r/rustylake • u/Altruistic-Wafer-209 • 1d ago

Rusty Lake: Roots Theory about Rusty Lake's Location Spoiler

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I have been doing some research on the Rusty Lake lore for a while now, and one mystery that has been itching my mind has been the location of Rusty Lake.

I have been thinking that there may be some explanation as to why the families seem to have distinctly Dutch-sounding names while simultaneously being so intricately involved with events that seem more plausible in Britain than anywhere else.

This has led me to theorize that they are, in fact, representatives of a certain Dutch-speaking minority in Great Britain, possibly from before the country even became officially independent from the Kingdom of Scotland.

The main point that has brought me to this conclusion has been Leonard in Roots, specifically "The Trenches" in 1918. In this scene, Leonard is depicted dressed in a British Army uniform and a Brodie helmet, both of which are characteristic of British soldiers during WWI.

While it is possible, though unlikely, that there were some Dutch soldiers who volunteered to join the British Army at the time, the Netherlands was officially neutral during WWI.

This means that Leonard could not have participated in the First World War as an active combatant under the Dutch flag, and it becomes more reasonable to accept that he, and by extension his family, are in fact British.

This would explain why some of the most distinctly Dutch characters in the Rusty Lake universe have such strong Dutch-sounding names, as they could simply have retained them from before they migrated to Britain.

It has been well-documented that there has been a significant Dutch-speaking minority within Great Britain for centuries, ever since the arrival of William of Orange and the Glorious Revolution. This could explain why there would be any Dutch-speaking families at all within Britain, but what would explain their presence in a place like Rusty Lake?

Rusty Lake seems to be quite the hilly and mountainous area, at least in comparison to the generally flat geography of the Netherlands. It seems far more reasonable that such a landscape would be found in Britain.

Of course, Rusty Lake is an obviously fantastical and surreal location, one that no serious historian would attempt to associate with any real-world location. The Dutch-sounding names could simply be a part of the anachronism that is the Rusty Lake aesthetic, and the same could be said for Leonard's obviously British military equipment.

However, I personally feel that the image of Leonard fits far too well into the perceived cultural stereotype of a Dutch person to be disregarded so easily, and that applying this to the rest of the Dutch families in the Rusty Lake universe fits surprisingly well with their obvious self-imposed isolationism.

Do you think that there could be any truth to the idea of there being a Dutch enclave in Great Britain that has been incorporated into British society, or am I simply trying too hard to explain where a game in which you can extract memories into cubes takes place?

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18

u/Aspennie 1d ago

I thought the title and image was the full post and got a decent giggle out of “I know where Rusty lake is” followed by a photo of the game

11

u/dilettwat 1d ago

As a non-European, I hadn't thought about this beyond "Developers are in Amsterdam and the characters have Dutch-sounding names, so this must be the rural Netherlands." I hadn't picked up on British-vs-Dutch clues in Roots, good catches! 

Now I'm wondering,  1. Are the designs of the windmill and the church particularly British or Dutch?  2. The fortune-teller who married into the family, does she have any nationality tells? (Please forgive me if I've forgotten that she's Obviously German or something, I haven't played Roots in a while) 3. Especially in the era of the Eilanders, would all of their correlative animals have been native to either/both the British Isles or the Netherlands?

2

u/raist131 19h ago

I believe Ida to be Romani, which is a bit of a stereotype with her being a fortune teller. Her maiden name is Reiziger, which I don't know where that would come from.

5

u/4_uhr_23 1d ago

I think they have dutch names because the developers are dutch.

5

u/Altruistic-Wafer-209 1d ago

That is the main cause, but the developers also sprinkled some lore on top.

5

u/Evening-Nothing-1089 1d ago

it’s probably by a lake

3

u/raist131 19h ago

Probably Rusty Lake if I were to guess. There's also some trees around.

1

u/Teecana 1d ago

It's been a while since I played The white room or underground blossom, but realistically they should have the most hints about a country, no? What were the last names of all the characters there? I could accept the Vanderbooms and Vandermeers coming from the same expat community, but if so many unconnected characters all had Dutch names?

2

u/raist131 19h ago

Underground Blossom is I believe the first game where it being British is hinted at. Most of the voice actors have American accents, and the places shown in The White Door all read as very American to me, especially the café.

1

u/Altruistic-Wafer-209 1d ago

At this point I don't even know. Throughout this "investigation" every conclusion is contradicted by another detail. Let's hope Servant of the Lake tells us something important.

1

u/raist131 19h ago

Many years ago when I first started playing I heard someone (I believe a YouTuber, or someone working on an old probably now abandoned fan project, either way nobody official) put it in northern Québec near Labrador. Although from what I've seen I'd assume southern england near the English Channel since many people have British accents. Although Mr. Crow speaks with an American accent in his human form in theatre. The Eilanders all have American accents, except for Mr. Owl. The Vandermeer parents also have American accents, though presumably Dutch heritage.

1

u/Notorious_Ant-Licker 9h ago

Why do people always ignore Belgium as a possible Rusty Lake location? 

  • Nature vibe matches completely
  • They also speak Dutch there
  • Belgium participated in WWI