#gherman the first hunter

[twiggybeing]

Laurence is the hardest and worst boss in Bloodborne.

Geheman: easy

Moon: easy

Orphan: easy

But fucking Laurence?

Laurence: hard

[paulito8000]

Mein face wenn the yharnamites call das jägersausfahrhackschnittklingenbeil „hunter‘s axe“

Mein face wenn der Moment the yharnamites call den sägengezahnaufreißwundspeerstecher a „saw spear“

mein face when yharnamites call der Transformierengezähntwolftiermannfleischaufreißer a "saw cleaver" mein face when yharnamites call das Kurzschwerthineinsteinbrecher a "kirkhammer" mein face when yharnamites call der schickestockprügelhineingezähntpeitsche a "threaded cane"

[fantomette22]

Maria and Gerhman snowball fight but it’s this

Maria is about to BURY that boomer, I’m so sorry 😭

LMAO 🤣 🤣 RIP Gehrman the first hunter.

Oh i’m dead that would absolutely happen. Probably very accurate 🤣 I need to draw that 😂

Like just yesterday when i was ice skating in the forest and failing miserably it remind me that i hc Gehrman do like snow a bit i guess but really not ice 😂 like poor man can’t walk probably on ice & snow with his prosthetic 😭

Like THIS is him V

And you probably have Maria who know how to ice skate since she’s a kid lol. She have an advantage she’s used to a shit tons of snow and like my old comic she’s used to snowball fight 😂

Still I bet he could take all the old hunters on a snowball fight (he got a good aim) but then Maria would be even better xD and then good luck to run after and tackle her because she’s the pro at running away in the snow! If you know you know… didn’t wanna spoil my fic but well id care i can tell it to you lol but yeah our girl is the best at running in the snow :,)

[ornii]

RWBYBORNE: Part 1

1: “Good Hunter..”

Remnant, The Long Hunt

Beasts are not born—they are made. The scourge of the blood twists men into monsters, their minds consumed by madness, their bodies reshaped by hunger. They are not so different from the Grimm, those shadowed creatures of Remnant. Both are the spawn of darkness, bred to hunt, to kill, to destroy.

Grimm and Beasts are mindless tools, drawn by fear and despair, They are the reflection of man’s sins, the corruption that festers within the heart. The blood does not lie—it reveals. And when it reveals too much, man is undone, leaving behind only the beast.

Yharnam thought it could control the blood, harness it for power, for healing. But blood is a cruel master, and the price was paid in fire and ash. The city burned, the beasts contained—for a time. But darkness does not die; it spreads.

All of Yharnam was sealed away, its gates locked to humanity and all through remnant and stuck deep within the West of Vale. Only two had escaped Yharnam, Gehrman, the First Hunter and a single babe whose blood was of pure Yharnam. They left the burning city to a cottage in vale. And Gehrman trained the boy, as there are still beasts to slay.

Remnant is not a sanctuary. It is a battlefield, a place where the darkness takes many forms. And the blood… the blood ties it all together. For in the end, man’s greatest enemy is not the beast outside but the beast within.”

The Hunter’s Workshop lay silent under the pale glow of a moon that never waned. Shadows stretched long across the cobblestone floor, cast by the flickering fire of a dying lantern. Tools of the trade—saws, blades, and bloodstained cloth—were scattered across the room, remnants of countless hunts. Past the workshop was a small cottage, old and in need of repair, a boy stepped out of it. His eyes trailed along his clothing, the Garb of a hunters. He dusts himself off and tightens his gloves and stepped calmly towards the Workshop, and entered, walking past graveyards, etched with names of hunters lost to the war of beasts.

The Hunter stood at the center of the Workshop, his cloak hanging heavy with the weight of old blood. His hands rested on the hilt of his saw cleaver, the weapon worn but sharp.

A chair creaked as Gehrman leaned forward. The old man’s gaze bore into the boy he had raised. His voice, though soft, carried the weight of years.

“Your time here is over, boy,” Gherman said. “The hunt calls elsewhere.”

“You believe this school will test me? Test the strength I have gained?” He asks. “Yharnam is where I should return to—“

Gehrman shook his head, a weary smile crossing his face. “Yharnam is dead, lad. Its flames died long ago, yet the scourge lives on. The beasts are not bound to that place. They’ve spread, and the hunt must follow. It’s for your own good, killing beasts..”

The Hunter was silent, his head bowed. Gherman’s words hung heavy in the air, and though he wanted to argue, he could not. The Hunter shook his head and left to the front of the workshop, and as if they were waiting, one more figure stood before him, a.. Doll. But she looked, human, familiar.

The Doll stepped forward, her porcelain face expressionless yet kind. Her voice, soft and melodic, broke the silence.

“Good Hunter,” she said, her hands folding over her heart. “You have endured so much. You have given yourself to the hunt, to protect and to destroy. But this… this is a chance to find what was taken from you. Trust in yourself. Trust in others. You are not alone.”

The Hunter lowered himself to one knee, he removed his hat, and extended his hand, she placed her gently on his. Though her touch was cold, it comforted him. He felt a surge of power, his final surge. He rose and bowed, and she did in kind.

“I shall not forget our adage.” He said firmly.

“Farewell, Good Hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.” The Doll gave her goodbye and the hunter turned and left.

The Hunter stood, his saw cleaver strapped to his back, his bag slung over one shoulder. Outside, a steed awaited—a creature of pale mist and moonlight, its body translucent yet solid enough to bear him.

He did not look back as he mounted the steed. The Workshop grew smaller in the distance, swallowed by the forest’s shadows and the encroaching mist. The moon lingered high above, watching him as he rode toward the unknown.

For the first time in his life, the Hunter felt something unfamiliar—a flicker of uncertainty, a world beyond the blood and the hunt.

And so, the Hunter’s journey began, not with the roar of a beast or the strike of a blade, but with the quiet resolve of a boy stepping out of the past and into the future.

The Hunter, after a long Journey reached beacon though the side forest and approached horseback to the main station, where these oddly flying machines descended with people exiting them. Such inventions were acts of powers beyond his comprehension.

His feet leapt off the ghostly mare as onlookers watched, he checked his saddlebags and saw everything was of collection. A lantern, clothing, his saw cleaver, hunters pistol with an array of silver bullets, even a notebook to log his thoughts, dreams, and progress of the scourge. He ruffled though them, and found something he did not put there. An old claw shaped badge, meant to wrap around the neck. An old hunters badge, The badge was a special privilege for the hunters of the past, and should not be dishonored. It should be left in peace, unless one is truly prepared to assume the will of those gone before. The Hunter removed his mask and hood, letting his slight neck length silver blonde hair aloof in the wind. He placed the badge around his neck, and put his hat back on. He gripped his saddlebags but a voice rang out nearby.

“What are you doing?!”

“Uh, sorry!”

“Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused? What are you, brain-dead? This is Dust! Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!” The Hunter turned to see a Pale, Regal looking girl in all white, not very happy with another girl in Red and Black.

“Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!” The Snow White woman said, the girl in red, sneezed, and the dust collided into an explosion, causing soot all over her white dress, and she freaks out.

“This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!” She screamed.,

“I'm really, really sorry!” The girl in red relented.

“Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?” She scoffed, dusting herself off. And leaving in fumes, the girl sat a bit sad. She fidgeted with Crescent Rose, Her mind wandered, and she sighed deeply.

“That went well…” she muttered to herself.

Suddenly, a voice cut through her thoughts,

“That was, uncomfortable” he says. Ruby looked up, surprised by the sound. There, standing with an almost eerie calm, was a tall figure. His dark coat swayed lightly with the breeze, and his wide-brimmed hat cast a shadow over his pale face, leaving his eyes as the only visible feature—cold, calculating, yet somehow distant.

“Uh… excuse me?” Ruby asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

The man’s lips barely moved as he spoke again. “She wronged you. But she cannot see it.”

Ruby blinked, not sure whether this person was speaking in riddles or just observing what happened. “You mean Weiss? Yeah… I broke her Dust vial and things kinda blew up after that. My bad…”

“No,” he said, his voice even. “Her reaction was unwarranted.”

“Yeah, well, I guess she’s… kinda like that sometimes…” Ruby muttered, looking down at the broken vial, still processing it all. He offered his hand, and the girl took it and helped her up.

“I’m Ruby, by the way! Ruby Rose, what’s your name?” she said, extending her hand.

He looked at her outstretched hand for a moment, as if unsure of the gesture’s meaning. Eventually, he took it with an almost deliberate coldness, shaking it briefly before releasing it.

“I.. i…I don’t have a name,” he said a bit conflicted, “or.. perhaps it’s forgotten it.”, his gaze drifting towards the nearby trees, as though lost in thought.

Ruby blinked in a bit of shock. “No name? Well… that’s kinda weird, but alright.” She smiled warmly at him. “You can be… (Y/n). You look like a (Y/n).”

He didn’t respond immediately, merely nodding once in acknowledgment, as if Ruby’s suggestion held some form of understanding.

“(Y/n), huh?” Ruby said, giggling a little. “I mean, I think it fits you. Kinda mysterious, cool… a little weird, though.”

(Y/n) looked at her, his face unsure. “Weird, is it?” Ruby shrugged, the smile never leaving her face. “Yeah, but in a good way! You’re definitely not like anyone else I’ve met. But you’re… pretty cool, too.”

“Cool? As in the cold?” He asked, Ruby tilts her head, “You’re.. not from around here, are you?” She smiled, the hunters clothing could tell. “I.. suppose one could make that inference.” He replied, the duo walk to Beacon Academy's giant auditorium, filled with people. Ruby looks over when she hears a voice.

“Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!” She yelled, Ruby turned turned to (Y/n).

“Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!” Ruby ran off, leaving the hunter by himself. He was fine with this, as he’s had long hunts alone. Unfortunately, the worst person decided to speak to him.

“Hey, man! You’re new here, right? I’m Jaune Arc, rookie Hunter! But you can call me Jaune, no need for formalities.” He gave an awkward salute, trying to appear confident.

The Hunter didn’t respond right away, he folded his arms, and slowly turned to Jaune. After a long, heavy pause, he raised an eyebrow. “You… are the one they call a Hunter?” His tone was neutral, but there was an underlying question that made Jaune second-guess himself.

“Uh… yeah? I mean, I’m still learning a lot, but I’m totally up for anything!” Jaune puffed out his chest, trying his best to exude some form of bravado, to impress the oddly imposing (Y/n), who didn’t say anything. The tension could be cut with a knife as jaune awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

Their “conversation” was ended when Professor Ozpin approaches the microphone upon the stage. readying the microphone, with Glynda beside him. He slowly leaned into the Mic.

“I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.” Ozpin left very, interesting advice, before departing. Letting Glynda take the microphone

“You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed.” Glynda gave the order and the teenagers begin to shuffle out of the building.

The hunter sat in the corner, in sleepwear, mostly an open Pajama coat. He writes into his journal, his first of many entries, using a journal to press his thoughts into reality, keeping some, sanity.

“Today, I witnessed innocence in its purest form—students with unblemished dreams and hopes untainted by despair. I envy them. I no longer possess such luxury.

The girl named Ruby… idealistic, bright-eyed, I believe she is too eager for the dangers of the hunt. Her optimism is disarming, though perhaps I needed that. When she offered me a name, I accepted without hesitation. I wonder why? Human connection seems, offputting.

This Weiss Schnee is another matter. She is cold and sharp, her sense of pride is obvious but overwhelming, perhaps we cross paths, or blades in the future.

The blond fool, Jaune, tried to befriend me. His bravery borders on idiocy. Still, there’s something admirable in his persistence.

This place, Beacon, is nothing like the Workshop. No dim lanterns, no stench of blood, no haunts in the night. And yet, I feel as if this shall not last.

Tonight, I wonder if I made the right choice in coming here. Still, I cannot deny the flicker of something unfamiliar in my chest—hope. Strange. I thought I had long since abandoned such notions that this scourge should perish..

But for now, I remain vigilant. The old blood runs through my veins, and the hunt must go on.”

— (Y/n).

Note: Let me know if you want to read more, I have maybe 14 more chapters of this on my Wattpad I can bring here, thanks!

[xxxmathildaxxx]

my taste in men fluctuates between Ebenezer Scrooge and Gherman the first hunter

[subzeroparade]

Hello im darundik on ao3 and have been so slowly working through your works and am currently on The Feast We Promised and I am so IN LVOE with how you interpret canon events into practical terms. Like I always assumed that Maria entered the healing church after the cainhurst massacre, bc she hides her relationship to them, but of course this idea of cainhurst being allowed and THEN disappearing makes sense. And also the whole thing of gherman being a designer first and foremost and being the hardest hitter, the fact that there’s a difference between academics and prospectors — LOVE THIS. The moment where you said “Maria joined the church as a botanist” — of course. Of fuxking course. The term “hunter” now means “just a person who wacks beasts��� but it doesn’t necessary only mean that — as evidenced by the choir members in-game, who definitely don’t hunt, but ar hunter-type enemies. I’m just. Tearing my hair out. I love this so much. I’m reading SO slowly but enjoying it SO much.

Thank you so much, the engagement with my work means a lot :') Especially Feast, because so much went into it.

Please have this Maria sketch I have been noodling for part of the day as thanks.

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

Monsterfucker Tournament, Round 1 of the Feminine Division. The matchup as decided by a random number generator is.....

Flora, the Moon Presence: An eldritch Great One capable of creating a dream realm that the player of Bloodborne spends the vast majority of their (non-dlc) adventures roaming. She seeks to have a child as all Great One's do and desires to have all other Great One's slaughtered. It is unknown how, but all Great One's in game use humans as surrogates for their children. She seemingly has overridden Gherman, the First Hunter's willpower and is capable of doing the same to the player character. Forcing them to serve her.

Chimera Falin: A human cleric who was consumed by a dragon while in and adventuring party with her brother, best friend, and several other hired members. After being revived she was fused with the remains of the Red Dragon that consumed her, and several harpies. She dutifully serves Thistle while also retaining a moderate amount of her personality. She is capable of still using magic while in this form alongside her draconic strength, making her very powerful and dangerous. She seemingly still retains the intact male anatomy of the Red Dragon she has been fused with, but identifies as a woman before and after her chimerafication.

[happywoidwanderer]

I´m a real sucker for songs that is about two people singing the same song to one anothe for different reasons.

Idwtbamg ending song is a pretty song about Aika and Zira wishing they had what the other already has and marvelig over how they don´t want it. And Bloodbornes The first Hunter is about Gherman and the Hunter begging one another to lay down their arm, and that they are saving the other from a fate worst than death.

It´s just neat when a song can be seen comming from either side of the story.

[none-house-left-grief]

no please share your Bloodbourne AU with us….im glad im not the only one thinking about this

Hey sorry I'm only getting to this now! I never get asks for this blog so I don't bother checking often.

I don't have any particularly detailed thoughts, and a lot of things just don't fully add up unless you ignore some lore on both ends but here's re a few ideas I've had (they're all just very very obvious connections tbh they're not super interesting I think):

Obviously the religion of the Ninth is the Healing Church

The Cathedral Ward, specifically Oedon Chapel, would be the Ninth/Drearburh equivalent

It gets a bit complicated when we get to talking about the Lyctors, Resurrection Beasts, and BoS, however

I think the best option for BoS to be would be the hunters (Wake being the much sexier and much much less creepy version of Gherman (would that make Pyrrha Lady Maria?) as the leader/founder)

The Byrgenwerth Scholars could be the Lyctors (or necromancers more broadly)

The Lyctors would be the known bosses and scholars we know of (Maria, Micolash, Rom, etc.) although they could also include hunters like Gascoigne

The RBs would be the bosses that are not human (Amygdala, Blood Starved Beast, (potentially Vicar Amelia idk how I feel about including her tbh)

Here's the tricky part:

John and Alecto could be Willem and Laurence, but I see Jod as Laurence in this (because he would use the blood (which in this case it would be the necromantic equivalent ig??) to "help" people but Alecto would not vibe with it)

However Willem was essentially the founding figure of Byrgenwerth, which, if we didn't do a 1:1 comparison could also work

Laurence could also be Anastasia the First, being the respective founders of their churches

Another issue is that I don't know what to make of the necro/cav duos. Admittedly, this is what makes the AU fall apart for me a little, although I'm sure there's a way to make it work

The easiest thing to do would be to make them Hunters, but then the BoS thing would have to be different

We could pull a Soul Eater and have the cavs be the Hunter weapons because the healing church also has hunters, but that doesn't quite fit for me

Unless

The Cainhurst Vilebloods could be the BoS equivallent, going against the church founded under Laurence/John

This lets the hunters be necromancers and their cavaliers, provided they hunt in pairs

This also lets Pyrrha be Maria and have some ties to BoE through Wake

Some characters might not have direct connections tho

Nona is hard to account for on account of the whole Nona thing

Characters like Patches don't seem to fit with tlt either

The House system would have to be potentially scrapped, although they could be allied/paired off based off of branches from the Scholars

Magic is also a challenge, as the closest thing are the Arcane Hunter Tools and Blood which isn't the same as necromancy (especially not TLT necromancy with the intricacies of the River, thanergy and thallergy, etc.)

Lyctorhood would also be a challenge, although it could be as simple as "the soul/body/blood is absorbed when 'ascended'" or something

The whole "Bloodborne is full of references to the horrors of womanhood and pregnancy and femininity and blood" thing also doesn't fit quite as neatly with tlt because it has a more anti-imperialist bend to it and gender-fuckery happens, but it's not quite like in Bloodborne

For this reason, the whole Pthumerian part of the lore doesn't fit in any way that's easily apparent to me, although I'm open to ideas on all of this, particularly I would love to find a way to fit Queen Yharnam into all this without just making her Wake because they're both the only ones who are prego.

Anyway yeah that's about it lmao hope it's as interesting as you thought it would be

[iotnonii-dormant]

Is anyone a fan of bloodborne and also Ginjnaninjaowo's Prism series?? Please I'm fighting for my life trying to make Maria into a magical girl Notes on First Rough Draft:

I realized I didn't know how the hell magical girls worked. I only ever watched madoka and it's a lot like a very intricate clock to me, as in I can see somewhat how it works, but the actual components are foreign to me. In trying to be as extra as a magical girl, the whole thing feels incohesive. The thing is, Maria has to have a strong color palette since she's one of the old hunters and I don't know how to even begin balancing said palette if black and white don't count. I'm also at a disadvantage since most of bloodborne is covered in red and black and the clocktower is an intentional washed out grey. I couldn't find a shape that was simple enough to read as "prism shape" to me. This was somewhat fun but what the hell reads as "Clock" here other than her weapons? So definitely more references are needed.

Notes on Second Rough Draft:

I just looked up pirate magical girl since I'm very attached to the cravat and I just wanted to figure out how someone would keep that while doing magical girl stuff. As someone who is a firm lover of butch women, this felt like sacrilege- almost like I just drew Gherman's fantasy. There are colors though! And she has her funny lil hat that I love. The trim is bit weird but I was afraid of overusing the clock ticks. Still feels miles ahead of the other design though so I'll take it!

please, if you have any questions or suggestions- dm me or throw something in my ask box. Thank you ;-;

[miirshroom]

"O Flora, of the moon, of the dream."

So I decided to explore what it could mean that the Doll in Bloodborne references a "Flora" in connection to the moon. Essentially tracing several connective threads down lines of inquiry related to the Flower Moon.

In a way, this is a follow up to my previous post "Elden Ring and Bloodborne - What do we Learn from the Dead". For context: under certain conditions the doll may kneel in front of one of the gravestones in the Hunter's Dream and say the following prayer:

"O Flora, of the moon, of the dream. O little ones, O fleeting will of the ancients. Let the hunter be safe, let her find comfort. And let this dream her captor, foretell a pleasant awakening. Be one day, a fond, distant memory." - Peculiar Doll

Data mining has confirmed that there are 2 conditions that may trigger this, so long as the Hunter's Nightmare has not yet been accessed but the blood moon has been triggered: 1) At Hunter's Nightmare gravestone, or 2) In a New Game + cycle, directed at the Hunter's Gravestone that appears only if the "Yharnam Sunrise" ending was previously selected (in which the player is beheaded by Gherman). Further, there are indications that "Flora" was the name of the Moon Presence in earlier versions of the game.

Xtha-cka Zhi-ga Tze-the, the Killer of the Flowers Moon

It is traditional among native people of Turtle Island (more commonly known as North America) to assign names to the moons of the year based around notable benchmarks in the changing of the seasons. There is no codified system that spans all peoples - it varies by region. The Farmer's Almanac adopted the system of naming moons as inspired by this practice and similar European traditions that pre-dates the Julian calendar. But this is both generalized to apply to a wider area and includes the biases of Colonial America that do not always harmonize with the origins of the tradition.

'Killers of the Flower Moon' is a 2023 movie based on a 2017 book that got its title from a 2009 poem by Elise Paschen about the 1921 murder of Anna Kyle Brown in the first of what would be known as the Osage Reign of Terror. A conspiracy generally masterminded by rancher William Hale to secure land and oil rights. This was considered to be the first major murder case of the FBI. Actually, the title of the book and movie muddle the intent of the poem in a subtle way (though the explanation is provided in the first few pages of the book). In Osage it's "Killer of the Flowers" Moon because this is the time of year when a late frost may arrive and kill young flowers.

So now I intend to suspend disbelief and consider the metanarrative. Because in my experience, FromSoft has been extremely attentive to the dates when their games are released. Some hints of this are in the ways that the phases of the moon in real life at date of release match the moon phases observed in game for Sekiro and Elden Ring. Recently much emphasis was placed on the number "621" in Armored Core VI and release day of Shadow of the Erdtree, considering that the only time they have ever released a game on the exact day of a solar eclipse was Forever Kingdom in 2001 on the June 21 summer solstice. In fact, before Shadow of the Erdtree, the only Fromsoft game ever released on the day of a full moon that I could find - out of 80+ games - was also on the day of a blood moon. This will come up later.

There have been 4 games in the history of FromSoftware that have been released during part of a Flower moon/Flower Killing Moon cycle. That is, when the May moon is either waxing or waning:

Lost Kingdoms (Rune) 2 - May 22, 2003 (Last Quarter - Aquarius)

Nanpure VOW (Sudoku) - April 26, 2007 (Waxing Gibbous - Virgo)

Iraroji VOW (Picross) - May 24, 2007 (First Quarter - Virgo)

Dark Souls Remastered - May 24, 2018 (Waxing Gibbous - Libra)

One notable observation is that May 24th appears twice. Another is that Nanpure VOW and Iraroji VOW actually are for two different May moons - the second one is a Blue moon. And it is an outlier in the FromSoft catalogue to be making these sudoku and picross games to begin with - a puzzle game genre that had not been touched before or since. A similar outliner is seen in 2009 with FromSoft publishing 2 visual novels playing through the cases of famous Japanese fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi - The Inugami Curse and The Village of 8 Graves.

So why emphasize May 24?

Q. How do you Solve a Problem like Maria?

A. With the Sound of Music

There could be multiple reasons. In Canada May 24 is Queen Victoria Day (French: Fête de la Reine, lit. 'Celebration of the Queen'), as it was Queen Victoria's birthday and she was the Mother of Confederation for Canada.

But there is an odd pull that I want to dig into because it ties in quite well with the musical themes of Bloodborne: On May 24, 1982 the funk/art band Blondie released their 6th album titled "The Hunter" under label Chrysalis and recorded at New York studio "The Hit Factory". The 11th song on this album is a cover song titled "The Hunter is Captured by the Game". Studio not to be confused with "The Hit House", which is the indie publisher who collaborated with Ruby Friedman to create the song "Cut You Down" that appears to have been commissioned for the Bloodborne trailer released March 19, 2015.

The two best known Blondie songs otherwise are "Heart of Glass" (from 3rd album Parallel Lines) and "Rapture" (from 5th album Autoamerican). Heart of Glass is about being in a fragile emotional state that is easily left broken hearted, and also I note that for all of the various organs represented in Bloodborne not one of them is a heart. Rapture is about, well, I don't think paraphrasing does it justice:

"And you drive all night and then you see a light And it comes right down and lands on the ground And out comes a man from Mars And you try to run but he's got a gun And he shoots you dead and he eats your head Then you're in the man from Mars You go out at night eatin' cars You eat Cadillacs, Lincolns too Mercurys and Subarus And you don't stop, you keep on eatin' cars Then when there's no more cars You go out at night and eat up bars Where the people meet"

Which upon doing linguistics translates to a hit list for: the founder of Detroit in Michigan (Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac), a Village of Lake People (Lincolns), Quicksilver (Mercurys), and the 7 Sisters Pleiades Constellation (Subarus). Blondie's 7th album is called 'No Exit' inspired by the Sartre play of the same name ("L'enfer, c'est les autres") and was released in 1999, of which the hit single is titled 'Maria'.

The City of Detroit is itself on the traditional lands of the Potawatomi and Miami native peoples, among others. It was founded in the early 1700's and one of the first structures constructed was a chapel to St. Anne. The land upon which Fort Detroit was built was reluctantly ceded by the coalition of Native American tribes known as the Western Confederacy (led by Little Turtle) in 1795. Fort Detroit later burned to the ground on June 11 1805, with the fire rumored to be started by hot pipe ashes that a baker has dropped in his stable. On the other hand, the Treaty of Detroit later acquired more land rights for additional territory in the Michigan basin and on the US side was signed by a William Hull.

I'll address the "man from Mars" later but what stands out for me here is that Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac may be correlated to the founding of Yharnam (which would later burn down in a fire as a consequence of an ashen disease), Village of Lake People to the Fishing Village, Quicksilver to the creation of bullets that can repel the beasts. The 7 sisters is something I'm still picking over - I suspect that cross-referencing other FromSoft games may help with this one. And I've also noted that quite a lot of the female characters in the game share fragments of their names with each other and with Annalise.

For Annalise herself, I suspect that the connection to the brutal Osage killings might be relevant, partially because of the specific use of the term "Reign of Terror". This was previously used for the period of time when Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded. According to this article, Cainhurst Castle may have been inspired by Bran Castle in modern day Romania, former Transylvania. Marie Antoinette's mother was Maria Theresa, who was sovereign of the Hapsburg domains for 40 years - including Transylvania - and the only woman to have held this title in her own right.

The Greater "Will"?

And another thing: multiple significant "Williams" have been coming up in these historical dives tangentially connected to Bloodborne. I suspect that Master Willem in the nexus for these especially after considering this next one: Sir William Gull, a physician active between 1842 and 1887.

Sir William Gull was a court physician for the Prince of Wales and received his knighthood for curing the prince of typhoid fever (typically contracted by eating food contaminated by feces - sanitation was pretty rough in the 1800's). His best known work includes investigation into the spinal cord and causes of paraplegia, being the first to describe anorexia nervosa and identify it as a psychological condition, and investigation into the effects of atrophied thyroid gland in women (cessation of periods, roundness of face, sleepiness, and indifferent attitude).

The association with the spinal cord is of particular relevance to Bloodborne considering 3 factors: 1) the Yellow Backbone item that can be used to modify chalice dungeons and is also dropped by "The One Reborn" 2) the prevalence of wheelchair-bound enemies, and 3) collecting and consuming umbilical cords allows the player to become immune to the fate of being placed in a wheelchair bound state by the Moon Presence - umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells and the use of stem cell therapy is proposed as a means of repairing spinal cord damage. Alongside the topic of human cloning (which was partially covered in this BobbyBroccoli video), the ethics of stem cell research was a topic of debate in the early 2000's. There's a 2002 Dream Theatre song about this zeitgeist.

Also here are some of my favourite quotes from Sir William Gull which seem topical:

"Fools and savages explain; wise men investigate." William Withey Gull ��� A Biographical Sketch (T. D. Acland), Memoir II.

"The foundation of the study of Medicine, as of all scientific inquiry, lies in the belief that every natural phenomenon, trifling as it may seem, has a fixed and invariable meaning" Published Writings, "Study of Medicine"

"Realize, if you can, what a paralyzing influence on all scientific inquiry the ancient belief must have had which attributed the operations of nature to the caprice not of one divinity, but of many. There still remains vestiges of this in most of our minds, and the more distinct in proportion to our weakness and ignorance." British Medical Journal, 1874, 2: 425.

The fictionalized (and unjustly defamatory) version of Sir William Gull is suspected of being Jack the Ripper based on a conspiracy theory. The most popular version of which is in the Alan Moore comic "From Hell". This is the 4th time the concept of "Hell" has come up in connection with Bloodborne. Another as previously mentioned was in the Sartre play No Exit through a Blondie album, where "Hell is other people". What I did not mention at the time is that this is the opening lyric to the song "Cut you Down" from the Bloodborne trailer:

Your blood's gone bad I knew it would The devil killed And yet you're back for good

And fourthly, Bloodborne released in the year 2015. In tarot, the 15th major arcana is The Devil, and I have extensively deconstructed the way that Elden Ring exposes FromSoftware's use of tarot.

"If you show someone their future, they have no future. You take away the mystery, you take away hope." - Paycheck, 2003

And if this seems to be bouncing around a lot and grasping for barely connected straws, it gets more complicated. Because there is the astral clock-as-time machine to consider. On December 25, 2003 the movie 'Paycheck' released on the exact same day as a FromSoft game called Ootogi, Myth of Demons 2: Immortal Warriors. The movie was based on a Phillip K. Dick novel of the same name so from the perspective of intentional release date matching it would have been easy to guess the plot ahead of time.

Essentially what happens in the movie is that a programmer is contracted for a 2 year job after which his memory will be deleted to preserve confidentiality. But instead of payment or the personal effects he remembers submitting he receives a package of random objects that his more knowledgeable pre-memory-loss self had left for him, which he soon finds out are exactly what he needs to evade various situations that happen.

And now he needs to solve both the mystery of what exactly he has been doing for the past couple years and why people want him dead. Turns out he was building a machine that predicts the future and realized at about the end of the project that this was a pretty bad idea:

"The machine predicts a war - and we go to war to avert it. It predicts a plague - we herd all the sick together, create a plague. Whatever future this predicts, we make happen. We give over control of our lives completely. I did this… Seeing the future will destroy us."

On my FromSoftware timeline the release of Armored Core Nexus on March 18, 2004 is basically the last date before observations go non-linear and fragmented. The backbone of the whole thing remains consistent - Armored Core games follow astrology like clockwork. That's the problem I assume: one revolution of a clock lands you right back where you started. The tragedy at the end of the procession of stars (see: Shadow of the Erdtree) is that the future is the same as the past and there is no hope for change.

"Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation.

We have Assumed Control." - 2112, Part VII

March 18 is also the release date of the 1st album of progressive rock band "Rush", under the label Moon records. This is surrounded by two other instances in extremely tight timeframe that I find very difficult to believe a coincidence: 1) January 14, 2004 is the release of King's Field mobile and the anniversary of the 7th album Permanent Waves (some standout songs: Entre Nous "we are planets to each other", and Closer to the Heart), 2) April 1, 2004 is the release day of Kuon and the anniversary of the 4th album 2112 ("The Twin Moons, just two pale orbs as they trace their way across the steely sky....We have had peace since 2062, when the surviving planets were banded together under the Red Star of the Solar Federation. The less fortunate gave us a few new moons.").

Points to note: the cover for 2112 would establish a red star as the symbol of the Solar Federation - Mars is the "red star". Mars is also likely associated with Formless Oedon as described briefly in this previous post. This album also generated the "Starman" logo for Rush which features "the abstract man against the masses". Second, Rush's international label for their first 4 albums was Mercury Records - perhaps sufficing as the Mercurys eaten by the man from Mars. Which is setting up a conflict in which the band Rush is eaten by the Man from Mars but also fighting from within. And who else would they be fighting on behalf of but the Man Woman in the Iron Mask: Queen Annalise. Rush as a band is a trio, and sometimes talked of themselves as "The Three Musketeers" as said by Geddy Lee himself in his auto-biography "My Effin Life" (and it also is the headline of a 1984 interview).

This whole extended reference does get more complex, as these matches suggest a pattern. Albums 7, 1, and 4 are seen here, albums 3 and 6 will turn up matching the dates of other games, and two compilation albums will match other dates for 7 total. The calendar date match with the 3rd Rush album is Armored Core V Verdict Day on September 24, 2013 - it features the song "Bastille Day" about cutting off heads. And that's it. A heavy skew towards the 1st 7 of 19 Rush albums.

It is at this point in time that I find it necessary to address the Blood Moon. Because the next released FromSoft game is Armored Core Nine Breaker on October 28, 2004, which happens to be the day of a lunar eclipse, a.k.a. a Blood Moon. Which is made more significant by the way that FromSoft basically never releases games on the day of even normal full moons. I imagine there is a reason for this: You're not supposed to do bloodletting or surgery on the day of a full moon. Especially not for the body part associated with that moon according to a complicated system of arithmatic. This particular moon was in the phase of Taurus, which governs neck, throat, and vocal chords.

And I know a few other details about the release of Bloodborne on March 24, 2015. It falls 4 days after a solar eclipse which looked like this as seen from the UK (i.e. the general setting of Bloodborne).

And 11 days before a blood moon - which again was governed by Taurus. Not just any blood moon, but the third in a tetrad that some religious folks were very weird about according to the google image search.

Back to the flower moons and/or killing flower moons. I don't know what's up with April 26th. After searching the discographies of a dozen or so bands based on vibes, nothing has come up yet for that date. Some potentials came up in a "this day in history" search but that's not something I want to work through right now. I do have an opinion about May 23, 2003. In my searches for the origin of the phrase "Judy's Comet" as used in the first Armored Core game, I encountered a lullaby song written by Paul Simon named "St. Judy's Comet" and it occurred to me to associate it with Lost Kingdoms II. For sheer coincidence in the small window of time that I was looking at both game and song they had initial release dates listed as May 22, which on reviewing various corrections is the incorrect date for both, but on the other hand I'm more open now to considering indirect references (similar to what was followed through with Blondie above). In this case, the most likely link would be that Armored Core IV: Fires of Rubicon released on August 25, which was the same calendar day as Paul Simon's "Graceland" album released in 1986 - his 7th and most successful solo album. Also the song Scarborough Fair was used in Déraciné, of which a very well-known version was recorded by the duo Simon and Garfunkel.

But regardless of nebulous date matching, what I find appealing about St. Judy's Comet is that 1) It's a lullaby released under the dominion of a Flower Moon. 2) It's about a saint. 3) Mergo = "Me ergo" = I think, therefore I am the 3rd tone of a musical scale. 4) It's ultimately an incorrect retcon of the original Armored Core emblem - most likely the "Judy's Comet" that was actually referenced in that game was the Japanese WWII plane named "Comet" that was reported as "Judy" on the Allied side. Which sums up to an impression that Mergo has some themes of "St. TRIna", who is similarly representing a retcon to an idealized past that never existed. Mergo is a maddening auditory hallucination that doesn't exist.

The "Third Umbilical Cord" is itself a musical reference. In one musical theory the circle of thirds helps to organize pitches. However, "umbilical" is a word that can also be applied to the end caps of a scroll, which are rolled up in a spiral. A more complex musical theory follows the spiral array model as an algorithmic process for using ascending spirals to select musical chords made of 3 notes.

So why single out these three musical acts in relation to Bloodborne - Blondie, Rush, and Paul Simon? Is there a common connection between them? Yes, actually. All three performed at the Hammersmith Odeon in England. Oedon = scrambled Odeon = scrambled "singing place". With "hammersmith' showing that even in a game without a blacksmith somehow there is a blacksmith after all.

And on the topic of hammers, Oscar Hammerstein II - son of theatre owner William Hammerstein - was the lyricist for the Sound of Music musical referenced briefly above. Something to put a pin in for future reference is that this was his last major work - he was afflicted with stomach cancer and died less than a year after the premier.

So is the Moon Presence Really Named Flora?

Yes and No.

"O Flora, of the moon, of the dream. O little ones, O fleeting will of the ancients. Let the hunter be safe, let her find comfort. And let this dream her captor, foretell a pleasant awakening. Be one day, a fond, distant memory." - Peculiar Doll

I would imagine that the moon that the doll is referencing is either the May "Flower Moon" of the Farmer's Almanac or the August "Yellow Flowers Blossom Moon" of the Osage. Or both is possible. Lumenflowers in Bloodborne have the form of the typically-yellow sunflower, but their colour is instead a pale blue. One of the other blue moon matches occurs in August, with the release of Dark Souls Prepare to Die edition in 2012. So that would make it another blue moon: "Blue-Yellow Flowers Blossom Moon".

"Flora" is mentioned by the Doll, Lumenflowers (pale blue sunflowers) are placed in front of the astral clock, Nanpure VOW and Iraroji VOW are twin games with different moons, Lady Maria and the Doll are twins. That would seem to make the Doll a proxy of the "Blue Killer of Flowers Moon", and that Lady Maria has a link with the Killer of Flowers moon as frost is what kills the flowers and she is distantly related to the frost-covered Castle Cainhurst. But the doll will only say the prayer after the blood moon rises, as if it was that occurence that caused the Moon Presence to shed a former identity and adopt a new one.

For the antagonistic Moon Presence the answer may be deceptively simple: The Hunter's Moon. That one time in the history of FromSoftware that a game was released on the day of a blood moon on October 28, 2004 it would have been a Hunter's Moon according to the Farmer's Almanac. The day that a bloodletting operation gone wrong resulted in damage to vocal chords, and the ensuing discordant noise led to confusion among the Hunters as to what they were even seeking to hunt for. And the only Flower moon before this would have been attached to Lost Kingdoms 2 on May 23, 2003.

There is no Great One in Bloodborne which resembles a heart, but the Moon Presence has the appearance of a circulatory system forming a lion's mane, gaping open ribcage, and prominent exposed spine. The Hunter Moon is likely seeking the same thing that the Hunters have lost: a "heart". And the player acts to fill the void of that missing heart for as long as they continue to play the game through new cycles - which is what is conveyed in the ending where the Moon presence presses the player to its face and then they take the place of Gherman. The dream is the game is the captor. "The Hunter is Captured by the Game".

Where to Go Next?

I have seen speculation that the stories of Yharnam, Kos, and Annalise are connected. I suspect that this is correct but the mechanics of "how" probably involve digging even deeper into the stacked layers of history/chalice dungeons/umbilical chords which is too big of a task for now. At a guess it builds on the concept of "Hell is other people" in such a way that a lot of the monsters have a specific human elsewhere in the game who is an alternate version of them (or are there multiple versions of some, with the chalice levels being the key?). Ultimately, within the conceit of the game the act of becoming an infant Great One is to not simply collect the four "third umbilical cords" but to understand what they mean.

[superiorsturgeon]

I think we as a society should do more of this. Catch me seductively spilling a glass of Barbera aged to the Gherman the First Hunter boss theme down my half-opened top!

I just found out the most hilariously amazing thing.

[dzvagabond]

In the Beginning

Here's a lore fic for Aiden, my Hunter from Blood//borne. It's set pretty in the beginning of the game with some canon changes to the game's story. It was written on: 09/28/22. Some context before reading: Aiden was adopted by Gascoigne and his family at a young age, before his girls, Elisa and Sarah, were born. [As always, Read More added for length]

Yharnam was a lot different from what Aiden had remembered. After waking in the Hunter's Dream and encountering Gherman again for what felt like the first time in years, being back in his home felt… off. The creatures had overtaken the usually quiet calm place and the hunters who usually patrolled were nowhere to be found. It was off-putting to the young hunter. Gascoigne, his mentor, his father, was normally the one in Central Yharnam and yet… He wasn't anywhere. 

'Maybe Gascoigne succumbed to the plague…?' He shook the thought from his mind, figuring he might have started patrolling closer to the chapel in the Cathedral Ward considering how many creatures were in the square.

After searching for what felt like hours, encountering various arseholes who're going mad due to isolation and hysteria, and a lovely gentleman named Gilbert; Aiden decided to try to head over to the flat he called his home all those years ago. 

'Maybe the girls would still be there with Viola. I hope they're safe from all of this madness.' 

Going through what felt like hordes of diseased, mad villagers, he made it to the flat albeit covered in blood. The smell of incense hit his nose, making him feel proud that they remembered the precaution after all this time. 

He walked up to the barred, lit window and softly knocked on the stained glass. A soft, nervous voice perked up at the sound of his knocking."H-hello..? Daddy?"

"Elisa, is that you?"

A soft gasp of what sounded like excitement came from the young girls' voice. "Aiden! You're okay!"

"Of course I'm alright, dear. Is Sarah and your mum with you?"

There was a slight hesitation from Elisa that immediately worried Aiden. He hoped nothing happened to either of them. 

"Mum… Mum went missing a few nights ago looking for Daddy. She forgot her music box again. B-but, Sarah is here with me, she's just asleep upstairs at the moment. Do you want me to go get her Aiden?" 

The hunter let out a sigh of relief. At least the children, his sisters, we're safe. Viola however… He would have to keep an eye out for her. Maybe she found his mentor and they decided to hole up somewhere for the time being. 

"No love, that's fine. Let her rest. I'm going to try to find mum and dad, alright? I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Please be safe brother, we don't want to lose you to this dreadfulness. Take mum's music box with you. Maybe if she or daddy hears it, they'll come straight to you."

Aiden smiled inwardly to himself as the small music box was pushed through a small gap in between the bars of the window. He gently picked it up and put it in the satchel at his side. "I promise I'll be safe and I'll take good care of mum's trinket. You two stay hidden and I'll see you soon." 

The two said their quick goodbyes and the hunter started making his way towards the Tomb of Oedon, where he knew there was a safe house close; not knowing the horrors that awaited him. 

__________________________________________

Aiden felt sick, felt guilty, felt immense pain in his chest as the realization of his actions had caught up to him. He didn't want to do it, but there was no other choice. Gascoigne was too far gone, had killed Viola in his blood-crazed stupor and didn't even recognize him, his own son. 

The hunter wanted to fall to his knees and cry out, yell out, beat out his frustration. But there were more pressing matters at hand. He had to get Elisa and Sarah to the Oedon Chapel. That's where Eileen said it was safe. There was an old hermit overseeing the place with incense where the girls could be safe until they could leave this wretched place. 

Aiden didn't have the heart to tell them what had happened once he arrived at the house. He kept Viola's broach hidden from them lest the two tried to do something drastic. Instead, he told them he couldn't find the two but they had to leave quickly. There was a sanctuary where they could stay together with other survivors from the village. 

The guilt would just have to eat away at the man, no matter what the cost. He couldn't lose them too.

[cryptosexologist]

^my tags anyways *slaps Gherman the First Hunter on the thigh* this bad boy can fit SO many brain disorders

[katyspersonal]

Hello! I have been following you for a long time now and I love all your in depth analysis stuff, it makes for such great conversations. When I first played Bloodborne, I ended up making a connection with Elden Ring that I wanted to ask you about, or if you had any thoughts on it! At this point, it really is just a silly headcanon. I drew connections to the Hoslow family through Gherman, noted first by Juno using Bloodhound step, which Gherman seemed to use as well. The armor that the Hoslows use has red jewels adorning them, which could be Blood Gems. Junos helmet resembles what could be a scythe, split open to reveal flowers, which to me resembled the flowers from the hunters dream, as well as the petals from their whips. Of course, the more obvious Tale of Hoslow is told in Blood. It’s not the most well thought out, but I thought you might enjoy it! Thanks for always providing interesting topics!

First, thank you very much! I am glad to know that you enjoy my blog <:3 I just really love discussing these videogames, but Bloodborne is my absolute favourite to speculate about!

Second, I am personally a big enjoyer of the ideas that tie different Soulsborne games together rather than keeping them as 100% separate universes, so I feel you here! The Sea that is hinted at in Elden Ring by people connected with undead-ness (jellyfish spirits, Godwyn and Tibia Mariners that hang out with Those who live in dead) is the same as in Dark Souls, which is also the same as in Bloodborne and I will die on this hill fdshfdhs

What you are referring to is moreso pattern recognition, since Fromsoft loves reusing themes and vibes, but I haven't thought of a similar vibes between the Hoslows and Gehrman before! My limit was 'omg Eleonora's bloody fire poleblade is just like Maria's for reallllll'. But scythe thing with petals and quickstepping and flowers and bloodshed and potential blood gems DOES feel very Gehrman-ish. Also the thing about Juno not wanting his brother to walk his path, like how Gehrman resists Hunter taking his place as host of the Dream, slightly? But I am thinking about stealing your headcanon about the red gems in Hoslow's armour and weapon being crystallized blood tbh x) Alberich's blood glintstone is just cosmic rocks corrupted by the bloody sacrifices, but what about some NORMAL blood crystallization? (yeahhh... a very "normal" thing..)