#runaan crushed the only thing ethari could give him so does callum

[hiimtheproblem87times]

Rayllum 🤝 Ruthari

Being the only matching ship in the whole series

Also, day 2 being a ruthari shipper in S6

[ask-runaan-anything]

Runaan@NYCC 2021 AU headcanons

If Runaan actually attended in person with the characters voiced by the VA's who will attend: gosh the muns got self-indulgent, this is long

Runaan leaves home for NYCC 2021 and sends Ethari a single Pleading Face emoji every time he thinks of him

Ethari gets 2472496 Pleading Face emojis while Runaan is away

Runaan brings his favourite book(s) with him to keep him company and also for Serotonin

Rayla mentions this to Callum

Runaan is all WHy did you Tell the HUMAN

but Callum did the exact same thing

Runaan is unexpectedly supported and he's not sure he likes it

they also make a plan for what he (and Rayla) can do if he ever gets very overwhelmed

Ethari@Rayla: Rule #1 is, do not let him shoot anyone

Rayla; *very serious nod*

he rehearses what he'll say at the panel beforehand, using flash cards

and some of the cards say things like "Thank you" bc Ethari worries he'll forget

Ethari color coding the flash cards for "Social" and "Informational" so Runaan can flip through them if he's put on the spot

he also asks Ethari what he can mention about him+what's off limits bc he doesn’t want to make Ethari feel exposed or anything

Runaan: please don't have a Q&A section please don't have a Q&A section please don't have a

host: so let's open it up for a little Q&A now-

Runaan, internally: *bleep*

Under the table he starts flicking through his flash cards

he doesn't realize there's no tablecloth and everyone can see him do it

he watches the recording of it later to find all his faults but Rayla sits right next to him and she's all, "Yes yes they saw you and guess what, no one assassinated you over it, it's okay!"

Runaan goes Soft™

it's like he can feel Ethari there with him through Rayla's words

he has to thank her but words aren't his style so he offers to let her drag him out of the hotel for the first time that trip

ten steps outside and he has regretti

but he promised and his honor is at stake now so he keeps going

Rayla takes him to a bookstore

its slightly outside his comfort zone but it's quiet, and the city streets are so noisy

Ethari texted her a list of recharge spots, and one was a bookstore, with a reading nook, so she takes him there and they curl up on pillows and hammocks for a while

Another time they go out to a coffee shop at 3am

Runaan sends Ethari a Pleading Face emoji

Ethari replies with “!!” and “IT’S 3AM GO TO SLEEP YOU HAVE A PANEL IN THE MORNING”

Runaan just sends him another Pleading Face

Runaan has noise cancelling earshrooms if he needs them

Ethari wears them while he hammers

Ethari sends Runaan jokes to distract him just before his panels start

And Runaan lies down at night to talk to Ethari with his phone near his ear so it feels like back home when Ethari cuddles him

Ethari sending his own homemade "good luck" memes just before Runaan’s panel, so Runaan can fall back on showing them to the audience if he gets nervous, which he does, and they LOVE it, and Runaan is like, “I can see my husband has some support in the human lands, I'll be sure to tell him,” and the room cheers and Runaan is like "Aaaaa this is making me feel so seen but also yes, my husband deserves all the support"

Runaan sleeps surrounded by like 8 extra pillows in the bed so he can feel as snuggled as when Ethari's actually there

and one is Ethari's

Ethari lending Runaan his scarf bc it smells like him

and Runaan not only sleeps with it right near his nose but he wears it during the panel

Runaan wearing his serious face at the panel and answering hard or angsty questions, and the whole time he has earshrooms in and their lil stems are pokin out of his ears

If Runaan is here then all the other characters with VAs at NYCC are also here, so it’s a panel of actual characters

Viren using chopsticks to try and steal one of Runaan's earshrooms out of unbridled curiosity, and Runaan just. takes them away from him. without looking over. and slaps them on the table like. no, bad human, do not steal my earshrooms while I'm talking.

Claudia's flipping through a book but it's a recipe book and she's looking up mushroom soup

Ethari made Runaan an anti-dark magic charm so he's safe and no one can use it on him, so he feels safe attending the panel at all

someone asking about Lachir and Runaan just brightening

also pspsps that person is @hoothalcyon

Runaan goes off for ten minutes unprompted and uninterrupted about his moonstrider, it's about as animated and excited as anyone has ever seen him

Clauds over on the side making big heart eyes

she asks if he has a picture and he says yes and she bounces over to him and squeals loudly

Rayla texts Ethari just then and Ethari gets a FaceTime call going so everyone can see Lachir in person back home, because ofc she is fine and alive

and Lachir looks derpily at the camera like "wat dis"

She do the blep, sniffs camera, makes it smudgy

Ethari laughing and protesting off screen

the entire panel and audience is all "awwwwww"

Viren loudly demanding a cute pet so people will like him too

Runaan does a discreet lil happy stim and it's so discreet that barely anyone catches it except one or two ND's who are like aaaaa

Rayla slipping behind Viren and putting an adoraburr on his ear tho

"One cute pet, courtesy of Xadia! You've had your Adorapox vaccinations, right?" she chirps sassily

yes the pox look like adoraburrs

you are very contagious and very adorable

Janai, someone asks her about Amaya and she gets flustered and Runaan feels seen

audience question during the Q&A: Runaan, who would win in a fight between you and Janai?

Janai, immediately: Me.

Runaan: Her.

Janai flexes, literally

Runaan is happy to give her the spotlight, which is why he lied, bc ofc he thinks he could take her, he'd do it at night and he'd steal her sword first, obviously

nowhere in the question did it say "fair" fight

Amaya is in the audience and she keeps signing flirty things at Janai no matter how loud the room gets or who's asking who what, and Janai keeps getting more and more flustered and distracted

Runaan has one (1) moment where he's actually relieved his husband isn't there

Ethari would want to tease him so badly

Q: Runaan, are you a good dancer?

Runaan: I'm passable, with the right partner.

Q: So can you show us some moves?

Runaan, blushing: Distinctly not.

whistling and clapping ensue

Rayla jumps up and grabs Callum's hand and says, "I can show you some moves!"

and they dance very sweetly and cutely with some basic Moonshadow moves

and Runaan is like "I can't tell if this is worse"

Q: Runaan, how did your marriage proposal go?

Runaan, after a long flustered moment: ...Successfully. *taps his horn cuffs*

Q from someone wanting to know how to follow Runaan on social media: Runaan, you're amazing, where can we find you?

Runaan: The Silvergrove, but you can't actually-

Q: No I mean, what if we want to follow you?

Runaan: You'd need to know the key dance, and that's protected information. Also, stalking isn't nice.

Q: But you stalk people.

Runaan: *dramatic eyebrows* And it isn't nice.

Next Q: Has Ethari ever gotten hurt, and what did you do?

Runaan: *crushes water bottle*

Host: Okay another question then!

his answers would be really short if he did not feel comfy interacting, which is probably most of the time

Rayla took away Runaan's bowblade before the panel started

Runaan: but that's my emotional comfort trick weapon

Rayla: No. Ethari's Panel Rule #1. No stabbing or shooting people.

they pass a weapons display in the artist alley and someone made a replica of the Bloodborne bowblade and Runaan’s like, hm that looks familiar

Runaan wandering the con and talking to all the cosplayers with cool looking weaponry tho

he takes pics for Ethari

Runaan wandering the con and asking Runaan cosplayers, "So who are you supposed to be?" bc he genuinely doesn't know

he doesn't think he should be in the pictures for security reasons but he takes pix of Rayla posing with everyone dressed as Runaan

social media gets flooded with pix of his hair from the back though

#itssosoft trends on Twitter

Rayla sets up a pic where half a dozen happy fans get to brush Runaan's hair at the same time, and he's stuffing his face with moonberry surprise so he doesn't get nervous

it actually makes him look happy and social and Ethari is like HOW, HOW DID YOU MANAGE THIS, MAGIC

people shyly approach him and ask if he and Ethari can adopt them and he says yes

he ends up in a coffee shop zone with a couple dozen people gathered around and tells them the importance of found family in Moonshadow culture and he doesn't understand why they're all crying

Rayla teasing Runaan and telling him to tell a pirate story

Runaan is like, "Spoilers for Season 5"

some superfan nerd like mun tries to get him to admit how much he knows about Xadia and history and the show's plot, and he does that one line that all stabby people say. "I could tell you. But then I'd have to kill you."

he gets half a dozen volunteers and he is so concerned

Runaan, Protector of Secrets

Soren starts to spill about 14% of a secret and from across the entire con hall a green fletched arrow just zips by

Soren is like "You know what, never mind"

Cracky: Viren runs through the room looking for protection, and Runaan is like ugh fine who's after you this time, and Viren's all, "No one, my children are just being so silly and I just need a break for five minutes, can we please have a grownup conversation about something serious and angsty, please I’m actually begging you"

Runaan spots the adoraburr on Viren's ear and he's like, "Adoraburrs get lonely if they're alone," and he puts another one on Viren's other ear

and then a bunch more so they stack like a hairband and they're happier

Runaan just smirks and walks away

the adoraburrs start squeaking to each other and Viren is like, "Ugh, I preferred my children's terrible puns" and the adoraburrs get huffy and all hop down and abandon him

he does not in fact get adorapox because Viren believes in inoculation

some attendees would try to convince Runaan to "seek asylum" in NY and not return to Xadia or something, and he'd be like "But. Ethari."

they remind him that if he goes back he has to wait in a coin, and he doesn't get it

"Wdym. Ethari is there. Not here. I have to be there."

"BUT. COIN."

"BUT. ETHARI."

Rayla's like, I ain't Naruto running all the way back

She clicks a car fob and there's a *boop boop* noise

and this hovering coin like Tenser's Floating Disk shows up and they hop onto it and surf into the distance

Rayla shouts "SPOILERS FOR SEASON FOUR I KNOW WHO DIES AND IT’S-"

and Runaan is like "RAYLA DON'T MAKE ME HAVE TO SHOOT YOU, I COULDN'T DO IT LAST TIME AND I CAN'T DO IT NOW, DON'T GET ME IN TROUBLE I SWEAR TO THE M-"

talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, everyone hopes they come back next year too

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 4

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Viren being villainous, Rayla, Claudia, Soren, and Callum, and tons of culture clash themey stuff

and a tw: animal death, Claudia why

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Viren's scenes in Book Two: Sky are all amazing because they're full of worldbuilding and character building details. I love to study the word choices used from his perspective. They're so tasty. Like how he forced a servant, and also Soren, to carry his messages to the rookery, so that he never had to go himself. I'm really curious why Viren is forcing a servant, whose job is literally to serve, here. He really only has to ask. Maybe he was mean about it on purpose, or maybe he picked a servant who was afraid of birds just to flex on them. Whatever the reason for the word choice, Viren doesn't seem to like servants' jobs, it seems, especially when they take him somewhere with poop on the floor. It makes it all the more ironic that he sweeps Runaan's cell clean himself, then, humbling himself before he finally figures out the mirror.

Viren's secretive, right down to his very carefully chosen words to those around him, but his true thoughts shine through even more clearly in the book than in the show. He knows he's been sneaking and hiding stuff, and he knows that some of those actions would be called treachery. Stealing the king's seal to forge royal documents is up there on the treacherous list, but it's apparently not there alone. Ah, Viren, such a villainous delight. What have you gotten up to?

The way he thinks of and treats Crow Master is ageist and classist, but certain lines also hint that Viren has spent a lot of time memorizing the finer points of proper courtesy, and he expects others to have done the same. There are many reasons someone might put forth such effort: a commoner trying to better himself to be noticed by a kind prince is a nice version. A sociopath learning to fake caring about rich people so he can blend in with them is less nice. Superconveniently, the skills a young, earnest Viren might use to feel worthy of Harrow's attention will serve him just as well when dark magic ravages his empathy and he has to lie to everyone about how dead he is inside in order to keep his position of power. Until he's not lying anymore and he straight up threatens poor Crow Master with death unless he sends illegal mail for him. There's the Viren we know and uhhhhhh

Rayla and the blue rose! It's so fun to see inside her head here. She acted swiftly in the last chapter to save herself from Claudia's sleep spell, but now that she has to lie there, that thorn really hurts! She wishes she maybe had a different plan instead of playing asleep.

I hope Rayla only calls Claudia's voice "awful" because of association. I love Claudia's raspy voice! It's so neat! Rayla immediately recognizes it as Claudia's, from the castle and identifies her as a dark mage, with a clanky-metal warrior beside her. She gets mad at Soren for apparently calling killing a sport, even though that's not what he said at all. Soren's using an unfamiliar, maybe old-fashioned term, and Rayla's taking it very literally. It's like Viren and Runaan are arguing through them. A fun little example of culture clash.

Also digging the fact that Rayla knows what sleeping breathing looks like, as opposed to awake breathing, for the purposes of faking someone out. Did she just. Perch in a tree over Runaan and Ethari as they napped after a picnic and watched them sleep, or did Runaan help her sneak around the Silvergrove to spy on sleeping elves for training purposes? Also, raise your hand if you've faked sleep breathing to fool someone. that's not just me right

Rayla's sass is a constant delight. Whenever she's up against an enemy, she is outwardly fearless and full of witty taunts and comments, and I love her so much. where could she have learned this from I also love that she can't help but flex on Soren about her technique. It seems that her attitude is part "never show fear" and part "humans are liars."

Claudia and Soren were trying to kill Rayla to save the princes from her. But Rayla was also intent on killing both of them right back. And she wasn't ever gonna tell Callum and Ez about that. Woah. First Harrow, now this. That whole "death and secrets" thing really sank in with her, didn't it? Crack voice in the back of my brain: Ethari does know Runaan stabs people, right, he does know that?

Interesting change of detail from show to book: in the show, Claudia overheats Rayla's swords with some green splattery goo from a little glass jar. In the book, uhhh. She grabs a live bird and squishes it to cast the spell. Eew. Really making a point of dark magic's inherent violence today, I see. Got it.

"Rayla, pipe down." Callum still has a ways to go on how to win friends and influence people here. Everyone's shouting, he's interrupted to save Rayla's life (or so he thinks), and when Rayla shouts that his friends tried to kill her, he tells her--and no one else--to pipe down. Followed soon by "but a 'good' elf." Ahgod. He doesn't think he's taking sides, but he's got two humans versus one elf, and he's a human himself, and his underlying biases are showing. He's 14, and he's willing to learn, though--and he really does learn and grow over time. But this version of this scene was just. So. Painfully. Awkward.

I feel like this version was part of a larger theme I'm seeing throughout the first half of the book, emphasizing that Callum comes from years of having a crush on Claudia, and it takes many scenes with Claudia and with Rayla to shift through several gears with each of them in order to facilitate the possibility of breaking with Claudia and then also of falling for Rayla, in a way that feels organic within the structure of the story being told.

Also Callum super has a type and it's Girls Who Will Commit Murder. I don't make the rules.

Rayla's defense just attacks Callum's word choice: "What do you mean, 'but a good elf'? Do you know any bad elves?" And I just. Rayla, honey. You're not in any better of a spot than Callum right now. Your mentor literally stabs people to death. You're both literally assassins. Some humans could accept most elves, but they might draw the line at assassins.

But this tiny clash in the midst of this war, this single exchange of words, is such a great microcosm, the war made personal. It's early enough in their adventure and their growth that they're still sounding a lot like their parents. And that includes Claudia! She demands to know how an elf can be good, and Callum allows that it's possible for good elves to exist, but he has to be the one to say it, not the actual elf behind him. And the actual elf behind him insists that her kind are all good, thank you very much, and implying otherwise skirts very close to "humans are liars."

It's quite a tangle, but having the main characters tangled up like this shows us that as they untangle themselves in their own personal situations, they're learning things about human and elven hearts, about relationships and family, and those things are universal truths which they can use to help them understand other people's troubles, as well as the larger issues involved in the war they're trying to stop.

Callum assessing--and then reassessing--his confidence level. It's adorable, and it serves to show that his first scrambling attempt to make peace, in which he messed up a little but at least no one died--won't be his last. He's not really sure how this is gonna go. Everything is new. But he's dedicated to peace, and he's not giving up. He did just run in between Soren and his target while Soren was holding a sword.

He keeps doing that. Standing in front of people who have their weapons raised in his direction. And he does it with a ridiculous amount of chill. Is this Sarai's influence on him? Considering that Harrow has kept his distance, maybe so! I'd love that.

This chapter ends with some fun relationship drama when Callum gets butterflies in his stomach at being around Claudia again. She tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, and he forgets all about telling her about smashing her primal stone. He instantly worries that Rayla saw her gesture, which of course she did. Callum's nervousness and Rayla's glare feel to me like they're supposed to fit into a tactical box instead of a romantic box, but I can see how it could be interpreted the other way. Callum just intervened in a fight that Rayla completely intended to end by secretly killing Claudia and Soren, so in Rayla's mind, she's probably convinced that Callum intervened to save his girlfriend's life, while he's sure that he just saved Rayla's. She's probably angry because Claudia's gesture is making her think that Callum only seemed to be trying to save Rayla when his true intention was to save Claudia all along.

Dun dun dunnnnnnn.

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

The Long Game Ch 1

Instead of striking a few months later, the Moonshadow assassins guild decides to play the long game. Rayla will pose as a human and kill Harrow and Ezran when the time is right all while gaining valuable information. One problem: Rayla falls in love with Callum and doesn't think Ezran deserves to die for a crime he doesn't he even know was committed.

Now, Rayla has a choice: tell the truth and risk losing Callum but fixing the divide between Katolis and Xadia or staying quiet and having a chance at a happy life with Callum, Ezran and Harrow but losing the best chance they have at peace and probably never seeing her home or family again.

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

The assassins guild had been talking for days about whether or not to go in and kill King Harrow and Prince Ezran now or wait a few more months or even a year.  Queen Zubeia was in distress and the call for revenge was ringing loud and clear throughout Xadia.  First, eight years ago, the humans had attacked them unprovoked and murdered one of their citizens for their perverted dark magic.  Now, they killed the Dragon King and the Dragon Prince's egg.  Xadia could not let this go.  The only question was: when?

Runaan looked at Rayla out of the corner of his eye.  He knew she wanted to prove herself worthy.  He personally found it difficult to believe that his friends, Tiadrin and Lain, his parents, had abandoned their post.  In the back of his mind, it didn't make sense.  They knew better.  But, a Skywing elf who had also been part of the Dragon Guard had admitted they had all fled when the humans killed the Dragon King.  There was nothing anyone could do to stop the Silvergrove Ghosting the pair now.  But, Rayla could do the right thing in their stead and proclaimed herself ready to do whatever it took to right their wrongs.

"It's better to go now.  Who knows how long the Dragon Queen has?"  Runaan turned his attention back to the conversation his guild mates were having.  A cacophony of sounds as they tried to plan the best course of action that would bring them all back home and, hopefully, stop these humans from killing anymore Xadians.

"The humans will know it's us right away."

"So what?!  We want them to know what they did was wrong!"

"True, but, if we wait, maybe we can cause doubt.  They'll destroy themselves trying to figure it out."

"We have never not admitted we've taken life before.  Why should we do it now?  We take life but we don't take it lightly."

"Yes, but this is our chance to not only get the humans fighting each other, but to also get the Moon Nexus back!"  There was silence for a few moments.  Every Moonshadow el,f even a thousand years after the humans were forced out of Xadia, still felt the string of losing contact with the Moon Nexus.  It went deeper than pride; it was an irreplaceable piece of their heritage, culture, and magic that was forever lost to them because the humans refused to accept their lot in the universe as non-magic users.  "All I'm saying is, kill two Moon Phoenixes with one arrow.  Sow dissent AND fulfill the contract."

Runaan turned to Rayla.  Her young face was stony as she took in what everyone was saying.  Young...  He looked her up and down.  She was strong, but those who didn't know better would see her as a slip of a thing.  Slowly, a plan formed in Runaan's mind.  At any other time, he would have been horrified by the idea.  Rayla was his daughter as far as he was concerned.  His apprentice, his greatest joy besides Ethari.  Ethari would never forgive him.  But...  Runaan stood up, getting the attention of everyone in the room.  "I have an idea.  It involves my protegee, Rayla, and getting honor back for her parents as well as stirring doubt in the Pentarchy."

"What do you propose, Runaan?"  The guild master had a steeling expression as he stroked his beard.

Runaan smirked.  "We play the long game."

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

"Absolutely not!" Ethari roared.  "We already lost Tiadrin and Lain.  We aren't losing Rayla!"

"She's going to be fine, Ethari."  Runaan breathed through his nose.  As he expected, Ethari was displeased.

"She's too kind, Runaan!  Too loving. Her heart isn't made for a regular mission and you want her to do this?!  Send Bandlr or someone else."

"She's the only one her age whose properly trained. She's faster than all of us and quick on her feet."

"Then send yourself or a group."

"They won't suspect a young girl travelling on her own.  The longer she does nothing, the more likely they will be to think everything is fine."

"And if they catch her after she succeeds?  They'll kill her!  They'll kill our daughter and you're sending her to the slaughter."

"She'll die with honor and rise above what her parents have done."  Even to Runan's ears he sounded so detached.  He winced.

"You...you can't be serious.  Runaan, she's our child.  Not by blood, but we raised her.  She's only 15.  She'll be 16 when her training's over.  You can't...you can't do this."  Ethari's voice was shaking as he started to breath a little harsher.  "She's just a child."

"Rayla's already agreed, Ethari.  There's nothing either or us can do now."

"You didn't even ask me first!"  Ethari breathed deeply for a few moments before his face became stone.  "So, that's it, then?  You're just going to say good-bye to our little girl?"

Runaan ran a hand through his white hair.  "My love, it's not that simple.  Queen Zubeia ordered the two hits.  We have to do the job."

"Then take a squad like tradition says and do it!  Do not send our Rayla into the human lands alone.  What if the spell fails and she's found out?  What if she slips up?  We have no idea when the time is even right.  We may never see her again!  Do you want that?  Because I don't!  Rayla shouldn't be made to go because of her parents' actions."

"No one is making me do anything," Rayla piped up from the chair.  Runaan had completely forgotten she was in the room and, judging by his slight jump, so had Ethari.  "Yes, Runaan offered my name for the plan before asking me, but I agreed.  I had a fair chance to give someone else the job and I said I would do it.  I'm going, Ethari."

"Rayla, please, don't do this."

"Why do you lack faith in me?"

Ethari shook his head.  "It's so much more than that.  You're a child, Rayla.  Don't throw away your chance for a future when tradition holds you shouldn't even be considering this."

"What future?  If Xadia doesn't do anything, the humans will eventually believe they can do whatever they want.  What if they start killing elves or more dragons for dark magic?  We're already at war.  We have to act!"

Ethari looked between the two of them.  "You know what?  Both of you, do whatever you want."

Runaan started reaching for his husband.  "Ethari-"

"I'm going to my sister's, Runaan.  I need time to process sending my child, OUR child, over the border to be alone and carrying out a mission ALONE for who knows how long."  Ethari slammed the door behind him; silence reigning for a few minutes.

"Well," Rayla looked up at Runaan, "he took that better than we expected."

Runaan sighed.  "He's right, Rayla.  Think long and hard about this.  You have been given 24 hours before you're officially assigned this task.  We are asking you to give up an untold amount of time.  You might never come back."

Rayla looked directly into his eyes.  "I know, but I don't have a choice.  Someone has to do this and it should be me.  If my parents had just stayed, maybe, the Dragon Prince would still be alive.  Besides, they'll probably believe me easier than someone like Bandlr whose already all muscle at 14.  I'm young and fast, but I'm slight enough.  No one will believe I'm a threat if I say I come from a farming village."

"You're right.  I'm so proud of you, Rayla.  I'm sure you'll be able to come back home one day."

It took Ethari two weeks to come around, a new blade for Rayla in hand and a flower for when she went on her mission.  He still barely talked to Runaan and, if Runaan was being honest, he couldn't blame him.  Rayla was going to be spending a few months with Lujanne at the Moon Nexus followed by a bit of time in the village by the Cursed Caldera before making her way to the capital.  There was no room for error and she was going to have to learn how to act human fast.

The flower Ethari made was set into the fountain, the whole of Silvergrove watching.  Runaan knew he and everyone else would be keeping an eye on it.  Rayla had to succeed.

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

6 months later

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

Callum groaned as Soren sent him to the ground again.  "C'mon, step-prince.  Wasn't your mom the strongest general is Katolis?  You shouldn't be this weak after this much training."

Callum glared a bit at his...friend?...tormentor?  Callum wasn't sure who Soren was to him anymore besides the big brother of his crush.  How Claudia and Soren came from the same parents was beyond Callum.  Though, Viren did give Claudia more attention because of her magic.  More love, probably.  "My mom was a lance specialist.  Why don't we try that?"

"Princes use swords; even step-princes."

Callum looked down at his feet.  "The king can use a lance."

"ARGH!  It's just not how it's done, OK?  Sword first, than lance.  Now, on your hands and knees and give me a hundred push-ups."  Callum groaned and was about to follow through when Caludia raced through the courtyard to stand in front of Soren.  She started miming a bit, a big smile on her face.  "What is it, Clauds?  Use your words."

She squealed.  "There's a girl whose just come from the border.  She asked to see the king and she looks about my age, maybe a year younger."

Soren and Callum's brows furrowed.  "Why does she want to see the king?"

"Don't know, but she's pretty cute.  She might be your type, Sor-bear."

"Uh-huh.  You don't know my type, Claudia.  You've proven that how many times now?"

Callum didn't bother staying for what was bound to be an argument between the two.  Instead,he hurried to the throne room, running to Ezran and Bait with a handful of jelly tarts with them.  "What do you think she wants?" Ezran asked.

"No idea.  Whatever it is, I'm sure the king will hear her out."

"You know, you can call him 'Dad.'  I really think he'd like that, Callum."

"He's the king, Ezran, and I'm just the step-prince."

"But, he raised you and I know he loves you."

Callum closed his eyes briefly.  "It's complicated, Ez."

Ezran pouted a bit, but dropped it.  When they finally made it to the throne room, they stood to Harrow's right while Opeli and Viren were standing to his left.  Before them was a pale girl with hair a few shades lighter than Soren's and light blue eyes.  She stood perhaps an inch taller than Callum and was dressed in plain robes that marked her as a member of the farming class.

"Your Majesty," her voice was clear and projected throughout the room.  She took a sweeping curtsy, though almost lost her balance doing so.  She raised her eyes when Harrow told her to rise, slowly coming back up to face the room.  "I come from a town on the border.  We were attacked not too long ago."  She looked down, a tear slipping down her cheek.  "I'm all that's left of my village.  Please, I need help.  I have no family."

"Who attacked your home?"  Viren looked straight at her, eyebrow raised.

"I believe it was elves."  Viren and Harrow shared a look before turning back to the girl.  "They kept saying something about dragons when they came but everything happened so fast it's all a blur."

Viren cleared his throat.  "And why did you come all the way here?  Surely there were others who could look after you."

The girl looked distressed, twisting her hands together a bit.  Callum couldn't help but notice just how pretty she was, with a Cupid's bow on her top lip, high cheekbones, and large eyes.  But, there was something slightly off, something that in the back of his mind was saying it wasn't quite right.  Maybe she was too pretty?  "To be honest, I tried a few times but they either didn't want me because of the possibility of the elves coming after me.  I just hoped that I could be safe here."

Harrow nodded.  "Of course, dear child.  You are welcome to stay as long as you like.  And, I am so sorry for the trials you have faced before coming here today."

Viren sent a glared at Harrow.  "Harrow-"

"Not now, Viren.  We have to look after our citizens.  Always."  Harrow turned back to face her.  "What's your name, child?"

She looked at the five in the room, a soft smile on her face.  "Rayla.  My name is Rayla."        

[flourchildwrites]

have you started watching dragon prince's new season?

Hey, @an-unexpected-trollogy!  I’m glad you remembered that I’m a fan of the show.  I just finished season 3, and despite the controversy, some rushed pacing and a few odd jokes…

Warning!  Spoilers under the cut!

I debated whether I wanted to watch season 3, but obviously, I did.

I still enjoy the inclusiveness of this show.  General Amaya was the sassy, bad-ass (possibly wlw) aunt I never had.  My heart swelled during that scene where she held Janai back, saying with actions rather than words that she truly understood the depth of Janai’s loss.  And this kiss between Runaan and Ethari… AMAZING.  Their body language was sincere and felt natural.  I teared up a little at the softness of it all.

Litte Ezran is now King Ezran, long may he reign as the rightful king!  Though young, he made hard decisions and stepped outside the shadow of expectation.  And he grew up.  No longer just a child who steals tarts from the kitchen, this boy comes into his own and still retains the best qualities of being young and flexible in his approach.

And can we talk about Soren’s character development?  He started off the series as this jock-like jerk, and the conflict mounted within him through seasons 1 and 2.  I was particularly troubled in season 2 when he expressed relief upon being paralyzed because it gave him an excuse to not confront the terrible, terrible mission his father had forced upon him.  Yet, in season 3, Soren did not forget and forgive; he didn’t give himself an out when the power-dynamic in Katolis shifted in his father’s favor.

He said this:  “I’ve known Viren longer than anyone here.  I mean, because he’s my dad, but it took me a long time to understand who my Dad really is.  And it was hard to see because I really…  I really looked up to him.  He’s smart and the way he talks, you really believe that he’s a good person, that everything he does is to protect his family, his home or all of humanity.  He makes you think that as long as you do what he says, you must be doing the right thing.  Even when he asks you to do something bad, something evil.  So, the truth is, someone who wants you to do horrible things and convinces you that they’re good, that’s a villain.  My Dad… is a villain…”

Overall, I also enjoyed the fast pace of season 3, especially when compared to the heavy character development in season 2.  It’s a nice change.  And if, in fact, there is no more Dragon Prince to come, most of the plot threads are loosely tied up.  Perhaps, not as tightly as one would like, but this season did give me a sense of resolution regarding a major conflict dictated in the first season.

Still, I hope we learn more about Aaravos.  And on that note, I LOVE when the person you thought was the big bad at the outset is revealed as the pawn of something bigger and bad-er, re:  Viren and Aaravos.  False climaxes for the win!  There’s still so much to learn about this world, and I would love to see it come together in such a stunning animation style!

But…  I have my concerns.  The biggest one is Rayllum.

I have expressed my view of this ship before, and unfortunately, season three did little to dissuade me that these two make more sense as friends.  Put bluntly, the foreshadowing isn’t there in season 2, and the spectre of what could have been built looms over this ship like a Debbie-downer rain cloud.  It’s too much, too fast, and I can only suspect this is because the creators really weren’t sure if there would be a season 4.  

In terms of the show’s timeline, it seems like only yesterday that Callum was on his date with Claudia.  And, rightly so, he discarded his childhood crush in light of Claudia’s laissez-faire dark magic opinions.  That’s gonna totally come back to bite her, and I’d like to see a single Callum as part of that conversation.  But he moves on so quickly.  It felt almost like… a rebound.  And, let’s be honest.  Rayla deserves more than falling head over heels for a sudden, “you’re a hero” line.  I wanted Callum and Rayla to put the work in.  But that didn’t happen.  😪

In sum, there’s so much to love in The Dragon Prince, and there are a few things going on in the background that cast a long, dark shadow.  I hope the sun comes out and we get more fantastic fantasy content.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Ethari knows! - a happy theory for once

Thanks to @lily-lilou​, I took a look at a TDP official tweet from a few months back. And now that TTM and its AMA’s are out, something clicked!

Back in July, we got a cool couple of tweets that gave us the assassin squad’s names, and then this sad pic following them for apparently no reason.

Rayla looking sadly at a blue-crystal lotus. :(

After TTM was released, we all learned about Callum’s Miserable Sad Birthday from the reddit AMA. The day Rayla left the Moonhenge alone was the morning of July 15th.

But TTM didn’t drop until October (or September, if you’re cool enough to live in the UK), so the July tweet didn’t seem connected. We didn’t know the dates involved in TTM at the time. But now we do!

July 21 is six days after Callum’s birthday, six days after Rayla left the Moonhenge in the early hours of the morning. That’s probably enough time for Rayla to dash home to the Silvergrove as fast as she can, unencumbered by a soft human prince and a baby dragon. She’s shifting into assassin mode, and she’s on another crazy important mission of her own making: she’s hunting Viren.

She was crushed when she saw how broken-hearted Ethari was because of her soft heart during Runaan’s mission. She literally ran away because she couldn’t take standing there and knowing she’d hurt him so much by getting his husband killed.

She feels like she owes Runaan for ruining his mission--it’s complicated, but from her perspective as a dutiful mentee, I can see why she would feel this way, absolutely. But she also feels like she owes Ethari for breaking his heart. I love the idea that her first stop on her Vengeance Hunt is back home, to tell him what happened at the Moon Nexus, that Runaan wasn’t on the other side, and neither were her parents.

Especially since Ethari might also have a story to tell her: how her lotus dipped during the last full moon, for far too many minutes, before bobbing back up again! 

They could talk it over, make a plan for her mission. Ethari’s job is to outfit and supply assassins, and Rayla’s an assassin. She could get upgraded gear, her new S4 outfit, maybe another braid in her hair, and other Ethari things to carry with her, along with his love and support. 

Will she be unghosted? Will this information help? I hope so! And if she is, does that mean she’s been promoted to assassin leader until such time as Runaan can be found and freed? Oof, I don’t know. She’s still only 15, on the cusp of 16.

Okay, but she has to stay in the Silvergrove until her birthday, right? Please. Ethari would want to give her a good birthday. 

(Unless, uhh, maybe 16 is when you’re old enough to become the Moonshadow assassin leader and there’s a whole ceremony and he has to perform it and Rayla must swear a blood promise to the Dragon Queen and get her shoulder markings... then that’s another birthday ruined in the calendar year of this show, along with Zym’s not-birthday, Runaan’s, Claudia’s, and Callum’s.)

Anyway, that’s just angsty speculation at this point. The main point I’m excited about is that the date of the TDP tweet is significant only in retrospect, once we know about Callum’s birthday.

Six days after TTM ended, Rayla is sitting and looking sadly at a blue-crystal lotus. Runaan and Rayla each had a blue crystal in their lotus. 

Rayla’s:

Runaan’s:

But she wouldn’t be looking sadly at her own, right? She would, however, be looking sadly at Runaan’s.

We all want Ethari to jump into the pool. Maybe he would for Rayla’s lotus. Maybe he’d miss Runaan’s. Maybe when he told the story of Rayla’s dipping lotus to her, and she told him about being unable to find Runaan in the afterworld, the idea would hit them at the same time that something similar had occurred with Runaan’s lotus, too.

But this is Rayla’s mission. Maybe she’d be the one to jump into the pool, to dive under--again--for Runaan, just like in this key art by @hypherrr. Maybe then, Ethari can literally reach in after her, along with others, since we didn’t see any of that in TTM.

So she finds the lotus and brings it up. And they look at it, together. They’re both there, I think, because there’s a flower emoji up there with the tweeted pic of Rayla. It’s called Wilted Flower on Twitter. And Ethari is associated with many significant symbols, two of which are: flowers--roses, specifically--and the little sculpture of the wilting leaf of a weeping tree, which he created after Runaan’s lotus vanished from sight. A wilted flower is an accurate emoji for Ethari’s failing love. (But wilted is not the same as dead! It just needs the right care again and it can recover, okay, no one panic.) So I think that Ethari is there with Rayla, but to show him in a July tweet would be way too spoilery. So we get a cute emoji hint instead.

And then they both just stare at this flickering jewel like... what the everloving hell does this mean? Because they know it can’t be good. This isn’t good.

But it’s not over, either. There’s hope. Somewhere. Rayla just needs to go find it.

Haha, this whole wild theory stems from the date of the tweet. TDP posted that pic months before TTM dropped, and at the time none of us knew the timing of TTM’s story, so it meant nothing. But in retrospect, the timing matches up really well with TTM, which concluded on July 15th, Callum’s birthday. 

Which could mean that on July 21st, Rayla was back home in the Silvergrove with Ethari, and they might both have known that Runaan was alive somewhere, ten days before her 16th birthday.

Maybe there’s a specific reason the assassins’ names were dropped on July 21st, but until we learn such a thing, I’m gonna enjoy sticking with this headcanon that the choice of date was really about Rayla, Ethari, Runaan’s lotus, and the Silvergrove, and the squad was helpfully providing a Moonshadow distraction.