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[s0]

what's from a bulgarian legend?

[gimymblert]

The inspiration for menstruation in this context.

Funny to see men freaking out on internet because blood is fine, except vagina blood for some reason.

[s0]

im fine with it.

The inspiration for menstruation in this context.

ooooh that's interesting. souls games always have some interesting cultural references that you wouldn't find in other fantasy games.

btw (SOULS LORE NERD CRAP AHEAD): this is actually the second time menstruation has figured in the souls series, tho the first time was more subtle. apparently the snakes that have replaced gwyndolin's legs in dks1 are supposed to symbolize menstruation somehow (got this info from the design works interview). remember gwyndolin is trans. or i guess genderqueer would be the better term. oh and btw, he is also said to have an affinity with the moon, that was the whole reason why he was raised as a girl.

other random crap about bloodborne: i don't think the normal blood vials are menstrual blood, just the special ones. also blood (at least the treated blood handed out by the healing church) is basically a drug in this game and is also the cause of the so-called "beast plague". excessive blood ministration turns you into a beast overtime. so basically ur fighting a mob of crazed violent drug addicts in this game while becoming a drug addict yourself, making it the TRUE SEQUEL to bioshock lol.

[JWK5]

A woman's bleeding was considered a cosmic event, relating and connecting one to the moon, the lunar cycles and the tides. She was thought to be at the height of her power at this time, and for this reason was encouraged to spend time listening to her inner voice which would often offer suggestions and wisdom which would benefit the whole tribe.

This 'Moootime' was later distorted into a perception of 'uncleanness' and women were forced to go apart, unable to participate in the preparation of food for men or ceremonies (although to be honest, the women probably still enjoyed the break, whatever the reason!) and their wisdom was denigrated, called lunacy, and forced underground.

The word 'ritual' comes from 'rtu' which is Sanskrit for menses. The blood from the womb which nourished the unborn child was believed to have 'mana' or 'breath of life'.

The word menstruation comes from the Greek menus meaning both moon and power, and men meaning month .

However, the menstrual blood was given freely and then used to nourish the tribe or the earth in other ways and no-one suffered, unlike later more corrupted versions.

EDIT: LMAO!! What timing... I just noticed that on the side of that article was a Shutterfly ad that said "Give the gift only you can make!" with a picture of an empty decorative cup...

[DJFloppyFish]

the word mensis is used so cleverly in this game, it makes me really happy

[DJFloppyFish]

spoilers:

http://www.reddit.com/r/bloodborne/comments/343qww/complete_map_of_bloodborne/

this makes my brain happy in a weird way

[s0]

the cainhurst map is missing some stuff right? i definitely remember the level being more complex than that.

btw bloodborne taught me that "gaol" is an old spelling of "jail". bloodborne for educational game of the year

[DJFloppyFish]

H O L Y      S H I T

maybe this is old news, but this is an amazing secret to me (spoiler obviously):

in the nightmare of mensis, apparently after you flush the brain of mensis down into the dark area, you can walk up to it, do the MAKE CONTACT gesture, and after a few seconds, it will give you a rune (the most powerful moon rune)

amazing

[JWK5]

btw (SOULS LORE NERD CRAP AHEAD): this is actually the second time menstruation has figured in the souls series, tho the first time was more subtle. apparently the snakes that have replaced gwyndolin's legs in dks1 are supposed to symbolize menstruation somehow (got this info from the design works interview).

Mayan mythology explains the origin of menstruation as a punishment for violating the social rules governing marital alliance. The menstrual blood turns into snakes and insects used in black sorcery, before the Maya moon goddess is reborn from it.

[s0]

damn! that's a good find, jwk.

i can't wait for the inevitable bloodborne design works book btw.

also also also, the miyazaki guardian interview is really good. you should read it if you haven't: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/31/bloodborne-dark-souls-creator-hidetaka-miyazaki-interview

[s0]

H O L Y      S H I T

maybe this is old news, but this is an amazing secret to me (spoiler obviously):

in the nightmare of mensis, apparently after you flush the brain of mensis down into the dark area, you can walk up to it, do the MAKE CONTACT gesture, and after a few seconds, it will give you a rune (the most powerful moon rune)

amazing

did you find that out on your own? because i sure didnt haha. i didnt even notice that elevator tho i did drop the brain (nice callback to tower of latria btw)

[DJFloppyFish]

no, I watched an ENB playthrough 

that would've been way too obscure for me haha

[Fallsburg]

btw bloodborne taught me that "gaol" is an old spelling of "jail". bloodborne for educational game of the year

pssh, I learned that from Chrono Trigger.

[s0]

btw bloodborne has totally renewed my interest for gothic horror stuff. they manage to take some very old lovecraft, poe and bram stoker shit and manage to make it feel fresh, just like the souls games made fantasy feel exciting again.

also i finally caved in and ordered the guide

[DJFloppyFish]

the guide is incredible imo, worth every penny

some interesting stuff about attack animations and enemy superarmor

[Glyph]

I read all of that 90 page lore document yesterday in lieu of studying. There are definitely some really interesting solid connections throughout the chapters but I feel like the guy never brought it all together. His last chapter where he conjectures that the doll is a Great One was a bit hard to follow, too. Not that it's unbelievable, just that it needs more backing up.

As for the theory about the blood gifted to you being menstrual blood: it sounds plausible but I feel like some stuff in the game doesn't follow it. For example, Annalise extends her wrist to you when she asks you to drink her blood, and the whole etymology-of-Mensis connection doesn't really add up since Mensis was (probably) an offshoot of the Healing Church that had more to do with research into finding an umbilical cord, not blood ministration.

[Rat Casket]

yeah the doll theory was a stretch. its more likely that since the hunters dream is Ghermans dream, the doll is just what he wants it to be. its not actually alive, which is evidenced by it laying there limp when you have 0 insight. it absorbs blood to power the moon presence. its definitely not an old one.

[DJFloppyFish]

spoiler alert, the doll is actually an illusion created by gwyndolin

[s0]

like i said, mensis is probably not a direct menstruation reference, its just that a word connected to both blood and the moon is perfect for the school of mensis. also i think the school of mensis and healing church both grew out of byrgenwerth. maybe it happened after the incident that created rom and drew the lecture building into nightmare. who knows.

[s0]

btw am i the only one who really likes ng+ in bloodborne because it's a big difficulty bump? several bosses that were piss easy for me in ng (amygdala for instance) were suddenly challenging.