#d2-ramblings

[crow-posting]

I miss the accents that the Awoken had in D1. I imagine my Awoken Hunter, Riley, sounds a bit like this:

[crow-posting]

Destiny 2 Lore

Controversial post but I need to know how the Reefborn view people who aren't fully Awoken or no longer culturally Awoken. Because, while the first Awoken were multinational colonists and the Reefborn still refer to other Awoken as "cousins," they basically became an insular and homogeneous* group due to their secrecy and isolationist policies. And as an immigrant who's from an insular "homogeneous" group, I have a morbid curiosity as to how the Reefborn might answer awkward questions like:

"Who is considered 'Awoken'? Would they need to know Speech [the Awoken language], look or act a certain way, or partake in traditions like Night of Ascents? Do their grandparents need to be Awoken or is Awoken ancestry enough? Does a 'you're not Awoken, you're Earthborn Awoken' debate exist**? Is Earthborn identity / customs seen as less valid or just different? Can a person be adopted into Awoken culture?"

Because societal isolation is never "just political tensions." You can't simply reopen your borders or sign an agreement and suddenly Everything Is Fine Again. And while some of this might just be me projecting onto D2 lore, I also think there is a lot of unaddressed implications to The Reef hiding for centuries, and I want answers beyond "it was pretty. you missed out." :)

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* While Revanche III states the Reefborn use biotechnology to stay genetically diverse, a group can be both genetically diverse and ethnically homogeneous.

** 1) While "Earthborn" has yet to be explicitly defined in D2 lore, it seems that any Awoken who left for Earth and/or is associated with Earth is considered Earthborn. One recent example is Lume using the moniker to refer to Zavala.

2) In real life, different groups (as well as individuals) have different approaches to ancestry and residency, e.g. "You're only 'Asian' if you have Asian parents and live in Asia," "You can have Asian ancestry/be Asian-American, but you're not 'Asian' until you speak the language and know the culture," etc. No group is a monolith so there is no universal answer, though people like Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds have made insightful observations on who "counts" and who "doesn't."

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Additional notes: Reefborn Awoken are known for distinct mannerisms, and Petra specifically is known to have an air of superiority due to her belief that City residents and Guardians are less civilized. And before The Reef openly joined the Alliance, there was serious prejudice between Reefborn and everyone else, not just politically but socially as well.

So before you say, "Reefborn Awoken wouldn't have these problems! They're just wary like the Vulcan or reclusive like Silvan Elves!" 1) Even D1 acknowledges the problems between The Reef and everyone else, and 2) even the Vulcan have their issues. And although characters like Mara and Petra have grown / changed their stances, that is a recent development and doesn't really address The Reef at large. :))