#like rayla and ezran are SO GOOD

[raayllum]

2x09 / 4x04

[coconut530]

Gotta be one of the coolest Dragon Prince seasons ever, my god 🌊💔🧞📚🧜🏼‍♀️🎣🏴‍☠️🪵👶🏻

[baked-hylian]

why does each new season give me interesting crumbs in between annoying writing choices?

I finally watched the new season of tdp (didn't even know it was out) and I gotta say whatever writers left should come back please

episode one was extremely stale, maybe it's largely because I don't like how they've been writing Rayla and Callum's relationship, but it felt so forced and unnecessary of an episode all to force a "I trust her unconditionally" type of plot that doesn't even work with the information she's been hiding from Callum. Like why even hide what happened to her parents and Runaan? By now everyone is mostly aware of why the Moonshadow elves put the hit on Harrow, Rayla has been forgiven for her part in it. What purpose did that serve to the narrative other than to force the unconditional trust point that episode. A point that could have been done using the pirate town and her potentially having an arrest warrant from there, causing friction between the humans that still don't trust elves and Callum who doesn't ask her about the warrant, merely trusts that there is a good reason for it. I did really like Domina Profundis' design from the episode and I am still salty about the crap with the elf and human camp from the previous season and had to be reminded of it when Karim appeared.

episode two was better because of Claudia and Terry. Terry is great for her, love him for that, but I do dislike how much he shifts the tone during Claudia's scene considering she seems to be either being set up to stay a permanent enemy or perhaps episode nine will be her rock bottom before taking a different path. Also love all the shit going on in Viren's mind palace, poor guy needs a break.

episode three was interesting. I like the slow set up with Karim working towards taking back the kingdom via his first follower. I also really enjoyed the scenes with Amaya but it's Amaya and really hard not to like her. it does seem like tone is a difficult thing for the series to balance, and even by episode three it felt like whiplash at times between implied horrible thing and poop jokes.

episode four was probably the best of the first half of the season. It was so obvious that the book drop was going to be used as a makeshift fortress to keep out the corrupted banthers. However the episode just got laughable when the library became overrun with them. Would have been nice and cool of them to turn it into more of a zombie movie-esque situation and have corrupted elves and other animals appear, maybe even a dragon. also a little confused on how fast the corruption is supposed to work but hey, for plot reasons we need Zubeia to not become completely infected instantly, instead draw it out for several days/episodes for drama (same as the drama of whether or not Amaya and Corvus lived)

episode five was extremely predictable. Of course the first old elf ocean mage that the group meets is the one they need. We can't make this journey too complicated and heaven forbid that we take a moment to do anything, but maybe I'm still salty from the previous episode cause it seemed pretty far fetched that Zubeia couldn't just annihilate the corrupted banthers with ease and instead had to abandon Amaya and Corvus, because.... Amaya yelled for the first time on screen? BUT it did introduce my new favourite bad bitch Kim'dael, a bloodmoon shadow elf with some very interesting lore that I would have loved to see hinted at more when we were first visiting their forest.

episode six by far was one of my favourites introducing Captain Finnegrin but alas, all good things must come to an end because by episode eight he's dealt with like he was a stereotypical bully in a high school movie instead of a fearsome pirate captain.

episode seven was most interesting at two points. Janai being kidnapped by Kim'dael and the reveal of Finnegrin's ship being a giant hermit crab with a ship built around it. That was pretty sick, along with Callum literally stealing the wind from Finnegrin's ship prior to the crab reveal.

episode eight gets disappointing though with the way everything wrapped up with Finnegrin. I think I was hoping too much for that little thread of Finnegrin wanting to kill the ocean arch dragon due to wanting revenge for his first crab ship being killed by her. Really interesting, especially when he finally got the info he wanted from Callum about dark magic strong enough to kill an arch dragon. I thought it'd be really cool to see him return again, maybe even united with other antagonists at some point. BUT nope. Instead Soren uses the power of being a chill dude to convince Elmer he deserves to be treated better, and it worked somehow. Idk you'd figure a man who has been pirating over 40+ would maybe have had one or two actually loyal crew and not a bunch of essentially slaves. Seriously those kids would have been so fucked if Finnegrin had had some truly loyal men.

and lastly episode nine. Just poor Claudia, she really deserves the support she gets from Terry. Girl just wants to keep her family together. Was NOT expecting her to get her leg cut off in the confrontation, hopefully that sticks and she does some funky dark magic prosthetic for it. However the episode has left me wondering if they'll actually straight up kill Viran and use that to drive Claudia completely to the dark side, blaming Katolis and elves and dragons alike for getting in the way of her protecting her family, or will Viren live and try to walk Claudia back from the darkness? As it stands, I can totally see Aaravos forcing the dark magic spell to make Viren's resurrection permanent, but I do wonder if that was the only reason he created their freaky moth son or if there is more to that still.

[mell0bee]

ok i dont want to maintag but just finished s4 of tdp and is it just me or was it kind of wack??? (spoilers in tags)

[m4rs-ex3]

ALLLL RIGHTY YALL

if u haven't already seen.............. guys i was late i was fucking late for the panel give me a break

BUT here is a play by play of everything from the second i got in

[A GOOD CHUNK OF THE SECRET SCENE] if you saw this post within the first few *hours you got to see but you know what? they got to me i don't wanna be the snitch (i did on accident but its the though that counts)

opeli is being led blindfolded (which we see from opeli's pov. riveting visuals i tell you) by soren to the ✨secret meeting location✨

when she comments on the fact that it is literally just callum's office soren shuts her up bless him

opeli's like "DID BAIT GIVE BIRTH??!?!?" and soren's like no these are "rescue baits" and opeli gives them the greatest fucking look i can't even describe it to you

you've seen that leak "look it's the pearl :D""WHA""yep he's in there :)))))"

rayla says it like "per-al." just thought you should know

soren suggests forming a Fellowship of the Pearl and going to throw it into a volcano i fucking hate this show

they're all debating what to do with it meanwhile the most cryptic-ass shots of callum with the pearl like we get it he's fucked (i take it back i want more)

they finally get to him and he's like "uh????? destroy it obviously?????"

he suggests--and these are 100% his words (not actually cuz u know but its the general idea)--"smash it? throw it off a cliff? take a big ol axe and just--KA CHOP." i love him so much

rayla asks how they know it won't just release him

the way callum is so confused and conflicted and he just says "i... i don't know" oh my god by precious baby

cool ass top-down to the pearl whirlpool esq transtion into the next scene hello??

zym is being emo at a painting of his mother (the one from 4x03 yeah they just stitched that shit up it's all good)

ezran's like. huh. we oughtta do smth abt this

callum is Thinking Thoughts on the turrets(?? yk where soren does his lunges) and tossin the rune cube when he sees the star rune light up......................................

it's stella stella's there and the way he reacts to her is so precious 😭 he's not the step dad he's the dad who stepped up type shit

enter rayla "they told me u would be up here brooding"

(in a tragic turn of events the rayllum of this scene had my brain fuzzy so i can't remember a few chunks here and there have pity my brain has rotten)

callum's like "we have to do something i'm scared he's gonna use me. i know what we need to do ok we need to go to the starscraper"

it's honestly hilarious the way he says "and *WE.* should go" he's like "don't be gettin any ideas now this is an us thing"

and then ohoho "they have something there for you, too" (THAT was an exact quote)

he's like "PLSPLSPLS i've studied star magic i know the spells i know the runes i just need the quasar diamonds!! LET ME FREE UR PARENTS AND RUNAAN PLEAAAASSSSEEEE"

rayla is veryyyyyy opposed she's like "NO i want to help my parents as much as you"--honestly i don't think ANYONE wants to as much as him--"but i don't want my biases to affect that" BIASES?!??!! like that was the word she used i can't stop thinking about it

zym has entered his wolf child era his ass is HOWLING at the moon

soren hears him and goes "aww little guy misses his mom :((( sometimes i wonder where my mom is...." WHAT AWHAT WHAT AWHAT PJARDON SAY IT AGIAN YOU WAHGTS SAY IT AGIAND HUAH HUWH A

ok. yeah callum does not have pajamas BUT I THINK WE HAVE BIGGER ISSUES HERE????????????? HE WAS SLEEPING IN HIS OFFICE

THAT COUCH THING THAT THEY WERE ON WHEN RAYLA CAME BACK IN 4x03???? HES JUST SLEEPING ON IT I CANT MY GUY WHAT R U DOINGGG

in other news

bruv is tossing and turning and then just. ~stops.~ this can only mean good things (i think you know where i'm going with this)

he sits up. hobbles over to the door. there was a really cool transition (can u tell i respect the cinematography) and he's in the cellar holding the pearl.

he wakes up in aaravos' prison and is like "well this looks neat!" until he sees the mirror and screams and wakes up. when he realizes where he is he goes "what have i done" dude you fell asleep?? god he's never sleeping again (<- me when i lie 😈)

the description we got of this next scene did NOT do it justice it was fucking incredible

callum kicks down the fucking door (not actually) screaming for rayla

rayla TUMBLES OUT OF BED ON TO THE FLOOR, pillows in hands and unafraid to use them

"WHOA. HEY HEY ITS OKAY ITS ME! it's just me rayla. it's me. callum" i feel like he was saying the same 5 words for 7 hours it was beautiful

rayla: "callum?? jeez i could have-" *looks at pillows*

callum giggles the cutest fucking giggle and says something along the lines of "yeah, it would've hurt real bad :)"

oh yeah DE-LAYERED PONYTAIL RAYLA CONFIRMEDED??!?!?!?!?!

she sits back on the bed and my guy KNEELS DOWN AT THE CORNER OF THE BED TO PICK UP HER STUFF BEFORE HE SITS DOWN NEXT TO HER and they say chivalry is dead romance was birthed and ended with this scene

he tells her about it and she goes "callum, you're exhausted. you had a nightmare. if i thought you were in any real danger you know i would-" and then ironically i forget the same line that the person from nycc did wouldja look at that

can i just mention how close they were sitting in this scene i mean i jsut thikn i should mention hwo clo

yada yada he has a lightbulb and runs off with her blanket

the iconic "i know stella.. he took our blankie :("

god knows why barius is up in the middle of the night whispering sweet nothings to his jelly tarts

callum comes in with a certain proposition mwuhahaha

rayla comes into his office and sees his aesthetic ass sewing by fireside and graciously says "ah i get it! you're taking your mind off things by peacefully knitting" so iconic for both of them

callum explains that he's stitching runes to create a protection spell when barius comes in with the """"""""pearl""""""""""

rayla DIVES in front of callum and says "what r you doing get that thing AWAY from him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she got SO protective SO fast it was blessed

callum's like au contraire 😈

ok so obviously we had all heard about the fake pearl but. you know that one guy who makes insane sculptures out of nothing but chocolate? that's what they did the pearl is brown sludge with a candy coating 💀 i'm losing my mind that is so funny to me

so yeah with the decoy out the real pearl is protected by--and callum literally said this--"a magic blankie >:)"

he also pops in to tell ez and omg GUYS BAIT HAS HIS OWN LITTLE ROYAL CANOPY BED ITS SO FUCKING CUTE

dawn in the courtyard--ez is saying goodbye to soren, zym, and pyrrah who are going to look for zubeia (i almost just typed zendaya i need sleep) and callum and rayla who r going to the starscraper

my roman empire is this: callum was acting all eepy and then when they get going hE RESTS HIS HEAD ON RAYLA'S BACK AND FALLS ASLEEP. I CANNOT FUCKING MAKE THIS UP IT WAS PHENOMENAL SHE LOOKED SO FUCKING HAPPY I I I I I I HAKJSDHFKJASHFDKJHSADKFHKJASHFIHASEKFH

on a slightly lower note

scene from teaser except they did cut a couple lines in the teaser. mainly just terry going "didn't see you there,, cuz i was asleep. with my eyes closed"

he does not in fact get impaled but claudia tells him she's gonna leave him first and does just that

as she's going omfg terry's cries and pleas and "I LOVE YOU"s and "I WILL WAIT. I WILL WAIT HERE FOR YOU" was absolutely insane idk what was in the air in that recording studio but shout out to ben

i am so tired goodbye!

[jelzorz]

174.

The Celestial elves say no. Of course they say no. Callum doesn't know what else he expected. Did he really think they could just waltz into the Star Scraper and ask to borrow the Nova Blade and a handful of quasar diamonds, and then get them, no questions asked?

His head still hurts from that vision, that dream that felt far too much like that time he'd collapsed after doing Dark Magic for the first time, and though he and Rayla have been granted a room for their trouble, the Nova Blade is still out of reach, and those quasar diamonds are embedded into that crown the blind priest refused to share. Rayla is lying on the bed, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling of stars, dazed and a little defeated, he thinks, because those diamonds are the only way to free her parents, and they'll never get them, not like this, and meanwhile the sword—

Callum makes a face. He's been pacing up and down the length of the room for about twenty minutes because there is... one more thing they could try. One last chance to obtain the weapon that might save them all and the jewels that would free her parents. It's just... not a particularly bright idea. Not a very legal one, even here.

"What are you thinking?" asks Rayla at last. She sits up in the bed, wary, exhausted, like even she doubts their mission here is one they can complete. "You've been pacing for ages. Want to share with the class?"

Callum presses his lips together. "I don't know," he says after a moment. "I just... We need that sword and those diamonds, there's got to be a way to convince them—"

Rayla lets out a hollow laugh. "Yeah, no. I don't think there's anything we could say to change their minds."

"Yeah, but—"

She flops back down. "I dunno, Callum," she mumbles. "I want to get my parents out of those coins so bad, and I know you want that sword to use against Aaravos but... I don't think there's anything else we can do here. They've made it clear it's not happening and I... don't want to get my hopes up for nothing."

He grimaces then, hating how hopeless she sounds, hating the wobble in her voice and the way it makes his heart ache in ways he will never be able to explain. There's still that last resort, isn't there? The final chance to get everything they need in one go, with permission or without it, and it all comes down to what they are and aren't willing to do.

But that would mean—

He shakes his head. No. It's stupid. It's dangerous. It would bring the wrath of the Celestial elves right to Katolis' doorstep. Ezran would be furious, but it would also mean...

He glances at Rayla, at the way her eyes are dull and unseeing with resignation. His heart stutters for her, for the thought of her happily reunited with the people she loves most, the brilliance of her smile and the love she deserves.

Hasn't she done enough for everyone? Hasn't she sacrificed enough to get just one good thing?

"Don't give up yet," he decides. His resolve feels like steel and jelly at the same time, like he would do this for her, no question about it but ony as long as he doesn't give himself the time to think twice. Rayla turns her head to him, confused, daring to hope, and Callum closes his fingers into fists at his side, refusing go home empty handed, refusing to let Rayla down like so many others before him.

"Get your stuff together," he says. "Wait for me here. When I get back, you gotta be ready to run."

She narrows her eyes at him. "Callum."

"You trust me, right?"

She sits up slowly, suspicious of him, of the resolve in his eyes. "Yes," she says after a moment.

He swallows, his nerve wavering, just for a moment. Then he nods and clenches his jaw tight. "Back in a minute," he mutters, wrenching the door open before he can change his mind.

He would do anything for her. He's done worse.

Stealing is not the furthest he can fall.

[zuppizup]

Better the devil

Callum clawed at the vines encasing him, desperate. Wild.

He had to get to Rayla. He had to.

She hung limp over Terry’s shoulder as he and Claudia rushed to the corrupted dragon awaiting them.

“No!” Callum cried out, wrenching his hand from the tangled web and hearing a number of sickening cracks. He’d freed himself enough to draw a rune, but his fingers wouldn’t obey him, wouldn’t extend to perform the magic. “Rayla!” He cried out, thrashing against the thick vegetation that held him firm.

Terry turned back to look at him, his eyes wide and terrified.

“Terry, hurry up!” Claudia grabbed him by the wrist.

Moment hesitation seemingly over, Terry climbed on behind her, Rayla still lifeless in his arms.

“No, no, no!” Callum continued to fight as the shadow beast began to beat it’s wings, pelting him with rocks and sticks. “No, Rayla!”

His breath caught in his throat as he continued to struggle. The vines around him seemed to grow tighter, strangling his chest, cutting off his air.

“Rayla!” He gasped, collapsing to the forest floor as the dragon gained altitude, moving above the trees, into the air… away.

She was gone.

He tried to draw breath, but his chest wouldn’t move, wouldn’t obey. Air caught in his throat as he tried not to think of Rayla at their mercy… a mere collection of parts to be catalogued.

Used.

“Callum!” Ezran’s voice somewhere behind him…

His vision was going black as his heart ached in his chest. They had her, they had her… He’d let them take her away.

“Get these off him.” Soren now.

Two sets of hands pulling at the vines wrapped around him but it did nothing. His chest seized, like it was trapped in a vice. He could hear his own strangled breath as he gasped for air.

“He can’t breathe!” Ezran cried out. “What did they do to him?”

“What sort of Dark Magic is this, Viren?” Soren’s voice was harsh, like it had been ever since Viren had shown up.

He’s the last person Callum wanted to see.

“This isn’t Dark Magic.” Viren’s voice sounded clipped as it moved closer.

Ezran gasped. “What do you mean-”

Callum lay in the dirt, limbs heavy and unresponsive. Oh Sources, Rayla. They had her. He let them take her away. What were they going to do to her? What did Claudia want with her? He needed to get up, go after them, save her-

“Callum, you need to breathe.”

He wanted to push Viren away, scream and rage at him. Hit him. Make the bastard hurt, like he was hurting now. His chest burned and his heart ached. This was all Viren’s fault, they took her, they had Rayla. If he’d just stayed dead they would never have ended up in this situation.

She would have stayed. They’d be together now.

He gasped again, a sob making it even harder to breathe.

“In through your nose. Out through your mouth.” Viren continued. “Breathe.”

He needed to help Rayla, he had to save her… he needed to breathe.

“That’s it.” Viren continued, and Callum became aware of a gentle pressure on his upper arm.

Slowly, he felt air returning to his lungs. His vision came back. Viren was sitting next to him, a hand on his arm.

“Good.” He smiled sadly. “Breathe.”

————

So, as usual, I feel I was enabled into this. More to come, perhaps? Callum & Viren teaming up to save Rayla and Claudia. Callum hating every minute of it? Mayhaps…

[lobstermobster-95]

Down in the Wicked Depths Below

Woe to the man

The dark-eyed sailor

Ship’s adrift

And the sea’s his jailor

Drag him down

Down, down, down

Down in the wicked depths below

Woe to the man

The dark-eyed sailor

Ship’s adrift

And the sea’s his jailor

Drag him down

Down, down, down

Down in the wicked depths below

Lost at sea, the sailor cried

I will not die

The sea shall bow to me

“That was quite a display,” Finnegrin said as he rummaged through the piles of assorted junk on his desk. His gruff voice drowning out the singing voices of the crew on deck. “All that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself.”

Callum looked away.

The tidebound captain wasn’t wrong. Seeing Rayla like that – writhing and screaming in pain, skin turning blue as if she were already dead – it did something to him. Just like it always did something to him when he thought he’d lost her.

That spell had simultaneously caused a pain in Callum that was so deep that he couldn’t think or see straight. He’d forgotten any spells or tricks that could have helped him and instead did the only thing he could think of.

It had at least been a solid hit – something his younger self would be in awe of for several reasons. A lot of good it had done him though.

At that moment, Callum caught sight of Bait’s empty cage and for a terrible, brief second, thought perhaps the little guy had already been cast into the depths. However, Finnegrin stepped aside and revealed the glow toad had been crammed into another smaller cage.

“What are you doing?” Callum asked, feeling confident he already knew the answer.

“Oh, don’t worry. The cage is for his protection,” the captain replied with a smug smile. “This way, he lures us a leviathan but doesn’t get eaten.”

He crossed the room and stood before Callum, looking down at him with the black-hearted confidence of a man who had spilled more than his fair share of blood. “The one getting thrown into the sea serpent’s hungry mouth is your elf girl.”

He may as well have been strapped to an anchor and dropped into the sea for how quickly Callum became submerged in the crushing weight of dread and panic. He struggled against the chains that bound him to the post, but there was no give.

He couldn’t lose Rayla. Not again. Not ever again.

“No, no wait!” The words leapt from his tongue without his consent. “A dying breath, blood filled with hatred, and a unicorn horn. That’s the dark magic you want. Just…just let her go.”

They could deal with the ramifications. They would find a way to protect Domina Profundis, but Callum had to protect Rayla first.

A beat passed as Finnegrin paused in the doorway before he began to click his tongue in disappointment like a parent about to scold their child. “Oh, my poor lad,” he said. “That deal was no longer on the table.” He chuckled, pulling the door open and quickly disappearing through it, leaving Callum alone as he sunk even deeper into despair.

“No!” He called out to no avail. “No!”

Again he struggled and again the chains around his wrists did not budge.

Hot tears began cutting their way down his cheeks. This was really it. Rayla would die and a piece of him would die right alongside her. They had only just begun to truly mend their relationship. The last few weeks began replaying in Callum’s mind

Staying in his and Ez’s old, adjoining rooms had been his idea. After Umber Tor, he’d shed the last piece of the already-cracked and crumbling armor he’d built around his heart over the last two years. He’d opened himself back up to her, and it was wonderful. They’d often stayed up late during those nights, fretting over Ezran and the others or just talking like they used to.

Then they’d traveled to Lux Aurea, retracing the steps they’d taken together on that first world-changing journey. The route had been easier this time. There was no dragon egg to hide and protect, no duplicitous aid from Soren and Claudia, and no race to outrun an impending battle with Viren’s corrupted army.

And with the border open, the route itself had become more traveled, leading to amenities like the inn they’d stayed at. Seeing Rayla happy and at peace that night had filled Callum’s heart in a way it hadn’t been in two years. He’d wanted to kiss her again, to hold her and tell her he loved her.

Now he desperately wished he had.

He could hear shouts and thuds from above him and his heart began to pound. He didn’t have much time.

Looking around for something, anything he could use to free himself, Callum spotted it. The slug Finnegrin had offered as a dark magic conduit.

No. No he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

He’d sworn to himself that he would never do dark magic again. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t who he wanted to be. He’d vowed to write his own destiny.

…But what would that destiny look like without Rayla?

The question seared his heart like a brand because he knew the answer immediately. Without Rayla, he had no destiny. If he allowed her to die when there was something, anything , he could have done to save her, the anguish would fester in his body like a blight and consume him from the inside out.

He would do anything for her.

Anything.

Pulling against the chains one last time, Callum reached out and grabbed the slug.

~

The sunrise was beautiful, almost mockingly so after all that had happened the night before.

Callum sat at the base of the mast, feeling no modicum of triumph or elation at their victory. He felt like a liar, a sham. He was the first human mage to do primal magic and still he’d resorted to dark magic.

He thought he was better than this. But was he? Was he any better than Viren or Claudia if he would dirty his hands with the lives of innocent creatures if pushed far enough?

“So…” Came a voice through the fog. “Two primal sources? Now you’re just getting greedy, mister mage.”

Callum saw Rayla as she sat down next to him, felt the warmth of her living, breathing body, but he didn’t feel any less ashamed. If she knew what he’d done to save her, she’d be disgusted and furious, as she should be.

“Callum, are you okay?”

Was he? He let the question sink deep before nodding his head and letting his eyes finally unfocus from the abyss he’d been staring into.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling a smile up along with him. “Yeah, I’m okay. I am.”

He looked at Rayla as she smiled back at him, his heart feeling full and complete as she brought a hand up to his cheek.

“I’m glad,” she said softly.

She pulled him into a hug and Callum felt guilt wrap itself around him along with her arms. Below them, somewhere in the guts of the hull, two dark magic snakes now slithered and slunk because he’d brought them to life.

He’d broken his oath, and as Rayla sighed contentedly, holding Callum like she had when they’d first fallen in love, he knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat to save her.

And that’s what scared him more than anything.

[raayllum]

like there's something about how Callum is the one who helps teach Rayla what the right thing to do is (because his cycle speech inspires her: "You did") at least in her own mind, whereas Callum sees her as a source of inspiration ("You're right") and how Rayla maintains her faith in Callum to always do the right thing (S4 + "Humans were clever. Humans could do anything, they could be anything, they could take their own fates and change them") even when she's messed up, and how she continues not to like... rose-tinted glasses isn't the right word, but she truly deeply trusts Callum to 1) always do the right thing (even while in S5, particularly onwards of 5x08, Callum is probably going to start doubting whether there are scenarios where there is a 'right thing to do' because he just got presented with like 5 where there isn't) and 2) being absolutely willing to enable and forgive whatever 'not right things' he does while not fully addressing it, cause Rayla might disagree with you and/or turn turn against you if/when you do awful things (hi Runaan in S1, hi Callum in 2x07) but her bond of love for you really is unbreakable

[theredhairedmonkey]

Morality in the Dragon Prince

TDP does an excellent job weaving in several ways of moral reasoning without outright stating whether any of them are right. To wit, there exist the Big Three types of moralities: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, which we will call here (1) Outcome-driven, (2) Rule-driven, and (3) Character-driven. There are main characters who are influenced by each of these three camps.

Outcome-driven morality focuses on the ends. Creating the greatest good for the greatest number. Actions don't have values in of themselves, all that matters is what the result of those actions were, and what the benefit was. The characters who mesh most with this morality are Viren, Claudia, and Karim.

Rule-driven morality focuses on following principles and duties (like don't lie or steal), rather than consequences. Actions are inherently right or wrong, depending on whether our moral obligations were fulfilled, and are universal and impartial. The characters who mesh most with this morality are Ezran, Rayla, and Janai.

Character-driven morality rejects both of these camps. Morality isn't about achieving good outcomes or following good actions, but about cultivating good character traits such as compassion, courage, and wisdom. The idea is that pursuing virtuous behavior leads to personal flourishing, which in turn leads to good conduct. The characters who mesh most with this morality are Soren, Callum, and Amaya (i.e. the ones who are training or learning all the time).

But each of these moralities have serious pitfalls, which in turn influences the flaws of each of the characters above.

Under outcome-driven morality, the ends justify the means. It doesn't matter if Viren has to kill the princes, Claudia has to do unspeakable things, or Karim has to kill his sister. The outcomes (bright future for humanity, saving one's family, or saving one's people), at least in the minds of each person, are good, so any action taken, no matter how terrible, is justified. Hence why each of these three descend down the slippery slope of villainy pretty quickly.

No matter how dangerous. No matter how vile.

Rule-driven morality avoids this problem, but instead creates a different one: these characters become rigid and inflexible, and unable to deal with nuanced situations. Hence why Ezran gives up the crown: violence is bad, so he does what he can to avoid bloodshed, which only leads to a much larger war in Xadia. Whereas Viren and Claudia can justify too many actions, Rayla and Ezran can't justify enough to do what they should be doing.

How can I let this happen?

Character-driven morality, meanwhile, has two big problems that matter here, one impacting Soren and the other impacting Callum. The first is that virtues don't really provide clear guidance in complicated situations, so people may get roped into situations that are hard to justify. Such as...a plot to kill the princes.

The right thing? I don't know if I can do that.

The second is that what's virtuous often differs based on roles. The virtues in being a soldier (bravery, strong will, etc.) is going to be different from the virtues of being a scholar (intelligence, wisdom, etc.). But what if you are both things? What happens when what's virtuous in one role is wrong in another?

This is where Callum often finds himself in. On the one hand, being a good primal mage involves integrity, and adherence to ethical standards when using magic. Dark magic is a clear violation of that, yet on the other hand being a good prince means Callum should display duty and courage, especially in defense of those people he's loyal to. So in that case he should use dark magic if it means he can fight to protect those same people. Thus, Callum's character gets splintered into two, hard-to-reconcile halves.

Look at you. Slave to your friends, your loyalties, your pride.

There aren't any easy answers to any of these, let alone which moral code is most correct. But where these moralities succeed or fail parallels pretty closely to where these characters rise or fall.

[sage-nebula]

It's kind of funny to me that there are people who seem to be surprised when Claudia does things like depersonalize Rayla by referring to her as "[Callum and Ezran's] elf" in the Reflections short story when it's been clear from the very first episodes of season one that Claudia doesn't really see elves as people—or at least, not people worthy of basic rights or dignity.

When Runaan was cornered om the balcony and Soren was about to kill him, Claudia protested. Not because of any mercy, but rather the opposite. "We have more practical uses for this one," she said. "Tie him up!"

Earlier, Viren describes dark magic as "practical," so it's obvious what Claudia is referring to here. Runaan will be tied up and harvested for dark magic ingredients. Viren has slightly different plans, of course, but Runaan still ends up coined in the end. A fate arguably worse than death, by his own estimation.

Silly, goofy Claudia at her happiest saw an entire person as dark magic ingredients. There was no reason for that; she still had her father and brother, Runaan was dead to rights, Soren could have ended him with a single blow. But Claudia saw this person and thought, no, lets squeeze the magic out of him instead.

Claudia's actions have become more overtly brutal over time, yes. But she has always been like this. She has always had the same cruelty in her that led her to pretend to hand over Rayla's family, only for it to be a trick instead. Claudia does love Terry, but she says she loves him in the very same season that she tells Soren that elves are actually terrible and are just using him. For Claudia, Terry is the exception. One of "the good ones."

She has always been like this. Desperation has just driven those traits out more often. And it's part of what makes her so interesting.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

We're getting to close to seeing how Callum and Runaan are going to interact! They both love Rayla, but will they let that outweigh the fact that Runaan killed King Harrow?

Rayla and Callum love each other, but their fathers were on opposite sides of a deadly clash, and one of them didn't survive. It's going to be intense, no matter how it falls out.

But we've seen this particular tangle come up before. And there's a wide range of results so far:

Zym and Ezran are bonded closely and can read each other's thoughts when they want to. But Ez's dad killed Zym's dad, and before that, Zym's dad killed Ez's mom. Yet that doesn't stop them from seeing each other as friends. They don't blame each other for the choices their parents made.

Rayla and Soren have talked through what Viren did to Runaan in TTM - as far as Soren knew and could guess at, which was that Runaan was messily dead dead at Viren's hands. And Rayla was still happy to be his friend, when he showed his true colors. She didn't blame him for what his dad did to hers, even when she still thought Runaan was gone.

These friendly pairings are all about people from the same generation, people who were hurt by or who were not involved in the deaths that occurred.

It's a little different for Claudia and Rayla. They've generally been on opposite sides all along, and we might see some closer context for Rayla and Callum from looking at their situation.

On one hand, they both know that Viren cursed Lain, Tiadrin, and Runaan into coins. There could be plenty of fallout to come from this knowledge on Rayla's part, and maybe even on Claudia's if she gave those coins away when Viren had some kind of plans in mind.

On the other hand, they also both know that Rayla tackled Viren off the Storm Spire, and he died, and it took Claudia two years to fix that.

Just like it's been taking Rayla two years to "fix" Runaan's coin situation (with vengeance, which will probably now shift to rescue instead?)

But when Claudia and Rayla clashed in S4E9, their issues with each other stuck to what they had done, not what their fathers had done.

And though the angst potential is great with Runaan and Callum potentially squaring off and forcing Rayla to choose a side, etc etc, I think there might be one more example to look at first:

Ezran and Rayla.

They've already bonded as children made to carry a heavy burden of responsibility by their fathers, of feeling separate and weird, not fitting in. They both know what it feels like to have a father who takes lives, a warrior who defends his people - and who kills the fathers of other children. And they're still friends. They're very good friends.

I think Callum has every right to be angry at Runaan, when they meet again. I think he will be angry. He's an angry person with a lot of hurt and stress. And that might be how he deals for a while, because I don't know that Rayla or Runaan himself will really be in a position to help smooth things out.

But Ezran could be, possibly more than anyone else. Harrow was his father, too, so he can speak to Callum from a place of true empathy. But Harrow took Avizandum's life and left Zym without his dad, too. Ezran could help Callum see their shared pain from the outside, even when he's angry. Ezran is the King of Katolis - made so by Runaan's attack, in fact. Ezran rules because of Runaan's actions as much as by the good people who rescued him from Viren's cell.

Oh yeah, how about that: Ezran knows what it's like to be locked up by Viren, too.

They were both betrayed by supposed allies, and Viren pounced on the opportunity to lock them both up.

Bringing Runaan back might divide Rayla and Callum for a while, if Callum can't sort through his feelings. But I think Ezran is the key to helping everyone involved move forward.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I just realize you're the only person who point out that Felix and Kagami would be just as in the wrong for hiding the truth from Adrien. Most people I know puts the blame entirely on Marinette and like yeah, I get it it's really bad she would keep something like that a secret from her boyfriend but at the same time how do you deal with that big of a burden?

If it were up to me, I'd make her deal with it the same way like in the Dragon Prince with how Rayla tries to tell Callum and Ezran about their dad being dead but idk, maybe it's not the same with Adrien so it's unfair.

I'm just irritated at people who blame Marinette just cuz she's her gf and not at the adults like Nathalie or Amelie, Marinette's a child, what about Felix and Kagami? They care about Adrien too right?

Yep, it's somehow all Marinette's fault even though Felix knew for all of season five. He knew before then, too, but at least you could argue that he was fearing for his life in previous seasons. As soon as he got the peacock? No excuse. Especially since he got the peacock by trading away Adrien's freedom. A thing he arguably didn't even need to do since I don't think anyone believes that Gabriel would have said, "No" to only getting all of the miraculous. Felix just offers up the ring without even waiting for Gabriel to ask for it. A master negotiator this boy is not.

To add even more insult to injury, season five gives Felix a subplot about informing freaking Kagami and faking her amok. A girl he literally just met gets the treatment that Felix arguably owes to Adrien after all the shit Felix has put him through. You can't even argue that Felix did it because Tomoe isn't a threat on the scale of Gabriel. She's literally a co-conspirator in season five and Felix knows that because Kagami wouldn't be a sentimonster if Tomoe wasn't involved. And Tomoe has always been written as far more hands-on than Gabriel when it comes to controlling her kid, so this isn't even a case of Felix picking the easier target. He doesn't care about easy targets or subterfuge since he, you know, kidnaps Kagami in front of her mother?

But does anyone in the fandom seem to acknowledge that? No and I really don't get it. If hate must be assigned to a character and not the writers, then Felix deserves so much more hate than Marinette.

Kagami isn't innocent either. She knew the truth for about half of the season and yet she doesn't seem to care about telling Adrien. At the same time, she's fine outing Ladybug's secret identity and fine telling Marinette everything, none of which is done in the name of justice. Kagami does it all for purely selfish reasons. To me, this was as much of a character assassination as the whole Kagami believing Lila thing even though Kagami should know the truth about Lila after the Oni-chan incident (Lila faking the kissing picture and texting it to Adrien's contacts).

Then there's Nathalie. In my opinion, Nathalie's redemption is a joke and one of the key reasons for that is how little she cares about actually saving Adrien. At no point does she tell him the truth even though she knows she's dying. She could have very easily died much sooner than the final, leaving Adrien to obey Gabriel's commands, never knowing that he was being controlled. She doesn't even try to find someone else to guard Adrien's ring. She just maintains the status quo and pretends that everything is fine while occasionally asking Gabriel to pretty please change his mind and think of Adrien? Please?

Lady, you literally pinned this man to a table at the start of the season and you are his second in command. You know all his secrets. You have access to everything. You have the power to take him down. You have the power to save Adrien. You are an awful, awful mother figure who put Gabriel's wants above Adrien's needs right up to the very end. Did you even think you had a chance to fire that cross bow or was this just another, "I'm totally helping" feel good moment to assuage your guilty conscious before you died?

And Amelie. Oh, Amelie. If you hate what Colt did to your son, then why are you idly standing by while Gabriel does the same thing to your nephew? You know that Felix has the peacock, so he's safe from being snapped. Why aren't you encouraging him to help Adrien? Or, if you want to keep protecting Felix, then why don't YOU go to Ladybug and Chat Noir and tell them that Gabriel is behind everything? Surely you have to know that Felix isn't safe as long as Gabriel has all those miraculous, right? Gabriel knows that you and your son know everything. A terrorist knows that you're a chink in his armor. Why aren't you terrified by that?

In summary: yeah, Marinette should tell Adrien. It's totally fair to be mad at her. But dear God, she should never have been put in a position where she needed to tell him because one of these four should have done it long before the end of season five! The fact that Marinette was put in this position in the first place is terrible, nonsensical, illogical writing. So go ahead and be mad at Marinette, but you sure as shit better be just as mad at the people who knew everything and did nothing, leaving a teenage girl to face it all alone while bearing the safety of the world on her shoulders.

[numptypylon]

Downtime’s Up - Chapter 7

“It’s like old times!” Ezran continued, scooching closer to Rayla, into an easy and natural side hug, and the spike of just… completely irrational jealousy he felt was just… completely irrational. If he wanted to hug Rayla he could have given into that urge when she first returned, it had been his choice not to. “I missed old times.”

“You still had Callum and Soren, around, right?” Rayla asked. “Almost like old times?”

Ezran shook his head. “No. Not even close. None of them can pick locks or walk on their hands or do backflips.” Ezran leant into her, happily bumping his head against Rayla’s shoulder, and the completely irrational jealousy-spike dug in a little deeper. “The party was un-balanced without you.”

“I can teach you that stuff? I’ve seen you move and climb, you’re strong and have good balance. Backflips will take some training, and we should start with maybe cartwheels, but walking on your hands… you could be doing that in 15 minutes, it’s mostly about the right technique.”

“You don’t get to leave again!” Ezran burst out. “Even if I get really good at backflips!”

“I won’t, even if you manage it with a double twist and everyone claps. Promise.”

Callum scoffed, focusing harder on the obsessive and fruitless repeat traversal of the bottom swoop of the Nebula rune, shifting so his open spellbook blocked them from his view.

Read more of the seventh chapter of Downtime's Up on Ao3, wherein Ezran and Rayla fall back into their old dynamic, but Callum is still too deep in his 'have a snickers' era to join them

[rayllurn]

OH MY GOD OKAY

i'm gonna make gifs in a sec but i have no idea where to begin and i can't remember which episode which things happened in help.

But first:

-Ibis's murder was actually a bit graphic i was shooketh. like we all been new but damn

-angry, awkward rayllum, my beloved

-season of the s h o u l d e r t o u c h e s and subtle glances

-everyone has so much trauma holy shit

-callum and rayla crying at various points in ep 9 got me man

-MOON FAM MOON FAM MOON FAM

-terry THANK YOU for making Claudia do something somewhat redeemable.

-aaravos possessing callum was super creepy. sent chills down my spine

-ezran's speech. in episode 3. WAS SO GOOD! god. he's wise and mature beyond his years.

-janaya. they are...SO CUTE. SO SOFT. how am i supposed to watch them and then just, go about my day??

God i have so many feelings and thoughts...i don't even know where to begin and i have to leave for work in like two hours help.

[jelzorz]

152.

When Rayla says her parents, Ezran imagines a mom and a dad, or maybe mom and a mom, or a dad and a dad. He imagines they're people that look like her and sound like her, people who share her sense of humour and took care of Zym when he was an egg at the Storm Spire. He imagines people he would like.

He does not imagine that one of them is the elf that killed his father.

The thought by itself makes him mad. King Harrow was a good king, a just king, and a loving dad who was only doing his best. He didn't have to be assassinated. He didn't have to die. He shouldn't have died, and yeah, his dad did bad things too, but he recognised that, didn't he? His last letter to him and Callum told them that they were free, that they didn't have to continue on this stupid path and this stupid war, that their decisions were theirs and theirs alone. Rayla was fifteen when it all happened, still a child by most standards, raised to be an assassin and sent on a mission to kill him, and she still made the decision not to for a chance at peace. Runaan knew about the egg, they showed it to him and everything, and he still—

Ezran scowls.

It's a whole mess. It gives him feelings he doesn't want and anger he doesn't know what to do with. Rayla keeps the coins with her at all times, and there are moments he just wants to toss them into the ocean or melt them down into something else but how can he do that without hurting her? Without causing her the same pain Runaan caused him?

And when Callum had offered to help—

Ez doesn't like thinking about it. He'd been so angry. He said things he shouldn't have. He and Callum fought like they've never fought before, and at the end of it all...

He's sitting at the edge of a boardwalk now, feet dangling over the edge, the leather of his boots dark with water as he skims his toes over the surface of the sea. He's never hated someone like this before. He's never felt rage or sadness or grief so big.

"You okay?"

Ez sniffles and doesn't look up, even as Rayla drops into the spot next to him and leans her elbows on her knees.

"Fine," he mutters. "What—um—what's up?"

Rayla pauses, her lips pursed, her eyes searching and sad. She was there. She saw the fight. Ez feels like he should apologize but there's a part of him that doesn't want to. Why should he? Is it so wrong for him to hate the elf that killed his dad?

"You don't have to be fine," she says at last. "I know there isn't... really much I can say. Runaan... was like a dad to me but—"

"Don't excuse him," he snaps. His throat hurts. He curls his hands into fists. "Don't."

"I wasn't going to."

"Weren't you?" Ez scowls at her, his anger getting the better of him, growing bigger than he can control. "But what? But it wasn't his fault? But he was just following orders? You had the same orders and you didn't follow through. You were fifteen! You could have lost your hand! What the hell was his excuse?"

"Ezran..."

"Don't Ezran me! He killed my dad! And you and Callum want—" He stops. He swallows. He's crying again, he thinks, but he doesn't care. "I don't care that he was like a dad to you," he snarls. "He killed mine! He killed mine knowing that he didn't have to! And he gets to come out of the coin? He gets to live and my dad doesn't?"

"I'm sorry, Ez—"

"Stop it! Don't act like that means anything! Sorry's not going to bring him back!"

Rayla says nothing to that. She fiddles with her fingers, head bowed, her hair over her eyes, and in the pause, Ezran sees it—the shake in her shoulders, the tears on her cheeks. His anger falters. He hadn't meant—

"I'm sorry," he mutters at last, but Rayla shakes her head.

"You're allowed to be angry," she says. "You're right to be. Sometimes being angry is part of the grief." She sniffles. "I don't blame you for not wanting us to do it. I wouldn't want to, if I were you."

"But you're still going to."

Rayla doesn't answer.

Ezran looks away. The silence between them hurts, but he leans against her anyway, not because it's okay, but because she's basically his sister, and grief and anger and big feelings are easier when they're shared. Her arm curls around his back, a promise that she's there for him no matter what happens, no matter what he feels, and they sit together, and cry together, until it feels like there's nothing left.

"I wish things were different," whispers Rayla.

Ez sniffles. "Yeah," he mutters. "Me too."