Messmer/Tarnished

Pairing
Pairing:	Messmer/Tarnished
Alternative name(s):
Gender category:	Het; Slash
Fandom:	Elden Ring
Canonical?:	no
Prevalence:	popular
Archives:
Other:
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	Contents 1 Canon; 2 Fandom 2.1 Common Tropes; ; 3 Fanworks 3.1 Fanart; 3.2 Fanfiction; ; 4 Archives & Fannish Links; 5 References;

Messmer/Tarnished is the non-canon pairing of Messmer and the Tarnished from Elden Ring.

Canon

The Tarnished meets Messmer in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and needs to kill him in order to acquire his flame so they can progress the game. Their only moment of contact is during the fight that results in Messmer's death.

Fandom

The disparity between the tones with which Messmer was presented with during the initial trailer and how he sounded in reality, endeared him to fans, as he was initially perceived as forceful and driven, when in reality he is much more subdued and sorrowful. This lead to many fans considering him a Bad Boy Woobie.

With the appearance of Messmer, the number of self insert fanworks grew, with many of the Messmer/Tarnished pairings being Messmer/Reader or Messmer/Self insert.

Common Tropes

Big Guy, Little Guy: Messmer is gigantic when compared to the Tarnished.
Body Horror: Messmer is cursed, with his body housing the Base Serpent. Two smaller, friendly winged snakes also immerge from his body in its natural state. It's common for fanworks to feature health or mental issues he suffers due to this, usually depicted in a grotesque manner.
Canon Rewrite: Due to the fact that the Tarnished kills Messmer in canon, most fanarts depict their relationship past (or pre) the fight, usually in some sort of domestic setting.
Disability fic: Most fanworks depict Messmer with several disabilities, which are interpreted from his canon look and actions. These include: blindness (he, like Ranni and Melina, has one eye closed, but his other eye is a prostetic which he breaks during the fight. His snakes are many times used as his eyes in fandom), Scoliosis (due to the way his body is shaped by the serpents and how he leans on his spear).
Domestic fic: The Tarnished and Messmer usually become Lord and Demi-god (a couple) and live the rest of their lives in Messmer's keep.
Love-Hate Relationship: considering the canon path of the interaction with Messmer, many fanworks feature at least an initial period of a love-hate relationship.

Fanworks

Fanart

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fanfiction