Extremely, incredibly loose train of self-deprived thought, but something that Destiny touches upon in numerous ways that I really enjoy is the concept of entitlement and being deserving, especially with Destiny’s context of the Winnower and Gardener.
A sense of entitlement is embedded in many of the beliefs of antagonistic characters that allows them to feel justified in committing large scale acts of “might makes right”. They elevate themselves beyond everyone else in existence, often to the point of claiming godhood, on bases such as believing their understanding of the universe is superior to all others, their strength or cunning gives them the right to overpower others, their ability to climb up from rough origins is evidence that they are owed more from the cosmos than others, and more.
There are plenty of beliefs in Destiny that hinge on the fact that there are ways to prove that you are more deserving of power over others and existence than anyone else; that you are impressive enough that the universe should reward your adamance and your voice should resound louder than whole civilizations.
To a lot of characters with an enlarged sense of self, the inhabitants of the universe are pieces in a game meant for them to compete against or utilize in order to win; means to an end that will give them a sense of purpose or fulfillment that will remain when all else threatens to fall to the inevitability the Winnower tells of.
The competitiveness the Winnower cherishes is mimicked in these supposed certainties, even from beings that don’t claim fealty to it.
People look at the struggles of existence and confuse that for the most prominent, and therefore most important, facet of existing. They think they can “win” at existence by triumphing against its struggles and perpetuating them, no matter its cost to others who must “lose”.
Yet, when I think of characters feeling entitled to a higher position that allows them to determine what treatment everyone should be granted by them, I think of the quote from the game A Night in the Woods that goes “So I believe in a universe that doesn’t care, and people who do”.
Satisfyingly enough, these Destiny characters meet resistance and circumstances that show their feelings of “objective” superiority can be shattered by those they try to conquer, showing that there is no way to truly elevate yourself above others in a way the universe respects enough to defend, only ways to deceive yourself into thinking you are different from beings exactly like you and that life is to be won, not merely experienced.
There are always people who care and will join together to defeat those that think that if they deserve more, others must deserve less, and time after time, the communal show the entitled that the universe didn’t care about them before their “ascent” and won’t care about them after.
The Winnower’s conditional love and approval won’t save you from it seeking others when the cycle of life and death finds you like any other. The Winnower will not come to you in your hour of need.
Villainous characters spend so much of their lives letting the cruelty of reality determine the extent of their philosophies instead of understanding that they are cheating themselves out of the value of communal support and the infinite possibilities of living no objective purpose allows for.
When Ghaul reasoned that him climbing out of his life as an abandoned orphan to become Dominus should mean he deserved the light more than others, he forfeited what he was already entitled to (a chance of defining his own life and creating his own meaning) to gain what had no inherent value (the approval of a “god”) at the expense of forming potential bonds with those he trampled over.
Clovis Bray’s obsession with assuring the importance of his bloodline at any cost lead to him losing the respect of his family and everyone who would meet him for what in return? Him stroking his own ego? The ability to brag about what he achieved to forests that don’t have to be dark?
“I am reminded of my home. I am reminded of the warmth of the sun and the embrace of my family. I am reminded of my father’s face. I am reminded of everyone I betrayed. All the blood spilled in the name of immortality. The warmth of the sun burns me with its memory. What is this feeling? I do not want it.” - Savathûn, Hawkmoon lore tab
Destiny often speaks about things that it believes everyone is entitled to, in line with the philosophies of the Gardener, based solely off of the fact that they are a being with sentience: free will, autonomy, an individual pursuit for purpose, etc.
These do not have to be earned or won, let alone proven to those who make themselves the judges of others while standing on the same level as them. You are alive and that is enough.
The acknowledgment that others being alive is enough for them to deserve the ability to make their own fate, free from the violence of others, allows for acts of mutualism/commensalism when others only prioritize individual adaptive fitness.
You have just as much as a say on where you think meaning lies as people who seem grander than reality, and by acknowledging that you don’t have to submit to conclusions that could possibly be drawn from natural laws or the silence of the stars, you open up the possibility of the enrichment community can bring.
By seeing your existence and freedom as an entitlement, you make it non-negotiable and by respecting the entitlements of others, you open up the possibility of joining arms to find against those who think autonomy should not be a guarantee.
I think I’ve thought about this for far too long and written about it too poorly.
