Poppy's character: Stop saying she's Tristana.

Ralanr··65 votes·12,502 views

Something that's been bothering me with Poppy's rework is with so many people claiming she's basically Tristana. I just don't see it. Looking at their lines I see two different personalities. Note: I'm not going to post all their quotes. Simply because there is a lot.

Tristana Selection: "I call frontline!" "I bravely volunteer to charge in recklessly!" Attacking: "Nothing a little gunpowder won't fix!" "Here comes the boom!" Moving: "Bring on the bad guys!" "I dare you to dare me!" Jokes: "Is that a rocket in your pocket?" "A cannonball is the best icebreaker!" Taunt: "You make it easy to be unimpressed."

Tristana comes off as a very hot blooded individual. Not only willing to fight, but excited to litter the battlefield with explosions.

New Poppy Selection: "Not coming back till I find that hero." "Today's the day I find that hero." Attacking: "I can do this." "Here goes everything." "You're in my way." "No backing down." "I can do this." Moving: "If you're waiting for me to give up, you might be here for a while." "Every step is one step closer." "Who knew there were so many heroes?" "Some things are too important to give up." Jokes:"Jokes? Yeah, I know jokes." "A Demacian, a Noxian and a Freljordian walk into a tavern." "The barkeep asks, "What'll it be?"" "The Demacian says, "Uh, I'll have a wine. No, wait, an ale!" Yeah..." "Then the Noxian says, "I'll have a... a wine." Yeah, he wants a wine." "And the Freljordian says, "I'll drink anything, so long as-" Wait, hold on, let me start over." "A Noxian, a Targonian and a Piltie are robbing a bank." "The bank guy says, "I'll give you whatever you want."" "The Noxian says, "I'll take whatever gold you got back there."" "The Targonian says, "Gimme' all your gemstones."" "And the Piltie says, "Can I own this ba- uh, I own this bank, so..." He doesn't want anything because he owns the bank..." Taunt: "Could you get out of my way? Y'know, so I don't have to flatten you?" "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? Uh...hammer!"

Does this new Poppy have some upbeat lines? Yeah, but she isn't Tristana. Poppy is a bit awkward (her jokes are what give me this impression. She forgets them only slightly probably because she doesn't tell them often), but determined. At least that's what I'm getting from her. She has doubts, she has worries, but she's still moving forward.

If these two Yordles went to a party, Tristana would be going nuts on the dance floor while Poppy would be a bit tense. Again, imo.

But this isn't the real problem people seem to have. The real problem was that this isn't Poppy. She's not as determined or courageous as the Poppy we know.

After listening to her sound files, I can see where this comes from. I can also see Poppy as a little psychotic.
Poppy Selection: Valoran will know Harmony Attacking: "Their defeat is non-negotiable!" "They'll beg for peace." Movement: "My conviction will not falter!" "Valoran will know harmony." Taunt: "Why don't you just lay down your weapons now?" Jokes: "Jokes? I don't know any jokes."

She sounds a lot like what everyone demonizes Kayle to be (which only her Aether skin really showcases). Sure she sounds determined, she also sounds fanatical. She sounds like someone who will beat your face in if you didn't agree, which is even made worse when you consider that she's an ambassador.

Again this is all my own opinion, but I don't see the new Poppy as Tristana cosplaying. It's obvious she isn't the Poppy we know, and personally I can't say that's a problem. No one should be 100% devoted to something without questioning why, without worrying that they may be wrong in their cause. The new Poppy does have doubts, and she doesn't put herself above others. She doesn't see herself as the hero, she thinks there is a better person for the task.

Everyone is going to have an opinion, this is mine. I like the new Poppy and I think she's a welcomed addition to the line up of champions. I don't think she's the exact same as another Yordle, and to be honest I feel people are just shouting that comparison because others are shouting it. If you have reasons that support your point and want to debate, please do. That's what a forum is about after all.

A final note on upcoming champion reworks: Taric. Riot I do hope you actually find a way to portray him as the fabulous man we love. Because right now the only thing that does that is his voice (not the words, his voice) and his hair. He pretty much won't shut up about gems (actually looking, he does have some other quotes that give insight to his character. But when I tried him out all I could hear was the gem quotes. Which are the moving quotes, AKA the quotes you are most likely to hear). I think much of Taric's character has been brought out through fan speculation within the community rather than canon (I could be wrong). I do this with Pantheon after all, the guy has a hard on for war yet I imagine him as very introspective. Because that's what fan fiction writers tend to do (not that I've written fanfiction...I should).

In short: Make Taric as majestic as you can so we can avoid posts like, "OMG RITO WTF YOU RUINED TARIC'S CHARACTER!" from cluttering up the boards. I get people can be angry about a change in character, but it's no fun to hear these complaints when you just want to speculate about lore ramifications.

95 Comments

Sharjo33 votes

The new Tristana kinda gave me a "big solider sister" vibe in that she seemed like the kind of up beat and fun loving person who also had a degree of maturity to them that you can sometimes find in an older sibling, while also being a legitimate soldier, and the meshing of themes together is great to me.

New Poppy reminds me entirely of a dorky but honorable individual, the kind of person who's a bit clumsy and slow on the uptake, but is ready to take on the heavy burdens and responsibilities with a smile and a good crack at it. Maybe not even a smile, but just a willingness to go and do it. Hell Poppy seems like she might even be a tad introverted, but I could be wrong (and probably am in this instance).

The two characters seem incredibly distinct in terms of personality to me that I don't understand where the "Trist with a hammer" criticism comes from. I get diverging opinions but I don't actually fathom where this particular one comes from.

Ralanr14 votes

I agree on the introverted personality. I fully imagine her leaving a party early because she doesn't feel comfortable with that many people.

As for the hammer thing, yeah I don't get it either. It's actually annoying.

EwigD7 votes

I agree on the introverted personality too, her jokes alone convey that feeling.

I think most people complaining about her being Trist with a hammer are the ones that dont like her having a multi layered personality (determined, noble, cute, dorky) as opposed to her former self (grumpy) so they just dismiss the new depth to her character as being tristana 2.0 since both are yordles and have positive personalities, which is pretty much where the comparisons end.

Ralanr6 votes

I doubt it's that far. Heaven's forbid people don't like layered characters. Plus I like simple characters, Pantheon is a favorite and I enjoy Sion.

IcyPepper19 votes

Selection: "I call frontline!" "I bravely volunteer to charge in recklessly!"

Report Tristana for noobish positioning.

AquariusGine17 votes

Are Poppy's and Tristana's voice actors the same person?

Because I can't tell the difference..

And please don't make fun of me, I'm serious

Ralanr3 votes

I think her Voice actor is Sakura from Naruto. I don't know if she voiced Tristana.

ModAttysu The Poro5 votes

{quoted}

I think her Voice actor is Sakura from Naruto. I don't know if she voiced Tristana.

Kate Higgins is voicing new Poppy (yes, Sakura from Naruto). Tristana is voiced by RatedEwithElspeth, (Elspeth Eastman) a youtuber/voice actress.

Yes, not only do I research this stuff but I memorize it. I'm a bit of a fanatic with Voice Actors.

yay nibbers1 votes

I was struggling so long trying to remember where I'd heard Poppy's new voice before I saw this thread. I usually have a pretty good ear for voices too :^(.

ModAttysu The Poro1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ron Pitts,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=uXM7lOKI,comment-id=0005000000000000,timestamp=2015-11-27T14:45:07.161+0000)

I was struggling so long trying to remember where I'd heard Poppy's new voice before I saw this thread. I usually have a pretty good ear for voices too :^(.

Ah, happens! I actually thought Poppy's new voice was Tristana's (Elspeth) but I wasn't sure so I looked it up. If you wanna find any voice actors just go here, they update it the instant there is a new voice that's officially casted and for what.

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Voice_cast

yay nibbers2 votes

Yeah I thought so too, but then I went back and listened to Tristana's lines and noticed they don't really sound the same at all. I wasn't aware the Voice Cast page was kept so up to date though, thanks!

ModAttysu The Poro2 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ron Pitts,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=uXM7lOKI,comment-id=000500000000000000000000,timestamp=2015-11-27T22:48:19.369+0000)

Yeah I thought so too, but then I went back and listened to Tristana's lines and noticed they don't really sound the same at all. I wasn't aware the Voice Cast page was kept so up to date though, thanks!

No problem! And yeah, at first it sounds similar but the more you analyze the more you see the differences

JedenVojak10 votes

I like live Poppy's voice better.

New Poppy's voice is boring.

CasterGilgamesh6 votes

old poppy vice is kinda ugly IMO and she reminds me of a stereotypical black woman

turkeyBACON9 votes

old poppy vice is kinda ugly IMO and she reminds me of a stereotypical black woman

That doesn't sound racist at all.

EwigD6 votes

Well, the stereotype itself IS racist, noticing it doesnt necessarily mean hes trying to be racist himself.

EwigD18 votes

Id say a stereotypical angry woman with issues really, stereotypical grumpy person even, her personality pretty much added up to "im mad" which people tend to translate as tough for whatever reason, new Poppy sounds way tougher in my opinion, its amazing how much personality they managed to cram into her lines to give insight to her character

JedenVojak3 votes

{quoted}

old poppy vice is kinda ugly IMO and she reminds me of a stereotypical black woman

I think black women are attractive. What do you have against them?

CasterGilgamesh2 votes

idk how to put it.....i guess i mean old stereotypical ghetto black woman.its funny that my comment sounds racist cuz im black as well XD

JedenVojak5 votes

It doesn't matter to me if you're racist or not; people can believe whatever they want.

I just happen to like like live Poppy's voice better, she actually sounds like she's having fun whacking people. New Poppy sounds boring as hell.

Only Play Darius9 votes

Because new poppy is too cute. She's an adorable little fuzzball when she's supposed to be a Demacian diplomat.

Mad Hit Monkey6 votes

The diplomat aspect of Poppy's old character was perifery at best in my opinion. Angry yordle with a hammer who just happens to be a diplomat? It's really the least important aspect.

Chromatic Eagle6 votes

Didn't her old lore involve her father dying and a moment of self doubt?

She was angry for a reason. People shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the old lore.

Baron von Jiggly7 votes

Some people think her personality was super grumpy and needed a 180 but honestly it was fine as it was. i mean honestly you act like they could do nothing with her personality. they could have still kept her serious and maybe lighten it up a little. There was alot they could work with using old poppy's personality.

instead they decided to scrap the whole damn thing and completely change it entirely to the common happy go lucky yordle thing they do with every other yordle. I mean she is supposed to be the only yordle in a Serious Seat of power. She doesn't sound serious at all. They took the only yordle that had the chance to have a stand out personality and ruined the chance.

Ralanr2 votes

She also lost her seat of power. She's no longer an ambassador.

Baron von Jiggly5 votes

Where has this been said?

Edit: I mean heck she doesn't even need to be an ambassador for her to have a different personality than most yordles. Unless they are also getting rid of the fact she was a blacksmith's daughter. and known to like that more than girly stuff.

http://the-magical-michi.tumblr.com/post/134030233243/i-really-wasnt-too-keen-on-how-they-made-poppys

^ They could have done this but add a lot more emotion to it. It's less about Her lines and dialogue it's more about how she sounds nothing like Poppy and more like Tristana. Her voice just doesn't fit her. They can keep the lines and dialogue.

This is something that can't be changed as the change has already been done. But you can not honestly say if you're a poppy fan that her sounding more like Tristana is weird and out of place.

It's ok for her to sound happy and upbeat. but honestly she doesn't sound like she is serious in the slightest bit. not even when she is talking about the hero.

Ralanr2 votes

I don't know, but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say her new title, "The keeper of the hammer" kinda takes up her time from being an ambassador.

Xulsigae4 votes

That actually worries me. What makes her a hero is the hammer now. It's the same problem of Trundle and Ashe with an item making someone special rather than themselves.

Ralanr3 votes

Except the hammer chose her. She didn't choose the hammer and she doesn't know the hammer chose her. Right now she's trying to deliver it to the real hero, which she doesn't know is herself.

The determination is all her.

Xulsigae3 votes

It's still the hammer making her the hero. Being chosen just seems...cliche? Removes the agency from someone to be chosen rather than choosing to be a hero.

Ralanr3 votes

Honestly without her long lore it's all up to speculation. Plus it's not like league doesn't have cliches.

Ezreal is a walking example. Yet he still has fans.

In the end it's not about being original, it's about how you portray it.

Xulsigae3 votes

I don't mind cliches if they have a semblance of freshness to them. And not all cliches are created equally. To me, I was disappointed when Ashe and Trundle got changed to derive their power from items rather than themselves. I am disappointed in the change to Poppy in the same way. Many people in stories that get magical or special items still have something that makes them special even without their item.

Baron von Jiggly1 votes

The only thing poppy has is blacksmithing skills. Old poppy wasn't a hammer weilding master and that was obvious from the fact she could barely lift it. and now she's tossing the hammer in the air doing flips

Xulsigae2 votes

She was determined in her mission and skilled with her weapons. It wasn't only entirely the hammer making her a hero.

RiotSolcrushed10 votes

Well Poppy clearly thinks its all in the hammer, that's for sure :p

SpecterVonBaren3 votes

Well Trundle before the rework didn't have his power come from him either, it was thanks to a spell that placed all of the disease that plagued his people into him alone.

And it's not as if you couldn't say the same about real world things either. Oh that soldier just has a really good weapon that does all the work. Just because someone has a special weapon doesn't mean that just anyone can use it well.

Is it really that hard to imagine that Ashe, for instance, had to practice using her magical bow to be able to do with it what she does now? What makes you think that by just holding it she suddenly has all the knowledge needed to be able to do everything we see her do in game with it?

Xulsigae1 votes

His power was that he could regenerate much faster than any other troll. The curse didn't give him that power.

I'm not talking about in game. The reason she becomes Queen is that she finds the bow. I'd like to see her have the smarts and abilities to be a leader rather than see how finding a bow grants her the authority.

frigginmurlocs1 votes

Freljord seems like a place where having and using an artifact level weapon would grant a great deal of authority and respect

Xulsigae1 votes

How so? I'd hope it would be someone's leadership abilities rather than their luck.

shadowhunter44442 votes

That's just the thing though. that's what Riot has done so well. The world is real. Freljord is not a perfect country. Far from it. It's a rough, violent place where the lifestyle seems to have largely kept society from changing across generations. Ashe gained power by finding this artifact, but uses her leadership abilities to make actual change in the Freljord.

Noxus gets its leaders through ambition and strength. Demacia has a hereditary monarchy. Piltover, well, I actually don't know about Piltover's government, but it seems to be a place where the rich are in charge. In the distant future, Jinx could actually be called a revolutionary who fought to bring down the upper class.

the point I'm trying to make is that no country in Valoran is perfect, just as no country outside of it is. This is intentional.

Xulsigae1 votes

I'm not asking for perfect places, just better use of tropes and more original ones. That Trundle, Poppy and Ashe have their power from macguffins irks me because that takes away from them what their characters had before. Sejuani doesn't have her power from her mace for instance, but still has followers and respect.

GreenLore6 votes

Overall the reason why people say they are so similar is simply because they are similarly upbeat,but yeah otherwise they are quite different and I think people are exaggerating on their similarities

ItemsGuy6 votes

[deleted]

Ralanr3 votes

If people were more thought out in their reasoning like you I probably wouldn't have made this post. Thank you.

From her new VO we can only tell so much. Current Poppy has a VO and her lore. Until we get Poppy's long lore we can only judge her by her words and tone.

I'll admit I have trouble fully sympathizing with people who have lost a core champion identity in lore reworks, simply because it hasn't happened to me yet. When we reach Targon, I may lose Pantheon with his new lore.

I may finally understand then. But until that time, I'll defend my points till I am convinced otherwise.

OurLestrade4 votes

One thing's for certain, they turned her into a "teehee I'm dorky x3" character instead of a grumpy and mature one. das not good

Ralanr3 votes

I saw grumpy, I didn't see mature.

EwigD3 votes

Thank you for this post, it really needed to be said, also thank you for doing it in such a polite and reasoned manner.

Ralanr6 votes

I try. Insults and shouting doesn't get you far online.

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