hannibal, 03x07 henry lévy, the young woman and death (1900) hannibal, 02x10 hannibal, 03x02

Sebastian Vettel & Michael Schumacher // ROC 2007 ◆ ROC 2008

Wait shit hold on a minute in the beginning Hinata and Kageyama were trying to play volleyball alone and it wasn’t until they came together with their whole team that they became the players they wanted to be. Hold on.

“It’s been a blast, sir.”

.

Chenford’s 🥰🥰 look: 3x09 vs. 3x11

btw i AM gatekeeping tgf from ppl who havent read the book bc i litcherally dont trust you

went kinda feral about deltarune chapter 2 apologies to my mutuals i just had to know the Deep Lore

tell me that he loves him without telling me that he loves him

G U Y S

ALEX CLAIRMONT DIAZ AT KENSINGTON PALACE AFTER HENRY GHOSTED HIM

So…quick question…WHAT?

unexpected parallels: morgana & kara

Thankfully I follow cool people and seem to have avoided most of the dredged-up tommy v. techno discourse? Thanks guys ily

The Thief and the Tinker, Part 4: Circles and Cycles

part 3

Part 4

Viren: *smirks and plinks Runaan's coin to Ethari*

Ethari, furious: You throw another Moonshadow at me and I'm gonna lose it.

Circles and Cycles

Angst rating: 8/10

Back to Ethari, because we're not done with him yet. Ethari is soft, but he isn't weak. He won't be a willing pawn for Viren. He loves Runaan to the point of invention, and his devotion is more constant than the moon itself. He'll agree to do what Viren says, and he'll be Very Sad. But his spirit is in no way broken. Viren bribing him with the coins containing his family will only have the opposite effect. It'll give Ethari something to fight for.

We could get Focused Chaos Ethari. We could get Angery Trickster Ethari. We could get Rules, What Rules? Ethari. Let him try to steal the coins, try to break them, try to kill Viren, and be stymied at every turn, until he settles and seems cowed. And then all he does is craft his way out of the problem.

What if we are gifted with Iron Man Elf Ethari, who pretends to build a fake Key for Viren, but meanwhile he's really building a coinbuster with whatever he can get his hands on - primal stones, magically imbued gemstones, stolen artifacts, his own arcanum, his own reputation as the Master Craftsman of the Silvergrove. He'll use almost - almost - anything, to stop Viren and free his family.

Ethari may have to choose between those two things, though. And he's a hero, deep down, just like his family, just like his daughter. If he has to choose, he'll choose to stop Viren and save Xadia. He'll pay the same price as his family has if he must.

He'd let Viren think he was motivated purely by wanting his family back, but Ethari is far too steeped in the illusion and sacrifice for that to be all there is to his motives. It's a so-close-and-yet-so-far thing, how he and Viren almost embody the same ideals. Almost. Ethari would take one look at Viren, who just burnt down his whole Forest, he'd see the biggest threat in Xadia, and he'd say anything to get a chance to stop this juggernaut of destruction from getting his hands on whatever that ultimate power really is, locked behind that missing key. If he has to abandon his people and bawl his eyes out to convince Viren he's in, then he will.

And Viren wouldn't make it easy for him. He knows clever when he sees it. He went through all this trouble to persuade Ethari to work with him. He would need to keep Ethari as off-balance as possible to ensure that he keeps working as he should.

Angsty jewelry, anyone?

Viren giving Ethari his husband in pendant form to remind him what he's working for, when Viren and Ethari both know full well that only dark magic can open the hellcoins. Ethari wearing another pendant of his love, except it's not a metaphor this time. It's literally his love, in a coin around his neck.

Viren would love making Ethari stay close to him of his own free will if he ever hoped to free Runaan. Making people bind themselves to you is a big power flex. Remember that TDP stream future-season teaser note about Bait being in a creepy restraint in a future season?

This card is written on in all-caps, so that really could be "Bait" or "bait," or--knowing this show--both. Viren's been using Runaan as bait for Ethari all along. Putting his coin in a dark magic pendant casing for Ethari to wear would be a great parallel for that. Oh god. Oh man.

Maybe he'll stab the coin's scary casing right through that circle on Ethari's chest, right over his heart, make that Iron Man reference really obvious. Ethari also losing his shirt at some point, for angsty Viren-related reasons? It's more likely than you think. I mean... Ethari is literally involved in both forms of forging at this point. Shirt's gotta come off for uhhhh work reasons. And because he's hot. Because of all the forging. Mmhmm. I mean how else are we finally going to discover what his markings look like this is research I swear

I mentioned that I liked god-tier villains, right? Yeah, this is amazing. I haven't wanted to die and ascend over an idea for quite a while, but Ethari vs Viren in a drawn-out battle of wills would kill me in the best way. Especially since, while it looks like they're essentially fighting for who gets Runaan, they're truly fighting a much larger battle with much higher stakes. They're fighting for the future itself. It's an epic struggle between the Narrative of Strength and the Narrative of Love. And we've seen what happens, over and over, when the Narrative of Strength gets to call the shots.

On a meta note: If Ruthari's story arc isn't a love letter from one trauma survivor to another, and on a broader scope to all survivors who see it, I don't know what is. Sometimes life just chews us up and spits us out and we can't stop it and it breaks us. But sometimes we can reach out and grasp the chance to help each other, even after that, even when it hurts a lot, because we know what it means to be loved, and to love, and to want a safer future for each other and for people we'll never meet. The future is worth standing together for, helping each other back up for, fighting side by side for, even if you can't see how it'll end, or even how to begin. We are stronger together, and sometimes we need to fight for our "together" before we can fight for anything else. And that's worth it, every time.

This is glorious, it's beautiful, it's tragic, it's amazing, it makes me want to dance, it makes me want to scream into the void, it makes me want to slap someone with a semi truck. No, someone specific, don't worry, and he super deserves it.

Because Ethari is going to win. He was always going to win. He's soft, and he's clever, and he hasn't forgotten what love means. It's what he's fighting for. Not power, not control. Love. He doesn't want to dictate Runaan's future or anyone else's. He just wants his husband--and everyone else--to have one at all.

So he's going to win.

What thwarting Viren looks like, I couldn't possibly guess. TDP is no stranger to angst, so there will probably be a high cost involved in outwitting the dark mage. Maybe not everyone can be rescued from the coins. Maybe Ethari will lose his life, or his soul, or his vision, or something else really angsty. Viren could even kill him and resurrect him as a smoky craftsman, or a zombie craftsman, or something equally biddable but horrible. The only thing I'm sure of is that Ethari would never willingly make a working Key of Aaravos Ethari as long as there's a chance Viren could possess it. But I do believe that if he gets the right opportunity while he's busy saving the world from Viren's dark intentions, he'll break his husband's hellcoin open somehow and set him free, even if he has to smile at the devil to do it.

Ethari understands the difference between "you can" and "therefore you should." He might sacrifice his own world to save his husband, but he'd never sacrifice someone else's world. That's one of the Moonshadow cultural limits I've noticed: they accept boundaries when it comes to other people's autonomous rights, especially regarding life and death.

These limits could get pushed. Ethari will be under great duress and emotional strain if he goes through this kind of interaction with Viren. And maybe he will choose some dark things. Everyone else has. But I'm placing all my eggs in the basket labeled "Saved By Love." Either I'm right, or I'll get the best angst omelets in the universe. And I do love omelets. A villain invented them, you know. ;)

Another support for Ethari not making the key for Viren: the real Key exists!

Callum has it right now. The plot doesn't need Ethari's key (yet? ever?), but it does need Ethari to learn what he's made of, to stand up for something, or against something, or both at once. And once he learns what he will and won't do and the universe has rewarded his discovery with the return of his beloved husband then Ethari will be ready to take on whatever else the plot has in mind for him.

Depending on the plan, all of these events could happen in S4, as a setup for even bigger things to follow. Viren's wishes can be thwarted here and the show's overall tension will only continue to rise. It would let Ethari flex yes pls his skills so we know who he is, it would show how driven Viren can be for a long-term goal, it would let Claudia saunter further downwards, it would reveal some human/Moonshadow history, and it would resolve the seasons-long tension regarding Runaan's fate, allowing for the cycle of speculation, feels, angst, and Ruthari fanart to begin again. ;) Viren would need to find another way to pursue his long-term goal. And Callum's Key will get a little more clarity on just how important it is to the fate of the world - which will make everything he does, and everyone he talks to, and anyone who knows what he's carrying, intensely important.

Nyx is gonna steal it isn't she, omg chaos birb

To Viren, Ethari was a main course, meant to be devoured and consumed in his lifelong quest for something that will finally satisfy. But to Ethari, Viren was just empty calories to be passed over in favor of ordering his perennial favorite dish, one more time.

Once Ethari escapes Viren's clutches with as much of his family as he can rescue, Viren may turn back to looking for the real Key, especially if someone's seen it recently. Hunting a kid probably seems easier than hunting a full-grown Moonshadow craftsman who just outsmarted him. okay so maybe Nyx stealing it would be a good thing and save Callum's life

Ethari could go on to help repair the Sunforge, or rebuild the Moonhenge, or work on constructing Moonshadow villages in Katolis if he hasn't been ghosted for abandoning everyone after the forest fire. He might build magical devices for any number of reasons, to help all kinds of characters. Hopefully, wherever he goes, he'll have Runaan with him, in some way, for at least a little while. Cycles be like, and I feel like Runaan will not want to remain still for long, for whatever reason. Does he need revenge, atonement, justice, a new body, to find Rayla, to find Ezran? He'll be back in action as soon as he can, I think.

Okay, but, I'm so soft at the thought of a scene where Runaan and Ethari come before King Ezran. The husbands tried to save their people Runaan's way, the old way, and it only continued to endanger them. Following the cycle, as Moonshadows do, was the wrong move. But the son of the last human Runaan killed reached out with mercy and broke a thousand years of suffering and sorrow and hatred. Ezran did what Runaan couldn't: he saved the Moonshadow elves from total destruction. And that, more than anything else in the world, could soften one very broody assassin's heart toward humans again.

What would Runaan do, if his heart truly changed toward humans? What would he say to Ezran? I could see him struggling for a long moment before dropping to one knee to pledge his heart as he once had to do before the Dragon Throne. He doesn't know any other way but to serve. Ezran, reading the whole room and everyone's feelings before he tells Runaan that No, we don't do that here. That he's free, and free means free. No chains, no oaths. Just trust and friendship. He should get to make his own decisions for a change, even though that can be hard and scary sometimes. Runaan being genuinely scared, because that's too much freedom. But he's not alone. He has Ethari, and Ezran, and Rayla, and Callum, and their people, and their allies. And no matter what else happens, the people of Katolis - elven and human - will find a way forward. Together.

part 5

The Thief and the Tinker, Part 3: I See Fire

part 2

Part 3

Viren: Well how do you suggest we get him out?

Claudia: *grins, brandishes marshmallow on toasting fork* Unharmed is just another kind of harmed

Viren: Claudia no

Claudia: Claudia YES

I See Fire

Angst rating: 9/10

Viren is clever enough not to take the Silvergrove on alone, no matter how badly he wants Ethari to make him a magic key. Aaravos could be cooking in that pod for a while longer, but Viren still has a trustworthy and badass ally at his side.

Oh yeah, it's Claudia Time again!

Claudia is a powerful and imaginative dark mage, and she has the tainted Sun staff. So, you're the magefam, and you've made it to Xadia, to the edges of the Moonshadow Forest. And all you need to do to get the power of your dreams is to threaten one soft craftsman. But how do you find one specific Moonshadow elf in a hidden Moonshadow village somewhere in the middle of a giant spooky magical forest?

You burn him out.

Credit once again to@random-fandom-ramble for reminding me of this forest fire headcanon, because it fits so well. and so I don't get all the blame for this one, lol

Because see, that's not ordinary fire. Oh, no. That's dark magic fire. We've seen that before. It leaves permanent scars. Remember Sol Regem's eyes?

That's going to be the landscape when Claudia's fire gets through with the Moonshadow elves' home. Where I live on the US West Coast, they name forest fires, and if they combine, they get called complexes. So maybe we can name this fire the Dark Tragedy Complex? Because I do have to wonder... you could start a dark magic forest fire easily with a tainted Sun staff, but how do you put it out?

Two things are going to happen if these events should unfold. One is angsty. The other is also angsty but then amazing.

Firstly, Viren is going to get what he wants. He'll find Ethari, whose tree burned down :(. He'll show him the coins, and he'll offer a trade. Build what he wants and make it work, and Ethari can have his family back, uncoined and free.

And Ethari will say yes.

He'll say yes no matter what anyone else tries to persuade him to do, and I hope they do try, because see: Ethari has to make it look good. He has to make it look like he's all in on Viren's plan, to Viren. Even if that means turning his back on his people in their time of greatest need.

Secondly, the Moonshadow elves are going to be collectively homeless and bereft, hungry, injured, terrified, angry. They will have nowhere to go. They will be a people without a home. And no one else in Xadia will help them. Maybe they're too terrified to hide Ethari's people in case doing so brings Viren down on them, too. We've seen how ordinary elves flee in terror from dark magic. Maybe they're all fighting other issues, too. Viren knows all about stretching resources too far during times of crisis. Whatever the case, there will be no welcome anywhere in Xadia for the Moonshadow elves of the Moonshadow Forest.

But here's where it gets amazing. Because one hand will reach out. One small hand, from across the border. Good King Ezran will stand up on the seat of his throne and say, "You can stay here. I have forests. You're tired, you're hungry. You need medicine. Let me help."

And I'm gonna cry like a little baby.

How many cycles does this break, how many circles does it complete? Moonshadow elves used to live in Katolis before the border was created. When humans were under threat of total annihilation, the Moonshadow leader's daughter spoke up and asked for mercy. That mercy came in the form of land reassignment, and the Moonshadow elves had to give up their ancestral home, their Nexus, and travel east across the new Border. But that mercy got paired with justice, and the life-loving Moon Druids probably had to swear some kind of blood promise to keep an eye on the humans forevermore, and to kill any individuals who got out of hand, as if their sins were the Moonshadows' responsibility now.

That's got to breed a little resentment, a little superiority. "Look what we sacrificed for you, and this is how you act. Ungrateful." And maybe that was partially Luna Tenebris's goal: to hold to her vision of justice, she had to make the elves who shared her arcanum feel a little resentment. Moonshadows love life, but we can't have them being too soft to keep Xadia safe from dark mages, now, can we? I will never stop cackling over dragon politics okay, never

But the Moonshadow elves never figured on King Ezran. A soft boy who refused to let his father's assassination harden his heart, because every life is genuinely important to him. I've seen headcanons for Ezran getting the Sun, Earth, Ocean, and Stars arcanum. How about Moon, too? Because this is very Ethari of him, and if these stories of Viren's plan and the Moonshadow elves' displacement were actually to happen in tandem, the contrast between Ezran's soft choice and Ethari's hard one would be mindblowing.

Ezran completes the circle by inviting the Moonshadow elves to return to Katolis, to their ancestral home. They left long ago, paying the price for an act of mercy, but they were welcomed back by the mercy of humans, repaid after a thousand years, repaid in the face of tragedy. Tragedy on all sides. Tragedy Ezran wants to stop from happening, by being brave and caring and soft, and by being the first to break this thousand-year cycle between Katolis and the Moonshadow elves.

Rayla is his friend. And these are her people. It won't matter what they've done, only that they need help in a time of great desperation. And of course he'll help them. He's Ezran, and he's Katolis's greatest treasure.

Oh, what's that you say? Inviting the Moonshadow elves to settle in Katolis again would make it easier for Rayla to live with Callum in the future? Oh gosh, how about that? What a deal. *smug matchmaker noises*

And once the Moonshadow elves understand that they're safe and begin to trust Ezran--which could happen very quickly, because saving a Moonshadow elf's life when you didn't need to is a really fast way to prove you're trustworthy--maybe Ezran will be encouraged to take the next step toward peace, and eventually other elves and dragons will come to meet together to talk it over. And Ez will offer them jelly tarts, which they will love.

Back to Ethari, because we're not done with him yet. Ethari is soft, but he isn't weak. He won't be a willing pawn for Viren. He loves Runaan to the point of invention, and his devotion is more constant than the moon itself. He'll agree to do what Viren says, and he'll be Very Sad. But his spirit is in no way broken. Viren bribing him with the coins containing his family will only have the opposite effect. It'll give Ethari something to fight for.

We could get Focused Chaos Ethari. We could get Angery Trickster Ethari. We could get Rules, What Rules? Ethari. Let him try to steal the coins, try to break them, try to kill Viren, and be stymied at every turn, until he settles and seems cowed. And then all he does is craft his way out of the problem. What if we are gifted with Iron Man Ethari, who pretends to build a fake Key for Viren, but meanwhile he's really building a coinbuster with whatever he can get his hands on - primal stones, magically imbued gemstones, stolen artifacts, his own arcanum, his own reputation as the Master Craftsman of the Silvergrove. He'll use almost- almost - anything, to stop Viren and free his family.

Ethari may have to choose between those two things, though. And he's a hero, deep down, just like his family, just like his daughter. If he has to choose, he'll choose to stop Viren and save Xadia. He'll pay the same price as his family has if he must.

He'd let Viren think he was motivated purely by wanting his family back, but Ethari is far too steeped in the illusion and sacrifice for that to be all there is to his motives. It's a so-close-and-yet-so-far thing, how he and Viren almost embody the same ideals. Almost. Ethari would take one look at Viren, who just burnt down his whole Forest, he'd see the biggest threat in Xadia, and he'd say anything to get a chance to stop this juggernaut of destruction from getting his hands on whatever that ultimate power really is, locked behind that missing key. If he has to abandon his people and bawl his eyes out to convince Viren he's in, then he will.

And Viren wouldn't make it easy for him. He knows clever when he sees it. He went through all this trouble to persuade Ethari to work with him. He would need to keep Ethari as off-balance as possible to ensure that he keeps working as he should.

Angsty jewelry, anyone: Viren giving Ethari his husband in pendant form to remind him what he's working for, when Viren and Ethari both know full well that only dark magic can open the hellcoins. Ethari wearing another pendant of his love, except it's not a metaphor this time. It's literally his love, in a coin around his neck.

Viren would know that Ethari would have to stay close to Viren of his own free will if he ever hoped to free Runaan. And making people bind themselves to you is a big power flex. Remember that TDP stream future-season teaser note about Bait being in a creepy restraint in a future season?

This card is written on in all-caps, so that really could be "Bait" or "bait," or--knowing this show--both. Viren's been using Runaan as bait for Ethari all along. Putting his coin in a dark magic pendant casing for Ethari to wear would be a great parallel for that. Oh god. Oh man.

Maybe he'll stab the coin's scary casing right through that circle on Ethari's chest, right over his heart, make that Iron Man reference really obvious. Ethari also losing his shirt at some point, for angsty Viren-related reasons? It's more likely than you think. I mean... Ethari is literally involved in both forms of forging at this point. Shirt's gotta come off for uhhhh work reasons. And because he's hot. Because of all the forging. I mean how else are we finally going to discover what his markings look like

I mentioned that I liked god-tier villains, right? Yeah, this is amazing. I haven't wanted to die and ascend over an idea for quite a while, but Ethari vs Viren in a drawn-out battle of wills would kill me in the best way. Especially since, while it looks like they're essentially fighting for who gets Runaan, they're truly fighting a much larger battle with much higher stakes. They're fighting for the future itself. It's an epic struggle between the Narrative of Strength and the Narrative of Love. And we've seen what happens, over and over, when the Narrative of Strength gets to call the shots.

On a meta note: If Runaan and Ethari's story arc isn't a love letter from one trauma survivor to another, and on a broader scope to all survivors who see it, I don't know what is. Sometimes life just chews us up and spits us out and we can't stop it and it breaks us. But sometimes we can reach out and grasp the chance to help each other, even after that, even when it hurts a lot, because we know what it means to be loved, and to love, and to want a safer future for each other and for people we'll never meet. The future is worth standing together for, helping each other back up for, fighting side by side for, even if you can't see how it'll end, or even how to begin. We are stronger together, and sometimes we need to fight for our "together" before we can fight for anything else. And that's worth it, every time.

This is glorious, it's beautiful, it's tragic, it's amazing, it makes me want to dance, it makes me want to scream into the void, it makes me want to slap someone with a semi truck. No, someone specific, don't worry, and he super deserves it.

Because Ethari is going to win. He was always going to win. He's soft, and he's clever, and he hasn't forgotten what love means. It's what he's fighting for. Not power, not control. Love. He doesn't want to dictate Runaan's future, or anyone else's. He just wants his husband--and everyone else--to have one at all.

So he's going to win.

What beating Viren looks like, I can't guess yet. TDP is no stranger to angst, so there will probably be a high cost involved in thwarting the dark mage. Maybe not everyone can be rescued from the coins. Maybe Ethari will lose his life, or his soul, or his vision, or something else really angsty. Viren could even kill him and resurrect him as a smoky craftsman, or a zombie craftsman, or something equally biddable but horrible. The only thing I'm sure of is that Ethari would never willingly make a working Key of Aaravos Ethari as long as there's a chance Viren could possess it. But I do believe that if he gets the right opportunity while he's busy saving the world from Viren's dark intentions, he'll break his husband's hellcoin open somehow and set him free, even if he has to smile at the devil to do it.

part 4

The Thief and the Tinker, Part 2: Out-crafting the Craftsman

Part 1

Part 2

Aaravos: Oh, Viren, I'm terribly sorry, but here our ways must p-

Viren: Thanks for the lift into Xadia, O Great One, but I gotta go. Late for a date. *saunters off*

Aaravos: *furious sparkly elf noises* HOW DARE YOU BREAK UP WITH ME WHEN I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU

Out-crafting the Craftsman

Angst rating: 6/10

So, Viren has met the perfect craftsman, but the perfect craftsman doesn't want the job of crafting a fake Key. Viren needs the power locked away in that vault, though. What's a clever dark mage to do?

Research, of course.

Even if Viren and Ethari met alone in some distant town, Ethari could have been wearing enough clues - his horn cuffs, his necklace - for Viren to piece together the best way to motivate him. Moonshadow elves don't need to say anything out loud if you can read their silent messages, and Viren is good at research. He'd learn as much as he could about Moonshadow elves before meeting Ethari in the first place.

Turning the leader of the Moonshadow assassins into bait is no mean feat, but Viren was up for the task. All he needed was to be patient, and to keep his eyes open. Learning about Runaan would've told Viren that he had married best friends who had a daughter. He might just have asked around in some place like Hollow Wood, where humans were tolerated as long as they behaved and everyone could pretend they weren't there. With careful moves and the right opportunities, and maybe an enterprising ally or two, Viren could learn Runaan's markings, his legends, his exploits.

His weak spots.

Once he knows Runaan's reputation, he'll be able to deduce that destroying Laindrin's reputation would drive Runaan to act, if Viren could manage some heinous crime at the same time. But, how to commit a terrible sin and lure your real target's husband out of the Silvergrove without actually becoming said assassin's victim?

Sarai's last breath. Viren's pragmatism, coming in clutch.

But he doesn't have what he needs to finish the spell that would give them even a chance at killing Thunder, or he'd likely have finished it long ago, for some other purpose. Nine years is a long time to hold off vengeance if you could do it anytime you wanted. He needs a Unicorn's horn, and he doesn't have what it takes to get it.

But Claudia does. Is the fact that she could collect it while Viren couldn't really some kind of virginity thing, or is it more of an innocence thing? Because innocence makes more sense in the context of the TDP world. Claudia had maybe never killed anything before, so her soul was innocent in that way, and the Unicorn would approach her. And Viren patiently taught her how to kill it when it did.

On the other hand, there is the whole creepy purity ring thing and daddy-daughter dances and "save your purity for your father until you can give it to your husband" schtick, and if TDP took that unholy toxicity and added "...unless your dad weaponizes it at a Unicorn first" then who am I to complain, that's brilliant.

Don't worry. We'll get back to Claudia, too.

Now, Viren has what he needs to motivate Harrow to invade Xadia, and he works his emotions relentlessly until Harrow gives in to his hatred. Their two-man ride to the Spire gets Viren right there in the room with Lain and Tiadrin - his next big step. Overhead, Thunder is circling, working up a storm to hatch his son. Did Viren already know about the egg, about this day, or not? I'm guessing yes. Viren wouldn't leave it to chance to go up against one adult dragon instead of two. And destroying the egg keeps him safe. Him, Harrow, Katolis, and all his plans there. Taking Zym was never the goal, and everything that's happened with the egg, the mirror, and Aaravos in the first three seasons may be nothing more than Viren getting slightly sidetracked! Ahgod, that's hilarious, I love it.

Viren gets a very good look at Tiadrin when he captures her in ice, and he's ridiculously smug. Everything's going according to plan.

He's quick to decide to coin Lain and Tiadrin, too. That could have been a spur of the moment decision, because Viren is clever like that. But two things come to mind:

he could've killed them instead of using ice. He could've killed them after he trapped them in ice. He could even have waited another minute for Lain to suffocate to death. He did none of those, though. He trapped them whole, and he acted to save Lain's life when doing nothing would've earned him one less enemy.

casting the coin spell requires a black candle, and that's probably less likely to be among his supplies when he travels than all his various animal pieces - unless he brought one on purpose, because coining Laindrin was his secret plan in going to the Storm Spire all along.

Coins safely in his pouch, Viren fakes the egg's death and retreats to Katolis to await Runaan's vengeful arrival. How do you fake a dead egg anyway? Well, the ashy powder of destroyed Moonshadow bodies is probably indistinguishable from the ashy powder of a destroyed dragon egg. Viren just has to get the volume right and cart the rest away. Wonder what he did with it....

Anyhoo, now Viren has time to try to hatch the real egg in the oven in his dungeon, to no avail. He sends guards into the woods every month on the nights before a full moon, expecting one or more of them to fail to report in come morning, telling him that Moonshadow assassins are going to strike.

He acquired that two-headed soulfang on the way back from the Storm Spire. Did he get it from Nyx? Very possibly! But how convenient it is that he acquired a snake that could save Harrow's life in a way that specifically thwarts Moonshadow assassins, just a day or two after making a move that he knew would endanger it with Moonshadow assassins. Does that mean he made his move to capture Laindrin before it really sank in that his friend Harrow might actually die? Maybe. Between Harrow and power, Viren is hard pressed to choose a favorite. Or maybe he just placed an order with Nyx on the way past the Midnight Desert and picked up his delivery from her on the way back out of Xadia, giving her a few days to find his unusual request in the desert. But Claudia thought of the soul switching spell, not Viren. Right?

Maybe. That's what we saw. Viren seems likelier to have had the idea all along, and he knew Harrow would say no to it, so he didn't mention it. Viren doesn't mention everything to Harrow, and vice versa. He could have planned to bring it up at a critical point and try to emotionally wrestle Harrow into agreeing to it, like he did with killing Thunder. That tactic does seem to work. But when Claudia thought of it too, of course Viren had to say it was a good idea. He'd already had it himself. He took the idea to Harrow, perhaps before he'd found that critical moment, and tried to lean on their emotional bond as he always did. But Harrow wasn't in the right frame of mind, and it blew up in Viren's face.

Whatever happened in that moment, behind closed doors, Viren finally had to choose between friendship and power. From the novelization, it seems clear he chose power. And with friendship out of the way, Viren was more able to focus on his old long-term goal, and its very next step: make sure Runaan survives the battle that he's traveled all this way to fight.

The assassins came, right on schedule. And there was a battle, chaotic and bloody. And Runaan was the only elven survivor. Viren winning again. Claudia helped Viren spare Runaan by stopping Soren on the balcony, and I wonder just how much she knew about her dad's full plan. Wow, for the first time, I can see a way that Claudia's "more practical uses" doesn't actually mean "spell components."

Claudia stopping Soren by saying, "Brother, can you spare a dime?" is the worst pun I've made in a long time. I do apologize. Mostly to Runaan. Yes, I know, there's a hellcoin reserved just for me at this point. I accept my fate.

The mirror seemed like the point of Viren's interrogations in the dungeon, but it was probably just an opportunistic moment for Viren. He'd had a rough time, having to turn on Harrow, not getting crowned Lord Protector, and learning that the princes were still alive out there to ruin his plans. If people started looking at the events in the Storm Spire, learning why the egg suddenly returned home after apparently being destroyed, they might start questioning Laindrin's betrayal, and Runaan's mission, and that kind of talk would reach Ethari really quick. And then he wouldn't listen when Viren finally popped the question.

Viren needs Ethari as off-balance and vulnerable as possible. Not one shred of hope to distract him or give him the strength to refuse Viren's demand. Viren needs Ethari to stare at his pouch of coined Moonshadow elves as if it contains his entire world, to say yes without thinking, and to remain entirely motivated to do everything Viren tells him to, until Viren gets his hands on What's Behind That Magic Lock.

So: the princes have to die. Xadia cannot know the truth, or Viren may lose the ability to control Ethari before he can get to him. (Just... bless Rayla, so so much. She's already foiled Viren's plans once, and her visiting Ethari at least once before Viren can get to him has saved Ethari's sanity, and maybe his life and his soul and all of Xadia, too. That's my girl.)

All this is on Viren's mind as he tries to bandy words with Runaan. It's no wonder, really, that he just threw his hands in the air and gave up on the stubborn bastard. Runaan was always destined for a hellcoin anyway. Might as well just get to it. (Ouch, so sorry Runaan! You're Legit That Hot but you're just a tool in Viren's hands, huh. Don't worry, you're important to Ethari and to us though!)

Viren's got everyone Ethari loves now... except for Rayla. But let's think about this for a second. If Viren's done enough research to learn how Moonshadow assassin society works, he might have expected Rayla to go on the mission too. He might have planned to coin her alongside Runaan, to show her to Ethari too. And the only thing that saved her was her own soft heart, and then Runaan's soft heart. Rayla is the one who got away. Rayla is the Elf Who Lived. And she's about to make it Viren's problem. God, I love her. Gettim, girl.

Viren collects lots of spell components, just in case he ever needs them. Sure, Aaravos pointed out that he could use the assassins' cremains to scare the other kings and queens into war. But getting the crown somehow was already Viren's plan, because he needed the authority to march an army into Xadia - so he could safely find and threaten Ethari.

What better excuse for war than Vengeance For Harrow? Yes, Vengeance for Various Rulers works, too, okay. But Vengeance For Harrow was Plan A. Marching an army into Xadia, seeking the Silvergrove, striking down the horrible assassins who attacked Viren's best friend, who was just avenging his wife, wouldn't you do the same? Good Guy Viren. Protector of Humanity.

Yet here Viren is, falling to his death off the Storm Spire. Why is he so off course? Well, power is very tasty! And Aaravos Drinks and Knows Things. Viren's not really that off course. He's mining Aaravos for power tips and sources as much as Aaravos is mining Viren for uhhh physical matter to grow a body with?? and personal vengeance maybe??? worm food?????? i mean he did die so

Anyway. Viren isn't entirely the pawn he seems to be. And now that he's lost his staff and his hot elven sorcerer playmate, he's probably going to be even more focused on getting to Ethari, in whatever way is fastest and safest for him. He has less power than he's used to, and he won't feel very safe in Xadia. But there's one thing he's had with him all along, because it's got very good plot armor: his bag of Moonshadow coins. It survived Lux Aurea and a wardrobe change and a fall from the Storm Spire, because Viren made sure that it did.

So here's a guess for S4: Viren's going to head straight for Ethari, in the last place he knew him to be: the Silvergrove. And that's where things go very dark, and very smoky.

Part 3

The Thief and the Tinker: a multipart Viren and Ethari theory

This one's got roots growing in several directions. I'll do my best to keep things succinct, but this will be a multipart post, each with an angst rating:

Part 1 (this post): Master Plan meets Lifelong Dream

Part 2: Out-crafting the Craftsman

Part 3: I See Fire

Part 4: Circles and Cycles

Part 5: Oops, I Did It Again

Part 1

Viren: Do you know how to pick a magical lock?

Ethari: No, but if you hum a few bars I can fake it!

Master Plan Meets Lifelong Dream

Angst rating: 4/10

To begin, this is an expansion of an existing Viren theory I wrote up a while back, in which Viren manipulated events to draw Runaan to Katolis. In that theory, I guessed that he did it purely for answers about the mirror he'd stolen, and that he created his master plan on the spot once he got a good look at Laindrin's face markings.

Now I have more ideas to attach to that theory, both before and after the events in the Storm Spire and the dungeon, which change Viren's motives almost entirely and make him far more clever and hungry than before. God, I love a truly focused and galaxy-brained villain. It's so satisfying when they lose after stymieing protagonists for a good long while.

But Viren hasn't lost yet, and in this theoretical version of the future plot for TDP, he hasn't really begun to enact his master plan, either!

Let me start at the beginning:

Viren's self-worth issues probably started young, especially if he was befriended by a prince. That can do things to a young guy who's trying to prove himself (compare to Meng Yao from MDZS - his earnest tone hiding a constant misuse of facts, his tumble down a long staircase oop). Viren understands that knowledge is power, though, so he studies hard and learns well, hoping to be kept around by powerful people.

And then, as is only natural, he wants to be like those he admires. He wants his own power. But he doesn't believe that he has any, so he keeps his eye out for power that can be taken, possessed, used. That's all dark magic is, really. But the power of dark magic is temporary, fading as soon as the black leaves his eyes. Magical artifacts, now, those tend to stay around. Places of power, they endure. Viren would want these. Primal stones, his relic staff, Nexuses, artifacts, pendants, devices... these outlast any spell. They can be studied, and they can be defended - or destroyed.

Others may have dreamed of crowns and glory. Viren dreams of hardware. Magical hardware that he can hold and control. And I think he has already learned about an ultimate prize: something of great power in Xadia, which has a secret Key that's been lost.

Yes, I mean the thing that the Key of Aaravos is supposed to open. This whole theory turns on the point that Viren already knows it exists, that he's dedicated his life to finding a way to steal it. And I've got an idea for how he thinks he can do it.

It's the kind of plan that builds slowly, over years, and has dozens of steps. But this object, or place, or whatever it is, has been Viren's ultimate goal from the moment he understood what it could do for him. Everything he's done, in the past, in flashbacks, in the main plot, and everything he might do next, is in service to this one goal of possessing this mysterious power. Ingratiating himself with Harrow, Claudia and the unicorn, goading Harrow to kill Avizandum, and yes, even letting Aaravos spit in his eye and lead him into Xadia. Because by the time that happens, Viren has set everything in place, and Xadia is where he already knows he needs to go next.

And as of now, he's there. And maybe his next target doesn't have any idea he's coming, or what horrors he's perpetuated in preparation of their first meeting.

or does he

Yeah, this theory is going to get really dark. Feel free to start blaming @random-fandom-ramble too, though - she reminded me of the fire!

Haha, okay, let's back up just a little bit so I can be clear with what I'm theorizing for Viren.

Viren wants to break into this magical thing in Xadia because he can't find the key anywhere. And he's looked. Probably for years and years, with multiple trips all across the human lands, and probably into Xadia because Viren doesn't understand boundaries, to read scrolls and persuade people to part with their carefully guarded secrets.

I am loving the irony that Harrow, his best friend, has had it all along, and never told him. Maybe those two never once talked about these deep driving forces in their lives! Viren, who seeks this one device that can change his life, and Harrow, who guards this one device that he doesn't quite know what to do with. Did Harrow keep it from Viren on accident, or deliberately? It's way funnier and angstier if it's on accident and these two men just... never managed to speak about these matters that were so very near and dear to their hearts, despite calling each other a close friend.

So, Viren can't find the key. It might've vanished from official records 300 years ago, during the Mage Wars or something. So he searches fruitlessly for a long time before coming up with a better idea than wasting his time chasing less and less likely leads: crafting a new key.

If someone made a magical key once, he reasons, then someone else can make another one, right? All Viren needs to do is to find the perfect craftsman. Someone skilled with mechanics and fine details and magic alike. How hard can that be?

It could've taken him years and many failed attempts to locate people skilled enough to manage what he needed. Viren might've found some elves to motivate in assisting him, and they might not have worked willingly. I mean. He does have an elf skull on his shelf...

But then, one day, Viren hears about a skilled Xadian craftsman, good with enchantments, good with moving parts, a genius at his craft. He's so excited, he's found someone who can actually do what he needs done!

He has to try to contact him. It's of the utmost importance, a critical step in Viren's plan. No matter what it takes, he's got to convince Ethari to make this key for him.

Did he ask straight out, all excited and eager and pushy? I bet he had some kind of line to use on Ethari, all prepared. Something something peace and safety, end the war, everyone's happy, maybe? Appeal to his ego, to his intellect? "You and I, we're the same, no one else can grasp our genius"?

Viren's smooth, and he's memorized a lot of good lines. I bet he thought he could charm Ethari into doing what he wanted, one way or another. Especially if Ethari danced along and amused himself with pretending to listen (or thought he was keeping himself out of trouble by not saying No right off the bat and angering a dark mage).

But in the end, Viren couldn't charm him, and all his appeals fell on deaf ears. Once he truly grasped that he'd never earn Ethari's willing cooperation, he might've decided right then to make Ethari help him, because he needs what's behind that lock!

Such a move is very Viren, very "I know better than you." It would also be a great parallel with how Viren treated Runaan when he wanted answers about the mirror. And while Runaan was instantly "No, actually, fuck YOU" about his refusal to Viren, Ethari's a different elf, and he might have a very different approach to saying No when he must. Maybe he started with hints and demurring, hoping Viren would pick up on his reluctance, had to stand his ground at some point, and Viren accused him of sending mixed messages and got angry anyway, because how dare Ethari not give him what he obviously wanted and deserved all along.

Ah, Viren's character is so very capable of embodying all the metaphors for toxic dating culture. And I'm loving Viren vs. the elf husbands who are too loyal to each other Xadia to fall for his tricks.

Foreshadowy dialogue be like

Viren, mid-bargain: But I'll pay you whatever you want! Please!

Ethari, firmly: There is no coin of any value you could offer me to make me help you.

Viren: *grumpy we'll-see-about-that noises*

(and then we'd all have to wait for the penny to drop. as it were. please, I just want to make cheesy coin puns as a coping mechanism, is that too much to ask?)

Ethari might dance around a bit to avoid being rude (and avoid dying), but even if he found the thrill of the hunt desperately appealing, he'd never knowingly help a dark mage break through a magical lock. Right? Maybe? I think you'd need to hate Xadia to work with a dark mage, if you're an elf. I hope Ethari isn't in such a dark place. He's got enough dark places occupied already.

Alternately, consider this crackier take: Viren finds Ethari in Xadia before he marries Runaan, and he thinks he's making headway with his persuasive arguments, but on a later visit to seal the deal he can't find Ethari anywhere, and when he asks, he learns that his best bet for breaking into the vault of his dreams just married an assassin and disappeared into an invisible village. Cue Viren screeching into the night from a mountaintop like a rabid pterodactyl, and then framing dozens of humans for war crimes so Runaan has to leave home a lot to kill them, in an attempt to break them up so he can finally get Ethari to work for him.

I call it crack but my abuser literally tried that on me and my boyfriend, minus the war crimes. White Guys are great.

We'll come back to Ethari at the end for a big ol' helping of Heavy Angst, but for part 2, I want to explore what Viren might do to get Ethari's cooperation. He's not one to give up, not when he's put so much time and effort into his plan already.

part 2

buddie season 5

what i really feel is going to happen:

-buck and eddie are both having prelims in their relationship but i think eddie and ana will break up first

-buck keeps pestering eddie about his health and possibly the shooting because eddie is clearly trying to forget about it and not dealing with the trauma

-they will have a fight

-eddie (possibly buck but I'm leaning towards eddie) will finally figure out their feelings

-we will have some major pining

-buck and taylor having consistent issues throughout the season due to her job and blowing him off constantly

-more one on one talks similar to the tension scene where buck is jealous fo the christening

-definitely more panic attacks from eddie

-buck witnesses his panic attack and freaks out

that's it for now. this is not in order but this is what i expect/hope to see. i am yearning for some angsty shit that leads to canon buddie

okay but bang the doldrums did Not need to go that hard with the pirate shit in the post-chorus