#quotes from your dreadlord

[bonkbobl]

happy to please

ROOSE BOLTON X READER

a/n: this is set before anything bad happens in the show, maybe like early season 1 or even before. i know in the books there was domeric and i considered mentioning ramsays kinslaying but decided to just go with the show, which, my impression is that domeric just never existed and ramsay grew up at the dreadfort being cared for by roose. this fic comes from the book quote about him growing fond of walda bc she actually liked sex with him and buddy never experienced the loving touch of a woman with his past two wives

summary: roose bolton had two wives before you. so he thought he knew what to expect during the bedding but nothing could have prepared him for those sweet little noises and the way you writhed

warning: smut!!! roose bolton is very awkward and not very romantic, forced marriage but once you see roose irl you're like oh... wait guys hes kind of hot nvm im down

It was high time the Lord of the Dreadfort took another wife to try for more heirs. A bastard born to a Millers Wife was hardly a suitable option. The goal-driven Lord Bolton wanted a speedy affair and not too much fuss about it. When word was sent out that the “Dreadlord” was seeking a hand in marriage, the response was not sparse.

Several offers to meet Northern Lords’ “most beautiful” daughters landed on Roose Boltons desk. But Roose didnt want the fuss that came with that. There was no need to fret about which girl was the most desireable, only which prospect bred the most advantage.

You came from a semi prominent house, a large advantage was the fact that you had no siblings to succeed you and your uncles were all bordering on geriatric. Because of this, your father was eager to broker a marriage between you and any Lord to start producing more options for the succession of your house — you came with a heavy dowry.

All negotiations occurred on paper and before you’d learn anything about your husband, your father has your servants packing your belongings up into carriages. You were on your way to the Dreadfort

Dreadful name for a castle, you thought to yourself. Perhaps that set the tone for the marriage. You should expect nothing but that —dread.

The entire journey, you did not utter a word to your father, so upset that he’d gone behind your back to do this. You had been stubborn, growing up. You’d met several Lords from minor houses through the years and you turned all of them away.

They weren't handsome enough, weren't noble enough, weren't gentle enough, weren't firm enough. That one was too loud, too annoying, to full of himself, not sure enough of himself, too meek, too weak. There was always something. But you were never forced to. Not until now.

Perhaps it was the fact that your father finally listened to the whispers of those around him, telling him that if he doesnt marry you off soon, no lord would want an old bride. You think thats most likely. Theres also the fact that House Bolton was an extremely powerful house, your liege lord for centuries. They stood only beneath the Starks and the Crown.

When you stepped down from the carriage to greet your husband to be, you steeled yourself. You didn't know what to expect. You knew he was around your father’s age, which wasn't exactly a comfort.

But you met his cold eyes, your expression softened considerably. Your father had grown plump with unkempt hair on his chin. It was patchy and uneasy to look upon. His hair was also receding quickly as the years passed.

The years were kinder to Lord Bolton.

Giving a curtsy, you surrendered to his examination of you, suddenly feeling nervous. You found yourself hoping he liked what he saw because well… Lord Bolton, you think, immediately appears to be, well, lordly. He looks physically fit, cleanshaven, intimidating features. His stare was hard on you, and you almost shied away thinking he was, in fact, unhappy with you, but glancing back, you realized that he may be one of those men with a permanent hardness to their stare.

You mainly hope he isn’t cruel to you.

Lord Bolton nodded, then spoke, “My lady.” Taking your hand and pressing a courteous kiss to it, he continued, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

You swallowed, trying your best to keep your gaze even. His voice was so smooth and deep… The kind of voice that you’d want reading to you in the darkness at night.

He’s everything you think a man should be, in appearances. The boys who wanted your hand in marriage would stumble about their words and it was endearing in their own right, but here, under his lordly gaze, you felt more willing to you resign yourself under his protection.

“Happy to please you, my lord,” You said softly, curtsying.

Roose’s eyes looked you up and down for what felt like the millionth time but he couldn’t really help it. He hadn't expected you to be the beauty you were — that wasn’t why he was marrying you — but he got lucky, it seems. You were a shy thing, barely able to meet his eyes.

Roose looked at your father, standing far away from you, awkwardly staring out into the wind and avoiding engagement. It wasn't difficult for him to make out that perhaps you might be unhappy to be here. If theres anything he can recognize, its a tense familial atmosphere.

But he watched you smile and speak your courtesies, sweet and polite. Yes, you would do just fine. You were perfect, he’d even dare to say, he was delighted by you.

You would make him rich, and it seemed like you had enough understanding and commitment to duty to not make a fuss about anything that may be unpleasant to you. He just hopes you’re fertile so that he doesn’t have to pain you unnecessarily with too many attempts.

“I’d like you to meet my son, Ramsay,” He brought his son forward.

You smiled politely at him and allowed him to kiss your hand, “My lord, it’s lovely to meet you.” You hoped it didn’t show that you were a little wary of Ramsay. It was hard to ignore the rumors of the Bastard at the Dreadfort. But you’re happy that you are not to be his or his fathers enemy.

“As it is for me to make your acquaintance, my lady.”

Roose allowed a smile and began directing you to your handmaidens, who would lead you to your temporary room.

As far as first meetings go, it might have been awkward but it wasn’t completely unbearable. You’re grateful for it.

—————

When it came time to wed him, Roose made it clear that there was to be no bedding ceremony, and you let yourself relax, smiling to yourself gratefully. It was a tradition spreading all the way from the Wall to Dorne, but you really didnt know why. The thought of being stripped and groped by all the men in the room rained dread upon you.

Instead of being carried to your room by many men, you were led there by your husband, who you were growing more fond of in each moment. Sure you barely knew him, but he was handsome enough.

Not just handsome enough, you’d say that if there was to be a ball with all the Northern men and women, you would have stared at him in the corner of your eye all night hoping he’d approach you. He reminded you of those scenarios that you’d read about only in books.

He also seemed to be respectable and a gentleman, which comforts you greatly. The fact that he chose to forego the bedding was something you hadn’t expected but it certainly made you more amenable to whats to come.

It started sort of mechanically and passive. Your husband poured you a cup of wine for your nerves, and you exchanged some words about the ceremony and he watched you drink it.

Then when he deemed you relaxed enough Roose asked, “Did your septa teach you about what happens during bedding?”

You nodded, “My septa, yes. And I had read a book once that contained some details that she had left out, so I actually know more than many would assume,” You rambled out.

Roose tilted his head questioningly but gave an amused sigh and a nod.

It was true, you did read a lot. And one of those books included a scandalous romp between the main character, a man, and a whore. Your father found you reading that and burned the book but he couldn’t burn it out of your memory.

It was part of why you might have had such a high standard for the men who had approached for your hand. The men in the books were confident but not arrogant. They could please their women properly because they knew what they were doing but also knew to listen. They were powerful. Possessing a subtle dominance that was too nuanced for younger men to understand.

Roose exuded dominance. This brand of dominance.

It excited you just as much as the memory of those pages.

“Good,” He said, “Then I have little explaining that I must do.”

You watched him stand and offer his hand to you again and you took it, letting him help you up and to the bed.

Roose couldn’t really understand it, but he identified nerves stirring inside him at the thought of bedding you. Its been a long time since he’s taken any wife to bed and he is aware that most of the time, its only really pleasurable for men.

His past two wives would lay there, passive and unmoving, waiting for him to have his fill before quickly getting up to clean themselves.

He really intended to make this as easy for you as possible and wait a week to try again. After that, perhaps he’d take you every few days until you came to be with child. Ever methodical about everything, of course he thought of how to go about this.

Roose helped you with your dress, coming up behind to aid in unlacing it. Meanwhile, you busied yourself with taking out the pins that had been keeping your hair up.

You wanted to be comfortable, Roose was pleased to note. He was glad to know you were thinking of your comfort. Making this as easy as possible. You were a girl who understood what needed to be done, a good quality to have in a wife.

His past wives understood to an extent, as well, but not without at least a little bit of whining and whinging.

With your hair undone and your dress unlaced, you took it upon yourself to shrug it off your shoulders, letting the fabric fall to the floor. Roose watched you, gracefully doing your duty, a small smile coming to him.

You surprised him quite a bit, actually. Especially when you turned to him, a little shy about your exposure, but confident enough to pull him in by his collar and kiss him for the first time.

Your lips moved shyly against his, and Roose returned your gentleness. Each thing you did made him ever more curious about you. The two of you continued to mold your lips to each others as he worked on disrobing himself. He could sense the hesitation and curiosity behind your lips movements.

All the better. He'll let you do as you needed to feel more comfortable.

Very quickly, Roose had taken off all his clothes and the moment you realized your husband was bare and ready to finally take you, you parted from him. His eyes opened slowly to see you staring up at him with those big eyes and he held your gaze as you edged backward onto the bed, situating yourself at the edge of it. Then you laid yourself down, splayed out for him.

Roose watched you get ready for him, wondering what he did to score so lucky with such a sweet, innocent, eager little wife.

He pressed the tip of his length to your slit. The edges of your pussy lips were dry but as he moved the head of his cock through your folds, some moisture coated him. Roose paused because you mewled and turned your face to the side, eyes closed, hands bunching into fists in your sheets.

His cock twitched against you as he watched, something that hasnt happened since Roose was a teenager with his first wife.

It moved him to push inside. He watched your lips part with heavy breaths, eyebrows coming together as your breaths turned into soft whimpers. He had to pull out after a certain point and push back in, further. You whimpered, grasping the sheets harder.

Roose found himself completely and utterly hypnotized by you, watching your face, turned to the side, eyes pinched shut, gently chewing your bottom lip.

“You’re very reactive,” He muttered, catching your attention.

You turned back to look at him over your rising and falling chest and giggled, running your hand over your forehead, “Yeah, I… Nothing has ever been inside like this so... I’m reacting.” A coil in your stomach twisted as he pushed even deeper and your lips puckered, letting out an "Ooh..."

Roose chuckled at the first sign of a little bit of sass in his wife, amused at your playfulness during what most would deem to be a serious moment. Roose typically disliked those who cracked unnecessary jokes in inappropriate moments, but somehow it seemed appropriate in this moment.

Your hand came down to grab his and you guided it to your thigh. You felt your husband bottom out inside you after not too much struggle or pain and you laid there happily. You were happy to take his gentle thrusts. Your cunt grew wetter and sloppier as he fucked you.

He filled you well, and it felt good to be full like this. You wanted him to touch you… You wanted him to move more. Faster, harder. You just wanted more of him.

You breathed a heavy sigh, squeezing around him, trying to coax him into moving in you.

“Roose,” You whined, squirming beneath him. Your legs came to wrap around him and guide his movements in you.

Your husband gasped at your shameless neediness, responding quickly to your coaxing movements. You felt like heaven, squeezing so tight around him. But it wasn’t just the pure sensation of a cunt enveloping him it was the fact that your heel remained pressed against his lower back, pulling him toward you. It was the fact that little whimpers kept tumbling out of you, meanwhile you hid your face as if you couldn’t keep them in. It was his name, falling from your lips, in between the whimpers.

And then you whimpered, “Harder.”

An appreciative hum rumbled in Roose's chest, his eyes focusing even harder on you. You shuddered to look at him. His smolder could easily be mistaken for a glare and you'd hate to be a man in any other situation, on the receiving end of such a look.

Here, it just made you more excited.

You cried a loud, unrestrained moan when he gave a sharp thrust, his cock angled upward and hitting a deep spot within you. When his cock touched that spot, it felt as if a little burst of pleasure had come from it and melted into the rest of your body, the coil in your tummy tightening deliciously.

His pace slowly increased, as did your pleasure. You writhed beneath him... At times it almost felt like pleasure was too much, like you were about to tip off some edge, and you had no idea what could be found once you made it over that edge other than just even more, blinding pleasure. You didn't even know if you could take it.

But you had nowhere to run. So if you had to find out what was waiting for you over that edge, so be it. You fought to hold your legs open as much as possible but your thighs would sometimes beg to close, unused to the intense stimulation. And most of the time, you kept your eyes closed and your face turned to the side.

Roose stared down at you, burying himself in you over. And over. Watching as each time you had to succumb and give yourself away to the sensations. It sparked something primal inside him, and truly for the first time he felt an animal-like instinct that often came to be the failing of many great, even-minded men.

He felt lust. Inspired by the image of your body tightening and twitching as he plunged himself deep into you.

Grabbing your waist, he fucked you faster, snapping his hips at a faster speed while he used his strength to pull your pliant body into his.

It wracked your body from head to toe, a long, loud whine, pulled from your throat, enunciated by each meeting of his balls against your ass. Your hands shot up to grasp to anything you could find on the bed but all it found were more sheets. You buried your face in the soft flesh of your arms.

Roose slowed and gave you some hard, defined thrusts, grunting as he did so. You cried out each time and then managed to blink your eyes open and look at him, eyebrows still knitted together, hair a tangled mess under you, and your lips red and wet from your chewing on them all the time.

And then your husband rediscovered the energy to plow into you again.

You held your tits this time, to keep them from bouncing uncomfortably.

He growled, adjusting so that your legs were put over his shoulder before continuing. That felt amazing. But even more amazing was that he decided it wasn't enough, climbing on the bed and pushing you further up on it. He maneuvered his leg, planting a foot next to your side.

That. That had you crying out, damn near sobbing. At least, you wouldn't be surprised if anyone passed your room and mistook it for that.

Soon your body was twitching uncontrollably under him and Roose was sighing loudly, shocked by just how tight your cunt was gripping onto him. Your moans grew weaker and breathier and your body tensed to a peak before you seemingly began to come down from it.

Your breaths remained heavy as you attempted to catch yourself, small aftershocks of convulsions and shaking taking you. He was still fucking you just as hard and your body was oversensitive to the stimulation.

But thankfully you didn't have to endure the pleasurable torture too much longer. Roose released you with a few hard thrusts and deep groans.

He stilled in you and dropped his head in exhaustion, staying buried deep inside, as he attempted to catch his breath and recover and you stared at him, also trying to catch up with yourself.

You lowered your legs to the side though and in the process, his penis slipped out of you, quickly softening. You don't know what possessed you to do so, because there was really no need to, but you brought a hand up to your husbands face and moved it so you could stare into his eyes.

His soft, exhausted eyes met you, the strong hardened exterior that you saw on him at your first meeting, melted off.

Cautiously, you closed the distance, molding your lips to his again.

Roose kissed back fervently this time, no longer hesitant and letting you take the lead. His domineering hand coming behind to cradle your face.

Your eagerness had surprised him in the beginning. But once he'd entered you, it was as if a switch had turned on for both of you. He'd expected you to bravely take on the duty that all women had to endure but he'd never expected you to take to it so well, craving more, wanting him.

Roose had never been the type of man to think about, much less want to be wanted. But his cock nearly twitched back to life, remembering. You pulled him in with your legs, asked him to fuck you harder, you came, and even afterwards, you wanted more.

When your lips finally parted, he stared, evaluating you with a new lense, a lense of true fondness. It was something that — Roose wouldn't ever dare say out loud but — it was something that could even develop into something deeper than a vague fondness or physical attraction. Something like love.

You pressed one last chaste kiss to him and smiled widely, asking, "Is that what every night will be like?" You asked, "If so I think you'll make me a very happy lady."

Roose couldn't think of a proper, clearly worded answer, so he just pressed his lips to yours again, hungrily. A very happy lady indeed. And he'll be happy to see you happy.

[storyofmychoices]

Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday special. I seriously needed all of your love and kindness this week.

My real life was beyond challenging, I wondered if I was going to get to the end of the week. I didn't even get to celebrate my birthday because things were so bad with my dad, so to see all of your love and support here, it meant EVERYTHING to me. I wish I had the proper words to tell you how much you all mean to me. I know I say it, but please know that I mean it, from the bottom of my heart, I can't say thank you enough for making me feel special, appreciated, and loved. I am so so eternally grateful to you for the time, effort, and thoughtfulness you put into your gifts or even just your kindness in sending a sweet message. I appreciate you all so much!

Thank you 💖

Thank you for all of these amazing gifts and messages! I hope I don't miss anyone, if I do, please let me know. It's not my intention to overlook anyone!

Blades of Light & Shadow

Bumbling Adversaries by @dutifullynuttywitch Mal and Daenarya run from a fearsome adversary

Daenarya's Birthday Drabble by @lilyoffandoms Mal, Tyril, and Maiele plan a surprise party for Daenarya

Insomnia by @thosehallowedhalls On the night after defeating the Dreadlord, Mal watches Daenarya sleep and reflects on his place in her life.

Mal x Daenarya kiss art by @lilyoffandoms

Crimes of Passion

Drabble by @lilyoffandoms Lilah and Ruby discuss a certain someone and Lilah's interest in him.

The Morning After (Lilah art—mature) by @lilyoffandoms

Mother of the Year

Levi and Lily post it note fun art by @lilyoffandoms

Open Heart

Can I have this Dance Quote Edit by @aallotarenunelma

Something Sweet (fic + art of Olivia) by @jerzwriter Casey, Merida, Bryce, Ethan, and Tobias help Olivia celebrate her birthday even from afar.

Red Carpet Diaries

Alex Hunt Moodboard by @lorircreates

The Hollywood Theatre by @princess-geek In a Regency AU, The Duke of Holly (Thomas Hunt) is looking for a singer for his new opera when he finds Lady Alexandra Spencer.

Thomas Hunt Classic Hollywood Portrait by @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

Thomas x Alex edit by @choiceswithmika

The Unexpected Heiress

Christine Jane Hayes (MC) Portrait by @lilyoffandoms

Some Lovely Asks:

From Nonny

From ao719

From Nonny

From angelasscribbles

From Nonny

From the-soot-sprite

From trappedinfanfiction

From ladylamrian

[maltacus]

Sylvanas + Arthas? + Jaina?

GhosterM made an epic comment reading partially as follows...

Prequels might not be the best Star Wars movies (although Revenge of the Sith is Top 2 in my heart) but they have some extremely versatile quotes that you can use in pretty much any fandom, works especially well in Warcraft since Arthas and Anakin have some similiar archetypes. Few more that i thought about when commuting:

...

Also me when i see people shipping Arthas with Sylvanas: "You will go home and rethink your life"

...

...and now I am of course rethinking. And noting that on AO3 there are 14 works tagged Arthas Menethil/Sylvanas Windrunner and the longest is 93k which is a heck of a lot of words but by no means impossible I know from experience because sometimes things grow on you.

How impossible is it really? Let's approach it methodically.

Arthas freaks out at Stratholme and Northrend under Mal'Ganis' manipulation and that is on him and pretty damn bad. But the rest is theoretically all on Ner'zhul and Frostmourne.

Sylvanas as undead and suffering the same mind control from the Lich King could potentially show some understanding. Or not, because she is seriously pissed at him for substantial and, ahem, heart-felt reasons or one frosty such reason to be precise.

Scratch talking then. They fight, or Sylvanas hatches the plan to mind-control Arthas and send him on a suicide run against higher ups or whatever else - for some reason she uses the hallmark banshee power of possession! Now she has an unimpeded front row seat witnessing the chains on his mind. Spice it up to make that possession cut the link and free Arthas from the Lich Kings control because why not?

Join forces against Lich King preparing to then stamp out Arthas at the first available opportunity? Well, if Kerrigan did it in the Brood Wars so can I, Sylvanas reasons. Off they are to a forced alliance...

Aaand why not toss in the old flame that actually probably WILL listen to Arthas even when nobody else will and who Sylvanas will then seek to assassinate out of spite and to twist the knife deeper into the death knight, only to become touched seeing Jaina's unconditional love and finding herself brooding on how much young Menethil was really his own when desecrating Quel'thalas...

It is in all honesty actually thought-provoking that the Forsaken queen does not ponder more on whether it is Arthas or Ner'zhul pulling the strings, but the Frozen Throne seems to hint that Ner'zhul could be keeping a low profile even among his underlings, which would probably have been a wise move with all the nosy dreadlord supervisors snooping around.

I know of course that a pairing could be pulled off in far simpler ways, but wouldn't it be half the charm to do it in the angsty and limitlessly forgiving and understanding way that Jaina and Sylvanas are to each other in many Sylvaina tales?

After all, if Sylvanas (who in her long life may or may not have done a lot of terrible things too in the bitter, bitter war against the Amani trolls) can be forgiven for so many things done in undeath absent Frostmournian mind control, why not Arthas?

Jaina reunioning with Kel'thuzad whom she personally helped kick out from Dalaran and later hunt down and kill, would just be a bonus.

[Megalomaniacal Evil Laughter and Thunder Outside]

[dreadlord-mr-son]

Man I'm reading this WIP fic Five chapters in and so far every chapter ends with a note saying when the next one would come out Like What incredible power Meanwhile I'm over here like Yes, the prophecies state that a new chapter will come one day, when the stars are right

[swampgallows]

my uncle works at blizzard and i know the end of shadowlands

here is my prediction, it’s sloppy as fuck but i wanna just draft my general idea before the shit actually comes out so i can be like “CALLED IT” if i’m right lol

okay so let’s talk DREADLORDS babey. they are not demons per se but a separate race of sentient beings called the nathrezim. apparently they were discovered by sargeras when he was traversing the cosmos. they were sitting around chilling with the old gods, which is how sargeras found out about the old gods and void lords in the first place. so the history of dreadlords and the old gods/void goes way back.

there are three things that dreadlords are very good at:

1. summoning chaotic shit 2. crafting chaotic shit 3. being chaotic neutral emissaries, mostly for the burning legion. mostly.

1. dreadlords are really powerful interdimensional beings from the twisting nether. however, with the afterlives: maldraxxus cinematic it possibly implies that both the denizens of the shadowlands and the nathrezim themselves have the power to move between life and death as well as laterally across realms like the elemental plane, twisting nether, etc.

2: the dreadlords have forged the sword apocalypse and are possibly the original smiths of the helm of domination and frostmourne. we know that these artifacts are not of azeroth. the nathrezim could have smithed both the helm and frostmourne with help from the jailor and his magic. side note is the WoW canon spelling his name Jailor or Jailer? ive seen both. guess it’s one of those imposter/impostor situations.

anyway, point number 3: we have witnessed dreadlords allying themselves with several different factions, including but not limited to the scourge (sub-faction of the legion), the burning legion, the light (lothraxion), and waaaay back when... the forsaken. by sprinkling themselves throughout the cosmos they can tip the scales on several fronts toward chaos/old gods/void (yes, even lothraxion, since the Light seems to have its own agenda per Xe’ra).

newer players may not know that sylvanas once had a dreadlord ally named Varimathras. one of his click-quotes he’d say “I’m always on the winning side.” he claimed to hold no more ties to the burning legion and that he also wanted to get revenge on arthas/the lich king, and since that was sylvanas’ ultimate goal, they teamed up. he used to chill right next to her in the royal quarter, until the battle for the undercity. this was a wotlk-era event not unlike the pre-bfa “war of thorns” that followed The Wrathgate. the horde, including thrall and varok saurfang, led horde troops into the undercity to oust the mutineers from the horde. the alliance was also present, with newly-returned king varian wrynn and lady jaina proudmoore also invading to take their revenge on putress and his loyalists. 

but before all that, sylvanas could have possibly been clued in by varimathras about the jailor’s intentions all the way back in wrath. especially if she was looking for a way to defeat the “death god” lich king, varimathras would have been more than happy to tell her about death’s boss—the jailor—and the suffering arthas would undergo in the maw. (remember, shadowlands itself is not new lore. it has existed since the dawn of warcraft itself; whenever you die in game you are in the shadowlands. the spirit healers in the graveyards are in the shadowlands.)

again, this is just my speculation, but varimathras easily could have told sylvanas about the origins of the helm and frostmourne, the source of arthas/the lich king’s powers. varimathras/putress betray her (though even this has conflicts with new lore, e.g. Chronicle [my bane] saying that Sylvanas had planned the Wrathgate all along). battle for undercity happens, and varimathras is banished. 

sylvanas maybe figures ‘dont worry imma bust that shit open when i go kill arthas’. maybe she even planned to hold dominion over the scourge and wear the helm herself, taking the place bolvar has currently. but the halls of reflection & ICC happen and... she doesnt get to kill arthas, her one reason for continuing her existence.

so we get Edge of Night, which potentially planted a lot of seeds (if blizz is that clever).

VALKYR possibly trick her (i have said this before), as they are agents of the scourge/the jailor, hopefully to get sylvanas on their side to incur more death and be a secondary wave of would-be scourge (since bolvar aint doin that job and he’s not dead so they cant really get to him BUT they can travel throughout the shadowlands). either that or maybe they were planning on her becoming the new lich king and when bolvar got the hat instead they got a lil pist about it.

sylvanas is foisted into the very non-consensual position of “choose death and suffer for eternity or come back to life and Lead Your People™”. there is some OLD ASS LORE that i cannot find and maybe it’s something i misread somewhere or whatever but i was always under the impression that the Light could not save the Scourge, so anyone turned Scourge could possibly end up in the Maw on principle of being inherently irredeemable (hence the name “Forsaken”, they cannot be saved by the Light). the lore might have changed or, like i said, i might have just picked this up from somewhere and it’s wrong entirely. but if that’s the case, more Scourge = more anima dumped into the Maw disposal, which strengthens the jailor. either that or breaking sylvanas’ spirit to redirect her vengeance on Capital D Death rather than arthas himself.

basically everything sylvanas does while “alive” in azeroth pales in comparison to the eternal suffering and torment that awaits her if she is to die. so she has literally nothing to lose and can only gain by at least keeping herself alive as long as possible, no matter what wild shit she gets up to, it cant be as bad as the maw. 

ultimately i think sylvanas becomes the new jailor to satisfy both her loyalists/fans and those who want her to pay for her crimes, she is redeemed by technically stopping the maw expansion by taking over a la bolvar keeping the scourge dormant, all the symbolism of her destroying the helm of domination becomes all the more poetic and poignant along with her ‘this world is a prison and i will set us all free’ bullshit, avoids her potential fate in the maw as a prisoner by becoming the jailor itself (”better to reign in hell than serve in heaven”). PLUS then she gets placed in a limbo much like illidan fighting sargeras for potentially eternity by being dead-but-not-really as the jailor so blizzard can cameo to her or make merch of her all they want or bring her back as deus ex machina if they feel like it.

i had way more details about this shit when me n the best friends talkd about it a while back but it’s  been seemingly an eternity since then but yeah the tldr

sylvanas becomes jailor (predictabo) because varimathras spilled the beans about the funny sword and hat his buddies made purely for the bants w the old gods/void (less predictabo).

boy are they gonna make that covid vaccine soon or what i need a fuckin job

[blightarts]

Choices Academy

Title: Slight Misunderstanding Part 1

Disclaimer: This is a small series of incorrect quotes where characters in the entirety of Choices have interactions during a day in middle school. Also, thanks to @mechaspirit for letting me feature her BB MC, Sydney, in this bit. If you want your MCs featured here, just sent me a message and tell me your MC’s name and chosen Love Interest. 😁

Taglist: @princessstellaris, @mechaspirit, @i-miss-trr, @simplymissjulia. If you wanna be tagged, be sure to let me know. 😊

It is almost evening in Choices Academy. Classes just finished and everyone’s on their way home. In History classroom, Tyril Starfury is packing up his backpack. As he puts his backpack on, he spots the Bloodbound clique exiting the classroom. He shoots a glare at them and whispers.

Tyril: Filthy Undead... 😠

He uses his enhanced elven senses to scan the power levels of the vampires. He is then shocked by the massive amount of power present within Sydney.

Tyril: Impossible... No undead could possibly have this much... power... unless... 😡

Later, the Bloodbound clique are walking away from school and discussing their dinner plans.

Sydney: So, where do you guys wanna eat? 😊

Lily: Oh! There’s Nekuro Noodles. They have the best Thai noodles in town. 😁

Adrian: I’ve heard of that. They also have a room where you could play with cats while you eat. 😯

Kamilah: Ah, I would love to go. I used to have good company with felines before I even became a vampire. 🙂

Jax: As long as all of them don’t surround me, I’ll be fine. 😐

Sydney: Oh, Jax. You don’t have to be so skittish about this. 😅

Sydney pecks Jax on the cheek while the rest of the gang tease him.

Jax: I’m more of a dog guy myself, okay?! 😤

As Jax rolls his eyes and his friends chuckle, a figure stands in their way.

Tyril: At last, I’ve come face to face with you... undead filth! 😠

The clique stare at Tyril in confusion but took a bit of offense from his undead comment.

Adrian: Who are you? And who said you can call us that?

Lily: Hey, isn’t that the elf guy from our History class? Uhh... what’s his name? Tyrion? Tyler?

Tyril: It’s Tyril! Tyril Starfury! And as the Ambassador of Undermount and commander of the magic knights of Whitetower, I must not let traces of the Dreadlord and his Shadow Court remain!

(Note: Let’s assume that the story of Blades has ended and Tyril became who he claims to be. 😅)

The clique ends up more confused with what Tyril just said as he unsheathes his weapon and prepares to conjure his magic.

Tyril: Now, prepare to face my wrath, you de—

A book suddenly hits Tyril’s head as he slumps on the ground, dropping his weapon and cancelling his magic. The Bloodbound clique’s confused and cautious expression turned into surprise as the one who hit Tyril is revealed to be...

Nia: Ty! What are you doing? Are you trying to start a fight with the other students?

Tyril stands and glares at Nia.

Tyril: But, Nia, those... “people” are vampires, undead, evil creatures! Especially, that woman over there! She could be one of... them! 😤

Nia glances over at the clique, who is now glaring at Tyril for his comment. Adrian cracks his knuckles, Kamilah takes out her daggers, Lily readies her crossbow, Jax unsheathes his katana, and Sydney? She just stares, with a “I’m sorry with what’s happening right now” look. Nia turns to Tyril with reassurance.

Nia: They seem to be good people. They’re only offended by your comment and that woman doesn’t even want to resort to this kind of confrontation.

Tyril: Either way, they must perish. 😤

Tyril raises his hand towards Sydney and uses a quick-to-conjure spell.

Tyril: Banish Undead!

As the spell makes its way to Sydney, Lily scoffs.

Lily: “Banish undead”? Are you kidding me? From my gaming experience, that’s a low level anti-undead spell. With Sydney current strength, there’s no way that spell would ever work on he—

The spell connects with Sydney as she feels burning pain and screams.

Sydney: 😱

Lily: Wtf?! It worked?! 😱

Sydney survives the spell, as it only felt like she had a few seconds of sunburn. Tyril is surprised.

Tyril: Impossible! Even with my high magic affinity?!

A fist hits Tyril this time. He turns again with a glare.

Tyril: Why hit me aga—

Imtura: Elf boy! Stop messing around! The others are waiting for us at the Gentle, Simple Sailor Sushi Bar!

Tyril: But...!

Imtura: No buts or I’ll kick your butt!

Imtura grabs Tyril and drags him away. Nia picks up his sword and turns to the Bloodbound clique. She bows and apologizes.

Nia: I am so sorry about this. 😔

Sydney, in Jax’s protective arms, nods at Nia while the rest of the clique gives a death glare.

Sydney: No, don’t be. It’s completely okay. 😅

As Nia walks away with Tyril screaming and Imtura dragging him away, Lily thinks to herself.

Lily: An elf with trust issues to the undead who can aptly use lowl level magic even against Syd, and a peace-loving priestess and a tough orc who casually hit him, even with his high magic affinity... those guys... 🤔

Lily puffs out, like a steam engine.

Lily: ...HAS SOME SERIOUS POWER LEVEL AND SOCIAL ISSUES!! 😤

After some calming down, the Bloodbound clique make their way to the noodle shop with Jax still holding Sydney protectively. Meanwhile, the Blades clique tease Tyril about his confrontation and his face ended up being purple.

——— END ———

[duraxxor]

Objects of Odyssey - Duraxxor

Xal’atath, Blade of the Black Empire. Aluneth, Greatstaff of the Magna. Thal’kiel, Skull of the Man’ari. In Legion we were blessed with weaponry that still has an impact even to this very day upon Azeroth. Objects from which whispered of promised powers, dark desires, and even extra sass. But what exactly would your independent characters do if they were to come across such an odyssey? What would they use the personified artifact for? Why don’t we find out with the use of your own imagination? 

1. What is the name of this object? Yveltas, Mother of Black Hunger

2. What is this object’s classification? What are it’s abilities? A shard blessed with intense manipulation of hemoglobin. A transmorphic object with weapon capabilities and independent thought. Only those that possess great control can command the Mother of Black Hunger without succumbing to either their own intense hungers or be drained completely by the her insatiability. Those who master the artifact will enhance their abilities in the blood practices at an exponential rate. Of course, the price of power will come with a price, whether it be your own essence or impurity. 

3. How did this object come to possess a will of it’s own? It is said that the soul within the bloodied shard was a witch who possessed a hunger so vast that the consumption of souls no longer sufficed. Yveltas found herself devouring her own kin alive, leaving no trace of the victims in her path. Her gluttony eventually lead her to forging a pact with a dreadlord who would see that her promise be kept. Unable to control her thirst for power, her soul shard turned an scarlet pigmentation from the bloodstains, eventually gaining the ability to twist the substances at her own will with an intense magnetism. The dreadlord found that Yveltas had tried to deceive and betray for her own gain. Unable to fight her off, the dreadlord destroyed her body and bound her soul directly to the shard from which hung around her neck. As a final act of punishment, her shard was sealed within a warded urn. 

4. How did you character come into contact with such a find? The Faceless known to others as Duraxxor always held a fascination with researching the various knowledge connected between the San’layn and the Nathrezim. One of his own stealth operations between Legion and the Battle of Undercity had led him directly to a small trove hid away within the earth. Various texts and other knowledge were obtained, but not before he found himself in the possession a warded urn. Without a second thought, Duraxxor reached within with every intent to find something within. What he pulled from it had begun pulling back, or rather entangled itself whilst beginning to siphon through direct contact. 

A feminine voice whispered as tendrils of black blood imbedded into his flesh even through his leathers. “ The abyss has teeth. “ Such words brought Duraxxor to find himself heavily alarmed as he manipulated his own aura to deflect Yveltas attempts to possess his flesh and essence any longer, forcing the jewel to recede back into the urn. The lid was replaced but not left behind as Dura secured it for himself. 

5. Would they use it? To this day, Duraxxor chooses to keep the artifact sealed away under a tight lock and key. Like several other pieces, it is warded in a chamber that only he is aware of for the time being. Yet, he knows now that he has been touched that the Black Hunger and himself are forever intertwined. Eventually, he will pry her from the urn within and speak further on the thought. 

6. Are there any memorable quotes from the object’s will? 

“ The abyss has teeth. “ 

“ I have tasted your hunger. We are not so different, you and I... “ 

“ Release me... let my black blood flow through your veins and we shall devour all who oppose us... “ 

“ I am already inside of you... open the gate and let us bond... accept my gift... “ 

“ Such carnivorous desire... won’t you share the glory with I? “ 

“ This one is unworthy of your approval... they are but one of many ticks that suckle you of your power... until you are nothing more than a withered husk... “ 

“ Mmmmmmmmm… I could feel you drink of their essence as their lives slipped away... *chuckles* “ 

Tagging: @safrona-shadowsun​ @sanguinesorceress​ @gravekeeper-anna​ @sneakybinch​ @igniting-the-dawn​ @k-scourgestrike​ @eternityinseconds​ @unabashedrebel​ @asharinhun​ @asharinhun​ @jacobdcheshyre​ @aranyaphoenix​ @theblackmourninquire​ @jaemlynscharacters​ @videtur-existentia​ @bloody-loyalties​ @mercymageooc​ @nixalegos​ @thalsianiii​

I also want to take an extra moment to thank @safrona-shadowsun​ for giving me this brilliant idea in the first place. Couldn’t have started it off without you. Feel free to add extra information if needed! 

[mezzopurrloin]

Chapter 7-6: A New Power in Lordaeron

After disposing of Detheroc, Sylvanas turns her aim toward the last dreadlord, Balnazzar.

We just have to destroy Balnazzar's base. Sounds simple enough.

In addition to Sylvie's base we also have Garithos' forces at our control. At the moment he can only build Footmen and Knights.

Dark Knight: Warrior hero, similar to a Paladin but with a few different abilities. Learns Holy Light, Shockwave, Devotion Aura, and Avatar. His version of Avatar doesn't turn him to stone, but otherwise gives the same stat boosts as the Mountain King version. Not playable in multiplayer.

Garithos' voice lines tend to remind you that he's a racist bastard with quotes like "I hate working with these... people" and "we humans have to stick together."

Rescuing the dwarves will give us the firepower we'll need to break through Balnazzar's defenses. I sent out my army toward them as soon as possible.

There's a health fountain near Garithos' base, which is extremely helpful as the only source of healing their side has is Garithos himself.

I tried using a Shade to scout out Balnazzar's base. It's in the center of the map, right between our two. Unfortunately, he has his own Shades in his base specifically to prevent this, so I didn't get to see much.

There are two other undead factions that can launch attacks at us. The green Dreadlord Insurgents will harass the human base...

...while the orange Dreadlord Loyalists will hit the undead one. Neither is that powerful, but they could prove to be a distraction at a critical moment.

Yeah, really.

Rescuing the dwarves allows us to construct Riflemen, Mortar Teams, and Siege Engines. They have some new upgrades too.

Fragmentation Shards: Increases the damage Mortar Teams deal to Light and Unarmored enemies.

Barrage: Allows Siege Engines to fire rockets to attack flying units. They can hit up to 3 at a time with one volley.

We have a new upgrade on the Undead side too.

Destroyer Form: Allows Obsidian Statues to awaken their true form and transform into Destroyers. This transformation is individually activated per statue, and can't be reversed.

Destroyer: Flying beast awakened from an Obsidian Statue. Immune to magic. Does not regenerate mana naturally, and must instead gain mana by using its abilities.

Devour Magic: Consumes magic effects in an area, restoring health and mana to the Destroyer for each one consumed. Deals damage to summoned units as other dispels, and each summon hit by this counts as a devoured effect.

Absorb Mana: Takes mana from one of your units and gives it to the Destroyer.

Orb of Annihilation: Adds a significant damage increase and splash damage, but drains a high amount of mana per shot. Automatically set to autocast.

Destroyers are mainly anti-caster units, but could come in handy elsewhere.

Balnazzar tried to crash the human base by himself. That's pretty bold of him.

Unfortunately for him, he walked straight into my army and was swiftly slain.

With Balnazzar down, it's the perfect time to launch our big attack.

I pulled off a pincer attack, hitting with both of my armies at once. I made sure to get the Siege Engines on destroying Balnazzar's demon gate as soon as I could.

It was a great success.

Balnazzar's base crumbled before my combined forces.

And soon, it was wiped out completely.

Varimathras reluctantly kills his brother with a claw swipe.

And there was much rejoicing.

The Forsaken are the faction of free-willed undead that undead player characters in World of Warcraft belong to. They would later become a part of the Horde, with Sylvanas herself eventually rising to the position of warchief.

That's the end of Sylvanas' story. We'll return to Arthas for the next mission.

[wowheadquarters]

Interview with Taedal

As a celebration for gaining (somehow) 300, For the past few days you could asked various questions which Taedal is supposed to answer in this interview. So, everything you ever wanted to know about him,or just to know what he knows, here it is! Additional warning: It’s long.

Q: Does Luxien is also a dreadlord or is she an other kind of demon?

Taedal: Both our parents are dreadlords, genetically speaking Luxien is also a dreadlord. Taedal: However, given her experiments with the Void, Twisting Nether, undeath and other things… It’s hard to tell what she is now. Taedal: Most of people settle with that she is still quite sexy when her form is stable.

Q: How does the Golden Torch react when you start to talk about Blizzard (Breaking the 4th wall, simply)?

Taedal: To quote one of my advisors, Corrazzale. Taedal: (In a very irritated voice with strong French accent) “Oh here he goes again, cursing the weather.”

Q: What make you take the decision to leave the Legion?

Taedal: The official version I give to people varies from “I saw the error of my ways” to “I hate being bossed around”. Taedal: The unofficial… Taedal: Look, in a game where players kill things, you don’t want to be a member of the All Evil Organization. Especially not one of the people in charge of something.

Q: What were you doing before you get the idea of the Golden Torch?

Taedal: Eh, you know. World destruction. Soul tormention. Sentient race conquering. Taedal: And also the Annual Volleyball Tournament. There were so many teams participating in AVT that when one ended, we had to start the next one right away.

Q: How did you convinced the others to became the Golden Torch?

Taedal: I didn’t really convince anyone. Taedal: Once I just mentioned to Cheret that I was really thinking about quitting and he asked me if he could quit with me. Taedal: And suddenly I had a bunch of demons eager to leave at my heels.

Q: What is your favorite(s) zone(s) in all Azeroth? (Outland and Draenor included)?

Taedal: Hm… The Forgotten Isle is easy to say, but there are better places. Taedal: Nagrand is beautiful. But I’m going with Zul’drak which is also beautiful and has one of the most awesome soundtracks. Taedal: And yes, I do hear soundtracks.

Q: If you could get high (as in height, no drugs) and sing, what would you sing?

Taedal: I don’t really sing. I am a terrible singer. Even if I could push my voice high or low, it’d be terrible, I am sure of that. Taedal: But if I have to say a song… When I Get Low I Get High.

Q: Tell us something embarrassing that’s happened to you.

Taedal: Alright, seat yourself, it’s story time. Taedal: Back in the Legion we were invading this one world, its name doesn’t matter as it no longer exists. And I come into a temple to destroy it. And there is this highpriest and bunch of bishops and acolytes. But most importantly the highpriest. Taedal: Now the Legion has the rules of epic, because when you are evil, you have to be evil with style. So dreadlords are pretty much expected to deliver a speech whenever there is even a minor chance of an epic battle or a boss-fight. Taedal: So I start the speech as I am supposed to do, I do the nice “cover mortals” and “kneel before your lord” and “your ultimate demise”. Now I’m getting to mention “reign of chaos will soar thorough your world”, which is my favorite part and this highpriest had apparently never heard of the rule of epic, because he banishes memid-sentence. Taedal: Irritating and embarrassing for it was in a crowded temple.

Q: I’m pretty sure you got an hidden talent, what is it?

Taedal: Whatever hidden talent I have, it is hidden so well I hadn’t found it yet. Taedal: But I’ve been always strangely good at locating lost and hidden treasures. Does it count?

Q: With which leader(s) you like to hang out the most? (And the one to not bring in your opinion)

Taedal: Ji and Anduin make for good companions to talk to, both show a lot of interest. Baine is less happy with me but the best person to play Hearthstone with. Taedal: And… Look, I have nothing against Velen, however he could be less… Less exorcising me on sight. Taedal: On the other hand, being around Thrall is even worse. He has a terrible paladin syndrome and is supper depressive person to talk to.

Q: How many walls did you broke?

Taedal: Ever since I managed to crash our nethership into the Labyrinth at Descension point, I lost count. Taedal: Before that it was 36. I get thrown around quite often.

Q: So, how was Argus?

Taedal: Dunno. Never been there. Taedal: My parents were from Argus, yeah, but me and Luxien were born after they joined the Legion. So me and sis are pure felbreed.

Q: What was the more surprising thing on Azeroth for you when you came?

Taedal: The variety of races. Taedal: I had visited a lot of worlds, you know. Most of them has one or two sentient races. Some of them has also some still-sentient-but-less-civilized races. Taedal: And then there is Azeroth with 17 playable races and some sentient but not playable races like the Nighborn, Nagas or Ramkahen plus some less civilized but sentient races such as Gnolls, Murlocs or those shrimpy things. Taeda: And I’m not even talking about the sub-races.

Q: Do you have a profession? Which one? Or which one would you like to do?

Taedal: NPCs don’t get professions like players do and even those we have don’t work the same way. They are more… Normal, less game-like. Taedal: As a hunter, I of course know how to skin a beast and cook it into something edible. Tame and train the beast as well, preferably before it gets skinned. I am a skilled arrowmaker too and as every demon with hooves I can smith a decent horseshoe. Taedal: If you want to give it a label… Skinning and Blacksmithing.

Q: Do you regret something?

Taedal: Yeah. I should have brought myself a glass of water for this interview, my throat is as dry as Tanaris. Taedal: Alright, let’s be serious. I sort of regret not bringing Luxien to the Golden Torch. On the other hand if I’d made her to leave the Burning Legion against her will she’d turned against me or maybe she would go insane with time, so we’d have to fight her anyway. Taedal: …I’ve mentioned to you that we have to fight Luxien as a raid end-boss, right? Taedal: Oh. I totally forgot. I’ll fix that. Taedal: Listen everybody! I have a really powerful sister and she is evil and has a working plan how to dissect this world to atoms so we have to fight her!

Q: Do you have a favorite mount?

Taedal: As a matter of fact, I don’t. Taedal: I mean, I already have a favorite pet and it’s unfair as it is to the other pets. Taedal: No need to be unfair to the mounts, of whom all are perfect.

Q: Do you like to live on Azeroth? 

Taedal: Better to be living on Azeroth than to be dead somewhere else. So I am not complaining. Taedal: But if I had to choose a retirement resort, I would most certainly not pick Azeroth.

Q: How is your relationship with the other demons of the Golden Torch?

Taedal: They think I am weird but that I know what I am doing so they don’t mind doing what I tell them to do, as long as they have something from it too. And I think that strength is in numbers and there are not many people who listen to you if you don’t have an army. Taedal: So I think we have the “mutual trust and cooperation” relationship.

Q: Can you tell us more about Luxien?

Taedal: She is big and beautiful. By dreadlord standards anyway. She could dress more and her hair has its life on its own, I suppose. She doesn’t as much praise knowledge as experiments, she has to see everything on her own. Taedal: I mean, she is pretty much that kind of a person to whom you tel not to put a fork in an outlet because it’d zap you, and she’d do just that to find out whether it’s true or not. Or maybe even better, she’d find someone else to put the fork there. Taedal: She is also a skilled spellcaster. A fel-mage, if you want. Not really good with weapons, but she never needed them. She is clever enough to booby trap any place she lives, rarely anyone wanders onto her. Taeda: She is also lactose intolerant. No idea what are you going to do with this information.

Q: How would you feel becoming the main character of a fanfic?

Taedal: (Excited bat noises) Taedal: Erhem. I meant… It sounds quite cool.

Q: Your favorite(s) activity(ies) to do?

Taedal: I really love volleyball. And walks with my pets. Seriously, my pets and I spend a lot of time together, whether it’s walk, training, hoofcare, clawcare or things like that.

Q: Any fun fact(s)?

Taedal: My name is in fact Latin taeda, which means torch, with additional L so it looks like a name. Taedal: Luxien, as you have probably guessed at this point, is delivered from lux, which is Latin for light. And Czech for vacuum cleaner, which connects her to her experiments with Void. Taedal: A lot of demons that have to do something with the Golden Torch have light-themed names. When it comes to it, a lot of places on the Forgotten Isle follows the pattern too. Taedal: And Torchkeep is a play on Candlekeep - starting location in Baldur’s Gate. We have a lot of books there too. Just ask Cheret.

Q: One time, we ask you to draw something. You drew seven stickmen. Can we have an explanation or still not?

Taedal: Oh yeah, this… Those were the Seven Deadly Sins. Taedal: Considered my drawing skills, I was seriously thinking about drawing seven different sines, but that’d be too nerd.

Q: Did you and the Golden Torch tried another planets before coming to Azeroth?

Taedal: We had three ideas where to go, Azeroth among them as the Legion’s prime thorn in side. Me and the advisors were voting then with the resut 3:1:1 for Azeroth Taedal: Vand’tet abstained from voting as her idea was “we rush in and kill everyone within the Legion”.

Q: Is Illidan a good godfather or did the Illidari got a new member?

Taedal: Yeah about that… Taedal: I hate to tell you that but it was all fake news. You know, a shipment of damaged pregnancy tests can cause mass panic. Or celebration. Taedal: Illidan was really disappointed he isn’t going to be a godfather. Taedal: The only children we actually got were Garrosh’s 37 adopted ghost children for the simple reason that pregnacy tests have to effect on adoption. Taedal: Of course, Illidan asked Garrosh if he could be godfather of at least one of those children, but Garrosh, being Garrosh, was against that.

Q: How was it among the other Dreadlord? 

Taedal: Quite good actually. The arguments could get quite heated and you don’t want to be in a room full of Dreadlords making angry bat noises setting each other aflame, but aside form that it was nice. Taedal: I miss the sleepovers. There is nothing like hanging upside down from the ceiling side by side with your fellows and whispering quietly not to wake the others up.

Q: If you get your own datadisc, what would you do with it?

Taedal: No spoilers, sweetheart, sorry. Where would the thrill of waiting be? Taedal: Well… I guess I can give you a little teaser, so you’re going to be angry with Blizzard for not making it happen anyway. Hold your hats and grab a good chair, here we go! Taedal: A playable demon race with 6 Classes. Hellfire Nights event, celebrated the last week of April and with its own event dungeon. 4 new raids, such as Voidforge or Ivory Sanctum, and 12 new dungeons, for example Cavern of Time: Descension, K’areshan Manaforge or Eternal Prison. Also 4 new big factions with which you may gain reputation. There is a lot of lore explained and some minor interesting things, like Ethereal or Wrathion, will once again be of importance. Not to mention the Fogotten Isle and some distant worlds added as a location. And also a new profession, Painting. Taedal: And I owe Lord Theron ten golds, ‘cause we had a bet going on whether I would or wouldn’t spill the beans. Damned Elves and their psychology.

Q: As we are the First of April, a question of circumstance: Are you a trickster? Or something like that?

Taedal: I wouldn’t call myself a trickster, on the other hand a lot of other people do. For sure I am no such a person as, say, Loki, but I enjoy a good joke just like everyone else. Taedal: What I am trying to say is that from time to time I do a little harmless mischievous joke. But even I admit that making everyone else read 50 Shades of Gray was a kinda… Overboard.

Q: How is the average day for the Golden Torch?

Taedal: We start our day with emergency, because some Voidforge battlesquad has been bored and decided they need their ass kicked and go attack us. Taedal: Then we have a quiet and nice afternoon, everyone minding their own business. Handing out quests, taking care of pets and mounts, preparing lunch and such. Taedal: By lunch usually return the nether-stalkers, so we (and by we I mean I) update the map of the Twisting Nether along with the positions of the Void and Legion forces. Taedal: After that me and my advisors have an argument what are we going to do with it and usually settle with “sabotage but keep low”. Taedal: Later Khadghar pops in to see how are we doing and stuff, so we tell him that nothing unusual happened and there’s nothing to worry about. And so we can proceed to the dinner.

Q: If you could meet the anon who asked for you to exist, what would you do? :)

Taedal: I am not really sure. Maybe hug. Maybe thanks. Most likely I’d play it like no big deal. Taedal: ‘Twas you, wasn’t it?

[thalsianiii]

Demons and you in RP, Part 2!

First off, I just want to thank you all for your support and kindness after my first post! It’s nice to see so many of you have taken an interest! Now, a few of you pointed out interest in other demons, i.e, ones that didn’t serve as player companions but might be used in role play plot lines. Or perhaps just curiosity because you’re an aspiring demon nerd like me. Either way, I’ve decided to finish off all I know of demon lore with a couple more posts for you all. This section will cover demon’s we’ve seen over the previous six versions of World of Warcraft prior to Legion. Finally, I’ll make a brief part 3 post with what little details we have on the brand new demons we’ve seen with Legion. Of course, as always, if I’ve left out any details you feel is important do send it my way so it can be mentioned. And if when all is said and done I’ve missed any demons you’re particularly interested in, send me a message and I can relay what I know, or direct you to a good source of canon information to do your own research! So get ready for Doctor Percival Thalsian the thirds second compendium on Demons!

Wrathguards

starting with this one because a few people pointed out that I didn’t include it in my first collection despite it having been a companion demon in previous years. The reason it was excluded is because it is no longer available in game as a companion. But they are pretty interesting and have an interesting backstory that should be shared.

The first point, is wrathguards are in fact Eredar.[1] That’s the same original race as Kil’jaden, Archimonde, and even you Draenei players. However they do have a few odd features, such as extra sets of horns and clawed feet. One theory is that these are mutations from the exposure to fel magic, similar to the broken draenei seen in warcraft III and Outland. It could also be an intentional augmentation, but this is all player speculation.

The summoning ritual for them is also explained in Jubeka’s Journal, claiming that the ritual circle to summon requires less magic runes than other demons, claiming that they respect raw power over intricate spell work.[1]

One interesting fact I discovered in my research on these ex-companions is that, based on their old in-game quotes, they actually enjoyed being Warlock minions! I make this claim based on quotes such as “I live to be commanded!”[2] and “Pleased to Slay upon command!”[2] This makes them sound like they’d be phenomenally loyal demonic bodyguards for any warlock who summoned them.

It’s worth noting that, the glyph of wrathguard appears to still be somewhere in the games system. So we may be seeing them again in a later patch!

Pitlords & Annihilan

In most cases, the Pit Lords act as commanders and generals for the legion forces. They’re some of the best representations of a cliche demon. Terrifying massive monsters that live for destruction. When you think of demons and the Burning Legion, these are the guys that should come to mind.

They also boast some of the greatest cruelty, living to brutalize and torture mortals. They would outright enslaving other demons and using them as fodder in their assaults on mortal worlds.[3]

You’ll note I purposely separate the title “Pit Lord” from the species “Annihilan” for a couple reasons. The first is because, although Annihilan are the only ones seen holding the title of Pit Lord, it is very much a military position in the legion and not the name of the demonic species. There are a few examples of demons that don’t match the titles with the species. Azzinoth, the demon from whom Illidan acquired his signature Warglaives, was of the species “Fiend” but was referred to as a Doomguard (as opposed to a Terrorguard)[4]. Another example being the Annihilan Illidan and his demon hunters fight in the short film “Harbingers - Illidan” who refers to himself as “The Doomlord Azgoth.”[5]

The second is to illustrate that the chances of you actually seeing a true ‘Pit Lord’ is pretty slim if you think about it logically. It would be the equivalence of seeing a military general out on the field with his soldiers, doesn’t happen very often if ever (In fact, only two were seen on all of Azeroth during the War of the Ancients, Mannoroth & Azgalor)[6]. However, an Annihilan of lesser power or standing would be a very reasonable option for an exceptionally powerful warlock antagonist, or perhaps a small cult. In the end, it really boils down to semantics, if you write an Annihilan in your plot as a ‘Pit Lord’ no one would really notice or judge you on it... except me...I’ll judge you.

Dreadlords & Nathrezim

The Dreadlords are equally as evil as the Annihilan, but in a very, very different way. Definitely one of the better known demons to most players. Masters of shadow magic, the Nathrezim are among the most cunning and deceptive of demons. Preferring to infiltrate mortal civilizations and cause unrest and strife from within. Once the nations were dissolved and chaos ran across their civilizations, the Dreadlords would corrupt the mortals into new breeds of demons[7]. You read that right, Dreadlords can turn people into demons. That’s right scary.

As we’ve seen multiple times in game, Dreadlords are capable of taking on the form of others to infiltrate society. Balnazaar and the Scarlet Crusade is a very good example of just how adept they are at infiltrating groups. As fanatical as the Crusaders were, how much of that was their own zeal, and how much was actually the dreadlords influence?

It’s also important to note that Dreadlords, although they’re original demons and some of the evilest, can be turned to the side of the Light. We have one example of this in Lothraxion, who is a Paladin champion in Legion.[8] Now since we only have ONE example, assuming this is common or even exists beyond this singular example is a stretch, but it’s not the only example of demonic repentance we’ve seen.

Mo’Arg & Gan’Arg

Engineers of the Burning Legion, first seen on Outland. Technically Mo’Arg Brutes, Felguards, and Fel Lords are in fact Mo’Arg as well, but for the sake of this guide we will focus specifically on the engineering demons. Mo’Arg are the larger of the two. Sporting highly modified bodies via cybernetic implants and augmentations. Gan’Arg are the stunted version of the two, sporting equally modified bodies. These engineers are incredibly intelligent and cunning, crafting siege weapons, arms, and armor for the legion’s conquest across the planet.[9]

Again, as with many demons, they aren’t strictly aligned with the legion. The Mo’Arg Engineer Sal’salabim is found in the Worlds End Tavern of Shattrath city as a quest giver, loosely working with Altrius the Sufferer, as he drinks his time away.[10]

Man’ari Eredar

Now to cover everything that is the Eredar would also involve citing the whole history of the Draenei, as they are of the same race. But the brief version is this: Man’Ari is the faction of Eredar that joined the Legion, Draenei is the faction that refused and followed Velen. So for you warlocks who like to speak in demonic (or Eredun as it is properly known), a Draenei would most certainly be able to understand you.[11] In fact during a plot line where The Conclave worked along side The Sha’Tor (a Draenei guild on WrA) I had some lovely banter between my warlock and an elder Draenei priest. Makes for super fun role play potential!

Personally, I’d say these Demons offer the best option for a really deep antagonist since they are a previous mortal race and therefore it’s much easier to make them a relatable character. They’re also a perfect example of how a mortal can become a demon. A lot of people may see roleplaying a mortal-turned-demon as somewhat of a taboo, but with multiple races acting as proof I say it’s more than fair to do so if that is your desire.

It’s also worth noting that, because they are -now- demons, they seem to possess the ability to change their shape & size through their new found fel powers. The vast mutations of Kil’Jaden are one example, or the varying size of Archimonde. It is reasonable then to speculate that all demons have the ability to change their shape and form to some degree, possibly even as far as similar transformations as the Dreadlords. But that last statement is unconfirmed and therefore is used at the writers discretion.

Void Hounds/Void Terrors

Really not much to talk about with these demons. They’re 2 headed, multi-eyed demon dogs. Similar in model to Core Hounds. Immol’thar was the only known Void Hound on azzeroth until the Sunwell patch was released. There are also a few examples in game of these creatures being summoned via shadow/void magic, making them aberrations as opposed to demons.[12]

However, Chronicle does specifically cite Void Hounds as demons that roam the twisting nether.[7] so it’s more likely that the ones considered aberrations were simply used for the model because... it’s creepy? Either way, they’re demons!

Satyr

For the most part, Satyr are once Night Elves that were ‘blessed’ with the Satyr curse Sargeras first gave to Xavius and he passed on. Although they did later discover that they could pass on the Satyr curse to other races. But the curse has weakened over the millennia and new satyr aren’t often being found.[13]

With that having been said, since Xavius has made his reappearance, along with the massive legion invasion, we’ve seen more Satyr and one could argue that he’s been giving his gift about to any one power hungry enough to accept it, until he was defeated in the Nightmare of course.

Satyr are also another race of mortals turned demon. As with the Eredar, they retain many of their kaldorei features, but sport some interesting mutations such has cloven hooves and horns. They seem to particularly enjoy corrupting and drain the land of its natural life magic. Apparently, the Satyr that have drained a lot of magic have swollen and uncloven hooves.[13] it’s a minor, and rather silly detail, but if you want to write a very old, very powerful Satyr, mention it’s hooves!

Satyr are also another example of how demons/demonic entities can repent and wish to atone for their sins. Avrus Illwhisper is an example of this, and through a quest is actually redeemed and returned to his former night elf form.[14]

Conclusion

So there you have it. Most of the demons we’ve seen over the years outside of those that warlocks summon in-game. Some of them are rich with lore and back story. Others, not so much. But as we can see they all have different levels of depth and personality that can be written and used for a myriad of different stories and plots. Many of these demons of course make for good antagonists, but with multiple sources of demonic repentance over the years it is also possible to have them written in as individuals who want to return to the side of good.

References

1) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Wrathguard

2) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Wrathguard_(warlock_minion)

3) World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 1 (pg 22)

4) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Azzinoth

5) Harbingers- Illidan https://youtu.be/g4RXrI6ZGPk?t=2m24s

6) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Annihilan

7) World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 1 (pg 21)

8) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Lothraxion

9) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Mo%27arg

10) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Sal%27salabim

11) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Eredar

12) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Void_hound

13) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Satyr

14) http://wow.gamepedia.com/Avrus_Illwhisper

[recentanimenews]

Fans Are Heating Up For The Next Wave

  *SPOILERS BELOW*

  If you’re not completely caught up on The Rising of the Shield Hero, please shield your eyes.

  Shield Hero kicked things off with the Melty vs. Naofumi standoff in the capital. Naofumi’s distrust for the royal family showed as he stood his ground against Melty. This left Filo understandably sad and confused with no explanation from Naofumi and a ban from seeing her new friend again.

  A group from Lute asked Naofumi if they could support him in the Waves as they felt it was important to support the man that helped save the villagers. Being the hard business man that he now is, Naofumi told them to come back with 150 silver coins. The Shield Hero party tried to get class upgrades with no success from the official channels and found it’ll need to done in another country at another time. In the meantime, Filo and Raphtalia got spruced up with new weapons and Naofumi got the zombie dragon core embedded into his chest plate.

Naofumi also dropped an information bomb on Raphtalia: He plans on going home after all of the Waves are over. Raphtalia expressed that she wants to go with him. Filo woke up and called a foul that Raphtalia was being lovey dovey with Naofumi. The rivalry is alive, loud, and sleepily kicking!

Finally we got to see Bow and Sword Hero again! Bow Hero quoted Spider-Man and Shield Hero reacted as many would. It appears that Bow and Sword Hero are getting their jobs and rewards stolen these days and accused Shield Hero of being a part of it. Shield Hero has been cleaning up their messes and told them exactly how things turned out after their heroic deeds.

The group from Lute came back with the money and Shield Hero told them to get some armor and get ready for a strategy meeting. The Queen expressed her concerns and a mysterious new character briefly showed themselves.

The next Wave is in less than 24 hours in the show so there is no time to waste but first, Shield Hero provided a place for everyone to share their thoughts:

Post reactions to the latest episode in this thread. Don't read ahead if you don't want to see spoilers for the latest episode. pic.twitter.com/7MSX8sllea

— The Rising of the Shield Hero (@ShieldHeroEN) March 13, 2019

  Team Raphtalia vs. Team Filo

  pic.twitter.com/OxHDfVrGa8

— Urzu 37 - ❤️I Ship Naofumi x Raphtalia❤️ (@SlvrIceDrgn1981) March 13, 2019

  pic.twitter.com/NkfhkeFQoH

— Urzu 37 - ❤️I Ship Naofumi x Raphtalia❤️ (@SlvrIceDrgn1981) March 13, 2019

  — Mr Whiiskey (@MrWhiiskeys) March 13, 2019

  ????How could ANYONE say no to that face?? #Raphtalia #BestGirl

— Thorin Gaming #TeamWizards (@Thorin_Gaming) March 13, 2019

  TAKE ???? HER ???? WITH ???? YOU ????

— Dreadlord Alleria???????? (@LawbrngrRyuujin) March 13, 2019

pic.twitter.com/CSmuXk3mY3

— Megalomaniac (@megalomaniac_v) March 13, 2019

  Spider-Man quoting in a new world...weird flex but okay.

  Itsuki.......come on bro ???????? pic.twitter.com/rtnjm7nw72

— Chandler Ingram (@Chandler_Ingram) March 13, 2019

  "Shielder-Man, Shielder-Man!" "Does Whatever A Shielder Can!"

— Ramen4Life (@Rmn_4_Life) March 13, 2019

  That spider man reference though ????. RIP Stan Lee

— Mr Whiiskey (@MrWhiiskeys) March 13, 2019

  I understood that reference you put in ;) pic.twitter.com/a3aJaX3zNu

— 几-丂丨乂 (@asg_6420) March 13, 2019

  Rising of the Shield Hero just had one of the absolute funniest moments I’ve ever seen in anime

— Rawnaeris is supposed to be on hiatus (@rawnaeris) March 13, 2019

Shield Hero’s Spider-Man reference had me dying ???? pic.twitter.com/ePcNJuSpRc

— Jake (@Hakoboh) March 13, 2019

  Get ready for what's coming next.

  yes! finally#shieldhero pic.twitter.com/cKiNgfVSCT

— Skyzzed (@Skyzzed) March 13, 2019

  Jesus Christ FINALLY. Shield hero is nothing but straight gas from this point on pic.twitter.com/9tllxefD7Q

— Vøīd (@AlmightyBuizel) March 13, 2019

  — Chandler Ingram (@Chandler_Ingram) March 13, 2019

How do you feel about episode 10? What was your favorite moment? What do you think about Melty? Tweet a reply to The Rising of the Shield Hero page! 

    Share your thoughts on the latest episode in the comments section below! 

  Ricky Soberano is a Features Editor, Script Writer, and Editorial Programming Coordinator for Crunchyroll. She’s the former Managing Editor of Brooklyn Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter @ramenslayricky.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[umnachtung]

prof makes you read facts about them

The Letter A Are you available? Hahahah, I dunno. What is your age? 24. What annoys you? Too many  things.

The Letter B Do you live in a big house? Kind of? But I share the space with my parents. When is your birthday? March 3rd Who is your best friend? Rhoda, but people I consider friends usually are pretty close to me and like you have friends for different things in your life so every friend is a special friend for different things.

The Letter C What’s your favorite candy? Trolli Sour Worms Who’s your crush? Dunno. When was the last time you cried? Last week because of rejection letters from companies.

The Letter D Do you daydream? Always. What’s your favorite kind of dog? Borzoi and Bull Terriers? I’m more of a cat person tho.  What day of the week is it? Friday.

The Letter E How do you like your eggs? Scrambled -> same Have you ever been in the emergency room? Yes. Waiting 5 hours for a blood test result is fucking lame. What’s the easiest thing ever to do? doodling without effort. The Letter F Have you ever flown in a plane? Yes. Do you use fly swatters? No. Have you ever used a foghorn? Nope.

The Letter G Do you chew gum? No. It’s not good for my jaw. Are you a giver or a taker? Giver probably? Gotta work on that self-preservation instinct lmao. Do you like gummy candies? Depends.

The Letter H How are you? Hungry. Baby needs snack. What color is your hair? Red. What’s your favorite holiday? Halloween and Carnival because of dressing up.

The Letter I What’s your favorite ice cream? Lime, Forest Berries, Mango Have you ever ice skated? Yes, but I wish it wasn’t so full on the ice rink so I dont feel like someone is gonna run me over speeding. Do you play an instrument? I try to get better at guitar.

The Letter J What’s your favorite jelly bean brand? They are all kind of gross. Do you wear jewelry? I sometimes wear different necklaces. I would like to have rings  and bracelets but then they annoy me when drawing. Do you like juice? Yeah, currant and Maracuja mostly.

The Letter K Who do you want to kill? My low self-esteem and doubts. Do you want kids? Nope nope nope Where did you go for kindergarten? Kita Spatzenhaus (sparrow house)

The Letter L Are you laid back? I’ve been told I give off that feeling even tho my mind is full of yelling parrots. Do you lie? Only if it is like blatant obvious and absurd lies. Who do you know whose name starts with L? Lea, Laura, Lillian, Leo...all girls

The Letter M Whats your favorite movie? The Incredibles ? Do you still watch Disney movies? The old ones I hold dear for sure. Do you like mangos? Yes.

The Letter N Do you have a nickname? Toni or Prof. I’ve also been called Austin because of the Austin Power movies  and my hair being like that... What is your real name? Toni, Dreadlord of the Pun-universe, champion of procrastination Whats your favorite number? 9 -> same

The Letter O What’s your one wish? A job I don’t hate so I have money and can treat myself and my friends. Are you an only child? No, I have a big sister. Do you like oranges? I hate peeling them. They are ok tho.

The Letter P What one fear are you most paranoid about? People I don’t even know hating me making me an outcast of society so I have to go live in the woods because I am embarrassed? What are your pet peeves? Too many... when mom has conversations with neighbors at the door for over 10 minutes... What’s a personality trait you look for in people? Genuine kindness.

The Letter Q What’s your favorite quote? Probably dumb insiders with friends. Are you quick to judge people? Yes. Do you learn new things quickly? Depends how much interest I have in it.

The Letter R Do you think you’re always right? No, but I like to be because im a lil’ shit. Are you one to cry? None of the words in this question start with R…Always. When’s the last time you saw a rainbow? I dunno.

The Letter S Do you prefer sun or rain? rain. Do you like snow? a lot. What’s your favorite season? Autumn.

The Letter T What time is it? 12:12 am What time did you wake up? 09:10 am-ish When was the last time you slept in a tent? IDK.

The Letter U Are you wearing underwear? Yes. Underwear or boxers? Both. When did you last feel under the weather? After that walk on Wednesday.

The Letter V What’s the worst veggie? green cabbage Where do you want to go on vacation? Ireland, Egypt perhaps?? Can you play the violin? No, but I wanted to learn it with 8.

The Letter W What’s your worst habit? Scratching my scalp when nervous, bored, restless :I Where do you live? Berlin, Germany. What’s your worst fear? Loosing sight or both my hands I guess.

The Letter X Have you ever had an x-ray? Yes...? Have you seen the x-games? No. Do you own a xylophone? Not anymore.

The Letter Y Do you like the color yellow? Not really. What’s one thing you yearn for? Joobbbbb...moneeey....own apartment... a cat What did you do yesterday? Sent off some job applications.

The Letter Z Whats your zodiac sign? Pisces and Rooster. Do you believe in the zodiac? No, but I like reading about it. Favorite zoo animal? Big cats and birds.

[swampgallows]

hey so i’ve always been a staunch believer in still being able to love a character without condoning their actions, but i’ve always been curious of what your thoughts are on garrosh’s bombing of theramore? do you think it was as heinous of an act as it’s made to be in the lore, considering all citizens were evacuated?

it’s kind of funny/stunning to me that people care about my opinion on this stuff… im really flattered actually!!! haha i just feel like “oh, you’re actually asking me to talk about Garrosh? well, by all means…”

I can understand the logistics of wanting to take out Theramore. Northwatch Hold is an extension of the Alliance forces troubling the east coast of Kalimdor, which are stationed at the stronghold of Theramore. Northwatch Hold and the humans there have been putting pressure on the orcs for years, and the trolls in the neighboring isles ages before that. Sometimes people forget, I think, that the humans and the trolls have been at war longer than Thrall’s Horde had even existed. Some of your first quests as a Horde character starting in Durotar (back when the tauren, trolls, and orcs all started in the Valley of Trials and were directly funneled into the Barrens, resulting in the notorious Barrens Chat of yore) are to combat the units stationed at Northwatch. And, unfortunately despite Jaina’s efforts, many of the humans of eastern Kalimdor still sought to drive the Horde out, so it was still a matter of the Horde defending their new homes.

If you visit Cataclysm’s Theramore, there is a lot of talk of …not necessarily mutiny, but a budding kind of nationalism and yearning to “return to the old ways”. Just as the orcs who were loyal to Garrosh were itching to return to the version of the Horde that preceded Thrall’s, there were plenty of humans sharpening their blades and talking about “the good old days”. There is even a questline on the Alliance side in Theramore to expose these deserters. Traitors Among Us is one of the first quests you complete. Morgaledh quotes some of the “deserter” NPCs in the WoWhead comments, while adding their own echoed sentiments:

“These people will know Admiral Proudmoore for the true hero he was”“You can’t stop us from exposing the truth about Jaina’s cowardice”“It’s people like you who weaken the Alliance and invite the Horde to take away all we’ve fought for”I’ve done this quest on many characters over many years, and I completely agree with the Agitators. That Thrall-loving @#$% Jaina needs to be deposed, the men-at-arms of Theramore turned to valiant deeds against the animals of Orgrimmar, and this pretense of peace with the green-skins done away with once and for all.

Additionally, Theramore has spies out by Brackenwall, an ogre village allied with the Horde, and was actively sending troops further into the Barrens in the name of King Varian.

I mention this only because, from both Alliance and Horde standpoints, Theramore was by no means a neutral ground, nor lack of a threat. Theramore, whether by Jaina’s decree or not, was already actively brewing resentment and making moves against the Horde.

Garrosh’s plan was good. Parking the Horde ships just outside Theramore’s waters to intimidate—as well as prepare—Theramore for an assault is pretty clever, in my opinion. They had a chance to clear out civilians as well as gather enough Alliance forces to combat the estimated number of Horde units. He also had the Horde march in, engage in a skirmish, and then retreat; it gave the Horde a chance to fight a true battle and sent a direct message to the Alliance about what they were up against. But this was not the whole of Garrosh’s plan, and that is where it gets bad. Everything I just mentioned was only for appearances, as Garrosh’s true intentions were unbeknownst to everyone but his closest associates (Malkorok, some Kor’kron, etc.).

Literally everything else following this is completely fucking obscene, unethical, dishonorable, grotesque, cowardly, and whatever the hell else you want to call it. Even if Theramore hadn’t been nuked, per se, and it was just the enslaved elementals or just the barrage of siege weaponry, the travesty and crime of Garrosh’s attack on Theramore was that it was dishonorable. It was unjust, and it was dishonest. He deliberately withheld information from his own people, including the other racial leaders, and threatened them with treason and/or death if they were to question his methods. He lied to the Horde AND the Alliance. They say all is fair in love and war, but Theramore wasn’t warfare. It was extermination, and Garrosh used every ounce of deception and abuse that he could to screw everybody over.

The bombing of Theramore fucking sucks. Stealing the Focusing Iris is fucking dumb (still have no idea how the Horde managed to pull that shit off, by the way), and reading through Tides of War was a grueling experience. From a fiction standpoint, it is one of the lowest, most non-rewarding experiences I’ve had in WoW’s storytelling. It is similar to a gripe I have with the majority of Pixar films: sometimes the low that is hit is so low, so hopeless, that there is emotionally a point of no return in which, I personally feel, the story has been fatally wounded. Maybe it’s because of my own experiences with trauma or whatever, but reaching an “emotional dead-end” in a story like that completely negates whatever sort of redemption buds from that conflict; it may heal, but it leaves a scar. Maybe it’s because I’m a pathetic softie grown on Disney movies that can’t handle more than two seconds of a bad time, who knows. But I hate knowing shit can be irreparably damaged in stories with zero hopeful outlook, especially when I myself as a viewer, or in identifying with the protagonist, am held accountable. I don’t glean entertainment or enjoyment from stories that infuse me with guilt and tell me that everything is my fault and that I let this happen and deserve to be punished or killed.

Theramore was the death knell of a thousand things. Anything Jaina does from now on is going to be seen as irrational because of her own people standing against her and players trying to justify reasons for why Garrosh did what he did and how he, technically, was blah blah blah. Jaina is put through a meatgrinder and made to feel some of the worst pain anyone can ever feel. Jaina has already been through an entire shitshow. She has lost her father, her fiancé, her people, her home, and anyone she could have ever trusted. She has lost everything she has sacrificed these things for: peace. It’s gone. In the blink of an eye. Jaina built Theramore. 

Everyone jokes about death knights giving the Illidari a side-eye when they ask “I’ve sacrificed everything—what have you given?” How does it feel to be the woman who, maybe, she’ll never know, might have been able to prevent the rise of the Lich King? Was she wrong to reject Arthas at Stratholme? To reject Kael’thas in Dalaran? To reject her father Daelin and stand with Thrall? People take pity on Illidan, who even gets a redemptive arc in Legion and is literally a demon, yet accuse Jaina of being a dreadlord because of the justified anger she feels and pain she has endured. Theramore is now a scapegoat for all of her sorrow as people conveniently forget the rest of her history.

Garrosh’s character was executed with Theramore. Anything after that must have been emotionally exhausting beyond belief. I can’t imagine having to play through Pandaria with that piece of shit as Warchief. He let everyone down. How could anyone say “for the Horde” proudly with anything but hatred in their hearts? Who could condone that? Bringing the enormity of something like that to a video game that is supposed to be fun and interesting and certainly have a bit of storytelling conflict, sure, but not to that degree, ultimately sucks the fun out of it. Theramore didn’t need to happen the way it did, and personally I think the dropping of the mana bomb/nuke, and all of the deaths associated with it, and how graphically it was recounted in Tides of War—Jaina sifting through the rubble of her home, touching the remains of Kinndy and having them burst into arcane powder in her hands, dedicating the length of the book to building up to the event—was incredibly fucking tasteless. It could have been a barrage of bombs, even, like the goblins do all the time, or, like I said, it would have sealed the deal enough to have Garrosh abuse the elements and lie to his people to paint him as a villain. 

I mean, I guess they wanted to tie in Dalaran’s neutrality somehow and create conflict there (for some reason, even though both the Horde and the Alliance are back there in Legion, I guess because Jaina left the Kirin Tor), and Rhonin could have died in literally any other imaginable way. It didn’t have to be from a “magical” nuke. If it was supposed to somehow “forward” WoW’s standard technology (which is indeed one thing that Garrosh did, pulling the Horde into the industrial age), they fucked up by making it a one-time resource like the Focusing Iris and using it in such a grisly, abominable way that even the Forsaken’s stomachs turned. From a gameplay, story, and even lore perspective, it was absolute overkill. 

tl;dr Garrosh’s attack on Theramore was absolutely heinous and was the death of his character. I don’t know how anyone took the Divine Bell as a threat after the Theramore scenario, and literally the only way they could have upped the evil ante for Garrosh at the end of Mists was to have him seize the heart of a dead Old God, the only thing more evil and more powerful than the demons he apparently so reviled. It fucked up everything, including the overall storytelling tone of the Warcraft franchise. Nobody won and nothing about it is entertaining in the slightest. It’s incredibly tasteless and, in my opinion, a huge smudge on the lore, and one of Blizzard’s most—if not the most—flagrant cases of “bad writing”. People still talk about it, sure, not because it was emotionally gray and compelling like the mak’gora between Garrosh and Thrall, but because it was outlandishly inappropriate for the setting.

I love Garrosh as a character, but Theramore is honestly one of those things I basically just block out of my mind. I am more comfortable with him stealing the heart of Y’shaarj than the extermination of Theramore.