yourspunkpunk:

nightwitchling:

warglaives:

Zavala needs to get told off more often, I think.

This is always an interesting topic, because it does divide people fairly strongly. I also know this isn’t going to be the most popular opinion, as I know a good portion of the Fandom loves the Reef dearly. And that’s cool, but I also think it colors a lot of opinions somewhat unfairly. But here goes, anyhow.

I think the main thing to be taken from this is that Petra and Zavala butt heads so strongly because they *both* want to protect their people.

The issue is, they disagree on who their people are. Petra is loyal to the Reef, and seems to believe that’s where Zavala’s loyalties should also be, because he’s awoken.

But he says plainly and forthright that he is a guardian first and awoken second. His people are the people of Earth – exo, awoken, human.

It doesn’t mean he has no compassion for the Reef, because he plainly does. But he is someone who has lived centuries, starting with the darkest of the dark ages – where fighting off those fallen houses, hive gods and cabal tyrants was the only way to save lives. Centuries where the Awoken had time enough alone as a result to not just build adequately secure bases and fortresses, but expansive, luxuriously opulent cities for themselves…where only they were allowed to go. And then once they were revealed, had the grace to ask things like if people on earth ate mud.

For all that they claim to be the protectors of earth, the Reef gained that time off the blood, sweat, tears and deaths of earth’s people, who dealt with the brunt of multiple invasive forces…as the Reef was busy picking out what carat gold to plate their cities and heavily locked gates in. Gates they only open when they want the help of the very people they’ve looked down on, turned away, and were, as Petra shows us, *angry* Earth’s people had dared tried to protect themselves and their home.

And Zavala knows as much, too. And despite how many deaths he must have seen as a result, deaths he personally suffered even in the present day, when that same complex directly resulted in Cayde being murdered…he still ultimately chooses to help the Reef.

Big blue has made plenty of mistakes, he’s said as much himself. There are things he genuinely needs to be called out on.

Him knowing who his people *really* are isn’t one of them.

say it again for the people in the back