Queer League of Legends Champions (with explanations) – Part I
Confirmed Lesbians – Neeko, Leona, Diana, Caitlyn, Vi
Starting off with probably the most known LGBTQ+ characters of Riot, we have Neeko, Leona, Diana, Caitlyn, and Vi, all canon lesbians. Neeko's sexuality was a big deal when first announced, not only because she was the first canon queer champion of League but also because her sexuality is explicitly portrayed through her voice lines, as she often flirts with female champions and shows a disinterest in the Shoo'ma of men she shapeshifts into.
A number of different Rioters have confirmed that Leona and Diana were always meant to be lovers, but someone at Riot Management decided against it, and so they were portrayed as almost sisterly in the old lore. Fast-forward to the present day, they are gay and LOUD about it! The Rise With Me short story officially canonized the couple, and official pride art showed both of them with the lesbian flag.
Caitlyn and Vi were already a popular ship before their romantic interest in one another became explicit, as shown in Arcane, Legends of Runeterra, and more subtly in the Warriors cinematic. They have also been shown in official pride art holding or wearing the lesbian flag, and they even share a Valentine's Day skin. It's worth adding that Vi also shares another romance-themed skin line with Fiora, and they seem to be very good friends there, but we'll get into that later.
Confirmed Gays – K'Sante, Graves, Aphelios
K'Sante's sexuality, like Neeko's, has been an important part of his character since release. His cinematic and color story both mention Tope, his past male lover, and he was the face of League Pride 2023 alongside Vi.
Graves and Twisted Fate were reportedly, like Diana and Leona, meant to be lovers from day one, but Riot didn't like that (how novel) and scratched that part of their story, simply leaving them as crime partners, nothing else. Burning Tides and Destiny and Fate have been amazing at developing their relationship, but the real confirmation comes with The Boys and Bombolini, which officially confirmed Graves as gay and T.F. as being attracted to him.
Lastly, we have Aphelios. He and Sett have been a popular ship since the Spirit Blossom release, a skin line that makes them boyfriends, which already confirms him as queer. Throughout this year, Riot has been reposting and sharing Settphel art, which doesn't necessarily mean anything, but what really grabs attention is that they also shared fanart of Aphelios with the toothpaste gay flag, leading me to classify him as such.
Confirmed Bisexuals – Nami, Rell, Sett
Nami surprised pretty much everyone when her addition to Legends of Runeterra confirmed her as polyamorous, being in a relationship with Loto and Tama, other Marai of her tribe. One of the people who worked on her character explicitly highlighted the relationship and affirmed that Nami was pansexual. Since then, Riot has promoted her (through official pride art and LoR emotes) as bisexual. It's a bit unclear how she should be labeled, but one thing is sure: she's queer.
Rell is another champion whose queerness was stated on her debut. Rell had flirtatious lines with both men and women in League and was explicitly labeled as bisexual by her creators, also being confirmed through official pride art.
Finally, there's Sett. People have been speculating on his sexuality for a while, but things changed when Spirit Blossom came along, and he was portrayed as Aphelios' boyfriend. Since then, Sett has been seen in reposted League fanart with the bi flag.
I always thought about Lillia in Modern AU where she struggles to fit in the society around her because of her exotic looks, which she tends to view as a flaw that keeps her from being "normal".
This is why she often hides at home unless her only friends call her to hang out.
In light of Riot Games laying off 11% of their staff globally, I want to make a series of posts highlighting the portfolios of those affected, so that we can appreciate their contributions to the world of Runeterra and continue to support them. You can find a full list of those known to be affected here.
Legends of Runeterra has just revealed their design for Nidalee and… holy shit girl look at you, god damn!
So the first change they've made is to de-halloween costume her. Nidalee with her leg warmers and push up fur bra and oversized bone earrings always came across as basically a… kinda shitty cartoon of an indigenous person, or a "savage jungle woman" halloween costume, which sucked. In the new design, she still shows skin, but her clothes now look like, y'know, clothes, and the big fur collar has visual consonance with her new cougar form, which also, objectively speaking, fucking slaps. Another thing that carries through is her tattoos, which light up in magical green on the animal form.
And of course, there's the cat ears. This design for Nidalee is focusing in so much stronger on her nature as a shapeshifter, that her two forms are intertwined rather than separate, and that one flows into the other. It far, FAR better storytelling for the character, showing her nature through design, and it makes her seem far more magical and powerful than the very ordinary, and by comparison: boring human and cougar form she used to have.
So yeah, chalk up another design win to Legends of Runeterra.