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[eluntara]

sometimes i remember malfurion and tyrande have only been actually, officially married for like. 10 years and i die

[eluntara]

She was beautiful and terrible in her righteous fury, an implacable goddess of justice untempered by mercy and unfettered by compassion, her chest rising and falling with quickened breath, her heartbeat pulsing visibly in her long, slender throat.

tyrande being described like that in war crimes and they wanted me to think everything we see of her as the night warrior was an extreme change for her as a character like..... please....

[eluntara]

Tyrande was turning to leave when a familiar object caught her eye. A large potted plant sat on the shelf in front of her, its heart-shaped leaves curling along graceful branches. It was known as the alor'el, or “lover’s leaf,” and though they had been common thousands of years ago, the plants were gradually dying out across Kalimdor.

Somehow Shandris had procured one and bestowed it upon Tyrande and Malfurion on their wedding day. Smiling slyly, Tyrande’s adopted daughter had been only too happy to tell all of the guests that, according to an ancient but completely unfounded kaldorei legend, the alor'el would only bloom for a couple who shared a perfect love. Naturally, she was confident that Malfurion and his wife would be the ideal candidates to test the legend’s veracity. The other guests had cheered and toasted them, proclaiming their good faith, but the plant had yet to yield as much as a bud.

The large alor'el plant, her wedding gift to the happy couple, had grown tremendously since she had last seen it, and one of its tendrils tumbled down over the edge of the shelf. With a cry of joy, she noticed it was covered with buds on the verge of blooming.

The first part is from the beginning of Seeds of Faith, and the Second one is the very last paragraph. Shandris thinks the alor’el is blooming because of Malfurion and Tyrande, when actually it is blooming for her and the love they feel for her (I stand by my argument that Tyrande adopted her alone but anyways the story has it being as both of them). 

Throughout the entire story, there’s an emphasis on how worried about Shandris’ safety Tyrande is — and that she and Malfurion have warned people not to go out looking for others because of the Cataclysm, Tyrande does it all the same. She says in the story she can feel Shandris is in danger, not because of Elune but because she is her mother — and that they are not biologically related doesn’t diminish that in nothing because their bond is what matters. When she finds Shandris apparently dead, Tyrande literally has a breakdown. 

The two of them have been together for thousands of years. Shandris has spent more time with Tyrande than Malfurion, actually. Tyrande adopted her during the War of the Ancients, and in the ten thousand years that followed in which Malfurion was in the Emerald Dream, Tyrande worked to heal and rebuild, and Shandris was with her. There is no one Tyrande trusts more, which is why Shandris was her choice to lead the Sentinels when Tyrande chose to step down from it. Shandris would be her choice to lead the Kaldorei in case anything happened to her, too, more so than Malfurion — and it isn’t to say she doesn’t care or trusts him, but they have very different stances on some things, and Tyrande would trust Shandris more because she knows her daughter would be dedicated to the well being of their people without interference and dilemmas Malfurion might face with his more neutral, more pacifist stance and having nature and druidism as his priorities (he chose those once, and Tyrande wouldn’t think that choice has changed).

And in the end I think much about Malfurion and Tyrande is that they care for each other, but they spent a lot of time apart and it was time in which they (maybe her more so than he) changed a lot. He acknowledges that in Warcraft III when they are gathering help; she’s not as gentle as she was before because she couldn’t be — war and leadership demanded her to harden. And Tyrande loves him, but there are things I think she can never really reconcile with, even beyond his long absence and leaving her alone with leadership she didn’t want. 

Considering the actual wording used in the story is “perfect love” and not “true love” I think that’s actually very accurate that it bloomed for Shandris, not Malfurion. Every relationship has problems and eventual disagreements, and I don’t think this is what the alor’el thing is about. I think the point is although Tyrande and Malfurion care for each other, there is a limit to it from both parts: his duties as a druid come before anything, and he adopts stances and makes choices Tyrande cannot (and doesn’t want to try to) understand, much like he doesn’t try to understand and support her at times (dire times, too, such as in Seeds of Faith itself with how he goes about her pleas about looking for Shandris). On her part too, although she cares for him, Elune comes first and her people comes first and there’s not a sense of partnership about their relationship anymore, not in the sense she counts on him for doing things or relies on him for anything (see her recent choices: she will trust Shandris with the Sentinels and Maiev with Darkshore, but she doesn’t rely on Malfurion to lead anything). They care for each other but their relationship lacks in complete trust and deep understanding. With Shandris, that is very different. Tyrande trusts her completely, and I think they’d have a very good understanding of each other. It isn’t a perfect love because there aren’t disagreements, but because it has the most important foundations of love beyond deep caring: there’s respect, trust and understanding.

[eluntara]

but also since I’m talking faction conflicts I think it’s a fine moment to point out tyrande, night warrior or not, will NOT forgive the horde for what they did. not my take on her at least, because her resenting them and being out for blood is just so very in character for her without any ‘power corrupts’ nonsense or whatnot. 

tyrande can be nurturing and caring and loving and gentle but she’s also ruthless and blunt and harsh. what you see of her has always depended on who you are, way before teldrassil. she holds grudges for thousands of years, but she’s also someone who is always giving her everything to people who are on her side.

when it comes to the horde, tyrande has long stopped believing peace would ever be possible. when varian decides not to go after the horde, this is her stance on it: that’s all fine and good for now, but it won’t last. she was capable of working with the horde when necessary, but she was never friendly towards them, and the friendly relationships she’s formed with some of them (thrall) are an exception. 

tyrande has lived long enough she’s unable to believe everyone can change for the better. some people can, yes, but hoping all of them will become better is naive in her opinion. and sometimes that naivety just has too high a price for an attempt to be worth it. 

she didn’t go out of her way to destroy the horde before, but she most certainly does after teldrassil. it is in part why she becomes the night warrior in the first place, not a result of it. I’ve said it like a thousand times before but my take on her is that unless you were not with the horde when teldrassil burned (like thrall) the only way she wants to see you is dead. she will not forgive, and she will not forget, and sylvanas is not the only one to be blamed as far as tyrande is concerned. if you were with the horde and didn’t go against her, then you were part of that too and tyrande would like to see you dead in the bloodiest possible way.

still, her stance has shifted from embracing the entirety of the alliance as her side since teldrassil too. like I said, tyrande gives herself a lot to those who are on her side. since becoming part of the alliance, she’s spared no effort to stand for them. but what she received in return hasn’t gotten even close to it, it was less than the bare minimum. 

gilneas she still counts as close allies, but for the most part it’s only the kaldorei she’s concerned with now. if stormwind was so eager to hold saurfang’s hand and side with the horde, they can go to them when they next need help.

[eluntara]

never forget that tyrande found a frightened shandris feathermoon during the war of the ancients and went like my child now even though they were at war against the legion and there was very little hope they’d win and she was like just a young adult but she still took one single look at shandris and decided it was worth to disobey her superior’s orders and adopt this child and even sacrificed her share of food so shandris could eat 

and like don’t forget that in cata she left darnassus to look for shandris alone and in the middle of a terrible storm almost having a breakdown because she was so afraid shandris might be dead and finally breaking when she finds shandris in a pool of blood so much so that she just cries and desperately prays to elune to save her daughter and doesn’t even notice malfurion is there until he goes help her heal shandris

just

shandris feathermoon is just very important to tyrande thanks for coming to my ted talk

[eluntara]

hey darlin what if you uhhhhhh went sicko mode

thanks but i'm already in my sicko mode

[eluntara]

i still don't have internet so i didn't manage to set up a carrd as intended :c for now, though, the relevant information is here

i. tyrande was the only daughter of fahlorn and ayla whisperwind. despite the peaceful times, her parents died when she was still young — attacked while outside the borders of azshara's realm. she was looked after by an aunt, mytaena blackstar, her mother's sister. she learned to hunt from her aunt, and quickly proved to be quite skilled at it. none of her family was highborne, neither were they talented with the arcane.

ii. she knows the stormrages since childhood, and anyone who knew them as children would describe the trio as attached by the hip. wherever one of them was spotted, you were certain to find the other two soon after. they were her best friends, her closest friends, the only ones who knew her entirely and completely with no barriers whatsoever, and she loved them both — though given their more similar nature, illidan and tyrande were likely often leading the way into trouble with malfurion trailing after.

iii. when it was time for them to choose their paths, tyrande had no doubt it was priesthood she would choose. her choice was not made out of unyielding faith as much as it was because that was the path that suited her purpose. both a protector at heart and hopelessly incapable of staying outside of action, she sought the sisterhood of elune — to protect others. specially the ones she loved. while malfurion found himself similarly at ease in druidism and wishing the other two to follow him, she never had any true interest in the druidic arts. illidan, the one who remained lost as to which path to follow for longest, would have received nothing but support and reassurance from her. when he found his calling in the arcane, she was as content for him as she had been for malfurion.

iv. the sisterhood took adapting to. it was the first time she didn't have illidan and malfurion with her, and she felt their absence greatly, but she did make new friends among her sisters fairly easily. tyrande showed great affinity for the moon goddess from the start, having a stronger bond to elune than many other, older priestesses. while most rejoiced, there were those envious of her, specially when the high priestess, dejahna, took her under her wing.

v. always worth noting the sisterhood of elune is not like human priest orders. their role in the war of the ancients was so significant because they were both elite troops and healers. they were trained for combat as well as for healing, and tyrande was a skilled hunter even before becoming a priestess.

vi. on the thorny subject of the love triangle: i don't? really see it? as a love triangle? tyrande cared for both of them as friends. she didn't love either of them romantically irrevocably, and if any of the two, i feel she leaned more towards illidan than malfurion, but more importantly, there was a lot of pressure on her related to her making a choice because they were adults and everyone expected her to pick one of the two as her mate. regardless of the choice she'd make, that would have featured heavily on why she chooses at all. still, i think she was closer to illidan, and that this is part of why she only chooses malfurion after the war. in many ways, illidan removed himself from being a choice because tyrande wouldn't agree to the lengths he went for his goals — considering, back then, she still had faith in a better path being possible that did not require the sacrifices he would make.

also relevant to note that i think, in many ways, she feared for him, and that i think all throughout the war tyrande would never have turned her back on him, as seen in the fact she does try to reach out and help him find another path when magic addiction takes its toll on him. which is not to say she didn't care for malfurion, only that i don't think they understand each other as innately as her and illidan did. malfurion is more distant (be it because his concerns lay elsewhere, because he doesn't know how to deal with his crush on her, or whatever other reasons) and often sees things differently (he's critical even of the priestesses fighting, in the books, which is :| ). but ultimately he was also the "safer" choice, still someone she cares about, still someone who knows her better than almost anyone and who she'd trust with everything she has. there's no stating the depth of her hurt when, having trusted that, she's left on her own after the war, without anyone she cares for who really knows her, with him purposefully choosing to leave even though she asks him not to.

vii. which ties into the fact she never ever wanted to be a leader, not even within her own order, much less of her entire people. she was thrust into this role unwillingly, and she embraced it because she loves her people and wanted to protect them. ultimately, though, being high priestess and being without the two people she had always had in her life who she was closest to, and having to deal with war and adversity, all of that hardened her greatly. tyrande was always passionate and decisive and even stubborn, her determination and intensity often leading her to act rashly. but she's not unwise, nor is she uncaring, even if she can be quite ruthless when it comes to protecting her own.

viii. shandris is her daughter. it doesn't matter to her at all she's not her biological daughter, and the fact malfurion was asleep for thousands of years, as well as that he doesn't seem to get that initially, suggest to me that regardless of their relationship as a couple shandris... isn't as much their daughter as she is tyrande's daughter.

ix. i think her distrust of magic following the world almost ending due to her people's misuse of it is in part why she feels betrayed by illidan's actions and decision to try to recreate the well of eternity. that said, while i think she agreed with his punishment being imprisonment, i don't think she would have supported how it was done. maybe it was an oversight on her part, but i think it's also a very emotional reaction, that she didn't want to see him after that. he was her closest friend, and she closed up in face of that disappointment. she left it in other people's hands, and she never doubted malfurion would ensure illidan would be treated fairly, even if that was not what happened.

for ages, she's unaware of whether he's alive or dead. the lack of visits on her part, even after thousands of years, strikes me as odd; specially with how lonely she feels while ruling her people alone. i do think the state of his imprisonment, as well as his status, may have been kept from her — either by maiev, malfurion, or both. in wc3, she seems surprised to find his prison, and she doesn't know what the door to it is until she's told, after which she immediately says they should release him. when she orders the wardens to do so and they refuse, tyrande outright kills them to free him. and while her words suggest illidan is meant to be used as a weapon, i don't think she'd have wanted to free him for that reason, and rather that that's only what she uses as excuse. she wouldn't have killed her people to free him if she didn't care. deep down, it was also about freeing her friend, which is obvious in how much faith she has that illidan will show he has more than earned his freedom.

x. she rebuilds the sentinels to ensure her people will have enough of a defense, specially after they renounce the magic they relied on for so long during azshara's reign.

xi. have i mentioned how lonely she is after the war of the ancients when she doesn't have her closest friends and people look up to her as a savior and holy person and not just a person and she has no one she can rely on while everyone relies on her. have i mentioned how lonely it is, how much it hurts, that she has to remain strong and confident because that's what others need of her. because. that's an important thing.

xii. the differences between tyrande and malfurion are greatly exacerbated when he and the druids are awakened after the long vigil. when she says 'Long ago, I swore to protect this land, Malfurion. I never had the luxury of sleeping through times of great peril.', it's sharp and it's honest. she's aware of the druids' strength and the emerald dream's importance, but she's had to deal with hardship all this time in the real world. and there's also resentment, for sure, towards his choice to leave her when their people needed them to rebuild and she had needed him most. like... that five minutes later he's trying to forbid her from freeing illidan doesn't make it better, 'only the goddess may forbid me anything' etc.

xiii. when illidan inevitably chooses to become even more demon to fight the demons, she isn't sure she made the right choice in freeing him. i do think she has a hard time believing all that change doesn't change who he is, but i don't she hates him for sacrificing his very soul to protect their land. i think she doesn't understand completely, and i think she grieves. she does think her friend is lost.

xiv. she's so distrustful of orc and humans. she'd work with neither given the choice and it's really only desperate need that makes her willing to work with thrall and jaina.

xv. when illidan comes back attacking maiev and malfurion goes deal with him, tyrande 100% goes too because she feels responsible, since she freed him. but honestly she's team fuck maiev all throughout ksndfkjsdnfkjsn and if not for malfurion interfering, i do think she'd have tried more forcefully to stop maiev from pursuing illidan after he saved her and things were okay ish between them.

xvi. while this changes through the years, tyrande is deeply compassionate. she's not someone who ignores those in need. it's why aiding kael was an obvious thing for her to do, regardless of what maiev thought.

xvii. tyrande was in stormwind when teldrassil was first attacked. her immediate desire was to go and join the battle, and the only reason she did not was due to a plea from the messeger that first brought her the news. she was asked to stay instead and receive the refugees of her people, so they would find at least one familiar presence to welcome them. nevertheless, eventually she did go to teldrassil to aid those who yet remained.

xviii. her choice to spare saurfang would be regretted later, but it was rooted not only in the orc having spared malfurion's life, but that he was one of the main generals leading the attack. at that point, she knew at least a portion of her land would be lost, and she hoped granting mercy to him would in turn lead him to have the horde show mercy on any of her people who didn't leave teldrassil in time. that the world tree would be burned was unthinkable to her, even in a dire moment like that.

xix. tyrande has led her people through great loss before, but by this point she is fundamentally changed, and the cruelty that act showed only makes her more merciless. she knows the night warrior ritual is dangerous, and that it'll have a great cost, be it her life or her very soul, and she doesn't care. she'll gladly pay it, as long as it gives her the power to get the justice for her people no one will help them achieving.

xx. the night warrior is initially presented as one of elune's own faces, a warrior facet that the goddess' followers associate with bravery, but others, like malfurion, look at with fear. later, maiev describes the night warrior as the incarnation of the goddess' wrath. when tyrande makes the ritual, she calls upon elune for justice, vengeance and certainly no lack of fury. i do think she resents elune for not protecting her people and teldrassil, and i think tyrande resents it even more because elune continues to heed her requests immediately while letting her people die.

xxi. either way, i don't think those are fundamentally incompatible portrayals and hold both to be true, as there are reasons for the different views on what the night warrior was. but from that point onward, i don't follow canon. i'm not at all interested in the narrative it was too much power for her to handle or that harming people who severely harmed you is being just like they are. what i will write the night warrior as is a corruptible force, which tyrande is only able to use in the first place because of her attunement to elune and the fact her own feelings were already well aligned with the goddess' wrath. however, the change inevitably enhances those feelings, as well as makes her inevitably bound to spill the blood of the enemies of her people. it is a darker turn, and one of which there's no going back, but it does not cause her to lose herself entirely. she is still capable of great love, even if not of the same compassion she displayed in the past. but then again, would that change in face of what she suffered, even without the night warrior change?

xxii. were elune to reveal she purposefully let the kaldorei die to help sb in shadowlands, tyrande would renounce her deity entirely. as of bfa she already had big issues with elune, and that would be the last straw. purposefully letting her people die is grounds for god killing tbh

xxiii. anyway i need better structured/more in depth stuff for where she'd be currently, but the tldr of it while i'm mobile bound is that she remains the night warrior, elune is on thin fucking ice, and the night elves would have either left the alliance officially or fractured further, with those under her leadership leaving the faction behind. the alliance did nothing in their hour of need, and helped the horde deal with yet another problematique warchief instead. tyrande will not forgive that, and shandris alone cannot make amends. both factions only brought her people trouble and she wants both sides dead for the most part. she would maintain good relationships with gilneas, as well as some of the other races, but humans and forsaken alike can disappear from the face of azeroth for all she cares

xxiv. i think there is something of supernatural in her after becoming the night warrior, in a very 'vengeance spirit' esque manner, except she's alive and bound to an entire people. i like to think it did make her a sort of eternal being that will always watch over her people and bathe in the blood of their enemies, but that's just a thought for now

[eluntara]

I don't subscribe to like 95% of night warrior canon (a well-structured post on that tomorrow bc it's 1am now and I don't have the brain power) but I specifically don't subscribe to what was directly shown of elune, and tyrande would have abandoned her faith entirely if she learned her goddess willingly used the lives of her people as fuel to solve some shadowlands issues. like. she's going to kill elune herself, in fact.

[eluntara]

                         ⌜THE MOON IN ALL HER PHASES. ⌟

ELUNTARA. independent, 18+, mutuals-only and canon divergent tyrande whisperwind from world of warcraft. personals please do not reblog my posts!

lovingly cared for by mel (27, she/her). sideblog to @thasdorah

other blogs: lor'themar / nalice / sindragosa / lana'thel / koltira / tiffin / kelantir / sally

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