Archive of Our Own ^beta

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I own nothing except my AU. The characters of Horizon Zero Dawn and the sequel game Horizon Forbidden West belong to Guerilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Mathijs de Jonge.

So, to get this outta the way, some things you should know are that:

1. Each "chapter" for now is going to be each character's basic bio with the occasional short story blurb to flesh out their interactions with each other. If I write any real chapters later, I'll update accordingly, but this'll likely be a series of one-shot stories.
2. All main characters are the same ages as they are in-game (to my best guess or headcanon).
3. I thought it'd be fun to make their game names nicknames in this AU and give them alternate modern names. However, for my sanity's sake, I'll be using the names we know them by when I write these blurbs. If anyone speaks before the event where their nickname is established, I'll use their real name or preferred form of address.
4. I've taken some liberties to justify how certain characters can hold the positions they do. Also, to anyone who questions how they an all be so good/skilled at their jobs... They're protagonists. It's basically a given that they'll be either born geniuses, hidden prodigies, or exceptionally hard workers. I'm just going with what I see in the game story.

Now, our main cast, the ones well be focused on the most, from oldest to youngest are:

1. Kotallo (late 30’s, early 40’s)
2. Zo (30-35)
3. Erend (25-27)
4. Varl (25)
5. Alva (23-25)
6. Aloy (20)
7. Beta (20; slightly younger than Aloy)

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~Ashley ”Aloy“ Sobeck~

• Private investigator
  

  • Was trained to become a police officer at Rost’s insistence and her own desire, but decides to change careers after his death to find the ones responsible.

    • She couldn’t stand the amount of red tape the police were held back by and decided to go the route of a private detective for the greater freedom it offered.

    • She continues to honor Rost by maintaining a strong relationship with the police.

  • Fiercely independent, bullheaded, and intimidating. She once threw a fellow gym rat through a wall during her workout because he called her “dainty” and hit on her. Ever since then the other regulars are amazed and terrified of her.

    • She felt like he was debasing her and equating her worth to her looks.
• Didn’t know Elisabet was her mom for most of her life, and had trouble connecting to Beta at first as she wasn’t anything like she expected when she learned she had a sister. Eventually, she comes to love her little sister and acts as her pillar of quiet strength like Rost was to her.
  • She was angry and hurt with Rost when Teersa finally told her they had known who her mother was all along. It wasn't until Gaia shared her mom's last message with her and Beta that she finally started to let it go and forgive them.
  • Hates being called Ashley and usually went by Rost's last name, so when her friends were suggesting nicknames, she was all for it. She chose “Aloy” because, like an alloy, she’s a mix of two different people, and stronger for it.
• She feels like she struggles to connect to others, but is actually quite charismatic due to her passion and drive.
  • Growing up, her main friend was Varl’s sister, Vala. She often stood up for her when the other kids picked on her for not knowing who her mom was and saying she must not have wanted her. At first, she would get upset and fight them, but Vala would reassure her that even if her mom hadn’t wanted her, clearly Rost did since he adopted her. That helped her come to embrace the concept of “found family” and feel less sore about her supposed abandonment.
  • She’s learned to come talk to her friends instead of holding it in when she’s troubled. She prefers talking to Zo.
  • Not interested in romance at this time.
• Hobbies include tinkering with Erend and Beta, learning about the world with Alva, hiking with Zo, mountaineering, bowhunting and martial arts with Varl and Kotallo, and parkour (she likes to be mobile).
  
  • With Beta’s help, she built a small, ear-mounted recording device with an earpiece for her investigations. It can take photos and video of whatever is in her line of sight with a finger tap, and it’s connected to her phone to give her more control over the zoom and clarity functions. It even has a Bluetooth function to allow calls. She calls it her ”Focus”.
  • Aloy has placed first in every hunting competition she's entered since she was fifteen in the state, and even some international ones, by consistently taking down the target prey the fastest of any competitor. She is considered a bowhunting and tracking prodigy, having even completed the Nora Proving Hunt at eighteen, and the Ban-Ur Hunt at nineteen, which are considered the most brutal, difficult hunts in the world; seasoned hunters train for decades before trying those. Both hunts were very significant for her, as the Nora Proving was her last major hunt before Rost died, and the Ban-Ur hunt was the first one she competed in since his death.

  • Her training as a hunter would go on to translate well for skills as a PI. She was more fit and accurate with a gun in her self-defense courses. Her talent in tracking helped her to notice details others would overlook, and she could do it reasonably well while in pursuit. Her mind and reflexes worked better to make snap decisions and keep calm while in high stress moments.

  • Growing up, she had trouble connecting to others besides Vala, so Rost adopted a bloodhound puppy that she named Strider. Rost trained it as a hunting dog and took it on many hunts while training Aloy, and he has since been a beloved companion for her. Since his death, she’s taken to caring for the aging dog with help from the rest of the house.

    • Beta has become especially close to Strider, and he’s very helpful in calming her down during panic attacks.

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~Elizabeth “Beta” Sobeck~

• Online CSI/Computer Sciences major
• She received advanced schooling while living with Tilda, so she’s already really far ahead of the curve for her age. Unfortunately, she was denied much in the way of companionship and instead pushed to strive for academic excellence “just like her mother”.
• Suffers from social anxiety and low self-esteem. Learns to lean on Aloy when it gets too much
• She's very uncomfortable with large groups of people, especially strangers. At present time, she can really only handle small increments with the rest of the house.
• Sometimes, when she's had a rough day or has a nightmare, she stays in Aloy's room to reassure herself that she's safe now.
• She knew Elisabet was her mom, but had only heard stories about her from Tilda, which were incredibly biased towards her ideal image of Elisabet.
• She didn't know she had a twin sister until she saw her own face staring back from a news article about how a young woman had won the Ban-Ur hunting competition. After that she started looking deeper into who this girl was, and managed to piece together that she was her sister. It was at this point she started planning how to escape and expose Tilda and the others of Far Zenith.
• After Tilda and the  other Zeniths were arrested, she moved in with Aloy and Co.; relationships are WIP.
• Growing up, she hated being reminded that she was just like her mom. Tilda would always address her as either "Elizabeth" or "Liz ", so she wanted to choose a different name when she came to live with her sister and friends. Zo offered the name "Beta" because, just as it can mean "the second of a set", and her name already has the letters in it, it can remind her that she has an older twin sister and friends who care about her now. She instantly loved it, and asked they only call her that from now on.
• She loves Aloy and will always run to her first if she's in trouble, but she likes to talk with Varl and Zo when she's troubled, and they help her put her thoughts in order. It's been very helpful when her problem is with Aloy herself. Erend tries to help too, and has been good for getting a laugh out of her. He also helps shield her when Aloy isn't around and people are too much. She likes Kotallo, but he still intimidates her sometimes.
• She designed and built his prosthetic arm with help from Petra as a ”thank you” for all he’s done for her. Even though she knows he feels uncomfortable with the idea of wearing it all the time, it’s enough for her that he uses it when he needs to.
• Hobbies include reading, tinkering with Erend and Aloy, strategy games with Kotallo, talking to Varl and Zo, and in-depth discussions/debates with Alva.

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~Aaron ”Erend” Vangard~

• Police Lieutenant
• He followed his elder sister, Police Captain Ersa Vangard, into the force out of a sense of obligation, but after she was killed by the right wing extremist Dervahl, he stayed so he could keep people safe from those like him.

• He met Aloy when she visited the courthouse to give testimony for a case she had been hired for. She impressed him with her drive and fiery spirit, and he told her he’ll be looking forward to when she has her license and suggested that maybe they could work together on a case sometime.

• Their friendship ended up saving him from a life in the bottle when Ersa died. Their last conversation had been Ersa reprimanding him at his apartment on his lazy attitude at work. She told him that, as a lieutenant and her younger brother, he was held to higher standard than others in the precinct. He fumbled and told her that she didn't understand what is was like to be the little brother of "The Vanguard" and that she should back off. She got upset and told him that he couldn't stay like this forever. She knew he could be so much more than what he currently was, but he had to grow up if he wanted to have a future in the force. He told her to get out. When she left, neither knew she'd been targeted by Dervahl to get at Mayor Avad and she was taken.
• The next morning, he discovered she was gone and raised the entire force to look for her. They were too late to save her life, but all she could say when Erend found her was "About time, little brother," before dying in his arms. He started hitting the bars longer and harder, and eventually Aloy found him. She wouldn't let him fall so far and forced him to shape up; if not for himself, then to honor his sister and her own hope that he could be better. In his grief, he had forgotten that she acknowledged him alone when they found her, and realized that she never gave up on him. He vowed to do better for Ersa and decided that he'd aim for the captaincy at his first opportunity. She believed in him, so he would too.
• He enjoys drinking (he has a high tolerance), wrestling with Kotallo (he struggles against him, so he enjoys the challenge), chess with Varl (they have a fairly even win-loss ratio; neither have beaten Kotallo), rocking out on his guitar to heavy metal music, and tinkering with it to get the best sound with Beta and Aloy (their technical knowhow helps him with the tuning).
• He cares deeply about Aloy, but he's unsure if it's romantic or platonic. So scared of losing her friendship by pushing, he's decided to wait and let her make the choice.
• Plays the role of another older brother for Beta and does his best to make her feel safe.
• Doesn’t mind his real name, but he let Beta give him one to help her feel safe and to bond. It comes from his willingness to be her “errand boy” of sorts to make her feel better.
• Varl and Zo's casual PDA (kissing, cuddling, and thinly veiled requests for intimacy/ "studying" 😏) irritates him a bit. He doesn't mind that they're together, but the constant sappy stuff gets annoying.

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~Vance ”Varl” Brave~

• EMT Police officer; training to become paramedic certified
• Joined the force at Police Commissioner Sona's urging, but he never felt like he was doing everything he could as a cop. After Vala was almost killed, he didn't want that to happen to anyone else close to him, so he took time to be trained as an EMT. His calm and soothing nature has found it more manageable than the violent approach he sometimes has to employ as an officer.
• Hobbies include martial arts with Aloy and Kotallo, mountaineering, talking with Beta, chess with Erend and Kotallo, and stargazing with Zo.
• They also study together. Mostly.
• Erend took Varl drinking once, and has since learned to never do it again. Varl is a horrible lightweight, and has a tendency to get out of control when he's drunk. That bar was never the same afterwards.
• Zo’s fiancé of 3 months
• They met when he came into her shop looking for flowers for his sister's hospital room. She helped him find the right kind of bouquet for Vala and they got to talking. She asked him what he would do now. He told her he was going to be trained as an EMT and eventually as a paramedic. She warned him that he'd see a lot of horrible things as an EMT. "Yeah, but I already see that as a cop. At least, as an EMT, I can do something more to make those horrible things hurt less, if only for a moment." They started dating two weeks later.
• His younger sister Vala and Aloy are childhood friends.
• Vala couldn’t say “Vance” as a baby, so she called him “Varl”, and did it so long it stuck.
• They like to play up the rivalry between firefighters and the police when they can, and they can get pretty intense. Even Aloy doesn't join in when Varl gets like this.
• He was the first to reach out to Beta when she moved in. He, along with Zo, serves as her sounding board and confidante for her to express her struggles.
• He sees her as another little sister, someone who needs support, especially in the beginning when she and Aloy were still figuring out their relationship. He spent many hours sitting with either sister and helping them to understand how to communicate, or just to vent their frustrations.

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~Zoe “Zo” Granger~

• Formerly: paramedic/nurse
• Currently: florist
• She was originally a paramedic, but moved up to nursing school to learn how to administer better care for patients. She stayed there for three years before leaving.
• After her family died in a house fire, she quit as a nurse. She couldn't care for her patients without remembering the sight and smell of her parents' burnt flesh and having a panic attack. With her new phobia, she requested she be released from her job for the reason that "she wouldn't put someone's safety and health at risk on the chance she might be rendered useless". She was allowed, but they told her that if she ever changed her mind, Utaru General Hospital would gladly welcome her back. Afterwards, she turned to floristry, opened her own shop, and tries to help others this way.
• She gets to know her customers and lends an ear to their struggles. Her insight and empathy have been very helpful in resolving some rather troublesome issues.
• She's been engaged to Varl for three months now.
• She met Varl when he was getting flowers for his sister her injury, and they connected quickly. She expressed her doubts about being able to handle her phobia if she returned to the medical field. "What if I freeze again, and someone dies because of me?" He reassured her that it's good that she was thinking so hard on the decision; it meant she was taking it seriously. "People make mistakes when they rush into things. But I think you'll be okay. You went through something horrible, but now you can either let it keep hurting you, or let it make you stronger. A friend of mine is like that. Every time something knocks her down, she just gets back up and uses it to be better than before."
• She met the others through Varl, and has been another pillar of emotional support and comfort for Aloy and Beta when they struggle to communicate.
• When she met Beta, she was the one to suggest her new nickname and it’s meaning, and asked for her to give her one. She got “Zo” (Beta wasn’t the greatest at naming) as a way to say that she is now less, but also more than before.
• Hobbies include gardening (sometimes Beta and Alva join her), singing (not with Varl; he’s horrible), archery (for the strength training and finesse), and stargazing with Varl.
• She’s their only vegetarian, but she acknowledges that it’s a choice and doesn’t pressure her friends to stop eating meat.
• She hasn’t turned Varl, but she has noticed him trying to eat more greens around her since they became a couple. She thinks it's sweet and hasn't told him she knows.
• She’s currently reviewing with Varl to possibly go back to being a nurse/paramedic.

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~Kaden “Kotallo” Tallo~

• Former: Soldier (Rank: Marshal)
  • Honorably reassigned by Director Hekarro after his left arm was maimed in the line of duty.
• Current: Military combat instructor
  
  • Beta noticed him struggling with a few tasks once that would be easier with a second hand, and made his prosthetic arm. It’s fully functional, tough and perfectly balanced, and even has some fine motor control and haptic feedback, but he doesn’t like to wear it; he says he spent so long getting used to being one-handed that it feels “insincere” or like he’s presenting a false image of himself to always wear it, like it undermines or negates all his progress. He appreciates it, though, and agreed to use the arm when he needs it.

    • His favorite thing to do with it is to wear it for his first session with a new class, then take it off and trounce anyone who thinks it’s the only reason he could be an instructor. He’s undefeated.

  • Able to take up to three people one handed and alone; with his prosthetic equipped, he can easily beat five people. Give him a weapon, even something as simple as a knife, and he’s practically unstoppable. When he was active duty, he was considered the most dangerous man in the service.
• Joined the group’s home as part of a military rehab program for former combatants going through civilian rehabilitation. He’s since finished the program, but stays because he enjoys their company.
• He doesn't talk about it at first, since he was still bitter that it happened and how it prevents him from taking any missions with his distinctive shape and limitation. As he gets to know the rest of the house, he starts to loosen up and tells them how he was transporting a witness for the trial of the criminal Regalla when they were ambushed on their way to the car. The attackers dropped the building on them, killed the witness and pinning his arm under the rubble. The weight crushed the bones to powder, necessitating amputation. When he was finally recovered, he revealed he had a wire recording the attackers admitting they were acting on Regalla's orders and managed to put her away even without the witness. But his career in active duty was over; without his arm, he would stand out in a crowd, and the lose would affect his combat performance, whether he liked it or not. So he was benched until he could recover physically, then he would join a rehab program for veterans returning to civilian life.
• At the beginning of his stay, he was surly and isolated himself. He constantly seemed like he was going to explode and lose himself. Surprisingly, it was Erend who helped him snap out of it. He goaded him into a two-way one-handed wrestling match and lost in thirty seconds flat. He kept egging him on, saying he bet couldn't do it any faster than that even if he used both hands, and lost in twenty-five seconds. Kotallo was still angry, but now he was intrigued and motivated. They kept at this for the next three weeks, before he finally could pin Erend in less than five seconds consistently. Erend then suggested he "inform Director Hekarro that he was still just as capable and he could shove his disability discharge in the crapper for all the shit is was made of". Kotallo declined his phrasing, but requested he be allowed to train the recruits and anyone who thought they could take him on. Hekarro was uncertain of the wisdom of this, but agreed to a trial run. If his recruits showed improvement at the end of that time, he'd allow Kotallo to remain a Marshal Combat Instructor. Needless to say, he did it.
• Enjoys strategy games with the others (Beta and Zo give him the best challenge so far, Aloy is next, followed by Varl and Erend, then Alva, who is easily flustered and baffled by his moves), martial arts training with the other adults (aside from Beta, but he is teaching her simple techniques to defend herself), mountaineering (for the challenge of climbing one-handed), and skydiving (he enjoys the thrill of free fall).
• He also trains Alva (at her request) to be more aware by randomly popping up and tapping her forehead (not her request). He secretly enjoys the faces she makes when he startles her.

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~Alison ”Alva” Silva~

• Foreign exchange student; Archaeology/Linguistics major
• Came to the country for better learning opportunities
• She hopes to land a good position to be able to better support her family, who are poor.
• She has a girlfriend back home, but hasn’t seen her in a while.
• She’s been a big help for Aloy in learning to be a big sister to Beta. Both of them are the elder sibling, and while Zo and Varl help with patience, they don’t have that certain experience of being a big sister to a little sister. Alva does, and has helped Aloy understand the “I want to love you but I also want to strangle the words out of you so much” feeling and how she should act when it happens.
• Enjoys deciphering ancient texts and learning about their societies, complex puzzles with Aloy (she likes picture puzzles too, but doesn’t find them challenging enough), “big brain talk” (as Erend calls it) with Beta, and vlogging.
• She’s had problems in the past with paying attention and getting distracted, so she asked Kotallo, who is always so focused and serious, to help teach her to pay better attention and space out less. She regrets this when he started popping up in the most random places and tapping her forehead. She’s mildly convinced he does it this way to annoy her, but she can’t deny she’s become more alert and aware since she asked.

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~Russell “Rost” Irons~

• Former police detective
• Dishonorably discharged and imprisoned (now released) for killing the criminals who murdered his family, instead of arresting them.
• He was released early from a combination of Elisabet's petition for early parole, and for his superior's mistake of not removing him from the investigation when it turned personal. He received a reduced sentence because of extenuating circumstances, including emotional trauma and failed oversight.
• Adopted Aloy not long after his parole as per his agreement with Elisabet.
• He was supposed to get Beta as well, but he didn’t know there were two children or that the paperwork was switched/changed.
• Their relationship was much like in-game.
• She's called him "Rost" since she was young because Russ sounds like rust, he's old, and his last name is Irons. Plus, she was a child and couldn't say it properly, and he'd annoyed her that day, so she thought she was getting sufficient payback by flubbing his name. He didn't mind and came to like it even.
• He taught her everything he knew about being a police officer. As one of the only adults she has a positive opinion of, she latched on to the idea of being like him and threw herself into the training.
• He also trained her in bow-hunting after she came home from school one day red-faced and holding back tears. Another boy, Bast, had been bragging about his new hunting bow his parents had gotten him and she had wanted to see it. He refused and said there was no way she could use a bow because "Girls are weak, and as an orphan you must be really weak if even your mom didn't want you." Rost calmed her down and helped her understand how he was wrong, but it wasn't enough for Aloy. She wanted to prove Bast wrong and rub it in his face. She knew Rost had used a bow to hunt before and begged him to teach her. Rost told her to give him a day to think about it. The next morning she woke to a wooden thunk! coming from outside. Rost had set up targets and was practicing with one of his old bows as Aloy stepped outside. He explained how if Aloy was serious about this, he would teach her everything he knew, but he would not make it easy. He would drill into her the skills of hunting, tracking, and bow technique from sunup to sundown; he would push her to the limit, and then push it again. When he finished teaching her, he said she'd even be able to shoot his massive war bow accurately. She told him she wasn't backing down and took the recurve bow from his hands and tried to shoot the target. Of course, it fell short about two feet from her. That was the first time she'd heard Rost laugh that hard. When he calmed down, he informed her that she wasn't strong enough for that bow yet before gently taking it from her grasp. "But we'll get there in time. Now, follow."
• Over the next twelve years, Aloy's prowess as a hunter would grow to incredible heights. Rost taught her to use many different types of ranged hunting weapons, from bows to slings, and Aloy took to it like it was second nature. She trained relentlessly to be able to draw and fire as quickly and accurately as possible from either standing or kneeling, and at static or moving targets. But the biggest surprise was when she started training do all this while in motion or coming out of motion. When Rost asked her why she would go that far, since bowhunting is a very immobile sport, she retorted, "And if my target runs? Or fights back? My prey is mobile, and that gives it the advantage. So, I will be too." That was when Rost realized that this training had gone from a simple pastime to something more, as inherent to Aloy's sense of self as breathing. He agreed to assist her in any way he could, but since no one had ever made it a viable hunting tactic, she would be 'running blind' as it were. She made it work, though; her new method allowed her to surprise unsuspecting prey with her initial rush before leaping above them or sliding below them with an arrow already nocked and ready to release. The drawbacks were that she needed space and a running start, it wouldn't work on every animal, and she couldn't get more than one shot off before the animal bolted and she would have to chase it down. He used these initial flops to give her further instruction in tracking, which she excelled at, and how to identify useful plants for injuries if it was aggressive enough to attack, which was far less common.
• Once she asked why he didn't use guns to hunt. He said it was partially because he liked the challenge and partially a personal belief. "Anyone can pick up and shoot a gun, but it takes real strength to draw and shoot a bow. This is true in hunting, and in life."
• He and Aloy had an argument one morning about her future in law enforcement. He wanted her to submit a different surname since he knew she would be judged unfairly by association with him. She refused, not understanding why she couldn’t apply under his name. Later, when she was walking home with Vala, they were almost gunned down in a drive-by shooting. Vala was seriously injured, but Rost has been waiting outside to apologize to Aloy and explain himself when he saw the car. He wasn’t fast enough for the first shot, but he shielded them from further harm with his own body. He died protecting them.
• It wasn’t until later Aloy learned it was an attempt on her life by the Eclipse gang on Gerard’s orders so that Beta, as the younger twin, would become the sole inheritor of their mom’s estate and company.

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~Dr. Elisabet Sobeck~

• Prominent scientist and CEO of Miriam Technologies, and mother of Aloy and Beta.
• She gave up Aloy and Beta for adoption when she discovered she had developed a terminal illness.
• She decided this before they were born so she could know they were going to good homes. She chose Rost after meeting him and learning his story, and actually petitioned a judge to grant him an early release for good behavior. They agreed that after a parole period of two years, he would adopt her daughter. This was settled before she found out she was having twins, and by that time she couldn’t leave to tell him.
• Tilda also interfered and had the adoption records changed/swapped so she would receive the child. But she didn’t know Lis was pregnant with twins, and since Rost’s guardianship of Aloy was the only one they had finalized and kept secret by Lis’s lawyer, the only paperwork she could find was Beta’s, so she assumed she was Elisabet’s only child. It was a series of perfect circumstances that kept Aloy's existence hidden from them at the beginning.
• She also changed and sealed her will so that no one except Gaia knew she wouldn’t give control of the company to her daughters and wanted them to forge their own paths without their mother’s shadow and influence pressuring them.

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"Lis, if you could have met your daughters, what would you have hoped they'd be like?"

"Well… I'd want them to be curious, always questioning things and learning about... whatever they want. And for them to be willful - unstoppable even… but with enough compassion to heal the wounds of the world."

"I see. Those would be traits you'd admire in your children. Would you like to say a few more words for them?"

"What? You were recording-?! Ugh, Gaia!"

*Exasperated sigh*

"Well, girls, since Gaia decided to pull this one on me, I guess you already heard what I said. But, beyond that, I want you to be your own people. I've decided not to name either of you as my successor to Miriam, but rather Gayle here, because I want you to chart your own path untethered to mine. Children shouldn't be copies of their parents, so, with me gone, this is the best way. You won't be the second coming of Elisabet Sobeck. You'll just be you, which is all you should be. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you, but there's this annoying stalker following me called death and I can't get away from it this time."

*Sigh, dry chuckle*

"Listen to me, talking about your futures when I already said how I won't be a part of it. Next, I'll be spouting business advice."

*Deeper sigh*

"Girls, I hope you know how much I love you. I never thought I'd be a mom; I just figured I didn't have the time, or that I wouldn't be very good at it. But, when I became pregnant with you, and then found out 'you' was actually 'you two'… I hadn't felt that happy in a long time. Even now, just thinking that in a few weeks you'll be here in my arms, I get so excited, even if I won't be here too long. I love you girls… so, so much… And I hope you live your lives with that same kind of passion, that same fire that I have. Because I have a feeling that, even if you never know me, you're gonna be handfuls of trouble. But it'll be amazing trouble — you'll be amazing, both of you. No matter what you do with your lives, where you go, who you love, I want you to know that I'll always be proud of you, and as unscientific as it sounds, there is no quantifiable metric to accurately describe how much I love you two."

*Shuddering breath*

"I hate goodbyes, so I'll end this message here. Maybe I'll make another later, or Gaia will trick me into it again. So, for now, I'll see you in a few weeks, girls."

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~Gayle “Gaia” Gardner~

• Elisabet’s best friend and former second-in-command at Miriam Tech.
• Currently the CEO as of Elisabet’s will reading.
• She wanted to raise the girls herself, but Lis asked her not to so to prevent them from being overwhelmed by their mom’s shadow and reputation. She didn’t think it fair to put that kind of pressure on two children, and asked her to keep quiet and maintain distance until they were old enough to understand.
• As of learning of their mother’s identity, she has since reached out and become good friends with both. She loves telling the girls stories about their mom and who she was.

~Teersa~

• Adoption Services/Orphanage head matron
• Knows who her mom is, but doesn’t blame Elisabet. Gives Aloy as much love as she can, especially after Beta disappeared.
• Beta was adopted by Tilda almost as soon as she was available. Teersa was out that day and Lansra was in charge, so she felt no need to inform her of the details. Teersa was furious though when she learned that Lansra had separated the girls on the petty technicality that they hadn't had the paperwork fill out for both to go to Rost. By the time she tracked down the information on the paperwork Tilda had changed and submitted for the adoption, she found nothing but dead ends and false trails. 
• Sorta like a grandma to Aloy, and keeps in contact with her
• Ever since Beta reunited with Aloy, Teersa has done all that she can to try and make up for what happened to Beta by not being there to stop Lansra. Beta doesn't blame Teersa, but she's still cautious around new people.

~Lansra and Jezza~

• Background matrons
• Lansra hates Aloy because she looks so much like Elisabet and she can guess she's her mom, but she doesn't know the reason she gave her up. She despises parents who have shallow reasons to give up their child, but with Aloy it was a combination of her identical appearance, no explanation from Teersa, and the girl's curiosity causing disruptions until she left. (Hatred by association)
• Jezza didn’t interact with Aloy as much as the other two so she doesn’t have as strong an opinion of her, but instead gave her the same care she would give to any child when they did meet.

~Valarie ”Vala” Brave~

• Probationary firefighter
• Varl’s younger sister and Aloy’s best friend from childhood.
• Backed her up when the other kids would be mean and comforted her when she got upset about her unknown mom.
• She was the one to get Aloy interested in things like parkour and mountaineering. They try and go on at least two hikes a year, and have recently extended the invitation to the other girls for a yearly retreat trip.
• She was walking home with her as moral support when they were attacked. She was severely injured, but made a full recovery in time.
• Varl has called her Vala as a shorthand since she was little, so it’s just what she mainly goes by.

~Petra Forge~

• Mechanic and owner of Forge Works
• Old drinking friend of Erend
• Her family was very old-fashioned, and didn’t think a woman should be anything more than a housewife. She rejected that notion and set out on her own, effectively disowning them.
• She hasn’t spoken to them since and feels no inclination to reach out.
• Since she left, she chose a different first and last name. She won’t answer to the old ones, even if no one else who knows her knew them.
• By herself, she got Masters in Mechanical Engineering,  Electrical Engineering, and trained for 3 years in CAD Design, and opened her own shop. She runs a tight, efficient ship and takes no crap from anyone.
• The last client who tried to falsify a shoddy repair job complaint that she personally saw to got punched in the face, tossed out the door, and told to never come back. Anytime this happens, rare as it is, she calls other shops to warn them of the person in question.
• She may run a business, but she’s not hurting for work. All her clients trust her to be honest and fair about what’s wrong and to not upsell or overcharge them.
• Her employees love her and enjoy watching her tear into the poor fools who question her work. She swears she’s seen them grab snacks before like it’s a show.

~Nil~

• Formerly: Soldier (Unknown rank and branch)
• Currently: MMA fighter/vigilante, Confidential informant
• Not a superhero; just hates criminals and is too good at not getting caught. No one even knows his real name or has had a good look at him since he first appeared. He calls himself "Nil" because he is nothing.

• He met Aloy when he was tracking a gang of serial muggers. She had been herded into an alley and was surrounded. He was about to step in when she revealed she had lured the crooks into a trap before picking up a long, broken pipe and beating them easily. He's been fascinated by her ever since and keeps asking her for a spar. She's unsure what he wants and has so far declined.
• Nothing more than that. He’s so straightforward and honest you could draw edges with him. Doesn’t mean he’s a nice person.

~Talia ”Talanah” Padish~

• Environmental Sciences/Conservation Sciences dual major graduate and close friend of Aloy’s
• Youngest Senior Park Ranger in history
• She met Aloy when she was camping out and they bonded over mutual interests. Talanah had been assigned to find, subdue, and tag the most elusive and dangerous bear in the park called Redmaw to transport him to a more secluded region, but she was being hindered by the current senior ranger Ahsis. Her talents and skills threatened his position, as she was far better than him, and he wanted her gone. So he assigned her with the most difficult task available, and only allowed her minimal equipment. He reasoned that "If you're as good as you say, catching Redmaw should be easy for you." Since he held her job in his hands and would do anything to get rid of her, she had no choice but to accept. After listening to Talanah's story, Aloy offered to help her track the bear. Talanah wanted to refuse, but Ahsis had given her a deadline of two weeks to complete the task and she was running out of time. With Aloy's help, she managed to follow Redmaw's trail to a hidden cave. After masking their scents, they began to set snares and drugged food to lure him out. While they waited, they quietly shared stories about hunting screwups. Finally, they caught the bear and tagged him before clipping some distinctive red fur and snapping a picture as proof for Ahsis. Talanah and Aloy then parted ways with the promise to stay in touch as she returned to the rangers lodge.
• She arrived in the middle of a department inspection by Inspector Ligen who, upon learning that Ahsis had sent a much younger and lower ranked ranger out to complete such a difficult task, turned on him and began to rail at him about how reckless and irresponsible his actions were. He promised his actions would be brought before his superiors. When Talanah asked what made catching Redmaw so dangerous, Ligen explained that the bear had been attacked by hunters who snuck in illegally for his unique red fur many times in the past, and had developed an intense hatred for humans. When he was left alone, he could avoid humans easily, like a red ghost. But every so often some young hunter would get it in his head that he could catch the infamous red bear and would sneak in to try. For the past ten years, Redmaw had either critically injured or killed every hunter who had come after him, and every ranger who had tried to find and tag him for relocation never came close unless he found them first. It came to the point his name Redmaw was known more for his bloody mouth than his blood red fur. Even though she managed to do the impossible and tag the angry beast, Ahsis shouldn't have sent her out on a task that should have only been done by the senior ranger. As such, he was certain Ahsis was going to lose his job, but he would be putting in a recommendation for Talanah to be considered for the role instead as she seemed to be more competent. Talanah admitted she had help tracking the bear from someone who had been camping nearby. Ahsis tried to use this to discredit her, but Ligen argued that because he hindered Talanah so much for a task that should have had back up from the rest of the rangers that it was only fair she acquired outside help, though he wished she hadn't needed to involve a civilian. When he asked who helped her, she said her name was Aloy. Ligen asked if she had flaming red hair and green eyes, and when she nodded he smirked and said, "Looks like there was an unfair advantage at play here." Ahsis' started to smirk again before he said, "For Redmaw, that is."
• Talanah later learned from Aloy that she had apparently placed first in every hunting competition in the state, and even some international ones, by consistently taking down her prey the fastest of any competitor. She was considered a bowhunting and tracking prodigy, having even completed the Nora Proving and Ban-Ur Hunts, which are considered the most brutal, difficult hunts in the world; seasoned hunters train for decades before trying those. When asked how old she was when she competed in those, she looked away and mumbled "Eighteen and nineteen." She didn't like boasting about it because it drew more attention than she was comfortable with, and because the Nora Proving was the last hunt her guardian Rost had wanted her to do solo before he was killed, so she has mixed feelings attached to the memory.
• They maintain contact, but have trouble meeting up due to living in different cities. They try to have at least one regular hunt together, but recently Aloy has extended an invitation to join her and Vala on their yearly girls hiking and camping trip they go on.
• Her nickname comes from her tendency to reply “Nah!” when she disagrees with a course of action.
• Has a crush on a man named Amadis, but he pines for a former love and she has issues with being second choice. So, for now, she’s focusing on her career and putting romance on the back burner.

~Avad Solera~

• City Mayor
• His father was the former mayor, but he was removed from office and imprisoned primarily on charges of abuse of power.
• It was also discovered that he was backing the Eclipse gang, which also added organized crime to his list of charges.
• He was secretly in a relationship with Erend’s sister Ersa, and was devastated when she was killed.
• Aloy reminds him a lot of her, but his deputy mayor Marad has advised him that trying to pursue anything with her so soon after Ersa’s death would be unwise; he could end up projecting onto her, ruining any kind of relationship.

Chapter Text

~Tilda van der Meer~

• Head of Far Zenith’s Logistics Department
• Elisabet‘s former lover
• Adopted Beta when she was born and raised her to try and “remake Elisabet”
• Tilda was too focused on her memories of Elisabet to consider what Beta wanted to know about her mom. She had only known one side of Lis, and was in love with that part of her, rather than all of her. She ended up placing unreasonable expectations on Beta’s shoulders to be just like her mother.
• Does not have the personality/attitude/temperament to be a parent
• Currently imprisoned for child abuse, forgery, accessory to murder, corporate espionage, and other crimes.

~Gerard Bieri~

• CEO of Far Zenith Luxury Resorts and Airlines
• Desired Elisabet’s company and thought to use Beta to acquire its assets
• He was not aware of Aloy's existence at first, but when he saw her face as the winner of the Nora's Proving hunting competition, he realized his plan might not have been foolproof. He enlisted the services of Helis of the Eclipse gang to remove her from the line of succession.
• He was also unaware, like everyone else, that the girls were not even listed as inheritors of their mother's estate and company.
• Currently imprisoned for child abuse, corporate espionage, attempted murder, and many other crimes

~Erik Visser~

• Gerard‘s Head of Security
• Currently imprisoned for assault, murder, corporate espionage, and other violent crimes