#dark one Blade

[non-binaryweirdo69]

I'm feeling very material girl for making this as a term divider

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: vampire

[poolboyatthegiovannimansion]

[paintpanic]

Kirbtober Day 21: Duel / Rival

[izunias-meme-hole]

You've been rebloging a decent amount of Soulsborne stuff, so if you have time, can you say who your favorite character's are in all these games?

Oh... well a fair amount of my thoughts CERTAINLY changed, but I'll give you a top 10.

Number 1. Messmer The Impaler (Elden Ring) - Messmer was certainly a welcome surprise. He was the firstborn son of Queen Marika, ultimately the one who personally oversaw the genocide of the hornsent in the Land of Shadow, and event so horrific and cruel that its impact could still be felt within the present day. He was afflicted with a curse at his birth, in which a dark and malevolent snake threatened to eat him from the inside, which resulted in Marika plucking out his eye and replacing it with a seal of grace. Sounds like quite the monster, right? Well here's the thing. Messmer's a surprisingly good boss, like he literally preserved his enemies culture inside a storeroom just because one of his knights requested it, and has at least some level of compassion. Sure some of his men defected after finding out about the true nature of his existence, but there were some that even stuck around because they know who he is as a person. So why did this great guy commit literal one of the most horrific events in history? Well you see, Marika basically told him to eliminate the hornsent, and it wasn't just a standard order... it was a secret banishment for him, and Marika's vengeance on the hornsent. That's right, Messmer was exiled so he could be a scapegoat for his mother in the Land of Shadow. While this doesn't absolve him of his crimes, it ultimately makes him extremely pitiable.

Number 2. Queen Marika & Radagon (Elden Ring) - A god, a vessel, a warmonger, a mother, a schemer, a monster, and a pitiful woman. These are all the things that Queen Marika The Eternal was, and by god she deserves to be remembered by all of them. Radagon is her other half. The Demigods were her children. Messmer is her son. The Lands Between were her lands. She destroyed several races. She destroyed the Elden ring. Everything in the game is connected to her in some capacity. This is some Sauron tier shit that's been done with someone who's now just a prisoner in her own fortress thanks to her fear of her reigns inevitable end. Elden Ring has a TON of antagonists, each one active in their own right across the Lands Between. Marika on the other hand is both a prisoner in her own home, and a god on her last knees who faces The Tarnished through Radagon, yet almost every last evil committed in the game is connected to her past history of cruelty and malevolence in service to her Golden Order.

Number 3. Malenia (Elden Ring) - Malenia was my fave for a good while, and is still one of my top 5 bosses in the series. Her background, how that background ties into the world, her difficulty not being too bullshit yet still giving veterans a good taste of the dirt, her simplistic yet effective character, and the concept of someone being that goddamn sickly yet still being so undeniably persistent, powerful, and near-invincible is intriguing and cool, and it's executed very well in her case. Her boss being optional is just icing on the cake. Overall she's a spectacle.

Number 4. Miquella (Elden Ring) - He's a charming lil guy. Yes he cut out everything that made himself a good person in order to become the god of a new era, and is an expert manipulator due to his powers, but he's still just a lil guy.

Number 5. Father Gascoigne (Bloodborne) - Originally, Laurence was my favorite Bloodborne character, but after some careful reconsideration... this guy is at the top. Why? I like how simplistic his lore is, but aside from that, he's basically a reflection of the Good Hunter and a really great first legit boss. He serves as a gatekeeper for new players, and his transformation from skilled hunter to a monstrous werewolf mid-fight is a perfect introduction to what fate usually awaits any hunter who inevitably gets blood drunk in Yharnam. And the cherry on top? He's just a guy. He was just a normal ass hunter with a wife and child before all of this, hell you could even use his daughter's music box to snap him out of his blood drunk state for a second. IMO Gascoigne is underrated as hell.

Number 6. Lady Maria (Bloodborne) - Between the Plain Doll being based off her, her connection to Gehrman, and being one of the hunters at the Fishing Hamlet, Maria is undeniably a great character with a vast presence.

Number 7. Ludwig (Bloodborne) - Tragic Hornse. In all seriousness though, Ludwig is a perfect summary of Bloodborne, and honestly one of the top 3 bosses in the entire series.

Number 8. Isshin Ashina (Sekiro) - Isshin's presence overshadows that of the main antagonist, Genechiro Ashina, and its entirely intentional. He basically is the symbol of his entire clan, leading a rebellion against the invading forces alongside many warriors and triumphing. Isshin was a living legend in the past, but in the present? He's old, sick, and on his last legs. He's still defending his clan, but for his strength, he's still mortal. He's still human. He's the perfect reflection of his clan. That and he’s an amazing final boss. Go Grandpa Ashina!

Number 9. Gwyn, Lord of Cinder (Dark Souls) - Horrible, HORRIBLE god. He ruined humanity, is a bad father, and is SO worthy of being hated... yet he's so pitiable and pathetic. Gwyn is responsible for almost every tragedy in the trilogy, yet even his own story is a tragedy. A paranoid god king making the literal worst decisions ever to the point where he literally destroys himself. There's a level of understandability with his character that makes him tragic, but ultimately, he's still a monster. And this isn't even bringing up the Soul of Cinder.

Number 10. Slave Knight Gael (Dark Souls) - An old slave knight from the age of fire, literal cannon fodder, not only outlives the gods, but goes on a quest to get the Dark Soul so that The Painter, his niece, would paint a new world. You get familiar with him in the Ashes of Ariandel DLC, and by the time of the Ringed City DLC you see that Gael has slipped into madness and stands atop literal desolation. At first he fights on all 3's, only using his sword as a weapon as he jumps and crawls around, but after his guts are cut open and he gets the power of the dark soul, he truly begins fighting like a man and will occasionally rely on the newfound power he has to strike the Ashen One down with magic. Still at the end of the day... this fight is just between two nobodies who outlived the gods.

[startistdoodles]

Kirbtober Day 22: Rainbow

[bora-panda]

Will Kempen ⚔️👑

I'm so happy with how this turned out I might make a matching one of James...we'll see 👀

[spookywaffledio]

the MOST dehumanizing experience in the WORLD is watching the boss stop its attack animation and idle walk away after it kills you

[dungeonofthedragon]

I only realised a few days ago that my favourite game to hack and my favourite game to play were made by the same guy. This inspired a silly little Lasers & Feelings hack called Blades & Darkness!

To add it to your Itch library, you can grab it for free or pay-what-you-want here. You are also, of course, more than welcome to just grab it from this post!

[gethoce]

Out of curiosity, Valfrey can... See, feel, the souls? Perhaps it's a bit stupid question, but i'm still with doubt

The reason i ask is: How would she react to someone who, perhaps, doesn't have a soul? Maybe an AI, for an example? Most of AI in kirby show to be sentient, ones more than another, but i doubt that means they hace an actual soul... Unless You have a headcanon about this topic

Yes, she can sense souls! And a sentient entity that does not bear a soul can not be properly judged by a reaper and is therefore given a soul to rectify this issue as soon as it is observed, may it be an AI, a clone or freed Dark Matter spawn. Death = Delete for a soulless individual, it'd be considered a failure to Valfrey if she couldn't capture the essence of an individual after death.

(This serves somewhat as a continuation to this, which was supposed to be more so to describe DMS’s loss of his original soul and serves as a warning on Valfrey’s part. She purposefully didn’t mention that DMS is still alive and well for this purpose.)

[ask-prismaknight]

i can imagine dark matter blade being invited to like a dinner party or something and having to discreetly put his food under the table to actually eat anything, poor guy's got a mouth for legs

Luckily he doesn't get invited to dinner parties :') If he did there would be no way he can be properly discreet about it

[bonnieisaway]

BIG BOY spoilers for season 5 but I really wanna talk about how brilliant episode 1 is (I just woke up and I'm not in the fuzzy headspace I was yesterday)

Off the bat also I do wanna mention the art style is changing again a little! It's a bit different from season four so far. I really like the way it's looking though. Seven looks fucking GOOD in so many of these scenes

Anyways it took me an EMBARASSING four fucking minutes to realize that 1) this was not really happening irl and 2) that the dome was supposed to represent Seven's headspace

anyways The place they're standing in at the start is really interesting to me. They're on Chicken Island obviously but it's Chicken Island in Seven's head. And the way it is in his head is it's foggy, cloudy, and absolutely deserted. I mean there's already not many people on Chicken Island, but it's like dead empty. Much like this scene from the s3 outro:

(didn't know this ED had twenty fucking variations of this scene now jesus christ)

It also feels like it's littered with a lot of references from past episodes. The ducky floatie feels like a reference to the episode where we met DaChun in season 1, the coconut Hua's messing with feels like a reference to that as well, this all feels very reminiscent of invading Captain Jack's ship, the episode even starts with the "First mission" title card, which the show doesn't really use anymore. There's a lot of like, old references in here that all seem kind of tainted and dulled by this grayed out, melancholic perception of Chicken Island.

The second I saw this I instantly thought of the scene from season 3:

I just I dunno I really really like this. I like how they chose to represent his mindscape and the references to the past experiences he can remember.

And I also really like how the different levels represented the different poisons in his body. The first being a puzzle about Manjusaka, the second about the Dark Frost blade

(which also: there are random figures hidden in the ice in this scene that made me tweak out.

is that fucking blackbird? who the fuck are you)

I love how the wolf is drawn and reflects the exact effects of the blade. The animalistic, heightened senses, the fact it's not inherently an evil entity, it's capable of being nice, it's just got heightened aggression it can barely control. Anyway and then the fucking final layer.

Literally the exact spot he once stood in.

And the fucking. The thing that fights him. That tries so hard to stop him from opening the door. It's not just himself, it's a fucking amalgamation of every reason why he shouldn't, why he originally did this to himself: the Shadow killers, faces we don't even recognize, the girl in white, faces we'll probably never see again but that will haunt some deep corner of him, and it's himself. and it's not the thousand demon daggers that kills it, it's just the girl in white's blade. Her dinky little run of the mill sword.

I think it's really, really important that the "past him" asks: If you could've done this too, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you have run away? You would've wanted a new life too. Don't do this again. Don't do this to me.

I started this season worried we were gonna hard pivot at "oh, Seven and the past Seven are two different people" but they're not and this, to me, clearly illustrates that they're not. He wanted this. He wanted this life to end. He wanted to run away, he didn't want this life, exactly like I've been saying since fucking season 3. He wasn't a ruthless, cold hearted killer, at his core he was a child who did what he needed to. He only fought on missions, he was told directly to kill Stanians on sight, but he wanted to be empathetic, he wanted to care so badly, and he wanted to protect somebody. The FIRST fucking time he EVER gets to directly, blatantly, and loudly protect somebody he even MILDLY cares about, it's enough to convince him to never want to do this again. And now with the added context that the Thousand Demon Daggers was slowly killing him - he didn't just fight some demon and won but he signed his fucking life over and was bound to this sword that was ripping him apart, he wanted to leave so badly, and the only way he did was in a way that almost killed him anyways. Episode 2 made me afraid too, because of the way the flashback controlled him, but ultimately, he's already had these flashbacks THE ENTIRE SHOW. These have happened to him before, but now they're so much louder, they're overwhelming and powerful, he's conscious but he's not, he doesn't know how to stop, sometimes he doesn't even actually know where he is. He's not being 'possessed' by somebody else or something, he is somebody riddled with PTSD taken over by those memories.

I also really wanna know what it is 'Seven' is saying here. His mouth is obviously moving like he's speaking but there's no audio or captions to it, (Netflix if you love me you'll give me something good god,) but it looks like Seven doesn't know what he's saying here either. and I just really really really wanna know. This is going to become my new "what was in the letter."

Anyways feel free to pile on more thoughts cus thats all I have right now. I ran into this season (foolishly) (once again) praying I'd get end game Seven x Thirteen but it seems I will spend the duration of season 5 in the trenches, fighting for my life, kicking and screaming, shitting my pants and sniffling, begging, "NOOOOO HE'S THE SAME PERSON HE WAS BEFORE!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! THEY'RE NOT TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thirteen save me, save me Thirteen, Thirteen, Thirteen save me.

[bedtimegiraffe]

The relationship Aerin wants with his mother is not the one he had, despite all the smiling and hugs in this chapter.

So let's do a chronological deep dive of what we learn about Aerin's mother and their relationship.

This only covers up to Book 3, Chapter 9 because I'm playing general release. We still have interactions between these two ahead (I assume), so I'll update if we get anything major! The snippet we see in the divination scene has me very nervous (and excited) this is going to go one of two very angsty ways. NO SPOILERS PLEASE VIP PLAYERS Unless you're reading this in the future and the general release is already done. Then go for it.

Book 1, Chapter 8:

Our first mention of Aerin's mother (technically) happens in Book 1, Chapter 8 during Aerin's diamond scene.

As @the-unconquered-queen pointed out, parents is very much plural. Aerin has the father we can learn about in a Lore Tablet earlier and (presumably) a mother. And neither seemed to give him much attention at all, to the point that to his child self magic seemed like the only solution. That was how invisible Aerin felt to them. So we know neither of Aerin's parents went out of their way to spend time with or appreciate him.

TTRPG (Released toward the end of Book 2):

Aerin's mother gets a name and confirmation that she is dead in the Aerin's inventory list.

I've always found this ambiguity about the signet ring fascinating. It's not, "Signet Ring given by his deceased mother, Queen Aurinae," but, "from his deceased mother."

We don't know how Aerin got it from her. Did she specifically make it known before her death that she wanted Aerin to have her signet ring? Or did she die and King Arlan went, "Well, I guess the boy is technically a Valleros. Give him my dead wife's signet ring, she's not using it anymore." Signet rings were often passed down in real-world history, so that's not unlikely.

Especially because Aerin never brings this up. If it was sentimental because of the connection to his mother, why give it away so easily? When he gives it to MC, it could be a way to protect them, both for their own sake and to make sure they can get all the Onyx Shards. But it really seems like he could have just given them a letter with his seal to cover that.

And why not say it belonged to his mother? Wouldn't that be endearing and make it more valuable to MC? Maybe Aerin realized it was given to him as a practical thing, not a genuine expression of connection.

Book 3, Chapter 1:

It all goes silent on the Aurinae front until the floodgates open in Book 3. In the first chapter, you get this discussion (if you choose the non-romance option for Aerin's diamond scene).

Aurinae was very into alchemy, like Aerin is now. It made her popular in court, which is probably part of why it appealed to Aerin. He couldn't be a strong warrior like his brother, but maybe he could get some positive attention for making useful potions like his mother.

Crucially, based on what Aerin says here, she did not teach him. Not to say that she necessarily wouldn't have- I'm willing to bet she died pre-Dreadlord, so when Aerin was 9 or younger. But still, alchemy was something he picked up in earnest after she was already gone. He wanted to feel closer to her, to feel like he had that connection with her, something in common with his mother, and was doing something she could be proud of.

Book 3, Chapter 3:

This reads to me very much like Aerin's mother was the only member of his immediate family not lashing out at him. Which is good! But the bar is so incredibly low, this just tells us she wasn't the worst.

This is before the party learns that anyone dead can look in on the living. So to Aerin, it seemed like Aurinae may or may not have been hearing from newly dead people that Aerin summoned the Dreadlord, killed his brother, got disinherited and thrown in prison, then died from wandering off like an idiot (according to the offical story).

Aerin's nervousness here is completely understandable. He knows his father hates him. He knows his brother hates him. But he doesn't know how his mother feels. She wasn't violent toward him and there is a chance she might actually love him.

Book 3, Chapter 9:

The woman herself appears!

Aurinae makes a pretty good first impression. Aerin has absolutely had it rough and it's good that she acknowledges that. Though thanking the group for "looking after" him shows that same mentality the rest of the family has that Aerin is weak and needs to be taken care of to survive.

This is where it gets extremely interesting. Aerin sounds almost concerned for Baldur. Like he feels bad that he's at the river. Which we know he very much does not. I'd be willing to bet Aerin wishes Baldur was somewhere much worse (seriously, does anyone go to the Hells? Does he get pity points for being murdered?) Something about speaking with his mother makes Aerin show concern for his abusive brother.

Aerin also doesn't confess or ask forgiveness for killing Baldur. Maybe he doesn't want to bring that part up?

As for Aurinae... this is not an apology. This is not an acknowledgment of any negligence or regret on her part. In fact, it's phrased in a way that makes it clear she has absolutely no blame for what happened. She had hoped Baldur would act one way, and he did not. Oh well.

This is also an incredibly tame reaction. Like he embarrassed her at a party, not ruthlessly beat and intimidated her child. I would think most people would be devastated and/or enraged, maybe so relieved that despite all that Aerin is okay. The most generous possible reading is that she still has that noble desire not to show her emotions in public and she doesn't want to upset Aerin by getting into it here.

First of all, I want to shake this man. Second, Aerin doesn't usually devalue himself like this. When alone with MC or as a quip while fighting unkillable monsters, sure. But not with a genuine smile. This feels like Aerin making the point that he'll try really hard but he might still be weak and useless.

And this is the end of the interaction. No reassurance from Aurinae. And for the record, Tyril's mother is far more complimentary toward Aerin than his own mother is.

During the diamond scene, this is part of the conversation if you ask for a story about Aerin.

It seems like Aurinae doesn't necessarily connect Aerin's interest in alchemy to her own. But it sounds like she did at least take some interest in his studies. So that's something!

But you get something else if you ask for a story about the mothers. They talk about an extremely spicy tea Aurinae makes. Apparently Aerin tried it as a child and...

Oh wow. If this isn't a metaphor for pre-Onyx Shards Aerin, I don't know what is. Literally in pain trying to please someone else, insisting everything is great.

If you choose to pull Aerin aside later, he admits that he's been acting differently with Aurinae around, describing it as "falling into old patterns."

One of the main reasons Aerin wanted to be close to his mother as a child was hoping that she would rescue him. Again, I think it's helpful to recognize what this isn't. This isn't Aerin saying being around his mother made him happy, or feel safe. It's him saying he hoped that if he could be "good enough" she would protect him. Because she had no innate desire or reason to do that. And at least she wasn't actively scaring him like his father and brother.

Aerin's reason it was a "foolish dream" is also very telling. Not because protocol wouldn't allow it, but because Aurinae saw no reason to leave. They didn't treat her poorly, so why would she want to leave? Certainly not to protect her younger son.

If she really had "no trouble putting her foot down," why no intervention between Aerin and Baldur? It sounds like she wasn't scared of the rest of the family. So did she not notice? Or did she not care?

What we've seen so far has not convinced me that Aerin and Aurinae actually had a loving relationship. Just that Aerin wanted one so badly he can almost see it that way. Because Aurinae is better than the rest of his family, but still far from a good mom with genuine affection for her child.

I will be keeping my headcanon that Aerin was desperate to connect with his mother, but she never particularly cared about him.

Screenshots are a combination of my own and ones from Neckrone Shen's playthroughs on youtube. I feel like I owe them a drink for all the time they've saved me looking for stuff.

[chaiichait]

IS THAT A DEATH ROOMBA???

[willowwee]

Quick Blade Sketch RAAAAA

Ramble: my bad for leaving yall im sorry💀💀 IVE BEEN BUSY WITH UNIVERSITY AND ASSIGNMENTS LMAO but if I have time and motivation, probably will enter gba's summer/bvz contest? Maybe but im more motivated for the summer contest since I already have ideas but never have time to actually sketch it😭

[veinsfullofstars]

👁️ Kirbtober 2024 Day 14: Miracle 👁️

(ID: Kirby series fanart of Zero Two looming over a newly-created Miracle Matter, gazing down upon it inscrutably with his single red eye, almost cradling it in segmented wings that burst with countless red, vein-like tendrils. The icosahedron gazes back blankly with red-and-black eyes on each of its sides… save for one in the center which sports an iris of orange and teal, tears leaking from it and dripping away into darkness. END ID.)

“Hush, my dear blade. Consider your failures forgiven. For only in such a penitent form may you reach even a fraction of my perfection.”

Based on my personal headcanon that Dark Matter Blade - after the second failed takeover in KDL3 - might've been “repurposed” by his resurrected god into Miracle Matter.

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Started on 09/18/24, finished on 09/19/24. | Kirbtober 2023 Comp