#the gloam

[jelly-as-in-grape-concord]

one note and i'll post the current summaries for all three of my OC worlds

[inkskinned]

i love when words fit right. seize was always supposed to be that word, and so was jester. tuesday isn't quite right but thursday should be thursday, that's a good word for it. daisy has the perfect shape to it, almost like you're laughing when you say it; and tulip is correct most of the time. while keynote is fun to say, it's super wrong - i think they have to change the label for that one. but fox is spot-on.

most words are just, like, good enough, even if what they are describing is lovely. the night sky is a fine term for it but it isn't perfect the way november is the correct term for that month.

it's not just in english because in spanish the phrase eso si que es is correct, it should be that. sometimes other languages are also better than the english words, like how blue is sloped too far downwards but azul is perfect and hangs in the air like glitter. while butterfly is sweet, i think probably papillion is more correct, although for some butterflies féileacán is much better. year is fine but bliain is better. sometimes multiple languages got it right though, like how jueves and Πέμπτη are also the right names for thursday. maybe we as a species are just really good at naming thursdays.

and if we were really bored and had a moment and a picnic to split we could all sit down for a moment and sort out all the words that exist and find all the perfect words in every language. i would show you that while i like the word tree (it makes you smile to say it), i think arbor is correct. you could teach me from your language what words fit the right way, and that would be very exciting (exciting is not correct, it's just fine).

i think probably this is what was happening at the tower of babel, before the languages all got shifted across the world and smudged by the hand of god. by the way, hand isn't quite right, but i do like that the word god is only 3 letters, and that it is shaped like it is reflecting into itself, and that it kind of makes your mouth move into an echoing chapel when you cluck it. but the word god could also fit really well with a coathanger, and i can't explain that. i think donut has (weirdly) the same shape as a toothbrush, but we really got bagel right and i am really grateful for that.

grateful is close, but not like thunder. hopefully one day i am going to figure out how to shape the way i love my friends into a little ceramic (ceramic is very good, almost perfect) pot and when they hold it they can feel the weight of my care for them. they can put a plant in there. maybe a daisy.

[goddessofwisdom18]

Crone, Mother, Maiden

[quirkyfries]

Art of Darkness

[musimeme]

Me convincing the gang to watch RSL movies with me

[quinnigallagherjones]

robert sean leonard smiling/being cute for @queenofthekings

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE TODD TO MY NEIL, THE STEVE TO MY ROBIN !!!! i love you so much and i am so grateful to have you in my life !!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[robertseanleonardthinker]

[desire-mona]

men played by robert sean leonard cant cook all they know is

be gay

cheat on partner

act like a fucking dweeb

eat hot chip and die

[huariqueje]

Grand Show , Sierra Gloaming  - Monique Wales

American, b. 1970s -

Colour linocut reduction , 24 x 16 in. Ed. 31.

[jelly-as-in-grape-concord]

hey does anyone wanna see what little art i have for the gloam??? of course you do look at them:

the first image is a basic ref I have for them (though they might change a bit). the other three are just like basic concept art ig? the bedroom pic was the first art i did for the gloam back when it used to be for fanfic

here is an unfinished Laura ref and an old design of her's. my beloved. she is so Silly and Power Hungry. she eats tin cans off of the floor. this isnt an exaggeration. she is also one of my oldest OCs that i've had since i was like. 11. her design honestly hasn't changed so much until now

[space-blue]

Melina, Messmer and the Gloam Eyed Queen.

Disclaimer : this is not my theory. I saw it in a buried youtube comment and it rings so damn true I want you all to see it! From this guy, in this video.

OK so I was watching a lore video and disagreeing with a lot of it. Good stuff though, and the comments were fun. As I scrolled, I saw this, which blew my socks away and is definitely my personal take now! (the comment is edited for readability)

Melina is a daughter to Marika and Radagon. This is confirmed as she’s represented by a butterfly. The butterflies we can find in game all represent the children of Marika and Radagon.

Nascent butterfly represents Miquella, Aeonian butterfly represents Malenia, Smouldering butterfly represents Melina. And then in the dlc we’re introduced to Messmer and Black Pyreflies.

I like to believe that the children of Marika and Radagon come in twos. First came the twins Melina and Messmer, and then came Miquella and Malenia. The later share a contrasting theme, Miquella is cursed with eternal youth while Malenia is cursed with Scarlet Rot which caused her to rapidly decay, symbolizing old age and death.

And then we have Melina and Messmer who both share the theme of fire. Messmer has his own flame, a flame which is notably different from any other pyromancy in the game, his fire is more red and more aggressive. He is able to share his fire with his followers, his fire knights who cast incantations of Messmer’s flame. Then when we kill Messmer, we obtain his flame as a physical item.

Now Melina’s flame was black flame, and in contrast to Messmer’s flame which could burn away all physical things, Melina’s black flame could burn metaphysical things (being burned by black flame does hp damage because it’s burning your very soul) and just like Messmer, Melina was able to pass on her black flame power to her own ‘knights’ the Godskins.

And so Messmer went on to use his flame to burn the enemies his mother pointed him at, where as Melina desired to burn the things that she could, she wanted to burn the Erdtree.

Marika couldn’t risk Melina tearing down everything she had worked for, so she had Maliketh confront Melina and defeat her. Maliketh then took Melina’s black flame just as we take Messmer’s flame, and he converted it into destined death, giving Maliketh sole control over the only thing that can kill the soul, thus truly killing someone once and for all.

(Note, Maliketh didn’t have destined death when he defeated Melina, which is why she’s still around, he killed her, but couldn’t get rid of her for good, nor did he need to once he took her power away.)

So when we meet Melina, she doesn’t know who she is or what her purpose is, but in time, she ultimately arrives at the same conclusion once again, she wants to burn the Erdtree, even without her black flame, she’s still the same person. We can then see to her wishes and use her to burn the Erdtree OR we can spare her and burn the Erdtree with the flame of frenzy.

And then in the flame of frenzy ending, we see Melina take on a new form, her original form, the form of The Gloam-Eyed Queen. Why has she reverted to this old form?

Because we kill Maliketh and unleash destined death, thus returning Melina’s black flame power to her.

The idea of Melina and Messmer being twins is backed up further by their association with the serpents. Messmer’s association with the serpents is obvious, where as Melina’s connection relies on the theory of her being the Gloam-Eyed Queen, where she’d then be associated with the Godskins, and we know the Godskins are associated with serpents.

My own musings...

What if Maliketh defeated Melina/the Gloam Eyed Queen, but let her be. Deafeated doesn't mean killed. It's possible she was burnt and bodiless because Messmer destroyed her. Marika already makes him do her dirty deeds with his subjugation of the shadowland, isn't it possible he requested he burn his sister so she could better control her as a spirit?

Things that don't really gel : why would Melina be "queen" of anything. Where would she have ruled? If she's an empyrean, as we know she was, where is her shadow bound beast, and more importantly, why wasn't Messmer? We know both Miquella and Malenia have no shadows (as far as we can tell) but were also both Empyreans despite the curse.

Perhaps it's because Melina inherited Grace, while Messmer didn't.

Perhaps the flames aren't the curse, but only the serpent inside of him. Making him uneligible, not only for grace, but also for empyrean status.

Now that I think about it, there's NOTHING to support this, but it's possible that Melina could have been the queen Marika puts in charge of all the shadowlands while she's off with Messmer in the Lands Between. There is a lot of death there. Maliketh and Messmer could have come for her together, Messmer burning her/returning her to Marika to control (and use later on).

[ladyviolethummingbird]

Hello to anyone out there still reading Outlander fanfic! 😀

Cue the titanic lady saying it’s been 87 years, but I’ve finally written some more of The Gloaming (my Outlander X Jane Eyre fic) and will be posting a new chapter today.

Hope you’re having a lovely Monday xx

[dragon-communion]

Alright so I have an insane crack theory about who Melina is, why she is the way she is, and her connection to Messmer.

I am almost 100% sure the Black Pyrefly and the Smoldering Butterfly use the same lineart, which is an even stronger connection than Miquella and Malenia's butterflies. What confirmed the Smoldering Butterfly for me is that we can find one(1) instance of them at the Forge right before we talk to Melina for the last time.

Also, item descriptions.

Smoldering Butterfly:

An eternally burning butterfly found near wildfires and elsewhere. Material used for crafting items. Serves as the kindling for a number of items.

Black Pyrefly:

Fiery butterfly with black cinder wings. Material used for crafting items. Flies in war-torn lands that have been scoured by Messmer's flame. They burn in dark and slender ribbons of fire.

I don't know enough about Messmer yet to draw conclusions from his butterfly, but Melina is the Kindling Maiden so that's fairly open and shut.

Considering these butterflies are basically the Exact Same Thing, and Melina and Messmer seem to have very similar fire-related curses, I'm looking forward to learning more about him. My current thoughts are:

Melina is burned and bodiless. By whom and why?

My initial thought was that since the Erdtree is also burned and bodiless (Leyndell is covered in ash, the Erdtree is a glowing ghost that drips no dew), she must've succeeded halfway once and then was Stopped Somehow. Her soul has to burn so the "soul" of the Erdtree can burn too, finishing the job. Her mother textually gave her this task inside the Erdtree, which can only be Marika.

With the addition of the DLC and Messmer, now I think she's part of a set. Both Melina and Messmer were destined to burn the Erdtree in some form, specifically with black flames. Messmer rejected that fate. Melina didn't. Messmer went on crusade for his mother to protect her interests- Melina acquired a whole bunch of snake-adjacent followers in the Godskins, and went on her own crusade against the Erdtree.

Marika objected to that and sicced Maliketh on her.

Then, around the time of the Shattering, Marika reconsidered her previous judgement- of all her children, Messmer and Melina were the only ones equipped to destroy the Golden Order, and Melina actually tried to do it. And since death was sealed, true death is impossible and Melina was still lingering around somewhere. Possibly in the Erdtree where all souls go.

Melina gets cut loose for Round 2: Kill the Gods electric boogaloo. She can't remember who or what she is, but clearly Marika had enough faith in Melina's utter conviction that Death should run indiscriminate to bank on her trying again, even bodiless and amnesiac. Or, perhaps, it's simply fate.

That gives me some very interesting ideas about how Melina could fit into Messmer and Marika's dynamic, because Messmer supported Marika in every way and Melina objected so strongly to the idea of eternal life that she got burned alive by Maliketh.

It'd be very, very interesting if it wasn't just Maliketh though. She was burned. Maliketh uses beast incantations, and only acquired blackflame after taking it from Melina. No flames of his own. So what fire did that?

Maybe Messmer killed his younger sister for his mother.

[katyahina]

+1 Gloam-Eyed Queen bit?

ok For starters, guys I am sorry for being a dumbass with my frequient point on how as a firstborn Messmer is Marika's 'natural' fated opposite (talking like, there is no bigger story to his curse besides some things needing to die despite the world Marika wanted). Because in reality, Marika's natural opposite is Gloam-Eyed Queen!

Their runes are opposites of each other conceptually (life and death), but also in shape (same shape but upward vs downward)! Primordial Elden Ring includes both of them, where they meet at the top!

^ Also notice how the primordial Elden Ring features 8 rings, but the current one has only 4! It really does appear that Marika removed half of the whole thing. Maybe even more than that, with all the branching shapes and the spiral at the centre! The branches and the spiral represent the crucible and evolution itself, of course

In simplest terms, everything points towards how both Marika and GEQ were given their power simultaneously, to rule the world and represent opposing aspects for the balance, but Marika wanted to live forever (? she is literally called 'eternal') and removed the competition!

I am just being a huge clown about trying to keep all Elden Ring information at once and my brain is failing fdsggfds But yes, i rember now xD So, maybe Messmer and Melina turning out to be Like This was the result of Marika trying to deceive the fate and failing! She didn't want herself or her Erdtree to die in fire, but in turn, her firstborns were this same "hazard" all over again?

So, potential idea: originally Scadutree was domain of GEQ, again, originally complimenting it:

^ Incantations of Godskins are very whirlwind-ish, but at this rate I wonder whether the spiral of two represented GEQ and Scadutree, whereas the straight line through them represented Marika and Erdtree! But now Scadutree doesn't have the "owner", especially since Shadow Realm is sealed away (literally has Marika's veil all over the sky and Miyazaki himself pointed out it wasn't accidental), though Messmer can qualify now I guess?

So in other words, Marika's first children might have suffered as sort of karmic retribution for her two main attempts to deceive fate: Messmer got Fellgod'd and Melina got Gloameyedqueen'd. But, ironically, Messmer is doing GEQ's "job" and Melina is doing Fire of Ruin xD

[andallshallbewell]