I have theories about his speaking patterns pre-Roche - complete and formal around strangers/people he wanted to impress, more shorthand around Dan, who he was more comfortable with and trusted to understand him without saying every word, a kind of verbal economy where he said as much as was necessary to get his ideas across in a given situation and no more. That said, he think he would have had more to express in the past - more ideas to share, and yes, that's reflected in ozy's office.
And yeah, I think personally that he was already drifting away from people, Dan included, when Roche happened. He was working the case alone which says something, and in zverse at least, they were working separately the night of the outbreak. He was drifting and essentially cruising for a breakdown and if it wasn't Roche it woulda been something else, which is why just fixing roche to fix rorschach never rings true in fic. You have to let it happen, take him to that edge, then rely on having built enough of a support structure for him that he didn't have in canon to reel him back in. Anything shy of that just sets him up for the NEXT kidnap case, the next horror he finds alone in the dark one night.
And then, yes, Dan screaming he's going to kill the guy, Dan who has never killed finally given enough reason to do so? Rorschach's been on that ledge and he's slipped off it and he's been in that freefall for ten years, and I think he really needed for Dan not to slip off it too. What good is an anchor - to humanity, to anything - if they're falling alongside you?
Re: I ♥ Rorschach's sense of humour
I have theories about his speaking patterns pre-Roche - complete and formal around strangers/people he wanted to impress, more shorthand around Dan, who he was more comfortable with and trusted to understand him without saying every word, a kind of verbal economy where he said as much as was necessary to get his ideas across in a given situation and no more. That said, he think he would have had more to express in the past - more ideas to share, and yes, that's reflected in ozy's office.
And yeah, I think personally that he was already drifting away from people, Dan included, when Roche happened. He was working the case alone which says something, and in zverse at least, they were working separately the night of the outbreak. He was drifting and essentially cruising for a breakdown and if it wasn't Roche it woulda been something else, which is why just fixing roche to fix rorschach never rings true in fic. You have to let it happen, take him to that edge, then rely on having built enough of a support structure for him that he didn't have in canon to reel him back in. Anything shy of that just sets him up for the NEXT kidnap case, the next horror he finds alone in the dark one night.
And then, yes, Dan screaming he's going to kill the guy, Dan who has never killed finally given enough reason to do so? Rorschach's been on that ledge and he's slipped off it and he's been in that freefall for ten years, and I think he really needed for Dan not to slip off it too. What good is an anchor - to humanity, to anything - if they're falling alongside you?