I Find Varus' New Lore To Be BS
I don't believe so many people actually gave a shit about old Varus' lore in the first place, it really just sounds like people complaining just to complain.
But. You guys(Riot) did mess up in completely upholding what Varus is known for. He's the arrow of retribution yet 66-67% of him (Val and Kai) doesn't have anything to avenge really. Varus wants retribution for his race which was decimated by humans, but Kai and Val are just mad that the mysterious magical pool of mysterious magic didn't save Kai's life and instead made them share an eternal threesome until they give up on living.
You could argue that their target of vengeance is the Noxians that killed Kai (and some irrelevant people at Pallas) but they were slain soon after, some before, so their mission is over.
There's few actual differences between the new and old lore. Varus didn't have to decide to pick his loved ones(wife and child/heartlight) or duty, instead he/they chose both. He/they defended the sacred pool from invaders and afterwards when Kai was dying Val decided to use the pool's power to slay the remaining Noxian fleet out of revenge for (almost) killing Kai, joining with the darkin and Kai/ the corrupting magic.
If the Darkin had suddenly taken control and killed Val's mother or the kids or someone important I think people would've accepted him more because then he would've actually lost something which is the only real difference between the old lore, besides him being 66-67% (or 100%?) gay. (Forgive me if I have Kai and Valmar mixed up.)
And yes, the title is misleading and for the record, the old color story was really well written.