"You fool, don't you understand? No one wishes to go on."

I know this video is weird. But I hope some of you got what I was going for.

"Never mind, I want to suffer too," muttered Alyosha. That cut me right to the heart.

27:34 "Those tears are unatoned for. They must be atoned for." A beautiful line that exemplifies the feeling of righteous fury for those who have suffered

100 percent intellectually understood the flame of frenzy, now I have FELT it. Truly exceptional take on this lore, I know it was a risk but I greatly enjoyed that dip into despair to really grasp the philosophy at my core. Bravo.

This is such a unique way to present the lore of the frenzied flame Honestly, this did A LOT in helping me to understand the philosophy behind it all. I knew the what the text was saying, but i never understood how you could come to those conclusions. This video helped me understand how someone could see life as a mistake.

What a fantastic name for a lore channel! For those of you who don’t know Ratatoskr carries information to and from the gods up and down Yggdrasil (the world tree that holds up all the worlds in Norse lore)

The simple "Never mind, I want to suffer too" from Alyosha hits me deeply, Ivan hadn't explained his point and yet he was beginning to understand, and once you begin to understand you don't wanna stop

This video is basically elaborated bait to expose unsuspecting viewers to Dostoyevsky's thoughts. And it's simply genius. I commend you for this format.

Interesting how in DS it is the flame that leads to disparity and distinction while in ER the frenzied flame leads grey ashen heap without distinction or difference.

I think this passage perfectly expresses the concept of the frenzied flame madness, but not just in it's tone. The very fact that Ivan speaks at such length exudes that compulsion behind madness, that NEED to communicate his madness and, in a way, infect his brother with the very same seeds. In Elden Ring, this madness is very physically represented by the flame from the eyes but it is painful to the individual to release it. The very act of speaking of madness can sometimes make it more painful.

"They were given paradise, they wanted freedom, and they stole fire from heaven, though they knew that they would become unhappy, so there is no need to pity them." That is a great line, like a pompous angel trying to justify to themselves what their god had created, and how it had gone wrong

My favorite part of the Flame of Frenzy is that it had been summoned by all the Merchants. Yes, all of the merchants that you find throughout the game. They were a Great Caravan. However, they were accused of heresy and buried alive under the sewers of Leyndell. They chanted a curse of depair and summon the Flame of Frenzy. You can find all of this information in the Nomadic Merchant's Set. You can also infer this by the fact that the merchants use Frenzied Flame incantations when you attack them and they play the same music as the zombies before the Three Finger's door.

I'm really glad there's someone doing a more analytical take on the lore. I love the literal analyses and the collection and speculation of story people like Vaati offer, but I'm very happy that now, someone is looking behind the curtain.

I feel like a lot of people focus too much on the lore itself and not on the themes of Fromsoft games, so your videos are such a breath of fresh air.

The Brothers Karamazov is possibly my favorite novel of all time, and I'd frankly pay to hear you narrate the entire book.

Melina (Flame of Ruin): "The flames may give us scars, but life is still worth the sacrifice." Shabriri (Flame of Frenzy): "No one deserves to suffer. Therefore, everyone must die."

This is a great take on the Flame of Frenzy, its not about its ingame lore reasons, its the conception and idea behind it, and i think this is the best take you could have made to have it understandable for everyone who listens.

Of course it’s Dostoevsky. He’s a legend, I’m glad to listen to your reading. I wonder what other works of his could tie into Elden Ring and other Soulsborn games.

I loved this, I still haven’t dived deep into the lore of the frenzied flame, but from what little I’ve seen, and with this, I understand. Life should end not because of hatred towards the living, not because life is not worth living, but because life means senseless suffering, and nothing is worth paying that price, so let it all burn. It’s a very interesting philosophy to study, even when disagreeing with it. It’s easy to see why the brother let the other talk, same reason why we watch this video.

When considering the Brothers Karamozov it is important to remember that Dostoyevsky was a believer/had faith, but he doesn't strawman the opposing view. It is just something to keep in mind.

Loved the reading. This little experiment was successful in my case at least. Only thing I'd say is that I think I would have enjoyed a bit more discussion at the end. Not because you didn't make your point, more so because I was enjoying the ride so much.

that story was a wonderful way to get people in the right headspace. It shares some truths that I have shared with people. Personally the frenzied flame hits a little close to home for me in its desires. to explain this: When one is condemned for the sin of existence, shamed for what they never asked for, and refused compassion in their darkest hour, they will learn hate. If they are to find one that accepts them however, that shows them love. They will learn zealous loyalty. now if that person is ripped away from them in the most heinous of ways, by those who have hurt them all their life. There is only madness, and the desire to burn it all down.

From what I gather, the Frenzied Flame is neither good nor evil... it's something different. It's melancholy, anguish, and despair incarnate. Of all the places it manifests at, it manifests where folk have suffered the most, like the merchants who've been persecuted and genocided because of the plague that cursed their people, or the Erdtree soldiers displaced all over Mount Gelmir who faced great losses during Morgott's crusade against Volcano Manor, or the graceless Tarnished who are constantly treated with vitriol and prejudice just because of the greater forces that be, which they have no control over. Even the Three Fingers, what we're led to believe are the source of the Frenzied Flame, appear to be in pain, despair, and suffering, and when they transfer the flame over to us... they crumble to dust and ashes, dead, gone... free from the torment they felt. When you think about it, it's less like some evil being branding us with its curse, and more like some desperate creature trying to free itself of some horrible agony that befell upon it... which leads me to wonder why the Three Fingers were down there in the first place. Why are they considered the symbol of chaos if they too wish to be freed of it?

I love that you read Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov has a soft spot in my heart. I would like to note that the scene about the horse being whipped on the eyes and beaten to death also appears in another Dostoevsky novel, "Crime and Punishment" and it's something the author watched as a boy. I can only imagine how this young boy must have felt watching this defenseless animal needlessly suffering and how that impacted him as a man.

You've started down this path -- I beg that you continue so that many more can understand the dark truths that lie within the soulsbourne series. These games, and many others, hold the key to encouraging the philosophically uninterested to glimpse beyond the curtain. Even if only for a moment. Thank you

It’s kind of crazy how often video games build an entirely new world, but then ask the exact same questions in our world. I remember playing Witcher 3 and thinking about the interpretation of the bloody Baron and his family, for example. A Christian might feel sympathy for the Baron, being cuckolded while away at war and providing for his family. Not to mention his wife’s abortion and her apparent success in turning his daughter against him despite her own flaws. A secular person, OTOH, will more likely see the Baron as a monster and hate him. Seeing the complete disarray that is the world of Elden Ring, it can be totally understandable that one would even prefer the nihilistic route that the frenzied flame represents. After all, you look at the cities and towns in the Lands Between (like Leyndell, and the smaller towns like the Windmill village, Sellia, Village of the Albinaurics, etc) and see them completely depopulated and destroyed beyond a few enemies mindlessly programmed to attack you. What’s even here to preserve? Liurnia is flooded, and Caelid is engulfed in scarlet rot and surrounded by walls of fire to keep it out of Limgrave. Even the eternal cities are ruined.

My God. Absolutely wonderful. That excerpt captivated me, and I felt the anger and indignation. The reasoning was solid, and the emotional appeal was gripping. I understood what the Flame of Frenzy was, but I didn't understand adhering to it. I now do. Fantastic video, though I would've liked more discussion at the end.

I enjoyed the format, but I'd have liked a bit more of a tie-in back to Elden ring at the end. The point got across well, but maybe a reference to some of the suffering in Elden ring itself (e.g. the unjust entombment of tbe nomads that 'ignited the flame' in the lands between) to further synthesise the topic would have been great. That final point would've packed so much more of a whallop if it would be backdropped by that mournsome violin echoing through the mass grave. You got us in the right headspace but I feel like too little was done with it. This is a criticism born from enjoyment, mind you, it's just that you got me going and then gave me a proper blue-balling when it came to the climactic conclusion is all. Looking forward to further experiments.

This reminds me so much of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. It's a story about humans using supercomputers and machines to fight their wars for them. Except the supercomputers merge and become self aware. The machine calls itself AM and has a existential crisis. It realizes that even though it is godlike and can control every computer in the world It will still never be anything other than a machine. It can never experience touch or ever "live". AM sees this as an inexcusable flaw in it's design and cannot bear an imperfect existence. It causes him unimaginable suffering and he becomes self hating. The Agony of it drives AM to blame his human creators and hate humanity for creating AM. So he wipes out all life except for 5 humans so he can spend eternity making the world their own personal hell. AM hates his own existence so much that he assumes his creators are evil simply for building him.

This was… intense and amazing. Your voice over was done with such intensity and meaning it was wonderful. I love how little you chose to talk on the frenzy flame itself, but instead let us sit with the feeling of what it MEANS. Thank you. This was incredible.

This is the third time that I have watched this video, you laid out your points so eloquently. I think that you really portrayed what the frenzied flame is all about. Even though I strongly disagree with the nihilistic worldview held by the frenzied flame worshipers, this is still a very well made video & I could not have done it better myself if I tried.

The Frenzied Flame ideology is very similar to that of Instrumentality in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The idea that the world should return to where it all began. Everyone and everything all melting into one primordial soup, one collective where there are no boundaries, no suffering and no life. All would be one and as such no one would ever be alone, no one would ever suffer again. This was a breath of fresh air from all the videos the cover the lore in its literal sense. It was nice watching something that tackles the philoshical ideas and themes that go beyond the standard plot.

The Flame of Frenzy represents a type of nihilism born from despair and that despair no longer being contained as it consumes everything in its miserable howling , rejecting life itself. The dark side of the color yellow is often associated with madness, the book the King in Yellow being a prime example of this. I've felt this nihilistic despair and struggle with it still from time to time but the counter to this belief is to hold life and its potential for something better to a greater value than the suffering that exists and that's really difficult but when you finally break from that cycle you have a clarity of just how beautiful this world truly is and gain a greater appreciation for it. It truly is madness, it locks you in a mental cycle that narrows your thinking from all potential and possibilities so you only see destruction as the only possible answer. Funny enough the Castlevania anime posits a similar quandary and has a character counter by saying " Say you get what you want and kill all the people in the world. You end human cruelty yes but you end human kindness too. No more jokes, no more surprises." But then he goes on to ask the other character with this mindset why not teach others to try and make that suffering a little less by your own hands(paraphrasing but that's the gist of it). It frames the mindset of yellow nihilism as one of extreme deprivation but asks the person locked in it to use that unique perspective to help make less suffering in the world and in turn less suffering for themselves. This way you are channelling that pain, the agony of those that have suffered and continues to suffer in to something positive, to increase life's potential for something better and in a way avenge that suffering. This was long but this video really got me thinking.

This video alone is what inspired me to read The Brothers Karamazov. As such, having entered the profundity of Dostoyevsky’s thoughts, I’m grateful to you for creating it. Truly, there can be no suffering, no despair in the absence of life entirely. An ode to the utter blissfulness of nothingness at all.

Subscribed. As an avid audiobook and philosophy fan, and Elden Ring player, this was pure gold. Ivan a benevolent nihilist, and thus is the frenzied flame.

Man...this was a hard hitting video. Showing the mindset one has to walk through to get to a place that all life must be avenged for the wrongdoing and suffering that was caused. Kinda makes sense why the starting of the actual frenzied flame quest starts with Edgar as he sought the very revenge of his daughter and continue on in a maddened bloodlust to murder others as well.

Watching this now my man. Incredible illuminating take. Thank you for this awesome take!

I was listening to this in my car. I had to pull over and turn my car off just to make sure I heard everything, and i just sat there on the side of the road until the video was over. Amazing video

This is perfect, and I admit I find sympathy for Ivan's point of view, and the flame of frenzy. It is destructive, but a righteous destruction.

You got me with this one. I closed my eyes as you read the passage and felt that flame of anger and injustice burning inside me, almost wishing for the end of all the childrens suffering by any means. I get it. I think I felt the flame of frenzy through that passage. Wonderful work. Also made me realize I should probably try out audiobooks because my ADHD brain could never follow russian literature but I followed this wonderfully. Thank you.

I've been skeptical as ive heard you talk about this in other videos, but that was really cool. It did really convey the feeling you were trying to explain.. I guess why try to explain it yourself when you can quote something like that? well done dude

Wow. I came for elden ring, I left with enlightenment. This took quite the turn into realism and just wow. I love this, and it makes the frenzied flame all the more recognizable.

I say this experiment really payed off for me. As a generally optimistic person I generally understood the premise of the Frenzied Flame, but this really adds depth and clarity as to why someone would seek this path in the context of the game.

This vid was fantastic. While I haven't read The Brothers Karamazov, I have read some other Dostoevsky literature, and I love the exploration of the human condition within said books. It would also be cool of you to discuss the other endings of the game as well.

I really love how you did this, and not only does it perfectly illustrate the Frenzied Flame, but it actively entwines the artistry of Elden Ring with the artistry of respected literature. Much talk is made of video games as art, which they are, but not enough is made of their analysis and synthesis as pieces of art. By analyzing the Frenzied Flame not in terms of lore and raw game facts, but rather in terms of its place in the thematic, artistic, and literary canon, you are doing a great service that not enough people do for games. It's important, and noble even, to do with Elden Ring what is so often done with non-game art, and use comparative analysis to get further at it.

Man, hearing finding out that there was a way to end the suffering of not just everyone, but every*thing* in the lands between made me finally feel like there was an ending I WANTED to reach in a Souls Game. Say what you will, but to me, this is the good ending.

The philosophy of the frenzy flame is surprisingly… understandable and I don’t know how to feel about that. I would also like to say that the reading did pull me in and… enlighten me.

"The Problem is Life" pretty much sums up the flame of frenzy.

The last place I thought I’d stumble on Dostoevsky but hey, let’s go.

I've never read The Brothers Karamazov. That whole excerpt hit me like a truckload of bricks. Lots to think about.

Honestly, such a good fucking video.

The pinned comment represents what happens to a generation of minds steeped in "cinematic" "universe" analysis. Like you said in your dark souls 3 videos, it's a failure to engage with the metaphorical. Folding Ideas has a great video about this in regards to the movie Annihilation. Just because the Frenzied Flame is an outer god in the context of the literal events of the game doesn't negate its role as a literary metaphor. Really getting tired of "cinemasins" level "criticism" hijacking the conversations we have about art. edit: great video.

There needs to be more literary tie ins in these lore videos, it emphasizes how great the writing in the game is beyond being intentionally ambiguous.

I’ve rewatched this video like once a month ever since I got the frenzied flame ending. I like to imagine that the conversation between Ivan and Alyosha as the conversation between the tarnished and Melina at the grace right before the three fingers when Melina tries to convince the tarnished to turn back.

This is such an incredible analysis of the frenzied flame and the philosophy behind it

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" I hadn't read this short story previous to watching this video. But as you were reading those 17 pages, I remembered a conversation I had with an old friend from high school on this story he was reading in english class. He had told me that in this story, there is a city called Omelas. It is a perfect city where everybody is happy and no one suffers. No one except one singular child. This child is locked away from all people and suffers miserably everyday so that the rest of the city may live in happiness. Now most people when they find this out are, for good reason, disgusted. But they choose to go on living their life in Omelas not in blissful ignorance but in acceptance of the truth. However, there are those who are not content with this small sin upon their city. These are the ones who walk away in search of an even better world, or at the very least, reject this one. The reason I was reminded of this is because of Ivan. Omelas is proof (in this fiction) that even the most perfect of worlds always has suffering. And to me, if I understood the point of the passage correctly (it really may have just flown right over my head), Ivan would've walked away from Omelas. For it is a lie. And I think that is the message of the Frenzied Flame. That you can either blissfully ignore the suffering, embrace it, or upend the whole of it and seek to destroy it. Awesome video regardless. I would love someone to correct me on my points though if I really just missed the ball on this take.

So the flame of frenzy is like the Human Instrumentality Project in Neon Genisis Evangelion. It's trying to destroy all barriers and make everything one again. It happens when Shinji gives up on humanity and wants it all to die. No more individuality, no more pain, no more conflict. I wouldn't be surprised seeing Marika is similar to Lilith being a god like being with having a red spear in her side and being crucified.

I watched your video for the second time, and it brought me to tears once again. I read The Brothers Karamazov a few years ago, delightfully difficult experience to read through, I did not expect such a bittersweet surprise. This is one outstanding video essay. My best regards.

I have been stuck with this line of thought since I got ptsd at 11 and to see how many poor spuls feel the same way make me want to burn it all even more.

This hit way harder than I expected it to, this was really well done

I never would have dreamed a video game could have such depth when I started playing on my little NES 36 years ago. Wow. Well done, Ratatoskr.

"Beasts can't be as cruel as men." Orca laughs as it kills a baby dolphin just for fun by throwing it up into the air over and over.

I have a friend who did the frenzied ending first and it still baffled me. She was like “how was I supposed to know feeding her grapes was bad?”

The way true fans like you can create such a vivid description of what I would just see as a faction or ending is amazing.

This story kind of reminds me of dung eaters questline, torturing people beyond the point of death and infecting their corpses to a point their soul is cursed forcing them to be reincarnated as an omen, forcing all men for the rest of time to atone for the torture of the omen in the sewers of the capital.

Kinda reminds me of The Cabin in the Woods (ENDING SPOILERS FOR THAT MOVIE) When the two survivors decide to not complete the ritual and let the old gods destroy the world and start over. They basically decide “if you gotta keep sacrificing people to prevent the end of the world, then it’s better to just let it end.”

Wow, this lore video was just genius. I play the game since launch, but I just found your video with your fantastic explanation, about the flame of frenzy. After you read those 17 pages, you are truly in a new understanding what the flame of frenzy really is and what goal it follows. I gave applause after the video. You truly get a new dimension of understanding the frenzy.

It's a very interesting take, this desire to return to entropy. I also think the parallel between the in game comment about births still happening and life still having beauty and meaning despite the suffering is also implied as the illusion of hope. The ones consumed by the Frenzied Flame harbor no hope, because they see all of suffering all at once, and yearn for its end. There is a TedEx talk from 2013 by Andrew Solomon in which he states: "You don't think in depression that you've put on a gray veil and are seeing the world through the haze of a bad mood. You think that the veil has been taken away, the veil of happiness, and that now you're seeing truly." In many works of art, most famously in pop culture the work of Lovecraft, which clearly influenced a lot of what souls games are today, knowing the truth about the world and the universe, connecting too much of the information together, leads to madness and despair. And now, drawing a line through all the statements above, I think it's interesting and perhaps worrying, that today, when we as a species have access to so much information, and we see all the atrocities and the suffering and the meaninglessness of so much of our existence and our struggles, and the absurdity of life itself, that antinatalism has begun to gather momentum as a philosophy and as a way of life. People may not have the will or the programming to end their own lives, but more and more, people are simply refusing to bring more life into the world. Because the world, more and more, is beyond redemption.

I was literally just at the part of your podcast episode where you were talking about this video lol. Can't wait to watch it.

As an Attack on Titan fan, I cant help but feel Ymir's story was directly inspired by this passage from the Brothers Karamazov

Watching and listening to this video gave me what I think is a good conclusion about the flame of frenzy. So the flame of frenzy started with the three fingers right? I'm beginning to imagine that the three fingers and the flame of frenzy have this philosophy of life being an issue because the three fingers themselves were born flawed. The Three Fingers wasn't born into a life of luxury like the two fingers were, since they're basically Jehovah's witnesses for the greater will, because it was born with this maddening flame that scorches it which I imagine is incredibly painful for a being like that, the way it writhes and wriggles in it's cutscene kinda gives off the impression that it's still in a lot of pain. The Three Fingers for this reason is against everything that has to do with life in the lands between, because it was born in a way that only allowed it to suffer because what's the point of enjoying life if you were born to suffer, regardless if it were anyone's fault?

I come back to watch this video from time to time. It's so well done and this excerpt of the Brothers Karamazov is simultaneously fascinating and bleak. It blows my mind that you don't have a million subscribers. With content like this you deserve it.

My heart has grown so tired of the world. It does not seek growth, it's stagnant. We sit adrift in a sea of wonder and stars. Yet we fight for sandcastles ruled by aged children. We create problems where there are none to explain why we can't go out into the vastness. We are cowards hiding in our vices, perhaps it's best we dissappear. And yet I cannot extinguish that faint glow of hope. It flickers still, and so I march on. Hoping it may once again ignite within me.

Im sure this has already been said, but this was SO well done. Perfect narration, you did so well relating the stories to the lore that at the end it had me beyond captivated. I had to hold back tears at the end, I shit you not. Many thanks for the video.

Great content! Thank you so much for introducing me to this literature! The parallels between the words Ivan was saying to his brother and of the anguish the followers of the frenzied flame feel are on point.

Absolutely loved this and would love just a deep dive on the other endings and their ideologies. But if this is the only deep dive into the gods = ideologies, it would have been worth it. Great video!

This has been fantastic! Thank you for this new style of storytelling. I think this has been essential in order to make people understand the frenzy flame

“It’s not God that I don’t accept, only I most respectfully return Him the ticket.” Hearing you read that last part, gave me cold chills.

Wow, I never would've thought I will find a video relating the work of my favorite writer to one of the endings of my favorite game. You should check out "The beggar boy at Christ's Christmal Tree" if you want to use Miquella's needle on your newly discovered frenzied flame. It's a short but bittersweet story. Mostly bitter but the sweet part is still very rare for Dostoyevsky. I guess I would like use this opportunity to say a little bit about Dostoyevsky in general: His way of writing about madness is absolutely immaculate. Dostoyevsky suffered immensely through his life. His own execution was stopped at the very last moment and instead he was sentenced to 8 years of hard labour in Siberia (although the order from the emperor came much earlier and the whole execution was basically staged. Yeah, russians have a wicked sense of humor). It is said that one of the rebels sentenced to execution actually went insane during this performance. There are a couple of recurring ideas in Dostoevsky's novels such as: pettiness of soul (which can be seen in many characters across all of his works) , in this particular case - in Fedor Karamazov, existential boredom and indolence like in Nikolai Stavrogin and, of course, madness. Themes of madness appear in Crime and Punishment, Gambler, Idiot, Brothers Karamazov but no other work could capture it better than "The Possessed". In this book the whole town gets consumed by madness and if you want to feel like the one who is fully consumed by the frenzied flame look no further than at the character of Petr Verhovensky. Here are some pieces from what is possibly the best frenzied monologue in history (at least in my opinion). This is only a part of the monologue with some parts cut and the book covers a plethora of ideas apart from the ones I mentioned earlier. But the site portrayed by Dostoevsky of characters consumed by chaos and wickedness is both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time. Anyway, I hope I managed to pick your interest with my half-assed attempt of elaborate speaking in the foreign language. I truly believe that Dostoyevsky's novel's are some of the best pieces of art humanity has ever created and my love for his works has no end. There is enough food for thought in his works for days and months and every time I come back to them over the years, I find something new. I'll leave you in the hands of professionals now “Stop! Not another step!” he cried, seizing him by the arm. Stavrogin tried to pull away his arm, but did not succeed. He was overcome with fury. Seizing Verhovensky by the hair with his left hand he flung him with all his might on the ground and went out at the gate. But he had not gone thirty paces before Verhovensky overtook him again. “Let us make it up; let us make it up!” he murmured in a spasmodic whisper. Stavrogin shrugged his shoulders, but neither answered nor turned round. “Listen. I will bring you Lizaveta Nikolaevna to-morrow; shall I? No? Why don’t you answer? Tell me what you want. I’ll do it. Listen. I’ll let you have Shatov. Shall I?” Skipped to avoid spoilers “What do you want with Shatov? What is he to you?” Pyotr Stepanovitch went on, gasping, speaking rapidly. He was in a frenzy, and kept running forward and seizing Stavrogin by the elbow, probably unaware of what he was doing. “Listen. I’ll let you have him. Let’s make it up. Your price is a very great one, but … Let’s make it up!” Stavrogin glanced at him at last, and was amazed. The eyes, the voice, were not the same as always, or as they had been in the room just now. What he saw was almost another face. The intonation of the voice was different. Verhovensky besought, implored. He was a man from whom what was most precious was being taken or had been taken, and who was still stunned by the shock. “But what’s the matter with you?” cried Stavrogin. The other did not answer, but ran after him and gazed at him with the same imploring but yet inflexible expression. “Let’s make it up!” he whispered once more. “Listen. Like Fedka, I have a knife in my boot, but I’ll make it up with you!” “But what do you want with me, damn you?” Stavrogin cried, with intense anger and amazement. “Is there some mystery about it? Am I a sort of talisman for you?” “Listen. We are going to make a revolution,” the other muttered rapidly, and almost in delirium. “You don’t believe we shall make a revolution? We are going to make such an upheaval that everything will be uprooted from its foundation. Karmazinov is right that there is nothing to lay hold of. Karmazinov is very intelligent. Another ten such groups in different parts of Russia-and I am safe.” ... “Take Shigalov, and let me alone.…” “Shigalov is a man of genius! Do you know he is a genius like Fourier, but bolder than Fourier; stronger. I’ll look after him. He’s discovered ‘equality’!” “He is in a fever; he is raving; something very queer has happened to him,” thought Stavrogin, looking at him once more. Both walked on without stopping. “He’s written a good thing in that manuscript,” Verhovensky went on. “He suggests a system of spying. Every member of the society spies on the others, and it’s his duty to inform against them. Every one belongs to all and all to every one. All are slaves and equal in their slavery. In extreme cases he advocates slander and murder, but the great thing about it is equality. To begin with, the level of education, science, and talents is lowered. A high level of education and science is only possible for great intellects, and they are not wanted. The great intellects have always seized the power and been despots. Great intellects cannot help being despots and they’ve always done more harm than good. They will be banished or put to death. Cicero will have his tongue cut out, Copernicus will have his eyes put out, Shakespeare will be stoned-that’s Shigalovism. Slaves are bound to be equal. There has never been either freedom or equality without despotism, but in the herd there is bound to be equality, and that’s Shigalovism! Ha ha ha! Do you think it strange? I am for Shigalovism.” Stavrogin tried to quicken his pace, and to reach home as soon as possible. “If this fellow is drunk, where did he manage to get drunk?” crossed his mind. “Can it be the brandy?” “Listen, Stavrogin. To level the mountains is a fine idea, not an absurd one. I am for Shigalov. Down with culture. We’ve had enough science! Without science we have material enough to go on for a thousand years, but one must have discipline. The one thing wanting in the world is discipline. The thirst for culture is an aristocratic thirst. The moment you have family ties or love you get the desire for property. We will destroy that desire; we’ll make use of drunkenness, slander, spying; we’ll make use of incredible corruption; we’ll stifle every genius in its infancy. We’ll reduce all to a common denominator! Complete equality! ‘We’ve learned a trade, and we are honest men; we need nothing more,’ that was an answer given by English working-men recently. Only the necessary is necessary, that’s the motto of the whole world henceforward. But it needs a shock. That’s for us, the directors, to look after. Slaves must have directors. Absolute submission, absolute loss of individuality, but once in thirty years Shigalov would let them have a shock and they would all suddenly begin eating one another up, to a certain point, simply as a precaution against boredom. Boredom is an aristocratic sensation. The Shigalovians will have no desires. Desire and suffering are our lot, but Shigalovism is for the slaves.” ...

I'd be surprised if many people took the time to listen to and understand that full passage. I also thought it was certainly more subtle/tasteful than it could have been. There are many much worse accounts out there to describe the suffering of children. Very nicely done.

I took the Frenzied Flame ending before I even knew fully what it meant for the world. I never even met Shabriri, at the ruins. I had already committed to the path because I had played the previous soulsborne games and knew what it meant before I had even understood it. I could see that it was an unmaking of "the natural order", the natural order of a dying world where corpses walked and people were grafted and made to live with disease and horror unending. you get no such complete sundering of the cycle in the prior games, but in this one there was that finality, that frenzying drive for oblivion through the ameliorating conflagration. I think I may have understood it so well because I struggle with my own mental illness, that at times drives me to take up suicidal ideation as easily as I can argue against it. I will never be "cured", but I will continue to live because neither option, oblivion or strife, is a better option than the other. In the real world things are too complex to be decided on with finality in such a way. But in Elden Ring, things are much simpler.

The video was exceptional, but i had to come back and say I absolutely loved the idea of the book excerpt and it was very well executed. I’ve now ordered the book. Thanks!

"Children are suffering, so let's burn them all, I guess." - The problem with using this passage in support of the Flame is that it speaks about the children, even presumes to speak for them, but it does not let them speak. Why did the boy still try to run from the dogs instead of just calmly accepting his fate and trying to get himself killed quickly? Would the girl in her dark, cold chamber really choose death over life? Children do not think that way. Even in the most horrible of circumstances, you will find that children show a will to live. What right do we have to make that decision for them?

My dad raised us as jehovah's witnesses and it's taken me so many years to understand all the wrong that cult did to us. He would hit us quoting bible verses, it felt like we were walking on eggshells, he was one way in front of all his "brothers and sisters" and another way with his own family, but this was all okay because the cult permits it. I use to get mad at my nephews and nieces and would yell at them a lot, my whole family to be honest has that problem even now. I'm shaking right now at what this video means, we all have that devil inside us that wants to burn everything down in retaliation for what was done to us all. Even so, I want to hold on to what Melina said "However ruined this world has become, however mired in torment and despair, life endures. Births continue. There is beauty in that, is there not?" There really has to be more to this life than despair and uncertainty. There is beauty in it, even if I'm scared in participating in it, I still want to try.

I now feel like an intellectual, thanks, mate.

Wow.. at first I was not sure where it was going but it’s like you said. This conversation and experiment really makes one look through the lens of one who has chosen the path of the frenzy. @Ratatoskr, you really are something. It must have taken a lot of effort to research and present something so heart wrenching. I hope you found your moment of peace to bounce out of the well that is created when researching this.

I really appreciate this experiment. I only made it through two pages, before I stopped. I have limited time at night to watch KZfaq, and I don't think I'm in the head space to really focus and contemplate on the implications their conversation. I think I will come back to this when I have more time and more headspace. Thanks for doing something different, I'd like to give it it's fair shake, instead of falling asleep 3 pages in bc I'm not in the right space to hear it out.

Mission accomplished. At the end of the vid I didn’t just feel the flame of frenzy, I believed in it. Also many thanks for exposing me to the brothers Karamazov. Sounds like a great read

Amazing breakdown. Honestly one of the best “lore” videos I’ve ever seen. So glad I went with the frenzy ending. Even more I so I embraced the fingers AFTER Melina burned the tree.

Rewatched this masterpiece once again. Thank you for a content of this quality.

Love it. Yet another example of Dostoevsky steel-manning an opposing argument so well that it becomes incredibly difficult to dispute. I really like how you’re bringing real world philosophy into this! However, only partly because Melina is Elden Ring’s waifu, I’ll have to take her side on this one. Thanks for the great content!

My initial reaction was to criticise you for being too specific when interpreting the frenzied flame. However, after some reflection you should be commended for the 'out-the-box' interpretation. I personally, feel the game has 3 interwoven artistic visions...Miyasaki, GRRM and Miura. Miyasaki (From) philosophy is painted across the world. Their usual themes of cycles, birth and rebirth, dark and light. These yin and yang forces are evident in the game play. This is paintbrushed across the world as nature (demigods) are still locked in this cold war. GRRM vision is imbedded in the architecture of the world, the castles, the furnishings, the halls and ornaments. You see these mirrors of kingdoms and fiefdoms. Where you witness aspects of these noble houses and their grandeur but then more insidious secrets. The toll these noble houses take is underwritten by pain, sacrifice and suffering on the land and inhabitants. Finally, Miura looms large over this world. I don't think From intended the game to reflect Muira's Berserk but it feels like that DNA has somehow seeped into this game. Somehow causality and regression transcends time and space. Thank you. Sorry to leave a random comment like this.

Forgot this was an Elden ring video for a smooth 15-20 min

The end of the video actually gave me chills... The quoted story really gives you a perspective I didn't understand before

This was a very thought provoking video. I hope others get what your going for with this. It did get really morbid at times though, kids suffering really gets to me even if its just hypothetical.

Please Ratatoskr, your presentation of every bit of lore in these games makes me not feel alone, that beyond the waves and waves of text lies something enriching beyond the monolithic world. Something intangible that only you have been able to express in all of the community. I swear to God please tell us more, not of what is but what you infer after exploring this vast world of Elden Ring. I love it. Thanks for this video

they fooled us all by making it the "bad" ending

I always thought of the frenzy flame ending to be reverting to before the "big bang" or Aion, or the Japanese creation myth that literally states, "Before the heavens and earth, all was chaos, limitless, without shape or form". I love mythology so I think it's really cool when games create their own mythologies in their world building like Elden ring and FF; it's peek creativity in my opinion. The concept of people worshiping the destruction of all concepts is so interesting; so while it's considered the bad ending, it's probably my favorite.

Hey dude, love this video. I imagine it flew over a lot of peoples heads, but it really struck a nerve for me. Well done. Keep it up 🙂