#jazzhandsmcleg

[cadere-art]

Commission for @jazzhandsmcleg of a tortoishell cat.

[lizzieraindrops]

Destiny is a story about shapes and grief.

I think I may have figured out Destiny. I don't think the primary conflict between the Light and the Darkness is the philosophical issue we thought it was.

I got thinking about it after all this talking, with many others but especially @jazzhandsmcleg, about the way all of The Witch Queen DLC and its 4 seasons have had overarching narratives surrounding trauma and cycles of violence and grief, and the way the Darkness and the Light are characterized by their different approaches to it.

In TWQ, Savathûn is given a true second chance for her species in the Light. But as Ikora points out, she struggles to break free of the learned patterns of the Darkness, continuing the pattern of deception and violence.

Same with Season of the Risen - it’s the Warlords and Dark Ages all over again, but this time it’s the Hive. It forces once again to ask: what does it mean to be given a second chance if this is what you do with it? Temper this with Saladin’s story about the girl from the Dark Ages who he protected, but who became a cruel mortal Warlord in her own right. Crow objects to the mental torture of the Hive Lightbearers and he tries to break from the cycle of interspecies violence, but unintentionally ends up continuing it by killing the Psion and heightening tensions between humans and the Uluran.

Season of the Haunted!!! Literally, the entire thing is about confronting your traumas and greatest fears and the worst parts about yourself and beginning to heal them, making something better from them. Completely changing the game by turning Nightmares that torment into Memories that guide you. Crow with the memory of Uldren, Zavala with that of Safiyah, Caiatl that of Ghaul - and most importantly, resolution focuses on how they, specifically have been held back from healing by their self-incriminating Nightmares. It challenges the cycle of continuing violence on a very personal level. Eris even has patrol dialogue describing the a Nightmare as a thing of pain craving only more pain: "Such is the cycle."

Season of Plunder brings up the very same questions on a much higher organizational level. It gives us Eido and Eramis taking very different jaded vs. new-hope approaches to the legacy of the Whirlwind, asking: can we change? Are we defined by generational trauma forever? Can we continue to grow and change for the better even though it can never be undone? Though Eido is clearly young and naïve, we're clearly given the opportunity and narrative nudge to sympathize with her desire and hope for growth and redemption, both for the Eliksni overall, and for Eramis in particular.

And we're not even done with Season of the Seraph, but it already goes incredibly hard asking the same questions, again from a more personal angle. How far, and through how many generations is trauma transmitted? From the Bray family to Rasputin, to Felwinter to Osiris to Ikora – how do we fix this? How do we fix this? How do you defeat an enemy who IS war itself? What can you do to end an endless cosmic cycle of violence?

Go back and back and back in Destiny's lore even back to D1, and the majority of conflicts seem driven by this cycle of grief and revenge and violence. The entire line of humanity's war with the Hive goes back through Oryx's grief for Crota and the First Crota Fireteam and Eriana-3's grief for her wife Wei Ning. Even the Hive siblings' pact with the Worm Gods, though manipulated by Rhulk, was driven by the pain and grief they endured for themselves and their people, and wanting to escape that cruel pattern. The entire predicament of the Eliksni and their conflict with humans is driven by the trauma and grief and loss of the Whirlwind. Even Caiatl's empire, a conquering force that would be highly regarded by the sword logic, now must reckon with the same kind of loss in the Fall of Torobatl.

How do you escape this cycle and stay free of it?

I think, this year, we are finally seeing the beginnings of an answer.

I can't highly enough recommend the TWQ Collector's Edition lorebook (page scans & transcript) and The Hidden Dossier (page scans & transcript) that immediately follows it. What I've been calling Ikora's theory of "memory and grace" that she develops through the course of these two lore books is a balanced philosophy of memory/Darkness and grace/Light (which honestly deserves an entire post of its own). I think it clearly points toward the final resolution the story of the conflict between the Darkness and the Light.

In light of this, something in the Calus part of the new Lightfall CE lorebook (images, transcript) really jumped out at me.

“The doomed and the damned left the record of their downfall in the OXA. Your star got its name from the oldest myths in that archive. And when your mother told your father that story…the star became your name. A prayer that all will go as it must…and the way it must go is struggle.” “Aiat.” Not a word in Ulurant or any other Cabal tongue. “But Caiatl means something else..” “Yes. ‘It may not always go as it needs to go.’ A good name for a soldier." "A strange name for a daughter," I say. "Your father chose it for your mother's sake. Out of love."

And because the parallel is so overwhelmingly striking, I am once again going to reference philosophy/worldbuilding from the Young Wizards universe, which has great resonance with Destiny lore and which Bungie has been long aware of and has even been referenced in Forsaken-era canon lore.

“all the fair things skewed, all the beauty twisted by the dark Lone Power watching on his steed. If only there were some way he could be otherwise if he wanted to! For here was his name, a long splendid flow of syllables in the Speech, wild and courageous in its own way—and it said that he had not always been so hostile; that he got tired sometimes of being wicked, but his pride and his fear of being ridiculed would never let him stop. Never, forever, said the symbol at the very end of his name, the closed circle that binds spells into an unbreakable cycle and indicates lives bound the same way.” [...] “Nita bent quickly over the Book and, with the pen, in lines of light, drew from that final circle an arrow pointing upward, the way out, the symbol that said change could happen—if, only if—and together they finished the Starsnuffer’s name in the Speech, said the new last syllable, made it real.” Excerpt From: Diane Duane. “So You Want to Be a Wizard, New Millennium Edition.”

CAIATL’S NAME IS LITERALLY THE UP-AND-OUT SYMBOL.

I know I'm probably only talking to the handful of Destiny players from the (very small) Young Wizards fandom, but what you need to know is that this moment is pivotal and sets up the series-long theme of hope for an eventual exit from the cycle. It's the incredibly small, overwhelmingly improbable possibility of a second chance, a new start for the Lone Power, the source of all strife and suffering, who itself is driven by loss and pain. A concept of extended grace that is inherently tied to the philosophy of the Light.

“Billions of years, it took. All the redemptions there have ever been went toward this; from the greatest to the least. And finally in the fullness of time you came along, and took my role, of your own will, and woke up a race powerful enough to change the whole Universe, and gave them the fire.” She glanced up at the mobiles and smiled. “How could he resist such a bait? He took the gamble: he always does. And losing, he won.” [...] “The Defender reached down and put a hand into the shadow. “And we are going where such matters are transcended… where all his old pains will shift. Not forgotten, but transformed. Life in this universe will never have such a friend. And as for His inventions… look closely at Death, and see what it can become.” The long, prone darkness began to burn, from inside, the way a mountain seems to do with sunset. “Brother,” the Defender said. “Come on. They’re waiting.” Excerpt From: Diane Duane. “High Wizardry New Millennium Edition.”

This is the devil’s second chance, its homecoming. Grace among the memory. How do we heal this? By fixing it. By making and TAKING that opportunity of grace.

Likewise, Destiny is shaping up into its own universe’s story of this Reconfiguration, the remaking of everything that exists through the act of a second chance, both offered and taken, with full awareness of the irreversibility of harm already caused.

Destiny isn’t the story of the light and the darkness fighting each other. That happens, but that’s not what it’s ABOUT.

It’s “And I know exactly what we are. We’re best frenemies with a history of intense mutual hurt and messy reconciliation, leaving a deep tenderness as well as an almost impenetrable knot of scars. What could be simpler?” (Chalco)

It's “For so long, I believed peace was beyond my reach. No more. I have found it in guiding others down the same path that saved me. But… I might allow myself to want more than peace. What, I am not certain. Is joy the word? Might I find that again?” (Eris)

It's “Second chances… hm. Turns out I've been using mine wrong. I thought being a Guardian was my destiny. That wielding the Light for good was the most I had to offer. But it's clear now. This is what the Traveler chose me for. I was reforged in the Light for a purpose. To remake something dead and gone… into something beautiful. To learn how to forge something new from what we were. Everything Uldren did to the Reef, the Scorn… Fikrul. I have a responsibility — no — a calling to make them whole. And… I can't replace Cayde. But I can cover his old patrols — maybe organize the Hunters a bit, if they'll let me. Clean up some of my mess. I don't know if I can fix everything Uldren left broken… but I can try.” (Crow)

We aren’t defeating the Darkness. That’s never what it’s been about. It’s about breaking the cycle of trauma and grief with memory and grace. We're transcending the Final Shape, but we're not here to destroy it or become it. We’re harmonizing the Darkness and the Light into a sustainable balance to create something new from the wounded remains.

We're here to heal the broken relationship between the Winnower and the Gardener.

That's all that it is, in the end. They had a falling out, and now they hurt, and they hurt each other, and everything else, forever. Breaking free from that cycle begins and ends with them.

Is that fair? No, it's not.

But Destiny is – unhingedly, brilliantly, paradoxically – a FPS game about how to stop killing each other, growing ever more into a framework of restorative and reparative justice.

The story says, we are all culpable, we have all done awful shit and have endless potential to do more awful shit – AND, most critically, we all have the potential to do better (grace). AND, the act of making the conscious choice to do so and letting that happen is the only way for things to get better (memory).

The Collapse happened and it was horrible, the Red War happened and it was horrible, the Great Disaster happened and it was horrible, Twilight Gap happened and it was horrible...AND?? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RESPOND? The Whirlwind happened and it was horrible! The Fall of Torobatl happened and it was horrible! Your species' Choice was stolen and you became the most prolifically violent killers in the universe and it was and is horrible! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

Are you going to make it more horrible? Or are you going to make it BETTER????

Are you going to fight for the Final Shape, or for the gentle kingdom ringed in spears?

[azvolrien]

jazzhandsmcleg replied to your post:

I can’t believe I missed this! What a treat. You’re right that the mundane/routine/logistics don’t get focused on as much as the more exciting doings and it makes perfect sense/requires a very different type of book to make work, but man I love this kind of thing. …Also, “I’m a gryphon :)” really made me laugh.

Yeah, I don't know that it's a concept I could hold up for something more novella-length or longer, but it's fun to explore in something a bit shorter, you know?

Ironbeak could have been a little more helpful there. There are some foodstuffs that gryphons can't eat, either because they just can't digest them or they're outright toxic to them, but they can still have their own allergies and intolerances on top of that!

[azvolrien]

jazzhandsmcleg replied to your post:

This one I think you might have just called ‘Roan Has It So, So Bad (and also has unwelcome guests)’. I appreciate your restraint. XD It tickles me that good looks and horrible personalities alike run in the MacArra family. Doesn’t matter! Eilidh escaped with her life but she still got owned pretty thoroughly by your “dog”-skull wearing bumpkin, and in some ways the fact that she doesn’t know it is the cherry on top of the sundae.

In more than one sense! 'Hopelessly besotted' and 'desperately lonely' aren't a brilliant combination of emotions for her.

And yeah, 'Hot, but also The Worst' are recurring traits in their family. There are several very good reasons why their grandmother elected not to live at Castle MacArra, and most of them were related to her. I feel like that one guard probably did have his suspicions that Roan knew more than she was letting on, but as far as he's concerned his job is just to make sure Eilidh doesn't get herself killed while she's out looking for Daro, not to actually help her look for him. I do wonder how far they ended up going before they gave up, though.

The skull of a common seal looks like this, by the way, so I suppose it's not entirely unreasonable to mistake it for some kind of dog.

[azvolrien]

jazzhandsmcleg replied to your post:

I really liked this one. Lorna and Vala are at fundamental odds as people and as members of different cultures, and their shared history is nowhere near enough to negate that – but it’s clear that their being sisters still counts for something serious to both of them, however unwillingly or oddly. Then, contrasting the glimpse into the Sea People’s world with a more intimate (and more familiar to the reader) look at Lorna’s cozy new home life…chef kiss. I also enjoyed the little look into Sea People culture! And Whale Sister is a great name for a ship, imo.

I get the impression that, all things considered, Lorna probably does have fond memories of her sister, who I'd estimate is about five to six years older than her; even in as warlike a society as the Sea People they did your typical kid stuff together, like playing hide and seek in the Orca Clan's keep and pulling pranks on each other and the rest of their family. It was only as they grew older that they started drifting apart, when Vala started her warrior training and Lorna got her first good look at some of the more violent aspects of their culture.

Their ships generally have various kennings for names; they don't really go in for naming them after people or places. It does owe some inspiration to the name of the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde's replica longship, Havhingsten (The Sea Stallion in Danish).

[anonforlackofabettername]

happy birthday!!

Thanks! I appreciate it 🥰💜

[azvolrien]

jazzhandsmcleg replied to your post:

LOVE this. My favorite parts are how reasonable the fare is and the fact that the Dogleg line is very much just that. XD Are the trams gryphon-accessible??

The fares are inspired by (though somewhat cheaper than) how it works on the buses here in Edinburgh. So if you're only going to be taking one or two trams in any given day, it's cheaper to just pay each journey individually, but if you're going to be taking three or more then a day ticket is more economical.

And they try to be! The trams are designed so that the doors, stairs and seating areas have enough room to fit an average-sized gryphon, though a particularly big one like Redbolt might still find it an uncomfortable squeeze. Gryphons are generally more likely to just fly to wherever they're going, though, so they don't feel this is in urgent need of correction. Bear in mind, Stormhaven isn't a huge city by the standards of the real world; it's only about three miles across.

[azvolrien]

jazzhandsmcleg replied to your post: The Bastion

I don’t know why exactly but I’m just tickled by the construct that walks on the waterwheel. Is there a class element to the question of horses vs. constructs?

Yes, but the exact nature of that element can vary depending on where you are. It’s kind of like owning a horse vs owning a car; for people in urban areas where there’s less room to keep one, owning an actual flesh-and-blood horse can be a bit of a status symbol considering all the expenditure needed to feed and house it, whereas you don’t need to feed a construct and it doesn’t need more space than the amount it physically occupies (and it differs from a car in that you don’t need to fuel it, either).

On the other hand, constructs and the workshops that make them are much fewer and further-between out in more remote rural areas and both space and horse feed are at less of a premium, so someone having a personal construct is generally a sign that they’ve gone to some trouble to acquire it - a bespoke construct is expensive, though there are cheaper options (e.g. built ones are cheaper than grown ones, and ones built for a general market will be cheaper than those made for a specific customer). Sometimes rural communities band together to commission one that they can all use on a rota, like how several different farmers in a given area might share the same combine harvester, but overall you’re still more likely to see living horses used as working animals.