#tdp crew

[m4rs-ex3]

no one me making and deleting a twitter account within a 7 minute span just for show info ANYWAY

fuck you

GOD IS NON BINARY

FUCK GOD AAA. also YES GRACIE bro knows rayla hasn't had nearly enough restful nights throughout the course of her life the Only boyfriend

i am still loyal to the concept of rayla's tats starting to fade and bein kinda sad bc she can't go home to redo them and callum doing a bunch of research on moonshadow markings and surprising her and doing them for her and this is further solidifying that idea in my head and and and an

canon

NO /POS. FURTHERMORE NO /NEG shits gonna FUCK me up

mhm

IM CRYING THE FACT THAT OFFICIAL SCRIPTS LOOK LIKE THIS MAKES MY LIFE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER

[imminent-danger-came]

[inkasrain]

Viren: Not the Cliff but the Road

I'm pretty sure that most of The Viren Conversation has been had (and had, and had!), so I don't want to beat a dead (disgraced, former) High Mage. Howeverrrr, there is one element of the way this character finale played out that remains one of my favorite things to come out of the TDP room, and I just want to talk about it a little. (As always, just my take, not canon.)

I have a strong personal bias against the idea of death as an inherently redeeming act in fiction. We are so accustomed to the idea that a succesful hero's arc will conclude in sacrifice, and that therefore a reformed villain's arc must end in the ultimate sacrifice, that we don't think to probe the origins of this concept. To me, this is basically just deeply ingrained Christian pedagogy masquerading as narrative fact. I don't personally think that there is anything inherently salvational or goodness-proving about this arc format, or that it should be the natural default for stories like this. Death does not cleanse; life does. So theoretically, I should be unhappy with the way Viren's arc ends in season 6. He -- a bad person -- dies doing a good thing. He sacrifices his life for Soren and the people of Katolis and thus is redeemed.... right? If I thought that Viren's change arc ends with his death, sure. But that's not how I see it. For me, Viren's arc draws to a close before the attack on Katolis, and before his death. I don't actually think he has a singular redemptive moment. Instead, it is the sum total of his choices and actions from 509 to 606 -- the ways he makes use of his life -- that are cumulatively cleansing. Viren has always thought of himself as someone who makes "the hard choices" but he's been pretty good at wriggling (or being wriggled) out of the consequences. As of 509, that changes; he changes. He makes choices that will be painful for him. That will place a burden on him. And that, most importantly, he believes he will have to live with. There is nothing short-term about the decisions Viren makes after that point in the story. They are all the actions of a man who has finally realized that he can (MUST) live with the consequences of his "hard choices." I'd even include choosing not to kill the Homunculus in that category, as the death Viren faces there is a quiet, lonely, and utterly unremarkable surrender -- all things his character in many ways been defined as working so strongly against.

If there is a true peak of his arc, I personally see it as the moment in 606 when Viren burns his letter to Soren. He has gone through the agony of exposing his darkest moments and can move forward with the clarity that such an experience provides. But even more importantly, he chooses not to burden Soren with that knowledge -- and in doing so, accepts that he will live with Soren's anger and blame. He will not justify himself at Soren's expense; he sacrifices any hope of receiving love from his son because he knows those feelings are the cumulative consequence of his own actions. Viren's death is a culmination, if anything, of his love for Soren and his arc of shifting the focus of his life to others. His death does not retroactively prove his goodness, does not justify his past. It is a sad resolution of a man's struggles, nothing more. So I don't see Viren's choice to sacrifice himself as a redemptive act, because I really don't think he needs one. He is doing the work already, living the life, walking the more difficult road. It's bittersweet that the road ends, but they all do. The important thing is, for me, that Viren isn't defined by the act that ends his life, some kind of spectacular salvational swan dive off a cliff. Instead, he is marked by the journey, the change he underwent to get to that point in his story. (And like, I was a very minor participant in the orchestration of this arc, but I'm ridiculously proud to have been a small part of this kind of storytelling.)

[brynnsasha191]

Not to over analyze stuff but this kind of, maybe a little bit, perhaps makes me think arc three didn't get renewed by Netflix.

Let me explain

It's the phrasing of "secure a future for arc three" that makes me possibly think this. Normally in the past, when talking about arc three Aaron, Justin, and everyone else would say something more like "getting arc three renewed by Netflix". And given what Eugene said at the end of December about how the next thirty days would be crucial for getting Netflix to renew tdp, and while that doesn't necessarily mean Netflix would make that decision in thirty days, I think it's a good chance. Well, those thirty days have passed and now comes the change in phrasing and mentioning of working really hard to 'secure a future' which to me, makes it sound like they mean a future that is not at Netflix.

It all makes me think that Reel James' theory of the tdp crew attempting to get tdp picked up by another streaming service such as Hulu or Prime is a good one. If there's more story to tell, it makes sense they would pursue the ability to tell it. And if Netflix won't give them that ability.

To me, it's either that theory, or Netflix gave the tdp crew a maybe minus (s1 reference haha) and left the crew with "probably not" for an answer and now they have to work extra hard to convince Netflix to renew them. But I like the other streaming service theory because Netflix has been really mean to tdp in the past.

Either way I really respect and appreciate the crew for not taking no for an answer and standing up for their work so they can continue sharing their art with the world. This story is not finished, and it needs to be!!!

[bat-snake]

After making this post, I noticed that there's another moment where Aaravos soothes Leola's dissociation/hand flapping.

It's before the Trial even starts! It was very blink and miss. I even had to watch at half speed her just to see everything he does. The first several times I watched this scene, I wondered why he had to walk around the disk to see her, and then I realized it was because she was dissociating already! She doesn't respond to his arrival, even though she's aware - she's just frozen. (Shout to his very visible shock and worry)

And just like I mentioned in the first post, he gets down to her level and touches her shoulder.

and in this case, runs his hand own her arm, and gently squeezes her hand once with two fingers, and when he knows she's alert, he puts his hand on her shoulder again. (I love his expression in these frames too)

He has this down to an art. He has done this enough that it works even in this one exceptionally frightening situation for her.

Something very, very interesting is that Aaravos doesn't speak to her in this moment (they don't even talk until the execution), because he knows his daughter well enough that not going to be able to answer him in this moment.

[m4rs-ex3]

idk i just can't help but love the tdp crew. it's clear they really, really love their show. i mean obviously because it's an amazing show but there's just so many extra details and bonus material and unnecessary things they do because they want to. (reflections, the comics, the existence of tales of xadia, the coolness of the website, etc.) what made me want to talk about this was their insane dedication to the pirate motif of season 5 in promotional stuff and the bit at sdcc and the fact that they literally released the season early because of it it was just so cool. i am an absolute sucker for creators confirming headcanons and giving lil extra details about their characters. oh and where do i even begin with the official accounts omg a gift from the heavens

[imminent-danger-came]

this shit is cracking me up

[inkasrain]

I’m so curious why there’s so many themes with Callum and breath? (Dad has breathing sickness, aspiro, getting his breath taken away on multiple occasions) Do you have any insights or thoughts, as a writer, as to what the intention was?

I've honestly never thought about this connection, and I don't know if it was developed intentionally. That said, my eternal inner English major finds this very pleasing, as I think one of the main ideas that Callum embodies in the show is freedom. ("Destiny is a book you write yourself"... and I mean, the boy literally has wings.) If we crib slightly from ATLA and import the idea that "air is the element of freedom," Callum's connection to it through both choice and circumstance makes a lot of sense. Like, Callum is a character who starts the story both in an undefined role -- hello "step-prince" -- and deeply entrenched in the norms and prejudices of human society. His ability to define himself and break free of what his world expects from him is one of his most defining features. And that theme only grows stronger when his fight for self-definition ultimately becomes an internal battle that he must wage against himself. (Plus, if you think about it, this all kind of culminates in Callum choosing to perform a Dark Magic spell that is specifically one of imprisonment. And through that, Callum believes he is putting the ultimate restriction on himself, ie, ending his own life. Which is also pretty tasty from a thematic point of view.)

[stuck-in-jelly]

Soren: What if in being vulnerable people won't want to stick around anymore :((

Corvus every single time Soren has shown even an ounce of emotional vulnerability and/or tenderness:

[ac0531]

What are you up to Aaron? 👀

[beaulesbian]

The Dragon Prince S06E03 "The Frozen Ship" - Ray of Illumination, of Captain Esmerelda Skall

bonus from the end credit cards:

[renthony]

Keep. Your hater opinions. Out of. The main tags. For a fandom. Oh my god.

I am here to look at fanart of my blorbos, not your rancid hater opinions. You can feel however you want about something, but stop shitting on people's parades, goddamn. I do not want to go into the "#thing I like" tag and see "thing you like is Bad Actually."

[venice-1987]

As much as I would enjoy a kiss at their reunion, I do think the dragon prince crew would do something softer when (not if <-clown emoji) Sorvus is made canon. I'm picturing Corvus and Ezran and Callum arriving at the castle like in the promo image, them checking up with Opeli and she reveals everything is fine.

But Corvus asks about Soren. "Where is he?" he asks, his mind already wandering to the possibility that Soren...hadn't made it out. He will himself to remain strong for his king, but his body fills with dread. Thankfully, Opeli points him to the river.

There, Soren sits on the banks. Corvus sits beside him, noticing the same pained look in his eyes that he had seen on the ramparts the day Soren asked him to become a crownguard. Now, that same pain encompassed how he sat, how he stared mournfully into the waters.

Corvus asks is he is alright, and Soren can't even answer, holding back what emotion he can to maintain his cheerful attitude. He is failing miserably. Something more terrible than the Storm Spire must have happened. Something worse than Katolis burning down.

Corvus lays his hand over Soren's on the rock. Soren looks from it to Corvus, then shifts so that he can hold Corvus's hand back.

Like Janai and Amaya, its a confirmation.

and, of course, at the end of arc 2 or start of arc 3 (affirm affrim, manifest manifest, like to charge reblog to cast) then we get a kiss, teehee

[imminent-danger-came]

I think Sarah Harper (director on lmk) and Devon Giehl (lead writer on tdp) should be put in a room together

[inkasrain]

Favorite/most proud of moment you wrote in season 7?

I am theoretically proud of the conversation between Ezran and Aaravos... at the time, I kind of thought of it as a level-up from Ezran's negotiation with Karim in season 6 (for both Ezran and me) and it was correspondingly a real challenge. Buuuuut I haven't actually watched it yet (SCARED TO, TBQH) so I don't know how I'll feel about the finished product.

[stuck-in-jelly]

PLEASE