#And I'm saying that knowing ETHARI WASN'T IN IT!!!

[lily-lilou]

Hi everyone! Long time no see!!! I haven't come here in Eons, but what better motivation that earlier release of S5!!!

So! My thought on 5 without spoiler and out of context?

We don't see a lot of Aaravos but almost everything he says has a double entendre. He knows it, you know it. The writers know it. EVERYONE KNOWS IT!

Terry is a dork. 

Callum is a dork. 

Everyone is a dork!

Amaya and Janai: I'll jump into danger without hesitation and make difficult decision for my people. What? Picking flower? Impossible, I can't!

Also that scene with Zubeia who goes full Batman-dramatic-entrance - It was amazing, it was cliche (because hey! No risk to squash the little humans?) and no, I won't give context!

Bloodmoon Huntress. Seriously!

PIRATE KING!!!!

trust issues

control issues

daddy issues

lot, lot of issues! Especially for Viren 

Worst of ALL THINGS: that 5 seconds of Ethari content in the credits. Yes, you heard me! This is so cruel :’( 

But also, my thought/comments on S5 WITH spoiler (just after seeing the whole thing)? 

my old theory about the first time using dark magic, the person might have a choice to do through that weird dream?? Check, apparently (Claudia: "it only happens when you use dark magic for the first time!") 

BABY SOREN AND BABY CLAUDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 4th coin was: Viren’s master! hehehehe! ... eh? I didn’t see that one coming! (and apparently Rayla... let it rot on the dungeon floor?... maybe not?

Also: Viren + twin Peaks. That's all, I won't comment more on this. 

The Jailer! Please. I want to know more. She was human? what kind of magic did she use? who is she? Where does she come from? I WANNA KNOW!!! EXPLAIN!!! 

theory? Yeah, she’s related to the crow lord!

Ocean arch dragon? 3 minutes on screen, but yes, I already love you!

Karim is stupid

Queen Aditi!

Sol Regem: I want context. "I lost my hope long before I lost my sight"? CONTEXT PLEASE! Also I repeat: KARIM IS STUPID!!!! AND WHAT WITH THAT PRIEST!!!

You know Callum, you could have just taken the book with you from the start. or just come back the next day... >_>’

Also, speaking of corruption: the mushroom mage. Great, but... could he have helped with Lux Aurea? Or something?... no? Just me? 

who cares, I already love him =D

Who's that dude in front of Aaravos's statue? You know, the other statue LOTR like? Is he also a startouch? Seems like it. Who is he? 

Next season objectif? Saving the coins with magic cristals because imediate crisis averted (pfff you bet!). And hey! What a coincidence, magic sword to kill a startouch in the same package! 

That weird old skywing with bandaged eyes in the credits. Pretty sure he’s in that tower with the sword

Bait + Baitlings: yes!

PIRATE KING!!!! (a crafty jerk, but we like him anyway - I do hope he’s not dead). Also, Villads and Nyx. 

Callum: gets punched in the face a few times, read a poem, get a weird advice from an old hermit-crab-lady and bingo! Ocean arcanum reached + bonus speech about control issues! (or did I miss a few things?)

Everyone has been shocked to hear Aaravos saying "our child" to Viren (the viraavos shipers will implode, with that one) - anyone notices it means Claudia and Soren have a half-sibling, now? 

will Viren survive? Will he reach an arcanum? ohohohoh! I wanna see! (Stupid theory: Aaravos is schocked his pawn isn’t moving according to plan, but will test his resolve before actually saving him... of doing it through Claudia)

last thing: squid Claudia. yes! you heard me!

Pfioooo! What a ride! That’s all for now. I’m gonna digest all of this. 

#the dragon prince #TDP #Viren #Aaravos #Season 5 #Spoilers #Season 5 spoilers #it was amazing #in my eyes far better than s4 #And I'm saying that knowing ETHARI WASN'T IN IT!!! #THE UNFAIRNESS!!!

[rumowrites]

Okay but-

I love that they included Runaan having "shoot before thinking" reflexes because of course he does.

He's been training and working as an assassin for so long it's ingrained into his very soul. And he can't just turn it off. Look at his genuine shock when he realizes who he's been shooting at. He drops his bow. And we know with how much care he treats that weapon usually.

Even later when Ethari asks about him shooting at Rayla, he defends himself by saying he didn't know it was her, implying that he shot before looking.

I think it's also interesting to see that he tries to change the topic towards Rayla rather quickly. As if he knows that his work and his reflexes have made him dangerous, even to his loved ones, and does not want to talk about that.

Even though Rayla clearly isn't bothered by almost getting shot, Runaan is. We see him having an overly emotional reaction exactly twice and both times it’s concerning his work and Rayla. The first one is the above panels where he is scared that he almost shot her and directs that fear towards her instead. The second is just a few pages later when talking to Rayla about his job as an assassin.

I'm am wagering that this happened before by the way that Ethari doesn't ask anything else after Runaan tells him he didn't know it was her. Probably even frequently, especially at the beginning of their relationship when Runaan wasn't used to having him around yet.

The face of a man realizing he almost shot his adopted daughter on accident.

#runaan #tdp #ethari #ruthari #the dragon prince #bloodmoon huntress spoilers #bloodmoon huntress

[raayllum]

What really makes Rayla's ghosting f*cked up to me is the Silver Groves reasoning behind it. It was the simple fact that she was the only member of the team who survived (to their knowledge). Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I'm getting the impression that they (Ethari obviously being the exception) expected her to die on the mission as "redemption" for her parents supposed cowardness.

To me I think it's worse, somehow, because I don't think the Silvergrove expected Rayla to die for her parents' sins (at least not on that level, but Rayla does internalize a lot of it that way in 3x08 pretty directly).

The Ghosting is a punishment for if you don't die, or 'kill' yourself (die in the line of duty accordingly), we'll kill you ourselves (metaphorically in the show, more literally in the book one novelization). Public collective shaming and ex-communication and all that. There's a reason, I think, why people have been able to pretty smoothly read aspects of religious, particularly Christian, trauma onto Rayla and her attitudes towards sacrifice/suffering and the response(s) of her village to her.

That said: the Silvergrove wasn't wrong to be mad or grieving. They'd just lost 5 members of a clearly close knit and fairly small community, all of whom had families/loved ones. However, the issue is:

They had no way of knowing any of what had happened was Rayla's fault

They had no way of knowing she hadn't just been captured and escaped, or injured and taking a longer time to get home

She was 15 years old

As Callum says, "You didn't even give Rayla a chance to explain herself," which means it's a collective punishment without a trial

Rayla states that "They think I ran away, just like my parents" which means there probably is a societal shame/linking "guilty by association" aspect coming into play, too

Thereby, what the Silvergrove based their entire, seemingly irreversible judgement on was 1) everyone else on Rayla's team died in a timely fashion and 2) for whatever reason, she didn't, and they assumed it was because she was too afraid to die for their cause (when if anything, Rayla is routinely a little too willing to die for any and all causes she thinks is worthy of it) despite having zero tangible evidence for it.

Runaan and the other assassins were counting on having the element of surprise, wanted to make it home (ofc / "I promise I will return your heart to you"), and expected to: "We can accomplish this mission without sacrifice" (1x01). But once Rayla lets Marcos go, as Runaan says, "You let him live, but you killed us all" (which yes they could've, at any point, just called off the mission for their own wellbeing, but they were 1. already bound and 2. Moonshadows don't usually work like that, nevermind Moonshadow assassins).

Which could be decent, if still brutal, grounds for Ghosting Rayla, but like - the Silvergrove doesn't even have that, with even less proof than they had for Lain and Tiadrin (egg stolen, no bodies found).

It's like... either you all die for the good of the cause, or you all survive, and anything in between is unacceptable. Nothing like an extreme, steep hell heaven divide y'know?

#the silvergrove #thanks for asking #raylangst #lordjarman #sorry if this wasn't super coherent i am quite sleepy #ghosting is probs their twisted version of purgatory to a degree #just with less hope and more punishment

[tategaminu]

SOOO the title for 05X6 dropped and I'm going feral

Be prepared to hear my long ass theory about this episode and why it will be the rayllum fully gets back together episode (I'm annoying)

Of course we already know season 6 will mirror S3 or at least that's what it looks like. "Moonless Night" is episode 5‚ the same one when Callum and Rayla first got together‚ just as 4 had the title of the place they reach. (The Midnight Desert‚ The Starcrapper)

I have to add‚ just as season 3 had Nyx‚ there's this sky girl called Astrid who may act as the Nyx parallel‚ who knows.

I don't use Discord but my info provider (hello there) told me Devon said episode five would be emotionally heavy and a favourite. A person said ep2 of season 5 were their favourite because the cute rayllum moments and Devon said "until 5 of 6" 🧐

Aparently, it was confirmed by writers this episode would DESTROY people KILL EVEN, well maybe not that but you get me. We know how emotional these two blorbos are for each other right? and we for them. In Discord, a person said ep2 of season 5 were their favourite because the cute rayllum moments and Devon said "until 5 of 6" 🧐

Now let's go to the juicy part. The title. This title is absolutely loaded. like wth. We all know whose favourite girl is related to the moon right? of course we are worried. But I think she's gonna be ok, in the end at least, let me explain.

Of course I'm asuming this scene from the teaser may be from episode 5. We see Callum falling in a moonless night but I'm guessing the title isn't that literal. I think Callum is falling emotionally and literally just as he has before for Rayla. He fell in love with her‚ he fell off a cliff for her and then fell emotionally when she left. The sky he is in is dark‚ no moon‚ representing his own mental state without Rayla. Rayla left him at night just as Callum is falling in the night (omg)

Callum had a moonless night every day for two years because his guiding moon wasn't in his life. I think they may talk about it or it will affect Callum in this episode some way.

Note that the teaser opens with this scene, next we have Aaravos saying "we are all of us, stardust, held together by love for an instant"

(wow subtle foreshadowing you guys)

and the teaser ends with Callum losing his love wings. The wings he got for her. Basically opening with a rayllum scene and closing with a "rayllum" scene ya know

In Chasing Shadows Rayla specifically mentions the stars in his eyes‚ when he does the big speech:

Now‚ what do I think will happen?

EP3: They visit the Silvergroove? just like in ep 3x3. Maybe visit Ethari? "heeey your husband is alive ok bye". My own guess is that they will get the boat from the leaked scene there since there are moon animals in that thing and reach the frozen ship with that.

Ep4: they reach destination and meet the sky elves, Astrid included, with no hiccups. ba dum tss

Ep5: Basically 05x3 but different and sexier

Whatever Callum is about to do I highly doubt Rayla will agree with it because you know how they are (me getting hurt is ok but not you). He convinces her like he did in TTM‚

But this time Rayla is the one to say it

I think that even if Callum promises he will be ok‚ he will have a "I want you to know" moment again and that may lead to talking about her leaving. This may derive into a kinda argument. Callum and Rayla can't continue their talk because they get interrumped (once again) but the memories of a broken heart and feelings affects him badly. He's just emotionally distraught and loses his love wings because whatever. I doubt Rayla isn't seeing any of this, you know how she is. She didn't spend 7 hours watching him sleep to actually not watch this like c'mon

This time Rayla may be the one saving Callum from falling (literally and metaphorically). Now yeah Rayla can't fly but maybeeee

A: she calls out for his name, "waking" him up

B: she just jumps (im going for this one) like Callum did for her. She jumps, not knowing if it's going to work, wakes him up after catching him‚ Callum is able to get his wings back and fly them both into safety, Callum gets his love wings again for her but this time she's being the savior (in the most part). Maybe even completing whatever mission they ask as well. TOGETHER.

After this we may get a Rayla is a hero speech or this time Callum is a hero speech, I don't know‚ I think it would be more fitting if it's from Callum and the hero Callum speech is from Rayla to her parents. Whateve, they finally have their three sesaon dragged conversation and they both kiss like in S3 but maybe reversed this time (Rayla kissing first and apologizing and Callum kissing her next) and they fully come back together :'). I dont think we will get an I love you until ep 9 but we won't really need it here right? we already know!

The episode ends with them kissing under the moon. Moonless Night ending with with a moon night (metaforically and literally)

Now‚ this is just my own guess and it sounds very very self-indulgent (heh) but a girl can dream

#i may be wrong but my heart is in the right place and thats what matters #listen im still fangirling #THE TITLE JOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH #now even if they get back together here i dont think this will the fully “i forgive her” i think that will be in ep 9 with the love confess #after something bad happens ya knowpossesion #listen im not a meta blog sorry if this doesnt make sense but im going rabid and needed to do this #rayllum #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp theory #tdpredictions #rayla #callum #tdp s6 spoilers #tdp s6

[nerdasaurus1200]

I saw Dragon Prince season 4 and hoo boy do I have thoughts (in no particular order)

First off, it's adorable how much of a magic nerd Callum is. He's grown so much and become so much stronger in two years

Stella is baby. She's living her best life with her cuddlemama and future cuddle papa. Speaking of, let Callum becalled a cuddlepapa by himself or Rayla next season

Zym and Ezran have grown up so much and it both breaks and warms my heart

Okay, so Rayla is a Dragonguard. Good to know.

Terry is my son now. I adopted him, he's mine.

I feel like Callum is just a little bit jealous of Stella getting love from Rayla

“The other elves saw me as a doe, but I knew. I always knew that I was a buck. I..chose the name Terrestrius.”....This line here. This line is gonna stick with me forever. I honestly didn't expect them to outright tell or show us Terry is trans but I'm so glad. That's gonna mean so much to trans kids watching this show. And the fact that Viren has no problems with it at all makes it even more special. Although Terry's wording makes me wonder if someone in his family didn't accept him.

Oh man I just read his wiki page and apparently Terry is still mid transition

I'm calling it now, that girl that figured out Araavos is Harrow and Ezran's descendant

Well, at least we know how loyal Terry is to Claudia.....someone get this poor boy a mug of hot cocoa, a blanket, a hug, and a therapist; he's earned it. He was 100% having a panic attack

"I'm gonna feel all the feelings!" THAT'S RIGHT YOU GO MY FUNKY BOY

I KNEW IT! I KNEW RAYLA'S PARENTS WERE IN THE COINS!GOD POOR RAYLA! ETHARI AND CALLUM ARE GONNA LOSE THEIR SHIT!

Hot damn, Ezran's speech combined with Ibis and Claudia fighting was powerful...that whole scene really encapsulates what the entire show is about, I think

Zubeia gets more and more badass with every episode

I wasn't expecting the chocolate tart to be brought back but it's nice that Rex Igneous liked it. Although how could he taste so much of such a little thing?

Ohhhhh wait, I just got that! Rex means king, he's KING Igneous!

Oh man I had no idea Ezran's crown is made from Harrow's sword

That possesion scene was straight up creepy, I honestly thought Callum died for a second

Speaking of creepy, I never wanna see snake Claudia again, please and thank you

I know Callum is angry at Rayla but he needs to talk to her, really. I feel like he's using the possession thing as an excuse to not talk about their relationship. Like, I do think he's genuinely shaken up by it but he's choosing to focus on that because it's easier

Soren...god, Soren has changed so much. In just 3 years, this boy has gone from picking fights with dragons and being eager to kill them to not being able to turn away from a dragon in need. He even shed his armor for her. Season 1 Soren would NEVER have done that in a million years

Another thing S1 Soren would never do is that talk with Claudia. Man, that was deep.

Also I love Soren's new look, I feel like it suits him way better than his knight armor

I dunno why I expected an out of the gate dramatic conversation when Soren found Claudia. Although I am glad we still got them having that conversation

I will say though, I do wish we got more of a reaction to Terry from Soren

Can Squeaky return next season as Soren's dragon pal? Please? he's the only one that doesn't have an animal companion

"I wanna spend the last month traveling with my daughter, the most important person in the world to me" I....it's nice that you're finally learning to not be a jackass Viren, but did you forget that you have a son??? Is Soren just chopped liver to you?

That said, I do appreciate that Viren has changed. I feel like he's definitely not gonna become immortal.

Regarding Claudia's speech about human suffering....either she's been fed TONS of propaganda by Araavos or she's taking it way too personally after all this time. Like, girl, you have an elf boyfriend, calm down

Awww the return of big feelings time!

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #the dragon prince spoilers #nerd talks #claudia #terry #viren #rayla #callum #harrow #ezran #araavos #rex igneous #soren #zym

[yurayuramiharin]

Ruthari #7 for the prompt? 👀

Ship + kiss writing challenge

7: A kiss to shut up

When the two elves were heading back to their sleepy village, the horizon was glowing with pinks and violets of the incoming sunrise. They’d been out all night, watching Moonstriders on a secluded clearing by the waterfall and strolling through the Moonshadow Forest trembling with the magic of the Spring Equinox. 

Ever since they’d left the clearing, Ethari was silent, so silent that Runaan, the least talkative elf in Silvergrove, was starting to panic and making up the worst scenarios. He’d asked the young metalsmith for a hangout a few days ago when Lain had literally pushed him inside the forge and demanded that he finally asked Ethari out and quit his endless pining. Runaan would never dare to call it a date, let alone say it out loud. And certainly, he would never expect that Ethari would agree to hang out with him. 

In his head, Runaan thought that Ethari hated their hangout and would rather keep quiet about it than make Runaan sad. He should’ve planned this hangout better. Shadows, he didn’t even know if Ethari liked Moonstriders in the first place! Runaan should’ve known that not everyone was obsessed with Moonstriders as much as he was because regular elves were not necessarily interested in details of their behavior, when and where they migrated during the year, or how their age could be estimated by the slight differences in the color of their feathers–

“Runaan?” Ethari’s gentle voice struck him out of his thoughts. He rapidly turned his head towards the metalsmith, afraid that on top of everything, he'd upset Ethari by ignoring him. Instead, he saw Ethari smiling at him in a way that made his heart skip a beat every time.

"I was asking if you think they're going to be there next week too?" Ethari asked, continuing to walk leisurely next to Runaan.

"Y-yes, they should be there until mid-May," Runaan mumbled in response.

"I see," Ethari nodded before the silence fell between them again. Runaan couldn't bear it. He stopped and so did the other elf.

"Ethari, I… Please don't have to pretend you're enjoying this," Runaan stuttered. "I know you agreed to come only because you're too kind to refuse,"

"Runaan, I'm not pretending!" Ethari instantly protested but Runaan was too caught up in spilling his thoughts.

"I know that I can be annoying, t-that I don't usually talk, and when I do I mostly talk about Moonstriders or combat. And I know I don't always get the jokes you and Lain tell me," 

"Runaan…" 

"A-and even though I know you're the kindest elf in Silvergrove, I didn't expect you to agree to come to hang out with me like that, a-and you asked me if I know someplace special and this was the only— mmh!" Runaan was not allowed to finish his sentence when Ethari cradled his face in his hands and pressed their lips together. 

Just like that, the whole world around them went still. Runaan froze, too stunned to react when Ethari's soft lips kept moving against his own, and it felt nowhere near the way Runaan had pictured it in countless of his dreams. It felt even better, warmer, and sweeter than Moonberry Surprise and Runaan wished their kiss would never end.

In the end, Ethari pulled away from him but didn't let go of Runaan's face. He was looking at him with those deep brown orbs and Runaan had to remind himself how to breathe again when Ethari chuckled and shook his head with eyes closed. 

"Now that you finally shut up, listen to me," Ethari laughed, slowly stroking Runaan's cheekbones with his thumbs. "I loved our hangout, every second of it. I love when you tell me about Moonstriders, how your eyes light up whenever you do," Ethari spoke and Runaan could swear that if it wasn't for the rising sun blinding him from behind the trees, he would think that he'd eaten poisonous berries and was now hallucinating. 

"You're not annoying in the slightest. Even when you're not talking, you're a wonderful listener and it made me so happy when you invited me to come with you tonight. It was amazing and I was hoping we could do that again."

"E-eee…" Runaan tried to say something but it seemed like Ethari had temporarily taken away his ability to form coherent sentences. Ethari was practically grinning with delight now, his smile brighter than the sun before his eyes. 

"I take it as a 'yes' " Ethari whispered before he pulled Runaan's face closer once again, sealing their arrangement with a kiss. 

#ruthari #neurodivergent runaan #miharin writes

[blubberingblobmonster]

Ok i know I'm like REALLY really late to the party (I probably even missed it) but I just got the chance to read Bloodmoon Huntress and I just wanna say...

OMFG IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW! THAT'S WHY RAYLA HATES WATER! BECAUSE OF KIM'DAEL!

I can't imagine what it was like for her in that moment. If it wasn't for Runaan saving her and Ethari's magic mouse finding her, she would've drowned. It must've been traumatising. I wonder how she'll deal with her water fear in season 5 considering the fact that they will probably spend almost the entire season on a boat which is in the water.

#judging from the poster btw #in the screenshots we got she seemed pretty confident but idk #we'll see in about 2 months #also Ethari is officially my favourite #he's the mom friend #I bet Rayla and Runaan have arguments frequently and Ethari's just tired of constantly trying to calm them down #he probably misses them so much right now #if we don't see them reunite in a later season then I'm throwing hands #the dragon prince #rayla tdp #runaan #ethari #rayla #bloodmoon huntress #tdp season 5 #kim'dael #tdp

[kaseyskat]

does anyone remember when i was tdp on main years ago... probably not... well with s4 around the corner i got an idea to write something that will most certainly not age well and be disproven in a week, please enjoy <3

~

The mission had to be secretive. 

Despite all of Ezran's bids for peace and a new friendship with the Dragon Queen, the human nations - and Katolis especially - were still... wary, of the idea of hosting elves. It was hard enough to lobby for the friendlier Earthblood and Skywing elves to come and trade goods, but the thought of hosting Moonshadow elves after the assassinations? 

Yeah, it wasn't happening anytime in the foreseeable future. 

But this mission was different, personal. It had come only a few months after Callum's birthday, when he had desperately sent off a letter, "d chatted with Soren and with Gren for the rest of the details, had been stupidly hopeful. Despite his naive hope, he hadn't actually expected anything to come out of it; he knows her too well for that, knows her sense of pride would have her avoid everything until it stands directly in front of her, but he had still hoped... 

...well, the fruits of his labor now stands in front of him, clearly uncomfortable in the stone of the palace. 

"I appreciate your cooperation in this," Callum says as he leads the way to his own chambers. "Most of the people of Katolis are still... hesitant around Moonshadow elves." 

"I cannot say I blame them," Ethari says, and his hood drops now that he's indoors. "I must admit, I feel the same, knowing tragedy has befallen us all in this very place." 

At the very least, he's... considerate. Callum admittedly hadn't gotten the greatest impression of Rayla's pseudo-father figure in the short time they had met, except that Ethari had humored his bad jokes and had, at the very least, seemed to love Rayla very much- that had to be enough for now. 

Even now though, he droops with the heavy weight of grief, and not for the first time, Callum is reminded of all he and Ezran have fought for since the day their lives changed. 

"You got my letter, so you know why I've invited you here," he says instead, choosing to ignore the heavier nature of their conversation. "Two of the finest people I know have both testified that the leader of the assassins was kept alive before our previous high mage vanished him, and though I can't tell you exactly what happened to him..." 

"...I understand," Ethari promises, and there's a visible slump to his shoulders as they finally reach Callum's room, where he's prepared what he has found. A bow, shining with elven magic, found in Viren's own lab along with the mirror that Callum has hidden away. It could only belong to one; in fact, Callum had seen its owner wielding it only moments before it had been used to fatally end his stepfather's life. 

Some part of him, bitter and vindictive, had wanted to destroy the bow in vengeance. Instead, he had polished it and kept it as a reminder that even his enemies have families and lives of their own. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you," he says as Ethari grasps at the bow, holds it like a long-lost friend, close and tight to his own heart. It reminds him of the way King Harrow had cherished everything of his mother's after she died; everything including Callum himself, though he only realizes this in the bittersweet ache of hindsight. 

And yet, as he remembers what he had seen in the lair of the Dragon Queen, remembers the fate that he just needs evidence to prove, he keeps quiet. No need for false hope, not yet, not when he doesn't even know if there's a cure. 

"What you have done is more than enough, I know what he took from you as well," Ethari says remorsefully, and he finally looks up at Callum once again. "But I know you did not draw me all the way from Xadia just to gift me Runaan's bow. What troubles you?" 

Callum hesitates, and then commits. "It's Rayla," he confesses. “She’s been gone for months now, and I… worry. She hasn’t talked to you?” 

He doesn’t know what he’s expecting. Somehow, he had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Rayla’s first stop after disappearing had been to drop by the Silvergrove. He doesn’t even know if she’s still Ghosted, and the way Ethari’s face falls seems to confirm what he had been fearing.  

“Rayla is… free-spirited,” Ethari says, and his lips curl in the barest form of a smile. “She loves hard, but she also has a sense of… righteousness and duty, the kind of person who’d risk everything on a whim for what she believes is right. She’s done this time and time again, and it seems this time, you were the casualty and not the cause. It’s hard being the one left behind, isn’t it?” 

Callum sighs, and his heart aches in his chest as he stares forlorn at the ground. “I just wish I had been enough for her to stay,” he admits, and it comes out wretched, hollow. It’s nothing he hasn’t thought before, but he’s kept them buried, not wanting to put the pressure of his own problems on Ezran or Soren, not this time. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Ethari steps forwards, gently placing a hand on Callum’s shoulder. It draws Callum out of his self-inflicted stupor, and he can’t help but relax at the way Ethari looks at him; it feels strangely comforting. “One day, she will come right back to you as though nothing has changed and preaching about her goals and what she’s accomplished, just as you two did to me. When that day comes, make sure to stop by the Silvergrove again, will you? I’ll ensure that you two receive a safe welcome.” 

The implications - that maybe, Ethari will be able to remove Rayla’s ghost status in her town, has Callum breathing a sigh of relief. “Will do,” he grins, and a thought occurs to him. “You know, in some weird way, you’re probably the closest thing I have to a father figure left, too.” 

“Ah, is that so?” Ethari chuckles, and he slings the bow across his back, still holding it with gentle hands. “Ah, to be a single father at my age… might as well break my back now.” 

Callum laughs, and despite the circumstances, he’s finally feeling… not better, but maybe okay with the situation. 

Besides, he thinks as he sees Ethari off again, it probably won’t be too long before I see Rayla again. 

Right? 

#kasey writes stuff #the dragon prince #the dragon prince spoilers #ttm spoilers #callum #ethari #the rayllum and ruthari are both heavily implied but not technically enough to tag #i just needed them to have a conversation i apologize #this is the first thing ive written that WASNT amphibia in so long now it feels unnatural

[thedizzydinosaur]

@tdpprism2024

March 17: chains (imprisonment/connections)

Runaan would never forget the way he first met the elf that he would one day marry.

It had all started the day that the master assassin he was training under had strode into an earthblood mining camp, with his apprentice trotting obediently behind him.

"Stay close." Mtius hissed to the Runaan, who immediately fell into step beside him, "I don't trust anyone here."

The camp was clustered at the base of a smoking mountain, and from his vantage, Runaan could see that there were earthblood elves everywhere, looking like ants up on the slopes as they moved between the mine tunnels and open quarries.

Mtius lead the way into the heart of the camp, passed dusty buildings, and right up to a smoking forge.

The earthblood elf running the forge glaced up as they approached, scowling.

"What do you want." She grumbled, squinting at the assassin, completely ignoring the lanky preteen at his side.

"I think you already know." Mtius replied in a cool, neutral tone. "My order is over a month late."

Runaan glanced past the grouchy earthblood as she started to argue and argue loudly that the delay was justified, scanning the racks of blades and mining tools for any sign of the missing order.

A bunch of cast metal training weapons should be easy to spot between the more rugged gear on display, but...

"Ach, damnit, you great shrike you." Without warning, she spun on her heels and bellowed into the back of the forge."OI, KID! GET OUT HERE!."

There was a clattering, and a short, white haired boy shot out from behind a curtain.

"Yes ma'am?" He squeaked.

"Order 125, go get it out the back"

"Yes ma'am."

The boy disappeared as quickly as he appeared, ducking back undec the curtain that separated what was probably the storage room from the rest of the forge.

But the short look the boy got at the other moonelf, no older then himself, was enough to make his stomach churn.

Around his neck was clamped a heavy iron collar.

Runaan knew that slavery existed outside of the small village he'd grown up in, but.... to see a child, one he could have easily gone to school with..

He felt sick.

- -

They did not get too far before the owner of this dusty mountain side caught up to them, insisting that he had a job for the Mtius. No killing, no no, but you see, there were these rabble rousers that were starting to kick off over at the inn.....

So Runaan was left alone, tucked away in one of head honcho's guest rooms.

Not that he stayed there long.

The smell of whatever was being used to keep the bugs out was making his skin itch, and not even opening the window was making the sensation go away and... well..

The air outside wasn't exactly fresh, with all the dust and Ash, but it was better then being inside.

His feet took him back towards the forge, completely by accident.

The other boy was outside, trying to sweep the endless dust away from the window and door. He looked a lot like he had been crying.

"Oh... hello." The boy whispered softly when he realised that he was not alone out in the street. "Can I help you? The forge master has gone to bed already."

He sounded so.. fragile.

And Runaan’s mouth moved before his mind could

"That looks heavy." Runaan blurted out, almost immediately cringing.

"The broom?"

"No the... uh.." Runaan motioned to the dented ring of metal locked around the boys neck. Up close, it looked way too big for him, like it was for an adult.

"Oh... yeh.. it is." Was the meek reply.

The duo stood in the twilight, awkwardly trying to figure out what to say next.

"Uh... I'm Ethari. Or.. that's what my mum named me." The boy broke the silence. "My... boss... calls me something else, but.."

"Ethari’s a nice name."

"Thank you." Ethari blushed a little "what's yours?"

Runaan opened his house to reply, but before he could, a sudden shout from behind him made him (and Ethari) jump out of their skins.

"RUNAAN! What did I tell-" Mtius appeared from the shadows, a look of thunder on his face, before all anger vanished from his voice once he clocked that Runaanwas not alone. "Oh. Hello, young one. I hope my apprentice is not bothering you."

Ethari muttered out a soft 'its ok', and stepped backwards into the doorway, head bowed.

"Come on, we need to get a move on" Mtius started to hurry Runaan along, eyes flicking behind them. "I believe we have overstayed our welcome l."

There was shouting coming from somewhere back towards where the inn was, getting closer.

"I'd go inside if I was you young man." He told Ethari other his shoulder, and then they were gone.

--

Ethari stayed in Runaan’s mind over the next week.

He sat quietly amongst the other trainees in the middle of camp, thinking about those sad amber eyes and chafed skin, as they collectively watched the march of the full moon across the midnight sky.

Every now and then, there would be the faint sound of violence coming from somewhere beyond the trees, from where dark smoke stained the night sky.

Sunfire led raids on illegal mining settlements were usually violent things and not places for apprentices to be.

Just before dawn, they were summoned to the edge of the forest.

There were a lot of cuffed and shackled elves being loaded into the back of prison wagons- notably including the forge master.

She shot Mtius a truly evil look before she was loaded up.

"what's going to happen to him?" Runaan asked, watching as Ethari, looking so small and delicate amongst the other enslaved elves sitting off to the side.

"I'm not sure." Mtius admitted sadly. "Likely he'll be kept by the sunfire elves until the court case is over, after that, well..."

He shrugged.

" That's up to the courts to decide,"

--

Ethari would tell him, years later, that the foster home he landed in was not that bad, to be honest. Or at least, his foster parents were better than his former owner.

Not tones better, due to the number of children in the home, but..

"They fed me at least." He'd muse one night as they watched the stars shimmering above them. "But let me tell you, I was very happy the day I moved out."

Runaan pressed his face into Ethari’s neck, eyes glancing over the healed over, hardly visible scaring hidden from the world under Ethari’s scarf.

"How far we've come, huh?" Ethari hummed into Runaan’s hair. "How far we've come."

#tdpprism2024 #the dragon prince #tdp ethari #tdp runaan

[hoothalcyon]

One Text Bubble Means So Much

Hi! I'm back and ready to overthink more of Bloodmoon Huntress.

This exchange.

THESE words mean so much when you look at them closely.

Dialogue always has to matter. It has to reveal a character's motivations/personality, move the plot forwards, etc. And the example above does exactly that. But it's what it reveals to us that is truly important and amazing.

By choosing to react to his husband's 'cold' silence towards Rayla by saying "forgive him, he gets grumpy after a long night..." we watch as he chooses to react with love rather than snark. If you've been around toxic people you KNOW he could have told Rayla anything along the lines of "sorry that he acted that way" or "he's in a bad mood, isn't he" (especially because he knows Runaan wouldn't have heard it because at that point, he'd left the room). But instead, he chooses the absolute sweetest, most docile response I could think of.

In one simple sentence, he both validates his husband's feelings and asks Rayla to be patient with him.

But yet it has ANOTHER meaning other than the obvious answer, which would be because he loves Runaan, of course...

"Forgive him" is the first phrase he says, and of course he wants everyone to be happy in the treehouse, but it's so much more than that. He wants people to see the good side of his husband. He KNOWS how they must see him and what kinds of preconceived notions they must have about him. And he knows they're not true. So he does what he can. He interrupts the noise.

Of course, Rayla doesn't see this side of her parental figure--she doesn't even know what an assassin does. But Ethari jumps in anyways, because Runaan's darkness--for lack of a better word--permeates him in more ways than just when he's actively on a mission. Even when he doesn't mean for it to. Runaan can't control it. It's all he knows sometimes; he wasn't taught gentle coping mechanisms or how to appease people in a socially acceptable manner. So he stays silent and leaves. But they both know how that looks to little Rayla, and so Ethari knows that he'll cover the confusion part, and let his husband work out the emotional repercussions of whatever he just did the night before.

I couldn't think of a more perfect way for Ethari to reply. Or for someone I love to reply when I'm having a shutdown and can't afford to be polite towards other people's feelings.

#tdp #tdp speculation #tdp meta #hoot writes meta #runaan #ethari #rayla #ruthari #discord saw it first #Bloodmoon huntress

[am-i-space]

Picnic with adoraburrs 🍓

A short story about some dragon prince fluff  based on an idea of @official-weasley and me (bare with the punctuation I don't know how that works in English xD)

It was a warm sunny day in Xadia, so Rayla and the princes decided that having a picnic would be the perfect way to spend the day. They were quick to convince Runaan and Ethari to join them since neither of them could say no to their daughter nor deny that they themselves would love to enjoy this beautiful day out in the forest with their friends. While Rayla and Callum helped Ethari prepare the food they wanted to take with them, Ez and Zym went to find Amaya and Gren to convince them to join their picnic, prepared to play the “i'm the king” card if necessary. 

Amaya would still be tired after only returning to the moonshadow village during the night after spending a few days with her girlfriend Janai but she always had a hard time saying no to her nephews especially with what they both went through the past few months bringing Zym back to his mother.

An hour later the food was prepared and Runaan just finished packing it, Ez finally convinced Bait to jump into his backpack for the walk and Gren gently forced Amaya out of bed and into fresh clothes. They all met at the edge of the forest ready to leave the village for their little adventure.

Zym and Ez were the first to run into the forest, chasing after a brightly coloured bird that seemed to be playing with Zym moving gracefully through the branches of the old trees while Zym, still not used to flying, used the branches of younger trees and big mushrooms to jump and glide to follow the bird. Ezran ran along on the ground, his eyes focused on his scaly friend, shouting encouraging words mixed with laughter up into the sky. 

Rayla grabbed Callums hand and pulled him into the forest running after Ez, shouting something about how she had to show them where to go if they wanted to see her favourite meadow. 

The adults followed them at a relaxed pace, all smiling softly seeing the children finally being just children, able to enjoy some time with their families.

They passed mushrooms as tall as themselves, beautiful flowers, moss and tiny mushrooms in all shapes and colours, even some purple flowers that played music and swayed like they were dancing. The sunlight creeping through the dense treetops and small glowing seeds floating through the air made everything look even more magical.

Despite having spent some time in Xadia by now, Gren and Amaya couldn't help but stare at their surroundings in awe, a big smile plastered on Grens face as he inspected all the new plants and animals they came across. And even Amaya couldn't help but relax and enjoy the peaceful walk while admiring the beautiful xadian nature surrounding them. 

Runaan and Ethari were walking hand in hand showing their new human friends the way, since the children were out of their sight, only hearing the occasional excited shout from one of the boys or Zym squealing happily about something new they discovered. 

After about a 30 minute walk they reached a meadow where Runaan and Ethari used to take Rayla as a kid quite often. 

It was a beautiful hidden opening between the giant roots of the old trees surrounding them covered in tall, soft looking grass, with the sun shining through the gap in the leaves above them, illuminating the meadow in a beautiful golden light. 

The kids were already there playing in the grass laughing, many tiny blobs of what seemed like different coloured fur balls hanging on their clothing, in their hair even on their faces. Small squeaks and chirps coming from their direction and Grens face lit up in a curious delight. 

He quickly made his way through the tall grass towards the children, extending his hands, letting them glide over the soft grass until he felt a small weight pulling his long sleeve down and putting just the smallest amount of pressure around his wrist. When he looked down he saw a brightly purple coloured ball of fur sticking to him, that after closer inspection suddenly opened two curious little eyes.

Gren squealed in delight when he saw the adorable little creature and softly pried it off his sleeve and held it in his hands with the utmost care. He looked up when he felt a presence next to him and saw Ethari looking at him with a slightly amused expression in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips. 

Runaan couldn't suppress a smile, silently shaking his head at how excited both humans stared at the tiny creature as Ethari explained to them that it was an adoraburr and that there are hundreds of them living on this meadow.

Their little moment of wonder was interrupted by a happy Zym jumping around them with at least 30 of the small colourful animals stuck in his mane and on his scales, happily squealing while Zym was bouncing around.

They turned and walked towards the children to lay out their picnic when Gren overtook them, excitedly running past them which earned him a chuckle from the other adults. 

They couldn't blame him, he was barely an adult and Amaya smiled fondly at him, happy to see her closest friend carefree and enjoying life after what he had to endure during the war.

When they arrived in the middle of the meadow next to the children, Gren already started building his own fortress out of the stackable, sticky furballs, grinning happily. Ez was providing him with more adoraburrs he was picking off of Zym, who was more than happy to run through the high grass to collect more.

Callum and Rayla were throwing the adoraburrs at each other counting points of how many sticked to the other, Rayla had a few sticking to her shirt and hair while Callum was nearly entirely covered in the colourful animals. 

Runaan and Amaya who were carrying their backpacks were setting them down and Amaya pulled a soft looking, blue blanket out of hers. While Ethari helped her spread out the blanket, Runaan already pulled out some pillows he then placed on it. 

Rayla´s attention was immediately pulled from her fight with Callum when she saw Ethari unpack Moonberry surprise, her favourite dessert.  She ran over to join the adults, who were all already sitting on the blanket. With Rayla and Callum´s screaming stopping Gren, Ez and Zym also looked up from building their colourful, living fortress, which already looked pretty impressive. 

They all got up and walked over to the others to squeeze onto the blanket which turned out to be a bit too small for all of them to sit on and have the food laid out in the middle, which meant they had to slightly cuddle up but none of them seemed to be bothered. They all enjoyed being close to their loved ones and their new friends and were content with being able to enjoy such a peaceful, happy moment after they had to fight for such a long time.

They shared stories about their lives outside the war with their new friends, telling stories about how they grew up, how they met each other and funny little anecdotes about things that happened to them. 

Ezran excitedly retold one of his countless heists into the royal bakery to steal jelly tarts for him and Bait, while Gren and Rayla were stuffing their faces with delicious, sweet strawberries. After Amaya told a story about her and her sister taking Callum on his first ride out, Runaan who up until now was mostly listening and letting Ethari and Rayla talk for him spoke up. He started telling a story about his imprisonment by Viren and what an amazing entertainer Gren was. He went into great detail about how Gren kept trying to make conversation and was rambling on about everything that came into his head for hours on end, until he got bored and started singing to pass the time.

When Runaan even tried to imitate his singing Gren buried his, now bright red face in his hands hearing everybody laugh about Runaans´ retelling but he couldn't hold back a small smile himself. He wasn't able to hide his embarrassment for long though because Amaya decided to pull his hands from his face and hold a crimson red strawberry next to it and point from his face to the berry and back. The action made Gren blush even harder and by now his freckles looked light in comparison to the rest of his skin, like the seeds of the strawberry next to his cheek, which after Rayla pointed it out to him put a smile on his lips and he couldn't keep himself from joining the others´ laughing anymore. 

Zym who noticed the sudden change in demeanor tried to join their excitement and started to run from one person to the next wiggling his tail like a dog and nearly knocking over their drinks while Bait seemed to be more interested in the food Zym pushed into his direction when he got up. 

After everybody calmed down and Callum held Zym secure in his arms to protect the rest of their food they all fell into their own little conversations.

With Gren translating, Amaya and Runaan, both excellent fighters, talked about the differences in their training and how that influenced their fighting style. 

Ethari, Ez and Rayla had a quite serious discussion about what was better, jelly tarts or moonberry surprise while Callum was watching, throwing adoraburrs at Zym who was trying to catch them in his mane. 

Hours passed and they were now all lying next to each other on the meadow looking up into the treetops around them. Gren and Ezran had built new fortresses since their old one walked away while they were eating and this time there were small hills of the tiny creatures left, still stacked on top of each other but now cuddled up closer together and peacefully sleeping. 

The darker it got the more colourful the forest became. Different types of moss, flowers, mushrooms and even some animals started to glow in the most beautiful bright colours. 

They saw some glowing blue birds flying through the dark forest and even a few three tailed squirrel-like creatures with vivid blue spots in their fur.  Bait was hungrily eyeing a glowing moth that was flying above them just outside his reach, while Zym was napping on Grens' chest.

When it started to get cold they decided to pack up their things and leave for the moonshadow village. With Runaan leading them they made their way back into the forest, the way back looked nearly unrecognisable, at least to the humans, with how much the colours of the forest changed. They passed flowers and bushes they didn't notice on their way to the meadow that were standing out now due to their glowing leaves and flower petals. The elves were watching their human friends with amused smiles on their faces as they were watching them look around with big eyes, taking in the beauty of the forest at dawn. 

Zym was sitting on Amayas shoulders, looking like he was going to fall asleep any moment now and Ezran was stumbling next to them, Amayas hand on his shoulder as he wasn't really paying attention where he was going anymore, too tired and too busy looking up to the moths that were following them. 

Rayla and Callum were holding hands, staying mostly silent enjoying the quiet way back, from time to time one of them pointed something out in the forest. Callum knew he soon needed to come back here to draw all those amazing plants and animals he saw that day, that he didn't even know existed a few weeks prior.

When they reached the village the sun was almost gone and they decided to retreat to their houses and slowly get ready for bed. While Rayla and Callum stayed in Runaan and Etharis' home, Ez settled for staying with Amaya and Gren in Raylas parents' old house.

All of them went to bed with a small smile still painted on their lips, thinking they definitely have to do this again, thankful that they had the opportunity to do this and the kids' idea that started this beautiful day. Zym, who was lying in between Ez and Bait moved in his sleep, twitching as if he was still running around the meadow with his friends and Bait looked so content that he was surely dreaming of the beautiful moths they saw in the forest. 

(this was the second time I seriously sat down and tried to write something so please let me know what you think!)

#the dragon prince #tdp #commander gren #tdp gren #tdp rayla #tdp callum #tdp rayllum #rayllum #tdp ezran #tdp amaya #gerneral amaya #tdp runaan #tdp ethari #tdp janaya

[anarmorofwords]

Anna! <3

Okay but I noticed something odd in TDP

So Runaan and Ethari basically adopted and raised Rayla right?

So I noticed when Rayla saw Ethari again they had a similar dynamic to that

Rayla felt betrayed because Ethari helped cast her out but later after he told her the other elves didn't give him much of a choice they then had a more daughter-father relationship especially with him helping them on their way

But also I noticed that with Runaan and Rayla it was really different. Especially because he seemed so kind of (I don't want to say cold but basically that) it just didn't seem like they had the same connection Rayla did with Ethari, which was just so odd to me, especially because Runaan even said he would kill Rayla if he had to in order to complete their mission

Idk I just found that odd 🤔

This isn't really a theory I'm sorry 😅

HELLO LOLA SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER BUT YESSS

I've been thinking about this so much when I was watching - their dynamic was a riddle to me

still is, actually

i have a couple theories:

a) one is that Runaan is simply someone who has difficulty showing emotion, that's just the way he is, and maybe parenting is also intimidating him

b) wasn't it implied that elves (or at least moon elves) follow bery strict rules and aren't allowed to be very open/emotional etc? maybe that's how he was brought up and he just doesn't know any other ways, especially when it comes to children

c) an extension of the above could be the classic "she can't be too soft, it's for her own good", aka he sees that Rayla has a good heart, and despite loving her, worries it's gonna endanger her/others. so he assumes she needs to be pushed (not a good thing from today's psychology's pov, but idk, maybe the elves don't have many psychiatrists)

those could be combined in "Runaan himself grew up in this environment, and so he not only internalised this sort of attitude towards people at large and that way of parenting and feels the need to uphold his warrior image, but also is simply a person who isn't good with feelings"

other than that... I don't know. it really caught my attention, but I didn't find a definite answer to it. hopefully it'll become clear I. the future seasons tho.

also, I guess it's important to know that we don't exactly know what the dynamic between Ruthari and Rayla's parents was, right? and how old exactly she was when they "died"?

maybe it's that Ethari assumed a role of her oatent, while Runaan became more of a mentor?

#tdp #the dragon prince spoilers #the dragon prince

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Trickster: an Ethari theory

I've had yea many Ethari headcanons, and I hope I live to have yea many more. Most of them are probably wrong, or incomplete at best. But boy are they fun.

I love to wonder what Ethari will really be like in canon when we get to know him for more than 3 minutes, but whoever he really is on his own, he will have an effect on Runaan , Rayla, and everyone who loves him, because they love him.

The first headcanon I can remember having for "Tinker" was that he could be like Leonardo da Vinci: a genius, creative, surrounded by beautiful ideas given shape by his hands, but also capable of creating deadly weapons, enchantments, and devices with equal beauty, and perhaps not really seeing where the line between them was. It was fun, but Ethari has ended up far softer than my headcanon, and I love and support him in his softness!

After a nice string of Ethari headcanons, this year I've started poking at the Trickster archetype and seeing if it applies to him. And I think it absolutely does!

Tricksters often seem like Chaos. But they're not. They're just Difference. "Chaos" is subjective. Like the "divergent" in "neurodivergent." Who says? Divergent from what, exactly? Perspective matters, and Tricksters have a very broad take on things which allows them to think outside any box people might try to invite them into.

My enjoyment of Loki has brought all kinds of ideas to my dash with the arrival of the Loki show. I've got a copy of the Edda, and I highlighted the hell out of it a couple of years ago as I searched for the roots of Loki's origin story. (It's truly fascinating reading and the symbolic language hidden inside their poetry is dazzlingly amazing and I'm super using it sometime just so you know)

Loki is a Trickster, and he's far from alone in myth and legend. Anansi, Coyote, and Sun Wukong are some you may have heard of. Aaravos is another, of course. Tricksters can be called upon to lend aid and wisdom when the rules don't have an answer for some extraordinary circumstance which the Trickster's people find themselves in. But that's not because they are truly outside the rule of order. They are actually a part of it. They are the catch-all for when the everyday ordinary rules fail people, and something "unthinkable"--in the literal sense--might just hold the answer.

This post crossed my dash today, and something finally clicked in my head, and all of this coalesced from what felt like separate places. But they're not separate, not anymore! Serotonin, baby. It's basically upped my headcanon to a full-blown theory.

What caught my eye was an answer to why Ethari's clothing is so determinedly asymmetrical, compared to Runaan's specifically, but Moonshadows in general. It's because of this:

Long protective sleeves below patterns on shoulders. A high collar paired with a bright and noticeable swoop around the neck. Fine detailing and graceful taste. Asymmetrical tunic point on the left, below broad strappy leather. Knee high boots with stylish protective gaiters.

And let's not forget the curling horns! In some comics, Loki has a broken horn. So does Ethari.

Yes, there is a lot of similarity here, but I'm not focused so much on the visuals as the reason they were chosen. Feel free to consider other aspects of Ethari's personality and how they might be similar to certain parts of Loki's. I did! But I wouldn't be me if I didn't go deeper than that.

My favorite book in the universe (so far) is Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion, and one of the many reasons why is because of her pantheon. It holds five gods, represented by a hand: Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, and Bastard. The first four all have their roles and places. The Bastard--the thumb--inherits everything else. He is the god of all things that do not belong to any other gods, and that includes self-sacrificing vengeance and queerness. He is a Trickster, and his influence on Cazaril's life is far deeper than at first glance. Chaos has its place. It belongs, and so do the Tricksters who engender it. God, I love this book. Please read it if you haven't. Bujold's work is amazing.

If you've seen or read any version of MDZS/Untamed, you know that Wei WuXian is a trickster. Competent and badass in battle, but playful and teasing to the point where sometimes even he isn't sure what he truly wants, he can bring a massive amount of power and focus when he wants to. It's always a matter of "but is it important to me?"

I love WWX so much. The Trickster vibe is very apparent in his character, and in a way you just don't get in Western media. We see him on his own, and we see him with family and loved ones. And he's always feeling something so intensely! He's driven by his emotions, for good or ill. He vibes with chaos, and he will create it if it doesn't exist yet. But he will also create family from nothing, and that's something you don't see enough of! WWX is a Trickster with an emotional preference for joy.

In TDP, Ethari doesn't have a lot of lore yet. It's being Moonshadowed because spoilers for future seasons, and I respect that. The longer the wait for S4, the more ideas I will just amuse myself with in the meantime--and yeah, this is one of them, so what? :))) But we do know a little about him.

He loves music. He loves to read. He leaves his mark on things in swirly form. He works very hard, even through headaches, because what he's doing is that important to him, even though he would much rather be making jewelry. He loves taking the time to polish rough stones into brilliant jewels, and he adores big pretty flowers and had them at his wedding.

Ethari has a temper, but he also loves puns. The weapons he crafts are exquisite: "light, elegant, strong, and clever." And he knew darn well that Runaan was trying to flirt with him, but why return a sentiment he may or may not feel yet when he can play with the overly earnest assassin just a little bit first?

Okay, just... A "simple craftsman" deciding that it's going to be fun to toy for a bit with a broody assassin's feelings? Would you risk that? Ethari got balls the size of the moon, and a brain to match. When he has to make weaponry, he does not half-ass it. Ethari's stabby creations nearly have a life of their own. His creations are literally called "trick weapons." This elf is a lot, okay. And it's possible that he doesn't even know how "a lot" he is. Yet.

We're meeting Ethari after he's found something that is, in fact, genuinely important to him: Runaan, and Rayla, and Laindrin too. Ethari has found a relatively stable place to settle and find a role to adopt. I say adopt, though, because making weaponry for his loved ones is not what he grew up wanting to do. It's what he had to do to keep them safe, once he found a place to bestow his heart.

But in the show, Ethari has lost his family, one by one. First Lain and Tiadrin, ghosted. Then Runaan, supposedly fallen on his mission. Then Rayla, ghosted for abandoning Runaan. He and Rayla have reconnected now, but the rest of his family is still out of his reach. If Rayla has indeed told him, by S4, what she learned at the Moonhenge in TTM, then Ethari may parallel Rayla's journey to seek answers. But even if he doesn't know yet, and gets pulled into some other story arc first, we will be seeing Ethari without his family.

Remember the ATLA episode "Zuko Alone"? Consider: "Ethari Alone."

Ethari has chosen, for love, to fit himself into a box that wasn't of his own making. And now that box has broken. His family doesn't need him to be their craftsman anymore. Perhaps others will need him to be other things to them. Or perhaps he will know that his family does need him, but to be far more than just a maker of pretty swords. A rescuer, perhaps. A healer, a guide? An avenger?

A trickster. Capable of taking many shapes, because he understands them all. Ethari works with form and function. If he needs to transform himself, he will.

That's what Tricksters do. It's delightfully queer and delightfully neurodivergent. Ancient peoples accepted and revered the different among them and actively sought their help with things they themselves struggled with.

Tricksters are Difference. Sometimes that manifests as chaos, sometimes as genius. But if you do not love and appreciate your chaos, it will absolutely turn on you. Wei Wuxian did. Loki certainly has, many times. Perhaps Aaravos is doing so as well.

I cannot wait to see what Ethari does with his difference. I have something very specific that I hope he goes and breaks.

All this from a picture of Tom Hiddleston in his Avengers 1 Loki costume? Yeah. Because Ethari was designed to wear asymmetrical clothing, in a Moonshadow culture that prides itself on balance. Sure, there are some other Moonshadows who wear this or that asymmetrical item, and I do love to see it. But Ethari has the most asymmetrical lines of them all. The meta glee I feel knowing that Moonshadow elves are designed to hold many layers of meaning in their appearances--that the writers, creators, and character designers just flexed with them--is truly a delight.

Ethari is asymmetrical. The full and practical application of that is a glass casket, and I hope it becomes a gift that keeps on giving, because boy do I want to keep receiving it. But right now, I'm genuinely seeing evidence of the Trickster archetype in him. And I really hope it gets to come out and play.

#tdp #tdp theory #ethari #trickster #tdp speculation #yes this means a whole new category for ruthari opposites #order and chaos #ethari and order are both on runaan's list of likes #but ethari is higher so #loki #wwx #wei wuxian

[raayllum]

in honour of this post, tags on another of mine i cannot remember that talked briefly about Rayla's issues, and that I've talked about Claudia and Callum's moments of being hypocritical, now I want to actually talk about Rayla's hypocritical tendencies cause it's something S4 and S5 made a fun little consistency - let's dive in

Rayla can sometimes ignore (or react indignantly to) other people possibly having their own reasons/justifications because she's tunnel visioned into only thinking about her own justifications as uniquely warranted

Let me explain

The first time I noticed this was in 2x03, mostly because it was one of those moments that made me laugh even though it's not trying to be funny because

Cause Rayla, honey, you know you lied to them too ("lying and hiding the truth aren't that different") - and Callum forgave you for that and is still your friend. Why would Claudia and Soren be any different to him? (And they are, but not the point of this point).

Now, unlike Soren (who is the person they're primarily discussing), Rayla didn't lie outright, but she did lie by omission - much the same way Claudia did. And Rayla has known her own motivations all along - probably worried they might give up on their mission if they knew (especially at the start), and she doesn't want them to hate her, and most of all by this point in the show, she didn't want to hurt them ("I'm afraid of hurting him" / "when you care about someone, it's hard to hurt them").

This made sense to me in terms of Rayla being good at being initially (often times rightfully, sometimes not so) indignant on her own behalf. She is able to justify herself and does so often, both angrily - as the next examples will show - and more neutrally ("How could I take his life?"). She defends herself both physically and personally to Corvus ("I didn't kill anyone"), she smarts at Callum when he (rightfully) tries to push at her ("I don't have to explain anything to you"), and is mad at Ethari when they initially talk ("Yeah, it's me. Surprised to see my face?"). This initial defense of herself doesn't usually persist and typically gives way to self loathing ("I can fix this" / "I don't deserve your trust, not yet" / "They're right to reject me") but it is there at first and is usually her first reaction, which is very fun.

However, this coupled together with the other two instances arc 2 brings up in terms of her being kind of a hypocrite makes it a pattern, beginning in early season four. (Callum also isn't at his best in early season four, saying he doesn't want to talk about stuff and then bringing it up the next episode to take a jab at her - but he's still dealing with the fallout of the problems she caused, so he absolutely gets more of a pass. As always, see my In Defense of Callum's Narrative Lens from way back in the day if you're interested in more of how his perspectives are portrayed.)

Because gee, Rayla, I wonder whose fault that is? And again, it does make sense that she's angry - she's spent two years just wanting to be with him with none of the messy complex heartbreak he had to go through because she was the one who made the choice to leave. She expected him to at least shout at her, not ice her out completely. And again, we see that initial indignant streak fade when he reiterates he wants to go, and she looks down disappointed, but accepting of it (and puts whether she'll stay or not in his hands, too).

Since she had a good reason for leaving, and it's what her parents did, while she expected anger, she also wants affection and love. Isn't her justification enough, in some ways? Shouldn't it be? And while Rayla wrestled back and forth with this, it's clear she does think that it should be (even if both seasons show she's starting to realize just why she was wrong).

But we do see this hypocritical tendency of hers perhaps pop up most prominently in S5 with Nyx

Again, in Rayla's head, lying and stealing the key wasn't perhaps the right thing to do, but the better thing to do than burden Callum with what she was going through / to be open and vulnerable. It makes sense why she'd do so - and her shot at Nyx gets a tiny pass cause she's technically sticking up for Ezran - but it still falls back on Rayla leaning too heavily on her logic / independent streak to justify actions that are actually counterproductive to having healthy, wilfully open relationships.

And this is something I love about TDP. Even when the characters are genuinely making the worst possible fucking decisions they ever could (hi arc 1 Viren, Claudia and Karim constantly in particular) you completely understand how and why they're justifying those decisions, and Rayla is no different. Doesn't mean they're right, doesn't mean it's not logically stupid or fair or whatever, but it's emotionally consistent, and that's what matters most in the end. And now we have a fun little consistency to add to the pile

#in that vein of 'ezran can steamroll others bc the emotional solution is so obvious to him / #he suppresses the hell out of shit' spirit #tdp rayla #characterization #mini meta #analysis series #tdp #the dragon prince #like i love rayla but she's so full of shit sometimes lmao #analysis #like rayla really is a character where one of her core flaws is both #a lack of grounded self awareness amid too much self awareness #bc sometimes she's on the right path about her actual flaws (lying & leaving) #and other times she's so off base it's like girl what planet are you on this is Not one of your problems #steering her into the pile of actual flaws lmao #also why callum is good for her #'nah you're good. but that other dumb shit you did? jc"

[ask-runaan-anything]

Let’s have a less angsty question: how would you feel if you got out of the coin and found out Ethari had helped release you?

*leans forehead against inside of coin face* I know he would try his best, if he knew I was here. But if he succeeded... knowing what we both know about Moonshadow assassins and their duties...

Apologies. You wanted something less angsty. *ahem* Let's just say I'd want to thank him properly, as soon as possible. I would hope he'd be within reach, but if he wasn't, nothing could stop me from finding him. I'm very good at tracking people down, after all.

#ask runaan #runaan answers #just coin things #let me out my husband needs smooches #preferably from me #and i need xadia's longest nap #preferably with him

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Runaan 100% gives Maedhros vibes. Even more so if he ends up losing his arm next season.

Driven by an oath he took in good faith, only to see those around him fall while driven by it, to see their hearts corrupted, to feel it driving him to battle when he would choose to rest? To do his best to be kind and soft, to protect the innocent wherever possible, yet never able to shake the grip of an unbreakable promise that drives him to violence? To have been driven to the enemy, to have suffered at their hands, to have been saved once, and still be unable to shake the call of that accursed oath when it croons for his obedience once again?

Ohoho. Anon.

Maedhros things that have not (yet) happened to Runaan but might: losing his arm and still being an assassin; trying to finally complete some portion of whatever oath he made to the Dragon Throne in order to break it for his people's sake only to have a Silmaril-esque MacGuffin judge him as unworthy; a final sacrifice that includes himself as the only way he can think of to make things right/atone for his lifelong choices.

I don't know how likely these other details are, right now. All three dads from S1 have died to some degree, and at least two of them coughthreebecausedadbirdcough will have a chance to try again. But they're all different people, and they won't all choose the same way. Perhaps Viren will choose to do better, while Runaan will choose to do worse.

But in TDP, characters get to choose their destiny. It's the show's underlying tenet of agency. Yes, this can still apply, if Runaan chose his oath, and chose to heed its calling every time, and then chose to take himself out of the equation if the oath cannot be broken through any other means. Those are all still choices. Are they good ones to include in the show? Maybe. They'd sure be dramatic ones.

I'm not a fan of inevitability. Agent Smith wasn't inevitable. Thanos wasn't inevitable. And Runaan was wrong about "there is only one way to release." There are several ways to approach any seemingly insurmountable problem. You just need to be more creative than whoever created the original problem.

Admittedly, creativity isn't Runaan's strong suit. But it is Ethari's. And it is Callum's. Just saying.

I have two final thoughts:

1) Ethari being the one who has to cut off Runaan's dying hand as he rescues him, in order to pick Door #3 because he didn't like #1 - let Runaan die or #2 - let Runaan keep slaving away for that oath.

(This, ahahaha, this would definitely qualify as "agony." )

2) the AU where Maedhros meets a Took. No shh shhh I know and I don't care, it's magic, can you just imagine. Yes, and now an AU where the Hobbits have discovered time travel and use it to undo all the angst of the past everywhen, and teach everyone about Second Breakfast.

#asks #runaan #maedhros #tw injury #tdp angst #ruthari angst #ethari being hard enough to do whatever it takes tho #tdp tolkien parallels #send a Took #if i have a single spoon i will slurp up the angst and then spend it to create soft things