Don't you think it's funny how almost always Titans just can't help themselves when it comes to Warlocks? (Saint and Osiris, Wei Ning and Eriana, Shaxx and Felwinter, ect)

Just always seem to be drawn to each other yk?

What do Hunters get you might ask? Well that's simple: They have each other! It goes:

• meet under unlikely circumstances

• develop lifelong bond

• get into a stupid mess

• one of them dies in (or as a consequence of) said stupid mess

• the one left alive gets super traumatized, has a huge change to their entire personality makes the death become their main driving force, and then waits until they meet a new hunter so they themselves can die in a stupid mess and continue the cycle!

I saw your post about Ahamkara; what's your favorite Ahamkara lore (if you don't mind me asking)?

formal request to go on at length about a special interest let's gooooo (it is always okay)

i am going to choose to answer this in two parts, first my favorite ahamkara story and then my favorite ahamkara tidbit.

i mentioned tallulah fairwind in the post because she's the guardian i always think of first for having been killed by ahamkara. if you are not aware, tallulah was the founding (kinda) hunter vanguard, alongside saint and osiris. she had to be kind of cajoled into it by the speaker at the time, and this is the origin of the vanguard dare. when the speaker told her that it would certainly be very difficult to wrangle all the hunters and fit meetings into her busy schedule of missions, she had to prove him wrong.

i had previously thought for some reason that her death happened during the great hunt, but in rechecking sources to write this, i didn't actually find a specific time when her death took place. i had thought that the events leading up to her death were part of the great hunt, but perhaps her death was a catalyst.

in any case, at some point, she was playing cards with some guy and her friend, caliban-8, was dealing. during the game, the two guardians realized that this rando was in fact a wish-dragon, and the stakes got significantly more dire. eventually, back against a wall, tallulah bet her life against the dragon, and caliban dealt her a losing hand. this was another moment where the tradition of the vanguard dare was perpetuated: in the moments before her death, tallulah gave caliban her weapon and as he pleaded with her not to leave him her post, she said, "a dare's a dare, man." it is implied at this point that she was literally just eaten in a single bite by this dragon. i really enjoy this story because i think it characterizes some old hunters very well and i think the archetypal hunter bravado and joviality plays EXTREMELY well when they're stuck in tragedy partially of their own making but from which they cannot escape. if i remember correctly caliban also had a silly poker visor on because the card game was conjured up by wish-magic. i just love the touches that ahamkara put on things that show that they know how humans operate but at the same time display flagrant disregard for human feeling or sensibility.

my favorite ahamkara factoid is that the keep of voices is built from all of those huge amethyst geodes because amethyst, for whatever reason, will always reflect an ahamkara's true reflection (as a dragon) rather than whatever shape they have taken by magic. the keep of voices was built this way specifically to keep riven in so that anyone approaching could see her for what she was. i think the implication here is also that amethyst is extremely distasteful to ahamkara for this reason, i can imagine an ahamkara seeing their reflection and hissing and looking away.

i'm really interested in this because to my knowledge, the entirety of the dreaming city, terraforming and all, was created by riven through wish magic. i wonder whether queen mara had to wish for all of the amethyst, too, and what it was like for riven to grant that wish, if she did. i also just love reciting this fact when i'm teaching LW and bringing folks up to kalli & the wish wall.

(as a disclaimer, at least 50% of what i know about ahamkara, if not more, was learned watching cameron lauder on talking simulator and all i did to write this post was check a couple of sources on the wiki to ensure i wasn't entirely wrong.)

Everyone seems to have a favourite topic in d2 (character, race, groups etc) that I love reading their analysis of and then... there's me, bouncing between 20 minor characters and 200 miniscule interactions across the destiny timeline like a scavenger.

Did you know that Tevis Larsen had apparently had an instance of direct contact with Rasputin? Where Red told him he does not care about humanity?

Or that Drifter had at some point asked Felwinter to kill the Warlord Citan that had massacred Eaton when Felwinter had already joined the Iron Lords, and been under the Iron Decree no less? And that Felwinter did it anyway?

Or that Wei Ning's fists could move mountains? That Taeko-3 was a Praxic Warlock and Eriana was one as well?

How Andal Brask died from Tallulah Fairwind slapping his shoulder the moment he got to the City? After he barfed on the watercraft Micah-10, Den-Mother-Of-Ghosts, put him to cross over the Pacific to get to the City? And how she is being hunter by the Ghost killing Guardian Cyrell while she herds Ghosts towards their new charges?

That Shaxx kicked Teben Grey and Shin Malphur (as Zyre Orsa at the time) out of the Crucible with a great many threats and how, where Andal had been almost neutral towards them, Cayde was instead pointedly dismissing the not-yet Shadows, because he and Shaxx were close?

How Pahanin kept saying puns just to annoy Kabr because he thought it funny and the piece of crumpled gum-wrapper he tossed at Praedyth's head before they walked in the Vault is still something Praedyth has.

All these little events are so important to me, and I'm not sure why.

Camrin Dumuzi is a Human who serves as an agent of the Owl Sector. After meeting and falling in love with the Hunter Ana Bray, she assisted her as Ana investigated her connection to the Golden Age Bray Family and the Clovis Bray Corporation. Camrin used her position within Owl Sector to secretly help Ana Bray and her Ghost, Jinju, locate a Clovis Bray facility on Mars that the team believe to be the birthplace of the Warmind Rasputin. Their search led them to a terminal littered with Vex in Meridian Bay, where Camrin got hurt. Ana placed her in stasis in a Warmind vault in the Cosmodrome named MED-5, where she recovered from her wounds thanks to Rasputin's medical advancements.

Tallulah Fairwind was a Hunter who was appointed by the Speaker as the first Hunter Vanguard. She was eventually murdered by an Ahamkara and replaced as Hunter Vanguard by Caliban-8.

I haven’t been keeping up with Destiny for A WHILE now, but I maintain the position that they should bring back Tallulah Fairwind to complete the original trio with absolutely no explanation of how she survived being eaten by a space dragon.

Actually, scratch that, what they should do is have her show up right before a battle, and then have Ikora or whoever be like “You’ve been dead for 300 years how are you here?” And Tallulah would be like “you know its’ a funny story...” but then battle breaks out so you can only make out bits and pieces like:

“So there I was having lost the game with the star dragon-” *dakkadakkadakka KABOOOM* “-next thing I know I’m up to my elbows in hive underwear!” *Crash! Bang! Kapow* “-I mean, who would have even thought Lamas could get that big?” *sounds of a nova bomb hitting a dropship* “-murder hamster or not, Tallulah Fairwind does not turn down free booze.”

The fighting then stops just in time for the player to hear Tallulah say “And you know what I told her? I told her: Ada-1, you are an amazing woman and you deserve beautiful things to happen to you! go out there and claim your happy ever after. Anyways now I’m hear.” Followed by Ikora pinching the bridge of her nose and going “Never tell that story again.”

The Crown Bracket - Round 2

Character information. below the cut.

This is not to reflect any personal bias of us, it's just that everyone knows who Cayde is and information on Caliban is from ONE Hunter exotic.

Cayde-6 needs no introduction, but Caliban-8 may.

Caliban-8 was, to our knoweldge, the second Hunter Vanguard. Directly responsible for the death of Tallulah Fairwind thanks to a bad hand in a card game she played against an Ahamkara, that Caliban acted as dealer for. He took over Vanguard duties following this. He would then spend almost all his time in his office, throwing burning knives at the ceiling.

Me: let's work on some figure drawing!

Also me: *first one is two women holding hands* Let's make some Ikora x Chalco fan art!

Okay, so Bungie doesn't give us enough lore about these two, so I have some head cannons about them. Honestly still don't really know how these two meet, but they've worked together a lot in both Crucible and actual missions. Chalco is a fierce arcstrider and was taught a lot by Tallulah Fairwind (the first hunter vanguard) and often learned a lot about being an academic from Osiris. Spending a lot of time with warlocks/academics led Chalco to be one herself. Chalco always had feelings for Ikora but Ikora didn't realize it (I imagine Ikora dated Eris at one point). Eventually Chalco and Ikora do end up together.

Things were going great, but they had a bit of a rough patch when Osiris was exiled because the Speaker acted as though it was a unanimous vote to exile Osiris but both Andal and Ikora voted against this. Chalco by that point really liked Osiris and even tho she saw he wasn't the best commander/warlock vanguard, still believed he was an important academic to the city. Chalco later finds this out from Andal how the vote actually went. Chalco makes up with Ikora, but since Ikora is the vanguard now and Chalco is one of her most important Hidden in the field, they spend a lot of time apart.

I often wish we got more lore about Ikora's past beyond her Crucible days and she being Osiris' student, kinda like how they humanized Zavala with the whole Safiyah/Hakim story. And I just want more Chalco lore. I get excited to read it whenever it's given. I know we'll never see her in game, but I thought the same about Eido, and I was super thrilled when they actually put her in game. So I can hope maybe the same will happen for Chalco.

Do you have any destiny blorbos that exclusive reside in lore books? for example mine is tallulah fairwind.

I don't know what a "blorbo" is, but I'm going to assume you mean characters & you can correct me if I'm wrong.

For the longest time my answer would've been Saint-14 and Quria and Savathun, but they've all actually appeared in the video game by this point, haha.

Sjur Eido isn't technically relegated entirely to lore books (she gets to be a talking statue in one dungeon LOL), but I love her. Namrask exists basically entirely in a lore book from Season of the Splicer (Achilles Weaves a Cocoon!!) & a couple weapon tabs, but he's real neat. I also really like the Black Armory founders & the Ishtar Collective folks.

Xivu Arath feels like a wrong answer because she's almost certainly going to have an in-game presence other than "uh oh her troops are attacking!" She's fun, though.

Did you guys know that hunters are my favorite class in Destiny?

Here's a few of my favorites:

(From right to left)

Iron Lord Gheleon, Tevis Larsen, Andal Brask, Cayde-6, Caliban-8, Tallulah Fairwind, Jaren Ward and Crow

nobody was ready for this actually being a destiny blog (unless you, y'know, recognize the url) BUT

destiny new content destiny new content!!!

i am of very mixed opinion on the new seasonal story. it absolutely boggles me that people are TALKING OUT LOUD TO RIVEN did nobody read the manual?? she is showing SURPRISING restraint in not just causing intractable and unfathomable chaos the moment anyone opens their mouth. the wish wall exists not only as a form of language that is entirely void of semantic ambiguity in order to obtain the thing queen mara actually wanted to wish for but also because such a language is the only safe way to interact with ahamkara.

crow just being randomly on the phone with her and going "could you do x?" and riven going "do you... WISH it? ;)" is absurd to me because she doesn't need permission she can just ruin your day for looking at or speaking with her. anyway it's weird to see riven as just a normal person who happens to be an ancient and powerful dragon wizard rather than someone who, because they are an ancient and powerful dragon wizard, is totally impossible for everyone else to understand or fathom. discarding her whole thousand voices shtick! what's going on there! this season really just threw out all of the cool riven & ahamkara lore and is now treating her very differently, which will always grate on me as someone who has invested time and energy in the lore. if tallulah fairwind could see this riven now... unthinkable.

*leans close to the mic*

Caliban-8 bottomed for Tallulah Fairwind. That man got pegged on the regular and you cannot tell me otherwise.

Tallulah Fairwind was a Hunter who was appointed by the Speaker as the first Hunter Vanguard. She was eventually murdered by an Ahamkara and replaced as Hunter Vanguard by Caliban-8.

Nabenki is a Hive Lightbearer of the Lucent Brood. A few days after the rising of the Brood, Nabenki and his Ghost Specter were tasked with investigating a series of Thrall murders.

19 for Tallulah

Tallulah Fairwind first heard the term "Dark Age" when she was ten years Risen, in the thronging paths of a great southern village that would one day be called the Last Safe City on Earth.

A man in a mask stood in front of a crowd and prophesied hope. "The Light provides," he would say. A phrase that became more and more unfashionable as time went on, and people put all their faith in Guardians, not their silent benefactor.

That day, still young and bold, she stood with the others and listened, rapt.

"One day the Darkness will pare back," said the Speaker, with all the force of a charging Titan. "The Golden Age ended... but so too will this Dark Age. Our children and our children's children will taste joy and freedom. This is what the Traveler promises to us."

Tallulah felt Solar energy coil in her hand, warm and faithful. The people cheered around her as though this was a message that gave them hope. Some of them pulled their children close and smiled at them.

Later, she was Dared. The seasons spun and the walls around the City grew. Still, the Fallen clawed at them, and some began to doubt the Speaker's word.

One day, Osiris stood with her at the lip of the Tower, looking over the ramshackle edifices of the last of Humanity. She was smiling, feeling the sun on her face.

"The Light provides," Osiris said, scoffing, more to himself than to her. Tallulah felt the warmth of Solar once more; a reflex, a reaction that went deeper than flesh.

In Osiris' mind this was still the Dark Age. But Tallulah had grown, now. It wasn't like she was still the same kid who had listened to the Speaker that cold day, although she knew that some people thought of her that way. She had lost people. She had run to rescue a village only to find it in ashes. It wasn't like she didn't know.

What good was a future? She mused. Futures could disappoint you. Futures could be darker than the present. Futures could never come at all. Maybe the future wasn't for her.

Was it selfish of her? Maybe. Something about putting all your effort into planting trees that only snot nosed kids would rest under didn't sit right with her.

If this was the Dark Age, she would fill it up with Light. If this was all she had, she would make it bright as it comes.

Tonight, she resolved, she would light up the countryside.

"Beautiful day out," Tallulah said to the old Warlock.

He didn't even look up. That was alright. She could enjoy the silence, too.