rederiswrites:

Unhelpfully, I’ve had Horizon: Zero Dawn on the brain lately, so for the six of you who played that game, have this random snip I wrote for Aloy and my favorite consciousless killer from that game:

“You’re a killer, Aloy, like me.  No one else will ever understand that about you like I do.”

“I’m not like you.  I’m fighting a war.”

“Aren’t we all?  Tell me, Aloy, when your war is over, what will you do?  Find a nice house in a village somewhere, choose a doting fool to kiss you when you come home, bake cakes and grow flowers?”

“I might!” she snapped.

Nil laughed.

“Then the morning that you wake up clawing to escape your own skin, the day you look at your lover and hate them for being weak and dull, in the middle of the night when you strain to remember the difference between life and death, I’ll be out here waiting.”

FUCK YES, NIL. YOU KNOW HER.

ALOY AND NIL: We all know you guys love each other so just hold hands already kk??

*********

“This battle will be hard. Are you ready?” Aloy asked.

Nil raised one eyebrow. “Hard? I was assured the odds would be near impossible.”

Aloy frowned at him, worry still painted across her face. “And you’re okay with that?”

He took a small step closer to her and lowered his voice intimately. “Impossible odds, fine company, killing without consequence… how could I resist?”

Suddenly something inside of her seemed to melt, and she took a step closer to him. She cupped his neck with one hand and pressed her forehead to his. “I missed you,” she breathed.

Nil’s heart pounded painfully and he returned the gesture, cradling her neck and twining his fingers in her hair. “I missed you too,” he told her. “You tore the heart from my chest when you went back east. Every breath without you was like a dull knife between the ribs. I can breathe easy now that you’re back where you belong, with me.”

Read more on AO3.

Reyes/F!Ryder fic recommendation

blacksheep33512:

randomlygeneratedstring:

Recently, I have started reading a new fic, called Renegades by flight_feather. 

And it is fucking awesome. 

Now, I am torn between writing all the things that are great about this story, but I am afraid I am unable to do so without spoiling it. 

So I will be brief:  Lazuli Ryder is a software engineer by day, hacker by night. 

As a software engineer myself, I am always delighted to see a great depiction of a woman working in IT. Yes, I have read many stories from the ME universe where Shepard/Ryder was a sentinel/engineer, but I missed the small technical details, that made the story believable for me. And this one delivers, and I love it for it. 

Now, I understand that reading about technical details is not everyone’s cup of tea, I just wanted to gush here 🙂 

Besides this, the story is very well written, and the usage of London as a location is awesome – I have never been to London myself, but this story makes the city so alive. 

Last but not least, the author is using an ich-form (my favorite), writing every chapter from both Ryder’s and Reyes’ POV, so you do not miss anything. 

PS: if anyone knows the author’s tumblr handle, please tag them, thanks!

@makocartwheels

Hey look! 🙂

UM YES RENEGADES IS FRIGGING GREAT

curlycaffeinator:

Prompts:

“Is that my sandwich?” / “…What’s a sandwich?“ 

“For a minute there I had some hope.”

(Let’s pretend that in the HZD universe no one knows what a sandwich is)

She scrubbed the rest of dried blood off her hands, cringing as she did. Unlike her “partner,” she did not revel in leaving the red splashes of her victims to dry on her skin. Nil wore it as a bloody cologne of sorts – something to sedate his blood-lust that grew with every step leading away from the recently liberated bandit camp. Aloy had since given up pestering the Carja man to cleanse away the grime. Each time he only insisted that it was something to hold with pride, not disgust.  

“Try it, Nora,” he’d told her, flashing a devilish smirk. “You’ll find the experience addicting, like the thrill of your first kill." 

Keep reading

HAHAH yes. This is Nil on the nose. 

From Stormbirds and Stalkers: 

Suddenly Aloy was angry again. She knew it was completely irrational, but she wanted to attack Nil with her words, shake him out of his complacency. “That’s your excuse? Your mind works differently, so embrace it? Is that how you justify your lust for killing?”

To her surprise, Nil smiled. “Don’t hate me for being single-minded. Besides, my single-mindedness works in your favour.”

“In what way?” Aloy demanded.

Nil frowned at her like she was being obtuse. “Isn’t it obvious? Before, all I thought about was killing bandits. Now all I think about is you.”

Read more on AO3.

Tartarus banter – Reyes & Puck

chargenovasmash:

Reyes: All right, my turn. Sloane, Tann, and Kaetus.

Puck: Pfff, easy. Fuck Sloane, marry Kaetus, kill Tann.

Reyes: Seriously? That’s what you’re going with?

Puck: Yeah? Tann’s dead no matter what, Sloane I could take or leave, but if I marry Kaetus, I can fuck him whenever I want.

Reyes: [laughs] I’m sure he’d be only too happy to oblige. I know how much he loves having you around.

Puck: Laugh it up, ass. Let’s see…[scratches at the chin of her helmet and looks up at the ceiling]

Puck: Kian, Keema, and… [looks him straight in the eyes] the Pathfinder.

Reyes: Oh, come on!

Puck: You can say it. I won’t tell Keema you’d kill her over Kian.

Reyes: That’s not–

Puck: [shrill gasp] How could you?! Poor Kian’s going to be so heartbroken. He trusted you, Reyes!

Reyes: [folds his arms] What makes you think I wouldn’t kill Sa- …Ryder?

Puck: I think you just answered your own question.

Reyes: I think it’s time for a new game. And a drink. Or three.

Puck: I’ll get ‘em. Someone has to warn poor sweet Kian.

Omggggg love this.