History Memes / EldenRing

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* Maidenless[[labelnote:Explanation]]Before meeting Melina, Varre mocks the Tarnished for being "Maidenless;" i.e., not having a MysteriousWaif to help you level up. This was immediately taken to mean that the [[VirginShaming Tarnished has no girlfriend]].[[/labelnote]]

** The [[WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks Uncle Ruckus]] of Elden Ring [[labelnote:Explanation]] Morgott, despite being an Omen himself, detests the Omens and actively seeks to protect the system responsible for their oppression. This has naturally led to him being compared to probably the most infamous BoomerangBigot in fiction.[[/labelnote]]

* [[FantasticRacism Racist Morgott]][[labelnote:Explanation]]Since fans have taken notice that Morgott seems to [[FantasticRacism harbor a lot of undue prejudice for Tarnished]] (exacerbated by lines he says like "Thy kind are all of a piece"), it's common to portray him as an extremely racist PoliticallyIncorrectVillain who wants to kill the Tarnished less because they're a threat to the Golden Order and more ''because they are Tarnished''.[[/labelnote]]

** Sex. [[labelnote:Explanation]]It has been revealed from cut voicelines that Mohg initially counts as high as six for his phase transition. People's reactions are usually to exclaim that the devs finally added sex to the game.

** Deathblight Swamp. [[labelnote: Explanation]]As [=FromSoftware DLCs=] have a reputation for being [[BrutalBonusLevel ludicrously difficult]] compared to the base game, fans started joking that Shadow of the Erdtree would have a level that instantly kills you if you stay in it too long. There ''is'' a swamp level shown in the gameplay trailer, but only time will tell if it truly is Deathblight.[[/labelnote]]

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII 2'' [[labelnote:Explanation]]With the game's colorful art direction, wide areas, extremely nonlinear world progression outside of the legacy dungeons, and the return of powerstancing and twinblades (a weapon class previously exclusive to DSII), it's become common to joke that the game is specifically a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Dark Souls II'', especially as the latter was originally intended to be more open world.[[/labelnote]]

* "The only thing [[Creator/GeorgeRRMartin Martin]] added to the game was the [[VillainousIncest incest]]." [[labelnote:explanation]]While the game proudly advertised Creator/GeorgeRRMartin 's involvment in writing the story, many people have noticed that ''Elden Ring''[='=]s worldbuilding (of demigods driven mad by their power, of exploring the ruins of their conflict in a world prey to [[EldritchAbomination greater forces]], etc...) isn't that different from ''Fromsoftware''[='=]s [[VideoGame/DarkSouls previous]] [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} games]], leading to jokes that Martin's only contribution to it was Mohg's [[PaedoHunt attitude]] toward Miquella. (A definitely tongue-in-cheek accusation, as Martin has been confirmed to have created basically everything pre-Shattering and Miyazaki took it from there, meaning the actual story beats encountered in gameplay are obviously going to feel his storytelling influence).[[/labelnote]]

** "Ohhhhh, Rise now, ye Tarnished!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]A Mondegreen of the line "Arise now, ye Tarnished." It's a joke that the narrator is having an orgasm while he's saying his lines.[[/labelnote]]

** The Second Great Hollowing[[labelnote:Explanation]]After the ''Shadow of the Erdtree'' DLC was announced in February of 2023, fans were hoping for a trailer or release date announcement at pretty much every big gaming event since, with their last, desperate hope before the end of the year being the Game Awards 2023. When it came and went with no such trailer or announcement, fans realized that they were most likely in for a similarly long wait as the above before they would receive any new information about the DLC.[[/labelnote]]

** The Second Great Hollowing[[labelnote:Explanation]]After the ''Shadow of the Erdtree'' DLC was announced in February of 2023, fans were hoping for a trailer or release date announcement at pretty much every big gaming event since, with their last, desperate hope before the end of the year being the Game Awards 2023. When it came and went with no such trailer or announcement, fans realized that they were most likely in for a similarly long wait as the above before they would recieve any new information about the DLC.[[/labelnote]]

* "Find the Albinauric woman. She hides in a cave to the west of the Laskyar Ruins which jut from the mist-shrouded lake of Liurnia. She knows the location of the medallion's counterpart, I am sure."[[labelnote:Explanation]]An [[https://youtu.be/0oLfN55KU88 infamous line of dialogue]] from Gideon. Players frequently note the [[GuideDangIt difficulty of actually finding her]] despite Gideon’s directions, and the fact that he’ll ''still'' repeat the dialogue even after you’ve found her.[[/labelnote]]

** "[[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/341/506/ac2 Once again Tarnished, weird, but not a sin.]]" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Should you give Miriel magic tomes to learn spells, Miriel has no issue teaching you them, on the basis that learning is not heresy since it is merely the pursuit of knowledge. Due to Miriel being basically a pope in look, this lead to a resurgence in an older meme [[https://imageproxy.ifunny.co/crop:x-20,resize:640x,quality:90x75/images/a93fc426b21c04ee984324a9314d7604a792364064a38b3d41c152edb8a34e59_1.jpg like this]], with the text adjusted to being about the Tarnished, such as the Tarnished talking about marrying Ranni.[[/labelnote]]

* "The only thing [[Creator/GeorgeRRMartin Martin]] added to the game was the [[VillainousIncest incest]]." [[labelnote:explanation]]While the game proudly advertised Creator/GeorgeRRMartin 's involvment in writing the story, many people have noticed that ''Elden Ring''[='=]s worldbuilding (of demigods driven mad by their power, of exploring the ruins of their conflict in a world prey to [[EldritchAbomination greater forces]], etc...)isn't that different from ''Fromsoftware''[='=]s [[VideoGame/DarkSouls previous]] [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} games]], leading to jokes that Martin's only contribution to it was Mohg's [[PaedoHunt attitude]] toward Miquella. (A definitely tongue-in-cheek accusation, as Martin has been confirmed to have created basically everything pre-Shattering and Miyazaki took it from there, meaning the actual story beats encountered in gameplay are obviously going to feel his storytelling influence).[[/labelnote]]

* "The only thing [[Creator/GeorgeRRMartin Martin]] added to the game was the [[BrotherSisterIncest incest]]." [[labelnote:explanation]]While the game proudly advertised Creator/GeorgeRRMartin 's involvment in writing the story, many people have noticed that ''Elden Ring''[='=]s worldbuilding (of demigods driven mad by their power, of exploring the ruins of their conflict in a world prey to [[EldritchAbomination greater forces]], etc...)isn't that different from ''Fromsoftware''[='=]s [[VideoGame/DarkSouls previous]] [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} games]], leading to jokes that Martin's only contribution to it were Mohg's [[{{Squick}} attitude]] toward Miquella.[[/labelnote]]

* I am Melania/Milenia/Melanie, Blade of Michael.[[labelnote:Explanation]]For some reason, a good portion of the playerbase tends to misspell Malenia's name, despite the fact that it's constantly displayed on-screen just above her health bar. She also says her name every time she kills you during her first phase, and subtitles are enabled by default, so you'd think people would know how to spell it by now.[[/labelnote]]

** "''Miquella is'' '''''mine''''', ''and'' '''''[[{{Yandere}} mine alone]]'''''."[[labelnote:Explanation]]Uttered by Mohg, Lord of Blood, another {{Superboss}} found in the late game, who is also perhaps ''the'' most evil character in the story. His utterly unforgiving difficulty combined with his [[VillainousIncest genuinely]] [[StalkingIsLove depraved]] [[HumanSacrifice actions]] in the backstory have made him one of the most talked-about fights in the game, with his win quote encapsulating much of what makes him a memorable character.[[/labelnote]]

* Basilisk of the Rot, what is your wisdom? [[labelnote:Explanation]]A snowclone of the [[Manga/MagicalSempai "Senpai of the Pool"]] meme, depicting a player asking a basilisk partially submerged in the Lake of Rot for advice. Usually used specifically to explain obscure game mechanics.[[/labelnote]]

* "Zanzibart...forgive me..." [[labelnote:Explanation]]a [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/332/415/734.png tweet]] by Creator/GearboxSoftware writer Sam Winkler attacking the cryptic way Fromsoft games handle their lore ended up going viral after Elden Ring's release. It caught on especially well with [[Website/{{FourChan}} /v/]], where some anons felt (or said out of [[HypeBacklash contrarianism]], as is oft the case on /v/) that From's usual formula of delivering lore via ambiguous dialogue and item descriptions was wearing thin, which was only exacerbated by [[https://i.imgur.com/5yGuxtq.png some characters in the game]] (like Maliketh, D's Twin Brother, and Edgar) literally saying "X... forgive me..." verbatim. Pro-Fromsoft posters turned the attack on its head by playing along, pretending that Zanzibart and the Myrmidon of Loss are actual characters in the game and discussing the best strategies to defeat them or coming up with fake phases and backstories.[[/labelnote]]

* "Zanzibart...forgive me..." [[labelnote:Explanation]]a [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/332/415/734.png tweet]] by Creator/{{GearboxSoftware}} writer Sam Winkler attacking the cryptic way Fromsoft games handle their lore ended up going viral after Elden Ring's release. It caught on especially well with [[Website/{{FourChan}} /v/]], where some anons felt (or said out of [[HypeBacklash contrarianism]], as is oft the case on /v/) that From's usual formula of delivering lore via ambiguous dialogue and item descriptions was wearing thin, which was only exacerbated by [[https://i.imgur.com/5yGuxtq.png some characters in the game]] (like Maliketh, D's Twin Brother, and Edgar) literally saying "X... forgive me..." verbatim. Pro-Fromsoft posters turned the attack on its head by playing along, pretending that Zanzibart and the Myrmidon of Loss are actual characters in the game and discussing the best strategies to defeat them or coming up with fake phases and backstories.[[/labelnote]]

* "Zanzibart...forgive me..." [[labelnote:Explanation]]a [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/332/415/734.png tweet]] by Creator/{{GearboxSoftware}} writer Sam Winkler attacking the cryptic way Fromsoft games handle their lore ended up going viral after Elden Ring's release. It caught on especially well with [[Website/{{FourChan}} /v/]], where some anons felt that From's usual formula of delivering lore via ambiguous dialogue and item descriptions was wearing thin, which was only exacerbated by [[https://i.imgur.com/5yGuxtq.png some characters in the game]] (like Maliketh, D's Twin Brother, and Edgar) literally saying "X... forgive me..." verbatim. A variation on the meme is pretending that Zanzibart and the Myrmidon of Loss are actual characters in the game, and discussing the best strategies to defeat them or coming up with fake phases and backstories.[[/labelnote]]

* "Zanzibart...forgive me..." [[labelnote:Explanation]]a [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/332/415/734.png tweet]] by [[Creator/{{GearboxSoftware}} Gearbox Software]] writer Sam Winkler which gently poked fun at the cryptic way Fromsoft games handle their lore ended up going viral after Elden Ring's release. It caught on especially well with [[Website/{{FourChan}} /v/]], where some anons felt that From's usual formula of delivering lore via ambiguous dialogue and item descriptions was wearing thin, which was only exacerbated by [[https://i.imgur.com/5yGuxtq.png some characters in the game]] (like Maliketh, D's Twin Brother, and Edgar) literally saying "X...forgive me..." verbatim. A variation on the meme is pretending that Zanzibart and the Myrmidon of Loss are actual characters in the game, and discussing the best strategies to defeat them or coming up with fake backstories.[[/labelnote]]

* [X] build makes the game too easy! [Y] build:[[labelnote:Explanation]]A meme that started in the Elden Ring subreddit, initially mocking those who claim that using certain builds makes the game too easy, countering back with another build. It quickly gained traction as more and more unconventional and memey builds (i.e. small shields only, throwing knives only, pots only, spamming poison smoke only)were showcased with every new post, with all of them turning the Draconic Tree Sentinel at Leyndell into a ButtMonkey extraordinaire.[[/labelnote]]