Roddwen

## Application Sheet

Roddwen was a taupe-colored male wolf with dark gray eyes. He was born outside of the Domain, alongside a twin sister, Reiwen, in the group of traveling wolves who later would be established as Mhor under Archqueen Rowena. However, Roddwen ended up as a loner instead, with a companion, a raven familiar named Munn. His story is ongoing. Roddwen was created and RP'd by sshouryuu.

## Personality

* ***Chummy, Confident and Stubborn.*** A gregarious little man at first approach. He seems charming and urbane, if only a bit eager to appear casual… Growing up under his parents' close watch left him no other choice than to turn into a sort of salesman, a very VERY nice and trustworthy guy. It takes charm to get an idea sold and Rodd likes to think he’s rather good at charming folk (He’s not). It's a badly put mask at that, he rarely lasts very long before showing his true self.
	+ It’s always a surprise for him when other wolves don’t see things the way Rodd does but he’s managed to convince himself that one of the cons of being a genius is that not everyone will understand you… Rodd takes it upon himself to make others see why he’s obviously right; he doesn’t take No for an answer, and quickly relies on insisting when an idea or request is shot down.
	+ Truth be told, he’s a better beggar than he is a charmer. He gets too close to personal space sometimes, and when dealing with the increasing frustration of being told ‘No.’ he will  raise his voice and become very visibly agitated the more his vexation escalates -- He can become overwhelming very fast but Rodd rarely ever stops until he gets what he wants. He’s the same way with his inventions, he doesn’t know when to stop - not until he’s reached the desired result, even if it implies going into dangerous places.

* ***Self-centered (insensible about others but sensible about the way his work is perceived).*** While not intentionally going out  of his way to hurt others, his self-centered view of the world sometimes makes him overlook most things that don’t involve his own interests. Friends and close relationships can often feel neglected because of this.
	+ It’s this same self-centered view of the world, the one that inflates the image he has of himself. At the end of the day, Roddwen is not really all that smart - but he sees himself as a borderline genius. An inventor. A great visionary. And he is good at selling himself this way -at least for some  time, before others eventually realize the truth: that he’s pretty average.
	+ For someone that so boldly treats others like test subjects, he is surprisingly sensible about the way his investigations/inventions are perceived and will become defensive the moment he feels his work is being misjudged or demonized.

* ***Idealistic and Creative (Easily Infatuated and Obsessive).*** Nothing is too crazy, no idea is too wild. Rodd can take ‘’open-minded’’ to the extreme. He gets very easily infatuated with ideas, with romanticized versions of people, or made-up scenarios. He sees things not for what they are but for what they could be, and it’s concerningly easy for him to become enamored with his own idealized version of things -or people-, to the point of giving them more importance than the real world. It’s very common for him to neglect friendships, relationships and even himself while chasing dreams. Rodd’s obsessive nature grants him passion and drive, but it also means that he doesn’t know when to stop and can easily cross the line ((most times without even realizing he’s crossed it)). It's easy for him to reach a point in obsession where all inhibitions are gone, and all that there's left is his desire to reach a goal.
* ***Shameless and Opportunistic (often Assuming).*** Often takes things as a given, is usually surprised if plans don’t go his way. Because of his inflated sense of self he rarely ever expects others to outsmart him when in fact it is a very real possibility that this might happen. Rodd takes any little opportunity he sees, and he tries to squeeze his way into any little hole he finds. His attitude often makes others feel like was only being nice to them because he wanted to take advantage of an opportunity (which is often the case). He easily forgets about others’ feelings once his needs are met. It’s usual for Rodd to make others feel used, although he rarely realizes this. More often than not he’s rather surprised whenever anyone is upset about his behavior.
* ***‘’Well, technically…’’.*** Rodd doesn’t lie… Often. When making a deal he is definitely always looking for any technicalities to take advantage of. He’s not explicitly going against the rules, but he will most definitely be looking for some detail to exploit to his own advantage. He’s surprisingly sneaky doing this! Most definitely the reason people read those tedious little letters before signing a contract. He’s willing to stretch (or omit) truths in order to seal a deal. Sometimes if the situation is desperate enough, he tells what he likes to call ‘’a future truth’’, which means, something that has not happened yet but that he is 99% sure will happen.
	+ Rodd believes in the balance - to some extent. He does feel guilt whenever he pulls a trick on someone, but he’s made up his own redemption system where, whenever he feels like he’s wronged too much, he sets himself a sort of punishment -like doing social service, or giving food away-  according to the level of his crimes. This means his guilt doesn’t last very long before he tells himself he’s balanced it off with a good deed. It’s thanks to this system of being own judge and executioner that he’s managed to go for so long with his ways without having too much conflict with his beliefs.

* ***Strange, Reactive and Overwhelming.*** Eccentric. Excitable. Rodd gets worked up very easily, and the more he does the more erratic he becomes. He goes from 0 to 100 very fast, and having to deal with it can be kind of off-putting for others around him. Emotional outburst are common for him, and there’s a frantic quality about the boy... He seems almost desperate to prove his point (when he has one). Rodd can reach a state of mind where he’ll easily throw himself into dangerous situations in order to prove himself right. Big risks look tiny in perspective. He greatly dislikes being interrupted while he’s doing something, his mood quickly sours when someone disagrees with him or denies his requests. Failure makes him frustrated. It’s easy for him to misdirect anger or frustration onto others, his feelings can overwhelm him sometimes and he’s quick to lash out onto anyone close by before he realizes.
* ***Sheltered.*** Living on the road all his life has perhaps given him some insight on how the world is out there - but it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that he’s lived inside a pack his whole life. He’s severely unaware of what it takes to truly live as a loner… though he’s not particularly scared about finding out.

## Pre-Group History

Shortly after Mhor started its journey north, the twins were born. Rodd was first, and closely after him came Rei. They were born to a young Mhorian couple, who loved them dearly but were also very much aware about how crucial it was to raise their children Right so that they would keep alive the Mhorian way of life.

The two siblings shared almost parallel physical appearances, but they were significantly different in some key points of their personality (not to say they do not share a lot of common character traits, but that some of the most important ones are almost opposites).

His little sister was quiet but prone to outburst. She also had a talent for stupid -*stupid*- questions, and Rodd found her quite amusing. On the other side, Rodd grew up as a sweet kid, if not a bit prone to get in trouble and he had a rich imagination that granted him vision to picture things for what they could be and not only for what they were.

He had a keen eye for inventions, and plans, and strategies. He was the kid that came up with new games. He was also awfully curious about the worlds around him, and about the many cultures that Mhorians ran into during their travels. Gods, religion and rituals were a big source of interest growing up, which raised many concerns from his parents, who were very adamant on having both their children grow up to be exemplary Mhorians.

Growing up under the strict way his parents carried left little space for him to explore. And many of his great ideas and little experiments were cut short without even being granted the chance to prove themselves to the world ONLY  because his parents thought them dangerous, or strange, or opposed to their way of life.

Far from stopping Rodd, this situation only started an unspoken game of push and pull with his parents that would last well into his young adulthood.

Juvenile years go away the same way puppyhood years do. He’s granted a new sister, Tiva, who soon becomes one of his closest friends and confidants. He spends most of his days playing games with his sisters, and learning important lessons from both his parents and the world around him.

He spends many hours with his mother, who is a cleric, and learns all about herbs and mushrooms, and all sorts of ingredients that can produce a wide range of-almost-magical reactions on living creatures. Rodd becomes fascinated, and he slowly begins to ask a lot less about gods and a lot more about mushrooms and plants. His mother becomes relieved about it, she thinks this might be a turning point for her son-- But it doesn’t last long before she begins to realize he’s not interested in medicine as much as he’s just interested in the effects. The good and the bad. He’s not interested in helping others, he’s merely trying to discover whatever outcome his herbal mixes can have on other living creatures. It’s hard for them to admit, but this is even worse than when he would ask to partake in other pack’s religious rituals while growing up. This felt a lot more dangerous herbs were a lot more real than gods.

By the time he’s reached young adulthood the unspoken game of push and pull he’s played with his parents during most of his childhood turns into something that can only be described as a cold war. None of the parties are willing to openly accept there’s confrontation, but they find their own ways to exert pressure over one another through different methods. His mother’s familiar (a big black raven) could be often found looming in the background wherever he went -- proof that he was kept under constant watch. Rodd wins some battles in this war, and manages to carry out many crazy plans while growing up. His parents win some others, and most of the time they’re able to catch him before he gets carried away with another stupid idea. It’s tedious, and quite frankly it’s stupid, but the three of then have been doing it for so long it doesn’t feel like there was a time when things were not like this. The conflict has been internalized, and at this point they’ve assimilated into their dynamics. It slowly keeps escalating, and with it so does the frustration from both parts.

Shortly after the assassination attempt on their alpha, and during one of their multiple stops on their way north, Mhorians ran into a pack whose entire territory had been struck by a wildfire. It was controlled, but there is still much help needed. After spending some time with the locals, and growing close to a female with the title of duchess inside of the foreign pack’s government, Rodd decides to volunteer to stay a bit longer and help. He promises to meet the rest of the Mhorians north, once the job is done. He would’ve been lying if he said that the idea of new freedom away from his parents, and that the foreigners' wide knowledge in regional plant life didn’t play an important part in his decision making.

Sadly for him, he only gets access to one of those things, because his mother quickly offers to stay too, taking away the freedom he hadn’t even had the chance to taste yet. Deep down, he knows she’s doing this to keep an eye on him and he resents her for it.

During their stay with the foreign pack a series of events which I could only resume the next way go down: there’s a love triangle inside which he and another male are fighting for the duchess’ paw in marriage. There’s a big dispute between both males one night, after which a duel between both men is arranged. They fight. Rodd loses, obviously (though if you ask him about it he’ll probably tell you why he suspects it was rigged from the beginning). His mother begs the winning guy for mercy, it is granted in exchange for them leaving immediately. They vanish overnight, and resume the long journey north. His adventure is over just like that...

Things are not right on the way back, the air smells like death and there’s corpses everywhere. His mother becomes increasingly concerned about the situation, and she hastens their pace in order to reach the pack as soon as possible. She sends her familiar, Munn (who is a big black raven), ahead of them in order to keep them informed of what lies ahead. Soon enough, one day Munn comes back with visual confirmation of the pack. His mother is relieved, but… Stubbornly *obsessed* with the idea of at least having some freedom before he’s forced to take a role in Mhor, Rodd waits until his mother is asleep one that night, drugs Munn into sleep and then runs away.

Not forever. This is more of a little detour rather than an escape. He does plan to return, but he wants to see the world under his own terms real fast before having to settle down. A twinge of guilt twists his gut as he walks away from his family but he reminds himself they’ve been playing the push and pull game for a very long time and this is just one little battle out of many...

## Group History

Upon entering the Domain, Roddwen was shocked to see the carcasses of many slain, half-eaten animals, like rabbits, as well as lots of white fur around. What on earth could be the source? He poked around some of the packs' territories, but never dared to cross them, especially when the defenders of those packs kept an eye on him: Ricci of Riverfell, for instance! He hurried along.

He had thought the life of a loner would be one of adventure and excitement, but all it was...was loneliness and a desperate fight for survival. What's worse, the weather was cooling again, and the winter would arrive before he knew it. He was homesick and seriously considered returning to Mhor.

Still, there were occasional opportunities for an easy meal. When another loner, a newcomer to the Domain, approached Roddwen asking for information about the lay of the land, Rodd agreed...in exchange for a meal. The loner, Nanuk, grumpily agreed, and Roddwen was well-fed that day!

Another loner he met in the colder autumn season, a she-wolf who didn't speak. Her name was Pyjama (not that he knew that) but they didn't get a chance to chat - Pyjama had been on the trail of the Hive, and they stumbled upon a huge battalion of the brutes. Rodd and Pyjama fled, and leapt into a river, letting it sweep them away, into the unknown, to save them from the Hive.

They awoke on the banks of the river. Pyjama woke first, and was so relieved this wolf she'd just met survived, she remained with him until he awoke as well.

Shortly thereafter, Roddwen was approached by a familiar face: a raven named Munn. His mother's old familiar. Munn had come to report the disappearance of Rodd's parents, and, more importantly, he offered companionship to Roddwen in the absence of his mother. Roddwen begrudgingly agreed to bring the bird along with him and Pyjama.

Roddwen and Pyjama's relationship was a bit of a strange one, because she couldn't speak to him. He and Munn usually guessed what she meant based on her body language and whatnot, and sometimes it was easier than others. She invited him to play with her in the snow to lift his spirits, for instance!

MEETS VILU

## Trivia

* Very messy, can't be bothered to clean his workspace so it usually looks like a disorganized disaster.
* Holds some dislike for ravens because his mother used to send her familiar to keep an eye on him while growing up. Generally he just relates them with being spied on.
* He’s not particularly good at hunting. He's an average fisher.
* Quickly forgets the meaning of Personal Space and will be all over you face the moment he becomes interested or,,, agitated. Naturally, this can make others scared or uncomfortable - which he doesn’t seem to notice, or if he does, he doesn’t seem to mind.
* Because of his lack of inhibitions he actually does much better under strong guidance. He's completely unaware about this however, and rather than guidance he tends to see advice and discipline as nothing but inconvenient.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* sshouryuu's deviantART Gallery