#ask-aaravos-anything

[ask-leola-anything]

I didn't know people thought any different

:D

"quirky" in tdp = neurodivergent fr

[aaravos-answers]

Did you know that the name Aaravos means "between light and dark"

Er... Where did you get this information?

[self-spaghettification]

this necklace might be the best thing i acquired yesterday

[jamieedlund]

Loved the answer and art you left! Pretty sweet. Do you have any animal headcanons? Like animals they like or dislike? Looking forward to that Aaravos thesis btw!

⚠WARNING!⚠

Another long answer with comics so strap in, sit down, get some popcorn and enjoy.

pst not related to the question but they can talk about anything and this genuinely brings a smile to my face how Aaravos can just easily carry Callum like that ok --

First of all, thank you - I feel blessed since I actually really enjoy working on asks like this. It’s a good excuse for me to draw them together outside of my thesis. But also this ask has been the only thing I've worked on for the past 4 days... So i really hope you enjoy it because I'm a long long way from finishing my thesis---

When it comes to their relationship, “animal headcanons” probably wouldn’t effect much of the dynamic so I haven’t thought about it much until now for this specific question asdfghjklkl — anything that happens during this ask just kinda exists in my head as I go so fair warning: I am not responsible for any of my brainrot nor is any of this actually canon as far as I know of🤣😂🙏

—And because I’m me this ask gets 13982398290 ugly doodles attached to it

Author's extra note: For the sake of everyone involve, Callum will speak in black letters and white bubbles; Aaravos will speak in white letters and black squiggly bubbles. There's also my narrations sometimes but I think it's pretty easy to tell when it's me speaking ❤. Okay let's go!!!

Callum likes to act weak in front of Aaravos and pretends like he's bad at most things. I think he secretly just wants to be pampered.

And now- for the extra extra brain rot probably relating to animals but also is here because I feel like this is very on brand for the both of them. Enjoy~

Again, this is not canon but it would be hilarious if it’s true, I didn’t bother looking up about these monkeys that’s how much I despise ss4. But if Ray’s pet is just a baby right now that means she’s raising a 100lbs death machine and Cally made the right call to dip with Aaravos. This idea came from a video I watched about some family keeping a chimp as a pet and it literally murdered them all.

Author's note #2: I will always acknowledge that there IS anger and contempt within Aaravos. No amount of sunshine and possitive energy can possibly recover him from those traumas - but this can be navigate in the best way possible when you consider the fact that he is also a known genius, both in normal and emotional intelligence. I think this fantastically synergize with Callum's curiosity but extra kind and understanding self, leading to some very special moments and facial expressions. Something they completely destroyed forever in the show and I will always be angry with that.

Thank you for making it till the end, this was a very long ask despite the question being fairly simple. I love these two character with all of my heart, and as always, I am so blessed to have at least some people here to share my undying passion for them ❤💗💜🏃‍♂️

[imminent-danger-came]

Literally. No one. Has ever said Callum and Viren aren't foils. It's just that people who are rooting for Callum to fail don't understand what a foil is. Callum and Viren are foils not just because of their similarities, but also because of their differences.

One: People have said that directly to me in the saga-critical chat in the official tdp server.

Two: Callum and Viren are foils because of their differences, but also because they have similar flaws—and sometimes, characters succumb to their flaws. Characters fail, and that's not failing to "understand what a foil is", it's knowing that Callum is going to make similar mistakes as Viren, but ultimately will overcome them (at least in the context of their foil and tdp. Foils, despite their differences, can still meet the same fate).

We're at point A, and it's a long way to point B. Callum, like Viren, is willing to do "anything in the name of love, however dangerous, however vile". That's going to come back at some point. Callum in s2 used dark magic to save Rayla. He's made a choice like that once, and he'll do it again. He may have sworn off dark magic in s2, but if his connection to the sky arcanum isn't giving him the freedom to do whatever he needs too, is that going to hold up? Is he not going to do whatever he needs to for the people he care's about?

[ask-leola-anything]

I like them so much that I'm synmetrical with two of them!

All things considered, Startouch elves went off with this triple star accessory

Leola's hair barrettes are particularly adorable

[raayllum]

a/n: set after 6x06 and heavily references 6x03 bc they were blessings

Sometime after they stop kissing — alright, they don't really stop, but languid silences, soft giggling, and sweet nothings fill some of the space in between kisses as they curl up together on his bed in the Starscraper — Callum asks, "So, what were you crying about on the Ray of Illumination?"

The sun is rising above the sea of clouds outside their bedroom window, and for a moment he regrets bringing up anything potentially sad, both of them happier than they've been in years, honestly. They have everything they need for her parents, his connection to Aaravos has been severed, the light and truth of her love filling the cracks in his heart, instead, and finally, finally she knows that his heart has always belonged to her. That it always will.

But he's always been curious, and he's always wanted to sooth whatever's troubling her, fix whatever is breaking her heart, and she'd had a good deal to cry over just a couple weeks ago — maybe even something from the last two years apart — and... he wants to know. He wants to help.

And, slowly, he thinks she's getting to a place where she wants him to be able to, where she'll let him.

"Oh, um..." Rayla averts her eyes, fingers tangled with his, but her smile doesn't dim. She sticks her tongue in her cheek. "It's a bit silly, really."

"Still." He uses his free hand to brush his thumb over the curve of her cheek, the blue bend of her marking, where he knows the tears would've fallen.

"Just an old diary written by the captain. Esme something. Stella pushed it open." Rayla scoots a bit closer and Callum lets go of her hand to wrap his arm around her, more than happy to give into her desire to be held; he never feels more at peace than when he's holding her, now more than ever.

The bump of the tip of his nose against hers as a gentle prod. "And?"

Rayla turns her face down, his lips brushing her brow, but he can still tell she's worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. He wants to angle his face down and kiss that worry away, draw her lips to his, but refrains. They have plenty of time, after all. To kiss, and rest, and prepare for their journey. It's close to dawn now, and Callum knows they won't leave till the day after tomorrow at least — they need supplies for the journey to the Nexus, recover from their trials, and to say goodbye to their new friends here.

Finally, Rayla explains, "She was writing during the last days of her life, on that ship I guess. About a man she left behind. Her one true love, Conrad."

"Oh." Callum pulls her further into a hug on instinct, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Just... resonated with me," she nearly sniffles, laughing weakly, but her smile is real and reaches her eyes when he glances down to check. "I'm sure you can imagine why."

"Lots of stuff about what she would've said if she saw him again?"

"Mmhm."

"Think I can relate to that too," he hums, giving her forehead another kiss. "I love you, Rayla," he repeats for what might be the millionth time that day, but he already knows he can never say it enough. He's always known that. "I'm so glad you came back."

She wraps her arms tighter around his torso, cuddling in closer, tension ebbing out of her and face half pressed to his scarf. "I'm so happy you're here, Callum," she sighs warmly.

"Always." He strokes her hair, wondering if she'll fall asleep like this—it always got her a little drowsy in the past—or if she'll let him weave her braid for her one of these days, musing, and then... "The Captain's name wasn't Esmerelda Skall, was it?"

Rayla lifts her head, brow furrowed adorably. "Er, yeah, it was. Why? How do you know that?"

"She was a famous explorer in the Human Kingdoms. Charted out a lot of our maps up north. My Dad—King Harrow—took me on a diplomatic mission once to Del Bar, where she's from, when I was eleven or twelve." There's a warm, content feeling blooming in his chest that he'll get to give her closure on this, too, somehow. "Conrad founded a town near the capitol and served as mayor. He named it after her. He loved her all his life—put a grave marker for her next to his when he died and everything."

Rayla's "Oh" comes out choked and small, but her smile is wide as she blinks back tears. "That's—that's beautiful. I guess he really—"

"—loved her?" Callum finishes, curling two fingers under her chin to lift her face for a moment. Then he brushes away the real tears trickling over, drawing her further into his snug embrace. Her breath is beautifully warm as it fans over his lips before he kisses her, soft and firm. "Yes. I really do."

[am-i-interrupting]

Can i request a: Aaravos x “not from this world” reader,

Ngl when I mean “not from this world” I mean like some sort of small collab, maybe mha, genshin, 7ds, hazbin, everything is possible you can decide- honestly if you know the genshin kore you have a lot you can work with- anyway.

Aaravos finds his daughter playing with a persoon/non-human being who he’s never seen before. But he quickly becomes interested as they slowly bond over their mutual love for Leola.

ISTG I NEED LEOLA TO LIVE😭😭😭

It was never surprising that Leola had strange friends for she was a strange, unique girl.

What did surprise Aaravos this time was you weren’t even from the same world as her.

Not that she cared. If anything it only added to how much she adored you and adore you she did.

She would go and drag you away from any task in order to go on small adventures with you.

She also loved to listen to stories of your past adventures.

It was that which made Aaravos’s opinion go from wary to fond.

It didn’t take very long for him to realize that he liked more than just your mutual adoration for his daughter.

He began to seek your company outside of his daughter.

He’d take you on outings where he’d explain everything his daughter couldn’t and ask questions she hadn’t.

On the fourth, you shared a kiss.

Leola didn’t find out immediately (not wanting to get her hopes up for something that could potentially be a simple, fast attraction) but when she did she was so excited her two favorite people loved each other.

[ask-leola-anything]

my face when

Crazy that they executed a child on screen

[sarasade]

It's been pretty interesting to follow the

"Why Didn't Viren Get Redeemed vs Viren Got What Was Coming To Him"

discussion after The Dragon Prince's 6th season got released.

Hot Take

I think Viren got redeemed.

Because to me Viren humbling himself and acknowledging the hurt he has caused was redeeming. His conversation with Soren was the main event. His rather heroic death was only the cherry on top of the character development cake that has been baking since s4.

I think Viren dying wasn't as significant as what he did before that and how he tried to provide Soren with some kind of comfort and closure, you know, as a parent should, before going. Viren's redemption wasn't just him dying for Katolis but acknowledging his wrongdoings and trying to salvage what he could.

That was pretty redeeming for me at least. Viren did the right thing even when he knew there wouldn't be any reward for it. Even if he couldn't stop Aaravos from destroying Katolis or manipulating Claudia even after his death. Like, man, I kinda feel for the guy.

I think it has always pretty easy to feel sympathy for Viren. Viren wants to matter and wants to be important. However, his grandiosity, as psychologists would call it, keeps him from creating genuine connections with others. His friends, wife and children are only there to prop up his ego or get rejected if they fail to live up to his expectations. It's also pretty damn tragic that Viren opens up about his deep insecurities to Aaravos of all people. Someone who was the most likely person in the world to exploit these insecurities for his own gain.

Viren had to taste his own medicide but I don't think TDP says that's an objectively good thing per se or that we should enjoy this sort of revenge fantasy uncritically. Viren is still portrayed rather sympathetically and of course there is the part about his actions affecting others and the world in unpredictable ways. It's still a tragedy because Viren's actions and personal problems have caused so much collateral damage. The Why behind Aaravos exploiting Viren and Claudia is part of that tragedy, too. There are no winners here. In a way Viren is a victim of his own narcissistic tendencies, too.

This isn't just about the final episodes of Viren's arc. To me it's essential to ask What was Viren's biggest sin he should be redeemed or punished for? Depending on your answer you may have a relatively different reading of s6 story development compared to mine.

To me it's not a specific action he took but his whole worldview. Viren is a fictional character (duh!) so his story isn't exactly literal but metaphorical, a representation of certain values and morals real people and society holds. In s3 TDP draws a pretty straightforward, though brief, comparison between Viren and reactionary right-wing ideologues. It's not exactly subtle.

It's just one way TDP goes to show how toxic and abusive Viren's core values are. that gets reflected both in Viren's personal life aka how he treated Lissa, Soren and even Harrow and Claudia (last two more indirectly). Since he also had a ton of political power as a high mage and briefly as a king we see what he did with that power. It's a pretty clear take on people who dehumanise others, fetishise power and see all living things as something to exploit. TDP explores that both philosophically and psychologically through Viren. Dark magic encapsulates this philosophy well since using magical creatures like tools or objects is essential for it to work.

Also also- I don't really get why people see redemption or atonement as something black and white. It's not bad or anything but Redeeming Yourself For Your Sins is a very Christian concept and Christianity isn't the only way to understand villain story arcs. Like I wish there could be more discussion about WHY redemption is the main analytical framework we impose on villains when villainous characters have a ton of variety anyway.

I don't really have anything to complain about Viren's death itself and I'm not surprised that he ended up dying (for real this time). Aaravos seemed like someone who'd turn against Viren the moment he stopped being useful to him so Viren's life has been hanging by a thread since s4. Viren was the best part of TDP and every scene he's been in had been a delight, well expect the s5 dream sequence because it was too long-winded and obvious, anyway, I'm sorry to see him go and I look forward writing AU fix-it fics where he and Aaravos are married and run a hot brown morning potion shop with all their four totally not dead children. RIP Viren. You lived like a messy bitch and died like a messy bitch. Iconic.

[ask-leola-anything]

What's something funny you find about your dad?

I think its funny to see a serious elven mage do the fancy thing with some tea

[aaravos-answers]

Eyeliner tips? *blows a kiss <3*

Use a knife

[self-spaghettification]

Did the void dragons create the star elves since primal magic came from the stars and ancient dranconic is used to channel primal magic?

Ooh, interesting theory! I think that’d make sense, since we know all elves came from the first elves (startouch elves) but we don’t know where the first elves came from, so hmm…

also though, humans are so similar to elves that it kinda makes me wonder if just, some humans happened to be blessed with magic and the rest weren’t

it puts first humans into a new context too…

so basically, the first humans were blessed by the stars / star dragons to become the first elves? hmm…

it’d make sense cuz primal dragons have to come from somewhere, correct?

i got a bit off track, but anyway..

that would make some sense! i like that!

[not-alicelive]

Hello! First post here, but I wanted to share my thoughts about something in the dragon prince. A lot of spoilers are ahed and sorry for my bad English

Okay, so a lot of people have been saying callum might die in season 7 by rayla, but I don't think rayla would be able to do it, but you know who would soren.

In season 3, soren said before he kills viren

"i am a crownguard, and he is the true king, and I will do whatever is nessacry to protect his life because now I know what the right thing to do is"

And after he kills him

"I had no choice"

This scene proves that soren would do whatever it takes to protect ezran and do the right thing even if it means killing his own father, but what if it was callum instead would killing him really be the right thing to do even if he was possed what if their was no other choice would he just kill callum just like he did with his father?

Now, let's take a look at season 4 images

Notice how he's holding his sword like he's ready to attack as if he knows aaravos might try something with Callum's body, which is why he doesn't let ezran go near him

Now if callum had asked soren instead of rayla in season 4 to kill him, if he tried anything, he would hesitate, but in the end, I'm sure he would agree to it because if it came down to it and their was no other choice he would chose to do the "right thing" which is killing callum if it meant protecting ezran, katolis citizens, his kingdom etc

If you have anything else you'd like to add or disagree with, feel free to share your thoughts about it

[jelzorz]

192.

In the years after the war, after Aaravos, after the castle is rebuilt and feels like home again, Soren finds time in the peace to do... well. Nothing. There are always diplomatic missions and there's always security to check, but the peacetime is stable and surprisingly stubborn, and even when there are skirmishes in the surrounding towns or at the border—which is barely a border at all, these days—they're never big enough to cause any real trouble, and life slows like the sun in the summer months, quiet and calm and sleepy in a way he's never known.

This is what spurns him back into poetry. Dragon Smash Boy was silly, but so was he, in those days, and now that there's time, well. Why not? He doesn't have to be good at it to enjoy it, and he'll never be good at it if he doesn't try at all. Very secretly, he's always liked the skill in it, the ability to say something meaningful and beautiful in something short and sweet, and maybe one day, in the distant future, people will go back to the books and find his there, proof that he's more than just muscle and brawn.

It seems silly. Or maybe his father just made him think anything outside of the box he'd been put in was silly. He's done enough work to know he still carries the weight of his childhood with him, even after all the baggage he's already put down. Those days have long past. He can dream if he wants.

So he goes to the library and pulls down book after book after book. He studies the prose and the description, the weird places poets pause for effect, the metaphor and the assonance and the rhyme, and then he tries to write his own but... It never feels quite right. It always feels a little forced, a little ingenuine, lacking in the honesty of the poems he decides he likes best.

"I don't get it," he muses one day. He is lounging by a window in the library with a book lying open on the desk before him. This one is a recommendation from Callum: Even the Deepest Night is Lit by Stars by Damian Something-or-other. He'd had something wistful in his eyes when he gave Soren the title and Soren had had to know. "All of these are like... beautiful and mine are so..." He grimaces and shoves the book back just as Opeli appears from behind a stack with a pile of books in her arms.

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Can I ask what you're agonizing over?"

Soren glances up and chuckles sheepishly, his cheeks the slightest bit warm. "I'm—uh—trying to learn how to write poems," he admits. "It's... not as easy as everyone makes it sound. Let me take those." He gets up and takes the books from her arms without waiting for an answer and Opeli smiles her thanks.

"The best poems aren't," she says, as she leads him through the shelves to where they belong. "The best are the ones that are hardest to write."

"What do you mean?"

Opeli purses her lips as she starts removing books from his arms. "Art is about expression," she says after a moment. "And sometimes the most beautiful art is art that expresses something the artist can't otherwise express. It's putting a feeling on display and showing an audience where the artist is most vulnerable. It's no easy task."

Soren blinks at her. "It's about... being vulnerable?"

"It's about being honest," says Opeli with a wry smile, "to yourself about yourself. It's about expressing the things that feel too big for your heart to manage."

"You make it sound like those counselling sessions we used to have."

"It is, in a way," chuckles Opeli. "Those were a way for you express your feelings too. Poetry is not so different. You simply tell the world what you're feeling instead of me."

"Oh."

Oh indeed. Soren thinks about the things he told her, the tears he shed, and suddenly poetry feels a lot scarier as a concept. To be that honest, that vulnerable—in words that anyone in the world might see or hear? He likes to think that he's brave but that feels like something else entirely.

But he tries. He thinks about it late at night and in the early mornings. He writes it all down in flowery words and metaphors. Then, about a month later, he presents it to the council.

"It's hard to see in darkness when there's nothing there to see, When you turn, is it still dark? Or is the nothing me? Am I so small the shadows feel like neverending night? Or do you just think you're big enough to block out all the light? I'm older now and wiser and I still stumble through dark, But now the sun is rising, and I hear the singing lark. It doesn't feel so cold now and the morning looks so bright. Maybe I'm not nothing. Maybe I'm the light."

The council stares at him. Ezran drops his jelly tart and Callum looks like Soren might as well have hit him over the head with the butt of his sword.

"Was it bad?"

"Bad?" Rayla looks aghast. "Soren, that was amazing! How? When? How long have you been working on that?"

"Oh, um." Soren flushes a little and rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck. "A few weeks. It was okay?"

"Better than okay!" says Ez.

"It was actually really good," agrees Callum almost breathlessly. "Like. Really good. Great job!"

It's a better response than he ever though he would get, and Soren grins and bows, pleased to have something that he's finally happy with that actually passes as a real poem. The rest of the meeting passes quickly, and he spends it in a state of giddiness, of pride, before it ends and the others file out. Opeli is the last to leave, as always, and Soren hangs back, curious to know what she thinks. It was her advice he followed after all.

"Did you think it was okay?"

"I have a question for you first," she says, piling her paperwork into her arms. She looks him right in the eye, and Soren takes a breath, waiting for the critique--but instead, she asks--

"Are you okay?"

Of course. Soren glances away, a rueful smile tugging at his lips. "I mean. You said to be honest."

"You were," says Opeli. "I don't think anyone else realized it though."

"Yeah, well." Soren snorts to himself. He doesn't blame them, but it's not surprising. "They don't notice anything outside of them, do they?"

Opeli scoffs. "Unfortunate, but true." She studies him for a moment, blue-grey eyes too knowing to avoid. "There is no darkness that can extinguish light," she says after a moment, "and the Sun is the brightest light of all."

He laughs then, flattered by the metaphor (he thinks). "Are you a poet too?"

She smirks. "Perhaps," she teases. "It's scripture. But if you want my honest opinion, I thought it was beautiful."

"Really?"

"Really. You have every right to be proud."

"I am," grins Soren, and for the first time, he lets himself believe that maybe the dream of being a poet isn't so silly after all.

[karmanun]

So I just finished TDP S6…

I have a LOT of thoughts but the one I really can’t get out of my head is just how they came back around with the bad guys. By which I mean, my biggest complaint the last couple seasons is how the show severely underutilizes it villains (think how they went through the whole trouble of rebranding it “The Mystery of Aaravos” and then Aaravos had barely any screen time) but MY GOD they’re such good villains, BY WHICH I MEAN, genuinely bad people but in a frighteningly understandable way.

This definitely applies to Aaravos and Viren: Aaravos was a father who couldn’t save his daughter and I definitely don’t blame him for being out for blood after, well, THAT. Viren’s story looks like a fantasy tale of thrones and dark wizards, but at its core is a story of how divorce pulled a family apart.

But in my personal opinion Claudia is the best example of this. It really hit me when she asks Aaravos what she should do just where her spiral into darkness was born from. It wasn’t out of maliciousness or apathy, we can see that in the kitten scene and in her relationship with Terry, but out of fear. She developed a fear of making choices from her parents’ separation, and now she chases guidance to an unhealthy degree. She will make the choice that others have pushed her towards even if she KNOWS it’s not the right thing to do because that fear got blown of out proportion to an unhealthy degree. It obviously does not absolve her of anything but it’s so refreshing to see in a villain because of how HUMAN it is.

And you know it’s just going to get worse now that she’s got Aaravos to look up to as her new father figure…