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#the haunted ship is rayllum OOOO??

#also duren is known as the breadbasket of the human kingdoms#from tales of xadia I think#that's why I'm so sure she went to duren lol#i think it's impressive how much she accomplished in just one season#leave home fall in love and die; must have been quite the winter#also also also#'the frozen sea' and the fact that we learned a blood FREEZING spell last season is on my mind

-> ok for some reason my tired brain misinterpreted it as you talking about rayla not Skall and now I’m also wondering if Rayla stopped by Duren and that would also be so interesting just for the sake of more parallels

[Okay, that last line is scaring tf out of me because it’s making me think of what Rayla said in Dear Callum.]

Anyhoo, overall takeaways and thoughts (genuine and stupid)

“sailing north, she called herself free” - isn’t the skyscraper north? I might have gotten that wrong, but maybe something with a star touch elf? Backstory maybe?

“past the uneven towers” - gotta be katolis right? Yk the whole symbol on the crown with the uneven towers?

“did not hunger for bread” - bread sandwich.

Yeah, that’s all I got for now

#Anyway #more good catches!! #ice motif

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Theories ft @parroset

What do y’all think 👀

ADDITIONALLY,…bc I was going thru the out of context spoilers) maybe these are something 👀

Zym & Zubeia + <3 = Love

Giant hat = Mushroom mage

Janai + Karim Speeches = War

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VOX MACHINA MENTIONED they ARE so briarwood coded ❤️

(if only for a second) (villain couples my beloved)

Can't believe Aaravos tried to baby (murder) trap Viren, especially since he decided that this would be his long term plan from the moment he (pretended to) finally noticed Viren and did the rituals with him

Has he done this before, did it work

Is the person he cared for (on the map) his last trap baby

Viravos FWB to coworkers to Briarwoods to divorced dads

#That journey is wild #tdp crack #vox machina

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I love how intrigued he looks when Callum runs to Rayla. This is probably the moment he realized he could use Rayla to hurt Callum.

Alternative reading - he's a Rayllum shipper xD Also, they forgot to add shadows on his shirt lapels

#Thinking about the intrigued expression similarity to aaravos #ok just kill me now #finnegrin #screenshots

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To me this paints a picture of a fairly collectivist culture. They place a heavy emphasis on community and duty, two things that are usually more peaceful/simpler when you have cohesion within the group.

the sameness of the moonshadow designs made me wonder about other elven groups within TDP and what their character designs collectively tell about their culture, but eh that’s all speculation for another day

That they aren't there anymore has probably exacerbated the rift between him and the rest of the Silvergrove caused by Rayla's ghosting

I also think Ethari felt pressured to join in on the Ghosting to not make this rift worse, and when he temporarily broke it to talk to Rayla (once again bending the rules) he seemed afraid of getting caught, and if he already stands out in a community based culture to begin with, it makes sense why.

I suspect that this is some sort of symbol for metal working or fire protection.

On this note, it reminds me of the moon in front of the sun during an eclipse, maybe it symbolizes how the moon blocks the light And Heat of the sun during the eclipse, but in a magical, spell sense that protects him from heat and embers on his waist and arms while he’s working. :D

“I honestly think they might have some sort of ritual to formally adopt friends as family”

-> is also such a cool idea

This is a very cool analysis of Ethari and Moonshadow Culture from their clothing alone and exemplifies the show don’t tell aspect of the show

I also wonder why Ethari is like this. Is he Not From There ™, or is it only him intrinsically push the bounds of the norm?

Ok I wanna talk about Ethari's clothing/design over all. His clothes and tattoos are different from every other Moonshadow elf we've seen, and he's one of the few that doesn't wear braids. Like:

The recurring elements are intricate patterning; over layers and under layers; multiple colors in the same garment (or at least same outfit); wraparound construction, color contrast between mediums, lights, and darks; and the dominant color is always the medium, never the lightest or darkest color (usually navy, true black is very rare outside of the assassins). Even arc 2 Rayla follows most of these rules and she's been away from her culture for two years!

But then we have Ethari:

He doesn't have an outer layer, he wears almost solid navy, none of those clothes are wraparound, he has no light color, there's not a lot of contrast, and his dark color is true black despite not being an assassin. He bends all the rules, though he only breaks one completely. He still has that patterning, but it's minimal compared to the others. He has plenty of accent colors, more than anyone else actually, but they show up on him far less. He does have light, medium, and dark colors, but his whole pallet is darker than everyone else's. The only rule he 100% breaks is the wraparound construction

A lot of this probably derives from the fact that he's a metalsmith:

For the most part his clothes quite are practical;

Black/navy hides coal dust/soot very well. It gets everywhere, on your pants and face especially, and is highly visible on just about every other color.

Forging is hot work & you do it next to a fire that needs to be at least 1000° celsius, I never wear more than one layer either.

those sleeves, while a bit looser than I'd be comfortable with, probably aren't going to get in the way. Plus I heard somewhere that they're spelled to repel heat (couldn't find if that's actually canon tho), so if that's true they're much better than my gloves.

The crop top isn't great but he's got that belt to stop most embers. Besides he's probably not the type to yelp every time one lands on him like I am.

if he pulls the scarf over his mouth & nose it'll help delay him getting lung cancer in the death trap of a smithy Wonderstorm designed for him (my problems with it are a post all on their own. I have nothing against the artists, its pretty, but by all rights he should be dead)

There might also be a cultural aspect to his clothing:

I think the navy blue, the arm bands, the boot decorations, and his belt & tabard could all be symbols that mean "I am a metalsmith" in Moonshadow culture. (Quick side note, he's not technically a blacksmith. historically blacksmith means specifically iron workers. If anything he's a whitesmith since he usually works with silver.) We see it with the assassins, why not metalsmiths too?

Plus if you take a look at his forge in the art book, there's a design carved on it that looks almost exactly like the one on his tabard. Elements of it also appear on other parts of his clothing:

I suspect that this is some sort of symbol for metal working or fire protection. If he's in a guild it could be their symbol, or it could just be a wider cultural symbol. Either way it has a meaning that relates to the forge specifically. I couldn't find it anywhere else in the room.

I just realized that I never even brought up the metal hems on his sleeves. Then again what is there to say? It's metal, he's a metalsmith. It's pretty, he likes pretty things.

But what about the rule he completely breaks?

As I said, every moonshadow garment has some sort of wrap-and-secure construction to it-- except Ethari's clothes. I seriously doubt this is a metalsmith thing. Basic garment construction isn't a sensible way to differentiate your group within one culture. I fully believe Ethari is doing this on purpose. But why? That why gets even bigger when you realize that no other moonshadow elves we've met have brown eyes or periwinkle blue tattoos.

Put a pin in all that, I need to explain my interpretation of Moonshadow culture for this to make sense.

"Moon Primal creatures can be private and secretive, and are keenly aware of the power of appearances." - from the official website

"Moonshadow Elves obey a rather rigid, honor-driven culture." - from the wiki

To me this paints a picture of a fairly collectivist culture. They place a heavy emphasis on community and duty, two things that are usually more peaceful/simpler when you have cohesion within the group. Cohesion creates less conflict, less conflict makes your community more peaceful and your duty to it easier to complete.

But they know that this cohesion is- to an extent- only an act, so each person has a sub community where they don't have to act. Your inner self is for family and friends close enough to be family. (I honestly think they might have some sort of ritual to formally adopt friends as family) To everyone else you're supposed to put up a front that makes you seem more like everyone else.

OK back to the pin

Even without his clothes, Ethari is already visually different from everyone else. No other Moonshadow elves we've seen have tattoos or eyes the same color as his. It's a subtle difference but it is noticeable, and in a culture so focused on appearances people would notice. Most people's instinct would be to try to hide or downplay it, to prop up that front as much as they can. Yet Ethari doesn't put up a front, not to the extent that most people seem to. He's even accentuating his differences by dressing in a different style than them- and he's respected.

In my comm class the other day we were talking about groups, and one of the things that came up was that cohesion fosters sameness and diversity fosters innovation. Ethari is an innovator, it's literally his job. He invents the wingalings in bloodmoon huntress, Runaan and Rayla's weapons, and probably a bunch more stuff we haven't seen. Maybe for all they value appearances and fitting in, moonshadow culture still recognizes that people like him are important and they aren't as effective when they have to fit in. They can't be too out there (remember, Ethari only bends the rules rather than breaking them) but as long as they stay within a certain radius of the norm they can gain a lot of respect. I think this is what Ethari has done. The fact that his family (Runaan, Tiadrin, Lain) are all pretty traditional probably helped a lot. They keep him from pushing too hard on the edge of the box and he keeps them flexible.

That they aren't there anymore has probably exacerbated the rift between him and the rest of the silvegrove caused by Rayla's ghosting and whatever news has reached them from the storm spire.

I am so excited to see him in S6. I thought about adding some speculation about what his new design might look like, but I honestly don't think he'll have changed that drastically aside from his hair. My biggest question is honestly whether or not he's still in The Silvergrove.

Bonus:

I bet that some of Ethari's relative weirdness rubbed off on Rayla. She didn't have many friends as a kid so, when she wasn't in school or with the assassins, it makes sense that hung out with Ethari a lot. Since he's less strict than Runaan she was probably only comfortable completely unmasking with him. He heard about all her crushes, fears, and insecurities that Runaan didn't. Which goes a long way to explaining why Ethari was the only one who could see she wouldn't be a good assassin; she was hiding those traits from everyone but him.

This also explains some of why he was so willing to believe that she ran away. Ethari saw all of her vulnerability, but he didn't see all of her strength. While she was out training and facing her fears with Runaan, Ethari was in the smithy and only heard about their exploits after the fact. Neither of them saw all of who Rayla is, but both of them thought they did and had to find out that they were wrong in just about the most heartbreaking way imaginable.

#ethari #tdp meta #character analysis #the part about why he would understand the other layer of rayla where no one else does is also so insightful and also makes me sad for her #worldbuilding #reblog

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Okay yes! So!

“From isles without name”->She’s from the Independent Isles, not Katolis or anywhere else. It’s why glory and having a Name on the map was probably so important to her

Past Katolis(uneven towers)

To the east were the fields

autumn's bountiful yields

but Skall did not hunger for bread

East of the river is Duren! Which is known for this:

So with winter's wind blowing

she sailed north, forgoing

a man who'd have made her his bride.

So maybe she stopped temporarily in Duren, perhaps at Berylgarten, and met a man there, but at the time glory was more important than love, so she then left and sailed further north.

There she found the hook she named after her, but then continued further east, during the winter when the ice is very dangerous — and it froze around her and trapped her

Lastly,

And oh, winter wailed

as east she sailed

into waters so deadly and cold.

More Rayllum parallels- Rayla travels east to track down Claudia, but leaves her love behind, and ends up regretting it or eventually returning realizing that love is more important than revenge, because unlike Skall, it’s not too late for her.

Ok one thing that is weird is that the sea should not be traversable by boat at all during winter- she shouldn’t have even been able to start to cross the sea. And winter is a theme that repeats multiple times in the poem . Maybe it’s metaphorical. On some level.

Off the top of my head, the only other place I can think of a winter motif is in Another Poem!! Midnight Star:

Elarion, trembling seed, lay down to earth in icy night, and in the cold her roots took hold defying winter’s deathly bite.

(but we'll have to keep eyes out in the future.)

We also have sailing north to be free (Callum to the starscraper) nature motif, trapped/chains motif, and peace mentioned

interestingly, she goes north to seek freedom but ends up trapped which may parallel Callum at the starscraper, metaphorically (or even literally)

The sea is definitely weird and it’s unclear whether it ever fully thaws

because if it was fully frozen, people could get across by sled or mount. But if it does thaw, humans could sail across into Xadia which defeats the purpose of the breach.

I think it wouldn’t fully thaw and be very difficult to navigate which was a big discouraging factor, to most people except Skall apparently

Luckily Callum also has the power of the sky and ocean on his side which surely should be enough to navigate where no human was able to before

but in any case title time!

at journey’s end, not poem’s end.

Though something heart themed or “always” would also be cool—! I favor this as @parroset says well here:

As they also already pointed out, each title connects to not only the A plot but side storylines. And:

For The Frozen Sea, we have not only have Rayllum traversing it, possibly learning the tale and Rayla’s connection to Skall, but also, the other sea: Sea of the Cast Out. No one looking for them, or if they were, unable to reach them. Both with someone important to them at another location. Both Skall and Aaravos were unwillingly trapped in a sea, frozen in a sense, but luckily, Aaravos is essentially immortal. Skall? Not so much.

But, there is a potential for a haunted ship episode there :^) Either a visage, or very real wreck. Either way, makes for a good time!

it also continues the themes of abandonment that we’ve already seen throughout the story several times. So! That’s fun! :,)

more contrast/setup for how Rayllum breaks a cycle like that, and generally seems like a Rayllum centric episode for sure.

but! Also, Aaravos, and possible flashbacks for him. Frozen Sea, connecting to the Sea of the Castout, where he was cast out not once but twice, and an area that holds his trauma and anger so strongly it shows up as a wave of blood in Viren’s nightmares. It could mean the time he spends just feeling numb and blocking out said pain (after being cast out either time)

But this sea of feelings can also connect to Rayla’s hardship, the complications between her and Callum and her difficulty communicating feelings. maybe we get some sort of break in the ice, physically, and metaphorically :)

Who knows I’m just rambling atp but wanted to add my thoughts :))

I’m really enjoying the title puzzles/games (haha game motif) and I love how this one added more to the lore of the world, feeding our fire >:) It’s cool how everyone was generally able to come to similar conclusions about the titles and lore but also with some separate focuses. I wonder if the puzzles will get harder as they go out or stay at this level of difficulty

[Okay, that last line is scaring tf out of me because it’s making me think of what Rayla said in Dear Callum.]

Anyhoo, overall takeaways and thoughts (genuine and stupid)

“sailing north, she called herself free” - isn’t the skyscraper north? I might have gotten that wrong, but maybe something with a star touch elf? Backstory maybe?

“past the uneven towers” - gotta be katolis right? Yk the whole symbol on the crown with the uneven towers?

“did not hunger for bread” - bread sandwich.

Yeah, that’s all I got for now

#needed to get this out before I went to sleep bc wip had been sitting in my drafts all day #the dragon prince #self spaghettification #tdp analysis #last crazy thought: rayla frostbite wound #it’ll make sense later (in my head) it’s for the ice dragon bite… just in case I’m not delulu #This was initially going to be a short reblog but then I was like fuck it we ball #full analysis time #Sorry about that 💀

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ok I finally posted my analysis/speculation on this poem before I go to bed (if you want to read)

also while I’m here, this probably isn’t anything, but, the rhyme scheme

We also have nature motif, chains/trapped motif, winter motif (like Elarion), freedom, peace, and abandonment 👀

#the dragon prince #season 6 title game #tdp meta #It’s 3 am oops

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Do you think that the unicorns are secretly alive? because soren mentioned his horse finding a unicorn

I do

nice-horse is my OTP

#it’s beayotiful🩷 #tdp memes #tdp crack

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Looks very hard at this and at the Skall poem and at this and back at the Skall Poe

Aspencore

#I’m normal #it s going to be a Rayllum episode isn’t it #bonus for frozen sea = sea of cast out (both unwillingly trapped) #maybe I make proper analysis post #Reblog

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dostoyevsky kinda ate with “your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.”

#viren #It is indeed. The most Viren thing ever

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#how it feels to be right

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OH YEAH BC IT HAD TO BE SOMEONE ON THE MAP DIDNT IT

Hwjehrjwjwjw screams in Aaravos’s ex

OMG

#reblog #tdp speculation

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#okay but if they find the ship

YEAH 👀👀

yeah the Rayllum parallels do got me 👀

like ur telling me Skall left her man???

and the ship on the map

she’s possibly???

haunting a ship in the frozen seas??? HEHEHEHEE😈

ok I’m also thinking about Robert from Frankenstein Y’all (and this is where I’m getting all my frozen sea knowledge from)

Do we get a

Haunted ship episode

That would be so fun

Bc if they're going there in winter the ice will be frozen over and they'll be able to walk across it lol

Over to Xadia

Hehehehejeheheit

OMG

#captain skall #tdp spoilers #tdp s6 #tdp speculation

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#virenweek2020 day 5: memory

turn into daydreams become a taboo

#Viren #sarai #harrow #tdp art

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Very interesting insights that I think will come in handy for the rest of the puzzles tbh!! and I support our work going delusionally deep 🫡

Theories ft @parroset

What do y’all think 👀

#Good insights&analysis thank you!! #parroset

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Fashion brain currently staring at this very excited and trying to think which to get and how to style it (XL drip or crop top size)

I’ve been here 30 minutes and still can’t decide which size/version I’m going to get bc I know my ass is going to wear this shirt every day for the rest of my life😭😭

what you gon do when i roll up wearing this

#going insane

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WAIT SINCE WHEN DO THEY HAVE THOSE I NEED IT NOW 😭

what you gon do when i roll up wearing this

#aaravos #self spaghettification #jay ily