Decay Sounds More Gentle Than Rot. When Something Decays, It Is Gently Taken Apart In It's Comfortable

decay sounds more gentle than rot. when something decays, it is gently taken apart in it's comfortable eternal slumber. when something rots, it's violently taken apart with agony. in this essay i will

@harmonyverendez If you're interested, I made this to help me visualize the heights I had in mind:

And, if I'm remembering this correctly, Tedros would have more muscle mass proportional to his body than Rafal would have because I think Tedros was described as "lithe" and "muscular" and that Rafal was described as more lean and "sinewy."

Also, I'm unsure as to whether Agatha is taller or shorter than Tedros. Does anyone know the canon answer to that?

Do you think Rhian and Rafal are identical or fraternal? I've been having this question forever. Some think they are fraternal ( because of the covers ) but they are not accurate, and some identical because of how they are described in the books.

Me personally I feel like they are identical, but that's just my opinion, others may feel differently.

I've seen some even do identical and fraternal fanart, which is amazing by the way.

But I want know your opinion and what/how you feel about the twin description.

I feel like we didn't really get their looks described properly, only hair color, eyes and that's about it.

Also how tall do you think they are?.

I already think they are a certain height, but others may disagree.

They are described as ' Tall ' but have no specific height.

Thank you for your time.

My stance is that I see them as fraternal in coloring but identical in facial structure, features, and overall physique and stature.

With the fanart, most of it that I've seen has been fraternal, especially with their complexions and hair. I suspect that a decent portion of the identical art might've existed before the publication of Rise, given that the ghost's human appearance (before he became a ghost swan) looked like Rafal's, so the prevailing assumption at the time could've been that the twins were identical, until the prequels' covers and descriptions overturned that.

And once, we only had the singular illustration of them together in book one, prior to the prequels, to go off of. Though, given the identity twist in Fall, I would say the representation of the twins in that sculpture in Evil's mural could've been unreliable. Who knows if "Rafal" (Rhian) "revised" history and modeled both sculptures after Rafal's face (albeit with his own blue eyes) instead of himself, so the two would match. Maybe, he liked symmetry in design. Besides, he probably wanted the image of his own likeness to fade from the Woods' collective consciousness.

Also, I observed something new! There are sea-green flames, which are quite similar imagery to Rhian's blue dragon flame.

I'm not really going into massive depth about eye color, but I do have some thoughts. Although Rafal's eyes were green in Fall, which I feel like must be the exception, not the rule as a descriptor for him, I usually picture him with light, sky or ice blue eyes, and there is a chance that his green eyes were just an error or a minor plot hole. (Additionally, there have been different variations of blue hues in the series by this point, like "ice," "sky," and the deeper "sapphire," so honestly, I'm willing to overlook the potential green error, and just attribute these changes in which particular blue his eyes are to the lighting of the environment, Rafal's mood, or even the mood of the narration itself and which pov the description is from.)

If both brothers had blue eyes, even distinct shades of blue for each, one deeper and warmer, originally, and the other colder and lighter, I wouldn't have minded, and the books could've retained an iota more consistency, even with the identity twist, given that both the living School Master and the ghost had blue eyes in the main series, which directly contradicted Fall.

I'm not sure if I have an exact height in mind for them. I could say 6' 1" though. With "Rafal" in the main series, I pictured him as at least a head or more taller than Sophie, who is short. I think Soman confirmed her height as 5" 3' given that he once said she was "Madonna short" on TikTok, so we could conclude approximately 5" 3' with a quick search. However, we don't know if this is with or without heels, so she could be taller with them on.

Also, Soman confirmed Tedros was 5’ 9.5" or 5’ 10", so I feel like Rhian and Rafal definitely have to be taller than that. Was there ever a moment in TLEA where Rafal was described as taller than Tedros?

How tall do you think they are? Does anyone else have a different view on all of this?

Alec Benjamin Songs That Fit the School Master Brothers

Note: Some songs are about couples. Obviously, interpret the lyrics platonically. Links to the songs are embedded in the titles.

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"Let Me Down Slowly"

Rhian to Rafal when Rafal deserted the Schools.

"The Book of You & I"

Fairly self-explanatory. Rhian would be the speaker the majority of the time.

"If We Have Each Other"

The last stanzas fit the most closely:

The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad If we got each other, and that's all we have I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand You should know I'll be there for you When the world's not perfect, when the world's not kind If we have each other, then we'll both be fine I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand You should know I'll be there for you

"Hipocrite"

Fala about the Evers at the Circus of Talents.

"Match in the Rain"

Their relationship decay and fire imagery. "Intuition" could be a stand-in for "paranoia," on Rafal's, or really, both brothers' ends.

"Devil Doesn't Bargain"

If Rafal lectured Rhian about his failed romances.

"Oh My God"

The moment when Rhian sobs at the end of Rise, after Hook has poached the brothers' students.

"Demons"

Rhian as the speaker, to Rafal. Rafal kept him Good. Rhian took Rafal for granted. (Well, admittedly, both took the other for granted.) Though, they did balance each other, even if they hadn't known the truth of their souls.

"Mind Is A Prison"

Rhian and his soul's possession of him, the all-consuming rot taking over. How he sometimes once overthought what the Good thing to do was, during the early days of his ruling with Vulcan as Rafal's substitute. Also, in Fall, this would be Rhian in the Doom Room, hanging on the wall alone to be found by the Pirate Captain and Hephaestus, abandoned by Rafal.

"Alamo"

Midas about the brothers, specifically about leaving Rafal after Rafal's betrayal.

"Outrunning Karma"

Vulcan and Hook to an extent, but mainly Rafal. Waiting to die in a sense, trying to prevent the inevitable, gone to fight in the war regardless. Also, this could reference Rafal racing through the night after the storybooks to Gavaldon.

"The Knife in my Back"

The fratricide scene.

@wheretheoceanglows Thank you for the recommendation!

"One Wrong Turn"

Ignore the specifics of the song's storyline. This one elaborates on the nature of predestination and preventability, which could be applied to the Storian and virtually everything. And, the lyrics remind me of the proverb: "For want of a nail":

"For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."

"Gotta Be a Reason"

Rhian post-Fall as the general, probably feeling futile because his next chance at a supposed True Love is a girl.

Thanks for the additional context! Every time you elaborate this much, the appeal of a Japeth prequel increases in my eyes! That could genuinely have a lot of material to it, for Soman to unpack.

In my opinion, Aladdin somehow was able to have a distinct voice, in his narration, and yet, I have to agree—his "personality" seemed to just revolve around: "get the girl." (After Rise, he follows Kyma and Hook, and the three sail to Neverland, illustrating their end of The Rule of Three with that whole cannibal subplot.)

Is the theory that Rhian II is homophobic? It definitely sounds like that.

"I choose... love." hits hard. And interestingly, to me, it parallels Sophie herself, considering how her verbal manipulation tactics, especially in TLEA with Agatha and the position of queen, often involve reframing things, pitching them in a new light. So, it seems like Japeth did the same, and almost said, "secret third option," which I think is not only sincere of him but clever.

I think Rhian thought Kei betrayed him because Kei let out a secret, or more likely, a rumor, to the public, so he could be the one to break the news/sow doubt in the people's minds (something around Rhian's parentage or Arthur's affair, was it?) to Rhian instead of an enemy, as if being betrayed by a friend would've been any better than being outed by a enemy. Of course, it wasn't a softer blow, being doubted by the only person you thought believed in you from the start, being seen as delusional or unlikely to win in the end. Also, Sophie may've had some involvement, casting Kei in a poorer light, and I think Rhian believed Kei had some romantic involvement with her, viewing it as yet another stab in the back? That's what I vaguely remember, at least.

I am really curious to see your take on Aric and Japeth's relationship. I mean, the beloved author and creator of the series have addressed this issue with 'in their own sick wicked way they had loved' so yeah it's cannon cool. But I feel like the further implications of this? We saw evil 'unable to love'/ 'only ever have true love'. From what I remember Japeth mentioned Aric more than once, how they would write letters to each other how Aric 'begged' for Japeth to come to him but Japeth never did so and then bro spent the last of his life trying to bring Aric back to life. There are so many implications, the dynamics, the context, everything, but I love how you theorise and explore all sorts of ideas so I can't help but wonder how you view all of this :D.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and have a great day/afternoon/evening/night!

Sorry to disappoint, but I should probably start off with the fact that I don't ship Japeth and Aric. While I like Japeth, partly in thanks to @discjude winning me over, and further recognizing the tragedy surrounding him, his relationship to Aric never canonically does him any favors. And, with Aric, I think I'm apathetic enough towards him that I don't actively hate him; I just don't care about him. In truth, if not for Aladdin's pitiful existence actively hammering on my nerves, Aric would probably be my least favorite character.

The first thing I want to address is that Evil being "unable to love" or "only Evers have True Love" is actually false, despite the many times the series puts forth this claim. Yes, we are explicitly told this "fact" in book 1, but the book's point was to subvert/deconstruct the myth.

First, by the end, with her self-sacrifice, Sophie proved Evil's capacity to love, meaning: Evil being unable to love is just a commonly-held belief in the Woods, not the absolute, be-all, end-all truth.

(And the belief could've been perpetuated by "Rafal's"/Rafal's way of running his institution that literally shapes the Wood's perceptions and the future. Alongside this claim about love, consider the existence of the Doom Room, created to punish a singular mutinous class of first-years, based on a now-revised philosophy about Nevers' learning from harsh treatment and (probably) disproportionate retribution that an excessively stubborn dead man already too entrenched in his old ways never had the chance to change because he died—and this is all aside from the fact proven by the display at the very first Circus of Talents, that Rafal's students did indeed learn better when he finally listened to them and mentored them as an equal in their position (as Fala). In addition, the statement: "Nevers learn from deprivation" similarly reveals how the Woods really do generalize about Nevers—until Sophie, the "exception" and iconoclast, comes along.)

Second, Sophie's non-romantic True Love at some point was said to be Agatha, and I think this established fact is consistently maintained throughout the series, even if other elements overshadow it, so not only Evers can have True Love.

My take on Japeth and Aric is that Japeth's love for Aric, however twisted or sincere it was, drove him to become the Snake, follow along with Rhian's Camelot ambitions and initial staging-terrorism-and-hostage-scenarios plot, and commit all his other, duplicitous, villainous acts throughout TCY, later by his own will, which is a motive I find fascinating (and contradictory about the nature of the Woods' Good and Evil souls, whenever Japeth is set next to the rather grey Rhian).

So, while Japeth's devotion to Aric could be viewed as romantic, it's just not appealing to me, personally, due to the relationship's ambiguous one-sidedness in particular. And, I think I once may've read something about Japeth as a Never fighting for True Love (or his perception of "True Love") and Rhian as an Ever fighting for power (the Nevers' ideal fairy-tale ending) being ironic or inverted in some way. That's also some world-building fodder to consider, or even just another point that could overturn the Rules as we know them, yet again. I'm not surprised by that subversion honestly. Japeth is very much like his parents. Nearly every SGE villain Soman has ever written has been motivated by the pursuit of love, or by the overwhelming force of their own (often obsessive) infatuations (with the exception of somewhat flatter, less-developed, secondary villains, like Aric, Vulcan, Marialena, and Peter Pan).

Also, thanks for the compliment!

Young old man, haha!

Thank you for the dialogue! I love your dialogues! But I fear that I don’t get the joke either. I tried Googling the meaning of “double p,” and literally can’t figure it out. [facepalms] I’ve found “picture for proof” for the acronym though.

A sketchy thing that sort of turned into something? It's not exactly a card design, but I could call it that. The shading was more a shot in the dark and the resolution is low because it started as a really tiny drawing without a plan or anything.

Weird Things I've Referenced for TOTSMOV41

Warning: blood and abrasion versus laceration visuals.

And Lichtenberg figures (the fic doesn't actually have these in it—I just happened to come across this for reference for other semi-related imagery. If anything, it'd be magical currents, not electrical ones. So, not to worry! No one gets electrocuted in bathwater!):