Impostor Iosefka

## In-game Information

*This information comes directly from the game, or from official supporting materials.*

Third Umbilical Cord (Upon killing Imposter Iosefka post Blood Moon)

*A great relic, also known as the Cord of the Eye. Every infant Great One has this precursor to the umbilical cord.*
*Provost Willem sought the Cord in order to elevate his being and thoughts to those of a Great One, by lining his brain with eyes. The only choice, he knew, if man were to ever match Their greatness.*

Oedon Writhe

*A Caryll rune that transcribes inhuman sounds.*
*"Writhe" sees a subtle mucous in the warmth of blood, and acknowledges visceral attacks as one of the darker hunter techniques. Visceral attacks restore Quicksilver Bullets.*
*Human or no, the oozing blood is a medium of the highest grade, and the essence of the formless Great One, Oedon. Both Oedon, and Oedon's inadvertent worshippers, surreptitiously seek the precious blood.*

White Church Garb

*Attire of special Church doctors.*
*These doctors are superiors to the black preventative hunters, and specialists in experimentally-backed blood ministration and the scourge of the beast.*
*They believe that medicine is not a means of treatment but rather a method for research, and that some knowledge can only be obtained by exposing oneself to sickness.*

Blue Elixir

*Dubious liquid medicine used in strange experiments conducted by high ministers of the Healing Church.*
*A type of anesthetic that numbs the brain.*
*Hunters, able to retain consciousness by force of will, make use of a secondary effect of the medicine, which dilutes their presence while standing still.*

Numbing Mist

*Throw to create a mist cloud that numbs a hunter's life essence and prevents restoration of HP.*
*Said to be used by the blood hunters of Cainhurst, its recipe is a secret closely guarded by the line of nobles inhabiting the castle.*

Augur of Ebrietas

*Remnant of the eldritch Truth encountered at Byrgenwerth.*
*Use phantasms, the invertebrates known to be augurs of the Great Ones, to partially summon abandoned Ebrietas.*

A Call Beyond

*One of the secrets of the Choir.*
*Long ago, the Healing Church used phantasms to reach a lofty plane of darkness, but failed to make contact with the outer reaches of the cosmos.*
*The rite failed to achieve its intended purpose, but instead created a small exploding star, now a powerful part of the Choir's arsenal. At times, failure is the mother of invention.*

Imposter Iosefka (first encounter)

*...Oh, well hello… splendid.. Let me ask you a small kindness. You’re soon off to hunt, I presume? Then if you find any survivors, tell them to seek Iosefka’s Clinic. Upon my Hippocratic Oath, if they are yet human, I will look after them. Perhaps, even cure them. This sickness, these beasts.. they are not to be feared. This time the night is long.*
*I may be trapped here, but I should do something to help. I’ll even offer a reward for your cooperation. Tempted? Well, off you go then. If you find anyone who’s still human, send them straight to Iosefka’s Clinic. You can assure them, there’s no place safer. Please, do me this service.*
*Oh, hello. You made it. Find any survivors? Or any beasts? Tell anyone who’s human about Iosefka’s Clinic. I will take proper care of them. They’re in your hands, and soon… mine….*

Imposter Iosefka (if a NPC, respectively female and male, was sent to Iosefka's Clinic)

*Oh, hello! You’re alright. Very good. She’s safe with me now. I presume you’re to thank?*
*He’s safe with me now. I presume you’re to thank? The treatment is going well. Stabilised, for the most part. Fascinating, really. Here you are, as promised*
*There may yet be humans out there. If you find them, send them to Iosefka’s Clinic. I endeavour to treat every survivor there is. So please, be a saint.*
*We must find a way, to surpass our own stupidity. You’re one of the bright ones. Don’t you see, how much this means? heh heh heh… hah hah*

Imposter Iosefka (before and after becoming her accomplice)

*Oh, hello. You’re safe. What a relief. She’s safe with me now. I’m thrilled to have another. Here you are, as promised. What would I ever do without you? You’re really making a difference… heh heh heh hah, ah!*
*Oh, hello... You're alive. Good. I've received another patient. This time, I'll be trying old blood. I've achieved much. And I owe it all to you. Take this, as thanks. Custom-made. And cheers, to the discovery of kinship. Doesn't it make you feel warm inside? Heh heh heh...*
*Oh, hello. You're still alive. But I suppose we're nearing the end. I don't imagine there are any left who haven't turned by now. Tragic, really, but what's to be done...*

Imposter Iosefka (If hit 3 times through the door)

*Can't anyone comprehend? That'll be quite enough of you, then. Isn't it time someone put you out of your misery?*

Imposter Iosefka (if the Hunter takes the route from Forbidden Woods, and aggro her afterwards pre Blood Moon)

*Ah, moonlit scents… How did you worm your way in here? Very unfortunate. I had such high hopes for you. Well, I won’t make any excuses. Would you mind leaving us alone? Things need not change… You’ll do the rescuing and I’ll do the saving. But, if you refuse to leave… Ah, well. I’ve always wanted to try my hand on a hunter… hah hah heh heh hah*
*This won’t hurt a bit! I’ll soon have you right as rain. (heavy breath)*
*Hush, hush… Stay still… This won’t hurt a bit! I’ll soon have you right as rain… heh heh heh Just, die! Enough of you! Now, stop that!*
*Oh, how exciting! I’ve never worked on a hunter before…*
*Curse this oblivious fool… (cries)*

Imposter Iosefka (if the Hunter takes the route from Forbidden Woods, and talk to her post Blood Moon)

*God, I’m nauseous.. Have you felt this? It’s progressing. I can see things.... I knew it, I’m different. I’m no beast… I… Oh, god... it feels… awful… but, it proves that I’m chosen. Don’t you see? How they writhe, writhe… inside my head… It’s rather… rapturous…. ah hah ah ah (shivers) (laughs)*

Miyazaki during Drained of Blood interview.

*Oh, I’m glad to hear that. I think you’re probably referring to the non-fake one, but the doctor at the clinic is a character that I really like, both the real one and the fake one. Some people in Yharnam are just completely beyond help, but she, or the two of them, are different.*
*That’s a character I like a great deal too, but during development I’d say to the team “She’s one of the heroines of the game” and nobody would believe me, which left me a bit crestfallen. That’s one of the underlying themes of the game... Or, you could say that I have a thing for the “scholarly investigator” character trope. Sage Freke in Demon’s Souls, Master Willem in this game... and fake Iosefka descending from this. But, perhaps because I’m not good at characterization, none of these characters seem to get very popular. It makes me feel a little sorry for the fake Iosefka, if she follows that same route.*

## Description

*A summary about this subject, with minimal speculation.*

* The existence of Imposter Iosefka is confirmed by Miyazaki in the Drained of Blood interview and by the credits, which display "Imposter Doctor" and "Iosefka" separately, each voiced by a different voice actress.

* Imposter Iosefka replaces the real Iosefka once the Hunter reaches Oedon Chapel. She can be interacted with through the door in Iosefka's Clinic, inheriting the spot of the character she replaces.

* She will move upstairs if the Hunter steps into the clinic from the alternative path. Prior to Rom's death, she will ask the Hunter to leave and becomes hostile should they ignore her warning and go upstairs. Post Blood Moon, she will be found bent over in the same room, shivering and in pain. Killing her at this point awards the Hunter with a Third Umbilical Cord, instead of the Oedon Writhe rune she drops pre Blood Moon.

* She wears a White Church Garb and Surgical Gloves, and fights with a Threaded Cane that inflicts Slow Poison, a Repeating Pistol, Numbing Mists, Augur of Ebrietas, and A Call Beyond.

* She awards the Hunter each time they send a patient and talk to her afterwards. She will offer two Lead Elixir for the Young Girl and 2 Numbing Mists for every other character. the Hunter acquires one point of Insight upon receiving each of these gifts. If they became her accomplice, she will give three Blue Elixirs and two points of Insight will be gained for each survivors sent to the clinic.

* For each survivor sent to her, there will be one more Celestial Emissary in Iosefka's clinic. Each of them drop an item who belonged to the patient who was told about the clinic.

* If the Hunter talked to her and sent her survivors, she will add in her dialogue "Very unfortunate. I had such high hopes for you" if met upstairs pre Blood Moon.

* She does not mention the Hippocratic Oath in her japanese dialogue, she simply says "as a doctor".

## Theories

*Speculation and related theory documents, which should not be treated as fact.*

* Imposter Iosefka is trying to elevate humankind into something greater, free from beasthood:

It is likely that Imposter Iosefka shares a goal similar to characters like Willem, who according to the Eye rune description sought to line his brain with eyes to elevate his thoughts. Post Blood Moon, she notably says that she can see things and talks about writhing happening inside her head, which is reminiscent of the eyes on the inside sought by Willem and Insight, which allows the Hunter to "see things" like Amygdala and some messengers in Cathedral Ward prior to Rom's Death. Going by her dialogue, she seems pretty pleased with what's happening to her despite the pain involved, hinting that it is a result she was looking for, and that she is special, that she's "no beast", "chosen". Each patient sent to her is turned into a Celestial Emissary, sharing the same fate as the real Iosefka there who drops a Iosefka's Blood Vial. This transformation conducted by the Imposter is further hinted by a Celestial Emissary lying whose hand and various limbs appear to belong to a human. While those kinds of experiments and quotes might sound immoral and purely selfish on the surface, Miyazaki still refers to her as an heroine. She says in her dialogue that she is trying to find a way to surpass our own stupidity, which is reminiscent of Micolash talking about eyes on the brain to cleanse of our beastly idiocy. Imposter Iosefka might be genuinely willing to cure her patients by bringing them closer to Great Ones and save them from beasthood as a result. the transformation of her patients into Celestial Emissary might not only be for the sake of her own knowledge, but could also be seen as a favor to them since Celestial Emissaries are labelled as Kin, "brethren of the Great Ones" according to Kin Coldblood description, and the Celestial Emissary bossfight is described as a Great One in its trophy description. She might also be caring for the Hunter's sake, saying that she has high hopes for them, is dependant on them, and that they are among the bright ones, which could be interpretated as them understanding her goal and having the potential to become an higher being. On the other hand, if they attack her through the door or directly, she will imply that the Hunter don't understand her intentions and that they should be put out of their misery, perhaps because she sees them as too stupid or simply behaving like a beast beyond salvation. Another thing to note is that the number of survivors she received from the Hunter is irrelevant to the presumably successful outcome of her quest, as she will be found in the same spot and state regardless of whether the Hunter offered their services or not. In other words, she might have not needed to conduct experiments on people for the sake of elevating herself, and her insistance on getting every single survivor left might have been motivated by a genuinely philanthropical intent to help them, or she simply did not foresighted the turning of events and what would happen to her when the Blood Moon descends.

* Imposter Iosefka's and her Umbilical Cord's origins:

The White Church Garb, Repeating Pistol, Augur of Ebrietas, A Call Beyond, and the Blue Elixir she offers all imply that Imposter Iosefka is, or at least was, a member of the Healing Church, and a high-ranking one of that, possibly with ties to the Choir since she uses of one their secret tools, A Call Beyond, as well as the Augur of Ebrietas, and is turning people into Celestial Emissaries, prominent in the region of Isz that the Choir was interested in considering the other Emissaries we find in Upper Cathedral Ward and according to the Isz Root Chalice description. According to the Blindfold Cap description, the Choir follows the steps of Master Willem, who sought the Umbilical Cord for intents similar or identical to Imposter Iosefka's who happened to drop the Third Umbilical Cord which mentions Willem in the description. This is sometimes interpreted as evidence that Imposter Iosefka stole the cord and swallowed it to align her brain with eyes. However, it should be noted that she only drops the Third Umbilical Cord after the Blood Moon descended, which could indicate that she did not have it all along. Another possibility is that, much like Arianna, Imposter Iosefka could have been approached by a Great One like Oedon and developed the Umbilical Cord at this moment. Pre Blood Moon, Imposter Iosefka drops the rune Oedon Writhe, which reads that Oedon and his worshippers seek the oozing blood, lingering through the veins of characters like Arianna and Queen Yharnam who have ties to Vilebloods. The rune would imply a link between Imposter Iosefka and Oedon, and it should be noted that she has silver hairs, much like Annalise and the ones found on the Logarius Wheel, used to slay Vilebloods. She also offers a lot of Numbing Mists which are the result of a secret recipe from the Vilebloods of Cainhurst, and the Cainhurst Invitation found in the clinic could serve as further environemental clue that Imposter Iosefka has some ties to Cainhurst. Therefore, if she has impure blood running through her veins, then she could have been impregnated, or at least approached by a Great One like Oedon, causing her to achieve her goal by getting closer to Great Ones and developping a Umbilical Cord, even though her belly stays unchanged before and after the Blood Moon descends and unlike Arianna, there is no Celestial Child near her.

* Phanstasms are writhing inside Imposter Iosefka's brain:

Imposter Iosefka is progressively seeing things, but she also suffers from the writhing happening inside her head. This writhing could be caused by phantasms, feeding on her brain. Phantasms are referred to as invertebrates functioning as augurs of Great Ones in Augur of Ebrietas description, and are source of arcane energy going by this item description and effect, as well as the Kos Parasite, Empty Phantasm Shell, Blacksky Eye, etc. Brainsuckers, including the one found right outside Iosefka's Clinic, are enemies labelled as kin that use a cyan blue and similar looking slug creature to feed on Insight, synonymous with eyes on the inside, of the Hunter. A parallel could also be made between Imposter Iosefka, who is seeing things and claims to be chosen, and Adeline, who grants the Milkweed rune who reaches a revelation when reduced as a squirming Enlarged Head, tasting her own Brain Fluid. The Milkweed Rune description specifically mentions "feeding phantasms in its luscious bed". It can be inferred that in a similar vein, writhing phantasms are feeding on Imposter Iosefka's brain, full of eyes on the inside given her possession of a Third Umbilical Cord, which causes pain but also serve as a sign that she's chosen, possibly by Great Ones and the knowledge that come with them.

## References

1. Thank you to bloodborne-wiki for their hard work gathering lore notes, item descriptions and dialogue.

1. Thanks to Herbert West for his insights regarding Imposter Iosefka's intentions and phantasm's theory, as explained in this video

1. Thanks to Ashley! for her clarifications and screenshots regarding Imposter Iosefka's ties to Vilebloods.

1. Thanks to LastProtagonist for his translation of Imposter Iosefka's dialogue.