IRON TARKUS IN THE PAINTED WORLD

this is cool, a guy has taken the NPCs from the game and pit them against each other. its fascinating to see how their AI reacts, their smarter choices and total fails.

i'm making this post for another reason though, theres a comment by the uploader (IAmV3nom, its an excellent channel with some cool videos featuring cut content from dark souls, check it out) replying to a question regarding the source used to determine characters stats (and i quote)-

Hello bro. Stats were pulled direct from the game files, as well as equipment. The information pulled was from the NG+7 versions at highest levels. So, Solaire from Kiln, Leeroy as invader, Logan from Dukes etc. It would have been wrong for me to make their stats up, but I must stress that there was a Tarkus due to invade in Painted World. I tested this guy for a joke, as he was never legitimately in the game, and he pretty much wrecked anything in front of him. Including two on one

now i find this VERY interesting, tarkus was to invade the player in the painted world! we know for a fact from interviews with dark souls director, hidetaka miyazaki, that NPC placement was actually well thought out, with background story to each character and situation. so what does tarkus invading the player mean?
personally i'm thinking (hoping) that tarkus himself was exiled to the painted world by the gods, the rulers of anor londo because he was too much of a BAD ASS and therefore seen as a threat to the gods.
i'm curious as to the reason he invades the player and where abouts the invasion takes place. possibly the path towards priscilla sama? there is a knight of berenike there in game as it is and tarkus was also of the berenike knights. if i personally were tarkus, i'd do all in my power to protect that fluffy tail from the possible threat of the chosen undead.

*disclaimer- i should be noted that the fact that this is invasion event is not in the finished game means that i cannot be assumed to be part of the official story of tarkus, as it could very well have been removed due to them deciding to rewrite tarkus' story-line.

BLACK DRAGON KALAMEET

i'm currently drafting up a drawing of kalameet. to do so i've been trying to get a screenshot of him doing the calamity eye grab move (in NG++ this means a lot of deaths) and as i was being slaughtered i was thinking about the fact that kalameet spews black flame. its black. this reminded me of the pyromancy you find in the chasm of the abyss, called black flame. a pyromancy influenced by the "wild humanity" of the abyss.

"A Pyromancy discovered from the Dark Abyss by a pyromancer who wandered into Oolacile. Conjure a great flame into one's palm. Black Flames are weighty and cause Physical damage. Enough to smack away the mightiest of shields."

curious still, i looked up any information on kalameet regarding the abyss, but theres no mention. one thing piqued my attention though, his black flame attack cause physical and magical damage. this means his attack damages in a way more akin to dark abyss magic than fire/pyro damage. of course i'm aware this could just have been a random allocation of damage types by the developer, but what if it isn't? what if kalameet has, at least somewhat, been affected by the abyss? well, realistically it wouldn't have any other implications than that kalameet has chosen a rather shitty place to hang out. kind of like setting your home up next to chernobyl power plant.

hopefully i'll finish this drawing off soon, i'll post it as soon as its done.

HEART U BUTCHERS KNIFE

little illustration i did. put it up on redbubble as a friend asked to get it on a shirt. link here

MESSAGE RATING IMAGES

i was thinking about the images that are associated with orange soapstone messages. whilst i must admit theres a good chance the pics were chosen at random, but  could it be possible the character image associated could be related to how trustworthy the character is?
to clarify for anyone who doesn't know how it works, you can leave a message with the orange soapstone, (generally used to give advice, though often used to fool other players) and by pressing a button (select i think?) you can rate the message, positive or negative. enough positive votes and the little picture that accompanies the message will change. the images are as follows-

1. Undead
2. Knight Solaire
3. Lady of Darkmoon
4. Domhnall of Zena
5. Frampt the Primordial Serpent

i took the list directly from one of the wiki sites and would like to state that the "undead" is clearly the undead merchant (could be either male or female one) and its not certain whether the serpent is Frampt or Kaathe.

now, my theory is that the higher rated the message is, the more trustworthy the advice, and as such relates to the character image.
-the undead merchants are dubious and only really interested in themselves and making profit. not terribly trustworthy
-solaire is a nice guy, but a little insane and doesn't really know where he's going in the land of lordran. just that he's looking for his sun (whatever that may be)
-lady darkmoon, trustworthy to a degree, but tight-lipped. seems to be withholding information.
-domhnall, like the merchants, is more interested in trade, BUT will dole out some invaluable (and accurate) information regarding certain areas of the game.

-serpent- these characters give you the most direct information on your purpose. of course the information one gives contradicts the other to a degree, so which serpent does the image relate to? either i suppose. the one you believe to be the truth. (and as such is a nifty little joke on the part of from software, if the trust theory is correct)