#i do love my ez&rayla bonding

[raayllum]

if rayla has to stab callum in order to protect ezran i think that’d be very cash money

[1lovepeace]

I genuinely agree with your take. It's true that the trauma Rayla experienced doesn't excuse her actions, but it deeply explains the reasoning behind it. And in a way, you see Amaya soften up after seeing herself in Rayla in terms of being stoic, strong, and lonely in handing things alone. She's opened up more. Callum refuses to let Rayla push him away, that everything they do and face, they do it together, accepting his help and leaning on him for support. Little by little, she's growing and maturing, and I'm proud of her. There's still a long way to go for her, but she will get there.

With all the time that all four of Rayla's parents have spent self-reflecting, whether in the coins or while being alone and self-isolated from the community over the last two years, I sincerely hope that it can transition to all five of them reconciling, healing and repairing their broken, fractured family. No doubt that all 4 of her parents are incredibly scarred, haunted, devastated, and extremely hurt by the failures and negligence committed. Imagine the uncontrollable, horrifying nightmares they must be having of Rayla, being tormented by her memory every night. Their hurt, pain, heartbreak, emotional/psychological torture, and suffering are perhaps far worse than we imagined. I wouldn't even know where to begin with addressing Moonfam's family issues. But they deserve to have their family again after all they've been through.

But Rayla also has a right to feel and express her anger, resentment, disdain, animosity, and even her rage towards all four of her parents for what they put her through. Let her say what she needs to say. Let Rayla be angry and messy.

Seeing people crap on arc two Rayla genuinely makes me sad. I don't think many people truly realize the depth of Rayla's isolation. What happened to all the characters in arc one was horrible (I am not down playing that), Callum and Ezran lost their father, and Soren lost his family, but they all had Katolis to go back to. Their home. Rayla lost EVERYTHING. She lost the assassins who she grew up with and trained her, she lost her home, and worst of all she lost her parents. She lost Runaan and Ethari in one go, only months after her parents. And all she had to remember them by was what they taught her. And they taught her self sacrifice, they taught her to do questionable things in the name of protection and the greater good. Viren threatened everything she loved which WAS Callum and Ezran, and she thought he was still alive. She was stuck in fight or flight mode, she was bathed in trauma. And she had a point in TTM, everyone was just moving on, and didn't take or let her have anytime to truly grieve. She was in such a dark place in TTM and it influenced her decisions. She knows she did something wrong, she knows she hurt Callum. She hasn't brought herself to apologize yet, but why did we stop treating her as human? (Or elf, as it were)

Also hi, I've recently been liberated from TDP reddit

[obsessedwiththedragonprince]

Se4 ep4 thoughts

First of all, i just realised Ibis's message reminds me very much of Kingsley's patronus in HP and the Deathly Hallows saying the ministry has fallen😂

Random but I don't really get why Ezran has a telephatic connection to Zym? Like okay he can talk to animals which includes Zym(which I too don't really know where it came from but ok) but does this connection add anything besides being an deus ex machina at the end of book 2? And then they couldn't just write it off so it just shows up randomly? Idk myb it leads somewhere and i hadn't gotten there yet.

Human-elf argument? Is it to show they aren't ready to truly accept one another? Where's this going?

Why does Ezran going with them solve anything? Like it's a gesture of good will but he can't really help them fight Viren. He can just die and then Katolis will be without a king. Myb just I dunno, send your High Mage with them? It's a gesture of good will and he can actually defend himself. And isn't an eleven y/o! Opeli get your head on straight!

I really like the cook but he comes in at most random moments? Like I think brown sludge tarts can wait my friend.

Oh so others are coming. Kinda makes sense.

Damn architect i get where ur coming from but have a heart! Why doesn't he take his mother's spirit flame out of the camp?

Love how much Callum cares about Bait. Even tho he's just endangering him.

Ohhh we're getting Aaravos backstory!!

Wait how long do elves live? Aditi is Janai's grandmother right? And this was hundreds of years ago. I love how they couldn't just talk about who'll ascend the throne. Do you even get that many benefits from it?

Young human girl? Looks like some ancestor of Katolis leaders. And was that before dark magic and banishment of humans? Cause otherwise why did she even know about this? The cube!! Thousand years??? Do all elves live this long or just Great Ones(who are they btw?)

What exactly was Aaravos's goal with causing all these crisises? Now ig it's getting free but what about before?

New transition i love: Aaravos still shown whispering when it switches to Claudia to show how he's manipulating her.

Omgg is this a Viren - Terry bonding moment is see in the near future??

Oh fuck off Viren. Just. Fuck off. Like I didn't think it would be all sweet and this but at least something? Get a grip?? Idk if u read my post for ep3 but i imagined Viren would myb find some new respect for Terry after learning what he did but no.

Shit shit shit stupid architect woman why would u do that!? I feel so bad for the elf i started crying😭 honestly his voice actor really convinced me of his anguish and it makes the whole scene(same with Janai when her sister died these actors are doing a fine job) did the whole bucket just turn to ash? Damn. Why doesn't it happen to humans tho? Bucket more flammable? I like that he immediately regrets burning her even if she was in the wrong, but honestly the animation doesn't sell it as much as the voice actor would i think. Why is there no gasp or sth?

Are they hinting Aaravos could turn his attention to Callum? I mean he'd certainly be interesting as a human who knows an arcanum.

Damn. I mean we knew Aaravos was powerful but a being from the heavens? Dragons combined couldn’t risk a confrontation?

Okay that scene talking about the magical prison has me more and more convinced that my far-fetched thought was right and the cube is the prison lmao. Like it looked like sth tiny? Idk.

They found Ibis's body! With blood mysteriously gone but ok. If we're being honest Zym should prolly be more attached to Ibis than Ez cause he spent way more time with him. But he wasn't a MC so tough luck. Where's Callum? Oh they're late. Idk why but in my mind Rayla was riding with Callum and Soren.

Viren's hesitating! I mean I get it if magic got me killed I wouldn't be so eager to pick it up again.

Dragons can do magic? Huh.

What the fuck is he doing to Callum? I mean possession was my first thought but. Couldn't he have done it before to anyone? I mean he prolly didn't want to reveal what he can do while still in prison before he was ready.

Damn for whatever reason I love him talking to Ezran. Ig it shows sth but i don't have the brains right now to figure out what.

Bait being moral support to Soren so cute!!

I love how he blew them a kiss and broke the mirror lmao. Drama queen.

[jelzorz]

@thosefiveadoraburrs @raayllum and @beamwrites told me to so okay, here we go, one list of hcs for a dumb tangled au coming right up

Harrow is dead and Viren is high mage and regent until Ez comes of age. He Does Not let the boys out of the castle ever both bc he knows there are people who oppose his leadership and would rally behind cal and ez in a heartbeat. He's still trying to come up with an excuse to keep the throne once Ez turns 18.

Callum and Ezran have been under what's basically house arrest since Harrow died. They still have their Prince lessons. Callum still sucks at swordfighting and Ez still loves jelly tarts but they're not allowed outside of the castle bc Viren sucks.

Callum is super duper still fascinated by magic but kinda dislikes dark magic bc Viren's a dick. He knows Viren wouldn't let him anywhere near even a primal stone so he spends all day watching Claudia practise in the courtyard trying to secretly learn the runes that way.

Anyway one day, Ez finds the egg. They know what it is and that they have to get it back but Viren took for a reason and there's No Way Viren would a) return it and b) let them leave in the first place

Then Rayla breaks into the castle to steal idk the crown or something and the boys, of all people, catch her out. Bait does his big flash and in the confusion, Rayla is knocked out.

ia63

They sneak out. They steal the egg and a primal stone from Viren's office on their way.

Ez loses his mind in town. Callum, at least, got to go out with his mum and dad when they were alive but Harrow and Sarai died when Ez was a baby and he's literally never been to town. Rayla specifically takes them too all The Worst places trying to get them to call it off, but the kids are determined, and they end up in a tavern full of people Viren Does Not Like: rebels who dislike their rule and would stand by Ez. They help them get out.

Viren sends Claudia and Soren after them, as per canon, who follow their trail until they get to the same tavern and the same secret tunnel. There's a fight. Rayla goes out of her way to keep Ez and the egg out of harm's way. Magic is involved. A badly timed fulminis causes the tunnel to collapse and traps the trio in a dead end. The tunnel starts to flood.

Callum learns that Rayla's not the rogue thief she pretends to be by the way she reassures Ezran in spite of the way she's obviously terrified of the water. They find a way out thanks to Cal's magic (maybe?). Hooray! They're alive!

They settle for the night. Ez goes to bed but Rayla stays up to Keep Watch. Callum notices the way she's still shaken up. Insert backstory of why Rayla's afraid of water here. Bonding and learning abt each other. Now they're friends ❤️

The rest of the journey isn't so bad. They find themselves in Xadia and Cal and Ez are both starry-eyed ala the Kingdom Festival scene. Rayla kinda hangs back and Callum reels himself back to talk to her. More bonding ❤️

They go to an elven festival I guess? Insert lantern scene? They let her hold the egg.

Claudia and Soren catch up to them. Claudia uses Cal's feelings for her to try to turn things around. Soren goes after Rayla. Idk what happens but they manage to make it look like Rayla's run off with the egg. Claudia and Soren start making their way back to Katolis with the boys.

Ez catches on first. Something's wrong. What happened to Rayla? She can't have left them on purpose. Callum's too hurt to believe him until something happens (idk what) to change his mind. There's another fight. More magic. The boys get away.

They rescue Rayla somehow wherever she is

I didn't get this far in my head when I was writing ia63. You'll know more when I do!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

King Runaan of the Moonshadow Elves, pt 4

Heir apparent

Angst rating: 7/10

This was the second image I thought of when this full theory hit me.

Rayla is not Runaan’s biological child, but she is his heir. She’s not quite adopted, but she’s very well loved in the tree palace, and yet she feels very keenly, at least on the mission and probably after Winter’s Turn, that she is not a Moon Druid the way Runaan is. And she doesn’t feel like enough anymore.

He makes sure she knows all the best fighting techniques, martial tactics, and herbal medicines. All her fight moves are very similar to his own.

What Runaan does not do is mandate her accent or her hair or her posture. He lets her remain herself. But this does set her apart in a really obvious way. She’s suffered a lot of insecurity during the show, and it’s very possible that this is the root of it: Rayla feels unworthy to continue Runaan’s line.

So when he walks her into the forest to basically tell her she’s failed him—which she already knows—and then calls her “the fastest and strongest of all of us,” she makes a face and looks aside. She doesn’t feel that she’s living up to his high expectations anymore, as his protégé or his heir, and deep down she’s questioning her self-worth in the light of her parents’ supposed failure.

She has the same look when Callum tries to compliment her at the Oasis.

Ironically, this issue of self-worth binds her much more closely to Callum, even though she doesn’t tell him why. Neither of them is related by blood to the king who raised them, and they’ve both suffered insecurity and feeling like they don’t fit in. Just as Callum is coming into his own and finding his own footing, Rayla is losing hers. Callum was treated distantly, while Rayla was earnestly instructed and praised. They’re at different points in the same cycle, but it’s very much the same cycle. Far more than Rayla has ever let on.

Callum’s anger in regard to Runaan killing Harrow is probably the only reason Rayla hasn’t spoken a word of it to him. They could bond even more tightly over it, and she does trust him, but Runaan killed his stepdad. She can’t imagine that Callum would have any interest in bonding over anything that involves his stepdad’s killer.

But she’s not just a princess. She’s a crown princess. She was drawn to Ezran because they’re both carrying the weight of future rule. Ez has picked up his crown already. I think Rayla’s going to do the same, sooner or later.

Rayla in a tree trunk-patterned tunic? Or will she choose a new motif? That really depends on how the rest of the series goes. But whatever she wears, I think Rayla’s destiny is to take her place as Queen of the Moonshadow Elves to lead her people into a better, and freer, future. Perhaps Runaan knew exactly what he was doing when he chose a sassy Scottish elfling to be his heir. Someone very unlike him, someone who might one day break the cycle and set his people free.

Speaking of not being free, Runaan is the one who binds Rayla with the ribbon. As the king, he could easily have actual magical power to bind people, as long as he’s got that ribbon handy. Or perhaps oaths in his presence—including his own—literally mean more. Enough to activate mirror runes when he breaks them, perhaps.

 Maybe this feature of his position is why he physically prevented Rayla from saying “My heart for Xadia” a second time. She swore an oath and was bound to it by her king. What might happen if she tried to swear the same oath a second time? Was she drawing her blades to make a blood promise? Runaan would absolutely not want her to do that. Whatever weight her oath was about to put onto her shoulders, he swiftly prevented it from landing there.

Things that hit differently now

Her conversation with Ezran on the Cursed Caldera

Her guilt over Runaan’s death

Her brave and stoic face when Ethari faded back into ghost mode

Her emotional breakdown at the Oasis

The whole final battle atop the Storm Spire

Her sacrificial rescue of Zym

The end of TTM

part 5

[cosmicpoutine]

episode 1

okay ethari's scene was kinda weak, idk i was expecting more emotion. i understand he must be numb at this point

runaan's horny ass is desperate for his husbannd

oh they're spliting up im worried

CLAUDIA DO NOT BRING YOUR FATHER BACK AGAIN FOR FUCKS SAKE

is claudia gonna go to the moonshadow limbo thing like rayla did??

NOT THE PLUSHIE

omg callum's scene finding out is actuallyt heartbreaking

omg soren nooo

my baby boy you did everything you could. i love soren bonding with callum im hjabnkhujedbf

CLAUDIA STOP

aaravos is so clearly using her

terry is not very excited about this

SORVUS SORVUS SORVUS SORVUS

why did they make it so awkward lmao

2 bros chilling... hugging

im sensing zombies in this season

celestial elves are fucking bitches, hoe you have the chance to save the world and u just... wont? brother when i catch you..

they just gonna sit around in a destroyed castle?

it's gonna be so sick if he sits in the destroyed throne

OH THATS SICK AS FUCK

find sol reguem?? dude is dead brother

soren being the voice of reason here

ez wants revenge, he wants blood and im here for it

an archdragon's bite?? zymm it's your time to shine

... dude just turned into a mountain???

??? DHIFJKGNALIKHJNB JESUS HE LOOKS SO HOT IN EVERY VERSION WHAT THE FUCK VJASBGLK

IS AARAVOS FLIRTING WITH CLAUDIA???

runaann is so stubborn i love him lmao he want's his boyfriend

ew he's actually eating the worms

he's so not excited about going to katolis

i love to see his personality come out, we're finally getting to know runaan and i'm so excited

oh corvus you're so fucking perfect and smart

... is the tumblr oc actually aaravos?

NOT THE SNOW WHITE REFERENNCE, callum is so stupid tho if it wasn't for corvus he would've died

sol regem being dead is bad for ez tho, now he has nowhere to direct his anger towards

rayla and runaann working together, how i missed this

runaan is about to have his main character moment. he looks so sad seeing the castle destroyed

OMG THE SCENE OF RUNAANN IN FRONT OF THE THRONE

AND EZRAN

HE'S SO RIGHT TO BE ANGRY

"soren arrest him" AGAIN???

runaan surrendering was so in character lmao his morals are so strong

the episode was so good overall. i think ethari's scene was a bit underwhelming, but it's understandable, the man has no hope left. and ezran doing everything to direct his anger towards someone and not being able to and just bottling up his emotions until he exploded on runaan that was so good.

fuck it, im watching tdp tonight. block the tag tdp spoilers to avoid my spamming live reaction

[swtzutara]

MAJOR THROUGH THE MOON SPOILERS

after reading through the moon, I decided to make a post with all my predictions for season four, especially because it changed the course of what most of us were expecting for it (rather tragically). i think it’ll be fun to come back here when the season drops and see what I got right. most of these predictions were already in my mind before the comic came out, but I had to change them just a bit to fit what happened at the end of thought the moon. under a read more because of ~spoilers 

Rayla won’t appear on the first episode, and maybe not on the second one too (though I think we might see a little bit of her at the end of the second ep) but we’ll see her on the end credits art, like maybe clues showing where she is, or the places she went to

I think callum is gonna be desperate about her, and will want to go after her right away, but won’t be able too for some reason, probably ezran and soren convincing him to go back to katolis first, or maybe something in the letter she left for him? 

Callum and ezran will have a fight about callum wanting to leave everything behind and go look for rayla, because ezran is also worried about her but he can’t leave because of his duties, and he feels abandoned by rayla already and doesn’t want callum to leave him too. rayla leaving the way she did would impact them both, but since callum can be a little bit of jerk towards ezran when he’s got his head full, I think maybe he’ll focus on how rayla leaving affected him and how hurt he is, and forget that ezran also cares deeply about her. they’re brothers and it’s easy to get overly emotional with family, and to have a lot of complicated feelings, and I’d like to see it being explored on the show with them. also callum can’t just leave his brother like that, i think he knows that deep down, but after the events at the end of season three i think he would be really worried about rayla 

(that’s a popular one already) I think we might get a “Rayla Alone” kind of episode, since I believe rayla won’t appear much in the first episodes. the episode will show the scenes referenced in the end credits art from the previous episodes and also where she is now. i believe we will see her struggling mostly with her feelings, since survival is not a problem for her. she will have nightmares like the ones in through the moon, and maybe new ones, since she left callum and ezran behind and will probably feel guilty about it, even though she believes it was the right decision. it will be a very emotional journey, which i think would be great, rayla’s feelings are incredible to analyze and really complex, there’s just so much potential for her on this season

I think Terry the Earthblood Elf will appear on book four

Ezran and callum will have a Big Feelings Time and solve their fight (not fast or easily, but i’ll leave these details for the show lol), and then maybe they will send corvus or soren after her, but at some point i think callum will go too, perhaps after they got a clue? i love rayllum but i can’t think of callum just leaving his baby brother (who’s king) for only God knows how long, especially knowing that rayla can take care of herself during her journey, the biggest problem here is to where this journey is taking her

Rayla will be able to reach viren because I believe she will get the coins in this season. they need time to develop all the conflicts that will explode when runaan, tiadrin and lain are free, so I think she will get the coins by the end of season four, they will be freed on season five, and we’re gonna have seasons six and seven to develop the characters and the conflicts between them

Rayllum will have a Big Fight when they get together again. i think their inicial reactions will depend on the situation they will found themselves into when they reunite, but after this they will have a fight that will turn into a serious conversation about what happened; i think they just need to put their feelings out there and with the way things happened, it would be through some screaming. callum will talk about how he felt betrayed by her, how she left him and ezran, how he just wants to help her and be there for her, she broke his trust, and as much as i think he’ll understand her motives, it’s still very hurtful, and she doesn’t need to do things alone anymore. rayla will talk about how difficult it was for her to see everybody apparently moving on while she was stuck in the past, how she didn’t want him to distract her of her pain but just accept that she was hurting and let her deal with it on her own, how she COULDN’T let it go because only answers would bring her peace, though it is true that she didn’t have to run away and try to hunt viren on her own. they will be fine by the end of the season, but we’re gonna get some pretty heavy emotional moments before that

I think ezran won’t be able to go after rayla with callum because of his kingly duties, and we’re gonna get a lot of human kingdoms politics with his narrative, and maybe some aanya-ezran bonding (PLS I WANT IT SO BAD). it would be nice to see callum dealing with the politics to, awkward as he is, and he is a prince after all, he can’t just ignore this part of himself

I think amaya will be torn between lux aurea and katolis. i think she and janai will be pretty close when the season starts, and since janai, as the new queen, will be dealing with the disaster viren caused at lux aurea and with no doubt being stressed a lot by it, amaya will want to support her and be there for her, but then she’ll found out about what’s happening at katolis (aka her nephews fighting all the time and rayla’s disappearance and all the crazy politics ezran will be dealing with) and she’ll want to be there for them too. i think it would be nice to see amaya having more of a emotional conflict, she’s so tough when it comes to physical conflicts, but emotions are something that can really shake you to the core

I think ethari will help the boys on finding rayla, maybe with some spell he knows?? he might work with corvus or soren to track her, they both joining their abilities, that would be really sweet and also reinforce the show’s theme of humans and elves working together. i think maybe we won’t get A LOT of ethari on season four because I believe he will be of great importance on season five helping rayla free runaan, tiadrin and lain from the coins, but it wouldn’t make sense for him to NOT be a part of season four too, considering all the situation with rayla, and how he needs to make up for what he did to her

Aaravos will take great interest in claudia, but she won’t trust him. we already saw on the show that he thinks she’s a “useful asset” and that he’s impressed by her resourcefulness, and he’ll probably want to use her for his own gain, but she doesn’t trust him because she hates elves. the creators said aaravos is really manipulative, especially because he was able to manipulated viren, that is also very clever, so sooner or later he’ll find a way to manipulate claudia or get her to trust him, and I believe it’ll be through viren. he’ll either threaten viren behind viren’s back or manipulate viren so he manipulates his own daughter (what a mess)

I think callum may connect to the moon arcanum by the end of the season. i’m not really into the theory that he’ll connect to all six primal sources, because as badass as it sounds I’m not sure if that’s what the creators are planning for his arc or if it’s really necessary, but I do believe that he’ll connect to at least two, sky and moon. he already have the set up to forge his connection, especially after both his experiences at the moon nexus, and I think the process will happen more smoothly now. he’ll be reflecting about something, maybe his situation with rayla and the lies she told him, and also remembering the “white lies” quote from the comics, and he’ll suddenly realize that he has connected to the moon arcanum (again, it wouldn’t happen as lame as i’m sure i’m describing it, but i’ll leave the details to the writers). callum struggled a lot to understand the sky arcanum because it was his first try, and he had no clue of what exactly to do, and I think it would show great character growth if his second connection came more easily, especially because of his feelings for rayla, and the way he’s trying to understand her. she being the key to his connection with the moon arcanum would be really sweet 

I think we’ll see soren also struggling a lot about his place on the castle. he doesn’t have his family around anymore and he used to be very close to claudia, and all the experiences at the storm spire affected him deeply. he loves the boys and want to be their protector, but I think he might feel lonely. i’d love to see some bonding between him and ezran or him and callum (hopefully both!), and I also think he’ll be worried about rayla too, they seemed to be starting to develop a friendship in ttm (i loved it so much), they talked about his father and how dangerous he is, he knows rayla will be in big trouble if she finds viren, and he’ll be afraid of another confrontation with his father

I’m honestly a bit lost about how the ending could be. if rayla will be found or come back willingly after getting the coins, i don’t know which one i’d like better. also rayllum being separated from ezran again is so hurtful, but there’s no way callum wouldn’t go after rayla at some point, and it would look really bad for ezran if he abandoned the crown again, right after the war, but i hope we can have callum and ezran together for most of the season at least. i’m also expecting a big fight between claudia and rayla, i think it would be great.

I already thought that rayla and callum would be in separate places during s4 or s5, but I sure didn’t expect for it to happen like THAT. I also expected a fight between callum and ezran because I think their relationship needs to be a bit more tested, especially now that ezran is king. I’m so excited about season four I can’t barely sleep at night lol (a release date when??). I know this predictions are a bit (or a lot) vague, but they’re really supposed to be just overall ideas of what could possibly happen on book four. 

[xadianwolf]

🌀Book II:Sky🌀

🔥Fire and Fury🔥

- Rayla being supportive and giving Callum a demostration of what Moonshadow powers feel like, even when he doesn't get it, is very sweet in my opinion

- Wait, how did Soren and Claudia got there?

- One does not simply walk into Xadia and Rayla being supportive agaln

- Yes, Pyrrah is terrorizing the town, but hasn't attacked. Plus the guards haven't attacked her, but are still on guard just in case

- Soren, please think things through in the future

- There's a huge ass dragon burning the city down and all you two do is bicker over griffin's eyeball?

- Ezran is a caring cinnamon roll again

- Yeah, Opeli, you tell him!

- Pyrrah definetly told Ezran where tge spear had hit her and thanked him for pulling it out before passing out

- Claudia smiling while talking about cutting the dragon to pieces. Not creepy at all...

- Both Rayla and Callum have a point about Pyrrah actually

- Oh shit, Callum used dark magic!

- *hears the crunch* That didn't sound good

- Yay, Claudia chose Soren!

- *hears the sound of Viren slicing his arm and Aaravos' voice* NOPE!!!

📕A Book of Destiny📕

- Yes, Rayla, listen to Ezran!

- *yells alongside Ezran* RAYLA!

- At least Virus has some level of intelligence regarding Aaravos

- Poor Dark!Sibs

- Oh shit, Corvus is here. Oh good, he's not attacking them

- Oh no, Ez knows and is angry! My poor baby boy!

- Don't listen to Dark!Callum, Callum!

- An interesting new career choice, Soren, but okay

- Well, you did trash the room, Claudia, so I don't wonder that you were thrown out

- Yes! Go, Callum!

- Oooh, I have his word

- Sail!Callum

- Wait, Corvus came back, where did he go now?

- As scary as Banthers are, they're actually very pretty

- Oh no, Callum's drowning!

🧘Breathe🧘

- Ez, sweetie, I know you're a good boy, vut Claudia tried to kill you plus steal Zym

- Why is Aaravos' fave before he puts the book away a mood?

- I swear, every kid in this goddamn show has somehow lost either both parents, one of them or a parental figure and it's so sad. They don't deserve this.

- He's MY doof 🥺 I can now imagine Ivy saying similar thing about Zack

- Yes, comfort each other

- I cannot imagine the panic Rayla is feeling. This boy used Dark Magic, something she despises, to save her. And now he's dying. She provably also feels super guilty because the reason he used it in the first place was because she recklessly went to save a dragon

- I wonder if it was Callum's love for Rayla that allowed him to see his mother... Because at thay moment, Rayla was hugging him in the real world while Sarai did it in the dream world

- Sarai is a good mom

- Rayla nearly confesses....aaand then Callum wakes up and she becomes an awkward mess

- Claudia, what are you doing?!

- Yessss, Callum knows sky magic!

- Oh shit, her hair changed!

- Oh no, Ez left. Poor Zym

- So she did retrieve Pyrrah's horn...

- Moonstone path!

- I wish we get more info on the Mind Bond later in the show....

- Woooo, they made it!

- Oh shit, Sol Regem!

[theredhairedmonkey]

It's interesting you think Harrow was referring to Sarai when he asked Callum to be Ezran's partner, defender, and closest advisor. I always thought he was referring to Viren, and asking Callum to become Ez's High Mage. Why doesn't the letter mean that?

Well, Harrow had no way of knowing Callum would become a Mage, so I don’t think having him become a High Mage is what Harrow had in mind. It’s true that he intended Callum to inherit the Key of Aaravos, but that could have meant any of a variety of things, not necessarily that he has to become a mage to unlock its secrets. Needless to say, if Harrow truly knew of Callum’s magical abilities, he would have had him trained to master them, rather than just force him to learn sword-fighting and all these other princely skills he was having trouble with.

But in the more abstract way, “partner, defender, and closest adviser” does refer to Sarai and not to Viren. Because (1) While Sarai was alive, she was all those things for Harrow, and (2) at the time that Harrow wrote the letter, Viren was none of those things.

Sarai was indeed Harrow’s partner

Sarai: “You’ll be a champion of love and justice, and I’ll be fighting by your side.”

I mean…this one should be straightforward.

Sarai was also Harrow’s defender

Sarai: “I think this was in our marriage vows, right? Something about keeping you alive when you're acting like a brave idiot?”

Even prior to their marriage, it’s hinted that Sarai was a general—perhaps the general—of the Katolian army.

Opeli: “Your Aunt Amaya, and your mother before her, saw to it that our army was the best trained and most disciplined force in the kingdoms.”

As a general, her entire mission was to not only protect the kingdom but to protect the king and his family. For their entire relationship, Sarai was always the defender, either keeping Harrow alive or keeping Harrow safe.

Lastly, Sarai was Harrow’s closest advisor

As stated by Viren, Sarai was the one Harrow sought advice from. Whether it’s about the wisdom of hunting down the Titan, or about the insecurities he had with being King:

Sarai: Harrow, what troubles you?

Harrow: Why do I deserve this? What did I do, except being born with everything?

Sarai: You are humble, and grateful, and kind.

Whenever he’s seeking wisdom or guidance, it’s always Sarai. According to Viren, she “made him better. Harrow told me he was never as strong or brave as Queen Sarai believed him to be, but he tried every day to be stronger and braver so he could live up to what she saw in him.”

Viren, on the other hand, was never able to fill Sarai’s shoes, whether when she was alive or dead.

He was never Harrow’s partner

Viren clearly thought so.

Viren: “He insisted I stand next to him in the painting, because he knew I would stand by him through anything.”

But when he tried to express this sentiment.

Viren: “Right now I do not come to you as my King. I think of you as my brother.”

Harrow blew up at him.

Harrow: “I see the problem now. It’s that you believe you are special. Better than everyone else, above the laws of this kingdom.”

We’ve never seen Harrow have this kind of temper, before or since. So, I’d wager that Harrow’s anger must have been building for quite some time. Viren was perhaps always overstepping his boundaries, seeing himself as a “partner” to Harrow while the King always saw him as a subject. A loyal and capable subject of Katolis, but a subject nonetheless.

It’s interesting to note that, while Harrow does not regard Viren as his brother, he emphasizes that Ez and Callum are brothers, and wants them to treat each other as siblings, rather than as King and subject.

In his letter to Callum, he stresses that, whatever lies before him and Ez, they’ll face it together. As partners.

“I may not have long. So I’m forced to ask myself…what can I pass on to my sons in the short time I have left?”

“Soon you will both face a lie.”

“I ask you and your brother to reject history as a narrative of strength and instead have faith that it can be a narrative of love.”

“I will be watching over you and your brother always.”

“I have a selfish wish. And that is for you and Ezran to be…free.”

And when you look at the kind of relationship Harrow had with Sarai, and the kind he had with Viren, ask yourself which one he wanted his sons to have?

Viren was also not his defender

Think back to how Harrow joked about executing Viren for disturbing him.

Harrow: “Viren, didn't I tell you if you ever woke me up this early again I'd have you executed?”

Harrow: “So, what's so important that you come into my bedroom risking your life like this?”

While this is obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke, it does hint at the fact at how Harrow saw Viren at the time. He preferred to keep Viren at somewhat an arm’s length, and regarded the matters he brought before him as relatively trivial rather than life-or-death. Even though Viren does do things to protect his King, it’s clear that Harrow regards these as ancillary—the Crownguard formed the bulk of his protection, and he was already making preparations for his defense when Viren arrived.

And if there’s an exchange that justifies why Harrow keeps so much distance between them, it’s the following:

Viren: “Know this, every one of these men and women would gladly trade their life to save yours.”

Harrow: “Would you?”

Viren: “I-uh…”

Harrow: Get out.

Lastly, Viren was not Harrow’s closest advisor

Harrow doesn’t rope Viren into any of his plans—while Viren was free to make his own plans, Harrow didn’t include him in any defense strategy he himself came up with. He sees Viren as primarily a problem-solver, but not necessarily whose advice he trusts his life with.

And even when Viren provided counsel to Harrow, his actions made it clear he did not regard Viren as his closest advisor.

In fact, he seems to have choice words for Viren.

Viren: “You're acting stubborn and ungrateful.”

Harrow: “Should I be grateful that you destroyed that dragon's egg? Thank you for starting this unwinnable war? Thank you for angering the dragons and the elves so much that tonight they are here for my life?”

Harrow questions and second-guesses all of Viren’s advice. In fact, there’s not a single time that I can think of where Harrow approaches Viren and asks him for his guidance. Instead, it’s usually Viren who approaches Harrow with plans that Harrow reluctantly signs off on and ends up regretting.  

It’s clear by the point Harrow hands Callum the letter, he doesn’t keep close company with Viren. He holds Dark Magic, Viren’s primary craft, in high contempt. He thinks Viren is primarily responsible for the assassins coming to kill him. He thinks all of Viren’s plans have amounted to mere shortcuts for which the “blood price” would have to be paid for eventually.

When Harrow is writing to Callum, he doesn’t want him to have a relationship with Ez that he had with Viren. By that point, their relationship had deteriorated to the point that Harrow is miffed when Viren calls him his brother, he no longer loops in Viren to his defense plans, and questions and criticizes the advice that Viren gives him.

Instead, he wants the two boys to have a relationship like he had with Sarai, who Harrow always sought advice from, with whom they had an incredibly positive relationship that made Harrow want to do and be better, and with whom Harrow would trust his life with.

I’ve already written before here how Callum has already become a “partner, defender, and closest adviser” for Rayla. I’ve also written here about some of the things Callum has in common with his mother, and one of these days I plan to write about the other commonalities they have. But Callum really is his mother’s son—I think Harrow saw that and wanted to foster those qualities. When he saw moments such as:

It reminded him of how he and his wife used to spar.

And it made him see the close bond that the two boys have with one another. They’re inseparable, they fully trust one another, and they would always be at the other’s side. For Callum’s part, he will always protect his brother and look after his wellbeing. He could speak his mind, and work together with Ezran to build a better and brighter Katolis.

Harrow could never imagine having that from Viren. And honestly, it’s quite possible that this is part of why Viren held Callum in such utter contempt—without having any special talents with spells or steel, this boy will be in closer company with his King than Viren ever could be.

No wonder he has so much hatred for him.

[uniquepeachfox]

“gotta say my favorite part of your response is where you simplify a multifaceted character down to "love interest."”

Lol except for five seconds in the finale, her entire character arc this season is built around getting close to Callum. She basically is just a love interest at this point.

“regardless, it does matter if corvus is a main character or not in this context. because he's not central to the narrative, we don't know much about his personality and relationship even with soren. i do agree they have great potential for a great friendship, but we're not going to see a lot of that that because of his distance from the main character(s).”

Oh, bullshit. TDP raises side characters to more prominent roles all the time. Janai was a side character in s2, and now her character arc was 1/3 the storyline in s4. If they want to build out Corvus and his relationship with Soren in s5, there’s nothing stopping them. And considering the cutscene that was released, it looks like that’s definitely a distinct possibility.

”you missed the entire point(s) where i said i wanted soren and rayla to grow closer and that they're foils to each other...and a key part of being a foil to another character is opposing them in one way or another, so soren calling rayla out on her mistakes is in character for him without being an antagonist towards her.”

😂😂😂 that’s not what a foil is. A foil is a character with key traits that oppose or parallel another character. Soren has a closer foil relationship with Ez and Callum than he does with Rayla, and Rayla has a closer foil relationship with Claudia than she does with Soren. There’s nothing to foil between them, and even if there was, that doesn’t necessitate that two characters have to be all buddy-buddy with one another; Callum and Viren are the most prominent foil relationship in the series, and they hardly speak with one another, let alone have a sibling relationship with one another.

“you are correct to say that their relationship now is based off missions and rayla fucking up when it came to callum, but its truly baffling how you think that that is going to remain stagnant. soren and rayla are both former "badies," in that they opposed callum and ez, but made their own decisions that led them to be who they are in the present. they are not by any means stagnant characters.”

Yes, they were both antagonistic to Callum and Ezran, and now they’re not. What’s your point? That they should bond over it? Lol.

”soren "jostles" with corvus and callum for minutes in 4x01 before plot happens so this being your argument on what, that soren can't have other people he's close to? it's just a weak argument.”

Yes, it’s a weak straw man argument. I obviously didn’t say that Soren can’t have other close people. He obviously does, namely Ez, Opeli, etc. and probably Zubeia and Pyrrah now. The point here is to show who Soren’s closest bros appear to be, and right now that’s Callum and Corvus. 4x01 shows he has a rapport with them that he doesn’t with Rayla.

“soren is a kind and caring person. he knows what it's like to fuck up in regards to the people closest to you. hell, he tries to kill ez in season 1. but what makes him kind and caring is his empathy. he tries to reason with claudia before defecting in season 3 and he tries to reason with her again in season 4. he is exactly the kind of person to understand rayla royally screwing up but not being an unforgivable character.”

Lol now THAT is a weak argument. Yes, he’s a kind and compassionate person, which is why he doesn’t hold a grudge against Rayla essentially abandoning him for shitty reasons. That doesn’t mean he’s suddenly going to have a sibling relationship with literally every person he meets.

“reducing her to callum's (ex?) girlfriend is the same as reducing soren to the himbo-jock character, and he's so much more than that.”

Funny enough, people have made the claim that Soren was essentially flanderized this season as a himbo-jock, but that’s neither here nor there. Rayla’s entire character arc this season is built around getting back with Callum. This is not reducing her to anything, it’s just an apt description.

”while soren is friends and close ones at that with callum and corvus, he still works for/with them. not to diminish callum or corvus's friendship with soren, but, as rayla said herself in the s3 episode where corvus tells ez that harrow is dead, ez is not her king, and she's not a citizen of katolis. soren having a friendship with rayla has none of the strings attached that his friendship with the others has, so to see a friendship develop between them is a friendship completely of their own choosing.”

Lol way to make the antithesis of a good point. Soren has a close friendship with Callum and Corvus BECAUSE he works with them. They’re comrade-in-arms. They’re all bound together to protecting their king. And as you said, Rayla as no strings attached, meaning that she can just up and abandon Soren when she feels frustrated with him. Something that Soren’s true bros would never do to him.

things i would find cool in s5 of tdp

rayllum

a zuko alone style episode on what rayla did in the two years on her own

rayllum

ez and callum being the adorable sibling duo they are

ez and callum big feelings time

rayllum

soren and rayla being bros

soren telling callum "shhh the grownups are talking" when he tries to but in on sorens conversation with rayla

rayllum

soren and rayla big feelings time (preferably with each other)

nyx (since she's in the promo art) making fun of rayllum

human rayla/elf callum

return of callums deep thoughts on sandwiches

RAYLLUM

[wildselkie]

Top 10 Scenes in TDP Season 1 (pt. 1/3)

Top 10 Scenes in TDP Season 1 (pt. 1/3)

*not ordered in which is better or worse, but it will be in chronological order*

Also some things are worded weirdly. I have a pain in the ass time trying to get my thoughts across in words so... I thank you for your patience :))

_________________________________________

1) The scene where Callum, Ezran, and Rayla find the dragon prince. Ep. 2

I think this is one of the more pivotal moments in the show. I mean it is literally the scene that sets the story in motion after all! Two human princes, an elf assassin, and the lost dragon prince (who was thought to be dead/gone/egg destroyed(?)).. this is just IT.

*also i’m aware that Ez probably found the egg first cos he already knew about this secret area but still

2) Viren (attempts to) proposes the idea to trade his life in for Harrow. Ep. 3

Now there are other well thought and well written posts on this scene with Viren and Harrow, so I won't waste your time with all the gushy stuff. I find this scene important because it shows the lengths that Viren would go for his friend. Whether he's doing out of the goodness of his heart or some other selfish reason... maybe both(?)..

!WARNING! MINI VIREN POST ALERT EVEN THO I SAID I WOULDN'T GET INTO IT

In the book Moon, it dives deeper into the plot along with expressing the characters' thoughts and feelings. As for Viren, it's stated in the book that he wanted to:

"offer his life for Harrow's, but he wanted him to understand that this was more than just a sacrifice of a subject to his king. This was personal"

"... he would need to be straightforward. He wanted to say simply I love you and I will die for you" (Ehasz 80).

I have no doubts that Viren didn't not love Harrow or anything of the sorts, but at the same time it feels like there was another motive. Maybe there was, who knows.

All we know about Viren is that he's a father of two (Claudia & Soren), divorced/ separated from his wife, and he's a dark mage. Of course there's some more (like he's taller than Harrow according to the character line up)... also his staff... like if you look at it, it's the same one as the mage who faced Sol Regem all those centuries (?) ago. Maybe he's related to him, or possibly descended from one of the followers. I'd imagine that teaching dark magic may be a thing within his family and ancestors... he taught Claudia dark magic. That doesn't prove anything but it's a small thought.

ANYWAY-- this scene is one of many scenes that show Viren in a vulnerable state. The book gives a look into how he felt when he decided to sacrifice himself and everything. It's just interesting and I'm here for it. 

3) Amaya and her weapons grade baguette Ep. 4

On a less serious and more fun note, the fact that Amaya is a breakfast connoisseur is just perfect. Amazing. Fantabulous.

"As a breakfast connoisseur, she was offended that Ezran would neglect a hearty morning meal" (Ehasz 120).

I only emboldened and italicized "offended" because in the show YOU CAN LITERALLY SEE HER FACE WHEN EZ TELLS HER.

Bruh she was so offended lmaooo

It's right at 13:36 time in the show... the slow zoom in and all 😂

4) Amaya and Gren meeting Viren at the statue Ep. 5

I’m trying to see if I should have paired this with the first scene where Amaya arrives first. That scene is pretty calm but has a somber feeling. It introduces the relationship of Amaya and Sarai without having to directly say it. 

But this scene here is... interesting. Not in a good way or bad way, but we see they’re reminiscing of the past. At some point, they all got along nicely. Callum even noted in his spellbook that Viren’s family became like a second family to him when he moved to the castle. 

This interaction was cute tho. It started out positive (sort of) with them joking about Viren eating the last jelly tart which pissed Sarai off lol. But then Viren went on to apologize to Amaya and reassured her that what he does is out of the goodness of his heart and love for Katolis. But...

“Aaaaand, he’s back, Amaya thought” (Ehasz 150). 

And then went on to sign that he’s on a bunch of bs. See? Even Amaya knows he’s full of shit lol. But really tho... it makes me wonder how much of bs Viren goes on even before the events of the current story line. 

5) Rayla saves Bait from the sea monster Ep. 5

Let us give a round of applause for Rayla going against her fear of water to save Bait, the grumpy frog who hates her. I think this just goes to show how compassionate Rayla really is. This would include the time when she goes back to grab bait back in the banther lodge in episode 4. 

6) Viren giving his kids their *secret* missions Ep. 6

Okay this isn’t just one scene. I cheated yeah yeah whatever >:3

When Viren is telling Soren what he must do when he finds the princes, at first he doesn’t fully get it, but then.. OH n0

Viren’s intentions are starting to unfold and come together as one. Like, this man just told his own SON that should he find the princes, he should kill them. This 18 yr old bby 

bruh

And Viren didn’t say it aloud, but he heavily implied it. Only to then gaslight him later on when Claudia confronts him in prison. 

As for Claudia, Viren tells her that she must retrieve the egg. And do everything in her power to bring it back, even if it means that she’ll have to sacrifice Soren... her own damn brother ;-;

7) When Callum finally lets Rayla hold the egg Ep. 6

This scene is pretty big. Rayla knows that Harrow is long gone and is trying to find a way to tell them. Obviously she doesn’t choose the best time to try it.

They were in a dire situation that could potentially kill them (even tho they had plenty of those moments already). The reason why this scene is so big is because it shows her struggle to break the bad news (ever since the right binding fell) as she continues to grow closer to them. Here you can see Callum passing the egg to her, despite her hand being in the terrible state that it is in. It is also the scene where right before passing it, he finally tells Rayla that he trusts her. 

8) Human Rayla!! Ep. 7

Human Rayla is so corny but it’s the good kind of corny. One of the best comedic jokes in the series! 

That is all cos human Rayla needs an AU of being a nighttime tv host or smthg

9) Viren and Runaan Ep. 8

yo this is alot okay. The scenes with these two introduced some Moonshadow philosophy and such (ie. not being scared of death). Runaan being the stoic and serious assassin that he is. And Viren not having any of this shit. 

There are three major things here:

 Runaan knows about the mirror and is most likely aware of who Aaravos is. He literally says, “That mirror? You have found something worse than death.” Goddamn...

And then Viren just... trapped his soul.. his essence into a goddamn coin. Just like that? wow. And hold it, almost admiring it in front of Gren. 

Also this is the first time we officially see Viren in that form. In the beginning of episode 5 we are given a darkened silhouette of Viren and the butterflies. But here we see the damage resulted from years of having done dark magic, and it’s horrifying. He is the high mage and all but goddamn. I mean with every action there are consequences so- 

10) Callum destroying the primal stone Ep. 9

I feel like this is one of the “of course it’s this one!” scenes but it really is! Callum realizes that only a sky dragon can be hatched in the eye of storm and there he is with a literal storm in his hand. By now, Callum has come to understanding what feels right and that being a mage is his destiny. But he also understands that he needs to sacrifice some things for new beginnings. This whole journey was to get the lost dragon prince home and restore balance and peace and with the egg starting to die... well you can’t really do that without the egg. 

It’s at 18:50 where he realizes all of this. It’s one of the big boy moments in the show. Seriously, it’s a big moment and the suspension helped get the feels in. And we got a cute baby dragon!! 

End, begin. it’s all the same. (pls someone get that reference ;-;;;)

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

Some honorable mentions:

- Episode 7: Claudia and Soren interacting. I love their sibling bond; it’s so silly and sweet and I love it. It makes me wish I had an older brother of some sort. 

Ellis and Ava,, I like the flashback story given when they meet the dragang. I just like it, okay? Smol chiald w/ smol wolf pup and a hippie Lujaane seeing the beauty & strength in Ava. 

CGI Coran. That all I have to say about that guy lmao

- Episode 8: When the group is going up the cursed caldera and they encounter that giant leech. Like can we just appreciate Callum’s funny way of making out a plan? Fat respect for that. 

Another is when the group split up and waited for the leech to leave. The conversation between Ellis and Callum were sweet as was the one between Rayla and Ez. I loved Ellis’s admiration for Callum being a mage. And her expectations of what a mage was is pretty hilarious. So wholesome. The same goes for Ez when he gave Rayla that daily fill of positivity. 

Like... Ellis is telling Callum how smart and confident and cool he is. And meanwhile Callum is like... it’s not me, it’s this. *whips out primal stone* And she goes on to tell him that she believe he’ll be amazing with or without the stone. 

And Rayla is telling Ez how she failed in her job of killing the enemy. And Ez is telling her how she’s awesome at everything she does.

this is the positive wholesome shit I come for like... this is parallels but GODDAMNIT it’s so.. ;;;;-;;

Yo this is long ENOUGH! Thank you so damn much if you read to the end. You’re the real beauties. Anywho... uh parts 2 and 3 will be up soon. 

 It’s 11 now so I need some sleep. goodnight kids

[raayllum]

Quick run down: 4 is the lowest typical score given, 10 the typical highest score given (although you can technically go up to 12). Making my post because I noticed Callum’s Justice ranking was at 6 (lower than I’d expected) and I always meant to do a lil more formal comparison between the trio so here it is I suppose.

Devotion: This is value is about duty, faith, and friendship. You’re motivated by the bonds of loyalty and your love for others.

Truth: This value is about fidelity, certainty, and authenticity. You’re motivated by finding strength in facts and by the principle and pursuit of knowledge

Glory: Have you ever wanted to be celebrated by history? This value is about legacy, fame, and fortune. You’re motivated by praise, acclaim, and your desire to be remembered.

Justice: Have you ever been compelled to fix what’s wrong? This value is about balance, virtue, and reward. You’re motivated by adherence to fairness and what you think is right.

Liberty: Have you ever resisted the control of others? This value is about freedom and autonomy. You’re motivated by a world without oppression or suppression.

Mastery: Have you ever needed to rise above your own limits? This value is about control, achievement, and skill. You’re motivated by power, growth, and progress.

Similarities:

Glory is a 4 for all of them. Utterly unsurprising I think - they’re all willing to do things regardless of recognition and aren’t motivated by any real self importance

Truth is a 6 for all of them. I find it interesting that Callum gets the “hide the truth to protect others” rather than Rayla, but we do see elements of that in TTM. For Ezran, it has less to do with a moral truth (Rayla) or how to handle the truth (Callum) but more to do with maturing to see the truth (“I ignored something that is true” —4x03)

For anything other than their Most Important Feature, everything else has roughly an 8. This makes sense as it is still a core value, i.e. Callum jumping off the mountain is very devotional, Rayla works very hard to find real justice, Ezran cares a great deal about placing autonomy in other people’s hands (S3), etc. 

In Betweens:

Ezran and Rayla both have Mastery at a 6 with Callum having it at an 8; this makes sense as he is driven to look for knowledge and power (through magic) in ways they are not / are mostly settled and/or disinterested in

Ezran and Callum both have Devotion resting at 8 - high, but not their highest values. This makes sense as according to the game, Devotion is how obligated you feel to others. Ezran feels beholden to Katolis but that’s something he’s largely grown into, and he feels a wider responsibility to the world at large, moving in between them as he can. Callum is very devoted to his loved ones (mainly Ez and Rayla, but also Zym in a lot of ways) and his desire for freedom often interplays with a desire to have autonomy/capability to protect and/or provide for them in key ways. 

Rayla and Ezran have Liberty at an 8, showing that they value freedom (Rayla’s bio includes her goal to free all people from terrible fates like the one she almost had with the binding ceremony, we’ve gone over Ez’s, etc) even if it’s not as high as Callum’s - but more on that later

Highest Values

Ezran’s is Justice at 10. This makes sense as he is the series’ embodiment of Justice thematically as well as the series’ Witness. This reflects his role as the peace maker for elves and humans and dragons, both politically and interpersonally with Callum and Rayla in S1 and S4 in particular. It is also embedded into the fact that his death itself would have been Justice and his survival is what allows true justice to actually continue, his decisions as king, and the fact he’s king at all, per Harrow’s words: “My father told me that about all, I must be a Just king.” 

Callum’s is Liberty at 10. This foreshadows his arc in season four in terms of a complete loss of control/freedom and why it screws with him so royally. While many of the characters agonize over making the right choice (or a choice at all), not having a choice at all is what torments him the most: “I can’t do anything!” (2x07) particularly when it comes to protecting or helping his loved ones. We see this especially in his quote under Liberty in which despite being crown prince and heir to the throne, he states that he is beholden to his inner circle rather than a sense of duty. In S4 he is concerned about Aaravos hurting his loved ones, and that fear of doing awful things to other people is what has him so especially worried over the situation, reaffirming his statement that “I value those close to me more than anyone or anything” certainly. 

Rayla is Devotion at 10. At first glance it’s easy to take her “My only allegiance is to my heart and those that know it” as a similar kind of sentiment to Callum’s “I value those close to me” statement, but we know what Rayla’s heart is aligned with: “My heart for Xadia.” Her heart is given to whatever she feels her duty is, to what feels right, hence why she risks everything for Phyrrah, someone she doesn’t know at all, simply because leaving the dragon there results in “every fibre in my body is telling me this is wrong.” Bloodmoon Huntress also expands on this further, drawing comparisons to her and Runaan’s sense of duty and love for the whole world, as well as precisely what led her to take on the assassination mission in the first place. In S1-S3 Rayla gets better at listening to her heart rather than shutting it down, although this has changed in S4. She’s learning to prioritize her loved ones more and more, but at the cost of her actual heart.

Misc Notes:

For Callum, it’s worth noting that Devotion and Mastery (magic) are of equal value to Callum and are definitely two cornerstones of his more hands on arc. Thus, we can likely deduce that as much as Callum undeniably values Liberty, the fact it’s his highest value is also because it’s the value that informs and guides his arc the most Thematically. This means that his desire to learn magic and be there for his loved ones is of equal measure in terms of his decision making, but we also see him clearly prioritize his loved ones in ways he does not do with his own pursuit of magic. 

[ Side note: And just as a comparison, Claudia - Claudia’s - devotion is also an 8, but Mastery is her 10, even though so much of her arc is driven directly by devotion to her family (although her bio makes it clear it is supporting her family and her father, not merely her valuing them, as the distinctions are important too). ]

Following this “Two Pillars holstered by One Theme” logic, we can break Ezran and Rayla down into a similar manner.

Rayla is defined by her initial quest of Justice and a growing sense of Liberty (cue: being literally freed from her binding, other symbolic cycles, etc) but this is bound together and streamlined through her Devotion to a cause to people and her family. We can see S4 bring this together directly in her devotion to Callum and her family and how they are both either already literally or becoming entangled / entrapped in forces beyond their control with Rayla wanting to free / protect all of them.

For Ezran, this means he is defined by his place as Justice thematically first and foremost, with Devotion and Liberty as his two tether-hooks: re a child king being put in chains to try and give his people a choice > forced conscription, as well as the work he’s doing to try to create peace and a Narrative of Love (devotion) in S4.

Thus, the highest value for each of the Trio is what informs them at their core and subsequent thematically, with their two respective pillars as how those things are motivated and manifest throughout, with of course a good dose of overlap beyond all three. But either way, I just thought it was Neat™

Closing Note

One thing I found interesting when actually going each beat of their bios is that Rayla and Ezran are inverses of each other and very closely aligned. They share the exact same 3 values, all in similar amounts (either 8 or 10) and just rotate one out for their respective highest: for Rayla, Justice is at an 8, and for Ez, it gets bumped up to a 10 and his devotion down to an 8. This closeness between them, and how Callum diverges, lines up with how I’ve thought of and how I’ve written each of the trio for a while now, re: meta dated September 2021 about this exact difference, well before TOX came out.

Because Callum, strangely enough, does not have Justice™ as a particularly high value. It’s actually on the lower end of his scale, with other heroic characters like Amaya, Janai, and Aanya having it as a 10, an 8, and 8. The only none villain adjacent character (Soren, Viren, Claudia) with a Justice as low as Callum’s is Lujanne, and Callum’s justice ranking is the lowest of the trio’s. This is interesting particularly because Justice is defined by fixing what’s wrong/broken, a sense of fairness and balance. And while Callum wants to have positive impacts on the world and make things better, it shows that his big heart is also equally if not more so tethered to pragmatism, perhaps, compared to his family, even in decisions made like leaving with the egg in the first place being what was also safest for the egg and particularly Ezran during the attack on the castle. 

And well, if you know, you know ;) 

[lily-lilou]

My understanding and analysis of the magical system in The Dragon Prince.  Part 1 - my first thoughts on it - primal and dark magic aren’t the only kind of magic.

Ok, I promised to several people I would post this today so there it is! (@beautifulterriblequeen​, @kotikala​, I’m sorry I don’t have all the account... Julia, mama and the others ;_;) 

It’s long (so I separated it in two post... but it will be long anyway, especially the second one. So I wish you a lot of courage to go through this until the end...) but it’s because it’s the result of some month of searching and digging. It’s still not complete, however. But if you have some time to lose and in love with this world, maybe this theory (and I insist, it’s a theory, maybe I’m totally wrong) will interest you:

Anyway, let’s just begin! 

You can see the magical system in TDP like a diamond with several facets: we saw some of them, and some of us dug to find more.

For me, this theory _ the idea that the magical system in TDP is wider than what we saw_ started from a simple thing in Callum’s spellsbook, the “secret” we can find in the ASL section, the one Sarai repeated when she was alive.

My first reaction was “greeeeaaat! Another show where “love is magic. Yaay! =_=’”

Okay, "love" is an important theme on the dragon prince, yes. But magic ?

But let’s be honest: I don't think they would have placed something like this in the book for nothing. After all, we have to admit that, in this show, NOTHiNG is ever done simply. So maybe this time “love is magic” would be more elaborate than usual?

We do know that the first thing the creators talked about when they started to imagine this world, was the magical system. Not the characters, not the creatures or landscape or anything, but the magical system.

And what do we have so far? Primal magic and dark magic. Is it really that simple? I had to think it through!

1. My first thoughts about dark magic:

Thinking about this above led me to think about dark magic, about how it's "wrong", like Callum said. That point have already been discussed by many of us and a lot disagree, it's too easy to classified it as "wrong" like it’s stated in the show, because the reason you had to use it can be understandable.

Only... the creator of the show have NEVER chose easy/simple road in writing. So why just put dark magic as "wrong" without explanations? Maybe there's something more here too?

I understood dark magic as bad, not for the reason, but for the concept, about what it represents: it's taking (life, will) without asking. It's stealing, it's killing, no matter your excuse. You can invoke righteousness, justice, revenge, self-defence, strengh, power and all, the result is always the same: death. And as you kill to achieve your goal, you pay a heavy price. It staint you, it... "take" something for you (like it was implied in several interview and even in the book, but we’ll talk about this later). (ok, nothing new, here)

But you must have noticed this: those aren't only related to dark magic. It's darkness and everyone can do it. Sol Regem did it, Runaan did it, Harrow did it. They chose to kill and they tainted themselves too, even if it's not in the way pure dark magic does.

So you have the "dark" side with death and all, and opposed to this, the "white" one. Life, forgiveness. love. And all the people have to choose between those white and black sides, between life and death. Only the area they moved in to make their choices is grey. It's the result who, in the end, is more black or white than grey _ but sometimes still a little grey_.

 So, it’s absolutely interesting (hehe… hem^^’) but these thoughts are the ground of the theories and analysis that will now follow in this post and the next one!!!!

 2. The “reward theory”

As said by Sarai in the image below : "love is magic".

 My first question then, was: “…But what is “magic”?” Not Primal magic or Dark magic. Just… Magic. My first thought was: magic is life. Or at least, it should be. Remember the human land deprived of magic who was dying? And look at Primal magic, it’s all life-related at some point. So, yeah, Magic is life!

And so, if magic is life and love is magic, doesn’t this mean that love is life, too?

If that's true, then maybe the opposite is true too? Hate is death.

Why not, after all?! If magic is love, and life… how could dark magic, who's litterally death, came from the same source? How could dark magic… be Magic at all if they’re opposite to each other?

And more importantly : where is this "magical love" in the magic system here ? It's not primal magic, it's not dark magic, but it is magic.

From that point, I assumed Magic is wider than Humans and Xadians (and us, humble fans, obviously) know. It's probably something more... powerful, a more primal form of magic. More subtle but powerful.

Why subtle?

This is the first thing I noticed in the show, the impressive succession of miracles, of “what if” who went just right. “What if Callum left to go to Rayla just one minute later at the storm spire?”, “What if Ethari didn’t saw Rayla in the reflection?”, “what if Viren hadn’t captured Lain and Tiadrin, letting no traces behind so people wouldn’t misinterpret what happened?”, “What if Marcos hadn’t been here?”, “what if Runaan had send someone else to kill him?”, what if…

It gave me the impression that there’s something more. Is it Destiny? Is it something else? Someone? Anything?

But that’s the first layer. There’s another one:

In this show, it's as if every action who implied a choice about doing the right thing, about choosing life over death, love over hate or the opposite, is somehow... repaid? Rewarded?

By... Magic itself? Destiny again? Fate? the world? Some unknown entity? by Magic who is an entity? Why not? “If magic is life, if she brings life to everything, how could she not be alive?”... or something like that. Anyway!

Maybe it’s this, or maybe you’re rewarded by the side you choose?

 In both case, when you chose life or love, then you will live. You chose death or hate, then you will die. (I am putting thing in an extreme way, I know... ^^)

In other words, when you choose life/love or death/hate, your act is related to magic. but not the magic we saw until now. It's something else. Just like Dark magic is not Primal magic.

 So okay, that’s nice once again, but what could prove it? 

Well, just take a look at this:

You use dark magic, it stains you. It "takes" something from you, empties you as if the world itself can't allow you to make others beeing to pay for the choice you made. 

 Why not? but that's general, let's see more concrete exemples (and my headcanon interpretations) when our characters did the "right" or "wrong" thing:

Zym's egg falls in the frozen lake and Ezran risks his life to save him => Ez (can already talk to animals, yes) got an unusual, powerful bond with our little dragon, so strong the little dragon do the exact same things as him while sleeping, so strong he can see through his eyes and talk with him even when they're separated. As if his self-sacrificing act had been rewarded: you choose to risk your life to save him ? then you two will be linked even strongly than before.

Rayla spares Marcos => our lad is the first one to rebel against Viren, act who instill courage in others who follow him. Marco became a part to the rebellion and was one of those who rallied Duren's forces (I guess) : you spare an innocent even if he was your enemy? Then he will become your ally.

Callum breaks his primal stone to save Zym and, by this, accepts the idea of returning to a "I'm nobody" state. Then he uses dark magic but choose to completely reject it and end up with the sky arcanum. You sacrifice your magic, who was important to you to save a life (and the world btw) ? then you made the choice to use a magic meant to kill but in the end decided to not go on that path ? then you will retrieve what you sacrificed in the first place, in an even stronger way.

Amaya save Janai when she could have killed her, her enemy, Janai end up fighting with her. 

Same for Janai, she saved, even trusted Amaya. 

In a general way: children, you fought for peace ? you let go of your grudge, your grief and all of your biased jugments ? then peace you'll have (more or less, we know not everyone want peace)

Ezran chose to forgive Soren and Claudia. Soren end up saving him in return and turning to his side. As for Claudia, I'll talk about her in a while.

Callum jump after Rayla to save her, it's love who made him mastered the spell to save them both. You're ready to sacrifice yourself for her? then you will both be saved.

Rayla tackle Viren from the peak of the storm spire. She doesn't search “death”, she's trying to save Zym. She's ready to lose her life to save him. out of righteousness, out of love. Then she get saved by Callum.

 Now what about the "dark side" we call the “narrative of strength”?

Avizandum killed many people, especially Sarai who had a pure heart. He got killed by Harrow.

Harrow chose hate and death by killing him, he got killed by Runaan.

Runaan is the most interesting one so far: he had a choice to make too. Two choices.  He could have backed up but chose to kill Harrow anyway and so chose “death”. However, even if we’re still not absolutely sure he decided to spare Ezran, he did chose (we know this from the team at Wonderstorm now, so it’s canon) to spare Rayla despite what law and duty said. Killing her was never in his agenda. So Runaan had to choose between life and death, he chose both and ended... between both, literally! "the irony is wonderful"…

Kesha, with all her arrogance (who was so predictable) and her hate toward humanity got killed in a not so soft way.

Viren... I think his many "rewards" have already started. When he chose to kill the magma titan, Sarai (they were friends, it's canon) got killed and Amaya hates him for this (it's canon to, thedragonprince official on tumblr mentionned it once). He lost 2 friends on that day. When he chose to kill Avizandum, he lost his other friend, Harrow. Here in a most terrible way and I will, once again, talk about this later. He inflicted a terrible spell to Rayla's parents but this turned against him. If not for them completely vanished, no one would have thought they had ran away, Rayla _ the only moonshadow elf who had her heart in the right place_ wouldn't have to go to this mission to clear her name. No other assassin would have spared Marcos, or listen to callum, no other assassin would have followed Ezran, found the egg and chose to "make things right" including the humans. Runaan proved it. And I'm not finished with Viren. He lost his son, he will lose is daughter and he's currently in the grasp of a powerful being who's obviously toying with him and he don't even know it. And he's so blind he can't even see it.

Edit: kinda forgot about Sol Regem who torched down a city of hundred of thousand people, who got rewarded by being blinded, losing his throne and being hated and feared by everyone. 1200years later, when he could have change he didn’t. So okay Callum used dark magic. But that wasn’t a reason to kill Zym. Reward? Lux Aurea, the city who had been built to honor him (according to Callum spellsbook) fall, a lot of Sunfire elves seems to have died and, if we believe the summary of the tabletop game, it’s pretty ugly... a city for a city? Maybe.

Claudia is also very interesting, in between love and hate, death and light. Here’s an excerpt from an interview I found:

As for Claudia, she really seems to have committed to this dark path now. Is there any hope for her in the future? Richmond: Yes! There’s totally hope. Ehasz: But it might get worse before it gets better. [...] Ehasz: Claudia is, ahh… Richmond: She’s super complicated. She’s a fascinating character. There’s a long way to go with Claudia, she’s super exciting. Ehasz: But she’s not about power! She’s about **love**. I mean, that’s one thing that’s interesting about her. She’s on a very dark path, but her core motivation is love, and I think that’s going to be very interesting.

She really is the best character to represent that grey area. And if this first part of my theory, about "rewards" is true, it could truly end up good for her. When she had to choose between Soren and Zym, she chose her brother. She chose her father over Soren (I'm talking about the scene in the dungeon, not after Kazef's transformation) not out of malice but out of fear. She loves her family and deceived herself because she's not strong enough to see the truth. I really think she will do the right choice when she will finally see her father for what he truly is (as Richmond said : "there's totally hope").

  3. That’s nice and interesting, Lily… but this looks like “destiny” at worst. Is there really another kind of magic than dark magic and primal magic?

If the creators really put so much thoughts and efforts in creating the magical system, it’s really likely this way. But what would be the point in telling how it works right away? We do have to discover it with the characters themselves.

However, the existence of another kind of magic, something deeper, has been implied several time.

We have clues:

Like here (8:29min and especially 9:00min if the link doesn't work correctly), where Aaron Ehasz talked about an earlier and less differenciated kind of magic.

Or like what happened to Ezran in the ice-lake. In the novel, we have an interesting description form his POV, something magical happened (I’ll come back to this in a later part)

And that new or maybe forgotten kind of magic will, maybe… be the magic that will be used to free our dear moonshadow elves from the coins? Because we have some clues :

Question: [...] Runaan got turned into a coin [...] Can they be restored to their original forms?

Ehasz: “My gut is, it seems like the kind of thing that would require incredible and powerful magic to reverse. [...] We do not answer that question in Season Three. I’m telling you, it would take incredible magic and probably dark magic to reverse it, but I don’t know [if that’s going to happen]. 

(I promise, that last point isn’t here for nothing :3)

Okay, this post is over. The next one will be about the magical system in itself and that “other magic” implied here, about what I found in the show about it.

[natureleylines]

Bonds of Strength

I took a prompt from some people wanting a story about Ezran and Rayla bonding and having a sibling moment. I wanted to get the practice in. I hope you guys enjoy it. @deetheteadrinkingdragon @rayllurn Hope you guys enjoy it.

“You dumb idiot” Shouted Rayla, as she wiped a cool cloth against Callum’s forehead. It was a cold rainy day at the castle,the autumn leaves had all fallen off the trees. The other day Callum thought it would be a good idea to fly, in the middle of a storm. “ I was just trying to impress you, I would do it a thous….” “Shut up!!” Yelled Rayla. “Yeah, but in the mild of a storm when it is damn well near freezing, oh yeah brightly idea..” Rayla nagged on. “Hey I had my scarf on” Pipped up Callum with the sound of clogged nose. “You are glad I think you are cute, next time I will bind you to a tree if I have to if you do that again!! Now get some rest” as Rayla planted a little kiss on his for head and left the room.

“How is he?” Ezran asked Rayla. She responded “Sick as a dragon with hoarding disease but, he won’t die” “ I love him, but he ain’t that bright sometimes” Ezran whispered “Yeah, one time he got his head stuck in a peanut butter jar, it took 5 hours to get his head out of it. After that dad, banned all form of jars inside the castle, and to this day, he can’t look at jars the same. I think he is afraid of them now.”

Both of them laughed quietly to avoid waking him up. “We should go into town and get him something to make him feel better, like Dragon Drops!!!” Shouted Ezran. “What in bloody name are Dragon drops?” asked Rayla? “ Oh they are these tiny little chocolate covered spicy sweets, Callum goes nuts for them!! Mom used to buy out the bakery of them and eat 20 bags in a night!! Callum used to eat them all the time before mom passed away.” “ Well then, lets go get some” Rayla said eagerly.

Down in town in was pouring rain for the past 4 days, Rayla wore her normal “human Rayla” disguse, as the people in the kingdom where not use to seeing elves in the kingdom, but people for some reason adored Gren and Kazi, calling them the power couple, due to both of them being the 2nd had to the generals and people saying they where a stunning example of what peace was. But. Rayla was not used to dealing with the ebbs and flows of other people looking at her as just a elf so she stayed in disguise, which Callum and Ezran kept secret. Going through town a big mud clod hit Ezran square in the face with a large “smack”, knocking him down. “ Where you goin Orhpan King” said a kid, about 10 in Rayal’s eyes. “EZRAN” yelled Rayla as she went to his side. The mud clod had cut open his skin and he was bleeding, “Are you okay” asked Rayla doting over him. “Yeah, I m fine, it isn’t the first time Trin has done this to me, dad sad never to go down to a bully’s level”. “Look at that, he as a sister to watch him, I guess they hired her to replace his mom who died, what a pathetic thing to do for such a little orphan!!” mocked Trin. “THAT IS ENOUGH. YOU WEE LITTLE HUMAN TURD, I don’t know what your deal is with Ezran is but you are going to far!!!” Yelled Rayla at Trin. “Oh and what are you going to do about it? Huh? What can a poor house maid do against me!! I have 10 already, you are replaceable like anything else in this world” mocked Trin to Rayla. “Rayla just leave him, he isn’t wor..” “Not now Ez, I am going to have a little chat to your ‘friend’ about the facts of life” Rayla said with a forceable vigor. “Listen hear Trin, I have no idea what sweet Ez ever did to you but, you throw one more mud ball, say one more insult, do anything and I swear I will get the Queen of Dragons to come to your home and have her EAT you one bite!! Now play nice, be good, and don’t let me catch you messin with…. My brother ever again. His family adopted me, gave me food, a roof, the warmth of a family and if you hurt him, you are messin with me!! Are. We. Clear.” Rayla roared the shocked Ezran. Trin fell over, a look of shock and ran off.

Rayla extended a hand to Ezran to help him up, rain was picking up and sounds of thunder echoed in the distance. They both took shelter in a barn. As the rain poured and the sky shook, “Thank you for sticking up for me, being the son of the king has not given me many friends and many other kids view me as a pathetic mess, Trin lost his brother to war and his father is always away on business and his mother is always off to trips. He has it rough. It is nice to have a what did you say… my sister? Hehehe you are like my sister, you are kind, caring, there for me when I need you.” Ezran spoke looking at Rayla with tear filled eyes “And I always will be Ez, I never grew up interacting with other kids, it was always assassin training this, jump this tree, do 7 backflips. Never any time do hang out or go moonberry picking. It has always been about something. Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if my parents where never dragon guard and Ruaan and Uthari where just “normal”. Instead of assassins, Runaan could cook, and Ruthari just made trinkets instead of weapons for war.” As Rayla spoke of a different time the sky cleared and the stars twinkled, Ezran huddled underneath Rayla’s cloak and for a while the 2 just sat staring at the stars, grateful for each other’s company. “For what it is worth Rayla, I am glad you are here and I really do love having you here, Callum has always been passive, it is nice to have someone stick up for me and who can enjoy messing with the guards and love to steal jelly tarts with……you are a member of this family, maybe not by blood but,” “I know what you mean Ez, you wee little trouble maker, and thank you.” Rayla muttered. They where there as the morning sun rose to great a new day, so did the understanding of Ezran and Rayla and how life can connect each other in the most mysterious of ways.

“We got you something love” Rayla shouted to a still sick Callum. “Hugh wha……” Callum tried to speak but his clogged nose did him no good. Ezran tossed Callum a large bag of red coated candies. “Dragon Drops!!! Fresh from the Bakery. Made from the spiciest Fireberries” proclaimed Ezran to his half-awake brother. “Aww thanks guys, I lov… love Dragon Drops. Did you guys have a hard time getting them?” Callum asked as Rayla planted a small kiss on his forehead. Rayla and Ezran gave a hearty “nope”. Rayla spoke softly “Now then, get your rest, and we will check in later. Me and the king have some jelly tarts to snag and the baker is not going to give em up easily.”  Ezran jumped up eagerly “I heard today is Blueberry Tart day, I love blueberries the most” and with that Ezran and Rayla went out the door to town in a flash. Callum was getting ready to rest up when a clear empty jar made him jump out of bed and right on to the floor.

[basileafpitch]

this isn't too specific a prompt but... post-s3 rayla and ezran bonding?? hope ur doin well xx

hey! i hope you’re doing well, too! omg i’ve been thinking about this since I finished the new season! heres some cute stuff to go with a short chapter that I did! you can read the chapter under the cut :p (chapter includes spoilers to season 3!)

The top of the Storm Spire seemed to be the go-to spot for R & R & R (rest, relaxation, and romantic occasions) now, and Rayla smiled softly as she peered around her at the pink and orange sunset fading into a black night sky, sparkled with stars. She noticed behind her Amaya and Janai, both laughing as they conversed. In a moment, the two stood up and turned to Rayla. 

“It has been a long day, my child,” said Janai smoothly, her voice almost a whisper. 

She cocked her head to look over at Amaya, who nodded and offered her a kind smile. Janai smiled as well, and then in a moment raised her hands, attempting to sign as she spoke. “We are going to… turn in,” she said slowly, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make the hand signs for her spoken words. Amaya beamed proudly next to her. Janai sighed and shook her head, embarrassed at her work, but then she chuckled a bit. “I’m sorry. I’m working on it!” Amaya laughed now, too, holding a hand to her mouth.

“I suggest you two turn in soon as well. It will be a long day tomorrow as we try to figure out our next plans. But you deserve the rest regardless,” she paused, and then laughed once more. “You specifically, young lady. As it seems that the young prince has already started his rest,” she said, gesturing to a snoring Callum next to Rayla. He had fallen asleep almost an hour ago, slumped against Rayla, but she didn’t mind.

“Thank you, Janai,” Rayla said simply. Janai nodded, and took Amaya’s hand as they made their way down the steps toward the cave, where the rest of their friends had made camp. 

Before they were out of sight, Amaya turned back to Rayla and gave her a bright smile and a wave. On their way down, Rayla swore that she heard other voices, and her hunch was correct as in a moment Ezran appeared on the steps, followed by Soren.

“Hey guy—” Ezran started happily, but quickly noticing his sleeping brother he dropped his voice. “Hey Rayla,” he said quietly, a wide smile on his lips.

“Oh man,” Soren spoke softly, quietly chuckling at Callum. “He’s out like a light.”

“He’s been like this for almost an hour. It was too precious, I didn’t want to wake him.”

Soren smiled. “I should probably take him down to the camp,” he said. He approached Rayla and Callum, offering Rayla a pat on the shoulder and a small smile as he passed her, and then scooped Callum into his arms, holding him as he made his way back to the stairs to head back down the mountain path. “Just shout if you need anything, you two,” he said as he left.

“Thank you, Soren,” Rayla said, although he was probably too far away to hear her.

Ezran paced toward Rayla and plopped onto the ground next to her where Callum had been. Before Rayla could say anything, Ezran quickly turned to her and threw his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly.

“I missed you so, so much, Rayla,” he said in a whisper.

A smile began to form on Rayla’s lips, and she thought she would laugh at the small boy’s kindness, but instead, in his arms she felt a pang of sadness, and began to tear up. “I missed you too, Ez. I missed you too.”

After a moment Ezran peeled himself from her and wiped at a tear on his cheek, still wearing a bright smile. 

“Do you want to see something cool?” Ezran asked his friend, standing up and offering a hand to her. She hesitated, but obliged, and stood up and followed him as he led her to the edge of the cliff top. 

“Promise me you won’t freak out?” Ezran asked her, looking up at her with bright eyes.

Rayla cocked an eyebrow. “Promise?” she said, not understanding what he meant. That is, until he lept off of the cliff. Which, obviously, didn’t stop her from freaking out.

“Ezran!” she screamed, covering her mouth as more tears quickly sprung to her eyes. She looked around her at the bright shining stars and huge glowing moon, and then closed her eyes, ran forward, and jumped herself.

What she didn’t expect was to land so quickly.

She peeled her eyes open, her body shaking with fear, and met Ezran’s eyes right in front of her. 

“Ez, what—” she began to ask, but she examined her surroundings and realized where they were. They weren’t on the ground. They weren’t on any ground, actually— but on a dragon.

“Oh,” she sighed loudly, exhaling relief with a small chuckle. “I’m sorry, I think I may have broken my promise there for a moment.”

Ezran laughed and nodded his head. “It’s okay. I’m still not completely used to it, either. He reached next to him, laying a hand on the dragon’s sparkling red scales, and closed his eyes. He was communicating with it. In a second, the dragon made a smooth circle back toward the mountaintop, and flew over it, its wings flapping evenly and strongly. 

“So,” Rayla said. “King Ezran the Dragon Tamer, huh? Has a nice ring to it.”

Ezran giggled, petting the dragon. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

They sat there for a silent moment, both taking in the dazzling view around them. Finally, when one of them spoke up, the other did, too, and they both stuttered and then laughed.

“You go first,” Ezran insisted.

“No, that’s alright, you go ahead,” Rayla argued.

Ezran smiled. “Fine. I was just going to say… I’m glad that you and Callum are together. That you found hope in each other, and that you’re finding your strength in each other. You are two of the most important people to me, you’re my family. And I’m glad that you’re happy together.”

Rayla blushed and smiled. “Thank you, Ezran. Really. I’m glad that we’re together, too. I wasn’t really sure how I felt, to be honest, about him, or about having any sort of relationship like ours. For a long time I thought that my parents had left me, that they had run away like cowards from the guard. And I guess...” Rayla sighed. “I guess I was afraid that I would run away, too. I was afraid that if I got too close to Callum, I would get scared and leave him just like my parents did. But then… he showed me the truth. He showed me that my parents hadn't abandoned the guard, that they had fought until the very end. And I know I will, too. I will fight evil, and fight for my family. For you, and for him.

Ezran smiled widely, reaching a hand out to mess with Rayla’s hair. “Seems like someone has become sappy since I’ve been gone,” he said with a smirk.

Rayla huffed. “Shut up,” she said, musing his hair back, and he giggled.

“That’s what I was going to talk to you about, actually,” she said. “About you being gone. Gosh, Ezran, you’ve grown and matured so much since you’ve been gone. You’re so strong. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.”

Ezran waved a hand with a smile, dismissing the praise, “Thanks, Rayla. It’s not a big deal, though. I haven’t done that much—”

“You’re wrong,” Rayla interrupted. “Ez, it’s only been a few weeks, and since then you made it home and became the youngest king to rule. And whatever you did had to be right, because you got many of your people and the whole remaining population of the Sunfire Elves to follow you into battle. Not to mention that you gathered a whole army of dragons to help, too. You’ve changed everything, Ezran. For good. And that’s… that’s incredible.”

Ezran hadn't realized all of this, or hadn’t taken it to heart. He looked up at a smiling Rayla but couldn’t manage a smile himself, and instead began to cry.

“I just want to make my dad and Callum proud,” he said between sniffles, and Rayla quickly took him in her arms, running her fingers through his hair. 

“Ezran, you have made him proud. You have done so much good in so little time. Imagine how much you’ll do over the years? He’ll be the proudest father there can be, I’m sure. And… I know you didn’t know your mother. And I don’t know much about her, but I know that she too had a kind and beautiful soul, Ezran. I am sure that she would be proud of you, too.”

Ezran sniffled as he held onto Rayla. “I love you, Rayla.”

Rayla smiled, nuzzling into Ezran as the dragon circled once again back to the mountain, returning them to the rest of their people.

“I love you, too, Ez.”

[alas-pancakes]

some tdp things

kinda sadder stuff

Claudia thought she had made her choice when she went to save Soren over capturing Zym, and so the audience thought she had chosen to do “the right thing” over what her father wanted but all this time her heart lay with her family. she chose her brother over the dragon and her father over Soren. But aren’t they both her family? Her mother may have told her to stay with her brother but she was given a decision she wasn’t strong enough to make. She loved her brother and she still loved her father, going to unthinkable means to bring him back to life but she didn’t have time for that decision and she did not know what to do. I like to think that if she had the strength and the time, she would have gone with Soren. Staying with her father was safe to her, he was her family and she could only remember all the good things that he had ever done for her and nothing would change because she had always been on his side and now all she was doing was to stay there. 

Claudia never had it easy. Her mother left, she was torn between her two parents but was told to stay with her father. Her father might have been kind and loving once but now, she isn’t so sure. Her brother has left and she can certainly understand why he would but isn’t Viren their father? They have so little of their family left and now it’s just the two of them. She knows that Ezran and Callum are her childhood friends, that they care for her but should she also not try to stay with her father or what is left of him? If she goes, he will have nobody left and maybe she doesn’t know it exactly but Claudia is the one thing still keeping Viren human. She isn’t sure what he has become but she has to help him. He was always so nice to her, so generous, so loving and even if she isn’t sure now, there must still be some good in him buried under all of that. And she gave up so much and she knows it “but you’re okay now” and you can tell that she still loves her father (although she shows a clear disdain for the “creepy caterpillar friend” as one should)

Sarai never got to see her boys grow up, never got to see Callum get better at his drawing, or how he stepped up to bring the dragon prince home, or how he learned to connect to the Sky Arcanum. Maybe Harrow would fill her in, on the other side, of what he knew, or all this while she had been watching over them, from a distance, watching them grow big and strong to fill the positions that they were meant to fill and those that were never planned. Something tells me she would always be proud of them, for never hesitating to do what is right even if it is difficult. Maybe they, especially Ez, grew up before they were supposed to and maybe she feels guilty because some part of it was because of her death but she will always be proud of them, for being brothers and sticking with each other through all of this. And maybe it is a reassurance to know that Amaya continues to watch over them, in whatever way she can, to do what she would have done in this situation. But without a doubt, Sarai wishes that she could be there to walk her children through something they shouldn’t be facing alone. 

incoherent rambling

Raydia is a random crack ship of mine with absolutely no backing but tbh it’s kinda cute and i would love to see how Rayla and Claudia develop as friends under the right circumstances and maybe to more than friends.

It would be a shame if Aanya, Eliss, and Ezran didn’t all befriend each other and become instant best friends and maybe Aanya has some kind of animal friend so they all bond and be super cute and just kill my heart

also season 1 definitely had autistic!claudia because nose tapping? and so much more and also https://twitter.com/aaronehasz/status/1041029112809156608

autistic!ezran with hyperempathy and also jelly tarts are his same food and can’t handle change well and connects better with animals than humans 

autistic!callum with poor gross motor skills, the scarf? he always wears it, stimmy, photographic memory

autistic!rayla with Not Befriending Other Elves but instead adoraburrs and prodigy? plus water may also be a sensory thing and just the way she explains her fear is just!! her butterfly blades look kinda stimmy ngl

everyone is autistic, I don’t make the rules