#ethari headcanons

[themistdragon]

Runaan is one of those people who CANNOT sleep in total silence. There had to be some form of noise, otherwise he won't sleep a wink.

Ethari snores like a lawnmower.

[ruthari-preacher]

Ethari: So you like cats?  Runaan: Yeah.  Ethari: *tries to impress him by slowly pushing a glass off the table*

[random-fandom-ramble]

Is Redfeather Etharis mother?

I just read the new short story about Rayla in Scumport, where we were introduced to this wonderful new MILF character, Redfeather:

Some things we learned about her:

She’s a moonshadow elf

She has matted messy hair

She has pale markings and likely has a darker complexion (“like shining leather”)

She was ghosted about 15+ years ago

She doesn’t regret the thing(s) she was ghosted for

Now 15+ years ago doesn’t place her at any important events that we know of yet. Rayla would’ve been 0-2 years old at the time, so it probably doesn’t connect to her. The whole ordeal with Sarai getting killed by Avizandum happened about 10-12 years prior, so it couldn’t be connected to that.

But you know who would’ve been in a very interesting age back then?

Ethari and Runaan

Ethari and Runaan were once referred to as “uncle-ish” age, which the show runners have clarified means somewhere between 30-35 years old. That means Ethari and Runaan would’ve been 15-20 years old at the time when Redfeather got ghosted by her village. And as we all know, 15-20 is the perfect age for fictional characters to get traumatized✨

One theory I had was that she was somehow involved with the assassins (target? Former assassin? Who knows) and that her crime, which somehow affected a younger Runaan, got her ghosted. But that is a theory for another time.

What caught my attention first was the specifics of her description.

Pale markings and “leather colored”(darker) skin

When it comes to the colors of markings, moonshadow elves tend to have very deep or even dark blue/purple markings. Ethari is the only moonshadow elf we’ve encountered till now who has significantly lighter, or paler, lavender colored markings amongst moonshadow elves.

This means that Redfeather having specifically PALE markings would be significant, if the paleness is referring to the color.

Another point is the eyes

While Redfeathers and Etharis face’s aren’t THAT similar, the eyes very much ARE

Look at that shape! Look at the lashes! Look at the curved lower lids! If this doesn’t mean anything, then this would be one heck of a coincidence for eyes to be drawn THAT similarly.

Another reason I like this theory isn’t just because of looks and appearances, but also because it could explain a bit about Etharis behavior regarding ghosting family members and strong feelings about abandonment.

See, when Rayla first comes back to the Silvergrove, one of the first things he says to is:

“They’re gone Rayla. He’s gone. Because you abandoned them.”

And later on, when he briefly lifted the ghosting spell to talk to Rayla, he says again:

“But I don’t understand, how could you abandon them like that?”

On a similar note, in the novel the bloodmoon huntress, when Runaan realizes that Kim’Dael is out there, there isn’t even a question about wether or not Ethari is coming along; he said right away “I’m coming with you”. He was NOT gonna stay- or be left behind. It’s like he has some very deep rooted issues surrounding abandonment, and being left behind. Maybe because his mother had to leave him when he was young? Or maybe pertaining to the crime she committed, where she left someone behind and surrendered them to their doom? Who knows…

And yet, for someone who has such strong feelings about someone being left behind, he was very quick to ghost Rayla. Yes he regrets it, and yes it was a decision made with feelings and grief and not his sound and sensible mind. But regardless of how much he regrets it now, he still ghosted her for “abandoning her team (and Runaan)”, and he seemed very sure of that choice at first.

If we looked at him as a regular person, a godfather who loved and cherished his goddaughter, and had raised her since the age of 8, this behavior doesn’t make any sense!

But if we look at him as someone who’s had to do it before, someone who had to learn long ago that family ties don’t excuse crimes, and that sometimes you need to cut out and ghost those closest to you - like say, your own mother-, well then it makes sense why he was able to do that to his goddaughter, even if he regretted it later…

——

And a final point close this whole theory off, though it is more of a meta textual point:

Ethari rarely gets talked about by the creators of the show. He was maybe mentioned here and there in the past, and on Twitter Aaron Ehazs promised that they hadn’t forgotten about Ruthari. So any mention of him that actually includes his name and something other than „he’s Runaans husband/Raylas substitute dad“ is pretty special and rare to find outside of the graphic novel Bloodmoon huntress . But in this new short story, he wasn’t just mentioned by name; he was specifically described along with his profession, his crafting.

And the first time that Ethari gets mentioned again outside of the bloodmoon huntress is when a new Moonshadow elf with eyes almost identical to his gets introduced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

✨Thanks for reading!✨

Feel free to add your own thoughts to this theory in the comments or in reblogs!

@beautifulterriblequeen @sunstone-nerding @hoothalcyon @legend-of-the-fandoms @anybody-else-who-wants-to-join-the-fun

[empressgeekt]

TDP- Headcanon

Runaan is a f*cking lightweight. He can not hold his liquor. One drink and he is out. And when he's drunk he acts completely out of his usually stoic self. He's giggly and constantly flirting with Ethari. Once he even forgot they were married and asked if Ethari was single, and if he would court him, and started crying with happiness when Ethari told him they were in fact married.

Lain has never let Runaan live this down.

[bluegreysilkie]

Assembling furniture with your darling🥰

[hoothalcyon]

Ruthari + Nonsexual Kink

After reading this post by vaspider about nonsexual kink in a romantic dynamic, the wheels of my brain began to turn before finally landing on Ruthari, and not only Ruthari, but the fact that they already demonstrate some signs of nonsexual kink in their relationship.

note: I don't think they were intentionally written this way, I'm just having fun :)

The most easily noticeable instances take place in the graphic novel Bloodmoon Huntress, but it also represents their entire dynamic as a couple, so I will go through both.

Firstly, it's easy to see how well this dynamic would fit the both of them. Runaan has an incredibly stressful life or death job where he has to take the lead and do very difficult, fatal things. He can maintain this pressure for the amount of time needed for the mission to be completed, but he can't carry that weight forever, everyday. It's been said that he is the most emotionally open he possibly could be when he's with Ethari.

Which brings me to why it fits Ethari. He is a misfit in Moonshadow society, or at least in the Silvergrove. He's "not as strong as the others", he's a creator and inventor in a friend group full of assassins. I bet he would want to feel some control and power, even if only behind closed doors, but not so specific as to only in the bedroom. And what better way to feel control than consensually dominating the leader of the assassins, am I right?

In borrowing from the original post, I will highlight these key parts: "surrender[ing] control to someone whom they can trust...because in their everyday life, they have a lot of responsibilities and stress, and going into that space where nobody can ask anything from them, where they have no responsibility to make any decisions at all, is a relief to them."

And, vice versa, "for some of us, that kind of service allows us access to a feeling of power that can be hard to access in our daily life, and that feels really good."

So, now onto canon examples...

The way Runaan goes from lightly ribbing Ethari for his over the top welcoming party for Rayla before quickly changing his attitude when Ethari gets serious and says darling...

I'm 100% imagining that the use of "darling" with a serious demeanour is one way Ethari signals to Runaan that he needs him to behave/follow his lead without question 😈

2. The market scene where Runaan is all petty and acts up, causing dysfunction between him and Rayla. Ethari swiftly puts him in his place and Runaan doesn't challenge him. He knows he's overstepped, and his dom is putting him in his place. He literally shuts up and goes all doe eyed at him.

Ok, but consider that for a second. Runaan is singlehandedly the most stubborn character in the entire show, and yet, Ethari can boss him around with no questions asked. Kinky.

3. Ethari bringing Runaan his weapons. To me, this indicates, again, that they both enjoy when Ethari wields control over Runaan's actions. He is the stepping stone his sub needs to complete tasks, he needs Ethari's care and attention. Runaan could just grab his weapons himself and head out, but he waits until Ethari has prepared them, put them in a sack, and handed them to him with a kiss.

4. Ethari instantly getting authoritative and grumpy when Runaan is badly injured, and investigating with his hands before Runaan gently lets him down.

When Runaan is injured, all of Ethari's emotions come rushing to the surface: grumpiness, protectiveness, worry, affection, etc. All the ingredients that make him a good dom. He wants to protect Runaan from danger and angst. He feels helpless watching Runaan fling himself into battle, so the moment it stops, he rushes over to inspect him for injuries and tow him away somewhere safe. He is the caretaker. It's his responsibility to keep his sub safe and healthy, and he doesn't take that lightly.

But the fact that Runaan is insisting it's 'nothing' is frustrating. He needs Runaan's yellow light signals--the soft smile, holding his hand--and also Rayla distracting them, to help him cool off.

And so I'm picturing that when Runaan is injured, Ethari has him kneel (if he can), bow his horns, and take off any clothes that are covering the injury and reveal it to him before he can begin to tend to him. It's his act of submission, of showing Ethari he is ready to relinquish control to him.

And that type of dynamic, of Runaan admitting his vulnerabilities to Ethari, who will only use this information to help him heal, is immensely beneficial to them both. Runaan gets to vocalize where and how he feels wounded, and Ethari gets to have control over healing him and being the only one who knows about these wounds.

Other, smaller canon findings:

Runaan being covered in different things Ethari has made, which have his signature swirlies on them (i.e: his bow, hair cuffs, horn cuffs). Yes, the other members of the moon fam have smatterings of these on their bodies and weapons as well, but Runaan's design features them most frequently. He's literally COVERED in them. This is a visual representation of how he belongs to Ethari.

One major exception to this dynamic is when it comes to assassin stuff (unrelated to injuries).

The way Runaan doesn't mention it when Ethari stealthily steals a sip from his tea (nor when he mentions that said tea is bad, lmao).

Headcanons:

When Runaan comes back from a mission and doesn't know what to do with himself, Ethari tells him different things he can do for him, and that helps put him in the mindset of things different than constantly training, and reminds him that he wants quality time

slightly silly hc where Ethari in his workshop and he whistles for Runaan to come down and Runaan is there in a flash to model something for him or give input on a weapon lmao

[beautifulterriblequeen]

talking about this arrow with @mynewgroove and we had a bunch of fun thoughts:

Ethari potentially made the flower Queen Aanya wears on her necklace

Ethari makes magic arrows

Ethari likes gemstones

Ethari likes putting swirlies on his work

Ethari potentially made this arrow specifically for Queen Aanya

Does this mean Ethari could be in Duren? Maybe he delivers his wares anywhere, but I had a wilder headcanon - yes, from a single arrow shot by a young queen, I do what I want:

Without Runaan, Ethari had no archer to trick out with cool arrows

Without Rayla, Ethari had no one to be dad to

Aanya could fulfill both of those roles for him

Without any of the moonfam left in his life anymore, Ethari might have no ties to the Silvergrove, and might want to get away/move on to be less sad and more useful somewhere else

If he had a connection, however tenuous, to Aanya's family, he could've eventually sought her out

"it seems you're a parent without a child, and I'm a child without a parent. let's just begin"

How did Aanya get so skilled at archery, anyway?

Maybe Runaan taught her, so she could defend herself better

She is a lot like him - cool under pressure, annoyed by small talk, excellent archer, familiar with assassination techniques, entirely unimpressed with Viren

reviving my ancient "Runaan spared Aanya and took a shine to her" headcanon

because I'm soft for Runaan being soft for stabby defiant little girls

and now I'm adding "of course Ethari went to Aanya, she's the only family he has left"

[apogean-tides]

An educated guess >> I defend my thesis in the tags

[air-seaprimal]

Does Etharie know Callum is a prince..?

[elite-7]

Please accept my moon fam headcanon:

Runaan owns a minivan. No not the one he uses for assassin missions, he has a purple one cause he let Rayla and Ethari pick out the color!

Lain makes fun of it and Runaan sets Tiadrin after him with an extremely hyperactive Rayla.

[1lovepeace]

So here is my personal, very, very, sad, emotional headcanon: Ethari has been writing letters to Rayla every three months, pouring out all his heart, mind, soul, and love into every word over the past two years due to the ghosting. But while writing them, he can't stop crying, feeling all his guilt and regret consume him, with a few tears falling onto every letter he writes. Saying that he's never stopped fighting for her and will continue to fight her, defending her name and honor, how he hasn't forgiven himself since that day. Telling her everything that's happened, what he's been up to, the obstacles he's faced, etc. But at the end of every letter, wanting Rayla to know just how deeply sorry he is, how much he truly loves her, that he's so proud of her, how he misses her so dearly every day, and that he hasn't stopped fighting for her and he never will.

And finally, ending every letter with "no matter what anyone says, always know that my love will be with you even when the moon is not. I love you, my little moonberry. And until the day we are reunited, I hope that wherever you are, my little moonberry, may the moon guide you, protect you, and keep you safe, forever and always. Know that you are worth it to me, and I will never stop fighting for you. Until then, sincerely, with all my love, your devoted, loving father, Ethari."

Help, I made myself cry of heartbreak😢😭

[themistdragon]

Ethari is one of those people who attracts animals. Like, whenever he's around, any pet or other animal will migrate to him. Even Moonstriders are sweet and happy when he pets them and talks to them.

Runaan is insanely jealous.

[quietninjakitty]

Random Coin Theories

Tiadrin was coined first, and the last thing she remembers is the horrified look on Lain’s face. ^^^ Lain thinking that Tiadrin’s dead until Rayla addresses her in season 5

Viren didn’t take the coins out of the bag once until he showed them to Runaan. Lain and Tiadrin’s first glimpse of the world in months was of their best friend chained up. They weren’t aware the other was there.

When Claudia shows Rayla the coins in Umber Tor, they all recognize her immediately, but they’re reluctant to believe their identification is correct. Tiadrin and Lain think that she’s about to get coined. When Rayla talks to the coins, they answer even though they know she can’t hear them. They always tell her they love her, they’re proud to her, and to be safe. Sometimes they add one of those quiet but desperate please’s after they’re back in the bag.

Whenever Rayla has them in the bag, all three are going into full parental worry mode, despite their best efforts. They all have a grasp on the idea that, if Rayla is talking to them, things are quiet (at least for her). That means that any time she doesn’t, things could be going horribly wrong, and she could be in terrible danger.

^^^ The sigh of relief they all breathe when they hear her voice again. And the desperation and fear as she puts them back in the bag. Everyone experiencing extreme parental guilt that, not only are they helpless to keep her safe and/or comfort her, they’re relying on her to save them, something that no child should ever have to deal with. Being aware enough to tell that it’s Rayla, but not being able to see where she is or what’s going on.

Runaan’s the only one who knows they’re in coins and inside a bag. They heard Rayla tell Callum about the coins and admitting how much it hurt her. Everyone forgot they can’t communicate with the outside world and tried to comfort her the best they knew how, before remembering a few seconds later and begging whoever was with her to make her feel better.

Everyone debating with themselves about whether it’s actually Rayla they’re seeing, some sort of trick of the spell, or they’ve just finally gone insane.

The first time they can actually see the other coins. The immense relief that the others are really okay.

Rayla doesn’t know it, but every time she talks to the coins, she’s pulling her family out of whatever nightmares usually take place and giving them a much-needed reprieve.

Tiadrin and Lain’s frustration with the fact that they spent 7 years at the Storm Spire, and the day they’re supposed to get to go back home, they get coined. And now their daughter is right there in front of them, and they can’t talk with her, can’t hug her, can’t make sure she’s okay, can’t comfort her even though she clearly needs it.

[kradogsrats]

alternately Kpp'Ar freed from the coins along with the moon fam and they're having this tearful "what do you mean the human prince is your boyfriend" reunion while he's just like "who the actual fuck are any of you"

[that-disabled-princess]

The aplatonic pride flag color-picked from Ethari!

[xxlilnifflerxx]

Rapid fire Moonfamily headcanons.

Runaan is always hot, Ethari is always cold. (That’s one of the reasons he loves the forge. Nice and toasty.)

Lain can sing really well.

Tiadrin cannot.

When Raul’s was a baby, Runaan would play with her by tossing her in the air. It stressed Alain out, but Runaan always caught her, so he didn’t say anything.

When Rayla gets married to Callum, Runaan, Ethari, and Lain all walk her down the aisle. Ethari and Lain cry (Runaan does too, but won’t admit to it.)