Exploring the Love Stories of League of Legends

Riot’s League of Legends is a game that, at first, might not seem like something that could be associated with love, or tolerance. The nature of MOBAs means that the player’s main goal is to kill as quickly and efficiently as possible, pushing on through the map by slicing and shooting their way past the enemy players.

But the narrative and lore which surrounds League of Legends isn’t completely concerned with warfare and bloodlust. Riot actually tells us all kinds of different stories through League‘s cinematics, comics and more, many of which revolve around the notions of different forms of love conquering hate in a tale which, by nature, is drenched in blood and hatred.

 

Romantic love

Of course, when most people think of “love”, the idea of romantic and/or sexual love is what first springs to mind. I’m not quite sure why this is–perhaps because sexual and romantic love is often poorly perceived as a “goal” that everyone is expected to strive for, whilst other forms of more platonic love are expected and/or seen as less important, but whatever the reason, League of course tells us several beautiful romantic love stories through its various mediums.

Anyone who’s ever talked to me about League knows that Rakan and Xayah are two of my favourite characters: these bold and colourful Harpy-inspired lovers have a closer bond than most champions, and their narrative arc involves two tales becoming one as the pair grow closer. As you can see in “Wild Magic”, the cinematic posted above, the pair’s fighting style is complimentary in nature: they both utilise their feathers–actual pieces of themselves, which Xayah even rips out in a symbolic gesture of sacrifice–to protect and help one another. In-game, this is reflected in their roles: Marksman and Catcher, each champion playing a separate role to help the other out if needed.

As well as Rakan and Xayah, League of Legends shows us a plethora of other champions who are in love and/or lust with one another: Ashe and Tryndamere (pictured below in a beautiful piece of fanart) are married, Garen and Katarina have been “matched” by champion Blitz’s “fleshling compatibility service”, and were probably involved romantically at one point…the list goes on, with many League of Legends champions being officially paired or hinted as being together throughout the game’s history.

And it’s not just canon where League‘s romantic love is so prevalent, fans have been pairing characters off since the game’s very beginning. Shippers can often be negatively stereotyped as obsessive or “pushy” as they go against the canon of the game in their fanart, fanfictions and more. But Riot has always been a company which celebrates the creations of its playerbase, giving them dedicated sections on the forums to express their love for their favourite ships in whatever medium they choose. These creations are often subversive in nature, especially as many players read certain characters as queer or polyamorous, desperate for some more diverse representation among their favourite champions. Riot encourages players to be as creative as possible, and has never spoken out against the romantic “pairing off” of any of its characters. As long as there are champions, there will always be shippers.

 

Familial love

League of Legends is also full of champions who are related to one another, and these familial ties form the basis of some of League‘s most interesting pieces of lore.

For example, Garen and Lux are canonically brother and sister, both born to the family of the prestigious House Crownguard. Their relationship is an interesting one which begins with Lux wanting to “follow in the footsteps” of her older brother by joining the military. Here, we see Lux’s devotion to her brother being so great that she is willing to risk her life just to be closer to him, and to make him proud of her and her accomplishments. Garen, however, could be seen as being slightly indifferent and distant towards his sister, which could have spurred her quest for recognition and love from her brother on even more. Familial love is one of the driving factors of Lux’s story, even if Garen hasn’t yet been shown to be so openly driven by his love for his sister.

The “two brothers with very different personalities” trope has been used a lot in recent popular media: we can see it with Overwatch‘s Genji and Hanzo Shimada, Game of Thrones‘ Sandor and Gregor Clegane, and many more. League of Legends utilises this trope with its “Blood Brothers”, Darius and Draven. The pair are entwined to the point where the first line of Draven’s lore references his brother (“Unlike his brother Darius, victory in battle was never enough for Draven”) but Riot actually uses the sibling’s relationship and forced familial love as a way of contrasting and highlighting the champions’ individual personalities. Though they are brothers, they are their own people, and this conflict of interest and personalities creates drama and tension between the pair, making them more interesting for players to read up on.

Familial love in League of Legends is an aspect of the game that has the potential for real emotional impact as it’s something that almost every player can relate to–wherever they may come from–and I’m looking forward to seeing more of these related champions’ stories as the game continues to grow and develop.

 

Love and Kindness

Tales of platonic love, kindness and friendship are also highly prevalent throughout all of League of Legends‘ lore, and this love is expressed in many different ways.

Above, you can view Braum’s cinematic, where (spoiler!) we see him save a tiny Poro from imminent death in the Howling Abyss. It might sound strange to say that Braum’s actions are an expression of love, but they are, and it’s simple actions like these which help us to develop a sense of admiration and empathy for champions who display kindness towards others.

League’s “Star Guardians” are another good example of this, and the following animated music video comes with the following description: “Star Guardians can only defeat the darkness that spreads across the universe if they stand together. They will fight as one or fall as many.”

After all, League is a game about teamwork as much as it is a game about killing, and players appreciate it when they see the champions they love working together as a team. Conflict is the heart of drama, yes, but one thing you certainly don’t want as a League of Legends player is to constantly be butting heads with the rest of your team, and so Riot has made sure to include lots of tales of platonic love and kindness within its lore so that players can see their own teams (or, perhaps, idealised versions of them) reflected within the game’s narrative.

League of Legends teaches us that its world is filled with as much love and diversity as our own, and these relationships help to create empathy and emotion in a story which could have very easily only concerned itself with war and battle. We care about League‘s champions because we see them as more than tools to our own victories: they are characters whose lives have been shaped by one another, and their emotions are realistic and believable reflections of our own.