#still think we are supposed to think of rayla tho

[raayllum]

me being like "yeah the elf girl in the dream warden story kind of looks like rayla i guess, thanks to the sword and the hair, but that could just be because it's a general moonshadow design and—"

she has basically the exact same markings in one shot / the markings are slightly different in each panel so... markings changing as the elf grows up, maybe?

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 5

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 lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

[kuno-chan]

‘you said, “are you serious?” (i said like a heart attack) ‘ Live Reactions

I’m finally about to read this fic and I’m scared for a variety of reasons but let’s do it

WELP THAT WAS QUICK. We already learn he likes her

Oh no Soren I see your attraction. Its fair, but nooo bby

OKAY BUT I CRY FOR CALLUM GIVING RAYLA CONGRATULATORY HUGS

Hand on her waist is ALWAYS good with me

No,,, no does Soren not realize???

oh noooo the twist in his stomach WHY AM I READING THIS

Rayllum giggles and whispers tho,,, RAYLLUM MAKING OUT INA  CORNER YEA I LOVE THAT

No but Soren’s upset I FEEL CONFLICTED

he’s so hung up on this I’m cackling

love that he still calls her moon lady

NO. WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO RAYLA IN FRONT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE N O

Callum gets so mad tho he hates it when anyone hurts Rayla even on accident

“Shouldn’t have expected anything different” THIS IS A SIN.

SOAKED IT IN HER T E A R S

“How was he supposed to tell them apart?” oh soren

RAYLA IS WEARING CALLUM’S CLOTHES. OKAY THIS IS GOING SOMEWHERE PLEASANT.

I can hear Soren’s voice denying he heard anything i love it

CALLUM SAID FUCK

He also aid bullshit oh he mad mad

And so Soren makes the connection. DUN DUN DUN

Ezran my son. My boy. “It was like they wanted to fight” i love him and his innocence

Callum had to tell Ezran it’s okay Rayla and Callum kiss I’m dying

Soren stop teaching Ezran bad words

Nevermind Bait taught it to him

flirty sparring flirty sparring fLIRTY SPARRING

Soren’s sad ;A; I’m sad now

AND HE REMEMBERS CLAUDIA ISN’T THERE TO TEASE HIM ABOUT IT DOUBLE SAD

That entire thing was such a sweet fic. The tentative peace. The giving Soren a perspective of him just thinking about how the world’s changed around him and how he’s changed with it and his lil brief crush on Rayla. Loved it <3

[bowsie22]

Ruthari Collection 9

Summary:  Chuber_zekusa AO3: This made me cry with how wholesome it is. Tho, I would really like to see that domestic and sappy welcoming and Runaan reaction to Callum. Aside from that, very nice job here! Loved it

"Get that sour look off your face."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ethari grinned at the Moonberry Surprise he was making. Moon be blessed, bit he missed his husband and his stubborn sulks. After a few seconds, Runaan's arms were around his waist, the older elf's face buried in the side of his neck.

"I just don't understand what she sees in him. They're too different, he's not right for her! This will only end in heartbreak."

Ethari hummed, stroking a flour covered hand along his husband's cheekbone.

People used to say that about us. A gentle weaponsmith, incapable of killing anything dating the leader of the most successful assassin team in all of Xadia!"

 "Yes, but we proved them wrong."

 "And Rayla and Callum will prove you wrong."

 He turned in Runaan's arms, pressing a kiss to the other's flour covered cheek.

 "Trust me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ethari would never tell Rayla, but he found Runaan's protectiveness adorable. An elf who never wanted children or a family but then embraced the one he was given with hos whole heart and soul. Although, watching Runaan glare at Callum, Ethari could understand why Rayla might not be too pleased with his husband at the moment. 

 "You have to stop him!"

 "You know nothing stops Runaan when he gets like this."

 "You ca-"

 Rayla stared up at her father, horrified and betrayed.

 "You want this to happen, you traitor!"

 The weaponsmith laughed, pulling his daughter into a tight hug. Even with all her assassin training, Rayla still wasn't strong enough to break free of his arms, not matter how much she wriggled.

 “We love you. And we want you happy and safe. We may not have given birth to you, but you are our daughter. So let Runaan do his thing, you know why he does it."

"Aye, because he loves me."

 "Because he loves you."

 Rayla stopped moving, content to sit in her father's arms (don't tell her parents, but Ethari gave the best hugs. She didn't realise that Tiadrin, Lain and Runaan would all agree with her). She wasn't happy about Runaan's attitude towards her boyfriend, but she supposed it was difficult for the older assassin. Spending his entire life hearing humans were the enemy only to see his daughter dating one couldn't be easy. She could only hope that Callum didn't panic and say something stupid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Pretty?"

How do you make even an eyebrow raising threatening and terrifying? Suddenly. Callum was glad his mother wasn't around to meet Runaan. The two would be horrifying together.

"You are with my daughter because she is pretty? There's nothing else?"

Of course there was. But Runaan's eyes were piercing his soul right now and Callum found himself frozen. The other eyebrow went up. Callum was going to die wasn't he? he whimpered as Runaan swung an arm around his shoulders. Distantly, he noticed from the scar around the bicep that it was arm Runaan nearly lost.

"Callum I love Rayla. And for some reason, she loves you. But I need to make sure that you are deserving of my daughter. So, I want you to think really hard about why you love my daughter!"

"Because she's everything!"

Silence fell across the garden. Callum flushed when he realised that he'd shouted his answer. He peeked over to Rayla, who flashed an encouraging smile.

"Rayla is brave and strong. But not just physically. She never gives up, no matter how hard things might be and I know I can count on her to be there for me and support me, even if I'm being stupid. And yes she's pretty, but she's also smarter than I can ever hope to be and wise and scary. I... I love her."

Rayla laughed, running across the grass to Callum's arms. Ethari followed at a much more sedate pace, also ending up wrapped in his partner's arms. He watched to young couple declare their love for each other, a smile on his face.

"You have to admit that it's cute."

"Hm."

"Such a sap Runaan."

"Your sap though."

"Yeah, of course."

 A/N Don't forget to leave a prompt!

[stray-tori]

ToCo | Dragon Prince

First two episodes and I was pretty much ready to drop it. The visuals were absolutely nice, but the low framerate did more harm than good to it. 

I like 2D, and I like CGI. But CGI trying so hard to be 2D hurts sometimes. In this case, the mending of 2D and CGI is pretty well done, so I don’t mind. But watching a show that feels like I’m playing a game at like 5 fps is kinda ugh. If you’re CGI at least take advantage of how smooth it can be. 

LUCKILY it improved a lot after episode 2. Towards the end I never really noticed these really laggy expressions and movements anymore (in slow movements it was especially jarring, like when the King and Callum hugged, it really took my out of the moment). Everything was pretty smooth and I enjoyed the visual style. So props for that!

So yeah, some thoughts under the cut (sorry mobile users this is a pretty long one):

What happened with the King? Is he really dead? I mean, I assume? But I don’t trust that wizard-guy at all and I think he did something before he left, but I’m not sureeeee. HMMMMM

Okay, how they humanize dark magic is awesome. Sure, the villain uses it, but when Claudia uses it, it’s almost always charming. It looks dark and she looks dark, but it’s not that way at all. It hits home less of a black and white idea of good and bad, and more of the inbetween and i like that. That’s something my friends and I where going for when we did our game and we failed, but it’s nice to see a really good way it’s done. So kudos! <3

It feels like all of the characters are there to be funny, which sometimes hurts their characterisation. I’m still not sure what Rayla is supposed to be. She’s serious, but then she starts being really sarcastic, and then she starts being really cheerful while she’s sarcastic and then she starts goofing around as well in a time that feels too short to me. But people can have layers, I just felt she was everything and nothing at the same time sometimes.

her voice tho, smexyyyyy

CALLUM “I can only draw” STEP-SON OF KING, if you don’t WANT that skill, I can gladly take it >:((((

Also why do you look like Keith from Voltron and Frey from To Belong at the same time, you remind me of both XD

Ezran is even more there to be goofy I feel like. He can talk to animals apparantly, he likes these jelly-things and honestly that’s it to me. He’s not blank but I feel like there’s nothing really there. Callum at least had his arc of “I can’t do anything, except draw a skill which I probably trained but who cares :))))”, tho I guess he doesn’t fit in, but we��ve never really SEEN that, I think, so it’s not as impactful imo.

Hey, it’s moon-allura. kinda. not rly. but she reminded me of Allura lol.

I’m a little sad that Rayla got rid of the armband. All those moments of “It doesn’t matter if I lose a hand, meeting you was worth it” mean less if you know it’s not gonna happen. At the start, I actually thought the armband would start mindcontrolling her to like try to kill him when she was around him, but this way it’s a lot more organic and less tropy in the long run, so I like it. I’m too sadistic I’m sorry X’D She deserved to get rid of it, so out least it wasn’t out of pure luck. But if something with consequences would have happened, it would have elavated the show in my eyes. I’m glad she still has her hand though, losing it that way must be painful. 

Claudia is surprisingly likeable, even though I have a similiar problem with her as with Rayla. But she’s more consistent, because she’s less serious I think. She’s an airhead, goofy and I think mostly kind-hearted. I like that she looks a lot like a villain, but she seems to have her heart in the right place overall. She kinda seems naive too and sometimes kind of dumb, but in a really adorable way??? The same can be said for Callum, I feel like he’s the more dumb-kind of goofball, but it’s endearing. 

THAT DRAGON is the CUTEST thing EVER.

so where’s s2. I need it. Honestly, these dump-releases make really impatient. Just air one episode a week, and you already have 2-3 months more time where people are kept busy so they actively have less jarring wait-time. I’m a huge binge-watch fan but more of finished or concluded stuff. When it’s ongoing, I actually prefer the kind of weekly format. Yes, cliffhangers are evil, but while watching some ongoing anime I noticed, it’s actually kind of healthy. It helps discussions and keeps communities active; also it always makes me happy if I have something to look forward to each week (noo hero aca, steins gate 0 pls don’t ennddddd :’’’(). Plus, you don’t have to like, make room to watch 3 hours of something, it’s just 20-30 minutes each week, which I can make room more easily. Because the problem is: If there IS more, I WILL watch it. It’s the law of physics X’D ANd boom, 3 hours gone, oh god it’s 11 pm. I’m dead. I just wanted to watch one episode lol. But the episodes were over so fassst ;v;