Dagdammit's Explanation Vol. 1: The Cosmos

To explain what's going on with Bloodborne, we have to start with the shape of the universe.

There are multiple planes of existence. Critically, these planes can be "higher" or "lower" relative to one another, along a 4th-dimension axis I'm going to call Cosmic Elevation. Willem tells us the Waking World is the "basest of planes", the lowest known cosmic elevation, and there's no evidence I can name which contradicts him. So for humankind, the Cosmos (the full dimensional spectrum of existence) means all that is higher than the Waking World.

- HP Lovecraft Dreamlands rules

- Higher beings on higher planes

- Higher thoughts on higher planes

- The level you see is the the level you think on.

- Swirling liquid nightmare between worlds

- One Way Mirror effect

- Underwater is Relative?

The "higher" in "higher plane" applies in numerous senses: (The higher planes are "higher" in a number of ways:)


 * Higher along the 4th dimensional "cosmic elevation" axis.
 * Higher along the 3rd dimensional vertical axis. Each higher plane is literally higher up in the sky than the one below it.
 * In the course of Bloodborne's events (see Vol. 5), the Moon descends to a lower cosmic elevation (descending
 * Higher beings. The higher planes are the natural location for more advanced/"evolved" organisms, akin to how humans and elephants are more sophisticated, complex life forms than insects and single-celled bacteria. "Kin of the Cosmos" appears to be a category for all fauna whose natural "place" is higher than that of the Waking World. (Side note: I also think it really doesn't matter much whether any given in-game creature is Kin or not, nor which of several conflicting standards should be used to evaluate this).
 * They are the home of "higher knowledge"- more advanced, abstract concepts that require a greater intellect to conceive of & comprehend. It's notable that these "higher truths" appear to often be fundamental truths of the universe, in a similar fashion to pi and the pythagorean theorem.
 * The "make contact" gesture may be referencing the IRL idea that demonstrating knowledge of the pythagorean theorem could be an effective way to convey to a wholly alien intelligence that humans are sapient beings.
 * Caryll Runes are another example. In norse myth, runes are the generative formulas of all possible languages, the bases of all verbal and written expressions in which human knowledge can be captured and transmitted. Odin made himself into a hanged man (dangling from a tree by means of a cord upon one ankle, a torturous state that bestows higher perspective) so that he could learn these runes & be able to use them; this is the origin of the tarot hanged man, which was used as the basis for bloodborne's Hunter's Mark.

- This is the *critical* limitation waking world cosmic scholars face- it appears that the level on which you see is the level on which you think and reason. Those who see only the basest of planes can think only the basest of thoughts- any higher knowledge (say, that gained as your dreaming consciousness roams through higher planes) is either forgotten or seems like incomprehensible nonsense.

- It's important to stop and acknowledge: This is touching on some *deeply* fucked up IRL ideas. D. H. Lawrence, whom Bloodborne's Laurence is likely named after, was an IRL 19th-century asshole poet and armchair psychologist who was convinced he knew better than Sigmund Freud and all these other "science" types who wanted society to be all *rational*. He idolized the blind, because he literally believed that blindness rendered one incapable of rational thought. The man yearned for an epidemic of blindness, thinking it would give people the chance to reconnect with their emotions and primal will. Bloodborne's premise seems to have been partly inspired by this notion.

Definitions:


 * Cosmos: the full dimensional spectrum of existence beyond the Waking World.
 * Waking World: the basest of planes, seen by its ignorant human residents as the "real world".
 * Eldritch: Anything that is of a higher plane than the waking world.
 * Eldritch Truth: Any knowledge too advanced for a waking world mind to comprehend.
 * Insight: The metagame statistic reflecting how many Eyes on the Inside you've developed.
 * Eyes on the Inside: Literal eyes that develop inside the body and allow one to perceive things on a higher planar level (whereas Eyes on the Outside can only perceive the plane you're currently on). Humans grow them on their brains as they gain insight into eldritch matters, typically via firsthand exposure.
 * Nightmare (capitalized): A location on a higher plane.
 * Dream: A location on a higher plane. Usually more hospitable than a Nightmare, but the two labels seem subjective and interchangeable.
 * nightmare (uncapitalized): a mass of liquid that fills the gaps between worlds, swirling and churning without end. Also known as the "bottomless sea" or "abyssal cosmos".


 * Relic: That which contains the blood or blood echoes of a Great One.
 * Forbidden: Every instance of this term seems to have one of 3 meanings.
 * The blood which a traitorous student spirited away to Cainhurst was declared forbidden by Master Willem.
 * The grounds of byrgenwerth & surrounding region were declared forbidden (e.g. off-limits) by the Healing Church.
 * Beasthood research, a field initially researched by the Healing Church & then declared forbidden by the same organization.

Definitions (personal terms):


 * Cosmic Elevation: Something's position along the 4th dimensional axis that separates "higher" and "lower" planes.
 * Rom's Veil: Whatever effect Rom is doing or enabling, up until the point we take them out.
 * God-Bride: Ancient pthumerians who "Married" a Great One, a.k.a. were under blood contract to bear their child.