#stab me malenia

[huggingtentacles]

I violated the law because I was thinking about Malenia's cock

[dimitrscu]

the knee to the chest. that’s hot

[balteus]

tbf the most fascinating part of radahn as a boss and character to me isn't even the horsegirl\war general aspect of him. it's the fact that he uses spears people stabbed him with as arrows. that's metal as fuck.

[fujimilovers]

ill be real souls games are for lesbian perverts and brother. i own all of them

[maranull]

The Journey Back

Final Chapter: Reaching Home

Fic Summary: A retelling of Malenia’s Bloom during the battle at Caelid and Finlay’s journey back to the Haligtree.

Rating: Mature Word count: 16160 Genre: Action/Adventure, Tragedy Chapters: 11/11 Status: Complete Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

[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.

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman Showdown Round 2 Part 1

Malenia (Elden Ring) vs Olivier Mira Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist)

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

Propaganda below cut

Malenia

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

"Arguably" the hardest boss in any fromsoft game? You don't even know. She is OBJECTIVELY the hardest boss in any fromsoft game. On march 1st 2023, a bit more than a full year since the game's release, From Software released the stats on the amount of attempts each boss took for the players collectively. As of march 1st 2023 Malenia has killed the players 329.000.000 times. That's 10 Tarnished every second. That's almost the entire population of the United States. Malenia is also an optional boss in a secluded area hidden away from everyone. According to PlayStation trophy statistics, only 37.9% of people who ever bought the game managed to even REACH Malenia in the first place. Which means among those 329.000.000 people she has obliterated were only the most dedicated of Fromsoft fans. Only 33.3% of people even managed to beat her. That number also includes everyone who beat her with summons, which makes her significantly easier. This means out of all people who bought the game on PlayStation 4 or 5 and reached Malenia which is about 3 million people, 377.000 just fucking dropped her, they didn't even do it with summons. Difficulty aside. Malenia is also extremely pretty and has the softest lips, her Goddess form looks like a painting. She fights with elegance and style unrivalled by any boss in the game, dancing through the battlefield with deadly, fluid motions. Malenia is also 256cm or 8'4" tall. Huge woman.

post let me solo her

#malenia is 8'4“ flat chested and broad shouldered#she kills you with incredible grace and poise#trans icon#id let her Waterfowl Dance on me and Infect Me with her Scarlet Rot...

#malenia is so dedicated to the sword it mends her failing body. she lives by fighting#her strongest attack is a technique that halts the progress of her terminal illness#i can never stop thinking about that. by all means she couldve rotted into a mile of mush before the game started#but she persists!! she persists!!!

Olivier Mira Armstrong

Her sword is a family heirloom and she can hold up against or defeat very formidable opponents; She is so unbelievably cool

Extremely cool and intimidating military general with a signature heirloom sword.

She has a really fancy family heirloom sword. Stabs a man and throws him into liquid cement to suffocate alive after he tries to get her to abandon her men to be part of a nation-wide conspiracy, challenges a subordinate to a duel of life and death (with the sword), nervous tic is tapping on the hilt of the sword. She demanded that her father retire and make her the head of the family instead of her brother, and then fought against said brother (including with the sword)(won the fight), among other things stabbed a homunculus into the head; I loved this character because her personality was so refreshing. Really blunt and rational, but will show her love for her subordinates and family through actions rather than words. When the main characters first ask her for help, her motivations are entirely selfish (gaining knowledge to use for power). It is established several times that she really is scary, and isn't afraid to immediatly fight someone on the spot to prove a point. Literally pulls a "I'm getting so old, I'm afraid a women like me will never find a husband," to manipulate a superior. All in all, she could stab me and it would be the greatest accomplishment I had made in my life so far.

Her sword has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. She is an expert in sword fighting and military strategy. She always holding it when commanding her troops.

She wields a saber passed down as a family heirloom; while she also sometimes uses guns and tanks, this is her primary weapon, which she used to kill the super-strong Homunculus Sloth the Indolent several times (she did, however, need help from others to kill him permanently, due to Sloth's ability to regenerate from death); As a Major General, Olivier is the highest-ranking woman in her country's military; she is also the moral highest-ranked military officer in her country, as she joins in a rebellion once she has confirmation as to how corrupt the military leaders are.

[alma-amentet]

FYI because I feel compelled to spread this info, people completely misinterpreted that shot of Malenia and Radahn in the trailer. Radahn wasn't winning because they hadn't fought yet, that was in fact the start of their fight. In CGWorld 286 there's a comment by Takaaki Yamagishi (From animator who supervised the trailer) next to animatics. He says (p. 25, over an image of their first shot with Malenia adjusting her arm): 「ラダーンと対峙したとき、すでにマレニアは満身創痍でしたが、敵を認識して再び立ち上がります」.  “When she faced off against Radahn, Malenia was ALREADY black-and-blue-head-to-toe, but when she recognizes/BECOMES AWARE of an enemy she rises once more" (this caused a stir on JPN Twitter when it came out; search "マレニア CGWorld" if you don't believe me). Malenia looks tired because she was already wounded before Radahn arrived, presumably from slaughtering his knights, as we find their weapons at the battle site (it also parallels Radahn's state as he's also visibly wounded; the spears in his back are already there, so they seemed to have been the last ones standing on the battlefield). This means the context of the shot is pretty much the complete opposite of what some people were assuming it was. Radahn was trying to pick off a heavily-wounded foe after throwing his army at her. He still got stalemated, stabbed, and floored even before the bloom (the issue also shows an animatic that makes it very clear that Malenia jammed nearly the entire blade length into Radahn's neck and chest, bracing the tint against her shoulder to push it in him further, which explains why he drops his weapon and kneels in the following shot).

Well I knew this before, and yes, it's all kinda intetesting. But together with the guy who revealed it to me (he also shared a storyboard page from a japanese magazine) we agreed that Radahn might have just fought with his gravity magic, that's why he was less wounded. He was standing as if he'd proclaimed his terms and was waiting for response. It's most likely he offered her to surrender (wanted to hold her captive for a while, maybe, marry her...) Obviously, Malenia didn't accept/agree.

That guy wrote some nice fanfiction, btw, with his own interpretation(sadly it's not in English).

I see no reason to argue because it's all still open to interpretation, and after all, it's just fiction, for fun, not fight. I'm always open to any theories, ideas, headcanons, if it's all nice and peaceful.

Thank you, anon, for a chance to recollect all that info.

[rex101111]

Okay at the risk of sounding conceited...is the Enforcer at the end of Phase 2 Depth Exploration considered hard? I'm asking because I saw a couple comments to that effect and he has like the entrance and the build up and all that but...i beat him first try every time. Seriously.

Three playthroughs now and with a slightly different kinda jank build each time sure its TOUGH but literally every other boss in this game except Carla's Roomba giave me more trouble then this guy.

Its like if Malenia did a bunch of back flips and then when she finally went to stab you she'd slip on a banana peel face first into your sword.

Its weird.

[katyspersonal]

15, 25, 10?

DEPLOY THE BOMBS!!

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

15) that one thing you see in fanart all the time

There are… many. After Vargram erasure in ER fandom though, I feel like none of the BB fanart complains even matter anymore. Like, why bother that grey-eyed characters are constantly drawn with blue eyes? Why bother about no-beardor? Why bother about Eileen being drawn young when there is no context of 'oh that's from her past she hunted for decades'? Or Micolash having straight and brown hair when he has wavy black hair? Or Fauxsefka stabbing Iosefka to death when in reality she turned her into Celestial Emissary? Or Arianna with blue eyes when she has weird purple eyes in fact? Or Maria missing those cute accessories on her garb by either side of her big brooch?

The list goes on. But now nothing will top people drawing Vargram the Raging Wolf within the context of him being default!Tarnished, all because promo company of ER decided that tutorial(Knight) set was not stylish enough? Like yeah, many things I see in fanart make me turn into Edna Mode, but ER fandom taught me that inaccuracies in fanart are nothing compared to consistently erasing a character that does have specific lore and drip attached just to himself, not just wears covenant outfit!

25) common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

I am going to cheat this time and pick an easy one: the constant complaint about how Soulsborne games don't have an easy mode! It is almost exclusive to Twitter but Tumblr sometimes has it too, but the girls (gender neutral) complain that they can't experience these cool stories by themselves because the games are so hard. The thing is, HOW are you supposed to experience battling a dragon or a literal God if they are not ass-breakingly hard? Even then, Soulsborne games always give you a pass by making you fight those monsters at their absolute lowest and weakest, to narratively justify how CAN you even defeat them to begin with! HOW are you supposed to experience battling a person who "has never known defeat" if you actually CAN defeat her easily?

Admittedly, I somewhat clowned on this exact topic, when I joined in to agree that Malenia's battle was unfair, but I just needed more immersion at that time + was bitter after yet another article accusing everyone of misogyny. I take that back, her battle was nothing BUT fair considering the context. Even the reason she regenerates with every hit is justified by how her Rune adapted with her spirit of resistence, and you, the player, can use this power too now! I am sidetracking though.

I just feel like we live in the era where people do not want to actually immerse into something, analyse it, devote effort to it.. They just want to "consume content" and have massive FOMO when everyone talks about a game that they 'don't have time for'. I spend 100+ hours in these games on grinding alone because I am woefully bad at playing them and can only rely on stats and upgrades! But people who are good at these games spend the same 100 hours on learning mechanics and memorizing movement patterns of the enemies! Overcoming the challenge in the way that seems fit is, as well, a part of the INTENDED experience!

All in all, there are 'story explained' videos on Soulsborne games that get straight to the facts rather than speculating, that are a good start if you want to know more about the characters and the story! I was not able to play Bloodborne for the lack of console but I got completely caught onto all lore through videos and wikias. If you don't want to play the hard games, that's fair, but maybe some "experiences" are just not for YOU and that's fine!

10) worst part of fanon

I think I've unleashed 90% of the salt in this ( x ) post already x) Yeah, good ol' Adventures of Fandomaria and Gehrmaniac.

Granted, I mentioned that Fauxsefka was not all that mischaracterized, but if I could add? She kiiiiinda is. Evilsexysefka does irk me a little, especially paired with Yurie as 'evil lesbians'. Not that they are 100% morally in the right, but this feels very trivialising, at least from the puddle-deep takes on the dynamic I've seen. Iosefka is not evil or malicious, she is 'mad from knowledge'! Even Miyazaki claimed as much as her being one of the only people in the setting who were heroic!

She doesn't feel in the right just letting people gradually turn into beasts, knowing that it is inevitable (maybe even knowing of Mensis Ritual guaranteeing it), when she CAN do something to "save" them! Her just being evil doctor removes that nuance and complexity. Yurie might have been working with her on the plan, protecting Rom because she helps to hide the ritual's effects while Fauxsefka does her thing. Which, again, doesn't make either or both of them 'evil', even if we might disagree with their methods! I myself think Damian is more in the right here fighting by our side against Rom and Yurie, to rip the bandage with the Mensis Ritual so it could be ended once and for all despite instant casualties. But the girls are in a hard situation with NO good choice in this situation, like everyone else in the setting! Give them more than your kink!

[dr-ladybird]

what if.

what if Mohg successfully transforms Miquella into a vessel for the Formless Mother.

and Miquella wakes up like that, goes “what the hell this was not the plan????”, and continues being a fairly competent and benevolent guy who’s prepared to do some ruthless shit to build a better world.

“I’m now blood and pain powered? well I’m sure I can get some of my subjects to self-harm for me if I pay them and patch them up with healing magic afterwards. Anyone round here respawn reliably on death? Can I get some respawning gladiators?”

Malenia is now mentally coherent, not dying, at no risk of turning into a flower, occasionally needs to drink human blood, and keeps stabbing herself.

I suspect someone tore Mohg into very small pieces? If you like him more than I do, though, the concept could be good for a Mohg redemption arc!

[huggingtentacles]

It's very rare for any artist to actually capture how beautiful and pretty her lips are... I've never seen anyone pull them off, I've never seen anyone have the same effect on me as the actual in-game model.

Malenia is so pretty...

[reslari]

Shadow of the Erdtree hype, of course! I took a look at the JP interview Miyazaki did for IGN, too, and like most of his interviews, it gives away some pretty hefty information that many people may overlook (What the place is, who Messmer is, etc.)

Very interestingly to me, is the fact he just passingly mentions that it's gonna dig more into Marika's backstory, too, which means

Hopefully

Massive (in FromSoft terms at least) lore dumps for my favoritest blorbo war criminal!!! Yaaas, give me more sweet Queen Marika war crimes.

(And also please let us take something back to Malenia to be like LOOK LADY, UR BROTHER. STOP STABBING ME.)

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I know everyone calls Radahn honorable for waiting for Malenia to fix her arm but that is a "You are so utterly beneath me, go ahead take a time out I don't care" taunting pose if I've ever seen one.

And Malenia is like, fine bitch, stabs herself and unleashes the scarlet rot. Which, interesting to know she stabbed herself.

I don't think we ever get a straight answer in-game on why Malenia and Radahn fought, which is interesting given how hard it's promo'd. Presumably Malenia fought on Miquella's behalf, and maybe it did have to do with wanting the movement of the stars unlocked, given that Miquella wants an eclipse.

[stuffman-main]

let me share some shield-specific malenia tech because i doubt anyone else tries to do it this way lol

there are four attacks you can safely guard counter:

the normal that ends in an overhead smash

the click-dash where she does a circle sweep and then an overhead

the stab dash, if you're far enough away

if you are fighting uphill, if you counter the third hit of her click-shing-shing-shing, you can low profile the fourth!

only the third and fourth apply to phase 2 since she adds the explosion to her overheads, but those are so telegraphed that you have better options than countering.

countering does about the same damage as an r2, the point of it is the immense stagger damage to open up a facestab.

scarlet aeonia is pure physical and you can just block both hits. you get blown back by the second hit with no damage, and it doesn't heal her (you get some rot meter, but who cares).

waterfowl is an even bigger problem than usual because you're going for heavier hits at a shorter distance. you're going to have to learn to predict when she's about to do it. (sometimes she just chooses to do it really early and that's a YOU DIED moment.)

but in general, while it's bad that she heals off of blocks, blocking is still better than getting hit, so hold up your shield while you're trying to roll through stuff. it can save you a few plinks from waterfowl at least.

you're probably not able to fastroll if you're using a greatshield and heavy weapon, even with minimal armor, so winged crystal tear in your physick is a godsend. it lasts three minutes which is Enough.

[thatboreddrake]

8, 9, and/or 10 for Malenia?

Thanks for the asks, catcas!

8) Made up interactions with people in canon: well, for one, she would beat the ever-loving crap out of Shabriri. You look me in the eye and tell me that Malenia “I have struggled against Outer Gods all my life to build a better world for the people of the Haligtree” wouldn’t be absolutely ON SIGHT with Mr. “the world kinda sucks and I wish it didn’t exist.” On a happier note, would love if she and Miquella could meet Melina. She would be so proud of her half-siblings.

9) Headcanons about her past: pretty basic, but her and Radahn definitely had a friendly rivalry leading up to the Battle of Aeonia. The Haligtree and Caria were on fairly friendly terms, even if only to screw over Leyndell. Plus everyone knows about the whole “mightiest demigod vs undefeated swordswoman” debate. This makes the Battle of Aeonia all the more tragic if Malenia thinks that this person she trusted stabbed her and Miquella in the back in a vain bid for power.

10) What content would I like to see: I want her to be a Quest/summonable NPC in Shadow of the Erdtree. She is definitely not dead after her boss battle, and I want the option to cure/interact with her after the fact.