Warcraft - Not Enough Minutes (Abridged)

[the__ivorytower]

As some people on my flist may know, I was working on an entry for the Blizzard writing contest, and here is my entry. It's... highly abridged from its original version which was twice as long, and I'm not... precisely happy with it, so there will be, in the future, a non-abridged version with details and such. In the mean time, please enjoy this

Comments

[nighinn]

Wow... This one was really powerful. It made me want to cry and left me completely heartbroken - it doesn't actually help that it fits in pretty well with canon. Well done. *sniffles some*

[the__ivorytower]

I'm thankful and touched that I managed to evoke such a reaction in you. Thank you for reading!

[phoenix_anca]

Jaina becoming a lich would be fascinating (the process, come to think of it, not just the consequences). I can't get into parts of this story - Varian trying to marry Jaina, pressuring her so badly, those are the big ones; it doesn't have any basis in canon I can see and doesn't suit his character as I understand it - but other parts are cool. I like when people remember how young Darion actually is, for one little one. I like the Darion you've written, too. :D Listen to him, Jaina, he's talking sense~.

Looking forward to the unabridged version!

[sodzilla]

Mmm, agree and disagree on the Varian thing. I don't ship him and Jaina romantically, but I think if he was in love with her, he wouldn't put this much pressure on - he's a jerk, but not that kind of jerk.

This is all about politics though, and from that point of view I can really see it - Varian NEEDS Theramore, if he's to be able to carry on a war in Kalimdor at all. The only alternatives would be shipping troops the long way round to (what's left of) Auberdine and Feathermoon Stronghold, or trying to establish another foothold on the eastern shore in the face of Horde opposition. Marrying Jaina is the easiest way to get this vital resource under his control.

[phoenix_anca]

Oh, if he were in love with her, definitely not. But what I mean is I don't see this kind of behaviour anyway. I love Varian and admit my bias, but being this kind of an asshole about it, with his ambassador making these threats ... no matter how badly he wants to fight the Horde I think Varian would have issues with trying to *force* something like this on someone.

I can see both of them of course being aware of the option and considering what it would mean/get them/cost. I can also see Varian giving it more serious thought, or rather being more willing than Jaina, so I could see him making the offer and a case for it. This just reads as ... hm, stooping lower than I think Varian is willing to go?

[sodzilla]

I beta'd the fic and I was under the impression a lot of this is Gaines, who *is* all kinds of an asshole in the game. Like, Varian may have told him to make sure Jaina doesn't conveniently forget about the proposal, but didn't necessarily tell him "and threaten her with her people being slaughtered if she refuses".

[the__ivorytower]

Thank you. Jaina's rant was as much about how I felt after reading things like The Shattering and Twilight of the Aspects as it was about talking about the world. At some point, I'm going to work on an 'essay' regarding the fact that Cataclysm has made me hate Thrall.

I believe eye colour is tied to specific faces. My orc warrior has blue eyes because of the face she has, though my orc hunter has, I believe, red or brown eyes.

Thank you very much for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[yukie1013]

I'll be more coherent than this ater, but - gah. I started to tear up at the point where she's looking over the creepy artefacts and realized what the hell those crystals were about and whom they belonged to. And the memorials did me the hell in XD;

And I find myself wondering what or who Snowsong was looking at...

Here's to hoping Gaines gets terrorized and embarrassed half to death by some murlocs attacking and some Tauren saving his ass in spite of his antics. XD I may have to do some nasty things to the jerk in-fic... Not over-the-top, mind, just like - murlocs attacking etc. XD or something else suitably 'the cosmos points and laughs'.

And oh but your Darion is an adorkable fellow. XD I love him.

In closing I want to hug Jaina so very very much.

[the__ivorytower]

I have rendered you incoherent. :3 When this was a lot more detailed, it was described a lot more, but the beta and I decided that things would explain themselves (and needed to) as time went on.

The answer to your wondering was more obvious in the first draft, but let's just say at least one of the people who was named has realized, upon his death, that he fucked up big time and is very sorry that Jaina is carrying the weight of his death around. Hint, it isn't Arthas.

Gaines is an asshole and I felt no remorse making him a bigger one.

Darion *is* adorkable.

Jaina needs a lot of hugs. Mostly, though, she needs Thrall to not be such a gigantic tool.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, I'm glad you liked it.

[yukie1013]

I have my suspicions about this person now, just based on how each of the three behaves in canon... :3

[revnah]

I know I'm way late on this but for what it's worth: I love it. It's such a relief to read something GOOD, something that's actually well-written and makes sense in terms of lore.

It's shocking - and embarrassing for Blizzard - how much better your writing is than that of the official lore-novel writers. And I'm not just saying this, I used to study and later teach literature at uni, so I kinda know what I'm talking about...

Great read, as always :-)

[the__ivorytower]

It's never too late to offer me praise. I bask in it. *bask bask*

Thank you very much for reading and enjoying, I'm flattered by your praise.

[darthyan]

can you please do an illidan/azshara fic? I thought that it was an interesting idea? I also like that Thrall at the very least realizes he made a bad choice. Though Garrosh is still not quite as bad as his WotLK phase (he is genuinely disgusted by Krom'gar's cruelty)