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What's Nautilus' role in League's narrative

Malicious Metal·12/31/2016, 2:14:02 AM·18 votes·2,131 views

It's a question that has been boggling me for a while and not only because Nautilus is one of my favorite champions. Ever since his release Nautilus didn't get anything added to his existing lore except this little snippet where he supposedly met the Harrowing Head on and repelled it.

Which begs the question; Just WHAT is Nautilus's Agenda? Besides finding the guilty?

I personally feel Nautilus almost fits into the same boat as Maokai and Yorick as this somewhat imposing behemoth of dark energy that works for the greater good. He might look fearsome and evil but he's going to do the working man's job and repell Mordekaiser's conquest and the Black Mist.

Nautilus needs MORE to his character besides still harboring hateful thoughts for those who left him to die, all of which are probably already dead by now. He needs to be involved as the missing link between Bilgewater, the Ocean champs (Fizz, Nami) and the Shadow Isles. He'll be shunned and be seen as dangerous but he should be a force of good, a morally grey one.

He needs a character arc that gives him more to his newfound existence besides revenge, Hell, Nami could be the perfect candidate to show the Titan of the Depths that there is more to his twisted life than just revenge and darkness.

Just my two cents on this topic.

http://orig10.deviantart.net/5124/f/2015/111/1/2/whatareyou_by_queenmonarch-d8qjly9.png

18 Comments

Sharjo12/31/2016, 2:42:35 AM12 votes

Nautilus is an interesting character who in no small way represents one side of the deep ocean in contrast to Nami, where Nami represents the wonder and beauty that can be found in the depths, while Nautilus represents the horror and terror of such a place.

Over all I feel like Nautilus's connection to the Shadow Isles should be a completely non existent one because his transformation from human to literal titan introduced a unique power and a different kind of threat that never really got much exposure: that there's something scary down in the depths of the oceans of Runeterra. It's not Void related (maybe) and it's not Shadow Isles related (maybe), it's something far more ancient, something primordial and impossible to comprehend; a force that's remained unchanged by the wars and shifting eras of the surface world, but is perhaps more terrifying than anything from those ages.

His powers could also be in stark contrast to Illaoi's culture and how the ocean is seen. Perhaps the dark goop that took Nautilus as a man is something that parellels or is in conflict with the great cycle represented by Nagakabouros and her children. The people of the Isles would probably not just look at Nautilus as a monster, but also an affront to their own beliefs and an enemy that must be destroyed. In Bilgewater that may not be the case but the native people probably never looked at Nautilus with anything but contempt and fear.

In Bilgewater Nautilus is probably a folk tale right about now, talked about in hushed tones and sung in tall tales in bars. Whether he's old or new isn't really relevent; he's gonna be a cultural figure regardless of how long he's been a part of Bilgewater's history.

With that in mind I feel like Nautilus's drive from revenge is not only him trying to relcaim his own sense of humanity but also avoiding his new nature as a monster of the deeps. Pursuing this goal is the only thing that connects him to his old life, and if he lets it go then what is he? That's the last vestige of humanity he has in a way and not having that drive is scary because all of a sudden he IS the monster people think he is, which is perhaps the scariest thing of all. In defending Bilgewater from the Harrowing he might also have another lease on that humanity; to serve as an eternal guardian of his former home. Maybe people won't like him and will fear him, but he'll keep the darkness at bay for as long as he remains standing.

''When consumed by utter darkness, there is nothing left but forward.''

I feel this line is core to Nautilus as a whole. If you boil it down, going forward is all Nautilus wants and needs. Forward to not be bogged down by the reality of who he is. Forward to push past the hatred and fear of people he may have once knew. Forward to escape the horror's he's witnessed and keep himself away from the depths. With that in mind I feel like he and Nami could find common ground once they got past the fact that they kinda embody exactly what the other wouldn't really like about their life and current situation. Nami's in a totally new world and has no clue where to go, but then she meets Nautilus and learns the nature of "Just keep going forward and you'll get somewhere eventually." Conversely Nautilus could see Nami's determination to protect her loved ones as inspiration to keep Bilgewater safe; she defied pre-destined events to be the hero her people NEEDED. Bilgewater NEEDS a protector, and regardless of what the people think Nautilus may just be the most qualified to take on such a task.

A friendship between the two is something I'd love to see, but as I said before, they kinda embody some really nasty things about the other's life; to Nami, Nautilus is the literal embodiment of both the horrors of the human world she has to face, and the deep ocean that threatens her people's existence. To Nautilus, Nami is the embodiment of the alure and terror of the deep ocean, given voice, will and obvious intent. Could they ever work past that to see each other as allies, and potentially comrades? I'd love to see it.

I'd also like to see both Nami and Nautilus save Bilgewater from a Harrowing some day. That'd be sick.

That was a real jumble there but hopefully someone found it coherent.

Kyrrion12/31/2016, 3:19:53 AM8 votes

Nautilus is the incarnation of depression.

A spawn from the deepest recesses of the human mind. Slow, unforgiving, and eternally empty. He wanders the world at his slow pace because that's all he has ever known. No hope, no happiness, only trudging onward blindly simply out of habit. Anything caught in his path has little chance to escape. Once he pulls you in, slows your life to a crawl, rooting you in place as the world moves forward and leaves you behind.

Nautilus's connection isn't just to the darkest depths of the ocean.

TyrekGoldenspear12/31/2016, 2:28:03 AM2 votes

I smell a ship... smells fishy...

Anyway, I agree.

Nautilus along with Aatroxx, Evelynn, and Shaco are all a bunch of dark and mysterious champs with little to no lore, hardly any connection to the larger universe.

Aatrox This guy is supposed to show up every so often to win wars right? As he can show up to help either side, he is effectively grey. Not truly a villain as war in of itself has no alignment. It is a tool to enforce the will of one side or the other.

I suspect that if the war between Demacia and Noxus keeps up, he will intervene. And whoever side he helps will outright win the war. Or he could instead fuel the war between the two by helping both sides. One battle he helps Demacia and the other he helps Noxus. In this way he maintains his power as he drinks in the blood of the fallen. His agenda could literally be as simple as prolonging war and making sure it exists in the world. He already has a link with Tryndamere , it would be interesting to see this played out more, like in a battle for the Frelijord.

Evelynn I'll keep this brief since you already made a post on her, but she has been getting some lore love recently, and being an assassin for hire sounds interesting, but she needs a further goal. Simply taking the jobs because of the pleasure in inflicting pain to her victims would add some character. She had a connection with TwistedFate , but I doubt that's ever going to be canon again. Her origin is also a big question. We don't even know what she is.

Shaco Oh man. This psychotic killer clown has a lot of potential. Currently he doesn't fit in the lore very well and not a single other champ has a connection to him or references him, so Riot has a lot of free space with him without stepping on any preestablished lore's toes.

TWGdabeast12/31/2016, 3:46:28 AM2 votes

Something I've picked up from listening to Illaoi about her god and moving forward, talks about keep moving forward. Unlike Illaoi who is a devoted follower to her elder god and she shares the teachings of it and life lessons and such, nautilus was dragged into the depths by some form of tentacles, and didn't have the best of times, but if he interacted with her god and showed up as a titan in bildgewater, would Illaoi hate him for showing the possibilities of her god?

Also would love to see more of when Nautilus and Mordekaiser went toe to toe than just a mention of them both fighting in the bildgewater story. Two men of metal, two go in, only one comes out, Anchor vs. Mace!!!!

woobee12/31/2016, 6:34:45 PM2 votes

What's up with you and metal people dude lol

SlntReaper12/31/2016, 6:01:19 AM1 votes

Where is the hidden Mordekaiser?

SpecterVonBaren12/31/2016, 2:20:44 PM1 votes

Downvoting unless you give me a proper link to the artwork page on DA.

Supreme Senpai6912/31/2016, 5:59:47 AM1 votes

10/10

Just picked up Naut yesterday. Apart from high CDs, I love him to bits. Which is saying something considering I absolutely loathe tank supports for their inability to do damage, basically trusting the win condition to your ADC that you've never met before.