Meta-What? My Problem With Varian Wrynn

[the__ivorytower]

I needed to get this out, it's been stewing, and unlike my Thrall post, I have more than enough energy to hate at Varian Wrynn.

Comments

[the__ivorytower]

This may finally un-stick me for my lengthy rant involving Thrall's characterization. I might just have a brief summary of 'wtf Thrall' from the earlier parts and then A GIANT CHUNK OF TEXT about the Shattering, because goddamnit.

Incidentally, now I'm picturing Varian referring to Bolvar and Anduin as 'me trout' (which is more Newfoundland and less New Brunswick, but it's where half my boyfriend's family is from and it's adorable).

Honestly? If I'm writing Varian, he does hate orcs. He has that right. He recognizes orcs as a threat but he's busy trying to deal with the Blackrock on his doorstep instead of the ones in Kalimdor, and Jaina wanted to introduce him to Thrall so that he could see the difference, and perhaps Thrall could even help him deal with the Blackrock. Varian's head got thoroughly fucked between his wife dying in childbirth and him believing he was at fault, having a son he couldn't totally deal with and Katrana turning the magical thumb screws at every given opportunity.

What I have considered for my own story writing is that, yes, Onyxia arranges for him to be kidnapped, but rather than what happens in the WoW Comic, the objective is to wipe his memories and reprogram him. Unfortunately, this proves to be difficult and he breaks out of his prison and winds up where he does in the comic... except that the person who picks him up (who is still Reghar) is part of a caravan that basically takes in strays.

Reghar *was* a warlock, but over the course of all things, he realized what a fool he was and went to Thrall to ask what he could do to make up for it. Thrall suggested that repentance comes with contemplation and reconciliation with one's self. Reghar took this a bit more literally and started traveling Kalimdor. Over the years, he's been joined by various people who for whatever reason don't fit in well, which is where Broll and Valeera get to stay. They take in poor, 'amnesiac' Varian and eventually make their way to not Theramore, but Orgrimmar, since Jaina will be busy with something. Varian will regain his memories, and be grumpy at Thrall. Thrall will be grumpy back because Varian's been a pain in the ass to Jaina, but together they will fight crime!

[yukie1013]

...Varian using that expression would be adorable XD (I admit talking a guilty pleasure in writing Mr. Big Badass McLarge Huge doing dorky cute things around people he cares for, like making tiny pancakes for Anduin or buying Jaina one of the big dang Stormwind sunhats they talk about in the RPG books, or nagging Bolvar to wear a scarf up in Northrend because "it's right some damn cold up there"...)

I did also keep the "WTF ORCS RAR." thing because--well--yeah, i'm not going to minimize The WAAAUUUGH What Took Out Stormwind. Kid fears are among the most impossible to shake off, to boot. If I were Varian I'd be edgy and mistrustful and crabby, too. His general attitude is "I REALLY DON'T LIKE ALL YOU BIG GREEN HOOLIGANS, BUT I RECOGNIZE YOUR RIGHT TO EXIST. NOW CAN YOU, LIKE, DO THAT WAY OVER THERE PLSKTHX?" Thrall is kind of the exception that proves the rule, to him; eventually he decides Eitirgg and Saurfang are okay. So at the end of the day it's 'really strongly dislike, do not trust at all, but no wipe-out intentions.' See also: his interactions with the Forsaken (with regard to whom I am ignorrrrring Caaaataaaaaaa because Iiiii have more funnnnn ideeeeaaaaas), whose existence he considers partly his damn fault because shouldn't he have been able to stop Arthas if he was really his friend etc. etc. Varian kicks himself a lot. For many things. Most of which aren't really entirely his fault. Some of them are--Westfall comes to mind, and the Defias thing ("Never listen to someone who's really a dragon when she tells you something's pushing too expensive, they hoard shiny things by nature and gold coin's plenty shiny..."), and he will cop to that. AND because the Westfall plot conclusion annoyed me, I wrote him reacting to the business with Vanessa with yanno SURPRISE AND REGRET (which is absent in the game so he looks like a huge yibyob)--he knows damn well what it's like to lose a parent and the Defias happened anyway because he went and half-listened to some dragon about financial matters ("spooky Prestor finger wiggles is not an excuse for being daft") and /headdesk what the heck is he going to do now. (He is actively trying to work this out. Making overtures to Westfall is going to be difficult, but Varian's stubborn, he'll keep trying. lol.)

Anyway yeah. I find it a lot EASIER to write someone who's a flawed, somewhat-cantankerous but fundamentally-decent person--someone who doesn't abuse his kid or hie allies, who admits he was denser than lead and wants to make amends than to write a bunch of tropey crap. Maybe I need to smoke WTF-ever the Blizz staff are.

Your Onyxia's evil scheme seems quite similar to that of mine. XD Alas she didn't count on Varian being so stubborn as to make mules look wishy-washy...and man I really like your Rehgar a ton XD I was trying to figure out something unstupid to do with him and it tentatively turned into 'traveling roadshow of dorks who'd like to build rep so as to join the Darkmoon faire crew'. And Varian getting a lot of stupid nicknames ('shark bait', 'crocpuncher' 'gator kibbles' 'the amazing driftwood man' 'sir bigass murloc' etc.) from Rehgar until someone smacks him gently upside the head and he stops making up stupid nicknames.

And in closing the mental image of Thrall and Varian being very grouchy at one another from opposite sides of the room is cute as hell. Bwahaa. And I still adore your mental canons.