1. #1

    Question Light, Shadow, Emotions.

    I'm curious, it has been established that the light and the shadow are associated with and can enhance/conjure up very strong positive and negative emotions. Have you guys ever considered what consequence that might have on the emotional life of the Lightforged and Void Elves? Would you imagine that Lightforged Draenei are filled with positive emotions all the time as a baseline? With negative emotions being the deviant mindset? Or would they be just as emotionally flexible as a non-lightforged being? Vice versa with Void Elves. And with such a heightened sense of positive emotions, could it be that the lightforged would have a propensity for slight mania in their every-day lives?

  2. #2
    Moderator Aucald's Avatar
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    There's a definite correlation from the various short stories, novels, and comics - but I don't know if it has a representation in-game. The first-generation Death Knight Ragnok Bloodreaver uses Shadow magic to try to temporary sever Jorad Mace from the Light, taking the effect of buffeting the Paladin with negative emotions like doubt, despair, and so forth. The Light generally promotes sensations of oneness and serenity - mentally or psychologically speaking, it connects you with other beings on a fundamental or spiritual level. I would imagine that having a strong connection with the Light, such as with the Lightforged, would be akin to having a kind of emotional "hive-mind" with your peers - everyone connected quite intimately within the Light, broadcasting the tenor of their emotional states on a somewhat permanent basis.

    Shadow and the Void, in contrast, severs one from their connections and divides - it's effect on the mental state is one of division and discord, deepening eventually into madness. The Void Elves probably struggle with this on a permanent basis, and their rather clannish origins help to create a communal basis to support them lest they slip in Void-inspired isolation followed by insanity. The effects of both processes likely aren't pathological by default, but they would definitely lend one towards extremes of behavior all the same.
    "We're more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see." ― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

  3. #3
    Over 9000! Golden Yak's Avatar
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    I think Legion's 7.3 storyline has been trying to introduce the idea that Light and Void are not clear-cut Good and Evil ideologies. Light brings order and unity, but misused can cause oppression and a restriction of individual will. Void is a dangerous, chaotic force that devours with entropic hunger, but if properly harnessed can offer immense power, limitless possibility.

    I think it's best summed up by Locus Walker in the audio drama.

    "The Light seeks one path, and rejects all others as false. The Void seeks every possible path, and sees them all as true. Neither viewpoint is wrong. Neither is correct."

    Or words to that effect.

    100% Light may be just as unhealthy to sentient life as 100% Void. A certain amount of Void-related thinking - freedom, liberty, ambition - is necessary to avoid outright oppression and loss of free will. Light is not flatly positive, it's creative, unifying power. Void is not totally negative, it is chaotic, limitless possibility. Too much of either one is not the way. Both in certain quantities are necessary to create a worthwhile existence.

  4. #4
    The Lightbringer Ragnarocket's Avatar
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    I like Golden Yak's explanation here...I don't view the Light and Dark as emotional things. The light can infuse a sense of hope, joy, and happiness as it sees fit, but after 7.3 I think that we all need to be a bit more wary of such feelings. The Light is not all happy things. While it can bring peace it is also harsh and unyielding. Xe'ra saw only the one path and that path didn't lead to good feelings for a lot of people. She was willing to force destiny upon Illidan. I'm sure that would have been unfun.

    Void powers are chaotic and a little bit crazy. There's some joy, sadness, anger, etc in all of the different types of people who call upon that power. I don't think either of these powers correlate to emotions per say. I think that either of them can use emotions to influence others to their way of thinking is more accurate.
    “The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.”

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Golden Yak View Post
    I think Legion's 7.3 storyline has been trying to introduce the idea that Light and Void are not clear-cut Good and Evil ideologies. Light brings order and unity, but misused can cause oppression and a restriction of individual will. Void is a dangerous, chaotic force that devours with entropic hunger, but if properly harnessed can offer immense power, limitless possibility.

    I think it's best summed up by Locus Walker in the audio drama.

    "The Light seeks one path, and rejects all others as false. The Void seeks every possible path, and sees them all as true. Neither viewpoint is wrong. Neither is correct."

    Or words to that effect.

    100% Light may be just as unhealthy to sentient life as 100% Void. A certain amount of Void-related thinking - freedom, liberty, ambition - is necessary to avoid outright oppression and loss of free will. Light is not flatly positive, it's creative, unifying power. Void is not totally negative, it is chaotic, limitless possibility. Too much of either one is not the way. Both in certain quantities are necessary to create a worthwhile existence.
    Aye. I agree that they are establishing the light as not necessarily good and void as not necessarily evil. Though what I have observed is that they do enhance or affect positive and negative emotions. Positive and negative here are not value judgements, just in the sense the emotions we associate with the words. If you go around all day being dumbly happy it is just as bad as going around being sad all day. Sometimes, it is appropriate being sad, and sometimes it is appropriate being happy. Funny thing, it seems the light is also associated with anger and fury, somewhat ambiguous emotions as to their positive/negative alignment. Either way, it would be interesting which implications this has for the Lightforged in particular. Like, are they so content in their Light-infusement that they don't take seriously the plight of the grieving mother, because, after all, we are all one in the light etc? I would imagine the light being part of their being would make them less, not more, empathic, since they would lose touch with the suffering side of themselves. Likewise, I would imagine that somebody infused with the void would be more so because they feel a bit of that suffering every day.
    If we're to be a little philosophical. Is empathy even an emotion? Or is it a mirroring action that creates bonds?
    It does in a sense imply the idea that balance of light and shadow is the right course. It is the foundation of the physical universe, and likewise it is also the foundation of the soul. It is no wonder mortals are so powerful. If you don't know the shadow of death, you are witless, and if you do not know the light of life, you are nothing, you are void.

    That sounded pretencious.

  6. #6
    Bad writing is bad. Or in this case, taking a clishe and, most importantly, silly concept and writing about it seriously - there are no possitive and negative emotions.
    All that nonsence about love, happynes and hope (etc.) being good and hate, anger and fear (etc.) being bad is childish and dumb.

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