#When The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

[ao3-chaotic-one]

Hey y’all!! Mental health has been wack, gonna upload on August 26th!!

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[selfless-desires]

[ food chain ] ; for johnny

one proclaimed predator who thinks himself the top of the food chain now meets something that truly is the top of the food chain , and now realizes what it is like to be small fry ; perhaps johnny sees the eye of the beast from the top back window of family house as godzilla peers in .

‎‎ㅤㅤ

Particles of dust danced within the soft afternoon glow , heavenly light seared through the window to paint a picture that'd almost feel ethereal . What one might not know were the terrors such house could behold , floors painted in gore of the fallen just a couple feets below … it was all too easy to forget about up here , if only for a moment . The stench of death would be masked beneath the musty air in the room , bones would be seen in the forms of lamps & other decorations rather than piles on the floor . It was almost peaceful up there … almost .

ㅤㅤ

Seated atop one of the cardboard boxes scattered about was none other than the youngest of Slaughters— a cannibal , just like the rest of 'em , though he'd choose to steer clear of family reunions . Earlier that week his dear ' sister ' came home from her adventures , something that'd need to be celebrated— or at least that's what they've come up with for a reason to feast at the dinner table . Johnny was expected to show , he was sure , though that wouldn't stop him from going against their wishes— his mother's wishes . It hasn't for a long time now , a loathful sentiment he'd cling to now he had the power to say no .

ㅤㅤ

Rays of light illuminated swirling tendrils of smoke , casting ephemeral patterns before they'd vanish once and for all . Wouldn't be the first nor the last time Johnny'd be found here , cherishing the peace of solitude . Haunched with an elbow resting on his right thigh did the man choose to smoke , savouring every inhale longer than usual … there was an itch at the back of his mind , the calm before the storm , a hunch he tried his best to ignore with every drag of tobacco . He should've known better , rarely did his intuition lead him astray— though one thing was sure : nothing could've prepared him for what would happen as for most it'd be beyond imaginable .

ㅤㅤ

There'd be weak tremors at first , soft clatter of chimes & bones , though it wouldn't be long before the whole house would move with it all . Dazed eyes would blink to consciousness as debris fell from the weathered walls , each quake causin' the floorboards to creak , the lights to flicker— an earthquake , it had to be , there was no other explanation for such degree of discordance … none that was logical . Just when he was about to dash for the door did a strong tremor cause his legs to wobble & nearly lose his balance— on uncertain feet would Johnny try to advance , teeth clenched , fingers grasping at the wall as he'd try to find purchase , something to lean against …

ㅤㅤ

That'd be the least of his concerns once he bothered to find out why the loft was casted in a veil of darkness , though .

ㅤㅤ

Just as quick as the earthquake came did it seem to settle , though there'd be no time for repose . Disoriented would the cannibal seek answers only to be met with a sight that'd cause him to pause , limbs to tense , his breath to catch in his throat . Like a deer in headlights would Johnny stand there , frozen in place , staring out through the window only to be met with a piercing glare from a sole , radiant eye … every cell in his being told him to run but he couldn't find it within himself to move , a feeling that should've been unknown if not unfamiliar to someone who prided themself for their fortitude— their strength . It shouldn't have been like this , he shouldn't feel like this ,

ㅤㅤ

Petrified in the face of something that made him feel all the things he was meant to raise within others— whether they be victim or foe .

ㅤㅤ

[katyspersonal]

who do you think fucked up worse…gehrman or maria?

This is an interesting question, and I kind of didn't think of it before! Time to take a closer look at their crimes I guess. Some of these will be held on the possibilities and 'safe assumptions' though and addressed for the full picture!

1) Both were involved in Fishing Hamlet massacre!

With Maria, we can conclude as much because she discarded her weapons in the well at the place specifically. Her version in the Nightmare realm, a Hunter again, is supposed to be what punishes her, and she is focused on keeping Kos/OoK away from rummaging through. Considering the nature of the Nightmare, as well as the Doll who has spiritual connection with her, it should come from her guilt and regrets rather than.. I dunno, discarding the hunt over natural 'character development' and just picking a cool place to forsaken her past!

Gehrman sleeps better according to the dialogue Doll has after you kill OoK and free it's soul, so if it tortured him so, I think it is safe to say he had to be personally involved too rather than stay back while his students did the job:

They both were involved with Byrgenwerth, following their quest for obtaining the eyes of the dwellers from their skulls, and I suppose cord of OoK?

The thing about this point is that the description is written as though it was Gehrman's curiosity which ruined Maria's "idealisation" of him, or WOULD ruin it had she learned of it! This makes me wonder whether she was really involved in Byrgenwerth all that much, or whether she was aware of the real purpose of Fishing Hamlet massacre beforehand? Her goal, within the Nightmare, is stated to mercy-kill us so we don't allow that curiousity corrupt us to the point of "rummaging through corpse" and similar things, further supported by her visceral attack being an embrace if it is lethal!

I am just saying that here the balance might slightly shift towards making Gehrman 'worse' than her. Maybe she was not aware that it all was not just killing "monsters" but also a pregnant mother with her divine baby, but "well you didn't ask :/". Maybe Gehrman deceived her to use her aid. Maybe he didn't think it would be a big deal for her seeing that Maria was also interested in evolution through talking with Great Ones, and assumed she'd be just as callous about which means to accomplish the goals with?

2) Both were grave-robbing, or at least okay with that!

This one is a little less obvious, but Tomb Prospectors were not the first to go to the Chalice Dungeons! ...It were actually Willem, Dores and Gatekeeper lol:

BUT ALSO it were Old Hunters! We can see the remnants of it by Old Hunter Vitus being one the summons in Chalice Dungeons, hear Gehrman encourage us to go into the Chalice Dungeons to become stronger as via "tradition" of the Old Hunters,

and the fact that one of the things that torture Maria (again, remember that Nightmare Realm is Hell that punishes) is a Chalice:

(A video ( x ) for a better look at the Chalice from a figure)

I'd say that it is not very nice to disturb the undead Pthumerians just struggling in remains of their civilisation! Interesting thing: we can conclude they are even staying there to protect the Great Ones or their remains!

There has been some sort of civil war between ancient great-ones-respecting Pthumerians and who late became Cainhurst nobles! Maria, ironically, fell onto the side of "entitled guys" descendants! But yes, I could see why bullying zombie guys to get more history and archeology relics from them might not seem like much for her at start. Experience in the Fishing Hamlet likely retroactively ruined this period of her life for her: delving into Chalice Dungeons was likewise 'not leaving the corpse alone'. The remaining Pthumerians were right having some honour and dignity. So, that came to haunt her in the form of Pthumeru Chalice. Gehrman is.. well he's here too I guess dfshfdhs

3) Both knew a little too much about Laurence's shady business and did nothing?

Old Hunters used to be friends with Healing Church's Hunters and even had their workshops located close to one another! Gehrman was friends with Laurence and Ludwig, who are both quite strongly involved with Moon Presence (Ludwig's sword and guidance, Laurence's affiliation being known since Byrgenwerth times), as well as the key figure in creation of Hunter's Dream:

This was most likely a bait-and-switch, seeing how the cord itself is still in the real Workshop, and not in the grasp of Moon Presence (unlike, say, Wet Nurse taking Mergo's cord)! I think the purpose of creation of the Hunter's Dream was to "buy time" for the research conceived by the scientists! Remember: Gehrman was known to have "madness of curiosity" that Maria resented, or at least would resent had she known! He might have been fully aware of what Laurence wanted to do and support it! My point here, that with such proximity, he must have known of all Laurence's crimes and agreed with them!

Maria was at least overseer of the Clocktower's Research Hall, which, again, was just beta!Choir.

This last line IS a bit confusing, because it makes it sound as though the nerds looking for the Eyes Inside and the Blood Ministers got split. Laurence and Ludwig make it weird, as Moon Presence is also an Eldrich creature and Ludwig is for sure full of eyes! What also makes it strange is that Choir, and then School of Mensis, are both upper echelons of the Healing Church, but Laurence is supposed to be above both of them.

I think this can be worked with! Let's say what if Choir formed after Laurence's death, which also happened after Maria's death, and Vicars after him were somewhat "powerless" and walked over by Choir and Mensis, only leaders in the name! But that still leaves the bit that the mentioned "division" happened after Choir was formed! Maria and Adeline, however, are locked to the existence of the Research Hall, so, the timeframe when doctors and blood ministers were 100% working together! We find the Eye Pendant that opens the access to the Research Hall in Laurence's hand, and human Skull of Laurence on the platform that hides the secret elevator to that Research Hall. Again, by the Nightmare Logic, they must be connected with Laurence's sins: he started this research, or sponsored it, or was overseeing it, and so on.

This point is not an absolute thing though, because one or both of them might be freed from guilt here. Maybe Gehrman was not as informed and agreeable as we could assume and Laurence did lead him around? Maybe Maria wanted but could not do anything being caught in the web of complicated connections, blackmail and risks for the people she cared about?

4) Both are willingly involved in questionable practices (Maria with research, Gehrman with the cycle of Dream and Hunt)

This point I feel like transcends the morality a little bit, as it touches the matter of 'it is bad if you do it, but it is also bad if you DON'T do it'. I really love Soulsborne universes for having guts to say "you can't win, just pick your poison", but I think it is still worth addressing!

It is up to interpretation in which quantity Maria is involved with the Research Hall! Nothing states whether she founded it, joined in the research later, stepped in and turned the tides (ba dum tss) of the research, or simply was a caretaker/nurse/etc of the broken mess while Research Hall was getting ready for a bit of rebranding. She can be very guilty, or she can be barely guilty but in either case if that was her "redemption arc" that was a pretty bad way to go about it. ...or was it?

Fauxsefka turns people into Celestial Emissaries so they physically can't become beasts instead, and is even stated to be a hero / heroic researcher by Miyazaki:

First, I don't do Death of the Author (in terms of interpreting media I mean, not in terms of a style of writing)! Like, nope. Never. It is just not for me. Creator's word is the final for me; Fauxsefka is the good guy in the story, apparently, and it makes sense considering the fundamentally broken place characters are in! Maria has similarities with Fauxsefka: not only both of them have Cainhurst roots, but also both of them seem to favour 'Stars' line of evolution for humans!

Whereas other patients are afraid of the horrors of the Deep Sea, a concept Miyazaki could not get over well into DS3, Adeline desires them! Other patients seems to have gotten it right, and you can see one of them also clings to Maria mentally to "not drown"; Adeline "didn't understand"! The balcony that Maria wants Adeline to go to so she can forsaken the Deep Sea and seek something "happier" holds unique kind of patients who can shoot cosmic arcane spells:

Herself, Maria is associated with these lumenflowers: their petals are all over her boss arena, and the way to her lays through a much bigger batch of flowers, where Living Failures, other 'Stars' Kin are, whose song lyrics also feature lines 'ave stellar' and 'ave Maria'!

So, how this is different from what Fauxsefka is doing, who is stated to be as much of a good person as possible within this context and with the burden of her knowledge? Fauxsefka was doing more or less rinse-and-repeat practice, with maybe a few patients not surviving the procedure but we don't know what happened: maybe that person was already at the brink of death and she tried to make them live like this.

^ This guy I mean. Maria, on the other hand, is in the time period where the doctors and scientists were only testing the waters (BA DUM TSSS) (ok I will stop) and it was not SO certain what was at the stake, what were the alternatives, what was awaiting the humanity. It is even possible that the beasts problem was not yet bad to the point of "you'll either become a beast, be eaten by a beast or become a Kin, humanity is DONE for!" ! This was an unethical research at the cost of real people! The weight of Maria's sin here really depends on the interpretation, though

As for the cycle of Dream and Hunt, this is complicated and lingers on one's interpretation of what the purpose of the Dream even IS! Its existence provides two things: 1) a hunter who is immortal for the night, thus can sustain the beasts with efficiency like no other, but also effect the continuity of the night ( x ) and 2) supposed sustenance to the Great One Flora of the Moon, who holds the hunt as a concept!

I used to be a bit more set on the idea that if beasts are not sustained and hunted, they will simply overpower those who are yet humans and eat them! It is a self-feeding cycle of people needing to self-defend from beasts, thus having to consume the blood as urgent means of healing and power-up since beasts are too strong, thus risking to become beasts themselves because the blood they consumed during that hunt corrupts them. So, the Hunter's Dream would be a good thing, as it'd help to 'buy time' during nights of the hunt in which not only beasts are more active but Great Ones too! While the Dreaming Hunter holds everything together, the greatest minds of the Healing Church can efficiently study the ways to end beasthood, or ANY problem of humanity, once and for all! It is just better to throw the hunting resources on the Dream, so the scientists don't worry about the beasts and can focus on research. However, I almost forgot that:

This implies that had there not been Mensis Ritual ongoing, people WOULD have the chance to simply 'wait away' the beasthood problem. That, since Rom is not stopping Mensis Ritual but just conceals it, what really makes the inner beast within everyone who consumed the blood inevitably come out is Mergo's cry that draws the Bloodmoon close!

So yeah, the point about Hunter's Dream being helpful for the research of evolution still stands, especially under assumption that the deal with Moon Presence helped to bring more Eldrich Arcane close for "feeding" her. The point about how if the beasts are not hunted they'll simply eat everyone, though, is vague. It is safer to assume that the Hunter's Dream and Research Hall both are both example of hubris of man even if approached differently. Attempts to draw in something dangerous and horrifying, but it is "justified risk" because if you manage to 'tame' arcane/blood, sure, humanity will prosper!

Like... yeah, sure, there IS dangerous and undesireable nature of man that ruins everything and might or might not still linger in humanoids' genes after Loran. But did humanity ASK any of you guys to keep trying to fix it with so many victims and sacrifices? Like, was it WORTH it?

This point is closely tied to 'knowing Laurence's bad antics and doing nothing', yeah. Maria didn't seem to like blood ministration very much, as she disapproved of Adeline becoming a Blood Saint, but she also didn't even approve of blood antics of her own clan! I am not sure what would be her opinion on the Hunter's Dream had she lived to the point when it was created, just that she herself is not willing to ever hunt, so I am leaving this point aside. Is this just blood ministration that she opposes but proximity with a Great One Moon Presence would be something she can see the potential of? Or would she and Gehrman have a pointless cat fight about whose methods are better when they are both hubris of man? In both versions they are 'guilty'! Besides:

In the end none of THIS matters either and everyone was fooled ( x ). The blood offering is a blood offering in any way; whether it is through spilling blood violently during the hunt, or offering the blood's 'red' with how celestial Kin all bleed red. Moon doesn't care what paints it red, in the end.

___________________________________

My conclusion is: both of these characters fucked up almost equally! I think the balance shifts just a little bit and Maria is slightly better than Gehrman since she had some limitations set on how far she was willing to go. Her motivation was not in "curiosity" but strictly in helping humanity, even if in unfair ways, which is apparently not the case for Gehrman?

I'll say this though, NOW I am hooked on the idea of Maria and Gehrman being petty "rivals" ideologically (for as long as they could before Maria's own demons caught up with her). Especially since neither approach is better than the other and they are both cringe loosers! Again, lost comedy gold over Fromsoft making Gehrman's tender and warm feelings for her before and after her death plain. What is not lost, however, is the fact that the two should just kick Laurence and go home :pensive:

[naffeclipse]

If we’re mixing aus like this then what about naga CS Eclipse? Cryptid hunter Y/N traipsing through the jungle looking to hunt down a monster that’s been terrorizing a local town, except whoops! They found this big cuddly bastard along the way

Oh geeze though, what if BL Eclipse and SJ Naga Eclipse with Cryptid hunter Y/N,,, the shenanigans,,, the violence,,,,,

YOOO

Augh, CS Eclipse as a naga is terrifying and gorgeous! He keeps his four arms so he can be the most creature. His long tail is inky black like water under a moonless sky, and he shines iridescently with crimson and midnight blue in the light. His horns and frills are so strange and majestic. His jaws can split open and swallow any animal whole. He's quite the terrifying sight.

A monster in the jungle.

CS!Eclipse is less demonic and more monstrous, so that means no vessel to hide behind. Y/N meets him first in the darkness of night, mistaking him for a helpful person hidden behind the trees who guides them to the next town because what kind of monster would hesitate to strike them dead where they stood?

"You look lost, friend."

"I think you're right. Can you point me to the next town?"

"...Follow. Watch your step."

"Oh, thank you, sweetie. That's very kind of you."

Eclipse leads Y/N to where they need to go. Y/N tries to ask how they can express their gratitude to him for making a scary and difficult journey through the jungle at night just to help them, but Eclipse has already faded into the darkness. He still watches Y/N in their confusion at his disappearance. He knows what a monster hunter looks like. He could have killed them, but they were kind to him, unafraid when he first spoke.

Perhaps a few more midnight meetings in the thickest, densest parts of the jungle where Y/N won't catch a glimpse of his black tail or his four wicked pairs of claws would be lovely.

Perhaps Y/N might hunt too far into the jungle one night and get lost, unable to make it to town before morning. Eclipse could help them find shelter and a place to rest, never revealing himself, much to Y/N's growing intrigue. Maybe, once Y/N has finally fallen asleep, he can slip close enough to brush their hair across their forehead and feel their warmth and wonder how badly they would react once they realized what they were speaking to. But morning arises, as it always does, and Y/N wakes up to foggy dreams of their cheek being stroked as they were carried through the night. But it was just a dream. They don't find their friend in the jungle but they do find their way back to town—interestingly, they were a lot closer than they originally thought.

Now Cryptid Hunter Y/N with BL!Eclipse and SJ!Eclipse? That's not the best combo for a fighter who already has it out for any monsters.

BL!Eclipse understands what Y/N is; he loathes them. He wants to kill them the second they step where they shouldn't. Unfortunately, they have a very large shadow following their every move, so BL!Eclipse chooses to either stay away (the hunter can pick that naga off first for all BL!Eclipse cares) or wait until the hunter is alone, and then strike. He can easily stay out of sight and reach, but he is not fond of humans who think they can be rid of him easily.

SJ!Eclipse on the other hand is so much worse. Go figure. It's one thing to not immediately give in to him. It's another thing entirely to try and stop him. Imagine his umbrage at this little human trying to kill him. Cryptid Hunter Y/N is a fighter and isn't about to slow down to chat with what they know to be a lethal beast. Unfortunately for Y/N, that means a deathly encounter. SJ!Eclipse sees red and a living stress ball that he wants to squeeze to death after being shot at, and poor Y/N is going to endure far worse harm before their spilled blood gives SJ!Eclipse pauses and, perhaps, just one little reason to not squish this little bug quite yet.

[artekai]

Those are her vibes

[domeniudulce]

The idea that Gascoigne and Henryk were hunting partners (presumably with Henryk being Gascoigne's elder and mentor) and that Viola was Henryk's daughter is the funniest shit. Like how do you think that went over.

[bluupxels]

during inquisition -> post-trespasser

i’ve known what i wanted belathanni to look like post-trespasser since the beginning but actually seeing it....

[quietwingsinthesky]

leviathan!charlie also takes care of the weird plothole about her going from “hunting & hunters are scary and dangerous wtf get away from me” to “oh wow murdering people is soooo fun, guys!!! i just wish it was more magical!!!” because in this scenario it is not her going into hunting and somehow being in complete denial of the bloody reality of it, but her actually regressing to more violent tendencies in order to keep in contact with the Winchesters, who are basically the only friends she has.

leviathan!charlie who teamed up with them to take down dick specifically so that she would not have to act like she did in purgatory and could find a new life, but inevitably being drawn into the black hole of hunting/winchester-related violence. leviathan!charlie who sets out like vampires can to feed on animals…. and the occasional asshole, but that one shaky spot on her moral ground gives her room to backslide into seeing the monsters she hunts as just more assholes to eat (regardless of the fact that they are her!!! she’s a monster too! she just got lucky siding with sam and dean first!) leviathan!charlie who tries to hold onto the humanity she painstakingly taught herself, but the longer she’s around the winchesters, the harder it is to be anything but a monster.

[hunter-sylvester]

Anxiety's funny like I committed the cardinal sin of having a cup of coffee and now making a fucking instagram account has me feeling like I'm being hunted for sport.

[ao3-chaotic-one]

Ya boi has uploaded!!

[desmina-ashwalker]

This made me unleash this hideous laugh snort in front of my coworkers. It must be inflicted on all of you.

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

unfortunately the concept of alastor compels me in a way i know i would be SO obsessed with him as a teenager

[foxx-queen]

as much as I get why lucanis is positioned as the one needed to kill ghilan'nain as the mage killer etc, I can't help but feel like it should've been davrin

like. there's something about the dalish elf with andruil's vallaslin, a grey warden, a monster hunter, hunting down the mother of all monsters, who creates monstrosities with the blight, who was once andruil's beloved.

ghilan'nain created the halla. she still cares for the halla, despite what she's become, despite being unable to create them anymore. davrin cared for the halla under his uncle's tutelage. assan cares for and nurses a sick and dying halla. assan, who's name means arrow in elven, when andruil's weapon was a bow, who's hunting instincts give way to something more protective.

davrin was taught the way of the three trees. it was created by andruil. andruil, the goddess of the hunt, also known as the goddess of sacrifice. davrin feels like a weapon sharpened to make that final sacrifice against the blight, a tool that once drove andruil mad, and has twisted ghilan'nain into something unrecognisable. andruil, blood and force, who loved a mortal for her creations and raised her to godhood.

would ghilan'nain see andruil in him? would that offer something more to her character than just oh she's evil?

the dalish tell a legend of ghilan'nain and a hunter who bested her. maybe it was a prophecy instead.

[dirt-str1der]

I couldnt play squirrel stapler one because im too scared and two because i would go around playing hunting simulator on the first day and gather like fifty squirrels and immediately staple them all onto my wife and she would be like omg im beautiful again thank you so much babe and i would be like i know baby now make love to me so i can run my hands all over your beautiful fur coat and we would have mindblowing squirrel sex and i would wake up gangrenous and dying because i just did it with a rotting corpse and should have known better

[stychu-stych]

Could we have some of your Lamb head canons please?

I'm going with my modern au because it's my little obsession right now sijssj

I'm cutting the post so it wouldn't be so long. The whole description is below

So the whole thing with Old Faith as the most powerful religion and Bishops is mostly the same like in the game. The world looks similar to our in 1700s, sheep was hunted down over the decades and Lambert was in the group of the last ones. That group was caught and killed, Lamb was lucky enough to be outside the camp at this time but they didn't enjoy their freedom for so long. As a single sheep it was hard to survive on their own

Lamb seeing their wife for the first time sjsbsjsh

Lamber was caught some time later by bounty hunters. However, an accident happened when Lamb tried to escape one night - there were shot in the stomach badly enough that further travel was impossible without them bleeding out. So since Lamb was going to die anyway, the bounty hunters figured out they'd at least bring Old Faith their head. They didn't wait for Lamb to bleed out first, so that death wasn't fast or easy.

First years as a cult leader weren't easy. Taking care of the flock, learning how to fight, figuring out how rituals work, it was a lot for young Death's vessel. Lamb couldn't get used to their new role for some time. But Ratau was a huge help, beloved rat-dad was as much supportive as he could

After their first century as cult leader, Lamb began to feel comfortable in their role, perhaps a little to much I would say. Their grow their wool and started to pay more attention to their appearance and to the things that brought them pleasure. They started to fully enjoy their immortal life, to be too self-confident focused too much on themselves. They liked being in the center of attention, with the flock fully devoted to them. They even started to add a new tattoo with every kill of a Bishop or their the most devoted followers (as a trophy)

Beginning of XX century, Lamb become TOWW's little killing machine, no fear of death or pain. Ready to die, just to stand up and go killing again. They were fully devoted to Narinder in the most toxic way, ready to do absolutely everything just to make their god satisfied. Lamb didn't even realize how obsessed they were with Narinder at that time

Modern times, with Narinder already indoctrinated into the cult. Lamb as a selfish, egocentric, ready to do everything to achieve their goals bastard. Still unhealthy devoted to Narinder but this time in a different way - on one hand madly in love with him, on the other hating him with all their heart because of he did to them. Either way both of those strong feelings keep them close to him

Jeez this post took me more time to write than to draw djdbdjdj I'm soooo bad at writing