#soren&rayla brotp

[jelzorz]

157.

It's a little pathetic. Rayla will not defend herself in that regard. She's eighteen, for heaven's sake, and she'd grown up training to be an assassin, had defended Zym from the most dangerous dark mage in the world, had leapt off the the Pinnacle to what should have been her death, and this! This is what gets her. This is where she lets the world down: in a dinghy, in the middle of the Sea of the Castout, because she's too scared of the water to help save it.

What a disgrace.

Callum and Ezran have been under for about ten minutes now, and she's spent the whole time watching the surface of the ocean, daring herself to jump in after them. Bait and the baitlings and Soren and Zym watch her in varying degrees of apprehension. Stella chitters encouragingly but the dinghy bobs, and Rayla holds tighter still.

Soren nudges her gently. "You good?"

"Do I look good?" she snaps, and then the dinghy lurches and Rayla whimpers, her fingers curling into the wood. "Sorry," she mutters. "I just—I need a minute."

"You can have all the minutes you want," says Soren. "There's no shame in it. It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not—"

"Yeah, you are."

"You're not helping."

"Neither is pretending you're not scared." Soren gives her a look. It's supposed to be stern, she thinks, but it's offset by the baitlings climbing over his arms. "Look, Rayla. I dunno who you think you're kidding, but like. There's no judgement here. It's okay."

"Oh, like you would know."

Soren gives her a look, and Rayla shuts her mouth immediately, more ashamed of herself for her callousness than for her fear of water. "Sorry," she says again. The sea lurches, and she pushes herself away from the edge of the dinghy, afraid, for a moment, that the ocean isn't pleased with her either and might just pluck her out of the rowboat itself. "I didn't mean it like that."

"How did you mean it?"

"I just—" Rayla presses her lips shut and buries her face in her hands. "You're you. You're confident and brash and kind of stupid—no offense. You don't know what fear is."

"Good to know you think I'm two-dimensional," says Soren, his voice dry but without malice. "Seriously, Rayla, it's okay. You don't have to be brave all the time."

"Yeah, I do." She huffs and stares up at darkening sky, her throat sore with the things she's too afraid to admit. "I'm a Moonshadow elf," she says at last. "I'm not supposed to show fear. We have this motto thing—I'm already dead—and it's supposed to keep us focussed on mission, and I can't even..." She wrinkles her nose. "Runaan was right about me. I hesitate too much. I don't know what the right thing to do is."

"I mean." Soren chuckles gently and nudges her arm again. "You didn't kill Ezran. You saved Zym. Now, you're beating yourself up about being scared hoping you might get over it. Those don't sound like wrong things to me."

"Hm." Rayla scoffs in spite of herself. "Stop trying to make me feel better. This is pathetic."

"To you, maybe," says Soren. "But I've been there too. I know what it is to be afraid. I'm not gonna blame you for that."

There's a pause. The ocean laps against the wood of the dinghy and one of the baitlings—Jellybug, Rayla thinks—flops out of Soren's hand and onto her lap.

"You're nicer than I thought you were," says Rayla at last.

"Well, thanks," laughs Soren. "And if it's anything to you, I think you Moonshadow elves have it all wrong."

"Why do you say that?"

Soren nudges her a third time and Sneezles tumbles out of his hands too. "Dead people can't help other people, but all you've ever done ever is help. So you can't be dead."

Rayla barks out a laugh, because it makes sense and it doesn't, and it's so ridiculous that she can't help but be comforted by it. She looks over the ocean again and feels it in her chest: she's still scared, but it's because she's alive, and that's okay. "Thanks Soren," she says at last, passing the baitlings back over to him.

Soren grins. "You good?" He asks again.

"Yeah," says Rayla, getting to her feet. The dinghy wobbles but she breathes out the fear and stares down at the sea. "I'm good."

[raayllum]

These scenes added 10 years to my life

[1lovepeace]

There were so many amazing moments and scenes, as well as the relationships/dynamics we got to see developed more, that I really loved, admired and appreciated in S4. But one that I absolutely loved was seeing Soren and Rayla's newfound friendship. It was absolutely beautiful and heartwarming to see. Their dynamic is like brother/sister. It's amazing, beautiful and heartwarming to see:

[zuppizup]

Below Deck

- Set during Finnegrin’s Wake

Rayla struggles against her chains, trying to wriggle into the calming, thin sliver of moonlight shining through the cracks in the deck above. Ezran’s soft breathing and Villads’ occasional snores let her know they’re asleep at least. She’s not sure about Soren, but he hasn’t moved much in a while, so she assumes he’s out too.

Finally alone, she bites her lip as the sense of helplessness threatens to overwhelm her. She doesn’t have time for tears though. She needs to think of a way out of here. An escape. Find a nail or fragment of bone, something to pick the locks biting into her wrists.

She has to find a way to get to Callum, to free him.

The ship is silent now, save for the creaks and groans of the hull as Sea Legs bends and bows to the waves.

Not so silent earlier though… not when she could vividly hear Callum’s cries and groans as Finnegrin did… whatever he was doing to him. Hurt him. Tortured him.

All while she could do nothing. Worse than nothing.

Pretend she couldn’t hear him being beaten once she realised that human ears weren’t keen enough to hear what she could hear.

Ez was worried for Callum, obviously, but thankfully he couldn’t hear what was happening to him.

She tried to pretend it was the worry and frustration that made her so upset, reminded him she hated boats and now being locked up on boats. Insisted she was feeling sick from the churning waves.

Soren had teased her about it and she’d almost bit back at him because she didn’t need that on top of everything else but then she’d seen his eyes and… he knew. Or rather, suspected.

He was obviously aware that Finnegrin wouldn’t have taken Callum away separately just to talk.

Soren might not have been able to hear it, but he clearly had a pretty good idea what Callum was going through.

He isn't just a big dumb lump, that was for sure.

She squeezes her eyes shut and bites her lip, a sob escaping her throat as she tries to push the images of Callum, hurt and alone, from her mind.

She needs to focus, to find a way out. To help him.

“Rayla,” Soren speaks softly in the darkness. “It’s…” he sighs, shifting a little from the sounds. “We’ll figure something out.”

She pulls her knees into her chest, tears finally running down her cheeks.

No! She needs to be strong. She needs to help Callum. She can’t fall apart. Not now.

“We’ll rescue him, okay?” Soren moves again, his shackles clinking loudly in the darkness. “We’ll save him.”

Rayla wraps her bound hands around her knees and whimpers as quietly as she can.

Soren is right. They’ll save Callum. They have no other choice.

[koheletgirl]

rayla tdp for the ask game :)

rayla......

favorite thing about them: UGH um i guess my favorite thing about her is how sarcastic she is. i think it really adds to her characterization.

least favorite thing about them: girl you need to stop jumping off of clifs

favorite line: everything she said in the "i need you to kill me" dialogue

brOTP: soren and rayla brotp for life

OTP: rayllum obviously

nOTP: i dont like when ppl ship her with claudia, but i like it even less when they ship her with soren

random headcanon: she's a terrible singer. idk why i think that

unpopular opinion: i was never mad at her for leaving

song i associate with them: lots and lots and lots... to name one, everybody does by julien baker.

favorite picture of them:

sleepy girl

[yuriinadress]

(re: send me a character) bernard dowd and/or the lil tdp dude i keep seeing everywhere since the sdcc panel LMAO (i think his name is callum??? pls forgive if im wrong /o\)

Hi! Because I love these two so much. I'mma do both!

Bernard Dowd

Favorite thing about them:

He's a superhero Conspiracy theorist and that is insane to me! Like, that is such a good idea for a character and should be used to its full potential.

Least favorite thing about them:

Surface-level, he is the embodiment of white bread, especially with his current characterization

Favorite line:

Oooo, this one's a no-brainer:

"It's perfect and I love it, flaws and all. It was definitely worth the wait." -- "Special Delivery" by Travis Moore, DC Pride 2022

(Like he's talking about the cake, but also he's not talking about the cake-)

brOTP:

Darla/Laura for the obvious besties in high school

Steph for besties that bully Tim (affectionately)

OTP:

Gee I don't know... TIMBER OF COURSE

(Although I do ship timberkon and konnard on the side 😏)

nOTP:

Darla/Bernard: I really think their strongest dynamic is their friendship.

Random headcanon:

He's friends with Jay Nakamura online. They met through a government conspiracy forum.

Unpopular opinion:

I'm not sure if this is unpopular or not but I think his characterization is weakest when he's written by Fitzmartin??? Sorry??? (I honestly think Travis Moore is his best writer yet)

Song I associate with them:

Yasutaka Nakata - Crazy Crazy (feat. Charli XCX and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu)

Favorite picture of them:

It's just so tender. He's so in love 🥺...

Callum

Favorite thing about them:

He's the biggest fucking dork and I love it.

Least favorite thing about them:

Don't really have anything for this one

Favorite line:

"You're smart, and fast, and beautiful. Rayla, you're the most amazing person I've ever met." -- 3x4 "The Midnight Desert"

He's such a romantic that he doesn't even know he's in love with her yet-

brOTP:

Callum and Ezran! I love their dynamic as brothers

Callum and Soren as frenemies to big brother figure that affectionately bullies the younger one

OTP:

RAYLLUM! RAYLLUM! RAYLLUM! (Rayla and Callum)

nOTP:

Claudia and Callum (but I'm fine with it as a crush)

Random headcanon:

When he gets really into something he gets into it. Like nose in a spell book and forgets to eat or sleep until someone makes him.

Unpopular opinion:

I don't think him learning every Arcanum will make the show too similar to ATLA.

Song I associate with them:

Simple Plan - I'm Just a Kid

(probably too on the nose but it's the first thing I thought of ahshsj-)

Favorite picture of them:

He is a serious artist 😤

<Send me a character and I'll list some things about them!>

[aromanticmara]

OOH OOH AND FOR THE CHARACTERS UHH. rayla

Sexuality Headcanon: bisexual. all the characters in this show r sooooo bisexual it’s insane

Gender Headcanon: demigirl probably 🤔 but she has a very complicated relationship w her gender i feel

A ship I have with said character: RAYLLUM. OHHHH RAYLLUM KILLS ME THEY R SOOOOOO

A BROTP I have with said character: her and soren r so bros

A NOTP I have with said character: claudia. ew ew stop

A random headcanon: she can’t braid hair so ethari braids it for her!!

General Opinion over said character: she is 10/10 i love her gimme bet back again w the moon fam

[enbeemagical]

I ship Soren and Rayla.

[ID: a picture of two otters with "Friend~Ship" in script above them.]

[chimpukampu]

Aunt Amaya’s Lost Bread

One of the things that made Callum so proud of his eidetic memory was remembering all of the details after hearing it once.

Like Aunt Amaya's Lost Bread recipe.

"The staler the bread, the greater the victory when I achieve my perfect recipe for Aunt Amaya's Lost Bread," he recalled his aunt signing. "Gren, go secure the ingredients from the travel rations. You know what I need."

"Of course," the commander replied. "Eggs, milk, salt, and - oh, right. I almost said your secret ingredient out loud."

Ever since they escaped from the Banther Lodge, Callum has been trying to solve the mystery behind his aunt's delicious breakfast recipe.

"Maybe the secret ingredient is Love?" Rayla snapped her fingers towards his direction. "You know, like the famous quote."

"I heard that a lot of people have tried to replicate her recipe with passion, so I highly doubt that's the case."

"Maybe it's pepper?" Ezran suggested. "Because pepper goes well together with salt?"

"How can we find pepper in this wilderness?" their elf companion gesticulated to their surroundings. "Not to mention peppercorns?"

The trio, who just survived from their river rafting fiasco, were huddling in front of their campfire for warmth, leaving their damp garments draped near the rocks to dry. Rayla stripped off everything except her inner camisole and teal leggings, while Callum wore nothing but his sleeveless red vest and boxers. Ezran, on the other hand, has no problems getting naked under his dark cloak.

Luckily, the dragon egg survived, as well as Callum's sketchbook and their weapon-grade baguettes.

"I'm sorry about what happened in the Banther Lodge," the older prince muttered with an abashed face. "I really do. I didn't mean to say those words to our aunt. It won't happen again, I promise."

"It's fine, Callum. I already forgave you," Rayla waved her hand dismissively, then glanced at the younger prince who gave her a meek smile. "And you two don't need to make amends by replicating your Aunt Amaya's Lost Bread," she emphasized with an air quote. "I'm sure it tastes nothing like Moonberry Surprise."

"Moonberry Surprise?" Ezran asked, tilting his head to the side. "What's in it?"

"It's a surprise, silly," the elf chuckled much to his confusion. "Once we reach Xadia, I will treat you with the best Moonberry Surprise on the entire continent."

(Read more in AO3)

[incorrect-tdp-quotes]

Soren: Rayla, can we talk? One ten to another?

Rayla: I’m an eleven, but continue

[jelzorz]

137.

Rayla keeps her hair long for one reason and one reason only, and that is that she doesn't have time to keep it short. She'd cut it twice herself in the early days of her quest, but both times ended in choppy, uneven haircuts that she needed to see hairdressers to fix anyway, and both times it cost her a rabbit.

It's easier, these days, to let it grow and to throw it into a bun to keep it out of her face. She hadn't thought it a particularly glamorous look, or even a particularly pretty look, but she catches Callum looking, and well...

Now there's impetus to actually try.

She starts off simple: just her bun and an extra braid in addition to the one behind her ear. She tries for a ponytail a couple of days later and finds Callum isn't quite so responsive to it, so she tries a half-updo after that.

She tells herself she's experimenting, but in her heart, it's because she and Callum still haven't really talked, and mostly she just wants him to notice. Any interaction is better than the awkward pining nonsense between them, and at least she knows he's still a little bit interested, and, in any case, it is experimenting. Sometimes something different is nice.

And, of course, other people start to notice. Not in the same way, but enough to point out that she's doing something different to begin with. Ez says he likes the extra braid. Opeli says the half-updo looks lovely and traditional. Soren surprises her most:

"Hey, pigtails! Cute! You want help trying something else?"

Rayla stares at him. They're on their way down to the blacksmith to see if he can do some maintenance on Rayla's blades which are a bit more complicated than his usual commissions but Soren promises he'll enjoy the challenge. Rayla'd been feeling sentimental this morning, so her hair today is two pigtail braids like the ones she wore when she was younger. She'd actually been thinking about cutting it, now that there's time and it won't cost her an entire rabbit for a trim. "Pardon me?"

"Oh, you've just been... doing different stuff with your hair recently. Just wondered if you want ideas or a hand doing something new."

"You have experience with hair, do you?"

"Sure do," says Soren brightly. "What, you think I would trust someone else to manage these gorgeous locks?" He flips his hair dramatically and Rayla fights the urge to shove him off the path. "Nah, this is all me. Been trying to get Corvus to help me dye it but he's just not an artist in that way."

Rayla stares some more. "You dye your hair?"

"Obviously," snorts Soren. "Seriously, if you need a hand, just say the word. I'm happy to help."

Rayla isn't staring on purpose anymore, she just can't stop. "Oh. I. Didn't think you you were the type to experiment yourself," she admits, although why is less clear. Soren's always taken a little bit of pride in his appearance. It shouldn't be such a surprise. "Where'd—uh—where'd you learn to dye your hair?"

His face falls a little. He shuffles his feet. Rayla figures out the answer before he says it, and she curses herself silently for being so stupid.

"Claudia used to help me do the bits I couldn't reach," he says. "I used to help her braid her hair to pay her back."

"Oh." Oh, because duh and because Rayla doesn't really know what else to say.

They lapse into silence. Soren stares at the flagstones in the bailey as they cross it and Rayla tries not to push herself off the path for being so dumb. She coughs. "I can help you dye it?" she offers at last. "I can probably do a better job than Corvus, anyway. And... maybe you could give mine a little trim if you know how to do that?"

Soren laughs at that, the tension in his shoulders easing a little as they walk. "That'd be nice," he says. "Although, no, I wouldn't trim it. Callum likes it long."

Rayla blinks. Then flushes. She doesn't ask how he knows. "He does, does he?"

"More than he'll admit. He liked the pony tail. Ez and I caught him staring while you were doing it up."

Rayla laughs at that and makes a note of it for another day.

[raayllum]

Beyond being freaking adorable, I do find it interesting that Soren calls Ez King Ezran at all, simply cause he by no means has to, even though in this ep he does it twice no less in a pretty casual situation (whereas Opeli moves from High Mage to Prince Callum when she's trying to understand him in 5x01, and is pretty formal in general, which isn't Soren's style, calling Callum "step prince" and by his first name exclusively). It makes me think that Soren uses Ezran's title to reaffirm his assertion from 3x09 "He is the True King" and his place as Ezran's personal crownguard.

After all, I can't see Rayla ever calling him King Ezran ("You're not my king, but you are my friend") except in a teasing manner, and Callum certainly won't (at least not in a happy/joyful manner, I'd imagine)

[startouched-moonshadows]

Soren: *groans* What’s that smell?

Rayla, amused: 5 a.m.

[cerinelle-stellarium]

Let the six of us defy the fates that the stars have written and carve new ones for ourselves.

[ko-chan-the-blueberry-donut]

Rayllum modern au

“Dude, he’s glaring at me again.” Soren said as he chomped on his burger. Rayla rolled her eyes. 

“Callum doesn’t glare. He’s too nice.” Rayla denied. She’s known Callum since he was fourteen when she transferred to Katolis High School--the boy didn’t have a mean bone in his body. They were in Katolis University now, with her and Soren on scholarships for combat while Callum was in magic, Ezran in politics, and Claudia in medicine. 

“Oh yeah, then turn around and look.” Soren goaded her. Rayla huffed and turned her head, and sure enough, Callum was glaring at Soren. Rayla turned back to Soren, crossing her arms. 

“Alright, what did you do this time? Tell him he couldn’t date Claudia?” Despite being Soren’s best friend, she was also Callum’s, and she would defend him from Soren if need be. 

“Errr I may have lied to him and said we were dating...” Soren admitted. Rayla blanched, the thought of dating Soren, who she considered a brother, was gross.

“Gross! Why would you do that?” Rayla gagged. 

“Well, he wouldn’t admit he liked you! I was doing my best friend duty and knocked some sense into him!” Soren defended. 

“By saying I was already taken?” Rayla rolled her eyes. “Besides, Callum doesn’t like me like that, Soren!”

“I figured some jealousy would be good for him. Also, he definitely likes you. I’ve seen his sketchbook.” Soren rolled his eyes. 

“Maybe he likes drawing elves?” Rayla ventured, not convinced. Soren wasn’t swayed. 

“Watch and observe, my friend.” Soren said before taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. Rayla had to do everything in her power not to gag. Suddenly, Soren was zapped with lightening, making him jolt and slump over, coughing. Rayla looked over and saw Callum had sneakily sent a lightening current to their table, glaring even harder at Soren if it was possible. When he caught Rayla’s eyes, however, his face immediately morphed into an expression of sheepishness, waving a shy hand at her. Rayla smiled, waving back. 

“I told you so...” Soren was coughing on the floor. 

[jaythesaltybastard]

i AM ALL for Rayla and Soren brotp