The Riot Games writer behind Seraphine’s Twitter account clarified the intentions of the project behind the League of Legends character after it was hit with massive backlash for posts on social media.
From updates about self-acceptance, to depression, and regaining self-confidence, Seraphine posted content that would normally be seen in someone’s regular Twitter blog.
Expect, people were bashing Riot for touching on these aspects with the ultimate goal of selling people on the story of a fictional character and her in-game cosmetics.
The person behind Seraphine’s account, Riot writer Bethany ‘ceruhi’ Higa responded to all of the hate that permeated from the project.
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“I want to clarify that my intention was simply to write an interactive story about a girl who pursues her dreams,” she wrote. “There was no board of execs scheming to create a ‘relatable’ girl or capitalize on mental illness.”
i'm realizing that i can't do this alone. and maybe i need to be the one to ask for help… so could you give me some encouraging words? i need something to believe in right now
— Seraphine⭐🌊 (@seradotwav) October 10, 2020
Before Seraphine was even properly announced as an upcoming League of Legends character, the company decided to take a unique approach of introducing her to the wider online community.
Higa said her goal was to promote a story of “empathy, sincerity, and kindness” through Seraphine’s journey from rags to riches.
This was made apparent with the progression of updates that showed her as a hopeful artist to ultimately becoming a collaborator with League of Legends’ pop star group K/DA months later. But the execution wasn’t as pristine as the Riot team hoped for.
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“Social media is a new medium for storytelling, with unpredictable real-world impact. There are things we learned about the process, and are still learning. But we always took our responsibility to her fans seriously,” Higa said.
I spent all of 2020 pouring my heart into this project, and so did my teammates. My goal was always to write a story that touched upon empathy, sincerity and kindness. I genuinely cared about all the people who interacted, and I wanted to use this platform to uplift them.
— bethany 🌟 higa (@ceruhi) November 5, 2020
Seraphine’s release has been a bit shaky inside of the game, her lore, and outside of League with her social media account, but the company has been trying to make amends in all facets. Higa implored people not to resort to hate in the fallout of the project.
“Please don’t harass any of the people who worked on this project or any of her fans,” she said. “I understand it can feel good to take a shot at a fictional character or a faceless corporation, but these words hurt real people.”
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She did say that Seraphine’s planned story is “ending soon,” which will close the chapter on Riot’s latest champion release for League of Legends.
