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retrowhatever · 2 years

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All the Horizon Fanfic Stats You Never Knew You Needed

So I did some data analysis. More graphs and lots of rambling below the cut.

I love graphs. And spreadsheets. And making my hobbies unnecessarily complicated. So obviously once I discovered that there's an unofficial ao3 api, I had to learn a new programming language so I could throw some math at my Horizon hyperfixation and make some graphs about fanfics. This post is the result of that rabbit hole, I hope you enjoy it!

Before we get started, I want to make one thing explicitly clear: this post is a celebration. It's a celebration of fanfic, authors, and the fandom in general. If you have something mean to say about a ship, a writer, or a fic, this ain't the place. I made these graphs and wrote this post as a love letter to a game I'm obsessed with and the incredible people who make the fan content that is my main form of sustenance these days lol, so let's keep the discussion positive.

One last thing: I generated these graphs from data that I pulled on Aug 4, 2022. Anything published after that won't be reflected here. Alright, here we go! Let's see some graphs!

Fanfic by Length

The first thing I wondered is what the average length of fic was. I did not include any fics below 100 words, assuming they were either art or placeholders, neither of which provide any useful information regarding number of words.

I defined the categories as follows:

Ficlet - less than 2000 words

Short Story - 2K-10K words

Novella - 10K-50K words

Novel - 50K-100K works

Behemoth (pun fully intended) - 100K+ words

Obviously, there's some blurriness at the category edges, but it's pretty clear most fics tend to be relatively short. I'm genuinely surprised by how many huge, sprawling works there are though - I definitely expected there to be a single-digit number of behemoth fics. Mad props to the folks writing those monstrosities for the rest of us to enjoy!

Fanfic by # of Chapters

This graph kind of underscores the point about most fics being relatively short. There are almost twice as many single chapter fics than all other fics put together.

A thing I think is relatively unique to fanfic as a medium though, is that a fair number of those single chapter fics are novella or even novel length. You're not often going to find a book at a bookstore that's tens of thousands of words and has no chapter divisions, but that's not unusual in fanfic.

Fanfic by Author

Okay, the first thing you need to understand about this graph is the following numbers:

1

2.6

Those are the median and mean fics published per author in the Horizon fandom, respectively. In case you slept through your stats class, what that means is most fanfic writers have written one or two Horizon fanfics. Now go back and look at the graph.

...yeah. We as fanfic lovers owe a lot to these folks. Most of them are on tumblr, so even if you don't have an ao3 account (same, babe, same) you have no excuse not to go show them some love!

Serie11 is @valaloy

SoupAndChaos is @soupandchaos

mythicait is @mythicaitt

DragonRose35 I couldn't find a tumblr for

Kittleskittle is @kittleskittle

VidalsQueen is @sun-and-shadow-aloy

NorthernGhost is @thatsgonnabeanogho

sunspot (unavoidedcrisis) is @sunspott

januarys I couldn't find a tumblr for

foibles_fables is @foibles-fables

unstable_grad I couldn't find a tumblr for

Pikapeppa is @pikapeppa

YoGrossDude is @yogrossdude

bioluminesce is @owlswatch

wandereringray is @wandereringray

escafiils is @chloefraazers

Fanfic by Rating

Okay, now things are getting spicy! First of all, if I'd had to guess the most popular rating, it probably wouldn't have been Teen. But, given how popular the "fluff" tag is (foreshadowing for the tag graph later in this post), I guess it shouldn't be that surprising.

Secondly, I'm clearly not the only one who struggles to understand what exactly the Mature rating is for, considering it's the least-used rating by a fair margin.

Fanfic by Ship

The most popular ships, colour-coded based on orientation. From left to right: mlm, straight, wlw, poly, machines(?????), unknown

I want to reiterate here that I made this post to celebrate the awesome Horizon fandom, so if you're thinking of using this graph to argue that one ship is better/more correct than another... just don't, k? Good.

I also combined similar tags, so if someone used all three of the tags "Aloy/Erend", "Aloy/Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn)", and "Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn)/Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn)" for the same fic, that's actually going to count as three fics in the Aloy/Erend column. I'll probably end up redoing this graph eventually with a less naive counting algorithm, but for now this is what we've got.

Now that we've got methodology out of the way, let's talk about some cool things this graph shows!

First, Kotaloy shippers obviously have a lot of things to say. Unlike the other five most popular ships, Aloy/Kotallo is the only one involving a character that wasn't in the first game. And it's the second most popular ship! Y'all are rabid and I love it.

Second, of the wlw ships, the second and third most popular ships involve a character from the DLC and a character who dies immediately after you meet her, respectively. You guys are out here making meals from crumbs and I am impressed. Also, though, why don't Petra and Vanasha get more love??? I'm unsurprised that Talanah and her favourite Thrush are the #1 ship, but I (a clueless straight, to be fair) loved both Petra and Vanasha and definitely expected to see more fic involving them.

Third, I love the variety here. This graph only includes ships with at least 10 fics, and there are so many different ships represented! There were tons more that had 5-10 fics too, and it honestly made me so happy to see that there were multiple fic options for almost any pairing in the game.

Fanfic by Tag

Y'all. Look at all the fluff. People always joke about making their blorbos go through it in their fanfic, but like. There is SO MUCH FLUFF. We all really just looked at these characters and went "well, they deserve nice things for a change", huh? I also love how popular canon divergence is - anecdotally, I usually see that tag on fics that are like "well, what if that shitty thing didn't happen?"

That's not to say it's all sunshine and rainbows. The next two most popular tropes are "angst" and "hurt/comfort", and as an enthusiastic consumer of both, I'm not surprised. But again, anecdotally I see a fair number of fics tagged with one or both of those and a "fluff" tag.

Going back to the ratings graph, where we learned that the most popular fic rating is Teen & Up, it shouldn't be surprising that both "First Kiss" and "First Time" are more popular tags than any of the more explicit sex ones. Also, given that Aloy grew up an outcast, I think the popularity of those tags speaks to how fun it is for both writers and readers to delve into what that means for her when it comes to sex and relationships.

Finally, the most-used content warning tags will surprise exactly no one, I think. Canon-typical violence (because duh), PTSD (growing up a literal outcast before finding out you're a clone made by an AI so you can save the entire world from extinction will do that to ya, not to mention all the shit Aloy's friends/lovers have been through in their own lives), and canonical character death (glares at GEMINI) are all pretty obvious choices.

Conclusion

Because I have zero impulse control, I'm already working on a part two for this post, where I will address such pressing questions as "Which ship has the most verbose authors?" and "Who's the gayest Horizon character?" as well as recklessly use the powers vested in me by the math and algorithm gods to find some hidden gem fics that you might not have read yet.

In the meantime, I would love to hear some more opinions on these graphs! I've commented on some of the things I found interesting, but there's lots more to address here, so feel free to reblog this post or snag any graph you find interesting to use in a post of your own. I only ask that you tag me if you do - because I want to read what you have to say!!

Also, if there's any stats or questions about Horizon fanfic that you're particularly curious about, let me know. I'm limited by the information available on ao3, but I will do my best to find you answers and include them in the next post.

Lastly, one final reminder that we're here to celebrate the awesomeness of Horizon fanfic, the fanfic authors, and the fandom in general. I will humbly accept all constructive criticism about my (somewhat questionable) statistical methods and data interpretation, but ask that you keep comments about ships, tags, authors, etc positive and productive. Remember these are real people creating free content for the rest of us, and don't yuck someone else's yum.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this half as interesting as I did!

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pikapeppa · 24 days

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I just read the new chapter of coming in from a western wind and ahhhh just seeing it update made my day but also the chapter (as always) was fab! 🙌🏼❤️

Aw yay, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! The updates are slow, I know, but never fear, the fic will be finished in time! 😊

For anyone who wants to check it out: Coming In On A Western Wind is here on AO3! Aloy/Avad, 133k words to date, rated E for smut. 🥰

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika! xoxo

#sun king avad #aloy/avad #aloy x avad #hfw #horizon forbidden west #pikapeppa writes #fanfic writer's life

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chloefraazers · 1 year

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The Horizon Dating Simulator Project

There’s been so much interest and positive response to this! We’re so thrilled that fans across the board are looking forward to playing!

As an update, several ships have been filled with their teams, but we have some that could use another member! Aloy/Ikrie, Aloy/Petra, Aloy/Yarra, and Aloy/Alva could use another writer. Most ships have artists, but if you are willing to collaborate with the lead or be a back-up, this can help. And if there’s a writer & artist team that wants to take on Aloy/Avad…

Audio and coding help is always in need!

DM me here or @diiddums#1977 on Discord, or reach out to @kittleskittle for more information!

Follow #horizon dating sim project for updates!

Follow @/focusontheheart for updates!

#horizon dating sim project #horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #horizon games #beyond the horizon #aloy/alva #aloy/kotallo #aloy/petra #aloy/yarra #aloy/ikrie #aloy/avad #aloy x kotallo #aloy x alva #aloy x ikrie #aloy x yarra #aloy x avad #aloy x petra

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consider-da-lilies · 2 years

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Messy AU sketches because brain rot

Will I ever stop drawing curly Avad? Nope

#sun queen au #alvad #aloy #Avad #my art #sketches #aloy/avad #aloy x avad #I wish I had the energy to write this but I don’t *sobs*#dreamdrawrepeat

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alysvolatile · 7 months

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When Aloy, in disguise, returns to Meridian for one night during the long search for GAIA, she doesn’t expect to show up in the middle of Shadow’s Turning, the Winter Solstice masquerade festival. She doesn’t expect to meet such a handsome stranger, either—but there’s no harm in making the most of the occasion while she’s there, right?

It's the anonymous festival hook-up Avad/Aloy piece I wrote for @spaceguylewis's birthday! It's 8k words of pre-Forbidden West smut that somehow got yearning and wistful! AND features art from @jukeboxindie, the most talented artist I know!

#horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #aloy #avad #aloy/avad #aloy x avad #avaloy #fanfic

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luthien-under-bough · 1 year

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Happy birthday @chronic-ghost! Through the power of Alvad, our friendship was made possible. Hope you enjoy!💜

the hands of the king

When Aloy returns to Meridian in the dead of night, Avad is the only one awake to tend her wounds.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: F/M Fandom: Horizon (Video Games) Relationship: Aloy/Avad Characters: Avad (Horizon), Aloy (Horizon) Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Hurt Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Blood and Injury, Medical Procedures, Needles, Fluff

#horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #alvad #aloy x avad #horizon fanfic #aloy/avad #aloy #avad #my fics #gift fic

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chronic-ghost · 2 years

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playlists (and their accompanying fic)

the ghost of you (giving up the ghost - TBD) - Magic in the Moonlight: Brice Catledge/reader

a hybrid signal (the chimera) - Horizon Zero Dawn: Aloy/Avad

you’re a holy fool, all colored blue (the hush of the very good) - Midnight Mass: Monsignor John Pruitt/reader

gothic 60s (something wicked this way comes - TBD) - Midnight Mass, John/Millie

this girl, this thorn - general vibe for Mad Wife (American Gods)

#magic in the moonlight #brice catledge #horizon zero dawn #aloy/avad #midnight mass #monsignor john pruitt/reader #john/millie #john x millie #mad wife #american gods #playlist

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acasez · 10 months

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Chapter 13 of my Aloy/Avad Horizon fic Meridian Sunsets is out. Its an important one.

Its about what Avad and the Carja was up to during forbidden west and it features worldbuilding, long distance relationships, lore and more stuff.

#avad x aloy #avad/aloy #alvad #aloy x avad #aloy/avad #carja #horizon fanfic

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sockodot · 2 years

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Title: Distraction

Word Count: 1248

Pairing: Aloy/Avad

Summary: Aloy tells herself she’s testing the security as she scales the palace’s walls. She finds herself wanting to go back to Meridian every time she’s away. The feeling is creeping in her quicker and quicker each time. She’s drawn back to the palace, to warm sun and spices in the air. Soft silk and dark wine. To big hands and bright eyes and charming smiles

#horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #aloy/avad #aloy #avad #horizon fic #distraction

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portabelloroad · 2 years

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Aloy is convinced she has to head into the Forbidden West alone. While she feels guilty for leaving Varl behind, she knows it's the safer option. As she heads toward the mesa's edge and the Spire comes into view, doubt comes in. Had she been too hasty to leave after the Battle? What if there was more inside the Spire that she missed? Perhaps worst and most persistent of all, Avad's words stayed with her.

Aloy was so sure of her mission and that there was nothing left for her to uncover in Meridian, but she had the same exact thought six months ago and today proved how wrong she was. One last look at the Spire alone would only take an hour, and then she would ride off just before dawn.

But the tower on the mesa holds more secrets than Aloy could anticipate, and mysteries about herself she's not ready to unravel.

* A short insert fic for Horizon Forbidden West! This takes place in the time between Aloy leaving Varl at Olin's, and her riding off into the opening credits. This will be about 3 chapters in all, I think. Hope you enjoy! *

#horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #aloy #avad #ao3 fic #aloy/avad

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snuffysbox · 5 months

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Smooches for all of the HZD faves, 2023 edition 💋

#hzd #horizon zero dawn #aloy #talanah #talanah khane padish #petra forgewoman #vala #varl #vanasha #avad #teb #nil #erend #artsy stuff

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meggannn · 1 month

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avad excited to finally ditch the crown to join aloy and leave the sundom, arriving at her mysterious base for his first adventure just to be greeted by a glowing machine that immediately knows his name and entire history, his missing vanguard captain and missing sunhawk, a tenakth marshal from the clan that nearly jeopardized his embassy, the first utaru brave enough to fight the carja in the red raids, and a bizarre person from an advanced imperialist nation across the world all sitting in a lounge archiving apollo and blasting jackson five while aloy is in the corner playing space invaders with one hand and coding hephaestus with the other next to her apparent fucking twin and the asshole who founded the eclipse threat that kept his brother prisoner and nearly ended the world

#horizon stuff #avad #did i get everyone? i think i got everyone #just imagine vanasha and petra are still on their way #aloy #kotallo #zo #erend #talanah #alva #beta #sylens #horizon forbidden west

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pikapeppa · 10 months

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Okay, so I’m re-reading Becoming Whole because I’m desperate for anything you can give us, and I’m noticing that Kotallo kisses Aloy from their very first night together.

I’m wondering… does kissing have the same cultural significance that you’ve fleshed out in Here Come the Dreams (and even Desert Blooms)? Like, were you implying that Kotallo was already super into Aloy or is the idea of kissing being reserved for serious relationships just something you’ve developed more since you wrote Becoming Whole?

(P.S. no pressure but I can see Desert Blooms has been put on the back burner… do you see yourself getting back around to it eventually or are you pre done with it for the time being?)

This is a great question! I always kind of wondered if anyone would ask about Kotallo's thought process with kissing in Becoming Whole 😂

It was always in my head/in my headcanons for the Tenakth that kissing is usually reserved for serious partners and that kissing without paint is especially significant bordering on sacred. The reason it didn't get explicitly stated in Becoming Whole (compared to Desert Blooms and Here Come The Dreams) is actually because Kotallo and Aloy ended up falling for each other harder and faster in Becoming Whole than I had originally planned LOL.

(rest of reply is beneath the cut!)

My outline for BW originally had Aloy and Kotallo being friends-with-benefits for some time, since I HC casual sexual relationships as being common for the Tenakth, and that it would be some time before they admitted their feelings for each other and kissed. But as I was writing the fic, their interactions organically ended up fostering emotional closeness much faster than I had anticipated, and I went with the flow rather than trying to force them into the original plan for the fic.

By the time they spend that first night together in Chapter 12, it's pretty obvious that they're nuts for each other and that it's more than sexual chemistry, and it would have been weird and unnatural for Kotallo to NOT kiss her in that moment, even though he was wearing his war paint. Note, though, that when Kotallo actually bloods her in Chapter 19 -- a moment that is a very big deal for them emotionally -- he makes a point of bathing so he's not wearing his war paint: he is bare for her in that very significant moment.

The importance of kissing barefaced is also implied a couple of times throughout the fic -- for instance, in Chap 22, Drakka and Kotallo are talking about Aloy, and the conversation goes like this:

Drakka raised his eyebrows, and Kotallo pushed on regardless. “We are as good as partnered.” His eyes went huge. “What? No. Really?” Kotallo nodded, and Drakka narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘as good as partnered’? Have you slept together?” Kotallo nodded again, and Drakka tsked. “Well, that doesn’t mean anything. Have you kissed her?” “Yes.” “Without your war paint?” “Yes.” “Blood of the Ten,” Drakka complained. “Aw, that must be why she turned me down last night.”

It's not until Drakka hears that Kotallo and Aloy have kissed without war paint on that he really believes she's off-limits and that she and Kotallo are serious about each other.

There's another exchange in Chap 43 where Aloy and Kotallo are talking about the significance of being barefaced in front of someone:

“You never told me that it was a big deal for the Tenakth to take off their facepaint.” “I did,” he said. “I told you that we are only seen without our war paint by those who are close to us.” “Yeah, but…” She trailed off with a pensive frown, then spoke again in a softer tone. “No, you’re right. You did tell me that. I guess I didn’t connect that it was a… that it could mean something, um, romantic, be seen without your war paint.” He nodded. “Removing your war paint with a sexual partner is often seen as a sign that you wish to commit to that person. Not always,” he amended, “but it is what I would assume if a bedmate removed their war paint in front of me.” “Oh. Wow,” she said. “But…” She trailed off again, her eyes intent on his face, and he gazed fondly at her as the thoughts flitted behind her holographic eyes. She wet her lips before speaking. “But you… early on, before we… I saw you without your war paint long before we slept together.” He knew exactly what she was talking about: the first time she had seen him without his war paint, after he had finished bathing in the waterfall. That was the day she had permitted him to touch her for the first time — the day when he had made her climax for the first time in her life. His heart pulsed: a hot, nearly painful pulse of affection. “Yes, you did,” he said quietly. She was quiet for a moment longer, her gaze still intense on his face, and he waited until she spoke again. “Was that on purpose? Were you… did it mean to you what it — what you just told me it means? That you were, um, that you wanted to commit?” He let out a slow breath. “It wasn’t my plan to be barefaced in front of you so early in our… acquaintance, so to speak,” he admitted. “But when the moment arose — when you came out of the base and saw me after bathing, I… will admit that I made the choice not to rush to reapply my paint.” “You chose to let me see you without the paint?” He nodded. “I could have asked you to return inside the base so I could reapply it. I know you would have agreed. But I chose not to.” He huffed and rubbed his chin. “It’s… funny, now, to think back to that moment. I don’t even recall thinking about it then as much as I am now. But…” He put himself back into his own mindset at that crucial moment: the way his heart pounded when Aloy walked toward him, the mixture of nerves and of almost-vertiginous excitement he’d felt as she approached him, her cheeks pink and her expression nervous. There had been so many thoughts in his mind at that moment — thoughts about Aloy being unblooded, Aloy coming closer to him, Aloy’s greenshine eyes darting over his unpainted face and his mostly-naked body with obvious interest and not even a hint of disgust. And yet, despite the frenzied whirl of thoughts tumbling through his mind, the thought of reapplying his war paint had not been one of them. “What?” she said softly. He shrugged. “I did not need to think about it. It was so clear that I didn’t need to think about it, even at that time. Allowing you to see me barefaced was an easy choice to make.” Her eyebrows rose. “You felt that comfortable being barefaced in front of me that soon?” He nodded. “You had already seen me at my worst, and you hadn’t cast me aside. You had already decided that I had value still, despite my missing arm and my… bitterness. Being barefaced in front of you?” He shook his head. “That was nothing compared to what you had already seen. What you had already seen and accepted, I should say.”

Kissing specifically doesn't come up here, but it in my head, the implication was always that being barefaced in front of a sexual partner is a big deal, and that kissing barefaced would be tied into this in an inherent way.

I had always meant to find a moment in Becoming Whole to elaborate on my personal lore re: kissing for the Tenakth, but the chance never came up -- which sounds weird considering that the fic is 700k words LOL. But to me, if felt like the chance to bring it up had passed me by since they were already kissing and fucking barefaced, so it would be weird to just bring it up out of retroactively. When I finished BW, I wrote this little oneshot so that I could actually get my thought about barefaced kissing down in one place since I never had the opportunity to do it in BW LOL.

As for Desert Blooms: I'll be getting back to it ASAP! It was only on hold because I was writing Here Come The Dreams. I honestly didn't think Here Come The Dreams was going to end up being that long (THIS IS A CHRONIC PROBLEM FOR ME) but now that it's finished, I'll be getting back to Drakka (and to Avad!). POOR DRAKKA THOUGH, he keeps getting put on hold while I write other things, which is weird because TO BE TOTALLY HONEST he's my favourite boy in the Forbidden West... 🤫😂

For anyone who is curious to check out these fics, links are below!

Becoming Whole: Aloy/Kotallo, 728k+ words, finished!

Here Come The Dreams of You and Me: Aloy/Kotallo, 157k+ words, finished as of today!

Even The Hardiest Desert Blooms Need To Get Wet Sometimes: Aloy/Drakka, 300k+ words so far, unfinished but soon to get back in business!

Coming In Like A Western Wind: Aloy/Avad, 66k+ words so far, unfinished but soon to get back in business too!

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika xoxo

#kotallo #kotallo hfw #aloy/kotallo #aloy x kotallo #kotaloy #drakka #aloy/drakka #aloy x drakka #aloy/avad #aloy x avad #horizon forbidden west #hfw #pikapeppa writes

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mistress-light · 29 days

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Horizon Forbidden West PC • Sun-King Avad

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theartofloss · 1 year

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I've got my own thoughts about the Burning Shores, but I don't think Aloy falling for someone is out of character, because they've been slowly building up to that moment in HFW:

This extremely awkward conversation with Avad, who is trying to court her (a reminder that people are romantically interested in her)

Zo and Varl's relationship - I personally don't think her reaction was necessarily jealousy, just her being confronted with the possibility of falling for someone for the first time (after years of living as an outcast)

Finding out about Elizabeth's past relationship with Tilda, and that she wasn't as untouchable as she thought her to be

And finally, her conversation with Talanah at Barren Light about first love (or crush) - all but predicting BS

She simply found a home with people that she loves and trusts, and now feels safe enough to open her heart for the first time.

#horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #aloy #avad #zo #varl #hfw tilda #elisabet sobeck #seyka #burning shores #horizon burning shores #guerrilla you got me analyzing and defending romance options in a game #for a ship I don't particularly root for #goddamn #aloy despite the nora #sunhawk #tilda van der meer

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horizonedits · 6 months

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But I never said the tribe wouldn't need you. The strength to stand alone, Aloy, is the strength to make a stand. To serve a purpose greater than yourself. That is the lesson you must learn, and remember it.

#horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #hzdedit #hfwedit #gamingedit #vgedit #dailygaming #dailyvideogames #aloy #varl #sona #avad #erend #talanah #petra #zo #gaia #beta #kotallo #alva #gifs

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