#talanah about amadis

[cicadaknight]

horizon drinking game where you take a shot of scappersap every time someone refers to a carjan as “one of the good ones”

[rynliadon]

i really want to see seyka and talanah interact tbh. i think that aloy had a massive unrequited crush on talanah through zero dawn (and some of forbidden west!) and seyka would simply see the two of them talk to each other and Know and be insanely jealous. talanah and seyka would be best friends tho

like just PICTURE these interactions with me. seyka enthusiastically telling aloy about hunting machines with talanah and learning about the lodge. aloy being interested and referencing her time as a thrush. seyka getting pouty and playfully jealous. talanah has no idea any of this is going on while also being in the room.

[adgerelli]

wake up babes new ship dropped and i am going to be abnormal about it

under cut was my initial ramblings on discord

tldr; talanah's gotta pass through chainscrape to head back east yeah? Anyway I got to thinking she'd have a chance of bumping into Petra, and I assume they wouldn't really have gotten many chances to interact and mostly knew each other as allies/friends of mara aloy/the fight at meridian. So yeah Talanah could stop for a drink and have a chat, cuz they both (more talanah) probably have a rare moment where they /can/ do that.

After a couple drinks Talanah gets more comfortable conversing and Amadis naturally comes up at some point, and Talanah just, winds up pouring everything out and Petra listens and offers really solid advice on top of, what she needs most, an inviting listening ear. Basically Petra gives her space to word vomit and its something pivotal for her to begin the journey of digging deep and processing her feelings. After a (platonic) night spent at Chainscrape Talanah continues on East and does still pursue her original plans, but with a new mindset she can work through as she journeys. But the kindness and wisdom Petra shared never left her, and I like to think they wind up reconnecting when they inevitably get Focuses or smth

I think it would def be more of a slow process as I headcanon Talanah as "straight" and Petra kind of like being a queer awakening she never really thought about. After Talanah figures herself out she'd probably meet up with Petra again to at the very least thank her and they'd just kinda, think about/go out of their way to see each other more. I'm not sure who would make the first move lol but I think after Talanah's out of her hurting phase and back to normal the doors would start to open for Petra's jokes till one day Talanah just dishes one back and is like 😳 hol up i gotta unpack that.

[theartofloss]

Re-reading the Sunhawk with HFW in mind, and here are some random thoughts:

Talanah is the BEST

Baby Talanah!! She's so cute. I wish we had more information about that period tho, because from my understanding she left Meridian as a kid, and returned only after the Battle, in which she fought. The timeline is a bit murky (third pic is from Liberation)

I love how Aloy acknowledges the responsibility that must be on Talanah's shoulders, because she's feeling a similar pressure.

Also, Talanah is probably the only friend to get an unprompted apology for leaving without saying goodbye, and I love her response - Aloy doing everything by herself may not be the healthiest thing to do, but it's the only way she knows how to deal with her mission at that moment, so making her feel guilty is the last thing she needs. She just keeps letting her know that she's always welcome to ask for help.

Now for Bozo the clown:

He's so annoying, can't believe we're supposed to believe Talanah fell for him...

Talanah is a fucking trailblazer, first woman to become Thrush/Hawk/Sunhawk. Carja women and girls must fucking ADORE her, and then she spends the entire time in HFW chasing after THIS guy??? Seriously??

Ah, yes - Amadis, forever the 🤡

Now that character design in HFW makes more sense

[foibles-fables]

tag game (Horizon)

stolen from @hellcheercaine!!! Thanks for the excuse to put off starting work for another few minutes.

1.ride or die ship (your otp): Aloy/Talanah. my rotten soldiers my sweet cheeses my good-time gals

2. most annoying ship: nah you know I don't play that game <3

3. second favourite ship: Aloy/Yarra

4. favourite platonic relationship: Aloy and Erend, Talanah and Milu, Aloy and Sylens

5. underrated ship: gonna say Aloy/Yarra here too. Also Fashav/Kotallo, Beta/Milu, Alva/Seyka (thoughts of an angsty Loyalist!Federa fic won't leave my brain ALONE)

6. overrated ship: see question 2 bls

7. one thing i would change in canon: Oh man. There are...many things, lmao. The clear and obvious one is having Talanah join the base (as we now know was the original intention [rolling_in_the_deep.mp3]). But since that one is a given--completely toss the Zeniths out of HFW. Ground the narrative conflict in gathering the subfunctions, the collapsing biosphere, and Regalla's rebellion instead. Bring GAIA back only at the very end. Save the Zeniths for the major H3 antagonist instead, negating the need for Nemesis as the Bigger Fish. How absolutely baller would it have been if the Beta reveal came as a post-credits stinger instead? (Gerard's voice: "Are you ready to finally make yourself useful, Beta?" and then a camera pan over the face of a Sobeck clone, GOD)

8. something canon did right: The entirety of "Deep Secrets of the Earth" in HZD was a masterclass in storytelling. Every part of exploring PZD HQ was remarkable. The datapoints, the juxtaposition of "The Bad News" with "The Good News," the latter of which as the culminating reveal of the mystery that's been building throughout the entire narrative--it's pretty much perfection.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: may I present to y'all my AO3 trashpile

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): ALVA. My personal shining star amongst the HFW companions. I'm also contractually obligated to say Talanah here, even if I want to shake her by the shoulders sometimes (affectionate)

11. the character i relate to the most and why: This is a tough one. I see pieces of myself in a number of the characters, but I'm not sure if there's one that I'm like, yes, that is ME. I could prrooobably say Alva again? But it's not a definitely one-to-one.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: All the homies hate Ted Faro, that's for sure. But that's low-hanging fruit. So I'll give Amadis as well, though not for the seemingly-obvious reason--I cannot stand the sole purpose for which he was written, from the comic all the way through his weird unsatisfying ending in HFW. He's a repeated character with a repeated conflict that was already handled much more compellingly through Nil and is rendered useless and storyless by the end of Need to Know. Bringing him back in H3 would be the sorest mistake the narrative could make aside from a sacrificial ending for Aloy. He's just unneeded character bloat in an already-admittedly-bloated cast.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: You will make some of your very best friends here. Everyone is creative and hilarious and so smart. We all connect to the Horizon universe in a different way, and sharing your enthusiasm with others is what just makes the world feel even richer than what you could have imagined.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I typically don't browse AO3 directly!

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: you're gonna make me pick ONE?? oh man, okay. so this changes by the day, and today I'll say Oceanator's "I Would Find You" is THEE Hawk and Thrush anthem.

tagging: since I stole this untagged, I challenge YOU to do the same! Choose your fandom and talk about it!

[loumauve]

every now and then when I remember how frustrated I was during my first playthrough of hfw

[the stressful fight with all the stupid noise and aloy yelling about what i was already doing my best but failing to do bc skill issue the drowning or alternatively glitching into out of bounds while doing my best to avoid drowning/or getting stuck in a crack between some rocks bc idk game design I guess the weird pacing and genre change that could have used some improvement the random spoiler-y voice lines in unexpected places (tilda mention before ever being introduced to her by name and in person as a potential ally) just.. so much I've blocked out but sometimes it comes back and I get annoyed all over again. I'm sure those vent posts can be found somewhere buried in my tumblr archive]

but what they did do was give us more time with some old faves (Talanah, Petra) as well as just so much more potential for ships (Alva, Beta, Milu, Zo, Yarra, Regalla, Tilda as well as a bunch of more minor characters from side quests like Silga or Kivva (my beloved))

and I do cherish that. like. I was so fucking sad when I finished Petra's quest and instead of being able to check in with her all I got was dialogue with the boring dude right next to her. LET HER FLIRT WITH ALOY I STG anyway. similar with Talanah, you can check in but at a certain point that's all it is. and sure it's not too different with hfw but at least there's more women overall so it feels less shite as a whole.

could they have done better and let Zo be badass without making her the token pregnant woman representing fertility in the face of her partner and Aloy's loyal sidekick dying? YEAH could they maybe have made Tilda more interesting, I wish bc I'm just not too invested in her, it seemed kinda cookie-cutter hung up on your ex and seeking connection through her clone in a real weird and gross way, but that could just be me not vibing.

also they definitely fucked over Talanah, she deserved better. Amadis should at least have been his comic-canonically hot-af self instead of whatever basic ass dude we got. I'm so disappointed. when it comes to guys I have one type (who I prob still wouldn't date but they are ever so beautiful) and that's raggedy handsome lad with dark, longer hair and a scraggly beard and they ruined him also hello she's clearly at least bi, come on Guerrilla Games.

oh well. all this rambling just to say that I'm glad hfw has more *WOMEN* who are also badass and hot and very capable in a multitude of different ways. and I love that for them (and Aloy)

still pretty homophobic and not very gg of GG to not let me play some lite version of Burning Shores on my PS4 pro. fuck me for wanting to look at Seyka more, I guess. who, btw, also deserved better than what they made her. she had so much potential and I wish she got to be who she could have been. I love her and I wanted more quality time with her.

[thereluctantherosrose]

Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West: Alvad Doodle Comp

Sooooo *cough* ya I'm back at my Alvad antics cuz I love them sm and they both deserve so much love.

Was playing FW the other day and just like thinking about like the different convos happening in game. Like Aloy seeing how really alone Elizabet was even though there were people around her that loved her, she kept pushing them away. I mean, look at just how loyal Tate was to her, he had multiple opportunities to betray her, but he didn't. He remained loyal. And despite how cold Liz could be, he never stopped believing in her vision, and in her. Aloy sees that she is following a similar pattern by pushing away her friends.

When she sees Zo and Varl together, I saw some people thinking that Aloy was jealous because she wanted Varl, but I moreso interpreted it as she is realizing how much she has become isolated by her own actions and how much she wishes she had that sort of close and deep connection with someone. You can also see it when she is speaking to Talanah about Amadis. Of course she is happy for her friends and such, But it is making her reflect on the mistakes she has made and the repeating pattern that Elizabet started years ago.

She isn't invulnerable, and that's so very evident in her first encounter with the Far Zenith. Up until now, she has been up against people (Shadow Carja) that were on a similar playing field in which Aloy had the advantage.

But now you have these new intelligent beings with technology way beyond her comprehension, and she realizes just how vulnerable she is. She can no longer do this alone.

A quote from Game of Thrones comes to mind actually " The lone wolf may die, but the pack survives". The Nora may have made her an outcast at first, but now she is the one who is making herself an outcast now. But it doesn't need to be. Her friends understand that she is worried about them, but it's their choice to follow her and risk their lives. Why should Aloy be the only one having to make sacrifices? They are equally as worried for her safety. She isn't just a tool to be used and disposed of, which she has been treating herself as such. And I believe Forbidden West really does open up her eyes to this, and truly thinking about "the after" that she has been avoiding thinking about. She is only a young 20 year old woman who does want a normal life for herself, Beta and her friends, and that is an even stronger motivator than she even originally had.

And this is where romance can truly happen. She wasn't in the right mindset before, and had almost closed herself off from any possibility of human connection because she only had that one goal in mind and only put the burden of it all on her shoulders alone. Through this self discovery journey in FW, she really sees how much she wants connection, and one of those connection may end up being Romance.

Sorry about my ramblings hahaha anyways. I really hope that Aloy can have the love she deserves, and if that ends up being Avad, i will be super super happy, because I think they really complement each other like the Sun and Moon @flamehairedsiren 😉 hehe (btw check out her Sun and Moon Alvad fic. I swear I've read it 1000000 times lmfao 😆) Both Avad and Aloy have been through so much deserve good things ;; 💖 (Also *pushes Beta and Erend together* you two kiss too lmfao)

[shizuu-chann]

I need to write my thoughts, so if you have no interest in Horizon: Forbidden West, then feel free to move along. No worries. But I have Thoughts about the Burning Shores DLC, more specifically the introduction of Seyka as a love interest. Spoilers abound; you've been warned. Also, not looking for a debate. I won't be debating. If you like Seyka and the romance, that's your business. I'm not here to change you mind. I'm just here to express my opinion.

Before anything else, let's address one thing: my opinion on this pair has absolutely nothing to do with it be a lesbian couple, or fuck's sake, Seyka's race. Anyone who knows me or has been following me for a while knows that none of that offends me, and I embrace diversity in all forms. So, for anyone inclined to do so, don't come at me in the comments/reblogs/tags trying to paint me like a villain because of my opinion on the plot and the romance itself as a plot device. Everyone knows this is the website where if you say ANYTHING negative about the above, there are going to be people who decide you're a bad person when you're not, and I don't feel like dealing with that.

Getting into it, I'm sure you could gather from the paragraph above the cut that I am not a fan of the Aloy/Seyka pairing. Seyka has grown on me a bit more since playing through the DLC a second time, but man do I think she makes a terrible first impression (and by "first," I mean the first time playing through the entire main story). I hate how she jumps down Aloy's throat for "keeping secrets" when she does the same thing, and I hate even more that Aloy gives a shit about how upset Seyka gets hearing about Nemesis coming to destroy life on Earth. Like, bitch, she asked. Don't get upset with the person who told you the truth when you asked for it, and don't feel somehow guilty about revealing the info when that's what the person literally wanted! To be fair to Seyka, she says something similar when she said "At least you were honest" when Aloy apologizes (again, why???) for "dropping that on her." So, there's that, I guess.

In general, I just think the whole romance was weird and out of place. If I had to choose between Seyka and no romance, I'd choose no romance. Personally, I ship Aloy with Avad. I really like Avad, I think he's cute and a good person, and I'd be interested to see how they would make that relationship work. Barring Avad, I like her and Erend, or even Talanah (Talanah's crush on Amadis notwithstanding). At least with any of those three, or even just Avad or Erend, there's history there. Aloy knows Seyka for, like, two weeks tops in game (going based purely off how many day/night cycles went by while playing through this time, more like 5-7 days). It feels very much to me like a summer camp fling: something that's fun and new, and you really get along with this person, but then you have to go home and back to reality, and eventually you forget about each other and move on. I'd be okay with her joining the squad back at the Base, but only as a friend. I really don't feel like dealing with that weird tension in the next game.

Which brings up my next point on why this romance is not good, in my opinion: why did they introduce it so late? Now, I enjoy DLCs. If they seem worth it, I'll buy them, because I love new content and places to explore, but I am also of the opinion that devs/writers shouldn't put seemingly important characters or character development into extra, and clearly optional, content. If it wasn't in the base game, then it's not as important. Otherwise, it would have been included, again, imo. There are going to be people who won't play Burning Shores, and if Seyka makes an appearance in Horizon 3, a lot of people are going to be lost, confused, and reasonably annoyed. I've kind of shipped Aloy with Avad for two entire games at this point, but they're going to introduce an actual whole ass love interest for Aloy in a DLC that you can only play AFTER you've beaten the base game/main quest line? That just feels so forced and strange, and I don't understand why they would do that.

I can understand Aloy not having romantic feelings for anyone in the first game. She's on a mission to find out where she came from and why, stopping another end of the world with HADES, etc. And while the second game is similar, this is also Aloy's character growth journey. She learns how to make friends and rely on them. She learns that she doesn't need to take the fate of the world onto her shoulders, that she can share that burden with people she learns to trust. So introducing a love interest in Forbidden West feels reasonable--but not in a DLC at the end of the game. They should have introduced Seyka much earlier. Hell, I might have even accepted her introduction when meeting Alva at the Greenhouse or going to retrieve Alva and delve into Thebes! I would have been MUCH more receptive to Seyka/Aloy then! But after the whole story is over? Why? For what? What was their thought process???

I've already had an attachment to another character for Aloy to fall in love with, and went the entire second game thinking that maybe she and Avad could have something (because, at least the way I play/interpret it, they seem to have something, even if it's only a mutual respect--I mean, Avad clearly has a crush, but I play Aloy like she reciprocates, but is just too busy to think about it). All that only for some random person to show up and get shoehorned into the plot at the last second and go "hey, look at me! I'm hot and badass, AND a carbon copy of you, Aloy! I have all your physical abilities, the same temperament and outlook on life with only minor differences, and we both even have sisters! Isn't that awesome? Aren't I awesome? Now, act like a weird, stuttering mess as you develop this weird and out-of-character attachment to me after knowing me for a week."

I've run out of steam writing this now, but I think I got my point across. This crush of Aloy's just feels so out of place and out of character. It would have been much better had it not been so abrupt and fast. If she'd had the whole game, or at least a decent chunk of the MAIN game to develop it, I would be more receptive, but this? I just can't. I don't like it. ANY romance introduced THIS LATE and THIS QUICKLY is bad.

[mewly]

I’ve been thinking over the prevalent ships being f/m in the Horizon fandom and why that might be (as a Bi woman) apart from the usual.

And it’s not really surprising to me at all now that I’ve gone over it properly, and I’d love other WLW’s input as well!

It’s simple: there’s no main female companions aside from maybe Talanah (which as we’ve seen is the biggest f/f ship in Horizon) and even she was sidelined in HFW (I think it was due to covid complications but still such a shame)

Think about it, we have awesome female characters but there’s always barriers that prevent ships from properly forming, let me walk through it:

Talanah - a fan favourite, who was sidelined in HFW and was chasing after Amadis anyway (aka a relationship block)

Petra - she’s around and flirty but we never linger with her for long, we’re off doing quests for her instead of with her.

Ikrie - DLC side character that we never hear from again, need I say more?

Alva - a companion, but she’s in an established relationship and arrived a lot later in game.

Zo - again, a companion but in a relationship with Varl and now pregnant.

Whereas the male companions are in abundance and we spend more time with them on quests without a blockage:

Varl - A companion we spent a quest with in HZD and in HFW we spend a lot of time with him at the start (until his relationship establishment) and Gemini.

Erend - A companion we’ve probably spent the most time with across both games, many quests he’s involved with and/or follows you on.

Avad - spent some time with him, he was an important figure in HZD with a clear interest in Aloy.

Nil - All the bandit camp quests we do alongside him on HZD and the races in HFW.

Kotallo - Again, spent a lot of time with him on quests in HFW with no relationship block put in place.

Until Seyka, we didn’t really have many options for a major f/f ship, so I’m not surprised by the lack of prevalence, it’s a totally unfair bias! So it makes some sense for Seyka to be the first female love interest, because she’s quite literally the only one available and designed for that purpose lol

[holodaxy]

Okay so stay with me as I've been having thought...mostly Hawk and Thrush Thoughts...sort of...

Is there a fic (and there isn’t because I’m about to get oddly specific – maybe this is more of a cry to write this because I won’t) where somebody has inadvertently gotten close to Beta (on purpose seems a bit cruel and horrible) as an Aloy replacement?

In my head it’s Talanah – in some way this seems wrong and a touch out of character, but you know those oddly specific details? Well yeah, she works for those oddly specific details so stick with me here…

So Talanah crosses paths with Erend and naturally they get on about Aloy and he mentions that she’s spending a lot of time helping reunite the Quen Fleet and rather innocently makes a joke about how Aloy is more interested in spending time with a Quen Marine than reuniting the fleet (because of course the GAIA Gang have been gossiping about Aloy and Seyka – not to mention they’ve got an inside source! Alva is right there!) Talanah isn’t impressed by this information, though doesn’t know why (Erend has a good idea, but he’s already opened his big mouth once so he’s not doing that again).

How Talanah makes her way to the base I’m not sure (I can’t work it all out!) and cue an awkward first meeting with Beta because of course Aloy didn’t mention that there’s this anxious identical ‘twin’ wandering around. So Talanah is about to leave (because this wasn’t on her ‘Life with Aloy’ bingo card) when she discovers Beta doesn’t know how to use any weapons and really, how could Aloy be so careless as to leave her twin sister all alone in the base with no way to defend herself? Anybody could walk in! As evident by the fact Talanah had just walked in – that’s her argument and she’s sticking to it, she won’t hear any objection from Beta about how the base security was likely programmed by Aloy to let Talanah in because she's been there once before.

So Talanah sticks around to show Beta how to use a bow (or any weapon really) and Beta totally isn’t her Thrush because that would just be weird (not that the whole situation isn’t weird to either of them, but its just a little nice for Beta to have company and for Talanah to be away from the stress of the Hunters Lodge). And I can totally see Beta being the one to tell Talanah everything – about Nemesis, about Zero Dawn and Elisabet Sobeck, about how she and Aloy are clones (again, none of this was on Talanah’s ‘Life With Aloy’ bingo card). She’d also give her a Focus (because Beta doesn’t understand why Aloy isn’t handing these out like sweets to people!) and shows Talanah how to use the Focus and oh look! They’ve taught each other things and that’s nice.

So one day they decide to venture out of the base (again, I don’t know, I really don’t know why) and who do they stumble across? Well Amadis of course (because every story needs a villain – that was harsh, he’s not actually going to do anything wrong this time). He doesn’t get a close look at Beta and just thinks Aloy has drastically cut her hair and changed her clothes (she did it like three time the last time he met her, where is she hiding those armour sets???) and he passes comment about how both he and Talanah were using each other to get over other people the whole time. Talanah has an ‘oh fuck’ moment and Amadis goes on his way again not realising he's caused total turmoil again.

So Talanah’s ‘oh fuck’ moment hits home that she’s drawn to Beta because of Aloy and she’s done exactly what she never wanted to be and made somebody her second choice. And deep down I think no matter how close the two of them were getting, Beta knows she’s an Aloy replacement and her self esteem is so far in the ground that she’s just pretty much ‘that’s just it for me, I’ll never be anything other than the inferior copy’ (and my poor baby Beta, I want to hug her) so she’s just kind of clung to somebody being nice to her even if it’s possibly (keep possibly in your mind) not meant for her in the first place.

I didn’t say this wasn’t angst – I mean, my opening summary of this didn’t indicate there wasn’t angst!

How this ends I’m not sure – I have two options, again…stick with me…

Aloy returns to the base right in the aftermath of the ‘oh fuck’ moment and is totally confused about what Talanah is doing there, but she’s kind of grateful that Talanah was looking after Beta. Then she finds out how close the two have gotten and is not impressed because how dare Talanah go near Beta! And Aloy totally won’t admit to being jealous and what Quen Marine? She’s be reuniting the Quen Fleet!

The two then have a long overdue heart to heart and all their feelings laid bare, happily ever after Hawk and Thrush. This ending seems a bit harsh on Beta who I don’t think deserves that so from stage right enter some unseen original character who has never, ever laid eyes on Aloy and knows nothing about her so they can like Beta for being Beta.

Option 2 goes totally the opposite way, enters rare pare mode and Talanah realises Beta is a totally different person to Aloy and while the original reason she spent time with Beta was Aloy (and was totally wrong) she’s actually rather drawn to Beta’s totally different personality and quirks. Cue Aloy returning to the base with Seyka and being totally confused about what’s going on – and has Beta just stolen her moment? She was about to introduce her girlfriend to the gang and now Beta and Talanah are a thing and…well…typical sibling bickering.

Of course there’s hidden option 3 which is everybody is miserable and unhappy, but that seems a bit bleak even for me.

Well thanks for sticking with me for this long…whatever this is – I don’t know what this is. I’m going back under my rock now, I’ll keep these wild idea to myself as this got out of hand 😁

[chloefraazers]

Anyway. Have a new longfic that could use a bit of love. Co-written with @kittleskittle and @mythicaitt and each chapter features original art by jess!

equilibrium

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Will be added for future chapters (currently none)

Relationships: Aloy/Nil/Talanah Khane Padish, Aloy/Nil, Aloy/Talanah Khane Padish, past Aloy/Seyka, past Talanah Khane Padish/Nil friends with benefits

Summary:

When Aloy shares in a heart-to-heart with Talanah about the events of the Burning Shores, she’s left with more questions than answers. Talanah, taking a break from all things relationships after finally ending things with Amadis for good, enlightens her to the idea that a person doesn’t have to be in love to make love. Who better to show Aloy the ropes than her closest and most trusted friend?

And there’s someone else she left in the West: Someone else she thinks could provide her with a good distraction, and give her emotions the balance they need for her to keep her head as she prepares for Nemesis’s arrival.

But things become complicated when real feelings for both of them get involved, and Aloy isn’t sure what to do when what was once fun and easy suddenly turns upside down and knocks her whole world off its axis.

Read it on AO3.

[dany36]

just finished the burning shores aND—

THEY DID IT. THEY FUCKING DID IT!!!!! GAYLOY IS REAL AND HERE TO STAY!!!!!! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!! I....ok, first, some thoughts about the dlc before i continue to scream about the obvious:

loved love love the new frog enemy. the bilegut?? at first i thought that those fly enemies (the ones that hatch from eggs lol i forget their names) were kinda cool but then i did the cauldron and like...when they all come in swarms at you? FUCK that lmao hated their asses so much.

i messed up the waterwing part where you have to dive to avoid the tower lasers haha i didn't make it to the end without my waterwing dying on me, but that part was pretty cool!

i already gushed over this but GILDUN!!! MY BOY GILDUN!!!! i was so happy to see him alive and well!!! i wish i hadn't spoiled myself the fact that he was gonna appear in the dlc but oh well, i still really enjoyed doing his sidequest :)

the horus fight was pretty intense, but the fight with walter was kinda lame lol. i mean i guess he can't really do too much to you since he's hooked up to the horus, but like...his last words to aloy before dying were also beyond pathetic. but well, i guess that's the zenith for ya, just a bunch of pathetic rich people.

ALVA!!!! MY GIRL ALVA OH MY GODDDDD i literally screamed when i saw her!!!! AND HER THEME SONG STARTED PLAYING LAKJSDFLAJKSDLFKJ I LOVE HER SO MUCH!! ;_; when are we gonna meet her girlfriend!!!! ahhhh she's so precious alskjdflakjdfljk

that fight with zeth or whatever?? freaking annoying!! i don't think i was fighting him right lol i kept trying to combo him but he would just beat the crap out of me and shoot me incessantly with that damn zenith weapon. was seyka supposed to help you distract him here? cus wow he just would NOT stop shooting at me, i used up like 4 large potions and almost all of my berries. i can't imagine how insane this fight must be in ultra hard!!

i really liked how they incorporated a "bandit camp" into the dlc!! but also that part where you infiltrate their camp after rescuing valea (i think that was her name) was so funny, i was trying to go the stealthy way but after she freed her comrades, she did a war cry and everyone just started attacking the enemy quen. amazing!!!

the epilogue with sylens and aloy telling him he'll always be alone...oof, kinda rough there, aloy!!! but i mean considering their history, it's only fair for her to act towards him like that...

i still have a couple of quests to go: the aerial viewpoints (got one), still missing one pangea figurine, and...well i guess i have to look around and completely explore to see if there are any more sidequests that will pop up, but idk i feel like in terms of sidecontent this dlc has a bit less than frozen wilds?? but i mean that's a minor complaint when...

SEYKA. holy shit. i already posted about this before but i seriously was not expecting this to go all the way fucking out with ALOY FUCKING KISSING HER AT THE END OF THE DLC!!!! OK i actually don't know if she kisses her regardless of which option you take or what the hell is going on there (i'll have to do some research...), but I chose the "Yes, I do" option because i think the other options didn't really align with what aloy had been mumbling to herself all throughout the DLC?? like the other options were "i'm not ready for this" and "this is too much for me" but like...GIRL....LITERALLY right before meeting her you were like "i'm not ready to say goodbye to her yet" and "she wants to meet me where we first met. there's nothing to be nervous about"??? this girl fucking fell HARD for seyka and it would have been silly for her to say anything other than "yes, i do". it broke my heart because WELLP THERE GOES HAWK AND THRUSH ALL DREAMS CRUSHED I SUPPOSE RIP TALANAH but like...damn, i guess there really was no way forward with that with the whole amadis BS that they did in the main game and with her still having feelings for amadis, huh? :( sighhhhh oh well!!! is it time now to board on to the next ship??

now, am i happy about the kiss and aloy having a crush on seyka? absolutely! but one thing that i'm NOT completely sure about is the chemistry. yeah yeah they're both very similar to each other, they kept pushing that throughout the entire DLC and about aloy being an outcast and comparing that to seyka, they're both capable warriors, and god how can seyka not fall for the girl that literally saved her sister's life and the rest of her tribe. that whole section in pangea park was pretty cute but, and i also already mentioned this before, up until the end it felt kind of one-sided to me. of course, i think that might be because we literally can only hear aloy's thoughts about this throughout the whole game, and i MAY have missed some seyka hints because i'm always oblivious as fuck when it comes to that kind of thing, but IDK. i mean yeah i like them together cus aloy obviously likes her and it was super cute seeing her be all nervous about it, cus i mean who wouldn't support aloy with whoever makes her feel like THAT??? so it looks like aloy/seyka will be endgame! unless something else happens in the third game, so i don't know!!! exciting to see where this relationship goes and how they will handle it and other romantic love shenanigans for aloy in the third game!

last thing i will say is that i watched that "Meet Seyka" video or whatever that pops up on the playstation home, and seyka's actress talks about how aloy has never met anyone like seyka before: i.e. another powerful warrior who is a women and is all badass and shit. and obviously i'm not blaming the actress for saying this at all, but immediately when i heard that i was like ummmmm talanah is right there lol. i really didn't want to think about seyka as a talanah 2.0 but well idk, i really hope we get to see talanah join the gang in the third game because it really would be a shame if they were to push aside the only carja team member from the first game when GOD the potential for her character is HUGE and i don't want to see it go to waste :( me saying this putting the whole aloy/talanah ship aside, talanah is just a really cool and interesting character despite that weirdass sidequest they gave her in forbidden west.

ANYWAY i think i'm just mindlessly ranting at this point, so overall i will say i enjoyed the DLC, LOVE WINS, GAY RIGHTS ETC and well, now to browse the tag and see what other folks are saying!!! :)

[ayaitch]

Tag Game (Horizon)

Tagged by @cicadaknight! Thanks! This was harder than I thought it would be!

1. Ride or die ship: Ikkotah/Chekkatah! The canon pairing that never got to see the light of day.

2. Most annoying ship: Talanah/Amadis. They set it up so well in the comic, and I was buying into it! Then it had to go sideways in the game in the most annoying way. Also the character of Amadis just... I don't even know what happened between the comic and the game. I just don't know.

3. Second favorite ship: Fashav/Kotallo. They were originally my favorite ship, but I accidentally fell for Ikkotah/Chekkatah harder.

4. Favorite platonic relationship: Gildun and Aloy. I love them so much. She's so nice to him, and he's just a good guy who appreciates her smarts and adventurous spirit.

5. Underrated ship: Is it fair to say Ikkotah/Chekkatah again? I'll pick a different one though: Avad/Ersa? They're another ship who never really got to see the light of day, and I'm such a sucker for that type of dynamic they (supposedly) had.

6. Overrated ship: Pass, please. Ships are taken very seriously in this fandom.

7. One thing I would change in canon: I have a few thoughts, but I think they needed to have a better excuse for Aloy's missing HZD gear and weapons.

8. Something canon did right: The worldbuilding. From the slow realization of how we came to be in Aloy's world to the last days of the Old Ones, I thought it was all done quite well.

9. A thing I’m proud of creating for the fandom: I wrote some fics? I guess I'm more proud that I had the gumption to share them, rather than that I wrote them.

10. A character who is perfect to me: Ikkotah. I just love him.

11. Character I relate to most and why: Maybe Enjuk? A weird hermit living in a nice hut and studying animals at his leisure in the cold mountains. Sounds amazing.

12. Character(s) I hate most and why: Regalla, because she is overly violent and her motivations made no sense to me. She also orchestrated the massacre that took away Fashav and Chekkatah (and the other Marshals). Also, I've never been a fan of vengeance arcs.

13. Something I’ve learned from the fandom: It's OK to put your work out there. Even if it's a niche work, someone will find it and appreciate its existence.

14. Three tags I seek out on ao3: Not including ship tags, I go for hurt/comfort, whump, and soft.

15. A song I associate strongly with my OTP/favorite character: I'm not really sure about this. I have zero connections between music/songs and characters. I think the only exception is the track from the HFW soundtrack "The Way to Barren Light". It really makes me think of the impending Embassy and all the BS that's about to go down.

[elffees]

It is so hot that Talanah’s sidequest in FW is about a dude searching for information about his Lost Love™️ who he thought to have died, only for it to be revealed she’s completely fine and when they’re reunited she just goes “dude it’s been 5 years, I moved on already. you didn’t? damn that must suck” and then just leaves like that is so funny rip to Amadis but that’s my wife now

[disgruntled-welshgirl]

I posted 6,588 times in 2022

That's 5,102 more posts than 2021!

564 posts created (9%)

6,024 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@bad-with-emotions-sadly

@galahadwilder

@hummerous

@uniquevocashark

@themadmanandhisbox

I tagged 826 of my posts in 2022

#stranger things spoilers - 324 posts

#st liveblog - 319 posts

#the dragon prince - 75 posts

#dp liveblog - 72 posts

#stranger things - 56 posts

#wombo.ai - 46 posts

#horizon forbidden west - 39 posts

#welshie's ramblings - 37 posts

#ronance - 33 posts

#hot damn - 19 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 8214808651 3282306647 093844

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hey Ronance Rabble! I found a good piece of art for us by @soartamiright_ off Instagram.

76 notes - Posted October 18, 2022

#4

Headcanon:

Every single person who’s WLW from Thornmarsh to Sunfall has at one point dated each other and as Aloy goes on her way she uncovers a cryptic and extensive web of women who were once lovers of one another. It leads to convos like:

Petra: Aloy! I hear you’re heading west. Say hi to Yarrah for me if you ever get out to the desert. I hear she’s commander over there now. Hot as a forge over there, and i don’t mean the desert.

Aloy: I’ll be sure to do that Petra.

[Later]

Yarra: Oh, Petra. Such a strong warrior. Finest easterner i ever met. Well, except Ikrie of course. If ever you meet my darling snowdrop, please tell her i wish her well.

Aloy: Wait, you know Ikrie? Yeah, I’ll tell her if i run into her.

[Later still]

Ikrie: Damn, you met Yarra? I’m surprised she didn’t snap you up Aloy. You’re just like Talanah and me, her type.

Aloy: At this point, I’m not even surprised Talanah’s part of this.

123 notes - Posted March 8, 2022

#3

I put forward we stop calling the Wednesday Xavier Tyler thing a love triangle and instead call it what it really is, a love corner. And Wednesday's backed into it

157 notes - Posted December 4, 2022

#2

I’m sorry but Aloy’s tone when she says to Talanah about Amadis “You love him, don’t you?” is just killing me. She sounds so defeated! And look at her face!

The girl’s yearning, clear as day; and it hurts to watch

189 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I'm still not over how the each of the GAIA gang decorates the base over time:

Zo brings in flowers and just generally makes the place look nicer and feel livelier for the benefit of everyone

Varl brings items of deep sentimental value to either him or Aloy out of nothing more than the goodness of his heart

Erend brings an ember from Vegas and a strike board out of a sense of community with the Oseram of hidden ember and his friends respectively

Alva brings a relic from Thebes and tries her best to also bring a flower to show her appreciation to Aloy

Kotallo brings some massive rocks

356 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[foibles-fables]

i am playing hfw ng+ and there is something that is making me absolutely feral about the fact that the village where you recover from the hades proving lab, where varl and zo get together, is the same one you pick up the quest marker for the talanah missions. like. how am I not supposed to read into that??? something something aloy seeing the beginning of varl and zo's relationship and then immediately finding talanah... it makes my brain go brrr. especially bc it is just. so angsty. like she's remembering how much she enjoys hunting with talanah and spending time with her- and she just saw two people get together who have much less history than her and talanah at that point- so maybe she starts to have a few thoughts about what it would be like to have that with talanah... only to immediately have such hopes crushed by realizing that talanah and amadis are romantically involved. like. there are parallels there that make me crazy. aloy sees a door open for varl and gets her hopes up only for that door to get slammed in aloys face. from aloys pov anyway, we all know that talanah ends up being kind a ambivalent about amadis by the end. but. its that middle part that is so so good.

HEHEHEHEH…….this is So True, So Very True, I’m eating my hands, and I’m actually making progress on writing a little thing with this exact premise 👀👀👀👀