#rhian

*Not all of these are strictly new.

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Medieval people once believed that, for a birth, the mother provided the matter for the unborn child and the father provided the form—which is interesting because with that information from the Elizabethan/Jacobean era, I could headcanon that the twins don’t have parents if their most essential/basic/fundamental forms are immaterial shadow and light (of which I once textually-analyzed previously + an addition).

("Moder" is a Middle English word in common for mother and matter, hence the link between concepts.)

Rafal’s shadow form can be in any size or shape, and as a shadow, it would logically not have some sort of matter, even if it can somehow physically affect its surroundings and pick up children to kidnap.

-> Unlikely but tangential headcanon: Technically speaking, Rafal has no form then, if we strictly adhere to the logic of the appearance of a form and the ability to magically(?) affect his environment. He just chooses to appear in the form of a man.

@spirit-of-the-art-hollow Idk if you would be interested, but I realized you might like the above thoughts.

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Other Miscellaneous Headcanons (still late 1500s-adjacent)

Rafal has an excess of black bile causing an imbalance within him. (His temperament is probably some balance of melancholic-choleric. Rhian is more sanguine-choleric.)

Rafal is immune to wasting away from lovesickness or ambiguous literary diseases, often revolving around heart symbolism for the sake of being poetic. Rhian is markedly not, according to the mechanics of not being able to get over someone in "The Knight's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales.

If Rafal were a manager, he'd abuse employees -> If he were a feudal lord, he'd abuse guilds.

He would support the theater and love the “special effects” (bursting pig or sheep bladders filled with blood!!!!).

He and mainly Rhian would support gothic architecture, and the massive undertaking that would have been cathedrals.

Unfortunately, he supports sea voyages until he finds out what happens in whatever their equivalent of the New World is…

(At that point, he’s actually in favor of dragging the explorers/conquererors back in chains.)

If he’s on the wrong side of history, I could see him being more than problematic, like, an Inquisitor for Christendom, if the Woods had such an institution…… (he has to have a torturer role, yk? He can get his comeuppance for the evil later. Get beheaded during some reign of terror or another, whatever...)

His reckless side would come out when it came to dueling over petty arguments. (But he's an immortal, so he can afford to be petty.)

^Yet, Rhian is better at fencing and he's better at sorcery. (<- I feel as if I've heard this one before. I don't think I originated it.)

Rafal doesn't like public bathhouses (—depends on time period, this thought is less medieval, more from antiquity really).

The only(?) reason why he doesn't attend church is that he would burn if he set foot in one? Maybe just a slight stinging sensation, nothing extreme though? (It's not as if he has the most infernal presence of all.)

Perhaps, he has a witches’ mark somewhere underneath his clothes. When crops fail, he boards up his windows and deserts his fief, heading for the coast. He does not want to be targeted like the poor accused.

Milk curdles/butter spoils when he enters a room.

Content warning: mentions of abuse (but done by, not to Rafal).

@wisteriaum @sausage15 I can't remember who else I would tag for whump-adjacent things. This is what results when you write about The Guy With Almost Zero Non-Violent, Known Hobbies—it's all mental (in more ways than one).

Headcanon: Rafal is usually disciplined or he looks that way on the outside, so no one would ever realize he procrastinates on certain things, and this habit is compounded by the fact that he has an immortal life, and that he probably has to stave off apathy/anhedonia during duller periods or “off” times, like the waiting period before a new cohort of students or during the holidays.

He also has high intensity “all-on” and “all-off” moments in his workflow or work “cycle,” if we were to call it that. During “on” times, he refuses to stop doing anything and will literally never let go of something he “has” to get done.

He must and that’s that, or, idk, everyone dies. /hj

The forces compelling him feel like possession from beyond himself or form part of an actual compulsion that’s entirely intrinsically-motivated. (I’m tempted to reference “I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.” <- That could fit him, yk?)

And alongside that, he stains his desk in dried ink, and doesn’t bother to clean it until he’s done with whatever thing he’s working on, so he has blackened, creature-like hands by the end of that phase of the cycle.

During these times, Rhian has to force him to eat or sleep, but usually does not succeed in tearing Rafal away from his work or other… sinister designs?

Once his energy is drained from being constantly on, the opposite happens: he lapses into a slightly vegetative state and does his world’s magic mirror equivalent of tons of passive media consumption, like flipping through channels or scrolling endlessly (well, until he settles on somet that will absorb 100% of his attention). Arguably, it’s a form of rest with more baseline stimulation than sleep, so he can recharge after the drain on everything since he invests all his efforts into important things he cares about 100%. Yet, it’s not quite bedrotting though, more like… rooting-to-his-office-chair, which he would barely get up from because he’s acting like a living corpse for the time being.

He doesn’t even care when his entire body from the waist down goes numb from being immobile in the position—and if he weren’t wearing full-length slacks, Rhian would definitely note that Rafal’s legs’ circulation could look spotty or washed out, like what happens if you cross your legs for too long: the blood rushes away, and you have a temporary red or white blotch where the weight of the top leg was set. Literally, if he were to stand up right away, he would face-plant or have to hold onto the edge of the desk to keep himself from falling.

He’d probably develop bruises on his legs from the weight of his own limbs, that, to the untrained eye, could resemble abuse, lol. That would make a good, nay, wonderful dark comedy farce, that is, the utter ludicrousness of some “witness” thinking the School Master lording over practically the entire Woods is suffering at someone else’s hands. He’d need an excuse to wear shorts or swim trunks though, for the incidental bruises to be visible to anyone. But his invulnerability would probably kick in and heal the bruises, even if they’ve been there in the “long term” from the continued physical strain he may be subjecting himself to, by not-moving-a-muscle and being unnervingly silent and still in his chair. (All this—even though he would more than likely be the one to inflict abuse on others. We know this to be true, of course.)

Anyway, eventually, Rafal recovers and switches back to “on.”

Rhian thinks it’s insane that he does all this, but he can’t really use the “this is unhealthy” argument to get Rafal to reform because Rafal won’t die of anything. So, Rhian settles on saying: “You look horrible,” and Rafal doesn’t care in the heat of the moment while he’s still absorbed, only half-listening to Rhian’s prattling, and being dismissive towards everything else and all other demands.

And despite Rhian’s misgivings, again, since Rhian thinks this is insane, it’s not self-abuse as it would be for any other mere mortal—wave that off now. It’s more like a bizarre preference as a sort of… monomaniac, to naturally concentrate on a singular thing at a time.* And besides—! It’s Rafal’s “normal.” Little does Rhian know… though this be madness, yet there is method in't. Eh? (Hamlet ref.)

The phases of the cycle tend to be equivalent in length, with some exceptions of the “off” periods being shorter. Each phase can last days or perhaps a few days over a week at most. 12 or 13 straight days max. And somehow, he always manages to cut himself off before he crashes really badly.

The record time duration (from about a century ago, when he was young(er) and first starting out) was 17 days per phase, half and half, an even split (since I view him as a transactionally-minded person and canonically, well, he cares about balance…?) The first time he cycled like this, it was an absolute spree, the thrill that he could do all that with no consequences. So, he, on occasion now, takes advantage full of this ability whenever he can.

*Unrelated to the usage of the psychological term "monomaniac" in the headcanon, this tangentially causes me to think, regardless, that Rafal would be extremely monogamous if he were to ever take on a lover. Everything would have to be finite or laid out strictly in some way, and absolutely no “open relationships” for him, the guy with a probably all-or-nothing mindset.

Also... and for him? It would not be “’til death do us part.” Oh no—it would be suicide-murder pact levels of insanity, which I could perhaps see happening canonically under the right conditions.

Most of these are Rafal ones, and I'm not sure I would say I have favorites, but here are some headcanons that come to mind as would-be favorites:

German!Rafal. See the audios I referenced—it's funny. He is still a control freak as usual, but if you stop to think about it, the stereotypical national personality fits. He would probably be a punctual person with exceptions made for dramatic entrances. And the Germanic Brothers Grimms' tales are exactly the type of cultural ethos that would reasonably make sense to surround him. (In his shadow form, I would not be surprised if people who didn't recognize him perceived him as the allegedly-burnt, "black mannikin" stand-in for the Devil in those stories. He could sidle up to people silently and strike bargains.)

Rafal being transactionally-minded and miserly, in all things, not just time and money. (He would be similar to the Jew demanding a pound of flesh in The Merchant of Venice. That's his thought process to me. Yeah. Controversial, I know.) Has people pay him back to the cent and does the same reciprocally because at least he's fair. Don't blame him for just being a sadist; he is also a person with a strong sense of justice, even if his version may not look "proportionally" retributive to others. (Accidentally just realized: it's extremely ironic that, stereotypically, Germans and Jews are conservative with their money spending and lending... you'd almost think that living in the same geographical area would cause some widespread behaviors across both cultures... oooo /sarcasm)

Rhian has to remind him to eat when he is in a flow state. The reason why Rafal may or may not be perpetually cold could plausibly be because he doesn’t eat on a regular schedule.

Rafal is mostly ace or greyromantic—I say this approximately though.

If he were in the world of the Hunger Games, he would be District 5 or a Capitolite Gamemaker. (Or in the old, pre-Dark Days, District 13, because nuclear power makes sense as an association for him.) Rhian would be an escort like Effie, a stylist, or a host like the Flickerman men.

In the Grishaverse, he'd be a Corporalki or Shadow Summoner. Would have Volcra.

Rafal derives from a tradition greater than himself because he is the “modern” equivalent of an archmage (Archimago/Prospero/trickster figure) or the magician figure.

Already sort of canon: cannot see or bring himself to see the majority of people as his equals. This gets in the way of his relationships. He also thinks the worst/lowest of everyone due to cynicism and because it is his natural tendency to (in many cases) let out his own worst self first. So, he could expect to be served back the same.

On a regular basis, he has “insane” thoughts that other people would, in their cases, call intrusive thoughts or at the very least disturbing, with how it's not just violence in his mind (like the "pools of blood" described during the Circus) but also thoughts about the maintenance of his control, even if in "micro" ways, so no one can affect him or so he will not be weak. He would not let slip his weaknesses or his strengths, if he weren't already a well-known public figure. I wouldn't call it messed-up like the violence we attribute to him, but it's like an unhealthy extreme, like, "rely on nothing in this world," and essentially, he's a chronically intense person with "zero chill." (Because, "The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose," and if he became that albeit stable in his position, he could do anything without consequence.)

Headcanon of childhood Rafal estranged from the concept of childhood and displaced in a new genre, the boy-adventure stories.

Canon(?): Appreciates wordplay. (Two words: “Doom Room.”)

Canon: Both Vulcan and Rhian were better at PR than Rafal was.

He ghosts people and events (Irish exits) once he's had his fill.

Likes briny foods, like cornichons and olives.

Wouldn't greatly mind living in a bare, Spartan, cell-like place since it's Rhian who cares more for architectural and probably interior design.

Rafal: Did everyone collectively dissociate and get the date wrong? I've received multiple texts wishing me a "Happy V-day."

Rhian: [frowning pensively] ...your obsession with the empires of Western civilization is getting out of hand.

Rafal: It’s practically crucifixion to listen to you. [he laughs internally] Well, I don't see what else it could be—oh.

Rhian: Ah yes—mankind celebrates the splendor of love, not necessarily conquest, what novelty. [pointedly] To you.

Rafal: [melodramatically, lifting a hand to his brow and quoting:] And Alexander wept—

Rhian: And crucifixion? That's what you compare my wisdom to? Don't lie to me. It's unbecoming. [beyond exhausted, sighs in resignation] Not everything will align with your interests, but you know who else was executed? Saint Valentine. [he offers up this trivia hopefully]

Rafal: [ponders this for a moment, unimpressed] By Claudius II... No competition. Caligua and Nero's regimes were far more interesting.

Sequel to this post.

And this comment—I didn't remember being so specific, but I'm quoting myself for convenience today:

By the way, about the lyrics specifically, I had a thought, aside from obvious connections like flight, or "Living beyond your years / acting out all their fears" and "Look out to the future, but it tells you nothing," that fit Rise Rafal unambiguously, there's the fact that Icarus is stated to protect "the flames." And yet, in mythology, that's PROMETHEUS' job. But regardless of that oddity, the flames could represent Fall Rhian, which is ironic because THAT late version of Rhian is beyond needing protection, so it's a Pyrrhic Victory, even trying to protect him at all, the type that Icarus, Daedalus, and probably Prometheus experience, due to the consequences of their actions.

@wisteriaum Just in case you are interested.

I only wanted to clarify that Prometheus' supposedly Pyrrhic Victory was only pyrrhic from the incredibly narrow point of view from which I was seeing it from at the time of writing that comment. He suffered for eternity a fate worse than death, replete with torture, so from a self-centered (selfish?) standpoint, of course passing on the "invention" of fire to mankind was pointless, worthless, to him. And I don't remember if his individual feelings around the matter were ever narrated in any version of the myth. He saved humankind from some needless suffering in the cold nights and led to their advancement/evolution over probably a long period of time after him by his loss.

So, from a wider view, if we take a step back, the victory was never pyrrhic because we have to take the fate of humanity as a whole into consideration, not just the myth's protagonist's fate, even if that may be what we invest ourselves in.

This entire post idea germinated when I heard the song "Icarus" by Bastille. Here are some lyrics for reference:

Living beyond your years, acting out all their fears You feel it in your chest

Your hands protect the flames From the wild winds around you

Icarus is flying too close to the sun And Icarus' life, it has only just begun It's just begun...

Standing on the cliff face, highest fall you'll ever grace It scares me half to death Look out to the future, but it tells you nothing So take another breath

Your hands protect the flames From the wild winds around you

Icarus is flying too close to the sun And Icarus' life, it has only just begun This is how it feels to take a fall Icarus is flying towards an early grave

You put up your defences when you leave You leave because you're certain Of who you want to be

You're putting up your armour when you leave And you leave because you're certain of who you want to be, oh

Icarus is flying too close to the sun And Icarus' life, it has only just begun This is how it feels to take a fall Icarus is flying towards an early grave

What drew my attention the first time were some parallels I formed between Rafal and this Icarus towards the start. (I may clarify if anyone would like me to, but I think it should be direct enough to not warrant time spent on explanation.)

This time, however, I thought more of the lines I bolded.

Now, viewing Rafal through the lens of these lines, I realized he could have left a different legacy. Like, Prometheus, he could have done something of value to humanity and never seen the fruits of his labor, or benefit from his work himself—which I would say is, under the usual circumstances, the opposite of what one of the most selfish beings in the series would do. Except, what if it wasn't?

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Before continuing with this line of thought, here's a tangent:

This general concept in the post below reminded me of Rafal's greed(?) or drive for attaining and holding power alone, if it came to it, (and both Rhians' ambitions/restlessness), but I also want to say, it perfectly fine to condemn him (any of them, really) for his ambition as a kind of Faustian "overreacher"—but before your make up your minds, does anyone recognize this idea from a viral post?:*

*I'm referencing the first part more than the second part for these purposes.

I simply appreciate this notion because it's better to "die trying" than from rotting away or never even reaching near a lifelong goal. (No intentional reference to the prequel Rot here.)

(I, for one, am only glad Rafal died with his original, sort of static character intact though, with the pride and the selfishness of old, so he would still be recognizable—even if there was no corpse in the end to recognize lol.)**

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Off the tangent now:

What about a martyr!Rafal AU? ->

He dies during Rise and his final sacrificial act doesn't quite redeem over a century of Evil lived/done/committed to—and yet, it shifts everyone's perceptions by an incremental degree since they cannot forget the cognitive dissonance of the image of Rafal falling for Rhian. Though Rhian is the only one who knows to a more certain degree that Rafal was never truly out of character in his final moments. Public perception just didn't align with the real thing...

I would want to know everyone's late reception of him after death. Anyone who matters (narratively?) at least. I almost want to write a fic of this now, but I don't have concrete ideas and probably will not. Would everyone else, not counting Rhian, be stunned by the scene?

It would be so strange of an inversion, if he died by his last, selfless act rather than the hand dealt to him by his last selfish utterance as what happened at Fall's end. Wouldn't it?

Both of these actions (not choices, I must endeavor to clarify) came from him.

I hesitate to call them choices because they were split-second decisions, and barely decisions at all, resembling instinctual responses. What a range he has. I never bothered to look at the contrast before:

Leaping into harm's way, to take death in Rhian's stead, probably not processing everything or the consequences of the act, given the insane pacing of the moment.

vs.

2. Speaking without thinking, saying "my" instead of "our" Schools, simply because that's the place where his mind just was in the moment—reflective of selfishness that overtook selflessness at the time, when it was down to the wire, so to speak.

Both "careless" but only one truly a error.

(Fun fact: If this post ever gets a sequel of its own, it'll be either Sophie as a (failed) Christ-figure, which has a storied history as just a common thing in literature, since no, I'm not being sacrilegious, or Rhian as... Medusa, a version of the "woman-scorned" trope—I haven't fully thought it through though?)

Rafal: I would advise just putting up the mental equivalent of a “Do Not Disturb” sign or barbed wire.

Rhian: …which is?

Rafal: Pain.

Rhian: W-what?

Rafal: You see, when I torture the students, [Rhian lets out a gust of air in relief at the fact that this is probably no worse than Rafal’s usual antics and that he’s not self-harming.] I’ve learned that then isn’t the time for interrogation. They give the most nonsensical answers when they’re in pain, you can imagine, so there is your solution. Pain blocks coherent thought.

Rhian: …I think I will try something less demented, thank you.

Rafal: [shrugs and continues, prattling on] Delivering pain can have a similar effect, too, anyway. Though, I can’t promise it’ll stop all thoughts.

Rhian: [sighs] Nevermind. You’ve cured me now that I’ve acquired your intrusive thoughts.

Rafal: [blithely] Oh, no, you’re mistaken. These are the more pedestrian ones of the lot.