#stillsands

[tare-otome]

The Stillsands - Dunehollow - Las Vegas 1/?

Before heading back to the Base i swung by the Vegas area that would be my next subfunction mission to get Poseidon... Las Vegas had an eerie otherworldly feeling to it, like i was on Mars...

Still mysteriously shrouded in swirling sands or fog...

Even in the daylight it refused to reveal its secrets...I would return later...

[longleglens]

Stillsands

[jetskipilotgaming]

Horizon Forbidden West | Tallneck: The Stillsands Fast Way to Complete

[ayaitch]

Relic Ruins: Stillsands

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon forbidden west | the stillsands 1/?

[fogsblue]

Sunrise in the Stillsands

Horizon Forbidden West

[thunderjawsandlightning]

Having thoughts about the Gauntlet Racing squad and I just. I love them so much. They are a reflection and an embodiment of different aspects that are present in both Aloy and Nil. They are so important to Aloy's journey of self discovery and finding her own community of people that she can just be herself with. They are so healing to Nil and his struggles with his own (presumed) military-childhood past, and especially so with his desire and search for close bonds with people he can and will trust.

They are community and camaraderie that both Nil and Aloy have been missing in their search for who they are beyond a legacy they didn't ask for. Names and status and deeds don't mean anything on the track, it's just you, your mount, and your weapons.

They are an example of freedom and wanderlust, free to go wherever they please and always searching for something new. Not being bound to one place because you've already seen so much of the world, it's hard to think that you would settle in just one place when there's so much more of the world to be seen and to experience.

They see past tribe and clan differences for the more raw, primal instinct and exhilarating joy of a good challenge and feeling alive, of truly being in the moment. Not caught up in the macro politics of tribal traditions and rituals, of laws and rules that are put in place by those with power that affect so many more without. The racers live for the moment, live IN the moment, and embody so wholeheartedly of being of the world.

Nil seeing Aloy interact with the kids, and the kids claiming her as "one of them" as she participates in more and more races. Of seeing the hardened mask of the Hunt drop away for the thrill and elation of crossing the finish line first. Of wanting more of that freedom for her, of making the Offer to her to join them, even though he knows that she won't stray from her path until she sees it through because he would have done (and did) the same.

Aloy seeing the not-really begruding-turned-respectful admiration that the kids have for Nil. Of seeing him have a weight lifted from his shoulders, to step out (even just a little bit) from the shadow of the Red Raids and the actions that bloodied his hands and his soul. And him doing so by going back to a tribe that was once the Carja's fiercest opponent, and lands that were the site for the inception and birth of his macabre and much-whispered reputation. And now, he's no longer doing penance by roundabout means of socially acceptable justice (bandit hunting), but in a healing, tactile way that his C-PTSD can process and transform into productive, healthy action and habits (racing).

And all of that could only be facilitated by this stray band of kids, racing in the desert: quote: "...the glint of steel at high speed and metal haunches splashed with blood...", and Nil and Aloy each seeing them upon crossing the threshold of the landscape in their own time, and each of them being equally intrigued.

[nimthirielrinon]

Windows to the past: Part 3

[sunwingsunset]

Horizon Forbidden West ↳ Scenery / The Stillsands

[belgania]

The Stillsands

[kellelkallel]

AETHER recovered (love the stylization of the names, by the way)! Did this yesterday but oh well.

Beta secured (finally).

Stillsands Tallneck done! So so fun, bringing down a Tallneck was truly a magical experience considering how absolutely impenetrable and monolithic they were in Zero Dawn. Can't wait to do more.

[tare-otome]

Sea of Sands 7/7

Against my better judgment, i went with Morland not once, but twice, in his hot air balloon for his side quest, Lofty Ambitions lol 🎈🔥😅 Okay i gotta admit, it looks beautiful from up here.

[no-title-currently]

The Relic Ruins located in the Dry Yearn region has a type of door that off the top of my head, we don’t see anywhere else in the game. (We don’t see a functional one at least). It’s a large garage like door, which is opened by this, found at the front of the ruin.

I went ahead and got photos of the front (left) and back (right) to get a good idea of how it looks. It really does look like just a reinforced garage door, but what I really find interesting is the locking mechanism.

The locking mechanism is on the bottom, and is admittedly the biggest obstacle in this ruin. It does exactly what’s expected- locking. This wouldn’t be an issue if the door wasn’t right in the middle of the ruin. This is also the main ‘gimmick’ that this Relic Ruin has. I’m fairly certain each one has a gimmick (The Stillsands Relic Ruin has flooding/The Isle of Spires Relic Ruin is multiple buildings/Etc..)

I’m not even going to try to pretend I know anything about industrial locks, but I just love how we can see exactly how everything is able to click into place. Of course, I had to test out one thing which, in retrospect, was fairly obvious- yes, standing under it when it’s closing does in fact kill you

[ayaitch]

Relic Ruins: Stillsands.

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon forbidden west | aloy 130/?

[chloefraazers]

Title: Never Kissed A Mouth That Tastes Like Yours

Fandom: Horizon

Rating: Explicit

Characters/Ship: Aloy, Nil, Aloy/Nil

Summary: Aloy had a beautiful goodbye with Seyka. There’s someone else she wants to say goodbye to before she heads east.

Posted this many moons ago, but never gave it a shout-out here. First thing I wrote post-Burning Shores, a wee two-shot.

Opening:

Their first kiss is over the fence of the Charger pen, lit by the sliver of moon and soft glow of blue machine lights.

She’s going east. It’s time. There’s a lead north of the Sundom that she needs to follow, and Avad has asked to discuss Nemesis with her before she goes too far. She’s been preparing for the journey for days now, helping Beta learn to defend herself, and ride a machine on her own, so they can go together.

And the closer she draws to leaving, the more her mind drifts to the Stillsands.

So the night before they leave, she waits until Beta has bid her goodnight, then sneaks out of the Base and calls for her Sunwing. She flies southwest, crossing the cliffs of the desert, her heart skipping in her chest when she sees the bright lights of Hidden Ember.

It’s a race she wants, she tells herself. She needs the rush, the contest. She needs the frenzy of being caught in the pack. She needs to empty her mind of everything but the track. She needs to get back to earth for the few frantic minutes on the back of a machine.

And that’s exactly what she gets.

No one looks surprised to see her there, but Nil’s fixed gaze tells her that he knows something is different.

Read it on AO3.