rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
The First Sin
https://theomeny.medium.com/the-first-sin-c8be873b0432

No other game studio has had such a consistency of narrative tropes as FromSoftware. This is a boon for those who have an interest in examining how FromSoftware tells and constructs a story, what fascinates them, and how they have evolved over the years.

This essay is a deep dive into the connected stories of the four games in the King's Field series. The author also touches on how the themes and motifs of this series resonate with other FromSoft games. I was especially interested to learn where the Erdtree in Elden Ring comes from.

As an aside, I appreciate when people write and publish actual prose essays about retro games. There's no way in hell I'm going to watch a three-hour video essay on YouTube, but I'm more than happy to spend ten minutes skimming a self-published article on Medium.
rynling: (Terra Branford)
I love how you get to Saint Trina (an avatar of sleep), and she’s like, You can eat this weed gummy directly out of my hand, it’s free and also good for you. Meanwhile, her disciple Thiollier is like:

Read more... )

Something I appreciate about Saint Trina is that, as is the case with a great deal of botanical horror, she’s not horrific at all. She’s quite beautiful, actually. I love her so much.
rynling: (Default)
The Worms Are Cute and Weird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EArFpg0cZNQ&ab_channel=BonfireVN

Sweet precious children. 💙

I didn't realize they have feet, but I'm so happy they do.
rynling: (Terra Branford)
I took a break from Elden Ring because I was overwhelmed by beauty. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is so goddamn beautiful. I got to the beach and started crying because I couldn’t handle how beautiful it is. The received wisdom about FromSoft games is that the scenery exists to give you a break from the enemies, but I think the reverse is true as well.

A few items that you can find in Shadow of the Erdtree make it possible to construct a character build that enables a fast, aggressive, damage-heals-you playstyle like Bloodborne. This is easy mode for me, so I switched over instantly. It works almost too well; everything is a trash mob now. I went back to the main game and cleared the Haligtree optional late-game dungeon in less than an hour. I didn’t beat Malenia (the challengefuck boss) with this build, but fighting her once was enough to convince me that practice will make it possible. One day, Jorge Luis Borges will solo her.

Speaking of games that are both beautiful and immensely fun to play, I’m really enjoying Animal Well. It’s not as confusing as I originally feared, and I’ve come to appreciate the cohesion of the aesthetics. It’s all mossy sewer tunnels all the way down, but each level still manages to express its own unique theme. My progress is slow, but I’m really looking forward to writing about this game when the time comes.
rynling: (Mog Toast)
Read more... )

I understand the concept of spoilers. Really I do. I love being amazed and surprised and delighted, and I love the thrill of discovery. Still, I can't help but think that the "spoilers" for a ninety-minute movie and the "spoilers" for a 40+ hour open-world video game occupy two different ontological categories.

ETA: Sorry, I don't mean to go on about this. It's just that there are so many interesting aspects of the story and lore and gameplay of Shadow of the Erdtree, and I'm looking forward to the conversations I encounter on podcasts + YouTube + Reddit moving beyond base-level inflammatory discourse. I want to get to the good stuff.
rynling: (Gator Strut)
"The Call of Cthulhu" is not one of my favorite Lovecraft stories, but I appreciate this section of Lovecraft's letter to the editor of Weird Tales when he (re)submitted the manuscript in 1928:

"All of my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large. To me there is nothing but puerility in a tale in which the human form - and the local human passions and conditions and standards - are depicted as native to other worlds or other universes. To achieve the essence of real externality, whether of time or space or dimension, one must forget that such things as organic life, good and evil, love and hate, and all such local attributes of a negligible and temporary race called mankind have any existence at all."

I think it's safe to say that I don't share many of Lovecraft's views, but we agree on two points:

(1) what if underwater romance with Deep Ones
(2) psychological realism doesn't apply to cosmic entities
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Just to be clear, Mohg Lord of Blood is not a good person. He's not a well-developed character by any stretch of the imagination, and the conceit behind his design is "What if we took the concept of 'random PvP murder' and made it into an optional endgame boss." It's more complicated than that, but not by much.

Still, I find discourse around the relationship between Mohg and Miquella to be tedious. Whether it's "problematic" or "child abuse" for someone who is 1,000 years old to be in a relationship with someone who is only 750 years old is not a real question. "But Miquella has the body of a child," you might say. To which I would respond that Miquella is a withered, nine-foot-tall corpse inside a giant magical cocoon.

To me, the demigods of Elden Ring don't read as human characters, and I think it's frustrating to interpret them as such. Although some of the demigods cling to remnants of their former humanity, any attempt to tease out their personalities and motivations is always going to be in the realm of fanfiction.

Read more... )
rynling: (Terra Branford)
Read Varré’s Bouqet by Rynling
https://www.tiktok.com/@thackerythinx/video/7394229586021616938

I was scrolling through "how to explain Elden Ring to friends" memes on TikTok, and the algorithm showed me this video. On one hand, this was a weird "the app is definitely spying on me through my phone" moment. On the other hand, I'm really touched. I was actually thinking about deleting this story from AO3 because its numbers are so low, so it's nice to know that it means something to someone. Much love to this gentleman and his excellent taste in Elden Ring crackships.
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Thiollier's voice actor is named Sam Glen. He's been on a handful of episodes of British television shows during the past two decades; and also, according to his IMBD page, "He starred in a UK tv ad for eBay in 2021." Where does FromSoft find these people. Their casting has always been supernaturally excellent, but Sam Glen in particular deserves major industry awards for his performance as Thiollier.

His tweet about being able to work with FromSoft is very sweet btw:
https://x.com/samglen/status/1804061515076501676
rynling: (Default)
No one, absolutely no one: I want to see what's inside the living jars.

FromSoftware: I bet you want to see what's in the living jars, don't you? Let's talk about it. I have some fun things to show you. Walk with me.

Read more... )
rynling: (Default)
Last night, Jorge explored the Moorth Ruins.

Read more... )

Despite its quaintly rustic buildings and "bonny" natural setting, I think the primary industry of Bonny Village might have been human meat processing. There are still a few butchers roaming around, and I'm sure you can imagine how they greet visitors. Good times.
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Having carefully considered the matter, I think scorpion soup probably tastes like lobster bisque.

Way back in grad school, like maybe around 2012ish, I got together with a group of friends and drove to Maine in late May to spend a week in a rented vacation home. My impression of Maine is that it: (a) is very cold, even in May, (b) is filled with Dunkin Donuts, and indeed (c) has very good lobsters. We drove around and ate lobster every single day, and I have no regrets. I actually haven't eaten lobster since then, because there's no way it could be as delicious.

As an aside, it's wild that you could do something like that just ten years ago, even as a grad student with no money. It sucks that everything has become so expensive in the United States, because I'd really like to see more of the country outside the big cities.

Anyway, while I wish Belurat's culture weren't built on a foundation of torture, I think they might be onto something when it comes to scorpion soup.
rynling: (Mog Toast)
Alas, the Well Depths Key does not lead to a sewer level. It does, however, lead to a poison swamp. 😊

I believe the background lore of Belurat is that everyone in the city was murdered in a crusade led by Messmer, one of the sons of the goddess Marika (whom you ostensibly serve). There's still one old woman living in Belurat who's locked herself in a fortress storeroom; and, if you can trick her into believing that you're a manifestation of her people's sacred animal, she'll give you a bowl of scorpion soup.

A bit later on, you start to get a sense for why Marika would have ordered this region to be purged and sealed, which is that its dominant culture made a habit of viewing ethnic minorities as human cattle and torturing them in the worst sort of way.

This is neither here nor there, but I think it's okay to for certain media to curate its audience. I appreciate that Elden Ring is as difficult (and difficult to understand) as it is. Not everyone needs to play this game. The issue of whether Marika is "good" or "bad" isn't really a meaningful question, especially not in black-and-white terms, and I don't want to read fandom discourse about it written by self-righteous teenagers.

Honestly, there are more important questions. Such as: Did the people in Belurat keep the dog-sized scorpions infesting the city as pets? Or did they raise them as a source of food? Are they tasty??
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Shadow of the Erdtree builds onto the story of the base game of Elden Ring by asking important philosophical questions such as, "How do you feel about scorpions?" and "What would you do if there were giant scorpions?"

I haven't gotten to the part of the DLC that's hard yet. My initial impression regrading the DLC is that the level of difficulty is fairly chill, and I've been taking my time and enjoying the scenery. The landscape is lovely, and there are a lot of cool little NPCs scattered about. FromSoft really outdid themselves.

I'm not sure what order you're supposed to go in, but Jorge's first port of call was Belurat, Tower Settlement. Belurat is a fun mini-city with a gentle upward vertical orientation. Last night, Jorge found a "Well Depths Key" item, which leads me to believe that the area extends underground as well. I am the world's #1 Sewer Level Appreciator, so you can imagine my surprise and delight at this discovery. I'm looking forward to the horrors.
rynling: (Terra Branford)
Last night, Jorge Luis Borges defeated Mohg Lord of Blood.

I'm a fan of Mohg mostly as a joke, with the joke being that I always manage to fall in love with the worst character in any given story. But now that I've once again encountered Mohg in the wild, I realize that he's a lot of fun. I mean, he's still the worst character. But in a fun way.

On his way to murder Mohg, Jorge also murdered White Mask Varré. This remains my favorite duel in Elden Ring. I unironically admire Varré, as he's completely delusional but not wrong. Varré and Mohg remind me of Ghirahim and Demise from Skyward Sword, which is exactly the sort of unhinged toxic relationship I love to see.

Anyway, now that Kindly Miquella has appropriated Mohg's corpse for unspeakable necromantic sex slavery, I can finally access the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Cheers!
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Rambling thoughts about Miquella, Radahn, and Ranni under the cut.

Read more... )

I guess it’s a shame that Ranni had to trigger an apocalypse in order to achieve her goals, but I have a feeling the Shattering would have happened regardless. What can you do.
rynling: (Default)
Lore Revelations in the Shadow of the Erdtree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldTQoUxROzY&ab_channel=VaatiVidya

Damn that was quick!! and I love how the top comment is "everyone apologize to Mohg."

I want to believe that White Mask Varré was still a horrible person of his own accord, though. Bless his heart.
rynling: (Default)
No spoilers under the cut, just an extended lead-up.

Read more... )

...your character has been collecting hairballs this entire time. 🫠
rynling: (Ganondorf)
For me, spoilers are really important, especially when it comes to video games. If I'm going to spend 50+ hours with a piece of media, I need to know that it's worth my time. I also like knowing what the final destination is so that I can take my time getting there.

To give an example, I enjoyed Tears of the Kingdom precisely because I didn't have to worry about the story. It was good to go into the game knowing that there's no narrative payoff. I was upset about the story to begin with, and I can't even begin to imagine how I would have felt if I'd put more emotional investment into the game while rushing to finish it.

Thankfully, I'm getting completely different vibes from the Shadow of the Erdtree spoilers I've been able to find. This is a good story, I think. The (main) final boss is heartbreaking, as is the short cutscene that plays afterward, and it's going to be an interesting journey to figure out what's happening there. Even with spoilers, it's probably going to be months (or even years) before lore experts manage to put everything together.

Idk, I just think the anxiety over spoilers and the fear of missing out is manufactured by corporations to keep the consumption cycle moving as quickly as possible. Consumers are pressured to preorder everything and play/watch/read it as soon as it comes out, which in turn primes them to be ready to move on to the next thing immediately. I totally understand the thrill and joy of discovery, but it seems there's no longer any middle ground between "no spoilers at all" and "having complete access to a full wiki." That can't be healthy.
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
No spoilers, but like.

I was not expecting the Elden Ring DLC to deliver canonical Zelda/Ganondorf content. 😳

I am weak, and I cried. Kind of a lot. Purely because of my own delusions, but still.

Anyway, the blue worms are as glorious as foretold.

Read more... )

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