#meer writes

[meerlichts]

A Stranger On Coruscant

summary:

"I'm not going back," Fox hisses.

"Sweetheart, you don't really have much of a choice in the matter," Quinlan says. "Your mind has been messed with. You quite literally need to talk to us."

"I don't think my mind has been messed with," Fox says. After a moment he adds: "Why aren't they taking Thire?"

"Thire told us everything he knew already. You're the only one staying loyal to the old fuck."

"The Chancellor is a good man," Fox says. "You wouldn't understand."

Quinlan raises an eyebrow.

Or: Quinlan Vos discovers that the Chancellor may be affiliated with the Separatists. This doesn't make anything better for Fox.

Note: this fic IS entirely written and I’ll post one chapter a week, starting with the first real chapter March 30th, then every Saturday after that!

[meerlichtz]

Drowning lessons

Chapter 4

Summary:

Red guy left. Duck tries to deal with this.

[championari]

I feel like there's a lot to be discussed about how the Horizon video game series frames relationships: as a form of home.

Rost wanted Aloy to “embrace the tribe”, despite already being her support system. It wasn't just about having a support system, it was about belonging somewhere. Of having an origin point.

Aloy encouraged Varl to pursue Zo because she wanted Varl to not be alone like her, and to have a support system. Punctuated by her looking at Elizabet’s necklace, a reminder of the legacy she feels she needs to uphold alone.

Tilda described herself as spending many years alone and that “By my thirties, I thought that was simply my fate in life". She explicitly mentioned Liz losing her mom a few years prior and speculated that she "filled a void".

Walter Londra made his Quen actors repeat a line from his wife's films, "How could I go back? Being with you, it feels like home."

Aloy ran in The Proving to learn who her mother was, and why that potentially made her an outcast (excluded from Nora society).

I think Aloy's confession to Seyka manages to bring it all together. She speaks about home not being a place but people. And each of these relationships in some way transcends place: different tribes, different stages of life, different social standings, etc.

(I am 100% about people expanding on this, see this post as a starter to a wider discussion)

[tanktopdiaz]

Rules: Share the last line you wrote, then tag as many ppl as there are words.

tagged by @buick118 💕🤭 ty <3

An update so bleak it might as well have come with a crow’s caw.

i don't even wanna tag anyone tbh i just need an excuse to get people to bully me to finishing this piece. consider this ur tag. except actually im tagging @pansysgothgf for some of that sweet sweet buddie raising chris au

[stormhaven13]

I'm making this its own post rather than reblogging my other one about the HADES facility, that seems to reach more people, and this is important. Let's talk about our main antagonists, and their reveal. Spoilers for a lot throughout this post, including some major twists and the ending of Forbidden West.

I'm going to start by giving general reactions throughout the reveal cutscene, then move into more specific thoughts.

Firstly, they can open a gene-locked hatch. Sylens doesn't even plan for this, he has no way of knowing they had the ability to create Beta. Her reveal is well done, giving us an immediate idea of their capabilities, but hiding her allegiances.

Then, we have the clearly advanced robots, much more fluid than the machines we deal with.

I love the contrast between the white that Beta wears here, and the armor that I have Aloy in (Shadow Stalker, of course).

First sight of Tilda. I am terribly face blind, so that didn't faze me any more than the voice did, but I'm sure many people recognized her at that point.

I like the introduction of the Zeniths here. They immediately give them a dynamic, made them threatening, but leave enough mystery that promises more. I wish they delivered better.

The boss fight. The concept is interesting. But it has next to no difficulty on Ultra Hard, the worst of his attacks don't even two shot me, and his ranged attacks are truly pitiful. I get that they don't want you to get stuck in a story mission, but like. I chose Ultra Hard, let me get my ass beat please. I want to be scared of them, and that fight didn't do the job.

What does do the job is the Specters, and the fleeing. It's a masterful sequence, and their attacks hurt an appropriate amount.

I love how ultimately what screws Aloy over isn't truly the Zenith, or the Specters. Its the facility falling apart, its almost drowning. It's making a bad call, as everyone does every so often.

And then we get Aloy attempting to "recover" (read immediately try and get herself killed out of shear stubbornness). This is just a masterful scene, introducing us to Utaru culture, showing off Aloy's smarts that she does have when she decides to listen instead of running face first into danger. We get to see Varl, who has clearly been building connections, trying to find allies for the cause. He's been here for awhile, or at least in theory. The game tells us it's been two days, which I don't really buy. It's a tough line here, as really any amount of unconsciousness in reality would be real bad for Aloy, but there needs to be time for Zo and Varl's relationship to build. They probably needed more time for the latter, especially if they want a kiss here. It works great otherwise, but the kiss feels early for them, even if its good for Aloy's arc.

I love Varl trying to translate for Aloy, and Aloy completely struggling to be unable to help. It's badly needed. And we get Aloy being truly genuine with her friend, feeling that this is something she can never have for herself. It's not even really about romance at this point I think, it's about connection.

Alright, general thoughts. This quest is (mostly) very strong. It's great for the both the character and larger plots, introduces our new antagonists, who cannot be stopped by just Aloy's bow and spear, and her stubbornness. Here is a foe, like HADES, that she can't just stab and fix. In theory, this is all great...

But we know where it ends. As I hinted at above, I don't like the Zeniths, I don't like this story line, and I have real problems with their characters (not you Beta, you can stay). We'll talk more in detail as we near the end of the game, but the problem is pretty basic. None of them, except Tilda, are given any amount of depth whatsoever. Tilda has her own issues, we'll cover her later, but with both Eric and even worse Gerard, we will never learn anything meaningfully more than this quest about either of them. Eric is a sadist, and Gerard. Is the leader I guess? He's even weaker than Eric, which is saying something.

This is made far worse by following Ted Faro, one of the best villains in just about anything I've seen or played. People (including me) hate Ted Faro, but I also understand him. I see him reflected in the real world, Faro is driven by pride and ego, and the desire to protect those two things above all else. Gerard and Eric are given none of the depth that Ted has, and to be clear Ted is not a deep character, he's simply an extremely effective villain. They are just, in the end, too close to Faro, and given nothing to do. When they do something I hate, I don't get mad at them, I get mad at the writing. And that is a true failure of a character, to me.

[artekai]

[the-horizon-lounge3041]

A Special Request

Told by Elisabet Sobeck

My life is flashing before my eyes, I can’t think straight, my heart is pounding, my body is shaking, I can’t breathe steady as I get off my goodbye to my Zero Dawn allies call. This…this was it….the world was about to end…I…I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Gaia has everything thing ready to repair the biosphere. As I wait in my childhood home I think of everything….my mother, Tilda, Ted, everyone who was on board with project Zero Dawn….and Gaia…probably one of the things I’m most proud of and thankful that she learned to feel.

I sit still thinking about her all while looking at my old family photos of me and my mom on the farm together….suddenly I hear echoes in my mind. “You often tell stories of your mother…but you are childless.” Gaias voice echoed. “I never had time…guess it was.. for the best” I replied. I don’t know what got into me but I started crying, I really wish it didn’t have to come to the apocalypse for me to get upset about never having my own offspring. I found my self repeating what I told Gaia.

“I guess I would’ve wanted…her…to be..curious. And willful…unstoppable even…but with enough compassion to…..heal the world…just a little bit.”

I shed many tears after saying that, thinking of what my little baby girl would’ve been like, what it would’ve been like to hold her…to take care of her…to be there for her when she needed me. I sat in silence for a while, then a thought hit me, I immediately called Gaia and was about to ask her something I never thought I’d ask.

“Greetings Elisabet. Are you all right? Everything is set in place for your plan..” Gaia spoke, I replied that I was fine and I have a massive favor to ask her, this might be a lot to ask but I have a special request.

“Oh! And what might that be?” Gaia hummed gently.

I took a deep breath and spoke.

“I want you…to give birth to my daughter using the Eleuthia 9 cradle that will rebirth the human race….I know it sounds crazy but…I never had time to embrace motherhood as I wanted to years ago…I…I just want to give my daughter whoever she may be in the future a life and a chance… and if she finds this message…I want to tell her: I love you…and I am your mother.”

Gaia gently smiled and agreed, she already had my DNA sampled and she told me that she was already planning and recreating her creator in some way, and I told her that I want her to be her own person not just a complete redo of me…she is her own person and will make her own choices, I know I unfortunately won’t be there to guide you little girl…but Gaia will once you find her, and when you do I hope you find this message as well….

I thanked Gaia and fell asleep…for the last time ever probably…

I love you little girl, and I can’t wait for you to see the world when you are born.

Dr. E. Sobeck’s suit: initiating cryogenic sleep….

[defaultjane-official]

Happy 1st anniversary to this fic being published. ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ • *✰

Chapters: 22/? Fandom: Horizon (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Tilda van der Meer/Elisabet Sobeck Characters: Elisabet Sobeck, Tilda van der Meer, Travis Tate, Theodore "Ted" Faro, Miriam Sobeck, Original Female Character(s), Peter Tshivhumbe Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Drama & Romance, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Slow Burn, Friendship/Love, Minor Original Character(s), Family Drama, Canonical Character Death Summary:

Unable to accept the loss of her mother, Elisabet sets out to complete the task of creating an AI capable of flawlessly mimicking organic thought and emotion, but it is a monumental task, and time is running out as this particular field of research is under scrutiny and threatened to be banned as unethical. Elisabet needs to find someone to help her with the project, someone talented and knowledgeable, someone like Tilda van der Meer.

Question is, can she be trusted, and how to navigate the emotional minefield growing between them as professional interest becomes personal and neither knows how to let the other in?

[greybackpack]

Me, playing Horizon Forbidden West, and getting to THAT part of the main quest:

Me, glaring at the pages of my fic: no

LISTEN I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT THE GEMINI QUEST LIKE SO MANY AND ALSO HELLO, BETA I HAVE FAMILY FOR YOU AND AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ALSO TILDA???? HELLO??? SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!! Do I like her? No, no not really. She pretty much groomed Beta into being Lis and then abandoned her when she didn’t turn out like Lis and that’s just fifteen levels of wrong. BUT do I respect her astonishing levels of chaotic lesbian energy and her willingness to ditch the group that gave her immortality (tbh they’re not like the best group to be a part of too) etc because she wanted to spend the rest of her immortal life with clones of her dead lover? Yeah, yeah I do.

[meerlichtz]

Sketch of celestial hands

Summary:

“You made me,” he says to Her. “And that means you can’t be all-knowing. Because if you were, then why did you make me like this?” He gestures at the room. “This — This — with this?” He gestures at his chest. “Why this? And why —“ He gestures at his eyes. “This? One or the other, I’d get. But — both? Really? Was that necessary?”

God is silent.

He breathes in. He breathes out.

“Wish you’d made me good enough for him to love me.”

God is still silent. Crowley sinks back into the mattress.

Or: Crowley tries to cope with Aziraphale leaving him. It’s a good thing he has such a good imagination.

[semperama]

😠💕&🧮 for the ask game! :)

😠 whats your least favorite part of your writing process?

Starting!! The very beginning of anything. I always put so much pressure on myself to get the beginning exactly right, which I KNOW I shouldn't do, because I can always go back and change it, but I can't seem to help it. Sometimes I get stuck in this infinite loop of writing a couple opening paragraphs, deleting them, writing a couple new ones, deleting them, over and over ad nauseum. It's the wooooorst.

Endings are similarly awful for me, but at least by that point I'm usually so ready to be done that I just slap a trite line down and say, "Fuck it, the end."

💕 whats your favorite part of your writing process?

The part 1 to 6 months after I post something when I get to go back and read it with reader eyes instead of writer eyes and go, "Wow, whoever wrote this really knew just what I wanted to read, yay!" Lolol.

But to give a more serious answer, I'm really enjoying editing lately. Getting the words out the first time is always a miserable self-conscious slog, but when I start to reread and find better ways to word certain things and remove repetitive bits, it starts to feel like a fun puzzle.

🧮 what are you working on? describe it in 20 words or less

Another one of my many 'will this ever be finished?' WIPs: Buck wants babies, but Eddie doesn't want more kids, which means they can't act on their feelings (OR DOES IT?)

[midnightwind]

in case anyone was wondering how finding a name for my Crow Rook was going, I think I'm sticking with Mirenna for the Renn>Wren word play

[royalbelial]

It was a long night for Jack Perry in which he spent most of the time looking down at the man beside him. He had not even a clue how it happened. They kind of stumbled into it and that was what made Jack afraid. Whatever it was that blossomed between him and Darby, it did not happen on an even playing field. What Darby wanted was not what Jack hoped for. And he hoped for so much. Perhaps too much for Darby. This was not a love story, no matter how raw and powerful it felt. Love stories where not for him.

The best thing would be if Jack left. Darby seemed to sleep just fine. So, why should he stay, hoping for something that would never happen? Would it upset Darby?

Du bist nicht wie ich Doch das ändert nicht, dass du bei mir bist Und ich zuseh' wie du schläfst Du bist noch längst nicht wach Ich war's die ganze Nacht und hab' mich still gefragt Was du tust, wenn ich jetzt geh'

(You're not like me

but that does not change, that you're with me

and I watch you sleeping

you won't be awake for a long time

while I was awake the whole night, silently asking myself

what you would do if I leave now)

Regen und Meer – Juli

[the-horizon-lounge3041]

I do miss her…A Lot.

Told by Tilda Van Der Meer

I was sitting outside my room thinking…thinking about my greatest regret, leaving Lis behind. Seeing little Beta has almost done nothing but put a hole in my heart, sure I love her and want her to have what she needs and I promised to take care of her for you Lis…but whenever I see her all I get is a reflection of my past mistakes. I promise I’ll try to do better and get a grip. For myself and for little Beta.

I sit there, lost in my thoughts until I hear a sweet little voice asking a question. “Mama?” It said, I look around the corner and I see little Beta sitting on the ground looking at a hologram of you. “Are you my mama?” Beta asked. I sighed and slowly walked into the room as to not scare the little girl, “Beta where did you find this?” I asked her in a whispering tone. “I found it in my training interface…she looks like me..is she my mother?” Beta asked again. “She…is your mother…kind of, it’s hard to explain” I told her tearing up. “Do you miss her?” Beta asked curiously, “I do miss her…a lot” I replied. Tearing up a little bit.

I decided to sit down with Beta and not long after she was in my arms she fell asleep, “it’s just like when she was a baby” I said to myself, she always fell asleep whenever she was in my arms, she wouldn’t cry unless I held her, except that one time she was hungry and wanted to be fed. But other than that, Beta was comfortable around me…it’s like she knew I was in your presence Lis, and now she thinks that you are her birth mother. I don’t know what to tell her, I guess the older she gets the more she’ll learn, I just hope she doesn’t take you being gone way to hard. As always I miss you Lis and I promise to do my best for Beta, She’s definitely your little girl.

[wykart]

I've uploaded the first 2 chapters of the updated version of Against the Lightning here:

Decided to leave the old version up as it is. For an idea of how I managed to cut like 60k words out of the original 18 chapters, the first 2 chapters here cover chapters 1-5 of the old fic ://

[conscious-naivete]

girl who pronounces mirror with one syllable tries to use it as a verb