Am I wrong for wanting Skeletal Deer Wendigo Outfit for killer?
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Got in an hour debate online all because I said I prefer the modern Wendigo with the skull and exposed bones so I hope it becomes a skin for a Skinwalker-like killer in Dead By daylight. I get called being dense and laughed at for being "Cultural insensitive". Asked to be left alone and I get responded to "You started it by preferring the modern Wendigo". Forgot the memo of online rules that there is always 1 person to hate you for a comment and will refuse to leave you alone.
I want to know if I was in the wrong for wanting an outfit for a DBD Skinwalker killer. I grew up with the Wendigo Skeletal version and I am 23 in college for Graphics and Game Design. I know the OG version is more like the Until Dawn one but I just love the ancient monster design more since feels more un-escapable and is more of a singular being instead of people suffering from affliction.
This is more of the OG Wendigo
This is the Wendigo I grew up reading and seeing all the time.
I am a huge Cryptid fan from El Chupacabra to the Jersey Devil of Pine Barrens which I did a middle school project of.
And I am just aware of this after that waste of time argument. Had no idea since I only follow up on teasers and log in game for codes. Been off and on due to college work.
I overall are just curious from a wide community view if I am really a bad person for wanting this.
Comments
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I'm okay with respecting other cultures and their taboos, I do think it's important.
But personally, I'd love the deer skull Wendigo because I've always found it to be absolutely terrifying if I were to come across that in real life.
That said, I'm holding my breath regardless to see what the killer is exactly. Don't want another Skull Merchant overhype, even if it looks promising.
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I feel like all your problems would be solved if you just called it something other than a wendigo.
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Ultimately it’s up to BHVR, but honestly? I think a Skeletal Deer would make for a pretty nice Legendary Skin
Call it bias or whatever you will but Ive always found the Hollywood Wendigo to be more visually interesting then the original Wendigo
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Skinwalkers and Wendigos are classic mythical monsters. There have been a lot of interesting artistic takes on them, so I'm sure if BHVR added one as a killer they would give it their own unique spin. I always assumed the Hag was their take on a wendigo.
Post edited by Rizzo on3 -
Their culture is very sensitive about people referencing their mythology, especially when it is bastardised as an internet version that doesn't reflect the original. It's best to respect that.
Instead, why not use one of the hundred or so other shapeshifter myths from every other culture in the world that also thought of one for the same purpose?
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By that logic no-one could use or reference anything anywhere because someone somewhere would find a way to be offended or sensitive about it for whatever reason. Reminds me of the 90s when Christians wanted to ban doom and Harry Potter because it had demons/magic in it. Absolutely silly.
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There's a difference between appreciation and appropriation. When the myths are incredibly clear that the creature should not be mentioned, to the point where certain people within a culture will refuse to tell the stories, write them down, or be anywhere near a retelling because of their beliefs, I'd say you should respect that.
There are other cultures which are substantially more open than indigenous culture, and I agree with BHVR in respecting the more closed, private nature of it.
Someone, somewhere, will always be offended by something. But you must see that turning a creature some refuse to even acknowledge for fear of bad fortune into a basterdised Internet atrocity for a horror game that'll be forgotten in a few months in liu of the latest licenced chapter or big anniversary is not quite the same as that.
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This is sort of my take on it.
No matter what you say or do, someone somewhere will disagree or be offended by it. At some point you just have to accept that you’re never going to be able to please everyone.
Post edited by OnryosTapeRentals on1 -
This. There are a tons of monsters that share the same behaviors, and even stories in ancient Europe, a lot of which play out the same way (just gotta dig a bit)
However I will say this; "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
The Skinwalker as we call it, is a witch, specifically an evil shapeshifting witch. Shapeshifters (and witches) are in nearly all Indigenous American legends, in one shape or another (no pun intended) however unlike most southwest tribes, not all of them are evil.
You can find stories of shapeshifters all over the entire globe, its nowhere near close to being unique among indigenous American cultures. The monster we typically think about is closer to a wendigo (northeastern American), but at the same time also isn't. The deer skull monster is closer to some Slavic/Norse creatures, the goatman is a fine example of a legend that carried over, and happens to be the same thing as some Poncan, or Cherokee Deer Woman stories (there are more tribes of course but I'll just list these two). Completely different cultures, similar types of legends.
If you want a really cool innawoods type of creature, look no further than the Rougarou, which is French for werewolf, a creature told and seen in legends from Indigenous America, Greece, and Ancient Europe (Dogman sound familiar to anyone?)
There's also Bigfoot, which is the same thing as a troll, ogre, wildman, and giant in many old stories, these are just a few examples easily found in old European cultures.
There are more examples, you can even see the Bigfoot creature in old middle eastern cultures, the Succubus legend evolved from a Bigfoot like creature, it stole and ate men, they called it Sulawa. This legend is almost exactly the same as some pacific northwest American stories. Ancient Sumeria even has one; Enkidu, Gilgamesh's best friend, was a Wildman. He was made by the gods to humble Gilgamesh, but because Gilgamesh was part god, and therefore a giant himself, they were of equal strength. "There were giants in those days, and the days after that."
Australia, Russia, China, Japan, and even Korea have a Bigfoot type creature. The legend of Bigfoot has been told about since before humans painted on rocks, all over the globe. No one culture can own that jazz.
A multicultural society that walks on its own eggshells is doomed.
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what’s the take on media like Until Dawn or Supernatural where ‚Wendigo‘ is used clearly as a term and can’t be changed anymore? I know there had been some controversy around Until Dawn but never dug deeper as i thought it was PS exclusive anyway… any chance they will adjust anything inappropriate in the upcoming remake? Iirc they do not only use the name but also refer directly to (one?) indigenous tribe and it would be more rewriting than just calling it something no else.. was there every any official word from Supermassive games?
i always figured if they were to bring a DbD chapter for Until Dawn they would find a way to rename it as they don’t need to mentioned the whole backstory obviously ..
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It's worth mentioning though, that at this point, the 'monster in the woods' style creature isn't a Wendigo. By which I mean, there's so many iterations of creepy, youtube-style horror series with weird humanoid monsters all with their own stories and backgrounds etc.
It's irritating that every time something vaguely down that line comes up we get the "that thing is nothing like our myths, but also, that's ours and you can't use it!"
They can have their culture, but they don't have ownership over the idea of humanoid monsters in the forest, whether they can shapeshift, become animals, or eat people. If something is so far apart from what their myths are that they are upset over it not being right, then drop it, it's not that creature so it's not your concern.
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Yeah sure. But the criticism I have seen have always been directly connected to Wendigo/Skinwalker or indigenous tribes? May have missed a lot but at least it’s what OP is mentioning here as well..
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"If something is so far apart from what their myths are that they are upset over it not being right, then drop it, it's not that creature so it's not your concern."
I believe the main concern that I've seen was it would be named the same while not being similar enough, which was sort of a double whammy of problems. It would mention the names that realistically shouldn't be mentioned while not being respectful or accurate to the relevant cultures.
Keeping this only around DBD, I didn't even see criticism, just concern. Concern which was swiftly abated when BHVR responded that they would not, in fact, bastardise the myths and would give the killer its own separate (maybe related, maybe not, we will see soon) name, looks, and stories. And I am happy with this because BHVR's original chapters almost always are excellent in terms of themeing, story, etc. Plague, Trickster, and Dredge are all fantastic, and even Knight has some pretty good things going on. Hell, Mid Merchant has some decent lore and themeing going on.
Apologies for the rant, but I had to do something instead of listening to this lecture.
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I mean they could just not call it a Wendigo and they can make it as similar or different to an 'actual Wendigo' as they want.
Post edited by Krazzik on0 -
As a rule of thumb, if someone from a culture says "stop using this thing from our culture wrong", LISTEN!
we have the second design being used on many things and many other creatures, from horror to comedy to fantasy. you'll survive having it not be a wendigo.
Post edited by EQWashu on2 -
I didn't even see criticism, just concern
Yeah but why even get riled up over it before the Chapter has even launched. I’ve been seeing people on X and TikTok calling it “unacceptable” and accusing BHVR of “appropriation” and we don’t even know what the Chapter is yet…
Fair enough if the Chapter were to launch and it was something flagrantly offensive — then Tweet (Xpress?) all you like. But I just think it’s so needlessly negative to kick up concerns before the Chapter is even out.
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To that, I don't have an answer. I can speculate of course - likely due to serious mishanding of their culture and related elements in the past, and the insensitive nature with which it's still talked about and depicted today - but as I'm not a part of that culture and just commenting on what I've seen I can't actually give you a definitive why.
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No, you aren't wrong. Myths and legends are just that, myths and legends. None of it is real, it is all made up.
I was raised in Indigenous Australian culture, and I would be stoked to have a Yowie or Bunyip brought into the game. Maybe this is just Australia though. We have always been promoted as a melting pot of different cultures and traditions. The majority don't believe in cultural appropriation. Indigenous culture is all about the sharing of information, traditions, and stories between groups.
I guess my own cultural upbringing is at odds with the angry people on Twitter/X.
On a side note OP, you said you were a fan of cryptids, have you heard the stories of Australian cryptids such as the Yowie/Bunyip? I'd love to hear/see your take on one. 😀
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Did not expect lot of comments on this wow.
Yowie I do know since its sorta like bigfoot but violent. Bit salty since one story has them killing a precious doggo. Bunyip I do know a little because I used to do Cryptid raffles with the keyword being a Cryptid or folktale legend.
Though have to say the Gashadokuro would be terrifying in real life. At that point we are dead because of a giant skeleton eating people.
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They just can release it and call it Leshy which is a similar creature of the eastern Europe folklore, (it even appear in The Witcher 3 called Leshen).
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Would it still be a Wendigo if it was just a Deer Skull plopped onto original Wendigo like this
Scp 323
Just curious since its still the Native Wendigo which is Human but wearing a skull.
Could even called "The Ancient One" or similar.
tbh tired calling it Wendigo if it's gonna be a forever issue. I just like the idea of Entity that lives in winter forest and hunt down it's prey sorta like a Horror Hunting Movie.
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Hell yeah dude! I hadn't heard about the Gashadokuro, even after spending some time in Japan. I feel like I had seen it before, but not known what it was.
Super cool you know a little about Yowies and Bunyips too. Their stories and names vary from group to group, but they are always something you don't want to meet in the bush. As a child I was always told to be careful when heading to the billabong, for the bunyip is great at hiding, and loves eating children. It didn't really have a form, and could hide behind trees, in reeds, and in the water waiting to snatch someone.
I miss those days.
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The days of Folktales, Legends, and Cryptids were awesome. You should look into Czech folklore about the Bubák. A Scarecrow that steals people's souls and turns it into cloth. Mimics adult and children voices to lure it's prey and moves between the land of the living and dead.
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I do not think it'd be bad for bhvr to use it nor do I think bhvr did good with saying they wouldn't do it.
I do not think wanting the skeletal skin is bad or disrespectful at all.
At the end of the day regardless of culture, they are monster stories that make their way through the rounds.
Post edited by Bran on0 -
Native Americans don't have one big singular monoculture. There are hundreds of tribes across America that all have their own different folklore and mythology. Some may have the taboos, but others don't. Some may want to be "closed", but others do not. Do not paint them all with the same brush, acting like all Native Americans tribes are the same is disrespectful to their individuality.
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I seem to recall a book in the late 80s or early 90s from the perspective of a Hunter who was after the wendigo. This iteration of the creature was a flying thing. Seemed like in the end the hunter won but while towing it with the boat, a croc went for the carcass and he fell in and was attacked instead.
i also seem to remember an iteration of a flying wendigo that flew so fast that when it grabbed a victim, one of those victims were screaming about their burning feet due to the speeds.
Probably the same book.
you know, I think I read this book to my kid in the 80s after thinking about it. I think it was a short story in a book of scary stories.
im old, give me a break.
i think I’m mixing up two different stories. lol. My memory has become bad. It was like 35ish years ago.
Post edited by EQWashu on0 -
oh c'mon I can't even mention an entire genre of books by it's name? that is ridiculous.
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