#and i'm deep in my aaravos feels again

[raayllum]

scene of all time. to me

I'm gonna be circling back to Rayla and Callum's argument/talk over the dark magic use over and over again in the next 6ish months (if not years) so this is not all of it, but everything I feel ready to articulate right now. Let's go

First off we have Rayla's concern being at the forefront of her mind — dark magic almost seemingly killed him the first time, "it puts [his] life in terrible danger," she wants to protect him and doesn't want him to be hurt, etc. Callum tries to put moral qualms onto her (and we'll get to his in a second) and see if that's her reasoning, but Rayla doesn't take it cause she hit that turning point way back in 2x08 / 2x09.

I also think the framing of "Because it makes you vulnerable to the thing you're most afraid of" is interesting, because I don't really believe Callum when he agrees.

Between "I think deep down I knew, I just hoped if I didn't think about it" and "When you were under the ice I was so scared, I thought I was going to lose you like we lost her" and "I'm afraid that he'll use me [...] and hurt people I care about," I think what Callum is most afraid of is Ezran or Rayla dying. Full stop. After all, he was more unwilling to live in that reality than he was in one where Aaravos took him over.

Gonna talk about her asking why in a bit, wanna talk about Callum's outburst and dismissal first.

C: It doesn't matter. I did it, I'm ruined, it's too late for me, who cares?

He spirals hard with his anger and upset over everything, and you can tell by her face how worried she is. Even the fact that Callum looks away from her repeatedly in this scene, similar to how he avoided looking at her when she first came in 4x03, to have those emotional walls and distance up. It likewise makes me think of Callum insisting "There has to be a way to make it right" in 1x02 only for Harrow to inform him "No, it's too late for that". There's also some semblance of "well I made my choice so I'm just Like This now" that we saw/see from Viren (and Aaravos) as well, which of course isn't true, but that's how it feels. Why Callum is so adamant about this is another thing I'll get to in a minute.

But contrast the "I'm ruined" with Rayla's "you're a good person Callum, maybe the goodest" in a couple of episodes, and the "who cares?" when Rayla is right there, caring about him as he pulls a, well, her of sorts.

Then we have Rayla reaffirming for the 4th time that she wants to know why Callum would keep doing something that's dangerous, that hurts him, that puts him in terrible danger (almost like how she Leaves to protect him or uses herself as a shield constantly or something).

What is his 'good reason' (5x01) because the only thing that makes sense to her is that he'd have one? What could Possibly be worth that cost and level of risk to him, of the thing she believes he's scared the most of?

Wasn't the one she was expecting, we can say that much.

C: Finnegrin was going to kill you. I didn't have a choice, because... I would do anything for you.

Now, there's two ways to read the above line. You can read it as Callum trailing off in "I didn't have a choice, because..." his love for her compelled him to act, and there was no other option he was willing to consider. This best fits with the condensed/cut lines from Finnegrin's Wake of "It seems to me like love has a tighter grip on you than those chains around your wrists, so I'll do you a favour and set you free" where Callum could either lose Rayla but 'be free' or keep loving her and stay 'chained'. Then, "I would do anything for you" is a reaffirmation of how he feels and his vow of sorts to her. This is the one I lean towards if I had to pick definitively between them.

The second way we can read the line is "I didn't have a choice because I would do anything for you," which is that his capacity for the 'anything' removes his agency. This is definitely the one that's in line with the mindset of dark magic creates, which is that if I can do something, if I can save/help/protect/cure someone, then how can I not, no matter the cost or sacrifice?

Rayla processes the reevaluation of the vow and its boundaries.

He did it for her, risked all of that and himself for her, in order to save her life. "Am I supposed to thank you?" And I think again we see the parallels between her leaving to protect him, and how she would've rather died than have Callum use dark magic again (as she's about to say in a minute) but this really stood out to me in comparison to Viren and Claudia and Viren and Soren later this season.

Claudia mandates "You have to stay! You have to [do what I want]! I saved you! You owe me your life!" in 6x01. We learn in 6x06 what, precisely, Viren did to save Soren's life, and Soren then offers up his heart to Viren for Katolis in 6x08, something in Claudia's vein of logic (though not to her herself) Viren would be entitled to. But Viren, and Callum, make it clear that Soren and Rayla don't owe them anything just because the two mages saved their lives with dark magic.

Then Rayla switches gears and gets to the heart of the matter.

Now this was really exciting to me for a few reasons. The first is that I always wanted the "Make the sacrifice" angle from Viren-Aaravos in 5x09 to come back around for Rayla and Callum in a future season since I love that fourway foils dynamic a lot. Rayla refusing to kill him, and Callum refusing to let her be killed/sacrificed in some other manner. You don't have characters say shit like this (nor have this be what causes Callum to stumble and the ship starts breaking) unless you plan on going there for both of them, which is likewise what I've always wanted since even before S4 came out. The fact that this is also spearheading us to talk about Rayla's ideas of sacrifice and of herself ("Cause I know you Rayla, you never do anything for yourself") is especially beautiful and exciting.

Ergo, this argument is the scene of all time. To Me.

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE TEASER. MY MONKEY BRAIN IS WORSE. WORSE, I TELL YOU.

Ohoho fauncy British accent

That is an anime-ass song and it SLAPS and I'm right and won't argue on this.

Rayla just has to WATCH?! My girl better catch him. Or Stella teleports him through a portal lol

WHOAAAA MAMA THAT IS A F R A M E OH MY GOD. But srsly though I feel like they're gonna pull an A:tLA and the Celestial elves will be like "If you want to wield the Nova Blade/Get what you want/Whatever you have to forget about love" and Callum will IMMEDIATELY be like "hell nah."

Jesus Christ, Karim, we already know you're a baby. Doesn't mean you have to LOOK like one what the hell is that face.

AANYA MY QUEEN MY LOVE THE ONLY PERSON I'LL EVER SWEAR LOYALTY TO AND SHE'S WITH EZRAN OH MY GODDDDDDD

Awww Rayllum takes turns carrying the animals!!! True co-parenting 👍

Hmm, eight (8) stars again...

Dam Aaravos is going THROUGH it. How deep are his tear ducts, Jesus Christ-

EXCUSE ME OH DEAR GODS PLEASE LET ME BE WRONG BUT IS THAT DARK ETHARI?!?!?! GET AWAY FROM MY BABY

Oof. Sorry, pretty boy. You're evil purple sexyman's now.

Claudia honey stay with your bf, it can get better. But seriously tho, is Racquel okay? I wanna give her a hug omg...

WILL RB WITH MORE

[thrandilf]

A Truth, A Lie, and A Secret

Viren avoided looking Soren in the eyes. He busied himself with the fire, he pretended his thoughts could be anywhere but on Soren tied and gagged behind him, struggling to escape.

Words burned in Viren's throat, yet he may as well have been the one gagged. They richicheted inside of him, dying to be free.

—a truth

He was a monster.

The fear and revulsion in Soren's eyes were well warranted. Viren did not condemn it or attempt to correct it. His actions had paved this way to hell and Claudia had fished him out still reeking of it.

Soren had never discarded the truth. He knew he'd been asked to kill the Prince's.

Had that been the tipping point? Or had it been when the sting of Lissa leaving sunk in. Perhaps it was one time a waspish comment went too far, digging too deep, forcing the boy who had once chosen to stay with him away. Maybe it had only been the war, but he knew the seams had been strained before they were ripped.

—a lie

He'd never take back Soren being born.

Oh, his actions had suggested it. Viren would never live it down. He kept himself from drowning only with steeled determination.

Soren made choking, rasping noises and Viren knelt by him, back in younger times, finding what one thing had stayed eternal. Breathe. He had to be the last person Soren wanted to see, and indeed, when asked why he hadn't stayed dead, Viren had wanted to agree, to point out he hadn't come back by choice.

Perhaps he had a small choice, a choice to tell Soren to keep breathing even as he fought the urge to take Soren in his arms as if he was little enough for that again.

His life was not his own. Viren could feel Aaravos's strings binding him as tightly as Soren was tied up, forcing his hand into freeing Aaravos or dying again. His frayed spirit wearied whenever Claudia pushed him, pressing him to try magic again despite a gut feeling that he couldn't, shouldn't, to be the Viren she knew, but he wasn't.

Soren breathed deeply and Viren had just a moment to say something between the two of them.

"Soren, I–"

—a secret

‐love you.

The words died, interrupted by company and pushed down with all the other affection the permafrost withheld. Coldness was unnatural on Soren, yet Viren had taught it well.

Viren's tongue would not obey, but he felt close to breaking with every moment that stretched on, bittersweet and agonizing.

I love you. I love you and I'd always save you, even knowing the scars and loss it would bring. I love you, and how you looked after your sister. I love you, I'm proud of you, youngest Crownguard. I love you, as you serve your king better than I could mine. I love you, as you live your life a better man than I.

I love you, my son who has every right to never speak to me again.

[erch0maii]

honestly, if a pretty elf asked me to do a creepy blood ritual to get him out of the mirror in which he's stuck, i wouldn't hesitate for even a second. rip to viren but i'm different

[beautifulterriblequeen]

omg, Sunfire background image

So we all got a look at the Wonderstorm end-of-year update, right? I love it, and it's so nice of them to keep in touch with the fandom! I love it here, so much.

And once again, they just dropped us a freebie image with zero context, so that we may play with it like the kindle of kittens we are.

Bless 'em. They know us so well. I'm gonna go at this thing with my hind claws like I just caught the zoomies during a full moon.

Here's the pic:

And here's my thoughts, enhanced by excited chatter in discord:

Sunfire, obviously

throne/receiving room

but not Khessa's

the throne isn't even the same. this one has three diamonds, two of which have dark holes in them for some reason. uhh matching primal stones a la the Arkenstone maybe, who knows?

diamonds again, a symbol that seems to be on leaders or their accoutrements

Okay here's the coolest part about this:

this is a tent set up in a ruin made of golden stone

see the broken walls in the background, that broken pillar, and there's some rubble on the near floor as well

it's not the same location as Khessa's throne room

but the stone is Lux Aurea-colored

another fact that seems important: the tent blocks out all the light from outside, so while we have no idea where this really is, the important part is, it blocks out all the light

because the Sunforge in Lux Aurea has been tainted by Aaravos, and according to the Cortex stream I watched recently, it's canon that the dark magic-tainted light of the Sunforge is twisting and poisoning everything it shines on

best guess: this is Janai's ad hoc throne room in Lux Aurea during and perhaps after the poisoning of the Sunforge

Further fun deets:

I don't know if this tent is perhaps very old, or perhaps bears one character's specific motif? Its patterns seem a little different than most Sunfire things we've seen so far, but it is gorgeous and I love its look

and also the sunlight lamps inside it, which are not tainted

I wonder if they're still magical light or if they're a more natural light, like from stones/insects/creatures smuggled into the city covered so they would not get tainted, or simply oil and fire with no magic at all, in case that is just the safest way to get light in Lux Aurea these days

I definitely wonder things about how much magic power the Sunfire elves and Sun-arcanum beings still have. Is their magic getting tainted by the existence of a poisoned Sunforge, or is their connection to the Sun separate from it? When the Sunforge apparently gets destroyed to remove the constant poisoning, does that affect the Sunfire elves and other Sun creatures negatively?

WILL BAIT BE OKAY??

this is a comfortable room where people are invited to sit and relax instead of standing on ceremony

sitting on pillows!! Sunfires sit on pillows!! I love this!!

the internal curtains that can divide the tent into sections are sheer and do not block the light

it's very pretty, but it also invites an openness that seems very Sunfire, as there could be somewhere to hide in here but they've deliberately decided not to create such a space, except for beneath the tent as a whole, for safety reasons

the patterns on the pillows and jars are interesting

the pattern of a gold circle with four points atop a purple pillow is sure in here a lot, and with that color scheme it seems deliberately royal while avoiding the pure unending gold color of Khessa's reign

also the darker colors in general - the purple, black sun shape, and deep red - are thematically linked to the poisoning of the Sunforge: the eclipse of the Sun Nexus, purple dark magic, and the creepy red magic tufts around the Sunforge

the plants and pillows and food and drink contribute to the comfort and homeyness in here, you're meant to feel at ease

if this really is a place where people take shelter, it's possible that these boxes around the edges of the room hold sleeping mats or bedrolls that are laid out at night and tucked away in the morning

the rug on the center has a sun in the middle and the swoopies around its edges are reminiscent of vining plants, living things. It reminds me of the Moonshadow brier patterns on Lujanne's blankets, but less stabby

there's an embroidered-looking symbol hanging in here as well

with the red and gold, it could be Janai's personal symbol, the symbol of the Sun Throne, a location symbol, a temporary event indicator, a war banner, someone else's banner - a character we haven't met yet, or a lot of other things. Since two of these are flanking the throne, though, I assume they represent the person or position of the one who sits on it.

to me it kind of reads like a cross between the Eye of Sauron and the Venus symbol, with a similarity to the giant symbol on the wall in the Moon Temple: big U shape with a staff-support bit under it. Which feels a little more "magic staff/mage" than "general", so

maybe it's Karim's symbol? as... a baby Sun mage ruler, left in charge when his big sister Janai leaves on her adventures? Idk that's a wild guess, but the Sunfires are short one Sun mage at the moment...

Anyway, that's what I see so far, with thanks once more to the keen eyes in discord, and I can't wait to see where this backdrop lands in the show itself. Will it be a frequently used location, or only in flashback, or just for one dramatic scene? Time will tell! Eventually.

[v1ren]

(I have no idea what you have in mind for your viravos arranged marriage au, so sorry if this sounds like absolute nonsense)

But Viren somewhat still pining for Harrow while with Aaravos is something I didn't think I needed up until now. I don't imagine this whole ordeal being a smooth ride at the start, but I'm just so intrigued about how Viren realises Aaravos is the one. Must be hard for Aaravos too (up until it's revealed Viren practices dark magic, however that goes. I imagine he was absolutely thrilled to find that out)

Also in this au, Lissa's out of the picture, but is it bc of the divorce? Or is she never part of this au?

There is nothing I love more then getting to dive into my own AU's and talk about them, haha!! So thank you so so much for this one!

It's definitely not easy for Viren at first. There is a lot of back and forth on what he really wants, and it's one of those things where like-- he knows, deep down, that Aaravos is what he wants. I mean, who wouldn't want him, right? But like, Aaravos supports him, he sticks by him, he wants to teach him things, he wants to be with him, and he provides him (continuously) ample amount of time to work through his emotions. He doesn't shy away from his temper, but redirects it, and he doesn't fault him for feeling things. So in every aspect, Aaravos has been a positive addition to his life - it's just really, really hard for him to accept that as "real." He's afraid to step into something (again) only to have it crumble at his feet because they're sick of his shit. And it gets harder for him knowing that this is 'arranged.' None of it should be real, they're just here to make peace, and Viren only did this because he's got a massive hard-on for his king. He wanted to make him proud and push himself back into the limelight of Harrow's life, which is a selfish desire in the first place because, in this particular AU, Harrow couldn't be the chosen candidate due to still being married to Sarai. That's right. The queen lives! So it's a super messy state of affairs. It's particularly difficult for Aaravos just because he has to watch this idiot man deny him even despite wanting him, and they go back and forth a LOT because of it. But again, Aaravos sticks by him. He lets him work through it and come to terms with what he wants on his time. It's honestly super sweet, Viren is just a dumbass! Viren finally realizes 'oh, this is real and I'm a big dumb' when it's just proven to him, time and time again, that Aaravos isn't afraid of him. He's not just partially committed to him, but entirely committed. Aaravos is basically his 'other half' and he feels that connection the more time they spend together, until this 'arranged marriage' blurs between the lines and becomes real. And as for Lissa, she is divorced from Viren and she doesn't really play a part in this particular story, aside from Daddy Mage bringing her up like-- maybe once or twice. This dude ain't got time for some raggedy ass Lissa, youknowwhatI'msaying?

[raayllum]

What do you think it means for corruption to overwhelm someone? Do you think Callum will die or will something else happen to him? Also I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast! (This is theinnermechanismsofmymindtdp but I refuse to link my main blog….)

That's a good question, and one I've spent time thinking about in terms of what a Corrupted S7 Callum would look like. (I lean towards something that directly changes his outward appearance during the possession, which is also a convenient short hand for stakes and thereby recovery when it fades.)

Part of the reason this is somewhat tricky is because there's roughly three Versions of what TDP considers to be 'Corruption,' and because the series makes all of these things regularly overlap with one another.

1) Emotional corruption

This is evidenced by someone who is changing for the worse, which is mostly tethered through Soren's dialogue. This can involve becoming a 'monster' (as seen through Viren and Runaan in S6) due to the weight of their 'sins'.

This of course ties into the series' most consistent form of corruption, which is Literal

2) Corruption through dark magic use.

Viren and Claudia get their literally corrupted faces (similar in nature to Runaan's in the life and death portal) and what made the turning point happen in Lissa and Viren's relationship. This is also symbolic of what scared Callum straight in 2x08 and what continues to scare him in 6x03 ("I did it, I'm ruined, it's too late for me, who cares?"). As Soren notes, continued and regular dark magic usage can change people, even if Claudia insists otherwise ("But I'm not evil, it's me, you know me. I'm still the same person"), but that Viren and most likely Claudia successfully come back from said corruption (and in Viren's case, that's not exclusive to never doing dark magic again, either).

I think it's worth noting that thus far the corrupted face (Viren's from coining Kpp'Ar, and Claudia's in killing Sir Sparklepuff) has come from using a combo of deep and dark magic through the staff, and directly out of acts of love (at least in theory for Viren).

Soren also asks for and/or sees his family members change away from this form of literal, physical corruption as well, and we see that Callum's love for Rayla literally helps heal this corruption in him in S6.

3) Dark magic corruption through infection.

This is arguably the one where the previous notions of corruption are brought together, as Janai explains in 5x03:

Nearly a year ago we tried to reclaim Lux Aurea, but the dark mage's corruption was worse than we realized. It is like a plague. Dark magic infests the city. What life remains there has been twisted into monstrosities. [To Callum and Rayla] You don't get it, do you? We had to kill the infected! Our own people.

There's a few things to unpack here.

Dark magic corruption is being compared to a sickness and plague that infects and festers within. We also see this compared to Kpp'Ar's arm wound and other old wounds ("It is a wound that has been festering for a thousand years" 5x04).

Emotional corruption, bolstered by dark magic use, and corruption through infection can both turn people into "monsters". Both forms strip you of your perceived free will: the corrupted through usage monsters increasingly don't perceive their choices as choices ("I did what I had to do" / "I had to save him, I had no choice!" / "Finnegrin was going to kill you, I didn't have a choice!"). The corrupted through infection monsters are seemingly mindless killers, as Zubeia describes an increasingly complete loss of self (which is also what possession is):

Tis a scratch. A mere nothing. Oh, but it festers. Corrupted. Infected. Oh! I can feel my very being shattering from the inside out. I fear I'm losing everything.

Her love for Avizandum (and Zym), signified by a glowing chest heart, also helps her come back to herself and leave the nightmare (Janai describing things as a nightmares, Aaravos using nightmares to manipulate Callum) behind.

Under duress, you can be forced to kill these monsters in order to protect yourself, even if that means killing your own people / people you know and love.

And last but not least, Amaya also tethers all this back to the idea of change (as we saw most prominently under emotional corruption).

Janai wanted so badly to cleanse Lux Aurea, but we failed. The shadow monsters are dangerous killers. But even worse, just a single scratch

The infected became corrupted shadows in a matter of days.

This consequence of "just one scratch and it's over" is now, of course, the exact same set of stakes Callum has been presented following the successful Star-light truth ritual if he ever does dark magic. If he uses it one more time, it's 'over,' and he knows that, in addition to knowing it'd open back up Aaravos' ability to possess him.

But beware, if you ever use dark magic again, the darkness and corruption will overwhelm you.

(Because I have followed a dark path. I had become a monster. I'm a monster. I fought you, I tried to kill you! He's leading an army of darkness. It's not every day you have an army of 10,000 monster soldiers. The human mage, already tainted by darkness. What if I'm on a path of darkness? Shadow monsters. What life remains there has been twisted into monstrosities. You keep calling it a monster.)

Much like how dark magic corruption through usage isn't exclusive from emotional corruption (they have a tendency to go hand in hand, but it's not synonymous because thus far Callum has been our exception), I don't think dark magic corruption through infection is exclusive from dark magic corruption through usage dark magic. All of them are associated with darkness; all of them can turn you into a monster; all of them are tied to losing your identity and your free will.

This is basically a very long winded way of saying I think Callum being overwhelmed with darkness and corruption may look like a combination of all three of them. While there could either be an instantaneous flip (which works well for drama and potential time crunch), there could also be a slow build (more similar to Zubeia, which could offer up more hope for a fix before it happens fully, even if I think the dragang would ultimately be too late because... it's more dramatic and we gotta get the possession fight, don't we?).

At the very least, physical appearance wise, I'm expecting a corrupted face, if not a fully corrupted form like the Banther. (Partially because it matches up with how the dark magic rune glows red, rather than purple, in Callum's dark magic 2x08 dreams).

Post-corruption / possession / ordeal, Rayla (and/or Ezran) will somehow find a way to get him out of it and bring him back to himself. This is bolstered by her literally being his light to Aaravos' darkness in 4x02 framing wise, 4x07 dialogue wise ("Then take another path, dummy"), and 6x06 literally wise.

If he does die / Rayla kills him, I think it'd be temporary at best as while it'd set his slate clean, I don't think they'd do that a second time, and given that Callum now has to Make a Choice in order to be possessed, that works perfectly fine as him turning himself over to metaphorical death (Aaravos stripping away his identity) and literal in his mind (banking on Rayla fulfilling his promise). I don't think he needs a literal, physical one on top of it, but who knows.

If dark magic is a wound, it can be healed.

If corruption is a sickness, it can be cured.

If possession is a lack of agency, it can be restored.

And if it's darkness, you can find the light.

After all:

(Looks pointedly at mutual salvation theory from Aug 2022)

[raayllum]

I love how we are basically opposites on the whole theory thing :

You predict plot points by making jokes that end up coming true

meanwhile me and my overdramatic mind obssesses over dark scenarios that would never fit into 9 episodes and then I'm surprised when they don't happen XD

Listen as long as you're enjoying what you're doing, I say have all the fun you want in fanon and taking insp from canon! That's the best part sometimes! <3

Although I have some things that started out as jokes that ended up being canon (my absolute favourite of which being this joke I made about Ezran in 2x04 that was then an actual thing in the s2 novelization) the weirdest thing for me has been like... the ultra specific thing / things I thought would be more metaphorical that ended up being more literal

AKA a list in no particular order

Me assuming since Through the Moon came out that Callum would inevitably play into Aaravos's hands and that the struggle to not do so would be his main conflict in arc 2 (which looking back, the possession plot line seems so thematically obvious I am genuinely a little sheepish I didn't see it coming)

The game motif being my favourite motif and then s4 fucking Delivered it was beautiful

Viren's atonement arc because of his eye symbolism

That the rune cube placement could be trusted to foreshadow things, specifically the Ocean rune in finding the prison and in foreshadowing Callum's dark magic use

Me going "Hey wouldn't it be Fucked Up if whatever comes out of the cocoon is like a child version of Aaravos?" (hi Sir Sparklepuff my beloved)

For that matter: that Aaravos would ask one of the mage fam to kill Sir Sparklepuff for a deep magic spell, and that they'd refuse to do so

Callum's interplay with freedom being too tethered to Rayla that I banked on her eventually being taken hostage and Callum doing morally ambiguous shit to save her like 3+ years in advance

Seeing Callum's S4 design for the first time and noting that the circlets around his wrists invoke chain symbolism but thinking "Nah him and Rayla being in chains like tarot cards will just be metaphoric right". Haha, no!

Ezran as the embodiment of Justice / the series' Witness (hell yeah thank you 4x03 & TOX for making Justice his highest value)

Predicting Rayla's entire arc 2 arc thus far re: her paranoid and restless nature being what puts them on the path to finding Viren and her wanting a rematch, the coins, and her self worth issues, written March 2020 (months before TTM came out)

Callum and Viren as each other's primary foils (begun before this but started being highlighted further from Nov 2019 onwards with specifically thinking that S4, as opposed to s3, would crank it up to an 11)

Rayla and Callum's whole ass light-dark motif that I thought would be a fun consistency in the background rather than a whole ass arc defining Thing

Characterization wise but Ezran as an Enneagram Nine The Peacemaker personality wise (once again thank u 4x03)

Back in Aug 2021 I noticed that bloodbending had thematic similarities to dark magic (in terms of framing, notions of control & agency) but again, didn't think it'd amount to literal likewise puppeteering (Aaravos is/was even imprisoned like Hama too!)

Seeing parallels between dark magic and thematic/metaphorical cannibalism / positing Aaravos as a cannibal in a fic I wrote in 2019 but never ever thinking it'd be more than metaphorical bc kids show, am I right? (when I tell you I screamed)

Like 3 weeks post s3 I came up with Political Trio Theory in which Ezran and Rayla are at odds about something and Callum is caught in the middle, as he agrees more with Rayla but feels like he should side more with Ezran, which an Ezran / trio centric conflict along those lines seems to be what we're going to get personally with Runaan / the coins in future seasons

Which, not only is it mostly to keep my English major-y brain sharp and my enclosure enriched (parallels are my perpetual hamster wheel), but it's also like... obviously predicting from theme/motifs isn't perfect, but it does mean you have all the right pieces. Then it just comes from running through the options to assemble what the puzzle might look like, & also thinking through the constraints of structure and run time (ergo I wasn't surprised when Callum didn't figure out the mirror himself in early S4 cause I just didn't think the show would have time for that kind of slow build).

Like following S2 I never really thought Callum's journey with dark magic was precisely over, firstly because I saw him absolutely as someone who would do dark magic / things he morally is against again if put in the exact circumstances he was in S5 (hence the CHET predictions post up above), but also because as our primary mage character and with dark magic being the core ethical dilemma for mage characters in the show, it just didn't make sense to assume that it'd be entirely resolved with a neat little bow 2/6 (since at the time we thought it'd be 6 seasons) in. Like - what? So that's something from an analytical standpoint of characterization, theme, and structure, for example, and TDP gives us a decent amount of time to get used to all those things especially in the first three seasons and then we can kind of build our predictions neatly from there.

So what usually happens is that I'll have a passing thought / gut reaction, think "huh maybe it's something," and then actually think about it for like 2 days to 2 weeks and realize that it loops back in with a lot of other stray thoughts and that there's something Substantial there. It never stops being wild

Anyway this was definitely way too long a response so TLDR; I'm always pleasantly surprised / excited whenever I predict anything correctly and also adore when the show throws me a curve ball (hi Terry <3), and the fun of theorizing (and sometimes throwing spaghetti at the wall) for me comes down to the themes and parallels and fun (fanon if nothing else) possibilities I can find. I love writing meta, speculative or purely analytical, even if/when they're often time consuming. My instincts haven't steered me too 'wrong' with TDP thus far, and I don't think they ever will!

[raayllum]

Thinking so much about the parallels between Callum and Viren, and seeing how big Callum's overprotectiveness of Ezran as his brother AND his king has become. I can't get it out of my head that the way Aaravos came to Callum is through Ez, just as Viren made decisions (according to him) to support Harrow. Something like "What are you willing to do to protect your king?"

I do think that'll be part of what could get Callum to go to Aaravos, as well as his own curiosity. After all in his mind, Harrow - his loving father - wouldn't have left Callum anything dangerous, right? And I do think similar to 2x07 now that they're in danger it'll be "I have to be mage again" --> "I have to grow more powerful." After all at the end of the last war, Callum almost lost Ezran to illusion Viren and the only reason Viren didn't win (or at least consume Zym) was because Rayla tackled him off and almost died.

I think Callum may be pursuing magic in the obsessive way he is as, in addition to his Fixer Tendencies / Solution orientated mindset, he wants to feel like he's powerful enough to be able to solve the conflict somewhat on his own - at least to protect Ezran, since again: up until she showed back up, he couldn't rely on Rayla, and it'll take time to feel like he can rely on her again. And even once he feels like he can, being scared maybe that he'll lose her again because of it.

AKA Callum - again - being more like Rayla was in TTM, Rayla getting to see some of how destructive that mindset is on the person she loves the most, etc. And again, Callum has always wanted power - S4 is just bringing that to the forefront. And as Viren said: "I will do anything to protect the king. I hope you will understand"

Callum's side of Ezran and Callum's relationship was always very informed by the trauma Callum experienced in 1) losing their mother and 2) feeling out of place with Harrow, so I'm not surprised S4 is gearing up to show how the new phase of their relationship has been informed by 1) losing Harrow and 2) Rayla's absence.

Ezran is the #1 of the two people he fears losing the most and the only one for a while he's probably willing to admit he's scared of losing. So Aaravos using Callum's love for Ezran to lure the kid in only for Rayla to pull him back / for Callum to go too deep (per a perfect 1x04 inversion of Callum's magically fuelled recklessness) only to lose Rayla in some capacity.

I do feel like Callum will likely be lured in at first regarding Ezran and then when he actually does go too far it'll be less related and more due to his own just compounded trauma or Rayla specifically, bc I feel like that is the most effective route if that is going to play into him thinking he's lost her or losing her in some way, but we will have to see

I'm definitely majorly looking forward to all the broyals content this season, I've missed their bond so much

[raayllum]

You’re going to be right about CHET y’know I can feel it

Aw I wouldn't go that far but thank you! I certainly think there's a lot leaning that way even pre-trailer, and then now with Callum finding Rayla's blades (that she's presumably been forcefully parted from if it isn't him having a nightmare or something) has me like 👀 so I could very well be right, but honestly

I'm thrilled it's just gotten to be a fun idea in fanon if nothing else, even if I do still think it would bring a lot of interesting pieces together and opportunities for the future. So much of Arc 1 was "How do we fix our parents' mistakes?" I'm now curious if Arc 2 will be complicating that with "How do we handle / fix our own mistakes?"

I've admittedly scratched my head trying to find some kind of alternative for how Aaravos could get out of his mirror by 4x09 without something along those lines (even if it's Callum being another mage conduit w/ Claudia to get him out or something and not the cube itself). I've also been reflecting on the choice to have it called the Key of Aaravos, specifically, if it's not meant to be 1) a key or 2) mostly related to him. Why not Key of the Great Gates if that's what it unlocks, or Eye of Aaravos to foreshadow his involvement and power of divination?

I'm also curious if there could be something inside the Cube and I could easily see the Cube itself having more than one purpose (something related to all the Nexuses maybe)? Mostly I'm just tickled pink that my little pet theory is getting a last hurrah and that it let me pick up on the game symbolism they were invoking in like, December 2021 and well before we got more confirmation of chess master Aaravos, since seeing that come to fruition was amazing as a big chess nerd

It's also helped me further develop my ideas about Callum/Claudia, Viren/Callum, and Rayla/Aaravos as foils, which has been so much fun and a constant source of discovery and joy during the hiatus, especially the last 6ish months. It also made me do a recent deep dive into Tarot (which I did in like 2016 but it had been a while) and gather more thoughts this weekend, and I just always love learning more. Was pleased to see I remembered correctly that Moon magic and the Moon tarot card completely matched up (I wasn't sure if I was getting stuff mixed up) and excited to discover some new parallels

Honestly idk whether I'm more excited to be completely dead on or 100% wrong. Like, what if Rayla escapes and comes back with a warning that even her "I must protect the boys" instincts can't justify keeping from them? That'd be such a different dynamic shift and interesting exploration that I've loved reading in some fics. If I'm wrong my brain will be racing a million miles an hour at like 5AM on release day trying to figure out where things are going, like S2 and S3 all over again <3 and if I'm right I'll have to have like, two tissue boxes near me the whole time

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 3

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Lujanne, Callum, Rayla, Ezran, Bait, and Soren goodness!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Lujanne having excellent fitness for all her walking around the Moon Nexus, and she's so energetic that Callum has trouble keeping up with her! She seems like those active grandmas who almost never stop moving, who have a lifelong supply of endless stamina. It makes me wonder if Lujanne will need that level of fitness for some upcoming conflict.

Callum feeling really hungry over not eating grubs and then still deciding he'd rather be hungry. It makes me wonder all over again how Lujanne got to the point where she eats grubs, considering that other Moonshadow elves we know of back in the Silvergrove don't. I still love my hc that the giant leech ate all of Lujanne's moonberry bushes and she's taking her revenge. Whatever's going on there, Callum is definitely not at that point yet.

When Lujanne asks Callum how he knows she's real, he thinks to himself that he'd put up with just about anything from someone who was going to teach him magic. That's a great parallel and foreshadowing for Viren's student/master relationship with Aaravos! And it's telling that neither student gets exactly what they hoped to get. Lujanne doesn't actively teach Callum any spells, because she believes he can't learn Moon magic at all. Aaravos does offer Viren power, but it takes him to some very dark places - literally and figuratively - and the cost is terribly high.

Callum sees a moon shape among the ruins, and Lujanne explains that the Moonhenge layout is an intricate rune that uses the structures themselves as part of its symbols and power. That's apparently a thing even with ordinary Moonshadow villages like Hollow Wood in the east, which is the coolest idea I've seen in a while: city planning as magic runes!

Yes, that's the same shape as the pendants Ethari made for himself and Runaan. Protection? Home? Feelsiness? A sense of safety and belongnig for all cycles and seasons?

Wonder what this Moonhenge rune stands for, then, and how much of this landscape is included in that rune. I bet it's more than we think!

But it makes sense now, how toppling the stone pillars would disable the spell the druids would cast to connect with the Moon Nexus lake. Breaking the infrastructure of the Moonhenge breaks the rune.

There's a physical sensation involved with the visuals that Historia Viventem brings up! When that one ghostly druid walked through Callum, he felt icy cold. Like in ghost stories. I really wonder about what exactly Historia Viventem is doing when it activates. It shows truth, "what really happened here?", so it must have some kind of time-related element, maybe tied to how the moon always repeats the same cycles or something. But it also seems to draw on the spirits of any living people involved in the flashback, because Callum could physically feel that wispy shape passing through him. So very interesting!

Orrr... is that all wrong, and there's something else at work with this spell than time? Maybe the world beyond life and death can act as an imprint of the things that have happened in the living world, and the spell that Lujanne (and later Callum) casts taps into that place, with perfect recall. I'm looking really hard at the sentence that says "dozens of translucent elf ghosts" and "phantom Moonhenge" and "lost in their own world" here.

Lujanne says more here than in the show about the world beyond life and death, being her mysterious Moonshadow-mage self. She says that "beyond" and "between" might both apply to where this other plane of existence is, and she doesn't much care which. With all the relativity swirling around this place, and not much in the way of empiricism, it's sounding like perhaps multiple conflicting ideas might actually coexist in such a place, allowing more ideas to fit there than we might normally believe is possible. Which is a fascinating bit of worldbuilding. Basically, every headcanon anyone has ever had about the Moon Nexus could all be true at the same time, for all we know.

Oh oh oh, Callum coming in soft with a secret wish! He takes one look at the Moonhenge and immediately thinks of finding a way to see his mom again! Poor boy, my heart! I'd say that could be another interesting parallel with Viren, but then, who wouldn't hold that sentiment?

Oh my, is this another breath of life into Ye Olde Ley Lines headcanon? Lujanne mentioning the Nexuses again, so soon after talking about the runic design of the entire Moonhenge, makes me wonder if the six nexuses are in fact giant runes. On Earth, the places where ley lines cross are called nexuses, and there are those who believe those points got marked with ancient structures, like Stonehenge and many many others. If Xadia were crossed with magical lines which naturally formed nexus points where they met, and if powerful magical runes were built across those entire areas, well. That would be cool beans, fams. Can I smack a map of Xadia and release a spell like Luz Noceda does? Because ngl that is my first instinct here.

Lujanne has got to be missing some grandkids to spoil, right? The way she's always whipping out cake and ice cream for Callum, and she's so grandma-ish about it. Headcanon about her being Runaan's mom aside, she is canonically lonely and she's very sweet to Allen and Ellis and I think she's missing whatever family she once had in the past. She may never get to have that family back, so she's finding a new one among the humans who live nearby, and I think that's sweet. Found family isn't just for the young.

But Ellis is straight up gonna be her fave, I bet, because she didn't turn up her nose at Lujanne's illusion food!

Ezran and Bait have a lot more to their relationship than was visible in the show, and I'm so excited by it! Ez can tell by looking at Bait's colors that he's not truly jealous of Zym, even if he's really grumpy about the dragonling taking up his favorite human's time.

And Ez thinking a lot about his dad and the things he's taught him. They're soft leadership material, and I love that so much! "Pick your battles" and the importance of encouragement. Ahh, my heart. Ezran, you're going to be such a good king.

But wait a second: both times that Bait gets extra grumpy in Zym's first training session, Ezran has just mentioned something about flying. Guys, I think Bait wishes he could fly, really badly. And that's his biggest problem with Zym, and with Ezran teaching Zym to fly, instead of Bait who doesn't have wings so. Bait is so old that his secrets have secrets, and I'm really curious how flying fits into them now!

Rayla, Dramatic Assassin: "I need to patrol for dark forces." That's what Lujanne called the source of the purple wisps that found them. I wonder if that's an official term all Moonshadows know, or if Rayla is just taking her cue from a veteran Moon mage. And I wonder how far Rayla is falling into the apparent pattern of "one mage, one assassin", since she does spend a lot of her time patrolling without being asked.

When Callum tells Lujanne that he was bad at prince stuff, and she asks if he didn't give up and got good at those things anyway, it's an opportunity for Callum to embrace subverting his parents' expectations in favor of seeking his own path, which is a primary theme of the show. But Lujanne is a couple generations older than Callum, at the very least, and I have to wonder what her upbringing was like. Is her version of success the one she took? Was she bad at magic once too, but she persisted? She is very soft and doesn't want to kill anyone.

Maybe Lujanne had dreams of doing something else with her life, but she felt she had to pursue the destiny that others handed to her, so she studied magic as hard as she could, and she did get good at it, but using it to defend Xadia from humans is not what she wanted to do with her life. Whether there's a parallel between her and Ethari on that point, there's one between Callum and Ethari, I think. How much of your life are you willing to let others direct for you?

LISTEN I WAS DYING AT THE EAR BREAD SCENE OKAY

This is my new favorite Soren and Claudia moment ever. Soren loves him his bread, okay. Even as earplugs for Claudia's sleep ocarina tune. The fact that it's "super effective" makes me think of a Pokemon defense. The fact that he learned it at camp, where he also learned about Moonshadow Madness, is hilarious. Later on, Corvus doesn't know Soren by name, but I still love the idea of Corvus being a kind of Strider-esque camp instructor, filling the ears of his young charges with all kinds of useful tactics like ear bread for magic spell songs (which actually seemed to work as intended), and warnings about the enemy elves' blood-themed tactics (which may or may not come back around in BH)

I thought they were gonna go in a kind of deep direction when Soren still wanted his ear bread back, but then he just. Eats them. Just noms them. I love this kid. Give Soren all the bread!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

The Thief and the Tinker, Part 4: Circles and Cycles

part 3

Part 4

Viren: *smirks and plinks Runaan's coin to Ethari*

Ethari, furious: You throw another Moonshadow at me and I'm gonna lose it.

Circles and Cycles

Angst rating: 8/10

Back to Ethari, because we're not done with him yet. Ethari is soft, but he isn't weak. He won't be a willing pawn for Viren. He loves Runaan to the point of invention, and his devotion is more constant than the moon itself. He'll agree to do what Viren says, and he'll be Very Sad. But his spirit is in no way broken. Viren bribing him with the coins containing his family will only have the opposite effect. It'll give Ethari something to fight for.

We could get Focused Chaos Ethari. We could get Angery Trickster Ethari. We could get Rules, What Rules? Ethari. Let him try to steal the coins, try to break them, try to kill Viren, and be stymied at every turn, until he settles and seems cowed. And then all he does is craft his way out of the problem.

What if we are gifted with Iron Man Elf Ethari, who pretends to build a fake Key for Viren, but meanwhile he's really building a coinbuster with whatever he can get his hands on - primal stones, magically imbued gemstones, stolen artifacts, his own arcanum, his own reputation as the Master Craftsman of the Silvergrove. He'll use almost - almost - anything, to stop Viren and free his family.

Ethari may have to choose between those two things, though. And he's a hero, deep down, just like his family, just like his daughter. If he has to choose, he'll choose to stop Viren and save Xadia. He'll pay the same price as his family has if he must.

He'd let Viren think he was motivated purely by wanting his family back, but Ethari is far too steeped in the illusion and sacrifice for that to be all there is to his motives. It's a so-close-and-yet-so-far thing, how he and Viren almost embody the same ideals. Almost. Ethari would take one look at Viren, who just burnt down his whole Forest, he'd see the biggest threat in Xadia, and he'd say anything to get a chance to stop this juggernaut of destruction from getting his hands on whatever that ultimate power really is, locked behind that missing key. If he has to abandon his people and bawl his eyes out to convince Viren he's in, then he will.

And Viren wouldn't make it easy for him. He knows clever when he sees it. He went through all this trouble to persuade Ethari to work with him. He would need to keep Ethari as off-balance as possible to ensure that he keeps working as he should.

Angsty jewelry, anyone?

Viren giving Ethari his husband in pendant form to remind him what he's working for, when Viren and Ethari both know full well that only dark magic can open the hellcoins. Ethari wearing another pendant of his love, except it's not a metaphor this time. It's literally his love, in a coin around his neck.

Viren would love making Ethari stay close to him of his own free will if he ever hoped to free Runaan. Making people bind themselves to you is a big power flex. Remember that TDP stream future-season teaser note about Bait being in a creepy restraint in a future season?

This card is written on in all-caps, so that really could be "Bait" or "bait," or--knowing this show--both. Viren's been using Runaan as bait for Ethari all along. Putting his coin in a dark magic pendant casing for Ethari to wear would be a great parallel for that. Oh god. Oh man.

Maybe he'll stab the coin's scary casing right through that circle on Ethari's chest, right over his heart, make that Iron Man reference really obvious. Ethari also losing his shirt at some point, for angsty Viren-related reasons? It's more likely than you think. I mean... Ethari is literally involved in both forms of forging at this point. Shirt's gotta come off for uhhhh work reasons. And because he's hot. Because of all the forging. Mmhmm. I mean how else are we finally going to discover what his markings look like this is research I swear

I mentioned that I liked god-tier villains, right? Yeah, this is amazing. I haven't wanted to die and ascend over an idea for quite a while, but Ethari vs Viren in a drawn-out battle of wills would kill me in the best way. Especially since, while it looks like they're essentially fighting for who gets Runaan, they're truly fighting a much larger battle with much higher stakes. They're fighting for the future itself. It's an epic struggle between the Narrative of Strength and the Narrative of Love. And we've seen what happens, over and over, when the Narrative of Strength gets to call the shots.

On a meta note: If Ruthari's story arc isn't a love letter from one trauma survivor to another, and on a broader scope to all survivors who see it, I don't know what is. Sometimes life just chews us up and spits us out and we can't stop it and it breaks us. But sometimes we can reach out and grasp the chance to help each other, even after that, even when it hurts a lot, because we know what it means to be loved, and to love, and to want a safer future for each other and for people we'll never meet. The future is worth standing together for, helping each other back up for, fighting side by side for, even if you can't see how it'll end, or even how to begin. We are stronger together, and sometimes we need to fight for our "together" before we can fight for anything else. And that's worth it, every time.

This is glorious, it's beautiful, it's tragic, it's amazing, it makes me want to dance, it makes me want to scream into the void, it makes me want to slap someone with a semi truck. No, someone specific, don't worry, and he super deserves it.

Because Ethari is going to win. He was always going to win. He's soft, and he's clever, and he hasn't forgotten what love means. It's what he's fighting for. Not power, not control. Love. He doesn't want to dictate Runaan's future or anyone else's. He just wants his husband--and everyone else--to have one at all.

So he's going to win.

What thwarting Viren looks like, I couldn't possibly guess. TDP is no stranger to angst, so there will probably be a high cost involved in outwitting the dark mage. Maybe not everyone can be rescued from the coins. Maybe Ethari will lose his life, or his soul, or his vision, or something else really angsty. Viren could even kill him and resurrect him as a smoky craftsman, or a zombie craftsman, or something equally biddable but horrible. The only thing I'm sure of is that Ethari would never willingly make a working Key of Aaravos Ethari as long as there's a chance Viren could possess it. But I do believe that if he gets the right opportunity while he's busy saving the world from Viren's dark intentions, he'll break his husband's hellcoin open somehow and set him free, even if he has to smile at the devil to do it.

Ethari understands the difference between "you can" and "therefore you should." He might sacrifice his own world to save his husband, but he'd never sacrifice someone else's world. That's one of the Moonshadow cultural limits I've noticed: they accept boundaries when it comes to other people's autonomous rights, especially regarding life and death.

These limits could get pushed. Ethari will be under great duress and emotional strain if he goes through this kind of interaction with Viren. And maybe he will choose some dark things. Everyone else has. But I'm placing all my eggs in the basket labeled "Saved By Love." Either I'm right, or I'll get the best angst omelets in the universe. And I do love omelets. A villain invented them, you know. ;)

Another support for Ethari not making the key for Viren: the real Key exists!

Callum has it right now. The plot doesn't need Ethari's key (yet? ever?), but it does need Ethari to learn what he's made of, to stand up for something, or against something, or both at once. And once he learns what he will and won't do and the universe has rewarded his discovery with the return of his beloved husband then Ethari will be ready to take on whatever else the plot has in mind for him.

Depending on the plan, all of these events could happen in S4, as a setup for even bigger things to follow. Viren's wishes can be thwarted here and the show's overall tension will only continue to rise. It would let Ethari flex yes pls his skills so we know who he is, it would show how driven Viren can be for a long-term goal, it would let Claudia saunter further downwards, it would reveal some human/Moonshadow history, and it would resolve the seasons-long tension regarding Runaan's fate, allowing for the cycle of speculation, feels, angst, and Ruthari fanart to begin again. ;) Viren would need to find another way to pursue his long-term goal. And Callum's Key will get a little more clarity on just how important it is to the fate of the world - which will make everything he does, and everyone he talks to, and anyone who knows what he's carrying, intensely important.

Nyx is gonna steal it isn't she, omg chaos birb

To Viren, Ethari was a main course, meant to be devoured and consumed in his lifelong quest for something that will finally satisfy. But to Ethari, Viren was just empty calories to be passed over in favor of ordering his perennial favorite dish, one more time.

Once Ethari escapes Viren's clutches with as much of his family as he can rescue, Viren may turn back to looking for the real Key, especially if someone's seen it recently. Hunting a kid probably seems easier than hunting a full-grown Moonshadow craftsman who just outsmarted him. okay so maybe Nyx stealing it would be a good thing and save Callum's life

Ethari could go on to help repair the Sunforge, or rebuild the Moonhenge, or work on constructing Moonshadow villages in Katolis if he hasn't been ghosted for abandoning everyone after the forest fire. He might build magical devices for any number of reasons, to help all kinds of characters. Hopefully, wherever he goes, he'll have Runaan with him, in some way, for at least a little while. Cycles be like, and I feel like Runaan will not want to remain still for long, for whatever reason. Does he need revenge, atonement, justice, a new body, to find Rayla, to find Ezran? He'll be back in action as soon as he can, I think.

Okay, but, I'm so soft at the thought of a scene where Runaan and Ethari come before King Ezran. The husbands tried to save their people Runaan's way, the old way, and it only continued to endanger them. Following the cycle, as Moonshadows do, was the wrong move. But the son of the last human Runaan killed reached out with mercy and broke a thousand years of suffering and sorrow and hatred. Ezran did what Runaan couldn't: he saved the Moonshadow elves from total destruction. And that, more than anything else in the world, could soften one very broody assassin's heart toward humans again.

What would Runaan do, if his heart truly changed toward humans? What would he say to Ezran? I could see him struggling for a long moment before dropping to one knee to pledge his heart as he once had to do before the Dragon Throne. He doesn't know any other way but to serve. Ezran, reading the whole room and everyone's feelings before he tells Runaan that No, we don't do that here. That he's free, and free means free. No chains, no oaths. Just trust and friendship. He should get to make his own decisions for a change, even though that can be hard and scary sometimes. Runaan being genuinely scared, because that's too much freedom. But he's not alone. He has Ethari, and Ezran, and Rayla, and Callum, and their people, and their allies. And no matter what else happens, the people of Katolis - elven and human - will find a way forward. Together.

part 5