#Ersa vanguardsman

[steelsartcorner]

Art Practice of The Day: Meme Time

(so like. Avad totally did Ersa’s carja noblewoman makeup before the escape right? I mean it’s not super likely that she did it ….)

bonus oblivious Erend telling this totally hilarious, whacky, and definitely platonic story about his king and sister to Aloy

[missmrah]

Thanks @souls-that-have-senses​ for such a lovely commission request! It was an absolute joy to draw Erend and Ersa just being the best siblings ❤️

My sketch was heavily influenced and inspired by her gorgeous fic, which everyone should check out immediately!

 Legacy, Malady, Kith and Kin by SoulsThatHaveSenses

[horizon-of-fel]

Ao3 Fanfics

With the encouragement of a few friends, I have decided to start posting here on Tumblr my Ao3 Horizon fandom stories that I write. I'm fairly new to these parts, so please let me know if you see any way I can improve how I put these up. I also would love to hear from you guys so feel free to send me any Asks or messages!

My Works

Stories in Progress:

Road to Mainspring - Aloy/Erend In the weeks after the Battle of the Alight, Aloy is recruited to escort Dervahl to Mainspring with Erend Vanguardsman - a journey neither of them expected to go the way it did. Set after Zero Dawn, before Forbidden West. Rating: Mature/Explicit (for eventual smut)

Blood and Sandstone - Aloy AU re: Carja Red Raids An alternate narrative following the 'what if' of Aloy being kidnapped during the Red Raids for the Sun Ring instead of living her life peacefully in the Embrace, and what her life might've been like during that time. Features: Ersa, Erend (eventual Ereloy), Rost, Helis, Avad, Jiran and so many others... Rating: Mature/Explicit (for dark themes, violence, eventual smut)

Echoes of Enduring Hearts - Aloy/Avad Aloy and Avad navigate a complicated relationship before and after the events of Horizon: Forbidden West. Rating: Teen and Up (for now, who knows, will update if it changes)

Completed Stories and One-Shots:

A Breath of Fresh Air - Aloy/Kotallo (maybe completed, tbd) Set just before heading to the mission to the GEMINI cauldron. Kotallo notices Aloy getting antsy being cooped up in the base as they wait for Beta to prepare herself for the merge and finish the 'rig', so he invites her for an outdoor excursion. Rating: Teen and Up

Embers of the Past - Aloy/Erend Prompt for two minutes Oseramtober 2023 - "Ember" Aloy takes a friend's advice for some downtime and ends up coming face to face with a messy part of her and Erend's past. Will they be able to finally move past it or will it burn everything they'd built to embers and ash? Rating: Teen and Up

[livingwrite-andrepeat]

Erend Vanguardsman Headcanons

• This man loves snuggles, he doesn’t care about being the big spoon or small spoon as long as he gets his snuggles

• He will literally pout if he doesn’t get physical attention

• He might seem confident but if you say anything flirty he will turn red

• If you were dating before Ersa died you know every embarrassing thing about him

• He’s a romantic at heart

• He takes you on romantic dates and always finds you the nicest presents when you two visit different places

• Forces teaches you to play Strike

• Gets clingy when jealous, constantly worried you’ll leave him for someone begged

• To which you’ll kiss him and tell him he’s the only guy out there for you

• He loves you and makes sure you know it every day

@ceo-of-sloppy-men @deviantstormtrooper @the-chocoholic-writer

[mantis-on-a-table]

Multifandom doodle dump🕳 (mostly Hollow knight djfufjrjfuuf)

[felrend]

Here's a cozy ask UwU What are Erend's hugs like/what kinds of hugs does he like?

(btw I don't mind you posting my asks publically please go ahead!)

Erend's hugs are like wrapping yourself in a blanket that's just been in the dryer. They are warm and comforting. Each hug is a little different for him.

Of course for those people that are special to Erend like Ersa and Aloy, they get get the big and loving bear hug. He engulfs you and holds you tight to him, and with Aloy he loves when she nuzzles her face into his chest or neck. He'll also give little forehead kisses.

With dear friends like Varl, they still get the big hug but also some pats on the back for reassurance so they know he's happy to see them.

Kotallo and Zo get the side hugs where he nudges them enough into his side to let them know he's happy they are there. Of course Zo get's the soft gentle hugs because he knows what the Utaru is capable of and could strike at any moment. Typically Erend would wrap his arm around Kotallo's shoulders, always mindful of the Tenakth's arm. Even though he doesn't seem to mind, Erend still wishes to be respectful.

Alva and Beta get the warm hug where he will rock them back and forth to get a laugh out of them. He's found new sisters and some times it makes him a little emotional. So he plays it off this way as well as lifting them off their feet in victory or when it's been too long since he's seen them.

Sylen's gets a nod of the head. There's no way Erend is hugging that guy. Mostly because he would be too tempted to just toss Sylen's to the ground for being such a dick to Aloy. But Erend wouldn't do such a thing. Not without Aloy's approval first.

This turned in to one big fluff post and I love it. Thank you for the ask my dear!!! It made me all warm and fuzzy. Like Erend!

[sheigarche]

Parallels 🥺

[echoechowhiskey]

[anyathebloodshell]

I'm curious as to what are your headcanons on why or when Erend decided to shave his hair into a mohawk! I like to think he did it in solidarity seeing as Ersa had to shave all her hair to join the freebooters

That's such a nice Headcanon!! However mine Is quite different.

-When Erend and Ersa decided to join the Freebooters, Ersa had to shave completely her hair, but Erend has shaved his hair too for support on his older sister. Since he knows that the Patriarchy in the Claim is stronger than in other regions and Erend doesn't like that.

When his hair had began to grow back, he decided to shave into a mohawk. To remember a bit their first days with the Freebooters.

[disgruntled-welshgirl]

14/15

[justahorizonsideblog]

Name: Erend Vanguardsman Family: Ersa (Sister) Relationship: - Household: HFW Crew CC: SimnificantWonder’s Viking Inspired Braided Hair , Necrodog‘s Muttonchops beard, Right Side Focus Facepaint by Me

[dawnfromzero]

We can all agree that a modern HZD au would definitely involve Erend and Ersa being ex-marines that got out and opened up a pub called ‘The Claim’ where Erend bartends and Ersa runs the kitchen, right?

And Aloy would be a P.I./bounty hunter Erend falls head over heels for when she comes in one day tracking a perp? He serves her a drink and they get to chatting a little while she’s waiting to make her move, and when Aloy vaults a table catches her guy with the most perfect knee bar take down he’s ever seen, well... it’s game over for Erend Vanguardsman.

[jikanet-tanaka]

Fanfic - Horizon: Zero Dawn - In Vino (Amicitia) - Chapter 1

Rating: T (some language and alcohol abuse) Characters: Sun-King Avad, Erend, Aloy (Ersa appears in flashbacks only, sadly enough)

Summary: ‘“You misunderstand me, Erend. My ascent to the throne changed nothing. You were my friend before you were the captain of my personal guard. And if the Sun had been willing, you would have become family.”'

A king, a vanguardsman, and the ghost standing alongside them. Good ol' fashioned bromance between Avad and Erend, because why not? Spoilers for the Meridian questline and the end of the game!

Read it on FF.net Read it on AO3

[jozstankovich]

Hi, could I request an ereloy Drabble thing? Like maybe them reflecting on their first encounter and how their opinions of each other changed? (I'm on mobile so I couldn't see if u had anything that said that u don't/aren't taking prompts, so if you're not, then just disregard this lol)

Hey nonnie, thanks for the prompt ^^  I feel like it gets a little ramble-y in the middle, but I hope you like it.  Also, I’m pretty new to the whole writing thing, but if y’all have any more Ereloy prompts/hc’s that you’d like me to write up or expand on, just shoot me an ask.

It had been nearly a month since Aloy had left Meridian to continue her search for the mysterious woman whose face she had first seen within the womb of All-Mother.  She still had a long way to go before reaching Maker’s End and hopefully discovering the answers to her questions.  It was getting dark and Aloy set up camp for the night, an overridden Watcher acting as sentry, and soon she had a warm fire crackling in front of her.  She spread her bedroll close to the warmth and drew her knees up, wrapped her arms around them and stared into the flames. She’d been so intent on her quest, she had thought of nothing else since tracking down Olin and learning about HADES and the Eclipse, they even managed to invade her dreams most nights, but tonight she found her mind wandering to other topics.  Not for the first time she wondered if Erend had made it back to the Claim for Ersa’s funeral yet.  

Aloy had grown rather fond of the large Oseram during their time together tracking Dervahl.  Her heart went out to him and his loss.  She knew all too well how much it hurt losing the person you were closest with. It was strange, but the redhead couldn’t seem to get Erend’s easy grin and soft blue eyes out of her head, and found herself grinning in spite of herself. 

The very first time she had met the Vanguardsman the first thing she had noticed about him was how quickly he had calmed the crowd of disgruntled Nora in Mother’s Heart.  He just had a way about him; easy-going, yet compelling.  It was part of the reason that she knew he would make a good Captain despite all his self doubts.

She thought back to the first time they had spoken.  He had readily answered all her questions, despite seeming a little taken aback at how little she knew about the world outside the Embrace.  Then he’d smirked, amused at her abundant curiosity.  Aloy sighed, recalling how blunt and impatient she’d been during that conversation.  With the Proving looming over her, and the mystery of Olin’s focus weighting on her mind, she hadn’t even realized when Erend had tried flirting with her.  Granted, she’d never been hit on before, by anyone, but thinking back on it now, she felt her face flush.  

When she had parted ways with Erend after Dervahl’s capture it had been surprisingly difficult.  She knew her quest was important, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to say goodbye.  He had been incredibly sweet; ‘Now I realize I was just lucky to get a minute of your time’, and Aloy had found herself flirting back, just a little.  She smiled, remembering the way his face had lit up at her response.

Truthfully, a part of her hoped that after she found what she was searching for, if she ever found what she was searching for, that she might be able to return to Meridian and see Erend again.  She thought it might be nice to get to know him better.  After all, he was one of the few, the very few people she had met that she actually felt comfortable around, and she had to admit, if only to herself, that he wasn’t bad looking.

It was funny, at first she’d found his facial hair a little odd, but it had grown on her and eventually she’d decided that it suited him.  There was also something about his stocky build that she found appealing; it was so unlike any of the Nora Braves.  She flushed, remembering all the times she’d had to chastise herself when she caught herself staring during their travels; there was no time for that then, but possibly in the future?

Aloy groaned, there it was again, that strange fluttery feeling in her stomach that seemed to appear now whenever she thought of the Captain of the Vanguard.  She still wasn’t sure exactly what that feeling was, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.  With a sigh she settled down in her bedroll, closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep.

It was nearing dusk when the group of Oseram escorting Ersa’s body back to the Claim stopped to make camp for the night.  A handful of Vanguardsmen and a few Oseram merchants from Meridian who’d wanted to come along sat around the campfire, drinking and talking.  Erend sat apart from them, his mug of ale clutched forgotten in his hand.  He wasn’t in the mood to be social, instead turning his thoughts inward.

The journey to the Oseram homeland was not a short one and it gave him plenty of time to think.  His thoughts seemed to swing between his sister; no surprise there, his grief hung heavy on him like an extra set of armour, and the fiery haired Nora, Aloy.  Just the thought of her named stirred feelings that made his pulse quicken.  It was no surprise that he’d been attracted to her the first moment he’d seen her in the crowd at Mother’s Heart, she was stunning.  

Erend took a swig from his mug and grimaced as their first conversation replayed before his eyes.  In all honesty, he felt like a major tool whenever he remembered how he’d acted then, so self-important, and oh how Aloy had turned that conversation on its head.  It had not gone at all how Erend had expected.  He’d wanted to impress her, but instead he found himself being completely engrossed in her.  Even after he’d left the Nora lands, thinking her dead, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

A shout from one of the Vanguard made him jump, snapping him out of his thoughts.  When he looked over, saw it was only a drunken exclamation, he turned his back to them again, delving back into memories.  Erend had been overjoyed when Aloy had turned up in Meridian, very much alive, even if her appearance was overshadowed by the news of Ersa’s ambush only days before.  He’d seen the reluctance plain on Aloy’s face when he asked for her help, but for whatever reason she had agreed anyway.

The more time he got to spend with her, the more amazed by her he became.  She was so much more than a pretty face as he had mistakenly thought, and he felt like a fool for ever thinking that.  When the time came for them to part ways, he’d mustered the courage to tell her as much and she had surprised him again.  I’ll always have a minute for you… maybe even two.

Erend hoped that when he finally returned to Meridian that he might be able to see Aloy again, but he doubted it would be any time soon.  He sighed and swore under his breath.  He was completely smitten with the Nora huntress and he knew that feeling wasn’t going to disappear any time soon.  He finished the rest of his ale, now warm, and headed to his tent.  Erend hoped for good dreams, but doubted they would come.

[saberswann]

Vanguard Ch. 2

It was several weeks until they heard back from Blameless Marad’s spy, and even then, Aloy was off on another mission to find Olin. She’d gone with Erend on a tour of the city, had a couple of drinks with him and shared stories, but then the next day she was gone. She’d told Erend that she couldn’t just wait around to hear back from Marad’s spy, but he hadn’t expected her to leave so suddenly. Why wouldn’t she? He mentally smacked himself, it wasn’t as if she had anything to stay here for, as much as she didn’t seem to hate his company, she had bigger things to do. He was just glad he’d gotten a few more smiles from her, and a couple laughs to remember while she was gone.

If her smile was wonderful, her laugh was truly heavenly. It was usually accompanied by a wide smirk, and was the most carefree aspect of her personality- you could tell she was actually relaxed when she laughed, the vibrations running down her spine and bending her at the waist if they were strong enough. He’d gotten her to laugh that hard only once so far, and it was with a joke about Avad’s aversion to shirts.

She’d told him stories about her childhood, failures of hunting that he refused to believe, how could she have ever been unskilled? She told him the story of when she’d saved the boy named Teb when she was only six, and he was far more inclined to believe that she’d been that skilled when she was young, despite her protests that it was the focus’ doing and not hers. He’d countered her stories with ones of his childhood, making his first war-maul, how proud he’d been of the misshapen lump of metal, and how his parents had chuckled but congratulated him on his work. She’d smiled widely at him when he told this story, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her, remembering the ridiculous maul and his childish glee. He thought of that smile now, the way she’d looked at him as if she was imagining him as a small child, and finding it difficult. He was a large man, he could imagine it’d be hard to imagine a smaller version of him, only having known his adult form.

Little did he know, at this moment, Aloy was riding an elevator to the top of the mesa, thinking of that exact moment. She’d been gone about a month, and the first thought that’d popped into her head upon seeing the city in the distance was the smile and slight blush that had been on Erend’s face when he told that story. She still didn’t think she could picture him as a child, but she imagined he was stocky even then, hefting his imperfect maul high as he attacked the machine dummies, spinning slightly after the attack with the momentum of the heavy weapon. A strange feeling rose in Aloy’s chest as she imagined this scene, and she examined it for a moment, not knowing what it was, before it flitted away as the elevator clanked to a stop.

The first thing she did was go to her favorite armor merchant and purchase the Carja style armor she’d been eyeing for quite some time. She’d been trecking across the desert in heavy, warm Nora armor for too long, and she’d thought she might die from the heat one time too many on this last mission. The bared midriff was unusual for her, but it would serve to keep her cool, and she was willing to do almost anything for that at this point. She went into the nearest inn and changed into the armor, stowing her heavy furs in her pack. Immediately, she felt significantly cooler, the thin silks and bare stomach removing much of her built-up heat, and she quickly used a scrap of material to wipe the sweat from her body where it had accumulated on the trip back. Leaving the inn, she wracked her brain for the route to Erend’s favorite bar, where she knew she was most likely to find him. Much to her surprise, he was not at his customary seat at the bar, instead she found some of his vanguard soldiers. They all smirked and one chuckled at some unknown joke, but they pointed her toward Avad’s palace, saying that Erend had headed that way about an hour prior.

The trip to the palace was quick, and the guards across the bridge greeted her by name, which surprised Aloy. Although, she supposed, she was likely the only person with red hair they’d ever seen. She was the only person she’d ever seen with red hair, now that she thought about it. Must make her easy to pick out in a crowd, she thought. In the distance then, she heard the characteristic low guffaw that was Erend’s laugh and a smile rose to her face, unbidden. She skips steps on the way up to Avad’s balcony, forcing her face back into the neutral expression they’re all used to. Despite her efforts, a smile springs to her face when she sees Erend- currently moving with exaggerated motions, clearly telling some sort of joke, if the snorts of his vanguard and the reserved chuckle of Marad is anything to judge by.

Avad is the first to notice her arrival, a smirk on his face and a small wave to bring her into the conversation. He is shirtless as usual, Erend’s joke rises to the front of her mind, and she barely suppresses a laugh. Erend straightens at the sight of her, and his light blue eyes light up as they meet her green ones.

“Aloy! It’s good to see you, we’ve received news from Marad’s spy on Dervahl’s hiding place,“ he starts the sentence with a smile lingering from his joking, but it fades as he thinks of how much closer they are to finding Ersa. A nod to Erend at this news, and then Aloy looks to Blameless Marad for more information. He details the spies findings, and that he last reported in from Pitchcliff, a small village on the side of a mountain in Oseram territory.

“Great, I have time to head there now, if that’s fine with you, Erend?” Aloy’s determined exterior had returned, her usually bright eyes dark with the thoughts running through her head. She’d been resistant to helping Erend at first, her own personal goals seeming more important than helping the vanguardsman get revenge for his sister’s death. But when she’d found out what really happened at that ambush, she’d resolved to find Ersa. She’d seen the hope that exploded on Erend’s face when she’d revealed the truth, and she couldn’t deny him this closure. After all, half of the reason for her mission was getting revenge on the man who’d killed Rost.

A determined, almost angry look settled onto Erend’s face and he nodded at her, looking as if he didn’t trust himself to speak cordially at the moment. Aloy could almost see the thoughts running through his mind, and behind the stormy look Aloy almost thought she could see a sliver hope glimmering.

____________________________________________

The trip to Pitchcliff was long and quiet. Aloy settled into the silence, trying to ignore the tension in the air between Erend and the other Oseram vanguardsmen. When they camped the first night on the side of the road, the vanguardsmen started drinking some Oseram brew they’d brought with them, and started singing a drinking song. Normally Aloy knew Erend would have joined in, but tonight he only watched them with a slightly sad look on his face, and they were sobered sooner than usual by the somber atmosphere. Aloy was busying herself making arrows to one side of the campfire, cautiously watching Erend, concerned about his dower mood. He was usually such an upbeat happy person, seeing this other side of him threw her off, and she decided she’d try and cheer him up.

The next morning, she suggested that she’d capture some mounts and they could ride the rest of the way there, in order to arrive faster. Erend was cautious, his vanguard had never ridden machines before, and it was only his second time doing so. Aloy smirked at them and assured them out wasn’t so hard, knowing that the vanguardsmen wouldn’t want to be shown up by her. So they grudgingly agreed, and Aloy set off tracking the nearby pack of striders. Swiftly and stealthily, she took control of five striders, and killed the other two in the pack to harvest for parts.

She returned to camp riding one strider and trailing the other four behind her, and Erend marveled once again at her. The other three vanguardsmen gaped openly at the sight of Aloy leading practically a whole pack of striders, one of them gripping his weapon tighter out of habit. She dismounted the strider and detached the others from hers, grinning widely while her face was turned away. She led three of the striders over to Erend’s men, and presented one to each.

“Now this is the easy part, they’re loyal to me at this point, they won’t attack you unless you attack them first. You see the flatter, lower part of their backs? That’s where you’ll be sitting. Once you get settled there, you’ll need to grab some of the wires on either side of their necks, which you’ll use to guide them. Now, who wants to go first?“

Erend looked between Erend and his men, and he realized the smirk that graced her features was almost predatory. Sometimes he looked at her and saw a beautiful woman, and sometimes she reminded her more of a stalker. Setting traps for her enemies, observing from a distance until she knew how to cripple them correctly. He shook the thought from his head, she wasn’t trying to harm his men, she was just being practical as usual, speeding their trip to Pitchcliff. He laughed aloud at his men’s reluctance, and walked over to the last strider that he knew was his, hopping onto it’s back with only a little difficulty. A silent sigh of relief left him when he successfully mounted the machine, glad that he didn’t manage to embarrass himself in front of his men and Aloy.

This action inspired confidence in his men, and all three of them tried to then mount their striders at the same time, two of them knocking legs against each other and falling in a heap on the ground. The third nearly made it, but the other two bumped his mount on the way down, and it started running off, jostling him off it’s back suddenly. Soft groans came from the two in a pile, and a sharp Oseram curse from the third, and Erend let out a deep guffaw at the state of the best warriors in the sundom. Aloy stole a glance at him, doubled over with laughter at his men, and she turned back and grinned at them widely. Apparently, they quickly understood what Aloy was trying to do, because the next half hour was a series of embarrassing failures on the part of the vanguardsmen, and nearly continuous laughter from their captain.

When they were finally all mounted and on their way again, Aloy sent them all silent nods of thanks before joining Erend at the front of the party.

[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.