#and maybe azeroth needed him but so did HE

[wp100]

wonder where khadgar's been :p

[rylandfalkov]

November DWC 2024 Day 1 - Sexy Cowritten with @dicenne

Ryland leaned against the doorway, watching as the other man woke up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. The glamours he placed had all disappeared at this point: No more short blond hair, the tattoos had returned, but the muscles were still all his. As sexy as spending the night with Captain Azeroth had been, Ryland always preferred Dicenne.

“Morning, Cap.”

Dicenne startled a bit and looked over, raising both brows, “You’re still here.” 

Ryland was almost never one to stick around the morning after, but he hadn’t seen his friend much lately thanks to both of them being away on mercenary business in Khaz Algar. “Figured we could get breakfast before I had to get back. My treat?”

The incredulous look was evident even in Dice’s profile. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ryland might have been a mooch, but at least he was a very handsome mooch.

Dicenne looked back towards the empty bed, pulling back the rest of his covers and furrowing his brow, “Did–”

“Yeah, gone. Left early. Took a page out of my book.” Ryland flopped back onto the bed and rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling. “Fun though, huh? Unexpected.”

Dice shook his head with a grin, “I’m not as young as I used to be. …But yes, fun indeed. It’s been a long few months, and being stuck underground for a lot of it was not as thrilling. Interesting places, interesting people, but I’ve missed the sun, and unexpected fun.”

Ryland watched him from the corner of his gaze, pursing his lips together briefly. “How are you? Are you okay? You’re always asking others, but does anyone ask *you* how you’re handling everything?”

Dice glanced over, quietly considering. “Not many. I’m…” He looked towards the window and furrowed his brows. His, and most everyone else’s go-to was to say ‘fine’ despite the circumstances. Ryland always knew when he was lying, and was anybody really fine right now anyways? “Tired. I feel like I’m doing well with the shop, and with the Tarts, and the mercenary crew, but it just feels all too…cyclical sometimes. Never enough times of peace before we just jump right back into it, it’s exhausting. Then with what happened to Dalaran, who is to say that won’t happen somewhere else? Maybe not the same..” He waves a hand, Ryland knew what he meant. “Already living through bad shit happening to your home more than once, then watching it happen to the homes of others, there’s just never a feeling of safety anymore, is there?”

“You’re right, there’s really not. With all that, it’s hard to even want to settle down, start a family…” Ryland gives his friend a soft smile, he knew him well enough at this point to see the signs.

Again, Dice smiled and shook his head. Not because Ryland was incorrect, but because he wasn’t the first one to call him out on that. “There’s never going to be a good time for that, is there? I guess that’s the thing, you just need to keep on living and moving forward in spite it all.”

“Wise words from a man that should take his own advice.” Ryland flashed one of those oh-so-charming smiles. The one you either want to kiss or to slap.

“Easier said than done.” Dice looked down, “What about you, are *you* okay? How are *you* handling everything?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Time for breakfast now?”

@daily-writing-challenge

[s-dei]

I wonder, how in your opinion did Illidan's and Khadgar's relationship started?

Hi anon!!! Thank you for askin, it will be fun to dive into my mind of 5 years ago and recall all the stuff :'D (It can go out of control…)

(IT DID went out of control, so I'm throwin it under the cut 😂) There may be typos or mistakes, haven't checked and lazy.

I think I should start with character's reasons to be interested in eachother. Like, beside from "we happened to be in the same place doing the same thing (fighting Legion)", a more specific moments from the both sides.

Khadgar's side: 1) He was glad to get one more ally who is really passionate to fight Legion. Of course, Legion was everyone's business at a moment, and there were a lot of powerful allies. And Illidan is well - pretty controversial person. But at this moment Khadgar was really exhausted, and still was questioning a lot his Guardian role (even if it was only nominal), and Illidan was realy personal with Legion. So he was mostly glad someone else wanted to take the main role (while there also were moments of regret xD)

2) That's a curious magic nerd Khadgar. And an ancient demon-elf. Of course he wants to ask something, even if he knows even more ancient creatures. While not using it himself, he would enjoy to listen about dark ways of magic or something.

3) Illidari. He was unsure at first, but in the end enjoyed 'babysitting' them. Even when Illidan is back, he still cares about them and asks if they need something, or just comes to chit-chat. He is also curious to know especially about the bond of Illidari and their Master, from the both sides.

Illidan's side: 1) That's a magic nerd Illidan (in other ways, but still here we are). And a human mage wielding a great power AND having mark of Sargeras left on his aura. Of course Illidan is curious about it. And he wants it - in a greedy demonic way he holds back, so he is just going with decent conversation.

2) Khadgar is an ally you better to team up with. Of course Illidan Stormrage is mighty and powerful, but he still lives in society 😂 Azeroth changed a lot since he went to Outland, the ruling power is different now. Illidan came back to life, but he's still a war criminal, and many ppl want him dead or in prison again. Of cooourse they need him to fight Legion, but if the war is over succesfully, who will speak for him and Illidari? Oh, maybe it will be Khadgar, who is suddenly non-hostile (while he have all the rights to be after Outland?) Let's keep it as an option. Illidari say too that he's really cool ally.

3) Some really far-fetched stuff, but Illidan pays attention to details. Back in the WotA he was trained by Rhonin and fought along Kur'talos Ravencrest, and so he makes a remark about Khadgar and his raven form. Even if Illidan chooses his way himself (tm), sometimes he still thinks about the promised Fate of his, and wonders if it is in a things repeating. (That's just me bringin all the lore bits to one pile, I love it. Khadgar also was in a Black Temple. Mind it)

Both sides: sharing the feeling of a "missed time". One literally spent hella majority of his life in isolation, and the other turned into oldman in his 17 (or 19? damn i always confuse those numbers). I think it works kinda equal for them, and they went "oooh, you understand?"

Events

Sooo in my vision, Khadgar already had some opinion about Illidan and things to ask him, and Illidan was fine with speaking to him aside from Illidari to know more about events happened in the world. I think before Brokenshore campaign started, they had a few personal and group meetings, and found out that they share something in common while having different tempers.

When the campaign began, things went… complicated xD They started to find out their differences, and always were loud discussing it and their disagreement. Sometimes they started with disagreement and finished with agreement, keeping it with a passive agression :Д Were they mad? They had fun! Mostly. I think both enjoyed a 'look i'm having a dispute with this important dude'

But besides from discussing strategy and other serious stuff, they still had a moments of discussions of magic and past events (unless they were too personal). Khadgar shared stuff with him, from food and drinks to artifacts and books, and enjoyed watching how Illidan interacts with it. Sometimes amazed. And often endeared. There was actions from Illidan's side as well, but he mostly did it via Illidari (not like he was ashamed, just really busy). And they mostly said "yeeeeah this is from Lord Illidan!"

Eventually Khadgar fell in love and WAS TERRIFIED. He spent a lot of time figuring out what he really feels. When he came to conclusion, he thought a lot if he should confess, coz it's fkin Illidan Stormrage. It felt so crazy, but Khadgar decided that his life is going crazy for a while, and he decided to try. I can see Khadgar as a person who isn't going love crazy right away. He feels something buzzing, a certain kind of interest, but it's not a "omg this is the one and only person in my life" untill they go mutual. He, of course, will be sad if Illidan rejects him, and it will take some time to recover, but he isn't going to keep it forever.

And so he decided to confess. He purposely have chosen a short peacefull moment before some big battle in case if the things go awkward or even bad, so they both have an excuse to leave.

Now coming back to Illidan and what he felt. Ngl he's a complicated char if you want to go thoughtful with him. But I think during this time he became a little sympathetic with Khadgar. Found him special in one ways and annoying in others, but def considered him and ally and maybe even a friend, while he wasn't going to admit it outloud.

Still, the confession made him baffled (even if he suspected it a bit). If it was someone else, he would just say "lol no" and leaved. But he was really curious about Khadgar's reasons and what the actual fuck. He couldn't say he felt something even similar to love, but also didn't went with just a "no". He said that Khadgar is probably mistaken, or just don't realize that he isn't the type to build a 'true lovestory' with and live happily ever after. He is a demon and his passion is already going on hating Legion, so don't you expect a romantic fairytale. Khadgar said that he pretty aware of all of this, he isn't going to fix Illidan, or cure his scars, or bring him into typical lovey-dovey routine. "How about we just find our own way?"

You see, Illidan says "yes" in any case, but I can see it going in different ways: - First is a direct "yes", but not in a "i want to be with you" way. It's a "You know what, I will be with you, and I'm curious how you gonna handle it". Being baffled at first, he is now going into offence and declares "If you want a challenge, I'm giving it to you". Not love - a challenge. The challenge isn't about Illidan being a demon/ancient/edgy person. It's about the fact Illidan knows zero shit about romance and he's goin to explore it and experiment af (of course he didn't said it literally, but he implied). He is going to be unbearable. And he enjoys how Khadgar reacts - confused and happy and non-believing and terrified. He's goin to love it. - Second is Illidan taking a time to think, and they talk once more after the battle was over. This conversation is more calm, more intimate and Illidan lets Khadgar close to try and see how he feels about it. They speak about some personal stuff, and while Illidan didn't said it directly, he implied he don't mind to try (yet warns that it still won't be a lovey-dovey stuff). (ngl, their moment of confession is so hard, I tried to write it 5 times with different words, so I will never come to a single solution)

Illidan promised no lovey-dovey, but he found out he enjoys it actually 😌👌

I think I have some more stuff to say, but this post already went WILD. IDK, feel free to ask more direct questions or somethin :)

[commanderbragh]

Excitement

Banagan looked out over the city of Dornogal. He looked like he was trying to take in everything all at once. His head turned slowly from side to side, his eyes locking onto one area before darting to another. This is so different from Darkshire and Stormwind, even Valdrakken, he thought to himself. An Earthen guard passed by and the paladin caught a glimpse of himself in the guard’s shield. Banny reached up and rubbed his unshaven chin. Guess I am, too.

As he continued to look out over the city, Banagan heard more footsteps coming towards him. A moment later, Dolraan was standing next to him. The dwarf said nothing, but stood quietly and stared out over the railing. Both paladins took in the moment of peace.

“Is it always like this?” Banny asked.

“Like what?”

“The excitement. The danger.”

“Often enough.”

“I thought going to Valdrakken was exciting enough. But this is different.”

Dolraan said nothing, but just glanced over at the younger paladin from the corner of his eye.

“Things seem so.. I don’t know.. precarious maybe? I mean, didn’t we just get finished saving the world?”

“Azeroth always needs saving.”

“Guess I didn’t realize that. The first time…  last time, it was an adventure. You know, my first time doing it on my own. I mean with the Meddlers, but.. you know.”

“Your father never told you his stories?”

“He did. I thought he was making up things when I was little. Now I think he held back because he didn’t want to scare me or my sister.”

“Yeah, parents will do that.”

“This is what he was doing? All the time?”

“This and more, probably.”

“A wonder he survived it,” Banny said almost in a whisper. Dolraan glanced at the young man again before looking back out at the city.

“What’re you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” 

“What do you want to do?”

“My dad would say that we should help them.”

“What do you say?”

Banagan thought for a moment and then looked at the elder paladin. “I want to help.”

Dolraan clapped Banagan on the arm and turned away from the bannister. “Then let’s get to work.”

[omgkalyppso]

15 Lines of Dialogue

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture their character/personality/vibe. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well.

I was tagged by @dustdeepsea which is very funny because I also tagged them. We are like passing ships in the night, you and I. fgdhfdg

I already did this for Étoile and Faedolyn here. So this time I will do Borgakh. You can press J on desktop to skip this post if it's either too long or gruesome. Some vague gore / body horror / horror descriptions in her dialogue.

I'll also tag @cherrypikkins (yes again. you have all those Kitt supports), @peachiehambo, @bladesandstars, @bhaalbaaby and YOU.

Borgakh

"I did, but perhaps I spoke out of turn. I learned a little from our warband, but… I slowly stopped my questions. Do you honor your dead another way? Was I rude in asking?" - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 1: Arrival

"Well, I have lived here five months now…" she chuckled, "so what is that? Thirteen elf years? Living among them in Halfhill was what synched it for me. I couldn't order pumpkin seeds if I couldn't speak to my local grocer." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 1: Arrival

"For as long as you need. I will hold him," Borgakh promised with a darkness in her voice. - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 2: Broken Chains

"Are you sure? Most ranking members of the Horde want to know: Where were you … during the crossing of the Dark Portal?" He pursed his lips and opened his mouth to speak, but Borgakh plowed forward, her tone more sincere and apologetic. "I was ten when I came to Azeroth. I am entering my fortieth year." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 2: Broken Chains

She raised an eyebrow as she answered, "You make it sound as if I've never had anyone to guide me. Of course I've had mentors: in language, in cooking, in how to hold a bow or dismantle a gun. I am not undisciplined." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 2: Broken Chains

She laughed in response, a heady growl; maybe a little more orcish than he was expecting. Lor'thermar's hands went to his sides, as if to reach for a weapon. Borgakh laughed a little more freely before saluting him. "Get fucked, Regent Lord." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 2: Broken Chains

As soon as her arm came free, she twisted away from him and started untying her remaining restrictions. "I … I also thought to open my wounds." She sat up and turned to look at Lor'themar, eye to eye. "Not to injure myself," she explained, fisting her hands in the sheets on her knees. "I've simply … heard stories of spells and curses being etched into the flesh of my people and then sewn back down so that we are ignorant of their extent and meaning." She looked away again, ashamed. Lor'themar could see the soft twinkling of her eyes through her dark lashes. "I see now that this … was likely paranoia." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 3: Injured

"Then I will die there," she agreed, meeting his eye. "I know this. Just as you must have, once. Your soldiers do." She sighed, "But perhaps your people have the privilege of time, and can expect that if they simply crush that threshold, the remainder of their days can be spent in the walls of Silvermoon or somewhere else far away. Every home I've ever had has been a battlefield. If anyone will ever miss me, it will be in the context of war." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 4: At The Mercy of Responsibility

She reached down between his knees to pluck the brown bottle from his hands, and leaned away to look him in the eye, answering more seriously, "But I know: that you would be ridiculed, and I will have done the opposite of proving my worth here, if we are discovered." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 6: Questions Of Worth

She lapped at his ear and he twitched all over as she whispered, "I'm going to put my mouth on you. If you move too much, you may bleed. That might be pleasurable to you in some places … and certainly not in others." She kissed his ear more seriously, nipping at his ear lobe with the teeth between her tusks as she gave him one last word of warning, "Behave." - On The Isle Of Thunder, Chapter 6: Questions Of Worth

"An orc is an orc is an orc Khadgar; or is Garona not proof enough of that for you?" - In Dalaran

"No, no. Khadgar, tell your mate that if she should ever find herself taken by the Horde, or in another scenario where it might help, that she can ask for me. I'll pay her ransom. I'll fight in her name. Whatever it may be." Borgakh's eyes sort of crossed then as she finished her statement in a whisper, "And … I'll go on hoping never to hear from her." - In Dalaran

“This orc can hold her tongue,” Borgakh answered in chipped elvish, and Ga’el laughed. - Meet Me At The Border, Chapter 2: Reliable, In All Things

"I met a couple from Northern Morning today who didn’t speak a word of elvish. We had a whole conversation in common sign language! I was worried I might have forgotten too much, falling out of practice. It was nice. I hope however you’re talking to people lately that it’s going well!" - This post

“Are the elves under attack?” <- Context for this one. In one of the dnd games Borgakh was a part of, her asking this question and proposing that the elven kingdom was as afraid of something happening with a necromancer raising long dead people from when a continent split and that they weren't simply acting to expand their kingdom at a poorly timed moment when the kingdom we were in was being tormented by this necromancer, prevented a war and apparently changed the trajectory of the campaign (or would have, if it hadn't ended three sessions or so after this).

[katieskarlette]

Reactions to spoilery cutscenes

Curiosity got the better of me, and I watched all the cutscenes that WoWhead posted from 11.0.

Spoilers and rambling below.

[Disclaimer: These are just my poorly-organized thoughts after watching cutscenes online without much context. Take them with a grain of salt.]

First, the prematurely-gray elephant in the room: Khadgar. I really enjoyed him as a character and I will miss him. Was it a fitting sendoff for such a huge lore figure? Not in my opinion. It was basically copying Rhonin's death (although at least this was in game and not in a novel). And Atiesh got broken, too. As a mage main, that made me cringe, and the destruction of my home city didn't feel good, either. The visual effects of it blowing up in a void explosion were impressive, at least.

Moving on... From what I've seen, I like what they're doing with Moira and her son, and their dynamic with Magni. Talk about a redemption arc, going from the Worst Father of the Year to doting grand'da. Aww. I'm not sorry to see the diamond shell go away. It was stingy of Azeroth not to give him any armor to keep, though. Harumph.

As for the new short folk...I love their blue gryphons, but otherwise they're not my cup o' tea, aesthetically, and I feel like the mechanical motif should stay with the gnomes and mechagnomes. Also, dwarves without Scottish accents seem so wrong. I know that's a ridiculous thing to say because why the hell did that get to be a thing anyway, but it's what we're used to. (Incidentally, exposure to WoW dwarves helped me do a killer Scottish accent when I want to. My best friend does a great Irish accent, so sometimes we'll greet each other in our respective fake accents. Maybe you have to be there, but it amuses us.)

ANYWAY...

Warcraft has always had a vaguely cartoony style. In the last several years the quality of the character models has improved noticeably. I feel like Blizzard is struggling to find a happy medium wherein it still has that signature Warcraft vibe while taking advantage of the improved graphics. Which is a long winded way to say that I find Anduin's detailed eyelashes and the M.C. Escheresque intricacies of Alleria's hair distracting. Anduin's facial structure, stubble, and the under layer of his hair look somewhat realistic, but the top layer of his hair and his vividly blue eyes look like they're from a different universe.

Speaking of Alleria, I don't understand the need to completely redesign her character. Funky winged eyeliner and an asymmetric cape, a totally different color palette, her hair all over the place...it's like she's a completely different character. Sure, a real person can have a major makeover and that's totally fine, but when you're dealing with a fictional character who has a distinct "look" to them, you should have a very, very good reason to throw away the familiarity/recognition you've already established. I felt a little bit that way when Jaina got her makeover for BFA, but since she's by far the most prominent human woman in the franchise it was easier to adjust. We have how many rail-thin high/blood/void elven women now? A lot. They could have done some cool, subtle things with slowly changing her Legion-era outfit to be more void-themed over time, but I suppose that would require extra modeling work that would deprive the playerbase of a raid tier...

I have no idea who Aelric Leid is, but I'd know Jim Pirri's voice anywhere. I'm glad he's still around the franchise after Nathanos was sent off to live happily ever after in a quiet corner of Ardenweald with his true love after she rescued him from the maw and you can pry that headcanon from my cold, not-undead hands killed off.

So we have a Wrynn not climbing about the fleeing ship with his allies but instead jumping down to fight the thing trying to destroy said ship, even knowing it will probably lead to his death. GEE, WHERE HAVE I SEEN THAT BEFORE?! Okay, I have to admit that did give me some feels. There's a fine line between poignant, thematically significant callbacks and gratuitously echoing past imagery while screaming, "Look! It's the thing! You remember the thing, right? Here it is again! Isn't that cool?" I'm looking at you, tons of Arthas parallels they pushed on Anduin in BFA and Shadowlands. Ahem. So yeah, I see what you did there, Blizzard, and I don't hate it. Let me conjure you a mana cookie.

Ansurek looked SO much cooler before her void power-up. She looks creepy af with all those red eyes and the stuff on her head, yet she's got a normal human mouth and a cutesy nose. WTF? Come on, let the creepy spider queen be monstrous! Trust me, people will still want to fuck her. Source: I've been on the internet.

"With our renewed strength, our kingdom shall be reborn." Zzzzzzz... Huh? Wha'? Oh. I'm sorry, I could have sworn I've heard this schtick about 874 times already.

Is Alleria really stupid enough to think she can kill (the equivalent of?) an Old God with an arrow? There's no way a shapeshifting being of the void could possibly put up an illusion or teleport away at the last second! /facepalm (Although soon after she was able to gut-punch Xal'atath to make her back up, so maybe it wasn't such a dumb strategy... I dunno. I'm just judging a bunch of short cutscenes out of context.)

A Windrunner sister gripping her bow so tightly we hear the leather squeak. Never seen that before, either.

I do like Xal'atath so far. She's got the sultry voice of Azshara, the (over)confidence of Lich King Arthas, and the creepy wrongness of her Old God pals. Voice aside, she's not as sexualized as a lot of her predecessors in the franchise, which is a relief. (I love Azshara to bits but she must have used massive amounts of double-sided tape and/or powerful magic to keep her boobs in that dress back in her pre-naga days.)

So yeah. I watched the in-game cinematics. There was some good, some bad, and some stuff I like to clown on but wasn't actually that awful. I can't say that it made me reconsider my decision not to play the expansion, but I'm glad I know a little bit more about what's going on.

Now, since they so rudely destroyed Dalaran, I'll have to picture my mage curling up in the library in Stormwind Keep, instead. Because that's what I imagine she does when I'm not playing the game. ;)

[nahisummerhold]

For Her Peace of Mind

There was more than a little shouting when Nahi stepped away from her mother’s room and out into the gardens to make a call to the person she would trust to store their music library until her mother calmed about this impending doom she kept dreaming about coming to Dalaran. For two weeks straight, whenever her mother was awake she had been screaming about needing to get her music out of the city and Nahi was exhausted. Even if he could not take the books, she knew she would feel better by reaching out. 

Tapping on her comm and finding the right frequency in the Tart’s directory, she yawned then placed the call with a hope and a prayer to the Sun. “Talthorn? Are you there by chance?

There is a lingering silence there for Nahilvi to endure as it seems those sun prayers might go unanswered. However, just as she might pull her attention away there is a soft crackling sound with this comm on the other side as the older elf fiddles with the device on his end. Then there are three distinct poms of sound as if the magi was tapping to ensure sound was actually working! His rich voice came out loudly as he had placed the comm so close to his mouth, unsure exactly how this device actually worked. 

“Hellooooo~? Is this contraption working?” he asks on the other side. “I heard my name! I am just not ... sure if it was from here or not.” the magi would babble into the device, despite not even waiting to determine if it was actually working. “Whom do I have the honor of speaking with?” The last sentence was melodic, definitely confirming to Nahi this was the magical elf she wished to speak with.

Nahi was pondering other people she might call when he hadn’t answered right away. She knew of a goblin storage facility, or Trist had talked about having a place with a lot of music, but then she heard a sound or two and waited. When he began tapping and fumbling with his device she pulled her own back from her ear and chuckled softly, waiting for him to get it adjusted. She had tried once, right after the exodus, to give her mother own comm to reach out to Nahilvi if she was needed, but that was much, MUCH, worse than this and the memory made her smile. When he finally began speaking she responded easily. “Master Talthorn,” his more formal diction, and a non-face to face greeting, made her a bit less affectionate than how she normally addressed him, “the voice was indeed coming from here and it is Nahilvi on this side. How are you this lovely evening?” There is a small rumble over the comm after hearing the lovely lady on the other end call him ‘Master’, as if he was preening and clearing his throat just a bit. He was ready to speak back to her in a rather formal way himself for a moment until he heard the name of who it was! Well that idea flew right by his mind, connected the voice to the face now and could not help but be his usual overly friendly self. 

“Why, I am simply wonderful, my dear! Thank you ever so much for asking~” other noises could be heard over the comm, subtle and wispy…? Seems this magi was on the move now that he confirmed this communication device was actually working. “Life is never boring for a soul such as myself. I have entirely too many places to be, all at the same time. Luckily I have ways to ensure that can actually happen you see. In fact right now! We are going on adventures~!” he says with an enthusiastic tone. “And by adventures I mean, you’re accompanying me to pick up a few dozen things all over Azeroth. I promise if it gets too loud, I will shut this off. I am sorry….I do carry on. Tell me how you are! Surely you don’t call up random Tarts just to ask how their evenings are all that often. Did you need something? Perhaps you need a glitter intervention~” Well now the magi was just making things up~

The smile the singer wore grew brighter just listening to him and his beautiful, positive energy. Maybe she needed this as much as she needed a place to store the books and art she wanted to ensure safety of if what her mother’s, probably not prophetic, dreams kept telling her came true. Acenadalia had never shown a gift for foresight, or any magical skill other than the perfect voice her daughter inherited. Maybe the knock to her head awoke something, or maybe as she lost the past the future was becoming clearer? It didn’t really matter, Nahi had to get the books out in the hopes that her mother would stop trying to escape with them. 

“I imagine it is an impossibility that you ever are not wonderful.” The truth in her words would be clearly heard in their connection. “I was hoping that I might impose upon you and your gracious partner’s space, well at least some of it.” Nahi realized she was not really making sense and decided to start at the beginning, “You see, my mother has some problems with her memory and for the past couple of weeks now, she has been having dreams and insists that there is something horrible coming. Acenadalia, mother, keeps trying to leave with books from her music collection so I have promised to find a safe place for them, I don’t know if it will help her dreams but I am going to try.” 

Taking a breath, “She also has me a bit jittery with all this talk and I just hoped that you might let me store them with you, and a few paintings as well. You are free to look through the music and if something suits you, you would be welcome to use it, and I would be happy to pay for the storage.” The nerves her mother had been fraying in her came to the forefront, “I really need to do this to try and calm her, I have been sleeping by her door because once already she made it into the streets.”

The comm remained silent except for the light sounds of breeze in the background as she spoke about the predicament at hand and the occasional mms to confirm that he was still there on the other side. Once she is finished, Talthorn speaks with confidence and assurance to her. 

“First of all, she is not wrong. Something horrible is always coming.” His voice was upbeat, just stating facts of the world. “And it definitely sounds as if it has reached a point that you need some assistance. So I am glad you thought of me! I am a renowned expert in keeping knowledge and archives safe~” he boasts there and already lays out a plan for her as it seems like she could use one. “Yooou just let me know where to be and what to collect. I will be there. I’ll even bring tea and conversation for you and your mother and we can talk about the horrible things if it makes her feel better! Slip you a bottle of wine or bourbon for you to enjoy later? Bring over a hot meal. Whatever you need.” he lets out a small chuckle. “Please don’t worry about monetary payment. If you allow me to even record this beautiful knowledge before giving it back, consider it all taken care of. My storage facility is quite vast.” 

Nahi was not usually a pacer but this whole situation made her quite uncomfortable. Not to talk to Talthorn, that was always a joy, but opening up to anyone about the situation her life was in. His decision making for them drew a small laugh that likely would have been heard, not one of disdain, just of pleasure at how he offered a safe haven for her, through his support, and her mother’s treasures. “Bourbon, definitely bourbon over wine.” That statement was emphatic. “Thank you. I don’t normally talk to people about her struggles,” her words became slightly pinched as she screwed up her face at admitting that. “It is not that I am ashamed of her or anything, just that most do not really understand how it affects everything around her. Luckily, we have a good foundation in place here to help move through this struggle.” 

She sighed and continued on, “She will love your visit, having such a handsome and magical man pay attention to her will remind her of her glory days. I know I will enjoy it too. We can chat over tea and lunch then we can take care of the music and art. I bought a studio and have been collecting some paintings to decorate it with that which inspires me. If you like I can show it to you, It has great acoustics and a place to practice my dancing. Everything I was hoping to find.” Talthorn listens to Nahi speak and nods along even if the sweet woman couldn’t see him do so. “I absolutely do not mind! And yes, I have the most lovely choices in tea and would adoore getting to talk about this art of yours. It is -I- who shall be most fortunate in the company twooo beautiful women when I visit.” he compliments right back his manner of flirting. “A studio you say! Incredible. I am rather excited to see it! Lunch it is then!” He would continue to babble at her, making plans about a time for this and where he could meet them both. The magi was quite flexible, and finding out that they were both in Dalaran, was pretty much an open door for Talthorn as he visited that city quite frequently! 

Plans were made and a little more chit chat went back and forth, all of it lessening the tightness between her shoulder blades. The mage was just so genuine and caring, it was hard not to just bask in that attention and feel like someone really was focused on her well being over that of her mother’s. Self care was not always prioritized in her life so it was nice to just let him flatter her and take charge of the meeting. The call ended and for once since the altercation where her mother broke her arm, she felt things might actually work out for once. 

(Thank you @talthorn-sylvoran for the wonderful RP, as always you and your character make me smile.

Tagging @tristayranambrosio for a tiny little baby mention)

[xylaes]

AUGUST DWC DAY 3 - POSSIBILITY

Xylaes wiggled the fingers of his left hand, staring down at his bare arm with a noticeable frown as the magical runes continued to refuse to show themselves. He had tried pinching it, slapping it, punching it, and even tried using it while sparring and training to no avail. The runes continued to remain dormant only until he was in imminent danger where he would have no alternate escape. The predictable unpredictability of it all was, at best, an annoyance.

After having spent the majority of his life skilled in the arcane, it was a massive loss to have his magic stripped from him as a part of his sentence decades ago. To this day it was still incredibly painful. ‘Even worse than losing an arm’ he silently mused to himself. And after the Shadowlands, he would know.

Now, he had the ability literally at his fingertips and he couldn’t figure out how to make it work properly. There was still plenty of lingering trauma from the limb replantation that happened in Maldraxxus, but as gruesome and horrible as that was, it had given him something back that he thought to be lost forever. If only he could make sense of this foreign arm and familiar magic. That was probably the most frustrating part of it all, he was already well-versed in arcane magic, why was this so difficult? 

An intriguing thought had crossed his mind multiple times.There was always the possibility that this wasn’t actually arcane, even though it felt like it was. …Didn’t it? It had been about twenty years since he had truly known the touch of that magic, and a lot had happened in between, so he knew he could be very wrong about that feeling.

Catching sight of Garren approaching out of the corner of his eye, he pulled his sleeve back into place and returned his attention to the cigarette in hand. A brief smile was offered to his son as he sat down nearby. Their relationship had somewhat improved over the last few months during their time working together on the mercenary crew, but Xylaes was pretty sure that Garren still wouldn’t be calling him ‘dad’ anytime soon. So much had happened, and he was a grown man at this point who had his own separate set of worries and traumas to deal with; Xylaes wasn’t entirely sure how to relate to him at times.

Much to his inner dismay, he found himself extending his case of cigarettes in offering towards Garren. Immediate regret and awkwardness, why did he do that? Father of the year right here.

Garren simply gave an amused look before thankfully waving away the offer. Thank Elune he had inherited his mother’s smarts.  “....I need you to help me with something, but you’re not going to like it. But this is something I need to be able to move forward.” 

Xylaes sat up straighter, stubbing his cigarette out on the bottom of his boot. He was an intuitive man and had spent the better part of his life exploiting people for his work in the military. He could almost always tell when someone was lying to him, or when someone was trying to use him. Hard to manipulate the manipulative. “I’m listening.”

“I need to see mom.”

Xy knew this was going to happen one day, although he didn’t expect to be the one who was asked to help. But it made sense. He was familiar with Maldraxxus, and he had been branded with the House of the Chosen symbol to allow him safe passage around the land. It was just the matter of ‘how to get there’ that plagued him. The public portals to Oribos had been sealed years ago, which was honestly for the best. Being able to traverse between Azeroth and the afterlife was not a wise idea for anyone. Especially for those like him who had lost someone only to find them again within the Shadowlands. But maybe…

There was a small part of him that immediately disliked Garren for asking this of him, but he understood the need. “I don’t think that’s a wise idea.”

“I’m gonna try to do it with or without your help.”

Xylaes’s jaw clenched as he glanced away. Of course he would go that route, he was his son after all. Better for him to help than anyone else, right?  “I can’t make you any promises, I don’t know if it can even be done anymore. But I can try to help.” But maybe…seeing Callia didn’t necessarily mean physically going into Maldraxxus, maybe that would be enough.

@daily-writing-challenge @garrennorassin

[captzexx]

2024

Here we go 2024.

I've made it to level 40, I guess I get a mount and extra talents. I'm still waiting for something to rear it's head appropriately for that.

So far it's not.

But if you're arriving or been for some time expecting me to do something that I say I'm gonna do, well shit. I'm sorry.

This blog is hub for all my would be writing stuff and delusions of roleplaying/collaborating with other writers in the comforting hellscape that is Tumblr. Once again I'm sorry as I can't make any promises of getting better at it.

Still down a third of myself from last year but the fear is growing as my waist kind of gets settled and muscles continue to atrophy with my growing apathy. My brain is still on a downswing as much as I fight at it punch drunk and mildly stoned.

As sad and angst laden this may be, I'm just in a mood and figured I should do a quick update as we're well out of 2023.

Onward to the content and hopefully a constructive manic episode or two.

THE BLOGS

@eldridgecandell - This is it. She ain't much, but she's the one that died and came back that I keep trying to focus on. Join me on a short explanation:

Eldridge Candell, Inquisitor of the Order of Embers, has returned to Azeroth from beyond the Veil and bein lost in the great Astral Sea. As the worlds began to collapse and the collective haze that had been the Shadowlands Conspiracy blew away so did Candell into a new world.

But it wasn't his.

Never should be or could be. He belonged where he had always been doing the thing that he was truly good at. Unfortunately that road would have be walked alone and with a whole new slew of problems. Missing students, apathetic governments, bureaucracy, and the general march of time as age catches up to any soldier.

This blog focuses on Eldridge primarily but it is not exclusive to him as I suffer/revel in alt-aholism causing me to make up a diverse cast of characters to play with the witch hunter. From Cheryl Duun a disgruntled and lost Inquisitor; Josiah Nubern a fellow apprentice of Candells who has gone over to the edge; the wandering vengeful shadow of Alfred Klaudin, a Forsaken zealot who refuses to give up his Dark Lady. More remain and are open for interaction as I make up a new cast list for them all if anyone is ever interested in playing with my version of the Order of Embers.

ON HOLD

@acrowamongsparrows - an AU of Eld as a Witcher; the show burned me so hard but every once in awhile I look at the books and wonder.

@conduitdreams - cyberpunk with robots and mecha; it just never really took off like I wanted it to or hoped others might have been interested.

@withanemeraldeye - sword and sorcery pulp adventure based around a lot of Conan Exiles and lore; another quiet experiment that is in the back of my head

@sailsonaseaoffate - the final resting place of Zexx Candell and his family, letting them sail off into the sunset among the stars in my version of Spelljammer; I might go back to it as well depending on what strikes me

@memoriesofivalice - my poor Final Fantasy 14 story blog for an AU Zexx and company; big plans but no execution as I just couldn't get enough into the game

THE FUTURE

That more or less sums up where I am at in February of 2024. I'm trying but stumbling dragging as much as I want to be productive and creative. I'm so sorry for all those I've let down in the work and play, maybe I can make it up to you and prove I've got something to say. Just need to figure out what can charge me up. Ideas are always welcome and patient words of affirmation are always gratefully appreciated.

Here we go with the rest of the year.

[trixcuomo]

It stands for Peon & Peon

Trixany: Alessandre Shademoon, right?

Al: Yeah. Aren't you friends with Sharpen, that fool himbo?

Trixany: So you're mad at him too, right now? Good. I just got thrown out of someplace I really care about, because he went Night Elf A-celebrity and his new followers called Sharpies or whatever, complained about me.

Al: When you mean someplace, you mean...?

Trixany: Azeroth. That's why we're exchanging comm messages right now, instead of being in person. And I know you guys are bitter Night Elf rivals.

Al: Ouch. Riiight so, you're looking to team up for some revenge? Sharpen ruined some plans of mine as well.

Trixany: Not necessarily revenge. We just need to make him go back to being the adorable, muscular himbo I'm used to hanging out with. And okay, occasionally hooking up with.

Al: Ah, no wonder you don't truly hate him. Sex ruins everything.

Trixany: And I gather from that statement, you've clearly never slept with Sharpen.

Al: Fine. Maybe, according to some people, Sharpen isn't horrible in one area. But only one!

Trixany: Can we just plan how to humble him, please? Your prideful Night Elf ego is shockingly fragile and this chat is getting weird, even by my hedonistic Blood Elf standards.

Al: 🤔💭

Trixany: Hold on! Your comm plan gets emojis??

Al: Haha. Horde comm plans must suck.

Trixany has left the chat.

Al: Hello? Hello??

System message: Lok'tar! You have exceeded 80% of your phone plan, Alessandre Shademoon. If you don't pay the addon fee, a couple burly Orc peons will come break your legs!

Al: What? Lemme check... I didn't download any of these Haris Pilton conspiracy videos or stream this Blood Elf stuff. Did Trixany somehow force her comm data onto me??

Trixany has joined the chat.

Trixany: Having fun, Al? My Horde comm plan has a better map than yours. Just like Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley. It extends into Darkshore now, too.

Al: Clever Horde bastard! I'll never help you.

Trixany: You sure? Burly Orcs will literally show up at your house and break your legs, like it says in the Orc P&P phone contract--

Al: Alright, fine. I'll help!

[ink-and-flame]

Kinktober Day 3 : From Light to Lock

Kinktober Day 3 Prompts: Voyeurism (watching others)~Daddy Dom play~Hairbrush spankings

Fandom: Warcraft

Tags: Daddy Dom play, Dom/sub, Voyeurism, demon sex, hairbrush spankings, Imp shenanigans

Pairing:  DraeneiM/Succubus, Zorul/Estrosia, Drat

[Author's Note: Recent changes in Warcraft have allowed for Draenei to be Warlocks. I haven’t read up on the story/lore reasons behind it. They have also allowed for red skinned Drae to be made so that is my excuse for all of this. It just sounded fun to do and I have gremlins in my DMs encouraging me.]

When Argus had been found to not only still be somewhat intact, or as close to intact as a group of floating plains held together by thoughts and prayers could be, it was an even bigger surprise to find that anything was still alive there. The demons were expected, but no one had anticipated that any draenei would still have survived. Many of those left were paladins and priests, continuing the fight against the legion, locked into battle for eternity if need be. 

The lightforged and all the other non-demonic survivors were invited to come back to Azeroth to live and hopefully flourish. The transition was difficult for most of them, some struggled without a battle to fight, unsure of their purpose now. Zorul faced a different problem. He had lost his family in the battles on Argus, and had continued to fight more for vengeance than anything else. He had been a paladin, but his powers waned slowly over time. His convictions seemed farther away and the light was always just out of his grasp. 

He chose not to flee Argus, desiring to remain behind to protect those that were fleeing to give them a chance as he had nothing left to live for. With his family gone and his connection to the light slowly fading, Zorul accepted his fate and chose to use what power he had left to protect whoever he could. It was all he could really do.

What he had not anticipated was surviving. Despite his tenuous connection to the light, it held up for several thousand years. He wasn’t the strongest with the light, but he was physically imposing and found that he could help in other ways when his powers were not cooperating. His mind was sharp, clever, sometimes a little unhinged. He began to understand the demons, to a degree at least. As chaotic as they were, their actions still had patterns. It wasn’t perfect, the Legion thrived on chaos, but he still learned and used that knowledge to help push them back. 

As time passed and his connection to the light faded, Zorul did not feel as lost as he thought he would. Though, he had considered he was just losing his mind. The voices and whispers grew ever louder as the light faded from him. They were practically screaming in his head when the light was fully gone. Thinking himself insane, Zorul sequestered himself in a building far from the protected locations of his kin. He planned to be alone until the madness took him, but that wasn’t what happened. 

Unsure of how the creature even found him, Zorul was faced with a quite sorry looking imp. Clearly it was lost, far from the battles and others of its kind. Only the absolute patheticness of the creature stayed his hand. Regardless of what it was, harming it felt akin to kicking an already injured puppy. Against his better judgment, and maybe from a little loneliness, Zorul helped the creature. Feeding it, trying to heal its wounds, and giving it shelter. Without realizing it, this was the first step to a new path that Zorul could have never imagined.

It was the beginning of his journey to becoming that which he fought against, a warlock. It wasn’t intentional at first. Him scrounging for books, scrolls, and tomes to teach him anything about the demonic languages was more out of a desire to communicate with the imp than it was to learn how to control it. However, knowledge was absorbed none-the-less and soon Zorul was on his new path. 

Drat, as the imps name turned out to be, was a source of both comfort and madness. The creature was trying at times, but he also helped keep Zorul’s loneliness at bay. Though at times it was a wonder if it was worth the price. Drat got into everything, caused more problems than he should have been worth, and frequently set their belongings on fire. 

As time passed Zorul became attached to the imp, and without realizing it had quite literally attached himself. He bonded with the imp, or perhaps the imp had imprinted on him. While he never summoned the creature, they were still able to form that same bond regardless. He found he could leave Drat at home, and while foraging could summon the imp to his side as needed. After that it was mostly unintentional advancement in his learning until it wasn’t.

After a particularly vicious attack Drat suggested Zorul summon some protection. Hunting down the specific books that would teach the fledgling warlock the spells and runes needed to summon a voidwalker. Without really thinking it through Zorul did exactly that, and after a few failed tries, one explosion, and a burned tail, he finally managed to summon A rather grouchy voidwalker that clearly wanted to be anywhere else. 

Gazkoth was a chore to deal with on even the best of days, but he kept Zorul and Drat alive and that was all that mattered. Even if Zorul was starting to feel a bit off about his decision to fraternize with demons. This was about survival, not picking sides. 

Hundreds of years turned to thousands as Zorul settled into his solitary life. His demons kept him company and as he studied and learned more spells he found he became quite adept at it. There was no creature he could not best with his new powers and with nothing else to do but study and practice, he honed his new craft. Zorul was fully a warlock without even realizing it until his first re-encounter with one of his own kind. 

It wasn’t a memory he was fond of dragging up, the fear at the sight of him and how hard it was to explain what happened and how he ended up this way. The only reason no one died is because Zorul forbade his demons from causing harm. It was that act that not only saved their lives, but gave him a new purpose. Soon he was dragged off to an encampment to help the lightforged fight off the legion. He was little better than a prisoner, but it was acceptable to know that he was able to help his own people again. 

This was how he found himself on Azeroth most unintentionally. Packed off with others of his kind and supplies. No one really asked him what he wanted, it was just all assumed, and now he was on a new world, surrounded by curious and strange individuals, and feeling more lost than he ever had in his life. 

Apparently draenei warlocks were simply unheard of and it took some convincing to allow him freedom of movement throughout the alliance territories. Really the only upside to this change of scenery was the freedom, but it was also somewhat daunting. When he was a prisoner everything had been provided and he had routine. Now he had to fend for himself and everything was chaos. 

Thankfully Zorul found others like him, warlocks that tried to use their abilities for the betterment of their people, even if they knew their souls were damned for it. His story was quite unique but not so far off as to alienate him. He found that there was still so much he didn’t know about demons and being a warlock, despite his thousands of years of study. Though some of that study had been severely limited once he was captured by his own kind. They did not want him learning anymore than he already knew unless it was necessary.

Zorul found there were other kinds of demons he could study and summon, powers he didn’t even realize he already had and just never used, and for the first time in a long time he found community and friendship. Something he had longed for but never dared hope could be. 

It was through these bonds, and the freedom to study and learn that he found Estrosia. He was taught the spells and runes to summon a succubus, and due to his nature and the weakness of his abilities, he summoned a rather young and not so powerful one. She was shy, uncertain, and clumsy. Constantly tripping over her own tail and miscasting her spells. The other warlock suggested banishing her and trying again, but ever the softie Zorul refused. Rose was perfect. 

It was a trial, teaching Rose. She did not catch on to spell work quickly. She was intelligent, an avid reader, but something was missing. It also didn’t help that she tripped over her own hooves any time she had to walk any kind of long distance, or that she would get tangled in her own tail and have to be freed from it. Drat enjoyed tormenting her when she was stuck like that and more than once Zorul had found her in tears with her tail around her stuck in some awkward position. 

He sought the advice of other warlocks and they just suggested he banish her and try again, she was clearly newly created and did not have all the skills a succubus should. Zorul wasn’t having it and decided that he had no choice but to try and teach her. Something he anticipated would take a while, but not nearly as long as actually ended up taking. Getting her through the basics took months, almost a year really, however that was the best milestone. Once she had the basics down her coordination improved and she didn’t trip nearly as much. 

There were still aspects of her powers that Zorul hesitated on. Succubi were meant to seduce but Rose was innocent in his eyes. Even if she was a demon, he hated the idea of someone taking advantage of her. Though that wasn’t how her magic worked. In reality she was the one that should be taking advantage but having Zorul for a master really hampered that ability. She never wanted to break away, she had no desire to flee, Rose wanted to stay with Zorul and she made it clear. It was unusual and he got the side eye from other warlocks on the regular. It was unusual to have close relationships or friendships with your demons.

Though the reality was that many warlocks used their demons to relieve their sexual needs. It was known, but never discussed as not all warlocks participated in that sort of thing. Many did, more than would be expected, but not nearly as many as was rumored. Zorul had never even considered it, at least not at first. 

As time ticked by, he found his emotions towards Rose changing and he saw her differently than his other demons. Drat, was as always a bit of a pain. An instigator, a menace, and since Rose came along a bit of a pervert. Something Zorul tried to correct but had no success in curbing, not fully anyway. His voidwalker was their protector and had remained mostly the same over the thousands of years, his grumpiness was now directed towards outsiders instead of Zorul himself.

Life with his demons moved on, changed, and grew. It was less lonely now, at least in some ways, but now Zorul had a new problem. His lust for Rose grew and with each incident he found his control slipping. It was always something innocuous. She was always the target of Darts pranks so she would often end up covered in some substance and require a washing, usually with assistance. Or she would end up naked when she shouldn’t be. The worst was when she was naked and her tail had gotten wound around her in a compromising way and Zorul found her like that. Those were the hardest days.

Recently he had taken to punishing Dart and Rose when they acted up, something that hurt him when he saw how much it upset Rose. It did nothing to deter his imp, who honestly was picking up behaviors from the local goblins in the area. Zorul often spent time in neutral cities as opposed to purely alliance ones. He was tired of fighting and honestly just wanted to spend time with his scrolls and books. He just wished Dart would find better friends.

The fact that he let his demons run around loose was unusual, but so far no one had complained, though he did have to hide a few bodies when some men got a little too handsy with Rose. There were lines that were not to be crossed, not by him, not by anyone. Still they had settled into a weird sort of routine and Zorul became complacent with  what his life was now.

As days moved to months, and months turned into years, Zorul saw change in himself. He realized that his lust for Rose wasn’t the worst part of it, no it was the love he felt for her. She mattered to him and he knew she couldn’t return those feelings. All the research he had done, every book, tome, scroll, every story he could find, went back to one simple truth. Demons could not feel love, not the way mortals could. Though one would argue that Draenei were technically immortal. 

As the time had moved he did his best to teach Rose to be strong, to build her powers, and to a degree it worked. She learned some of the arts of seduction, even if it was awkward at times. Her clumsiness continued to lessen, and she grew in strength and personality. If only he could shake his feelings for her. Often he would have to punish her for simple things that he felt she should know better than to do. It hurt, but at the same time, he wondered if she did it on purpose. It almost seemed like attention seeking behavior as opposed to genuine problems. It gave him pause, did Rose want punishment? Was this some weird succubus thing he was somehow unaware of? Either way he needed to find a way to get her to stop.

Never were his punishments physical. It was always chores, or extra studying, or just the most boring thing he could think of like counting the nails in the floorboards. Anything that could feel like a punishment but wasn’t physical harm. That was a line he would not cross. It was dangerous and could make demons strike back against their masters. Something he wasn’t too keen to experience. 

This time Rose had done it. Zorul had been working on that potion for three weeks. It had complex stages, steps that had to be followed exactly. Ingredients that were difficult to source, and some that he wasn’t sure he could even get again, and there Rose was. Tangled in her tail again, the vial shattered on the floor at her feet. 

“Dammit all Estrosia!” He had used her full name, a rare occurrence reserved for serious times and true anger. “Sometimes you frustrate me beyond all reason. If you were a child I would spank you!” He hissed his eyes glowing with anger. 

Rose shrank under his glare, she knew she had messed up, that was apparent on her face. Without Dart around he knew this wasn’t a frame job, this was entirely her fault. “You will clean up this mess, then you will begin researching where to get more components and then this time, you will have to join me! Danger or no danger you will fix this mess!” Zorul stomped out of his study and moved to his private room, his hooves heavy on the floor.

Sinking into his chair he sighed, face in his hands as he fought back the darkness that followed his anger. Sometimes, something within him craved violence and other dark things but he fought, he would not lose himself to this. He was a warlock, not a monster and he wasn’t going to hurt innocent people. Not out of anger, not for any reason. 

It took almost an hour for Zorul to calm his mind and his temper. Slumped into his chair he contemplated trying to sleep when he heard the sound of his door being pushed open slowly. In stepped Rose, looking quite pitiful and holding her brush in her hand. Sometimes, he would brush her hair and those were the times it was hard to hold back desire, but she liked it and it helped them bond. 

“I am in no mood Estrosia. I will brush your hair another day.” Zorul watched her and waited for her to leave but became curious when she didn’t and only handed him her brush. “You realize being obstinate is not going to help you right now.” 

Then she did something he did not expect. She draped herself across his lap and just laid there face down. She didn’t say anything, just stayed still aside from some minor trembling. 

“I… couldn’t find a belt.. Or a switch.. It was all I had.” 

It took Zorul several long moments to comprehend what she was even saying. Why would she need a belt or a switch, why bring a hair brush if not for. Oh, oh. Well, that was certainly new. She must have taken his statement to heart and assumed he was actually going to spank her like a child. Not a fully horrific idea, but a dangerous one. 

“I am not going to spank you Estrosia. You are not a mortal child and you know that I do not use physical punishments on my demons. I refuse.” 

“I earned it. I won't attack. I was bad, you have to punish me.” As far as she was concerned this was logic and he needed to follow it.

Zorul sighed deeply, rubbing a hand down his face. “Estrosia, get up and go to your room. I am not in the mood for games.”

“NO!”

Zorul looked down at the succubus draped across his lap in shock. Dart was the one that sassed him and talked back. Never Rose. She would to the line with disobedience but she had never outright refused an order. He was shocked into silence, trying to conjure up a response.

“You won’t forgive me if you don’t punish me, then you will hate me and banish me. You keep using my full name. You don’t love me anymore.”

Well now the draenei was perplexed. Beyond perplexed really. She was behaving like a mortal child who had upset a parent, not like a demon at all. This was disturbing, upsetting, and weirdly funny if it weren't so very weird. 

“Rose, you know as well as I do this is not how demons work. I am angry but I will not banish you, I promise.” He waited for a response. She didn’t move, she didn’t even try to move. She just laid there and Zorul was a little lost on what to do next. 

“You should spank me anyway.” 

There was something in her voice. Something different that he couldn’t quite place but that tickled at his mind in a way that he wasn’t sure he was ok with. That was the voice he often heard her using when practicing her seduction spells. Well, now he was in a bit of a pickle. This could easily get out of hand, but if she actually wanted it then was it really so wrong?

“Well then, since you insist, you have earned this Rose.”

Zorul lifted the brush in his hand and brought it down gently on her rump. He couldn’t bring himself to hit hard, not at first. He had to test to make sure she wouldn’t actually attack him, and that she wouldn’t be genuinely harmed. A few more test taps with the brush had her wiggling in a way that was a little too distracting. This went on for a few minutes as he warmed her up and found he liked how she squirmed. Before long he gave her a good smack that had her making a noise that went straight to his dick. Something he would have to address later but for now he was a little too far in to stop. 

What Zorul had not realized is that Dart had been watching them. At first it was curiosity to see what was going on, but then, well, he was a much older demon and he had learned a lot of new things from his mortal friends. Mostly how to spy on people without them noticing him. He wasn’t sure what he expected but this was absolutely worth watching. 

The spanking continued as Zorul lost himself a little to it. The sounds she made, the way she moved in his lap. It was intoxicating and all that lust began to boil up inside of him again. He feared what he might do next if this kept going, if his lust remained unchecked. Honestly things might have gone farther if Rose had not spoken.

“I’m sorry daddy! I promise to be a good girl!”

Zorul stopped, full stopped. He looked down at her and just stared before he found his voice again. “I’m sorry but what?” At his age, maybe it was just his hearing finally beginning to go. He wasn’t young anymore, not even close, he had to have misheard.

Now her voice was hesitant. “I.. I promise to be a good girl.”

“Yes, I heard that part, but the other thing?” Zorul waited, hoping it was his old ears, because this was not something he was sure he was prepared to deal with.

“Um.” Rose hesitated, squirmed a bit, then somewhat deflated in his lap. “Daddy?”

“So, I did hear that right. Is this something you would like to explain?”

After a pause. “No, not right now. Later, just, can we keep going? I was almost there.”

Zorul sputtered and dropped the brush in surprise. Why the little minx was, how dare she. Of course he ignored his erection and his own lust, because this had to be dealt with. He was absolutely not a hypocrite by any means. 

“Please?”

That gave him pause. There was something genuine in her tone. Zorul realized that while this would change things, it would change everything. He did not have the will power within him to deny his Rose anything. 

“For that you are getting extra, move your tail.” Zorul pulled away the bottom of her little body suit, throwing the tatters on the ground. His hand met bare flesh as he continued her spanking bare bottomed. If he needed it would be easy to retrieve the brush but for now he wanted to feel her skin heat up under his hand. 

Oh the sounds she made woke something in him and he found his control slipping easily as he spoke to her, admonishing her like a petulant child who had displeased an actual parent. “You will learn not to break other people's things. Naughty girl. Daddy is very displeased.” The words came easily as his hand struck over and over again. 

The sounds from the closet should have alerted him that they were not alone, but he was too engrossed to notice them. Dart was enjoying the show in a carnal fashion and he wasn’t about to be shooed from his hiding spot. He had plans for Rose later if he could talk her into it. For now his hand would have to do. The show was hot and seeing how much Zorul had changed gave him some ideas to help push this new corruption along. 

“Are you going to be a good girl for daddy from now on? I want to hear you say it Rose.”

“Yes daddy! I will be good, I promise I will be, ooh, oh I will be so good.” Rose wiggled and squealed “harder daddy! I deserve it” She was so close now. If he stopped she would be so put out. Right on the edge. 

Zorul slapped her ass harder, watching it bounce. He could feel the wetness against his hand. He could feel that she was close. There was so much more he wanted to do, things he was imagining that were wrong, but he couldn’t stop. He would give her this, just this once, and never again. They would have a talk and this would not escalate. 

“That’s right sweetheart, be a good girl and cum for daddy.” 

Rose cried out loudly, her body arching in his lap and she trembled from the pleasure. Finally getting the attention she had wanted from him for so long. She spread her legs, hoping for more, wishing for more before her orgasm had completely finished. “Yes daddy!”

Zoral was panting, desperately trying to reign in his own desires, his own lust. She was beautiful like this. Maybe, maybe it could happen again. Just a spanking when she misbehaved, nothing more, nothing past this. Already that never again was fading into the background. As he caught himself licking the moisture off of his hand. 

Dart had finished before Rose did, he watched them quietly, plotting. He would proposition Rose. Promise to help her seduce their master fully, if she gave him something in return. Yes this would work out nicely for him in the end. After all, this was a warlock of his own making, a master that he knew would never abuse him. Dart actually liked Zorul, and in his own weird demonic fucked up way, he genuinely thought that this was helping. Afterall, it was him that suggested the brush to Rose when she couldn’t find a belt.

[sigurdjarlson]

Your Tsundere!Med post made me think of what if Medivh notices just how popular Khadgar is?

On one hand, Medivh’s proud of him. Khadgar’s come a long way from being that awkward punk that arrived on his doorstep so many years ago. Khadgar went from being tossed to Medivh to get rid of him to leading that same city. Medivh notices how Khadgar behaves around most other people. He’s funny and charming and even Medivh finds himself a little attracted to that. It’s only when Khadgar cracks some jokes he’s used himself that Medivh realizes: “Oh, he’s acting like me...” Flattery aside, it worries him, just how much is Khadgar acting and what’s he really feeling. There’s also Khadgar’s popularity. He is well liked. Getting visits from champions and old friends, getting gifts and care packages, and being fretted over and admired. Medivh feels jealous, not of Khadgar, but how he looks at his champions. There’s a certain glimmer in his eye, his tone becomes more genuine. It’s not practical getting jealous over Khadgar sharing that side of himself. It’s downright childish! But a darker part of Medivh feels that side of Khadgar is his. Medivh’s a little cold to Khadgar’s champion at first, he even becomes a little colder to Khadgar. He’s like a cat that’s been introduced to something new. Medivh doesn’t like it. Khadgar is urging them to get along because he cares about them both deeply. Moroes meanwhile is watching this shitshow in the background while borrowing the champion’s Darkmoon Faire popcorn toy. He’ll have words with Medivh later, he’s being a brat like his mother. But for now, it’s a trainwreck that’s entertaining to watch.

@ladymischievous

Now THIS is what I’m talking about. Possessive Med is my fav. (and maybe just a little bordering on creepy..)

And he notices things. Medivh is perceptive. He’s always talking about his champions.. They’re always THERE. And he feels..almost like a third wheel when with them because he’s missed a lot lbr. It’s been how many years? 

He’s kind of on the out. He knows Khadgar but he doesn’t. On both sides they’re both learning who they other is now. They’ve both been through much and it changes you.

They’re the same…but different.

Khadgar’s attention used to be solely on him. That blind sort of hero worship. And you know some part of Med loved that. He’s as starved for love as Khadgar is. 

It’s there still but..not. Khadgar is older. he can stand on his own two feet.

He doesn’t need him anymore.

And that..scares him?

He didn’t contact Khadgar after being resurrected for several reasons. First it was he thought he was dead on the other side of the dark portal so there’s that but you know he heard about it when he returned, alive and well. 

But he didn’t go to him. Khadgar was better off without him surely. After everything he’d done to him? he needs to learn how to stand on his own two feet. 

but now that he’s seeing the results of that..he’s not sure he likes the fact that it means sharing him.

To be fair Khadgar is quite honestly the only person Med has left. All his friends and family are dead.

And they always had a special connection (gay). An understanding that he’d  never had with anyone else. (and lbr as much as he’d scoff he adores Khadgar as much as Khadgar adores him) 

And oh..he seems so close to these champions. The softer, genuine way he speaks to them,  the way he lights up when he sees them, a clear history between them (i dont necessarily mean romantic) that he knows nothing about, inside jokes he doesn’t get. 

He’s an absolute third wheel when they’re around. (in his mind) 

Khadgar goes to them for help. Emotional support even. Why not HIM? Okay he knows why but…

I’m fucking dying at the thought of someone being like “ay khadgar where’s your special pal.” and medivh who’s perched on his shoulder in raven form (he’s being low key okay) just PUFFS THE FUCK UP

SPECIAL PAL? What does THAT mean???? And he’ll mock him for it but he’s deeply disgruntled. 

And presumably they never acted on romantic/sexual impulses back then (although the feelings were quite clearly there and still are) and he’s like woah wait a fucking second…he REALLY doesn’t like this. 

And he’s so..petty. Like his mother.  Like who do these people think they are? They really think they know him? They don’t know him like he does. Right? 

And it’s really a deep underlying fear that Khadgar doesn’t need or want him anymore. And that’s his…person. And they think they can take his place? Hmph. Doubtful..right?

It comes out as him being downright passive aggressive towards both Khadgar and the champion/s. (because he’s not about to sit khadgar down and talk about his feelings)

And for all narcissistic tendencies he’s deeply insecure in this. Because he doesn’t know where they stand right now anyway.

And he’s aware it’s childish. It’s a little creepy really how much he wants to keep Khadgar all to himself. Although he’d be satisfied with just knowing Khadgar wants him there.  

He’s delighted come BFA when Khadgar comes to Karazhan. (To Him) It’s just them again. How it should be. With only the occasional visitor/visiting champion. 

And they fall back into their rhythm but it’s still bothering him. And maybe he wants him to be his in ways that decidedly aren’t innocent. And it’s much harder to ignore now that there really isn’t anything standing in the way besides the uncertainty it’s reciprocated.  

And maybe he’d be satisfied if claimed him the most intimate way one can. There’s his confirmation he’s special to him. There’s his assurance Khadgar is still his. 

Alas, he’d rather not send Khadgar running in the other direction because he tried to get in his pants. (it wouldn’t but he doesn’t know that) 

And in quite possibly the most primal petty way he hates the thought of someone touching his Khadgar. Someone seeing him like that, at his most vulnerable. He doesn’t like that at all. Nope. 

He’d know how to take care of him. They wouldn’t. 

And lbr Khadgar is having similar concerns. They’re both figuring out where they stand now. 

Feelings are complicated :/ 

(hmm giving me ideas for that one collar fic..) 

I feel so bad for Moroes tbh. But you know he finds it hilarious. If it gets too out of hand he’ll step in surely but oh..is it fun to watch Med get taken down a few pegs.

I’d feel bad for him if he wasn’t such a bitch ;) 

\also I dont know why I made this but it wouldn’t get out of my head

[irishk0rn]

I thought my analysis on a damn YouTube video for Dragonflight was cool so here is my two cents:

[copy and pasted]

Hey, so I haven’t had much time to play, but I will start this comment off by saying I love Wrathion. Very much. I haven’t gotten far enough to see Sabellian, so I’ve just been watching cinematics (they keep showing up when I open YouTube)

I personally am torn between them. Yes, yes, Wrathion is very young, very impulsive and very hot headed. But he seems to have the flight’s best interest in mind. He was literally torn apart and put back together with spare parts for the purpose of living past Deathwing’s legacy and making sure the black dragonflight are redeemed. His pompous approach towards the subject is understandable, because he feels like he suffered the most for the flight. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders from a young age, and while he was a little brat, he acted out of what he thought would be right for the world. When he returns in Battle For Azeroth, he still just wants to help. He wants to right his own wrongs on top of the wrongs of Deathwing.His entitlement is justified, in my eyes.

Although, another thing to consider is that Sabellian spent his time in Outland cleansing the black dragonflight of madness after freeing himself from it, instead of just slaughtering them like the player and Wrathion did. As the last living child of Deathwing (though I suppose the reason Wrathion thinks of Deathwing as a father is because maybe one of the whelp corpses he is made of was a child of Deathwing, or he is referring to him as the father of the black dragonflight, much like how the reds refer to Alexstrazsa as mother or grandmother) Sabellian thinks of Wrathion as a child, and he is. He looks down on him. He sees himself as much better. He is experienced in leading and patience with long tasks.

Now, here is my theory:

I think Sabellian is still corrupted. I think he figured out how to hide it or control it for a time, especially laying low after Deathwing was slain and when N’Zoth returned, just at points where he would surely be killed as well. Maybe the Old Gods’ influence lingers after they die, or maybe Sabellian has just been so far gone that the Old Gods’ corrupting him is no longer needed, as he is already mad.I think he wants full control over Azeroth to be able to manipulate her and her inhabitants when he wants. He is not carrying Deathwing’s legacy, he is making his own. And he refuses to play second fiddle to a bratty child dragon who was supposed to die with everyone else years ago.

Wrathion is hot headed, yes, but he also wants to help Azeroth, his home, and his flight. He has always wanted to help, even if he messed up. He would not have returned so obviously and stayed near Sillithus if he didn’t want to help. Sabellian just... seems to want the title. At least so far. He expresses no interest in Azeroth or helping the cause, and only expresses interest in the black dragonflight when it involves his leading and control of them.

Anyway, tl;dr: I think Sabellian is still corrupted and just jumping on bandwagon “Wrathion is just a baby” hate. Team Wrathion!

These are just my opinions on what I have seen!

Sorry for errors if there are any, I’m on mobile.

[noonmutter]

Flourish

DWC November 2022 Day 5: Lush/Damage

It all started because Cay told Terry he'd look good in leather pants.

They'd been needling him at the time, but they did mean it. Challenging Terry always had entertaining results; he either made an amazing face and tried to pretend he wasn't, or he'd come back later to show Cay exactly how capable he was of doing the thing or wearing the thing or saying the thing or whatever. Over the years it had become more of a game than any real form of antagonism. Terry had made it clear, and Cay had eventually internalized, that if Terry didn't want to do something, there was no force on Azeroth that could make him do it (except maybe his kids looking at him the right way, and even that was iffy).

They'd figured out how it worked after a few false starts. First, they'd be doing something Terry found objectionable (or at least, he was made uncomfortable because Cay was doing it). Then, they'd toss out an offhand comment implying that Terry couldn't do it, or if that didn't get him to bite--he wasn't stupid, after all--that they wouldn't judge him for being bad at it. Then, there'd be a stony silence for a little while, and if it lasted more than five minutes Cay knew Terry wasn't going to do it. If it was less than that, Terry would do it. Eventually. Probably. And it was amazing every time. Getting him to sing in front of them had resulted in the most spectacular rendition of "HEYEAYEAYEA" they'd heard since the original, among other things.

And afterward, he sang (normally) around them more often. It was like breaking the ice, except competitive.

As time went on and the challenges became more specific, Cay had to be sneakier about it, because Terry didn't like being played. Or, as he called it, led around by the nose. Dwyn said he found it insulting if someone was lazy about trying to deceive him, almost more so than that there was an attempt at deception in the first place. Cay found themself more inclined to be more direct than they would with most people, with Terry. It was kind of nice to just come out and say things, occasionally, even if it did take some effort. Terry appreciated that effort, and it made Cay go all buttery inside when it was rewarded.

The biggest challenge, in that it was asking for something more life-altering than a change of attire or exhibiting a talent, was getting Terry to do anything in front of other people. There had been that first shocking hair-pull at the Tarts' date auction the one year, but that didn't really count. It hadn't been intentional, or at least, that result wasn't what Cay had been after, precisely. Once they'd broken down enough walls for Terry to sing, it hadn't taken long to get him to play. He was surprisingly adept with a guitar, taking to an electric one (Cay's second veil present to him) almost immediately. Cay had given themself a personal mission at that point.

They'd started relatively small, though they were pleased that Terry had already taken the first step on his own when they found him at Ranek's bar. He hadn't been willing to use the word, but the man was clearly vibing, and that was an opportunity. They knew better than to poke at him the first chance they got, so with a great deal of difficulty, Cay waited until the next time they were both at the bar to start nudging Terry toward performing.

"Well, I know you can sing, and you know you can sing, and I can't be an entire band by myself."

"No."

"Why not? You'd be amazing."

"No, Cay."

"Dwyn'd love it, too."

"I said no."

"Then I guess you're selling the guitar?"

"I said n--wot?"

"Well you clearly don't need it."

And then he gave them The Look, and got up and left, and Cay knew the damage had been done. They had him.

The best thing about these sparring matches was that Terry always, always escalated. Cay had only expected him to go on stage once, probably with them, and do some really simple tune he could bang out and disappear right after. Instead, Terry had reserved a slot for himself two weeks later, gone on stage alone, and shredded the shit out of something called "Turbo Lover." He didn't have to actually drop the mic for Cay to know they were being mic-dropped at. Now, it was war.

After a few months of back and forth battling, Cay finally convinced Terry to actually perform with them by conceding that he'd made his point. It didn't bother the phoenix in the least to concede "defeat," considering their victory condition was getting Terry onstage in the first place. They were a little bit surprised by how quickly he acquiesced, but it was quickly cast aside in favor of planning pyrotechnics and lighting. For their first duet, Cay wanted to go ham.

They weren't able to go quite as big as they'd wanted to--Terry was frustratingly good at pointing out the logistical problems with riding a motorcycle into the venue and onto the stage--so their first idea went on the back-burner. It was more of a traditional show, in that it was just them, their instruments, their voices, the lights, the stage, a lot of fire, some small explosions, and only a couple of backup dancers. Really, Cay had gone wilder for less.

Terry hadn't, at least not in front of them, and it was a fucking delight to see him practically attacking his guitar and roaring "Don't you ever take my name in vain" right next to them.

The show was a roaring success, the crowd was losing their minds, at some point Terry had tossed his leather jacket into the throng, and Cay was exhausted and happy. Their mission was successful, Terry was standing there being hot at them, and they were ready to take their bows and go home.

As they reached out for Terry's shoulder to do just that, they froze. The audience was going quiet, the lights had dimmed from a hellish red to a deep blue that turned smoke to fog, and Terry was picking up a different guitar. Cay glanced across the venue at Ranek, knowing they'd get in trouble if they went over their time. The dark-haired Gilnean only winked at them, and then Terry's voice was suddenly right in Cay's ear as he casually stepped past them to plug the new guitar into an amp.

"You wanna sit down."

Cay didn't precisely decide to sit down on a stool they hadn't noticed was on the stage until that moment, but they did sit. Terry flashed a grin toward them, and their heart soared for a second before dropping into the pit of their stomach. They recognized that grin. Terry had a couple really specific grins. One was the 'lil shit' grin, the one he had when he wasn't willing to come out and admit they were right or that they'd done something awesome, but couldn't ignore it. Another, and this was the one he had now as he gave the guitar a few testing strums that produced a buzz halfway between acoustic and electric, was the 'I am King Shit of Fuck Mountain' grin. It was a called shot of triumph, the absolute certainty that he'd won before he'd even moved.

In the final ten seconds before Cay forgot how to do anything except stare, blush, and breathe, they realized their mistake. Terry always escalated; they knew that, because he was an Ambroce. Where they'd erred, and the reason they were now going to pay for it, was that they'd been treating him like the wrong Ambroce. Terry was not Leon; he didn't hold back because he was afraid to be seen. He didn't hold back because he didn't know how to step forward.

He held back because he wanted to wait until everything was perfect. Because Ambroces made big gestures.

The voice that came out of Terry Ambroce was not the one that'd rocked the house a minute ago. It was soft, almost melancholy, and gently pleading.

He sang of paralysis, of being unable to find the right words, or any words at all.

He sang of fear, of never knowing if he'd ever succeed, or even if he ought to keep trying.

He sang of renewal, of starting over despite the terror of the unknown, of giving in and letting what was, be.

He sang this while shirtless, sweaty, energized, and staring Cay directly in the eye. The only time he broke that stare was for the second to last refrain, just before the big finish, when his voice dropped to a fraction of the volume and came out almost as a sigh. That, he made sure to deliver while standing directly behind his stunned 'mentor.'

Cay was vaguely aware that they were being led through the motions of standing up and of taking bows to yet another standing ovation, but Terry was pretty much puppeting them at that point. Every last inch of them was blushing crimson, they couldn't physically get their ears to stop standing up, and they were pretty sure they were either going to faint or cry, but not when.

After Ranek had closed up for the night, and the pair were outside, Terry with a bottle of whiskey and Cay with a bottle of water, Cay finally reasserted control of their mouth and exploded. "WHAT?!"

Terry just barely raised his bottle in a sort of toast, grinning his lil-shit grin. "I distinctly recall warnin' you not t' challenge me."

While Cay was still sputtering, Terry stood away from the wall he'd been leaning on and started walking down the road. "But, y'were right. My arse looks fuckin' amazin' in these pants."

( @mekandawn @ranekvilmas @daily-writing-challenge )

[commanderbragh]

Adventuring Is Calling

The courtyard of the Stormwind Cathedral was full of noise, as it always is. The splash of water as the fountain sprayed, the strikes of horseshoes upon stone, the cheers of fun as children ran around, they all merged together into a chorus of sound that surrounded the two paladins as they sat on one of the benches. Beside them, a winged lion lay on the ground and lazily kept watch. The adults that came into the square seemed to keep their distance while at the same time the children dared each other to get closer and closer.

“And your studies are going well?” Braghaman asked his son, trying to sound nonchalant as many parents do when catching up with their children.

“Very well. Lieutenant Rignomer actually said I wasn’t as big a let-down as he had expected.”

“Solid praise from the lieutenant.”

“That’s what I think. At first, I thought he was being harder on me because…”

“Because?” Bragh repeated, his eyebrow raising slightly.

“Well, because of who I am. Who you are, really.”

“And now?”

“Maybe he was just being tough on me because that’s what I needed.”

“How so?”

“Well, you know. Son of a paladin. Maybe a bit full of themselves. All of that.”

“So you’re okay with it now.”

“Sure. I’ve seen him do worse to others. But those were the ones who were reckless. Maybe a little dangerous. Those recruits pretty much earned the chewing out that they got.”

“Sure.”

“Anyways, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“About the lieutenant?” Bragh asked, a confused look on his face.

“Well not him specifically, but about the training.”

“Go on.”

Banagan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then turned to look at his father.

“I think I’m ready. You know, to go out in the world.”

“You do? No more training needed?” Braghaman’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yes. Or no, rather. I mean I think I’ve gotten as much as I can from here. I want to go out into the world. Get my experience there.”

“You mean adventure.”

“Well, sure. That’s what you did right?”

“I did. But what I did was different.”

“How?” Banagan demanded, but quickly realized the error of his eagerness. “I mean, why can’t I do that, too?”

“For one, I had someone to rely on. I had your grandfather and the rest of the Dawn to watch my back.”

“So if I had a group or something, then it’d be okay for me to go.”

“It wouldn’t be the Dawn. Most of us are retired or otherwise occupied.”

“Okay, so not the Shrouded Dawn. I could find a group of paladins here at the Cathedral.”

“Is that what you really want to do?”

“Well, no. Not really.” Banagan leaned back slightly and thought. “What about the Meddlers?”

“The Meddlers?” Bragh repeated, staring at his son.

“Sure! You’ve always said what a great group of people they were. That you trusted them with your back and everything, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Braghaman answered slowly.

“So I could go talk with them. See if they would take me on. Let me go with some of them.”

“You think you’re ready to go adventuring with the Meddlers?”

“Why not? There’s not much more for me to learn here. I really think I need to get out in the world and learn things first hand. You know, like you did.”

“You realize that the Meddlers aren’t exactly the same as the Dawn, right?”

“Of course, father. And that makes it an even better choice.”

Braghaman’s face went stoic at that comment, causing Banagan to stutter briefly.

“I.. I mean..  it’s just that while I could learn with the Shrouded Dawn, we’d just be keeping Duskwood safe, right? But the Meddlers, well they go adventuring all around Azeroth. I just meant I would have more opportunities with them, don’t you think?”

“You know, some of them aren’t as…. reserved… as I am, right? You ready to deal with personalities like that?”

“Well, I have met a few of them already. And I think I’ve seen some people like that here at the Cathedral.”

“You’d have to pull your own weight with them. Don’t expect them to carry you. Wouldn’t be safe for any of you otherwise.”

“Of course. I won’t be a burden.”

“And if they say it’s not working out, then what?”

“Oh..” Banagan paused. “I hadn’t really considered that. Would they do that?”

Braghaman shrugged. “If they do, then what?”

“I guess I’d come home,” Banagan answered, soundly defeated. “But I don’t think that’ll happen.”

“What about your sister?”

“Kori? Well she can come, too, if she wants.”

“Of course.” Braghaman watched his son fidgeting anxiously, though trying very hard to hide it. “So what’s your plan then?”

“Really?” Banny responded enthusiastically. “Well, I guess the first step is that I need you to talk to the Meddlers and then…”

“No.”

“No? But you said I could go with them.”

“I did. But this is your adventure. Your responsibility.”

“Okay?” Banny replied, sounding a bit confused.

“If you want to work with the Meddlers, you need to go and ask them yourself.”

“But I assumed you’d talk to them for me.”

“First mistake,” Bragh said with a smirk. “You want to work with them, you’ll need to go talk with Drogar and Darlain yourself.”

“What do I say?”

“Tell them you’re a Larethian. That you’re a paladin and you want adventure. I suspect that’ll get their attentions.”

[anzhin-the-starman]

Daily Writing Challenge: Day 1 - Instinct/Neglect

[This lore is a part of Anzhin’s story during the three-year peacetime after leaving the Shadowlands, sometime between the middle and end of year three.]

“I cannot keep doing this…” I whisper to the empty air, the only response being the crash of waves against the docks below. The years since the denizens of Azeroth have stopped their meddling in the realms of death have not been as kind to me as I had hoped. Yet, I still hope and pray that all my efforts and patience have not been for naught. I write another letter.

[Image/Letter Transcript START] To my beloved Fireheart,      Few things of note have happened since my last letter. I’ve been busying most of my free time pursuing acceptance of assistance with the Tarts. The journey to find my voice again has been long and rather fruitless. The song of my soul is still silent, and a part of me wonders if it will ever be heard again. I feel like a failure, even more so than before.      Not a day goes by where you are not on my mind. The memory of our last time together, it’s hazy, yet I still remember the warmth of your embrace. I know I’ve written this in every letter since you’ve disappeared, but with no way to have you receive them, I can only wish you know how much I truly loved you… how much I still love you. If the fates are kind, maybe we will see each other again soon. Your Nightingale, always, Anzhin [Image/Letter Transcript END]

I fold the letter, seal it with wax bearing my crest of three stars. I hide away the words that mark the end of each in the library of letters I store in a small pocket dimension of my satchel, awaiting the day in which they may finally be given to their recipient.

Since I had received news of my partner’s disappearance, it has been an almost endless search. I have traveled the realms of life and death, pulled every string I might have ever had, any connection that might have told me where my beloved could have disappeared to. I even stepped foot into the Maw, a place that held such pain and agony at even the thought of it brought me to panic -- yet, I needed to make sure that he wasn’t there.

Hazella's confusing and beautiful magicks brought me another method to search, but even stepping into the Astral Plane has given me no answers to my lover's disappearance. Even though the creatures and beings have so, so many eyes to see, they did not see where he had gone. However, I suppose, I finally learned the meaning of the abyss staring back.

My desperate attempts have stolen time from me. It's only been maybe three years since the peace began to spread after our retreat to Azeroth, but between the Shadowlands and the Astral Plane and every other chance I took... The toll on my countenance is more like five years, and my hair is streaked with silver from the stress and grief.

After every failed search, my feet always bring me to Tol Barad. I pass the empty Maelstrom club, where he and I first met. And then I find myself on the small cliffs overlooking the docks nearby, where we shared our first passions. This is where I write my letters, so many letters, desperately trying to make up for the letters I neglected to send before. I wish I could tell him in person, I wish my soul could sing for him again. I wish I knew that he knew how much I love him.

My search has brought me no closure, but I will continue as long as I am still able. I have to keep going, I have to hold on to hope.

~ @daily-writing-challenge​

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