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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Headcanons: Miquella and Malenia are really bad royals

--in that, while they’re very effective at running a kingdom, they’re horrible at living like royals and don’t want to even make an effort to do so.

Granted, old habits are hard to break, and their first few years in the Consecrated Snowfield were hard, long, and left no room for pomp and circumstance. Yet even after the Haligtree was firmly established, the two still cleaned their own rooms, mended/made their own clothing, did their own shopping, chopped their own wood, and prepared their own meals.

When Loretta arrived with the first albinaurics from Liurnia, she basically went ‘bitch, you live like this??’ and finally convinced them to hire some housekeepers, because for god’s sake, you don’t have to wash your own clothing or chop your own firewood. You have a populace that adores you that would kill to assist you in menial tasks. Also, it would help the economy. Think of the jobs you’d provide if you jet let someone do your laundry. It would also free up more time to do ‘running a kingdom and subverting god’ things.

So Malenia and Miquella relented...to a point. They don’t have handmaidens to help them dress or bathe or anything. They still make their own meals unless they’re receiving a formal visit, at which case they’ll relent and hire a cook. While housekeepers now help them keep their residence clean and neat, the two insist on taking care of their own rooms. Someone does their washing for them, but Malenia insists on mending their clothing, if only so she can maintain her fine motor skills. They let Loretta and Finlay go to the market for them, not only because they insisted, but it’s amusing to think of them bickering like an old married couple the entire time.

Finlay has taken it upon herself to either select fish to buy from them at the market or to catch some herself. She is the daughter of a fishmongers, so she knows her way around a line, and she nearly had a fucking heart attack when she saw that Malenia’s method of catching fish was to just. Go into the river or ocean and snag them with her bare hands (or teeth, on one memorable occasion). It got a little less weird when Finlay learned that Maliketh and Blaidd had been the ones to teach Malenia how to fish, but she absolutely insisted on teaching Malenia the ‘proper’ way to do things. Malenia still likes to catch fish bare handed for fun, but she finds fishing...surprisingly medatative, as well as an excellent way to spend quality time with Finlay. They have a lot of sunset sea fishing ‘dates’ that just involve them sitting in quiet companionship while they wait for the fish to bite, Malenia resting her shoulder against Finlay’s as the knightess sings a sea shanty under her breath.

(Miquella’s also learning to fish. He’s just not very good at it, bless his heart. He’s either impatient or so patient he forgets he’s even fishing and slips into a meditative trance.)

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#about the abundance god (miquella)#the albinauric steward (loretta)#loyal knight of the rot goddess (finlay)#the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia)#kingdom of the haligtree (milieu)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Headcanons: Miquella and the Strain of Pretending to be an Adult

(TW/CW: Discussions of child abuse/neglect)

Miquella may be very good at pretending to be an adult, but that doesn’t mean he is an adult, and that’s a very important distinction most people that interact with him forget about.

Don’t get me wrong; Miquella is both a genius and extremely mature for his age, both due to...well...being over 1,000+ years old and also being forced to grow up early by living in a fraught political environment and even more fraught family. Given what we learn about Marika’s parenting in game, it’s clear that she was a very cold, distant mother, and Miquella probably went from being the golden child to being a burden due to his stagnant physical age. Radagon tried his best, and it’s clear--based on the statue of him and the twins in Loretta’s boss arena in the Haligtree and the incantations they made for each other--that Miquella at least had a positive relationship with Radagon. In the canon of this blog, actually, it was Radagon that helped Miquella and Malenia flee from Leyndell to the consecrated snowfield once Marika grew displeased with their ‘disobedience’, and he was the one to engineer the Great Lift of Rold with its secret mechanism so she couldn’t find them. However, Radagon could only do so much, and it’s very likely that the political situation in Leyndell and the situation with the Greater Will was deteriorating even before Godwyn’s death.

Add to this that Miquella had simultaneously deal with being patronized and babied for his stagnant physical age and being assumed to just be a mini-adult, sprinkle in likely assassination attempts and political predation, and you have a very small, stressed, eternally baby genius who’s trying to save his sister to start with, and then--once he becomes Saint Trina and learns of the plight of the oppressed races and minorities of the Haligtree--half of the Lands Between as well.

Honestly, Miquella pretends to be an adult so well that most sentient beings can be deceived into thinking he is a mini-adult. He is articulate, well-spoken, and has a vocabulary befitting his true age and then some. He’s brilliant and extremely well-read and educated. He’s forced himself to learn as much as he can about politics and negotiation to hold his own against Leyndell’s elite, foreign delegations, and delegations to the Haligtree. He even seems to have an adult’s emotional maturity, although his facial expressions are noticeably more transparent than those of a fully grown humanoid.

Here’s the thing, though. Miquella’s not an adult, no matter how badly he wants to be. A child who’s content with his knowledge, body, brain, and power wouldn’t encase himself in a cocoon for god knows how much time in order to become an adult.

Miquella’s brain isn’t fully developed. No matter how smart he is or how quickly he’s been forced to mature by the world, he still has the brain structure of an 8-10 year old. He can logic his way into pseudo deductive reasoning but still makes impulsive, short-sighted decisions, because he literally cannot see things any other way. He likes to play with his sister and occasionally longs for the chance to play with other children ‘his age’. He gets overwhelmed really easily--both mentally and physically--and will often have sensory and emotional meltdowns after really long stents of time of keeping up the act of adulting. He just doesn’t have the capacity to grasp things as well as an adult, and it’s that inability to piece together a final picture that drives him into the cocoon, because he hit a mental wall when it came to the unalloyed gold and knew he needed to not have a child’s brain any longer to figure it out.

Yet he’s also a god, and the leader of a kingdom, and is brilliant and clever. He does have an astonishing amount of emotional intelligence and maturity for someone his age, even if it’s nowhere near an adult level. So many sentient beings are relying on him to save them, and if they saw him as childish, they would lose faith. So very few people know that he likes to climb the branches of the Haligtree and play Tree Sentinel vs Ulcerated Tree Spirit in the roots with his sister. They can’t know Malenia helps to wash his hair at night and still reads him bedtime stories (albeit on topics ‘beneficial’ to both).

The few people in the know are several higher-ranking members of the Cleanrot Knights, Finlay, Loretta, and, of course, Malenia, who has long since mastered the art of treating her elder brother like an equal and a child all at once. One of the conditions of her entering a romantic relationship with Finlay was that she understand as well, but when Finlay caught Malenia calming down Miquella after a tearful breakdown and immediately stepped in to assist, the goddess knew she could love no one else.

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#about the abundance god (miquella)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia)#golden queen of stagnation (marika)#forge red hair and golden hammer (radagon)#cw: discussion of child abuse #cw: discussion of child neglect #(i should be working on replies but here have miquella brain rot instead)#(most of the cleanrot knights know miquella has terminal baby disease but pretend they don't for sake of his feelings)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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OOC: My thoughts on the ideal Age of Abundance path.

Long discussion full of author’s preferences below the read more.

This is completely and utterly self-indulgent, but my ideal ‘Age of Abundance’ ending/path in the game would be if you help Malenia rescue Miquella and then they just...fuck off back to the Haligtree. No orders, no mending runes, no advice; they just peace out and leave you standing in the mausoleum because Miquella needs a bath and some quality time with his sister. You’ll never see them or hear from them again if you don’t seek them out.

If you do choose to go the extra mile, you can visit them whenever in the Haligtree and you catch them in various states of chilling: Miquella surveying the damage done by the rot with an apologetic Malenia (but that’s fine, because the rotted bits will act as fertilizer to allow for new and even better growth than before); Miquella sleeping in a little blanket cave in the hollow where his cocoon used to be as Malenia strokes his hair and hums a lullaby; Miquella watching Malenia as she practices her swordsmanship; the twins tending to the flower bed in the roots; things like that. Once you come around a few times, they’ll ask you to go on various fetch quests, usually involving the gathering of materials for Miquella’s alchemy (and flowers, because the twins love flowers). If you’ve followed Ranni’s plot line to a certain point, you can even be a messenger between them, passing letters back and forth.

Eventually, Miquella and Malenia ask you to accompany them to Caelid to survey the damage, and if you haven’t done Millicent’s questline yet, Malenia will find her in the Church of the Plague and aggressively adopt. Miquella will use his newfound god powers to yeet Gowry out of existence and purge the rot from Millicent’s body. Malenia will act as a summon for the Commander O’Neill fight if you haven’t fought him yet, and when she finds her broken needle, Miquella will fix it and make it better so that all the influence of the rot god is purged, leaving Malenia with just her natural powers as a goddess of decay.

(If you HAVE seen Millicent’s questline to fruition, you can give the needle to Malenia and Miquella straight up, and you can find Malenia giving Millicent and her four sisters a proper burial in the flower bed of the drainage canal.)

(There will also be special dialogue from Malenia and Miquella depending on if you’ve beaten Radahn or not. If you haven’t, you can invite her to go with you to the festival, which she will decline, saying that Radahn deserves an honorable death--not to be put down like a dog by the woman who caused his madness.)

Once they return to the Haligtree from Caelid, Malenia will challenge you to a duel in order to ‘test you’. This goes much like her boss fight in the game proper with a few differences: Instead of her second phase being Malenia, Goddess of Rot, she’s now called Malenia, Goddess of Decay; and while she still gets her really cool wings and butterfly powers, she doesn’t use any rot attacks or unleash the Scarlet Aeonia. If/when you defeat her, she’ll declare your strength worthy of being a ‘true lord’, and Miquella will come in and ask you to be their champion. This is when the Age of Abundance ending officially unlocks.

Miquella will explain that so long as the Golden Order exists--even in a ‘perfected’ or ‘mended’ form--the abusive and hypocritical theocracy that has led to the division of the Lands Between and the oppression of other races and minority groups will continue to persist. The only way to free the Lands Between is to break the cycle, and Miquella--now all but a full god--intends to do so by taking the Elden Ring into himself and ripping it away from the Greater Will. Once he has ascended to true godhood, he can reshape the ring as he sees fit and banish the Outer Gods from the Lands Between, officially ending the threat of the Rot Goddess and otherworldly manipulation for good. He says that if you agree to assist them, all you have to do is fight and defeat the Elden Beast and call him and Malenia to the boss room via summon sign.

If you say no, Miquella will say he understands, and that you must do what you see fit...but he’s going to re-enter his hibernation and eventually, whether it be months or years, ascend to full godhood without the aid of the Elden Ring. Once he does that, he fully plans on forcing out the Greater Will out through brute force alone, so enjoy your age of Duskborn or Curseborn or Perfect Order or Fracture while you can.

If you’ve completed Ranni’s questline and talk to Miquella, he’ll reveal that he, Malenia, and Ranni have been working together since before the Shattering to usurp the Golden Order, and Ranni has agreed to let Miquella and Malenia run the show while she leaves with her order. This will allow Miquella breathing room to take his time and ascend to full godhood on his own volition. The twins will encourage you to assist Ranni with her plans, and if you pick Ranni’s ending, her ending cutscene will be followed by a scene of Miquella taking the throne with Malenia by his side.

If you choose to side with Miquella and haven’t done Ranni’s questline, Malenia will be available as a summon for the Radagon and Elden Beast fight (whereas Millicent, if saved, will be summonable for the Hoarah Loux fight). Once complete, Miquella’s summon sign will appear, and you get a special cutscene where he and Malenia say goodbye to their mother/father as Marika disintegrates. Miquella takes the Elden Ring into himself, becoming a full god, and he talks about how the ash of the Erdtree will fertilize the soil, allowing new growth and life after years of stagnation. The Age of Abundance begins with Miquella as its new god and both Malenia and the Tarnished as its champions.

If you’ve progressed their questline to the point where the twins are friendly with you and you have accepted the Flame of Frenzy, Miquella will offer to cure it for you. Say yes and he’ll stab you with a needle, banishing it from your body. Say no, and Miquella will say it’s your choice and their questline will proceed as normal. Once you reach the end of their ‘loyalty path’, Miquella will ask, once again, to banish the Flame of Frenzy from you. If you say no, Miquella will say that while he respects your independent will, if you try to bring the Flame of Frenzy to the Erdtree, he and Malenia will stop you. This closes out all interactions.

HOWEVER, if you defeat the Elden Beast and Radagon, a new end-game boss fight will appear, with Miquella and Malenia fighting together as the God of Abundance and Goddess of Decay respectively in a last-ditch effort to stop you. Defeating them will allow you to get a snazzy twinblade before you burn down the whole world I guess, so. Yay?

Anyway, that was my book report.

#miquella the unalloyed #malenia the severed #malenia blade of miquella #ranni the witch #elden ring #ooc: the mun speaks #golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#i just love the idea of the twins being like we're going home now #we already know what we're going to do #we're not gonna tell you what you're going to be when you're grown up #you have to decide that for yourself #and the tarnished is like i expected a quest reward #and malenia's just like you're not getting an extra atta boy for being a decent human being #thank you for rescuing my brother from a grooming kidnapper have a cookie

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Headcanon/Blog Lore: Why Malenia Marched to Caelid

While there is some flexibility in terms of the direct cause of the Battle of Aeonia for the purpose of more streamlined RP interactions, here are the concrete facts of my interpretations of vague canon events.

NOTE: I know a lot of people are likely going to disagree with the following view of Malenia and her motivations. That is okay. I am simply interpreting the loose lore presented by the game via my frame of reference. All I ask for is respect for my interpretation. If you do not respect my interpretation of Malenia’s character and the events of the Shattering, then please do not interact with me.

With that, lots of words below the read more.

The main motivation for Malenia’s march to Caelid will remain the same no matter what loose version I go with: there was a direct or interpreted threat to the Haligtree and/or Miquella, and Malenia chose to act in a surprise attack in order to protect her brother and/or their people.

Now, what exactly was this threat, you may ask? That’s where I’m willing to get a little lax and loose with the lore. While I have a preferred picture of events in my mind, there’s still a lot of play. The following are some of the treads I like to go down.

1) General umbrella narrative: This is the general, universal, big ‘why’ for the Caelid Conflict. Basically, Radahn posed either a real (or manufactured threat to the Haligtree and Miquella. These fears were likely exacerbated a great deal by Radahn attacking Leyndell despite not being an Empyrean. It’s very clear that Radahn wished to be Elden Lord and wasn’t afraid of throwing around his might to achieve that goal. He would also know that Malenia and Miquella--the only two Empyreans following the death of his sister--are direct threats to his rule. It’s likely that, no matter what, he would have marched on the Haligtree eventually.

Now, whether or not he was going to kill Malenia and Miquella is up to debate. Perhaps yes, perhaps he would have forced them to step aside from their designs to the throne, or perhaps he wished to become a platonic consort with one of them to replace Marika in the pantheon. Either way, the threat was there, and it wasn’t insignificant. Malenia was in the position to potentially stop his threat, but if they allowed Radahn to march to the Haligtree, it would likely lead to the deaths of their people along with all soldiers involved.

Something then convinced Malenia and Miquella that Radahn was going to act now. Maybe he sent them an official ultimatum. Maybe she received reliable intelligence from spies in Caelid. Perhaps Miquella even learned of Radahn’s intent through his role as St. Trina. Or, perhaps (and this is the manufactured bit), Mohg--wanting to get Malenia and a majority of the army out of the Haligtree so he could swoop in and take Miquella--planted false information or led a false flag attempt on the Haligtree and pinned the blame on Radahn.

Either way, after discussing the matter with her commanders and Miquella, Malenia decided that their greatest chance at victory without collateral damage was to take the fight to Radahn. While Miquella cocooned himself to immediately begin the transformation into a full god and adult (figuring, that he’d be more of an asset once he’d ascended, that the Shattering wouldn’t end unless he grew strong enough to force out the Outer Gods and end it himself, and that he’s likely safer tucked away in the very heart of the Haligtree than wandering around outside without his sister’s protection), Malenia took almost all of her Cleanrot Knights and marched directly for Caelid.

2) The Empryean Alliance (standard blog canon): I will default to this version for most blog posts unless it’s not feasible or per request of the mun. However, in general, everything above holds true with the notable addition that Malenia, Miquella, and Ranni have been working together since just before the Shattering to usurp the Golden Order and expel the Outer Gods. In fact, Malenia and Miquella knew of Ranni’s plan to slay her Empyrean flesh; they just didn’t know how she was getting the death rune (Marika) and what else would happen (the Two Fingers using the other fragment Marika obtained to kill Godwyn in retaliation for her theft).

The general plan has always been this: Miquella enters a cocoon and grows into a full god. Once that’s done, Ranni--with Malenia acting as her ‘Elden Lord’--usurps the throne and claims the Elden Ring for herself. She leaves with her order, and in the absence of the Greater Will, a newly adult Miquella steps in with enough power to expel the influence of Outer Gods in general. The Lands Between then enters a new age free of religious persecution and dogma, led by Miquella and his champion, Malenia. (Ranni visits a lot, of course.)

However, the Shattering (and Radahn’s sealing of the stars) completely undoes all of their calculus. Because of these changes, Malenia’s objectives in Caelid are now two-fold. Not only is she protecting Miquella and the Haligtree from the warmonger Radahn has become, but to defeat Radahn and remove his hold on the stars. With Ranni’s fate back in motion, all Ranni and Malenia have to do is acquire the Fingerslayer Blade and wait for Miquella to emerge from his cocoon, after which they march upon Leyndell, aided by Malenia’s new power as the bearer of two Great Runes.

Obviously, this...didn’t go according to plan.

(PS: Ranni knowing that her powers have been kneecapped doesn’t mean she knew about being unable to reach Nokron because of it.)

Now that I’ve told you all the reasons she went to Caelid, lemme tell you the reasons she did not, per blog canon:

-No, she didn’t go because she wanted to enter a pissing contest with Radahn. I’m not saying she didn’t have pride in her skills as a warrior, and maybe she and Radahn had a rivalry going on behind the scenes. However, from what I see in canon, Malenia is a relatively passive, reactive character, and I don’t see her literally risking the lives of her soldiers and everyone in Caelid just to prove she’s better than Radahn. Challenging him to a duel and going with a select few soldiers as escort to Caelid for the purpose is one thing; literally plunging a land into war and ensuring the deaths of your own men just because you want to spite your older brother is another, and Malenia just does not seem like the type.

-No, Malenia did not go to Caelid to find Miquella. There’s no evidence in game that Malenia ever knew who had taken Miquella and where, and while I have no doubt she searched for him after his kidnapping, it would have been nearly impossible for her to find the portal that Mohg used on the edge of a barren, blizzard-ravaged land. Also, I find it next to impossible to believe that Mohg would have had a chance to abduct Miqeulla if Malenia and the entire contingent of Cleanrot Knights had been present. Mohg is a simpering little coward, and I can see him biding his time (or even engineering an excuse for her to leave and take the army with her) before waiting to strike.

-No, she did not leave the Haligtree on a whim, especially without consulting Miquella. Given how utterly devoted Malenia is to her brother, I can see Miquella having to actively convince her that no, I’ll be fine, I’ll be deep in the roots in the most secure part of Elphael, and there are still some Cleanrot Knights and the entirety of the Haligtree Knights left to protect me. The Haligtree is near inaccessible. I’ll be okay. I’ll just be dreaming away the entire time you’re gone. This is important. We have to have done all this for something. I’ll be fine, Mal, I promise. Just...make sure you survive, okay? Come back safe. It’ll be fine.

(It wasn’t.)

That’s it for this discussion; tune in next post for Why Malenia Bloomed (and it Wasn’t Willingly).

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#kingdom of the haligtree (milieu)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#sister of the dark moon (ranni)#the lion who strangled the stars (radahn)#the defiler of the haligtree (mohg)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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☕️ + Marika

TW: Implied incest; implied marital rape; discussions of child abuse and neglect; discussions of eugenics and genocide.

Malenia chuckled huskily and rested her head against the back of her 'throne' in the roots of the Haligtree, staring with sightless, scarred eyes up at the sky. The red and golden orange of the coastal sunset bathed her face and caught the thick red hair spilling over her shoulders in a flame-like sheen. Miquella, curled up in his blanket nest in the hollow of the roots, slept blissfully on.

" Miquella is far more magnanimous when it comes to Mother than I," Malenia whispered harshly, turning her face towards her brother's nest. " We have discussed our family many a time, and when it comes to Queen Marika the Eternal, Miquella simply feels...sad. He neither likes her nor respects her actions and ideals--and how could he, once he learned of the atrocities and genocides she has committed in the name of the Greater Will. Yet he recognizes that she herself is trapped and mostly powerless in the face of her patron god; indeed, the Elden Ring is as much a shackle around her throat as it is the manifestation of Regression and Causality. The way Miquella looks upon Mother is the way one would look upon a starving, rabid dog in the rain: dangerous, yet so terribly pitiful. He considers the inevitability of stripping her of her Grace as a mercy."

Malenia turned her face back towards the canopy, humming in satisfaction at the faint warmth playing on her pockmarked skin.

" Miquella, as always, is the better of us...for he finds it in his pure, good heart to love her still, whereas my own love has long since wilted, choked in the thick overgrowth of my anger and...hate. Yes, I freely admit that I hate Mother with every inch of my rot-burned body, and every scrap of my weary will. It is a hate that is both personal and ideological. Idealogically, I hate her for the genocides she committed against the giants, the omen, the Nox, and the nomadic tribes. I hate how she has isolated the Lands Between from the rest of the world, converting visitors to our lands but sending none in turn, for who could possibly want more than the stagnant golden grace of the Erdtree? I hate her for cowing to the Greater Will and throwing her own children into the sewers to pitifully waste away. I hate her banishing Lord Godfrey and the entirety of his people from the Lands Between, all in the name of some grand task, some eternal grasping at more and more power and more and more strength. I hate how she has wielded fundamentalism as a spiked flail, forcing the demi-humans into either exile or slavery, and turning a blind eye to the slaughter and persecution of the albinaurics. Even if I was not her daughter, I would hate her for this alone."

Malenia's left hand clenched into a trembling fist in her lap, and she moved from leaning over the back of the chair to slumping forward, picking up her prosthetic arm from the ground with palpable weariness.

" Yet as her daughter, I hate her more." Malenia spat bitterly, resting the prosthesis on her lap and running the fingers of her left hand along the worn, grooved joints, crude gold patches, and hastily hammered dents. The act seemed to calm her somewhat, although her shoulders were still taught with tension. " I hate that she forced Father away from the woman he loved and into her bed without his consent. I hate that she broke both Father and dear Rennala--who will forever be a better woman, queen, and mother than Marika could ever hope to be--all in the name of an Empyrean heir of her own; for she could not let the Carian family line have control of the Elden Throne, now could she?" She chuckled bitterly and let her head hang low between her shoulders. " Is it any wonder that Miquella and I are cursed, having been born from such better designs, such selfish whims, and such...such violation? We would be cursed even if Mother and Father were not..."

Malenia trailed off, unable to admit her family's greatest secret and greatest shame, even to the most well-intentioned stranger. Finlay and Ranni had been the only two beings the twins had ever told, and they intended to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.

Even without saying it, though, the revulsion and bitterness of such a lie...such a blasphemy...such a crime against nature in and of itself...it made her want to vomit.

" I hate her for her hiding me away when I was suffering with rot." Malenia said after a moment of heavy silence. " For believing my pain would lead me to greater strength and power--and then, when I remained rotted and sad and not stronger through adversity, she grew disdainful. 'Should ye fail to be nothing at all, ye shall be forsaken.' That is always what she said to me when I was being too troublesome--too unruly--and I knew in my heart that it was a threat. She had thrown her newborns into a sewer simply because they were born 'cursed'; why would she hesitate with a miserable, unruly daughter disfigured by rot? Even after I grew my skill with the sword, she was cold, distant. I was simply a replacement champion for her--someone to wage her wars and fight her battles as her proxy when Father was too heavy with melancholy to move. Even being chosen as an Empyrean did not satisfy her...although she certainly was cross when I renounced my Two Fingers mere days later."

The memory of her mother's sour-lemon face brought a rueful smile to Malenia's lips. She shook her head and began to flex the finger joints of her prosthetic arm, checking to see if any needed oiling or smoothing.

" Yet even if she was naught but the sweetest, kindest, most devoted mother to me...even if she had not forced Father to lie with her to conceive my brother and I...I would still hate her, for I consider what she did to Miquella innumerably worse than what she did to me. She used his intelligence, his ideas, his brilliant creativity for her own aims, trotted him around like a show pony during political affairs and royal events, only to regard him with naught but cold eyes and stony silence when in private. She considered Miquella to be an eternally innocent, pure, meek little boy; and yet when it came to caring for that boy? The moment he stopped growing was the moment she stopped acting as his mother. He was as old as I was, she said, so he did not need any 'coddling'...and Miquella, so desperate he was for Mother's love, agreed, and tried so valiantly to make himself into an adult he could never be. Yet he was not an adult--still is not an adult--and he still so desperately needed his mother's love and touch. She knew this, but she could not be bothered with him, so it was up to I--his sister--to act as mother in her stead." Malenia wearily rubbed her eyes with her left hand.

" I do not regret it. I have never once resented Miquella for staying young while I have grown older--for needing more from me than as a twin and a friend. 'tis not his fault, and we are so precious and dear to each other...it does not matter to me that I am younger twin, bosom friend, co-ruler, bodyguard, blade, and mother all at once. I cherish this unique, bewildering, yet beautiful relationship we share, and I would gladly strike this balance until the end of our days if need be. All I have ever felt about Miquella's stagnation is guilt--guilt that I, the younger twin, was forced to leave him behind."

Her lips curled into an almost feral snarl.

" Yet Queen Marika the Eternal, who abandoned her child when he needed her the most...I shall hate her until the stars fall and the sun melts into itself. I shall hate her until there is nothing left of me to feel such hate. And if it turns out the reason behind her disappearance is her death...even if it means that Father is also..."

Malenia swallowed, and when she spoke again, her voice was choked and cracking.

" ...if she has died...then I hope she died in a manner that she deserved: alone; abandoned; slowly; and howling in indolent rage at the Greater Will--the one being in the universe even colder than she."

#answered entreaties (asks)#fulgrantfirstborn #the goddess speaks (malenia answers)#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#golden queen of stagnation (marika)#forge red hair and golden hammer (radagon)#cw: discussion of child abuse #tw: discussion of child abuse #tw: discussion of child neglect #cw: discussion of child neglect #tw: implied rape #cw: implied rape #about the rot goddess (malenia)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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What are Miquella's favorite games to play?

In terms of table games, Miquella adores strategy games. I imagine that, alongside chess, the Lands Between probably has a few primitive style tabletop games (like senet) and card games he likes to play with Malenia. I'm halfway tempted to say that he and Malenia have also invented a prototype DnD-style tabletop game, complete with dice and equations. The kid loves equations.

At the very least, Malenia and Miquella have invented fantasy 'jenga', and they play it all the time with Finlay and Loretta. Loretta has infuriatingly steady hands and has never had a tower collapse on her. Finlay accuses her of cheating every single time. Finlay is also a klutz who often ends up with a lap full of wooden blocks.

In terms of imagination games, don't let Miquella's serene, adult-like demeanor in public fool you; in private, he's still down for exploring and playing pretend. What Malenia and Loretta will call 'examining the structural integrity of Elphael and Haligtree Town' really means scaling the trees and crossing over branches like balancing beams. What Malenia calls 'strategic planning' is Miquella pretending to be an Tree Sentinel while Malenia throws on a blanket and takes on the role of either a Putrid Tree Spirit or a beast of the void.

Don't think Malenia resents this, either; she finds joy in spending time with her elder brother, and she herself isn't going to turn down climbing trees or drawing imaginary cities with her elder brother. Just because he's brilliant and wise beyond his physical age doesn't negate the fact that he has the body and brain of a child, and playtime is necessary.

(PS: Malenia and Miquella take turns reading each other bedtime stories...albeit 'intellectually' stimulating ones. Miquella prefers fantasy and philosophy and Malenia prefers adventure and romance. Both adore mystery novels.)

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#about the abundance god (miquella)#answered entreaties (asks)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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💐 - What small things go a long way for your muse? What small favors can someone do to get on their good side?

(If you would like to talk about how Finlay and/or Malenia wooed each other, that'd be sweet too!)

Loving and accepting Miquella as someone fragile and vulnerable as well as the most powerful Empyrean of all.

I"m dead-ass serious. Yes, Malenia's love language is acts of service, so all the little things Finlay does without asking (carrying Malenia's sword and arm for her on bad pain days, putting extra lavender in her tea, making up excuses for her to set back and let Malenia train the men when Malenia's chronic illness catches up with her, seeking out braille transcriptions of the latest novels, etc.) are super fucking important and special. However, the most important thing to Malenia--the one that had convinced her for so long that romance was impossible for her, even if she hadn't been suffering from a terminal, chronic illness--is that they understand and accept Miquella.

Not as an unblemished idol, not as a faultless god, not as a distant king, not as a perpetual child, and not as a miniature adult--but as the unique package of contradictions and intricacies that encompass her elder twin's existence.

Malenia may walk her own tightrope of nobility, pride, and success, but Miquella's tightrope, in comparison, is on fire and covered in cooking oil. Letting someone close enough to peek into their intimate family of two would run the risk of them seeing Miquella do all of the imperfect, childish things he tries so desperately to hide from the wider world in order to maintain his aura of maturity and perfect control. He's not a miniature adult--can never be a miniature adult--but putting on that front allows him to earn the respect of a world run by adults, and he can't let that slip to anyone he and his sister can't trust. To anyone that wouldn't understand that he is a child beneath it all, and start respecting him less as a result.

Malenia knows this--knows her brother better than anyone ever will--and she would rather die before she let someone into her heart that would reject Miquella's true self and threaten the world he's built for them. So she spent decades in the beds of beautiful, strong women--women who, in another life, she would have probably dated--but inevitably turned them away the moment their gazes became too tender and their touch too lingering.

She was fine with it.

She really was.

...but then fucking Finlay wormed her way into Malenia's life and just. Wouldn't. Leave; and the closer they became, the less Malenia wanted her to leave, and the more she dreaded having the 'just be friends' talk she'd done countless times before but made her feel as if she'd swallowed glass shards whenever she thought about doing so with Finlay.

Before she could do this, however, Finlay happened upon Malenia comforting Miquella during one of private meltdowns--where the world has become too much and being Miquella the Unalloyed has become too much, so he screams and weeps and beats his fists against Malenia's back as she holds him for lack of any other way to express how he's feeling--and she.

Didn't leave. Or laugh. Or gawk.

She simply backed out of the room and returned with a blanket, passing it to Malenia while silently mouthing to her that she should wrap Miquella up in it, and tightly. Even tighter than she probably thinks it should be.

Malenia did so, and sure enough, Miquella seemed to be almost instantly comforted by the pressure. An episode that would have taken an hour to weather was shortened to minutes, and Finlay waited until Miquella was sniffling but coherent to slip away, returning with a pot of his favorite tea.

One of her siblings used to have meltdowns like that, Finlay had explained after Miquella had fallen asleep in Malenia's arms. Random things would set it off--strange, scratchy fabrics on her skin; loud noises; odd food textures; unending loud noises--and wrapping her tightly in blankets would help ground her and focus her on a solid, constant sensation in the midst of the miasma of input.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to be little and big all at once, Finlay had whispered, regarding the disheveled, tear-stained face of her god with even more admiration than before. Especially for so long and with so many people counting on him. He really is the mightiest Empyrean of them all.

A few days later, Malenia caught sight of Miquella riding on Finlay's shoulders as they traversed the Haligtree's branched, chattering about everything and nothing at all.

Ah, Malenia thought, stunned to the point of forgetting to breath. So this is what i feels like to love and be loved in return.

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia)#answered entreaties (asks)#sorry this got away from me dhfiogjerijgoeajrhoier

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Kaitlyn for Malenia

Dylan for Miquella

KAITLYN: does your muse considers themselves a leader ? would they easily step into that position in a crisis ?

Absolutely. Even if Malenia hadn't emerged from the womb a screaming, type A combatant, she'd have taken the burden of leadership without hesitation for Miquella's sake. The Goddess of Decay is of the opinion that if you want something done right, then to just do it yourself, and she has no qualms about ordering her men around to achieve her goals.

Aside from being a military leader? Well, one of the many reasons she fled Leyndell in her teenage-hood was to loose the shackles tying her to the Golden Throne, but the Kingdom of the Haligtree is a completely different beast. She has never once wavered in her dedication to their people, and if Miquella ever needs a break from kinghood, she's kneeling to take the figurative weight before he even gets the chance to ask. She prefers being the Protector of the Haligtree to its queen, but...not even her dazzling brother can do it all alone, and so long as she draws breath, never will he be.

- - -

DYLAN: does your muse get anxious in social situations or are they comfortable in them ? would they describe themselves as sarcastic or immature ? additionally, would they say they’re good at making possibly life-changing snap decisions ?

As someone who spent his early life in Leyndell being the equivalent of Marika's tiny purse dog at parties, Miquella knows his way around a formal scenario. Whether it's bemusing guests at a gala with his wit and humor or selecting the correct utensils at a formal dinner, Miquella talks the talk and walks the walk of one who was destined from birth to be the heir to Marika's throne. He can charm the bloomers off off countesses and delight dukes with vicarious tales of his sister's military success. With such charisma--combined with his innocent, angelic looks and eternal childhood--Miquella can easily ply the secrets from even the tightest of lips, and he has found such secrets to be more than beneficial in establishing his own kingdom.

Of all the lessons Marika tried to teach him when growing up, the one Miquella internalized more than any other was the notion that 'knowledge can be more powerful than the Elden Beast itself'. He has never been able to heft a sword or draw a bow, so he weaves the air about him with incantations, and he laces his words with the poison of frittered secrets.

(This doesn't mean that Miquella loves such social situations, however; he often spends at least half of the following day asleep, and he'll hiss like a half-drowned cat if anyone but Malenia dares to disturb his blanket cocoon.)

Don't let Miquella's angelic looks and deceptively sweet tongue fool you, however; this kid is definitely far more on the sarcastic side. While he does have his immature moments (because he can't escape being an eternal child with an eternal child brain), he only willingly shows such a side to his sister. You'd have to get him very cranky and tired to even have a chance at glimpsing his immaturity in public.

In terms of life-changing snap decisions, Miquella isn't as good at them as one would expect. While he's very strategic in his thinking, the God of Abundance prefers to actually have enough time to do so, and he will take a long con over a short game any day of the week. He will make a snap decision if forced, but that doesn't mean he likes it, and it especially doesn't mean he never looks back on his decisions with a hindsight heavy with regret.

(See: the decision to send Malenia to Caelid while he entered hibernation. Really, really regrets that one.)

#about the abundance god (miquella)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#answered entreaties (asks)#try maidens but despair (memes)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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☕️ + godwyn

" Who is Miquella prayin' for today?"

Malenia turned her head from where she was leaning against the wall of the now-restored church guarding the secret entrance to the Haligtree. She knew that it was somewhat ridiculous to stand when there were so many empty pews, but after a childhood full of tedious, repetitive religious services where one was legally required to slobber over the Greater Will and the Erdtree, she barely had the patient to stay for any significant length of time in a chapel, let alone sit.

(Her and Finlay's 'official' wedding at the Church of Vows was the exception, of course, for Pastor Miriel--having been trained in both the Religion of the Moon and the Golden Order Principa--had a delightfully agnostic take on the whole 'gods and Greater Will' situation. It was also where Rennala and Radagon were wed, and as the one loving relationship Malenia knew of for the majority of her life, it felt...appropriate to wed Finlay in front of the same fountain. Instead of praying to the gods, she had prayed for them to be as happy together as her father and stepmother, and that they would endure none of the heartbreak. They had succeeded in avoiding such a tragic fate...for the most part.)

" Miquella spends a long time here at the same time o’ year," said Finlay chirped, not waiting for Malenia to respond before plopping herself into the pew directly in front of Malenia. The goddess mocked rolling her eyes, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. " Can't believe I never thought to ask why, even though I've been a part of the family for...a few decades now?"

" A few. We should do an exact count later." Malenia refused to sit, but she did move up to lean her hip against the pew where Finlay sat. Her attention, however, never once drifted from Miquella, who had already been kneeling in front of the alter for a half hour and showed no sign yet of aching knees. His head was bowed, long blond acting as a curtain to conceal his face from view, but Malenia didn't need to see his face to tell his eyes were closed and his mouth was working in silent prayer. A bouquet of white and golden lilies was clasped in the hands he held to his chest. " 'tis the anniversary of Godwyn's death--the only time Miquella bothers with any of the Golden Order's ceremony."

Finlay's thick, black eyebrows quirked towards her hairline. " Godwyn the Golden, ya mean? Queen Marika's firstborn?"

Malenia nodded slightly, and Finlay whispered lowly under her breath.

" Wow. I didn't realize ya knew him well, given your age difference and the fact that...y'know...the whole 'havin’ different fathers' thing."

Malenia chuckled.

" That did not stop Miquella and I from forming our bond with Ranni, but then again, she was the closest to us in age of all of Queen Rennala's children. To tell you the truth, I myself did not know Godwyn very well."

" Ya didn't?"

" No. Oh, do not get me wrong; we were on very friendly terms, and after I started leading Mother's campaigns, we would trade lively tales of battle whenever we met. I considered him a comrade in arms, I suppose, and I respected his very un-Marika like integrity." She shrugged. " It speaks much of Mother's love for him that she did not have him stripped of his grace and exiled when he refused to slaughter the dragons...then again, perhaps she saw the innumerable advantages of such an alliance."

Finlay hummed in the way she did when she didn't understand half of what Malenia was talking about but was doing her best to follow anyway. Unable to help herself, Malenia reached out and booped Finlay on the nose, and the knight sneezed and made an adorably disgruntled face.

" Don't interrupt me when I'm tryin' to listen!" Finlay chided, but the lips she pressed to the offending digit held no spite, only adoration. " So ya didn't know Godwyn well...but Miquella did?"

The smile fell from Malenia's face, and she sighed heavily, turning her head back to 'stare' at her mourning brother.

" He did, and they were surprisingly close." She said softly and solemnly. " Despite his brawn and charisma, Godwyn loved to read, and he spent much of his time in the Grand Library of Leyndell when he visited home. Miquella, of course, met him quite often as a result, and the two struck up a strong friendship. Godwyn was one of the few people in this world that seemed to grasp, even slightly, how young and old Miquella was all at once, and he treated him with equal measures of respect and kindness."

Finlay, too, had grown solemn...and contemplative.

" The night his and Lady Ranni's deaths were announced, I went to find the both of you after you went to tell Miquella, and I heard him weepin'...I thought he was cryin' for Ranni, but he was actually mournin' Godwyn, wasn't he?"

Malenia nodded.

" We knew Ranni's death would not be a permanent measure, but Godwyn...Godwyn was not part of our plan. His death struck us like a bolt in the blue--even Ranni--but it hit Mother and Miquella the hardest. When Miquella learned that his body remained while his soul had left, he began to devote his studies to an attempt to sever his physical connection with our world...that, or revive him. He knew that Godwyn cared not, for what made him truly alive had long since died a True Death, but he could not stand the thought of his corpse remaining, bogging and rotting beneath the capital."

" Is that was he was tryin' to do in Castle Sol? Bring Godwyn back to life?"

" Or kill him completely. The Carians have legends of the power of a total eclipse--a moment where darkness and light, life and death intertwine, and he thought he could channel the power of the eclipse with the connection of the walking mausoleums to the world beyond." Malenia sighed and shrugged. " Obviously, it did not work, and I do not think Miquella has ever fully reconciled with his failure."

Finlay reached out and took Malenia's flesh-and-blood hand between her own, holding it close to her heart.

" He feels guilty for bein' part of the plot that got 'im killed, doesn't he?"

Malenia hesitated, then nodded, giving Finlay's hands a shaky squeeze.

" Miquella is far more tenderhearted than I, and no matter how often I tell him that there was no way we and Ranni could have anticipated Godwyn's death and the resulting Shattering, he...he always second-guesses himself, and dreams, and wonders. Wonders what he could have done differently to save Godwyn, and Father, and the Lands Between as a whole."

" He's so hard on himself." Finlay breathed, shaking her head in dismay. " He's not the one that made Marika grab her hammer an' smash the world order to bits, just 'cause she was sad an' selfish."

Malenia scoffed, though not unkindly. " Do not tell me what I already know. Tell him instead." She nodded her head towards Miquella, and it was Finlay's turn to scoff in return.

" I will--jus' watch." The knight then stilled, eyes widening, and Malenia could practically see the gears in her beloved's head turning as she pieced together what she learned from Malenia's revelation.

" Wait...so it wasn't Lady Ranni that killed Godwyn, like all the legends say?"

Malenia nodded, and Finlay's brow furrowed.

" Then who...who wanted 'im dead? An' why?"

Before Malenia could answer, Miquella sighed and slowly rose from his kneeling position, using his left hand to brush the dust off of the skirt of his linen dress. Malenia gave Finlay a look that promised a later explanation and stood up straight, walking down the aisle to greet her brother.

" Are you done?" She asked softly. Miquella nodded without turning his head to see her and gently set the bouquet of lilies on the altar.

" I have paid my respects." Miquella said quietly, turning and allowing himself to be enfolded in his sister's arms. He sighed and rested his head on her chest, his hands lightly gripping the back of her cloth and leather curiass. Malenia could hear Finlay stand and approach from behind as they embraced. " When I have recovered enough strength for our journey to Caelid, I would like to find where his body has migrated, for I feel as if that will help solve the mystery of Those Who Live in Death."

Malenia squeezed him tight. " Of course, dearest Miquella."

" Whaddya mean 'where his body's migrated'?"

Miquella and Malenia separated and turned to face Finlay, who was staring at them as if there were Kindred of Rot crawling out of their ears. The twins 'looked' at each other and sighed in unison.

" First, lunch." Malenia said firmly, taking Miquella's hand in her left and Finlay's in her right. " Then we shall tell you what the legends have long neglected...although, it is still incredibly hard to comprehend, even with the truth."

" Me not understandin' what the heck ya two are talkin' about?" Finlay snorted. " Ya act like 'm not used to it by now."

#the golden prince and the body left behind (godwyn)#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#kingdom of the haligtree (milieu)#v: to mend what is broken #answered entreaties (asks)#the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Malenia and Dylan for the ask meme!

@radiant-and-terrifying

DYLAN: does your muse get anxious in social situations or are they comfortable in them ? would they describe themselves as sarcastic or immature ? additionally, would they say they’re good at making possibly life-changing snap decisions ?

- - -

That's an interesting collection of questions for good ol' Mal.

In terms of social awkwardness, Malenia's not exactly socially awkward per se; she just doesn't give much of a fuck. As someone who's been raised as the heir of a god kingdom, she can't help but know how to navigate a social situation, but she long ago got tired of being paraded out like a show pony at Marika's every whim. It didn't happen so much when she was sickly and sad and visibly rotting; but when she got older, got buff, had the rot staved off by unalloyed gold, and got a good handful of military victories under her belt, Marika was suddenly much more active in inviting her to public royal events.

One of the many blessings of fleeing Leyndell with Miquella was a merciful distancing from such pageantry. Since the Haligtree is a 'smaller', far more hidden kingdom compared to Leyndell, they don't have many grand events, and any delegations they receive are small and non-ostentatious. Most grand events are held for the benefit of the citizenry and/or the military, and Malenia is quiet but pleasant at such events. She'll smile without strain, laugh under her breath at jokes, and weave a tale or two when prompted. It's far easier for her to interact with commonfolk than nobility.

The few times she went back to Leyndell, however? If Marika forced her to show up, she'd stick to the farthest walls and darkest corners possible, and you didn't need to see her eyes to feel her icy glare. Her aura of 'don't fucking come near me' would scare off all but the most oblivious souls, and when forced to interact with guests, her answers would be one-worded at best and grunts and head gestures at worst. She would inevitably disappear halfway through the evening, and even Marika knew better than to fetch her.

On the sarcasm vs immature scale, Malenia is definitely more on the sarcastic side. This woman is a rotting ball of sarcasm, spite, and sisterly love.

In terms of life-changing snap decisions? Well...um...

::gestures at the Battle of Aeonia::

I guess it depends on your definition of good. Either way, when Malenia makes a decision, she throws the entirety of her weight into it and rarely looks back.

#about the rot goddess (malenia)#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#try maidens but despair (memes)#answered entreaties (asks)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Here’s a headcanon that’s both crack and semi-serious: If Malenia were to become friends with the Tarnished, so long as they don’t harm herself, her brother, or the Haligtree, she’d basically be the equivalent of a very tired but supportive aunt.

She’d sigh at their antics and put out their metaphorical and figurative fires before going back to bed. They’d bring her random shiny rocks like a magpie and she’s just be like ‘IDK what I’m gonna do with these’, but sets them on her nightstand regardless. If they need help with a boss, they’d grumble, but she’d grab her sword and trudge along so long as Miquella was safe and guarded. She’d support their seemingly endless lust for Morgott while also asking them to please kindly stop staring up his robes, because that’s very rude and also borders on harassment (and also you can’t see anything because he’s furry, so what’s the point?).

Basically, she’s a soccer mom that hates soccer but shows up to your games anyway, with love in her heart but vodka mixed with lemonade in her thermos.

#there's a fight at the haligtree burial grounds (crack)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#(Miquella meanwhile is the mom friend)#(he's endlessly supportive but also sensible and he will not shoot of fireworks with you from two inches away)#('hey these are specific examples mun' THEY SURE ARE)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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OOC: I may not have the energy to reply much at the moment, but I somehow have the energy to do a semi-serious shitpost about how the fandom portrays the Finlay and Malenia romance. Specifically in bed.

(Read more for fandom snarkery and NSFW/T talk. The following is my personal preference and I absolutely believe that all interpretations of the Ultimate Lesbian Ship:tm: are valid as fuck even if They Don’t Cater to My Particular Needs. I’m also going to use yuri terminology because I’ve been on the internet for over a decade.)

Okay, so like, am I the only one that kind of balks at the way most Malenia/Finlay fics are written--specifically in terms of sex scenes? Like, nothing draws me out of a Finlay/Malenia story like a sex scene, because it’s either Malenia acting like a mommy ojou-sama figure or her just becoming a full-on wilting submissive. Finlay, meanwhile, is nothing but an eager ‘imutou’ like figure, just so happy to be with Malenia-senpai that she’ll just do whatever her mistress wants. And Malenia’s almost inevitably a sex goddess if she’s not an eager little minx submissive. it’s just.

So.

Boring.

It’s like I’m watching a really outdated yuri/shojou-ai story from the 1990s/early-to-mid 2000s. Or Cinemax. People can’t seem to find a middle-ground to Malenia’s contrarian personality (in that she is somehow a BAMF, determined, assertive GOAT as well as passive, reactive, and surprisingly chill), and Finlay seems to have no personality aside from stern knight or ‘omg senpai i would die for you’. The sex scenes inevitably suffer as a result. Like, I get so many of us are desperate for that good Malenia/Finlay WLW kush, but come on. Give them some personality. Stop falling into banal yuri tropes.

I realize that part of the problem is that Finlay has no canonical personality outside of absolutely devoted and BAMF motherfucker who loved her boss enough to drag her across the continent on her back, but like, the fandom can’t seem to decide if she’s an eager uwu senpai type or if she’s a stern knight, and like. It’s like they can’t seem to find a happy medium in personalities for EITHER of them.

Please. Please. Try to diversity in both sex and character portrayals. I don’t want to feel like I’m watching Strawberry Panic when I’m reading an Elden Ring wlw fic.

(For anyone who is curious about my own portrayals, Finlay would die for Malenia, but she is also an uncooth, snarky, incorrigible little shit, and her antics either leave Malenia laughing and smiling against her will or doing the emotional equivalent of ‘rolling her eyes’. Finlay definitely likes to joke around in bed and Malenia’s like will lightly smack her head or tweak her nose and be all ‘look are you gonna keep making puns or are you going to go down on me already?’ Malenia’s on the bottom 80% of the time, both because A) it’s really nice to be taken care of when your entire existence revolves around you being an unshakable protector, and B) she suffers from chronic pain and mobility issues, so not only can positioning be difficult, but having sex with your metal prosthetic arm and leg on can be a bit of a buzzkill at times, so she’ll occasionally take them off. She can move around fine without them, but topping when you can’t balance yourself over someone is...tricky. They do a lot lying-on-their-sides sex.

Also, their afterglow is always affectionate but often peppered with Finlay’s puns or random questions. Like, they’ll literally both have just come down from orgasm, and Finlay will be like ‘hey Mal, if a tree falls down in the woods and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound?’; and Malenia will resist the urge to smother her (lovingly with a pillow) and be all ‘of course it does, Finlay; just because you can’t hear something doesn’t mean it doesn’t obey the laws of physics.’ And then Finlay’s like ‘okay, but how do you know for sure if you’re not there to hear it?’ and Malenia DOES bring the pillow out and start to smack her on the head as Finlay cackles maniacally.)

#the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia)#loyal knight of the rot goddess (finlay)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#the dueling grounds (discourse)#nsft #golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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In terms of comfort around children (and yes, this headcanon is inspired by current RP events), Malenia has always been...wary around them? For one, she’s afraid she’ll hurt them physically, given her prosthetic arm means that her sense of the strength she exerts is really a guessing game at times. Secondly, she knows that she eventually rots away the non-godkin that spend any prolonged period of time with her, and she would never forgive herself for infecting a babe. Thirdly and finally, a lot of little kids were scared of her missing limbs and scars, and it’s not like she can blame them.

In the verse where Miquella is rescued and her rot is now fully under her control, however, she is no longer a passive risk to others, and she can begin the very awkward (and adorable) process of becoming Auntie Malenia.

Miquella, meanwhile, loves taking care of children. One of his favorite duties in the Haligtree has always been to babysit and/or teach the little misbegotten, omen, and albinauric children. He gives every baby he meets a blessing of protection by kissing them on the forehead, and they will forever have a faint, golden birthmark where his lips touched.

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#about the abundance god (miquella)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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I have this headcanon that Miquella has tried really, really hard to enjoy more "adult" foods, things like mushrooms or certain vegetables, but his palette just won't let him. Fancy dinners are such an ordeal.

OKAY, but the funny thing is that both twins are like that.

I headcanon very heavily that the twins are really sick of, like, not just fancy food, but formal meals themselves? Like, not only were family dinners probably agonizing affairs, but you can't tell me that Marika didn't put her pretentious, holier-than-thou palate on full display, especially when visited by foreign dignitaries. Miquella may be cursed with youthful tastebuds, but he's generally curious about food--unless it's prepared in incomprehensible ways, slathered with eighteen different sauces, and lit on fire in odd ways. Malenia has adult taste buds and even she couldn't stand the food served to them in Leyndell. The first meal she ever enjoyed was like, this simple rabbit stew with root vegetables that her master taught her how to cook while on the road.

As it stands, the twins don't really...cook? In the Haligtree? And no one really cooks for them? They sit down for meals, yes, but the spread is generally bread, cheese, dried meats, raw/preserved fruits, and raw vegetables. Real cooking for them is limited to fire-roasting fish they buy at the market and serving it with some salt. Miquella is a fan of fermented food, so he'll make yogurt and pickle a whole bunch of vegetables, but that's...that's pretty much it. Every meal is basically a ploughman's lunch.

(Frankly, this drives Finlay and Loretta a bit crazy, and they'll occasionally put their feet down and just fucking. Cook a real fucking meal for their stupid yet endearing lords.)

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#answered entreaties (asks)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#kingdom of the haligtree (milieu)#about the abundance god (miquella)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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Headcanons: Malenia’s sight and why she trips so much.

Given how well Malenia tracks you in her boss fight, I headcanon that her eyesight’s been gnawed at by the rot for quite some time, and that she’d long since gotten used to weak eyesight prior to them being completely scarred over. Not only are her other senses (hearing especially) heightened from training and natural adaptation, but her godly blood allows her to sense the ‘auras’--i.e. the life and magical energies--of creatures and objects. While this makes it hard for her to tell things like color and texture, she can see outlines (and even ‘finer’ details) and movement quite readily. However, given that different pigments reflect different wavelengths of energy, Miquella has taught her how to ‘see’ color in her own way.

Unfortunately, innate objects don’t radiate energy quite as well as living things, and given the fact that Malenia’s feet and right arm are made of metal (and thus insensate), she often...trips and stumbles over shit she just can’t see or touch. On occasion, when startled, she’s even knocked over objects or hit people with her right arm by spinning around too fast. It happened a lot more when she was younger and unused to her prosthetics, but sometimes things can just...sneak up on her, whether it be enemies or some hapless Cleanrot Knight needing her to sign something.

#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#about the rot goddess (malenia)

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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“☕️” + the omen children

(Mohg has been discussed here. Morgott, on the other hand...)

" I have always liked Morgott." Miquella chirped as he scribbled some complex alchemical equation in one of his handmade notebooks. The two notebooks he has already filled out during this particular session lay half-open on the table, surrounded by spent quills and empty ink bottles. " It is a shame that I never got to properly meet him until just before the Shattering, when Mother allowed he and twin out of the sewers to attend Godwyn's funeral. Before that, they were snuck up for occasional visits, but never when the other demigods were present...aside from Godwyn, of course."

" Morgott is like Godwyn in several ways." Malenia agreed, beginning to clear off the spent writing utensils and stuffed notebooks to make room for afternoon tea. " Quiet, regal, and kind, with a sense of honor that borders on stupidity. For one who has been shunned from public life, he is also an excellent orator, and surprisingly well read. Perhaps he was able to use the sewer system to sneak into the Grand Library after hours and learned there...or perhaps Godwyn snuck him books."

" Probably both." Miquella chirped, still laser focused on his equations. " Yet the most significant difference between Godwyn and Morgott is that, while Godwyn was critical of Mother's actions, Morgott did and still to this day lionizes her and the Golden Order. He was so quiet during the meetings of the demigods after Mother's disappearance, yet the moment Radahn began to speak of a 'new order'..."

Malenia snorted and rolled her eyes. She picked up Miquella's finished notebooks and set them gently on a nearby desk, which was already overflowing with scrolls, papers, and fatted tomes. Miquella had certainly been busy since his return to the Haligtree.

" It amazes me that he so loves and reveres the Golden Order and its queen even after she tossed he and his brother in the sewer for daring to be born with horns and fur." She sighed heavily and gave her head a forlorn shake. " Even now, as the proper King of Leyndell, he is forced to hide his true form for fear of being ousted and hunted by the very nobles he tries so valiantly to protect. 'The Veiled Monarch', they call him. It is utterly bewildering to me."

Miquella hummed and peered owlishly up at his sister.

" It is not surprising to me." He said, smiling at Malenia's confused head tilt. " Think about it, little sister; you and I spent our childhoods exposed to the very worse of Mother and her rule; yet poor Morgott rarely even saw her during his short visits to the surface. All he knew of her and the Golden Order was what he was able to glean from Godwyn and what he read about from books--which, if they are anything like the general historical tomes in the Grand Library--were nothing but idealized, effusive depictions of the Age of the Erdtree with equally gilded pictures. He saw her gold but never came close enough to notice the tarnish."

" You and your gold metaphors," Malenia muttered, pantomiming rolling her eyes beneath her helmet. She grabbed the nearby tea try and set it on the table with a clatter of finality. " Well, seeing as he considers you and I traitors--along with the rest of our siblings--I doubt we will be asking him for his reasoning any time soon. Yet that does not change the fact that he deserves better...he always has. We shall have to make sure he is treated well in your new order, Miquella."

The teenage god nodded sagely, even as he picked up a scone and popped it into his mouth, earning another exaggerated 'eye roll' from his twin.

#veiled monarch in shackles (morgott)#answered entreaties (asks)#golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)#dasjaegermond #the empyrean speak (miquella and malenia answers)#(the last few asks were heavy so here have the twins calling morgott a good boy)

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