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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

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A Tiadrin theory

I woke up this morning with a sudden headcanon about Tiadrin, and as I poked at it, it filled out nicely, so I’m gonna go ahead and call it a theory at this point.

It gets angsty, as all good Moonshadow theories do. If your heart doesn’t weigh 6 tons by the time you reach the end of this post, I didn’t capture the feeling properly.

Several bits of detail flutter around this mysterious woman, and I’ve theorized various versions of her circumstances, her relationship with Runaan and Ethari, her former position before the Storm Spire, the reasons she went there, and the reasons Runaan was so hellbent on avenging her dishonor.

I don’t think any of them landed as well or tied together as neatly as this one, though. Hence “theory” instead of just “headcanon.” Here we go:

FIrstly, some meta information. This is a fun tweet, but in this post I’m looking directly at “belief systems as sources of both comfort and restraint” and at the “weight of guilt” and “cycles of trauma” lines, in regards to Moonshadow culture, and specifically Moonshadow assassin training.

And raise your hand if you’ve been looking further afield than the front-and-center Janaya-with-Soren nod from “ripped women who teach soft boys to stab,” because I have. TDP is full of parallels and imperfect mirrors.

So, in the spirit of soft yet angsty cycles and the ripped women who perpetuate them, Theory Part I: Tiadrin trained Runaan, because she was the leader of the assassins before he was.

She’s referred to as a mastermind. Assassin leaders need to be good with plans of all sizes. We’ve seen how Runaan silently adapts to chaos and doesn’t tell anyone what his new plans actually are. He’s a good leader. But he also had to learn those skills from someone. Whoever instructed him was a tactical genius, and also very Moonshadow, and Runaan was an adept student.

Also, Tiadrin is a goddamn badass. She’s several inches shorter than Lain, Runaan, Ethari, and Viren. But she is a powerhouse in battle. She knows her physics well enough to drag this 6′2″ human battle mage skidding across the floor. Monster thighs, monster intellect.

As a 5′4″ woman who trained in jujitsu for several years, let me just say: gender equality in battle is great, but physics does not care. It will crush your popsicle-stick ass if you try to chuck a 250 lb person across the room and your math is off. The most accurate fighters are the ones who know how hard physics hits back when you’re sloppy.

Tiadrin earned every inch of respect, and every inch of her thigh circumference, the old-fashioned way. She worked for it, all day every day. Runaan does the same thing. He might have half a foot of height on her, but he trains like the world will crush him if he’s not perfect. And that’s very Moonshadow assassin in its own right, because it will, and it tried. Tiadrin knew what she needed. And she knew what Runaan, soft boy that he is, needed. And she made sure she trained it into him, all day every day.

Tiadrin is one of the reasons that Runaan survived the fight in Harrow’s chamber. She made him the fighter he is, the person he is, and that was just enough to pull him through... so he could see his own mentor trapped in a coin. Yay, thanks Viren.

Theory Part II: Runaan’s squad was made up of all the elves Tiadrin has personally trained, or trained by proxy.

If Tiadrin was Runaan’s trainer and mentor, then her honor was his honor. And when she supposedly faltered and fled at the Storm Spire, that suddenly cast him, as an individual assassin and as the current assassin leader, in a terrible light. If his mentor was a coward, what did she teach him? Would he also duck and run when things got hopeless, and abandon his duty?

The doubt that must’ve swirled around him when the village learned the terrible news about Lain and Tiadrin must’ve sliced right through him. Thousand-yard stare, biggest internal Oh No ever. Runaan lives to serve his people, and to have them doubt him, after all he has done to train them and protect them from harm, would be the worst kind of pain. He had to make it right.

But not just him. Assassins seem to take solo missions even for their first kill, if Eljaal’s covered shoulders are any indication. You can Moonshadow your feels if you don’t have to watch your friend kill someone, if you don’t have anyone watching while you stab someone to death. You can pretend it’s all serene and just and smooth and valid and honorable. You can hold to your love of life and dance right past your embrace of death, if no one else sees it. But Runaan’s mission had 6 members. They were definitely going to have to watch each other murder people. Why?

Tiadrin’s honor was their honor. An extended family of brothers, sisters, cousins, fosterlings, anyone who was drawn to Tiadrin, or her to them, bonded together over their family feels and protective instincts. They were family. And then their leader fell, her honor crushed.

They had to make it right.

They all carried Tiadrin’s honor with their own, taught by her personally, regarded as honorable assassins. Until she seemed to have a fatal flaw in her character. Then everyone wondered if that flaw got passed down, too. The assassins had to prove that it hadn’t been, for the sake of their people, and for all of Xadia who trusted them to take out threats in the dark. They had to go set right Tiadrin’s “mistake” and take Harrow for Zym’s death. All of them. Every single one, no exceptions.

No exceptions. That’s why Rayla had to go, too. Tiadrin taught Runaan everything he knew about being an assassin, and when she moved to the Storm Spire, Runaan dutifully passed Rayla’s mother’s teachings to Rayla herself, feeling like part of the family, an essential connection between mother and daughter, between assassin mentor and mentee. He tried to get it just right, just perfect, so Rayla would feel like she’d been trained by her actual mom as much as possible. Not just because Tiadrin was Rayla’s mother, but because Runaan respects Tiadrin’s prowess so much. She was the best, and every bit of Runaan’s efforts to be his best reflects his respect for her.

You don’t get to be the assassin leader unless you’re the best there is. Runaan knows that from both sides. And just like Tiadrin did with him, he does his best to teach Rayla everything she needs to stay safe and alive, so she can do her duty too, and come home safe to her family every day.

And, in the end, part of that duty had to be avenging her mentor’s mentor, her own mother, by accompanying Runaan on his mission. Her lessons were from Tiadrin, one step removed. If there was a flaw in her training, no one would trust her when it was her turn to lead the assassins, and she’s not even done training yet! Rayla understood Moonshadow honor, assassin honor. She was driven to ask Runaan to take her with him, and he could see exactly where she was coming from. Their honor was tangled up with Tiadrin’s. They couldn’t back out. They had to go to Katolis, them and everyone else Tiadrin had trained.

That’s why the binding ribbons came out. They were in a do-or-die situation, in the most literal sense.

They could not go home in failure. If they all failed, it would take out a whole line of assassin training, possibly the same one that had lasted for countless generations (okay maybe we can count them and there are like 30) and crush the Moonshadows’ spirits. And they’d literally rather die than see that happen. They were all ready to give their lives to restore Tiadrin’s honor, and their own, because without her legacy, there would be such a crater in the assassin corps that it might never recover.

Yes, this is basically my angsty “Runaan’s found family went into battle together and most of them died” headcanon again, but this time with a solid theory behind it. I’m not sorry. I love this angsty idea, it’s horrible. Do you see the cycle of trauma? I’ve got one more part to add, which may make it clearer.

Theory Part III: Assassin leaders always go serve at the Storm Spire once they successfully train their own replacement.

In this theory’s version of Why Laindrin Went To The Storm Spire, Tiadrin was always going to end up at the Storm Spire, once she became the assassin leader. That’s where the veteran assassin leader goes, see, to liaison between the dragon throne and the current Moonshadow leader. They know the assassins’ skills far better than any Skywings or dragons do, and they know the leader in charge of them, so they can give guidance or direction as needed, or simply phrase the Dragon King or Queen’s request in such language that the assassin leader knows intuitively what really needs to be done.

Yeah, Tiadrin writing Runaan mission directives. I can see it.

Tiadrin’s mentor would’ve left for the Spire when Tiadrin got promoted to leader. The person she trusted most in the world, who had trained her, left her behind, only to communicate by long distance. Moonshadow deniability, amirite--we’re not stabbing people, we’re sending tactical correspondence, yep that’s it. But Tiadrin was still surrounded by Runaan and the other young assassins, and she bonded with them all, and life was bright.

Then, the shadow came once again. Runaan was an excellent student, and she knew he was ready. Maybe she delayed, and delayed, Moonshadowing her reasons. Maybe she wanted the chance to bring life into the world, to try to balance out some of the death she had dealt. Maybe she wanted a few more years of domestic life in the Silvergrove with all her favorite elves, to bolster her heart for the years to come. Maybe her mentor at the Spire was up to shenaniganry in dragon politics and she wanted to buy them more time to lay those plans in place.

Knowing Tiadrin even the slightest bit, I will assume it was all this and more. But eventually, she couldn’t put things off any longer. She had to go fulfill her duty to the dragon throne and join the Dragonguard as the representative of the Moonshadow assassins who had bound themselves to the protection of Xadia long ago. She had to walk away from her bright life, her family, her friends, her allies, and climb up into that misty stone tower, to spend who knows how long away from everything she knew and loved.

And she did. She chose to walk away, for love of Xadia. She took her beloved husband with her, but she left the Silvergrove, Xadia’s protection, and her own daughter’s upbringing in the hands of the elf she chose to replace her. The soft boy she’d taught to stab, who would teach her baby girl to stab, too.

Because this is The Way.

I know I’ve had an angsty headcanon that assassins don’t retire. But, consider this: maybe one of them can. One of Tiadrin’s many plans could have been counting on Runaan’s extreme prowess and devotion to Rayla. If Tiadrin knew that she could return to the Silvergrove in peace and retire there with Lain once Runaan trained Rayla to take his place as the assassin leader, then she could live in the Silvergrove again for the rest of her life, and also get to see Rayla grown big and strong and become the assassin leader herself, another proud elf in a long line of honor and tradition. She might feel that was a big accomplishment, considering the dangers they all face. And it would be.

Yes, this would hinge on the fact that Runaan would have to leave the Silvergrove to replace Tiadrin at the Storm Spire, to serve as Rayla’s liaison to the dragon throne. Cycles of trauma, remember? Tiadrin can’t have all of her family back in one place, ever again. She has to love and train someone enough to put them through the life that she’s having to live, and she has to be strong enough not to let that break her. And then, she has to choose between them. She chose Runaan first, so that she could hope to choose Rayla later. She trusted him with all the future happiness of her heart. And he did his best with it.

But they didn’t quite make it, in the end, because of Viren.

I know this has been a lot of angst. I know. But there is a moonlit lining to this theory, and I think we all need to consider it. If there is a cycle of taking the assassin leader out of the Silvergrove to serve the dragon throne for ancient promise reasons, then if that ancient promise is ever rescinded or redressed in an effective way, the family won’t need to keep yeeting loved ones out of its orbit. And if assassins cease to be a necessary evil as a result, then no one will have to leave, or stab, again. At least, not for the same angsty reasons. They could stay together and never need to leave again.

It won’t be easy to break such a cycle. It might be impossible. But if anyone can manage it, it’ll be Tiadrin, and her family.

extra headcanon for this theory:

Tiadrin, packing up for the Storm Spire: One last thing, Runaan.

Runaan, stoically attentive because what are feels on the day your mentor leaves you: Yes, Tiadrin?

Tiadrin: Ethari will need to pick an apprentice to replace him, too. He should start looking now.

Runaan: Why? Only the Silvergrove’s Master Craftsman gets to pick an apprentice, and Ethari isn’t--

Tiadrin: *wink” Not yet, he’s not.

Runaan: Tiadrin, please, what have you done?

Tiadrin: I want to come back here someday, Runaan. I want to see your good work with Rayla. And I can’t do that if you flat-out refuse to leave your husband when Avizandum calls for you to replace me. So he needs to be ready to leave, too.

Runaan: I, I, I would nev-- I couldn’t--

Tiadrin: *patting his shoulder briskly as she strides out* Mmhmm, sure thing, kid. The council votes him in next Thursday. Be good while I’m gone! I want to find this place exactly the way I’m leaving it. Lain, honey, get your coat!

Lain, in the next room: Yes, Tiadrin!

Runaan, soft-eyed, to the silence in her wake: Yes, Tiadrin.

#tdp #tdp theory #tdp angst #laindrin #tiadrin #runaan #rayla #tdp headcanons #i liked her before but now i adore her

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gregorygrim · 4 years

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Dragon Prince Hot Takes

!!! Full Spoiler For “The Dragon Prince” Seasons 1-3!!!

So I finally got around to watching The Dragon Prince. Timely, I know, but better late than never i guess. I’m not completely caught up yet as I only got as far as S3E7 “Hearts of Cinder” in this first sitting. Considering I haven’t binged any series in almost two years, I think that’s pretty respectable. This means I won’t discuss the last few episodes here, except for a couple of things I was unfortunately spoiled for already, hence full spoilers.

These are basically my first thoughts and opinions after the binge and a good night’s sleep. It’s gonna be a lot so if you don’t care or don’t want spoilers…

TL;DR: 7½/10. Generally enjoyable, there are some aspects I’m not exactly fan of, but no dealbreakers

Firstly to everyone who told me that this was the new ATLA: you all need to rewatch Avatar stat! Like seriously. There are definitely parallels and given the cast and crew I think that’s what they were going for too (which is why I think it’s fair to compare the two), but still, no.

Secondly I love most of the worldbuilding and love that the series at least tries to give it to us in a bit of a non-linear fashion, even if it is kind of clumsy at times. I know some people are put off by expository dialogue and flashbacks, but I’m an epic fantasy nerd, I need that sweet, sweet lore to live as much as you mortals need food.

I like that there was clearly an effort made to integrate the worldbuilding in more subtle ways. For example you may initially find it kind of weird that all these different human ethnicities are existing perfectly integrated in what looks like a medieval society, until you remember from the opening monologue that the Human Kingdoms are the result of a massive diaspora following the human exodus from Xadia, so obviously people got all mixed up everywhere. It’s representation with an excellent in-world reason and that just brings me joy.

I also love the magic system(s) even though we haven’t really gone into that just yet. it really feels like there was a genuine effort made to create underlying mechanics for the magic rather than just making each spell a vaguely elemental themed ability. I really hope we’ll dive deeper into that in coming seasons.

I also like the little nods to other works of fantasy: Ezran’s ability to talk with animals is a reference to Tolkien’s world where some royal bloodlines had the ability to speak with animals, specifically birds; Primal Magic and its spells being cast with Ancient Draconic runes and words might be reminiscent of the Ancient Language from the Inheritance Cycle etc.

Thirdly the main cast is great. Callum, Ezran and Rayla are all interesting and relatable characters in their own right and as a group. I’m not going into each of them individually here, but while I think the series as a whole falls short of ATLA, as protagonist parties go I dare say this one is nearly on nearly on par with the gAang.¹

And yes, I love Bait, which I really did not expect following the first few episodes. I love his weird pug-toad-chameleon design, I love that he works like a flashbang whenever somebody says a quote from Scarface (I wish they hadn’t dropped that later on) and I love how done he is with everything and everyone at all times. I’ve only had him for 25 episodes, but if anything happened to him I would kill all of my followers and then myself.

On top of that, and speaking as someone who god knows is really not into shipping, I love Rayla and Callum’s relationship. It’s believable, it’s refreshing and it brings out the best in both characters without changing basically anything about them. Just two good friends who fell in love. A++, maybe even S tier.

Unfortunately though I can’t sing the same kind of praises about the villains. None of them are terrible (as in terribly written, most of them are pretty awful people), but with one exception they just don’t stand up to the protagonists in quality.

I could simply not take Viren seriously. Even now that is probably the single most powerful magic user in the world, he just has such strong Karen energy, every time he finishes a speech I am overcome with the urge to say “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” and it does not help the mood. I’m not even sure why. It might’ve been the voice because the guy who did Viren (Jason Simpson) also does a lot of kinda slimy characters in various anime dubs, it might be that over-the-top walking stick, idk.

What I’m saying is that as a primary antagonist he simply did not work for me. Which is doubly a shame because this kind of tarnishes the real “Big Bad” of this story by proxy. Aaravos, even as an invisible ghost, with his voice coming out of a caterpillar and next to no info on his backstory, has more style and gravity than all the human antagonists combined. It helps that he is by far the best designed character and Erik Dellums has the voice of a young god, but I’d argue even without that unfair advantage he has the potential to be a top tier villain. While he is stuck as Viren’s “little bug-pal” though he is just being dragged down.

(I’m aware that as of the final episode the caterpillar familiar is undergoing metamorphosis, probably to create a new body for Aaravos’ spirit to inhabit outside of the magic mirror, so I’m definitely hyped for more of him in the coming seasons.)

As for Soren and Claudia, I’ve got mixed feelings. This was one more aspect of the show that a lot of people compared to Avatar and while I see the parallels to Zuko & Azula, they are still very different, at least where Claudia is concerned. I’d also just like to mention that a lot of people told me that they thought the direction in which their storylines went were really surprising and I can’t disagree more. I predicted that Soren would defect to the protagonists on episode 5 right after Viren told him to kill the princes and I knew Claudia was going to stick with her father from episode 12 onward. My point is, it didn’t feel like some kind of plot twist, the way some people made it out to be, and which I don’t think was the intent.

I definitely got the sense that Soren was at least a Zuko-type character, though still not a Zuko clone, and as with Zuko I was consistently able to empathise and sympathise with him and his predicaments. I also appreciated that his dilemma is the result of his convictions and not him being kind of dense, which would’ve been all to easy and probably would’ve ruined his character for me. As it stands he is extremely milktoast, but perfectly functional for his purpose in the story and I can definitely see him evolving further and getting more interesting as we go on.

Claudia is where it gets complicated. Again, I can see the Azula parallels. But unlike that character, who is her father’s animal 110%, Claudia doesn’t strike me as a victim of Viren’s manipulation the way Soren undoubtably is. The way she talks about and uses Dark Magic, how she talks down to Soren and how even Viren finds it difficult to communicate with her, tells me as an audience member that she is an independent person. Which tells me that the cruelty and enthusiasm for causing harm she regularly displays is her own will. And that was before she straight up leads Callum on to manipulate him.

On the other hand I can absolutely relate to her devotion to her family, her big sister role (even though she is younger than Soren) and the way both the separation of her parents before the story and Soren’s injury in episode 16 must’ve affected her because of this. I know that, if my brother had become paralysed from the neck down and I knew a way to heal him, I would not have hesitated to kill that fawn either. Then again her relationship with her father is very different from parental relationships I am familiar with, so I can’t really say I see why she is so devoted to him, other than she promised her mother to stay with him years ago? ¯\(o_Ō)/¯

So basically Claudia falls into an emotional grey space for me. I can’t really tell how to feel about her either way and I’ll just have to see where she goes from here, which, while fine, isn’t necessarily great for an end of season cliffhanger imo.

Seeing as I’ve already talked about some of the show’s shortcomings, I think it’s time to dive into some of the what I would consider flaws.

Firstly this show needed at least 12 episode seasons. I have never made a secret out of my dislike for the modern short seasons and while I recognise that in the current climate in the industry giving everything full 25 episode seasons isn’t really doable, the pacing of this show, especially for the first season is just outright bad at times. It works as of the second season, but the first season alternately feels like it’s either rushing through or crawling along the whole way through.

The believability of Rayla’s and the princes’ relationship really suffers from this the most. It comes a bit out of nowhere on the boat ride and is then taken for granted way to quickly. Like Callum, seriously, this girl tried to kill you and your brother not even a day ago and you are currently cut off from all allies you have ever had until now. A little skepticism isn’t misplaced here. I also wold’ve liked if we’d just gotten a bit more of a sense of movement with the characters. I get that this is not the kind of show where we can just make an entire episode about the characters travelling and camping, intercut with plots centred around a more expansive supporting cast, but still I really would’ve preferred if Xadia didn’t feel quite so around the corner.

Another issue is with setup and payoff, which I think is partially a consequence of the pacing as well. A lot of smaller plot points are set up within the same episode as the payoff just wreak havoc on the narrative structure. A good example is the episode where they ride down the river in a boat and Bait tires to go into the water, but is saved by Ezran, who then explains the story behind Glowtoads and how they are pefect bait for large water predators. Then Bait falls into the water and is attacked by a massive water monster. This happens within five minutes of one episode and never comes up again. To me that looks like sign of rushed editing, which is probably not entirely the crew’s fault, given that they are on a schedule from Netflix, but it’s still a point of critique.

It unfortunately also manifests in the occasional line of horribly forced dialogue, often for things we can literally see happening on screen. Again, this is mostly the case in the earlier episodes, but it never completely goes away.

Finally, and this is where i get into serious issues that made me want to write this, we gotta talk about representation in this show.

First: disabled representation, meaning Amaya. Why is Amaya deaf? Because it’s good to have disabled representation.

Why is Amaya deaf and a high-ranking military officer? Because they didn’t think it through.

I know this may be a contentious opinion, but it is my belief that the purpose of representation, particularly of disabilities characters may suffer from, in fiction is to, y’know, represent people as they are in life. That includes especially the struggles they face and have to overcome, sometimes their whole life. This is not just me talking out of my ass either. A couple years ago I discussed this with several people that are disabled, specifically blind or otherwise severely visually impaired, in a different context obviously, and the general consensus was that it’s better to have representation that shows their life and their abilities as they are, rather than how they might wish they could be.

A mute or deaf person cannot be a medieval fantasy army general, no matter how good they might be in melee combat or who’s sister they are, because at the end of the day, they’re not able to give commands while they are holding a sword and shield. That such a massive logical oversight, especially in comparison to the extremely well done example of representation I mentioned above, and has so little impact on the plot that it leads me to believe, this aspect of Amaya’s character was tacked on in the last minute without being given any thought for the sole reason of the story having a disabled person in it. All this does is necessitate the existence of two otherwise entirely unnecessary characters, Gren and Kazi, both of which achieve nothing, aside from sometimes being literal set dressing.

That is where representation ends and tokenism begins.

And unfortunately this generally lacklustre attitude also extends to the LGBT+ representation on the show.

As of S3E7 “Hearts of Cinder” we have had two onscreen gay couples on the show (onscreen in the sense that both partners were onscreen and they were somehow confirmed to be in a relationship on the show). One of these, the queens of Duren, literally die in the same flashback they are introduced in, which incidentally also features them invading a foreign nation to poach a rare animal and subsequently starting the conflict at the series’ core. Not a great look.

Aside from serving as a tragic backstory for their daughter, the most impact they had on my viewing experience was that they made wonder how the fuck royal succession works in Duren. (People who know me are rolling their eyes right now because I’m bringing anarchism into this Dragon Prince review, but I’m telling you, this why fantasy monarchies aren’t compatible with LGBT+ politics in the same setting. Dynastic governments are inherently bigoted, you can’t have it both ways.)

The other couple are Runaan and Ethari, Rayla’s caretakers, although if I’m being honest you wouldn’t be able tell based on Runaan’s treatment of Rayla in the first episode. By the time we actually meet Ethari and find out about their relationship with Rayla, Runaan is suffering “a fate worse than death” (direct quote from the show) trapped in a gold coin.

I mean come on. That’s about as “technically not ‘bury your gays’” as it gets.

I think I need to reiterate here that my point is not that this show or its creators are somehow malicious. As i stated in the TL;DR: I don’t think this is a dealbreaker for liking this show. But it does demonstrate that they are prone to slipping to some potentially harmful tropes and this needs to be criticised and pointed out to them.

In conclusion, I really love this show. It’s not ATLA, it never will be, nothing else will ever be ATLA no matter how badly (and terribly) Netflix tries. But it does and should not have to be.

What it has to do though is improve. A lot of the building blocks are already there, such as Aaravos or Claudia’s development, Callum’s father, the origin of Ezran’s ability, the purpose of the “Key of Aaravos”, the true fate of King Harrow (we all know his soul is in the bird, right?) etc. Some things like the treatment of Amaya’s disability unfortunately won’t be fixable as far as I can tell, but if they at least manage to fix the gay representation I can make my peace with that.

¹ I know I said I wouldn’t go into each of the characters individually, but a) you should never trust a stranger on the internet and b) I really want to talk a bit about Callum. Specifically the “mystery” of why the hell he is connected to the Sky Primal. I write “mystery” because I think it’s fairly obvious from whence this talent came: there is only one humanoid species we know of with innate access to the Sky Arcanum and one of Callum’s parent’s is unidentified, presumed dead. 2+2=4. Callum’s father was a Skywing Elf. That’s why he recognised Nyx’s boomerang weapon. He remembered one like it either from his very early childhood (remember that he has photographic memory) or Sarai kept one and he found it at some point.

On top of that the name “Callum” or at least the pronunciation is clearly derived from Latin “caelum” meaning “sky” or “weather” and I already mentioned that Ancient Draconic is just bad Latin. It’s not very subtle. Unless they pull a complete 180 concerning the lore about Primal Magic he’s definitely going to be a half-elf, which would also just so happen to make him the perfect mediator between the Human Kingdoms and Xadia. Hmm, it’s almost as if they are planning ahead.

My question: How the fuck did that happen? Or rather: how did that fuck happen? I don’t think even Harrow knew or he probably would’ve a) paid more attention when Sarai advised against poaching the Magma Titan, because obviously she’s gotten around Xadia more than him, if y’know what i’m sayin’ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) or at least b) put it in his final letter to Callum. Unfortunately we know basically nothing about Sarai except that she was a soldier alongside Amaya and already had Callum before marrying Harrow. So does Amaya know? This is probably the most interesting plot thread in the whole story and as far as my friends told me it’s not going to be touched on anymore in the last two episodes than it already has thus far, which is basically not at all.

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thehappyspaceman · 5 years

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Assorted Thoughts on The Dragon Prince Book Three

Hey guys, TheHappySpaceman here. The Dragon Prince. What more do I need to say about it other than what I’ve already covered in my first two reviews? Well, a lot actually.

I was impressed with the show’s improvement from Book One to Book Two and was super excited for where it was set to go in the future. Since then, I have joined the TDP fanbase and supported the show by making memes, reactions, AMVs, oneshots, and plenty of fanart. However, when info dropped last month about Aaron Ehasz and the workplace environment at Wonderstorm potentially not being so good, I didn’t know what to make of it, and as more and more info came out, I became even more confused. Though the fanbase was becoming incredibly toxic due to the near-constant infighting, I promised myself that I would still stick around for Book Three, seeing how excited I had been for it before the controversy, but I almost wondered if it would be worth it.

So, after so many accusations and hollow words thrown around, and after nine months of anticipation… how does it hold up?

…Oh! Okay, wow, this season was a ton of fun. And yes, it’s exactly as good as I figured it would be after seeing Book Two. Everything I could have hoped for from this series really goes full-force here and it rarely if ever lets off the brakes.

The Story

After a brief intro as exposition, the plot starts immediately after the events of the Book Two finale where Callum and Rayla have entered Xadia and have to face many challenges along the way, including archdragon Sol Regem, Rayla’s hometown, and a rogueish elf thief. All the while, Ezran arrives back to Katolis and has to face the challenges of dealing with being king of a country that he finds in chaos, being pressured to enter war and be the king that Harrow was, while Soren and Claudia are confronted with the decision between helping their own father wage war against Xadia or joining their friends.

The Characters

This season introduced a number of interesting new characters. We got to meet some more dragons, for one thing, and while hearing them speak was pretty jarring at first (they talk normal English, which is strange since we’ve never heard them speak before), it turned out to be pretty awesome in establishing the characters. Most notably, we meet Sol Regem, the dragon who appeared in the opening of the series and was on many of the posters, and I’m surprised how he kind of turns out to be a major dick. Since was on so much of the promo materials for the show, I wasn’t figuring this, but he wound up being a racist jackass who was willing to kill our protagonists, including the young dragon prince Zym, all because of his hatred of humans.

He’s not the only dragon we meet. We also meet Avizandum, otherwise known as Thunder, the late King of the dragons, in flashbacks, and we get to see just how he died. As well, we get Zubeia, Zym’s mom, and Pyrrha, a dragon who Ezran had met in the prior season and befriends. My favorite one might be a nameless dragon who is unchained by Soren and nuzzles him. That’s a really cute scene.

We also meet a lot of new elves this season. Of particular note is Ethari, the Moonshadow elf blacksmith who had been seen in the end credits for Book One and had previously been given the fan name “Tinker.” There was a lot of fan speculation that Ethari was Runaan’s boyfriend and that the two of them raised Rayla together while her parents were gone. Well, this season proves that theory entirely false. No, Ethari is Runaan’s husband. Again, way to go with LGBT+ rep, Wonderstorm (especially since the episode that introduces Ethari was written by a woman in the LGBT+ community)! Ethari’s dynamic with Rayla is also very interesting and shows that he truly does care about her even after her town essentially banished her.

This season officially introduces us to Janai, the Sunfire elf that Amaya was battling in Book Two. I find it interesting how, in many ways, the two characters perfectly mirror each other: Both women are highly dedicated to their duty of their respective countries, and both of them are sisters of royalty, with Janai’s elder sister being the Sunfire Queen. This gives them an interesting dynamic with their interactions. Also of note is Kazi, Amaya’s translator this season who kind of gives off C-3PO vibes. Every scene with them is very funny.

Additionally, this season introduces us to a whole new race of elf: Skywing elves! It only makes sense, since we’ve already met Moonshadow, Sunfire, and Startouch elves; that only leaves two more to go. The two Skywing elves we meet are Ibis, a mage who works directly for the dragon queen Zubeia; and my personal favorite, Nyx, a loveable rogue type of character who our heroes meet when crossing the midnight desert. Man, I love Nyx, and yet, I feel like this season doesn’t do enough with her. I mean, they introduce her in episode four, and then she just kind of disappears after episode six. I was hoping that she’d play a bigger role, especially seeing how hyped up she was in the trailers for this season. Still, maybe she’ll appear again. She played an interesting part as an antagonist and I’d like to see her come back.

Speaking of antagonists, how about this guy? Prince Kasef. Man, the writers wanted to make a real jerk type of character and they succeeded. He’s the warmongering son of King Ahling who takes over after his dad’s injuries from last season. Outside of a cool design, there is nothing redeemable about this character. I’m not faulting the show for this, for the record. It seems like it was the writers’ intention to make him a complete asshole, very comparable to Viren in a lot of ways. Kasef is taken down in a pretty spectacular way, for the record, and it’s hard to say he’ll be missed.

But of all the new characters introduced, to me the real standout character of the season is one of the main leads from all the way back in Book One. Man… Soren is just great this season. After breaking his spine in Book Two, we get to see him go through so much character development beyond just being the dumb comic relief. He starts to question what is right, what side he should be on, and he is put through so much hell in the process, but he comes out better for it in the end. Leave it to the head writer of Avatar: The Last Airbender to make me feel sympathetic for a character like this.

The Animation

Holy crap, the animation in this season is so damn impressive! Bardel Entertainment already fixed the animation in a major way between Book One and Book Two, but this season gives us some seriously amazing moments that I never would have expected from this show after watching Book One. Everything feels so much more fluid this season, even more improved than Book Two in that respect. The backgrounds are downright stunning, too. They feel so real, like you could actually be there with the characters. One of the major gripes I did have with the first two seasons was the facial animation, and how the mouths kind of looked derpy and unexpressive, perhaps due to the CGI medium the characters were animated in. But here, everyone is so emotive and expressive that you can watch the season without audio and still understand what’s going on. There’s a particular scene with Amaya and Janai that I’ll get into later that perfectly shows this. This isn’t only in the mouths, either; we also see little details like characters’ pupils dilating, or the elves’ ears slumping down or perking up depending on the mood. These were little touches that they didn’t have to include, but the fact that they did makes it so much more of an enjoyable watch, because you notice new little details each time you watch it.

The Relationships

I don’t usually have a separate section in my previous season reviews about this, but this season was heavily based on character relationships as much as individual characters, whether they be relationships between family members, friends, comrades in battle, or romantic partners. Just a warning: This section will get into spoiler territory. If you have not watched the season before reading this, I strongly advise you to stop reading and go do that.

The first relationship I’d like to talk about returns to Soren. During the course of this season, he starts to question the morals of his father, Viren, and Soren has to struggle between his duties to his father and his duties to his country as a member of the crownguard. We get the sense that Claudia has always been Viren’s favorite, and that the abuse and gaslighting Soren has to deal with in this season is nothing new and Viren’s contempt for his son has been building up a long time. Soren’s relationship with Claudia strains in this season until, when not wanting to make his sister choose between him or Viren, Soren cuts ties with her. The scene where he says goodbye and leaves is genuinely a heartbreaking one, and in general, you can feel the emotions all the characters are going through.

With Amaya and Janai, the two form a mutual respect over the course of the season. Amaya defeats Janai at the breach, but when seeing that the Sunfire general is hanging for her life, she ultimately saves Janai from dying. As the days go on and Amaya becomes a prisoner, Janai defends her against the Sunfire queen and they soon form a friendship that hints that it might lead to something more. But the scene that really increases the characters’ development is when Aaravos straight-up murders the Sunfire Queen. This sends Janai into a rage and she runs in, willing to risk her own life to avenge the death of her sister, but Amaya tackles her to the ground and gives her a solemn look of understanding, of knowing how it feels to lose her own sister. This little exchange is very powerful. I’ve always said that a scene is effective if it manages to give you chills without any dialogue, just letting the music and animation speak on its own, and, well, this scene passes that test. (Major shout-out to Frederik Wiedmann’s score, by the way; it really shines in this entire season.)

And… well, okay, there’s no use dodging it anymore. Let’s talk about these two.

Rayla and Callum. Oh boy. So, remember in my last review how I said it was likely that Rayla and Callum were going to get together by the end of the show? Well, since this show has a planned seven-season run, I was expecting it to happen way later, like in Book Six, or more likely for them to pull the Last Minute Hookup thing where they confess their love and finally kiss at the end of the last season. That trope always frustrates me, but it’s a good way of stretching out the romantic tension for as long as possible to keep fans interested, so I figured that’s what was going to happen, right? Well…

Yeah, I went into this season expecting a slow burn, but instead we got a freaking forest fire. Holy crap, I was not expecting them to hook up this early in the show. And it didn’t happen in the last episode, either; no, they shared their first kiss in episode four, smack in the middle of the season. And you know what? I’m all for that. The writers handled their relationship really well and it felt surprisingly believable and not rushed despite happening so soon. It hasn’t been confirmed how long Callum and Rayla have known each other for, but I’ve calculated that it’s been anywhere between 20-30 days since they first met, which is more than enough time to fall in love. Part of why it works is that the dynamic didn’t really change much. They already had a beautiful friendship, and the only thing that has changed between them is that there’s now more kissing. I wouldn’t have depicted their relationship any other way if I had made it canon. This does open up the question of where they’re going to go with it in future seasons, but as usual, I trust the writers not to screw it up. I may honestly dedicate a whole post to why Rayla and Callum’s relationship works, but we’ll see if I have time for that.

Other Stuff (incl. spoilers)

For the most part, the humor in this season is on point. With the exception of an oddly-placed fart joke in episode two, I found myself laughing at most of the scenes where I was supposed to laugh. Highlights include Soren putting stacking three pieces of bread to make a “bread sandwich,” Callum seeing a boomerang and finding it “oddly familiar” (hi, Sokka), and Nyx taking the dragang (Callum, Rayla, and Zym) past a magical forcefield protecting an oasis, saying, “Anyway, here’s the wonderwall.” I had to do a double take with that because I was laughing so hard. Though I think my personal favorite may be when Ibis laughs at Callum because “humans can’t do magic” and Callum does this.

Just, the look on his face. He’s so done and it’s hilarious.

One thing I was surprised by in this season was the sheer amount of violence. This one really does feel like an all-out war. Apparently, the violence was enough to get it rated TV 13 in some countries (though it’s still listed as TV Y-7 here) and honestly, I can see why. There’s an all-out battle scene in the last episode that could be compared to the climax of Return of the King. Everyone is fighting each other; even the Baker from Book One gets a few punches in there! Not only that, but there are a huge number of onscreen deaths in this season. As previously mentioned, we get to see the Sunfire Queen be Thanos’d. Prince Kasef gets a pretty spectacular death when Queen Aanya has a Big Damn Heroes moment and shoots an arrow through his head. Not to mention that we get to see Viren die not once, but twice! Even though Claudia resurrects him using dark magic, it’s still pretty great to see because he’s a turd. (No offense to Jason Simpson, though—love ya.)

By far the hardest death scene to watch, however, is the death of Avizandum, the Dragon King. In the flashbacks, we get to see how Harrow and Viren killed him, and, well… it’s really painful. The death, by way of petrification, is shown to be slow and agonizing, and Avizandum is shown tearing off his wings in a futile attempt to survive just to make it back to Zubeia. Even Harrow is mortified, with a look of “Oh god, what have I done?” on his face. In his last moments, Avizandum sheds a tear knowing that he will never be able to see his son grow up, and we as the audience are given a grim reminder that everyone… is a person. Even our enemies have families they care about. Avizandum may have been a gigantic, powerful dragon who hated humans, but at the end of the day he was still a dad who wanted to protect his son.

My One Complaint

Okay, so I’ve talked about everything I love about this season, and how it has significantly increased the show’s potential. With all that said, why can’t I give this season my full props? Well… I’ll be honest, it’s because of the pacing. Remember how I said this season rarely if ever lets off the brakes? Yeah, that’s both a blessing and a curse. There are a lot of people online who believe that Rayla and Callum’s relationship was rushed, and I somewhat agree with them, but only to the same end that everything in this season felt rushed. Nine episodes just isn’t enough time for each season. This has been a problem I’ve had with previous seasons, too, but here, it felt especially rushed because so much happened in this season that it felt like we couldn’t dedicate enough time to everything. I’m not saying that every season needs to be twenty episodes long like Avatar—especially since, with four more proposed seasons, we’re already supposed to be getting more episodes than Avatar if all goes according to plan—but 10-13 episodes per season would probably be beneficial for future ones, especially since future arcs of the show are overall going to be shorter (only two seasons each instead of three). Or hell, maybe make the episodes longer. Of course, if that’s my biggest gripe with this season, then we still have it pretty good, let’s be honest.

Where Do We Go from Here?

So, the question remains, where does the show go from here? There are supposed to be four more seasons, but the final episode of Book Three, titled “The Final Battle,” honestly feels like a series finale in a lot of ways: There’s a big epic climax, Rayla and Callum are together, Zym is reunited with his mom, and the elves and humans have formed an alliance, if only temporary. It all seems too easy, doesn’t it? My guess is that this was meant as a pseudo-series finale just in case Netflix doesn’t renew the show for a fourth season.

However, as I’ve rewatched the season, I noticed that they still leave a lot of loose ends. Most notably, Aaravos is seeming to metamorphize and grow outside of his mirror. Judging by how Aaravos really let loose in this series, I can’t wait to see more of him as a villain and find out about his backstory. Also, Rayla was ghosted—or banished—from her hometown after failing her mission in Book One. Will she ever be able to go home again? On a related note, what did happen to her parents? Are we to assume they were trapped in coins like Runaan (and speaking of which, will Runaan ever get out)? There are also other unresolved plot points, like Claudia’s path down the road of dark magic, Viren’s ex-wife, and Callum’s dad. The last one is especially interesting to me, since it would be cool to know if Callum is secretly half-elf, which is why he knows how to do primal magic. Oh, and my question from last season about whether Harrow’s soul is in Pip’s body still remains. So it seems like they left enough open-ended so that they could continue with a new season.

I do hope to see how Rayla and Callum’s relationship develops in the future, though that may just be the shipper in me talking. But in all seriousness, this does open up some potential. As far as we know, Rayla and Callum are the first human/elf couple, so how is that received? Will they be judged by others? Will certain problems arise from this? I hope the upcoming seasons explore this and don’t just pull the usual romance clichés, though the writers have been pretty good at avoiding those so far.

I also have to wonder: When interviewed, the creators of The Dragon Prince said that there would be a time skip between Book Three and Book Four, since each of them is part of a separate story arc. How much of a time skip will it be? I can’t imagine that it will be over a year, but if it is, I hope they don’t do one of those things where since the main cast is too old now, they replace all the main characters with new ones and expect the audience to get invested in them. I highly doubt they will do that, though. It would be too jarring.

Conclusion

If you have been sleeping on The Dragon Prince, I highly urge you to check it out. Book Three is everything I had hoped the first two seasons would be, and more. With fantastic animation, likable characters that go through unique development, and a downright beautiful score (seriously, major props to Frederik Wiedmann), it wonderfully wraps up the first major arc of this series. I hope Netflix renews the show for all seven seasons, because this one has left me wanting more.

~Spaceman

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rittywritestdp · 6 years

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Can you please do a Aaravos x female human mage fic, who is related to calum (maybe it takes place years before the events of tdp and the reader takes one look at aaravos and quickly falls for him)

oh my god bless you, yes. Okay so the reader is going to be an adopted daughter of Amaya here, and the King’s Niece.

✴Aaravos x Royal!Mage!Reader

“Alright, that will conclude the lesson.” Viren said, both hands atop his staff. “I have a meeting with King Harrow, clean the study, and get some lunch.” Viren said, to both you and young Claudia. He smiled at his daughter, before turning to leave. Which left you with the little fourteen year old who was already stepping to begin cleaning up the small pile of squished beetles and butterflies. You moved silently to the beakers and vials, picking the tray up and stepping to the water basin. “When do you think Father will let me use these things we’re learning?” Claudia complained. “I started when I was fifteen.” You replied easily. You liked Claudia, but Viren favored her. He would never pay you the same attention that he paid her, which you suppose you could understand, she was his daughter after all. The part that bothered you is the fact that he encouraged her to learn spells that he wouldn’t even allow you to copy into your spellbook. He claimed Harrow and Amaya wouldn’t allow him to teach you anything more advanced. You didn’t want to believe that. “I want to start nowwwww.” Claudia moaned, tossing the carcasses of the bugs out the window and tossing the rag she’d cleaned with into the washbasin. “I’ve copied all the spells, I know all the words.” She complained “Have you asked him about it?” You tried, placing the books you’d used back onto the shelves. “Are you insane?” Claudia laughed, starting towards the door to exit the study. “Do you want to come get lunch with me?” She asked, and a smile pulled at your lips. That sounded nice. “Sure.” You replied, starting after the younger girl, just as a book fell from the shelf and hit you on the foot. “Ouch!” Claudia laughed. You grasped your foot in pain, you didn’t even realize what you were looking at for a long moment. The moment your eyes focused, and you saw the tome you knew well with pages you’d never seen before, your mind swam. ‘Stay.’ The words said. You furrowed your brows, blinking at it. “Y/N?” Claudia asked, her laughter stopped, her footsteps started to return. You practically fell on the book, closing it and grasping your foot. “This just….really really hurts Clauds, I’ll. I’ll catch up with you in a moment.” You quickly thought up anything you could to get her away. “Did you break your toe??” Claudia asked, coming near to lean down and look over you worriedly. “It will pass, I just need a moment.” You told her. She stared at you, concerned, before nodding and exiting the study. You let your foot go and closed the door, pressing the book open trepidatiously and dragging your finger down a page you’d read a thousand times. Maybe…you were hallucinating? Perhaps it was a symptom of the magic you used. Then the words on the page dripped and then poured and black colored the entire page. ‘Good’ written out in white against the inky background. You were silent, you tipped the book up and tried to look for runes or sigils, to look for any sign that this was a spell or a trick that Lord Viren was playing. ‘Two horn worms, three pinches of dragons tongue, a smidge of powdered quarts, and a single drop of blood. Sir ath athin no thore.’ “A spell? I cannot cast without Lord Viren to supervise me.” You cleverly said, Lord Viren was surely behind this and that was exactly what he would want to hear. You stood, and placed the book on the shelf, before going to meet with Claudia. On your way back from the Kitchens, you nearly ran directly into Viren. He must just now be on his way to eat. You remember the book, and you think of the test. Had he truly met with King Harrow? Or had it simply stepped out to test you from afar? “So when’d you learn to control books?” You grinned, trying to show off how clever you were. Viren didn’t smile, his eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly. He seemed to be willing to humor you, but not amused.“You’re just upset you bruised your toe.” Claudia giggled as she slipped past the two. Viren furrowed his brows, first at his daughter then at you.“Th…the Compendium of Magical Components?” You tried. Viren didn’t answer, he simply waited for an explanation. “It fell from the bookcase?” “And hit your toe?” Viren asked, voice dry. “Yes.” You answered, seeming stupider by the moment. “Then perhaps put books away properly?” He said, passing by you and moving into the kitchens. You stood, deadpanning the hallway before you. So…it wasn’t a test? It wasn’t Lord Viren. He doesn’t play tricks, and he doesn’t lie about tests. You nodded, trying to think of any possible explanation, before starting at a slow and inconspicuous pace back to Lord Viren’s Study. A few guards noticed you, but it was normal to come in here. “Just, just going to do…inventory for Lord Viren.” You nervously told Marco. He was a nice guard who just got assigned to some of the lower priority Guard Stations. Marco nodded, not sure what to do with that information, and you slipped into the study, immediately thumbing the shelves for the Compendium of Magical Components. A brown and silver tome, well-worn and thick. You pulled it from the shelf and turned it to the exact page you’d been on before, rubbing the page until you saw it swirling into a black, inky abyss. Tossing it onto the desk, you began to gather the components, and a pestle and mortar. Then you remembered that this….wasn’t sanctioned. You drew the curtains, not before seeing Soren out sparing with your mother. Not before Soren seeing you. And then getting shield bashed with a thankfully wooden shield and knocked to the ground. You slammed the curtains closed and instead imagined seeing your mother berating the poor boy for looking away. Then you picked a chair up and propped it against the study door. If anyone tried opening it and couldn’t, you could be in trouble, but you’d be in more trouble if anyone saw what you were doing. All of the components, ground up, even the drop of blood - produced from a needle prick. Finally you recited the very simple incantation, and the moment the magic faded you saw a room in the bowl. In. The. Bowl. Lord Viren had never let you cast spells more complicated than…than… a light spell, this was…out of your league. And out of your experience. A haze of tiredness washed over you, and you closed your eyes for a moment. Then the page of the book flipped as though a stiff breeze washed over it, and your eyes snapped open. You didn’t even have time to look at the book, however, for a pair of purple eyes, the sclera black, eyed you. The faintest crescent on the creature’s dark purple lips. Were those stars on their cheeks? Whatever…whoever they were…they were beautiful. Simply enchanting. “Who…are you?” You asked, voice low. They shook their head so gently, and raised a Startouched finger to press against their lips. You felt yourself growing warm just looking at this person, and nodded. They raised a book, and flipped the page to one of black. The same words that you’d just read. Their drug their finger in a line, and you cast your eyes to the book. The very same line. ‘Who are you?’ You asked. ‘My name has no meaning to you.’ the book replied. You frowned slightly. ‘What are you?’ ‘Here to help.’ the book said, and you looked into the little bowl to see them smiling playfully. ‘With what?’ ‘Magic.’ You raised your eyebrows, and made sure to let them see your surprise. The page was wiped clean of your words, and blank and black once more. ‘I have a mentor.’ ‘I will teach you anything your heart desires.’ The book read and you felt your heart start to pick it’s pace up with each syllable you read. The words swam in your head and you swallowed thickly. Lord Viren would not be happy to know about this person. Lord Viren could not know about this person. A sharp knock came to the door, and you nearly jumped out of your skin, dumping the potion into the wash basin and slamming the book closed, picking it up and sliding it into the empty spot on the shelf where it belonged before scooting the chair out of the way and opening the door with the largest smile on your face that you could muster. Soren. He smiled, face red and hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. “H-hey, how’s it.” He paused, shuffling his helmet over to his other arm and leaning against the door, feet crossed cooly. “How’s it hanging?” He tried.“Fine, fine, why do you ask?” You laughed, almost nervously. He quirked his lips sideways, a thought moving through his mind (you could always see Soren’s thoughts, as his face always scrunched in one way or another as he thought. “Oh, I just. Are you busy?” He asked. He was already red faced but you assumed he would be flushing now, had it not. “Yes.” You replied curtly. “C-Cataloging inventory for Lord Viren.” You added, to make it less suspicious. Soren immediately deflated. “Ah, yeah, okay. Cool cool.” He nodded, peeking past you into the room. “Well, better get back to work.” You said, smiling and pressing the door closed, before turning and sliding down to sit with your back against the door. You didn’t have time for Soren, you were enamored with whoever that was on the other side of the window-potion. You were in love. This turned out….longer than I meant it to. I just…love Aavaros okay, thanks. *Side-Note, I personally didn’t realize Aavaros was male until he spoke so I transferred that to the reader lmao-☼

#RittyWrites #TDP #The Dragon Prince #TDPxReader #Aavaros #Aavaros x Reader #SFW #Fic #Ficlet #Fanfiction #Ask

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leeveemealone · 6 years

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So. The Dragon Prince. *SPOILER ALERT*

This post is full of spoilers for season 2, so please don’t read it if you don’t want spoilers.

- I LOVE the new characters. Let me just spotlight some:

Sarai is just amazing. Her spear skills in the scene where she battles Harrow really show that she’s not some makeup and fancy parties queen; but instead knows her shit. I remember seeing her roll the spear over her wrist, and this amazes me. How could the animators put in the effort to animate a spear rolling over a wrist? Most cartoons just have their characters hold the thing and it magically spins, but it’s impossible in real life. Sarai here shows us how people really spin sticks (I should know, I do bo staff). Also Sarai giving up her life for Viren is just slfhkfhdkwhe. She’s one of my favorite characters because she’s so selfless, kind, and brave. She isn’t all stuck up like other queens, but she is more laid back. Also her spear skills in general are amazing

Queen Aanya. She. Is. Amazing. Just a child, but she’d the queen because her mother’s died. Instead of feeding Viren’s claim that she is childish and irresponsible, she completely contradicts him and even shows him up with a roast or two. As she said, she is the least impulsive out of all of the other rulers. I really admire her confidence, especially as someone who has zero confidence. She can easily stand up to a person 3 times her age or even older, and just face them. She is the wisest out of the 5 rulers, even though she’s literally like 12.

Aaravos is dayum cool. He makes a spell that goes through a mirror and a far distance. Also hes hot

I also love how Lujanne isn’t a stereotypical mage. Instead of being all “wise” and “mystical” and “ethereal” and “enigmatic” like most mages, she’s causal and cracks jokes. I appreciate that.

- I love the symbolism in Callum’s dream. He already explained the sail and wing stuff, but there’s more. Harrow appears to Callum chained in a throne, and tells Callum he’s free. I think he’s telling Callum that since he isn’t a King, he can do whatever he wants, including magic. - I’m so happy for Callum, now that he can do magic! - The spear fight is amazing. Not only is it a phenomenal show of animation, but it shows how Sarai actually beat Harrow, even though she’s thinner, shorter, and appears weaker than Harrow. Girl power, I guess!

Yeah I made this post 4 times already but it keeps getting deleted for some reason

This show is really great, tbh. Even though the animations aren’t the best, the characters and storyline are great. I especially love all of the recognition they give. There’s a lesbian couple, there’s a deaf character, there’s a blind character, a child ruler, and there are characters who overcome racism. This show has so much representation, and I think that’s what makes it so amazing.

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goldenworldsabound · 5 years

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Expedition into Xadia II

Direct sequel to part 1! Time to balance out the angst a little~

Wendy awoke slowly, feeling the throbbing pain of her wound. She sat with that for a few moments, processing it, coming to terms with it. It hurt. But not as much as her heart did. Physical pain was easy to grin and bear. But the stabbing pain in her heart was less so.

She opened her eyes, wondering how long she'd been out. The doctor was gone, but in his place-

"Viren." She murmured, tears welling in her eyes at the sight of him sitting next to her, gently snoring in the dark room. She wasn't sure what to expect after he'd left so suddenly. She felt silly for ever expecting anything else, especially after what he'd said.

She sat up, wincing as the pain in her side intensified at the motion. She took a moment to quietly get that under control. She stared at Viren a moment longer. He looked tired, drawn. He snored loudly suddenly - she couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Mm?" He opened his eyes slightly. As he noticed her smiling at him, his eyes snapped open. "Wendy. You're awake." He looked relieved, and she couldn't help but notice the tears welling in the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah. Thank you, Viren." She said averting her gaze.

"For what?" He asked.

"Saving my life even though I told you not to." She grinned sheepishly. "I'm glad you didn't listen to me."

"And thank you, for saving my life. I really thought I was...for a second there I...but you saved me." He couldn't quite articulate the words.

"It was scary." She admitted quietly. Viren offered her his hand, and she took it, squeezing gently, reassuring herself he was really there. He squeezed back, before pulling her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

"But we don't need to talk about that now. You should rest." Viren replied, in a serious tone.

"...what time is it?" Wendy asked curiously.

"It's probably the middle of the night. I only just woke up too." He reminded her gently in a teasing tone. He yawned.

"Ah…" Wendy scooted back down on the bed, steadfastly refusing to let go of Viren's hand as she did so. She took careful breaths as she tried to ignore the pain as she shifted. "Can I keep holding your hand?" She asked once she'd settled down.

"Of course." Viren replied without hesitation. "Whenever, wherever, however much you like." He added, smiling softly. He leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "Goodnight."

-------

It had been a few days since they'd made it home. Wendy was healing, checking in with the royal doctors every day, but otherwise things were...normal again.

But there was still a lot to discuss. Viren didn't know how to bring up any of it. There was the matter of the spell she'd used to save him - he knew how significant that was to her.

And the...other matter. His heart pounded just thinking about it. Compared to that, discussing the spell seemed far easier.

"Hey. Brought you some tea." Viren said, placing the tea carefully on Wendy's desk, moving aside a few papers.

"Oh! Thank you." She cupped the warm mug, smiling pleasantly. "That's sweet of you."

"Just taking good care of the love of my life." Viren said, kissing the top of her head. She giggled.

"That's much too sweet." Wendy replied teasingly, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Too sweet?!" He exclaimed, feigning horror. At her gentle laugh he relaxed his face into a soft smile. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. If you have time now, of course."

"I always have time for you. Well, you know, except when I'm knee deep in developing a new spell." She continued her silly tone.

"Oh, well of course." He pulled up a chair next to her. "If you don't wanna talk about it now, we don't have to." He fidgeted, thinking what to say.

"Viren, what is it? Just say it." Wendy looked at him with a hint of concern.

He sighed. "That spell you used. To save me. It was an offshoot of the one you vowed never to use again, wasn't it?"

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, before looking at him again. "Yes. That's true." She sighed, putting a hand on her face. "I'm not surprised you noticed."

"I just...if you want to talk about it, I'm here. If you never wanna bring it up again, that's also fine. I just wanted you to know that." Viren put his hand on her leg comfortingly.

She swallowed. "I...I really never intended to use it again. But it's ingredient composition is so similar to the shield version, and you were- you were- there was no choice." She clenched her jaw as she recalled the battle. He squeezed her leg gently, reassuringly.

"You saved me with it."

"Yes...and, if I'm honest, I feel like it… it's okay, that I used it. Using it and breaking my personal vow was no doubt well worth your life." She took in a deep breath. "It is not as potent as I believed it would be. I… think it's okay, to use it, if I'm protecting people I love. " She looked at Viren for reassurance.

He tilted his head slightly. "I would be inclined to agree. On all accounts. It seems you have quite an affinity for that spell, after all. You'd never used this version of, yet you executed it flawlessly."

She smiled wryly. "I had to - I only had one chance."

He stood up to hug her, and she stood up too, and they embraced.

"I'm so glad you're alive." She whispered, burying her face in his chest.

"Me too. I love you dearly." Viren kissed the top of her head again. "There was...one other thing I wanted to discuss with you." He admitted.

Wendy pulled back to look at him curiously. "What is it?"

Viren cleared his throat. "Well, I, uh…do you remember what I, er, yelled at you when we got back to the border?"

Wendy nodded.

"Well, I was...serious about that. I can't and don't want to imagine a life without you. So…" he got down on one knee as Wendy's eyes widened. He pulled out a small box from his pouch, opening it and holding it up to her, revealing a ring. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!!!" She gasped out, before starting to cry.

"Oh, Wendy." He stood up, feeling his own eyes tear up. She held out her hand for him to slip the ring onto. She could hardly see it through her tear blurred vision. As soon as that was done, she embraced him, squeezing tightly.

They cried together, holding each other, safe and warm and happy in the knowledge that they would spend the rest of their lives together.

#softness in the dark #fic #self insert #self ship #self shipping

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chadsuke · 6 years

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Title: one little lie Prompt: Adventure [Ao3 Link.] For @raydia-week

The difference is this: Claudia doesn’t know about the egg.

She gasps like all the others when she follows the trail of persimmon jelly, gapes at the dragon egg that had been hidden so carefully here. “But Dad-“ she says, and she can’t stop staring. “But Dad said he destroyed it!”

The elf lets her close, because she does not threaten, does not conjure up magic to battle them, and she rests a hand on the egg. She can feel the life thrumming below the surface – can feel how powerful this being will be someday, how much she could wrest from it now if she chose to use it for magic.

But when Ezran speaks of it missing its mother, Claudia thinks of her own, buried underneath the dirt and closes her eyes.

“Dad has a plan to save the King,” she says, “But if we can stop the assassins, we should.”

It doesn’t work and they still go after him and all four of them nearabout trip over themselves to run, to get out of there with the egg. I should tell Dad where we’re going, she thinks, but she doesn’t have time and she doesn’t know what to think because she thought she could trust Dad but he hadn’t told her.

Why hadn’t he told her?

They run until they can’t run anymore and both Callum and Ezran fall asleep almost immediately. She doesn’t know if it’s because she slept in this morning or if she’s generally had a better day than them or what, but she’s awake and so is the elf.

“My name’s Claudia,” she tells her, cause everyone should know each other’s names, and she sticks out her hand.

The elf very gingerly takes it, shaking for just an instant before she pulls away. “I’m Rayla.” She pauses. Hesitates. “You should go home now, before it’s too late.”

Okay, Claudia can be slow on the uptake sometimes (she knows this! It’s okay! That’s just how life is!) but she has no idea what this girl is talking about. “What do you mean?”

Rayla shrugs, picking at a strange ribbon on her wrist. “The egg given back to the queen by the princes… it means something, yeah? But if you want to go home, you can, even though you can’t tell nobody.”

Double negative, she notes, but Claudia looks down at her feet and digs a little gouge in the grass with the tip of her shoe. “That was my Dad’s lab,” she says, and she doesn’t look at the elf. “He kept the egg and didn’t tell me.”

She doesn’t have to tell the elf I don’t know if I want to go back because Rayla doesn’t ask anymore. She nods. “Okay.” And that’s the end of it.

---

Ezran is the first one to talk to her once she’s finally woken up and swallowed a bottle of Hot Brown Morning Potion. “Hey, Claudia,” he asks, and she smiles down at the little prince. “You said your dad had a plan, right? What was it?”

“Oh!” She lights up, because she always loves talking about her plans, and she taps her nose eagerly. “Callum made me think of it!”

He flushes and she tells them everything. The snake and the souls and the switching and they all just sort of gape at her while she beams proudly.

“Dark magic,” says Rayla, and she does a strange symbol with her finger that Claudia doesn’t recognize. Some elf thing? “Even if his body is dead, he still lives?”

She grins at her because yes! She’s gotten it so well! “Yes! Exactly!”

No one else seems enthused, and she doesn’t understand. Rayla sighs. “I guess it won’t hurt to tell ya, then…” And then she shares all about her ribbon.

“That seems darker than switching souls to save somebody,” Claudia says, because she’s right, isn’t she? And that just gets a glare out of the elf.

“Well, I don’t really like either of them,” Ezran says. “But I like that the soul stuff saved Dad and thanks for not killing me, Rayla.”

Her purple cheeks darken, and she glances to the side. “I’m not… not really a killer,” she says softly. “Failure of an assassin.”

“Yeah, uh, that’s not really a bad thing,” Callum chimes in, and Claudia laughs.

“Let’s get going!” She stretches, arcs her back until it pops, and oh, that feels good. “We can send a message at the next town we see that we’re okay and stuff.”

“Fine,” Rayla tells her, but she gets to her feet and sticks her finger up in Claudia’s face. “But no dark magic.”

She considers the elf for a moment, before leaning forward til Rayla’s finger hits her nose. “Boop,” she says, and Rayla looks mortally offended and Claudia laughs again. “Okay, no dark magic.” She’s totally lying, though. No way is she giving it up.

Still, Rayla looks mollified if absolutely confused. “Then yes,” she says. “Let’s be off.”

Oh, man, Claudia’s gonna have fun. She’s looking forward to an adventure.

---

But.

The difference is this: Callum doesn’t know he’s a mage. He doesn’t know that he can use Claudia’s Primal Stone, that he can work the magic of the elements. He doesn’t know the symbols, and he doesn’t think of the small block at the Banther Lodge. They go a different route.

The difference is this: When Amaya, Gren, and all her soldiers show at the lodge, there is no one. There is not a single person – no whisper of the princes. No nothing. Not a soul has been there since it closed down for the winter. Dread gathers in her heart.

The difference is this: No one knows the princes are alive. That Claudia yet lives – Soren buries his head in his hands and cries softly in his room because his King, his sister, and the princes are all gone, in one fell swoop and he feels sick to his stomach. Claudia is his best friend in the whole world even if she’s stupid and he doesn’t think anything will fill the gaping hole inside of him.

The difference is this: Viren is crowned King, and a mourning nation bows their heads.

#raydiaweek2018 #raydia #tdp rayla #tdp claudia #tdp callum #tdp ezran #the dragon prince #my fics

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 6 years

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COTW 17 - start. That was enough of a rest, right?

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sage-nebula · 6 years

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keith, callum, peridot? owo

Keith ---3 Things We Have in Common:

We both have C-PTSD due to childhood trauma, and all the issues (e.g. trust, abandonment, emotional regulation, forming and keeping interpersonal relationships, et cetera) that come with it. Our situations aren’t exactly the same, given that Keith’s father died and he was put into foster care until he was pseudo-adopted by an unconditionally loving guardian figure (Shiro), whereas my situation was . . . not that (and yet, somehow, despite not having an unconditionally loving guardian figure, I didn’t turn out evil! I’M AN IMPOSSIBLE PERSON ACCORDING TO JDS), but the way our issues manifest is still extremely similar. We’re both wary of people and have a very hard time trusting them. We both take it as an inevitability that people will leave us, which informs how we keep our distance. We both come off as aloof most of the time, but we’re actually pretty emotional and sometimes have a hard time keeping a lid on that, which we’ve been chastised / looked down upon / punished for expressing before. We’ve both been treated as angry, aggressive, or violent even when we’re not trying to be, and so on. We both keep our anxieties and fears bottled up inside so as to avoid burdening others, and we don’t like showing our vulnerabilities, either, because we have to be strong, we have to be strong enough to handle everything, it’s how it’s always been. We’re independent and we have an extraordinarily difficult time asking for help, because again, we’ve always had to rely on ourselves, so asking for help is not something that was ever really beneficial to or something we were rewarded for in the past. This is probably all cheating because all these similarities probably count as more than one thing, but anyway, point is, I could see the C-PTSD symptoms in Keith pretty much immediately (since before S3 even aired) because I live them myself. I connect to Keith Kogane on a spiritual level.

We’re both immensely loyal, to a fault. While it’s difficult for both of us to form (and keep) interpersonal relationships, once we do find people to let in, we’re both extremely loyal to them, standing by them no matter what. We’re loyal to the “stand with you on the edge of the River Styx” level. Unfortunately, this can be a fault as well, because that loyalty can lead to us setting aside our own wellbeing for that of the other person . . . and if the other person is someone who will take advantage of that, they will, and we’ll let them. We saw this with Keith in S3 when Shireplica treated him terribly (I’m not going to go into a dissertation about this again, I’ve talked about it enough before, but tl;dr Shireplica put the blame on Keith for his (Shireplica’s) own bad actions, among other things) and Keith just stood there and accepted it, and I’ve been through it in my own life to the point where I let someone I loved treat me terribly for far longer than I should have. Loyalty is a beautiful thing and I think that it’s overall a good quality in both Keith and myself, but perhaps because of the C-PTSD mentioned above, we can both also take it too far, not seeing when it’s actually detrimental to us, when it’s hurting us because we’ve given our loyalty and love to someone who is taking advantage and thus doesn’t deserve it.

We’re both very direct and honest. Keith does not lie to people, nor does he beat around the bush. He says exactly what he’s thinking, when he’s thinking it, and I’m the exact same way. I cannot tell you the number of times that I, like Keith, have received negative reactions from people for just stating my opinion, all because I didn’t fluff it up and make myself sound uncertain or super bubbly and peaceful. It’s hard for me to couch my words, and it’s frustrating to me when I’m just trying to state what I think very plainly, and yet this is interpreted the wrong way because of some minor thing. (Like I was once accused of being passive-aggressive because I ended a sentence with a period. I just---I can’t win.) It’s gotten to the point in recent years where most of the time I just don’t bother talking to other people because I don’t want to deal with inane Discourse™ sprouting up for no reason. I think Keith would feel me on this.

3 Ways We’re Different:

Keith is very athletic and a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and I’m not. As much as I would love to ride a motorcycle, I never will because I’m afraid that I would crash and die. Needless to say, I especially would not ride one through the desert without a helmet. Keith is also constantly working out and sparring, and I . . . spend most of my life on the computer, haha. So we’re pretty different in that respect.

Keith likes nature. I’m not really a big fan. Like Keith, I love animals. But Keith is also fine with living out in the desert with very limited technology, and I . . . am not that way. I start getting antsy if I have to go for even one hour without an internet connection. This isn’t even to mention the fact that I’m not a big fan of dirt, and I hate bugs and arachnids. Wilderness living is not for me, but it’s for Keith, and so that’s another way in which we’re different.

Canon!Keith likes Team Voltron, and hates Lotor. I feel the exact opposite way. This speaks for itself, to the point where I don’t think I need to elaborate.

Callum ---

3 Things We Have in Common:

We’re both stepchildren, and we’ve both been ostracized to a degree because of it. Quite a few of my step-relatives even now call my biological mother my “mom,” and they treated my brother (technically my step-brother) better than they treated me while we were growing up. Likewise, Soren continuously rubs in the fact that Callum is the “step-prince,” and Viren seems to consider him an ungrateful whelp through no fault of his own. So I definitely know how Callum is feeling, there.

We both have a skill, and often feel that skill is all we have going for us. Whether it’s Callum with his art, or me with my writing, we both feel we have one (1) strong area, and that we need to throw our efforts into that because it’s what we have going for us.

We both prioritize doing the right thing. We may not always know for sure what the right thing is, but whatever it is, we want to do it, even if others don’t understand or agree. Callum was willing to fight back against his crush to protect the dragon egg and Rayla, and I’ve ended relationships in the name of doing what’s right as well. Doing what’s right is very important.

3 Ways We’re Different:

Callum is a good artist. I can barely draw stick figures. Self-explanatory. My artistic skill is zero (0).

Callum seems to genuinely like Bait. I do not. Again, self-explanatory. I don’t like frogs or toads.

Callum likes water rides. I do not. I would have reacted the same way as Rayla during the boat scene, ngl.

Peridot ---

3 Things We Have in Common:

We’re both giant geeks. I don’t have the scientific knowledge that Peridot does, but we’re both massive geeks about our fandoms and hold very strong and passionate opinions about them. The scene where she’s fangirling to Steven and her entire rant has to be fastforwarded through was very relatable.

We’re both very confident in our knowledge, and don’t like to be wrong. I’m not as much of an ass about it as Peridot can be, but I’m very sure of the things I know, and though I can admit it, it always burns me a little when I’m long. (Hence, I try to do my research so I’m not.) We’re also both always very eager to share what we know.

We both have a reliance on technology. Just like Peridot always needs her tablet on her, I always need to have something (phone, laptop, etc) that will let me access the internet. My brain starts to feel very itchy if I don’t.

3 Ways We’re Different:

Peridot is bigoted at the beginning of the series and relies on stereotypes to understand others, whereas I don’t have that issue. To be fair she’s grown a lot since then, but her comments to Pearl, her comments about Amethyst and Garnet, et cetera---these were all borne out of prejudices she carried with her from Homeworld. Conversely, I’ve always been the type to judge people based on their actions, rather than what they look like or anything like that.

Peridot feels she knows best, even when it comes to other people’s trauma. Part of the reason why her relationship with Lapis (temporarily) fell apart is because Peridot felt she knew better than Lapis did about how to deal with Lapis’ trauma, and thus kept secrets from her because of it. I don’t assume that I know better for others than they know for themselves; I explicitly tell them to tell me what they need.

Peridot has a very hard time admitting when she’s wrong or bested, whereas I don’t. Although we’re both proud of our knowledge and dislike being wrong, we also handle it differently. I own up to it and admit when I’m wrong about something, and try to do better in the future to avoid looking like an idiot again. Peridot, on the other hand, calls people clods and stamps her feet and gets frustrated. Again, she’s gotten better about this, but Peridot has a certain level of arrogance that makes it hard for her to admit defeat in any way, whereas that’s not a hurdle I’ve dealt with.

#character similarities meme #severalbakuras

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beautifulterriblequeen · 4 years

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I like the idea of all of Rayla's parents acting the way they did because they have almost only their daughter's safety in mind.

Ok, I have a new headcanon now, about Rayla’s parents, the four of them.

I still don’t have the book (pfff, it’s been 2 months…) but I learned something in an interesting exchange on Reddit : Runaan and Rayla not only have a really good relationship, they have a really strong bond, he’s one of the person she trust the most in this world.

I changed my mind a lot about Runaan when I discovered he wasn’t trying to kill her. And I’m even starting to think this bond is one of the (numerous) reasons he couldn’t kill her, never: because breaking that trust was impossible for him, it’s too precious in his eyes.

But something bothered me (I hope you didn’t already make an analysis on this ’^^): why would Runaan would be so unnecessarily harsh with Rayla that night, in Katolis. Especially in the novel? Why hurting her so much, telling her she’s weak and all? And I think I got my answer (thanks to that exchange on reddit): he knows she’s not weak at all, and he knows they have a strong, really strong bond. If she were to learn he’s about to die, she would follow him to try to save him and so would get killed too.

Only solution : hurting her to makes sure she stick to her mission and never come back.

And this led me to think about Lain and Tiadrin. Why didn’t they just run away with the egg? It’s not like it couldn’t have been moved, after all. Ok, they can’t fly, but they could have hid somewhere and escape, no? It would have been smart and Moonshadow elves are maybe all about honor and all, but they’re not stupid. Plus, being stealthy, it’s kinda their thing, no?

So, what if they stayed for their oath, yes, but most of all for Rayla? They know how running away is percieved by their people, they know it would bring shame to Rayla, put her in a difficult situation in their village. So they stay behind for her… too bad Viren didn’t let anything behind to makes the others understand what happened…

As for Ethari, he was confused and overwhelmed with grief, he made a mistake. But he already proved he can break rules for her, and, another HC, the fact he lost almost everything about Runaan in the Silvergrove will help him to get out of here to go to Rayla when he will find his husband’s flower. I mean, the moonstrider, the moon opal, Runaan himself, Rayla who can’t go home. There’s nothing much left (as far as we know) of Runaan, if not Rayla, no?

So yes, I think he will going after his daughter and his husband, and he won’t let anything stand in his way.

Conclusion: the four parents in the Moonfam really have their daughter’s well being in mind, even if it means for them to die

_____________

Ohoho is this moonfam theories I see in my inbox, @lily-lilou? *happy wiggles*

First off, I hope your copy of the book arrives soon. It’s wild that it’s taking so long for some people. :(

I don’t know how many TDP fans here are parents like me, but I definitely see that a lot of parental mindsets got worked into the show as bedrock motivation for the characters who have children in their lives. Viren, Harrow, Sarai, the Queens of Duren, Amaya, Gren by extension, and of course all the moonfam!

I was a very different person before I had my kids. I think it’s safe to say that I was objectively a worse person, if I’m honest. INTJ’s don’t always get the small picture until it’s right there, every day, changing their world with its gooey smiles and unrelenting adoration. So, knowing that, I’m always interested in how the characters with kids act, and why, and maybe who they used to be beforehand. Because one thing is always the same among loving parents, no matter who they used to be: their children are always, always, on their mind on some level or another, no matter what choices must be made. And the number of cute, dumb, unnoticed, sweet, life-changing, utterly ordinary, and just-because choices we make for our kids literally cannot be tallied. Their smiles, their trust, their courage to head out into a wild and crazy world on their own... we’d do anything for them. Anything. *flailing mom noises*

I totally concur on your view of Runaan. I did write up a post a long time back, with that exact perspective as my take, but I’m glad to see the theory hasn’t dimmed because of the book! To me, the book is just another interpretation of the same issue: Runaan must separate Rayla from the mission at (almost) any cost, even if it means hurting her feelings. At least she’ll still be alive to have them.

That said, he’s a lot more gentle in the show than in the book. I don’t know if the assassins’ rather rabid calling for Rayla’s head in the novel is just a tonal difference or if it’s foreshadowing something sinister about Moonshadow culture which we been knew. It does set a starker difference between Runaan and his team, though. He does have that strong bond with Rayla, and because of it he wants to spare her so much, but he literally cannot say so in front of the others, so he uses his frustration and fear for her life to wordlessly drive her away to safety.

Both versions work. He’s doing the same thing in each one. He’s still a soft dad in a tight spot, trying to save his precious child from death. And in both cases, he is hard enough to do whatever it takes--even making Rayla feel so bad that she runs off and leaves him to his deadly fate--which he was never going to abandon anyway.

Later in the book, there’s a scene where it’s revealed what Runaan truly thinks about Lain and Tiadrin. In light of that information, it’s pretty clear that all of his insults when he and Rayla were fighting on the castle roof were simply a harder version of his show plan to send her home to Ethari. He’s desperate to keep her out of the fighting, but she’s young and eager and they are bonded tightly, you’re right. So he thinks he has to be harsh in order to save her.

How much easier would it have been if he had felt he could just tell her the truth, I wonder. But that’s not the Moonshadow way, apparently. At least not when you’re layered up to protect your own feels because you’re on a mission of death.

Lain and Tiadrin know what it’s like to love a little one. I think that made them excellent Dragonguards. I wonder, now, if any of the Skywings there had children. Or if their family ties are just looser because of their nomadic tendencies. But Moonshadows are very tightly knit to their families. There was no way in Xadia that Lain and Tiadrin would abandon a helpless child to a dark mage.

They’d left their own little child with a craftsman and an assassin who would definitely die to keep Rayla out of the reach of dark magic. And they weren’t wrong--Runaan did exactly that. If Rayla didn’t die in the fighting, she’d be captured right alongside him. So that mindset was something that all four parents definitely must’ve shared. Protect Rayla. At all costs.

And Lain, Tiadrin, and later Rayla all extended that to Zym. Protect the Dragon Prince. At all costs. Because that’s what you do with those little ones you love, who cannot protect themselves yet.

I agree about Ethari, too. He has that protective spirit in his heart, but it’s not nearly as battle-tested as it is for Runaan, Lain, and Tiadrin. He faltered because he lost Runaan, his strongest ally and the love of his life. But he’s never going to make that mistake again. He’s already straight-up breaking the rules for Rayla, and that isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

He’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. He gave her those awesome butterfly swords so she could make the most use of all the years of Runaan’s training. But now, see... now he thinks he’s the only parent she has left.

Ethari believes he is the last remaining member of the old guard, the phalanx that stood around Rayla to protect her. It’s all down to him now. And you’re right, he’s lost connection after connection with the Silvergrove and his old life. Maybe he’ll straight up head out to find himself a new one. And if he does, you gotta know that it’ll all be in service to protecting his daughter the best way he knows how.

Appealing Rayla’s ghosting to the Moonshadow ruler? Fixing the Moonhenge? Ending the war? Freeing the others from their coin prisons? Saving Callum’s life? Adopting Soren and Claudia? Trapping Aaravos in a primal stone of his own making? I know I say I’d put nothing past Aaravos, but listen. There is nothing Ethari could do in service to Rayla that would surprise me. That is who he is. He’s a family man, and his heart is bigger than all of Xadia. He will find a way, or he will roll up his sleeves and craft one. Because Rayla is the daughter of his heart, too.

#asks #moonfam #tdp #tdp meta #runaan #ethari #lain #tiadrin #rayla #moonfam meta #submission

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beautifulterriblequeen · 5 years

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I have a question, how do feel about Viren? Like, as a character? A majority of the fandom seem strongly dislike him (with reason), but I personally find him to be interesting, and I’m actually as invested in his storyline as I am in Callum, Ezran, and Rayla’s. I just really wanna know your thoughts on him

Ooh, Viren. *rubs hands gleefully* This is gonna be a long post.

Viren is complicated, and all my favorite characters are complicated. He’s powerful, morally gray, sympathetic (at times), highly intelligent, and proactive toward his goals. He’s also kinda hot when he embraces his evil badassery and stops stuttering for niceties to say. He’s comfortable with his thirst for power because he believes in the Narrative of Strength, that might is right.

And that is what makes him so dangerous.

i am wary of Viren. I don’t trust him to make what I consider to be good choices. Viren’s heart tries its best to be in the right place. He’s motivated by good things: family, friendship, loyalty. He acts to protect his kingdom, which contains untold thousands of human lives–an entire civilization–and which is part of a network of kingdoms that rely on each other to stand together against their enemies. This is absolutely a good thing to do for someone in his job position. But the methods he employs, and the tactics he uses, reflect a fatal flaw in his character.

Viren considers himself worthless without the power he wields, and he only values others for the things they can do for him (broadly speaking–Harrow running a good and safe kingdom does benefit Viren). Human (and elven?) life means nothing. Only results matter.

This probably started when he was a child. My Viren Origin Story Headcanon is that he was a literal servant in Katolis Castle (or somewhere that allowed him to meet Harrow) and they became friends as kids. Viren’s very clever and dedicated. Harrow would’ve seen his usefulness and raised him to High Mage for the sake of his kingdom. But I also think Harrow’s “You–are–a–servant” was too specific to be a random insult. I think Harrow used it as a callback to a time when Viren felt worthless except for his use to the prince of the realm. Ironically, Viren’s friendship with Harrow could be a big part of why Viren feels worthless as a human being unless he’s pushing himself all-out to be useful. Harrow inadvertently (or advertently?) trained Viren to be this way. Or perhaps a toxic parent had already trained Viren to devalue himself. Or both. This makes Viren sympathetic. But it doesn’t excuse his choices.

However it came about, Viren’s gotten through life by focusing entirely on results. That’s pragmatism for you: the end always justifies the means. And much of the time, this will work just fine. But there’s a war on, and when push comes to shove, there are some lines that many–elven or human–won’t cross. But Viren doesn’t see the lines at all.

Viren offers the soulfang option to Harrow because having Harrow remain on the throne is more important than the life of a soldier with less to offer Katolis. Harrow lets Viren be High Mage. Harrow bestows rank and privilege on Viren, which Viren can use to be more useful, and thus feel more valuable as a person. If someone else runs Katolis, Viren might be devalued, and that scares him. He’s been devalued, and it’s driven him to claw his way up. He never wants to go back down.

Viren offers food to Runaan as a tactic, hoping to elicit cooperation. He treats him politely, even though Runaan’s an elf, an enemy combatant, and very possibly the person who murdered Harrow. That’s because Viren sees massive potential usefulness in Runaan, and he respects usefulness, even above loyalty to a fallen king and friend. If Runaan is willing to help Viren unlock the mirror’s magical secrets, then Viren can use the mirror to be useful to Katolis even without Harrow. But when politeness doesn’t work on Runaan, he tries the much harsher coin threat–switching the carrot for the stick. But Moonshadows are stubborn, and when he realizes he’ll never get the result he wants, then Runaan is entirely expendable, and Viren immediately stops wasting his time on him.

However, I always love the part where Runaan says, “You have succeeded,” and Viren goes entirely soft and eager: “Oh? Have I?” He’s like a little boy. “Did I do good? Did I? Please tell me I did good.” And it kind of breaks my heart that he’s so easily led by the opinions of others. If Runaan had been less honorable, he could’ve lied to Viren’s face all day long about that mirror, and Viren would’ve eaten it all up.

After sticking Runaan in that coin, Viren throws himself into research mode on his own, filling the dungeon cell with books and scrolls, even eating down there. And when he fails yet again to get the mirror to reveal its secrets, he loses his temper with himself and has a breakdown. Because the only thing that matters is results, and he isn’t getting any. He’s failing. Failing himself, failing Katolis. Failing to be useful.

But the instant the mirror turns on, Viren’s mood shifts. He’s successful. He’s calm, curious, eager again. Success is so valuable to him. And when he sees Aaravos, the archmage is like a walking reward for Viren’s persistence as well as a promise of even more power to come. Viren’s enchanted. Aaravos is everything Viren has ever wanted to be. He finally thinks he’s found what he’s been searching for all his life. At the end of the fight in S2E9, he says “I have all the power I need,” and that’s probably not something Viren ever really expected to say.

I honestly can’t see Viren being even remotely pleased to see his children come back from their mission in utter failure–and with Ezran alive and ready to take the throne, no less! “But they’re his kids, surely he loves them!” Except no. He only loves what they can do for him. Otherwise, they’re just bad employees.

The only way Viren’s kids will get back into his good graces will be by proving their usefulness to him. And I’m not sure they’ll both decide that’s worth doing. Viren can’t see any value in himself as a person, so he doesn’t value his kids, either–he really doesn’t–unless they’re capable and competent and successful. Claudia got comfortable killing things and harvesting their bits to please her dad. Soren doesn’t like dark magic, so he threw himself into swordsmanship and became the youngest head of the Crownguard in history.

Viren is an antagonist. He makes choices that hurt and kill others. He’s certain that’s the only way. But he’s not looking outside the Narrative of Strength for ideas. If Viren is going to find redemption in this show–and that’s a big if but I’d honestly love to see it play out–he will need to learn to love himself. Because he does not love himself even the tiniest bit. He never has. And that makes me very sad. He can’t love anyone else if he doesn’t love himself first, if he doesn’t know what that feels like and why it’s important to people. Viren will never stop hurting and killing others in the name of progress and success until he learns to love himself. Then, by extension, he can love others and make better choices with the power he wields.

I don’t know if the show intends to offer Viren a chance at redemption. I think it will, but then, I don’t know if Viren will accept such a chance. I worry that he may see it as weakness instead of growth, since it will necessarily entail giving up some of the power he currently values so highly. I really don’t know what his fate will be. While I am very invested in the power he has to shake all the other characters up and drive the plot, I really cringe every time he hurts one of the other characters through his choices. I’m not sure there’s any named character that Viren hasn’t hurt or killed, directly or indirectly, at this point, and we’re only two seasons in. He really has a lot to answer for, and I’m honestly not sure whether he’ll survive that process.

Thank you, anon. Your ask is a gift.

#asks #viren #tdp

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 6 years

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COTW 17 - update

Levi wasn't going to be happy. They'd finally gotten new chairs for the dining table, rather than new set because they expected you to pay for each individual chairs, and their first visitor was Floch... to tell him he was still being forced to testify. Floch called it being subpoenaed, but it was the same thing. The trial date had been moved, first forward then back, now starting on the 23rd, meaning he'd be 22 weeks when he took the stand. At least he'd had a nicish, stab free week to recover a little... before Floch had shown up again to ruin that. Sitting across from the alpha, Floch was recording their conversation on his phone, as Eren was asked to confirm the identity of each person in the photos. Even if he couldn't remember their names, he was still asked to confirm whether he'd seen them at the compound. It felt like they were dancing around the issue. The man being brought before court was the leader of this whole thing. An idiot with money, who'd thought he'd brought allegiances, only to be thrown under the bus by then all. Nick. The man who was a blight to the life and freedom of every omega on the island. Despite his racing heart and sweaty palms, Eren had word vomit. It was like Floch had reached down and pulled the plug from his throat, leaving him jumping from photo to photo and man to man. He just wanted to get those over with. He wanted Floch out the apartment before Levi came home, and risked the safety of the new dining chairs... and he wanted Floch gone because he still couldn't figure the man out. He'd loudly announced Eren was being subpoenaed, then expected him to have enough composure to talk about everything. After looking at the photos, he knew he couldn't just let the people in them get away with everything, but it'd been a nice dream to imagine he didn't have to take the stand. It was nice to believe he had a choice, like Levi had told him. When he ran out of people to talk about, Floch tapped his phone, before hitting his record again, Eren confused as to why... until Floch began asking him questions about his relationship with Levi. How long they'd been together. How they'd met. If Levi approved of him being a stripper. If Viren was Levi's. How their relationship had been after the Reiner thing. Was Levi responsible for his repeated trips to hospital. What Levi knew about Karanes. When did they get engage, and finally, why weren't they married? His questions were so far out of line, Eren's fingers hurt from how hard he gripping the edge of the table. He wanted to grab Floch by the throat and throw him off the balcony. None of it was any of his business. If he didn't know better, he'd swear the man was working for the piece of shit he was about to testify again. He spat each answer out, as if the words were poisoned. Floch not telling him that these were the kind of questions he'd face on the stand, until after he'd stopped recording the second line of questioning. Apparently he had to adjust his mood if he wanted to be believed. What a load of shit. As far as he was concerned, he had every right to be angered and insulted over being talked to like that. His pups were moving as if just angry, on his behalf. Instead of fucking of like he wanted him to, Floch decided he needed to dump two more lovely surprises on him. A full medical and psychological assessment, which had been requested by Nick's legal team. Both to be conducted by professionals chosen by Nick's team... in other words, people who wanted to make him feel like an absolute monster. The date and times had already been chosen, and Levi wasn't allowed to be in the room with him. Instead Floch made it sound like a big deal over having negotiated for a police and justice social worker to be there, though he couldn't say what their dynamic would be. If he was an alpha, he'd never have been forced to accept this degree of humiliation. If he was an alpha, people would listen to what he had to say... Now he was back to hating his secondary dynamic all over again. Back to doubting Levi could love or trust him. Doubting that one lone omega could make any difference at all. It wasn't a great feeling. The moment Floch left, Eren was rushing into the bathroom to throw up. Anger and indignation swirling through his scent as he hunched over the bathroom sink. His stomach fucking hurt, each hurl making it worse. He didn't know how he was supposed to handle taking the stand and being grilled by an alpha he didn't know, when he couldn't stomach taking shit from Floch. Of all the fucking days. Viren would be home from Hanji's soon, with Anna staying the night. He'd already had to dissemble his nest wash all his blankets thanks to. All of that perfectly good Levi scent, washed down the drain because he was good person. Nesting was great. Nesting with Levi didn't just mean sex. It meant near naked cuddles, and secrets whispered in the middle of the night. Nesting with Viren and Levi meant knowing his small family were all together and safe. Nesting with Viren alone meant spending hours watching his son sleep. It meant reading him to sleep, even if he'd been a brat all day... He'd been mourning the loss of his nest when Floch had turned up... even the thought of spending time with Anna didn't improve his mood. Trapped in the bathroom, he groaned when he heard Hanji letting herself in. Viren yelling out "daddy", didn't lift his mood either. Levi was working a 12 hour shift, and wouldn't be home for a few more hours "Uncle Eren?!" At least Anna sounded happy "Just a minute!" Rinsing his mouth, he spat, before promptly jumping at Hanji's voice "There you are, Honey. Everything ok?" "I was ok until you gave me a heart attack" "Really? Because I smell anger, and vomit" "You smell too much. It's fine" With the secret out, he grabbed his toothbrush and the toothpaste, hoping the familiar taste of mint would calm his stomach "Mhmmm. I thought your nausea had passed?" "Nope" Brushing his teeth quickly, he rinsed and spat, annoyed that Hanji was watching him "What?" "I just thought you might want to talk" "There's nothing to talk about... I'm just in a bad mood from doing the washing" "Well, if it's just that, than that's ok. Now, I finish at 9 tomorrow morning, then I'm back at work from 7 until 7. All Anna's things are in her bag, and she's been super excited for this sleep over. With Marco and Jean... well, she's been lost" "It'll be fine. She understands that I get sick because I'm growing babies. I won't be freaking her out" "I know you won't. I know we haven't been talking about it, but I was hoping you'd be able to come to my next IVF appointment with me" Fuck. Hanji had wanted to wait for her next period to pass before trying again... he'd forgotten. How the hell could have he forgotten "What day is it?" "The 23rd" "I... that's the day the trial starts..." "Oh!" "Yeah. I might be able to make it, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I've been subpoenaed, so I have to go" "No. No. It's alright. I'll see if I can shift me appointment" "Hanji, no. I know how much this means to you, and I don't want to be in the way of this for you. I want this for you. You're an amazing mother to Anna, and to Viren... and I need another godchild" Keeping up with Anna and Viren was a struggle as it was. Keeping up with Anna, Viren, two newborn twins and another godchild... Lord give him strength Unexpectedly, Hanji teared up. Fanning her face, she tried to compose herself "Sorry. I've been pumping myself full of hormones" "Hanji. It's alright. Levi is going to be there, so will Mike" "I can take Viren" "We were going to ask if Eld or Gunther could" "There's a small play area at the clinic, you know that. They're used to children, and the procedure doesn't take very long" "I don't want you stressing yourself" "I don't mind. I can take the kids to the park and rest while they wear themselves out" "If you're sure..." "I am. Thank you, Sweetheart. Alright. I'm ok now. I better get to work" "Go. We'll be fine" Hanji rushed out the room to kiss Anna goodbye, while Eren followed at much slower pace. Walking to the kitchen instead of becoming one with the sofa like he wanted, he grabbed out snacks and fruit boxes for the kids "Bye!" "Bye, Hanji!" Closing the door behind her, Eren sighed to himself. He didn't feel particularly child friendly. He really wanted Levi to come home so they could talk, but he also feared making his mate angry. Sitting herself on the sofa, Anna climbed up to watch him over the back of it, while only the top of Viren's hair was showing "Where's Uncle Levi?" "He's at work. He'll be home in a few hours" "Hear that Viren, your daddy will be home soonish. He's been asking for his dad" "I'm not surprised. Is there enough space for me to sit?" Anna hummed, pressing a finger to her chin as if thinking "I suppose I can make space. But only for you" "What about my babies?" "They're inside of you, so they get to sit too" Anna was completely precious "Alright. Make space, I'm bringing snacks" "Snacks? Uncle Eren! You're the best!" He didn't feel like the best, but it was nice to hear. Viren wasn't happy Levi wasn't there. His son had gotten a good kick in when Eren had lifted his legs to make space on the sofa. Leaning to "whisper" in his ear, Anna was way too sweet "Uncle Eren. Are you ok?" Taking her hand, he placed it over the spot where Viren had hit his stomach "I'm all better now. Thank you for asking" "Why can't I feel anything?" "Because they're still really small. When they get bigger you'll be able to feel them" "Can you feel them?" "Yeah. It feels like bubbles in my belly" "My mum likes to stick straws up her nose and blow bubbles into her milk" Anna sounded equal parts impressed and revolted "I promise I won't do that. Why don't you pick something to watch?" "Ok!" Turning his attention to Viren, he pulled his grumpy son into his lap "Hey, baby. Mummy missed you" Kissing his son's cheek, Viren let out a sigh "I want dad" "He's going to be home, once work is done" "He's always at work" "I know, but he's working hard so he can buy you all the things he likes" Tugging on his arm, Anna looked up to him with wide brown eyes "Uncle Eren, why don't you have a job?" "Because if I had a job, who would look after you two?" "I suppose that makes sense... but you're an adult" "I am. And I used to have a job, but now I'm... I'm taking time off because I'm having two babies" "So you don't have to work when you're having babies?" "It's a little different for everyone. Besides, I thought you liked hanging out with me" "I do. I wish you lived with us. That way I could see you all the time" "That's a very sweet thing to say, but what would Levi and Viren do?" Viren escaped his hold, kicking him leg as he pouted "I just need dad" "Then I'll take Uncle Eren" "No! He's my mum. Not yours" "Ok, you two. How about we watch movies until Levi comes home? Anna, you get to chose the first one" Because he'd told her to, with the hopes she'd be more interested in it than asking questions. Ignoring his son's anger, Eren wrapped his arm around his son, forcing him into cuddles. He didn't mean to upset Viren by talking to Anna, but he also didn't want to upset Anna by ignoring her. Kids could be worse than drunk alpha's when it came to being upset over small things... Anna didn't stop talking the whole length of the movie, nor the second one. Half the time Eren wasn't even sure what she was talking about, while Viren had fallen asleep against him. Trying to pay attention to the girl, she scolded him more than once for zoning out. He couldn't help it. He was ignoring the fact he needed to use the bathroom as it was, and trying to look like he wasn't counting down the seconds until Levi came home. Nope. It was no good. Extracting himself from Anna and Viren's hold, he bopped Anna on the nose before excusing himself to the bathroom... he'd barely gotten to the toilet when Anna's voice came through the door, continuing her story. At least she didn't have a tantrum over being shut out the bathroom. Viren was far too young to understand space and privacy, and the idea of "going to the toilet in peace". Trying to tell Anna to head back to the sofa and that he'd be done shortly didn't work either, the girl starting some story about Hanji on the toilet that he didn't need to hear about. By the time he got out the bathroom, Anna had moved back to the sofa and was yelling out her story. His aching head didn't appreciate the girl's loud voice, while the side of his stomach didn't appreciate Viren's hard kick. Walking past the sofa, Anna leapt up and followed him into the kitchen "What are you doing?" "I'm taking some medicine for a headache" "What medicine?" "It's for adults" "Mummy gives me this gross liquid when I'm sick. Is it the same thing?" They were both paracetamol, so kind of "Yeah. This is just the adult version" "It's gross. You shouldn't take it" "If I don't take it, I won't feel better" "Maybe you just need to do a big poo. My mum says..." It was now that Levi finally arrived to save him. Hearing the creak of the door, Anna span on the spot "Uncle Levi! Uncle Eren needs to poo" Choking on the water from the bottle he grabbed off the counter, stupidly thinking he was safe because she was distracted, Levi raised an eyebrow at him "Does he, now?" "Yep! He has a head... what did you call it again?" "A headache. I have a headache. Welcome home" "It's good to be home. I brought Chinese" Locking the door, his mate walked over to drop the bags of takeaway food on the table, before lifting Viren into his hold. The boy waking and joyously crying for Levi as hugged him "Hey, brat. Did you have a good time at Aunty Hanji's" "He's been asking for you the whole time. And he kicked Uncle Eren more than once" Dammit Anna "Did you kick your mum? You know that's very naughty" "He did" "Alright. That's enough, Anna. Why don't you go sit down on the sofa while I organise dinner" "Uncle Eren, he hurt you" "It's ok. He didn't mean to" "It's not ok. No one hurts my Uncle" "Viren's been naughty and he knows it... Uncle Levi and I will talk about it after dinner. Uncle Levi has to take a shower now, so why don't you watch something?" Anna sighed, slouching forward as she dragged herself to the sofa. Sitting Viren down, Levi grabbed the bags of food back up, moving them to the dining table before continuing into the kitchen. Wrapping his arms around him, Levi gave him a small kiss before hugging him properly "Are you ok?" "It's a little tender, but he was jealous that Anna was giving me attention" "No bleeding?" "Not that I saw. We need to talk later, once the kids are in bed" "I can smell it on you. Something happened" "I've officially been subpoenaed, and not just summoned. Floch came earlier and there's stuff to talk about. There's papers on the table about it" "Eren..." "Not right now. Not in front of the kids" "You should have called" "You were working. He made me angry, but that was about it" "Hmm. I don't like it" "I know. Thanks for bringing home dinner. Anna has been talking non-stop and I didn't want to disturb Viren" "I'm not impressed" "Then maybe you need to poo" Levi laughed, nodding as he did "Maybe I do. But it sounds pretty crap to me" Eren groaned "A poo joke. Are you shitting me?" "I knew I fell in love with you for a reason" "Mmm. Go take a shower. I'll get dinner organised" Having more dining chairs made dinner easier. The table wasn't massive, so he could sit between Anna and Viren without getting trouble with either of them. Viren didn't want to eat anything Levi didn't give him, while Anna was asking Levi question after question. The alpha patiently answering every single one, while talking to Viren at the same time. With the three of them talking, he didn't have to contribute. He was free to sit there and brood over Floch, as he also fought the desire to simple faceplant into his food and sleep like the dead "Eren?" Blinking owlishly at Levi, Eren couldn't hide his yawn "How about I give the kids their bath, while you stack the dishwasher?" Levi was perfection personified. Bath time was way too much effort after having to adult, and then listen to Anna "Mmm... then I'll do story time. I made up the bed up, so both kids can sleep in my old room" "Alright. We'll divide and conquer" Viren wanted to sleep in his own bed, which meant reading the same book twice to the kids. He didn't even need the book, the words so deeply imprinted on his brain, he wondered if his intelligence suffered for it. He'd tried to hint to Anna to choose another one, but the girl didn't want to have it. Stumbling into Levi's room, his mate was messing with their blankets as he wrapped his arms around him "Everything ok?" "It is now" "Do you want to help me straighten these out? What book was it?" "What book is it always?" "That depends on who's asking" "I don't even need the book anymore" Laughing, Levi turned in his hold "It can't be that bad... I know they're no Chronicles of Narnia, but..." "Levi. I know it word for word" "I'm sure you don't. Now go grab the other side of this for me" Taking a deep breath, Eren recited as he moved to the other side of the bed "You cannot rhyme, It is a crime, If you rhyme, you must do the time. It is a crime, If I do rhyme, But why must I do the time? You must do the time, Because to rhyme, Is to commit a crime. But why is rhyme a crime? Why can't I rhyme all the time? I can mime my rhyme! I came rhyme with time... Or dime! Or even Lime! I can rhyme on a ship, With a pirate with a fat lip! I can rhyme on the beach, As I eat a juicy peach! I can rhyme in the bath, Or down the garden path! I can rhyme in the car, As we go very far! I can rhyme to the mouse, That lives in my house. I can rhyme to my bed, Where I rest my sweet head. I can rhyme to my sister, As she dresses my blister. I can rhyme at the pig, wearing a wig As he dances a jig! I can rhyme on the busses, As my mother fusses. I can rhyme to my feet, As they tap out a beat. I can rhyme on my bike, Or as we go for a hike! I can rhyme to the cat, As he drinks milk thick and fat! I can rhyme, I can rhyme, I can rhyme! But you cannot rhyme, It is a crime. Then I shall be the naughtiest child in the world! I'll do the time, For my crime, As I rhyme!" Over their blankets, Levi stared at him "I told you I know the stupid thing off by heart" "I think it's time that book too a little walk" "Then you're the one stuck explaining it to both of them" Climbing in on his side of the bed, Eren let out a long sigh "I really hate that book" "That's not what it sounded like to me" Climbing in on his own side, Eren reached out for Levi, pulled his alpha close "I do. And we need to talk about the... Floch thing... but right now, I'm too tired" Interrupting his sentence with two loud yawns, he yawned a third time as he nuzzled into Levi's chest "I have two appointments I have to attend and... I have to testify" "I thought you said you're tired" "I am... I just wanted to make sure you knew" "I knew. I know. Oh ho ho" Eren groaned, weakly slapping Levi's arm "No more. I'm too tired" "Alright then. I love you" "Mmm. I love you, too. That book should be some kind of torture device" "Only for you... Shit. It's stuck in my head" "Suffer..." Levi grumbled about binning the book, while wrapping his arms around him. Next time, it was Levi's job to do story time. * Snuggled up on the sofa with Eren, Levi was playing with his hair. He was supposed to have gone into work, but after Eren's ultrasound appointment, he couldn't bare to leave him mate alone. The tumour had hit its growth spurt, now measuring over 4 centimetres, with over an inches growth in the last two weeks. On top of that, Viren hadn't been happy seeing his new siblings on the screen. Eren hadn't asked him to stay home. His mate just gave him a heartbreaking look during his ultrasound. His eyes were dry, but filled with pain. Coming home, Eren had dropped down on the sofa, obviously needing to think things through. So once Viren was set up drawing and talking away to his teddy, Levi had lifted his mate into his lap for some major cuddling. Floch had set the first of Eren's appointments for the following day. The physical came first, then the psychological exam came the Friday before court. It wasn't such a leap to think that it was intentional, so that Eren would still be shaken over it once the trial began. Nuzzling into Eren's hair, his omega sighed softly as he took his hand, pressing kisses to Levi's knuckles before placing it on his stomach for belly rubs, which he was happy to give "Wanna talk about it?" "No. Don't you have work?" "It's fine" "Levi" "It's fine. I don't particularly feel like going to work" "No one feels like going to work, but you have to" Levi's alpha couldn't take the idea of parting with their mate. Not after watching the scan, and smelling his omega's fear. If he went to work, he'd be more of a liability than a help. Any small thing could make him snap "It's better I'm home right now. I already sent my boss a message. She knew about the scan. Besides, it's only the second half the shift. They'll send the placements out with the veterans" "I didn't even hear you leave this morning" Probably because Eren was out like a light... "You heard me come home" "Doesn't mean I didn't miss you when I woke up. Are you sure it's ok? She said she couldn't give you time off" "It's not really time off" "It's half a shift. You should go" "Eren, no. Just like your omega doesn't want you to be left alone, my alpha can't leave you alone" "Sometimes I think your alpha's more of an omega than mine" "Don't give it ideas. Since I'm home, we could do something?" "I honestly just want to sit here and do this. When the trial starts, we have no idea what's going to happen. So I want to enjoy this while we can" "We could look for things for the pups?" Eren swallowed hard, his mate tensing his hold. His fiancée was probably trying his hardest not to think about his scan, yet there he went "Or not... we could get some popcorn and watch a movie?" "I have a headache, but you and Viren can watch a movie. I'll go lay down..." "That ruins the whole point of us doing something together" "Daddy?" Looking up from his drawings, Viren nodded "TV? Pleeeeease?" "See. You should spend time with him" "I am spending time with him" "I mean one on one. I don't mind" "I'm not choosing between him and you" "I'm not telling you too. I'll just take some panadol and go for a nap" Eren had been taking panadol far too frequently for his liking. It seemed like every day his mate was coming down with headaches. He'd had bloods taken while in hospital, but the technician had been alarmed to see the bruising across Eren's stomach. Some of it had been bruises from sex, his finger marks on Eren's hips, but the bruise he'd gotten from Viren was a dark and nasty purple, that shouldn't have formed from a light kick. The pups had been ok during the scan, other than the growth of the tumour, but if it was starting to cause real problems with Eren's health, then what came next? "Lee?" "Sorry. I was just thinking" "Don't think too hard. It's just a headache from lack of sleep..." "I thought you slept through the night" "If your babies would leave my bladder alone, than maybe I would" "Fair point. I still wish you wouldn't move" "Aw, does my alpha want cuddles?" "Yes" Eren kissed his cheek "I'm sure Viren will give you plenty" Climbing off his lap, Levi was sure Eren wasn't as ok with heading off for a nap as he was pretending to be. When Anna was around, Viren's jealousy had become a lot more apparent. He didn't want things dissolving to the point where Eren was struggling to connect with Viren again. While Eren napped, Viren started drawing again. Levi moving off the sofa to sit on the floor with him, his son proudly explaining what he was drawing as he did. It was a good thing too, as Levi wasn't sure what the lines or colours were supposed to mean. "Forced" to draw by his son, his own artist ability was exhibited by three stick figures and a potato looking cat, which Viren scribbled over when he saw he wasn't drawing what he was supposed to. It was hardly his fault that the most he'd ever drawn had been basic medical diagrams. Placing down the red pencil he'd been using, Levi stretched as he yawned, sitting on the floor doing no favours for his aching back "Daddy, I'm hungry" Smiling at his son, Levi pulled him into his lap, kissing the top of his head as he squeezed him tight "It's about lunch time isn't it? What do you think mummy wants for lunch?" "Pasta!" "Mummy wants pasta? Or do you want pasta?" "Both" Snorting, Levi hefted Viren up onto his shoulders, his son grabbing his hair as he rose to stand "Daddy! Too high!" Oops... if he was too high on his shoulders, he wondered what their son thought of being on Eren's? Lifting Viren back down, he kissed his son's exposed back, before lowering him to stand "Are you going to help daddy make lunch?" Nodding happily, the toddler ran from him and to the kitchen. Levi having to jog after him before he could get into any mischief "Come here, you. Up we go" Lifting his son, he helped the boy wash his hands, before sitting him down in his usual spot on the bench... where the most trouble he could into was eating the ingredients "Now. What do you want on this pasta?" "Sketti!" "You want sketti?" "Sketti and nuggets" The world's healthiest lunch right there... they had one of those weird vegetable peeler things that turned carrots and zucchinis into pasta, but he didn't know if they had pasta sauce... He'd been forced to go the unhealthy route for lunch. Not that he'd admit it, but he had no luck with the vegetables. All incriminating evidence had been dinner, and a pot of pasta was now boiling on the stove, while the nuggets baked "Dad, mum wants you" He didn't hear Eren calling out to him. Kissing Viren on the forehead, he made sure everything sharp was out the way "Alright. Do you want to come down, or are you going to stay up here?" "Down!" "You've got to promise me you won't go near the kitchen without daddy" Shoving cheese in his mouth, Viren nodded around the mouthful. Lifting him off the bench, he steered the boy to the sofa "You be a good boy and stay here for me" "Levi?!" "Coming!" Eren was sitting on their bedroom, a wad of bloody tissues pushed to his nose "Blood nose?" "Tissue box is empty. Don't want Viren to see" "I'll grab you some toilet paper" "Thank you!" Levi's heart was racing as he jogged into the bathroom, grabbing a fresh roll of toilet paper and bringing it back to Eren "Here, let me look" "It's not great" "Show me" Eren's hands were bloodied from the bleed, it didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. Throwing the ruined tissues in the bin, he tore off a long strip of toilet paper, folding it up and pressing it to Eren's nose "Thank you... I need to start lunch" "No need, Viren and I have it handled. Sketti and nuggets" "Sorry. I don't feel that hungry. I was going to make lunch for you two" "I've got it handled..." "Then you should make sure Viren isn't at the oven. He gets a bit excited when he smells nuggets" Levi frowned at Eren's dismissal "I could make you something" "No... no, I just needed so more tissues for my nose. If you've you it covered I'll go back to sleep when this stops" "You need to eat" "Levi, it's fine" "You're not fine. I saw how upset you were during the ultrasound. Now you're pushing Viren and I away. I stayed home to be with you today... because you're not the only one hurting over this" A long moment of silence hung between them, Eren swapping the toilet paper over "I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I'm not trying push you both away, I just didn't get much sleep last night. I don't want to be tired and cranky on top of everything right now. Plus, Viren has been pretty upset with me lately, so I thought he'd feel better after spending some time with you" "And there really wasn't any more to it than that?" "No, Levi. My stomach feels too queasy for food right now. So..." Coming running into the room, Viren yelled at them "Daddy! Door!" Eren wiped at his nose, turning to hide the blood from Viren "Go check the door, I'll be fine with this" "Are you sure?" "Now that we have this little misunderstanding out of the way, you can relax" "Alright. I still want to do something with you and Viren" "I know. It's only lunch time, there's still time" "Daddy, someone's at the door" "Yeah, baby. I'm coming. Stay here and if this is still bleeding in a few minutes, I want to know" "I'll be fine. Just go already" "Let me..." "I'll let you know. Seriously, I've got it handled" Kissing Eren's forehead, Levi collected Viren as he headed out the room. Walking over to the door, he sighed to himself as he told himself not to snap at whoever was on the other side. Opening the door, he blinked at the sight in front of him. Erwin's eyes were red, his scent pained and his body language was completely wrong "I... I think I fucked up my marriage"

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