99% Dark Souls + Bloodborne | IllumiTea on AO3
Gamer Grill | Gym Ra(bbi)t | Gwyn Family Connoisseur
"Is this what you're doing with your Comp Sci degree?" -my mom
Characters: Laurence (Bloodborne), Ludwig (Bloodborne), Maria (Bloodborne), Gehrman (Bloodborne)
Summary:
Torn from flesh and claimed by no one, a stray blood echo lingers silently amongst the living. Between hunters and scholars, all of whom being no stranger to the Blood's virtue, there is promise that this dying will can find itself satiated.
Alas, the living are only human, feeble to the cosmos' delicacies. Ergo, what this echo witnesses makes it question if the will it encompasses is worth being fulfilled.
(Disclaimer that this may look like a lore/theory post, but this is actually mostly a headcanon post/something I’ve compiled for writing purposes. My interest is more to point toward an idea I’ll be utilizing in my writing, rather than convince everyone that this is THE correct way to interpret Dark Souls)
So I’m in the midst of doing massive editing/prose rewrites/dialogue enhancements for A Moon’s Ascension and A Flame’s Consequence (I just added most of my edits for the former except for what I’ll be talking about in this post; the latter probably won’t be done for a while lol)... and I’m realizing I may have been oversimplifying Gwyndolin’s affinity with the moon this whole time?
As in, I’ve been labeling Gwyndolin as a God of the Moon, but that’s rather general, and I’ve been labeling him as such because of DS1’s description:
But items actually tell us that Gwyndolin is specifically the God of the Darkmoon:
Darkmoon Seance Ring from DS1:
Lifehunt Scythe from DS3
The power of the moon is strong in Gwyndolin — strong enough for Gwyn to take notice — but it is specifically the power of the Darkmoon. To me, this makes him a rather interesting case. He’s a child of the Lord of Light, but he’s tied to dragons through his serpentine body, and I’d say he’s placed closer to the Dark than any other child of Gwyn. Yes, the Dark!
“Dark” being in “Darkmoon” is not necessarily proof on its own, obviously, but I do think it matters when paired with things like the Sunless Talisman (Darkmoon Talisman in DS1) being explicitly compatible with the Dark.
No, Darkmoon light is not the Dark itself, but it is very close. See how the Darkmoon Blade miracle is more indigo compared to the purples of Velka’s dark miracles (see Karmic Justice). It’s also worth noting that both miracles are greatly associated with the idea of consequences, specifically the consequences of wrongdoing: vengeance and punishment. You can even argue that both Darkmoon light and the Dark are consequences of Light, whether it’s light reflecting upon the moon, or the dark shadows produced by light.
Adding a cut for the sake of being polite with taking up space, but my yapping from this point forward will be specific to my writing/speculations :)
For the purposes of my own fic continuity, I’m using the theory that Gwyndolin is the child of Gwyn and Priscilla, with Priscilla herself being the child of Seath and Velka. I have read other readings that speculate about his heritage, and I’m not trying to litigate all of them here. This is just the framework my fic is using because it’s the theory that makes most sense to me out of everything I’ve read.
In my own writing, something I was never completely satisfied by was Gwyn’s justification for raising Gwyndolin rather than leaving him with his mother. Why go through the trouble of raising Gwyndolin as a daughter to keep him from the throne — as I infer, per how Lloyd is suddenly denounced by the time of DS3 with Gwyndolin instead being the Allfather/“chief god” (主神) — rather than leave him somewhere out of sight and out of mind? I especially didn’t understand what it was about the moon that led Gwyn to raise Gwyndolin as a daughter, given Gwynevere is a goddess of sunlight. That’s why I had thought the moon affinity was just a cover-up, and that the real reason was because Gwyndolin has draconic features.
But now? Because this is specifically the Darkmoon, I not only think the moon affinity excuse is a stronger reason for Gwyn raising Gwyndolin as a daughter, but I also think it’s why Gwyn took in Gwyndolin at all. Yes, I still think Gwyn might be biased against Gwyndolin’s dragon heritage as well, but between the Dark and dragons, if there’s anything that’s shaped Gwyn’s motivations more, it’s the Dark (I think it’s very safe to make that claim, given his fear of the Dark is exactly what’s gotten us in this mess of fire-linking). So, from Gwyn’s perspective, Gwyndolin’s heritage would be dangerous. This is not just anyone with darkward affinities — this is someone of Gwyn’s blood carrying them. That might be something Gwyn wouldn’t want to leave unchecked.
On that note, Gwyn isn’t keeping Gwyndolin hidden either — we do see this backdrop in DS3, after all:
That leads into some ideas of what Gwyn may have seen in raising Gwyndolin himself. Maybe Gwyn kept Gwyndolin close because he meant to mold him into a loyal custodian of his Sunlight order and a servant of the fire-linking mission (which certainly worked). Or maybe he truly wanted to raise Gwyndolin as a dear child of his, despite Gwyndolin’s troubling affinities and the restrictions Gwyn put on him in turn (Gwyn may have tried, but no one said he was ever good at it rip). I personally headcanon both, but the latter might not be so clear in my writing due to character POVs and their biases.
This long post is all just to say: whenever my fic edits are done, alongside prose and dialogue embellishing, expect some fine-tuning regarding the logic of Gwyndolin’s affinity and heritage. Gwyndolin is not merely a god of the moon, but of the Darkmoon, and that distinction gives me a much sharper lens for why Gwyn might have kept him close, while also giving my Gwyndolin greater reason to be utterly ashamed of who he is. Don’t worry, Diana will be there to help him with fixing that :)
(maybe everyone else connected those dots ages ago and I am simply late to the party. ah well. better late than never 🙂↕️)
woops my hand slipped (aka I've applied edits related to the speculations in this post for both A Moon's + A Flame's. Still need to complete my full edits for both fics, but here's a before and after sample from A Flame's):
(Still have to edit the full chapter this scene takes place in, so I might still tweak some things here and there, but at least the hotfix edits are in for the time being^^)
(Disclaimer that this may look like a lore/theory post, but this is actually mostly a headcanon post/something I’ve compiled for writing purposes. My interest is more to point toward an idea I’ll be utilizing in my writing, rather than convince everyone that this is THE correct way to interpret Dark Souls)
So I’m in the midst of doing massive editing/prose rewrites/dialogue enhancements for A Moon’s Ascension and A Flame’s Consequence (I just added most of my edits for the former except for what I’ll be talking about in this post; the latter probably won’t be done for a while lol)... and I’m realizing I may have been oversimplifying Gwyndolin’s affinity with the moon this whole time?
As in, I’ve been labeling Gwyndolin as a God of the Moon, but that’s rather general, and I’ve been labeling him as such because of DS1’s description:
But items actually tell us that Gwyndolin is specifically the God of the Darkmoon:
Darkmoon Seance Ring from DS1:
Lifehunt Scythe from DS3
The power of the moon is strong in Gwyndolin — strong enough for Gwyn to take notice — but it is specifically the power of the Darkmoon. To me, this makes him a rather interesting case. He’s a child of the Lord of Light, but he’s tied to dragons through his serpentine body, and I’d say he’s placed closer to the Dark than any other child of Gwyn. Yes, the Dark!
“Dark” being in “Darkmoon” is not necessarily proof on its own, obviously, but I do think it matters when paired with things like the Sunless Talisman (Darkmoon Talisman in DS1) being explicitly compatible with the Dark.
No, Darkmoon light is not the Dark itself, but it is very close. See how the Darkmoon Blade miracle is more indigo compared to the purples of Velka’s dark miracles (see Karmic Justice). It’s also worth noting that both miracles are greatly associated with the idea of consequences, specifically the consequences of wrongdoing: vengeance and punishment. You can even argue that both Darkmoon light and the Dark are consequences of Light, whether it’s light reflecting upon the moon, or the dark shadows produced by light.
Adding a cut for the sake of being polite with taking up space, but my yapping from this point forward will be specific to my writing/speculations :)
For the purposes of my own fic continuity, I’m using the theory that Gwyndolin is the child of Gwyn and Priscilla, with Priscilla herself being the child of Seath and Velka. I have read other readings that speculate about his heritage, and I’m not trying to litigate all of them here. This is just the framework my fic is using because it’s the theory that makes most sense to me out of everything I’ve read.
In my own writing, something I was never completely satisfied by was Gwyn’s justification for raising Gwyndolin rather than leaving him with his mother. Why go through the trouble of raising Gwyndolin as a daughter to keep him from the throne — as I infer, per how Lloyd is suddenly denounced by the time of DS3 with Gwyndolin instead being the Allfather/“chief god” (主神) — rather than leave him somewhere out of sight and out of mind? I especially didn’t understand what it was about the moon that led Gwyn to raise Gwyndolin as a daughter, given Gwynevere is a goddess of sunlight. That’s why I had thought the moon affinity was just a cover-up, and that the real reason was because Gwyndolin has draconic features.
But now? Because this is specifically the Darkmoon, I not only think the moon affinity excuse is a stronger reason for Gwyn raising Gwyndolin as a daughter, but I also think it’s why Gwyn took in Gwyndolin at all. Yes, I still think Gwyn might be biased against Gwyndolin’s dragon heritage as well, but between the Dark and dragons, if there’s anything that’s shaped Gwyn’s motivations more, it’s the Dark (I think it’s very safe to make that claim, given his fear of the Dark is exactly what’s gotten us in this mess of fire-linking). So, from Gwyn’s perspective, Gwyndolin’s heritage would be dangerous. This is not just anyone with darkward affinities — this is someone of Gwyn’s blood carrying them. That might be something Gwyn wouldn’t want to leave unchecked.
On that note, Gwyn isn’t keeping Gwyndolin hidden either — we do see this backdrop in DS3, after all:
That leads into some ideas of what Gwyn may have seen in raising Gwyndolin himself. Maybe Gwyn kept Gwyndolin close because he meant to mold him into a loyal custodian of his Sunlight order and a servant of the fire-linking mission (which certainly worked). Or maybe he truly wanted to raise Gwyndolin as a dear child of his, despite Gwyndolin’s troubling affinities and the restrictions Gwyn put on him in turn (Gwyn may have tried, but no one said he was ever good at it rip). I personally headcanon both, but the latter might not be so clear in my writing due to character POVs and their biases.
This long post is all just to say: whenever my fic edits are done, alongside prose and dialogue embellishing, expect some fine-tuning regarding the logic of Gwyndolin’s affinity and heritage. Gwyndolin is not merely a god of the moon, but of the Darkmoon, and that distinction gives me a much sharper lens for why Gwyn might have kept him close, while also giving my Gwyndolin greater reason to be utterly ashamed of who he is. Don’t worry, Diana will be there to help him with fixing that :)
(maybe everyone else connected those dots ages ago and I am simply late to the party. ah well. better late than never 🙂↕️)
ALL OF THIS. Don’t be nervous. I’ve gotten comments in languages I don’t speak and I was honored that someone puzzled their way through what I had to say in English and was so moved they had to try to communicate. I promise you, other authors feel the same.
The Witcher 3 is getting a new expansion, Songs of the Past. This will be releasing more than a full decade after the Blood and Wine which came out in 2016.
Would you support Bethesda restarting official development for any of the single player TES games to create new expansions for them?
Do you headcanon your Blorbo as someone who is from your culture/ethnicity, if they are not canonically from your culture/ethnicity?
Yes, I headcanon this
No, I do NOT headcanon this
My Blorbo is canonically from my culture/ethnicity
Voting ended onMay 31
Every poll on this blog is about fictional characters only. This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds
I'm not sure what inside joke I've dodge-rolled my way into but I am thrilled to be part of it, Takk fyrir. I am glad we all agree on not going to The Lands Between.
Welcome aboard to The Lands Between deniars club, glad you could join us! 😄 (Don't worry, we'll clean up the pots/boxes you rolled into on your way over)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
"With only a fraction of his soul left resting within his breast, the once esteemed Dragonslayer Ornstein has left his home of Anor Londo for good in pursuit of Lord Gwyn's firstborn. Strange lands, new faces, and unimaginable dangers lie ahead, but so long as his frail soul will allow him to persist, Ornstein will stop at nothing for the chance to repair what he had so foolishly broken.
Once, a dragon-slaying captain gave up everything he had to correct his greatest wrong.
Or: Ornstein's quest to find the Nameless King detailed."
***
…Oh yeah, this fic also has chapter art! Above is chapter 1's :) Yes, every chapter will get art, both because I'm extra and because doing so will force me to finally git gud at drawing 🤧
Here’s the thing: authors know when they get a rec on an older story. There’s a telltale uptick of kudos (with a 10-15% comment rate if you’re lucky) in your digest email.
The thing is, there’s no way to know where these people are coming from. In the before, when fandom was more in the corners we all knew about, you could search LJ or a message board or whatever social bookmarking site we were using. You could join the community and participate.
You could get a little dopamine hit by seeing someone tell their friends why they loved your story.
Anymore, those recs are hidden in discords, or in tiktoks or instagram slideshows that you can’t search for. They’re inaccessible, not discoverable unless you’re already there. You may never know why 27 people left kudos on an old story of yours, what they liked and found in your writing. You just get the thumbs up and a kinda lonely feeling, cause these could be your people. You could like them, maybe. You could be friends.
But you’ll never find out why they stopped by, or what people are saying about you behind your back, and that’s sad.
So thank you to the people who still do public rec lists on this webbed site. You are my sunshine, and I’m appreciative of all of you.
look i know i'm biased because i wrote a huge fic in which she's a main pov character and i may also be her biggest fan
but why am i still the most recent poster of quelana of izalith from back in november wtf everyone we must stop sleeping on the literal flame witch princess
anyway i can only contribute in the form of unserious doodles. in this episode, gwynsen "convinces" quelana that Lordbucks is actually really good -- he got the mocha cookie crumble frapuccino btw while quelana settles for a black coffee
they're both children of Lords so of course they have the luxury of getting overpriced coffee whenever they want to
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
"With only a fraction of his soul left resting within his breast, the once esteemed Dragonslayer Ornstein has left his home of Anor Londo for good in pursuit of Lord Gwyn's firstborn. Strange lands, new faces, and unimaginable dangers lie ahead, but so long as his frail soul will allow him to persist, Ornstein will stop at nothing for the chance to repair what he had so foolishly broken.
Once, a dragon-slaying captain gave up everything he had to correct his greatest wrong.
Or: Ornstein's quest to find the Nameless King detailed."
***
…Oh yeah, this fic also has chapter art! Above is chapter 1's :) Yes, every chapter will get art, both because I'm extra and because doing so will force me to finally git gud at drawing 🤧
the only con of writing longfics is when you look back at the whole thing and realize just how different you were of a writer at the beginning of the fic vs toward the end
like
the sharp inhale i did when i looked at the first ~15 chapters of one fic i finished a week ago. because the old me overused parentheses and em-dashes as if i had gotten them all on a black friday sale and wanted to make the most of every single one
in other words, on one hand, yeah growth of a writer is kinda neat, but on the other hand, holy moly was the old me a different person and i do not associate with her
Me explaining Elder Scrolls lore to my friends who are playing the Oblivion Remaster as their first Elder Scrolls game:
(Video taken from Reddit)
((I actually am ready to update both of my Soulsborne fics this weekend and have scheduled days to keep working on them from here on out! But with my friends FINALLY playing Elder Scrolls, I've FINALLY been able to babble about Elder Scrolls◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜Therefore, I'll be Elder Scrolls brain-rotted for a good while, sorry :'v))
