#hope we get more with erend in a dlc

[bs-fangirl]

Ask Game (Horizon Fandom)

Thank you @sorbetowl for tagging me! I’m really bad at keeping up with these tags games but this was fun to write out.

1. ride or die ship (your otp): For sure, Ereloy! Erend is just the sweetest and most loyal character. He doubts himself a lot but is always willing to give his all for his friends. And I’m sure he gives the best hugs with his giant arms, I just wanna snuggle him!

2. most annoying ship: We don’t ship shame in this house.

3. second favorite ship: Hawk and Thrush (Talanoy? I can never remember the combo name). Surprisingly, I actually fell for this ship first, before Ereloy. The damage HFW’s writing did to Talanah’s character broke my hope for the Sunhawk to be a main companion and let Ereloy jump into the lead.

4. favorite platonic relationship: Gildun and Aloy. Truly, Gildun is my favorite non-companion NPC; he’s just the sweetest! I’d play a whole game that was just these two delving through ruins together. I also really love the older-sibling-care the Base companions take with Beta, especially Varl; wish we could have seen more of that.

5. underrated ship: Morlund/Abadund. I’ve accepted this ship so completely that I forget it’s not actually canon. But I love these two!

6. overrated ship: If people are enjoying themselves, what’s the harm?

7. one thing i would change in canon: There’s a lot in HFW’s story I would change, and the Burning Shores DLC too. But I think it mainly boils down to pacing. Too much was introduced into HFW at once that the pacing suffered; it felt rushed to me. Like other fans have written in far greater detail than me, I would have liked Regalla to remain the big bad of the second game, with hints from Sylens or other ways that there’s something even bigger out there but the Zeniths wouldn’t be revealed until the end of the game. Aloy can still be finding subfunctions but with the intention of needing more than just Minerva to bring GAIA back. Getting her back and in the Base a third of the way through HFW felt so weird; it would be a much better endgame triumph. The final mission is Aloy defeating Regalla, Sylens cryptically says she’s actually made things far worse, Aloy restores GAIA with the subfunctions she collected, and the Zeniths are revealed at the very end, maybe alluding to Beta but keeping her in shadow so she’s still a mystery. (I will say I’m hopeful that the writers will pull off Nemesis, especially if they go creepy with it like the Burning Shores datapoint hints; it just felt like Regalla and the Zeniths were rushed through the second game for this secret big bad ball of digital ghosts)

8. something canon did right: The entirety of HZD is phenomenal but I’ll challenge myself to pick something in the main quests of HFW. I’ll say that I loved Faro’s Tomb. The CEO was a delightful egotistical jerk, the reveal of the survivors through datapoints was well paced, and Faro’s final fate was the perfect end to the dumbass who destroyed the world. I even liked that Faro’s monster form is just left to our imagination. Definitely my favorite of the main story quests.  

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: Memes, memes galore, memes for days! I started making them for fun on my Horizon discords and Tumblr but they’ve branched out further than I expected; to other Horizon discords, to Twitter, one meme even inspired a fanfic. It’s why I made my side-blog now for all the Horizon silliness I can come up with and sharing what others make too. I’m glad others are enjoying the various silliness 

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): The Oseram showmen trio. They bounce off each other so well and they’re great fun to interact with. I hope they make a comeback in Horizon 3.

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Alva. Not a heavy hitter in battle but the dear girl is always trying her best. She rambles about things she’s excited about, which I do constantly. She’s always trying to be cheery for others, even when she’s probably so worried about her family and her girlfriend back home, which is just me in a nutshell.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: I don’t think there are any characters I hate. I’ve been disappointed by some for being poorly written or not used to their full potential like the Zeniths but none I hate.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: Find your little corner of the fandom, filled with like-minded people, and try your best to make it a happy place to be. We can all be disappointed by certain canon things and vent our frustrations but I think time in the fandom is better spent celebrating and enjoying things in the chosen media. It’s why I stepped away from Horizon for the last month; I realized I was getting too bogged down with post-Burning Shores negativity and it was all I was talking about. Now after a little cool down, I’m missing Horizon and want to get back into the world and characters I love. Every fandom and every fictional media has its ups and downs; the highs of Horizon are where I like to focus my time and energy. We’re all just geeks excited to take down giant robots with a spear in the end.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Hurt/Comfort, Not Unrequited They’re Just Dumbasses, Smut With Feelings

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favorite character: I can twist nearly any song to be for my OTP but I’ll go with Better Than Love by Griffin House for Ereloy. 

Pretty sure I’ve seen every Horizon person/blog I follow complete this ask but, if anyone was missed, have at it! And steal it for other fandoms too! Consider yourselves tagged, if you’re interested :) 

[robo-dino-puppy]

“i hope it’s really over this time”

[felrend]

Characters in HFW – Part two!

I figured it would be easier to give our new cast of characters their own post. Because there’s so much to talk about! Let alone all the side characters and quests that are so well written. Each new member has been a great addition to the story and it makes me happy that they will be sticking around. At least until a possible DLC is out!

There are spoilers below for certain characters! 

Zo:

What a breath of fresh air and a beautiful introduction to Zo. Her singing gave me chills and I wanted to know more about her instantly. She wasn’t just thrown in to be a love interest for Varl. Zo is a valuable member of the team and brings warmth and kindness to the group. But also knows when to stand her ground and make it clear what is important to her. The Utaru have some growing to do (pun intended) but with Zo at the forefront of that change, I think they can flourish. Hearing how she was effected by the Red Raids was a punch to the stomach and shows how far reaching the former Sun King’s influence reached. Zo is also an extremely capable fighter and I wish we could have seen the sparring match with Erend. Their budding friendship after that is so heart warming and it’s so telling that she is willing to give Erend that chance. My favourite thing about Zo is that she is a natural care giver. Just look how she livens the base up with her decorating and wanting to make it feel like home. Especially for Aloy. I also love how open she is to Gaia and the willingness to learn. Especially having her own study buddy in Varl. And I know their relationship is a hit or miss for a lot of people. Some people think they rushed into things, and maybe so. But they have great chemistry together and some times when you know, you know. I wish we had gotten more scenes of them together or a special side quest with them. I’m very happy that there was no “jealousy” story between Aloy and Zo. There is no hint of it at all during their interactions. They are there for each other and it warms my heart that Aloy can have that type of friendship with someone. Zo shows that life is not all doom and gloom, even after the events of Gemini happens. She carries forward and puts her faith in Aloy to see the mission through. Zo is the mother of the group which foreshadows where her story is going. I have mixed feelings about the later part of her arch but I can only imagine how the gang will feel moving forward when the new addition arrives. They have something to look forward to and to fight for. I hope we can keep Zo, even just having her back at base to over see things while everyone else is out recruiting for the next threat. I need Mother Nature to stick around! And to plant all those seeds that Gaia has stored away!

Kotallo:

Our brooding beloved Tenakth. He’s stealing the hearts of everyone and it’s totally deserved. I didn’t know where he would fit in to the story when we first get a glimpse of him in the trailers. But when he walks up to the Embassy with the sun beaming behind him and looking like a total beef cake, I knew he was going to be special. I couldn’t wait to interact with him more and the game dragged on to make us wait for that moment. Kotallo’s arch is so wonderful to watch, from a broken man to finding his worth again was so well done. I thought they did a wonderful job writing him and showed that he was still respected and loved. When you meet him again at Stone Crest, he is bitter and angry having to be on this mission. But it doesn’t take long for Aloy to bust down his walls (ha) and there is an immediate connection. There is so much respect between the two of them and I love their back and forth’s while on missions. Aloy shows how much she cares for him, always checking to make sure he’s okay and never underestimates his capabilities in a fight. Which I think means the most to him. She never treats him differently because he is missing a limb. He will always be a warrior in her eyes which is why she intrusts him with some really important missions later on. Plus his growing friendship with Erend is the funniest thing and the fact that they can bond over Machine Strike and ale is the best. I can only imagine Kotallo peeking his head around the corner of the door when he hears Erend breaking the cask open for the first time. He probably wasn’t sure what was custom with Aloy but with some reassuring from Erend, the bromance begins! And don’t even get me started on the fact that Erend’s first thought on Kotallo’s new arm is to arm wrestle him! Guerilla…you need to give us these cut scenes please! But the cherry on top is his friendship with Alva! She might not have picked up on it right away, but Kotallo sharing battle strategies is his way of showing that he cares. He may have been surprised to hear that she can handle herself after she joins the crew. But he respects that and wants to keep growing her confidence in battle. Kotallo is just as intelligent as the rest of them, but their Brain and Brawn friendship is the cutest fricken thing ever! More team ups of these two please! Watching Kotallo become comfortable with his new found tribe is what makes this game special. Btw, where is my final cut scene with Kotallo at the end of the game? I got one with literally all of the other squad members but him? Pft rude.

Beta:

Oh boy. The shock of the century! When I say that I did not see Beta coming would be an understatement. How in the hell did Guerilla keep this a secret!? Not once did I think that Aloy needed a twin/sister. But damn it they gave it to us and I couldn’t be more happy about it. I was completely sus about Beta and did not trust her at all. From the start I thought she would be the “evil” twin that would turn on Aloy near the end of the game. There is so many twists and turns with Beta. You can understand how frustrating it is for Aloy and I knew that each interaction between them was like lighting a stick of dynamite. Especially after Beta has her melt down and goes in to instant panic mode. Just like Aloy, the audience has to think “how the hell is she a clone of Elisabet?”. But as her story unfolds, you realize how tragic her upbringing is. She was literally born to be a tool for the Zenith’s and that’s it. Tilda brought some hope of real interaction and kindness that Beta needed only to rip it away. It left me frustrated with Aloy when she didn’t pick up this small detail but only to come to that realization later that she was being too harsh and an even bigger “a-ha” moment with how important Rost really was to her. Beta helps Aloy learn the meaning of patience. She has to come down to Beta’s level to talk her off the ledge and open up to someone like she hasn’t done before. I really started to see Beta for her she was, a broken girl that needs someone to just hold her hand and show her an ounce of love. And when Aloy finally gives that to Beta, she finds the strength and courage to do her best. The scene of them in Gemini was so heart warming and makes you believe that with the two of them, anything is possible. Which…should put the literal fear of All-Mother into every one haha I’m sure a few of the Gaia gang had a moment of pure panic and whispered “there’s two of them” when they see Beta for the first time (I’m looking at you Erend!). I’m glad that Aloy has found someone that understands the internal struggle of what being a clone means. The impossibly high standards to live up to but realizing that they are their own person and can pave their own path. I can’t wait to see who Beta becomes and what her strength’s really are in future installments. I also want her to keep her short hair and get some new clothes made for her. I can see her paying tribute to Varl in some fashion as he was the first friend outside of Aloy she ever made. I also think Alva and Beta would get a long great as well and can nerd out over data together, especially once Apollo is all booted and ready to go.

Tilda:

You’re the absolute worst and an abuser. At first I was so amused that she was going to turn out to be a step-mother figure to Aloy when it was revealed that she loved Elisabet. But I was so wrong and I wish I wasn’t. She was grooming Beta and when she realized that Beta was nothing like Elisabet, she ghosted her and moved on to Aloy. Tilda. You’re a fucking creep and I’m glad you’re dead. Guerilla…why?

Alva:

ALVA!!! How is no one talking about Alva?! This cute little button threw me for a loop when I first met her. I thought she would turn on Aloy too and be like the head honcho for the Quen (she actually should be). But as you go through the Greenhouse with her, you see that she just wants to help her people and keep her family alive. She is so full of surprises and it makes me happy that Aloy bonded with her so quickly. They are literally the data bros and you can’t convince me otherwise. Even Erend comments that they are kindred spirits. It’s also so refreshing that Alva understands that her people’s interpretation of the information is wrong. You don’t typically see that kind of skepticism in these tribes. At least not spoken of publicly. It blew my mind that she had a focus and loved the design piece that held the focus in place. Her design is beautiful and I was gutted that I couldn’t get any Quen armour for their camp. Possible DLC or 3rd game ideas? Fingers crossed! Aloy helps Alva find her voice and of course gives her free reign on all of the data discovered. Btw I literally thought her name was Alpha at first and did a little eye roll haha oops! Truth be told, I don’t care for the Quen. They seem like the Nora and too focused on their religious beliefs. I don’t always like to agree with Sylens but his take on them is pretty accurate. They have all this knowledge and what did they do with it? Fuck all lol Alva is the ultimate book worm and did it not surprise me that she ran to the archive room when she first gets to the base. She’s never made to be the butt of the joke when you talk to the squad about her. I bet they are all impressed with the knowledge she has of the ancient ones and I’d like to think they go to her for help when they don’t understand something. Also, I want to meet Alva’s girlfriend!!! As another post gushed over it, rivals turned lovers! YES PELASE!

On a side note…where the hell did she come from? Hawaii? If someone knows this, PELASE TELL ME! Lol

 I am so happy with Aloy’s new found tribe. Each of them love her so much and are willing to fight beside her but also aren’t afraid to challenge her or get her to slow down. With that said, I wanted more. I wanted more side quests with each of them or being able to bring someone along with you. I wish there was more cut scene interactions with each member or being able to hear different banter. Typically you got that the most from Varl, Zo and Erend. And don’t get me wrong, I loved it. I thought each moment was gold. But I wish you could have had Kotallo or Alva speak through the focus to chime in. Or when Erend starts rocking out again that you would get the collective groan from everyone. Even just unlocking more dialogue options would be fantastic. Speaking with other people, having something like the Mass Effect or Dragon Age games would be amazing. Maybe not as advanced or extensive but enough where you really felt that they were living in the world more instead of just at the base. There were snippets of this sprinkled throughout the game, like Aloy mentioning that Erend would love Vegas and then you’d get a gift from him after he went off screen to that location. They should have gone together! Or at least Aloy going back and running in to him there. I did like when I picked up a certain side quest and forgot about it that Kotallo chimed in on the focus to remind you. Stuff like that just adds an extra layer that made the interactions more enjoyable.

Please keep in mind that I’m just super greedy and I am honestly so happy with what we got. Every single new character was a welcome addition and the side quests absolutely shined. I loved that we got to go back after a quest to check in on people. Even triggering new ones. Guerilla Games deserves around of applause and I’m already looking forward to future content.

 PHEW! Thanks for sticking in there you guys! If I missed anything please share and don’t be afraid to message me! I’m always happy to talk about HFW!

[meggannn]

i made this post back in feb after finishing hfw, my theories for any hfw dlc or horizon 3, and realized i never posted it, so here

now that apollo is back (???!! that was totally glossed over in the ending) and presumably erend/kotallo/alva/zo brought knowledge back to their clans (did they? this was also unclear) i assume we're gonna see a lot more modern politics and social strife in game 3. i assume the quen will feature in the future

would like to see a dlc that's more focused on sylens and aloy having to team up for something post-game. lance reddick (and angela bassett) was criminally underutilized in hfw and i'm a sylens apologist so

that said, i see aloy looking for strength in numbers, so having more governments on board should be (imo) a focus in game 3. i'd love to see avad in action after his comments that he'd like to ditch the crown and go gallivanting with the crew on worldwide adventures, so if i can tinfoil hat for a moment, i hope he could be a companion in game 3 (with hopefully better writing than he had in hfw), but horizon loves to disappoint me so i highly doubt this will happen. but i can dream

every future side character will get paired off in a het, barely-developed romance because guerrilla hates me

i don't see beta surviving game 3. i thought she was gonna die maybe in hfw, but then as they developed her more i thought it'd be weird to introduce her and then immediately kill her off, but i could see it happening in game 3. any time someone shows up knowing too much about the old world i get a strong whiff of death, especially when we met still-living immortal zeniths i knew none of them were making it out alive, but beta as someone who learned directly from them, or maybe even apollo the holder of old world knowledge... i see something happening to them. (also could see sylens biting it in game 3 for the same reason, or maybe as a ~downfall of his own ambition or whatever~)

but who knows these were just my thoughts from two months ago

[amethyst-wind-uk]

Finally played Horizon: Zero Dawn (spoilered thoughts within)

First of all: The game’s amazing. Well worth the money. One of the best I’ve played in a good while.

The game itself is beautiful (amazing scenery and dungeons), and the machine enemies are gorgeously designed. They will punish you if you get cocky, too. Combat is by means automatic, especially when the bigger machines start getting thrown at you in more enclosed spaces.

Both the overall myth arc AND Aloy’s personal storyline are incredibly written, and tied together beautifully, allowing for plenty of perspective reflections on the latter as new information for the former becomes available.

Sidequests abound. While most are mechanically very similar (go to [x] and kill the machines there), the tertiary characters who the actual quests revolve around are a delight. Varied and entertaining, they really help to build the world that Aloy explores (some personal favourites of mine are Nil [leaves it ambiguous as to whether or not he wants to die as well as kill a lot of people, but he’s so effectively written as creepy. Like you know there’s something wrong with him from the first line of dialogue], Talanah [veteran huntress who quickly befriends Aloy, and their joint exasperation with their respective mistreatments from others allows them to bond quickly and deeply], Vanasha [manipulative spy/politician who masterminds an operation that is one of the most damaging and disruptive for the enemy faction, all while being so delightfully self-confident]. The Frozen Wilds DLC adds some other gems, like the Hunters Three [a trio of outcasts out to find closure over the death of their mentor while riffing off each other lovingly], Ikrie [a Banuk warrior who acts as a foil to Aloy, choosing to become an outcast with her own freedom when presented with the flaws and restrictions of her people - severing a very close personal relationship to do, to the benefit of both in said relationship], and Varga [Oseram metalworker who effortlessly falls into an easy companionship with Aloy]).

The main plot is long, and heavy on emotionally charged moments. The overall goal is surprisingly hopeful, as well as extremely dark. There’s a recurring theme about how light and shadow both get more powerful as the other does.

Aloy reluctantly allies with the mysterious evesdropper, Sylens, and their interactions are terrifically entertaining. To be blunt: They can’t stand each other. Sylens is a completely unlikeable dick driven solely by a desire for knowledge, while Aloy doggedly pursues any information about her mother. Their interests just so happen to intersect there, but it’s always apparent that they’d rather be dealing with anyone else.

One of the most complete character arcs in the game is that of prevalant and commonly-appearing side-character, Erend. He starts out as an immature mid-to-late-twenties dudebro who dicks around fighting and hitting on 18-year-old Aloy, but pretty quickly starts drinking his respect-women-juice and getting his act together. He grows into one of the most endearing allies for Aloy, dropping his sleaziness and bravado, and acknowledging her prowess and leadership. By the end of the story, he’s definitely one of the most likeable characters. Like, you’d happily share a drink with the guy regularly.

~

There are some flaws, as with all games:

1) The Fast Travel system is frustrating. For the majority of the game, unless you press deep into the wilderness first thing, it’s not unlimited. Until you finally unlock the Unlimited Fast Travel Pack, each time requires a single-use item. For a game this large, that’s quite annoying. Fast Travel has been a common staple of open-world games for some time now, and I don’t think there was really a need to try to reinvent that particular wheel. The loading screens for fast travel are also 10-20 seconds long each time.

2) For all the varied machine enemy designs, it’s really annoying that you can only ride the horse/goat/bull variants. The game gives you a mechanic to ‘override’ machines, making them non-hostile to you while hostile to other machines, and making the above three rideable. That being said, you’re gonna be supremely disapponted that the game lets you override the twenty-metres-tall robot T-Rex and then can’t ride it. Same for the multiple three-metres-tall giant cat variants. There are also giant condors, giant moles, giant crocodiles and giant rhino variants, and you can’t hop on those either (IT WOULD’VE BEEN SO COOL!). It really makes the override mechanic seem underutilised, especially given how important it is to the story.

3) The Datapoint collectables do really well in fleshing out the mythology of the series, there are just too many of them. Multiple kinds, with double digit numbers to find for all of them, makes it a drag to hunt them all down. They could do with streamlining that for the sequel.

4) I feel like Vala and Bast dying almost instantly was a waste, especially given how Bast was a childhood bully to Aloy (stuff can always be done with that, even on a small scale), and Vala is constantly talked about post-mortem as someone who could’ve potentially been a great friend to Aloy (they seem to warm to each other quite quickly during the five minutes they spend both alive). Vala’s death especially is kinda galling, because it serves to boost Aloy’s interactions with Vala’s brother Varl, as it is very similar to...

5) While Erend himself goes through a very successful character arc, it does unfortunately involve a woman (his sister, Ersa, who is superior to him in every sense [he tells you this himself without fuss]) getting fridged. We only see Ersa for a few moments in person, as she then immediately dies. It’s very unfortunate that Erend’s otherwise great writing is marred by this.

6) The final mission in the story is underwhelming. The significant buildup for both of the primary enemies featured in said mission is not proportional to their actual encounters. The human enemy is easily killed, and the machine enemy is just another iteration of a robot you’ll have killed half-a-dozen times by that point. Something of a let-down.

~

Still, I fully recommend getting the game (as well as the Frozen Wilds DLC, which adds a solid 8+ hours onto the game’s playtime while introducing new machine variants and gear, as well as the aforementioned characters and a plot that fleshes out the myth arc for the series). It’s a great time overall, and you’ll really enjoy how the game mixes fantasy and sci-fi so superbly.

[coppermarigolds]

Dear Yuletide Writer 2017

Hello Yuletide writer, and thank you in advance for whatever you write this year! This will be my eighth year in a row doing Yuletide. I can't believe it's been that long, but it really has become one of the highlights of my year. Here’s a bit of general information about my fic preferences that I hope will be helpful.

What I like: I typically prefer gen and/or het. Genre-wise, pretty much anything goes–angst, romance, fluff, humor, etc. More specifically, I love fics that dig into characters’ heads: what they’re thinking and feeling, what drives them, how they interact and react to the world around them, and so on. The same is true of relationships–what makes this pairing tick? Why are they together? And so on. I also love love love awesome female characters being awesome. That doesn’t have to mean being physically kickass, either. It could be anything from a witty line of banter to a thoughtful conversation to a creative problem-solving method, just to scratch the surface. I particularly enjoy female characters being assertive and taking charge in relationships.

What I’m not so into: Rape/non-con is my biggest squick. I would prefer for character death to be avoided if possible (unless the story deals with the ramifications of a canonical character death, of course). While I’m fine with an angsty story, I tend to stay away from extremely dark, punch-to-the-gut angst. I like my endings happy, or at least bittersweet and/or hopeful.

Fandom-specific notes:

Alpha Protocol, Mike Thorton and Mina Tang

I’ve been requesting this fandom for years, and by this point I’m pretty sure I will never actually match on it, but I keep trying out of some combination of tradition and stubbornness. Alpha Protocol is actually something of an outlier when it comes to my fandom/video game preferences: the lack of a female player character option and the allusions to real-world politics are usually pretty high up on my “meh” list, but for some reason, I’m still very fond of this game despite both of those things. I think something about the lone agent cut off from almost all support, but still trying desperately to save the world, strikes a chord with me.

For this fandom, I’d primarily enjoy a post-canon fic about what happens next. The variety of endings means there’s a lot of potential ways that could go down, but no matter what happens, I like to think Mike and Mina face it together. I know there are a hundred different options for everything in this game, but somehow whenever I play, I can’t seem to get my Mike to end up with anyone but Mina. I’m a big fan of friends/coworkers to lovers, and I enjoy the mutual respect and support they have for each other throughout the game (assuming you don’t play Mike as a total jackass, anyway :p).

The Expanse (TV), Fred Johnson and Drummer

For all I know, I might be entirely alone in this, but boy do I ever ship these two. It all started the moment Fred jokingly told Drummer to get him some coffee and she gave him that perfect look + hand gesture that told him exactly what she thought of that idea. From that moment on, I knew I was in love. That said, I would be perfectly happy with a gen fic about them as well, so please don't feel obligated to write anything shippy if you don't feel like it.

I'd love to read anything about these two, so I'm not picky, but here are a couple of potential ideas:

• Post-"Pyre" fic! Drummer basically got shot in the gut because she refused to betray Fred. That's some pretty hardcore loyalty to a man who inspires significant mistrust and even outright anger in a lot of people. Fred and Drummer clearly already know each other pretty well, but I feel like this episode presents even more significant bonding opportunities (especially in a shippy scenario), so I'd love a missing scene or coda fic.

• It bugs me that Drummer's never been given a first name in the show. I'd love some kind of explanation for this in fic. Presumably Fred knows her first name. Is there some reason it's seemingly never spoken aloud? Maybe she doesn't think it suits her, or maybe it's just an overabundance of professionalism, or maybe it's something deeper. Feel free to surprise me on this one!

Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy and Erend

This game has been one of the highlights of my year. Aloy is such a breath of fresh air and I love her so much. She's wonderfully snarky and take-charge and doesn't let anyone talk down to her, but also struggles with the pain of abandonment and ostracism. She's one of those characters that I both relate to in some ways, and aspire to be more like her in other ways.

I also love Erend, and I ship him and Aloy like you wouldn't believe. Physically tough capable dude who is in utter awe of his warrior-goddess girlfriend is basically my shipping catnip. What I love most about their friendship in the game is that Erend admits he started out with the "hotshot guy talking to a pretty girl" mindset, but by the end of the game, he's recognized that Aloy's mission is bigger than him and he was just lucky to have met her as she went about her business. His lack of male entitlement and machismo is really refreshing.

Since there's no actual romance in the game itself, I'd naturally love a fic that delves into their relationship and takes it from friends to lovers (another of my favorite tropes). But if Aloy/Erend or shipfic isn't your thing and you'd prefer to keep it gen, I'm fine with that as well!

A couple more specific ideas (though please don't feel limited to these):

• One thing I wished the game would have explored more is Aloy's reaction to finding out she's a clone. After spending her whole life in search of her mother, discovering she technically didn't have one must have been a blow. But aside from a moment or two of shock and angst, the game doesn't really give her much time or space to process the revelation. Fortunately, fanfic can help with that! So, once HADES is defeated and the dust has settled, how does Aloy deal with the truth of her past? How does she feel about Elisabet? Does she tell Erend about any of this, and if so, how does he react?

• One of my favorite things in the game is finding the bits and pieces of files left behind by the "Old Ones"--i.e., us! I'd love to see a story with Aloy reacting to some of the ancient ruins and information she finds. Does she find them strange and confusing? Or do they help her feel closer to Elisabet?

• I definitely plan to play the DLC that's coming out next month (as of this writing), so if you come up with a fic idea based on that, feel free to write that as well!

Until Dawn, Jessica

Until Dawn is something of a fandom happy place for me (twisted, I know). It's one of those rare fandoms where I genuinely like and am interested in every single one of the characters. I would be happy to read about any or all of them, so feel free to include any of the other characters as you see fit, whether they were nominated for Yuletide or not.

I requested Jess because even though I love all the kids in this game, I have something of a special soft spot for her. I love that she's a little brash and willing to stand up for herself, but also self-aware enough to admit she struggles with insecurities. (My heart goes out to her in that moment, every time.)

A few potential story ideas (though again, please don't feel limited to these):

• As much as it hurts my soul, part of me is morbidly fascinated by the idea of Jess as the night's sole survivor, particularly because she has the least knowledge about what actually happened. She doesn't know anything about Josh's prank, the stranger on the mountain, or Hannah and Beth's ultimate fates. All she knows is that "there's something in the mines." After surviving a night of horror that mysteriously killed all her friends, how would she move forward? Would she struggle with survivor's guilt and/or PTSD? Would she attempt to figure out what exactly happened, or just try to put it all behind her and move on with her life? Would she ever figure out just who/what it was that attacked her?

• Since Jess spends half the game either dead or unconscious at the bottom of a mine shaft, we don't really see much of her relationships with the other kids aside from Mike and Emily. I'd love a story, either pre or post-canon, that expands on her relationship(s) with any of the other characters.

• Does she experience any guilt, either after the game or in the one-year interim after Hannah and Beth's disappearance, for being the one who came up with the idea for the prank on Hannah? How does she deal with it? Does it strain her relationships with any of her friends (including, and perhaps especially, Josh)?

I hope this letter gives you some ideas on where to start! I also typically have anon asks turned on here on Tumblr, so if you have any questions or need clarification on anything, feel free to drop me a line.

Happy writing and happy Yuletide!

[felrend]

Erend really said "I know the focus doesn't look as good on me but at least I can be helpful" and I wanna say to him sir you are GORGEOUS and your existence is a gift 🥺

Absolutely!!!

As much as I love the compliment that Erend sneakily gave Aloy, he really needs to think more highly of himself. He needs to see his worth.

I'm hoping in the next game we can get a fully realized Erend and be given a better story arch that doesn't revolve around Ersa or drinking. I do understand that Ersa will never leave Erend, and it's only been six months (or maybe a bit longer) since she passed. That's not a very long time at all. But he deserves to thrive and find his own place in the world. Whether that's as the Captain of the Vanguard or with Aloy. Hoping for the latter lol.

Guerrilla better not do him dirty for the DLC or Horizon III.

[felrend]

I recently got the conversation about Erend having made a joke about the Utaru's diet and... thought it was kinda weird?? Like... In hzd it was established that he's very good at talking to people and being diplomatic and stuff, so him joking about a tribe's way of living (even though he meant no harm by it) felt like a really strange writing choice to me? I'm in no way implying that he doesn't have flaws but I wouldn't have expected something like that, hope I'm making any sense lol

It’s not just you that feels that way. Sadly, they dropped the ball with his character writing. Erend was really good at speaking to other tribes in HZD like you said. So I don’t know why Zo and the Utaru threw him off so much. He warmed up to Kotallo and realized he shouldn’t believe everything he hears when it comes to rumours and stereotypes.

So why crack that joke with Zo when he doesn’t have that relationship built with her yet? Is it nerves? Is he just trying to see what line not to cross? I just don’t get it. And that’s not the Erend we know and love. Even Aloy doesn’t feel bad that Zo got him while they spared.

Here’s to hoping they do better with the writing for the DLC and Horizon 3. I need Erend to not be the drunken fool they made him out to be. Because we all know that he’s so much more.