Yes, you read that right. I think someone else suggested it first (on discord?) and I’m just running with the concept—
Passive suicide (irl example if you don’t know what I mean: crossing the street blindly with no regard for your own safety, not caring whether you live or die.)
Provoking/tempting “fate.”
@sausage15 and @helloarska—tagging just in case you are interested since you like Vulcan.
I will probably not write this fic idea, but let’s tuck into it anyway.
Also, to clarify, Vulcan is just a poser, not a real vampire in this AU.
Long story short: these lyrics from this song, starting around [0:48], inspired a not quite crack-ship idea.
Sung to Rafal by Vulcan (hypothetically—since this jumpstarted the idea):
Are you free?
When morality is treated like a treat
Are you free?
[…]
Maybe it's time to serve vampire overlords
They say you're selfish, it's just in your nature
To fight one another, to be a lone wolf
It's just a myth they maintain to keep you in chains
I taste community running in your veins
Best case scenario: Vulcan is lively enough and promises tantalizing things, along the lines of power. It could even be enough to bring out some warmth in Rafal because Rafal cannot and will not take him seriously as an enemy, but that is not what will happen here.
Instead, it’s more of a partnership begun by force than a relationship and they don’t see eye to eye exactly.
We know Vulcan is the Evil overlord type but perhaps not unlike pirates in congregating with people, even though he has to be the one at the top of the hierarchy—sort of like how more classic villains as Rafal are lone wolves as well as how other Nevers like pirates aren’t.
Rafal even muses they would get along in Rise, if they'd ever had the chance to be friends, not that the line went exactly like that and Vulcan quickly made Rafal dismiss the possibility/verbal tease.
And just imagine the impeccable irony if Rafal (probably unintentionally?) stole Vulcan of all people from Rhian. God. That’d be terrible!
Anyway, just, imagine the animatic these lyrics could make, hah. Vulcan could overpower Rafal for a second, the Storian would be the witness, and in their partnership/practical union, Rafal could be free to do whatever he wants, as long as he adhere to the compromise. He would not be bound to the ordinary fairy-tale rules. He could go unhinged(?). (<- He doesn’t really in this plot though. Wait before I get to that point.)
Also, there’s that one bit in Rise where Rafal wants to mount Vulcan’s head on the wall, well, did Vulcan want the same? That’s compatibility, in a way.
And Vulcan, although we do more commonly think of him as dumb albeit iconic and more memorable even if he kind of functions like an inciting incident or throwaway villain, as others take the spotlight after—well, he was perceptive enough to see the rot in Rhian first...
If we aren’t going to follow the character arcs in Fall, who’s to say he can’t see the good in Rafal first?
Caveat: Not capital 'G' Good, as if Rafal's soul is literally Good-aligned like in canon, but Evil’s capacity for good actions or alternatively, Evil’s Love, or even just plain human good (like Lesso and common decency/love in TLEA, betraying her side for the greater good/survival of the world she lives in), the concept of good without the storybooks or sides. Y’know? It could work out (I say delusionally).
And with no further ado, we have:
At Vulcan’s behest, unfortunately, Rafal is robbed of some agency, let’s say. Bound to a chair but not without magic so he could get out at any time, but he wants to run the risk and protract his source of entertainment, so he plays along with the idiot. But, perhaps humoring Vulcan was a mistake. Vulcan and Vulcan’s men could still overpower him physically or if they brought out the eels, so he probably shouldn't have run the risk and been so conceited.
Except, he's never in mortal danger as the Storian is still Rafal’s, so neither one of the pair has the upper hand. So, they have to work together begrudgingly, for the time being, and Vulcan cannot kill Rafal, which yeah, that forces him to not betray Rafal.
Vulcan is in power and Rafal has to play the long game, so they could start it going with a king and his liege dynamic: Lord Vulcan and Rafal, no longer School Master in a way that's much acknowledged though he was never actually stripped of his title by the Pen.
Rafal does have to do some tasks for Vulcan at first, like security measures, magical installations, forcefields, etc., and the dirty grunt work that’s like, moving trespassers and prisoners but via magic, restoring facades of buildings from the battles, cost-effective again because ✨sorcery✨, and lastly, burning up corpses from war to dispose of them.
Thus, it’s a tyranny but the whole time Rafal is subtly sabotaging Vulcan in his temp position because, like, he’s real, true stereotypical evil advisor material, steering Vulcan wrong at every turn. Like the kind that plays 5d chess and mind games with Vulcan’s pseudo-court.
And then, he still doesn’t get the promised "freedom" (his old position and School back).
Ok. Time to set off every last domino and set loose into the general public every last bombshell of a statement he's been saving up, as in, accumulated over months. He's now actively tearing down Vulcan’s reputation, being smug and glib to journalists—everything, the works.
As for the domino effect side—Rafal’s blackmailed, bribed, beat, and bullied everyone on Vulcan’s side onto his own. It’s shaping up to be a coup, except no one likes Rafal and there are no real loyalties lying anywhere.
Yes, maybe there’s fleeting attraction from Rafal to that viper of a man he constantly denies but whatever, that’s not relevant. He’s still tacky as far as he’s a Never. And his 'School for Evil and Good' is tacky as far as the eye can see. He sashays. He explodes into a swarm of bats—a new spell lately, it seems. He’s loud and demands all of the attention in the room, and strangely, that part suits Rafal. He’s so irritating and not true Never material or a person of substance, right? But also… he’s convenient. He takes up all the air in the room so Rafal can sit back and watch silently, and skulk around in the shadows playing espionage for his Lord. He still has a job to do after all, as a spy-diplomat-ambassador-emissary, whatever the Woods would call him.
Vulcan is only half oblivious to all the ruin. Don’t think (in this case) that he isn’t clever enough to catch on a little, to see that Rafal has pulled some strings—but still he overestimates Rafal’s fealty sworn to him.
He wants a date night, maybe to out Rafal's treasonous ongoings, probably not for other reasons... probably.
Anyway, no pet names either like with Rhian. Definitely not. It’s “Rafal” or nothing at all as address. Vulcan respects Rafal enough for that.
Rafal, on the other hand, calls Vulcan "my Lord," but does it so caustically, it's like he's demeaning Vulcan every time or playing pretend with a child who's allowed to believe he's the authority.
They’ve barely touched the wine—and Rafal stabs him with no warning in the back. And then, ah no, there goes the jugular vein—he's making quick work of slitting Vulcan's throat.
And Vulcan? Oh well, he gurgles, drowning in his own blood and then forcibly kisses Rafal when he gets hold of his chin, with his last breath, bloody stench everywhere.
Rafal’s eyes widen in absolute shock. He didn’t think—this—would—could ever escalate. He slaps Vulcan in return but it does nothing. The man's head just falls limply to his side. Vulcan is already dead and red (bled out).
Rafal checks for signs of life anyway. No pulse. His own pulse is like a hummingbird’s.
But despite everything, Vulcan did get the last laugh. And in a way, got what he wanted.
He got a rise out of Rafal. Got a “worthy,” not an obscure, unflattering, anonymous defeat as a Never in a time of crisis at the hands of his best, most competent enemy. A shame he didn’t get to return the favor to Rafal. But well, things may have a way of working out, especially if Rafal being an Ever comes to light (if we adhere more to canon). It probably won’t though. Rafal has suppressed it for over a century. Rafal wouldn’t let it slip. He has a reputation. Besides, if Rafal buries himself, Vulcan will be in good company either way. If Rafal’s Good soul is (figuratively) buried, then Vulcan sleeps like a king, with his well-won defeat by the alleged Evilest man in the world. And if it’s Rafal’s body that’s interred by the end of it all, well then, that’s almost like company to keep, but he doubts Rafal’s ghost would waste a syllable on him. No matter either way.
And Rafal, in a similar fashion, almost deigns to think: likewise… maybe they should have shaken hands instead. It was all sport after all. Wasn’t it?
Rafal does not mourn but he does sometimes almost miss the man’s bravado and disarmingly charming charisma. T’would’ve been a fine alliance at most, nothing more. Right? he tells himself. With Vulcan as the outward-facing face of the operation. That's it. A missed opportunity.
Let's jump back for a moment:
Perhaps… Vulcan knew that the end was near. Perhaps he just wanted to prolong it, the relationship, as long as it lasted. He might have even known he was ultimately a dead man walking and that he wouldn’t be able to keep Rafal under his thumb because Rafal is Rafal and (usually, no always) triumphs.
That was the beauty of it to Vulcan. Waiting for the inevitable. Trying to make his own defeat memorable like dying in a monument to himself—kind of like the Egyptians preparing their whole lives for death, the single most important event in life to them being death itself. A death to die for. Memento mori. Does Vulcan romanticize death? Perhaps. But that’s still not it, no. He’s as grandiose and narcissistic about death as he is about life (and hopefully the rest of his being enamored by the concept, perhaps, of being defeated by Rafal is not too out of character). The logic goes a little like this:
Vulcan knows the Nevers of the Woods are undergoing a losing streak while Rafal, markedly, is not.
Why though? Is Rafal an Ever? That’s none of his business and frankly, he doesn’t care for that thought given his plans to provoke and so on. And it doesn’t matter because Rafal behaves Evilly and Vulcan doesn’t even care if he’s been yet another enabler or motive of Rafal’s.
Now, what’s the most Evil thing a Never can do, other than defeat an Ever, which, hasn’t been happening lately? Go out in a burst of glory and take another (N)ever(?) down with them. Yes, yes. Sovereignty over Rafal. That’s a lofty goal to aspire to.
So, Vulcan figures, sooner or later, he will be defeated given the trend of the Storian no other ordinary Never had been able to buck. He’s no fool. Nor deluded to that point. God knows he, Vulcan, can’t even counter it, the onset of the losing streak. Not a chance.
But imagine the repute he could gain if he were personally the enemy of Rafal and defeated by such a known and infamous villain as the Evil School Master. His name would go down in history. He’d get a tale. And getting a tale is nearly as much a draw as winning one could have been (had the streak not been continuing).
And Rafal. Is Rafal more good than Vulcan is, comparatively, at the very least? Storybook logic has dictated the “better” or the more Good of the two will win—that's what it's been looking like in recent tales.
Vulcan just has to put up a good enough threat for long enough to have major villain status (and maybe he orchestrates sending Rhian away).
And Rafal is too distracted by Vulcan, an immediate threat to worry about his brother’s whereabouts. Because, Vulcan is so close in proximity, however you want to read this, and is so urgent of a matter to deal with, to oust.
Rafal would be Vulcan's almost-equal for a time too and then, well, let nature run its course, get some licks in though too, because he doesn’t want Rafal getting out unscathed. Kind of like the fairy tale, "Cat and Mouse in Partnership." Betrayal and taking advantage is in both of their natures.
Maybe, Vulcan had stability the whole time all his life and now he wants to take the bull by the horns and ride it out as new claimant to the School Master position. Trying to master fate and Rafal before they both turn on him. And so, it’s like the construction and filling of a tomb, with everything he’d ever need to bring into the afterlife. Maybe even a vampire coffin decked like a sarcophagus. And maybe, just barely, Rafal even honors Vulcan’s wishes in death because, well, originally Rafal had no respect for the man and his methods. But now? Well, Rafal defeated an enemy worthier than he ever would’ve guessed. May as well honor the death. No pharaoh’s tomb or anything, but at least burial in the coffin Vulcan had slept in. Why not. It’s no bother really.
^(No inneundo intended above because, uh, no way would Rafal want that. In case anyone jumps to conclusions. Sorry, it has to be figurative. Although I'm willing to leave it open to interpretation as fandom is as fandom does.)
But that was the fun of it to Vulcan. An experience. Getting the last laugh before he died. Living large. Toying with Rafal. Basking in the glory. Having the capacity to hurt Rafal on an individual, personal level, which rarely anyone has had the pleasure of doing. The short-lived fame.
But after all that… well, Vulcan was right about one thing. Rafal isn’t a lone wolf. And the most that that manifests of it is, perhaps, running commentary of Vulcan’s in his head, like a parasite or a conscience that’s just as perverted as Rafal’s own. Sometimes his new double consciousness supplies Rafal with snappy lines and there’s debate within himself: is it actually the ghost of Vulcan or purely his imagination filling the emptiness?
But usually, it’s not so extreme as to be a double consciousness. Vulcan is silent most of the time. As, if not, Rafal would ram his head into the wall to get it to shut up and Vulcan wouldn’t really want that to befall the Evil School Master. Even he has standards, I guess. (Must have something to do with Vulcan breathing his last breaths into Rafal. I'm co-opting the Jafal agenda, in a way.)
So, yes… Vulcan isn’t corpse dust left in the annals of history. He’s still in Rafal’s head and really, that’s more than you can ever ask for as a Nemesis. To haunt your enemy after death.
Rafal argues with Imaginary!Vulcan a lot. It’s really grating but it helps him test out his ideas sometimes. Or his gorier ideas become more over the top with Vulcan’s input.
(By the way, Rhian is not dead in this AU. He’s just off. Let’s just say he was sent away to a remote place like Neverland, maybe because he went gallivanting off with Hook, being disloyal and in this AU, literally, choosing the first hot pirate he sets his sights on. So Rhian gets a moderately good ending but is not strictly Good in terms of morals.)
If Fall’s plot were to kick off at a delayed point, the thing that would awaken the Good in Rafal would be Vulcan in this AU, ironically. Some insightful comment about something well back when he was alive, a triggered memory. Something about Rafal’s selfless instinct that only applied to Rhian before—but that was suspiciously uncharacteristic of a Never. That sacrificial quality to Rafal.
Lastly, memes for my inspiration and to serve for your viewing pleasure:
Vulcan was self-obsessed (he and Rafal both, actually, but in different fonts). Case in point, haha:
