#xi ro

[eiramew]

Dreaming in Hive

[flowers-of-io]

Destiny + text posts 18/?

[sun-singer]

Inktober day 5: cut, featuring Xi Ro

A STORMJOY. A stormjoy is a living cloud. When it passes over our continent, it lowers its feeding tentacles. On each tentacle are the BAIT STARS. Although light makes you happy, you must avoid it. You will be eaten.

[jadevalentine-writes]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Destiny (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Oryx & Savathûn & Xivu Arath (Destiny) Characters: Xivu Arath (Destiny), Oryx (Destiny), Savathûn (Destiny) Additional Tags: Xivu Arath-centric, Xivu Arath POV Summary:

Xi Ro was born the youngest child in the Osmium Court. According to the way of the world, that made her the weakest.

She was the only one left now, so perhaps there was usefulness in weakness.

[lillian-1st-maskarran-insol]

It’s so funny to me the big hive gods started out as little fragile things, with mortal emotions and whims.

Xi’Ro: You ever cracked open someone’s head?

Sathona: Have you ever even cracked open a book???

Aurash, on the other side of the ship: Y’all ever done crack?

[uc1wa]

wyd if you wake up in bed next to jason

slutting him out

[xivu-arath]

bah my mood is definitely more fragile today

it's what I expected. still, I resent it

[pinkpoodlewoof]

Solusek Ro didn't ask for this.

[xivu-arath]

the hive are my niche so I might as well chime in!

I've never really gotten the "it's unrealistic for a three year old to be an experienced warrior/navigator/etc" argument for the same reasons cassiefisherdrake provides, that... many species don't age and mature at the rate that humans do! additionally, given what little information we're handed about young, motherhood and ageing as krill, we can infer a few things

the krill had large broods of children, guarded for a certain amount of time by mothers (and at this time they're referred to as spawn, not children). the helium drinkers had ten of xi ro's sisters to eat as tribute, but she doesn't make note of this being an enormous number, or the entirety of her living relatives, and while she's upset by it, the eating of children is considered normal. these are also surviving children (this is how aurash refers to herself in her letter to sathona), so there's some dwindling of numbers between krill that are spawned and krill that survive to leave a mother's protection

what I took from all of this was that from spawn, krill quickly reach an adult stage of growth and consciousness - probably with some wiggle room in the first few months where they're still very likely to die, and are thus more disposable

that they had ships, societies, the capability to make histories and war on each other came not from living a human-length amount of time, but being able to start functioning as an adult (if you made it that far!) much, much sooner. this meshes well with the implication that they have lots of kids (something you can also make assumptions about by how hive thralls vastly outnumber any other caste of hive). plus, there isn't a total loss of knowledge and skill, as krill society has the fertile members of the species also being able to live far beyond the usual lifespan, and thus connect the generations

but to step away from the in-universe reasoning for a second... taking the krill lifespan to be short regardless of how long a year is on fundament makes sense because that is what makes the tragedy work!! the siblings have to feel as if they are just seeing the world and are already losing it. sathona has to have the clock running out on her dream of a longer life. the desperation, the futility, the fear that they will be too late to do anything at all - those are the thematic cores of why they must dive, and why aurash makes the pact

to me, having a 30 year old argue against the leviathan or stand on the needleship's hull just detracts from the overall tone - but of course, this will differ from person to person. but to me, the poignancy of being both still very young and already doomed - that's why they must truly be short-lived

i wonder how many earth years fundament's year counts

cuz we are told that krill are naturally shortlived and live only 10 years at best but... 10 years of fundament. how long is one fundament year though?

like, considering some eliksni are pre-golden age and still kicking, avarge 300 years golden age human lifespan is laughable. if one fundament year is, idk, 6 earth years? 10 fundament years would be 60. not ideal and pathetic among many species but also not that bad honestly. also more plausible than "they were literally 3 earth years old and already were navigators, engeneers, martial artists ect."

[eiramew]

some xivu concept experiments, about embracing the pain

[flowers-of-io]

“The Deep”

A redraw of one of my favourite pieces by Salvador Dalí, “The Sleep”, and my part of a collab with @synnthamonsugar for this year’s Spring Media Zine organised by @d2artevents! You can check the whole work and Otter’s pieces here, and the full zine here <3

[sun-singer]

Inktober day 15: dream, featuring Oryx, Xivu Arath, Savathun, and the Osmium King

“So I start eating my dad. I bite huge pieces out of him and I claw him up. I eat his legs and I eat his arms and I eat his goggles and his eyes and he says, good, good, this is majestic and true.

But my sisters are still tearing up the road so I don’t know how to get back.”

[jadevalentine-writes]

A thought I had while doing dishes, but who would be interested in a fic from Xivu Arath's POV? I think the little sibling potential would be fun to play with.

[uc1wa]

white man lover (derogatory)

why am i being called a white man lover when i’m the only person in the world that hasn’t joined the jacob elordi cult??? like it’s feeling like projection hmmm

[uc1wa]

COME BACK. OH MY GOD.

I literally can’t come back until I have another crush so I can fantasize over them don’t you realize this😩

[thefirstknife]

I love all the little details that directly quote Books of Sorrow this season.

Eris in the cutscene last week:

All things must prove their right to exist. The rest will die in terror. There is neither escape nor exemption. Simple. Essential. Beautiful to know.

Books of Sorrow:

I’m glad I learned that the universe runs on death. It’s more beautiful to know.

Eris in her chat with Drifter:

Books of Sorrow:

I am war, and you have conjured me back with war. ... I am trickery, and you have conjured me back with trickery.

And this week, with all the mentions of the species they exterminated, but especially the Ammonites:

The "bait stars" goes back all the way to when they were still krill, from a life form (stormjoy) on the Fundament that Xivu (then Xi Ro) was proving herself against by cutting off the ends of the tentacles called "bait stars" from them:

A STORMJOY. A stormjoy is a living cloud. When it passes over our continent, it lowers its feeding tentacles. On each tentacle are the BAIT STARS. Although light makes you happy, you must avoid it. You will be eaten. A stormjoy is a good way for an old person to choose death. Also, a daring knight can cut the bait stars from the tentacles. I have six!

It seems this has turned into some sort of a saying in their language given what she said in the radio and also in Books of Sorrow later:

These are the bait stars the Sky uses to blind its slaves.

The story of how the Ammonite hero, Chroma-Admiral (called Rafriit) went to protect the Leviathan:

...is also in the Books of Sorrow:

The Leviathan has broken cover. The old priest is in open space, moving towards the Ammonite home moon. Chroma-Admiral Rafriit and his elite guard move with it. Rafriit is the hero of his generation, an Ammonite of peerless battlecraft. He’s danced circles around Xivu Arath… but now he has to protect his holy Leviathan.

This is, for the record, the Leviathan from the Fundament. Once the Worms were free, it fled to try and help the Ammonite, as well as still pleading with the Hive siblings to think about what they've done, and also ominously asking them to truly think "who made you monsters" and "who summoned the wave."

I'm sure there's more, especially in Sororicide lore book, and/or that there will be more. I feel like this is such a nice way to tell these old stories that many people have probably not have had the chance to read or even know about. It gives just enough details about some ancient wars to make you interested and maybe point you in the direction to ask someone about it or start looking for more and then stumbling on Books of Sorrow. Like a crash course about this ancient history-rich universe that awakens a sense of wonder and maybe interests you into reading some lore.

Unfortunately, Books of Sorrow have never been readable in the game (either of them), but I hope that stuff like this presented in the main storyline for everyone to hear will motivate people to look deeper into the lore. It's basically like a little teaser and I love it. For us who know, it's such an honor to finally hear this being narrated to us by those that committed these acts, and for those that are hearing it for the first time it should spark curiosity about these ancient tales and battles. I hope so at least! If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the whole Books of Sorrow which are up on Ishtar in their entirety.