Elden Ring Sigils And Color Theory

Something I just want to note, because I'm fucking nuts, is that the dark urge has had to fight their urge for most of their life.

They have always had to be strong, never show weakness, never show vulnerability, never love or even care about anyone at all, because bhaal is watching.

They have always had to demonstrate enormous self control, over their emotional state as well as their urge.

And what is it exactly that they have to apologize to their father for?

Having. Feelings. They. Could. Not. Control.

How sick is that????

I know they're evil, but my heart still breaks for them.

They would've rather died than disappoint their father. They call themselves a wretched thing. They are cruel to themselves, both with memories and without.

They were beating themselves up, agonizing over having an uncontrollable emotion, and what's worse is that, they've been dealing with that their entire life.

But at least their father approved of the dark urge, and murdering things for fun.

Their father would never approve of them loving, or even just liking, someone.

And the shame of disappointing him, of drawing his ire and his abuse, that must've been terrifying for the dark urge.

It would've made it even harder for them to hold themselves together.

I am driven to madness by this character, I really am.

On Mudwing Culture

My last deliberation on Seawings and their eccentric insult vocabulary seemed to be well-received, so here is another one of my headcanons:

Mudwings are seriously into food.

I know, pretty revolutionary take when there is only a handful of named Mudwing characters, and two of them love eating so much that it either almost or entirely eclipses their personality.

But Clay and Ochre are not what I am talking about. This isn’t about a love of eating (though many Mudwings admittedly do have that). I’m suggesting that, out of all the tribes from Pyrrhia, Mudwings are at the forefront of food preparation and culinary innovation, to the point where a large part of their culture revolves around it.

The State of Food Preparation on the Continent

Pyrrhia as a conglomerate of different cultures largely sustains its populations through hunting and gathering. The average dragon, when the hunger pangs set in, will make a hasty trip into the nearest forest, cave, or scavenger den and round up some prey animals. In most cases, this prey will go straight from the talons to the mouth, or, if the hunter is a bit more forward-thinking, into the pantry, and then from talons to the mouth.

There are a few variations of this practice; Skywings may give the carcass a quick roast on an open flame before eating it, Sandwings may dry the meat out so the excess moisture does not upset their internal water balance, Rainwings will prefer fruit over meat. Icewings will nearly always consume their prey raw and unseasoned, as their extremely delicate palate is easily overwhelmed by intense flavors that may be released through cooking.

More complex forms of food preparation seem to exist mostly outside the scope of the general populace. The practice of “cooking” appears to be limited to the ranks of aristocracy, with dedicated cooks only found within the court of a queen or in private households of other high-born individuals. It creates a sharp divide between commoners and social elites, between the wealthy and (as Sea Queen Coral once put it so succinctly) the “eel-eating masses”. All exemplified through the differing standards of food.

And yet somehow, standing in stark contrast to everywhere else on the continent, nearly every Mudwing-- from the most low-born runts of the Diamond Spray Delta to the most decorated head advisors in the Queen’s palace --knows how to cook, and will do so regularly.

Why is that, and how did it happen?

Historical Benefits of Cooking

Most things that form the backbone of a culture usually start with some ancient practice that was useful at some point in time and then, as people kept doing it, eventually got absorbed into public awareness and became “the way things are done”.

Mudwings face a unique challenge compared to anyone else, as they are the only tribe whose combat prowess is significantly affected by their environment, specifically climate, weather, and temperature. Sure, you can take any dragon, drop them into an unfavorable climate, and they will generally perform worse than under normal circumstances. But the unique weakness of Mudwings is that they lose their breath weapon when they get too cold. Place an Icewing into a burning room and they will still be able to use their frost breath. Pluck a Sandwing from their dry environment and drop them into the humid, sweltering hell of the jungle, their natural weapons will still function. But make a Mudwing cower between two piles of snow for a while, and their internal fire will go out quickly.

As you might imagine, this is a bit of a liability when you have to defend your territory from Skywings hiding and scheming among the frozen peaks bordering your country.

So the ancient Mudwings had to figure out a solution to their conundrum, and what they came up with was this: They got a large pot and filled it with water, threw in all manner of meats, plants, and herbs, whatever they could find where they were holed up, then boiled it until it was good and filling. The hot food in their bellies helped them stay warm even at high altitudes and allowed them to stand their ground against the northwestern invaders.

Soon it became tradition for troops to share a hotpot the night before battle, and a rich variety of hearty broths and stews developed from there, as these were simple to make from scraps and could be reheated easily. The practice became so popular, the Mudwings kept doing it even during peacetime. Soon, in addition to the hunting of prey animals that was commonplace, Mudwings began to cultivate vegetable gardens to have access to a more stable supply of ingredients. Eventually, their growing understanding of agriculture allowed them to grow rice, which was especially well-suited to the abundance of wetlands found in their territory. Everyone was cooking now.

The Role of Food in Mudwing Society

If you ask several Mudwings which core values represent their tribe best, many would likely put forward some variation of “camaraderie”, “family”, or “loyalty to your sibs”. They are a very social people who form deep bonds with those whom they grew up with, and one of the most direct ways to grow close to someone is to share your meals with them every day. As such, the preparation and consumption of food is a vital part in maintaining cohesion between members of a Mudwing sibling group.

Every one of these groups will have a “Bigwings”, which is understood to be a combination of a leader and caretaker role. The Bigwings is aware of all of their sibs’ culinary preferences and needs and has all of the troop’s recipes memorized. When mealtime approaches, he or she makes the call on what kind of dish will be prepared and delegates roles and tasks to the troop. This is a daily exercise that builds the Bigwings’ authority and communication skills, and reinforces trust and familiarity between all siblings.

Next to the Bigwings is the Gatherer, which historically was a role assigned to one or more troop members who foraged for wild vegetables or hunted more prey if the previous communal hunt did not yield enough. While this is still true today, many Gatherers also maintain a garden or wet patch to source fresh vegetables or grain for meals.

And lastly there is the Communicator, which is a role usually assigned to the most social and charismatic sibling. The Communicator is vital for coordinating battle strategies with other troops, which, while very important, is not really all that relevant for this deliberation. What is relevant however, is the role they fulfill during peacetime, which is to set up joint meals between two or more sibling groups. This practice is critical for maintaining morale, as doing this regularly helps expand the troop’s palette and keep their Bigwings inspired. That way the troop’s collection of recipes stays fresh and innovative instead of turning stale and rigid.

Of course how much each troop values culinary exploits varies between individuals. Some Mudwing groups are outspokenly passionate about cooking and advancing their craft. They might view their work as an expression of art and get very upset or offended if you indicate that thinking about food is unimportant or a waste of time. Some extreme cases may even get angry at you if you waste ingredients or refuse to elevate a dish to its fullest potential by not seasoning it well or doing something else to ruin it. Other groups may be more relaxed and casual about food preparation, and a few might even not think about it much at all.

If a Mudwing invites you to dinner, it is paramount to figure out which of these groups they belong to beforehand, so you may get an understanding of how much of a threat this outing may pose to your health, especially if you are an Icewing or Seawing with a limited palate.

Is there any evidence for this in the books?

To my knowledge, there isn't much. Mostly because there isn't much about Mudwings and their culture in general. Across all the books, only one of them has a Mudwing protagonist, and the vast majority of it is spent in the Sky Kingdom, so his roots don't get a lot of exposure. Then whenever another Mudwing comes into the story, they tend to exit it very quickly after, without being able to share more.

I made this theory for myself largely in response to Mudwing culture being such a big question mark. I initially came up with it when I saw a Mudwing gardener in Escaping Peril and thought "That could be a cool direction for the tribe." The guidebook that released recently gave me some additional pointers with regards to a few of the looser points of this theory.

I'm hoping it is interesting, or at the very least entertaining in some way.

It’s already Halloween in my time zone.

#am

finally after 9 weeks of on and off work. hate monologue animatic. collapses

heres some of my concept sketches for this version of am!

Today I bring you a Baldur's Gate 3 strip. Tomorrow? Who knows

Absolute, Cambion, Hag... the number of entities watching the adventures of the party is growing, but no one single one of them has paid for the tickets to this show yet. XD

... and a lil addition. There is one line in Hag's dialogues, which made me tense a little, but in the end nothing happened. Either Ethel has good protection from wiretapping, or Raph was distracted and didn't hear, idk. Though it would be interesting to see how Raphael and the old lady would clash, and who would win.

odd

All of The Eleven’s re-imaginings are now done! I really had a blast making these, I don’t do it much but I love monster/dragon designs. In order, Windsinger, Earthshaker, Flamecaller, Tidelord, Icewarden, Stormcatcher, Lightweaver, Shadowbinder, Plaguebringer, Gladekeeper, and The Arcanist.

“Technically speaking, Elise had never been alone in her paddock.”

~It’s not the Raptor DNA by SkullsandDuggery, chapter 11

Ponies to get out of this stubborn art slump. These are based off my own Ponytown ponies

Mildly heartbroken again about how many of the Durge specific lines in Act 3 are centered around being daddy's favorite. My father loved ME best he demands you bow to ME this city is MY gift from him I'm his special little heir. The fact that this almost never works in Durge's favor, even in circumstances where you'd sort of expect it to (like in front of the Murder Tribunal).

Because Bhaal made you, yes. Made you specially, made you in his own image. But it doesn't mean he loves you. It doesn't make you special to him. He didn't stop Orin from turning on you. Won't punish her for it, only tells you to handle it yourself. Months of living vivisection at Kressa Bonedaughter's hand and he didn't do a thing. He doesn't appear to you after the nautiloid, explain your purpose, the way home, or even who you are. All he sent was a butler to make further demands of you in exchange for meager power-ups. Right up until you prove yourself the clear victor, and Last of your Name, Bhaal can't be asked to lift a finger for you.

I've been thinking about that cut ending where Durge is demoted to breeding stock for Bhaal. How this implied to be what's expected of you even if you do everything Bhaal asks. Willing or no you'll be churning out babies.

To Bhaal, Durge is an experiment of varying success. No more and no less. And all that love Durge can try to cash in on is worthless, because it doesn't actually exist