You know what would be great? A release date for Horizon Forbidden West so I could have a real deadline for this blanket. On the other hand, that would be terrible, because then I would have a real deadline for this blanket. Anyway, here’s my prediction: if we don’t get a release date at Sony’s next State of Play, we’re not getting the game until 2022.
Anyway, let’s dive right in with some…
Observable Oseram
Olin
Olin is the first Oseram and potentially the first not-Nora Aloy has ever met in her life, so of course he seems to be a part of some shady plot to kill her for Reasons. When they meet they both are wearing Focuses, the little triangle of old-world technology at their ears, and they each are shocked the other has it. Aloy, because she didn’t know there were other Focuses, and Olin because he knows damn well that a normal Nora wouldn’t have gone near the site Aloy found it if All-Mother herself were in there knitting everyone spear cozies.
As I mentioned last time, the Nora and the Oseram are different in practically every way, so having Aloy first meet an Oseram is like the world’s way of saying, ‘Yeah, hi. So these people you grew up with? Not the only people. In fact, meet these people! They’re fun! They dig for technology and drink a lot and don’t even know the definition of ‘outcast’ let alone approve of doing it to a baby! You’ll love them!’
And, in fact, she does love them, but not Olin. Olin is important to get Aloy to the next plot point, and not much else. Luckily, mere minutes after she meets Olin, she meets another Oseram.
Erend
There is, thankfully, no relationship arc in Horizon Zero Dawn. That doesn’t stop every other person Aloy meets from hitting on her. Olin didn’t hit on her at all, so here’s Erend to bat clean-up.
Full Disclosure: My husband and I have a continuing argument about who Aloy would actually choose to date. We both have our favorites. Mine is Erend. Let me lay it out:
- He starts out wicked scuzzy, obviously hitting on Aloy just because she’s attractive and he thinks she’ll be into him just because he’s from the Big City (Meridian), but as the story progresses lust turns to genuine attraction until he’s almost a puppy begging for attention.
- He’s a himbo, and no, I will not broach disagreement on this subject. I will explain:
- He’s not beefy in the overly muscular Ventura-beach way, but he is that kind of Strong-Man hefty where you just know there’s an eight-pack hidden under that gut.
- He’s not exactly stupid, but he ain’t exactly strategizing either. His sister was fucking the Carja king the entire time they were all best buds and he never cottoned on.
- Thanks to his sister, Ersa, he’s been chugging the Respect Women juice since he was a little baby Oseram with a leather diaper and a moonshine bottle. When he realizes Aloy’s Focus helps her see things he can’t, instead of demanding the Focus he begs him to help her. He always at least listens to her suggestions, and by the end of the story he’s willingly following her into a battle he doesn’t completely understand. But not because he’s still trying to get into her pants. Because he does understand it’s the right thing to do.
- On top of the usual leather and steel all Oseram wear, he also has this orange neckerchief going, and his shirt has stripes, so I have to imagine that by Oseram standards, he’s considered a pretty boy.
- I think he fits well with Aloy because at this point in her life she needs somebody who just supports her without trying to make her something else at the same time. Even Rost didn’t do that. No one has done that, and now she has this Oseram Pretty Boy following her around telling her everything she does is amazing and he’s lucky just to know her. Aloy needs this kind of love, okay, I just want her to be happy.
- He’s also one of the few people Aloy obviously flirts back with, indicating she might be interested in trying something once she’s, you know, done saving the world. She has her priorities.
- Last minute edit: And now my boy’s going to be in Horizon Forbidden West? And it isn’t even my birthday!
Petra
While The Claim is actually north of the game map, thanks to the relationship between the Carja and the Oseram there are a couple of Oseram settlements in Carja territory. One of which, Free Heap, is run by Petra Forgewoman, pioneer, inventor, and my husband’s choice for Perfect for Aloy. Here’s his reasons:
- Petra and Aloy come from similar backgrounds. Aloy was outcast, and Petra walked away from the Claim, unwilling to become ‘Petra Forgewife.’ Basically, while Aloy left Nora territory keen to solve a mystery and willing to come back if that’s where the clues took her, Petra threw up her middle fingers and walked backwards into Carja territory, and she’s got no plans on returning unless it’s to burn everything down.
- She is a strong, independent woman, who doesn’t need Aloy but definitely wants Aloy. The difference is important. Petra seems to have her life figured out, and isn’t after Aloy because she thinks Aloy is going to fill some gap. I don’t think Erend is trying to use Aloy to fill some gap, at least not consciously, but another one of the people going after Aloy practically says that part out loud. Aloy definitely has enough going on in her life that she doesn’t need to be someone’s crutch.
- I think Aloy flirts back with Petra, but mostly she’s too busy being shocked at Petra’s steel balls.
Gera
Gera is a very minor character who gives you a single side quest to find her waylaid husband, Kendert, and I love them both so much I honestly want a whole television show about the two of them running their bar in Hunter’s Gathering.
And Then There’s This Asshole
The Square
As with the Sparkworker, I am once again going for something incredibly simple. Initially I had an entirely different design going for this square, a corner out design that would have been half brown, half gray to represent the shirt. Only I happened to take another look at the outfit and
There isn’t a shirt. This outfit is all leather, bay-bee. So, I unraveled that square and went to work on the new design to represent the steel worked into the leather skirt in the Heavy version of the outfit.
For the inside square I used back and forth rows, and then I crocheted the silver and the last row of brown around the square. I used Chocolate for the brown and Silver for the…silver…to make these squares stand out a bit from the Oseram Sparkworker. Color-wise, I mean. These are already going to stand out because these squares are a normal size and the Sparkworkers are for your Ultra Heavy days.
Part of the reason it took so long to get through eight squares is, what else, Life Stuff. But the other part is that I’m still trying to get through the 65 black granny squares for the negative spaces of the map:
Next, I’ll be working on the individual squares for Free Heap and Pitchcliff, and then I will finally be free of these brown-based squares and onto something with a little color in them. I don’t even like the color brown. There has been so much of it. It’s all I can see. I just want to see anything else. A green. A yellow. Even a somber puce. Please release me from the brown-lined prison.
Can’t wait!
High Urban Fantasy Jazz 