#Me vs elden ring

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I once saw a post that was like "Radahn and Malenia are half siblings what beef could they have" and like you cannot possibly comprehend the beef that half-siblings children of divorce can have with one another.

[husband-steve-cortez]

Spent a ridiculously long amount of time making a Malachi I was satisfied with in Elden Ring because I could stop thinking about him.

None of the hairstyles really felt right - he has like, mid length hair, and everything's either too long or too short or too in his face or too poofy. But I've always thought Malachi would look cute with a ponytail, and to my surprise it ended up being the hairstyle that made me go "that's my boy!" Suits him perfectly, he wouldn't like his hair much longer than I had it in dark souls without being tied up.

Malenia's set and especially her helm doesn't look as good on the tarnished as I had hoped. I wanted something to evoke the same vibe as wearing the Sunless Set with Lorian's helm, which is basically a Gwyndolin vibe but knightly. Malenia's armor is good on her, but it feels purely for cosplay purposes for the player, especially since her helm has her red hair on it. The fact that the arm and leggings are essentially Malenia's body parts throws the vibe off.

He still looks good in the cleanrot knight set though! Which took me forever to farm...and I never got the helm to drop. And I'm done farming for forever. Overall, since he's a dex/faith warrior, cleanrot knight vibe fits him perfectly - speedy relentless attacks, dual-wielding, gold, holy weapon arts.

[drawingquest21]

[dimitrscu]

so apparently radahn has to be dead before you can access the dlc. wow i wonder why that is /s

[wanderingmausoleum]

My latest Shadow of the Erdtree theory:

Could Messmer the Impaler have been partially inspired by Cú Chulainn and his spear, the Gáe Bulg, from Irish mythology?

This will be a long post with a lot of heavy speculation so buckle up!

According to the Táin Bó Cúailnge via Wikipedia (which I apologize for using as a source; I don't know much about this topic and other results seemed untrustworthy or were behind paywalls), the spear Gáe Bulg was made from a sea monster's bone, and it "entered a man's body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body."

Which brings me to this iconic moment in the trailer:

Although the thing impaling this person doesn't look like Messmer's spear, it looks like it may have impaled them similarly to how the Gáe Bulg is described: spear-style, with extra barbs erupting out of it afterwards. I'm not sure how the living corpse in the trailer would have kept their head and body somewhat intact unless the barbs extended from the central spike after the impaling happened. Although it doesn't look like this was done with Messmer's spear, this gruesome injury's similarity to what the Gáe Bulg was said to do makes me think it's worth mentioning.

In some versions of the legend, the Gáe Bulg had seven heads with seven barbs each. Thus it may be worth noting that Messmer's spear has 6-7 metal barbs (depending on the angle and whether you count the spear point as one) formed by its fire design:

And, right after the trailer's scene of the impaled corpse, Messmer is shown to have an attack where he stabs the floor with his spear and a bunch of identical spears erupt from the ground around it, which is another slight similarity to the Gáe Bulg's multiplicity.

Now onto the even more speculative part of this theory...

Messmer and Shadows

We know Empyreans in Elden Ring are given guard dog-like Shadows to be their guardians: Ranni has Blaidd, and Marika has Maliketh. However, Malenia and Miquella are both Empyreans, and we are given no information about their Shadow(s), a significant absence in the lore and a topic which has been given much discussion in Elden Ring spaces I've participated in.

There has also been extensive theorizing about Messmer's place in the lore, with his red hair and M initial leading many to believe he may be another of Marika and Radagon's children, alongside Malenia and Miquella.

While learning about the Gáe Bulg spear, I learned its owner, the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn, "gained his better-known name as a child, after killing Culann's fierce guard dog in self defence and offering to take its place until a replacement could be reared," after which he obtained his well-known spear (Wikipedia).

With this and my prior speculation about Messmer's spear and lineage in mind, this makes me wonder: did Messmer kill Malenia and Miquella's Shadow(s), and possibly become their replacement himself (whether he later defected from that position or not)?

It may be notable to mention again here that the DLC's title is "Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree" and Messmer features prominently on its cover. Considering Shadow characters are an important part of Elden Ring's lore, with Blaidd being crucial to the game's most popular ending and Maliketh being necessary to defeat to complete the game, I wouldn't put it past the Elden Ring team to give the word a double meaning here: shadows meaning literal darkness as shown in the trailer, and Shadow meaning an Empyrean's guardian.

On the other hand, of course, Messmer with all his various heretical symbolism (fire, snakes, etc.) seems to exist in opposition to the Erdtree, so if the DLC title is referring to him, him being called the Shadow of the Erdtree doesn't make much sense lore-wise.

In conclusion:

There are no conclusions yet, really! Everything I'm theorizing here is based on a lot of speculation and vague connections. There are contradictions in the Gáe Bulg's lore itself, too (such as how it "had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes" [Wikipedia], something Messmer is definitely not doing in the trailer—although, since Fromsoft decided to give so many of their character models toe articulation and Messmer's toes are out, this could be a very funny way to make use of that). On the other hand, since Fromsoft very rarely takes inspiration 1:1 from existing mythology, I still think it's possible Messmer was influenced by it even if it doesn't fit his known lore with 100% accuracy.

I welcome thoughts/theories expanding on or contradicting this, especially from anyone who knows more about Irish mythology than me! I do not know too much about Cú Chulainn's story or this mythos in general, so I'm sure there's a lot of notable information I missed.

[tsuchinokoroyale]

[lesbianholyspirit]

Me vibrating with the want to make a post comparing Elden Ring to Revolutionary Girl Utena because they both deal with systemic abuse heaped upon those who fall outside society’s norms, especially women, but also being too stupid to actually write the damn thing.

(Both also happen to be special interests of mine too so…)

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

Still have writer's plus art block and rl is beating me up rather badly actually, so I figured today was a good day for Erestor to take on the Tree Sentinel. ✨

Half-way mark and I'm already out of FP (magic) flasks and I'm down to one out of an original three skele-blorbos (they're even supposed to respawn but this big guy kills them fast and for good, LOVE that) but I figured yeah let's see how far this last round takes us BECAUSE WHY NOT-

Truly, I love enemies that can kill me in two shots 👍

[katyspersonal]

since you've been playing elden ring, do you have a favorite npc so far?

Haha, my pace at discovering more of Elden Ring is SNAIL slow. And I don't mean moderately fast snail-like mobs in ER, I mean real life snails. xD So, my knowledge is still lacking. But with what I DO know, I think I can pick a favourite already!

This might come off as a surprise, but this...

...is...

...SELLEN!

Honestly, so far I liked her the most! She gives me very strong Imposter Iosefka vibe (in the scenario if after having made enough Emissaries, the Imposter also joined with them to be several small ascended people hiding in a trench coat pretending to be one BIG ascended person…). Whereas she is still, of course, a unique and interesting character on her own! It is just this kind of a female character after knowledge beyond human plane that reminds me.

I am particularly fond of the madman/woman/person characters who want to know the eldrich truths of the universe, no matter how horrifying they are and no matter what taboos they have to break, and what they have to give in exchange. I also can respect the type of 'scientist that is not above trying their own medicine' because, again, she becomes The Orb herself xd Her sassy and blunt attitude is also very appealing for me, she is a confident character with a very certain motivation! I do also enjoy how no matter what scroll she is given, her reaction is that she is familiar with this sorcery, so she is already very educated!

I've posted my analysis how in Bloodborne, Willem and 'original' Choir (from which only Yurie remains) prioritise ascending humanity and leveling with the gods as people, whereas the Choir as it is later tries to TRANSCEND humanity, and will break any taboos, just like Mensis too. In there, I actually sympathise with Willem's side and see Choir as reckless and desperate fools. But in Elden Ring, for some reason, I actually sympathise with the ideas of Sellen (and her teachers, Azur and Lusat) more instead, whereas seeing how Caria family goes about the glintstone teachings as kinda weak. Not REAL researchers. It is very funny and I can't even explain why I am so inconsistent all of a sudden; doesn't help that Rennala herself gives strong Willem and Yurie vibe! Truly, the magic of narration can make EITHER side feel more sympathetic than the other o_o"

Also, I've learned that initially her Witch's Glintsone Crown was named Grana Glintstone Crown, but it was patched out!

I feel like developers initially did want to make Sellen as important as someone who had her own school and the crown made in her likeness was a common wear too, but it never picked up because… well, her line of studies contradicted with Caria's family agenda and restrictions too much? It is one thing to just explore rocks from space, but completely different one to try and BECOME one! But I decided to go with 'they retconned the idea' rather than with 'they obscured the idea'. I mean, how exactly people would follow this "school"? They'd just become rocks lol. It is not really studying the object when you become the object.

I also honest to god cannot recall this particular shade of green glintstone anywhere else - not in an environment, nowhere on Graven Scholars, and there are no spells or staff associated with this color. So I feel like it is artificial and created BY her; would go with theme of her experimenting with turning people into seeds of a star. Heck, maybe this glintstone also had an… organic origin, too. So it cannot be turned into a weapon (unlike staffs of Azur and Lusat that ARE made from existing cosmic material), but only serve as cathalyst for intellect and sorcery of THE caster.

Also I just gotta say, I really appreciate how in these spheres everyone is always having the both horrified and awe-full expression, but she looks really blissful and calm x) She actually gave a realistic, adequate estimate towards how much she wanted to become one with the cosmos xD Lore says that even Azur and Lusat were devastated when they witnessed it, so she is arguably MORE of a madwoman than those two. Love this about her so much.

Honorable mention: so far, Nepheli is my second favorite. Her design definitely beats everyone else's amongst NPCs yet, but also she is just really appealing character. Badass warrior with two axes with great honor and will to go on no matter what, who is also very sensitive and compassionate at heart, is in touch with her vulnerable side, grieving the fallen, strong but not invincible… It is a very good example of how TO write a strong and badass female character; the power is not to be a solid brick that never cries but to be able to connect with one's insecurities and still get back up. Her being heartbroken when her father figure turned on her was very moving, for some reason this way she feels stronger than if she just got up and kicked Gideon's ass and hated him forevermore after that. I just live for this balance of both big muscles but ALSO a big heart.

[death-rebirth-senshi]

What are the lore implications of the weapon art on Marika's Hammer (the signature move of Radagon) being roughly runebear sized

[husband-steve-cortez]

I was hesitant but I think I'd make Alim a faith/arcane build in Elden Ring. I don't think faith really fits him but all the blood magic spells are faith/arcane, and dragon communion is also neat and has the bonus of being inherently ruinous, which I think really would cause Alim to avoid it but it's fitting for a grey warden.

I think I could also see Alim as too seduced by the power of dragon communion to resist, and perhaps insisting that if he only consumes one or two hearts it'll be fine and it's just a slippery slope from there that he falls down.

Incantations often have less of a "holy" vibe in elden ring too, they're really any kind of spell that's tapping into some other force, which is what all magic is in dragon age since you're tapping into the fade. A majority of incantations are technically blasphemous to the head religion, in fact, including the pyro incantations.

So creepy, dragon heart eating, power of blood obsessed, forbidden flame wielding, doomed to eventually become a lowly wyrm faith/arcane build for Alim it is.

[thistoowillpasss]

I know that there's more exciting conflict zones in elden ring, but pretty much every single time I get near the demihuman/godrickguy combat in Limgrave I stop what I'm doing and watch them until they reach conclusion

[dimitrscu]

just about anyone can make elden ring lore videos on youtube these days and you apparently don’t even need to know or understand the lore at all in order to get views, so long as you put a load of memes in there and have some fucked up looking thumbnail people will click. but what always makes me laugh is how you look at the comments and there’s a bunch of people correcting the guy even on the most basic shit that is clearly stated in the game. like how do you manage to fuck that up so badly?? the top comments are usually full of people just straight up telling them what actually happened and then the op leaves a comment saying “oh yeah you’re right i forgot to mention that 😅” like my brother in christ you are making a lore video and you forgot the lore part

[huggingtentacles]

"All invaders do is hide behind enemies in the area" MOTHER OF FUCK

HALF OF THE MOBS IN THE GAME CAN FUCKING KILL ME AS WELL

[naggascradle]

thank god for elden ring honestly because its really busted my eye open for grrm's thing for dualities in his writing. like you cant make me look at radagon & marika's dual natures and then have me turn back around and look at a series literally titled a song of ice and fire and not start noticing how much he plays this parallelism game here. the knights of the vale behind their gates of the moon to the dornishmen in sunspear. the dothraki and ironborn as cultures built on pillaging off of others while the dothraki way fears the sea and where horses cannot travel, the ironborn dislike being tethered to the shores for too long, or their shared aversion to spilling blood as a spiritual belief leading them to find ways to kill in a much more brutal fashion. the titular icy other who shall never be named to rhllor the lord of light and fire. the last children of the forest finally found so far north as the last dragons are hatched in the known world. robb stark has the world in his hands and loses it all for a nobody named jeyne. theon greyjoy who has nothing left and yet saves a nobody named jeyne in order to regain what little self he can. the ice covered wall to keep the wights out to the hot burning sea that holds the doom of valyria. you take the black and you take the white its all the same vows to guard the realm or guard the monarch, never have a family, but the difference is a matter of prestige and location. the blood of old valyrians being dragonlike and few of them left with an almost ethereal nature to them vs the blood of the first men passing down the chance to have the ability to warg and be connected with nature itself. following with that the exile of the last targaryens and distrust of their "mad" nature despite formerly being desired & seen as godlike, compared to the first men's descendants being mostly wildlings who are shunned and kept away from most of westeros. there's really nothing i love more than a good parallel

[space-blue]

Messmer's winged snakes

One line that fucks with me, regarding Messmer, is about his twin snakes!

Messmer's kindling says :

A dark thing, eaten away at by a wicked serpent.

And his helm reveals this :

The winged snakes were Messmer's constant companions. They were there when the base serpent was sealed away behind his eye.

While the helm of Kood says :

The winged serpent is the token creature of Messmer's military forces. It is a wise friend which keeps the base serpent at bay and holds its power in check.

So Messmer has a kindling in him, a vision of fire, that the Abyssal serpent EATS at, while his twin winged snakes keep IT in check in turn.

Do you know what that reminds me of?

Ouroboros... Snakes eating at each other in a cycle that is kept in check by Marika's seal of grace. An abyssal serpent vs. winged snakes. The symbols are basically identical, and nothing really distinguishes snake imagery from serpent imagery in Elden Ring. Yet the difference is clearly very significant.