Blast from the past: Jarod/Shandris is unhealthy doesn't make sense

Speaking as someone who thinks that the Night Elf Shandris Feathermoon is a wonderful and underrated character, Shandris’ love for Jaord Shadowsong is poorly written and imo a bad idea. While having a teenage crush on him during the War of the Ancients was fine, after that, Shandris had had no contact with Jarod for thousands of years and presumed him dead until they met again during the Cataclysm.

And when they met in the Wolfheart novel, despite everything that’s happened since then, and that Shandris had learned Jarod was married - Jarod returned from exile to get help for his dying wife, Shalasyr, Shandris passionately and tearfully propositioned Jarod at his wife’s funeral .

This bears repeating; Shandris pursued someone who she hadn’t spoken to for millennia and who was married to someone else by trying to hook up him before his wife’s body was even cold (and Shandris isn’t ignorant, stupid, crazy or predatory).

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Well … So, after the death of a night elf, his things can be thrown away, appropriated, misused without a twinge of conscience. Something like “ignoring the rights of the dead”, “neglecting the dead.”
Or is it not consistent with other sources? The same funeral rites?

That is not what happened and you know it! I just reread that part, sure Shandris(and Jarod’s) feelings for each other was clearly show but Shandris also was not throwing herself at him, yes she kissed him on the cheek BUT it was mentioned it was not an act of seduction, but as something a friend would do to someone who had just suffered loss.

None of the above. The book even ended with the hint they might someday get together but that it something for the future to decided.

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This is how the exchange went, directly quoted from the book;

“My respects for your loss,” Shandris quietly said. “The Mother Moon guides her spirit now.”

The general of the Sentinels moved as smoothly as a nightsaber and, to Jarod, seemed much unchanged physically from when they had last met. She carried her helmet in the crook of her arm, which allowed him to study close her face. As usual, Shandris’s true emotions remained hidden, save for a brief flash of what he read as either anger or uncertainty.

Shandris had been adopted by Tyrande, but they looked enough alike in the face to have passed for true mother and child. However, the high priestess had a softness to her expression that Jarod had seldom seen on Shandris. The general was also clad very true to her nature, her sleek, violet armor covering most of her form. The armor had been designed as much for swift movement as protection; even the shoulderguards were set so that Shandris could raise a bow or sword at a moment’s notice without any hindrance. The helmet—which only covered the upper half of the face—had also been forged with those two thoughts in mind. It could be easily set atop or pulled off of the head without ever catching on the long, tapering ears of a night elf or, in Shandris’s case, tangling with her long, dark blue hair.

“Thank you.” As she strode toward him, Jarod straightened to better face her. Her somber expression matched well his own.

“I recall her,” the general continued, looking at the still figure. “She had much merit.”

“She had life. She breathed life. The world brightened wherever she went.”

Shandris turned more toward the body, in the process her expression becoming hidden from Jarod’s view. “You truly loved her.”

“Of course.”

“Then I envy her.”

He gaped. “Shandris—”

The female night elf looked back at him. Her eyes were moist, but the tears were clearly not entirely for the deceased. “I am sorry. I have been rude. You know that you have my deepest sympathies. To lose her so suddenly after so long . . . it is not right.”

“Shandris . . .”

“I must go,” she muttered, looking even more uncomfortable than Jarod felt.

He tried to gently take her arm, but Shandris evaded his touch without seeming to try. She could not keep him from following her, though, and thus the two walked in silence out of the chamber.

Jarod looked around, saw that no one was near, then quietly said, “I have owed you an apology for a long time—”

“You owe me no such thing. Nothing ever truly happened between us.”

He looked back at the chamber, his face radiating guilt. Then: “I do not deny I was enchanted by your attention, especially once you had grown up, but we were heading in opposite directions in life. Those years right after the war were hard on all of us. All I wanted was to try to forget the carnage and the deaths. I never wanted to be a leader . . . a hero. . . . ” Jarod said the last word with much self-derision. “I felt out of place, something you did not. You had purpose. You had your duty to the temple and the high priestess.”

“She has—”

Jarod held up a hand for silence, and, clearly to his surprise, Shandris obeyed. “That you would be devoted to Tyrande not only for saving your life but for becoming the mother you lost is hardly something with which I would find fault. Yet she . . . and through her, our people . . . have been and always will be your foremost focus.”

Shandris opened her mouth, then shut it. There was no denial in her eyes. Instead, she leaned up and suddenly kissed him on the cheek. There was not even the mildest attempt at seduction; this was a token of sympathy for his plight.

“I am here if you need to talk,” the general said.

With that, she turned and departed. Shandris did not look back, and Jarod did not say farewell. He only watched as she headed in the direction that he knew the high priestess’s sanctum lay.

Wolfheart, pages 40-41

Even conceding saying Shandris tearfully propositioned Jarod was an exaggeration, the fact remains that Shandris brought up her feelings for Jarod, was holding back tears that weren’t all for Jarod’s loss, kissed him… and did all this at his wife’s wake with her body lying right next to them. It was gauche at best, recklessly selfish at worst.

And she still carries a torch for him after all this time!? If she didn’t have those feelings anymore, why the envy?

She invited him to talk, yes… because it’s never happened that two people meet to “just talk”, then one thing leads to another and then they have sex, right?

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She literally mentions it was abit rude of her. Look, people do crazy/stupid things because of unrequited loved(I should know). Yes, maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned anything, but it was the first time she was seeing what one would assume was her first and probably last love in about 10,000 years, even I would be filled with crazy emotions.

We were literally told that she did not want to seduce him! That this talk was just a talk. No, contrary to Hollywood’s portrayal people can actually told without it ending with sex.

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Spare me the quote-mining. Emotions are one thing, but if Shandris had never slept with or loved anyone else in over 10,000 years, that is very telling and troubling. It doesn’t matter that she was immortal for most of it, that’s still over three quarters of her life.

The writing states only the kiss wasn’t an attempt at seduction. It also shows Shandris is clearly trying to bottle her feelings up and hold back from saying more.

The fact remains that Shandris chose to seek him out, start this conversation right next to his wife’s corpse and invite him for future conversations. While not every talk leads to sex, it can happen.

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It tells me she dedicated herself to her work and Tyrande. Nothing more, nothing less.

Which again shows she was not “propositioning” Jarod during his wife’s funeral.

She went to visit someone she cared about who’s wife died. She wanted to extend her condolences, I doubt she intended the conversation to go the way it did, but emotions slip, people and characters are not suppose to be perfect, but neither are they usually the worse things you imagine.

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While you’re right that Shandris wanted to offer condolences for someone she cared about, I don’t think that was all. Tellingly, her feelings for Jarod cut through millennia of dedication and duty like a hot knife through butter. Shandris outright says she envies Jarod’s wife. Looks like someone didn’t move on.

I never said the kiss was proposition.

While it’s true we all have slips, it doesn’t mean that her feelings for him aren’t romantic, nor are healthy. To me that seemed less a slip from a dedicated woman and more a yandere trying to hold back, especially since she shuts her mouth when he holds up a hand for silence.

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That is a strong word. She wasn’t offering more than someone to talk to.

It seems they were talking about their past, more than anything. Their lives led them on separate paths, and if she isn’t a little forward, she might not get the chance to talk with him again.

I don’t see anything wrong with this. Jarod clearly wanted to have the conversation. He followed her to continue it.

His wife is dead. Life is for the living. I might think Shandris was a little gauche if she was at a wedding and hit on the groom. But at the funeral for his wife, at least she knows he is single.

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whips out Wolfheart.

“She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. There was not even the mildest attempt at seduction; this was a token of symptahy for his plight.” - page 70

Even the fact that it says so plain as day that she kissed him on the cheek to offer him her sympathy for his loss, the conversation that lead up to this was how they were talking about how they both had completely different lives and would have chosen different paths.

Jarod and Shandris is a case of right place, wrong time. Sometimes that’s a very valid reason not to be with someone. Liking someone and making a life with someone are two different things. To me it seems like they were both on the same page agreeing that even though they both at one point had feelings for eachother, it would have never worked out between them and Shandris acknoldged that Jarod made a good life for himself regardless.

And that’s emotional maturity.

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Mr Steal Yo Girl wants Shandris for himself

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Oh, I see we’re still trying to force that piece of driftwood on Shandris.

Keeping yourself untainted for centuries as an expression of love

Ugh, Abrahamic religion’s obsession for female chastity and virginity cannot die any slower.

Also seeing that Wolfheart has been steadily retconned over the years, I think we should just bite the bullet and just throw it out in its entirety.

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Wolfheart is necessary for Varian’s character development otherwise his anger management goes unexplained.

It’s a joke that they used as Goldrinns chosen. My headcannon is just varian was a angry individual

Knaak is not a good writer anyway. If there are any problems with Jarod and Shandris’ relationship, blame him.

Edit: I don’t know if there are.

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Or it just means some people do not want to do it with someone they don’t love. In Shandris case she has the double whammy of apperently not ending with the love of her live and being busy with helping Tyrande manage her people. Illidan was another character who seemed to only care about Tyrande(yes I know about BC whole harem thing, but I honestly don’t think he ever partook in it/was always pinning for Tyrande). Same with Varian, if Varian wanted to he could have had any woman he wanted, instead he seemed pretty loyal to Tiffany.

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Not so hot take: Varian was more interesting with anger issues than being Anduin-ized. Character flaws aren’t a bad thing.

Apparently the “love of her life” moved on, settled down, and married. Poor girl is clueless, and I hate to bring it up; but her stomp, stomp biological was clock ticking away. Is there any more crap we could pile on to the top of this lack of basic communication?

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Shandris is for Keeshan.

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I already quoted that whole exchange, clearly acknowledged the kiss wasn’t a proposition, and you know it.

Shandris was still dropping some hints to Jarod at his wife’s funeral when her corpse was lying right there. If you have a S.O. who outlived you, does the idea of someone hitting on them at your funeral right next to your body bother you? Or vice versa if someone hit on you at the funeral for your S.O, right next to their corpse?

You think Jarod is a piece of driftwood? lol I’m not a fan of him either.

I never said anything about keeping yourself untainted, and wasn’t criticizing the idea Shandris moving on. Why bring the Abrahamic religions into this discussion, Anyaceltica? Are you tying to start an argument?

As sick as I am of the devs’ obsession with retcons, I’d be perfectly fine with Wolfheart being de-canonized.

No. No, no, no.
Not a human (also not an orc and undead). The main thing is no human!