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Concerning WiL Vol. 2: Tales From the Fall

We’re sorry to announce that, due to outside forces, we will be canceling Written in Light volume 2: Tales From the Fall. We thank all of you who submitted pieces to the zine, and we hope to see those pieces posted across the Destiny community in the coming days. 

Thank you everyone for the support that allowed us to deliver at least one volume of this Destiny zine. We wish you all the best <3

-The Written in Light team

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10 days left, Guardians! Get those submissions in!

After last year’s edition of our Destiny zine, we couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle for volume 2. We’re excited to announce that we’re (finally) doing just that.

Written in Light is back, and we’re now accepting submissions for Volume 2!

The theme of volume 2 is Tales from the Fall – anything and everything related to the Red War. You can include canon characters or original characters in any combination, your content doesn’t have to be centered on Guardians, and we welcome whatever headcanons you have about the Red War in your work.

Please send all submissions to DestinyTheZine@gmail.com. Be sure to include the title of your piece, the name you want on your byline, and - optionally - a link to your website or portfolio.

The deadline for submission is December 18th, 11:59 PM PST.

Submissions may take the form of:

Artwork - digital or traditional media, including drawing, painting, comics

Fiction writing - prose, poetry, screenplays, flavor text; all forms of fiction

Cosplay/Prop-making - original photography

We are NOT accepting:

Non-fiction stories or journalism

In-game screenshots, edited or otherwise

Multi-chapter or ‘series’ entries, including ‘introductions’ - all submissions must be stand-alone content

All submissions to Written in Light must be previously unpublished, original content.

We know you’ve already made some great stuff - that’s how we know this will be a success! However, we ask that submissions be crafted explicitly for inclusion in this zine. If you’re a cosplayer or a prop-maker, this doesn’t mean we’re asking you to create a new costume or prop (feel free!) - but we are asking that you take new, original photos.

The full Submission Guidelines and Formatting Rules can be found here!

Best of luck out there, Guardians. We look forward to seeing your work!

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A little over 3 weeks left to send in submissions!

After last year’s edition of our Destiny zine, we couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle for volume 2. We’re excited to announce that we’re (finally) doing just that.

Written in Light is back, and we’re now accepting submissions for Volume 2!

The theme of volume 2 is Tales from the Fall – anything and everything related to the Red War. You can include canon characters or original characters in any combination, your content doesn’t have to be centered on Guardians, and we welcome whatever headcanons you have about the Red War in your work.

Please send all submissions to DestinyTheZine@gmail.com. Be sure to include the title of your piece, the name you want on your byline, and - optionally - a link to your website or portfolio.

The deadline for submission is December 18th, 11:59 PM PST.

Submissions may take the form of:

Artwork - digital or traditional media, including drawing, painting, comics

Fiction writing - prose, poetry, screenplays, flavor text; all forms of fiction

Cosplay/Prop-making - original photography

We are NOT accepting:

Non-fiction stories or journalism

In-game screenshots, edited or otherwise

Multi-chapter or ‘series’ entries, including ‘introductions’ - all submissions must be stand-alone content

All submissions to Written in Light must be previously unpublished, original content.

We know you’ve already made some great stuff - that’s how we know this will be a success! However, we ask that submissions be crafted explicitly for inclusion in this zine. If you’re a cosplayer or a prop-maker, this doesn’t mean we’re asking you to create a new costume or prop (feel free!) - but we are asking that you take new, original photos.

The full Submission Guidelines and Formatting Rules can be found here!

Best of luck out there, Guardians. We look forward to seeing your work!

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After last year’s edition of our Destiny zine, we couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle for volume 2. We’re excited to announce that we’re (finally) doing just that.

Written in Light is back, and we’re now accepting submissions for Volume 2!

The theme of volume 2 is Tales from the Fall – anything and everything related to the Red War. You can include canon characters or original characters in any combination, your content doesn’t have to be centered on Guardians, and we welcome whatever headcanons you have about the Red War in your work.

Please send all submissions to DestinyTheZine@gmail.com. Be sure to include the title of your piece, the name you want on your byline, and - optionally - a link to your website or portfolio.

The deadline for submission is December 18th, 11:59 PM PST.

Submissions may take the form of:

Artwork - digital or traditional media, including drawing, painting, comics

Fiction writing - prose, poetry, screenplays, flavor text; all forms of fiction

Cosplay/Prop-making - original photography

We are NOT accepting:

Non-fiction stories or journalism

In-game screenshots, edited or otherwise

Multi-chapter or ‘series’ entries, including ‘introductions’ - all submissions must be stand-alone content

All submissions to Written in Light must be previously unpublished, original content.

We know you’ve already made some great stuff - that’s how we know this will be a success! However, we ask that submissions be crafted explicitly for inclusion in this zine. If you’re a cosplayer or a prop-maker, this doesn’t mean we’re asking you to create a new costume or prop (feel free!) - but we are asking that you take new, original photos.

The full Submission Guidelines and Formatting Rules can be found here!

Best of luck out there, Guardians. We look forward to seeing your work!

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Are there any plans for a volume 2? I loved the first one!

We’ve just opened for submissions for volume 2, actually!

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After last year's edition of our Destiny zine, we couldn't wait to get back in the saddle for volume 2. We're excited to announce that we're (finally) doing just that.

Written in Light is back, and we're now accepting submissions for Volume 2!

The theme of volume 2 is Tales from the Fall -- anything and everything related to the Red War. You can include canon characters or original characters in any combination, your content doesn’t have to be centered on Guardians, and we welcome whatever headcanons you have about the Red War in your work.

Please send all submissions to DestinyTheZine@gmail.com. Be sure to include the title of your piece, the name you want on your byline, and - optionally - a link to your website or portfolio.

The deadline for submission is December 18th, 11:59 PM PST.

Submissions may take the form of:

Artwork - digital or traditional media, including drawing, painting, comics

Fiction writing - prose, poetry, screenplays, flavor text; all forms of fiction

Cosplay/Prop-making - original photography

We are NOT accepting:

Non-fiction stories or journalism

In-game screenshots, edited or otherwise

Multi-chapter or ‘series’ entries, including ‘introductions’ - all submissions must be stand-alone content

All submissions to Written in Light must be previously unpublished, original content.

We know you’ve already made some great stuff - that’s how we know this will be a success! However, we ask that submissions be crafted explicitly for inclusion in this zine. If you’re a cosplayer or a prop-maker, this doesn’t mean we’re asking you to create a new costume or prop (feel free!) - but we are asking that you take new, original photos.

The full Submission Guidelines and Formatting Rules can be found here!

Best of luck out there, Guardians. We look forward to seeing your work!

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Titans are proud, boastful even. Always willing to share the tales of the day, to tell you the glory of their most recent mission. To tell you the danger they face, to boast about how many times they’ve stared death in the eyes and laughed. Though underneath their pride, their ego. They hide their scars, not their physical ones, no. They are sources of honor, of pride to a Titan. I mean their worst enemy, their minds. They bury it under bravado, always trying to be better than their opponent. They conceal it underneath a cloak of fearlessness. All while terrified that for one single moment they’ll show weakness. They strive so hard because if they slow down for even a moment, everything will crash around them.

Warlocks are smart, brilliant, with the most creative, beautiful minds in the universe. Always thinking, always calculating. A book never far away and the desire to learn more, to know more ever-present. They see the world in a different light then Titans, even Hunters. Everything has an explanation, it must simply be found. Explained, written down in a journal and passed on. Though to often they lose themselves to this behavior. Retreating to their studies, their libraries and lecture halls trying to escape the torment of their existence. Blessed, yet cursed to live and die forever. To fight, and fall in battle countless times, the only reprieve the few moments they have to themselves in their books. This sole vice the only thing keeping them sane. Keeping them here when all hope seems lost.

Hunters are graceful, agile, witty and tenacious. Always willing to think outside the box. To tackle the jobs not even the Titans would sign up for. Unafraid to bend the rules, or outright break them should the need arise. Their thirst for adventure only matched by their loyalty. A Hunter’s friendship, however strange, however difficult to acquire. Is a beautiful thing. It is not loud, nor visible. It is subtle, and stealthy. Never a hug, or a word. But a extra marking on their cloak, a gift hidden where only the recipient goes. For Hunter’s are solitary beings. They live in the wilds, alone, isolated for days, weeks at a time. They know nothing but isolation. They are used to being alone as being alone is the safest option. They dont have to go through the pain of losing someone, of going back to that dark pit of isolation. For this time, they may not be able to climb out of it.

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“LET US SPEAK OF THE TERRIBLE BEAUTY OF BECOMING OURSELVES”

Illustrating Destiny’s Books of Sorrow with community artist Francine Bridge

One of the most impressive Destiny fan-projects we’ve seen to date has been Francine Bridge’s incredible illustrated rendering of Destiny’s Books of Sorrow. Francine, otherwise known as Witnesstheabsurd, agreed to take some time to answer a few of our questions about her work, its impetus, and what the project means to her.

Written by Seth Dickinson, the Books of Sorrow tell the story of the Hive - and by extension Oryx and his siblings - and give deep, rich background to one of the game’s largest and most important conflicts. Lyric and evocative, the books offer insight into both the Hive themselves and the universe they inhabit, and remain Destiny’s most impressive and most in-depth piece of lore-building. For those who may have joined the community in Destiny 2, or never had the chance to read the original books, they can be read in their entirety here. Francine’s project shows the same impressive attention to detail, and most importantly, the same level of empathy as the works that inspired it. We’re ecstatic to be able to share this conversation with the Destiny community, and we hope you’ll take the time to admire the full project.

You can find Francine on Artstation, as well as on Twitter and Tumblr.

Written in Light: To get things started, tell us a bit about yourself. What you're studying, what field you work in, what you like to do for fun - give us a brief summary of who you are and what's important to you!

Francine Bridge: HI! I'm Francine, although I'm better known online as Witnesstheabsurd. I work as a freelance illustrator and concept artist in the UK - you might have seen some of my work in the game Hiveswap or at labels like Killstar. I do album covers, shirt designs, character/monster etc design work for games, comics, private clients. I'm currently in my 4th and final (I took an extra sandwich year to do a supplemental diploma in professional studies) year of my Illustration and Visual Media BA degree in London, after which I'm probably going to look for more permanent studio/contract work rather than the one-off freelance stuff I've been pursuing while I've been in school.

A couple of years ago, prior to starting the degree, I came out as a trans woman, which is probably an important detail, and it's informed a lot of my  work. However, my driving impulse has always been monsters - my preoccupation with Destiny started entirely because a friend of mine showed me screencaps of Oryx after the The Taken King release and I was smitten. Pretty much all of the media I consume, the games I play, the art I create is in pursuit of ever greater or more unique creature and monster design, and they're very dear to my heart.

As far as what I do for fun  - my day is 90% working at the tablet, but I find time to play some games and build "gunpla" model kits as well as paw through my artbook collection. Almost everything I do is informed by my profession, so I use my hobbies as a means to access and process more referential or inspirational visual material or  techniques. I only recently started sincerely learning how to actually "paint," rather than just do some basic rendering under lineart, so that's been a major part of my work lately.

WiL: Was there anything in particular about Oryx that really drew you to him? Did Oryx come across as particularly great and/or unique to you, or is there something else that struck you with his character or design?

FB: Well, as I said, I'm transgender. In the ‘pitch’ my friend made to me about Oryx as a character,  the most interesting aspect to me was that he's a transgender man (although I'm a trans woman, the experience has some shared parallels obviously).

In media, it's incredibly difficult to find trans characters not wholly defined by that aspect of their identity, or who aren't constantly wallowing in the Misery and Tragedy of being trans. I want trans characters who occupy all roles - villain, hero, supporting and main - and it's rare to find anyone who's more than a token or like, tragedy porn. Oryx super resonated with me because he was this figure who acquired power and immediately transitioned, asserting his identity in a way that couldn't be defied - Oryx's story is very much one about self-definition and the value of existence under your own terms, which are very important concepts to me.

When I decided to start work on illustrating the Books I actually reached out to Seth Dickinson, the author Bungie contracted to write them (and the Cabal Booklet/odd flavour text, by the way) to get some specific questions answered and he was kind enough to respond and was very cooperative and supportive. Among the things I asked about I wanted to know  if Oryx was consciously written as transgender character or if it was just a coincidental "weird alien race" flourish. I was very happy to learn Seth had purposefully written Oryx that way, and that he was happy people took strength from it.

It's very novel to have, like, a "trans power fantasy"... a character who acquires absolute power over the self and instantly rewrites the contract between themselves and their body that so many of us spend our entire lives making adjustments to and renegotiating for some measure of peace. It was satisfying, refreshing.

Oryx is super cool to me on multiple visual levels obviously as well, being a mineral-encrusted deep space insect mummy warlord, but that element specifically sets him apart for me, and always will. It's cool to know that a trans character in Destiny can also be a hideous monster from beyond the stars.

WiL: Nice! I've wondered if Oryx was intentionally written to reflect a transgender person. I'm glad to hear a positive answer to that question, and I'm glad you found strength in it!

My next question is, why did you decide to take on this project? I mean, it's very clear that you love Oryx, so that factor is a given, but you mentioned in your original post that this was something you did for your degree. Care to elaborate on that?

FB: So, the structure of my illustration degree is such that while we’re given specific "briefs," such as topics or techniques, the final year gives us significantly more free rein. We're obligated to  complete three "projects" and author a thesis over the course of the final year, but the subject matter, material, everything about those projects is our call. The outcomes are judged based solely on technical and professional development rather than adherence to a specific brief.

This left the field wide open for me to kill two birds with one stone and bring in a project I had intended to do anyhow, but hadn't had the time or space for; something that I was sincerely passionate about rather than an edict handed down by a tutor. Illustrating the Books of Sorrow was something i'd wanted to do ever since I first read them back in The Taken King, and I jumped at  the chance. In addition, while i've produced and formatted artbooks before (My first published work, The Occult Supergiant Primer, can be found here ), I've been able to recoup the time invested away from client work in sales and funding. The Books are obviously material belonging to Bungie and I can't justify selling copies, digital or otherwise, of my illustrated version, so I had to find some other reason to make this investment of time and unpaid work worthwhile as well as enjoyable.

Being able to use the work produced to further my degree was the perfect "excuse.” That said, I've received so much attention from the Destiny community at large, including commissioned work from several new clients, that it would have easily been worth it regardless.

WiL: Your work definitely deserves the attention, you clearly have a strong sense of design! Would you be willing to tell us a little bit about the process you went through to make the Books of Sorrow? Do you have any early versions or storyboards that you'd like to share? Or did any of the illustrations go through any major changes from start to finish, and would you be willing/able to show us that process and talk a bit about why you made the changes you made?

FB: The greater part of the Books came together incredibly smoothly and naturally, with very little iteration required on specific pieces. The images had been stewing in my mind ever since I read the original verses a few years ago and they were more than ready to be rendered. What did require a lot of research, development and false starts were the designs for the sisters, Savathûn and Xivu Arath. Both of them have yet to appear ingame in any major capacity (although it's looking likely Savathûn is going to be a Year 2 DLC), so it was up to me to create designs for them that:

Satisfied the descriptions appended to them in the verses, as light as they were, and also matched the info Seth gave me

Satisfied my own personal expectations and interpretation

Conformed to the lore and the existing known morphology of the Hive in a way that would make them recognizable to a player with no prior familiarity with the Books

Balancing these principles lead to a lot of internal back and forth - Savathûn was easier because we had already seen her brood in D2 on Titan, so I knew to emphasize ornate crests, bonelike texture and a slightly less mineral, more biological look by comparison to Oryx's brood, the hive we exclusively encountered in D1. She was tough at first but ultimately fell into line with something satisfying for me, which actually drew a lot from the Xenomorph Queen in Aliens.

Xivu Arath was a little trickier because she had to be distinct from Oryx, who kind of already occupies the "big mineral/bone-encrusted bruiser" archetype visually, so I had to take her even further. I spent a lot of time wondering whether she would have any ornamentation like some of  the bigger Knights (Alak-Hul comes to mind), given that she represents the "ultimate" Knight morph, but I eventually eschewed all decoration in favour of something reflecting her nature in the narrative: blunt, implacable, spartan. She dispenses with the ritual and hierarchical trappings the other siblings indulge in - notably she decides that all battlefields are her Court, rather than entertaining a court herself, and she tends to default to just brutally bludgeoning whatever stands in her way rather than making an appeal to the Deep or engaging in trickery. I was very satisfied with how she turned out, and the piece featuring her is easily one of my favourites.

WiL: I was going to ask which piece is your favorite! Do you have a Top 3 that you're most proud of?

Is there anything about the Books that you wish were different, or is there something you wish you had the opportunity to draw for this project but couldn't justify including it?

FB: I have a strong tendency to favour whichever the last piece I completed was, because by default I'm always proudest of my most recent work and very rapidly lose favour with pieces even like, a week old. That said, I think overall the strongest piece for me personally would be Oryx slaying Akka, alongside the final Wormfood painting and the Savathun piece, although honorable mentions go to Xivu Arath and Quria, Blade Transform.

I can't say there's anything about the Books specifically I wish was different. The part of me that's purely consuming it as a narrative wishes that they had found Taox, that there had been some confrontation there. I feel like there's a very strong "childhood vengeance" element to the Taox subplot, like when you're put down by an adult for drawing in class and you fantasize about coming back to the school years later as a wildly successful artist and making them admit they were wrong to have stopped you. A key part of that fantasy is recognizing it as a remnant of childhood, this impulse born out of a narrower perspective and inflated self-worth, and realizing you can move past that shit (Although if/when I do become a wildly successful artist there might be a few teachers I'll look up).

Ultimately, I think the arc of the books and what the story is trying to say about distortion of intent and self makes Taox disappearing a much more emotionally resonant and interesting turn. It would be neat if Taox turned up somewhere in-game, and became the focal point of a new Hive offensive.  An entire species/culture with such a specific individual grudge is a fascinating concept.

With about a month and a half of time allotted for the project and 50 verses, there was a lot of stuff I had to cut despite how much it hurt - in a complete version I would have wanted a painting for every verse, but specifically I would have liked to draw Akka in full, the Dakaua War Angels, the Harmony/Gift Mast,  the Qugu; basically I would have given form to the many species and cultures Seth conjures up with a few phrases and a loose description but still manages to make incredibly evocative.

WiL: Do you think you'll ever return to the project and draw those images, either as standalone pieces or as an update to the PDF you've already made?

FB: An update to the .pdf itself is unlikely. I tend to consider projects released to be complete, and usually by the time I revisit a subject I'm not obligated to work on it will have been a few years at the very least. I tend to have developed my technique and approach enough that new pieces inserted retroactively would look somewhat disjointed in terms of quality and style. The chance of releasing standalone paintings - especially of points of specific interest for me like say, Akka in his entirety, the Dakaua war angels, the Qugu, etc. -  is significantly higher. Whether that happens sooner or later depends entirely on what my current workload looks like, and aside from the incredibly generous and supportive response to the project from the larger community the Books are very much a passion project and have to be weighed against, say, contract or school work going forwards.

WiL: That makes sense. What other projects do you have going on right now, if any?

FB: Just this morning I decided on the subject of my final degree project, which I'm also planning to run as my second artbook with an accompanying Kickstarter and print run - something I can actually sell as well as being material that excites me! It's entirely too early to disclose any specific details about it though.

Other than that, I continue to produce odd pieces of fanart in between a regular flow of client work both from private individuals and studios. I guess I can safely say I'll be doing more work on the second Homestuck game after contributing to the first, as well as doing some designs for a music video I was contracted for, and also finishing my thesis for the aforementioned degree.

The key thing, I think, is to keep moving - I get very anxious when I'm spinning my wheels between projects, and the temptation to linger on the threshold a while longer is incredibly strong, especially when there's always the fear your new work will fail to surpass what's come before. Reaching a personal peak like some of the paintings I did for the Books of Sorrow is a double-edged sword, and it can signify both a great accomplishment and a raising of the bar that can be daunting to follow. I'm confident that whatever you see from me next will manage it, though!

WiL: Believe me, after talking with you for a while, I'm confident your next project will meet your expectations. You are a very talented and very ambitious artist, and we can’t wait to see where your career takes you! It’s been a pleasure to talk to you, and we’re looking forward to your next Destiny passion project.

//

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

All images courtesy Francine Bridge

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I didn’t realize how small the previous version I posted looked on mobile, so here’s  a bigger version of “Last Lament”, a collaborative piece between @necrosis103 and I for the first volume of @written-in-light. 

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My contribution to the @written-in-light zine! It was so much fun working on this and i cant wait for the next zine ~

Wanted to show the longest part of any raid - trying to look your best by putting on every single shader and piece of armour you had. After all, you cant look like a potato when you gotta kill Crota or Aksis!

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Headcanon Question of the Week #5:

How many Guardians are there? Is the population of Guardians equally split among the three classes, or are there more of one or two classes then the other(s)?

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my submission for the @written-in-light zine (which can be found here)

this was really fun to work on and i had such a good time drawing it

the zine itself is super cool and u should check it out if u haven’t!!!

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A Resilient Weave

“I’m Crota! I’m Crota!”

The little boy roars and brandishes a stick, and around him laughing children scatter, dodging his slow-motion swings as they try to steal the bright red sash tucked into the waistband of his dirty trousers.

/Should we say something?

The Hunter looks at her Ghost and then away, up at the afternoon sky. Luna hangs over the Last City, the dark crater of Mare Imbrium visible even in the daylight. If she squints, she can almost see the green fire.

She lands with the first wave of Guardians, full of pride and confidence, full of giddy laughter, already celebrating a victory they have not yet achieved.

“What is there to say? Leave the children their games.”

The Vanguard thinks the City’s residents should have regular contact with Guardians, and she dreads these rotations more than she dreads her patrols through the Plaguelands. At least Dregs do not ask uncomfortable questions.

Child-Crota claims his first victim by virtue of a glancing blow to the shoulder of a would-be thief, and the tagged boy makes an exaggerated show of his death, convulsing and choking on the grass for nearly a minute before he falls still. The other children howl with laughter. Only one of them, a quiet girl that always sits and watches from the sidelines, does not join.

Her Ghost’s attention is fixed on the pandemonium in front of them. She realizes she has stopped breathing, tries to force her spine to relax. The sun shines and the sky is blue but she cannot remember feeling so out of place.

She pulls the trigger and the hammer clicks, empty. She kills an armored Acolyte with her belt-knife, reloads, turns when she hears a twinned scream beside her and watches as a Knight wrenches its crude blade from her pack-mate’s collarbone, silencing Guardian and Ghost alike.

A little girl with a flower in her hair squeals, trips in the grass and falls to her hands and knees, scrabbles frantically away from child-Crota’s exaggerated steps, and before she can stop herself the Hunter is halfway to her feet. She catches herself, looks around, but none of the other adults, non-Guardians all, notice. She doesn’t know why Cayde insists she comes alone. It’s the same group it always is, and they ignore her, as they always do

The little girl wriggles back and forth, laughing as child-Crota sinks his stick-sword into the grass on either side of her with painstaking slowness, roaring in mock-frustration when none of his blows connect. The girl scrambles to her feet and takes shelter behind a larger girl, this one holding both fists in front of her face.

“I’m Wei Ning!” the larger girl says, “I’m here to get you, monster!”

“You were Wei Ning last time,” says the dead boy.

“You’re supposed to be dead!”

He pantomimes his expiration once more to the delight of the group.

She stumbles, the detached, still-twitching claws of a Thrall wrapped around her ankle, and then she is on her back in the dust, fanning the hammer of her cannon from the hip, doing her best to kick herself away from the Knight that looms above her. She rolls to the side and it buries its sword in the soft ground beside her, the impact sending a shockwave through her gut, and she tries not to think how it would feel were it to connect with flesh instead.

A pack-mate beside her burns the monstrosity away with the Golden Gun, pulls her to her feet by the cloak around her neck. She has no time to offer thanks, because more are upon them, and the two Hunters fight side by side in retreat, aiming for the lip of the crater. Transmat is down, and the only sounds that make it through the static on the comms are the screams of the dying.

Something moves by her knee, and she forces herself to turn slowly. A face stares up at her, eyes wide. The quiet girl, the one who never plays.

“Why do you always wear that?” The girl reaches a hand out to grasp the corner of the old cloak, and the Hunter flinches despite herself.

“Sorry,” she says, when the little girl makes a hurt face. “Here.”

Haltingly, she holds out the fabric. The girl takes it with an expression of grave dignity, and as she examines its many patches the Hunter counts faces. Names. Her right thumb settles on the familiar worn spot by her neck and she rubs it as she always does. The game of tag has been paused, the rest of the children staring at her now, and she drops her eyes to the grass, her face hot.

Behind the hordes of Thrall and Acolytes and towering Knights, the monster looms in burning darkness. No bullets penetrate its armor and its sword drips the Light of a hundred Guardians dead at its feet. Its bulk dwarfs both plains and scattered bodies alike, but it is the blade it holds that draws her eye, the gravity of the weapon unavoidable and absolute, and for a nauseating moment she feels herself falling towards it as though off a cliff.

“Kids! You’re not bothering her, are you?”

One of the adults looks over, his face a mask of concern - but not for her. She grips the seat of the bench with her left hand lest she fall upwards into nothing.

“I’m not bothering her! She’s showing me her blanket!”

The lines of Titans broke when Wei Ning fell, her light snuffed out in an inglorious instant, and at some point she realizes she is fighting alone, has been fighting alone for a long time. A kernel of panic rests deep in the pit of her stomach, but she cannot spare the time to wonder where the others are, and on the outside she can feel nothing but the ache in her arms from the endless kick of her cannon.

/It’s not a blanket.

She almost laughs at her Ghost’s indignant tone, feeling the same wild giddiness she felt when she reached the lip of the crater, when she looked back across the plain and realized she could no more pick out the bodies of her fallen pack-mates than she could recognize the stars that burned, cold and uncaring and eternal, in the sky above her.

“They’re not bothering me,” she says at last, forcing the words out from behind clenched teeth. The man looks at her, uncertain, but nods anyway and turns back to his conversation.

Around her the universe roars, as though the very fabric of space has bent.

Most of the children have grown bored of her already, and child-Crota is once more wielding his stick with relish. Wei Ning tries to punch him, and in response Crota hits her too hard with his sword. She yelps, and in an instant the two children are on top of each other, fists and tears flying.

The little girl is still gripping the corner of the cloak.

“It’s not a blanket,” the Hunter says again, as gently as she can.

“It looks like my brother’s blanket,” the girl says.

“Oh? Which one is he?”

“He’s not here,” says the girl. “He’s dead now.”

She stands before the Vanguard and tries to describe how it felt to look up at that sick green sky and feel reality unravel; finds herself instead telling them that for a traitorous moment the flames reminded her of the lights that dance across Earth’s atmosphere, lights she once watched in peace and comfort from the safety of her ship, that now the lights of the City look strange and unfamiliar and the Tower is a different Tower.

“Sometimes I miss him,” says the girl, fingers wrapped in fabric. Her tone is matter-of-fact. “Mama says he’s still here as long as I don’t forget him.”

At last, the girl looks up.

“What happens if I forget?”

She stares back at the girl. Her Ghost blinks. They are silent for a long moment, all three of them, forgotten by the pile of fighting children and frantic adults.

Slowly, the Hunter pushes herself off the bench, crouches in front of the girl, and takes a deep breath.

“This is a cloak,” she says, lifting the fabric. “It’s like a blanket, but you wear it. All Hunters wear them, because they do many things. A good cloak will protect you. A good cloak will hide you. And of the very many things a good cloak does, perhaps the most important is to keep you from forgetting things you don’t want to forget.”

She fingers the worn patch at her neck, and then she clears her throat.

“Do you still have your brother’s blanket?”

Words by @themothyards

Pictures by @snakebunker

This story first appeared in Volume 1 of @written-in-light, which is available for download here. 

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Headcanon Question of the Week #4:

What is the most common method of death for each class of Guardian?

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“I’ll just make myself a cup of tea while I slowly float to my death.”

Headcanon Question of the Week #4:

What is the most common method of death for each class of Guardian?

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asgardian-highblood replied to your post:

jumping off the tower wall.

This reminds me of an old Tower PA I once heard, it went something like, “Reminder: A Ghost is no excuse for recreational Tower jumping.”

Guardians are an odd lot.

Headcanon Question of the Week #4:

What is the most common method of death for each class of Guardian?

[written-in-light-blog1]

For anyone interested in reading the entire zine, they can find it on our website, www.writteninlight.org!

my contribution to the @written-in-light fanzine!

i love Zav a lot…….