Thank you! I was pleasantly surprised where a deep dive into alchemy took me. It's really amazing how much of the game's story and lore can shift with a simple change in perspective!
Speaking of Smough, he brought the idea that first generation Albanaurics in their youth are Female and as they get older turn male. We only see young female albanaurics and old male ones
Great point! I completely forgot about his theory though it makes a lot of sense and further adds to the gender fluidity in the Lands Between. If I ever do a sequel, that gives me the perfect excuse to do an Albinauric remix of “they're turning the frigging frogs gay!”
@@garrulousgoldmask yeah the second generation do resemble frogs and are either gender neutral or male only. "I DON'T LIKE THEM PUTTN' silver IN THE WATER THAT TURN THE FREAKIN FROGS GAY"
12:38 I’m pretty certain it’s deliberant they just found a way to make it cool instead of a character just coming in and going “hey guys I feel one way one day and another another day” they gave a logical explanation. They can only be substantiated and supported by the fact that they are demigods
Yeah, it’s not that Mohg wanted to *mate* with Miquella to produce offspring, he simply wanted to make Miquella a capital G god like their mother, so that he could serve as the Elden Lord to a hypothetical age of blood
@@soarel325 she speaks of her befuddlement at Boc’s love of his mother, and questions if that stems from being born of a mother. Other pieces of lore suggest and outright state at times people in golden order society are born from the erdtree, Tarnished Archeologist has a 3 part series on this However women still do get pregnant, be they Demi-humans or otherwise, though it’s a conduit through which the omen curse propagates
@@errantvice7335 Pretty sure that's just because Melina herself wasn't born in the traditional sense. The fact Boc exists and was born conventionally seems to undermine the idea that people don't get pregnant
@@errantvice7335 you're a very literate scholar indeed, @errantvice7335 well if I'm not mistaken daedicar woe description kind of imply that doing "oh yes.. oh God" is a No No, also the pickle turtle neck description before it changed say something about nobody getting pregnant.
As you said, the pursuit of alchemy was not only the creation of gold, but was also spiritual, with the reconciliation of matter resulting in a perfect union, the goal of the wise, the Philosopher’s Stone. The Hermetic tradition held that Adam was hermaphroditic before the fall. The necessity of the alchemical wedding of Sol and Luna was based on the idea that after the Fall, man lost his original, undivided Adamic state, and that he should strive to reconcile both conflicting halves, male and female. The name Adam is thought to have been derived from “adom”, or “red earth”. It is my opinion that Radagon represents this alchemical pursuit, and sought to rejoin the One, which is transcendent and even higher cosmically than the Greater Will. “Metal greatshield coated with gold. Carried by knights loyal to Godrick. The red tinge in the gold coat mirrors the primordial matter that became the Erdtree. The color of homeward yearning.” - Gilded Greatshield “Incantation of the Golden Order fundamentalists. One of the key fundamentals. Heals all negative statuses, dispels special effects, and reveals mimicry in all its forms. The fundamentalists describe the Golden Order through the powers of regression and causality. Regression is the pull of meaning; that all things yearn eternally to converge.” - Law of Regression Radagon is the red Adam, who yearns to be whole again, and the Fall of man from a state of Oneness would be the split from the One Great caused by the Greater Will with the creation of the material world. Thus, Golden Order Fundamentalism is a journey similar to Gnosis where one attains the knowledge to ascend in my opinion.
That's a great read! I didn't think about the potential connections Radagon could have with both primordial gold and hermaphroditic Adam but that makes a lot of sense!
Very interesting take be if Radagon was the original one if they were the same being considering that Elden ring is quite heavily based on the alchemy rebis and the notions of the golden order laws of causality and recession
Seconded! Though I'm not sure either of those characters are all that straight. I mean Radagon fights us completely jacked, shirtless and while wearing a skirt. And Fia "hugs" any Tarnished she meets. For me, Boggart is probably one of the most hetero people in the Lands Between (and yes, it's based mostly on just one line of dialogue 😅)
@@garrulousgoldmask Fia is definitely bi but is leaning more towards being straight same with Godfrey. Tarnished body type b is probably the gayest and Tarnished body type a is probably the straightest because the tarnished be pretty gynophyllic based on interactions with Ranni and Fia.
Has anyone discussed the theme of DNA in Elden Ring? The imagery and ideas are everywhere! The double helix for starters. It's even right there in Miquella's plait in the art, and it appears in so many places. I even think the decorative rim around Rani's hat looks like a chromosome strand under a microscope. It seems to me Elden Ring is a story of warring genetics in a lot of ways, and the chimeras that arise from things getting mixed up or going wrong. Even the Dung-eater feels like the personification of a virus to me. Lots of characters are trying to insert a piece of a certain code into the main 'gene', if you will, as in the case of recombinant DNA. Heck, the Two Fingers image on the Faith talisman - chromosome!
Oh wow, those are some fantastic insights! Especially with the Dung Eater and the Two Fingers medallion! I haven't seen anyone delve in depth about DNA per se, though in the past I did toy with the notion that the Crucible in Elden Ring could be a metaphor for cancerous growth (since gold is actually a treatment option); I might have to revisit that idea!
@@garrulousgoldmask I have a few words for you. Tarnished Archaeologist. His videos put sooooo much into perspective that it's kinda' shocking and humbling, once you see what he's saying and think to yourself "How did I not see that?"
I played as a female Tarnished. I gave the ring to Ranni and got the Moonlight Greatsword. Then I inherited the Frenzied Flame, incinerating my fiance and everything else except Melina, who swore to hunt me down.
Interesting video! Curious that you didn't mention the bisexual implications of Marika/Rennala given that the mask of confidence and Rykard's blondness make it pretty clear that Rennala was at least aware that she was technically gay married. Love wins for them I think
Thank you! Tbh I completely forgot about the statues depicting Radagon with blond hair 😅 I couldn't find anything in the game that explicitly said Rennala knew Radagon's dual identity, though it certainly would make sense if she found that out/Radagon confided in her. (And that would explain the Mask of Confidence!) It also seems to be an open question as to whether or not Radagon himself knew he was also Marika prior to marrying himself.
@@garrulousgoldmask Sorry I meant that Rykard was blonde rather than a redhead judging by paintings of him. Radagon's sudden appearance during the Liurnian war followed by a swift marriage to Rennala could imo be taken as a way for Marika herself to justify marrying/loving Rennala which would make a lot of sense given Rennala's empyrean child. The idea of her slapping on a red wig just so she can get gay married is silly but does fit with stuff like "Marika's Mischief" and yes the multiple implications (as well as basic logic) that Rennala knew what was going on. It's equality!
@@rachelsongeditsrykard is showed by description to be ginger not blonde also there's literally not a single piece of evidence that Radagon ever told rennala what relations he had to Marika not to count the fact that is heavily shown by dialogue that he and Marika were at one point separate entities as said by Melina, either if they were two different beings, were always two different parts of the same or Radagon was a construct of the greater will is yet to be known for it is quite vague the information. Listen I'm bisexual but I really dislike when people start spreading their own biased head cannon to other people to showcase face value when there's nothing clarified in canon. And also like to clarify that many values in the lands between are very different in context to modern ones, same as notions
I find what makes the queerness of FromSoft games work is how mythic they feel. Dark Sun Gwyndolin, Miquella, and Marika/Radagon are beings who fit into the world not because a marketing team thought "Majority audiences show favorable attitudes towards LGBT inclusion", but because gender ambiguous gods working in obscure ways to shape the nature of the world. Itsuits the grand, obscure vibes of a mythic place where clear understanding of the nature of things (and one's place in them) involves much exploration, discovery, and testing of one's self. (my queer friends confirm this is very much the queer experience in a culture that doesn't normalize such variation)
I'm not a fan of this attitude personally. Queerness doesn't need some kind of validation within the narrative. It can just be. Ranni being queer as a result of the player's action fits in just as well as Marigon.
@@GREATGAIWAIN I don't disagree inherently. But I find tokenistic inclusion can often feel ham-fisted and clunky in the hands of poor writers who often do this because of making a product manufactured to be marketable. Fallout New Vegas also shows queerness in ways which just are - but they feel verisimilitudinous with the world. FromSoft strives to be Mythic and so queerness reflects that. It also can just 'be', as you say. I think I was a little over committed to my point about Mythicness because I had seen a Let's Play of Starfield, and found so many of the marriage and pronoun options just...performatively corporate. And I prefer art actually be cohesive and personal rather than just commodified and bland. And IMO queerness is not immune to this capitalist flattening of complexity and texture.
@@dylanehooverlibrarian7026New Vegas didn't "make" being queer fit logically in the world. They made characters that were textured and layered, and their queerness while influencing their perspectives was not itself justified or expounded upon. That's why you liked it and that's what we want. By introducing St. Trina, they made Marika's gender situation more normal and like a thing that can just happen, while also yes, making it mythic. They did BOTH. Starfield allowing you to play a non-binary option via pronoun selection isn't corporate, their slipshod characters, under cooked narrative and check box design is what makes their world and characters feel corporate. Queerness doesn't even ENTER that conversation. It's just a victim, like everything else. I mean... You definitely shouldn't Google Bethesda trans employee if you want to maintain the illusion of Bethesda being somehow woke.
@@GREATGAIWAIN I think this may be something in how I experience art. I find the characters being textured and layered made it is what made it logical for the world. I'm so used to bad corporate art being made by people who struggle to make such characters come off as layered and normalized. I guess that's what I'm getting at - I'm praising FromSoft for being able to integrate such elements into their world and make them feel as natural as any other element. It's not the only way to explore the topic (perhaps not even the best way) but it's good to appreciate how FromSoft does it, by hitting all the notes. Normalized and Mythicized at once. And screw Bethesda.I hold no love for them, and their track record both as aritsts and employers speaks volumes.
Miyazaki always borrows from the manga Berserk, and in that manga, Griffith and Guts’ unnamed son are both the same person, just like Marika/Radagon. And yet they started out as two separate/unrelated beings, but are fused into one via being rebirthed by a magic egg. The characters act much like a person with dissociative identity disorder, and the body takes the form of which ever soul is “in charge” at the moment, exactly like the relationship/transformation between Marika and Radagon. Also, one is practically a godlike existence, and the other is not, again… much like Marika and Radagon. Elden Ring is almost a carbon copy of that anime/manga, which is why I find it difficult to believe that Marika and Radagon were always two souls in one body that somehow share genetic differences. Hell, even Darian and Devin’s (the character D) bodies were identical twins, and didn’t use genetic differences to hint at a fusion. Side note: Marika is of the Numen race while Radagon is descended from giants, and there’s so much lore/evidence thrown in our faces to back this up that it deserves its own video to go over it all.
That's really interesting! I knew Griffith and the egg had similarities to Miquella though I didn't realize there was another potential parallel to Marika and Radagon. Speaking of Radagon, I know there's the Giant Braid (which is one of my favorite weapons) ofc but are there other pieces of evidence for him being descended from the Giants?
@@garrulousgoldmask The description of the basic Hammer states [Originally a blacksmith's tool. The art of smithing is said to have originated among the giants.] and as we know, humans usually forced Misbegotten (like Hewg) and trolls (also descended from giants) to smith their weapon for them, and Radagon attempted to use Marina’s Hammer to repair the shattered Elden Ring, of such knowledge (or innate skill) would have come from his giant heritage. The description of the Giant’s Red Braid goes out of its way to let us know that such crimson hair was the hallmark of giants, and continues to mention Radagon’s hair as which would be strange to bring up for so reason if it weren’t relevant. It’s always mentioned how he was ashamed of his hair color since it’s believed to be a curse among the giant’s. And we know that there’s a human race believed to be descended from giants (the Northerner) though nothing concrete that says Radagon is that race, but at least we know enough to know it’d be lore appropriate. Also, one of Radagon’s sons (Radahn) definitely has some of those giant genetics 😆 dude is massive! The parallels are strong between Morgott and Radagon in that they both want to give everything for the Golden Order yet seem to feel genetically insecure about it… Morgott because of his Omen affliction, and Radagon because of his giant heritage, the same giants who were deemed a threat to the Erdtree and were all but wiped out.
Great write-up! It's also interesting that in the internal game files the Misbegotten are called Radagon's children though I didn't make the potential connection to all of them being blacksmiths until just now! I definitely think Radahn had to have some giant blood in him. IIRC there was some cut content that Radahn was going to be a slayer of giants though that was obviously changed. And if Radagon is part giant, that technically would mean he is a Giant Dad (the legend never dies!) Though I wonder if Radahn being such a thicc boi could have also come from Rennala since she is a) tall af and b) did come from the Mountaintops of the Giants. I also found it a bit odd that the Northerners are said to be descended from Giants but they don't have red hair.
@@garrulousgoldmask All true, and as for Northerners and the other races in general, the character creator allows for all “races” to look like any of the others. I mean, we can make handsome Squidward in the game, not having red hair for northerners is probably small potatoes as far as the game devs are concerned 😆
I think I just figured something out. Marika/Radagon was trying to create the philosopher's "child/stone" for a WHILE. While Marika was with Godfrey and coming to realize she could never birth an Empyrean with him, life-giving amber dripped like dew from the Erdtree's boughs. This was most likely when she made the Amber Egg, as a vessel to create a perfect empyrean child. Making the egg drained the Erdtree's ability to rain blessed dew upon the Lands Between. With the Erdtree's power diminished, the energies of the Crucible could flow once more, resulting in her next children to be born with the Omen curse. After that failure, she decided to blame it all on Godfrey to hide her own blasphemy, and she secreted the amber away into the possession of Radagon, who would go on to challenge and marry Rennala. Between Radagon and Rennala, Marika's experiments to create Empyreans could continue on in secret. Once she finally figured it out, she banished Godfrey and the Tarnished and summoned Radagon to her side because she could finally create an Empyrean or two and not have to worry much about birthing any more failures she'd have to hide. Leaving the amber egg/philosopher's pseudo-stone behind with Rennala meant Marika could ensure the Carian Queen's silence as well.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Elden Ring, and yet, nobody covers it… I respect you for having the balls to make this video, considering how ppl are lol
@@osvaldoprado9906 Nobody cares? Lol so that's why there's a endless group of anti woke grifter small time millionaires that spew anti gay talking points in entertainment 24 7... Riiiight lol. This comment is also for you anonisnoon or however you spell your dumb sounding name. Both of you have very stupid names actually haha.
Miyazaki tends to recycle stuff in his games, and I believe Gwyndolin and Miquella to be just that. For reference, nobody actually knows who’s Velka, other than she’s a Goddess (which in Dark Souls just means a hollow that got a fragment of Gwyn’s soul), but I always thought that Velka and Gwyndolin were the same person, based on Gwyndolin’s backstory regarding the feminine moon, and that Velka’s talisman and Gwyndolin’s staff are pretty much inverted (which, to go on a tangent, means they are both good at int/faith, since you still need enough faith to select miracles, while int scales the talisman and viceversa) they also both deal with law and punishment. Miquella and Trina share a similar situation, Miquella is an expert of fundamentalism, and took what he learned from his father and then tried to perfect it with a path of unalloyed gold, while Trina seems to be int based from the stuff we got of her, to add, Miquella’s knights are also able to cast sorceries, furthering the connection. Curiously enough, the knights at Caria were preparing to face an enemy that uses both magic and holy attacks, and Miquella’s forces are the only ones that fit the bill…
3:29 correction raping….. a unconscious cocoon cannot possibly consent also he unresponsive during these attempts and he actively hurting him as he’s always bleeding and has the body of pre-teen or very young adult presumably
In case I'm not just forgetting that you brought this up in the video... I'd like to mention something RageIkari brought up, which is that Mohg is _also_ missing one of his fingers. One of his fingers is a horn instead. So it seems like Mohg also may have performed shinju, or taken the finger-pricking ritual to its full conclusion like in 1.0.
Oh I completely forgot about that detail--great catch! Him performing shinji could also lend a bit more credence to the theory that Mohg has been bewitched by Miquella.
I was worried the video would not get into the alchemical aspect of the story and instead focus purely on the romantic dynamic. It came eventually but I was very relieved when it did. The only part that isn’t touched on is that the Tarnished and Ranni (or Marika depending on your choice) fulfil those same roles by their “opposing” nature that is made as one through that marriage, and the much less important-to-the-video part played by Rykard as a failure/inversion of the process.
"St. Trina is Miquella's deadname" is an absolutely amazing headcanon actually i love that. also as a person whose done a ton of research into alchemy, i never made the connection with the rebis and miquella. loving these lore videos keep it up
I am convinced that miquella is the tree and the Body in Moghgywn palace is litteraly Just His Body, who do you Trust more the blind Warrior that might be able to understand the language of the two Finger due to being blind who is also litteraly His twin sister or the crazed Kidnapper that admits to having Relations With His half Brother while that half Brother isn't even awake
3:20 Also rotting with a higly contagious disease so not really the best choice. 4:37 Also, he's a demigod about to become a full fledged god, believe me, i've read enough myths to know that gender is not by any mean a obstacle to reproduction for deities. You make a very interesting point on Miquella, hopefully, the dlc will shed some light.
what if miquella is why marika shattered the elden ring? miquella was a bigendered god with a tree, marika was on the brink of being replaced and saw no other option after the night of the black knives
Yeah! I think Gideon's line about Marika's sorrow after Miquella was kidnapped is a really underexplored part of the lore and could shed a ton of light on her motivations.
@@garrulousgoldmask if she knew miquella was kidnapped by mohg, that means she wasn't yet imprisoned, unless she is able to see events from the outside world while inside the erdtree
Great video ! I first thought that you were trolling us 😂 . I also wanted to add that every major characters in this game seems to Embody 👀 some kind of duality which some for example overtly proclaim to deceive the player/world (Ranni/Renna and Morgott/Margit)... some suppress (Godfrey/Hoarah Loux and Malenia blade of Miquella / Malenia Goddess of Rot) and One exclude completely : Marika/Radagon... after all she went as far as confining and using her male aspect as a tool which you could argue she did the same with Malekith, Hoarah Loux and the last giant (the "Red Adam" who she loathes) who are other powerful male aspects whose existence she needed/relied upon one way or another, and it also explain why Radagon (also a representation of the "Red" Adam/ but internalized contrary to the Last Giant) sole motive is to be complete by various means which culminates with the forceful integration of his other half (his consciousness must have been marked by a strong sense of unbalance/incompleteness/rejection)
Just a thought, perhaps Miquella - or all empyreans - simply have the ability to change sex at will? Radagon and Marika are interlinked, so it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that Trina and Miquella are a similar situation, considering their relation.
I hadn't thought about it like that before, but that could be the case! It's definitely striking that out of the 4 confirmed Empyreans (Marika, Ranni, Miquella, and Malenia), half of them are genderfluid. That could also possibly explain why Malenia has so many offshoots (i.e. Millicent et al.) despite no hint of a father at all.
5:37 that is a sentence 6:27 that explains a lot, but it still does not make any ounce of what Mogh does excusable 8:07 it is very uncomfortable to know what the Mogh and his dynasty is based off of….
Some really interesting analysis here! Only critique I'd make is that you sort of missed an opportunity to talk about how Miquella's childlike appearance intensifies the queerness of his relationship with Mohg - anyway, awesome to see videos like this being made.
What if (assuming they arent a mimic) Miquella wasn't cursed with eternal youth, the evidence against it being they have clearly grown in size and age, but was simply mistaken for a man who never went through puberty?
George R. Martin is openly a Feminist. If you look at his older works a lot of his influences become fairly obvious. All way down to the turtles. Especially the turtles. On that topic, I can recommend the RUclipsr Preston Jakobs. He once made an entire video series reviewing Martin's 1000-Worlds Book Series to get a better glimpse at his style of writing.
I think it's kinda weird to try to fit this details into queer real world things since some of the examples are a dude liking a dragon that are said to have both sexes, a monster transforming himself in blood and living inside a cocoon with a unconsciousness body, another evolves a woman sleeping in a dream with a corpse that has no soul or will and is no longer human, etc.... most of this are not queer, they literally break any real world lines or logic for the sense of complex narrative. Just because they break species, concepts of living beings and or free will doesn't mean they are trying to tell something specifically about the breaking of gender norms.
Would like to mention that nonbinary people can still use he or she as a pronoun. And intersex people can be very diverse in body parts. Personally I doubt the gods really need to care about biology. Especially considering Marika/Radagon, and Miquella/st Trina Also queer people can be villains. I feel like as long as it is done well, and this game does as long as you look into the lore.
Great video. I also see Ranni as a type of trans allegory but in a more abstract way. She doesn't want to be controlled by the fate which governs the body of her birth; so, she literally cuts/discards it to inhabit a new body and pursue her own fate. It doesn't suggest a change in sex/gender, but I think it speaks to a deeper truth regarding choosing your destiny and not being a slave to the conditions into which you were born, even if they are physical.
The last section about Miquela being a mimic of Marika made me think: What if Malenia is a failed version of Miquella, because of the corruption of the rot Godess. And so Miquela could be the second attempt. That could explain why Malenia is serving Miquella. Maybe I'm reading to much into this.
12:33 correct it just makes the gods cooler the ability to switch ones sex is essence a representation of power as it provides flexibility and access to both genders benefits
I think this is an overall very good educational video, however I am not a burden with the knowledge of what mohgs dynasty represents and that Nikola is quite possibly the second or third most mistreated victim of the shattering
Great video boss. But you forgot patches! He talked about those highway men remember. He didn't understand them but he did say that they had some sort of special connection with each other. I dunno... Maybe that was some GAY stuff? lol who knows with that crazy patchez!
lol the Mohg allegation jokes here Besides that what he says about Miquella and Marika at the end is insane. It puts the entire DLC story in a new light.
Thank you! I’ve been saying that people have been sleeping on the queer themes/characters of this story since the early days. No one talks about this. Like I personally think there’s a whole under layer commentary of gender and societal expectations built into this game. I don’t think Miyazaki is ever really unintentionally does stuff like this in there games. And he’s known for putting social commentary in his games to a degree. Even to the extent of the famous “you are maidenless,” which I personally think was a direct comment on young men seemingly feeling like it’s harder and harder to talk to and thusly find a partner in women. Maybe I’m reading to much into things but Miyazaki like to point things like that out and reflect it in his work. So I think this topic is worth more discussion than it’s given.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I really was struck by how overt (well, for a FromSoft game) a lot of the queer elements in Elden Ring have been, especially since you usually have to look at the subtext when for a queer reading. And I definitely think the maidenless line was a both deliberate troll and a hint that the Lands Between is a more matriarchal society.
Great video and you also seem to have touched a nerve with some people who lack the emotional intelligence to even accept that queerness exists, let alone discuss it within media.
People who recognize this ideology as the neocolonialist corporate op that it is do feel wronged, yes. That an artificial trend that comes from the top down is attempting to rewrite history and colonize other nations.
I was mention this but I think the alchemy thing makes more sense. But I'll say it anyway just because it's interesting. In old pagan religions like norse, egyptian, sumerian etc the gods represent aspects of nature and they're masculine or femenine to suit their traits. Sometimes the union is between 2 masculine or 2 femenine or multiple people (sometimes incestuous) and a child is the resulting effect. For example let's say tin and copper are both masculine deities (brothers because they're both metal) and they have sex in a myth and have a son who represents bronze and bronze usurps tin and copper representing how bronze became the chief metal of the bronze age. Maybe Miyazaki and Martin used this or maybe it's coincidence or maybe it is more rooted in alchemy. It would explain Mogh trying to sex up Miquella.
If I had to make a guess. Omens would represent aspects of nature that are taboo in society. To me Mogh would represent darker desires like wanton lust and violence where Morgott would represent wanting to feel safe in the status quo even if that means simping for a dictator who is out to get you. Mogh wanting to marry Miquella could be him wanting to create a world where the crucable is reinstated and there is no repression or rules just people living by their whims.
I've always seen the Queer aspects of the ER narrative as this novel-philosophical thing rather than the dumb politics and snowflake lust of modern-day events
I haven't actually watched this, i find viewing gender as twin primordial forces of existence more useful for the Soulsborne series. The sprial shape which repeats so much. We are the vertical line in the middle. It is also general Kabbalah. I wonder if there is a parallel to Christianity, or a inversion, where the Greater Will is female and the empyrean must embody the cosmic feminine. Like how Jesus was male and the Christian God is male. Im done ranting. Your videos are good. Up there with the Tarnished Archeologist
god i love this video 💛 even where the games are alright about the queerness video game fandoms can still be really gross ahout us. so this very good hearted and thorough exploration of queer readings is so cool to see. (as a chaotic bisexual man i do see both the appeal and dread inherent of bisexual Rykard) also miquella bleeding on a tree to grow a womb he recreates himself in is so transsexual i cant belive i didn't see that! i really love good faith trans allegories and interpretations so thank you for exposing me to more of those in these games i love. i rarely get to see myself in games as a trans, transmasc, or queer person but both you and tbskyen have helped me find more of myself in these works 💛 the alchemical and spiritual bases for the queer stuff in these games also honestly just adds to these games for me. representation for representations sake is fine and good but i prefer my media to explore the deeper inherent queerness of reality. the idea of various genders/sexes as inherently interconnected is very appealing to me as a nonbinary transsexual.
I believe - and I hope that more people would consider - that the queer reading of Elden Ring is THE key to understanding the story. The game reads remarkably consistently as the personal mythology of a MtF transwoman who put a lot of energy and effort into becoming the perfect philosophical man (Radagon) before realizing that isn't what she really wanted. Every god and demi-god as another persona - another fractured piece - of the same conflicted mind. God-Queen Marika as less of an individual and more of an idol - an impossible goal of feminine perfection. Like, even women who are born female drive themselves to psychosis trying to achieve a perfect Barbie Doll figure and celebrity status - so it's little wonder that the perfect ideal of Marika shattered under pressure. It's a hard sell though. Requires a person to question everything they thought they knew about the history of the Lands Between, and most people are too entrenched at this point.
What does it matter they contradict what grace even is many times,and use allegory yet seems to be litteral.The lore is all over the place,they do not care it is a game not a novel.If it were a book it would be a worst seller.
Again, unconvincing. It's a contemporary bias to see gender non-conformity everywhere (not that it's all that rare) - it's certainly not specific to this video about a fictional universe it's also prevalent in observing the very real history/mythology. For a start, the fact that you can become a consort regardless of gender is first and foremost a concession to the player's choice of sex (or the abominable Type A/Type B) - in DS3 this was an optional ending involving a single character (Anri) who could therefore be altered, here this is no longer the case. Also, Elden Rien's "consorting" should be understood as non-romantic and non-sexual by default. Then no, it's unlikely that Mogh would have sexual relations with Miquella. It wouldn't make much sense: Mogh wants Miquella to attain godhood, admitting that he has to fuck him to create his dynasty, so why would he do it before he becomes a god? Are we to believe that sexual intercourse will deify Miquella? And, as you said, Mogh's dynasty doesn't have to be born naturally. The only convincing argument would be for Miquella to metamorphose into a woman for Mogh, but his condition in the cocoon currently forbids this. We'll readily admit that Miquella is the closest thing we have to a trans/non-binary person, although it's very unclear (Miquella seems to have been born male and is preeminently referenced as a man. It's hard to know what St. Trina really means to him: another personality? Another identity? Just a pseudonym?). Last but not least: Marika is definitely not genderfluid. Marika is a woman, Radagon is a man. The fact that they share the same body, or come from the same being, doesn't change a thing. "Genderfluid", although the exact meaning of the term is very vague, refers to the identity of an individual that changes - the identities of Markia and Radagon never change. At a pinch, we could speak of non-binarism, but that's all (and already highly debatable). It's not certain that Radagon and Marika have always been united, but we know too little to say, both thesis are reasonable. The Miquella/Rebus speech is quite far-fetched (like many theories about Elden Ring btw) but we'll know more about these subjects with the imminent DLC.
I do see your point about contemporary bias and see the wisdom in it but I also feel that it's / was up to George while writing the lore. I do agree with your point on Marika and Radagon though, especially after the dlc with the revelations of St Trina. Hope you're havin a good day
Idk man seems like many have a strong desire to insert sexual orientations on to just about anything. Just seems odd because fucking is frowned upon in general in Elden Ring due to the Age of the Golden Order. There is even item descriptions saying similar, but shit live you're dream fam.
So true fam, why does everyone shove heterosexuality into everything? The Golden Order wouldn’t approve of Radagon’s and Rennala’s sexual escapades. Make it make sense! /sarcasm
5 minutes in, and it's already my favorite Elden Ring lore video out there. Don't let the haters keep you down. I personally love the Miquella - St. Trina duality, they will replace Link as the best enby icon in the gaming world for me Edit: Used "it" instead of "they" because I was referring to the duality not the person, but felt weird so I changed it
You shouldn't have gone about this video in an ostentatious way. Especially if you expected some kind of serious exploration on sexuality and not queer and hetero bashing. Well intentioned (I presume) with blunt-headed execution. Ranni, is now a doll (in the IMAGE of a woman) with no real reproductive system or gender. Mohg is not having sex with Miquella when you consider the circumstance and context of their bedding, Its violation (you know what word i mean) and purposely put in an obfuscated way for reasons ill explain later. You may have had a case for Rykard, but that is cut content, and seeing as hes a manifestation of blasphemy and degeneracy. I imagine thats why that content was removed. The birthing cycles are removed from traditional procreation (Crucible primordial birthing, erdtree sapling birth, Rykards snakeskin birthing, G-E Queens godskin swaddling birth) and thus modern conventinal sexuality and gender identity have no real show in the game. Its far more fantastical so it then becomes a bit of a reach on your part. Also, the Rebis is a hermaphrodite, not a transgender. They are not the same thing.
Well said. I don't even think Rhanni is capable of lust given her doll status and all blue coloring. I forgot who made the color video on how it's hyper relevant to the game. She left all the physical stuff behind.
So basically you're saying "nothing's ever truly gay" and have an excuse for every allegory no matter how on the nose it is? Yeah sure, and Sappho wasn't a lesbian, she just liked kissing girls because of their lip texture SMH
when i first noticed these things, i was really happy about the fact that there hasn’t been a bunch of reactionary “hardcore gamers” whining about “gender ideology” in the game, last of us 2 style. thank gwyn!
@@SuperMaster000X The story and chars are so mysterious that the brainless alt right can't detect the GAY very easily is what it actually is haha. Stupid people are homophobic after all.
This video makes me so happy!! I think queerness is deeply embedded in the themes of Miyazakis work and in return his work is deeply embedded in todays queer culture. Fantastic work! :)
I chose at the first Play through killed in betrayed every NPC murdered everyone at volcano manor yes, everyone, killed Blaidd for his sword, and did everything wrong, including murdering Millicent for her talisman so that way the second play through I could do everything, right I didn’t have the strength the first play through but now I’m powerful enough to make every demigod Neal and save melina
I'm halfway through the DLC but thoroughly spoiled and frazzled by *that* vow, and then I come across this part ruclips.net/video/eEdYfhB7lFk/видео.html :O
Miquella is gay but radahn might just be indebted to miquella so that’s why he married him. But it’s just as likely they were lovers in their early lives.
@@Waltuh_Pdoubt 💀 why doesn’t the base game mention this, if that was true why did malenia Miquella’s blade you know his sister beloved attack him and ruin him, why didn’t they come togather post shattering, I understand masculine men can Like me But Chadahn just doesn’t seem like the type to be a bussy barbarian I don’t believe Radahn consented to any of this I don’t he ever wanted his corpse to be used this way miquella begs him to be his consent I think he told him no and miquella just didn’t accept that answer. I have a theory mogh was at hailgtree for malenia to court and marry her not miquella, they both abodoned the golden order, both have a fondness for the afflicted albenorics Radahn is carian and likewise had to have been aware of the torturing and mistreatment of the alcenorics his brother perpetrated and did nothing about it there’s a abductor virgin at his castle
@@soyborne.bornmadeandundone1342 people brainwashing and manipulating each other into doing heinous things counts as a relationship? boy, gay people sure are toxic huh...
Well miquella isnt actually a kid, their mind and age is actually an adult, their body is cursed with eternal youth, am i defending mohg? HELL NO, i go out of my way to kill mohg just because hes disgusting
Bro defended mohg before we even knew for sure that he was indeed the victim
Smart folks had a feeling. It's called the golden order ffs. Most nazi like sounding name ever haha.
Miquella as a mimic... or maybe even part albiniauric..... you've really got my brain going.
Thank you! I was pleasantly surprised where a deep dive into alchemy took me. It's really amazing how much of the game's story and lore can shift with a simple change in perspective!
Spoilers.... kind of...
Now we know that Miquella is gay and toxic.
"GOLDMASK, DID YOU NOT HEAR THE SPLENDID NEWS? I BEAT THE ALLEGATIONS!" - Mohg, the Miquellested.
Speaking of Smough, he brought the idea that first generation Albanaurics in their youth are Female and as they get older turn male. We only see young female albanaurics and old male ones
Great point! I completely forgot about his theory though it makes a lot of sense and further adds to the gender fluidity in the Lands Between.
If I ever do a sequel, that gives me the perfect excuse to do an Albinauric remix of “they're turning the frigging frogs gay!”
@@garrulousgoldmask yeah the second generation do resemble frogs and are either gender neutral or male only. "I DON'T LIKE THEM PUTTN' silver IN THE WATER THAT TURN THE FREAKIN FROGS GAY"
12:38 I’m pretty certain it’s deliberant they just found a way to make it cool instead of a character just coming in and going “hey guys I feel one way one day and another another day” they gave a logical explanation. They can only be substantiated and supported by the fact that they are demigods
mohg didnt have to worry if miquella cant concieve an heir, from melina dialogue nobody get pregnant under the erdtree they just have children
Yeah, it’s not that Mohg wanted to *mate* with Miquella to produce offspring, he simply wanted to make Miquella a capital G god like their mother, so that he could serve as the Elden Lord to a hypothetical age of blood
Where did Melina say nobody gets pregnant?
@@soarel325 she speaks of her befuddlement at Boc’s love of his mother, and questions if that stems from being born of a mother.
Other pieces of lore suggest and outright state at times people in golden order society are born from the erdtree, Tarnished Archeologist has a 3 part series on this
However women still do get pregnant, be they Demi-humans or otherwise, though it’s a conduit through which the omen curse propagates
@@errantvice7335 Pretty sure that's just because Melina herself wasn't born in the traditional sense. The fact Boc exists and was born conventionally seems to undermine the idea that people don't get pregnant
@@errantvice7335 you're a very literate scholar indeed, @errantvice7335 well if I'm not mistaken daedicar woe description kind of imply that doing "oh yes.. oh God" is a No No, also the pickle turtle neck description before it changed say something about nobody getting pregnant.
Hot take: An adult man having sex with a young boy is *not okay*, regardless of culture.
THIS
Hotter take: It's even weirder when they're half siblings and one was basically in a vegetative state
@@historicflame972and the other one regularly turned into blood to go inside the younger’s cocoon/body.
that's highly islamophobic
@@viorp5267go on. Make an argument for why it should be ok then.
As you said, the pursuit of alchemy was not only the creation of gold, but was also spiritual, with the reconciliation of matter resulting in a perfect union, the goal of the wise, the Philosopher’s Stone.
The Hermetic tradition held that Adam was hermaphroditic before the fall. The necessity of the alchemical wedding of Sol and Luna was based on the idea that after the Fall, man lost his original, undivided Adamic state, and that he should strive to reconcile both conflicting halves, male and female. The name Adam is thought to have been derived from “adom”, or “red earth”.
It is my opinion that Radagon represents this alchemical pursuit, and sought to rejoin the One, which is transcendent and even higher cosmically than the Greater Will.
“Metal greatshield coated with gold. Carried by knights loyal to Godrick.
The red tinge in the gold coat mirrors the primordial matter that became the Erdtree. The color of homeward yearning.” - Gilded Greatshield
“Incantation of the Golden Order fundamentalists. One of the key fundamentals. Heals all negative statuses, dispels special effects, and reveals mimicry in all its forms.
The fundamentalists describe the Golden Order through the powers of regression and causality. Regression is the pull of meaning; that all things yearn eternally to converge.” - Law of Regression
Radagon is the red Adam, who yearns to be whole again, and the Fall of man from a state of Oneness would be the split from the One Great caused by the Greater Will with the creation of the material world. Thus, Golden Order Fundamentalism is a journey similar to Gnosis where one attains the knowledge to ascend in my opinion.
That's a great read! I didn't think about the potential connections Radagon could have with both primordial gold and hermaphroditic Adam but that makes a lot of sense!
Very interesting take be if Radagon was the original one if they were the same being considering that Elden ring is quite heavily based on the alchemy rebis and the notions of the golden order laws of causality and recession
We need a straightest to gayest list of Elden Ring. Radagon and Fia would probably rank the most straight.
Seconded! Though I'm not sure either of those characters are all that straight. I mean Radagon fights us completely jacked, shirtless and while wearing a skirt. And Fia "hugs" any Tarnished she meets.
For me, Boggart is probably one of the most hetero people in the Lands Between (and yes, it's based mostly on just one line of dialogue 😅)
@@garrulousgoldmask Fia is definitely bi but is leaning more towards being straight same with Godfrey. Tarnished body type b is probably the gayest and Tarnished body type a is probably the straightest because the tarnished be pretty gynophyllic based on interactions with Ranni and Fia.
Hewg. Hewg seems pretty straight, or at the very least mega closeted (er, Roundtable'd)
Has anyone discussed the theme of DNA in Elden Ring? The imagery and ideas are everywhere! The double helix for starters. It's even right there in Miquella's plait in the art, and it appears in so many places. I even think the decorative rim around Rani's hat looks like a chromosome strand under a microscope. It seems to me Elden Ring is a story of warring genetics in a lot of ways, and the chimeras that arise from things getting mixed up or going wrong. Even the Dung-eater feels like the personification of a virus to me. Lots of characters are trying to insert a piece of a certain code into the main 'gene', if you will, as in the case of recombinant DNA. Heck, the Two Fingers image on the Faith talisman - chromosome!
Oh wow, those are some fantastic insights! Especially with the Dung Eater and the Two Fingers medallion!
I haven't seen anyone delve in depth about DNA per se, though in the past I did toy with the notion that the Crucible in Elden Ring could be a metaphor for cancerous growth (since gold is actually a treatment option); I might have to revisit that idea!
@@garrulousgoldmask I have a few words for you. Tarnished Archaeologist.
His videos put sooooo much into perspective that it's kinda' shocking and humbling, once you see what he's saying and think to yourself "How did I not see that?"
the things Miquella had to see... Mohg was doing the thug shaker fr fr
Well well…
JUSTICE FOR MOHG!
JUSTICE FOR MOHG
Apologies!
I played as a female Tarnished. I gave the ring to Ranni and got the Moonlight Greatsword. Then I inherited the Frenzied Flame, incinerating my fiance and everything else except Melina, who swore to hunt me down.
Based and pure o7.
That was a fiery divorce
Doomed yuri
Interesting video! Curious that you didn't mention the bisexual implications of Marika/Rennala given that the mask of confidence and Rykard's blondness make it pretty clear that Rennala was at least aware that she was technically gay married. Love wins for them I think
Thank you! Tbh I completely forgot about the statues depicting Radagon with blond hair 😅
I couldn't find anything in the game that explicitly said Rennala knew Radagon's dual identity, though it certainly would make sense if she found that out/Radagon confided in her. (And that would explain the Mask of Confidence!)
It also seems to be an open question as to whether or not Radagon himself knew he was also Marika prior to marrying himself.
@@garrulousgoldmask Sorry I meant that Rykard was blonde rather than a redhead judging by paintings of him. Radagon's sudden appearance during the Liurnian war followed by a swift marriage to Rennala could imo be taken as a way for Marika herself to justify marrying/loving Rennala which would make a lot of sense given Rennala's empyrean child. The idea of her slapping on a red wig just so she can get gay married is silly but does fit with stuff like "Marika's Mischief" and yes the multiple implications (as well as basic logic) that Rennala knew what was going on. It's equality!
@@rachelsongeditsrykard is showed by description to be ginger not blonde also there's literally not a single piece of evidence that Radagon ever told rennala what relations he had to Marika not to count the fact that is heavily shown by dialogue that he and Marika were at one point separate entities as said by Melina, either if they were two different beings, were always two different parts of the same or Radagon was a construct of the greater will is yet to be known for it is quite vague the information.
Listen I'm bisexual but I really dislike when people start spreading their own biased head cannon to other people to showcase face value when there's nothing clarified in canon.
And also like to clarify that many values in the lands between are very different in context to modern ones, same as notions
@@a.r.h9919of course, i had never seen an image of blond rykard...
I find what makes the queerness of FromSoft games work is how mythic they feel. Dark Sun Gwyndolin, Miquella, and Marika/Radagon are beings who fit into the world not because a marketing team thought "Majority audiences show favorable attitudes towards LGBT inclusion", but because gender ambiguous gods working in obscure ways to shape the nature of the world. Itsuits the grand, obscure vibes of a mythic
place where clear understanding of the nature of things (and one's place in them) involves much exploration, discovery, and testing of one's self. (my queer friends confirm this is very much the queer experience in a culture that doesn't normalize such variation)
Absolutely!
I'm not a fan of this attitude personally.
Queerness doesn't need some kind of validation within the narrative. It can just be. Ranni being queer as a result of the player's action fits in just as well as Marigon.
@@GREATGAIWAIN I don't disagree inherently. But I find tokenistic inclusion can often feel ham-fisted and clunky in the hands of poor writers who often do this because of making a product manufactured to be marketable. Fallout New Vegas also shows queerness in ways which just are - but they feel verisimilitudinous with the world. FromSoft strives to be Mythic and so queerness reflects that. It also can just 'be', as you say.
I think I was a little over committed to my point about Mythicness because I had seen a Let's Play of Starfield, and found so many of the marriage and pronoun options just...performatively corporate. And I prefer art actually be cohesive and personal rather than just commodified and bland. And IMO queerness is not immune to this capitalist flattening of complexity and texture.
@@dylanehooverlibrarian7026New Vegas didn't "make" being queer fit logically in the world. They made characters that were textured and layered, and their queerness while influencing their perspectives was not itself justified or expounded upon. That's why you liked it and that's what we want.
By introducing St. Trina, they made Marika's gender situation more normal and like a thing that can just happen, while also yes, making it mythic. They did BOTH.
Starfield allowing you to play a non-binary option via pronoun selection isn't corporate, their slipshod characters, under cooked narrative and check box design is what makes their world and characters feel corporate. Queerness doesn't even ENTER that conversation. It's just a victim, like everything else. I mean... You definitely shouldn't Google Bethesda trans employee if you want to maintain the illusion of Bethesda being somehow woke.
@@GREATGAIWAIN I think this may be something in how I experience art. I find the characters being textured and layered made it is what made it logical for the world. I'm so used to bad corporate art being made by people who struggle to make such characters come off as layered and normalized.
I guess that's what I'm getting at - I'm praising FromSoft for being able to integrate such elements into their world and make them feel as natural as any other element. It's not the only way to explore the topic (perhaps not even the best way) but it's good to appreciate how FromSoft does it, by hitting all the notes. Normalized and Mythicized at once.
And screw Bethesda.I hold no love for them, and their track record both as aritsts and employers speaks volumes.
Miyazaki always borrows from the manga Berserk, and in that manga, Griffith and Guts’ unnamed son are both the same person, just like Marika/Radagon. And yet they started out as two separate/unrelated beings, but are fused into one via being rebirthed by a magic egg. The characters act much like a person with dissociative identity disorder, and the body takes the form of which ever soul is “in charge” at the moment, exactly like the relationship/transformation between Marika and Radagon. Also, one is practically a godlike existence, and the other is not, again… much like Marika and Radagon. Elden Ring is almost a carbon copy of that anime/manga, which is why I find it difficult to believe that Marika and Radagon were always two souls in one body that somehow share genetic differences. Hell, even Darian and Devin’s (the character D) bodies were identical twins, and didn’t use genetic differences to hint at a fusion.
Side note: Marika is of the Numen race while Radagon is descended from giants, and there’s so much lore/evidence thrown in our faces to back this up that it deserves its own video to go over it all.
That's really interesting! I knew Griffith and the egg had similarities to Miquella though I didn't realize there was another potential parallel to Marika and Radagon.
Speaking of Radagon, I know there's the Giant Braid (which is one of my favorite weapons) ofc but are there other pieces of evidence for him being descended from the Giants?
@@garrulousgoldmask The description of the basic Hammer states [Originally a blacksmith's tool. The art of smithing is said to have originated among the giants.] and as we know, humans usually forced Misbegotten (like Hewg) and trolls (also descended from giants) to smith their weapon for them, and Radagon attempted to use Marina’s Hammer to repair the shattered Elden Ring, of such knowledge (or innate skill) would have come from his giant heritage. The description of the Giant’s Red Braid goes out of its way to let us know that such crimson hair was the hallmark of giants, and continues to mention Radagon’s hair as which would be strange to bring up for so reason if it weren’t relevant. It’s always mentioned how he was ashamed of his hair color since it’s believed to be a curse among the giant’s. And we know that there’s a human race believed to be descended from giants (the Northerner) though nothing concrete that says Radagon is that race, but at least we know enough to know it’d be lore appropriate. Also, one of Radagon’s sons (Radahn) definitely has some of those giant genetics 😆 dude is massive! The parallels are strong between Morgott and Radagon in that they both want to give everything for the Golden Order yet seem to feel genetically insecure about it… Morgott because of his Omen affliction, and Radagon because of his giant heritage, the same giants who were deemed a threat to the Erdtree and were all but wiped out.
Great write-up! It's also interesting that in the internal game files the Misbegotten are called Radagon's children though I didn't make the potential connection to all of them being blacksmiths until just now!
I definitely think Radahn had to have some giant blood in him. IIRC there was some cut content that Radahn was going to be a slayer of giants though that was obviously changed. And if Radagon is part giant, that technically would mean he is a Giant Dad (the legend never dies!)
Though I wonder if Radahn being such a thicc boi could have also come from Rennala since she is a) tall af and b) did come from the Mountaintops of the Giants.
I also found it a bit odd that the Northerners are said to be descended from Giants but they don't have red hair.
@@garrulousgoldmask All true, and as for Northerners and the other races in general, the character creator allows for all “races” to look like any of the others. I mean, we can make handsome Squidward in the game, not having red hair for northerners is probably small potatoes as far as the game devs are concerned 😆
Thank you for this video - it gave me a lot of food for thought and presented ideas elegantly (hopefully)without pushing anyone’s political buttons.
I think I just figured something out. Marika/Radagon was trying to create the philosopher's "child/stone" for a WHILE. While Marika was with Godfrey and coming to realize she could never birth an Empyrean with him, life-giving amber dripped like dew from the Erdtree's boughs. This was most likely when she made the Amber Egg, as a vessel to create a perfect empyrean child. Making the egg drained the Erdtree's ability to rain blessed dew upon the Lands Between. With the Erdtree's power diminished, the energies of the Crucible could flow once more, resulting in her next children to be born with the Omen curse.
After that failure, she decided to blame it all on Godfrey to hide her own blasphemy, and she secreted the amber away into the possession of Radagon, who would go on to challenge and marry Rennala. Between Radagon and Rennala, Marika's experiments to create Empyreans could continue on in secret. Once she finally figured it out, she banished Godfrey and the Tarnished and summoned Radagon to her side because she could finally create an Empyrean or two and not have to worry much about birthing any more failures she'd have to hide. Leaving the amber egg/philosopher's pseudo-stone behind with Rennala meant Marika could ensure the Carian Queen's silence as well.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Elden Ring, and yet, nobody covers it…
I respect you for having the balls to make this video, considering how ppl are lol
You would die if you played DS1 and see the Femboy as a boss and mastermind lmaooooooooo
Nobody covers it because nobody cares. It's just an observation.
Nobody covers it cos there all headcanons that u guys make up.
@@osvaldoprado9906 Nobody cares? Lol so that's why there's a endless group of anti woke grifter small time millionaires that spew anti gay talking points in entertainment 24 7... Riiiight lol.
This comment is also for you anonisnoon or however you spell your dumb sounding name. Both of you have very stupid names actually haha.
Miyazaki tends to recycle stuff in his games, and I believe Gwyndolin and Miquella to be just that. For reference, nobody actually knows who’s Velka, other than she’s a Goddess (which in Dark Souls just means a hollow that got a fragment of Gwyn’s soul), but I always thought that Velka and Gwyndolin were the same person, based on Gwyndolin’s backstory regarding the feminine moon, and that Velka’s talisman and Gwyndolin’s staff are pretty much inverted (which, to go on a tangent, means they are both good at int/faith, since you still need enough faith to select miracles, while int scales the talisman and viceversa) they also both deal with law and punishment.
Miquella and Trina share a similar situation, Miquella is an expert of fundamentalism, and took what he learned from his father and then tried to perfect it with a path of unalloyed gold, while Trina seems to be int based from the stuff we got of her, to add, Miquella’s knights are also able to cast sorceries, furthering the connection.
Curiously enough, the knights at Caria were preparing to face an enemy that uses both magic and holy attacks, and Miquella’s forces are the only ones that fit the bill…
Where do you get that the Caria knights were preparing to face holy attacks?
3:29 correction raping….. a unconscious cocoon cannot possibly consent also he unresponsive during these attempts and he actively hurting him as he’s always bleeding and has the body of pre-teen or very young adult presumably
Touch grass
In case I'm not just forgetting that you brought this up in the video... I'd like to mention something RageIkari brought up, which is that Mohg is _also_ missing one of his fingers. One of his fingers is a horn instead. So it seems like Mohg also may have performed shinju, or taken the finger-pricking ritual to its full conclusion like in 1.0.
Oh I completely forgot about that detail--great catch! Him performing shinji could also lend a bit more credence to the theory that Mohg has been bewitched by Miquella.
Mohg isnt really in a relationship, he's kind of kidnapped a vegetable
Well...
@@30000beesinatrenchcoat my comment has aged like milk
6:37 Either I'm tripping, or it's the sekiro perilous attack sound
Your ears don't deceive you!
Mohg is that weird pervy uncle at every family reunion, but with a fun little dash of omega verse.
The Signalis sound effect when you said Space Lesbians spooked me :OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I was worried the video would not get into the alchemical aspect of the story and instead focus purely on the romantic dynamic. It came eventually but I was very relieved when it did. The only part that isn’t touched on is that the Tarnished and Ranni (or Marika depending on your choice) fulfil those same roles by their “opposing” nature that is made as one through that marriage, and the much less important-to-the-video part played by Rykard as a failure/inversion of the process.
"St. Trina is Miquella's deadname" is an absolutely amazing headcanon actually i love that. also as a person whose done a ton of research into alchemy, i never made the connection with the rebis and miquella. loving these lore videos keep it up
Thank you so much!
I am convinced that miquella is the tree and the Body in Moghgywn palace is litteraly Just His Body, who do you Trust more the blind Warrior that might be able to understand the language of the two Finger due to being blind who is also litteraly His twin sister or the crazed Kidnapper that admits to having Relations With His half Brother while that half Brother isn't even awake
3:20 Also rotting with a higly contagious disease so not really the best choice.
4:37 Also, he's a demigod about to become a full fledged god, believe me, i've read enough myths to know that gender is not by any mean a obstacle to reproduction for deities.
You make a very interesting point on Miquella, hopefully, the dlc will shed some light.
All great points!
what if miquella is why marika shattered the elden ring? miquella was a bigendered god with a tree, marika was on the brink of being replaced and saw no other option after the night of the black knives
Yeah! I think Gideon's line about Marika's sorrow after Miquella was kidnapped is a really underexplored part of the lore and could shed a ton of light on her motivations.
@@garrulousgoldmask if she knew miquella was kidnapped by mohg, that means she wasn't yet imprisoned, unless she is able to see events from the outside world while inside the erdtree
I think it's less that everyone is queer and more that semi-divine beings are much less concerned about biology. Personality seems to dictate gender.
3 brothers having gay sex with each other is gay. You weebs are demented.
Great video ! I first thought that you were trolling us 😂 . I also wanted to add that every major characters in this game seems to Embody 👀 some kind of duality which some for example overtly proclaim to deceive the player/world (Ranni/Renna and Morgott/Margit)... some suppress (Godfrey/Hoarah Loux and Malenia blade of Miquella / Malenia Goddess of Rot) and One exclude completely : Marika/Radagon... after all she went as far as confining and using her male aspect as a tool which you could argue she did the same with Malekith, Hoarah Loux and the last giant (the "Red Adam" who she loathes) who are other powerful male aspects whose existence she needed/relied upon one way or another, and it also explain why Radagon (also a representation of the "Red" Adam/ but internalized contrary to the Last Giant) sole motive is to be complete by various means which culminates with the forceful integration of his other half (his consciousness must have been marked by a strong sense of unbalance/incompleteness/rejection)
Thank you so much! And that's a great point about all the dual identities in the game, which definitely can be read with a queer lens.
He's definitely not aware of how this comes off now a days..
Just a thought, perhaps Miquella - or all empyreans - simply have the ability to change sex at will? Radagon and Marika are interlinked, so it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that Trina and Miquella are a similar situation, considering their relation.
I hadn't thought about it like that before, but that could be the case! It's definitely striking that out of the 4 confirmed Empyreans (Marika, Ranni, Miquella, and Malenia), half of them are genderfluid.
That could also possibly explain why Malenia has so many offshoots (i.e. Millicent et al.) despite no hint of a father at all.
This isnt too surprising since GRRM was involved. Basically its Game of Thrones in The Lands Between. Great video!
Thank you so much!
Thank you for making this.
And thank you for watching!
You missed Miquella and Rhadan
I did that video in 2023! But I am planning a sequel...
5:37 that is a sentence
6:27 that explains a lot, but it still does not make any ounce of what Mogh does excusable
8:07 it is very uncomfortable to know what the Mogh and his dynasty is based off of….
Some really interesting analysis here! Only critique I'd make is that you sort of missed an opportunity to talk about how Miquella's childlike appearance intensifies the queerness of his relationship with Mohg - anyway, awesome to see videos like this being made.
What if (assuming they arent a mimic) Miquella wasn't cursed with eternal youth, the evidence against it being they have clearly grown in size and age, but was simply mistaken for a man who never went through puberty?
so this means Goldmask invents calculus in order to perfect the Philosopher Stone?
George R. Martin is openly a Feminist. If you look at his older works a lot of his influences become fairly obvious. All way down to the turtles. Especially the turtles.
On that topic, I can recommend the RUclipsr Preston Jakobs. He once made an entire video series reviewing Martin's 1000-Worlds Book Series to get a better glimpse at his style of writing.
no idea if it's relevant or not but I also find it interesting that st. trinas sword is int based while trinas torch is faith based
I think it's kinda weird to try to fit this details into queer real world things since some of the examples are a dude liking a dragon that are said to have both sexes, a monster transforming himself in blood and living inside a cocoon with a unconsciousness body, another evolves a woman sleeping in a dream with a corpse that has no soul or will and is no longer human, etc.... most of this are not queer, they literally break any real world lines or logic for the sense of complex narrative. Just because they break species, concepts of living beings and or free will doesn't mean they are trying to tell something specifically about the breaking of gender norms.
It's sad how so many people now a days can't take of the ideological blinders.
@paulogaspar8295 He basically says this in the video
Would like to mention that nonbinary people can still use he or she as a pronoun. And intersex people can be very diverse in body parts.
Personally I doubt the gods really need to care about biology. Especially considering Marika/Radagon, and Miquella/st Trina
Also queer people can be villains. I feel like as long as it is done well, and this game does as long as you look into the lore.
Great video.
I also see Ranni as a type of trans allegory but in a more abstract way.
She doesn't want to be controlled by the fate which governs the body of her birth; so, she literally cuts/discards it to inhabit a new body and pursue her own fate.
It doesn't suggest a change in sex/gender, but I think it speaks to a deeper truth regarding choosing your destiny and not being a slave to the conditions into which you were born, even if they are physical.
The Tarnished canonically likes women
I, for one, welcome our new queer Elden Lords.
The last section about Miquela being a mimic of Marika made me think:
What if Malenia is a failed version of Miquella, because of the corruption of the rot Godess. And so Miquela could be the second attempt. That could explain why Malenia is serving Miquella.
Maybe I'm reading to much into this.
That's an interesting idea though Miquella and Malenia were born twins.
@@garrulousgoldmask i'm stupid lmao
I love that there is a video focused on the queer nature of Elden Ring. Too many people treat it like a taboo when it's not.
Orphan of Kosplayer... I'm deceased 😂
12:33 correct it just makes the gods cooler the ability to switch ones sex is essence a representation of power as it provides flexibility and access to both genders benefits
Miquellas cadaver looks burned.He had hair when mohg got him and in the cocoon that body is scared by fire.
Mogh tore of those cheeks but it’s still rape 😞
@@Reliccontentno mohg has beaten the accusations
I think you helped me with Elden beast yesterday but I died last second
And western developers should be taking pages of notes about building a non-obnoxious, non-preachy, organic world and story with these themes.
I think this is an overall very good educational video, however I am not a burden with the knowledge of what mohgs dynasty represents and that Nikola is quite possibly the second or third most mistreated victim of the shattering
The allegations have been lifted. Please update this video
It's really interesting seeing a view of the lore through a queer lense. Would definitely love to see more videos like this.
Thank you! And I definitely would love to do more, particularly on the allegorical side.
Fia and her OnlyFans subs. OMG, I am dying!!!
Great video boss. But you forgot patches! He talked about those highway men remember. He didn't understand them but he did say that they had some sort of special connection with each other. I dunno... Maybe that was some GAY stuff? lol who knows with that crazy patchez!
lol the Mohg allegation jokes here
Besides that what he says about Miquella and Marika at the end is insane. It puts the entire DLC story in a new light.
this is so cool, you went so in depth and this is just an awesome video
Thank you so much!
Agreed ^_^ and cute fat koopa picture
Thank you! I’ve been saying that people have been sleeping on the queer themes/characters of this story since the early days. No one talks about this. Like I personally think there’s a whole under layer commentary of gender and societal expectations built into this game. I don’t think Miyazaki is ever really unintentionally does stuff like this in there games. And he’s known for putting social commentary in his games to a degree. Even to the extent of the famous “you are maidenless,” which I personally think was a direct comment on young men seemingly feeling like it’s harder and harder to talk to and thusly find a partner in women. Maybe I’m reading to much into things but Miyazaki like to point things like that out and reflect it in his work. So I think this topic is worth more discussion than it’s given.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I really was struck by how overt (well, for a FromSoft game) a lot of the queer elements in Elden Ring have been, especially since you usually have to look at the subtext when for a queer reading.
And I definitely think the maidenless line was a both deliberate troll and a hint that the Lands Between is a more matriarchal society.
@@garrulousgoldmask respect… you have earned my follow sir 😊
Glad to have you on board! 😊
Miqussy is not a term i ever thought I'd hear!
Yeah that’s wild
Another great video. An interesting and unique perspective on the game and story. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much!
Great video and you also seem to have touched a nerve with some people who lack the emotional intelligence to even accept that queerness exists, let alone discuss it within media.
Thank you!
People who recognize this ideology as the neocolonialist corporate op that it is do feel wronged, yes. That an artificial trend that comes from the top down is attempting to rewrite history and colonize other nations.
I was mention this but I think the alchemy thing makes more sense. But I'll say it anyway just because it's interesting.
In old pagan religions like norse, egyptian, sumerian etc the gods represent aspects of nature and they're masculine or femenine to suit their traits. Sometimes the union is between 2 masculine or 2 femenine or multiple people (sometimes incestuous) and a child is the resulting effect. For example let's say tin and copper are both masculine deities (brothers because they're both metal) and they have sex in a myth and have a son who represents bronze and bronze usurps tin and copper representing how bronze became the chief metal of the bronze age. Maybe Miyazaki and Martin used this or maybe it's coincidence or maybe it is more rooted in alchemy. It would explain Mogh trying to sex up Miquella.
Oh, that's really fascinating! And I wonder what element would best suit Mohg...
If I had to make a guess. Omens would represent aspects of nature that are taboo in society. To me Mogh would represent darker desires like wanton lust and violence where Morgott would represent wanting to feel safe in the status quo even if that means simping for a dictator who is out to get you. Mogh wanting to marry Miquella could be him wanting to create a world where the crucable is reinstated and there is no repression or rules just people living by their whims.
I've always seen the Queer aspects of the ER narrative as this novel-philosophical thing rather than the dumb politics and snowflake lust of modern-day events
I don't think Radagon was always Marika. He serves no clear purpose for Marika for her to create him.
I haven't actually watched this, i find viewing gender as twin primordial forces of existence more useful for the Soulsborne series. The sprial shape which repeats so much. We are the vertical line in the middle. It is also general Kabbalah. I wonder if there is a parallel to Christianity, or a inversion, where the Greater Will is female and the empyrean must embody the cosmic feminine. Like how Jesus was male and the Christian God is male. Im done ranting. Your videos are good. Up there with the Tarnished Archeologist
god i love this video 💛
even where the games are alright about the queerness video game fandoms can still be really gross ahout us. so this very good hearted and thorough exploration of queer readings is so cool to see.
(as a chaotic bisexual man i do see both the appeal and dread inherent of bisexual Rykard)
also miquella bleeding on a tree to grow a womb he recreates himself in is so transsexual i cant belive i didn't see that! i really love good faith trans allegories and interpretations so thank you for exposing me to more of those in these games i love. i rarely get to see myself in games as a trans, transmasc, or queer person but both you and tbskyen have helped me find more of myself in these works 💛
the alchemical and spiritual bases for the queer stuff in these games also honestly just adds to these games for me. representation for representations sake is fine and good but i prefer my media to explore the deeper inherent queerness of reality. the idea of various genders/sexes as inherently interconnected is very appealing to me as a nonbinary transsexual.
TL;DR
I'm love this vibeo 🏳️⚧️🩷🩵🤍
queer readings of art I love makes my brain purr
I believe - and I hope that more people would consider - that the queer reading of Elden Ring is THE key to understanding the story. The game reads remarkably consistently as the personal mythology of a MtF transwoman who put a lot of energy and effort into becoming the perfect philosophical man (Radagon) before realizing that isn't what she really wanted. Every god and demi-god as another persona - another fractured piece - of the same conflicted mind. God-Queen Marika as less of an individual and more of an idol - an impossible goal of feminine perfection. Like, even women who are born female drive themselves to psychosis trying to achieve a perfect Barbie Doll figure and celebrity status - so it's little wonder that the perfect ideal of Marika shattered under pressure.
It's a hard sell though. Requires a person to question everything they thought they knew about the history of the Lands Between, and most people are too entrenched at this point.
Remind me of the old blood from Bloodborne 13:00
Mohg loved going waka-waka
What does it matter they contradict what grace even is many times,and use allegory yet seems to be litteral.The lore is all over the place,they do not care it is a game not a novel.If it were a book it would be a worst seller.
Again, unconvincing. It's a contemporary bias to see gender non-conformity everywhere (not that it's all that rare) - it's certainly not specific to this video about a fictional universe it's also prevalent in observing the very real history/mythology.
For a start, the fact that you can become a consort regardless of gender is first and foremost a concession to the player's choice of sex (or the abominable Type A/Type B) - in DS3 this was an optional ending involving a single character (Anri) who could therefore be altered, here this is no longer the case. Also, Elden Rien's "consorting" should be understood as non-romantic and non-sexual by default.
Then no, it's unlikely that Mogh would have sexual relations with Miquella. It wouldn't make much sense: Mogh wants Miquella to attain godhood, admitting that he has to fuck him to create his dynasty, so why would he do it before he becomes a god? Are we to believe that sexual intercourse will deify Miquella? And, as you said, Mogh's dynasty doesn't have to be born naturally. The only convincing argument would be for Miquella to metamorphose into a woman for Mogh, but his condition in the cocoon currently forbids this. We'll readily admit that Miquella is the closest thing we have to a trans/non-binary person, although it's very unclear (Miquella seems to have been born male and is preeminently referenced as a man. It's hard to know what St. Trina really means to him: another personality? Another identity? Just a pseudonym?).
Last but not least: Marika is definitely not genderfluid. Marika is a woman, Radagon is a man. The fact that they share the same body, or come from the same being, doesn't change a thing. "Genderfluid", although the exact meaning of the term is very vague, refers to the identity of an individual that changes - the identities of Markia and Radagon never change. At a pinch, we could speak of non-binarism, but that's all (and already highly debatable). It's not certain that Radagon and Marika have always been united, but we know too little to say, both thesis are reasonable. The Miquella/Rebus speech is quite far-fetched (like many theories about Elden Ring btw) but we'll know more about these subjects with the imminent DLC.
I do see your point about contemporary bias and see the wisdom in it but I also feel that it's / was up to George while writing the lore.
I do agree with your point on Marika and Radagon though, especially after the dlc with the revelations of St Trina.
Hope you're havin a good day
Space lesbians
Sbace Lesbiabs
Then miquella came
Fia and her subs 😂👌
Hell yeah Ranni wlw arc supremecy 💙
Idk man seems like many have a strong desire to insert sexual orientations on to just about anything. Just seems odd because fucking is frowned upon in general in Elden Ring due to the Age of the Golden Order. There is even item descriptions saying similar, but shit live you're dream fam.
So true fam, why does everyone shove heterosexuality into everything? The Golden Order wouldn’t approve of Radagon’s and Rennala’s sexual escapades. Make it make sense! /sarcasm
Ah so this is how a tasteful ghee story is like, except for, wipe sweat, cp.
And it was naan-consensual too
@@garrulousgoldmask When Miquella wakes up, he needs to burn that hand.
5 minutes in, and it's already my favorite Elden Ring lore video out there. Don't let the haters keep you down.
I personally love the Miquella - St. Trina duality, they will replace Link as the best enby icon in the gaming world for me
Edit:
Used "it" instead of "they" because I was referring to the duality not the person, but felt weird so I changed it
Thank you so much! And yeah, St. Miquella is an absolute icon--I'm really intrigued to see what happens to them in the DLC!
@@garrulousgoldmaskYes, I'm almost looking forward to the lore videos more than the dlc itself.
Being totally honest, Miquella/st Trina is already my fav enby icon. Hotswapping persona's like they're clothes
You shouldn't have gone about this video in an ostentatious way. Especially if you expected some kind of serious exploration on sexuality and not queer and hetero bashing. Well intentioned (I presume) with blunt-headed execution.
Ranni, is now a doll (in the IMAGE of a woman) with no real reproductive system or gender. Mohg is not having sex with Miquella when you consider the circumstance and context of their bedding, Its violation (you know what word i mean) and purposely put in an obfuscated way for reasons ill explain later. You may have had a case for Rykard, but that is cut content, and seeing as hes a manifestation of blasphemy and degeneracy. I imagine thats why that content was removed.
The birthing cycles are removed from traditional procreation (Crucible primordial birthing, erdtree sapling birth, Rykards snakeskin birthing, G-E Queens godskin swaddling birth) and thus modern conventinal sexuality and gender identity have no real show in the game. Its far more fantastical so it then becomes a bit of a reach on your part. Also, the Rebis is a hermaphrodite, not a transgender. They are not the same thing.
Well said. I don't even think Rhanni is capable of lust given her doll status and all blue coloring. I forgot who made the color video on how it's hyper relevant to the game. She left all the physical stuff behind.
So basically you're saying "nothing's ever truly gay" and have an excuse for every allegory no matter how on the nose it is?
Yeah sure, and Sappho wasn't a lesbian, she just liked kissing girls because of their lip texture
SMH
@@Gartenpunkt Straw man fallacy. womp womp
I think they dissected your nonsense pretty well, actually.
@@paul1720 Why reword the proposition instead of refuting the points made, then? Nothing was dissected, and you don't "think", bozo.
Considering George RR Martin, I mean 🤷. Good video.
Very true--and thank you!
I love this video. Brilliant work.
Thank you!
Yea it’s super queer…I wanna marry Blaidd
Blaidd made everyone a gay furry, and we are all better for it
@@phinicebear6781
“Lover ahead”
“Therefore”
“Offer hole”
This didn't age well. Fun video tho
when i first noticed these things, i was really happy about the fact that there hasn’t been a bunch of reactionary “hardcore gamers” whining about “gender ideology” in the game, last of us 2 style.
thank gwyn!
The japanese have a really smooth way of doing inclusion, i think. I guess the way is engage the audience first and then stab them with the queer. xD
@@SuperMaster000X The story and chars are so mysterious that the brainless alt right can't detect the GAY very easily is what it actually is haha. Stupid people are homophobic after all.
This video makes me so happy!! I think queerness is deeply embedded in the themes of Miyazakis work and in return his work is deeply embedded in todays queer culture. Fantastic work! :)
Thank you so much!
The dlc is even more gay
But that dont make the shit ok
It really isn't. Plus "Consort" is a mistranslation of the Japanese.
THIS SO MESSED UP. NO WONDER I CHOOSE FRENZIED FLAME ENDING.
I chose at the first Play through killed in betrayed every NPC murdered everyone at volcano manor yes, everyone, killed Blaidd for his sword, and did everything wrong, including murdering Millicent for her talisman so that way the second play through I could do everything, right I didn’t have the strength the first play through but now I’m powerful enough to make every demigod Neal and save melina
@@Reliccontent Fk MELINA. I WANT MALENIA TO RIZZ ME
Super smash bros
Whoa
I'm halfway through the DLC but thoroughly spoiled and frazzled by *that* vow, and then I come across this part ruclips.net/video/eEdYfhB7lFk/видео.html :O
i always interpreted miquella and at trina as transfem
we may have another link situation where the character can be read as every type of trans lol
radahn and miquella are gay you are 100% correct hajaj
Miquella is gay but radahn might just be indebted to miquella so that’s why he married him. But it’s just as likely they were lovers in their early lives.
@@Waltuh_Pdoubt 💀 why doesn’t the base game mention this, if that was true why did malenia Miquella’s blade you know his sister beloved attack him and ruin him, why didn’t they come togather post shattering, I understand masculine men can
Like me
But Chadahn just doesn’t seem like the type to be a bussy barbarian I don’t believe Radahn consented to any of this I don’t he ever wanted his corpse to be used this way miquella begs him to be his consent I think he told him no and miquella just didn’t accept that answer.
I have a theory mogh was at hailgtree for malenia to court and marry her not miquella, they both abodoned the golden order, both have a fondness for the afflicted albenorics Radahn is carian and likewise had to have been aware of the torturing and mistreatment of the alcenorics his brother perpetrated and did nothing about it there’s a abductor virgin at his castle
Gay
Reading too much into things: The video
No dude, elden ring is legit a game completely centered around gay romance.
google who loves who when it comes to the elden ring chars. What you will see is SUPER GAY lolz
@@soyborne.bornmadeandundone1342 people brainwashing and manipulating each other into doing heinous things counts as a relationship? boy, gay people sure are toxic huh...
@@2fingacriminal name a non-toxic straight romance in Elden Ring then. Also statically straight people are more likely to get divorced.
Algormancy!
I think personally malenia is gay as hell and i love her
Especially with Finlay!
Yeah, definitely stonewall gay.
I like your videos
miquella is a kid so yeah wouldn't be saying that
Well miquella isnt actually a kid, their mind and age is actually an adult, their body is cursed with eternal youth, am i defending mohg? HELL NO, i go out of my way to kill mohg just because hes disgusting
Lol you gunna arrest this youtuber for talking about video games? haha
Are you tanky build guy