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raayllum · 9 months

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Punishment VS Acceptance: The Silvergrove and Callum

5x01, 5x04, and 5x08 were probably my favourite episodes for Rayla and Callum’s dynamic this season, for obvious reasons, and rewatching the bulk of the season next day after (and for a nice meta segue) I wanted to tackle the downright beautiful parallels between 3x03 and 5x01 (and a little bit of 4x03).

So let’s get into it.

As we all know, Rayla returns home in 3x03, and gets a... more brutal welcoming than she was expecting, partially due to her own perceived crimes, and due to the Silvergrove’s associative prejudices/inclinations.

It is extremely important to note that (at this time at least) Rayla is banished for something she didn’t even do: “But you didn’t run away from anything. They just don’t know what happened.” And although initially dejected, she remains hopeful and ‘confident’ that Ethari wouldn’t have done the spell.

Ethari, however, temporarily chooses his grief and village over his daughter, and shuts her out... in a way, framing wise, that’s not too dissimilar from Callum’s initial cold reaction in 4x01.

Which makes sense, as both Ethari (and later Amaya) state is quite similar:

Then, of course, while pursuing the exact opposite of abandoning her family, and trying to figure out what happened to them, Rayla is caught emerging from Viren’s old sealed off chambers in 5x01 and accordingly arrested. What I found particularly interesting is that in spite of being fully able to, Rayla doesn’t actually say a single word during her pseudo trial, Callum and Opeli doing all the talking for her (on both ends).

She knew stealing the key wasn’t the right thing to do, but felt unable (or unwilling) to share the burden of the coins with Callum, probably because she hasn’t been able to rely on anyone in a long time (two years alone did not help) and that it’s always been something she’s struggled with. Runaan and Callum’s complicated personal history likely didn’t help either.

And just like the Silvergrove, Opeli is arresting her on the basis of association:

and unlike the Silvergrove, on account of crimes she actually committed.

And I think there’s a lot of reasons Rayla doesn’t speak up in this scene - shame, the way she’s never been particularly good at advocating for herself, the general emotional difficulties present - but I think the main reason is that she left Callum an explanation in Through The Moon about why she left and he was still (understandably) angry with her, but more than that is that the Silvergrove flat out did not care about her intentions, and she knows it.

E: I told Runaan you were too good hearted for the work of an assassin, so I know you did not betray them out of malice.

Why would this time be any different, especially when as stated, she’s done all the things she’s being accused of?

But Callum isn’t the Silvergrove, so of course he’s different.

Where they stripped her of her home and literal identity, labelling her a Ghost, he reaffirms that her name - “She’s not ‘the elf’ - she’s Rayla” and that he knows exactly who she is. Where the Silvergrove robbed her of a chance to explain herself...

Callum says that she doesn’t need to even when it’s being demanded of her. Whereas before her intentions didn’t matter, they’re all that count here, enough that he is willing to disregard literally everything else (including his own complicated feelings about said murder bow).

C: I know this. [To love is simply to know this:] The tides are true as the ocean is deep. O: What does that mean, Prince Callum? C: It means I trust her. Unconditionally. Let her go. Now.

He doesn’t know ‘what happened’ as far as her intentions and motivations, only the worst presentation of her behaviour. But he refuses to punish her for doing something alone, for not asking for help, for keeping a secret. Instead he’s warm and compassionate and vouches for her, and if anything takes a certain amount of self-imposed responsibility on his own shoulders of realizing that if Rayla didn’t feel like she could come to him with something, he needs to be doing something different.

All while also reaffirming his faith in her - that it’s nothing that would hurt him, that she wants to tell him, that she will tell him one day, that she will be ready, and that he hopes she knows she can trust him.

Because he loves her.

#rayllum #tdp meta #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #3x03 #s3 #arc 1 #arc 2 #multi #5x01 #s5 spoilers #parallels #analysis series #analysis #yes i teared up writing the ending mIND UR BUSINESS #back on my immediate post-s3 'callum is the first person in her life to love her Unconditionally' bullshit i think

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zuppizup · 9 months

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Finnegrin's Wants

So, I've been thinking a lot about Finnegrin's Wake (what Rayllum fan hasn't and yes, as is usually the case, this is because I'm a-fic-ing in this space), and so I've been pondering what Finnegrin's end game was when it came to Rayla.

Finnegrin is about trying to control everything. His crew, Archdragons, the ocean itself. He of all people knows this is impossible, but he's pretty damn good at working around that. His ship, his crew, and even Scumport marches to the beat of his drum.

So, when it comes to the Dragang, what's his ultimate plan? He wants Callum to give him the Dark Magic spell to take down Domina Profundis, and he seems to think he can bargain for this.

Instead of immediately revealing his trump card with the blood freezing spell, he tries to bargin with Callum, offering freedom for a "simple" exchange.

So, once he realises Callum "completely lost himself" seeing Rayla in pain, why dispose of her? Was it to try and completely break Callum? That runs the risk of only alienating him further, though. Rayla could have been the ultimate leverage. Why not subject her to the freezing spell in front of Callum again? Control him that way?

Or did he want Callum desperate? Did he intentionally leave him with the slugs hoping he'd break, resort to Dark Magic in a desperate bid to free the person he clearly cares so much for? Did Finnegrin gamble on Callum realising he was willing to do Dark Magic if given the sufficient incentive.

Was he bidding on him coming to Rayla’s rescue, only to fall victim to the freezing spell himself?

Was he then planning to subject Rayla to the spell once again, hoping to push Callum to agree to doing his Dark Magic bidding in exchange for her release from torture?

Did Finnegrin ultimately underestimate just how far Callum was willing to go for Rayla? He has no idea this is the same boy who jumped off the Storm Spire for her with only the desperate hope he knew how to do a spell the might save them both.

How could Finnegrin ever have known that the depth of Callum's love for Rayla would allow him to unlock hidden depths within himself and ultimately understand a new Arcanum?

#i have many thoughts #and sure it could be as simple as pushing the plot forward but let me indulge damn it!#he could have held them together #tortured her in front of Callum and he'd have folded like wet cardboard #i like to think he thinks he has a lot more control than he does #bad Ocean mage #the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #rayla #callum #tdp finnegrin #sometimes I meta and usually regret it #it’s always fic related

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dragonflyable · 9 months

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Something that really stood out for me in Season 5 is the Team Zym Dynamic.

They had their ups and downs in the previous season. Starting a new adventure, dealing with new responsibilities, The Rayllum Drama, … They were still figuring out how to handle it all as team. In this new chapter it feels like they really got the hang of it.

And Soren truly felt like a part of the group this time. He knows his role and the others recognize his value. He still has his goofy moments, but when he needs to step up, that’s when he really shines. Soren is like the Sokka of Team Zym.

I especially like the friendship between Soren and Rayla. They have come a long way since their first fight/meeting. Soren has become a Big Brother Figure to Callum and especially Ezran, and I can see him and Rayla becoming like a brother and sister overtime, which Claudia would hate of course…

What more can I say, I just really loved this Ragtag Squad of Adventurers/Weirdos and I’m looking forward to seeing their bond grow.

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sunfire-shield · 9 months

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Thinking slightly too much about Callum and Rayla’s relationship with the truth and secrets and how Rayla is the one innately connected to the moon arcanum, the arcanum of we can only know the appearance itself, we can never touch the so called reality, “look at the moon, light only falls on half it’s face right now, but that doesn’t mean the other half isn’t there” and “real trust is about accepting even the dark parts we will never know” particularly that last statement, because Rayla outright rejects it, saying “lying and hiding the truth aren’t that different . . . strong relationships need honesty, the full truth” (to which Lujanne laughs (Lu I love you)) and even in the Bookery, after her little pep talk with Amaya, when Rayla opens up to Callum and trusts him with the coins, the way she phrases it is so interesting: “there’s a burden I’m carrying, and I’ve kept it a secret, and maybe that’s part of what’s been making things weirder with us”. Again, there’s that emphasis on keeping secrets and how that affects a relationship. Whereas it’s Callum, who did start the series demanding the full truth, has become the one going “if she didn’t tell me she has a good reason” and while he does admit his curiosity, he actually stops her when she goes to try and explain it in their rooms later with “you can tell me when you’re ready”. The way that Rayla, whether for better or worse who knows relationships are complicated, has almost been resisting the basic principles of the moon arcanum more and more across the series, even as Callum grows to embrace them. After all, it’s Callum who phrases his newfound understanding of the ocean arcanum as “accepting there are depths you can’t see” which mirrors the moons “accepting even the dark parts we will never know” almost eerily well. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll be over here going insane

#the dragon prince #callum #rayla #rayllum #tdp lujanne #tdp meta #tdp spoilers #im just venting my thoughts so sorry if I’m retreading old ground #as ever just my personal interpretation

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jelzorz · 2 years

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Hub: so has anyone actually worked out how tall the storm spire is?

Me: not that I'm aware of

Me and hub:

Finally a meta I can science my way through! First, some assumptions:

The acceleration of gravity is the same in the tdp universe as it is in our world

The density and make up of the atmosphere is the same as ours

There is no downward motion in Rayla's dive, aka she and Viren drop off the Storm Spire but don't accelerate further because of any action from either of them

This involves a fair bit of math that I made hub do because he's better with numbers but the principles are all easy enough to understand. The acceleration of gravity on earth is about 9.81m/s² and Rayla free falls for 53 seconds. In our world, a free fall of 6 seconds is long enough to achieve terminal velocity (200km/hr, or 120mph in American), which is the the point at which your deceleration due to drag and your acceleration due to gravity are equal, aka, the fastest velocity you can achieve at without further acceleration provided by other means.

There's a big long formula here and also some derivatives which I'm not going to type up bc I'm on my phone and Fuck That Shit BUT basically, you can work out Rayla's displacement for the 6 seconds that she's accelerating due to gravity, and then plug in the value for terminal velocity to figure out her displacement for the remainder of the fall. Based on this information, her total displacement before Callum catches her is 2 863 metres (9 363 feet).

It's hard to estimate how far she falls along the the length of the mountain because there's no full shot of the Storm Spire, but we can assume that 2.8km isn't even the half of it. Let's assume, then, that the point at which Callum has to physically draw Ventus Spiralis is considered the point at which they need supplemental oxygen, and that he catches her at that point. On Everest, this is considered the Death Zone, and it is at an altitude 8 000m (26 000 feet).

So 8 000m + 2 863m puts the Storm Spire at a minimum height of 10 863m (35 363 feet).

For context, Everest is only 8 849m tall.

Having trouble visualising? I got u:

So. THAT'S A FAIR WAY. And it begs the question:

How much of Viren did Claudia actually find at the base of the Storm Spire?

We actually didn't need to do all this math to work that out, we were just having fun. The fastest Viren could have been falling would have been terminal velocity. The ground would have been the equivalent of a truck going at 200km/hr slamming right into his body, so when Claudia says she "dragged [her father's] body into that cave," what she meant was she did it with a bucket. In multiple trips.

Anyway this was pointless but hub and I had fun. Claudia might be crazy, but if you found your dad's body Like That and then had to Drag It Around, I mean. Wouldn't you go crazy too?

#rayllum #adjacently #the dragon prince #tdp claudia #tdp viren #tdp rayla #tdp callum #a meta by me? its more likely than u think

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numptypylon · 2 years

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Observations/speculations from this angsty-rayllum-fighter-jet-shipping-fuel frame:

1) Unlike the clips where he’s in the castle, he’s wearing his scarf and probably his sketchbook or bag, something with a diagonal strap that he wasn’t before. So he’s dressed for a journey, left the castle with a purpose, maybe to find Rayla since… he did find SOMETHING of hers. And we know from the recap he’s definitely still pining.

2) His devastated face and slumped shoulders and the way he’s almost reverently cradling the sword, it looks like grief rather than fear or anger or determination, not like he’s about to go find her but like he believes he’s already lost her. There might be circumstances around where and how he found the sword that makes it even more ominous than it already is.

3) The sword is unfurled, so she presumably lost it in battle, if he found it like that. It doesn’t have any dirt or blood or anything else on it to indicate that she lost it long before he found it or that she was fighting something at the time. He might just have found it closed and unfurled it to make sure it was really hers. Did she teach notoriously uncoordinated Callum how to do that before she left? That’s at least a sweet thought in the midst of all the angst! TTM did mention them practicing together.

4) He’s alone? Did he fly ahead, leave the castle alone? The scene with Ezran in it, he’s not wearing the scarf or shoulder strap, so they’re presumably still in the castle. If Ezran or Soren were there with him, you’d think they’d be close/comforting him when he’s clearly very upset. So my theory is he left alone (my shippy heart says to find Rayla, but there could have been other reasons, like mirror-Aaravos tricking him into it or a combination of the two) leaving him vulnerable to Aaravos who’s almost certainly very interested in a talented young human primal mage and prime for some solo adventures and character development, since he pretty much always had backup in the first three seasons. Control of his own mind has been his weakness, he tends to spiral and need other people (mainly Rayla and Ez) to pull him out of his funk, so I’m really interested to see him on his own!

5) Stormclouds with a little bit of sunlight. Did his strong negative emotions make stormclouds gather as he fell to his knees in despair, thinking this the end of the line for his search in the worst way? I loooove emotionally powered magic, I so want that to happen.

6) The fact Rayla’s sword was left behind. Presumably only one of them, from the way he’s holding it with BOTH hands. She wouldn’t have left it, they’re pretty essential and almost certainly custom made for her by Ethari, and if she’s still banished, not replaceable. The fact that only ONE sword was left rules out it being a sign of her leaving her quest behind and Callum finding her unscathed and trying to be a normal npc somewhere. So it was presumably an accident or emergency of some kind, and the context of previous points, it was a battle scenario and she had to leave it to escape with her life. Point 6) might be its own post later when I’ve speculated some more 😄

#rayllum #rayla #callum #the dragon prince #tdp #meta #s4 speculation

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ac0531 · 2 years

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Honestly, seeing the progression of rayllum never fails to make me smile. I love how it starts off as Rayla wanting to try and finish what she couldn’t do, but when meeting Callum (and later Ezran as well), she puts it all to the side to help them return the egg and stop the war.

To think, it all started when Rayla tried to complete the mission of assassinating King Harrow and Prince Ezran. Even if she was hesitant and didn’t want to do it, I still love how Callum was willing to put his own life at risk if it meant keeping his little brother safe.

And after they find the egg, then they are on a new quest: a chance to end the war.

Seeing Callum and Rayla interact throughout season 1 was one of the cutest things ever! It was nice seeing them develop a bond, even though they had their ups and downs such as their confrontation with Amaya or the egg almost dying after it was dropped into an ice lake.

But the next season, we got even more Callum and Rayla bonding, and even some cute moments shared between them like hugs, hand on shoulder and even the one moment where Rayla nearly confesses to Callum when he’s suffering from the effects of dark magic.

And then we get to season 3, which is peak rayllum! Honestly, I could go into a whole talk about all the moments they shared, but keeping it brief, I love all their moments shared when Rayla is showing him through Xadia while also focusing on getting Zym back to his mother.

Even though Rayla discovered she was ghosted, felt like she has failed everyone, and felt cast out when at the Oasis after learning the truth from Ethari- Callum still standing by her and giving her reassurance melted my heart.

Like the scene on the ambler, where he tells Rayla that she’s a hero and goes on about how amazing she is- I literally squealed the first time in saw it! Plus the kiss after- SO CUTE!

And towards the end, seeing them hold hands and stick together- shows just how much they care about each-other!

But definitely the pinnacle moment had to be Callum activating the Manus Pluma Volantis spell to save Rayla after she tackled Viren off the spire. Just the way he tells her he loves him, and when she says it back- my heart melted and I was grinning wide!

“Because I love you, Rayla! I really do.”

“I love you too, Callum!”

In the end, seeing how they went from being enemies at first due to Rayla focusing on her mission, to developing a bond as they traveled together, to becoming close and even confessing their love for the other is something that I’ll never forget when watching TDP for the first time (and on subsequent rewatches as well)

Day 1 of the Rayllum Appreciation Rewatch Week, hosted by @raayllum

Enemies to Friends to Best Friends to Lovers

#rayllum #rayllum appreciation rewatch week #tdp #the dragon prince #callum tdp #rayla tdp #tdp meta

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self-spaghettification · 26 days

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i finally read through the moon and i sure am appreciating the ocean/water motif like. 10 times more now thank you book 5 ocean i see you

like how callum goes from this

to trusting rayla with anything. respecting her decision and his lack of control in the situation instead of fighting it

and how the lack of control is literally tied to a body of water (moon nexus, uhh the water control thing i guess)

once callum understands the ocean & be ok with his lack of control he can jump in with her

#also thinking about how rayla said she hates water after surfacing from the nexus #there’s Something there #with the moon and its nexus literally being located in water and connected to those depths #are u telling me how u hate urself rayla #tawehrwijekrfghfgjks #fuck i forgot i had this queued i guess i did write more rayllum analysis after all #the dragon prince #tdp meta #ish idk its just. ocean arcanum thoughts. yk?

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mandaloriandragontrainer · 1 year

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Going off my polls and what we see in canon media, I think Callum expresses his love through words of affirmation and receives love through quality time, while Rayla expresses love through acts of service and receives it through words of affirmation. Both of them also frequently use physical touch as a language for giving and receiving love, with each other as well as others they care about!

#the dragon prince #callum #rayla #rayllum #callum x rayla #tdp meta #love langauges #mando ramblo

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raayllum · 4 days

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Anyway time to talk about the 6x03 poem:

As many others have speculated judging by the map, Captain Skall made her way to Hook named after her, and then "as east she sailed into waters so deadly and cold" in the Frozen Shards, her ship eventually being stuck and meeting her doom there.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about other pieces of info, why this might be the poem for 6x03 specifically, and where I think Skall may fit timeline wise:

"From the isles without name" makes me think of the Independent Isles in between Evenere and Katolis.

"sailing north, she called herself free" makes me feel feral with Callum (and Rayla) doing the same in hopes of freeing Callum from Aaravos' grasp by destroying the prison

"Through forests and flowers, past the uneven towers" clearly symbolizes Katolis, indicating that Skall lived once most of the human kingdoms had been established, and thereby post-Exile/Exodus.

"Skall hungered for glory, she wanted a story / they’d tell it long after she died". Routinely we see a desire for glory / worthiness / power described as hunger ("Hungry for knowledge and power" / "But that small taste left some humans hungry—starved, even—for a better path. An easier path. And thus Elarion became the birthplace of a new form of magic, a shortcut to primal power: dark magic"). This also comes into seeking a legacy.

"So with winter wind’s blowing / she sailed north, forgoing / a man who’d have made her his bride". This is where we see the poem take a more negative slant in a few ways. The first is winter, wind, and north, setting up a future unfortunate turn of events. This is also the first mention of Skall having something else in her life other than adventure and something she had to subsequently abandon. While the end of the poem is much more on her side of feelings, "forgoing" does mean "renouncing; sacrificing or giving up" something that is more positive.

"Alone in the cold, yet ever so bold" again adds to the more negative feeling the poem is building, as boldness is in the contrast with "alone in the cold" that's overall negative and maintaining a bit more of an upkeep. Likewise, we see the return of the wind with an even more negative connotation in wailing in the following stanza: "And oh, winter wailed / as east she sailed / into waters so deadly and cold". We see the return of cold but also the change into things being 'deadly' (although there were still hints of danger earlier, as 'bold' indicates).

"Then came the ice, and trapped in its vise" The cold finally catches up to her, and we see ice return as a form of entrapment (2x06, 3x08, 3x09, 5x04, 5x06, 5x08). Most interestingly, "vise" is a tool with closable jaws for clamping things. Maybe the ice is magical, or the jaw of a great (the dragon we've seen in the trailer) creature?

"And while she found peace / she wished that, at least / she’d told him she loved him, always". While the poem ends on a somewhat bittersweet end (at death but at peace), we do see that Skall died with a final regret to the man she could've wed but left instead.

Or you could say, a last wish.

Either way, the poem paints a rather grim journey: going North didn't hold the same freedom and achievements that Skall hoped for, and instead led to entrapment, separation, and death.

That said: there's a few Rayllum-y things I think we can glean from this poem, for starters:

1) The episode will likely have a strong focus on Callum and Rayla sailing to and/or through the Frozen Sea on whatever ship they're planning to use to get there. This leaves 6x02 "Love, War, and Mushrooms" more open to either explore other plot lines or another pit stop in their journey (like say, the Silvergrove)

2) The poem itself has pretty clear Rayllum parallels, specifically in TDP's continual gender subversion of the women who puts other things above her romantic relationship, even if it's likewise seen as a sacrifice. Rayla left Callum in order to protect him/the world from Viren, even if that meant damaging their relationship, and Skall puts her desire for glory and adventure over presumably a more settled married life at home. (Excuse me while I scream over "forgoing a man who'd have made her his bride.")

3) The poem likewise has some parallels to Rayla's "Dear Callum" letter specifically. There are wishes expressed of the leaving party, a desire to have made feelings more plain that Callum reiterates in 5x04 when they think they're about to die ("I hope you know—" "I know"), and most notably, a parallel to the always mention:

she wished that, at least she’d told him she loved him, always.

But, if it does—if you feel that soft aching—know that that piece of your heart isn’t missing. It’s not missing at all, Callum: I’m carrying it with me! Always. I love you. I love you so much.

4) All this bodes quite well for 6x03 being an episode with a big Rayllum moment in it — perhaps even their Big "You Finally Came Back" Talk — especially since there's not much else to (presumably) happen on a ship if they're just travelling somewhere (and not being pursued this time).

Episode Speculation (a summary / misc thoughts)

Callum and Rayla travelling to the Frozen Sea

Big Talk happens

+ potential love confession / reaffirmation?

They reach the other end of the Frozen Sea

Maybe fight the big dragon from the video game teaser we see with Rayla (like Skall, she has literal hooks = blades) whose guarding or in their way to the Starscraper? Could account for the jaws and maybe the ice

One of them is worried and/or has a moment of thinking the other person is hurt/injured bc of said dragon fight?

Maybe some Aaravos backstory in his lost love (although like I said, I don't think it's Skall exactly — I still think the likeliest names are Elara-adjacent or Kalik)

Episode Title Speculation (in about this order):

The Frozen Sea

By River and Sea

Always (this would be my personal favourite and i would never stop screaming)

#tdp #the dragon prince #analysis series #the english major strikes again #tdp meta #analysis #rayllum #s6 spoilers #tdp spoilers #6x03 #s6 speculation #predictions #+ bonus 'i love you with all of myself. i always will' & 'you know i'm always here for you right?'#it's been a long time since i've sat down to analyze a poem so this is fun

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bunsndoofs · 1 year

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Rayla's Character Arc and Learned Helplessness

Or more specifically: a Rayla meta that aims to explain her actions and words over the course of season 4.

Rayla is a character that revolves around overcoming insecurity, but also with finding value in her own actions. In Rayla's own perspective, she has always had great skill, but she feels she always blows this when she is needed. In her eyes, her actions don't mean anything because she is set up to fail.

This in all the previous seasons however, has never been a mentality she has gotten over. Instead, she tries to overcompensate by instead being incredibly self sacrificial. The only challenge to this mentality is her relationship with Callum who has always tried to argue against her insecurity by empowering her. To Rayla, Callum is her rock that allows her to reason things out but also to see that her own actions do have meaning.

But- what happens if Callum wasn't there at her most low anymore?

Post Season 3 Rayla was at an incredibly low place in her life. Still unanswered to where her family is, and also struck with paranoia over what could happen to her loved ones if Viren is still alive. This dread eats up at her in Through the Moon and is what ultimately pushes her to leave, especially at the confirmation that Viren might not be dead. Despite all her efforts, and even falling off a cliff to kill him, her actions are still never enough to change things. And this fear is exactly is what pushes her to commit to her pattern of self sacrifice again to leave everyone again.

This time though, Callum won't be there to support her, nor will her parental figures or anyone. She'll be all on her own to really deal with her own insecurities without anyone to really show her that its all in her head.

I can't tell you what happened in the 2 year timeskip, but what we do know is the result; that it lead to nothing but pain. Despite all her work and effort, she couldn't find Viren. Her actions once again, lead to nothing, and this time at the cost of her relationship to the boy who was always there for her. This entire experience, likely only served to confirm her worst fears, that she deserves to be excluded and that anything she does is ultimately futile.

And I think this mentality is really highlighted in season 4 especially in this dialogue.

Rayla does in fact, want to save the dragon but she's terrified that if she goes out on a limb, and try to save others again at the risk of ruining their plan, the same thing will happen again as it did with her decision to leave. And I believe to a degree, this attitude is reflected with her whole lack of agency the whole season. Rayla is incredibly down on herself and nearly falls back into her whole speals of insecurity and blaming herself.

I don't think she even tries to see value in her leaving for two years herself. She herself even apologizes to Ezran, and once Callum gives her a chance to talk and they hear each other out, I think she likely will apologize to Callum, I just don't think she's had the chance to yet cause Callum has been repressing how he feels. She doesn't even try to retort Callum's words in their reunion, simply after comforting Stella, just acknowledges that it hurt him.

At this point in the story, Rayla is a much more reserved and calmer person because i feel the 2 year time skip has genuinely humbled her but also left her feeling terrible about herself. But- that she also does have the potential to grow from this mentality. With Callum and her friends back together, and able to reassure her, and with her likely going to be able to actually have her own "Big feelings time" in season 4, she'll be able to develop. Right now she lacks her own agency because its difficult to get peace over a likely difficult time in her life when her decisions over it are being held against her by Callum.

She does seem to be on the path of overcoming her own learned helplessness though near the end of Season 4 where she does go after Viren again. Though her self sacrificial tendencies are still there and something she needs to learn to grow from, learning that her choices still have meaning- and even resulting in her getting closer to getting her family back, its a part of the process. And in time she'll learn that being self destructive isn't needed to change things.

#The dragon prince #tdp season 4 #tdp Rayla #Rayllum #tdp spoilers #tdp meta

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zuppizup · 1 year

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I've been gathering my thoughts, musing, discussing, re-watching and while I still don't quite know how I feel about the new season, I've managed to put something together.

I assume it's incoherent...

So, overall, I did enjoy the season. It was awesome to be back in the world again. The scenery was gorgeous (especially Xadia), Soren was an absolute hoot and little gremlin child Zym cracked me up.

Poor solo Mum Zubeia.

Having said that... I spent most of the season expecting each episode would deal with the elephant in the room and each episode just left me with more questions.

And maybe that would have been okay, if not for the persistent hype.

For so long we've been told how much darker this season is going to be. How Callum is super affected by Rayla’s absence, how he's dangerously obsessed with magic now but... he got mad at a book and that was kinda of it? He seemed quite interested in the mirror but this is the guy who almost got zapped by lightning to try and connect to the Sky Arcanum.

So, yeah, I've seen worse from him. I expected worse from him.

Episode one and Callum’s Reflections story showed he was clearly devastated by the events of TTM. Inheritance has him unable to even say Rayla’s name months after she’s left.

So honestly, his reaction to Rayla’s sudden return actually seemed relatively normal. He didn’t want to talk which we’ve seen him do before.

But he seems to see her reaction to his apparent rejection and concedes:

and this happens:

Rayla’s reaction just seemed… almost cruel. Cuddling and giggling with Stella while Callum sits upset. Saying he was joking when he referred to the fact she was missing for two years. Honestly, I was so taken aback by that.

(I know people love the cuddle-mama thing but what about my boy Callum?!)

The revenge thing also got me, because… when was it about revenge? When did that change? Are we to disregard TTM and Dear Callum? What was the point of them then?

What really got me for both of them was Rayla leaving the next morning (Why? To go where?) and Callum… not even noticing? Being more concerned about a magic show than the person he's apparently been worried sick about for literally years.

Rayla randomly re-appearing later that night also seemed… so strange. What was she doing all day? Why not come to Ez somewhere private? And like others have pointed out, she apologises to Ezran but never Callum? And he forgives her immediately? Soren seemed to be the most aware of how weird this whole situation is for Callum. (Thanks himbo, we love you).

My favourite scene was top of the Storm Spire when Callum seemed like he was going to talk to her but they took that away too?! And yeah, the callback was funny but come on! It really felt out of place.

Now we have Callum’s possession by Aaravos forgotten about and the issue with Rayla’s absence once again pushed back.

I would have bought her joking and attempts at flirting if we got a few more micro expressions of concern or doubt but it felt genuine rather than trying to awkwardly ease the tension.

The Drakewood sequence threw me to. Her attitude was such a departure from old Rayla (the Rayla who ran off solo to save a dragon because it felt like the right thing to do).

And don't get me wrong, I was hungry for why she changed so much but we got nothing. I'm really hoping this is addressed in later seasons because "time skip" just doesn't feel like enough to explain this to me.

Hints of old Rayla did make me hopeful (the immediate self blame when Soren doesn't come back) and I was hoping this would lead to her more relaxed nature being a front. Hiding her emotions is not out of character for Rayla, being good at it is. Getting better at that during a time skip I could buy.

But alas, that didn't seem to go anywhere either.

The Viren reveal was even stranger for me. Mainly because… what about people who haven’t read TTM? Wouldn’t you expect more shock from Rayla and Callum to find him alive? There’s been barely anything addressing the fact Rayla left because she wasn’t convinced Viren was dead. A throw away line in S04E03 which wasn’t really given any weight or importance.

And where do they go from here? Has Rayla been “validated”? From her perspective Viren has been alive the entire time and is actively trying to free Aaravos. So yeah, it hurt Callum that she left but her reasons are valid.

If anything Viren is more dangerous than she suspected in TTM.

And yes, I get I’m not a regular fan. My ~500k of fanfic focusing of these characters clearly shows that, but what about the casual fans? Or people just discovering the show on a binge watch? So many things in the season just make no sense. Characters do things because the plot needs them to, not for compelling reasons.

And sure, it might all get explained in the next season (please, please!!!) but there were a number of choices that felt off or confusing.

Which… after all the hype of “Where’s Rayla?”, the Twitter and Instagram posts, the panels, etc… we essentially got:

“Oh yeah, she’s there.”

I hope some of this is addressed next season. I want to know what Rayla was doing for two years. Why she came back when she did. What caused her change of heart when it comes to things like trying to save people. Why she hasn't apologised to Callum yet.

I know coming back after a hiatus was going to be difficult and integrating the supplementary material would be a task but we had so much wonderful character building and insight and it really felt like it was all for nothing at this stage.

I loved the Reflections series and utterly adored TTM. They did great things with the characters and I was really looking forward to seeing that continue in the series. I’m still hopefully for future seasons but I will admit to being underwhelmed by this one.

#this was suppose to be a short gripe…#it went places #they made me meta #I never meta #pouts #the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #rayla #callum #tdp spoilers #tdp season 4 spoilers

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thethiefandtheairbender · 2 months

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rayllum has zukaang vibes and one day i will elaborate further in a proper meta but it's like

you were raised all your life to hate me. i don't hate you. you are exiled from your home for being too compassionate, and i say you don't deserve it; you aren't ready to hear that yet. neither of us can ever go back to the homes as we remember them. you saved me and i will always see the goodness in you, the way you depend upon the goodness in me even when i lose myself to rage. my forgiveness is our cornerstone. (i ask you to kill me if i ever go too far; if i become someone you don't know). you are gruff and hurt and i am happy and yet so incredibly sad. we are perfect opposites. we are are two sides of the same coin. you are me and i am you. we write our own destinies. we will not become the killers they wanted us to be. above all else, you are my friend, and that is everything to me.

Hell, they even both get Judged by scary Sun Fire Dragons together + bonus points for falling in love with your people's view of death incarnate (to literally worryingly degrees). Also they're both alterous as hell

#atla #zukaang #tdp #rayllum #obviously rayllum has their own stuff on top of all this bc #the amount of layers is Insane #otp: kindred spirits #otp: the most amazing person i've ever met #rayla being pushed back towards the path of an assassin the same way he's getting pushed back towards being a dark mage #chef's kiss #the way she's still the gruff/grumpy one tho

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jelzorz · 2 years

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The Temptation of High Mage Callum

(Or: I want in on the theories, this looks like fun!)

Not so long ago, Wonderstorm released the S4 trailer, and people lost their collective shit at two things: Stella the cuddle monkey and her potential life of villainy, and Rayla being in Callum's office, and whether or not she's the real thing. I love the crack theories around Stella but today we're discussing Rayla and why I, personally, don't think she's real.

SO. Here are my two biggest questions:

If Rayla's mission was to kill Viren and keep the boys safe, why has she come back?

If she has come back, how do we get from this

To this

In a way that's meaningful and significant in a 9 episode season?

Q1. Rayla is stubborn, self sacrificial, and a little bit stupid, which, when combined with her low self esteem and sense of honour, makes for a dangerous combination indeed. The reason she leaves in the first place is to protect Callum:

We make sacrifices so that the ones we love don’t have to. It’s part of protecting them—part of protecting you. Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love. It’s a gift. So, please let me give you this gift, Callum. Stay safe, and stay in the light. Don’t follow me, and don’t look for me. I don’t think you’ll find me, anyway.

We know at this point that she can't have fulfilled her goal of killing Viren, so if he's still at large, why is she back at all? Rayla's doesn't seem the type to come back empty handed, and she has to know that this wrecked him. She, essentially, left him a break up text on his birthday, and as much as we joke that they're ridiculous teenagers, he jumped off a mountain after her in 3x09 because he was going to save her or he was willing to die trying.

This is a love for the ages, and after her parents "ran away" and her need to "pay the price that they should have", it doesn't feel right that she would come back empty handed. She has, in the past, abandoned missions, but only at Callum's behest.

She doesn't have Callum this time. Callum is, rather consistently, the only person who breaks her cycles, and it would take one hell of a therapist to help her realise that she has the power to break them on her own. But to come to that conclusion by herself? Off screen? Without intervention from the people she loves most when this behaviour has been her way of life since birth? Seems fake.

Q2. It's only a 9 episode season and boy do they have some ground to cover. This theory banks a lot on the Cube Hostage Exchange Theory (CHET) (@raayllum, 2020) bc it feels like that's where things are going. In a nut shell:

Callum has a cube called the Key of Aaravos that was literally found in a box of keys

Aaravos is the obvious big bad and needs to be released

Callum known to abandon his own morals in the past if it means saving Rayla

@raayllum has this pretty much covered and there are too many allusions to something like this for it to be nothing. They're too deliberate. Too consistent. Rayla keeps running into danger and Callum keeps running after her, and CHET would be the thing to break her out of that cycle.

Rayla left at the end of TTM and is running headfirst towards Aaravos

Callum hands over the cube and the fate of the world in exchange for Rayla's safety

Again, 9 episodes. Doesn't feel like a lot of time. Rayla's absence has to be felt. They need to explain where she's been. If she comes back, she has to be back for long enough for her presence to be felt, because for CHET to work, Callum has to lose her again—and as if he could let that happen after he's already lost her once.

How do you fit that into 9 episodes? How do you make her absence, and then her presence, and then her absence again feel meaningful in so little time? Other stuff has to be happening too, how do you fit it all in?

I'm certainly not saying they can't—I'm wondering how.

The answer to both Q1 and Q2?

Aaravos.

The Temptation Theory (Me, 2022) posits that Aaravos has been observing Callum through the mirror for the 2 years he's had it, so he knows that Callum has his cube. Callum also has a picture of Rayla over his desk, and I imagine he's had plenty of breakdowns in his office, so Aaravos would know of his broken heart too. Furthermore, Aaravos is a Startouch elf, and he seems to be able to divine enough to know when things are coming and what's happening in the outside world.

Callum has been known to vehemently reject dark magic—except for the one time he did it to rescue Rayla. He's a primal mage now, so he has no need for it, and yet we have this:

Why? What's changed? What's got him desperate enough to perform magic he's so morally against?

Once again, the answer is Aaravos, the bringer of magic to humans, a prisoner who knows that Callum has his key. How does he convince Callum to bring it to him?

By offering him the chance to find the thing that matters most: Rayla.

And of course, Callum doesn't believe him. Callum's not tempted by his offers of power, unless it's power to protect the people he loves—or perhaps to find someone he's lost. And Callum needs to have this interaction with him BC CHET hits hardest when he knows the world is at stake, but he chooses Rayla anyway.