#i hope you enjoyed this rant

[yolowritter]

A Perspective on Miquella the Kind

"Miquella the Kind...is a monster." Those are some of the first words uttered by Sir Ansbach once the Empyrean's Great Rune is shattered, and the charm placed upon his followers in the Lands of Shadow is lifted. But...are they actually true? With all the new information we have about Miquella in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it's worth to re-examine all we know about his character. Naturally, a huge part of the community is budy combing every nook and cranny for more lore on this Demigod. And...others are displeased with the new information given, or more specifically, what Miquella's plan is revealed to be at the DLC's end. So today, I want to take a closer look at Miquella as a character, his followers, and of course, the overarching plot which the Tarnished becomes involved in after slaying Radahn and Mohg. As an aside, we really owe the Lord of Blood an apology as a community. Nevermind the murders and cult sacrifices, Mohg managed to beat the allegations! Anyway, I do intend to also give my own interpretation in regards to the more...questionable things in the new Lore, so let's get right to it!

Firstly, it's worth establishing a baseline for who Miquella is as a person. As we all know, he is the son of Queen Marika and King Consort Radagon, as well as brother to Malenia. As a side note, the whole "Miquella divested himself of Saint Trina" situation most likely explains how this family dynamic would be possible, but that's another post altogether. Marika's...questionable marriage choices aside, Miquella has always been described as a kind, gentle soul. In some ways, his narrative place in Shadow of the Erdtree serves as a foil to Marika herself. Where his mother schemes and conceals the truth, Miquella is extremely upfront about his goals. Make the world a kinder, gentler place. And honestly? I believe him. I fully believe that Miquella, having grown up next to his cursed sister and seeing the Golden Order unable to do anything for Malenia, wished for nothing more but to better the world. And after realizing the Order wasn't working, I've no doubt he went on to discover the many, many attrocities committed against those of the Crucible, like the Misbegotten for example. However...this is where things get a little muddy, in terms of morality that is.

Remember that Miquella is basically a God. He is one of the few who can succeed Marika in a new Age. But...he doesn't seem like a fighter to me. He isn't one, which is where Radahn comes in. Now, forgive the aside, but we need to have a chat about what exactly "Consort" means as a word. Yes, it's typically used in the context of marriage, but from the original Latin meaning (I'm no expert here, feel free to correct me), a consort is someone with whom an individual shares a destiny. Miquella himself talks a little about this, both in the fight against Promised Consort Radahn, and if the Tarnished is charmed by his Circlet. Yes, that's the thing he uses to hypnotize people, it's in the item description. We understand the concept of a consort as the more modern interprepation of a romantic partner, a spouse of some kind. However, Elden Ring doesn't work by the same rules. Yes, it can mean spouse, given that Ranni welcomes the Tarnished as one and grants the Dark Moon Greatsword as a wedding gift, but it doesn't have to.

Unfortunately, I think the community is falling into the same pitfall we did with Mohg's wording of his own desires to become Miquella's consort. Unlike Ranni, neither situation here necessitates romantic feelings, and frankly I don't believe they exist here. Miquella was fascinated by Radahn's strength and kindness, and believed his brother would be an excellent person to share the remainder of his plans for a New Age with. And Radahn was, objectively speaking. He's hailed as a hero from everyone who knows him, even Ansbach treats him with great respect should you summon him for the final battle. I think the Vow made between Radahn and Miquella happened before the Shattering, and was something along the lines of Radahn helping Miquella make the world a better, kinder place. It's something the Red Lion would absolutely want, since despite his element being war, we get many accounts of him being an honorable, good man. It would make sense why Radahn at first agreed with Miquella, so let's see why Malenia even needed to go and do what she did in the first place. Why did Radahn not hold up his end of the deal?

To put it blunty, it's because he's a Golden Order fanboy. I'm still not entirely sure how Messmer ties into this from a timeline perspective, but Radahn grew up with his older half-brother (presumably before the Holy War against the Hornsent), his father Radagon, and Lord Godfrey as his primary male role models. Even if Godfrey had been exiled by that point, the evidence of his crusades was memorialized in song for Radahn to be inspired by. Of course he believed the Golden Order to be righteous and good, and wanted to uphold the honorable values he was raised on. Considering his own character, I'm quite confident in speculating that Radahn saw the Order's faults, and probably agreed with Miquella that there was a distance between the stories he grew up on and reality. So naturally, upon seeing his younger half-sibling try to fix things, Radahn quite possibly supported the idea.

Where I think the divide happened...was Miquella's method of problem-solving. As I said before, I've no doubt that he is as Kind as they say; it's just that Miquella envisioned a world without violence and had the power of make it so. His broken Great Rune holds the power to resist charms, so it's pretty reasonable to assume that the whole thing once held the power to perhaps inflict them. Miquella later replaced it with the Circlet he now wears, but still. He was strong enough to evoke a cult following from most of those who laid eyes on either of his forms. Again, I firmly believe he was doing good here, as both himself and as Saint Trina. From Miquella's point of view, he is helping. He grants the restless a peaceful sleep, he gives a home to the outcasts, he protects the Albinaurics, etc. That's why so many people wanted to follow him. What interests me is that Miquella seems to be a classic case of the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

He undoubtebly, truly wants to make a kind and gentle world, but has little qualms about forcing people to stop fighting. As Leda tells the Tarnished when asked about Hornsent, she explicitly states that without Miquella's charm, he would be attacking her and the others right now. Yes, it is arguably better for people to not fight to the death, but Miquella enforces this "good" thing in the wrong ways. Everywhere in the Lands of Shadow, we can see something similar. Sir Ansbach for example explains that Mohg himself got charmed, and that upon trying to rescue his Lord, Miquella brainwashed him as well. And he only sounds upset about it after the charm is broken. This gives us a very interesting character, since Miquella is technically correct in what he states. Should his Age of Compassion come to pass, there won't be any more War, or violence, or destructive conflict. However, taking away people's free will is arguably worse. So, what happened? Why does there seem to be a difference between the morally grey (but with good deeds to his name) Miquella, and the more extremist version we battle in Enir-Ilim?

Well...I think Miquella's Crosses hold the answer. At every site, he "divests himself" of something. It's clearly stated that he had doubts, he second-guessed if this was the right thing to do. He had moral qualms, but forced himself to leave them all behind. And there is one more thing he abandoned. Saint Trina. I believe this is why he seems so jarringly different to what we know about him. Because Saint Trina is his love and compassion. Every genuine feeling that Miquella held was left behind to make space for the more nebulous "Greater Good" of his new age...and evidently, very little that made Miquella himself even exists anymore. Despite the radiant light at the Gate of Divinity, his demeanor seems cold and calculated, much more akin to how I and many others might characterize Queen Marika. In attempting to ascend to Godhood, Miquella ironically became what he sought to destroy.

That's why there's such a difference between the Miquella we hear about in the main game, who does seem to be using his powers yes, but for a good cause...and the DLC version of Miquella, who is abusing his charms. Ever since entering the Lands of Shadow after he cocooned himself, Miquella has slowly divested himself of everything except the greater goal. Godhood is all that's left of him by the time we arrive at Enir-Ilim, which is why Saint Trina begs us to kill him. Miquella has already killed himself in a way, and all that's left is a brilliant yet hollow shell. The genuine warmth and compassion he once held for the Lands Between and their people are void, leaving behind only the unfeeling rays of pure gold, much like the ever-present Erdtree. He seeks to supplant Marika's Age...and then install himself as a God, just like his mother. I'm sure that he did have genuine kindness in his heart, but now...there isn't any left within him. That's why he's enforcing his will upon Moore, Ansbach, Freya, Thiollier and Hornsent. Because he's become just like Marika.

It's unfortunate, and a brilliant tale a self destruction that if correctly decoded shows how masterful Fromsoft is at this kind of storytelling. Now, I'm not claiming to be completely correct in this interpretation, since this is just my personal viewpoint of how and why things played out this way in the DLC. Feel free to drop your thoughts below, I'm more than happy to open up a disccussion about Miquella! Anyway, if you'll all excuse me, I need to go replay Shadow of the Erdtree. I'll see you all soon, but until then, Stay Tarnished everyone!

[nipuni]

Casanova sketches!

[queerdraws]

projecting on luffy again. get bited.

[pavo--ocellus]

i still can't get over the poem venti wrote for kaeya during his hangout...........

to any random person it's just a cute little poem about a boat surviving a storm and finding it's way to safety... but the entire poem is filled with little nods to kaeya, his past, present and future.

he's part of a plan much bigger and much older than himself, and it's not something he can escape from, "bereft of control". it's a threat constantly looming over his head, but until it springs into action, he's "directionless".

he pushes through every hardship thrown at him. even better, he has a life that he's at least content with despite it all; a stable job, friends and family, people who depend on him and who love him.

but loneliness clings to him. he may have friends that he loves with all he has, but there are still parts of him they could never truly understand, parts that he could never share with them. ultimately he has to deal with the worst of his troubles all on his own. "none but the ocean to hear as i sing", none but himself to witness his internal struggles.

"The stars in my eyes" the double meaning <333 one being so literal it's hilarious.

despite the future looking grim, he still hopes for a happy ending. that one day his destiny, his fated choice will stop hanging over him like a guillotine waiting to drop and he'll get to live a truly peaceful life. all he wants is to let go of the heavy burden he's been carrying since he was just a kid...

all of this is such a gentle, loving acknowledgement from another... and that being none other than venti himself must mean so much. the gods have never been kind to kaeya's people, and who knows what stories his father had told him before bringing kaeya to mondstadt. he never felt fully accepted, fully like he belonged in mondstadt. and here he had the anemo archon himself reassuring him.

"it's okay. you belong. i see you and it's okay. you don't have to believe me, but i will keep you safe."

[noxious-fennec]

Hands are too shaky these days

[cacaocheri]

this was supposed to be one drawing!! ONE DRAWING!!!!!!!!! but every time i draw them i can't stop i need to keep going

[notadreamurr]

Everybody go wish @justwantswafflefries a happy birthday RIGHT NOW because she is so awesome sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!

The amazing digital slasher by justwantswafflefries.......obviously

[flower-zombiee]

i literally just do not understand the amount of shit fiddlestan gets in this fandom man 😭

like it’s fine to not get it or even dislike it but ppl really feel so comfortable openly hating it…?

like it’s such an inoffensive little made up ship. we r literally just having a good time. if u don’t like it there’s this fun little feature called blocking the tag that’s totally free to use

[domnorian]

What it feels like for me most of the time on tumblr...

SB fans: Honestly, Conner being a Lex and Clark clone is bullshit! Freakin hate that Geoff Johns made it canon istg it's such a lame idea

Me: 🥺

SB fans: No, not you, Dom. You're cool

/j

[reilora-borealis]

Broke: c3 is not as good as c1 or c2

Woke: c3 is just as good as c1 and c2, anyone who says otherwise is a hater

Bespoke: we actually can't compare the three campaigns on equal terms until c3 is over, so that we can see the overarching story and every individual character's narrative arc from inception to completion, instead of wildly speculating about what should or shouldn't happen in a storytelling format that is built around improvisation

[ender1821]

re: shinyduo/gempearl being so not normal about each other after life series. other anon was so right why are they freaky.

pearl is definitely just as at fault imo. gem’s excellent at innuendos and tone of voice (“your red skin is my favorite~”) but pearl’s yes and filter falls apart in front of gem. the pickles a prime example, and the ren stream disaster wedding of course. she’s also very genuine and i love that for her. but that results in crazy lines like the “love you gem. always will. even if you dont want me, ill still be there.” TO STREAM WHEN GEM WASNT EVEN THERE.

and i need to mention the latest stream. Pearl “I only get asked if im gay when you’re in the picture” and how they both have to take a minute of silence to process that flejelejwkej. whose fault is that pearl? whose fault ?? to her credit she seems genuinely confused by the extent of her actions. the most damning evidence for her straightness i fear. rip gem though, she seems to be having fun anyway.

theyre both professionals and follow up in that stream with how the fandom will always play around with them as characters etc etc. good communication, very healthy, good for them. but this post is about why they graduated from shenanigans and innuendos to 2 hours of fanservice and it doesn’t even feel intentional half the time.

as for next life series, i would be shocked if they didn’t keep up this befuddling yuri bit. theyve mentioned seeing all the tierlist maker dream team posts and pearl had to ask her chat “OTHER than gem, who should I team with” so theyre well aware demand is there. theyre fantastic as enemies and well aware of that, but they could get some scarian level drama by teaming together, and i dont say that lightly. since pearl keeps stalling pvp on hermitcraft, theyre never getting that 1v1 without cosmic intervention or a declaration of love 😭

rambling now. love to hear your thoughts xoxo

yippee i love anon rambles!!! im glad we’re all unwell

im NOT gonna go on another rant about the life series alliance situation because as i’ve just demonstrated yesterday i can literally rant. for hours. and we don’t need that lmao. at this point whether or not they team up in the next one SOMETHING will happen. i have that much faith in them. they’re bound to run into each other and do something and that’s the shiny duo connection speaking god bless

like the other anon said, i do think they can work with just about any dynamic and it’ll be insanity-inducing either way. one of my favourite things about them just as a pairing (in any context, platonic, romantic, etc.) is just the way they will drift towards one another, to be linked in a way that’s indescribable, to always carry a piece of each other with themselves wherever they wander because the influence they’ve had on the other is irrefutable— and okay yeah they’re getting way too freaky about it get out of my fan fiction-esque rant. what are you doing here. why are you like this. what. like there’s something going on when what they’re getting up to creeps more and more into being what i usually read in fics. i. hello???

i really, really want to give them the benefit of the doubt. okay. listen. for every mention of feet and poking at pearl’s straightness, there’s a chat message behind it that warranted it, i’m sure. this isn’t the post to be getting into how fans are with cc boundaries and how we’re STILL bad at figuring our tags out, but i feel like this discussion eventually HAS to touch on the fact that it’s been made clear that they don’t want to see shipping stuff, and bringing it up in chat crosses that boundary just as well. i think they’ve handled it well in acknowledging that they’re aware it’s for their characters, drawing clear lines between what they’re comfortable with and what they’re not, etc. i think just the muddled lines from people continuously bringing stuff from a fandom space up to a cc contributes a lot to why we got. whatever happened on that wednesday stream. honestly, from these instances on stream i think it’s been shown that they just find this stuff amusing, and good for them, y’know? still doesn’t mean we should be regularly poking them about ships and. well. i dunno. literally bringing it up in chat?

but still. BUT STILL. god the ways they “yes, and” each other just keep getting worse. stuff like the pickles and the wedding (and the SL ep 4 ender dragon fight! still one of the most baffling “yes, and”s i’ve ever seen from them, i swear to god) were almost completely just them. that was just them. there’s no blaming chat for gem saying “wait, i don’t have a beard” right after pearl rejects ren for having a beard, and CERTAINLY NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME when pearl takes that and literally proposes to her. that was all them. and why. girl. huh??? i do believe, at least to some extent, that pearl is oblivious to the implications of what she does/says. but that only goes so far. sorry man i can only give so much benefit of the doubt for like 2-3 streams of 2 hour fan service. good lord

i was texting a friend who isn’t into mcyt about this whole. thing. and the way i described it was: imagine being a gempearl shipper, and you’re enjoying life, driving this train with fanfics and fanart and everything’s all good… and then for some reason gem and pearl jump on the train, hijack the conductor seat and starts directing the train elsewhere. nearing the end of that stream i was questioning my life and screaming for a way off this train. that’s how it felt to me. of course i’m exaggerating but like. genuinely how did we get here

[itsjaywalkers]

luck came (and died 'round here), ch 2

bartylily | explicit | 2/4

“Always an honour to ruin your day,” he replies, lighthearted, as if all this is just a big joke to him. It probably is. Lily doesn’t think Crouch has ever taken something seriously in his life. “You really not gonna tell me what’s up?” “I don’t understand why I should—” “C’mon, we’ve gotten closer since I saw you sobbing your eyes out outside of the library—” “Shut it,” she hisses, fear gripping at her heart while she resists the urge to take a quick look around, check that no one they know is near, that no one has heard him. “We don’t talk about that. In fact, I’d like to pretend it never happened.” “And why is that? Are you embarrassed by any chance, princess?” “Of being seen with you? Incredibly so.”

[tpchicken7]

Imagining if the show had more time or inclination to care about it how Jaskier would absolutely defend Yennefer from Geralt's sword and wrath after the reunited in Cintra in 2x07.

I mean picture it: Geralt is PISSED and has his sword to Yennefer's neck and Jaskier sees this. Knowing that Geralt will absolutely regret it later if he hurts Yennefer, and considering she saved him in Oxenfurt, he sees the big, long stick Yenn has dropped and picks it up. Then he uses the stick to push Geralt's sword away, getting in between the two of them.

At this point everyone would be so confused, especially Geralt. Geralt would yell at Jaskier to get out of the way, and Jaskier would tell him to calm down before he makes any new rash decisions. Arguments would get heated until Jaskier screams at him that this is HIS wife and he will defend her since she saved his life.

COMPLETE SILENCE while Geralt tries to process what the frack Jaskier just said.

Yennefer tries to apologize, but Geralt has regained half his brain and orders Jaskier and Yarpen to take Ciri to Kehr Moren, to which Jaskier totally flips out again. "People that show barely any regard for me don't get to order me around!" To which Geralt would be absolutely perplexed about again.

Jaskier only finally agrees to go with Ciri and Yarpen because Yennefer convinces him to. Jaskier makes Geralt promise he won't kill Yennefer or he's not going to leave them alone.

Instead of being standoffish, Ciri would have sooooooo many questions on the journey and Jaskier might even notice when Ciri gets possessed. Which would've been much more helpful when they got to the keep.

Then maybe after all the drama is resolved, Geralt and Jaskier could have a real heart to heart and Geralt could sincerely apologize about the mountain instead a halfhearted sorry from top of a horse.

But maybe after all these years, I'm still just super salty about the show's totally disregard for Jaskier and decisions to make him the butt of all jokes.

[kiunlo]

I think about hair a lot when it comes to characters and how they express themselves over time (specifically in WoW). As someone who's gone from short as hell hair to long, thick curly hair (which I get from the Aboriginal side of my family, and which I am also in love with and ador the most of my appearance) I can appreciate and see the ways in which a character's change in hair length/style says a lot about their character growth, what they've been through, what emotions they're feeling etc.

Anduin being currently in a state where he's not quite stable, needs time to heal, is trying to find himself again or whatever has made him become a bit. well. unkempt in appearance. He has a patchy as hell beard coming in, he's covered in dirt and grime, and he's cut most of his hair off. An experience that I have personally had (tho without the patchy beard and covered in stupendous amounts of grime, though I was certainly dirty and in need of a shower). Like. practically if you can't even shower urself properly, taking care of ur hair IS a nightmare (again, personal experience) so the obvious option is the big chop. But it can also be something of a reset, emotionally or personality wise. Letting go of this part of you (your beautiful long hair that everyone compliments you on and wish they could have themselves and get mad at YOU when you chop it all off) and starting over sometimes can be necessary. I've done it many times over. I'm at this point in time where I'm trying HARD this time to continue growing my hair long as hell until it's down to my knees, and trying not to give up on it and cut it all off again. It's a big, long and arduous task of just…washing my hair, keeping it healthy…and waiting a long ass fucking time. But When you got depression not only do you not gaf but also it's too much time and effort. Thus, Anduin chopping his hair off.

But it can also be for more than just practicality or needing a reset on things. Sometimes it's a choice you make as a result of your actions. See, the time that Thrall went bald for a while then grew all his luscious hair back a few years later.

Thrall doesn't really seem to have a "canon" in-lore reason for why he'd full on shaved his head. I searched all over the place for proper answers and this is the best I found:

But since I'm a weird freak I'm gonna speculate that it could've been more than just a random hairstyle he chose one day. Chopping all your big beautiful hair is (usually) not a simple decision. I can imagine having long hair for most of Thrall's life would make removing all of it in one fell swoop a little bit daunting. But I can see him doing it as some sort of…perhaps spiritual choice? He probably felt he had failed Garrosh with how things turned out, and him shaving his head would've happened in the in-between of MoP and WoD when Garrosh's trial was happening or had just happened. Perhaps cutting off his hair was a symbolic choice for him, in some way. A way to display to himself and others that he's changed as a result of his failure. And when he felt he'd finally moved on from it all, he chose to grow his hair back.

I wonder if in the future, when Anduin is further along in his healing process, if he'll choose to grow his hair back in this similar way, or if he'll decide to keep it short. I'm eager to see how things continue. I know this was basically a big ass post about hair and maybe others don't see it as being a big deal but. Hair really is a big fucking deal sometimes so I'm chosing to believe it is that deep.

[anetherealpoetess]

i am a proud feminist, i love haladriel, and i double majored in english literature and communications, so let me just use those credentials to elaborate on the following. choice feminism underscores the idea that empowerment lies in an individual woman's decisions, advocating for the idea that any choice made by a woman is inherently feminist.

however, this individualistic approach, which emphasises personal empowerment over collective empowerment, has created interesting ramifications in how romantic stories are perceived within a feminist framework. namely, choice feminism has intersected with longstanding patriarchal ideas that romance is somehow regressive.

below, i unpack how focusing on galadriel's romantic connections resists both patriarchal and choice feminist ideals that push for an isolated, individualist version of womanhood, which is a lesser version of womanhood, honestly.

both the patriarchy and choice feminism are anti-romance because romantic narratives place the most importance on connection, which contradicts the individualistic ideal of a self-reliant, self-defining woman. but women are not self-reliant, and we are not self-defining. we exist within a larger feminist framework, and men for bi and straight women are often a part of that framework, and this is no different for the female characters we love. to take a female character out of her romantic context is reductive. it reinforces patriarchal ideals that devalue connectedness.

(and why does the patriarchy dislike connectedness? in short, one woman is easy to stop, but a community is a lot harder to control. this is why choice feminism has been allowed to thrive under the patriarchy, because it focuses on the individual, and, as we have established, the individual is no threat.)

you might be thinking: what has this got to do with haladriel or any other ship?

well, this trend of viewing romance as an inherently regressive force aligns with patriarchal attitudes that have long devalued women’s community-oriented narratives as irrational or anti-progressive. and, make no mistake, romance is a community-orientated narrative. romance places a character within a larger context--and by that, i do mean a community--which pushes against the patriarchal and choice feminism ideal of the self-defining woman.

enjoying galadriel primarily through her relationship with sauron does not undermine her character, nor is it anti-feminist to consider how romantic connections might influence or define aspects of her story. in fact, positioning galadriel as self-defining, without acknowledging her relationships, aligns closely with the ideals of both patriarchal individualism and choice feminism, which encourages women to prioritise self-sufficiency at the expense of connection and community.

shipping any female character resists the confines of patriarchal individualism, which isolates women under the guise of independence, as well as the limitations of choice feminism, which prioritises the self over community.

so please do not listen to what anybody says: female characters are not diminished by their romantic connections. the same way we, real life women, are not diminished by our romantic connections. we are enhanced by them, and galadriel is no different when it comes to sauron--or whoever you ship her with, to be fair. you do you, just promise me you'll keep having fun, and promise me you will ignore those who accidentally uphold patriarchal ideals by wanting you to divorce galadriel from her romantic context.

[noxious-fennec]

Trying out some new designs (aka playing dress up)