Something that's always irked me about TCY is how flippant Sophie is toward references to Rafal. This old ass bitch groomed and took advantage of her, manipulated and brainwashed her with the Swan Gold, and by the Ever-Never Handbook she's talking about him like he’s an unfortunate ex and not, you know, a fucking monster.
In TLEA it is specifically stated that Sophie is terrified of Rafal before he gives her his ring. Even after that, she makes numerous comments on feeling unsafe around him. There's no denying that she was affected by Rafal's behavior during the time they were together, so why is he written off as another guy Sophie couldn't keep? Why does Rafal become a punchline from the Handbook forward, not even a year after his death?
To put it simply: Sophie was taken advantage of by an older man. She showed obvious signs of how this was negatively affecting her in TLEA. It's safe to assume that she would gain some sort of trauma from this, but such is never exploited in QFG onwards.
Sure, Sophie is a very frivolous person, so her making a joke at the expense of an ex or commenting on how he's “still hot” doesn't come unexpected. But Rafal isn’t a Tedros or a Hort or even a Rhian. Sophie was never actually in love with Rafal—she thought he was hot as a teenager, yeah, but her romantic feelings for him were made up by the ring, and the rest was about her desire to become Evil’s queen and her jealousy toward Tagatha.
It’s like… shouldn’t the memory of Rafal affect Sophie in some way outside of, “yeah he was evil but at least he was hot”, or whatever? Isn’t there a chance that maybe the reason she was happy on her own at the end of TLEA was because being with Rafal had scared the concept of having a prince out of her? And that her lunging for the first cute boy she sees in QFG is completely out of character?
Trauma and grief affect people differently. I’m not going to pretend to be a psychology major when I’m not. I can’t speak from personal experience, but I can confidently say that Sophie “getting over” Rafal as quickly as she did felt shallow and lazy.
The closest thing to a reaction at the mention of Rafal that we see from Sophie is her comparing theSnake to him in QFG and getting a little unnerved. I find it bizarre that Sophie’s pretty much moved on from the whole ordeal not even a year later.
The argument that displaying a character suffering from trauma in a children’s book is inappropriate doesn’t work here, either, because Soman’s already written the toxic relationship she would be suffering trauma from into the damn book. That’s not to mention Tedros getting tortured in book 2, Callis getting burnt at the stake, Sophie being brutalized and left to die by the Elders—seriously, I could go on for years about the things that aren’t “suitable for a M.G. novel” in this series.
In fact, I believe it would be important to show Sophie having nervous or negative reactions toward references to Rafal. It would display the damage a relationship like theirs can have on a person, and then maybe less 12 y/o’s would find Rafal and Raphie less hot.
This can be applied to more than just Sophie, too. Literally every character in this series has lost a parent or guardian. Tedros was tortured, Sophie died in book 1, Agatha watched these horrible things happen to her friends… the list goes on. It amazes me that not one character has mourned or shown grief for a dead character or has had a breakdown over the immense amount of shit they’ve been through. Callis is mentioned maybe three times over the course of TCY. It’s insane.
Is this comprehensible? I’m not sure. It’s vvv late but I need to get these thoughts out.
Bottom line: I don’t think the Sophie/Rafal situation was handled well post-TLEA, and the representation of the trauma these kids undoubtedly should have is nonexistent.
Hey you wanna watch a series of OC Animatics set to music that tell a cohesive story about a nun and a demon(?) escaping from magical cultists and going on the run and struggling to hold hands and crying a lot? Maybe? This is that.
"I'm far from home, I've lost my only friend, everyone here hates me, and all I want is a way to find some kind of a happy ending... But you can't even tell me the truth. My ending is not about what Good I do or what's inside me. It's about how I look.
I never even had a chance."
i get that miles being sheltered to punk culture/ideas is an easy assumption, considering his parents' attitude towards gwen, but like. i really really want to pose to you all miles morales the graffiti artist, who's incredibly aware that his dad wouldn't defend him if he was arrested, but still believes in and makes public art. miles morales the black scholarship kid at a predominantly white school that treats him in equal turns like a snowflake, a loose cannon and a charity case, who in one of the novels gets suspended for calling out & starting a protest against his racist history teacher. miles morales who in that same novel gave his own cash to a pickpocket he had to stop after giving him a chance to surrender. miles morales who keeps getting told to shut up & back down but doesn't, even if it's "for his own good". miles morales who after being told he'd never fit into a system that should've helped him said "then fuck your system" and electrocuted the leader.
miles morales might not be punk aesthetically, but he gets it. he gets it more than a lot of so-called "punks" do.
(AU where the tale of sophie & agatha ends with the first book, rafal never stored his soul with evelyn, and sophie & agatha return to the school afterwards)
Not many people attend the funeral.
A few of Professor Sader's former students do, which is surprising. They're all historians and academics and authors, and they burn miniature copies of their books for him, raised dots shining on the paper. Some of them are familiar with the School for Good's vast grounds; some, those who were Never students, are not. But they close ranks like it doesn't matter at all.
Agatha learns, from Professor Dovey, that Professor Sader was a much more involved teacher before them. To Evers and Nevers alike. He'd distanced himself from their year; probably because he knew what was coming next. She sniffles a little as she says it.
Professor Sader's two older brothers are both there; both must be seventy at the least. The oldest, January, burns drawing paper and fine sets of paint, his face desolate. He speaks of Professor Sader like he raised his younger brother, and from what Professor Dovey says he practically did. How it must hurt, for your brother to leave you behind one final time.
His husband Matthew drops a stack of notes into the flames, the familiar dots glittering on the surface. He'll place a hand on Agatha's shoulder, later, and thank her for coming; tell her that Professor Sader was waiting for her, all this while. January will turn away, so Agatha doesn't have to see him cry.
July is the second brother, and he lingers a distance away from the casket. He doesn't burn anything, but he does step closer— just for a second— and whisper something Agatha doesn't want to hear.
Professor Sader has a sister, too. A half-sister. Her name is Evelyn, and Professor Dovey speaks of her with a quiet exhaustion. She taught at the School once. She doesn't return: not to see her brothers, not to say goodbye.
But one of her sons does. Rhian, he says softly when Professor Dovey asks. He looks very much like Professor Sader did; maybe that's why the adults can't bear to look at him, at the Sader who still has his whole life ahead of him. He never knew his uncle. January sent them the invitation anyway. His twin brother Japeth hadn't seen the need to go; but Rhian had always wanted a family.
The Sader brothers are kind to him. But they don't look at him. He goes to stand next to Agatha instead, like some odd pair of cousins. She doesn't object.
Who else? Not even the faculty attend. Most of them made no secret that they thought him insane. There's Professor Dovey, of course, and Lady Lesso by her side, for once silent. They each burn little paper models of houses: Professor Dovey's is a model of his rooms in the School, and Lady Lesso's is a replica of the Library of Virtue.
Then there's Callis. Agatha hadn't even known they knew each other. But she received an invitation from January, along with Agatha's, and their whole twisting story had come out. Their mutual respect, as researchers, as academics. Their friendship. The way Professor Sader had saved Callis' life, given her a way out of the Woods, just as he'd saved Agatha's. Just as he'd saved the School. Callis burns him paper clovers, the smoke reflecting in her gaze, curling up into the distant sky.
And Agatha rounds it off. She hadn't known Professor Sader, not really. But he'd known her. He'd cared.
He might have been something like a father to her, in some other life.
Just not this one.
She burns her copy of The Tale of Sophie and Agatha for him. She'd transcribed it, with Callis' help, into those patterns of raised dots. Professor Sader had never gotten to read it. He'd given his life for it. She thinks he's owed at least this much.
Thank you, she says quietly to him, as the smoke rises. She hopes that he can hear. She'll make sure people remember that it's his story, too.
Reread the last chapter of worlds without princes (book 2) and wHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT??!? What a messy rollercoaster and idk if i wanted to know what led to that point.
Tristan/Yara dying, Tedros tried to kiss Filip/Sophie, Agatha caught them- agatha sophie fighting- sophie reveal- TEDROS FEELING BETRAYED AND GOING TO AGATHA AND ALL OF A SUDDEN "OH I LOVE YOU MY PRINCESS ITS ALWAYS BEEN YOU-" LIKE YOU DIDN'T JUST TRIED TO KISS SOPHIE?!?
GOD AND THE AFTERMATH- oh my god its awful its disgusting- first sophie getting betrayed, THEN KISSING HER MOTHER?!?!?!??!???? HER DECEASED MOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEN THE FUCKING SCHOOL MASTER SHOWS UP OUGGHHH THIS AWFUL WRETCHED VILE DISGUSTING
Now that im older and reread the scene,,, this whole sequence is more fucked up- Sophie crashing out in book 3 is so justified bro id go batshit insane too if that happened to me
No wonder i erased this from my memory, and i wish i never revisited it, this is godawful
Haha… yeah… that’d be crazy…
What I'd give for one of the Cinderella remakes to go into how when you're in an isolated and abusive situation, sometimes you need to be saved and you're not weak if you can't escape by yourself
I've never been a fan of bad faith reinterpretations of fairy tales, especially ones which flatten the originals into "princesses is saved by a prince and nothing else", to then go #girlboss. The princess can save herself because she's a strong female character! (Implying if you're in a bad situation, it's because you're not strong enough to get out)
Movie!SGE - Hunger Games AU
These are old sketches and comic wips from 2023(?). I really like agatha and sophie's personalities and relationship in the movie. I think it fits more with hunger games AU than book!sge.
While both book and movie agathas are protective of sophie, movie!agatha being outspoken about her beliefs and actively challenging the status quo makes me think that movie!agatha is more fitting as katniss.
As for sophie, while both ambitious and wants something more in their life, also a bit delusional too. Movie!sophie feels more like a normal teenage girl with dreams, while dealing with a new environment. A little more selfish and vain- but a healthy amount of fear for their life. Book!sophie is a lot more comical in terms of villainous attitude that it's a bit hard to imagine her in a survival game setting. (I know both sophies faced the trial by tale, i still prefer movie!sophie in hunger games AU)
If we disregard the by gender tributes in each district, Sophie and Agatha can both compete in the games, with agatha volunteering to stay with sophie.
I think Tedros could be a career tribute actually...
With all that said, I'm not sure how to go through with this AU, or how to end it. That's probably why i never posted it back then.
I would love to hear ideas with people, brainrot together LMAOO
Was looking through my old art and saw this
if i remember correctly it was from a UAAP game a couple years ago, i dont know if the couple is still together lmao
BUT MAN THEYR SO 👹👹😭😭🫶💕💕‼️✨💕
Please read Geto’s side first.
A world where Gojo knows of Kenjaku’s plan beforehand, and does something about it.