#Tekotteh

[permanentlylatetotheparty]

[padmerrie]

[incorrectfandomsapphic]

Horizon: Forbidden West #044

Source: TikTok houseofgaming

Tekotteh: Would you guys be there for me if I was going through something? Hekarro: No. Dekka: Absolutely not. Hekarro: Nope. Kotallo: I hope it sucks, whatever you're going through. Hekarro: I hope it emotionally scars you for the rest of your life. Dekka: I hope you reach out to me so I can ignore you. Kotallo: I can't wait to go to your funeral, knowing I could've changed that outcome.

[kotalloxaloy]

[apricity-writes]

WIP Tag Game

Tagged by @koteevna ♡♡♡

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Ye olde rules: If you’re tagged, make a new post and share 1-2 (a few) sentences from your most recent unposted WIP(s) with zero context Let your followers guess!

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WIP #1

"And how many are you owed?"

"Twelve." The words feel strange in his throat. When had he last spoken as much to another person? The king in Meridian? His family back in the nora lands? His throat aches from lack of use.

The tenakth across from him raises his eyes in surprise. "Twelve were taken from you?"

Rost's eyes darken, a growl growing in the edges of his voice. "More. A village's worth of lives, spilt on the ground. But twelve did the taking, and I will not rest until their debt of blood is payed."

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WIP #2

The boy let out low, keening sounds, weeping bitterly as he struggled against Tekotteh's hold, and the man let him until every once of energy had poured out of the boy. Only once he hung limply in Tekotteh's arms did he lower him to the ground, careful to keep his hand on the child's back.

"You're their son, aren't you?" He lowered himself to a crouch, trying to catch the gaze of the wearied boy. "Jintanna and Sekka's boy."

The child—Kotallo, wasn't it?—nodded slowly. "Yes." The word was small, barely more than a whimper.

"Head up," Tekotteh chided, ignoring the way the command made the boy flinch. "Warriors are not scared of death. We accept the dead and the lost into the ranks with the Ten."

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WIP #3

"I see," Kotallo says slowly, offering the heart back to her.

Aloy shakes her head, folding his fingers back over it. "No. Keep it. You'll get to say that you're the only tenakth in the entire west who has the heart of a Strider."

His expression shifts at her words, and Kotallo looks away sharply, though Aloy can still catch a burn of color across his ears and unpainted portions of his cheeks. He clears his throat, then dips his head. "I will cherish it always."

There's something about the way he says it. As if this is vastly more important than just a piece of a machine.

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I dont know who to tag... so literally anyone reading, go nuts and have fun ♡♡♡

[mrsdulac]

Tenakth + funnytwittertweets

Bonus!Kotaloy 💖

[anointedflame]

Tenakth respect a blade and the strength of the fighter who wields it. What good is anyone who lacks that?

[carvion]

Tekotteh: Don’t go picking a fight with me. I could make your life difficult.

Aloy: *sarcastically* Wow. I wonder what it’d be like to have a difficult life.

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

Kotallo & Tekotteh

Okay, so we all know that Kotallo is down on himself when Aloy first meets him at Stone’s Crest.

He has lost his arm, and the other Marshals, and is dealing with a lot of Heavy Feelings which I have spoken about elsewhere and will not be addressing here.

BUT

Kotallo doesn’t believe he and Aloy can convince Tekotteh to send the Sky Clan challengers to the Kulrut; so much so that he’s reluctant to even try, and it is only because these are Hekarro’s orders that he is here at all.

The thing is, Kotallo has already been here. He’s already had this conversation with Tekotteh. Except it was before Aloy met him; Kotallo was sent to the Bulwark to convince Tekotteh to send the Sky Clan to the Embassy at Barren Light. And he failed.

Sure, he got some of the Sky Clan there; enough that the Embassy could go ahead. But when the other Marshals ask about the Commander, his reply is, “He isn’t yet... aware we left.”

Kotallo didn’t just waltz into the Bulwark and hand-pick a bunch of Sky Clan warriors to take to the Embassy; he was turned away, humiliated by Tekotteh, and that was when he still had his arm. The Sky Clan members who followed him to the Embassy can be assumed to have prior loyalty to Kotallo, from before he became a Marshal, and also unhappy with how Tekotteh runs things.

(See this post by @wings-of-the-ten about their headcannon for Kotallo’s old squad, because I love it)

Back to the matter at hand.

If Kotallo couldn’t convince Tekotteh to attend the Embassy when he was whole, it’s no wonder he is expecting to fail when he is asked to summon him to the Kulrut after his maiming.

Let’s not forget; Regalla’s rebels had been building power since before their ambush at the Embassy. Kotallo tells Aloy that the rebels have been driving machines through the Sky Clan valley. And what has Tekotteh done about it? Jack shit. He hides behind the Bulwark (”used as a coward’s shield”) and does nothing. His lack of action challenging Regalla’s rebels is in itself a slight against Chief Hekarro. Failing to send the Sky Clan to the Embassy signals that he fears Regalla more than he values his Chief. And after what happens at the Embassy, Tekotteh feels that his fear is justified; he now has all the ammunition he needs for his argument to keep the Sky Clan safe behind the Bulwark.

So of course Kotallo doesn’t think he can succeed when Hekarro asks him to bring the Sky Clan challengers to the Kulrut. He already failed once, and now he has to return to the Bulwark a cripple, burdened by the shame of his survival when death in battle would have been more honourable.

As if that wasn’t enough, Hekarro asks Aloy to accompany him. As though it wasn’t insult enough to need backup, the backup comes in the form of an Outlander. She is neither a Marshal, or Tenakth; Kotallo is smarting at the knowledge that Hekarro does not think he can accomplish his task.

Even after confronting Tekotteh, Kotallo can’t see a way forwards except to kill him. That doesn’t sound like our strategically-minded Marshal, who loves a game of Machine Strike and studying Old-World military tactics.

It’s no wonder Kotallo jumps so quickly to suggesting that Tekotteh needs to be removed, permanently, to bring the Sky Clan into line. He had probably been thinking about it anyway. He probably wonders if things at the Embassy would have gone differently, if there had been more Sky Clan soldiers to fight against Regalla. He has probably spent a lot of time second-guessing himself, whilst he recovered from the loss of his arm.

Even killing Tekotteh might not solve the problems in Sky Clan. Kotallo can’t become the new Commander; he forsook his clan to become a Marshal. Chances are one of Tekotteh’s lackeys would take up the leadership, and Sky Clan still would not respond to Hekarro’s summons.

And then he meets Aloy, and she works miracles. She finds a way to bring Tekotteh into line, all without spilling a single drop of blood. For Kotallo, who is one of Hekarro’s Marshals; a peacekeeper; this is the ultimate ideal.

Aloy does more than treat Kotallo as though he is whole, like his lost arm is no matter to her. She does more than defend him to Tekotteh, standing up for him when the Sky Clan Commander would humiliate him because of his injury. She reminds him what is is to be a Marshal. To bring peace and unity to the Clans.

*

I still maintain that Kotallo is The Broken Sky. Whilst you assume it refers to AETHER causing the storms, you don’t get AETHER until after the Kulrut. Who do we get during The Broken Sky? We get Kotallo. Broken because he has lost his arm. Broken because he has lost his friends. Broken because of his honourable exile from Sky Clan. Broken because he feels he is failing in his duty as a Marshal.

I have many feelings about Kotallo, and all of them are LOVE.

[incorrect-horizon]

Tekotteh: I don’t think you respect me enough.

Kotallo: I give you the exact amount of respect you deserve.

Kotallo: None.

[angelartema]

Este tenakth es diferente, parece banuk esta en lanzahirviente en el territorio del clan del desierto

[eule1983]

[padmerrie]

[incorrectfandomsapphic]

Horizon: Forbidden West #066

Source: Mean Girls

Tekotteh: Nice wig, Aloy. What's it made of? Aloy: Your Mom's chest hair!

[horizon-aloy]

[goldmolamola]

I keep thinking about the irony that while Kotallo embraced being a Marshal and is completely loyal to Hekarro, he hates Tekotteh, who sent him to that life. I wonder how Kotallo feels about that. It really does feel like a “my parent is a jackass but I’m thriving anyway” situation. (Hekarro’s also a way better dad lbr). The joke’s really on Tekotteh in my opinion.

I don't really get Tekotteh's thinking. I'm sure he wasn't foolish enough to think Kotallo would fail his attempt at the Kulrut, so if he wants the Chiefdom so much, why send the guy who you think threatens your Commander status directly to the Chief himself, who can see firsthand how talented he is? Lo and behold, Kotallo is, what did his character bio say? "one of the Chief's most trusted confidants" ie "confidant: one to whom secrets are entrusted" (Merriam-Webster, 2022). Hekarro is probably 40-something at this point (Aether showed up ~20 years ago and he was a Commander so I suspect he was at least a 20-something when he took the Grove) he’s got more years in him but he's not living forever. Who is going to succeed him?? Has this been discussed? Has Tekotteh thought about the fact that a theoretical next Chief may come not with a fight but an appointment, especially given how invested Hekarro is in peace? Kotallo might end up a good choice??? Hello??? Did he think this through in his haste to be rid of him?

And for that matter, suppose Regalla succeeded in killing Hekarro and became Chief? Something tells me she wouldn't give Tekotteh the time of day. She probably would've ordered everyone to storm Meridian. If Tekotteh didn't want to send soldiers to the Embassy, would he really want to send his soldiers to fight in Meridian? Regalla wouldn't stand for him saying no, I'm almost positive. And I don’t think he could beat her in combat either.

I don’t think he could take Hekarro even in a weakened state and unlike Tekotteh it seems, Hekarro has those loyal to him willing to die to protect him, not lackeys.

A rattlesnake rattles its tail as a warning to others to back off but I guess if he can't hear it rattling that means it rattles all the time, in a constant state of paranoia, unable to tell real threats from perceived threats. Kotallo was right. He’s a petty, vindictive schemer, but I don’t think a good one.

For the record, I would not like an outcome in which Kotallo becomes the next Chief or something - I could see the third act in a story doing that. Kill the respected leader, the young, loyal subordinate takes over, but I'd much rather see Kotallo explore the wide world, free to fly like the Ten, you know??