Feukt-42 - Rambles And Shitposts I Guess :l

Happy 10th bloodborne anniversary everyone ! On a scale of 1 to "sony lost the source code" how are we feeling ?

Be wary of linguistics rant, Elden Ring ahead

Ok so I just made a different post about this but I need to elaborate: The Elden Ring messaging system is legitimately such an interesting microcosm about how language is used as a tool and shaped to suit the needs it's being used for. I could actually make an entire study about how this can be used to better understand the formation of pidgin languages in the same way that epidemiologists studied the Corrupted Blood Incident in World of Warcraft to better understand the mechanics of how disease affects human behavior. Video games as an academic lens into peoples' minds has always been a fascinating topic to me, and by the end of this, you'll see why.

First off, message.

So for those not indoctrinated into the series/game, Elden Ring is a big open world game made by From Software, which won game of the year 2022 among some other awards (if you've played it or know anything about it, just skip to the next header). Each player plays as a Tarnished and explores this massive environment called The Lands Between individually, but if another player is walking in the same area that you are, you can see their "ghost" moving through the world, and you can "invade" or "be summoned" into another player's iteration of the world in order to briefly interact with it before returning to your own iteration. This occupies a weird space in between singleplayer and multiplayer, with these heavily limited and kind of random methods of interaction between players, but that's not the most interesting way of communicating with your fellow Tarnished; that title goes to the messages system. You can write a message onto a small stone, and leave it on the ground, and then that little stone with the message on it will have a random chance to appear in any player's iteration of the world for them to read. This is a tradition which has been going in From Software's games long since before the inception of Elden Ring, although I'm mostly going to be focusing on the message system of that title, because documenting the history of the 13+ years running Soulsbourne franchise is way too much, even for a nerd like me. The point is that messages are a lot more likely to be seen than any other method of player-to-player interaction, and you can even leave little "gestures" to go with them, where the reader can see your character striking a pose while they read the message. What a neat little mechanic, which definitely doesn't have any hidden layers of depth, and certainly wouldn't spawn an entire emergent system of pseudolinguistics, right?

No message ahead, be wary of mimicry

Well, when I said that messages are written by other players, that was a lie. To make a message, you don't type it out with your keyboard, you select what you want to say, from a big list of preset phrases. It works that way for a lot of reasons, foremost of all as a profanity filter, but also to prevent too many spoilers and maintain atmosphere. The sets of phrases are incredibly limiting, famously requiring players to use weird fake old-english diction in order to express a simple thought (Strong foe ahead, be weary of death. Look carefully ahead, visions of item. Suffering, o suffering, why is it always bad luck? etc). This seems like a limitation which would put a serious damper on anyone trying to actually communicate their thoughts, but gamers are a persistent sort, and have a lot of trouble taking no for an answer. They also have way too much time on their hands, and like to solve puzzles, a terrifying combination of traits, and the perfect one to accidentally create a conlang. With the unexpectedly massive audience that this game picked up on launch, millions of people left messages desperately trying to get something across, and if the game's preset vocabulary didn't contain the phrases to express it, they would forge their own path. Any big fans of linguistic history can already tell the direction that this might be going, as we move on into the next chapter:

Teacher, Liar, Lovable Sort

When the game released, there was chaos. The Lands Between are fraught with hidden passages, deception, and blatant bullshit, and the first kind of players leaving messages tried to helpfully communicate what you could trust, and what you couldn't. This is what the message system was intended for after all, giving advice to your peers, and what many people still use it for today. The second kind of players tried to do the opposite, deliberately leading people to their doom, just because they could. The third, and most numerous sort, were simply awestruck at everything the game had to offer, and left a series of remarks on the beauty and humor of the world. The messages left by each group are pretty easy to differentiate to the trained eye, which is the main feature causing me to point out this division of players. Let's call these groups the teachers, the liars, and the lovable sorts. A teacher can be recognized if their messages suggest something within reason, and being backed up by the peer-review of nearby messages to the same effect. If three messages are all sitting on the ground next to eachother, each saying something along the lines of "seek up, look carefully ahead", then a local collage of teachers are trying to let you know about a secret path ahead leading you up towards a hidden objective. However, a single message next to a bloodstained cliff-edge stating "jumping required ahead" is almost certainly a liar, trying to deceive an unsuspecting player into making a dubious leap. Liars sometimes use slightly simpler grammar than teachers do, being less committed to getting their point across. Wait a minute, linguistic variance based on intent? No no, this is just a video game about fighting monsters, surely such an interesting emergent system wouldn't arise from something like that. Lastly, the lovable sorts have the most ranging grammar, spanning from a simple word such as "dog" (a word used colloquially to describe all creatures, from turtles to dragons), to complex sentences requiring the combination of many phrases. However, a lovable sort can be differentiated by the fact that they merely remark upon the world as it is, instead of trying to offer advice to other players, as a teacher or liar might. Some of their most iconic phrases are "Elden ring ahead", used to sarcastically denote a dead end where a player might have been expecting treasure, "you don't have the right, o, you don't have the right" which indicates a locked door, or the world-famous "try finger, but hole", a phrase which explains itself. The most incredible thing about the words of the lovable sort, is that they all require a little bit of thinking to understand their actual meaning, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes like a second language to you! Wait a minute, a second language?

Message? Wasn't expecting introspection

As time went on, the three main groups of message-writers still kept chugging along, creating new works of writing every day, but advancements in understanding of the game's inner workings allowed these messages to become more and more complex. Compound words started to be formed to represent concepts outside of the preset vocabulary, like "skeleton, house" for coffin, "dung, key" to describe the donkeys accompanying traveling merchants, and "edge, lord" being used to refer to the NPC Ensha, a man wearing flamboyant armor made out of bones who takes himself way too seriously. It's worth noting in this section that for a specific period of time, The Lands Between were overtaken by a horde of messages stating only the words "fort, night". Despite the crude and humorous nature of the entire thing, it was clear to see that the linguistic patterns of the Elden Ring community were evolving into their own beast, far beyond the usages that the developers had intended. Words had shed their original meaning, to instead take up contextual meanings based on how players used them, effectively becoming different words entirely. Depending on how you define this, it's either a microcosm of incredibly fast and severe linguistic drift, or the emergence of a new pidgin or conlang entirely. If you really stretch things, you could almost call the message system of Elden Ring an entirely new language in and of itself.

Well done, victory ahead!

I think that video games are an excellent way to observe human behavior under conditions which are controlled, accelerated, and completely recordable, and this is the closest that we've ever seen to an entire language growing completely from scratch. People are always the same, whether you want to call it instinct or just cyclical tendencies, but normally the formation of a new language can take incredible periods of time, hastened only by tragic events like diaspora or massive losses of cultural knowledge (research what's been happening to Gaelic as a spoken language for more info about this sort of thing, it's kind of depressing but is also important to learn about, and there's a lot of people on this site talking about it who can do the topic way more justice than I can). Even for other topics which either require great passage of time, or great tragedy in order to research (I.E. geology or epidemiology, respectively), there are a lot of simulations and predictive models which can tell us how these systems behave without actually experiencing them. Linguistics has never had this sort of thing...until now, perhaps. Obviously there won't be any academic breakthroughs based on a bunch of people online all writing "rump ahead", but it's an incredibly interesting thing to see happening for a field which is so hard to actively advance, and it could lead to actual scientific methods of generating new languages via human interaction for research purposes. Of course, there's always the sizable chance that this goes nowhere and I just wrote this insane rant because I like to type, but if nothing else, I at the very least exposed some of my mutuals to "try finger, but hole".

Uhhhhh- so anyways-

Age Headcanons for SOTE NPCs; A Senseless List

A reminder that this is purely for fun and makes no claim for or against canon. This is merely a collection of headcanons and vague vibes, enjoy.

Leda: For this post, let's count biological age and not weird-resurection-ages. To me, Leda seems to be around 25-28. Old enough to have lost her naivety for the world, but young enough to keep the pedestal she's placed Miquella upon. She's an adult, sure, but I'd hardly say she's reached her full abilities. If Miquella had succeeded, she certainly would have matured into a vicious killer with decades of battle experience.

Freyja: This redmane has left her years of doe-eyes and frilly bows long behind. She's an easy 38, cool and confident in her body and her lifestyle. Sure, she's noticed the faint lines that have started to form on her brow but- eh- who cares? She'll keep doing what she's always done. To her, age really is just a number.

Dryleaf Dane: The martial arts know no age limit. 20, 30, 60- only the dedication of the mind and body matters in the pursuit of perfection. Dane has seen it all in his eventful 50-ish years of life, and his fighting style reflects that. It's his reserved demeanor and silent loyalty that make him a perfect balance for the cynical Leda. To whom he likens himself as both a friend and mentor. Honestly, he appreciates her youthful fervor and often finds himself considering her something like a daughter.

The Hornsent: He's 40. 40 what? Just 40, as far as he'd ever tell you anyhow. A trusting man he is not, even with the simplicities of sharing one's true age. Such pointless talking points are for truer friends and family, of which the hornsent has none. Perhaps under the guidance of Kindly Miquella, he might one day celebrate another year of life lived in vengeance. For now, however, the memory only fills him with a deep and singular loneliness...

Igon: Drake Warriors aren't known for living long lives, and hunters of all kinds are known for it even less. Igon is the exception. Without the magics of the land of shadow, he would be about 42. An impressive age to reach, for one in his line of work. Although the lack of care he gives to his own appearance would lead one to believe he was much older.

Sir Ansbach: GILF lovers rejoice, this man is easily the oldest npc on our list today. I would say Ansbach is dutifully vague about his true age. While it may amuse him to give the true number, and watch the flicker of awe for his agility cross his companions' face, he remains aware that giving his real age is a disadvantage should things turn south. On one hand, it may cause him to be targeted by those unaware of his skill. An easy problem to solve, if not overly tiresome. On the other, it endangers on a more... emotional level. He cannot risk his allies putting his safety over their own on such a baseless reason as his advanced age. He is SIR Ansbach, after all. What sort of man, as both mentor and knight, could abide by such an obvious danger to his juniors? Not he, that is certain, and so his many decades remain a mystery (although they certainly number more than Dane's)

Thiollier: Awkward, skinny, and chronically anxious. Thiollier reads as young, very young. He's most certainly the baby of the group, even if most of the others don't treat him differently for it. After all, they must likely assume him only a few years younger than Leda. They all began their lives as warriors, scholars, and missionaries at a similar age. So to them it matters very little how old their resident perfumer is. Freyja assumes he is 22, the Hornsent suspects him little older than 17, and only the Tarnished and Sir Ansbach know he is - truthfully- somewhere in between.

Moore: It is difficult to place Moore, since he is kin to the Pests and therefore likely a different race/species category for biological age. However, I would say that Moore is somewhat youthful, based upon his naivety. Likely, he is in between Thiollier and Leda in age - when the years between Pest kin and Tarnished are converted. Mid-20s seems an appropriate range for Moore.

Aaaannnd that's all I have for now! If you have different headcanons on sote npc ages, or npc headcanons in general, pls feel free to share! I love reading comments and seeing different (and similar) perspectives on Elden Ring characters!

Anyways, thanks for reading! This was a fun way to kill time lol >D

I spent way too much time on this

The yoshiderrrr

what do you mean elon musk did a nazi salute on live tv at the united states presidential inauguration twice and is now erasing the evidence off the internet by replacing the footage with the crowd cheering instead?

would be a shame if people reblogged this, wouldn’t it?

Another thing to add is that Igon is physically forced to admit he cannot hunt bayle by himself. For all of his recklessness and single-minded devotion to this hunt, he can barely drag himself up the jagged peak. To quote him directly : "My limbs are limbs no more, my heart is twice-over filled with fear, but my soul yet lies on the mountain."

He knows he cant do it by himself, he can barely even psych himself up to do it, let alone actually fight. Hes forced by his circumstances to admit that he cant do it alone, no matter how much he wants to, no matter the depths of his hatred.

In contrast, captain ahab is missing a leg, yes, but he has a peg leg that is sufficient for him and his purpose, he has money to hire a crew, and he has a boat and whaling equipment to hunt with. He has a crew that doesnt really dare to question him bc of his sheer aura of hatred and determination. He has the means to pursue this hunt alone if he wishes, he can be the main character of his story and get revenge himself.

Igon doesnt even have a weapon to start with. He spends an excruciating amount of time making a bow from dead dragon bones and intimately carves every single harpoon he plans on piercing bayle with. Eventually, once he's made weapons, hes forced to admit that by himself, he wont be able to make it up to bayle. He cant walk, cant run, cant afford good equipment, and cant even get to bayle. What he can do, is send his spirit, his hate-driven and relentless soul, to help someone who can. It is the only way he can free himself from the inextricable hold bayle has had over him since they last met.

The Igon and Ahab comparison/difference

This will not be a whole comparison of the two characters, (I'll save that for a rainy day), but there is something I find really interesting with these two gents that I find often gets overlooked as people just go 'oh yeah Igon is captain Ahab' and end the discussion there.

To first get the obvious out of the way, both characters have monomania for their respective foe, and both share a narrative similar to the end of a Faustain tale or at least there story is a continuation of one already told, both crippled after their fights and both will not let injury, judgment, people or God from killing their enemy.

Now, the main and obvious comparison that is made comes from the speech Igon gives when you summon him for the bayle fight. But this speech also shows something, a difference between the two, a difference that ties to their fate.

In igons speech, he introduces the tarnished first, giving them the title of Drake Warrior and only calling himself by his name. Igon wants Bayle dead by any means necessary, and to achieve his goal, he has the humility in asking the for aid of others he views can help (gameplay wise, that is by allowing the tarnished to summon him for the fight). Igon saw the tarnished slay the mountain drake and chose you as someone who could help achieve his goal. Whereas Ahab depite having a whole crew of rallyed up whalers doesn't view the aid of others as anything more than a convince, to him, Moby Dick will be killed by him and only. Constanly disregarding even imput from those who only wish the best for everyone such as Starbuck. Ahabs determination to kill the whale with his own harpoon is what led him to getting killed and dragged to the depths of the ocean, dead, unsuccessful.

Igon incontrast by following and completing his quesline igon dies of his injuries sure, but after successfully defeating Bayle saying

'Bayle the dread, you shall haunt me no longer'

Igon achieved peace and a concussion to his goal, where Ahab did not. Igon recognised where and when he needed help through his rage and determination.

[There's also, tho like the comparison needed with what Moby is representative of compared to Bayle, but that's not important right now]

Also was that a mcfucking fire punch reference

Big spoilers for an optional and fairly hidden area in SOTE ahead !

Holy fucking shit midra is so fucking cool

The abyssal woods have the creepiest ambience out of any game since bloodborne's cathedral ward imo, loved every bit of it. My only complaint is they are a bit too big and kinda feel empty as a result. Other than that, the winter lanterns, the in-game messages and the music are a 10/10 for me.

Midra's manse is wonderfully creepy, with its labyrinthine halls that loop back into each other and hidden passageways behind paintings. The enemy selection was very fitting, going from spectral inhabitants and guardians to a veritable legion of inquisitors, probably the ones responsible for midra's current state if you ask me.

And oh my goodness that boss. That was honestly my favorite boss of the entire game. No bullshit, no endless combos, no ludicrous delays, just an overall great boss. It's up there with lady maria as one of my fav fromsoft bosses tbh. The fight feels so smooth, elegant, its just a banger all around. The ost is also just peak. I also love that little introductory part where you just beat an old wounded man for a minute before the fight starts, its that little fromsoftware goofyness in the middle of this daunting dreary place, i love it.

Overall, one of the best dlc areas so far for me, the build up, the dungeon and the boss were all brilliant.

My biggest criticism is the remembrance. The greatsword of damnation should have been a madness weapon tbh, it would have felt much more fitting. Its also a bit sad that we don't get midra's drip, it would have been great if they did sth like the dragon hearts or lamenter's visage where you use an item to get the frenzy head and boost madness incantations/skills. That incantation is pretty cool though.

Also interesting to note, the minor erdtree incantation specifically separates acts of affection and care from order. Marika's attempts to heal her people are classified as "the kindness of gold, without order", implying kindness, and love, are absent from order entirely.

If chaos is entwined with love, it would only make sense for order, its antithesis, to be divorced from it.

The fact that all of the lords of frenzy became the lords of frenzy for love.

Vyke sought out the three fingers because he didn’t want his maiden to burn.

Shabriri uses our love for Melina as a reason to become the lord of frenzy so that Melina doesn’t have to burn.

We don’t know that exact circumstances with how or why Midra inherited the flame, but he loved Nanaya enough to endure the madness and asks for her forgiveness before he becomes the lord of the frenzied flame.

But also Melina uses the fact that life endures despite hardship, which means that love endures as well, as a reason to not inherit the flame of frenzy.

Chaos and love are entwined with each other.

Ok so for everyone here saying dune is a white savior story, i'm gonna need you to understand that paul doesn't save anyone here. He just takes the fremen from a forced opression into a willing one, by shackling them with his own made up religion.

He's still a tragic figure, because he doesn't really want this but he knows that this is the only path in which he still has some amount of control on the bloody space crusade led by his worshippers. Every other path has the same result but worse. So he tries to fight that "terrible purpose" every step of the way until he reaches the breaking point, his son (sir Not-appearing-in-this-film) dies and he just goes "fuck it, this is gonna happen anyways, might as well just commit to it" and ends up being responsible for the deaths of like 60 billion ppl. But he isnt a white savior here.

Spoilers for dune messiah :

In the sequel, its made pretty obvious that the space jihad sucked ass for everyone. No one in the galaxy likes the imperium, the fremen who came back are maimed, old cynical veterans who fucking hate paul for having sent them on a meaningless crusade across the universe, and paul himself has grown from a young idealist forced to bear the burden of prescience into a bitter, cynical and jaded old man who cant be bothered to give two shits about anything but his rapidly deteriorating interpersonal relationships with the ppl around him. Thats the tragedy part. Thats the part where you look at the full picture and you're like "well thats sad, he was such a nice little kid at first."

As for the "white savior", if the whole "everything has gone to shit" wasnt enough to convince you thats not the case, paul literally has a scene whe he just looks at the reader and says "i am literally worse than h*tler" and stilgar unironically responds "well yeah i mean his k/d ratio was kinda shit tbh my lord"

correct me if i’m wrong cos i don’t watch dune.. but i’ve seen people call paul a tragic character. except isn’t he a whole white coloniser tricking indigenous poc into believing he’s a prophet to serve his own interests? that’s inherently evil that cannot be a tragic character imo

so yes that is correct that is what happens. the tragedy is that he is a sixteen year old boy who gets a vision of this happening and he is TERRIFIED and absolutely does not want this to happen at all. He does not want the holy war he does not want to be the chosen one he initially very much wants to fight alongside the fremen as equals trying to liberate themselves from their current colonizer without becoming the messiah because they have common political cause.

And then the entire second half of the first book (and the second movie) are about the concessions he makes to himself bit by bit by bit (well it’s the only way to save his mom and sister. well it’s the only way to prevent nuclear war. well he does want his revenge. well maybe he IS special.) Until by the end he has lost 100% of his humanity, fully wants to be the messiah and is willing to manipulate people into thinking so, and has declared himself duke of arrakis in his father’s name and made a play for the imperial throne.

you’re right that it’s evil. the book and these movies agree with you. the tragedy is watching a child who desperately wanted to avoid this slowly completely lose himself to it anyways. i don’t think “tragic” and “evil” are inherently mutually exclusive.