Sunset-Colored Eyes Defiant in the Scope

I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

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@prettywarriors made this amazing art for their really awesome art challenge!! The OCs are from a D&D campaign we did forever ago that we want to turn into a comic, Waewardens. Lord Kel and Raiz are two of my favorites! Thank you!!!

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The last entry for @prettywarriors awesome Magical Girl challenge. I’m once again humbled by the other beautiful and colorful entries. Mine might not be great, especially the proportions, but it’s always fun to draw a bit more once in a while.

I went for more of a Dread Pirate Roberts look, with outfit inspiration take from here and there. I’m always a fan of a puffy shirt and striped pirate pants. The flag is mostly because I just wanted to doodle a Jolly Roger to go with her. Hope everyone likes it!

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So here is my entry for the this week of @prettywarriors challenge. Sorry she’s only half colored, I was kind of realizing some of the coloring was just making it look worse.

So the main idea here is that she is a solar powered robot magical girl warrior. It might not come across too great, the the shield is supposed to be a solar panel that powers her and provides magic to her sword. I was also going for an elegant ballet thing combined with an Art Deco top and armored skirt. Because of her connection to nature, she also has patches of moss growing on her, which she doesn’t mind :) The sword and shield are meant to have kind of a leaf shape to them, further showing her connection to nature and the sun.

I hope you like how she came out!

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Here is entry #2 for @prettywarriors awesome challenge, this one being Gothic Fashion Magical Idol. Once again, sorry about the low-quality sketch, as opposed to the really awesome art everyone else has been submitting. Hope you like it!

It may be a bit hard to see, but the outfit I was going for was a black corset and tutu, with high heel combat boots. Also lacy sleeves with a spiked necklace choker. I think the microphone is my favorite, those are supposed to be little bat wings and ears on the side with little angry eyes below the microphone foam.

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So this is my submission for @prettywarriors art challenge.

Sorry, it’s very much just a rough sketch, so the colors and textures aren’t there, and what I wanted to draw is a bit beyond my ability, but generally I was going for a combination of cozy sleepy clothing and a witch aesthetic, being worn by a raccoon girl. The idea is that she’s wearing a cozy knit turtleneck sleeveless dress, with a patchwork vest over it (for the witchy spooky look), matching knit long gloves and socks, baggy sleep pants, and slippers. The hat is a classic star-patterned witch hat with the phases of the moon on the band, with star and moon charms hanging from either side. She’s also holding a magic scepter, with a moon head thats supposed to change with phases of the moon.

Hope the general idea comes across in my lack of artistic ability, but I definitely had fun designing her.

[theminttu]

Fjord is a good egg :)

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Throwing Shade

“Wait so you’ve never even read a comic book?” Snow pressed her interrogation more intensely than she mean to.

Erica shook her head. “No,” she said softly, her eyes darting around at the trees around them. Snow didn’t know what to make of her. She seemed nice and responsible at school, but never interested in most subjects. And never with any friends.

“Well,” Snow paused, trying to find some middle ground with the girl she had met earlier this year, and was now somehow mystically destined to save the world with. “Movies! You like movies, right?”

“I guess,” Erica said with the least enthusiasm Snow had ever heard. “There was a really great documentary on The Amazon Rainforest I found online.” Erica uncomfortably rubbed her neck. “That was pretty great.” Erica’s gaze wandered away once more, before she shook her head and looked back at Snow, who was sitting on a stump near the creek. She was swirling the water with a long narrow stick, watching the wake of the current as it was broken by her movement of the branch. “What about you?” Erica finally asked.

“What about me what?” Snow looked back at Erica, who at this point had maybe twelve leaves in her hand.

“What’s your favorite movie? Or comic book? Or flower?”

Snow didn’t think she had ever been asked her favorite flower before. Sure, she liked flowers and aromatics, but a favorite? Snow thought long about it. But her mind quickly wandered to the last three weeks. That fox with the missing leg and eyes like an eclipse. The beautiful woman made of starlight and shadow. The magic stone that sat waiting in her backpack. The cool energy that she could feel on her fingertips. It was like she was a superhero, and this was her origin story. Except she’s spent most of it waiting for something to happen. Snow’s eyes met Erica’s for a brief moment, as if they were both just thinking about the same thing. About how things had changed, what had happened over the last few weeks, and what was about to. “Chrysanthemums,” Snow finally said. “My moms have them all over the house, and they’re really neat looking.”

Erica smiled wide. “I have a ton of Chrysanthemums, but I’m running out of space in my room, and the kitchen, and the dining room.”

“You really have a lot of flowers, huh?” Snow chuckled.

“Not just flowers,” Erica interjected. Her eyes lit up as she went on. “Tons of herbs, like rosemary and dill, a few cacti, a spider plant, some small palms, an aloe vera, and even a venus flytrap!”

“Wait, really?” Snow’s eyebrow cocked.

“Yeah!” Erica put her handful of leaves in her backpack and zipped it up. “My dad went to South Carolina on a business trip and came back with it. They’re supposed to be in warmer climates than this, but I have a heat lamp, so it doesn’t get cold.” Snow smiled, it was nice to see this girl come out of her shell, even if it’s only about plants. “Did you know that flytraps are actually a misnomer. They actually eat more ants than anything, but they’ll eat whatever they can. Even frogs!”

“Are you serious?” Snow had only seen them on tv, but apparently left out a pretty awesome fact.

“Well, small frogs, but still.” Erica laughed. It might’ve been the first time Snow had seen Erica laugh. She was always so distant. Even when meeting Sahiress, the Guardian of Earth, she was skeptical of her intentions. Maybe she saw something Snow didn’t. But for now, Snow was content with fighting bad guys and saving the world, so how sinister could this Guardian be?

“Do you think I could watch you feed it sometime?” Snow said, both curious and excited at the thought.

Erica nodded. “Yeah, definitely! But it ate like a week ago, and it hasn’t opened back up yet. It takes a while for them to digest fully.”

Snow looked at her phone, was it already six o clock? “Well let me know when it gets hungry. I should probably be getting home for dinner. Don’t you?”

Erica shrugged. “Dad’s in meetings all day and Mom’s working on a case late, so they won’t be home for a while.”

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” Snow asked.

“Oh,” Erica paused. “You sure your family wouldn’t mind?”

“My moms are cool, and they always make way too much,” Snow smiled, as she pulled her backpack on. “Besides-“

Her thought was interrupted by a fox sitting on the grass staring at them, maybe twenty feet away. The creature’s coat was a pale pink, from a distance it might be mistaken for a soft orange or red dirt. She was missing her front left paw, but there wasn’t an obvious wound. Almost like it has been surgically amputated. The fox’s eyes were a shimmering black, with white, glowing irises that spiked on the outside like a solar eclipse.

“Hi!” the fox greeted excitably without moving it’s mouth. “Is this a bad time?”

“Is something wrong, Mera?” Erica asked, her face curled into a frown of concern.

“Sahiress sent me. One of the shards showed up!” Mera jumped up and paced as she explained, seemingly through some sort of telepathy. “Are you guys ready to go?”

Erica nodded.

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” said Snow, as soft features formed a wall of determination.

“Alright,” Mera said with relief. “Right this way!” As the sound of her voice entered Snow’s mind, a blue flash of light reflected on Mera’s eyes and a column of blue energy formed from the direction Mera was looking. Not an unfamiliar sight for Snow and Erica.

The two ran into the portal.

The other side was quiet. It looked like they were on the outskirts of a city and surrounded by construction equipment, unoccupied trucks and cranes, and the metal beam skeleton of a large building. The air around them felt filthy, like dirt had been kicked up around the site all day, and everything had just been put to rest. The early stages of sunset were becoming visible, and the smell of the polluted air contrasted heavily with the fresh breeze of the small town they had just come from.

But where was that shard? The two glanced around hurriedly when they both heard the footsteps coming from above them. A dark figure walked across the constructed steel beams, silhouetted against the blue and orange sky. Her long black boots echoing against the steel with each step. Her dark eyes looked down at Snow and Erica as she scoffed in disgust.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to come,” she said, her voice sounded tired and emotionless.

“Dris!” Snow exclaimed, as she and Erica pulled their Essence Crystals from their backpacks.

“I grow tired of these childish games we play,” Dris explained, sighing. “My king wants the rest of the shards.” Dris jumped forward, her slender form doing a forward flip before landing on one knee.

Superhero landing, Snow thought to herself.

“I’ll find out where you’re hiding the others, even if I have to beat it out of you.” Dris stared at them with expressionless gray eyes. A white bellowing cape flowed from her shoulders, held by a golden clasp at her chest. Her top was as black with a white belt above a black skirt. Her white gloves nearly reached her elbows, and a rusty metal bracelet hung loose on her left wrist. The symbol of the King of Rust.

Snow gripped her pale blue Essence Crystal tightly, as she felt the familiar cold breeze swirl around her. A layer of frost began to grip itself to her, covering her legs, arms, then her torso. It grew thicker and more opaque, before finally shattering. The dust of crystalline ice suspended in air, shimmering like starlight around her. Snow’s outfit was no longer the skinny jeans and blue denim jacket she was wearing, but a long blue cloak covering a frost patterned dress and matching boots. Wisps of frosty mist licked her shoulders and hands as she took a defensive stance against this enemy. From where her crystal was in her hand, a long staff appeared, with a blue stone weaved into the design of the head.

She looked over to see a shower of pink and green petals burst off Erica as her outfit also transformed. Where there was once a pair of yellow overalls, there was a forest green blouse and skirt with matching gloves. The collar was a waterfall of pink and yellow petals, with a pink lace seemingly holding it all together. The bottom of her skirt looked like a garden in bloom, with pink and yellow petals lining the skirt. She was holding a large wooden club, artfully crafted with a mossy handle.

The two looked at Dris with a heart full of vigor. But Dris simply looked up at them and smirked.

“What are you smiling at?” Demanded Erica, as she readied her weapon for battle.

“Yeah, we kicked your butt last time we met,” Snow added.

“Perhaps,” Dris said flatly. “But last time, I was outnumbered.” Before Snow could think what that meant, she felt a blast of force take her off her feet. She looked up to see what looked like a bear, but made of a featureless black, shadow-like material. It roared at Snow, only to see it joined by a slightly smaller, wolf-like shadow monster. She looked over to see Erica, also surrounded. To her left was a squatter animal, more reptilian with a massive jaw. Either a crocodile or alligator. Behind her was what looked like a gorilla. The reptile snapped at Erica as she dodged a blow from gorilla.

Snow looked over at Dris. She had a jet-black hawk on her arm. With two heavy flaps of its wings, the bird took off. Snow could only guess it was looking for the shard. She dodged the bear as it took another swing with its massive claws. Instinctually, a burst of freezing air shot from her staff. The bear recoiled in pain, as the wolf tried to bite at her feet. Snow jumped back, tripping on her own feet. She landed bottom first with a painful thud. From between the monsters, she could see Erica having troubles of her own. The crocodile was wrapped in a thick layer of vines, growling in pain as the plants grew thorns, but the gorilla was too big and too fast. As Erica swung her weapon, the creature batted it away like a fly, putting Erica too on the defensive.

“This isn’t working!” Erica shouted over the roars and shrieks of the shadow creatures.

“No kidding,” Snow answered back. “We need a plan. Form up!” Without a word, Erica sidestepped the gorilla and joined Snow’s side. The three remaining creatures closed in on the two of them; the crocodile continued to gnash and growl as the vines barely held together.

A large wingspan spread above them as the hawk returned, clenched in its talons was a large silver-gray rock, shimmering in the remains of daylight. Its shape was similar to the other hedron shards they had recovered so far, this one slightly thinner. “We can’t let it get to Dris!” Snow yelled. “After it, I’ll keep these guys busy.” As the words left her lips, the crocodile broke free, snapping its massive jaws in their direction. Snow instantly regretted her plan. She concentrated hard, her eyes closed and blue light emanated from her palms. Five crystals of white ice appeared between her and the beasts. She could feel the brisk air coming from them as intense as a heat from a flame. Mist surrounded Snow as the crystals began spinning around Snow. She felt like an atom, as electrons circled her, gaining speed. She gripped her staff tight and took a step forward. The bear was the first to swipe, but spinning ice slammed into its claw. The bear recoiled. In turn each monster attacked and was rebuffed by the crystals and cold.

She could hear Dris’s cries above the whirling and roars. She could see the bird had fallen to the ground between Erica and Dris, the shard still in its claws. Erica and Dris’s eyes met for a brief moment before they both took off running, Erica gripping her weapon tight. Snow noticed a green light coming from the spaces between Erica’s hand and the club as Dris suddenly fell forward. She looked behind herself to see a small vine wrapped around her ankle. Dris yelled in frustration as a shiny black sword materialized in her hand, as she cut the vine in a single motion.

But it was too late. Erica held the shard triumphantly as Snow ran to cover her with her icy shield. “We’ve got it,” Erica whispered into her Essence Crystal. The shadow creatures and their master all charged at them as they were engulfed in a brilliant blue light.

“Next time you won’t be so-“ Dris’s threat was cut off by their transportation. When the light faded, they found themselves in front of a familiar cave, as a creature made entirely out of the night sky smiled at them warmly.

“Welcome back,” she said quietly.

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Gone in an Instant - Prelude

It was a cool October night and laughter echoed down the lonely street.

“You can’t do that!” a young boy shouted. “You can’t wear roller skates.”

It was true; she was wearing roller skates. “There’s nothing in the big invisible rulebook of tag that says I can’t,” she reminded him. She was eight, with black hair and golden-brown eyes. Her hair was curly and fell just past her neck.

“You’re too fast, it’s not fair,” the child continued to protest. His pale face was turning red, his lips rolled into a pout. A small group of fellow players circled around the boy, most nodding in agreement. “You can’t play until you take them off.”

“Who died and made you king of tag?” The girl countered. Her voice was harsher than she meant, but her face remained scrunched up in anger.

“Who made you so bad at running that you need wheels?” The boy laughed. A few children behind him gasped and oo’d.

“Fine!” she shouted. Her fists curled up in anger as she began to kneel down to unlace her skates. “I was just trying to be nice. I’m much faster without them,” she bragged, even unsure herself.

“This ought to be good,” said a spectator.

The girl’s skates weren’t just too big for her, they were high too, with lots of laces. She began unlacing, muttering every almost-swear she could think of. Her mom can’t get mad at her for almost-swears, right? The skates were hand-me-downs from the girl’s aunt. She was an odd woman who used slang incorrectly and talked a lot about bands the girl had never heard of. Her bumper sticker said “Disco Never Died.”

She was just about done with the first lace, when the boy who was it shouted, “Time in!” The entire group scattered.

“You guys are gonna be so sorry when I’m done.” She could here the pattering of footsteps getting more distant. She had to focus on the laces if she was going to be able to play. “I’m gonna run circles around-“ The girl was interrupted by a small hand pushing her firmly to the ground.

“You’re it!” The mean boy exclaimed as the girl winced in pain.

She pulled herself to her feet and saw not a single kid was in sight, except one, who watched the girl from a distance. One foot still in a skate, the other in nothing but a fluffy purple sock. She stood there feeling defeated and humiliated before looking at her arm. A small red cut puffed from her brown skin. She touched it and sucked in through gritted teeth. The girl pulled off her left elbow pad and threw it on the ground, before collapsing down to a knee once more to remove the other skate.

The remaining boy approached her. His hair was a dirty blond falling to bangs above his brown eyes. He wore an orange t-shirt with a shark on it, and a striped black hoodie over it. He walked slowly, as one would approach a stray cat.

“Are you okay?” the boy was nervous. He didn’t want to get yelled at, and he definitely didn’t want to be “it”.

“What do you care?” The girl sniffed, choking back tears.

“That was mean of them,” the boy offered. “I’m sorry.”

“Boys are jerks,” the girl muttered. She might’ve been the new kid, but she knew boys like the ringleader. They’re everywhere.

“Nuh-uh,” the boy argued. “Not all boys are jerks.”

“Name one,” the girl demanded.

“Name one what?” the boy scratched his head.

“Name one boy who’s not a jerk,” the girl looked up at him, as she pulled off her last skate with an “oof”.

“I’m not!” the boy protested.

“My mom says you’re not allowed to say if you’re nice or not.” The girl stood up, she was about the same height as the boy. Maybe a centimeter taller. “She says you can’t judge yourself. So, try again.”

The boy thought a moment. “Mufasa, Simba’s dad.”

“Nuh-uh,” the girl rejected. “He was a bad guy in Star Wars.”

The boy reconsidered for a moment. “What about Naruto?” The boy smiled triumphantly.

“Mom says kids who hurt their friends are jerks,” the girl quickly pointed out. “And him and Sasuke fight a lot.”

“They fight over a girl though!” the boy exclaimed. “They both like her.”

“Mom says boys who fight a lot like each other.” The girl put her hands on her hips confidently.

“Wait,” the boy’s eyes opened wide. “Boys can like other boys?”

“Yep!” the girl exclaimed. “My uncle Nate likes his boyfriend. They live in Boston.” The girl twirled around, picked up her skates by the laces, and began walking toward the two bikes lying on the grass.

The boy followed her. “How’d your mom get so smart?” the boy asked earnestly.

“She always was,” the girl smiled.

The boy smiled back. “Cool.” The two reached their bikes and pulling them up and walking down the street at their sides. “You’re new, right?”

The girl nodded.

“Do you have any friends yet?”

The girl nodded again, “I do, but they’re back California.”

“You can’t be far-away friends with someone,” the boy argued. “They’re pen pals. Do you have any friends here yet?”

The girl shook her head. “The boys are jerks, and the girls are bees!”

“Bees?” The boy questioned.

“It’s what my mom says when a girl is a jerk. I think it stands for something, but I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“What did the girls do?” The boy asked.

“They said I couldn’t join sports because they didn’t have a surf club and that kids from California only know how to skateboard and surf.” She sighed. “And I don’t even surf! I mean, my dad does, and me and my mom tried it once, but my mom got stung by a jellyfish after we fell off so we had to go home.”

“Whoa!” the boy gasped. “Did she die?”

“No but her foot got red and puffy,” the girl explained. “I think it laid it’s eggs in her. Like in that movie dad said I couldn’t watch the rest of.”

“Which one?”

“ET, I think.” The girl finally mounted her bike. It had a sleek silver paint job, with pink and black waves painted on the handles and frame.

“So you need friends, right?” The boy stat out kind of startling.

“I guess so,” the girl answered. She shrugged. “If my pen-pals don’t count.”

“I’ll be your friend,” the boy offered. Releasing the didn’t even know each other’s name, he shoved out his hand, offering a handshake. “My name’s Nick.”

“Railly,” the girl reciprocated. She took the boys hand and shook it as hard as she could. The two laughed and jumped on their bikes. They raced to the end of their street, then back up where they had played tag. They dodged invisible alien laser blasts and chased off an evil space ship. Railly’s ship was faster, but Nick’s had a more armor and didn’t have to dodge as much.

It wasn’t long before the sky began turning orange and purple. The two were lying on the grass talking about their favorite Saturday cartoons, and who they were going to be for Halloween. Railly was still in her socks, not having removed her sneaker from her school backpack. Her eyes danced around the autumn sky. The gray clouds and what remained of the leaves made Railly think of visiting Uncle Nate. The sky was blue but was starting to shitft. At the first sign of sunset, Railly jumped up. “Oh shoot!” She exclaimed. “I told my mom I’d be home before now!”

The two pulled themselves onto their bikes and raced down the street. “Crap, crap, crap,” Railly repeated to herself. The two sped down the right side of the street, only slowing to cross the street.

Railly’s fuzzy socks were a present on the birthday before they moved. Her mom said she needed to stay warm in the great white north. Railly was not exactly used to the extra bulk of these socks as one got caught in the gears of her bike. She attempted to pull it away, but she over-corrected in trying and swerved to and fro. It was only inevitable that her bike would pull her off road. Onto the grass leading down the hill, into the forest. “Whoa, who, whoa!” She cried as he bike jumped the curb and began it’s bumpy descent. She swerved, nearly slamming her front tire into a large rock, but the bike was still on a collision course for an old willow that marked the forest edge. She should have hit that tree.

Nick’s eyes widened as he watched what had just unfolded. This fast, graceful girl thwarted by a sock, and now hurdling down the hill. He jumped off his bike, leaving it to fall in the middle of the street. He ran after her. He saw her mere inches from the tree and instinctively closed his eyes to avoid seeing the contact. But there was no crash, no scream, no thud. Nick opened his eyes to see nothing but woods and the small creek behind the tree line. Did she jump off her bike and hide just to scare him? Was she a ghost the whole time? Nick rubbed his eyes. There was no Railly. Just an empty silver and pink bike, leaning against an old oak tree. He called out to her. He tried again and again as sun set and the sky turned dark. His new friend was gone.

Railly stumbled forward, rolling into the orange dust of this strange place. She pressed forward back onto her feet, still only with the fluffy purple socks against the rock dirt beneath her. She looked up, seeing the red sky above her, and the orange mountain range in front of her. She looked around, feeling helpless and alone. She turned and pressed her hands against the dirt hill behind her. Could she go back? Could she get home?

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Other Side

The wind was brisk, and an overcast brought a dimness on the earth. My cloak combated the bitterness as I walked through the old graveyard. Leaves crackled and screamed under the soles of my boots, and the trees shook, applauding with what little leaves they had for their fallen. It is considered a season of death, of barren times and stark harvests. But the season brings life too. The color and motion of autumn are too vibrant and wild to represent the solemn and absoluteness of death.

The cemetery was old. I stopped occasionally to read what was left of a gravestone or examine a deteriorating symbol. Most of the names were not even visible under decades, maybe centuries of corrosion. But still I walked through leaves and wind and stones and spirits and forgotten names. These men, these women, these mortals are truly dead to the others. Truly forgotten and only ghosts. But I didn't pity these souls. They were not gone from the eyes of those who knew how to look for them. I closed my eyes and whispered a hushed prayer on the wind. It was answered. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer blinded by the veil between life and after.

But it did not only awaken my sight but all of my senses. I could taste a sweetness in the air, a celestial flavor. The smell of fall vanished, and in its place I breathed in fresh gardens and spring flowers. I took a deep breath, savoring each moment. I could even feel the specters as they danced through the graveyard. Not as flesh and bone or solid material, but as a gentle breeze that lightly caressed the skin on my face. The spirits called out in joy; they sang and reveled in their rest. A subtle smile stretched across my face.

I walked through the cemetery, past the phantoms, past the tombstones and forgotten names. That was when I saw her. She looked exactly as she did the day she left. But she did not dance or sing or even talk to the others. She sat alone, looking to the ground longingly. Her skin was pale and nearly translucent. She wore a simple yet stunning white dress. I approached her, clearing my throat as my heart raced. She looked up at me, standing there, shaking with nerves. She smiled ruefully.

"You are here," she whispered. "But you cannot stay."

"I cannot," I responded. "But I needed to see you."

"I have missed you too," she said before a remorseful sigh. "But I cannot be happy while my absence haunts you so."

"It is I that causes you such grief?" My jaw clenched and trembled.

"It is your despair, my love," she said as she stood. "Do not mourn me; do not let my passing haunt your dreams. We will be together soon, and we will dance and sing as we once did."

With that, she kissed me softly on the cheek as that calm wind brushed against my face.

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Day Two of Vacation

I’m back home, haven’t eaten in 12 hours, and my eyes hurt from crying.

.... vacation’s all I ever wanted ...

[nfoliage]

it’s ok to lean on my shoulder; it’s ok to lean on our shoulders.

probably after shido’s palace.

[dnd-homebrew5e]

New palette for my boy, Eridonis! Can’t wait to use em!

[apoemaday]

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush. Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.

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Whoa! Loneliness, there you are bud. It’s been a few hours, I was starting to think you might not come back.

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Is it bad that I agree with you 100% on your why Lucas Miller is horrible post but I still like him? He shouldn’t be redeemed and he’s terrible but I still find him interesting. Is this bad?

Lol thanks! But I don't really think I can/should judge anyone's choice in characters. Everyone should be able to like who they want to like. I think it really falls to why anyone might like a character. Like, I really like Darth Vader. He's pretty gosh darned evil, he kills people, he works for a fascist government and has been a tool in genocide but I still really like him. Mostly because of my personal history with him, growing up watching the original trilogy. AND I'm fascinated with his story. I know he's bad, but he's deep, he's disturbed, and to 5-year-old me, he was the coolest bad guy ever. I think as long as we can look at our faves, problematic or otherwise, with an honest eye, go for it! Liking an evil character and acknowledging what they are doing is wrong, I think, is totally cool. But blindly defending a bad person, fictional or otherwise, is very less cool.

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Lucas Miller is Irredeemable

So I’ve seen a lot of posts recently in defense of Lucas Miller, and they honestly really upset me. (This is not an insult to Griffin’s writing, but more against how people react to Lucas). Let’s get this first bit out of the way. Lucas is not Edward Elric. Ed was a 14 year old, scared child who tried to use magic to save her, which cost him his flesh and his brother’s body. Lucas made no such sacrifices. He would instead sacrifice others. He is a grown man who could not handle loss, and became reckless and immoral in his pursuit to bring her back. Are there similarities, sure? But Lucas is a coward and a man-child, while Ed and Al learned from their mistakes, became better people and made their world safe.

Now onto Lucas specifically. The first thing that bothers me, is that he didn’t invent shit. He stole everything his legacy is built upon. The compact mirror into our world, his mother, his grandfather, they’re where his creations came from, not his own mind. It doesn’t bother me that he took ideas from another world. But what does is that he took credit for all of it, and didn’t share this with the rest of the world who could use their expertise to help out. Maybe show a doctor or cleric medicines of the modern world, or help improve infrastructure. But no, Lucas hoards this knowledge and passes it off as his own.

Now, he didn’t just try to get his mother out of purgatory. He took unwilling souls, made them extradimensional criminals, and put them into robot bodies without knowing anything about them or the ramifications. Jenkins, Marvey, and Brian were almost unleashed upon the world again, with their forbidden knowledge and quest of vengeance all because Lucas couldn’t be bothered to research the eternal stockade or take precautions. No3113 didn’t sign up to be a robot servant. She died tragically, and Lucas just experimented on her.

Ok, reckless experimentation and extreme inconsideration are the worst. Let’s add attempted murder to that. What did he do when confronted with danger? He sacrificed others. Paralyzed Taako, Magnus, Merle, Killian, and Carey, so he could run and be safe from Kravitz. Did he give them the ability to defend themselves? No. He tried to kill them. HE TRIED TO KILL THE PEOPLE TRYING TO PROTECT HIM, AND THE ONLY PERSON DEFENDING HIM. For what reason? Why couldn’t he have run away, but given the Bureau members the ability to defend themselves? Is it because he would have had to answer for his actions?

What could possibly be worse than attempted murder? What could possible top this “Greatest Hits of Lucas Miller Complilation”? How about LITERALLY SLAVERY. Lucas Miller, LUCAS FUCKING MILLER, saw the species of Bugbears and thought, I can make them better. So he experimented on them against their will, made them more docile and changed who they were, AND THEN made them his servants. He wasn’t using a spell to temporarily get out of a bad situation, he wasn’t using it as a survival tool or mode of peace. This was racism, unethical experimentation, and slavery. He even calls this “one of my less ethical experiments.” YOU DONT GET A PASS FOR ADMITTING WHAT YOU ARE CONTINUALLY DOING IS SHITTY. The Bugbears are “happier” as servants because that’s how Lucas programmed them to be. This is like defending colonization because of how it improved the natives’ lives.

“Less ethical” is the understatement of the century. Less ethical is killing a bug instead of letting it outside. Lucas Miller is complicit and an active participant in slavery, disrespect of the dead, and murder. Lucas Miller does not deserve redemption, he does not deserve to continue to practice science, much less teach anyone else how to. Lucas Miller is an irresponsible, immature, imaginationless, unethical monster. And is he sorry for any of what he’s done? “No.” Because what he wants and his inability to process grief is more important than any of the lives he touches. More important than anyone else who’s died or might die. More important than ethics or morals. More important than anything. Because Lucas Miller is irredeemable.

[avocado-mami-deactivated2016030]

Saw this today at the local bookstore

[commanderfantasy-deactivated201]

Ow ow ow ow ow

[bittyblueeyes]

I’ve always wished for someone to tell me this. What’s sad is that even if someone did, it’s doubtful I’d ever believe them. When I was a kid, my extended family (aunts, uncles, grandmother) used to all tease about how talkative I could be. I got nicknames like Chatty Cathy and Motor Mouth and Lips. I’d hear, “Put a cork in it. My ears are getting tired.” It was meant to be funny, but I felt like the joke.

When I was about 11 or 12, I stopped talking around extended family for close to a year, only short answers when directly spoken to. NO. ONE. NOTICED. And I was still addressed by my nicknames. I realized then that nothing I said had ever mattered. Whatever I was passionate about, whatever interested me, wasn’t worth mentioning because I was the only one that cared. I love my family and I know they love me. They’ll never know what their playful teasing did.

Because I still question. I rarely talk to people. I search people during conversation for clues that they might be disinterested and chastise myself for days if I feel like I’ve talked too much. I realize I overreact and likely see disinterest and annoyance when there isn’t any. But then someone will interrupt and talk over me and with my sentence unfinished, I can fade away and no one will remember that I had been saying something.

It can be irritating when people talk a lot and kids’ passionate ramblings can make little sense and be exhausting with how long they can go on. Just be careful how you handle it. Don’t ever let someone think that you don’t care about what they say. If you have had enough of a conversation, cut it off kindly and make sure that person knows that it’s not because you don’t care.

Otherwise they could end up like me…

who agonized over whether or not to post this.

In the end, I decided it was okay because likely no one will care enough to read it anyway.

[ironwoman359]

This is so important

[lady-literature]

I’m crying

[jelliez]

This one page of a book is out here stripping my soul bare damn