#Roman Stamatin

[lordturkish-robomallcop]

Hi! Imma go for it.

21/46/47/48 For Ana and Mihal (I have a weakness for codependent Tzim child/sire duos, what can I say). 

And 14/26 for Eliza but about her being a ghoul. 

hELL YEAH BUDDY.

Apologies ahead of time this is gonna be a Lot Of Text because I ramble hard. I tried to keep it brief but... it is clearly impossible for me to keep things brief. Also spoilers for future Limits of an Invitation/Project Cadmus stuff-ahoy! Nothing earth-shattering, but if that's a concern I wanted to flag that right off the bat in case there's anyone who wants to go into the fic blind. But with all that being said, let's dive under the fold and chat some tzims and their very "fortunate" ghouls!

21 Mihal/Ana - Predator Type This has changed/evolved for both of them over time based on what was available. Words from ST Roan on Mihal: “Word of god says predator type is a game term that is great for creating newer vamps but not narratively necessary or universally applicable to elder npcs… That said, since coming to America Mihal’s go to types are Osiris and Siren. Especially Osiris in Hollywood era. Before was often, but not always Montero, when utilizing ghouls since that’s common for old school tzims.” Valeriy would've been Mihal's main guy for netting dinner-- he's been doing it his entire life as a Grimaldi, he (was) a turbo-pro, 10/10 would doordash again. The NY->Hollywood scene was a constant churn of cult creation/destruction around whatever vanity project the two were making/beefing over at the given moment. Now in Fairhaven, he's a lot more lowkey so def more of a Siren than Osiris these days. Ana is a Blood Leech through and through. While he can settle for human blood, it has never slaked him unless it's a Rev or another kindred. His early days he remained bound to Mihal and supplemented his diet by tapping the schlacta/ghouls on the estate, as well as whatever poor sucker he could rip into traveling through their domain.

When Helena arrived and the pack was formed/as it grew, Ana would cleave more and more from his packmates. Also, obviously, if there was a Cammie lick that needed dusting he always had first dibs.

Now that he has been separated from the pack and Hermia is def not as down to be tapped on a whim as Mihal... Ana may have had to cut some deals with the Fairhaven branch of the Circulatory System to keep his meal plan buttoned-up and to his standards.

46 - Mihal/Ana, What are their Ambitions? 47 - Mihal/Ana, What are their Desires? Popping these two together bc they go hand in hand. Mihal and Ana were both 'freed' from their sires/sabbat expectations in the space of a couple of months. So weirdly, they're at almost identical turning points. Always mirrors, these two! Mihal: FIRSTLIGHT knocked down their doors and dusted their Ductus, as well as gave him a window to torpor their Bishop/his sire Vratislav. For the first time in centuries, he's beholden to no one. 900 years in counting and he's finally earned this 'moment' and he isn't going spend it rashly. Right now he has what remains of the pack, a precarious position hugging the Tower, and an prodigal childe who isn't coming home as quickly as he would like.

He desires stability, but as method of securing his own agency and control. He never wants to be subject to another's whims again after being bound to Vrat--to the point of faking partaking in the vaulderie unbeknownst to the rest of his pack. His ambition is securing a legacy that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder if not entirely surpass the true Elders of his bloodline. Which is a tall order when your Grandsire is Vykos, but Mihal isn't known for his humility. So, why not get his childe that city he always dreamed of? Ana: Mihal saw fit to 'cut him off' for a few reasons. First is political-- the FIRSTLIGHT operation left every kindred faction in Fairhaven scrambling. True-Cam heads pissed that the Cam is now mostly made up by ex-sabbat opportunists/anarch dregs. Anarch heads pissed that their leaders sold them out to the Cam when they were so close to taking it down. The two Sabbat packs that rolled over and renounced the Sword of Caine for protection are regarded to only slightly better than the few thinbloods that managed to make themselves useful enough not to get purged-it's a shit time for everyone in Fairhaven rn. Ana was the only one in the pack that Mihal trusted could make it out the other side of a bond while still being in his pocket. Cynically assumes if the remorse doesn't pull him back, the addiction will. Simultaneously, this is also to continue their escalating game of spite. Shortly before the raid, the two had a more-major-than-usual falling out over Mihal's treatment of Roman-- yeah surprise Roman is still alive and kicking as Ana's husbandish ghoul to this day. Yes it's a full can of worms but long story short Ana sticking up for Roman/at times putting Roman *above* Mihal has been the Issue Of The Past Century. Playing second fiddle to a Chisel? Kindly fuck off with that, Darling. Ana shares Mihal's desire for stability, but inverted. Bonds, Pleasure, Love, All Which Keeps The Beast At Bay-- its rooting the self deep into those you serve and who serve you. It's dedication, it's till death do you fucking part. Part of woodworking as a vampire is accepting that you are incredibly vulnerable to the thing you are shaping, that it could destroy you in a blink. He carries that attitude into not just his fleshcrafting but his day-to-day. Sure giving himself over, allowing that vulnerability, is a kind of oblivion, but it's an oblivion he can navigate, that he knows intimately and can maybe even thrive in/manipulate to his own ends.

His ambition? He'd love to know, he's taking suggestions. In the past he'd say cutting his own skyline-- something that he had begun to do when they first migrated to Fairhaven. Two downtown residential towers were drafted by his hand, but he's nowhere near amassing the resources to get another project off the ground in the current political climate. So he's taken in some goddamn pupils to keep the drafting hand limber. Maybe that'll be something. 48 - Something that I spent a lot of time on! Damn! Well, easy answer is the fic. But I think if I wanted to dig in, it'd be the bloodline/character arc timeline that I made that starts with the eldest and ends with Eliza. I spent a weekend reading clanbooks/supplements across editions as well as marinating in the vtm wiki to nail down what themes/trends I liked and wanted to play with as well as general history skimming because I, Mr. Podunk Midwestern Man, got most of my education about 1800's Russia from Chekov plays. Then I just went hog wild on a google doc and peppered my ST with too many questions so I could build out some of my own loresheets. Now I can not only tell you what Ana and Eliza were up to at any given point but also what their parents and grandparents were generally up to. Generational Narratives! I like em! I like the big sprawling tangled up casts even if the majority of them only exist offscreen/in the lore notes.

A fun fact which arose from this: Ana has a cousin who is his age, still breathing, leading an Obertus research initiative on the East Coast. She's wheeling and dealing with multiple Farm teams, funding Renditions in exchange of getting first dibs on any ghouls or suspected tzim that get bagged.

14 - Eliza, How did they initially feel after being ghould? Did they like being reborn into something new or did it take them a while to cope with their new reality? Eliza's first reaction was to compartmentalize the shit out of the situation and move on. It took a day or two for it to start to fully sink in, but overall she adapted well at first. This is mostly thanks to Ana taking a more hands-off approach, so outside of the basics (the blood bond situation and the masquerade of the living dead situation) what she learned and when was in her hands. It's a luxury of having a robust collection of kindred writing a keycard away at the University. Though the first time seeing Ana's 'Garden' definitely had a negative impact on her, throwing the whole arrangement back into question. Especially after learning that the 'Poppy' was Ana's last protégé, as well as the source of her current arm-- it launches her into an existential spiral.

Thankfully Roman turns out to be solid support, he steps into paternal role and helps guide her through it. He tells her that he's spent his time in the garden, that it was terrible and unforgivable, and yet he's sitting here with her today. The situation isn't ideal but it isn't unsalvageable, is his belief. He's seen the full scope of degeneration and growth, and he's convinced that the scales are tipped toward growth. Eliza isn't but also understands that, right now, this is what she has to work with. 26 - Eliza, Do they want to become human again or are they fine as a ghoul?

Eliza goes back and forth. In her darker moments she sometimes wishes Ana hadn't saved her. It's easy to see her life as an unnatural extension when her ghouling was that traumatic, and she is aware that she's complicit to some nasty shit. At the same time, the more she works with Ana and Roman the more desensitized she becomes.

Another major factor is her mother, Alana. She leads a Farm team in eastern Iowa, seasoned to the point where most FIRSTLIGHT hawks know of/have worked with her in the past.

Needless to say Alana Locks In the second she discovers Eliza's been ghoul'd. Full blown Rendition/Conversion team. It's ugly, and almost identical to the Garden/Circulatory System operations she was pissed at Ana about.

She gets out the other side with the general notion of "Its Complicated And I Don't Fucking Know, Dude." But she isn't one to romanticize humanity, not anymore. ... Whew. I think I need a nap.

Thank you @hlozt for the ask! As you can see I was chomping at the bit to ramble about these terrible lads. Hopefully it made some amount of sense!!

To everyone else-- if you made it this far/read all that, damn! Thanks! Have a draft Ana Zulo drawn by Roan for your efforts!

[herbgroom]

I don't understand the "daniil speaks latin cuz latin is a dead language" takes because latin... is not.... a dead language?

every single scientific field is based on latin, fauna and flora (latin words) species have latin names. bacteria and microbes have latin words in the name

medical field, whether you want to be a nurse or a doctor, you *HAVE TO STUDY* latin. it is mandatory. human anatomy is just latin words.

LAW. anyone who studies law has to know the roman law code

areas like philosophy, history and literature, probably art as well. because western culture flourished with romans and greeks, whether you like it or not

oh and if you speak a romance language, no way you can avoid latin. I myself had to study it for two years even if it had nothing to do with what I wanted

not to mention the time period of the game, early XX century (see, roman numbers) where latin probably had an even much stronger presence in academia than it has now. they probably had entire lectures in latin for all I know, and textbooks heavily featured latin I bet

I can assure you artemy knows latin, georgiy too, and probably the stamatins as well. daniil is just like that

latin is *THE* academic language, far, far from dead

[meirimerens]

absolutely gorgeous art. genuinely made me see the beauty in life.

and your writing? brother. (<- in tears)

one thing i want to ask you:

so we see Farkhad mainly through the Stamatin's view, i feel.

do you have any thoughts on Farkhad as a person? how he was as a kid? or a teenager? or is he for you only "existent" as an extension of the Stamatins? as this mysterious being... if you catch my drift.

THANK YOOUUU 🫶🫶🫶 very touched... the world is so beautiful and i can only try to approach its beauty. & more writing to come soon but this time it's evil.

and ok. ok. hehe. [1-frame glitch where i appear as an evil dog smiling] ok. hahaha héhéhé okay so basically.

farkhad's purposefully ambiguous to me, by me, through m(e/y telling of him). this is his design. this is paramount to his comprehension of him as a character to me. he is to me, but also to the real, lived and played, experienced narrative of the game, exclusively alive as an extension of the stamatins - it is them who give him (t)his game. there would be no farkhad without the twins, for it is them who named him this. he is nameless without them. however, and it is perhaps better articulated this way, more than being an extension of the stamatins... they are an extension of him. when i design him based on 18th-early 20th century persian portraiture it is because i anchor him, his physicality, in an art that predates the narrative, even his life as it is experienced by the twins. when i joke he was sculpted on the Achaemenid friezes, i mean it, when i joke he spoke(/speaks) ancient arameic by having been there when it was spoken, i mean it. and i don't. i'm fucking wit you and i'm not. this is what happened to the twins as well. this is something that i'm currently exploring in my current WIP but the way i conceptualize him is like..... a greek or roman myth. in the same way a character from greek & roman literature can have multiple stories of their births, multiple stories of who their parents are, multiple stories of what their symbols and associations are depending on the region, on the time period, on the people who worshipped and read (or despised and tried to burn out of the records); this is what he is happening to him.

i do believe he has a story, a place of birth, parents, even a sibling. I think he has a younger sister who resembles him a lot. where he is a sculptor and an architect and only incidentally is a musician, she is a musician by trade as well as a dancer. both of his parents were well-educated, relatively middle class. they also owned ancient art, which very young gave him his liking for creation. it was obvious he was gay as a child, in ways that translated in a great artistic potential, and his parents encouraged him in that path and kinda... pretended-to-not-see the gay thing, because they saw the artistic potential, and found himself having to accept that one influenced the other. i believe he is an Aquarius - this mysterious sign which appears to be of water, but is actually of air (this sign which is just before last: prelude of closing of the zodiac year, he is closing of everything around. he is the closing statement; everything comes after him).

and i don't.

you know what i mean?

[sforzesco]

this has less to do with sulla showing up in caesar's actions or ghosts, but something about building on top of bodies, foundational sacrifices, memory etc. you know.

remus and romulus' foundational violence was fratricide, then lucius junius brutus comes in with filicide, a succession of civil wars leading to philippi, which is the funeral that the empire is built on, and then trajan enters resurrecting the idea of the republic, but it's not actually the republic, it's something else, so that's another displacement.

or maybe! rome is a body, that's a whole thing too! sulla marched on rome, but caesar did it too, and his march on rome is the one that stands out more in popular memory! maybe sulla exists forever in that open wound

The Brothers of Romulus, Cynthia J Bannon

Roman Antiquities, Dionysius of Halicarnassus

The Deaths of the Republic: Imagery of the Body Politic in Ciceronian Rome, Brian Walters

The Defeat of Rome: Crassus, Carrhae and the Invasion of the East, Gareth C. Sampson

Lucan’s Civil War (trans. Michael Fox)

The Memory of Philippi in Horace and the Interpretation of the Epistle 1.20.23, Mario Citroni

Empire and Memory, Alain M Gowing

anyway. it's a bunch of graves on top of each other, civil wars and family murder and foundational sacrifices for the next era all the way down, so people don't die right, they go through funeral actions while they're still alive, sometimes they're doing some kind of necromancy with the republic, but the republic is already dead! it wont come back!! but what if we made something that LOOKED like the republic, how about that! so everyone is alive and dead at the same time, ALL walking in a living tomb.

tldr; it's all very "how many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown!" served with a side of "Architect Peter Stamatin survives as long as the Polyhedron, the paramount of his creation, survives."

Does Rome ever get rid of Sulla's ghost ?

tbh I don't think rome ever really gets rid of anyone's ghost. the whole concept of rome is one giant grave piled on top of another grave. sometimes people are dead before they've actually died.

[agendazilei-blog]

Urmărirea penală, aplicabilă în dosarul Revoluţiei

Urmărirea penală, aplicabilă în dosarul Revoluţiei

“Având în vedere afirmaţiile lansate în spaţiul public prin comunicatul de presă al Institutului Revoluţiei Române din Decembrie (IRDD) 1989, potrivit cărora în cauza intitulată generic “Dosarul Revoluţiei” nu era necesară obţinerea autorizării din partea preşedintelui României precum şi referirea la faptul că una dintre persoane vizate nu a avut calitatea de ministru, Biroul de informare şi…

[lordturkish-robomallcop]

Was digging through my big misc notes doc and found this post-session epilogue scene and aaaaaaaaaaaaaah my boy ;-; TFW your ghoulsband is better at parenting the local fledglings than you are.

[lordturkish-robomallcop]

Writing about the early days in the D'Vorak estate with this playing on repeat in the back of my brain

[lordturkish-robomallcop]

God bless my ST for this halloween shitpost gift, Roman's ten mile stare is top notch.