the meat

Introduction

Sparked from Deoch's inspiration, us aislings are a naturally fiery and competitive breed. Whether in the Loures' Battle Ring or in a local tavern, our drive to outshine each other manifests in various ways. 'Roasting' is a timeless and popular form of banter in which aislings tease one another, sometimes in a playful manner and sometimes to hurt feelings. It's a prominent way in which we try to best on another when all else fails and our actions cannot in fact speak louder than words. After all, not all aislings can claim victory in Wolf Fang Fist duels or showcase their Guild Council managerial skills.

Roasting is an artform most aislings can excel at, whether naturally talented or carved through practice. It's the ideal niche because it doesn't require the laborious back and forth you'd find in a debate, but rather focuses on a small exchange of quips. When done well roasts can diffuse tension and bring aislings closer together. When done poorly they may escalate a situation until someone goes off the deep end. With this guide I will provide you with the tools you need to show off your prowess in mouth to mouth combat (er, not that kind) to verbally spar with your friends and even your enemies!

Motives For Roasting

Before we jump into how to craft your roasts we need to understand why we are doing it. Roasting your fellow aisling isn't just about throwing jabs, alright? Roasting walks a fine line between play and insult, so it requires a level of intelligence and social awareness to pull it off. Knowing why you want to roast will help you tailor each one with intention and more likely find success in how they land. You don't want to unintentionally cross the line and find that the Suomi Troupe suddenly changed their meeting time and location without filling you in. They probably just forgot, right?

When you roast your fellow aisling, you're doing so for one reason or another. Whether or not you understand the impulse there is a subconscious motivation. Here are the common motivations for roasting your fellow aisling:

1. External Validation: Displaying your wit and humor as a way to receive admiration and establish dominance over your fellow aislings by being the funniest and possibly the smartest of the bunch.

2. Entertainment/Camaraderie: Sometimes it comes down to kicking it with your friends and having a good time. Engaging in banter can foster deeper connections with friends since it is a healthier form of competition that is more about elevating everyone's mood.

3. Settling Disputes: Roasting others can be used to diffuse tension or indicate a clear victor in a battle of (nit)wits. It's an effective way to redirect the topic of conversation to something more lighthearted or just plain different.

4. Venting Frustration: Taking jabs at others in a socially acceptable manner by masking your frustration with humor. Once this leans too heavily into a mean spirited nature it takes on risk of hurting reputations and relationships. A good rule of thumb to consider when dolling out insults is to ask yourself, "would I world shout this myself or would I ask my sibling who has no obvious familial ties to do it for me?"

TIP: It can be difficult to hone in on the 'why' during times of heightened emotions. You're likely to tunnel vision to outright insults since your mind is looking to hurt rather than play. It's wise to take a step back before jumping on the opportunity to roast someone if you think you're doing it for a reason that might reflect on you poorly, but it's entirely your call.

The good news is that if you struggle to walk the line between silly and crass, this is a skill that can be refined with a deeper understanding of roasting nuances and practice. Once you've figured out your motive you can move on to the next section!

styles of humor and their implications

Roasting is stylistic in nature. There are various styles of humor that you can lean into depending on your audience and what you want to achieve. For instance, blatant ridicule can be easily achieved when using styles of humor like mock praise and personal quips. If you're looking to diffuse tension instead you might lean into self-deprecation. Below I've listed five prevalent styles of humor and their likely implications on the target's perception when lacking context and/or intent. On one end of the spectrum you'll find certain styles lean more toward creative playfulness, and others lean toward ego driven aggressiveness. These styles are fluid and can often overlap with their distinction based on intent and context.

Keep in mind this is an oversimplification to show which type of humor might naturally suit your goals, and that the outcome is entirely dependent on variable factors like the situation at hand, the target audience, and the tone you're going. For instance, you may find you rely on personal quips and be highly successful in making others laugh. Veteran roasters generally have enough social and contextual awareness to dynamically adapt to a situation without needing to reference humor type strengths and weaknesses. You can lean into any humor with any crowd and find success, but this provides a baseline guide for those who are just starting out or might not understand why their roasts aren't landing.

Absurdity takes the cake as the most creative and whimsical approaches to humor. It heavily relies on exaggeration and is often detached from reality, being so absurd it becomes playful. Absurdity casts a wide net across the audience as its generally non aggressive. It can be a great way to diffuse tension by dismissing confrontation with silliness. (bis = best in slot)

Self-Deprecation is a self directed and non aggressive type of humor. It can be a perfectly humorous way to deflect confrontation in a playful manner while also inviting camaraderie. Like with absurdity, self-deprecation is an effective way to diffuse tension as it's nearly impossible to misconstrue. Notice in this memory the warrior is looking away for dramatic effect, utilizing body language to his advantage.

Mock Praise is playfully backhanded by sarcastically complimenting someone using overly positive language to humorously undercut the praise. This humor is somewhere between creative and critical, making it neutral with a playful edge. When done tactfully mock praise can be used in most situations, but consider other variables first.

Satirical Commentary leans heavily into wit since it involves critiquing big picture themes like institutional failures, roles, and archetypes, meaning these roasts can be layered and complex. It's considered more aggressive than mock praise since it walks a fine line between clever and critical. It can be difficult to tell if the roaster is intentionally targeting a particular aisling involved in the subject being critiqued.

Personal Quips are character specific jabs that can target someone's quirks, appearance, and behavior. It relies on quick wit and familiarity with the aisling. Personal quips are most likely to be perceived as aggressive because they are blatantly tailored to a target aisling. If the target is not a friend it is highly likely to be misconstrued or taken personally, even if the quip is true.

Roasts born from tact, creativity, and collaboration are great ways to successfully establish yourself as intelligent and uplift everyone around you. On the other hand of the spectrum, leaning into ego and aggression can alienate the community and be harmful to your own reputation.

There are implications to all behaviors you engage in, and roasting is a delicate art because of how easy it is to create unintended consequences. Understanding the nuance of these types of humors can help you tailor your roast in a way that suits your goals. You don't want to look like a darning idiot, do you?

Risk & Reward

Creative and impersonal roasts are typically low risk, high reward, and reliable when lacking context or familiarity. They can showcase wit and bolster your reputation as a tactful and funny aisling without inadvertently stepping on toes.

Playful and predictable jabs are somewhere in the middle and can warrant a great range of reactions. These usually require some familiarity with a situation or target to pull off successfully, as well as insight as to the chance it may be misconstrued.

Heretical insults that hone in on someone's insecurities and personal traits in a negative manner aren't always well received by the target or an audience. It's a high risk, low-high reward depending on the crowd and can risk tanking reputation with others. These should combine elements of creativity and wit to avoid redundancy and overly personal information. Most of the time it's a low hanging fruit that reveals more about you and your shortcomings than the aisling you're roasting. Is it actually in good fun, or are you looking to hurt their feelings?

POP QUIZ!
Which do you think is creative and impersonal, playful and predictable, and heretical ((referring to real life))?

Left Memory: Playful/personal Middle Memory: Heretical Right Memory: Creative/impersonal

contextual variables

Not all roasts are created equal. Since roasting is subjective and dynamic, you'll need to consider contextual variables like creativity, timing, social awareness, and pacing. You'll want to ask yourself "how far is too far" throughout an exchange since different aislings have different thresholds to having their buttons pushed or how receptive they'll be at any given time in an ever-evolving situation or dialogue.

Creativity: The more original a roast, the more memorable it is. The more memorable it is, the more you will be immortalized as a sharp-tongued aisling who ought not be trifled with.

Timing: Recognizing when it's appropriate to jump in with your roast can make or break its delivery. Pay attention to when others are making jabs and how well it is received.

Social Awareness: Leaning into playfulness will ensure your reputation stands the test of time by creating sustainable banter with the community rather than forging lifelong enemies. Consider the professionalism of the environment and participants. If you don't master your social awareness skills you'll be labeled as an abrasive, brute forcing baboon. No offense to those Yowien creatures.

Pacing: Aislings are limited in their ability to speak for a long period of time without catching their breath. Use this information to your advantage; longer remarks might get lost in lots of chatter, and quicker ones might pack a bigger punch.

TIP: You can practice recognizing these variables as an observer so that you can build up confidence to participate yourself. Focus on how others engage with these variables, but make sure you don't just emulate. You want to create a unique voice of your own that will have even the mundanes yearning for more.

Tips & tricks for executing a killer roast

You know the ins and outs of what makes a roast good, you know why you want to do it, and you know the variables to look out for. Is the thought of executing the roast making you queasy? Is that why you're green? Please turn away from the parchment if necessary. If you're still hanging in there read through some general tips for everyone, and then check out tips based on your skill and experience in the realm of roasting.

General Tips
1. Practice: Feedback from friends can help refine your timing and tone. Experiment in different settings like a tavern or the arena entrance to see how different audiences respond to your quips. Constructive criticism is ideal, though.

2. Adapt: Your tone should shift based on contextual variables like professionalism of the situation. Mileth College? Totally professional. Mileth College after hours? Visit and find out.

3. Body Language: Elevate your delivery with facial expressions and posturing. Facing toward or away from the target during your roast provides dramatic flair. Consider throwing in a Transferblood or two to add a sense of comfort... or aggression. It's all about context!

((Try using different emotes using the combination of keys: ctrl + 1-0, alt + 1-0, ctrl + alt + 1-0))

4. Know When to Stop: If you aren't getting the laughs or appraisal you anticipated, don't double down. You'll sooner see Rotten Tomatoes thrown at you if you don't shift gears into another lighthearted topic. If you fail to achieve your goal, whether it be making others laugh, gaining praise, or hurting someone, try to pinpoint what went wrong. Maybe it was overestimating your banter with another aisling, or not recognizing that tensions were rising. Know who you already have a strong banter with so that they won't misconstrue a roast as a personal insult in high tension situations, for example.

Beginner Tips
If you're a beginner with little mastery or natural talents my two main suggestions are to keep it simple and practice, pracTICE, PRACTICE!! Lean into styles of humor that are more observation based and demand less creativity, like mock praise and personal quips. Start with teasing remarks about the path an aisling decided to pursue, or the weapon they're wielding!

Building confidence is key for a beginner. Pick a friend or two to spar with so that you can give each other constructive feedback. You'll know you went too far in your roasting when you guys aren't speaking anymore.

Experienced Tips
If you're a renowned roaster that's already established their title as the tavern jester you might be wondering, "is it even possible to elevate my game?" The key here is to identify your weak points so that you become well rounded, not needing to rely on any one particular type of humor or audience. Practice on niche audiences outside of your comfort zone, like the Mileth guards that hang out in the village way.

Identify your weak points and try to build them up. Be adaptable and versatile based on conversational tones, identifying when to push further and reel it back in. A well rounded roaster is, well, well rounded.

time to world shout your roast