#* osiris [ . . . ] dialogue . | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

apiswitchcraft · 2 months ago

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altars for kemetic/egyptian gods

hi yall, another purely based in UPG, new agey post! historically, deity offerings for the ancient egyptians often took the form of art/sculpture/hymns, incense (like frankincense or myrrh), or offerings of food (especially meat and bread) and drink (wine/ale, mostly). dialogue with the gods was often facilitated through the pharaohs or funerary rites, but your average person had access to daily magic and regular temples as well.

Colors: yellow, orange, red for the sun

Offerings: eye of ra, dates, figs, grapes, apricots, sunflowers, morning glories, chocolate, pastries, orange juice, honey

Crystals: sunstone, yellow/red jasper, citrine, carnelian, honey calcite, angelite, kyanite

Animals: falcon

SHU

Colors: white, blue for the air/sky

Offerings: feathers (especially ostrich), sandalwood, gardenia, anise, paper fans, cornflower

Crystals: white/clear quartz, angelite, selenite, blue calcite, fluorite, blue lace agate

Animals: lion, ostrich

TEFNUT

Colors: white, blue for water

Offerings: sea salt, reeds, shells, water, coral, water (especially dew), lotus root/flower

Crystals: blue calcite, sodalite, lapis lazuli, amethyst, larimar, ocean/blue lace agate, aquamarine

Animals: lioness

NUT

Colors: blue, black for night. white for stars

Offerings: amber, sandalwood, sycamore, moonflowers, morning glories, milk

Crystals: lapis lazuli, star jasper, azurite, obsidian, smokey quartz, black tourmaline, labradorite, sodalite, moonstone (especially black)

Animals: boar, cow, sow

GEB

Colors: green, brown for earth. black for the underworld

Offerings: grain, beans, yarrow, cinnamon, coffee, egg shells, foliage, dirt, rocks, snake shed, milk

Crystals: jasper (various types), aventurine, moss/tree agate, unakite, obsidian, jade, malachite

Animals: snake, goose, rabbit, bull

OSIRIS

Colors: green for renewal, black for death, white for rebirth

Offerings: bandages, dark chocolate, dried fruit (especially oranges or dates), dark chocolate, coffee, cedar, vetiver, bones

Crystals: lapis lazuli, moss agate, jasper (various types), malachite, obsidian, smokey quartz, pyrite, jade, howlite, star jasper (for his astral form)

Animals: heron, ram, cow

ISIS

Colors: white, grey for the moon. blue, black for the night. green for life and resurrection.

Offerings: the tyet symbol, cow horn, milk, sycamore, feathers, dried fruit (such as raisins or dates), pomegranates, nuts, pastries

Crystals: star jasper, moonstone, rose quartz, amethyst, fluorite, bloodstone, red jasper, carnelian, labradorite, aventurine

Animals: birds (especially a kite hawk or vulture), cow, cat, scorpion, sow

HORUS

Colors: blue, purple for insight and intuition. white and red for pharoahship.

Offerings: eye of horus, weaponry/iron, lotus flower/root, feathers (especially hawk or falcon), yarrow, chocolate

Crystals: malachite, aventurine, pyrite, amethyst, lapis lazuli, jasper (various), howlite, sunstone, aquamarine, labradorite, hematite

Animals: falcon

NEPHTHYS

Colors: black for darkness and funerary rites

Offerings: beer, linen, feathers (especially of a crow or vulture), bones, coffee, nuts, milk

Crystals: obsidian, smokey quartz, black moonstone (because of association with Isis), black tourmaline, red jasper, bloodstone

Animals: vulture, crow

SET

Colors: red, black for chaos and storms

Offerings: lettuce, sand, alcohol, dragon's blood, patchouli, yarrow, vetiver, charcoal, dark chocolate, black pepper

Crystals: red jasper, black tourmaline, howlite, obsidian, labradorite, sodalite, bloodstone, malachite, pyrite

Animals: the set animal (which resembles a canine, giraffe, and aardvark), donkey

THOTH

Colors: grey, blue for intuition/intelligence. white for the moon

Offerings: quill, ink, pieces of writing/books, feathers, rosemary, citrus, sage, moon water, lavender, nuts

Crystals: amethyst, lapis lazuli, malachite, moonstone, selenite, howlite, angelite, sodalite, fluorite

Animals: ibis, baboon

ANUBIS

Colors: black, grey for funerary rites/death

Offerings: bones, ash, charcoal, red/black peppercorns, marigold (associated with the dead), linen, yarrow

Crystals: hematite, obsidian, black tourmaline, howlite, jasper (various, but especially red), smokey/rutilated quartz, bloodstone

Animals: canines, especially a jackal

BASTET

Colors: white, red for pharaohship

Offerings: ointments/perfumes of most types, cedar, anything cat related, rosemary, black salt

Crystals: tiger's eye, cat's eye quartz, bloodstone, red jasper, black tourmaline, howlite, milky/smokey quartz, pyrite, carnelian

Animals: lioness, cat

SEKHMET

Colors: red for war. grey for justice

Offerings: sand (especially red), scales of justice, iron, cypress, red pepper, black salt

Crystals: bloodstone, red jasper, carnelian, garnet, ruby kyanite, jade, smokey/clear, hematite

Animals: lioness

HATHOR

Colors: pink, red for love/sexuality

Offerings: dancing, dried fruits (especially figs/dates), pomegranates, sycamore, milk, honey, pastries

Crystals: rose quartz, amethyst, citrine, carnelian, fluorite, jade, aquamarine, garnet/ruby

Animals: cow, lioness, cobra

KHONSU

Colors: white, grey for the moon. blue, black for the night.

Offerings: lavender, sage, mugwort, dried fruit, moon shaped items, moon flower, ash

Crystals: moonstone, selenite, sodalite, obsidian, black tourmaline, smokey/milky quartz, jasper (various), blue lace agate, lapis lazuli

Animals: falcon

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insomniaccipher · 5 months ago

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(not accurate cause I had to type quickly)

Edit: Since this post is pretty short and i don't want to clog up the destiny tag, I'm putting the other lines I got here as well. Expect more since I keep playing Bonfire Bash :D

Saint-14: "The fires have risen, like a phoenix! like my Osiris"

Lord Saladin: Good to see you in better spirits Saint

Saint-14: Guardian look! Lord Saladin is smiling

Lord Saladin: I expect to see you all in the iron banner this week

Saint: Hey! The Guardians are mine this week no? Geppetto bring up the planner!

(Saint acting like a dad wanting his kids for the weekend)

Lord Saladin: Clear the area, let's get this bonfire lit

Saint-14: Yes! Geppetto get the marshmallows!

(Fuck ya snacks! Dad saint 14!)

Lord Saladin: Nicely done, could've been faster though

Saint-14: What? They were great not like you could have done any better

Lord Saladin: is that a challenge?

Saint-14: Oho! Guardians clear the field! we need to have a discussion

(Someone get the popcorn)

Saint-14: they try to destroy us yet here we stand

Saint-14: Remember these moments when times grow hard, let the memories kindle hope

Lord Saladin: Happy Solstice Guardian

(Awwww!)

Got the line about Osiris again, and it's still adorable.

Me ↓

(Dialogue from Destiny 2 Solstice Bonfire Bash)

#MY HEART #saint 14 #destiny 2 #Saint is my favourite

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thefirstknife · 4 months ago

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So this week, huh. Some stuff and things.

The beginning is nice for a sort of official summary about what we're dealing with:

Paired with the lore tab from last week, now I think we know exactly what's going on in regards with the issue of understanding how the Conductor came to be. It's also interesting how they're not directly telling us which Maya turned into the Conductor, which is as we suspected before. We just don't know which one it is, maybe even a combination of multiple Mayas. And they're going with Maya maybe not knowing either.

I love Saint. He's so excited.

More under:

The exotic mission is largely the same, but there are some extras: new areas and new chests with a bit of new dialogue. I'll get to that in a moment. I want to mention something I didn't bring up last week, but the Subjugator and the Tormentor bosses are pledged to Yirix. This week, Ikora expands:

Yirix is a Psion and leads the Conclave, a section of Psions that does all sort of stuff. She's responsible for the attempt on Zavala's life back in Chosen when they used Light-suppressing tech to temporarily disable Targe. She also had her hand in the Presage shenanigans and then later Vox Obscura mission on Mars where we fought her Psions and Caiatl listened to the various futures she's seen, all of which have come true. It's interesting that she's leading some section of the Shadow Legion. I am hoping for this Psion stuff to be some sort of hint about stuff in the future. We might eventually have to deal with them.

And then! The lines from grabbing the new chest for this week:

Once again, back with the simulated Ishtar scientists! And once again, I am begging everyone to read Aspect. We've heard from .59 Chioma last week, that's the one from the final part of this page, a Chioma that has lost Maya.

You'd found a simulation with a city where you discovered a jewelry store, picked out a necklace, brought it home to her, and wished her a happy pseudo anniversary. Maya didn't like bracelets, said they always fouled her work. Her hair had been getting shaggy again and was due for a trim. She could never decide whether or not to grow it out. She laughed at you lifting weights to maintain simulated muscle, but she spotted for you all the same. There are other Mayas out there, layers of them, all the way up to the original, wherever she is. You hope they're doing well. But that doesn't stop you from missing this Maya, missing whatever arguments and discoveries you'd have shared in the rest of the lifetime you'd promised to one another. Shim and Duane-McNiadh pull you up from beside Maya's marker. A basalt lily rests on top of it, petals thin enough to let light through. You go on.

The same page also mentions the .33 group:

227.33 You lose Duane-McNiadh.

We don't know .27 group from Aspect. Also interesting that one of the Chiomas isn't sharing her number. I wonder what's up with that. I'm also not sure what the final two sentences would be about. About them having "a place" and figuring things out together. The whole point of Aspect was that these groups were coordinating with Praedyth about escaping, so maybe they're talking about this plan they had with him?

Next thing in the line is Maya's recording of once again messing with Chioma and this one is so normal (lie).

OKAY? How about we all die. This also connects to one of the queries in Enigma Protocol. We speculated that these might be some personal stuff for Maya and Chioma that she's search for through the Vex Network and they are!

And then new lines from the new chest puzzle:

More stuff about the simulated scientists! Same as last week, .97 are also in Aspect. Eagerly waiting to see where they'll end with this. Literally have been waiting since 2019 to get answers about Aspect. Please. Answers please.

As we get through the mission, we get treated to some devastating Osiris and Saint lines. I really like that they have quite a bit of sympathy for what's happening to Maya and Chioma. Because they relate!

On the floor. But we're not done.

Stoppp ittt. Stopppp.

I like, again, that despite everything, he seems to sympathise. Or at least he understand it because he knows how he could've ended the same so Maya didn't do this because Maya is just like that; she did this because of the circumstances. If the circumstances were any different, Osiris could've done it too. This terrifies him. Anyone could be one step away from doing the same.

The radio message continues with the horrors, with another one of Maya's logs where she's insisting that her Chioma would understand what she's doing and that Maya is a "savior" and that everything that happened in the system since the Collapse needs to be fixed and that Maya can fix it. Osiris goes on a rant against this and realises that Maya is acting selfishly and that her obsession is destroying even her love for Chioma. But at the end, he says this:

Please. I hope we do. I want this to have at least a semblance of a happy ending for Maya and Chioma. Maybe not for the Conductor ofc, but for some Maya somewhere to get what she wanted; to be with her Chioma. Kinda similar how they went about with Saint and Osiris as well, to complete the parallel between the two couples.

And then ofc the lore tab.

One more week to go. Going to be blowing myself up in the meantime.

#destiny 2 #destiny 2 spoilers #echoes #echoes spoilers #osiris #saint-14 #maya #chioma #encore exotic mission

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snail-sir · 19 days ago

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I powered through two finals today I am treating myself to brainrot

There has been so much magister content lately and it is honestly fueling me. It's all so fun!! SO :D Meet my magisters!!! :DD my sillies!!! Disclaimer a LOT of rambling lmao

my sillies <33

Starting with Avaeryn! He's not the actual Magister Merlin, just a stand-in for now, because he's actually just another OC I decided to throw into this world, and it just devolved from there lmao. BUT this does play into my lore for Esperia Avaeryn 👀 because since I just threw him here, he's not supposed to exist in this world. Soooooo his soul is the only thing actually existing in this world that is Him. His soul, for some reason, decided to reside in the body of the actual Magister Merlin, Osiria, and accidentally booted out a chunk of her soul from her own body💀 this explains the amnesia for those two, bc Avaeryn literally Does Not Go Here and chunks of Osiris's memory got separated between body and soul. Don't ask me the science behind that bc I also don't know. Most of the magic Vaer knows is just Osiria's muscle memory or whatever little is left in that body.

Onto Osiria! She is the actual Merlin OC I made for this game, and therefore the Merlin people are usually referring to. She doesn't have the entirety of her memory anymore ofc since a chunk of her soul got booted out, so that chunk just follows her body around now lmao. She's just a non-corporeal being for the time being who can't really interact with stuff. However, I do think if one's magic is strong enough they can sense her, and maybe eventually see her, though Avaeryn's the only one who can do that rn. She doesn't know how to get back to her body and ofc Vaer doesn't know how to Not Be Here. Osiria still feels connected to her body in some way and can feel whatever goes on in there, as in emotions and injuries, and maybe in dire situations can retake control for precious moments. I hc that as a Merlin she's essentially immortal, although definitely not invincible. Like, her consciousness/soul can live forever and move onto a new body if she can't save her old body, but her bodies can live however long it can manage. But, since only a portion of Osiris's soul got kicked out of her body, her soul can't really find another body bc then there'll be two of her. Which is probably not good.

Personality wise these two are complete opposites.

Vaer is a very reserved and introverted person. He is the textbook definition of anti-social. He does not like being bothered. At All. So the fact that he is now this renowned mage that legit everyone knows and looks up to.. not liking that too much lmao. People are too friendly with him and he doesn't know how or want to handle that. He's also a very blunt and monotonous person, and on top of the fact he looks like he's gonna murder you 24/7, everything he says comes off as either sarcastic or rude. Osiria is giving it her soul's ALL to keep this guy from being like "why are you here. Leave me alone" to everyone he sees. They have the Merlin's reputation to uphold of course, and Vaer is making it SO hard for her. Like, Avaeryn's a good person. He's not gonna sit there and watch someone get mauled, and he's not gonna be intentionally rude or malicious or no reason. He's not even that easily annoyed, he just sounds like he constantly is lmao. (he Will throw hands if needed but he's smart enough to not. usually). He's quiet too but that also does not help with much at all. Monotonous and you can barely hear him. Which is driving Osiria insane. I literally made this guy so I can put him in games and pick rude dialogue without feeling that guilty LMAO

Osiria on the other hand is THE friend you wanna make. Very sweet, soft-spoken, and so So very caring. Wants to go out of her way to help anyone she comes across, and absolutely adores everyone around her. Perfect mother/big sister figure anyone would want. She nags Avaeryn a little too much for his liking bc if this lmao. She wants him to go help anyone and everyone, while all he wants to do is just be left alone. Which is never gonna happen. Though, she is a bit tooooo kind in the sense that she thinks everyone deserves to be helped, and will put her all into it. This can lead to her kindness being taken advantage of quite often, but good thing Vaer's rational enough to keep things balanced. The thing is, she's not stupid- she's aware that there's people taking advantage of her sweetness, but she just wants to help anyway. "It's best to help anyway because what's the point of leaving them stranded?" Avaeryn just thinks that they shouldn't inconvenience themselves if people can handle their own problems fine enough. People also don't like being called out by him (rightfully) lmao. Osiria thinks that's too mean though.

Relationship wise, they respect each other. Avaeryn stresses out Osiria a bit too much but overall, she understands that he usually means well, even though it often doesn't feel that way lmao. also that he's very much not a people person, so she doesn't make him go out strolling to find people to help just bc she feels like it. Wishes he doesn't scare her hamsters too much though. Vaer respects Osiria a lot as a person and as a magister. He understands that she's an important figure and therefore isn't as rude when she's around, especially since she's way too nice. He'll feel bad. Complies with her wishes more often than he would for other people bc he did technically overtake her body, and it's not like there's much else he can do lol. Overall they give more of a brother/sister relationship than anything else, and balance each other out quite well

Memes lmao

Tldr: I isekai-ed an oc who is now the supposed magister, and part of the soul of the actual Merlin now follows him around bc his soul booted hers out of her own body 💀 magister stand-in hates people which makes everything so much harder than it needs to be

#rambles over lmao #brainrot is so real #i have one more final tomorrow and it's gonna suck TAT #oughhhh i am so reader for the semester to be overrrrrrrr #but silies first #i kinda wanna make another rambles post on them and their interactions with everyone else lmao #may or may not get to that #also you can actually find the og vaer if you scroll a bit on my page lmao #with his brother and brother's bf #my children <33 #afk journey #afk journey oc #afk merlin #rambles #sketches #doodles

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kb1301 · 4 months ago

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So there's still some post-epilogue Battlegrounds dialogue for Echoes. I got some that talks about Osiris and Saint's experiences, Maya's actions with Saint's reaction to it, something about Vex milk, and Eramis and the Echo.

Read below!

Firstly, we'll deal with the second Battlegrounds mission.

So basically, there's this one dialogue that took place between Osiris and Saint... In regards to Savathûn and the Conductor.

Saint: Osiris, I didn't want to compare our experiences. But now, I truly understand what you endured with Savathûn. Osiris: It was an experience I never wanted you to share. Saint: Yes, yes, we both would sacrifice ourself for each other. But we did not have to... We survived. Osiris: We did.

I don't have much to say but this hit me in the heart when I heard it...

There's another one too post-battle with Saint and Ikora discussing Maya's love for Chioma.

Saint: [sighs] I cannot comprehend what Maya Sundaresh did to Chioma. I-I don't understand how her love could have been so twisted. Ikora: Hm, Maya didn't want her wife back. She wanted an extension of herself. Someone she could control... or didn't need to control. Saint: That is not love. Ikora: No. It is not.

Now, the next ones can be found on the first Battlegrounds mission.

One such is Osiris getting frustrated by the term "Vex milk".

Osiris: Who gave radiolaria such a mundane title? "Vex milk!" As though it's only a byproduct of the Vex. Osiris: It is not a byproduct. It is the Vex. We forget that at our peril.

Lastly, a discussion regarding the Eliksni, about Eramis and Misraaks, between Saint and Ikora.

Saint: Hmm, I wonder where Eramis and House Salvation are. I thought she would be chasing the Echo just like House Dusk. Ikora: I'm sure she'll resurface. Losing support from the Witness and Xivu Arath most likely made her too vulnerable to take action. Ikora: Her House has lost enough people to attrition and defectors. Joining her was a risk, and plenty of Eliksni are seeing the outcome. Saint: Will Misraaks welcome these House Salvation defectors? Ikora: I hope so. We gain nothing through retribution. I think the Kell of Light knows that.

I'm sure there's more dialogue throughout the three Battlegrounds post-epilogue, hope you all can find some!

#kb posts #destiny 2 #destiny the game #episode echoes #echoes spoilers #<- just in case

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oathkeeper-of-tarth · 3 months ago

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Pictures taken seconds before disaster.

You might have received alerts about this mod updating a bunch over the past few days, after me saying I was done with it, in true aylin_origin_final_final(2)final.pak spirit. Well, now I am done with it, unless someone finds some glaring issues.

You might also notice the little icon pop up that says the mod uses Osiris scripting - that's because I now run a little start-of-game script to handle Aylin's tags and some general setup, so she gets tagged as an aasimar in dialogues no matter what race you pick to play as stat-wise, and also to remove the "Baldurian" tag from her, because it just didn't make sense for her to have it. She also, like all origins, now has her own unique "Aylin"/"Really Aylin" tag. This doesn't do much. For now.

Note, since I've seen some confusion about this: there is no new dialogue or reactivity added to the game with this mod. It's all stuff that was already there. Aasimar are simply considered to fall under the "rare races" tag group, which means you'll get a bunch of these "oh, we don't see your kind around here much!" reactions and responses. You'd get the same ones if you were, say, a dragonborn or githyanki. I also don't have the power to change the game's fundamental storyline - this is mostly a cosmetic mod. I say this primarily because of the lovely person who commented to ask me what would happen when they arrived in Act 2 and if playing as Aylin meant the "real one" wasn't imprisoned anymore, which genuinely made my day but also made me vaguely sad.

Alas, no, it will all happen as it always has, no matter my personal willingness to fistfight Balthazar and Ketheric in a parking lot for that face up there. You'll just have two Aylins on screen during some segments which, yeah, is kind of immersion-breaking, but is also honestly a win in my books.

Also redone: her starting equipment! Again, since other origin characters have their own personalised sets, I thought it fitting to have Aylin start with the Vengeance Paladin equipment, except the warhammer is replaced with a greatsword. She also gets a bag with her iconic armour safely stowed away (primarily so that the helmet doesn't interfere with customising her hair in the character creator). It's got the stats of basic plate and no special abilities - it's mostly there for cosmetic purposes.

I also thought she should have a little souvenir.

Wings Unlocked over on mod.io is a nice and simple and noninvasive way I've found to have wings you can turn on and off, aasimar style. This is accomplished by making them an item and equipping them in the underwear slot. You know, truly putting the ass in aasimar.

As a final little starting inventory tidbit, I decided there wasn't enough gay yearning in the game, so I made sure to sprinkle some more in there - while also figuring out the letters/books system. This is something that's probably way too wordy to actually be an in-game text, but I saw a chance to have a bit of fun and I took it.

Full text under the cut.

[Worn Letter]

[A carefully creased and pressed bit of fine stationery, yellowed with age. It appears to have survived much, with parts of it stained and worn beyond legibility despite its owner's clear efforts to preserve it.]

My dearest angel, The days and nights without you at my side have been long, though I try to fill them as best as I can. While I shudder to think what dangers you wade through and what sinister plots you leave crushed in your wake, the thought of you taking the time to write in the midst of it all fills me with warmth beyond compare. We are all as well as can be. Father is as he always is, and I admit to an increasing desire to inform him of our plans to leave for our pilgrimage. But I'm getting ahead of myself; those are words best spoken in person. You asked for tidings - I cannot hope to match your poetic turn of phrase, but I'll relay what sleepy little Reithwin has been up to in your absence. There was an accident with a snapped pulley while some of old master Morfred's men were lifting marble blocks for carving. Miraculously, though I was called to assist at the House of Healing immediately, there were no injuries save for scuffs and bruises. The masons are back on their feet, fretting over ruined scaffolding and delayed statuary work. I took the liberty of trying to reassure them that the Moonmaiden won't mind too badly. In more pleasant news, we found a loving home for the last pup from Squire's litter, so both of you can rest easy at last. She and the potter's children took a shine to each other so quickly, it was a true joy to behold. I'd wager you'll spot them frolicking around when you fly over the riverside fields on your way back. I picture the looks on your beloved, handsome face as I regale you - always so wonderfully expressive! - as we sit huddled together before my fireplace at day's end. Selûne willing, I will have you back in my arms soon. I gaze up at her every night as I await your return, knowing you must be looking upon her yourself, and I pray she keeps you safe in her light. Though your duties to Our Lady send you questing far and wide, I know, as surely as the tides turn and the moon cycles through her path in the sky, she will always guide you back to me, and me to you. Until then, I do the one thing I can, and pour onto this paper whatever feeling these poor words can hold. I love you. I lov--

#dame aylin #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #aylin kintsugi mod #mods #oathkeeper writes things #but when you really think about it #this is a lot of the same joy as 12 year old me pulling apart neverwinter nights #except this time i can help the sad paladin lady #true i still can't *kiss* the paladin lady without mods #but that's because she's simply busy kissing a different lady #and i love that for me #for all of us #praise selune

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lizzieraindrops · 2 years ago

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Destiny is a story about shapes and grief.

I think I may have figured out Destiny. I don't think the primary conflict between the Light and the Darkness is the philosophical issue we thought it was.

I got thinking about it after all this talking, with many others but especially @jazzhandsmcleg, about the way all of The Witch Queen DLC and its 4 seasons have had overarching narratives surrounding trauma and cycles of violence and grief, and the way the Darkness and the Light are characterized by their different approaches to it.

In TWQ, Savathûn is given a true second chance for her species in the Light. But as Ikora points out, she struggles to break free of the learned patterns of the Darkness, continuing the pattern of deception and violence.

Same with Season of the Risen - it’s the Warlords and Dark Ages all over again, but this time it’s the Hive. It forces once again to ask: what does it mean to be given a second chance if this is what you do with it? Temper this with Saladin’s story about the girl from the Dark Ages who he protected, but who became a cruel mortal Warlord in her own right. Crow objects to the mental torture of the Hive Lightbearers and he tries to break from the cycle of interspecies violence, but unintentionally ends up continuing it by killing the Psion and heightening tensions between humans and the Uluran.

Season of the Haunted!!! Literally, the entire thing is about confronting your traumas and greatest fears and the worst parts about yourself and beginning to heal them, making something better from them. Completely changing the game by turning Nightmares that torment into Memories that guide you. Crow with the memory of Uldren, Zavala with that of Safiyah, Caiatl that of Ghaul - and most importantly, resolution focuses on how they, specifically have been held back from healing by their self-incriminating Nightmares. It challenges the cycle of continuing violence on a very personal level. Eris even has patrol dialogue describing the a Nightmare as a thing of pain craving only more pain: "Such is the cycle."

Season of Plunder brings up the very same questions on a much higher organizational level. It gives us Eido and Eramis taking very different jaded vs. new-hope approaches to the legacy of the Whirlwind, asking: can we change? Are we defined by generational trauma forever? Can we continue to grow and change for the better even though it can never be undone? Though Eido is clearly young and naïve, we're clearly given the opportunity and narrative nudge to sympathize with her desire and hope for growth and redemption, both for the Eliksni overall, and for Eramis in particular.

And we're not even done with Season of the Seraph, but it already goes incredibly hard asking the same questions, again from a more personal angle. How far, and through how many generations is trauma transmitted? From the Bray family to Rasputin, to Felwinter to Osiris to Ikora – how do we fix this? How do we fix this? How do you defeat an enemy who IS war itself? What can you do to end an endless cosmic cycle of violence?

Go back and back and back in Destiny's lore even back to D1, and the majority of conflicts seem driven by this cycle of grief and revenge and violence. The entire line of humanity's war with the Hive goes back through Oryx's grief for Crota and the First Crota Fireteam and Eriana-3's grief for her wife Wei Ning. Even the Hive siblings' pact with the Worm Gods, though manipulated by Rhulk, was driven by the pain and grief they endured for themselves and their people, and wanting to escape that cruel pattern. The entire predicament of the Eliksni and their conflict with humans is driven by the trauma and grief and loss of the Whirlwind. Even Caiatl's empire, a conquering force that would be highly regarded by the sword logic, now must reckon with the same kind of loss in the Fall of Torobatl.

How do you escape this cycle and stay free of it?

I think, this year, we are finally seeing the beginnings of an answer.

I can't highly enough recommend the TWQ Collector's Edition lorebook (page scans & transcript) and The Hidden Dossier (page scans & transcript) that immediately follows it. What I've been calling Ikora's theory of "memory and grace" that she develops through the course of these two lore books is a balanced philosophy of memory/Darkness and grace/Light (which honestly deserves an entire post of its own). I think it clearly points toward the final resolution the story of the conflict between the Darkness and the Light.

In light of this, something in the Calus part of the new Lightfall CE lorebook (images, transcript) really jumped out at me.

“The doomed and the damned left the record of their downfall in the OXA. Your star got its name from the oldest myths in that archive. And when your mother told your father that story…the star became your name. A prayer that all will go as it must…and the way it must go is struggle.” “Aiat.” Not a word in Ulurant or any other Cabal tongue. “But Caiatl means something else..” “Yes. ‘It may not always go as it needs to go.’ A good name for a soldier." "A strange name for a daughter," I say. "Your father chose it for your mother's sake. Out of love."

And because the parallel is so overwhelmingly striking, I am once again going to reference philosophy/worldbuilding from the Young Wizards universe, which has great resonance with Destiny lore and which Bungie has been long aware of and has even been referenced in Forsaken-era canon lore.

“all the fair things skewed, all the beauty twisted by the dark Lone Power watching on his steed. If only there were some way he could be otherwise if he wanted to! For here was his name, a long splendid flow of syllables in the Speech, wild and courageous in its own way—and it said that he had not always been so hostile; that he got tired sometimes of being wicked, but his pride and his fear of being ridiculed would never let him stop. Never, forever, said the symbol at the very end of his name, the closed circle that binds spells into an unbreakable cycle and indicates lives bound the same way.” [...] “Nita bent quickly over the Book and, with the pen, in lines of light, drew from that final circle an arrow pointing upward, the way out, the symbol that said change could happen—if, only if—and together they finished the Starsnuffer’s name in the Speech, said the new last syllable, made it real.” Excerpt From: Diane Duane. “So You Want to Be a Wizard, New Millennium Edition.”

CAIATL’S NAME IS LITERALLY THE UP-AND-OUT SYMBOL.

I know I'm probably only talking to the handful of Destiny players from the (very small) Young Wizards fandom, but what you need to know is that this moment is pivotal and sets up the series-long theme of hope for an eventual exit from the cycle. It's the incredibly small, overwhelmingly improbable possibility of a second chance, a new start for the Lone Power, the source of all strife and suffering, who itself is driven by loss and pain. A concept of extended grace that is inherently tied to the philosophy of the Light.

“Billions of years, it took. All the redemptions there have ever been went toward this; from the greatest to the least. And finally in the fullness of time you came along, and took my role, of your own will, and woke up a race powerful enough to change the whole Universe, and gave them the fire.” She glanced up at the mobiles and smiled. “How could he resist such a bait? He took the gamble: he always does. And losing, he won.” [...] “The Defender reached down and put a hand into the shadow. “And we are going where such matters are transcended… where all his old pains will shift. Not forgotten, but transformed. Life in this universe will never have such a friend. And as for His inventions… look closely at Death, and see what it can become.” The long, prone darkness began to burn, from inside, the way a mountain seems to do with sunset. “Brother,” the Defender said. “Come on. They’re waiting.” Excerpt From: Diane Duane. “High Wizardry New Millennium Edition.”

This is the devil’s second chance, its homecoming. Grace among the memory. How do we heal this? By fixing it. By making and TAKING that opportunity of grace.

Likewise, Destiny is shaping up into its own universe’s story of this Reconfiguration, the remaking of everything that exists through the act of a second chance, both offered and taken, with full awareness of the irreversibility of harm already caused.

Destiny isn’t the story of the light and the darkness fighting each other. That happens, but that’s not what it’s ABOUT.

It’s “And I know exactly what we are. We’re best frenemies with a history of intense mutual hurt and messy reconciliation, leaving a deep tenderness as well as an almost impenetrable knot of scars. What could be simpler?” (Chalco)

It's “For so long, I believed peace was beyond my reach. No more. I have found it in guiding others down the same path that saved me. But… I might allow myself to want more than peace. What, I am not certain. Is joy the word? Might I find that again?” (Eris)

It's “Second chances… hm. Turns out I've been using mine wrong. I thought being a Guardian was my destiny. That wielding the Light for good was the most I had to offer. But it's clear now. This is what the Traveler chose me for. I was reforged in the Light for a purpose. To remake something dead and gone… into something beautiful. To learn how to forge something new from what we were. Everything Uldren did to the Reef, the Scorn… Fikrul. I have a responsibility — no — a calling to make them whole. And… I can't replace Cayde. But I can cover his old patrols — maybe organize the Hunters a bit, if they'll let me. Clean up some of my mess. I don't know if I can fix everything Uldren left broken… but I can try.” (Crow)

We aren’t defeating the Darkness. That’s never what it’s been about. It’s about breaking the cycle of trauma and grief with memory and grace. We're transcending the Final Shape, but we're not here to destroy it or become it. We’re harmonizing the Darkness and the Light into a sustainable balance to create something new from the wounded remains.

We're here to heal the broken relationship between the Winnower and the Gardener.

That's all that it is, in the end. They had a falling out, and now they hurt, and they hurt each other, and everything else, forever. Breaking free from that cycle begins and ends with them.

Is that fair? No, it's not.

But Destiny is – unhingedly, brilliantly, paradoxically – a FPS game about how to stop killing each other, growing ever more into a framework of restorative and reparative justice.

The story says, we are all culpable, we have all done awful shit and have endless potential to do more awful shit – AND, most critically, we all have the potential to do better (grace). AND, the act of making the conscious choice to do so and letting that happen is the only way for things to get better (memory).

The Collapse happened and it was horrible, the Red War happened and it was horrible, the Great Disaster happened and it was horrible, Twilight Gap happened and it was horrible...AND?? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RESPOND? The Whirlwind happened and it was horrible! The Fall of Torobatl happened and it was horrible! Your species' Choice was stolen and you became the most prolifically violent killers in the universe and it was and is horrible! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

Are you going to make it more horrible? Or are you going to make it BETTER????

Are you going to fight for the Final Shape, or for the gentle kingdom ringed in spears?

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