One Of The Most Iconic Characters In Elden Ring Is Malenia, Blade Of Miquella. A Character Who Was Almost

One of the most iconic characters in Elden Ring is Malenia, Blade of Miquella. A character who was almost always present in the marketing leading up to the game's release, even if, funnily enough, she is an optional boss that can only be reached by entering a completely optional area of the game and only by the time you reach what could be considered the endgame areas.

She is an example of a character design for a woman who is supposed to be a powerful warrior who reaches a really good balance of feeling elegant, powerful and also feminine.

the interesting thing, tho, is how those traits are carried over to her second phase, when she goes completely naked except for her prosthesis and grows massive wings made of butterflies.

It doesn't feel sexual, it doesnt feel fanservice-y. It doesnt feel like the framing wants you to find her sexy.

But also, despite the clear signs of rot in her body, signals of the Scarlet Rot that she is cursed with, it also doesn't feel like it wants you to be repulsed by it. The Scarlet Valkyrie, in this image, looks almost like a reinaissence painting. Of Aphrodite's birth, or Michelangelo's "the creation of adam" or even his David.

In other words, she is beautiful. but not in the sexy way, not in the "pretty girl" way. But in the way the human form is beautiful. It is an example of how nudity isn't inherently a sexual thing, not something to desire or be repulsed by. And that finding it beautiful is not the same as finding it sexy. It can just be.