#stemmur

Two posts so close together maybe aint the smartest move but I am in LOVE with this man.

@emilyofjane

Sisters try and fail to recreate the Wicked poster.

Stage crew.

You never get a second chance at making a first impression.

Based on a combination of research and pure vibes alone, Zo and Varl listen exclusively to indigenous folk music like Mahk Jchi, bands like The Cranberries, and things in the Enigma and Enya vein... when they're together, anyway. On his own, Varl listens to bubblegum pop (think early Taylor Swift, Sugar, Sugar, As Long As You Love Me, etc.). And he sings along to it very, very badly, which Zo pretends to be annoyed by because she finds his embarrassment entirely unnecessary but funny. (On her own, Zo loves Tracey Chapman and Melissa Etheridge.)

Erend, as we already know, listens to the worst techno metal you could imagine, but, after Zo's begging, he's branched out and found a love for classic 70s punk. (Cherry Bomb is his favorite after everything by Concrete Beach Party. )

Drakka likes slightly-scream-y metal with a fast beat like Riding the Eagle (on the nose, he knows it) and Dragonforce. Anything he can hunt to is good listening in his book.

Nil loves disco, especially The Bee Gees, to absolutely everyone's surprise (until Aloy thinks of the implications of Stayin' Alive and that it's supposed to directly mirror CPR and a heartbeat.) Beta loves Celine Dion to absolutely no one's surprise. (Nil will also listen to straight-up dance-club rave music with the bass jacked all the way up and an absolutely deadpan expression on his face. Somehow, this is scarier than if he was listening to an actual horror band. When Beta's overwhelmed, she'll listen to "music" that's genuinely just noise, and Aloy has to remind herself that killing her clone sister isn't a nice thing to do every time Beta plays her playlist loud enough for her to hear it.)

Kotallo enjoys classical symphonic music because it helps him focus and he admires the precision. This is the sole thing anyone in the group has in common with Sylens. (Sylens is also a fan of smooth jazz. The concept of knowing something with such technical proficiency that you break all of its rules and still succeed is something that reaches Sylens at his core. Also, not me imagining Sylens a la J.K. Simmons like, "Aloy, are you rushing, or are you dragging?")

Alva has genuinely eclectic taste and likes a little bit of everything. But she does have a special place in her heart for women who rap (especially Lauryn Hill) and what she considers underrated KPOP groups (think BVNDIT).

Gildun favors Motown classics and won't hesitate to sing along, though Marvin Gaye he is not.

The Hidden Ember crew all enjoy showtunes, but distinctly different ones. Stemmur enjoys real old school Rodgers & Hammerstein (Oklahoma! is his favorite), and Abadund (who loves Chicago and anything with a Bob Fosse touch) would very much appreciate it if Morlund would just listen to Defying Gravity instead of taking it as a personal challenge.

And it brings me no small amount of joy to imagine Avad sitting on his throne vibing out to Matchbox 20's Lonely No More and Santana's Smooth while thinking about how much he relates. Rob Thomas is his boy, period, but he has a thing for any late 90s/early 2000s emo pop-rock (The Goo Goo Dolls, early Maroon 5, Third Eye Blind, etc.)

(Talanah endlessly mocks him for this and will enjoy her non-emo 80s pop music on her own, thanks. She thinks she's having a love affair with Whitney Houston. Petra sympathizes but prefers Stevie Nicks.)

Fashav is a basic bitch like me who likes classic rock. His favorite singers are Bruce Springsteen, Steve Perry, and Joe Elliott, in that order.

Aloy herself, meanwhile, can't be bothered with music because it's a distraction... buuuuuuut she secretly quite enjoys folk music and old school outlaw country. She becomes irrationally annoyed with herself when she discovers that APOLLO's entire backlog of Johnny Cash comes straight from the archives of Travis Tate (or, more specifically, his mother).