Going back to Melee Island was fun, but once the nostalgia wore off, the game felt very unsatisfying for me and got wore the more I played it.
It was way too easy and felt very rushed and empty, Guybrush is needlessly cruel, Elaine was extremely one dimensional and her plot line just got dropped, the retconning of MI 2s ending was very clunky and the ending was just bad.
I hoped Ron Gilbert wouldn't go for a meta "its just a dream" ending again, because it's the third time in a row now and it already killed Thimbleweed Park for me. I get the symbolism and kind of wouldn't mind if it wasn't handled so poorly. Why retcon MI2s ending, just to have the same ending again, only more convoluted and contradictory?
I got the impression that Guybrush has dementia and Elaine encourages him to live in his pirate world to make him feel happy. At least that explains the nursery tone in her voice at the end.
I also don't understand the need to go back to the secret after 30 years, just to have it beeing a middlefinger to the fans defy expectations and pull the lame t-shirt gag, that has already been done. If the secret doesn't matter, why bring it up as the main focus of your new game in the first place?

Desk Placement
The TL;DR of this report: What sets this trackball mouse apart is that it is capable of ambidexterity unlike all other thumb-balls, and unlike the Elecom Huge. Unlike the Kensington SlimBlade & Expert ambidextrous trackballs, this trackball can Game like the Huge. It’s like the Huge, the DeftPro, the Expert & the SlimBlade had an orgy and created this chimaera as their offspring.
I received Eric Andrus’ GameBall trackball mouse Thursday 7/1/21, 1 month after I “pre-ordered” it on 6/2/21. It came with minimal crush protection, a cardboard box in a plain large yellow envelope package. There was no damage during shipping nevertheless. I wondered why the manufacturing must be in the UK rather than somewhere cheaper like Mexico, or somewhere more convenient like the USA, but the solid build-quality and supreme fit and finish of this product put my doubts to rest. The trackball came with a 6ft long 3.8mm thick USB cable attached at the mouse by a solid well-buttressed rubber grommet. The trackball is rather large, though not “Huge.” It’s about 16cm lengthwise by 12cm at the tail. The label underside states it is made in Great Britain, and includes a serial#, a PN#, and various certifications symbols along with noting the website gamingtrackball.com, Blue Sun Innovations, LLC, as well as a QR code. Running this QR area through my QR reader yields the serial number written on the label. There are no accessible screw holes - they must all be under the labels and pads.
back of the trackball mousesome measurements
The trackball is solid, weighty (about 191grams), and fabulous. It reminds me of some strange chubby cyclops marine animal. If I were to name it, I would’ve called it “Whale-Tail.” The surface of where it contacts the hand is rubberized and contoured such that it nestles ergonomically and mates very well with the concavity of your palm. My medium-sized hand is 18cm (~7”) from palm-wrist wrinkle boundary to tip of my middlefinger and this mouse fits almost perfectly. I liked that GameBall chose to avoid the need for software installation for this mouse - one of the unavoidable annoyances about Logitech, Kensington & Elecom mice (among many others) are that they require software installation & updates for their variety of functions. Whenever the computer shuts down and restarts, I must always restart these mice software & make sure they are setup properly before using my computer. With the all-inclusive device-bound programming of this mouse, this annoyance can be eliminated. The downside is that one would be stuck with its on-board programming and mapped switches, which are fortunately quite useable as presented.
The most notable features of the trackball are the symmetric, ambidextrous sculptural appearance, the forward facing high-seated trackball, and the nonmechanical contoured textured scroll zones bilateral to the trackball.
The trackball moves insanely smoothly on 3 small 1.75mm ceramic bearings (G5 zirconium oxide?) placed at 2,10,and 6 o’clock. There are also 2 tiny plastic detents at the inner base of the rubberized stiff plasticine ball-holder stands. Because most of the ball weight is dramatically forward, I would assume that the 2 and 10 o’clock ceramic bearings will face the majority of the wear, while the 6 o’clock bearing may face negligible amounts. Far north and downwards of the ball is a trapezoidal zone marked with a circular arrow icon which corresponds to the left-right handed switch - it switches back & forth for left or right hand when pressed for 3 seconds. The lighting at the palmar emblem signals the switch with 2 blinks. At the mid southward region of the ball is another trapezoidal zone marked by a sunlight icon which corresponds to the RGB lighting switch. When pressed down it will do the rainbow colors & gradations as well. It serves a useful function as well as it flashes when the various switches are pressed.
ball well view
The bilateral partial-circle contoured zones on either side of the ball are tapered away from the ball and also is separated from the ball by a solid rimmed spacer, which allows you to avoid hitting the ball as you scroll. The texture on the contoured zone allows a minimally resistive sensation as you swipe up and down on the “scroller” - it’s a very unique but pleasant way of scrolling. The downside is that it takes a bit of time to get accustomed to it, and I found that I would have drastically preferred to have the near-side scroller area be assigned the vertical scroll function and the far side scrollzone be assigned the horizontal scroll function. The horizontal scrolling is rarely used, thus adequate for the ring finger movement, while the vertical scrolling is one of the most used mouse function, and would have been much better served with the easily put in use index finger. Andrus says switching this function should be possible with future firmware updates.
The inner concavities of the mouse is occupied by 3 buttons each, symmetrically placed for ambidexterity. For Right-hand usage, the buttons were chosen with ergonomics in mind - the lowest/nearest button serves as the all-important Left-click switch for the thumbs, and the contralateral highest button serves as the Right-click switch. The concept must be that when the hand rests comfortably on the mouse, the thumb naturally rests down near the table. Since the index & middle fingers must be on the ball, the ring-finger therefore must ride high - by feeling for the ridge/edge of the mouse top, the ring-finger will easily find the highest switch, which is the Right-click switch. It only takes a moment to become accustomed to this setup. The pinky finger can therefore rest on the contralateral lowest button, which corresponds to the “navigate forward” switch for website surfing. In order to “navigate backwards” on a webpage, one can move the index finger by feel down and over the ridge/edge to feel for the top-most button. The well-designed raised sliver buttons tucked between these two large buttons can be palpated without looking because they are raised over 1mm above the other buttons, but tucked inwards to avoid accidental engagement. It takes purposeful feeling for them to engage them. The near-side corresponds to the middle-click scroll button on typical mice, which allows usage of the trackball to continuously and smoothly scroll rapidly up/down. The far-side sliver button is for DPI settings - when pressed purposefully for 3 seconds, the DPI setting moves sequentially from 1 to 5 emblem light flashes, the lowest corresponding to 400dpi (too slow a cursor movement), and 5 flashes corresponding to 3000dpi (too fast). For artists using this trackball to draw, I would think the 400dpi setting would be useful. For 12-year-olds with ADHD, the 3000dpi setting could be preferred perhaps. I was most comfortable in daily operational use at 2000dpi (4 flashes), but in gaming, I much preferred the 1200dpi setting.
view of symmetric buttons, left side
For Left-Hand usage, and this is the way I plan to deploy this mouse on my desk - all the button settings as noted above are intuitively and symmetrically similar, except for the navigation back/forward button on my mouse. These were curiously and nonintuitively mapped so that the near-side Left index-finger top button was mapped to “navigate backwards,” and the far-side bottom pinky-finger button was mapped to “navigate forwards.” This took a bit of getting used to, and I’m going to have to re-map these buttons with the X-mouse software unfortunately. I think it would be preferred by the vast majority of ambidextrous users for these buttons to map symmetrically as with the Right-hand use case.
The switches are solid mid-tone clicks more weighty and denser than the typical cherry MX blue switch. The feel is reassuring and pleasing. It doesn’t feel like a cheap switch, and not as flimsy feeling as the switches on Elecom mice. These switches should last a long time. All 6 of the contoured concavity switches feel the same. Looking at the mouse overall, I would bet the weak points in the design that could fracture after years of use would be the ball-holding standmounts. These are however reinforced at their bases and tapers to over 1mm as it climbs about 4mm up the ball at the 12 & 6 o’clock ball positions. when grabbed & nudged, they don’t move and seem solid pillars of support though probably made of some type of pvc-like plastic. Without abuse, I’d bet these pillars will also stand the test of time for years.
I tried playing SniperElite4 with the GameBall as its initial game use case. I found that I was hampered severely by the ring-finger vertical scroll function of the mouse. It is so much easier to scroll using the thumb (or index finger) than the ring-finger. I could map this function to horizontal scroll I guess but it would set me back. The trackball and the main clicking switches otherwise performed without issues. The ergonomics of this GameBall is probably at a similar high level (although in a quite different way as described above) to the Elecom Huge, which for me has been the most ergonomically comfortable mouse I’ve ever used til GameBall.
side-side comparison, GameBall & Huge
My history with the mouse dates back to the lowly stuttering apple macintosh mouse from 1988. My first trackball was the Logitech Trackman from 1990, followed by Logitech Trackman Marble of 1998 or so. I upgraded my trackman Marble once around early 2000s to the TrackMan Marble FX before abandoning it in frustration in favor of standard optical mice. I went back to the thumb trackball when the Logitech M570 came out 10 years ago. It promptly failed randomly within a year and gave up on trackballs again til the MX Ergo came out 4 years ago. I still use this excellent mouse on my upstairs computer. My trackball experience went out of hand 4 years ago when I decided to try as many types as I could. I sequentially got (and still have) the Elecom Deft Pro, Elecom Huge wireless, Elecom EX-G, Elecom Bitra thumb, Kensington Ergo Pro Fit thumball, Kensington SlimBlade, Nakabayashi Digio2 Q thumball, a second Elecom Huge wireless. This was my sequence of uses before I experienced this new GameBall trackball. I have determined for myself that after over 30 years of mouse usage, that though the thumbball is the most intuitive, and most precise of all trackballs, that my thumb joint begins to click as I age and feel worn & sore after long usage. I found therefore that the index & middle-finger trackballs are initially harder to get under control, but eventually becomes intuitive & leads to long-lasting comfort and ergonomics.
For me the Elecom Huge wireless trackball is the most ergonomic, most useable & useful trackball mouse. It’s only failing is that the buttons are a bit tinny (cheap-feeling), and for gaming it is easily eclipsed in precision, accuracy, and confidence-inspiring movements by something like Logitech wireless G Pro standard mouse that I use for gaming. In my lifetime of mouse usage, I would rank this GameBall mouse as a solid #3 behind the Huge, then the Logitech GproWireless. What would make the Gameball leap ahead of both and be #1 would be the following: a larger, perhaps 42-52mm ball, ability to map the vertical scroll to index finger (horizontal scroll to the far-side), wireless version, 2-4 more buttons needed. By the “2-4 more buttons needed,” what I mean is that it would be great if Eric would consider placing the lighting button and the right-left switches perhaps to the far north side below the rim of the top contour, or possibly even underneath the mouse since these 2 functions would be used not often by most people, and more importantly these two buttons occupy prime territory on the mouse where finger movements must occur during use. It would be ideal in my mind to move the bilateral contoured scroll zones northward and close up the space up top, and open up the space south (6 o’clock) of the ball such that 2 more buttons could be placed here. I would utilized these two buttons for left=cut, and right=paste. I wished there were a 3rd button also that I could assign to “Enter.” Other functions may be more desirable by others, but I have always liked Elecom mice mostly because of the number of buttons on them allows me to use their mice as efficient editing tools. The severe and fatal failing of the Kensington Expert & SlimBlade is that they have such a paucity of buttons, as if they were stuck in the 20th century. The best use case of trackball mice is in editing of videos, music, documents, CAD programs, etc. Gaming is a secondary and rather frivolous function for most of us, though being able to do this with the trackball is what makes the Huge and now this GameBall pre-eminent among all the trackballs in existence.Eric Andrus et.al has been painstaking and obsessive in their 5+ year pursuit of gaming trackball design and it shows in the final product. This mouse will surely be in the hall of fame of mouse designs henceforth - I would anticipate that Logitech, Kensington, and Elecom Japan will be itching to steal this design for themselves.
cyclopic whaletail
I was neither offered nor did I solicit for, the trackball received in this report. I was a totally anonymous buyer of GameBall.

Tiny Lore - Scholars of Fate
[3/5]
 
Forewarning
 
Before I start I want to warn a little about that this topic will address graphic subjects such as sexual violence, rape and incest. You might not agree with suggestions made in this topic. If any of these subjects pose you discomfort it might be advicable to turn away or return in good company.
 
Segment Overview
 
(1/5?)https://old.reddit.com/sagesgrandarchives/comments/ackxt8/tiny_lore_embraced_by_foolishness/
(2/5?)https://old.reddit.com/sagesgrandarchives/comments/aieap0/tiny_lore_frogs_and_fertility/
(3/5?)https://old.reddit.com/sagesgrandarchives/comments/aieg2v/tiny_lore_scholars_of_fate/
(4/5?)
(5/5?)
 
Vendrick, Aldia and Shanalotte
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/al_d%C3%ADa
 
Aldia can be written as the Spanish 'al dia'. It means 'up to date' or at the 'highest state of development' or 'state of the art'. Why Spanish? Vendrick and Aldia for the most part pursued truth together, almost as a single entity. Vendrick utilized Spanish styled equipment for his troops, but it is never elaborated if the choice was a mater of Aldias forfeiture or Vendricks own preference.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendramin_family
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrick_Hamel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredmans_epistlar#/media/File:Drick_ur_ditt_glas_skillingtryck.png
 
Vendricks name is rather over the place and even after many years it is difficult to point out a very great idea what it is about. There are quite a few historically and linguisitic technically derived compositions, but this time a different approach will be used. Vendrick could be derived from the words 'Vendramin' and 'Hendrick' or otherwise 'Drick'. In italy the Vendramin family were a rich family of Venice. Vendrick is known as the King of Want hence this part. Hendrick Hamel was a member of the Dutch East India Company who sailed to Korea, Japan and Jakarta(or Batavia) 1650-1670. Drick is a Swedish word used in a poster from 1825 'Drick ur ditt glass, se Doden pa dig vantar' written by Fredmans Epistlar or in English Drain off thy glass, see death upon thee waiting. Here the best advice may be to read further below.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphei_Dr%C3%A4ngar
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leac#Irish
 
Drangleic might derive from the Swedish Drang which means Farmhand and is also the name of an all male choir. It is part of anoter piece of Fredmans Epistlar 'Hor I, Orpheus Drangar' or Hear, ye sons of Orpheus. The 'leic' her stems from the Irish for slab or stone. In DS(I) titanite slabs were according to legend heirlooms of the blacksmith deity. In DSII however, the item description changed into clarifying that these slabs came from below the earth. Perhaps the slabs came from the geographical Drangleic at some point before being moved to Lordran.
Both Aldia and Vendrick 'sought the truth'. Our understanding of altruism is put under pressure when understanding the pursuit of truth as such a thing and comparing that to the brothers Aldia and Vendrick. The relationship between Aldia and Vendrick at some point comes under pressure due Vendrick doubting the means of Aldia. It is mentioned that their 'fervor' or infighting drove the two apart. Aldia ended up secluded in his mansion, but there might be a double entendre (intention) at play here. While it is true that Vendrick 'condemned' Aldia is also mentioned to have 'secluded himself' in his mansion. On first glance it sparks the impression that Aldia is going along with his punishment after Vendrick proofed himself superior.
When examining the Aged Feather there might be some reason to doubt this impression. Shanalotte is mentioned to have been 'sequestered' away. In legal terms sequestered means that one abstains of ownership or custody of something or someone in order to prevent the course of law from affecting this same ownership or custody. Note that as a 'creation' Shanalotte appears to describe herself as a very inanimate fashion, but Aldia goes to lenghts to hide Shanalotte whom was considered not 'as intended'. In Scholar of the First Sin Aldia appears very much designed to strike the player with pragmatic preaches about the importance of life. It should come as no surprise that he likens the image of Mirrahs Quella very much. Paralleling this with the myth of myrrha perhas Aldia played a role in turning entities into trees.
By the time DSIII arrives it becomes clearer what losing ownership of Shanalotte could have ment for Aldia. Oceiros was using his children in order to secure his idea of an ideal world consisting of his dragon bloodline. Let us reverse the supposition. What if the world was only supposed to believe that Shanalotte was a failure? What if to 'cozen fate herself' ment saving Shanalotte? Within Aldias mansion Aldia created nothing but 'twisted and malformed' things, similar to how Shindler created nothing but malfunctioning equipment for the Germans in WWII. What if Aldia was deliberately messing up his own presented research results and records in order to avert a much greater disaster?
 
Oceiros
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation_of_Eiros_and_Charmion
 
So what about the relationship between Gwynevere and Oceiros? Gwynevere loved using Lot in her childrens names, which seems very defiant towards her husband. At the same time one can argue for the madness that consumed Oceiros. Most players seemed to favor stopping at the time they figured Ocelotte and Shanalotte were connected. It seems that the concensus around Oceiros is build around Osroes/Koshrow(King) and Osiris(Egyptian god of underworld), however latecomers can also have ideas and methods that one could spare a bit of attention. Not to blindly act upon provocations or to become part of the idea oneself, but for the sake of a matter that sooner or later would have to be addressed.
There are alternative inspirations one could look at. There is for example the Greek titan Oceanus(personification of the sea) and Eiros from a short story from Allan Edgar Poe 'The Conversation Between Eiros and Charmion' whom discuss the end of the world by a comet gradually incinerating the earth over the course of 10 years. And Eiros is explains these events to Charmion because he missed all this 10 years before the world met its demise. Perhaps it is best for readers to visit the wiki pages and respective sources belonging to them oneself to get the best idea if these are relevant or not. However, the goal of this topic was mostly about Gwyneveres parentage and children so Oceiros is on the unlucky side in that regard.
 
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flann
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Flynn
 
Flann was mentioned as the god Gwynevere left Lordran for in order to marry. Flann means blood-red in Irish. Flynn derives from the same name, meaning descendant of flann. Arguably the two were father and son. What happened with Flann? What happened to Flame God Flann whom Gwyenevere initially left Lordran for in order to marry? It is possible that Flann was a different king and Gwyenevere switched consorts but given the earlier mentioned Eiros perhaps the loss of Annals of History influenced a name change.
Looking at Flann and Flynn an idea came to mind. What if Greirat is Flynn the thief and son of Oceiros? Could this explain why Greirat truly fears Lothric Castle? As mentioned before there are some points speaking for the idea that Mirrah is connected to Gwynevere. Gwynevere possibly already left Lordran long before the destruction of Shulva because the Drakeblood knights carry shields about the allegory of Quella with them. A tale connected to Heide.
Mirrah might be known to have a knight order that makes use of the Allegory of Quella, but that can still stand separate from when exactly it recieves its name. And that means for the timeline that if Myrrha has something with Gwynevere that this would place Gwyneveres transformation only after the fall of Shulva. But without a full view around other figures new information might perhaps not come to light. Right now there is a clear lack of information if Flann and Oceiros concern the same consort, a lot of information in the game is cryptically omitted in a way that it comes to light when looking for something else entirely.
Either way Oceiros is obsessed with his royal blood. There is a lot be said by saying nothing here. Oceiros has already been pretty extensively fleshed out.
 
Children of the Painted World
 
Children are not uninteresting for the lore, they are also of mention when talking about figures like Pharris and about someone like Aldritch. We can think about Anri, Horace, the unnamed victims of Aldritch the Devourer and of course Sulyvahn whom grew up in the painted world. Sulyvahn catches attention because some of his spells are found near the moving trees of Ariandel. Did all children stem from the painted world? Such a thing does not become clear. One thing that sparks some idea about Aldias decision making. [A]Let us assume that Aldia is the Quella of allegory once again. [B]Let us assume the other children resided in the painted world. [C]Let us assume that by allowing Gwyndolin be consumed by Aldritch, Aldritch learned of the children in the painted world by pursuing Priscilla. [D]Let us assume that Aldritch was Executioner Smough and Llewellyn referred to Ornstein. [E]Let us assume that Zullies services were enlisted by Aldia in order to poison Gwyndolin. Question: [A+B+C+D+E]Could Vendrick have condemned Aldia over the zemblamity of saving Sulyvahn in this hypothetical scenario?
Sulyvahn grew up in the Painted World and it was later due to his doing that Gwyndolin ended up in the hands of Aldritch according to Sulyvahns Soul item description. When it comes to Aldritch the logical chronology appears to be that he found out about the painted world from 'slowly devouring' Gwyndolin. Thus Aldritch dreamt(foresaw) of what can be presumed is Priscilla and found the Painted World of Ariamis accordingly. Pyromancer Dunnel was best known for his Parting Flame. The item mentions a 'hideous' spouse and Priscilla was described by the Peculiar Doll as an 'abomination'.
There are some coincidental factors when overlaying Dunnel with High Lord Wolnir. According to the Grave Warden Pyromancy Tome Wolnir became a gravewarden after his death and created his dark pyromancies accordingly. But all that does not concern the coincidence in question. The coincidence concerns Wolnirs absence of a pyromancy flame, despite that he still 'discovered' the Black Flame as a grave warden. Back in DS(I) the Black Flame was created by a wandering pyromancer on the 'brink of madness'. Pyromancer Dunnel was mentioned to have 'left' his flame with his 'hideous spouse' so perhaps this concerns a 'Dunnel of Carthus'(?).
Aesthetics seem to be a very relative thing for the world of dark souls Priscilla is percieved as ugly to say the least while plenty of other female figures were described with beauty. Maybe and eventually there will be another reference that allows this idea of beauty to be further explored. It should not be very surprising that the flame is found near a secret passageway towards a tower that looks nearly identical to the tower Priscilla was in in the first game. Perhaps a fitting question is if the painted world really was burned between the games or if it merely refers to its Abyss/rot afflicted inhabitants.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dunnels_White
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windtalkers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanoo-no-Mikoto
 
One notable historic figure to bear the name Dunnel was Union soldier David Dunnels White. He was known for the capture of the eldest son of Robert E. Lee whom was leading the Confederates. The American Civil War was fought over the right to slavery. Perhaps, Dunnel played a role in capturing a son of a very important slave trader of Dark Souls. Perhaps Dunnel caught a son of Allfather Lloyd. Dunnels real world counterpart had his wife outlive him, perhaps the goodbey from Dunnel was similar in that he died before Priscilla passed away. It would be difficult for a pyromancer to challenge the lifespan of a dragon crossbreed.
Throughout the game there are some references to 'wind'. The Dragonking Axe (tailcut of Gaping Dragon)makes a mention of a wind blast. Flynns Ring (DSII) mentions the power of the wind and there is also the Stormdrake from the Nameless King. Overall there are some potential sources to think about what concerns 'wind' as a thematic and it is very common in regards to war or postwar movies. Especially movies such as 'Gone with the Wind' about the events after the American Civil War which also happens to involve windmills. Gone with the wind picks the attention due the unusual names of the protagonists Rhett(red) and Scarlet(another way to write red). In Dark souls a few names that are also directly mention a red color are Carmina, Flann, Scarlet and Flynn. The plot kinda stands out due miscarriage of Scarlet being awkwardly similar to early development cutscenes of Oceiros holding what looks presumably like (un)dead infant Oceiros. With more narrative leads it might be more assumable that these names are somehow connected until then these are highly speculative and mostly of anecdotal value. There are also movies such as Windtalkers. Aside from warstories surrounding the wind the 'storm' is an interesting aspect when looking at the god of storms of Japenese mythology. That tells us a lot about wind, but we almost digress from Dunnel.
However, who thinks that Dunnel and Wolnir are the same individual is wrong. Livid Pyromancer Dunnel is a mad phantom invader in the Painted World. He is not like Wolnir in being bound to the Catacombs of Carthus. Nonetheless the two(?) pyromancer(s) share a lot in that they both were or are at points in which they left their pyromancy flame. Both Dunnel and Wolnir hold some form of rejection of the gods. Wolnir does not recognize the 'judicously' bequeethed(bestowed) crowns and usurped his position from the (other) rulers. Dunnel on the other hand became a mad phantom or Mound Maker. Mound Makers have rejected all gods (Warmth).
 
https://old.reddit.com/sagesgrandarchives/comments/4mi0cp/lore_snippet_dsi_the_asylum_knight/
 
Either way Dunnel is of interest in regard to the son of a slave trader. When looking at the story of Prince Ricard we can parallel this with the story of the Ruin Sentinels in DSIII. Both are 'ill-fated' and suggest a backstory in the Ringed City before ending up North. Players popularly call the knight of the Asylum 'Oscar' due a multitude of reasons. The game files contain this name but the knight never names himself and having no in game item description mentioning him directly. However, due the large portion of similarities between Undead Prince Ricards item descriptions and those of the armor of 'Oscar' one can easily see why one can (not neccessarily mis)take the two for the same person. He is easily forgotten about but eventually reveals to return to the Asylum going hollow protecting the Peculiar Doll(key to the Painted World) in the first game. Undead are corraled to the North or 'shepherded' if one were to take the words from Darkstalker Kaathe. We almost digress. Despite the fact that Ricard/Oscar and the children of Gwyn were given entirely different tasks (one the shepherding of Undead towards the north)(the other pursuing the blood of the Dark Soul) one can get see their paths crossing even if not the oppertunity.
It sparks a lot of questions like if Ricard and Anri are connected by anything else than stories told about Astora. It is still unclear who Dunnel really is and perhaps we will never know but these parallels are fascinating aspects that can draw one to the lore of Dark Souls.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-headed_eagle
 
Priscillas guardian npc was Exile/Xanthous King Jeremiah. The name was best known from the 'weeping prophet'. And the myrrh tree from the Greek myth of Adonis was known as a weeping tree. Maybe Dunnel and Jeremiah concern the same individual with a different name due the Loss of Annals. Xanthous refers to the color 'yellow' as many might have already guessed. At this point it is not entirely clear what this yellow color is about. Sir Cyan is also a name referring to a yellow color and overall the thematic also returns on the East West Shield painted yellow. Starting equipment of the cleric class of DS(I). The East West Shield likely symbolizes approximately the same as the doubleheaded does for its non-fictional heraldry. It has both cultural as well as national applications. It was used to symbolize the Greek Orthodox Church. It also symbolizes a dominion over the Near East and the West. In Drangleic these kingdoms include Volgen and Mirrah. The heraldry that belonged to the original kingdom was thus likely the (single-headed) yellow eagle. The Golden Wing Shield (a shield used by knights of the blue) is a symbol of rooted in Heide. DSIII ads another layer on this yellow eagle symbolism with the Cathedral Knight Greatshield. It is perhaps not surprising to learn that the symbol belongs to the old king of Lothric. DSIII makes no mention of Flann despite his title of Flame God, but sticks to Oceiros when filling in the known consort to the 'Queen of Lothric'.
It is also possible that the Queen of Lothric does not refer to Gwynevere at all just like how the Gwendolen(Gwyndolin) was an actual queen in the early stages of the legend of Arthur, but that would be a stretch.
As for Xanthous and his Notched Whip; it reappears all over the series. In DSII one is found at Huntsmans Copse while a +7 version is found near the Pagan Tree in Shulva. In DSIII one can be obtained from the Cathedral of the Deep and they are worn but not in combat use by the Evangelists. The item description states for DSIII that the Evangelists use the whip in their rituals instead. What exactly these rituals entail is not mentioned and given it concerns such a remote location as the Cleansing Chapel in between Cathedral Grave Wardens and entrance to the Painted World of Ariandel we can approximate the picture. The Follower Torch for example mentions the use of fire to treat 'pus' as a 'symptom' of the Abyss. And the laceration is mentioned by the Grave Warden Twinblades to be used because of rumors to slow down the reanimation process of reincarnating corpses. In practice it is to doubt if the Evangelists really interfere with reincarnation due them not really operating very near to the Cleansing Chapel. It would seem that the Cleansing Chapel serves as a spot to clean lacerating tools. Maybe this is why someone like Gael whom seeks the Blood of the Dark Soul is waiting for the player to hand over a piece of the painting. It should be noted that Gael was driven mad by how dried up the blood was that he obtained in the Ringed City and that Drakeblood knights shared the goal of fresh blood albeit from vastly different beings. Gael sought the pygmie lords whereas Yorgh sought the Slumbering Dragon. The Painted Worlds both held roots in fresh blood and perhaps a purpose exists for a new supply of blood every time the Worlds gain their new purpose as well.
 
Other Arturian names
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lludd_Llaw_Eraint
 
Although names like Lud and Zallen are not part of Arturian legend, Lud had some usage in Welsh mythology and is also tied to Geoffrey Monmouth's 'History of the Kings of Brittain'.
 
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vyrda#Norwegian_Nynorsk
 
Lancelot plays keyroles in the war that follows his affair and the name Bors (cousin of Lancelot) is slightly similar to the name Vordt (of the Boreal Valley),but it would be quite a stretch. Vordt can be argued to have little in common with the name except for phonetic similarities (fextra seems to look at the name like 'vorst', but the Dutch word has little to nothing to do with the Norwegian Nynorsk). Vordt means 'respect'. Some similarly written Dutch verbs exist (-dt words refer to 'he' simple present) such as gordt (to bind with rope) or wordt(to become). Vordt is most at home in the Norwegian Nynorsk and perhaps it is better that way.
Overall still not a gold mine on info what happened to Gwynevere of Dark Souls, but it sure has some interesting leads. Most of these stories are scandals and disasters, but fact remains that as far as leads go any lead is a lead that counts and overlapping them can reveal some good insights and hopefully, a few good explanations what is going on in this fascinating world of Dark Souls.
 
With all kinds or speculation surrounding the whereabouts of Gwynevere and her supposed connection to the Greatwood one would expect a bit more information surrounding Farron, leader of the Watchdogs, his daughter Heysel and Sir Arstor the Impaler and earl of Carim. Yet at this point it might be a little bit early to flesh out the circumstances that surround them. Perhaps another time.
 
Arstor
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastor
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/arst
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stor
 
Sir Arstor the Impaler and earl of Carim was mentioned as one of the souls/curses that brought the tree to the point of rotting. Before addressing Arstor we go by his title of 'impaler'. The most famous example of an impaler is Vlad the Impaler, the later inpiration for Dracula. Dracula ment 'son of dragon' in his family. The 'Impaler' stemmed from Vlads preferrence for executing by impalement.
Arstor might be derived from the name Alastor, which means Avenger and is a title that was once used by the Greek god Zeus but gradually deteriorated into an insult. The name is also used in Christian demonology. The name might have been chosen to reflect either or both the ambiguity Dracula or his demonisation.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastor,_or_The_Spirit_of_Solitude
 
Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude is a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poem is not being written from the perspective of a writer controlling the world of the individual. Instead the poem is written from the perspective of the individual being controlled. Arastor, the Spirit of Solitude is architecting the downfall of the individual. Basically the poet drowns himself for the sake of his evil spritit entity, with themes like the blackness, the deep and eternal youth and life. Instead of favoring an 'eastern maid' the poet favors his 'veiled maid'. Or more like the veil shrouding the maid and not the maid shrouding itself with a veil. (Sounds familiar?)
The composition of Arstor is likely derived from 'Arst' the Middle Low German for a medical doctor and the Norse 'stor' for big/large/great or old. So great doctor or old doctor.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_eye
 
Arstor first came into the picture as a mysterious figure. Being both a knight(sir) as well as a landowner(earl). Arstor is well known for his various Bite Rings, favored by clerics whom don't mind the fear of malleble stone. Arstor was also known for the creation of the Shotel, The Purging Stone and also for his Spear. The spear is wreathed in rotten flesh causing poison buildup. The lifesteal effect on death is perhaps better remembered from the Ring of the Evil Eye. The ring symbolized the sealing of the spirit of Manus, but who knows how much is true when overlayed with the Crucifix of the Mad King. Especially for that matter does the Crucifix really concern Manus or the supposed pygmy at all when thinking that the Ringed City mentions pygmies(plural)? Formulated in another form: Who would have been the other pygmy/pygmies?
Shira delivered the weapon and mad king to the 'darkroom' according to the item description. Coincidentally the Fenito keep the player out of the Undead Crypt because 'light only agitates'.
 
Farron
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/farro
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aaron
 
Aside from Arstor Farron is also mentioned to have disappeared into a 'festering wood' according to the Exile Mask. But this does not have to be the Curse-rotted Greatwood. The second sentence addresses the same wood as the place where the emaciated Old Wolf sleeps. Farron might derive from faron, which in turn, just like pharros derives from the Greek Pharos. A name for Hvar, but sometimes also in use to denote the lighthouse of that location. The choice is not overly strange for a swamp filled with 3 flames similar to lighthouses.
Farron can be taken apart differently depending on how one views it but in this case the longest words that can still be used to blend into the main word were picked. Farro is a word to denote 'emmer wheat' in Italian. Arron is another way to write Aaron, which was the name of the elder brother of Moses. The exact etymology is uncertain but a few can be listed. [A]Bearer of Martyrs. [B]Warrior Lion. [C]Elevated, Exalted or High Mountain.
The name reads and sounds a lot like the DSII mentioned location Farossa. Thematics are also very similar. It is possible that Shieldless Lothian was this mysterious Farron. The Abyss Watchers were known for their shieldless combat style after all and Lothian was also mentioned earlier to be connected to Ornstein. It goes a little in contrast with the image of Sir Arthorias being the Old Wolf, but maybe Ornstein was attempting to do is old comrade a favor of sorts. It is uncertain for what type of business Ornstein would have been here.
 
Heysel
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A1
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hey
 
It is easy to get distracted by Heysels appearance and assocation with Xanthous King Jeremiah as a pyromancer and think that that Heysel must suffer from some form of demonification. However, it can be wise not to draw premature conclusions that Heysel is hiding a form of demonhood, especially given the aforementioned information. Let us start with Heysels full title from Fingers of Rosaria as a covenant. Heysel is called Yellowfinger Heysel. The 'Yellowfinger' corresponds with the middlefinger and in medieval times monks used the middlefinger to denote problems at the nether regions, specifically the phallus(penis), testes or groin during their version of medical checkups. It eventually became 'the finger'. It is one reason why the middlefinger became adapted against the curse of the Evil Eye. Pendants and charms against the Evil Eye curse were often phallus shaped. It can be said that of the Fingers of Rosaria, Heysel represents the most contrasting value towards the dark phantoms of the Darkwraiths.
The longest names that can be stretched from Heysel are Heys and Eysel. Heys derives either from the Yiddish for 'hot' or Old English for 'weaving'. Eysel on the other hand derives from the Crystallography professor named Walter Hans Eysel, whom was known for his Eyselite. Eyselite has because of its rarity and relatively unexplored nature no known usages of industrial or exceptional kinds except for mineral collectors. In summary Heysel can mean something like hot/weaving rare/precious mineral.
Heysel is mentioned as the daughter of Farron in the great Farron Dart and as leader of the Undead Legions Acolytes. Acolytes perfom the highest of minor duties during ceremonies and are attendants, assistants or followers. In conclusion they rank below the Crystal Sages whom support the Legion by teaching sorceries. Heysel stands out because of her interest in the sorceries of Oolacile. Aside from training Heysel, the crystal sages also trained Daughter of crystal Kriemhild.
It does not become clear who Heysels mother is. For as far as naming for her would allow insight and if Farron were indeed someone like Ornstein then it could be that Heysel was adopted. Perhaps, due Ornsteins face never being revealed it and the Lion Clan Warriors being a thing it is possible that she could be hiding her face as part of a human offshoot race.
 
Emma
 
Despite the fact that Emma (especially as the shrine handmaid) could potentially one of the most important figures in both lore and life of Gwyenevere her part will be mentioned slightly later.
 
Lastly I want to mention something about the 'handmaidens'. Not just Gwyneveres but all of them since we are already past the point of incest many times now. It should be clear we are talking about uncomforting and uncomfortable topics. Handmaidens does not only include caretaking services associated with maids and butlers, but also sexual services. It is a bit of an unusual term to use for every day services to the higher class of society. It is not the goal to portray handmaidens as glorified prostitutes or sex slaves of the crown. What can be said is that handmaidens could have played roles in these types of things and it remains a question what role they would have played during sexual affairs in Dark Souls.
 
[split: part 3/4?]

During my stay on this subreddit, i saw a lot of people discussing the issue of "offensive" celebrations such as the dab, the shush,... Some find it extremely disrespectful while others only see it as just another celebration. While personally i don't really care getting dabbed on, i don't think it is as harmless as some may think.
To understand that, let me explain something called "symbolic interactionism", a concept devised by the sociologist Herbert Blumer around three main points: * "Humans act towards things (including other individuals) on the basis of the meanings they have for them." * "The meaning of things arises out of the social interactions one has with one's fellows." * "Meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process a person uses in dealing with the things he or she encounters." (thanks Wikipedia ;) )
I like to compare the dab to giving someone the middle finger. Like the middle finger, it's not the dab itself which presents a problem but the meaning behind it. As we believe that the dab is a rude gesture, we use it as a mean to offend someone in upsetting situations. The meaning of a gesture is also context and location specific, dabbing in Fifa is not the same as dabbing somewhere else. Like the middlefinger is not seen as offensive in some other cultures (while the thumb up gesture can be seen as offensive in Thailand).