zuppizup - Tumblr blog

[zuppizup]

dark magic au ask game... "love" !

❤️

She could still love him in her own way, like this.

Perhaps unsurprising for a Rayllum fanfic, so far, we have 76 references to "love" in some form or other. 🥰

WIP Ask Game

[zuppizup]

OOH! I can't wait to read it!!!

Spoiler sentence, perhaps....? 👀

I picked out one of your words and ran with that. 😁

He glanced at Rayla, hoping she could read between the lines, but instead was surprised to see her face falling.

Twenty four instances of read in the fic so far.

Fanfic WIP game

[zuppizup]

[zuppizup]

The scarf does a lot of heavy lifting. 😆

Word from the dark magic AU:

scarf!

You know what, for someone who loves a good scarf swap, strangely no mention of scarves at all in my dark magic AU!

I did manage to track down some scarf stuff in one of my other WIPs, though.

Ripping off his scarf with one hand, he pressed it to her side, desperately trying to stanch the flow of blood.

- excerpt from one of my Snake Boi Callum week 2.0 fics

WIP Ask Game

[zuppizup]

for the dark magic au... regret? or missing?

Why not both? 😉

Nodding, Rayla tried to look normal, ignoring the little twinge of regret when Callum’s hand didn’t make contact with hers.

Nine instances of “regret” (or some form of it)

He sighed, leaning against his desk and wallowing in the ache of missing her.

And fifteen of “missing!

WIP Ask Game

[zuppizup]

Word from the dark magic AU:

scarf!

You know what, for someone who loves a good scarf swap, strangely no mention of scarves at all in my dark magic AU!

I did manage to track down some scarf stuff in one of my other WIPs, though.

Ripping off his scarf with one hand, he pressed it to her side, desperately trying to stanch the flow of blood.

- excerpt from one of my Snake Boi Callum week 2.0 fics

WIP Ask Game

[zuppizup]

So, I've broken 100k on my dark magic AU and am going back through to edit the first arc. Anyone want to inspire me to actually get off my butt and edit?

Drop me a word in my askbox, and I’ll give you a sentence from the fic, if it's in there.

[zuppizup]

My cartoon for this weekend’s @guardian books

[zuppizup]

Anyway time to talk about the 6x03 poem:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Or you could say, a last wish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode Speculation (a summary / misc thoughts)

Callum and Rayla travelling to the Frozen Sea

Big Talk happens

+ potential love confession / reaffirmation?

They reach the other end of the Frozen Sea

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

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

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

Episode Title Speculation (in about this order):

The Frozen Sea

By River and Sea

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

[zuppizup]

idk how to flirt but i can make things awkward if you're into that

[zuppizup]

tumblr is great because no matter how many followers i get it doesn't stop me from being really fucking annoying. other places i will perhaps think before i post. Not here. not here

[zuppizup]

[zuppizup]

The Frozen Sea, or possibly Skall's Hook, let's gooooooooo

[zuppizup]

So we got a poem this time for 6x03 (transcription for easier use)

Great Cap’n Skall on the map did scrawl, a journey by river and sea. From the isles without name her legend she claimed sailing north, she called herself free. Through forests and flowers, past the uneven towers, our great captain adventured ahead. To the east were the fields autumn’s bountiful yields but Skall did not hunger for bread. Skall hungered for glory, she wanted a story they’d tell it long after she died. So with winter wind’s blowing she sailed north, forgoing a man who’d have made her his bride. Alone in the cold, yet ever so bold Skall made her mark on the map. That northernmost hook is in every book and yet what became of the cap? What’s one mark on the world? Her sails unfurled there was so much more to behold! And oh, winter wailed as east she sailed into waters so deadly and cold. Then came the ice, and trapped in its vise the great captain spent her last days. And while she found peace she wished that, at least she’d told him she loved him, always.

A proper analysis post will follow, but this is just for posterity's sake

[zuppizup]

She thinks I'm cute!

Amaya and Janai from The Dragon Prince

[zuppizup]

I cannot believe they invented hand holding

[zuppizup]

Due to an influx of abusive spam comments on April 21, 2024, we temporarily disabled all guest comments across the site. We have now re-enabled the ability to leave guest comments, but if you comment while not logged into an account, you may encounter a verification page that checks that you are not a bot. We are also working on other ways to help reduce spam, including a small change to the default comment settings on the work posting form that will be rolled out soon.

English • Български • Català • Dansk • Deutsch • eesti keel • Ελληνικά • Français • 한국어 • Hrvatski • Italiano • עברית • Lietuvių kalba • मराठी • Norsk • Polski • Português brasileiro • Português europeu • Română • Русский • Српски • Українська • 中文-普通话 國語