valmar doesn't actually lose Kai. He's not consumed by hate and lust of revenge to the point he's willing to sacrifice everything.

TLDR: There is no duty vs family dichotomy. There is no loss. Everything happens fast, and in order to save Kai. There is no intent in releasing the evil form the pit to exact revenge. There is no Varus.

30 Comments

AbiwonKenabi12/1/2017, 7:21:06 PM10 votes

Ah thank you for putting into words my exact feelings. Good writing usually has the characters make decision, not just allow the story to happen to them. One could argue that Valmar "chose" to drag them into the pit, but is it a choice really? Was he really gonna just sit there and let Kai die? And as OP says, there's no reason for Valmar to believe this will be mega bad. Nobody dies (not even the mother character), there's no tragedy except some vaguely alluded to tragic backstory for the Darkin himself. Which, if that's the case, why not give some focus to him?

The couple also doesn't lead us to believe either of them were inclined to want revenge on the Noxians; Maybe if they had, it would have felt like the Darkin was preying on these dark feelings for his own benefit, reinforcing the "vengeful-ness" that is essential to Varus' character. And, as OP says, the most interesting aspect of old Varus' lore--duty vs family--is just completely cut.

People praise the new lore for being better and adding more, but did it really? Looking back at all the depth that was cut, was there really that much added? And Varus' old lore was a story that desperately needed fleshing out, and yet I feel it had more avenues for storytelling. I feel like their energies could have been better spent fleshing out Varus' relationship with his family and the Darkin, or looking at how Varus deals with the consequences of his choices. Lines like "I'm on borrowed time" or "Beware a man with nothing to lose" are far more compelling characterization, and are lines that make zero sense now. To top it off, Val and Kai don't really change and don't have a lot of opportunities to do so. They are characterized by loving each other, they still do, that's it.

The old lore had meaningful choices and consequences that yeah, needed to be fleshed out. The new lore doesn't have meaningful choices, nobody dies, there's not much room for the characters to grow, the end.

Autrah Fang12/1/2017, 11:52:46 PM9 votes

a question i have is: why did Valmar go into the pool with Kai? i feel like that isn't properly explained. if his sole intention was to save Kai with what he assumed was healing waters, why did he jump in with him? just to be with him to make sure it worked? to plead with whatever god waited beneath? or did he just fall in by accident? i want to at least believe Varus influenced him to do so, but we didn't get enough information to assume any of these reasons.

The Deckowner12/2/2017, 9:01:38 PM4 votes

I just think the new lore is kinda idiotic, like, why would he think that a pool of complete darkness that screams "this shit is evil" will heal someone? And why did he jump into it after?

iLBGAMing12/1/2017, 7:01:27 PM3 votes

He isn't gay for the love of god, the couple that are inside him are. You and so many people misunderstood that, it makes me feel frustrated.

PokladnicaZla12/2/2017, 8:39:38 AM2 votes

Isn't the torn between duty and love still there? Didn't the Pristess tell him in order to fulfill his duty he had to choose between it and his light-heart.

redniwediS12/1/2017, 6:37:04 PM2 votes

That loss, that moment when Varus realizes the price he paid for duty, is still salvageable, and it can still be applied to Varus himself.

We have yet to hear the story of how the Darkin fell, and that gives me hope that this one little but powerful detail from the old lore will make it back in.

XIII Vanitas12/2/2017, 2:14:41 PM2 votes

Yep, you totally nailed why Varus' old lore is leagues above the new one.

E Man forever12/2/2017, 4:04:56 PM1 votes

Remember, there is a darkin that is bloodthirsty and wants vengeance on the Ionians fo imprisoning him in a bow*[darius-angry]*

DragonShea12/2/2017, 9:16:14 AM1 votes

Just imagine having a gay couple having sex inside your head. That must completely mind breaking. Too bad Varus doesn't have brain bleach to get that out of his head yet.