#ikora/drifter

[synnthamonsugar]

my challenge if you choose to accept it is simply “make Ikora and Drifter convincingly loyal/committed to each other somehow” :D

Among the ruins of a Reef outpost, Ikora Rey bundles into her heavy coat and the arms of Drifter. The air is mercifully still but bitingly cold, the cracked terrain of Rhea claiming the structures piece by piece, twisted metal and broken glass scattered down a rocky scarp. The complex has laid untouched, undoubtedly, since the Queen's deal with The Nine, two decades ago at this point, permanently ending the royal spies' intrusion into their territory.

She hopes hers' and Drifter's presence will not upset them as the Crows' had.

"I'm still a little starstruck you invited me on the mission," he says, winding his arm around her back as she wraps hers around his shoulder. It could have been empty flattery, but she's seen Drifter's lies and honesty enough — more the latter in recent years — to distinguish between the two.

"You're smart. Perceptive. Tough. You talk as well as you fight, Eli, and know exactly when to do both."

In some measure, he would always be The Drifter to her, but he's hardly the itinerant showman she once knew — or didn't know, to be precise. He had stayed, against all odds, growing on a path that commingled with her own. He had become known, and in being known deserved a name. 

The dossier had provided Ikora options. Sometimes he was Germaine. Others, Wu Ming, and others still Hope. The Hidden wore many faces and titles, and though The Drifter was not a part of her order he slithered between identities as effortlessly as any of her own.

"And I know myself. I've shed myself and embraced a new skin, more times than I can count. I am many," The way he hangs on those words sends a shiver unrelated to the cold. "I've been many since before the first brick was laid in the City walls. But all of that? It still don't make me one of your agents."

"Of course not. I would never ask you to work for — what do you say? 'The Man'?" 

He laughs. "Good. Like hell I'd say yes. But I'll work with you. Name the job, and I'll be there at your side."

She couldn't help but smile at his words, warmth greater than even their shared solar light could provide heating her.

Drifter distinguishing between Ikora Rey, person, Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard, and IKO-006, Hidden Spymaster would have been unthinkable at one time. Once, she was synonymous with authority, so it felt significant for her to be separated from it in his mind. She had come to find distinctions, too. The Drifter, gambit MC; Germaine, dark age lightbearer, Wu Ming, barkeep, and Eli, pilgrim guard; Hope, unknowing agent in an intelligence operation so deep undercover that the lines between what it was and what it sought to root out blurred into oblivion. He was no longer the avatar of an earlier age of lawlessness, vagrant, huckster selling thrills for a limited time, not worth reaching out to because he'd vanish as soon as she tried.

The struggle to understand Darkness, to ply it to their will to survive its representative had changed them both in surprising ways, subtle enough to escape the notice of all but each other. They had both shed old skins and embraced new ones. Or maybe — become more of themselves, what they'd been all along beneath the molt. 

"Can you imagine telling our past selves that we'd end up like this?"

"Well, I remember lookin' out across the courtyard thinking you were the prettiest lady I'd ever laid eyes on," he moves in for a gladly returned kiss. "So, I'd say old Drifter would be jubilant!" 

"I may have watched you, too, for reasons besides surveillance." She presses her lips to his again, this time lingering a bit longer. "I would be . . . pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure what I pictured for the future, but I was sure you wouldn't be a part of it."

"Did you picture tracking down cultists worshiping a god we all thought was a myth? Things change. Sometimes they change fast, if you're lucky for the better. I'd rather be with you, with the friends I've made —'' there's just a tinge of embarrassment in his words, like he's disused to saying it — "than runnin' away to watch fools brain each other for a cache of glimmer while I sleep every night with a gun clutched to my chest, waiting to be next."

Ikora had often thought of Drifter as a man who defined himself by his pleasures: food and drink, games and partners and adventure. But it was a surprise to hear him admit to wanting comfort. A rosy sense of peace settles into her as she presses her forehead against the rough fabric of his bandana.

"I'm glad at least some things changed for the better."

"I'm glad there's still thrills to be had, in good company." With a soft touch of her cheek he ducks away. Wordlessly they transmat their helmets, standing straight and stiff at a professional distance from each other as the cloaked figure rounds into view.

Their informant has arrived.

[tarakanpaintedpurple]

Check your backgrounds people

[hyakunana]

The Crafting Mystery

(yes, this is a parody — and yes this is the second time I make a parody of the same scene that is printed in my brain at this point)

[lemmegettamcpictwo]

The way Tumblr destiny fans portrays Eris Morn is so exquisite. The artists paint her as Michelangelo sculpted with such care, attention to the vertebrae upon her spine, the curls upon her head; the writers mutter the words upon their lips as they write with inkstained fingertips, telling her tale of woe so eloquently; and everyone else agrees that she's balling extremely hard because she deserves to

[kevinraganit]

Season of the Witch.

And obligatory aiat.

[fmab]

oh my goddd they are animals ... They are as follows: mountain lion, chicken, black kite, seal, pine marten, and ouppy <3

[zennore]

Vanguard has been turned into marketable stickers with their favorite foods!

[aesthetic-gem]

did I ever share with y’all……… whatever tf these are that I take and collect

[drevan1138]

Fsjdhdjduxjfjskk this cutscene was so gooooooood

[synnthamonsugar]

Destiny // Favorite Posts (Part 2/??)

[telestoapologist]

quiet down everyone. we're talking about hive eris's tummy now

[unlucky-corvid]

So I'm eager to write things other than sfw alphabets. I've got some mini fics in mind but I'm low on ideas, so any suggestions/requests for scenarios, headcanons and fillets are welcome.

[hidden-scarlet-whispers]

What if the vanguard leaders had wings? 👀

Saint gets big grey pigeon wings with streaks of purple at the edges

Osiris gets quick and agile pharaoh eagle owl wings that can burst into flames to match his moniker

Ikora gets pretty american kestrel ones

Zavala has some large harpy eagle ones

Cayde had northern harrier wings that glinted just right in moonlight

Shaxx has large red-tailed hawk wings

Drifter gains some dark dark raven wings (and proceeds to be pissy about it because that means he’s here to stay)

Eris sprouts bat wings when she claws her way out of the pit

OH MY GOD YES THIS WOULD BE SOOOO COOOOOOOOL WJDBSJABKDBEUDJDVDDUSKBSKSBS YES BRILLIANT I WANT MORE

[phthalology]

Remember when the Drifter’s thing was that the Guardian was so special to him he had a codependent copilot seat for them on his emergency spaceship. Drifter should have left the system at some point. Maybe he could come back! Whatever! But it was juicy when the leaving was a real threat to everyone else, but a promise for you. Canon/OC all timer

[itsmingway]

Smol Destiny squad part 2.

[groundrunner100]

Reblog your favorite EVERYTHING!

•Favorite Character(s)

•Favorite Expansion

•Favorite Season

•Favorite Armor Set

•Favorite Exotic(s)

The end is here, y’all! Tell your stories!