It’s strange that word you wanted to use is banned. I used the word “rape” four times in the thread description, and we’ve both used the word “suicide” repeatedly, but the forum won’t let you use that word to describe the person who greatly wronged you? That’s weird.
I’m not going to say anything about what you’ve been through in life, except that you’ve clearly got some strength to come as far as you have with what happened to you.
imo Sylvanas going to hell/the Maw was either a trick (she did impale herself on Saronite - the solidified blood of Yogg-Saron, and the Jailer made his move then) or it was punishment for her crimes committed in undeath (the brutal treatment of Alliance civilians and POWs), not a punishment for suicide. I don’t know if there were intentions behind having Arthas stab her in the stomach (maybe that, maybe he just took advantage of how her armor left that part of her body exposed).
I do agree the writers have had a real lack of care for the story. And it’s a cruel irony that, as far as I can tell, Sylvanas is one of the devs’ favorite characters.
Can’t be war crimes, since multiple venthyr destroyed entire planets, plural
Old God woo doesn’t make sense given circumstances
The old Vanilla-through-Cata speculation that Undeath damns you is no longer the case
So we’re left with:
Devos & Co took her to the Maw directly
She was damned because of suicide.
And the longer it’s left ambiguous, the more the story will fester.
Intention or not, it was a narrative choice.
Wasn’t her heart (covered only by a leather armor bra). Wasn’t her throat slit (exposed). It was her stomach area.
No. She’s not.
She and Baine are not actually Danuser’s and Golden’s favorite characters.
They’re their favorite characters to use. They do not respect these characters. Let alone respect what they represent and what themes they invoke.
If they did, this story would not exist.
If they did, Baine wouldn’t be sitting in Oribos doing nothing even while the Mawsworn are invading Oribos. He wouldn’t have been discarded TWICE in the original Beta questline until the community called them out on it extensively, and even then he’s the only one that doesn’t help you defeat the Torghast boss (Jaina and Thrall both kill steal).
Sylvanas is an abuse trope they can abuse. Baine is a Noble Savage/Crying Indian they can use.
And both currently exist for the sake of Anduin’s development. Not for their own agency.
Baine is sad because of Anduin. Jaina is sad because of Anduin. Thrall is sad because of Anduin (why?!). Even Sylvanas is sad because of Anduin, having been robbed of all agency as I’ve said repeatedly.
it was probably nothing more than Arthas being a dick. A stab through the heart or slashed throat would be quick death. Stomach wounds a slow and painful.
He tugged back his weapon and she fell, blood gushing out of her. Sylvanas shivered on the cold stone floor, the movement causing agony to rip through her. One hand fluttered, foolishly, to the gaping wound in her abdomen, as if hands could close on it and stop the flood. “Finish it,” she whispered. “I deserve… a clean death.” His voice floated to her from somewhere as her eyes closed. “After all you’ve put me through, woman, the last thing I’ll give you is the peace of death.”
It basically was. Sylvanas asked for a quick and clean death but because of how annoying she was (Arthas just wanted to resurrect Kel’thuzad and get the F out of dodge) he stabbed her belly and then turned her soul into a banshee.
On that note, I have to point out that the lore could’ve been retconned so Arthas actually did rape Sylvanas - in the sexual sense - before killing her, but note Blizzard has thankfully deliberately not made that the case (and good on Blizzard for not going that far)
It’s a metaphor. One that went over the heads of the 12 year olds playing Warcraft 3 back in the day, and one that goes over the heads of 30-40 year olds today.
But as Leran, Keristraza and Taretha show, Blizzard is willing to put rape in the story, so why go metaphorical with Sylvanas? (as much as I’m greatful they haven’t gone that route with Sylvanas).
It’s not necessary, the invocation of banshee myths for Sylvanas, Aelthalyste, and the other unnamed Banshees does the heavy lifting for the metaphor, so even if it’s not literal, the theme is still explicit.
Which, yet another character that should’ve been present in this mess of an expansion.
Aelthalyste. The unspoken Cult of Forgotten Shadows practitioner who was with Sylvanas since the moment they were loosened of Arthas.
Who was also twisted into a Banshee by Arthas, and thus a soul fragment should’ve been in Torghast.
None of those characters are central, and most of those characters haven’t been seen or named in-game or even by devs in years, or years between each mention.
Partially narrative cowardice, given at the time Blizzard was 100% boys (Golden not an internal writer yet), to make a central character people were H Word for a rape survivor, so uh
Partially again, Banshee myth does the heavy lifting.
edit:
and again: Sylvanas is the only suicide from depression. The others were suicide as rebellion (rejecting becoming a worgen) or suicide as opportunism (scarlet)
Until blizzard says otherwise with a massive retcon this is incorrect.
People were given the option of accepting the ‘valkyries gift’ or not. Some accepted it, some rejected it and either couldn’t be raised or returned to death. Some had 2nd thoughts afterwards, went insane fled into the woods to howl into tree boles, or simply became mindless zombies.
As for the op’s question, not sure if thought about it before posting. Sylvanas is a well known popular character. None of the other characters can compare to her popularity/notariety.
