*ON HIATUS*

A Horizon AU by @Mari-Mary *READ PINNED POST FOR DETAILED INFO + FAQ* - Ask is open

[horizontwinflames]

Hello! Welcome!

@mari-mary talking here, and this is my side blog dedicated to my newest AU from the Horizon series. It will have spoilers of the games and DLCs!

Long story short, let's say that the Zeniths could get to Earth sooner. Things did not go well, and yada yada... During the prologue of HZD, little Aloy finds little Beta in that bunker. Beta had lost her memory and only remembered her name... or at least what she thinks is her name.

So, they grew up together as outcasts in this AU, and then we proceed to the canon story but with that small change in it. With that said, their characters will be very different from canon and the way the story rolls as well.

Also, Elisabet is alive here too. She's been kept in a cryosleep state by the Zeniths.

Read about the main four here: [Aloy, Beta and Elisabet] [Isaac]

[Fanfic Masterlist]

[This AU on TvTropes] (missing info from chapter 7 in front) created by @sananaryon

For canon content or just artworks/fic posts of this AU, see: @marisartcorner

FAQ under the cut:

**QUICK FAQ:

-There will be any ships/canon romance (with Aloy or Beta) in this AU?

No, I don't want to sidetrack the focus from the sisterhood of Aloy and Beta. Plus many other reasons story/character development-wise.

-Can I do fanart/memes?

Of course! I would love to see it! Just not NSFW(like porn or gore, for example), please; of course, don’t forget to credit it.

-Can I do a video from your comics or use your art in my videos? (ex.: adding voice acting, panels “slide show”, AMVs, etc)

Yes, BUT notify me when you start to work on it. In this case, I ask you to give credit somewhere in the video and link(s) to the original art in the description.

-Can I translate your comics/fan fic?

Yes, but let’s talk first.

-Can I edit/trace over/repost your art/use for AI/NFT?

NOPE.

But if you’re unsure about something, ask me.

[horizontwinflames]

!! IMPORTANT !!

Just letting you all know that I'll be slowing down to make content for this AU (mostly art related) because I can feel the burnout starting in my mind. The last thing I want is to get burnout about something I love so much, I hope you all can understand.

I have a little Twin Flames and Pokémon Scarlet/Violet crossover happening on the background, tho. I may focus much more on doing arts of that instead because I want to make art of the said Pokémon games, too.

Edit: Never mind the Pokémon crossover, I will do it with another AU.

[horizontwinflames]

Yay! More comics! Red left to right, btw.

[Next TBA]

This comic is about a scene from chapter 5 of the fanfic of this AU, which you can [read on Ao3]

I'm in a comic art mood recently and I also wanted to draw badass Beta and feral Aloy, so that's why I picked this scene from chapter 5 of the fic.

Also, good to note that, this is not the entire figth (as you can tell by the first panel already), this is just the part that I couldn't write everything I imagined because of writing skills limitations back then.

I wish I could do this AU as a comic entirely, but it would take years even with a dedicated team... why? Because the story is too long! *cries* I have the feeling that all three acts (the equivalent to the three games + dlcs) will pass the 1M words mark.

[horizontwinflames]

Yay! More comics! Red left to right, btw.

[Next TBA]

This comic is about a scene from chapter 5 of the fanfic of this AU, which you can [read on Ao3]

I'm in a comic art mood recently and I also wanted to draw badass Beta and feral Aloy, so that's why I picked this scene from chapter 5 of the fic.

Also, good to note that, this is not the entire figth (as you can tell by the first panel already), this is just the part that I couldn't write everything I imagined because of writing skills limitations back then.

I wish I could do this AU as a comic entirely, but it would take years even with a dedicated team... why? Because the story is too long! *cries* I have the feeling that all three acts (the equivalent to the three games + dlcs) will pass the 1M words mark.

[horizontwinflames]

Horizon AU: Twin Flames - Gaia's Subfunctions' Avatars (part 1)

Because [spoilers], Elisabet re-classifies the subfunctions as "facets."

In this AU, they developed their own avatars and consciousness, giving them a kind of "God" vibes - hence, they are omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent in their respective areas on the Zero Dawn system.

Without Gaia, they also developed new "powers and abilities" (related to their original functions), which can only be unlocked/activated with an Alfa Prime credential.

[horizontwinflames]

Thank you so much! ❤️ I always wanted the same for the subfunctions; that's another reason why I did this for my AU lol

I can't wait to share the visuals of the other ones xD

[horizontwinflames]

CHAPTER 13 TEASER!

I'm adding more flavor to the "humans living among machines" lore in my AU, a detail that I personally think should be more explored in canon. The Utaru and their Land Goddess was a really cool addition! I hope we get to see more stuff like this in Horizon 3.

Now, with that said, here's the teaser:

Also, yeah, Varl is going to Meridian, too.

I know Bristlebacks are a Forbidden West machine in canon, but I'm using the "AU card" here for convenience. Because originally the Gaia gang members were going to get their machine companions on the Forbidden Act, but I decided to change Varl's, Erend's, and Talanah's to the Zero Dawn Act for a better story flow.

Btw, this chapter has a big lore detail reveal! Related to a "last second idea" I had a time ago.

[horizontwinflames]

This chapter is nearly done! I hope to post it next Friday (16th February)!

Thank you so much for your patience!

[horizontwinflames]

Thinking about the merge of the end of Forbidden West and Burning Shores' plot, I had the idea to move the Zenith's base to the Burning Shores (the place) 🤔

Merging the end of FW with BS, adding this AU changes, is making a very spicy end :D

I'm also thinking of making a few Zeniths allies (in addition to Tilda) to the Gaia gang, because why not. I'll see if there's some that could be "redeemed," but if you have any name(s) suggestion, I'm all ears. If I can't find any, I will create some OCs.

[horizontwinflames]

What if u redesigned GAIA with this cool dress I found (idk who's the artist, found this while scrolling through Pinterest in the middle of an artblock 😅)

I think that GAIA would look way cooler than she is!

Ooh! That's cool! I was already thinking about something like, because now (story wise), Lis have free time to give her the look she originally envisioned for her.

I'm thinking in something more regal (and probably a bit extra lol):

Credits on the images, I found through pinterest too.

(Btw, the artist's name of your example is on the image).

[zeetah-cheetah]

It could be a combination of both dresses! What do you think?

(I didn't notice xD)

[horizontwinflames]

Perhaps? XD I will sketch some ideas first and see how it looks °3°

[horizontwinflames]

What if u redesigned GAIA with this cool dress I found (idk who's the artist, found this while scrolling through Pinterest in the middle of an artblock 😅)

I think that GAIA would look way cooler than she is!

Ooh! That's cool! I was already thinking about something like, because now (story wise), Lis have free time to give her the look she originally envisioned for her.

I'm thinking in something more regal (and probably a bit extra lol):

Credits on the images, I found through pinterest too.

(Btw, the artist's name of your example is on the image).

[horizontwinflames]

I WAS going to post an ask about the other facets avatars but you beat me to it. I love that Hades looks exactly like something out of the mind of our dear friend Travis Tate. I even have a headcanon that Travis personally designed it, mostly for funsies, but when Hades "woke up" and created an avatar he chose this because Travis was the only human he actually liked.

Haha xD also, I'm sketching the other facets' avatars, too (Apollo, Poseidon, Aether, Demeter, and Artemis).

That's a really nice idea! But Hades wouldn't use the avatar because he liked Travis, but more like because "it was in his programming already" :/

Although, the facets do have reasons for their avatars look how they do (it will be explained later in the story).

[horizontwinflames]

Has Aloy and Beta ever thought what they do when they get done with everything?

Nope, not at all. They didn't even think about what would be of them after the Proving.

Basically:

*they step out of the Sacred Lands*

*silence*

Beta: Now what?

Aloy: I don't know. I never thought we would get this far.

[horizontwinflames]

So... I will remove the Burning Shores Act from this AU and bring the main characters plus some of its plot points to the Forbidden West Act instead (in other words, I will merge them).

I was trying to adapt and write the Burning Shores story to this AU to be its own Act, and I couldn't do it in a way I liked.

I will merge the Frozen Wilds Act with the Zero Dawn Act, too, but with its story entirely in this case and for purely writing convenience. This will make this AU have two acts now instead of four.

Plus, I would like to share some personal opinions on FW and BS writing (under the cut):

So...

After deep diving into the FW act writing and parallel playing HZD NG+ with HFW NG+ (adding to the hype cooled down), I began to realize how weird, if not bad, a significant portion of plot ideas/points on the sequel are written/presented and/or entangled. That, sadly, gets more visible on the BS DLC... It seems most of the budget went to the cloud system development (I guess that's the reason why I can't really like Seyka, but I don't dislike her either*).

Don't get me wrong, I still love HFW/BS, even with their writing flaws. There are many good ideas/plot points**, but the story's execution is just... hmmmm... I gotta admit that BS is almost looking more like a filler to me now***. If you watch anime, you know what I'm talking about, and I'm not going to elaborate, or this post will get too long.

Edit: To clarify, I'm saying how, at some points, how some ideas were written on Forbidden West and Burning Shores are odd/bad, not that the plot/story entirely is bad. The idea and execution of it are different things.

People can change their opinions (s), and I hope you can understand that.

*No hate towards the character either (I'm neutral about her), and no, I'm not removing Seyka from this AU, but instead rewriting her to some degree.

**Heck, this AU exists because of all the plot about Beta and the Zeniths. But there are also bad ideas (e.g., don't start me on Varl's death. I don't like all the "the way Elisabet was [introverted] socially is bad" you can understand at some parts).

***For God's sake, I'm not saying that Aloy having a love interest is bad. I'm talking about the way the DLC story as a whole was written.

[horizontwinflames]

I just had the craziest idea to make the teaser of Forbidden West act by doing "this AU's version" for the Jujutsu Kaisen opening for the Shibuya Arc (instead of comics):

This will take a while, so I think it will be ready close to the Frozen Wilds act. LOL I may post wip teasers occasionally about it to show progress.

Even though I know basic 2D animation, I won't be animating, I will just redraw the key/important frames.

[horizontwinflames]

I'm counting 62 frames.... this will be fun LOL

Now, I'm thinking... I may not post them all together, but part by part.

Also, it's good to note that the scenes on Twin Flames version don't mean the same thing as in the JJK intro!! They are completely different stories!

EDIT: Nevermind... this is too much work, I may just use JJK as inspo and make references to it.

[horizontwinflames]

Sorry for the lack of content recently, everyone.... It's just that work has been keeping me really busy lately.

Although, I have been able to write a bit by the end of the day. Hopefully, we'll have chapter 13 soon.

I can pause to chat here, so Ask is open (with Anon on). Ask things away!

[horizontwinflames]

Horizon AU: Twin Flames - Gaia's Subfunctions' Avatars (part 1)

Because [spoilers], Elisabet re-classifies the subfunctions as "facets."

In this AU, they developed their own avatars and consciousness, giving them a kind of "God" vibes - hence, they are omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent in their respective areas on the Zero Dawn system.

Without Gaia, they also developed new "powers and abilities" (related to their original functions), which can only be unlocked/activated with an Alfa Prime credential.

[horizontwinflames]

Idk if anyone's asked this before but, what program do you use to draw??

Krita 5 for Android tablet (I have a Samsung tab S7)! It's still in the beta version (and it's free) but works really well... except for the text tool for whatever the reason.

[horizontwinflames]

(If you can or have the time to) I would love to see a sketch of Issac stealing food for Beta and getting caught for doing so? Again if you can

Thank U❤️ and love your work

That's a good idea for a short and cute comic! I will keep that noted for future one shots. Thank you! ❤️