#Erend would love that song

[nimthirielrinon]

“Whoa-oh! Livin’ on a prayer!”

#the lone Ereloy braincell #horizon forbidden west #aloy #hfw #erend horizon #erend #aloy x erend #gaia gang #one braincell #Erend would love that song #livin on a prayer #rocking out #the rcc base

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 5 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

Aloy: Varl, Erend, you two ready to go?

Varl: Yeah, just shaving goodbye to Zo.

Erend: OH, HEY, I FOUND ANOTHER CLIP!

Erend: [FaroFails.mp9]

Aloy: Erend, are you READY?

Erend: YEAH YEAH, JUST WATCH THE CLIP!

Aloy: …

Aloy: Okay, fine, that's hilarious.

Kotallo: We would likely all find it funnier if we hadn't seen such machines rise from the ground to slaughter our friends and loved ones.

Erend: I DUNNO, I THINK THAT MIGHT MAKE IT BETTER.

Varl: I'm ready.

Aloy: Onward to ELEUTHIA, then.

----

Aloy: Zenith. Stay low, stay quiet.

Varl: Understood.

Erend: GOT IT.

Varl: All-Mother's mercy, Erend, learn how to type without speaking.

Zo: Wait, you ran into Far Zenith already? Get out of there!

Kotallo: They are in the middle of a mission, soldier. It is their duty to judge their next step, not ours.

Zo: Sigh. Fine.

Kotallo: ...there has to be a better way to convey emotions in a text.

----

Erend: SPECTERS COMING DOWN!

Aloy: We see them!

----

Varl: Coming up with an extra passenger!

Erend: WHAT? THERE'S ANOTHER SPECTER UP HERE!

Aloy: I'll deal with it! Varl, just keep her safe!

Zo: Keep who safe?

Kotallo: Did you capture a Zenith?

Erend: WHAT IN THE BROKEN PISSED-IN FORGE IS THAT?

Varl: I'd like to clarify for everyone that Erend is actually yelling now, and if he keeps doing it THIS SPECTER IS GOING TO KILL US.

Erend: SORRY, BUT

Erend: WHAT. I, JUST, WHAT.

Varl: Zo, get ready for medical treatment. She's got a wound in her head, if nothing else.

Zo: Understood. But who?

Varl: You're going to need to see this for yourself.

Aloy: Specter's down.

Varl: We're coming over.

----

Aloy: Zo, Kotallo, we talked it over. Varl and Erend are returning to base with... someone who needs help. I'll follow soon.

Kotallo: Understood, commander.

Zo: Understood. I have everything I need to heal most moderate injuries.

ADMIN [GAIA]: As long as she is not required to perform surgery, there should be no issues.

Zo: By all the songs, please never ask me to perform surgery.

ADMIN [GAIA]: Unfortunately, I cannot perform the task for you. You may have to learn.

Zo: I'll... look into it. But don't expect miracles.

ADMIN [GAIA]: I have records of many miracles my predecessor saw. Do not underestimate yourself.

Varl: Okay, we're riding.

Varl: Uh, GAIA?

ADMIN [GAIA]: Yes, Varl?

Varl: How do you define a miracle? Because I was always taught that a miracle was the direct intervention of the All-Mother. Who either doesn't exist, or is... you.

Aloy: She's not the All-Mother.

Zo: Aloy, I understand your position, but being dismissive of the beliefs of others helps no one.

Aloy: Scoff.

Aloy: We really need a better way to handle emotions in texts.

Kotallo: I am looking into something.

Varl: So, miracles? If you're the Goddess, then everything you do is a miracle. If you're not...

ADMIN [GAIA]: A miracle is an event that seems inexplicable by natural or scientific laws and is accordingly attributed to some supernatural of praeternatural cause. Various religions often attribute a phenomenon characterized as miraculous to the actions of a supernatural being, (especially) a deity, a magician, a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader.

Varl: Right. So a miracle is something from a god, or someone like that.

ADMIN [GAIA]: Correct. However, by the nature of the events in question, it is impossible to conclusively prove the existence of the supernatural. If sufficient proof is accrued, then it simply becomes another documented phenomenon of nature. In this way, a miracle is best summarized as an extremely unlikely, advantageous coincidence, one that statistically should not have happened, or at least not in quite such a fashion.

Erend: SO, WHAT, GOOD LUCK?

ADMIN [GAIA]: Several years ago, the second son of the Mad Sun-King, a young man who grew up with empathy and compassion despite the insanity and paranoia of his father, met a young woman with connections among some of the most powerful Oseram. Together, these two toppled a king. Was that good luck?

Erend: I KNOW IT WASN'T YOU. YOU WERE DEAD THEN.

ADMIN [GAIA]: Almost a year ago, a young woman found a door that was designed to open only for her, only for the door to fail to open because it could not identify her. And yet, she found a way to open that door anyway. Was that good luck?

Aloy: That's REALLY skipping a lot of context.

ADMIN [GAIA]: My predecessor trusted in a miracle, Varl of the Nora. There was no reasonable chance for the world to be saved; she could not even follow a chain of causality that would lead to such an event in the most unlikely of scenarios. But she trusted in a miracle anyway. And she was, in the end, correct.

Aloy: ...I'm heading back now. I'll be at the base soon after the boys arrive.

Chapter 5 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

#horizon #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #HZDBaseChat #zo #erend vanguardsman #varl #kotallo #aloy

[meg-noel-art]

Horizon Ask Game

Thanks for the tag @inomakani and @nerd-artist

1.) ride or die ship (your otp): Absolutely Aloy x Talanah! Been going strong on that ship for a couple years now! Fingers still crossed for them having their romantic shot in game 3.

2.) most annoying ship: This one actually misspelled shipper* and it’s me!

3.) second favorite ship: Alva x Aloy. I can understand why people prefer not to ship characters in established relationships, like regarding Federa - but imo fandom is a sandbox for a reason and these two have AWESOME chemistry and are so cute ;;;

4.) favorite platonic relationship: I think Beta and Erend and/or Kotallo would be really cute to see develop in the future of the series. Two strong and safe lads to help her navigate the world!

5.) underrated ship: Beta x Milu nation rise!! ;;; They may hold hands and be back home before 9pm

6.) overrated ship: No such thing! If you ship it and enjoy it and it brings you joy that’s all that matters!

7.) One thing I would change in canon: Unfortunately, lots. The writing of the series has taken a hit after HZD in my opinion. Varl’s death sticks out to me the most, entirely unnecessary shock value addition to the story. 

8.) something canon did right: Making Aloy queer explicitly within the text!

9.) A thing I’m proud of creating for the fandom: Any of the art I have tagged on here I’m proud of, but I’m also SUPER excited to be a part of the visual novel me and many other passionate fandom members are working on! You can follow the blog for updates and WIPS! FOCUS ON THE HEART

10.) A character who is perfect to me (wouldn’t change a thing): Milu - I love her, I want to see her grow up strong and happy ;;;

11.) The character I relate to the most and why: I’d like to say Aloy -- but probably just Beta because I actually have a lot of anxiety at all times and worry what others think of me ;;;

12.) Character(-s) I hate the most and why: Most characters I dislike are written to be disliked, so that’s probably a success!

13.) something I’ve learned from the fandom: we are stronger for our differences <3 (also tag teaming off Ino that critique and discussion should coexist alongside our enjoyment of media)

14.) three tags I seek out on ao3: aloy/talanah, Lis lives, alt universe

15.) A song I strongly associate with my otp/favorite character: For Hawk and Thrush, ‘Haven’.

Tagging: I’ve seen so many of my friends do it, so ignore me if I tagged you or pretend I tagged you if I didn’t! @sonekrie @novastellaris @tjerra14 @loumauve @finrays @maybirdie @sorbetowl @witheringfears

#ask game #horizon forbidden west #burning shores #hfw #horizon forbidden west burning shores #hzd #horizon zero dawn #tag game #if you see this in the tags just pretend you got tagged in it! #lets see folks do it! #aloy x talanah

[sorbetowl]

Horizon Ask Game

Oioioi, thanks for all the tags, @maybirdie, @meg-noel-art, @nerd-artist and @xxxhellfireravenxxx

1. ride or die ship (your otp): To no one's surprise, it's Ereloy, precisely as it reads on the can. They snatched my heart back in 2017 and haven't released it to this day.

2. most annoying ship: There are no annoying ships. Next question.

3. second favourite ship: Tough call. I'll go with Avad/Ersa, because they 100% had SOMETHING going on. Starcrossed lovers my beloved.

4. favourite platonic relationship: I'm living for the friendship between Alva and Kotallo. And Beta's line about Erend visiting her in the server room and being "loud...but funny". A kingdom for on-screen interactions between the two. Erend can be like "is free little sister". ;;

5. underrated ship: Drakka/Yarra. The raw enemies to lovers potential there...

6. overrated ship: I don't see anything overrated in a genuine outpouring of one's love for two fictional characters.

7. one thing i would change in canon: Now, after two main games and DLC? Oh, a fair bit. Varl's unnecessary death, even admitted to by the writers as being there for shock value. Shock over the drop in narrative quality post-HZD, maybe. Same as reducing Erend to everyone's punching bag without a single thought behind his eyes. Fantastic how everyone easily picks up reading English while Erend struggles with it when he's canonically the only member (besides Aloy and Alva) who knows how to read at all. He's the one asking Aloy in HZD where she learned to read Glyphs, something unique to the Carja who reinvented written language based on a book, and the Oseram who got taught Carja Glyphs for trade, which eventually developed into their own alphabet (they get differentiated as "Carja Glyphs" and "(Oseram) Glyphs" in datapoints. Erend can read both. Two alphabets. That's more than many bilinguals) But sure, he's the dumb dumb who can't read, not the companions that start completely illiterate.

8. something canon did right: All of HZD. What a masterful introduction to a new game franchise, and playing through it the first time unraveling all its mysteries is why I'm still here obsessed with the series.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: Probably the companion art piece for Love Games by my friend @maybirdie. It was incredible working with her as this beast of a fic came together and the friends that I made during that time are near and dear to my heart. And of course, being on the artist team for the Horizon visual novel Focus On The Heart!

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Without a speck of doubt, Gildun. What a bundle of unbridled joy.

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Beta. We both have crippling anxiety, literally never go outside, and are unfortunately Very Smol™

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: The worst I can feel about a character is indifference.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: After having been in a fandom that crashed and burned over a decade ago and coming out with a general aversion to fandom...at the end of the day, people from all trades of life coming together to enjoy and create for the same thing that they love with all their heart is a precious thing and we're all richer embracing each other's uniqueness in this gathering.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sensual Fingerblasting (wink-wonk)

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Break In by Halestorm for Ereloy, and for favorite character (Erend) End Of Me by Ashes Remain Tagging @emtazer, @imamandajulius, @souls-that-have-senses, @nmallenart, @bs-fangirl, @cranialgames And everyone who sees this and would like to give a go~

#ask-game #horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #tag game #ereloy

[witheringfears]

Horizon Ask Game

Thanks for tagging me @meg-noel-art

1.) ride or die ship (your otp): Aloy/Petra. I'm sorry but I love both of these characters and the chemistry the two of them have together. In the first game these two are only ones who mutually flirt with each other. Also I love that Aloy's actress Ashly Burch said that she thought Aloy and Petra were the only couple that makes sense.

2.) most annoying ship: Probably Aloy/Avad. I like both characters as friends but I don't see them in a relationship. Also most of the interactions between the two involve Avad getting rebuffed by Aloy.

3.) second favorite ship: Aloy/Talanah. Not my main ship but I can definitely see it happening.

4.) favorite platonic relationship: Erend/Aloy. I know a lot of my friends on here love this as their OTP but I see them more as siblings. They have a lovely brother/sister relationship that both of them need.

5.) underrated ship: I don't know if they would actually be in a relationship or just be really good friends but I love the idea of Aluki and Nakoa spending a lot of time together.

6.) overrated ship: Again with Aloy/Avad. Sorry it's just not there for me. If you enjoy it though then I fully support you.

7.) One thing I would change in canon: I can't pick one thing. Don't kill Varl, have Regalla be the main villain in HFW, and the Zeniths be the main villain in the third game instead of Nemesis.

8.) something canon did right: Beta. Seriously she's a fantastic addition.

9.) A thing I’m proud of creating for the fandom: I have a number of WIP pieces. Hopefully I get one ready enough to post.

10.) A character who is perfect to me (wouldn’t change a thing): Petra Forgewoman. She is literally the best and her face model is also here on tumblr. They're New Hologram and I love their videos. @newhologram if you want to check them out!

11.) The character I relate to the most and why: Personality wise it would be Teb. They're just always ready to help their friends even then they're in crippling pain.

12.) Character(-s) I hate the most and why: Drakka and Yarra from HFW and Resh from HZD. I was hoping that Resh might apologize or learn something or have chracter development. Drakka and Yarra's questline was one of the most developed but, like most of the side quests in HFW, amounted to nothing and both sides were unlikable.

13.) something I’ve learned from the fandom: How many good friends I have made by talking to folks.

14.) three tags I seek out on ao3: Aloy/Petra, Poly, and trans

15.) A song I strongly associate with my otp/favorite character: Force of Nature by Miracle of Sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_epoUlyzGM&pp=ygUgZm9yY2Ugb2YgbmF0dXJlIG1pcmFjbGUgb2Ygc291bmQ%3D

Tagging: If we're mutuals and you see this and you like Horizon then you consider yourself tagged. Also if I tag you but you've already done it they don't worry about this. @aloyphotoshoot @aloyxtilda @system-threat-detected @tipanot @valaloy @felrend @tjerra14 @deadletterpoets @neuroweird @aakziikrin @immortalspacelesbian @lonski @meep-m33p

#ask game #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #horizon frozen wilds #horizon burning shores #hzd #hfw #aloy #petra forgewoman #aloy x petra #petra x aloy

[maybirdie]

Horizon Asks

Thanks for the tags @singingkestrel and @meg-noel-art !

1. ride or die ship (your otp): Ereloy. As if that’s news to anyone lmao

2. most annoying ship: I see y’all trying to start drama, I’m not falling for it lmao. Oh wait actually...Talanah/Amadis 🤣

3. second favourite ship: Between Kotallo/Talanah and Abadund/Morlund. One for spicy, one for sweet. Also Petra and like, most of the women in the game

4. favourite platonic relationship: I love the big brother/little sis vibes between Beta and Erend even though we never see them interact really. I love that she mentions that he makes her laugh. Also Aloy and Gildun - obsessed.

5. underrated ship: Drakka/Yarra - LISTEN I KNOW but it’s the ultimate enemies to lovers and I love them. Also Avad/Ersa....starcrossed lovers ftw

6. overrated ship: more instigating I see

7. one thing i would change in canon: One? LMAO. So many things post-HZD. Particularly the way Erend got shafted and how many threads got dropped (we didn’t get a post-Daunt makeup scene? Really??). Also Talanah should have been an official GAIA gang member, hands down. And I’ll be honest, the way romance for Aloy was handled in general.

8. something canon did right: The entire arc of HZD is masterful and perfect and it’s been a long time since I’ve been that gripped by a mystery in any media. It was always going to be hard to top, but I would love if the next game reverted back to that kind of storytelling vs the “doing too much” trend of HFW

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: A hard choice, but I think I have to pick Love Games just because it was such a labor of love between myself and @sorbetowl​. I had a blast collaborating with such a talented artist and friend! For that reason I’m SUPER excited to be working on the upcoming VN, Focus on the Heart - already such an amazing experience!

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Definitely Erend. There’s a reason I ship him with Aloy lol. I guess there are pieces of both of them I relate to hard - Aloy’s impatience with rude people/social situations and her love for solitude, Erend’s self-consciousness and sense of responsibility for keeping everyone happy and feeling good. The combo of them hits real close to home.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: Tilda was a really tough character for me for personal reasons. She’s a wonderfully crafted villain but she also makes my skin craaaaawl. Which I suppose is exactly what she’s meant to do, so well done Guerrilla 😂

13. something i've learned from the fandom: God so much. I rolled into the Ereloy discord totally clueless back in April 2022, and feel like I have so much useless lore in my head now (and I’m not anywhere near some of the real lore people I know). But beyond lore, I’ve really learned how important empathy and putting yourself in other’s shoes can be. It’s amazing how many new friends I’ve made from being open to other people’s POVs, and how much I’ve seen people hurt each other because they’re not open to it.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Sensual Fingerblasting (iykyk), There Was Only One Bed, Sparring as Foreplay

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Slowly by Olivia Dean, Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon cause what better Friends to Lovers song is there?

tagging: No pressure tags!! Also sorry if this is a repeat for anyone. @souls-that-have-senses, @sorbetowl, @imamandajulius, @emtazer, @brekkie-e, @cranialgames, @nerd-artist, @xxxhellfireravenxxx 

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #horizon zero dawn #tag game

[hanalwayssolo]

i’ve allowed these random hfw headcanon things to gnaw and nibble away at my hyperfixating brain like a bunch of starving squirrels and god (by the forge! by the sun! by the ten!) i might as well write it down before i go insane during this long holiday weekend:

erend, in his thorough research of the ancient ones’ history with music, begins to use phrases like, “this beat is sick,” “this bop slaps!” or “this is a banger!” to describe the songs he thought are good. which are mostly heavy metal. in his defense, the only reason why the genre appealed to him was because it’s “the oseram blood” in him. (“it’s metal??? get it??? by the forge my people would love this!!”)

varl, to keep erend from blasting his questionable music taste in the base, often hijacks his focus with classical music he discovered along with zo and alva. mostly, varl plays vivaldi’s winter. erend was pissed at first but after being forced to listen to it on repeat, it’s actually… not that bad. in fact, his words were: “the beat drop in the middle? a solid 10/10.”

kotallo asking aloy about seashells has been a thing, but honestly, this was not at all a random question, nor did it come from nowhere. truth is, when he was a kid, he often traveled with his parents to the long coast, where he would watch the sea’s ebbs and flows, would listen as the water foams and makes a rustling sound as it meets the shore. he found it so mesmerising, somewhat resenting that he was not born in tide’s reach. now, after watching all the data that aloy has gathered in her travels and having learned that this strange object called a seashell carried the sound of the ocean in its body, he remembers a time when he told his mother how he wanted to “keep the music of the crashing waves in his pocket” so he can continue listening to it even from the bulwark. she only smiled at him and gave him a hug so warm his mother could have been the sun itself. anyway. this seashell seems like lovely thing to have, not just to have the ocean at his fingertips, but perhaps something to remember his mother by.

alva learns this thing called scrabble from the archives, a game played by the old ones to enhance their knowledge of the glyphs. (their word for it was vocabulary. or something to that effect.) she explains the mechanics to the rest of the gang, says that it’s similar to machine strike given how it’s played on a wooden board, but instead of machine pieces, it’s glyphs on a wooden tile. this discussion with the gang happens to coax beta out of the basement.

beta, of course, knows a thing or two about scrabble through the apollo training interface. she’s been so keen to try it out except she didn’t have anyone to play it with when she was still with the zeniths. here in the base, she offers to help in making the board, which more or less astounds everybody considering how… well… she’s been keeping mostly to herself, an isolation / kind of introversion worse than kotallo’s. this makes erend and varl immediately volunteer in carving the board. even kotallo promises he would find the best pigment to paint the glyphs on the tiles. zo and alva exchange a look that’s like, “did we just witness a nora, an oseram, and a tenakth agree on… collaborating?? for a board game??”

zo discovers the recipe for this thing called coffee and chocolate frosting, which she has heard kotallo mentioned during one of his machine strike sessions with erend. (“an oseram forging an unlikely friendship with a tenakth marshal? can you believe??” erend exclaims proudly one night, sharing his piss-poor ale with kotallo.) she lets erend, varl, and of course, kotallo, taste-test for her. the results yielded positive, if not close to catastrophic results. positive because they all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the coffee and the chocolate, but by catastrophic results, she supposes that maybe she added too much sugar and cacao beans? because somehow, the guys kind of… went berserk. they were so awake and alive and burning with a rush of energy that the trio decided to go out to train and hunt that by the time they came back, varl left a trail of dead burrowers outside the base. erend managed to collect a dozen of apex bristleback hearts. and kotallo… returned with a carcass of a stormbird and a massive boulder from the bulwark. zo will have a lot to explain to aloy about this.

aside from varl, the other person who enjoys talking to beta is actually alva. alva is very much fascinated with how beta knows a lot of things!! they spend evenings reading through the archives and talking to gaia, with beta often correcting alva’s quen version of things. of course, alva understands how beta might somehow come off as blunt and rude; after finding out how beta has been treated by the zeniths, alva would raise hell over these immortal jackasses if she could.

zo religiously tends to her garden outside the base by the cliffside facing plainsong, but every now and then, she’d notice how the plants are freshly watered just before she can get to the task herself, or how there’s often an unfamiliar addition to her pot of flowers. she doesn’t mind this at all; frankly, she appreciates it. she assumes varl might be behind this as he’s the only one who lends her a hand to keep their little lush space alive and to bring in more plants for the base—until gaia points out a fun fact in their passing conversation that the new flowers blooming in her garden are only native to tenakth soil. specifically, it only grows in the sheerside mountains. well. with that in mind, it doesn’t take long for zo to put two and two together. besides, it really doesn’t take a genius to figure out the identity of this secret gardener. 

so yeah, sure. sure. kotallo takes care of the cliffside garden in secret. i mean, why wouldn’t he? it’s on the way to the sunwing site where he often trains, and erend usually forgets to water the plants, anyway. and about the flowers... he wanted to bring something that reminds him of home and to honour the friends he lost. truth is, this was all gaia’s idea. ever since he told gaia about how he lost his arm and what happened in the embassy, she mentioned that one of the many things the old ones did to cope with the kind of thing he’s been through is to make a garden. (and by ‘that kind of thing’, the words that gaia used specifically were trauma and grief. he knows she means well but this didn’t make sense to him—he’s pretty sure he’s neither traumatised nor grieving. of course not. he’s fine. he’s absolutely, totally fine.)

(of course he’s NOT fine but by the fucking ten why would he dare to admit that out loud? and what is he if not in denial? yes, he felt this when he lost his parents—but how come this is different? how come this feels a lot heavier than when he was a kid? does grief change its form the older you get? what if he’s struggling to process these big and complex feelings because he grew up being taught how to fight and not to sit with grief? to only bury the dead and to keep moving forward? besides, who has time to grieve and to wallow on losses when his tribe is at the brink of another civil war? this has always been the tenakth way: to keep a stiff upper lip, to never let sentiment get in the way of duty. to mourn is as unnatural as a dreadwing being docile. so how, pray tell, could he ever let himself have a say when he’s hasn’t been taught to do so?)

so instead, kotallo learns how to plant flowers to make room for grief. he makes space for another when they lose varl in gemini. he realises later on that he might have been unkind to erend, how easily he let go of the words “we can’t sit around wallowing in our losses” as if varl was a thing and not a friend, because truthfully, he was coming from a place of fear for his tribe, which, in turn, diminished the way erend was dealing with this loss, who’s taking this harder than the rest of them. of course varl and erend go a long way back. this time, kotallo is the outsider to their friendship. and kotallo of all people should know what that kind of pain feels like. he lost an arm, yes, but to lose your friends, to be the only one to survive… isn’t the grief from all of that a kind of maiming, too?

#han.txt #horizon forbidden west #kotallo #zo #aloy #alva #erend #beta #varl #LISTEN. this has been driving me hogwild these last couple of weeks #guerilla gave me crumbs from their dialogue but still i THRIVED because i do not know! moderation! #i could go on and on about the gaia gang until i am old and shriveling in my sofa #but kotallo… man. #yeah sure he is daddy FINE but truth is he is also a baby girl #i can write a fifteen page essay about this fictional character and submit it as my dissertation for all i care #(also) #(can u imagine if we got his back story tho. like i firmly believe mr. dalal has the ✨range✨ to deliver the emotional goods) #anyway! #petition for GAIA to have them go to therapy #kotallo ESPECIALLY like put him in the priority list!!! #but yeah #lord knows they all need it lmfao

[cicadaknight]

tag game (horizon)

tagged by @artekai 💕🤝💖 thanks, pal!

1. ride or die ship: fashav/kotallo straight to my grave. mythological tragedies, those two, i tell you what.

2. most annoying ship: the boat aloy takes to san francisco. can you imagine, never rowing before in your life and making that trek through choppy currents and storms? insufferable.

3. second favorite ship: aloy/kotallo. the parallels of aloy and kotallo being forced into roles they never wanted, being alone and outcast from their tribes, moving through their grief and rage by learning to trust a new found family? being seen by another for more than their physical prowess but their humanity and creativity? excellent shit.

4. favorite platonic relationship: SYLENS AND BETA AND GAIA. Sylens getting taken down a fucking peg or two by a teenage girl and an infinitely compassionate AI. Beta being able to collaborate with someone (and an AI) who sees well beyond her mistakes and faults. GAIA finding consistent, complex companions who remind her fondly of Lis. Sylens making Beta food and teaching her how to cook. HELP ME.

5. Underrated ship: So many. I really love Aloy/Drakka. The idea of him being such a counter to Aloy’s single-minded focus on saving the world by being an absolute goober. But her seeing that he cares so very deeply about doing the right thing and protecting his people. Alva/Beta is sweet. I dig Erend/Talanah.

6. overrated ship: the odyssey. just kidding, i already made a joke about a boat.

7. one thing i would change in canon: the entire last act? specifically varl’s death, that kotallo doesn’t fly to the grove with aloy, that aloy ends the entire tenakth/regalla conflict via single combat duel, and then fights alone twice more with erik and tilda. RIP all the build up to aloy understanding that she’s not alone and all the people in her life are as competent and complex and have just as much stake in the fate of the world as she does. and beyond that, i deeply regret the way they wrote talanah in hfw. she shoulda had that fourth bunk in the base.

8. something canon did right: don’t get me wrong, i wish fashav hadn’t died at barren light, but i love his back story and everything we find out through his journals. added so much nuance to carja and tenakth cultures and characters in just a handful of paragraphs.

9. a thing i’m proud of creating for the fandom: i’ve been in a perpetual state of burnout for yeeeeeears. this kotallo portrait was the first piece i’ve drawn in ages. i’m also working on a bookbinding project and doing art for Kotallo with amazing folks on Focus on the Heart.

10. a character who is perfect to me: Hekarro. I hope the writers, animators, and actor who made him come to life are very proud of their work.

11. character i relate to most and why: uhhh like every other neurodivergent queer with trauma and parental issues, i gotta go with beta.

12. character(s) i hate most and why: tekkoteh. absolute steaming pile of shit. genuinely every time i think i’ve reached peak hatred for that slime, someone writes a beautiful fic where i find myself despising him more. in my interpretation, there’s no world where he didn’t take advantage of, manipulate, and abuse kotallo after his parents died.

13. something i’ve learned from the fandom: awww this is cheesy, but i learned how to take a chance and post things i make again. most people are so curious and so excited to discuss lore or characters in good faith. oh, recently i did discover i missed MANY post-mission dialogues for side quests on my first few playthroughs.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: i’m guaranteed to get drawn into anything re: kotallo and fashav’s early marshal days, lis character development, aloy/kotallo hurt/comfort (sue me)

15. a song i associate strongly with my otp/favorite character: i made this playlist based off this fic. it’s basicallg my score for fashav and kotallo falling in love during their marshal duties. instants by skúli sverrisson and anything by hermanos gutiérrez sends me into pondering fashav and kotallo’s lives together.

i’m gonna tag @poulticepurse @fogsblue @rowanisawriter @ayaitch @robo-dino-puppy if y’all wanna do this?

#tag game #h

[jikanet-tanaka]

Ideas for stories and such...

I'm a bit overwhelmed with plot bunnies right now, and I think writing them all out is the best way to get 'em all straight. So... here are a few ideas for future fics I'd want to write. I dunno which one(s) I should focus on first...

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

A Saga Most Ordinary : I have ideas for two more chapters, one about Eivor playing Dungeons and Dragons with the three Good Boys, along with Hytham, Randvi and Tewdwr, and another about her and Valka Staging An Intervention because she thinks Sigurd went and joined some cult because of his new girlfriend (ie Fulke).

Untitled/maybe it’ll just be chapter two of an existing fic, I dunno: A new companion piece/sequel of sorts to ‘Nornir's Curse, Nótt's Counsel’ about Randvi and Valdis just hanging out (on the beach while their respective spouses watch over the young ‘uns) and talking about their (rather similar, really) lives.

Dishonored

Take Your Silver Spoon (Dig Your Grave) : A two-shot about two bastard-born princesses of the Kaldwin line. Part of it is already written, I just need to get off my ass and do something about it lol

You and Me and The Leviathan Makes Three : An AU where Daud survives the events of DoTO, and Billie is stuck trying to find new purpose in her life while teaching a god-turned-boy how to Human and a suicidal old man how to… not be a total wreck of a person . Oh, and the Abbey of the Everyman is falling apart all around them (which makes the Boysider happy, since his two newfound biggest goals in life are 1) to destroy organized religion and 2) to save the whales. Every chapter would be set in a different isle, with titles based on sea shanties.

Dracula

Untitled : A little one-shot about how Drac might have gotten to Mina on the night of October 3rd. Because the details are kinda hazy on that, right?

Final Fantasy XVI

The Tale of the Telamonides : Before the mission to Drake’s Head, Mid shows up to the Hideout to Bring Chaos and Shenanigans to everyone’s live. Because I was sad that we never did see her interact with Cid.

Gravity Falls

Dungeons and Dummies : …I need to finish this you guys, I already have it all planned out. I feel weirdly anxious about this story, mostly because I don’t happen to have the whole of the rules of D&D stamped in my brain (shocking, I know). It’s like I’m afraid I’ll have someone go, ‘hey, that’s not how it goes in the Player Handbook, page so-and-so blah blah blah ’ so I don’t even try, you know?? It’s a weird thing.

The Awesome Mixtape of the Apocalypse: A story where Dipper and Mabel’s parents join both sets of twins on a roadtrip to Gravity Falls. The concept would be that Mabel made a mixtape with songs for everyone in her family (so for example Ford definitely gets weird prog rock like this, listen my dad was a happier, most well-adjusted Ford, and that was his shit, car trips in my family were trippy), with each character represented by a particular musical style (the Pines mom’s got punk ska like Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto lol…) and each chapter corresponding to one song. I got every big story beat and character moment planned out, I just… need to get off my ass and write, I guess.

Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West

Untitled : Aka Aloy watches Varl and Zo together, gets confused/frustrated, and shares a convo with Erend that helps her figure out she’s asexual. Sweet!

Untitled Rost and Ersa fic : Rost and Ersa, as ghosts, hang around Aloy and Erend for the events of the first game (and have a mini ship war about the merits of Ereloy as a couple). Also known as ‘Rost Gets Another Grumpy Daughter Because These Are Sure Fun To Collect Or Something’.

Mass Effect

Untitled : Just a little Shakarian ficlet about Shepard listening to Thane’s story about how he met his wife after the events in Garrus’ loyalty mission and her being like, oh, oh boy, oh no.

Radiant Historia

Will You Learn to Love (Without Consuming): A little one-shot set in the Apocrypha ‘verse which is not compliant with the canon shown in Perfect Chronology. Basically my take on who became the big Mana Monster causing the desertification (and why he’s a foil to both Heiss and the Conuts Guy).

Déjà Vécu : A one-short about Ernst and Heinrich (and, by association, Stocke and Heiss) because I guess that’s what I always write about in this damn fandom.

This Sweet Corrupting Reality : Basically the only parallel history I would have liked to see in Perfect Chronology, that is, Stocke wakes up and realizes he is now King Ernst of Granorg.

#Assassin's Creed Valhalla #ac valhalla #dishonored #Gravity Falls #Dracula #Final Fantasy XVI #Horizon Zero Dawn #Radiant Historia #Mass Effect #I'm tired y'all #i dunno what to do #tanakafic

[tjerra14]

what if ikrie joins the gaia gang at the base since it seems like it’d be considered a werak

sylens cannot be the only banuk they ever meet lol

Anon, I absolutely love the way you think and let me tell you, there's nothing more than I want from the third game than this. Sylens, for all intents and purposes, might look like a Banuk, but even the Banuk doubt he was ever truly one of them, and even if he was, he seems to like thinking himself outside of and above all tribes, so arguing he's the Banuk representative at base is wobbly at best. Let's face it: when they made their game about Aloy learning the importance of friendship and gathering her team for the current and coming challenges from all the tribes, Guerrilla kind of forgot that the Carja and Banuk exist, too. (And then got rid of the Nora, but that's something for a different time, so I won't get into it.) Where Ikrie joining the gang is concerned, there's a few scenarios I've spent entirely too much time thinking about that come to mind. We know that back in Frozen Wilds, she'd lost everything she held dear, and had her life completely uprooted, realising that what she thought would be her path could never be. When you talk to her at the hunting grounds, she says that she's in no hurry to return to Ban-Ur yet, and it's not too unlikely she might ultimately decide that she won't return at all. So, where would she go from there? She seems like a restless character, much like Aloy, so the hunting grounds won't be her final stop, and even though she considers starting some of her own, I feel she might not want to tether herself to one spot right away. (Plus I feel Lauvuk would have an encouraging thing or two to say about her leaving and seeing the world and asking that girl out.)

So I feel we have:

Ikrie staying in the Cut for a while after she last sees Aloy, eventually meeting Gildun, either while visiting Song's Edge, or just stumbling across him on the road, possibly finding him in a bit of a pickle once again; and after talking to him decides to accompany him west on his delves, for protection and company. Since we know Gildun passed through the later-collapsed tunnel, which would put them into Aloy's general vicinity, she could either go and seek her out, or we keep with the game's events and they meet up while Ikrie is trying to get Gildun out of another door incident ("By the Blue Light, you turn away for five seconds and he gets himself trapped again! ....I think I broke that button over in the next room.") After some catching up and Focus-acquiring Ikrie decides to join forces with Aloy again--fate's a long climb on a high cliff for people like her and Aloy, and what higher cliff and better challenge to rise to than facing Nemesis?, and returns to Base with her. (For bonus Banuk points insert Inatut in Gildun's protection squad here. I feel he would really hit it off with Erend, and eventually join the Vanguard. Vanguard Inatut rights!)

Another option would be her arriving late to the Battle at the Spire with Starbucks. News travel quickly in the Cut, even in remote areas, and a hunting ground is a hub for travellers seeking some training and maybe some rest before or afterwards. So Ikrie hears the rumours, and the stories, and learns that Aloy needs help saving the world. Both Aratak and Inatut have already left, and while she might not be able to catch up with them, she hurries to Meridian. When she arrives, the battle is over, the world is (for now) saved, everyone is celebrating, and Aloy, who she came to help, is nowhere to be seen because she already ran away (once again). Since there's nothing for her in Meridian, but she still intends to help Aloy, she joins Varl on his quest to seek her out, maybe following up on a different rumour than he does right before Forbidden West starts so they meet up a little later than that. (This one also comes with a side of Vanguard Inatut. I may be rather passionate about that one.)

Of course, there's also the shippy option fitting the timeline I have for them in my head, but ignores canon a little (or a lot): Aloy straight up asks Ikrie to accompany her to the West, the two of them set out in pursuit of the rumour that there might be an intact copy of GAIA somewhere in the wilderness of No Man's Land; the Embassy happens, Aloy runs off again and Ikrie is left to follow in her tracks, eventually finding her all messed up in Stone's Echo after her narrow escape from Latopolis. While Aloy is resting and healing, Talanah, Milu, and Varl catch up to them, and ultimately the events of Dying Lands take place, so that they all find the Base together.

Long story short, Ikrie as a Gaia gang member yes please. Imagine all the fun she'd have getting into all sorts of ridiculous challenges with Kotallo, too. The Sunwings at the top of the base would never know peace again.

#thank you so much for this ask!!! #to no one's surprise i have many feelings about ikrie at the base #like. fw kinda made it a point that all tribes need to come together to save the world from (once again) extinction #funny how two of them straight up got excluded #and a third somewhat deleted #and well. of all the banuk that we DO know #ikrie is probably the best fit #she has every reason and opportunity to leave the cut and ban-ur behind #aloy has helped her before so she will want to pay her back #and since she currently has no real plans for her future #why not do that instead? #hzd #hfw #asks

[epsilontauri]

headcanon for Horizon Fobidden West Squad discovering music

Aloy:

Let’s be real, Aloy would be the slowest to discover music. She listens to a bit of this, a bit of that, whatever the others are letting play over the soundboxes in the base, but nothing really stands out to her. She doesn’t really have the time for this when she’s following up clues and runs around outside. GAIA‘s suggestion to listen to „Road Trip Music“ didn’t help at all, she doesn’t like the distraction when she’s riding through machine herds that are about to attack her and on the Sunwing there’s too much wind and the nagging fear of flying into a Stormbird or Dreadwing to enjoy music. With time (and a lot of pressure from her friends) she starts to take actual breaks when she returns to the base, and really gets into techno. She‘s a bit embarrassed about this because no one else listens to it, feeling like the odd one out again until Kotallo and Alva start listening to it too.

Alva:

That precious bean loves ambient and movie soundtrack music— especially Hans Zimmer. How can music so distant in time make one feel so much??? She likes LoFi too after hearing Beta mentioning it, but she tries not to let it play when Beta emerges from the basement once a blue moon. In general, as long there’s no singing or any lyrics, she’ll listen to it. Everything else is too distracting while combing through Data and that’s the reason why she got into techno. She wouldn’t admit it but she does adjust her music tastes to the liking of the twins, especially Beta because she’s around most of the time. Turns out, some music with singing is really good.

Beta:

While she had access to APOLLO, a lot of it was heavily censored so she doesn’t get inspired to go for any kind of teenage rebellion. She mostly got access to LoFi, pop and classical music, and now she can’t really enjoy it. The moment she discovered My Chemical Romance unleashed all the teenage angst that got pent up in her. Sometimes you can hear her screaming „I‘m not okay“ in the basement. Alva joins her a lot.

Erend:

Oh Erend will pounce like a scorcher on anything metal, punk or rock, but after a while it feels soulless to him. You see, Erend drinks respect women juice like ale so he sticks especially to female lead punk bands, but he also likes Arch Enemy, Nightwish, Frozen Crown, Blondie, Bikini Kill and Baby Metal. Irish pub music is also a favourite.

Kotallo:

He wouldn’t admit it but Erends music taste left it’s marks on him. The whole concept of metal culture is very appealing, we talking moshpits, wall of death etc. but it’s a casual liking until he discovers Sabaton. Songs about the wars of the old ones? Sign him up. He’s so into it. Heaven Shall Burn is also on the list, but mostly for the lyrics. Once he discovers bagpipes and their original use he listens to it up and down at full volume until Zo snaps and limits it to one song per week. Though a bit grumpy about this, he decides it’s better to listen to it like the old ones intended: Standing on a hill, facing all the repressed emotions and machines that got upset by the sheer noise of it. He get’s a bit into techno through Aloy.

Sylens:

Because Sylens is a pretentious little shit he will only listen to things like „Deep Alpha Waves Stimulation Music for studying“ and classical music so he can feel superior for liking Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. All smugness is wiped off his face and replaced by dread when he learns what a catboy is and that Mozart was one.

Talanah:

Only bad bitch music. She loves when the lyrics get explicit and knows WAP by heart. Zo joins her every now and then to embarrass Varl and with enough ale even Erend joins— which is most of the time when Talanah visits. Her duties as sunhawk keep her in Meridian, and whenever she visits it’s a party.

Varl:

Listens to a lot of music that Zo likes, but is very much into indie music and tribal. He likes the drums, ok??? It reminds him of home and the many feasts in the embrace. After some time he dips more into the unknown and discovers kpop. He doesn’t have to understand all the lyrics to know that it’s a bop, and learns all the dances. He swears that it keeps him fitter than any nora brave training he had to do under Sona.

Zo:

Zo doesn‘t care about genres as long it’s a beautiful singing voice and/or good lyrics. Chinese and european opera music piqued her interest for a while, it’s incredible to her what the old ones could do with their voices. Tibetan and Inuit throat singing were strange to her, but she still saw the beauty in it. She argues a lot with Erend and Kotallo whether growling counts as singing. She likes Florence + the Machine, Hozier, Aurora, Enya and ABBA, which led her to a slight preference for disco music.

#horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #headcanons #aloy #alva #beta #erend #kotallo #sylens #talanah #varl #zo

[meep-m33p]

Thank you for tagging me in this game @witheringfears and @singingkestrel !

1) Ride or Die ship: Ereloy, I love their Canon friendship so much, and this was the first pairing I fell in love with.

2) Most Annoying Ship: not really annoying but I just think it's gross. Aloy/Beta, if you want them to be in a romantic relationship or family members for that matter, imma stay far away from you.

3) Second Favorite Ship: Seyloy, these two are so so so important to me, you have no idea.

4)Favorite Platonic Relationship: Aloy and Erend. I adore their friendship, and I want them to hug more.

5)Underrated Ship: Gaia/Lis, Lis was SMITTEN with Gaia, and Gaia adored Lis. You can't convince me otherwise. Gaia misses Lis so badly, I think about it constantly.

6) Overrated Ship: I don't really get the appeal of Kotallo/Aloy 🤷

7) One thing I would change in canon: Varl's death. He did not need to die just to act as a transition for meeting Tilda >:(

8) Something Canon did right: Literally everything else, and you can fight me on that. I love the story of these games.

9) A thing I'm proud of creating for the fandom: All of my art and my long fic Dawn of the Avatar and its sequel A Tale of Twin Stars.

10) A character who is perfect to me: Elisabet. That woman can do no wrong. She is The Woman of All Time.

11) Character I relate to the most: Aloy. I was a social outcast when I was little and I have mountains of imposter syndrome and plenty of trauma to go with it, plus I'm queer :)

12) Characters I hate the most: Ted Faro, that bastard erased the entirety of human history cus he sucked so badly that he didn't want anyone to ever know how badly he sucked.

13) Something I learned from this fandom: How to be comfortable with my insecurities and how to be proud of my queerness :)

14) Three tags I seek out on ao3: Aloy/Seyka, hurt/comfort, established relationship

15) A song I strongly relate to my OTP/favorite character: Karma by AJR for Aloy cus poor girl has been through so much. Another song I usually think about in relation to Aloy is Meathook from the DOOM Eternal soundtrack. The amount of times I've fought massive machines while listening to this is too many to count lol

Tagging my mutuals and people I wanna get to know better :3 @aloyxtilda @yoursaltytears @artekai @bluejaybytes @lifeismakingmetired

[nitewrighter]

Aloy for the niche asks?

a song that reminds me of them: Honestly her theme music is so longing and distinctive it feels a little corny to try and frame her with a more contemporary song. But... "Deep Green" by Marika Hackman

what they smell like: Oohh she has got a rind on her, I can tell you that much. Dirt and sweat and blood and metal and greenery and smoke that's only barely kept in check by her plunging through bodies of water. She smells saltier in Forbidden West!

an otp: Oh gosh so many eligible Bachelors and Bachelorettes. I haven't played "Forbidden West" yet but in descending order I like Petra, Varl, Talanah, and Nil.

a notp: It's not a notp but I like Erend just staying permanently unrequited. Like I'm sorry, dude, but that mustache is AWFUL.

favorite platonic/familial relationships: Well, Rost was really her only family and I do like the very deep loneliness inherent in their relationship. But also the ending where you find Elisabet's body really made me feel things.

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: I'm not really familiar enough with the fandom's headcanons to say what I disagree with, but I have a personal headcanon that she developed an almost masochistic love for spicy foods from her time in the Sundom because Nora food (and Rost's and her own cooking) is pretty bland by comparison.

the position they sleep in: Curled up on a bedroll under the stars, spear close, back to the fire, staring out into the night, wheels of her mind spinning, but wary to her surroundings.

a crossover au i’d love to see them in: Not really a crossover but I do love HZD AU's in general. It's fun figuring out what tribes people would be in. For Aloy herself I know the wanderer/seeker thing is a big part of her character, but I'd be very interested in a kind of farming/homestead mechanic for the game. It would be cool if she could be the leader of a slowly growing settlement of her own and she can go on little missions to improve the living conditions there for her people. (If Forbidden West has any mechanic like this PLEASE let me know I will go out and buy it right now).

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn: In HZD, it's Banuk Sickness Eater, in Forbidden West, it's Utaru Gravesinger.

#horizon zero dawn #hzd #forbidden west

[moosethren]

Horizon Ask Game

I’ve not been tagged but I’ve seen so many of these and I wanna give it a go. xD

1. ride or die ship (your otp): I mainly just ship my ocs with canons so my OTP is Ash/Kotallo. If I gotta say a canon one, I do enjoy Erend and Aloy.

2. most annoying ship: Only thing annoying with ships in fandoms is when someone tries to shove it down your throat while invalidating your own. That’s the only annoying thing.

3. second favourite ship: Kherus/Avad (crossover canon) but Varl/Zo quickly grew on me as well. Aloy and Talanah work really well too.

4. favourite platonic relationship: Kotallo and Alva. But also Gendas and Rushavid, I just love those two! 

5. underrated ship: I dooon’t know enough about ships in the HFW fandom to know what’d be underrated. 

6. overrated ship: Same as above really.

7. one thing i would change in canon: Varl’s death and the following pregnancy with Zo. Also the kinda rushed romances in general in the game! But then it could be because I’m asexual/demi so slow burn ships are the only ones I ever enjoy. 

8. something canon did right: The world building and the tribes. It’s such a fascinating and fun world to read and learn about.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: Alas, I’ve not done anything for Horizon yet. I am privately working on a Horizon AU for TBB. 

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Gildun. Gotta love him.

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Alva. The nerd and she’s defo autistic. Will fight if necessary.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: Nooone really? They all serve their purpose really.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: I just know there are/used to be a lot of ship wars but such is the case in every fandom really.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I very very rarely read on Ao3, as I tend to write my own things instead. But fluff and combat stuff really.

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: All the Way by Neea River, for Ash and Kotallo. Tagging: I don’t think anyone follows me for Horizon content but if you see this and play the games, go ahead.

#;moose stuff #ask game #horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn

[xxxhellfireravenxxx]

Thanks for the tags @maybirdie and @nerd-artist

1. ride or die ship (your otp): Big surprise it's ereloy! I have never been so focused on a ship before and I am not mad about it at all.

2. most annoying ship: I am not a drama-llama, I really don't have beef with other ships, this is what the fandom is for. We should all be free to ship our ships without others putting us down!

3. second favourite ship: I have several, I fully blame two-minutes for getting me into Kotallo/Talanah! Big fan of Zo/Varl, Morlund/Abadund and Avad/Ersa I also ship Abadund/Clipboard lmao

4. favourite platonic relationship: I love the relationships that Beta forms during Forbidden West, I really hope she is a bigger part of Horizon 3. Each of the gang teaches her life skills and how to navigate the world.

5. underrated ship: I don't have an answer for this one!

6. overrated ship: No drama-llama here!

7. one thing i would change in canon: I would love to have seen more of Ersa, the comics were amazing but I'd love a game set during the Liberation, learning more of Erend and Ersa's story with Dervahl.

8. something canon did right: I played HZD on a whim, my brother mentioned it to me as he thought I would enjoy it. I was so confused while I played. What happened to the old world? Why had humanity gone back to a tribal existence and what did the machines have to do with things? I was completely hooked, gripping story and lovable characters mixed with a thrilling story. Perfect.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: I don't particularly think I've created anything spectacular for the fandom, I'm just a hobby artist who enjoys drawing these two idiots! There are so many fantastic creators that I love screaming about.

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Erend. He's been my favourite character since the very beginning. He's a lovable goof with a cheeky smile and I am very blessed to have the tasset glitch to enjoy and share with my friends!

11. the character i relate to the most and why: I don't relate to any one character specifically, I see a bit of myself in Petra, Talanah and Aloy. I'm very strong-willed with a sarcastic sense of humor and a dirty mind!

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: I have a list of characters I want to shoot in the ass with an arrow, these include Sylens, Tilda, Dervahl, Helis, Vuadis and Nil. Among many others.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: I joined the fandom back in June 2022, I finally felt confident enough to post a AU ereloy fic on AO3. What followed was an invite to join the Two Minutes discord server and meet some fantastic and extremely talented folk! I've learned to be more confident in myself and my artwork, having that feedback has helped me improve and its wonderful to be able to scream about my favourite blorbos!

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: All the sex. Sensual Fingerblasting, Sexual Tension and Explicit Sexual Content.

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Hear Me Now by Bad Wolves ft Diamante. It makes me think of Erend struggling with drink and his grief after Ersa passed, Aloy arriving in Meridian and bringing him out of himself. There is a very strong undertone in this song of the whole 'friends to lovers' which is one of my favourite tropes, especially with ereloy.

tagging: No pressure tags!! Sorry for repeats! @maybirdie @sorbetowl @chib95 @littlelionpaw @hothotpot

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #horizon zero dawn #tag game

[nico-demons]

Horizon Tag Game

Ride or die ship (OTP): Aloy/Seyka <33

Most annoying ship: pass

Second favorite ship: Aloy/Alva <33

Favorite platonic relationship: don't make me pick just one!! Aloy and Beta, Alva and Kotallo, Aloy and Varl, Erend and Zo...

Underrated ship: Aloy/Alva and Beta/Sokorra (Have you read The Missing? No? Read it. Yes? Read it again.)

One thing I would change in canon: Varl's death

Something canon did right: Aloy's character development start to finish. WLW ROMANCE. Criticizing the ultra-rich. Hopepunk. "Sticks and stones against the lightning."

A thing I'm proud of creating for the fandom (PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART): My Alva portrait and my WIP fic, What Lies Beneath. These games and this fandom make the creativity GO.

A character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): All of the GAIA gang omfg I love them all.

Character I relate to the most and why: Probably Alva. Among other things, we're both excitable nerds. I relate a lot to Beta and Aloy too in different ways.

Character(s) I hate the most and why: pass

Three tags I seek out on AO3: Um. Aloy/Seyka. Seyka/Aloy. Uhhh. Seyloy. I think I've read everything in the Aloy/Alva tag as well.

A song I strongly associate with my OTP/Favorite character: ohhh I have so many Aloy songs. “Daffodil” Florence + the Machine. “Raise Hell” Brandi Carlile. “Chasing Twisters” Delta Rae. “Air So Sweet” Dodie. “Watch Me While I Bloom” Hayley Williams.

Tagged by: Stole this post

Tagging: You. Steal this post

#tag game