#I FEEL LIKE VIREN WOULD NEVER LEAVE HER LIKE WHAT

[homeless-candy]

You have to stay.

[bittrlys]

The Dragon Prince season 6 is like watching people write themselves into a corner in real time. Exciting! Massive spoilers ahead, of course.

THE GOOD

Opening on Aaravos crying was a very strong choice, this is the actual 'Mystery of Aaravos' type content I've been waiting for

Terry picking up Viren while they're excited about him being alive is very cute

As ever, Terry being extremely ride or die is 👍

Terry taking care of Claudia was very sweet; Terry cutting Claudia's hair and Claudia's new haircut in general. Cute.

Viren and Claudia on the beach, "No parent wants their child to suffer for them." Oof.

In general, I was quite happy with everything Viren, Claudia, and even Soren, and I actually wrote a note of "i hate soren" at the start because I thought we were gearing up for another season of him just being a bad joke machine with no real character or feelings to speak of. But then they gave him, like, actual pathos! They let him interact with people in a way that feels human! They let him be resentful and complicated! Wow! Magefam is so back baby!

Viren trying to reconcile with Soren and be a better example for Claudia really got to me. His final sacrifice (OMG CRIMINAL BY FIONA APPLE JUST CAME ON SHUFFLE.......WHAT I NEED IS A GOOD DEFENSE CUS I'M FEELING LIKE A CRIMINAL.......AND I NEED TO BE REDEEMED TO THE ONE I'VE SINNED AGAINST.....) is tied so strongly to his children and that feels like a natural place to leave his character. Now, I've been saying forever that he was going to get a redemption via death, and figured Aaravos would be the one pulling the trigger, so none of that surprised me, but I thought the actual execution was generally good. I do have some more negative thoughts but I'll save those for later.

Viren is very good at justifying himself, and I like that you see him falling back into that, at times struggling with it, at times not even catching himself doing it. It feels very real. At the same time, I don't think he's ever seen himself as a hero, so it was interesting to let him go out on such a heroic note.

Viren's kind of abuse-coded (not actually abusive, IMO, but I understand if this makes people uncomfortable in a similar way) act of forcing Lissa to cry into the vial is interesting. It echoes him taking Sarai's last breath.

Him writing out his whole confession on this subject and then burning it because he realized it was only going to do him good was also very nice.

Though I wish Claudia had stuck by her 'I'm going solo' guns a little longer, I still think there's something to how she is so incapable of being alone, of thinking for herself, and desperately seeks direction. She is literally just like her dad, and it makes them both easy targets for Aaravos.

Like, Viren being such a force that Claudia easily followed him, then Claudia being such a force that Soren and Terry both easily followed her, and Aaravos being a supreme force Viren and Claudia both easily follow because at heart, they're more followers than leaders despite the force of their personalities and ambitions -- it's interesting.

Aaravos using Sol Regem to casually destroy a kingdom and kill Viren just as a small step in his plan is pretty fun. We love a grandiose villain!

Looking forward to Claudia and Aaravos. She's in some ways even more unequipped than Viren to handle Aaravos's manipulations, but at the same time, she's a lot more unpredictable than Viren. If this leads up to a confrontation between them, I think that could be really cool.

Aaravos tragic backstory with deleted child was really not on my bingo card at all -- I never thought 'noble revenge' would be his motivation. I like how this parallels him to Viren.

Aaravos crying enough to fill a sea is great imagery

The lore of the startouch elves being actual stars that descend is SO COOL. This is like, the first bit of worldbuilding in this show that's actually seriously impressed me. I love it.

Actual lore as to why humans don't have magic. Well. Not entirely. But it's better than what we had.

I liked Amaya and Janai's wedding looks. Cute.

Janai like Ehe I'll bring out my armies after I get married 😜 is funny. She isn't a very good queen but she is the moment! The gossip blogs would love her.

Ezran eating shit and not having his """diplomacy""" work out. LMAO.

SOL REGEM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Kinda getting a y'know vibe from Soren and Corvus. I wouldn't mind that. I like that Corvus feels a little more tolerant of Soren than everyone else. It's funny Soren is like finally I'm away from my shit family but his new friends don't seem to care about him at all. Go and be totally free of all this, dude, or get a boyfriend.

Runaan back just when I was starting to think this show really hates gay males.

Rayla correcting her assumption about the sex of the diary's author was cute with the voice over changing. (cont...)

THE BAD

(... cont.) Did unfortunately then make it feel like "Had to be a woman because the author will be pining for a man."

Why is Zym STILL just a dog. Bro. It's like if all through Avatar you had to be aware Appa was going to be king someday. STOP BARKING.

Waiting for the whole cast to become vegetarians and somehow I suspect that will not be happening

When Claudia is listing the spell ingredients she could harvest from that cat thing I was just desperate to have Terry go, "Well, some of those could be ethically harvested, right?"

I find prophecies fairly corny as a writing tool and I get why they're going there -- predicted futures are the source of the anti-human oppression -- but still, I sighed.

Luna Tenebris putting a collar on her pet feels like, weird, right? Right? Right? She's not human and dragons otherwise seem so Respect all magical creatures. (Allegedly.) What is the uneven treatment of animals in this universe.

Naming your episode Red Wedding and I don't see a bloodbath ... oh, come on.

That ramble about ships from Caleb. Shudder.

Jeez, who is Rayla going to save? Her uncle who is an actual character or her backstory parents who are obviously happy and at peace? God forbid one of our main heroes has an actual hard choice to make.

Related: Caleb's 5 second rehab from dark magic.

Making his inner truth being about one other person is ... well ....

Cutting from Viren's rapidly cooling corpse to Lujanne receiving a sensual back massage was certainly a Choice.

Viren missing his wife THIS MUCH when he's barely mentioned her up to now was a little weird. I honestly think they saw the homoerotic interpretations of the very intense dynamics he had with Harrow and Aaravos and have been steadily backpedalling from that. Don't get me wrong, I can believe he loved her and he misses her, but the degree of it feels totally unearned.

I get children's media will have mascots for the children, normally I don't mind them, but dear god this show is hitting critical mass on annoying sidekicks (Zym counts as a very big one and he's already nigh unbearable.)

THE UGLY

I can imagine that the descendants of the human children Leola granted magic to are now able to do magic naturally and this could be the lore behind either Caleb or Ezran's abilities. I actually don't mind this as finally being in-universe explanation for this disparity that isn't just 'they want it more' or whatever, but it doesn't help this show's "Better People Are Born Better" messaging. Now, in that vein ...

King Ezran is a KING. Have we mentioned this? He's a king. He's divinely ordained to be above everyone else. You must show him respect because he's KING. Even Rayla emphasizes what a KING he is. BOW BEFORE HIM.

Ezran's idea of """diplomacy""" is just going "Be nice, please." (Followed by a threat LMAO.) "Go live somewhere else." WHERE. What if they try to occupy territory that isn't theirs? Xadian society seems quite separated and territorial. Ezran doesn't consider this. He doesn't consider anything. He has no actual diplomatic skills because he never offers anything, he just expects people to listen to him because he's KING.

You know in Parasite when they're like Of course the rich people are nice, they can afford to be? When Ezran was going I'm a king and I can choose kindness I was like, You're king because of an accident of your birth, and all your privilege and people looking out for you allows you to operate the way you do.

(Janai having an evil brother who is Not The True Heir To The Throne and Trying To Steal It is just part of the show's overall obsession with this narrative -- see also Viren coming from a less privileged background.)

Of course it's still funny to see Ezran be continuously characterized as So Compassionate, So Loving but when it comes to say, Not burning his own people alive or Extending the hand of kindness to one of his oldest childhood friends or her father, he just turns that shit off. This could be interesting hypocrisy if I thought the show was trying to intentionally paint him this way, instead of just wanting him to not be a total pushover because he's THE KING!!! ALL BOW BEFORE THE KING!!!!

The unbelievable frustration caused by a scene where Claudia is begging to not have to use dark magic -- Terry coming in and saving the day with natural magic -- Claudia staring at the peaceful solution and realizing she needs to change -- BUT IT'S STILL A FUNDAMENTAL DISPARITY IN HOW HUMANS CAN EXIST IN THIS WORLD? Is Claudia supposed to die because dark magic is too wrong to use? Now we have the reveal that humans are being actively denied magic I'm hesitantly hopeful they may get some justice in this regard, but it doesn't change the reality of humans right now. What are humans supposed to do? Rely on others for help? Oh, sure, most of the elves and dragons we meet now are just so nice and helpful to humans, because of the show's 'bad apple' approach to prejudice I've mentioned before, but we know that wasn't always the case.

Like, this actual reminder that the difference in power between a single dragon and a human settlement, and unlike the last time we're on the side of humans this time so you can better appreciate the horror of it ... it's depressing to feel like "Only by grace of your betters do you survive." It's echoes of Janai's 'forgiveness' of the human who put out the fire of that elf who assaulted her. "Aren't you lucky we're so NICE?"

This is all compounded by what I meant at the start of my review, that they've written themselves into a corner, especially wrt dark magic. In universe Soren sees no choice but to ask his father to do dark magic, something all the characters scold each other for constantly. Out of universe, the writers had a huge fuck off dragon come along to commit genocide against the humans and the only realistic solution is .... having Viren do dark magic, something the narrative constantly reinforces as bad. They ultimately frame this act as heroic, and according to a writer (I believe) on the discord, he speaks the spell forward to represent how this act of inherent good overcomes the "inherent evil" of dark magic (quotation marks theirs, interestingly.) I think the writers, for the most part, clearly like Viren and Claudia a lot, and like giving them 'big moments' with dark magic ... but this is part of the reason why the show has continuously reinforced a NEED for dark magic without giving any viable solution for the average human who doesn't have natural magical powers or is friends with dragons and elves like our main heroes. Ultimately, it feels hypocritical of the show to keep going on about the evil of dark magic (now very firmly an addiction metaphor) while having no solution for humans in tricky situations that aren't "magic you and only you can do, for some reason" or "queen dragon who somehow still isn't dead dear god coming to save you" or, y'know, "dark magic." Only one of these is really viable for the average person.

Like, you make it an addiction metaphor, but where's the alternative? Vampires need to drink blood to survive but vampire series often show vampires refusing to drink human blood as an addiction metaphor ... they drink animal blood instead, or something, and you get the metaphor. Right now, in TDP, it's either, do dark magic and suffer, or don't do dark magic and ... suffer more? Okay. I'm not saying life has to be fair or that there isn't value in accepting loss, but when Viren scolds Kpp'Ar for having all his fun with dark magic and then very callously dismissing Viren's fear for his son, I felt that. Viren isn't begging for a beer here. He's begging to save his son. Addiction metaphors need to match the scale and reality of what is being shown to you.

Sorry, I'm now going to harp on more about the Your Betters Are Born Better stuff now because I was actually enjoying (you know, tearfully so) Viren's death until his final lines. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GASPED!!!!!!!! HOLD ON!!!!!!!!!!! Like, let me get it out of the way, I get it echoes his last exchange to Harrow and his loyalty to Harrow is tied to his loyalty to Katolis, and they're saying "He was power hungry but now he is acting in a way that is purely, totally selfless for maybe the first time in his life," which is fine. The problem is, I have sat through six seasons of this show kissing royal ass. I have seen Aanya (shudder) mock him for not being a real noble-born ruler. I have seen Ezran's divine authority be reinforced time and again, and seen Viren throw himself submissively before his King to submit to his judgement as King, not as someone he once hurt. I have been reminded time and again that less privileged people who want the power necessary to succeed in a world biased against them are power-hungry lunatics unless they submit themselves enough to the Supreme Order of the world. So to have Viren's last words be him reinforcing that the most heroic thing he can ever be is A LOYAL SERVANT is just ... horrible. If they'd just kept the framing of Viren's death on his love for his family, it would have been way, way better.

Altogether I uh guess the season was mostly fine. They actually did a better job tying disparate narratives together with common themes which I appreciate. I liked the magefam stuff. I hope Soren eventually learns the stuff Viren chose not to tell him. I hope there's realistic forward growth on the attitude towards dark magic and why humans feel they need it, like some acknowledgement that Katolis was only saved because of Viren (make that two nations he has explicitly saved.) Maybe even Ezran can take a break from being unbearably sanctimonious to properly acknowledge his sacrifice. That would be nice!

I really hope humans get some justice for how they've been actively denied a valuable resource. It seems a self-fulfilling prophecy (they punished Leola for giving humans magic, this made Aaravos go darksided, Aaravos gave humans dark magic, humans are very set against the magical community for the way they've been treated so they're more callous about using dark magic) so I hope the ultimate lesson won't be "humans don't deserve this" but "humans only ended up here because they were treated like they don't deserve it, but they do, by right of existing as beings in this world." If Callum (+ Ezran) end the series as the only or some of the only humans with magic powers, I'm going to eat drywall.

[kradogsrats]

The last time Lissa cries is in Katolis.

As she rides away, she feels as if she'll weep forever—tears she can't stop flowing down her cheeks, ceaseless and steady—but when she crosses into Del Bar, her face and eyes are dry. Her parents welcome her back into their home. Her siblings and their children turning out to comfort her. Lissa smiles and thanks them, lets them embrace her.

None of them say, I told you so. Not outright, at least. She can tell some of them are thinking it.

Doesn't seem all that broken up about it, does she? Not a single tear.

Shush—let the poor girl be. Not all pains can be wept over right away.

But when her mother falls ill, she doesn't cry like her sisters do. When they bury her—when her father, always mountain-strong, is reduced to gravel in his children's arms—she has no tears to shed.

Nor does she weep for her brother's son—young and bright and brimming with promise—dead the instant his horse throws him, his neck snapped cleanly. He'd planned to marry his sweetheart, in a year or two. There's a funeral instead, the other boy's anguished tears a river of grief.

Lissa still does not cry. No matter the sorrow, her eyes sit in her head like stones, hard and heavy. Dry as bone, even as her throat closes and her chest burns like her heart is on fire.

There are no tears from her even for her second sister's husband, a sailor whose ship never returns from its last journey through the spring storms. Her sister holds her own shattered pieces together for the sake of their small children, and the family rallies to support her with food and chores and company. They cry with her, late into the night—all of them, except for Lissa.

Cold as the heart of Hinterpeak, that one.

You're surprised? She married a mage, she was cursed from the start.

Then she abandoned her children in the snake's den, when she'd had her fill of him and his poison.

I suppose it takes a monster to love a monster.

What could she tell them—that Viren had meant no ill? That she'd been the collateral damage of a miracle, a negligible cost for saving a child from death? That her children were better served by staying with a father who loved them so fiercely than by their broken mother dragging them away?

That when he'd stumbled in half-mad, his face scarred beyond recognition, ranting and raving his demands that she weep to save their son, she had refused? That she'd feared what he might take from her, as if anything she possessed could be worth more than Soren's life?

That when his hand twisted in her hair and the cold glass pressed against her cheek, she cried not for Soren, but for the man she'd loved and the monster he'd become?

That, most of all, she had cried for herself?

She stays quiet, and does not cry.

Her father finally passes, never recovered from her mother's loss, and her brother approaches on behalf of the family. We love you, Lissy, you know that—but we think it would be best if you didn't come to the funeral.

Lissa's heart burns, her throat clenched tight against any protest, and she nods. She leaves that night, vanishing into the mountains. No one comes looking for her.

She settles outside a remote village, in a tiny hut halfway up the mountain, more a hunter's seasonal shelter than a house. She busies herself with survival—tends a garden, hunts and forages. Down in the village, she trades the pelts of what she can trap, and sometimes plays the decrepit, barely-tuned piano in the tavern for coins.

That's where she hears of the great march on Xadia. King Viren of Katolis, leading the united Pentarchy to end the threat of dragons for good.

Lissa returns to the tavern every day after that, desperate for more news—it's barely a week later when she hears he's dead, his army broken by an alliance between the elves of Xadia and those loyal to King Harrow's son. There is no mention of her children in any of the garbled rumors.

It's almost a relief, that she doesn't cry for Viren.

But Soren would be old enough to have joined the Crownguard, just as he'd always wanted. With two kings dead in such quick succession—first King Harrow, and then, somehow, his own father—could she even dare hope he still lives? And Claudia, so fascinated by magic, even when it tore their family apart—had she succumbed to all its dangers? Would Viren have let her walk a different path, if she chose?

She imagines going back, demanding to know what happened to her son and daughter—if Viren remained in a place sufficiently prominent to somehow become king, someone has to know. She imagines seeing them again, being able to run to them and take them in her arms. She imagines crying, then—a decade of stolen tears released in a flood of joy and relief.

Then she imagines their revulsion at the mother who left them, should she be unable to shed a single tear of grief or regret.

Lissa stops going to the tavern. Her heart burns as if its falling to ash.

She doesn't cry.

[hadesisqueer]

I appreciate The Dragon Prince because it gave me tragic antagonists or villains that I love (Claudia), villains that while I don't really like them I understand how they came to be and can feel a bit of sympathy for (Aaravos or Viren), villains I straight up fucking hate (Sol Regem) and villains that I don't really hate because when they appear on-screen I just sigh wondering how they can be so fucking stupid (Karim). They really give you everything.

No but for real, Karim's entire character arc consists of 'The risk I took was calculated but I am bad at math' because. He's so dumb. He keeps saying he wants to restore the Sunfire Empire to its former glory, but like-- how? What plans do you have for the future? Are you going to try to retake Lux Aurea? Because you can't. Oh, you want humans out? Okay-- how would that help to restore the former glory, though? You're just being a bigot?

The thing is that all Karim ever did was talk about his birthright —that's not even his birthright, actually, because he's the youngest sibling— and keep babbling about history demanding blah blah blah of people and how his sister wasn't a competent queen when actually it is the opposite. Janai proves, by allowing the architect to live while still giving her an according punishment, that she is a fair queen who chooses mercy and allows people to grow while still choosing justice; also, that she's more practical, because what good is a talented architect dead —who did something awful but still was sorta right about fire being dangerous around the camp— when you can just make her build a shrine so this kind of incident never happens again. Janai also had the Sunseed and plans to nurture it and help it grow, help her own people grow. She actually had plans for the future, and she had the patience necessary. She understands that you must learn from history but that it also doesn't define you, that you must not let it define you.

Karim doesn't get that. He was obsessed with history and the old ways. He didn't have any patience. And he didn't have any long term plans. Or even backup plans for when his plans inevitably failed, either! He was so convinced Janai would refuse his duel he was shocked when she actually fought him, and resorted to fighting-- with fire magic-- against someone who's fireproof-- again, no actual plan. He tried using an assassin to kill his sister, the actual person the assassin had a life debt to. He wants to steal the Sunseed, actively fucking over his people. When Ezran tells him to take his followers and start somewhere else, Karim refuses because he says he doesn't want crumbs off his sister's plate, but at the same time it's like-- that's exactly what you were gonna get, buddy. You wanna use Sol Regem to torch your sister's army. The only thing you're gonna rule over is the followers you have now plus what remains of Janai's, if they even accept you. So, yeah. Literally crumbs.

Also, again, he's so fucking entitled. 'What's rightfully mine' he's the youngest sibling, nothing is rightfully his, he's an usurper. Part of his demands being that humans leave and go back to 'their side of the border, where they belong', buddy, you'd be the king of the Sunfire Elves, not the King of all of Xadia. As king you could make humans leave your territory, but not Xadia. If a bunch of humans, hypothetically, befriended Moonshadow or Skywing elves and lived at the Silvergrove, or wherever the Skywing elves live, with them-- what, now you're gonna try to wage war against the the other elves, too, because they're not following your ways? You can threaten them with Sol Regem, sure, but also consider, because you didn't even consider it when you went to him-- he's an Archdragon, yeah, but the weakest of the Archdragons right now. Let's say Ezran and Janai follow through and give up and leave. They could go with Zym and head straight up to the Mushroom Mage and come back with Zubeia, the current Queen of the Dragons, right after she's done with her treatment. They arrive. Who's gonna win? A healthy Archdragon on her prime or an old, blind Archdragon that hasn't flown or fought in centuries? Also, once you give him the Sunseed he actually has no reason to be on your side, he already got what he wanted. Even if the Katolis thing didn't happen, he could've turned against you very easily. He likely would've done so.

He's an awful leader who doesn't actually care about his people. He disrespects other world leaders like Ezran immediately. He's an entitled, bigoted idiot who doesn't actually think things through and that actually makes him both incredibly annoying and very realistic, which actually makes me like him as an antagonist but still makes me let out a exasperated sigh every time he talks. Best part of him is that he's obsessed with going down in history as someone great when, with his actions, he's only going to pass down as the prince who tried to usurp his sister three times and failed the three times, each failure worse than the previous one. Lmao.

[raayllum]

What do you think it means for corruption to overwhelm someone? Do you think Callum will die or will something else happen to him? Also I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast! (This is theinnermechanismsofmymindtdp but I refuse to link my main blog….)

That's a good question, and one I've spent time thinking about in terms of what a Corrupted S7 Callum would look like. (I lean towards something that directly changes his outward appearance during the possession, which is also a convenient short hand for stakes and thereby recovery when it fades.)

Part of the reason this is somewhat tricky is because there's roughly three Versions of what TDP considers to be 'Corruption,' and because the series makes all of these things regularly overlap with one another.

1) Emotional corruption

This is evidenced by someone who is changing for the worse, which is mostly tethered through Soren's dialogue. This can involve becoming a 'monster' (as seen through Viren and Runaan in S6) due to the weight of their 'sins'.

This of course ties into the series' most consistent form of corruption, which is Literal

2) Corruption through dark magic use.

Viren and Claudia get their literally corrupted faces (similar in nature to Runaan's in the life and death portal) and what made the turning point happen in Lissa and Viren's relationship. This is also symbolic of what scared Callum straight in 2x08 and what continues to scare him in 6x03 ("I did it, I'm ruined, it's too late for me, who cares?"). As Soren notes, continued and regular dark magic usage can change people, even if Claudia insists otherwise ("But I'm not evil, it's me, you know me. I'm still the same person"), but that Viren and most likely Claudia successfully come back from said corruption (and in Viren's case, that's not exclusive to never doing dark magic again, either).

I think it's worth noting that thus far the corrupted face (Viren's from coining Kpp'Ar, and Claudia's in killing Sir Sparklepuff) has come from using a combo of deep and dark magic through the staff, and directly out of acts of love (at least in theory for Viren).

Soren also asks for and/or sees his family members change away from this form of literal, physical corruption as well, and we see that Callum's love for Rayla literally helps heal this corruption in him in S6.

3) Dark magic corruption through infection.

This is arguably the one where the previous notions of corruption are brought together, as Janai explains in 5x03:

Nearly a year ago we tried to reclaim Lux Aurea, but the dark mage's corruption was worse than we realized. It is like a plague. Dark magic infests the city. What life remains there has been twisted into monstrosities. [To Callum and Rayla] You don't get it, do you? We had to kill the infected! Our own people.

There's a few things to unpack here.

Dark magic corruption is being compared to a sickness and plague that infects and festers within. We also see this compared to Kpp'Ar's arm wound and other old wounds ("It is a wound that has been festering for a thousand years" 5x04).

Emotional corruption, bolstered by dark magic use, and corruption through infection can both turn people into "monsters". Both forms strip you of your perceived free will: the corrupted through usage monsters increasingly don't perceive their choices as choices ("I did what I had to do" / "I had to save him, I had no choice!" / "Finnegrin was going to kill you, I didn't have a choice!"). The corrupted through infection monsters are seemingly mindless killers, as Zubeia describes an increasingly complete loss of self (which is also what possession is):

Tis a scratch. A mere nothing. Oh, but it festers. Corrupted. Infected. Oh! I can feel my very being shattering from the inside out. I fear I'm losing everything.

Her love for Avizandum (and Zym), signified by a glowing chest heart, also helps her come back to herself and leave the nightmare (Janai describing things as a nightmares, Aaravos using nightmares to manipulate Callum) behind.

Under duress, you can be forced to kill these monsters in order to protect yourself, even if that means killing your own people / people you know and love.

And last but not least, Amaya also tethers all this back to the idea of change (as we saw most prominently under emotional corruption).

Janai wanted so badly to cleanse Lux Aurea, but we failed. The shadow monsters are dangerous killers. But even worse, just a single scratch

The infected became corrupted shadows in a matter of days.

This consequence of "just one scratch and it's over" is now, of course, the exact same set of stakes Callum has been presented following the successful Star-light truth ritual if he ever does dark magic. If he uses it one more time, it's 'over,' and he knows that, in addition to knowing it'd open back up Aaravos' ability to possess him.

But beware, if you ever use dark magic again, the darkness and corruption will overwhelm you.

(Because I have followed a dark path. I had become a monster. I'm a monster. I fought you, I tried to kill you! He's leading an army of darkness. It's not every day you have an army of 10,000 monster soldiers. The human mage, already tainted by darkness. What if I'm on a path of darkness? Shadow monsters. What life remains there has been twisted into monstrosities. You keep calling it a monster.)

Much like how dark magic corruption through usage isn't exclusive from emotional corruption (they have a tendency to go hand in hand, but it's not synonymous because thus far Callum has been our exception), I don't think dark magic corruption through infection is exclusive from dark magic corruption through usage dark magic. All of them are associated with darkness; all of them can turn you into a monster; all of them are tied to losing your identity and your free will.

This is basically a very long winded way of saying I think Callum being overwhelmed with darkness and corruption may look like a combination of all three of them. While there could either be an instantaneous flip (which works well for drama and potential time crunch), there could also be a slow build (more similar to Zubeia, which could offer up more hope for a fix before it happens fully, even if I think the dragang would ultimately be too late because... it's more dramatic and we gotta get the possession fight, don't we?).

At the very least, physical appearance wise, I'm expecting a corrupted face, if not a fully corrupted form like the Banther. (Partially because it matches up with how the dark magic rune glows red, rather than purple, in Callum's dark magic 2x08 dreams).

Post-corruption / possession / ordeal, Rayla (and/or Ezran) will somehow find a way to get him out of it and bring him back to himself. This is bolstered by her literally being his light to Aaravos' darkness in 4x02 framing wise, 4x07 dialogue wise ("Then take another path, dummy"), and 6x06 literally wise.

If he does die / Rayla kills him, I think it'd be temporary at best as while it'd set his slate clean, I don't think they'd do that a second time, and given that Callum now has to Make a Choice in order to be possessed, that works perfectly fine as him turning himself over to metaphorical death (Aaravos stripping away his identity) and literal in his mind (banking on Rayla fulfilling his promise). I don't think he needs a literal, physical one on top of it, but who knows.

If dark magic is a wound, it can be healed.

If corruption is a sickness, it can be cured.

If possession is a lack of agency, it can be restored.

And if it's darkness, you can find the light.

After all:

(Looks pointedly at mutual salvation theory from Aug 2022)

[spacebarbarianweird]

Into the Wild

Summary: Astarion and Tiriel travels through the mountains.

Just a plotless conversation about sex, memories, traumas and future. It's set seven years after the game and thirteen years before Alethaine's birth

Pairing: Astarion x OC (Tiriel)

Tags: fluff, post-game, named Tav, established relationship.

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

Tiriel wakes up in the darkness of the tent. It’s so comfortable under the thick blanket. The air is fresh but not cold, and she sees the sun rays through a small hole near the entrance.

But it’s mostly comfortable because she isn’t alone.

Astarion trances on his back. His face is almost peaceful and Tiriel wonders if he knows she is awake.

He is like a marble statue, if marble statues were soft.

She smiles realizing he wears only his shirt and his naked legs are intertwined with hers.

Seven years. 

Tiriel has had this for seven years. Astarion being a complete mess some days provides Tiriel with love and safety and she is grateful for every moment they spend together. Yes, sometimes it isn’t easy. Sometimes he yells in pain or runs away disappearing for a few days. Sometimes he lashes at her and begs for forgiveness as if she were going to beat him. 

But it is worth it.

Tiriel would be ready to give all her blood for him to stop feeling so cold.

Well, not really, if she thinks about it. It’s stupid to die for someone. She wants to live for Astarion.

And maybe, she will live long enough to hear his heartbeat and see his real eye color.

“Love, I am bored,” Tiriel whispers in his pointy ear. He doesn’t react, deep in his reverie.

She sighs and releases herself from his grip. He lets her go easily. Before, it would be almost impossible. He would grab her for dear life and she knew he was just afraid she would disappear. That if he let her go she would never return.

Tiriel sits up. Her body itches with sweat (and something else between her legs) and she decides to wash herself in the river they have been following for the last month.

“Hm, it seems like I know what you are reliving right now,” she smiles looking below his waist.

She has no idea why he is without trousers (he was dressed when she went to sleep) but Astarion’s member is hard and sticks prominently under his shirt. 

Tiriel has to make an effort not to touch him.

That would be a violation of his trust. The most horrible thing she could do to him – to touch him in a sexual way while he is vulnerable. Even if he forgave her, their relationship would never be the same. 

“Well, if you want me, I will be close,” Tiriel touches his fingers and leaves the tent.

It’s almost sunset over the Storm Horns, the mighty eastern peaks. 

Too close…

Tiriel isn’t sure she can find her birth home in the Sunset Mountains that lie further to the West, but she has never been there after running away at the age of 15.

Her older brother tried to kill her. Pushed her from a cliff and if it weren’t for the barbarian rage she would have died. Others – siblings and cousins including Viren, Tiriel’s younger sister, were laughing and cheering – they finally managed to kill the elf, the evidence of their mother’s infidelity.

Viren was a nice child, two years younger than Tiriel, always weak and sick. But mother loved her – and even though Tiriel was jealous, she suppressed those feelings to take care of the little girl. Maybe Tiriel thinks she just believed Viren could share their mother’s love if her half-blood sister behaved like a good girl.

Viren laughed the loudest when Tiriel fell on the stones, breaking her hand and getting a concussion.

The Sunset Mountains are huge, she reminds herself. And she doesn’t know the way.

The last rays of light hit the earth and the world falls into darkness.

“So, what next?” Astarion asks as he leaves their tent.

“Good morning. Where the hell are your trousers?”

“Oh, Tiriel, you love seeing and touching what’s below my waist,” Astarion approaches her and pecks her cheek.

“I do love touching you there. But it doesn’t explain why you are suddenly without pants!”

“You also love using your tongue on me,” he pinches her nose. “Who knew your mouth was so skillful?”

Tiriel looks right and finally realizes that Astarion has just put his trousers to dry on a branch of the tree. 

“Oh, so you are a pervert?” He chuckles when he notices Tiriel watching him dress.

“Pervert? Said the person who loves eating me out on my period!”

“And you’ve eaten my ass at least … Let me think… Five times? I told you, I never thought you could do such things with your tongue!”

Tiriel giggles. 

“Said the person who got tired of my pussy and decided to stick his cock inside the other hole.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t like it.”

“I just didn’t think you would want to do that on the ceiling.”

“No one saw us. Besides, it was up to you to be quiet.”

“Quiet?” Tiriel jumps on her feet and wraps her arms around his neck. “Were you able to stay quiet when I pegged you?”

“It wasn't the point back then, we were in the middle of nowhere. And you bit my shoulder on that ceiling.”

“Because I didn’t know it would hurt so much! I couldn’t walk the next day!”

Astarion puts his hands below her butt and in a moment she is already in the air, completely in her vampire’s power.

“Why walk if I can carry you around?” he grins. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not touching me in the tent.”

Tiriel swifts a stranded curl from his forehead.

“You aren’t my vampire fantasy to start with. And I wouldn’t want to wake up by you feeding on me or fucking me or… well, doing anything sexual to me.”

Astarion looks at the mountains.

“I’ve never seen mountains like that,” he whispers.

Tiriel turns away.

“Hey, chin up!” Astarion kisses her. “It's not like we will bump into your clan anytime soon. Even if we do, they won't hurt you.”

Tiriel nods and then points at a cliff.

“I wanna go there.”

In a moment, she is already piggy riding Astarion as he walks up the cliff. She feels like the abyss is tugging her down, but she knows Astarion won't let her fall. 

Tiriel decides to tease him.

“Stop biting my ear!” He says. 

“Or what?”

Suddenly she feels like she’s falling, but the moment her body realizes she is indeed falling into the abyss Astarion is already grabbing her hands as if she were a little child weighing barely anything.

“I am not getting tired, you know that.”

“But you are getting bored!”

Tiriel grabs his neck and climbs over Astarion as if he were a branch of a tree. His back is the only thing that prevents her from falling.

Then she wraps around him again and he keeps walking further up. 

When they reach the peak Tiriel feels dizzy. She collapses on the stones.

“Astarion.”

“Hm?”

“Listen, if you want another round in my butt I agree, but I don’t want to be upside down hoping those four people below us won’t notice anything!”

Suddenly Astarion gets dark.

“Not in the mood?”

“No. Maybe later, all right?”

“Sure. Something you dreamt about?” She remembers his erection. Damn. She was sure he saw something pleasant.

“Yes. Hells. Am I such a pathetic person that I get hard when remembering being beaten and raped?” He sits down beside her. 

Tiriel hugs him. “You can't control your body's reflexes. Do you want to talk?”

Astarion turns away.

“I- I… You just say such things to me and then I trance and remember someone forcing their dirty cock into my mouth. And then I think, how dare I kiss you. How dare I have sex with you after all the things I did and were done to me.”

“I think the concept of ‘purity’ was invented by slaveholders. The only dirt I see on you is dried blood and when you hunt some animals in the rain.”

“But still. I remember. My body remembers. You suck me and I see the same cock being forced into people who reeked of piss and sweat. You give me your blood and I drank fleas and rats with the same teeth. I touch you and…” He shudders but doesn't cry.

Tiriel puts her head on his shoulder. 

“Love, I can't erase your past. But I will tell you again. I don't care. I knew all those things from the start. I never saw you as something dirty.”

“Tiriel… Would you love me if I weren't a vampire?”

“I think this is a pointless question. Would you love me if I were a rich wizard who was afraid of the dark? WE ARE WHO WE ARE. I don't know what kind of person you were before. But I think I would love you anyway.”

“And if I stop being a vampire?”

“Then, I will be the happiest woman in the world. We will drink ale together and travel under the sun. And you will see your face in a mirror.”

Astarion kisses her cheek.

“Let’s keep going shall we?”

It takes them very little time to get back to the camp (Tiriel spends the whole time in Astarion’s arms) and prepare for the night road.

The winds howl and Tiriel’s mind decides to torture her.

The same winds howled when she was wandering the woods, with no armor, no weapon, and no one to hear her cries.

How far is she now from the place she was born?

She takes Astarion’s hand and he squeezes it. Tiriel doesn’t need to tell him what’s on her mind. 

He knows.

“Do you think any of them are alive?” he asks.

“Mother was rather old when she gave birth to me so I doubt it. My brothers and sisters? I guess. But I don’t think they remember me. And what about yours? Do you remember anything? It’s not like there are many elves in Baldur’s Gate.”

Astarion bites his lower lip. As they keep going it gets colder, the thick mist swirling around them.

Anyone sane would stay inside on such nights.

“I wasn’t from Baldur’s Gate. I came there from… somewhere,” he finally says.

“And your parents? Your family? Do you remember them?”

“Funny you only start asking me after seven years,” he chuckles.

“Never too late I guess.”

Astarion lets her hand go and clenches his fists. He concentrates on something vague, something that keeps escaping his tortured mind. 

“Sometimes I think I see someone, a woman. She tells me something I don’t remember. I think if I could see her again I would know who she is. I see an elderly man, his voice is stern and I am not comfortable being around him. Is he my father? Or a teacher? Or just a relative?” Astarion shakes his head. “I think I remember someone crying at my grave but she wasn't an elf. Maybe she was my friend? Her name started with ‘A’, and I remember trying to reach out for her but she just left, leaving me alone, dead in the grave, while my body was being transformed. It’s all shadows, Tiriel, all fucking shadows. Even what happened next.”

Tiriel curses herself silently for asking.

“And then you know, Tiriel,” he adds. “I thought I remembered every day of my slavery, but whole decades are missing. The whole 14th century was a mad show on Toril! The world simply doesn’t look the same as it did when I was alive! Whole regions disappeared, Dragonborns appeared on the Sword Coast, the whole Spellplague thing…”

“The Second Sundering.”

“Yes! And I…Just didn’t know it happened. My mind went blank for a few decades. And I know nothing good happened then, but it bothers me; I feel something else was taken from me. I try to collect myself but I just shutter to pieces.”

Tiriel sighs. Well, what can she say to him? Seven years is such a tiny amount of time in comparison with two centuries. Will he ever be able to feel whole again? Will the nightmares ever fully go away? Maybe if he could remember his past, if he could meet the people who raised him – would he heal?

They spend the rest of the night in silence, and as the sky starts changing its color, they set up the camp and hide inside the black tent.

Astarion takes his shirt off and sits still. With no breath and no heartbeat, he resembles a statue.

“Are you going to hunt?” Tiriel asks, kissing his shoulder. “You need to eat.” 

Silence. 

Another quirk she has had seven years to get used to. Sometimes he just doesn't speak at all. Doesn’t react to her words, deep in his abyss. 

“Then feed on me,” Tiriel says, caressing his cheek. 

The fangs pierce the skin of her neck. His lips get warmer with every ounce of blood gushing down his throat and then when Tiriel almost faints from blood loss, he lets her go and gently places her on the bedroll.

And then, he kisses her with his bloodstained lips.

“Thank you,” he murmurs lying beside her. He puts his head on her chest and Tiriel knows he does it to hear her heartbeat better. “Tiriel, let’s keep going West.”

“To the Swords Coast?”

“I guess.”

“Well, whatever. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You usually don’t pay attention to what I say,” he complains.

“I just like hearing your voice.”

“Well, what would you like to know about?” Astarion asks, elbowing up.

“Hm… Tell me about Star Elves.”

“But keep listening, I will ask you questions, darling.”

‘Are you sure you were a magistrate, not a teacher?”

“Maybe I was both? Well, Star Elves or Ruar’Tel’Quessira spent two thousand years in Sildëyuir before they managed to get to Faerun almost seventy centuries ago…”

**

Tiriel falls asleep. She hugs her pillow and curls under a blanket. Astarion watches her in awe. 

She is so delicate and fragile he wants to hide her somewhere safe.

Well, she would never want this. Tiriel is a warrior, almost as strong as him, how can he even think about stripping her of her freedom?

The same freedom he fought for himself?

He nestles beside her. 

If he had family somewhere, would they accept him? Undead and married to a half-elf? Does he need their acceptance after all these years?

Maybe he really should forget it all. His life started back there, on the spelljammer when he realized he didn't hear his master’s voice.

Or when he basked in the warmth of the sun.

Or when Tiriel started smiling adoringly at him almost every evening at camp.

Or when she stood between him and that drow, claiming that Astaron could decide for himself.

Forgiving. Kind. Patient. Caring. 

She dressed him up after the murder of Cazador, when Astarion was numb. Burnt the palace up to the ground. She is so straightforward about everything she does.

And sometimes she drives him mad with her recklessness. 

He takes a book out of the sack he’d stolen a while ago.

On The Spellplague

Astarion needs to catch up with certain things. 

---

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[jelzorz]

167b.

(167a)

The Nova Blade is bigger and heavier than Callum thought it would be. It fits awkwardly in his hand, too large to be wieldy, heavy enough to make his wrist hurt if he holds it outstretched for too long, long enough to run down the length of his back and then some as he and Rayla made their way back to Katolis.

Now, it lies horizontally across his desk, almost the full length of it, the ivory stark and foreboding against the polished grain. He's been sleeping up here recently anyway, because there's so much to do, and it's easier to just stay instead of head down to his room, and at least this way the Nova Blade is in reach, in case—

In case of emergencies.

The others still aren't happy with him. Every conversation he's had with Ez since their return has been clipped and full of tension. Opeli's disapproval is obvious in the way her lips tilt downwards everytime he enters a room. Soren he just avoids, because he hates the sneer, the warnings, and the way Soren looks at him like he's one moment away from turning into the same monster Viren was, which makes him mad more than it makes him feel guilty.

They won't even let him near the pearl, which, he supposes, is for the better, but he doesn't like the way it feels like they don't trust him either. The chamber it's in is locked now, and the key lives on Soren's person who is immune to even Stella's sticky fingers, and all the while, the Nova Blade is there and ready, and if they'd just let him—

"Do you even know how use it?"

Callum scowls. This morning's council meeting is tense for a number of reasons but it's the first formal one they've had since his and Rayla's return. Soren stares him down from the other side of the table, blue eyes icy and hard and unimpressed.

"It's just a sword," bristles Callum. "How hard can it be to stab a thing?"

Soren snorts, which only annoys Callum more. "Feels light and easy to use, does it?"

"I—" Callum scowls. "I can figure it out."

"Like you figured out how to use the hand-and-a-halfs everyone else uses."

Silence. Callum feels his face burn because everyone in the room knows how poorly he handled swords when he was younger, how Soren had tried to coax him into learning more in Rayla's absence only for him to grow impatient and leave before a single lesson had finished. He hasn't touched a blade since—and why should he? He's a mage, and he's never needed a reason to, and he can fight with magic better anyway.

"It's a two handed sword," says Soren. "It's different from the one you used when you were training with me. It's designed to let its weight to do the work. You can't use it like the standard issue swords here or you'll hurt yourself."

Callum scowls again. "Just say what you want to say," he snaps. "I'm not in the mood for another lecture."

"He's saying you should learn how to use it," Opeli cuts in, clearly sensing the danger. "With respect, Prince Callum, you cannot seriously expect to use it against Aaravos if you don't even know how to hold it."

"If there's even a need to use it at all," mutters Ez sourly.

Another pause. Another long moment that Callum uses to scowl at everyone but Rayla, only for Rayla to say, "They're right."

Callum rounds on her but she only shifts uneasily in her seat. "You can't use it against him if you can't use it at all. I know you're worried about his influence over you, Callum, but the best way to make sure you can take him is to learn how to use the only weapon we know will work."

"How am I gonna do that?" grumbles Callum. "Where am I gonna get that kind of instruction?"

One more pause. Everyone turns their heads towards Soren and Callum almost walks out entirely.

"No."

"He's the only one here who can use a greatsword, Prince Callum," points out Opeli.

"Why can't Rayla teach me?"

Soren scoffs. "Her blades aren't even little bit the same."

"Oh, right, and you were such a great teacher when we were kids."

"He's better now," snaps Ez. "You would know that if you'd pulled your head out of your butt enough to learn from him while Rayla was gone. Are you seriously so proud you'd rather go in not having any idea what you're doing?"

Callum scowls at them all a third time. Soren's accusations still ring in his ears, and Soren takes one look and knows that it's all he can hear.

"You don't wanna be like him, right?" he says, a challenge in his voice. "Here's your chance. Admit you don't know. Learn how to use the sword."

"Callum." That's Rayla. She reaches across the table to him and touches his hand. Something in her eyes stalls him: something in amongst the fear and concern that he hopes might be the remnants of what they had two years ago; something that might burn for him still.

He relents.

He starts training with it at dawn.

[arcadianmoonshadowjedi]

Rayllum Month 2024:

July 9th - “I Still Love You”/Reconciliation

After a day of crossing and barely surviving the frozen sea, Callum and Rayla found a small Island where they could set up camp and rest for the night before they reached the Starscraper. They were huddled in their only remaining bed roll against the shadowpaw with Stella and Sneezles snuggling in between them, all keeping warm off the little campfire in front of them. Callum was initially reluctant since it’s been over two years since he’d slept that close to Rayla.

“It’s either we both stay warm together under one blanket for the night or one of us freezes to death, which I’m sure neither you or I would want that for each other,” Rayla had told him when he got all flustered about the one bed roll that didn’t sink in the sea below them.

The two sat awkwardly close together trying to keep warm under the blanket, barely muttering a word for a while. But then Rayla went into deep thought. It’s been around two months since she came back and while Callum at first didn’t want to be near her, they eventually started to patch things up. They’ve been getting closer to each other even more but things still weren’t exactly what they were between them. There was still this gap they couldn’t overcome in their relationship. They were stuck at one point and weren’t really getting anywhere.

“Callum,” Rayla started, taking a breath, looking down as she thought of the right things to say. Callum looked up at her, holding Sneezles in his lap and stroked the tiny glow toad’s soft head with his finger. “Callum, I know we haven’t really talked about everything. You know, me leaving and all that,”

“Rayla,” Callum uneasy, raised his hand trying to stop her.

“No,” She interrupted. “I have to get this off my chest,” She let out another breath before she continued. “It’s just... You know… well,” she sighed. “After the battle of the Storm Spire, when I’ve having these nightmares about Viren, I saw him capture my parents. But he also captured you,” she spoke the few words shakily as her lips began to quiver. “I-I was so terrified of losing you or Viren threatening you, I,” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sniffled and she felt Stella give her a comforting hug, chittering compassionately. Callum looked straight ahead, felt his chest heavy and unable to express anything. She never told him about these specific nightmares before, only that she was afraid that Viren was alive.

Rayla wiped away her tears and continued. “I never meant for my leaving alone to hurt you, I was just so terrified you being in danger if I ever found him. But now, I know that I messed things up between us, like I mess up everything else,” Rayla could no longer control her sobbing. She lifted her hood on her head and hid her face between her knees, with Stella still trying to give her comforting squeezes.

“You know,” Callum started, heaving as he tried to control his emotions. “When you left without me, I was so hurt that you were gone. But what hurt even more was that you put yourself in danger and I had no way of knowing if you were ok or not, or if you were even alive,” his voice grew even more sorrowful as he spoke. “I also wanted to protect you from harm, Rayla. And when you left on your own, you took that away from me,” He started to sniffle as well. Rayla looked up towards him and lifted her hand, she wanted to reach his shoulder, but then she backed away. She never thought about any of what Callum was telling her just now, only her own desire to protect him.

“That’s why I wanted to come along and be with you. Because I,” He hesitated and caught his breath. “Because I love you, Rayla,”

Rayla gasped and felt her face light up. Callum lifted his hand and reached for hers, pulling it closer to his heart. “And I wanted more than anything to keep you safe. And I would’ve only been able to do that by being right by your side. And I still feel that way now,”

Rayla found herself melting as she looked into his teary eyes, unable to speak or do anything. She only found herself leaning into him. “Callum, I just want you to know that I never stopped loving you, even when I was away from you. Not one moment went by that I didn’t think of you. And all I can say now is that I’m so sorry for leaving you and making you feel the way you did,”

Callum took a deep breath and wiped away his tears. “I know I didn’t listen to you or believe you when you told me about Viren possibly being alive and I’m so sorry I brushed aside your worries and-and your pain of not knowing if your parents were alive or not. I really thought I was helping you move on but instead I just pushed you away. And maybe that’s what lead you to leaving on your own,”

“Callum no, that was never it,”

“No Rayla, I really am sorry about that and I promise, you can tell me anything and I’ll be there for you. And I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to save your parents. But please, just promise me you’ll never leave like that again,”

Rayla tightened her fingers on his hand then pulled it towards her so she could kiss it. “You and I, we’re stronger together. And I can trust you to carry my burdens with me, just as you can trust me with your burdens. We will keep each other safe and support each other from now on,”

Callum looked at her surprised, then smiled. But while she smiled and looked ahead, starting to doze off on his shoulder, he looked away. He thought about his own burden that filled him with guilt that he couldn’t bring himself to talk about. But maybe someday he would when he was ready, just as Rayla did when she was. He then looked back towards her and kissed her forehead. He leaned in closer and they both wrapped their arms tightly around each other. With Stella and Sneezles cuddled between their laps and fast asleep under the blanket, Callum and Rayla soon drifted off in the warmth of the extinguishing fire and each other.

[bisexualenbyblueberry]

Do you have any ideas about what each of the TDP character’s music taste would be like?

This can include music from literally any era and/or culture

OH MY GOD I've been waiting SO LONG to have this asked to me, SO

First things first, I remember commenting somewhere on a post about Soren and Corvus' "song" that to Corvus, their song was something by Mitski, and to Soren, their song was like. I Am A Gummy Bear so write that down for them

In all seriousness I feel like Soren would like exclusively parody, joke songs. Weird Al, Danny Gonzalez, etc etc. And his ass has definitely listened to the Beast Mode Spotify playlist before

Claudia- Taking a page out of 2018 Tumblr's interpretation of Claudia as her being super goth and saying she listens to MCR or smth like that. idk I know nothing about goth music. Either that or TV girl

Terry- it would be low-hanging fruit to say he listens to Cavetown. It would be less low-hanging fruit to say he does not pay attention to lyrics in the slightest. Only tune. His playlist is the most chaotic, genre-free mess you'll ever see. It has several Christmas songs on it. He listens to it year round. Everyone is terrified of him

Callum- he's one of those queer teenage boys who listen exclusively to 80's rock. He defends the Beatles with his life (Rayla is the one he has to defend them from)

Rayla- Sneers at Callum for his love songs. Laughs at him for grinning while walking around blasting soft rock. Looks down on everyone who listens to non-instrumental music. Does not listen to lyrics music. Definitely has NOT cried to sad Conan Gray and Harry Styles songs at 1:00 am before, please stop asking

Ezran- he just listens to whatever everyone else wants to listen to tbh. He has had to mediate music-related arguements in the car before

Runaan- only listens to classical music from the Renaissance era

Kazi- idk what they'd listen to exactly (maybe like, dark academia shit) but the important thing is that they have a different playlist for everything. Going to a cafe? There's a playlist for that. Taking the bus? There's a playlist for that. Watering their cacti? There's a playlist for that. Anyone can ask them for a playlist with any concept and they'd have it, as well as a lengthy anecdote as to why.

Gren- I absolutely hate doing this to him but. Gren listens to the most agressively white man music ever. Cotton Eyed Joe is his favourite song. He knows all the lyrics to Sweet Home Alabama. He's also one of those people who never makes a playlist, just listens to music raw and randomly. You could tell him you made him a playlist and play one of those "songs that excite the white folk" and he would be ever so thankful that you made him this playlist that caters exactly to his taste. Gren I am so so sorry I did this to you but it was needed

I want you to know I have agressively slapped my hand over my mouth several times while writing this like some sort of cartoon villain

OKAY it is now the next morning and I would like to add:

Viren- hates all music. Like he thinks it's a distraction from more important things and just despises it. If there's music playing in a room he'll leave that room, no matter what

Harrow- Swiftie dad

[self-spaghettification]

aaravos & claudia analysis ™

The new S6 promotional art has to mean something for Aaravos’s connection to Claudia Season 6. There’s the connection with the short story Ripples of course and Aaravos’s manipulation of mages, but now I am wondering if Claudia will be preyed on by Aaravos after he gets out - using her loss, anger at herself and the world for her loss and being unable to save her dad - and he’ll channel it into making her a weapon against Xadia, maybe even the tragic main villain.

Taking it a step further, maybe he expected and respected Viren’s decision to die in the first place because he knew it would make Claudia spiral further and he offered to bring him back in the first place so that Claudia would 1. set in motion the steps toward his freedom and 2. trust Aaravos (and his rhetoric…) and 3. have a taste of his power to change things, which will undeniably be tempting.

I feel like Claudia and Aaravos’s outlooks have aligned in the past (ie: Claudia saying “Impassible is just another form of passible” and Aaravos saying “Yesss”) and Aaravos has had his eye on her for a long time, back to Aaravos saying “Well done. She will be a valuable asset”, having Viren lie to his kids so she wouldn’t leave Viren, and all the way back to Claudia saying it felt like the mirror put her on notice too.

Aaravos using her as a weapon against Xadia would parallel how he used Viren’s grief after Harrow’s death and anger at the Pentarchy to set Viren on a path to conquer Xadia. Viren, with reason but also spite, took Callum’s voice taunting him for being a nepo-baby, killed Avizandum, and coined Runaan. Aaravos encouraged Viren to kill the leaders of the four other countries and to kill the guards hunting him in the castle of Katolis. In comparison, Claudia has, unprovoked, almost killed a dragon just for hell of it and taunted Rayla with her parents just to not give them back (even knowing what it’s like to have a parental figure taken away.) Terry was the only thing stopping her. Terry was talking her down both times. Terry is no longer in the picture. (for Claudia, currently at least.) Who knows what she’ll do with that lack of checking and Aaravos egging her on.

She repeats rhetoric that humans deserve revenge for being treated by trash and that dragons and elves should be afraid of her, a fire that Aaravos’s guidance will only fan further. Her rhetoric has been undoubtedly shaped by both Viren’s and Aaravos’s actions, spite, and other reasoning.

carrying the same prejudices and likes as her father, “Look dad, I’m following in your footsteps!” + “Aaravos can change things!” to Soren. + the fever dream metaphor that Claudia goes dangerously further than Viren, stops listening to him, (foreshadowing for future conversations where Viren and Soren plead with Claudia to stop) and gets swallowed up in something she could never predict, something much larger than herself.

Endgame? Well. Claudia has a lot of parallels to Ziard, and we see how that ended… also, that’s a scene in S3. So if S6 does parallel S3… well. It doesn’t end well for her.

(Repeated water motifs)

Claudia currently feels like she’s lost everything. Her mom, her brother, her strength… she prided herself on that but she wasn’t strong enough to beat the Dragang and so she wasn’t strong enough to save her dad. She believes she’ll keep losing and so she cuts herself off from Terry to avoid losing that too.

Key: She is in her darkest place thus far, similar to Viren when he had lost everything and was desperate enough to make a blood pact with a strange elf in the mirror. And what if, once again, that strange elf was there to help the most desperate? If Claudia is made to believe she’s strong enough again, with the aid of a little magic, if she’s given that validation and care again, she can do anything. It would parallel the Reflections story ‘Lost Child’:

If she’s strong enough, and her faith is restored, no one will ever leave her again. They’ll come to understand.

Again it was how she was taught. “I’ll do anything for our family, Dad. Whatever it takes, however dangerous, however vile.” and it’s going to lead to her shaping into a more vindictive villain and to her doom.

[zmichelle1234]

Which TDP characters would be the HTTYD gang’s favourites (in a universe where the HTTYD gang can access TDP for some reason) with little to no explanation

Hiccup- Callum and Ezran and Janai. He can relate to Ezran with the whole ruler thing as well as the connection to dragons, ending war and stuff. Like Ezran, he also typically prefers to deal with things without bloodshed. However, like Callum, he’s not opposed to the occasional murderous intent(I am using The Longest Day from RTTE as an example, like, exhaustion literally made Hiccup 10x more murderous). Like Callum, he dealt with being in a life he didn’t fit into and then when he found the thing that clicked with him, he became obsessed. I feel like he’d also like Janai a lot with the way she was handled in arc 2, plus the new ruler thing as well. Hiccup struggles in his role as Chief and it was never something he truly wanted but leading is something he is good at.

Astrid- Amaya. I feel like she can relate to her whole “doing things alone” thing she mentioned in The Great Bookery and she’d also admire her strength and intelligence.

Fishlegs- I feel like he’d have a hard time deciding but he’d adore a lot of the side characters like Kazi and Terry, Kazi for their love of books and Terry for his kindness.

Snotlout- Soren. They both want to make their fathers proud.

Ruffnut- Nyx. She’d find her witty humour entertaining.

Tuffnut- Villads. He’s funny and he has a pet bird. He also gives like the best advice.

Heather- Claudia. Vibes ig. Dark haired morally-grey girlies rise I suppose. She’d find her fascinating. They also both have that dedication to their fathers that often puts them into precarious situations.

Dagur- Rayla. I’m just thinking about what Dagur said about obsession and vengeance consuming you and then I’m thinking about Rayla leaving to hunt Viren. Plus he’d just be her biggest cheerleader.

[colonelpancakes]

I am, at long last, getting around to watching the new season of The Dragon Prince so. Have some of my thoughts on the new episodes. Uh I guess this is kind of a liveblog thing? Idk, I wrote these down while I was watching the episode. Under the cut because this ended up getting quite long. Image IDs are in the alts. I'm new to this be nice to me-

Okay, is it just me or does this startouch elf look kinda like Sarai? I swear she does, she has like the same face shape. I don't know, maybe it's just me and my god awful facial recognition but... 👀

Also, "We are, all of us, stardust held together by love for an instant." is such a beautiful quote. It reminds me of the Minecraft End Poem.

Ooh, I love the twist on the previous Mystery of Aaravos intro. I wonder if this is gonna be the intro for the whole season or if it'll switch to something else after this episode?

Poor Terry he does not deserve to be dealing with all this shit. He's such a sweetheart. A little bit of a fucked up sweetheart but a sweetheart nonetheless.

Oh so Viren’s not dead. Huh. I need to rewatch the S5 finale because I’m gonna be honest, I do Not remember exactly what happened. Viren was going to die if he didn’t kill Sir Sparklepuff? I think? Or maybe that was just what they thought was gonna happen and there was a chance it wouldn’t? I don’t remember. Anyways, congrats Viren on your new will to live.

Claudia. Claudia what did you do Claudia?

Claudia, why is the sand covered in blood?

CLAUDIA!

Oh poor Terry... You can see the moment he spots the severed wing.

Hey, quick question, WHY IS THIS SHOW STILL RATED Y7? This would have fucking traumatized me as a seven year old! I thought there was a limit on how much blood you can show on a Y7 show, HELLO?? OUGH.

“It’s like you said. You do anything for family. However dangerous, however vile.” “No. No that’s… that’s not quite right. It’s never what I meant. You do anything for your children. Never the other way around. No parent wants their child to suffer for them.” Ough… Oh that hurts. Ohhhh. Also, “no that’s not quite right” is the same thing he says to her in the first episode when she says something weird. Callbacks to simpler times ow that hurts.

OH YEAH. JUST RIP MY HEART OUT WHY DON'T YOU? Augh.

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GIVE CLAUDIA’S VA AN AWARD. NOW. That is hands down actually the most like. Realistic depiction of someone crying in any media I have ever encountered. The way she sounds like a child having a breakdown? She’s not crying quietly, she’s screaming and sobbing oh my god. I literally started tearing up watching as like a sympathetic response good grief. Who is Claudia’s voice actress? I looked it up and apparently it’s Racquel Belmonte. Give her like fifty awards right now

Viren. Viren listen. I appreciate that you are attempting to heal and face justice and become a better person separated from dark magic. I really do appreciate it. Good for you. HOWEVER. Perhaps, just maybe, abandoning your daughter, who has become an amputee less than a day ago, in the wilderness with no one but her boyfriend after she just completed a very traumatizing ritual AND knowing that she has severe abandonment issues after her mother and brother both left her. Is not the best move? Like. That girl is not mentally stable she needs support. She does not need her dad abandoning her on a beach, covered in blood and missing a leg as she screams and cries for him not to leave her. Viren, just caring about your daughter does not automatically make you a good dad. Viren. Viren you have to actually stay and support your child and NOT LEAVE HER IN THE FUCKING WILDERNESS. I do, though appreciate how they are creating a character who does CARE about his children so so much. And is still an absolutely god awful father to both of them.

Awww the baitlings are so cute 🥹

Pondering the Orb 🧙‍♂️

Callum… Callum you good? I am getting a very bad feeling about Callum being so adamant about destroying it. I feel like that is absolutely how Aaravos gets released and maybe he’s controlling Callum? This all feels like a bad idea. Also, I will admit the Lord of The Rings joke made me giggle.

Exactly what I was saying, Rayla! Destroying the pearl sounds like a terrible idea.

Ohhh… Poor Zym… He misses his mama. Also, I can’t remember if this was in previous seasons, but I appreciate the stitching in the painting where it was mended after being ripped apart. Such a good detail.

Hey Callum, why are you glowing with star magic? Is it because Aaravos is possessing y- oh nevermind it’s the monkey.

Mmmm the difference between Rayla and Callum. Rayla will put the safety of the world over her loved ones. Callum will put his loved ones over the safety of the world. Rayla refuses doing something that could potentially endanger the world even if it would mean getting her parents back.

Oh, so it’s not Aaravos influencing Callum it’s just Callum being anxious. Also, give Callum’s voice actor an award he's nailed the tone of "so filled with anxious energy you can't stop you have to do something, it's like you're driven by a motor." and that is a very specific tone.

[More in reblogs because I ran out of room.]

[zariahthechocolatecookie]

Thoughts on TDP 6x06 - "Moment Of Truth"

Made it through episode 6! Oh my god are things picking up and is exciting stuff happening! The pace is definitely picking up and I'm very excited to see what comes next, and what the implications of this episode are for later ones.

Starting with what I feel is the most important revelation from the Callum and Rayla section - they brought the wrong pearl!?! What the hell?? That is bad. Very incredibly bad for so many reasons.

Okay, screaming about that aside - onto my actual composed thoughts. So, obviously, Callum having the fake pearl means the real one is back in Katolis. First, the shot of the pearls at the end of the last episode makes a LOT more sense now.

Second, I think everyone is in significantly much more danger now. Two of the people Aaravos has / is manipulating are in Katolis or on their way there: Viren and Claudia. I could very much see a world where one of them is manipulated into freeing Aaravos - which would put Katolis under a lot of threat immediately. Very worried about what will happen then.

The other thing is, what will happen when Callum and Rayla learn about the mistake? Whatever Kosmo did made it so they don't know (anymore), but from what brief glimpse we got of it, Callum was devastated. I imagine that will be significantly worse if he learns about it after when / of Aaravos gets freed.

The other thing is important interest is that the term "timeblind" makes a WHOLE lot more sense now. I was horribly confused about that when it was mentioned in previous episodes, so I'm glad there's some clarification on that. I'm very curious to see how it plays a role in future episodes and/or the next season.

Also the whole scene with Callum finding out that RAYLA is his "deep truth" or whatever it's called was ✨ amazing ✨ Not only is it super adorable, it's a really powerful way of representing their relationship and how they've helped each other through their various struggles. It's just so cute 🥰 Also sparkle Rayla is so pretty!!

Okay, moving to Viren's section... I know there's other things from Callum and Rayla's section, I'll touch on those later.

So, first of all, Viren really fucking sucks. Like, he deserves his lonliness. He deserves to rot to death in his cell. He deserves to never see his children again. I know all the things he did to save Soren STARTED with good intentions, but... Pinning his wife to the wall to get her treats for a spell is WAY too far. Waaaay too much.

Lissa was definitely right to leave him. However, I'm really wondering why she didn't take Claudia and Soren with her. I feel like that would have helped both Claudia and Soren in the long run, even if they did still have some problems that arose. I could see Claudia having an Azula-like situation, if she was still into dark magic, but I think Soren would have significantly less issues. Anyone got any fanfics dealing with this concept / idea?

Viren being a horrible human being aside, the backstory on how he got his staff and his old mentor is very interesting. Specially his mentor. From how it was described, it seemed like he had quit dark magic. I want to know WHY and how he was able to make that choice without going back to it. I'd say Claudia could learn some things from him about not doing dark magic, but he's a coin now, so...

Circling back to the ending... I absolutely LOVE how both Astrid and Kosmo told each other the line about truth being light vs. a burden. And how when Kosmo was saying it, we saw Viren burning the letter? Masterful. I still hate Viren, but at least he did the right thing there. Soren doesn't need to know about anything that was in that letter.

And, last but not least, the Rayllum kiss at the end!!! Oh my gosh was that moment so cute!! They're just so adorable together and it spectacular. And the fact that it was a 'redo' of that one scene all the way back in season 4 - gah it was just a perfect moment!!

Alright, that's everything about this eoisode. Onward to episode 7!

[bittrlys]

Season 4 ruined TDP for me and I haven't been able to drum up the interest to watch it since, so maybe this is an out of date take but...

Terry is kind of a pointless character. His role is sort of presented as being Claudia's last tether to her morality, but his actions are otherwise so ride-or-die it seems weird when he calls her out or gets upset about what's happening (especially since they've seemingly been together a while so he should be familiar with how Claudia operates). Plus there was already a character who could serve this role: Soren.

After season 3 I was excited to see their sibling bond evolve as their outlooks were beginning to diverge. And then with Viren resurrected I wanted to see how that affected things. I was deeply disappointed when the established familial relationships fell by the wayside in favor of a timeskip romantic one (and I usually LOVE romantic plotlines).

See, I get Soren leaving his family behind and hopping to Team Hero and thus becoming unavailable to Claudia as someone to bounce off of. I don't love the execution because I think he feels rootless and lacking in significant depth in his relationships with the main cast, but I think it works for his character. He's a prodigal young knight who swore vows to defend his king and his nation, and he's a very straightforward guy. He shares pragmatic qualities with his family, but at the same time, their pragmatism operates on an abstract level he doesn't exactly understand. Once he was forced to choose between family and what he's always known and how he's vowed to live his life, I can see him making the very hard choice to pull away from them. I think him staying as Claudia's morality pet would have been a disservice to his character, though he may have more interesting things to do just because Team Dark Magic are always doing interesting things ... but again, that's more to the execution than the conceit. I don't mind characters moving apart from people they were closest to at the start of the series, and like when they can bond with new people.

I think the limited number of episodes + breakneck pace of the plot does leave their lack of interactions more noticeable, but also more inevitable. Technically, we've seen all this: Soren and Claudia have met again and fought over their differences, and Soren and Viren got their chance to hash it out a little bit. We've been informed of the status of their relationships and their feelings for one another. For a nine episode twenty minute children's animated TV show, this is relatively decent screentime offered to their relationships considering they've been apart so long. I'm not necessarily defending it as 'good' because I'll gladly say this show has very weak screenwriting with my whole chest, but the Magefam would have to be proper protagonists and not just deuteragonists to the Main Three for the screentime to really shift in their favour. But they're not, and you can't even imagine stuff happening off screen because almost everything in the plot happens one after another barring the mid-season timeskip -- and not a whole lot of interesting things happened during that.

(Like, seriously, other than some romantic relationship statuses changing characters are basically the exact same post timeskip as they were before it. It's like ... okay!)

I hope this doesn't sound like I don't get your frustrations because I do; the Magefam are one of my favourite parts of the show and it's always better when some combination of them are on screen together. And it's like, sure Viren and Claudia were hanging out in the later seasons, but he was borderline comatose for most of that, so it doesn't feel like they were. The fracturing of a family is interesting, but you always hope for more of a resolution or at least a sense of poignancy this show is never quite going to master. I'll actually say that my feelings still hinge on season 7 or god forbid the final arc. If we see Soren and Claudia get more than one or two scenes as all our players move into place for the final confrontations -- if Soren were to learn what Viren wouldn't tell him -- if Claudia gets to have a properly satisfying confrontation with Aaravos about the death of her father if she learns the truth ... if Soren and Claudia get to mourn their father together, even if it's briefly -- if we have Claudia have complicated feelings if she were to learn about Soren asking Viren to do the spell -- of Soren offering his heart, but Viren sacrificing himself instead ... I mean, all of that could be really good, and for me it would serve as a kind of epilogue to tie together the seasons of separation and growing apart from each other.

How hopeful am I for any of this? Well, about as hopeful as I am for this show ever pleasing me. But hey! I do think it's possible, with the narrative they've already established.

Anyway, to get to the Terry of it all: I think he serves a purpose as not just Claudia's tether to morality but as someone to work off of, so I get why he's here. I also think Claudia getting a random elf boyfriend is still extremely funny and charmingly quirky of her. As I said in response to a previous ask I think Terry could use more personal development but I like his dynamic with Claudia. People call him an enabler but he does offer her some pushback, generally gently. He's just someone who loves Claudia enough to stick with her, and hey, I love Claudia too so that's nice to see. Honestly, even if Soren were around, you're obviously going to have a different relationship with a romantic partner than you would a sibling, so Terry could easily fit in the group that held Soren as well.

This season Karim (love him) was like "Janai is my sister! Of course I love her! But I'm still going to depose her violently!" and like that is great. That's siblingcore. That's I love you but I want to beat you up. That's no matter how far apart we drift you're still bound to me. Soren and Claudia are this. Meanwhile Terry and Claudia are your first serious relationship. They're young and passionate and desperate to make it work because who else would match their freak quite this way? But if they fall out there's nothing to keep them together anymore. They'll just be forced to move on. Soren can walk away from Claudia and know that on some level they are always close; if Terry walks away from Claudia he may end up meaning nothing to her. So, just like real life, there's a lot of stuff they're willing to overlook and rationalize because they WANT to keep wanting each other ... and Claudia can use someone like that on her side, as we see Soren and Viren both leave her in time.

I think Terry being down to clown but taking issues with some things is fine; he often frames his objections around the harm they will cause Claudia, and that's nice. The one thing I still don't get is his reaction to Claudia threatening the coins. I will preface this by saying I can believe he's more sensitive to elf death after he murked Ibis, and doesn't like reminders of the differences between him and Claudia when it feels very her, a human, against an elf. Yet whenever I rewatch it, I still find his censure unusually stern for him, and it's hard to shake the feeling that this is the writer's doing as they do best, that is not knowing how to write from their own established lore and character motivations.

Like, in-show it says, Claudia was cruel to mockingly threaten the lives of Rayla's loved ones, and trick her into thinking they nearly burned in agony, not offering her the real coins. Is that cruel? Sure, sure. What's the context? Oh? Rayla was THREATENING TO SLIT TERRY'S THROAT? Rayla, the Moonshadow elf ASSASSIN they have every reason to think would go through it, even if we the viewer know Rayla probably wouldn't? Hmm! If Claudia is cruel, Rayla is a monster. Rayla, who was offered the coins in fair trade as she THREATENED TO SLIT TERRY'S THROAT, but refused. Like, Terry? Are you this mad at Claudia because she did an actually extremely reasonable thing to save your life (+ her father's life) in as pacifist a way as possible, or are you mad because the writers need to tell the audience This Was Bad and ensure Rayla gets the real coins while not having to change that emotionally charged sequence they were probably really proud of writing? I still think this was Terry's characterization faltering just so they could get the outcome they wanted.

Ultimately, I see Terry as someone who is lacking in prejudice, maybe due to his own presumed desire to be taken at face value. He can date a human and not have a kneejerk reaction to dark magic, but he isn't amoral. Nothing he's really seen has been enough to push him away but he is cautious that Claudia may stop walking the knife's edge and fall off of it. He's realized even he can do terrible things out of love and this has bound him more tightly to Claudia. He's someone who is CHOOSING to join this life, and wasn't just pre-built loyal as a sibling would be. All of this does give him a role in the narrative that's pretty unique to him and their dynamic, and I like that. Again, I hope he gets more to do beyond just being Claudia's partner, but I really don't mind him existing.

Thank you very much for the ask! ♥ Really don't blame you for dropping the show post season 4 .... if I wasn't Virenpilled I would have dropped it after season 1 I think.

[primalmagic]

duck you (sorry, that was autocorrect)

"It'll be good for you!" they said. "You'll have fun!" they said. Yeah, well, walking around a pond watching ducks isn't really Callum's idea of fun.

OR a modern day enemies-to-lovers rayllum au where callum's a junior ranger and there's a mysterious girl who feeds the ducks every morning.

───

don't fears just suck (sorry, i meant don't feed the ducks):

"And these are the picnic tables!" Soren grins, smacking the concrete for good measure, "You don't have to worry about them, the ants do a great job of cleaning up."

He cackles when Callum stares at him, confused and slightly bewildered.

Corvus frowns, "C'mon now, it's his first day here. Don't muddle with him for at least a week."

Soren flicks him on the forehead, causing Corvus's scowl to deepen, "You're fired!"

"Only Viren can fire people, Soren."

"Okay, okay, but my dad isn't here, so I'm basically the head of this place."

Soren waves his hands exaggeratingly, as if to prove his point. "Whatever," he begins, just as the pager on his hip begins to crackle, "I'm needed at the west side, so I'll leave Callum's tour to you, Corvus," he smiles, shooting them finger guns as he attempts to walk backward.

"Sor-"

Callum winces as Soren squeaks, bumping into a tree. He hears him punch it and wail, "Damnit, I swear this wasn't here before!"

Corvus chuckles beside him, "Who made him the head ranger again?"

It's meant to be a theoretical question, but it still causes Callum to look away. Soren wasn't always head ranger, in fact, it was a pretty recent development.

He'd worked in outreach and site management for a few years, and Claudia- his sister- had been head of the operation. But then Lissa and Viren broke up, and from what he'd heard, the divorce was really fucking messy.

Viren was still legally tied to the park and his job, but he'd left almost all of it to Soren when he chose to take Claudia and leave for a research project in Iowa.

Callum's father had been good friends with Viren- so close that he and Soren were practically siblings, which he only partially accepted.

The truth was, he had a massive crush on Claudia. He still did. And she left and now, well, it was pretty hard to think about anything else. He didn't tell Soren, or Corvus, or anyone, but it was eating him up from the inside.

Ever since that day when she’d looked at Callum with an expression he had never seen before, and drove off without looking back. When she had smiled at him self-deprecatingly and reminded him, "All good things come to an end, Callum. I'll see you soon, kay?" When she couldn't stop fiddling with a black spider ring that seemed to be brand new.

She'd become a different person after the divorce, and Callum wished more than anything to help her. She became more closed off and distant- eerie and unsettling.

"I'm going to go with my dad," She'd told him, that same night, while they'd been laughing over bad board games. "I don't know if I could stay sane here any longer." She'd played it off as a joke too, with an unnerving giggle and knowing smirk.

If only he'd known better.

Losing Claudia was scary, and as selfish as it was, he wasn't ready for it. His fear of losing people- especially after his mother- didn't help either. He missed her like shit.

Getting a job was supposed to be good for him, was supposed to get him to stop moping around and forget about Claudia. According to his father, at least.

"Callum?" Corvus's concerned voice breaks through his epiphany of thoughts, "You ready to go?"

"Oh, yeah," He smiles brightly, "Yeah! Definitely, let's go."

He shakes his head in amusement, "So, you'll be in charge of the pond area for now, since it's the least populated. Get here at 8 am, and you're free to go by 5. And feel free to pop in during the weekdays too. Oh, and Soren told me to tell you, 'I don't really care if you leave by 3, or something, just don't do drugs.' I do agree with that statement, but I would hope that he was joking."

Callum snorts, "Tell Soren that he doesn't have to worry, if my dad has it his way, I'll be here till 7. Something about... hm, the outdoors being good for me?"

Corvus smiles, "You'd be surprised. Good luck, kid, and let me or Soren know if you have any questions. We're always here to help." He pauses, "Well, I'd prefer if you asked me, though. Soren might be head ranger but he's... a bit spontaneous. To say the least."

"You got it," he nods, "Do I, uh, start now?"

"Yeah, I mean, you remember the lake area, right? Just hang around there and make sure that nobody is littering or feeding the ducks. Today should be relatively light, and I doubt you'll have to interact with anyone."

Score! He'd just draw the entire time, then. If it was going to be like that every day, then maybe this junior ranger thing wasn't going to be so bad after all. 

Corvus waves goodbye, leaving him stranded in the middle of empty picnic tables, because he did not, in fact, remember where the lake area was.

He makes a few wild guesses, eventually bringing out his phone and searching for a map of this godforsaken place. It's two minutes away, He sighs, following a series of obscure, overgrown routes to get to the tiny pond.

It wasn't a sight to see, or hear, for that matter. The lake was the size of four large cars, with a small bridge suspending from one side to the other. The water was murky and grey, and the ducks would not. Stop. Quacking.

So much for peace.

Callum groans inwardly, flopping onto an old wooden bench that creaks too loudly to be safe. He winces, knowing that he's definitely going to have splinters on his butt tomorrow. Ugh.

Surveying the area, he notices an old couple walking around and a little girl trying to stuff rocks into her pocket. They're not anything special- just old brown and gray stones placed in circles around the lakeshore- but she seems delighted, and he's not going to stop her.

He opens his sketchbook and begins drawing, pulling out his phone for references. He lets his hand guide him, stroke after stroke, his pencil shading and designing a map of the area.

It only takes him about thirty minutes, but something about it doesn't feel... right. He frowns, biting the back of his pencil- until it hits him.

He draws comically large ducks around the page, with their eyes bulged out and black. He snickers, giving them weird green feet and tiny feathers.

Perfect. They looked just like the real thing.

It's only 2:10 pm, and Callum is already starting to hate this place. It was almost like the quiet was too loud, like the "nature" sounds were so unbearable he couldn't even think.

When he looks up again, his eye catches on the little girl still picking up stones. She teeters along the side, her feet just barely sloshing the murky liquid.

He smiles, remembering his brother. Ezran had once loved collecting rocks with their mother when she was still alive. Callum doubts Ezran remembers it, but he does, clear as day.

He remembers his mother looking for stones and bringing home the prettiest ones she could find. His mother teaching them how the smoothest rocks were always just under the water. His mother pulling them away from the lake and warning them about falling.

Speaking of falling...

Callum's eyes shoot up as he hears a shriek, and the little girl trips on an overgrown tree root. Her body slams into the cold water, and he feels his heart drop.

He doesn't remember what happens next, but adrenaline seizes him and he's in the lake before he knows it. He grabs the flailing child and holds her firmly, "Calm down, I got you. You okay?"

She nods shakily, and he pulls her back onto the shore, "Next time, stay a bit further from the water, alright?"

"But- but the rocks were shiny! And I wanted to take them!" she pouts, and Callum represses the urge to laugh.

"I know, but what if I wasn't here? You could have gotten hurt, or even drowned. Your parents would be really sad."

"I guess..." She looks downward, ashamed, "I won't do it again, I promise!"

He ruffles her wet hair, and sighs, "Thanks, buddy. Are your parents here? You should change into something dry, or you might catch a cold."

She points behind him, and he turns around to see the elderly couple running towards them.

The lady gasps, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! We should have been paying more attention to our granddaughter. Thank you so much for saving her."

He smiles at them, "Don't worry about it, it's my job. Don't leave her unsupervised or anything next time."

She runs towards her grandparents and embraces them, "The nice guy saved me from drowning! Otherwise I would have been hurt," she states, repeating Callum's words.

The lady chuckles, "The nice guy- oh, sorry, how impolite of me, I didn't even ask your name!"

"Uh, it's Callum," he replies awkwardly.

"I'm Ellis!" Ellis grins, and the man hauls her up into his arms.

"Alright, alright," he laughs, "We have to go now. Say bye to Callum, Ellis."

"Byeee!!"

He watches as the three of them walk away with a small pang of sorrow, hoping that maybe they come back soon. At least Ellis was keeping things lively? He wasn't as bored anymore, that was for sure.

"You're drenched, by the way," An unimpressed voice informs him, and Callum looks down upon his soaking wet uniform.

"Oh."

He looks back up from his place on the shore and blinks because, wait a second, who else was here??

"You don't have to act so surprised. I wasn't purposly trying to hide from you," the girl scoffs, and Callum has to rub his eyes to make sure he isn't hallucinating or something.

"You're fucking dramatic," she groans, "Do you want a jacket or not?"

The girl has white hair, with light blue streaks and pointy ears. She's leaning against the foundation of the bridge, just barely out of Callum's previous line of sight. No wonder he didn't notice her before.

Oh, and also, she's floating.

"You're floating," he voices, because he needs to know how this girl is literally sitting on water.

She laughs, "Oh gosh, no, wait-" She stands up, and reaches for the top of the bridge, pulling herself up and cartwheeling onto the top. Where she was before is a small stabilizer connected to the bridge, just barely above the water.

It hits him like a bus, and he blushes, embarrassed and aggravated, because seriously- whose choice was it to make his first day on the job a living hell?

"Sorry," He manages a weak laugh, "You just caught me by surprise. What were you doing there?"

"Feeding the ducks." She replies, leaning on the guardrail and looking down on him. She raises an eyebrow, almost like a challenge, and Callum's struck by how fucking ethereal she is. Like, seriously, how could she be human?

"That's not allowed!" He frowns.

"Yeah, I don't really care," She laughs, "What would you guys even do to stop me?"

"It's not healthy for the ducks!" he protests, "And we would make you pay a fine! It's a huge fine! You definitely don't want to get caught again."

"The ducks are perfectly fine," she scoffs, "And the fine is ten dollars, I think I'll manage."

Callum takes back the "ethereal" comment, this girl is plain rude. "As a junior ranger, I have the legal requirement to ask you to not come to this park again if you want to keep hurting our ducks with human toxins," he huffs, reciting from one of the handbooks Soren had given him.

"Right, because their living conditions are sooo good right now," she raises an eyebrow, and Callum stutters.

"I- okay- well- hey! You're changing the topic!"

"Newsflash," she mutters, and before Callum can scream anything indignantly, she walks off the bridge.

"Listen, Callum, let me feed the ducks, and I won't file a report on the terrible hygiene of this place."

"How do you know my name?" He frowns, "And blackmail won't solve anything. Next time you do that, I'm going to call my manager."

"You told the kid, and I heard it," she sighs, as if Callum is the one being insufferable, "Bring your manager tomorrow then. I'm still coming back. These poor things need someone to take care of them."

She flashes him a peace sign, and walks away, while Callum tries to get up, still covered in dirt and water, "Hey! Stop- wait- hey!"

"Hope you don't get fired," she calls back, laughing, and he huffs angrily.

Fine, she wanted to be annoying?

He grins.

He could be really fucking annoying too.

Thank you so much for reading!! Whenever this gets to 25 notes I'll write the next chapter (I need motivation and people liking my writing is kind of the only thing that keeps my going lol). Let me know if I made any mistakes!! Oh and also please support me on my ao3 too!! i love comments / kudos there as well <33. part two is here!!

[raayllum]

Callum is so right about Rayla never doing anything for herself. You could say freeing Runaan was for herself but she also treats it as her "sacred promise" and chose him for Ethari too (shows how great her heart is). You think sparing Callum will finally count as her doing something for herself? Choosing her future and her love for him over the "greater good". She couldn't get her og parents back‚ this girl keeps losing and suffering she seriously deserves more wins

God, I could write an entire meta about that line - maybe one day when I'm feeling self indulgent. In regards to your actual prompt, re: saving Callum will count as something for herself -- a big yes, absolutely, I think! Though I think freeing her parents is something she deeply wanted for herself, too ("I miss you so much" / "so I wanted to do something for yourself for you") even if it was something she was continually putting off till the Aaravos situation, as far as she knew, was resolved

Prior to S6 I went back and forth on whether the show would frame Rayla's end of the possession plot line / trying to get Callum back as either "It doesn't matter what happens to me (again) I just want to save him" (which is what leaving in TTM and other moments was about) OR whether it'd be framed as "I refuse to sacrifice him / something I want (again)" and therefore be character development. I leaned towards the latter for reasons outlined here since the two have the chance to be even more thematically codependent than they already are in terms of their senses of identity:

As long as Callum is Callum (not possessed, or she has reason to believe he’s still in there), Rayla likely won’t be able to bring herself to kill him. This is from an emotional / characterization standpoint, of course, but from a thematic standpoint, we can see where it stems from Callum and Rayla continually being each other’s main connection to their sense of identity. As long as Callum is Callum (“you’re the destiny is a book you write yourself guy”), he’s worth saving. As long as Callum is Callum, she can be Rayla (“Rayla’s brave. She saves people” / “Rayla. My name is Rayla, and I’m going home”). As long as she’s Rayla, he can be Callum. Because if Callum isn’t Callum, then he’s dead, and if he’s dead, she can kill him. And if Rayla kills him, if Callum is dead, then she won’t be Rayla anymore. Because to literally kill Callum would be to simultaneously symbolically/emotionally kill herself.

This goes both ways of course - Callum can't/won't sacrifice Rayla because to do so would be to sacrifice a fundamental part of himself (namely his deep and Pure devotion to others which means he'll never go entirely down the negative side of Viren's path, and keep to the positive - leaving Aaravos, breaking free, etc). This was subtext prior to S6, but now it's actual text (she's his light/truth/hope of salvation, etc) so it goes double going forward. This is true for Rayla too — Callum is her guiding light and her star, he's one of the people who's taught her the most about how to love and the person she wants to be.

With all that in mind, yeah, I do think that Rayla will choose to not sacrifice Callum for the right reasons. Part of this is scaffolded under witnessing Callum not sacrificing her No Matter What prior to her won choice, and realizing "what [she] most deeply desires" isn't just Callum's survival even, but specifically the life they can have together, which she needs to stick around for and thereby not sacrifice herself. Runaan is also explicitly remorseful over the actions he took towards her where he choose duty over love, so Rayla realizing she should choose love over duty ties into them growing together as well in a positive way. We also see her realize some of this I think in choosing to let Lain and Tiadrin stay together rather than separate them specifically because of the Moonphoenix bracelet Callum gave her as well.

"I risked losing the best thing I ever had" because of her own duty turned revenge vs "I refuse to lose either of us like this" and finally fully accepting an assassin was never who she was and never who she Should be, in sacrificing others' lives or her own included. Them both Choosing each other above everything else was exactly what I was hoping for as soon as the "I need you to kill me" plot line started / wrote in my first CHET fic pre-S4 years ago:

She has two options as she pulls away. She can make a grab for her swords and go out, swords blazing. Kill Viren or Aaravos if she can as the sky splits open, purple and thrumming with magic; die with a sword in her hand in all likelihood. The release spell has already started. Or she can help Callum up, and they can live to fight another day—together. Rayla grips the back of his jacket. Presses her forehead to his neck for a second, tears building her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says. His arm tightens around her, like he’s braced for her to go. “Rayla—” “I’m so sorry,” she repeats, sobbing. This is all her fault, but she can’t do that to him. “We have to get out of here.” [...]

Callum is staring at her when she pulls back and she swallows hard. She doesn’t know what to say. It’s both a blessing and a curse when he speaks first. “You chose me,” he says, not quite softly; she can tell there’s a lump in his throat. An edge of anger that not doing so was even an option. “Yeah, well. It was about time,” she says quietly. “I—”

So uh, here's hoping!