Reacting to The Lore of Elden Ring is Cursed by VaatiVidya

[@Emmalition]

hey guys!! after the new story trailer for elden ring's DLC i couldn't resist diving back into some more lore.. there's lots of theories and story insights that i've missed, so this video was a real delight to watch :) 30 days to go...

[@王征服]

You going to do Vaati's latest Armored Core VI lore vid? It's only 5.5 hours long lololol

[@canadat4380]

U gotta convince amber to play elden ring 😂 she's missing out.

[@Vladek16]

if you want to satisfy your thirst of lore to keep your mind busy in the comming month, you can binge watch the tarnishedarchaeologist playlist on elden ring 😄 it's realy well made and goes through a lot of things that Vaati has not talked about yet 👍

[@VijiogFrito]

Emma, PLEASE I beg of you (since we’re back on the Vaati grind 💪🏼) to watch the Prepare to Cry Age of Stars video, its the only main one you havent seen yet i believe! It is full of gorgeous custom art! it has nothing to do really with this part of the story obviously but i think it’s his magnum opus

[@olajuwon-34]

The only prepare to cry on her channel is the frenzied flame one, has she reacted to the other ones? They are all so good i hope she does a reaction for them too

[@PayYourTick]

Yeah it’s for sure his best video she needs to watch it for sure

[@cah137-y4s]

I find Mohg fascinating because he's simultaneously one of the most tragic and most monstrous characters in the game. On the one hand, he had a truly nightmarish backstory- abused and abandoned by his parents, grew up literally chained to the floor in a rotting sewer, and ultimately "rescued" from that situation by an Outer God who expects him to consistently engage in self-harm as tribute to her- and his goal of overthrowing the Golden Order seems like it would make him a heroic figure you would want to ally with. But by the time the game takes place, Mohg has become one of the cruelest and most twisted figures in the game; he tortures and experiments on innocent Albinaurics to turn them into living weapons, he commands legions of followers who commit murder and torture for reasons ranging from human sacrifice to sheer sadism, and the less said about his plans for Miquella the better. I love this dichotomy because it forces you to consider the question of at what point genuine trauma stops being a valid excuse for someone's actions. As a child Mohg was unfairly persecuted by everyone around him, but what he has done since then has ultimately made him every bit the monster the Golden Order believed him to be.

[@eatgreencrayons]

I think the whole point of Mohg's story is that the apparent "dichotomy" between what he's trying to build and the Golden Order is entirely superficial. From an outside perspective, Mohg is undoubtably a monster who has done and continues to do terrible things, just like Marika and the Golden Order. He's essentially trying to do exactly what his mother did when she and the Greater Will first came to the Lands Between. The only real difference between them is that Marika and the Golden Order try to maintain a facade of order and righteousness and majesty and nobility, etc., while Mohg makes no effort to hide the monster he has become. He is simply taking the same rotten foundations that the Golden Order was built upon and turning it against them. So in that sense he's definitely not a hero, but it's hard to accuse him of being any more of a villain than the Golden Order. As individuals though, I love the way the stories of Mohg, Morgott, and Godwyn all intertwine. As the only three children of Marika and Godfrey, you would think that they would have the first and strongest claims to be Elden Lords. It certainly seems that Godwyn was raised as the favored royal son who would one day take over the kingdom. Then Mohg and Morgott were born as omens, and despite being identical twins who were both shunned and essentially disowned and disinherited, they chose completely opposite paths. Mohg rejected the regime and the family that had rejected him, while Morgott chose loyalty over retribution. And then you have Godwyn. In one horrific night of violence and betrayal, he went from the literal Golden Boy of the Golden Order to ultimately becoming the horrific, twisted monstrosity he is now, a perfect inversion of the Erdtree itself. And while Ranni was the one who orchestrated the murder in order to escape from the control of the Golden Order and the Greater Will, there's hints that Marika herself may have been aware of if not part of the plot to murder her own son. It's impossible to know for sure, but perhaps she was in fact rebelling against the very order she built and the true power behind it. And given some of the other things she's done like using Godfrey for his military skills only to divorce him and strip him of his immortality, or taking on the form of Radagon to basically catfish her rival Queen Renala before leaving her heartbroken and a mere shell of a person, it doesn't seem like a stretch to think that Marika at least looked the other way while her son was murdered by his own half-sister. Mohg's abduction of Miquella seems to be very much in the same vein, as he is using his half-brother to aid his own bid for power, all the while maintaining that he loves Miquella, and who knows, maybe in his mind he does. I think everything disgusting and ugly and hateful about Mohg is meant to really be a reflection of Marika herself, stripped of all the illusions she's created. Oh and one last minor thing. Since children are born with the Omen Curse, it might be hereditary, rather than something external they were afflicted with while in the womb. If that's the case, that would imply that Marika herself may be a carrier of the Omen Curse, as neither she nor Godfrey have any physical signs of it, again reinforcing this theme of outward beauty hiding inner ugliness and evil.

[@CodeeXD]

Self harm? The burning blood is the outer gods not his He doesn't harm himself he rips it from her.

[@deanbrown1259]

I think the Dung Eater is still a wrong 'un... he has some concept of a good idea or maybe even justice, but he's brutally and horrificly giving a disease to people against their consent... A super interesting character, but a bad man, in my opinion, of course 😊

[@D_us_T]

Woah that crucible knight tattoo looks awesome 😮

[@Emmalition]

thank u !!! 🥺

[@canadat4380]

I've been thinking of getting a souls tattoo I've alrdy got both arms covered but I do wanna do a leg sleeve maybe a souls theme since I'm addicted to them 😅 if I was gonna do a elden ring it would have to be like maliketh or Melania since there my favorite.

[@gurnoorsekhon6402]

Emma on the FBI watch list after saying she is rooting for the moghlester

[@GiblixStudio]

these days we're all on the watch list since those weirdo's think we're all extremists terrorists, because they got no clue what they're talking about.

[@colinkirkpatrick5618]

Moghlested now

[@TheGallantDrake]

Well, well, well... look where we're at now lol

[@dragonman7069]

well then, that aged like a expired milk

[@Gunsblazin94]

He was never the Mohglester...he was the Miquellested

[@TheBaxter27]

28:30 I actually hadn't ever thought about it like that, even though the line of "craves wounds" always felt a litle odd to me. Having her go after (or maybe care for, if we want to be optimistic) "wounded" people makes total sense. i love that angle.

[@Noizzed]

Irina is actually a spin-off character of Irina from DS3. In DS3, she wants to become a firekeeper, like in ER where she wants to become a maiden, she is blind, and she is guarded by a knight, who wears an armor set called "Morne" like castle Morne.

[@Morrov]

Around 34:00 there are talks about Mohg inhabiting the Ancient Dynasty ruins, and that he might have wanted to inhabit it to "legitimise" his rule. But! With the new story trailer, as pointed out by Quelaag (whose channel got hacked and deleted!!!), the fight between Messmer and the Omens happens in a city that follows the Dynastical architecture. That means, the old Dynasty was either comprised of, or inherited by the Omen in the times of the Crucible. Now, that would explain why Mohg chose the ruins of the old dynasty as his new home, as they would have been his own legacy as an Omen.

[@HeevaEgo]

This was such a mind blowing discovery that I got to witness live. Like, everything clicks (at least in regard to ancient Omen/Crucible lore) and makes sense.

[@ellaa_games]

I can't wait to see what new endings the DLC gives us, it would be cool if one of them is us taking the place of Mohg and starting a new dynasty as consort to Miquella!!

[@Nobodyandthegiant]

girl i FEEL you about banging the Elden Ring drum again after the trailer. I highly recommend checking out Tarnished Archaeology for some general fun DEEP dive elden ring lore if you want to fill your cup. I recommend their video on the erd tree being an illusion or the secret histories of omens and misbegotten

[@toddbrimstone]

I think there will be a curveball with Marika in the DLC, it's already implied she tried to end a dark and death ridden world by separating the rune of death, but it had unintended consequences. She also tried to end it all by smashing the Elden Ring, I think we will find she was a puppet and as much of a victim as anyone and her breaking the ER was her reaching her own breaking point.

[@eviltim3786]

Also please remember there is no good guys in this story and everyone has their own reasons for the things that they did on top of not having quite ALL the details or reasons why things happened the way they did. For example for all Merika’s seemingly evil deeds do remember that there is a greater will behind the god that could have been asserting orders upon Merika to make her believe that not running things the way she began to run them would lead to ruin. This ofc doesn’t excuse any outright evil actions but it’s kind of the point of any from soft game. The point being that everything is FAR more nuanced than good and evil and that it’s far more likely that people are just trying to survive by any means necessary and the way this occurs can breed evils that even people who were living IN leyndell might not have even known about

[@plipplop728]

Preach that to Radahn vs Malenia fanbois. Especially Radahn fanbois.

[@nihal.organa]

Miquella seems to get the duality from his mother. Melina's dialogue implies that Marika regretted some of her actions, and in the end she and her other part, Radagon, wanted different things. It looks like Miquella and St. Trina also want different things. I struggle to see Miquella, the boy who so desperately fought to break his sister's curse AND revive his deceased brother as a villain, but St. Trina though.... Man, I'm so confused hahaha Miyazaki!!!

[@dylan_oby0284]

An interesting detail with miquella's body in the cocoon is that it shares the same model as Morgott's body after you beat him, which makes it appear as if Miquella's corpse is now specifically an Omen corpse after taking in so much of Mohg's blood, and since he needed to completely rid himself of all things golden in order to pass into the Land of Shadow, becoming a "Graceless Omen" could have been the only option after being kidnapped from the Haligtree womb

[@aidanbyrne8267]

Great reaction as always 🫶 On the argument saying the formless mother didn't create the omens because they meet after mohg was cursed and he was "besotted" Tou could argue that this follows on from Christianity, where you are "born in sin" but "god forgives you" etc... as such you love/worship him. The formless mother could have created the omens specifically so she could "save" them and have her followers "besotted" with her. The curse is unfair because it was created purely to manipulate people, and make them dependant on the formless mother.

[@TheUltimateShade667]

I always just assumed the thrusting your arm into the mother was meant to be like a portal opens into her stomach or heart and not that you had to use one of her natural openings.

[@stijnvanrijsbergen8255]

Mohg talking about the Formless Mother like she’s his girlfriend who he met at camp (you wouldn’t know her she goes to another school) is pretty funny. Sidenote: do yourself an IMMENSE favour and go watch Tarnished Archaeologist. It’s SO GOOD. (Honestly prefer them over Vaati. Easily.) The birth themes, the architecture and religion of the Ancient Dynasty, Miquella’s ideas and plans, they’re all explored so well (and in a way that doesn’t feel like they’re reading from a Wiki). Cheers! X

[@cah137-y4s]

Seconded! TA is generally quite good, although admittedly some of his theories are a bit more of a stretch than others (I still haven't fully forgiven him for his painfully bad take on Goldmask).

[@SaberKami]

23:00 imo there's nothing about moghlester or dungeaters character that makes me want to root for them. ESPECIALLY the dungeater lol dude has 0 redeeming qualities.

[@larsonswift]

I always see people acting like the omen aren't horrible looking and I dont get it. What happens to them is obviously bad but it isn't exactly out of nowhere. If your kid came out with horns and a tail you'd be pretty horrified too. It isn't just because they look different it's because the look unnatural and twisted. The are examples of old traditions being considered evil for nearly no reason. BUT there are others that are considered evil for completely legitimate reasons (ie Aztecs and their wierd thing for sacrifice) We don't have all the information, it is still entirely possible there is a reason the crucible is demonized.

[@denisatomei4549]

I understand the hatred towards the golden order for how they treat the Omen but just to play devil's advocate, imagine being a normal woman and giving birth to someone four times bigger than you and with horns.

[@larsonswift]

Not just that, but if your wife died in childbirth because your child ripped her apart from the inside because of budding horns and its size, then you'd be pretty horrified too. I'd argue that you may feel enough resentment that you'd put it in the sewer with its own kind.

[@SamSphinx]

Bloodborne especially tackles he menstrual themes of the monstrous feminine.

[@aquaticborealis4877]

Elden Ring has such brutal lore

[@perry7777]

The insight of the formless mother seeks wounds, metaphorically, as wounded people is 👌

[@KSharp2]

That crucible knight tattoo is SO well done

[@eowyns4181]

A pretty terrifying thought just occurred to me: What if Miquella isn't trying to become a god but rather an OUTER god? Imagine the outer god Slumber or something, a boss fight equal to elden beast. Miquella sporting the one eye and flowing hair (from which we can kind of see the outline on the corpse in the egg btw).

[@carlosperalta4351]

Mogh and the Dung Eater are just the wrong examples to represent the Omens in general but I do feel for the race as a whole

[@zekaizerguy1181]

Finally someone who recognizes what an awsome character Mohg actually is! It always get's overshadowed by the whole "Mohglester" thing to the point where he's basically just a meme within the community. I feel like there's a lot of misinterpretation going on when it comes to him.

[@cursedimageseveryday5559]

Mohg feels like a biblical satan which is kinda sinister considering Miquella has departed to the land of shadow which was a sort of afterlife before the erdtree screw the entire system with it's rebirths and grace. Maybe Miquella is trying to rebuild the land of shadow into a sort of heaven and rule as a benevolent god but in contrast Mohg wants to create a sort of hell and rule as the devil. Maybe Mesmer has the same goal as Mohg. Then there would be both Heaven and Hell in the lands between for the dead to depart to. No more rebirths...

[@zekaizerguy1181]

​@@cursedimageseveryday5559that does remind me of the in-game phrase "and the nightmares that may bring" regarding Mohg's new order. Also just to clarify, I'm not saying he's a good guy or anything. I just think he has more going for him than being the "mohglester".

[@Geffi01]

Malenia stated that she awaited 'his' return. That makes me think Miquella knew he would be gone for a while and told Malenia that he in fact intended to return after all. That makes me think he indeed planned this out.

[@lavabeard5939]

lucifer was adorned in gold from head to toe and covered in jewels, according to ezekiel's description in the bible. I often think about that in relation to the golden order

[@QuietFrankie]

It seems like there are some really interesting parallels between Miquella:Malenia and Marika:Radagon; blond hair vs red hair, manipulative vs heroic, sacrificer vs sacrifice... Almost like Marika's self-incest with Radagon produced physical reflections of themselves.

[@cursedimageseveryday5559]

My ultimate theory is that Miquella is trying to create a heaven of sorts in the land of shadow which before the age of erdtree and rebirth was the place of where the actual afterlife was taking place a sort of underworld. And in contrast Mohg wants to create a hell in the world of the living as a revenge powered by trauma but Miquella will not respond because he doesn't want to come back any longer and has his own goals and only used Mohg and his blood to shed himself of his grace. And then there comes Mesmer who could be ruining Miquella's plans in the land of shadow and it's up to us to help him in the DLC...

[@NUCL3AR991]

Just started watching cant wait to hear "SEEEECKS!" being shouted by Mohg

[@Emmalition]

he put his whole chest into that

[@skylar4390]

Yayy, I love your lore reactions!

[@RockRock2233]

More Emma Souls content makes me a happy boy!

[@namenlossterbliche6239]

13:23 I had literally the same conversation about this yesterday. Dark souls had occultish-alchemical view on femmininty even from the first game. Seems like ER going to be expanding on that pretty heavily and graphicly, but it's always been there. The whole sun - man, moon - woman thing, feminninity being associated with darkness (all fire keepers are women; daughters of the abyss and so on.)

[@Mackthecatdad17]

Yaaaaaaaayyyyy more lore! I loved this video so I’m very excited for your thoughts and opinions!

[@Emmalition]

My thoughts were mostly “WOW NO WAY” I am still struggling to form coherent thoughts after that trailer drop yesterday 😂

[@Mackthecatdad17]

@@Emmalition nah I thought you had some great thoughts! You called where Vaati was going a good few times! I’m so excited to get more lore on Miquella in the DLC!

[@rkmugen]

As soon as we meet/catch up with Miquella, he's gonna charm us so fast.... we won't even see it coming!

[@toji6476]

I don't see the deeper comparisons being made between Miquella and Griffith, besides surface level similarities, e.g, androgynous appearance, bewitching

[@justpaul3451]

"Blood poon?" I'm childish, i know.

[@davidpo5517]

1:13:22 He probably did say that, he's counting in Latin. "Sex" means six, just like in English sextuplets (like 6 siblings), or sextain (six line stanza of of poetry), or sextant. Incidentally, "sexus" means actual sex/gender.

[@peachesgalore7689]

Emmalition enthusiasts eatin' good right now.

[@Emmalition]

hahahah 🥰

[@jakewu8268]

Vaati reaction hell yeah!

[@Emmalition]

woooooo!!

[@kei6121]

The Miséricorde blade is a real thing, also used to kill downed knights

[@dannysalcedo7919]

Maybe crucible night wings on your back be cool

[@lordnmaster2]

You still haven't seen Age of Stars or the Dung Eater video, so I am looking forward to seeing those, too!

[@DanVic-dy1wb]

You should react to Vasti's vídeo on lore of the dragons, is really good

[@sengil5656]

My life is a party. My home is the club 🗣

[@tmanno1987]

Want some vulgar imagery play the final boss of Bloodborne DLC "Orphan of Kos" Following can be considered a spoiler if you're 100% pure no spoilers type He literally births himself from his mother's corpse then proceeds to fight you with the placenta.

[@Vladek16]

"maybe I would swim in a shitty blood swamp" 🤣

[@eviltim3786]

I mean it doesn’t say where u thrust ur arm when u cast blood flame incantations that with being called formless makes me think more of a bodyless orb of blood than even having any sort of body

[@Emmalition]

fair assessment!

[@mispap1]

glad to see you react to another vaati vid, I really hope you react to our Prepare to Cry video on Ranni's questline (it's the best one in the series!)

[@MohammadrezaDH2001]

Perfect timing imma get my snacks

[@Emmalition]

hope you got some tasty ones!

[@Shad0wmoses]

im going with the speculation that melina is miquella after seeing some other videos lol. how substantial it is idk, but i find that would be a fun and interesting twist.

[@Shad0wmoses]

@43:30 Emma sharing in Varre's bloodlust

[@dylan_oby0284]

The last week on twitter has done irreversible damage to everyone's eyes whenever looking at elden ring now 😂

[@alol_x4353]

You should definitely watch the bloodborne lore video "Visceral Femininity: A bloodborne video essay". It speaks of exactly the topics you show interest in in the video

[@wdid8221]

6:28 i have an example: mental illness. today, locked up or medicated. back then? somehow slightly slanted, looking at the world slightly different, able to string together patterns that others might not have realized. i doubt the oracles, sages or seers of ancient tribes were "all there" mentally, but people knew to utilize their strange perspektive

[@zannimask]

Totally agree with the yonic imagery and stuff. There's also a great video essay about Bloodborne called "Viscerally Feminine" that. I highly recommend, either to watch on your own or to react to lol.

[@Shad0wmoses]

i understand dungeaters motivation but did he have to eat the poo??

[@NUCL3AR991]

You question the devious doodoo devourer?

[@Emmalition]

does he need an excuse !

[@brileonn]

wait you're not supposed to eat the poo...?

[@Shad0wmoses]

@@Emmalition there is no excuse for his fecal feast. that excrement excavator knows no bounds.

[@ThatsOk83]

That's just the name people gave him to sully his name at least that's what I heard. I mean, he's clearly widely hated in the lands between

[@Nobodyandthegiant]

Also thank you for being unafraid of talking about the formless mother giving very uhhhhhh yonic imagery. There's a fair amount of proof that color theory in ER means a lot, and red = aggression, passion, sex, love, and faith. I love the Hawkshaw video on color theory for ER. But it is NOT a coincidence that red and blood is passion. I mean, hell, Varre's weapon is literally a red bouquet of flowers, and bloody turtle necks are cut items that heighten virility. Like.. mogh's entire story line with his incest-y love for,,,, child miquella.... COME ON...

[@Emmalition]

YEP YEP YEP (also I need to watch that colour theory video!)

[@ashenhunter1]

My girlfriend refers to Miyazaki as “the dude terrified of vaginas” 😂

[@kingsofmischief500]

Is it possible that it's miquella or marika reaching into the death rooted body of godwyn grabbing a rune or something from his corpse?

[@mult1versal]

I don't think Miquella will be a villain. We know from when he made the Haligtree, he was creating a place where anyone could go without fear or discrimination. This is why the Albanaurics went there, same with the Misbegotten. Although there are no Omen there (from what I know) I don't think Miquella would be against them.

[@PayYourTick]

You need to get watch his Age of Stars video, it’s his best one for sure.

[@yezzariael965]

I totally think that miquella was in cohorts with Ranny and his Mother to bring the greater will down und Mogh fuckes this plan up badly - soooo i'm not sorry he is gone to hopefully never come back. - great vod 😍 👍.

[@notvelocity2844]

Plot Twist: Miquella is Messmer.

[@austin-1993]

What are you talking about? We can't move your captions they're embedded in the video. I've tried to move them it doesn't work.

[@BossFight101]

Tattoo is wild! 😂

[@dess1619]

Not sure about Miquella being an enemy at all. Nothing we have ever been presented with portrays him as anything but kindhearted. Even mortal enemies in the game agree on this point.

[@hazelrains5839]

Re: The Monstrous Feminine, you might also enjoy a video by Honey Bat called "Visceral Femininity" in which she discusses these themes in the context of Bloodborne. Thanks for making stuff! I'm grateful for your work.

[@barrelsynapse]

Marika's is only correct way!

[@thisguyarechris]

I'm vegan for the omens

[@denaze05]

God i love FromSoft.

[@GamersOdyssey]

I think that you are misinterpreting Mog as a good guy, there are no good guys in this game and him takes the cake as one of the worst vilains. The end does not justify the means and especially in his case his "end" is not even just, he wants to rule, Dungeater is also a bastard but at least his preferred "end" is an equalizer. Mog never wanted to "help" Miquella he wanted to taint him and turn him in to one of his own, "or worst". I put my faith on Miquella.

[@d3villord036]

LESGOOOOOO

[@voxk790]

why do you say Emmalition twice?

[@Firespec]

Seated ❤

[@LePeppino]

Regarding that femininity thing, I have seen a video essay of Bloodborne called Visceral Femininity by Honey Bat, where they talk about all that stuff iirc. Was a while ago, but I remember it being a good watch!

[@Shad0wmoses]

reading berserk...Griffith is such an enigmatic and alluring character. just like miquella. im not sure if he will be "evil" in the most strictest sense once the dlc comes out. almost every demi god seems to have been capable of acts of atrocity. Maybe its just a necessity in their reality. In the later arcs of Berserk, despite griffith committing these horrible acts, theres also plenty of moments where i sway back and forth.

[@grelkie]

🗿

[@vadersreign]

emma sechs i think is latin for 6!!