#destiny week

[happywitchesofnewdi]

So galaxy and I were talking today and we discovered something:

Okay, so like, this conversation actually came about because we were talking about switch's parents and like. Tsumugi's mom (rightfully) gets a lot of flack for poor parenting but like, what about Natsume's mom. Natsume has gone on the record several times and openly stated how much he loves his mom but like, we feel like there's a lot of reasons to think that things are not as rosy as Natsume lets on.

Sometimes, you want your parents to be good so bad that you ignore the bad parts.

It's normal for traumatized people and children who have parent issues or have one good parent and one bad parent to pedestalize one parent over the other or ignore any of the flaws their parents have in an attempt to see them for who they want to see them as. If Natsume wants his mom to be someone amazing and wonderful that he looks up to, that's who he's going to construct his mom to be. "But maybe his mom is those things" you may ask. She very well may be! But when you look at Natsume's behavior, it's hard not to wonder where some of his tendencies come from. When you start to look at how his mom behaves and has treated him over the course of the series, I feel like more comes into view.

Natsume's parents held very high standards for him, as they do for themselves. Natsume's father has been described as a straight-shooting businessman. Anyone who's climbed in business knows the kind of ruthlessness and calculation it can sometimes take o be successful. Natsume's mom has been known to even sequester herself away for days at a time to focus on her own stuff. Don't those traits sound familar?

You gotta remember too that during Pleiades Night, Natsume didn't even get to go home because his mom was caught up in her own stuff. Natsume handwaves it away, but how are we supposed to believe that Natsume, one of the most codependent and needy people in all of enstars, would just be okay with something like this happening? His reaction here seems to imply to me that this isn't the first time something like this has happened. After all, why would it be?

Natsume's mom has pushed a lot onto her kid, testing Natsume on occasion and making him cross dress for a not insignificant amount of past.

And a certain point, it's hard to not look at all of this and just be like...what kind of parent does this? And again, this is not to say that Natsume has bad parents. But, in my mind, it feels like Natsume's parents were neglectful enough or withheld love enough for Natsume to want to strongly seek it out, even as an adult. We feel like Natsume must have had a lot of moments as a child when he was lonely or sad.

Maybe there were times where all he could do to really attract his parent's full attention is by doing the things that followed in their footsteps.

Maybe he felt like he had to meet their demands to obtain their love.

Maybe he treats Tsumugi and Sora the way he wishes he could treat his parents: genuinely and lovingly with his full range of emotions.

And today, maybe we have a Natsume Sakasaki that struggles with that legacy a bit.

He's a massive perfectionist with a God complex that struggles to let anyone see him falter. He is obsessed on two occasions with "reclaiming" his legacy controlling the way the public sees him, even if he says it's about the Five Eccentrics. He even built a VR headset and locked two of his closest friends in it for two whole weeks.

He feels like it's perfectly fine to self-isolate for days at a time and fail to take care of himself, even though he clearly gets easily upset when Tsumugi does the same.

He's not above "testing" his friends to help them, even if it involves lying and manipulation.

Looking at everything, it's hard to not feel like Natsume gets so much from his parents.

Bringing this back to Natsume and Tsumugi - it really feels like these two are hopelessly trying to fill the mom-shaped hole in each other.

Let's remember that in a lot of ways, Tsumugi is similar to Natsume. Like, his

particularity with money,

his self-destructive work ethic, and

his ruthlessness when it comes to doing things that result in receiving validation from others, especially from Natsume,

All feel like a trauma response from dealing with an absent mother. Like, remember Shinsekai or Element/Magicians Assemble? Tsumugi did so much of what he did because he thinks it will earn him the love or approval of others. In summary:

These two have serious mommy issues. But, it's likely that those mommy issues helped bring them together in a toxic, codependent way. We love them for that lol. But also like, idk, it makes their dynamic so interesting and full of potential.

[spookgeist]

@destinyweek day 3! Gave my boyfriend Xur a miniskirt because it’s more practical for an interplanetary explorer.

Sorry this one is so messy looking...

Buy me a coffee! 

[alfheimr]

my fave ghost shells, my lazy congtriburtion to destiny week day 1

[sunshinesoda-m]

annd for day 2 where the prompt was classes

i really love how this turned out like gosh.. uh @destinyweek

[raptorfather-draws]

"Ye-ess?" @destinyweek Day 3: NPCs Going a bit out of order because I'm still stumped for day 2

[kinghorsehead]

The Cryptarch

@destinyweek !!!

Master Rahool of the Tower had an interesting practice. It was a skill that not everyone had. Decrypting the Engrams that Guardians brought to him was as much of his job as researching the world before the Fall, and even well before the Golden Age. 

In order to decrypt and engram, you first needed an engram. Clusters of materialized data that could be researched and applied physically, creating a variety of things. Some contained information on guns, weapons, armor, even cosmetic devices like cloaks, marks, or bonds. 

But then there were the strange ones. 

The true nature of engrams was never something that had been fully explored. Rahool tried his damnedest to sort it out, how they were created in the first place, but his research didn’t take him very far. 

Sometimes, a citizen of the city would find their way up to the tower and ask for Rahool’s assistance and knowledge. cryptarchs existed down below, but Rahool was known to be one of the best in the system.  

“Let’s see what we have here...” Rahool muttered to himself, gingerly taking the engram from a citizen. Some believed that you had to have the right mind, the right vision in order to see the truth of the engrams. Rahool wasn’t sure what to say about that. “Oh?”

His hands moved across the engram, and it began to glow. In mere moments, it fizzled into something akin to dust, floating up in the air. Normally the engram would reconfigure its size to become the item coded inside, but this wasn’t the case with smaller items. 

from the dust was a sliver of paper. Nobody used paper much anymore. Rahool loved the texture of paper. He often spent his free hours in the warlock’s libraries reading. But this paper was a little different.

He chuckled to himself. The woman seemed curious, inching and leaning forward, but didn’t utter a word. Silently, he gave the paper to her, and allowed her to inspect it herself.

“Unpredictable things, engrams. They’re most commonly the weapons and armor you see our guardians carrying around, but every once and a while, you’ll get something like this.” Even his words were curious and gleeful at the strange paper. 

It was a recipe. for cooking. 

With kindness, the woman bowed, uttered a quiet thanks, and left, leaving Rahool to deal with the guardians who crouched before him like he was some sort of god, deciding the random numbers generated that would in turn deliver them the items they wanted. 

He was no god, but he did observe the guardian’s strange tendencies regarding engrams. Some would hoard them, and decrypt several at a time. They hoped that mass decryption would somehow boost their chances of receiving rarer gear, but the numbers were still as random as they’d ever be.

Such was the like of Cryptarch Rahool

[fireteam-wefuckedupbad]

late night entry for @destinyweek

prompt is grimoire cards

both of these are made up cards. and the images for them. the first one is titled distress call, the second picture goes to the second story titled celebration.

Distress call

TYPE: Transcript

DESCRIPTION: Conversation

PARTIES: Three[3] one[1] Ghost type,[u.1], one[1] Unknown,[u.2], one[1] Guardian type, Vanguard type,[u.3]

ASSOCIATIONS [REDACTED]; Venus; Eliksni; request for aid; vex gates

//AUDIO UNAVAILABLE// //TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS.../

[u.1:01] hello, can anyone hear

[Static]

[U.2:01] I don’t think they can hear us, stella

[u.1:02] we have to keep trying, your people aren’t safe until we are off of this planet.

[u.1:02] I know...i just, if what you said was true...would they even… [u.1:03] trust me, Hello vanguard, I am ghost; 13875, designated name, stella, i am in need of assistance!

[silence]

[u.2:03] this is...Inikiks, guardian of ghost, designated as stella, I am with refugees, and are trapped on venus, we request aid….please, respond.

[silence]

[u.2:04] See I…

[u.1:4] Hush!

[static]

[u.3:04] This is Ikora Rey of the vanguard, stella, we hear you, what is your problem.

[u.2:05] by the traveler’s light...you were right…

[u.1:05] aren’t i always? Ikora Rey, I have with me my guardian, and a hundred refugees who had made it through a time gate, and require an immediate evacuation, sending location now.

[u.3:05] location received, we have a lot to talk about, Inikiks, and stella.

[silence]

[u.2:06] you think it really worked? That...they’ll be safe?

[silence]

[u.1:06] I trust in the vanguard, and if they see us, maybe they’ll be more likely to believe that we aren’t going to hurt anyone.

[u.2:07] we? Finally counting yourself as one of the people?

[u.1:07} wipe that grin off your face, i’ve considered myself one of the people the moment I chose you to be my guardian.

[u.2:08]...thank you...I hope we can stop the darkness, before humanity loses their home just as the eliksni did.

[u.1:08] I’m sure we will, you didn’t deserve to lose everything like that, I hope the city can welcome you, they aren’t...so happy with…

[silence]

[u.2:09] We haven’t fallen from grace yet, and i don't’ think we’d want to either.

[u.1:09] I know Ini, it’s why i love you.

“There aren’t many reasons to celebrate, well, sure guardians take a shot, down a few, maybe even dance and sing, taking victories where we can get them. But not really truly celebrate. But one occasion, maybe two but mostly one, does the whole tower rejoice without asking what the next assignment is.”

cayde pauses before standing up, holding a small box, ghost says their cigars, he looks more smug than usual as he pats the fresh hunter on the shoulder and makes his way out.

He makes a beeline for zavala’s office, not bothering to knock. The man doesn’t jump, he simply glares at the exo before sighing annoyingly.

“can’t it wait cayde? im almost done,” he motions to a purple beanie he had been working on in what little spare time he had.

“nope, just got the call, it’s show time,” cayde’s eyes shone with amusement as he watched the stoic commander scramble for his things.

“then what are we waiting for? does ikora know?”

“already there.”

“shaxx?”

“was convinced that swords aren't proper gifts, i agree, knives are much better.”

he lifted his hands up before zavala could bite his head off about how inappropriate that comment was. “just kidding, come on, doubt they’ll wait for us.”

The commander nodded once, and the two vanguard were off, heading towards the hospital, Cayde reluctantly being the one to hold the ball of yarn as Zavala crotched the last of the beany. The ride there was long, agonizing for the exo, and titan had no care, looking at the time every now and then. Ever vigilant in his work, even as they walked up towards the entrance, and was directed to the proper floor. “Yeah, so, uh, we’re here to see a hunter, kinda,” Cayde makes a motion with his free hand, making a large bump over his stomach. The nurse nodded,and handed them both tags. “Names, she’s in the recovery room, down the hall to the left, last door on the right.” she answered before giving them both a warm smile, and then returning to her work. “Recovery room?” Zavala asked, finally looking up from his work. “Means we missed the main event,” Cayde sighed, but with a shrug he and the commander made it to the room, Ikora waiting outside the room door. “You’re both late,” she stated. “Well, the commander wasn’t really ready for em to show up, so, please tell me, did i win?” Cayde asked. Ikora only smiled as she turned into the room, “See for yourself.” Within the room stood several towering figures, and some not so large, a few had to squeeze into the back, two were sleeping, but all were guardians. The group moved to make room for the latecomers.

Eyes on the tired mother and the bundle in her arm. “I’m glad i made it purple,” zavala smirked as he placed the beanie on the child’s head. “Hope you brought more than one, zavala,” shaxx smirked, showing a second child. “And the last one here,” Another titan spoke up, holding the last of the babies.

Zavala stared between the three and sighed, knowing there was much more work he had to do. “They can share for now.” “And, they’re…” “Boy’s” the mother answered. “Well...i owe a lot of people, a lot of glimmer,” Cayde sighed. Tossing the ‘it’s a girl’ cigars into the trash.

There wasn’t much for a guardian to truly celebrate, victories come and go, always replaced by another life threatening mission. But the birth of a child, to a guardian, was something that was rare, and celebrated. A tower baby was a gift, and a good sign for the future. 

[warmindrasputinarchive]

Destiny Week Day 6: Grimoire Card

This is a fan Card I kinda made on the fly a few days ago just to have something new to post for the event! I took inspiration from certain cards and how they read to make this one so that’s why is Reads Like That, but I’m pretty happy with it!

It involves my (not) Hunter, the Traveler, and Warmind Rasputin and a flashback to an event that led to the Guardians being a Thing in the first place.

It’s rather short (as most Cards go), but thanks for reading!

All I did was stare up at the broken plaster moon.

Funny how easily some of these memories are provoked.

The Traveler was full now and I guess any other Guardian would find it unsettling or awe-inspiring, but I’m not a Guardian and the being that hovers dead over that City blessed the wrong corpse.

Certainly so. Why would it want me to remember this? Of course, it isn’t my memory it’s another flashback and swearing on every grave I’ve been in it belongs to a Titan I met a long time ago. You would think being a Titan they would be all about upholding their charge, the Light, the Traveler, but they spat on the Wall and cursed at the being with a swing of their fist and I had this inkling as to why, but I guess it wasn’t enough to see it for myself.

It took a broken plaster moon.

That’s right I mean it looks like the Traveler (deep within my brain core its name is spoken in an old language I don’t understand, but he does and he calls it The Gardener and we are its Roses and that works for me) and it’s broken in all the right places, but like I said this one is full and bright like how the moon is supposed to be.

It hovers not over the City, but instead over the forests of a place I never bothered to visit myself. The Titan isn’t a Titan yet, just an Exo with a weight pressing against their chest and had they the lungs, they would be suffocating. Not a literal weight, mind you, but watching as the very thing that brought upon a Golden Age began its ascent towards its own salvation it was hard not to feel crushed.

I felt myself scream at it and I wanted desperately to feel my throat go raw to be sure the effort was heard, but I just kept going. I knew it didn’t care. If it did, it would stay. I guess I wanted to make sure it knew how angry I was and that’s understandable.

I would be angry too, but the Traveler blessed the wrong corpse so I feel nothing for it.

However, I know how this story is supposed to end because the Traveler never left and it’s dead over a City that I feel nothing for and as I stood there screaming, I wonder what stops it.

I think sometimes (something my Ghost says I should do more often) that those Warlocks that kill themselves to see visions would love me. I think they would beg me to tell them how I see these things. I can’t be for sure, but I get the idea that it started here.

It started with the sky breaking open and it ended with the Traveler crippled, carved open by an aurora blade that was dropped with a nonchalant twist of the wrist and the excuse that he was following orders.

That was a lie and I know it, but not because I know it, mind you, I just remember it. He thought about that day and I guess that was a good thing because no one else had the idea and he was made for that sort of stuff.

He carved the flesh of this being with such merciless force that you would think he was trying to kill it, not wound it. I stopped screaming and watched as chunks fell off and crashed into the forest below, smoking oozing like blood into an amber sky. Electricity crackled in the air and I could feel it against my metal skin as if it were replacing the smell of iron that one would expect from such a gruesome attack. It was a brutal display of power. He was an usurper twisting the blade in the gut of the king and whispering in his ear I knew you so well. He was an angry preacher that stripped away the holiness of his God with damnable words.

Go ahead and laugh a little. He really was a mad priest.

At any rate, if there was time to fully absorb what had happened, it was robbed from me with a blinding white light and I knew in that moment I was dead. It passed over the forest in a burst and as I watched it come towards me, I spat at the Traveler for the first time.

And then there was nothing.

Nothing but this broken plaster moon as it dangles from a thin strand of wire in a creaky building on a coast with no name because everyone has forgotten. I’m sure I could remember, if I had the right memory, but I don’t seek these things out.

They just happen to remind me.