#aaravos and leola

[wynnsect]

a little sketch from a request on the bird app !!

[its-kapi-wara]

Aaravos: [...] "She was unique and quirky. Some saw her as strange or odd, but all I saw was a beautiful, brilliant girl full of unexpected surprises."

(I can't describe how much I love this image)

It might seem crazy what I'm about to say, but I just started to think that Aaravos relationship with Leola (ft. the other Startouch Elves) might have been similar to the Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo and the other elephants dynamic from the 1941 Disney movie

For example, in the scene where the other elephants first see baby Dumbo's ears:

"Is it possible?"

"Isn't there some mistake?"

"Just look at her H-O-R-N"

"Her what? Oh, her HORN"

Except I imagine the Startouch Elves using a slightly more "passive aggressive" tone when referring to her, rather than the playful, mocking tone the elephants use

✨️ And then there's Aaravos standing there, and wanting to smack all of them to oblivion ✨️

[apollosbisexualass]

Just thinking how if Leola saw what Aaravos had done in revenge for her, she would have cried her own sea of tears to grieve the path he’s gone down and the kindness he’s lost.

[magicandmundane]

If I had a nickel for every time an animated show got me crying about fathers and daughters in the year of our lord 2024, I would have two nickels.

Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[stuck-in-jelly]

The Dragon Prince saying that they are a story with the narrative of love but also about also how twisted and vile love can become

[iam-lokiofasgard]

Like guys I was PHYSICALLY gripping the spot where my heart is on the inside laid down on my knees on my bed cause I was sitting on my knees already so maybe should say leaned forward as I watched the scenes CRYING and SCREAMING and PLEADING as if they would and could hear me for them not to kill her for them not to do it but it was futile as they could not hear me and if they would not hear the me on the screen and spare her why would they hear me now and spare her?

[sagegreenfrogs]

aaravos was right actually because if a bunch of weird ass star cops murdered my autistic daughter in front of me and then i was imprisoned in a crater with her bones and filled with my tears by the fuckass dragon who ratted out my daughter I would have totally committed The Atrocities too

[ac0531]

The bones in the sea of the castout ARE LEOLA’S…. OH GOD!!!

[pinksilvace]

Held together by love

[onlysomewhatsane]

Ok ok ok SO!

I think everyone has realized that Leola was autistic. It was heavily implied both through the flashback images and Aaravos' narration-

She lined up her toys, flapped her hands (it was also shown in the trial scene), seemed to be sensitive towards loud sounds (like the other startouch elves when they talked), and walked on her tiptoes. All of those are classic signs of autism.

But there's one thing I haven't seen anyone else bring up, and that's that her giving her human friends magic and breaking the "cosmic order" or whatever could also be because of her neurotype!

Autistic people tend to have very strict senses of morality and fairness, and will disregard rules if they don't fit their idea of right or wrong. Personal example here, I used to constantly do things I was told not to because I thought the rules in question were bogus.

It's not hard to guess that Leola would find the rules about humans not having magic to be unfair- after all, her and all the other elves, and even the animals around them are full of it! So in the mind of an autistic child, this would be incredibly unfair. And she had the power to "fix" the situation! So why wouldn't she?

Why wouldn't she try to help her friends? Because it would break the cosmic order? That's vague as hell and she was a KID!

And the startouch elves atomized her, for breaking a rule she probably only half understood and thought was stupid. Because she was autistic.

Had this thought and wanted to share, makes the whole thing even more tragic.

[aurelti]

nothing tragic ever happened to them what do you mean

[konmaao3]

Imagine being a human at the time after Leola's fall.

Apparently the impact was a devastating event, so you'd have your own troubles, but afterwards humans in the area would still have noticed what was going on in the crater:

A giant just kneeling there, crying and not stopping. Crying for years. Sometimes people dare to approach him, but he doesn't notice or care, he just cries, clearly anguished. He was already there when you were born and the crater only contained a salty lake. But over time the giant creates a whole ocean with his tears, and he is still crying when you die of old age, leaving you to wonder if he will eventually drown the whole world. And you never learn why.

Haunting.

[magicandmundane]

*long suffering sigh* I’m about to go so feral over Aaravos and Leola, aren’t I?

[bat-snake]

Ok yes, we're all very excited about the Autism rep with Leola's hand stimming, but I also want to talk about Aaravos' Autism Dad King interaction with it.

The other thing I notice is that she seems to have dissociated a little bit - and it seems like Aaravos noticed before he got on the ground with her.

She stops when he holds her shoulders, bringing her back to focus.

And then guides her when she's the one that pulls in to cuddle. Not just as an emotional comfort, but for sensory pressure....and on Aaravos' end, demonstrating his affection before the court as he had been the whole time, with the certainty that it may be one of his last chances. (Additionally, reinforcing my theory of Startouch cultural practice that parents wear the center of their bodies open. Leola might have just needed it longer/didn't like the feeling of fabric against her face)

And he holds her until she's grounded enough to break off on her own terms and return to the ear-covering/rocking stim (where she seemed less dissociated)

At which point he helps her hide behind him as she had been before the dissociation, shielding her from whatever Star Councilor is talking before them at moment.

And that's just one significant example of how he addresses her combination sensory/comfort needs during the trail. All while pleading for her life and speaking on her behalf since she's nonverbal in this moment. There are a few smaller moments too, but this is the one that stuck out to me.

(And then he couldn't even verbally console her until they were alone when they only had moments left!!!)

[luniviravosshipper]

Can’t believe not a lot of people are talking about the fact that Aaravos’s prison seems to be modeled after Leola’s and his old home

[iam-lokiofasgard]

SPOILERS FOR SEASON SIX OF THE DRAGON PRINCE

Guys I cried again today because I caught up on season six of the dragon prince which was wild but I hadn’t cried yet I refused to cry over sir sparklepuff I thought I would be fine and then episode nine the last episode of season six got me. Aaravos was telling his story about his daughter Leola and then BOOM……I cried. It was so sad. She was a CHILD and it doesn’t matter if she did or didn’t introduce magic to humans(for humans to do) or why she did if she did she was a child and she was INNOCENT and THE COUNCIL KILLED HER BECAUSE “IT WAS THE START OF AN IMBALANCE” AND THEIR ONLY MERCY WAS FOR AARAVOS TO DIE WITH HER IF HE CHOSE TO(Which he did not but ik he almost did lol.) I’ve stopped crying now and I had read about the council killing her already on accident but nothing could prepare me for the loss and pain I would feel hearing Aaravos tell this story to Claudia. I feel the pain of losing her,the injustice of her death,the sadness and I mourn for her as if she was my own child and I was Aaravos(which is sorta technically true since Aaravos IS one of my fictionkin-types.) It was not fair. It was not fair. It was not fair. It was NOT fair. Not fair not fair not fair not fair not fair it was not fair IT WAS NOT FAIR IT WAS NOT FAAAIIR It. Was. Not. Fair. It was not fair.

#Aaravosfictionkin #Leola #Ihaventcriedthishardinawhileiactuallyneedwdtissuesforthis #IwawinfactNOTpreparedtonhearthisafterreadingirinthewikiATALLlikeIthoughtIwas #IwasveryverywrongabouthowpreparedforitIwas #Iunderestimatedmyfeelingshahaha #I’mfine(IamnotOKAYaboutthisbutIwillbeI’msure)