#also insane ramblings about just existing

[ah-b-plus]

Excellent. Took several years, but made it to the end.

Ambition: Nemesis spoilers by the way.

I should add some of own commentary on this, probably, so here we go.

I originally began playing Fallen London in I think 2021, because I saw a gif of a meme of a kid rapidly speaking on Discord with the captions "Play" on the top of the gif, and "Fallen London" on the bottom of the gif and I was like, 'hmmm, what is Fallen London?'

So I joined out of curiosity, and the rest was history.

I played Fallen London for like a year before dropping it. I did do that Whitsun, as I had hapennies when I came back, and maybe I did do a bit of Chime's Grand Clearing Out? Could be misremembering. I wasn't around for the whole Horticulture thing, which, is a shame, honestly would have wanted to be a part of that, but yeah.

Regardless, I started Ambition: Nemesis simply because it seemed more story based compared to the others. My main account wasn't really roleplaying at this point, and to this day, it really isn't. It has my general username, and even if I tried to translate it into an OC, I feel like it really wouldn't work, which, well, made the story somewhat lost on me, unfortunately.

That said, it wasn't like I had some fun. I remember being absurdly scared of Seeking, especially since I never encountered it until Christmas, because I remember looking at Eaten Sacks and just seeing the whole **do not do this** sort of thing and I just freaked out. These days, I would gladly accept a crumb, but back then, I was new, I was scared, the well was a black hole I wasn't ready to jump in yet.

My main account ain't jumping in there at all even now anyways.

Eventually, I did drop Fallen London. It kinda just faded from my memory. There wasn't a day when I went, NO MORE LONDON, it was just, yeah, shrug, forgor.

Fast forward to around last Hallowmas, after sorting my bookmarks, I saw Fallen London, and that shit hit me like some correspondent shoving everything violant down my eyes.

And so I got back into it, and even began several different alts, three dedicated to the other ambitions, two to seeking, which one is to toss themselves into the void and the other is to turn back, and one that's just a mailman.

Also, they are much more proper OCs than my main account.

As such, shenanigans ensued. My attention was sort of divided between all these ambitions and just the resource intensive seeking, so I kinda was just all over the place like someone had just tossed all of my paperwork onto the floor and said, 'fill it all out'.

It was fun though, maybe I'll go in depth for each of the accounts later but back to Ambition: Nemesis

Honestly, I was kinda just stuck on Knifegate for a while. I did some of Heart's Game and Great Game Renown grinding, selling off stuff and stolen kisses as I did. I am so thankful I lucked out and got the success on the first try, my god, a good half of those knives were from before the Rat Market update halved the price of those knives.

Either way, now at the end of the Ambition, I can say, yeah, pretty good. It's pretty character driven, which uh, helps out my other OC writing for lore, but, considering my main account wasn't made for RPing in the first place and was just there to be there... Yeah, I couldn't really enjoy it in the same way as I have been with the other ambitions, simply because I didn't really make a character to RP with here. It was just me existing.

Still, I did manage to get to the end. My first Ambition finished. A great accomplishment still, if I say so myself. Maybe I'll do it again with another account just to slip much more into character. But not right now.

If you're still here reading my ramblings, stand up, move around, raise a cup of whatever suits your fancy, and drink deeply. It's still a time of celebration.

A new true denizen of the neath joins the rest, after all, and I hope to see more of the neath in all its beauty.

[mr-payjay]

i am making my own ii human names list, but very slowly, because i am pedantic. also, i will not be counting mephone creating them as canon. ive had these ethnicity and family hcs for ages, and i will base my names on them. now, here are the two most important names.

OJ: Olivier-Jean "OJ" Jacques Silveira. my oj interpretation/gijinka is brazilian (paternal side) and ivorian (maternal side). his last name comes from his father and is brazilian portuguese. his first name and middle name were given by his mother, as many people in côte d'ivoire speak french (french colonization —> it's the official language now but there's MANY others accompanying it). a lot of people who speak french like to use "jean" in hyphenated names (trust me ive met a bajillion of them), so i included it. i think his name sounds quite classy.

oj was born and raised in america, speaking english at school and french at home. as well as some portuguese, but he never actually learned it. i think he would become quite pissy when kids at school would pronounce his name incorrectly (Olivier-Jean is... very not intuitive to english speakers. i believe they would say it like Oliver-Jeen) so they ended up using oj as shorthand. and he was fine with that, so it stuck. but at home he's Olivier and Olivier-Jean. he tells new people he meets to call him oj just because it's consistent and because he doesn't like the sound of his real name being mispronounced. coming from someone who constantly gets her real names mispronounced.

Paper: Paige Hsu (foreign name) and 许佩妍 / Xǔ Pèiyán (original name). my paper interpretation/gijinka is han taiwanese, so fully of han chinese descent. more specifically, hoklo (chosen because i hc he can speak mandarin AND hokkien). his family immigrated to taiwan from fujian (province in china with hoklo ancestry) post ww2. Xǔ is a particularly common surname in fujian, so i chose it for him. be gentle with me if i messed up with his given name LOL i know much less about chinese than french (but DO inform me if you know more about it and spot any mistakes!). Pèiyán means, in a way, beautiful garment. to wear something beautiful. to be adorned. etc. it's partially based on trying to make it seem a bit like the name "Paige", partially based on what i think his mother might name him (no real hopes or dreams for him so it's a little shallow), partially based on him as i know him (focused on presenting himself). it's also, as far as i know, a name mostly used for women. note that my interpretation of paper is usually a trans man.

now, Paige is unisex, it sounds like page, and it's a loved one of mine's favourite name for him, so i like it. i also think it makes sense for when he immigrated to canada with his mother as something they chose, and something he can still keep (being conveniently unisex). Hsu is one of the taiwanese romanizations for Xǔ. im not sure if he'd take on oj's last name. perhaps he'd hyphenate them. he's not particularly attached to his family, but Paige Hsu is quite a pretty name.

bonus: nickel is named Nikola Stević. this one was easy because my interpretation of nickel is kosovar serb. last names come from the father but the exact practice of it is a bit outdated so Stević is likely from his grandfather or great-grandfather (unless im misremembering how it works). i don't like the name Nicholas his name is Nikola. Nicholas sounds like a sweet little boy Nikola sounds like a menace. i see Nicholas everywhere start calling your nickel Nikola

[theygender]

Just discovered the term les4les. Are we really trying to make biphobia cool again

[lord-squiggletits]

I'm not completely opposed to making Pharma a weird guy in general pre-Messatine, the main issue I have with it is that a lot of that type of fandom is less "what if he was just a weird little guy" and more seems to be written with the implication that Pharma went crazy because he was just always a little crazy (or a little evil, or a little heartless, etc). Basically, to me it downplays the fact that Pharma underwent massive trauma for two years straight that other characters barely survived for a few hours/days and instead frames Pharma snapping as some sort of... I don't know, genetic/fated downfall because he was just weird, he was always off, is it really any wonder Pharma ended up Like That because I mean there was always something a little weird about him.

It just seems to accidentally imply that Pharma snapping under the pressure of years of torture was some sort of moral failing or sign of him being weak/immoral. You know, Pharma was always kind of a little creepy/insane/evil deep down which is obviously why he killed people. If he were just a normal, not-weird, good person then he would've been mentally strong enough to Not Go Insane. Like uhhhh it just seems kind of fucked up to imply that the reason some people are unable to cope with long-term trauma and have violent/unhealthy coping behaviors is because there's just something innately wrong with them, and then try and look back on their whole life trying to contextualize how they were actually unstable and evil all along instead of just accepting that like. Normal people (tm), yes normal and good people, can be put in situations where they're slowly turned into broken monsters because they had no escape and no good choices.

And also it's equally fucked up to imply that like. Whether or not you can deal with psychological torture without snapping is some sort of function of how innately moral or mentally strong you are. Incredibly victim-blamey to basically go "well the reason Pharma went insane is because he was just always cracked in the head, unlike our good buddy-pal-friend-hero Ratchet who's the perfect doctor and a good Autobot who's never done anything wrong which is why when he's an asshole/hurts people he's not nearly as destructive or Weird About It."

It's not that "Pharma was always kind of crazy" can't be done, because anything can be written well with enough thought. But I think in terms of writing, it's a very difficult and nuanced line to balance and most people literally just can't do it without implying that trauma victims/mentally ill people are evil or something. And Pharma is already unfairly villainized enough as-is, and in canon his trauma was already downplayed in favor of "haha crazy doctor chainsaw go brrr look how weird and quirky and craaaazyyy he is." So it's one of those things where 1. Most people just aren't good enough to write it and 2. "Always a little crazy" Pharma is already oversaturated enough in the fandom anyways and it's enough of a battle to get people to recognize that he's a tragic character and not just an evil asshole.

[k1tty5]

hello :D please tell me more about your mezalian (is that how you spell it??) smalletho I will forever be indebted to you

(they are gorgeous I love them sm)

hey hi !! it would be my pleasure … (and I���ve been spelling it mezalean ??? but i have no idea LOL. there might be a canon spelling but i havent watched joels esmp1 since… probably since it ended. i will have to check sometime)

apologizing in advance because i will probably get very ramble-y!!

ummm. Oh god. How to start. Lets see. WELL. In this silly little au (i guess it has become a bit more than just me doodling designs LOL) in my head they have like this sort of zelink dynamic? obviously without all the zelda lore & stuff, just that kind of … okay forgive me I haven’t brushed up on my zelink lore for a good many years but. Like the princess and her personal knight that doesn’t really talk much sort of thing.

this made more sense in my head. But yeah. They have the vibes of zelink ? At least if i remember zelink right, I have a really bad memory :’) not exactly the same, i do think etho talks to joel (whereas if iirc link never really talks) - especially after getting to know him a bit - but just. they have the Vibes. You know?

I reckon Joel’s definitely very into sculpting in this au, maybe dabbles a little in painting - I imagine mezalea to be very heavy on art and expression in general. think you’d especially see lots of pottery and textiles all around the place. He probably also has an interest in some form of like. um. whats the word. Some sort of … fighting. lmao. Specifically thinking of fencing, i had this idea in my head that he’s watched Etho practice outside the palace at some point and is just absolutely fascinated and enamored. by both the practice and etho himself haha.

and for etho… talented swordsman? he is Not washed. i dont really have many ideas for his character in this au To be completely honest, mostly just of his personality. Although, I alsooo think he’s probably not actually from mezalea? I like to draw him with those pointy elf ears, and i think mezaleans are just humans. I cant remember if thats canon or not but um. mezaleans have human ears, so i’d imagine etho’s probably from like.. rivendelle? Is that. What it’s called. The elf guys? Are they elves??? Goodness I cant remember. Grimlands would make sense too since i THINK they’re kind of like. technical engineer guys? but i dont know what species they are um so ,,, yeah,,,,

i think joel’s probably a bit put off by etho at first, mostly just because he’s not super enthused about the idea of a personal guard, but also because the guys a bit odd, you know? but he’s also probably suuuper intrigued by him. he wants to figure this new guy out, and when they start talking a bit more, i think. They are both incredibly charmed by the other. head over heels? possibly.

most of my ideas of this au are just little scenes that are cute and silly but dont follow any main plot. I would love to write some one-shots of some of the ideas i have in the future, but as of right now im experiencing a bout of creative burnout and am busy with the holidays - spending time with family, so… not right now lol!

hopefully this is what you wanted,,,, i tend to get very ramble-y when talking about literally anything, so i do apologize for that haha, i am Not good at explaining things in simple ways, as i’ve said many a time before.

[fumifooms]

Typing the nightmares bit here made me think again about how Dunmeshi is a lot about promoting community— and that, even when community is a lot of what hurts characters. Like, everything is social, humans are social creatures with social lives, it’s hard to avoid, but still when looking at the dungeon lords’ troubles… Troubles with feeling secure within relationships, with feeling like they belong in their society or community, feeling rejected or unsafe or Other.

Struggling with judgement and superstitions like Laios, Falin and Kabru. Struggling with racism like Chilchuck and Kabru. Struggling with strict conformism like Senshi. Ableism, xenophobia, colonialism, hierarchy, Mithrun, Thistle, Namari. All victims from all exclusionist societies one way or another. Again, rejection, on both a wider and interpersonal level.

Ultimately Dunmeshi is about how good community is to have while uplifting everyone’s quirks and differences, but you can’t help but see how exclusionary and harmful some groups are and how identity, especially identity in a social setting, is what characters struggle with the most. What Laios is tempted by is to leave the weight of a human identity behind, flee everything human and social as a monster. With how difference or stepping out of line hurts people consistently across the board and how humanity & social bonds are sometimes framed as the source of pain, you can’t help but wonder a bit if this doesn’t lend itself to promoting a sort of self-less social system, like an ecosystem that behaves like some hivemind of mother nature, but no no that’s what the series is condemning—

The dungeon is not about how an ecosystem (a social life, a hierarchy, a community) is a well-oiled, scientifically calculated machine but about how every being in an ecosystem has a different role and behavior, and how each one is important specifically because their differences are complementary. Diversity is not only a strength it’s essential. Bonds are not only important they’re essential. Otherwise what will you do when a god needs slaying and you don’t have an hungry furry around, huh? What will you do when the dehydrated samurai and the dehydrated elf and their friend circles won’t eat your sister? But more seriously, a lot of the beauty of Dunmeshi’s cast is how truly different they are, in the way they think, in the judgements they hold, in the way they’ve lived. And even in the face of that how our protagonists have always reached out— how Dunmeshi says that it’s good to seek to understand what you do not. Differences can be overcame, differences can be celebrated. A monster is not a being of good nor malice, it just is, and it deserves to be considered a living being, too.

No no no but like, approaching this on an emotional level rather than societal one again— Dungeon Meshi showcases being human as a prison of sorts in many ways, especially in a social and emotional sense. Characters spend a lot of time being worried about laws and reputation, about social judgement and social rejection. Chilchuck, Toshiro, Namari, Marcille… Senshi prefers sidestepping the entire thing and keeping to himself. And on the other hand, Izutsumi doesn’t like her body and doesn’t want to deal with her emotions, she has to accept herself even if being a beastkin has attracted disdain and mistreatment to her. Your identity is not fully your own, it’s framed and shaped by those there to perceive, judge and shape it like reputations. Similarly, your feelings are your own, but shame, hurt, pride— sometimes you’re compelled against your will by others, by relationships, to feel. Laios is the most flagrant and literal example, wanting to become a monster with the mind of a beast to flee the trauma and emotional toll of human society.

In this line of thought, caring about people is a shackle in itself too, Chilchuck wishes he could be free of caring, for the party but also for his wife leaving him.

- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Chilchuck who doesn’t want to still be hung up on his wife even though he’s deeply hurt who pretends being mad over it who throws his arms up in the air and does nothing about it, even if he brushes it all under the carpet and acts like it’s barely a bump in the road who still speaks of his wife in present and future tense. Who can’t move on yet can’t find the strength to reach out and try and be rejected and hurt all over again. It’d be simpler if he didn’t care about what happens to the rest of his party, if he didn’t feel the urge to risk his life for them so they might be safer. It’d be simpler if he just never opens up to anyone again, if he just doesn’t try, if he keeps to himself and sabotages relationships and forces himself to believe that he. Doesn’t. Care.

Falin also was shackled not by anger but by love. Again that Dunmeshi theme where humanity and feelings and care can feel like a prison, on both ends (caring and cared for)! But connections and care are what it means to be human and none of us are free of them. None of them. Not even Senshi the thriving hermit. Senshi being a recluse who despite always staying at an arm’s length of people as a mentor figure or a temporary guest or a friendly business partner because memories of his first party still haunt him and he thinks the conflict was his fault and that he can’t fit into a group, like with the orcs… Who despite that does want to help others, tags along with groups, even if just for a fun time not a long time. And yet when shit got serious with Laios’ party, he stayed. Even though he keeps exploring post-canon, much like Izutsumi and the other characters still figuring some things out, even though it might feel so much easier to live a quiet life of solitude, he still wants social connections and can’t keep himself from caring.

"What do they call it- it’s like something about love- where it’s like Love compells you- like kinda forces you to act against your own volition- love calls you to be something other than you are, it challenges you and yet you want to be compelled by love, you want to be subsumed to something larger."

- Cj the X, How Jordan Peterson’s Suits Taught Me Fashion

[quietwingsinthesky]

youtube stop recommending me that five hour long “fall of doctor who” video challenge. there is not a video i could be less interested in watching.

[lilacautomatic]

I really love how Harunobu is arrogant but not selfish.

Like—unlike a lot of similar characters I end up enjoying, his pride is 100% sincere. He’s not covering up for a poor sense of self-worth by playing up his confidence, he GENUINELY thinks he’s the shit and he can (usually) back it up too.

…But his pride isn’t and hasn’t ever been in service to himself. He lived his entire life devoted exclusively to his province and barely treated himself like a person with how much he prioritized his responsibility to his people. He takes being exceptional as an objective fact about himself, but being exceptional is only worth taking pride in because it makes him a good Takeda. As the head of his clan, the ONLY thing that matters is how well he can provide for others. And he didn’t just feel responsible for Kai because it was what he was born to do—he loved that place and its people, more deeply and sincerely than any other daimyo we see in FGO. (And he still does! Hometown pride is basically one of his core fuckin personality traits! He’s so obnoxious about it and I love him!)

Knowing exactly how much he abandoned everything that didn’t allow him to serve Kai better—his relationships, alliances, even his own desires as a person—really makes it feel so much more meaningful when he tells you that supporting you is his choice, not as a Takeda, but as himself. After all, being a Takeda was his reason for living. All of his responsibilities, all of his pride, every single thing he ever defined himself by—he’s putting it all to the side to tell you he’ll see you through to a beautiful world when it all ends.

[fudgecake-charlie]

sorry i havent been online i listened to one of my narrative playlists and ended up stuck down a fl Seeking plotline rabbit hole on the wiki. walked out there no longer normal, covered in wounds and wax and betrayal etc. don't talk to me about it. tag ramble

[koumeowkami]

THE ANGY BABY IS HOME

[pillowenvelopchair]

Hey guys!! this is just my insane ramble on Still Waters Run Deep that's made by the lovely @un-local. I've had so so sooooo many thoughts about this fic and I decided to try and put it all coherently in a post :)

Probably not a lot of new insights, just many, many rambles

Magdalene analysis and her view on Rogier + some other stuff

Magdalene, at the start of the story, is aimless and refuses to follow any line of Grace, putting off whatever it leads to and going in the opposite direction. Yet Grace is fickle, and it all eventually converges, so she gives in. (aaaand a life-changing partnership ensues)

She wants out of the competition of becoming Elden Lord, and she wants nothing to do with it. Someone else to take lordship is what she wants. Magdalene, in her eyes, is not worthy to take the throne. But Rogier on the other hand…

Rogier is, quite literally, built different. He thinks differently compared to Magdalene (a STR vs INT user difference lol). He’s able to pick out all the details that she would miss. Be able to extrapolate and examine it all and be able to learn from it. Magdalene can't do that.

It's basically:

Rogier: says some fun facts about the most random thing in the room, saying all the history behind it, and what the tiny details could mean Magdalene: yeah, that's a rock.

So instead, she becomes a tool for Rogier to be able to use, because that's the least she can do for him.

“She can already feel the faint grin forming on her lips at the thought. She never wanted to be Elden Lord. She’d finally picked up and followed grace to... to get away, with no idea what it called her to do. When Melina told her where it led her, she felt only dread. But Rogier... To save Those Who Live in Death... Two birds, one stone. She meets his eyes, and doesn’t look away. In them, she doesn’t see pride, or avarice. She doesn't see a man who wants to rule the world. Not at all. The path forward is clear now.” -Chapter 22

For once, she really sees a light from the dark future she sees. She's hopeful that she won't have to take the throne, that Rogier can burden it instead of her. He's worthy in her eyes and because of that, she devotes herself to him with all she can do. (Ah but… I believe Rogier wants her to be Elden Lord? Not sure but her not wanting to be Elden Lord doesn’t quite fit with what he has planned)

Magdalene really holds onto Rogier, and his guidance (a comfort wizard, if you will). And so the idea that he won’t make it… that she’ll be left alone with Grace again, forced to join back into the competition for lordship... It's sickening to her. So she really clings to him, desperate to not be left alone with a destiny that she despises.

Magdalene is always pulled into different directions. Grace pulls her to one but she pulls herself to the opposite one. Fia and D are both on extreme sides of the spectrum on Rogier's survival, and Magdalene is caught right in the middle of it.

But for her, Rogier will survive, he has to survive otherwise... that light, that small hope she has will all fade into obscurity.

Ghosts from the past (Lorens and Ida)

I absolutely love how something, or rather, someone haunts both of them.

Lorens had been the catalyst of all of what Rogier does now. Why he’s so desperate to save those who live in death. He's literally devoted his body and mind to Lorens just to see him alive (maybe Rogier's devoting all of himself to finding a solution to death because he wants it to come back to the old times when it was just him and Lorens in the Rise, or maybe not!! I'm just rambling lol).

Every thought of Lorens is painted with a sort of bittersweetness to it. From Rogier's perspective, at the very least (I'm super curious as to how Lorens would view Rogier but we'll probably never get it because... you know...). He's almost obsessed with him, and it's all pretty unhealthy lol.

Magdalene, who’s haunted by Ida who's probably a sort of lover that hadn't been fully brought to fruition. Different opinions on what they have had made Magdalene leave with (from what I have seen at least, we have scrapes of her, people! I can't wait to see more of Ida though)

Now with Ida... Magdalene absolutely shakes herself out of every thought she has about Ida. Spurning every single thought or imagination she has of that woman.

"Nausea comes in waves. Fever. She can feel delirium taking her—she’s convinced she’s submerged in the very waters of creation, for a while. She vividly feels herself sinking deeper and deeper into a current; cold and dark and inescapable. As it pulls her down, she’s overcome with the instinct to breathe it in— Against her temple she feels a hand, with gentle fingers dragging softly through her hair. Suddenly, every layer of the dream collapses in on itself, and she jolts awake with a gasp.  Here, in Liurnia, she hauls herself up, rubbing at her face. Even the memory is a shock of cold water to her. She’s a woman haunted." -Chapter 23

(I just really love this part- I can't help it)

I think it's also really interesting how Magdalene leaves Ida due to their differences in what they have (?) while Rogier just absolutely hangs onto Lorens no matter what, despite him being... er... him. Not so sure about his personality with the small flashbacks we get of him but he’s probably not good for Rogier.

In short, Rogier venerates Lorens, while Magdalene absolutely rejects Ida. (Opposites!)

Rogier’s overthinking

Also found it interesting that when Rogier thinks he really thinks. He's a professional overthinker, even in the past

"He thinks of the labyrinthian etiquette, the way he’d triple-check every sentence for a double meaning. The secrets, the ruthless political schemes. It all felt like a spider’s web to him. He’d learned the game, and he played it well, but it had been nothing but paranoia and misery for him. Just like it was for everyone else." -Chapter 17

It's what's kept him alive (Ch. 17), and what's been able to pave the way for his findings Yet, it’s also his curse. He tries to pick out every detail that he can and think of every possible reason or motivation. Every single outcome he just needs to know so that he won't get caught by surprise again. He needs to be in control of the situation, he needs to be the master of the chessboard.

Oh and once this guy spirals, he really spirals. He starts thinking and looking at details, rewinding every single thing, every interaction, and trying to label a reason for every little thing. Yet... something emotional seems to break the surface of the water.

I personally think that he was raised to overthink. He was a noble after all, and he dealt with politics. He truly needed to check, double check, triple check, every single sentence and word in case it would have a double meaning. "He’d learned the game, and he played it well" (Ch. 17) . Getting worse after Lorens' death, being fooled by "Only a cut." (Ch. 25) and seeing the aftermath of it.

He can't not do it because if he doesn't, and he gets surprised it would break him (or at the very least, freak him out).

ALSO!! Rogier hating on "saccharine conversations" (Ch. 17) good lord. This guy cannot be real with anyone. Rogier refuses to show vulnerability because:

1. He was raised like that (the whole attachment theory thing) 2. He will absolutely break if he does

Do you guys remember when Fia tells Magdalene that "dear Rogier began to weep as he spoke" (Ch.14)? Fia saw through Rogier's walls through the cracks and he just absolutely breaks down. (Get yourself a man who, after "embracing" tells you all about this thing he's obsessed about and then cries because of it)

It's a mortifying ordeal, that someone's able to see through the walls you've meticulously put up. It hits something deep within that he’s tried to bury.

Despite the walls he puts up people other than Fia see through them. Magdalene (Ch.7) was able to see through the small cracks that have broken, and Roderika... hoo she really hit a nerve didn’t she? (But it also hit one of her nerves too, Rogier vs Roderika am I right?)

Chapter 17 analysis

Also, while we’re on the topic of Roderika, let's talk about chapter 17! Seems I have a lot to talk about.

I absolutely love this chapter so much, it gives us so much insight into Rogier's backstory and the way he thinks. His noble background really shines through here, with how he acts with Roderika who is a fellow ex-noble too.

"His grin is wide and carefree, but it rather feels like he's baring his teeth.  There’s no room for your pity here." -Chapter 17

This guy cannot accept any sign of sympathy/compassion with anyone. It's all pity to him, and he absolutely hates pity. Once Roderika starts to console him too it sickens him and it makes him bare his teeth like an animal, his baser instinct showing just a little bit.

He’s probably bore his teeth to other nobles in the court, or whatever meetings they have with one another. Small threats that get the message across by a vicious smile, is something he is all too familiar with.

I also think that it's a little bit funny how he gives advice to Roderika but then is also a little bit of a hypocrite about it

“It’s hard, to leave it behind. But the old world will keep its claws in you, if you let it.” -Chapter 17

Rogier while it's not his past life that he's stuck but rather, he is stuck on Lorens. Even though Rogier is no longer Lorens' student, even though Lorens is dead, he still has his claws on Rogier. It's his entire motivation, why he's in a "pathetic" state now. He isn't letting those claws go, he lets them dig deeper within him, and they dig in deep.

“You already have it within you," he says. "They were only trying to bury it.” -Chapter 17

Rogier immediately buries his own emotions in this interaction when Roderika tries to console him lol. Just based off of him being an ex-noble and his whole family thing, it's well established that he is very much used to burying it all down his gullet. I mean, is it really Rogier without emotional suppression?

Also Rogier tends to close off all the matters that relate to what he feels in his dialogue both in game and in SWRD. This guy cannot let out just a slight moment of vulnerability

A Color Theory Thing on my read on Rogier's garb:

Rogier, with his background being grounded in nobility has suppressed his baser desires in exchange for meaningless political schemes that have only brought him misery. Yet after coming to these lands, he finds himself with Lorens.

He wears a Raya Lucarian Robe and it has red on it. It's a sign of baser instincts being shown for once. He has grown an infatuation with Lorens despite being his student.

Yet, Rogier is still mostly blue, and he still suppresses that baser desire that he’s developed, that infatuation for Lorens. He never once builds up the courage to be able to tell Lorens what he feels. He would always bury those feelings down, and as a result he can't let go of it. It's far too deep to be buried back up.

But once Lorens has died, Rogier changes too.

He exchanges those garbs for yellow and turquoise (I think?). He's a mix of colors and beliefs.

He still has the blue in the turquoise, which symbolizes calm, intelligence, and emotional control (you can’t spell Rogier without emotional control) But turquoise isn't just blue, it also has green.

Green represents growth, life, and new beginnings. This is a new beginning for Rogier, who's set out for a new goal, to be able to save those who live in death (and perhaps give them life? Not so sure on that but in SWRD that seems to be the case with Lorens).

It's balanced by yellow. Creativity and originality, he's almost the only person we meet who wants to save TWLID. Not only that but yellow also symbolizes illness, which could be a foreshadowing of what happens to him later in his life.

It's not just sickness though, yellow also symbolizes deception. Rogier lies, but I necessarily think he's someone who is always deceptive. He's more like the type of guy who would lie so that an encounter would go well or not hurt someone else's feelings. I think he's like that from that whole ex-nobility thing he's got going on. Political schemes and lying through a smile is something that he's familiar with. (It also doesn't help that he keeps being emotionally suppressed too lol)

Cowardice is another. Rogier is scared to tell anyone about his emotions, to take that risk of being honest with someone. His background in nobility and his family definitely doesn't help either.

Rogier had been too scared to be true to Lorens and tell him his feelings, and because of that, he would never be able to. I feel like he's avoided it even more afterward. He refuses to take that jump of being honest with someone, whether it's about his emotions or his ideals, he doesn't let them go.

But when he does? With D, it completely breaks off everything they've had. Everything that they could have been.

"Beguiled fool. A rotten, sick bastard. Fouled by them. A wicked, two-faced user. Heartless. Loathsome parasite. How could he? Were they not supposed to set this crooked world straight? Profane. A perversion of honor. A madman." -Chapter 5

“Get out of my sight.” “I’m sorry.” He’d said, and he was. But Darian’s lips curled back, and he jerked his head away and locked his eyes on the horizon. His jaw twitched, in the moment he took to reply.  “Don’t talk to me.” There was nothing he could do to fix this. To undo his mistakes, to spare Darian his intentions." -Chapter 5

It's all gone because he had been honest about his goals (presumably). This experience probably strengthened that emotional suppression so as to not be hurt/caught by surprise.

So when Magdalene, someone who wholeheartedly accepts his ideals and sees his side for once, he's cautious. He can't believe that someone can genuinely agree with him because all the times that he has been honest, he's been punished for it. (though, he reminds himself that she's not like that)

In short, this guy's a mixed bag. A mixed bag with problems

(basing this off of the Elden Ring color theory video, it was an absolute joy to watch)

[EDIT]: idk what to call this section but he seems to seek out some form of approval. Lets see how that ties in with his grief!

"He still doesn’t understand why. What did he do, specifically? Or was he just past his usefulness? Deemed unfit to rule? He never truly wanted to rule as Lord, but to be cast aside so indifferently—it had shaken him.  Every now and then he fumbles with this, again and again, but he knows. He does. He knows that grace has forsaken him for good reason. He’s a heretic. An apostate. He who does not obediently bow before a faltering, decrepit Order, so ill-equipped to handle the world as it is. " -Chapter 5

"All these years. Couldn’t change a thing. Rather pathetic, I’d say—what a fool, thinking that this crooked world could be made right by mortal hands. Sure, deathblight. Truly, a fitting end for a worthless, rotten bastard." -Chapter 12

Now, speaking from some personal experience, being raised in a family that's of nobility and expects so much out of you from a young age definitely breeds some kind of self-worth issues that really stick with you. Especially if you haven't had anyone to truly support you.

Because of that, I believe that Rogier, in a way, is trying to prove his worth. But not to the Order, I think that he's in some way trying to please Lorens. Even in death.

He puts everything into his studies of Death, searching and scouring for scraps of information just to give him a single lead on anything, and for what?

"Its fulfillment will be a selfish act of altruism. These crooked lands will set right, by his hands, for a reward of nothing at all. But make no mistake: he needs another day. And another after that, and another after that. He needs his questions answered with questions, he needs his notes corrected in an unreadable hand, he needs to hear one more “Well—” followed by the most opaque, convoluted tangle of sentences ever constructed. There’s no reward he seeks, but the warm smile of cold gray eyes and a scoff about just what he’s wearing nowadays. " -Chapter 19

Rogier devotes himself to saving TWLID (saving Lorens, in reality), but it's not because it's all for selfless reasons, he seems to want things to go back to the way things used to be. Back at the Rise, with just him and Lorens once more.

I don't think Rogier ever accepted Lorens' death. He's determined to bring back Lorens, desperately trying to find a solution to bring him back no matter what.

And it’s quite hypocritical isnt it? That Rogier wants to change the Order to be able to sort of… revive Lorens from Death. To go back to the old times that they both had had.

This guy refuses to grieve and is searching (desperately) for a solution for a dead man who's probably not even good for him. Get this man some therapy

This entire post's summary is just me going:

Anyway, that's all for my crazy rambles! I can't wait to see how SWRD will progress, and how everyone will intermingle and grow with one another (Rogier and Mags)!!!! :0)

Have some doodles + a WIP that I'll probably never finish as a treat for reading this! (Mag's torso was wayyy too long on the second one oops)

(bonus boggart because I love him)

[exopelagic]

i said i wouldn’t do it this time but it’s 3am and mods asleep. boy

[opens-up-4-nobody]

Me, once again infected with The Terror brain worms: I have so many feeling about AMCs The Terror 😔

[inact-ice]

Ok watching talistheintroverts’ video on companies torpedoing themselves and I swear to god there is a very clear connection between the way TikTok has emboldened white people to bastardized aave in new and more egregious ways than ever before, and with the way people use TikTok slang like ‘unalived’ irl.

One of these is worse than the other but white people mainly care about 1. Hint* it’s partly caused by racism (and specifically anti blackness) but certain people ignore that factor completely

[insomtiny]

tired of this fuckass job fr

[patchworkprince]

I need to revamp this blog