#old art tell no tales

[msmc-796-official]

I... have a confession to make, of sorts. There won't ever be a good time to admit this, unfortunately, so it's best I get this off my chest now, and ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

It has not been easy speaking with all of the flashclones who have made themselves known in the wake of Union's latest raids; both for myself, and the squadron at large. I must commend my squadmates for handling themselves with the utmost professionalism - while my own correspondences with these newest members of the Omninet have been what I would consider adequately polite, I've been biting my tongue the entire time, and I fear that my personal discomfort with the issue is starting to slip through the cracks.

To this end, I wish to share my thoughts publicly, that I might better express my own emotions towards this complicated, frustrating, and highly nuanced issue. I only ask that you hear me out in full before you render judgement, and pronounce your sentence carefully.

First: an observation.

MSMC policy requires that all pilots dictate an end-of-life plan at the time of their recruitment, that their final wishes may be carried out by the company in the event of their death under MSMC's employ. The options provided for this are effectively unlimited, allowing the pilot a great deal of choice and freedom in planning their postmortem arrangements. These plans may also be altered in the future should circumstances change, provided the pilot is of sound body and mind.

Under MSMC policy, in compliance with the policies set forth by Union, one of the available postmortem options is flashcloning.

In my fifteen-odd years serving under MSMC, I have only heard of three pilots who have willingly chosen to be flashcloned after death (thus prolonging not only their life, but their term of service under MSMC as well). Of these, I have only personally met one, affiliated with MSMC-808 "5Q8R3 L00P3RZ" - I believe their current iteration goes by callsign Lemniscate. While I do not know how many times they have been cloned during their term of service, their current iteration seems happy enough, and their squadmates reassure me that they've maintained a consistent identity (plus or minus the odd quirk, as is typical of flashclones) throughout their life (lives?).

Second: a digression.

I purchased my Dusk Wing, And The Voice of Apollo Spoke From On High (Apollo for short), from an SSC showroom on a planet whose name I no longer recall. The curated atmosphere called to mind the high marble pillars and lush green-blue waters of some distant Cradle mythology where gods roamed the earth and mortals strove to emulate them, punished and rewarded for their folly in equal measure with gifts and curses beyond name. Each frame was posed as the statues of old on Cradle, too-human limbs arrayed in too-human poses, each a machine of war turned living art piece.

Apollo, true to its future name, was arrayed in flight; hover-jets draped with sunlight-yellow gossamer, veil rifle aimed in its middle tier of manipulators with the same care and precision as an archer would take with their bow. To see it lowered to the floor after its purchase was to see Icarus fall; to climb inside its cockpit for the first time, to don wax-and-feather wings of my own and fly.

The old tales caution that divinity has a cost, and I too paid the price. A vial of blood, drawn with silver needle and spirited away into an unseen cooler before my pen ever touched paper. Apollo was mine, but SSC had received a far greater gift in its place: a sample of my DNA, unwillingly donated as the price for my divine armament.

Even now, this price weighs heavy on my head like the sword which hung above Damocles, poised to drop without a moment's notice with each new Union raid on yet another forgotten cloning facility. Who can say on what distant planet the children I did not birth sleep in stasis - children with my eyes, my hair, my nose, my smile; sons and daughters who will never be called as such because, to their creators, they are slaves, weapons, property - anything but human.

Third: an explanation.

I believe that flashcloning, in its current state as of 5016u, as approved by Union's Third Committee (and exploited by the likes of SSC, HA, and several countless others across the stars) is an inherently unethical practice; both for those who donate their DNA (willingly or otherwise), as well as for those persons produced by it.

To see countless lives created, manipulated, slaughtered, and recycled in the name of so-called "progress"; to see inherently human beings stripped of every vestige of humanity but the body in which they reside and then forcibly brainwashed and molded into soldiers, medics, mechanics, weapons, machines, slaves, property - it is an abominable and inhumane practice that should have died a slow and painful death in the darkness from whence it was birthed.

This being said: I cannot stand idly by as the products of this inhumane practice continue to suffer. No matter whether it is beneath the apathetic gaze of Union, the dehumanizing bootheel of HA, or the eugenicist scalpel of SSC, I will not allow my fellow persons to endure another day of abuse at the hands of those who would abandon their own creations as little more than imperfect failures for daring to remind their creators of their sentience.

Alone, I can do nothing. I too am but a cog in this great uncaring machine humanity has built, one which prospers on suffering and bloodshed and the work of hands which have forgotten the body to which they are attached. Even if I were to risk life and limb and reputation to make my position known, it is a battle which lies dead in the water - it is impossible to halt the wheels of progress without irreparably damaging the future which relies on their turning.

And so I fight. I fight for those who have forgotten their humanity, both willingly and unwillingly, that they might find something of their own - identity, purpose, desires, connection, life - that reminds them of what they were and are and always have been: human.

-- Angel

[palilious]

Chester wanted to decorate the turning spot

[drearygenie]

have some old art

from before I got into tftsd and my ocs were in a modern setting and when I liked digital art

[senditothemoonn]

Hello, I am here to present some fanart inspired by @oumaheroes’ wonderful fic The Cleaner !

The whole miniseries is just so intriguing and profound and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them and I hope u guys do too ✨ I sound calm while writing this description but honestly guys I’m frothing at the mouth GO READ THESE FICS IMMEDIATELY

[meldoesart16]

This is a VERY OLD art but i still like it though!

[henrike-does-writing-sometimes]

The Guardians : 2014 - 2024

Or, the "og" four, since they were the first to be created. Also drawing ten characters would kill me

They've come so far, my babies <3

[edstrid]

some old plikki Au stuff I didnt really get around fleshing out

[gingeredmink]

been writing a bit. it's nice but docs does not appreciate how I clearly read nothing but 100+ year old books.

[groundupcrystalflys]

Genshin Edits

Uh.. do we ever get clean edits of the 2D arts for events? Or did I waste my time editing the UI out of the picture for no reason… please tell me lmao.

There’s a tanned Nilou under the cut, just because these pics feel huge on my end

[centarian]

Dearest Tumblr, It has come to my attention that I am, in fact a creature of Tumblr. Now it may not be directly apparent due to my lack of posts, but to any who might disagree with my statement, I present you with this:

This my friends, is what happens when you give me an image, any image, and an art software. I implore other artists out there who might see this to add their own additions to this fine portrait so that we might watch it grow together. As a reference, here is the original image, a screenshot taken from a DND campaign I partook in for a short time:

May the chaos live on within you.

[poetrywritezz]

WRITING PROMPT: (kind of an extension of the “you have cheap rent so lots of odd characters end up living at your apartment” prompt)

So you have super cheap rent, and lots of odd characters end up living in your apartment.

But instead of one character in the prompt moves in, they ALL do.

ONE DAY Screwtape actually moves in next door. He gets involved with the authorities and hauled off to jail.

Wormwood moves in to his vacant place, and you’re like “man Screwtape was bad but this guy is AWFUL”

And you actually PREFER Frankenstein’s monster because he was at least trying to be nice in the beginning and he’s a good conversationalist.

Casper the friendly ghost isn’t as friendly as you once thought, he definitely has ulterior motives,

and the authorities think you might be in cahoots with Screwtape (because he was your neighbor and things got hairy)

(Maybe you become Screwtape’s Penpal of sorts)

And now with wormwood?? Screwtape was bad, you could hear him scheming through the thin walls of your apartment. But this wormwood guy is scheming up and down the halls late at night and is a general JERK. He takes the cake.

But Bartleby? He’s nice. The landlord wants to but can’t seem to kick him out for some reason. He’s just kind of mopey, but he is beautifully polite and you love how calm he is, so you bake him banana bread occasionally.

That guy from “the tell tale heart” moves in just to get away from it all…

It’s just a chaotic mess, and maybe you like it, maybe you don’t, maybe you confess to Screwtape in your letters that you’re tired of the monsters.

(You just might burn this place down.)

A choose your own story, among many literary characters! (And Casper, who might just be from tv I dunno🌺)

What route will you take to the end of this story? And what mysterious new guests (OR PERHAPS AUTHORS) will take advantage of the cheap rent of your apartment building?

It’s a mystery.

[perfectnothing]

let your spirit leave your body i am god and you’re nobody

please don’t tag as kin/me

[shalvis]

Xenoblade 1 is the best game like ever fucking made and it has two of the most dogshit sequels ever fucking made

[drearygenie]

apparently amada wishing she liked lexie to rationalize her anger was not a new thing

thanks 2022 Dreary

[darewolfcreates]

Cause' you and I will always be back then

That's why

You and i will always be best friends...

[smallbluetiger]