Destcember Day #7: Forge Your Destiny

Having just listened to the allegiance quest audio logs, I have decided two things:

1. The Drifter is too pragmatic for his own good after years of hardship and betrayal

2. The optimal solution to part 1 is some friends who won't die/betray him/try to kill him and a group hug.

So, join us. Side with the Drifter. Hug the Drifter. Prove that it's ok to hope.

Destcember Day 5: Black and White

So many guardians see our fight against our enemies in black and white. We are the heroes, dauntless knights fighting endlessly against the forces of evil, who long only to destroy us solely for the furtherment of evil. But things are never that simple. Every one of our enemies has their own stories and reasons to take up arms against us. The Cabal who so recently destroyed us are merely foot soldiers in a vast empire, knowing not why they attack, just following the orders that were passed down to them from a chain of command that they have no authority to even question. The Vex are fighting against the inevitable, for ever trying to stave of the heat death of the universe, warping time, space, and causality in service to their salvation, their "Pattern". The Fallen are lost nomads, with no home to call their own, their homeworld destroyed by the Darkness that we fight so hard against. Now they chase after their Great Machine, hoping, just like us, for the chance to reclaim their golden age. The Scorn have been corrupted by a force greater than them, using the Darkness in an attempt to free themselves from their dependence on Either and Servitors and to bring back those they lose to the deaths that we so often inflict upon them. The Hive and Taken, servants of the very Darkness itself, have their reasons as well. The Hive are slaves of their own free will, eternally killing and destroying to feed their worms, lest they be consumed themselves. They only chose this path for themselves after being in dire straits, with their choices being to take the worms into themselves and serve the Worm Gods, or have their species wiped out by an approaching disaster. Now they fight to survive, to bring the universe to its "final shape" and live forever by becoming death. The Taken, perhaps most pitiful of all, have no will of their own, being puppets to a will greater than their own, often being forced to fight against their former allies and kill those they once called friend. Even the Darkness may have a reason for their actions, though even I doubt that. To each of them we are the boogeymen, immortal monsters that can slaughter their way through hundreds of valiant warriors, with terrible powers of scorching light and weapons that have been known to kill even gods, before dying, only to return seconds later as if nothing ever happened. So, next time you begin to think in black and white, consider what I have said today and what your enemies think of you.

Good Job Bungie

You broke free from Activision before they killed you and Destiny. I have full faith that you will be able to bring about an even better version of Destiny without them looking over your shoulder. But be careful, because there are too many examples of studios with great ideas becoming drunk on freedom and over reaching, leading to disasters. Regardless, we are all proud of you and excited for your progress. Good luck and best wishes.

Destcember Day 13: Enemies of Humanity

Humanity has more enemies than it should. If at all possible, we should try to negotiate with them. This isn't an option for all of our enemies, of course. The Vex have no place for us in their Pattern. To the Hive and Taken, the very idea of peace would be blasphemous. The Scorn have been corrupted by the Darkness, and even if they hadn't been, killing all of their leaders in a quest for revenge has probably made us permanent enemies. Some of our enemies, though, I think that we can reason with. Under Calus, we would be able to join the Cabal in their empire, or, since I doubt most of humanity would be on board for that, at least ally with them against the Darkness. The Eliksni are our best bet for an alliance. Everything they they want is reasonable. They want a new home on Earth and their Great Machine back, both of which we could share. We even have an alliance with some of them already, such as Veriks and the Spider. They are quite good people once you get to know them and they hate the Darkness as much as us. If we could have any of our enemies as a friend, I think it would be them.

Proposal for a new type emote: Emotes that let your Ghost emote with you. The possibilities are endless, but include:

Your ghost flying around your head

Sitting with your ghost on your shoulder

Disco ball ghost

Ghost spinning on your finger like a basketball

Ghost scanning you and using their little laser on different spots

Multi-person emotes where you stand around and your ghosts talk

And many, many more.

Destcember Day #4: The Dark Side of the Moon

You know, it's funny. Before the Golden Age and the Collapse, we used to look up at the Moon with a sense of wonder and fascination. My past life even had the pattern of the dark side engraved into the metal of my back, along with a few stars. It was always a source of serenity, a nightlight to brighten the dark. It was our beacon in the dark that outshone any star out in the inky black. But now the dark has taken it from us.

Now, when I look the Moon, I feel a twinge of fear take hold. It feels like there is a gun leveled at my head that could be fired at any moment. The Hive crawl all over its surface and through its caverns, desecrating it with their filthy rituals and larvae. They swarm like bees, ready to sting at any moment, needing no provocation or reasoning other than the chance to spread their grasp and slaughter the innocent. At the center of it all, there is the queen. They are just one being, damaged and trapped, but still they have spread their Nightmares everywhere. They are just the first of many to come.

From my room in the City, I can't see any of them, but I know they are there. Every time I look at it, I remember how powerless I was against just one of those Pyramids and imagine how many more their are. I can still feel the brush against my mind and body as the Nightmares drew close and the ship possessed my ghost. My best friend was taken from me and all I could do to get her back was follow the instructions her puppeteer gave. It toyed with me and I couldn't do anything.

I used to love the dark side of the Moon because I could never see it. Now I love it because I don't have to.

I just realized, no one has told Jolyon that Uldren is alive again. Someone need to tell him right now. No, better idea, someone needs to find Jolyon, find Uldren, then drag them together and scream "Now Kiss!"

I have questionable tastes

joker’s wild is here and penumbra is coming and i’m reminded of the Discomfort

Destcember Day #3: A Long Shadow

Humanity stands like a young sapling in an old forest. We have so much potential to grow large and prosper. We were on our way even before the Traveler ushered in the Golden Age. With just a little room and a bit of time, we could have been something great. But it was not to be, because we started our journey late. We were not in some bright clearing or field. No, we exist in the long shadow of the old races. The Hive came and blotted out our Light with their Darkness. It was so easy too, for they have enjoyed the benefits of maturity and age for billions of years before our little star even began to form, let alone our race. So, here in the shade of the old and the Darkness, we are left with two choices.

We can allow ourselves to wilt away into dust and rot, just a minor footnote in the logs of the Hive. It would be so easy. If we just stopped fighting, they would gladly wipe us without a shred of hesitation or remorse. If we were lucky, some of us might be taken by the Cabal as oddities or a new client race. Maybe some would survive the purge for a time, huddled together in the cold until nature runs its course or they find themselves at the end of a scout's gun. Our spark would go out and be forgotten in the shade. However, we have never chosen the easy path.

In order for a sapling to prosper, the old growth must be cut away. The old trees must be chopped away and cut down to size. Only then can the light pierce through the dark. Only then can the weak and the young begin to grow.

So take up your Light and your guns and wield them like an axe. Cut and cut and cut until the rivers run brown with the sap of the old trees. Cut until the Dark is no more than an old story that we tell our children. Cut until there is nothing left between you and the Sky. Today they may cast a long shadow, but tomorrow they will cast a shadow no longer.

Destcember Day 3: Living Without the Light

I was asleep in my appartment when the when the Red Legion sealed the Traveler's Light. The change was so stark that it immediately jolted me into conciousness. It was like the constant, soothing fire of the Void Light in my chest had been extinguished, leaving me cold and weak. I tried to rouse Yew, but the most she could produce was a flicker of light or the occasional distorted word. I was going to be on my own for a long while.

Then, I heard the screaming. Cabal drop pods were falling from the sky, smashing buildings and people unlucky enough to be caught in their path. From them poured hundreds of legionaries, psions, and ever other kind of soldier at their disposal. I saw squads of legionaries rounding up everyone that they found fleeing and executing them, while incendiors and war beasts flushed out anyone who had managed to hide. Even without my Light or a chance of being brought back if I died, I had to do something to help.

Luckily, I had prepared to have to flee the City, as with all of the enemies of humanity in the system, I figured that an attack on the City was inevitable. All the weapons that I had stored in the vault were gone, but I always keep a few hidden away in my home and on my person. I took every weapon I could carry and the books and artifacts that I could not afford to let burn with my home. I gently placed Yew in bag and then abandoned the soon to be ruins of my home. As I fled the City, I gathered any survivors I could find, leading them down the burning back alleys and through a series of tunnels that ended outside the Wall. Once we were clear, I brought my bedraggled group to a pack of Eliksni that I had managed to befriend, having brought them any either tanks that I had found while patrolling the system, and called in every favor I had. And with that, I turned back to the burning city. I didn't have the light or my ghost, but I had allies and preparation, and that would have to do.