theredhairedmonkey

[theredhairedmonkey]

Honestly it looks like he’s using magic to drag her away.

I HAVE BEEN LAUGHING AT THIS FRAME FOR 5 MINUTES

"MY GIRL!!"

[theredhairedmonkey]

Ah the adventures of boyBAMF and girldisaster. We love to see it.

from girlboss and boyfailure to boygenius and girlTryingHerBest. now that's what i like to see

[theredhairedmonkey]

Which is what made it very cool and awesome when he switches to red at the end of Arc 1.

i remember seeing someone talk about how callum's design favors blue more than anyone else in katolis to show how out of place he is and that being said

wowww that ain't even subtle 💀 sticking out like a blue thumb

[theredhairedmonkey]

This. I really do not care for the “normal people would move on” bit.

Sure, normal people after getting together with their first love, amidst extremely high stress environments where you escaped death several times by the skin of your teeth, only to have this person abandon you within a month in the middle of the night on your birthday, would have totally just moved on by now. Sure, those kind of sudden highs and sudden lows in quick succession wouldn’t leave any long lasting trauma whatsoever/s

"Callum is soo obsessed with Rayla. He's still hung up on her after two years. Normal people would move on. He's such a simp."

Meanwhile Rayla:

Just an FYI, I'm not saying Callum doesn't love Rayla. He clearly does. But Rayla is WAAAAAAAAY more obsessed with him than the other way around.

[theredhairedmonkey]

So like...

Should we...really take Viren at his word here?

One the one hand he says "in the name of love, you will do terrible things"

While on the other we have to do terrible things by sacrificing love

I know I've called this a retcon for the sake of Claudia's development (and even a good/necessary one at that), but I think we should be Watsonian about this for a second: what the above shows is that K'ppar is ultimately right, that Viren will say or do whatever gives him more power, and deftly switching between the two stances lets him avoid being called out on his hypocrisy.

He'll usually tow the "I would do for my family" line with his kids because he's asking them to do what's best for the family (and by "family" he means "me"). But, when he does something that seems to put his family at risk (like risk Soren's life to get the egg), he changes his tune to "well let's put all that family and love stuff aside because what really matters is humanity." Viren also tailors his discourse to his audience: he'll tell duty-bound Amaya that he cares about humanity above all else, but when speaking to his mentor figure who expresses care for Viren's children, Viren shifts his focus back to the importance of family.

Basically, it's all just a bunch of BS up until s5. Which is a pretty notable, since it's only when Viren actually hits a turning point, when his compassion for his family becomes truly genuine and selfless, does he turn away from Dark Magic. He still has a lot to atone for, bit he took the first step in atonement:

Sincerity

#tdp #the dragon prince #viren #aaravos #claudia #soren

[theredhairedmonkey]

TDP S6 spoiler!!!!!

[theredhairedmonkey]

Bravo

Questionable Things Callum Has Done

Since some people think that Callum is this perfect, flawless uwu mage who's never done a wrong thing ever, I thought it was important to break down all the questionable, morally dubious, and even problematic things he's done over the series.

So without further ado:

Cannibalism: Ate up all your faves.

2. Murder: His looks could kill.

3.Robbery: Stole our (and Rayla's) heart

4. Arson: His eyes light up the whole world

4. Recklessness: Bossing to hard

5. Broken Bones: From carrying the weight of TDP on his back

So there you have it. All of Callum's many, many crimes. As a fandom we CANNOT keep letting him get away with this!

#tdp #callum #tdp callum #the dragon prince

[theredhairedmonkey]

This was a huge pain in the butt to get done, that background fought me. I’m pleased with what I’ve done though. I’m wondering if star magic and dark magic are somewhat connected in some way and the path Callum seems to be taking (more forced to take given what happened in S5) gave me the idea to draw him falling from primal sky magic, the one thing he wanted to do because it felt right, into a mix of dark (and star magic if they are indeed connected), something he doesn’t want to do but ultimately has to to save the people he cares about.

[theredhairedmonkey]

Callum's PTSD

"...and that terrifies you."

#tdp #the dragon prince #callum #rayla #rayllum #aaravos

[theredhairedmonkey]

Hey y'all, just as a brief PSA, a bunch of us have started a Discord for Callum (mainly to talk about things other than how "morally dubious" he is lol). If anyone is interested, see the link below:

#callum #the dragon prince #tdp #rayla #rayllum

[theredhairedmonkey]

She does stumble and eventually collapse from this, but I think that’s actually due to the fact that the fang thing she was using was venomous. Not enough to kill her (or at least not enough that she couldn’t heal herself off-screen), but still enough to be a problem.

bonus resistance to piercing damage runs in the family

[theredhairedmonkey]

So, two things can be true at once:

It can be true that dark magic is generally not a good thing, represents a sinister and corrupting influence, and generally depletes and harms the person casting it.

It can also be true that the representative powers of Xadia 1000 years ago didn't much care about these things outside of a pretext, since the real reason their reaction was so hostile was as follows:

There's always been a tension between the fact that Xadia hated dark magic to such an extent centuries prior that all uses were considered horrifying, but in the present you have individual elves like Finnegrin and Terry (both wildly different in temperament and morality) who are completely fine with it. But while I hesitate to use ToX as a canon source, this one line above is key to breaking the paradox - dark magic indeed leads to terrible things...for the caster. But the real concern from Xadia (at least from actors like Sol Regem) is how it disrupted the balance of power where the arch dragons were on top and humans were on the bottom. This is why elves like Terry and Finnegrin - people with no real stake in the status quo - have no qualms about it.

Because like dark magic itself, the motive in Xadia behind opposing it really came down to power.

#tdp #the dragon prince #dark magic #terry #claudia #finnegrin #sol regem

[theredhairedmonkey]

Props to the cameraman who got kicked in the face for this shot.

this screenshot FUCKS yall

[theredhairedmonkey]

The One Time

Aaravos, having taken control of Callum's body, tightened his grip around Rayla, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "Poor, naive Rayla," he taunted, his voice a twisted amalgamation of Callum's and his own. "Can't you see? Callum is no different from any other human mage. They all succumb to the temptation of knowledge and power, and Dark Magic is the ultimate treasure trove of each."

Rayla struggled against the constriction, her eyes blazing with defiance. "No!" she spat. "Not him. I fell in love with a human mage who defied dark magic, learned an Arcanum, and helped protect the Dragon Prince. From what I know about Viren and Claudia, these people are extremely different. I know the mage I love, and he is no villain."

Aaravos chuckled, a dark and malevolent sound that sent shivers down Rayla's spine. "Oh, you poor, misguided elf. All human mages eventually come to me, seeking the gifts that only I can provide. It's only a matter of time before Callum realizes the true power that lies within him. If he could only have someone to teach him..."

Rayla's eyes narrowed as a realization dawned upon her. "Wait a minute," she said, her voice growing stronger despite the constriction. "You make it sound like this is the one time where the human mage is actually good, and you're the bad guy who has to force his will on them."

Aaravos' smile faltered. "What?"

Emboldened by his reaction, Rayla pressed on. "That's it, isn't it? That's why you're so desperate to control Callum. Because for once, the great Aaravos is wrong, and the human mage is the hero instead!"

Aaravos' eyes flashed with anger, his grip tightening around Rayla's throat. But even as he sought to silence her, Rayla could see the cracks forming in his facade, the doubt creeping into his voice. "You think you know him so well," he sneered, his words laced with a hint of desperation. "But you don't know anything!"

With a flick of his head, Aaravos sent Rayla flying across the room, her body slamming into the wall with a sickening thud. Rayla struggled to get up, her limbs shaking from the impact, but Aaravos was already advancing on her, his hand raised to strike again.

"I'm…not…wrong!" he roared, his voice rising to a fevered pitch. "I'M. NOT. THE. BAD. GUY!"

But even as he prepared to deliver the final blow, Aaravos' control over Callum's body began to waver. The young mage's consciousness,. fueled by Rayla's unwavering faith in him and seeing her life on the line, fought against the dark elf's possession.

With a final, defiant cry, Callum broke free from Aaravos' grasp, his eyes clearing as he regained control of his body. Rayla, released from the constriction, rushed to his side, embracing him tightly as they both sank to the ground.

Rayla knew her blades would never be able to so much as scratch Aaravos. Nevertheless, she hit him where it hurts most.

#callum #rayla #rayllum #aaravos #the dragon prince #tdp

[theredhairedmonkey]

Adding to the fact that Sarai is the one to actually carry out killing the Titan despite being most disapproving of it, I think it is fitting that Callum is also the most vocally disapproving of Dark Magic yet if ultimately the one who uses it, twice. Even though Sarai's moral reasons for not wanting to kill the Titan are more similar to Ezran and not Callum, but I digress.

Even though non of the main trio have any affection for Dark Magic, it looks quite clear that two of the three are at least willing to let it slide.

The first time Callum uses Dark Magic, Ezran never expressed any outrage or contempt, just concern for Callum's well-being. He even chastises Rayla for scolding him over it.

Speaking of, while Rayla does express outrage she ultimately overlooks it as well ("it doesn't matter what you did before"). Callum is more important to her.

But Callum...

Doesn't overlook it, and even his scant use of it haunts him to the present day. The moral issues involved in Dark Magic weigh on Callum more so than it does Ezran and Rayla.

And yet he's the one who uses it. And lives with the consequences.

#callum #rayla #ezran #rayllum #the dragon prince #tdp

[theredhairedmonkey]

The most interesting bit about the hunt for the Titan's heart isn't so much the ethics of it (was it right or wrong), but how it shows three very diverse personalities and stances on Dark Magic, and how DM is so sinisterly tempting that all three personalities come around to it.

You got:

-Your Pragmatists: Viren wants the Titan's heart because it provides a practical solution. One spell and *poof!* no famine. Dark Magic is just a tool, no different from a socket wrench for these guys.

-Your TINAs (There Is No Alternative): Harrow doesn't seem super thrilled about Dark Magic but he realizes it's better than the alternative, which is to say, thousands of people starve to death. Highlighted by him telling Sarai "we have no choice" despite having no moral argument against what she says.

-Your Ride or Die's: Sarai strongly disapproves of dark magic (specifically because of the innocent life that has to die for it), but she's willing to go along with it because she wants to be there for her husband and support him in his decision.

This makes what happens next most interesting: despite being the most disapproving of Dark Magic, it is Sarai who ultimately kills the Titan, Sarai who ultimately goes back to save the one person who can actually do the spell, and Sarai who is the only on of the three to die. Which I think highlights something that goes beyond how someone might feel about Dark Magic and instead highlights something sinister about it: anyone can come around to it.

#tdp #the dragon prince #viren #sarai #harrow

[theredhairedmonkey]

Now hear me out:

#tdp #the dragon prince #rayla #viren #tdp rayla