I Was Thinking Of The Naming Conventions In The Prequels, And It Occurred To Me That The Characters Could

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.

personally i love rubbing salt into wounds

WOW. I am just gaping in awe! This is absolutely amazing! And the level of detail—it looks like a still from an actual animated film!

And the green flame matches his eyes! That's so cool. Was that decision at all a reference to the Malice 66 scene with the lit chandelier?

@liketwoswansinbalance GUESS WHO FINISHED THE GIFT!!!

this took so long but it was so worth it lol

fave dessert?

Probably gelato, specifically Venchi's gelato. It's phenomenal.

One of your best moments? And one of your worst?

A more recent one is that I got 100% on a final exam for an English class, and my professor called my essay "astonishingly brilliant." I was ecstatic.

Unfortunately, I'm not willing to admit a worst moment though most of them revolve around phobias and my failure to suppress an emotional reaction or counteract others'.

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