#(is there something with more sarai energy?)

[raayllum]

Transcript of Aaron Ehasz Interview (Sept 2024)

Podcast link here. Transcript down below with bulk under a read more.

R: Alright so welcome back to the Wordswithdragons podcast, and today I’m joined by a very special guest, the co-creator of The Dragon Prince, Aaron Ehasz. 

A: Hello, thank you for having me today. Glad to be here.

R: Thank you so much for being here. Um, yeah, so, as we semi touched on, it is the 6 year anniversary of The Dragon Prince this September 14th.

A: Yeah.

R: Do you have any thoughts, reflections, feelings about the show having gone on for this long and being such a big part of people’s lives?

A: I mean for starters, it’s really hard to believe it’s been on for six years. Like that seems insane to me. Cause it seemed like we had — Justin and I had been working on it for so long before it finally came out because we had worked on the story and then gotten feedback, and help in improving that pitch and bringing it out and we had it set up at Netflix, and we had to — we wrote the pilot obviously, and we didn’t know where we were gonna produce it, and found Bardel. So there was so much time between even just starting to think about it and when it came out.

R: Yeah, cause that was like 2015, right?

A: Yeah, I guess we started the journey in 2015 and we got with Bardel by the end of 2016, and it got released evidently in 2018, so... Yeah, yeah, cause I remember even we were writing kind of the end of season 3 when we had that panel with Marco and named the character after Marco.

R: Oh yeah.

A: The character [chuckles] from the first episode, we only had an opportunity for him to say his name out loud in that last episode because we were writing the ending while we were showing the episodes for first time, so. Anyway, that’s my reflection, it’s great it’s been six years.

R: Yeah. I know The Dragon Prince has been a really like — both life changing and I think, like, life affirming experience for a lot of people, myself included. So we just really appreciate everybody’s hard work on the show and are very excited for season 7 and hopefully beyond as well. As well for any future projects that Wonderstorm comes out with, like Bonders sounds amazing.

A: I feel — well first of all, thank you for saying that it’s life affirming, that’s such a nice thing to hear about something you’ve worked on, but I also agree that Justin and I feel a ton of gratitude for the whole team and the work and heart that everyone put into making this. I think people wanted it to be meaningful and special and that takes a certain kind of energy and vulnerability to build something like that, that you share, and our whole team really did give that in building the show.

R: Yeah. I think for sure. I think that’s like, um, I was even — I was rewatching some of the show earlier for — for a parallel, and it was the scene between Avizandum and Zubeia when she goes to him in like her kind of corruption dream semi-nightmare, and obviously that’s such a heartfelt, touching scene, and it’s always so strange. Because on the one hand, you should hate Avizandum, he killed Sarai and Rex Igneous has rightful criticism of him, but then you watch that scene of him and he really did love his family, so I think the show being able to draw out those strong, conflicting emotions for so many of the characters is one of the reasons why it connects with people to the degree that it does.

A: And that’s one of the themes you probably see in the show — just gonna make a quick —

R: Yeah, yeah for sure. 

A: Avizandum, which is that being a good dad can make up for awful lot of [R laughs] monstrosities, as long as you’re doing it in the name of being a good dad. I’m joking, uh. Of course, yeah, Avizandum was always meant to be a complicated figure like many of our characters. 

R: You mentioned that you guys have been working on — I think season three during this panel with Marco, or Marcos, and I remember, I think you’ve said before that the seasons get worked on concurrently, that there’s a decent amount of overlap.

A: Yeah.

R: I’ve always wondered, because we know — obviously, I’m a big Rayllum fan — but I’ve always wondered, cause I know they weren’t originally planned, and then you guys were boarding season two when you were like, “Hey, maybe this should be a thing,” and then probably like shifted and tweaked things or changed things to write more towards that in the future... Um, I’ve always wondered, if there was time, like at that time, to go back and change anything in season one for them, or the season one that we see was just like that?

A: I don’t recall there was time to change season 1 — that does happen because we are working on things in parallel because we are working on something in the script and then some time later we are working on the later stage of production, like an animatic, and we’ll be able to kind of give notes or even make changes with the knowledge of what’s coming, so that has happened. But in the case of Rayllum, I don’t think so. I mean, I think — again, I remember...

R: It was a while ago, yeah.

A: We were rekindling, or when we were realizing that something was being kindled between them, it was watching an animatic so that shouldn’t have informed our writing of season one, but our later stage stuff. But we weren’t trying to force anything so it got in there naturally and I don’t think we went back and changed anything.

R: Yeah, that’s what I’ve always — they had those kind of vibes to me from like episode two and three, obviously season two brought a lot more people on board, but I was always curious. Cause in season one, like, I think, it feels so natural, it feels so organic, and like I’ve shown — one of the things I love about Dragon Prince is it’s a great way to connect with friends and family and you kind of catch up with each other like through the show, of “oh have you seen the new season yet?” and that sort of stuff. And so when I’ve shown the show to like my brother-in-law, who is not plugged in at all, he also kind of picked up on it in season one, so I’ve always been curious. 

A: You know, what else, I’ll even say, I think we initially, intentionally planned they weren’t going to be a couple. We were like “Oh yeah, no, they’re—”

R: Friends, yeah.

A: Friends, with different views of the world and they journey together, and we don’t want them to be a couple. We’re not — we’re definitely not targeting it. I think we were intentionally not targeting it, and then it was “too bad creators! [R laughs] We’re going to fall in love despite everything you’re planning.”

R: Well, that very much I think even fits what they represent to each other, of like you don’t have to do this path that you think you have to do...

A: Yeah.

R: You can be something new. I always kind of felt like Ezran and Zym were — felt very kind of like designed as foils, as like a pair, of like through Zym, Ezran learns more so like how to grow up, and they’re both like the princes who will be king, and then Callum and Rayla also kind of felt sort of like developed as a pair, in terms of like — he needs to gain more confidence, she’s pretty confident on the surface.

A: Yeah.

R: She needs to learn how to open up, he’s really good at being open especially in the beginning.

A: Right. 

R: So I was always like...

A: He needs to be murdered, she needs to learn how to murder someone.

R: Yeah! They complete each other, yeah. Uh... Some other questions that I had [rapid typing]. So I guess, maybe, I have some questions that are more season specific, in respect to time, but I also had like more general questions. 

A: Okay.

R: So, one of the things I’ve always love in general and really love about The Dragon Prince is its like use of philosophy and like its deeply interested in ethical and moral questions, and presenting some answers for some of them, but like are those the right answers? We don’t know. 

A: Right.

R: So I know King Harrow’s choosing of Lady Justice’s blindfold is a pretty apt comparison to John Rawls’ Veil of Ignorance—

A: Yes.

R: Of, you know, you strip away everything that you could have, like advantages, disadvantages, and think, would the system work for me? Which has been useful when I’ve like, had to tutor students in philosophy actually, but I was curious, were there any like philosophical concepts or ideas that people really, or you really, wanted to work into the series? ‘Cause we have a lot of trolley problems.

A: Right. Um, probably. I mean like, I should say, I was a philosophy concentrator in college so I absorbed a lot. Things like  Rawls, I had a class with John Rawls, and thought that was a really interesting concept and I liked including it, and I thought we can include it in a fun way, the idea of justice. So other philosophy probably makes its way in, it can makes its way in accidentally or subconsciously, so nothing specific right now comes to mind. I will say, as with kind of Avatar before this, I don’t like to have — I’m not trying to have a right answer, ever. I’m trying to have the characters have a deeper understanding of what they’re struggling with, and y’know, move in a direction of deeper understanding, so if anything, it’s more interesting to me to see conflicts between maybe philosophical approaches that are different and see how — Oh well, this has these kinds of results, and positives and negatives, and this has... so that the audience can have a chance to say, “Oh well okay, I have some thoughts on that,” or “here’s what I feel,” and that’s why sometimes I think we see the fandom actually kind of go back and forth—

R: Yeah.

A: On — around characters and people’s choices, and things like dark magic or Viren, which are controversial, are things where like, I do not have a strong point of view on... the kind of binary right or wrong of... Viren in the long term. He’s made a lot of wrong choices and he’s made a lot of choices for good. 

R: Yeah.

A: He is an arrogant and power hungry person and he’s also a caring and loving father and someone who wants to have a positive impact on the world, right, like?

R: Yeah.

A: So those conflicts play out in him. But similarly, I think with maybe most of the philosophical ideas I can think of, I’d rather get to like a place where everyone just has a chance to entertain those thoughts and ideas and struggle with them, or hold them in an authentic way, and then can come to their own conclusions and feelings. I mean, I have some deep feelings about like, the world, and how can people be optimistic or not pessimistic or—y’know, what it means to hold onto hope or what it means to try to move past conflict, and I have beliefs that there are conflicts that get so you know, kind of sewn in, that they feel they are impossible to untangle, and especially if the game you’re playing is who started it, or who did the worst thing, where you can’t just ever untangle it. You can’t ever find a right or wrong, so how do you get past that? That’s one of the questions I was hoping Rayla, Callum, and Ezran would try to—

R: Figure it out.

A: Struggle with. Anyway, I’m giving a very long winded answer—

R: No, no.

A: That’s the philosophy that comes to mind. If something comes to mind for you, you can bring it up and I can go, “Oh yeah, that was probably influenced by so-and-so.” [R laughs] Or maybe not.

R: Well, one of the things I loved about season six was kind of — you see, even... One of the things I thought was really interesting was we see, not quite like that return to trolley problems, but we see Aaravos at the end of season 5 is telling Viren you have to make the sacrifice so that you can live, and then we see Rayla tell Callum, “Hey, if the choice ever happens, you also have to sacrifice me,” for — so Callum can live, but also for like the greater good and that sort of stuff. And then you have Kpp’Ar, who — I love Kpp’Ar, I think he’s terrible and interesting and I love him.

A: Awesome. He is — we’ll learn a little more about him in the future, but yes.

R: And obviously when Viren’s like, “A child will die,” and this is a kid that Kpp’Ar would’ve known, and we see in The Puzzle House that he loved these kids, and whatever is up with the Staff is bad enough that Kpp’Ar’s like, “Okay. I’ll make that sacrifice.” Which feels very much in a way like he’s given up on dark magic, and to a certain degree he’s both given up on the mindset of dark magic, and maybe also hasn’t given it up in the same way. Like I love that — Claudia, you know, obviously, puts Viren above all else, is she always right to do so? Maybe not, but we get why she’s doing it, that’s a hard thing to say. And then we have Callum, who also seems inclined to put Rayla above all else, and because we like Rayla more, we’re like “Yeah, he can do that, it’s okay for him to do dark magic for her, that’s fine,” even if there’s also like, consequences. Cause most characters in the show, like you said, everybody kind of wants the same thing, they wanna have a positive impact on the world, they want to protect their loved ones, but what constitutes that world, what they think is a positive impact, or who they want — how they protect those people, that’s all very malleable and can fluctuate. Viren says “Claudia, you’re on the wrong path,” and we’re like yeah, he’s right, and Karim says the same thing about Janai, like the exact same thing, and we’re like, well he’s wrong.

A: Yeah. I mean a lot of things come to mind when you’re talking through that, but one is there’s often a conflict between rigidity and rules and some kind of compassion, or emotional decision, and those decisions are hard, right? Like I dunno, maybe Kpp’Ar should’ve said, “Okay just this once, it’s Soren,” or not, I don’t know. I mean obviously Kpp’Ar had taken himself to some deep horrible place and he really had, actually. And was like, “Okay, dark magic is just corruption when you start and keep going down this path, but this Viren’s kid so I don’t know.” One of the things here, I think there’s a relationship between — you know, sacrifice plays a role here. Sacrifice and thinking about generations and generational conflict and thinking you know maybe in a way I think is interesting. I think about the beginning of season 6 when Claudia has done all of this and sacrificed another life but also sacrifices some of her soul or whatever to save her dad and he’s like “No no! This is not the way! A parent is supposed to do this for a child but never the other way around,” right? And there’s something to that I find interesting which is — it’s almost the inverse of children having the opportunity to start anew and break cycles, parents potentially have the opportunity to make sacrifices that don’t pass by burdens onto their kids, but sort of like that’s the mirror I see a little bit, in terms of how do you have generational change and evolution? It’s somewhere in younger generations being able to not get stuck on conflicts and burdens, but also the older generations recognizing that they may have to be the one to take the — and this is I think a natural... I dunno, it’s something I think about a little bit and came to mind when you were talking. So we’ll see more about what is the meaning of sacrifice and when — when do you... trade? Yeah.

R: Yeah.

A: Side note on sacrifice. You’re familiar with Game of Thrones? You’ve watched all of Game of Thrones?

R: I’m decently familiar, yeah.

A: Okay.

R: And if not, I can have Kuno explain it to me later, so.

A: One of the things I love about the sacrifice Ned made, that we didn’t realize he’d made until I think the very end of the series, we realize — a sacrifice to his kind of reputation, right? And I’m talking about him representing Jon Snow as his bastard to protect him, right? Think about that, that’s a sacrifice, he had to go through the anger — he didn’t tell his wife the truth, he didn’t tell anyone, because it was the only way to protect the child, and as a result he lived with — even though the truth is that he was a really honest, good, or evidently he didn’t go cheat on his wife, he sacrificed that part of his reputation to protect Jon, at least how I see it. I think things like that are kind of interesting. I dunno.

R: Yeah. Yeah, I think it speaks to that idea of — one of the things I love about Dragon Prince is it’s so much about choices.

A: Yeah.

R: Like one of the things I really really liked about season 6 was that, you know, Callum is like, “Okay, I’m going to get myself purified, healed of dark magic,” and Rayla was his light, which was very validating, cause I had noticed in season two there was like some framing so I was like well “Maybe, maybe” you know? And then slowburn buildup but it was — I think that was a great moment that really paid off. And he’s told “if you ever do this again, it’ll corrupt you completely.” And whether he will or won’t — I personally think that he will, but spoilers, you know — but whether he will or won’t, I think it’s really nice because now whatever choice he makes, he’s making with the full context, of what this would do to him.

A: Yeah.

R: Whereas in season two, yes he was making his choice to do dark magic then, and I don’t necessarily think he would make a fundamentally different one if he had known what it would lead to, but there’s a different kind of awareness. Like I always of it would’ve been so easy to have Harrow not know that Viren was going to kill Zym, cause that’s such an easy way to kind of let Harrow off the hook of well Viren went off and did this on his own, and Harrow had no idea, and blah blah blah, right? Cause we like Harrow, he’s a — again, he’s a good dad, we’ll forgive a lot. And instead, it’s not his idea but he’s fully aware, he signs off on it. And I think constantly pushing characters to make hard choices — kind of like what Ezran says, “these aren’t dreams, these are choices.”

A: Yeah.

R: You can choose love, you can choose to make... It’s something that makes all the characters feel so fully developed and interesting, so I always appreciate that you guys push them to make the hard choice. 

A: Yeah. Cool. Thank you.

R: One question I did have is, uh, Karim is one of my favourite characters.

A: Okay. Unusual person. A lot of people hate — or love to hate...? I love him too. 

R: I also love Kasef, so I think I just kind of love everyone, because I’m like well, they’re really interesting. I feel like [Karim’s] arc was one of the things I loved most about season 4 because you can see him really wrestling with his choices and I love watching him fail, cause that’s kind of all he does, so that’s always fun. But I am really curious obviously now he’s been betrayed by Sol Regem, Katolis is in ashes and maybe they’ll blame Karim for that cause Sol Regem is like — dead, and now, presumably his only hope is going to be that his sister doesn’t execute him on the spot? 

A: Yeah.

R: So is there anything you can tease about Karim’s arc in season 7?

A: Yeah, so — so it’s not just Karim, there’s an army of people who betrayed Janai, and — and...

R: What do we do?

A: Yeah, what do we do? That will be something we’ll have to see them grapple with pretty much right away in the season. Especially cause [Karim’s army] showed up for this battle where they were never even — they were just planning to sweep up the ashes afterwards, so when they didn’t get the dragon support they needed, I suspect they lost really quickly. 

R: Yes, yeah.

A: So uh... Yeah, but basically as of the start of season 7 — all of them are prisoners of Queen Janai and the question is — what do you do with that? What do you do when you have an entire army and your own brother who betrayed you? And so that’s — we’ll find out.

R: Yeah. [Laughs] 

A: But yeah.

R: Yeah. Another question I had going forward was Terry and Claudia obviously I thought had a really beautiful relationship arc, particularly in season 6, and we saw in season 4 the lengths he’s willing to go to for her, and how Terry, I think, is a great example of how there’s a lot of character traits where we think “oh, if you’re a selfless, helpful, accepting person, you’re a good person,” and I feel like Dragon Prince does a really good job of how, Rayla’s selflessness can be great but it can also be kinda bad, or, um, Terry can be super accepting, maybe a little too—

A: Yeah.

R: —accepting sometimes, right? So I feel like at the end of season 6, it will presumably be him, Claudia, and Aaravos for a little bit now that he’s out of the prison. And it feels like maybe Terry might hit a breaking point?

A: Here’s what I will say — Terry is a really special character and if you watched him, he’s so good, and what we’ll find out is, he is — there is an episode called TRUE HEART and he is someone who has a true heart.

R: Oh that’s so sweet.

A: It’s very impossibly rare and special — but also we all understand what a true heart is in some way and we’ll learn a little more about that. But yeah, the question of what will Terry do, what can he do, is difficult because he has a very strong sense of right and wrong, but he has a very deep capacity for love and he loves Claudia with all of his heart. Where does that present an impossible conflict, it may... we’ll see a challenge.

R: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

A: I’ll also throw in like I sometimes see some parallels between Terry and Uncle Iroh—

R: Yes.

A: Though Uncle Iroh I think has a very different journey. Iroh is kind of a recovered problematic person who now has some wisdom and enlightenment, so in terms of the difference between the purity of a true heart versus where Iroh is more of a later stage enlightenment, the love that they have for the kind of complicated person that they are with is similar to me. And the way that they both sometimes have to, or don’t have to but...

R: Choose to?

A: You have to give that person the space — you can’t force them to choose right or wrong, you can be there with them, you can try to guide them, you can — but ultimately you have to give them the space to fail, and eventually, you may have to turn your back on them. 

R: Yeah.

A: At some point. I don’t know. But um yeah — I still see them as connected characters in my mind. 

R: I think I can even see some of that with even the way Callum is with Rayla, like season five onwards, of like “I’ve hit my turning point, I’m not mad at you anymore, and you can steal my key, you can lie to me, and I’m not going to have you open up to me out of guilt or obligation, I want you to tell me what’s going on when you want to tell me what’s going on, and I’m going to give you the space for that.” So I think it speaks to that unconditional love that I think—

A: Yeah.

R: —a lot of the characters are blessed to have. But I do see the Terry Iroh connection. So another thing that I thought was really interesting was — obviously next season is dark magic, and I’m very hopeful that maybe we’ll learn more about the origins of dark magic or Elarion, even. 

A: Great.

R: Because I know when I was watching Sol Regem burn down Katolis, it made me think of what might’ve either happened or almost happened to Elarion in the past, you know? 

A: Yeah.

R: Even down to Ziard and Viren both die, kind of deflecting and trying to save people, with the same staff, you know, and how the cycle continues to just always repeat itself over and over again. And if there was like — yeah, cause burning down Katolis was a massive shakeup, you know?

A: Yup.

R: And what maybe the process was there, with the — Aaravos seems like he’s trying to repeat the cycle of like “Oh I’m going to take down the dragon monarchy or I’m gonna use that vacancy to my advantage, and mess with the Sunfire elves.”

A: He has a specific vendetta against Sol Regem, obviously, but it’s one where he has played it out in... What’s certainly meant to be implied, even though we’ll find out more later, is that one of the great mysteries of Sol Regem’s life is that his mate disappeared and he never found her. He’s the freaking Dragon King, and she disappeared. And though we don’t know how or what happened, while she was buried alive. He killed her. He didn’t even realize it, somehow. Somehow, Aaravos manipulated him into killing her, and he doesn’t — I dunno, I assume Sol Regem does understand when it must have happened, but that moment, it’s like an impossible — it’s meant to be just...

R: Awful.

A: He’s tortured him for 1000 years or whatever, without him knowing he was being tortured by Aaravos, and now he’s given him the mercy/cruelty of knowing the resolution to the mystery was that he killed her. And one of the things that worked well with that was that, we had sort of said Sol Regem can smell the truth from a lie, so he has the horrible curse of being able to know this is the deep dark truth. So I dunno, I think um, are we going to find out more about that? So, if we can eventually get the Book Three novel out [R laughs], we will find out more about that.

R: I did wonder, I was like “Maybe this is something that was gonna be in the book three novelization.”

A: Yes, we will find out more in the book three novel, it may be a year or so before unfortunately. And then I don’t think we’re gonna get too deep into that in season seven, that’s part of — it is involved in what we’re thinking about as the third arc, understanding and resolving the third arc, is gonna go a little deeper into...

R: Some of the history, yeah.

A: Some of the stuff that happened with Sol Regem. But yeah, no, I — it’s enjoyable to have these figures like Aaravos and Sol Regem who are ancient and operate over the course of centuries and are incredibly powerful, yet they can’t — or at least Aaravos,  they can’t conflict directly as easily, and so Aaravos has played this really complicated game. Anyway, but yes Sol Regem is part of that, but there’s — there’s more, there’s more people who — beings that took from him. He feels that Leola was unfairly punished and that that was — you know, he sees a future and he has something... All this time, a burning — it’s the twisted form of his love, in which he’s full of hate right now to the beings who brought this about. Obviously, Sol Regem played a role because he’s a rules dragon.

R: Yeah, yeah.

A: He is the one who betrayed her to the Cosmic Council ultimately — but how do you punish the Cosmic Council? That’s a bit more complicated.

R: Yeah. No, I remember finishing season six and just being so impressed with the story. Like, taking that direction, and almost doing a lot of recontextualization, because it’s one thing to have like your worldbuilding where “magic in the story works like this” and it’s just very kind of like hand of God, you know? Like oh — cause the magic system has always been unfair, that’s why we have Callum, you know? It’s another thing to say we’re going to have characters in the story who are responsible for it being unfair. And now we’re just going to have that in terms of conflict and themes of destiny. We have about seven, ten-ish minutes left I think.

A: Probably seven, if that’s okay?

R: Yeah. Of course. 

A: I’ll throw one other thing in there, which is that — cause characters experience things that change them: has Aaravos experienced — I’ll phrase it as a question, even though probably the answer is here, has Aaravos experienced much that has changed him in the last — since the death of Leola? I mean certainly some things, and is what’s happening now changing him in any way? Is it satisfaction, is it the relationship with Claudia, and what does that mean to someone? That’s a question that I think we’ll have to watch play out a little bit.

R: [Intrigued] Okay. Yeah. One thing that I really liked about Leola’s character was I felt like she had pieces of each of the main trio in her? Of this very helpful innocent well meaning child, kind of like Ezran — and I have also always seen Ezran as autistic as well cause I know that Leola canonically is — and then you also kind of have the whole oh she gave  / helped humans have primal magic, which obviously Callum has. And even just being this young elven girl punished for her compassion and mercy, that felt a lot like Rayla. And when making the choice for Leola to be Leola, was that something intentional or like the choice for it to be a child rather than another loved one?

A: It was very intentional that it was a child... And we talked through other versions of Leola that could’ve been, in other ages, genders, relationships with Aaravos that an important person was lost. Some of the things I liked about the way, Leola both as a child, children are the cycle breakers.

R: Yes, yeah. I think it was the strongest choice.

A: And in particular also, the idea of coding her autistic was a little bit like not as cued to kind of accept the social order and the order of things, but actually more open in a way to in what some people see as like — something that’s broken which is not taking those cues, something else about that — not being bound by it that allowed her to have compassion that crossed the line in terms of the perceptions of what the Cosmic Order needed to be in it — but it made her more, both as a child and an autistic person, to make that choice and do what she did that changed everything.

R: Makes a lot of sense.

A: [Her being a child] also frames it with some innocence obviously right? It’s not calculated, it’s kind. 

R: Yeah.

A: So I dunno.

R: Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been curious about how Ezran might be challenged now that Runaan is back in the picture.

A: That’s a great question. That’s a great question. I mean, it’s so weird, it’s like no one even asks that, it’s like “Cool,” Rayla’s like “I’m gonna go get him. Awesome! Runaan’s back.”

R: Yeah I’m like either — either Callum is like “Ezran will be totally fine with it,” and Ezran  is probably not going to be fine with it, or maybe Callum knew that maybe it wouldn’t be great, and kept it under wraps. Yeah, I’m so excited for that like trio, potential broyals conflict, so...

A: Well, I mean, Ezran is a very special kid and he’s very positive and kind and forgiving and all of this. But we’re talking about, Runaan is back.

R: Castle’s destroyed.

A: Katolis is rubble. Where does that leave him?

R: Yeah.

A: You know? I mean — so I’m excited about that part of Ezran.

R: I know the fandom is really, really excited for Ezran to get to be — not that he hasn’t always been complex, but to get to be like messier, of letting his emotions maybe get the better of him and that sort of thing. So people are definitely hype for that, for — cause I feel like season six really brought home a lot of things for Soren, and it seems like season seven is going to do a similar thing for Ezran, so that’s — that’s really exciting. Um, with our final couple minutes, I wanted to see — do you have any questions that you want fans to ponder or to be thinking about?

A: Um... Gosh. I don’t think I have anything specific that we haven’t talked about, but you know. On some level, like, you know how do you take the tragedies and conflicts that we all inevitably face repetitively and relentlessly and kind of learn to move forward in hope and optimism? I think that’s more of a question of like how do you personally learn to process — all the kind of bullshit in the world, and process it, and still move forward as a kind, connected—

R: Measured person.

A: —hopeful person? That’s a challenge we all face in our lives, so that’s like...

R: Yeah. Well, I think the show does a good — really good job at asking and challenging that — that question. Uh, yeah, I think — I think that’s our time for today, uh. Thank you so much, this was... 

A: It was my pleasure. 

R: This was a lot of fun.

A: It’s always my pleasure reading your theories and your—

R: [Gasps] Oh my gosh.

A: Honestly, I came on today and to tell the truth [R laughs] a little bit intimidated.

R: Oh my God. 

A: You’re so—

R: I also felt intimidated [laughing] so don’t worry.

A: You’re so insightful and articulate, that I almost am like [R laughs] what if they catch me that there’s something not as smart in the show as I thought it was?

R: Oh my gosh, no, you’re fine.

A: [Overlapping] So anyway, I really enjoy what you write—

R: [Overlapping] I’m also a writer so I know what it’s like to be like “I did this subconsciously,” it’s — yeah.

A: I love what you instigate in the fandom and the kind of conversations you support and engage in. I’m a huge fan of yours, so.

R: Oh! Thank you so much, that’s so sweet. Um. And I am a huge fan of yours.

A: Yay. That’s a great way to end a podcast.

R: That is a great way. Okay. Alright, well thank you so much, hope you have a great day, great week, uh, and — yeah. Okay.

A: Alright, and I’ll see you soon, we’ll do this again sometime, I hope. 

R: Yes! Yeah. Okay.

A: Alright. Thanks again. Alright, bye.

[joy-eris-joy]

Gender Sisters Reunited

“Okay Ava. You can do this! You can totally make it up to tu hermana! Ya made up with Milan! That was easy!”

Ava spoke out loud to himself as he walked through the alleyways. He remembered Sarai's schedule and knew that they would be picking up coffee for Sera at this moment.

“Okay, not really. Lots of punching was involved...and Sarai ain't like that.”

He worried if Sarai would forgive him after he blew them off. But she had to try. She told Sadie she would.

“Sí Ava, ya can do it. Ava El Carbón doesn't run from a fight!”

He was about to walk to Sarai, until he saw the familiar figure of an unfriendly Seraph bump into her.

Uh oh. Looks like they were arguing now. Better hide before she gets caught in the middle, and then she'd apologize.

He hid behind some trash cans and watched Sarai and the other Seraph talk.

Even as a guardian angel, Sarai was still not exempt from picking up coffee for the Council. She ordered the coffees, remembering the god-awful tastes of her superiors, and walked out the door.

She was distracted by a lot of things. One, she still couldn't stop thinking about Milan, who was now probably still with Adina.

She wants to be with her? I shouldn't be so surprised. I could never compare. I'm not much.

Second, Lana was bugging her - and not just by ignoring her helpful advice. She reminded her so much of someone - Ava, someone who she had also lost forever.

They're so much alike. She'll hate me too soon. I know it. Ava already does.

Lost in her thoughts, she bumps into a tall figure, whom she spills all her coffee over.

“Oh, I-”

Rhiannon groans. 

“Oh, it’s you. The ugly duckling. What else did I expect?”

She shoots Sarai an unfriendly glare, which was just a regular glare for her.

“And here I was hoping to enjoy a day to myself, until you had to come along and ruin things like you always do. Is it so hard for you to do anything right, little cygnet?”

Sarai hissed.

“Rhiannon. I should've known. What other member of the Court would waste their time picking on Apprentices?”

Rhiannon was…a character. She was painfully arrogant, inconsiderate…and generally a massive bitch. Sarai never liked her, and the feeling was mutual. After all, Adina was a product of Rhiannon’s mentorship, and that spoke volumes on its own.

“Perhaps you should spend your energies on something actually productive. Maybe then Sera would actually be able to respect you as an equal.”

“Being equal to Sera? Why would I stoop that low, when I am clearly flawless as is?”

She laughs mockingly, taking a sip of the bottle of wine she always seemed to carry with her.

“Really, dear, after all this time as her Apprentice, I would’ve thought you’d grown a brain like you finally grew those mediocre blue feathers of yours. But then again, you have been known to spend your time with lesser beings, especially Exorcists.”

She looks up as if trying to recall something, and to balance herself because drinking this early was a bad choice.

“There was a really small one, yes? What was its name again? Ava? The one that killed the Hellborn, like a complete moron? Such a stupid mistake - even for an Exorcist. I say, we should’ve just thrown that one to the Sinners to tear apart, but my darling Adina was so kind as to take her in to give her a second chance she so didn’t deserve.”

At the mention of Ava, Sarai’s other eyes emerged in anger. She raised her wings high.

“Don’t you dare speak about him that way.”

She slowly shifted into her Bible-accurate form with her mounting anger.

“Ava is a far better angel than both you and Adina combined!”

“She is more righteous than any member of the Court, and so, so much more deserving of anyone’s trust than I could ever say.”

She winces with regret over how she never truly said that to Ava. Her stupid, stupid pride had prevented her from doing so. And now it was too late.

“YOU OF ALL ANGELS have no right to speak ill of her.”

Ava was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Sarai to ever talk back to any of her superiors in that manner. Especially not when it was about him.

Was she…defending him?

He kept watching silently from the sides, keeping hidden as the Seraphim continued.

Morphing into her true form, she once again recalled the words of the stranger on the night of the Seraphim Showcase.

Don’t be afraid to use that Seraph form. Show your superiors how to respect you.

Now was her chance. She was going to make Rhiannon respect Ava and her.

“You WILL retract your statements and show Ava - my sister - and I respect. Do you understand?”

Rhiannon was taken back for a second, not expecting the apprentice to talk back. She flared out her own wings and eyes, towering over Sarai.

“How dare you speak to me like that?” She growls, raising a hand and striking Sarai across the face. “You filthy little brat! I will make sure you never become fully fledged after I speak with Sera about this!”

Sarai fell back as she was hit across the face. Fear paralyzed her as the older Seraph loomed over her.

She should’ve known she wasn’t nearly powerful enough to go against a fully-fledged member of the Council. She was so stupid.

She cowered as Rhiannon glared menacingly at her.

“Oh that motherfucker…”

Ava had to act now. She couldn’t just let her sister get attacked by some bitchy Seraph. But what could she do?

She looked around quickly. By the trash cans, there were some abandoned gallon tanks of kerosene.

Oh yeah. This could work.

He grabbed one quickly, and walked out of his hiding spot.

“DON’T MIND ME I’M JUST WALKIN’ HERE-”

He “trips”, splattering the bottom of Rhiannon’s dress with the liquid.

“Oop-”

Rhiannon felt the splatter of kerosene ruin her dress, turning her glare to Ava. 

“Are you kidding me! Are you Exorcists always this stupid even off the battlefield? What even is this disgusting crap you’ve spilled on me?”

He was scared, but kept his face smug. He did have the upper hand after all.

“Ah, just a little Exorcist trick. We call it “gettin’ lit”.”

He flicked his lighter on, and threw it onto Rhiannon. The fire spread instantaneously all over where the kerosene had splattered. 

It took a second for Rhiannon to realize that, oh shit, she was on fucking fire. She let out a blood-curdling screech as she flailed around, trying to find some way to extinguish the flames.

“FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK-” was all she could scream as she ran off to find the nearest pool of water she could throw herself into. She eventually was able to locate a small fountain that she threw herself into, the fire going out with a loud sizzle as she emerged from a cloud of smoke. A small crowd of confused Winners had gathered around to watch her.

“THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?” She screeched.

This was not her day.

But on the upside, at least she was sober?

Sarai stood dumbfounded as she watched it all go down, and as Ava stood before her. Her cheek still stung, so she rubbed it.

“Ava? What are you doing here?”

She had to admit she was glad though. And seeing Rhiannon on fire was a delight she wasn’t expecting this day.

“What’s it look like? Helpin’ ya out.”

His tone was friendly and conversational. It seemed like getting to talk with his sister again would be easier than he thought.

“Yeah yeah, I know you’re gonna get on mi case for this cuz you’re a big tall Seraph and I’m just an Exorcist.”

He laughs in good humor, not at all angry at Sarai’s past comments. It seemed to just melt away.

Guilt struck Sarai.

“Ava, I’m sorry. I never should’ve said that. You’re not just an Exorcist. You're my sister."

She hides her face behind a wing.

“And I apologize for not being a better sister to you before.”

Lowering her wing, she looks at Ava again.

“Now I’m just worried for you. What if Rhiannon tells Sera, or anyone on the Council, about what you’ve done to her? I wouldn’t want you to be punished.”

You’re my sister.

Those words hit Ava like a truck. It made him feel good. He hadn’t lost one of his closest companions after all. He was worth keeping around.

He laughs again in good humor.

“Haha, come on flaquita! Don’t worry so much! What is that big bitch gonna say? “Yeah I got flamed by a lowly Exorcist cuz I smacked the High Seraph Grande’s Apprentice?” Oh yeah, they’d love that.”

He pulls out a cigarette and lights it for himself. He then pulls out a cigar.

“I brought these along for ya. Wanna smoke? Just like old times. Hermana/hermano bonding and all that.”

The tension eased. Sarai could relax a little. Hopefully, Ava was right and Rhiannon’s ego would be too damaged to say anything to anyone. But more importantly, she had the person she missed the most back.

“Of course.”

She took the cigar after Ava lit it for her and they both smoked together side by side.

“I missed you. It’s nice to have you back.”

“Like I said all those years ago: you’re stuck with me, bitch. I’m not going nowhere, flaquita. Honest.”

Sera decided to go look for Sarai as the apprentice went to get coffee and didn't come back. She quickened her pace when she heard the screams and was met with an outrageous sight. Rhiannon slapped Sarai across the cheek, causing her to fall, then began to threaten her with Sera's name. Anger boiled within the High Seraphim. Of all people, Rhiannon was trying to discipline Sarai?

Sera was about to step in and stand up for Sarai, but Ava was faster. Seraph's eyes widened in shock as she watched the exorcist putting on a whole fire show. She chucked quietly. She knew it was wrong to enjoy this, so she suppressed the strange satisfaction inside her, putting on a business casual face. Sera walked past Sarai and Ava, unable to hold back a small smile.

“...I'll just go get my coffee. You may take the day off, Sarai.”

[leoneliterary]

OK OK Hear me out…

For the high school football AU:

Amatus would be the retired-football-star-turned-coach that decided to coach for an underfunded high school football team in a new school. He also happens to have 4 adopted kids that he met 10 years ago who also happen to go to said school. After his first year of coaching, the football team goes from benched losers to gold medal.

Ever since Amatus joined the football coaching scene, other high school football teams have started to pay attention to the newly formed “Talons”. Notably, the older Vultures and Jackals teams have been keeping a close eye on them - with more emphasis on the Jackals. In fact, the bitter rivalry between the Talons and Jackals seem to be getting worse every day ever since that one Jackal injured one of the Talons’ star players.

Every year the Mayor of Cusmo holds a super super big football tournament. The winner of the tournament gets support and funding or whatever from the Mayor and big-shot sponsors. The current mayor is Mayor Sarai, but in order to prepare her son, who happens to be favored for next-mayor-in-line despite his youth, she has put him in charge of the tournament.

Because the entirety of Cusmo is insane about football (like, SERIOUSLY INSANE) many sponsors, influential groups, and rich people start sponsoring teams a month or so before the tournament starts so that, if their team wins, they gain even more fame, money, etc.

Phew, that was a really long ramble, but the football AU has such Slice-of-life/Comedy/Romance/Sports/Drama energy that I couldn’t help myself 😭 I’d totally binge this for a week straight on Netflix lol

Oh. my. goodness.

YES

I love all of this. All of it!! You have done such a great job of fleshing my joke out by the way.

Ugh, I gotta do something about this, because this is just too cute to pass up

[self-spaghettification]

shut out

harrow reflects on his years of pining, and on snuffing it out forever. 752 words

‘Remember when we used to be close?’ How dare Viren taunt Harrow with that, after all those years they’d played together, only for Viren to leave him to start a family with someone else? 

After Harrow had so often wished that Viren come to his lonely bedquarters, but felt uncertain—perhaps it would seem forceful for a king to request something, with the authority he was given by birthright, only to look, never to touch, lest he crush the beautiful thing by accidental power. 

He may have married Sarai, given to her wisdom, but he could never seem to help his heart straying to Viren from time to time, constantly. 

Their eyes meeting in what seemed to be this time, mutual adoration, as Harrow was painted. ’Why don’t you join me?’, Harrow had asked, finally extending that hand out, and Viren had, eyes sparkling— but suddenly distant, or perhaps it was that their painting side by side wasn’t quite close enough, when Harrow’d rather his hand was resting on Viren’s waist rather than by his own. 

Harrow had watched from this afar all this time as Viren went about his duties seemingly unbothered—Close, but never close enough to really see Harrow. 

And as he so often wondered what might have occurred, this sweet longing could only grow salty and bitter as it fermented over the years, left completely neglected— Was Viren here only for power, could he truly never see the things Harrow felt for him? 

It’s not like Harrow had ever made an effort to reach out, but it should have been obvious enough, in his longing looks, his longing touches. 

Sarai had reached out, had returned the gaze, to bond with his heart. Why couldn’t Viren? 

And if he chose to stay within range of the sun, close enough to love him, why did he stay there, instead of becoming pulled to his gravity and being consumed like he should have? Or at least slingshotted from orbit entirely, leaving his life to find someone else to adore. Why that damned Goldilock’s zone? 

Room temperature was a terrible place to be, where things fermented and went rotten— when it became more and more obvious over the years that Viren was there only for greatness—nice enough to the king, yet leaving him be, sacrificing himself for Sarai when Harrow wished he wouldn’t try to sacrifice himself, and the couple both knew Harrow cared more for Viren. 

And going out to defeat that dragon just for Harrow, yet, when Harrow needed Viren most, he left him alone in his grief, Harrow feeling helpless and incapacitated of the possibility of reaching out now, with that boundary set. And now, after all these years of helping but never quite being there for Harrow enough, he had the audacity to try to save him? 

“Would you, Viren?” 

The question was so earnest he almost regretted it as it slipped out. The thump of his long pining heart had betrayed him in a request like that, wondering finally at last if Viren would give everything to Harrow and never just half the bottle, half the distance, a lukewarm selfish effort. Met by silence, it answered what Harrow had asked all these years, knowing Viren, loving him. Granting him no real love, now, not even the self sacrificial sort. 

Harrow’s heart closed with the doors on Viren that day as he prepared himself to die. 

So for Viren to *dare* use their past against him, all those years Harrow had loved him and Viren loved him never quite enough, was the worst sort of betrayal. 

“Oh, I remember,” he wanted to answer. “And I remember you never loved me, so how can you pretend to now?”

Calling him a servant was the final doorslam on a bond to a parasite that only ever took from Harrow took his time and energy and his wife and his love and never gave it back in full. So why not call the powerhungry leech what he was, for once, before he died?

His heart ached, as he watched Viren storm out of the room. Even as the sun set and he heard the sounds of scuffles, he wanted to doubt, let himself once again question if perhaps it had been a genuine display of affection- but no, Harrow was tired of letting himself consider these possibilities with no real fruition. 

It was time to let them go, so they might die, along with the rest of Harrow—with the beat of his heart. 

��

also on ao3!

[luxmaeastra]

Azriel exhaled, no amount of exercise had helped. He couldn't get Gwyneth out of his Mind, how she'd laughed and danced at the Autumn Equinox.

How her purple and gold dress had made her glow.

He growled, throwing his dagger across the training yard. It wasn't the one he'd been promised but it still felt fucking good.

------

He found his mother in the kitchen, cutting something. He watched her in the doorway, moving to take over for her when she went back to stirring.

She glanced at him, an eyebrow raising before turning back to the stew she was making.

"Cut the rest lengthwise."

He did, it was just his age right? He didn't want to deal with relationships. Cassian, Aleksander and Rhysand could put as many spins as they wanted on it - it just sounded exhausting.

"Mama how - how did you know Papa was enough? How did you know you weren't too broken for..for any of it?"

He knew the story well, it was one his father told often whenever Xaden or Aleksander got annoyed at their lovers.

"I'd have followed her wherever she lead. If that's not true walk away now, let those females have somoeone would will."

He'd bragged at his relentlessness, at his devotion. Though Azriel wondered at one point did it come off as arrogance, at his mother being worn down and settling.

He focused back on the vegetables. But Gwyn was...all the females around him were good and kind.

"How did you know you weren't going to snuff out his light?"

He didn't think anything could darken his father's infectious joy for littlerly everything. He loved his father, of course he did - but his constant bursts of energy set him on edge.

Maybe he needed to just get out more.

Night at least was mostly peaceful, Rhysand's family wasn't so loud about everything.

Natalia hummed in thought as she continued to stir their dinner, weighing out her words as she considered Azriel's question careful. The children had all grown up on their stories, of their early years and the tales of their mating. Each was different, each had their own challenges.

Hers and Sebastian's was no different, but maybe not to the extent as Silba and Sarai's had been, or even Zefera's, Iris's. But that was the beauty of each mating, it was the challenges and how different they were.

"I think I never believed myself to be broken, your aunts Sarai and Silba wouldn't dare to allow me to feel such a way about myself," she mused as she placed the wooden spoon down. "I think the bigger concern was if he was going to hurt me, if he was going to take what he wanted and then leave. Your father had a reputation, just like Aunt Sarai."

She smiled at the memories, sometimes she wondered if maybe they goaded each other on their exploits.

"In the end we knew far before we actually came together, but I think we were too scared of what that meant," she moved towards Azriel and ruffled his hair. "He was my best friend before we mated, well second best friend because your aunt would probably drown him if he claimed that title. If you are more worried about snugging out someone's light, then I think talking to your Aunty Silba and Uncle Marz would be the best places to start..."

After all, their stories were theirs to tell.

[saraiayutthaya]

"Cooking is a useful skill to have." Sarai said. She might not always be in the mood to cook, but she tried to do it just so she would have more control over what she put into her body. When she first started, she knew nothing. Her mom helped, but what helped was attending cooking classes. Having someone to learn alongside made the experience more fun. 

When the other expressed her extensive knowledge of the market's offerings, she was duly impressed. In her opinion, everyone should be knowledgeable when it came to their job. "You really know your stuff. It's clear you put a lot of care into choosing only the best products to sell here." She truly liked coming to this place. Their dedication at producing the best quality food, showed a real dedication to quality that she could respect as both a customer and food writer.

As they approached the register, she felt her stomach dropping as she thought about the coming auction. She was a bit embarrassed to admit she was part of the auction. Not because she didn’t want to do good for charity, but because she’d been roped in by her mom. "That’s great news," she remarked with a small smile. She completely understood Ahalya's hesitation—having felt the same way when her mom first suggested it. "Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you'll find something great to wear. And at least if we're both up there, we'll have a friendly face in the crowd." 

She gave an empathetic smile, knowing that she was probably not helping, but at least she wasn't alone in her auction-related nerves. "My mom can be very persuasive when she wants to be. I just didn't have the energy to argue." She nearly rolled her eyes, persuasive was not a big enough word to describe her mom. Her mother's stubborn determination was the only reason Sarai couldn’t bring herself to say no. "Hopefully, it won't be as bad as we're imagining. Maybe we'll even have fun." Yeah right… She doubted that. "Either way, I'm glad we’re both up for bid.” As they say, misery loves company… 

By god’s grace. She could hear her father’s voice in the back of her mind answering Sarai’s compliment. That was the reminder she needed to be more like him and drop her pettiness. Because it was clear that Sarai did not remember the negative review that she had written. And why would she? Over the course of her work, she probably wrote a number of negative reviews. What were the odds that she would remember every single one, especially when the reference to Urban Harvest had been so passing in nature. The memory was a bitter one for Ahalya only because she had felt she failed her father by causing negative publicity the moment she took over. Otherwise, she would have nothing against the woman in her company. “That makes sense. If I had the talent, I probably would as well.” But she severely lacked in the cooking department. Maybe one of these days she’d take lessons from someone.

As the freshly wrapped block of cheese was offered back, Ahalya gave a grateful nod to the employee, Jason. They’d exchanged a knowing glance earlier and as much as she trusted him, she noted that he had also taken extra care to ensure that the cheddar offered back to her was pristine. God, she could kiss him right now! The conversation veered right back towards the store and this time, Ahalya wore a genuine and proud smile. It had taken time, but she really did know the ins and outs of this store. “I try to. Everything here is locally sourced, as best as we can of course. And I end up trying everything before we stock it to make sure that it is worthy of sitting on our shelves.” Maybe it felt nice to explain to the woman who, at a time questioned them, precisely that their process was. And maybe it felt nice to get affirmation from someone who once questioned her.

As they walked to the register, Ahalya was surprised as Sarai shared that that she was being auctioned. But the dread in her voice resonated with Ahalya. “Funny enough, I am.” She confessed for the first time to someone. “It was a completely spur of the moment decision. I pressed enter before I could chicken out and I’ve been desperate foraging through my closet for something to wear.” Because it had been years since she’d been on a proper date that required her to pull out something nicer than a sweater dress at most. “At least you have someone else to blame. I’m my own worst enemy apparently.” | @saraiayutthaya

[incorrect-tortall-quotes]

I’m not doing anything else for men today.

Sarai Balitang

[possumdrawsstuff]

Tdp shower thoughts (from your local callum enthusiast)

LOWKEY think he’s (callum) gonna be more sarcastic in this season and I’m living for it.

ezran is old??? Like , he’s 12 why is he so tall???

Soren becoming an older brother figure to callum please that boy needs a found family

I’m kinda confused where the writers are going with the whole viren and callum parallels but I don’t want anything bad to happen though it will.

arravos key????

idc about “cute wholesome rayllum reunion” ya we can have a cute “I’m so glad your ok” after seeing each other again but I want some “you left me!”s and the “I had to!”, just all the angst.

rayllum went from enemies to friends? To friends. To friends! To maybe more?? To yea more! To unplanned breakup bcus “I need to protect you” to friends??? To lovers

If the credits are callums sketches does he just have omnipotent sight of all the plot lines cuz there’s so many sketches in there of stuff he hasn’t seen???

I jusT really want some main character to die this season.

CALLUM AND CLAUDIA, THE TWO TRAUMATIZED C NAMES WITH LINKS TO CREEPY STARBUG MAN REUNION

I want attempted murder???

if callum ever gets like that “possessed “ thing w aravos where virens eyes went all rainbow he’d just look like beast Wirt without horns. Especially with his old clothes.

JUST REMEMBERED THAT THNG I REALIZED EARLIER

Okokok , when viren said that spell with the unicorn horn and stuffed it into sarais spear he said some backwards speaky spooky thing which went like Yadda, something, something love and loss , yadda yadda. (Go search it up) the new song for tdp s4 we just got is called “a song of love and loss” so smthin to do with that???

I really wanna see angus again haha

Anybody gonna think up amazing angst potential for callum finding ruunannabeth (I can’t spell his name) his sword bow thingy (aka the thing that killed his dad ) no? Just me? how is arravos getting these little chess pieces , he’s got one of viren, callum, and elderly dark magic guy that looked LOWKEY like snape and blinded angry sun dragon grandpa. Does he magically make the chess pieces or does he like sculpt them. ???

Arron e has said something about him emotionally shutting off some parts of himself and pouring all his energy into ithers so I’m 100% sure we’re gonna get the “oh no callums studying magic and doing arravos stuff instead if sleeping “ plot line.

Ik everybody is like “well obviously he’s gonna learn all the arcanum’s “and he kinda wants to learn moon next obviously, I kinda wanna see him master fire. Nothing to do with his character , I just like the concept of being able to set anything aflame at any possible moment.

can he get hit by lightning and not die. That would be so funny. He’s just outside in the rain med sentence and gets struck. He’s just covered and soot and starts coughing like a kindergartener

@raayllum thx for reposting my art haha I love your stuff bcus it usually makes me exhale outta my nose.

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

OC Kiss Week 21 - Meddling

Day 2 is dedicated to the ever-lovely @bladeverbena! Smith, I did my damnedest to research Dym as much as possible but pushing myself out of an art block might have warped him a little bit and I apologize in advance if it did! But I know Fizz is a favorite of yours, and I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of making her Dym’s problem for just a little while. ;) Hope you can forgive me!

~1300 words, set where nebulous worlds collide.

---

The man sat alone.

That wasn’t entirely usual, Fizz reasoned with herself. People stumbling into taverns at every hour of the day, hells-bent on getting lost in their cups, were often the only thing keeping a struggling tavernkeep in business. From her place seated atop the table nearest the stage, she could see no less than four others huddled around their drinks, sullen and silent as the grave. The man that Fizz watched took no drink at all though, no food, no entertainment. Even Casimir rousing the crowd into a bustle of dancing feet and clapping hands seemed to have no effect on him. He had just sat amid the chaos of the swirling crowd around him, chin propped on one hand as he fingered a little square of paper that he had almost certainly memorized by now. 

That was damn near an invitation for meddling, as far as Fizz was concerned.

Hopping down from her perch, she strolled around the dice game that Sarai was most certainly not cheating at, and down through the thick forest of knees around her towards the man's table. He didn't so much as blink until she cleared her throat.

“Hi!” she said, when he wheeled towards her. And then, with a gesture to the chair opposite him, “Mind if I take a seat?”

It wasn’t a question, not really, and the man was either too surprised or not quick enough to stop her. The paper in his hands vanished into a pocket as Fizz hauled herself into her newly claimed seat.

“Hello,” he said, when he'd collected himself enough to try for a smile. “Can I, ah, help you?”

“Nope,” Fizz said brightly. Then she turned and raised her voice above the din to hail the nearest barmaid. “Excuse me! Two, please! Of whatever the bard had, for me and my friend here.”

She gestured up to the stage by way of an explanation. Cas never drank much during a performance, but neither did he take anything that didn’t suit his decidedly refined palate. Whatever he had ordered would be suitable enough for a peace offering. The barmaid gave her an odd look but nodded, and then disappeared into the crowd.

“I’m not much for partaking,” the man warned her, his tone inching towards protest. Fizz just waved him off.

"It's the principle of the thing. Tavern tables need drinks on them, or they start getting fussy. And no one should spend all of his time in a pub alone."

“But I’m not alone,” the man said, smiling like he had started to catch onto her game. “Not really, anyway. My traveling companions have all just retired for the night. It was a….long day.”

Long and trying, said the sudden brush of hardness across his face. Now that she was sitting still, now that the candles had brightened along his face, Fizz could see the dullness of the man’s skin, the bloodshot red of lost sleep around his eyes, the tangles in his long, long hair that had clearly been given a cursory brushing before weariness settled too deeply in his bones. Her heart staggered with sympathy.

“I’m sorry,” she said honestly. “We’ve had some of those too, recently. I know what it’s like. If any of your friends are still feeling off, I can offer a little pick-me-up.” 

She held up both hands as he looked up, wiggling her fingers as flickers of radiant energy sparked off of them, scattering into the air like fireworks in miniature. The man’s eyes widened for a moment, the bloodshot whites of them standing out against his dull grey skin. Then he smiled again, and Fizz watched as he raised his own hand, and a curl of the same magic swirled around it, thick as woodsmoke. Her eyebrows shot into her hairline.

“You’re a cleric!” she exclaimed, leaping up onto the seat of her chair to lean further across the table towards him. Her enthusiasm seemed to have banished some of the poorer memories of the afternoon; the man managed a laugh. 

“I am, yes.” He reached across the table and offered a tattooed hand. “Endymion Metus Flood, in service to our Mother Night. Dym, if you prefer.”

Fizz pushed herself onto her tiptoes and clapped her hand in his. “Fizz, favored of the Laughing Rogue Olidammara, at your service!”

As if summoned by the name, the barmaid returned with two heavy bottomed tankards filled to the brim with some rich amber liquid that looked more like wine than beer. Fizz slipped a full gold piece into her hand as she set them down, and grinned when the woman scurried away, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“Am I to assume he’s the one that took offense to my empty bar table?” Dym asked with a wry smile, graciously accepting one of the tankards as Fizz pushed it across to him. She shook her head.

“Nah, I just thought you might like some company, is all. And besides, I can make it up to him if he did take some kind of offense. Watch.” 

She turned towards the stage, where Cas was slowly warming the crowd back up to a dancing tune, and snapped her fingers. Instantly, a shimmering duplicate of herself appeared behind his chair, scrambling wildly around the stage in something that could almost be described as a dance, with enough squinting and a forgiveness for tempo. The chattering voices around the stage paused for a moment, and then suddenly rose into a collective roar of laughter. Cas’s head swung around behind him like he already knew what was happening and then whipped back towards her, scowling.

“Fizz!” he called, warning in his voice. She blew him a kiss in reply.

“And that’s repayment for offense, is it?” asked Dym from across the table. He sounded very near to laughter himself.

“I like to think it’s more like balancing the scales,” Fizz said with a thoughtful nod. And then, grinning, “I'm sure that’s something even your Lady can appreciate.”

They fell into idle conversation after that, exchanging stories and holy tenants and commiseration - with wildly different levels of melodrama - over how often they found themselves pulling loved ones back from the brink. Once or twice, Dym said something that made Fizz’s whole body shiver, but she only nodded politely and hid her shuddering behind a roll of her shoulders. After months of combing libraries for stories of hellish pact-makers and dismantling cults on the side, she knew only too well how tightly darkness clung to the victims it found.

They were halfway through the story of the dragon’s ball - Dym’s intrigued listening and Fizz’s wild retelling - when a shadow suddenly fell over their table.

“We’re good for this round, thanks,” Fizz began, assuming the probing of a barmaid. The words died to a squeak in her throat as she looked up into the eyes of the half-elf stood barely an arm’s length away, lute slung over his shoulder and arms crossed over his chest.

“Fizz,” said Cas, his face drawn into a steady line of irritation. So he remembered the duplicate, then. Fizz shrank down in her seat with a nervous giggle.

“Well,” she said, slipping down from her chair on the opposite side of the table, “it has been lovely, Dym, really, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you for the night. It was a pleasure, grand time, all that shit. If you could just -”

And then she darted behind his chair and vanished.

Cas swore and spun on a heel, casting around for the shimmer in the air that would betray her. It gave Fizz just enough time to leap onto the seat of Dym’s chair and press an invisible kiss onto his cheek.

“Thanks for the chat,” she whispered as he wheeled towards her. “Here's hoping your next days aren’t quite so long, huh?”

Then she sprang into the air, visible once again, and fled out the back door behind them, laughing the whole way out.

[raayllum]

Did you notice that Callum never sketched once in S4? He had his sketchbook with him on their journey but never pulled it out or used it. At first I thought eh, maybe they just didn’t have time to include that with everything else going on this season. But then I began to think that this choice may be intrinsically connected to Callum emotionally repressing himself. Drawing has always been a way for him to express his big feelings and his ability to love deeply. But instead, he’s been focusing all his energies on being a mage instead, because he links his self worth entirely to his magical abilities. AND THEN, my brain started going to big picture things like Callum the Mage vs Callum the Artist, and which is is ultimately going to be beneficial for him and who he is in the end. I dunno where I’m going with this, but I just wanted to throw out this observation and hear your thoughts.

I thought at first that he was sketching at some point in the Drakewood but you're right! He's just skimming his book

We didn't see Callum draw on screen at all in S3 either, too consumed by the journey and mission and honestly his feelings for Rayla. However, we do know that Callum draws in S3 because he draws Rayla's parents and shows it to her.

On the one hand, having his sketchbook mostly be a spellbook is just very practical and he uses it all the time this season. On the other hand, we also know that drawing is something Callum genuinely loves to do - and something he does to process his emotions

He draws Sarai in 1x07 to process his feelings of loss, which he shares with Ezran

C: When you were under the ice, I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you like we lost her.

We see him draw like that again in 2x07 when he's worried over Rayla, but he doesn't say anything to Ezran. He's tight lipped, he's angry, he's conflicted. He throws his sketchbook, a gift from Harrow that he cared enough to have stitched up by the time S4 comes along, on the ground because he's so pissed off at feeling helpless and worried

So I don't think him drawing per se is like, a big thing in S4 just because he draws so sparingly in season three, but we do know that 1) Callum is very emotionally shut down in S4 overall and 2) he is not actually processing the bulk of his emotions, either purposefully distracting himself from them, trying to, or having them over ruled by other more recent trauma. For example, Callum only gets one (1) day to process Rayla's return before the very next immediate night, Aaravos possesses him. Give this poor kid a break

I do think there's something to be said for High Mage Callum vs Prince Callum vs regular Callum identity wise though. You have Callum's role to his brother ultimately as the prince, something he's more comfortable in, and defining himself as a big brother is something and his family has always done: he takes his role as the older sibling very seriously, shown in how he looks out for and somewhat parentifies himself around Ezran, and even including Harrow's last words to him: "Take care of your brother."

Then you have his role as the high mage and as a mage in general, which leaves him vulnerable to Aaravos and uncertain of himself; probably why he ultimately can't give up the cube ("If I'm not a mage, then who am I?" from Callum's Spellbook) but also something he's struggling with because of Rayla (who inspired him to become a mage in the first place) and Viren (a shadowy predecessor looming over him).

Then there's 'regular' Callum, who we see most prominently to me in 2x04: curious, determined, searching, reckless, desperate, as he goes out into the storm and finds Rayla waiting for him. He's magic-less, a little bit hopeless, down on himself. He feels like he's nothing; Rayla sees otherwise, "magic or no magic."

After all, Rayla doesn't mention his magic once to Sol Regem when she lists all the reasons he's wonderful and amazing -- because he always was, and she's always known it

[theredhairedmonkey]

How Primal Magic Works

The Dragon Prince introduces a rich, nuanced world to the audience, so its only natural that its main magical system--Primal Magic--is similarly complex. But because of that, it gets frequently misunderstood, and many of the rules for how it works remain a mystery. 

Dark Magic, from what we’ve seen, is a pretty familiar brand of magic, especially to Western audiences. With incantations, sacrificing creatures, and mystical spells, Dark Magic appears to be reminiscent of many of the tropes seen in witchcraft, alchemy, potions, and Harry Potter-esqe Dark Arts.

But Primal Magic is a different story. Primal Magic is influenced by both Western styles of magic--runes and “draconic” (which is primarily latin)--as well as Eastern styles of magic, primarily with concepts such as Qi.

Qi (or Ki/Chi) is a metaphysical “life force” energy, and is a fundamental component for Daoist medicine and martial arts. While Primal Magic isn’t exactly like Qi, I think understanding this concept gives us a great framework for understanding Primal Magic.

To begin, even though Qi means “vital energy,” it literally translates into “air” or “breath.” Not too different from how aspiro translates to “I breathe wind,” or how Callum only truly learns the Sky Arcanum after understanding that:

Sarai: “Sometimes things can get so complicated, that our minds can’t quite sort them out alone. But when you slow down and let yourself breathe, your spirit and your body can catch up with your mind, and help out.”

While Qi is something inherent to every living creature, it works in tandem with “heaven” Qi (rain, sun, and sky) and “earth” Qi (plants, soil, and land). In truth, one’s own Qi is contained within and flows from “heaven” and earth,” as it cannot survive without them.

Again, not unlike how Callum realizes that:

Callum: “Rayla, the whole world is like a giant primal stone, and we’re inside it. I’m inside Sky Magic, but it’s also in me, with every breath I take.”

Indeed, in the Dragon Prince, magic is everywhere. Both Rayla and Lujanne have talked about Primal Energy as existing in all parts of the world, even if some Primal Sources may be stronger or weaker in certain places and times. Much like how with Daoism, one can begin to master Qi by understanding how it surrounds and subsumes them, a mage can begin to master Primal Magic with the realization that this energy is everwhere, around and within them.

This knowledge is best described as:

Sarai: “To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit.”

But of course, there’s more to it than that. Qi has several practices. Three that are most relevant here are Qigong, Li, and Neijing.

Qigong (or “life-energy culvivation”) is a series of practices for cultivating and balancing one’s Qi. It includes practices such as mediation.

Coordinated and rhythmic breathing.

Slow, deliberate, and stylized movements.

But above all, Qigong involves having a mindful state, awareness, and a visualization of guiding one’s Qi. Using Sarai’s statement that true and deep knowledge requires “Mind, Body, and Spirit,” Qigong most resembles Mind.

Next, we have  Li and Neijing, two interelated forces used in Daoist martial arts, which are best discussed together. Li refers to using tangible, physical force, such as that produced by muscles, strength of bones, speed, and timing. This can be cultivated the way most people would guess--weight lifting, exercise, and so on. Li most resembles Body.

Neijing, on the other hand, refers to the extend that one can exercise one’s internal will to harness and direct their Qi. Over time, according to Daoism, one can learn to manipulate the flow of their life energy. With Li, you can improve your physical condition, but sooner or later you will pass the age of your prime, and this force will likewise diminish over time. Neijing, on the other hand, can be  cultivated and contiunally grown for as long as you live. For this reason, Neijing most represents Spirit.

And again, we see these concepts in the Dragon Prince through the elven mages the trio meet.

First, they meet Lujanne, and eldery (sorry, “cool grandma age”) Moonshadow mage. She’s quite spry, and seems to be physically active (just ask Callum how hard it is to keep up with her). Yet, it’s clear she’s not as young as she used to be, so for the most part, she remains close to the Moon Nexus, away from the action.

However, because of her age, she’s had many years to cultivate her Primal connection, and as a result, her magic is powerful even if her body is not. Lujanne is able to cast illusions even without needing to cast spells. She can reshape the entire Caldera to appear to be monster-infested, or create a powerful spell on Ava’s fourth limb that persists for years.

Next, the trio meet Ibis, who is on the other side of the spectrum. He’s much younger, and even though he’s a powerful mage, we don’t see him perform the same level of nonverbal magical feats that Lujanne did.

However, it’s clear he’s not lacking in the physical department...

Ibis, unlike Lujanne, is more likely to rely more on his physical prowess; he conjures mage wings and takes flight, something that clearly takes a great deal of physical strength.

Lujanne, however, has a strong enough connection to her Primal that she doesn’t even need to draw runes to channel magic. Even so, both of their magic requires a combination of physical action/motion and willpower to perform. So, Ibis and Lujanne together help show how necessary both the Body and the Spirit, as well as the Mind, are for mages to perform magic. 

Primal Magic is dependant on the physical ability of the user; when Callum casts an aspiro, he may need to draw a rune and say the trigger word, but the spell also depends on Callum’s ability to continuously blow air to work properly. On a more fundamental level, magic requires motion in order to be performed--mages draw runes with their hands and arms, Moon rituals are done through dancing, and mage wings require the mage to apply their back, shoulders, and chest to generate thrust to actually fly. 

And this may all explain why it is that, as many other have pointed out, spellcasting for Primal Magic seems to resemble martial arts. And that’s because on some level it is martial arts. 

Just like how Qi is a fundamental component for Chinese kung fu, mastering Primal Magic parlays well into hand-to-hand combat. Well enough that, when Rayla has fun in making up neat Sky spells, they frequently sound like martial art moves (”tornado punch”; “lightning lash”).

We’re definitely only scratching the surface when it comes to Primal Magic. We will continue too learn more about it, particularly through Callum’s journey as a mage. But I think Primal Magic’s Daoist influences, which are often overlooked, help explain what we’ve seen so far. They may even help show where Callum’s magical pursuits may take him.

[Credit to @mikemcgeeart​ for the colorized image of Ibis]

[queenjanai]

okay so let’s talk about the cowboy au, cause i got some things to say:

i wrote it in an earlier post, but when i first heard the song, i got a very strong amaya vibe, especially from the bridge. the last verse gave me more of janai vibes tho and i was like “she’s hijacking the song”. anyway, the only scenes i thought about was a scene with janai standing in the saloon door, with the sun behind her, and everyone turns around to look at her like “who is this woman” and the other scene was inspired by the last verse, with janai touching amaya’s face as they sleep in bed together, in a room full of light

okay so let’s get into the actual fic. this kind of style is quite different than my usual style, lots of dialogue, verbs and actions, because this fic is very hands-on, old fashioned kinda thing. i had like half a thought to keep the wording simple to fit the theme of the song, and make janai’s bit at the end have a higher level of language, but that didn’t really stick. also i feel like i should apologize to the fic cause it’s not cowboy enough and apologize to the song because they’re not con artists. well janai kinda is

speaking of style, i wanted to make this fic feel mysterious at the beginning. in a way that, after the first scene, amaya knows what’s janai’s name is, but she keeps referring to her as “the woman” because in her point of view, she doesn’t know janai’s name until janai tells her herself. i wanted janai to tell amaya she’s from lux aurea only after she sees her talking with the durens for the first time, but it gave me too much trouble so i dropped it. and going on with the  mysterious theme, i barely mention gren or corvus or even ori on purpose, in another fic i would have brought them in. i wasn’t even sure if sarai was alive or not. i liked to leave things unexplained and open, because this is janaya’s story, and those details matter less

aahh i love having janai call amaya miss. i think this threw her off kinda. i also love how mean amaya’s to her at the beginning. i love when janai tells her that strangers leave footsteps after their gone and amaya’s like “makes me wonder if i’ll regret yours”, and it did hurt her. and speaking of janai, i didn’t have the room to get into it, but she’s basically in disguise. she talks about how rich people enjoy hearing about their stories when they suffered, when she is a rich person. she’s not exactly lying to amaya, but i think that amaya would be mad to find out

i looove the third scene because it’s like “we haven’t had a stranger for so long” then bam a group of them comes. and amaya really things that janai did some magic trick

She tried to get more details from Harrow. A large party, of about twenty people. They would stay for the weekend, if they were lucky. It was good for their single hotel, it was good for the diners, and it was certainly good for the saloon.

She could feel the excitement rippling through the town, like Janai's smile that night, and when Amaya walked into the saloon again, it was like a whole other world.

i love this part, it’s so simple but i love it because not only that only a handful of people were there when harrow announced it, janai got there, and i imagine that like as soon as he said “we got some people coming” amaya just whipped her head to janai like “how did you do it”

okay so let’s talk about my favorite narrative device thingy i put in this fic, by total accident. janai’s position in the room. so, when we start off, amaya and gren are in the middle, kinda leaning towards the wall, with amaya facing the door, because she has to. and janai is in the corner, and this goes on for the second scene. in the third, she’s against the left wall, still in the back but somewhat more noticeable, and at the end of the scene, they’re sitting in neither of their tables, almost in the center of the saloon. they’re out of their comfort zones when janai shows her the dagger and amaya asks why she tells these stories if she doesn’t like the people who hear them. in the dance scene, i didn’t specify it, but they’re at the front row (amaya has to), but at the left corner, with janai standing at the edge. at the end, janai is waiting amaya outside of the saloon. i don’t think they talked about it, but they both wanted to leave already after janai’s injury, and i imagine that although amaya didn’t tell her she’d take her to the hotel, janai just assumed she decided that. and she was right

they don’t talk on the way to the hotel because 1) i really couldn’t think of a dialogue but 2) it served me right, because after such a heavy evening, both the dance and the injury, they both ran out of fuel at this both. amaya was more willing to talk, but she felt janai’s energy and decided to give her some space. i kinda fucked up the parting scene but that “good night amaya” is supposed to very sweet

also i love how janai is the one that keeps leaving, in every scene, but she’s the one who stays at the end

which brings up to the kiss/implied hookup scene. again, i had no dialogue, nothing. i even considered dropping this scene because it seemed kinda sudden, but i felt like i need a romantic scene in this fic apart from the ending, so it starts right at the bat with no leading to it. i loved that amaya “initiated” but they both lean and meet halfway, like, janai wants this as much as she does

there was a scene that i cut because i wasn’t sure if it’d fit well where they are chatting in a saloon, in a different town, and it’s told from the pov of two people watching them. because in the song it goes “and the ladies lunching have their stories about when you passed through time” and the point in the fic was to show, that a while after they get together, amaya leaves with janai and they explore towns and move from one to the other, still searching ori but also having a good time. because janai barely left lux aurea, and amaya never left katolis. and they pass through towns and their story starts passing around (like folklore) about this sister of the major of lux aurea with her golden blade and the sister-in-law of the major of katolis, and how they’ve been together for such a long time, and how they fell in love and are now traveling together, all that thing. it was even shorter than the kiss scene, but i decided not to write at the end

which leads us to the ending scene, which is ironically the first scene i thought about. janai arrives home to see amaya sleeping on the bed in the middle of the day. the whole fic so far has been from amaya’s pov, but i just needed to sneak janai in. so it’s 5 years in, their anniversary is tomorrow, and i honestly don’t know if this is in katolis or not. maybe it is, but it’s after a lot of towns they stayed in and a lot of things that happened to them, and i think it was just a sweet scene to end the fic with. it kinda caught me off guard of how mean and cold amaya was to janai in the beginning, like straight up telling her “i don’t want you here” and how happy and in love their are in the beginning. because in the song, the narrator has this almost skeptical thinking of “oh i see how this is gonna play out” but in the end they’re living with their partners who has a significant part in their life, which i find quite beautiful

and i don’t tend to read my fics, it’s something i rarely do, but i really think i’m gonna read this one and actually enjoy it :)

[sunglories-archive]

So. Sarai’s a heliokinetic. In fact, she comes from a very rare three generation baton pass of heliokinesis. There’s usually only a 1/3 chance of a child inheriting the exact ability from a parent in her fun little universe. They might get something in the same mutation family (Sarai being a sun and her son being a star), seldom not a fun little copy and paste.

Being what she is, as well as the daughter of a former hero, she’s had a lot of training in the use of her abilities. Her grandmother taught her more practical uses while her father put a stronger focus on how to use her abilities in a combative way. However, she’s got something that makes her stand out from both of them: the ability to create and animate constructs.

Sarai was born with a congenital amputation; came right out of the womb missing the majority of her left arm. Having to compensate for this arm is what made her use her heliokinesis in different ways from her dad and grandma. Things started off simply with bubbles to use as bag of holding or a platform to carry something around. As she got older and could store more energy, things became more complex. I’d say the most complex thing she can animate is a hard light clone of herself. These things aren’t sentient, obviously, but they make for great distractions and decoys!

Something that she uses semi-frequently is a construct arm. It isn’t quite as complex as a light clone, but it is something that’s used for much more than a couple minutes at a time. Unfortunately, it can be so damn exhausting so she prefers not to use it unless its the only option she’s got. And it can’t even be used for everything, much to Sarai’s dismay.

Naturally, Sarai can do other shit with solar power. She can heal in direct sunlight. Fly into space, no problem. Melt shit. Fling balls of sunlight at people. Create small, false suns. Put on this wonderful sunny aura that can be used to nurture plants. Absorb and distribute light. Explode in a supernova. Solarportation. Solar beam eyes. Create a hot construct knife that can toast bread while it’s being cut. Shed her skin and become this terrifying facsimile of herself in which she is an absolute hell of a creature made of nothing but light that burns and/or melts everything she touches, leaving no trace behind.

You know. The usual.

[luxmaeastra]

Jaqen stilled focusing on Sarai, his companions voicing fading away. He slid his eyes to Adominus.

"I carry all I've killed inside me. Can that be extracted as payment?"

The male moved from where he leaned against the gate and nodded.

"Yes. What would you like us to make you..what shall I call you?"

He tilted his head, slowly blinking at him.

"You are the first being to ask me that and I do not know the answer to that. As for what I wish? I do not know, can't your holy fire divine me something?"

Adominus nodded and swept a hand inside beckoning them to follow.

"Yes. We haven't done that in a long time. But yes, yes we can. Come."

Jaqen stilled feeling Lumas before he appeared next to his daughter.

"And does Attes still live?"

Jaqen sneered and spun to him.

"He does. And when he dies Lumas? When he has outlived his usefulness he will be sacrificed here. You will have no body or soul for your rites. He will not go back to that twisted afterlife you have."

Lumas snarled stepping closer only for Jaqen to shove him back. He flew into the air his sword coming down and digging into the ground. It slowed his shove over the ground.

He paused looking to Sarai.

"You and Kertayan may come if you wish."

He frowned and looked to Melisandre.

"That is fine isn't it?"

Melisandre shrugged.

"You say they helped you then I trust them. She seems mostly neutral in all of this anyway."

--------

Jaqen looked at the fire, the keep was blistering heat. Was this how the Eversun had felt? Was this the heat his people were trying to replicate?

"Can the fire be cleansed?"

"Do you wish to be cleansed instead of relinquishing the souls?"

Jaqen looked to Adominus.

"I will still give the souls. I just wonder if it can do more....without being burdened by my touch."

Adominus snorted and stepped closer. But Jaqen didn't feel his hackles rise.

"This is not your feeble Eversun. This is old, mighter than that. The first Black star to be born and forged in this universe. You wish to be cleased than you shall."

He turned to Attes who they'd dragged here. He snarled, his shackles hooked into his wrists and shoulders.

"You cannot escape your fate! You cannot escape! -"

Jaqen turned away and looked to the rolling fire.

"Do I need to keep my clothes on?"

"You may enter as you wish."

He could have sworn Adominus lips twitch. Sometimes he wasn't sure if he spoke as he should. Sometimes he felt like a child in an adult body.

He looked to Kinvara focusing on her gaze before he looked back at the fire. He moved shedding his clothes and stepping into the fire.

--------

"What would you like to be our spy?"

The little girl at the gates stared at him and tilted her head.

"I'd like to taste an Asteri's soul. One that was from before when you were made of stardust and chaos."

"Those old gods do not exist anymore. They were hunted and devoured by us."

Lumas watched the fire burn bright and the energy shatter through everything. He moved sheilding the child with his magic falling to his knees as he took the brunt of that energy.

--------

Jaqen lay curled on the floor, his eye lids fluttering. He distantly heard his sister and brother-in-law whispering. But it wasn't their voices that he felt tug at him.

"Jaqen?"

Jaqen slowly lifted his gaze. His movements were jerky and uncoordinated but he managed to take the blade she hid in her bracelet.

He placed it at her throat and slowly reached for the dagger discarded with his clothes. He put it in her hand and moved it to his neck.

"Kill me Kinvara. Come with me to an eternity of nothingness. A void that's what I saw. A yawning thing of blissful quiet and numbness. Come with me there?"

Quaithe finally looked away from them, it was too painful. Too raw. He reached for Melisandre.

"Are you sure we should allow this? After everything we did to -"

"You're throwing it all away! There are things you do not know Jaqen. There are things you cannot know yet! You saw a glimpse! A small, tiny, glimmer of a grander plan! You're throwing it all away!"

Attes was finally jerked away from the fire and railing. He fell to his knees laughing as his face slammed onto the ground.

The second, this was the second that she had come here and stood before these gates. When the invite had come, she had been a little surprised that Jaqen had invited her to come along, she had been honoring his wishes to not get involved in whatever was going on. Allow his people to do what they must, allow the world to shift and change. Yet still, she did not turn away the invite. She came as her friend had asked, she stood quietly just off to the side of him alongside Kertayan.

Nothing that was shared or said seemed to surprise her, she listened quietly as she tried to figure out exactly why she was there. Was there something more? Normally there was always something in the recent years, always something that needed to be learned or seen. Maybe that was why she had become such a silent observer, knowing very well that there was so much change that she needed to observe what she could for the protection of her own family.

Sarai was hardly surprised when her father appeared, she had known he had taken the imprisonment of Attes much harder than he let on. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him, this wasn’t the time to be addressing this, something she hoped he learned quickly enough when he had been shoved. Her focus was only pulled away when she was addressed, when Jaqen spoke to her.

She smiled, bowing her head slightly in thank you. “I will not speak with Kertayan, however I would like to continue on this path with my friend.”

Kertayan snorted, nudging her shoulder before he moved forwards. “We will both be going.” It caused her to roll her eyes, it was nice to know that they were still at least upon friendly terms after everything. She enjoyed having her friend back, especially not he was happy and thriving again.

------------

The sudden impact of the energy that filled the air had thrown her off her feet, she felt the wall behind her and her arm was extended up as she had called upon her own magic to form a barrier of some kind around her and Kertayan. It had been quick, the barrier crude, but it had saved them both from the impact. It was something she hadn’t expected, her hearing felt a little off as she over the muffled sounds she heard a ringing.

Kertayan had moved forwards, taking a hold of her arm as he helped her to stand. His focus upon the scene in front of them, watching the scene unfolding. This had not been what he had expected, however, he knew to expect the unexpected with them in whatever form they were. Jaqen was no different, especially not in this incarnation.

Silence filled the room, everything seemed surreal at the same time as it felt real. Sarai felt a lump forming in her throat, the pain of the idea of losing someone else, however, she respected him. If this was what he wanted, if this was what he needed, she would not step in the way and stop him. She was thankful for the grounding she felt as Kertayan’s grip tightened, at least she wasn’t in this alone.

Kinvara remained motionless as he had moved towards her, her breathing remaining calm and even as she felt the blade pressed against her throat. A balance, there would always a balance and always a moment when it would come to an end. She had promised him all those years ago that if the day came, then she would do as he asked but only if she would not live without him.

Her fingers tightened around the blade; she pressed it firmly against his skin as she maintained eye contact the entire time. “If that is what you wish Jaqen, as long as I can follow you there.” Her words trembled a little as she spoke. The fear of being without him, of not being able to follow him where he would go.

“Just say the word.”

[saraiayutthaya]

Sarai could only smile at her friend's enthusiasm. If only she could drag Ellie to the big apple with her, maybe she would be a little more excited. "I wish I could bring you with me. We'd have such an amazing time exploring the city together," she said expelling a sigh. "The assignment itself won't be too glamorous—just reviewing a new restaurant in Manhattan. But maybe I’ll get to squeeze a show on Broadway this time around."

The last time she visited, she hadn’t done much at all. "New York has this vibrant, electric energy. There's always something exciting happening.—Maybe we should plan a girls' getaway. I’ll show you all my favorite haunts.” 

Ellie was thankful for Sarai's friendship. She was positive and kind, everything Ellie had not been lately - or ever, really. It gave her hope that perhaps Covington wasn't going to be a completely negative experience. Her eyebrows raised as the other mentioned ' the big apple', "New York?" She sighed, jealousy coursing through her, "You lucky, lucky woman." She had never traveled much, making sure to keep the funds she had safely tucked away. The only place she had ever gone, outside of California, was Vegas and while the experience had been fun, it left a bad taste in her mouth. "I'm sure it will be a good time. How can a city that never sleeps be boring?"

[rosettastarlight]

The Dragon Prince/Kaudia Hadestown AU

Sorry! (Okay, anyone who knows me knows I’m not!)

 Ok, so like, I’ve gotten backk into my Hadestown phase, and I honestly ship just about anything as long as it’s appropriate and this au got stuck in my head, especially since a few twitter people I follow have been talking about ship, and I’m not gonna lie: It’s pretty cute! 

I know I could have done Rayllum for this au, but as much as I like the pairing, I always like to do things just a little differently, and they’re the go-to couple for just about everything, and I just didn’t see them, and I still can’t when I think of this au in my head. Plus, these two characters and this ship is so underrated, and I thought it’d be nice to give them the spotlight instead this time.

So! Here’s what I got so far: consider,

Claudia as Orpheus: Talented, she’s still Viren’s daughter in this au, so I guess she’s a daughter of Hades, which fits her dark magic thing, but I think it still works since in some versions of the myth, Orpheus is either Apollo’s son or one of the Muses’ (goddesses of the arts), although some versions say he was just a normal mortal which only made his talent all that more astonishing. She’s a bit awkward, can come on a bit strong and weird (”Don’t come on too strong.” "Come home with me!” *cue Hermes facepalming in the background*), optimistic even when things are falling apart, falls for a more pessimistic, strong-willed, and slightly jaded by past experiences type of person whose charmed by her quirks and sunshine, trying to work on a spell to bring back spring since her father doesn’t seem all that keen to let his husband go to bring it back himself.

Kasef as Eurydice: Dead. Already got that in common. Has done many things to survive in a world getting harder and colder as the years go by with the gods’ crumbling marriage. Never stayed in one place for long. A bit more pessimistic and jaded than Claudia by past experiences and can only see the world as what it is with little hope it can be anything else, much less something better (Hello? That last part sound a bit familiar?). Tries to keep faith that Claudia is right and will be able to bring spring back, but is soon persuaded by Viren to follow him into Hadestown without knowing fully well what he’s signing up for.

Hermes is still one I’m having a bit trouble deciding except it’s one of the adults in TDP since it’s not easy to think of someone who matches his energy and the story. Sarai is a contender

Viren as Hades: Duh! Associates with death, fell in love with one associated with spring, a bit cold but just doesn’t know how to show his feelings properly, pragmatist, manipulative, knows how to play his cards, had a once warm relationship with Harrow when they were young and in love but over the decades, have grown apart and attempts to save their marriage only seems to make things worse. Starts to keep him in the underworld longer and longer than the arranged six months until Spring hardly seems to come to the mortal world anymore due to growing doubt that with their marriage on the rocks, the time may come when Harrow refuses to go back to him or Hadestown at all.

Harrow as Persephone: Associated with spring and the growing of plants.  Despite being a god, refuses to think of himself as above mortals, strong-willed and has a good heart enough to hate what his husband’s doing is putting the world up top through, doesn’t like being tricked or controlled. He fell for Viren a long time ago but has grown apart and even a bit disdained with him over the years, and the fact his husband is keeping him down below doesn’t really help matters.

No idea who the fates are, but at least one of them’s most definitely Aaravos.