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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 08:14:51
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Below are some of the characters and creatures from books, movies and animated series whose strength, primary or special powers come from their eyes. Is there something that brought about the proliferation (not necessarily meant negatively) of this type of characters? Could it be the myths about Cyclops (the monster, not the X-Man) and/or Medusa?
There’s some folklore in the Philippines (and Malaysia, if memory serves) about a giant with four eyes that could blind anyone who dares look at them---and it arguably predates Greek mythology… Though I doubt it’s the reason for the proliferation I meant above.
Is it simply some coincidence, or random inspiration that made the writers and artists create these characters? Or is there someone or something that started it all?
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Aoth Fezim – the main character in The Brotherhood of the Griffon series by Richard Lee Byers. The Spellplague granted him incredible vision and ‘truesight,’ enabling him to see the truth about someone.
Professor Mad-Eye Moody – an Auror in the Harry Potter series whose eye could roll in 360 degrees, thereby allowing him to see everything from all sides.
Kurapika – one of the four main cast in the newly rebooted Hunter x Hunter. He is a member of the Kurota Clan, whose eyes turn red when they feel strong emotions. When he became a Hunter, he was able to use all types of Nen (like D&D’s Eight Schools of Magic) at maximum level. Which was rare in their world, for a Hunter normally could use only one type of Nen at 100%.
Beholder – a monster in the Dungeons & Dragons universe whose eyes could shoot disintegration rays.
Liches – Some of them could cripple targets with a miasma of fear exuding from their eyes.
Vincent (Hei) – one of the main cast in Yu Yu Hakusho (Ghosffighter/ Ghost Files) whose third eye enables him to gather more demonic power that ultimately makes possible the conjuration of a Black Dragon.
Ryner Lute– the main character in The Legend of Legendary Heroes. He possesses the Stigma called Demon Eye, which, when awakened, usually by force, literally destroys everything in its field of vision.
Cyclops – an X-Man who can fire laser beams through his eyes.
Teito Klein– the prince of the Raggs Kingdom in 07 Ghost who inherits the Eye of Mikhael, a powerful sentient artifact embedded inside his right hand which contains their kingdom’s history and which augments his power to a considerable degree.
Tien Shinhan - a minor human character with three eyes in the animated series Dragon Ball.
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Every beginning has an end. |
Edited by - Dennis on 29 Mar 2012 16:49:46
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 08:34:50
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Well, the eyes are the "windows to the soul," and they're often one of the most memorable/unique things about a person. Which lends to their literary power as a means of metaphorically portraying aspects of a character.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 14:26:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Well, the eyes are the "windows to the soul," and they're often one of the most memorable/unique things about a person. Which lends to their literary power as a means of metaphorically portraying aspects of a character.
The eyes aren't the windows to the soul. They're the doors.
Don't blink.
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"The Wild Mages I have met exhibit a startling disregard for common sense, and are often meddling with powers far beyond their own control." ~Volo
"Not unlike a certain travelogue author with whom I am unfortunately acquainted." ~Elminster |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 14:45:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Professor Mad-Eye Moody – an Auror in the Harry Potter series whose eyes could roll in 360 degrees, thereby allowing him to see everything from all sides.
Actually, he only had one eye that could do that -- the artificial one he'd made when he lost the real one. And his paranoia is why he added that ability. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 14:46:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Well, the eyes are the "windows to the soul," and they're often one of the most memorable/unique things about a person. Which lends to their literary power as a means of metaphorically portraying aspects of a character.
Cheers
I quite agree.
Besides, some of the described abilities would be really silly coming from the nose or mouth or ear. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 14:54:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Well, the eyes are the "windows to the soul," and they're often one of the most memorable/unique things about a person. Which lends to their literary power as a means of metaphorically portraying aspects of a character.
Cheers
Erik beat me to it |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 17:07:35
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Two things from the most ancient, pre-historic folklore - the 'evil eye' (the ability to bring misfortune upon someone just by looking at them), and 'The Sight' (the ability to see the unseen, and to see the truth in all things).
Just about everything you mention is built off those two things (or some combination of them). Its not so much the eyes themselves, but rather, and inner ability that manifests through the eyes (because you have to look-at what you are hurting/examining).
The 'evil eye' may have come from primitive man noting how certain predators (snakes, etc) can 'mesmerize' their prey into immobility (seems plausible for a Medusa-scenario, at any rate). 'True Sight' may have just been an ancient (druidic?) way of describing what people today call 'cold reading' and 'powers of observation' (several TV shows use this as a premise for super-detectives these days).
Odin, for example, was granted 'great wisdom', and had true sight. Ergo, it may have just been this super-wisdom that allowed him to see past lies and deception (and interestingly, the 'blinded' aspect of him losing his eye is also repeated in many mythologies: One must lose site of the real-world, before one can peer into the other... very Zen). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 11 Mar 2012 17:08:29 |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2012 : 20:18:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Professor Mad-Eye Moody – an Auror in the Harry Potter series whose eyes could roll in 360 degrees, thereby allowing him to see everything from all sides.
Actually, he only had one eye that could do that -- the artificial one he'd made when he lost the real one. And his paranoia is why he added that ability.
Indeed. I already edited it.
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Besides, some of the described abilities would be really silly coming from the nose or mouth or ear.
Well, the hands are good alternative. For one, liches don't need to exude an aura of fear through their eyes; such aura could easily be coming from their entire body (or rather, bones). Also, one doesn't really need a 'third eye' to amass more demonic power. Aro (from Meyer's Twilight Saga) and Pakunoda (a member of the Genei Ryodan, aka Spider, from Hunter x Hunter) do not use their eyes to cull out the truth from someone, but do so by mere touch. And Havoc (Cyclops's brother) used his hands to shoot laser beams.
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Two things from the most ancient, pre-historic folklore - the 'evil eye' (the ability to bring misfortune upon someone just by looking at them), and 'The Sight' (the ability to see the unseen, and to see the truth in all things).
Most likely.
Conversely, the loss of sight is often associated with 'greater vision.' Those who don't see the immediate physical world see the world beyond. |
Every beginning has an end. |
Edited by - Dennis on 11 Mar 2012 20:30:55 |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2012 : 00:25:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-Sight is the most powerful sense, so...
Some say it's hearing... Though I don't think my (OP) question has anything to do with sight being the most powerful sense or not. As I indicated above, some who lost their sight could 'see' more clearly than those whose eyes are still good. Divination, far-reaching wisdom, augmented hearing (sounds acting as 'musical pictures' from which the blind draw their understanding of the physical world), druidic powers, and many more. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2012 : 02:49:27
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| -You can live a relatively normal life without being able to hear, without being able to smell, without being able to talk (not sure how not being able to 'feel' would be quantified). If you can't hear, there are other means of communicating and interacting with the rest of the world without much problem. If you can't smell, there are other means of interacting with the rest of the world without much problem. If you can't talk, there are other means of communicating and interacting with the rest of the world without much problem. If you can't see, it's extremely difficult to live a relatively normal life without much problem. Other senses compensate to some degree, but losing your sight leaves one with an extreme disability, while losing those other senses leaves one with a mild-to-moderate disability. In plenty of myths, those without physical sight are sometimes gifted with magical sight- how often are those who are deaf, or mute, given magical hearing/speaking abilities? This seems to reinforce the notion. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerûn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerûn
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Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2012 : 03:06:37
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there is an old saying
believe none of what you see and half of what you hear.
funny thing is, that we are heavily to reliant on our eyes, wee look but do not see.
the other night on some channel they were discussing this where they had a lady saying one word visually and virbally saying something else.
played together on the program and watching it they were explaining what you saw or thought you saw was not what happened and that the brain hardwires your other senses to override to match what your eyes saw.
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why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7969 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2012 : 03:39:36
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Roughly half of the human brain is dedicated towards processing visual sensoria. Most of our cognitive and memory functions are based on "visual" imagery generated within the mind. We spend many months as infants just learning how to program our own brains through sight. We're just hardwired to verify all other sensory information with visual confirmation.
And we have symbolism, metaphor, spirituality, and myths about eyes dating back to the dawn of recorded history and beyond. Horus, Odin, the Norns/Fates, Cyclopes, Sauron, D&D beholders, the list goes on forever. Eyes symbolize perception, lack of eyes symbolizes blindness (to distractions?) and superior perception of other things. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2012 : 13:06:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Roughly half of the human brain is dedicated towards processing visual sensoria.
Roughly half of my brain is dedicated towards processing olfactory information....which is why i had such a difficult time in college when my roommate would eat chili, cheerios, or lentils.
*The after-effects of said foods was traumatic |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
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Edited by - Artemas Entreri on 23 Mar 2012 13:06:58 |
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edappel
Learned Scribe
Brazil
211 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2012 : 13:49:39
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Don't forget Boo..
GO FOR THE EYES BOO.. FOR THE EYES!
Minsc rlz. |
--- Ed Appel
*** I'm a brazilian FR fan. So, feel free to correct my writing mistakes to improve my english. |
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
501 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 01:15:37
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All that has been said, AND to add icing on the cake, there are various Legend of Zelda games (namely many of the 3D types) that have bosses (and occasional monsters) that have one or more eyes as a weakness. The latest release, Skyward Sword, is rife with such. 
On a more Realmsian note, let's not forget deities who are missing an eye, like Gruumsh, Talos (who supposedly was just an alias for He Who Never Sleeps), and Labelas Enoreth, at least. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 01:47:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
All that has been said, AND to add icing on the cake, there are various Legend of Zelda games (namely many of the 3D types) that have bosses (and occasional monsters) that have one or more eyes as a weakness. The latest release, Skyward Sword, is rife with such.
Aim at the eyes of Gohma...  |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 01:53:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
All that has been said, AND to add icing on the cake, there are various Legend of Zelda games (namely many of the 3D types) that have bosses (and occasional monsters) that have one or more eyes as a weakness. The latest release, Skyward Sword, is rife with such.
Aim at the eyes of Gohma...
EXCELLENT |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
501 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 04:11:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Aim at the eyes of Gohma...
and Morpha, Bongo Bongo, Ganon (Ocarina of Time), Diababa, Fyrus, Morpheel, Armogohma (Twilight Princess), Scaldera, Moldarach, and Tentalus (Skyward Sword).  |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 13:30:37
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| Daemon primarch Magnus the Red use his single eye to great effect as focus for his formidable psychic powers. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 18:23:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Aim at the eyes of Gohma...
and Morpha, Bongo Bongo, Ganon (Ocarina of Time), Diababa, Fyrus, Morpheel, Armogohma (Twilight Princess), Scaldera, Moldarach, and Tentalus (Skyward Sword).
Don't know most of those, I only played the first couple of Zelda games. But that was a line from the first Zelda.  |
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
501 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 00:13:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Don't know most of those, I only played the first couple of Zelda games. But that was a line from the first Zelda.
Well, I knew that much. I've played every Zelda game to date save for the DS games and The Wind Waker. |
Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
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Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766 |
Edited by - Galuf the Dwarf on 02 Apr 2012 04:09:25 |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 02 Apr 2012 : 03:51:24
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What's the greatest or deadliest power that's associated with the eyes? |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2012 : 22:45:28
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I think Darkseid's (DC comics) Omega Beams trumps Cyclop's (Marvel comics) blasts.
On the other hand, Medusa's ability to turn anyone to stone is pretty damn awesome (mythology, D&D version not so much). Ditto for a basilisk & cockatrice. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7969 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 00:10:51
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In the context of D&D, a beholder can trump a medusa, possessing petrify among a dozen other gaze powers. Our pre-Gygax mythologies don't really describe anything like beholders, for which legendary Perseus should consider himself fortunate, his mirrored shield tactics wouldn't fare so well against a monster who could suspend him with telekinesis or simply blast him with a glance. We, in turn, are fortunate that beholders weren't named Tzunken-orbs or Eye-graxes or Spectacles or somesuch.
It's interesting that the Princes Shade all have glimmering glowing eyes which appear as various metallic shades related to their personal occupation and station. It's really the only characteristic, aside from their individual choices of weapon and behaviour, which visually sets them apart to an observer. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 01:29:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
What's the greatest or deadliest power that's associated with the eyes?
-Completely subjective, but in what? In D&D? In fantasy in general?
In fantasy in general.
I'm nominating Ryner Lute. His Demon Stigma is too destructive and grants him invincibility to almost all forms of attacks. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 01:32:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
It's interesting that the Princes Shade all have glimmering glowing eyes which appear as various metallic shades related to their personal occupation and station.
It's a simple outside manifestation of their powers, and not in way the source or outlet of their powers. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7969 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 03:19:37
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I agree that the cosmetic appearance of their eyes is of little import, perhaps Telamont picked their eye colours as easily as he chose their birth names, perhaps they each employ minor eye-colouring magics as part of their daily (nightly) grooming. Glowing eyes look sinister, cool, dangerous.
What I meant to suggest as interesting is that this conflicts with the traditional trope of eyes being the windows to the inner soul. Shades have no souls, they traded their souls for dark shadowstuff. Dark shadow things usually do not glow, self-illuminating shades are a bit paradoxical, no? So, aside from producing more visually stimulating eye-candy artwork to appeal to the younglings, what could these glowing eyes really symbolize? |
[/Ayrik] |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 04:32:11
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To inspire fear, I suppose. As for Telamont's case, well, it would be too weird for someone who's purely made of shadowsfuff to have 'regular' eyes, wouldn't it? |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 04:43:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
To inspire fear, I suppose. As for Telamont's case, well, it would be too weird for someone who's purely made of shadowsfuff to have 'regular' eyes, wouldn't it?
No weirder than having someone made of shadow emitting light. |
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What’s with the Eyes?
