#Wilting Bloodrose

[c4ss1dysbl0g]

Wilting and Ed lol

[oreothefox715]

I haven’t made Crown of Roses fanart in a while so why not a little thing of Wolf and everyone’s favorite emo sweet bean Wilting Bloodrose!!

@crown-of-roses-thsc I had too these two live in my brain rent free.

[churchobones]

DWC August 2024: Melee

It was well past noon when Hesterlynn finally stirred.

Her head throbbed with each sluggish beat of her heart.  She clutched the icy weight in her chest.

Where am I?

A bed, but not her own.  The room was spartan, almost clinical, devoid of any decoration save an ornate vanity by the window, with curtains drawn shut against the red dusted sunlight of the Eastern Plaguelands.  A silver tray held a cold tea service and a vase bursting with colorful wildflowers: violet dreamfoil, white peacebloom, crimson roses–

Zelion’s instructions had been simple: “You are to offer your assistance to Lord Bloodrose in whatever manner he sees fit.”

Hester willed the Light to the awful ache in her skull, and caught sight of her chipped manicure. Beneath her nails was dirt and shredded skin.

She lifted the dull linen sheets. The fabric of her dress was rife with wood splintered runs and ruined by dirt.  A gorey spill of dried blood ran the length of her ruched bodice.

It was not her own.

She should have never gone to that party.

Lord Bloodrose had dressed outlandishly in ruffles, cogwheels and his workshop goggles.  He requested she wear “something poofy”.  She obliged in the form of a tea-length, robin’s egg frock.  The billowing skirt was made of layer upon layer of airy chiffon.  A demure neckline shrouded her secrets but exposed her pronounced collar bones and milk white shoulders.

The confessor stumbled from the bed, tripping over her ivory shoes.  The right one was missing its low heel; the left had a rusty smudge over the toes.

She lurched to the vanity, gripping the edge of the woodwork as the world swam.   

Her reflection was haggard but whole.  Bruises circled both biceps and wrists like bracelets.  Impossibly long blonde hair, free from its styled ties, fell in haggish curls peppered with wilted white flowers and matted with blood.  Dark circles framed the candlelight glow of her eyes, dimmed and glassy.

She looked monstrous.

The cleric swallowed hard and tore off the damaged dress.

The diamond cut crystal embedded in her chest still slept in its nest of black veins.

Hester was quick to shroud the Mournstone in a cozy sweater; one long and shapeless on her willowy body that fell just above the knees.  As she slid into a borrowed pair of house slippers, she inspected the punctures and tears in her ill-fated dress until her hand fell on a disc of cool metal.

"... As a bit of a thank-you for attending this lousy party with me."

A brooch forged in bronze and plated by gold.  The detailed cast depicted a bouquet of flowers, unpainted, but remarkably detailed-- Plaguebloom, Arthas' Tears and dreamfoil, all with a backdrop of Sungrass stalks. On close inspection, each squared blossom spun as a cogwheel, parting the bouquet like a curtain to reveal a greater detail beneath.

"It's just what I thought of when I thought of you… I hope you like it."

To think that Hesterlynn Mournvalor was naught but a bouquet of pretty flowers was sure to be a mistake, or so Lord Bloodrose must have thought, for behind the bouquet was an intricate knife with a pearl handle and a blade of sharpened steel.

She pinned it to her sweater before bustling out of the bedroom and down the hall on legs still wobbly as a newborn fawn’s.

A saw hummed behind the double doors of his workshop.  Hester sucked a sharp and desperate breath before wrapping her scraped knuckles on the woodwork.

Crash! Metal rang in the air. Lord Bloodrose swore loudly, then swung wide the door.

What a mess! Him, and the workshop too!

Tool chests lay opened, gaping like baby birds. Wires hung from the ceiling, thick black and coiled like snakes hanging from a tree. A mechanosuit stood vigil in the rear, headless and tethered like an ancient effigy reclaimed by vines.

And then Lord Corwin Bloodrose--no, Cory. An ugly bruise painted the bridge of his nose shades of red and violet. A bandage bound the worst of it, acting as a stint and giving padding to the scratched glasses resting gingerly atop.

"Hester!" he greeted, boyishly bright. "Come see this!"

To be continued.

@daily-writing-challenge

[smouldring]

‘ headcanon ’  +  flowers

SEND  ME  ‘ HEADCANON ‘  +  A  WORD  AND  I  WILL  GIVE  YOU  A  HEADCANON  AROUND  IT.

so i'm actually going to cheat on this one and take it as an opportunity to plug @glintingstones. she has done the most amazing work writing up a full guide to the flowers of elden ring and drawing on victorian flower language and older english herbal guides and folk legends to craft a meaning for every flower in the game. it's not done yet, i know she's still hammering away at it, but i'd like to share a few excerpts because they've so heavily influenced how i approach flowers in this game:

Bloodrose | Blood-slick roses that bloom in festering blood. Particularly beloved by those who serve the Lord of Blood. Glory to his inevitable reign. | Meaning: Nobility, power, romantic love. | "The bloodrose is a divisive symbol. Before the Shattering, in times of least bloodshed, the deep red color was prized and separated from its gory origins as a symbol of deep romantic love. In recent days, however, the red blossoms are more commonly worn by devotees of Mohg to identify one another. Some nobles have made efforts varying in success to adopt it as their personal symbol, prizing the poetic juxtaposition of bloodshed and flowering growth."

Erdleaf Flower | A dusky-yellow flower that has started to fade and wilt. Found throughout the Lands Between. Said to grow from the old fallen leaves of the Erdtree, these flowers serve as the base material for a number of sorcery techniques. | Meaning: Friendship, affection, good luck. Often carried by travelers for a safe journey, and a young lady's first choice of flower for a game of "he loves me/he loves me not". | "Dead Tarnished are often buried with an erdleaf flower between their lips in a vain hope that it might draw their spirits back to the Erdtree, and to Grace."

Grave Violet | A purple flower that blooms in graveyards.The hue of ghostflame, it's believed to be useful in calling forth spirits. | Meaning: Restoration, community, meditation. | "The birth of a new child is sometimes celebrated with a wreath of erdleaf flowers and grave violets, symbolizing the optimism that the new child might be a recent ancestor, returned to the family through the grace of the Erdtree."