#then Viren asks Claudia to come out and get him

[aviradasa]

Love long lost

Aaravos x Fem!reader pt 1

(picture from Pinterest, if you know the artist let me know so I can give proper credit!!)

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

[Angst]

Warnings: None that come to mind.

This one shot is based off of a prompt by @jellyfishxxi

Linked here

If you want a part Two leave a request, Private message me, Or tell me down in the comments!! Love you all my little goblins🖤

Part 2 linked here

Part 3 linked here

Do you ever have memories of things that never happened? Memories that don't even seem to be yours but in certain moments they appear before you like a flashback. You know it can't be a dream, but it almost feels like one with how otherworldly they seem and how they mostly seem to attack when the moon is high and the stars shine brightly above the land, decorating every inch of the sky in ethereal light as they paint pictures with one another. I hate them. For some reason I can't stand the sight of the stars due to the overwhelming dread I feel gazing at them. It almost feels like guilt oddly enough and not knowing. god's, not knowing makes me hate it even more.

The sound of our footsteps echoes through the thick forest surrounding the kingdom Katolis.

” I can’t believe it's been two years since we left this place..” I hear Rayla say to me as we approach the bottom of the cliff that supports the mighty castle atop it, “I know it feels like it's been longer than that right?” I ask with a small chuckle as I catch the climbing sickle Rayla tosses me, getting a grip on it I take the first jump stabbing the blade into the rock as we climb

“Yeah I suppose it could feel that way.” she stops for a moment taking another leap up the cliffside i follow “I just wonder if we will still be welcome here after how we left,” she says a large hint of uncertainty following her tone as she speaks.

I understand her concerns well, especially considering the circumstances of our little disappearance. Two years ago shortly after the fight at the storm spire I had been wide awake unable to sleep due to another one of those pesky memories, and went out for a little walk in the castle during said walk I found my dear friend Rayla attempting to sneak out of a window, and with some convincing i got her to allow me to join her. I know it was hard on her. That night she left a lot behind like her love, her friendship, and the trust she shared with the others, especially Callum. But even though we were both struggling we persisted to try and find Viren and Claudia. Unfortunately, we are coming back empty-handed.

I stop climbing for a moment to catch my breath looking at her “Hey. I’m sure that's not the case, despite our leaving they are still our friends I'm sure they will understand once we explain our reasonings.” I tell her with a small grin

“Even Callum?” she asks me with an unsure expression

“Yeah, knowing him you will be fine,” I respond with a chuckle

That was 2 days ago

things didn't go as planned. we arrived slipping inside the castle I went straight to the kitchen and Rayla to the fancy new high mage office to see Callum, and the next morning when she met me outside to go to the Welcoming of Queen Zubeia and Zym she told me all about it, to say the least, it sounded awkward and I'm happy I didn't have to bare witness with my own eyes to that interaction. Then of course when everyone was having a nice peaceful time the news came, in the form of ibis’s last breath. And we made haste to Xadia

. We waited in the storm spire for the others to arrive. when I see the magical-looking glass that made them fall behind I get a horrible feeling of deja vu and have to steady myself to not lose my balance. As I see my reflection in it next to the others a strong feeling of dread and guilt overwhelm every sense I have. As I listen to the story Zubeia tells, I can't help but feel it's familiar in some way. But before I can take too much time to dwell on things a roar sounds from the throat of the mighty queen of dragons as she calls upon a storm to block us from the sun's view, as the light fades a new glow replaces it as the Mirror replaces its view of us all with a rather lavish room and a rather surprised looking startouched elf.

Seeing him froze me. Not from fear but from the fact that he was so familiar, and the way his gaze circled the room, and when his eyes turned to me he looked at me with sheer Hatred. With a wave of his hand, Callum started choking and dropped to the floor. None of us could think we were all stuck but Rayla was able to speak. and she held her hand out with uncertainty, “Callum-” she began to ask before his head snapped towards her his eyes black as a void. Aaravos waves his hand once more behind the mirror and Callum begins to stand jerking like a puppet on strings. We all take a step back, Once Callum stands fully his movements smoothen up once again and he stares into the mirror blankly his eyes turning into an iridescent white. Aaravos then smirks, and so does Callum.

Moments pass and Callum's possessed body paces back and forth his head facing down and his hands tucked neatly behind his back as we look on at the scene with disturbed and confused faces. None of us know what to do in the moment, And none of us dare take a step. That is until Ezren attempts to step toward his brother, Not getting more than an inch before Soren places a hand in front of him stopping the young king from stepping closer, suddenly Callum’s body turns to face Queen Zubeia, raising his head with a smirk on his face and a voice that's not his own “Zubeia~ you haven't aged a bit you look as Young, and ravishing as the day you betrayed me.” Zubeia huffs angrily a cloud of smoke escaping from her nostrils, as he continues speaking “So sorry to hear of your mate's untimely, and tragic passing.” He mocks before Aaravos turns Callum, his meat puppet to face the rest of us.

“So these Are the champions you've gathered to try and stop me? They are nothing but pathetic children.” he chuckles a bit before approaching Ezren and looking down at him

“The whining child king who is way over his head,” he leans down a bit “and he knows it.” Ezren looks down and I place a hand on his shoulder pulling him back as I draw my sword and raise it to Callum's possessed body. Aaravos sighs, raising Callum's hand and using two fingers to move the tip of my blade aside with an eye roll “I'll get to you later.” he sneers before turning and walking up to Rayla getting in her face a bit with a mocking grin “ahh the Moonshadow assassin who- can this be right” he turns his head away from her for a moment before looking her right in the eyes “is incapable of killing?” he lingers for a moment before turning away from her, as he turns Rayla looks down with a frown and I take as step forward Ezren stopping me as Soren did him moments prior, i look down at him and frown but take step back nonetheless.

Callum's possessed body approaches Soren “the failed son,” he says with a condescending grin as Soren looks on with Frustration “whose father wishes he was never born. And finally You.” He snaps his head towards me with a twitch as he approaches me quickly placing the palm of his hand under my chin and curling his fingers up, Digging his fingers into my cheeks harshly and pulling me closer to him, I attempt to use my arm to smack his hand off of me but before my hit can make contact he grabs my arm with his freehand and hold it in the air cutting off my circulation as I let out a muffled scream of frustration and pain. He lets out a dark chuckle “And you.” he repeats as he flashes me a chilling grin

“Aaravos stop this, She doesn't remember anything!” Zubeia jumps in with a snarl.

Aaravos makes Callum's body turn to face the Dragon queen just slightly, not releasing his grip on my face or wrist in fact he tightens them. “ You think I don't know that!” he snaps at her before looking back at me “But have no worries I'll make her remember,” he says his sickening smile returning, As I struggle in his grasp.

I feel like a mouse caught by the tail in a cat's mouth, squirming and writhing to escape. The thing is even though the mouse is aware its attempts are unlikely to make any sort of difference in the outcome of this unfortunate circumstance. It believes it might as well make life a tad more annoying for the cat before it's devoured.

“Remember what?” I attempt to shout, it's quite difficult and it comes out muffled but he still chuckles darkly, letting me know he understood every bit.

“Why how about I just show you,” he smirks disturbingly as he releases my wrist and raises his hand, his palm glows with a blue light. Even before the blood can return to my hand I start fighting to escape his grip as he attempts to place his hand on my forehead, but no matter how much I kick and scream and punch at him he doesn't budge. eventually wrestling me to the ground.

it feels like a snake that wraps its victims in its tail, strangling them to death. But this snake has no tail just hands the hands of my dear friend that He uses as a flesh puppet for his bidding,

In my last attempts at fighting, I catch a glimpse of the others. I see Rayla jump forward with her blades drawn only for Soren to grab her with both arms and keep her still. As I look back up at Callum the last thing I see isn't even him anymore, all I see is Aaravos and blue light as he places his palm on my forehead.

The feeling of burning is almost funny because blue is normally seen as a cold and calming color yet the magic that it uses burns, it burns a lot. it burns so hot that I think my flesh could seer off the bone, I scream in agony as scenes flash before my eyes. Fading in and out and then in again before I feel my consciousness slip away and blue light engulfs my vision. One of the last things I feel is my face being released and the stinging pain of it. The last thing I hear is a dark chuckle, and a crack as I hear my head hit the hard stone.

#aaravos #tdp aaravos #the dragon prince #tdp x reader #aaravos x reader #Startouched elf #tdp claudia #tdp rayla #tdp callum #tdp s5 #tdp spoilers #tdp fanart #tdp #tdp s1

[raayllum]

In regards to the post about people occasionally misunderstanding Callum and Viren's flaws, what have you seen people do with there characters that stood out to you as wrong? I only ask cause I'm very much a pantser of stories and write based of what vibes, so I want to know what kind of things to look out for.

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert but I have been writing/analyzing for a long time, and now in a somewhat professional capacity, so here's just how I personally think of it / what I've personally seen in fandom. I also don't think pantsers are more inclined (from the writing friends I know, they tend to be more intuition based, which can serve you very very well) even if I am definitely a planner.

With all that out of the way, it basically boils down to ignoring all of Viren's virtues / good intentions, and modifying or ignoring Callum's vices and 'bad' intentions i.e. assuming that Viren's motivations are nothing more than being power hungry and selfish, and that Callum's motivations are always pure and good.

One of the things that I think that's really elevated my writing and analysis is digging my heels into like, examining things from a pyschological basis. What this means is looking not only at how a character's flaws or strengths manifest, but figuring out why and where they're stemming from. This is important for like, you can only write a character if you understand where they're coming from, as this process forms the basis for knowing character motivation (and therefore justification).

Because yes, Viren is power hungry and selfish, and we see in 4x02 he kind of knows that, but he's not admitting that or thinking that way for the bulk of the series. That may be how other characters / the audience sees his actions, but how does he see his actions? Understanding how a character can justify/rationalize things to themselves is important if you want to portray them as well rounded. Viren can say something contradictory like "We must be ready to sacrifice, even the things we love" about his family and "I have always been ready to do anything to protect my family, however dangerous, however vile" and have them both be simultaneously true, because most people — or at least, compelling characters — have contradictory notions or conflicts, and it's the war between opposing wants and desires that causes their internal arcs to well, happen.

Same thing for Callum. He doesn't mean to be a jerk to Ezran in either the beginning or ending of S1, we already know how much his little brother means to him and how nurturing he is, usually. But loving someone deeply isn't the same thing as always treating them kindly, as I'm sure most of us know. So Callum blows up, immediately regretting it in 1x02, and remaining far more of a jerk about it in 1x09 until he apologizes. If the takeaway is just that one of Callum's flaws is his temper, that's all well and good (and it very much is) but it fails to consider when and why his temper comes out. (Which, if you're interested on something more in depth, meta on that here.)

For example, for me, a lot (if not the bulk) of Callum's characterization comes back to a Core of wanting to protect/help his loved ones. Which sounds vague, but that's why the specificities are what matters. Callum's temper tends to come out, specifically, when he's frustrated that he can't do anything to help someone he loves, and he either lashes out at the person getting in his way or someone who is (unintentionally) reminding him of that helplessness. Callum's curiosity / ambitious pursuit of magic is also, to me, tied to that same core. He wants magic because he wants agency, and he wants agency because he wants to be helpful / useful.

If you understand why a character is doing something, it leads to being to extrapolate and place them in different / more intense scenarios, but still retain that main core.

For example, Claudia's primary core is to keep her family together. That's not a main motivation in S1, but it's shown in the way she takes care of her family (being Viren's listening ear and trusted with the more important task; trying to cheer up Soren and giving him hot brown morning potion) in ways that they don't really do for her (Soren goes along and helps out with her plans, but there's never an instance of him taking care of her in the same way, even if we still see that he cares and wants to protect her, i.e. doesn't tell her the truth about Viren). Then in S2 it becomes clear that Claudia's main motivation is to keep her family together, and that Core Want stays true even in increasingly insane or worrisome circumstances (S3, S4, S5) as well as explaining some of her more contradictory behaviour. Of course she's going to believe Viren over Soren with the gaslighting the second she's given an option to, because believing her father lets her keep them all together, and believing her brother means losing Viren.

Which is to say, maybe, that most of the mages we've seen in show (with the exception of Lujanne, perhaps, who's built a life among literal solitary ruins for the express purpose of leaving them as ruins) have a Fixer tendency. Magic allows them to fix the issues they see in the world - that's why they chase it.

Viren believes he has to fix the issue of an empty throne and the knife held at humanity's throat, and he's uniquely suited to know how to fix it (hence why he should be king); Claudia leans on her preparedness and perfectionist tendencies because if she's good enough, nothing bad ever has to happen to her family again, right? She can keep them together, she can fix this; Karim wants to fix the issue of humans and losing their way of life, "I will banish that darkness [...] We will be whole again"; and Callum wants to fix issues for his family (the assassination, the fake coup, Rayla's binding, Rayla's family, etc); "And he's my father. It's my duty to help him".

But what fixing looks like, of course, is also a matter of perspective, and that's where you get variety.

But if you look at Viren's desire to fix things - in his case, to ward off weakness - you can understand the through line of his actions. He wants to fix the danger they're in of killing Avizandum and leaving an heir; his desire for more power and knowledge (tools he can use to create solutions and thereby inflate his self importance) tempt him away from killing Zym; he holds onto the egg so that elves and dragons can't 'use it' the way he would. "An empty throne is a beacon of weakness" "[A child king] will make weak choices!" And Viren is man of strength; a man who can get a grip and compartmentalize and repress and do whatever needs to be done to protect humanity. To fix the magical inequality and banish the Xadian threat.

Whereas when you look at our non-mage characters, they tend to have different cores. Rayla and Soren are clear cut Protectors, for better or for worse. Ezran and Janai both continually seek Change and healing. And often times these goals can go hand in hand! Wanting to protect someone can be a Fixer urge (Claudia, Viren, Callum); wanting to fix your mistakes by Protecting someone can also work (3x09 with Soren; Rayla with Zym). But that could be a whole dissection/analysis for another day.

Back to Callum and Viren.

I think sometimes stripping them down to more monstrous or angelic forms comes from people thinking only one thing can motivate a character at a time, even though we as humans obviously have multiple motivations or responses at a time, particularly for villainous characters.

Viren can turn back to help the Queens of Duren because he feels guilty (this was his plan), he wants to help and knows he can make a difference, and because he wants to feel like a hero. Callum can be accepting Rayla unconditionally and be hurt about it and still trying to protect himself a bit in 4x09 by saying "I know" while not going after her; the same action can be growth and regression simultaneously.

When you write a character, you have to approach them from an interior to exterior process - the old phrase "everyone is a hero in their own mind" is certainly true, or rather, "everyone justifies their actions some way or another" - which is largely the opposite of how you view a character as an audience member. Not that the two can't be conflated or overlap, they certainly do (and you do want to be aware of how your characters may or may not come off to well, your audience) but it is a different kind of process.

For example, for Viren, he genuinely believes that what he's doing is what's best for humanity > his own gain. And while he's clearly lying and doing a lot of things out of self importance / convenience, the fact that he Believes the lie means that the lie doesn't really matter, internally, because it's something he either dismisses or doesn't think about at all. And Viren does have admirable traits: loyalty (and I would say most people have conditional loyalty anyway), cleverness/intelligence, ambition, hardworking, globally minded, etc. But a lot of this stems from Wanting To Be Special/Important (his core, arguably, and one I think a lot of people would relate to) and when that doesn't often pan out, he crumbles. Him having an inflated sense of self importance means that he's used to thinking he probably knows better than other people (and gets very frustrated when they don't listen and/or agree with him) and thinking you know better than other people also bodes very well with, if taken to extremes, blatantly dehumanizing them (omg dark magic ideology hi!). He presents as being confident and smooth and knowledgeable, but every time we see him alone/internal he's almost always a hot mess or wracked with guilt/doubt, and he's not very good at adapting to shit, like at all, even if he's great at being cruel/brutal and pragmatic. He's also often times awkward when presented with openly joking/teasing affection, is a guy who waves to little kids, makes dorky jokes with his best friend, and genuinely loved (loves?) his kids once upon a time.

For Callum, a lot of his traits are a double edged sword as well. His attention to detail is born from his curious and observant nature. This allows him to be incredibly nurturing and considerate, but also lets him go for the jugular and what would hurt the most in a fight when his temper gets going. He wants to make his loved ones lives better/easier, but this can sometimes be at the expense of what they need or being overprotective. This can sometimes tie a bit into Viren's own "I know better than you" even if Callum doesn't usually go that far, as he has more self awareness. He has a strong sense of right and wrong but is willing to bend without defense if he thinks the ends justify the means (i.e. never defending his dark magic use, and unlike Claudia, believing/knowing that dark magic is wrong - whereas she doesn't think anything of the sort - but using it and being tempted by it anyway, even if he rejects it in 2x08). His determination is great but can lead to him being obsessive, even if he's also good at knowing his limits / when to yield and fold on things, and will often fold first. While this is great in his relationships and doing relationship repair, it's not so good for his goal setting, as it means he can have a defeatist attitude and then grow frustrated when that "I can't do the thing I want to do / do anything" comes in full swing. This makes him lash out because he hates feeling helpless, particularly when it comes to the people he loves, and all of that circles back to what I've said above, in that he loves his self proclaimed "inner circle" more than "anyone or anything". Just cause he's sweet and goofy and caring doesn't mean he doesn't have teeth (a temper, a ruthless side, etc).

TLDR; characters contain multitudes in their internal psychology and if you can figure out what a character's psychological core is, you'll have a much larger but more cohesive range to write from, emotion / action(s) wise. Feel free to give your happier, more sunshiney characters an edge / claws and fangs (just because someone is nice doesn't mean they're good; external presented attitude is not everything and certainly not necessarily morality) and your edgier, evil characters some redeeming and/or admirable qualities.

#tdp viren #tdp callum #characterization #thanks for asking #pedanticseal #writing advice #tdp claudia #requests #analysis series #analysis #this got so long i'm sorry #did this make sense? hopefully the bulk of it makes sense #that said u (or anyone else) feel free to ask for expansion and/or clarification on anything #callum #viren

[stuck-in-jelly]

Maybe I’m delusional but I cant be the only one who believes that the “Rise Again” short story is a parallel to what must’ve happened when Lisa realized what Viren “had to do” to save their son.

Pretty consistently we see that Claudia is a parallel to her father meanwhile more subtly we see Soren as a parallel to his mother.

I believe it is strongest in the scene where Soren makes the decision to runaway and he tries to ask Claudia to come with him. Claudia shakes her head overwhelmed with whats going on and begging Soren to not make her choose between him and their father, much like when their parents asked her to choose which parent she’d stay with.

And so, just like their mother, Soren chooses for Claudia. Telling her goodbye.

I feel like it is especially reinforced with these images.

With that established i want to clarify my thoughts on exactly what happened to Soren when he was a kid.

I know a lot of people believe Soren didn’t actually die and instead was just really sick and about to die but between the symbolism of being turned to stone=death and how whatever spell he did crossed a line even his Mentor wouldn’t to the point of getting into a physical altercation I believed Soren actually died.

It seems to me that to at least to some degree this was resurrection. But why it didn’t require a blood of his child?

Soren was young and small and probably not dead for very long unlike Viren who had been dead for TWO YEARS.

But now onto ‘Rise Again’.

Of course the spell Claudia used wasn’t as strong as bringing something to life. She didn’t actually bring back a dead cat she was just animating cat ashes into the form of the cat she loved but regardless other she and Soren treat it as if the ashes were truly the cat and not a puppet Claudia made. But these snippets stuck out the most to me

If we take this short story as a parallel of their parents after Soren’s death/near death I feel like the language paints a good picture of how it went:

Viren:

“- I know but I fixed it.”

“It wasn’t fair that [he] died. [He] wasn’t even that old.”

Lisa:

“We had a little ceremony remember?”

“Because [Soren] died.”

But I think the biggest one is this scene:

#mama’s boy Soren and papa’s girl Claudia is making me go insane do you understand #we probably wont get it but i need soren to see his mom again for both of them to see a stranger standing in front them through a mirror #jelly tarts #my brain rot is rotting send help #how different their lives would’ve been if soren and Claudia went with their mother #Claudia wouldnt have a kill count thats for sure #sll im saying is that if i was mentally preparing for weeks or possibly months for my sons death only for a day after he died my spouse to #go ‘it’s alright i fixed it :33 dont check the basement’ id also fucking run far away #its 1am im going to bed but this will haunt me #the dragon prince #tdp claudia #tdp viren #tdp soren

[sage-nebula]

You know, I think Harrow forbade Viren (and by extension Claudia) from teaching Callum dark magic.

This is something that I keep coming back to because of my recent rewatch of the series. Twice in the series, once in the first season and once in the second, Callum expresses dismay to Claudia that he can't learn magic. And both times, he gets a slightly different response, which leads me to think that (with or without Callum's knowledge) Harrow might've forbidden Viren and/or Claudia from getting Callum into dark magic.

In season one the exchange is:

Callum: "You're so lucky you get to learn magic." Claudia: "Well, you get to learn sword fighting."

And in season two, it's:

Callum: "I loved learning magic, and I feel sad now that I can't." Claudia: "But you can, if you want to."

In the first season, Claudia doesn't offer to teach him. She instead tries to assuage his feelings by pointing out that he gets to learn sword fighting. But in the second season, she says that he can learn, and pulls out her spell book to show him. And the thing is, what Callum said to her didn't change; in both cases he said that he wanted to learn magic. But only the second time did Claudia offer to teach him, and that was only after Harrow died—something she knew, but he did not. Which makes me think that perhaps she had asked Viren about teaching Callum dark magic before (because he was her friend), and Viren said no, because Harrow said no. Because Harrow didn't like dark magic, and Sarai didn't like it either, and so their son wasn't allowed to learn.

But now he's gone, and Claudia knows this, so she figures it would be okay now. So she makes the offer, even though Callum turns her down.

It just seems plausible to me, and I just think it's interesting.

#the dragon prince #prince callum #claudia #you always were a clever human

[starsoverxadia]

Soren and Dark Magic

The exchange between Claudia and Soren’s in “Beneath the Surface” has caused some confusion in the fandom. Specially, these two lines:

Claudia is discussing something that, thus far, had only been mentioned in the novels. In the season one novelization, it’s mentioned that Soren was a sickly child and Viren used Dark Magic to save him. 

Here:

and here:

Apparently, whatever Viren did to save Soren heavily disfigured him, driving Viren to glamour himself using the sunray monarchs. The shot of Soren holding the butterfly might allude to this. 

I wonder how Soren will come to terms with this in later seasons. He hates Dark Magic, and thinks the world would be better off with out it, which is understandable, but at the same time he owes his life and health to it. Does that make his existence somehow unnatural? Does he believe it (or come to believe) would’ve been better if Viren let him die or if Claudia left him completely paralyzed instead of using Dark Magic on him? None of these things were his fault, and he didn’t ask for it, but people carry around misplaced guilt and shame for things that aren’t there fault all the time. Hopefully this is something that’ll get explored some more. 

#tdp spoilers #tdp season 4 spoilers #tpd soren #tdp claudia #viren

[tylerdashart]

(spoilers for TDP season 4)

OKAY. so i dont really do these kinda posts but id like to say a few things about season 4 cus ive seen some things and the fandom making theories, i just like to write about my own thoughts. ive watched s4 only one time due to not having netflix so i dont really remember many scenes.

"season 5 when?" are you good?? the season 4 just dropped 3 days ago! Im serious when i say ive seen multiple people already posting this question mostly on YT comments or Insta. also the fact that they're not artists OR a fic author makes sense honestly. they have no idea how animation works.

"rayla's acting weird" this is what frustrats me the most. NO she's not... ok maybe a little. but like. come the fuck on, she was gone for 2 years. ofc she's not the same person we saw in season 3. people change. plus, personally, i dont see any difference on her except this one time when callum asked her to...kill him. yes rayla acted a lot calm in that scene- not just that scene really. she was so calm most of the time, but i can see why? she's trying to get callum warm up to her, she's giving him space, she's being gentle as much as she can cus she knows how much she hurt him. she's grown up, she's not the same hot-headed, irritated elf anymore. and we all know how she hides her feelings. Im pretty sure she's gotten used to it, or managed to cope her feelings well so that she can stay calm. lastly about rayla, all i have to say is people change, so does rayla. and no she's not fake at all.

firstly, if rayla's acting weird, what about Viren being supportive with Terry? isnt that weirder? he didnt even treat his own son better, but he's supporting a trans fella? sus.... secondly, what about opeli being so chill about Ez going with Zubia. in that case most of the characters in s4 were out of character. and that's okay cus it's been 2 fucking years!

personally i think the "Zubia in Katolis" scene was a bit rushed. they couldve done it better but Im not saying it was bad at all tho! i loved the scene with the whole callum doing magic thing and the dragon sized jelly tart? xD

"why is rayla back?" why not really. she realized it was useless to find viren and came back home? she realized she wanted to see her mage? "we had something so special. but I became so obsessed with revenge, i.. risked losing the best thing ive ever had... you" she CLEARLY missed him yall. ofc she came back.

"where's the rayllum kiss" Im glad we didnt get a rayllum kiss. I know this is a cartoon show but at least the animators made it similar to how an in-real-life relationship works. people dont just go "you were gone for two years but its okay, i forgive you, lets kiss". Callum needs time to get used to being around rayla again. he's happy but also angry, he needs to see how hard rayla's trying to win callum's trust back. it was so clear that callum got a bit comfortable with rayla again in the last few episodes, especially the last one. That hug was enough sign for us to know they're gonna be okay and that they're still deeply in love.

Stella isNT EVIL YALL. leave my poor baby girl alone >:c

the fart joke was......nuhuh. idk if it's just me but it was gross. i dont wanna remember how much i cringed.

claudia was a bit- no fuck it- she was too much this season. especially in that scene where she tricked rayla with pebbles. god that hurt so much.

Lastly, Season 4 was amazing!! i loved season 4, and all the new things we saw. the arc is building up, it's so interesting, im so excited for season 5.

#im not a native english speaker so im so sorry if i misinterpreted anything. #im literally frustrated about the rayla thing i had to write this #rayllum #tdp spoilers #spoilers #tdp season 4 #the dragon prince spoilers #tylerdashart #the dragon prince

[imminent-danger-came]

Here’s a jumbled mess of my thoughts and questions after watching season 4

This is a long list buckle in:

When Callum asked Rayla to kill him. Oh. Oh god.

Nothing was resolved this season. We're so fucked for season 5. Like, this is very much the season 1 of arc 2. Season 2 fulfilled a lot of what season 1 set up in arc 1, and I think season 4 is the same.

Why was Rayla acting so strange all season? Like there is so much there to suggest she’s not herself.

What's with the weird butterfly guy, like yeah he lead Claudia and the gang to the map but there's going to be more there.

Callum possession.

No really the Callum possession was the worst (affectionate) part of the whole season I’m still freaking out

We never got a Rayllum I love you. Next season’s gonna hurt!

Stella is a fucking weirdo I still do NOT trust her. (Thanks for saving bait and Rayla’s fake rock parents though.)

 How did terry and Claudia meet. Very excited to get an explanation if that’s in the cards!

Gonna go on a big rant about our 3 human mages

*Ahem.* VIREN AND CLAUDIA NEVER SAW CALLUM DO MAGIC WITH THE SKY ARCANUM. AUGH. I’M WAITING FOR IT TO HAPPEN. THE “Callum mastered the Sky Arcanum” reveal for those two is going to be SO FUCKING CRAZY

THEY SET SO MUCH SHIT UP FOR A CLAUDIA AND CALLUM CONFRONTATION NEXT SEASON. I'M SO SCARED. Like she's the one who keeps going on about Humanity having nothing and Elves and Dragons considering them to be filthy animals, BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE. Also the way she looked at his sleeping form. The “Not anymore.” at them being friends. Lol. We’re screwed guys.

Now that Callum and Rayla have reconciled I am fully confident he's gonna master the moon Arcanum next season, since those two things have been thematically connected. I'm screaming.

THE EPISODE 4 INTRO THOUGH.

LIKE EVERY INTRO AFTER THAT WAS A SCARY GAME OF “Is it going to be Viren, or will it be Callum?”

Fuck that cube

I CAN NOT BELIEVE CLAUDIA GAVE RAYLA THE COINS. LIKE. WOAH. WHAT. WHAT WHAT WHAT. CLAUDIA I HAD LOST ALL HOPE FOR YOU.

Viren, that dumb motherfucker. Can’t believe he has like, “a will to live” again UGH

Very interested to learn about the 7 Xadian cakes.

Every time they foreshadowed “Callum becoming Aaravos puppet” was wild man. I am not ready.

Speaking of, Callum really wasn’t okay with that all season lol. Again. He asked Rayla to kill him like WOW. “What if I’m on the path to darkness?” Buddy you should have destroyed the cube.

Or, maybe not. You’re gonna need to use it as leverage later probably.

Actually the fact that he was crying over the possession. Over Rayla? All of it?

So glad Soren is part of the Dragang.

Episodes 3 and 4 were FUCKING AMAZING HOLY SHIT.

Can not believe they stabbed both Ibis and Claudia on screen. Like really I shouldn’t have been surprised with the way season 3 was, but I think it was fair to be surprised at the blood spilling out of Ibis’ mouth.

THE COINS HAHA! Yay?

i DESPERATELY want to know why Rayla came back. Miss “I left because I love you and want to protect you against everything. I love you so much. We may never see each other again”. Like lol. There is more there. The Rayla I know would have crumpled from guilt the moment Callum was a little bit angry towards her. She has exactly ZERO self-worth. I am terrified of what those 2 years did to her.

The fact that she called searching for Viren “revenge” felt strange too. Especially after reading the “Dear Callum” short story.

Somehow, I trust Stella less than the weird star butterfly abomination. Like I really do not trust that cuddle monkey.

JANAYA THE WHOLE SEASON. I LOVE THEM.

Karim. Lol.

The way Soren screamed after seeing his father. God.

The Soren and Claudia reunion was kinda sweet. Fucked up. But the way Soren protected Claudia from falling hurt me.

Terry this season was a DELIGHT. I think a lot of his appeal for me comes from the fact that he’s Claudia’s partner. There’s something so wrong with him. And he’s also a dork. The dualism.

When the looking glass shattered. FUCKING SCARY DUDE

Really loved the world building on moon opals and other magic stones.

Buddy you should have destroyed the cube.

The drakewood was neat!

2 of the funniest jokes in the season were back to back and all happened in episode 7. The whole “speaking in the dark” bit. Zym putting a hand on a grieving Ezran’s shoulder. Comedy.

DOG ZYM DOG ZYM DOG ZYM

Is it okay for me to have a crush on a dragon.

Really Zubeia has the prettiest voice.

buddy you should have destroyed the cube.

Thank you Rayla for NOT choosing to go after Viren again. Don’t leave your boys. Callum needs you.

JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL JANAYA PROPOSAL

Janai this season was so sweet.

Karim. Lol. Eat shit.

Rex Ignus was cooler than I thought he’d be. Still a fucking loser though lol

Callum did so many cool spells this season I’m so proud of him.

Buddy. You. Should. Have. Destroyed. The. Cube.

Terry’s magic form was SO NEAT.

I hope we get to met the water arch-dragon next. She looked SUPER pretty

I wonder what other pieces of Aaravos’ whereabouts the other arch-dragon’s have.

“I’m going to do something more human. I’m just going to stab him.” (Not word for word but you know the joke)

Queen Aditi was very pretty and I am excited to learn what happened to her

Also the Orphan Queen! What a gal! The Katolis custom of “only orphans may ascend to the thrown” makes a lot more sense now! Fuck whoever that other bitch was that was manipulated by aaravos.

Corvus playing the fucking cello. Like girl what? You’re a multi-classing ranger and bard?

The Soren and Zubeia dynamic was so fucking good. Please dragon smash boy SAY the good words now, they light the hearts of other people (those people being dragon queens)

I miss Corvus (And lowkey ship Sorvus)

Soren and his new friend dragon :)

TLDR; I love tdp

#that's enough for now #These thoughts are really in no order #Loved season 4! #Excited for what else is in store for us #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp meta #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp aaravos #tdp soren #tdp ezran #tdp spoilers #imp tag #tdp zym #tdp zubeia

[random-fandom-ramble]

So we’ve all seen the posts that suggest that the Rayla we see in the trailer is NOT our real Rayla. Which opens up two questions:

1. If this is not Rayla, who or what is it?

And 2.

Why is she here?

First of all, we gotta establish why so many people think this isn’t really Rayla.

it’s hella suspicious that she just turns up here and is completely chill.

No one trusts Stella

The most convincing reason I’ve read till now: a user, I believe it was @zuppizup , pointed out that the moonrune isn’t glowing, despite being RIGHT NEXT TO RAYLAS FACE

And just in case anyone would ask, yes, we know for a fact that the moon rune glows when it’s THAT close to Raylas face, as we saw in season 1.

So for some reason, only the Star Rune is glowing. This means either:

A) The Key of Aaravos can only glow in one color at a time. I somehow find this unlikely (cause story wise it‘d be cooler if it could glow in ALL the colors if the conditions are right), and also kind of boring.

B) There is no moon source near (aka no real Rayla), and the reason only the Star rune is glowing is because only star magic is in its most immediate vicinity.

I’m gonna go with option B).

Why? Well, because it’s cooler, and, please bear with me;

I think it’s Aaravos playing a trick on Callum

So a while ago we got this promotional poster, in which Aaravos is quite literally puppeteering our three most prominent mages [Viren, Claudia and Callum]

And in the trailer, we saw Aaravos holding up a little figurine of Callum, like he previously had with Viren

So clearly Aaravos is going to be interested in Callum this season, and he seems to be planning to use him as a tool.

But to use Callum as a tool, he first has to get him into his grip, and to get him into his grip, Aaravos has to lure him in.

And how would he do that? Well, what other thing is there that could so easily motivate Callum to action than seeing his beloved again?

Rayla

Rayla will be the lure

Aaravos might project an image of Rayla in Callums office to say sweet words to him, and then to convince him to come find her; something like:

„Callum, I love you, but I have to go do this. Please, come find me at [location that Aaravos wants Callum at] in a few weeks time [when it happens to be convenient for Aaravos]“

Alternatively, Aaravos might reveal himself immediately to Callum and say something like:

„See? You’re still desperate to find her, desperate to have her back. What wouldn’t you do to have her return? But don’t worry. I, Aaravos, can help you find her; if you help me in return“.

Either way, the end result would be the same. Aaravos reels Callum in and tricks him into doing his bidding, either by pretending to be Rayla, or under the guise of helping Callum find Rayla.

And it makes sense that Aaravos would do this!

He does have Claudia and Viren working on his release, but to really speed it up, it makes sense that he’d want another puppet person working on it from another direction, to make his prison unravel from multiple ends so to say.

But how far would he go? How much would Aaravos demand from Callum, and the other two mages under his command for that matter?

And what would he have Callum do?

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

Thanks for reading!

@beautifulterriblequeen @legend-of-the-fandoms @anyone else who wants to add on ;)

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp theory #tdp headcanons #tdp callum #tdp aaravos #tdp s4 spoilers #tdp s4 #tdp spoilers #tdp theorist #tdp rayla #aaravos #rayla #callum #the dragon prince theory

[jelzorz]

111.

Claudia takes a horn.

In perfect honesty, Rayla's surprised that's all she takes. She's bloodied and beaten and half-blinded by pain, but she'd expected fingers, or blood, or bits of her ears, even--other parts of her body that are more useful for dark magic. It's agony, and Rayla tries but the screams escape her anyway, each tearing from her throat until it's done, and Claudia leaves her writhing helplessly on the cave floor.

She doesn't crush it. She doesn't toss it into her bag with her other ingredients. Rayla watches her, her chest heaving, her eyes watering with tears that she refuses to shed, but Claudia only wraps it carefully in stained cloth and rolls a letter around its length.

At first, Rayla is confused. She thought she needed it. The thing in the chrysalis has been counting backwards in a voice so oily it makes her skin crawl--a time limit, Rayla thinks, on Viren's life, that she hopes with every fibre in her being will expire before Claudia finds whatever else she needs to make it permanent. Instead, Claudia is muttering and a shadow hawk materialises in the air.

"What do you think?" she asks. "Will it do?"

The thing in the chrysalis slithers. "I think it will do nicely," it says. "The boy will come. Whether he's foolish enough to bring my key remains to be seen."

Claudia snorts. "Oh, he'll bring it," she sneers, tossing a dirty glance at Rayla. "He'd do anything for her."

It takes Rayla a moment. The pain in her head is searing and makes it hard to concentrate, but the pieces come together enough through the fog to put ice in her veins. They couldn't mean--

She lurches forward. Her knees buckle beneath her, but with her hands bound behind her back, she stumbles and lands ungracefully in the dirt. Her heart is pounding. Her eyes are wild. They couldn't--

"Leave him out of this," she cries hoarsely, her throat painfully raw. "He's got nothing to do with any of it, Claudia, please--"

Claudia laughs. It's low and cold and dangerous, and Rayla had known that she'd brought her father back, and she knows, rather acutely, that she can and will do worse, but this--

"You have me," Rayla bargains desperately. 'You've got me, use me for what you need, I don't care, just leave him alone!"

"Don't flatter yourself," snorts Claudia. "The only thing we need you for is to bring him here--although I wouldn't say no to free ingredients. Might wait 'til he gets here to collect, though. In case he needs some... encouragement to do what we need."

Oh, gods, no. Rayla's heart stutters in his chest. The whole point of leaving was to keep him safe, and as much as she broke him, as much as she wants to believe he doesn't care anymore--

He would if he knew. Rayla doesn't doubt it for a second. If he knew she was in danger, and where to find her, he wouldn't think twice about it, and it only makes everything worse.

"He won't," she lies, even if she doesn't know who she's lying to. "I left him. I broke his heart. He doesn't care about me."

"If only that were true," drawls Claudia. Hatred sparks in her eyes, and Rayla knows that if she could kill her now, she wouldn't hesitate. She crouches over, knife in her hand still dusty with broken bits of Rayla's now missing horn. "You took everything from me," she says coldly, trailing the steel against her cheek. "So now, I'm going to take you for everything that you're worth, and I'm going to make him watch, just to make you hurt that much more."

She nicks the skin just a little, just to make a point, and for the first time, Rayla breaks. "Claudia," she whimpers. "Claudia, please. He was your friend."

Claudia scoffs. "Was," she says coldly. "You made sure of that."

#rayllum #in anticipation #pour me another #cube hostage exchange theory

[rowanlanecorner]

Viren wriggled, attempting to get up. Aaravos' iron grip kept him in place. "Aaravos! Let go! Terry's in our tent!"

"I already told him to come back later." Aaravos murmured into Viren's neck.

"That's not the problem!" Viren groused much too loudly.

Terry looked panicked now. "I'm really sorry, but I just needed to ask—"

"What are you still doing here?! What do you want?!" Viren bit out, face cherry red.

"I'm sorry! It's Claudia!"

Viren tensed. "What about her?"

"She's got the, um, the human thing..."

"Spit it out, man!"

"She's bleeding!"

"What?!"

#The dragon prince #TDP fanfic #Viravos #viren x aaravos #aaravos #lord viren #claudia the dragon prince

[meganwasbored]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts Season 4 Episodes 3 and 4

Episode 3

-he’s really pretending to read a black page in a book just to not look at her

-you’re telling me callum was really able to fall asleep after all that?

-so you had this in your back pocket but instead you went with “hey”

-with her bare hand?? that love right there

-she’s gonna be gone when he wakes up AGAIN??? girl where are you even going

-soren being soren

-i hope we get to hear zym talk someday because i’m thinking about all the possibilities for what his voice might sound like and all of them are hilarious

-if the passageway is opened by a dragon sized button why are there human sized stairs leading down into it

-ibis’s timing is always impeccable

-i love how bait is there for literally everything like he even had his own seat at the council table i wonder if it was like this when bait was harrow’s pet

-ok everything else that went wrong today was an accident but the painting was definitely sabotaged something strange is going on here

-claudia pulling a jafar

-an eleven year old just gave that speech

-IBIS DID NOT JUST DIE TAKE THAT BACK

-THERE IS SO MUCH HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

-CRYING

-OMG HES ALIVE DOES THAT MEAN HES GONNA MAKE IT???

-NOOOOOOO

-RAYLA WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE THIS IS NOT THE TIME

-WOAH HE CAN DO THAT THATS SO COOL BUT ALSO HE JUST DIED THIRTY SECONDS AGO SO IM HAVING SOME VERY MIXED FEELINGS

Episode 4

-UHHHHHHHH WHY IS CALLUM IN THE SPARKLY PLACE NOW

-oh you can already tell that ezran is gonna be their marriage counselor from this point on

-zym hiding like 8 year old me getting picked up from my friend’s house

-viren contributing absolutely nothing like dude they could’ve done that while you were still dead

-WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

WHY DID IT CUT TO THIS AFTER SHE SAID THAT

-i love opeli so much but why is she so insistent that ezran leaves?? like i’ve never seen her smile so much in any other scene?? she just found out the world is once again in danger and she’s happy??

-OMG DO YOU THINK SHE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PAINTING

-stop it megan now you’re just grasping at straws

-why is ezran so chill about literally everything like rayla randomly shows up after two years of nothing and he’s just like “of course you’re coming hop on”

-also rayla apologized to ezran the second she saw him but she hasn’t bothered to apologize to callum??? as in the one she actually wronged??? and she’s expecting him to be cool with that???

-girl you could’ve just asked him if he can go start the flame a safe distance away from camp?? like can you at least try to come to a compromise?? this is why y’all were thrown out in the first place

-this is foreshadowing if i’ve ever seen it and i DO NOT LIKE IT

-Luna Tenebris is such a cool name like that alone tells me how awesome she was

-“a young human girl uncovered a great secret of history” and yet she’s not important enough to remember her name?

-my question is what does aaravos get out of all this? why did he start doing this in the first place?

-Terry buddy if anyone can help claudia at this point it’s you i’m sorry you even got dragged into this

-“I have always been willing to do anything to protect my family, however dangerous, however vile” oh so that why you told soren that it doesn’t matter if he died and tried to use him as your guinea pig for the weird demon-hulk-soldier spell?

-SAYS THE MAN WHO HAD A PANIC ATTACK ABOUT A LITTLE MOUNTAIN

-OH I REALLY REALLY DONT LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING

-my question is why would they write “in darkness, gaze upon a fallen star” on the mirror like that just makes aaravos sound like a savior or something

-you’re really scared of a little spell? why don’t you take your own advice and get a grip?

-HE CANT BREATHE WHY ARE YOU ALL JUST STANDING THERE HELP HIM

-OH THE CREATURE IS WORSE THAN I IMAGINED

-HE CAN SHATTER THE MIRROR???

-SERIOUSLY HIS SOUL CAN GO OUTSIDE OF THE MIRROR HE CAN POSSESS PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE MIRROR AND NOW HE CAN SHATTER THE MIRROR??? HAS HE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS???

#the dragon prince #tdp #the dragon prince thoughts #tdp thoughts #the dragon prince season 4 #tdp season 4 #the dragon prince thoughts season 4 #tdp thoughts season 4

[raayllum]

The hollowed husk of coral Aaravos’ prison is sealed inside is a red, shadowy labyrinth—Rayla keeps one hand along the wall, Stella on her shoulder watching her back and to try and remember the way they’d come. Claudia’s stupid spell had caved in half the ceiling of the core antechamber and sent them all scattering in different directions, the floor wet enough to be uncomfortable in boots and also not enough to actually offer any help in hearing what’s up ahead, a stitching her side as her ears prick, straining.

If she can just find Callum or Ezran or Soren, then—

A shadow darts ahead on the curve of the wall, and Rayla races toward it. Friend or foe, there’s only one way to go and—

It’s not Callum, the way her heart hopes.

It’s Viren, the way her gut knows.

His face is pale and smooth, not corrupted—another dirty lie—and she gnashes her teeth, drawing her blades on instinct. She has them levied and poised to strike (he doesn’t have his staff—where is his staff?) when he raises his hands, surely to offer up some pitiful excuse or deadly spell, as he says—“I need you to kill me.”

It’s enough to make her stupidly stop short, her blade less than an inch from his throat. She hasn’t even had to shove him up against the wall. “What?”

“Kill me,” he repeats. “We don’t have much time until the magic runs out, and Claudia—”

“Why would you want me to kill you?” Rayla demands, not lowering her swords. This has to be some kind of trick, too. Another lie. Saying what the other person wants to hear so you can slip away. She’d understand better than anyone. 

“Because Aaravos is—worse than death,” Viren says, haltingly. “So kill me, assassin. That’s what you’ve wanted, isn’t it?”

Her hand shakes. Her blade nearly strays. He can’t be serious. She can’t be serious. Her target is here, asking to be killed, no fear in his eyes, and nothing but hate for him in her veins, and she still—

“Rayla!”

Callum. Her heart turns to face him, while she remains focused on Viren, keeping her eyes locked on the dark mage’s pale, unsmiling face. She hears Callum’s steps slow as he takes in the situation, an angered expression transforming to something more quizzical perhaps: Viren unarmed and non-resistant, Rayla with the prized death she’s wanted all this time, and yet no blood spilt.

Somehow, having the person she swore to kill Viren for in order to protect is what makes the lump rise in her throat. She has to do this. She’s killed animals for hunting. She thought she’d killed Viren before. She can do this. Viren is even asking for it. She has to do this.

Then Viren rolls his eyes, tossing the blade at his throat a disdainful look. “Get on with it, will you? I told you, there’s not much time.” His eyes go to Callum. “Can’t you tell your elf to kill me faster? I won’t put up a fight.”

“She’s not—what on earth are you talking about?” Callum spits.

“Viren wants me to kill him,” she says. “But I—” Certainty has never proved her well. Hesitation less so.

A Moonshadow assassin who—can this be right?—isn’t capable of killing.

Callum’s hand finds her shoulder, a warm weight, tugging her away from the wall, and the only reason she lets him is because it’s Callum and she doesn’t want to cry in front of fucking Viren of all people just because she can’t—

“It’s okay,” Callum says, Viren lightly massaging his throat once she’s let him down from the wall. He unfolds her hand around around her blade, slipping it into his own grasp. “It’s alright, Rayla.” He folds it up and hands it back to her. 

She mops at her eyes with her fingers, sloppy and stained only with tears of her own frustration, her vision clearing enough to see the look that passes between the two high mages.

“You want to die?” Callum checks, a hard look in his eyes. She wonders if he hates Viren too—for taking her away from him, in a way. But it’s colder than that too. He’s still thinking. Sizing up the situation, determining the honesty.

Viren sighs, looking beyond exasperated. “Yes, for gods’ sake. I thought it’d be easier than the first time. But she can’t kill me like this, apparently—”

Callum raises his staff with one hand and nudges her behind him with the other. “That’s alright,” he says darkly. “I can.” 

#tdp rayla #tdp viren #the one who ruined me; i did it myself #tdp callum #rayllum #snake boi callum #fic #ficlet #not what's happening but interesting concept i think #my fic #tdp #the dragon prince #s5 #arc 2 #canon divergent #i'm sure #in my mind it's staged like the callum-viren hallway confrontation okay #tdp: fucked up edition #even more than usual #it was just red #in my head viren wants one of them to do it so claudia has someone to blame & he didn't knowingly let her down one last time #while also trying to keep her safe. bc ego to the end lmao

[jamieedlund]

I've got to complement you on ur massive brain. You sold my soul to the Aaravos and Callum Master/Student/Besties on the run dynamic that I didn't know I needed until now. I am begging, praying and manifesting a S4 where they at least have a few scenes of cool interaction.

The more I think about it now the better it gets because we don't know much about Aaravos but we can guess that he's never had someone like Callum around before. I mean Aaravos has put so much into teaching humans magic but all he can do is give them a tool - dark magic - because no matter how good Claudia and Viren are at dark magic its not like primal magic which requires a deeper understanding of the world than just knowing the right words and squeezing out the magic from something else. Then Callum comes along and he was told he could only use magic as a tool by using dark magic or a primal stone but he said no, no I refuse and he had this deep spiritual revelation about the world so now Magic is something Callum IS. I think it would be really good for Aaravos to see that humans are capable of more - without his help!!!! and that you don't have to just use magic cynically as a tool, I think Aaravos started out loving humanity more than he hated the elves and their socioty but over time that balance shifted to wanting vengence more than he wanted to help people, meeting Callum could get him back on track to the person he used to be(lol watch that get contradicted by S4)

They both did what the world told them was impossible driven only by their own curiosity and ambition. They both connect with arcana they were not born with. Callum has a foil in Viren but I feel there are lots of similarities with Aaravos slowly popping up now as well.

Also obsessed with the idea of Aaravos initially being all manipulative and sneaky but then realising he can't do that with Callum because Callum won't sink down to Viren's level just to get power- he will always find a better way(just like every time Callum has struggled with wanting to be powerful in the show). And Callum actually getting a Magic teacher who truly understands what he's about but also a weird older friend man who has issues and might need big feelings time????

In short LET THEM DO MAGIC CRIMES

READING! LOTS OF READING! I kinda delayed answering this ask because of how glorious it is and it would be a shame for me to just reply half-haphazardly with a short 'oh hell yea' or 'thank you' (also because I’m still very sick forgive me🙏🙏🙏)

But first of all thank you this is wonderful I am always super happy to receive long passionate asks about these two. I am, after all, also very passionate about them!

The bit about dark magic imma saved it for the end of ss4 because I feel like they’re gonna do a bunch of info dump on me maybe and I don’t wanna have to rewrite anything. However I can say this, it feels like they’re border lining Aaravos towards the ‘can’t be redeemed’ path because they have already made it SO. MUCH. HARDER. for Callum to like him now! Because uh telling my childhood friend/crush to murder (albeit it was still Claudia’s choice to do so, Aaravos did not force her into anything lol) is probably something harder to get through. BUT THERE IS STILL HOPE!!!

provided IF that in their first meeting Aaravos spoke the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth (lol what are we in court or sth? YES AARAVOS WE ARE IN COURT! THE COURT OF JUDGING YOUR HEART,SIR!) BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST-

CALLY THAT IS NOT A FACE YOUR MASTER CAN LOVE— Not when you do your signature sad puppy-eyed sob… It just…looks…W R O N G, not with that damn hair and I am still pissed— so much to say about it but my main issue is hair like that typically is reserved for out going, somewhat “wild” type of personality(cough and generic western animation protagonist but we don’t talk about that…)

Much better... Where was I uh - oh right, back to the truth bit, this might include showing Cally his memories (insert horrific gruesome crimes committed by elves and dragons towards humanity, all of which hopefully we’ll see in season 4 via maybeeee Aaravos’s backstory???) probably traumatize the boy a little a lot but— HEY AT LEAST THEY HAVE A SOLID MUTUAL GROUND NOW. CALLUM NOW UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL DID THIS MAN HAD TO LIVE THROUGH.

I think if Aaravos came clean about his past and what he’s been doing pre meeting Callum, no matter how hard he tries to make his savior condemn him (assuming it is Callum who freed him), the boy will not!

(Cally being so pure and understanding he fought off every fiber of his being from calling the man evil and it’s just gonna be the most precious thing ever) Major character development right there. This is where the story gets fun because man who was deemed evil by the world and even thought of himself as cursed suddenly gets emotional support by someone full of goodness telling him he’s not evil or cursed and ‘hey lol revenge isn’t working out how about we just run away together and start over instead hm???’ is objectively, the best thing I can see this series giving all of us. Callum really needs to develop on his own as an understanding and emotionally capable protagonist. Adventuring and living a somewhat carefree life with Aaravos might prompt this as he slowly realizes he’s absolutely fine without a romantic interest nor does he even need one to be happy.

Aaravos learning how to be a good person again is truly a sight to behold too like the man is so used to thinking 50 steps ahead of everyone and now all he has to do is to not get caught, which substantially lowered the amount of braincells needed BY A LOT. Plus domestic Aaravos being simultaneously the best and worst mentor ever LIKE LOOK AT THIS GLORIOUS EXAMPLE RIGHT HERE---

You telling me that THIS isn't profitable and fun to watch???

But also I think the chances of the writers actually supporting this story line is slim considering where they’re taking Aaravos (which is away from redeemable like pls no come back— CALLUM COME GET HIS ASS PLEASE HONEY SWEETIE BABY YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE-) It’s not gonna be this

It’s probably gonna be this…

which I really don’t wanna continue watching if that’s the case… fucking...beat down boulevard over here...

Personally though, if there is an alternated universe where Wonderstorm DID decide to make this happen, the manga adaptation of these two will be sooooo adorable! Everyone will just die from the way they address each other. This is for anyone who has made it this far into my Ted-talk

Here is baby’s attempt to fake a manga style doodle, as a big thank you to you and everyone else who has and will continue to love and support what I make. I am so grateful and I hope you guys will continue to spread the words about their wonderful dynamic <3 I truly love these two with all of my heart.

#long post #my art #ask jamie #the dragon prince #tdp #aaravos #callum #doodle #tdp fanart #tdp callum #i hope someone actually made it here #thank you all for coming along with me on this marvelous #be it somewhat super cringe journey #thank you so much #and I hope to god someone actually read through all of these #manga #sorta #<3 #please show up in tag tho I actually want people to read this

[domxmarvel]

Crown

Masterlist

Pairing:Gren x Female!Reader

Slot: Queen/King!Reader

“Y/N” There was a knock on your door as your dad called out your name,you quickly opened the door. 

“Yes,dad”

“Will you be joining us for tea,your Amaya will be there too”

“Amaya’s here”

“Well,on her way”

“I need to get changed” You quickly closed the door but quickly opened it again “Thank you,dad” You knew every time Amaya would visit Gren would be with her and you’d take every opportunity to spend time with him. You were still young when your dad met your step mother,so you spent the majority of your life with her and your brothers. Even though you weren’t related to Callum,you still saw both of them as your real brothers. As a result that also meant you spent a lot of time with Amaya and Gren,he thought you sign language and you quickly fell for him,you were close in age so it wasn’t weird. While he was at the breach you’d exchange letters,until you’d get to see each other again. 

You were the first of your siblings to join them at the table,Amaya quickly stood up and ran up to give you a hug,Gren standing beside her. 

“You’ve gotten taller since last time” She signed,thanks to Gren you were pretty fluent and could both understand and answer. 

“I missed you”

“We have a lot to catch up on,but I think someone else missed you more” She smiled and went to sit back down,leaving you with Gren. Both of you instantly started blushing,you were interrupted before you could say anything. Callum and Ezran ran in,Callum ran into you,making you fall on top of Gren. 

“Boys slow down” Your dad quickly ran up,Gren helped you up and despite you standing steady,still had his arm around you. He quickly moved it when Amaya started signing.

***

You had already changed into your night robes and were brushing your hair,when there was a knock on your bedroom door.  

“Come in” You already knew who it was,this was how you spent the night whenever he was there. You heard the sound of the door being locked as you locked eyes with him through the mirror.

“I missed you” You stood up,letting him wrap his arms around you and kiss your neck “So much” You turned around in his arms,cupping his face and kissing him. You kissed his entire face down to his neck as you pushed him back until his legs hit your bed,you pushed him down onto your bed and straddled him.

“Y/N,we can’t. At least not now” He always stopped you if he knew you’d get caught,of course the castle was the worst place because you’d probably get caught immediately. 

“How long will you be staying?”

“Just for tonight,we’ll be heading back in the morning”

“Will you write to me?”

“Of course,I love you” He whispered so that only you could hear.

“I love you too”

***

It’s been two years since the dragon prince was returned to Xadia,starting an era of peace. You became queen at that time and Both Viren and Claudia were arrested. In that time a lot of stuff happened,you got closer to Rayla and Janai,Amaya announced to you that she was getting married. You however were still with Gren,but you were more subtle,mostly because you were busy. Thankfully almost everything had calmed down and you invited him to the castle. 

“You wanted to see me,your highness”

“You know there’s no need for that” You grabbed his hand “Follow me” You lead him to your bedroom. “Lock the door” You grabbed the box of your table.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to ask you a very important question” You opened the box,revealing a crown that matched yours. “Gren,will you marry me?”

“Do you really want me as your king? I mean I rarely spend time at the castle and I’m not royalty. What if they don’t accept me?

“I do,Gren. I've been waiting to ask you this question for the past four years. There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with and if someone has a problem with that they’ll have to take it up with me” He smiled at you,lighting up the room with his smile alone “The scariest and most difficult part will be  telling Amaya,nothing’s scarier. If we can get through that we can get through anything” He laughed.

“I accept,but we should wait with this” He gestures to the crown,closing the box you set it back down. “Hope I’m not disappointing you,by not getting to see me in a crown”

“I’m not disappointed,I just need to wait,than I’ll get to see you in a crown everyday”

#gren x reader #commander gren #tdp gren #gren #the dragon prince x reader #the dragon prince bingo #the dragon prince imagine #the dragon prince #tdp bingo #tdp x reader #tdp #tdp season 4 #the dragon prince season 4 #the dragon prince s4

[kradogsrats]

Ardent for Some Desperate Glory (Fic)

Part of the “Neither Crows Nor Eagles” AU (previously the “Single Mom” AU) where Lissa stays in Katolis to raise her children after Viren dies healing Soren, but takes place much later. Lissa’s baby boy is growing up and intent on a life lived by the sword, to her great sorrow. There’s some mentioned vague Soren/Callum.

—

Lissa is doing the dishes when Soren tells her he wants to join the Crownguard.

“They take the year’s recruits during the king’s birthday celebrations,” he says. ”I’ll be of age, then.”

It’s early fall. A pleasant chill creeping into the air heralds a bitter winter, but for now the sun shines red-gold and warm in the crisp blue sky, and the apple tree in the garden hangs heavy with ripening fruit. She can smell it, through the open window—the rich sweetness rising over the scent of fallen leaves and wind.

She lets the pot she'd been scrubbing sink back below the surface of the sudsy water and looks at him. It still startles her, sometimes, how tall he has gotten—not yet sixteen and already matching her in height, when it feels only days ago that he wasn't even up to her hip. He's grown up broad-shouldered and lithe, with a wide, sharp jaw and high cheekbones just beginning to cut through the youthful softness of his face.

Some days, he looks so much like Viren that it hurts her to breathe.

But he’s still so young yet, her boy. His hair has only barely started to darken from childhood's gold toward brass, and his pale eyes are still river-clear, holding none of an adult's secrets or guile.

"You promised you wouldn't enlist," she says, wiping her hands on her apron. “Back when I let you start the cadet training.”

He has the decency to look guilty, but it was a promise made by a child. She can't fairly hold him to it, and they both know it.

He’d been thirteen, and Claudia had just begun her magic studies—a little envy was natural when your sister was getting special lessons, coming home for supper every evening overflowing with excited talk about the grand mage she’d one day be. Soren had needed a future of his own to grow into, and he’d begged for months to join the teens training for eventual placement in Katolis’s army. 

He'd already well surpassed the basic sword skills she could teach him, and was begging more lessons from any guard at the castle who'd suffer him. She couldn't deny him the life he wanted, any more than she could Claudia.

She still can’t. No matter how much it hurts, to have tithed one child to magic and now face handing the other over to king and country.

“It’s not the same,” Soren protests. “I wouldn’t be going to one of the border outposts, or off to the Breach with the Standing Battalion. Just the castle.”

She sighs. 

“I’ll come visit all the time. For real—not like Claudia. I promise.”

She almost expects him to affect the wide-eyed, pleading expression that swayed her so many times when he was small, but instead he meets her eyes seriously. She sighs again and pulls a chair from the kitchen table to sit.

They’re both silent for a long moment. 

“Is this because of Callum?” she finally asks.

They still spend a lot of time together, her son and the prince. She’d expected them to grow apart without Claudia, the gap of years between them too wide to maintain their bond without her to bridge it. Instead, they’d grown nearly inseparable—Callum trailing after Soren’s long strides, and Soren slowing his pace for Callum to catch up.

And Callum is a sweet boy—not only a quiet complement to Soren's boistrous energy, but curious and caring and more clever than he realizes. Every bit of trouble Soren's impulsiveness has gotten the two of them into over the years, Callum's ingenuity has gotten them right back out. He's the dreaming head to Soren's acting hand, a pair of fatherless boys forged into brothers.

It was hard on Soren, when Claudia left. Harder still, when it became clear that she wasn’t coming back—that she had a new life that he wasn’t part of. He’d join the Crownguard, to keep the same from happening with Callum.

“No.” He reddens. "Not—not like that.”

He frowns, searching for the words. “I want to protect my home. But my home isn’t just Katolis.

“The home I want to protect isn't a place, with borders or walls. What makes Katolis home is Callum, and Ezran, and—and King Harrow and Queen Sarai.”

“And me, I hope?” she interjects wryly.

“As if you need protecting,” he teases back. “You can take care of yourself way better than I ever could.”

And others—Callum—can’t. It goes unsaid, but hangs in the air between them.

She reaches her hands out to him and he takes them, sitting down beside her. His hands are warm, sword-calluses already forming on the soft skin at the base of his fingers—she wants to hold on to them forever. Here and now, while afternoon sun glows gentle and hazy through the curtains and the harsh clarity of winter is far away. While her son is still with her. 

“Mom, I—,” Soren begins, but stops when she shakes her head.

"You've become so much like your father," she says quietly, squeezing his hands in hers. “He was always ready to do anything and everything to protect what he loved—Katolis, King Harrow and Queen Sarai, Claudia and you.

"He would be so proud of you. Of his son, the Crownguard."

Soren whoops and jumps to his feet, dragging her up with him into a spinning, dancing hug. He wraps his arms around her, and she holds him tight in return. “You won’t regret it, Mom. I’ll make you proud, too.”

“You know I already am,” she says, and lets go.

#the dragon prince #soren #lissa #idk why i wrote this tbh #besides ‘my adhd won’t let me work on what i should actually be writing’ #kradogsfic #neither crows nor eagles au

[lifesapartyyoureaboy]

My Thoughts on TDP Season 4

Nobody asked for my opinion but I’m giving it anyways. 

Dude, what was going on with Rayla this entire season? She comes back with zero explanation and acts so casual about the whole thing, even though she has to know how much it hurt Callum to see her leave. And then she says that she went after Viren for vengence (when in ttm and Dear Callum she makes it pretty clear that’s not her reasoning), ditches a dragon in need, ditches Soren, and FORGETS IBIS’ NAME? Like bro. It doesn’t help, also, that I’m pretty sure she came back the day that Viren does. As the season went on she started acting more like herself- and the coin scene was really cool to watch- but idk. I think I’m still kind of hoping that it’s revealed that this is a fake Rayla, and the real one will come back and issue a real apology to Callum and be hella awkward and nervous about being around him, bc her leaving for two years was played off a little too much for my liking. 

I’m also kind of upset that Callum didn’t get mad and yell at her, I was dying to see that happen. My boy deserves a moment to be completely honest about his feelings. And in a panel they did a while back there was some light alluding to what they called the “scary hand ice scene” or something like that, which really seemed like it was talking about Rayla having some kind of vulnerable moment, but that didn’t happen this season, so maybe it happens later or I fabricated that whole thing or they just didn’t actually do it. I still hope we get a scene like that at some point though, it’d be interesting to see if Rayla almost losing her hand in season one is still effecting her somehow, mentally or physically. 

At the end too- just one more thing about Rayla and then I’ll move on- when she sees Viren and wants to go after him, and Callum lets her go ALONE? That would have been the perfect opportunity for him to show her that they’re stronger together, since she keeps leaving him because she wants to keep him safe, but instead he just let her walk off. I just felt like that could have been a really interesting scene, but maybe they had their reasons for it. Idk, it felt weird to me. 

Loved Terry though. He seems like such a genuinely sweet person and I appreciated him sticking up for Rayla and calling Claudia out- which, by the way, the whole coin scene was awesome. I’m so glad that (potentially fake) Rayla got Runaan and her parents back. 

I also loved seeing more of Soren! We didn’t get a whole lot of Soren actually being a good guy and showing off his skills in the past few seasons, so I really enjoyed that spotlight on him this time around, he deserves it. I love Soren so much. 

Finally, I want to say that I’m glad Viren didn’t get a redemption arc. It was kind of hinted at for a second there, when he went on that speech about how he was always trying to be something he’s not and now wants to travel the world, and it felt really cheap and shallow to me, personally. After all the shit he did in the past three seasons, now suddenly he’s seeing the error in his ways? I get that death can be enlightening, but it was too quick of a change in him for my liking, so I’m glad they don’t seem to be going that route. 

So yeah, loved most of the season, just hoping they clear up and explain where Rayla’s been, why she came back, and wtf the key of Aaravos does and how Callum knows it’s the key of Aaravos, because that was kind of thrown in there and I feel like that should be elaborated upon. 

#the dragon prince #rayla #callum #ezran #soren #terry #tdp season 4 #the dragon prince season 4 #please let it be fake rayla #viren #claudia #tdp