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Cultural references in Swain's voiceover

Blood Magicks·1/25/2018, 10:10:58 PM·39 votes·12,401 views

I've been anticipating the VO ever since Interlocutioner hinted there would be a Nietzsche quote. I dug until I found it, but then decided to go all the way and dig out other references that may be useful in understanding Swain's character.

Here's a list of all I've recognized/found. It's quite interesting to think about, because many of his lines are references to or plays on famous quotes (which means I might be imagining some). Many are improvements on Swain's old VO and the majority (I think) are just pure sass.

##"All roads lead to Noxus, but all visions, to Demacia." ##"They flee Noxus on the roads we built!" Both of these allude to the famous saying "All roads lead to Rome". It can both be interpreted as "many routes can lead to a given result" and as an interesting bit of info about Noxus: they maintain their empire through revolutionary infrastructure, they connect cities and cultures. I remember a further post on /r/SwainMains very aptly comparing Noxus to Rome. An interesting read. ##"Diplomacy is a subtle art." Could refer to a Ronald Reagan quote: Ronald Reagan “Diplomacy, of course, is a subtle and nuanced craft, so much so that it's said that when the most wily diplomat of the nineteenth-century passed away, other diplomats asked, on reports of his death, What do you suppose the old fox meant by that?” ##"Only this, and nothing more." Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", of course.

##"You can sit on a throne, that doesn't make you a ruler. It only means you have an arse." ##"Any man who must say "We are winning," is not truly winning." These both sound like something Tywin Lannister would say. Specifically him addressing Joffrey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sJY7BTIuPY ##"I'm not smiling. I'm threatening to smile. It's still a threat." Added by Epicurus and Warlord Dienekes, another Tywin one: "Every once in a very long while, Lord Tywin Lannister would actually threaten to smile; he never did, but the threat alone was terrible to behold." ##"A riddle wrapped in a mystery, hidden within us all." Now this was a treat, because it is the words Churchill used to describe Russia: "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." I guess it could be used to draw comparisons between Noxians and Russians? I enjoy the idea of Noxians being part slavic.

##"Leave the survivors to their officers." ##"I often kill in my visions. When I close my eyes, do not come near." These are almost direct quotes by Cao Cao. Relevant /r/SwainMains discussion.

##"More than what we do not understand, we fear being understood." ##"Some say the darkness stares back, because they cannot see me." Here we go, the Nietzsche references. The first one alludes to the quote: "Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood". To that I'd like to add another phrase by Niezsche: "Tout comprendre—c'est tout mépriser [To understand all—is to despise all]". The second one, I think, has something to do with: “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.” and may allude to now Swain met his demon?

##"The demon is always in the details." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_devil_is_in_the_detail - a saying. I wonder if it's important for his lore?

##"The ends of war are death." "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato misattributed quote?

##"Weak of body; weak of mind." Could be a reference to a Jefferson quote or a reversal of a Latin phrase?

##“Better to be feared than loved.” Added by Warlord Diekenes, a Machiavelli quote. The complete line is _“And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.” _

Let me know if you find more. Truly, Swain is so omniscient that if there was to be two omnisciences, he would be both.

32 Comments

RiotRiot Scathlocke1/25/2018, 10:43:50 PM21 votes

Ziltoid. Nice. :-)

Warlord Dienekes1/25/2018, 11:45:22 PM7 votes

He has two references to Tywin Lannister:

The threatening to smile line. And the “whoever says I am winning is not winning.” Line. Which is a reference to the “whoever says I am king.”

He also references Machiavelli with the infamous “better to be feared than loved.”

Like always though they miss the context with that last one. The complete line is “it’s better to be both loved and feared. But if for whatever reason you can’t be both it is better to be feared. So long as that fear does not turn to hatred.”

Every petty dictator seems to forget that point.

By the way if Rioters ever read this. I must commend you on his VO. Best in a long while.

Epicurus1/25/2018, 11:36:17 PM3 votes

His joke response is also a Tywin Lannister reference. "I'm not smiling. I'm threatening to smile. It's still a threat." It is very close to a memorable line from the books: "Every once in a very long while, Lord Tywin Lannister would actually threaten to smile; he never did, but the threat alone was terrible to behold."

SpiritOfOdysseus1/26/2018, 5:26:55 PM2 votes

Very nice!! You did a great job piecing together references :)

Kairoptra1/26/2018, 2:30:16 PM2 votes

“What have the ravens brought me?”

I’m pretty sure this is a reference to the biblical story of Elijah. His story’s a bit long, so you might want to read it for yourself or find some YouTube videos on it. If you’re not feeling those, I could try to give you a th;dr if you wanted. Although, I’d be afraid of leaving something out, so you’d probably still get a pillar of text (still won’t be anywhere near as long as the actual story, though).

Warlord Dienekes1/26/2018, 4:07:47 AM2 votes

Finished the interactions video. Couldn't seem to find the full VO anywhere. Got these.

"Isn't even my final form." Frieza DBZ

"Victory awaits." Carriers from Starcraft II

"Prepare and victory is inevitable." Maybe a stretch, but I think this is just distilling down about 3 chapters of Art of War. Especially the sections where he talks about how the commander who prepares more will win, this is the quote usually used: The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

Pale Pirate1/26/2018, 12:56:16 PM2 votes

I think you misquoted the Machiavelli quote?

Knalxz1/26/2018, 9:15:35 PM2 votes

I'd prefer if Swain was closer to Tywin then that crazy wizard from Harry Potter, but I guess Swain is literally a wizard so...hm.

Lordk0z1/28/2018, 1:34:54 AM1 votes

Just shilling myself here.

But yeah. Noxus has a very clear Roman inspiration now, and I feel like that's the direction they're taking the city-state as a whole.

Sorry Team1/27/2018, 2:43:15 PM1 votes

Hey good work Vlady.

Also gentle reminder that Demacia > Noxus

Sona Ping1/26/2018, 7:01:02 PM1 votes

"The ends of war are death." "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato misattributed quote?

It looks like you have the wrong end there, so that one does not work. Also, apparently that was George Santayana's idea attributed to Plato.

"I'm not smiling. I'm threatening to smile. It's still a threat." Added by Epicurus and Warlord Dienekes, another Tywin one.

Aww, that's disappointing. I liked that one...