What Would Happen If Clover Got Turn Into A Monster?

Destiny Architecture

I went on a whole ramble about the architecture of the various factions in Destiny and thought I'd share it here. I'm not an architect, so my knowledge is basic when it comes to technical things, but hopefully it is interesting!

They did a fantastic job with the architecture of the different factions and what it says about them.

The Red Legion and Caiatl's Ascendency are all pragmatic, organised military designs - fortifications, the round buildings with windows on each side linked by trenches. Watchtowers. In the Arms Dealer strike, you have areas where there are loads of vehicles meticulously organised. They are prepared for the long haul, dug into the planets they land on, and they are proud of their machinery, both literal and metaphorica - it's all on display, the pistons and furnaces and engines. There are service shafts and hangars! It's all very practical (and makes the Glykon even more unnerving because the passages and service shafts don't make any practical sense in the way that they connect!).

Calus on the other hand... the Leviathan has the same base in terms of doors and the like, you can recognise some of the same basics - like the shapes of the doors etc. but the pragmatic things are hidden away - they're reminiscent of the servant quarters in old British stately homes - you need them for the place to function! But the people in charge don't want to see them. Calus wants to be surrounded by gold and riches and luxury and not think about the things and people that make it possible. It's always been something that I've thought of when it comes to his empire – he acts like all of it was a place of luxury and hedonism and art, but like the Roman Empire that inspired the culture, that luxury is truly only available to a few people, and is only possible because a much greater number of people are working to provide the materials and labour. We don't really hear or see much about the people the Empire conquered beyond the Psions, but were they living in such luxury? Probably not.

The Eliskni architecture all feels very cobbled together and makeshift - there are visible seams and bolts, spots where colours don't match. It's makeshift, which suits their history as a people who have been forced to flee and exist on scavenging for a long time. And there's always a lot of nautical theming going on too - rigging and nets and hoisted awnings like sails. They feel like places made by people who are expecting to need to pack up and leave at any minute. Everything tends to be rounded, which is particularly obvious when you see the Devils in Rise of Iron - everything is more angular because of SIVA and the Rasputin influence, even the shanks. I'd love it if we could get a look at the original Riis architecture.

The Hive are very gothic architecture with a dash of Gaudi (take a look at the Sagrada Família for what I'm thinking). High chambered ceilings, flying buttresses, all the carved figures and motifs - except when you get closer you realise that it's also uncomfortably organic. And it's also decaying – once you get inside the dreadnaught especially you find it full of piles of festering debris, wormspore growing from the corpses of thralls. There are spaces where anything could jump out at you. It's like a civilisation mocking the grand architecture of other species by warping it into something rotten (and also very gothic literature as well - the grand imposing gothic mansion with the dark secret and unpleasant history). The names of the locations in the Dreadnaught often tie-in with the architecture since a lot of them are religious: the portico, basillica, the crypts, the Cathedral of Dusk. They are a species worshipping Oryx, the very real and tangible god.

The Moon under Crota has a similar style, but where the Dradnaught is organic, the areas under the surface of the moon (outside the Red Keep) are more technological - there are still the flying buttresses and supports, the spikes and and pillars around the Hellmouth, but they're blockier, less rounded, stone and metal rather than chitin.

Savathun's Throne World has similar architecture, and returns to the organic feel of the Dradnaught, but in blinding white and red rather than browns. It's similar to the Leviathan in a way – the public areas are much cleaner feeling, regal and filled with Light, but when you dig down you can find the same rot and debris as the Dreadnaught (thinking especially of the 2nd mission of the Witch Queen campaign). Where the Dreadnaught was a mockery of other species, the Throne World feels like it's trying to copy them – this is what Savathun thinks the Light is, look she's changed, really! But in the end, it's more like a coat of paint slapped over a wall with a bad mold problem. The names also switch from kind of Catholic, to more magical and alchemical - Apothacary, altars, temples etc.

The Awoken are really doing the whole fantasy elf thing in a lot of ways, but more with stone than woodland than in Tolkien when we see the Dreaming City. Everything fits in seamlessly with the landscape (which makes sense since it was essentially created with wish magic to be exactly what Mara wanted!). The buildings follow the lines of mountains, pathways carved into crystal caves, the bridge which has supports like the branches of trees like they've grown up from the ground. And there's nature everywhere! But it's not a natural environment. Even when it seems like you're in nature, it's very cultivated - like the garden of a stately home which wants 'wilderness' so has landscaped it. It's also deceptive in the way you go from the 'wilderness' to these very high fantasy buildings, and then as you walk you see these technological marvels like the Oracle Engine, just integrated into it. The Dreaming City is very much portraying an image and is a very finely tuned machine in itself. I kind of wonder what the other Awoken settlements beyond the Dreaming City and the Vestian outpost look like.

Clovis Bray facilities are very minimalist and very obviously designed to make you think 'lab' and 'high technology'. He really wants you to see his stuff and have you think 'this is the future' in a way that draws 70s sci-fi ideas of the future - the way all the sharp edges are rounded off, the bright blocks of colour, the way all of the technology is very conspicuously on display, the massive windows that make all the conveyors and machinery visible. He wants to show off his stuff, and also make everyone who works there know that they're being watched. There's also the huge open spaces and massive drops like Eternity and Creation, which are utterly impractical but also feel infinite and are designed to make you go wow.

You see similar architecture on Neomuna (since Clovis was involved with the colonisation efforts) but on a much more human scale. They have a lot of the same components – the pillars and display screens, the curved bases of the walls – but they're softened with plants and murals, places to sit and socialise. It's not a lab, it's a city where people live. And also it's Neptune, they are a long way from the sun, so everything is bright and vibrant to make up for that. I think you can also see a lot of influence from the Ishtar Collective locations on Venus in Neomuna - they also tend to have a lot of display screens and neon and lots of spots for plants to grow. And then you get outside of the City and see the Veil Containment bunker and see the concrete and metal pragmatism that underpins the city.

The Iron Temple/Vostok is a place that is trying very hard to be a medieval castle with all of the statues and bonfires and the whole aesthetic of the Iron Lords. The statues of the Iron Lords all bear axes and swords. But when you look at it, you can see the very Soviet brutalist foundation of the place. So much of it is blocky concrete - the walls are squared off and unornamented, the observatory is concrete and metal. Every time I go in to where Tyra stands, I'm surprised that the pillar she's standing by is not round, because it's very easy to buy into the illusion they're projecting. There's also the concrete pillar that serves as vault and lights up when you approach - it has the technology, but like the Dreaming City, it's integrated into the landscape. Unlike the dreaming City, they really don't want to show you it.

Raputin's bunkers are just fantastic design in so many ways. They have a very clear shape (you can see the shape of a door and know immediately that this is something Warmind related), everything tends to be at right-angles. It's all very pragmatic and logically laid out. There is definitely technology there, and it's not really trying to hide, but it isn't showing off like Clovis does. Where Clovis is 70's aspirational sci-fi design, Rasputin architecture has a very Cold War vibe to it - none of the technology is flashy - it's chunky terminals running the most basic looking command line UI. It's thick cables and pipes and probably a million redundancies. The kind of tech which is designed to be found in a few centuries and still be reasonably functional. Also unhackable unless you are physically present. Rasputin is an AI so advanced that he can out-think the Vex, but his facilities are built to have the resilience of a Nokia 3310 phone, and are inspired by bunkers designed to survive nuclear war.

(I also think it's not accidental that the Warsats are made up of many angular shapes, especially triangles, trying to be a sphere, considering the whole motif of the pyramids vs the Traveller)

Pyramid Architecture is really really trying to pull off the sword logic 'pared down to remove anything extraneous' and present the idea of a universe united as one in its final shape... and is failing miserably at that. At first glance it's all straight clean lines, black stone, leaning towards brutalist, but they just can't keep it up – they're full of pillars serving no purpose, statues, coloured stone insets. Rhulk's pyramid is full of artwork painted onto the walls. There's so much symbolism built into them. They're incredibly ornate! Because as much as the Witness wants everyone to believe that it is one united force with one specific goal, it kind of isn't. It's made up of many many individuals. Even if those individuals that made it up all agreed on the final shape, it's nearly impossible to get one person to have a 100% consistent view of the universe, let alone hundreds! And especially in the Witness' pyramid ship in Root of Nightmares, you get the impression it's something of a mausoleum for its species and the other species its destroyed. There's lots of coffin-shaped and sized objects in there, and relics hidden away. It isn't as clean and focused as it would like the universe to think.

Bison Wares has launch it's first Kickstarter! 🦬♥️

A small series of knit sweaters in various themes, check out the Kickstarter to see all the full designs!🏔️🌲

It would mean a lot if you could help share this around to help get the project funded!💕

Back this kickstarter here!

Lol, all that discussion of whether you're a furry or not reminds me when the same thing happened to me with my friends. They accused me of being one because I had some images in my profile of anthropomorphic characters. And although in the end I ended up becoming one, it was very fun to argue against them that I wasn’t xD So continue with your fight, stand firm against those people and have fun while you do it!

Azen, more like... Furry. :p

P Eri s h

this is a cue to go to  s l e e p

Isere and Allia are a pair of basilisk siblings cloned from the same extinct egg samples, about as biologically related as they could be

Isere is more of a nervous wreck compared to his sister despite being older, he just wants to be left alone and avoids conflict

Allia is more defiant and firey, the kind to speak up when Isere is too scared to as she was more exposed to the post Belos era and didn't have to live in fear as long as her brother

👏🏾Education 👏🏾is 👏🏾a 👏🏾right,👏🏾 not👏🏾 a👏🏾 service 👏🏾

Pass along and use the shit out of them

a very important lesson from sans undertale

Time is a Broken Mirror

Chapter 1 now up!

What would a Warmind wish for if he had the chance?

Resurrected as a Guardian, Rasputin ends up in the clutches of an Ahamkara before his first day is up.

His wish brings him back in time to face himself in a chance to fix his biggest regret but before he's ready to do that he first has to convince the Iron Lords to train him while racing the clock to get good enough before they leave to try to take SIVA from Site 6.

“I am not certain that I enjoy being an Exo more than being an AI locked in a bunker. The feeling of cold is very unpleasant. Can’t I have the option to turn it off?” A tall matte white exo complained as he hiked up the side of a mountain, heavy winter coat pulled tightly around him.

The ghost that was tucked into the hood of the coat grunted “I can’t turn you off when you annoy me. Deal with it. Part of being a person now Red,” and snuggled further into the coat. The Exo rolled his eyes but allowed the comment that might have at one point earned someone a great deal of pain.

“I do not think this is what Ana envisioned when she started playing music for me all those years ago. It certainly wasn’t something I ever calculated in any possible future,” He kept talking, mostly to distract himself from the blizzard they were fighting to get to the top. This would have been easier if he had stolen a ship.

“Never met her but from what I heard through the ghost rumor mill, which is very extensive, she would have flipped her lid if she had seen you. It’s probably for the best that dragon got to us first,” the ghost said basking in the heat being vented by the Exo with every breath.

“Perhaps. I doubt things will go better once we arrive if they realize who I am,” the new guardian sighed but he couldn’t fix things if they didn’t know he was attempting to do the fixing. He would have to reveal himself eventually and lying before that wouldn’t look good. He wasn’t sure what the best choice was and he didn’t have the same room in this mind for advanced calculations to try to compare both the way he could have before.

“Look, I’m just saying, we shouldn’t go in guns blazing on this one. You can be Red for a little while. Prove yourself. Make friends. Then let it come out after some time, once they like you more. Felwinter is a ghost killer. You have hunted him for years. I’d like to live a little longer, thank you very much,” The ghost grumbled and Red sighed.

“You’re right. I just… I need to learn all I can. This time’s me is less than pleased I accessed that bunker but I managed to disable his tracking on me and Siddar- Felwinter. Unless we access the panels or directly mark ourselves, Rasputin shouldn’t be able to find us.” He said feeling a little odd talking about himself when he was right there.

“And even if he does, you were able to gain control over some of the combat frames that tried to attack us. But I doubt a mental tug-o-war would go over well for long, you have the smaller brain now,” the ghost added oh so helpfully.

“I need to gain access to the seraph bunkers. If I can change the passcodes and take control it will limit his power so if- when- it comes to it, I can take control of the SIVA and prevent the carnage I once caused. But as I am now… I am, what did the Guardian call it? A new light? I do not know how best to control my body or abilities. So first we petition the Iron Lords and gain knowledge and skill, then we take control of the bunkers and weaken this time’s Rasputin, and finally I take control of the SIVA nanites and use them to help protect humanity like was originally intended by destroying the warsats and the other me completely. Remove myself from Xivu Arath’s sights before she even arrives,” He listed out the plan he had come up with once he realized where and when he was.

“Sounds so simple when you put it that way. Turn up here, you can’t see it in the storm but we’re approaching a watchtower. We should as for help to the Temple. I’ll say hidden.” The ghost said then vanished. Red vented out a huff of steam but dutifully went in the direction his ghost told him trusting the bot. He had seen though Felwinter’s memories how much Felspring had come to mean to him and he saw how Osiris had used to be with Sagira and how much he missed the ghost so he while they might not always agree, he was making an effort to trust and listen to the little drone.

“Who are you and what do you want?” A familiar voice startled Red and he was surprised to see Osiris float down in front of him, snow melting around the warlock’s slippered feet making Red sigh in jealousy of how warm he must be.

“My name is Red, I’m looking to petition the Iron Lords but currently I just want to get out of this blizzard.” He admitted honestly.

Osiris narrowed hs eyes but hummed, “Very well. I will escort you inside. This way,” He said and started down a path that was hard to make out as the wind shifted and picked up in intensity. Cold was starting to be his least favorite feeling so far.

Thankfully it only took a few more minutes before a pair of grand doors were swinging open to allow them both entry and Red sighed in relief at the warmth as he looked around curiously. He had seen the place through the scattered memories that he gained of Felwinter’s but it was different to see with his own eyes and he had to admit he was impressed.

Students milled about chatting with their peers, ghosts occasionally zipping past or hovering near their partners chatting with other ghosts. It felt like the place of learning it was meant to be and had a warm friendly feeling to it. Looking through some arches they passed he jumped a little at a huge wave of solar energy that was blasted through the courtyard followed sharp stinging arc energy along the ground and a orb of void humming through the air. Osiris thankfully slowed to let him watch the show.

“That’s just new lights, testing their limits. If you think that’s impressive wait until you see someone with experience take the field,” Osiris scoffed and Red did his best to hide the way his face twitched wanting to shift toward a smile. Some things were eternal it seemed, like Osiris’ ego.

“I’m guessing you are not a new light?” He asked and Osiris grinned at him, eyes taking on a gold sheen.

“I am not, although I am not an Iron Lord either. I am training under Lord Felwinter. We will see if any of the Iron Lords accept you as a student. I have to admit, Exos are not common around here. There’s only a handful I’ve seen besides Lord Felwinter himself. Where were you raised?” He asked tilting his head before starting to walk again and Rasputin considered the question. The less he lied the better.

“I will tell you if you spar with me and win. If I win, then you will not complain if I petition Lord Felwinter to train me too.” He bargained while his ghost screamed at him internally. He was protected here by the Iron Decree unless he did something to break it himself.

Osiris grinned at him with teeth. “Counter offer, I get to ask you any questions I want for five minutes if I win and you must answer truthfully.” He said and Red nodded holding out his hand.

“Deal.” He agreed and Osiris shook it before marching out onto the field.

“CLEAR OUT! I NEED SPACE!” He shouted and the new lights fled like a flock of birds away from a rabid dog. Red dutifully followed him out and stood on the opposite side of the field. His main advantage was experience watching a much older, wiser Osiris fight as well as his Exo body being more durable than Osiris’ softer human body.

“You are an idiot! He’s going to wipe you off the face of the earth while cackling manically!” his ghost hissed at him mentally.

“Be quiet, I need to focus.” He said and drew on Felwinter’s memories that he had retained as Osiris finally finished clearing the field and took his place. The Warlock immediately set himself ablaze and launched himself up into the air to rain fire down over Red who didn’t bother trying to dodge knowing it would be useless. Instead he drew the void around him like a protective cloak and let the fire fizz off of it causing the field to fill with steam and smoke.

When Osiris touched back down with a smirk that suggested he thought he already won, Red jumped and slammed down on him with all the force of a falling warsat crushing him like a little bug. Stepping back as Sagira appeared Red looked at his hands and the blood coating it with a sick feeling in his stomach. That was something he was definitely going to have to get over if he planned on fighting. He couldn’t get queasy over blood, especially blood that didn’t matter since Osiris was already brought back and grumbling at the cheering crowds around the field they were in.

“Best of three?” Red offered and Osiris snorted.

“Another time. I should have known better than to get cocky but I won’t make that mistake again. However, I am a man of my word. Come, I will take you to Lord Felwinter and let him decide whether or not to take you on,” He said and Red huffed realizing Osiris planned to take him covered in blood looking like some sort of barbarian. The Warlock was clever but so was Red.

With a shimmer of light his ghost changed out his gear and cleaned him up. He would be colder in the more simple clothing if he had to go outside but while in the temple it would at least keep him from looking a mess. Osiris tilted his head slightly clearly not expecting him to have had a change of clothes already.

“You’re oddly prepared for a new light.” Osiris said and Red shrugged.

“It took a while to get here and I wasn’t going to stay in filthy clothes the whole time. Plus as soon as I woke up some asshole started attacking me. You get good at protecting yourself when you have no other choice,” He said mostly because it made his ghost snicker internally at both hearing him cuss and insulting himself.

“And you won’t tell me where you were brought back or who attacked you?” He asked and Red shrugged.

“I never said that, but I’m not telling the story twice in the same day and I figure the Iron Lords would like to hear it.” He said and Osiris looked back at him with a considering glint in his eyes.

“Very well, wait here. I will go in and see if the Iron Lords can see you.” He said and slipped into a door. Red wanted to peek inside and try to hear what was said but he resisted the urge and folded his arms over his chest.

After a few minutes Osiris stepped out and held the door open waving him inside. Red let his eyes trace over the group gathered there picking out the Iron Lords he recognized. Saladin, Radegast, Perun, Skorri, Jolder and Felwinter were all there at moment with others he didn’t immediately recognize. He heard Jolder gasp when his eyes met hers and forced himself not to grimace and instead bow slightly.

“Hello, I am Red. I have come here to petition the Iron Lords for the chance to train here. I first woke up in a bunker of some sort and was attacked immediately upon waking by what I have come to know to be called combat frames. I managed to get to an adjoining room and lock them out using a console where my ghost managed to download some data before we escaped. We’ve been on the run since. I want to learn to defend myself and I would like to learn more about the bunkers. I heard rumors that there would be someone here that might be able to help me.” He said carefully letting his gaze flicker between the different Iron Lords before falling on Felwinter to try to judge his son’s reaction.

“Felwinter, look! You have a little brother! He’s got the same menacing glare you do!” Came a voice from the side that made Red jump and jerk his head to the side as Timur sauntered over to him grinning. His first instinct was to back up but that caused him to bump into Osiris who grabbed his arm in what could have been a friendly manner but Red knew was Osiris trapping him so he couldn’t escape Lord Timur who immediately started poking and prodding at his face. Red shoved down the urge to bite the eccentric warlock.

“Lord Timur, leave him alone. He’s debating biting you.” Felwinter said and Red looked at him startled worried maybe they had some sort of mental connection and Felwinter could read his thoughts.

“I can’t read your thoughts but I can read your face and I know what I would be debating doing in your place.” Felwiner said and Red half shuttered his eyes in a suspicious squint that had Timur laughing and even Osiris had an amused quirk to his lips.

“I will train you. Osiris can you find him a room near my observatory?” He asked and Osiris tilted his head in a slight bow.

“Of course.” He agreed and dragged Red out with him right as the arguing started. He let himself get dragged for a while before digging in his heels and jerking Osiris to a stop.

“Are you upset that he actually agreed to train me? I do not wish to cause strife.” He asked seriously and Osiris opened his mouth then shut it seeming to think about the answer.

“It will mean less time for me to spend with him which is something I enjoy but no. I am not upset he is going to train you. I am actually relieved. As much as I’d like to think I share much in common with him, there are definitely things that so far he has been alone in. I hope you can offer him a companion in ways that those of us not made of metal and synthskin can’t.” He told him after a moment and Red was surprised by the show of sincerity.

“I will endeavor to be both a good student and help how I can. I would like to have friends.” He said and Osiris nodded.

“Well be careful who you choose for that. As much as we might wish otherwise, the Iron Temple is filled with politics and you haven’t signed onto the popular side of things. Come on, we need to get you some toiletries and bedding from the quartermaster then I’ll show you the options for rooms.” He said and Red relaxed a little glad he hadn’t pissed the Phoenix of the Dark Ages off already. He was sure there would be time for that later. 

Recusal.