Rare Disease Creates Elves That Love Everyone

[kickyourass]

Well since the people affected are NOT ACTUALLY ELVES(!!!!), I think you're little nerd fantasies are safe.

But more on topic, personally I think this is a good thing, if this becomes more and more common racism will eventually vanish (Although I wish it included other prejudices to.)

 

[Eudaemonian]

This is kind of a weird stretch to make something an Escapist news story I think. I'm not normally one to consider something in poor taste, but taking a random disease that causes mental retardation and going off on a random tangent about elves simply because of a descriptor in the study seems at best irrelevant and at worse callous.

I'm all for callous if it's funny, to be sure, but this just seems like troll bait. No pun intended.

 

[James B Hamster]

Were I in a less capricious mood, I'd find the attempt at humour the news article is reaching for to be mildly to moderately offensive. As it stands, I can't help but appreciate the quirks and eccentricities our hobby generates in those who partake (even if it does tend to be overapplied a tad much by those who really revel in their lifestyle).

 

[XMark]

I like how Dragon Age kind of turned the whole Elf thing on its head by making them an oppressed minority group.

 

[LordTarran]

I think when when they say elfin, they mean in the Santa Claus, eastern europe sense of the word elf. Not in the Tolkien sense.

 

[Hazz_11]

WHAT!!!!!! elves may be friendly and possibly real???? whats next girls talking to me..... im so alone....

 

[Cody211282]

Didn't they have this on House?

 

[RWillers]

I think we could all use a little WS.

So true... =/

 

[Antari]

I think someone needs to take a break from WOW.

 

[Asturiel]

Hm... have elves always been known as "isolationists", or are they the way they are because the first guy to write about them made it so, and now everyone just does what he did?

In any case its the fantasy norm for elves, which works for me. People can be crazy and make them be all friendly like to humans and dwarves all the time but thats their take on elves.

but can they talk to the trees? that is the question...

Depends on the kind of elf, if they are magical as in arcane origin they cannot but nature based elves may or may not.

Or your talking about the lame elves? Whoops.

Of course I've put ridiculous amounts of thought into this kind of thing from having played elves in a number of settings as a PnP RPG player. In a world setting where there are decent numbers of elves, and a few big kingdoms, playing an elf is similar to playing a human and they can be fairly friendly (and the lore usually reflects this). In a setting where you might have all elves coming from like one concealed kingdom or forest "empire" surrounded by these other massive empires where you have fantasy sized legions the size of mongol hordes duking it out every 15 minutes well... the attitude is going to be differant, and again the lore usually reflects this.

Being a good race (mostly, there are exceptions) I basically see part of the whole elven thing as being that even when aloof they would mostly like to help, but see a bigger picture. Such as the losses here fighting some Orc Horde could take a thousand years for elves to replentish and recover from, in which time the humans they are protecting with their low numbers might not even be there anymore anyway. Again (as I've said) survival of a dying or "diminished" race.

In the elves I tend to read/role play its more of a superiority complex. Their connection to magic and nature is usually greater than humans and their lifespan in itself is reason to gloat. To an elf they are just quick lived savages with some redeeming members, such as a horse with unbearable compassion, great for a horse, but it's still a horse.

Then again I am a warcraft lore nut so...

"mild to moderate mental retardation"

Well, that confirms everything I've ever said about people who play Night-Elves.

...oh its on! Night elf druid on your ass now boi!

OT: I don't care about how "elves" in real life act. My elves are bloody magical created by the powers of the Well of Eternity or some other redonkulous origin.

No disease of the Earth could create an elf in my mind, real life elves are boringsauce.

 

[Blackout62]

I'd like to clarify the authors statement: when he says elfin features he means the creepy kind of fairy tale elves, not in the way some have called say Felicia Day's facial feature elfin. (Lord knows where I read her face described as such. Harper's Bazaar?)

 

[[Gavo]]

Whoa. Next thing we know dwarves won't be hoarding treasure and drinking all of the time.

 

[Tharwen]

Ha. I read about this this morning.

These people aren't getting into my racial supremacists' club, that' s for sure.

 

[Misterian]

Wow, that is 1 nerdy disease.

Hey! I just thought of something: maybe that disease is how elves were thought up?

If thats true, I wonder how Tolkien would react to reading this article?

 

[SimuLord]

High Elves hate everyone. These disease sufferers sound more like Keebler Elves.

 

[tendo82]

So in reality elves are mildly retarded, kind hearted souls who can neither use magic nor ranged weapons with any proficiency.

It doesn't say anything about their ability with baked goods however, and that leads me to believe that the Keebler elves are in fact the most accurate depiction of elves by the mainstream media and may in fact exist.

 

[fletch_talon]

Williams Disease, along with elfin facial features, is characterized by "mild to moderate mental retardation" and a complete lack of "racial stereotyping." This group is the only one currently known to not exhibit these racial fears, and is also socially fearless.

Elfin/childish features
Little bit crazy
Easy going
Complete lack of fear

Sounds more like a Kender to me.

 

[Saerain]

Using the 'elfin facial features' comments to tie it to elves and therein to gaming is clever, but I want to point out that 'elfin' typically refers to features we don't commonly see in 'elven' features in gaming.

Here is a child with Williams Syndrome and an illustrated breakdown: