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moon-spirit-yue · 2 months

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Divorce?

(I just had a silly little idea. Aulia will refer to Raya as Ma and Namaari as Mom. The ao3 link will be up right after this bad boy. Enjoy!)

The dinner table was tense tonight. Raya got in a fight with Namaari earlier that morning and she's pretty sure the whole palace could feel it.

Genuine fights between Raya and her wife were surprisingly a rarity in their marriage. In the years they've been a couple, including the time they were dating, they've only had three or four truly serious fights. Even then, all of those fights were due to concern for each other and were wrapped up in a timely manner.

The little spat from the this morning is just that, a little spat. It was a minor issue that Raya knows will get resolved within the next couple days.

But as of right now, she will be glaring holes at the little binturi's head. The chief of Heart is very irritated and she will not hide it.

"Ma! Mom! Hi!" their daughter exclaimed as she ran up to the table.

Well, looks like now Raya has to hide it. She felt like her and Namaari were pretty good at not letting their daughter feel the effects of the few times they fight.

"Hello, Starlight. Did you have fun with grandpa?" Raya asked with a light smile.

"You better choose your answer wisely young lady!" Benja laughed behind her as he dropped her off.

"Yup! We got to ride on Tuk Tuk today! It was awesome!" the five year old princess exclaimed.

"What else did you guys do today? Sounds like you had a pretty big day, little one," Namaari grinned.

As Aulia continued on with talking about her day, Raya tried her best to focus on what her daughter was saying. Unfortunately, this task is more difficult than she hoped.

God, she hated fighting with her wife. It always leaves a small pit in her stomach that can't go away until their issues have been resolved. This totally sucks.

"How was your day Ma? Anything fun?" Aulia brightly asked.

"No, my day wasn't even half as interesting as yours. Man, I haven't been able to have a Tuk Tuk ride in a while," Raya said thoughtfully.

"Oh, maybe you me and Mom can go after dinner! It'll be fun!" Aulia offered excitedly.

Huh, maybe that is a good idea. That way Raya can kick Namaari off the damn pillbug.

"If Mom wants go then I think it's a great idea," Raya said while giving Namaari a quick glance.

"I'd love too. I need to get outside, anyways. I've been coped up in my office all day," Namaari responded.

Good answer, you evil little cockroach. After all, there's no reason to kill Aulia's joy just because they're in a disagreement.

Once Aulia found out she could see Tuk Tuk and hang out with her mothers, the little princess practically inhaled her food in an attempt to get going as fast as possible.

"Careful, Starlight, we can't go anywhere if you end up chocking," Namaari told her in amusement.

Aulia didn't verbally respond but she did eat slower. Oh, Raya's baby looked so excited. She had started kicking her feet and even while eating Raya can see the smile on her daughter's face. The Heart woman truly can not get enough of that adorable smile.

Within a few more minutes and a whole lot of rushing from her child, both Raya and Namaari were ready for a late night ride. Aulia practically flew out of the dining room to get to Tuk Tuk.

Both Raya and Namaari laughed as they watched their child dash away. When Aulia was out of their line of sight, the laughter died as they looked at each other. Raya was the first one to break eye contact and follow after Aulia.

Now is when Raya is starting to regret saying yes to this night time ride. It would have been better to wait for a couple days when this whole thing has blown over so that all participants could enjoy. It's not like they can just go back on their word so tonight is going to have to do.

Eventually, both Raya and Namaari made it down to the stables where Aulia was already chatting with Tuk Tuk.

"Man you guys are slow. Are all old people slow?" Aulia asked.

Both Raya and Namaari gasped in pure offense. How dare she say such things to her mothers!

"I'll have you know, young lady, that we walk normally. You're just a speedy girl," Raya huffed.

"You better be careful what you say, Starlight. You don't want the tickle hands to come out now do you?" Namaari asked as she began wiggling her fingers towards Aulia.

"Ah! No! Not the tickle hands! Ma, protect me!" Aulia yelped.

The little princess quickly moved to hide behind Raya. The Heart chief laughed when she felt little arms circle her leg.

"Oh I don't know if slow, old people can help you. You might be on your own this time," Raya drawled.

"No! I take it back! You guys aren't slow or old! Mercy please!" Aulia squealed.

"Alright, you're safe for now," Namaari relented.

"Phew!" Aulia yelled.

Yet again, both Raya and Namaari couldn't stop themselves from laughing. The little 'phew' noise she made is just too cute. If anything can drag the two chiefs out of a bad mood, it's Aulia.

"I want to sit up front! Grandpa let me! Pretty please?" Aulia asked.

Oh, and how she's batting her eyes up at Raya and Namaari. Man, she's gotten really good at the big puppy eyes. It couldn't have been Raya that taught her that, right?

Naaaaaaaah!

"I suppose we can allow it. But, I will still be the one steering," Raya agreed.

Aulia pumped her fist in the air in celebration. Raya giggled as she got Tuk Tuk's saddle situated. Once the saddle was secure, Raya picked up her daughter and put her in her desired spot.

Once Raya herself got on the pillbug, she automatically reached a hand out for Namaari to take. Even after all these years, her wife still had difficulty getting onto Tuk Tuk without help.

To Raya's relief, Namaari decided she did not want to be petty and ended up accepting Raya's hand. The Fang chief hopped onto Tuk Tuk's shell with ease.

"Thank you," Namaari said.

Huh. Good to know binturis still have manners.

"You're welcome," Raya cordially replied.

"What are you waiting for? It's rolling time!" Aulia exclaimed excitedly.

"You got it, Boss! C'mon Tuk Tuk, you know what to do," Raya said while lightly kicking his sides.

And off the pillbug went. Tuk Tuk was trained well enough to know that when Aulia is on his back, he has to stay at a relatively slow pace. This isn't the Druun days, no need to roll so fast that Raya can't even hear her own breathing due to wind in her ears.

Raya looked up and smiled at how bright the stars are tonight. The moon was almost completely full and the night air felt incredible on her skin. This ride may not be so bad after all.

"Hey Ma, Mom, what was your favorite date you ever had with each other? Grandpa told me about the his favorite with Grandma," Aulia asked out of the blue.

God damn it, she doesn't want to reminisce on their cute memories while she's pissed at her wife. While Raya was contemplating if she should even answer, Namaari spoke up.

"Well my personal favorite was the first date we had after we officially got engaged. I was so thrilled that your ma said yes so I planned a night out for us the very next day. We went to a restaurant that had the best dumplings in all of Kumandra and we saw a play that I really loved but still can't remember the name of," Namaari huffed.

Raya can practically see Namaari's thinking face despite the fact that she's right behind her.

"It was called 'Now and Forever'. For someone who claims to love the play so much, you always forget the name when you bring it up," Raya said with a giggle. She couldn't help it, her wife literally could not remember the name for the life of her.

"The play itself was memorable but-" Namaari began.

"-but the title was not. Know how I know the end of the sentence? Because of how many times you forgot the title," Raya grinned.

The Heart chief glanced back at her wife to see a look of amusement on her face. Namaari was thankfully able to sense that the comment was intended to be playful instead of an actual insult.

"Sounds fun! Did anything else happen?" Aulia asked.

"There was a firework show after the play. It was beautiful," Namaari said with a very smug voice.

Raya was very happy about the fact that no one could see her face because it turned bright red. During that particular firework show, Namaari and Raya ended up slinking away from the crowd to have sex. In their defense, it had been a while since they'd seen each other.

They could not have cared less about those fireworks.

"Ma, your turn! Favorite date, go!" Aulia said (ordered).

Raya thought about it for a moment because honestly, there were so many good dates to choose from, but she was able to find the best one in her eyes.

"Mine happened while we were still just courting. I think we had been together for about two years at the time. Your mom was visiting Heart to 'help with festival preparations' but we all know she just wanted to see me so bad she couldn't wait," Raya explained.

"Yeah, Mom's got attachment issues," Aulia agreed.

"Woah, I did not come on this adventure to be ganged up on. Just because it's true doesn't mean you should say it," Namaari grumbled.

"As I was saying, she had come around a few days before the festival and I wanted to show her this field that had a bunch of flowers in it. I ended up getting us lost, but we found the most beautiful waterfall. It wasn't in the plans, but we ended up having way more fun at the waterfall than we would have with the flowers," Raya said.

Now that she's thinking about, that date also ended with sex. Man, that was a really good day.

"What other fun dates have you guys gone on?" Aulia asked.

Both Raya and Namaari spent the next half hour telling their daughter about their fun times together. They knew it was time to turn in when Aulia leaned against Raya's back and closed her eyes.

Raya made sure to gently steer Tuk Tuk back to the palace's direction. Due to how dark it is outside, the Heart woman didn't see the rock that Tuk Tuk rolled over. Raya gasped and quickly wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. Namaari cursed quietly and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Raya so that she wouldn't fall.

"This is why I like my serlots," Namaari whispered.

"Not everyone can look those heartless creatures in their eyes and not get eaten when you hop on their back," the Heart woman whispered back.

"Oh don't even start, you and I both know you wouldn't let Bubbles leave your arms last time we were in Fang," Namaari pointed out.

"It's quiet time, Mothers. Some of us are growing girls that need rest," Aulia mumbled.

Raya snorted and she could feel Namaari shake her head. This kid. Good thing they were pretty much right at the palace.

Namaari slid off of Tuk Tuk first so that Raya could put Aulia in her arms. The Heart woman did just that and slid off herself.

"Night buddy. Hope you have good dreams about bugs," Raya cooed as she stroked the top of his head.

"Well, I'm going to put our little princess to bed and then I'm putting myself to bed. I'm exhausted. You turning in now or later?" Namaari asked.

"Later, I'm wide awake right now. I should finish my paperwork anyways," Raya sighed woefully. The joys of being chief.

"Alright. Say goodnight to Mama, Starlight," Namaari quietly told her.

"Mmm, night Mama. I love you," Aulia mumbled sleepily.

Raya had to physically bite her tongue to stop herself from cooing over how cute her daughter is.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," Raya said before giving Aulia a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll probably be dead asleep when you come to bed, so goodnight. I love you," Namaari told her.

"I love you too. Goodnight," Raya smiled.

The Fang woman's lips quirked up ever so slightly as she walked off to Aulia's room. At this point, their stupid fight from this morning was a distant memory. Raya's positive that once she talks to Namaari tomorrow, it will be put behind them.

For now, Raya's going to have to suck it up and finish the paperwork she has been heavily procrastinating.

On the way to her study, Raya ended up running into her father.

"Hey Ba. What're you up to at this hour? Isn't it past your bedtime?" Raya smirked.

"You think you're so damn funny, don't you?" her father huffed.

"I really do," Raya sincerely told him.

"I just remembered a really good book that I never actually finished so I'm headed to the library to try and find it. How did your night ride with the girls go?" Benja asked.

"It went well. Wait, how did you know we went out?" Raya questioned.

"I overheard your discussion when I passed the dining hall. So do you want to talk about what's going on with you and your wife?" her father asked bluntly.

"Oh come on, we couldn't have been that obvious!" Raya groaned.

"You weren't, but it's like I said, I had to walk by the dining hall a couple times while you guys were eating. You two didn't even look at each other. I'm honestly surprised you both agreed to go out with Aulia," Benja explained.

"Well first of all, of course we agreed, who can say no to that little face? Second of all, we got into it this morning," the Heart chief frowned.

"To your first point, that's so true. As for your second, I'm an excellent listener if you need me to be," Benja reminded her.

Ah, well, Raya doesn't see why not.

"We haven't been able to figure out how to deal with the conflict in Tail. You know how it's getting out of control. I don't know, it just felt like Namaari was completely dismissing every idea I had. In a way that made it seem like she didn't hear a word I was saying. So when I get irritated, she got irritated and it kind of escalated. I probably reacted more severely than I should have but it really bugged me. I'll sort it out with her tomorrow, I'm pretty sure she's asleep by now," Raya sighed.

"I know just how you feel. Your mother and I had our own fair share of squabbles over how to best take care of Heart. It's just part of being chief. You guys will figure it out," Benja smiled.

"I know," Raya agreed.

Honestly, after that Tuk Tuk ride, Raya's not even that upset anymore. She just needs to talk it out with Namaari and all should be as it was before.

"Alright, I just wanted to check in and make sure everything's okay. Looks like you two have it under control. Goodnight Dewdrop, love you," Benja smiled.

"I love you too Ba. Sleep well!" Raya said as she walked away.

The Heart chief, unfortunately, made it to her study with speed. It was time to do to get shit done.

And get shit done she did. A few hours later that is. Raya ended up becoming hyper focused on her work which made her completely lose track of time.

Only when she looked away from her desk did she realize how tired she is. It burns to keep her eyes open right now. She needs to go to bed immediately.

Raya yawned before making the trek to her shared room with Namaari. The Heart woman has absolutely zero idea how some couple sleep in separate beds when they get into fights. Raya and Namaari find it to be almost impossible to sleep without each other. The utter relief she had felt when Namaari laid down in bed with her after an argument at the start of their relationship overwhelmed her.

Even though it felt like a ten mile hike, Raya managed to make it to her room. She walked to the edge of the bed and flopped right onto the bed. Damn, this is one comfy mattress.

She looked to the side only to realize that Namaari wasn't laying next to her. It wasn't uncommon for her to need to use the restroom or get water in the middle for the night, so Raya's not worried about it. She gave the ceiling one last glance before closing her eyes and succumbing to sleep.

Raya had one thought in her mind before she completely drifted off. Was her room smaller than before?

*************************

"MA! MOTHER! OH GOOD YOU'RE HERE!" Aulia yelled loudly.

Raya can't lie, hearing her daughter scream for her is a very startling way to wake up.

"Morning, Starlight. What's with the volume? It's way too early for that," Raya grumbled.

The Heart woman's eyes were still closed as she physically could not bring herself to open them. That's why it didn't really register in her mind that her child was crying.

"Ma, please don't get a divorce!" Aulia sobbed.

Divorce? The hell?

"What are you talking about? Who am I divorcing?" Raya yawned.

Now her eyes, with much effort, have blearily opened. That means she can see her poor baby clutching her stuffed bunny like a lifeline with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh baby, what's wrong? Come here," Raya frowned as she opened her arms.

Aulia quickly ran into Raya and curled into her. The Heart chief firmly wrapped her arms around her daughter as she cried. Seeing her daughter cry is easily one of the worst experiences as a mother. What on earth could have gotten her so upset?

"Starlight, talk to me. Why are you crying?" Raua asked worriedly.

"I-I don't want yo-you to divorce Mom," Aulia whimpered.

"Aulia, we're not getting a divorce. Where did you get that idea?" Raya frowned.

"My friend Lei's parents got a divorce and she said it started when they would argue and not sleep in the same room," Aulia explained sadly.

"Okay, I'm still not entirely sure why you think Mom and I are divorcing," Raya told her.

"Do I have to spell it out for you woman?! I know you guys fought yesterday! And you guys didn't sleep in the same room last night!" Aulia yelled with frustration.

Ah, shit, Raya thought they covered their tracks in the fighting regard better than they actually did. Still, one thing isn't right about this explanation.

"I'm sorry that you overheard our fight yesterday, but we still slept in the same room like we always do," Raya said.

"How silly do you think I am? This isn't your room, Ma," Aulia huffed.

"I think I know my own room-" Raya started as she looked to the side for her favorite painting.

Huh. So the painting isn't there. Odd.

Raya looked to the other side and noticed the bathroom isn't where it usually is. The bed is a lot smaller than it should. The room in general is a lot smaller than it should be. None of Namaari's things are here either.

"Aulia, I don't think this is my room," Raya bluntly stated.

"Oh gee, where did you get that idea?" Aulia deadpanned.

Raya desperately wants to know where her child got all this sass from. She would ask later. For now, she had to talk to her daughter and her wife. Namaari was probably flipping out without Raya next to her.

"Alright, Aulia, my beloved daughter, your mother and I are not getting a divorce. Yeah, we fought yesterday, but every couple has fights. We argue, then we work through it," the Heart woman gently told her.

"But then why did you sleep here?" Aulia asked.

"Well, I stayed up way past my bed time last night. I was so tired that I honestly thought this room was mine and your Mom's. It was just an accident," Raya shrugged.

"Oh," Aulia sniffled.

"Yeah, oh. Now dry those tears, young lady. There's not going to be any divorces in this palace," Raya confidently told her.

Aulia smiled rubbed her little hands over her eyes to dry off her tears. Poor baby. Raya pressed a small kiss on the top of her head.

"Can you tell me where Mom is? We've got chief things to discuss," Raya said once Aulia was finished drying her tears.

"Last time I saw her she was in your room. The real one," Aulia ever so kindly elaborated.

"Ha ha," Raya drawled causing Aulia to giggle. The Heart woman is just happy her daughter's feeling better.

As Raya walked down the hall, she couldn't help but wonder how she could have been exhausted enough to the point where she didn't even know where her room was. Now Raya's worried about Namaari. She doesn't know how seriously the Fang woman took Raya's absence.

Raya opened the door to her room to see her wife sitting on the bed. The Fang woman was hunched over with hands covering her face. Well now Raya's really worried.

"Namaari, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Raya questioned.

Her wife looked up, clearly startled, and Raya was heartbroken to see tears in her eyes. She sat down next to Namaari and held onto her arm. What a miserable morning this is turning out to be.

"I am so sorry about the stupid fight we had yesterday. I'll take full responsibility, just please don't do anything rash. You and Aulia are the best things that ever happened to me and I could not stand it if that stupid fight caused our divorce," Namaari rushed out.

"Wow, okay, what is with you Fang girls and talking about divorce! Nobody is even considering divorce!" Raya exclaimed.

"Wait, seriously?" Namaari asked, clearly surprised.

"Man do you want the divorce? I feel like everyone is talking divorce today but me!" Raya huffed.

"Of course I don't want a divor- wait what do you mean everyone?" Namaari frowned.

"Aulia came into my room and started crying because she thought we were divorcing. I guess her friend's parents got one and the fight plus me not coming to bed with you freaked her out," Raya explained.

"I had no idea. Our poor girl," Namaari sighed.

"I know. Seeing her cry like that was so awful. Took me a bit to convince her we're okay, but I managed," Raya said.

"Are we? Okay, I mean," Namaari asked.

"Of course. I just felt like you weren't really listening to what I was saying yesterday and I got upset. Granted, I blew it out of proportion, but I'm good now," Raya assured her.

"You were totally right. The Tail issue has been making me lose sleep. It wasn't just you, I haven't been able to focus on anything else lately. I'm sorry, dep la," Namaari apologized.

"It's okay, my love. It's just, did you really think we would divorce over something as small and dumb as that? I mean come on, give me a little credit to not bail on you the moment I'm annoyed," Raya huffed.

"It's nothing you did. I don't know, I've been incredibly critical about every aspect of my life, including our marriage. The past few months whenever we fought, I just had this voice in the back of my head telling me that this was your last straw and you're finally done with me. I mean, last night I thought we were fine but you never came to bed so my mind just leapt to worse case scenario," Namaari admitted.

Raya scowled and smacked Namaari's arm. This little binturi!

"Hey! I just poured my heart and soul out here and you attack me!" Namaari exclaimed.

"That's what you get! You need to tell me these things, idiot! Before it all explodes and you actually think our marriage is ending! Cause it's not! Honestly, as long as you don't cheat on me or become a violent serial killer, divorce isn't really an option," Raya explained.

"Well it's good thing I will not be doing either of those things," Namaari snorted.

"Exactly! You proposed, you knew what you were getting into. You're stuck with me now, binturi. No returns on this item," Raya smriked.

And finally, finally, Namaari laughed. The Fang woman then pulled Raya into such a warm hug she melted almost immediately.

"I love you so much," Namaari mumbled.

"I love you so much too. Just tell me the next time you feel like our little spats mean more than they really do, yeah?" Raya yawned.

"You got yourself a deal. Now, I need to ask this question. Why didn't you come to bed last night if you weren't legitimately upset?" Namaari wondered.

"I actually have a reasonable explanation for that," Raya smiled.

"So you say," the Fang woman teased.

"I do say. I didn't come back to bed because I honestly thought I made it to bed. When I finished my paperwork I was so exhausted that I ended up going to my favorite guest room instead of our bedroom. It was an honest mistake," Raya explained.

The Heart woman could see her wife's body visibly relax at the revelation.

"Oh thank toi. That was one of the worst sleeps of my life," Namaari admitted.

"I agree. It feels like I didn't sleep a wink last night," Raya frowned.

"I think in order to celebrate our reconciliation, we should take a nap," Namaari said as she crawled into bed.

She did not have to tell Raya twice. The Heart woman quickly got on her side of the bed and threw one of her legs over Namaari's body. The comfiest nap position there is.

"Hey Maari?" Raya mumbled.

"Hmm?" Nammari breathed out.

"You were the best thing to ever happen to me too. Along with our beautiful child, of course," Raya smiled.

The Fang woman gave no verbal response. She just wrapped her arms around Raya and held her close. Finally there were both at peace.

"HEY MA! MOM! WHY ARE YOU GUYS HANGING OUT WITHOUT ME?!" Aulia yelled.

The young princess hopped on the bed which prompted Raya to grab Aulia and pull her under the covers with them.

"You are now my prisoner. You have been sentenced to a nap. Accept your fate," Raya told her.

"That is so rude," Aulia huffed.

"What's really rude is how bright the sun is. Can't even close my eyes," Namaari grumbled.

"I can fight the sun for you if you want. I'm a very good warrior," Aulia proudly told her.

"I believe it. If you can fight the sun, all previous crimes will be erased which means no nap for you," Namaari smiled.

"YEAH! WATCH OUT SUN! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" Aulia yelled as she scrambled out of bed.

"If anyone could fight the sun, it'd be her. I mean, look at how awesome her mothers are," Raya giggled.

"There's not a doubt in my mind she can make it happen. She's very good at making people bend to her will. Those puppy eyes certainly help," Namaari said.

"I know right? Wonder where she learned that trick."

"Oh you know damn you're the culprit I don't even want to hear your defense-"

#raya and the last dragon #rayaari #namaari #raya x namaari #namaari x raya #ratld #raya and namaari #ratld namaari #raya disney #ratld raya

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logarithmicpanda · 3 years

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Thoughts on subjectivity and quality, spoilers for Raya and the last dragon below:

So I watched Raya yesterday and since I've been looking through reviews and opinions (mainly I wanted to know how the movie was received by South eastern asians in terms of rep but this isn't what I'll be talking about here as it's not my place) and it's interesting to me that people seem to find the movie awesome or underwhelming. Among the later category, people seem to agree that the pacing was too fast and badly handled, but what I loved about the movie was precisely tied to that fast pacing, and I think it derives from a divergence in readings

The people who argue the pacing was too fast focus on the fact that peace was reached again very soon after the people who had turned into stone were released, and that as a society, it didn't make sense (which is fair! Peace probably wouldn't be reached that fast, and these countries still have issues to work through and amends to make!)

But in my opinion, the movie is only superficially about wars and politics. The crux of it, what touched me to my core, is that personal narrative of Raya and Namaari: the notion that the way we cope with hurt isn't viable as a long term solution. That healing from a wound doesn't stop at protecting oneself from being wounded further, but realizing that by shutting others out, the wound can only fester.

Let's look at it in terms of Raya's character arc:

Raya starts off suspicious of other nations, but her father's words and Namaari's friendship lead her to open up.

Namaari backstabs her, and consequently makes her partly responsible for breaking the world.

Instead of fixing her mistakes, Raya focuses on getting her father back. She cuts herself to human contact entirely, the first person she creates links to in six years is Sisu, and she's not even human, Raya trusts her because she's a dragon (incidentally, it's hinted that she gets several run ins with Namaari, who seems to be the only constant in her life)

Sisu tries to show her that she needs to trust people, but several incidents comfort Raya in her ways - but at the same time, she is forced to ask for help. It's an help that she is moneying and so the only help she will trust at that point.

Sisu finally convinces Raya to try to reach Namaari after showing her that last time the world was saved, it was because her family trusted her even though they had no tangible reason to (as Sisu doesn't have any "fancy" power unlike her siblings, she may seem the least reasonable choice but trust doesn't work that way. It's not really trust if you're just following logical arguments, is it?)

Namaari tries to betray them again, but hesitates, and instead of reassuring Raya, that hesitation brings back all her doubts. She stops trusting Namaari and that's the reason why Sisu is killed.

Raya fights Namaari with all her strength, and wins, but Namaari throws in her face that they're both responsible for Sisu's death. She is right, and isn't trying to save herself at this point, just to make Raya see the truth. And Raya, to Namaari's surprise, sees it (with the help of the family she found along the way)

Raya realizes that the only way out of this mess is to give Namaari another chance. She is the one who convinces her friends to trust her, and that act of trust saves the world and finishes Raya's healing from that very first wound six years ago.

Looking at it like this, yes a lot happens and a lot is left to subtext, but I think the point was to show the entirety of the arc, and that was, in my opinion, the only way to make it believable and ring true. I found it well done, and my emotions through the movie were in tune with Raya's. Of course she can't trust Namaari again! Of course she's just being sensible and protecting herself! Of course... She is isolated and lonely and wounded. Of course what she really needed was to take a leap of faith. (There was a lot of crying involved in the last part of that movie lmao)

---

Tangentially, Namaari's arc is also very interesting and echoing Raya's.

From Namaari's perspective, she is given a mission to save her people from starvation, but realizes that her enemy has a lot in common with her (I believe the whole dragon nerd part and her gifting Raya the necklace was not a calculated act on her part, she is a child at that point). Still, they are living in luxury and she's not, so she betrays Raya, but she is responsible for breaking the gem.

The implication is that she spends at least part of the next 6 years chasing Raya, though her reasons for doing so are less clear. She doesn't believe Sisu is at the end of the rivers, and she doesn't look particularly interested in getting Raya's fragment initially. But at that point, she has lost her faith in dragons and every other nation is blaming hers for the breaking of the world. Maybe that's why she's after Raya, actually.

Then she learns that Sisu is alive and the legend of her childhood was real. For the first time, she sees a hope of redemption, but her mother twists it. Because they can't trust the other nations not to punish them, they need to come out on top if the world is restored.

Namaari sets out to do her mother's bidding, but seeing Sisu again makes her hesitate, and she almost trusts Raya again before she snaps and they both kill Sisu, confirming her mother's bias.

Except her mother gets turned to stone. Namaari loses the fight against Raya and thinks she's lost it all, but she realizes that things would have been different if she'd been able to trust Raya earlier, and she tries to make her see that.

When Raya trusts her in the end, Namaari too is healed. The assumption isn't that she is forgiven, but that she deserves the opportunity to make amends for the wrong she did.

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Anyway that ran long but I love that movie and how it handles its themes, I love that we're not spoonfed every detail but a lot is conveyed through subtle details, and I totally ship Raya and Namaari. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

#raya and the last dragon #whoops i wrote an essay #mine #reblog later #this is probably gonna get ignored but whatever

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