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Cassiopeia: Please stop retroactively homogenizing

Luninareph·9/13/2014, 7:12:24 AM·4 votes·866 views

TL;DR in advance: Cassiopeia is now Katarina, and Karma has been Irelia ever since her rework. Whoever is responsible for this: STOP. Please stop turning the diplomats into action girls.

Karma's old lore painted her as a negotiator, a pacifist, a pillar of strength who stood strongest alongside her people. Her new lore makes her a superhero who fights off an army singlehandedly after the foolish negotiators of her village get themselves killed.

Cassiopeia's old lore made her a dangerous spy and blackmail artist. She played the social game and presented an innocent face to the world, only to have her true wickedness exposed for the world to see by one she had wronged. Now she is a treasure hunter who goes and treks across the desert in person, then stabs her guide out of greed.

To this I posit: at this point in time, why even HAVE Karma when we have Irelia, or Cassiopeia when we have Katarina?

Karma and Irelia are now BOTH young Ionian women who discover a hidden power within themselves in a life-or-death situation and unleash it to defeat an army singlehandedly, then use the fame from their deeds to provoke the pacifist leaders of Ionia into taking action against Noxus.

Why would Cassiopeia go into the desert in search of Shuriman treasure when her SISTER is the tough, active, physically-trained one in the family who gets sent out to further the family's goals? Cassiopeia was originally a pampered aristocrat who used her family gentility and pretty face to manipulate other Noxian aristocrats. How is she now traveling across deserts and stabbing professional mercenaries in the back with knives? Which are the weapons her SISTER was trained to use?

Replace Karma with Irelia and no detail of either story changes. Replace Cassiopeia in this video with Katarina and no detail changes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_GU-0fMLh4

I am a professional writer and editor, and I want it to be known: that is BS writing. Characters that interchangeable are absolutely the last thing you want in any storytelling for any medium. And the worst part is that both Karma and Cassiopeia had well-established backgrounds and personalities beforehand that DID NOT NEED TO BE CHANGED. I LIKED played a pacifistic diplomat. I LIKED playing a powdered aristocrat turned vicious monster. I already play Irelia and Katarina. I DO NOT NEED THE IDENTITY OF OTHER CHARACTERS WIPED CLEAN SO THEY CAN BECOME CLONES OF IRELIA AND KATARINA. And why, may I ask, is it specifically these stranger, different, more psychological characters who are being transformed into generic action girls, rather than turning the generic action girls or cackling villainesses into more interesting characters?!

And lastly and completely unrelatedly, what the hell is the point of creating a prison door that attacks the person who OPENS it when it is opened WITH ITS KEY, rather than attacking the PRISONER inside to prevent them from being able to get out?!

3 Comments

TheSejHammer9/13/2014, 7:45:43 AM2 votes

It wasn't a prison, it was the tomb of the Emperor, so it's defense is obviously going to be more focused at the people who open it, key be damned. Just because something CAN be opened, doesn't mean it was MEANT to be opened. Defiling what was supposed to be the tomb of their Emperor...yeah, I don't think the guys who built it would be thrilled.

While Kat may be the fighter of the two sisters, going on expeditions was actually kind of popular among certain breeds of nobility, especially in fiction, and you don't always send an assassin on a collection mission. Plus, the lore still outright says...she was a temptress still. Nothing says you can't seduce someone and enjoy some treks for relics of ancient power.

And seriously stabbing someone in the back, regardless of their skill level, is something a lot of people can do. It's why it's kind of the preferred method of betraying people, because you literally cannot see them doing it. Trained or not, a knife through the torso, TENDS to be a pretty effective method of making someone bleed a lot. Or sever their spine and just kill em completely. She's a spy and a blackmail artist, I'm sure she's shanked SOMEONE at some point.

I can sort of see where you're coming from with Karma and Irelia being similar, but Irelia's sudden ability to move her blades is hinted at with her father, and likely caused by Soraka saving her life from the Noxian necromancy, which I've often assumed involves turning her blades into a sort of soul container thing but I can't honestly say for sure. Karma, by description, was already know for her spiritual connection, which was quite powerful, she just limited herself to observe tradition, which she still wishes to respect, but understands that diplomacy is not always the answer. She's a more realistic diplomat, I find, she just happens to have the ability to blast you herself instead of just summoning the armed forces. She doesn't strike me as the type to just smash you for no reason.

Just my thoughts.

Serpents Embrace9/13/2014, 7:47:50 AM2 votes

Thank you for saying what I've been thinking. Cassi has been one of my favorite characters both in lore and in game since I started playing back when Nocturne was released. It's been really difficult for me to post anything without being clearly bitter about it, but you've done a nice job keeping it civil.

Thank you.