#i love leola even more

[salty-and-spiraling]

I had this idea last night about a really angsty "Leola lives AU". Please beware! This does not have any happy endings at all. Read at your own discretion.

So basically, Aaravos wins and manages to bring Leola back to life and now he, Leola, Claudia, and Terry are all in hiding. Leola's doing as well as one would expect for a child that's just been brought back from the dead. She doesn't really remember much and Aaravos doesn't have the heart to tell her the full story. At least, not yet.

Eventually they're found out. The Cosmic Council comes down and seeks them out, killing Claudia and Terry, overpowering Aaravos, and capturing both him and Leola.

They are taken before the Council and found guilty. Similarly to the last time they were there, the Cosmic Judges gives Aaravos a choice. But this time, there is no mercy.

Either Aaravos will be imprisoned again and Leola executed, OR Aaravos executed and Leola imprisoned.

Aaravos gets a day to decide.

Originally I planned for the choice to be either Leola is killed and Aaravos imprisoned OR Leola is imprisoned with Aaravos. Then I decided that wasn't sad enough for me so I changed it.

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

Some of you guys REALLY need to learn the difference between EXPLANATION and JUSTIFICATION because they are BY NO MEANS THE SAME.

[jesseblueravos]

I was just thinking about the same quote and the context in which it was said by the Merciful One. Maybe they were, after all, just a bit more merciful than the other Startouched elves, in that they gave Aaravos a hint…

The next time we hear the same quote, it’s when Aaravos explains to Claudia that the spell must be cast with love. The spell that recreates Aaravos’s body and connects it with his soul from the pearl. The same spell that recreated Runaan’s body and brought him back to life. (“blood brings the power of the ocean to create a body” - part of the spell).

What if… Leola can be brought back, using this hint? Maybe there’s some other, more powerful spell that can bring a soul from that place of “peace and ever-flowing love” back into a new, stardust-sourced body? The power to create spells resides in the imagination of the TDP writers :)

Ok but what if the "we are, all of us, stardust, held together by love for an instant" line was a HINT and not empty words

[raayllum]

She Must Pay the Price, or A Drop of Mercy :: A Rayla and Leola Meta

Quick:

You're a young elven girl, and you show mercy and compassion to a human that you definitely weren't supposed to. When it's found out, you're punished, with elves even calling for your execution (6x09, book 1 novelization). Your father does what he can, but there's only so much. You're put on trial. You're found guilty regardless of intent, and only by association. You die for this; you die for them. You're a star. A guiding light. There's even a Great Fall off a precipice (though only one of you hits the ground).

Your name is Leola, or Rayla.

You're the beginning and the end, respectively.

So let's talk about it.

Tests of Love

For years, I had wondered where Aaravos' assessment of "Those who fail tests of love are simple animals. They deserve to be motivated by fear" (2x09) came from, cause you don't drop in a line like that if it's not going somewhere. It's quite a statement and worldview, after all. Now, with Leola's trial, it seems we know.

We can see, then, perhaps that Leola's gift giving was the first test of love — are you willing to break the Natural Law, the Natural Order of things? — to help another? To show another a source of power in order to share, to be compassionate, and in Rayla's case, to be merciful (though we'll get more to that in a minute).

We also know that the love Leola had was powerful and all encompassing:

She didn't care to follow the order set in the stars. Though she was born an immortal being from the Heavens, she loved this world... and all its flaws. Her heart was warm and open.

And she befriended mortals. Animals, elves... and humans.

ETHARI: Who I love, where I love, what I love, are all specific. But to Runaan and those like your parents... love is rooted in all families, all creatures. Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close. (Bloodmoon Huntress)

Okay, so Leola and Rayla both have big compassionate hearts and befriend creatures from all over the place. So what? So do Callum, Ezran, Soren, and most of our other main good guy characters. Even Claudia to a degree (though she could work on not using magical creatures for spell parts).

Well, specifically, it's because of how they intersect currently more with anyone else on the concept of

Mercy

KOSMO: Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled. (6x05)

Rayla sparing Marcos, as noted in multiple interviews by the creators and by myself in previous metas, is ultimately the inciting incident / lynchpin of the entire series. Without it, there would've been no soulfang proposal or Ez running away to find the egg or any of the number of other elements that had to come together to make achieving peace possible.

While we still have details to discover regarding Aaravos' Fall and development of dark magic, we know that a lack of mercy was ultimately what sent him on his path of vengeance. Leola was not shown mercy, and while it seems there were already "flaws" for an imperfect world, things were (probably) better than they currently are in Xadia in a variety of ways. Then, to kick off the entire Saga, we have Rayla sparing Marcos in a soundtrack literally titled "Mercy" and have Kosmo, seasons and seasons later, spell out directly what a big deal this was for well, the ocean of time.

None of this is to say Rayla can't act out of revenge — she did ("when I first came here, I was on a mission for revenge") and she has ("but I became so obsessed with revenge"), much like Aaravos ("he isn't doing anything out of love, he's doing it for revenge") — but that her general compassion and love for others has always been stronger than her grief or rage, and that even when she had every social and personal reason to, she was and is fundamentally unable to hurt someone innocent.

Even when she's shamed or punished for it by herself or by others. RAYLA: The human looked up at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. RUNAAN: Of course he was afraid, but you a job to do! (1x01)

EZRAN: Yeah, but then you saw he was scared, and you knew he was a person, just like you. RAYLA: That shouldn't have mattered. I had a job to do. (1x08)

The Cosmic Council — and to a degree, the Silvergrove — say that the reasonings or motivations, the intentions, behind Leola and Rayla's actions do not and should not matter when it comes out to doling 'Justice'. So Leola faces her justice, being literally killed in the one manner that can kill a Startouch elf, and so does Rayla, being metaphorically Ghosted / 'murdered' by her community, regardless.

Neither are enough to ultimately quell their light or their love/power, however.

A Star

RAYLA: That beautiful shining star you just pointed out? We call it Leola's Last Wish. (5x02)

So both Leola and Rayla are stars in season 6, literally and metaphorically respectively. Leola's is more self-explanatory, whereas Rayla's is mostly about the role she has in Callum's life as a guiding light and star. I don't think it's a coincidence, though, that just as Rayla placed Callum on his path of being a primal mage, though, that Leola did the same for humanity. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Callum's love for Rayla restores Callum's own light and agency amid Leola giving humanity the same through light and fire.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted, and��though they looked to the stars for salvation—the stars, too, looked down upon them with disdain. Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. (TDP shorts, Ripples)

In this way, we see the manifestation of a repeating parallel of Rayla representing Leola, a gift giver of life, magic, light, unjustly punished/killed, and Callum representing humanity, looking to the kindest brightest star for guidance, magic, restoration, and salvation if he's just given the chance to grasp it. After all, presumably, Leola's last wish would have something to do with primal magic and humanity, and who represents that better than Callum, with two arcana under his belt and possibly more on the way? With that in mind, I want to return to another quote from earlier but with a different focus on

Ripples

Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled.

The wisest of the humans looked upon the water. His own reflection smiled back at him, and he dared to imagine what such power would feel like in his own hands, should he be allowed to hold it. Imagine, he thought, if I were more than what I am. With a trembling hand he touched the surface of the water. Ripples spread from his fingertips. [...] I hope the stars were watching. I hope they saw it: the moment their perfect reflections turned warped and ruined, churned to chaos by the touch of a single human hand. In this, the humans taught me another lesson. And so I touch the surface of the water. I watch the ripples spread.

Water in TDP is a strange beast, symbolically speaking. There are some more straight forward motifs (reflections, "don't try to control where the river [of life] goes, there's one thing you can know and control: yourself"). For Aaravos, it's connected to deep loss but also his own sense of patience in playing and winning his game, as illustrated above. For Rayla, it's linked to shame, self-reflection, bravery, and loss. Aaravos weeps and creates a sea upon losing Leola; Rayla says goodbye to her family by the lotus pond times three.

We don't know what water represents for Leola. Not distinctly, anyway. The best we can figure though, is that by following the through line of the Rayla and Leola parallels, that the ripples Leola wanted to send out or did send out — not the distortions caused by her father and his grief — are ones that Rayla received, and then continued.

Rayla has always been a foil to Aaravos, and this hasn't changed. She is the one who set Callum on the path initially of being a mage, which put him in Aaravos' machinations as prey; she retrieved his Key; and she's the reason Callum's done dark magic, twice. At the same time, much like the moon, Rayla carries Leola's light as much as she shoulders Aaravos' dark. She literally represents light in Callum's life, helps lead him through the darkness, and him being a primal mage and it's possible growth to other humans is the best possible thing that could've ever happened to Xadia.

Sol Regem says that "no one can save" Xadia or fix what is deeply broken. The Cosmic Council said that Leola had broken the Cosmic order and had to pay the price. Rayla has repeatedly been willing to pay the price for both hers and other's actions in hopes of making things right, of sparing others' pain. Sometimes to her detriment, but—if Rayla as Callum's one Truth could fix the darkness within him, if she's the lynchpin for breaking the Cycle, for bringing back Runaan and fixing her family's souls, in opposing and presenting mercy amid the Council's lack of mercy, in the face of Xadia's violence—

Then Rayla's act of mercy in 1x01, and potentially beyond in S7 with Callum, will be what fixes Xadia.

Leola's gift of magic is what 'broke' Xadia, and her execution is what literally did so, leading to the division of the continent. She wrongly paid the price in the absence of mercy and love. Rayla is therefore her thematic successor — welcomed this time as Light and Truth — as the carrier of Mercy and Love, and she will 'fix' Xadia through her ripples and dynamics. She will mend them back together. There will, at last, be no price to pay.

Misc. Thoughts / Predictions

One thing I was always curious about going forward into future seasons was the prospect of a 'trial' or reunification of the Silvergrove. It felt like a no-brainer the Silvergrove would have to change in order to reflect Runaan's character arc, much the way we see Katolis and the Sunfire elves change to better accommodate the new, more compassionate world order. Pre-S4 a trial felt a little strange as an idea, though post-S4 the parallels it could provide to the Lucia tribunal made more sense about why include either (or both).

However, Leola's trial seemed to hammer home the almost necessity (as this is still a prediction, after all, that may not happen) of Rayla and/or Runaan saying their peace to the Silvergrove leaders. This would be a great opportunity to provide a contrast to the Cosmic Council, reaffirming that Xadia is ultimately better than them because the Moonshadow elves and everyone else can change, and the Cosmic Council seemingly cannot or will not. But I guess we'll have to wait for S7 or beyond (#GiveUsTheSaga) to find out if this'll come to fruition or not.

I also wanted to touch on what we see with Leola ("I'm so scared!") and the repeated emphasis on "recognizing fear as a moment of empathy and personhood" and the horror that can come if you don't have that moment of recognition. This is something I've touched on before most notably as a striking difference between S1 Rayla and S5 Claudia, but I thought it was worth mentioning as S6 added to it specifically with Viren towards Soren and Lissa. This is another point in the "Rayla is an inversion of the Council's lack of mercy" column, as Leola's — a child's fear, and Aaravos willing to pay the price and take her place — earns her no mercy. Rayla, meanwhile, sees someone innocent that she has 'every right' to execute is afraid of her, and that strays her hand; it steadies her sword, and she spares him. Because if someone is afraid of you, it's worth asking yourself why, and what you might want to do instead.

Last but not least I wanted to talk about Leola's parallels to Callum and Ezran as well, since they are very much there (though yet not perhaps to the same extent).

Ezran has Leola's friendliness to animals and soft heart. He too is a child whose death is called for as a means of Justice, and he is granted mercy through Rayla and the discovery of the egg, able to live and grow and help usher in peace. He is, I think, what Leola might've been allowed to be if she'd lived in different times. Callum, meanwhile, carries the gift giving motif through his cube, staff, and tokens he both gives to (moon-phoenix bracelet) and receives (the moon opal necklace) from Rayla, and previous 'human-Leola' magic dynamic. Callum being able to break free fully from Aaravos' and dark magic's control in S7 and turn his eye instead to primal magic will be what helps bring true justice to Leola and hope for humanity / Xadia in righting the Cosmic Council's fundamental wrongdoing. Hopefully, anyway.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into some parallels and potential narrative goings-on between Leola and Rayla as characters. TDP loves its historical and ironic layers in TDP (Ez and the Orphan Queen, Viren's arc from S1 to S6) and I think this layered thematic dynamic between the two merciful young girls was a good, brilliant choice by the creative team. I'm excited to see where this thematic thread goes in the future and how it may continue to be woven into the story. As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next one.

[featherstorm2004]

Hypocrisy

I see that people are upset that Aaravos's whole motivation is of avenge his daughter but was completely willing to make a new child just to sacrifice him. Which I get is super hypocritical but I think that's the point, and I think it's just another parallel between Viren and him since season 1 Viren was also partaking in that same hypocrisy.

He was willing to let Soren die to reclaim the egg and kill the princes, just as Aaravos was willing to kill Sir Sparklepuff for his own ends. It's as Terry said originally both of their stories started out as ones of love, with Viren willing to do anything to save his son and Aaravos trying to sacrifice himself for Leola, but over time this love became corrupted with hate and revenge.

And they both showed clear favoritism to their daughters, there's also the aspect of dehumanization where as Claudia stated that she looks and magical creatures and can only see them as ingredents not as living beings, which is how Aaravos saw Sir Sparklepuff and anyone else he has a close bond with including Claudia and Viren.

He views them as tools for his end goal, sure he may have some fondness for them after all Claudia is a lot like Leola, and he didn't really need Viren after he died on that cliff but he still put the effort to revive him. But as stated he still viewed them as tools and so he couldn't properly form a connection with them, which is why he was willing to kill Viren when it was shown that Aaravos had no way of manipulating him back onto his side.

It just worked better for him if Viren was gone, after all despite Claudia being more powerful, Viren was an incredible dark mage who even killed the dragon king so, I would imagine Aaravos didn't want a threat that big who actively hates him to just be left wondering around.

But yeah that's just my thoughts on the matter.

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

i can't get over this. i have to analyze it.

if ya didn't notice, uh...massive fucking parallel here. there is no way it wasn't on purpose bro. tdp loves to use parallels to make points to the audience.

then...what was the point here? well, it does illustrate that viren and aaravos are similar in that they are both fathers. aaravos even states that he understood viren's love for claudia because of his experience with leola.

so, i wonder if perhaps this parallel does not serve to make a point, but to pose a question to the audience: why would aaravos kill someone just like him? and why would he manipulate viren's daughter even though if someone did that to leola he would be furious? how can aaravos be so heartless, despite being able to relate so much to viren?

those are good questions, so much so that they are difficult to answer. it is hard to imagine someone having such a lack of shits to give about someone like themself. but i am going to try.

maybe aaravos suffers from a sort of tunnel-vision, for lack of a better term. ever since leola's passing, his entire purpose has been revenge. he doesn't care what happens, he just wants to show the cosmic council that they fucked around and found out.

BUT I HAVE A COUNTERPOINT FOR MYSELF: how the hell would someone who lives for so long to manage to avoid considering his impact on people like viren and claudia?

GUESS WHAT? I HAVE A COUNTERPOINT-COUNTERPOINT: that is honestly sometimes what trauma can do to you. i mean, it's a really extreme case but like. the depression just gets so bad that you just don't give a fuck about the world anymore. you are in too much pain yourself to care that you're hurting people. you choose to feel nothing over feeling your pain and still being a good person. i'm not justifying this by any means, btw. it's just how the ball rolls, sometimes. dont ask how i know all this lmfao

but all that is just my guess of what is going on inside his head. i think this is one of the few times that my history of depression actually gives my arguments more credibility lol

[a-confused-spoon]

I have a lot of conflicting thoughts on Aaravos's backstory, but you know what DOES get me?

It's the fact that Aaravos is the only Startouch elf who allows humans to see him on record. It's the fact that Leola wasn't even remembered, nor she's an important figure in human history, unlike Ziard or so.

It's the fact that if Aaravos spent 100 years crying, by the time he stopped, whoever might have known his daughter was gone and he had no one to grieve with. It's the fact that if she's not remembered, he didn't even find someone who'd care for the story, not outside the fact that she was a being of the heavens.

It's the fact that if she's mentioned as a unicorn alone, I wonder how much of what Aaravos shared with whoever wrote down the information was actually listened to. It's the fact that, if Startouch elves are so apathetic and detached and so much more complex than any living thing on Xadia, to fathom how a God such as him could have humane feelings might have been impossible for whoever he talked to next.

It's the fact that to be worshipped isn't the same as being loved.

It's the fact that for thousands of years he alone grieved the little girl she was, and no one ever sympathized with him as the broken-hearted father he is.

[aviradasa]

Maybe an Aaravos x reader where reader is Leola’s step parent? Like maybe mr. Aara-dilf introduces the two when Leola was she was slightly older — maybe like 9 or 10 (or the star touched elf equivalent idk bro). How would their relationship and dynamic play out? 🤔

Omg hey mootie! I absolutely love this and I hope it's alright that I decided to write this in a headcannon format instead! It's just a little blurb bit if you like it I would be happy to write more!

Aaravos introducing you to his daughter

Aaravos x reader HC

Requests are open in my inbox!

{Pure Fluff <3}

warnings: none <3

Check out the other parts in this string of oneshots!

Masterlist

Aaravos getting ready to propose to you with the help of leola

Teenage!Leolas fist partner is human how do you and Aaravos react?

You and Teenage!Leola sync up during that time of month. Aaravos is done

You and Aaravos had been seeing each other for a while now, and it was going amazing

One day, you both were walking about on a little date if you would, when he decided to ask you one of the most horrifying questions known to mankind

"Would you be inclined to meet my daughter?"

It's not that it was scary because of who she was but mostly because you had never been with a man who had a child. And you did not know how his daughter would react.

What if he had brought another before you to her and she liked his previous lover better?

What if she just hated you for some reason?

You were terrified. But seeing the look of joy and excitement on his face when you agreed gave you a bit of hope.

When the day comes that you are to meet her Aaravos is pretty convinced his little girl will love you. He had spoken about her many times leading up to this day, like how she was very smart and loved making friends with everybody. It was really sweet

When you first meet Leola, she's curious about you; she even looks at her dad and says, "What is this?" And you weren't sure if she was talking about you or the situation.

But as the day goes on leola warms up to you really fast. Like within a couple hours you have become her best friend.

And as your relationship with Aaravos and leola grows and you start coming around more often she just gets more attached.

She asks her dad about you all the time

"When's y/n coming over again?"

"Is y/n coming over today?

"Y/n would love this!"

"I wanna see y/n"

Like she asks about you so much Aaravos starts low-key getting jealous,but he finds it adorable that leola loves you so much.

If at one point you move in with them leola is fucking ecstatic.

She is so happy her best friend is now living with her and her dad

Like she's probably happier then Aaravos about it.

After awhile though she slowly starts giving you a parental title

When it happened the first time, you thought it was a slip-up, but as time went on, Leola just adopted you as her second parent, and neither you nor Aaravos corrected her.

As a matter of fact, it makes Aaravos love you even more. He is so happy he has found someone that he loves and cares for who is not only amazing with his little unicorn, but that she also loves enough to start deeming you a parental figure

It honestly makes him want to marry you. 🤭 (I will make a part two with proposal HC / oneshot if yall want me to)

[am-i-interrupting]

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

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

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

ISTG I NEED LEOLA TO LIVE😭😭😭

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He began to seek your company outside of his daughter.

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

On the fourth, you shared a kiss.

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

[sagegreenfrogs]

LONG DRAMATIC SIGH.

okay. here. uh. here are my thoughts on season 7 in no particular order. spoilers ahead, obviously.

(remember to request seasons 8-10)

actually really upset about no confirmed sorvus. it was the main thing I wanted this season

happy for the rayllum enthusiasts, though!! good for yall

definetly some pacing issues this time around... yeah. it's hard to write and/or execute a great final season

there were so many thing I just feel like didn't have resolvement or payoff?? (all the more reason for ARC 3, though!)

it wasn't as tragic and evil as they'd been hyping it up to be. like.

zym literally being fucking ZUKO was not on my bingo card

the archdragons dying was the correct decision, I think

akiyu :(

KARIM YES HES GONE IM FREE OF THAT FASCIST :)

miyana being pregnant was NOT expected

HARROW IS THE BIRD YES AFTER MY YEARS OF DELUSION

I think ezran was handled pretty well this season

snake boi sorta??? ehhh ill take it

ELARION 2.0 OMG

really an exposition heavy season, felt pretty slow.

random lore drops for NOTHING

ruthari reunion was beautiful

soren wasn't given as much time as I'd want

"CALLUM WANTS TO HAVE 10 BABIES WITH YOU." LMFAOOOOHSFDJAKSHFDJILDASHFDKLAJ

we finally got to see moonberry surprise!!

LISSA WAS FAKE DAMMIT

they didn't even have the guts to kill lujanne. boooo.

claudia just kinda- left? uh ok

Terry :) he was sweet this season

the "weapons-grade" bread. Amaya was right lol

that betrayal was NOT shocking from Karim. never once did I trust his fascist ass

bye bye CHET see you in a few years

I knew callum with the cube was a red herring in the trailer

BUT he did do dark magic sooo- yay? white hair!!!

runaan AND rayla both going to kill him omg

ZUBEIA. RIP QUEEEN

leola's last wish.... man. that was beautiful.

those are my thoughts for now. rewatch may bring more. this show may have it's flaws, but I love it with all my heart nonetheless.

@netflix, GIVE US ARC 3! PLEASE, PLEASE, GIVE US SEASONS 8,9,AND 10!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Thinking Aaravos thoughts

Before Leola died, he had a big magic book and the Key to open it to any primal magic inside. He was an archmage, so this was probably his spellbook, in the same way that Claudia and Callum used spellbooks.

He was studying mortals. Life, and love - Leola was an experiment to let him feel that connection of love for the first time, and it worked! He loved her, and through her his life and his knowledge was vastly expanded.

But then she was killed, and his lesson was cut short.

I think his studies of life were cut short too. That's why he's stuck with all the gross bug stuff as his motif, instead of pretty sparkles and cosmic glory. He started with single-celled organisms and was working his way up, and he'd only made it to Insects before the Cosmic Order killed Leola.

That's why he made the caterpillar to carry his DNA or whatever to Viren, and why it resulted in Sir Sparklepuff. He couldn't make anything more complex... yet.

Maybe that's also how and why he's able to control people who've used dark magic - viruses, bacteria, even fungi are even lower than bugs in complexity. But you get a fungus like Cordyceps, which can make even a dead bug climb into a position to shower its spores down onto other unsuspecting victims, and you start to see how tiny things are not harmless, not at all.

And now Aaravos is free again. Who knows how fast he can learn to make other more complex life forms, or what he'll create them for?

[mercymermaid]

okay okay because there is such a good aaravos angst potential all of us are waving aside (s6 spoilers!!)

leola this, leola that (from the bottom of my heart, i am so sorry, that hurt me to write, i love leola she is my baby), he just *came back to life*. technically he wasn't dead. but.

that is centuries of being in a prison, with dulled senses, alone, in the suffocating quiet and dim light and an absolute pearlescent wall keeping him from doing any magic, locking him away from everything that makes him alive.

and now he's flung back into existence, and all of those senses, all of those bright lights and sounds and breezes and heat and cold and smells and feelings slam back in like a tidal wave. hell, that's not even mentioning the *magic*. all of the magic he's connected to comes right back, all of the starlight he's been hidden from shines upon him once more.

and you're telling me he just took it like a champ? oh hell no, no way. sure, maybe he managed to tough it out while he's being all mysterious with claudia and terry, and whatever may potentially happen in s7, but the second he's alone? (realistically, never, he is Massive, but hush now) all the feelings and senses he's been pushing through come right back, and he gets a juicy breakdown, trying to ground himself as horrible sensation after sensation ram into him now that he's actually allowing it o happen

just hmo on that guys

[weirdlotiel]

As probably every other fan of the Dragon Prince I too watched the new season the moment it came out. I loved it. It was sad, funny, sometiems scary, gave us few answers and probably created new ones.

Spoilers ahead

I liked Callum and Rayla story. I loved the wedding of Amaya and Janai. I love how Terry takes care of Claudia and how he is not swayed by Aaravos’ pretty words. I’m glad Zubeia is getting better and I’m sad Katolis was burned down. Ezran once again loses almost everything. But he still has his family and Aanya (who may have a thing for him? I’m not sure.)

Sol Regen got what he deserved. (I should’ve known he and Luna were partners, Sun and Moon?)

My only question is why Aaravos is so fucking big? But that’s not exactly what I want to write about.

When I started watching TDP the first time I never expected I would cry for a certain guy named Viren. Probably nobody did.

But in the end I cried.

His story was for me the best in this season. Once again he admitted he made mistakes, that he was a bad man, a bad father. He didn’t expect to be forgiven and accepted his punishment. He refused following Claudia and tried to get her to listen and stop following Aaravos. He changed and although we seen it in the previous season, it’s even more obvious here. He was so scared. Tormented by his choices, by that one elf who is a menace, by the fact his son didn’t want to talk or listen to his apologies. He knew he didn’t deserve any forgiveness and even if he wasn’t fine with that, who would be, he accepted it. And when it came to an end, he did what he was meant to do from the beginning. He once again was that person who is supposed to help people. He sacrificed himelf, last time used dark magic, to save his kingdom. He made mistakes and in the end chose to one last time be the servant of the people.

There is also story of Aaravos and Leola. Was it true? I hope it was. It was certainly beautiful. Startouched elves suck. Poor girl. This was so unfair.

But I wonder, they said the startouched elves can’t be killed and yet she is said to be dead. Why then, when the “higher ups” seen what Aaravos became afterwards only let him be imprisoned instead of killing him? Or did he get rid of them beforehand?

It’s also amazing how the last episode resolves around three daughters. One that was lost. One that lost herself. And one, that finds those who are lost.

[raayllum]

Rayla as Callum's Deepest Truth - what does that mean? :: Or Truth in S6

Season six of The Dragon Prince talks a lot about truth.

It's a sentiment at least mentioned in almost every episode, and in a show featuring secrets, unreliable narrators, and characters routinely keeping information from or divulging information to one another, it's an accordingly complicated concept for both the characters and the show's broader narrative.

Thereby, we're going to start with the most straight forward associations in the season, beginning with Callum's plot line in 6x06 and the scene itself, and then work backwards through the various other aspects that contribute to both initial and more layered readings of the concept that we can extrapolate from other aspects / relationships the season explores through truth.

Let's begin.

Truth as Light and Love

The first and simplest readings of Rayla as Callum's Truth is that she is Light ("How do I find this light?" / "the one deep truth so bright it can fill the darkness") and Love. This isn't really a stretch, given that seeing and embracing Star Rayla causes a bright light to shine literally in canon, and successfully fill the hole in Callum's spirit with light and purify him of darkness. This also pulls on the most straight forward associations from Rayla and light in prior seasons.

We see this reflected in Janai and Amaya's blessing of the sun at their wedding—a request for "love and light"—and in their discussions with one another in 6x02. Amaya assures her that Janai can still fix what is broken for her people (put a pin that idea of broken + fixing for later) so long as she doesn't try to do it alone. Janai affirms this through her understanding of "The King with 1000 Eyes" story, stating that much like in the tale's pair of lovers, Amaya is also:

While this doesn't necessitate the idea of Truth as being romantic love for an individual, this line is one of the biggest reasons going into 6x06 that I thought maybe Rayla would end up being his Deepest Truth. This is also partially because they refer back to the idea of light and fixing, directly stating that "there is a way to fix it" through the star-light ritual, and we see this idea again with Rayla in 6x09 with Runaan.

Rayla was always set up to be Callum's alternative path in opposition to Aaravos as well (though again, we'll get to that specific path motif more later) through the framing of light. It's unsurprising then that in opposition to both metaphorical and literal darkness

we get Rayla and his love for her being a literal light.

These are the most straight forward, positive sides of Truth that we see, and the ones I think (mostly) that 6x06 plays most overtly, though there are others as well that we'll get to in a second. This is also the most straightforward the series has been about 'darkness = bad' and 'light = good' as well, even if there are always exceptions to every rule (which we'll get to later as well).

Light and love and Rayla can fix what is broken. She can save you. She can restore you. Her, and your love for her, leads you out of the darkness. Mends you. Makes you whole again.

That's some powerful stuff, especially as a basic surface level reading. (For a less than surface level one with this similar theme of broken and fixing, you can read this meta regarding Leola and Rayla.)

With that under our belts, I want to take this basis of "the Truth (Rayla) as love and light" to explore how it leads naturally into the final Rayla and Callum scene of the episode, featuring

Truth as Clarity

We've gone over light, and we'll go over purpose, but for now I want to talk about the idea of truth as clarity. To have clarity is to have a better sense of the reality of things, a founded understanding of a situation or person. The Celestial elves seek clarity through the "true light of the heavens." The clarity Callum receives in realizing and finding that Rayla is his one truth causes him to finally take the next step and begin their relationship fully again by kissing her, and by confessing his love to her.

Clarity is also derived from the basis of knowing, however—"Hold to what you've always known [...] the answer in your heart is clear / I am near, my love is here"—of knowing that is the truth. Of seeing clearly, of seeing someone, truly for who they are and loving them.

RAYLA: Why didn't you tell me? CALLUM: Cause I know you, Rayla. If I'd told you, you would've refused to go, because you never do anything for yourself.

He loves her because he knows her ("That's what makes her a hero. That's what makes her Rayla" / "She's not 'the elf'. She's Rayla") and he knows her because he loves her, because he understands her ("And I understand why you couldn't tell me") through love. His trial and Truth gave him the clarity to express it, and the purpose to do so in many ways. It's also a positive grasp of purpose, since Viren ("I have power, purpose, and I intend to use both of them") and Aaravos ("I chose to live, and my life took on new purpose") become dark, twisted, and self destructive. Loving each other makes Callum and Rayla mutually better, and it's something both are finally able to whole heartedly embrace. To love is simply to know this.

Between this, and Viren's whole assessment that "The path of freedom is the path of truth," what could possibly be bad potentially about Rayla being Callum's one Truth, or the truth in general? Well...

Truth as A Weapon / a Burden

I actually wrote a meta all about this theme in Arc 2 for season 4 and season 5 before S6 called "Knowledge as a Burden" that I recommend reading if you haven't already. However, it's not necessary as this section is about how the Truth or 'Knowledge' can be a burden and a weapon depending on what the truth is, and how the information is presented. And this eventually does make its way back to the more positive outcome of Rayla being Callum's truth, so we'll circle our way back around.

With all that in mind, let's start with the most obvious. In 6x06, "Moment of Truth," both Callum and Viren wrestle with the results of previous actions due to dark magic. In one timeline, Callum learns the truth about the pearl and spirals into self-despair; in the other, ultimately canon timeline, this truth is withheld from him, allowing him to maintain the courage and strength he needs to go through the star-light ritual ceremony. By withholding the truth, he's given clarity, light, and purpose, which we went over in the previous section.

Alternatively, Viren's arc in this episode leans more heavily onto the concept that giving Soren the letter would be shifting a burden to his son.

Are you providing clarity, light, and purpose, or are you shifting a burden to someone who needs all their strength?

Both these plot lines ultimately end in different ways. By sharing the truth, Callum and Rayla reconcile, and by withholding the truth, Viren spares his son more pain, and they don't ultimately reconcile. I'll definitely talk about Viren and Soren's arc together in S6 someday in a proper meta, so I don't want to touch on it too much here, but it is noteworthy because it reaffirms the concept in this season that sometimes, knowing the truth can make things worse, not better, and cause more pain, not less.

We see this in how Callum's dark magic use weighs on him heavily in 6x03, leading to an argument between him and Rayla, and that learning he did dark magic causes Rayla to respond differently to his request to kill him; whereas before she steadfastly refused, here she agrees because she can see the risk and concerns are more prominent. This doesn't of course make their bond better (although it doesn't worsen it, either), but their literal ship does catch on fire and sink when she demands that he sacrifice her, and promises to sacrifice him, so... It's not good, either, even if it's ultimately good that Callum shared it with her for his own sake.

Where we see the Truth most weaponized in the season, however, in moving away from 'the truth as light' is with Aaravos himself.

AARAVOS: Good, good. You've played your part well. Before you perish, would you like a reward, a small mercy perhaps? The mercy of truth. The answer to the mystery that has haunted you for a thousand years. What happened to your beloved mate that disappeared? SOL REGEM: Tell me, betrayer. What became of Aithne Solaire? AARAVOS: I should warn you, sometimes the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin. [...] It was you. You killed her. Go on, breathe deep. I know you can smell the truth from a lie, and this is a deep, dark truth. In your fury, you buried her alive.

This is, of course, a move Aaravos used before ("Arrogant, just like your grandmother. Would you like to know the truth of her fate before you meet yours? I swallowed her") with Khessa back in season three. This is also something he utilizes as a manipulation tactic with others, knowing the importance of withholding the truth until it is beneficial for you to reveal it ("Careful, if you tell the truth you will lose her") and Aaravos' own belief that "[he] never lies" which Claudia reaffirms in 6x01: "Aaravos wasn't lying."

Of course, just because something is true according to him and his worldview or vantage point doesn't mean that it is deeply, objectively true, but that's another matter.

What matters here for the sake of this meta is that the truth isn't always good. The truth can be withheld to protect others (2x03, 6x06), to protect yourself (although sometimes misguided), and to manipulate and control other people (Viren orchestrating the war in S2 and S3, Aaravos routinely, etc). The "mercy of truth" is sometimes not mercy at all, but cruelty, showcased in Aaravos revealing something he knew would devastate and harm an already dying dragon/enemy.

The truth can be cruel. The truth can be deep and dark, too, not just light and lifting burdens. Knowledge can be an terrible burden. The truth can be awful.

So can love.

So can your path.

Truth as a Path (Freedom)

VIREN: Despite all this, I am changed. I woke up feeling free for the first time in a very long time. I know I have led my sweet, brilliant daughter down the wrong path. I have led you by the hand and I have led you by my example. Perhaps now if I walk the path of freedom, you will find your path someday, too. CLAUDIA: What do you mean 'path of freedom'? VIREN: The path of freedom is the path of truth. I must face my truth... in Katolis.

The path motif was something touched on sparingly in the first three seasons, largely in response to actual, literal paths the characters were taking. However, beginning more overtly in season four and bolstered by season five, Arc 2 has steadily turned it into one of the most consistent motifs that runs throughout season six. What is created, then, is a set of binary paths. There is the Path of Freedom—moving away from the Cycle and a narrative of strength, away from trying to replicate or get back to the past and moving towards the future instead, away from Aaravos and dark magic—and the 'wrong, dark' Path of Fate that moves in opposition to it.

This is most directly stated in Viren's final dream with his past self:

PRESENT VIREN: The path of fate is already chosen. Every step I took, I took because I had to. YOUNG VIREN: No. That can't be true. No matter where you are on the path, no matter what you've done before, every step forward is a choice. I am free, and so are you.

reaffirmed in Viren's decision at the end of 5x09:

VIREN: No. I won't do it. I finally see the truth. I find myself here at these horrifying crossroads because I have followed a dark path. And worst of all, I have led my beloved daughter done this path. No more dark magic! Never again! I am done with it — and I am done with you!

and in Callum's conversation with Rayla in 4x07:

CALLUM: What if I'm on a path of darkness? RAYLA: Then take a different path, dummy!

All of this was just some of the set up that has routinely put Rayla and Aaravos in direct opposition of each other for Callum's fate. There are framing things like her and the mirror being two very overt paths stretching out before Callum when she comes back, and Rayla being what pulls his attention away from the mirror, but 4x07 made it in The Text by having her represent and literally remind Callum he always has choices: "No one can control you or make your choices for you" (which is partially pressed on in his assessment in "I didn't have a choice" in 6x03, but again: meta for another day). Rayla always represented freedom (his wings, agency) and light (all previous framing) and she still does so in being his Truth. Rayla is his Light, reminder of his freedom, and brings all those things into being his Truth; it is a beautiful culmination (for now) of Callum's choice to move away from dark magic and Aaravos' control by literally embracing his love for Rayla and all she represents in his life. (And yeah you've probably already noticed the snag here, but I'm gonna get to that in a sec.)

This connection between Truth and Path is affirmed in Terry's talk with Claudia in 6x04, in which they discuss:

CLAUDIA: Maybe I should be walking a different path, too. But Aaravos helped us. He followed through on everything he said he was going to do to save my Dad, and I promised to help free him. So should I quit dark magic? Please, Terry, tell me what to do. TERRY: Claudia, I can't. Only you can see your own deep truth. Only you can decide the path you're going to walk. You won't be alone. [...] But you have to choose the way. What do you need to find your truth?

So on top of being Light and Love, and Rayla being Callum's One Truth equalling the Path of Freedom, Rayla is just Callum's chosen Path. He chooses the Path of light, love, freedom — all good things through the embodiment of her and their relationship, much the way Callum has been her guiding star in pulling her away from her dark and self-destructive paths (going after Viren) and making measured choices (coming back in 4x09, realizing she can't/shouldn't separate Lain and Tiadrin, etc).

Okay great, awesome! Sounds like Callum has done what he needs to do, he's rid himself of the taint of dark magic and Aaravos' control by proxy. His love for Rayla got him through it. She's his path. She's his truth.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

The Truth is Everything

After season four aired, I wrote a meta about how Aaravos (Fate) and Rayla (Freedom) represented Callum's two paths going forward into S5 and beyond. Much of what was in that meta has already been touched on here, given that S6 evolved this dichotomy and this motif in largely the ways I thought it ultimately would.

However, in that past meta, I also posited that these two paths would ultimately not be as separate as they might appear, and would converge. Part of this was because S4 emphasized the importance of not treating dualities as binaries, but in reconciling them ("Now you're back. That's kind of good, and it's kind of bad" / "How can I have that and the life I want with you? [...] Just have two cakes" / "We have to hold pain and love in our hearts at the same time"). Specifically, that Rayla would be what leads Callum into getting closer to Aaravos and playing into his clutches, which 5x08, 6x03—and indeed the upped stakes for dark magic use ("if you ever use it again, the darkness and corruption will overwhelm you") coming off 6x06—feel like natural steps forward.

Because while the light, and Truth, and Rayla, is usually a Good Thing in Callum's life, as Soren points out, it isn't always.

After all, Callum only did dark magic—both times—because of Rayla.

CALLUM: I did one spell. One. I had to, to save my friends. (5x08)

CALLUM: I did it for you! Finnegrin was going to kill you. I didn't have a choice, because... I would do anything for you. (6x03)

His love for Rayla has already been his path to darkness and Aaravos just as much as it's been his path out of darkness to light and freedom away from Aaravos. Aaravos has both dark and light; so does Rayla as a literal Moonshadow elf, and her dual swords, and her juxtaposition of immense mercy and obsessive violence. He is "destined to play into [Aaravos'] hands," with Aaravos' scheme for Callum still clearly ongoing, given that Aaravos is out and the cube is still in play.

They also wouldn't 1) bring up the possession related promise and 2) have Rayla actually agree to it and then 3) have her affirm that Runaan taught her to never break her promises all in the same season if it wasn't going to come back into play, and the only way Aaravos can possess Callum again is if he does dark magic again. (I'll do a separate meta sometime after this regarding how S6 evolves the possession plotline in about every episode Callum and Rayla are mutually in, later, too.)

Just as Rayla was the reason Callum ever did dark magic or successfully got the cube in the first place, she will almost surely, inevitably, be the reason he does dark magic — breaking his promise, and opening up room for her to break her own.

RAYLA: Listen to me. If you ever have to choose between me or the greater good, do the right thing. Make the sacrifice.

Callum will choose Rayla every time, whether that leads to saving or destroying himself.

She is His Path, singular—the path of fate and free will, to light and to darkness, to destruction and salvation. The various dualities in their relationship will all be reconciled and brought to complete fruition.

And that's everything.

[ochrearia]

The more I think about how season 7 went the more it feels like the dragon prince's crew kinda of like... just gave up? In a way? Like I feel bad. Because obviously this was something the people working on it loved. Hell, I love this world they created but by the end it just feels like... none of it really matters? Everyone was just kinda there and they seemed keen to kill as many major characters as they could before the end trying to stress the tragedy of sacrifice or whatever. And a lot of things just. Contradict themselves in my opinion

It's like they couldn't choose between focusing a story on character relationships and a story on ending the world fuck you lets kill the sun lets kill everyone and it just flopped between them trying to have both but ended up with having neither. I think this show lost sight of an end goal after season 3 to be honest.

Don't get me wrong I think there was a decent amount of things that got a laugh out of me in season 7 and I do think some things did actually work. Specifically the way Aaravos' vessel goes nova when killed, they set that up by showing up how Leola also nova'd when she died so that at least didn't feel like a random out-of-left-field risk. But like... really? Oh suddenly we have the Novablade! Of which by the way was forged from an archdragon's tooth and suddenly the bite of an Archdragon is what can kill the vessel of a Star-Touch Elf btw are you getting all of this?

I think this show started trying to do too much with too little time. Started hyper-focusing on character relationships or just shipping in general because oooo fan-service gets people talking!!!! Somewhere along the line it feels like TDP became more about Rayllum or whatever pairing than it did about its actual plot. And it's like, it sucks because yeah, a lot of LGBTQ+ rep here, its nice, coming from an LGBTQ+ person, but you can't just change a focus from a plot about war and looming apocalypse to a plot about Look How Many Characters Are In Love or Finding Family. ???? It would've made more sense for that to have happened without Aaravos still being a threat. Aftermath of war and the threat, let's continue on and delve into character relationships and have More Time to focus on those being grown. It would've worked better that way.

Sometimes wanting both just doesn't work. TDP kinda shows that I feel. Aaravos plot was interesting but it got drowned by all the focus on Love and Relationships after season 3's success of spreading peace in a way. And you know what? Navigating life and relationships after peace is set up would've been an interesting plot to watch too if there hadn't still been the threat of the world is about to end again but in an even worse way.

My two cents. I don't hate the show. This show still means a lot to me and it's always going to be a part of my heart. I just wish it was handled better. But you can't make everyone happy, I suppose.

[roninreverie]

Three things I'm wondering after watching Dragon Prince Season 7

My memory is not ironclad and it's possible my answers were actually in the other seasons, but I don't feel like doing a full-rewatch right now, so just let me know down in the replies if you know the answers or they're up for speculation.

Spoilers below the cut!

How is Terry innocent enough to see the map when he totally killed Ibis? (Like he did it to save a loved one, okay, okay... cool motive, still murder. You know?)

If Aaravos knows he'll come back in 7 years, would Leola not also come back? (Was she not "returned to the Heavens"? I thought she was and that's why she has a constellation and all. 😧 Was Aaravos' speech lying to her about what was to come because he didn't know and didn't want her to be afraid and they like killed-killed her? If so, I did NOT catch that the first time, thought she was just becoming stars again, and I am WAY sadder now! 😭 Mans deserved to cry an ocean for 100 years even more! Damn!)

The Startouched Elves "saw" enough to come down to Earth and punish Leola, or to separate the Humans and Dragons/Elves territories, but they can't spare a minute to come down and stop Aaravos from wreaking havoc now? (Did they ever explain why that is? Did it have something to do with his prison pearl and I just forgot? What's the story there?)