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?

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.

they are canceling me for the way i deal with grief. also, for the infinite number of destroyed universes

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

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.

Look, I know this is practically the antithesis of Rafal's character (with his whole "pirates are pests and subpar villain material" ideas and pirates being the opposite of his "orderly civilization" line of thought) but...

If I haven't convinced anyone based on premise alone, here's a drafted excerpt for the heck of it:

The iron stench of blood clung thick in the air, clung to Rafal’s new garments.

Craning his neck upwards at the barque, Rhian could’ve sworn his brother’s clothes smelt of blood, but he couldn’t see a trace of blood on him. Just, streaks of—blue—a strange, deep, sapphire blue on his clothes, tinging the edges of his hair, a spray of an inky substance speckling his jawline and the side of his face, and smears of blue on the… Night Crawlers assembled behind him.

And by the Storian’s grace, were those real Night Crawlers? He’d never seen them outside of storybooks. It was like Rafal had dredged himself out of a storybook, out of the deep undersea, like a myth among myths.

Rhian would have concluded it was blood, but it couldn’t be, could it?

Thoughts?