Are U Fond Of Rollercoasters??

Are u fond of rollercoasters??

No, I am cowardly (as far as physical feats and things of that ilk go) and I have motion sickness.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think, jointly, prequel Rafal and main series "Rafal" are the only character who ever manages to rival the sheer volume of outfits Sophie has. Tedros and Agatha don't even come close.

Thus, I wanted to ask:

What do you like to do to prepare for a test/quiz? A final exam??

What I do is highly dependent on the subject, so if you want, you can send in another ask, if you had any specific subject(s) in mind, and I'll respond to that.

Okay so I've got this weird question (fun to ponder tho)

How do you think Rafal would react if Sophie slapped him?!

(Both the prequel Rafal and the TLEA Rafal.)

And perhaps the prequel Rhian too. Although I'm mainly curious about Rafal (since he has more of a connection with Sophie, I think.)

Ahaha! This is absolutely a fun one on this very fine day, Anon. Here goes—

Because prequel Rafal most likely wouldn't have a connection to, a care in the world about, or any feelings toward Sophie, she could just be another student to him. And if she slapped him, a blatant show of disrespect to her School Master, I think his first impulse would be to send her to the Doom Room, or to react explosively, retaliating with sorcery. Maybe, he'd slam her to the wall. We've seen that happen with the pirates and he has a short fuse.

If he stopped to think about why she'd slap him, if he were in a more tolerant state of mind, say, as Fala in his disguise, he might be able to reevaluate whatever he said to her to have earned that slap. (Probably, he would have said something about how she's worthless as an unconventional, Everish, and superficial Never, who only cares about appearances, who is a disgrace to her side because she wants to find True Love, and who'd never amount to anything, I'd imagine.)

And, maybe, just maybe, she'd actually break through the ice with the slap, or by following it with some critical yet truthful jab about him, thereby reaching his humanity and inspiring some self-reflection on his part.

Yet, I do not believe Sophie reaching him or succeeding in cuing him into recognizing his flaws would be the most likely outcome. I'm not sure what other fault-finding he'd do with her, and we know he just loves disproportionate retribution, which is why I'm most inclined to say: torture it is.

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TLEA "Rafal" is the more uncertain answer.

He does have feelings for her and has exhibited sadistic and masochistic traits. (Remember the moment when they kissed after Sophie returned? He seemed to actually enjoy his bleeding lip for some reason.)

So, this may seem controversial, but he might redden and could potentially feel aroused and/or disoriented/dazed and be unable to react, frozen in place, considering that she opposed his authority, and that he hasn't been contradicted by anyone in about 200 years.

Besides, regardless of whichever of these would occur, I don't think he'd be able to keep a clear head in this particular instance.

If that aroused thought process happened, I think he would try not to lose his cool or get flustered, and would flee the scene abruptly, leaving Sophie to wonder how he took the slap (and unfortunately, worry for her life and what could possibly be in store for her, if he came back).

I'm not sure if her slapping him (probably due to his daily proposal ritual, him telling her to address him as "Master," or something equally controlling and irritating to her) would change their power dynamic. But that possibility does exist.

If their dynamic changed, maybe he would yield to her more often than he already did in canon, or could involve her in more major wartime decisions because slapping him definitely would've exhibited even more of her force of will and agency to him.

If their dynamic went in the opposite direction, he might become paranoid that she lifted a hand against him at all, and try to monitor her more than he already did, exercising his authority over her more oppressively.

Another fairly realistic option would be their having a verbal argument or a shouting match. But, it could be one-sided, if Rafal just decided to endure some kind of berating from her.

He might just allow her to get away with yelling at him while he either defends himself, calmly, maintaining his composure without yelling. Or, he could take everything in stride, or at least silently, and listen to her, seemingly unperturbed or perhaps, wincing the whole time at her sharp tongue? Internally, he could be very pained by all the horrible, hurtful things she's saying, that he would probably deserve. Another route is that he could, strategically, agree with her and yield to her, to regain her favor, but that could be too transparent of him.

Eventually, Sophie would run out of fuel for her vituperative fire and halt her tirade against him, and she might be a little remorseful or blush, but he'd let it slide because it's her. And he needs her.

He'd probably accept any apology, half-apology, blame-shifting, or non-apology from her, just to stay on her good side. And if he were able to swallow his pride, he could give his own speech as he's wont to do, appear to understand and even empathize with her societally-oppressed, downtrodden Evil soul and heart, and apologize himself, like any good Evil "activist" would.

(Personally, I like to interpret TLEA Rafal as The Ultimate Evil Activist™. So, er, take that however you want.)

I think he'd hold himself back from violence against her if it crossed his mind because he probably has the self-control to know that aggression would only worsen his chances with her, no matter what satisfaction it could bring him in the short term.

Alternatively, he could seize her and initiate a kiss against the wall in the same forceful way Sophie did to him once.

If not that, shock is another option I can go back to. He knew, to an extent, that she viewed him as "all-powerful" even though he wasn't. Maybe, he'd be impressed by how brazen she was to slap him at all. He'd never admit that to her, I think, but he'd probably glow inside about the fact that he's (why not credit himself?!) influenced her enough (ahem, provoked her enough) to become more violent, even if it backfired against him. Plus, he could harness that violence of hers during the upcoming war and redirect, train, refine it, towards a more productive cause. Their victory. Because, that violence is also an indicator that his plan for her to embrace Evil wholeheartedly is succeeding, even if his parallel plan to court her is simultaneously failing. (Picture mental fist-pumping, like: yes, yes, yes, basically.)

So, there's a chance he'd remain expressionless. However, he could display shock on his face if he weren't able to control his emotions, or he could grin like a pathetic, love-sloshed idiot, much to her disdain or ire at not being taken seriously.

Whether or not he'd recognize and agree that he was in the wrong due to whatever he'd done to earn himself the slap, he could also try to make it up to her, whether his apology is sincere or not. I'm sure that in either case, he'd resort to personally bringing her (or materializing from afar) more and more opulent gifts—because, what more does he know about her that he could use to his advantage? Not a lot, to be fair.

Maybe, the gifts would appease her while he temporarily stays out of her sight, so she doesn't get mad at him again?

The least likely scenario, in my opinion, would occur if he truly didn't know whether slapping were a thing that "normal young people" did while "dating," and he took the slap as a sign of things going regularly, if not badly.

To be fair, he's watched Ever courtships for years (and he surely must've observed Agatha punch Tedros in the eye over the Gargoyle debacle), but this is Evil's Love—something unheard of, something never before seen. Should it be held to new standards? If so, what standards? What should he expect? What should he set, if the standards are up to him to determine? Should he really hope to imitate the Evers' love on every front? He's had zero successful past relationships, so how could he know?

If this happened, I bet he'd obsess over the meaning of Sophie's slap.

He might have to process it and puzzle over what exactly went wrong for days before he returned to set things right with Sophie. And if he did that, he'd potentially inadvertently abandon her in the tower for those several days, leaving her to wonder if she's going to starve there as her punishment, or die from "the plague," assuming he forgot about everything else and his obsession took hold of him.

(And leaving her alone could be a strategy itself, whether intentional or not, so she would begin to crave his presence again.)

This would also mean, he'd have deal with far more external complications because the assumption that he'd desert Sophie for a short period, the way he did to Rhian for six months in the prequels, would mean he'd also desert his war-training responsibilities, leaving the Old and New students to fend for themselves, and perhaps, to devolve into anarchy—if he's not quick enough to return, provided that his Deans failed to maintain order and discipline during his absence. In fact, I could see Aric actively undermining Lady Lesso's efforts, and encouraging vicious hallway brawls and overall barbarity with Rafal gone.

Also, his love was never "enough" for his brother in the past—that could easily spiral into self-doubt, even if his ego would protect against it. Then again, he's likely more sensitive to rejection if it's from her specifically since he actually values her opinions of him. I feel like he'd just brood in the no-longer-Blue Forest, sit there and do nothing but cycle that thought around and around, because, his plan, his plan that he's had for 200 years, his last hope, is currently falling through all around him, all due to one slap, and what if that means all hope is lost!? All that work for nothing. A terrifying prospect. What then? He'll have nothing if he doesn't have Sophie by his side.

I think he'd know better than to think that so quickly though. Dramatizing things just entertains me.

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Now for Rhian.

Rise Rhian could easily say something about the inferiority of Evil, and that could've insulted Sophie indirectly because I don't believe he would, while still Good, stoop to insulting her directly.

He'd probably just assign her a benign punishment, like dishwashing duties, or confine her to her dorm, given that she is a student and technically one of his wards, even if she's a Never because in this case, she acted against him, not the Evil School Master. So, perhaps, it wouldn't turn out like it did in book 1 with Lady Lesso. If he had no jurisdiction over the Nevers though, the punishment could be the Doom Room, if the decision fell to Rafal. And Rafal would not give a student preferential treatment if they slapped his brother!

Now, if Rhian were sympathetic enough to Sophie and her ongoing suffering in Rafal's School, he could cover the incident up and spare her. Let's face it: while Good, he seems like the lenient, bleeding-heart sort. Maybe, to him, it'd be the right thing to do because she seems kind of fragile and vulnerable. And she's Everish, which could appeal to him emotionally.

Then again, Rise Rhian has poor judgment, so maybe he'd stall and overthink deciding on any course of action, and wouldn't know what to do with her. He might not even feel like he could bring himself to discipline her, and might just continually obsess over it, as the indecision eats away at him. And, in the moment, maybe, he'd just flush red and tear up a little because she's been so cruel to him!

Fall Rhian, on the other hand, would probably insult her and do it so scathingly well. If she slapped him... she'd probably be a dead girl walking at that point. Could he incinerate her? Very possibly.

Midway through Fall, Rhian might just assign her a demanding punishment or task, really, of the same nature (and severity?) as Midas'.

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And that is all I have for now. If there are any outcomes I haven't thought of, feel free to tell me what you think!

More Songs that Remind Me of the Prequels

This time, I thought my choices captured the high-energy, tense vibes of the story more than every lyric being true to the plot. Thoughts or additions, anyone?

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"Problems" by Mother Mother - Could reflect how the twins are irreconcilably different, emphasizes their contrast. Mostly reflects Rhian's deflating pov throughout the plot?

"This Love" by Maroon 5 - Has to be interpreted platonically. Reminds me of Rafal continually leaving, if he were represented as the woman in the song.

"loneliness for love" by lovelytheband - Rhian's pov again.

"Somebody to Die For" by Hurts - Captures the melodrama well. Not entirely true to Rafal's character, but it could represent his misguided savior complex and how his "villainous purpose" was stated to be driven by some kind of underlying love or warmth in his soul for Rhian, originally.

"GOSSIP" by Måneskin - Vaguely reminds me of the Circus of Talents and the duplicitous Evers of the time.

"The Bidding" by Tally Hall - Fits the vibe of the worldly and well-traveled Rafal, ceding some smaller arguments to Rhian, like how he mentioned he had before in Fall. Also, this in part fits how Rafal seduces other characters and strings them along.

"Innocently Annoying at 3AM" by Elysewood - Casually morbid and captures Rafal's characteristic coldness and probably how he can be accusatory toward Rhian. The brusqueness, the abruptness of the delivery of certain lines is really good, like, I can superimpose my interpretation of what Rafal's voice would sound like onto this at times, when the speaker cuts himself off.

"Falling from the Sky" by Kailee Morgue - About falling charades, masks, and being two-faced. It's very Fall Rhian-esque, or it could be addressed to Fall Rhian.

Equality and the School Master Brothers

Remember how the Storian insists on the brothers being equal in all things? On a literal level? That’s so contrived. That’s how you treat small children, not respected, public figures you expect mature behavior from!

And if that element were removed—well actually, maybe it couldn’t be, as removing it would reduce the intensity of the Equal Treatment/Chances fairy-tale element, of the satisfying (to whom? Us? The Pen?) repetition and symmetry, reduce the mystique itself around the ways of their world. Yet still, that form of balance is wrong.

I mean, it’s like how they each were expected to each have their own Reader to return with, in order to leave Gavaldon, be permitted through the barrier. The artificially enforced equality in all endeavors kills the need to think, two and two, one and one, etc., and then, there’s: what if this balance issue were addressed in a non-literal, utterly equal sense? You can’t make two humans with separate identities 100% equal.

Why couldn’t the trade-off have simply been something like: have any means or inequalities you want along the way, to achieve a more figurative, abstract, big-picture form of equality after events have come to pass naturally? It'd still be equality in a sense. Like, the same number of Good endings and Evil endings to tales, for instance? That, instead of micromanaging things on such a small scale.

Besides, the brothers aren't the only control freaks. The Pen is just as much a control freak and Rule follower as Rise Rhian and Fall Rafal are, despite having set the Rules by itself. (But, does it only follow its own established Rules when it's convenient?)

The Pen has such a low threshold for minute things being off, for misalignment. (Probably because it's the details that make a story worth telling.) Like: oh, that brother cheated? Let’s wait—for the other one to cheat, too, before we let anything else change. No preventative measures. Nothing, nil.

Things are stagnant until both brothers comply with or rather, fall into, the equality trap. A trap which probably makes them less equal in some contradictory fashion!

Dealing with that high level of scrutiny, all to live under the tyranny of Pen? It must be suffocating. And they had different needs. So, they didn’t need the same treatment all the time. They could’ve benefited from inequality as long as they were both served according to who they were.

How flagrantly wrong everything in the duology went plot-wise is at the very least evidence for how not every quality can be saved by or reduced to numbers and systemized for the world's convenience. And, as a storyteller, the Storian probably should've known this, to let faces be faces, instead of more statistics piling up. Though, I'm sure its reasons for withholding "character" names were more to generate further drama and suspense or to implant ideas in people's heads, not weak writing.