Slightly Cursed TOTSMOV41Thought?

Slightly Cursed TOTSMOV41 Thought?

The other day, I had a horrible yet probably true thought about Rafal in TOTSMOV41. He technically punishes himself. Ok, yes, the Storian is responsible for the red-hot iron shoes, but it happens inside the crystal, which I failed to consider, and that means that Sophie, Agatha, and himself (their collective, error-prone memories) are the forces punishing him. It's unconscious on all their parts, but it just seemed weird enough to mention.

In my conceptualization of it, the crystal will work like an alternate reality of a kind, a reality but also a simulation or unreality, where true and false intersect because I'm trying to match the TCY themes and so, there are both real and false elements and real and "false" injuries.

But, I'm kind of at a loss as to whether this works. Seeing as I don't have a complete explanation, I don't think this will change in the final draft, but it's certainly a... feature.

Basically, I'm not sure how well this works because the version of Rafal in the fic is the one from TLEA who isn't supposed to have a guilty conscience, so why would he be punishing himself, even unconsciously? And really, I'll have to blame it on Sophie, Agatha, and Rafal's memory of the Storian itself, leaving a painful impression on them in some way or another because it would make less sense for Sophie, Agatha, and Rafal himself to be subconsciously punishing him.

This is kind of a knee-jerk reaction at my attempt to find a reason for everything I can possibly conceive of. It probably shouldn't be taken that seriously, and at the moment, it doesn't seem to be a plot hole?

Any reactions or ideas, anyone?

We are gathered here today because SOMEBODY *glares at coffin* couldn’t stay alive.

Texting in a Modern AU:

Rhian: Great news, Rafal!!! I have a date tonight!!!!

Rafal is typing.

Rhian: Nevermind, I shouldn't have told you.

Rafal is typing.

Rhian: I should be back at 12. Try being happy for me for a change.

Rafal: No wait

Rafal: I'm ready. Rule #1: Don't let him touch your drink. Rule #2: Leave if he asks invasive questions. Rule #3: Give me his address.

Rhian has left the chat.

You seem more introverted than extroverted and are also very academically involved. You also seem like the type to stick to a schedule and a certain routine.

Correct. Eerily correct. Now I wonder where the “routine” part came from. That is surprisingly accurate because I hate deviating from routine, and I often dislike surprises.

The only thing you’re (partly) wrong about is that I’m not always that great at sticking to schedules (often the ones I attempt to impose on myself, the slightly less important ones). That said, I devise plans all the time, and don’t always follow through with them, in the end.

I've had the last few lines of TOTSMOV41 in mind for a long time, so I thought that if anyone would like to humor me and play along:

I will give you a very minor spoiler that hints at something significant/symbolic if you squint at it, if you can guess the last verb of the fic.

If anyone can guess the last common noun (not a proper noun or a pronoun), then I will give a different minor spoiler.

If anyone comes close with their guesses, I'll still probably reveal both slightly spoilery things. This is really just an excuse to entertain myself with this game, (or alternatively, to shock you with?)

(And, unless anything changes massively, the lines will likely remain similar to their current iterations by the end of the writing process.)

a post-doc was doing a guest seminar at my institute and at the beginning of his presentation he was explaining why he chose birds for his evolutionary analysis - so he said "well first of all, because birds are the best and most interesting animals and it's fun to study them" and a few professors in the room gave him a very serious nod