What’s the story?
One Destiny fan was able to achieve something that a very small percentage of players ever get to experience, all before succumbing to colon cancer, per an article by Kotaku.
Mike Mariana, an avid Destiny player, was able to reach the pinnacle of its PvP format, Trials of Osiris, for his first time, with the help of the community.
In case you didn’t know...
Reaching the Lighthouse is no easy task. Competitors enter the weekend feature in teams of three during the game. When a team gets to nine straight wins, they get to go to the Lighthouse, where a chest is opened that reveals prizes awarded to the victors.
Destiny is an international powerhouse in the video game realm. Not every player gets to experience the Lighthouse due to the sheer difficulty involved in getting there.
The heart of the matter
Inside the article, Mariana’s friends Tim and Elliot talked about how Destiny was the only game Mariana could play without experiencing the severe side effects of the chemotherapy that he was going through.
After his friends heard of this news, they immediately came back to the first-person shooter game to enjoy killing aliens and raiding worlds with Mariana.
Since “going flawless” in Trials of Osiris isn’t a simple task, they sought out for the help of a professional who could help Mariana.
Dr. Lupo, a Twitch streamer, was contacted to help get Mariana to the Lighthouse. As seen in the video below, Lupo was able to help Mariana go flawless during a 24-hour charity stream for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
One week after Mariana’s adventure to the lighthouse, he passed away.
The impact
On Reddit, Lupo spread awareness of what happened to Mariana. He stated the following:
“I did what we set out to do – help Mike forget about his pain for an hour. Get his a** to the Lighthouse for the first time. And have a blast while doing it.
And while doing so, he and his friends let us into their lives a little and reminded me that I don’t stream for myself so much as I stream the people that have built an amazing community around Destiny.”
A memorial fund was set up for Mariana that started with a goal of $5,000. The Kotaku report states that the Destiny community joined forces and helped raise $7,500 for Mariana’s family in just one day.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The Destiny community continues to be a shining star in the video game and philanthropic world.
Guardian Con, an annual convention in Tampa, Florida for Destiny fans, had raised over $550,000 in 2016 toward St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well. It is truly heartwarming to see them all come together for common causes like this and we hope that they continue to do so for many years in the future.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
