Remember My "turn Your Blorbo Into A Mythical Being" Poll? Get Ready For The Sequel:

Remember my "turn your blorbo into a mythical being" poll? Get ready for the sequel:

Clarifications below:

-"Involuntary Beast Form" means 1) turning into an animal under certain conditions, and 2) losing human cognition. Examples include were-creatures and the curse from Ladyhawke

"Monstrous Appearance" could include turning into animals IF they retain human intelligence. Examples include Brother Bear, Frog Princess, and Beast from "Beauty and the Beast"

-"Speech Constraints" means limits on what you can say. Examples include "can only speak the truth," "can only speak in rhyme," and even "cannot speak aloud at all" like in Little Mermaid.

-"Gradual Degradation" is something that spreads across the body over time and will eventually be lethal, or as good as lethal. Examples include mummy rot or slow zombification

-"Confined/Exiled" is like, "you can never enter you home again," or "you can never leave this glade again." It is distinct from being trapped in an object, because you're still able to interact with the regular world, just in a smaller space. "Indiana Jones Grail Knight" as opposed to "Genie in a Lamp"

-"Cursed Loved Ones" can be any curse, but it has to happen to the blorbo's loved ones instead of to them specifically. Assume, for the purposes of this poll, that your blorbo has at least one person this curse applies too. Same for killing a loved one.

-Yes, vampirism counts as its own curse

list 5 things that make you happy, then send this to the askbox of the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers! <3

1. Books, short stories, plays, the written word in general, film, fanfiction. (As far as I'm concerned, all these things are different mediums of the same thing: storytelling.)

2. Being right (or "right") about things.

3. Interesting discussion/discourse.

4. Unstructured time.

5. Material things like my laptop, cheese, the birds outside that go "cheep," my irreplaceable house slippers, etc. The list would probably be too long; you likely get the point.

Do you think the School is exempt from having to pay taxes?

Yes, I do think the School is exempt from taxes, and there is no canonical evidence I can remember which suggests it is subject to taxes.

Given that funding was never an issue (or flat-out irrelevant to the plot) to Rhian with his renovations, as he never seemed to have any trouble getting the work done that he wanted, that could mean the School isn't subject to taxes, or that taxes were a minor enough non-issue amid everything else that went wrong that they wouldn't have warranted a mention in the narration.

Also, the School is a private institution, which could mean the Kingdom Council has less power to intervene with its ongoings, at least towards the beginning?

Aside from that, throughout the main series and the prequels, the School is capable of magically terraforming all on its own, usually on the basis of who is its master(s). Indeed, it's as if the setting were a character in its own right.

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If you had wanted to hear from the brothers themselves:

Rafal: Why care about the answer? I’m the only authority that matters. [expression and inflection darkening] If the Kingdom Council has a quarrel with that fact, by all means, I’m willing to negotiate.

Rhian: Rafal! Must you always embarrass me in front of polite company?!

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Yes, they are breaking the fourth wall.

I personally wouldn’t put Rafal above tax evasion, assuming he’d find a smart way to do it and never get caught. After all, he initially only wants “the best” for his School and Nevers, and for his alumni to emerge as the victors of the tales, from the eternal war of his Woods. If taxes wouldn't bode well for future Evil victories, well, he'd simply have to do away with them, wouldn't he?

And, he wouldn’t want needless fuss over his breaking the law, not that he cares about staying within the rule of law as a fugitive in Monrovia's eyes, so he'd probably stay within the bounds of the law rationally, within reason, unless he were certain he could get around them.

That, I’d figure, would be Rafal’s attitude towards the Woods' law and order in general, when the laws aren’t his own. If you want to hear about his unfortunately sour attitude toward my readers, you can read this similar ask dialogue post, in which he addresses all of you directly, once again, breaking the fourth wall.

Psychological "analysis" of Rafal, imposing a few different concepts onto him. It's not a full-length analysis this time, but I remembered that I did this as a minor assignment for a psych. class a long time ago, so I decided to post it, even if it's now a little outdated and predicated on some assumptions I once held. Some bits had to be forced to fit the structure of the assignment, so don't expect it to be 100% accurate. (And, I did this before the publication of Fall.) Thoughts?

Rafal and the Curse of Obedience

Note: This sort of canon-divergent AU concept is loosely based off of this poll I reblogged with a little commentary in its tags and the storyline of Ella Enchanted, which I've done some plot-twisting to. I've only watched the film adaptation though; I haven't read the novel.

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If Rafal were cursed with obedience in canon, such a plot line could have so much narrative potential, and potentially add a new dimension to Fall.

First, consider the odd incongruity and implications of possibly the most defiant, stubborn, unswayable being alive in the Woods being subject to this particular curse, that is the antithesis of his very way of being. He can no longer do whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences, of how he'd harm others, when those very same victims of his could potentially become his master. The curse would probably cause him great anguish, be something for him to initially ruminate and agonize over, for days on end.

In the beginning, of course, Rhian, as long as he consciously remains Good, would likely be extremely careful to never address Rafal with a direct command, which would be rather considerate of him, all things considered. He might even be sensitive enough to Rafal's plight to realize that using the curse, even in jest, against Rafal, would be an all too vulnerable point, given how compromising a position it could be for his brother, if Rhian were to use it, as leverage to win a petty argument or as blackmail to get his way, especially, seeing as the idea of the curse being public, or even the simple thought of it being revealed to anyone at all always does strike a nerve in Rafal. Thus, I believe Rhian, while his integrity is still intact, would have enough restraint to just... not use the curse.

To Rhian, it's cruel and beneath his higher moral standards to bend someone else's will to your own means after all, even if Rafal does it to everyone else all the time...

Also, given this premise, the only beings who would know about Rafal's curse would be Rhian and the Storian itself. Plus, Rafal, in his position of high authority, would do his utmost to never let word of the curse get out because it could ruin him and he could be exploited, especially considering that he is a sorcerer capable of great feats. Who wouldn't want someone like that at their beck and call?

A few times, Rhian almost let word of the curse slip to Vulcan, but he ultimately managed to keep his promise to never tell anyone about his brother's curse, preserving Rafal's fatal-as-ever pride. And this, this best-kept secret of all the Woods, backfires for Rafal later on. Because, no one would know enough to save him from himself and the curse.

During his day-to-day life, Rafal would be more paranoid than ever about keeping his curse securely under wraps, and he'd go to great lengths to keep his secret, lest it be used against him. As per usual, he would exercise his authority regularly with an iron fist, and preoccupy others with orders he's dealt out to them, so no one would bat an eye, or even think to apply any of the same orders to him.

Besides, he strikes such fear into the hearts of all that no one would ever dare give him a direct order at all, assuming they would like to live. In addition, he never truly stops being the contrarian he is, at least, not in heart and soul.

Then, with Evil Fall Rhian, the traitor, the game changes entirely.

Rhian technically keeps his word and never lets news of the curse slip from his lips, but he does use it to his advantage now, like the snake he is. He'd likely command Rafal to "willingly" and publicly cede to him, renounce his newfound "Goodness," in exchange for the same old Evil image everyone already believes in, and abdicate the coveted position of the One, leaving it ripe for the taking, for Rhian to lawfully and "rightfully" claim. Worse of all, Rafal would be forced to lose on Rhian's terms, not even on his own, foregoing some of his precious dignity to that end.

Lastly, if Rhian didn't go so far as to murder Rafal himself in the end—well, I'd suspect Rhian would call for Rafal's arrest, and reintroduce Rafal's former Monrovia prison sentence. It is a convenient way to shove Rafal aside, out of his way, and it would get him out of the limelight entirely, with the passage of time. Perhaps, Rafal would be forgotten, slunk off in the shadows, where Evil belongs, according to the "proper" tyranny of Good, which regards the whole of Evil as lowly. And no one would blame Rhian for turning his psycho brother into the authorities, if Rafal already had an outlying bid on his head, by both the law itself and the many vengeful enemies he'd made during his long lifespan. He was an actual convict for a time in the eyes of the law. I mean, what else could be done with him, the man complicit in his own "weak" loss?

Rafal would have to comply with the orders to not resist arrest since his curse would compel him to obey, and he would "quietly," without protest, without much of a row at all, surrender, probably all the while resenting Rhian and his curse and the entire Woods, for the pitiful state he's in, locked up to rot for the rest of his life—all thanks to the rot in Rhian.

1 - WOW. This is so COOL! Thank you so much for the picture! I'm so flattered that my imagery somehow dwelled in your head long enough for you to draw it! As always, I love your line work and the swirls! And I find Rhian and his eyelashes very cute!

2 - Very interesting imagery. Hunter and the hunted, hmm... Judging by their eyes and the brothers' Fall eye colors, I'd guess Rhian is the cat and Rafal is the bird?

3 - I love the concept of owl Rhian! Does it have a backstory? Is he represented as an owl due to his insomnia? Is he a creature of the night?

4 - This one made me smile. How did Rafal's predicament here come about? Whose hand is on the left if the right one is James'?

small art dump bc i havent posted art in a little while

this is like the 4th time ive posted today LMAO

(picture 1 is inspired by “In Unrecognition of Rhian” by @liketwoswansinbalance !!)