Encouraged Toxicity

Lore Story Forum
103

I don’t often agree with Darrethy, and even now it is a half agreement. But for example, when people insult Night Elves, I am inclined to take that insult very personally depending on the nature of it.

I identify with the Night Elf race because of the influences that comes from European Paganism. Wicca, which is a modern religion birth from Paganism, worships The Goddess of the Triple Moon, which is the idea of a Moon Goddess who’s phases are different faces of her divinity.

The inspiration comes from Germanic/Norse Paganism, and the Triple Moon is represented in Wicca by the Triquetra symbol, which shares a resemblance with Odin’s Valknut. The similarities continue with the Triple Moon representing The Mother, Crone and Maiden, representing Life, Death and rebirth respectively. Elune’s Mother Moon and Night Warrior phases also resembles this, as does Odin’s Valknut, a “Knot of power” that odin can tighten and loosen upon the mind and body of mortals. Odin is the God of Death and Wisdom, and as such he is a God of Adversity, and a metaphor for Wisdom earned through the hard trials of life, and life’s cycle of destruction and creation. This is again reaffirmed with the Night Elves’ “Idol of Wisdom” Which is the Racial sigil of the Night Elves, which happens to resemble a Valknut in the form of a Glaive.

The comparison continues with Night Elven matriarchy, Elune seeming to be a direct inspiration of Odin and The Triple Moon Goddess, and thus a Goddess of Adversity, but also a Goddess that established Femininity as divine. This is made clear with the Sisterhood being restricted to only Women for thousands of years under the belief that Only Women can know the heart of the Goddess.

So, I identify with the Night Elves because of a religious connection, and a connection with the feminist themes, which are all very personal to my own identity. And I can tell you, there is no shortage of people who hate on Night Elves solely for misogynistic reasons. Blizzard themselves have been very careless with how they portray Night Elves, and how their portrayal can be personally insulting to some people. Which is why, I think, Nelf players are characterized as particularly touchy and whiney people, because many of us do feel insulted.

5 Likes
104

He never kissed the first guy I saw him yammering with…:frowning_face:

105

I never felt that any race of WoW were a reflex of some cultural or spiritual thing that i believe or belong. Even so, the short novel Unbroken have an introduction* that show us how Nobundo experimented his first approach with shamanism, and i have to confess, it’s really touched me. The way that describe how was that experience reminds me how i felt when i approached to themes likes philosophy and art in real life. So, if someone says Nobundo is a jerk… i don’t know if i will get exactly mad, but i will think that guy it’s a moron.

*Everything that is, is alive.

The words had become a mantra in his mind, a constant reinforcement of his newfound understanding. More importantly they were an epiphany, the key to unlocking a whole new universe of knowledge. And the epiphany was why he was here.

Yes, i understand now, in that way have a lot of sense take those things personally.

2 Likes
106

You guys broke the entire purpose of the thread. Don’t make me get a rolled up newspaper!

107

The thread is relatively fixed now, but it is a pretty decent example isn’t it? At the very least it serves the point that even if you try to reason as objectively as possible, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in someone saying something dismissive and snowballing into something negative.

3 Likes