#narrative prediction

[sinlizards]

But we let it go on we let it go on (forever)

#akane kurashiki #junepei #zero escape #zero time dilemma #ztd #ze spoilers in tags #junpei tenmyouji #my art #fan art #undescribed #once i figure out how to undoom her from the narrative the wedding is BACK ON !!! #song is mercury&me by ee <-predictable

[formosusiniquis]

any cosmo girl would have known

“Oh she did it for sure.”

“Steve!”

“Ten bucks, Bobert, don't give me that look last time we agreed double or nothing.”

“No,” Nancy insists. “This isn't Murder, She Wrote or Scooby-Doo or Columbo-”

“You saw who did it in Columbo at the beginning,” Eddie reminds.

“I know it's an awful show.”

Robin and Steve remain in sync enough to each get a hand on his shoulder to keep him from getting on the coffee table to defend the only good cop show in existence.

“I'm only pointing out,” she rewinds the VHS taking it back the two or three minutes they'd talked over before stopping it completely, “that this is a movie, not a drama with a repeated format that Steve can pattern recognition into predicting.”

“You haven't seen it already, right?” Robin asks. “The one rule of Monthly Middle-Aged Movie Night is you have to pick a movie none of us have seen.”

“No, I haven't seen it already. If you'll all remember when I asked you each to go see it with me I got,” he points to each of them in turn. “‘Wouldn't you rather see Tomb Raider?’ from double VHS, prestige cinephile and ‘That's too much pink for me, baby, you know I have that intolerance, maybe Rob or Nance will go?’ from my emo-isn’t-a-phase husband. And ‘I'm a little busy with this new story, Steve,’ from Nancy, the only one of you with a real excuse.”

“Some feminist you are, Birdie.”

“I don't want to hear it from you. I watched two of the blandest men alive pursue Renee Zellweger while the screen writers tried to convince us she was homely because you ‘forgot’ you had band practice.”

“You said you liked it!”

“It grew on me, but sometimes you just want to see a woman in a tank top. And I won't be shamed by the same man who cried during Beauty and the Beast.”

“I went with my sweet baby Lucy Joan, you miserable hag,” Eddie says, “and they turned that hot werewolf into a boring looking man.”

“You weren't into that? Look at who-”

“Why am I getting made fun of? Can we finish the movie?”

“No, I'm not going to let this be another Sixth Sense situation,” Nancy says, holding the remote hostage, she knows no one will try to take it from her.

“Ugh don't even bring that up,” Eddie groans, “Dustin still mentions it in at least one letter a year.”

Nancy nods, prim and proper, “Exactly, so tell us right now why you think she did it, then we'll play it again.”

“Chutney, the daughter,” Steve corrects, “have you even been paying attention? Her hair's permed.”

“And press play,” Eddie shouts.

“No,” Robin smacks his hands as he makes his ballsy play to reach around her for the remote. “Show your work, Dingus, even I didn't follow that one.”

“I don't always like the movies everyone else picks but I at least watch them. Her hair is permed, she said she was in the shower. She would have had to have been washing her hair if she didn't hear the gunshot and she has a perm.”

“You can wash your hair with a perm,” Nancy points out.

“You would know.” Eddie snarks, fingering the ends of his own hair.

“You can't wash a fresh perm, you'll fuck up the ammonium thioglycolate. Then you're out forty bucks and you've got limp hair. She killed her dad and lied about being in the shower.”

“Press play,” Eddie decrees again, leaning in close to Steve's side to purr, “it's pretty sexy when you go all hair care detective.”

His hand starts to slip below the blanket. “This is how we ended up with Lucy in the first place,” Steve reminds him, just under the sounds of the courtroom drama picking back up. It doesn’t stop Eddie’s hand from wandering until the movie’s climax starts getting closer, and Eddie’s attention is captured just like Robin’s and Nancy’s.

“Unbelievable,” Robin says, when Elle cites the perm salt.

“Never again,” Nancy swears, when Chutney screams her confession.

“Lucy’s been asking for a brother or sister,” Eddie flirts, as Elle reveals that any good Cosmo girl could have solved it.

No more movies with mysteries or twist endings for a while, they all agree, Robin can’t afford to keep betting against Steve.

#steddie #established steddie #fruity four #my fic #steve harrington #platonic stobin #this is not a modern au these are some middle aged adults now #it is 2001 and my dudes have to carefully schedule their hangouts #anyway i think steve the hair harrington would also make the elle woods solve #theyre the same flavor of autistic if were dipping into some personal hcs but thats not important #what is important is steve has the oh he did it accidentally predicts the bad guy of every movie ever nd skill #love that for him #unimportant to the narrative but lucy is definitely the steddie bio kid this is a transmasc eddie fic secretly #so anyway enjoy this barely edited ficlet i churned out in an hour

[wyllapproves]

“Solas would kill Lavellan” this and “solas would never kill her!!” that.

It doesn’t matter. He is fully intent on destroying her world so the question is: does he go back and save her in the end or does he let the world burn with her on it and feel sorry for himself while he does it?

#this is like a half joke half serious #but I also think we’re treating solas as too predictable #that’s not how trickster gods work narratively #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #fen’harel #lavellan #solas dragon age #solas #dai #solavellan

[dragonpyre]

Side character: we can’t trust them

Main character: of course we can!

Me, who hasn’t even finished the story: you really can’t

#it’s based on Vibes #and also predictable narrative direction #text post

[taylortruther]

the manuscript and the act of creation, how there’s only so much control on the page: you said it was a great love, one for the ages and you know the greatest films of all time were never made and all of my heroes die all alone, this is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy and i was just thinking how we don’t have a song and i am an architect, your illusionist, i’m drawing up the plans and with every guitar string scar on my hand, the girl in the dress wrote you a song and please tell them my name and if the story’s over, why am i still writing pages?

#thank you anons for kickstarting my creativity here #like... yeah you craft a narrative or you make up stories but what if the reality still haunts you #you can't lie to the page... it is the ultimate form of self-denial. and that can drive you crazy. #idk like a meta song on the act of writing and sucking out the poison and how it still hurts #the manuscript #ttpd predictions

[chiquilines]

Yeah im late to the bandwagon but i've been itching to redraw them for some days now,, theyre so small

#this scene means so much to me #its such a shame that bones made them look like ass #fr how hard is it to draw a nose?? #anyways im going through my tgchk arc again #my shipping tendencies rotate in a very predictable pattern😭 #it usually goes miryumi>midjoke>mmjr>tgchk #so expect Things #i have a playlist ready and all #they are sooooooo playlistable #my skrukles #my mentally ill products of their society #my queers #my narrative foils #my mirror characters #my doomed to be together and happy about its #togachako #tgchk #himiko toga #ochako uraraka #mha #bnha #my hero academia #wlw #chiquilines draws

[dollypopup]

listen. . .words TRULY cannot explain how vindicated i am feeling in the fandom after all these interviews and snippets

do you even KNOW how much hate I got for writing Come Over Here and Profound for Me? where Penelope was guilt spiraling over all she did as LW? and people accused me of being a 'psychopath' and needing therapy (as if being in therapy is a. . .bad thing?) and being oh so unfair to Penelope because she was beating herself up a lot and her friends were hurt and betrayed?

and then we got the clip of her talking down to herself, about how embarrassing she is and how no one wants her and 'of course you wouldn't want to court me' and how sad he was about how lowly she sees herself.

how absolutely baffled I was over the narrative that every new male character would be a suitor for her? how little sense it made and how Penelope was for us unseen girlies and her being a diamond would be weird and ooc and unfulfilling?

and then it was revealed that Dankworth is Prudence's husband, and that Anderson is a hit with the older ladies, hinting he's there for Violet (as a continuation of her Queen Charlotte storyline) and that Debling is in a grand total of two episodes and that even Adjoa Andoh said the season was for the wallflowers.

how confused i was over monolithic 'Penelope is a girlboss and never did anything wrong!' narratives that happened over and over in our fandom and that Colin would grovel and beg and cry to be in Penelope's good graces again over one comment?

and then the clip came out and the person she was actually dragging was herself and the worst thing she called him was 'cruel' and just about one day later she's staring into his eyes and telling him how beautiful they are and how they shine when he's kind

how peeps insisted he'd be just fine when the truth comes out that Penelope is Lady Whistledown and that he'd find her clever or already knows or wouldn't be upset at all?

LINK

Interviewer: 'How do you think Colin would react if he found out she's LW?' LN: 'He would react. . .worst out of everyone in the ton' NC: 'She slagged off a LOT of people! I'm like 'Girl, you should be worried!' LN: 'He's also a sensitive boy! We'll see, I'm sure'

i'm not gonna name names. . .but some of y'all owe a LOT of people in this fandom a LOT of apologies

#polin #bridgerton #nicola coughlan #luke newton #maybe this is premature but like. . .sorry not sorry #a lot of the very popular polin takes and predictions for S3 are aging like MILK #and i am gleefully clapping my hands about it #i mean this with my whole chest: some of y'all were straight up nasty to us #and even nastier to colin as a character!!!!! #you were AWFUL to so many people #for DARING to go against the status quo narrative #and i am so glad that the fandom revenge power fantasy is coming out to be wrong #this fandom owes us colin girlies a hell of an apology #prepare to be sick of me

[anathemav360]

Petition for Jimmy to lose his fanon canary wings if he doesn’t die first? The point of his curse is to signal the end of times, and if he doesn’t, why should he be they’re little canary anymore?

Of course, he’d be elated by this, at first. His curse is gone! No one can make fun of him for it anymore! He can play the game longer than ever, with less and less people.

Then he’ll wake up after it’s all over, on whatever server he calls home and notice something different. Something wrong. It isn’t until he tries to emote with his wings, the wings he’s grown accustomed to, attached to, that he gets it. They’ve clipped him for not fulfilling his purpose. That belongs to someone else now…

(Bonus points if he feels jealous of whoever has them now. They’re his wings, not anyone else’s, after all)

#vi’s bloops #I’ve thought too hard someone stop me- #jimmy solidarity #life series #traffic series #prediction ig??? #prompt mayhaps??? #avoiding hw??? me??? noooo #no thoughts only Jimmy angst #if Jimmy actually escaped the narrative then oneshot of this from me maybe? #canary curse

[brookheimer]

the one thing i feel pretty certain about for this episode is that america will not decide the election. a decision will be made, a president will be elected, but america will not be the deciding factor.

succession can’t mimic 2016 or 2020 point blank, that would be boring and have nothing to say. it can’t try to outdo trump because it’ll go too whacky and fall flat like veep’s last season (sorry conheads, no way he’s winning). but what it CAN do is illustrate the immensely corrupt, often arbitrary, and hugely influential nature of news media and conglomerations on political processes. i think probably jimenez will be in the lead, then atn/waystar does something to, i don’t know, discount votes or cast suspicion on jimenez or call the election for mencken early, and the tide will shift, even though the votes are already in. the votes don’t actually matter. the actual result doesn’t actually matter. that’s the power logan (and as an extension, billionaires and CEOs in general) hold. shiv says it herself to logan in s4e2: “just cause you say it’s true doesn’t make it true. everyone just fucking agrees with you and believes you, so it becomes true and then you can turn around and say like, 'oh, you see? see? i was right.'” but it doesn’t matter that logan’s “a human fucking gaslight,” everything he says comes true anyways. not because he was right, but because that’s how it works. he says things and then they happen, regardless of what the truth is or what should actually come to pass. that’s been one of the key throughlines since the very first episode of the entire show when, in response to kendall calling logan out of touch because times are changing and logan isn't changing with them, logan hisses that everyone always says you’re wrong until you do it and prove you were right: “you make your own reality.” you can't miss the bus if you're the one driving it. the election, the votes, the political process? none of that matters. it was always going to come down to the roys and their ilk (allies or enemies, just the top 1%) — that was the whole point of “what it takes” (the mencken episode) last season, after all.

i’ve seen lots of theories about what america will choose and how the candidates will respond and all that and i just don’t think that’s the show’s focus; i think the whole point is to demonstrate the lack of agency, the illusion of democracy. because, i mean, we’ve already seen the fall of democracy via fascist election and fascist election-denial, both in real life and in the countless (usually mid) satires created afterwards. it would be disappointing to see succession use the election to reiterate that same point of 'ohhh alt-right ahhhhh!!!' i don’t think it’ll be about ‘fascism’ at all — at least, not ‘trump-y’ fascism. it’ll be about fascism in the broader sense, the kind that doesn't sport a KKK hood (even when it keeps one tucked away in the attic). it's the fascism that every single roy (very much including shiv and kendall) aid and abet -- the fascism that so many succession fans don't seem to regard as fascism, despite it quite literally being the definition of fascism. trump wasn’t the entrance of fascism into our political process. he wasn’t the lone sign of the failing of american democracy. democracy in america has long been illusory, trump just made it more blatantly evident with his particular brand of hate-speech-ridden masculinist in-your-face fascism.

so i think that’s what this episode will hopefully focus on — america will not decide. corporations, news media, and the roys will. thus, the president will most likely become president not because the country supports his policies the most, but because he’s likely to agree to help block a business deal for a major media empire, and the other candidate is unlikely to. and this will likely come to pass due to said major media empire's interference and influence: they create their own reality. they say it, and everyone agrees with them and believes them, so it becomes true.

#WOOF okay here's my unnecessary ~thematic prediction~ for this episode #i have some more like random thoughts ab what'll happen but those r less thought out and more throwing shit at the wall etc #but i've been thinking a lot ab this ep n idk i just can't see any other way it could be done satisfyingly -- they can't just do 2016/2020 #again. the focus has to be elsewhere. i have some specifics thoughts on details but again those r kinda random n will be in another post #after bizarrely getting a lot of things right this szn i know a lot of people are looking to me to see what i'll say for this ep and let me #remind yall that I AM LITERALLY JUST GUESSING BASED ON MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE SHOW AND HOW NARRATIVES #TEND TO WORK PARTICULARLY IN SUCCESSION! if i am wrong which i very well might be please do not crucify me. i know literally #nothing more than anyone else i'm just a random english/gov major who likes speculating about media ! that said if i end up right again #somehow then yes i am a prophet i am jesse armstrong i have never been wrong about anything in my life. etc #watch this age so poorly tho. #LOL #also fwiw i dont think the Shock etc is going to come from the election results - maybe possibly from the way things happen (i could see a #line of miscommunication resulting in fucked up outcomes etc which i can get into in another post) or a roy sibs moment but i just #don't think there's any way the results themselves cld be surprising. it's jimenez or mencken. it's not gonna be connor guys. #succession #succession spoilers #except not really. just succession speculation more than anything else #long post #succession speculation #100

[soullessjack]

can Jesus and Judas be considered doomed yaoi

#cal.txt #religious stuff #religious mythology #biblical mythology #jesus and judas #Jesus Christ #judas iscariot #doomed yaoi #reading about the kiss of judas god and like…. idk girl .. Jesus predicted his own narrative betrayal and still loved his friends … #seems pretty doomed to me #christianity #renaissance art #religious art #not gonna elaborate on what this is about #you’ll probably see soon enough maybe . idk . I don’t make the rules I just abide begrudgingly by them

[mayrine]

Can’t wait till Sam gets full of the people around him not wanting to investigate what’s going on so he goes to Colin and it’s revealed that Colin actually has very important information that he will tell Sam asap

Then Colin gets killed before he can tell Sam anything <3

#I’m calling it now cooon either dies by the end of season one or he makes it to the finale #I WANT MY BOY TO LIVE BUT #you’re lying if you’re telling me that he doesn’t seem to be doomed by the narrative #tmapg #tmapg Sam #tmapg Colin #Colin Becher #Colin tmapg #Sam tmapg #samama khalid #the Magnus protocol #tmapg predictions

[dribs-and-drabbles]

The Thai Communal Wardrobe item #114

Be My Favourite ep 10:

Last Twilight ep 12:

The Outing ep 5:

To Be Continued ep 7:

#be my favourite #be my favorite #be my favorite the series #last twilight #last twilight the series #the outing #the outing the series #the thai communal wardrobe #the top two eps aired almost exactly six months apart #then the outing was a month after last twilight #and to be continued was about 5 weeks after the outing #why yes I am coping with how last twilight ended by focusing on the shared clothes #kinda funny how I feel like BMF did a better job narratively than LT but whatever #I still love A LOT about last twilight but... 🤷🏼‍♀️ #edited to add the outing #edited to add to be continued #I predict we'll see this one a few more times

[letterful]

well yes!

#(apologies for duneposting on main but.) #she IS a political hostage who is all but chained to a twink with a messiah complex. #in addition to being trapped in a ravenous narrative that has no real use for her but hungers for her husband. #& i am nothing if not predictable! #(welcome back elia martell is what i'm saying.) #scorned women & overlooked wives... always & forever. amen. #also. kissing u nina.

[discountalien-pancake]

Somewhere in me there is an essay about how anti-spoiler culture is a direct product of and feeds back into a decline in quality of storytelling. The short version is that foreshadowing is a critical skill for writing a good story and the hypervigilance against spoilers in fandom has caused many a writer to neglect it. Audience no longer want to engage deeply with their media, therefore/because writers provide nothing to engage with. It’s a vicious cycle.

#something something you’re so afraid of being predictable that you have forgotten how to write a cohesive narrative #the goal you should aim for is to make your audience go #‘is it??? am i right? am i RIGHT?! OMG I WAS RIGHT’

[raayllum]

Cube Hostage Exchange Theory: Ezran Edition

Cause I've been feeling this one and figured I may as well toss in the newest two cents.

This is something I've talked about before (X, X) but much more briefly, and with the theory still on the table for S6, I figured I'd cover more of my bases.

The usual caveats / disclaimers to get out of the way:

Cube Hostage Exchange Theory (CHET) is a TDP theory dating back from September 2020 (shortly after Through the Moon released) speculating that Rayla would be taken hostage in exchange for Callum freeing Aaravos by handing over the Key of Aaravos. It was based on ideas of 1) the key being important to Aaravos' plans, 2) the irony of Callum literally freeing Rayla while chaining himself further to Aaravos' will, and 3) that Callum would be a pawn in Aaravos' plans (deduced well before S4) due to this thematic ties to freedom.

The biggest assumption the theory made/makes is that the Key of Aaravos is something that Aaravos is actively seeking/wanting, or something he needs; this aspect of the theory is still (technically) pure speculation.

CHET may not happen in S6 due to the fact it beat for beat already basically happened in 5x08, just with Finnegrin swapping in for Aaravos as an instigator. This is partially due to the fact that the irony regarding chains and freedom (Rayla being freed by Callum chaining himself) also came to pass alongside the captive/loved one's life being threatened and Callum subsequently being willing to help said antagonist.

That being said, I still fully think a Variant will happen, if you will, whether that's due to Callum getting in over his head with the coins, or something more directly threatening Rayla.

This theory resides on the (canon) interpretation of Callum being willing to do anything to protect his two most important loved ones (Ezran, Rayla) even if that means helping Aaravos and/or putting the world in danger. This post itself is not going to debate or explain this interpretation, but if you are interested in learning more about it, I'd recommend this meta and this tag.

I still think Callum making a choice that risks subsequent possession / world ending behaviour is more likely to be for Rayla. This is for a few reasons: 1) they still have an ongoing relationship rift/conflict to heal, and this could be a way to do it; 2) we know thanks to 6x01 that Callum and Rayla are heading to the Starscraper alone with Ezran being back in Katolis, so there is just more opportunity; 3) more of the narrative legwork has been done with Rayla specifically, particularly in regards to the possession plotline in particular; 4) Ezran has never represented destruction to or for Callum, but Rayla has more overtly negative associations which would fit; 5) Rayla has had more scenes and lines with said Cube / Key of Aaravos throughout the 4 seasons its been displayed (1x04 multiple times, 1x05, 2x07, 3x08, 4x02, 4x03, 4x07) than Ezran has (noticeably only one in 4x07).

All that being said, let's talk about the way the narrative might work / the evidence we have at present for CHET happening, but Callum dooming the world for his brother instead. Otherwise known as CHET: EE (Ezran edition).

The Necessary Narrative Legwork

As stated, CHET: Ezran Edition would only, to me, have a strong enough narrative purpose to happen IF it served as the basis or conclusion for a reconciliation arc between Callum and Rayla (currently ongoing) or between Callum and Ezran. While the brothers are not currently fighting, that doesn't mean they won't in the future.

Season six might have to squeeze it — it would have to be in the latter half of the season, which might be too delayed for Aaravos' proper release, but who knows? — but it definitely seems like the brothers are hurtling towards some sort of conflict.

However, I think the way the conflict is framed / what it ends up being centred on. For example, if the brothers just fight over whether or not to free Runaan (as there are indications that they might), I don't think that by itself leads to a resolution like CHET: EE. But if the brothers fight over Runaan, and it makes Ezran feel like his brother isn't choosing him, and they part on bad terms... Now we're talking.

Now, S6 could have room for a broyals conflict. They could fit over Runaan, as noted, or even other issues in their relationship. This would lay the groundwork for something like a CHET: EE based reconciliation happening, provided there was conflict to resolve first.

I'd also like more scenes / lines concerning Ezran with the cube. Thus far, Ezran has been there in 3/4 seasons where we've seen the cube (S5 is the only season with zero appearances outside the 5x08 intro), but he's only commented on it in 4x07 with "Callum, put away your cube!" when it's glowing because the moon opal on the Bridge of Darkness.

Episodes such as 1x05 particularly feels like a missed opportunity, perhaps, if this was the direction they were going to take, given that Ezran easily could've stepped in during Callum and Rayla's miniature disagreement over it (the "it's a glow toy" + "this doesn't end well for you" foreshadowing is there in addition to Callum looking at the Star rune) to make a comment about it still being worthwhile / perhaps a fun toy. But if Ezran's hide and seek game motif (more evident when they were searching for the hidden prison) comes into play and is tethered further to the cube's game motif, that's alright by me.

So yeah, two key points I would need to happen could happen, largely:

The brothers having some kind of serious conflict wherein Callum prioritizing Ezran in this way could help reconcile it

Ezran having more screen time with / regarding the Cube and Aaravos in some manner

That's not to say there's no legwork already put in, though, for an EE, which is part of the reason why I'm making this post. So let's talk about the two biggest points in this edition's favour:

The Orphan Queen Connection

Despite not receiving the Key himself (which could be a parallel to the Sunfire siblings regarding Kim'Dael's collar), the EE has a significant point in its favour due to Ezran's associations with the Orphan Queen. He's been directly compared to her both in appearance and in personality, as he shares her ability to Truth Tell in the face of lies, narratively speaking:

I should have seen it before. Ha! Long ago, it was a human who saw through the Fallen Star’s schemes and helped Xadia put an end to them. You look so much like her.

I've written before about the parallels there seems to be when it comes to the Jailer and Callum, two clever human mages, and the Orphan Queen Ezran, two royals of a blood line tethered in some way to truth telling and Aaravos. This parallel connection of the Jailer and the Orphan Queen being involved in imprisoning Aaravos, and Callum and Ezran witnessing / failing to stop if not also being involved in his release would be an ironic layer.

There would be another additional layer if the Orphan Queen's use of the cube was what led to him being sealed away, and now the Key is being used to spare her descendant, his brother's, life three hundred years later.

Thus far we don't know much else about the Orphan Queen besides this, so I could see Ezran's role with the Key being to partially discover what it is or what it might do, and for Callum to figure out further how it works and how to use it, but we'll have to see. I think this piece of evidence would be stronger if both brothers had been very involved and interested with the Key thus far - a true piece of dual heritage for both of them - but given that it's been so much more in Callum's corner and much less in Ezran's, I think this aspect is probably what would need to be developed the most in S6 to work out.

That said, the strongest piece of evidence we have for an EE of CHET is namely the place where we first learn the cube is called the Key of Aaravos at all, which is in...

Harrow's Letter

Harrow's letter exists in story for a few reasons:

To resolve Harrow and Callum's arc with each other, particularly to affirm to Callum that he belonged within his family / as Harrow's son. This is folded into Harrow discussing his sons' bond and what he wants for both of them in addition to point 3 and 4

To largely tie up Callum's grief regarding Harrow, as while we still see bits and pieces of it (you can argue 2x08 and 4x03 touch on it), 2x06 is the last time Callum's specific grief about Harrow is discussed (at least for now)

To complement Viren's narrative of what happened with Harrow's own take on the same events, particularly to push forward and the name the Narrative of Love vs Narrative of Strength dichotomy (which S4 and S5 have spent a lot of time deconstructing further)

To explicitly introduce the concept of the Chains of History and Harrow's own desire for freedom, which is alluded to in early S1 but not fully developed, and therefore pave the way for him to show up in Callum's 2x08 dreams

To give us the info about the Key of Aaravos early enough we could sit with it, and also let the foreboding build

I do think the placement of the information about the Key is interesting, because the way it's presented perhaps fulfil more of our traditional expectations in the fantasy genre. Of course the protagonist happens to stumble across a neat, funky family heirloom with a tease for a cool power-up to come. It is, after all, the first time we hear the name Aaravos.

However, they very quickly (aka like 1.2 episodes later) give us the name of Aaravos, and we immediately know it's nothing good. The more negative associations with the cube are also added to in 2x08 with the dream imagery, which makes a lot more sense now that we know just how deep the ties between Aaravos and dark magic really go.

With this in mind, the most telling lines from the letter for an EE CHET is, I believe, this from Harrow:

But as a father, I have a selfish wish. For you and Ezran to be... free.

Now the letter itself talks about Freedom almost as much as it talks about Love, and indeed, love — specifically a Narrative of Love — is posited as something that can and will free you, in contrast to the Narrative of Strength bound by the chains of history. We also know Startouch stuff is associated with wishes, so that's another point. And Harrow's last words to Callum were "Take care of my brother." From a familial standpoint, there's more than enough permission / merit here to go ahead.

The letter introduces the Key and talks about the brothers. It talks about chains and love and freedom. And these are all things that would be very much literally present in in a Cube Hostage Exchange in which Ezran is the hostage or person the key is being handed over to save.

And while I think it could be a possibility on the table, because Callum absolutely would do this for his brother... I still think if we're gonna get a scenario like this, it's going to be Rayla, or it's going to be no one. And here's why.

The Other Side

You may have noticed throughout this that this edition of the theory depends on even more could haves than traditional CHET already does, and hasn't really talked about Ezran's personality or interplay with sacrifice as a theme. This is because that, without an external conflict pushing things forward, this display of devotion doesn't really affect Ezran much. He knows his brother loves him and has never doubted this; Ezran is very measured about sacrificing himself for what he believes in, but is also always willing to accept help and other people's aid. Ezran is sacrificial, largely adjacent to his crown and his childhood, but his arc itself is centred around concepts of power, duty, and justice over a core theme of sacrifice or even freedom.

Subsequently, Ezran likewise has not been associated heavily with chains, nor is Callum someone who has broken Ezran's cycles or chains, literally or metaphorically. Although Ezran is undeniably tethered to freedom because "a child is freer than a king" and him being briefly (meaningfully) in prison, freeing Ezran has never been a main plot concern Callum or Rayla has had to contend with. The closest they come are the boys working together to free Rayla in 1x04 with Bait, Callum and Rayla working together to get Ez out from the icy water in 1x06, and Soren freeing Ezran from prison (and getting him to his council) in 3x05... and that's about it. Nor is Ezran a big part of Callum's mage arc; they normally discuss things other than magic, Callum rarely uses magic to protect his brother (although S5 definitely had an uptick), and Ezran is pretty separated from notions of magic within Xadia outside of his ability to talk to animals. (It's kind of like how while Callum and Zym have a strong bond, Ezran has a more emphasized one and largely carries the human side of human-dragon reconciliation alongside Soren, whereas their siblings are more elf and magic focused.)

This might shift if/when freeing Harrow from a bird is a possibility, and that's not to say it couldn't be Ezran just on this basis — but that TDP usually prefers to include things at a lower stakes level or even as a joke, and then ramp it up continually until it reaches a breaking point. We can see this even in 6x01 with a scene of Soren leading a blind folded Opeli for comedic effect, only for blindfolds to clearly be important later on in S6 with Callum and the Celestial elves. Similarly, Callum freeing Rayla both literally and metaphorically was set up consistently and periodically throughout the first 4 seasons, to the degree I could predict some of the specifics in 5x08 even years ahead. Then, the show reaffirms this pattern as well as early on in S5 (5x01 in particular), so when it came to a head in 5x08, it felt natural and earned from a thematic standpoint.

Even if S6 went in hard with the Broyals having a fight in the back half, they would still have to drench Ezran in freedom associations to me to effectively get to where I feel like a CHET: EE would totally work. That's not to say there couldn't be over avenues there I'm not seeing now, or a thread I've missed that's been steadily building all along that S6 then makes evident, but this is largely where I've arrived with everything we currently know.

Conclusion

TLDR; Cube Hostage Exchange: Ezran Edition has merit largely due to the Orphan Queen parallel and Harrow's letter, but does not seem to have enough plot buildup at this time to make me lean in that direction. Instead, I still learn towards if there is going to be this scenario or a variant, it will either be for Rayla ( / her parents adjacently) or not at all.

#tdp broyals #broyals #ezran edition #cube hostage exchange theory #analysis series #s6 speculation #predictions #analysis #in the name of love #tdp #tdp meta #the dragon prince #i also forgot to talk about how harrow's narrative of love applies more to rayllum's bond in s2 #(in vulnerability in forgiveness) than it necessarily does to the broyals so there's that too

[pinkeoni]

The fans may not like it but I have a sneaking suspicion that Max may get the Will-Byers-s1 -haunting-the-narrative treatment next season

#i mean. she kinda already has started haunting the narrative #but i fear in true haunting the narrative fashion she may be out for a while #but not completely without peaking in every once in a while #max mayfield #stranger things #stranger things 5 #st5 predictions #byler #<- target audience