#Destiny Awoken

[necromosss]

ive been playin Destiny 2 wiiiiiii

[lavenderarts]

Hey Guardian, race you through the Ascendant Plane sometime?

[evaporatingvoid]

d2 lineart commission for @a-succulent-grain-of-rice 🖤

[debaunart]

Sjur Eido. Eliksni call her Siyuriks pak Variisis -- Sjur, the Unrelenting. The respect of a Kell, but never stood over the Awoken Queen, only ever at her side. The first Queen's Wrath.

[frozen-planet]

Guardian oc doodles for today ^_^

[sanchomps]

comm of halley and caduceus-3!

halley (left) belongs to @laur-rants and cadueceus-3 belongs to @medi-jay!

[tarakanpaintedpurple]

I love my precious boy being all precious.

For real though, more happy Crow for the masses

[veryredgir]

"To seek balance is not to seek equity... Given the choice to live in any world we would need a little Darkness in it to keep the balance true. But not so much as we would need the Light." Setra and Nebula for @CamOfDragonE on Twitter!

[monstyra]

A stylized full body commission for @Tsutako on twitter of her hunter Noah!

[d4ybre4ker]

flowers for the future

[braindamagedrizz]

"It Started With a Garden."

Some W.I.P shots of a project I've been working on :o I've been experimenting with some stuff, I'm sure you can tell here LOL, and frankly I'm REALLY enjoying it, even if it may not stick with my regular style (probably), I really like how these turned out and how Ruxiz looks :]

[diakiraiart]

Been focusign on commission work for ages, so trying to return to personal stuff by drawing my Destiny Guardian Dia.

The background is unplanned, but It felt kinda empty, and I have loved running around the Dreamign City again, it's home for my Guardian.

[lavenderarts]

See you starside, Commander.

[crow-posting]

more

Awoken Headcanons

note: this is mostly based on my own audacity rather than actual lore. 🤫

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Earthborn and Awoken Guardians are like the book versions of LotR elves, while Reefborn are like the movie versions. They're actually similar, but to outsiders, Earthborn are friendly and full of life while Reefborn are aloof and elegant like their queen. This perception, though frustrating to people like Petra, generally works in Mara's favor so she allows it to continue.

Awoken Speech sounds more like creole than a separate language. This is due to the multitude of languages spoken aboard the Yang Liwei, which then carried over into the dialects in the Distributary. Although some argue Speech is a mixed language rather than creole, consensus from both the Gensym Scribes and Last City's Cryptarchy has not yet been reached.

Portmanteau examples:

daatma (ดาว/"dāw" + आत्मा/"ātman"): Awoken [older gen]

tulatma (tulay + आत्मा/"ātman"): Awoken [younger gen]

luxïn (luz + 星/"xīng"): starlight

noyam (noyer + يوم/"yawm"): Darkness

Traditional Awoken names usually sound "soft," with palatalized consonants and several vowels. The most common ending letters are "A" (Mara, Petra, Amrita) and "N" (Uldren, Jolyon, Nasan), while the most uncommon letter is "K" (Tulnik).

Most Reefborn are highly superstitious, due to the environment they grew up in. However they don't consider themselves superstitious, as it is only "practical" to refer to The Dreaming using epithets instead of names, or to look for omens in dreams, or to treat water and reflections as near-sacred, and so on.

Promises and vows / oaths are generally a life-long ordeal for Awoken, especially for Reefborn and especially if they are made to Mara. This is partly influenced by the post-Distributary riots, partly influenced by contracts with Ahamkara, and partly influenced by Mara's own charisma, which has created an almost religious devotion* amongst her followers.

*(Embarrassingly, when Calus sought to imitate this sense of devotion to lure Awoken Guardians to the Menagerie, he was partially successful.)

Balance is an important part of Awoken culture. Past and future and life and death are strongly emphasized by Reefborn, while Earthborn have integrated Old Earth philosophies like yin-yang and wabi-sabi. While Awoken Guardians tend to be less ardent about balance and/or a desire for it, there are noticeably less Awoken within the Praxic Order than in other Vanguard-affiliated organizations.

The Awoken don't believe in a physical afterlife, only the Unreal. This makes the existence of Awoken Guardians egregious to other Awoken, as they do not "return" from death, but rather "take form" of people who no longer exist. Even so, Guardians (or "Noble Dead") are still treated with respect - out of love for the ones they look like, and fear of the entities they are.

(Awoken don't believe in reincarnation either, as The Awakening is considered an "extraordinary" circumstance.)

Contrary to popular belief, male Awoken aren't ostracized in Reefborn society, and they aren't considered second-class citizens either. Even so, due to the 70/30 split [which has persisted since the Distributary], it is rare to see male Reefborn in high-level positions or as Techeuns. The perceived lack of opportunity has led to an increase in Reefborn emigrants in recent years, especially after the Battle of Saturn.

Due to the loss of resources and difficulties of growing food in the Reef, Reefborn dishes are "bland" compared to Earthborn ones. The most common seasonings are salt, cold-hardy herbs like mint, and corasteri (a star-shaped culinary variant of asphodelia). However, Reefborn food is both warming and filling, which is suited to a life in deep space.

The Dreaming City is surprisingly bare in terms of flora and fauna. Aside from pink asphodelia, queensfoil, baryon bough and memorial trees - most of which are cultivated - there are very few plants to be found. Spectral butterflies and non-native jewel bugs can be found in gardens and lost sectors, and starcats have free rein of the buildings, but there is no urban wildlife like in the Last City and Earth's metropolitan ruins. The vibrance is an illusion; it is as empty as the Reef's biodomes.

Earthborn do not live as long as their Reefborn counterparts; higher oxygen levels, increased gravity, and larger amounts of pollution make life more difficult for people adapted to space. Ironically, this is the inverse issue the Awoken faced when leaving the Distributary.

Awoken anatomy is uncanny if you look closely enough. Most traits fall within expectations (eg resistance to radiation, increased reaction time) but adaptations like tapetum lucidum can still startle people who aren't used to seeing them. Experimental traits, which are common in later-generation Reefborn, make some seem entirely inhuman. And the ability to track Guardians by their Light will never not be creepy.

Experimental traits include but aren't limited to: pointed ears; nictitating membranes (i.e. "third eyelids"); and genital slits [for Awoken specifically created for deep space missions].

Due to a history of bio-engineering, cybernetic augments are seen as unnecessary and rarely utilized outside of eutechs, and later, Techeuns. Fully robotic components, such as exo frames, are practically unheard of and often met with pity or revulsion.

The 891 are forbidden from seeking information about their lives from The Time Before (aka pre-Collapse lives), as it is considered a "distraction" from Mara's plan. Descendant Awoken are also discouraged from pursuing such info unless it is considered pertinent to their mission.

Queenslaw has been partially lifted in the Reef, due to the influx of Guardians after the Battle of Saturn. Many things once considered illegal or taboo are now acceptable, and some things are even encouraged. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with these "sudden" changes and it has done little to reduce tensions between factions, most notably the Gensym Scribes and the Last City's Cryptarchy.

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Reefborn sobriquets often refer to relationships (Uldren "Queensbrother," Taranis "Rivensmate," Petra "Covensdaughter"). Earthborn nicknames are often more individualized but still invoke a sense of interconnectedness (eg "Swornsister" Takara, Avraam "Firstborn").

Although the Awoken are known for their music (for ceremonies, parties, mourning, etc.) Earth-derived music seems just as violent to them as the Guardians who enjoy it. Knowing this, RZ-3 intentionally made a playlist to "scare" Petra on missions, and has successfully startled several Corsairs by belting out the lyrics to "Teenagers" while doing patrols.

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[official grimoire / lore books: The Maraid (D1); Marasenna, The Awoken of the Reef, The Dreaming City (D2, general); The Forsaken Prince, A Tangled Web, Ripples (D2, Uldren/Crow), Ecdysis (D2, the Emissary)]

[specific lore that Tickles My Brain: "Holdfast Bond," "The Supremacy", "Third Gift"; "Crow's Best Night"]

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[see also: "Things I Think About: Awoken Edition"; "Awoken Phrases & Exclamations"; "Last City Lingo"; timeline in the Distributary; Awoken amethyst]

[debaunart]

“They put a gun in your hand and told you who they wanted you to be.”

Crow has a traumatic history. From Uldren Sov until his death, then resurrection into a world where he would be attacked on sight while having no memories of who he once was, nor the crimes he committed. May Crow one day find peace with his decisions and his journey across the portal. I look forward to seeing him again.

[autism-crime]

Now that I’ve started thinking about it, the Awoken are kind of like space Drow.

They both have a matriarchal society (although with the Awoken I think it’s because the male/female population ratio is 1/4 male 3/4 female or something like that. The Drow are also a lot stricter with gender roles)

They both live isolated from the rest of society. With the Awoken living in the Reef and the Drow in the Underdark.

Both are highly distrustful of outsiders (originally anyway, the Awoken eventually chilled out a little) and have a hatred of defectors.

Live for a long ass time. (I think Drow can live for ~750 years and Awoken age slow as fuck, Mara Sov was 19 during the Collapse, she’s gotta be 1000 at minimum. I don’t know what their actual life span is but I know they’re immortal in the Distributary)

Purple

Both have some really kickass architecture in their cities. (Menzoberranzan looks pretty as fuck, if not pretty creepy. And the Dreaming City is beautiful, and that’s just one city. It’s apparently nothing compared to cities in the Distributary)

There’s probably more but my D2 lore is kinda outdated and I’m still pretty new to D&D