#me while playing destiny: do snakes have buttholes

[leftnipsdoodles]

with Eris coming back i wanna give some attention to Asher bc im Like That

specifically, the fact that he might very well be the person Eris referred to as her cousin back when they were both alive. and i’ll get to sth abt that in a second, but first, here’s what the lore regarding this person says:

Undelivered, lost.

Cousin, do you remember the streets of the Last City? Do you remember eating fresh red grapes and playing tag between the market stalls? You cannot. We grew, we died, we were reborn. But I remember. It is the one thing I know is true. You used to LAUGH. What manipulation of the fates has led us each to our own calamities? [Forceful, looping script.] I listen to Vanguard channels every day for news of your death. If and when that news comes, I will fly to you at once, no matter where I am and no matter what front I fight on. [Aggressive pressure, carved deep enough into the paper to tear it.] I swear it.

- lore entry ‘Letters’, presumably letters Eris wrote and tried to deliver to several different people

3. I submit to you now photographic and video evidence recovered from civilian family albums, historical archives, and extant Ghost recordings originally captured in the Last City. Behold, ERI-223: a child of the Last City, born to civilian parents in a mortal-Guardian integrated neighborhood. Behold, too, tiny VIP #1786—though he is almost more unbelievable than ERI-223, if you look at his smile. 

- lore entry ‘Forgeries’, dissecting and fact-checking the Truth to Power lore (in this case, confirming what Eris said abt her backstory in Letters)

i highlighted the contextually important parts here.

We grew, we died, we were reborn. -> Asher confirms multiple times that he’s never been to the Reef and goes above and beyond to distance himself from Reef Awoken. while this might mean he just died on Earth and doesn’t remember being at the Reef, it’s equally as possible he’s simply Earthborn.

You used to LAUGH. What manipulation of the fates has led us each to our own calamities? / [...] though he is almost more unbelievable than ERI-223, if you look at his smile. -> I used to think Toland was a good contester for being the person she talks about, since he’s also suffered a pretty bad(ass) fate like Eris, so she could be referring to him. But, we do know he’s still as... jovial, as ever. Asher on the other hand is known to be a big ol’ grump. The only time he does anything close to smiling is when he’s being condescending lol

I listen to Vanguard channels every day for news of your death. -> Eris obviously knows what’s going on with Asher’s ‘disease’. The first time we hear about him is in the grimoire where she visits him at the hospital while he’s in a coma after the whole Brakion thing. Toland’s already dead more or less but more importantly, the Vanguard wouldn’t report on him since he’s not affiliated with them because, yknow. He’s a ball. Asher on the other hand (heh) is specifically said to work under the Vanguard and his death would definitely have to be relayed to them.

now, the only reason i’m not 100% on all this is because, as always, the timeline in Destiny is a mess. I’ve talked abt it before but unless we get confirmation that Ghosts are able to revive someone at an age they never were (bc they died early or whatever), i dont see it adding up. Asher looks old, bruh. and he’s Awoken. we do know that while they do age outside of the Distributary, they do it at a much slower rate than humans. so for him to look this old, he must’ve been around for centuries before dying (since humans’ lifespans in this universe are already tripled). but the way the Awoken lore is written, it doesn’t sound like they have been on Earth long enough to warrant him ever getting this old before dying and being rezzed as a Guardian. and by his own admission, he’s been a Guardian long enough to see 6 different Hunter Vanguards come and go, which, while Hunter Vanguards change more quickly than the others, would still give us a rather long timespan. i will point out that all this COULD still add up, just because the timeline in Destiny has always been incredibly vague. so even if it doesn’t seem to add up now, the author’s intent would overrule any inconsistencies.

the other thing i want to put up for debate is the familial aspect of it, since I feel like these two being related feels ‘unbelievable’ (not that it has to be, but lbr). bear with me for a second, im gonna throw a lot of speculation at you but i hope you can understand that im doing my best to keep it in line with what we know: Awoken seem to face some sort of discrimination on Earth. 2 NPC lines hint at this: 1) ‘Who cares if he’s an Awoken? We’re in love, mom!’ 2) ‘I can’t believe it. I don’t mind that he was Awoken, but an artist? I mean, come on!‘ this is today, in a time where Awoken have been on Earth for a while. it was probably worse when they first got here, even tho in the lore, it is mentioned that generally the arrival of the Awoken was seen as something positive (since they came in a time of need, specifically to help. so not only were they seen as actual aid, but they also brought hope that not everything from outer space is here to kill humans). however, i’d say that especially in a day-to-day context, they would still be mistrusted. especially once they started banging humans. we all know how ppl react to outsiders ‘stealing’ things from them.

now, since we’re told that Eris grew up in a ‘mortal-Guardian integrated neighborhood’, when we know that most civilians outside of the Tower tend to be wary or even fearful of Guardians, i think it’s safe to assume she was born into a more ‘progressive’ environment. meaning it wouldn’t be a stretch for her to grow up around Awoken.

we don’t know for sure whether Eris is Awoken or just a Human with a very pale complexion (her being transformed by the Hive doesn’t help). either way, what I’m getting at with all this is that ‘cousin’ doesn’t have to be a familial term. ‘cousin’ is used by the Reef Awoken to refer to Awoken Player Characters (who, even tho it’s later hinted that we’re from the Reef ourselves, are presumed to be Earthborn by said Reef Awoken). ‘brother’/’sister’ is used as well.  if we think Eris is Human, her calling an Awoken kid ‘cousin’ would fit in with her being from an integrating neighborhood. (EDIT: we even have the lore mentioning humans as ‘cousins’ of the Awoken: ‘Those who left went to scour the ruins for lost history and give some succor to their Human cousins [...]’ -lore entry ‘Revanche V’) if we think Eris is Awoken herself, her calling another Awoken ‘cousin’ wouldn’t feel unusual either. on the other hand, there’s the untapped potential in Awoken-Human hybrids that are mentioned by the lore but just *clenches fist* never fkn explored. so her looking so different from him could have a number of explanations and doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not related. but like i said, i think the majority of us can’t see it lmfao

ANYWAY what im saying is that whether ‘cousin’ is meant literally or figuratively, it wouldn’t disprove the possibility of Asher being the cousin Eris mentions as part of her past.

so uhh, these are all my thoughts on the matter. feel free to tell me your own if you disagree or feel like adding sth!