If you ask me, I̠̮̬̬ ͜w̜̳̘̲̝͢ͅͅi͞ll̸͉̟̝͔ͅ ͘d͙̪͔̤̣͇̖o̥̻̕ ͢i̠̪͚̖̯͇t̙̻͇.̘͈̹̖ Shaco is hard to talk about, but I tried my best to derive some kind of interesting opinion from the very limited l͙̞o̺̻͉̥̳͕r̵e̷ ̖̦a͠n̶̮ͅd̼̜̙̜̠̟ ̖̞̻͘i̢͉̫̗ń̦̹̜̤f̧̯̰̩͉̞̙o͓rm̛͚̦̳̳a͏͙͉̟̹̖t̬ͅḭ̟͚͎̱͡o̹̹̙͕̜̞̠ǹ͈ͅ and character design available to Shaco, the Demon Jester.
I am nothing if not vulnerable to suggestion! Let's have a look at The Machine Herald, his aging character design and his brand new lore, and figure out what's what.
I got a lot of requests for the weird-walking scarecrow - and frankly, why not? Let's read his story, look at his character design and discuss what exactly a haunted scarecrow is doing in League of Legends, and where he might be taken in the future.
Nautilus is a popular pick in the comments for a video, and it's perhaps easy to see why. The old boy has got charm, and a lot of fun to him - plus a kit that's easy to love (or hate), when you face him in the jungle, or in toplane, or as a support, or, hey, let's put him mid. Why not? There are no rules! The universe is meaningless! To heck with your promotion series! The charm, though, may turn out to be part of the problem...
A recurring request in the comments, Symmetra is a very interesting design. Designed to set visual precedents for both her role as a combat engineer and as a representation of an architect in a sci-fi/FPS context, as well as a representation of south-east Asian (particularly Indian) culture, Symmetra tries to do a lot. Question is, does she succeed? Let's talk about that.
Poppy, the Keeper of the Hammer, is one of the more substantial character updates in League of Legends' history, changing almost every aspect of who the character is and what she's about to fit an entirely new definition not only of her species but of her personality. So, was it successful? Did it lead to a better character design and story? Yes. Yes of course it did, old Poppy was kind of horrible. But it might be interesting to talk about why!
From street urchin to talented sorceress to literal goddess of the winds of the sea (and occasional bluebird), Janna has taken an interesting turn as a character. Nearly unchanged for most of her life, she was taken in a radically different direction recently that I feel like a lot of people kind of missed when it happened. So... does it work? Does her character design hold up to modern lore-concepts? Let's talk about that.
I have a blister on my tongue and a mouth full of water. 100+ takes and this is the best video that came out of it. That's life sometimes. I wanted to get this darn thing out of the way before starting in on Pyke, whose lore should get revealed fairly soon - plus I've got that video topic from Patreon to work on, as well as another episode of the Dark Souls series. Point is, kids, sometimes "done" is a million times better than "perfect." Anyway, let's talk about Sona.
Mordekaiser is a slice of primo-grade fantasy cheese, the mascot of your uncle's metal cover band in the 80s, the villain of a 1970s fantasy pulp, the doodle of a 14-year old on the back of a notebook during a boring math class. AND he's also the embodiment of necromantic evil, a primordial force of darkness as old as empires who rises again and again to haunt humanity with the ghosts of their own failures. These two visions don't necessarily work together all the time. Let's talk about that.
*BORD.* Bard is one of the most interesting character concepts in League of Legends, and certainly one of the most requested for a video like this
L U D O N A R R A T I V E D I S S O N A N C E Pyke is an oddity in more ways than one. He's a support whose gameplay actively encourages them to killsteal, yes, but he's also a character whose excellent lore concept seems to be subtly but noticeably at odds with the character who was actually put in the game. Let's talk about that! (take a shot every time I say "deranged")
Goodness but this ended up a long one. I do have a lot to say about the Green Father, and what his lore conception and character design can teach us about creating backstories for esoteric characters, and how you can create different characters from similar visual concepts.
Kindred are the god(s) of Death on Runeterra, theoretically. But what does "god" even mean in a world like League of Legends? And what sort of Death do these two embody, what does it mean for how we are meant to understand Death? Let's talk about it!
Brand is a spectacularly nondescript champion for a character who is literally made of fire. Devoid of any comprehensible personality, motivation or mission, and saddled with a simplistic and anachronistic character design, what can actually be done to bring the Burning Vengeance more up to date as an interesting thematic exploration of the idea of being literally possessed by fire?
Illaoi is an often requested champion for this video series, and certainly one of my favourite designs in the game. Built like a concrete slab and devoted to Nagakabouros, she's a decidedly different design for a game that mostly doesn't use that kind of physicality to express a character. So let's talk about that!
Kled is a well requested champion for this video series, and for a good reason. He's a joke character, but also one of the best jokes Riot has ever told, which manages to say something meaningful about the world of Runeterra and the culture of Noxus while also having one of the best sets of voicelines in the game. His character design is also interestingly counterintuitive. So let's talk about that!
This is something a lot darker than what I usually talk about, and a lot more... intense, honestly. I have a strong personal relationship to the xenomorph and its character design, and to the works of H.R. Giger, who consider the cinematographer of every nightmare I had from ages 6-15
New Aatrox has been a divisive rework, to say the least. For my part, I like him, even if his introduction and new lore concept does introduce almost as many plot holes to League of Legends as it fills. So! Let's have a chat about him, about the Darkin, about why he's so bloody loud in his voicelines, and how it all stacks up in the broader view!
Aatrox, Rhaast, and Varus who should have had another A in his name. Once, they were a race of war demons causing war because war is.... good? I'm not sure. Then they were interdimensional alien invaders drawn to the wild magic of Runeterra. And then, finally, they became Shuriman ascended corrupted by the tragedy of war and the loss of their emperor. Oh, and also Varus used to be one dude but now he's three dudes and two of those dudes are in love so THAT's a thing. Let's talk about the Darkin.
SGDQ was absolutely amazing, but it's time to get back to work. Let's talk about the jokey troll-meme that Overwatch perpetrated on its entire community recently, and have a conversation about A Literal Hamster Rolling Around In A Mecha Hamster Ball With Guns On It - or "Hammond" for short. He's a joke character, a goof, a bit of fun at all of our expenses, but that doesn't mean there isn't a character design to talk about.
This is a bit unusual for me, but I wanted to talk about... well, I wanted to talk about a lot of things, but mostly I wanted to talk about how Ninja Sex Party and TWRP use their aesthetics and the history of pop culture to present a particular positive vision of nostalgia and adulthood, as informed by the ephemera of a 1980s & 90s childhood experience. Also they play music real good.
It's been a hot minute since we just sat down together and overanalyzed a League of Legends character design. LET'S FIX THAT! Let's talk about the League of Legends Poison Ivy copyright infringement, the trouble of having too little lore and what happens when a character design becomes a pop-culture reference without commenting on or porting over the themes that inform the original. Let's talk about why a plant had to be hot.
Braum is my favourite character to play in League of Legends, not the least of which because I am very good at walking straight into enemy skillshots. So let's talk about the mustachioed musclehead, the dream daddy of Runeterra, the Heart of the Freljord. Let's talk about Braum.
So, here's me taking a bit of a risk. In this video we're going to be discussing a lot of real-world history and culture of Japan, and relating them back to the character pair of Hanzo and Genji and their relationship and interactions as a metaphor for the "soul" of Japan within the multicultural IP of Overwatch.
Akali is finally hitting live, which means her short story is finally out, which means I get to talk at length about writing and storytelling and nitpicking the work of people who have much more distinguished careers in writing than I probably ever will! Yay! :D We're going to be discussing her character design
You will remember Yorick Mori. We're still on a Shadow Isles kick here on the channel, trying to explore the region before Mordekaiser's rework shows up and messes with it, and it's finally time to talk about Ghoulmaster Flash himself, the gravest man in the League, Yorick the Shepherd of Souls. He's one of the prominent reworks of the game and one of the poster children for Riot's rework philosophy, which might give us a bit of insight into what they plan with the Master of Metal when he comes out. But even if the rework is better, is a rework always... "better"? Let's discuss.
League of Legends, showing a profound understanding of human nature, have made their next champion an adorable loyal little loving kitty-cat, who's out on a fun-filled family adventure to find her missing master and bring her home. So... does it work? Does the character design and lore manage to cohere in a compelling way? Let's discuss.
In our continued exploration of the Shadow Isles we've reached a champion whose bark is probably not worse than their bite, but who actively use their bark to bite people. Probably. I mean it's not part of his kit or anything but look at those mouths he's got on him, I wouldn't wanna put my hand in that. Er... anyway, Maokai is yet another of those very old champions who have been semi-awkwardly retrofitted into a modern League of Legends aesthetic with a lore that doesn't 100% match up to his character design can support. Let's discuss!
Lulu and Tristana have had their base lores updated to the modern state of the game - which, if you've kept track of how Yordles have changed and evolved throughout the history of League of Legends, is SORELY NEEDED. So how does Lulu's update shake out? Has she found a unique, character-defining niche to fit into? Has her relationship with magic and Bandle City been clarified in a useful way under the new Yordle paradigms? Well. Sorta. Let's discuss!
The Iron Revenant is finally in the game, and his animations can finally be picked over in detail on teemo.gg (thanks guys), so let's have a chat about League of Legends' latest world-ending supervillain, his role in the lore of the grand schemes of Runeterra and discuss the sometimes slightly goofy look of his animations and what purpose they serve.
Qiyana is the newest champion to join League of Legends, and also the first champion to break out from the new region of Ixtal. She's an angry, entitled teenager with the power of an army in her fingertips - what could possibly go wrong? Let's discuss!
So the whole Tifa thing is sort of smoldering and dying down a bit (I hope), which hopefully means this video can get in under the radar enough for the comments not to turn into a garbage fire, and hopefully do a little bit of good in heightening the level of the discourse. Or maybe I'm just pouring fuel on the fire and making everything worse. Who knows. Either way, let's talk about Tifa Lockhart and why she looks the way she does.
(CW: Brief discussion of r*pe as a part of mythology) Once again thank you very much to Joe Guida, who pledged at the highest tier on Patreon to request this video! Part Greek, part Indian, part Egyptian and all hypercarry - Cassiopeia is a literal mixed bag of influences, all coming together to form... a relatively typical Hot Fantasy Snake Lady. She's an old champion, with all the issues that come with that label, but maybe - just maybe - there's a few more interesting things hiding under the surface...
Boy howdy that took me a while to put together didn't it? Anyway, our resident 300 cosplayer decided to grow a personality all of a sudden - let's have a look at it, and evaluate if it's malignant or one of those cool ninja turtle mutations.
Riot have apparently decided to reveal and release champions on a biweekly schedule again because, I don't know, they're trying to rob me of all my free time. Anyway, let's have a chat about one of the longest-teased champions (technically) in all of League of Legends, and see how she holds up.
Last video before the holidays - let's talk about Sad Emo Moon Boy and his spirit sister, and the changing tides of fate on Targon.
League of Legends has a new handsome punch-boy - is this the final piece of the League of Legends Boyband K-Pop Puzzle??? Well, maybe, maybe not. Sett is a half-human, half-vastayan pit fighter with aspirations, and a lot of love for his momma. Let's take a closer look.
Harley Quinn is one of the most fascinating characters to expand out of the DC Animated Universe, an incidental supporting player who evolved into a full-fledged supervillain of her own accord. Straining under the weight of her origin story, multiple adaptations of the chararacter have had to find interesting ways to re-define her in order to tell stories about her. Let's take a closer look.
There's a very old champion in League of Legends who has been important and even iconic (hello, Imp!) to the game's history, but who for over half a decade has been left unexplored and ignored. Let's take a closer look.
Malphite is an old pile of rocks who has been with League of Legends since its earliest days, but who has in all that time never really developed a discernable or interesting personality, and who, like many other older champions, got left behind as the LoL universe expanded, bereft of story and a place to occupy in the narrative. Until last year, where Riot finally started to give him something to work with. Let's take a closer look.
When fields lie calm And wind stands still Run home (Run home) As the crows make night Of the fading sun Hide now (Hide now) When the trees do bow As if they weep Stay down (Stay down) Though its light beckons forth A melody calls out Too late (Too late)
An old god has awakened, and found the Freljord changed and strange. So he has resolved to restore the Old Ways and remake the world in his image! But not in, like, an important way with real-life parallels or something, don't worry about it.
Someone is going to have to explain the belly-button at some point.
It turns out you can't talk about one anime sword-bro without talking about the other - but it also turns out that they're a lot less connected than you might think, oddly.
Yet another hot lady in a game full of rather similar-looking hot ladies. But will Riot finally manage to actually make the tropes of the empowered sexy badass work for them?
Seraphine was never meant to be a lightning rod for quite as much controversy as she was. A lot of what went wrong was unintentional, and the rest of it, I think, was not the fault of the people who made her, but the corporation who was paying for it.
Gwen was a surprise, to be sure, but a... welcome one? Well. There may be some debate about that. Let's see what we can make of her.