#file: v. vancleef

[shxwmaster]

@archmage--khadgar​ sent: retrouvaille - the joy of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation; rediscovery

✧°⋆ 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐞 ————send  in  a  word  for  a  drabble  or  starter  based  on  it.

——

(( I don’t know how canon I want to make this just yet BUT I was hit with a specific idea that I had to run with. Shaw doesn’t have many people he can reunite with, let alone feel happy about it, but this is... ONE. ))

...

          [ARCHIVE: YEAR 32 — LOG SHW009876]

     Shaw owes his life to the Uncrowned. Without them, he��d still be suffering, still be trapped as Stormwind crumbles under the influence of Detheroc wearing his face. Or, more mercifully, he would have died there, starved, infected, weak, pathetic. They’d saved him, saved Stormwind, spared them from an unnecessary war — he loathed that such an intense debt was placed on him.

     Some time after his rescue, and after defeating Detheroc in Stormwind, he returned with the Champions and the rogues into the Uncrowned’s hideout. He pledged his loyalty, he thanked them, and he sought to get straight to work.

     But he was weakened already from the months of imprisonment, and moreso from a neglected wound in the fight at SI:7 against the dreadlord. Ravenholdt and the others set out to get back to business, and he collapsed.

     Infection, he remembers hearing someone say as he was being tended to. He was in and out, barely registering what was happening. Laid to a bed, cold cloth to his head, someone dressing a wound at his side he hadn’t noticed festered with fel. They called a priest from the Netherlight Temple, and he was given a strict order: rest.

     Through the fever, he drifted, coming to now and then. How aggravating, to lose such control. Any of these rogues could have their way with him, and he’d be helpless to it, but he hardly has the strength to fuss and fight over it.

     He awakes briefly to the sound of a door opening, his head spinning with the effort it takes to lift it to observe. A young woman, short cropped black hair and a stark red bandana toting a tray of tea had entered.

Vanessa.

     He drops his head back down to the pillow, letting out a shaky laugh. “ So it seems I’m dying, then. ”

     Vanessa gave pause, gaze flicking towards him briefly before continuing, setting the tray at the nightstand beside him. “ So negative. What makes the great Master Shaw say so? ”

     His head lulls to the side, facing away from her. There’s an emotion caught in his throat he can’t quite identify. Grief? Fear? Sorrow? Humor? It’s all so tangled, and his limbs are so cold. “ It’s not the first time I’ve been stuck like this. Wounded. At the brink of death. Funny how sickness makes you see things. ”

     “ Hmm. And funny how fevers always bring the most dramatic out of the finest soldiers. ”

     He’s quiet for a long moment, enough that Vanessa wondered if he’d drifted off. “ I was seventeen. Tried to outrun orcs, fell off a wall, broke my shin. It was rainy and muddy, exposed bone was wrought to infection. I’d almost died — funny things, I saw, battling that fever. I hallucinated the dead. I thought I had saw my mother, but I didn’t remember her face. All so... wrong. ”

     His voice lacks the usual restraint he would give it, so loose and strained it was. Delirious — the fever is perhaps worse than she’d anticipated. He rolls his head back to see her, tired green eyes searching hers, his face pallor and sweaty. Unbecoming.

     “ I wish you were real. ”

     Ah. That’s what this was. Vanessa doesn’t say anything, simply turning away from him to pour the cup of tea. He still has his gaze on her, however conscious he is, and for whatever reason, Vanessa can’t look at him.

     “ You think you’re hallucinating. ”

     “ I am. I read the field reports. I already know... ” He forces his head up to stare at the ceiling, vision spinning and blurring. “ I... I was never given a chance to say goodbye to you. After the riots, your father and I — we fought, Light, I could not... I had come home one day and you were gone. I wasn’t given a chance. ”

     “ You had plenty of chances, Shaw, ” She says harshly, quiet voice spoken through gritted teeth. “ You sent your agents after the Defias. You knew what happened, you knew they were innocent. You could have come with us. ”

     “ I am blood-bound to Stormwind, Vanessa. There was no choice for me. ”

     “ There’s always a choice. You chose a broken kingdom over us. ”

     He closes his eyes tightly, feeling the brunt of the dizziness wash over him. The pain is deserved, he feels. It’d be mercy if the infection killed him. “ I live with my mistakes. They haunt me every day, everything I could have done differently. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could have done more. Saved him. ” He pauses, and on these last words, his voice breaks. “ Saved you. ”

     Vanessa stirs the cup of tea, mostly to avoid looking at him directly and to keep her hands busy. “ How noble, ” She says, retrieving a small, black vial from her belt. Just as practiced, just as planned. “ Those thoughts do much for us now, doesn’t it. ”

     “ I prayed, Vanessa. I believe in nothing, not a single higher power but I prayed that you could have had a chance at a different life. After Edwin... — the Saldeans, they could have taken care of you. Given you a different path. You did not need to be confined to your father’s footsteps. ”

     Her fingers are on the vial’s cork, ready to pop it open, but a thought stops her. She snaps her head to him, searching his bleary expression with furrowed brows as a realization dawns on her. “ ... You were the bandit that escorted me from the Mines... weren’t you? ”

     “ You were just a kid... They orphaned you. Left you with nothing. Left the Brotherhood with nothing. They killed him, and did not bother to see what consequences were left behind. I had to look for you — I had to at least give you a chance. ”

     She abandons the vial on the tray, reaching to his bedside to grasp his jaw and force him to look at her. There’s no strength to him; his head is loose with no indication that he can fight back. “ You went all that way — you found me, and you abandoned me at the Saldeans?! ”

     The touch almost feels real — this image of Vanessa fills his blurred vision. Those fine angled brows resembled Edwin’s so much, those piercing blue eyes, that charcoal hair — it twists his gut and fills his heart with sorrow. “ They would have given you a normal life. ”

     “ Why... Why didn’t you just take me? ”

     The pain in her voice makes his eyes sting. Desperately, he had wanted to take her. Edwin was dead, and she was left with nothing — he hadn’t seen her in ten years but he could still raise her, still give her all the opportunities Stormwind had to offer, had the SI:7 induct her and change her life.

     But he remembered then, what that connection to Stormwind, to the SI:7 and Assassin’s Guild, what that had all done to him, how loyalty was embedded so deeply in his blood he was forced to abandon love to further the crown — he could not sentence her to that fate. Not to this same fate that killed her father, that doomed her and the Brotherhood, he couldn’t do that to her. She could be normal — no VanCleef, no Shaw, just simple, humble farm girl Saldean. She could have been saved.

     She staring down at him, fury and sadness in her eyes that were so familiar. His voice breaks when he answers. “ Would you have forgiven me if I did? ”

     She glares at him for a long moment. The bandana conceals the number of times she’d opened her mouth to spit a retort but died in her throat, and eventually, she releases him, his head falling back to the side as she turns away. Forgiveness was not an option for her. This world, this kingdom, this man had taken so much from her. Forgiveness would be concession, surrender, to accept defeat. She had a legacy to uphold, one that couldn’t be won through something as pitiful as forgiveness. No, perhaps she wouldn’t have forgiven him, but it would have been nice to have a home.

     The rage is enough to get her back to her plan. She resumes her work, popping open the vial and its viscous liquid. She’d designed it herself — a terrible neurotoxin, engineered just for Shaw. It’d be mistaken for the fel poisoning, stir up his memories and leave him paralyzed and numb, forced to watch his life play back. It’d shut everything in him down in minutes — no master rogue would be able to detect it. Potions, poisons, these were her specialties.

     This is what he deserves.

     She dumps the vial into the tea, watching the steam fly out as it mixes. Odorless. Beautiful. A work of art. Shaw’s lulling off, utterly disoriented and so far removed from reality she almost feels sorry.

     “ I still remember sitting for hours trying to figure out a name... ” He murmurs. “ Kelsa. Variana. Llana. Charlene. Valeria. Maria. Rebecca. Edwin hated all of them. ”

     He laughs a little at the fond memory. “ I’m not good at names. That was always Edwin’s strength — and I still remember. He said, no middle names, you get the first one down right or not at all. Which, in hindsight, was solid advice. Vanessa VanCleef — it rolls off the tongue so well. ”

     She huffs. “ Better than Hope Saldean. ”

     “ Leagues better. My grandmother tried so hard to have you named after her, or my mother. She gave me hell for not letting you take my surname too. Funny how different life could have been. ”

     Vanessa frowns, carefully seating herself at the edge of his bed. She hadn’t seen him up close in years — it brings her mixed feelings. The memories she had of him were so, drastically different. Younger, cleaner, and without that stupid damn mustache. But now, he’s aged, wrinkled, greying at the temples and nothing of the energy she remembered him with. It’s weird, really, how it makes her feel.

     Shaw’s saying something, so quietly under his breath she has to lean in to catch it.

     “ I miss you. Every day, I have missed you, Ness, ” He murmurs, tear-filled eyes holding her gaze. “ I could not bring myself to take you. I prayed, prayed that you’d be better off without either of our legacies, and somehow, somehow things still... I tried. I tried to sabotage those efforts to take down the Defias. I kept the SI:7 out of Westfall, I redirected everyone to the Twilight’s Hammer. I prayed every champion that went into the Deadmines died before they could find you. And still... ”

     “ History repeats. ”

     “ Doomed to an ugly destiny, aren’t we? ” He laughs bitterly, weakly bringing a hand to cover his pale face. “ When you died... I feel as though a part of me died too. So many years it’s taken me to realize just what I was a part of. How much blood my loyalty spills. What I’ve let it take. ”

     “ And now... ” She turns to stare at the cup of tea, her own gaze growing distant. “ Now that same loyalty will kill you too. You loved Stormwind so much, demons took advantage of it. ”

     “ There is no love. I don’t think there was ever any love for Stormwind. ” His chin lifts, just slightly. “ Only duty. ”

     What a prison.

     The concoction on the nightstand would free him from it. Relieve him from his duty, from his loyalty. She’d finally have some semblance of revenge against those who’d wronged the Stonemasons and killed her father. She needs only feed it to him. It’d be so easy too, so, painfully easy. He’s ready to die already, still not even aware that she was real and solid and sitting before him.

     It’d be so easy.

     So why can’t she do it?

     In the end, the truth was, a small part of her had also missed him. Even through the anger and the betrayal, the hurt and the grief, in the end, the only memories she had of him were good. Picking her up as a child, showing her Stormwind, teaching her nifty tricks and getting into minor trouble. How her, Mathias and Edwin would sit on the half-finished towers overlooking Stormwind with a packed lunch and watch the sunset, play for hours until she’d fallen asleep. In the end, all she remembered of him was that he was family at some point. Something she could never have again.

     “ Moth. ”

     The word almost seems to bring him to life. It grasps his attention, and he looks to her expectantly, still bleary, but alert. How many years had it been since he heard that word?

     He watches her, examines her, somehow sharper than before. “ You still remember that name. ”

     “ I never forgot it. ”

     Tiny Vanessa, still learning her words, had heard everyone call him Mathias, but she tripped on her own pronunciation and called him ‘Moth’. Oh how it stuck — he remembers the name only on the voice of a child, but she’s grown now, she’s older, and he missed all of those years.

     “ I came here to kill you, ” Vanessa continues, looking away from him. “ I’ve spent years hating you. Resenting you for everything. You took everything from me. ”

     A dawning realization slowly sets in on the feverish Spymaster as he listens. He doesn’t know if he’ll remember this exchange if he heals up and recovers, but there’s a gnawing feeling about this, about this hallucination, about her —

     “ You should, ” He says quietly, closing his eyes. “ There is no reason why you shouldn’t. And there is... no one on Azeroth who deserves to end my life than you. ”

     “ You’re surrendering? ”

     “ Accepting my fate. My consequences. ” His breath picks up, he forces himself to open his eyes and truly see her. Carefully, he reaches out a hand to grasp her wrist, faintly squeezing with what strength he had. “ You’re no hallucination... are you? ”

     She stares at the hand for a long moment, contemplating. Then, slowly, she moved to wrap her own around his. “ Don’t trust the word of a mind-addled adventurer. I never died. ”

     Hope blooms in his chest, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes. How he had mourned her — but she lives, she’s so young and still the chance to live this life —

     It’s all he’s needed to hear. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he’s desperately hoping this isn’t a fever dream, that this is real, that she is alive. He holds her hand, as if she’d disappear if he didn’t.

     “ Then I have no qualms with dying. ”

...

     The fever breaks a few days later, and Shaw makes his swift recovery. The Champions of the Uncrowned request his aid along the Broken Shore, which he obliges as much as he’s able. There’s still plenty of broken pieces to pick up. Azeroth in turmoil, Stormwind in disarray with the false Shaw planting lies, and on top of it, Anduin ordering him to rest, forcibly taking work away from him to leave him with nothing.

     Vanessa had left and taken the poison with her. They never spoke directly again, and for a while, Shaw was almost convinced she wasn’t real once he was fully awake and better.

     But Greymane and Ravenholdt informed him otherwise. The Defias were as much intertwined with the Uncrowned as the rest of them.

     Vanessa lived.

     By the time Shaw had returned safely home, he wept. 

[shxwmaster]

     One thing I’ve been wanting to explore and talk about more is Shaw in Cataclysm because after I’ve been building and layering missing patches of his story and characterization I’ve come to the conclusion that that year was the worst in his life, one of his lowest points (not counting Detheroc)

     See, here’s the thing:

The Cataclysm itself happens, of course, which is overall an unpleasant experience watching everything get destroyed

Crown prince of Stormwind is not home when it happens. He does Not like NOT knowing what is going on when the Wrynns are not accounted for and he cannot protect them

Oh yeah, and then said prince was held HOSTAGE in Ironforge so he had to dispatch SI:7 to take care of that

Did I mention Stormwind was destroyed? He certainly hasn’t forgotten seeing Deathwing, how Stormwind was now under construction again, and having to see Stormwind rebuilt again brought back specific memories from when the Stonemasons rebuilt it. Only this time, there were no Stonemasons, and Varian is fussing about the cost of reparations

Pathonia, who was already ailing of old age, passes away some time after the initial Cataclysm. Despite knowing it was coming, he wasn’t ready for it.

Varian Straight Up Fucking Died For A Few Minutes And He Wasn’t There To Do Anything About It

And then, in the midst of everything, of the destruction and reconstruction, the Defias fucking Brotherhood resurges and is being led by Vanessa VanCleef and he absolutely CANNOT deal with that again

     Like!! The only reason why I haven’t gone into it is because my Alliance is too low level to do the actual Cata quests with Shaw in Twilight Highlands so I have yet to really experience what it’s like working with him, so I’ll come back to this after I’ve finally hit 80 and did that stuff. SO, temporary thought on Shaw vs Twilight:

     All of this stress of the above mentioned piles up on him and Shaw had absolutely zero release for it. He was, mentally, at his worst — we’re not even counting the recovery he had to take after WotLK ( note: there is next to nothing on what the SI:7 or Shaw were up to from TBC - WotLK, therefore everything I say happened is me filling in the gaps cause that’s my favorite thing to do ). Fighting the Scourge and the Lich King is traumatic enough, plus Winterspring’s covert ops, one battle of which he nearly died in.

     So he needs an outlet, and who shows up at the door?

     Twilight’s Hammer.

     The stress has to go somewhere. He throws himself recklessly at every single mission, the more dangerous, the better. Again, I haven’t done these quests yet but I do have this image embedded into my skull. He tries to ignore the Defias stuff and let only adventurers take care of it, diverting all his resources instead to Twilight in hopes that maybe it gives Vanessa a better chance. He enters a shaky relationship with one of the rogue trainers in SI:7 that’s purely physical and born of the need to have something to occupy him (it does not last, obviously, and both pretend present day it didn’t happen). His anger and grief and frustrations come out in the form of violence against cultists and other bad guys. Missions and rocky hookups were the only way he knew how to expel the energy, and overall, he was just... fucked up.

     Cataclysm is also when the SI:7 uniform changed from Silver-Thread to the VanCleef Battlegear armorset. I have this post talking about my headcanon how it’s based off Pathonia’s old armor after her death, but I feel like I definitely missed something to be said on the fact that the armorset itself is named after uHHH a VERY specific surname, which can’t be accidental. I just don’t know what significance to link that to. I’m sure I’ll think of something clever on that later.

     But in the end, everything stops, they win, and... he hears Vanessa was killed. He didn’t have the strength to check to see if it was true or not, he didn’t want to see a body or the severed head of yet another VanCleef. He just let it be and went numb.

     By the time everything’s over, all he had left to do was mourn.

[shxwmaster]

    // UPDATED FOR ACCURACY //

Changes:    ○ Shaw’s age (was 42, now 45)    ○ Added Stormwind reconstruction    ○ Added VanCleefs

(Used this Timeline as a rough reference)

BASICALLY:

- The current year is 33 (BFA) - Mathias is roughly ~45 - Year -8, his mother (whom I will dub Charlene) was killed     ○ (Alliance-wise, it appears nothing significant happened this year, as all that is listed in -4 are events in Rise of the Horde) - Year -12, Mathias born     ○ (No significant events here either Alliance-wise) - Will assume Charlene was 29 at death, and that Pathonia was 30 when Charlene was born - Charlene born Year -37 - Pathonia born Year -67     ○ This is 8 years after the Gnoll Wars fought by Barathen Wrynn     ○ 22 years before Medivh is born - Will assume Pathonia is roughly 25 when recruited to form the Assassin’s Guild and SI:7 - SI:7 / Assassin’s guild formed Year -42     ○ 3 years before Medivh is born - Pathonia served King Barathen, Llane and Varian Wrynn - Stormwind begins reconstruction Year 8, completes Year 15 - Vanessa VanCleef born Year 10 - Mathias promoted on his 30th birthday in the RPG - Mathias promoted Year 18      ○ 1-3 years after the formation of the New Horde      ○ 1-3 years after Gilneas and Stromgarde secede from the Alliance      ○ 3 years after Tiffin’s death      ○ Aegwynn summoned Medivh’s spirit to Azeroth - Edwin dies Year 25 - Pathonia dies in Cata / Year 28      ○ Aged 95      ○ Vanessa fakes her death in Deadmines

[shxwmaster]

This is the mobile friendly version of my about page for ease of access under the cut!

SI:7 FILE — OPEN TO PUBLIC | MATHIAS SHAW

— BASICS —

NAME — Mathias Shaw AGE — ~52 in Dragonflight DOB — September 2, Year -12 ZODIAC — Virgo GENDER — Cis Male ORIENTATION — Gay CLASS — Rogue, Spy TITLE — Spymaster OCCUPATION — Leader of the SI:7 LOYALTIES — Stormwind, SI:7, Stormwind Assassins’ Guild, Uncrowned RESIDENCE — Old Town, Stormwind City STATUS — Alive, Active

— PHYSICAL —

SPECIES — Human HEIGHT — 5'8" WEIGHT — 147lbs / 66.6kg EYES — Emerald Green HAIR — Paprika red, grey streaks at temple FACIAL HAIR — Van Dyke beard / Handlebar mustache BODY BUILD — Slim, lithe, fit FACE CLAIM — Diego Klattenhoff

DETAILED DESCRIPTION —

     Though oft standing shorter than his comrades, Mathias Shaw is a capable man and assassin. It doesn’t matter how dirty his line of work gets, Shaw puts an effort into his appearance: Short cropped red hair slicked back unless tussled by the wind, impeccably groomed facial hair, armor and weapons cleaned as much as he can help it, and well groomed as a whole. He carries the scent of shaving cream, leather and coffee.

     Shaw is rather slim and lithe, the bulk of his strength mostly at his shoulders and arms. He’s more like a tight wire, and though he’s not “stocky” or “bulky”, he has enough strength to take out targets without breaking a sweat. His combat maneuvers often involves using the enemy’s strength against them, evasive action, poisons, and striking at weak points.

     Shaw keeps his expression carefully neutral, and will often seem either distant or uninterested, despite that being far from the case. He’s poised, ready to strike at any moment, and cautious of everything in his surroundings. Nothing escapes the Spymaster’s sight, and he approaches every conversation, even casual, with the mentality that anyone would draw a blade. He’s tense, apathetic, and strictly business, always sticking to the shadows, and somehow managing to always remain out of sight. He could be present in any meeting, and most would hardly realize he was there at all.

— RELATIONSHIPS —

FAMILY —

Pathonia Shaw - Grandmother      Status: Deceased      Relationship: Pathonia raised and mentored Mathias his entire life up until her death in Cataclysm Waltion Freemore - Grandfather (unbeknownst to him)      Status: Alive      Relationship: Freemore mentored Mathias for several years in the Assassin’s Guild and taught him how to use minor shadow magic for stealth and shadowstep. Waltion is aware of their relation, but has kept it secret to this day. Charlene Shaw - Mother      Status: Deceased      Relationship: Raised Mathias until he was four. He scarcely remembers her, on account of her death on a mission gone wrong. Lord Jorach Ravenholdt - Father (unbeknownst to him)      Status: Alive      Relationship: Jorach trained Mathias for a few summers when he was 16 - 20. They ended up working together again in the Uncrowned, but have no significant attachment or bond formed. Jorach is aware of their relation, but has kept it secret to this day. Vanessa VanCleef - Daughter      Status: Alive      Relationship: Edwin and Mathias intended to raise Vanessa together and have her follow in their footsteps and inherit the SI:7. However, after the Stonemason's riot and the formation of the Defias Brotherhood, Edwin took Vanessa with him, thus ending their relationship together. 

[V] After Mathias learns that not only are the VanCleefs alive, but are now working with the Horde within the Defias, Mathias grapples with the guilt of knowing he had abandoned and betrayed his family, and that his daughter had grown up without him.

MENTORS —

Elling Trias - Taught Mathias parkour and the art of manipulation, how to read body language and having friends in the right places Waltion Freemore - Taught Mathias shadow magic and tricks of a Subtlety rogue Lord Jorach Ravenholdt - Taught Mathias various combative techniques from the most mundane to most brutal Tyrion - Taught Mathias various combative techniques, such as using an enemy’s strength against them Angela Leifeld - Taught Mathias first aid Keryn Sylvius - Taught Mathias the art of manipulation, how to concoct poisons, and the art of disguise

OTHER —

Edwin VanCleef - Student, Lover (formerly)      Status: [VERSE DEPENDENT]      Relationship: Edwin and Mathias were childhood bestfriends, having met on a farm in Westfall and were nearly inseparable since. As young adults, they confessed their feelings and created a plan together: Edwin would train as a rogue and spy to join the SI:7 alongside Mathias so they could always be together. Thus, Mathias took him under his wing and taught him everything he knew, introduced Edwin to everyone in the SI:7 and Assassin’s Guild to get him situated.      When the reconstruction of Stormwind began, Edwin had high hopes and an idealistic vision, believing that once the city was finished, everything would fall in place and be perfect for them. Thus, they sought out a surrogate mother and Vanessa was conceived. By Pathonia’s goading, they agreed that once Stormwind was finished and Edwin was properly inducted to the SI:7, Vanessa would be raised to inherit the empire of spies after Mathias retired.      Obviously, none of this comes to play — Stormwind is completed, the Stonemasons never paid, riots happen, and Edwin finds himself betrayed when Mathias sides with Stormwind instead of him. They separate, the Defias rises, and eventually, Edwin would be killed. Mathias has since scrubbed any connection or paper trail that linked him and the VanCleefs to save face.

[V] However, things change for Shaw when it’s revealed that the VanCleefs had survived, and that the Kingpin had joined the Horde instead. Shaw's guilt weighs upon him heavily, and he can't bring himself to face Edwin knowing what he had done to him, to the Defias, to their family. He actively avoids him because of this, despite wanting nothing more than to beg him for his forgiveness.

Renzik “The Shiv” - Right-Hand man, Friend      Status: Alive      Relationship: Renzik is Mathias’ most trusted operative, confidant, and closest thing to a best friend, despite holding him at arm’s length. Renzik is one of the few people who know even a fraction of Shaw's personal details and history.

Osbourne the Night Man - Co-Worker, Confidant, Lover (formerly)      Status: Alive      Relationship: Osbourne is a Third Finger Assassin and aids in training SI:7 recruits alongside Mathias. Several years back, he and Mathias had an on-again-off-again relationship, attempting to find their footing before eventually mutually deciding to keep their relationship professional.

Flynn Fairwind - Friend, [VERSE DEPENDENT]      Status: Alive      Relationship: Flynn is one of the Alliance's Kul Tiran allies that Mathias worked closely with, and found an unexpected friendship in. He is the first person in years that Mathias has intentionally sought the company and companionship of. Canonically, they entered a relationship in ~Year 34.      Their romantic relationship on this blog, however, is verse dependent.

— SKILLS —

LANGUAGES — Common (fluent), Orcish (fluent), Thalassian (moderate), Dwarven (slow), Gnomish (passable), Zandali (slow), Goblin (passable), Azerothian Sign Language (fluent) COMBAT — Skilled in the use of daggers, throwing knives, sniper rifles, crossbows and swords. Hand to hand combat includes the use of evasive action and using the strength of the enemy against them. Took lessons on and off from the Tushui masters in MoP. TACTICS — Recon, covert ops, disguise, poisons, espionage, parkour, search and rescue, intel gathering, negotiation, extensive knowledge in codes, profiling ARTISTIC — Mathias is shown to be able to draw exceptionally well (see: Exploring Azeroth: Eastern Kingdoms), and whittles bird statues. OTHER — Capable of ballroom dancing, tango, and extremely talented in ballet. Studies ornithology as a hobby and mimics birdcalls. Extremely organized, everything is labeled and properly filed at all times. Clean freak.

— PERSONALITY —

MBTI — ISTJ-T (The Logistician)      Logisticians don’t make many assumptions, preferring instead to analyze their surroundings, check their facts and arrive at practical courses of action. Logistician personalities are no-nonsense, and when they’ve made a decision, they will relay the facts necessary to achieve their goal, expecting others to grasp the situation immediately and take action. Logisticians have little tolerance for indecisiveness, but lose patience even more quickly if their chosen course is challenged with impractical theories, especially if they ignore key details – if challenges becomes time-consuming debates, Logisticians can become noticeably angry as deadlines tick nearer.

POSITIVE TRAITS — Attentive, loyal, independent, confident, skilled, physically capable, painfully observant NEGATIVE TRAITS — Apathetic at times, reserved, skilled liar, brutal, evasive, blunt, emotionally distant LIKES — Birds, drawing, practicing birdcalls, birdwatch, whittling, surrounding himself in nature, going for walks, climbing buildings, perching in high places, exploring, petting cats, everything going according to plan DISLIKES — Changes in plans, being picked up or thrown, magic, priests and paladins, churches, fanaticism, fantasizing, Northrend, demons, the Broken Isles, attempting normal conversation, having his hair messy

PERSONALITY —

     Shaw hardly allows himself any modicum of “fun” or even a personality for that matter. He was born into this line of work, raised as a young boy by his grandmother to be the best of the best, inheriting the title of Spymaster. All of this has sculpted the man into a master rogue, one who leaves no stone unturned, no detail lost, no opportunity missed, no mission failed.

     Fiercely dedicated to his line of work, Shaw keeps himself masked and neutral, hiding behind layers of layers of carefully built shields to keep people from getting close, from learning too much, from gaining any advantage on him. He regards most people with suspicion, builds profiles in his head on those around, and tends to cut the crap and get straight to the point of things. No funny business.

     However, in heated situations, Shaw’s known to be rather witty and antagonistic. He knows what words to say to get someone riled up, and his sense of humor shines most when he knows he has the upper hand in a situation. On the note of humor, most of his are dry, and it’s difficult to tell when the Spymaster is joking; in fact, this is something he uses to his advantage, to jest with those who would either never be able to tell he was, or never be able to tell anyone that Spymaster Shaw just said something funny.

     Truly, this man just needs a damn vacation. He’s tired, and he needs to learn to take it easy.

HEADCANONS — #si report: headcanon INFORMATION ON SHAW — #profile: intel IMAGES OF SHAW — #profile: visage

— ♥ —

MUN INFO

NAME — Mimi AGE — 25 PRONOUNS — She/Her

Ello I’m Mimi! You can also find me anywhere else under the name “BoilingHeart”. I’ve been a Horde main for the past 15+ years but somehow got MADLY obsessed with Mathias Shaw in 2020. Now, I’m back for more.

I’m still relatievly new to Alliance stuff but I’ve already read most of what I need, and am now playing Alliance. I’m excited to RP again, I used to be big on Tumblr RP back in ‘15 - ‘18, then in ‘20 - ‘21 before I quit, but I’m looking to try things again!

Please note: I have unmedicated ADHD and a LOT of social anxiety so I tend to uh malfunction at times, and I also DM for my RP guild <Knights of Repentance> which might take up my time some times.

I’m very flexible, very happy to RP, just read my rules and be courteous, and we’re all cool! Feel free to message me about anything!