#tdp theories

[hiccupshypotheticalleftsock]

thinking about how runaan will try his best to assume a sweet supportive father role to rayla on their roadtrip and how he will struggle to get over his conflicting feelings towards humans, specifically callum (because he killed his father) adding the extra complex layer of him being rayla's soulmate. and moonshadow elf culture seems to care a lot about soulmates and true love. ooooo i cannot wait

[weebssecretattic]

Since rayla was able to open the gates to ethari's workshop, it proves that ghosts can interact with the physical world of the village. So is there like random stuff floating around silvergrove that the ghosts are holding? Is this considered common in silver Grove?

Like a bottle of moonberry surprise will just randomly start floating and be violently thrown at a tree and shatter and the elves will be like,"Oh that's just Gary, don't mind him, he's still salty about being ghosted."

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

i can't get over this. i have to analyze it.

if ya didn't notice, uh...massive fucking parallel here. there is no way it wasn't on purpose bro. tdp loves to use parallels to make points to the audience.

then...what was the point here? well, it does illustrate that viren and aaravos are similar in that they are both fathers. aaravos even states that he understood viren's love for claudia because of his experience with leola.

so, i wonder if perhaps this parallel does not serve to make a point, but to pose a question to the audience: why would aaravos kill someone just like him? and why would he manipulate viren's daughter even though if someone did that to leola he would be furious? how can aaravos be so heartless, despite being able to relate so much to viren?

those are good questions, so much so that they are difficult to answer. it is hard to imagine someone having such a lack of shits to give about someone like themself. but i am going to try.

maybe aaravos suffers from a sort of tunnel-vision, for lack of a better term. ever since leola's passing, his entire purpose has been revenge. he doesn't care what happens, he just wants to show the cosmic council that they fucked around and found out.

BUT I HAVE A COUNTERPOINT FOR MYSELF: how the hell would someone who lives for so long to manage to avoid considering his impact on people like viren and claudia?

GUESS WHAT? I HAVE A COUNTERPOINT-COUNTERPOINT: that is honestly sometimes what trauma can do to you. i mean, it's a really extreme case but like. the depression just gets so bad that you just don't give a fuck about the world anymore. you are in too much pain yourself to care that you're hurting people. you choose to feel nothing over feeling your pain and still being a good person. i'm not justifying this by any means, btw. it's just how the ball rolls, sometimes. dont ask how i know all this lmfao

but all that is just my guess of what is going on inside his head. i think this is one of the few times that my history of depression actually gives my arguments more credibility lol

[sorinethemastermind]

Footsteps - A TDP Theory

Claudia has long followed in her father's footsteps. Viren taught her everything, and she became his shadow.

This was ultimately her downfall. he led her down a dark and terrible path. But maybe... it will be her redemption as well.

Because what did Viren do in his final moments? He found himself, he opened his eyes, and he did the right thing. (Hopefully Claudia's story doesn't end as tragically).

So I think that come Season Seven Claudia will once again follow in her father's footsteps and do the right thing.

[its-kapi-wara]

Guys, all your theories are wrong:

Here's how they're going to defeat Aaravos, with Corvus challenging him to a musical battle just like in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"

That's it, you can all go home now 🗣

[chaoticgoodthiefling]

They have shown this amulet so many times, it has to mean something.

They've been highlighting it since Season Four, and we never even got to see the dangly earrings it matches!

It looks to me like a Dragon's Tooth, that's what I've been thinking of it as. With a rune on it. Let me know if any of you know anything more about this I just know it's gong to become important!!

[raylasgf]

so the new poster hahah you know what it looks like??? yeah you guys remember. in 109. when they were hatching zym in the eye of the storm,,,, and they look like they’re in the eye of the storm now as well,,,, and to hatch zym callum broke his primal stone,,, which just so happens to look exactly like the prison,,,, that he is holding in the poster,,,, anyway im scared

[theboredasexual]

WHAT I HOPE HAPPENS IN SEASON 7

Alright buckle up because this might get long. (also if somebody else has already made this theory I apologise)

To start, let's recap a few Important Events in season 6.

Rayla promises to kill Callum if he gets controlled by aaravos again.

Callum does the cleansing thing, and is told that if he does dark magic again he will be consumed by it.

We already know aaravos can control dark mages.

It's been said many times by many people that there is a lot of foreshadowing for Callum using dark magic again in season 7 to save Rayla, and therefore 'being consumed by it' and/or falling victim to Aaravos's control once more. In this scenario, Rayla has promised to kill him (and we all know Rayla refuses to break her promises).

There's a lot of takes on this. Some people say that Rayla will, for once, break her promise and refuse to kill Callum; but I frankly hope this DOESN'T happen, because i think it'll be wildly unsatisfying.

I've seen other people point out that there is one remaining Quasar Diamond, and it'd be an INSANE chekovs gun (or whatever the phrase is) to leave that unused. The general theory goes like this:

Callum uses dark magic to save Rayla

Aaravos controls Callum

Rayla kills Callum

Rayla uses the Quasar Diamond to bring Callum back to life

But here's the thing (and correct me if I'm wrong, ofc) isn't the Quasar Diamond unable to revive someone who's actually passed on into the afterlife? Aaravos was stuck in a prison similar to the coins, just made with primal magic, and the COINS were explicitly stated to be a plane between life and death where spirits got trapped. When Rayla's parents passed on, the left they coins but didn't return to mortality like Runaan.

So for the singular Quasar Diamond to revive a dead Callum, something ELSE would have to happen first...

Here's what I imagine in my dreams of Season 7:

At some point in the season, maybe Rayla or Callum has learnt the spell that Viren used to trap people in the coins (we know Callum has studies dark magic...I find it easy to believe that he could've written down the notes for it in his spellbook). I'm pretty sure the Staff of Ziard is required for this spell, so lets just say we have that as well. This will come back in a bit.

Rayla is in some dire moment, about to die, and Callum remembers their conversation at the ship - he remembers promising to choose the greater good over Rayla if it came to it. But he just can't. And somehow, who knows how, he has the opportunity to free her...but only by using Dark magic a third time.

It's no choice for him, of course. He does the spell and Rayla is saved but now Callum is corrupted for good and Aaravos possesses him again (or he just does something villain-arc-y idk). So now Rayla has to fulfill HER promise and even though she's beyond angry and heartbroken with Callum breaking his, she's not about to stoop to his level.

There's a dramatic-ass fight scene between warrior and mage - spells flying everywhere, Rayla battling with swords and arrows and all sorts. But eventually she overpowers him (because of course she does) - shoots an arrow through his heart or stabs him in the chest or something like that. And as he's there, bleeding out in her arms from a wound she inflicted, she gets an idea. A horrible, awful idea but its her only chance to fix this.

Without thinking (because how are you meant to think AT ALL when you're one true love soulmate is DYING-) she picks up the Staff of Ziard, finds the place in Callums book that lists the spell, and digs Runaans blank coin out of her pocket.... and suddenly Callum's dying body is gone and the coin is no longer blank and Rayla. Has. Done. Dark. Magic. GASP-

Anyway no idea what would happen after that but I just really like the idea of Rayla using dark magic and understanding Callum being unable to let her die. I feel like it'd be a GREAT moment and a really confronting and horrifying thing for her and daaammnnnnnn......

[no-cinnamon-for-synonym]

S6 E8 Title Puzzle: Wilting Flower Meta Post

This wilting flower + the ring around the rosy song is puzzle we got for the 6.08 title. Now, it's late, so this might not be very coherent.

TDP Official once used a wilting flower in a tweet

This was in response to when we received the assassins' names.

We see wilting flowers in the recent poster

Supposedly, this is happening at the Moon Nexus, and supposedly Aaravos is there. We also see spirits in the background.

I'm curious if the worlds between life and death are colliding? And the Moon Nexus is probably being destroyed ("ashes, ashes, we all fall down"). So perhaps the lotus flowers are wilting... because the barrier between life and death is gone, they are now one and the same, therefore the flowers wilting is basically an "Error! Cannot compute!" message.

So perhaps that's how Aaravos is broken free? If there are no barriers between the different dimensions, then he is free.

....... Callum, Claudia, what have you done?

[redr0sewrites]

so yall really werent gonna tell me ab this...

i am going to commit atrocities. why is he crying.

ANYWAYS THE OTHER ELF MIGHT BE HIS LOVE INTEREST SO THATS COOL!!!! IM CURRENTLY TRYING TO BEAT OFF THE LITTLE VOICE IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD SCREAMING THAT SHOULD BE ME WITH A STICK 😇

[winter-tdp]

It's the Novablade it's the Novablade it's the Novablade it's the Novablade it's the flipping Novablade IT'STHENOOVABLADE THE STAFF IS THE NOVABLADE AND NOBODY WILL CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE IT'S THE FLIPPING NOVABLADE AND WHEN IT TURNS OUT TO BE THE NOVABLADE I'LL LAUGH IN THE FACE OF ANYONE WHO SAYS IT ISN'T I JUST KNOW IT BECAUSE TDP WOULD DO THAT KIND OF THING I BET I'M RIGHT IT'S THE FLIPPING NOVABLADE LISTEN TO ME IT'S THE NOVABLADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dumblefork]

So, I have this theory that Callum needs to do dark magic to unlock any magical arcanums.

No guys, hear me out. The first time he did dark magic was to unchain that dragon Soren and Claudia hunted down. Then he immediately fell into a stupor - which we know is something anyone who does dark magic for the first time falls into - and learned how to use the Air Arcanum.

And the next time he used Dark Magic to transform his chains into snake in finnegrin's ship. And then he somehow ended up learning the true meaning of the Ocean Arcanum.

It's just a theory of mine, but what if this is the case?

And if it IS the case, then doesn't it mean that Callum has successfully blocked his path to understand any other arcanum by accepting the celestial elves help in cleansing the dark magic from his soul?

[weebssecretattic]

Thoughts on the teaser:

So by this I do feel like we will get a rayllum solo mission like in s3, which will possibly become the catalyst for their rekindling. But rayllum aside, what if this is the star nexus? And is it just me or does the two things on both side look like aaravos's cocoons? I think the left one can possibly be a portal, I'm pretty sure the right one is a cocoon with the web like pattern... What could this be about?

I'm fairly certain this place and the above place are different. Here it's like am icy tundra and the above one doesn't look very cold, infact you can see clouds on the window so the above one might be very high up, like mountain or sum. So I think rayllum will be traveling to two different locations. I do wonder why the sky wing elves have their eyes tied and what the star symbol on their jacket represents. I'll talk more about this specific part in a separate post.

I feel like that's the bather lodge on fire and right is zym and gang going to look for/finding zubeya

Now this is my most favorite visual. That's probably the sun seed but what exactly it's gonna do I have no idea.

Anyways I just wanted to spread out some of my immediate thoughts on the teaser, I'm really excited for s6 and tbh it's coming out sooner then I expected. July 26 mark you calendars TDP nation ♡

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

Book 6, Episode 1: Startouched Analysis/Commentary

Gotta love how it opens with Ripples in the water reflecting the stars. Go read the short stories if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Aaravos hesitates before crumbling Viren which is the funniest shit to me. This hurts more though, having seen the whole season.

Gotta love how Terry basically said Viren just ran away to go die like an angsty teen.

He got a new son to orphan les goooo

I find the framing of this pretty interesting. Viren is still in the dark while Claudia is standing in the light. You'd think it'd be the other way around. Perhaps it symbolizes how he has come to terms with his dark side, and is going to face it. While he leaves Claudia who, hopefully, can still be redeemed. Because ultimately this isn't her fault, it's his. He's the dark one.

At first I thought it was cruel for Viren to leave Claudia, but I've come to a realization. Claudia is better off without him. He is the reason she's done all this, and nothing will change if she keeps having to save him. She needs to let go. I'm not sure if this was intentional on Viren's part, but he made the right choice nonetheless.

Man, what is it with this show and blindfolds? So far they have showed up in Harrow's little flashback speech, on the Celestial elves, and here. Is this anything??

I was expecting to be annoyed by the baitlings' presence in this season, but they didn't actually get in the way much. Glad the writers read the room. They were mostly just used to fill the comic relief void that soren has left.

Also, I love how Jason Simpson still managed to weasel his way into the High Council through Barius, since Viren isn't exactly, yk, in that position.

DESTROY IT? CALLUM, HAVE YOU EVEN LISTENED TO THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES?

THE TABLE, CALLUM. THE TABLE!!!! Bro really be like "it's remarkably easy to buy a Novablade in central Starscraper."

Also, the way Rayla says "pearl" sounds like "peril."

They play Aaravos's little motif-melody-thingy throughout this scene. Yk, from I See You and Follow my Lead. Glad to cross that off my bingo card.

You can't see it here but the eye-movements in this scene are great. I think the animation and lighting really shine in this season. Pun intended.

Barius doing some casual baking at like 1 AM or something. Bro got insomnia /j. I mean, who are these for? They don't have fridges so they can't save em for long. Maybe Callum got him some sorta magical fridge. Or- wait- maybe they do have, like, a primitive fridge. Was that a thing? Oh actually, maybe Callum and Rayla just go to bed early. Lmfao

And there we have it, the first Viren-Callum parallel of the season. Just like episode 1 of season 1, he barges into the King's bedroom.

Alright, so. Other than this line being hilarious, I'm thinking the frustrating switcharoo that turns the latter half of the season into a bloodbath happened here. Was pretty foolish of Callum to think the pearl would be safe with him on his way out.

Ezran is saddened by everyone's departure. I'm not sure why, but it's worth noting.

They pretty much have her say "my dad is gone" just so that using this clip as a trailer wouldn't spoil anything lmao. I've been waiting to say that since Wondercon.

And now Claudia is the one leaving, as she steps out of the purifying light of the setting sun. Everyone, please give Terry a round of applause for continuing to love her despite this.

And now for the credits:

These are similar. Opeli is from the credits of this episode, and Harrow, from the credits of one from Season 2.

We need this to be a shirt.

Ahhh so Aaravos isn't the only Startouch elf with a star on their chest. I might be a little late to noticing that. Idk.

WHY THE HELL IS TERRY THE ONLY ONE CRYING FOR SIR SPARKLEPUFF? WHAT THE FUCK?

One last thing. Is it just me or is the outro song a little different? Music people, help me. I must know.

But yeah, banger episode, banger season, banger show. Imma be doin' these for all the season 6 episodes. At this rate, they will all have more words than Fallout Equestria. /j

Alright, time to take my meds. 💀

[sorinethemastermind]

Terry - The Dragon Prince S7 Theories

According to the unofficial TDP wiki Season Seven is about;

"Following Sol Regem’s destructive rampage on Katolis, which saw the death of Viren, a grief-stricken Claudia has been manipulated by Aaravos into freeing him from his prison, against the wishes of her boyfriend Terry."

I think there's a lot there to unpack there. And very important things to unpack for Terry's storyline. I already have a post about what I think will happen with Claudia in the next season, and I think that Terry will be a crucial part of this. So let's talk about him a bit.

I address "a grief-stricken Claudia has been manipulated by Aaravos" in my Claudia post. So let's focus on "against the wishes of her boyfriend Terry"

Claudia might not know that Aaravos was manipulating her, but Terry does. He even warns her. But she's so desperate for direction, so hurt by the loss of her father, that she doesn't see through Aaravos' manipulations and releases him anyway.

Terry had been there for Claudia through thick and thin, and he's always been able to see that no matter what terrible things she's done, she's had a reason. She's done it all for her family.

However dangerous.

However vile.

So I don't think that he'll leave her. Instead, I think that him standing by her is going to be part of what helps her finally choose the right path.

Terry doesn't use her need for direction like other people in her life have. She gives him every chance to, but he stands by her. Not by what he could turn her into. Or what talents of hers he might use. He's there for her, and I think he's going to help her learn to find her own direction and make her own choices. He's going to teach her to tell herself what to do.

This could happen in one of two ways, I think.

Terry will warn Claudia about Aaravos' intentions, continuing to do so until Aaravos begins to view him as a threat and attempts to turn her against Terry. Claudia may be tempted to choose Aaravos, but will ultimately choose Terry and someone who loves her just the way she is. Someone who wants to listen to what she has to say and what she wants to do.

Alternatively, Terry will pull a Soren. Let me explain this a bit more.

Rayla and Callum, even Ezran, have all seem to have given up hope that Claudia can turn good. But Soren hasn't.

I think that a possible storyline of the next season is Terry realizing that Claudia is being led further and further down a dark path, and going for help to lead her away from it. Because remember, he's met Soren and I'm sure he's heard about him too.

In Season Three, Soren helps Ezran, but remains by Viren's side.

I think it's possible that Terry will find our heroes and ask for their help, specifically Soren's, in guiding Claudia back from the brink of darkness. He'll stay by Claudia like he said, but to truly stand by her and try to protect her, he'll have to go behind her back to get help to save her from Aaravos.

After all, Claudia still has people out there who love her for her.

[star-touch-child]

I have a theory (or three) on the Secret to the Star Arcanum

So first off, I am an utter SLUT for Startouch lore. Obviously, look at the handle. But like, I'm currently in the works of a fic for a Startouch-descended character and even creating constellations and stories for them in the TDP world. Like, I'm down bad for them as I am for Rayllum (and trust that I'm down BAD).

The thought for the star arcanum's secret was, of course, a shower thought that I think really works:

Eternity is ever-changing, and that change is the only constant in this or any world.

I think about how the stars move constantly throughout the year and how the Startouch elves are essentially immortal gods looking down on mortals from the starry night sky. I think about how our favorite characters grow and change throughout the duration of TDP as a whole and how the world of TDP changes from the beginning of Book One to the end of Book Five thus far.

Everyone and everything is constantly changing and shifting, no matter how bad we wish it wouldn't or wish to go back to how life was before. Sure, you could say this kinda ties more with the ocean arcanum with how there are depths you just don't know and things you can't control - something that comes as a byproduct of constant change - but when you think about how the stars move throughout the year as the world turns round and the immortality of the Startouch elves that are still very much a mystery to us - and I feel especially with the show progressing, seeing our favorite characters grow and change along with the world they live in - it makes a lot of sense that that could be the secret to the stars - as well as a nice poetic way to wrap up the show or something.

Edit: However, upon actually looking at the wiki (because I tend to get ahead of myself lol) and further reflection, it could very well be tied into the recurring theme of destiny.

I look at what the stars are associated with according to the fandomwiki: vision, truth, intelligence, otherworldly, reality-altering, timelessness, mystery, destiny, and wishes. And I think about the constant recurring theme in Callum's arc about destiny

So perhaps the star arcanum can answer the question on destiny? Just a thought.

ALTHOUGH, I am also entertaining one final, possible secret: that there is none. It simply just is.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, I know, but the wiki also states that many have tried and agonized over the secret of the stars and could not find the words to truly describe it. And when you look once more at the associations to the stars - vision, truth, intelligence, otherworldly, reality-altering, timelessness, mystery, destiny, and wishes - it wouldn't be totally crazy for the secret the all-knowing First Elves were born with knowing is that there simply isn't a secret. That all that exists simply exists in the time and space in which it exists.

And I'm kinda leaning towards this theory now that I read it out loud.