I have decided that the Savoulain expy's name is Nathan, short for Nathaniel. except that whenever the good doctor refers to him it's with his full first name and a not-entirely-fair amount of exasperation. the letters he writes back to Nathan are 10% insulting him, 20% insulting Summerset, 40% expounding on the evils of the upper class, and 30% deeply detailed and genuinely thoughtful answers to Nathan's questions and theories regarding the Correspondence. they are at least 5 pages long, not counting the books he sends alongside them.

Nathan's letters, meanwhile, never cease to be polite and kind, as if he's writing to a friend. he describes his own research on the scholarly paradigm of the Correspondence in great detail, from his theories to the everyday happenings of his studies. he engages with Dr. Ashveil's theories with both respect and curiosity, asking questions and probing weak points with no trace of malice. often he sends books of his own.

and the good doctor, of course, drops everything to reply whenever he gets a letter.

on the topic of the good doctor being German - I think he doesn't have a German accent, per se.

• he has a knack for languages. I feel like he knows French and Latin at the very least, possibly others? he was University Educated.
• plus also he's been living in London for some decades
• he studies the Forbidden Language That Sets You On Fire, and that includes speaking it - so his ability to make precise sounds with the right emphases is very good.

I feel like if there's anything unusual about his speech, it actually comes from studying said Forbidden Flaming Language, not from having German as his native language. it's the kind of thing that just worms into your brain. there's no easily-comprehensible pattern to how the sound of it works, but it bleeds into his English regardless - the way he emphasizes certain syllables or alters certain sounds, but only in certain words in certain contexts. it's very hard to put a finger on and the overall effect is "perfectly understandable but uncanny" and people write it off as a product of him being German and mad.

(yes, if you get him to imbibe enough alcohol that his brain calms down, he speaks perfect (Victorian London) English.)

the plan originally: "Dr. Ashveil has no friends. he is continually finding more and more exciting ways to lose himself to his obsession. the closest person he has to a friend is enabling this because it makes the good doctor into a steady source of fun and unique nightmares"

how it's going: "despite his best attempts, the good doctor has friends"

also, a bit of fun trivia for the folks who've known me for a while: every Fallen London OC of mine is based on an existing OC

Dr. Ashveil is pretty obvious. he's another edition of Lucent, particularly SGE!Lucent.

Lady Lemures began as an expy of Siofra, our GW2 Pact Commander.

Rafael was based on Falche, one of Lark's OCs. (Raf is 90% my OC, but Lark chips in here and there with their dialogue and thought process.)

Felix and Mateo, Rafael's adoptive sibling and older brother respectively, are based upon different aspects of Morgan. Mateo much, much moreso - Felix is basically a new OC by comparison.

And there's one more OC on the docket, a Rubbery Man and Shapeling Arts expert who is a close (and often exasperated) friend of the good doctor - he's based on Liam, sometimes called Solus. I haven't figured out his name yet.

I should make a Savoulain expy and see where he ends up. maybe I'll start by picking out a profession that isn't represented in the current crew

alternately: what if I just made him a Correspondent too

he can be the sensible and sane Correspondent who understands the importance of taking mental health breaks and safety procedures, who is still in possession of a relatively unsinged pair of eyebrows. as opposed to Dr. Ashveil

(he is probably also the Epistolant to the good doctor's Crimson Engineer; and affiliated with Summerset as opposed to Dr. Ashveil's Benthic association)

some more details: he's upper-class (as being with Summerset implies) and between that and not being visibly scorched from his studies, people tend to be more tolerant of him studying The Forbidden Maddening Sigils. he actually has a great deal of interest and respect for the good doctor's work mixed with Concern over his methods, and has written to him before like "I would be very interested in your thoughts on this, P.S. I am worried for your wellbeing, please consider getting some more safety equipment"

I'm not sure what exactly Dr. Ashveil's relationship with Benthic is these days, but he still has The Benthic in him, and he took this as a slight (due to FL!Sav being from Summerset) and responded accordingly. like "how DARE you assume I am incompetent, my eyebrows will grow back thank you very much, P.S. your theories are very interesting and here are my thoughts on them BUT DON'T GET ANY IDEAS it's not like I would like to continue corresponding with you or anything"

anyway they are still corresponding