#xadia asks

[lettersfromxadia]

I feel a bit weird about the redesigns and I think its because it was so suddenly a think. Like I spent the whole long wait for new episodes thinking it was gonna pick up where it left of. And then it didnt do that.

Not me being on Tumblr and answering an ask right when I get it instead of letting it sit in my inbox for months.

Hi anon! I absolutely get where you’re coming from. It’s a change, and change is hard. I’m personally glad the long wait happened between the first and second arcs (aka between seasons 3 & 4), and not anytime else, because it kind of felt like a new era was coming. And it did. But it’s entirely understandable why after that time you’d want to go back to what you knew.

The cutoff for me was ideal, between arc 1 and arc 2 of the show and between the time skip, but that doesn’t mean after years of longing to see these characters again it wasn’t hard to move on. New designs, older, different— as stated earlier it was all a change. And it was hard to accept that I’d never see these characters again in the same designs and way I knew them for the first three seasons.

A great comparison of a franchise with design updates and time skips (that also happens to involve dragons) is HTTYD. The first movie is my favorite, my ultimate comfort movie, and I actually prefer the original follow up series and holiday special to the later installments where they’re older, because I love the characters at that original age and with those designs.

#the dragon prince #dragon prince #tdp #thanks anon! #netflix #letters from xadia #xadia asks

[raayllum]

I honestly can't imagine Rayla not dooming the world for Callum if the situation required it. She literally called going to dark places an "act of love."

I mean, there's a few things:

The opinions of anyone working on the show (cast, crew, etc.) are not gospel and not the default, nor do they need to be treated as the be all end all. You can disagree and that's more than gouda

People will give misleading answers and/or answers that are true in the moment (i.e. would S5 Rayla doom the world for him? Maybe not. Would S6 Rayla after some development? If the answer's yes, that's gotta stay under wraps) to avoid potential spoilers

I was actually honestly pretty surprised 1) someone asked such a direct question and 2) even more surprised that it got directly answered, since it feels like it could skirt into spoilery territory potentially for next season given the possession plot line. (I was personally gunning for a "what do you think Rayla and Claudia would think of Callum's S5 dark magic use, if they knew?")

I will admit Paula's response was, admittedly, what I've leaned to for Rayla as a whole in terms of that World vs Loved One binary. One of the things that makes Ezran and Rayla interesting to me was the uncertainty of "would they risk [insert thing here] for their immediate circle of loved ones" routinely being a "I don't know." Not that they necessarily 100% wouldn't, but just that I was genuinely 50-50 split on whether they would, or leaned towards No or Yes but could see the other way being plausible too. That uncertainty paired with the certainty I had that Callum would, and that contrast, has always been one of my favourite things about the Trio as a unit and Rayllum as a duo. It's one of the reasons that Heart vs Duty conflict for Rayla as a character has always been so compelling to me and why 4x07's introduction of the "You have to kill me" conflict was so (and is) exciting!!

But I digress.

I don't think that Rayla's letter is the best example of what I think you're trying to illustrate (I'll raise something I think that is perhaps more indicative in a moment) purely because the whole reason Rayla ultimately left was to protect the world. I've talked about this before in my "Priorities in Through the Moon" meta from ages ago, but Rayla does not go into the portal because she's primarily concerned about finding her parents. Callum researches the portal and helps recreate it and his whole side of things because he wants to help her with her parents, even being the one who brings them up when they resolve to go ahead. Rayla's concerned primarily with Viren, stating her reason for going into the portal even after finding out it requires facing water:

"Listen, Callum. Soren was worried about Viren too. Worried that we never found his body. We need to know what happened to Viren. He's a threat to the whole world! This might be the only way to be sure he's actually gone."

This is in line with how Rayla operates and references her parents in her letter to Callum, given her goodbye exchange for her parents:

Rayla: Surprised you even noticed, considering you've got more important things to do. Lain: Nothing is more important than our favourite child. Rayla: I'm your only child, and you're still leaving me behind for the Dragonguard. Tiadrin: We have to leave, Rayla. For you and for all the other Moonshadow children as well [...] This is our duty that we're doing for Xadia. For you. Someday, I hope you see that.

Just as trust and love are not necessarily synonyms to her, duty and love are not necessarily exclusives. Her parents left out of love for her and for the world, even if that meant prioritizing the world over her in the immediacy of their choice. Rayla leaves to go kill Viren out of a similar mutual desire to protect Callum, yes, but that's mostly there in the fact she left alone and didn't want him to stop her. Not necessarily that she went to hunt down Viren in and of itself, but that she went by herself ("I was trying to protect him. I knew I had to be strong alone"). Protecting the world - and a Viren-less world being one Callum would be safer in by proxy - was worth blowing up her relationships to her.

Going to dark places wasn't what she was doing just to protect Callum - that played a part, too, but her primary goal was to hunt down Viren (going to said dark place) alone and by leaving Callum behind, hence the "Stay safe, and stay in the light. Don't look for me, and don't follow me" - a sacrifice she was making on her own so that Callum wouldn't have to, but still for a collective cause that she deemed meaningful: "I have to make sure Viren never hurts anyone ever again." (Which is also why she goes after Viren again in 4x09, tbh)

That doesn't mean leaving in TTM wasn't also an errorful, self-destructive choice to leave (see like every other TTM meta I've written) but that the goals she could conceptualize was to protect the world, full stop. Anything else along the way (getting closure with her parents, protecting Callum) were extra stops and bonuses to help her have the courage to go through with it, maybe.

This is also in line with how we see Rayla treat other scenarios where it's a choice between individuals / individual relationships vs the potential to help or harm the greater good

Prioritizing the world / new mission of stopping the assassination mission > her relationship with Runaan ("This is a miracle, a chance for peace!") in 1x03

Being willing to and convincing Callum to let Ezran search for the egg under the ice in 1x06

"Then it's time to go. War's coming like the world's never seen, unless we get the wee dragon home to his mom" (2x01)

"Callum, I know you trust them, but by the time we know the truth, it'll be too late. Do you understand? We'll lose everything" (2x03)

"So please, allow him to pass into Xadia and help bring the Dragon Prince home. Because I don't think I can do it without him" (3x01)

Do I even need to specify 3x09? Or TTM?

"I hate it too, but we have to keep moving [...] We can't save everyone, Soren. There's too much at stake. I'm leaving, and you better be right behind me" (4x05)

"If I threw the coins in the lava, would it release their spirits? Or would they just be trapped in some of eternal burning agony? Let's trade. You let him go, and I'll give you the coins." "I'm not making a deal with you!" (4x09)

"I love you, and I haven't forgotten about you. But I can't help you yet. Because right now, the world needs me. Callum and Ezran need. There's a great evil trying to return to Xadia, and we have to stop it, at any cost" (5x01)

"It hurts me to know they're trapped like this. It's agonizing. But I know our mission comes first. The world is in danger, and you can trust me to stay focused" (5x04)

This is, arguably, the strongest core trait she has in common with Viren, just for the record, especially in arc 1. He's very greater good centric as well, just with the push of his own ego and thirst for power + he only considers humanity's concerns, whereas Rayla has minimal pride and arguably not enough ego, and she wants to improve situations for everybody on a collective scale post-1x02 onwards.

The exceptions to this consistent behaviour is largely 2x07 and 3x08, which I've talked about more in my Dragon Quartet meta (from Dec 2019 good god??). These are arguably two of the times, in addition to TTM in some ways, where Rayla is operating the most out of her emotional core ("My allegiance is to my heart" —Tales of Xadia) and what feels 'right' on that level. For better or for worse.

"That dragon was defenceless, and I just left there." / "So I have to stay, and defend the Dragon Queen."

I say Rayla is at her most emotional largely because in each scenario she's abandoning the mission of keeping Zym safe (and thereby her own identified "world's best hope" for peace) in favour of protecting a different individual dragon. This seems to go completely against the "mission first" if indeed, like in 1x03, Rayla can abandon one mission she's devoted herself to in favour of another one just like that [snaps fingers]. If she cares about the world first, why prioritize these individuals, neither of whom she particularly knows or personally cares about? BH also spells this out for us, since it's likewise a mirror to her offering to go up into the tower with Callum to defend Harrow even though the egg should technically be her first priority:

But to Runaan and those like your parents, love is rooted in all families, all creatures. Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close.

In 2x07, Rayla is at her best, if least logical, whereas in 3x08 she is at worst (until arguably S4) and likewise her least logical ("I know you feel guilty, but you're not thinking straight"). In each scenario the boys stand a Much better chance of survival and of accomplishing their mission with her from just an objective point of view (they don't know Xadia's terrain at that point and circa 2x07, neither could really be combatants in a fight since Callum didn't have a weapon or primal magic). We could slap an easy "you're being a dumbass and dooming the world" label on it and be done with it. But not only does Rayla think the boys are fully capable of completing their mission without her ("I believe in you") but 'the world' as a stake never enters her mind.

Instead, Rayla looks at each as an individual last stand where the only neck on the chopping block is ('rightfully') hers. Whether she's right or not to do so regardless of how she frames it is debatable (I personally view it as understandable, admirable, but more than a little short sighted or guilt ridden considering The Stakes), but that very much seems to be the thought process.

She's not risking the world, in her mind. All she's risking is herself.

And that's perfectly acceptable to her as a trade off. It always has been. It's one of the perfect kind of microcosms of the cognitive dissonance she lives under, where why should she care about herself when there's bigger fish to fry ("Don't worry about my hand; the egg is all that matters now") ignoring the fact that 1) she can & arguably should let herself care about two things at once and 2) she's going to be much less effective as a team member / dual wielder if she's recovering from a messy at best recent amputation.

This path of "Rayla works to save Callum because she doesn't care about what happens to herself" is admittedly probably the option I leaned towards most when it comes to Rayla in S6, even if I do wonder how it might be streamlined time / arc wise cause it does elongate her arc further. Either way, this is the route that lets her not kill Callum, working free him instead while also being able to justify trying to free him to herself, because she's not conceptualizing the Big Picture. She's narrowing it down to him and her and deciding if one of them has to get hurt in order for him to be freed, it's gonna be her.

It's not the Character Development route as I call it, but it sure is consistent.

TLDR; While I still lean towards Rayla having an ultimately positive impact (i.e. breaking Callum free from potential brainwashing) in s6, it would not surprise me at all if from her perspective it is framed as a self-sacrificial move on her end > a big picture risk to the world, even if that's how Callum may see it.

More thoughts on Rayla + the possession plotline in S6 here, here, and here.

#thanks for asking #anonymous #tdp rayla #i need you to kill me #my heart for xadia #analysis series #analysis #christ this got long #it's like. rayla's act of love is also filtered through callum's request to murder him as well #whereas viren lost sight of his love for the individual or the collective #and callum prioritizes the collective until it's his two ppl on the line #none of them are perfect avenues (altho viren's is defs the worst) but c&r are all coming from Valid Places

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Everyone believes that the key of aaravos unlocks his prison but I don't think that the case. What do you think that key does?

I can't decide yet! There's plenty of possibility given what we know so far, and like so many themes and objects in TDP it seems to serve multiple functions as well. But I think it really is some kind of key.

Hmm. Maybe it would help if we knew who named it that.

It might be a literal key, it might be a figurative key. Or both, in different ways. After all, Callum's been carrying it with him for a long time now. Maybe it's unlocking something in him already, before he even gets to whatever it's supposedly for in Xadia? dun dun DUNNN!

You wanna know one thing I've never understood and keep thinking about, cube-wise?

Why did Callum's fever dream conjure a creepy hellish portal for the dark magic cube to vanish into? 👀 What is that about.

My best guess for the key's function is that there will be some kind of physical space that the cube-holder reaches at some point, where the cube "fits," and then it Does Something. Which is a long way of saying it could literally unlock something that's locked. An Actual Key.

But does it free Aaravos?

There are so many possibilities I couldn't possibly guess with any certainty. But my favorite and funniest guess, regardless of probability, is that if there is a literal locked area and this cube opens it, then what's inside won't be what everyone thinks of as "Aaravos."

tldr: I'm not smart enough to call this one on facts yet so I'm agreeing with you, but only for silly reasons.

#asks #thanks for the ask! #key of aaravos #it identifies primal sources #it makes lines on the ground toward some spot in xadia #and it... unlocks something of great power #also a handy nightmare accessory apparently hmmm #tdp

[ask-ethari-anything]

If Rayla wanted to give up her arcanum would you let her?

...Can elves do that?

Also to be clear, I'm not interested in being that sort of parent. Things that happen inside Rayla are for Rayla to decide and no one else.

#ask ethari #arcana-whatsit #body autonomy is a thing in xadia too

[aaravos-answers]

How do you cope with all this trauma? Ever considered therapy?

....

#aaravos answers #ask #anonymous #mod bee #my 'therapy' will be justice #trauma what trauma #mun says: #do they even have therapists in xadia? you'd think ezran and callum would have gotten therapy at Least

[ask-runaan-anything]

Sooo… I just noticed something. What is your accent? At first I thought you just had an English accent, but I recently noticed that it kind of sounds American and Scottish too. Do you actively try to change your accent, or is it just like that?Could you explain? Thanks!

#ask runaan #runaan answers #tdp memes #xadia has no such places i'm just a forest elf i promise

[its-leethee]

Do you think that the unicorns are secretly alive? because soren mentioned his horse finding a unicorn

I do

nice-horse is my OTP

#asks answered #riyumatriach #tdp speculation #headcanons #3x07 #their facial hair grew out bc they were in the wilds of xadia for so long without a mirror #the dragon prince

[imminent-danger-came]

Honestly, if Sarai actually knew to ask all the right questions about Dark Magic, that almost makes it worse that she went along with it anyway. She said all the ways that DM was bad then went along with it and said "oh well, gotta support my husband, y'know?" If Callum did that, people would be raking him over the coals for all time.

GIRL. WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE.

#raking him over the coals #tbh I support Callum's dark magic use. if it were my family I would do the same thing #HOWEVER. Would I have studied dark magic? No. And I couldn't do anything more than a snake or a bug. #But it definitely is tricky deciding when the value of life starts/starts to equal your own. ESPECIALLY in Xadia #where a lot of magical creatures are sentient and do deserve to be treated with respect #And not like a thing to glean parts from #God. ''makes it worse'' you mean makes it more interesting #Like she's the one to make the final blow on the titan #Like yeah man. She went along with her husband and saved 100000 lives at the cost of her own. #Because dark magic is all about consequences #And those consequences are fun to think about. #like sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. and you still have to choose #Dark magic isn't good. the other options weren't good either. #LIKE COME ON MAN #THAT'S WHY I LIKE IT #Just because I think Callum made a bad choice doesn't mean I think he made the wrong one #anyways thanks for the birthday present. I love ranting about tdp and it's trolley problems #asks

[thrandilf]

You know what

In all seriousness

The TDP crew's proximity to fandom has always been closer to us than other fandoms where we have an official server, we get little impromptu Q and A stuff sometimes, the promo art and short stories which we are confirmed getting again, interviews to the level we get them, none of this is required for anyone to do

And I feel like I see the TDP crew get shit on the most when they're like. Doing the most compared to other creators with their fans

Leaks getting out is inevitable but I have 2 things to say

1. Conventions have always had exclusive stuff. Maybe cons that were livestreamed set unrealistic expectations for cons going forward but it's just true. I went to a live show for LAVA Live which is a trio of voice actors who do live shows at conventions all over and they ask for no photos or content online so it always stays a surprise. For those, if you don't go to the con, you never ever learn what they do during the live shows if people keep their promises, and I haven't seen complaints about that within my con/those fan circles even though it's Very much so more exclusive. TDP has early but not exclusive info at cons. It isn't unreasonable or an act of hate against fans.

2. Leaks are maybe inevitable, but to me the worst part is publicly leaking. There's a difference between dming a friend or having a little group and posting in the main tags on social platforms not even under a cut when you were asked not to, and particularly in areas where said creators do reside because then it's just outright disrespectful. That's where it feels personally out of line, and people don't seem to get it

Off of point 2, your other fans maybe wanted to know the stuff that could be shared and didn't blacklist spoilers so again, there wasn't defense for that tagged or not

I just want to remind people to please view creators as human beings and even if you disagree with a choice, understand where it comes from, that it was yes a request that couldn't be enforced, but that you hit a point where it feels like disrespect to both the creators and your other fans if they had wanted a specific surprise

Signed, someone who's alpha tested the Xadia game and had an Actual NDA to sign about game info you will never get from me lmao

#tdp #the dragon prince #fandom wank #tdp s6 #there i said it

[m4rs-ex3]

something about the fact that ghosting is "a unanimous community decision that has to be discussed by all members of the silvergrove and is not taken lightly." every single elf in the community committed to symbolically killing two loving parents for a supposed moment of shame. including rayla. every single elf in the community committed to symbolically killing a child, for making it out alive. for what they so momentously assumed was abandoning ship. they destroyed the life of a child for not being willing to die.

tiadrin and lain were--to reiterate--loving parents. they were brave enough to dedicate their lives to protecting the future of xadia. i'm sure everyone admired and honored them greatly. then, everyone (symbolically) ended their lives. their best friends, whom they trusted enough to leave their child with them. their own daughter, who loved them, and who spent years of her life looking up to them--revering them to the point where she could validate their decision.

rayla was 15. rayla was endlessly hardworking, achieving, mature, kind, heroic, brave, resilient, and noble. rayla went out of her way to become an assassin, a role in the silvergrove highly respected for their understanding and handling of life and death. rayla did everything she could to be as valiant as her parents. rayla betrayed her own parents, and did everything she could to be nothing like them. rayla was everything the silvergrove could ask for. and rayla made one presumed blunder, and she had the gall to live on.

rayla was 15 when her community, her entire world, abominated her for "cowardice." her honorary father. grief-stricken over the love of his life, but nonetheless having taken her in, shown her the utmost kindness and sensitivity, and raised her for half a decade, at the very least.

i am normal. wdym rayla has trauma? wdym rayla is incredible for having come this far? wdym rayla doesn't deserve to lose everything she has left for what she good-intentional-ly did when she was as fractured a person as you can be? wdym tdp is really good at building cultures with nuance? wdym

#hrgghhhhhhhhhgdsuhsgfdshgfyugshgfdshbfhsdbjcfbsjgfhsdg #:( #justice for my baby #--in the words of viren “MY BABY GIRL” #rayla #rayla tdp #tdp rayla #the dragon prince rayla #rayla the dragon prince #moon fam #moonshadow elves #the silvergrove #silvergrove #tdp #the dragon prince

[jelzorz]

158.

"Hey, you know how to pick locks, right?"

It's an odd thing to ask. Callum's always been weird like that, Rayla supposes, and usually his weird questions are related to magic, and Xadia, and elven script and Rayla is (generally) happy to oblige. What can she say? He likes to learn, and the lilt in his voice and the light in his eyes and the excitement in his smile is endearing, and she's never been particularly good at saying no, at least not to him.

But this one is weird because it's not a Xadia thing, or a magic thing, or an elven script thing, and when he asks, he's not nearly as upbeat about it. At first, she doesn't get it. It's a useful skill to have, and a fun skill to master—it's like a puzzle but more fiddly, and Rayla had taught herself years and years ago because she didn't like it when Ethari and Runaan tried to keep her out of places, so of course she learned (in part) to spite them. Callum's never really had the same restrictions because he's a prince, and all he has to do to unlock anything is ask, usually, and yet—

"Can you teach me?"

"Er. Sure?" Rayla tilts her head at him curiously. "You planning a heist or something?"

Callum chuckles a little. "Or something," he says cryptically. "What, you don't think I can do it?"

"I don't think it's your style," says Rayla. "You're a prince and high mage, why on earth would you need to know how to pick a lock?"

He smirks then. "Ancient tomes, forbidden libraries, old abandoned ruins, jellytart runs... All sorts of reasons. Just feels like a necessary skill for adventure, y'know?"

Rayla laughs at that. "I mean, I guess. How often are you intending to break into forbidden libraries and old abandoned ruins?"

"As often as I need to, thank you very much. I have a whole life of adventure ahead of me, and I'll be damned if not being able to pick locks is the thing that stops me."

Rayla shakes her head at him, trying not to laugh at the way he wheedles. She was never going to say no, and he knows it, and he's far too smug about it for it not to be funny. For a second, she actually forgets that it's a weird thing to ask and teases him back: "Fine, but you'll have to ask Opeli for the handcuffs. I'm sure she won't wonder why you want them."

Callum snickers loudly at that, and it's that simple, that easy, just jokes between the two of them about a skill they don't really need, until later, when Rayla's showing him the mechanics of a lock and a thought occurs to her that reminds her why the whole thing feels a bit off-kilter.

"You know, we've only really had problems with locks, like, twice," she muses. "There was that one time Opeli arrested me, and then that time on Sea Legs, but I mean, you managed fine."

Something flickers across Callum's face. His smile twitches, falters, and if Rayla didn't know him so well, she might have missed it because she can see how hard he's trying to make it less of a deal than it is.

"Yeah, well." He shifts uncomfortably, the memory just as unpleasant for him. "I don't want repeats. I don't want anyone else trying to feed you to any sea leviathans."

"Somehow I think that was a one time thing." Rayla pauses, her smile fading a little as she fiddles with the manacles on his wrists. "How'd you get out of the chains Finnegrin put you in anyway? You apparently didn't pick them."

There's a pause. Callum looks away, and the whole world stills as the realisation dawns over Rayla, as cold as the way her blood froze in her veins that same day.

"...Callum."

"I had to do," he says quietly. He meets her gaze then, and the storm in his eyes makes her intestines writhe like snakes. "I couldn't let him hurt you."

Rayla says nothing for a moment, fingers hovering over the chains locked around his wrists. Her heart thumps heavily. Her breath shudders out. "Well," she says after a moment. "I guess we have to make sure you don't end up in that position a third time."

"You're not angry?"

"I don't know." She touches his hand then and finds herself relieved that it's still warm under her fingers. She doesn't know how to feel about it, but they're both alive and they're both safe so... that must count for something. "It doesn't matter," she says in the end. "I'm just... Glad we're okay. You won't do it again anyway."

Callum looks up at her. "Won't I?"

"No." Rayla hands him the lockpick. "I won't let you."

#this is a mess but im sleep deprived which is always my excuse and always valid #rayllum #in anticipation

[lettersfromxadia]

Besides Rayllum, what are you looking most forward to in S4, and what do you think your fav character dynamics are going to be??

Oh, definitely Soren x Corvus. I can’t wait to see if they have a bromance or something more, I ship it both ways.

#the dragon prince #dragon prince #tdp #soren #corvus #sorvus #letters from xadia #xadia asks

[raayllum]

Did you know that Luna Tenebris heir was a phase moon dragon? It was mention in the Dragon Prince Tales of Xadia: The Gloaming Glade. Her name is Os Lumina. She's the granddaughter of Luna Tenebris and a Phase moon dragon but the dragons imprisoned her when she was hatched.

We actually don't know what made Luna Tenebris' heir unsuitable, only that she was. For Os Lumina, this is the only info we have on her from Tales of Xadia:

Os Lumina is a very rare type of dragon, a Phase Moon dragon, also sometimes known as a “Moon dust” dragon. She is only corporeal and fully tangible when her phase of the moon is occurring. In particular, Os is solid only during the crescent waxing moon—the phase during which she was hatched from an egg—and even then she only has one night to walk, communicate with others, and use her weak wings to fly a short height off the ground. [...] On the particularly bright moon of this cycle, Os has a plan to harness a new magical source nearby—the Primal Well—and become real forever. She has plotted some version of this for years, pondering the existence of all kinds of magical artifacts that could be ritualistically used to bring her to full life, but she’s known about this particular artifact for a little while now. 

So we don't know about her connection to any other archdragons (and just sharing a primal isn't enough, given that there's no blood connection between Avizandum and Zubeia for obvious reasons) and no hint of imprisonment otherwise.

#os lumina #tales of xadia #worldbuilding #thanks for asking #ari1027nicole-blog

[beautifulterriblequeen]

One thing I've noticed is how some people are always villainizing and demonizing Runaan and Ethari, seeing them as nothing but the worst, most awful parents in the show. Saying things like "they don't deserve Rayla or her forgiveness at all." They don't love her or even care about her at all," "she was never important to them." "She deserves better parents who actually love, appreciate, and defend her." While I admit, in all honesty, that I've enormously condemned both of them for the choices and decisions, how they contributed to Rayla's losses, sorrow, and heartbreak, but I feel that it's way too extreme and way too harsh.

But I also believe that they've been obviously hurting and suffocating from the brutality of their horrendous punishments for their own failures. Because I feel that Rayla will be incredibly unforgiving towards them because at some point, she'll have to deeply process and sincerely express all her harsh, angering, heavy, resentful feelings towards Runaan and Ethari. Maybe during these two years, Rayla has probably convinced herself so deeply that they never loved her nor cared about her, and even if they're effortlessly apologizing to her, pouring all heart and soul into every single apology, her mind tells her things such as "disregard every apology they made, do not believe them nor trust them." "Why should she believe them if they never believed her?" Something along those lines.

Just wanted to give my own speculation because, yes, Rayla's had her mistakes, but Runaan and Ethari had even greater failures and bigger wrongdoings. Because I know that the show will address Rayla, not only confronting her own true sentiments towards both of them, but Ethari and Runaan being hit where it really hurts them them the most: with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

This is in no way me hating on them. I adore Runaan and Ethari, but I don't want the show to let them off the hook for how they technically abandoned Rayla because they need to be held accountable and responsible for what happened.

In your honest perspective, BTQ, how do they even go about reconciling and repairing their relationship with Rayla? I genuinely hope that there can love, acceptance and forgiveness again, especially from Rayla. It'll be very hard for her, but I believe all 3 of them will overcome this. I have faith in them.

Apologies for the long post. Much love, fam.

Hey, thanks for your honest thoughts. I think we might have different perspectives on the idea of atonement/forgiveness/redemption, but that's okay. Since you were kind enough to share your thoughts, let me return the favor!

At the heart of my perspective is simply this: the more catholic we are in trying to shame and guilt people into admitting they messed up, the less likely they are to ever admit out loud that they were wrong (even if they want to). And that fear of rejection, of being shamed, keeps real change from getting started.

We get to be mad when we are hurt. We get to advocate for ourselves, to defend ourselves. And Rayla might have some feelings about her dads that she wants to yell at them about. But maybe she doesn't. Maybe she's not even looking back, or maybe it's been resolved and we'll see it in a flashback with Ethari or something. We don't know yet. She hasn't really spoken on the topic, and it might take her a while to do so.

The issue of intent should matter, too. TDP is a hopepunk story, and that carries certain themes that I'd love for more people to look for and enjoy:

resilience - as forgiveness or growth

imperfection - familiar to everyone, messier options and solutions

earnestness - folks are just folks, no evil masterminds

good and evil - not a state of mind but a series of choices

community - everyone still cares for their group/others

As we wait for S5 (and the rest of the series) to drop, it feels a little risky to me to pin so much personal expectation on it to deliver extremely specific emotional rewards like this. S5 was written, gosh, maybe a couple years ago? I don't know exactly, but it's been a minute, and we just got S4 - and its expectations - last November. Animation is a really really long process!

I'm content to wait and see what happens next. TDP doesn't work for me, and they don't have to do what I want, and it's too late to make any S5 changes now anyway, so I will take what I am given and appreciate it for the story it is, actually. I love this show, and I respect the people who work hard to create it. And there's really nothing more I feel I need to add to that, so that's where I'll stop.

Okay, I lied, one last thought! Bahaha.

Rayla already knows what it's like to be mistrusted by her dads. She did get angry at them about it.

For about 10 seconds.

Ethari confessed, and Rayla forgave them and had tea with them, snuggled up safe and sound, at home where she was loved.

It wasn't a big deal. They talked about it, they were honest, and they found a way to move forward together as a family. It took 3 panels - a single page - of BH to address it.

If there is a next time for confrontation, it will probably go at least a bit differently, if for no other reason than Rayla is several years older and has matured as a person. But this is her precedent for conflict resolution with Runaan and Ethari, specifically.

If everyone wants it to work out, it'll probably work out. If someone wants to be Right, or to be a Victim, or to make Drama, then that'll probably happen instead. But I covered my expectations up in the hopepunk stuff, so that's what I'm expecting from anything similar: everyone will at least want to resolve their grievances.

#asks #thanks for the ask! #rayla #runaan #ethari #tdp #moonfam #moonfam angst #whether they succeed. or even try. is another matter that might be outside their control #they do live in xadia and stuff kinda tends to happen there

[ask-ethari-anything]

1. Have their ever been elves that got their markings glow on their body?

2. Do you think Callum would do a good job on painting rayla markings when she needs them painted again?

3. Do you think rayla’s new bun hairstyle

Is cute? She even brought the braid back. I wonder how long her hair is now?

Well, the answer to your first one is pretty easy:

But they don't glow all the time, at least for me. Very special conditions apply!

Since Callum is an artist, I expect he has a steady hand and would do Rayla's markings justice.

And I'm all in favor of Rayla's lovely hairstyle. Where do you think she got that braid?

#ask ethari #long white elf hair #rayla #my little girl is all grown up and saving xadia #and looking fab doing it

[aaravos-answers]

Would you ever consider settling down and giving up the whole I am going to rule the world act and just let Xadia be at peace? Don't you get lonely in that prison and want to meet new friends

Well....

maybe.

#aaravos answers #ask #mod bee #the snake and the star #mun says: #82k on what if aaravos decided to give up trying to rule xadia bc he found smth more important #(among other things) #we got you fam