#fotsge

First off, I'm reading a series called The Bridge Kingdom series, and it's sets of duologies. One of them involves an Empress who had her sister assassinated by her political enemy because she wanted to have the throne to herself and keep waging the war. Her niece survived, and she basically manipulated and gaslit her into a tool for her own devices. This reminds me of Rhian 1 a bit, and even Sophie. Lestara, who basically orchestrated and manipulated circumstances to look like she was a savior and become queen reminds me of Rhian 2!

Blythe and Rafal would hate each other and Aris would think Rhian is a cheap look a like

Rafal is Gojo from Temu I'M SORRY and I don't think they'd get along.

The og twins angst and even next gen twins could be in some KNY crossover au thing, but actually, I can't really see Rafal and Rhian being like Kokushibo and Yoriichi? Both twins in the former example were power-hungry, selfish, and proud, while the latter was a lot more... complicated? I don't know. But Yoriichi genuinely was willing to give up power for his family, he never wanted to be more than his twin and their dad was the ashore in the situation as children tbh. So actually. Hm. Maybe both sets of twins can fight over who is worse. (ALSO PLEASE REMIND ME TO START WRITING THAT YORIIUTA FIC THAT HAS TWINS ANGST PLEASE)

I had a Scarlet Pinpernel AU with Rafal as the SP but I never finished it.

I had a theory where Aric could have possibly been connected to the Raven,and maybe Japeth himself makes Aric his "Lenore" almost, except he doesn't believe in Never more for them. My dead wife haunting the narrative but with Jaric. Please.

Midas x anime in general, or Hello Kitty or KPDH, idk but I think he would like this stuff.

August Sader and Pure Vanilla give me oddly the same vibe. (My mom is still upset about what happened to White Lily btw)

Ocs, I have several (yes I use OCs with other media, don't judge)

Saya and Gen, from Family Means Fate and they are the modern AU twin daughters of Rafal

Sophos, from a pretty much discontinued fic, A Tale of Two Emperors. (I am willing to spoil the story if you send asks.)

Victoria Hayes, a vampire oc in ATOTE

Julius (I think?) From Sharp and Dull I don't remember this idiot's name at past midnight

Keiran and Marigold,supposed to be like spin off ocs from Heart of Gold

The girl from the Masque fic, oh, Blanche

Lyra, Midas' mom in Sharp and Dull and any other AU I guess, maybe she's the Haruhime of the Sge Fandom lmao

Leandra @liketwoswansinbalancebalance will know, but honestly she probably will be a separate OC for the Star Verse world

I have more but they are probably like not major but if I remember major ones I will edit this.

I like to consider The School for Good and Evil Netflix movie as a different au, because first of all it's is very VERY different from the books, BUT.

I feel like Rafal I'm the movie could've had more potential to actually do good than in the Rise! And Fall! duology. Like, we know that Rafal's soul was actually meant for Good instead of Evil, blah blah blah, you get it.

BUT !

what if I say that there wasn't much potential for Prequel! Rafal to become better? What if I say, that yes, he loved his brother, yes, his would was meant for Good, but his actions and his late realization of his true soul, made it hard for others, as well as myself, to imagine him actually becoming good?

Because, comparing Rafal in the movie, we don't know him that much yet, and yes, he's done terrible things whenever he showed up in the movie, but other than that, he don't truly know who Movie! Rafal is.

Because from what we see, Movie! Rafal is genuinely capable of feeling things, and regretting things, and he also has somewhat of a charming and likeable personality, that many seem to respect him as equally as they fear him. I see him as a man who is feared for his power, but respected for his personality and his connection with others, like he used to be with Movie! Rhian.

But, I'm just going through from what I see with my naked eye, not having read the main book series of The School for Good and Evil, and only having watched the movie and read the prequel duology.

Now, my friends IRL thinks that Rafal was in the right on why he decided to torture and punish those Nevers who'd betrayed him, and I see that. Like, he was betrayed and outright replaced by his students.

But honestly, in a deeper sense, that's Rafal's own fault. Because, think about it, Vulcan had made the School for Evil better in many ways that Rafal had refused to acknowledge. In some cases, he even used some of Vulcan's tactics, and implemented them, meaning, that Vulcan had made significant and effective changes to the school while Rafal was gone. Like sure, it was to build his empire, but what is a King, if not for the people.

I want to list off Rafal's actions, that led to the inevitability that his students were going to choose anyone else over him, because even the teachers figured that these children deserve to be treated better than how they're treated by their own damn Schoolmaster.

FIRST, He was betting on Aladdin, betting that he would carry the School for Evil, betting that he would make it great again, but there are already a bunch of Nevers that are filled with potential, filled with many strengths, and the School for Evil might've actually had a chance to beat Good, if Rafal had just taken the time to help hone in the strengths of the the students that were already under him.

SECOND, when Rafal had lost the bet, he just went up and left. No note, no nothing, just left., whilst knowing he was leaving the schools in Rhian's hands, who is both flawed and somewhat of an idiot.

He LEFT, whilst actively knowing that he was leaving his own school in the hands of his irresponsible brother, like, I know they're supposed to trust one another, but Rhian was honestly, already losing control the first few weeks he was gone.

THIRD, is that Rafal could care less about his students. He even syas this himself, when he was still discovering that he might actually be the Good twin, instead of Rhian. Even when Rafal had jest been discovering that he and Rhian might've been wrong about their souls, he still had no right to act the way he did, especially when he was already responsible for teaching and taking care of fifty Nevers, just as Rhian was responsible for fifty Evers.

Also, we have genuine dialogue from the Nevers themselves, saying that they were actually happier when they were under anyone other than Rafal and Rhian. It's said by the Nevers that Rafal treats them with the barest of minimums, and he wasn't even giving them a reason to follow him, other than out of fear, and the threat that terrible things would happen if they didn't.

I've seen many other people, including my IRL friends defend his actions, by saying that his wasn't meant for Evil, that his soul was meant for good, and that's why he treats the Nevers like crap.

But then, take Rhian as an example. He, himself, was never meant for Good either, and yet, he still has the capacity to build his students up, to show up for them, to actually teach them. Sure, his view on how Good should be was flawed, but that's not why the Evers wanted to follow him. The Evers followed him because he made it clear that he somewhat cared for them, and he honed in their strengths, gave them opportunities, and therefore, gave them the confidence to stand with him as their Schoolmaster.

If Rafal and Rhian were to ever switch schools, with how they currently acted in the prequel, I don't think Rafal would've treated the Evers any better than he treated the Nevers.

FOURTH, I know that I've already mentioned this, but Vulcan made the School for Evil better, not just by implementing things that weren't there before, but in the students themselves. He had successfully done something that Rafal had failed to do, and that's to have his own students trust him. Like, I know, he's somewhat of an unlikeable person, but if he has no life other than being Schoolmaster, he might as well be good at it.

Think about it, why the hell would those poor children follow a man who was actively mean to them, and couldn't care less about their well-being, over a man who gives them equal opportunity to compete with the Nevers, hones in their strengths and potentials and doesn't completely treat them like trash?

Those poor Nevers were always getting the short end of the stick, from being left with a Schoolmaster who has no idea what to do with them, from having their asses tortured. I don't see their revolt against Rafal as a betrayal, but instead, a rally, of some sorts. A chance at a better life, a better education, a better leader who they can trust with confidence. Because they have pasts, they have stories, and they were chosen for the School for Evil for their potential, and Vulcan seems to be the only guy who actually does something with all the potential he has at his disposal.

In conclusion, Rafal is a deadbeat dad who shouldn't take his pettiness and anger out on his students, who he actively mistreats.

As always, feel free to argue with me or correct anything that I seem to have gotten wrong.

But, even if he's not my favorite, he is ranked 6th on my list. The first one is, of course, my goat, The Pirate Captain. I just kinda fell in love with his charm and his snarky behavior, and unlike certain Schoolmasters that just don't really care about their students *cough* rafal and rhian *cough*, He was portrayed to be a very caring and considerate person in the prequel books.

My second favorite is James, the same reason as The Pirate Captain, like, I kinda love his prissy ass, and also he kinda deserved better after getting his blood sucked out of him, and i love that scene in Rise! when he threw his shoe at Rafal with zero hesitation, and I just love him for that.

Third fav, is my girly Kyma, my girl deserved so much better than Aladdin, and yeah, I know it's kinda implied that James and Kyma started dating after the events of Fall!, but my ass refuses to believe that my girl started dating, so I'm just gonna headcanon it as her getting invited to nightly pirating adventures.

My fourth favorite is Midas, like HE'S MY SON GUYS, HE MY BOY. I love him so much, and he deserved much better than getting victimized by those fuckass brothers. WHY DID MY BABY DIE??!?!!

My fifth favorites are Hephaestus and Aladdin, probably because i loved them so much during the first few chapters, like AAAAAHHHHHH, they were so fricking cute, my lovelies, MY BABIES. They're boyfriends, Your Honor, and I DON'T CARE.

And of course, my sixth favorite, my baby Rafal, like, I want to throw his ass in a wet dumpster and set it on fire, but I still love him. But like, this dude was so petty, he genuinely pissed me the fuck off, but he keeps on winning my heart all over again. But his rank immediately went down when he started to torture kids. RAFALWHENIFINDYOURAFAL-

RUFIUS MY BOYYY!! Bro just wanted friends, and for that, he gets to be my seventh favorite.

And weirdly, Botic became one of my favorites, eighth specifically, because his ass was so relatable, like, he gives off Jesper Fahey vibes. Like, just that.

Peter Pan is my ninth, like he was honestly so silly to me, like I fell for his ragebaiting, like he pissed me off so bad, but that was probably his intent, and honestly, go diva, slay all day with your peterboys and stuff.

And RHIAN. Oh Rhian, Rhian, Rhian. There's a reason why his ass is my least favorite, and probably because his ass is the most infuriating I've ever seen, like GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, YOU STUPID GAY IDIOT. Also, because his ass keeps on framing Rafal for shit, and his ass lied so much, and he still considers himself good?!?! His ass must need glasses or something so his ass can see himself in the mirror.