#emerald herald

[zozoru]

commission

#dark souls 2 #ds2 #majula #emerald herald #fanart #from software #bonfire #illustation #yellow #orange

[zevranstits]

first drawing this year uwu

#dark souls #dark souls 2 #emerald herald #shanalotte #bearer of the curse #dark souls fanart #soulsborne #dark souls 2 scholar of the first sin #fanart #ds2 #digital drawing #digital art #my artwrok #art #video games

[empthylee]

Pharros' hot spring♨️

#dark souls 2 #bearer of the curse #emerald herald #vengarl of forossa

[heraldofcrow]

Ok, so Crest’s new video on the internal data names for Dark Souls 2 is out and wow. This game. Wtf.

—

First off, this name makes perfect sense for Shanalotte, aka the “I’m part dragon because of experiments” girl that is somehow the game’s firekeeper but also…not? She’s really interesting to me when in comparison to the other Souls bonfire maidens, and there’s this odd bit of story separation with her. She seems really independent of us in little ways, and maybe her motives with wanting us to link the fire are tied strictly to her own personal beliefs, not just because it’s her duty. Also, it seems like her name could be more accurately translated to “Dragon Priestess” which is…even more fascinating. Her mystery will never not engage me.

Pate is Patches. Dark Souls 2 always had Patches and we all knew it. Even if he doesn’t have the same VA, we just know the archetype is there. Even his “mild-mannered” and silver-tongued persuasion is accurate to the general character. Personally, I think it’s pretty funny that they still found a way to insert the conniving bastard into this game.

He’s apparently just Ornstein….which is obvious, but admittedly it’s confusing as hell. In my eyes, this is Ornstein mid-journey and on his way to find NK. We get to fight him in-game for fun, but in the “time is convoluted” world of Dark Souls, that never actually happened. Ornstein went on his way just fine. Alternative interpretations are always welcome though.

SEA SOLAIRE!! LUCATIEL IS THE SOLAIRE OF DS2 AND WE ALL KNEW IT!! This honestly makes me emotional, because she really did get us all in the feels the way Solaire did, and the theme of slow decay/hollowing and the desperation to stop it is so poignant for both characters. They’re uniquely written too, which I appreciate because even though it’s the same archetype, Lucatiel and Solaire both stand out as individuals as well. My beautiful and sad blorbos </3

Ok, so Creighton and Benhart are/were apparently father and son…which is kinda cool? It’s too bad the final game didn’t cement any connection besides their crest sigils, but I’d still accept it as canon, personally.

She’s just like me fr

Lucatiel’s older brother! This is the first time I’ve seen him unmasked and it’s kinda sad. He was just a normal lad.

Agdayne is a Jojo reference, guys. It’s true. Darklurker is his stand 💀

(In all seriousness, I wonder what the actual connection here was? It’s fascinating).

And finally, to absolutely nobody’s surprise! I hate this so much lmaoooo. I also can’t get it out of my head now that Dark Souls 2 is full of random Star Wars references and that’s what gives it such a unique and alien vibe compared to the other games 💀 (I mean, even the Desert Sorceresses look a bit like Leia’s slave getup in Return of the Jedi skdjdksks).

—

Anyway, this was bizarre and as usual, I can see the verge, or the vague image of how complex DS2 was originally meant to be. There’s just so much going on here, but it doesn’t seem like they put the time into really finishing it. I still love this game, flaws and all, but I do wish they would have…actually finished it.

#this is gonna plague my brain for hours now #i really do love ds2 but it needs fixing in a lot of spots #dark souls #dark souls 2 #emerald herald #lucatiel of mirrah #patches dark souls #creighton the wanderer #benhart of jugo #covetous demon #grave warden agdayne #dragonslayer ornstein #crestfallen #CrowNotes

[jauffre]

MAJULA: THE FAR FIRE (x)

#* #*ds #*sb #dark souls #dark souls ii #soulsborne #majula #emerald herald #dark souls 2 #oh my gosh hiiiiii #i joked w celeste about getting back into making gifs but then they taught me the magic of vapoursynth and im sold

[bri-the-nautilus]

Inspired by a conversation on Discord about people misspelling Bonfire Ascetic

dark souls 2 my beloved

#ds2 #dark souls 2 #dark souls #soulsborne #nashandra #emerald herald #shanalotte #elana the squalid queen #fake insta post #fake instagram

[sewercentipede]

#liikeee……. #I need her outfit #emerald herald #shanalotte #ds2 #dark souls 2 #fashion #transparent #fromsoftware

[minespatchart]

Shannalotte's dialogue popped in my head and my apophenia thought about the hungry caterpillar.

#minespatch #fromsoft fanart #my art #soulsborne #dark souls 2 #emerald herald #shanalotte #the very hungry caterpillar

[bonedwoo]

#elden ring #demons souls #dark souls 2 #fromsoftware #rya #rennala queen of the full moon #melina #emerald herald #mephistopheles #yuria of londor #ranni the witch #lucatiel of mirrah #tarnished

[psychedslash]

#demon's souls #the maiden in black #dark souls ii #emerald herald #bloodborne #this town's finished #plain doll #dark souls iii #fire keeper #sekiro: shadows die twice #emma #she doesn't let you level up but she does improve your healing gourd so close enough #elden ring #melina #dark souls' lack of a mysterious lady who levels you up is unfortunate

[cdlum]

a sunny day in majula (for martini)

#emerald herald #ds2 #fanart #2022

[ponderousorb]

Soulsborne Ladies

#emerald herald #ranni the witch #maiden in black #soulsborne #elden ring #demons souls #dark souls 2 #fanart #dark souls #my art

[heraldofcrow]

Okay for something less chaotic: select 5 Dark Souls 2 blorbos! Except for Aldia and Lucatiel because they're self-explanatory and will only rig the list xD I mean the less obvious blorbos!

P.S.: Turns out that Navlaan is Shabriri at home and idk how to feel about it

NAVLAAN IS SHABRIRI AT HOME!!

Ok yes, my DS2 blorbos, FINALLY!

—

Shanalotte 🍀

My girl comes first because she is the most well known character, but she is MORE than just the level up girl that says “Bear seek seek lest” and all that lmao.

Shan was the original Melina, in that she was waaaayyy deeper and more mysterious that one would initially think, which is actually kinda sad because all of the Soulsborne level-up girls are considered the heroines of the story and usually are more complicated than they seem.

But anyway, Shan is by far one of the most developed, to the point where she even got a really unique CG model in the DS2 trailers.

(Seen here. Thank Fromsfotware Hoarder once again).

She also has some really cool unused concept art and LOOK AT HER. She has a very Druidian look that gives off a “traditional fantasy” vibe that Dark Souls usually tends to warp with other designs. Also, the pic where she’s T-posing….I will never shut up about her ornaments and that big-ass dagger. Melina vibes for sure.

There are some miiild downgrades for her actual in-game model IN MY OPINION, but nothing too drastic. I just wish they had kept her little forehead gem, but she looks great otherwise.

Beyond design, she is also just a fascinating character. I love that she was…created? She is like the Doll in that sense, but she wasn’t a memory ornament. She was an attempt to achieve immortality, which actually isn’t an unintelligent idea on humanity’s part. Dragons are eternal after all, but uhh…it’s unethical of course. (Idk why I am very drawn to characters that were born from human experimentation but I just love them okay).

Shan being part dragon is bizarre and I love it. She also has her own motivations in trying to break the human curse. Part of me thinks it’s because she wants to avoid any more children being used for grotesque creations like she was. Just that touch of agency and personal interest makes her appealing to me. I could go on about her all day and I’m sure you now see that I’m not very normal about her. Lowkey been simping since I first played DS2 in late 2014 or whatever.

I even wrote her a little story with the DS2 protag back in the day. I’d like to rewrite it and publish maybe. Anyway yeah, Shanalotte is my DS2 beloved besides Lucatiel.

Alsanna ❄️

“ALSANNAAAAAA”—Ivory King. Maybe.

You may not know of the DS2 “It-couple” yet, but they are like the Ciaran and Artorias in the game. They are the epitome of “I can fix her” and “I can make him worse,” which is, funnily enough, exactly how I see Ciaran and Artorias lmao. I’m admittedly soft for the trope of “black cat and golden retriever” type pairs if they are written well.

But Alsanna is more than just one half of a romantic plot. She is the fourth daughter of Manus and the “redeemed one,” if you will. She is her father’s fear, which basically meant she herself was the personification of anxiety lol. She says it herself in the game.

She went looking for a king to corrupt in order to feel stronger and gain power, but she ended up with the Ivory King…who was like…a pretty cool guy. He knew what she was trying to do and didn’t care. Her dark powers even corrupted parts of his kingdom, but he was just kind to her and treated her with dignity. This changed her heart eventually and she ended up devoting herself to protecting the kingdom with him. I won’t say what happens, but it’s a really bittersweet story that Alsanna gladly shares. I love her. She’s a good bean.

AND HER DESIGN. I swear, she’s one of the big reasons why I’d want a Remaster of DS2, because my poor girl is tormented by gritty pixels, but she has a lovely look. Here’s what she is SUPPOSED to look like to us:

Cosplay by harridana

Girl is slaying ngl. My fav redeemed Manus daughter fr.

Fume Knight Raime 🐦‍⬛

Me??? Having the knight with a raven aesthetic as a blorbo? Naaahhhh.

This is SO unexpected.

Anyway, Raime is mah boi. This gothy edgelord saw right through Nashandra and Vendrick’s doomed marriage and got kicked out for being loud about it. Basically.

He also lost a fight to his golden boi rival, Velstadt, who was a Vendrick SIMP. Although, technically they probably both were at first, but Raime was too alt. He had to be exiled.

Then he latched on to Nadalia instead…Manus’ most lonely daughter. Raime is infatuated with her in the game, and I kinda interpret it as a mother-son thing. Basically, Raime had an Oedipus complex lmao. Reject the father (Vendrick) and embrace the mother (Nadalia).

I could be wrong, but that’s how it comes off. It’s also totally ironic how Raime knew Nashandra was sus but fell for Nadalia anyway. He’s a hypocrite, but he’s MY hypocrite and I love him. His story and design are great.

Nashandra ♠️

Nashandra…I’m so normal. She was the original Marika fr. I love evil blonde queens <3

I don’t wanna spoil the whole damn plot of DS2, so I’ll just say….I love how this literal fragment of dark became so politically savvy and cunning that she basically toppled a kingdom. I like to imagine some more complicated feelings between Vendrick and Shandra than ‘guy simps and takes massive L.”

Yeah, that IS what happened, but Shandra fooled him for years. How? HOW? A literal manifestation of Manus’ “want” could not have been that believable…unless? I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Anyway, she is too spoilerly to talk about, but I love Nashandra both design-wise and story-wise. AND HER MUSIC IS SO GOOD.

Zullie + Alva 🪻

These two come as a package and count as one blorbo, I will not be taking criticisms. I was gonna put Creighton here, but guess who gets less screwed over in DS3? THESE TWO.

Their story is so good. Idk what it is about FromSoft’s love of “problematic female character meets chill guy and starts to hang out with him instead of murdering his ass,” but it’s…a thing lol.

Zullie, (not the YouTuber sdfgh), is such an iconic DS2 character that stole the show with her design and history while Alva has one of the best armor sets in the game. He’s also just a cool fella overall. I used to like to read about and imagine their shenanigans as a duo, and in fact, they subtly inspired my take on Leo and Ursula in Bloodborne. Noble knight and shady witch duos are fun as hell. Love these two.

—

Creighton still counts, but some of these characters got better treatment and writing in the end, sadly.

#OK NOW I MUST SLEEP #I CAN HEAR BIRBS #hjdkhdj #dark souls 2 #asks #mutuals #emerald herald #shanalotte #alsanna the silent oracle #nashandra #fume knight raime #alva and zullie

[swallowtail-ageha]

Oh my god she is baby

#dark souls 2 #dark souls ii #shanalotte #emerald herald #she is so cute i....

[ecccentrick]

#dark souls #bloodborne #demons souls #elden ring #fromsoftware #soulsborne #maiden in black #emerald herald #the fire keeper #the doll bloodborne #melina #elden ring melina #the plain doll

[sewercentipede]

#her look is impeccable I am obsessed #emerald herald #shanalotte #ds2 #dark souls 2 #fashion #fromsoftware