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Honestly. I think Ahri has a lore contradiction, and a personality crisis.

Craft Zeppelin··28 votes·3,041 views

Since we now know that Xayah/Rakan, Rengar, Wukong are Vastaya and have no problems maintaining their form without being a vampire, I find it totally unnessesary that Ahri needs to consume souls without any reasoning. Beforehand, we were told Ahri was a mere fox, but now this is not the case.

Ahri needs a lore overhaul to make things clear, that she has a very bad addiction or she has some sort of rare symptom that forces her to devolve.

Also I think what makes Ahri a distinctive character is that she "regrets" about taking a life for her selfish need to be sentient. Her lore update consists her trying to restrain, but ended up destroying a entire village into a souless husk in a single night. Her current voicelines really love tempting and sucking out souls which is very in contrast to the updates. She is now a very compassionate creature.

I guess this personality crisis issues was one of the reasons why Star guardian Ahri's personality and voiceovers were disliked by a quite a lot of people to be...erm "Bitchy".

The "temptress" side of Ahri now is something she finds repulsive, since she started to develop into something more civilized. And it needs to go out.

Especially when we have something like this new evelynn which is rocking badass on the temptress department.

25 Comments

Sharjo16 votes

Ahri needs a lore overhaul to make things clear, that she has a very bad addiction or she has some sort of rare symptom that forces her to devolve.

I mean that's basically what her bio alludes to now? She's addicted?

Craft Zeppelin10 votes

{quoted}

I mean that's basically what her bio alludes to now? She's addicted?

Yes, but the main problem is that there is literally no explanation to the addiction.

Since she is a vastaya now, she is NOT a vampire, which means NO need of hunting souls. In her current state, she is "addicted because she is addicted, with no cure" which is just near "space aids" nonsense.

It needs a clear explanation without "she was a fox before" because she was NOT a just fox, but a demi-human at birth already.

A Superb Villain19 votes

Going over her biography, I believe Sharjo means that her addiction isn't connected to her status as Vastayan. In other words, she doesn't actually need life essence since it is shown she can survive just as easily on normal food. Her addiction stems from her unique powers of living a life vicariously by siphoning the essence of her victims. Doing so provides a high, and the problem that occurs is that this high is a natural consequence of feeding on essence. She experiences guilt because draining a victim of life feels very good, but she quite literally cannot choose to avoid that sensation without giving up on consuming the quintessential qualities of her prey.

The problem thus far, in my opinion, is that we haven't been given a story that specifically deals with this facet of her character. Instead, we have a biography and an overarching quest to find out where she came from and what her place is in the world.

Craft Zeppelin3 votes

[{quoted}](name=A Superb Villain,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=0MFIGWsA,comment-id=000100000000,timestamp=2017-09-23T21:45:18.521+0000)

Going over her biography, I believe Sharjo means that her addiction isn't connected to her status as Vastayan. In other words, she doesn't actually need life essence since it is shown she can survive just as easily on normal food. Her addiction stems from her unique powers of living a life vicariously by siphoning the essence of her victims. Doing so provides a high, and the problem that occurs is that this high is a natural consequence of feeding on essence. She experiences guilt because draining a victim of life feels very good, but she quite literally cannot choose to avoid that sensation without giving up on consuming the quintessential qualities of her prey.

This over convoluted part, that "she doesn't need to do it, but needs to" is just bad writing in my perspective. That is unless the character is a total maniac that NEEDS to be complicated.

Like this dude. Jhin

"Guilt" is a core personality in psychology, and it is a emotion that is designed to "stop" someone from doing certain things entirely for their safety. Ahri feels that emotion, and it is just awkward in character that she just keeps doing it even though she is a sane person.

...unlike this personJhin

She needs to be a total mental freak to fit in this. And...well I don't want that lol

A Superb Villain11 votes

Most people who have endured an addiction are not complete maniacs. In fact, most behave rather normally outside of feeding their habit, some even feel guilt, but their habit consumes them just the same. "I don't need it, but I need it" is practically an addict's maxim; no one really needs heroin, no one really needs cocaine, but people have gone to unreasonable lengths in an effort to satisfy this "need." More often than not, it destroys them.

That is where Ahri is at; she doesn't need essence, but at the same time the pleasure she derives from it is so great it supersedes her better judgement.

There is a reason "I can quit anytime I want" is a joke phrase.

lolcommunity15 votes

[{quoted}](name=Craft Zeppelin,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=0MFIGWsA,comment-id=0001000000000000,timestamp=2017-09-23T21:55:18.303+0000)

This over convoluted part, that "she doesn't need to do it, but needs to" is just bad writing in my perspective. That is unless the character is a total maniac that NEEDS to be complicated.

Like this dude. Jhin

"Guilt" is a core personality in psychology, and it is a emotion that is designed to "stop" someone from doing certain things entirely for their safety. Ahri feels that emotion, and it is just awkward in character that she just keeps doing it even though she is a sane person.

...unlike this personJhin

She needs to be a total mental freak to fit in this. And...well I don't want that lol

Maybe bad writing from your perspective but that is because you are completely missing the point on what "Addiction" is. It's the same shit that is dealt with in the real world when it comes to drugs. They ruin peoples lives. Once you start, you cannot stop even if you are aware of the repercussions. That is why it's called "Addiction." Because we are clean, It's easier to say to someone with an addiction to "Stop taking drugs." when we don't understand ourselves exactly what they are feeling and never will.

Now think about this. Ever since she was released and people read her lore, they assumed the way she gets life essences is by having sex with her victims. That is because when the writer mentions about her sucking out their essence ends up throwing around the words "Temptation, Desire, Pleasure." Almost like she is a love sick champion with burning hormones that sucked down on a bottle of Aphrodisiac.

It's not complicated or hard at all to comprehend. It's her drug and she becomes aware of it.

Jihn is not a good comparison because unlike Ahri, he has no remorse or empathy for his victims. He's a morally bankrupt psychopath that believes murder is art. No other further explanation is needed about him.

Star Guardian Ahri by the way is irrelevant since it's alternate universe.

HalfTangible1 votes

There's a story about her going to a garden where memories are sucked away by flower because of how guilty she feels about what she does.

Ahris7 votes

Ahri needs more VO

HonestJohnTheCon7 votes

Honestly, even though Ahri's a vastaya, we have absolutely NO CLUE what tribe she belongs to or even if there are more vastaya like her. The addiction and connection to magic could derive from that. Also she was still raised by wolves so she lacked a moral compass as there was no one around to tell her what was good and what was morally reprehensible.

Linna Excel6 votes

Yeah, I think Ahri's new lore direction was a mistake and given the evelynn rework, we don't really need it. The original Ahri was a simple predator doing its thing when it got the first taste of a higher awareness. The more she fed on people, the more she learned what she was doing was wrong. She aspired to be something more after a point.

That was a great defining characteristic.

If you want to look at it from a color pie perspective, the original Ahri was probably WG (most foxes in magic are either white or green) while the new one is BR. It's mistakes like this which makes me wonder if the lore team even knows what they are working on at all.

Craft Zeppelin2 votes

[{quoted}](name=Linna Excel,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=0MFIGWsA,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2017-09-23T21:29:47.363+0000)

Yeah, I think Ahri's new lore direction was a mistake and given the evelynn rework, we don't really need it. The original Ahri was a simple predator doing its thing when it got the first taste of a higher awareness. The more she fed on people, the more she learned what she was doing was wrong. She aspired to be something more after a point.

That was a great defining characteristic.

If you want to look at it from a color pie perspective, the original Ahri was probably WG (most foxes in magic are either white or green) while the new one is BR. It's mistakes like this which makes me wonder if the lore team even knows what they are working on at all.

Before this introduction of Vastaya demi-humans, the job needed was just simple. Add a few lines that she regrets hunting souls just for the sake of good sentience. And...less bitchiness.

But now we are in a wierd situation that she just loves her temptress side, with no explanation why she even need souls anymore. Therefore leaving us with a "chickflick with no background with random magic abilties attached".

Riot needs to get that some of the reasons why new Ahri skins are pointed out, is that she has no core personality or inner conflict. It is just her outlier that matters.

Also you said something of great significance I did NOT realise. The new Ahri skin tones have changed from something suave, (Like midnight ahri) to audacious colors that do not fit her. I guess they haven't a clue what the character's core is.

Beyond Legends4 votes

Riot did give an explanation in that Ahri is escentially addicted to her own power surge. Beside Vastaya are a rather large subsect of species that all don't share excat same power as one another.

Also I don't see why you are complaining about an Ahri Skin to her actuall lore. She doesn't need to have the exact same personality as her canon incarnation in everyone of her skins.

NineTailedMystic1 votes

I honestly don't see the White in that comparison. White is about unity, community, protection, etc. Ahri didn't have any of that. She craved it, but never had it. Hell, I don't see much Black now either. Sure, she hurts others for her gain, but she doesn't sacrifice anything of hers. I'd see Ahri as UG or UR depending on which lore you look at.

Lintu Puck5 votes

all she needs then is a line update like Lux got a few months ago. Her lore is straight forward. She was a fox that came across a dying soldier, took in his soul as it left his body, and gained her new form. She wanted to keep new form and her animal instincts said "get more food" so she did as an animal does and hunted. With more souls she became even more human and thus humanity/morality and saw the horror of what she does. Now she is stuck between morals and animal instinct. Thus, all she needs is new voice lines to reflect the struggle. Gameplay = the clever animal Voice Lines = the human side

Thefrostyviking4 votes

Isn't she also the only known member of her tribe?

Chances are that her tribe was a magically gifted bunch that happened to be able to drain the essence of their victims, and get extremely "high" of it. Because the vastayan all have a thing for magic so it wouldn't be weird if a few of them actually manifested outright magical abilities more than shape-shifting.

The unfortunate side effect of the foxes "happy rush" though, is that it comes at the expense of the victims life. And Ahri didn't realize this in time because there wasn't anyone around to tell her about it.

So the answer seems to be magic drug addiction, she wants to quit out of guilt but she doesn't know how to "cure" herself since the need is apparently so overwhelming that at some point she killed the person she truly loved when going without her fix for long enough.

Fox lady is a drug addict that cant stop and she seems to know about it too :(

Placentas1 votes

I think you put her perspective really well.

Blue Moon Wolf3 votes

The idea of these lore updates are to make these champs fit better into the lore, give them a clear goal and idea of what kind of character they are/ will be from now on. Anything more then that is sadly being pushed aside for other lore stuff down the line. No, it doesn't explain why she's addicted to stealing life essence. But that's the point of her looking for answers about her past. She has no clue why she can do that and is addicted to it and until she learns about her past, neither do we. Yes, it sucks not knowing this stuff in the lore. I would personally love to find out the dummies Wukong uses are just cause he hasn't learned to use real clones yet and why him and Ahri are friends, a question that has been a thorn in my side for ages, but it is what it is. We just have to wait till Riot answers this stuff.

PeachyPosterior1 votes

I thought she needed to consume souls to maintain her partly human form? Or did I miss-read something somewhere?

Though I wouldn't be opposed to her getting a lore overhaul. [sg-ahri-2]

Craft Zeppelin1 votes

{quoted}

I thought she needed to consume souls to maintain her partly human form? Or did I miss-read something somewhere?

Though I wouldn't be opposed to her getting a lore overhaul. [sg-ahri-2]

As I have stated, she is a "vastaya" by birth. A demi-human and not some wild magic fox. Xayah, rengar, Rakan, Wukong have no vampire like tendancies, and no problems maintaining their form.

So, the question is why Ahri alone needs to do this.

NineTailedMystic1 votes

Because she doesn't.

NineTailedMystic1 votes

No, she doesn't.

DariusDemiurge1 votes

Doodoo character, Doodoo story. No surprise here.

NineTailedMystic2 votes

Constructive.

SolarisCorvus1 votes

Wasnt ahri raised by wolves and she ended up killing a guy due to her wild animal instincts. Thats whats starts her off on her path to addiction.

Vafarien1 votes

[sg-ahri-3] Rawr~ How dare they change her lore again and again and again... [sg-ahri-1]

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