#grandam

[recusantchicky]

tie me to a missile and fire it at leyndell. i am ready.

[largemandrill]

I made another one

[blasphemousclaw]

ok I keep seeing takes that shadow of the erdtree fumbled the hornsent because they made them too unlikeable and unsympathetic and enabled all those “total hornsent death” weirdos but I wholeheartedly believe that the writers have been portraying the hornsent sympathetically from the very beginning. like just because the story spends time on the darker aspects of hornsent society doesn’t mean that it’s arguing that Marika and Messmer were in the right? in fact I think it’s pretty obviously arguing the opposite? 

some of the first sights you’ll see in the Shadow Lands are the scorched ruins, which are surrounded by hornsent grave markers — wooden stakes each with a horn affixed to it, horns being seen as sacred objects in hornsent society. the victims’ shades (by the look of them, ordinary people; farmers, merchants, and laborers) can be found wandering around the Shadow Lands and are often non-hostile; they can be found kneeling, weeping, stacking small stones, or clasping their hands in silent prayer.

there’s a courtyard in Belurat completely filled with hornsent graves, and it’s also the place where Queelign invades you… the sheer number of graves here is horribly sad, and the fact that Queelign attacks here even after all those people were killed honestly makes him seem like an absolute monster

just look at this menace. knocking over the graves of the people he murdered. shame on you Queelign

further into Belurat there’s a very small, missable room where you can pick up the Dried Bouquet talisman: 

“A quaint bouquet of dried flowers, offered to a small grave. Raises attack power when a spirit you have summoned dies. The sorrow that flows from the untimely demise of a loved one is a tenderness shared by all, regardless of birthplace.” 

this description is pretty directly saying like, “hey, these people are human beings just like you who grieved the loved ones they lost, who couldn’t sympathize with that?”

my personal favorite examples here are the scorpion stews, which are given to you by Hornsent Grandam after defeating Divine Beast and wearing its head: 

Scorpion Stew: “Scorpion simmered in a black soup. Traditional meal of the hornsent. Boosts physical damage negation temporarily and gradually restores HP. Once made with love by a certain elderly woman for the family table. Having long gone cold, this soup gives off a rank, sour smell.” 

Gourmet Scorpion Stew: “Scorpion simmered in a black soup. An exquisite dish chock-full of mouth-watering scorpion claws. Boosts physical damage negation temporarily and gradually restores a great amount of HP. The thoughts and feelings of the cook melt and blend into the stew, but those who can distinguish the taste of love are few and far between. "Partake, partake, until thou art sated.”” 

how can you claim that the hornsent are dehumanized when grandma literally cooks you a traditional hornsent meal made with love!!! how heartbreakingly sweet is that!!! especially with the dialogue you get from Hornsent if you share the stew with him:

“What’s this? Do you think me in need of alms? Ah… but this dish. Tis fare o’ the tower. I remember fondly this kin-clad scent. …Brings back memories I’d all but forgot. This, by my troth, is but a dismal copy. Indeed, I think it rather plain to see… things once broken can never be the same.”

we’re presented with the image of a delicious traditional meal that hornsent families used to cook and eat together, and then we remember, Hornsent Grandam is all alone, she has no one but us to cook stew for, and Hornsent has no family anymore to share his stew with. 

before wrapping this up I want to mention Leda’s dialogue about the hornsent because I think it describes the situation pretty well (surprisingly well maybe, given what she’s like): 

“Long ago, Queen Marika commanded Sir Messmer to purge the tower folk. A cleansing by fire. It’s no wonder the hornsent holds the Erdtree in contempt. That aside, man is by nature a creature of conquest. And in this regard, the tower folk are no different. They were never saints. They just happened to be on the losing side of a war. But it’s still a wretched shame.”

the hornsent were not a perfect society. far from it. but no society is perfect, and the hornsent need not have all been saints for what happened to them to have been wrong. no person has the right to act as judge, jury, and executioner for an entire civilization of human beings. if people want to take the very worst of hornsent society as representative of their entire population and argue that every single one of them deserved to die then I’m afraid that’s their problem, because the game absolutely does not agree with them

[eaissilyy]

the truth is that the omen twins are very stunning handsome gorgeous heavenly irresistible very hot very divine a beauty elegant graceful very pretty very alluring very lovely and charming in hornsent standard.

granny feeds them soups because in her eyes they look like this 👇👇

[empthylee]

Grandam help me!

[riceball-yu]

「to those who cook for us」

Scorpion, scorpion, scorpion. Senshi cooks a huge scorpion and walking mushroom hot pot in Dungeon Meshi Ep.01. Hornsent Gradam cooks gourmet scorpion stew for players in Shadow of the Erdtree.

“The thoughts and feelings of the cook melt and blend into the stew, but those who can distinguish the taste of love are few and far between.”

And yes that's Blackguard in a large pot in the background. Ate a lot of boiled prawns and crabs from him in the land between.

[velvet-apricots]

I almost want Marika to go with Fyra into the land of shadow ngl. Marika puts on her mimic veil and just comes along in secret.

Which leads to stuff like this:

Sir Ansbach: The gateway was once the birthplace of a god. A god we know all too well.

Marika:

Hornsent Grandam: Listen, progeny of the wanton strumpet-

Marika:

Ymir: Ever-young Miquella saw things for what they were. He knew that his bloodline was tainted. His roots mired in madness-

Marika:

[arcadebroke]

[magpie-come-east]

I made an entire post about why calling the Hornsent NPCs ‘mean’ to justify their genocide is stupid and bad faith but I just remembered something else.

Isn’t it amazing that a lot of the people who justify the Hornsent genocide are Messmer simps. You know, the guy that calls the player a dog and tries to immediately kill them for being Graceless. Truly the epitome of good manners and kindness.

Put the old woman that gives you soup and the spirit of her dead son to protect you in the guillotine for the crime of understandable impoliteness. If only she’d called Marika a mongrel I guess.

[pinyaps]

My character for my Shadow of the Erdtree playthrough. Her name is Niska the Naïve.

She calls the Hornsent Grandam her grandma because of soup

[swallowtail-ageha]

I do remember seeing on the dreaded red app some people seeing the "Messmer mourned the loss of a brother-in-arm" quote and the fact that he didn't execute Andreas and Huw as a sign of being merciful but also like. His treatment of them is the opposite of having mercy. He quite literally entombed them alive and left them to starve to death alone if not for the company of stone statues and sorcerers long gone mad

[krakenguard]

Blackguard Boggart venturing to the Realm of Shadow(somehow) and striking up an unusual friendship with the Hornsent Grandam. Though Grandam is a super tough cookie and is, by all accounts, quite rude to Boggart.

Though looking around, he doesn't quite blame her. Still, the rascal is all but civil toward the old woman. Helps with the chores. And the cooking.

THE COOKING! The cooking! That's where things get REALLY interesting! That Scorpion Stew of hers is REALLY good!

Overtime, Grandam does eventually mellow out. Despite Boggart being a hornless rascal, he's been nothing but cordial. A gentleman... And, as it turns out, the boiled crab isn't too bad either.

Boggart returns to Grandam, once more with a plate of boiled crab. But his cheerful demeanor instantly freezes when he receives no response from the Hornsent Grandam. And his heart breaks a little as he realizes then that old age finally caught up.

[snarp]

Marika did all that shit because her grandma liked puppets, didn't have eyes, cooked food she hated, and was unable or unwilling to ascend to godhood despite possessing the potential to do so. Homestuck-type individual.

[empthylee]

Grandam is afraid you're hungry🦂🍲

[number1milfloislover]

[nooooough]

Hmm