#utaru country

[horizonjade]

Utaru landscapes

[all-pacas]

* lmao kotallo speaking up for the FIRST TIME on the focus to tell aloy where she can find some amazing food he just got +18 points

or: in this episode of helen plays HZFW2: i go swimming and i love varl

* WELCOME TO VEGAS i loved briefly running  into talanah for three seconds before she ran away again * okay so i went on a backtrack binge and CAULDRON IOTA oh man * as soon as i saw that tallneck i knew i would not be disappointed and “there appears to be a tallneck blocking this platform!” i cackled * I AM CACKLING * riding the tallneck head!!! override the tallneck to escape the cauldron!! THE SHOCKWAVE WIPES OUT THE CAULDRON’S ELECTRICITY AND ALL THE FLOATY GUYS FALL * the pop up: “new tallneck discovered” * this is truly two great flavors that flavor great together * THE MUSIC * wow wekatta the super hardass asshole who gets mad when use the word crazy because he likes to wear women’s clothing * SILGA INVENTED THE RADIO * running around a random bandit camp near vegas and OH THE SONS OF PROMETHES ARE OSERAM HUH. OH THEY HATE THE CARJA AND VANGUARD HUH. my ears fucking _perked up_ * everyone fucking hates the carja * that is the theme of the game * everyone hates them * and for good reason! * but it puts the game in a weird situation, where they want us to like the carja and understand that most of the carja who remain are the good ones and that they sincerely only want peace * the carja are doing their best on that front. they've reached out to the nora, banuk, and ESPECIALLY the oseram, even if the last is still contentious. they're working on the tenekth and they tried with the utaru, and seem to be respecting the utaru's disinterest for now *  the carja are still pretty clearly shown as the wealthiest and most "advanced" of the race -- they're the goddamn roman empire, they're building and writing and have scholars and naturalists and explorers who aren't just seeking fortune like the oseram but actually trying to understand the world. you could imagine a version of the game where the carja become the sort of head-state of a larger empire. i'm not convinced that's the message here, but they --even if they spent most of the last game on the attack and on the defensive, the fact that basically all of western america is kind of terrified of them still -- regalla is acting in hatred of them yes, but also acting as though the carja remain a threat. they could mobilize if they wanted to, and the rest of the world could probably stop them but for now treat that as a serious threat. *  they're the roman army! * and then you have fucking avad on top of it all * and * he's a bad king. * he's a good person. * he wants peace and he's willing to put in the effort to get it. * but he also wants to abdicate asap. he has no interest in the future, in building any lasting coalitions that we've seen. diplomacy is a way to stop wars, not create this potential unified continent — not unified as in "we're all carja now," but like, city states allied together. * maybe he gets there later in the game, but so far, his only political interests are: stop the wars, be friends with everyone, i don't want to fight. * which are marks of a good person, but also, what if itamen comes of age and is king of a country that everyone hates and who are now seen as ineffectual? * what if the oseram don't just ally with the tenekth, but the nora, and the carja become surrounded? * avad is thinking of being nice, he's doing nice things, he's looking for peace, but all we've seen so far is deeply, deeply temporary — and deeply fragile. the oseram are the carja's closest allies, and clearly a lot of them still hate him… and apparently he hasn't been doing any further diplomatic work to strengthen their ties. he got peace and open borders with the nora, which was much more due to aloy accidentally making that happen. he got peace-ish with the tenekth, but they're fighting that one out -- that's not on the carja this time, lol. * but at any moment the carja could go from "big scary neighborhood bully" to "the one we all band together to kill" * what avad SHOULD be doing is leveraging his power and pushing even harder for diplomacy and friendship between countries. he should be sending erend to the claim to make friends with the oseram, not letting erend fuck off with aloy * and yes, the world will end in a year etc etc *  but you still need to plan for the future! * and in conclusion i bet that marad is tearing his hair out trying to get avad to think big picture and avad is just like "but i don't wanna" the end * CARJA POLITICS!!!! * anyway * OH CUTE morlund and aloy bonding over Building Stuff i like him already * oh no he’s obsessed with holographic advertisements i love him * sorry erend you’ve been replaced new favorite oseram * “and he…” “complains?” “he handles the money, which amounts to about the same thing.” the mocap/voice acting on this guy is so good * LOVE this level. love the swimming, love the vibe, love the holographic fish and the buried city of sand turned ocean like AMAZING * THEY’RE TURNING VEGAS BACK INTO VEGAS I LOVE THIS WHOLE QUEST * aloy’s like “time to head back to GAIA” but nah i got scuba gear now TIME TO EXPLORE * "take it from a bird who grew up in the wilds - birds don't provide much conversation" ALOY WHAT IS THE BACKSTORY HERE * BETA IS WATCHING THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC VIDEO I !!!!! * “you know, i used to watch that a lot too.” fdgdfgdfg GOD i lowkey always had the headcanon aloy would talk to this “isaac” fellow oh my god * and yes of course varl got thru to beta, he is the MVP of this game * TILDA! i was rightttttttt she’s the one from HADES * she and elisabet were totally gfs huh * god loving this good cop bad cop thing aloy and varl have going * god i love their friendship so much * HOUSE ON THE OCEAN HUH i bet it was in california i bet we’re gonna see it * i mean with a name like “van de meer”, obviously tilda is dutch, but “every time we met she showed me a new painting… i think she was dutch” is the greatest thing beta has ever said. you know those dutch people. always forcing you to look at art * hahahahahaha beta liked watching cheesy family movies * so beta thinks that tilda cut contact with her because beta did something wrong. i’m sure it isn’t that — just to start, tilda could have done so because the others were catching on and she didn’t want to get them both in trouble — but it’s very telling that beta for all her genius and knowledge would think that. she’s still hiding in the server room, not making eye contact, quick to anger or collapse in on herself: she’s even more socially stunted than aloy is, and i think she’s still in a very selfish mindset — selfist? she has no object permanence. if something happens, it has to be because of her, because she has no experience with the concept that other people have agency and lives when she isn’t around. it’s also why she lashes out at aloy when she realizes aloy isn’t as “far along” as beta had assumed she would be. beta lacks _empathy_, not in a way where she’s some horrible asshole, but in a way where she hasn’t quite grasped that _other people exist._ * oh my god varl calling aloy out on repressing her own emotions. i think his actual point just sailed the hell over her head though, lmao. but he’s like “you always seem to have it so together, but literally a couple of months ago you were near dead and calling for rost, your dad who you never talk about.” aloy’s just like “your point?” but i think that is his point: aloy is mad at beta because beta has no ability to hide or suppress her trauma, and aloy is suppressing her fears and grief and refusing to admit they even exist. aloy should be able to tell varl about rost and how much she misses him, she should be able to be afraid and anxious, just like beta could do with a bit more of a spine and less fear. * and varl just sighs and says he’ll keep working with beta HE REALLY IS THE BEST * OH NO THERE’S A DIALOGUE OPTION WITH VARL NOW CALLED “ROST” * oh no varl just did a righteous “ELISABET SOBECK SACRIFICED HERSELF FOR THE WORLD” rant he is literally the best * “a good drink is the best way to bring people together” — ersa, apparently. * varl and aloy talking about rost! varl talking about vala! sometimes he has to stop thinking about her so he doesn’t dwell on his grief, but he cautions aloy not to repress! * HAHAHAHA ALOY  AND ZO zo being like “oh i wasn’t trying to kill erend for being a racist piece of shit just break a few ribs :)” i love her so much * honestly i’m not the biggest fan of erend but even i am starting to feel a little bad for how much this game is making him out to be the useless member of team aloy dfgfg * “you and varl have been friends for a while.” “i like to think so.” “i was wondering… what do you know about his mother?” OH BOY ZO. “Oh.” HAHAHA “That bad, huh?” oh god i love zo and aloy’s friendship and them just talking about varl together and just. gosh i love these three. * like “couple and a third” can be a weird dynamic but these three have such a relaxed vibe, not at all in a poly way, just like, varl and aloy could absolutely just spend 12 hours hunting together or 12 hours fishing with zo in total silence and all three would be super happy, you know? * okay where’s kotallo he’s even more anti-social than beta i swear to god * LOL they’re using the shower room for storage yeah none of these idiots have any idea what a shower is * honestly love how aloy keeps reaching out to kotallo. like he’s literally rost 2.0 he’s probably the one personality type in the world she Gets, she’s just like “hey bestie” while everyone else is like SCARY DUDE * okay, i’m off to find DEMETER!

[lonepower]

now that the rumor mill is starting to churn, here's a list of things i really want from horizon zero dawn......... TWO!!!

better wildlife ai. i'm not asking for red dead/ac3 levels of complexity, but the fact that they were little more than well-rendered sprites with no real behaviors kinda bugged me, especially in comparison to the machines, which did things like stretch and scratch themselves

some sort of survival mechanic, if not a dedicated survival mode. I don't want to have to constantly micromanage every single thing, but something lightweight like breath of the wild's temperature mechanic (managing cold doesn't reduce your tolerance for heat and vice versa), and/or rdr2's hunger mechanic (you can't actually starve to death, but being well-fed heals and gives certain benefits) would be really cool. especially since aloy talks about how cold she is in frozen wilds, but there's no actual gameplay change to reflect this.

related: some long-sleeved clothes that aren't ugly as sin. my california ass gets frostbite just looking at this poor girl

more mounts. i wanna ride a longleg dammit.

also sturdier mounts that persist when you leave an area so my strider isn't just Gone when i come back out of meridian. also pls let us name them

vanasha. ’nuff said.

some way to pass time in-game, like making camp/resting by a fire (especially since there are time-locked areas, like Mother's Watch only being open at night)

this is probably an obnoxious thing to want, but more rpg-like inventory management. i really like skyrim's idea (if not implementation) of having your mount act as additional carry weight and, more importantly, secondary storage.

show us the other tribes! I want to visit the claim! i want to know more about the utaru, and the tenakth, and what the east coast is like, and other countries and continents!

nakoa. also enough said.

actually all the lady npcs who flirted with aloy in the first game. give me my army of girlfriends

more trans/non-binary rep too. janeva was awesome but they were also a missable sidequest npc. it's a start, but i think every studio should shoot for destiny levels of diverse representation at least.

some way to carry saves over, so decisions like sparing olin are reflected in the story.

hairstyles omg. i love aloy's braids but also let me tie them back how have they not gotten tangled in her bowstring by now

that's it really? everything about the combat and narrative and worldbuilding and character development was flawless, these are all just gameplay mechanics that i have a personal preference for lmao

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

MUSIC QUESTIONS

Found here: http://beyondthetemples-ooc.tumblr.com/post/183365664552/music-asks-these-are-actually-pretty-fucking-hard

Song names are linked to videos that play them. (The meme said “these are hard”, but I decided to make it even HARDER for some reason, and decided I wouldn’t use two selections from the same band! Which made this take me literally two hours, but it was Fun. I like a good musical challenge~ So anyways.)

1:A song you like with a color in the title Blue Eyes - Within Temptation

2:A song you like with a number in the title Fixed At Zero - VersaEmerge

3:A song that reminds you of summertime Elvenpath - Nightwish this might be for Spiritual Reasons, heh. “In the sheltering shade of the forest, calling, calming silence. Accompanied only by the full moon, and the howling of the night wolf, and the path under my bare feet... The elven path.” 

5:A song that needs to be played LOUD Reality Fringe - Alex Dalliance / Vulture Culture “By right, I’m STILL ALIVE! Bad blood, I WILL SURVIVE! By truth, my eyes can SEE! The broken EDGE of REALITY!”

6:A song that makes you want to dance damnit, i already used Alex Dalliance, Nightwish, AND Xandria! How about..... ~*Diamond Shuffle - Next Level*~ (we dance HARD to this at the org functions sometimes, and i absolutely LOVE IT.) Based on the Cupid Shuffle! "To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right! To the left, to the left, to the left, to the left. Now kick, now kick, now kick, now kick. Now put your diamonds up, now put your diamonds up. Do the diamond shuffle.... We’re going Diamond, D-I-A-M-O-N-D! We’re the BEST, you can bet! Not another, can’t be beat! Do your diamond dance, diamond dance"~

7:A song to drive to ( (( ??? I don't drive, so I wouldn't know. Whatever I'm in the mood for, though. )) )

8:A song about drugs or alcohol Someday - Crossfade "Can't put this bottle down as Iiiii, watch this day fade into night...."

9:A song that makes you happy Samhain - Magica [Lyrics: x] that took Depressingly long to figure out. geez But: any time I listen to that piano? My spirit absolutely SOARS.

10:A song that makes you sad oh, that's too many. hold on; I need a minute... particularly because i don't want to Repeat Bands on this, for some reason. How about one that almost always Draws Tears? Stressed Out - Twenty One Pilots “I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink, but now I’m insecure and I care what people think...Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days. When our mama sang us to sleep, but now we’re stressed out...Used to dream of outer space, but now they’re laughing at our face, saying ‘Wake up, you need to make money!’ ”

11:A song that you never get tired of Believer - Imagine Dragons “I’m fired up, and tired of the way that things have been, oh!...Don’t you tell me what to think that I can be. I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea...Seeing the beauty, though the... PAIN! You make me a, you make me a believer...All the hate that you’ve heard has turned your spirit to a dove, oh, your spirit up above...”

12:A song from your preteen years Tokyo Nights - Puffy AmiYumi (Always one of my favorites by them.~) “Utaru, Tokyo Nights! Anno kutokete, Tokyo nights! Yoru ni hohoemu. I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love...~”

13:One of your favorite 80’s songs Have I talked about ~Under Pressure~ enough yet? “It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about. Watching some good friends screaming, Let me out!...Keep coming up with love, but it’s so slashed and torn! Why? Can’t we give ourselves one more chance? Why can’t we give love one more chance?...'Cause love's such an old fashioned word, and love dares you to care for, the people on the edge of, the night, and, love dares you to, change our way of caring about ourselves...”

14:A song that you would love played at your wedding {{ N/A - I don't want to be married. ^^'; Handfasted, maybe. But none, really. Also, if I did, I'd want to pick our music Together. }}

15:A song that is a cover by another artist Supremacy - Tarja (Muse cover) “Wake to see, your true emancipation is a fantasy. Policies have risen up and overcome the brave. Greatness dies, unsung and lost, invisible to history...You don't have long; I am on to you. The time, it has come, to destroy: Your suuu-premacyyyyy!”

16:One of your favorite classical songs Greensleeves - (???) (I know it's not "baroque", but it's certainly a bit of a classic.)

17:A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke Broken - Seether ft. Amy Lee “The worst is over now, and we can breathe again. I wanna hold you high, and steal my pain, away. There’s so much left to learn, and no one left to fight! I wanna hold you high and steal your pain...”

18:A song from the year that you were born Addams Family (WHOOMP!) - Tag Team

19:A song that makes you think about life We Are the Others - Delain "As simple as air in your lungs, as simple as words on your lips: No one could take it away, no one should argue this! Now with our heads up high, we’ll carry on, and carry out: That we won’t let them, GET us down, or WEAR us out! Cuz we are not alone. We are the others, we are the cast-outs! We’re the outsiders, but you can’t hide us...If you feel mistreated, torn and cheated: You are not alone! We are the others. Normal is not the norm. It’s just a uniform. Forget about the norm, take off your uniform. We are all beautiful!”

20:A song that has many meanings to you The Worlds Forgotten, The Words Forbidden - Sonata Arctica Every. Single. Aspect. of the Nexus has feels in this song! “What is a man to do? No light, only suffocating dark. Deep, burning pain. I’m losing everything I am, remember nothing of my past. Now it’s all gone, and I fear the game is over. Save me...This isn’t my home. I follow moon to find a path away from the scorching sun, I follow the stars to my abode...I seize the moment to hear a story no one’s telling anymore. The worlds forgotten, the words forbidden.”

21:A favorite song with a person’s name in the title Song For Jolee - Kamelot (I have no idea what the Other Jolene Song everyone talks about is, but ^this^ is the one I think of whenever someone says "Jolene", and it catches me off guard Every Time I Remember, "that's not the same song, they mean the Fabled Meme one, right. Right..." I heard it's a country song though, and look, that's not my style, so I don't care to be informed. The contrast+realization is kinda amusing, anyways. 8FF)

22:A song that moves you forward Higher - Edenbridge “Time and tide wait for no man ever, and your eyes are agleam, like you’re in a dream, getting out from under. Give a little try, give a little more try! Never fall in line, for a fleeting moment! Be and end all, I am aiming HIGH. Reach a little higher!...Lay it on the line, and run the mile. Reach a little HIGHER!”

23:A song that you think everybody should listen to ????? (I make recommendations based on personal taste; I can't Generalize like that! ;; )

24:A song by a band you wish were still together The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (Y’all should know how this goes. And if you don’t: can I make THIS my recommendation? Besides being Iconic of my “emo” generation, it’s legitimately a great musical composition with dramatic buildup and a seriously empowering message.)

25:A song by an artist no longer living Hands Held High - Linkin Park

26:A song that makes you want to fall in love (All over again, you mean?) Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay “I’m not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts; some superhero, some fairy tale bliss. Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss. I want something just like this. Oh, I want something just like this!”~

27:A song that breaks your heart Wanderer's Lullaby - Adriana Figueroa “Do you know, just, how much you’re worth?...You are the dawn of a new day that’s waking, a masterpiece still in the making, the blue in an ocean of gray. You are: right where you need to be, poised to inspire and to succeed! You’ll look back, and you’ll realize one day. In your eyes there is doubt, as you try to figure it out... Though the world may try to define you, it can’t take the light that’s inside you! So don’t you dare try to hide, let yours fade away...” (It’s... for someone very particular that this song breaks my heart all over again. Ugh, I could quote this whole song for her. When I’m in a very specific shift? This song absolutely DESTROYS me. And even when I’m not? It’s an absolutely gorgeous and reassuring song, but... you know. Depressed Brain likes to say “that isn’t true at all”, and I’m likely to tear up anyways.)

28:A song by an artist with a voice that you love Tides of Time - Epica (Simone Simons... ~<333 She sounds every bit as amazing LIVE as she does on the albums! But this VERSE... actually strike that, this entire SONG is so gorgeously rendered.)

29:A song that you remember from your childhood Bring Me to Life - Evanescence (The Song that Started It All. Ordinarily I would link to the Bliss Mix, or the SiriusXM performance. Hell, a demo! You know, the version they actually WANTED to make, without the production misogyny. But this WAS, after all, the version from my childhood. =w=;; I’m not even gonna do lyrics, you all know how it goes.)

30:A song that reminds you of yourself (oh my stars, there are SO many... I can say “Every song I’ve linked to so far”, honestly.) I told myself I wouldn't repeat bands, so I had to do some digging for this one, since I already used all of my Favorites.... Wait, DUH. The song that's named after the very same word I named my Entire Identity and Life Experience after: The Nexus - Amaranth “I hide, empower our remedy. Step up, get your game on, get your fight back, never BACK DOWN!...I have the will inside my mind. There is a voice I can’t deny! Break, with the PAST. Set the nexus free at least! As the future will be there to save us. Trapped, in my SKIN, see the nexus in my dreams. But will you bury me within?...And as the darkness reveals, I see no reason for me to reach for the cure. I’m my own demon. I kept the secrets in my mind, there is a voice I can’t DENY!...Face it down, I’m the spine in the flame. Just let it out of me, break it out of the core - to help me, BREATHE...”

Actually, okay, it’s the whole song. It’s kind of perfect.~