#No seriously. Don't tell Zavala.

[beyond-the-light]

Secret Hiding Spot.

Don't tell anyone I'm hiding here now y'hear? Keep this secret between us.

[haldenlith]

I'm afflicted with Ardwynn brainworms, so I gift you all a random conversation in my head between him and one of his right-hand men (or women, in this case) in his crew. A general heads up, the conversation is about sex. I'll probably build on this or include it in actual fic later, but for now it's just a silly little vignette set after TFS. Spoiler tagging only because of that and references to Crow being Hunter Vanguard.

Ardwynn listened in on the radio, listening to Crow give a report to Zavala. He wondered when The Vanguard would eventually figure out his people had bugged their comms. He was almost excited for it. It'd give him another fun little challenge to overcome, and an excuse to see Crow.

He paused his work of marking new cache locations and updating his map, biting his lip. "Mmmf, he sounds so hot when he's being such a diligent little soldier. I could listen to him all day." Eurydice looked up from her own files and rolled her eyes.

"Have you ever considered the fact that you think about that man entirely too much?" Ardwynn's head jerked back in confusion.

"What do you mean? I think about him a normal amount, considering our history." Eurydice arched up an eyebrow.

"... History?"

"... Uldren Sov?"

"What's him having been Prince of the Reef got to do with anything?"

"... We both came from the same damn place. I grew up listening to his stories. Oh, man... I had the biggest crush on him when I was teenager."

"Okay, now it's getting weird." As Eurydice began to feel pangs of regret for even commenting, Ardwynn sighed dreamily, orange eyes staring off, filling with distant, perverse nostalgia.

"I jerked off so much while fantasizing about him."

"Did you miss the part where I said this was getting weird?"

Ardwynn grinned and motioned emphatically with his hands while continuing, "So much."

"Ardwynn, what is it with you and sex? I've met some horny people before, but god-damn do you take the cake," she replied, motioning to him with a stack of papers in her hand. She'd been making notes on flight reports. They needed to update their flight routes, given everything that had happened. Then again, they weren't going out to raid The Reef nearly as much anymore, now that Ardwynn's hatred of Mara seems to have cooled.

Ardwynn straightened up, tilting his head to the side. "Eury, imagine for a moment, your dream man -" he paused. "... You're a lesbian, right?"

"... I'm concerned that you're asking, but yes."

He nodded and resumed, "Imagine, for a moment, your dream woman. She is the hottest damn woman you have ever seen. And then imagine that you finally get to have sex with her and the sex is just... SO GOOD. Ten out of ten." He paused a moment, looking at Eurydice for a reaction. Her deadpan stare and lack of said reaction spurred him on. "That woman is gonna take up a large portion of your brain after that encounter."

She continued to stare at him.

"Ardwynn. I... don't know how to tell you that some people do not think about sex that much."

The Awoken man flailed his arms and a strangled noise of confusion and frustration escaped him. "But Eury!!! SEX IS SO MUCH FUN!" He suddenly froze, wrinkling his nose. "Good sex, just to be clear. Bad sex is terrible and a waste of everyone's time. But seriously! It's fun! So much fun! It feels good, it's exhilarating, it's a little bit competitive, you can spice it up, you make it tender, you can be rough... "

"I'mma just stop you and just say that I do not care. You can be go be a slut over there, gettin' all hard for the new Hunter Vanguard, I'm going to be over here worrying about where the hell we're going to get the parts to repair three of our ships." Eurydice turned her green gaze back down to her work. Ardwynn heaved a heavy sigh and looked back down at his map.

"... I am a slut." His brows furrowed. "A slut that asked for a fucking map of The Last City YESTERDAY. How hard is it to get a map of this place? It's been here forever! I'm starting to feel like no one listens to me anymore."

"I wonder why..." Eurydice muttered under her breath.

"Hey now, that is uncalled-for, young lady." Ardwynn waved a pin in her direction. "Young mochacinno."

"Ardwynn-"

"Young dark espresso with stardust swirl on top."

"Stop. Neither of us are going to get anything done with you acting a fool over there. Shut up and go back to work." The Awoken pouted and slowly returned his attention to his map.

"... No respect."

[ahungeringknife]

365: May 10

Ikora rose an eyebrow when Cayde came around her side of the table. He didn't say anything just sort of hummed and made noise as he looked over her papers. Zavala was engaged with something along the wall that monitored the City's defenses. "Did you need something, Cayde?" Ikora asked once she was tired of his snooping.

"I think... I think something messed up happened," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked not looking like she was giving him her full attention but actually doing so.

"I had lunch with the Guardian today," he said. "She said some things that... worried me."

"What of?"

"Something big happened. She said," and he signed the next part, knowing Ikora would understand, 'They're fine. Kaley and Rigel finally went on a date. Life and death situation you-'

"Well they are Guardians," Ikora said mildly.

"We haven't sent Glitterbomb on a mission since Kass disobeyed a direct order not to go into the Black Garden," Cayde said. "There's been no 'life or death situation' since then. Right? Unless you're not telling me something?" he put his hands on the table and looked at her hard. Cayde could be a real funny guy but you did not mess with his Hunters. He might have hated being Vanguard with every circuit in his body but he took the job very seriously. More seriously than most people realized honestly.

"I tell you everything," Ikora said.

"We both know that isn't true but I appreciate the attempt," Cayde said, not taking it personally. "Zavala's said nothing?"

"Zavala leaves Hunters to you and Xander. He's got no need to strong arm them," Ikora said mildly.

"You don't think Xander's done something behind our back?"

"I'm sure he has. But this? No," she said casually. "Since Saladin returned to Russia he's been much more agreeable." Yeah no shit. Saladin and Xander got along like oil and water and had since Cayde had set foot in the Tower for the first time. Xander was at least polite when he told Saladin to go fuck himself. Usually at any rate.

"So what'd they do?"

"How would I know-- don't give me that look, Cayde," she tutted.

"You're the spy master. Know some spy shit," he said bluntly, not impressed.

"I have a lot to do. Go worry yourself somewhere else," she said dismissively.

Cayde huffed and walked off, arms folded. "Sundance call up the Grey Dawn," he said as he wandered around the Hall, not looking at anything specific. He just thought better while walking.

"You know they hate being summoned."

"Oh well," he shrugged.

"Cayde," Grey's sultry voice came out of Sundance. If the Grey Dawn didn't scare the pants off him they absolutely had a voice that'd make him rip his pants off around them. "Is there something you need?"

"How's your rookie?"

"Wonderful. I don't enjoy social calls from the Vanguard. What do you want?"

No, he supposed they didn't. The Grey Dawn didn't really do authority. They only hung around as a courtesy to help train the rare Nightstalker that showed up. And of course now they'd taken on a rookie. Cayde had looked at their file when they had. Most Hunters eventually became a mentor, took on a rookie under their cloak to show them the ropes. The Grey Dawn had been training Nighstalkers for centuries but had never taken one as a rookie until a few months ago. It was... odd. Very out of character for the ultimate loner on the hunt.

"You guys do anything fun recently?"

"We always have fun. You'll have to be more specific, Cayde," and that made him shiver. Fuck that person freaked him out so much. Shouldn't. They were a Guardian. Talking to old Guardians was always unsettling and Grey reveled in it. You'd think Cayde would have a worse time talking to actual problems like Ana or Shin but no. Shin was just a petty brat with a chip on his shoulder and Ana was just manic in her search for who she had been. But they weren't... off. Maybe that was why the Guardian liked Grey. They were both a bit off.

"Something dangerous. Real fun around real death, that kinda thing," Cayde said casually, standing in front of a display of the EDZ. Lights marked different fireteams in the zones doing strikes or running patrol. A triangular mark were their herd hunters who helped the wild predator populations keep the deer and bison herds in check so they didn't starve themselves come winter. His glowing eyes tracked each beacon, Guardian or not, on the map, attaching it to a report or mission brief that had come across his desk.

The Grey Dawn didn't answer him but they also didn't hang up. "Did she say something?" they said after a solid minute of tense silence. "What did she say? She-- hasn't spoken to me about it."

"She said your Warlocks hooked up," Cayde said. "What happened?" he glanced at Sundance who'd moved closer to him to keep the volume quiet, the conversation private. He made a motion with his eyes and she slid into the hood of his cloak so she could whisper it into his ear.

Again the Grey Dawn said nothing but didn't hang up. This time the silence stretched for a long time. "Come out to the tree in the back," they said and Sundance closed.

Cayde immediately turned and left the Hall of the Vanguard.

He found the Grey Dawn sitting on a planter backed by a shrub that had just been in bloom but now was full of wilting flowers. Characteristically they were dressed all in gray and white and everything about them was washed out like someone had taken the saturation slider and slid it down on them.

He sat next to them. "What happened?"

"What'd she say?" the Grey Dawn asked right back. Cayde repeated the sign to them. They sighed and looked up at the clear sky above them. "There is no report. This didn't happen."

"But it didn't?"

"It doesn't make any sense."

"What happened?" Cayde pressed.

"We went into a Vex stronghold. That's the best I can describe it without sounding like a madman. We were in there for-- too long. We fought a lot of Vex. We died a lot of times. We were drawn down into the heart of the stronghold where a great Vex Mind who could control the flow of time was waiting for us."

"Did you kill it?"

"... I assume so?" they sounded unsure. Cayde didn't feel fear often. But hearing someone like the Grey Dawn sound unsure? Someone he knew for a fact was powerful and capable. They didn't know? It made him... uneasy. He didn't want to call it fear. "When we came out of our deaths it was gone. Kassandra said she shattered it."

"And then you came back out?"

"We climbed back out," they looked off into the middle distance. "It almost got us so many times even after we'd killed the time's conflux," they said. Cayde didn't know what that meant. He knew Sundance was recording everything they said. If and when he'd share it with Ikora. Their eyes snapped back to the present. "We haven't really talked about it. That's all she said?"

"That was it," Cayde said.

"I'm worried about her," they said.

"You haven't before. Why now?"

The Grey Dawn's face grew drawn and thin. "You know how you told me she killed that Devil Archon her first day or something?"

"Yeah?"

"And I said that was fucked up? How'd someone so young show that much power?"

"Yeah?"

"It was fucked up," was all the Grey Dawn said.

"She was fucked up?" he clarified.

"Never seen anything like it," they said quietly. They crossed themselves in an old traditional Hunter's mark over their collar bone. A warding against danger. Cayde hadn't seen it used since before the Great Disaster over two centuries ago.

"You guys okay?" Cayde asked.

"Tsk, me? No," it wasn't about the dissent and Cayde knew that. "The kids though? Probably. They're strong."

"Should we be worried about the Guardian?" Cayde asked.

"Did she seem okay to you?" They didn't answer the question.

"Quiet but she seemed fine," he said.

"I'm her mentor so I worry but... I'm supposed to, you know?" they shrugged. "But she did seem okay?"

"She wasn't screaming mad. Should probably eat more," he said mildly.

The Grey Dawn huffed, "Trust me. Me and Ghost harp on her all the time about it. She just forgets. Gets excited about something, focused on the mission, and food becomes an after thought." They sighed and looked back up at the sky. "Don't tell Ikora, will ya?"

"I don't know why you think I would," Cayde pretended to be insulted.

The Grey Dawn made a finger gun right at Sundance in his hood, trying to hide behind his neck. "I see your little brain cell in there. She's smart. I don't need Warlocks or the Hidden getting in our business," they said.

"You haven't told me anything interesting enough to tell Ikora. You guys just fought some Vex."

The Grey Dawn chuckled and if Cayde didn't know any better it almost sounded like a sob, or insanity. "Yeah. Just some Vex," and they pushed off their knees and stood. Cayde watched them walk away, their long white cloak had strange markings on it he'd never seen before, metallic and almost like a mechanical spine that flared and became wings at the shoulders.

"On a scale of one to fucked how much do you think I should be worried about this?" Cayde asked Sundance once they were gone.

"Hmmm," she thought about it seriously. "I'd say somewhere around not enough to keep you up at night but enough we should still tell Ikora."

"Yeah. That's about where I thought too," he said. He got up and headed back to the Hall of the Vanguard to do just that.

[titanicfreija]

Insistent

"I need you to go away."

Freija and Sunny stood at the door of the barracks, having just come back from fishing on Nessus, Freija still in her dirty armor and a gun on her hip. Sunny knew better than to expect innocence. "What's going on?"

"I got you a surprise and you're not allowed to see it until I've set it up," she explained shortly.

"You're not good at surprises," Sunny told her guardian, tilting at her.

Freija flicked a whisker on the Hareball shell. "That is because you aren't either. If I could just be all, "Oh, nothing, I'm not up to anything at all, but seriously, can you give me space?", you'd spy. You're still gonna spy, and I've already told Rex about it so he's gonna be a remarkable pain in your ass if you try to sneak in."

Sunny froze in the air, glaring at her guardian and wondering again how many cogs were in there-- and how to get them all to turn at once. "Did you. Are you. Did you plan this on your own? Did Thomas help?"

Freija feigned pain, placing her hand on her heart and rocking away with a groan. "Oh, come on! I'm not bright, I'll be the first one to tell.... Maybe fifth after Rex, Thomas, you, and Zavala-- but-- Look, you're predictable and I can spot a pattern, okay? You sneak and spy and ask and dig and pry-- it's what you do. I love you for it, but you cannot leave a question unanswered."

Sunny sank bashfully to her guardian's chest level, ears lying sideways.

"Which is why I have taken extra measures to keep you out while I set up your surprise. I'm really hoping that the promise is good enough to keep you back, but if it takes me more than an hour, you'll start chirping."

~

Sunny slowly hovered forward and pressed her shell to the center of Freija's chestplate. "I never give you credit for the brains you have."

"Good. You won't expect them of me," Freija laughed, kissing the air over the ghost. "Go see your friends, go check on your other friends, go argue with Rex, go do something. I love you. I shouldn't take long. Go see about the paint guy again, that bear and rabbit thing was cute, the apartment could stand some colors. Dunno what to make for Thomas, but you could do a gambit thing for Three real easy."

With that, Freija vanished through the door, leaving Sunny hovering in the barren hallway of the Tower Barracks.

~~

Upon her return, Sunny felt better-- she did need to catch up on her socializing, and lots of guardians were in the Tower for the events, so lots of Ghosts who rarely visited were also in the Tower. Listening to everyone else's stories and commiserating (and silently thanking her luck that she and Freija got along) felt better, too, even if it was schadenfreude.

Freija's comms were perpetually set to a fairly small freqency, but she probably wasn't wearing her gear anymore. Thomas left a speaker on his table, though.

"Where are you?" Freija asked in the comm. Sunny used an ear to tap on the door.

Opening the door, Sunny didn't see anything, and she scanned the room for changes.

A corner that had long collected discarded armor and gun parts and ammo had been cleared and now featured a... table?

Not a table. The four legs and flat top stood, but contained a flat spread of sand within a deep tray.

"What is it?" Sunny asked.

Freija took a deep breath, as if bracing herself. "Okay. So. You said the drawing thing with your petals--"

"Freija--"

Freija lifted a hand under Sunny to 'support', letting her rest on the light bubble she usually emitted. "You don't have to use it until you want to, and you never have to use it at all. Thomas said he liked the idea and Three won't care as long as no sand gets in any trigger springs."

Sunny couldn't even name the churning inside, something like being sick with joy, and it made her want to beat her guardian about the head with her body.

"Anyway-- so this neat table thingie, which I found in a book believe it or not, sounded perfect. It's supposed to be a meditation thing? Or something? From some ancient ass cultures that were ancient before ancient was ancient-- but people like 'em, apparently, and draw stuff in them with sticks."

Sunny turned to look at it again, surprised to hear that. "So you didn't... look for it? No... trying-- did you make this?!"

Freija's face fell blank as if trying to hide an expression. "Uh. Are you angry if I did?"

Sunny couldn't speak, and she flew over to study it again.

"Anyway, it was a thing about meditation, which Thomas did point me at, and while I thought it sounded like something I'd turn into glass on a bad day, it sounded exactly like something you'd draw on the way you said you drew on stuff."

"You made this?" Sunny repeated.

"I mean, I ordered the pieces. Thomas did help me with specs, but only to double check my work, that was just math and geometry, I can do that."

The plain metal had been shaped to fit together, bolts and nuts and washers and all, even the crossbeams on the legs, and she made sure the ones holding the sand were soft and...

"Oh, Freija," Sunny whispered, circling the table.

The titan beamed, swaying back and forth where she stood. "And you still don't have to use it until you're ready, I'm happy you're happy. Oh!" Freija dove under the table to reach an edge against the wall, flipping a switch and spanned the table with a protective translucent covering that looked similar to helmet glass. "For when you do want to save something for a bit. I know the art is meant to be impermanent, but long enough for you to decide to erase it, kind of thing."

She flipped it back off before she clambered out to stand. "So, yeah. I got you a surprise. Thank you for not breaking into the apartment to see it before I finished, the work in progress was abysmal."

"Is Thomas here?"

"He's with Rhys."

Sunny couldn't make her ears stand up properly, and they flopped down. "You. Designed this. Got pieces made for it. And put it together? On your own?"

"Thomas double checked--"

"--double checked, yes, but that doesn't count as doing, that's supervising. You did this on your own?"

Freija leaned to poke the sand, writing something on a corner in clumsy lettering. "You don't have to make it sound like I'm that stupid. I do geometry all the time, my breachload grenade trajectory is second to Three and that's it."

"But I didn't notice?"

Finished with her writing, Freija stepped away from the table, a frown pulling her lips. "You slumped real hard there for a minute. I did it one of the days you were hiding on the fridge, got all the measurements of the barracks when I moved in and noticed that corner was empty in the way a junk drawer is, and it was mine and Thomas's, 'cos Three's is all in her room. So figured I'd fill the space and give you a thing."

Sunny scanned it again, seeing Freija's drawing (Freija loves Sunny) into the corner.

With little warning, she flew to Freija's chest and applied fifty pounds of pressure. Freija, used to the ghost 'hug', pressed her palm to Sunny and held tight. "I'm glad you like it."

"You're so sweet!"

"I gotta give something back, you literally keep me alive," Freija teased, 'scratching' the back of the shell as Sunny let up the pressure. "The switch should be within reach, I didn't make or get or look for any tools, but apparently there's things like... forks? Rakes? Sticks? I don't know. And rocks. And those tiny grown-up trees."

"Bonsai," Sunny told her, still marveling. "You're such a herbo."

"What's a herbo?"

~~~

@annieruok94

[imagination0708]

Starstruck (Part 6)

It was a night after the big premiere and I decided to talk to Tom about meeting my family, after all, I had already met his and they loved me. So this was how the conversation went down.

"Hey baby" I started a conversation, you were both lying in bed and he was playing video games. "Yeah angel? Do you need something?" He asked, his eyes glancing at me lying comfortably on his chest before going back to being glued on to the screen.

"Well.., I was thinking about introducing you to my family, like maybe next week. What do you think?" I carefully brought it up, afraid of scaring him.

"Are you serious? Yeah, I would love to angel." Tom said, finally pausing the game and looking into my eyes, causing me to let out a breathe that I didn't even know I was holding in.

A week later:

You were seating in the passenger seat in Tom's car. You both were headed to your parents house. You took a glance at Tom and could tell that he was super nervous. "Hey baby, there's no need to be nervous. I'm sure my family would love you just like how yours love me." I said, placing my hand on his thigh just as he would whenever I got nervous.

"Thanks, Princess. It's just this means so much to me. I really love you, you know." Tom said, causing my heart to melt.

"I love you more, darling." I said. I saw a wide smile spread across his face as he continued to focus on the road.

Around 20 minutes later, I was standing at the front door of my parents house giving Tom a short prep talk to hyper him up. In Tom's hands, he was holding a bag of gifts for everyone in my family. After that talk, I raised my hand to knock on the door but Tom beat me to it. We waited a little, our hands still interlocked. A few seconds later, my mom and dad opened the door. "Hi mom, hey dad. This is my boyfriend, Tom Holland." I greeted my parents and gave them each a hug.

"Hey princess, hi Tom." My mother greeted giving Tom a hug as well. My dad however, looked at Tom as though he was inspecting him.

"Hi Mr and Mrs Zavala, it is a pleasure to meet you. Y/n has told me so many wonderful things about you." Tom said. I nudge his shoulder telling him to give them the presents.

"Oh right, I got your family some gifts-" Tom was cut off by my mother ushering us in. When I got into the living room, I saw Hayden and Brayden waiting on the couch. They were both cleaning their hunting guns that didn't even needed cleaning. It was most likely to threaten Tom.

"Tom, this is my older brothers, Hayden and Brayden. Don't worry about the guns. They're just trying to threaten you." I said smiling.

"Why, hello there. I'm Brayden." Brayden said while giving Tom the "if you hurt my baby sister I swear" look.

"Hi, I'm Hayden." Hayden said shaking his hand. "Tough grip you go there, mate." Hayden added. Just then my dad joined us and my mother called for me. Just great.

"Dad, brothers, don't threaten him, please. I seriously like him. And have a good chat." I told the three boys.

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing, peanut." Hayden and Brayden agreed.

"Of course, Princess. Go help your mother." My dad said, looking at me with pure love in his eyes.

I slowly walked in the kitchen turning back every few seconds, unsure of whether it was a smart choice to put him there. "There you are, princess. Could you help me with chopping the vegetables? Thanks." My mother said.

[plasmometer]

ISKA-2's MASTERDOC

so i decided to collect all info i have on iska in one post, prepare yourselves. iska-2 is an exo titan from tangled shore, currently living in sav's throne world. she's neurodivergent and a minor and has some cool survival skills, mostly travels alone. she's cheerful and somewhat naive, but honest, brave and really good at guessing anyone's intentions. not in a good relationships with the vanguad.

20 QUESTIONS

did this on twitter, will copy here

1. her ghost's name is saltpetre, and she's a thousand times more badass than iska herself

2. iska was rezzed on the tangled shore where her body was laying for a long time. saltpetre raised her almost from nothing. she lived there, in underground tunnels, for a long time after resurrection.

3. she was revived right after the red war, lived alone for ages, and then was kidnapped by a guardian and brought to the tower around season of the splicer. left again after season of the lost

4. iska uses arc only, because it's the most natural subclass for her and no one taught her anything else. but she learned some void tricks from lightbearer knights

5. she was very confused after the resurrection because saltpetre has begun to explain things and rules right away, not caring about her state of mind at all, and only thing iska wanted back then is eat sand

6. iska didn't struggle learning light at all, it was easier for her than use traditional weapons. light flows through her like a stream, and she has trouble holding it inside. you can receive electric shock if you touch her when she's sleeping

7. she doesn't remember anything but her name from her past, but saltpetre knows that she was a botanist from golden age colonial ship. she had a neural modulator to correct her mental state, but now it isn't working and no one cares about her that much to implant it again

8. she's too hyperactive and easily distracted to handle, so she's usually alone. iska feels more comfortable around aliens than other guardians and prefers their company, even if she has to establish connections for a long time

9. neither, because iska is afraid of drifter. she also is afraid of zavala, lord shaxx, mara sov, lord saladin, and eris morn (but respects her deeply)

10. she's totally ok with the darkness as power, but the witness and its disciples give her very bad feelings. she doesn't communicate with them nor interact with the pyramid ships

11. she's ok with the traveler and the light too, but she thinks a lot of guardians don't appreciate their gift enough. when she was resurrected, saltpetre gave her the rules that will control their relationships - no stupid things, no gross things, and no dangerous situations for the ghost. iska takes this seriously, she knows that saltpetre will continue her life alone if any rule is broken

12. despite everything, iska and saltpetre are in best relationships possible. saltpetre threatens to kill everyone who wants to harm iska, and iska respects saltpetre's gift. saltpetre tells that she rezzed her as a joke, but in fact she noticed iska's clear mind and honesty.

saltpetre has threatened to make a nice ghost-shaped hole in spider's head and called immaru "guardianless" she's a vile creature

13. iska was forced to be a guardian and she doesn't really want it. after the appearance of hive lightbearers she was really disappointed in the vanguard and left to live in the throne world

14. this is the most interesting thing, her nightmare is shaped like savathun. it is silent most of the time, just laughing at her struggles. that's why she is being questioned by the vanguard right now

15. iska's favourite guardian event is to land on a planet and survive for a month with nothing on hand. she may appear childish, but she is actually a very experienced ranger, she can use anything at her advantage

16. iska has no duty, she does whatever she wants. all the time. she enjoys making cave paintings, usually featuring her and important events in her life, or something she wants to happen. she communicates with aliens, success depends on the situation, but she's happy anyways

17. she doesn't interact with human civilians because she visits the tower rarely, but she has some connections with eliksni and hive lightbearers. she helps eliksni a lot, doing some tasks for them, and hive... it's difficult.

there is a hive technician, melakheth, who doesn't try to kill iska on sight. their relationships are far from friendly and they're still figuring each other out, but both are patient and working together building trust

18. iska could have all glimmer in the world, but she doesn't need any. cool rocks are more important

19. ISKA'S POCKETS

- a spotted rock - some herbs - a lighter - dust from unknown places - eliksni symbol of protection

20. iska's secret just before the exorcism iska visited savathun, and she whispered something to her. iska is silent and doesn't reveal her words to anyone, even her ghost. no one knows what savathun said to her back then.

fact!!! iska speaks eliksni better than human

REFS

painted this myself, sooo most accurate

without helmet

with helmet, front & back

FUN STUFF

you'rev

resurrection

tangled shore

throne world

iska and melakheth

more melakheth (last one is final design i think)

little things

that's all! you can write questions and comments about iska-2 in my ask box or how do you call it, i would be very happy to answer and illustrate

[thefirstknife]

Some of the more interesting bits of today's reset and dialogues. I loved this from Mara. She acknowledges her participation in steering Uldren towards his downfall AND she realises that she will have to do better with him in the future. This is from the ending dialogue when you finish the exotic quest for the Ager's Scepter.

I want to mention something from the start of the week because I've seen people get angry (but when do they not when it comes to Mara?)

Long post under read more:

It's about the discussion she and Ikora have at the terminal. Hot take, but both Mara and Ikora are right and wrong in the argument. Transcript:

Mara: "How long have your Hidden been privy to Uldren's resurrection?" Ikora: "Long enough to watch over him in your absence." Mara: "And you didn't direct him home. Why?" Ikora: "There was a concern he'd pick up some old habits." Mara: "You know the Garden made him sick. Riven twisted his mind. Eris would have seen it. She is not so easily deceived by skin-deep tricks." Ikora: "It's true I made mistakes, out of an idea of justice... out of grief. Are you leveling this same scrutiny toward Petra? Wasn't she supposed to be watching his grave?" Mara: "Petra has paid her dues. The Vanguard murdered him and has yet to pay theirs." Ikora: "We both lost family. I am sorry for my part in yours, but... Crow has been treated --" Mara: "My brother is dead. He was exhumed; his body twisted into a caricature. You had your vengeance." Ikora: "Is that what you're after? Cayde... I still feel that grief like a stone caught in my chest. Some days, it's more pronounced than others. Vengeance didn't erode that grief." Mara: "Then tell me. Who am I to blame? Who sent him to Savathun's clutches? Who bludgeoned Uldren into a scared animal and drove him from his home?" Ikora: "You did, Mara. And those Guardians that hurt him, did so out of misguided anger. Don't make the same mistake. Don't make my mistake."

This is some heavy stuff and there's a lot going on. First, I like that Mara doesn't respond at the end. It's uncharacteristic for her. It shows that Ikora's words did something to her. This is evident in the exotic quest later which I've already put at the beginning of the post. She's had time to think and she's admitting the part she played.

I dislike some of Ikora's arguments a lot. First, "concern that he'd pick up some old habits" goes entirely against the Vanguard policy and belief that Guardians are new people. They were only concerned because of bias towards Uldren due to what he's done. And Crow knows this! He said so last week when he wondered why is he the only Guardian judged by his past life. No one else is subjected to the same way of thinking. This is the reason why Guardians aren't supposed to dig around their past lives. Obviously with Crow, there's no way for him to avoid it, but the argument that, if he knew, he'd just magically become Uldren (and not just base!Uldren, but murderer!Uldren who will... I don't know, go after Ikora and Zavala or the innocent people in the City?) really shows how much the Vanguard mistreated Crow.

I also dislike the move to Petra. As Mara says, Petra has paid her dues. She really has. Let's not forget that Uldren was not just some guy to her or just her Prince; he was her friend. She had to watch him spiral out of control due to things she couldn't help him with, she had to make the choice to put him away until Mara comes back and at the end she had to make the choice to kill him. This trauma has shaped her.

The Vanguard hasn't paid any dues. That's kinda the whole point of Mara's questioning. Ikora tries to explain that this was due to grief and losing family, but pray tell Ikora, has Mara not lost family too? Mara mentions this immediately as expected.

Ikora is however right to say that it was ultimately Mara's actions that led to the situation we're currently in. The Vanguard had no say in Awoken royal family affairs. Mara knows this, she said as much in the past few weeks and other lore in general: she spoke at length about the distance she pushed between them out of perceived necessity, the need to shape Uldren in a way to make him less like himself (since she disliked his recklessness and dangerous behaviours), but ultimately that only made things worse. She's aware that his venture into the Black Garden was fuelled by Uldren's need to prove himself. Ironically, in an effort to make him loyal and devoted, Mara pushed him into more recklessness instead of stopping it. She's aware of this. Asking Ikora "who am I to blame" was just waiting to be roasted.

But Mara is also right to ask about how the Vanguard treated both Uldren and Crow. How they washed their hands from killing him "officially" by hiding behind the Guardian, how nobody in the Tower answered for this. Their treatment of Crow as well: forcing him into hiding, isolating him. Excusing all the suffering he felt at the hands of the Guardians as "misguided anger." The torture he endured from Guardians just for showing his face was so much more than just "misguided anger" and Mara is right to feel heated and enraged when she talks about this and when she asks her questions. She expressed similar distaste and anger in a voice line with Glint in regards to how the Spider treated Crow.

I got an interesting dialogue at the end of my Shattered Realm run which also made me really irritated on behalf of both Crow and Mara when it comes to the Vanguard. Ikora asks Crow why didn't he send his latest report and Crow replies that he's had a lot going on and a lot to deal with. Which is true! He's not the Drifter who doesn't send reports out of spite; Crow genuinely wants to help but he's struggling with a lot of things that we can't even begin to unravel. He deserves patience and understanding. However, the following then ensues.

Ikora:

Crow:

Ikora:

This last part is a nice sentiment. But excuse me. Crow has literally been resurrected, isolated, tortured, enslaved and then "rescued" only to be thrust into a cage in the Tower and given "responsibilities." He is not obliged to be the Vanguard's errand boy. It's honestly quite rude from Ikora to tell him that he has to take his responsibilities seriously. The man hasn't lived a single day in his life without anxiety over whether he'll be tortured to death in the street if he shows his face.

I know the Vanguard gave him protection from the Spider and stuff to do (which he enjoys) and accepted him into their ranks. That's all good. But there's very little empathy here that acknowledges the life he's lived. Crow deserves to experience things that aren't isolation, imprisonment and following orders.

And most of all, he deserves to know the truth. Something the Vanguard has denied him for almost a year now. I know Savathun's schemes were involved and specifically, they were involved through impersonating Osiris which made a lot of people turn a blind eye. But now that this is known?

Crow can't share his burdens without knowing the truth. That's the whole problem. Everybody, except him, knows who he was. Everyone looks at him and treats him through that lens. He can't unburden himself without being told half-truths and being denied information. His burdens exist precisely because he doesn't know while everyone else does. So while the sentiment is nice, it reads more like a "that sucks buddy" than a genuine offer to help him with what is really bothering him.

On the other hand, obviously sharing the truth is difficult. His past life is more complicated than for most other Guardians. He's been through things that other Guardians haven't. The situation is complex on every single level and every character has a reason for the choices they've made.

Sometimes those choices are wrong and they are mistakes. And Mara isn't the only one who made the wrong choices and mistakes, consciously and unconsciously. It's a disservice to the complexity of the situation, Ikora, the Vanguard and Uldren to boil everything down to "Mara bad." Doesn't make for a compelling story.

That's what I wanted to address in detail because on the surface, it's easy to just dismiss either of the character you dislike more. And that's just reducing the story to a spectrum of black and white that Destiny really, ironically, isn't about.

[gaurdianmaple]

Campfire

"I'm going back to the Tower, are you coming Guardian?" I plan on reporting the High Celebrant's activity to Zavala," Osiris asked Maple.

Maple had been out in the EDZ with Crow, still looking for Paracausal Feathers and different parts for the cryptolyth lure. Several hours ago they were joined by Osiris, who claimed to just be in the area delivering a message to Devrim. Though Maple seriously doubted that he wasn't just using it as an excuse to keep an eye on Crow.

The Young Wolf didn't answer straight away, turning to look at Crow. She had planned to spend the rest of Crow's 'leave' time from the Tangled Shore with him for training purposes. Osiris stopping by wasn't too surprising, but still unexpected. Though she also knew that Zavala wasn't too happy to have them working with an unknown associate of the Spider.

"Maple was going to help Crow! He wants to learn some of the cool finishers she can do!" Glint exclaimed out of nowhere. The small ghost began circling around Maple's head in a more excitable way than her own ghost.

Osiris laughed, not a sound Maple usually heard from him outside of the tower. She wondered what he thought of all this, her relationship with Crow was one that Maple didn't think was expected. Osiris also knew that since losing her fireteam, she didn't usually go out of the way to work with other guardians when it wasn't necessary.

"A hunter that needs help with blades? If you want me to leave, just tell me. No need for excuses," Osiris stepped toward Maple and slapped a hand on her shoulder, "you act like you're hiding things, people are going to start getting suspicious, even of the Chosen One."

"Osiris, you know I have nothing to hide from the Vanguard," Crow said as he stepped up to the two seasoned guardians.

Osiris stares between the two of them, again Maple feels more pressure than she probably should from him. It isn't like she was actually keeping anything from the Vanguard, but his question again made her reflect at why she was acting the way she had been.

Yet she was taken out of her own thoughts with Osiris's reply.

"Secret's always make things more ambiguous, easier to doubt someone when you think they're hiding things," Osiris said solemnly.

"I know Osiris. I will report back tomorrow morning, tell Zavala to expect me," Maple tried her best to end the conversation before ruining the mood for the evening that was quickly approaching.

"You never were one to follow orders well, so I've heard. Alright then, you two have your fun." With that Osiris turned to leave, heading back to where his ship was inevitably located.

Alone once again, Maple could practically feel the awkward energy radiating off of Crow.

"Should you even be helping me right now? Aren't there other things that need your attention?" He asked, fiddling with gloves on his hands.

"I know what I'm doing Crow. Despite the way he made it seem, Zavala trusts me and my judgement. It's-."

"It's me that they don't trust," Crow interrupted, taking a step back as if to signify the rift between them growing alongside the conversation.

"They just don't know you Crow, once they see how much help you've been in dealing with Xivu Aarath, it'll be easier," Maple said in an attempt to make things a bit better. She knew that she couldn't outright say that things would be perfect, but it would definitely improve.

Crow didn't reply, just nodding at her. He raised his hand and Glint, who rarely wasn't floating somewhere around his head moved to hover slightly above his palm.

"Maybe instead of more practice, we need to relax. Do you still have that wine that we found, Glint?"

~~

"Crow, I don't think this is a good idea, if something happens now neither of you will be able to do anything about it," Glint said for the umpteenth time as Crow and Maple took sips from the same bottle of old wine.

"Nonsense Glint, we have the strongest guardian here with us, we have nothing to fear," Crow laughed as he spoke, seeming more carefree than Maple had ever seen him.

He slung his arm over Maple's shoulder and handed the large bottle to her with his other hand.

They had made a small campfire, and had begun drinking in earnest once the sun had fully set. Despite protests from both of their ghosts at ingesting something that was not beneficial in anyway. Crow only had one bottle, the label long since lost to time, but the potency of the wine was not to be denied.

Without thinking, Maple leaned into Crow's side. The warmth different than that of the fire.

Maple lifted the bottle and pointed it towards the fire, as if it were a weapon of some sort.

"No one has anything to fear with me around, you can put all of your hope on me," Maple wasn't quite slurring, but she was obviously not sober.

She felt before she heard Crow laughing beside her. She took another drink and then held the drink up to Crow's lips. Instead of taking the bottle from her, he just tilted the bottle to the right angle and let her control it.

"If I can get strong enough, maybe you won't have to worry about handling everything yourself," Crow said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Maple looked up at Crow, his golden eyes shining in the darkness. She could tell how sincere he was, despite the fact that there was a bit of despair in his voice.

"How about we just worry about working together instead of competing against each other," Maple said, trying to steer the conversation away from sentimental and into more of a joke territory.

"You two really should consider stopping drinking. It's getting even later!" Glint appeared with Rift hovering slightly behind him. It was as if even the ghosts were conspiring together tonight.

Maple laughed at the absurdity of being scolded by the ghosts, and also of just the strangeness of the situation she found herself in. It's not often that she drank, even less often did she find herself so close to another person without being locked in some form of combat.

She decided to leave the dark thoughts for another night, no reason to worry her ghost even more.

[wayward-cryptarch]

DUALITY

Exotic / Energy / Shotgun

"The question becomes whether or not to fire, not where to aim." —Osiris

"If we're going to answer the call, then I think we may have to look into seeing what the EXO Stranger has to say, " Jack said. He brought up Marge to get heading as he looked out over the icy terrain of Europa.

"Sir!" Sam was quick to step forward, her interjection stopping him in mid-summon of his Sparrow. "I really don't think it's wise. It's Darkness, Sir. It's against everything we stand for as Guardians."

Jack was at a loss of words to argue. He knew he would just sound like a meathead Titan to her if voiced his first thought: fight fire with fire. It made sense to him that they needed to know what they were up against. They needed to understand this Stasis stuff.

Daniel's hand came up, a gentle plea to wait. "Um, is it, though?" he asked of Sam.

She gave an inelegant little snort. "Daniel, you can't possibly-"

"No, just hear me out, Sam," Daniel started. He paced a few steps away, snow crunching under his boots, before turning back to face his Fireteam. "Somehow, these Eliksni have learned to use Stasis just like Guardians use the Light. But think about it, Sam. The Eliksni use guns just like we do. The Stranger has been trying to tell us, this. This Stasis? Its power is the same as the Light." He turned to Jack, waving a hand to him. Despite the helmet, Jack could hear the grin on his lips. "It's just another big, honkin' space gun."

Jack wanted to jump up and down in a victory dance, but he knew he should show a little more decorum than that for the seriousness of the situation. But having Daniel on his side for once about big, honkin’ space guns was too much of a victory to pass up. He settled for a little fist pump and a softly muttered, "Sweet."

Hands going to her hips, Sam scoffed. "What about the Guardians that have already stumbled upon it? The Guardians that are already corrupted from it? Even possessed by it? "

"Just as any power can corrupt, so too can the Light," Teal’c-1 finally weighed in, coming to stand beside Jack. "The Warlords of yore are a prime example of this, using their newfound Light to rule with heavy-handed cruelty and vice. And yet the Iron Lords stepped forward, to show humanity that good can come from the power gifted to them, and struck the Warlords down."

“Not you, too, Teal’c!” Sam sounded dismayed.

“It is a most formidable power,” Teal’c said, giving a slow nod. “I, for one, would like to return the favor on the battlefield.”

“Alright, T!” Jack cheered, slapping the Titan on the shoulder. Leave it to Teal’c to say Jack’s more meathead thoughts in the most elegant way possible.

Sam’s disgust was almost palpable. “I can’t believe this!”

Putting a reassuring hand on her arm, Daniel gently drew her attention. “You know you don’t have to do this, don’t you, Sam?”

"Commander Zavala expressly forbade the use of Darkness, Daniel," Sam insisted. Jack could imagine her eyes flashing with outrage under the faceplate of her helmet. "This is wrong. This is. We shouldn't even be considering this!"

Daniel moved his hand from Sam's arm to her shoulder, bracing her, bringing her to focus on him. He spoke to her calmly, in his usual brisk pace. "We've been tasked with searching Sol for anything—old, new, or otherwise—to help against the coming Darkness. Elisabeth, the Stranger. She says we need every tool at our disposal. You know the Light can't, or even won't, always help us, Sam. The Traveler has tried running before-“

"That hasn't been proven!" Sam interjected defiantly.

"Sam," the Cryptarch’s voice gently pleaded, trying to bring her back to the conversation at hand. He wouldn’t let her distract him with their arguments about Rasputin and the Traveler this time.

Bowing her head, Sam was quiet for a moment. Taking a moment to think. "Why?" she asked, a genuine need to know coloring her tone with a bit of intensity. "Why do you trust her?"

"Honestly, I don't know that I really do," Daniel said, his chagrin seeping through the comm. "But. Sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. And maybe, with this opportunity we've been given, we can take this limited window to learn everything we can about the, uh, this Stasis. You know, maybe, before it's used against us. Again."

Sam tilted her head as if she was listening, probably to Jolinar speaking to her over her HUD. Whatever her Ghost told her, it had her taking a deep breath and nodding her head with a little more confidence. "Well. There is always a possibility. Of maybe studying it. You know, just testing theories."

Of course Daniel, persistent and unorthodoxly logical Daniel, could talk Sam around on Darkness. Of all things. Jack was so grateful his brilliant Cryptarch was on their side. He eagerly raised his hand. "I'll play guinea pig!"

"I only hope we won't regret this, sir," Sam said with a deep sincerity.

"Only time will tell, Carter," Jack reassured her, waving off her worries with a casual shrug. He then let his excitement get the better of him and pulled Marge out to summon his Sparrow. Daniel was barely seated behind him before he took off like a shot toward the EXO Stranger’s camp. "Big, honkin’ space guns, here we come!"

[titan-mom]

I agree with your opinion on destiny 2, it felt off for me. It's been some time since launch and it has grown on me but I don't want to grind Strikes like I once did, crucible is unplayable by myself (my clan takes it too seriously to enjoy) and I don't even want to do the raid again. The whole "revolutionary" story telling and lore should have been a supplement to the grimoire, not a replacement. While I love the new characters and the story did develop Zavala and Ikora imo, it feels odd

Totally agree anony, I’m still able to garner some interest for playing with friends? But wholly because they’re my friends and make any hang out fun.

There is a little pit of interest picking up with lore now that a friend (THANKS O!) shared the collectors edition booklet but uh, I’m disappointed in the fact that it took this long to become interested in new lore and that the main source of new worldbuilding came from a raid and exclusive physical material.

People complained about the first game being a lot of work to get invested in but this one ha been more work for me at least, in a personal opinion.

I also realize that being 3 years through game dev school has made me a mite picky and a bit more forgiving in some areas but less forgiving in others so please take these opinions with a grain of salt, I’m like your film student roommate critiquing a movie.

[littleshebear]

*rubs temples*

He tells a paladin that he'll support the Reef in their defence of the Dreaming City. I. I don't know how simply to put this. It's in the lore. It's right there. From the horse's mouth, I...*sigh*

Also, Zavala did not "kill his friend" directly or indirectly. Cayde snuck out of the tower without his or ikora's knowledge. Seriously, you need to stop being selective with the lore.

And it is being a shithead to call for the death of another character. It just is. It's rude, crappy behaviour and I'm sick of hearing it.

I was so sympathetic with Cayde stans when the news of his death dropped, it would be nice if y'all could return the favour. But if you're all too interested in character assassination, I'll settle for blocking you.

Zavala and Forsaken stuffs

Intense rumbles about Zavala below (Warning: I have a lotta feelings)

No seriously, if you’re not prepared for a feelsy essay/borderline meta about him, turn back now cause I got A lotta Feelings.

(spoilers, duh)

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