I absolutely love your theory of Godrick's great rune compelling him to graft. The community tends to give him a lot of shit for being this weak, pathetic creature who desperately attempts to co-opt the power of others, so it's fascinating that his great rune may have played into that urge. Perhaps it makes Godrick's tale more tragic, as having the anchor rune should mean he has the potential to unite all the other great runes, but clearly is too weak to do so. Enia references the power of the great runes having tainted the demi-gods, so I like how Godrick's rune could have been this devil on his shoulder constantly telling him he has the potential for greatness but is unable to achieve it. One other possible source of inspiration for grafting though, would be Godefroy, since we know he's another member of the golden lineage that employed the practice. Godefroy fought in the shattering war I believe, so it would be interesting to see if maybe he held Godrick's great rune first, but it transferred ownership once he was captured.
My take on the statement that Godrick's blood is weak is that actually this places him near the start of the Golden Lineage. His blood is weak because its outdated and outclassed by the ever increasing standards set by Marika's following demi-god offspring. Kenneth Haight calls Godrick a "bumpkin" which is a strange thing considering that Godrick previously escaped from Leyndell - the Capital City. I would guess that Hoarah Loux started as a warrior and pledged to conduct himself as a Lord when he took up the axe, but developing as animus and becoming the regal Elden Lord Godfrey wasn't a transformation that took place all at once. So Marika and Godfrey's children would grow stronger in blood over time as Godfrey grew more lordly, until plateauing at Godwyn the Golden.
I wonder if we can view the two D's as a person and their shadow. We only meet D, Hunter of the Dead in the open world and at the roundtable hold, whereas his brother appears underground which we think represents the subconscious. They seem to have similar goals however, which we wouldn't expect from someone and their shadow, so I don't quite know what to make of them.
I think the shadow analogy works for D, even if it's a little bit of a stretch. My rule of thumb for any character in this game who has a twin, an alter ego or an other self is that they are fractured parts of a greater whole. Sometimes they stay separate, but sometimes, like with D, you see them converge. I think it makes sense for the timid, weak-willed Devon to be the subconscious of the bold, ideologically-driven Darien. When they're separate, they seem totally different. It's only when Devon receives his brother's armor that he begins to act like Darien, as though the twins have become one. It's like the ego reconciling with the shadow and integrating it into the conscious (although really, either one could be seen as the shadow, depending on your perspective).
I absolutely love your theory of Godrick's great rune compelling him to graft. The community tends to give him a lot of shit for being this weak, pathetic creature who desperately attempts to co-opt the power of others, so it's fascinating that his great rune may have played into that urge. Perhaps it makes Godrick's tale more tragic, as having the anchor rune should mean he has the potential to unite all the other great runes, but clearly is too weak to do so.
Enia references the power of the great runes having tainted the demi-gods, so I like how Godrick's rune could have been this devil on his shoulder constantly telling him he has the potential for greatness but is unable to achieve it. One other possible source of inspiration for grafting though, would be Godefroy, since we know he's another member of the golden lineage that employed the practice. Godefroy fought in the shattering war I believe, so it would be interesting to see if maybe he held Godrick's great rune first, but it transferred ownership once he was captured.
My take on the statement that Godrick's blood is weak is that actually this places him near the start of the Golden Lineage. His blood is weak because its outdated and outclassed by the ever increasing standards set by Marika's following demi-god offspring. Kenneth Haight calls Godrick a "bumpkin" which is a strange thing considering that Godrick previously escaped from Leyndell - the Capital City.
I would guess that Hoarah Loux started as a warrior and pledged to conduct himself as a Lord when he took up the axe, but developing as animus and becoming the regal Elden Lord Godfrey wasn't a transformation that took place all at once. So Marika and Godfrey's children would grow stronger in blood over time as Godfrey grew more lordly, until plateauing at Godwyn the Golden.
nice to listen to these videos at work thanks man
I wonder if we can view the two D's as a person and their shadow. We only meet D, Hunter of the Dead in the open world and at the roundtable hold, whereas his brother appears underground which we think represents the subconscious. They seem to have similar goals however, which we wouldn't expect from someone and their shadow, so I don't quite know what to make of them.
I think the shadow analogy works for D, even if it's a little bit of a stretch. My rule of thumb for any character in this game who has a twin, an alter ego or an other self is that they are fractured parts of a greater whole. Sometimes they stay separate, but sometimes, like with D, you see them converge. I think it makes sense for the timid, weak-willed Devon to be the subconscious of the bold, ideologically-driven Darien. When they're separate, they seem totally different. It's only when Devon receives his brother's armor that he begins to act like Darien, as though the twins have become one. It's like the ego reconciling with the shadow and integrating it into the conscious (although really, either one could be seen as the shadow, depending on your perspective).