#ezran in the 'don't act like i don't love rayla just bc i'm prioritizing dad' camp &

[raayllum]

was thinking about Ezran and Callum's fight in the last chapter of "teach me how to name the bigger light" (which you can read here if you'd like) and how it helped me distill one of their differences (at least in how I characterize them, which is to say)

Ezran defines family by who (and how) you honour the people you love, and Callum defines by who he's selectively loyal to (and will thereby do anything for, even things they would/do disapprove of). Ezran is patient and longterm; Callum is a fixer and sometimes more short term.

We see Ezran wrestle with the legacy of his father ("if Dad were here, he'd know what to do, you know?" -> "I don't want to be that kind of king" -> "But I don't want to forget him" -> "My father was a strong king, and I wanted to carry that strength with me. But he also taught me that strength isn't always about weapons and war"). Ezran thinks that people will care about the right things for the right reasons, and is often let down.

Agreeing to help Runaan is at odds with honouring his father, so he says no:

Ezran looked past her entirely to glare at his brother. “This is what you’ve been doing? Trying to free the—the elf that murdered our father? How could you?” 

Callum is also concerned with inheritance, but is more so plagued by Aaravos' hold and Viren's choices (re: being asked for the archdragon spell and being Viren's literal successor). He'll do dark magic even when he knows Rayla will be angry at him for it (2x07) and when he knows she'd probably rather die than have him do it again (5x08) and will turn on people he's otherwise loyal or trusting toward (Viren, Claudia, Soren, Opeli) the second they've put Ezran or Rayla at risk. Their happiness and wellbeing rules all, and making them happy / keeping them safe - fixing problems when he knows there's a solution - is his priority, even if it's something they'd hate, is typically where he'll fall.

“How could I—” Callum faltered and then glared right back at him. “These are her parents. Rayla is our friend. [...] She’s our family, why isn’t that— [...] “No [he doesn't deserve it],” Callum agreed. “But Rayla does. She loves him... and that’s enough for me.”

It isn't about Runaan (and by extension, Harrow), at all for him anymore. This person is his family and he has the opportunity to help them; therefore, he will.

And neither of them are wrong for what they're feeling, even if it does get particularly brutal.

“Then you can do it without my help,” Ezran said with a ragged breath. “Because I am not giving you my seal.”  Callum stared at him with cold eyes. “Dad would be so disappointed in you.” But this time Ezran was ready for the blow, as he said, “Well at least I called him Dad,” and his heart only hurt a little for it.

#broyals #characterization #fic: teach me how to name the bigger light #mini meta #about my own fic bc i am that indulgent lmao #tdp #the dragon prince #ezran in the 'don't act like i don't love rayla just bc i'm prioritizing dad' camp & #callum in the 'don't act like i don't love our dad just bc i'm prioritizing rayla' camp lmao #fight fight fight