#opposite: amaya

[fizzytoo]

harvestfest!

[oh-shtars]

Polar opposite AUs, Flicker?

OMG OMG OMG-

YESS AMAYA MY QUEEN 💖✨💖

RFTS!Amaya being all excited about her latest evil discovery and TFS!Amaya is just:

“you did what-??”

Lmaooo, the TFS!Royal Couple should be really concerned with the RFTS!Couple. 😂😂

[gcddamnvampire]

tag dump

[raayllum]

EZRAN: Prince Karim, all Queen Janai wants is peace. There's no need to attack. Take your army, the people who follow you, and build your own future somewhere away from here.

KARIM: But I agree with you. There is no need for violence today if my terms are met. EZRAN: Your terms? Prince Karim, I may be a child, but I know how to count. Janai's five armies are more than your one. The Queen expects to defeat you decisively. KARIM: And I expect my sister to surrender unconditionally and acknowledge me as the High King of the Sunfire Empire. EZRAN: I don't think— KARIM: And all humans will leave our lands immediately, and return to the other side of the border. Where you belong. EZRAN: You can't force the humans to leave. People have made friendships, built families. Your own sister is marrying a human! KARIM: I know this must seem harsh to you, but... history cannot be forged without fire. Without strength.

EZRAN: I am a king. And as a king, I choose love over strength. Sometimes it's hard, but when I struggle, I think about the people I love and how they are counting on me to do the right thing. Not the harsh thing, not the strong thing. The right thing.

KARIM: But she will always be my sister. EZRAN: Then you can still choose love. It's not too late. KARIM: The great Archdragon of the Sun was faced with a choice long ago. He chose fire. I honour Sol Regem now, as my sister should have done when she had the chance. [...] EZRAN: You want Janai to attack! And when she does... you'll call down Sol Regem and—they won't stand a chance! KARIM: Ah. Humans might be more clever than I thought. I don't need five armies when I have one archdragon.

A few notes, as always:

Karim, when nudged by Miyana, acknowledged in 6x02 that what they were doing, they were doing "for us" and "for [their people]" and I think in a lot of ways, like Viren, that's what it initially started out as. However, here we see most clearly that this is about Karim's ego (shocking, I know) and pride. He wants to be king of this land, he wants to crush and restore 'natural order' to Xadia by expelling humans again. Just having this own followers and his own piece of land elsewhere isn't enough, even though it would be if his people's happiness was all he cared about.

Ezran offers a variety of options and perspectives to Karim to appeal to him — you could leave peacefully with your people, you can make active choices, don't you love your sister? — the latter of which being the only one to really get under his skin. I also like seeing Ezran advocate on behalf of his citizens (and possibly others) who have been integrated into Sunfire society and daily life. Karim wants to return Xadia to being wholly divided, but Ezran — like Janai, and Amaya, and the bulk of the main cast — want reintegration, for humans to live on both sides of the border again (and elves beyond just Rayla I'm sure).

We also see consistent motifs such as the 'paths' element that arc 2 has largely fostered, Karim's focus on history and fire, consistent themes like the emphasis on choices, as well as anyone — but especially Ezran — harkening back directly to Harrow's letter from 2x06, which is the first time in seasons we've heard the same sentiments so directly expressed. (Crying over "No, it's too late for that" in 1x02 vs "Then you can still choose love, it's not too late").

I also really enjoy the way this scene tests Ezran. As he said in 4x03, "We all want love and we all want peace" and here, he's presented directly with the opposite: Queen Janai wants peace, but Karim wants violence, he wants to be attacked so that he can have the upper hand, and that's when Ez and Corvus know they need to get out of here.

I also can't help but think about how relevant Ezran's speech here is going to be when he encounters Runaan in S7. We saw in the TDP short story "Deep Below" that he will likely want to do the "harsh thing, the strong thing," rather than the right thing. It makes me wonder if we'll see more of an Ezran&Rayla focus as a way to guide him through. After all, Runaan murdered his father, but Runaan is also Rayla's father—and doesn't Ezran love his sister?

[nerd-with-a-cause]

Thinking about how Amaya's scar is a permanent reminder of the time she was unable to save her sister's life.

[Image description: A close-up image of Amaya's face. Her scar is visible on the right side of her face under her eye.]

Whereas Karim's new scar is a permanent reminder of the time he was unable to kill his sister.

[Image description: A close-up image of Karim's face. A scar cuts through his left eyebrow.]

Talk about inverse character arcs. And their scars are even on the opposite sides of their faces! The symbolism!!!

[gl1tched-g0th]

Happy Pride. Can we celebrate by, just for the month, having fandoms not be weird about lesbians/lesbian-coded characters.

Can we acknowledge that just because a woman character exists, and doesn't stare directly into the camera like an episode of the Office to say "I Do Not Like Men", that doesn't mean they aren't lesbian?

Can we please acknowledge how fandoms, especially cartoon spaces, are not normal about lesbians and lesbian coding. Can we acknowledge that lesbian is not a "dirty" or "taboo" word, and that it is okay to admit that a character is just a flat out lesbian.

Can we not try to maneuver our way around it by saying "well they could be bi/pan!", like so many people do with lesbian characters. For example:

-Amity from TOH, confirmed lesbian. People still argue that she's bisexual, because she drew herself with a fictional nonbinary character from a book once in the entire show.

-Velma from Scooby Doo, confirmed lesbian. When she got confirmed, people still argued she was bi because she dated men in past shows/specials - despite her being visibly uncomfortable in the relationships in question. Some even argued it was "bi-erasure" to make her a lesbian, which is insane to me.

-Amaya from The Dragon Prince, confirmed lesbian. Before she was confirmed, people said she was a "bicon" instead of lesbian, despite her showing no interest in men within the show. All she did was have a male interpreter (because shes DEAF and needs one), and people immediately paired them together.

-Ellie Williams from TLOU, confirmed lesbian. She shows no interest in men, states multiple times that men are "not her type", has only dated/had crushes on women within all games, the show, and even the comic, and yet people still claim she's bi.

-Robin Buckley from Stranger Things, confirmed lesbian. There's not much I can say here. She came out as a lesbian in the show, and people still call her bisexual. The jokes write themselves.

-Sammy from Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory, lesbian-coded. She's often headcanoned as anything but lesbian, often excused with "she never Outright said she's a lesbian like Yaz said she was bi", or that a few crew members said she was meant to be ambiguous. Yet I see nobody questioning why she specifically - the only other main female character, and who has never shown interest in men - is being kept that way.

-Vanessa from The Hollow, lesbian-coded. Developed a friendship with a male character, but has never expressed romantic interest in men. Laughing at a joke made by the opposite gender, and wanting to impress a male character because of a need for validation are not signs of romantic interest, by the way.

I am not saying you can't headcanon characters as bi, or that bi people are "evil", or trying to ""police"" who you ship together or whatever else excuse people use to derail conversations about this. There is a frequent pattern within fandoms where a lesbian (coded) character exists + has any relationship with a man ever + doesn't explicitly state they don't like men = not a lesbian. And fuck, even when they DO say they don't like men, they are still seen as bi.

Queer-coding is just as eminent as having a character be confirmed as queer. And, surprisingly (sarcasm) that also applies to lesbian coded characters. Lesbian characters do not need to "prove" their lesbianism to the viewers by hating/isolating themselves from men to be lesbians. They do not need to say outright that they don't like men in order to be lesbian coded. They can have relationships with men without being romantically interested in them. Lesbians have been fighting for so long to not be seen as "needing" to be with men in order to just. exist.

And believe me I could go on a whole rant about how this entire issue has roots in misogyny within the community, or how some people still haven't unlearned the idea of how a man and woman can have an 100% platonic relationship, or how people treat calling a character lesbian as a "last resort", but this post is already a wall of text as it is.

Please just be normal about lesbians in media.

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted Magic System ✨✨✨

Given that we're two chapters away from the halfway point of the story, its about to time I delve into the magic system of this AU.

So magic in this AU is powered through emotion. The more a person feels a certain emotion, the more it affects the magic they use daily. Let's start off with...

Magnifico and Amaya's Magic: 🐺🐍✨

Both of them have studied magic for years, together and apart. However, they still developed their own techniques to use it.

• Magnifico's magic is fueled by negativity and hate. (its a bit obvious, lol) He's been searching for a way to have ultimate power for years. And each time he's failed, that disappointment has fueled him. The angrier he is towards somebody or someone, the stronger it is. He learned to harness and control magic since his early 20's, and while it was substantial for the time, his desire to have more kept growing and growing until it became impossible to ignore. So much so that when he destroys his own home by accident, he's completely blind to his own destruction and blames the books for not giving him enough information. So he turns to dark magic.

•Dark magic gave Mags the boost he needed, but its still not enough. The more he becomes paranoid losing his power, and the more he gained power, he became more spiteful towards non-magic users. As Magnifico got older, his powers were solely used selfishly, under the guise of it helping others to get whatcha wants. Mags' magic is incredibly destructive when its not controlled, which is why Amaya keeps him in check. He could easily kill anyone with a snap of his fingers, or crushing a person's wish. He completely ignores the face that its slowly making him sick as well.

•Mags' magic specifically works well in deception, especially when it comes to stealing people's wishes, which is the polar opposite of Star's magic. And Star's magic terrifies him in a way. Mags uses magic on these performances during the Wish ceremonies to deceive people into thinking giving their wishes to him is a great thing. Its kind of like a parlor trick to hide the truth. However, mo matter how much he magic uses, its nothing compared to a star's. In fact, when Asha's father details his perceived connection to the stars, and how he feels they give him the power and inspiration to help others in his life, that's when the king got the idea to catch the magic of a star itself. He could finally achieve ultimate power! But he had to get rid of that damn philosopher first and make it look like an accident....

•Amaya's magic works with manipulation, both mental and physical. While she doesn't use her powers to the extent of her husband, she does aid him through the use of her potions. As a shout-out to Yzma, she keeps a collection of various potions in a large cabinet, and uses them when creating concoctions to give him the power boost to take a star from the skies. The other kinds deal with changing one living thing into another. Most of them were also animal experimentations, either to change unsavoury animals into ones she desired, or even changing their natural habits an entirely animal's, making said animal like other creatures.

• The Queen has always used her words of persuasion to get what she wanted. In most cases, she used her magic to make her words influence the minds of others. Amaya uses this to put the people at ease when they asked too many questions or started to worry about their wishes. She even used this on visiting royals from other countries, so that they didn't see or hear anything connected to the people's misfortune or rumors of the two being evil. This is why she was able to get into Star's head in chapter 6. She paid close attention to the pair's behavior around each other, and seeing part of herself and Magnifico in the two wanting to protect each other, she turned it against him. Adding a little bit of magic to it, he was completely influenced by her words.

•Amaya has used magic on Sabor, but not to harm him. (Sometimes she did heal him if he was sick or injured) Only so she could use him as a sort of watchdog, keeping an eye on any suspicious activity or possible traitors. (Which Sabor fully accepted) She created the "Sight Beyond Sight" type of spell so she could see what Sabor sees when he returns. This is how she trusted him to find the Hamlet without raising suspicion.

Star/Cosmo's magic 🌟😁

This fun ball of energy is indeed powerful, just as Magnifico feared, but he can't exactly do everything he wants. He has limits, which is mostly by his own imagination and a dash of classic Disney magic.

• Star's magic is fueled by all his emotions, but mostly joy. It can change depending on his emotions. When he's happy, all his magic reflects it. Joyful magic works on Disney classic energy, so talking animals, moving furniture, shape shifting into various creatures and even his human form are all homages to the past films. He can't turn into different people, so this form he usually is in is it. Mostly because he's had a wish to be a human on Earth for so long, he just took his astral look and applied human characteristics to it. Its also rear unusual for a star nomad to get attached to one place instead moving from place to place. As for other emotions, he feels them like the fairies from Peter Pan: one at a time. When he's sad, he's miserable. When he's angry, its absolute fury. But the longer he stays on Earth, they start to get more complex dealing with humans, since we can feel several emotions at once. Which is also why its a slow process for him to realize his love for Asha is different from his love for Earth.

•Like the rest of the star nomads, he has flight and its powered by thinking happy thoughts. That's incredibly easy for him, so it's why he can fly so high and quickly. However, he starts to slow down after Magnifico stabs him and takes a little of his power in chapter 7. He's only just a little faster than a human, and it kind of bothers him not being able to move as quickly. And he starts getting used to walking, which is unusual for a star nomad to do instead of flying.

• Star's shapeshifting can be done as long as he can clearly think of the animal he wants. He's seen animals from all over the world, but the catch is that he can't perfectly replicate one. He's always yellow with a white tuft of hair so he doesn't blend in with other animals. Plus Star can add or exaggerate different features as well. He can't turn into extinct animals like dinosaurs because he's never seen them.

There will be another post explaining more about the star nomads and how their different from "royal stars". It'll also come up later to explain why Star isn't a prince like most other Disney male leads. Its really the only insecurity he has.

And more art is coming, plus the Royal redesigns! Then I'll get started on chapter 9. 😉

Thanks for reading!

@oh-shtars @signed-sapphire @chillwildwave @your-ne1ghbor

@tumblingdownthefoxden @ishadow246 @annymation @kenihewa

@natsuki208 @uva124 @cocoapowderpictures @emptyblog7

@lazytitans-world

[mhacentral]

The Dragon Prince - breaking the cycle of violence with The Cycle of Hope

Tiadrin and Lain convince Viren to keep the egg alive

Harrows Letter

The first moment the cycle of violence is brought up

Ezran, Callum & Rayla finding the egg

Callum using Primal Magic on his own

Zym breaking Raylas binding

Ezran breaking the chains of history

Org Post - Harrow marches towards the Katolis towers, where his war and throne rooms await him in S1. Come S3 Ezran does the opposite. Despite being in literal, physical chains at the end of his reign, Ezran broke the metaphorical chains of history when he chose to make peace with Xadia. And just in case that wasn’t enough of a gut punch, Frederick Weidmann (the show’s composer) uses the same score (Last Sunset) in both scenes to nail home the connection

Callum breaking Ethari's moon opal = breaking away Rayla from the past

Amaya and Janai saving each other

Soren Leaving his Father

The Final Battle - elves and humans fighting alongside each other

Humans and Elves coming together saved Zym

Looking back S4 and S5 really should have been one season, cause both are really introductory seasons for Arc 2 and setting things up to some very beautiful moments:

Soren offering up his heart - this act of selflessness is what inspires the next cycle breaking moment

Viren unknowingly standing up to Aaravos both physically and metaphorically

In the Magma Titan backstory Harrow refuses to listen to Sarai, Sarai kills the Magma Titan, Avizandum kills her, and then Harrow kills Avizandum

S6E5 The Moonless night breaks that cycle..... Callum instead choosing to listen and trust Rayla, leads Rayla to piercing Esmery's heart with kindness, thus allows them to get 2 quasar diamonds

Rayla telling her parents what happened so the could pass peacefully

Callum bringing back Runaan, undoing dark magic

And now Season 7.... its time to bring full circle moments around, to show how the Cycle of Violence truly is breaking

One of the most major moments is Rayla being forgiven by the Silvergrove..... which if you didn't notice, is a DIRECT parallel moment to the Council of Startouch Elves not forgiving Leola

Raylas parents saving the egg allows the trio to save Zym and bring him back him, which then in S7 allows Avizandum to break free of having Unfinished Business, thus saving Callum from dying, the step son of the man who killed him, and who is still needed to break the cycle of violence

The dragons dying to save BOTH humans and elves

Ezran forgiving Runaan....... which allows everyone to put the pieces together and realize Harrow is alive

And of course Evyrkynd

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Wait you wrote some of the Dragon Prince's Reflections short stories? That's awesome, congratulations! What was that like and how much lore did the showrunners give you access to, or were you allowed to make your own additions to canon? 😃 Which ones did you work on if I can ask? Thanks!

Oop, this question came in while I was answering another one! I just went over which Reflections stories were my work here! tldr, most of the first volume and one in the second volume.

I worked with Devon on ideas to pitch, and then on crafting and polishing the ones that got approval. I only needed to know a little bit of lore from upcoming seasons in order to write the stories, but with the timeskip between S3 and S4, I necessarily had to know a few things, like "so it's been two years."

I did get a couple of references to look at, such as the design of the soul candle for "The Queen's Soul," since that was an asset they'd already created for the show. And I did get to watch an early version of the first episode of S4, for character/design/location/etc reasons. A picture is worth 1000 words, etc. But most of my stories were just little bubbles stuck on the side of the main plot bubble - as the Reflections series was originally pitched to be! It's full of treats and foreshadowy lil clues, but in the end it's just fun supplemental material for the extra nerdy to indulge in! So there was some freedom in pitching and writing, as long as it held to theme, and we had a lot of fun bringing these little moments to life.

Crackledrake is my favorite short story because I got to add the cute little ritual to Sunfire canon and created the lore behind it. It's inspired by the real-world tradition of snapdragon, so you can see I was super inventive with its TDP name there! I gave Janai and Amaya their own Xadian fruits and nuts, though, as they deserve. I can't say I did so with a straight face, though. My face was extremely gay about it, actually.

Rise Again was another of my pitches that got accepted, and writing it really helped me connect with Claudia in a way I hadn't before. I've felt differently about her ever since, and that wouldn't've happened if I hadn't gotten to spend time with her and give her Burnt Biscuit.

I think Changing of the Guard was already in the pitch lineup, but I was really excited to get to write for Soren and Corvus. I always enjoy when opposite personalities try to come together! I tried my best to add some angst into Corvus' backstory, but I had to trim it for length so he remains mysterious. But King Ezran's Belly Full of Jelly tart-eating contest is a thing I've put into the world, and I'm genuinely pleased with that. And then there's all the *waves Sorvus flag*. I just think they're neat! (and you're welcome)

[nanamissuit]

imagine konig coming home to his dear wife and maybe his two kids 👀 and just cute things like that

I'm home - König

Pairing: Dad!König x Mom!Fem Reader

Warnings: None, Fluff.

Tomorrow was König’s arrival back home from his 4 month deployment. The girls missed him dearly, they’re both 14 now. Polar opposites those two. Amaya was like my twin. But May? That was König’s twin for sure. The quietness and reserved personality and the self-isolation while Amaya being a social butterfly like me was a complete shock. But besides that, the kids were so excited to see their father for the first time in months, they could barely sleep the night before he came home. But when they finally fell asleep I changed into my pajamas and sat on the living room couch reading a book.

But then I heard the door unlock and open and I saw my beautiful husband. My handsome boy. He stood at the door as I ran over to him and he wrapped his big arms around me as I embraced him. “Oh what a great surprise but how’d you get here early? The girls JUST fell asleep.” “Hm, I have my ways, Schatz. But shh you’ll wake them. "I missed you so much, Meine Liebe.” We both spoke softly trying to keep a low voice. I let go of him as he dropped his big bag and took off his boots and mask. He finally picked me up into his arms giving me a REAL hug. He spun me around like we both were young. He took us both to the bedroom and sat me on the bed as he went to change his clothes. I laid back in bed waiting for him impatiently. 

And when he came out in his comfortable clothes he laid behind me so I could lay on his chest and he could run his fingers through my hair. I love how gentle he is with me. We both eventually let sleep catch up to us and fell asleep in each other's embrace.

But our daughters ran into our room at 8 A.M. on the dot and were both surprised to see their father home already. “DAD!!” They both yelled as they jumped on us both and he wrapped his arms around them both. 

“There’s my favorite girls! Were you guys good while I was deployed or did you guys give trouble to your mother?” I rolled my eyes and got up so they could lay with their dad. “No you can ask mom we were at top NOTCH behavior!” Is what Amaya said while May just nodded in agreement. I watched how good König was to them as I went to go make everyone some eggs and bacon for breakfast. I smiled to myself. How’d I get so lucky?

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS FIC I HOPE YOU ENJOYYY! 😊

[sapphire-pj]

PJ MASKS AU

Today I finally come to explain my Pj masks AU :D

DARK CRYSTAL AU

The AU can be summed up as:

-Catboy finds out what Owlette did to the ninjalino as Romeo tells him in a mocking manner.

Catboy gets mad at Owlette as she never told him. This causes their relationship to break down. Gekko/Greg tries to help them reconcile, in turn making TOO MANY promises.

-This affects the PJ crystal as the mental health of the three heroes worsens too much. (Due to the fights)

-Connor also had a lot of problems with his mom (he always has) so he turns to SH :(

-As time passes, Amaya and Connor reconcile and it seems that everything is back to normal. But no.

-Romeo had been investigating and used Oskar to be able to have additional information about the crystals (Romeo put a device in Oskar's wound so that he would obey him)

-Romeo discovers that the crystals are stimulated for good and evil according to the maturity and thoughts of their mental health, in addition to being able to be corrupted by some outside force.

-Romeo tries to seek help from the other villains but they just ignore him. Although Night Ninja realizes that Romeo's information is very similar to what his ninjalinos know, so he threatens him not to get close to them.

-Catboy realizes that despite making peace with Owlette, he is still too aggressive, like the time he scratched a ninjalino's cheek just because that ninjalino wanted to escape.

-Octobella, it seems, is slowly dying due to old age, so she intends to leave a "mark" on the heroes so that her name will be recognized.

-Octobella helps Romeo in his plan through a deal. Octobella helps find the outside force to corrupt the crystal PJ and Romeo simply has to use one of Octobella's crystals.

Romeo accepts, blinded by the power.

-The device that Romeo uses for his plan is the "opposite ray" which has a crystal implemented so that the effect is even more negative.

-Romeo starts the plan by making a trap to immobilize Catboy in the museum, and shoots him with the "opposite ray". The effects take a while to appear so Romeo leaves Catboy alone.

-Here everything starts to go wrong. Owlette is forced to be colder and more mature to be able to cope with her sadness. Gecko just wants everything to go back to normal. Night Ninja finds out what Romeo did to his ninjalino and joins the PJ masks to defeat Catboy (Now called Dark Cat, stupid name, I know) Luna also joins the Pj Masks.

-Romeo kept trying to take control of Dark Cat, giving him orders and threatening him. But one night Dark Cat just turns sadistic and takes out Romeo's right eye. Robette finds him dying in the lab.

-From that moment Romeo was forced to join the Pj Masks (even though everyone hates them)

-From there everyone tries to beat Dark Cat. And in the final fight, everyone joins together.

Anyu couldn't fight much since Dark Cat broke her staff and took her to the city.

The ninjalinos were only there to give medical help.

Romeo and Pj Robot stayed at HQ to be able to watch the whole area.

And the others fought

Almost at the end Night Ninja dies💀 (Marvin suffered too much since it was partly his fault)

Luna loses an arm :"(

Owlette loses one of her wings and almost dies when Dark Cat scratched her chest deeply.

Gecko tries to do his best and is the one who knocks Dark Cat unconscious with one of his blows.

Romeo is ordered (by Night Ninja) to break the PJ crystal on the cat side. Romeo (albeit scared) does so and this makes Dark Cat finally return to normal. But he is left with almost no powers, since the cat's power is released and leaves Connor's body.

Romeo (for being near the broken crystal) was hit with all the power and apparently was "chosen" as the new bearer. But Romeo could not bear the transfer and was left in a vegetative state (he is not even conscious, but he is not dead) Pj Robot tries to help him, but to no avail.

That's where the whole problem with this AU ends. Catboy, or rather, Connor is left with only his super speed and can transform with only his feline features. So he's not considered a 100% hero anymore.

The other villains (survivors) decide to retire and start a human life. But the ninjalinos, after losing their boss, take a horrible hatred towards the PJ Masks, mostly Owlette (since according to them, Night Ninja had nothing to do with the problem) so you could say that they become more important villains(? They just do their pranks to force the heroes to be doing their heroic role, without letting them rest.

I forgot to mention that Octobella died when Dark Cat started her rampage, as she had taken his plan for granted.

Owlette's accident

I don't think I explained my AU that well, if you have any questions, please write them in the ask section!

#DCRYSTALPJMASKS

[numptypylon]

Downtime's Up - Chapter 21 (S5E4)

“You know?” Gren asked, but Rayla could tell the words were Amaya’s. He spoke differently when he spoke for her. She looked up, to Amaya’s hands signing, her gaze firmly fixed on her. “That I left him, too?”

“Callum?” Rayla asked, as if there was anyone else it could be, besides him. It was him. Always him.

“Yes.”

“Really?” Rayla asked, disbelieving. She knew Callum loved and admired his aunt very much, she wouldn’t have thought that.

“Really,” Amaya signed, and Gren said aloud. “When Sarai died. I left my brother-in-law, a recent widower and single father. I left my duty to my family, to my sister’s sons. I left my nephews. Ezran was not old enough to know me or miss me, but Callum was. He was six. He had lost his dad not even three years past, his mother two months ago. And I left for the breach and for war, because I could not handle his grief on top of my own.”

“You had reasons,” Rayla protested. It felt wrong that Amaya should blame herself when it really had been bad back then. After Avizandum had reported back about the humans in Xadia, there had been stirrings about war that even she had picked up on, or rather, intentionally eavesdropped on. Amaya had not been wrong to worry a retaliatory invasion could have been coming, it nearly had.

“Oh, I told myself I had reasons. I told myself I left to defend the realm, that I was needed there and not needed in Katolis. That I was better suited for bashing in skulls than holding crying children in the night. That Callum had his step-dad who was shouldering a whole country’s problems in addition to his own grief, and his little brother not even walking yet. I told myself that I would be no comfort to him; too much of a mess myself to be a positive in anyone’s lives beyond my skull-bashing abilities. I told myself anything I needed to, to get through the days, and at night I lay awake in my tent, remembering my sister’s face the last time I saw her, imaging that if she had had time tell me anything before she died, it would have been for me to do the very opposite of what I was doing, to both those I loved and to myself, remembering Callum’s angry little face as I’d left, what he would have said to me if he had had the air to do anything but cry.”

Read more of the twentyfirst chapter of Downtime's Up on Ao3, wherein Rayla and Amaya have a longer chat at the bookery of Lux Aurea

[youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal]

Your Mess is Mine

AO3

Summary: Corvus was equal parts excited and nervous to bake with Soren. Soren had proclaimed himself a disaster in the kitchen, so Corvus (and Barius) were apprehensive about letting him in there. But when Soren had broached the idea of him and Corvus baking for his birthday together instead of Corvus doing it on his own… Well, Corvus had baked for Gren’s birthday with Amaya. If he could survive that with passable results, he could do anything.

Plus, Corvus had never been able to say no when Soren asked him something nicely. It’s how he’d ended up in the Crownguard at all.

And when he pulled out those puppy-dog eyes? Corvus was a lost cause.

Note: The biggest of thank you's to the amazing @stuck-in-jelly for beta reading this✨

…

Soren woke to the feeling of lips on his cheek and a hand on his side.

“Let me sleep, it’s my birthday.” he mumbled, rolling in the opposite direction. He felt the bed dip as the person next to him rolled over as well.

“Fine, but I guess you won’t get your birthday breakfast…” a voice said in his ear with a dramatic sigh.

Soren’s eyes popped open, and he shot up in bed, nearly hitting Corvus in the face with his shoulder. “That’s right! We’re baking together!”

“Not if you knock me out before we’re even out of bed.” Corvus was still in a defensive position from when Soren sat up, leaning back on one arm with the other in front of his face. Once he’d peeked around his hand to make sure Soren was still, he sat up next to him.

“I knew you’d dodge me,” Soren said with a shrug. He leaned over and gave Corvus a quick peck on the lips. Corvus unconsciously chased his lips, but Soren had already bounded on to the next topic, oblivious to Corvus’s pining. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, birthday boy,” Corvus said, wrapping his arms around Soren’s waist, snuggling into him and resting his cheek on Soren’s shoulder. Soren couldn’t help his smile. This was his first birthday since their temporary defeat of Aaravos. Soren tried not to let the “temporary” bit of that statement bother him right now. He had an amazing boyfriend, and all of his friends - no, his true family - were gathered at the Banther Lodge for him. It would be a good day.

Corvus continued with a, “Sleep well?”

Soren nodded. “Yeah. You?”

The exchange was pointless. They both knew they’d slept well - neither had woken the other with a shout or had bolted upright with a gasp covered in a cold sweat.

But it was nice to have that reassurance.

Corvus nodded as best he could with his head on Soren. “I guess that was just birthday gift number one from the universe.”

“Ooh, how many birthday gifts do I have?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Corvus responded cheekily, sitting up to stretch and get ready for the day. Soren eyed the sliver of skin that was revealed as his shirt rode up, but the momentary distraction didn’t last long when gifts were being discussed.

“Yeah. I would. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Never change, Soren. Never change.”

…

Corvus knew Soren would test his patience that day and was trying to prepare himself. He didn’t want to get frustrated with Soren on his birthday. He fiddled with the scarf in his hands before setting it on the kitchen counter, next to the little nest he’d created for Hat. Best to have it out of the way so they wouldn’t get anything on it when they inevitably made a mess.

Corvus was equal parts excited and nervous to bake with Soren. Soren had proclaimed himself a disaster in the kitchen, so Corvus (and Barius) were apprehensive about letting him in there. But when Soren had broached the idea of him and Corvus baking for his birthday together instead of Corvus doing it on his own… Well, Corvus had baked for Gren’s birthday with Amaya. If he could survive that with passable results, he could do anything.

Plus, Corvus had never been able to say no when Soren asked him something nicely. It’s how he’d ended up in the Crownguard at all.

And when he pulled out those puppy-dog eyes? Corvus was a lost cause.

Not that he’d ever regret saying yes to joining the Crownguard. Living inside, in one place, wasn’t so bad when he had close friendships. He’d been scared to leave Amaya and Gren, but even if they were physically farther apart, their friendship was stronger than ever. Somehow, it felt like they’d been through more together the last six months than his whole time in the Standing Battalion.

Corvus was leaning against the counter in the kitchen when his thoughts of the past were interrupted by his thoughts of the future barging in.

“I’m here! Sorry I’m late, Ez, Callum, and Zym stopped me on my way down, and -”

He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Corvus had all the necessary ingredients (and more importantly, the sugary sweet condiments) lined up on the island, and that he was holding out two novelty aprons.

Soren doubled over in laughter, poor Hat clinging to his hair for dear life.

One apron said, “Kiss the Cook” in big block letters, and the other had a pattern with various types of bread that said, “Suns Out, Buns Out.”

“I’ll have you know that Rayla and Ezran chose these specifically for today,” Corvus deadpanned.

“I didn’t think these were quite your style,” Soren joked as he walked up and inspected both aprons. “And you’re willing to wear one?”

Corvus nodded.

“You’re too good to me.” Soren regarded the aprons for a moment. “Okay. Which would you prefer?”

Corvus shook his head. As usual, Soren was trying to put others’ wants ahead of his own. “Nope. Your choice.”

Soren sighed, but his lips couldn’t help quirking up. Corvus already knew what Soren’s choice would be and resigned himself to his fate.

“Okay, for you… this one.” Soren pointed at the bread one with a smirk. “Because you’re the bread. And for me… this one.” He pointed at the “Kiss the Cook” one.

Just as Corvus expected. He nodded and handed Soren his apron.

…

They were both out of their usual armor, so the aprons should’ve fit with no problem. Corvus had seemed to put on his apron with no trouble, but Soren just could not get it tied behind him. He felt like he was going in circles with it. And Soren was also, quite literally, going in a circle with his attempts to see the strings to tie them together.

Hat watched with amusement and concern from across the room, lounging on an old chef’s hat that Corvus had turned into a cozy bed for the baitling for the morning. Hat chittered pointedly at Corvus before settling down to nap.

Hands on Soren’s hips stalled him.

“Need a hand?”

Soren sighed and nodded. “Yes, please.”

Corvus quickly got the strings tied together in a neat bow and wrapped Soren in a hug from behind. “You can put on a full suit of armor but can’t tie an apron?”

“Just one of my lovable quirks.”

“You are quite lovable.”

Soren flushed and felt lips press against his shoulder, causing him to turn even redder. Instinctively, he tilted his head to give Corvus more room.

He felt Corvus press a grin into his skin before Corvus’s warmth was gone. “So, what do you want to make first? Pancakes or waffles?” he asked, hands on his hips and looking at the ingredients on the counter.

Soren turned towards him with a pout.

“Nope, don’t give me that face.”

“But you’re supposed to kiss the cook! It says so right here.” Soren pointed at his apron.

“Well, you haven’t cooked anything yet. And if you don’t eat soon, you’ll get all cranky.”

“Hangry.” Soren said seriously, nodding his head. “Hungry plus angry.”

Corvus groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Sure. You get… hangry.”

Soren chose waffles for breakfast and pancakes for dinner, so they’d come back and make those later. He honestly wasn’t sure how the waffles got from Point A to Point B, but he did know that he stirred the batter (“It’s an arm workout that leads to food! Corvus, this is genius! We should do this more often.”) and soon saw their golden deliciousness on a platter, ready for their friends to descend upon. Rayla and Terry had already been in once to help bring all the fruits, sprinkles, and the other various condiments to the dining table.

While they were finishing up in the kitchen, Soren noticed a streak of flour across Corvus’s right cheek and couldn’t resist reaching a hand out to rub it away.

…

Soren had done surprisingly well that morning, Corvus thought. Corvus knew that Soren knew how to take orders as a soldier, and he was just as good at listening and following directions in the kitchen. Soren had made sure the wet and dry ingredients were kept separate until the right time and he’d measured out each waffle carefully.

Corvus was proud of him. Soren wasn’t as much of a disaster in the kitchen as he’d feared.

Corvus was drying off the last dish when he felt a hand on his cheek, and Soren’s thumb vigorously rubbing one spot. Corvus looked at Soren out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow.

“There’s flour, but it won’t go away,” Soren explained frustratedly. But he didn’t move his hand, switching to appreciatively running his thumb across Corvus’s stubble. Corvus leaned into the touch, putting down the dish he’d been holding and turning his attention to Soren.

“You have flour on your face too, you know.” He didn’t, actually, but Soren didn’t need to know that. Corvus mirrored Soren, placing his hand on Soren’s left cheek, looking into his eyes. Their free hands settled on each other’s waists.

A goofy grin appeared on Soren’s face, and Corvus couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his lips in response. They were silent for a moment, and Corvus couldn’t help but get lost in Soren’s eyes. He’d always had an affinity for blue, but after meeting and falling in love with Soren? It was definitely his favorite color. Corvus couldn’t look at the sky, a body of water, a bird, and more without being reminded of his favorite person and comparing the color to Soren’s eyes.

Corvus also appreciated the pure joy he saw in Soren’s eyes, no hint of sadness or doubt. It made him unfairly handsome.

Soren deserved to be that happy. They both did.

Corvus hadn’t realized how long they’d been quiet, just standing in each other’s space until Soren quipped, “Well, I’ve cooked something now…”

“You have.”

“So, where’s my kiss, love?” Soren whispered, bringing Corvus’s face closer to his.

Corvus could’ve teased him longer, but he didn’t feel like it. Especially when Soren pulled out a “love.” It made Corvus weak at the knees, and Soren knew that. He’d made Soren wait long enough. Today was about Soren getting everything he could possibly want, so he pressed their lips together, cupping Soren’s face tenderly.

Soren’s hand moved from Corvus’s cheek to his back, grasping his shoulder as Soren let out a contented sigh. Corvus let himself be backed into the island, and noticed that Soren’s hand had disappeared from his waist. He wasn’t too concerned by it; he was a little busy and Soren’s hands were always roaming.

That is, he wasn’t concerned until he felt a powdery substance making its way down his shirt and back.

Corvus broke the kiss with a gasp, and Soren downright giggled. Corvus glanced behind him to see Soren’s missing hand covered in flour. And Soren had just dumped a handful down Corvus’s back.

…

Seeing Corvus’s face change from desire to irritation was comical, and Soren couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.

“Soren!”

The man in question just shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to have a flour fight,” he explained as he dipped his hands into the flour bowl behind Corvus once again. “What better time to make that dream come true than my birthday?”

Corvus ducked out from Soren’s arms, face dark as a storm cloud. He moved the flour bowl away as he did so. Of course, this just caused a cloud of flour to cover Corvus’s face. So now it was a bit more like a snowstorm on his face, Soren thought.

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter that I couldn’t get that flour off of your cheek, then,” Soren mused.

Corvus raised a now-covered-in-white eyebrow.

“Oh, it is on.”

The two pointedly avoided where Hat and Corvus’s scarf lay, but aside from that, it was an all-out flour war. The others had peaked in at one point when they realized they’d been waiting for the waffles for quite some time, but decided it was best to leave the two boyfriends to… whatever it was they were doing.

Eventually, the bowls ran out of flour, and they both slid to the ground in laughter, leaning against the island.

“Barius is going to have our heads,” Corvus said between guffaws of laughter.

“Eh, I think Ez will protect us.”

“Don’t be so sure about that!” the King’s voice called from the next room, where he was talking with the others at the dining table. The two Crownguards went silent, eyes widening in shock. “I’ve been waiting on breakfast forever.”

Soren met Corvus’s eyes, and the two burst back into peals of laughter.

“We’re on it!” Soren called, standing up and brushing off his knees - as if that would actually help with getting the flour off. He held a hand out for Corvus, who gladly took it. Soren knew that his past leg injury could flare up if Corvus moved it just the wrong way, leaving him limping the rest of the day. Not that Soren wouldn’t gladly dote on Corvus all day if that’s what it came to, but Soren didn’t want to see his partner in pain on his birthday.

As usual, the one point of contact turned into more, because Soren pulled Corvus in for a quick hug once they were both standing.

“Thank you for indulging me,” Soren said softly.

Corvus shook his head. “Thank you, darling. That was more fun than I thought it would be. I guess you just bring out the silly sides of me.” He tried not to think about how they’d have to clean this all up later.

Soren had been smiling so much that morning, his cheeks were starting to hurt. “Any time, babe.”

…

After that, the two men brought out the waffles, with just a little extra flour on them. Ezran decided they would go outside for a picnic so Soren and Corvus wouldn’t get flour in the Lodge - anymore than they already had, that is (“You two are not getting flour into these seat cushions! We’ll go outside instead.”).

…

Author’s Note:

Earlier this month I lamented the lack of Sorvus baking fanfics, so I took it upon myself to create the fic I want to see in the world.

Thank you for reading!

[cinamun]

So basically, I want to talk about this because I feel this is poignant. Since it probably wont be explored much later, I would like to get into it... feel free to join me? Or not its ok.

After Indira and DJ graduated, we took a time skip ahead 3 months to find Indya and Darren living as empty nesters in a beautiful townhome in Tomarang. They didn't relocate to Tomarang alone; DJ moved into Foxbury student housing onsite there (similar to Hope studying from Mt. Komerebi) and Dira moved into a townhome of her own. While on opposite sides of the island, they keep in contact.

DJ, because of college and all that comes with it, is probably more connected to his parents still. There's paperwork that needs completing for his coursework, etc. Not to mention his breakup with Amaya had him visiting a few times.

Indira on the other hand found her wings and immediately enjoyed all that came with freedom and independence living in a new place, meeting new people and doing what she wanted on her terms. She and her brother left home with HEFTY starter funds so they really want for nothing. While Dira is always in the group chat and speaks to her mom and dad at least a couple of times a week, she really doesn't make her way across the bridge to visit her parents. She decided college wasn't for her so there isn't a need for any assistance with forms, etc. She didn't have a boyfriend so, unlike Hope, there was no relying on mom for life advice in that regard like we saw in Mt. Komorebi.

Indira really has been on her own. So yeah, this moment is pivotal in that Indya expressed a fear to Darren awhile back that Indira wasn't honest with her and, what if they just grow up and leave and forget about their mom? Indya has made space for her daughter to explore and live but I think there was something magical about seeing her daughter, who exhaled all of her worries on her shoulder, coming back home.

[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.

[nerd-with-a-cause]

"There's no message" - except when there is.

[Image description: a picture of Janai and Amaya from the TV show The Dragon Prince.]

One thing I really like about the casual diversity of The Dragon Prince is that it provides room for telling messy stories.

In a narrative with only one queer couple, there's pressure on the creators to make that one couple healthy and wholesome, because otherwise the audience will accuse the narrative of making a blanket statement about all queer people. And it's fine to have wholesome queer stories, obviously, but it's also limiting. There are plenty of stories about messy, flawed, or downright unhealthy straight relationships. Ideally, queer relationships in fiction should be treated the same way.

If you have multiple queer couples, as The Dragon Prince does, then you can tell a variety of stories. You can show a happily married but tragically separated gay couple (Runaan and Ethari) and lesbians working through relationship issues (Amaya and Janai) and two men having a weird magic child together so that one of them can sacrifice the child for a weird magic ritual (Viren and Aaravos). None of them are an all-encompassing statement on what all queer couples are like. They're just different, interesting characters having different, interesting storylines.

To take disability as another example: Because there are multiple disabled characters on the show, the creators are able to tell multiple stories about disability. They can show Amaya's friends and family casually accommodating her disability by learning sign language while, on the opposite end of the spectrum, showing Claudia completely panicking when she learns her brother has become paralyzed. Sol Regem can express bitterness about being blind while Villads is totally cavalier about his own blindness.

In real life, some people are cheerfully supportive of their disabled friends/family and some people pursue any possible path towards curing a loved one's disability, no matter how questionable that path may be. Some people are understandably frustrated about their disabilities while others are completely unfazed. Only showing one of these stories in fiction means either presenting a rosy image that won't resonate with everyone or implicitly condoning the idea that it's normal and expected for people to refuse to accept disability in themselves or others. But when you have multiple disabled characters and multiple characters responding to disability in different ways, you're not making a statement about disability in general. You're just telling stories that happen to involve disabilities.

And the best part? Not making a statement about any marginalized identity is, in and of itself, making a statement about those identities. The statement is that those identities are normal, and everywhere, and multifaceted in ways both good and bad. And that's some really cool storytelling.