#sorayla friendship

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

the devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Rayla's relationship with all four of her parents after their de-coining is... rough, to say the least. They're not her family; Callum and Ezran and Soren are. And so she wants the Crownguard to walk her down the aisle.

(I wrote this at 1am last night/this morning when I should have been grinding out an accumulative project that's due today but... fanfic's gonna fanfic)

Rayla found Soren in the armory much too early. If he wasn't by Ezran’s side, he was either in the kitchens or the training grounds. Rayla was glad she'd gotten it right the first try.

He was fastening his armor on himself when she let the door swing shut, squinting against the early rays of dawn seeping through the window.

“Rayla, hey,” he greeted, securing the clasps and picking up his sword. “What's up? Want me to kick your ass?”

She grinned as she shook her head. She usually ended up beating him, but Soren's dumbass-ness always made Rayla forget just how ingenious he really was. “No. I, um… I…” She had no clue how to continue the request, how to ask him.

“Wedding planning stress?” Soren guessed, and she nodded.

“Yeah.”

He grimaced. “Sorry. It'll be worth it, though.”

“Yeah.” She just had to hold out for the big day, the day she'd get to marry Callum and be done with all this shit.

Soren leaned against a table. “So, why are you here?”

Rayla took a deep breath. She just had to spit it out. Still, she couldn't meet his eyes.

“I don't want any of my parents to walk me down the aisle,” she confessed, fidgeting her fingers.

Soren tilted his head. “Why?”

Rayla shrugged and perched on the table he leaned against, picking at the hilt of a random sword left there. “They didn't love me the way you guys taught me to. I think… I think I don't need them in my life the way I need you all.” The words were heavy and hard, but they were true. She hadn’t known she’d needed to say them, hadn’t known that they were the odd ball that had been curled up in her stomach and was now finally uncoiling. “And I want the people really close to me, who mean the world to me to be involved. So…” She ducked her head, hoping the Crownguard would pick up on what she left unspoken.

Of course, though, he didn’t, irritatingly yet sweetly prompting, “So…?”

Rayls sighed and decided to jump the horse and do it. “Soren, I want you to walk me down the aisle, you dumbass.”

Read more on ao3!

[jelzorz]

137.

Rayla keeps her hair long for one reason and one reason only, and that is that she doesn't have time to keep it short. She'd cut it twice herself in the early days of her quest, but both times ended in choppy, uneven haircuts that she needed to see hairdressers to fix anyway, and both times it cost her a rabbit.

It's easier, these days, to let it grow and to throw it into a bun to keep it out of her face. She hadn't thought it a particularly glamorous look, or even a particularly pretty look, but she catches Callum looking, and well...

Now there's impetus to actually try.

She starts off simple: just her bun and an extra braid in addition to the one behind her ear. She tries for a ponytail a couple of days later and finds Callum isn't quite so responsive to it, so she tries a half-updo after that.

She tells herself she's experimenting, but in her heart, it's because she and Callum still haven't really talked, and mostly she just wants him to notice. Any interaction is better than the awkward pining nonsense between them, and at least she knows he's still a little bit interested, and, in any case, it is experimenting. Sometimes something different is nice.

And, of course, other people start to notice. Not in the same way, but enough to point out that she's doing something different to begin with. Ez says he likes the extra braid. Opeli says the half-updo looks lovely and traditional. Soren surprises her most:

"Hey, pigtails! Cute! You want help trying something else?"

Rayla stares at him. They're on their way down to the blacksmith to see if he can do some maintenance on Rayla's blades which are a bit more complicated than his usual commissions but Soren promises he'll enjoy the challenge. Rayla'd been feeling sentimental this morning, so her hair today is two pigtail braids like the ones she wore when she was younger. She'd actually been thinking about cutting it, now that there's time and it won't cost her an entire rabbit for a trim. "Pardon me?"

"Oh, you've just been... doing different stuff with your hair recently. Just wondered if you want ideas or a hand doing something new."

"You have experience with hair, do you?"

"Sure do," says Soren brightly. "What, you think I would trust someone else to manage these gorgeous locks?" He flips his hair dramatically and Rayla fights the urge to shove him off the path. "Nah, this is all me. Been trying to get Corvus to help me dye it but he's just not an artist in that way."

Rayla stares some more. "You dye your hair?"

"Obviously," snorts Soren. "Seriously, if you need a hand, just say the word. I'm happy to help."

Rayla isn't staring on purpose anymore, she just can't stop. "Oh. I. Didn't think you you were the type to experiment yourself," she admits, although why is less clear. Soren's always taken a little bit of pride in his appearance. It shouldn't be such a surprise. "Where'd—uh—where'd you learn to dye your hair?"

His face falls a little. He shuffles his feet. Rayla figures out the answer before he says it, and she curses herself silently for being so stupid.

"Claudia used to help me do the bits I couldn't reach," he says. "I used to help her braid her hair to pay her back."

"Oh." Oh, because duh and because Rayla doesn't really know what else to say.

They lapse into silence. Soren stares at the flagstones in the bailey as they cross it and Rayla tries not to push herself off the path for being so dumb. She coughs. "I can help you dye it?" she offers at last. "I can probably do a better job than Corvus, anyway. And... maybe you could give mine a little trim if you know how to do that?"

Soren laughs at that, the tension in his shoulders easing a little as they walk. "That'd be nice," he says. "Although, no, I wouldn't trim it. Callum likes it long."

Rayla blinks. Then flushes. She doesn't ask how he knows. "He does, does he?"

"More than he'll admit. He liked the pony tail. Ez and I caught him staring while you were doing it up."

Rayla laughs at that and makes a note of it for another day.

[raayllum]

rewatched 4x05 and it really is a gem of an episode. so many good little lines and deliveries ("just crickets, but don't worry, they told me they're not the ambushing type" / "also who are you?"), pretty new locations and scenery, sir sparklepuff on the scene, rayllum angst and also heartfelt broyals and sorayla friendship scenes, set up for rayla's negative character development that could be very worrisome in s6, xadian worldbuilding and complexity. chef's kiss

[lysteriaposts]

kind of annoyed how aaron ehasz screwed up twice. first he lost zutara to the creators and then when he literally set up that dynamic again in sorayla he just went for the boring main guy/main girl trope even though he had free rein on his own project. not to mention guy-girl friendships exist and rayllum was a perfect example of that...? it also didn't help s3 rayla was so ooc, and that their relationship felt so forced and rushed. i'm completely uninterested in watching four more seasons of that campiness lol.

[firelxdykatara]

Hi omg I just found out that you ship sorayla and alshdjskjsjsjsb. I love rayllum with all my heart but during my recent rewatch of tdp I noticed the potential with Soren and Rayla and I thought they'd be so good together. Anyway, I just got really excited that you ship them too cause your taste in ships is elite. And you're right with it being so niche cause I'm literally starved for some sorayla content

AHHHHHH YES ANOTHER ONE SOBS

i do love rayllum too and i enjoy their relationship a lot so i 100% wont be upset if sorayla doesn’t happen but soren just has that Big Himbo Energy i love and also they have more of those tropes that just make my heart RACE so im like -eyes emojis- at ALL TIMES

there’s some absolutely gorgeous fanart in the tag and i’ve literally reblogged all of it lmfao there’s so little content im starved for crumbs, SOME DAY i will actually write fic for them but im praying that s4-7 of tdp when it comes back will have SOME crumbs, just anything, i’ll take it, i can make a mountain out of a few pebbles i just need them to have on-screen interactions cause even if they don’t develop beyond friends i LOVE the energy of all their interactions and the potential their friendship has??? just immaculate

plus sorayllum has potential as an ot3 i know we’re all thinking it im just saying it RAYLA HAS TWO HANDS THAT’S ALL I’M SAYING

-sets out my twice-yearly offering for sorayla crumbs if anyone has the slightest desire to draw a lil sumn sumn- -pleading eyes emojis finger touch-

[foxie-roxie]

THROUGH THE MOON SPOILERS BELOW!!

-HOLY FUCKING SHIT THE RAYLLUM. we got forehead touches, hand holding, making up after a fight, a KISS!!, a forehead kiss, and just. fluff. ALSO AN ILY EXCHANGE I SCREECH

-i love allen so fucking much he has adopted all of these kids

-lujanne, on the other hand, IS SO DONE WITH THESE KIDS

-callum recognizing he fuckin Fucked Up when him and rayla fought? ...i have nothing to say i just think that’s really healthy.

-THE ENDING. OH GOD THE ENDING.

so many ways s4 can go now...

rayla is obviously going off on her own to protect callum. of course basically the dragang as a whole, but mostly callum. she can’t lose someone she loves, not again.

callum is going to wake up, assuming rayla will be there, and be confused when she isn’t.

THE AMOUNT OF HURT, CONFUSION, WORRY, ANGER, AND STRESS HE IS GONNA FEEL IN S4 CALLUM I AM SO SORRY MY POOR BABY

he’s also probably gonna feel really betrayed because he insisted that him and rayla do this TOGETHER. and then rayla goes off on her own. again.

-BABY PHOE-PHOE!!!!

-i wanna hug rayla and callum so bad

-SEASON FOUR IS GONNA FUCKING PUT ME IN MY GRAVE IM BETTING IT NOW

-i am once again so fucking sorry for callum. s4 is gonna be “callum having intense anxiety over his dumbass girlfriend for 9 episodes”

I THOUGHT RAYLA HELD THE BRAINCELL WHY RAYLA WHY!!

-ok but like. WHAT ARE VIREN AND AARAVOS DOING?

-SORAYLA FRENDSHIP SORAYLA FRIENDSHIP!!!!

anyway this book both made me ascend and made me die. im not ready for season four.

me before reading ttm (ty my british friends) expecting fluff and not much angst: and nothing can go wrong!!

me reading ttm and finding angst: OH NO, IT ALL WENT WRONG!!!

[ayoitsabi]

001 TDP for the fandom ask

Thanks for the ask!!!

Favorite character: Soren

Least Favorite character: Not sure, i don’t think I have any character i despise, not yet at least. Though I have too many theories that kind of make me not like Viren’s ex-wife even though she’s not in the show yet lol.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Sorayla, Ruthari, Janaya, Rayllum, Viravos

Character I find most attractive: Gren

Character I would marry: Gren

Character I would be best friends with: Soren

a random thought: my theory is, what if, the big bad at the end of the series/saga instead of it being Viren, Aaravos, or Claudia, it ends up being Callum??

An unpopular opinion: I don’t want Viren to die/sacrifice himself for his kids to redeem himself, that seems like lazy writing imo, i want him to not only to beg forgiveness to his children, but he needs to work his ass off to earn his place back and to be sincere about it.

My Canon OTP: Ruthari

My Non-canon OTP: Sorayla

Most Badass Character: Amaya and Janai

Most Epic Villain: Aaravos

Pairing I am not a fan of: I’m not too sure, i don’t mind any of the canon ships, and i don’t really care much for non canon ships

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I’m not too salty about anyone yet 

Favourite Friendship: Right now I’m looking forward to more Soren and Ezran interactions, i feel like after the events of season 3 theyre going to adopt each other as brothers and i’m living for it

Character I most identify with: Soren

Character I wish I could be: Amaya

[kravchikfreak]

Fandom Tdp Favourite outfit!

spoiler about outfit: viren’s (cause it’s super fancy looking) and crow master’s (cause i want that outfit myself)

but i wanted to talk about all of them so here we go

 Top 5 favourite characters: amaya, viren, soren and claudia, gren

Other characters you like: all of them

Least favourite characters: kasef, that guy who introduces kasef to viren, khessa

Otps: janaya, calludia, sorayla, raydia, harrai, grazi

Notps: rayllum

Favourite friendships: amaya/gren/corvus, ezran and claudia (not in canon sadly)

Favourite family: soren and claudia

Favourite episodes: love them all

Favourite season/book/movie: the third one

Favourite quotes: -

Best musical moment: -

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: amaya tackles janai down and burns her hand just to save fer

When it really disappointed you: when the show decided to not bother with viren’s motives anymore

Saddest moment: callum telling ezran about their dad’s death same way harrow told him about his mother’s death

Most well done character death: sarai

Favourite guest star: -

Favourite cast member: viren’s va

Character you wish was still alive: sarai

One thing you hope really happens: amaya/gren/corvus trio scene

Most shocking twist: claudia says “you’re all that left from our family. i won’t let anything break us apart” not to soren, but to viren

When did you start watching/reading?:  27.02.2019

Best animal/creature: the twin-tailed inferno-tooth tiger

Favourite location: -

Trope you wish they would stop using: -

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: conversations over stupid unnecessary drama

Funniest moments: corvus asks soren to untie him (and when it reveals that would be the third time soren would have done that)

Couple you would like to see: janaya

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: -

Favourite outfit: viren’s (cause it’s super fancy looking) and crow master’s (cause i want that outfit myself)

Favourite item: amaya’s shield

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: sadly no

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: i’d totally be a human. maybe some stupid viren’s nephew, the third person who would use soren and claudia’s shared brain cell

Most boring plotline: [main characters’ romance]

Most laughably bad moment: -

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: when harrow and viren kill thunder

Most layered character: that was viren until he went full “i’m a bad guy ‘cause i can” mode

Most one dimensional character: gren probably

Scariest moment: -

Grossest moment: fart flowers (in a way)

Best looking male: viren

Best looking female: amaya

Who you’re crushing on (if any): amaya and viren

Favourite cast moment: -

Favourite transportation: the twin-tailed inferno-tooth tiger

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise):

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: why the hell no one has mentioned khessa and janai’s brother, but that was so important for khessa to point out janai is her relative by saying “my little sister” (nobody talks with their siblings like that)

Best promo: -

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: somewhere during the first two episodes of the show

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

TELL ME ABOUT THE KNIFE CUTS BOTH WAYS?!

Uhhhh TDP S6 possession fic, and now that you're reminding me of it, I may have to go back and finish it...

Notable events:

Aaravos makes a "back in my day" joke

Oh yeah Rayla stabs him

Re-confession

Sorayla friendship

Angst angst I throw angst around like glitterrrrrrrr

[raayllum]

You don’t speak sarcasm too good, do you? No, I do not.

[jelzorz]

I posted 2,719 times in 2021

302 posts created (11%)

2417 posts reblogged (89%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 8.0 posts.

I added 175 tags in 2021

#rayllum - 80 posts

#in anticipation - 28 posts

#yeah - 15 posts

#i mean - 11 posts

#yeah. - 9 posts

#ezraanya - 7 posts

#fic: in a vision - 7 posts

#i love them - 6 posts

#the dragon prince - 6 posts

#yes - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#only tangentially related but my friend's niece looks u dead in the eye and says 'excuse me im impressionable' if u swear in front of her

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

sometimes you catch yourself wondering "is it me?? am I the problem??? Is anything even wrong or am I making it up???" And that, on its own, should be enough to remind you that it was fucked to begin with

138 notes • Posted 2021-11-01 00:35:14 GMT

#4

Callum comforts Zym by saying "you're safe, I've got you/we're here with you" which is what a lot of positive parenting experts and psychologists recommend you say to comfort children, because it tells them it's okay to be scared, but that they're safe with mum or dad, but anyway what I'm saying is Callum is an excellent father

132 notes • Posted 2021-07-06 22:18:26 GMT

#3

82.

First off, Soren is a pretty good Crownguard. He'd been misguided in the past, and he was kind of mean to Callum about it when King Harrow first made him do it, but he was Callum's first sword fighting teacher, so it's not that weird that it's come to this. It's just weird that, this time, it comes from Callum.

"Can we spar?"

The double take Soren does almost gives him whiplash. It's mid-summer. Callum's birthday is in a week, and Rayla's is in the fortnight after that. The trip home from Xadia was long and sweaty and gross, but it was nice, Soren supposes, because for once he hadn't spent the whole time with crushing insecurity stirring around in his gut. He's Ezran's Captain of the Crownguard. He's Rayla's new sparring partner. He's Callum's good friend. Things are crazy different now, but he looks Callum up and down, skinny, rune-painted arms and all, and thinks: not that different.

Soren presses his lips together. "You want to what?"

"Spar," says Callum. He looks kind of nervous, but eager all the same, and oh, Lady Justice, he's being serious. "Rayla's been teaching me a little and... I dunno. I want to give it another go."

"You'll lose," says Soren stupidly.

Callum nods. "Yeah. But I want the practise. Please?"

"O...kay?" says Soren, in part because he doesn't know how to refuse, and in part because Callum's his prince and from a technical standpoint, he can't. "If you're that eager to get your butt handed to you, I guess?"

Callum's face splits into a grin.

They head down to the bailey, and Soren finds the old wooden swords they used to practise with. He hasn't actually seen Rayla teaching Callum, but Callum holds the practise sword differently now and it looks big and awkward in his hands. He holds his own for, like, a minute--which is definitely an improvement compared to a couple of months ago--he even manages a parry!--but in the end, Callum still loses, and he still ends up on his back, covered in dirt and huffing at the sky.

Soren leans over him, confused. "You good?"

Callum nods. "I think so," he puffs. He sits up with a groan and grimaces at the wooden sword at his feet. "I don't get it. I thought I'd be better."

Soren stares at him. "I mean," he says awkwardly, "you are. You definitely did better than when I used to train you, that's for sure."

Callum snorts a little. "I think she's just a better teacher for me."

"That, or you're paying closer attention." Soren waggles his eyebrows suggestively but even as gross as they are, Callum's cheeks redden with a blush. Soren chuckles and offers him a hand. "If she's already teaching you how to handle a sword, what are you doing asking me?"

Callum flushes some more. "I dunno," he mumbles. "She likes sparring with you."

"Please tell me you're not jealous."

"What? No!" Callum actually laughs, and it's not like Soren's offended, but wow. Rude. "No, it's just... she goes out of her way to show me cool runes, or some of the Draconic she remembers from when she was younger. I guess... I'm just trying to take an interest in what she likes to do too."

"...By getting your butt kicked?"

Callum wrinkles his nose. "By practising so I can impress her."

Gods, they're so sweet, Soren thinks he might have a new cavity just by thinking about it. He sighs good-naturedly and kicks the discarded wooden sword back into his hand. "She doesn't like you for your sword fighting skills, y'know."

"I know," says Callum. "But I still want to get better so it doesn't feel like she's putting all this work in to teach me for nothing. And, I know, it's super not my thing, and there's no way I'm going to get anywhere near the level you and she are at but... it's the effort that counts, right?"

Soren lets out a laugh. "Sure is," he says tossing the practise sword back at Callum.

He still fumbles with it. It still thunks into the dirt, but Callum grabs it and cocks his head. "You don't think it's stupid?"

"Nah," chuckles Soren. "I think it's sweet. I can help a bro out and help you practise if you want. You can just owe me later."

Callum laughs. "Done," he says. He brings his sword up like Rayla does. They go again.

123 notes • Posted 2021-09-25 11:36:37 GMT

#2

Callum, turning up at a coffee shop in Scotland: can I get a mocha with oat milk

Rayla, his confused Scottish barista: but I cannae make a mocha without milk

114 notes • Posted 2021-07-29 08:14:00 GMT

#1

80.

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes there are days when Callum has lessons or meetings or other Prince-y things he's not allowed to bring Rayla to, and Rayla shuts down hard.

Soren kind of gets it. It's weird having an elf around. Callum having a girlfriend is weird, and Rayla turning up at dinner sometimes in Katolan red is weird, and the general vibe of seeing her wandering around the castle on her own is weird—but it's gotta be weirder still for her. Ezran hadn't been particularly specific about it, but Soren thinks she's here to begin with because she can't go home. Some stuff with her family or something and, well, Soren definitely gets that so he doesn't ask.

But the weird goes both ways, he thinks, and that's the point. She's quieter when she's on her own, and part of that is probably because she's a heck of a fish out of water without Callum glued to her side. Soren's seen the other guards watching her with various shades of scrutiny, some worse than others, and as awesome as it must be to live in the castle, she must miss home sometimes, and that's gotta suck one way or another.

Anyway. This is how he finds her one day. Callum's been dragged off to a meeting with an ambassador from Del Bar and they're not so comfortable with the idea of Rayla being in attendance just yet, so she's sitting cross legged on the wall overlooking the bailey. She's got her nose tucked into Callum's scarf, her fingers fidgeting absently with the end, her back hunched like she's trying to make herself smaller than she is, and Soren cocks his head at her and hoists himself onto the wall next to her without waiting to be invited.

He prods her shoulder. "Are you pining?"

Her nose twitches likes she's caught between a scowl and a snort. "You can't pine for someone who's already your boyfriend."

Soren smirks at her. "You look like you're waiting for him to come back from a war." He pitches his voice up and puts on his best impression of her accent. "Oh, Callum, I miss ye' sooo much."

"Moon and Stars," breathes Rayla.

"It's been twenty minutes and I'm so lost without you."

"I will push you off this wall."

"Come back to me soon, my heart can't take it."

"All right, we're done here." Rayla shoves him so hard he wobbles dangerously on the bricks, but Soren still catches the little spark of amusement in her eye and silently congratulates himself for a job well done. "Why're you here anyway? Shouldn't you be in that meeting with them?"

Soren shrugs at her. "Corvus and General Amaya are both in there with them, they don't need me. Besides. You looked sad."

Rayla glances at him sharply from the corner of her eye. "What's that got to do with you, exactly?"

Soren shrugs again. "Nothing, I guess. Just figured you could use a friend."

She doesn't argue. Soren tries not to look too surprised about it, but it's the way that she blinks that gets him: it's hard to miss the tears in her eyes. "It's not him I miss," she mutters.

Soren stares at her. He hadn't thought he'd get this far. He's never been good at feelings-y things and Rayla must be really sad if she's willingly talking about this to him. He coughs. "Oh?"

She snorts. "I miss my family," she whispers. "My mum and dad. Runaan. Ethari. It's—don't worry about. It's stupid."

And maybe Soren hadn't realised how similar they were to begin with, but hearing her admit to it feels like a punch in the gut. He snorts ruefully and pats her shoulder. "Not that stupid," he says quietly. "I miss mine too."

Rayla pauses. She stares. She scoffs. "Guess we're both pining a little then, huh?"

Soren lets out a sad chuckle. "I guess so."

113 notes • Posted 2021-09-04 15:48:45 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[raayllum]

thoughts on a soren/rayla friendship?

love them!! i think they have a lot of great comedic and bonding potential after the end of season three. they’d get stupidly competitive together and i think would have a very strong but unspoken understanding between each other, as protectors, and everything with viren, and having to take a stand against family who won’t listen. i’ve also written a few pieces that feature their friendship that i shall include down below. you can find more posts like it under my sorayla tag for generally brotp & meme content <3

flowercrowns: rayla makes flower crowns for her new family (ezran, callum, and soren). oneshot, 1.6k

you said, “are you serious?” (i said like a heart attack): co-written by me and @thosefiveadoraburrs featuring soren having a tiny crush on rayla, and then not having one, and a decent dose of rayllum. oneshot, 6k

if heaven and hell decide: also co-written by myself and @thosefiveadoraburrs where soren and claudia travel past-2x03 with the trio. exploration of rayla&claudia and rayla&soren’s bonds with some slowburn redemption arcs. multichap, 51.8k with one chapter left.

[foxie-roxie]

ME RAMBLING ABT TTM MORE

SPOILERS FOR THROUGH THE MOON!

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i rlly like how rayla and callum are so protective of eachother. it’s just cute and actually gives a lot more to the plot, as they both are aware that the other would probably die for them and that SCARES THEM

also i thought rayla was gonna go into the portal by herself so GOOD THING CALLUM WAS ON BOARD AND WAS ABLE TO HELP HER JFC

i wanna know what the fuckity fuck rayla’s thought process was when going off to fight A FUCKING DARK MAGE THAT IS VERY POWERFUL AND COULD KILL HER. WHAT WAS THE THOUGHT PROCESS MADAME

lujanne is so fucking done “what did you do.”

rayllum be out here killing me with fluff and angst who ALLOWED THIS

SORAYLA FRIENDSHIP SORAYLA FRIENDSHIP

i love how they talk abt runaan and viren and just. vibe

i am once again asking for rayla to get therapy and same for callum the kiddos need HELP