I mean, the Windrunner sisters had “proximity” to plenty of elves as well. Wanting to cooperate with humanity to combat a mutual enemy, first, isn’t in defiance of political rule for Quel’thalas. Hell, they TAUGHT the humans how to wield magic, and even before the Alliance, the elves and humans had a magical Alliance with Dalaran for years. Isolationism and a desire to control your own borders isn’t a product of xenophobia.
The trend with the Windrunner Sisters and human partners started with the Tides of Darkness novel, where Alleria, overcome with grief due to the loss of her brother, sought comfort in the arms of Turalyon, a man who’s call on the holy light was literally weaponized racism, this was before Blizz turned him into a Draenei weeb.
Next was Rohnin and Vereesa, which imo is the most heinous of the three. Richard Knaack literally reduced Vereesa to a trophy wife for his self insert. Early in the novel Day of the Dragon, she was described as having a reckless attitude and fighting style, compared to a human. Considering we never actually SEE this recklessness, and her attitude is anything BUT reckless, this wasn’t Knaak making a note of her personality, this was intended to isolate her from Elven culture and break down the mores and folkways that serves as barriers of entry for human/elf romance. The framing of the novel, it is made clear that her purpose was to be a romance option for Rhonin, and not much else.
Finally, Sylvanas and Nathanos were made a couple because the community shipped them. Quite literally the sourcebook where Sylvanas brought Nathanos into the Farstriders was a fan fiction that won a writing contest, made canon by Blizzard. I think this one had the chance to be the most interesting, but Nathanos was hijacked by Danuser, and the famous, creepy twitter roleplay took place that that, in part, explains the horrendous writing Sylvanas has had the last several years.
I am with Kazthan on this one. Sure, it is a bit more nuanced that he is admitting, but he is not wrong, and it is not even reserved to the Windrunner Sisters. Blizzard has a long history of fetishizing the elves and making them accessories to male characters. We saw it in both Wolfheart and A Little Patience, where Varian had to school that silly woman Tyrande on matters of war (ignoring the fact that she is infinitely more experienced than he could ever hope to be). There is of course the infamous “Hush Tyrande” line, ignoring that the Kaldorei are matriarchal, a Kaldorei male would never speak out of line that way and expect to keep his head.
The list goes on. The Windrunner sisters are just a small example of a greater underlining problem that some of us have been saying for years, only to be laughed at and dismissed. Only now, with the lawsuits, are people starting to listen. But even still, vocal opposition is not silence. You are the case in point.