#unkindled ash

[theimpossiblescheme]

Ashen One . Alonso of Londor . Warrior of Sunlight . Former herald of the Way of White . Newly honored Knight of Catarina . Friend to Siegward, Greirat, Anri, Orbeck, Andre and even Patches . Publisher of two spellbooks in Orbeck's memory . Father figure to the Fire Keeper . Lover of Cornyx . Custodian of the New Age of Dark

[warriordragonart]

Pontiff’s Right Eye

“Bewitched ring that Pontiff Sulyvahn bestowed upon his knights.

Boosts attacks, as long as attacking persists.

Knights who peer into the black orb are lured into battles of death, transformed into frenzied beasts. No wonder the Pontiff only provides these rings to those dispatched to foreign lands.”

Or: Part one of two of my Soulsborne girls having something very wrong with their eyes.

[demilypyro]

I love how fucked up Dark Souls 3 is geographically. The lands "converging" is such a cool way to indicate that everything is going wrong. The age of fire has been stretched so far that even the laws of physics are unravelling. Time was always convoluted, but now space is too. Locations are positioned mostly on vibes. The desert kingdom of Carthus is underneath the wooded Farron Keep, not because it makes any goddamn sense, but because the two kingdoms were historically at odds, and are now doomed to be stuck together. Bridges lead to nowhere, the ground is full of open fissures. Cultures long dead are brought back through the unkindled ash. Anor Londo is there

[angel-advise]

the unkindled will rise. nameless, accursed undead, unfit even to be cinder. and so it is, that ash seeketh embers.

[wodenscild]

Mmm i wanna ramble for a bit about soulsborne games. I have played through DS1, 2, 3, Bloodborne, & Elden Ring at this point. & all of them have their own unique strengths & weaknesses. I was introduced to the series through DS1 Remastered so I’ll start there!

Honestly? I love it with all my heart! I love the interconnectivity of the world! I love the NPCs! I love the story & atmosphere! How there are still echos of the age of ancients within the age of fire! I love the feeling of getting lost & ending up somewhere like Ash Lake or the back entrance of Darkroot Garden! & OMGS the obtuse mechanics! Like genuinely I love how obscure some of the stuff in this game is! From Vagrants to Grave Lording I feel like there is just a lot of neat things & always more to learn! I think the only things I don’t like are the limited casts on spells & pyromancies! & how you are fully stymied when using estus! I also appreciate how you can just level up at any bonfire, without having to see a specific NPC like you have to in 2, 3, & Bloodborne! It is still my favourite game in the entire series.

Dark Souls 2 is… interesting kdfksk you can tell Miyazaki wasn’t at the helm of this game. People shit on this game a lot, saying it is the worse of the series. I wouldn’t call it the worse, rather than it is just weaker than the others. It doesn’t have that same emotional oomph. What I do like about the game is the introduction of power stancing! Something which doesn’t return until Elden Ring! I do love the maze like map design within each map! I love the enemy designs! I love the bonfire ascetic system! Letting you advance individual areas to the next NG cycle! And cos this game locks certain things behind NG+ & beyond, that is both cool and useful! & I love the Covenant of Champions! &… that’s about all I liked dkckd the big flaws that has stood out to me was estus healing times, enemies stopping being respawned after the 12th kill (which is annoying if you are farming for souls or loot- Cov of Champs does allow them, but idk it is just annoying & it is telling that this covenant is only present in the Scholar of the First Sin edition), statues locked with Fragrant Branches of Yore, the health decreases when hollowed (which I know harkens back to Demon’s Souls, & DS2 is a lot more forgiving with this- but I think the health changes between hollow/human is done best in DS3, where rather than hollowing/unkindling decreases your max HP, & shows that on the health bar- it instead increases your max HP when human/kindled, & that changes the health bar- less emphasis on an item that comes in relatively low supply). Also the enemy AI’s feel weird, the number of areas that are intended for multiplayer is annoying on many levels (glares at the Black Gulch, & the path to the Blue Smelter Demon), & hhh yeah. I will say tho, I am pretty neutral on ADP! I like the concept that you can invest in your iFrames when rolling! & I appreciate how they reworked the level up costs with this stat in mind! & I then also appreciate how they balanced the game around being at higher soul levels cos of how cheap it is! & then implemented soul memory to de-emphasise soul level based match making! DS2 id the awkward teenager of the DS games- you can tell it isn’t made by Miyazaki. It had hella cool concepts! But it also was just annoying to play. It feels weak emotionally, but is still a decent time to play! It is kinda the Subnautica Below Zero of the Dark Souls games FDLSLDKC

Imma talk about Bloodborne next as it is the next to release in the series chronologically! Iirc this is the project Miyazaki was working on while DS2 was being developed! It is also the game that launched Soulsborne into major public consciousness. & it is easy to see why! The vibes & design are just on point! A beautiful hybrid of gothic & lovecraftian horror! The game has so many cool features! Iirc this is the first one in the series to have a stat explicitly influence your discovery stat! Good gods the fast healing with blood vials! THE TRICK WEAPONS! The music! The bosses! & man imo up until this point never has a DLC felt so seemlessly part of the base game! I love the concept of chalice dungeons! ESPECIALLY how there are community dungeons that aid with grinding up blood echos, insight, and blood stones! & Ofc the story & lore of this game is wonderful, & will just leave you asking & wanting more! Tbh I don’t have much to say about what I don’t like- other than needing to see a specific NPC to level up, early access to warp which de-emphasises exploring somewhat- & how this is the first game of the series to not let you upgrade your armours, a feature that has stuck with us up to Elden Ring (which sucks for Fashion Souls lovers who wanna wear gender armour but also have protection too <//3).

DS3 feels like a love letter to DS1. It has that same emotional oomph that DS1 had, & feels like it is part of the same universe. So there is a lot of insight that DS1 can gleem into DS3! I have already mentioned how much nicer DS3’s health management is with their hollowing/unkindling. You can see a lot of influence of Bloodborne in this game! Especially within Irythill, from its design to its enemies! This game iirc is the first to introduce FP! So no more hard limits on the number of times you can cast your pyromancies, spells, & miracles! The game feels a lot more polished! & idk what it is but I feel so much more inclined to explore this world! & this game rewards it so hard! I also love the insane number of mimics here too XD I think I have had more mimic chests than non-mimics! What I find annoying tho about this game is that again you can’t upgrade your armours- which sucks! Cos there are some hella cool armours I would love to wear more! But alas <//3 it is a reflection on the designers wanting to make combat in these games more proactive than defensive. I again am not a big fan of having levelling up tied to an NPC over just at the bonfire. & I am kinda sad too see power stancing (tho we do have paired weapons), ADP & bonfire ascetics leave us behind! Bonfire ascetics would have been a great addition to this game! Especially cos there are items locked behind the later NG cycles! & they absolutely could have used this as an opportunity to include the black phantoms of these later cycles too like DS2 did!

Lastly (cos I haven’t played Sekiro or Demon’s Souls yet) is Elden Ring. The Breath of the Wild of the Soulsborne games! I love this game! It is large! Immersive! Easy to get lost in! Fun! & just- it is an experience! I appreciate how this game lets you level up at the bonfires/graces again! It isn’t as immersion breaking this way & you can just keep on slogging through! The story is interesting! & the number of secrets you can find just by poking around is truely wonderful on so many levels! & I keep coming back to this game! The only other game other than DS1 that I play the higher cycles on! I think the only 2 things I don’t like about this game is again lack of armour levelling, & the lack of multiplayer that just happens to you. Player invasions are turned off unless you have summoned a player, which sorta sucks as someone who always enjoyed being invaded at random & having a goof ball fight (I know you can use the Dried Finger iirc to allow invasions without a summon but it just doesn’t feel the same, ya know?). There isn’t anything like the Grave Lord servants to randomly make your world harder & you gotta invade them to stop the black phantoms. There isn’t anything like the Blue Sentinels or grey spirits to be summoned without a summon sign to help other players. & all of this can make Elden Ring feel a bit lonely. Which is inevitable with open world games, & this sorta stuff would’ve helped a tonne with easing that.

DOFKSKF ANYWAY BIG RAMBLE ABOUT THESE GAMES. THEY ARE ALL PRETTY NEAR REGARDLESS. If I had to rank them it would DS1, 3, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, then DS2 dkdkdksjd all of them are good all things considered! Best lore games are DS1 & 3. Best exploration 3 & Elden Ring. Best combat Bloodborne, 3 & Elden Ring. Best sequence breaking DS1 & Elden Ring. Best NG+ experience DS2 & 3. Best obtuse mechanics DS1. &- yeah that’s it dkfksk

[groundskeeperosha]

Utur is doing a Utur activity, when randomly yellow smog appears in a thick, vaguely humanoid shape next to them. Then it disappears, and they are met with... one of the wideest brimmed hats they've ever seen. Also a large sword, though not as large as some that Jackie's handled, pre-emptively stabbed into the ground for dramatic effect. A shield covers the hands assumably gripping the grip of the handle.

The person lifts their head to look at Utur, and they are wearing a plague doctor's mask, with the glass eyes slightly covered in white ash. They are simply staring at Utur in the current moment.

-@unkindled-silver, Kin

*Utur stares back*

um. are you okay? is this normal for you

*They... look extremely confused right now*

[cicaklah]

pairing: Diana/47

fake fic title: the night isn't dark (not with you)

A fic I wouldn't write is absolutely a schmoopy death fic where Diana thinks she's dying but it's actually 47 who is dying.

But then my brain was dark souls au where 47 is the unkindled ash and Diana is the fire keeper and they conspire to get the age of dark. But now I actually want to write it.

[mintwater]

Buried Embers

within the ashes were buried embers, viable, but unkindled -- and in another timeline we played this experiment out: danced and cried, lashed out and apologized, loved each other and proved it. i caressed you, until past-present-and-future was a rhyme, and one day, we died. somber, but without regret, without regret all i needed was your help, and all you needed was mine

[blackjackkent]

Pairing: Unkindled/Firekeeper Warnings: None Word Count: ~740 Setting: Dark Souls 3, directly after the End of Fire ending

A/N: Random little flashfic vignette that my brain insisted on spitting out after thinking about DS3 for the first time in a while and having feels about the End of Fire. Honestly I have a whole longfic in mind about an Unkindled's journey towards this ending that I would like to write, but idk if I will ever actually get around to it, so this is what I have produced instead, at least for the time being.

Idk how good this is or how much sense it will make to anyone besides me. XD Like DS itself, it operates more upon vibes than sense. But here it is for anyone with interest in such things, and hopefully my brain will let me go to bed now. <3

-------

“Ashen one… hearest thou my voice still?” she asks. 

All is dark. The first flame has burned out at last; not even embers remain. And with it has gone all light out of the world, even that pale ring of fire that had been the sun’s last dying form. The blackness is absolute.

He breathes - once in, once out. Then again. The kiln smells of charred bones. 

The firekeeper speaks again, her voice like the whisper of silk on skin. “Ashen one… what we have done may not be undone. Dost thou still hear me?”

He turns his head, listening. In the silence of the darkened world, he can hear the gentle susurration of her feet through the infinite ash that blankets the kiln. So many have died in this place, fed themselves to the fire in pursuit of immortality for a god long dead. But no more bodies will burn here now. They have seen to that. 

They have seen to the end of the world.

“What have we wrought, ashen one?” she asks him. There is a tremble in her voice. “Surely we were not wrong? The world had stretched itself to breaking, its only respite to be found in utter surcease… It was a kindness we did, and yet I did not, in all my visions, sense how cold it would be…”

He feels that chill as well, seeping through his armor. It is not a chill merely of the air, but of the world itself. Its heart has been stopped; its flame-blood no longer flows. 

It matters not to him, of course. He is not alive, in spite of his breath and the twitch of his flesh, but merely a construct molded of the remnants of those who came before. No matter how cold this long night grows, he will not freeze. 

But she might…

The thought stirs him from his torpor, as his own discomfort did not. Were he abandoned to witness this sea of black in solitude, he might have sat there unmoving for many hours before finding the will to rouse himself. But he is not alone. 

The fire has faded, and the world with it. But she is still here, as she has been waiting at the end of every battle since he was pulled gasping from the grave. She has been his voice, as he has been her eyes. She has given him strength, and he has acted for both of them in pursuit of a new world. And now, even in the endless darkness, he is not alone because she is with him. 

He stands. His armor rasps metal on metal with the movement. He hears her soft exhalation, a sigh of relief. 

“I hear thee, ashen one. Wilt thou come to me? Canst take my hand?”

He reaches out blindly, led only by the sound of her voice and that nearly imperceptible sound of ash under her feet. His gauntleted hand brushes the sleeve of her robe, and then her fingers close around his with a desperate intensity that he can feel even through steel and leather. She tugs his hand to pull him to her; he cannot see her but he feels her weight as she leans into his chest, her forehead pressed to his breastplate just above his heart. 

“I know I am not wrong in what I saw,” she says softly. “A new flame will kindle itself, dancing across the darkness. We could take no other course than this; we could not hope for a new world while the old one still writhed and struggled for breath.”

It is a plea for reassurance, for comfort. He says nothing still, but releases his grip on her and begins, methodically, to strip the gauntlets from both his hands. Each metal glove falls into the ashen dune with a soft thump. When she reaches out for him again, their fingers interlace, warm skin on warm skin that says what he cannot say in words.

She relaxes; her voice softens to almost a whisper. “Yes. If we walk side by side in this darkness, there shall be nothing left to fear. Thou wilt stay with me, to see this new world together?”

He lifts her hand and presses his lips silently against her knuckles. 

Her breath catches, releases shakily. “Then this is how it shall be. We shall traverse the roads of black, and I shall be at thy side.”

[uncleasriel]

FromSoft Starter Guide For Everything Except Sekiro

FromSoft is a company known for their challenging (but manageable games. A lot of folks want to try them, but hit some rough parts getting started. Since almost FromSoft game (with the exception of Sekiro, which is just Built Different[1]) has a lot of the same gameplay loops and mechanics, I figured I'd list few common common techniques that can help you get started for pretty much every one (Except Sekiro. See my footnote below[1]). My advice here is not necessarily the be-all, end-all, but it enough to get you started and feeling comfortable enough to carry you through to the end-game. In SHort, they are:

Prepare To Die

Prioritize Permanent Investments Over Consumables

Level Up Your HP Stat

Explore The Environment

Upgrade Your Weapon

Co-Op Frequently, And In Other Folks' Worlds, And Often

Read Item Descriptions

Have Fun

1. Prepare to die.

I know, I know. This sounds like shitty advice, among the same level of usefulness as "git gud." But when I say you should prepare to die, I mean that dying from an encounter is not only normal, it's to be expected. The developers made death a core part of not only their gameplay loops, but also their lore. Dying repeatedly (and coming back again and again and again) is the exact intended experience. You are Undead, or Unkindled Ash, or The Good Hunter, or The Tarnished you dying, and for Plot Reasons you are incapable of staying dead. You'll just pop back at the spawn, ready try again.

Treat this as a learning experience. Something got you, and now that it has, you know its deadly tricks. As Frank Herbert taught us, "Knowing there's a trap is the first step in evading it" and now you know that This Area Has Poison, or That Shadowy Area Has Things That Grapple And Eat Your Face you will prepare you for the next run. Plus, if you drop a large payload of Souls/Blood Echoes/Runes you can always run back, grab said Souls/Blood Echoes/Runes then race to the spawn point. Even if you lose them, don't worry. Trust me when I say there will always be more where that came from.

2. Prioritize Permanent Investments Over Consumables

Consumables can be bought at merchants, and the longer you play, the more of them you can find or farm. Early game you'll be tempted to buy them, but the thing about consumables is that when they're gone, they're gone! Buying something permanent (like a new weapon, or armor, or upgrade material) will go a long way. This isn't to say that you should never buy consumables (Hell, Bloodborne's healing system requires it!) but you should always remember that when they're gone, they're gone - and so are the souls/echoes/runes you spent on them.

3. Level Up Your HP Stat

Even with taking the approach that Each Death Is A Teachable Moment, you're still gonna want to avoid having too many deaths, if only because loading screens are less interesting to watch than actual gameplay. Thus, you'll want to see fewer of them.

Leveling HP literally increased the number of hits you can take before a loading screen, giving you more time to pop off a healing item and keep fighting that good fight. Eventually you'll want to stop leveling this (Somewhere between forty and sixty, depending on which specific game and/or build you're playing) but until you each those caps, it's never a bad idea to spend your Level Up XP on hitpoints.

4. Explore The Level

There are plenty of secrets hiding, even in the early levels! Go diving into nooks, crannies and weird corners, seeing what can be seen! Oftentimes, among clusters of tough enemies, are are glowing Items that can be picked up and retrieved by rushing in - you keep the items you gain when you die - you only lose your Souls/Echoes/Runes between loading screens, and even tehn they require retrieval. Doing a suicide run to That Special Glowy Thing can pay off unexpected dividends.

As well, exploration can revealing hidden shortcuts that speed up traversal around levels. You can also meet helpful NPCs who can be merchants, teachers, and have fun questlines which break your heart are delightful and silly and give you cool items! Remember: try not to harm the NPCs - you can tell whether they're enemies by whether or not you can lock onto them. A friendly NPC can go a long way in teasing out the game's lore and setting, though don't be surprised if you don't finish their questline on your first play-through - FromSoft designs their quests to be deliberately obscure.

5. Upgrade Your Weapon

In most of the games, the starting weapons that come with your class range between okay to solid. decent. While some individual choices are less than ideal (*glares at the Bandit class*) the rest either are solid melee weapons or else have respectable starting spells.

Exploring the levels can reveal lots of helpful upgrade materials, and even getting them from +0 to +1 which makes them do a lot more damage with each hit. Taking the weapon or magic catalyst to blacksmiths or workbenches (usually located near a hub or bonfire) will bring out more in your weapon. Just remember that while you'll eventually get infinite upgrade materials to take you weapons to about halfway of their upgrade tree (usually +3 to +6 in most FromSoft games), this comes later. Usually, it's wise to commit to a solid early weapon wealy on - I recommend shortswords and longswords for beginners, but if you find yourself falling in love with a rapier or katana or Something Fancy, feel free to switch to that.

6. Co-Op Frequently, And In Other Folks' Worlds, And Often

On my first playthrough, I was so scared of playing online and looking bad in front of other players. "What if I die like a chump in front of someone? What will they think of me? Will I be paired with folks who are so much better, and outclass me? " I played offline, hollowed, and barely reached out to others..

This is, in retrospect, silly. These games are designed with co-op elements for a reason. By playing online, you get the notes (which alternate between incredibly helpful and absolutely hilarious in tone), bloodstains (which show you how others died, turning their teachable moments into yours as well) and, most importantly, synchonous multiplayer. Whether it's putting down Summon Signs, ringing your Small Resonant Bell, or using the Fingers in a Summon Pool, offering to help others is one of the most delightful and rewarding parts of the experiences.

By the time you've gotten the Multiplayer Items, you've probably noticed that, when you die and don't collect your Souls/Echoes/Runes, they're Gone For Good. This is entirely how the gameplay works - in your world. But when you visit another players's world? Everything you earn from killed foes returns with you when you return to your world.

This means you can earn oodles of Souls/Echoes/Runes by just camping in front of the same Boss Walk, and doing it over and over again. You can afford to take risks, because (so long as your host doesn't die) they can resummon you again and again using the same Humanity/Insight/Furlcalling Finger Remedy from the same starting point. On a good run, even a newer player and a weaker Host can make a lot of progress by summoning the same guy over and over to clear through all the monsters, get all the loot, and turn even a slog into a delightful day out. What's better - you get to learn the layout of the place, get more comfortable with the enemies there, and gain aboatload of experience in the process.

Eventually you'll start to carry weaker players and show them the way through - it's one of the most delightful feelings ever. Sure, there are Invaders here and there - but you always be summoned again, to fight another day.

7. Read Item Descriptions

These will give fantastic advice on how to use them, and tease out bits of lore. It's surprising how easily folks miss this, and how often reading an item description can reveal a clue that can make a boss much easier or help reveal a Shocking Secret about the history of the setting.

8. Have Fun

It's corny as hell, but it's true. These games are meant to be played so they can be beaten. When you've spent all your Souls/Echoes/Runes at the end of levelling up, splurge a little on some weird item. Try following one of those notes that says "Treasure ahead" at the edge of a cliff, or experiment with that weird item you found. it might be awesome! It might be useless! It might be hilarious! Regardless - these games are meant to be played, and to delight, so leap into it!

FromSoft games are hard, but I sincerely believe the reputation that "FromSOft Is SOOO Hardcore "reputation is grossly overrated. They can be frustrating, at the end of the day they were design to give you an enjoyable challenge. For all the jokes about "lol, you died" the design teams and even the other players want you to succeed.

While these games pose daunting challenges, they are also made with loving care that generously grants you the tools to overcome the challenges they set. I firmly believe that their difficulty is based more on obscurity of handing out How To Play information than raw Skill Challenge, and the means of overcoming this obscurity is through trial and error. Not everyone has the time for that. But that's why I wrote this guide. It's enough to help you to get started

I hope you found this guide helpful. It's probably not going to be the be-all, end-all for FromSfot advice, but it should be enough to help you get started. Please, let me know if there's anything I left out, or anything you wish I'd mentioned. I want to help folks get into these games as much as possible, so any feedback is welcome!

PRAISE THE SUN!

Footnotes

[1] Sekiro does have quite a few Souls-like elements, like the use of Idols checkpoints, doors you can later unlock to create shortcuts, replaying levels over and over until you have mastery of their geography and monster layouts, and so on. But the game's lack of a conventional leveling or weapons upgrade system puts it in a different methodology of play - in a Souls game, using some of the tricks I mention by farming enemies for items or XP is a fine strategy to power through tougher moments. In Sekiro, you have to learn the specific set of inputs and specific mechanic needed to overcome the boss ahead of you. It's much tighter, but at the cost of demanding it be played in a highly specific specific way. It's a great game, but my advice is less useful here.

[nohrianseneschal]

Let the Ashes Crumble (WIP)

DS3 fanfic with Eygon/Irina

excerpted wip below the cut

“Eygon?”

He did not reply, but she could tell he was listening. After traveling together for so long, one could sense these things — the slight shift in his weight, or the attentive grip of his gaze. Irina wished he would show her his wound and let her heal it with her palm, imbued with the lost souls of ages past.

In the face of his stubbornness, she inched closer. “What if,” she began, but before she could continue, she bit down on her lower lip. Irina averted her face, letting the loose strands of her silver hair billow over her eyes.

“What?”

“What if I failed?”

Again, silence.

Irina understood silence. She could read in it the tumultuous churn of his emotions. Confusion, astonishment, and, unexpectedly, wonder. Eygon wasn’t entirely displeased by this question, but she knew he resisted the temptation to push it further; to stoke the fire she had unwittingly lit.

“You can’t fail,” he eventually answered. “Besides, I don’t see how. One more step, and we’re almost at the kindling.”

Irina smiled. Of course, it wasn’t a matter of whether or not she could. It was a question of volition. What if, in the end, Irina no longer wanted to bind herself to sacrifice? To be a firekeeper meant to conclude her journey. By extension, it would be the end of Eygon’s, and Irina was well aware of what happened to knights who have fulfilled their duty. 

Nothing but an end. The finality of death. Freedom from the undying curse, and an eternity where they must be parted, their souls divided through the many cycles of rekindling.

She wished she could relay these fears, these nightmares which plagued her with each passing day. They had left Carim together on a mission, but now Irina no longer knew if it mattered. Carim must have become ruins since they left, and the people they once loved might be long dead. They had no one else left. She had no one else left, and once Eygon is gone, there will only be darkness, and the writhing souls that nip and bite at the sanctuary of her mind.

With a sigh, Irina sat on a boulder next to Eygon. She sensed his discomfort, his body growing rigid now that she drew closer. 

“What if,” she tried again, “I want to fail?”

To her surprise, his answer came quickly.

“Then it is my sworn duty,” he said, “to put you to rest.”

Irina expected as much. She felt neither dread nor fear. Only relief. If she had to die, let it be by his hand; let it be by his side. Better than to wait, forever alone for a Chosen Unkindled, trapped in the memories of countless Firekeepers before her. 

“I’m glad, dear friend,” she said, her breath light and airy. “If it’s by your hand, I don’t mind. Only,” she hesitated, tilting her head so it rested on his pauldron, “touch me one last time before you fulfill your oath.”

Next to her, Eygon is unmoved. Beneath his helm, he seemed to mull it over. What turmoil must he be going through? She wondered. She would never know, of course. He would never remove his helm or his armor. They would never know each other beyond the roles they failed to play.

“So this is it, then?” Eygon muttered under his breath. His tone was churlish, as if she had asked him to complete a tedious chore. “You’ll give up, just like that? This knight wasn’t sworn to protect a failure.”

Irina chuckled at that. “I know. You deserve a better maiden — one who would not fail you.”

He scoffed at that, as if her sentiments were a nuisance to him. Then, just as suddenly, his shoulders went slack. Only then did Irina notice that he had not moved her hand away from his pauldron. 

“You did not fail me,” he said, a little more pensively. “Perhaps it is I— no, no use arguing about that now.”

Irina nodded. She understood. They both failed, in the end. They both found devotion in something other than their quest, and in Carim, that was the most profane act of all.

“Then let us stay here,” she said, moving her hand so that her palm rested atop his knuckles. “Let us wait and keep our lonely watch. So long as you’re with me, I won’t mind the dark.”

His heavy armor clinked raucously as he turned and rose abruptly. “I will agree to no such thing,” he solemnly declared. Without another word, he marched right off. 

Irina called out to him. She shot her hand out, hoping it would graze his figure.

There was nothing. Eventually, the sound of his footsteps faded. He left her alone. Unable to perform his duty as a knight, he had abandoned her. Perhaps, she thought with great comfort, he would make the return journey home. 

[warriordragonart]

A cover illustration for my and @imagimationart’s WIP Dark Souls 3 fanfic! It’s a novelisation of our co op playthrough, following our two Ashen Ones, Lia (the Darkmoon knight, my character) and Leshy (the Abyss Watcher, Riley’s character)

[paris-rokin]

6, 26, 43?

Why did you do that? Well it just seemed like the thing to do

A scenario that you've replayed multiple times? The one where I'm an unkindled ash trying to make the lords of cinder link the flame

What's your take on spicy foods? I used to be a weenie and everyone made fun of me. Now that I'm allergic to most things, spicy is one of the few flavors I can safely have, so I like the burning now. It amuses me to offer my salsa to other people and watch them suffer.

Sweet & spicy or cheesy & spicy have always been two of my favorite flavor combos, even back when I couldn't handle much spice

[maldrontheassassin]

🕯️

─╠═► Send 🕯️to hear Maldron's inner thoughts about you! | ACCEPTING

There was a deep breath. Amidst the various knights and heroes that sit and while their hours away, there was not one that escaped the knight's gaze.

Of them, only one was bypassed as he schemed and scrutinized. Only one in Firelink Shrine went without consideration if a shield, if knives, or if his lance would be best used to dispatch them.

Only one was present, with whom he felt safe. In ways that the assassin did not consider possible. It was a relationship bereft of the push and pull with which he toyed with others. There was only someone who was willing to give, and give, and give, and here he was... taking and taking.

So much that it was too easy to abuse that trust, too easy to push her -- an innocent by all accounts -- to the wayside in his selfish pursuits.

There was never rage, there was never outspoken fury or curses slung in his name. There was nothing to spite about this woman. All the while being someone who could not be cast from his sight.

No matter how simple the joys were, bringing creatures and monsters around the Shrine to wreak havoc for those who yearned for rest... this Unkindled Ash, whose life's purpose was to spite the world that took everything from him still went unfulfilled. Her somber pleas and distraught noises were... pathetic, compared to the shouts and cries that fueled him.

For once, Maldron realized; he felt guilt for how his actions affected her. Admissions of this, staring it dead in the eyes, would stand to unravel him. So, he would play it off - he would bury it deep and instead treat the Firekeeper as a blind spot in his worldview. Odd as it may be, that was the simplest way to partition it.

...If only that was the truth. Far truer, but so alien to the man that he would never even consider the notion, was that he was guilty because he was fond of her.

[theros]

i find it very amusing that even when it comes to human fictotypes, I can't do human right.

Prompto is the most normal human out of any of them and he's a clone (who was slated to become a daemonified soldier before being kidnapped as an infant).

JB is human, but has a very alterhuman experience with another side of himself which has been treated as a separate entity he could communicate with before. He struggles to accept this other side of himself due to trauma and it manifests in a similar experience to having a system member you can speak and communicate with, but who doesn't have enough solid differentiation to be a full other person yet. Similar to facets/shards/whatever your preferred language for this type of system member is.

Joshua is human, but has prophetic abilities because his mother was a specific type of human who can see vivid prophecy under specific circumstances. He was also raised by cougar-shifters from a very young age and doesn't relate to other humans, even when introduced to some as an adult in an attempt to integrate him with "his own kind". He acts much the same as the shifters who raised him and accepts the occasional brutality of their ways and world in a way that disturbs humans who were raised by humans.

LY comes from a race with bat/dragon wings (which make him a favorite among young dragons, and also causes the fully nonhuman races to trust and relate to him more than they might with regular humans).

And the Unkindled (both of them, though I tend to discuss them as if they're a single kintype for simplicity's sake) are a type of undead characterized by their connection to ash/embers/fire and our tendency to lose our humanity if pushed to the limit or to deep despair, but that's more of a general undead thing in that world.

I don't think I've ever even flickered a character who was a normal human either. Hells, my most recent humanoid flickers have been a ghoul, an angel, an animated doll... and another clone.

[caxycreations]

Streaming Dark Souls 3 on Twitch!

Teaching Allu the ways of the Unkindled in Dark Souls 3! Come watch us topple monsters and slaughter gods as Allu learns to walk like true Ash!