Tell Me More

it dark souls so i should probably give you some quick background

basically in anor londo is a Giant Painting of a ruin on a snow-covered mountain. in that ruin is a pocket dimension, accessible only by being close to the painting while holding a weird straw doll

the gods used this pocket dimension to just things that scared/disgusted them

like anything associated with the rogue GOddess of Sin, Velka, and Occult (gods' weakness) items

s well as a half-dragon girl named Priscilla, who the gods feared for the powers she was born with (and probably the fact shes half dragon) so when she was very young they chucked her into the painted world

if u want more than the teal deer, heres some links

Crossbreed Priscilla

guys you can't just chuck everything you don't like into another dimension and call it a day

The Painted World of Ariamis

YES THEY CAN

guys,

anwyays my Unnecessarily Sad AU idea

consider the following: au where gwyn is truly heartless and when gwyndolin is born he cant stand the lil guy. so he does to him what he did to priscilla and chuck him into the painted world

but not before waiting until gwyndolin was at least older than a spud that cant lift his own head, like priscilla was already a walking talking little girl when she was sent.

in the process, he claims to the general public that the baby was stillborn and its a very sad time for anor londo that the last royal baby died

meanwhile gwyndolin is hidden away in some corner somewhere to grow up a handful of years.... and maybe in the process his siblings (especially gwyndio) sneakily defy rude dad by letting the poor snake kid (snid) have some happiness and affection in his life.

which unfortunately just makes it more heartbreaking when gwyn finally goes OKAY ITS OLD ENOUGH CHUCK IT IN THE DAMN PAINTING

IM TIRED OF LOOKING AT THAT AWFUL THING

sunsibs are unhappy with the turn of events, but off to the painted world little gwyndolin goes, to grow up in that cold and lonely place

on the plus side, priscilla gets a little friend

ive made myself sad

well. also on the plus side apparently the other inhabitants of the painted world are kind and it is peaceful there, according to Priscilla

yeah, kind to her

and probably to gwyndolin in this au

yes precisely

so on one hand: tfw no sibs and thrown away

on the other: many friends!!

the inhabitants are velkas naked crow demons, undead hollows with their heads hilariously bloated with toxins, a cthulu mythos reference, skeletons, a writhing melted mass of human flesh and spears and shields collectively called a phalanx, and a falling apart undead dragon

friends!!!!

Please consider: Gwyndolin failing to see what's wrong with any of this and thus himself

allow me to introduce you to friends,

(also: sees "falling apart undead dragon," thinks of cold steel, help my life is ruined)

oops lemme rehost this

Zombie Knight, seems friendly? he protects priscillas chamber so

Skeleton On The Go

my people tbh

poison bags with feet

The Phalanx aka my nightmares

zombie rats: snow edition

eeewww

mah SPOON is too big!

(aka Xanthous King Jeremiah)

(aka the king in yellow)

its a genuinely beautiful, almost serene place...

even if someone went Vlad on some of the decor

(theres one area filled with nothing but creepily empty cages and lots of impaled undead)

(extremely unsettling, subtle music plays there)

(its where the xanthous king attacks you)

a good host of friends

Dark Souls Soundtrack - Black Phantom Xanthous King ... this did me a major uncomfort when i first encountered this area

like the painted world was otherwise silent and then....

i wander into this area and [spooky intensifies[

and then theres Priscilla

priscilla is Very Pretty

she also seems very polite and nice

also Very Lorge

meanwhile dolin is smol

but yes... in this au gwyndolin spends the first handful of years of his life hidden away in isolation, a prisoner in a makeshift dungeon in the palace that should have been his home. only given comfort by his defiant siblings who come to visit him when they can get away with it... and he doesnt understand his own situation

Big Sister Priscilla

only for that sad existence to itself be upheaved when hes chucked into the painted world which would, admittedly, be very terrifying

even if the inhabitants behave kindly to him, theyre still terrifying until you get used to them

yes...

but priscilla is also there, surprised at this new babbyfriend, and shes probably still young herself, but likely older than him

hes scared, hes cold, he misses gwynevere and gwyndio, the locals are creepy, but priscilla is nice and fluffy and will help him get used to the place more easily than she did

Gwyndolin all snuggled up with fluffy halfderg sis

big fluff friend...

snakes r just gonna burrow into her fluff nbd

poor gwyndolin hes like 1/3rd snake, living in that cold place is gonna be hell

hell probably be sleepy 50% of the time

and then i was thinking "how would he even be named gwyndolin in this au, gwyn probably wouldnt even grace him with a name at all, let alone name him after himself, and i doubt its a name gwyndio or gwynevere wouldve given him"

but then i thought

what if when gwyn makes up the lie to the public that his newborn died at birth, he posthumously names the nonexistant version of the child

so the public gets to mourn the loss of baby princess gwyndolin, how sad

(meanwhile gwyndio and gwynevere are like 'ok its better than nothing, lets just call the kid that, since its apparently what dad wouldve named the poor thing if dad wasnt a COLOSSAL ASS')

(lbr, this would probably be the au where Gwyndio either actually attempts a hostile takeover or gets exiled to the painted world himself for siding with the dragons)

at the very least, the tragedy of baby brother is the beginning of the end for gwyndio being a loyal son

y e p

also of note: in the end, when gwyn is firewood and the gods are gone... anor londo just stays dark

no illusions without gwyndolin

no fake gwynevere to pass on the lordvessel

no blades of the dark moon

just the painting guardians in the church, the silver knights mindlessly sticking to their ancient duties

maybe ornstein and smough are still there, guarding the lordvessel still, though it's just There waiting to be claimed by the worthy, rather than there being a false goddess to grant it

UGH I KEEP THINKING ABOUT HOW HEARTBREAKING THE ACTUAL EVENT OF SENDING GWYNDOLIN TO THE PAINTED WORLD MUST HAVE BEEN

especially if gwyndio is sent to fetch him

to bring him from his prison to the church so he can be moved to a more permanent prison

;A;

do u think gwyndio tries to put on a happy face and try to make it seem like something nicer so gwyndolin isnt scared...

(kinda like telling ur kid ur going to the park but then its actually the dentist-_

i havr this AWFUL mental image in my head of gwyndio ttying to act chipper, telling gwyndolin theyre gonna go outside in the sunshine for a bit today, and trying not to let his voice crack or his eyes get damp because its the last time hes likely ever going see his sweet little baby brother

(im wibble irl)

bweeehhhh

bwehhhh!