#sote ending

[linda-ravstar]

A conversation between a would-be God and his other half (St. Trina and Miquella, Shadow of the Erdtree spoilers)

I haven't finished the game yet, but I've already seen several important things, and the relationship between Miquella and his other half breaks my heart. Maybe I'm missing details, but I don't think it's such a far-fetched interpretation (and I'll expand on it when I have more info and energy). I need to mourn Miquella to be able to keep playing in peace, haha. Enjoy!

“Miquella... What are you doing?”

Trina's voice, which once brought him peace and joy, now filled him with a dark bitterness, a sticky, cynical rage that clung to his skin like blood. The lamp's light barely illuminated the desk, where the golden strokes of his pen drew schemes. Futures that had to materialize. Plans that would soon be set in motion.

“Have you come to reproach me?”, he asked, without turning or taking his eyes off the parchment in front of him. “After everything that has happened?”

 Purple flooded the light of the room, drowning the golden hue of the oil lamp. Somehow, Trina's purple always managed to surpass his gold. It used to be a welcome sight. It used to be a nice game.

“The path you seek will only bring pain and suffering. Marika has already walked it, and the broken world she left behind is proof of her failure”.

“It is proof of Mother's failure, not of the path she walked”, Miquella countered.

“Do you think you can succeed where she failed? Do you think your power is greater than hers?”

“Yes”, he said, but doubt resided in his heart, the same heart that had his other half. “It has to be”.

“What will happen to everyone? To your siblings? To the tree? To Malenia? Are you willing to risk everything for... that?”

He couldn't enchant her, just as he couldn't enchant himself. He always remained serene, kind, because that was also part of that strange essence that inhabited alongside him. It was easier to charm some this way, those who, docile before his power, could look him in the eyes with affection and admiration. But he couldn't convince Trina that way. His small, fragile fist crashed against the wooden table in a muffled crash, splashing ink all over the desk.

“How can you ask me that?”, Miquella's voice rose above the broken silence, and he turned to look her in the eyes. Trina smiled at him, with a sweet sadness that only filled him with dispair. “How can you stand there, doing nothing, watching what is happening? What do you want from me? Look at this world! Look at our siblings! What else are we going to wait for?”

“Becoming a god won't fix the world”.

“You're wrong. It's the only way. It's all that's left to do”.

“You will lose everything you ever fought to save... It will be a tragedy that could be avoided”.

Tears sprang from Miquella's eyes. He wanted to hurt Trina, wanted to rip that sad smile from her lips.

“I have achieved nothing”, Miquella said finally, after a tense silence. His voice broke on the last word. “Absolutely nothing. I have... I have failed over and over again for millennia... I tried to find that other path… you of all people know that. It doesn't exist. There is no other path. Neither the Golden Order, nor Fundamentalism, nor the Unalloyed Gold, nor my needles, nor the Haligree... And Godwyn still... Nothing has managed to fix this broken and rotten world. The innocent remain enslaved. The gods remain silent. And Malenia...” The young demigod closed his eyes, feeling the guilt in his veins. “She has so much faith in me... that I will fix this world... I'd rather lose everything than continue like this. If I have to burn this world to save it, I will. If I have to enchant thousands of souls to follow my path, I will. I can't look back. I can’t do this anymore. I won’t”.

“And will you betray your principles? Sacrifice innocents, steal their hearts, destroy your body and soul on an uncertain altar?", asked Trina, with a somber tone on her voice.

“I must do it”, he insisted, but his hands were trembling. “They will understand... When the world smiles again, when I can look into Malenia's eyes again, golden and innocent, when my Lord Brother takes my hand and we reign together in a land that has healed its wounds, when a new order welcomes everyone in its embrace...”

“When you are a God, Miquella, there will be no one left there to forgive you. Mother tried to heal her people with her golden light, but there was no one left who could listen to her. No one who could forgive her”.

“So be it then”, said Miquella. “So be it... My power will be enough, I will become a god, I will have my King consort by my side and I will bring forth a New Age, a Compassionate Age for all”, that was his dream, the dream of a helpless child, his obsession, his hope. “I will…. I will…”

Trina lowered her gaze and approached her other half. Miquella was trembling, and golden tears stained his childlike face. Trina took the boy's face, who, for a moment, clung to those hands like a puppy to a mother.

“I know there is nothing I can do or say to stop you. I wish it were different, that you could see what I see, the path of peace we could walk. But I know your wounds are too deep, that your pain blinds you, that your hope is your last comfort”. Trina's caress was as sweet as it was terrible. “We know the pain that awaits you, the pain you will cause, and the uncertainty of the outcome. We know that godhood is a prison”. Trina sighed for a second and laughed softly. “I cannot stop you, nor can you stop me. I just want to say this before this journey breaks us both completely: I know your heart, and I know it suffers for this world. I know your soul and I know it cries for your sister. I know your very being longs for peace and solace. This is you, this is us. We dream of a kind and gentle world, with the smile of our people and the scent of flowers. I know you seek that world of goodness. I know you fought to do good and heal the wounded. I will keep that certainty within me. That no matter what you do now and the terrible sins you commit... that this was you, that this was us and that this was what we were destined to be. Let me mourn you, my dearest Miquella, my dear other half. Let me say goodbye one last time. May dreams bring you the peace that your path will take away. And if no one else forgives you, let me forgive you..."

The violet slowly faded, leaving only the gold that began to dim in the lamp. The night was still, and the air smelled of sweet lilies.

Miquella rested his head on the desk and wept, alone.

[theribbajack]

"Now, the vow will be honoured, and my Lord brother's soul will return."

Radahn stans keep winning, but I personally am in Miyazaki's walls rn

[einkleinesmittelding]

[leal-hound]

spoilers for my fanfic but i dont know if ill have the energy to finish it, so here's some uh oh doodles

[dakouvic]

redid my old art from 2021

[val-of-the-north]

My friend @katyspersonal made an interesting observation about the flowers that were once found on the path to Midra's Mense. Here's her post on the matter for reference [x].

The flower connection seems way too meaningful to be accidental, especially since the two people in charge of the Mense are not Hornsent at all...

Now, we can't know for sure whether Midra, Nanaya, or both were Shamans or at least related, but the connection IS there, which I doubt was placed randomly.

But yeah, speaking of Hornsent, they were indeed punished for associating with Midra. As my friend pointed out in an earlier post [x], this dialogue wouldn't fit if it was simply due to the Flame of Frenzy business going on there, especially since the ghost that welcomes us is very well aware of the madness.

It's also worth pointing out that the Madding Hand's face resembles that of the other Hornsent who use player models, meaning his fellows are probably other Hornsent too.

Whoever this group of Hornsent was, it's clear they did not care about his lack of horns and simply served Midra, possibly due to him being wise and knowledgeable...

Either that, or there are ways for people without horns to get privileges and benefits even in Hornsent society. Maybe it is still due to his vast array of knowledge, but it wouldn't be too outlandish to think Midra found ways to be productive to the Hornsent and was thus rewarded for his efforts. Until they grew suspicious of him, of course. But his Hornsent attendants seem rather loyal to him despite that.

Which leads me to a different point regarding Marika herself...

The two Hornsent NPCs that we can actually interact with both mention some sort of betrayal from Marika.

To be betrayed means that there was some semblance of trust between them and her that she broke, which would seem odd at first glance, but we must take into consideration what she did to attain godhood. She had to have reached the Gates of Divinity (as shown in the cinematic trailer), which are found in the holiest, most guarded part of Belurat's tower: Enir-Ilim.

And this must have happened BEFORE the Crusade and Messmer, as evidenced by a few things:

1) The Hornsent mention the Erdtree a bunch, which we know was established after a few different conflicts. At the very least, the war against the Giants must have happened before the Crusade, as the Age of the Erdtree began then.

Marika was also already considered a god at the time, she had a consort in Godfrey, and the Crucible was yet to be seen as heretical due to their employment of Crucible Knights. There's also the very likely possibility that Radagon was spawned from that conflict as a curse of the Giants inflicted upon Marika, which would work to explain where the red hair came from.

It might also tell us WHEN Messmer was born in that case, and speaking of...

2) Messmer's condition, or rather, all the things Marika had done for his sake, seem to have happened AFTER the establishment of the Erdtree, as they feature heavy gold and tree motifs. To have control of Grace so great that she could create the rune she most likely gave to Messmer strongly hints at her having already become a god.

The Blessing of Marika also fits the criteria of a thing she had to have made after her ascension to godhood because of its heavy arboreal theme and the fact that two Tree Sentinels (who defend her home village) are holding onto them as well, further hinting at the existence of the Erdtree by this point in time.

Both of these items relate to Messmer and both of their descriptions already identify Marika as a Queen. I wonder if this means Marika returned to her home one last time after she became a god as opposed to when she started her journey toward divinity. Her last acknowledgment of her past before leaving it behind forever.

3) Messmer was also friends with Gaius, who studied with Radahn, and they were both like older brothers to him.

This means the Crusade and Messmer's banishment could not have happened earlier than many years AFTER the Liurnian wars, as evidenced by the presence of the Carian kids. This point is also strengthened by Rellana being close to Messmer and having to prove her loyalty to the Erdtree in ritual combat.

This means that Marika reaching the Gates of Divinity and the Crusade happened at two different points in time, which seems to align with how the Hornsent word things. She betrayed them, then set them ablaze.

What's left to wonder is HOW it happened. I think it was either:

A) She waged a first war against them with the aid of Hoarax Loux (not Godfrey yet, as there was no reason to conduct himself as a lord), his clan, and the Crucible Knights to consolidate her godhood. Maliketh could have also been involved. The Hornsent, then, simply see being supplanted as a betrayal regardless of whether they knew about Marika or not, or...

B) She found a sneakier way to get there through careful planning and climbing the social ladder of Hornsent society, maybe with contact and guidance from the Two Fingers. If the latter is true, I assume she still had Maliketh's support and Hoarax Loux on speed dial for whenever the chance to claim divinity arrived, as she would still need a consort for that and we know he was her first husband.

Both ideas are compelling to me and make sense in their own right. Still, the thought that she could have actually infiltrated their society and made them trust her just to usurp and double-cross them feels very fascinating, especially since the Hornsent specifically mention Marika betraying them. It makes me wonder what Tower society is really like to non-horned people since some Hornsent can even become very loyal to those with an explicit lack of horns.

Marika's betrayal could also explain why the Inquisition would later turn on Midra despite him seemingly having enjoyed some levity or respect in the past. Perhaps they believed he'd pull a similar stunt to Marika's (or maybe they acted that way because he was directly related to her? idk honestly)... though their preventive actions inadvertently caused even more problems by having the resulting despair attract the Three Fingers to what would become the Abyssal Woods.

Of course, it's unclear if the Mense's downfall happened before, after, or concurrently with Marika's path to divinity, but I think it's worth considering as an option at least!

[vannichii]

Edited by me↑

Original↑

[eyestrain-addict]

"Righteous Tarnished... Become our new lord.... A lord not for gods... but for men..."

[l1va22]

dare I say kagami

[black-sapphire57]

I had to!😂

[bambiessence]

Surprisingly, (actually not) Ferid is always the most fashionable out of all the people in the manga.

Kagami may not focus on the clothing choices of his character, but I'm gonna analyze his outfits anyway because I've observed that some of his clothing choices have a deeper meaning.

Let's start with his 'usual' outfit from the anime.

His choices in clothes are always fancy and classic, yet he adds things to it which makes his outfits look out of the ordinary.

— In conclusion, his clothing style represents him. (Well, to be quite frank, our fashion choices always represent who we are directly or subconsciously. So, it's not like these 'theories' of mine r out of the ordinary.)

People in general have always considered him odd, but his own kind specifically considers him eccentric because of his unusual 'emotional' behavior which makes him have a human-like personality, since vampires cannot feel anything besides the strong desire for blood. He, as a human, would be seen as pretty normal. (this would be before they get to know the real him)

His personality has traits which makes people fall for the fact that he's a genuine kind and simple person, yet, as his clothing style, he makes sure that even those people will get some suspicious of his true nature.

He has a deal going on in Sanguienem with the kids there. Ferid drinks their blood or they serve him and in return they receive their necessary supplies. From this deal, he might make kids fall to his tricks easily, as it is seen specifically with Mika and also, with other children in the light novel. Despite this, his reputation is known even to those kids as being kinda off-putting. The kids hear rumors about those who serve him going missing, so these rumors and his (sometimes) suspicious behavior makes people think that there might also be something fishy going around him.

— His vampire noble uniform is classic, yet has outstanding elements to it like: ribbons, high heeled boots, red earrings and purple long nails.

— The effort that he puts into his daily appearance can be easily seen, which signifies his obsession with putting on a facade around people. He's not a fancy, villainous, charming and aristocratic man as he shows himself to be. From the new chapters, it had been obvious even for other uninterested people that Ferid was actually a broken soul, with no love and care shown for him through his life, which made him the 'frustrated' and monstrous man that he's today. The abused becomes the abuser. Yet, he still clings to his childhood and old wishes because he doesn't want to be completely lost, like the other vampires, like other people which failed to achieve their wishes and died by their own hand. He's a complex, intelligent and simple man if you look at it that way. Yes, complex, yet simplistic.

— Something that I've observed in all of his outfits is that he tries to hide as much skin as he can. It's not because he's insecure, but because he's hiding the real him beneath a fancy surface. Unlike other characters which show their skin more through the manga (even vampires), he is never wearing an outfit which reveals much of his skin.

— His obsession with wearing collars (even through his childhood) signifies his suffocating from all of the others' expectations and even from his own expectations.

— On the other hand, his obsession with ribbons, is another sign of his surface, which makes people think that he's just a fancy, careless guy (like a ribbon from the wrapping of a present iykyk)

This outfit now:

(Gonna try to write this shorter cus I'm writing a whole book of his outfits atp)

— Once again, he's wearing a classic outfit which looks out of the ordinary only from his vampire cape.

— He's wearing an outfit with a collar again, yet through some manga chapters his hair is finally down. His tight ahh ponytail may be another sign of his constant internal suffocation.

— Honestly a true classic slay if i were a modern vampire i would wear the same thing

The new official art:

— Honestly, this outfit truly gives so many details about him. Even if Kagami's intent wasn't to put on a deep fashion show, his outfit could still signify so, so many things. Atp I think he did it intentionally since Ferid is his favorite character to write so ofc even his outfit in the art would be significant (cus Kagami's ass is obsessed with giving us small clues)

— First of all, this is the first outfit of his which reveals more skin, which therefore means that through the newer manga chapters he has finally completely revealed to the audience his true intents and his nature.

— His skirt is way bigger than his actual size, which therefore reveals that he's no longer putting on a facade, suffocating himself with a fake mask. Yet, his skirt is held in place by his belts, which means that he still wants to keep in control some part of himself. However, his progress through the manga can also be seen through this outfits which get more and more relaxed.

— He's wearing pink sunglasses, which is an obvious sign that he might feel carefree, like a free soul without worries, enjoying a vacation on the beach. On the other hand, it could also be interpreted that he wants to see the world through a pinkish tone now, he has a desire to see the better in life unlike his past self. His glasses have a necklace kind of thing (with those gold things, i forgot its name) which gives an old-fashioned look to the glasses, making me think that his happiness isn't gained by simple foolishness and ignorance, but by wise and hard-working things.

— His ribbon is completely gone WOW and even in his latest new outfit there's no ribbon on it, which signifies the slow vanish of his surface.

— Underneath his clothes, we can see at the waist that he wears a red shirt?? which looks like women's sexy lingerie LMFOAO I don't know what this means tbh. Their current outfits were inspired by their old ones so this mf probably has some red underwear with black lace...💀

— He's wearing flared pants, which remind me of the 70s, a decade which was all about being carefree and childish with the rise of hippies. Either way, his pants which now are not tight are another further implication in his new happier style. His outfit here actually reminds me of the 70s and the hippies.

That's all the yapping for today

[greenapplebling]

When a ship comes full circle >>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm bored so I'm making memes

[possiblynotpayingattention]

Progress was made!

Malenia, Miquella, Godrick and Messmer are finished!

Demigod Vibe Check WIP: 30%

I'm very happy with it so far!!! ☺️✨

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Original draft! It only took me a month and half to achieve 30%. 😅🫠

Still got a ways to go but whoooo, I'm excited lol

[miquellah]

ouuuuu. some fairly compelling points for a willing radahn in the consort deal

TL;DR it would’ve been more like a “if you beat me i’ll do it” thing

[zephyrins]

i think i understand now why a lot of people dislike the dlc story

the story happens without us. in the main game, WE are the main reason that puts the world in motion again. WE bring changes with our actions. But in the dlc Miquella already discarded everything and reached the gates. We have no influence and no options. What is our motivation to go to the Lands of Shadow? Because Leda asked us if we wanted to tag along?

and i think the trailer and other promo materials give us wrong expectations about the story. Miquella constantly appeared in the trailer\official art, but we cannot meet him until THE END of the plot, we cannot talk to him or interact. All we have is "Miquella was here" signs around the world. And all of this could be fixed so easily!

Miquella could call us personally to follow him and help him, or it could be St. Trina who reached us through a dream and asked to go to the shadow realm and stop Miquella. And also I really think the story should have at least two endings. In the first, for example, we could help Miquella but in the end when he becomes a god realize that his plan to control everyone sucks and fight against it. In the second, we could help him to see that godhood is a prison, so, in the end, he could idk sacrifice himself and destroy the gates to completely cut off the world from the outer gods' influence because it's their fault that all bad things happened to him and Malenia

[hyvyinjie]

‿‿‿·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 ·˚ ༘

ꜰʟᴜꜰꜰ | ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ.

ᴍ! ᴍᴜʟᴛɪ-ꜰᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ! x ɢɴ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

﹒⪩⪨﹒you’re the sun painting colors to my life.

𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒, a twisted blessing.

according to the ancient fable of pandora's box, hope itself was the final and most cruel punishment inflicted upon humanity - a false promise of relief, a deception cloaked in the guise of salvation.

with all else reduced to ashes, what rationale was left in his continued existence? a steadfast dutybound spirit was the sole ember still glowing amidst the lone tether.

if the cold caress of the reaper was to loom upon his door, he would not resist its finality, should his will to endure this blighted existence irrevocably extinguish.

but then, just as the incandescent light in his eyes waned—you coalesced to his life in a riotous inferno of visceral ravishment.

roseatte palettes and ambegurine auroras bursted forth like a dazzling display of fireworks illuminating the night sky. coruscating cobalt clashed with verdant virtuosity, sweeping away the monochrome that had shrouded his world.

it was as if he had stirred from a nightmare—awakening to a reality that was truly worth living for.

♡ ˚ · . 良い一日をお過ごしください、愛 !