meet me at the horizon

Horizon side blog mostly reblogs, sometimes musings & fanpoetry free of Burning Shores spoilers | occasional NSFW main blog: @starlitbeetle

[singingmachinedreams]

Rebel Threat

The thrill of being seen Again. A devil's dash into cover.

Red grass sways; silky brushes against bloodied hands. Measured breaths slow and the Taunt rings out:

"You best lay low, the things I'm gonna do to you!"

Such shivers under a desert sun, such buzzing beneath the belly.

I swallow the stone, but not the whisper:

"Promise?"

[aneggwhodraws]

I think Aloy loves the flower from Talanah 🌸

[thyminee]

[nevalinie]

Horizon Forbidden West

Instagram: nevalinie

[kyyhkynlaulu]

Kotallo from Horizon Forbidden West.

First time I've posted anything in over a year and a half, kinda nervous 🥲 Relearning art again one step at a time.

[nerd-artist]

A happy Queerloy in the wilds 🌈

[horizonjunkie]

~ Regalla ~

[baelonthebrave]

avad: aloy what brings you to meridian ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

aloy: a threat

avad: ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͠°)

[notyouranointed]

[thisismylaststraw]

Coagulation.

[singingmachinedreams]

I was thinking of making a list of all the racist tropes in the Horizon games.

In part because it seems to be taboo to point out racist nonsense in the games. And taboos beg to be broken! But also because of a post I saw recently about how fandoms like to be more queer than the source material but struggle to be less racist and misogynist than the source material. And I think that's (at least in part) because people in general have a hard time recognizing misogyny and racism.

I think the reason why I haven't already made a list of racist tropes in Horizon is because putting all of it in one document to look at will likely make me not want to engage with the games anymore. And that kinda says something. There's some kind of emotional/cognitive dissonance going on here.

I've always wondered what the breaking point is for marginalized people. At what point does a person set down a book, film, game because the racist/misogynist/ableist/fatphobic/homophobic fuckery interferes with the ability to take any kind of pleasure in the story? What allows a person to just roll their eyes and continue to derive some kind of enjoyment of the story?

Back in the day we called it our "problematic faves" because there was an understanding that for those who experience and recognize racism, misogyny, etc., the stories presented by mainstream media will always be "problematic" in some way. Fandom often reiterates the oppressive tropes in the souce material, but it's also a potential space to imagine beyond it. And now that I've gotten a taste of the potential of imagining beyond, I find myself less and less interested in the source material...

[autopotion]

been sitting on this thought for a while and i honestly think it was a mistake to make a horizon zero dawn sequel. like the first game was fun, i quite enjoyed playing it gameplay-wise, but the racism against indigenous and native folks is so deeply entrenched in the storytelling that it’s really difficult to enjoy the narrative or tbh a lot of the aesthetics. like were the developers paying any attention at all when indigenous folks talked about the awful shit in it? if the developers had actually listened, i feel like the conclusion they would’ve drawn is their world is deeply, fundamentally flawed at its core (because it is) and just left the original alone as it is to go work on something new.

or like, remake the original even with an overhauled setting that still has that “world reset by apocalypse and now contends with machines as a part of daily life” feel, but with actual consultation from indigenous folks? no more of this aloy being the least “primitive” person in the setting and talking down to people about how Machines Aren’t Gods You Dumbasses, which i fucking hated. it just shows a really poor understanding of the plethora of indigenous beliefs and how nuanced they are. among the very obvious issues like Word Choice

idk. maybe it isn’t the most popular opinion but i just don’t think this fantasy world should be expanded upon in the way it is.

i feel similarly about all the new tomb raider games that are released as well lol. really evil and blatant colonialism in those things that make the story literally impossible to enjoy. not that the old games weren’t also like that, they totally were, but after this conversation became much more mainstream i don’t feel like people have a single excuse to keep making those games

[thyminee]

[poorly-drawn-horizon]

poorly drawn horizon #2: cheek

--- more poorly drawn horizon comics

[laguineuperduda]

Nil

HZD characters (Part 6/ ??)

Capture Screenshot by laguineuetaperduda

#Nil #hzd nil #horizon zero dawn nil #hzdphotomode #hzd photomode #hzd #hzd screenshots #horizon zero dawn  #horizon zero dawn photomode #guerrilla #guerrilla games #videogames #ps4  #virtualphotograph #ps4share #gamergirl #gamer #gaming

[notyouranointed]

[meridiansunrise]

Places in Horizon that I fantasize about sleeping in as my long night shift comes to an end:

A cozy Nora cabin in the Embrace, lying on soft pelts, with the fire crackling gently in the hearth and the occasional hooting of an owl, surrounded by the sweet smell of pine wood.

Or

An ornately carved Carja bed with smooth silk sheets and the distant bustle of the Meridian marketplace drifting through the open window, the scents of fresh fruits and ground spices carried on a cool breeze that makes the silk curtains rustle.

Or

One of those little painted Banuk tents, listening to the sound of the winter wind swirling across the mountain landscape while I lay in a warm cozy cocoon of brightly dyed blankets, the images of the northern lights I watched that night playing on my eyelids as I fall asleep.

Or

Curled up like a cat on a soft pile of folded tent fabric on the deck of a Quen vessel, catching a quick nap while the waves gently rock the ship and the sea birds call, sea spray in the air and the sailors pattering about adjusting the rigging and singing sailing songs.

Or

A sturdy sleeping mat in an Oseram camp, where I can lie watching the stars and the fireflies and the sparks from the fire, drifting off to the sounds of the delvers trading tales of their adventures.

Or

A beautifully woven Utaru mat under an overhang in Plainsong, while the rain gently patters over leaves and bamboo, making ripples in the clear pools, and inspiring the Utaru to hum along gently to nature’s lullaby.

Places I DO NOT daydream about sleeping as my long night shift comes to an end:

On absolutely ANYTHING built by the Tenakth. I love them, but heaven help me, everything in their settlements not covered in sharpened wood spikes seems to be made out of condensed splinters held together with spit and tree sap. No wonder they are so tough (and sometimes cranky).