#smith-hadeon's writing

[rudra-writes]

My Brother’s Keeper, Part 3

A roleplay story in which Blautel, the melancholy draenei death knight, has an unexpected, emotional reunion with his lover in life, a draenei monk named Izraid. Izraid was written by and belongs to his player, smith-hadeon.

Izraid sounds so casual, so familiar, and for a moment, the weight of hundreds of years of being close to his Auchenai brother and lover overrides the caution Blautel felt he must exert around him.

The death knight hesitates, then approaches the vindicator's feet and crouches down, taking stock of the man's injuries. He takes hold of his ankles.

"What are you doing out here?" Blautel asks Izraid. He came through the Portal to search for Izra, himself.

The fallen vindicator took a fairly serious gut wound from a spear, the strike so forceful it pierced the Light-blessed armor and crumpled the metal inwards into the Sha'tari man's stomach. Or it had. Underneath the drying blood, the wound is almost entirely knit back together, the skin bright blue and fresh.

Izraid pulls a roll of windwool out of a satchel at his hip and uses it - not to bind the wound, but to cushion the sharp edges of the armor before he moves to the vindicator's shoulders to lift him up. It's an odd bit of fieldwork for a man who generally just puts his fist into things…

"Well, there was a fight starting up at the Dark Portal..." He pauses as he hefts the vindicator, carrying most of the weight himself anyway. His gaze meets Blau's eerily icy one over the unconscious man. "They needed people, and I...needed to do something. So I re-joined the Alliance army. Went through with the vanguard."

He wants to ask so much, to pepper Blau with questions, to drop to his knees and beg him to stay. But all he says is "You?" It's pathetic how proud of himself he feels as his voice doesn't quaver on the question.

Although becoming a death knight certainly hasn't made Blautel feel any healthier, quite the opposite, he has found that he doesn't tire under normal circumstances. Carrying the vindicator's legs doesn't take as much effort as he feels it should.

This was only a passing thought, as his mind reeled with the thought of discovering Izra again. Now that he's found him, what should he do? Should he not slip away? He has since become a fel creature... Taken so many lives. He had been aware of what he had been doing, but somehow, he had just not had the strength to overcome it. To Blautel, it felt like a personal failure, even if the minds of every fallen champion had been similarly dominated. "I was looking for you," Blautel replies, his strange, lichfire eyes settling on Izra. An expression like relief passes over his features. "Thank the Naaru you are whole."

Izraid looks away only long enough to check the first few yards of the path for where to place his hooves, then he looks at Blautel over the man they carry between them. "Now I am," he says with all seriousness.

Idiot. Great way to guilt him. Stop. Izra clears his throat and continues, his voice a soft-spoken and gentle bass, "Who directed you this way? The Argent Crusade still keeping a tendril on me after all?"

Izra's statement doesn't appear to cause Blautel guilt. Rather, his face softens with longing.

The death knight nods. "Yes... And I had a hunch that you might come to a place like this." A place where help was sorely needed.

His brow furrowed faintly. "But I did not expect to find you. It was..." It had been something Blautel had taken upon himself to help keep himself sane. "...The chance of finding you seemed very remote."

"I tried looking for you." A field of charnel, piles of corpses higher than he was tall, the stench of Light-seared rot, up to his elbows in bodies as he tore through the dead, frantic and heedless of his vows to protect the sanctity of the deceased... He shoves the memory aside and is silent a few moments, meditation through motion bringing him back to a calm center.

"I should have...stayed in Northrend. Kept looking. But I knew. I saw you-" He breaks off. I saw you die... But he can't speak it. "The Sha'tar have a triage area set up at the end of this block." He tips his head towards a heavily-barricaded house in the residential district.

Blautel shakes his head. "For both of our sakes, it is good that you did not find me. I was not myself." He cringes. His steps don't flag however, and with Izra's assistance, they are able to arrive at the triage house.

"I..." Izraid sighs. "In time, we all change. I'm not trying to erase what you must've endured. Just that... I would have... I would give anything..." Stumbling over his words, the monk eventually just squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head.

Anchorites in full robes that have been tied up to stay out of the way rush over and direct them towards an empty cot among four that have been lined up against the wall of what used to be a draenei sitting room. One of the priestesses pats Izra's shoulder as he passes. "Drixos came back about twenty minutes ago, but he's already left for the Sanctum to take that little girl to safety. With Metu here down for healing, take a day off, Izra."

The big monk nods gratefully. "Aye, I will. My friend and I will go clean up the courtyard."

"That is not a day off!"

"It is not fighting, so yes it is." He smiles apologetically at Blautel as they set the vindicator down. "Healers here are wild elekks of worry," he says conspiratorially.

"I heard that!"

Blautel's lichfire-tainted eyes widen when Izraid begins to speak, and at the way he stumbles over his words. Maybe he has been mistaken in his judgement, and perhaps he should spend more time with Izraid. Surely, he could manage his own self-control enough to prevent harm from coming to his beloved?

The death knight helps the fallen vindicator into one of the makeshift cots, then turns to Izra. "Yes," he murmurs, nodding. "Let us talk for a while." He isn't certain if he dares hope for anything like a brighter future... but he desperately wants to spend time with Izra.

Leading the way through the makeshift infirmary in what had once been a home in Shattrath, Izra takes Blautel with him to a courtyard in the center of what was a fairly wealthy house. There's debris strewn everywhere, evidence of the Legion attacks - fallen stone, broken tree limbs, shattered crystals…

"Sorry about the mess," Izraid mutters with a wry smile. "The small Alliance force I was with took over this house - after healing up the previous occupants. Drixos, the vindicator who had been with me, was one. He took a child off to safety."

Eventually, he finds a bench under a large branch and grabs it to haul it off. "Sit with me?" He looks uncertain for a moment, like he's afraid Blau won't want to now.

Blautel notices Izraid's uncertain look. He is humbled by the monk's clear desire for his company and presence, and nods. "I would... but where are you taking the bench?" Where are they headed?

Izra sweeps leaf debris off the bench and sits down. "Just the branch. I generally prefer things a little less splintery against my butt, you know," he jokes gently. It's so easy to find the little jests, the way he was before...before Northrend with Blau here again. Not even the undead echo in his voice or the clear haggardness of his face makes him any less Blau in Izra's eyes. He pats the bench next to him.

Blautel seems to have overcome his desire to go running. He slowly, creakily sinks down onto the bench, looking up at Izra. He's quiet for a moment. "...I don't want to talk about my condition," he murmurs, "And cause you worry. Tell me. How have you been? What has transpired since... since I last saw you?"

"Like I wasn't worried enough?" Izra shakes his head but drops it with no further prying. "I... Ah..." He lifts a hand - wrapped in strips of linen to protect his knuckles - and rubs the back of his neck under his long braid. "I changed. Everything changed, Blau. Let my hair grow out..." Chuckling, he flicks the end of the braid at Blau's arm. "I threw myself into healing. Figured if I'd...if I'd been able to do more than wrap a bandage, maybe I could've- well, what's done is done, right?"

Blautel's lichfire blue eyes flicker as he considers Izraid's words, and his brows draw together in distress. He asks meaningfully, "Everything? Did you... Pick up this thing, because..." Because Izra wasn't able to save him? He swallows. "How did it go for you? This training."

Izraid drops the end of his long braid and folds his hands on his thigh. "Well, you could ask the fellow we carried back here. He took a felguard's spear to the gut - pierced right through his armor." Already, his folded hands won't stay that way - they can't when Blau is right here - and he reaches out as if to take Blau's hand in his own, stopping an inch away for permission. "I healed him."

"You always were a caring person," the undead draenei considers, with a small nod. Izraid seems to have taken to a caretaker's role well. Perhaps this was something that would have happened in either event. The fate of the Commandry might have accelerated the transition.

Then Izraid moves to touch Blautel's hand. The death knight stiffens, his eyes becoming unnaturally still. He seems to be fighting to keep himself in place so that he can be touched. "My skin isn't what it used to be." Blautel keeps his own hands, which are wrapped in tattered rags with the fingers free, upon his leather and metal Scourge kilt where he is seated. He doesn't flinch away from Izraid's hand, however.

"It's not caring, Blau. It's atonement." After only the hesitation to be sure it was okay, he lets his fingers - his own hands bound in linen to protect his knuckles - thread between the death knight's. "I don't feel a difference. It's yours." His thumb strokes against the outside of Blau's; of course there's a difference, how can there not be? But it's irrelevant. It's all irrelevant with Blau right- "Here. You're here, my heart. Am I dreaming? Did I die to those demon dogs and this is my reward in the Light? To see you again?"

"You've done nothing wrong," Blautel replies. Atonement? "Nothing to atone for..." Their Commandry had been doomed; it was miraculous that Izraid had survived. When Izra threads his fingers together with his own cold, clammy ones, the death knight starts to shake. "I was certain you had perished," the undead draenei croaks, his voice cracking. "It feels unreal..."

Being animated the way he was gave Blautel a painful awareness of his undead state, and that awareness had not subsided. He was therefore still grounded in reality. "No, this is not a dream." His quaking eases, and he clasps his fingers around Izraid's, then starts to move to embrace the other man. He makes this gesture slowly, as if it's done with caution.

"If I'd paid more attention, been a better healer, a stronger fighter... If I hadn't distracted Mot with bullshit. If I-" A thousand what-ifs, and all of them meaningless. What happened is done. Compared to Blau's hand, the monk's fingers are warm, pulsing steadily with life, scarred and calloused but not stiff. As Blau leans in to hug him, Izra moves quicker, one hand remaining tangled and the other coming up to wrap around the death knight's back and pull him in for a one-armed bear hug. The man is warmth and fur and fire, his breath uneven like he's fighting back tears as even his tail comes up to twine around Blau's - as close as he can get seated beside him on the stone bench.

The embrace feels like deja vu -- A distant memory being relived, only it's even brighter and warmer now, with Blautel's own body now being so cold and so reactive towards the living. His own tail automatically reciprocates the entwining, curling somewhat stiffly around Izra's, while he hugs the beloved monk into his chest. Something feels different -- The blood hunger, the life force hunger. It's making Blautel want to do strange things, things he knew he never considered while living. Licking Izra's blood from his neck... Blautel shudders at the thought with revulsion, even as his undead body desires it.

Still, it's not enough to cause him to pull away from this blessing of warmth and sweetness, and for the moment Blautel is still and relaxed, relishing it.

"I missed you so much," Izra whispers. "My heart...my heart was gone. I had nothing left after Northrend, Blau." He tucks his chin against Blau's pauldron, rubbing his bearded jaw against the death knight's cheek. "I threw myself into learning to heal. I traveled, made pilgrimage to any teacher who would teach me anything. I tried to fill that hole with...anything - but nothing could replace you." Tightening his arms around Blau, his voice wavers as he outright begs, "Stay?"

Although Blautel no longer shivers from the cold, Izraid’s declarations from the heart cause his skin to shudder finely. After a beat, the death knight nods. “I will stay.”

He remains locked together with Izraid for minutes on end, before it occurs to him that the still-living monk may be growing cold like this, sitting on a stone bench outside in the snow. “Perhaps we should…” Blautel pauses, uncertain. “...Is there someplace we may go inside?”

A blush rises to color Izraid’s cheeks above the pleasantly hearty beard he’s grown. “This place is the ruins of a fairly well-off trader’s house. I’m sure we can find a quiet room or at least a nook somewhere.” Izra tugs on the death knight’s hand as he stands, that warm, lively smile coming back as he looks at - yes, even undead - the visage of his beloved come back to him. “Blau… Please, I know things are different, I know there’s been changes - in both of us - but… Can I pretend a few minutes? Maybe an hour or two? Can I kiss you? Can I take that hideous armor off and run my hands over your clothes, or your skin if you’ll let me, and just know that...Light preserve me...you are here. You are you.” With his free hand, he reaches for Blautel’s jaw, aiming to cup that adored face in wonder.

Of course he knows that Blau is a death knight now and that means many complications, but it is enough just to have his heart whole once more, to have his dusha back.

( * from душа or “soul/heart” in Russian - it felt fitting because ‘sha’ is ‘Light’ in Draenei)

Blautel returns a look of astonishment, as his face is held in his beloved's hands. The death knight is nothing short of stunned, to hear Izraid say these blessed words, falling from his tongue as freely as gifts.

Pretend? Is that what things between them will be like, now? Is that what they must do? Blautel isn't certain of the wisdom of pretending. But Izraid's smile, which seems to him as warm and life-giving as the Sun itself, is shattering his normal restraints.

"I don't know," Blautel replies ambiguously, still appearing mildly shell-shocked, but he starts to follow Izraid's lead towards a room among the ruins. He nods to Izraid. "But we can try, Izra. Light help us, we can try."

[illapa-greybane]

I don't know how to describe your writing style beyond "It's pretty and I like it." But I want you to know I saw the post. I just don't have the right words. You do eldritch wonderfully. I like your vocabulary.

I actually think my eldritch could really stand to be improved, so that’s a work in progress. 

[sea-wolf-coast-to-coast]

Have you ever considered opening up the FFXIVWrite challenge to mixed media? Like original works of art, writing, original musical compositions, possibly even screenshot stories - for creators of all kinds including writers? I absolutely love the FFXIVWrite challenge and am amazed by all the hard work and dedication you have put into it and recognize how big of a thing this is to manage. I am simply curious if you think something like that would ever work!

It could definitely work and there have been other folks in our community who have run creative challenges for different disciplines as well. 

I chose to run a writing challenge because I hadn’t written in ages but felt self-conscious about writing thanks to some hefty perfectionistic tendencies baked into my creative process. I remembered a similar challenge that I used to participate in with the WoW RP community (run by @smith-hadeon​) and recalled how much easier it was for me to get over perfectionism and just heckin’ write something if there was a community doing it with me and a 24-hour deadline. I hadn’t seen any challenges like that done in the FFxiv community though, so I decided to just create my own so that I could write to it. I had noooo idea that it would take off to the extent that it has. Ironically, I have yet to complete my original goal of writing to my own prompts, hah! But discovering how many other folks needed a creative challenge like this, and seeing how the FFxiv RP community comes together during this challenge - these were unexpected gifts that are way more valuable than having a chance to write to my own prompts. So, no complaints here!

But that doesn’t really answer your question...

I don’t believe in RP community monopolies. No one should be the person who runs all of the community challenges, or all of the community discords, or runs all of the events, etc. I’m an Art Director professionally IRL, but I’ve intentionally stayed out of Challenge spaces related to art so that someone else with an interest in running an art challenge can do so without feeling like they might step on my toes.

So, to answer your question - yes, I’ve thought about it, and admit that the idea sounds really cool. Ultimately, I’m a creature of collaboration and would much prefer to share the community Challenge space with others than I would to try and own it all myself. 

I would be over the moon if other folks in the community took it upon themselves to run narratively driven challenges for other creative disciplines! 

DANG, good question.

[sivar-ooc]

👀 : What's something that you dislike writing yourself, but love seeing others handle?

Big backstories. As in writing them out in story form and posting them up.  I’ve never been one for doing many story posts at all. I’ve done a few for big, major plots or big moments if I get inspired but it has to be something where I get full scenes or dialogue in my head and I just have to write it down.  I do enjoy reading my friends stories but I usually tend to feel like I’d rather spend my writing time actually RPing with people.  I have much more fun that way and generally just use stories as a way to flesh out the character a bit more, the rare times that I do write one.  But the main reason that I don’t like to do backstory posts is because I’d rather keep that stuff to be revealed through roleplay. Not that I won’t tell people if they chat with me and ask though!

@smith-hadeon

[sivar-ffxiv-hub]

🌇 : What feelings do you aim for with your writing? Dreamy and romantic? Or dark and grounded? What do you try to create with your prose?

Depends on who I’m rping at the time! I try to sort of convey their personality through my writing, at least to some extent, especially if I’m doing Discord rp or one-on- one RP in game, where I can do longer posts a bit more easily (I tend to have a hard time keeping up with group rp in game). I usually do a lot to try to convey S’aeil’s emotions since he’s a passionate, moody person and his “voice” is loud so I usually go for energetic or broody, depending on his mood. With Mikh’a, I keep things more sweet and upbeat.  I basically try to have things be seen through their eyes and keep things in whatever sort of mood they’re currently in at the time. 

@smith-hadeon

[valdiis]

I got tagged in a thing!

Excite!

– one / NAME / ALIAS. Zuzu, Hadeon, Val

– two /  BIRTHDAY. February 22

– three / ZODIAC SIGN.  Pisces

– four /  HEIGHT. 5′2″

– five  /  HOBBIES. writing, cross-stitch, hand-engraving, embroidery, reading, video games

– six /  FAVORITE COLORS. teal and black

– seven / FAVORITE BOOKS. The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop, the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey, the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks... Lots of books. x_x

– eight  /  LAST SONG LISTENED TO. "Shrike” by Hozier - I’ve been on a bogman kick for days

– nine  /  LAST FILM WATCHED.  Uhhhhhhh... Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse?

– ten  /  INSPIRATION FOR MUSE. Which muse?! lol I have a lot. Most of my inspiration comes from daydreaming and finding a singular concept that I decide I want to make a character based around. For example, Vy’thanis was purely “I want a dragon because everyone says don’t RP dragons.” And Zayneth was “I want a blind bard.” Aeluan was “what if I played someone who was really lawful good?”

– eleven  / DREAM JOB. I would still like to be a crime pattern analyst for the FBI, even though I know it’ll never happen now. I’m too old for the FBI (literally, they have an age limit) and my degree is worthless.

– twelve  / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL.  At the time I created this blog, I was playing a character named Hadeon (a reference to Hades, yes) who was a blacksmith. Hadeon itself was taken, so this is Hadeon the Smith. I’ve long since been thinking about changing it to my more common internet handle, but I don’t want to confuse everyone and break all my blog links.

Tagged by @sajiri

Tagging: @saeil-moonblade, @i-do-a-stuff, @pocketfox, @insipid-drivel, and @musings-of-a-sasquatch

[sajiri]

Tell me about you!

– one / NAME / ALIAS. Sajiri, Bug – two /  BIRTHDAY. May 11 – three / ZODIAC SIGN.  Taurus – four /  HEIGHT. 158cm (Im too tired to convert eheh) – five  /  HOBBIES. Reading, Drawing, Writing – six /  FAVORITE COLORS. I don’t really have favourite colours, but favourite colour combos. So.... Red+black, Blue+purple, pink+white – seven / FAVORITE BOOKS. The Alchemist, Witches of Eileanen series – eight  /  LAST SONG LISTENED TO. Something by Karliene – nine  /  LAST FILM WATCHED.  *Thinks* I can’t remember ): – ten  /  INSPIRATION FOR MUSE. Dijana began many many years ago as a conflict. The name means Heavenly and Divine, yet I created her in games as classes that were based on heresy, blasphemy, darkness. While that doesn’t apply so much and she has become her own being, conflict is still central to her. Emotional conflict, physical conflict, and someone who overcomes it. – eleven  / DREAM JOB. I...suppose I already have it, although in a rather unreliable capacity right now. I love working with special education students, or just students in general. I like being support rather than a classroom teacher, as I get to work in less structured ways and one on one with my students in a way a teacher can’t. I enjoy being able to help them, and show them they aren’t alone, and that they don’t have to feel defined or restricted by their disabilities. Stiiiilll trying to find a permanent position though because being on call is awful.

– twelve  / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL.  I’ve been using this name for maybe 15 years now. It was a cute/fun mashup of sorts between my real first and middle name, and it was only after I registered on Deviantart and followed my best friend at the time did she point out she thought it was a mashup between Satoshi Tajiri orz. Turns out it’s also an indian name, and I think it’s quite pretty.

Tagged by @yuki-yukichan

Tagging.... @lizard-grandma @smith-hadeon @tarotoro0 @carmen-ffxiv  (If any of you did this already forgive me ;o; I just woke up)

[canalstreetbaker]

Obligatory writing prompt shitpost

@smith-hadeon: obiesant doesn't have a C.

Me, internally: it doesn't have a U either, but you'll see! Yes, you'll see...

Me, externally: oh, okay!

Also me, internally: man I'm good at this

[poisonatreyu]

1. write a random fact about your character .

@smith-hadeon

[pocketfox]

– one / NAME / ALIAS. PocketFox, Pocket

– two /  BIRTHDAY. February 19

– three / ZODIAC SIGN.  Pisces

– four /  HEIGHT. 58″

– five  /  HOBBIES. writing, cross-stitch, reading, video games, Lego

– six /  FAVORITE COLORS. emerald green, blurple, magenta/fuchsia

– seven / FAVORITE BOOKS. Almost everything by Sloane Kennedy; Carrie and IT by Stephen King; The Hobbit; Watership Down

– eight  /  LAST SONG LISTENED TO. Something on the 80′s Pop station on Amazon Music

– nine  /  LAST FILM WATCHED.  Mama

– ten  /  INSPIRATION FOR MUSE. I have so many! Most of the time I come up with a basic concept and decide I want to build a character out of it. Ran’ji came from reading tmirai’s troll lore and wanting to rp a shadow hunter. Khei (both versions) was, in essence, because I wanted a happy character. Fianel started as an idea of an archaeologist elf.

– eleven  / DREAM JOB. Would you believe housewife? Or, really, any situation that allows me to stay home and take care of things for those I live with/care about.

– twelve  / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL.  *looks at alias*

Tagged by: @smith-hadeon

Tagging: @erlanis @drijya-lovesdragonage @birdsareok

[i-do-a-stuff]

About me thing!

– one / NAME / ALIAS. Shieke, Colleen

– two /  BIRTHDAY. July 31

– three / ZODIAC SIGN.  Leo

– four /  HEIGHT. 5′4″

– five  /  HOBBIES. Gaming, writing, cross-stitch, singing, drawing, reading, occasionally not being a potato

– six /  FAVORITE COLORS. Orange and teal

– seven / FAVORITE BOOKS. The Twilight Saga by Steph--HAH! Gotcha. ACTUAL favorite books: The Kushiel Series (multiple) by Jacqueline Carey, Halfblood Chronicles by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, so many others, I can’t really decide ;_;

– eight  /  LAST SONG LISTENED TO. "Havana” by Camilla Cabello

– nine  /  LAST FILM WATCHED.  Oh god I’ve been watching TV lately, not movies... I think the last one was Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse.

– ten  /  INSPIRATION FOR MUSE. Oh geez, we could be here all day. Usually I start off with an idea of a situation or personality I want to play. For example, Calanus was, “I want to play a precocious character who’s got a lot going for him but fucks it up all the time.” For Lydi it was, “I want to play a woman who’s very in tune with herself physically and spiritually, but really bad at emotions and expectations.” For Naivaria, it was, “I wonder what would happen if a Sin’dorei’s body rejected the fel but they were forced to partake anyway for the sake of survival, and they had this really cool hidden ability that they can’t access because they’re in pain all the time?” This idea/situation then turns into a character arc that I begin because now I am invested in seeing this through and figuring out how they get over their hurdles.

– eleven  / DREAM JOB. Literally getting paid to just do anything I want. Wouldn’t that be nice?

– twelve  / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL. When I made this blog, it was because I wanted an OOC blog. I toyed around with using my internet handle, Shieke, though of course that was taken. I probably could have found some alternative, but then I was just typing in random stuff and this one stuck, so there you go!

Tagged by: @smith-hadeon

Tagging: Uhh... @turning-through-the-never, @metagenesis, @seetheotherways, @musings-of-a-sasquatch

[rudra-writes]

My Brother’s Keeper, Part 1

A roleplay story in which Blautel, the melancholy draenei death knight, has an unexpected, emotional reunion with his lover in life, a draenei monk named Izraid. Izraid was written by and belongs to his player, smith-hadeon.

The big man crouched beside a fallen vindicator let his breath hiss out between clenched teeth, but that was the only reaction he gave to the sting of acidic demon ichor dripping off his heavy brow and getting in his right eye. He was too busy to stop and wipe it away, fingers buried deep in open flesh. Thank O'ros the vindicator had already passed out.

He finally managed to hook the piece of shrapnel - Light-blessed armor crumpled inwards, so a Light-based healing wouldn't push it free alone - with his fingernail and dig it out of the spot where the vindicator had stood between a crying child (already hustled away) and a felguard's spear point. Izraid tossed the sliver of metal away and wiped his fingers on his armored pants; they were already soaked in blood, what was a little more?

Crouched in the middle of a residential street in the aftermath the first demonic invasion of Shattrath, the monk called upon his connection to the Light and began weaving the skin back together.

It had been a day of doom and ill fate, though it was plain to see the attack could have been even worse. Sha'tari draenei scrambled to put out fires and save the lives of the citizenry they could. Although Blautel had not been present for the siege of Shattrath in his own time, the attack on this world's version of the capital brought back harrowing reflections of the original event.

He wondered if this Draenor was fated to complete the same horrific circle his own Draenor had. It was depressing to be here, but the Legion was no less odious than it ever had been, and to cut the demons down brought some ghost of satisfaction if for just a moment. Besides, he had reason to believe Izraid might be here, somewhere.

Izraid. Now there were some mixed emotions. On one hand, Blautel desperately wanted to see his beloved friend again. On the other, he was certain he couldn't handle Izra seeing him as he now was. He could find him. Verify that he had survived, after all these years. And then quietly leave him behind.

Such was the death knight's plan, as he scoured up and down the streets, rooting out and slaying any fel beasts that came between himself and his endless search. Somewhere up the decimated roadway from Izraid, there approached the figure of a lone draenei dressed in an armored kilt.

So intent on saving the vindicator lying in the street from a lifetime of digestive problems, Izraid made a stupid, rookie mistake that he would curse himself for almost immediately afterwards - he got tunnel vision and focused only on his work. There was no one there to back him up; this fallen man with a gut wound had been one of two with him and the other had taken the crying child back to safety. An attack quelled did not mean the streets were safe.

A pair of felhounds flushed out of hiding by the impending death walking up the road were creeping towards the medic whose intensity kept him from noticing their approach.

Since becoming a death knight, Blautel was aware of the presence of living bodies in a way he had never before been. They radiated an aura that he was capable of sensing even with his eyes closed. It was a prey aura, and he despised it like so many other things about himself, but it was often useful, and long before he could clearly make out the figures on the road, he was aware of them.

Blautel cursed to himself when he sighted the felhounds and broke into a heavy run. One of them he seized in an exertion of necromantic energy, ensnaring the beast and dragging it backwards so hard he dislocated one of its legs in the process. But the other he could not reach at once, so he did the first thing that came to his mind, and shouted his challenge. The hope was that the demon would choose to attack himself instead.

Yelping, the first felhound falls in a tangle of unholy magic and dysfunctional limbs. But the yelp doesn't grab Izraid's attention. The second felhound continues forward until the knight shouts a challenge at it, and pauses for a moment - hesitating between the thing making noise or the thing already on the ground and bleeding.

But while the felhound makes up its mind in that split-second, the shout is so...familiar to Izraid that he does react - spinning in his crouch and bringing his gore-caked hands up in fists as his tail lashes across the legs of the fallen man he was tending. His instinct is to drop into a state of protection, keeping his charge from harm.

And that instinct came from a lifetime of reacting to that shout. He isn't processing it yet, isn't wondering why he knows the sound or who made it - protect the fallen first, a vindicator who will mend and live if he keeps the man safe.

The felhound chooses the scent of blood and easy prey, charging towards the monk crouched over the Sha'tari vindicator.

The felhound that had been dragged into Blautel's reach is savagely dispatched, the blade slipping through the demon's flesh with ease. Too much ease, in Blautel's opinion as he is sprayed with acrid gore, but again, it was one of those things that was monstrous, but at the same time had its moments of convenience.

As soon as the creature had fallen, he broke into a dash to close the distance between himself and the second felhound, but to his great dismay he saw that the demon had opted to attack the medic instead.

Unlike many medics, the crouched monk neither cowers nor casts. Solid on his hooves, he waits as the demon closes in on him and his charge. When the creature springs, he finally moves, his left hand coming out to catch the felhound midleap at the ribs and redirect it towards the ground to his right with a twist of his large body. The move is quickly followed by his right fist and the full weight of his body as he rolls with the demon and sandwiches its skull between the stone pavers and his wrapped knuckles.

More viscera, bloody and hot, sprays his arm and leg, but he's been fighting here for so long, it's just another stain among many. Izraid doesn't gloat over the dead thing, doesn't pause for breath; his eyes are already rising to scan for more enemies. A draenei? In plate? O'ros' chiming head, let that not be Sargerei. Weary to his core, he shoves the dead felhound farther from the unconscious vindicator he was tending and rises into a defensive stance at the approach of an unknown man.

The medic dispatches the felhound gracefully, like a monk of Auchindoun would, Blautel thinks to himself distantly. Even almost like Izraid.

The death knight's clopping steps slow when he sees that the demon has been killed. Blautel then finally catches a look at the face of the monk. He comes to an abrupt, awkward halt as if he has just walked into an invisible pane. This draenei has Izra's face. He looks so much like him... Is it him? It seemed too much to ask for. For a moment, the death knight just stands there quivering, torn in his indecision whether to get a closer look or just run away, his face a picture of shock.

Between the draenei from his time, the draenei from this time, and the draenei here who chose to side with the Legion, he's seen so many strange people and eerie things. Echoes of places he knew, everything a half turn off center. The draenei who just halted before him seems almost…

Izraid rumbles, "That was stupid of me, to let my guard down," and watches the face of the man who stopped some distance away. That can't be Blautel. Blau died. Blau was under a pile of Scourge he took down with hi- Scourge. Izra's gaze locks with those eyes a shade too icy for a natural draenei glow, forgetting - again - his surroundings. At least, this time it is to no danger. Amid a smear of greenish black ichor and cobalt blood, his mouth hangs open. A long braid of hair - far longer than he ever kept it to Blau's knowledge - is thrown forward over his shoulder.

Where a proud Auchenai vindicator once stood, there is now a dirty, tattered ex-Scourge dressed in dark armor and rags. His braided hair is unkempt and dark circles rim his coldly shining eyes. He looks like hell, but it's undoubtedly Blautel's face and body.

The death knight remains frozen for several moments, his sights locked on Izraid. He then chokes out a strangled cry of grief and sinks to his knees. He had planned to run away if he ever found Izra, but that possibility had seemed so distant and remote, it was never seriously considered. Now Blautel found himself so overcome with emotion, he couldn't move.

[ma-at-thought]

🙄 Is real life more important than roleplay or do you believe your partners made a commitment to write with you and should make good on it?

Real life is always priority. If someone can’t make a scheduled RP thing, or they have to leave in the middle of RP, or whatever, that’s fine. They’ve got shit to do!

As always, there are exceptions.

If you ditch too many RP experiences with me, I’ll eventually just stop trying and not bother anymore. It’s not out of hostility or a lack of understanding OOC needs, it’s just me moving on with my free time.

If you ditch planned RP with me, and I find you busily RPing with someone else, I am going to be upset and probably not want to RP with you anymore.

@smith-hadeon Thanks!

[salt-water-siren]

200 WORD CHALLENGE

Hello!  I was inspired by @inkedwolf-compendium and wanted to post up one of my own writing challenges that I’d originally left on the RPfind.me website~  I can’t remember where this exercise originated from, but I love it and have been dragging it around for years.  And now I’m forcing it on all of you!

So basically, I’ve been calling this challenge ‘Sea Shanties’, to fit BfA’s nautical theme!   Shanties are small writing exercises, with a maximum of two-hundred words. The idea is someone tags you with something for inspiration, ie: a song, a gif, an image, or a word, etc, with which you will write a small vignette. Make sure to complete Shanties in the order which they are received before moving on to the next, that's part of the challenge!  Good luck to anyone who humors me, and feel free to tag others.  :) 

INSPIRATION:  “Breathe.”

@olivia-lovecraft @courtofsouls @vithi @sings-down-the-shadows @eviloblivion @suliendawnwhisper @kelladen @saeil-moonblade @kat-hawke @stirling-stormsworn @feldorath @snowfallen-nymph @keon-colbourn @oathandsword @inkedwolf-compendium @theruneslayer @ravenpriest @dardillien-ward @ranekvilmas @smith-hadeon @theblackmourninquire @illdraes @desmondslade @steam-powered @mercutiomalache @sistersolis @leileahknight @eldricceverton @azekal @mister-reigns

[sivar-ooc]

E-5. What’s their highest education level? Do they want to continue their education? F-2. What’s their ideal home look like? Where is it? G-5. Did they go through any typical phases growing up? H-7. What do they look for in partners? (Emotionally, mentally, physically..) I-1. What are their favorite kinds of flavors– Sweet, salty, sour, spicy, creamy, et cetera? J-2. How politically aware are they?

E-5. What’s their highest education level? Do they want to continue their education?

Alaris’s family made sure he had the best education available. Not just the best academy but also the best private tutors in every subject and the best trainers.  He not only had a full education in the basic subjects but also in weapons training, training as a knight, as well as business management school.  After his retirement as a Blood Knight, he took some writing courses. At this point, he isn’t looking to formerly continue his education but he enjoys learning about things, either from conversing with others or from reading.

F-2. What’s their ideal home look like? Where is it?

His ideal home is actually his Winterspring home! He likes that it’s rustic and cozy but still extremely lavish and luxurious. Most of all, he loves that it’s away from everyone and anything else.  He enjoys the solitude.

G-5. Did they go through any typical phases growing up?

He went through a highly arrogant phase as a teenage boy. He thought he knew everything there was to know and that everyone else was a complete and utter idiot.  He thought he was god’s gift to women.  Although he’s still rather arrogant and vain, he doesn’t put himself quite as high above other’s as he did at that point.  Or, at the very least, he’s much, much better about not making it so obvious to everyone around him and just generally being loud and obnoxious about it!

H-7. What do they look for in partners? (Emotionally, mentally, physically..)

Physical beauty is definitely something he looks for.  He enjoys pretty things in general and that includes what he looks for in a partner.  He does enjoy redheads, as quite a few of his partners have been redheads.  He also tends to like delicate, ethereal beauty in women and men.

Beauty alone isn’t enough for him though, he also needs someone who can keep up and even challenge him mentally.  If they can’t, he gets bored and just ends up eventually losing interest.  He seems to stay most engaged when the person is very well versed in a subject he really doesn’t know much about.  He tends to admire their intelligence in that area.  And there’s always extra points if they’re very passionate about their interests.

Emotionally, someone who is patient is a must.  He’s not easy to love.  He’s an addict, can be pretty self-absorbed and just gets really tied up in his own head and his own world, not to mention, he’s built pretty high walls around his heart.  He knows he’s this way and when he starts to fall for someone, he does try harder to make an effort.  But he knows himself enough to know that patience and some degree of persistence is important for a partner for himself.

I-1. What are their favorite kinds of flavors– Sweet, salty, sour, spicy, creamy, et cetera?

He tends to like savory things the most.  Sweets are not usually his favorite but there’s a few exceptions.  Salty he can take or leave.  He’s not really a fan of sour either.  Spicy and creamy he can enjoy though.

J-2. How politically aware are they?

He’s definitely aware of the state of things right now.  It is one of the reasons he started The Howling Owl.  Some may not expect this, but at one time, Alaris was highly racist against the Alliance.  He had a lot of negative feelings towards them after the death of his wife and just sort of targeted them with all his anger over that. It took a long time for him to let go of that and put things into perspective. At this point, he’s tired of that fighting and the needless deaths it has caused.  He made The Howling Owl as a place for people to seek sanctuary from all of that, even for just a little bit.  He also hopes that it will help foster some better relations between the factions.

@smith-hadeon

[ourcollectivefantasy]

��� Favorite part of your muse’s backstory?

I really love the depth of how much has been established/written about his time at Ravenholdt Academy. I got to super dive into this when @fayebelle & @spudenfinkle made some OC’s for that time in Iloam’s life and as we fleshed those characters out, I had to really nail down and do a LOT of backstory writing to dive into that time period. Everything from like HOW he got there, why he went, what motivated him to stay, what kind of student he was, what kind of classmate he was, who were his friends? enemies? What classes did he take, who were his teachers, how did the faculty feel about him, etc.

Now, its a rich, untapped vein :) It’s almost a “college AU” self-contained within his actual canon. It’s not an AU at all! But it just has such a “college years” vibe that it’s really fun to head canon and think about. It would be fun sometime go back and do some writing from 20-year-old-Iloam POV and play in how very very different not only his personality but his reality at that time was.

thanks @smith-hadeon