i will say, not for nothing, but i have a hard time imagining anything really to do with domination magic is gonna actually come up again for anduin’s trajectory, so it likely doesn’t matter too much
at the very least, it truly doesn’t seem worth thinking about; it seems preeeeeeeetty unlikely to me that golden was really worrying about the fine details of the make-believe nonsense magic (which has demonstrably inconsistent rules anyhow) in her trying to depict anduin’s trauma
1 Like
Beyond that, The line where Anduin ended and Zovaal began was very blurry during his moments of full blown possession. He was unable to tell if it was him who was enjoying his actions, or Zovaal. Or perhaps, both. So, his entire concept of self was shattered.
We obviously have no direct real life correlation with what Anduin went through, but there is for sure a lot of survivors guilt in there. There is pretty much the deepest level of violation imaginable. There is likely some degree of Stockholm syndrome like feelings that are very hard to process.
It’s a lot.
6 Likes
Anduin will either end up being the most holy light infused being possible or the most broken piece by the end of this expansion.
It is truly the two possible arcs for him.
Come on, we all know exactly which ending he’s going to get. This is a Blizzard story, they couldn’t believably subvert expectations if they tried.
4 Likes
A few quick side notes I couldnt help think about regarding the short.
- like it not, it doesnt seem like WoW will be forgetting what happened to Teldrassil.
- I am curious as to the state of Kul Tiras. Is stormsong valley so under defended that raiders are able to randomly attack villages? Or is this particular one just so remote that there isnt any guards from the house Stormsong able to help defend it?
Ok, I finaly read the whole thing.
I really enjoyed this story, this seems to be right before he starts moving towards silithus, which we hear about in the Genn and Shaw dialogue on one of the more recent patches.
Him being in Kul’tiras made me question if Jaina was aware of his presence and just let him be there, she is kinda his aunt in a sense, but she probably didn’t knew.
1 Like
I am not a big fan of Anduin, but I am not a hater. I think he serves a purpose in the narrative.
I wouldn’t want to see him broken more so than, say, Xera. She was literally broken into pieces.
1 Like
I just dont buy Anduin’s PST from domination magic.
- He didnt murder anyone.
- He stole some sigils for the Jailer, wounded a blue lady, but nothing happens after anyway.
With LEGION however, his father was murdered, almost no time for grief had to take the crown, he’s unfit to lead, full of doubts, couldnt help the kaldorei, Tyrande’s angry with the alliance, Jaina left him, Greymane went full warmonger and attacked the forsaken, that was enough to draw Anduin closer to the shadows.
Stop with the domination magic, stop trying the explain domination magic, forget shadowlands.
Feels like this is the TL;DR for a lot of people, but they are gonna have to cope with the fact it isn’t going anywhere.
1 Like
I don’t understand why people can’t wrap their minds around this. He had another’s will imposed on him controlling his ever action and there was nothing he could do about it. No matter how hard he tried to fight he was forced to watch as his body was used to cause harm to others, take part in a plot that would see the universe destroyed and rewritten, and he was forced to fight against friends and allies of his like the player character and Jaina. If that wasn’t enough already he liked it.
I mean Shadowlands is certainty one of the worst written expansions in WoW history, but I’ve always found this particular plot point very easy to understand. If you’re struggling to understand how that would mess a person up afterwards and send them into a crisis of faith then maybe it’s your own emotional maturity you should be looking at.
9 Likes
It doesn’t matter if it’s “earned” or “not earned”. Whether or not it feels earned is not why someone acquires PTSD, whether or not it’s justified is not how someone acquires it.
This is just a case of people scrutinizing fiction in a way that real life is not scrutinized to the same degree. The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense, we have to feel that the trauma is “earned” and serves a purpose rather than it just being an awful thing that happens. I also think the issue is that people are generally uncomfortable with seeing someone else’s trauma. It’s a very intimate thing and so it feels difficult to interact with for people who are not in the mind to be so.
To me though, it seems that domination magic intrinsically does something to you that is traumatic. It doesn’t matter if he didn’t kill anyone, even if he thought he did with Kyrestia, or that he was forced to fight the champions of Azeroth. Just being dominated is traumatic.
What trauma is, is someone’s body learning that it is not safe and that they need to be on the defensive. It keeps this knowledge that it is not safe even in instances when it is safe and employs defensive tactics when they are not necessary. The body “keeps the engine on” so to speak, the motor is always running. It’s why there is typically jumping or twitching with people who have it, because the body is on alert even when it seems to otherwise be relaxed. PTSD isn’t always intellectually ruminating on the gravity of one’s sins, real or imagined. It is also an instinctual feeling of insecurity.
15 Likes
Plus he basically had his very soul violated. People in real life suffer horrendous PTSD from having things done to their physical body - so I don’t think anyone here could imagine what it would be like for your very soul itself, the core of your existence to be violated, controlled and enslaved.
6 Likes
Real kings don’t get PTSD. They take whatever the universe throws at them in their stride and handle it, then move on to the next challenge.
The reason people are critical I believe is that it just feels like more manipulative sappy writing to try a keep a dead horse in the limelight and suck up all the oxygen.
8 Likes
I’m very happy that Anduin doesn’t drink or abuse any other substance and doesn’t do any other weird stuff.
He is a good man.
4 Likes
I mean he does literally larp as a normal person to escape the stresses of being king i wouldn’t call that normal
And yet he doesn’t drink alcohol. He was possessed by literal Satan/Thanos, yet he does not fall so low as to drink alcohol.
Take notes, people. Instead of perpetually yapping about Anduin, maybe you should start to take notes from him. 
2 Likes
this a harold the giraffe moment
Seems they spare the Horde leader stories to those who will buy the book. Alliance bias strikes again.
This is one situation where the Faction divide is clear. It seems Alliance fans want to play some sort of SIMS game, holding Anduin’s hand while he cries on their lap.
While Horde fans are like… god this poor excuse for a man is always crying about something. Man up already!
I get that Alliance fans love him, they saw him grow from a baby to a kid to some sort of half man or what ever he is now. Forcing him center stage is just going to be repulsive for people who are tired of his shtick.
If I can say one thing about DF, it was nice to go one expac without everyone worrying about Anduin’s feelings all day. Looks like we are returning to World of Anduin’s feelingscraft.
9 Likes
It’s not that Anduin is a bad character, I just personally find him a little too overexposed in the story. He would work better if he only showed up ocassionally, for like moral support after a terrible ordeal or some such.
8 Likes