Rotsfgae - Tumblr Posts - Page 4

Rafal's flight required blood magic to work, and it's never been confirmed if that spell requires the user's own blood or another's.

WHAT IF RHIAN'S FIRST USE OF BLOOD MAGIC AFTER HE STOLE RAFAL'S FACE CAME FROM HIS BROTHER'S BLOOD?

Maybe there was some pragmatism to stabbing Rafal (aside from it being a quick, easy-to-execute death), consequently drawing his blood when the Pen was removed after a delay...

Tw: Blood

So, there’s a story behind this sketch. I don’t know why, but when I try to draw something with a plan in mind, it doesn’t turn out how I want it to, and this started as just a simple, dramatic little sketch in the corner of the canvas, hence the bad resolution again. It’s actually minuscule. And—I ended up adding more details to the sketch since I was starting to like it. Then I thought: hmm, what could make this better? BLOOD. Definitely blood. And that’s it.

Have one more minimalistic version without all the text also:

The accent color on your page is green. So I’m Wondering if that’s a TLEA green or Rafal’s Eyes green?

TLEA green. I believe I must've been thinking about the fairy lights of the cover. Also, I liked the color before I started to associate it with Fall Rafal's eyes—it just happened to be yet another thing that went to him because, er, symbolism purposes? (For instance, with birds, I always loved them when I was younger, my interest waned for some stretch of time, and then, I started to observe them in the context of The Bird Motif, and that jump-started, nay resurrected, some resurgence of my old interest in them again. His fault. No longer surprised. I'm likely becoming predictably transparent, even to other people, if not myself, ofc.)

What's your fashion sense and style like? How do you do your hair? How do you like to dress?

I'm really fond of classic styles, often with features like high collars, smooth textures, sharp structured forms, flouncy sleeves, tight shirt cuffs, and ribbing, sometimes. I own multiple pairs of dark, short and tall boots, most of them black. Also, I prefer earrings and rings over necklaces or bracelets. I like "static" jewelry over what I call "motion" jewelry, which dangles and clinks noisily—it doesn't stay put, and thus, can distract me.

I'm drawn toward the dark academia aesthetic, but I don't like beige or any browns in most cases, so I tend to wear colder black, white, greys, and blues, and some other colors. I'm not the most well-versed in fashion, but I've done a little research and apparently, I love "jewel tones."

And because I feel like I have to specify at this point: no, those decisions were (mostly) not because of Rafal. There is another, equally silly or improbable reason.

Blue was already my favorite color at some point, but that sort of cemented when, probably, in the seventh grade or so, I read the Divergent series. I will fully admit that I am a coward, so I related more to the Erudite, partly-corrupt academics that wore blue, than the Dauntless, daredevils in black, very similar archetype as the Nevers in SGE, but even more rollicking and hedonistic. There's even a trope that could be dangerous, if it were misinterpreted by audiences and carried over into their real life belief systems.

The main bone I have to pick with that series, even if I love(d) it, is why do the "smart ones" always have to be the villains? I'm thankful for byronic heroes and the modern anti-hero—thank you commercial fiction! It's given people who identify with archetypes like those a more variegated landscape of morally-grey characters to relate to. Regardless, I did a search and the answer to the villainy question is American anti-intellectualism. Which, to save us time, no comment... for now.

Back to the point—I looked up the "blue enhances intellectual performance" message in the trilogy and apparently, it was founded on real-world studies around test performance! And it turned out that red has the opposite effect on the mind. It is not calming, can raise your heart rate, and could make you more avoidant of easy questions while taking a test, and that's why I have very little red in my wardrobe. And I'm not particularly superstitious, and have largely grown out of it, but I did have a phase during which I refused to wear red if I had a test at school.

During everyday life, I dress much more casually, in regular, often solid-colored shirts, sweaters, or jackets with high collars. I tend to like leggings and slacks more than jeans. Though, I got a black trench coat because detective fashion inspired me, and someday, I want to get a Shakespearean era top, like an actual doublet or jerkin, and dress up on Halloween or World Poetry Day, if I ever get the appropriate opportunity.

My current favorite shirt is probably this solid, brocade/damask-patterned, long-sleeved shirt in deep royal and midnight blues, and I've yet to find others like it. It was a gift from my music teacher because a friend gave it to her, and I guess she didn't like it that much, and decided to give it to me because I once complimented it. Very nice of her.

I don't usually have the occasion to dress up. Yet, in my opinion, the coolest shirt I've bought to date is a black, not-quite-a-poet's-shirt shirt with translucent sleeves. The sleeves are frilled and drape a little down at the cuffs. So far, I've only gotten the chance to wear it once, when I went on a humanities field trip to the opera. That made me feel so cool.

Furthermore, while I like crisp, elegant, muted, sleek, angular things usually, the inverse is also true: I don't like anything that screams "modernity," bulbous or platform shoes, or baggy silhouettes, at least, not on myself. I'm not a fan of sweatshirts, probably because of the modernity and because I don't like drawstrings or pullovers in general. So, most of my sweaters have zippers, buttons, or other closures—like, how inefficient (or really just bothersome, to me, as I can find a reason to complain about anything being inconvenient or not ideal) is it to have to pull off an article of clothing and have it end up inside-out?

I've wanted to learn to do my own makeup, but I haven't had the time lately, and generally speaking, I believe I'd have time for more deliberate fashion aside from just having ideas, only if I gave up something else, and that's not happening. Or, if I were able to plug into the wall and charge, instead of going through the motions of sleeping or eating—alas, the human species lacks that ability. It would be less work and thought, not having to eat but being able to choose when to. Though, I usually almost never sense hunger or dehydration, so that already "helps."

Oh right, since we're still on the topic of fashion, that reminds me: I never mentioned that the Rafal-has-duplicate-pairs-of socks-for-efficiency headcanon I wrote the other day was inspired by how I shop, haha.

What's left to answer? Well, my hair is one of the "problems" I have. I have long hair because I don't really like short haircuts, and it's straight and insanely oily. I should wash it possibly everyday or every other day, but literally, I don't have the time or the will to do so, and mostly tie it into a ponytail. Very infrequently, I curl it, but I don't have time for that either.

This was an entertaining one. Thanks for the ask.

Yet another (probably too blurry) departure from our regular programming as I was bored and am procrastinating on arranging my WIP document. At least, I think I'm starting to get a clearer design out for Rafal, but the other angles I've tried drawing him from haven't turned out that well.

Still procrastinating, haha.

This drawing was partly inspired by wisteriaum's and wheretheoceanglows' art, another art style I saw on youtube, and that one burning dog meme I took this dialogue from. It probably would’ve been more in character for him to not be in denial and say, “I’ll fix everything,” but this is for memetic purposes.

Your artstyle reminds me a bit of tim burton—not sure how, but I think it's because of the Corspe Bride movie.

Now I also wonder how. I've never watched that film, so my style inspiration comes from other artists. Though, I looked up Tim Burton's style, and I would guess what you're getting at could be the similar facial proportions I've been giving Rafal or the sharpness and the cold dead look? I'm just speculating though. (You don't have to respond if you don't want to, Anon.)

Here are some of my sketches (and attempts at drawing Rafal from other angles) from continually trying to clarify/improve his design, which is mostly just based on simplifying/imitating the duology covers—I haven't taken his design that far in truth. And I hadn't been sure if I'd had that consistent of a style yet, so thanks.

I scribble him on stray notepads a lot:

The center sketch of the above digital ones is probably vaguely the closest to how I want him to pose for an certain idea I have, for a potential painting that may involve a lot of swarming, greenish moths, a letter opener in his grip, and a wounded eye. Not sure yet if anything will become of that mental image.

And here are the Rafal bits of misc. gesture drawings:

All Is Fair

This concept is not a fic, and I may not actually write it out as a fic. It's just a summary of an alternate sequence of events I had in mind that I wanted to record on impulse.

Warning: The content is dark. Comment if you want more specifics or spoilers before proceeding.

Summary: Vulcan won.

⸻

Vulcan didn't turn Rafal over to the prison warden of Monrovia. Instead, the Evil School Master was paraded down the halls in a straitjacket and locked in what was to become the "Doom Room," a name later coined by a future Dean years down the line, inspired by Rafal's blueprints for a veritable dungeon that Vulcan stole.

Vulcan kept Rafal as a prisoner of war instead of turning him over to Monrovia, and tortured him everyday, personally. Eventually, he became a lazy "fat cat" in his own right and hired Man-Wolves to continue on without him, so he could revel in his nemesis' agony.

Rafal never even had a fair chance to escape. Vulcan knew to use electrified, sorcery-resistant bonds, specially ordered from Monrovia, that rendered Rafal as powerless as any mortal.

Rhian languished in the tower over Evil, also trapped by Vulcan, and was administered drugs and various sedatives of questionable legality on the regular—all so he would agree to everything without putting up a fight and sign off on important documents to the Kingdom Council without retaining the presence of mind to read any of them.

And, to make matters worse, the Council never checked up on the Schools and assumed Rhian was spineless, like he'd always been. Or that's how it looked on paper.

Thus, Rhian lived in a haze of memory and Rafal lived in pain and obscurity—if one could call either of those states living.

And the lack of a Council fail-safe occurred because Rafal, for lack of foresight, wanted everything to be regulated by themselves, the twin School Masters. Thus, by the time handing over partial authority to the Council would've been convenient, Rafal was in no position to do so, and the oblivious Council had no jurisdiction to intervene on the Masters' behalf.

The brothers had no support system outside of themselves. How wrong they were to realize it as late as they did.

Those days, Rhian was not usually lucid, and eventually began responding to "Duckling." Though, when he was lucid, and remembered vaguely who he once was, he worried for Rafal and was consumed by guilt, overcome with nausea, wondering what had happened to his brother.

Whenever he was called useless for refusing the red "wine," a sleeping draught Vulcan kept bringing him, Vulcan pinned him down and forced it down his gullet. Rhian loathed the drink he'd once lauded.

Eventually, Rhian was killed when Vulcan got sick of his toy, and Rafal never knew.

Rafal was mentally disoriented, enough so that he could barely fathom his love for Rhian consciously and preserve his brother's life. His sense of self was slipping away.

The students greatly regretted rejecting Rafal and choosing Vulcan over him. As it was, Rafal would've been the better option over Lord Vulcan.

Fortunately, Vulcan never did gain the Pen's favor as a usurper, so he also died one day, decades later.

Yet, the Evil School Master was never spoken about and never got a tale to his own name, so he was lost to the sands of time, erased from living memory.

⸻

Since day one of Vulcan's reign, Rafal had been hanging by his wrists off a wall in the Doom Room, until he had gone numb, and his circulation had cut off. And yet, he was alive, sustained by only the Pen, the Pen that had once planned to allow him to become the One, as per its original plan, now a discarded plan, centuries old.

The damp cell grew black mold and the chains rusted, but the one who dwelled there never aged.

Perhaps, the Storian had forgotten to cancel its subscription for the one remaining School Master, in a sense, so there he hung.

Over the years, each day, or at best, a few times a week, he heard the screams of students he'd never met and had never taught and the gravelly threats of probing Man-Wolves. The screams never phased him.

Then, one day, he hears pleading, in soprano, and shortly after, a great splash.

That was new.

He opens his eyes and listens intently for once. His eyes had already grown used to the constant, endless dark.

The girl who peers in through the doorway looks haunted, lost in the labyrinthine sewers below the Schools. He senses her soul is Evil.

⸻

At first, Sophie believes she's stumbled upon a corpse, strung up on the wall, and almost runs off in alarm, until she notices it's blinked at her.

She shrieks.

Oh, it was a boy. A rather handsome boy.

He hasn't spoken in years, so he says nothing, and besides, he has no seductive appeals to offer her in the dense fog occluding his speech.

She musters up the courage to ask what happened to him.

His answer doesn't entirely make sense.

He says "bats."

Though, no one can expect coherence because he's been alone with his thoughts for two hundred years and has gone well off the edge of sanity. And his memory doesn't serve him as well as it once did, as, every unchanging day in the dark has bled into the next.

On his deathbed, as a wizened old man, Vulcan had ordered that the Man-Wolves keep torturing his prisoner for eternity, but eventually the Man-Wolves lost discipline without a leader, and faced with declining pay, they decided to let the prisoner alone to essential solitary confinement. They were too young to know his crime regardless.

Back then, Vulcan loved having a fresh "canvas" to bloody every session, thanks to Rafal's invulnerability. The days when Rafal still had functional nerve endings.

Not that either of them could know all that. He or the Nevergirl.

Rafal had all but forgotten, and never did truly register the passage of time, and Sophie would very much have liked to have surfaced right then instead of stare at the ghostly, hanged man.

Sophie thinks for a moment, and realizes she'd done what any prince would do. Kill the beast, save the—

The prince? He looked like a prince. Close enough. Albeit, he was a prince in a tattered, sorely outdated suit.

Thus, for once, Sophie chooses to do a "Good" Deed and releases him, as if to atone for her first murder. She melts through the bonds with her fingerglow, her magic fueled by the fear and burgeoning tension within her.

And, without so much of a bow or a "thank you," the man practically vanishes into thin air, shooting out of the sewers like a bullet, face grim.

But, Sophie doesn’t know she’s released two hundred years of pent-up fury into the Woods.

Her classmates seem afraid, not by the beast's disappearance. That's been overshadowed by something far worse. The changes in the sky.

The Coven had started to creep into the sewers to check on her since Sophie's punishment had gone on for longer than was customary, and even Hester steps back, bewildered, as a skeletal being whooshes by the entryway, up the stairs and into the blue day.

Lightning rains down from the already darkening sky.

And the Nevers all wonder what unholy eldritch being had risen from the grave? What abomination had Sophie released into their midst?

⸻

The daylight of the outside world blinds Rafal and burns him like it would a Night Crawler as he's spent centuries in the dark. His name has been lost to time, and he feels low, more base and wretched than a primal beast.

His rage and sorcery unleash themselves without so much of a command as he realizes this is a new time. Another era. And the magnitude of that starts to eat at his insides. The nearest forest is blue. The seasons have changed more than a hundred times over. His Stymphs have molted.

Then, it dawns on him: his brother is dead.

His head spins, and the sunlight doesn't provide anymore clarity than what shreds he ever might've had, and he starts on an utterly, literally blind, murderous rampage, his sight seared away, his irises sun-bleached to the coldest white-hot blue, besting even the lit sky itself.

This material world is his rival, as he's already lost his sight to it and wishes to, if not right the wrongs this world has scorched and slashed into him, to, to wrong this world. Right back.

Only the Storian remembers the archived tale it left with loose ends the day it had written itself into a dead end, but it must deal with Rafal, now that he has returned a threat.

During its first intervention of this new era, the post-School Masters era, the Pen lances through its once-last-hope for the One, and the balance resets, the two brothers laid to rest as equals in death.

With no corporeal form left, Rafal wanders the grounds, until he comes across Rhian in a quiet glade.

The two ghosts are reunited and they turn their back to the Schools for the rest of eternity, save for the rare times they return during a tale, to speculate about events that don't concern them from beyond, and to enjoy the offerings a new hire, a certain Professor Sader, leaves out for them on windowsills.

Rhian reminds Rafal of who he was, and gasps out shuddering sobs, apologizing for everything, and Rafal simply lets him, and doesn't scold him for once because he believed he was the one to fail and lose Rhian.

Occasionally, when Rafal watches the mortals below, he regrets having left Evil in that girl-in-pink's hands, but he gradually comes around to the fact that, perhaps, ruling was too precarious of a position for him.

Better to watch the mortals fell themselves to ruins. It's what they did best.

I swear Rafal is the most versatile character. He can be the savior, victim, autocrat, and prisoner through it all and I wouldn't bat an eye as long as he's characterized accurately.

Fahrenheit 451 AU:

Rhian is a futuristic "fireman," who unknowingly contributes to the world’s totalitarian censorship. Yet, the public has stopped reading (and believing in knowledge and the written word) of its own accord, and his job is becoming obsolete with the changing times.

Rafal on the other hand is a reader, who convinces Rhian to break the rules and read something, anything, before he burns it all away.

Rhian reads a mere a chapter of a tale, is blown away, and changes forever, his eyes opened to storytelling, and he decides to join forces with Rafal, the outlaw brother he’s never quite understood before, and they go on, preserving the tales and their lessons, each rebel on their side responsible for memorizing one volume.

Me, complaining: My favorite murderer was murdered—

Anyone else who doesn't know probably: So? How is that a valid complaint?

Me: He partly deserved it, but also, he had redeeming qualities and I loved seeing him be terrible! That was the point!

Disregarding the Fall identity retcon for a moment—I was or likely still am the most cowardly person upon this earth and have never watched horror films, so how did my brain decide that the literal necromancer in SGE would be my favorite character? I mean, the irony?

The Facets of Rafal as Music

Since I've incidentally done a music post for Japeth, I've decided to do one for Rafal as well!

In certain contexts, I believe syncopation is villainous. I'm not an expert, but I believe I've identified the musical pattern I associate with Fala.

Syncopation in music is the type of rhythm that goes back and forth in a certain way, like skipping stones or a pendulum motion, but it's more irregular and off-beat.

Alternatively, you can think of the syncopation parts as the harmony or the walking baseline of the music. It very much evokes footsteps and the sly, trickster archetype in my opinion. There are alternating long-short!, long-short! parts, "delayed" and sustained. And I feel like it's capable of mimicking an uneven, doddery walk, shuffling along, like Fala's limp in Fall. And music like this is used in cinema for this very purpose. I oftentimes picture one heavier foot being dragged forward.

If the images I used weren't clear, here's an actual definition for reference:

"In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is 'a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm': a 'placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't normally occur.'"

Since this is somewhat of an abstract concept, it may help to listen to some examples I've found to illustrate my point with. At the very least, if I've misidentified this pattern, all these songs have a similar vibe, at least during certain excerpts of them.

Tip: try listening to the sound beneath the main melody of the songs, not the changing, overall variable parts but the stable, underlying constant, as Rafal is mostly constant and faithful, which works for him symbolically. Basically, I want to draw your attention towards the lower parts, the baseline, like I said previously—I'm not sure how to describe it exactly, but for a musical term, you could also call it the accompaniment.

"Good Omens Opening Title" (The original version. Specifically, listen to the heavier, less angelic, more apocalyptic parts.)

"Good Omens Opening Title" first piano version (Easier to hear the pattern with one instrument and less complexity.)

"Good Omens Opening Title" second piano version (Even blunter and more abrupt than the first piano version. Jarring and more "firm." Must be something about the lack of a slur, if it's not outright staccato. It's the notation, the "articulation" here, if you recognize my meaning.)

"The Entertainer" in a minor key (Chances are you're heard this one in a jollier, major key before as it's a popular piece. This darker version I chose is slower, so it's easier to see the pattern.)

"The Entertainer" in a minor key again (This is played at a faster tempo, but it's still worth the listen to me since it aptly captures the darkness and drama Rafal lives for.)

"Chim Chim Cher-ee" (It's easiest to see the footsteps plainly in the blue bars.)

"Chim Chim Cher-ee" (In this second version, you can see the pianist's hands bounce back and forth, kind of like clockwork at one point. Again, evidence of the pattern.)

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (Not jaunty enough to truly qualify as syncopation, but hopefully, you get the idea. See the second version linked just below this one for the actual syncopation, to compare.)

A movie clip with a calliope (Listen to the background music from [31:29-32:05]. The song is still "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." However, this version has a more distinct syncopation to it. Sure, it's lighter, airier, and played at a faster tempo, but you can still observe the same pattern.)

"Below the Surface" piano version (The walking pattern yet again, very prominent, done with a heavy hand. Also, the stakes seem to rise as the song progresses.)

In summary, while I usually imagine that Rafal's hypothetical villain theme would be far smoother, especially in regards to his seduction of others, Fala's theme would be jauntier, by virtue of its being a disguise and there being more mischief wrapped up in it by default. It'd go clunkity-lunkity, like some kind of a gremlin figure while Rafal's usual leitmotif would be trance-like, hypnotic, mesmerizing, something with spades of tension and build-up.

My examples for Rafal, not Fala, are:

"The Carnival of the Animals - Aquarium"

"The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I, Scene 1: No. 6, Clara and the Nutcracker" (Start at [3:58]. It's like he's luring you in.)

"Le Banquet Céleste" for Organ

"Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 - III. Allegro ma non troppo" (Start listening to the smoother part at about [2:27]. There is downwards motion and swelling.)

"Serenade for Strings in E Major" (Only the darker, winding parts towards the beginning and end are relevant.)

The quality to some of these music choices I'd like to point out is how there's usually swaying. It's tenuous, wavering—there's undulation and a general air of unease, instability, unpredictability, and yet, it's still a bit like the pendulum motion from before, just looser and loftier, less grounded than Fala is.

Essentially, music like this tends to remind me of Rafal and of characters who function like him. It can be ominous or steady, methodical foot-stepping that's constant and regular, like pacing around a tower chamber, steepling fingers, being locked in thought, crafting schemes.

Thus, I rest my case: syncopation, slurring (the smooth quality), oscillation (the wavering quality) and "evil" go hand in hand, as something sinister is audibly afoot.

Any thoughts, anyone?

Is Rafal an Allegory for Autism and Is He Autistic Himself?

DISCLAIMER: This is just one niche interpretation of the text that points to his being autistic, even if it were not intentionally written into the narrative. I am in no way claiming this interpretation is factual or that it is an absolute or “correct” reading of the text.

Therefore, feel free to disagree with me or add onto this! I will not be offended by opposing viewpoints at all, and it could be fair to say I’m just pathologizing him, if that’s the case, which may be true. I’d also love to hear other takes if anyone agrees with me, or suspects another form of neurodivergence, seeing as comorbidities are possible and one condition doesn’t rule out the existence of another as symptoms alone could themselves be attributed to other causes.

@hyperfixating-chic Thank you for bringing up the idea of Rafal having autism since I had previously suspected it due to some of his (potentially negligible) traits, and discarded the idea. Now, I see it as plausible and your thought about masking definitely helped everything else slot into place!

Currently, I'm straddling the line between:

Is Rafal an unintentional allegory for autism, or beyond that, does he have enough traits for him to actually be autistic?

With him, any traces of autism seem to present themselves in such minor ways that I might just be cherry-picking evidence to fit this particular image of him. Though, his autism could just be higher-functioning anyway. And, while he does have seemingly autistic traits, there could be other, equally plausible reasons for their existence apart from neurodivergence, such as his idiosyncratic personality. And, because he is fictional, we can’t truly be sure.

One side note: The word “autism” could be translated as “selfism,” as the prefix “auto-” means “self,” or it could allude to self-absorption. Yet, not all autistics are selfish and some may only appear “selfish” to others. However, this interpretation of the word happens to work in favor of Rafal’s autism existing, as he is selfish (and does possess a somewhat graceless mode of socializing).

⸻

Evidence for his character being an allegory:

He's central to the order of the world he lives in, to the Schools running, continuing on, to pure utility, but does he have any social value beyond that?

Quick digression: I'm almost tempted to say that the worst thing someone whose opinion Rafal actually cares about could say to him is: “You're useless/purposeless." (And that is what I have him think about, or say at times, to Rhian, but if it were directed toward him, I feel like it would be something he couldn't brush off easily.)

Looking at his “value” and other traits:

He has virtually no relationships and thus, has little social currency apart from his School Master status.

He is viewed as an outsider in a sense by society (partly because of how far above everyone else he stations himself). But, if he didn’t do that as well as threaten punishment so frequently, would he be ridiculed behind closed doors? Even though he was admitted to the Black Rabbit, it was (probably?) because he was respected and feared, not because he was “welcome” in an amicable way, even if he was treated well. How do we know he wasn’t merely tolerated because he had to be, according to social conventions or mandated politeness driven by fear? Albeit, some Nevers probably did actually idolize him.

I believe there was even an assumption by others that he had a purpose for being at the nightclub, that he was there strictly for business, to scout out prospective students, not necessarily because he was there to join the festivities. Though, I may be misremembering.

He is irreverent and a “killjoy” to some, often upsets the status quo on large (leaving the School) and small (the trainwreck at the Snow Ball) scales, and often questions things usually accepted by most. He also doesn’t respect any authority apart from his own. This again is due to his Evil, in-narrative, as Evers are commonly depicted as rule-followers and traditionalists. (Neurotypicals, those who aren’t neurodivergent, generally do not question implicit social rules, even when there is no reason to keep to them or no reason for their existence.)

Rafal might only have been valued for his tangible, quantifiable contributions to society, as both a Never of prodigious talents and as an individual with a high-standing.

That begs the question: what about him as a person?

He is broadly viewed as unlikable.

To play into allegory, he is dehumanized, not necessarily for potential autism, but for his Evil, if it could be seen as a symbol of his autism.

At the start, Rhian, in originally wanting to eradicate Evil from the Woods and reform every soul, inadvertently demonizes him. And so do his students, when they sentence him to prison.

Sometimes, in-world, the Pen dehumanizes him (as well as Rhian) for his position as School Master. It reduces him to his role, strips him of individuality and selfhood because he is one of an indivisible pair, and it views him as replaceable, which, again, relates heavily to utility above all else, in how his sole purpose for being there and having his life preserved is pushing the tales and future forward.

So, while yes, he is respected and valued and held up as an exemplar for what Evil should be, how deeply does others’ approval run? Was anyone in-world willing to vouch for him or defend him as a person, for personal traits, apart from his skills and achievements?

(I’m not trying to suggest this in poor taste, but a real-world example of this phenomenon happening historically is the moral quandary of saving Einstein, who might've been neurodivergent. Einstein’s singular life as a Jew was prioritized over other lives, a plurality, during the Holocaust because he was a genius and therefore, a person of value. And, to generalize, sometimes groups only claim unlikable or "inferior" individuals as one of their own because they can benefit and get ahead from doing so. For instance, a Nazi could rationalize something absurd and say: "Oh, that Jew. He's a personal friend of mine. He's an exception, not like all those others. He's a good guy, and so, I'll help him escape Germany." Any “loyalty” from a member of the in-group is conditional. The moment that person of value crosses a line or becomes useless, it’s “abandon ship!” Or worse, denial: "They were never that great in the first place!")

Initially, to Rafal's students, he was a Folk devil, or their chosen scapegoat, even if their accusations against him proved pretty valid later on with the torture. (So, admittedly, he is deserving of a lot the narrative did to him, and can’t be defended completely.)

In fact, both Rafal’s own students and Vulcan (importantly designated as Rafal’s competition) seemed perfectly happy to see him fall. Thus, we can ask: did he suffer from a case of Tall Poppy Syndrome?

For reference, here’s a definition of the term I’ve pulled from the internet:

“Tall Poppy Syndrome occurs when individuals are attacked, resented, criticized, or cut down due to their achievements and success. The metaphorical ‘tall poppy’ represents someone who stands out from the crowd, excels, and reaches new heights.”

Maybe, he was only ever valued, not for who he was, but for what he could bring into the world.

Even if anyone post-Fall suspected that Rhian was the “Rafal” they saw, maybe they truly didn’t care. They still had a “him” in a sense that must have seemed just as good and serviceable as the original—if, again, they only valued him for the sake of utility.* It probably didn’t matter because no one was suffering from a lack of Evil School Master (yes, just the title, not the name) and likely no one realized they were suffering from a lack of Rafal (and balance). Him as a person probably meant nothing in their eyes, considering how he used and abused them.

So, here we have a figure, who was never that personable to begin with, who only succeeded in further alienating himself from potential allies and friends as stakes rose, who excelled in other areas rather than socially.

Could he have used his sorcery and other preternatural, prodigy-like abilities (considering his mental/physical age, if not his chronological age) to compensate for his ever-present social deficit? Possibly.

*Thus, we might be able to confirm he was always viewed, not for who he was, but for what he could do.

His death was caused by the failure to say the right, emotionally-weighted words in an emotionally-charged situation.

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Evidence for being autistic himself:

His default mode of speaking appears to be deadpan with little intonation and his emotional expression is overall low. He’s also rather impassive and placid compared to other characters as long as he remains in control and isn’t taken by surprise. Thus, I suspected he could have a flat affect (or blunted affect), unless he is deliberately seducing or appealing to another character he intends to manipulate to his own ends.

He has irreverence for existing traditions or established ways of doing things, given how he changed the date of the Snow Ball without warning, without consulting anyone, and with little concern for others because he saw his decision as fit to serve himself.

He seems to have a case of one-track-mind or monotropism when it comes to saving Rhian or attaining power for himself at any cost. His narrowed, obsessive focus tends to center on either Rhian, vengeance, the balance, or gaining control over his immediate surroundings whenever he is incapacitated; he has a need for order and control in everything he approaches. He also has a strong internal sense of justice, however perversely-aligned his may be.

He doesn’t distribute his attention widely, and (once) seemed to love his brother deeply and narrowly. He had no friends outside of Rhian, his twin, which could’ve been a given since the start. He had difficulty maintaining all of his relationships (or situationships) and had a marked lack of interest in forming relationships or friendships with others outside of Rhian because he often cut ties with people like Hook or Midas when he no longer had a practical use for them.

One of the greatest “sins” to some autistic people is lying, and it occurred to me that, a few times over, Rafal never lied. (This statement excludes the few exceptions of his Fala disguise, a thought not completely of his own volition which the Storian may have planted in his mind or implicitly suggested with its illustrations, and his general practice of withholding information.) He just weaponizes shades of the truth, unlike Rhian who did outright lie at times. Rafal instead misled, passively allowing people to believe what they wanted to believe about his moral character (oftentimes in the “fact” that he was trustworthy) without truly affirming their views of him or correcting them, as long as doing so continually worked to his advantage. He let them fall into their own delusions, and used lies of omission, which aren’t technically lies.

Although he is often driven by his selfish, insular nature, like towards the singular pursuit of power and becoming the One in Fall, I also suspected that he's often mind-blind in regards to others, sometimes willfully, if it’s not “errors” in how he processes the world. I would guess that he might experience difficulty in understanding and empathizing with others' perspectives, meaning he has trouble with “Theory of Mind.” As evidence, he uses the “wrong” wording when he attempted to placate Rhian at the climax of Fall before the fratricide scene since he’s not used to consoling or providing others with emotional reassurance or comfort. In addition, he seemed unable or unwilling to sympathize with Rhian’s perceived loss to him when he momentarily appeared to hold the Storian’s favor.

Rafal also strikes me as the type of person to devalue a form of emotional, Ever-like “data” he cannot read. If he does (or ever formerly did) suffer from mind-blindness, I have a theory that, possibly, because he could have begun with the inability to comprehend others' mental states, he found an alternate way to operate in and successfully navigate his world with, to thrive in it, consciously comporting himself as Evil, due to the easy potential overlap in autistic behaviors and being a conventional Never, in a way that was insensitive and cold enough to allow for any kind of social faux pas he could have made to be viewed as intentional on his part, assuming he spent most of his time around others masking his autism (covering up and compensating for deficits so as to be perceived as “normal”) even if such a label probably wouldn’t exist in the Woods. He also seems to dislike or barely tolerate any kind of flagrant sentimentality.

If the above point were true, then he would probably not only lack affective, visible empathy he could feel, imitate, and display through his facial expressions and body language, but also cognitive empathy. And this could be potentially because it would be convenient to him, to disregard and not take into account data that is ostensibly “meaningless” to him. Besides, I think there is a chance he’s taught himself to be persuasive or seductive when he wants to or “has” to be, in order to appeal to his victims. The other general possibility I had in mind was that Rafal could have learned to read people until it became second nature to him, with how he used suggestive manipulation on Aladdin to get the thief to steal back the lamp, proving Rafal consciously knew how predictable and pliable human nature could be.

In total, from what I can tell, he is able to manipulate others exceptionally well and lead them on, and yet, when it comes to actually relating to anyone, he seems to have difficulty understanding their points of view if he doesn't just flat-out disregard them in favor of his always being "right," which brings me to his tenacity, how he seems set in his ways, and leans towards extremes. Rafal seems like an all-or-nothing person, and either commits all the way to a cause, even bringing life-or-death ruminations into his internal monologue, or is apathetic and doesn't care at all.

Perhaps, Rafal suffers from sustained emotional dysregulation during certain plot points. He clearly has an inability to “let things go,” as is common with autism because when he was more than slighted by his mutinous students sending him to Monrovia Prison, his temper flared and he went to an extreme of methodically torturing every last child. And afterward, he continued to hold onto a grudge against that one particular class, until he was in closer contact with them, and gradually began to see himself and how he’d conducted himself as School Master from their perspective, literally in the shoes of the Never student Fala he fabricated.

He often has sharp lines of dialogue and witticisms the reader sees as comedic when his intention probably wasn’t to be, thereby meaning he could be unaware of precisely how he comes across to others, as hyperbolic as he is.

His quick wit and resourcefulness led me to think that he is at least partly a verbal thinker, evinced by the Vulcan shanty he composed and some of his scathing one-liners. Plus, he does muse philosophically on occasion in his narration, about matters like the nature of Evil, villainous purpose, and its role in the Woods, or how villains usually work alone while pirates, as a breed, are known to be more communal.

He also twists others’ words at times, uses the “Exact Phrasing” fairy-tale convention, and exploits loopholes oftentimes. I’m pretty sure he sees language as up to interpretation? E.g., he offers to pay a Man-Wolf his "weight in gold" and then, turns the Man-Wolf into gold to make an example of him, weaponizing literal meaning. Overall, as a reader, I feel as if I must watch out for the true meaning of his dialogue.

His reclusiveness, contrasted with Rhian’s desire for romantic love and companionship, and his general social withdrawal are quite prominent, and those asocial, isolative (or more destructively, “antisocial”) tendencies could, as well as being a preference, function as a coping mechanism. Perhaps, he feels better and overall more regulated whilst alone than in the company of other people, who neither give him peace of mind nor obey him, especially those whose every action he cannot control? And maybe, he needs room to breathe and think, and left the School at the start of Rise to shut out the offending emotional stimulus of Rhian’s words, about how all Evil-doers could be reformed to Good and that Evil lacked purpose. If he was emotionally affected by the brothers’ argument, the Aladdin bet, and the chaotic events of the Snow Ball, maybe he just had to sever himself from it all and leave it behind?

He might have Sensory Processing Disorder, which often accompanies autism. I’m not an expert, but from what I could see, there are hints of Rafal having an aversion to light, such as when, in his internal monologue, he remarks on Rhian's glass castle. Additionally, when he intentionally renovated his School, it was dark and dimly lit.

In the ice classroom, he sat at his desk for days on end, entranced by the mirror he enchanted to view the Doom Room with, like he was watching television, like it was some form of a singular obsession, and he did all that presumably without feeling any bodily discomfort. Thus, it occurred to me that, while this instance could be attributed to his invulnerability/immortality, he might just have trouble with interoception or internal bodily sensation. He rarely seems to sense or acknowledge dehydration, exhaustion, or hunger, and seems ascetic while Rhian is slightly more dependent on creature comforts.

One last qualifying trait could be Rafal’s lack of sensitivity to (external) pain as seen when the Storian slashes his palm open for the oath.

As far as the previous two points go, I’ve been questioning whether his potential difficulty with interoception could coexist at once with the artificially-induced traits of his Storian-bestowed invulnerability that later fades over the course of Fall, rendering him mortal, or conditioning over his lifetime as an Evil-doer, as Evil thematically seems to undergo more pain than Good does throughout the series. Even while vulnerable and mortal in Fall, he manages to walk on his limp, and contends fairly well with his broken leg, despite the pain.

If his invulnerability or his Never status does indeed coexist with his possible interoceptive difficulties, it could mask the deficit of sensation, instead being construed as simple invulnerability or the “mettle” of a tough, stoic, Never soul, as Rhian, who possesses the same invulnerability, reacted more towards the same source of physical pain than Rafal did.

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Counterarguments:

Despite all these signs, anyone could have all or most of these traits in isolation, which still may not add up to a complete diagnosis. Basically, this is not only a matter of totalling up traits. We don’t really know how his brain functions as he is fictional and I would bet that if he were real, he couldn’t be arsed to answer interview questions.

I don’t believe he was intended to be autistic, given the fantasy genre of the series and its vaguely historical time frame, even if all this could form a viable headcanon.

We can't entirely be sure that he has a social deficit, or if his manner and apparent “deficit” are displayed by choice or out of practicality.

The most generous (non-deficient) interpretation we can hand him is that he’s simply out of practice. After all, he almost never associates with social equals, aside from Rhian, whom he doesn’t view as an equal.

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In response to my one of my counterarguments:

Then again, neither was Sherlock Holmes intentionally written as autistic since the diagnosis didn’t exist during the Victorian era and hadn't come about until later in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's lifetime—although many people today conclude that Holmes is indeed autistic and use modern terms to describe him because Doyle based him off of an “eccentric” academic acquaintance, the medical professor Dr. Joseph Bell, who might have been autistic.

In conclusion, I could just be a bit delusional, and this speculation could be far-fetched. Do you think I’m reading too much into whatever may have been intended for Rafal’s character? Could Rafal be autistic, or if not, could his characterization indicate some other type of neurodivergence?

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Thank you for taking the time to read through my thoughts! I’m open to “peer-review.” Anyone?

I was thinking of the naming conventions in the prequels, and it occurred to me that the characters could easily be cast in the roles of the original myth of Venus being married off to Hephaestus against her will. (The only factor that doesn't fit is that the brothers have an obviously platonic bond. So, disregard the actual type of union involved.)

Rhian = Venus/Aphrodite (assuming this whole sequence would occur while he's both desirable and desires romantic love for himself)

Rafal = Vulcan/Hephaestus

Vulcan or Hook = Mars/Ares

The Storian = Jupiter/Zeus

This set-up would mean that Rafal would catch Rhian and his forbidden lover in an impenetrable golden net. And well, I like the image for its comedy potential. Rhian would blush when he's caught red-handed at the enormity of his own deeds, of "cheating," like in Rise, but it would be worse than what went down with Gavaldon's barrier and Marialena since he'd literally be in bed.

Of course, the brothers couldn't be married like in the myth as I explained before, so their bond would have to be platonic and yet still legally-binding in some other way, like how it was sealed by the Storian in canon, or in the myth, sanctioned by Zeus. The whole scenario would dissolve their trust while being more operatic than usual.

And then, the Storian and all the rest of the Woods would gawk and laugh at Rhian, humiliated in a storybook, as, in the myth, Hephaestus drags the net with the lovers tangled in it to Mount Olympus, to shame the adulterous pair in front of all the rest of the gods.

And Rafal's character has a fair bit of overlap with Hephaestus' (the mythological god's, not the Ever's). He's the gruff, bitter, surly, unsociable man, cooped up in his stithy, or rather, in Rafal's case, his study in the tower.

This song is very Rafal to me, like an hourglass' sands running out. It reeks of desperation. There's nice, taut tension, the implication his time is almost up. Additionally, the lyrics could reference his cremation, or compare his corpse to a sunken warship, and some parts could be read as Rafal's sudden heel-face turn to Good.

To the tune of “My Favorite Things:”

Saders and Mistrals and prophecies settled, Intrigue and pirates and tests of one’s mettle, Black swan gold rings and dark stirrings within— Butterflies all dead with their torn, bro-ken wings!

Swords in the stone and illicit night spansels, Masked Lions, Eagles, and runaway damsels, Treasonous Snakes with dark, oily scims— These omens bring the worst Endings for twins!

If Rhian were a villain as his own character, in character, I feel like he'd be the kind of villain to explain his whole Evil plan, giving it away completely instead of keeping it to himself because he's incapable of keeping it to himself. He would be hyped up with excitement for his vision coming to fruition, and most importantly, he would want to do it for the showmanship as he's theatrical like that. Then again, he may be too smart to reveal it all.

If you recall his thematically-appropriate outfit during the Circus of Talents, he seems to love causing a scene, and while Rafal does share this tendency towards the dramatic, I don't believe it's to the same effect or as extreme as Rhian's.

And this brings me to the point that it's just flat-out unusual for Rhian to wear essentially the same outfit for 200 years.

I mean, that seems unlike him and extreme. For evidence, it's implied by TLEA, by the image of his midnight blue robes hanging on a hook in the tower like a relic at the beginning of the book, that he's worn that selfsame outfit all that time. Sure, he must've not had an occasion to dress up for, but when did that ever stop him? Did imitating Rafal mean he had almost given up on his fashion sense? It's not like anyone had seen him. He didn't have anyone to perform in front of after all. Maybe that's the reason: no one would see him, so it wouldn't matter? He'd probably become depressed, and perhaps, the loneliness drove him insane and away from old behaviors.

Yet, how could Rhian, the man who was a fashion icon in his better days, be reduced to wearing the same midnight blue robes for 200 years, as the first trilogy implies? Even villainous Fall Rhian with his pure spun gold cloak did better than this version of him.

Wearing the same clothes like a uniform is Rafal behavior, and while taking that trait completes his disguise, which I'm sure Rhian had down by SGE's present, if no one had the faintest memory of what the real Rafal was like, what was keeping Rhian from caring about his appearance like he once did? He only seemed to fall back into fashion and indulge in it in order to appeal to Sophie and that's it. Did he never regain the right state of mind for fashion to be of any importance by himself? Did Sophie revive that lost part of him?

In conclusion, that is the most implausible thing about the Fall twist: Rhian's lack of fashion sense. /j

"As if in return for their bad behavior, the author seems to delight in placing them in unpleasant situations and suffer because of their jerkassery, and yet continue to show that they are sympathetic. Basically, the universe hates them so we don't have to."

Source.

Rather Rafal-core, if I do say so myself.