#hopefully im not overstepping my bounds lol i have no idea what im doing

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Hi there, tarnished oc anon again! So basically my tarnished are actually a pair of twins, Derrick and Merrick (M + F, respectively)! Derrick is a swordsman who favors rapiers, while Merrick is a sorceress. Despite the initial impressions someone might get from this, Derrick is probably the more sensible and practical of the two - while Merrick is just a rough and tumble little gremlin! Derrick is also a little more cautious and observant, while Merrick has a bit of a short fuse and prefers to take things at face value.

… Together, though, they make a team of utterly reckless, good-natured, and fun-loving tarnished - definitely an uncommon type in the Lands Between! They're probably more naive than other more experienced tarnished due to their relatively young age, so they're a lot more willing to trust others right off the bat. They bicker and fight with one another CONSTANTLY, but are also nigh inseparable and always have each other's backs in a real battle.

I like to think they'd make fast friends with Rogier in Stormveil, as they're always happy to make an ally, and his knowledge in both sorcery and sword arts would be highly appreciated. Merrick would also end up with the biggest crush on the man omg, she would NOT know what to do with herself about it (and Derrick teasing her wouldn't help either lmao)

I think what's been tripping me up would be more towards the end of Rogier's questline after being deathblighted - it's hard to imagine what he would think of their want to be close with him, trying to help him in any way they can simply because they care about him (especially Merrick… especially if he finds out how she feels about him!) Would he try to politely back out of the emotional corner they've put him into, try to build up his walls again to keep from having to have More Feelings about his impending death?

As a side note, I also like to think that, just as much as Rogier hates being pitied, Merrick would hate the implication of something they've done for him coming from a place of pity. The twins pity nobody, least of all their friend Rogier. I can imagine it would make Merrick very upset with him for a few minutes if he said something to imply as much 😊

Wow, I didn't mean to make this into an entire essay 😭😭 Long story short, if Rogier is closing the blinds on most everyone he meets, then the twins are the ones smashing his windows to break in 🤣🤣

Thanks so much for taking the time in reading all of this and offering your input!!

Ooh, that's a fun concept! I like the similar names for them. It ties into the naming conventions of the game very well!

Here's my two cents under the cut. And, like I said before, there's a thousand and one ways to write Rogier. Please feel free disregard any of this if it's not working for you or your story! I'm really just some broad with a keyboard, at the end of the day.

The first thing that stood out to me personally were these two lines:

[1] "Merrick (...) prefers to take things at face value." [2] "Merrick would also end up with the biggest crush on the man omg"

A crush on him, or his facade?

If it's the latter:

I'm understanding Merrick to be a more outspoken/brash type. That could work in her favor here. With the power of her more direct nature, what starts as a crush on his facade can grow into an appreciation for the rest of him, as she starts to find the cracks.

You mentioned about her rejecting the idea "pitying Rogier.” That might be a good start to that process. Just to string something haphazardly together to illustrate my point:

Rogier can't bear to be pitied, and he makes that known. In doing so, the facade wavers. (Tone of voice/words/general demeanor)

This gives Merrick a chance to see something past the face value.

She defends herself from his (spoken or implied) accusation, and by the end of it, they have a better understanding of another.

So her direct nature might help her get to the bottom of what his deal is. There's a lot of ways you could take it, I think.

But that's just me pulling stuff out of my ass. I have no idea if that's the direction you'd want for your story, lol.

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Derrick is also a little more cautious and observant,

He might be able to see past the facade a little more, and be able to better understand Rogier's reasons for being so distant. If he can see something of Rogier's anger/grief/regrets/fears, that might be a very interesting conversation between them.

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You also mention they make fast friends with Rogier. I think their continued loyalty could be appreciated by him, especially towards the end.

In the sense that he appreciates actions, far more than he appreciates words. He's an admitted liar himself, after all. Actions seem like the way to go to help him understand the sincerity of the twin's care for him. So them getting the knife-print, stuff like that.

The Roundtable Hold is a good place to help establish that also. Rogier overhears one or both of the twins defending him, that kind of thing. (D's accusations of him being a "piteous fellow" come to mind...) (It's not so much what they say in his defense, but that they say anything at all. It's the act that he takes notice of. Their sincerity.)

(Speaking of conversations, perhaps one between the twins? Their ribbing and banter, when they don't think anyone's around. It might give Rogier insight into who they are and their past.)

The better he knows them, the easier it is for him to decide how much he trusts them. That's a big factor in how he handles them near the end, I'd think.

Loyalty is definitely something I'm focusing on in SWRD. I think it's a very viable option to help circumvent his avoidant tendencies.

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Would he try to politely back out of the emotional corner they've put him into,

I certainly think that would be his first instinct. But I think it's totally possible to have enough events beforehand to make him rethink that instinct. You could totally get them all to a point where they have a more meaningful connection by the end.

Hopefully some of those thoughts are helpful to you? If none of this is to your taste, please don't hesitate to disregard it. Your enjoyment should always be your first priority in your story!

Good luck with your story, anon!