#moonshadow elf thing i guess

[runaankisser]

Sorry in advance if I’m awkward or anything I’m terrified of requesting stuff:’)

If you’re still open to TDP requests, Mayhaps Runaan and Ethari (bonus points if also Rayla but I don’t wanna ask too much-) somehow managed to take the reader in? I had a human reader in mind, but I won’t die if it’s not!

(I wish I could be more specific, I just have moonfam brainrot and no idea which direction to point it in. But if you do this anyway, thank you so much!! I really appreciate your writing.)

- 💙

The human in the woods

Word count: 802 Including spaces: 3957 

(i just wanted to apologize for how long this took)

As the bright moon peaked through soft clouds, a young moon shadow elf giggled as she played with a couple of adoraburrs. The moonlight beamed on her while she walked through a grassy field. Although, something caught her eye. A young girl, in the distance, was standing near a tree, looking lost. 

As Rayla got closer, she realized two things, this wasn’t an elf, this was a human! A short, malnourished human girl, with bruises all over her body. Rayla continued to walk closer to the girl.

“Hey! You’re a human!” Rayla says loudly, reaching out her hand to touch the human’s ear. Y/n flinches roughly at the sudden movement. Rayla’s eyes widen in surprise and she jerks her hand back.

“Uhm… where's your parents?” The young elf says with curiosity. Y/n looks up gingerly and shrugs, looking saddened. “You don’t talk, do you?” Rayla says, tilting her head slightly.

The elfling looks at the human with remorse. “You aren’t the only one without parents, mine had to leave me so they could guard the dragon prince,” she says with a smile, trying to relate to the famished child. 

“Well I guess I do have parents. Runaan and Ethari take care of me! You should meet them!” Rayla rants, her eyes shining at the idea. Y/n looks at the elf, fear and curiosity filling her eyes. The young girl flinches and gasps at the feeling of a cold, 4 fingered hand grabbing hers.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/n slowly followed Rayla, practically being dragged behind her. As they walked, the elfling continued talking about her home and perhaps they could take her in.

Soon, the pair came across a large tree. Y/n’s eyes lit up with surprise as runes glowed a soft purple. 

“This is the silvergrove,” Rayla said with a proud smile, pointing down as the illusion melted away, revealing a village decorated with soft lights and silver architecture. 

The moonshadow elf grabbed y/n’s hand once again and led her to Runaan and Etharis' home, being careful to avoid the other elves. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Rayla and y/n arrived at the house, Ethari was waiting outside. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing a human, a child! 

“Oh moon! Why is there a human here?” Ethari stuttered, looking at the elfling desperately for answers.

“This is… uh I don’t know her name. She's hurt though!” Rayla says nervously, referring to the malnourished, scratched up girl. She tightens her grip on y/n’s hand.

Ethari stared at the young human, feeling sympathetic. He lets out a sigh and tells the pair to come in. “You know Runaan won’t be happy with this when he gets home,” The moonshadow elf says.

“You can sit over there,” Ethari says after leading them to the kitchen, then goes to get a first aid kit. Y/n nervously sits down on the edge of the chair, clearly on her guard. Soon, he returns with a small box, filled with herbs, ointments and bandaids. He bends down and reaches over to her knee with a scratch, frowning as she flinches. “It’s okay, I'm not going to hurt you,” he says softly and gently rubs an ointment on her wound. 

“It’s okay! This will help heal it,” Rayla says, trying to reassure the human. Y/n whimpers quietly and flinches again as the stinging ointment is placed on her open wound. 

After a while, Ethari finally finishes patching up all of the humans wounds. “Little one, do you have a place to go?” He asks softly, trying to keep the child calm. Y/n does not reply, she simply looks down and slowly shakes her head. 

“Can she stay with us? Please! She can sleep in my room!” Rayla pleads, doing her best to look cute, wanting her new friend to live with her. Ethari lets out a sigh and looks down, deep in thought. 

Finally, he says, “okay, but just for a bit. Runaan won’t be happy with a human in our house.” 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time skip, 5 months.

 Ethari was wrong when he said y/n would only stay for a bit. The young human would stay forever, now family. At first, Runaan wasn’t happy with her in the house. But he soon gave in. 

The smell of mushcup filled the air as the morning sun slowly rose. 4 pairs of feet thumped down the stairs, small giggles followed them. 

“Good morning you two,” Ethari says, mixing the ingredients for mushcup. Runaan was at the table, drinking his morningberry juice, looking tired. 

They both sit down at the table, the human mumbles a small thank you, still quite shy. Y/n was grateful to know that she belongs to a family, a family that won’t hurt her anymore. She was finally happy.

[bat-snake]

My take on a distant future AU (that depends on Aaravos sacrificing so much energy into finally ensuring Leola's return that he has to abandon his mortal form for a bit - much to her heartbreak) and so

I have no idea how to connect all of these things and have a few vague ideas about who the New Gang is (one of them is a Moonshadow/Sunfire elf with a human grandma, who works for the Katolis Historical Society as a tour guide and she is e x h u s t e d)

There are so many more humans that figured out how to connect to a primal source, but it's like a small rural town's worth because it's still very hard to connect and requires a lot of introspection.

I'm trying to decide if Leola has just one child (named after Callum) or if she has two (named after Callum and Claudia). She's also looking after one of the New Gang, who is also in a coma. But because she connected to the Star primal and she couldn't handle the depths of Infinity, and not because of The Thing that knocked out all the elf kids under 10.

Zym is going strong as the Dragon King and is pretty well adored. Especially since Thunderfall is a thriving integrated city at this point.

And of course, aside from a Molly Gru-esque "How dare you come to me now, when I am this??? (burnt out and exhausted and lonely)" response to his return, Leola makes a pretty clear threat regarding Aaravos and his grandchild(ren).

Basically a "If I even hear a hint that you are pulling destructive stings for my child(ren) that you did for me, I will personally put you in a pearl myself and I will bind myself to it because I know how. Anyway! Humans figured out how to capture an obscura reflection! They put mirrors in a tiny box! I have mourned so many human friends that I am about to snap! The light in side me is dying! I really need you to just be my dad right now or I am going to lose it!"

There's a Rayllum grandchild running around as the new guardian of the Moon Nexus. Her name is Odette. (Which I. Realize now is ironic name choice with the whole "moon touching the lake" thing and was not deliberate on my part but I'm sticking to it. Give her eleven swans I guess)

[beautifulterriblequeen]

hi and welcome, it's new theory time wunce agayne, with I, your host, BTQ, stitching things together that maybe fit perfectly or maybe have no business touching at all: you decide!

Today's post inspo began several days ago when I started playing the Xadia game and discovered some cool lore that I just could not stop thinking about, so here, below the cut for all the spoiler reasons, is a screenshot of what you can find in the game, and what I would love for it to mean!

Topic: How Aaravos was tricked into that mirror prison

Context: We all wonder what happened to Luna Tenebris, how she died, where she went, all that good stuff. This isn't about answering those questions. This is about what she did before she died, and why. If she died at all (yeah that's always the question with Moon beings innit)

If you've played the game you'll know the context for this screenshot:

Ethari says, "Someone with the power to influence the Blood Moon itself used blood magic to become... something else."

and, well,

Luna seems to have disappeared during a Blood Moon. But she might not have died, despite what everyone thinks- she might have just become something else.

Why would she do this?

I'm guessing it wasn't for fun. Something desperate must've been happening. Luna disappeared 300 years ago, hmm, what in the world could've been happening at that moment...?

No, we all know.

You remember the Jailer. She's a human. No arcanum at all. She may be a dark mage, or she may just be a trickster magician. Either way, her whole deal is that she thinks outside the Cosmic Order box - she thinks in ways even Aaravos can't. And human ideas in times of desperation can break a lot of conventions and even taboos - just look at the things Viren, Claudia, and Callum have done when they had to.

So if the Jailer is thinking about dark creative solutions as the only way to trick a godlike Star Touch elf, maybe one of those ways was to get the Archdragon of the Moon to turn into something else, with magic that worked outside the laws of the Moon Arcanum.

We've all seen what Kim'dael can do - her Moonshadow powers and her forbidden magics are available to her at any time, not just during a full moon. Now imagine that ability for a blood magic archdragon.

Yeah.

Why the Queen of the Dragons, though?

I think they needed that much power to combat Aaravos. No one else could've done it with the confidence to succeed. And then there's the whole Moon theme of sacrifice, which all the Moonshadow elves keep demonstrating so determinedly. Surely their dragon queen has the same sentiment, deep down.

This still doesn't tell us what she did. But if she could use her massive illusion/deception powers at any time, they could trap Aaravos in any instant of their choosing instead of luring him to the predictable full moon. And seeing what sort of shenanigans are possible in the game when Moon creatures step outside their boundaries, well, there is certainly a lot of room for surprise there. In several directions. And they'd only have to surprise Aaravos once.

(side note: I can see now why Amaya says Moonshadow elves are the worst kind lmfaooo PLAY THE GAME IT'S SO FUN)

This whole theory feels very Moonshadow because even though I have this central nugget that feels plausible, I still wonder about so much more. For instance, what happened to Luna after this? Where is she now? Did she willingly die to keep from turning into a monster? Is she stuck in the spinning water that bears her name on the map? Is she alive somewhere still, lurking? Is she- NO SPOIL ME I JUST STARTED THE GAME. Idk if she's in there or not, shh.

Anyway. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this lore since I saw it in the game. And there's so much more than this even in the small bits I've played so far! If you're into the lore of The Dragon Prince, you'll wanna get this game!

But, serious lore enjoyer face. This one's extremely fun to think about.

[milevenstancyendgame]

Revelatio Noctis

For Rayllum Month 2024, prompt: "I still love you" - reconciliation

One-shot fanfic, from Rayla's perspective (angsty, fluffy, rated T, I guess). Enjoy! :)

The rustling of her sheets and Rayla's own breathing were the only sounds that cut through the silence of midnight, as she turned around in her bed for what felt like the fifth time in a minute.

It wasn't exactly helping her to escape her restless mind. Ever since they had returned to Katolis from their mission, she had found herself being haunted by what general Amaya had told her in the great bookery.

She was surprised and slightly annoyed at this. Now that they had Aaravos' prison in their care (not exactly a peace-inducing state of things, in her opinion), shouldn't her first priority be to figure out how to free the trapped souls of her parents and Runaan?

The heat of shame crept up her face. Why wasn't she in the library right now or consulting a Xadian mage about this? Instead here she was, the great moonshadow elf warrior - tossing and turning because of a boy!

A snarl escaped her lips as she sat up. Things between her and Callum had definitely gotten better, so why was she so preoccupied with their relationship? Wasn't it obvious that they needed more time?

"That's only what you want to believe..." a little voice in her head responded.

Rayla frowned. Was this true?

Ever since general Amaya had opened her eyes about how selfish she had been in leaving Callum behind, she had realised that protecting him hadn't been the only reason for her solo adventure.

Opening up to Callum and her love for him scared her. That was the truth. And it had been easier - way too easy! - to just go back to "being strong on her own", than to stay and face that fear.

Fear of getting hurt, fear of getting abandoned, fear of herself, fear of being loved and cherished for exactly who she was!

Rayla clenched her knees and bit her teeth. It was hard admitting these things to herself, much harder than any physical fight she had ever faced. But then again that was what Runaan had focused on in her upbringing and there had been no "big feelings"-times. She was starting to think it wasn't as silly as she had thought at first. Maybe not silly at all.

Sighing, she got up and put on her cloak. There was only one way to get rid of this ruminating - she had to talk to Callum. "Share your burden", as general Amaya had called it.

Acting on a whim, she decided to climb out of the window and nimbly jump over to his, instead of taking the easy route. She felt like she wanted to turn back time and get another chance at that first meeting after two years. Only this time she wouldn't pretend like everything was okay (she cringed at the memory).

Her heartbeat echoed much louder in her ears than her knocking, but finally she heard footsteps and a slightly anxious "Who's there?"

"Callum, it's me," she replied. "Can we talk?"

"Rayla?" Callum's voice sounded even sleepier after he opened the windows and stared at her in surprise (an incredibly adorable combination, as she noticed).

"I'm sorry for waking you up," she started, before jumping into the room. "I couldn't sleep and felt like talking to you might help, but I understand if you'd rather wait until-"

Here she was interrupted by Callum. "No! I'm fine with talking now. What's the matter? Is it your coins?"

She bit her lip. Dear Callum! Always so eager to help, even when it meant discomfort or trouble for himself. Had she ever truly appreciated him? A strange war between shame and love seemed to rage in her chest.

"No, actually it's not about that." Ugh! Even he thought this should be her priority! "I came here, because..." She took a deep breath. "Because I wanted to apologise for leaving you two years ago."

The silence that followed these words was definitely louder than the one she had been annoyed with before.

"Oh," was all he said.

Rayla had to will herself to stay standing where she was. Her insides were screaming at her to run, to lighten the mood, to change the topic - anything but this!

"Yes," she continued awkwardly, feeling confirmed that he was still angry - and rightfully so! "It was wrong and selfish and stupid. I thought I was doing it to protect you from the dangers that came with my mission, told myself that you deserved rest and peace after everything we had gone through...but the truth is that I was scared of how our relationship might develop without constant threats to keep us on our toes."

Now that she had started, she didn't want to stop. Just get it over with.

"So I ran away. I literally ran away from you and my feelings. I'm so sorry, Callum!" Tears she didn't know had gathered, began to spill from her eyes, unbidden. Heavens, he must think me so weak and pathetic!

"Rayla."

To her surprise, his voice wasn't dripping with disgust, but was ladden with tenderness. She startled slightly when he cupped her cheek.

"Rayla, look at me." It wasn't an order, it was a gentle invitation. She still couldn't believe her ears and next thing she knew, her eyes were telling her nonsensical things too.

Instead of scorn, she saw nothing but love and concern shining in his green eyes (was there a candle burning in the room? Or was it the moon? She neither knew nor cared).

"Rayla, you're not weak." The fact that he had spoken her name three times in a row in this impossibly tender tone now wasn't lost on her. She felt dizzy from the delight of it.

Then the meaning of his words sank in. "But Callum - how can you say that? I hurt you so badly, and all just because I couldn't handle my own emotions! How is that not weak?"

Was she actually begging him to be angry with her? Goodness, she was more messed up than she had thought!

"You made a mistake. That's not the same as being weak. If you were weak, you wouldn't have returned. You wouldn't have figured out all these things about yourself. You wouldn't be brave and caring and just...you wouldn't be you."

Rayla shook her head, trying to make sense of what he was telling her. It was such a completely new perspective, so different from what she had grown up with!

But Callum hadn't finished yet. "If you were weak, you wouldn't be Rayla. And I wouldn't have fallen in love with you."

There was the slightest hesitation at his last words, as though he wasn't sure whether she would reciprocate his feelings.

A bell was ringing in Rayla's ears, it was just too much - here he was, treating her with understanding and praise when she deserved none, but also implying that he wasn't sure whether she still loved him? Had he been thinking that she had left because of that?

She gasped audibly at this last thought.

"Callum, I hope you don't think...or ever thought that I left because of anything you did, or because my feelings for you changed!"

He looked vulnerable now, like a timid little child, who wasn't sure what kind of answer was expected from him.

Her need to protect his feelings was stronger than her shame and fear.

"Callum, I still love you. I always did. It won't ever change."

The atmosphere of the room changed immediately. It was as though the walls themselves were heaving a sigh of relief.

He didn't respond anything, and all she knew how to do to emphasise her words, was to hold his gaze and place a hand over his on her cheek.

Then his gaze dropped to her lips and he leaned in...Rayla watched it with no wish to run or hide, those feelings seemed to be something of a long distant past.

She had always been baffled at how soft his lips were, but not having kissed in two years...she felt like her whole body was melting and all that existed were the sensations and movements of their mouths. Not to forget his scent (Books. Definitely books, with something slightly musky that reminded her of his scarf), his breath on her skin, his hand on her waist (when had that happened?)...

It all ended too soon for Rayla's taste, but she guessed they had to catch their breath.

There was something reassuring in the way they held on to each other. She wished this moment would never end, as she lightly rested her forehead against his.

"Rayla?"

There was no uncertainty or concern in his voice now, just pure love.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you couldn't sleep tonight."

She laughed and he soon joined in. It had been so long since she had laughed like this, she hardly recognised the sound. It was a special laugh, her Callum-laugh.

"Same here," she mumbled fondly, resting her head on his chest now, with the intention to stay there.

~End~

[thatartiststudios]

WIP Wednesday

From the first chapter of my new fic “Forbidden Feeling” (working title)

Callum tightened his grip on a worn sketchbook, his mind spinning as he tried to recall the details of his tutor’s recent lecture on ancient treaties between kingdoms. He’d been told a prince needed to know every nuance, every phrase by heart. But so far, the only thing that seemed to sink in was how bored he was.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the quiet footsteps approaching until a voice, calm yet slightly amused, cut through his musings.

“You look like you’re trying to set that book on fire with your mind.”

Startled, Callum looked up, his grip tightening instinctively on the sketchbook. He hadn’t seen her before—she was a Moonshadow elf, dressed in a simple robes typical of the castle’s elven servants, though the dark-blue and green fabric and silver embroidery hinted she wasn’t just any ordinary attendant. She had that rare quality of being both watchful and entirely relaxed, like she was ready to disappear if needed but wasn’t at all in a hurry to do so.

“I—oh, uh, no, nothing like that,” he replied, feeling a flush creep up his neck. “I was just… studying.”

Her lips twitched upwards, one eyebrow raised. “Right. And here I thought princes were born with all that knowledge.”

Callum blinked, unsure if she was teasing him or if she just didn’t know how royalty worked. But there was no sarcasm or malice in her tone, just an odd mix of bluntness and mild curiosity. He stammered, half-laughing.

“Believe me, I wish it worked that way.”

They stood in silence for a moment, her watching him with a faint, almost challenging smile that threw him off balance. Everyone else at the castle looked at him with either awe or forced respect, but this elf… didn’t seem fazed by him in the slightest. It was, strangely enough, refreshing.

“If you’re just gonna stand here, I’d suggest not looking so lost. You’ll scare off half the council.”

Callum chuckled, “Yeah, maybe I should. Might get out of my next lesson.”

She snorted, shaking her head, but her eyes softened just slightly. Despite himself, Callum found he liked the way she didn’t bother holding back. He wasn’t used to anyone, save Ezran, speaking to him so casually. He glanced back at her, curiosity stirring. “So, are you… new around here?”

She shifted, her expression unreadable for a moment as if considering how much to say. She met his gaze, tilting her head. “Not exactly. Just... not usually around during the day.”

“Ah, Moonshadow elf, right?” He tried to say it casually but realized too late how clumsy it sounded. “I mean, that’s why I haven’t seen you?”

“Good guess,” she said with a small smirk, but there was a lightness to her tone. “Suppose you’ve read something from all that studying.”

She gave him a mock bow, so small he wasn’t even sure if it was serious or part of her humor, and began to walk past him. Instinctively, he called after her.

“Wait—uh, what’s your name?”

She glanced over her shoulder, considering, as though deciding whether or not to answer. Finally, she shrugged, as if humoring him. “It’s Rayla. But don’t go spreading it around.”

And with that, she disappeared down the hallway, leaving Callum alone with his book and an odd, lingering sense of curiosity. For the first time that day, he found his thoughts drifting away from treaties and royal duties. There was something about her—about the way she didn’t treat him like a prince, just a person. And for the first time in a long while, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could get used to that.

[raayllum]

Was thinking about this in regards to Ibis and Claudia - because as he says, he’s one of the most powerful Sky mages in history and given that he’s Zubeia’s chosen mage for the Sky Nexus, I’m inclined to believe him - but can also apply to “Viren and the Dragonguard” stuff I guess, which is to say:

Elves get bodied by dark mages because they have no practice fighting them.

This is something I remember reading meta about years ago in ATLA, but there’s an in-universe reason Aang wins just about every fight he picks, ultimately. Not only is he a very young and naturally talented (and hardworking) master airbender, but no one’s studied his bending form in a hundred years. Not a single firebender he comes up against has fought an airbender until then. Now, he doesn’t always win because of throwing blows (he loves to evade / avoid / dodge and does so very effectively, most  notably with Zhao) but he does escape most fights unscathed or victorious. That’s why losing at Ba Sing Se is such a big deal. 

So you have elves, right, who

Outside of assassins, have little to no reason to venture into the human kingdoms.

Who largely refuse to use, never mind study, how dark magic works

We don’t know enough about either primal or dark magic to say so definitively, but it seems like dark magic can do things primal magic decidedly can’t (and vice versa on some level). We also know from both Viren and Claudia that, with access to it, that it’s common for dark mages to study all branches of magic, primal included, if they can. 

The very first present day dark magic spell is also something we see that can hurt people but that which cannot be hurt back by blades (rendering Lain and Tiadrin’s and similar weapons automatically moot).

It also speaks to Tiadrin’s exclamation when she sees Viren perform dark magic on Lain: “What are you doing to him?” Not stop what you’re doing to him, but what, like she’s never seen it before. And given that Claudia specifies “I have a dark magic thing-y that can literally steal your breath” in her bag in S4, it seems to be a dark magic specific spell, too.

Then there’s the fact there’s only eight Dragonguard in the first place. Presumably supposed to be two from each of the well known elven races, as Tidebound are recluse and Startouch too rare, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more Moonshadow or Earthblood guards compared to say, Sunfire (as they have loyalty to their own royal family first and foremost).

So discounting Lain and Tiadrin, that leaves six. I could picture one fleeing upon immediately seeing what was largely regarded as the most powerful creature in the entire world being turned to stone, especially when S4 also has Rex Igneous confirm Avizandum regularly took on and levelled human armies for fun. So we’re down to five. That means 2-3 died, with the remaining 3-2 respectively fleeing. I’m tempted to say two died, as Hendryr (skywing elf) says “All the others have already fled,” which indicates a majority of those remaining, even if it’s not all the dragonguard like those implied.

There being actual bodies at the Spire also helps explain why, beyond just good ol’ Moonshadow / Xadian “one strike and you’re out” system, they assumed Lain and Tiadrin had died. If they had stayed and fought, why wouldn’t their be bodies be there as well, after all?

It’s also worth noting that most mages, particularly dark mages, do better in long range formats. Viren only starts winning his fight with Lain and Tiadrin once he has some space from them. Most of Claudia’s most powerful spells (2x03 tentacle arm, 2x07 ballista shot, 3x09 bomb, bat wings spell) are used to work with distance and aim true, like a deadly archer. It’s not surprising to me that she, likewise, starts losing her fight with Ibis once it gets close range. We see this be more true of Callum in 3x09, where the height of the mountain and the high ground gives him useful range that he struggles to maintain when Kasef lunges at him. In season four we don’t get to see him really in combat, so maybe that’ll change in s5 onwards.

Basically; I have very little problem picturing Viren taking down 2-3 elven guards when they have no familiarity with fighting dark magic to begin with. If anything, it makes me wonder why the Dragonguard wasn’t a mostly mage force, or whether they thought they needed more security against fellow elves in general (mage or warrior) after all the Xadian focused unrest in the fallout of Queen Aditti’s life in general, than thinking humans would strike at the heart of Xadia in the first place 

[tildeathiwillwrite]

Moonlight

Whumpril Day 29 (Reluctant Caretaker)

Whumpril Prompts List

part 1

TW: exhaustion, fainting, paranoia, hunted, telepathy, magic whump

Summary: It's been many days since Jin fled the battle field. She attempts to pass through a grove in Moonshadow elf territory and stumbles across something inexplicable.

That's a wrap for Whumpril! I hope you enjoyed my contributions! :D

The moonshadow elf had been following Jin for some time now.

She wasn’t certain how she knew this. It was a full moon, she couldn’t see the elf unless they’d wanted her to. She hadn't heard them, either.

But she knew they were there. She didn’t know how. But she knew.

If Jin had to guess, the elf had started following her when she’d entered the small thicket, after the sun had set below the horizon. She might have trespassed into their territory, but she didn't care. She felt too exposed on the open plains.

Progress was slow, with the trees packed densely together. But the branches almost seemed to part before Jin, allowing themselves to be bent with unnatural flexibility so she could pass. She didn’t try to think about how the trees could be luring her into a trap.

If the elf was out to get her, they would have killed her by now.

But instead, they only watched and followed, nearly invisible from the power of the full moon. It would have been fitting if they did kill her. A moonshadow elf had taken her husband from her. Had taken her king under her watch.

That was in the past. Jin was a deserter now.

Her head snapped to the left, and she barely made out a shape in the darkness as it flitted past, unhindered by the wall of branches. No sound was made. How had she known to look?

Jin almost reached for her ax but decided against it. She had been traveling for days on foot, running on little sleep and the small amount of food she could forage. She was in no fit state for battle, no matter who her opponent would be.

Finally, through the branches, she spied open ground. A clearing? The other side of the forest? The spot where the trap had been laid out for her?

She pressed on. Anywhere was better than the pressing shadows of the trees.

The elf was waiting for her when she emerged from the thicket, spear in hand as they regarded her. Even in their nearly invisible moonshadow form, they appeared masculine, a guarded expression on his face. Behind him was a shrine constructed of white stone gleaming under the moonlight. Two symbols were carved above the gaping doorway. The first was the symbol of the moon arcanum. And the second….

Jin’s mouth went dry. Was that the… dark magic arcanum?!

“Who are you?” The elf asked softly.

Her fingers twitched, eager to hold her ax. Why was the symbol for dark magic on a shrine in Xadia? “I… I’m Jin.”

“Why have you come here?”

Was the ground moving? Why was the ground moving? “I… not… I don’t know.” Overcome by weakness, Jin fell to her knees. “What… what’s happening?”

The elf frowned and turned to face the shrine. “Neoma!”

Jin’s skin prickled as a faint reply echoed inside her head, the words incomprehensible. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to control her breathing as she struggled to stay conscious.

The elf sighed heavily. “Fine.”

A hand touched her shoulder. “Stop fighting,” he said softly. “You’re safe here.”

“N-no… I can’t… she’ll do horrible things…”

“Neoma won’t let her. It’ll be alright.”

Jin slowly nodded as she slumped. The ground was cool under her cheek. A small part of her, even as she slipped into the darkness, tried to protest. This isn’t right. Too tired too quickly. What if…

That, too, quickly faded away into oblivion.

@fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @whumpril

[bittrlys]

THE GOOD

Viren and Harrow scene

CRAB SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Young Viren

Viren selfcest (<- stream of consciousness note that I stand by, he needs to learn to love himself)

Aaravos and Viren had a baby <3 (I like that this twist about the child to save him only works for people who weren't already joking about this being their lovechild all last season)

The heavyhanded diaogue is lol but its nice to see Viren's internal journey ("DAD I'M FOLLOWING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS" guys you really could have just shown that. But I guess Viren is literal even with his metaphors. I forgive him.)

Viren zoned the fuck out half the season still the best part of the show. But like I love the sense of crushing realization and weight of his thoughts. King of thinking <3

Nice to see Claudia also getting to do cool complicated things

Viren and Claudia literally carry the dramatic weight of the series on their shoulders -tm my friend

I appreciate that Terry continues to be down to clown

This blood elf assassin is hot ♥

I like the water elf design the coral horns are cool (and he looks like a Critical Role character)

I always love pirate towns so that's cool! And some brief actual intense stakes with the pirate captain.

Aaravos. FULL STOP. Like 10 lines of dialogue and he served with them all!

"If you see Claudia again tell her I said ..... hi" hahaa

THE BAD

The Rayllum (what was Callum even apologizing for?? Rayla just genuinely does not seem to like him.)

Janai immediately pivots in her belief because only villains are allowed to stick by their reasonable positions which oppose the desires of the main characters

Again, what changed Tidebound Tina's perspective and made her help them??? Characters will truly just change perspectives in a second if they're meant to be 'good' and not defy the main characters

Ezran is so entitled. Rayla is like oh this boat is a bad idea he's immediately like "WE NEED THAT ONE!" and then proceeds to get them all nearly murdered by pirates for some tadpoles and does not apologize at all.

That being said it seems the show just isn't that interested in Ezran or Rayla

Would it have killed them to include a scene showing why Rayla decides to show up and save the day in finale? She has no arc.

I understand the conclusion that Callum came to with ocean magic but I don't believe his process of getting there.

Can Janai do her damn job all she's ever shown doing is hanging out in her pyjamas pining and being in love. Tied with Zubeia who just hangs about talking about her husband and son all day.

THE UGLY

STOP WITH THIS DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS SHIT (why would the Archdragon of the Ocean give a damn about a human ruler? But like Oh! We Have To Respect A King!)

They show up to the library with only FIVE HOURS TO SUNSET instead of idk camping outside the city until the next dawn and coming in then. And then leave directly at sunset instead of giving themselves like an hour of wiggle room. Unreal!

They can't even let these entitled main characters even THINK Amaya died for their arrogance Like they can't even feel guilt about it for five seconds.

What's the point of having a deus ex machina dragon you insert in every scene to save their asses (god I need Zubeia dead) if she's just going to stand there and do literally nothing while Amaya is attacked. Rewatch that scene camera never cuts to Zubeia's face to even show her idk considering it? Being unable to help? Just get rid of this dragon already she weakens the plot to an absurd degree.

Zubeia surviving. Full stop.

Thunder killed off this group of elves for the crime of uhhhh doing weird blood rituals? Moonshadow elves (Thunder's personal hit squad) do blood rituals. Thunder just loves massacring any group of people who defy his tyranny.

It's surreal that Xadians NEVER comment on the humans in their midst like the show will not draw attention to the fact that humans are othered + marginalized. It perpetually feels like the writers are backtracking on lore they previously established because they don't want to make Xadians look bad.

Like I can believe a criminal port is full of all elements but this happens elsewhere in Xadia. Even the Archdragon of Ocean doesn't address the fact that Ezran is a human.

But it's not like the differences between humans and Xadians aren't noted because humans (like Amaya) still have to constantly grovel for Xadian approval + forgiveness. Like for WHAT. Should Amaya have to apologize to Rayla anymore than Rayla should apologize for coming to assassinate a 10-year-old Ezran in season 1?

for fucking tadpoles?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Callum, Rayla, and Ezran are UNSYMPATHETIC protagonists they literally will never face any consequences for any of their actions. Nothing really goes wrong for them -- they're always saved from trouble and they get everything ultimately handed them. They are supremely privileged, entitled people. Meanwhile Viren and Claudia go through 19 layers of hell just trying to get 1 thing done.

Overall I'd say it was better than season 4! 👍👍👍

[zuppizup]

Little Moments 4.0

Previous ficlet

Rayla sits on the beach, sighing contentedly. The sun is setting over the vast ocean and she is finally starting to feel normal again. For the past day or so it has felt like she is still on that damn boat, dry land pitching and rolling even as she knows it is solid.

Her stomach still doesn’t really feel up to too much and the strong, salty food preferred by Tidebounds is a bit too strong for her, but Ezran has found her some fruit which she has been happily nibbling on.

The giggle from behind her makes her laugh, realising she isn’t alone. A gaggle of Tidebound kids have been following her from a distance all day. She knows there is a whole thing between Tidebounds and Moonshadows, the importance of the moon in both their cultures giving them a sort of kinship, but she hadn’t really expected for anyone to find her particularly interesting.

Glancing over her shoulder, she catches a little boy approaching her. He screams in happy fright, turning and running back to his friends not far behind. Rolling her eyes, she laughs to herself as she turns back to the sea. The sun is low now, a bright orange disc slowly sinking below the horizon. Instinctively she can feel the moon rising behind her, steadily growing in power and prominence. It is still a few days until full moon, but she can already feel the familiar buzz that comes with a waxing moon.

She hears footsteps approach and elects to keep her eyes straight ahead, rather than ‘scare’ the kids off again. They clearly have questions and she has nothing else to do but indulge them.

“It’s still a few days before I can turn all Moonshadow-y, you know.” She grins, looking up and expecting to find one of her little followers.

Instead she finds Callum approaching her, looking confused at her apparently random comment.

“Oh… hi.” She feels herself flush and is grateful for the dim light. “I, eh, thought it was one of them.” She nods in the direction of the group of barely disguised children hiding behind a large palm tree.

Callum stops short, looking between her and the children and shuffling awkwardly. “Oh, eh, sorry. I just had some free time so I thought… I didn’t realise you were busy.”

“I’m not.” She answers quickly, not wanting him to leave. He was so kind and attentive during the boat journey here but his time has been monopolised by Tidebound mages since they made land and she’s seen less of him then even Ezran. “It just… the whole moon thing.” Her eyes flicker to the children watching them. “Tidebound kids always want to see moon magic apparently.”

Callum looks between her and the kids briefly, then walks a little closer to her and takes a seat in the sand a respectable distance away. “Moon thing?”

“Yeah,” Rayla hopes the tremble isn’t obvious in her voice. It seems so long since she’s explained anything magical to him, that all part of a simpler time. “Tidebound magic is strongest at high tide, so it’s all moon related.”

Callum furrows his brow, thinking about this for a moment. “Makes sense, I guess.”

“We should come back here at Spring tide.” She waffles on, wanting desperately to engage him in discussion. “This whole place goes crazy apparently.”

Callum laughs, eyes moving around the landscape, beautiful even in the dim twilight. “We should.” He looks back at her, eyes soft. “Maybe as a vacation once all this is over.”

Rayla smiles at him, pushing the scary and morbid thoughts from her mind in favour of envisioning a more pleasant future.

“Miss?”

Rayla jumps a little as a small voice pipes up from to her left. “Yeah?”

“Can you do some moon magic, miss?” A little Tidebound girl is looking at her, all large eyes and amazement.

Rayla sighs, not sure she could resist such a look. The other children hang back and she suspects they sent in the cutest with this request.

“Well… I can try,” She winces, shrugging her shoulders. “But I’m not much of a Moon mage.”

The little elf claps and looks over at her friends, who rush to join them.

Taking a deep breath, Rayla glances at the moon. It is low on the horizon, looking impossibly huge and she hopes the illusion is enough to help her make this spell work. Taking a deep breath, she draws a simple rune and speaks the trigger word. “Mystica Aurora”

Opening her eyes, she sees shimmering lights dancing before her. The children squeal in delight as she blows the gentle illusion closer to them. It dances on the breeze, like it has sentience, and begins to float away.

The children squeal in excitement, chasing after the illusion and pay her no more mind. She laughs, rolling her eyes before glancing over at Callum.

He’s watching the children or the illusion, she can’t tell which. His eyes suddenly move to hers and she thinks she sees him smile in the low light.

“You never mentioned you were a mage.” He speaks softly, and by the way he’s looking at her, she feels like those words have perhaps more meaning to him than they have to her.

He did confess to her that she was the first person to call him a mage… and how perfectly he felt that title fit him. How he’d felt… useless before that. Like a failure of a prince.

Were those her exact words to him? She can’t remember, the moment not nearly having the same level of importance to her at the time. All she remembered from that exchange was him yelling into the tunnels and her inexplicable urge to shush him with a finger on his lips.

She flushes at the memory, the whole thing imbued with such importance now so many years later.

“I’m not.” She states plainly. “I can just do a few dumb tricks.” She’d never had the talent for magic that she had for physical pursuits and she’d always felt embarrassed by her fumbling attempts. Even mentioning the illusion that disguised Zym had seemed silly at the time.

Callum ponders this, looking like he’s perhaps going to argue before he sighs softly. “How come you never showed me before?” He moves a little closer to her, eyes imploring.

Her heart races in her chest. This feels like an important moment but she doesn’t know what he wants to hear and she’s terrified of messing things up. She bites her lip, eyes instinctively seeking the moon for a moment before she looks back at him. She sighs, electing to simply be honest, even if it makes her sound stupid. “I dunno. Magic was your thing.”

His face softens as he looks at her and she forces herself to look away because she’s getting all those oasis happy feels and she’s definitely going to do something stupid like kiss him if he keeps gazing at her with his big green eyes.

“I like seeing you do magic.” He admits, smiling a little wider.

“Really?” She responds without thinking. Her magic is clumsy, ill-practiced. Nothing that ever impressed anyone back home.

Back when she had a home.

“Yeah.” He nods earnestly, clearly wanting her to believe him. “It’s beautiful.”

Continued: Little Moments 5.0

Also on AO3: Little Moments 4.0

[ask-ethari-anything]

First of all! I LOVE YOUR TATTOOS!

ok now down to business.

are the metal looking things at the base of your horns a kind of jewelry? why did elves evolve to have horns? are they used for something? do they grow throughout your lifetime?

You like my ink, eh? I'll thank my husband for his steady hand in applying it, then. (They're more markings than tattoos - not permanent.)

Moon help me, you've certainly got a solid appreciation for elf horns! A rarity among humans, since you've none of your own. Let me see if I can clear some things up for you!

Horn jewelry comes in many sorts and styles, with all sorts of different meanings. Some of it depends on which elven culture the wearer belongs to. Others aren't so clear-cut.

Moonshadow elves love decoration. Many of us wear horn jewelry - rings, caps, cuffs, chains, and more - because they're pretty. I've made plenty myself over the years. But horn cuffs, specifically, often mean that the wearer has chosen a partner to be loyal to. Bonus points if the cuffs either look like a matching set (like Lain and Tiadrin's) or seem to resemble some details about each wearer's partner (like mine and Runaan's).

Alright, I hope I get extra credit for maundering on about horn jewelry, because I'm not sure what you mean by elves evolving to have horns. Evolved from what? We've always been elves. Elves with horns!

I can't speak for every elf in Xadia, but I use horns to show off my favorite horn jewelry. Don't try to tell me you wouldn't do the same if you had horns. Elf horns are a jeweler's best friend, you know - I put my best work on my husband's horns and I must say, he wears fine things well.

I'm no expert on elf horns that aren't the ones coming out of my head, but in my experience, elflings' horns bud when they're still very wee, and they stop growing around the time everything else does. We can look at our parents' horns and guess what shapes we'll grow ourselves, but as my ma used to say, "There's no guarantee until the curve kicks in."

Which is also what she'd say when pitching to us elflings for sackball. She could throw a mean sinker.

Thanks for your ask, love. I always enjoy being an expert on myself.

[baatarthefirst]

In s3 when Ezran stepped down, they weren't any distant relatives of Harrow who could take the throne?

There probably is, but Opeli said only an orphan could ascend to the throne when Ez stepped down (orphan rulers are a big thing in Katolis, I guess). We don't know exactly how the Sunfire monarchy works. Considering a lot of their history involves people taking the throne after dueling to the death for it, I doubt bloodlines are a HUGE deciding factor when considering worthiness to rule.

...which ngl, is a good thing for Karim...the sunfire prince who doesn't have sunfire horns....

if the whole 'bloodlines must be preserved' thing was super important, our local (probably half moonshadow elf) Prince would not be in line for a Sunfire throne.

(or maybe I'm completely wrong, and bloodlines have become EVERYTHING, and the reason Karim loves his sister [and always will] is because she was the only one of the royal family who accepted him; later legitimizing him as her heir because after Lux Aurea fell, who cares if the prince isn't full-blooded sunfire as long as he's got a set of horns)

[kradogsrats]

Do you think that Lissa hates elves and dragons?

This is an interesting question! Since the narrative goes so hard on hate being bad, understandably, what we see of the cultural animosity between humans and elves really leans toward the wacky--like Rayla's relatable jokes about humans--except when it's positioned as a threat to the main characters. Like, we're told that humans and elves hate each other and haven't mixed peacefully in centuries, and then two years after "surprise, we're all friends now!" everyone's somehow hanging out having cultural misunderstandings rather than hate-criming each other. Maybe there just hasn't been enough time for a counter-movement to gain any traction? Whatever.

Anyway, what we have in canon indicates that Callum has almost definitely never even seen an elf until Rayla. He's grown up with things like the wooden figurine showing a monstrous Moonshadow elf. Thunder killed his mother, and his aunt channeled all her grief into hating elves. Like, he literally believes Moonshadow elves drink blood, or at least believes it enough to assume that's what Rayla's red juice is. I think this is hard for most of us to relate to, like in order to wrap my mind around that kind of dehumanization I have to imagine a scenario like some kind of space alien invasion, where the enemy is literally inhuman and their hostility completely beyond understanding. It's not super surprising that the story doesn't want to dwell on it, because the more you dwell on it, the more people will draw parallels to real-world racism, xenophobia, and groups that are marginalized in ways that are really not comparable at all.

Katolis in particular (and possibly also Duren, idk I don't think about Duren a lot tbh) probably has a weird curve of resentment toward elves because on the one hand, they're a heavily militarized society specifically against Xadia--depending on how active that conflict is, there are a lot of people who have lost friends or family to it, or know someone who has. On the other hand, we straight-up have from ToX materials that humans and elves mingle fairly freely in areas near the border, crossing to trade without consequence. So outside of the military, it's actually the people further from the border who are going to hold more hatred and prejudice. They will also be the least likely to have actually encountered an elf, dead or alive, while someone living near the border may be like "oh yeah Moonshadow elves are the worst, except that guy who grows the most amazing moonberries, seriously you've gotta try these things, anyway he's a good one and we'll run anyone who gives him trouble out of town." Living in Del Bar (which shares no border with Xadia) and then in urban Katolis, I would guess Lissa's experience is much more similar to Callum's as far as experience with actual elves.

I also personally headcanon Lissa as a sort of historian-bard, so she's very familiar with both how humanity suffered after being expelled from Xadia and the atrocities humans committed against each other in the aftermath. She's trained to think critically, specifically regarding the stories humans tell themselves about the world. Like most people, I doubt she's ever seen an elf in real life. So while she's definitely not immune to the cultural bias she's steeped in, and would probably be distrustful/defensive with an elf, I think she's also a compassionate person who isn't going to kill first and ask questions later.

As for dragons... well, I imagine that Soren's whole thing with dragons and dragon-slaying comes from Lissa telling him stories, just because that strikes me as very Del Barian. But really, probably everyone is afraid of a full-grown dragon? Like, it's not clear that humans are even aware that dragons other than Archdragons are sentient? So that's like kind of like asking if you're afraid of a bear with a grenade launcher pointed at you--it's not one of my top ten daily anxieties, but it's absolutely gonna take up my entire brain if I happen to encounter it. So like... "hate" in the sense of "please stay far away and I don't want it in my proximity unless it's 110% dead" seems pretty normal.

[auggie-beaniessssss]

Cancelled Episode 17 "Beyond the green butterfly"

"Yo mama so goddamm fat, the documentary about her can't fit her selfie in the TV without it exploding!"

-yo mama jokes series

Oh, here we go again. More and more "LoOKiNG fOr sOmE aNciENT pOwErFuL rELiC tO FiGhT tHe gReAt FiNaL bOsS" or something.

Well, no time to waste! Let us make haste! For the great lizard king isn't gonna kill himself, no, surely not!

But it's just...we'd already gotten comfortable with finding targets in caves and forest settings, but...why...did this one...have to be...right in the middle of the Pacific ocean???? OH GOD WHY???

Well. No point mulling over the mere risk of not being able to properly defend ourselves underwater if enemies attack us...ugh....

"Hey are you done monologuing yet, girl? You not going down?" Snowball cuts me out of my daze and alerts me of the situation at hand. Ah, right, I'd almost forgotten our predicament while I was busy thinking of a solution and also how much I hate underwater combat, but it was all thanks to our darling Moonshadow Elf here who reminded me! Ah, this is why I just know I can trust Moonshadow Elves!

We're on a tiny wooden boat-well, to call it a boat would be an overstatement, this thing's more like the most basic wooden raft once could make with the minimal budget provided-just barely enough to keep us afloat.

Well, I don't exactly blame it. With all THESE heavy-as-hell equipment needed for this adventure, it can't really be asked to support us on top of that weight. Make do with the budget, I guess.

We've all just gotten ready, putting on the goggles and diving suit and oxygen tank as we prepare to dive straight into this bottomless pit of unknown dangers.

"And what about that...fox? What do we do with it?" Disparage gestures rather disagreeingly at the little fox in Hydrogenium's cuddled snugly in Hydrogenium's arms. (on a side note, how exactly does it even grt comfortable with that...poisoned, toxic black arm of hers?) Does he see the fox as an inconvenience, perchance?

"Well, we'll just have to leave it here, on the boat, though I don't think it can defend itself...can it?" Erik questions...yet another one who finds the fox an inconvenience. Well, considering how much he loved petting it, only an inconvenience in battle, perhaps.

Hydrogenium finally secures her goggles and oxygen tank, and finally makes the decision, "Just leave it here. I know it can defend itself," and seating the fox comfortably on the boat next to the diving equipment.

Then, without any warning, she dives straight in, forcing the rest of us to have to follow her.

Oh, here we go again...

I'm the last to follow because of how much I hate deep water, especially ones where we have to find some ancient relic and fight sea monsters or something...

I summon my courage while still on the boat in order to plunge into the icy depths. The fox even bothers to cuddle in my arms and snuggle there warmly. Well, sorry for you, fox, but I'm on a suicide mission, no time to hug you or something anymore!

I take a deep breath for some reason even though I won't need it because I still have an ENTIRE OXYGEN TANK but I take it anyway, before...jumping right in to the middle of the ocean.

"OH MY GOD WHY THE HELL IS THE WATER SO COLD? IT'S FREEZING AS HELL COLD! WHY THE HELL IS IT THIS COLD?" were my exact thoughts the moment I plummeted into the chilly ocean.

I flailed my arms around helplessly as the immense pressurised liquid swallowed me; I felt my entire body freezing over as the water average temperature kept dropping and dropping...

Oh god...is this how I die? Before the mission's even started? No no no no no, there's no way I'm dying in such a cliched manner!

Alright, alright, alright, calm down...this has to be just like light-flying, it's just normal light-flying, normal light-flying, just in water, but that's the same thing...I'm just in a medium with a much higher density compared to normal air...

Well why am I even comparing this to light-flying? Not like I can light-fly anymore, with the entire loss of my Photokinesis...

Just...stay calm...regulate breathing...heart rate...completely normal...totally not about to be the first one to die in this suicide mission, and from such a cliched mannef as freezing in the ocean...

And surely enough, deep breaths (though a real waste of oxygen, though the real waste would be if I die before I get to finish all this oxygen) really help calm me down...whoo...just...relax the body...let it float naturally...

And soon, my heart began beating normally, as my muscles relaxed and let my body float around being tossed by the currents...AND NOW I'M ABLE TO SWIM NORMALLY! HAHAHA!

THIS IS WHY I SAID IT'S JUST LIKE LIGHT-FLYING! JUST TURN INTO LIGHT AND FLY, BUT WITHOUT THE PHOTOKINESIS AND IN WATER AND JUST SWIMMING NORMALLY! HAHAHA!

Well, now the entire suicide squad is swim-staring at me, while I do my little victory underwater-dance and happily swim around like a three-year old just discovering surface tension happily playing with the paper clips on the cup of water's surface.

Alright, lizard king, suicide mission's ready to unseal your greatest nightmare!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Oh hey, hood markings

Check out this elf! She has two slightly different designs: one from the intro, and one from Callum’s Spellbook. A few things have changed about her (probably between design and S1′s release, if we’re going to be meta about this), but the most interesting part about her sketch is that her hood is up, and on it is a reflection of her markings, as if the edge of her hood is a mirror.

Cheek slashes and a forehead point extend back along her hood like a reflection of the markings on her face.

Rayla’s hood markings have the same kind of thing, and it got me thinking.

It looks like these marks aren’t supposed to be the top half of Rayla’s childhood markings. They’re something different.

According to the latest TDP Insta AMA, assassins slip into a dimension of the moon when they enter their full Moonshadow mode to take their target. And the only dimension of the moon we’ve seen so far is the shimmering world beyond life and death: the Upside Down that Rayla accessed through the Moon Nexus.

It’s literally the Upside Down! Ha. A reversal of the living world where even its colors are inverted. A mirror of reality, facing the other way. 

And the assassins’ hoods do the same thing! It’s a cool way to visually represent their ability to slide between life and death and to embrace both opposites at the same time. It also gives me vibes from the Roman god Janus, who had two faces and presided over beginnings and endings--cycles, if you will.

So I guess I have a headcanon now that Runaan’s hood has his nose markings painted across it, and that their points come right down to where his actual markings are on his cheeks. Which would make him even more terrifying in his full Moonshadow form, since he’d have glowing turquoise eyes shining out of a toothy maw made of of glowing markings. Crikey.

[unfinished tdp meta]

[hermitmoss]

So, I have some thoughts on Viren, Terry, and Claudia.  (Naturally, spoilers for Book 4 ahead, as well as discussions of domestic abuse.  I’ll also note here in case somebody wants to do some Discourse™ - I hope it’s not necessary, but still, in case - that I am a survivor of abuse, and have been a caregiver for my abuser, a parent.)  With that said, let’s dive in (dive off?)!

Terry and Claudia treat Viren in completely opposite ways.  Three guesses who treats him the “right way” - that’s right, the one who didn’t have to grow up being taught and emotionally abused by him.  In a work explicitly about breaking the cycles of harm, this is very significant.  This is a meta about this.

In many ways it’s completely natural (in a terrible way) for an abused child to, when finding herself suddenly more powerful by far than her abuser, to treat the abuser the way that she herself has been treated and seen modeled.  Terry obviously hasn’t been raised (badly, dangerously, harmfully) by Viren.

Obviously, Claudia’s dark magic raising gives her a sense of entitlement towards the bodies of others -- they’re used for spell components, after all!  Why should she listen if Viren says that he’d prefer palliative care than the slim chance of survival (and certainly a less enjoyable time than “enjoying the time he does have” would be)?  He has no say over his own body; she’s a dark mage, she’s in charge here, so what happens to bodies is her domain, not the domain of the people in them.

Terry, again, does not have this.  In fact, he models a very different conceptualization of love - a healthy one - when he says (I’ve slightly paraphrased rather than dig through the episode again for the exact dialogue) “I don’t control them.  Plants and I have a healthy relationship.  I know that they’ll be there for me when I need it.”

Claudia hits Viren.  She embraces him, and he weeps.  Terry suggests hugging Viren, then, when Viren doesn’t consent to it, Terry verbally states “I respect your boundaries”.

“That went well,” says Terry, when Viren first dismisses him.  He seems to mean it.  When Viren tells him, essentially, to suck it up about having killed somebody, he puts in a lot of thought, then has a genuine discussion with Viren about why he isn’t going to do that, and what he’s going to do instead.  (It reminds me of Amaya’s “two cakes” assertion.)  Terry is showing Claudia and Viren both a better way to love than what they have been practicing... and, right now, Viren seems more receptive than Claudia.

Neither Terry nor Claudia seem to notice initially that Viren is struggling with the ascent up the Storm Spire; however, it’s important to note that Terry is following Claudia’s lead.  When Viren has a panic attack and loses consciousness, Terry, without being patronizing or critical, grounds and reassures him, telling him what’s going on and affirming that it’s okay.  Terry is sitting with him.  Claudia... is not.  She’s standing ahead, impatient.  When they keep going, she continues to lead the way; Terry follows not her, directly, now, but Viren; stays on the other side of him so he’s no longer bringing up the rear, can no longer fall behind unnoticed.

Viren tries to hand the staff that he once used over to Claudia.  She uses it for one spell, then.... then who is carrying it?  Terry.

Terry offers Viren a hand up.  Viren hesitates.  (Claudia never gives him an option to say ‘no’ about receiving physical contact.)  The last time somebody offered Viren a hand up, and he took it, I think was Sarai, just before her death (her death, one could argue, because she stopped to save him).  He takes Terry’s offered hand.  I don’t think he wants Terry dead.

It’s also interesting that as much as Terry struggles (as he should, of course!) with taking a life while Viren scoffs that he has never hesitated to do the worst things imaginable to protect his family... Terry says to Claudia that she’s done terrible things, but until now (until it’s about a moonshadow elf rather than Viren’s life) he’s believed they were justified.

Viren also seems genuinely considering of what Terry has to say about feelings, and protecting people, and at the least awkward and at most genuinely sorry for snapping at him the way he did.

Then, of course, there’s The Scene.  The coming out scene, where Terry says that he chose the name Terrestrius.  Viren says “it’s a strong name.”   Strong.  It’s his idea of an affirmation.

“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 think Terry’s offering up love as an alternative to strength. Unlike Claudia, he doesn’t expect Viren to be strong.  He reaches out his hand to Viren.  To assist him when he is, this season, shown to be physically weak.  (“There will be stories of armies, battles, and decisive victories. But this isn’t true strength — it’s merely power. I now believe true strength is found in vulnerability. In forgiveness. In love.”)

Viren takes it.

[ask-runaan-anything]

Thanks for answering about horns and hair! But now I’m really curious. In a combat scenario, how effective would your horns really be?

Due to their shape, I don’t think they’d be good for a quick impaling (again, from what I’ve seen, Sunfire horns are better suited for that tactic). If I had to guess, Moonshadow horns would be best suited for sheer blunt force?

Also, I’m curious about structural integrity. In the event you need to use them, is there a good chance your horns will snap off from the force alone?

You're welcome, little shadow. Horns aren't terribly effective at all, you're correct. They're good for one surprise jab to the eye or smack to the face, and that's about it. After that, either you've regained enough advantage to win - or your opponent is onto your "secret weapon" and you're possibly in a more desperate situation than you were before.

Horn attacks should always be part of a multi-strike plan, because, indeed, they are blunt and not for stabbing. I have heard of sharp-horned elves, but they sharpen them on purpose, for angsty reasons. But even then, it's not really about fighting with them, so much as... visual statements.

I feel you may be oversimplifying what "Sunfire horns" look like, though. They are not naturally sharp, any more than mine are. Many Sunfire elves have horns that rise well, able to hold their horndornaments up where all can see. But not all of them. Have you heard of Janai's younger brother, Prince Karim? His horns are more like, well... like mine. And there are elves of other tribes who have upright horns as well.

None of that changes the ability to use our horns in combat, though. Only the best angles at which to use them. Every grown elf, whether combatant or no, has smacked into enough tree branches or cobwebs to know exactly what their horns can hit and what they will miss.

Horns are made of solid bone. They're very sturdy, not prone to snapping off. A hard hit might leave a deep scratch or a divot, but those are usually covered with a bit of trickery or jewelry. It's rare to see an elf with a fully missing horn, even among those who engage in combat regularly. Truly, it takes something extraordinarily powerful to snap or shatter solid bone, especially on a well-trained elf.

...I should know.

I'm not sure an elf on his feet would possess enough power to purposely snap off an undamaged horn, even if he were running full speed into something with it. You have seen rams butting heads, yes? Horns are very sturdy things indeed. I suppose if he got the angle exactly wrong, and there were some sort of wrenching motion involved, he could break his own horn. The very idea makes my neck hurt, though. *subtly rubs the back of my neck*

If you have horns, try to be careful with them. They're meant to last as long as you do.