#posts from yahar'gul

[lost-in-yahargul]

For research purposes:

[empyreanmirror]

sunflowers in our hair

[katyspersonal]

Hello Katya, do you have any ideas about Simple Gratia?

....

Yes, my girl!! I have some observations AND ideas! I remember that back when I checked, a fan Wiki incorrectly said that she is wearing Yharnam Hunter set. I do not know whether they've fixed that since then or not, but I know it confused a few artists. Gratia, in reality, is wearing an Old Hunter set but slightly altered:

(Close images of her model are from this ( x ) page, datamined by AstralLace!) This is what an Old Hunter set looks like, for a reminder:

Gratia is an Old Hunter: the type that started under Gehrman like Maria, Vitus, Henryk, Djura, Bestial Hunter, all that. I think that she knew all these characters and more, and with Maria she was a lot like an older sister that Maria never had! But I think she would be genuinely annoyed by Djura's complex inventions and at times not be able to hide her disdain, right in the middle of Djura ranting about them! That'd spark stupid, petty arguments about what kind of weapon is "better" which their friends laugh at in the corner like hyenas until Gehrman or Maria separate them XD

In comparison with the generic set, she is missing the long flowing cape, as well as the glove on her left hand. Her weapon, a chunk of metal, also goes in the left hand. I think she is missing the glove to have a stronger grip on the metal, so it would not slip away! I wondered what her right hand weapon would be before, but I think she doesn't need one in the end! I imagine her staggering the beast with her Iron Fist and then TEARING THEIR HEAD OFF WITH HER FREE HAND DFJHFSHSD .....but, you know, a hammer or a mace would also be nice yeah sure

In Bloodborne setting, red hair is also highlighted as a trait of Cainhurst nobles, that isn't really seen in any other NPC. Edgar may be also a ginger but much brighter kind, certainly not a REDhead!

This makes me think: what if Gratia's red hair is not just a random design choice, but a hint? And even if it isn't, it can still be used for a headcanon! Cainhurst nobles descend from Pthumeru Ihyll and have some Pthumerian heritage (just in case here ( x ) is the post with evidences of it) 🤔 At the same time, Pthumerians have gigantic variants, that seem to be more slow and dim than 'regular' ones. And interestingly, Gratia is abnormally big AND stated to have some intellectual drawbacks:

So, she has 1) otherwise Cainhurst-exclusive hair color 2) a size abnormally large for a human and 3) correlation between inability to use guns and being 'dim'! This gave me a headcanon that she was born in the Cainhurst walls, but shown Pthumerian genes that were "undesired" in the eyes of snobbish nobles and thus, abandoned at birth. She never knew of her origins, but was adopted by a kind man! Yeah, in this context, Maria and Gratia feeling family-like bond almost from the start in kind of fateful!

^ I often draw her with the same body pattern that shows on the skin of Snatchers, and that is exactly what kind of descendant she is!

I also always liked the idea that Gratia, Simon and Yamamura were the 'detective friends' up to uncover the Healing Church's secrets! Later, I decided the Yahar'gul Hunter we find in the prison under Grand Cathedral should also be a part of the squad! I did not know that Simon interestingly had Fist of Gratia as a part of his equipment back then and only judged from their location, but that made me feel validated with that headcanon! xD

Gratia is, of course, more of a 'power' of the team! She might be not very smart, but she has her heart in a good place and can understand the concept of shady bad business that should be stopped. She is easy to deceive in terms of pranks and other remotely innocent things, but when someone lying to her or trying to use her is malicious she will sense it. Pair that with her being very brave and blunt, and you really don't want to mess with her! The girl could grab Laurence and slam him against the wall accusing him of being "full of shit" if he attempted to deceive her, ffs! And not even his friends would defend him because it IS his fault for playing with this tigress x)

Needless to mention that she is protective over her friends! Not a kind of a protective friend that will mindlessly jump into fighting the other guy, but someone that will walk in and give them a fair warning to get lost first. She has threatening aura and usually just that is enough to scare away a person that means no good to someone she cares about. But, when she is powerless to do anything against some prick in power or likewise, she will express her frustration by breaking a property on her way out xd

Also she gives me this vibe:

Thank you for an ask! :D She has a very vivid and fleshed out image in my mind! Funny enough, this makes describing her harder because she feels so self-explanatory for me!

[katyahina]

Who are Yahar'gul hunters? (compiled reference and observations on 7 obscure NPCs)

Like the title suggests, I decided to cover whatever could be said or speculated about a group of NPCs in Bloodborne in one post as despite suffering from not having unique names or at least titles (save for Antal), they are distinct enough to have the characters and lore nonetheless in Soulsborne's trademark nonverbal fashion! They are a valid part of overall Bloodborne cast and I've found out they offer plenty to work with!

Some shared observations

(Description are always taken from Last Protagonist's retranslation document ( x ) to not miss out any nuance)

1) Yahar'gul hunters are Healing Church hunters, rather than Old Hunters (the hunters of Gehrman's type) or Yharnam hunters (simple citizens who, albeit trained by Ludwig, don't count as Healing Church hunters)! Not only five out of seven of them use Healing Church weapons (six out of seven if you count Archibald's weapons as such) and not only School of Mensis is another faction of "nerds" of the Healing Church but also some visual hints can be seen:

^^^ For example, the metal helmets of Yahar'gul Hunters are the same as what Executioners (enemies) in Hunter's Nightmare are wearing! These Executioners are likewise staff of the Healing Church, or used to be in the times of the past. It is up to interpretation if their caged helmets were to contain those eldrich tentacles and School of Mensis simply took the design to honor their roots (like they honored their Byrgenwerth roots with uniforms), or if those Executioners were given to the Healing Church BY Micolash/Mensis to begin with, or the secret third/fouth/fifth thing! I just think the design implication being here to begin with is interesting

(The images of Church Giants are from this ( x ) page in Bloodborne Wiki (that awesome one created all by the same person))

^^^ Healing Church staff also seems to have a knack for ropes tied around (and the Madmen, former Tomb Prospectors, repeated the idea by tying long empty phantasms shells in a similar fashion)! Yahar'gul Hunters are said to use it as both restraint for kidnapping and... yeah, as 'lucky charms'.

2) It is rather interesting that they are, functionally, doing the same as what Snatchers (big Pthumerian guys with a sack) do - kidnap people for School of Mensis! My headcanon is that School of Mensis worked primarily with their hunters as kidnappers, and Snatchers were doing their own thing but simply shared living space with School of Mensis! Moreover, they do not aimlessly kidnap people long after Mensis Scholars "ascended", but need people for their own ritual of attempting to create an Amygdala, which is The One Reborn. It is a long rabbithole, but internal name of Amygdalae is 'evil god' and internal name of The One Reborn is 'failed evil god' ( x ). But alternatively, School of Mensis worked with the hunters and only afterwards was able to get Snatchers to help them! Regardless of interpretation, at least at some point in timeline, Yahar'gul Hunters were School of Mensis' tools for kidnapping.

3) Five out of seven of Yahar'gul hunters are not white. More specifically, one of these hunters (the Hunter's Nightmare one) is distinct, when other four are similar 'type' of model (not sure what to call it) with Henryk. Yeah, from game developing standpoint, devs probably just used Henryk as a base for creating Yahar'gul hunters, and naturally DLC hunter would look unique. But for all we know, it could also be an implication! Like how Heir Rune that Henryk drops is also found in Yahar'gul! At the same time, out of shown covenants of the characters, proportionally Yahar'gul hunters have the biggest amount of not white people. Yharnamites believe foreigners caused the plague of beasts, and Yharnam is very much Slavic: Czechia+Poland inspired, mostly with white people of course. Maybe people who were visibly foreigners had the hardest time whenever bias against foreigners began, and so these hunters had to turn to School of Mensis: a faction that takes in everyone, needing simply people willing to do crimes, and also provides opportunity to hide from the public eye.

4) Yahar'gul Hunters are the only type of Hunters in the game to use Archibald's weapons!

Archibald is not necessarily against the normal Healing Church; he is referred to as 変人 (a weirdo), unlike, say, Powder Kegs that are called 異端 (heretics). But, the items associated with him (Tonitrus, Tiny Tonitrus and Spark Hunter Badge) are all found in School of Mensis! One Yahar'gul hunter uses Tonitrus, one other uses Tiny Tonitrus, and Bolt Papers are dropped by one of the Yahar'gul Hunters and Snatchers, and also found on corpses all over School of Mensis! But maybe it was him being fascinated with "magic" of beasts instead of straight up denying all about them, or the fact that bolt harms Kin (who used to be an important deal for Healing Church) that earned him the weird looks. It further feels like Micolash was collecting various rejects by his side, sure that they'd do every mad thing he needed while having no choice, and Yahar'gul Hunters rather joined because of hard situation. Heck, there are two Yahar'gul hunters that defected from School of Mensis!

5) Back to Loran implications, because there are some!

Remember how Henryk is implied to relate to Loran? Further in cut content as his set used to be called Hunter of Gremia Set (Gremia used to be name for Loran ( x )) This is also the case with Suspicious Beggar, who straight up can turn into a unique beast that comes from Loran and isn't anything spawned by Healing Church's antics. Loran is very desert-inspired, so.. heck, appearance of Yahar'gul Hunters + Archibald exploring Loran electric beasts can also be useful for interpreting this cast of characters. Maybe Archibald specifically searched those with Loran heritage as part of his interest in Darkbeasts and School of Mensis had to comply for like... Archibald being to Micolash what Ludwig is to Laurence. Or maybe people with Loran roots were shunned not by Yharnamites in general, but by Healing Church itself, all over suspicion that they were more subjected for giving into beasthood than everyone else. :/ *insert 'This place is reserved for Whites' meme again*

6) In two out of three cases where you meet these Hunters, they fight as a group in which members also mutually balance each other with their skills. You'll see what I mean when I describe each hunter individually! But yeah, they group by compensating for each other's weak points, as opposed to, say, normie Church hunters that group by 'a cool person and their bodyguard' system (like the girls at Research Hall or Forgotten Madman and his escort for example). Really efficient.

Alright, I think I am done with overall review of the cast, and like I said, I am going to bring up each individually under Keep Reading! I just figured general observations were needed first! Will also be using screenshots of their face data that I recreated in game to have references, face sliders are datamined by Zullie the Witch! (( x ) ( x ) for videos and ( x ) for extremely handy compillation on the same cool Wiki)

The Defectors

I group these characters together as it is easier! They are Antal and a Yahar'gul Hunter that we meet in the Hunter's Nightmare, in Underground Cell! Both of them are using Church Pick, and both are actually against Healing Church by what we can conclude. I've heard that before Zullie datamined these hunters, people used to assume they were the same character 🤔

Antal

He is the only named Yahar'gul Hunter and is a summon against The One Reborn and Darkbeast Paarl! His weapons are Church Pick and Flamesprayer! He doesn't excell in any stats, nor there is anything remarkable about his build.... and I also used to think he had a tiny mustache because of that shadow just above his lip, but turns out he doesn't have facial hair fhdhfds Let's say he has it shaved or something.. Also, Antal is apparently young, both by feature sliders and actual age picked for him. I assume early balding working under Micolash is normal.. -_-"

With his summon locations, it is up to interpretation whether he is dead (since some summons do raise from the grave to hunt) or simply prefers to work against School of Mensis "from inside", helping the kidnapped if he crosses paths with them, rather than straight up leaving. At the very least, IF he died, he betrayed School of Mensis before his death, as the title suggests! Also according to internal files ( x ), Antal had an unknown occasion to appear in Hunter's Nightmare that was cancelled. It isn't clear whether it was as a hostile NPC or as a summon, but, having it cut is interesting because there IS another Yahar'gul Hunter there in the final game:

Yamamura's boyfriend Yahar'gul Hunter from Nightmare

OKAY OKAY but hear me out fdhfsdh This is the hunter we find in the Underground Cell in Hunter's Nightmare, where people that learned too much about the Healing Church's secrets are thrown to die!

It is quite a bold move for someone who worked for School of Mensis of all things to be considered someone that learned too much, right? I think that an intention to betray had to be the factor, then 🤔 Yamamura is a summon not only against Living Failures, but also in Yahar'gul for Darkbeast Paarl and The One Reborn! Summon locations indicate the characters' backstory, so Yamamura once was at Yahar'gul. I think it is a logical conclusion that this hunter had helped him to run away... or maybe was convinced BY Yamamura to consider his life choices and to run? Was Antal helping the two as well but didn't make it out alive, or he chickened out to run with them and did stay as "passive" rebel? What do you guys think?

Well, the potential backstory aside.. This guy has blond hair and blond (shaved) beard and eyebrows, which I like for an interesting design! He is shaved, not bald. His built sliders are quite big, especially arms at 245 and the chest area at maximal 255. Among other NPCs he excells at Strengtht with 45 (third place amongst NPCs shared with Brador and Yamamura) and Skill (second place, shared with Yamamura and Bestial Hunter). He uses Church Pick and Repeating Pistol; both are Church weapons, like Antal! He is also my favorite Yahar'gul NPC because he is totally forming Detective Gang with Yamamura, Gratia and Simon trust me guys my uncle works at Fromsoft fdhfdhshfd xD

But yes, I think if Antal's cut appearance in Hunter's Nightmare is of any indication, developers decided to make two characters instead of one in the end! Good for them!

Cathedral Ward Hunters

They are the two guys that you fight when approaching the 'normal' entrance to Yahar'gul - a chapel where Patches directs you towards! Just the outside guards of the Yahar'gul. If you also follow there with Henriett summoned, she will help fighting them.

CW Hunter with Tonitrus

He is really frail and old, as you can see. He uses Tonitrus and drops 4 Bolt Papers! I'd say he is the most 'electric' hunter out of everyone we meet, heheh; He is also the only NPC to use Wooden Shield, others who use it as Yharnam Huntsmen enemies!

As it is not an effective thing against the beasts, he maybe simply chosen it because his purpose is to fight people, not beasts. Maybe he also does originally come from regular citizens, and Tonitrus was simply something he took after starting working for Yahar'gul when normally we'd see him with a pitchfork or alike. Finally, he has one of the lowest Bloodtinge stats amongst all NPCs (9), as third weakest, so maybe using shield instead of a gun was a necessity from his blood being too weak to reliably use for the bullets (which are created from the user's blood!). I favour the latter version particularly and I'll also explain why soon!

CW Hunter with Rifle Spear

SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER fdjfds

Okay, well, this Yahar'gul Hunter uses generic placeholder data, and this is what it looks like xd So his appearance is entirely up to interpretation. He uses Rifle Spear and Ludwig's Rifle, and drops 10 Quicksilver Bullets! I like the fact that both of his weapons are able to shoot! Furthermore his most excellent stat IS Bloodtinge: 35, that puts him on 6th place amongst NPCs (shared place with Brador and Simon). It is very clear what his specialization is, in contrary to his hunting partner! They're like opposites x)

The three Hunters ambush you in Yahar'gul

I guess anyone who had a Skill Issue (like me т.т) remembers THESE guys. I've found them challenging to kill, but at LEAST they do not respawn. Also, in the area where we fight them a previously accessible Lantern is completely smashed after Rom is defeated and can no longer be used! I think it should have been them who smashed it... Maybe after seeing the Moon turning red, they simply knew what was going to happen? Not sure whether they protect Micolash's secrets even past his disappearance or have their own motivation; like I said, it is also possible that after Mensis Ritual the remaining people in Yahar'gul were doing their own thing!

Beast Claw Yahar'gul Hunter

Uh... So yeah, he shares all sliders and stats with the Tonitrus Hunter from Cathedral Ward! I personally like to simply take this idea and make them be twins! But even this aside, his sliders make a lot of sense for me!

Amongst Yahar'gul Hunters, he is the only one wearing a variant of Yahar'gul Helmet without the hood. Moreover, it is the only piece of attire he is wearing, otherwise naked (if you don't count underwear lol)! He uses only Beast Claw and drops the Clawmark Rune (also dropped by Gilbert). What I like about simply reusing these stats is that his physical weakness might be either the result of continuously turning to beasthood or, better yet, the reason why he has to turn to beasthood! If him and Tonitrus Hunter are twins, there might be some physical weakness (or even sickness) shared genetically, and both have to compensate for it somehow!

Despite sharing face data, they have different stats, with this hunter having stronger stats in everything. Most of them could simply be because he is a later game NPC that must be stronger, but the one that stands out is Bloodtinge which is significantly bigger compared to Tonitrus Hunter: 38, that puts him in 5th place amongst other NPCs and is a place shared with other two from the same trio. Super sold on the idea that it is also because of beasthood; he'd need to consume a lot of blood to awaken it, so...

^^^ Interestingly, his weapon yet again is related to the Darkbeasts ('black beast' refers to them in this file)! Although not electric, but it is still fitting to use for someone from Yahar'gul since Paarl is there too!

That rat around the corner Yahar'gul Hunter with the Cane

I honestly remember this guy much more from how he sneaks up on you from behind when you approach the other two hunters from the trio and also spams Tiny Tonitrus attacks than from him using Threaded Cane (and Flamesprayer).. but Cane is what he is commonly referred to with. Also the second Yahar'gul Hunter, together with Antal, that isn't shaved. His built is average, but he has a very strong, visible stripe of a scar on his left cheek. Also rare case of Yahar'gul person that has eyebrows o_o Unacceptable!!!

There isn't much else to say about him, other than the scar is interesting. Also, this trio of hunters mostly shares the stats, with each of them being weaker than the other two at something, and this hunter's weakest stat is Strengtht (14)! Guess he doesn't need it much, since his weapons are long-distance combat! Or maybe he started being very careful after receiving this scar somehow... Or, maybe, he is the smartest one in the trio (he even drops Madman Knowledge) and the Beastclaw Hunter baiting the Paleblood Hunter while he ambushes from the corner was HIS idea. ...and maybe smashing the Lantern was his idea too? Yes, I like the idea that he is just the smartest amongst them and takes the lead as a strategist, and also the most careful.

Yahar'gul Hunter with the Cannon

Okay, this NPC I actually never forget for one minute because he has THE most buff buld amongst ALL NPCs! He is the only character that has chest, abdonmen, arms and legs all at 255! What, you guys thought that Alfred had the biggest tiddies? Compared to this Hunter, Alfred is just a pathetic twink!!!!!! Just look at HIS build for comparison:

(aww he got a belly tho :3 )

But yeah, anyways, this Hunter uses Cannon and Rifle Spear. Very, very powerful shooting force that drops 20 Quicksilver Bullets, and damn, that Cannon is heavy. I am supposed to say "interestingly how both of the weapons he uses are made by Powder Kegs", but....

..turns out that localization team made a MISTAKE, and for some reason attributed it to Powder Kegs! When even the original Japanese script says かつて医療教会の工房が試作した大型銃 ('a large gun that was once invented at the 'medical church' workshop'). Sighhh.... it even makes perfect sense because you do not get the ability to buy this weapon by obtaining Powder Keg hunter badge, you just find it! It makes EXTRA sense because there is a weapon CHURCH CANNON, that was remodelled FROM the original Cannon! AAAAAA WHAT WAS THE POINTTTTTTTTT-

Okay OKAY I am calm now

Yes, all in all, the guy is also very interesting! As an artist I also love that his hair is very dark, almost black, but his eyebrows and beard are brighter brown (darker blond?). I like small details like this! He is also amongst people with THE lowest Arcane stat from all NPCs (8, the last place) and has a very tiny mole on his left side of the nose that is invisible because of the color chosen for it. Awesome.

__________________

Yeah, I think I've covered whatever observations and ideas I've had on these guys. I just really wanted to because Bloodborne is still rich with easily-overlooked NPCs even ten years later! And honestly, not giving them the names is what made it so bad in my opinion... Like for example, imagine how easier it'd be to communicate about and ship the two female Hunters at Research Hall had they only been named internally? Someone could argue that Yurie is "loreless" character, but since she has a name it is easy to identify her, and thus pin down lore implications and make a story. @ Fromsoft please stop giving your obscure NPCs enough to work with and then not give any way to instantly tell them apart besides what weapons they use ;-;

In any case, these guys were kinda hard simply because there is many of them, but at this point I can easily distinguish them 🤔 Maybe someone else will find this post useful or interesting!

[real-alphas-be-changing-genders]

Youwy and chat started slandering Bloodborne so I left. The slander of fromsofts best game is insane so I am going to list why it's the best game they've ever made:

The environments are beautiful, the gothic Victiorian setting, gorgeous architecture and views. The way the moonlight casts shadows on stuff, and you can see the shadows in the air if that makes sense.

Bloodborne also has the best poison swamp. The snake balls are funny and the way those guys' heads explode into snakes is so creepy and awesome.

The weapons are the best fromsoft has ever made. Original, unique movesets for every weapon (except for kirkhammer/LHB and saw cleaver/spear but those are intended to share movesets and they have some different attacks like the transformed ones) the trick weapon mechanic is peak too, there's so much depth to be had with it.

The chalice dungeon system is very cool too. If you know where to go and what to do you can have a maxed out weapon with perfect gems before beating vicar Amelia. They're fun to explore and a nice challenge. It also features unique enemies and bosses such as the bloodletting beast. I like the bloodletting beast, it is cool. Having the best gems locked behind them gives players an incentive to explore them, but it's not ultimately required, it's just an option for min maxers.

The general bosses are also amazing design wise, as well as gameplay wise. The One Reborn being an abomination made from the corpses of hundreds of yharnamies and yahar'gul citizens. Am attempt by the church to create a great one. A fucked up experiment. It is also a reference to Demon's Souls' Tower Knight, this is cool, and I don't think there are many other direct references to earlier bosses in the souls series (aside from dark souls 3, although they are obvious callbacks considering ds1 has the same world as ds3). Other bosses such as orphan of Kos, the clearest example of the many wrongdoings of the church. a ball of rage left behind to fester and rot in the wake of the church's experiments.

The world building is also great in Bloodborne. The yharnamites that perceive you as a beast, because prior to being infected, they were the ones killing and burning the beasts. Finding the amygdalae scattered across the rooftops, the games shift from gothic Victorian horror to straight up lovecraftian cosmic horror is done so so well.

The fashion - armour is mostly for looks, so you are free to glamorise your hunter as you see fit.

The vilebloods being a clear parallel to black people, lgbt people etc. they were persecuted by the church, who claim they threaten the "purity of the church", and were thus slaughtered based on purely prejudice.

The fact that you are much more involved in the story. Whereas in other games you walk through a bleak and post apocalyptic world, where everything has already happened, in Bloodborne the story is much more responsive to the players actions. The moon phase changes as you progress, the amygdala becomes visible after you kill Rom and break the filter over the world, and unleash the blood moon. The workshop burns after you kill the wet nurse. The cathedral ward becomes much more empty after you either kill Amelia or Rom. This is more subjective, but I personally prefer this.

The lore is also fantastic, I'm sure the lore of the other games is also great but I just love the story of Bloodborne. The greed of the church, the reckless experimentation of godhood. The whole concept of the beast plague is cool.

QUICKSTEP IS SO GOOD AND BADASS THEY MODDED IT INTO ELDEN RING

There is more, will update when I think of anything extra to add

ALSO I've heard people bitch about 30fps like it's a cancer to the eyes, fuck you it's not even a problem you get used to it after like 2 minutes

[beesmygod]

BLOODBORNE LORE Q+A PART 1: SETTING

*BLOCK "long post/" or "bloodborne" to banish these from your dash!!

my friend shawn has finished his run of bloodborne recently which i was SOOOO excited for and throughout the process he indulged whatever is wrong with me by asking me lore questions. he has now finished his quest and i can answer all his remaining questions in this post, which is also peppered with his commentary on his experience (good, funny). as always i write these posts to try to be entertaining to ppl familiar with bloodborne and ppl who are fandom rubberneckers. i understand you. i long to cater to you as one of you. come with me on this bloodborne adventure...[holds out a hand covered in some kind of weird grey shit]

he has many good questions and i have too many words so this must be broken up into so, so many posts. even then these are going to be so long and make me look totally insane. dont like it? keep scrolling bitch im reloading my flintlock pistol. your ass is grass in 1-3 minutes.

ALL OF THIS IS MY PERSONAL INTERPRETATION AND NOT!!! FACT!!!! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO COME UP WITH YOUR OWN READING OF THE TEXT BASED ON YOUR OWN EVIDENCE AND WHATNOT

---

THE HUNTER ASKS:

[sooooo smartly] i dont know.

the moon in bloodborne is one of the weirdest seemingly deliberate inconsistencies throughout the game. it has a bunch of bizarre qualities including the fact that it's a physical object that gets loaded in and its not part of a skybox that just gets switched during cutscenes. despite the inherent terror of the blood moon taking up so much space in our collective brains, it only appears in yharnam, the cathedral ward and yahar'gul. ive seen a lot of theories about why cainhurst or byrgenwerth have regular moons, but i think the more likely answer is that the blood moon is only affecting yharnam. these are also the only places where the tentacled amygdalas or, as they're known internally, "false gods" can be found.

these things

THE HUNTER ASKS:

eileen knows too! she knows about dreaming ("No more dreams for me. This is my last chance.") AND the doll. ("You still have dreams? Tell the little doll I said hello"). both were kicked out of the dream because they no longer hunt beasts, thus breaking their contracts. djura protects them and eileen hunts hunters.

at the start of the game you "sign a contract" with the blood minister and get a yummy yharnam blood infusion that gives you access to the dream. presumably, all hunters do or did this to join the hunt and the doll's dialog ("Over time, countless hunters have visited this dream.") reveals that the hunter's dream was once host to many hunters. they likely all dreamed before going mad.

THE HUNTER ASKS:

yeah check this out: if you line your brain with eyes, you have insight. get it. eh? ehhhh??

the witch of hemwick is PROBABLY not wearing eyeballs...fresh ones at least. pebbles are calcified eyes that have hardened due to whatever force causes blood to calcify in bloodborne world (leading to blood shards, blood gems, etc). VERY RARELY will they drop an actual eye, which the item description reveals was taken "quickly" before death or immediately after.

eyes are used exclusively to access the hintertomb chalice, which is of interest to the church because it appears to be where they get their church slaves from (more on this later). BUT the women of hemwick do more than eyeballs. they create bone marrow ash by burning corpses and. hmm. well.

you're right. there's no beasts here. there's no beasts where there's incense in the game, like the parts of the labyrinth that the church has explored (evidenced by the architecture and censures that resemble those in the cathedral ward) or entrances to upper cathedral ward/forbidden woods. a few characters mention that they're running out of it or that it's masking scents. its the reason why the suspicious beggar has to stand outside oedon chapel lol. he cant deal with the stinky anti-wolf smoke

you know where else there's no beasts? yahar'gul. and the only incense is found in the cells where they keep their meat for experiments. but there is an unexplained burning corpse or two in the middle of town.

if you break incense pots, they're full of bones. O_O oh shit i just noticed something lol: eileen's mask says "The beak contains incense to mask scents of blood and beast." YUCK!

the witches are not really educated and do not seem to partake in blood ministration as they are missing any bestial traits. it seems like they are "for hire" and work for both byrgenwerth and the healing church supplying parts from the graves they "maintain".

THE HUNTER ASKS:

it seems like they did once at some point in history and had to give up due to a combination of no more room to bury people and something going wrong with the corpses of yharnamites (more later!).

we know a little bit about yharnam funeral customs by way of eileen's crowfeather set which states that yharnam's treatment of burying the dead is considered a taboo and shameful act by outside cultures which leave their dead to "sky burials", a type of funeral ritual where the corpse is left for birds (like the fat ass crows in this game) to pick clean. those birds are eating so good lately.

perhaps the reason why underground burial is considered distasteful is due to the fact that the great ones were once buried underground by the pthumerians. the graves in the forbidden woods (including the forbidden grave) are, according to the art book, tombstones for great ones.

here are some ways we know yharnamites deal with corpses:

cremate them for profit

bury them

exhuming them for profit

just leave 'em there

lock them in caskets and run before they come back

experiment on them

chuck them in a hole and forget about 'em

fake iosefka does the last one. someone (her?) exhumed a grave near her clinic that was absolutely packed with corpses and they dug deep enough to find an entrance to the hintertomb. the player must enter the hintertomb through a chalice ritual, but this locations is either THE or one of the ways that the hintertomb was discovered.

the hintertomb is described as an auxiliary wing of the pthumerian labyrinth filled with "unceremonious" tombs. hemwick witches can be found here, likely looking for some fresh product to move. its where various people and organizations dump their trash. you can find piles of dead pigs, fake iosefka's failed experiments, some church giants left to die (presumably, they did not originate from there as they are already belled), and some other crap.

how do we know this is the entrance to the hintertomb? first, there's the amount of tomb mold blooming here. it explicitly grows only in the old labyrinth

second, they both share an environmental hazard unique only to them (and the nightmare frontier, whatever. IN THE REAL WORLD): POISON SWAMPS as a consequence of the decaying great one corpses.

i forgot the question. i think my point was that there are now so many bodies they're running out of things to do with them and its starting to be a problem. they are both taking things out of the labyrinth and throwing things in. yharnamites have a general disrespect for cultures and customs and it's really biting them in the ass

oh wait i remember. i was tying this back into the part about where the church gets their slaves from. all the church attendants and giants are pthumerians. the primary difference between them and their labyrinth counterparts are the lack of open slack jaw. and the fact the church pthumerians drop blue elixir.

Dubious liquid medicine used in strange experiments conducted by high ministers of the Healing Church. A type of anesthetic that numbs the brain.

---

the next part will also be...MORE ABOUT THE SETTING. until next time (later today)

[blaiddfailcam]

Fuck it, below are my favorite gifs I've made of Bloodborne (so far) in no particular order.

I didn't post all of these in sets, at least not yet, mainly because I needed to balance the arrangements as far as color and even camera motion. Too many sweeping shots in a set is kind of obnoxious, as much as I love making them.

Bloodborne is pretty tricky for making gifs, requiring a good deal of patience and ingenuity just to get the hunter out of the shot. But once I figured out a few methods, things took an interesting turn!

[CW for blood—obviously—gore, and body horror]

Yahar'gul Chapel

I know I wanted a shot of the Amygdala statue in Yahar'gul, but it felt too easy to record it head-on, and besides, why not just post a screenshot then? Then I saw a flickering candelabra, and the celestial larva statue, and it seemed like a dramatic angle. I liked the shift from gold to blue—from knowledge into mystery.

Hunter's Nightmare

I did get to use this one in a set, and although the spray of bullets at bottom are a little irksome, I thought the way the camera swept past that urn in the illusion of a crane shot was cool. Really, my hunter is just crouching behind a fence.

Cathedral Ward

FromSoft is supremely gifted at arranging their mapspaces so that large setpieces like the Astral Clocktower are naturally framed by environmental pockets. Somewhat instinctively, I knew I had to capture this descending shot in time with that large huntsman emerging from the alley mist. The fact that it looks as if the viewer is peeking from behind the coffin was an accident, but sells the feeling of dread.

Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower

This one worked out almost too perfectly. I thought I'd just get a basic shot of her approaching, but then she did that and I gasped, lol. Her set was surprisingly quick to put together.

Old Yharnam

I was still figuring out some camera tricks by the time I hit Old Yharnam, and this was my first attempt at moving the hunter with the monocular activated while tilting the camera independantly. I had to crop out the hunter, so it's woefully grainy, but I think it sells the effect well enough.

Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos

This was promptly after I threw a pebble at her.

Quite thrilling.

Iosefka's Clinic

The very first gif I made of Bloodborne! I wanted to capture that "oh fuck" moment of the scourge beast feeding on those dead mobs, and the only method I knew would work (not having the monocular yet) was to sit by a wall. As it happens, Bloodborne doesn't apply translucency to foreground objects, so I was surprised to be able to get this peek from behind a shelf of medical equipment, simple though it is. That would never work in Elden Ring!

Vicar Amelia

I may reattempt her set in the future, as I learned a few tricks for "shooting" after defeating her, and I should've upped the brightness. Still, this angle of her seemingly pulling the hunter out of Laurence's beastly skull before squashing them was pretty dramatic—and a total accident.

Moon Presence

Moon Presence may not be a very difficult fight, but let me tell ya, trying to capture it had me gnashing my teeth. It moves so sporadically, it's hard to find a good backdrop, and it never seems to want to do much more than flop around. Worse still is that to get all of its cooler moves, you need to dish some hefty damage to break its limbs, but without killing it prematurely. In the end, I was pretty happy with even this straightforward tilt shot with the moon appearing to descend behind the crawling chaos.

○ ○ ○

I still have plenty of footage to sift through and memorialize as gifs, but I think I need a little break to, you know, enjoy the game, lol. There's plenty I still want to capture, and I figure there's a bit of a vacuum for Bloodborne gifs, owing to the lack of a PC release and all. Not that it can't be finegled, but it doesn't mean it's impossible on console, either.

...Hopefully this doesn't come off as pretentious. I just have a lot of fun making these for some reason, ameteurish as they may be.

[fareehaandspaniards]

I sometimes wonder how comes you ended up SO attached to Damian specifically? When you first appeared you was just one of us Micolash simps, but before I've noticed it is just Damian everywhere ggjhggkj Sorry if you've answered somewhere already, but what made you so obsessed with Damian? What was that thing that made you see his potential and appeal the way you do now?

Well, yes, you were right to point out that when I came here, I was mostly interested only in Micolash! But gradually getting used to the character, you start to think about his surroundings! And if Edgar I liked from the first glance and he always will be my favourite nerd-accountant-church boy with issues, then Damian I just ignored at first xd And in the game did not really notice him, although he stands out among the phantoms - Loch Shield, ability to heal with choir bell, Mensis cage (AND his amazing look. Long hair and tired old face? Ooooh, I'm in). The cage in particular makes you think that he is a very difficult character which belongs to an enemy fraction and fights on your side. Well beyond that, it was worth taking a closer look at him and it all went on its own :'D

Most of the fandom sees him in a similar way - caring, selflessly giving of himself to Micolash, loyal to the core, a bit slow due to age, and cozy man. My first vision of him was also like he is an absolute angel, the purest creation in the entire game! That was second phase of my simping I think xD Granddilf with the biggest heart and purest soul, loyal servant of his beloved one - oh my god!! Makes me go crazy because I want him to be respected immediately, be loved and cherished. Maybe he is my type? I don't know. Old, really OLD man with loving heart and I-i-i-i... melting...

One of my headcanons is that Damian can kill a human, do crimes, cruel medical experiments (he is a Mensis scholar after all) but he can never hurt a child! ^^^^ There is him with little Yurie, Micolash and Edgar, and image I drew after a cool discussion with Fantomette! We talked about possibility of Edgar being Micolash's son, which means that Damian could possibly be his godfather xd

(Also you may see a plushie bunnie in little Micolash's hands and it has much more sense that it may seem!)

I am too lazy to explain I am sorry Dx But I wrote about bunny and little Irzhie here, in an ask game. The question was - what would be his favourite toy? >>>

Me and my husband talked about Irzhie too much and came to many funny and creepy conclusions and ideas (Damian's obsession with his little brother, projection his brother on Micolash, insanity, necromancy and,,,, Many other things :^) , so that picture was born)

(Sorry to put it in your ask lkak.ermkeamg,g,fdmg BUT you can't shut me up when it's about Damian D: )

I mean you can put Damian in ANY headcanon and he still be kindest man ever existed.

In myvision of lore he helped Rom when she felt really bad in Byrgenwerth, was one amongst three people in the whole college who supported Caryll, he protected Micolash his whole life, he was trying to soften Micolash's deeds and didn't want him to involve innocent children in his experiments (as much as adults. But I believe that Yahar'gul people were sort of fanatics so there were many volunteers for School of Mensis medical stuff), he was the one who will always do his best to help whenever you ask.

And my poor old man is also a saddest creature, because the fact is a fact - no matter if he hates or loves Micolash or just fights against his ideas in game, Micolash is in a Nightmare and Damian is here. I shipped Damicolash and it was really bittersweet. Mico dies and what is left for Damian? Only grieve and sorrow?

Damian/Yurie - bitter end, Damian/Rom - bitter end, Damian/Micolash - bitter end, Damian/anyone else - bitter end! :^)

Anyone else except sir Gremia! (This man deserves another post he is also so complicated! My husband KNOWS how much I adore him. Many of our daily jokes include him lol) Gremia has a strong need in an "adult/mother" archetype and also in "wife/lover", he needs someone who will pat his head and whom he can protect. And Damian needs someone to take care of, to protect and to be protected by that someone (Theme for another post :Р)

Damian, who gave love but didn't receive it, who did his best for Micolash but ended up leaving the Mensis School because his beloved crossed all bounds of sanity, who believed in Kos, his goddess of mothers and children, who genuinely tried to help everyone - I wanted him to be happy.

It really concerned me and I think then started the third phase of simping, when I found out that Sir Gremia exists and Damian just can't be perfect (it's so wrong and boring. I love when a character is like alive person, so it means they are problematic! There are no "normal" people)

I have to say, as you mentioned, I have seen him as a chad, attracting everyone to him xD But right now for me he has flaws, he can be very annoying sometimes, plus overprotection of Micolash (I think Micolash even got tired of him. Sounds like an absolute Micolash plus that may be a reason he let Damian go from serving him), weaknesses and traumas, cruelty and coldness in his heart, and a strong attachment to the past. But he's the kind one. And that's what hit my heart the hardest way. He is player friendly for his own unknown reasons, but I believe his destiny and talent is to lead and protect, which is what he has been doing all his life.

I write a fic about him and Gremia right now, connected with the early Healing Church and I want to put there all my headcanons, big and small and finally finish his story and give him the end of the game that he deserves

I am sorry for the amount of text. Old man took a place in my heart, he does not only looks like an absolute perfection but also seems to be a wonderful person with lots of issues and flaws. I LOVE HIM

I need to improve my drawing skill so I will draw him better and he will become more popular :'D

Maybe I got a little off-topic? But I want you to know how I see him - it's the main point of my simping xD So hard to put all my thoughts in one text. Hope it's not hard to read. It's much easier to write a story than tell the chaos that is happening in your head with your blorbo xD

[dhavaer]

Bloodborne, cont.

Making a new post because the old one was getting unwieldy.

Killed Rom, two tries. Flamer then skulls worked fine. I'm really blazing through my bullets though; good thing the lecture hall is such a good farming location.

Finally opened the Ailing Loran chalice and got a top-tier fire gem pretty much immediately. The bolt gem from Yahar'gul is better than what I can get here, though, so no need to grind further.

Next, back to lower Pthumeru for some better fire radials. Hoping for some less crappy curses.

[abyssalpriest]

allowing myself one (1) post about this game

still fucking thinking about reblogging this this morning

because it reminded me of Yahar'gul but in a soft way... which (being able to think about it in a soft way i mean) is a manifestation of my fucking dawning realisations that when i "was in Yahar'gul" "astral projecting" with my ex, the one who had a fucking mini cult based around pretending bb created him and other spirits, it wasnt JUST the fictional replication/simulation of it that my dumbass ex made in his mindspace (territory in the mental realm), but ALSO a version in Lev's mindspace AS WELL, and Im struggling to want to recall these things let alone start dissecting a difference but like. no there were definitely... times that we were inside Lev's head. I say we too because at this time my ex was still in Lev's good books so to speak. TLDR I thought this was JUST fake memories created by my ex to convince me YHG was real, but it wasnt just fake memories I was in versions of it inside his and Lev's heads (for very different reasons between the two of them lmfao)

but like. Lev told me before I started dissecting (and hence was the reason i started dissecting) memories of Yahar'gul that he "had/has a version of Yahar'gul too" - it wasn't just my ex, he also had a version... Im actually starting to think I was in his mindspace more often than not when i was "in" "yahar'gul" but like. ive been like... WHY would that be true, why would he have a version of this?? Yahar'gul to me is synonymous with corruption and fucked up unethical experiments, its synonymous with (the) micolash(s) and their fucked up school and their slaves (arguably one and the same thing with their school), and yeah my ex introduced it to me as The Sunshine Village (the Sun being the energy Lev ruled/rules with, he is arguably THE sun to my ex) but like. my ex, supposedly A Micolash, stole so many of Lev's symbols its un-fucking-believable so of course The Sunshine Village would be what it was called even if it had nothing directly to do with lev. Lev's symbols and energies were just free game to my ex lmfao

anyway. you know where else was synonymous with corruption and fucked up unethical experiments when it was taken over by people running a fucked up school and cult? the fucking city that i already thought yahar'gul was based on that Lev gave to the spirits I know who pretend to be micolash(s) that he eventually bent reality around and fucking destroyed for their hubris

lmfao at the song playing in the bg after i asked lev a million times if i can post this

yeah i fucking bet thats Yahar'gul for you Lev

anyway. tldr. i fucking finally pieced together thinking that YHG was based around a city Lev gave to two people who later identified as being "Micolash" (the people kinda implied to be head of the fictional village YHG) with Lev being like "ah yeah well i also have a version of it in my head, alongside your ex ("a micolash") who lied about it being real to trick you" despite the fact that what I knew YHG to be from my ex was extremely fucked up. almost like... as much as lev talks about ESPECIALLY especially especially through fiction about corruption like... he alwayyysss is talking about and creating fiction around the brutality and fucked up results of corruption.... almost like lev had a reason to be connected to and invested in this fucking place it was his

[lost-in-yahargul]

Also for research purposes!

[fantomette22]

Last post about Paarl made me think... do you have any ideas on Archibald and/or Izzy? They are such obscure lore-only characters, I'd love to know if you have any idea on them!

Thank you for the ask Val!

I don’t have a lot on them because we don’t know too much about them sadly. But they sure are interesting! So here I some of my thoughts about what we know in game and a LOT of HEADCANONS.

(I will keep the timeline references simple because bloodborne timeline is still a bit confusing for me XD so let’s assume that what we saw in the hunter nightmare might be not all in chronological order. And we won’t get into detail on the workshops timeline today). 

First, concerning both to begin with. Pretty sure they might have known each other. Or at least Archibald really admired what Izzy did. Some Yahar’gul hunters have the beast claw after all! (And well you know the darkbeasts!)  So, I don’t really have too much idea for their relationship…yet! Both probably went to Loran at least (maybe together?) Maybe they’re both originated from this region too… 

I’m sure some of you might have interesting ideas too!

Archibald

So, our dear Archibald, the “eccentric” of the workshop. 

After the hunter’s (& oto?) workshop close, Archibald kind of struggle to find his place into the new church workshop (even with the powder kegs and all, fire&explosion is not his thing). He was still interest about beasthood and all that stuff (especially darkbeast and electricity hehe) And that was not well see among hunters….

Probably only Gehrman (if it was before the dream, but that work after too) and some powder kegs found his inventions cool. So yes, a bit complicated for him who wanted to study darkbeast and create wepons and tools based on it.

It’s where Mensis (& Mico maybe?) came in! They were kind of eccentric scholars as well. They needed hunters to help them. They didn’t care about your appearance/origins whatever. They encouraged & help Archibald ideas and he develop them into what we know today (+ still use the one from the Oto workshop that he passed down too). And he might have been some kind of scholars too... or at least follow the same methodology.

But it was still in a time were the hunters of the invisible village (not quite invisible at the time) were only task to recover dead bodies who scatters the street.

Then people who were on the church blacklist (and possibly infected = the ones hunted by the black church hunters).

And then… you know… basically anyone…

Hm anyway after that Archibald create the spark hunter badge, Tonitrus and bolt paper (the most popular of his inventions) and taught the others first Yahar’gul hunters (Paarl too! who might have succed him+ Antal & all). Without really being fully recognize by the church (at the beginning at least).

And well he disappeared sometimes before the event of the game… Not sure what happened to him… probably killed by beast or become one. Or Mensis makes him disappears...

Even if he may not have been recognized to his just value at his time he still left his traces into Bloodborne world & the Yahar'gul we know.

(I discovered his cut dialogue today too! It’s quite intriguing. A shame it wasn’t integrated)

Izzy 

So, I’m not going to count the diverse theories about Izzy, (like the beggar and the forbidden wood or the theory that they might have cause the ashen blood disease in old yharnam?! All of this is quite interesting too). (Using they/them too because like a lot of mysterious bb characters I can’t really figure a specific gender. And both are ok too!)

Anyway, for me, either they’re this guy in the nightmare XD

(Or this one is another bestial hunter and is friend with Izzy)

Might even have a little group of them within the Oto workshop! In either cases, Izzy sure was the leader of this beastial hunters. 

I can’t unsee the Izzy/Laurence dynamics. The 2 of them (+others beast hunters), half transformed into beast and kicking ass XD Must have been quite something. 

 And the other hunters are like: hm…ok sure… but go easy guys! *in a Concerning voice* (basically trying to hold them on leash).

And after well idk some hunters lose control and totally transforms and lose their mind… and beast vs beast is weird. Maybe they didn’t want to fight beast anymore… or the church was worried of what people would think about the blood. Can turn someone into a monster pretty simply… so declared heretics after an incident, and the beast embrace rune was forbidden.

So I guess Izzy become blood drunk and turn full beats and was killed… who ran away. Who knows…

[bloodied-hunters]

The Guard of Mensis

Posting underneath a keep under.

A woman who had joined Mensis. She guards Mensis’s halls with her life. Few know she’s a gentle and kind woman who’s just very introverted and awkward. But she ends coming off as intimidating or intense. She really only takes orders from Damien and Micolash. Even while injured and near death, she’ll continue to fight until her opponent or herself dies. When killed, she drops some sedatives and a broken pocket watch.

This is my self insert character. I created her because I wondered what I would look like in Bloodborne. I chose to use the Bloodletter as I've never used it and wanted to. Same goes for the Yahar'gul garb. I have the doll skirt for the legs. I chose this because I wear skirts so I have this character wear skirts. Here is more about the guard:

Loves anything culinary related. If given the chance to, she will make baked goods like pies and such.

Plays the cello. She managed to bring at least that with her to Yharnam

Started out as a normal hunter before being offered to work with Mensis

She found discomfort in wearing pants and when she saw the black and white church garbed women, she wanted to try wearing a skirt. She eventually managed to convince Damien to allow this

The main weapon she used was the hunters axe until she got her hands on a variant of the Bloodletter. It took her awhile to realize it had a blood mode

[katyspersonal]

Send us your Edgar headcanons!!!

@ anon, I am so sorry. When you've sent this ask one eternity ago I started to reply and then got interrupted by mom and then forgot ;-; I can't be trusted with this stuff sometimes I swear.

🔎 I like the idea about him infiltrating Yahar'gul for spyoning, however my "official" timeline and headcanons are different! (is "official headcanon" even a thing? xD) I have him go into Byrgenwerth with Yurie/Julie and Fauxsefka and make his way into Nightmare of Mensis under pretense of being a wayward Byrgenwerth scholar! I've had posts covering this thing in more details as it draws upon some cut content and obscure implications from Mico's dialogoe in Japanese original, but in summary, I think that Lecture Hall used to be accessible from the part of Byrgenwerth in "real" world and it only got locked when Micolash had Rom block the Arcane Lake! Why he blocked the way in the end? Well.... because slowly, Edgar started to warm up to Micolash and find a kindred spirit in him, realizing that Choir was never a right place for him and fellow choirlings never "really" understood him. So he ended up confessing having been spying on him and playing part in figuring out how to ruin his Nightmare.

(Here are the posts about what's the deal with the Arcane Lake if you need them: ( x ) ( x ) !)

🔎 I think he avoided wearing Blindfold Cap back in Choir, and now that he "joined" School of Mensis he doesn't wear a cage intentionally as well! Choir's Blindfold symbolises entrusting your way and what you are allowed to see to the 'Stars', whereas Mensis Cage missing only one bar at the eyes level symbolizes being allowed to see the cosmic horrors how they are but also repressing free will and personality to not (literally) die from horror at these visions. Neither really appealed to Edgar as he is an individualists and prefers to preserve both the autonomy of his research and autonomy of how he will "take" his discoveries. It is a risky strategy but he is a strong-willed and strong-minded man, besides he got a lot of Sedatives! This attitude made him similar to Laurence which is something I've realized only late in writing him, but now I am using it as an excuse for what attracted Micolash to him.

🔎 Edgar infiltrated at 'warm' season:

🔎 He originally was a teacher in one of the schools under Healing Church's influence! I assume Healing Church hired the foreigners abundantly that's hinted by how Brador's clothes (stated to be foreign) copy male Black Church clothes and foreign set of Paleblood Hunter copies male White Church clothes. But Edgar started to notice that whenever after the nights of the hunt any of his pupils became orphans, soon nice people in white robes from higher echelons would take them and these orphans would never be seen again :/ He was nosy enough to try and figure what was going on, but thanks to his intelligence and actor skills he managed to convince the Choir to let him work for them rather than getting thrown into a jail for people that learned too much. It was painful to manage being around people experimenting on children... at first. He was able to stomach the idea that after how much cosmic horrors were unleashed the world was as good as ending and orphaned children objectively had much higher chance to call upon Great Ones of higher rank than Choir's half-human ally Ebrietas and receive their wisdom and blessing.

🔎 He is really physically fit, actually! The guy can throw a very good punch. Not just because he uses Ludwig's Holy Blade, but there are also stats indicating he is stronger than frikin ALFRED and I can't forget this detail for even one day:

🔎 For as long as Edgar remembered he was unintentionally rude, very rarely emoting and when he did it was very strong and explosive, appearing as though he was not interested in feelings and lives of others, not running his mouth in vain (save for his special interests) and of course he would not do things that made no sense for him. His first attempt at dating ended up pretty toxic as his girlfriend not only could not quite accept him and expected him to magically "warm up" in relationship, but also kept emotionally manipulating him into abiding by her demands. Like I said, he would not do shit for others, no matter how simple, if it made no logical sense in his eyes, so seeing how she never could have her way with him without going through proving her point to him rationally, she resorted to the worst kind of behavior - guilt-tripping and threatening. He was only a teenager back then and that unfortunate relationship made him falsely conclude that maybe women were just like that, so he searched a guy to date later. The very first guy that shown interest in him, who was also..... well, older let's call it that. But that guy walked his own dark path, did crimes and tried to pull Edgar into all that using Edgar's extraordinary intelligence and sense of alienation from society, and eventually absconded.

🔎 He also had a best friend that his parents tended to treat more like their son than Edgar himself. A friend who also claimed credit over blueprints of Edgar's inventions that he left behind when he departed to seek Yharnam unable to help his curiousity over what THE heck that town was doing (the world travelled). Some people were sad that Edgar left, like teachers, library workers, various people he's been helping with voluntary work. He also once protected a couple from getting robbed - like I said, the guy is STRONG. But yeah, he was a good man, and for many people, he just had a bad luck of choosing the wrong kind as close ones.

🔎 Pearl Slug item suggests that the Augurs might be all different colors! At Choir, Edgar enjoyed sorting the unhatched eggs of the slugs by the color when he had a free minute x) Another funny habit is to pretentiously fumble with an abacus when he is sharing some numbers. He would also get very antsy if someone took HIS Choir Bell, even if they were all the same and not branded and interchangeable. He actually always gets extremely protective over 'his' things in terms where they are all interchangeable and there is no ownership per say.. Once he uses something, it is now HIS and he feels nearly spiritual attachement to it. When he abandoned his Choir tools to display to Micolash that he DID stick by his side from now own, he was especially reluctant to give away his Call Beyond simply because Micolash would keep it instead of just letting it flee. To this day Edgar is slightly uneasy with it, as if Micolash owns a part of his 'soul' by it.. and at the same time, he finds strangely erotic enjoyment in the fact.

🔎 It is really hard to make him laugh, but he does have sense of humor! He just 'laughs internally' most of the time.

🔎 Remember how I said he was brave and disobedient to authority to a fault, and it was his intelligence that had Choir decide he was worth this stress and too precious to just get rid of? This guaranteed he heard all about Laurence from his new friends. People that knew Laurence well joked that they could've been "twins" and would get along. It was not the first in his life when he felt like he knew people he never met better than people in his own life.

🔎 He can get overly affectionate at someone saying a lot of smart things (that they genuinely comprehend, of course) or passionately sharing something they know a lot about. If he is close with someone and they are doing this, he will reach the point of shiny eyes and willing to suffocate them in a hug :') When Micolash is being very nerdy, Edgar might start smooching him uncontrollably. Like... yeah, normal flirting will make Edgar a bit shy at most, you charm him by opening your soul to him by infodumping!

🔎 Edgar strongly prefers to 'stay in shape'. That's why he'd go fight some beasts willingly even when they were not a direct treat to him and it was predominantly "dirty job" for Black Church hunters escort, that's why he carries people in his arms when there is a reason (so yes, do not confuse it with him being overly gentlemen-ish x) ). In the Nightmare, he might as much as pick a friendly fight with the residents, like fencing with one of the Shadows for example xD He sometimes also likes testing himself by being around Winter Lanterns.. That usually doesn't end well and Micolash has to save him. Yes, MICOLASH has to save someone from going insane. I swear all kind of wild shit happens with these two fjhfdhfsd

______________

Thank you for an ask!! Again, sorry I forgot about it.. You've sent it when I had a bad day and seeing it in my inbox did cheer me up, though! I always like to talk about Edgar, he is genuinely one of my favs! (With headcanons posts though I tend to default to 'story and loredigging' aspects so narrowing headcanons asks to concrete topics like relationships, habits, etc is always acceptable and even welcomed! Helps me to focus and cover more things rather than my default settings)

[katyahina]

Edgar's 'spyoning' situation (theory)

Oh boy oh boy, here I go making theories again. It has been a while... *grinds dry lumenwood into dust and inhales it for more Insight* So, I was able to piece together some evidence but consider it an alternative take to commonly accepted one rather than definitive thing!

Okay, so:

As @saint-micolash already pointed out in discussion in this ( x ) post, despite what is easy thing to assume, other people in the ritual room are not 'other scholars', they are the captives! Notice that their cages are only four bars tall and they are missing uniforms, however have cuffs and even metal collars with chains on their neck!

We by the result cannot say whether other Mensis Scholars existed or how many, maybe Micolash and Damian were the only ones. ...or maybe, since they are refered as 'madmen', there were some other ones but they are long now killed by Micolash and Damian simply got away before he "expired his use".

Okay OKAY sorry I am sidetracking!

But my point is, it was probably very hard if possible at all to simply 'blend in' amongst other scholars with his outfit as disguise of sorts. Not only there is no evidence of there having been more scholars than just Micolash and Damian, but also sending Edgar over in a disguise would have to be done under assumption that he could blend in to the point of not being noticed.

My cornerstone therefore would be assuming that his spyoning was an act - he would allow himself to get "captured" and quickly make himself useful and pretend to naturally agree and cooperate with School of Mensis, knowing what to say to make it seem legit!

There is no dead body anywhere in Yahar'gul to display Edgar being in the ritual too, so if he was to get into Nightmare of Mensis from that point - he'd have to survive the ritual and then get there through touching Micolash's corpse, like how our hunter does. However, things might be even more interesting.

(Screenshots help from @majitek and @saint-micolash because I cannot play game and take screenshots rn)

Okay you got the idea, this is the corpse where Lecture Theatre key is picked from, dressed in Black Church hunter outfit! So, not a teacher. Ack, maybe hat lacks because it is overused model and they trid to avoid clipping, but whatever. I'd assume Yurie (and possibly Fauxsefka too) had some escort with them, which makes sense, it is too dangerous to go through Forbidden Woods alone.

(Screenshots help by @cuddlefish-fish )

These are some more, notably, one in Black Church garb too but the second one is in normie Yharnam Hunter garb. I think these people must have gotten here through secret passageway in Iosefka's Clinic! Think about it - what is the purpose of that secret way if there is Gatekeeper that has password every Church person must know ('Fear the Old Blood')? Well, perhaps "forbidding" Byrgenwerth was just a convenient lie so nobody would pry on the secrets of the Healing Church and where Old Blood really originated from! So they'd had to uphold illusion of not going there, but actually were using secret way.

The thing is? Edgar might have been amonst these people.

Lecture Hall is connected with Nightmare of Mensis and currently it is not possible to access Lecture Hall from Byrgenwerth area, but we do not know for how long that was the case!

(Excerpts from here ( x ) by Last Protagonist)

The last note nitpicked is interesting as in Japanese original it does not seem to outright imply Willem, it might refer to Oedon after all as he is indeed invisible/unencounterable, he is a voice! Rom is indeed consealing the ritual but as well everything else - like Amygdalae - so maybe that includes drowning Oedon's voice out too, especially considering where this note is found. It is a bit important back to back with the fact that Willem himself 'hid a secret in the lake', so more likely that Oedon Chapel note does not mean Rom is holding him hostage or something.

Screenshot help by @cuddlefish-fish again, who also pointed out to my attention how many of these Black Church hunters are over Nightmare of Mensis. These might very well be those that Patches lured into being snatched by Amygdala, but after our hunter survives abduction - Patches reveals they were meant as sacrifice to them, so saying they'd bring Church Hunters to Micolash is a bit of a stretch. Maybe they all just escaped and ended in Nightmare of Mensis through Nightmare Frontier, however some of them are pierced by Frenzy spears.

Okay one last bit, one last bit, trust me I am going somewhere:

Now let me try to lay my idea down with everything compiled! Okay so, we have - Byrgenwerth students 'still waiting' for Willem, Willem loving the look at the spot and having put Rom in there, Choir member(s) invading not alone but with at least some Black Church hunters, fact about Rom consealing 'all rituals' and not even THE ritual being known 'outside', Edgar being a spy of the Choir but unable to "blend in" back at Yahar'gul the way we like to think in memes, several Black Church hunters being in the Nightmare of Mensis with some Frenzied, Edgar dropping sedatives that are cure created at Byrgenwerth, Shadows of Yharnam that are also enemies in Nightmare of Mensis guarding gate to Byrgenwerth and Micolash mentioning that the lake is "no longer visible"...

Okay now imagine:

Rather than getting into Nightmare of Mensis through Yahar'gul, Edgar accessed it through Byrgenwerth! The passageway between 'reality' and Nightmare was not always blocked - back then one could jump into the Lake and BAM, Lecture Hall! Hidden from the n00bs. So Yurie and Fauxsefka were trying to send some low ranking Black Church hunters to scout the place, but they would all end up wandering into Micolash through Lecture Hall and those who survived to tell about it revealed some insane things before their eventual death.

So, while other scholars still have not quite became all slugs yet were instructed to 'stay away from the door', they were able to send Edgar under the guise of wayward scholar! He was prepared, being a good actor and packed with sedatives, and he could suppose what to say to play it cool and survive the encounter. Since Yurie is 'the last scholar' she probably was one of them too once, so I imagine she could fill Edgar in about Micolash, having known him before. Could have been Damian, too - he is a summon in Byrgenwerth and does not seem to be on the side of Micolash anymore... But these are just realms of further possibility. In either case Edgar was a very smart (and very brave) man and ventured in!

* It also might shortcut the explanation as to why there is Iosefka's blood vial in the Nightmare of Mensis - if they were friends passing through her clinic (at least until Fauxsefka lost her screws), maybe she simply gifted it to Edgar into adventure. It depends on what one wants to do with her, though.

But eventually Edgar broke under Micolash's influence. He must have a huge charisma as a Cult leader! Edgar did his best but only could have lasted for so long before breaking and, perhaps, ratting his true endeavors out. He acts very genuine in trying to kick our Hunter's ass, for Micolash. I like to think Micolash knew from the very start Edgar was not just an ordinary scholar and was secretly manipulating him.

Now with all found out, Micolash did something so the lake could no longer lead anyone to him - sending some Shadows of Yharnam over to block the way in and out, as one last gesture. The lake was "no longer visible", no longer the portal! Was probably some arcane water manipulation, maybe even aid from Kos herself. If she hates humanity, would not protecting ritual further aid that? So, water manipulation upon lake it is...? Maybe! And scholars did not have chance to evacuate, nobody could foresee that Lecture Hall and the main way to Byrgenwerth get split for good.

Perhaps Yurie and Fauxsefka got stuck for a long time in the place, until closer to the game events night, but notice the lack of Celestial Emissaries in Byrgenwerth - ones that Fauxsefka creates! She seems to be turning people into Kin so they don't have to become beasts instead which Yurie might not have agreed to. Choir operates differently but maybe Yurie was still more aligned with Willem's ways - something Fauxsefka eventually gave up on and ditched.

Interestingly, there is Cainhurst invitation found on the side of Iosefka's Clinic she invaded from, she also can create "secret" Cainhurst potions, and only her and Annalise mention 'moon scent' to our Hunter. Maybe she had means to 'pass' through Shadows of Yharnam as a vileblood and therefore 'their' person, leaving Yurie unable to chase her as Shadows would be too much for her. Or maybe she did not want to as protecting Rom was more important anyways?

---------------

I also want to give special thanks to @val-of-the-north because HE pointed my head towards random corpses in Byrgenwerth being maybe not so random and needing a closer look, and this is how I started to loredig this interesting bit! And to @saint-micolash because that single discussion and his remarks became a cornerstone of how I see School of Mensis now. Though overall I am very happy that this fandom is so helpful to my PS4-less ass, thank you so much guys for sharing screens and stuff!

Again, everything is only in the realm of possibility and could have stopped back in Yahar'gul, but I just thing everything is more tied together this way. And explains Mico's weird line about the lake...?

[beesmygod]

"YOU HUNTED" is a work-in-progress comprehensive bloodborne lore explainer.

this is a deep (seriously deep) dive into bloodborne lore intended to entertain both series veterans, new fans, and people who are curious about the series from outside the fandom! its (intended) to be funny, informative, and painstakingly researched. this is a massive undertaking, so i hope you really enjoy it and check it out. there's something for everyone, except people who don't unwarranted violence against dogs, the elderly, or nuns.

READ IT NOW!

foreword: explaining the fromsoft game design ethos and the perils of taking shit too seriously

common misconceptions

history of yharnam:

history of yharnam part 1: the founding of pthumeru, cainhurst and the labyrinth, the discovery by byrgenwerth

history of yharnam part 2: fishing hamlet, caryll and the runes, leaving byrgenwerth

history of yharnam part 3: research hall, maria, and gehrman

history of yharnam part 4: the raid on castle cainhurst, logarius, and ludwig

history of yharnam part 5: lower pthumeru, rom, and the bloodletting beast

history of yharnam part 6: the choir, kin, and ebrietas

history of yharnam part 7: the school of mensis, ailing loran, and yahar'gul

INTERMISSION: is ebrietas the source of the healing church blood?

history of yharnam part 8: silver, black, and white

history of yharnam part 9: laurence, djura, and brador

history of yharnam part 10: the night unfurls

contemporary yharnam history (wip):

the hunter's dream

appendix:

significant colors in bloodborne

iceberg posts:

justifying my bloodborne iceberg part 1

justifying my bloodborne iceberg part 2

justifying my bloodborne iceberg part 3

thank you for your support and i would love to hear from people who did or did not enjoy it; reblog for the sickos in your life who want to try to understand the incomprehensible. the current word count is 22,984 words.