#thosefiveadoraburrs

[raayllum]

scenes that hit different today after four years of going through immigration with your partner and finally having them receive permanent residence confirmation

[thatartiststudios]

I've been reading the "If Time Is Money" TDP fic as of late and am working on editing it to fit after the Season 4-5 timeline, here's a snippet:

Her curiosity won over. “How did you connect to them?”

He winced. “You’re uh, not gonna like the start of it very much.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Um…” Callum looked anywhere but at her. “We were still in Katolis at that point. Some humans had downed a dragon and were going to well… you know. I didn’t have a primal stone anymore and I was hopeless at sword fighting then, and Rayla… decided she was going to defend the dragon or die trying? So I kinda…” His voice fell away into a mumble Tiadrin couldn’t detect.

“You’re going to have to repeat that,” she said, a tad impatient.

Callum sighed. “I used Dark Magic.”

Her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. “You what?”

“I was fourteen and didn’t know what else to do. I just… I couldn’t just let her die. Even if she hated me for using it forever. So I stole the book of the daughter of my father’s high mage, took a slug, and uh… just did it. And promptly passed out and fell into a coma and almost died. My conscience then was a messy place. I knew that magic was my destiny, but… I turned my back on Dark Magic. And somehow connected to the Sky primal? I think… My mom helped. Somehow.”

Tiadrin softened. She couldn’t approve, but she couldn’t quite find it in her to hold it against him, either. It had been for a good cause, her daughter’s life. She couldn’t begrudge him that. “Well, Rayla very clearly forgave you for it.”

“And I’ve never done it again,” he said quickly, but the regretful look on his face betrayed him.

Tiadrin frowned, “Are you sure?”

Callum sighed, “Alright, I–I did it one other time, we’d stolen something from this pirate captain and gotten captured on his ship on the way to The Sea of the Castout, and he’d been taunting me the whole time about how I’d already done dark magic once. He wanted me to do a spell for him, but I refused and got tortured for my trouble.”

Callum gave her a pleading look. Tiadrin gave him a slight nod, “Go on.”

He continued under her bidding to do so, “He brought me up on deck, and was trying to force me into choosing which of my friends would lose a hand, the price for stealing. Rayla unlocked her cuffs and tried to fight back, but he used a spell on her to freeze her blood in her veins. I’d never heard her scream like that before.”

Callum’s voice broke with those last few words, as it seemed like he was reliving the memory. Tiadrin tried to imagine it, but she couldn’t, she didn’t want to.

“In my anger, I punched the captain right in the nose, and he chained me back up in his quarters, told me he was going to feed Rayla to a sea leviathan. He’d made sure from the start that I had the slug I needed for the chain spell, and I wouldn’t–couldn’t let her slip from my grasp again.”

Tiadrin put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, “You… you won’t hate me for it, will you?”

“Of course not, you saved my daughter, twice. I don’t have to like the process to know that your heart was in the right place.”

[boasamishipper]

if you or a loved one have read @raayllum and @thosefiveadoraburrs‘s fics if time is money or looking for a way to break in, you may be entitled to emotional compensation

[raayllum]

getting to write rayllum being comfy and cozy in the silvergrove set in s7 canon (that "two weeks" line was a god send) really does feel so full circle in the best of ways

[raayllum]

fics of mine to check out if you haven't, a non-comprehensive list (and some co-written with thosefiveadoraburrs)

MULTI-CHAP:

21 days: They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. // Rayllum from 1x03-3x05. 14k, Complete

looking for a way to break in: Canon divergence/AU. In a world where the moral lines of Dark Magic are less evenly divided, Rayla is a Moonshadow elf in the service of the royal family of Katolis. Rayla is Prince Callum's bodyguard AU, slowburn. Complete, 97k.

if heaven and hell decide: Claudia convinces Soren to play the long game. OR: a post 2x03, canon divergence where Claudia and Soren travel with the trio rather than betraying them right away. 53k, Complete

love you again: AU as of S3. A prominent mage and on the cusp of his thirtieth birthday, Callum thinks he’s finally starting to truly leave the past behind. Until a kid claiming to be Rayla’s shows up on his doorstep, that is, asking for his help. Ongoing.

Horizons: Callum and Rayla make their way from the Starscraper to the Nexus. Set during S6; rated E. Twoshot

Teach Me How to Name the Bigger Light: Fanon S6 with a strange amount of overlap with canon S7 and speculative S8. 115k, Ongoing, probably the best thing(s) I've ever written fandom wise

(if time is money then) i'll spend it all for you: Runaan and Rayla's parents are de-coined. Now it's time to adjust to how the world and their daughter has changed, including her relationship with one particular human. 146k, Complete, canon up to S3.

as the poets say: When Amaya is accidentally caught up in a Sunfire prophecy and its subsequent ritual, her and Janai's journey to Mount Helios may finally force the two to confront their feelings for each other. Janaya, twoshot

ONESHOTS:

this fall just might kill me: Callum goes to the Sunfire elves to be purified in hopes of ridding himself of Aaravos' hold on him. It doesn't quite go according to plan. Rayllum, oneshot (canon up to S5), 7k

say the wind won't change on us: Callum discovers that Rayla came back to Katolis, secretly injured with a slow-acting curse, when they're already two weeks deep into sailing the Sea of the Cast Out. Arguments, caretaking, and the search for a cure ensues. 11k

a frightening thought: Soren thinks he may be falling in love with Corvus. This is a problem for more reasons than one. Sorvus, Rayllum, Soren&Callum

Hard to Please: A rumour regarding the prince of Katolis starts when he keeps rejecting proposals. 6k, set during the post s3 timeskip

will not be denied: Per the monarchs of old, King Ezran is visited by Lady Justice in a dream. 1.5k

i care if i am guilty: The Moon primal has its own consequences in store for Rayla’s choices. 3.8k

just wait for me to come home: Canon up until S3. Rayla runs and Callum chases her. It’s their own cycle to break. OR: the post-TTM reunion fic with a whole lot of angst. 16.8k

[raayllum]

also Rayllum having a cute sweet enjoyable time in the Silvergrove, hanging with Ruthari, and Callum reflecting it'd be a "pretty nice life" to have together made my little "if time is money" heart so happy

[raayllum]

like 2k of the next chapter of "pretty nice life" (filling in the s7 runaan-rayla-callum-ethari silvergrove blanks) is done so that should be up sooner rather than later, in the meantime have a snippet:

“Come with me to see her,” Runaan said. “To see her grown. And then we can bring her back home.”  Ethari nodded, a tear leaking from the corner of his eye when he blinked. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. Of course.” Runaan gave his hand a squeeze for courage. They found the two lovers kissing on the tree bridge, the boy in some ridiculous getup.  “Rayla!”  They sprang apart, awkward squawking soon replaced with hesitance, and Callum watching worriedly with big concerned eyes as Rayla was so very herself—placing the burden all on her shoulders in a way that felt all too familiar. Another thing Runaan would have to make amends for. “We will set it right,” he said, a hand on her shoulder. “There is a way.”  “But...” Rayla glanced back uncertainly at her boyfriend. “I thought we could not undo a Ghosting. With my parents, they...” “A Ghosting cannot be reversed unless the recipient returns to stand trial,” Runaan clarified. “The Ritual of the New Moon. It has not been done in centuries, however.” “But it can be done,” Callum piped up.  Runaan and Ethari shared a look. “Yes,” Ethari confirmed. “We are one night removed from the New Moon, though. We must go tomorrow and summon the Keeper.”  “Hold on a second,” Callum said, making a timeout sign with his hands even as his gaze hardened. Runaan fought back an eyeroll. “You said stand trial. What exactly sort of trial would this be? And uh, punishment, if it doesn’t go well? I think it will go well,” he clarified quickly to Rayla, “but in case it doesn’t?”  “What,” Runaan said dryly, “you would not become a fugitive again?” “A what?” Ethari said. “Again?”  “I just know that Xadia tends to punish people more harshly than Katolis does,” Callum said, meeting his stare. Runaan had enough decency to deflate. Right. Well, the young prince wasn’t wrong. “So?”

[raayllum]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Summary: Following Runaan, Rayla, and Callum's journey to the Silvergrove, and then the two weeks they spent there in greater detail. cowritten with @thosefiveadoraburrs, canon compliant a/n: this first chapter focuses on the initial leg of the journey to the Silvergrove! word count: 4.4k

CHAPTER ONE:

Callum doused the spell when dusk truly descended. Maintaining an active spell for a long time wasn’t particularly draining, but the adrenaline had done a number on him, and ideally he’d still have energy to use in boiling water and starting a fire with a fulminus or two —especially since Rayla would need to tend to Runaan sooner rather than later once they moored. Her makeshift tourniquet was fine for now for the graze, but...

Rayla patted her father on the uninjured shoulder, and then lifted her gaze to meet his green one. “Hey.” She shifted onto the bench beside him, voice lowered. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright,” he assured her, though even he could feel his smile flickering. 

The boat felt extra quiet now that his spell wasn’t churning along underneath. He knew what she was really asking, his heart aching at just the thought of Ezran, nevermind the look in his baby brother’s eyes, but now wasn’t the time. Not with Runaan right there.

He took her hand and squeezed. Later.

She caught his eye and squeezed back with a tiny nod.

Then he managed a real snort. “Takes you back down memory lane, though? Escaping the Banther Lodge in a boat.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Rayla groaned, leaning into him. She smiled. “I definitely like you more now than I did then, though.”

His own smile grew. “I mean, I didn’t make it easy. It’s kind of a miracle you liked me at all with how insensitive I was sometimes.”

“Not on purpose. And you were always sweet. And cute. It was annoyingly easy.”

Runaan coughed and they both looked up; annoyance crossed Rayla’s face. “Not to interrupt,” her father said a tad flatly, “but how long will we be drifting for?”