Diplomacy
is a Warcraft fanfiction written by Weiila.
At her wit's end and desperate to end the fighting, Jaina Proudmore decides to portray herself as a "Sacrificial Lamb" by arranging a Political Marriage with Warchief Thrall. (Who, unknown to her people, she does have strong romantic feelings for.)
Diplomacy takes place in the same universe as Weiila's other Warcraft stories, Shades of Grey and Remembering Grey, which tell the story of Ambassador Thomas Southstone and his friend prior to his role in Diplomacy.
Worthy of note (among other things) for having received over 400 reviews without even being finished. Not to be confused with the popular board game.
This Fan Fic Contains Examples Of:
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- Two instances, both nods towards all the jokes about night elf/troll romances.
- When it's told that Tyrande Whisperwind will be in attendance for the marriage reception, Thrall pointedly tells Vol'jin and all the Darkspear men to behave themselves. Vol'jin stares for a Beat, then he and the crowd keel over laughing.
- During the marriage reception, the troll dancing entertainment throws Tyrande Whisperwind a flower and a kiss. Tyrande takes both in good humor.
- Altar Diplomacy: The whole premise, with an underlying of Perfectly Arranged Marriage. Jaina wants to reduce the tensions between the Horde and Theramore Isle, both to keep the peace and also protect Theramore, since if the Horde turns hostile there's no way the Alliance would be able to arrive in time to reinforce them. The best way to do so is to merge the kingdoms together by marrying Go'el - and the fact that she has feelings for him is a bonus.
- Anger Born of Worry: When Tandred Proudmoore bursts in to see his sister, she at first thinks he's outraged at her over the union, but she realises that he's just desparing for her safety. She has to spend a lot of effort soothing over the situation.
- "Ass" in Ambassador: The Stormwind emissary, Arthur Dunhave, comes dangerously close to this, when he insinuates that Thrall's eloquence came from Sir Blackmoore, the human lord that kept Thrall as a pet for several years. Though Jaina loses all humour at the jab, Thrall remains calm.
- Beyond the Impossible: Jaina knows the ways of arcane magic inside and out, so she is caught off guard when the Lich King manages to attack her, through a magical telepresence illusion from him to Durotar, itself through a second illusion from the Forsaken to Durotar.
- Cool Old Lady:
- Great Mother Geyah, Thrall's grandmother. She not only respects the union between her grandson and his human wife, but also helps keep a handle on Garrosh to keep things civil.
- Chamberlain/Guardian Aegwynn, though she is technically immortal. She always keeps things candid between her and Jaina and always has a smart line or two to throw out, and when Thrall and Jaina are married in front of everyone, she glares down both crowds with her hands on her hips and announces "Hail the Lord of Theramore!", while clearly holding back from adding "you cretins" to the end.
- Cavalry Betrayal: This is what all the men in Tiragarde Keep feel when they finally see Lord Admiral Tandred Proudmoore and his fleet arrive... only to have him order them out of the keep and back to Kul Tiras because they are encroaching on Orc land. They do not take it well.
- Double Take: Just about every Alliance and Horde member in the audience has this "Wait, what?" reaction when Jaina and Thrall's ceasefire affirmation ceremony between Theramore and Durotar turns midway into a marriage ceremony.
- Dramatic Irony: In Chapter 8, Jaina hopes that King Wrynn will be found soon as a defense against hotheaded nobles. The next line mentions how in the future, she'd look back on that thought with bitterness.
- Internal Reveal: Thrall and Jaina planned their political marriage well in advance, but almost nobody knew until the ceremony.
- Irony: When Thrall hears that the Warsong Clan instigated another skirmish against the Night Elves in Warsong Gulch, political tensions that will not help the situation caused by the marriage, Thrall decides on sending someone to yell at them and drag them out - Garrosh Hellscream i.e. the son of the orc who attacked them and killed their demigod Cenarius. He also thinks that he shouldn't let the Night Elves know who he's sending for fear of political incorrectness.
- Lady of War: Jaina, shown both in Warcraft canon and Diplomacy fanon, as both an accomplished archmage and the leader doing her best to balance all the arrangements to keep Theramore Isle safe.
- Laugh Themselves Sick:
- When Jaina announces her plan to her inner circle, Aegwynn, who was the first she confided in, has to support herself against the wall in her laughter.
- After Jaina and Thrall are married in front of both Theramore and Durotar, while the crowd is in its Stunned Silence, the goblins are shrieking with laughter. Gazlowe in particular laughs himself off his chair.
- Vol'jin keels over laughing after Thrall pointedly tells him to make sure the Darkspear men behave themselves, since the night elves will be attending the wedding reception.
- Mundane Solution: When the Lich King manages to attack Thrall through two magical illusions, Varimathras solves the issue by crushing the skull of the Scourge mage projecting one of the illusions.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Although he has done nothing about it thus far, Kael'thas seems to have these intentions. The epilogue even shows him venting by conjuring an illusory image of Thrall and blasting a bloody hole through it.Kael: Do as you wish, miss Proudmoore, but know that he will see you in my arms before he dies!
- Rape as Backstory: By mutual agreement, Tandred and Thrall portray Jaina's previous affair with Arthas as this to stir up unified outrage against the Lich King (and to heap equal blame on both his human and orc halves).
- Realpolitik:
- With the bond of marriage between the Horde and Theramore Isle ostensibly one of peace, there are naysayers in both the Horde and the Alliance that have misgivings, especially with the actions taken to appease both sides.
- Neither Garrosh Hellscream nor the Night Elf Sentinels are pleased at ceding Warsong Gulch to neutral territory overseen by the Cenarion Circle, or having to chastise anyone from their own sides who violates the peace, but both agree to it with grumbles.
- There are worries that Stormwind would use this apparent weakness of Jaina's as pretext to make a move against Theramore's independence and subsume it fully into their influence, and if Tandred moves to support his sister, Kul Tiras's as well.
- Though Thrall has evidence retrieved from Tiragarde Keep saying that Admiral Proudmoore is planning a Kul Tiras fleet action against orcish lands, he does not bring it up in his first public meeting with Tandred Proudmoore (inside Orgrimmar) and instead asks him about it in private, so that he does not make the tensions any worse. Moreover, with the new relationship between them, he offers to let his new brother-in-law decide on a peaceful solution.
- Right Behind Me: Stormwind emissary Dunhave is so busy trying to spell out to Jaina what her diplomatic marriage to Thrall means to the Alliance that he doesn't notice her new husband entering the room until he's right behind him.
- Shocking Voice Identity Reveal: When the Lich King starts insulting Thrall in orcish, his voice sounds different. Drek'thar, a shaman from before the orcs were corrupted by the Legion, angrily recognizes the voice and reveals that it's not just Arthas within the Lich King, but Ner'zhul as well.
- Shoot the Messenger: The Forsaken had been doing this out of habit to several undead troops from the Scourge (real defectors would at least speak), who for some reason had all been carrying bits of cloth, that it takes some time before one of them manages to say he's carrying a white flag (and he's still incinerated). The one after that manages to have their head uncrushed long enough to deliver their message to Sylvanas... whereupon she orders their head crushed anyway.
- Significant Name Shift: In the prologue, Thrall shared with Jaina the news about his still-living grandmother and his true name, Go'el. Jaina does her best to refer to him by it whenever possible.
- Sour Supporter: Garrosh Hellscream is the only one of Thrall's advisors who isn't shy to express his displeasure of the new union, but he at least doesn't make any moves to stop it. Vol'jin too has his reservations, but doesn't show them outwardly.
- Stalker with a Crush: Kael'thas. Just as creepily interested in Jaina as he was in the novel only now he has Nightmare Fuel from working with the legion on his side.
- Stunned Silence: Many, many times throughout the fic, especially when a ceasefire affirmation turns into a marriage ceremony before everyone's eyes.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: When the Lich King speaks with Jaina and Thrall via magical projection, he makes a remark about "his body having fond memories of Jaina", which causes her to recoil in horror. Later, Garrosh makes a comment about Arthas' honor that causes Thrall to realize everyone assumes Arthas raped Jaina. Thrall, Tandred, and Aegwynn decide to run with the idea to help galvanize both the Alliance and Horde against the Scourge - and also paint Arthas in just as bad a light as Ner'zhul so that both the orc and human parts of him will be equally vilified by both factions.
- Tempting Fate: After tabling a shouting match against Garrosh Hellscream and his displeasure with the current situation (especially talks to cede Warsong Gulch to neutral territory with the Night Elves), Thrall thinks this new missive from the Undercity can't be any more frustrating. He recants his statement when he hears that it is a message request from the Lich King.
- Yandere:
- Kael'thas has a few hints. The "brutish embrace" remark borders on racial slur and his reaction when he learns what was really going on...summoning a nude illusion of Jaina in sobbing supplication.
- The Lich King's reaction to the happy union has more than a hint of this, on account of how he all but threw his messengers to the Forsaken to demand a meeting with Thrall and Jaina, revealed her and Arthas's past relations, called out Jaina for "denying [him] again", and then tried to kill her new husband Thrall. To put it in Sylvanas's words:Sylvanas: Good. If he can still be petty, then he still has weaknesses that can prove fatal to him.
- You Didn't Ask: When Sylvanas accuses Varimathras of already knowing the Lich King's old identity as the orc warlock Ner'zhul, Varimathras simply says he didn't think the information mattered enough to mention.
