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sylenth-l · 3 years

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Cayde... is an interesting character to me. A real mixed bag. What doesn't help is D1 and D2 painted wildly different pictures of him. In D1, he's stuffed in a tower and a job he hates, but he's helping you do yours, he's coordinating and corralling the Hunters, he's pretty good at what he does. Best exemplified in Taken King's opening cinematic where Ikora and Zavala are arguing, Cayde's looking at the Dreadnaught's schematics intently then leaves, ready to enact a bold plan of action. Oh, and the casual confession that he stole clocking tech from Rasputin for Bladedancers. Dude was cunning and wily as hell.

D2 turned what was a semi-playful semi-sarcastic sense of humour and frustration with being stuck in the tower into a on character onto itself.

He's far more serious in D1, and I honestly prefer THAT Cayde. A Cayde closer to Malcolm Reynolds, not Rick Castle. The one that did a lot of growing up in the Tower, just like Andal did a lot of growing up in that Tower.

That being said, I like to think the D2 depiction of Cayde was what he was like in Andal's pack. He's the joker, the wise cracker, the Charlie Chaplin etc etc.

I get that Cayde's getting out of the Tower more and he enjoyed the freedom to act a little more openly in the wilds but the different characterizations between 1 and 2 are just so jarring to try and reconcile - even with caveats.

What do you think?

Oh yeah, I totally get what you mean, anon! TTK's Cayde is peak of his character to me, surely the best and my favorite depiction of him on screen. He had just the right balance of jokery and seriousness there, knew when it's time to fool around and when it's time to get shit done - still in his own unique way.

I feel that the narration was a bit messed up in his case, it would make more sense if D1's and D2's Caydes just… switched places, you know? Personally, I didn't play D1, but was interested in the franchise right from its announcement and occasionally watched some videos, read news about it, etc. By the D2's release I knew some very basic info about its world and plot, but nothing in particular; so it's safe to say I got to know characters only in D2. And AFTER THAT got back to D1 and properly watched all available story campaigns from there. And it felt… Strangely normal? In Cayde's case, perfectly logical even - D1 felt like a cool development of his character, lol. I liked him in vanilla D2 too, he still was my fave there; and then I learned that actually he was even cooler than I thought, aren't that nice! And only after all that I finally took time to actually read the lore and got literally mind blown. That's also when Cayde jumped from the list of characters I like to my favorite ones.

I mean, I was learning (and still do tbh) about both games in an absolutely chaotic, unstructured and messed up way, but for getting to know Cayde it turned out to be the best, I think. I met him as a pretty generic funny robot guy, then I found out that he actually has a more serious and competent side, which made me like him even more and finally, after reading his diary and some other lore (especially about Exos in general), I got a clear picture of who he really was and what events shaped him to be like that. It was like unwrapping a delicious candy and it's one of things I personally always look for in all media.

But I can understand very well why people who played all games and DLCs in chronological order, think of D2's Cayde as a downgrade compared to D1. I personally think that this issue isn't only about Cayde, D2 as a whole had a... different mood on release. Felt like they were trying to do a "soft reboot" to make the plot and characters simplier and more appealing to the new audience, but had either too little time or too little budget to do it properly. So I'd say I don't think D2's Cayde is super different from D1's Cayde, it's just that… He was acting according to the events and in line with the story's mood, then got killed off in the beginning of the 1st ~serious~ expansion (which ironically got serious only thanks to his death) and that was it. In D2 we never saw him in a darker plot such as TTK; I think if we did, he would naturally act more similar to D1. And about this:

That being said, I like to think the D2 depiction of Cayde was what he was like in Andal's pack.

I don't know, I think back then he was 10 times worse 😂 D2's Cayde obviously had some idea of responsibility and tried to think through his actions, considered some risks at least - not that much about himself, but about people around him for sure. These being the qualities he clearly developed only after Andal's death. I think it was a huge turning point for his character, mercilessly chopping his whole life to "before" and "after". Andal becoming the Vanguard and then dying because of what Cayde thought to be entirely his fault was probably the first and biggest backslash of his own poorly thought out actions. Not first ever of course, but first that huge and painful. Because of his own idiocy and arrogance he lost his best, closest friend, that one man he admired to no end and who - miraculously - loved him back just as much (like, you can ship candal or not, it's perfectly okay obviously, but there's no way to not notice how special they were to each other). And then he couldn't do that anymore, due to the state of being undeniably, irreparably, absolutely dead. And why? Because of Cayde himself, of course. And it cost me my friend—I cost me my friend. GG.

Ah, I really got carried away, didn't I 😅

TL;DR: I 100% agree with you on TTK's Cayde being the best Cayde, but I don't think D2's Cayde is too bad either. And they both were absolutely more mature and responsible than the disaster named Cayde back from the old days with Andal & Co, lol.

So my chain of Cayde's evolution will be this: the Pack's Cayde ❯ D2's Cayde ❯ D1's Cayde.

Sorry for the wall of text and thanks for asking, it was interesting to try to collect my thoughts on this 💙

#ask #anonymous #destiny #cayde-6 #i can actually come up with ton of excus- explanations why cayde is like that in d2 #but in the end it's clear that bungie intentionally made everything simplier and more generic in the red war #and relied solely on cayde to make the story seem lighter and less 'boring'#can't blame them tbh #all times i played that campaign except for the very first i was like #ugh wake me up when it's nessus #😂#man and now i miss it #how the tables have turned #sigh

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thedistantstorm · 5 years

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Day 18: “Secrets? I love secrets!”

Fandom: Destiny

Pairing: Zavala/Female Guardian

Warnings: mild sexual content, alcohol use, one unhappy, over-bribed Lilith

Miyu belches by way of greeting, Shaxx whacks her on the back with a thick hand, and they both laugh heartily. "Sid'down, Lillie," She gestures to the empty seat beside her with a slosh of her mug. "Nightss only getting started."

Lilith-2 almost wonders for a moment if she's going to blow a bulb in her optics. This is not the strict, gentle teacher she trains with nearly every morning. This warlock is flushed with a pretty blush, doe-eyed and flailing wildly for Lilith to join her.

Miyu is plastered.

This is going to be so much fun, Lilith thinks.

(And it is, until it really, really isn't.)

"When I was her age-"

"No," Miyu looks like she's slapped Shaxx, but it's very unlikely he's even felt it. Or, if he did, he likely enjoyed it. Lilith can't tell. "Don' finish that. You're a bad influence."

"Bad influence?!" Shaxx bellows in Miyu's face. "I'm a bad influence? You've drank half the bloody bar dry and I'm the bad influence?"

"You're not recounting the Dark Ages to my protege," Miyu snips back, lips plump and pouting in full force.

"Just because you were lost for half of it-"

"Ignore him," Miyu says, slinging an arm around Lilith's shoulders. "Do you need another drink?"

"Still good," She chirps, having never fully recovered from her first social outing. She'd meant to meet Bertie here for dinner and a drink, but he'd gotten caught up on patrol with a new Titan. Was just as well. This was fantastic entertainment, and she wasn't very hungry, anyway.

"You don't need to hold back on my account," Lilith watches Miyu swing her feet - the stool is too high for them to touch the ground - and hum idly. She waves down the bartender for another drink and elbows Shaxx when he focuses too hard on a Crucible replay, mouthing his own commentary.

"Please. At this stage," Shaxx covers both of Miyu's ears with his monstrous hands, but she's too concerned with the frothing ale placed before her to stop with the giddy smile, "She doesn't have a filter." He removes his hands. Miyu is still happily glugging her drink, "Zavala has another thing coming if he thinks I'm taking her home."

"Z'vala?!" she turns and looks over her shoulder, lip curling outward. "Aww, I thou' he wuss here," She slurs. "Damn." She very earnestly informs them both, "I love him. He's incredible," And then sighs like a teenager with a crush.

"You're a terror. He puts up with so much."

"He does not!" Miyu glowers at Shaxx and he cackles. She rounds on Lilith, who covers her mouth with both hands. "Don't you dare," She pokes Lilith in the chest, "Yer s'posed t'be on my side!"

That does make Lilith laugh, and she accepts a high five from Shaxx for it that night have shattered her hand. Nizana, her Ghost, runs an internal scan. Seems he's shorted out her neural sensors on impact, but everything is fine.

"He doesn't mind. I'm a cute drunk," She insists, hiccoughing once, with a petite shudder. "Makes me seem younger."

"You are too much," Shaxx agrees, clinking his mug to hers. "I'll drink to that."

"How good're you at keeping secrets?" She nudges Lilith, some time later.

"Secrets? I love secrets." Lilith makes an x over her chest plates, where a heart would be.

"Zavala. I'm like, phoo," She leans back, swaying as if her mind is blown by the idea. "I'm centuries older than him and he has no idea."

Lilith tilts her head. "Really?"

"Uh huh. He's so sweet, calling himself 'Old Man' like he's not a baby himself. This oaf, too." Miyu elbows him as punctuation for her words. "He's alright once y'get pass' the yell-y parts."

"Quit elbowing me, woman!"

The next day, Lilith wakes up to find out her morning training session is cancelled. No surprise there. She dresses, gets ready, and heads into the Tower, ready to throw herself into something that will make up for the lack of structured activity this morning.

Shaxx is irritated - she understands it as hungover - and louder than usual. Arcite is humming the song they'd been singing when Zavala arrived after his shift to take Miyu home. Talk about irony, Lilith thinks.

She doesn't want to poke the metaphorical bear, so she trudges quietly over to Zavala's post.

He does not turn from his viewpoint over the City but acknowledges her approach. "Guardian."

Lilith's reply is equally as neutral. "Commander." She waits for a beat and when he does not reply she asks, "Do you have any ops or patrols I could do? My morning appointment was… uh, cancelled."

"Ah," He muses, a hint of amusement hinted in his voice. "My breakfast plans were… dashed, as well," He shares with something like amused exasperation. "I could find something for you, if you'd like. Any preference on location?"

She shrugs. "Didn't know you have people a choice," She concedes.

"I do not, usually. However," Zavala regards her with that serious blue stare, "I require information and am willing to barter for it."

"Commander?"

"Miyu said she told you a secret, last night. She would not divulge the nature of it, but challenged me to figure it out on my own."

Lilith gulps. She should have risked going into the Crucible. Hungover Shaxx seems a hell of a lot safer than an inquisitive Zavala.

The man in question lifts his chin, his eyebrows doing this strange lift and drop whilst he tucks his hands behind his back. Without a hint of foreboding - somehow, that makes Lilith even more frightened - he apprises her.

"And you are going to tell me."

Four patrols in the EDZ later, he comes across the comms for her specifically.

“Nizana, don’t answer that.”

“I know. I pinged back our coordinates and said we were in the middle of a firefight.”

Lilith creates a grenade in the palm of her hands, solar energy blazing across her gloves. She throws it into a nearby cave, and picks off the Cabal that come rocketing out of it.

“Sir, I can’t tell you. Miyu swore me to secrecy.”

He paces before her, but it’s not anxious to anyone but the Exo left to watch him contemplate in motion.

“Is it related to her Light?”

“No.”

“The Dreaming City?”

“No.”

“Drinking?”

“No.”

“Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“Maybe she’s embarrassed?”

“Of what?” Zavala inquires so innocently that Lilith almost answers.

“Oh-noooo. Commander, come onnn,” She whines. “This is mean. Miyu is my teacher.”

“And I am your Commander.”

Lilith, having nothing left to lose, flips a switch. “How does that work, anyway? If she’s seeing you and you live together, isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“Alright,” He hedges, unsettled. “Dismissed.”

The Exo doesn’t waste her time, escaping while she has the chance. “Oh, thank the Traveler.”

Miyu guides her through the first four stances of a new set - Lilith had been begging to expand her repertoire - and watches as she flounders the fifth. Her teacher’s diamond eyes follow her line of sight up to a watching Zavala, who is studying Lilith intently.

“Leave her alone,” Miyu calls up to him. “This is my time and you’re making her uncomfortable.”

“You could tell me yourself.”

“Not in this life or the next, Anata. Now shoo,” She waves him off with a suggestive smile, threatening, “Or I’ll tell her another secret about something you really won’t want me sharing.”

Zavala leaves immediately.

“I don’t actually know what I told you,” Miyu admits softly, apologetic. “I was really drunk. Hopefully it was something juicy.”

“You don’t remember?!” Lilith screeches. “You are the worst drunk in the history of drinking!”

“Says the Exo who crashed on her Commander’s couch the first time she touched a pint of ale.”

“Ooooh, you’re mean. I should tell him for that.”

“You really, really shouldn’t,” Miyu says, and produces a new sword. “Give it a spin. If you like it, you can keep it.”

Lilith doesn’t look convinced. “You’re bribing me?”

Miyu shrugs, saying softly, “He’s withholding sex. I need leverage.”

“I did not need to know that.” She blinks back at Miyu. "If you don't remember, why-"

"Pride. And also he's so cute when he's focused. And his jaw does the thing."

"The thing?"

"The thing," Miyu confirms. Lilith doesn't get it. "Ugh, nevermind."

At the end of her wits, Lilith throws open the door to Zavala’s office, letting it bounce off the wall. She throws him a scathing glance at having been summoned for the twenty-seventh time this week. “Shaxx also knows. Miyu gave me a sword and I’d like to keep it. Go ask him.”

Zavala considers. “He won’t tell me, I’ve already asked.”

“What does she have on him?” Lilith flaps her arms, exasperated.

“Apparently they go way back,” Zavala says, with a roll of his eyes.

Lilith freezes.

“That’s a clue,” Zavala reasons, immediately. His eyes widen, then narrow intently.

Lilith smirks. “You got it from Shaxx, not me.”

The Commander nods. “Indeed.”

“The next time someone tells me a secret,” Lilith tells Bertie, laying in a field of redgrass near a Vexmilk stream on Nessus, “I’m going to tell the first person I see. I’m done with this. She throws her new sword into the stream and doesn’t look back.

Nizana scoffs. “Good riddance.”

“Ikora, how does one escape a difficult situation?”

“By making a choice.” She narrows her golden irises on Lilith. “Is this about the secret?”

“You know about it, too?”

Ikora harrumphs. “I know everything that happens in this Tower.”

“So you know that Miyu gave me a sword-”

Nod.

“Because Zavala is-”

“Unfortunately so.”

“Would you please just tell him? He won’t leave me alone.”

The Warlock Vanguard sighs. “I did tell him.” She crosses her arms. “Several times, in fact. He does not believe me.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I am not.” Ikora smiles.

Everyone wants to see Lilith suffer, it seems.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Guardian?” Kadi looks at Lilith with a blink, the postmaster terribly confused. “But-”

“I’m sorry,” Lilith shakes her head. “Throw it all away.”

The post frame takes a moment to process, then tries again. “For Guardian Lilith, from Commander Zavala. Very nice man.”

“You’ve never been on the receiving end of him when you’ve got classified information. Return to sender, Kadi. Please.”

“But Guardian, it’s busy.”

“I’m sorry, but this is just out of control. You can give that gun to the next warlock you see, okay?"

Half a week later Lilith slams the door shut behind her, causing a rather comical reaction. Miyu is paused, drink - it better not be alcohol, Lilith thinks - just shy of her lips, and Zavala's eyes narrow in thinly veiled irritation.

"You interrupted my dinner, so I'm interrupting yours."

"I have to be in Command in half an hour for a strike operation. I do not have time for-"

Lilith smacks her fist on the table, leaning forward, bellowing at him, "You interrupted my dinner, called for me sixty two times-"

"Seventy one," Lilith's Ghost interjects.

"And you've been making me out to be the biggest jerk to the postmaster. No more gifts. No more favors, no more secrets." She looks to Miyu. "Ikora said she'll teach me to be a Voidwalker, and Shaxx said he'll teach me swordplay. I'm this close-" Lilith holds up two pinched fingers to use as a meter, looking between them, "To taking them up on it!"

"Easy, Lillie."

Lilith snarls, waving her hands. "Oh no. You don't even remember it! I can't believe you!"

Zavala stares at Miyu in shock. Miyu flushes. "What?" He snaps.

Miyu flushes and shrugs. “I had a lot to drink?” She reminds them, sheepishly.

Lilith makes a flapping, exasperated gesture, and finally caves. "Look. She's older than you. By a lot. Apparently she feels younger when she drinks away her brain cells, and thinks you're cute thinking you're all old because she's like twice your age."

Miyu tilts her head. She and Zavala share a glance before he speaks. "This is a blatant fallacy, Lilith. She's pulling your le-"

One eyebrow goes up in a bold impersonation of the Commander's signature eyebrow raise.

"No," He says, scandalized.

"Yes," Miyu confirms.

“That’s impossible.”

"Not at all,” Miyu shrugs. “Lilith?"

The younger Warlock takes a heaving, exhausted, aggravated breath. "Yeah?"

"I'll take it from here. Training in the morning. Don't be late."

"Don't go out drinking," She throws back, petulant. Miyu doesn't spare her a glance. They both know the other will be there.

"Go collect all that stuff from your postmaster. It you don't want those robes, I'll take them back. He tried bribing me with them first and they’re really nice." She winks.

Zavala glowers at Miyu, but he doesn’t deny it.

"For Light's sake," The Exo grumbles, rolling her optics so hard she fears they might pop out from the strain. "I'm keeping them now, for sure."

#Destiny Fanfiction #Fictober 2019 #Commander Zavala #Zavala x OC #oc: Miyu #oc: Lilith #miyu the sweet bean warlock

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