#even if rayllum has healed me

[raayllum]

Teasers Timeline

With the teasers we've gotten this week, I want to try and assemble them into some kind of timeline. Spoilers and speculation ahead!

First off, there's the ones we know are taking place during 6x01 Startouched thanks to con spoilers, such as shots of the prison with Callum, his nightmare featuring Aaravos, Rayllum on the castle battlements, group discussion, them departing for the Starscraper, and Ezran comforting Zym about Zubeia.

Claudia and Terry is also probably from 6x01 (maybe Claudia commiserating with a flashback if it's from later on in the season) due to the beach location and her having to take wet/bloody clothes off. We can even see that one pantleg is shorter than the other.

Now onto the rest, with episode titles as a slight guideline.

This shot with Corvus, Zym, and Soren is likely from 6x02 Love, War, and Mushrooms, given they went looking for Zubeia and Soren meets up with Corvus at the Sunfire camp.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the "Ezran at the castle" and Janaya is around here. If Viren is alive, he could be showing up in Katolis (or Claudia is there to find the fake prison) and Janaya is preparing for war now that Sol Regem has the sun seed. Likewise, this is one of two places I could see the screencap of the Viren and Kpp'Ar flashback being; Viren may be heading back to try to free Kpp'Ar (and may do so with the staf?? If Rayllum didn't take his coin) and thereby reflecting on their past.

Then we get Rayla and Callum on the burning ship in 6x03 Frozen Ship. There's less fire when they're first there together and Callum needs to get his staff back, and significantly more fire when Rayla is there on her own despite being near the same hole in the roof and Callum not being in frame anymore.

Then they head to the Starscraper (and potentially face the big scary dragon along the way, though that could be a trial for 6x05 as well).

Rayla's line about "The fate of the entire world is at stake," her expression, as well as Stella's (almost angry?) expression makes me think she's trying to reason with Callum > telling the celestial elves what's going on, but it really could be either.

Big dragon could also be the trial or thing they're flying off too as well, after the infamous Chin Touch (and possible smooch) given that the clouds from what may be their room seems to match what we see in the background.

If the dragon adventure with Luna Tenebris' unsuitable heir is on the way to the Starscraper, I'd guess it'll have something to do with the moonstone collar its wearing (perhaps an enchantment that cloaks the starscraper from outside viewers?). If it's after, then I have no clue WHY beyond the celestial elves going "you gotta".

At the same time, Karim and Janai are preparing for war. The search for Zubeia must've been either successful or they had to give up and switch gears, as Ezran has 1) left Katolis to be here and 2) reunited with Corvus and with Zym, only to be captured and need rescuing from his favourite dragon pal (Zym's covering them, but it also seems Ez and Corvus showed up on horses so.. parlay gone wrong?)

The amount of Sol Regem regalia on their outfits and Karim's tent makes me think he's already used the sun seed to heal / ally with Sol Regem, or that he's very very close to doing so.

I do think he ultimately goes through with it, though, given that the next time we see Sol Regem, his eyes aren't healed but his wings are 100% patched up and Pharos is seemingly riding him into battle, with Janai and Amaya leading their ground assault.

Amaya still has her crown, and Aanya might show up to help -- the cliffs match the ones she's landing on -- at Ezran's behest, but it's probably not enough.

If she loses but lives, that could be why we see her almost in mourning at the sun seed tree

And I think that's it for now! More speculation and teasers to follow soon I'm sure

[lady-gravity-129]

Various TDP Season 6 thoughts under the cut/things I believe will come back in Season 7

Be careful it's kinda a long one

First things first. RAYLLUM! WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I WAS DEFINITELY SHEDDING A FEW TEARS DURING EPISODES 3 AND 6. Like, I'm not too interested in ships and romance but Rayllum has me in a death grip I swear.

I just want to point out that a couple writers have stated that they know whether Rayla is able to kill Callum if the time comes. I would also like to note that there was not a moment where she had to consider that this season. She just said she would when he asked her in episode 3. Now that they're back together...something tells me she won't be able to do it. Either that or we're in for a very gut wrenching scene in season 7.

Speaking of that, I think Kosmo said to Callum that if he performs dark magic again, it'll definitely consume/corrupt him. Don't remember the exact sentence but I've seen people talking about it so I know I didn't make it up. Anyways, I genuinely feel like they wouldn't bring that up unless it's going to have some sort of payoff in season 7 (which I'm 90% sure is titled after dark magic? correct me if I'm wrong) coupled with the previous paragraph here. Oh god if we thought season 6 was gonna put these two through the wringer we haven't seen *anything* yet

Alright enough about Rayllum (even though I love it)

Kinda disappointed that the Janaya wedding happened at a point in the story where everyone in the cast conveniently wasn't all together to celebrate the occasion. But still, an LGBT wedding in a show rated TV-Y7 is absolutely HUGE in my opinion. Not really sure what other words I can say, it was great.

Next is how they handled Viren. Honestly, I'm kinda ok with it. I said on Twitter that a redemption arc could work with him if written correctly. How he was written was...well enough. While he didn't directly apologize to really anyone (aside from Claudia I think and then Soren on paper that he burned. I've watched this season twice now but I'm running on an hour of sleep so forgive me for not remembering everything lol), he still acknowledged that he doesn't even deserve to be forgiven and understands that everything he's done was nothing short of awful.

Holy fudge this season really convinced me how great of a character Claudia is. She's such a tragic character who's experienced loss and trauma and just needs the chance to acknowledge everything she's been through and properly heal from it. However, one thing I've noticed is that whenever Viren dies, Aaravos is right there guiding her away from the path of healing from her trauma. First is after Season 3 when he tells her there's a way to bring Viren back. Then, presumably I think, in between season 5 and 6 when he somehow tells her how to complete the resurrection spell. THEN there's the end of season 6 where she's realizing that her father is gone for good and what does he do?? He basically goes "lol yeah here's my backstory so you'll want to free me even more oh whats this i can even give you the spell needed to free me". Y'all someone please get her away from Aaravos so she can process everything.

OH YEAH! Fun fact, I'm pretty sure Rayla and Callum left the Starscraper thinking/assuming that the Pearl was safe with the Celestial Elves. They're gonna see giant Aaravos in Season 7 and just have fifty panic attacks at once.

Gonna edit this with more stuff later.

[imminent-danger-came]

Thanks so much for tagging me!

1.) Rayla/Callum (Rayllum) from The Dragon Prince

My og, my everything—they have it all. They're so mentally ill. They make each other's mentally ill. They make each other better. Their first "I love you" is the climax of arc 1. They got over centuries of hate and bloodshed just to be together. Truly the most enemies to friends to lovers of all time. Callum asks Rayla to kill him if worst comes to worst. They broke each others hearts. They healed each others souls. They'd do unspeakable acts for one another. They are foils. They are themes personified. They've ruined my standards for romantic shipping for the rest of my life. Oh my god. I can not overstate how much I love them.

Bonus hug because while they make each other mentally ill, they also make me mentally ill:

2.) Tang/Pigsy (Freenoodles) from Lego Monkie Kid

So. Legos. I know I know—but there's just something about these two. One's a freeloader food lover who inherited the powers of the great Monk Tang Sanzang. The other is a small business owner/single father who is a decedent of Zhu Bajie. They're basically canon. Mr. "One day I will become someone they can depend on, the way I can always depend on them!" being someone the Pig can depend on (cough cough 2x04 and 4x03 cough cough) is just fucking it. Pigsy saying "Yeah! Sometimes it’s that little bit of char that makes for a more flavorful meat! Even if it is a bit tangy" in 3x14 after Tang insists that an imperfect world is worth fighting for? Bro. Loving each other in imperfection. Like. Bro. Imperfect people are worth fighting for. Like. Bro.

3.) Sora/Riku (Soriku) from Kingdom Hearts

Soriku. Oh my god. All these two can do is chase after one another. If they manage to reach each other, then they're separated again—and yet, they always find their way back. This endless conflict between finding and losing makes these two like, PEAK. Riku literally performing a sacrifice of love at the end of KH3? Traveling to the afterlife in search of Sora? Very few are doing it like them. Also basically canon. Sora is the darkness in the light and Riku is the light in the darkness. They complete each other, their hearts are connected, and I can't help but love 'em.

4.) Suzie/Noelle (Suselle) from Deltarune

Deltarune fucks me up. Suzie and Noelle also fuck me up. Suzie is the only character to ever force her choices upon you, the player, and Noelle is the only other character besides Kris who you can so directly control. They are the classic Jock and Nerd or Beauty and Beast pairing, except they flip those tropes on their HEAD—each character has a little bit of both despite first appearances. They're lesbians. They're dorks. They're doomed by the players choices, mere puppets in a game they don't yet comprehend. And they're fucking ADORABLE. Susie is the one thing holding this trainwreck together (in my opinion), especially in snowgrave, and I LOVE IT.

5.) Rapunzel/Eugene (New Dream) from Tangled

New Dream, a ship that's always been there for me. I've only watched the first 2 seasons of the show so I'm mainly talking about the movie, but Rapunzel and Eugene will always be near and dear to my heart. "You were my new dream" "And you were mine" LIKE COME ON. One sassy jaded rogue and a kind-heated naive/lost princess walk into a bar, then forever changing each others lives. Eugene died for Rapunzel. Rapunzel was willing to die for Eugene. They showed each other that there's more to life than the tower rooms you've been put in. There's more to the dreams you carry with you. God, the way Eugene always brushes Rapunzel's hair out of her face (v.s. Gothel who is only ever affectionate with her hair). I'll always love 'em.

Honorary mention: Crowley/Aziraphale (Ineffable Husbands) from Good Omens.

Other honorary mention that I couldn't include because it's also from tdp: Janai/Amaya (Janaya). Also so so so thematically good and so delightful.

I don't know if I want to tag anyone, but if you're my mutual/someone who wants to participate go ahead!

Slash ships to get to know me

Rules: name at leave 5 ships that you love, each from a different fandom.

Thank you to @davidbowielovesyou for tagging me! <3

Runaan/Ethari (Ruthari) - The Dragon Prince

OF COURSE. OF COURSE. my #1 ship ever!! I love them SO much. I've written so much of them purely because of how neat I think they are. They own a part of my heart.

Hange/Moblit (Mobuhan) - Attack on Titan

Heh heh. Genius ADHD scientist and their malewife who literally died for them. Not only are they adorable together but they're hysterical, and they quickly captured my heart!

Linus/Arthur - The House in the Cerulean Sea

Absolute sweethearts who make my heart hurt but also heal it at the same time! Love them so much <3

Bitty/Jack (Zimbits) - Omg! Check Please

Eeeeee hehehe I love them, and have for a long time! Such sweeties (do you see a trend in my ships?)

Phoenix/Miles (Wrightworth) - Ace Attorney

Not much to say here, but I do really like them! The fan art and fan fiction of them is amazing, kudos to that fandom for their awesome talent

tagging @kaia001 @medu-nefer @thethiefandtheairbender

[tenspontaneite]

Across Shared Skin (Chapter 1/?)

When Callum was born, Sarai pored over every inch of his skin by candlelight until she found it: a tiny, diminutive patch of discoloured skin on the back of his tiny, diminutive left hand.

(Second of two pieces written for @falling-for-you-a-rayllum-zine) (Soulmate AU. For the ‘AU’ chapter. Only this instalment was written for the zine; future chapters are all new. Piece length: 7k. Ao3 link)

---

 It was an interesting skin tone. Pale and purplish, almost, plainly evident against the ruddy colour of his newborn body. She wondered if, across whatever distance separated them, her son’s soulmate had noticed the corresponding shift on their own hand. She wondered how much older they were. She wondered many things that, in the end, only the passage of years would be able to answer. But for now, there were observances to meet.

She fetched a pen, and in the tiniest script she could manage, drew lines of ink carefully across the back of her son’s hand. Callum, she wrote, and left it at that.

Others might include a birth-date, or kingdom of residence, or the names of the parents. But Sarai was wary, and wrote only what custom dictated. The name.

She wasn’t expecting a response right away. For all the prominence of the mark’s location, it was late, and whoever waited on the other end might well be asleep. She had expected more to be waiting until morning, at the very least. But, mere minutes later—

Clear and careful, a name unfolded on her son’s skin, directly beneath the one she’d written.

Rayla, it said, and nothing else.

Sarai mulled the name over. It was unusual. Foreign, certainly, though that didn’t guarantee anything about how far away the girl might live. In the end, she nodded, and committed the name to her memory. It might be years until Callum could communicate with his soulmate himself, but until then, he deserved to know her name.

She left both names on Callum’s hand, and set him gently down to sleep.

 ---

 “He might not be a human.” Lain attempted, yet again, looking down for what seemed like the hundredth time at the name on his daughter’s hand. “Elves use the common script, too. And the name—it’s not unusual. It would fit in well with any of the communities that use Draconic more than we do.”

Tiadrin sighed, and eased the glove once again onto Rayla’s squirming fingers. It wasn’t proper to have one’s mark visible in public, but children so often disliked restrictive coverings. “They didn’t write the primal.” She said, flatly, and that was a tired statement too. “What elf wouldn’t write the symbol of the primal their child was born to? It’s tradition.”

The name and the symbol were obligatory. All else—birthdate, location, family—was optional. But there should have been a symbol. Moon, or Sun, or Sky, or Earth—even Ocean—there should have been a symbol. But there wasn’t, and in its absence, they’d omitted Rayla’s moon. If her soulmate was a human, it would keep him safer. It didn’t seem prudent to declare arcanum to a human audience of unknown prejudices.

Lain was quiet, watching as she covered up the damning ink of the unaccompanied names. “He might not be a human.” He repeated, more softly. “Perhaps they omitted his primal for security reasons. Perhaps he’s the son of someone important.” His brow furrowed. “Perhaps he’s a Startouch elf.”

She snorted. “Fat chance of that. And even royalty declare their children’s primal.” She bent down to kiss her daughter’s forehead. “No, Lain. Our daughter has a human soulmate, and we’ll just have to live with that.”

He frowned, resignation and concern written more clearly on him than the names on Rayla’s hand. “…We can’t let anyone find out.” He said, eventually, defeat weighing on his every word. “She’d never be able to do anything without someone questioning her loyalties. She’d be shunned. We can’t let that happen to her.”

Tiadrin nodded. It went without saying, really. “We’ll tell Runaan and Ethari. Everyone else…” She mulled the name over. Callum. It could mean ‘hard-skinned’. It could also, if derived from Columba, mean ‘dove’. Either way, it was a plainly Draconic name, and Moonshadow elves didn’t tend to name their children for Draconic. Others, though… “We’ll say he’s a Skywing elf.” She decided, and her husband hummed approvingly.

“What about Rayla?” He asked, then. “What will we tell her?”

She went quiet. “…I can’t lie to my own daughter about her soulmate, Lain.” She admitted. “We’ll just…have to impress on her the importance of discretion. Children aren’t always the best at keeping secrets, but…”

He held silent for a moment, then smiled. “She’s a Moonshadow elf. She’ll be fine.” He said, and she wished she could share his confidence.

“We’ll see.” Tiadrin said, noncommittal, and left it to that.

 ---

 Once or twice in his early years, Callum experienced little hints of the shared skin between himself and his soulmate. Here and there, he felt phantom fingertips against the back of his hand, the weight of unfamiliar cloth, and—once—the sharp sting of a scratch from some sort of animal across the skin. It healed quickly, as all blemishes on soulmarks did, but he’d gone crying to his mother from the unexpected pain anyway.

People were circumspect about their soulmarks, and that was part of the background hum of culture that he was raised to. He wasn’t to show his soulmark in public. He wasn’t even to say where it was. He wore fingerless gloves, on both hands, to disguise it—and, at least until he was able to talk to her, he wasn’t even supposed to tell anyone her name.

He did, though.

He finger-spelled it out to Aunt Amaya, albeit clumsily. “Her name is Rayla,” he said, almost solemnly, with the motions of his hands. She smiled at him indulgently and raised a finger to her lips in a ‘hush’ motion.

She wasn’t the only person he told. He told the officer of the Standing Battalion who was watching his mother and Amaya’s latest sparring match. He told the baker that they went to buy sweets from. He told near everyone he met, when he was going through the typical three-year-old’s phase of desperate interest in the phenomenon of a soulmate, and his mother sighed at him for it every time.

Again and again, he asked her to write something to Rayla. To ask questions, to find out something more about her, anything. He had a soulmate, and he wanted to know more about her than her name and skin colour.

“It wouldn’t be right, Callum.” She told him, patiently. “Only soulmates should speak through their skin. You’ll just have to wait until you can write to her yourself.”

Callum scowled, and set back into learning his alphabet very vehemently indeed. Because that was the thing:

It wasn’t proper for someone else to write to your soulmate for you. It wasn’t even proper to be walked through spelling out an introduction. When you first wrote to your soulmate, you were supposed to do it yourself. And you were supposed to wait until you were good enough to manage basic conversation, too.

Callum didn’t want to wait until he had words to communicate with. So, one evening, in abject defiance of custom and propriety, he took off his glove and doodled a little flower on the back of his hand. He fell asleep feeling particularly pleased with himself, and somehow, didn’t consider that writing upon shared skin might garner a response.

He woke to a tiny, clumsy flower-doodle scrawled beside his own.

 ---

 Rayla was something of a lonely child. She didn’t have friends her age, having never meshed well with the other children. She didn’t play like the other children did, preferring instead to train with Runaan, or go off sneaking into the forest alone. She didn’t socialise and the closest thing she had to friends were the adoraburrs she brought home by the armful. So, really, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that she became so taken with her soulmate.

It started when, one day, Rayla ran up to them with her expression so bright it was impossible not to smile back at her. And then they saw what was on her hand, and Tiadrin had to restrain a surprised laugh at the neat little flower doodled on her daughter’s hand. “Oh, well,” She managed, and shared a glance with Lain. “That’s…” She remembered, for a moment, that this was a human, but… “That’s incredibly cute.” She sighed in the end, because it was, and Rayla was so charmingly pleased with the tiny drawing. “Congratulations, Rayla.”

“It’s only a flower,” said their rambunctious, headstrong little girl, but there was no hiding how delighted she was. “He didn’t even write anything.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know how, yet.” Tiadrin said, while she tried to remember how old Rayla’s soulmate was. “He’s not quite four, and that’s very young for writing.” She shook her head. “Well, I suppose we’d best get you your skin-inks, if you’re going to be talking now. Or drawing.” Suddenly, she levelled her daughter with a penetrating look. “Remind me what you know about talking to your soulmate, Rayla.”

She stilled for a second, and fell from her childish delight into the more bullheaded determination that accompanied her through her training. “Nothing ‘bout elves, or Xadia, or where we live, or anyone’s names, or magic, or assassins.”

Lain reached out and ruffled her hair. “Good girl.” He praised, and she beamed at him. When she was older, no doubt, she’d chafe against those restrictions. They’d make it very hard to talk to one’s soulmate about anything of substance, after all. But for now, she was content.

Rayla puffed up. “I’m gonna draw him an adoraburr!” She announced, and both of her parents made despairing noises.

“Rayla, honey, adoraburrs are magic.” Tiadrin explained, patiently, and her daughter’s face fell. Evidently, this might be more challenging than they’d thought.

(Rayla drew the adoraburr anyway. Adoraburrs were everywhere, after all. What could it hurt?)

 *

 Callum kept up a clandestine exchange of doodles with his soulmate for months before his mother found out. Rayla always used some sort of weird ink that washed off his skin really easily, while his ink lingered in faded outlines for days after he scrubbed it off. It was that which caught him, in the end.

“Callum,” his mother sighed, a little despairingly, at the evidence of many successive generations of doodles on the skin of his hand. “You’re supposed to wait until you can write.”

He made a face at her from the side of the bath, where he really should have expected he’d be caught. “It’s not hurting anyone.” He muttered, chagrined. “We’re just drawing.”

She pursed her lips, reluctantly curious. “She draws back? Or does she write?”

“She draws.” He admitted. “She got this weird ink that washes off easy.”

After a brief correction to his grammar, she shook her head. “Skin-ink. It’s made to wash off. I’ll have to get you some, I suppose.” She watched him almost tiredly for several long moments, then said “I’ll not stop you from drawing to each other, Callum. But this means we’ll need to have your security lessons earlier than normal. There are things you’re not supposed to talk to soulmates about—things that could hurt the kingdom. Do you understand?”

He didn’t. But he pretended he did, to make her happy.

In the end, she held the skin-inks hostage until he could dutifully rattle off the list of things he wasn’t supposed to talk about. This included: local governance, anything about how much food people had or where the food or water was kept, anything about the military (this being especially relevant, considering his mother and aunt), anything about the nobility, and a laundry list of other things.

When he was older, he’d understand the rationale behind it; that the careless words of children to their soulmates could reach the ears of adults who knew how to use them. A complaint about always being hungry might not mean much to the soulmate—but to an adult, it might indicate famine in a neighbouring kingdom. It might indicate weakness. And there were many such ways to damn one’s nation.

Of course, by the time he understood, he was himself a member of the nobility—a prince of Katolis. The damage an unwary prince might do with spilled secrets was potentially catastrophic, and so the lessons were drummed into his head until he almost felt wary to so much as touch the nib of his pen to the back of his hand. It would be so easy to give something away.

But, for now, he was only a child, and the ink on his skin held no secrets. He drew flowers, and birds, and cats, and dogs, and horses. His soulmate drew flowers, and weird circles with eyes, and animals that either had spikes on their heads or extra ears, and occasionally she attempted birds too. She wasn’t very good, but the drawings were from her, so he treasured them anyway.

He just wished he could write already, and talk to her properly.

 ---

 Callum tugged on his mother’s sleeve and requested a writing test every week. And, every time, she looked over whatever she’d told him to write, praised his progress, and said, “Not yet.”

Not yet, every time. It meant ‘you are not yet at the level appropriate for talking to a soulmate’, and Callum thought it was an exceptionally annoying standard to hold someone to. It wasn’t like he and Rayla weren’t already sort-of talking, with their pictures. What did it matter if his spelling was bad or his handwriting messy or his letters extremely slow to form? But his mother was adamant.

Time passed, and in the wake of the great upheavals in his life, Callum wished more than ever before that he could talk to his soulmate. His mother married royalty, and she was crowned Queen, and Callum named prince, and in the overwhelming confusion of trying to adapt to life in the castle he desperately wished he could talk to Rayla about it. He didn’t have anyone to talk to, really. The only kids at the castle were Lord Viren’s children, and he didn’t know them well enough to confide in. But Rayla was his soulmate. He should be able to talk to her, right?

…But then, he realised, when his mother started to hesitate a little before saying “not yet,” he wouldn’t be able to talk to Rayla about this, anyway. His mother marrying a King, and him moving into a castle…that was big, important stuff. The sort of stuff soulmates weren’t meant to talk about, if they didn’t know for sure which kingdom they were loyal to.

That realisation left him sour and solemn for days. Still, he wanted to be able to talk to her about some things, even if not the big stuff that he wasn’t allowed to mention. He thought he was getting close to being pronounced ready, but…

In the end, Rayla lost patience before he did.

When Callum felt the scrawl of pen on his skin, it was an automatic reflex to duck away to somewhere secluded to peel off his glove and watch. This time, though, the scrawl just…kept going, as he headed for a secluded spot among a few trees, and he thought she must be drawing something unusually large and elaborate.

He just about fell over when he removed the glove to find words there.

The handwriting was messy, and slow to form. He was slow to read it. But it was unmistakably words.

Are you ever gonna write? Rayla asked, through their shared skin, and he stared at the back of his hand with his heart beating so hard it made his head feel weird and dizzy and hot. She was talking to him! Really talking!

After a moment, she underlined ‘ever’.

He panicked for several long minutes about what he should do. Mom said he shouldn’t. She said ‘not yet’. But that was about him making contact. The younger soulmate was supposed to do it first, after all.

He hesitated, rummaged for his pen and inks, and finally wrote Sorry. Mom won’t let me yet. It took him a long time. The letters were huge and messy and barely fit on the shared skin. For the first time in his life, he felt embarrassed for his handwriting, and suddenly understood why his mother might be saying ‘not yet’.

There was a pause as she wiped off her skin-inks and both sets of words vacated his skin. In her impatience, she left a vague inky smear behind. But you just wrote now, she pointed out, and – and his face burned, he felt unbearably shy and unbearably excited and nervous all at once…was this how people normally felt when they talked to their soulmates for the first time?

He ducked his head, flushed, and scrawled You did it first. He accidentally wrote over some of her letters in the process.

She washed off the inks again. Yeah, cause you were taking forever!! She paused, then added a few more exclamation marks for emphasis. I was so bored waiting.

After a brief pause where he carefully sounded out the word ‘waiting’ to figure out what it said, he wrote Me too.

Waiting had been annoying, and senseless, and stupid. Maybe it was a bit embarrassing to put bad handwriting on someone else’s skin, but…shouldn’t that be up to them to decide? If she still wanted to talk even though his writing was bad…then wasn’t it okay?

She had contacted him. He couldn’t be blamed for that, right?

…And it wasn’t like he hadn’t already broken tradition by drawing, anyway.

As soon as she washed their ink off, he started writing again. But we’re writing now, so I guess it’s okay?

Finally! Rayla wrote, in a quick and victorious scrawl, and also drew a little smiley face next to it. It was fairly delightful.

I’m Callum, he offered, a little shyly, after a moment. This, at least, he had practiced a lot.

I know. She wrote, the letters blocky and cheerful. I’m Rayla.

I know, he scrawled back, and imagined that on the other side of their connection, she was smiling too.

 ---

 Callum learned a lot of things about his soulmate, in the weeks after she opened contact.

He learned that she liked to go exploring in the woods, which her town was inside. She wouldn’t say much about her town, but he got the idea it was pretty small.

He learned that she spent most of her time ‘training’, and while she wouldn’t say what she was training for, he gathered that it involved weapons and fighting and—apparently—being able to jump and flip around a lot.

He learned that she loved her parents and had two sort-of uncles who were married to each other, and one of those uncles was the one who trained her.

He learned that she absolutely detested water, and was terrified of it, and even the prospect of a bath was completely awful to her.

He learned that she was stubborn, and determined, and occasionally so blunt it was kind of rude. He learned that she didn’t really have friends, and while she put on a good show of not caring about that…

We’re friends, though, he pointed out to her, and felt the warmth of her fingertips lingering beneath the words for several minutes before she replied.

Yeah, she said, and that was all.

 ---

 Rayla learned many things about her soulmate, in turn.

He was kind of shy, and got nervous easily, and wasn’t very good at talking to the kids where he lived. He had moved towns not all that long ago, and really wasn’t used to it yet, and found the new place kind of big and scary. He loved his mother an insane amount, and…didn’t seem to have a father. His mother had remarried, though, and had a baby on the way. He was cautiously excited about that.

He wasn’t good at fighting, and though he’d started sword lessons, he hated it and wished he didn’t have to do it. He took a lot of lessons—with tutors, instead of at a school—and wasn’t terribly keen on those, either. What he did like was drawing, and even though they could write now, he kept drawing things for her. Because he wanted to.

I want to draw stuff for you, he wrote, very firmly, and Rayla’s heart fluttered too much for her to think of objecting.

In all, he was really nice, considering he was a human.

...Maybe he wouldn’t be so nice, though, if he knew that she was an elf.

 ---

 Callum was a shy and often tongue-tied boy out in the halls and grounds of the castle. In private, though, he never seemed to stop talking. And, unsurprisingly, one of his absolute favourite topics was his soulmate. As such, Sarai found out very rapidly when they’d started writing, and honestly wasn’t surprised by it at all. Only a little exasperated.

Time passed and Callum chattered, and Sarai grew to know a lot about her son’s soulmate. But there were things about her that she didn’t know. That she hadn’t even guessed about. Until…

“She spells things weirdly.” Callum confided, one day, while she was brushing his hair. “I tried telling her she was spelling stuff wrong but she just said that I’m spelling stuff wrong. Like ‘color’. She puts a ‘u’ in it. And she spells ‘mom’ with a ‘u’ too. It’s so weird.”

Sarai paused, brush stilling in his hair for a second, before she made herself complete the stroke. “Oh?” She said, lightly, allowing no trace of her unease into her voice. “That is odd. Does she spell any other words like that?”

Callum thought for a while. “She uses ‘s’ instead of ‘z’ a lot?” He ventured. “Like…she’ll spell ‘realize’ with an ‘s’. And sometimes she uses different words for things too. She calls pants ‘trousers’. I think maybe she’s from a kingdom where they say stuff different?”

“The common tongue does change a little, depending on where it’s spoken.” Sarai agreed, by all appearances unbothered. “So more likely than not, your Rayla speaks and writes with her regional dialect.” She paused, and carefully, she asked “Did she ever say where she was from?”

She could almost hear Callum’s face scrunching up. “No,” he admitted. “I guess she’s had security lessons too. I know she lives somewhere in a huge forest, though. She talks about it a lot.”

Sarai hummed, with the usual fond interest, and didn’t ask him to tell her more. He would, in time; he loved talking about his soulmate. If she asked, it would only make him suspicious. He was a bright boy. He’d notice. “Maybe one day she can give you tree-climbing lessons.” She suggested, and then that was all he could talk about for the next hour.

She listened more closely, after that. And, slowly, day by day, the clues started adding up.

“She says she lives inside a tree!” Callum declared one day, absolutely astonished and absolutely delighted and wanting her to know all about it. “A tree big enough that they could carve a house inside it! That must be so cool!”

Sarai agreed easily that it was very cool, and did not mention that there were no trees so large within the Pentarchy.

“I still draw her stuff, even though we can write now.” Her son said cheerfully, maybe a few weeks after the treehouse revelation. “She draws back sometimes, but she doesn’t like doing it because she doesn’t think she’s very good at it.”

“What does she draw?” Sarai inquired, and was presented with his hand, the skin-ink a little smudged around the shape of a fuzzy ball with a cute little face.

“Mostly these round fuzzy things.” He confided. “Sometimes she draws them stacked on each other.”

For a moment, she couldn’t answer. She stared, silent, at what was unmistakably an adoraburr, one of those creatures so common and omnipresent in Xadia that sometimes their charred fuzzy bodies were found fallen into the crevices of the Breach. Viren frequently received shipments of them. Apparently they were useful in some spells.

“Cute.” She commented, in the end, and knew by her son’s abrupt quietness that she hadn’t quite managed to hide her reaction.

She went to Harrow, almost as soon as she let Callum go out to play.

“I think Callum’s soulmate is an elf.” She said to him, without preamble, as soon as they were in private. He froze, and studied her, and watched her with wide eyes as he exhaled. He reached out and took her hand.

“Tell me everything.” He said, and she did. She explained the dialect, and the treehouse, and the adoraburrs, and every other clue her son had cheerfully rattled off at her over the months.

They brought Viren in. He agreed, from his acquaintance with stolen Xadian texts, that the dialect matched. He mentioned that there were enormous forests in Xadia not all that far from the border, and that they were home to a number of communities of Moonshadow elves. There might be other great forests elsewhere, of course. But that was the one he knew of.

From there on, she started noting down everything. The vague idea of ‘maybe she’s a Moonshadow elf’ went from ‘possible’ to ‘very likely’ when Sarai relayed the soulmate’s enthusiasm for a monthly community dance that—when she checked—turned out to fall on the full moon, every month. (Coincidentally, Callum had stopped complaining about his ballroom dancing lessons. She’d have found this much cuter if not for the circumstances.)

“The history texts I have say that Moonshadow elf tradition places a lot of emphasis on dancing.” Viren told her, almost apologetically, when she came back with this latest report.

“There’s no sense denying it any more, is there.” Sarai said, wearily, rubbing at her aching temples. Her son’s soulmate was an elf. Perhaps a Moonshadow elf, even, and those were some of the deadliest and most vicious elves there were. Combined with all of Callum’s mentions of his soulmate’s training…

Harrow laid his hand on her arm in warm, wordless reassurance. “What do you want to do?” he asked, quiet, and she sighed.

“I don’t know.” She admitted. In the end, it took a long talk with her sister before she made up her mind, and even then…it was hard to know what to do. How to react.

“He should know.” Was Amaya’s brusque opinion, expression laced with sympathy as she signed. “He’s a prince now, and he needs to know to watch his words around this soulmate of his. It’s a shame, but he’s hardly the first person to have an enemy for a soulmate.”

“There’s that.” Sarai agreed, glumly, and tried to stop worrying about what it meant for her son’s future, that his soulmate was an elf.

It was hard, telling him. Hard to sit him down and inform him, very seriously, that she was near certain that his soulmate was an elf. It was hard to watch the way his expression went…blank, almost. Closed-off, for a few seconds before it became confused and vulnerable instead.

“…What does this mean?” He asked, quiet, and she wasn’t sure what to tell him.

“It means that you need to be very, very careful what you tell her.” She said, in the end, because that was what she knew. “Her people are at war with ours, Callum. I won’t tell you to cut contact with her—she’s your soulmate. You couldn’t. But…” She exhaled, and shook her head. “I’ll get you some reading.”

She sent him off with a number of historical accounts about the tragedies of loyalty and heartbreak that could come from soulbonds divided by war, and wished that fate had been kinder.

 ---

 Callum was quiet for days, after he learned the truth. He read through the books his mother gave him, even though they were long with tiny script and big words that he didn’t know, and felt more and more upset at the possibilities they implied for his future.

His soulmate…was an enemy. An elf. One of the people Aunt Amaya called bloodthirsty monsters.

He was short and brusque in his replies to her, for a while. He looked at the almost purplish hue of the shared skin with new eyes, and wondered what she looked like. Did she have horns? Pointy ears? The wrong number of fingers and toes? He’d wondered what she looked like before, of course, but…never in terms of how inhuman she might look.

She caught on to his strange behaviour very quickly. Did something happen? She asked him, through their skin, her handwriting its familiar blocky scrawl. You’ve been all quiet.

He wasn’t sure what to say. Wasn’t sure how to reconcile his feelings towards Rayla, his closest friend and his soulmate, with the knowledge that she was an elf. Kind of, he wrote, in the end, heart heavy. He wished his mother hadn’t told him. He wished he didn’t know. I found some stuff out, and I don’t know what to think.

There was a pause while she washed the ink off. And then: Do you want to talk about it?

He didn’t. Not then. So he passed the following weeks, reading her usual reports of daily life, and wondering what exactly she was training for, day after day after day. Why such long hours, when she was so young? Who exactly was she planning on using those combat skills against?

They were heavy thoughts for a child as young as he was, but there was hardly any escaping them. He tried to focus on happier things, like his mother’s pregnancy, and the nigh arrival of his younger sibling. He tried to think of how Claudia was pretty and friendly and fun to talk to, and definitely wasn’t an elf. He tried to think of a lot of things that weren’t his soulmate, and failed fairly thoroughly.

In the end, after weeks of stilted conversation, he couldn’t take it anymore, and sat down with skin-ink and pen to write: You’re an elf, aren’t you.

She didn’t reply for a long time. But eventually, he felt the tickle of a pen-nib at the back of his hand, and retreated into private to peel off the glove. Yeah, she’d written, and nothing else. Not for a few minutes. Then: You’re a human.

It wasn’t a question. He hesitated, wiped off the ink, and wrote You knew?

Yeah, she said again, and then haltingly explained. Apparently, elves wrote their children’s names to their soulmates just like humans did, except they always included some sort of magic symbol, so her parents had known he was human the second his name came through without it.

He asked what hers was. He probably shouldn’t have, and she probably shouldn’t have answered, but she did. She drew a little symbol, and he took it carefully to his mother.

“Moonshadow elf,” she concluded, with honest sympathy, like someone offering condolences. “Like we thought. I’m sorry, Callum.”

‘I’m sorry’, like it was a death-sentence.

He sighed, and put his glove back on. “I’ll be careful.” He promised, quiet, and left to be alone.

 ---

 Both of them were quieter, after that. There was less idle chatter. Less writing about their days, their experiences, the things that annoyed them and the things they enjoyed. He still wrote—he didn’t think he could have stopped himself if he tried. But there was a wariness between them now that he hated.

Still. There were at least some advantages to having an elf on the other end of his soulbond. Investigating rumours, for one. My friend says elves drink blood, he wrote, one day, with a sort of morbid interest. Is that true?

What?? No!! She wrote, furiously, and then underlined it twice and circled it for good measure.

She reciprocated, sometimes.

Is it true humans have extra fingers? She asked, and he responded by drawing his hand onto the back of his hand. Weird, was her response to that, and despite everything, he couldn’t help but smile.

 ---

 I heard that in Xadia everything is magic, he wrote, one day. Is that true? What’s it like?

She hesitated a long while, then wrote I’m not supposed to talk about magic. Or Xadia.

It hurt, a little. But in the end, they both had their security lessons, and their people were still at war. There was nothing to be done.

Eventually, he wrote what had been on his mind for months, now. I wonder how we’ll meet, he said, with a twist of emotion that was half unease and half interest. It was on his mother’s mind, he knew, and it was certainly a thought he kept coming back to, for good reason.

Soulmates always met eventually, whether or not they contrived to. Even if they tried to avoid it…it would happen someday. His mother was worried about it. The circumstances under which a Prince of Katolis might meet an elf were almost exclusively unpleasant, after all. But he entertained childish thoughts of peace treaties and reconciliation, and clung to them, as unlikely as they might be.

I have no idea, Rayla answered him eventually, and he wondered if she was worried, too.

 ---

 The next year or so was eventful for both of them. Callum’s little brother was born, and he instantly became utterly enchanted with him. He wrote to Rayla at considerable length about how tiny his fingers and toes were, how fuzzy his hair was, how he didn’t have a soulmark yet at all. He never wrote his name, because names were forbidden, but Rayla seemed entertained enough by the stories anyway.

Some time later, Rayla went quiet for a while, and was plainly subdued by something. Eventually, she admitted that her parents had agreed to taking a job that meant they had to go away. She wouldn’t see them more than once a year now, if that. Whatever job it was, it was supposedly an honour; but that didn’t help how much she missed them. She was living with her uncles, now.

You can write letters to them, maybe? He suggested. It wasn’t as good as the real-time writing between soulmates, but it was better than nothing.

I guess, she said, but didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it. Her life changed, but Callum’s went on.

 ---

 And then Callum’s life shattered around him.

He shut himself in his room and cried for hours, burying his face in his hands, until tears were streaming between his fingers and his chest hurt and everything felt so awful he had no idea how to cope. How could he? She was gone.

Not much could carry across shared skin. But evidently, enough of the salt-water managed it for Rayla to be alarmed. By the time he checked what she’d written, the tears had smeared and diluted the inks, but the words were still recognisable. Is something wrong? She’d asked, hurried enough that it looked alarmed. Are you crying?

He nearly collapsed, when he went to get the inks. Could hardly see through tears when he wrote, lopsided and awful, My mom is dead. Writing it was terrible. An admission that it was real, it had happened, she was dead.

Rayla didn’t know what to say to that, and he could tell. She wrote I’m so sorry, Callum, and asked if there was anything she could do, if he wanted to talk about anything. But there wasn’t, and he didn’t. Mom was dead. What was there to talk about?

Eventually, perhaps for lack of anything else to try, Rayla drew him a little flower. She’d done it to try to make him feel better, and—and somehow, that made him start sobbing all over again.

A long way down the line, she asked him how it had happened. He couldn’t answer. Of course he couldn’t. That the Dragon King had killed her would reveal too much.

But saying ‘I can’t talk about that’ was revealing in its own way, too.

 ---

 Years passed them by. Callum slowly pieced his life back together around the hole his mother had left, and learned to cope with the loneliness of being without her. His brother grew, and started talking, and swiftly became the dearest person in Callum’s life…except, perhaps, for the elf on the other end of his soulbond.

In many ways, things stayed the same. Callum hated his training and Rayla loved hers. He loved drawing—and became very good at it—and Rayla continued to hate water. She remained as stubborn and headstrong as ever, and she remained his friend.

Sometimes, he had no idea what he’d do without her. Soren was kind of an unpleasant friend, most of the time, and Claudia was always too occupied with her books or lessons or brother to answer his attempts to socialise. He had Ezran, of course, but without Rayla…he could only imagine how lonely he’d have been.

Sometimes he remembered all over again that she was an elf, and felt weird about how much he depended on her.

He still wondered how they’d meet.

 ---

 King Harrow and Lord Viren, with very little warning, departed Katolis and rode into Xadia. There, they killed the Dragon King, and his son the Dragon Prince, and returned covered in a glory that Harrow’s bearing didn’t reflect. Callum wondered if the revenge had felt as hollow to enact as he felt to receive it. The one who killed mom is dead now, he thought, and didn’t feel vindicated. Didn’t feel happy. He just felt…empty. What was the use of it, so many years after her death? She was still dead.

He wished he could talk to Rayla about it. But if names were a forbidden topic, then revealing that his step-father had ridden into Xadia and killed their King…that was plainly out of the question. So he told her nothing.

He wondered if it was his imagination, that she’d grown quieter anyway. When she wrote, she seemed unhappy. Preoccupied, too.

Weeks passed, and she admitted that she was going to be travelling soon. She didn’t say why, or to where, or what for—all of that was proscribed. But she gave it as warning, anyway, that she’d be able to talk less while en route.

In the month that followed, the brevity of their contact left him lonelier than ever.

 ---

 “You must be careful, Rayla.” Runaan said to her, in private, where the other assassins couldn’t hear. “For the first time, you are venturing into the human kingdoms. You must take particular care to avoid meeting your soulmate.”

“Everyone meets their soulmate eventually.” She muttered back to him, fingers resting reflexively over the guard on her left hand.

He was unmoved. “Yes. But, with luck, you can avoid it taking place on this mission.”

It was, in fairness, a very important mission. She sighed. “I’ll do my best.” She promised, though it wasn’t exactly within her control.

When the Full Moon was nigh, and the bindings tight around her wrists, Rayla broke into Katolis Castle and went looking for her quarry.

The first non-soldier she found was a young human boy, maybe around her age. She didn’t know how old Prince Ezran was, but she knew he wasn’t an adult, and…according to what she’d been taught, this boy was wearing pretty high-quality clothes. If he wasn’t Ezran, he should at least know who was.

She chased him. She cornered him. He said, “I am Prince Ezran,” and looked up at her with a resolve and solemnity that didn’t quite manage to mask his fear.

It hit her, then, looking down the length of her blade towards the face of this human boy waiting to die. It hit her that—that he was afraid, that he didn’t want to die, that he was a person, as much as she was, as much as her soulmate was, he was a human just like Callum and she was here to kill him—

But…she had to do it. She had to. She’d bound herself, it was her mission, it was the justice that the Dragon Prince deserved. She had to.

It was in the midst of trying to talk herself into it, and him trying to talk her out of it, that a child’s voice emerged from behind a painting.

It said, “Callum”, and she only had a moment for her blood to freeze before, at her feet, the terrified human boy, the boy who had claimed to be Prince Ezran, the boy she’d been about to kill—

He answered. He responded. It was his name.

What were the chances that she’d meet someone named Callum—the correct age, the correct species, everything—and it wouldn’t be her soulmate?

The painting edged open, revealing a younger human boy with some sort of weird pet. A pet she’d heard descriptions of, held in the arms of a child she’d been hearing about since he was born, looking worriedly between her and the boy she had at swordpoint—

She realised she’d been frozen for too long. She realised that, one way or another, she had to be sure. She reached over, and hit herself hard on the back of her left hand.

The human, in an instant and involuntary motion, flinched and gripped the back of his own left hand. Her heart thudded, and— it only took him a second to realise—

His eyes went wide. He glanced wildly between her and his hand, undoubtedly registering that she was a Moonshadow elf, that she was the right age, that she was—

“Rayla?” He squeaked, and if she hadn’t already known for certain, that would have told her.

She lowered her sword, utterly struck by how much of a disaster this was.

“Shit.” She said, succinctly, and stared at the astounded face of her soulmate.

What in Xadia’s name was she supposed to do now?

 ---

 Notes:

I’ve adored this piece ever since I wrote it in Whenever, Early 2020. Really, really thrilled to be able to share it with everyone at last. As you can tell, it ends on a pretty rude cliffhanger. It’s always invited follow-up, and I think I knew from the moment I finished it that I’d be continuing it someday. And so I did! Eventually!!

According to my discord message history, I began writing chapter 2 in February this year, 2021. I probably wrote the following two chapters within a mad haze in the same week or two, knowing me. The chapters are uncharacteristically short, considering my usual habits, but it felt right for the story. I’ve completed up to the end of chapter 4, and have nothing written after that yet.

Minor edits have been made from the zine version, including some formatting, but nothing drastic. Writing this piece in general was a challenge. There was so much I wanted to include – about the differences in Callum’s life, about Ezran’s soulmate – that I had to cut out because of the word count restriction. Ultimately I opted not to edit that back in for the online version, and simply fill it in organically through the rest of the story. There’s some really interesting stuff, and the story as a whole is going to be wildly canon-divergent.

Some worldbuilding details: - platonic soulmates are considerably more common than romantic ones - there’s some cool weird soulmate metaphysics re: magic

I think I’ll keep it vague and let everyone discover how I’m doing soulmates for themselves, though. Hope everyone enjoyed! Would really love comments on this one; I’ve been waiting so long to share it and I’m so excited.

(also I’m fully aware that the fic’s acronym is ASS, and I’ve decided to embrace this)

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Flowers

My lone submission for the Rayllum Valentine’s event.  Warning: this fic contains mentions of post-partum depression.  Canon-verse, but does involve Rayla still being ghosted 

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

Rayla growled in frustration as she threw the letter in the fire.  “Ray-” Callum murmured from the side, holding their week-old daughter. Aisling was the most beautiful thing Rayla had ever seen, with her father’s green eyes and brown hair with ten fingers and ten toes.  The most elven thing about her was the little horn stubs on the top of her head.    

“Don’t, Callum. Please.”

“We’ll make them understand.”

“How?!  You freed Runaan, Lain, Tiadrin, and many others from those coins.  We saved Zym and reunited him with Zubeia.  We defeated Aaravos and it’s STILL NOT ENOUGH.  They will never unghost me and let me go back home.” Rayla felt the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and tried to hold them back, but they poured out. “And now I’m getting hormonal and just…UGH.”

She didn’t resist when she felt Callum come up behind her and wrap his arm around her waist.  “I’m sorry, Ray.  I don’t know why they are being so stubborn.  You don’t deserve this, but no matter what, you have me and Aisling, and Ezran and Soren.  You ARE home.”

“You don’t get it.”

Sighing, he moved away from her.  “What don’t I get?  Didn’t we agree that this is your home now?  Didn’t we say that, no matter what, we are each other’s home?”

“And I stand by that. But you cannot possibly understand what I am going through.  You still have your home.  You haven’t been banished and you can come and go as you please.  I need weeks of planning to not only go see my parents, but if I want to see my childhood homes, nobody can see me.  My culture, my language, everything, is basically lost to me. You don’t get it.”

Callum was quiet for a while, perhaps minding their daughter.  Rayla winced as she continued looking at the fire.  Wrapping her arms around herself, she felt even more terrible. She didn’t feel like she had taken to being a parent nearly as well as Callum had.  Maybe she wasn’t meant to be a parent.  She loved Aisling with everything she had, had carried the halfling in her belly for nine and a half months and delivered the child for hours, but she was also crying more, angered quicker, and didn’t stop Callum from getting out of bed at night to tend to the baby.  If anything, she hoped he would so she didn’t have to.    

Callum finally came back to her and wrapped both his arms around her.  “You’re right, Ray, I don’t get it.  I cannot understand your pain and frustration.  And now that we have a child, I’m sure your feelings have only grown stronger because you want to share all of those things with her.  But I have to believe that we can make them welcome you back because I’ll hate them if I don’t.  We’re trying to forge peace and hate doesn’t belong anywhere near that.”

“I haven’t even thought about how it would affect Aisling.  Gods, I’m a terrible mother.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“Yes, I am.  I gave her a Xadian name and she can’t spend time in Moonshadow territory?  She’s cut off from half of herself and I’m sitting here thinking about how it affects me.” Rayla felt the panic rising in her chest.  “Callum, what if she hates me?  All I do is fuck up with her.  I’m not bonding with her like I should.  She already adores you more and I’m just there.”

“Look at me. Please.”  Slowly turning, Rayla raised her eyes to meet his, shocked at the tears in them.  “You aren’t fucking up.  You’re having a hard time, but that’s not that weird.  You heard Sabah and Amaya.  Most new mothers feel like this, and if it lasts longer, we’ll get you help. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad mother or something is wrong with you.  What did the mid-wife say?”

“That birth is traumatic for some and it takes longer to heal the mind than the body.”

“What else?”

“That, because I don’t have a support system from my home and my culture, I’m more at risk.”

“I’m so sorry that this is happening and I wish I could fix it for you.  I would fly into Silvergrove now and make them take you back if I thought it would work.  But you are not screwing up with Aisling.  She’s not cut off from half of herself because she has you.  If you want to only speak to her in High Elven, I will support that.  If you want to teach her to read it, I will find books every time we go to Xadia and ask Janai for some.  I’ll order ingredients from Xadia so she can have Xadian food.  I promise, I will do what I can to give you both a connection to your home because, even though we are each other’s home, you do still need a connection your culture.  Aisling does, too.”  Wrapping her arms around him tight, Rayla’s shoulders shook as she silently sobbed in his arms.  Callum kissed the top of her head and held her close, rocking her side to side as he so easily did their baby.

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

Rayla rolled her eyes as she stared at the curtains Callum had pulled over part of their bedroom. He said there were changes coming to the garden and it was a surprise so she wasn’t allowed to look.  It had been several months since the Council’s latest rejection of her return to Silvergrove and she was slowly starting accept that she would always be rejected.  All four of her parents had visited Aisling and had adored their grandchild, promising to visit as often as possible and give her a connection to her culture. Lain and Tiadrin were even considering permanently moving to Katolis so they could be more active in Rayla’s life and make up for lost time.

Stroking Aisling’s cheek with the back of her fingers, Rayla held her bairn close.  Sabah had been a big help in the journey into motherhood, visiting often and letting Rayla freely voice her concerns and fears. Months ago, Rayla had feared the judgmental eyes of others for not being close enough to her child, but she was slowly learning that it really was different for everyone.  Tiadrin had shyly admitted she had had a hard time post-partum with Rayla as well; lying in bed for days on end and Runaan and Ethari and Lain having to check in on her.  She still felt like a failure some days, but her child was healthy and growing with a flush on her cheeks.  “I love you, even if you do wake me and your father up.  We need to get you sleeping through the night, wee one.”

A knock of the door interrupted her gentle scolding, causing her to look up.  “Princess Rayla?”

“Aye?”  

“Prince Callum requests you and Princess Aisling join him in the garden.”

“We’ll be there.” Standing up, she held Aisling close and left her bed chambers.  The trip to the gardens was a short one, but Callum had covered all the windows so Rayla couldn’t accidently get a peak at what he was doing.  “We’re finally going to see what your father has been up to.  I’ll bet you five whole jelly tarts he built a pond just to practice ocean magic.”

“I would take that bet.” She turned to the side to see Callum waiting for her.  “Ready to see the surprise?”

“I’ve been ready.” She turned to the glass doors leading to the garden and waited for Callum to open them.  He smiled at her and turned the handles.  As the doors opened, Rayla was hit with the smell of moonlilies.  She hadn’t smelled that scent outside of soap in years and her eyes watered in nostalgia and happiness.  Callum had planted a whole field of them as well as having built a gazebo.  “How did you do this?”

“Well,” running a hand through his hair, he gave her a sheepish smile, “it certainly wasn’t easy. The Council is being so stubborn with unghosting you, but I managed to convince them with a letter a day to let me have enough moonlilies to do this.  I told them that it was the least they could do for the mage who had decoined several of their citizens.  I know it’s not the same thing, but, at least, you can now have a piece of home right here in Katolis.  Let me show you the gazebo.”

He led them over, hand on the small of her back, and Rayla marveled at all the flowers before her. Moonlilies only bloomed at night, but their scent was still unmistakable.  The gazebo was wrought iron and featured multiple Moonshadow knots and symbols.  There were cushions and benches for sitting on.  “I could spend all day here.”

“I’m glad.”

“Thank you.  This is the sweetest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“I love you, Ray. This is our home, and, I hope, I made it feel a bit more like home for you.”

“You did.  I love you, too.”  

The three of them spent all day in the gardens, having lunch and dinner in the gazebo and later joined by Ezran and Soren.  Sabah, Marcos, and their child joined them as well, Sabah’s heavily pregnant belly leading the way.  Rayla and Sabah chatted in their mixed High Elvens while Callum made his attempts and the little one in their group hung on every word.  It still hurt Rayla that she couldn’t go home freely, but she did feel a bit more at home now.  Maybe one day, she would get to show Aisling and any other children she and Callum had Silvergrove and other Moonshadow territories.  Until then, the gardens would do quite nicely.

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

This fic is something of an ode to my mother who had post-partum depression and had no real support system (family more than a 1000 miles away) besides my father and an ode to my grandmother who had her last child in a country and a culture that were not her own and who regrets not teaching her children more about her language and culture or about my grandfather's (English was the common language between them, so that's what they spoke in the house). I tried to convey their thoughts and feelings to the best of my abilities and to bring in the realties of raising a child in a multicultural, international relationship.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

It’s discussed a lot about how Callum will react to Runaan when he gets out of the coin, but how do you think some of the other human characters would react to him? Like Soren, Amaya and Gren (it’s unclear if Gren ever actually *saw* Runaan, but for argument’s sake, let’s say he did.)

Ooh what a fun question, anon!

Let’s see, Soren. Well, by the time Runaan is freed, Soren will probably have had months or years as Rayla’s ally, even if he spends all his time with Ezran as his Crownguard. I also hope that Soren gets some real-world experience and education at the Storm Spire and in Lux Aurea before he returns to Katolis, if Ezran’s going to return to being king (which, idk, technically I think Soren’s king now, actually, as VIren’s heir, but that’s a whole ‘nother post). 

Soren is a genuinely warm guy. If he gets some time to learn about what Avizandum and Zubeia’s side of the war has been like, as well as Khessa and Janai’s, he’ll have a pretty balanced viewpoint on the conflict as a whole, which will make him a really solid adviser for Ezran, considering the training and actual battle experience he already has.

He may even contribute to the chain of events that frees Runaan, since he’s the one who put Runaan in the dungeon in the first place. His piece of the puzzle is that Runaan isn’t dead, and was imprisoned instead of being killed, and he knows exactly where and how, and also what Runaan looks like. He got a fistful of that long white hair, which is Runaan’s most distinctive physical trait (out of several, okay), so if anyone ever brings up that hair–Soren included–it’ll be obvious who’s being referred to, and that could direct various characters in their hunt/quest to free/locate him.

But what would he do upon seeing Runaan again? They’ll definitely remember each other. I think the key element will be this: time has passed eventfully for Soren, but it won’t have passed in the same way for Runaan. He’ll be stuck, trapped out of the world, alone with the same thoughts over and over again and no new input to help him grow and change. So Soren will probably have come a long way in his personal development, while Runaan won’t have done much more than spin in circles and rethink his choices.

I think the first thing Runaan would do is go on the defensive–or the offensive–with any weapon he can possibly get his hands on, and the first thing Soren would do is to hold up his hands and say, “Whoa there, Rayla’s Pointy Dad Number Two, I’m not gonna pull your hair this time. Promise. 

“And uhh, look. I wanna apologize on behalf of my dad. Viren. The old High Mage who kept you prisoner? I made some bad choices when I listened to him. And what he did to you was wrong. And I was wrong to help him. I thought I was helping my country when I did what he and my sister told me to do. But I ended up hurting people who didn’t deserve it. 

“And Rayla–she’s great, by the way, taught me how to sweep the leg and everything–she’s helped me understand a lot about myself.. Because she and I, we have a lot in common. Trying to do the best we can for our dads being one of those things, and all. 

“So, what I’m trying to say while you’re still deciding if you’re gonna stab me is this: I’m sorry. I’ve been to the Storm Spire, I’ve lived in Lux Aurea, and I, I get it now. The whole war thing. And, who we are inside it. People like you and me. Warriors, fighting to protect people we love. I’ve learned to see more than I ever thought I could. More than my dad wanted me to. 

“So… really please don’t stab me, because I’m just trying to do what my king says: we don’t have to fight back. We don’t have to continue the cycle. You killed my last king, and I couldn’t stop you. And, yeah, that still hurts, not gonna lie. But Ezran’s my king now. And I’d follow him to the ends of the earth. If… the earth… has ends. Geometry wasn’t my best class.  Anyway. So how about we talk, you and me, okay, just a couple of badasses, and we’ll try not to fall back on old habits, yeah? Cool. And… how many pushups do you think you can do?”

And Runaan hasn’t said a single word the whole time. He’s just let Soren go on and on and on. But Soren’s been paying attention to Rayla, trying to understand his new ally whenever he can. So he’s been very slowly stepping closer to Runaan, keeping his hands in sight and open, using Rayla’s mannerisms. And that whole message hits Runaan just as hard as hearing Rayla’s name on Soren’s lips. Soren does know Rayla. Knows her well. Things have changed. And he’s going to need to go slow so he doesn’t make a mistake. He’ll never let Soren into his blind spot, but he’ll play along after that show of information. He’ll look Soren up and down and say, “More than you can,” and Soren will grin like a little kid, because he’s just made peace instead of war, and he’s so proud of himself!

Aww, Soren is like hay. He’s great.

Amaya: afawk she hasn’t met Runaan directly, so unless they have some clashy backstory, Amaya’s attitude toward him will be a combination of “This dude killed my brother-in-law/king” and “this dude is my nephew’s girlfriend’s dad”.

By the time Amaya meets Runaan, she’ll know about Rayllum and how strong and steady it’s become. She’ll have Janai by her side. She’ll know about the power of love, and that overt aggression toward Runaan for taking Harrow won’t go over well with Rayla, and maybe not with Callum either. Plus, they’re all trying to move forward in peace, and her relationship with Janai is a big symbol of that. So on one hand, she’s a walking symbol of peace through love. And on the other, she can offer Runaan an olive branch to achieve peace through forgiveness.

A big influence is going to be how well Amaya and Rayla get along. I’d love to see Amaya teaching Rayla ASL because Rayla wants to be able to send silent messages. It’s a very Moonshadow form of communication, and Runaan talks a lot with his hands already, so Rayla’s primed for a new language there, I think. And the more time they spend bonding, the more Amaya’s tolerance will rise. 

She may have the hardest time forgiving Runaan, out of everyone. Callum has a huge heart. Ezran is a soft boy through and through. Soren would identify with Rayla pretty strongly, with their dark dads. Gren’s too nice not to feel for Runaan. But Amaya’s whole job has been defending Katolis from elves. And she failed, and her brother-in-law died at Runaan’s hands. So part of her hangup with him will be her own guilt. I’m not sure they’ll ever be friendly. 

Callum has more reason to hate Runaan than Amaya, but he’s young and in love with Runaan’s daughter, so he’s got motive and ability to be emotionally flexible. Amaya, for all her love of Janai, might not be quite as flexible toward a Moonshadow assassin whose actions put her nephew on the throne and destabilized Katolis, leaving it vulnerable to a coup and warmongering at Viren’s hands.

So, I think their meeting might go a bit like this: Amaya sees Runaan for the first time after he’s freed. It’s probably not immediately after. He’ll have a chance to find some shirts and eat something, probably heal up as much as he’s going to. And then they’ll come face to face. They’ll warily study each other for a long moment. And then Amaya will shrug and smirk, and Runaan will narrow his eyes, and she’ll punch him as hard as she can, and he’ll let her. Everyone will get caught off guard. Janai and Ethari, if they’re there, will step forward immediately to see to their partners and eye each other warily. But it’ll be Amaya and Runaan who tell them to calm down. Everything just got worked out, as much as it’s ever going to be.

Unless someone attacks Rayllum. Then I’ll get my cherished hc of Runaan and Amaya fighting back to back. It won’t matter what they’re fighting against. They’ll both be all in. Trusting Rayllum’s other stabby parent would definitely bond them more than anything else ever could.

And now for my sweet boy Gren: Gren is really empathetic, and he knows what Runaan’s last days before the coin were like. Gren had it easy--food, water, light, getting to stand up, not having to endure the odd magical experiment. Runaan wasn’t so lucky. We all saw the level of concern Gren had for his fellow prisoner down the hallway when Runaan started screaming. We saw his horror as he realized what Viren had done and how Runaan was still alive inside that creepy tiny prison coin. 

Gren probably didn’t get a very good look at Runaan in the coin, but he’s very good with voices, and he’d recognize Runaan’s in a heartbeat. He could hear everything he and Viren said down the hall. He knew to ask about Xadian fruit, which means he overheard the “Moonshadow elf thing” comment. He knew darn well that Runaan was a Moonshadow--could easily guess that he was one of the assassins--and he was still horrified at his fate. Gren doesn’t carry a weapon--he prefers to talk. And talk and talk and talk. I bet there are plenty of things Gren wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy, and getting coined is one of them now.

So this poor soft dungeon boy, who called down the hall trying to get Runaan to chat and never got an answer, only heard him talking to Viren, what would his reaction be upon seeing Runaan again? Upon hearing him?

Gren would wait for all the “more important” people to speak to Runaan first. Janai, Amaya, Rayla and Callum. And then he’d step forward when Runaan was available and try to have a quick word. He’d stand mirroring Runaan, trying to use Moonshadow body language as best he could. Maybe he picked some of it up from Rayla. And he’d want to speak, but have no real idea what to say. 

“Hey. I’m glad you’re okay. What Viren did to you was... wrong. Really wrong. No one should have to go through that, no matter what. I... just wanted you to know that I’m sorry. I... would’ve helped you out... but...” And here Gren gets caught up in his own memories. He’d tried to stay positive in the dungeon, and he could help himself all day long, but he couldn’t help the guy screaming down the hall. Gren’s no pushover, but that whole experience was really hard for him. The walls of that dungeon start to close in around him again.

“You did,” Runaan says. Reluctantly, but not unkindly. He was too busy trying to hunger strike to appreciate Gren’s overtures of friendliness, but once in the coin, Runaan had ages to contemplate every tiny detail of his imprisonment and what led to it. And Gren would be a bafflingly bright spot. No discernible motive. Just a soft, genuine human who tried to cheer Runaan up despite knowing who he was and what he had done.

And that’s all the encouragement Gren needs. He got to be helpful and communicate and do something good, and that’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He’ll glue himself to Runaan’s side for as long as the elf will put up with him, trying to learn as much as he can about Moonshadows. And Runaan will let him, for the most part, because the true measure of a person is how they treat someone who can do nothing for them. And when Runaan could offer Gren absolutely nothing in the dungeon, Gren offered him kindness and consideration. That’s worth a little bit of Moonshadow trust, and Gren will eagerly use what he leans from Runaan to aid in his ability to make peaceful overtures between Xadia and Katolis.

I think that in general, human reactions to Runaan will be muted by the existence of Rayllum. If Rayla weren’t his daughter, and if Callum weren’t her boyfriend, then I do think some characters would react more angrily to him. But Rayllum is bringing peace and holding it together as the first link, and no one wants to challenge that and cause war again over an enemy combatant who was doing his job by taking out a kingkiller. In the face of Rayllum’s peace and love, Runaan will probably get a bit softer of a landing than he deserves. The humans will get a chance to do what Ezran did: to forgive instead of striking back.

[trashyvirster]

Viren S3 Trailer Meta Time!

I think this clip is a healing spell cleansing Viren of dark magic corruption, or maybe even something more.

The magic itself is beautiful. The glowing runes are dancing; note that this not dark magic. The scene is full of sunlight and there are two flames ablaze behind him. Viren is wearing a white robe and the crown. The visual symbolism speaks of healing/purification ritual, like some born-again christian. The crown may be an important part of this magic too! (this was suggested on twitter, I forgot who now sorry 😭)

There is something worming out of his throat. It could be wormavos...it could be something else, like the soul fang snake. You know? The soul fang snake? The creature the fandom seems to have forgotten about, even thought it was point blank stated to feed on the souls of it’s victims and clearly Viren is NOT okay? Viren whose behavior did change after the snake mysteriously disappeared? And the snake is gonna be back in s3? Suspicious? No??? Okay.

Anyways, notice whatever is coming out of his throat is actually much larger than wormavos.......Unless wormavos was feasting on him 😳

The trailer also shows us a parallel of this scenewhen Rayllum does their spell. So whatever this spell is, it’s something similar to what Rayllum are doing. Therefore, I highly doubt this is anything evil or negative.

Viren is clearly corrupted. But his corruption is not the same as it was shown previously. First off, Corrupted Viren was always shown in dark scenes, whereas here, he’s in sunlight. Before, Corrupted Viren had noticably lighter hair with streaks of white. But this ritual Viren has his usual brown hair.

Corrupted Viren has a greyish skin tone all throughout with streaks of greys and purples. But Ritual Viren’s body is a normal skintone. His ears are normal. Even his chin and around his mouth appear to be normal. Notice that his lips are lacking the creepy veins??? Only the center of his face has corruption.

It’s almost like the corruption as disappearing as that thing worms out of him.

I really think Viren is finally being healed of corruption! (yes please save him!) Question is, who is healing him? And what’s he being healed of exactly?

Is he also being purified of Aaravos’ influence? Or is Aaravos the one healing him? Because if Aaravos healed him, could you imagine how much Viren would worship the ground he walked on?? Would Rayllum do this spell to Viren? (I don’t think so?) And does Claudia have the time of day to learn this in the middle of war? (not likely) So yeah, the “who” is just as interesting.

Anyways! This little clip gives me life! I’m viren stan guys!! I don’t want him to die. If this clip is a healing ritual, theres hope for this old mage. Because I sure as hell miss the man Harrow believed in! 😭

[ispeaktheyburn]

The rest of the Dragon Prince fandom: RAYLLUM HOLDING HANDS OMG

Me: Is Claudia okay? Why is there more white in her hair? Does that mean she kills more mammals for her spells? Maybe even humans? What does she need the spiky ball thingy for? What does "love is complicated" mean? Obviously it has something to do with her dad, but does it also have something to do with Soren or her mom or Callum and Ezran? How will she and Soren react when they see their dad again and find out what he's been up to? How will Soren react when he finds out how Claudia healed his paralysis? Is she going to have to keep killing things to heal his paralysis and that's why there's more white in her hair or is she doing it for Viren's evil plans? Viren sent shadow assassins to "bring terror" to the other kingdoms, including Del Bar where Soren and Claudia's mom lives, will that be important this season? Will we see their mom? If we do, what will she think when she sees how Claudia's being corrupted by dark magic? From the way Claudia talked about her mom, it's obvious she was very close to her; will their relationship lead her to pull a Zuko and tell Viren to fuck off or will her mom reject her and cause her to go full-on Azula? Speaking of Zuko and Azula, if Soren gets out from under Viren's thumb before Claudia does, will we see them on opposite sides for a while? Will they FIGHT EACH OTHER? WILL CLAUDIA BE OKAY?

[raayllum]

hi jsyk watching your hype and excitement after the new short story is really funny (affectionate/positive)!!! ur excitement for s5 and love of the show is so clear

oh my gosh thank you this is so sweet!! it's the funniest thing because literally every time I want something specific as hell from this show, but lovingly put my clown makeup and assume I'm not going to get it, or that it's a fun prediction but doesn't have to pan out, but then

I either end up getting that exact thing or an even better variant of it??

Like pre-S1 I noticed Rayla's face markings looked like tears, so I hoped we'd see her cry at one point bc I thought it'd be a nice visual parallel? And then 1x09 gave it to me. Going into S2 I hoped for Callum to get over Claudia and for a Rayllum tag, and then [gestures] All That Happened. Even before S3 aired with the "written in the stars" skit I'd noticed the slight dark-lightness theme running through Rayllum's arc and thought it'd be a nice consistency, but I didn't think it'd be a Big Theme, even if as soon as the S4 intro came out I was like "yeah that 'south star' shit is coming back" and well... Gestures to the entire ass "stargazing" clip just between the two of them. The way post-S3 I assumed S4 would be about Callum flying too close to the sun magic wise, being terrified of Aaravos invading this mind, that Aaravos would get out in S5, and that S5 would deal more with Rayla's coin stuff? Ezran as the thematic Witness / Embodiment of Justice? Everything about Claudia's arc?? Chef's kiss

My first post-S3 theory back in 2019 was a "Rayla and Ezran disagree with Callum caught in the middle, leaving to a broyals conflict" wish, gave up on it when TTM hppened because it seemed like we were going in a different direction, campaigned for 2+ years for Callum to do something Fucked Up for Rayla, and like... now I'm going to get both things, presumably that I have desperately wanted/hoped for??

And then there's like, all the things I didn't even know I wanted that TDP just decided to give me anyway?? An Angor Rot villain variant in Kim'Dael? Motherfucking pirates? The game motif becoming a chess motif? Wanting a trio variant sitting around a campfire scene in S4 (that we haven't had since S1) and S4 gave me one and S5's already given me one and there might be More?

I've talked before about how healing TDP has been for me when my prior two fandoms source materials back to back were very disappointing and shoddily put together / majorly side lined their disabled characters / characters of colour (who were also my favourite characters) but like

You ever watch or something, and it feels like it was Made For You, in a way? Like tailor made for like, your interests or preferences or character archetypes, or whatever? That's always how TDP has felt for me in everything it's released and every time it's a beautiful, wonderful experience and a surprise. It would be hard not to be so excited and positive about it, and I cannot wait to continue to be catered to. They never miss!

[trees-to-meet-you]

Okay so tonight my family finished watching Season 3 of The Dragon Prince and I gotta say I`m really thrilled with everything, but here are some real (mostly) good bits:

1) Soren. Soren was handled wonderfully this season. When we look back to earlier seasons, he was a jerk who constantly nagged on Callum, and didn`t seem to serve much purpose other than some comic relief and act as a henchman to Viren and occasionally Claudia. In this past season, Soren went so far beyond that. He realized his father wasn`t right about everything, and stood up to him. He even left behind his only family, because he didn`t think they were in the right. Soren apologized to Callum for his past behavior. In his own, unique, Soren-y way, that is. But he still realized that it was uncalled for, and even did some soul-searching to figure out why he did it so he could make sure his apology was as honest as could be. Soren then fought alongside the elves and princes, and was even willing to kill/hurt his father when he thought he put Ezran in danger. He was horrified by this, but he is still clearly noble, and a quality person to have around. (Though, I am grateful he didn`t actually kill his dad, because he would have been so distraught about that.) Soren has come a long way in realizing his father is a manipulative dirtbag, and I am so proud of him.

The rest of these aren`t as great as my praise for Soren, but I still like them. 

2) Ezran`s face when he finds out about Rayllum. I wish I had a picture, but I don`t. His face was priceless. Ezran has round eyes that convey his sweet nature for sure, and when he realizes what`s up they stretch to the size of moons. The shock on his face is reflected on Bait`s. For some reason I find this hilarious. I love it.

3) Also, Rayllum. Just, Rayllum. I love it. I do.

4) Amaya was awesome. She rolled in with Hero`s Honor and continued to be the best cool aunt ever. I was worried, because it looked like the sun elves blinded her, but she can still see so my guess is if they did, they have some way to heal the damage done. She held back Janai when she was wracked with grief, so they could escape and come up with a better plan, along with the others they gathered as they headed to the Storm Spire. It looks rather like she managed to score Janai as something other than a friend, too ;). At any rate, she continues to be one of my favorite characters, and learning sign language has moved towards the top of my to-do list so I can learn what she`s saying without the help of fantastic character such as Gren and Kazi (who, according to the fandom wiki, is non-binary? I had no idea but that`s really cool.) I don`t think I will ever get over how epic Amaya is. Also, I love how neither Gren nor Kazi allow Amaya to swear. It`s not allowed, Amaya.

5) Kazi was also pretty great. They`re rather nervous, but still very sweet. I just like them a lot for some reason. I feel like they`d be happiest in a burrito of blankets with several books, but that may just be me.

6) Aaravos behaved like a cat. I`m sorry. He did. I`m not sorry either I fully enjoyed it. Meow, you evil jerk whom I`m fairly certain discovered dark magic. That`s right, go lounge on that specter of a horse you summoned up and sulk about how the Dragon King locked you up. He`s still very pretty in that astral projection form, though.

7) The shot of the magic flowers in Ethari`s pool. Rayla`s was floating up at the top,and the others were beneath the surface. But what I really like is how Runaan`s was still above the pool floor, because in order for the flower to float, the person has to be alive and breathing. Runaan is alive, but not breathing, so only one of the criteria is filled, causing it to only float half-way.

8) On the topic of elves and flowers, I thought it was possible after Rayla got wrongfully banished that her parents might have been, too. Guess I was right :D. But, if they had flowers in the pool (They may not have, because those were for assassins. However, they were close friends with Ethari and Runaan, so I think it`s possible they did anyway.), then surely Ethari would have noticed if something was amiss? I think that Viren also trapped them in coins, so what would that mean if they did have flowers? Ethari would have noticed, so what exactly is going on here?

9) Claudia. She`s so sweet, but unlike Soren, she hasn`t come to realize how horrible Viren is yet. She means well, she really does, but I don`t know if her intentions matter so much when she`s on the wrong side of things. Given that Claudia is a mage like her father, she probably had an easier time pleasing him than Soren did, because she imitated him. So, maybe she hasn`t seen what a disgusting being Viren is. Anyway, last season we saw her heal Soren`s paralysis, which took an incredible amount of energy and the stress turned some of her hair white. In the final episode, half her head was white after she says Viren didn`t survive the fall. Does this make her a full on necromancer? I`m intrigued. I hope she does have a nice little redemption arc though, because she really is sweet.

10) Callum getting as excited as a little kid as he waves the puzzle box around when exploring Xadia. It`s adorable.

Bonus: Callum getting mesmerized by Nyx`s boomerangs. I almost feel it was a reference to Sokka. Maybe it was, I dunno. But still. Boomerang.

[elite-7]

Day 3 of Rayllum Month: Confessions!

It's been three days since Rayla returned from Xadia. Three whole days of being with Callum, Ezran, Claudia and Zoe (her daughter). She smiles her way down the halls as she meets up with her friends.

 "Well, well, well. Look at who showed up three years later." Someone calls her out from behind one of the statues.  

 Rayla turns her head to meet Soren for the first time since she came back. Her hands crept for her blades but someone stopped her. It was little Zoe.

 "Uncle Soren don't be mean to Auntie Rayla!" She mutters as the young man fumbles for words. The little girl looks up at her aunt and smiles. "I saved you Auntie Rayla!"

 Rayla couldn't help but smile. "You did. You're a brave wee one." She whispers ruffling the two year olds hair.

 "So? You came back to heal Callum's broken heart?"

 "Soren! Stop harassing her!" Callum's voice echoes down the hall as the trio turns to find him walking towards them. He didn't look pleased that his friend was still not over the 'but she's an elf!' thing. Callum stands between the elf and human. His back towards Rayla.

 "You're still picking      her     over your friends huh? Typical." Soren mumbles, marching off without throwing a glare at the elf.

 "Meanie!" Zoe says stomping her feet in place.

 Callum smiles at her before looking at the elftress. Rayla was hugging the little girl and was giving her a soft look. She didn't look to see Callum pulling out a blue rose from his jacket. She was too busy smiling at little Zoe.

     How can I not fall in love with you?    He thought looking at the rose and then back at Rayla. From all the years pining for each other, Callum wanted to be the first to confess. He wants to be her one and only. His princess.

 "Rayla I-" he starts but Opeli interrupts him.

 "Prince Callum! The Duchess of Del Bar has arrived! Please follow me to meet her." The councilwoman says grabbing the prince's arm and drags him away.

 Callum quickly turns his head to watch Rayla pick up something. He dropped the blue Rose in hopes that she would receive his message. Her eyes widen as he was dragged down another hallway.

 Rayla was heartbroken yet again. After the dance they had shared underneath the stars and on the beach, her feelings for him were again ignited. She wanted to be with him.

 To have and to be bold.

 In sickness and in health.

 Rayla had made a promise to herself that she would get the man of her dreams.

 Even if she had to break an arranged marriage.

 --[---]---

 Callum quietly looks over at the woman who was sitting in the garden. Her legs tucked into her chest. His heart shatters as he could see tears running down her face. Maybe this wasn't a good time?

 "I know you're here." Rayla calls out lifting her head to wipe her tears away.

 Callum looks at her and for a moment he could only see her. He didn't care about what might Opeli say. He doesn't care about that Duchess of Del Bar. The Duchess's family hated elves. That made him call it off.

 He trudges over to her and sat down beside her. His hands were shaking and all the emotions from three days ago were filling up again. Callum wanted his friend to know his true feelings. How she saved his life? How she influenced change.

 How important she was to him.

 Rayla spoke first, not really looking at him for the longest time. "I couldn't wait to come back to see you guys. I came back to see      you    , Callum." She turns her face away from him.

 Silence fell between them.  For Callum it was understanding. But Rayla took the silence the wrong way. She misunderstood the situation.

 "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone." Rayla whispers while getting up but Callum grabs her wrist. She freezes up. "Callum let go. Your wife is waiting for you."

     Now or never.  

 "I called it off for someone I know and trust."

 "Claudia?"

 Callum makes a face. "She's married and besides, those feelings are behind me. You would know the girl." He says looking up at her. "She's great, amazing, beautiful, smart-"

 "Are you talking about Elis?" Rayla whispers on the verge of panicking.  

 Callum quickly stands and interlocks his fingers with hers. He moves closer so that she was only inches away.

 "Badass, has two blades that almost killed me once, a beautiful smile-"

 "Callum I-"

 "PRINCE CALLUM! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT ELF!"

 Callum ignores Opeli's outburst by placing his head on hers. He wraps an arm around her waist as if he's afraid that she would go away.

 Rayla breaths in his scent. She could feel the icy glare that the councilwoman was giving her. The elf decided to ignore her. She felt Callum kiss her forehead and couldn't help but shiver.

 They wanted this so bad. She had wanted to be with him. It makes sense now. He wanted      her     to be his wife.  

 "I know, Ray." Callum whispers pulling her close to him as he turns to face Opeli.

 "You broke the engagement for an elf!"

 "I did. My heart was longing for someone other than the one you chose for me. I'm nineteen Opeli. I think it's time for me to make my own decisions." Callum says feeling Rayla lay her head down on his shoulder. "Plus, I love elftresses than human girls."

 Rayla threw the councilwoman a smug smirk as they watch Opeli stalk away. Callum releases her and takes her hands. He throws her a dumb grin as she throws her arms around him.

 They spin and twirl around the garden as the blue rose's around them bud in the moonlight.  

@rayllum-week-and-month

[raayllum]

What’s your favorite episode of season 4?

I’m having such a hard time deciding myself, I like all of them a lot for different reasons

Oh god that's so difficult; current standouts though are

4x03 for like, the obvious reasons of the Rayllum reunion and Ezran's speech / That Scene because come on, how could it not be? I also love how this episode is our first real glimpse at Zubeia as a character and how she manages to be equally good natured and regal / majestic at the same time. Also love Ezran's speech for the way it lets the Theme of Love vs Strength to start maturing in a way that was subtextual in the first three seasons and is now becoming more textual; aka love and grief complicate things, etc.

4x05 might be my favourite episode for Rayla, but I'm not sure yet. I also really liked the Guardians of the Gate, I love seeing all four kids together (as it doesn't actually last that long lol) and I got my campfire scene!!

4x07 is probably my favourite episode in the season overall. The different zones of peril are fun, seeing the kids just have a good time together is so nice and healed something in me. I like the tidbits of worldbuilding we get, it has my favourite Rayllum scene in the season (aka "You need to kill me") and Soren and Claudia's conversation and layers there is fantastic.

4x08 is my favourite episode for Rayllum's dynamic mostly because Callum is starting to thaw, even if he's still hesitant and unsure in some things. The way he's so happy about the moon magic, and runs to her when she's in danger, the soft looks they give each other, the way he hesitates to put a hand on her shoulder and then follows through and she just lights up. I also love love the gifts scene and seeing Ezran and Zym's reactions to Rex Igneous

Honourable mentions to 4x01 and 4x06, and 4x09 also had some of my absolute favourite stuff in the season for Callum and Rayla as individuals / a dynamic, as well as Claudia

There's absolutely stuff I loved / adored from every episode, though - I'm very excited to rewatch the season this weekend and start getting more meta thoughts out <3

[raayllum]

Kay but like with all the Viren-Callum parallels imagine if we got a moment where Viren and Callum actually get to talking, one on one, and obvi there’s so much baggage there with the family friend betrayal and look who’s got your old job now—

but imagine if there’s a moment where Callum’s asking him where Rayla is and Viren, like whether he knows or not, he’s not looking to answer Callum’s questions anyway, so he just snidely says smth like, well, shouldn’t you know the answer to that better than me? Bc last he saw they were attached at the hip—

And the new high mage’s face changes into something raw and festering, and Viren recognises the look on Callum’s face.

There is a short, stunned silence before:

“…Ah. I see. Another jilted high mage.”

And maybe Viren says it out loud or the silence says it for him:

you really are becoming just like me.

Bc like I think that’s the one parallel that could really get to Callum, that the love of their lives left them — obviously it’s different with Callum, Rayla left because she loved him, to protect him, but he probably doesn’t see it like that —

Callum probably still thinks it happened because he did something wrong somewhere, going over it again and again in his mind like if only I’d been stronger or smarter, if only I’d said this or done that then maybe she would have trusted me and brought me with her, she left because she doesn’t trust me enough, because I’m not enough—

And having that insecurity thrown in his face, of being left, by Viren of all people, who probably didn’t even mean to be cruel in that moment, if anything he’s almost sympathetic because he’s seeing himself now in Callum’s shoes, abandoned by the love of his life because of reasons he just can’t understand.

Just like, the painful irony of Callum being surrounded by so many people who love him and want to be there for him to talk things out, who want to be a healthy support system for him — but in the end it’s not them but Viren who most understands the pain Callum feels because he knows what it’s like.

Harrow lost his world to a dragon. But Viren knows what it’s like to have the rug pulled from under you one night as your world walks away from you by choice. And what does that say about you? What could be so wrong with you, that you would be abandoned just like he was?

Just. It would mess with Callum’s head so much and I am here for it.

I don't think Callum and Viren would get to a civil enough place (Callum left him to die and will probably ragefully want him dead bc he's the reason Rayla left in a lot of ways, right? Easier to blame) to have this type of conversation, and I think they'll draw parallels between some kind of Aaravos backstory (being separated from someone he loves due to his imprisonment, maybe) in order to tether him and Callum as foils / garner sympathy from Callum to him.

All that said: I have definitely thought about Callum is carrying the weight of both Harrow and Viren's losses regarding their wives. (Which, the amount of parallels Rayllum continually has to married couples in the show just makes me lose my mind every time.)

For Viren it is the abandonment, the possible bitterness, and like you said, having the rug pulled out from under you. Having the relationship break with no say in the matter. We know Viren did something morally dubious to heal Soren when he was a kid, but whatever it is made Lissa feel unable to stay (although not to the degree she didn't feel safe/okay leaving their children with him). Callum also did something kinda morally dubious, coming up with the Moon Henge plan and lying to Lujanne's face, tricking Allen into helping them, etc. - so it's not really surprising that it blew up in his face, tbh. I think it's likely that Callum blames himself a decent amount for Rayla's absence, yes - guilt over going to sleep that night, over not reading her signals, over not waking up and being able to stop her, etc - but I also think he knows her well enough to know, with the clarity of the aftermath, that this is just who she is and who she's always been. He just didn't think it would take her away from him like this.

Then with Harrow, it is the years-long grief. Harrow mourned Sarai until he died, writing about her in his final letter to Callum on his last day, nine years after she passed. Callum is two years in, clearly trying to prepare himself for the possibility that Rayla is already dead, but also shows no signs of actually moving on and getting over her, either. Tell me she wasn't your world.

And given Harrow's reservations about seeking revenge in 3x06, as Viren coaxes him into pursuing it, the Avizandum-Viren parallels set up in the S4 opening...

H: It's been a long time. Our kingdom is prospering. There is peace. [...] Perhaps it's wiser to stay focused on these blessings.

I think it's exactly why Callum will be tempted into Dark magic / more dangerous, desperate dealings, too.

[raayllum]

i think one of the things we don’t appreciate enough, especially in light of rayllum actually being in a romantic relationship and what that means for callum, is how much rayla makes callum feel safe, too.

there are some truly wonderful posts out there talking about how callum makes rayla feel safe — and it is very true, he does, and one of my favourite things about them. for rayla, someone who does her best to not be vulnerable, slowly learning that she can be around him, and callum working in equal measure to prove that to her is so, so beautiful. her letting herself fall in love with someone and then feeling free enough to express that in all the ways she does? is another beautiful sign of growth.

but callum, of course, almost always wears his heart on his sleeve. and we know this largely because of how open callum is with rayla, and all the heartfelt speeches he feels safe enough to display. whether it’s about his insecurities in 1x04 or 2x04, his worries like in 2x07, or his twisted up feelings of grief and remorse in 2x03 and 3x06. even when callum is unsure (“[a mage] who me? no, i’m not really anything”) or self deprecating (“princes are supposed to be good at things... but i’ve always been bad at well, everything”) she doesn’t use either of those moments to demean him, even in the first instance when he quickly starts annoying her: “nobody likes a loud mage.” “hey sad prince. let’s go get your cube.”

rayla never judges him for anything. not seriously, not vehemently, and not without reconciliation. when callum breaks down about harrow, he does so in rayla’s arms. when he feels completely dejected and rejected by magic, rayla is there to remind him it isn’t worth more than his life. to convince him to go back to sleep. to stay by his side when he’s sick. to vouch for him and to save his life from sol regem. 

she makes it clear that he matters to her. he’s her best friend and she treats him like it and he knows it. and callum thinks so, so highly of her, so it means the world to him to know just how highly she thinks of him too. how much she treasures and values him.

but callum has also been burned romantically before. claudia stabbed him in the back, in his eyes, in more ways than just one. she broke his trust, threatened his friends and brother, and used his feelings. she basically took his heart and their relationship and threw it in the trash. she threw him away like it - like he was nothing, and he knows that, too. 

so the fact that he’s so comfortable being affectionate with rayla, that he wants to tell her he loves her, that she returns all his affection and fondness and support just as much, that she loves him just as much? that rayla can help him heal? that he feels safe enough to be affectionate and loving with her, particularly romantically, anyway?

and that rayla absolutely cherishes him? never fails to make me emotional.