#ligan

[kelsochronicles]

He liked her before it was cool. Grandpa Ligan always looking out for our girl!

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon zero dawn (remastered) | ligan

[tinderbox210]

So I've seen so many people thinking Avad and Nil are related, half-brothers or cousins...

While I see where people are coming from with them looking alike at first glance (though that's also thanks to the same style of beard and budget reasons), I don't think they actually look that much alike in build, facial structure and complexion when you actually compare them and for obvious shipping reason, I reject any headcanon where these pretty boys can't kiss each other.

I also think if Nil was Avad's brother (bastard brother and no legitimate heir to Jiran), it would have been revealed in HZD and Nil would have played a different role in the story that would have most likely let to some kind of confrontation between him and Avad (they probably would have made Nil part of the Eclipse and jealous of Avad getting the throne that's denied to Nil for being a bastard to heighten the family drama or something like that).

Personally I've really started to like the idea that Nil was related to Helis, maybe even being his son after it was put in my head by a great Nil/Avad story I read, because it would explain a lot about Nil, and maybe also related to Ligan. They all share these distinct pale greyish eyes which could be a sign that they are in some way related. Nil and Ligan even wear the same tribal markings which could indicate a family relation or at least that they come from the same region/village (like how the Tenakth distinguish their tribe heritage by painting in different colours) and Ligan could have provided Nil with the hunter gear despite Nil not being part of the Hunters Lodge.

So I headcanon Nil is either Helis' son and Ligan's nephew, or Ligan is Nil's (grand)father and Helis' his uncle. It could work both ways but Nil being Helis' son would be more dramatic.

Nil and Helis share some interesting similarities in their personality with both basically living only for blood and violence. Helis' obessive religious belief is similar to Nil's obsession with death though Helis is a lot more unchecked while Nil at least tries to stirr his worst impulses in the right direction. And they use similar prose in the way they talk.

We know Helis used to have a wife and son who died and I can see that having been some turning point for him, along with Jira slipping into madness, that could have turned him from being more or less "decent" man into the brutal fanatic that we see in the game, who probably would have had no problem with drilling his only surviving child in his image to become the same ruthless killer and deadly instrument for the mad Sun-King's bloody will. And Nil losing the rest of his family while being left at the mercy of his monstrous father could easily be the reason that sent him on his dark path.

(and they both have a thing for those fancy red feathered headpieces, so either they're related or Nil was at some point trained by Helis as a Kestrel and adapted his sense of fashion)

And if Helis' was Nil's father, it would explain Nil's stance on staying out of "politics" in a reasonable way and why he only went after bandits after his "rehabilitation" but neither joined the Eclipse nor jumped at the opportunity to kill those bastards.

Nil being Helis' son would also give Nil and Avad some nice parallels in their background and a way for them to relate to each other with both of them having had to live under the thumb of a cruel and fanatic father whose idiology they end up rejecting.

And if Nil was Helis' son, Avad would have known him personally prior to the game and would have know how Helis' mistreated him, which could be the reason why Nil got a light sentence for his confessed crimes beyond Avad just having a good heart and believing in rehabilitation of criminals.

[theartofloss]

Ligan, my man!!! He was ready to throw hands before she teamed up with Talanah

[irfmss]

[system-threat-detected]

Did you know Ligan’s left hand appears to be made of wood

[ofdreamsandreality]

Well, somehow an entire fic I wrote vanished from my drafts on my phone. Time to rewrite the entire thing I guess 🙄

Also working on my other stories to get them updates ASAP

[irfmss]