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phoebesshippingmanifest · 2 years

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Since some people have expressed an interest (thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement), here is the Horizon A/B/O world building I'm doing for my Kotaloy fic.

Here and here are the basic rules for how my homebrew may differ from other people's Omegaverse stuff. It's not a necessary read for the world building to be fun, but it might help to know where I'm coming from while I'm brainstorming.

Ok, now that we all have access to the sandbox we can get to the actual world building.

Old Ones

Alphas and Omegas were a small percentage of humanity, though Alphas did marginally outnumber Omegas. Genetic marker testing at birth and prescribed suppressants were the norm for both designations by the early 1990s. Their instinctual behaviors were considered useless at best, detrimental at worst, in a "modern society". By the start of the Faro Plague, they were basically treated like a cured disease, though certain social stigmas remained in the older populations. Mostly, western society was to the point where they barely associated the designations with the Greek letters assigned to them, as can be seen in the naming conventions for Project Zero Dawn. (In my story, Elisabet Sobeck was an Omega herself, but it had very little impact on her life.)

The Zeniths, unsurprisingly, took this mentality even further, seeking to remove any "animal" traces whatsoever. (Hey, you thought the Zeniths naming their Sobeck clone Beta was dehumanizing before? Now it has a dual meaning of being both a replacement and an animal, but not even the right one because they just don't care. Seriously, fuck those guys.) Whatever procedures, surgeries, cybernetics, and gene therapy they used to obtain immortality stripped away what the tribes on earth would consider to be their humanity, to the point where Zeniths don't even have scents, let alone designations. Because of these missing elements, they are even more alien and off-putting to Aloy and crew. (Was Tilda, once upon a time, a tall, willowy Alpha who, as suppressants got rarer and less important in the face of annihilation, got super obsessed with an Omega who wouldn't give her the time of day? Who can say? Me... I can.)

(Also, the Zeniths had Beta on suppressants. They couldn't mess with her biology and still have her be a viable Sobeck replacement, so they went with the "primitive" method. Poor little gal is dealing with a lot in that basement.)

So, the Old Ones and Zenith harken back to how a whole lot of A/B/O tropes compare A/Os to animals, specifically wolves due to the werewolf roots of the AU, but large predators in general. This is frequently done in a negative light, as though their "animalistic tendencies" make them less human. However, in the current story, humans exist in a world where they are literally the only major natural predator. Wolves, bears, big cats, crocodilians, sharks, all of them are extinct. Even the larger prey animals no longer exist. Machines don't provide the same kind of comparisons, because they fulfill their functions and do nothing else. They don't have mating drives or pheromone communication or territorial displays. With the disconnect from the previous world's information and cultural biases, most humans have nothing showing them that these behaviors are anything other than completely human.

Tribes

Since barely anyone even talked about designations by the time of the Faro Plague, the language now surrounding A/B/Os is completely different. Among the descendants of ELEUTHIA-9, the most common shared terms are for heat (fervor) and rut (frenzy). Beyond that, most tribes have their own terms for the designations and their own beliefs about what they mean in society. I'm still working on some of them, but here's what I have right now.

Nora

Guardian (Alpha) - Biggest, strongest, fiercest. Generally expected to be Braves and serve as protectors of the tribe and the Sacred Lands, but not forced into those roles if their skills lie elsewhere.

Pillar (Beta) - The structure on which the tribe is upheld. Pillars are considered stable and secure.

Hallowed (Omega) -In a culture that reveres the act of bearing a child as a reflection of their Goddess, Omegas are sacred. (Which is why it's hilariously unfortunate for the Nora that Aloy was outcast. Teersa wanted to strangle Lansra when she found out how Aloy had presented.)

The Nora believe that A/Os carry within themselves a spirit, imparted by the Goddess, which guides and protects them. A/O mated pairs are the only permanent relationships practiced by the tribe, as they believe such pairs strengthen the tribe as a whole. True Mates are the ultimate ideal in that regard and celebrated as a blessing from All-Mother. Omegas are also the only child bearers who are not restricted in the number of children they can have, because their wombs are extra sacred, y'all.

Carja

Perihelion (Alpha) -The closest to the Sun. Particularly blessed with power, but this also makes them dangerous and hard to control. Female Perihelion enjoy a position of power and freedom unknown to most Carja women, though it is a strained arrangement.

Aphelion (Omega) -The farthest from the Sun. Aphelion throw a bit of a wrench in the works within Carja society. Child bearers having such overtly aggressive tendencies upsets their social mindset. Unmated Aphelion are generally sequestered away in their parents' homes or in communes, kept happy and relaxed so as to not give them a reason to actually participate in society. Unmated Perihelion are permitted to visit the communes once a season to seek out a mate, if they so desire. Mated Aphelion are under the care and supervision of their mates.

The Carja have no distinct term for Betas. They have only labeled the outliers.

(I'll be the first to admit, I don't have a great opinion of the Carja as a culture where sex and gender are concerned. I can only see them being even worse by adding yet another layer of complexity to it. I know they're working on it, but dang.)

Oseram

Cope (Alpha)

Core (Beta)

Drag (Omega)

I tired. I tried, y'all, but world building for this tribe did not release the happy chemicals and it's entirely because I don't want to play in their playground. It's overtly sexist and I did not have fun trying to fit my A/Os into a culture where someone can own their spouse. Most of the Oseram characters we meet are lovely people and I'll keep working on it, but oof. All credit to my husband for their terms, which are from the metal casting process.

Banuk

Ideas for this tribe have been hard for me to pin down. While I firmly believe that A/Os would have an advantage in their purely skill based culture due to greater strength and heightened senses, the intrinsic individualism of the tribe doesn't really work with the pack bonds/mated bonds that A/Os instinctually pursue. I have literally done no concrete world building for them except that Sylens is a Beta and smarmy about it. He's far too busy and important for simple instincts to be getting in his way, you know.

Utaru

The Utaru don't make a distinction between any of the designations. Everyone is either seed or soil, no matter how potent the seed or fertile the soil. They can appreciate Alpha strength and Omega nurturing, but as a culture, they don't differentiate. Everyone is just human.

Tenakth

Storm Souls -Storms are the sky, the battlefield of the Ten, come down to earth; uncontrollable, frequently dangerous, essential for life. The Tenakth consider A/Os to be "storm touched" and hold them in high regard for their strength and skill. They are generally very accepting of the more aggressive A/O traits compared to most other tribes and actually got the whole "cannibal" stigma because their A/Os will absolutely use their fangs in battle. While there are no separate terms for Alphas and Omegas, mates will frequently refer to each other as coinciding parts of a storm, I.E. Thunder/Lightning, Wind/Snow, Clouds/Rain. When in periods of increased instinctual behavior, such as heats/ruts/massive adrenaline rushes, they are said to be "closer to" or "touching the storm". Because of their affiliation, Stormbirds are particularly sacred to Tenakth A/Os, alongside Sunwings in the greater cultural context.

(You will pry Warrior Poet Tenakth from my cold, dead hands. Have you heard how most of them talk!?)

Quen

Of all the current known tribes, the Quen are the closest to pre-apocalypse terms and mindsets concerning designations, though they do not have the ability to produce suppressants. (Beta being named Beta was sort of baffling to Alva.)

Various bits and bobs

True Mates

Due to the relative scarcity of Omegas and the insular nature of the tribes, True Mates are actually extremely rare and most people don't resign themselves to searching forever for someone they may never find. Strong emotional attachments and physical attraction are considered completely normal and, by far, the most common way relationships are formed.

This is why people are ok with flirting with Aloy despite not being perfectly matched to her. She's rad and they find her rightfully appealing.

Aloy, on the other hand, was raised with the vague understanding that somewhere out there was her Mate and that she'd know them when she found them so, even though she has no idea what that actually means, she doesn't even try to shop around. She's also socially awkward, not particularly interested, and really is too busy, anyway.

Sobecks

I pondered for a long time what designation Aloy, Beta, and Elisabet would be in my story, because I could easily see them working as any of them. I love me the Tall/Small I've built into my Alpha/Omega pairings but I tossed around the idea of trying my hand at writing an Alpha/Alpha Kotaloy for a bit. What sold me on the Sobecks being Omegas, however, was honestly sheer pettiness for getting completely creeped out by the Faro's Tomb mission again on my current playthrough. Just the idea that Ted Faro was a stereotypical Alpha's Alpha who was ludicrously proud of his own greatness and he had to shipwreck aaaaall that pride on the rocks of begging an Omega for help with the Faro Plague. Meanwhile, Elisabet barely even registered that he was melting down over bullshit gender norms that hadn't mattered since before either of them was born and went straight to finding a solution to his fuck up. *chef's kiss*

#kotaloy a/b/o #a/b/o #a/b/o dynamics #a/b/o homebrew #world building #kotaloy #aloy x kotallo #kotallo x aloy #aloy #kotallo #horizon zero dawn #hzd #horizon forbidden west #hfw

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misstalwyn · 2 years

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Okay Thebes, what the FUCK

cut again bc I just need to vibrate on this shit

It was so much exactly like what I thought and exactly the opposite of what I wanted

I hated being right about the goddamn tomb décor but it’s nice to see that narcissism at work ig lol

Like, damn, on one hand I wanted to see Thebes, and it looked more like the Thebes I could see in my head than I thought they’d do! (I really thought he’d just jump out of a sarcophagus tbh)

On the other hand, I had two BIG wants on two conditions

If Ted is alive, we get to fight/kill him

If he’s dead, it had to have been ironic/funny and we get to spit on his grave

So you can maybe see why I’m just ticked all the way off now 😤

DO YOU KNOW HOW NEAT IT WAS FOR A SPLIT SECOND TO THINK THAT TED WENT FULL RESIDENT EVIL AND THAT WE COULD FIGHT HIM LIKE NEMESIS??

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SICK!! WHY WOULD YOU ROB US OF THAT, GUERRILLA??

It’s a little disappointing that because of the way they went about using it, Thebes & Ted feel like a footnote in this game’s narrative? And the series as a whole? Am I alone in feeling like that??

I mean, Ted is the reason all this shit even started, he was the Big Bad and they deliberately left all these threads hanging in ZD just to wrap them up way too neatly in a plot where he’s not even the antagonist anymore?? WHY

I JUST WANTED TO KICK HIS ASS, MAN

Don’t get me wrong, I think the zeniths are interesting enough as villains, but doesn’t it feel a little odd that they were more successful just by being stupidly rich people who happened to pick the venture that worked, rather than Ted, who was smart enough to have Omega Clearance done under Elisabet’s nose, become functionally immortal, and kill the alphas?

AND THE ZENITHS EVEN GOT CAUGHT. BUT THEY STILL GOT WHAT THEY WANTED? JUST BECAUSE??

I can’t believe I’m even defending Ted at all but when you spend a whole 100+ hour game’s worth of lore building this guy up and then don’t even show his gross, resident evil mutation IN THE GAME ABOUT FIGHTING GROSS, COOL MONSTERS, I’m gonna be a little disappointed, k?

I hate to think it was because they thought Ted was too easy to hate? They really thought “let’s undercut every little thing he ever did and even when we DO deliver what you’d expect, we’re gonna kill him passively so players don’t even get the satisfaction of kicking his ass”

I expected this whole scenario at the end of a trilogy, hence why I wrote that fic as vaguely as I did—bc I really didn’t think they’d just go and do it now! I thought I had to leave space for a whole ass sequel! And they just,,, went and did it,

It feels especially cowardly now bc it’s clear in all his datapoints that he never came remotely CLOSE to realizing exactly what he did/was doing. And then they just let him die with that mindset! Half the reason I wanted to confront him (and why I’m so glad I wrote the fic when I did lol) was so he could see, if not realize, how wrong he was!

Aloy just really deserved a chance to give Ted a piece of her mind tbh, and I would have LOVED to see the look on his face when he realized who/what she was. 😤

I guess the zeniths could fill in on that narrative thread, but it’s just not gonna feel as satisfying, especially bc I still don’t know who they are!!

Tilda knew Lis? Okay, that’s a total retcon, but w/e.

Erik and Peter? Whomst?!

Verbena died instantly and then I found the datapoint from her SEVENTEENTH ENGAGEMENT? DID THEY REALLY JUST LET SOME RANDOM IT GIRL ONTO THEIR ADVANCED COLONY SHIP?? OKAY LOL

I feel a wayyyy more intriguing tie to Regalla than any of those chumps, bc I love the Tenakth so much and her shit has really divided them and brought them closer together at the same time in a long, consistent manner. It’s great! I wanna fight her more!

The zeniths? Eh, I guess I just wanna break their stuff more than them rn lol

Plus, Regalla’s motivation/conflict ties into the first game and extended lore so well! Ofc it makes sense a segment of the Tenakth wouldn’t be capable of forgiving the Carja! That shit was fucked up!! No amount of smiles and gifts from Avad could ever “fix” that! (Sorry, my sun-king 😭)

All this to say you could’ve just had this game be Aloy’s long quest to repair GAIA, feat. All these new cool tribes and people. Regalla was already your shadow carja equivalent, and just finding the subfunctions while she’s running around fucking shit up would’ve been challenge enough. Didn’t need the space people at all, tbh! But, I’m not a game writer! (Yet!!)

#hfw spoilers #fwspoilers #horizon forbidden west spoilers #i'm not counting this as a part 3 of thoughts bc its just one main mission #and i didnt even want to go into the quen until i fully understand their shit #which is also a lot!!

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all-pacas · 2 years

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For the ask game: your opinion on the many crimes of Ted Faro! (I personally have never felt such rage at a video game as I did at the end of HZD when I found out what he did to Apollo 😡)

objectively he is the worst person ever but i don’t know. something about him has always been so funny to me? he’s the biggest villain in this series, literally everything is his fault, except instead of being treated remotely seriously ted is just… a joke. he’s bumbling. he’s pathetic. everyone hates him, no one wants to talk to him, and it’s not even like how aloy hates sylens for being a fucking asshole — no, ted is just annoying.

before FW came out i was joking it was likely we’d see his bunker because that had been pretty strongly hinted in the first game — we never saw his body — and was talking with some friends about how that might possibly go. because there was simply no way you could play that as scary or sinister. there was no possibility for dark reveals or plot twists, because ted wasn’t smart enough for that. i actually did call they’d need OMEGA override (which i’m pretty proud of!), but when we were talking i joked that immortal ted would just… be there, somehow. he cryogenically froze himself or something. and how funny that would be, because it would not be scary. it would not be a threat. ted could threaten to nuke the world and no one would take him seriously.

and so when we did go to Thebes i just about lost my mind, because. yes. this is exactly it. they played the whole thing for comedy and i love them for it: ceo naming himself chief operating officer and just being a parody of ted. the cosplay. aloy in cosplay. the STATUE. the reveal of blob ted, who we don’t even get to SEE. ceo being killed by statue ted’s head. i was cackling the entire time. because you just can’t take ted seriously as a threat. he is ultimately pathetic.

(i bet he would have desperately wanted to join far zenith. i bet there is no chance they would ever have let him join their club.)

and of course this is a game series that can basically be subtitled at this point with “the evils of capitalism.” ted is one flavor: the techbro who thinks he’s a visionary, who has a god complex, who wants desperately to be adored for his gifts and talents and can’t fathom himself as anything but good. in a way, despite all he’s done, that makes him more sympathetic to me than the zeniths: he’s pathetic and desperate and trying to cover his own ass and telling himself he’ll be alive in the future to teach “lis’s kids” and do good, because he’s a good person!

ted strikes me as the sort of person who sincerely and unironically believes in meritocracy and bootstraps. he thinks of himself as a nice person. a lot of his identity is wrapped up in thinking of himself as a good person, in fact, to the point where he murders the Alphas and destroys APOLLO to try and maintain that illusion of himself.

the zeniths by contrast are the other kinds of capitalists: they don’t see people as people. the world is zero sum and they are going to win it. the NEMESIS reveal made perfect sense to me after some thought: not the mechanics of it exactly, but because their actions never made sense to me. aloy speculated they wanted to raze the earth and start over, but they weren’t exactly building armies or taking direct action or doing much besides gathering up GAIA. instead, their crime was far worse by the merits of this series: apathy. to not care, to not take action, to not be proactive. (elisabet was a hero not just for zero dawn but for spending her life helping climate change and scrubbing nuclear fallout and purifying water.) they just wanted GAIA so they could leave and save themselves. if NEMESIS restarts the FARO plague and wipes out earth? who cares. if earth without GAIA falls apart? not their problem. they’re the elites. they’re successful. ted could be talked into funding and helping with zero dawn. tilda who was brilliant and wealthy and connected could not.

the zeniths, it is clear, could have helped zero dawn. a lot. they had brilliant people with them, scientific expertise, top scientists and theorists. instead, they laughed when handing patrick what they considered “obsolete” embryonic chambers. they argued with elisabet that she owed them APOLLO even after they tried to steal GAIA, because didn’t they deserve it? the zeniths are selfish to the point that they can’t even concieve of allowing their children to inherit their wealth: no, they have to be immortal. they are deserving because they are the best. invading earth is too much work and effort for them: they’re just going to strip mine and let whatever happens happen. they are literally the only ones that matter.

(and tilda comes off better but is ultimately the same. she dumped beta when beta was insufficiently elisabet enough, set about trying to collect aloy instead, and ultimately was just as unable to concieve of helping as her friends were — she despised the zeniths for their laziness and selfishness and lack of culture, without identifying that she was much the same. she thought she was Better. not just better than everyone on earth, but better than these elites too. she deserves more. she deserves her own planet. her own elisabet. her art.)

( so, anyway. ted is the worst. but ultimately he’s the worst in a human way, he could be “handled” and forced to do some good, and so that makes him much better than the zeniths ever were. and that is not saying much. )

also blob ted is still the funniest thing that has ever happened ever.

#ted faro #hzd spoilers #horizon forbidden west spoilers

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all-pacas · 2 years

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today on helen plays forbidden west:

I BEAT THE GAME

* anyway i really really really do not like or trust tilda’s “lol let’s just carefully activate every single horus in the world” plan * regalla fight was kind of a bummer. i get that she was sort of a fake antagonist but … eh. * anyway i spared her * oh hey sylens * reluctant team up time????? or enemies time??? LET’S FIND OUT * SYLENS IS GOING TO THE BASEEEEEEEEE * love sylens hating every single one of aloy’s friends (but being right about tilda) * "erend and i tried speaking to sylens… but apparently our 'tribal prattle is unnecessary'" HAHAHAHA JOIN TEAM BASE SYLENS, JOIN IT * i love how everyone is like “tilda is the fucking worst, not even a human, cold as ice,” and with sylens it’s just UGH THAT ASSHOLE * HA CONFIRMED TILDA AND ELISABET WERE GIRLFRIENDS * copy pasting from discord: * i feel like they had about a week and a half -- ted and elisabet -- where they were almost friends, visionaries in arms, and then elisabet wised up but ted never realized they weren't friends * IN A WEIRD WAY I THINK TED REALLY DID LIKE HER. like he's incapable of human feeling but i think part of him really did want to paternalistically but kind of genuinely live and meet lis's kids and guide them * because that's the closest he can understand "human caring" * honestly i was half expecting the elisabet code to open the door to his bunker, like he's so deranged he HONESTLY THOUGHT she might wanna hang out * dfgdfg poor elisabet no wonder she had no friends her options were tilda and ted * “at least she had bestie trav!” TRUE SHE PLAYED SO MUCH HACKEY SACK WITH TRAV * ie: he would just sometimes throw one at the back of her head * and she'd be like TRAVis and he's like "naw you're supposed ta hit it back to me” * honestly sylens’s distaste for the quen is PRETTY LEGIT. like he’s the worst but he’s not wrong. the quen are pretty fucking sus. * okay new theory: the “sirius base was destroyed” thing is a lie, and the zeniths are just the advance party * ALVA HAS A GIRLFRIEND!! * OH NO FORBIDDEN ERSA LORE * OH NO THIS IS INCREDIBLE * aloy almost crying when she talks about varl i’m NOT OKAY * zo asking aloy to retrieve her seeds if the worst happens and talking about varl I AM NOT!!! OKAY!!! * oh no kotallo is getting a tattoo to remember varl I AM NOT OKAY * time to beat this fucking game guys * okay erend whining the entire time he and aloy are adventuring together is really funny. like it should be annoying but no it’s super funny. * IS BETA PATCHING THE SPECTORS INTO GAIA/HEPHAESTUS * NOPE SHE JUST HACKED THE CAULDRONS GOD I LOVE THIS * THUNDERJAW ARMYYYYYYYY * “in case we don’t make it………i just have one regret………ALL THIS CLIMBING” HAHAHA erend * lol aloy looks at her friends climbing the ridge and turns back to help zo and only zo up the last bit * oh i see regalla found a fun way to die good for her nice knowing you * HI ZENITHS * HI TIME TO FUCKING DIE * HI DINOSAUR ARMY * HI ERIK * TIME TO FUCKING DIE * OH GOOD ZO INCOMING KILL HIM ZO * RIGHT IN THE BACK GOOD JOB ZO * NOW WE’RE HAVING FUN RIGHT god love zo * nemesis, greek goddess of retribution and absolute justice, huh? btw, i did notice earlier that the zeniths are using roman gods for their AIs, which is honestly a pretty nice touch * SYLENS WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR MAGIC ORB * betaaaaaaaa * WELL I KNOW WHAT THE THIRD GAME IS GONNA BE ABOUT * okay (game paused), so the zeniths built a robot army, a NEW faro plague, on sirius. just like the first one, they lost control of it and it killed most of them — so they fled to earth, stocking up on supplies and trying to nab GAIA in order to find a new planet to settle and i guess draw nemesis to earth and leave it there? * GOD okay yeah i love “nemesis” as a name now. nemesis commonly means “greatest enemy,” but she was the greek goddess of absolute judgement originally: helping those who had been treated injustly and punishing those who had taken too much or behaved unjustly. justice on an absolute black and white scale. she wasn’t about punishment or enemies, but striking down those who had risen too high. the zeniths call it nemesis because it is their enemy, but nemesis is also trying to strike them down for rising too highly and acting with too much hubris. * anyway ken amada in persona 3 was my favorite little murderer and his persona was nemesis and so apparently this knowledge has proved useful for me * and tilda just killed gerard and the game isn’t over whoops * OH so nemesis is not a literal faro plague, it’s a SUPER AI * OH i was just thinking that nemesis’s schtick sounds a lot like HEPHAESTUS and yeah it’s literally. nemesis is literally the Glitch. * tilda: come with me and let everyone on earth and also beta die :) * SHE’S A COLLECTOR SHE WANTS GENUINES * so here’s the thing. it’s good that aloy sent alva off to figure out what secrets tilda was hiding, but i’m not actually sure it made a _difference_ — surely tilda would have made the same “you’re coming with me, we need to leave earth” speech either way? i am not actually sure tilda realizes aloy (and elisabet) finds that reprehensible. also what is tilda’s plan, actually? sure, she creates a new planet with aloy and whoever else she finds worth collecting, but she doesn’t have the embryos, she can’t populate that planet. just lives together on an empty world? with her art and her collections? SPACE CAPITALISTS, MAN. * but aloy clearly already had pegged that tilda was… sincere, but also morally vacant. if anything, all alva did was provide proof that aloy was right to suspect her. * what’s interesting is that i think tilda was being sincere about almost everything: she really did hate the other zeniths, she really does hate the emptiness of minds — she’s like sylens, but with _culture_ instead of _science_ — and she really did want to help clear them out. i think she even really did think she loved elisabet. she certainly admired her, and i’m not sure that tilda has any real understanding of love besides “admirable things i want to own.” of course, where her plan differed from team aloy was that tilda still believed in the zenith’s ultimate goals — to flee and start a new planet — she just didn’t want to deal with _them_ anymore. i think, had the Glitch never happened, she might have been willing to team up with Team Aloy against the zeniths and been content to live on earth if she could create a little compound for herself — _maybe_ — but she’s simply not willing to be selfless. the idea of putting herself second is utterly foreign to her. * so when team aloy was gathering up for this mission i was thinking: we have aloy (a nora), erend (oseram), kotallo (tenekth), zo (utaru), sylens (banuk… maybe), and alva (quen). of all the major tribes, the only one we’re actually missing is a carja member of the team, which is odd. i really thought talanah was going to be that person, unless i somehow missed the chance to recruit her. but it does seem like the third game’s plot is going to be “fix GAIA and everyone needs to put their political bullshit aside and get ready for war,” which — IDK. ultimately the little meridian field trip at the start of the game had no purpose — i mean, aloy found out about sylens, but that could have been done in other ways — and for all that the carja have been a major influence throughout this game — the oseram rebellion against them, the tenekth and regalla’s civil war over the idea of diplomacy with them — it’s odd that we see and hear almost nothing _from_ them. i can’t imagine a third game not involving them in this effort, especially as the carja have the wealth and infrastructure and ability to build forts, but it is _weird_ how present yet absent they are in this. unless the game is planning on making the carja the bad faction, which i _also_ can’t see, as we just had a civil war with them last game and the game really wants us to like avad and get behind his dreams of peace and diplomacy — not to mention that he’s already started that unification process on his own by reaching out to all the other tribes and trying to open borders and establish friendships. i don’t believe we should go Roman Empire Everyone Is Carja Now, but the framework is _there_. * anyway hi sylens * “you’re the last person to act sensibly in the face of impossible odds” i mean sylens isn’t wrong * honestly love sylens and aloy’s last conversation * sylens is putting himself first, but he — unlike tilda — does understand and respect aloy enough to ask and respect her wishes, and then she actually GETS THROUGH TO HIM and he sees THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP and i’m sure he’s like “lol anyway i still have a rocket ship see ya” GOD love this lack of redemption arc, love how he and aloy HAAAAAATE one another but are not enemies and are usually on the same side, i love him as a character * GOD * “hope it’s really over this time” and aloy’s little “ooof” look * ALOY PUTTING ELISABET’S NECKLACE NEXT TO ROST’S UGH BOTH OF HER PARENTS * GAIA HAS ALMOST ALL HER FUNCTIONS NOW * THE GANG IS LEAVING TO START PROJECT CLAN UNITY * lmao erend went straight to vegas of course he did * alvaaaaaa staying in america * sylens is still in the base with aloy and beta got what a weird trio * still missing two but omg ARTEMIS IS BACK people can have cows now!!! and CATS AND DOGS FOR ALL * okay i loved this game * it does feel transitional in a way — it lacked the first game’s mystery and drive and sense of impending doom, but the story itself was still really good and clearly in ultimate service for setting up the third game: earth vs. THE ALIEN EMBODIMENT OF CAPITALISM * but it also really focused on giving aloy a FAMILY. she already “had” elisabet, but getting her to mourn rost, giving her a SISTER, giving her GAIA, giving her varl and zo and kotallo and alva and erend and EVEN SYLENS, teaching her to rely on others and work with others and leveraging that into what comes next, which is going to be TRIBE UNITY * god! the world is going to be so different! i’m sure that NEMESIS will cause the machines to go feral again in some way, HEPHAESTUS is still loose and i imagine the next game will start with trying to finally wrangle that asshole, but everyone — lmao the tribes are all going to get some CULTURE SHOCK, i didn’t quite see if GAIA had apollo back but i think so? she’s just missing HEPHAESTUS and HADES, right? we’re about to get a HELLA tech revolution lmao * i imagine there will be a timeskip to allow zo to have a BABY oh my god i want to know its gender and if they name it after vala or varl or something that makes me cry!! the zeniths were fleeing but didn’t seem like they were planning to leave RIGHT that second had team aloy not gotten in their way, so i imagine there’s some leeway in the timeline before NEMESIS shows up? * also i didn’t mention this before but wow the music in this game was way, way better than the first game. like it was REALLY GOOD. good background music, good battle music, good world music, good SINGING, like the first game’s music was fine but this game was REALLY GOOD * HAHAHA SPECIAL THANKS TO THE RIJKSMUSEUM ie “special thanks for letting them say our space capitalist stole half their collection” * speaking of which, special thanks to guerilla games, a dutch studio, deciding they would have one (1) dutch character and that she would be the final boss. LOVE THAT FOR THEM. * GOD THIS GAME WAS GOOD TIME TO PLAY IT AGAIN * varl i miss you already you were the best and i love you still

#forbidden west spoilers #i finished the game i just want to write essays on every single character and relationship

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