#and this isn't even getting into Malenia's eyes

[arx-aru]

not to say the mean thing out loud but. if you like finlay but refuse to portray her limp and use of a walking aid you maybe don't really like finlay so much as the vague idea of a wlw pairing for malenia

and in which case. an oc or something probably better suits you idk. finlay as a character is mostly a blank slate but she like other cleanrots are quite specifically using their spears/scythes as walking aids and was always as a knight afflicted with the rot to some degree(if that was even the source of her limp)

(yeah it's valid to depict her 'before' she got her limp but that's 1. technically baseless conjecture that she ever was a knight without one 2. not reflective of the relative lack of depiction of her with a walking aid as opposed to without(when she's explicitly a walking aid user) and most importantly 3. removing canon disability from a character is stripping away the sparse representation we get in the genre)

[death-rebirth-senshi]

"I leveled my character up to 200 because...why not, I deserve it" so true

[fandomhcs]

dating malenia would include:

good luck getting her to admit her feelings!!

however, if you succeed in wooing the goddess of rot? you may never find a softer hand, or a more gentle love than hers.

malenia, first of all, would NEVER in a million years believe that she was worthy of love, of a relationship. romance is, and may always be completely foreign to her.

her life has been nothing but duty, war, and rot for so long she never dreamed she would find love.

and yet here you are, standing your ground and proving to her time and time again that your feelings for her are true and pure. you break her, at first. you tear apart the world, the life she saw as her future. you shook the very foundation of her.

miquella would never let her hear the end of it. she could hear him laughing at her, even now.

while the beginning of your relationship with malenia would be rocky, full of doubt and fear, if you can get past that with her? if you can stay by her side? you will see a side of her no other being ever has.

she is naturally quiet and reserved, more keen to stay in the background and observe you rather than be involved in conversation. only a select few can get her to speak, much less hold a full conversation with her.

you come to learn that she is not at all as scary as she seems. sure, there is a great passion for violence within her. but that passion for violence, her confidence in battle, did not stem from rage or hatred. she fights because she wishes to protect those that she loves. she fights because she feels like she is the only thing standing between this world and her beloved brother.

the two of you often sit and read under the haligtree, enjoying the peace and quiet of each other's company.

you braid her hair, hushing her whenever she complains about the rot touching your skin. if you were scared of the rot at all, you wouldn't be with her now would you? she concedes, and over time does become used to your touch.

you may never need to tell her when you are angry, sad, or scared. she'll know. she is attuned to you in a way no other person may ever be. you can always confide in her, can always expect her reassurance and advice if wanted. she will never leave you to deal with your own problems alone.

whether you need her to be a shoulder to cry on, a knight in brilliantly gold armor, or a steady hand to strengthen your resolve, malenia will fulfill that duty. she make it her top priority to make your life as easy and peaceful as she can.

she'd never ask you to stay out of a battle, or tell you that you aren't able to leave the haligtree. but she lingers, she stays by your side more than she should. the idea of something harming you turns her stomach more than the rot. fear isn't something she is used to, but the first time she sees you hurt in a fight she panics. the threat is dealt with in short order, and she is beside you in a blink of an eye. her hands roam your face, your arms, your stomach. when she finds your wound the hiss of pain you let out feels like a sword through her gut.

it takes no time for her brother to heal you, but she cannot let you go for hours after. her fingers stay wrapped in yours while her other hand smooths back your hair. she doesn't allow herself to speak for a long time, until finally you hear her beg your forgiveness.

you know, that even after you reassure her it will take days, weeks, for her to feel safe to leave your side again.

she tries not to coddle you, but does sometimes fail. she knows your are capable. she knows that, she swears. but she cannot stop herself from standing vigil at your side whenever you leave the safety of your shared home.

her insecurity, her fear, can take a toll on your relationship. but if you talk it out with her, if you convince her that you are here to stay, and that you are safer with her than without, eventually malenia will bloom. (NOT THAT WAY.)

with time, and patience she becomes your strength and you her joy. she lets you drag her to the capital for visits with her parents, to sweep her up in a silly dance with music drifting through the haligtree. she smiles more, laughs more, and finally feels content in a way she never imagined.

her bad days may never fully go away. there will be days where she cannot fight the rot writhing within her, where she cannot move for the pain. there are days where she cannot let go of your hand for fear she may never feel you again. but those days get fewer and far between as time goes on.

the two of you become a team, a power couple feared by her siblings and respected by her people.

and random side note, occasionally you may or may not be able to convince her to let finlay join your bedchambers.

[sillovn]

Grace and the Serpent

Continuing in the series of the "back to basics" interpretation of SotE lore; I want to talk about Grace and Messmer's curse.

The simple question here is; what exactly is Messmer's problem?

Being cursed from birth is fairly common among members of the divine family, with who is/isn't shunned probably being related to the specifics of the curse. As with Malenia, Outer God influence is not innately a problem (even to be an empyrean). Melina shows that being fire-aligned is not a deal breaker either.

Messmer seemingly lived as a "mundane" warrior-Demigod until his exile from the Erdtree (see. Black Knight Andreas, Remembrance of Gaius). The reveal of his "serpent nature", later causes a rebellion within the crusade (see. Andreas and Huw), oddly implying that it wasn't widely known or observable? Yet, even before the crusade, there already seems to have been something profane about the man (see. Fire Knights are nobles exiled for serving Messmer). The one thing that does set him apart from other cursed Demigods is a lack of innate Grace, which he receives via. artificial eye.

I think this particular aspect is important and sets Messmer apart from other cursed beings.

2. Giving Grace

In literal terms, Grace is the blessing of the Erdtree manifest as light within the eyes. Some basic points on it...

Grace can be given and taken (see. Golden Runes 10-13, Tarnished, Iris of Grace). The Golden Runes also imply that grace began with the Erdtree's first converts. (ie. people marked with this distinction began to exist after a certain point in history, its not something that has always existed).

Grace also seems to be inheritable (eg. Omens)

Erdtree religion is expansionist and proselytizing (see. Sacred Tear, Wars of Expansion, ongoing inquisitions and crusades).

Said religion is the core of Leyndell's society. Thus, whether or not you have Grace is very important (see. Tarnished, Crusaders).

Put simply, I think Grace is best imagined as an analogy for religious membership - you can enter and leave, but people tend to take after their parents.

You could also see it as a marker of said membership. Lots of IRL examples for initiation rites, specific customs/dressing.

With all this in mind, I think its important to note the different reasons why various people lack Grace.

As mentioned earlier, Grace doesn't seem innate - it presumably was given to the Golden Order's first followers and spread as Marika's kingdom expanded. This process of Erdtree conversion carries on to the present day (eg. Mt Gelmir). This is just to say that there is a default state of being graceless; the unconverted people. Then you have the apostates (eg. Tarnished), people who had Grace, but were stripped of it. Messmer differs from all these examples in that he seems unable to receive Grace (by conventional means anyway).

3. The Grace Eater

In terms of 'hard canon', the Abyssal Serpent gets little elaboration, but it's major properties are related to being light-less (shorn of light) and devouring (see. Messmer's Kindling). In that sense, the Abyssal Serpent's title is self explanatory; it is a personified abyss.

The serpent may not have been fire-aligned originally, but has acquired it by devouring Messmer's Fire. You could also argue to what extent Messmer and the serpent(s) are separate beings at present (the 'reverse-Rykard' analogy).

In the literal, in-universe sense; perhaps the *specific problem* is that the serpent devours grace given to Messmer. In the ideological sense, perhaps his existence violates the belief that Grace can be extended to all. Leaning into the idea of Messmer as Satan-figure, you could say he exists outside the grace of divinity, the true irredeemable.

Extra Notes

Not going to speculate here if Albinaurics can be graced or not.

Some would say that Messmer cannot have grace by virtue of losing his eye (hence nowhere for Grace to manifest). While this idea is intuitive, Marika is completely eye-less at present (Malenia also arguably so). There's also no mention of a prejudice against missing eyes under the Erdtree.

---END---

~thanks for reading

[katyspersonal]

I did not address this but back then when I was debating a certain tech device utilized for making smoothies who thought it was a good idea to jump on a lore post by Val on topic of Marika with a bunch of incorrect stuff, as there were like 50 more pressing topics to address, but I will say NOW hfnhghfh

They said that Marika was a good mother who at least tried to heal Malenia's Rot, based on the fact that we can find Marika's Soreseal in Ephael in a chest in that annoying area with like four Royal Revenants! I really still don't get it to this day, because this item's description straight up refers to the burden of duty (not unlike dreaded "caged divinity" apparently), but alright. Let's think, the eye seal items got recontextualized a bit with Messmer's eye seal, which did contain Base Serpent, so what they're saying, Marika tried to stall Rot like that when Malenia still had eyes and before Unalloyed Gold was invented.

....well, there is ALSO Marika's Scarseal gatekept behind a Dragonkin Soldier. So then what? What was she presumably trying to heal that guy from? From trying to be a dragon? Bro spent a moment explaining how Marika liked dragons by allowing Godwyn to befriend one! Okay, whatever. Radagon's Scarseal is dropped by an imprisoned Ancient Hero of Zamor! Well, why is that? What was it supposed to help with? Do you say that Zamor like maybe caught the Giants Flame curse too, so he tried to help with it? Okay, his Soreseal is found in Fort Faroth! By their own logic, seal of grace being found in Demigod-associated place means connection, and the only fit one is Radahn! What was he trying to help Radahn with, then? Being too horny for the battle? How far can this logic be pushed?

No, no, no, don't tell me that HIS seals have negative context on the contrary! You clearly recontextualized them as a concept because of Messmer, so they have identical function of sealing now, only different buffs! Except, they did try to prove Radagon being a bad father based on the fact that he only taught Miquella offensive spells and not healing ones! Even though not only one of all two Golden Order Fundamentalism incantations, that the two founded together, specifically has negative status effect healing, but also I'd argue it is a good call to teach the weakest (physically) kid how to fight for himself in case if his sister can't be near!

But also, there is an even bigger picture. The whole "Marika was such a good mother" coming from that doesn't sit right with me because Miquella literally spends the whole DLC severing his connection with the family, motivated by the fact that he is so ashamed of bearing his mother's sins! There is a difference between abandoning link to his father because attempts to heal his sister failed and abandoning link to his mother because "the roots were rotten"! So, do we not consider Miquella's opinions as objective insight on his parents? But this person earlier used Messmer's feelings as evidence towards Marika being good! So, what exactly determines which character is trusted to be a window into another character and which isn't?

[maranigai]

Do you still accept characters for that ask meme? I saw you only answered an ask about Messmer so far! How about Morgott for that ask meme? (not sure if asking DS characters counts since like 80% of info about them has to be manually hallucinated by the fan themselves, but I can if that's okay with you!)

Yep, I'm still doing character ask meme, Messmer simply was the only ask for me by now lol Also DS characters are fine too, of course they would be like 95% headcanon based, but that's why we love DS, isn't it?

But anyway, Morgott. My absolutely favourite of favourites of all ER characters...

favorite thing about them

First of all, Morgott is such a beautifully contradictory character. He's a demigod shardbearer and a cursed being, a proud monarch and a monster in his own eyes, a defender of all that is holy and a warlock shrouded in illusions. And all these things are actually logical and completely understandable given his story. Because, above everything else, Morgott is a broken creature, not as a result of his own deeds or guilts, but because of the things beyond his control, some ancient sins and crimes he's not aware of, some old vengeance that existed even before he was born. And this break, this pain, is a spiral, you know? Morgott hates his nature because he was convinced he's a monster, he supports the system that oppresses him because he believes that he's oppressed rightfully and this system is the best remaining option for the world as a whole, even if he and people like him have to suffer for it, and in doing so he causes even more harm, more oppression and misery for himself and everyone around. I love how he's a loyal, determined, faithful person, and this is exactly what makes him a villain in the story. He's an extremely tragic character, but completely consistent in his tragedy, his brokenness, and I have a deep weakness for broken things.

least favorite thing about them

I don't think there's anything I don't like about him as a character, I mean, he's certainly not flawless, but his flaws are what make him so interesting in the first place. So I say that my least favourite thing is his bossfight. Don't get me wrong, Morgott is one of my favourite FromSoft bosses in general, but I have a feeling that they made his moveset (super-complex and interesting) first, then remembered he's a mandatory mid-game boss and panicked to balance him to this level by drastically reducing his damage and hp.

favorite line

May the curse seep to thy very soul.

I just love his spiteful tone in this one, sorry.

brOTP

I could write Mohg or Godwyn here and it would be legit, but allow me to be more exotic this time and mention Malenia. They have many things in common, if you think about it: two cursed, yet somewhat noble beings, bitterly determined and endlessly loyal to their masters of choice. I can absolutely see how they can respect and understand each other, even if not sharing each other's cause. I also love the idea of a young, sick, not-yet-swordmaster Malenia and her Cool Big Brother Morgott, the only person around who takes her seriously.

OTP

Banished knight Oleg. Literally the mix of my favourite tropes of "liege and their a bit too loyal knight" and "my majestic, scheming wife and me, committing whatever crimes she wants me to commit today". Also Oleg dies before Morgott, so my inner angst enjoyer appreciates this as well.

nOTP

Mohg! I just can't see them as a pairing, their sibling relationships is everything to me. I'm also not a fan of Tarnished/Morgott, mainly because most of such arts/fics imply some level of self-indulgence and this just doesn't work for me (though I've seen several very cool works with this pairing too).

random headcanon

Three for the price of one: Morgott's hobby is creating clockwork automatons (a more detailed post about this hc); his favourite half-sibling is Malenia and this is mutual; he also shares Mohg's sense of fashion, but refuses to admit it.

unpopular opinion

While most people hc Morgott to be the elder twin, in my hcs he's the younger one (and the youngest of Godfrey's sons). Ironically enough, this isn't an important headcanon for Morgott himself, but it's an essential part of my perception of Godwyn and (especially) Mohg.

song i associate with them

Мельница - Что ты знаешь

My personal theme song for Morgott as the Veiled Monarch.

favorite picture of them

There're so many cool arts of Morgott that it's really hard to choose the most favourite one lol

So for now I pick this one by Cruentum_Noctis

[wraith-caller]

I don't get the Kenneth HYPE and I will no longer remain silent(as if I know how to shut up). He isn't some lone champion of (demi)human rights or something. He is just another Golden Order noble, and whether fandom at large can stand to admit it or not, the GO isn't persecuting the demi-humans. In fact, demi-humans have grace, and it is Raya Lucaria Academy who derides them as "lesser":

Demi-Human Queen's Staff Glintstone staff styled as a scepter. A gift once given to the demi-humans to foster peace, it can be wielded even by those of low intelligence. Sneered at by fools in the academy.

I'm not sure why Ken Haight's position on demi-humans is so often taken as some implication that he alone is some kind of 'progressive' force within an Order that persecutes so many other living things. Clearly the GO is persecuting loads of 'others' - Misbegotten, Omen, TWLID, they stomped out the Giants completely, they don't accept Albinaurics, and let's not even go into the Hornsent. Nowhere does Ken Haight decry any of this, and nowhere does any other member of the GO hate or reject demi-humans. Ken Haight even specifically says "Under the Erdtree, commingling with the demi-humans is made possible." Not "in my castle", not "if I ruled Limgrave", it's just a simple fact of the Golden Order's society. So where's this idea come from that Ken Haight is especially accepting and the rest of the Order is persecuting them? Beyond this, Ken Haight carries the same prejudices as many other non-Tarnished, briefly hesitating before accepting our help in spite of his apparently desperate predicament. He isn't someone without bias, either, even pulling an ole "you might even be one of the good ones :)" when he says "And who knows, perhaps some time down the line, the grace of gold will return to those Tarnished eyes of yours." Then there's his own hypocrisy where he derides Godrick as a coward for not wanting to be killed by Malenia while he can't even face up to a single knight in his own fortress.

I'm not here to say Ken Haight is worse or better or whatever else. Mostly I'm just wondering why so many people think he is this positive force for change rather than accepting the far simpler fact that he's a GO noble that believes in the GO's tenets, no more, no less. While there are different eras of the Order, and different schools of incantations within it, his faith to the Erdtree is still a faith in the Order that created it, and that Order has been a bloody genocide-machine from the start. If we're condemning the Order, why are we handing him a get-out-jail-free card just because he accepts the demi-humans, something that ALL of the Golden Order appears to do?

[surelyspacejunk]

Melina is the Gloam Eyed Queen

I've come to this conclusion because I think the simplest possible answer the game provides is going to be more convincing than the 5D chess theory crafting required to explain her existence. Convoluted theories of her being the GEQ's child, or the GEQ sealed in a child, or cursed from an Empyrean rival or what not require theorizing how Melina could end up with the GEQ's powers when the simplest answer is that she simply is the GEQ.

If that's not enough for you I've listed below several reasons why I've come to believe that Melina is the GEQ.

1. The Frenzied Flame Ending shows you that Melina is the GEQ.

The Frenzied Flame ending shows her vowing to deliver destined death to you with the appearance of the Gloam Eyed Queen. I don't think it gets any simpler than the game telling you who she is.

2. The Shadow Realms may imply that there is a period of time between Marika's Ascension and the establishment of the Golden Order.

I list this as important because it slots Melina's story neatly into a timeline where it can exist and make sense.

The two biggest hints that this period exists are the Marika statues and churches scattered across the land (even in places Messmer's crusade could not reach such as the Abyssal Woods) and the hornsents' fixation on Marika's betrayal.

Some people believe the betrayal happened shortly after (or during) her ascension but that doesnt don't really sit well with me because the hornsent would have needed to trust her first for the betrayal to feel real. No evidence in game shows that the hornsent had much respect for the shamans beyond them being great concrete goo, so it doesn't really make sense that they'd feel betrayed by someone they feel below them. If they felt someone below their station had become a god they didn't accept, they would surely use the word cheated would they not? But they don't use the word cheated, they use the word betrayed. For a betrayal to feel real, the hornsent would have needed to trust and consider her to be an important part of their culture first. Perhaps they did not care all that much that Marika was a shaman, just that she was a successful result of the Divine Gateway they built. Surely after all the sacrifices they must have felt some relief that it worked out?

So after her ascension, churches and stakes are propped up through out the land before they are abruptly slaughtered and sealed away during Messmer's campaign. Sometime between those two events is where the GEQ's story fits in.

3. Dominula's Rituals show that both the GEQ and Marika share similar cultural traditions. Festive Grease ties it back to traditions in the Shadow Realms.

There are a number reddit posts that have connected the braids of Dominula's festivals to Marika and the Godskins. This reddit post points out cultural overlap of the flowers, runes and visuals seem to imply that they are honoring Marika from traditions that predate the Erdtree, yet in practice seem to be in-line with what the Godskins celebrate. I believe that the festive grease implies that the flaying traditions were done by the Numen shamans themselves which was then picked up by worshipers in Dominula. Perhaps, Melina herself incorporates the cultural flaying in her faction as a twisted and bittersweet way to remember the shamans that came before her. With all this laid out, it's easy to conclude that the Erdtree allows the Dominula tradition to continue despite it's connection with the 'heretical' Godskins, because it has always been a part of Marika's heritage as well.

4. Ranni and Melina's sealed eye implies that they are both Empyreans. (more info for Miquella & Malenia to follow.)

I also like the theory that all of the Empyreans are one eyed which would neatly explain what similarities Melina and Ranni may have. There isn't much visual evidence that Miquella and Malenia were one eyed, but people on reddit speculated that Miquella could have literally meant that he had one eye when when said, “I abandon here my eye��. For Malenia, it could have been that the rot had already claimed one of her eyes in youth as we could see with Millicent's sisters, with differing variances of their sight being afflicted by the Scarlet Rot. Hers is admittedly the shakiest conjecture, but it's a theory I like that visually links Ranni and Melina and gives unity to all the Empyreans born under the Golden Order.

This reddit post is the one that put me on board with the one eyed empyrean theory which lists a lot of evidence for this pattern. There are some points that make me pause though, because I could not verify some of these claims, such as the One Eyed Marika statue supposedly located in the Round Table. If they are talking about the Colosseum Marika, I think the statue is simply too damaged for that to be verifiable.

That said, I think this is an interesting observation, and it'd be interesting to see fanart of Miquella with one eye.

4. Melina is one of three other people who are familiar with Torrent, two of which are Empyrean Demigods.

This one is simple. Torrent seems to have a nose for power. Ranni seems to be familiar with him and we see promo material of Miquella riding him in the Shadow Realms.

5. The Drama

The drama of a Marika having Maliketh kill her child who rebelled against her sounds so messy and inline with the rest of the family's mess that I can't help but enjoy it. This is not proof of anything, this is me admitting that accepting Melina as the GEQ aligns with my flavor of Rule of Cool. Not to mention it would be in character for both Fromsoft and GRRM to have a daughter rebel against her mother and be crushed and erased from history for it.

So if we assume Melina is the GEQ, the timeline would imply that:

Melina, first daughter of Marika is born as an Empyrean.

Gains control over the Rune of Death and the Godskin Apostles.

Implements characteristics of the Crucible in her Godskins (with their animal/snake like features) and adopts the practice of ritual flaying.

Comes into conflict with her mother, Marika and is defeated by Maliketh.

Marika creates The Golden Order.

Various wars to consolidate the Golden Order's power are launched.

The Messmer's crusades are launched and sealed away with the Shadow Realms and are forgotten.

The Shattering happens.

Melina is left as a somewhat amnesiac spectral version of herself until the Tarnished guides her on their journey back to the Erdtree.

The rest is up to us.

====

And that's that.

As usual, all this theory crafting is just for fun and can be right or wrong. I know I already disagree with some of my Messmer/Melina theories I myself wrote(lol) but I've settled on this one pretty strongly lately and wanted to share.

[blaiddfailcam]

Honestly I think the biggest giveaway that Radahn wasn't charmed is simply that his eyes lack the Unalloyed ubiquity of others in service to Miquella—including Mohg.

That isn't to say I think Radahn fully agreed to become Miquella's consort, either, of course. I almost get the sense he made a bit of a gamble, agreeing to the vow only if he could be slain in battle. The fact that Malenia had to abandon her pride to "meet his measure" illustrates just how powerfully Radahn resisted, and continued to do so even as his mind was withered away by her Scarlet Rot.

It's anyone's guess how the rules of Elden Ring's universe determine a soul's autonomy, but I don't suppose Radahn would have much control with his spirit transmuted into Mohg's body. Mohg may have been charmed, but lbr, homie was already a creep slingin' bloodflies in his youth to torment spirits—like Leda and Dane, I imagine the charm merely prevented him from restricting others chosen by Miquella, and to allow them to follow into the shadowlands. (Although, you'd also think he'd have wanted them to kill him sooner.)

the peepers ooooooh

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman Showdown Round 1 Part 2

Ryoshu (Limbus Company) vs Malenia (Elden Ring)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Ryoshu

She just loves to kill, but it has to be artistically beautiful. If there’s no art, she’s not interested. And naturally, she does the killing with a sword.

Her sword is a massive nodachi and being based on Hell Screen by Ryonosuke Akutagawa shes an artist. Her art is clean cut murder. Never unsheathes it and can decapitate people woth ease; Chucked a knife at a chandelier and the narration goes on to explain how pretty skilled she is even after being weakened. The falling chandelier then hits no one and stops the fight briefly. Gets embarrassed and insists it was "a performance" She's so handsome <3. Chainsmoker too. Very cool. Very dork <3. Her eyes are red and flare up when mad but she looks like an angry cat <3, Might have a daughter if going by her source material? And given the setting said daughter may be her nodachi too. No matter which version she is she never leaves it behind regardless. Fond of acronyms when talking. From abusing to SANGRIA (Succinct abbreviation naturally germinates rather immaculate art to CHICK (Chirping hesitation isn't cool, kiddo) to threatening to BARF (Break all remaining fingers) on someones hands Cannot cook for shit, it was once described as a "poultry apocalypse" by a chicken monster who had a taste of it. Also scared away a donqui coworker when burning a kebab with her lighter. Fuckin Soda shrimp dance.

Malenia

She is arguably the hardest boss in any Fromsoft game.; She is the favorited boss of Animal from the Muppets.

[annelidist]

i don't know, i feel like even though theres no real textual information about Melina in the dlc, theres enough new information about other stuff that we can extrapolate about her (e.g. marika is not above taking out her childrens eyes, she probably had some fire/destined death related curse, pink hair is a mix of radagons red and marikas gold). but one thing we didnt get ANY information on is torrent. whats his deal. we got more information about him from the teaser image than actually ingame

ok yeah it is really funny that we still don't know what a spirit steed is. regarding melina, though, i don't think the dlc gets us any closer to a satisfactory understanding of her character. her closed eye is intact (as revealed in the main game's frenzied flame ending), her connection to destined death isn't touched on in the dlc, even the hair is a signpost to nothing in particular because, as we can see from malenia, miquella, and morgott*, pink hair is not a distinctive trait of marika-radagon offspring. she's just a mess of signifiers pointing in different directions, an unsolvable enigma far too vague and confused to be intriguing

*mohg is bald

[maranull]

What do you think Malenia’s ‘ideal world’ looks like, one where she never was infected with the Scarlet Rot?

Mmm, this is hard...

To me, Mal feels like a very unambitious person. She's content with being helpful to others (Miq, mostly) and getting better with her blade. At the same time, I feel she does things she wants in spite of the Rot.

So if the Rot wasn't a factor, I think the main change would be that she would be more relaxed, independent and obviously having all her limbs and eyes. She'd probably still follow Miq's ideas. And I think she'd still be the monster that she is with a blade. Maybe she'd be loved by more people. I think she and Finlay would still end up together somehow.

I dunno. The twins' curses are very central to their characters. While I'm sure that Miq's decision to break from the Golden Order was partly due to how the Order treated those it deemed cursed or blasphemous, but another big part was that it couldn't help him or his sister. And Mal's character is even more tied to her curse and her resistance of it. Despite it and the loss of her limbs, she becomes the most skilled warrior in the Lands. We see in the cinematic trailer (that shows the Bloom against Radahn) and in the cutscene to her second phase, that the Rot is always looking for an opening to take control. Winning against Radahn breaks her defences for a moment (I believe they were in good, even friendly terms before Mohg kidnapped Miq and I will die on this hill) and the Rot takes control, forcing the first bloom. And when we defeat her for the first time at the Haligtree, the Rot takes hold once more. Basically, she is in a constant mental battle against the Rot.

What I'm failing to say is that their curses are deeply connected to their characters and decisions, so in a world where the Rot isn't a factor, Mal is probably a very different person, and one I can't really imagine.

[ladygwyndolin]

Yeah the most popular fan take currently is that the vow was non consensual and pure evil Miquella is controlling poor uwu radahn because these guys don't want their fav to be an incestuous pedo warlord. It's so bad because they outright refuse to believe anything freyja says on the basis that "she isn't radahn" as if her being in his inner circle means nothing, all while taking ansbach word for word even though he also was only in mohgs inner circle and is not mohg himself therefore by their logic is also not completely trustworthy. It's so dumb because the final cutscene spelled it all out and was hilariously in your face to the point that I rolled my eyes about it because we could've gotten anything else we didn't already know but apparently shame on me for expecting radahn fanboys to have literacy because a majority still didn't get it. Why would Miquella beg Radahn to be his consort in the vision and for him to honor the vow if it all was all one-sided, in general why would he be lying to himself? The final fight labeling radahn as his promised consort is also pure evidence for it. Idk I guess the reality is now setting in for them that the price of prime radahn was the complete butchering of his character so they're now scrambling for coping theories

Man I had a whole long winded response to this prepared ready to talk about shallow critique and stuff but honestly there isn't really any point to it when it boils down to radahn fans being fucking cringe reddit morons who are only into radahn because he's simple enough to turn into a gigachad meme and love coping with malenia being stronger than them by being misogynistic about it so ofc they're gonna be stupid here. Lore only matters when it's surface level shit that u can use to make ur fun guts guy cooler. I hate men

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

First Elden Ring OC, the canon compliant one.

Yvelt, she is a Big Beefy Woman, olive complexion and 6'2. One of Hoarah Loux's tribe (refuses to ever use the name Godfrey without saying it like the most foul insult) and feels he betrayed her and their tribe after returning to The Lands Between (TLB) as a Tarnished. She starts as the Hero class and thinks Melina is weird/mildly untrustworthy.

Gets the Spirit Caller bell and in a moment of smartass teasing, refuses to say she is able to summon Torrent. She enjoys getting a rise out of this tiny woman. She doesn't recognize Ranni from her time in TLB before being sent away since she looks so different and is calling herself Renna. She progresses through the game normally, slaying Godrick and finding Rennala to be a pitiful sight. Then she finds Ranni and learns of her identity, she doesn't put much stock in an Empyrian reduced to a literal puppet. She turns down her offer to serve her and leaves for the Rahdan Festival.

She sees a woman in a church, heavily infected with scarlet rot, on the way to it. She recalls how this pox managed to harm even a demi-god like Malenia and feels empathy for the poor woman. She learns of the Unalloyed gold needle and goes through the process of retrieving it and then implanting it into the poor souls flesh. She leaves before the woman awakens, satisfied she did a good deed.

She is excited to battle Rahdan...until she sees him. She raises the spyglass to her eye at the top of the elevator to his arena. She recalls how he was talked about by his soldiers before the Shattering war, the hunched over figure is nothing like what she was told of. The sight of him eating his own soldiers corpses like a rabies infected dog sickens her. She kills him and moves on with hate in her heart.

She begins to truly hate, with a burning passion unlike before. It would be easy to aim it at Malenia, for doing this to him and to Caelid...but she aims higher. She recalled how the Stormveil castle looked prior to her departure. She recalls how grand and lively the streets of Leyndell were...and she begins to hate whatever god sent that damnable Elden Ring to this world!

She doesn't know how but she ends up in front of a massive door in the bottom of a makeshift tomb within the city. She pushes them open and see's the Three fingers. She eagerly welcomes their embrace, yes...let chaos take the world, Let Chaos Take The World! She gleefully goes forth to kill anyone who would slow her ascent to the mountaintop. Until she spies a red haired woman, she recognizes her. It's the woman from the church. She wants to approach and introduce herself, but something takes a hold of her. She goes mad for a moment and hits the redhead suddenly with a haphazard swing of her axe. The woman doesn't even have time to scream. She swings a few more times until she spies the Unalloyed Needle sticking out of her mutilated flesh.

The madness passes and leaves her alone with the corpse, this disturbes her. This...isn't what shs wanted at all. She didn't want to be controlled like a puppet...like a puppet. She takes the needle and races as fast as she can upon Torrent to Ranni. She begs Ranni to allow her to serve Ranni's goals of removing the influence of the outer gods from TLB. Ranni sends her underground, to retrieve a dagger. One forged from a dead god. Over the course of helping Ranni, she learns from Blaidd how to resist the madness of the Three Fingers. She becomes Ranni's most loyal retainer, and after injecting the Unalloyed Needle in a place outside of time, she becomes Ranni's Consort.

She doesn't see the irony of her relationship with Ranni after that. She is too focused on smashing her former tribe leaders head into the rubble. (And maybe cheering for joy when she realizes she is on the recieving end of Hoarah Loux's infamous power bomb) The way her loyalty and willingness to bend the world for Ranni, to destroy anyone in her Mistresses path and how it mirrors the path Hoarah Louxs walked with Marika, eludes her. She takes the mantle of Elden Lord in the name of her Mistress, following her on the cold dark path she treads.

Tldr, Hero class beefcake of a woman. Former member of Hoarah Loux's tribe. Goes down the Three fingers path out of resentment and bitter hatred at first, but then uses the Unalloyed Gold Needle to become free. Falls in love with Ranni. The end.

[adventurersdelight]

🔞 ( Valeria &. Malenia )

Rolling Out Headcanons (NSFW)

One thing that Valeria's always wanted to try is nude painting, both as the artist and the model. While she isn't very confident in her sketching and painting skills, she still wants to garner a deeper understanding for the subject matter and the beauty found in the humanoid form. By the same notion, she wants to see if someone would see the same beauty in her.

Malenia's the type of person that causes unknown disasters in her pursuit to uphold her ideals. What she perceives as pleasantries could be construed as a formal form of flirting. Mix that with a winning smile, sharp eyes, and the way she pulls her hair back, Malenia's "slain" many an "opponent" without even trying.

Not that she accepts the advances as she doesn't really get why shirtless people will throw themselves at her sometimes.

[katyspersonal]

Lrb dear god, this reminded me of that time when Alfred-chan got sooooo mad at my post explaining why fans should respect bisexual headcanons for Maria and Malenia instead of pretending like they're canonically lesbians and that they get oppressed and erased by mxf ships with them. They kept vagueing that post for like a MONTH in their blog including in tags under reblogs of Maria fanart, passively-aggressively changed their url to character+sexuality to "spite" me and then even made a sockpuppet account to start shit with me in the comments.

They deactivated when me and Val completely obliterated their "you cultivate lesbiphobic following by telling people why they should respect all sexuality headcanons instead of acting cultish or assuming their experiences and stereotypes equal canon confirmation" garbage with actual facts and logic tho but I screenshotted everything fjthfgfj (I learned to document everything the hard way after they've changed the she/they pronouns to they/they pronouns ONLY to accuse me of misgendering, so thank you for making me wiser I guess 😎). Even more vile, as they, a white person, larped as an Arab in that sockpuppet to hold even MORE "privilege" against me in discussion gjtjfh Because for them race, gender or sexuality are just badges of honor and dishonor, they don't see these as traits of actual human beings. And Dr Eugene X, who worked with them and weaponized her race to accuse everyone who disagreed with her of racism, didn't bat an eye at such a terrible act too?? As usual, rules are not for their friends, lol

It is not even the worst thing Alfred did, and yet all of this just, just, JUST because I wrote a point on why bisexual headcanon people did nothing wrong and there is no ground to claim something is canon when it isn't. 🤦‍♂️ Like, they were soooo convinced that I hated lesbian headcanons and that I'd feel angry if they called Lady Maria a lesbian, when what I was angry at is this exact toxic behavior in the fandom. No matter how much you like a headcanon, don't be a bitch about it. Maria doesn't """belong""" to any gender or sexuality, she belongs to anyone who likes her and is invested in her complexity as a character!!!

Yet, apparently, common Malenia simps / Finlay shippers are no better than common Maria simps / Mariadeline shippers. Just, wild how after shit like this, many people have the guts to claim that it is "sexist redditbros" who are the biggest problem of creators in the fandom. 🤦‍♂️ They'd actually blush if they encountered what such self-proclaimed "feminists" do to their own (!!!) over headcanons. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️