#also i really like how ive been drawing sun recently

[cacaocheri]

pumpkin carving :^)

[monggay]

HI FRIEND !!! ARTIST ASK GAME 4 6 7 9 11 14 29 ???

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

anything posed i can never draw anything with a pose more complicated than just standing there 😭😭😭😭 but also i looove love love landscapes and like, nature stuff but i never draw them 😢

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

hmmmmm not sure tbh i cant rly think of anything / i think of too many things that it cant rly be catergorized into anything coherent. a lot of my style was rly influenced by artists that i grew up on but i think ive gone thru a lot over the years and some of that influence has rly faded :( i used to be into rly cartoony artists like kasey golden a long time ago and i kinda miss how like, unique and not-same-face-syndrome-y i used to draw characters. i do tend to have a lot of design flairs that im still rly attached to and youll see them around from time to time LOL

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

uhhh oil painting? or like, painting in general i guess, im really terrible at it but i love it sm its so cool. its the opposite for charcoal tho its pretty fun to mess around with it but i have no appreciation for works with it :/// i dont rly like it especially if its like, just realistic stuff i think its boring if its just like. a straight up portrait with nothing else creative abt it 😭

9. What are your file name conventions

i usually just have it named w the charac im drawing in it and then with a number if theres more than one file w the charac so like scar.mdp, scar + timbertie.mdp, ace.mdp, YAMA3.mdp, str6.mdp, 2sgr3.mdp, or sometimes like, doodles.mdp doodles1.mdp doodles3.mdp doodles4.mdp doodles6.mdp usually when theres more than one character in the file. i used to put just number 1, 2, 3 etc as the file names so that theyd show alphabetically but it was rly better to have at least a name of what was in the drawing

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

i listen to music At All Times. first thing i do when i open my laptop i immediately open youtube to play music. i dont really have like a specific playlist for when im drawing something specific but sometimes i do get like. really into and obsessed w a song and just play that on loop. ive been rly obsessed recently w zild and the amazing devil

14. Any favorite motifs

i looooove love love love love yellow and the sun and sunflowers not quite as a specific motif but like. to show/ joy. happiness. hope. i eat that shit up 💛🫶

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

hmmmmmmm i dunno what exactly this means by media i love but doesnt inspire me, uhhh technically i can be inspired by anything i just dont do things. u can trust in me to romanticize Everything LMAO i guess like, realism? oh or i guess modern or minimalist stuff? i cant think of anything that fits this lol

[jlonejacketwthe30out]

HYBRID FORMS

this project was a study in form and shape and their link to designs. we looked at a bunch of packaging for this. i made a gift box shaped like a hexagon. pretty fun stuff. it did practically break though. lets get intew ittttt 🤗

to begin, i needed an audience. if you didn't feel like making your own, three were provided to choose from! 1 being a student who recently graduated, 2 being a business person who commutes often and 3 - a new parent. i chose the new parent because,,, baby❤️

attended a guest lecture; notes from aforementioned guest lecture. the first half really deconstructed the creative process behind packaging design; really cool. the second half explored how the presentation of art/ a design can enhance it; also really cool!

notes & ideas! i was settling on something skincare ish. but i needed to remind myself that my target demographic was a new parent; not the new parent's baby!

standing in the sainsburys baby isle to check out the ~current market~. coincidentally, sun care items were right next to the baby things, which was an idea i was also juggling. i looked at both of these items' packaging designs and tried pinpointing how they appealed to their respective audiences.

back in the classroom, we were experimenting with shape nets! the point of this was to see how designs were impacted by the surfaces they're being presented on. the task was to draw on the nets before and after forming the shapes; taking the differences into account and how this knowledge should impact our idea development and outcomes.

ideas development LETS GOOOOOOOOO so i was inspired to make a gift set like the festive ones sold at The Body Shop; the material of them is soooo nice and i loved the streamlined, structured fit of the boxes. because my products were family oriented, i wanted my outcome to sort of look like a house.

here i am playing with more complex shape nets; watch that hexagon one. i did more w the hexagon.

trying to make a 'roof' for the 'house' - a hexagon based pyramid for my hexagonal prism (ive never been good at maths so the geometry element of this project got me so bad.... but more on that later😓)

the next day i decided to make a BIG hexagonal prism net - my grade 4 gcse maths was NOT coming in clutch to any degree but i got there in the end.

i continued to made another big net at home, this time for the lid of my box - of you look closely you can see i tried to make t a tiny bit bigger that the one i already had but erm... 😂

[30 PICTURE PER POST LIMIT? GUESS I GOTTA DO A PART 2... 🚶🏾]

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

thoughtfulposting about some art i made recently (readmore cus long)

this year i rly wanted to draw madoka for her birthday in a way that represents the frequency of self actualized libra, as a test for myself like how well can i put down the energy i sense visually, but also, to help myself understand my own motivations at this point in my life. i watched madoka magica for the first time in 2012 when i was 18 so its been w me for 10 years now. there’s a lot of ancient text posts scattered across my old tumblrs where im ranting about how i feel so useless and empty like madoka, i have nothing to offer except giving all of my self up to the people in my life. i see it in so many libra types, suns moons risings whatever, its like you want nothing more than to be a side character in your own life. the sun is in it’s detriment when it’s in libra because it makes your ego so weak, it often takes years to even gain the self awareness that you accidentally merge with everyone you care about to the extent that the thought of being You is terrifying. it wasnt even like anyone had to force me to be their sidekick. it just happened naturally, it was what i wanted, i was always known as someone’s best friend or partner, it’s what i was comfortable with but.. over time it wore me down, when i was alone i’d lose my mind, i grew so insecure that i had no means of self sufficiency. since the time i was 18 i slowly became more aware of the way i was sacrificing too much of myself in a way that was ultimately unproductive to everyone.. i had to cycle through the same lessons over n over again before it really REALLY sunk in. speaking of cycles, i am almost done with my saturn return, which is the first cycle of saturn that takes around 29.5 years. my saturn is in aquarius, almost exactly trine my libra sun and jupiter. saturn is also the ruling planet of my chart, being that i am capricorn rising. its a time of high pressure. everything i was doing that was  unsustainable has completely crumbled around me. i am forced to develop into my own person and for all the pain, it is giving me an unusual sense of gratitude.. so i knew that when i drew madoka i wanted to draw her by herself. and i wanted her to look strong.. i kept thinking of the world card, the way it’s representative of wholeness, fulfillment, completion of cycles. the way she’s looking back into the past w compassion as she steps forward into the future. i wasnt sure though, i was trying to come up w other ideas too. i had just started listening to bladee spiderr for the first time as i was looking up pictures of the world card. suddenly as understatement is playing it clicks w me the lyrics im hearing,,

(Gravity very up, won the World Cup) (What? What? What? What?) F the world, what? F the world, what? What? What? What? What? (Gravity very up, won the World Cup) (What? What? What? What?) (F the world, what? F the world, what?)

i just kept hearing him repeat “The World” and it felt so synchronized like it was the first time id ever heard that song, i am hearing these lyrics for the first time as im staring at the world card which i had just searched up right before it got to that part in the song. it felt like a message T-T and then this as the outro,

Never read the reason as a sign Keep this little secret in your mind Final destination is the sky Caterpillar dreamt that it could fly

yep OK i hear you loud & clear, im drawing madoka as the world! it was a cathartic thing to draw, more than most of my drawings. i cried a lot during the process, thinking about how far ive come, how much ive evolved from the scared fragile 18yr old madokaform i once was. its not like im doing amazing now but i know who i am and i am working hard to create my own purpose that will unfold just for me. this blog has helped me a lot to feel like i can explore my own world. ofc the nature of this blog is still somewhat reliant on input from others.. but i like that.. i think there’s good and distinguishable boundaries and like. this time last year i was posting to no one and it was basically like that for 6 months. and id do it again! because i post to post, whether people reciprocate or not, does not dictate my actions. it’s freeing.. it really is great though, the little tumblr community on here, it’s incredibly sweet and i love u all a lot. it’s really helping me get thru the crumbling period of my life. if you even read all this, thank you! i wanted to write this for catharsis. i want to be the hero of my story like aries bladee. yep thats my ramblings for today.

Your favourite songs getting old, the same story being told Over and over and over again Too many times in a row, the same lesson I know the same lesson I know I know, I know To holy lights we exposed We start shining in gold Golden, golden, golden

[the-bitchiest-witch-of-the-west]

i got a tarot deck recently and ive been told i need to cleanse it-?

Yes. God yes clean your deck.

It’s very important that you cleanse your deck cause much like crystals it’ll hold onto that negative energy and could possibly effect your reading.

Methods for cleaning your cards:

Palo Santo, you can use the Palo Santo to smoke cleanse your cards. The way I personally like to do it is to first, after I’ve begun burning the wood, I’ll hold the deck in my hand and go around it 3 times. Then after that, I’ll spread the deck out on my reading cloth (I’ll explain that later on) going around it another 3 times. To finish off, I pile my cards back up giving them a good shuffle then will go over my deck drawing out a pentacle overtop with the smoke. (the pentacle is only because of my religion, if you practice a religion that isn’t paganism (which it is not uncommon for other religions to do so, it’s actually a lot more common than you’d think haha) you could instead draw your religious symbol(s) over the of your deck. That is ofc if you’d like to, just because I do smth a certain way doesn’t mean you have to)

You can ofc also do this with incense or any other smoke cleansing item

Crystals, you could cleanse them by just setting your crystals that radiate positive energy on top. Anything that’ll release that negativity.

Setting them out in the moonlight, I personally LOVE to put my deck out under a full moon to charge it but you could also set it out under the moonlight any night you have a good amount of light to simply cleanse it. The few times I have done this I found it best to say my intentions of what I’m wanting to happen aloud followed by saying “My deck IS releasing its negative energy and is being cleansed to reach its full potential.” (You want to make sure to say it as if it’s already happened or is happening or else it’ll be left as a possibility. Which you don’t want to happen.)

You can also set your cards out in the sun to charge them under that lighting but I would strongly advise against that. Not that the suns light and energy doesn’t cleanse because it does, but, being left under the suns lighting can and will cause discoloration and fading in your cards which I’m not sure about you but I would be devastated if I had to get rid of my cards cause I couldn’t see them.

Sound cleansing, this is something I have yet to do what I like to call “my experimental tampering” with to fully understand and practice so I unfortunately cannot give you much if any advice on this but if it’s something you know how to do and are confident in doing so I would say “go for it”I don’t see why you couldn’t cleanse your tarot cards with it if you’re capable of cleansing your mind, body, soul, AnD home with it. Seems like an all around working haha

Lastly, your moon water, Ik this one might sound really weird and possibly dangerous for your cards, in which I can honestly say if not done properly it can be (my learning/teaching deck now has a few cards that took a hit so I do in fact know ✋😭) you’re going to want to get a light weight towel, cloth, shoot I use an old lime green scarf from middle school that I’m pretty sure came from the dollar store haha, any lightweight fabric will due. Put some of your moon water in a bowl (0.5-1 cup of it will do fine) and get your fabric wet. From their your going to want to ring out as much water as you can leaving the cloth just barely wet then go through and repeat the same you would for simple moon cleansing (it’s better if you did that with any cleansing but especially so when it’s not getting a lot of help from you) as you wipe of your deck making sure not to get your cards too wet. I would advise making sure they’re completely dry before using (this might call for a napkin or towels help which is fine)

Card Reading Cloth

This doesn’t really apply to cleansing your cards but it does apply to keeping them clean.

I would advise that any time you do a reading or just in general anytime you use your cards that you use some form of cloth/mat under your cards to keep them physically clean. While yes it will help keep the negative energies from surrounding objects off of your cards it’ll also help keep dirt and grime off of your cards.

For me I just went to my local crafting store and picked up a few “scrap” pieces of 12”x 12” fabric that was not only l distinctive from any other fabrics I had in my house, but it was also one I liked. (If you’re going to spend money on something make sure it’s something you like lol) then I pressed a 1/2 inch seam into it sewing that to keep the edges from fraying. Super simple and cute haha

If anyone has any other question please feel free to ask, I love being able to help other and share my knowledge, and even learning something new in case I needed to look something up to help others learn and understand. With that being said I hope you have a blessed rest of your day <3

[colourful-void]

Hello again! Today let’s ponder this: do you have any ships you like? If so, talk about them! Why do they spark joy? If not totally cool, shipping isn’t for everyone! Alternate/bonus question- what’s your favorite friendship in Pokémon? I personally love Ash and Pikachu’s friendship, but also the main character and your partner in mystery dungeon games! Or, bonus question, two characters who have the funniest mutual hatred. 

Ah, yes, lots!!

I think it's pretty clear i really like satogou, the dynamic of these kids who just,,, care about each other in this way that slides into romance that they're not used to... its very endearing! I want to show that sort of childish love!

I super super love moonlillie, the princess and her knight! esp with how many different ways moon can be done, its super fun.

recently ive really been liking nemopen, they're very different but they have the sort of vibes that would make them get along well in an odd way if they had more time to talk... it's interesting.

In terms of friendships, my absolute favourite is always the sun and moon class! they care about each other so much i could yell about it forever ahhhhhgmm. Like! every bit of them as a class is just so dedicated to each other and that friendship. in he background and forground it's just. like okay in the necrozma arc intro episode, they have a whole focus on friendship and helping each other with the fairytales and everyone sharing lunch, but even in the background like, you can see lillie taking a turn teaching the class by drawing a diagram of how stone evolution works after kaki took a turn, you can see kaki helping mamane down a ladder iirc they're just. they're sweet and I love them very very much. ]

[slasher-male-wife]

hello hello! i want to request a match-up.

i have never asked for one of these but i have a general idea of what to do 🧍

i definitely would prefer a male slasher but i dont mind too much.

im an entp and a scorpio. i dress very punk. i like doing diy stuff especially when it comes to clothes and shit like that- i make patches myself and see them on myself. i generally keep my hair down but occasionally i will do liberty spikes, and i also dye my hair a lot.

i like to read, play my electric guitar, skate, and draw. i also adore horror movies a lot.

im generally a very loud person. i talk loudly, i listen to music loudly, i play my guitar loudly, ect.

im generally a really expressive person, too. the most obvious way is through my clothes. i have a battlejacket and i have a few pins on my schoolbag.

i cant pick one favorite song but recently ive been really enjoying misfits and the clash.

i hope this is enough to go on! thank you :]

- 🫀

I match you with

Otis Driftwood

Otis adores your style and how loud and big it is. You look so amazing with your clothes and it's even better that you make your own clothes too.

He really likes your loud agressive music and your out there personality. It really helps you out in the Firefly house. He likes loud aggressive music so this is a really perfect match for the two of you.

Loves that there's another artist around to help him with his work. Might ask you to sketch out ideas for him or will just watch your process as you draw. He loves your art and will show it in his own special way.

Loves that you play guitar too. He doesn't have any musical talent he just thinks it really cool. Like he admires it and will ask you to play it for him a lot.

Will watch and talk about horror movies with you for hours. He loves horror too like the rest of the family. Has a bit stack of horror movies on vhs for the two of you to watch together until the sun is coming up. A lot of them are pretty old but they're still good movies.

Will help you dye your hair. He doesn't know how to dye hair so please show him how to help you do it. But he overall agrees in your punk diy everything and will help you with any of it whenever you need it.

[autumnlassitude]

Hey! Welcome to Tumblr!

I'm sure you didn't realize, but in one of your recent Ed pieces, you drew Ed white, which is a bit offensive.

[just thought I'd let you know, since I'm certain you didn't mean to whitewash Ed! You're a great artist and this is something easy to fix]

https://at.tumblr.com/autumnlassitude/edward-teach-on-his-way-to-seduce-your-estranged/ p9p21xwo724y

Hi, I appreciate getting feedback and welcome criticism, but it this case personally I don’t really agree. Taika is a fairly light skinned indigenous man with a pretty variable skin tone; when he has been getting a lot of sun he can have a much deeper golden tan and sometimes he is much paler. As a white passing Native person, this is a situation I am familiar with.

Here is my reference photo; I did my best not to just colorpick without consideration of his skin tone. I don’t think I’d really figured out how to draw light and shadows yet because it was my second piece of fanart I’ve ever done, so it looks a bit flat and loses some of his dimension (the left side should be in way more shadow), but I really don’t think it looks white. At a technical level, the drawing could improve, but I don’t think one could argue there is much difference between the skin tones here idk.

Tbh Ive been talking with some friends about this for awhile, and I think some of the dialogue around Ed’s skin tone is a bit skewed by people overcompensating. I see Ed drawn way darker than he is all the time and callouts of art well within his skin tone range. Indigenous people come in all skin tones, sometimes even the same person at different times of year, and it doesn’t make them white or invalidate their indigeneity. This isn’t like wah wah light skin tears, because obviously Natives with darker skin face significantly more violence, but there is an issue of erasure and tbh I think the way people talk about Ed’s/Taika’s skin tone can be part of it.

I really do appreciate you taking the time to send a nice message and think whitewashing is an important issue. I also think there needs to be a bit more acknowledgment of for variations in real peoples skin tone ranges and a some space for amateur artists to have a beginners grasp of lighting (within reason). Yeah, this Ed looks like he has a ring light going, which is a little silly and not very skillful, but I still don’t think he looks white.

Also I’ve been on tumblr since 2013 lol, but thank you for the welcome.

- edited this because I responded while at work and looking back it’s a little terser than id like. Hopefully you see this anon!

[vurelly]

hi!! i know you just said you're taking a break, but i was wondering if you have any artist recommendations? (im new to tumblr and i dont know who to follow)

with the amount of art for solar lunacy ive drawn, i feel like @bamsara is a given recommendation. but if you DONT know about them, their artwork is sO good, the way they draw expressions and bodies both is just *chefs kiss* and their art tag is so full youre not gonna go bored anytime soon

would also recommend @maudiemoods (im not sure of pronouns, so im gonna try to avoid them). more great expression range and all artwork is wrapped up in a neat little bow of "cutest fucking style ive ever seen." also posts very frequently so your dashboard wont run dry!

@might-be-a-potato recently posted a few pose sheets of sun and moon on trapeze and aerial hoops and i LOVE it, shes got a really great grasp on perspective and bodies and i have, admittedly, used her art for reference once or twice while trying to figure out how to draw something

@officiallyollosstuff (again, unsure of pronouns so will be avoiding them) hAS SO MANY PRETTY COLORS, ollo's art is like something straight out of my dreams, i cant get enough of it. everything just blends together so beautifully and the attention to detail is so, SO nice

and i cant just not recommend (vex, my beloved) @voodoovexus shes been my friend for years and shes a very recent tumblr returnee! her colors are super vibrant and she posts a lot of pieces with transparent backgrounds and shes also literally the nicest motherfucker on this planet. do NOT take advantage of that.

we have one rule in this house and it is that you will be nice to vex

[actuallysaiyan]

My Personal Love Story: Vegeta

Request:

"hi!! first, congrats on 1k!! i love everything you write and im so happy other people do too<3 okay so, id like to request fluffy relationship headcanons with Vegeta<3 a few things about me, im 5'2 and i really love tattoos and drawing/painting/tattooing. ive given myself like 16 this year, and one of my personal favorites is a Bunny on my calf since my chosen name is Bunny lmao. i can be pretty talkative at times,, idk my personality type? but im a pisces sun, libra rising, and aries venus! i like walking around and making jokes about random things on dates, just making each other laugh and spending quality time when we can:) my favorite musician is hard to choose, but recently id say Mitski<3

thank you so much if you do this, and its okay if you don't too<3

also, pretty sure i have adhd (as a detail)"

My Personal Love Story: Vegeta

Your Song: Space Age Love Song- A Flock Of Seagulls

Headcanons:

It took some time for Vegeta to get used to you, but once he realized how sweet and fun to be around you were, he made exceptions. He’d allow you to come watch him train or fight Goku, but it really surprised him when you stayed and watched him the whole time and then you’d compliment him on his fighting.

From that time, Vegeta realized how he truly likes you. He has a hard time showing his true emotions and gets hot headed from time to time, but he always wants you to know that he enjoys your company so much.

Lots of time spent watching him train and even letting him teach you a few moves. He’s got a big ego, so the more time you spend complimenting him and listening to him teach you a new move, he’s going to really appreciate it.

If he does take anytime to actually train you, you know you’ve got a very good bond with Vegeta. He doesn’t fight just anyone, but when he’s with you, he just wants to be close to you no matter what.

Vegeta actually really loves going on dates with you. Whenever he’s not training or fighting, he loves going out with you and doing something fun together. If it’s a competitive activity, Vegeta can get a little too intense with it at times.

If you’re more into spending time doing your own thing at home, be it drawing or painting, Vegeta is more than okay with also doing his own thing. He enjoys just being near you and within your company. He loves having quiet moments where the two of you are just being passionate with your hobbies and passions.

Vegeta loves listening to you tell him stories about your day or even just things that have happened to you in the past. He secretly loves pillow talk and cuddling. It’s one of his favorite things to do with you. Nothing beats holding you close to him after you’ve made love and you are enchanting him with your voice.

Speaking of which, your voice really comforts Vegeta. He feels at peace whenever he hears you. If you cheer him on while he’s battling, he will make a big effort to show off in front of you and have you marvel at his strength. Vegeta loves it whenever you call him “my prince”. Depending on when he hears it, it could have different outcomes.

He would literally die for you. Or kill for you. Either way, you know that Vegeta is going to protect you from now and until forever. He will not let anyone hurt you in any way, be it physically, mentally or emotionally. There’s no way anyone will even get the chance to. He’s your lover and you know you can count on him to keep you safe.

Vegeta absolutely wants a family with you. He doesn’t want to push it on you, but he really wants to have many children with you. He loves the idea of being a father and with you by his side, he’ll always be at peace.

How You Started Dating:

This was becoming somewhat funny. You and Vegeta have been running into each other at Bulma’s parties so much that you both were kind of laughing at it. Sure, you both knew you’d be invited, but you always figured Vegeta would stick to Goku or Bulma all night. He never struck you as someone who would mingle.

But now it’s been so many times you’ve been up close and personal with him. He seems so much more charming now. He smiles when you talk, but he does keep it a secret only shared with you. Vegeta tells you of his passions and dreams. It’s an odd thing to witness, but you are falling more and more in love with him as the time passes.

“Tch, figures you’d be here again.” Vegeta scoffs with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Yeah, bet you’re really sad about it, huh?” You joke and you see a smirk on his face. He moves closer to you but he’s careful that nobody has really spotted either of you.

Vegeta leads you to a private bedroom, and once the door is closed, he leans in to kiss you. You’re a little surprised but you are more satisfied than anything. You can’t believe that Vegeta has finally made a move on you.

“I never thought you’d kiss me,” you challenge him. Vegeta just chuckles.

“There’s a lot about me that you don’t know, woman. Would you like to stick around and find out?” There’s a slight hopefulness in his voice. You smile and lean in to kiss him again.

“Is this your cheesy way of asking me out?”

A slight blush on his cheeks would suggest that your assumptions are correct. Vegeta just avoids your eye contact and he mutters how this is stupid. You know he’s just a little flustered.

“I’d love to go out with you, Vegeta.”

“Of course you would, I am the prince of all Saiyans.”

[captainkurosolaire]

I challenge you to pick five Tumblrs in your social circle and tell them something you admire about their blog!

Only 5? I could probably do 500. However, that's determined by what's considered my social circle. I'm often in my head being incredibly social continuously is really a challenge of mine. I'm always actively marching to something, my flame of passion when I have it, I can do some crazy stuff but it diminishes relatively quickly, so I try to cling. But I'll up your thing and list 25 of my fave people. Ask me this same thing in a Month, I'll keep doing 25, until I do all the people. How about that? (If anyone wants to be taken off mention let me know.)

@eligos-venator

- Has one of the most intelligent and sophisticated minds, I've had the pleasure to know. Literally admire all his aesthetics, work, head-cannons, ideas. It's only a benefit that the dude shares some OC characteristics to my own (Winning features). I really enjoyed the short-thread we did. It was incomplete, mainly because of my faults. I want to actually be better to give him a proper delivery and RP worth his time, but he's incredibly worth the investment of eyes.

@mischiefandmystics

- If there was a Mount Rushmoore of writers who kept me in this endeavor, encouraged me. Sun'ra is one of them. His characterization skills, writing, the delivery and how believable his character is, they're masterful acts.

@mishivymendi

- I wouldn't be nearly tamed or as creatively freed if it wasn't for this gem. She broke my shell, I really didn't at a time ever see myself being anything really beyond a smut writer, but Mishi not only saw potential in me, but brought it out. Her stories and world's she brings to life are so majestically colorful.

@asymphonyofash

- My go-to. He's another pillar individual who saw things in me past just the obvious perception, (Probably second longest XIV RPer I know.) Taught me a lot of the lore, I shot him up and he's sort of become my stapled rock. He's right aside Sun'ra met them about the same, both took me under their wing's as I quietly observed and absorbed.

@lavender-hemlock

- We're always up and front with each other, never feeling like I couldn't say anything around, extremely rare to share that these days. Her gif's are legendary, something on my own terms I want to soar in quality. The writing she does is astounding. Character has so many mysterious pages that are quite addictive to want to explore and learn them. (Encore 20 below-cut)

@under-the-blood-moonlight - Her sweetness and artwork and overall is just a friendly presence to be around. I cherish them so much. One I can jive with more darker undertones with. She's one the most hardworking and ambitiously creative people. I'd mail them infinite hugs if could. Thanks for being you! @roxinova - I owe a lot of credit to her. She's constantly OOC and everything was nudging me too be more inclusive to things and involved heavenly. It's rare for me. I'm really horrible about that my autism sets me back socially, I constantly will be drowned by the next day and be reverted back to better off alone, that's my major crux and weakness. But her thoughtfulness, these things, aren't ever foreign to me, I do pay attention probably better than any would ever give me credit. She's a beacon model to have as a friend. @corpse-dancer - Haven't ran into many words with them, but her character, screenshot game, expressiveness, they're all a marvel to constantly see, alongside her attitude and bringing life character. I do think if I were better, we would click quite splendidly. They've recently reminded and motivated me to pick-up my daily-practice, or try too. Keep being a rockstar. @fair-fae - Few who wouldn't know who she is in this community. She's been in my opinion a huge core. I'm certain she's inspired many who weren't even RPers too try it by seeing her at the Quicksands or elsewhere, a tyme ago. Making no exception, I was even one of those. I used to be in QS every-single day and was often doing my shameless stuff. Though her presence first did show me there's a lot more. I admire her in all fields. Also appreciate her adopting me to the FC and her always thinking of others and giving events, or her aesthetics and portrayal, its the epitome of swan elegance. @thorcat - One of my most treasured friends. Been RPing with them for a longtime. There's never anything complicated between us or a rift of drama, it's just let's go and have fun. We really mesh well, I've welcomed nearly ever character and got the privilege to RP with nearly all them. They always open up envelope and help me, settle on back and just laugh. Whether used to be waking up to their characters humping my afk one or use randomly having a hardcore banter between Ufah and Captain and capturing them as a voidal pet. Memories with them isn't something I'd ever want to lose. I love ya! Never stop enjoying life for anything. @lukawarrioroflight - I get in the gutter find myself lacking motivation or writing, discouraged even... But I never have felt, I could ever do any wrong with this person, they bring the light out of me. So no matter what, how many hospital-beds I yearly visit, it's because of this rare nature, that I come back, even if they're the only one's ever to read my stuff. I would do it for them alone. @scholarlybreadbun - I've only been back recently and they've so much warmth. Their presence is the sun of inviting. The couple and posing all the shipping that stuff makes me even melt. I'm not particularly talented in regards to posing couples, but I took notice of them along time ago and set on quietly improving. Really like them for them, wouldn't ever want them to change that. Ideally look forward to be in their orbit longer so I can bask in them. @seascrapes - Been mutual with them for a while. Their aesthetics and character is all S+ level. I appreciate throwing back tagged prompts with them, one of many people I really think would be enjoyable to collab with any other seafarers. The artwork and pieces of Tal Brook, are breathtaking as ever exceptionally too, not to mention. Love your stuff matey, you're a king. @mai-takeda - Is a myth. Her absolutely sheer friendliness and her attitude, are so positive influencing, I was so thrilled to be welcomed with her and boosted by them early on. I couldn't see myself, wanting to exist where they didn't have happiness like the same she always delivers by just doing so many soft-things. Not to mention her writing... She's a whole world to throw yourself gazes

under. @zhauric - It doesn't go far either without the same breath of Mai, I could say about Zhauric. He's someone worthy to look-up and also recognize they're passionate and inviting, hoisting up literally everything. Could easily find any of their characters comrades with my own, or jiving alongside. Not to mention last XIVWrite, they slaughtered it. So enjoyable to read them all. I like how organized their blog is too, motivated me recently to redux my entire thing. @cadrenebula - They have so many diverse characters and their entire roster is vibrant and is imbued with a massive flux of life. They are able to encapsulate so many character's voices and portray them so effectively too, I really admire that greatly. They've made me think bigger and try myself recently at actually undertaking a huge roster of characters too. I've taken many breaks, but I always am so graciously returned often with them close-by and that's so incredibly sacred. I've seen a lot of people get discouraged or quit, leave, departure, etc. But they always seem to have a bigger house then they had last I took a break and I enjoy peaking in. @silvernsteel - Her artist and gif-work are awe-aspiring, there's little unrecognizable by her photo-sets and edits. They helped me even tip-toe into uncharted with giving me the recipes to try incorporating gifs into my arsenal. Plus so delightfully pleasant to actually talk with and just chill. I want nothing less in life, than the beauty they give, to be returned to them for eternity in all their glorious air. If ever needed anything of me, they've got me. @spotofmummery - We talk about passion or friendliness or overall a person to even remotely try to be, I got to include them. Their web-series and writing, screen-work, everything they do is fantastic. And that's furthered back nearly any I've met showcase or immortalize how just genuine of stellar person they are. I wish them always the energy to create and sparks. @snow-covered-moon - They've never been anything less but absolutely a diamond to know. I enjoy their character, their almost always abundant of energy that's very rub inducing. Their WoL character stories, writing, screen-shots, everyday they open up a new pandora box of joy, there's no mistaken love behind their character and that's infectiously easy to also enjoy something when the author does too. Always healthy to be around, I never feel short of vitality when they're close-by. @letheofthelost - Always cheerful or least encapsulates with me, they're a carnival ride. Just pure epic story-telling and engaging equally as passionate, constantly writing characters, not looking for anything outside of RP or anything really just being their selves, they fade all others. I love their presence, them as a person. Enjoy any character they'll ever come and throw under me, or a change of pace. Always feels easily understandable between one another. @crow-iv - Together we're an unfiltered, unstoppable wake of pure passionate writers and art. But I would say they're far ahead of me, in every regard. Already able to portray multiple characters in a scene and do such in-depth thinking, alongside even sketch or draw right afterwards or a scene. They're so talented, huge reason I set-out on giving them a Crew of cast and actual stories to-tell when I'm actually caught up and if they interested and we both have the room, I really think if further myself, I can be better and supply more for them to draw and I want to see them soar. I want to give them all my improvements and effectiveness. @trishelle - They've such a reinforcing personality and aura around them that easily bolsters anything that dares thinking they're about to be depleted so energizing. Aesthetics, characters, all them are so lively that further compliment their own mun's great welcoming presence. Worth hundreds of smiles and stars, keep high. Wish I had more time to dedicate to learning you! But I do notice and appreciate you. @fracturedfantasia - One of my people, I like to retreat and just talk my full

head-cannons with or learn, share insightful and inquisitive thoughts about philosophies and multi-culture things. Or plotting and in-general, they're a well of information and brimming ideas, they are every making of what makes a quality friend. When you can generally be open-about-all that's a real one right there. Their characters and tarot readings, I always would implore if they're offering. Thanks for giving me any-time. You're truly a treasure. @violet-warder - Never have even came to words with them yet unfortunately but didn't mean as a mutual, I haven't admired all their screenies, writing, or the aesthetics they bring of their character. Glamours is real end-game, I like all what you've done and put together. I care strictly about what represent and give, I don't want to see them ever think anyone want's them gone, they are abundantly so talented and possess things only they can deliver. I think recently came back too, and I'm glad to share, hopefully, overtime I can build you better up. Or eventually even talk, but I'm certain you are a busy-body person too, so we're relatable. @layla-grey - I have a lot of underline issues that set me back as a flawed person, but I've never not been anything but someone who's open, it's why I always do include my f-list in anything or etc. I'm not here to present this facade, and really don't care to be an image crafted by another. No one as of recently or now, am I close with as an RP partner or friend with then this stunning masterpiece. I never let-up on story-telling or anything so I can eventually use my Crew or other Characters, to give them anytime a master entertaining day, they push me to not be short-changed. IC and OOC I would devote my full attention too cause they've never shed from me. Didn't ever matter how much silence or anything, they're always around. And don't expect anything out of me or pressure. Just accept me and I equally share that sentiment, I want you to have everything in this world has to offer. ----- This is just a fraction of people, I've paid attention, noticed or know. I've been around in this Community for many years. There's a lot of things I could say about it, more probably then anyone else. But what matters to me, is recognizing the people who are here, that work hard, build others up, support, constantly are a beam. I don't need to interact with everyone, to know when someone is generally out for good. Or they're out for bad I've learned inquisitiveness longtime ago, I had to survive and remain afloat. I just go out and be me, and along the way, I get to find people like these, who help bring out the best me. I am nothing without these people, creators, writers, artist. I'm a terrible friend, horrible person, I don't have the energy to interact NEARLY with as much as I'd like with you all, If I could clone myself, or if things were different, I would drop it all to be in your orbits more if could. But, do know I appreciate you. And even if you ever do depart from this whole community or anything, know that anything you share, or give, that stuff does matter, somewhere, someone was aspired, if nothing else, by me. ONLY you can give the worlds you see and I am thankful. Do love yourself.

[swampgallows]

bro when i get a chance to fucking move out (i am looking at maybe moving closer to wherever i end up going to school if i manage to get that shit off the ground) i am going to decorate like fuck for the holidays. halloween has always been my favorite but i only started actively dreading the ‘winter holidays’ within the last 5 years or so because theyre insufferable as an adult. i think holidays are fun and have an important ritualistic purpose rather than just living through a miasma of gray fucking constantly. like even that “now it’s a festive depression!” type shit is better than the cynical fucking “who cares, it’s just another day” type shit that i get from my immediate family. 

i think decorations are cute and i think theyre important and fun. i have never really gotten to decorate my bedroom the way that i want, and living in a hoarder household means any attempt to ‘decorate’ just becomes white noise against all my mom’s clutter. i have so many awesome posters and beautiful pieces of art that id want to put up on my walls, but it’s Forbidden (i will not elaborate). i recently JUST put up the mewtwo drawing grim made because it was already framed and since ive liked mewtwo since i was like 9 i dont have to explain it to my parents, so it is Allowed, and still every person who’s come into my room has pulled it off the wall or fucked with it somehow, or made shitty comments about it. i dont even have my college diploma hanging on the wall, it’s just leaning against it on top of my dresser. i have other framed art just sitting in plastic wrap. i havent taken my orc grunt sculpture from blizzcon out of the box either because i dont have a nice place to put any of my things. my very expensive garrosh figurine gifted to me by sun & eyrun is also in the plastic it was mailed in, sitting on an upturned record crate lid because i dont have a nice place to display it.

but one day im gonna be able to put all my nice posters and art prints up. one day im going to go insane for halloween and buy a shitload of candy and be The House (Apartment, probably) With Good Candy and be fully decked out the second the leaves turn brown. my place will be warm on christmas with those specific colorful bulbs and nice scented candles and a little fake tree with all my favorite ornaments on it. im not big on a lot of christmas imagery (esp santa) but i do like stuff like little snowmen or cartoon reindeer with lights tangled in their antlers and stuff.

i dunno. i just think life should be fun and colorful or something crazy like that. it’s weird because i tend to think of myself as someone who expresses myself often but im realizing just how little i actually get to be myself in this house, even about something as innocuous as celebrating a holiday

[whaleofatjme1920]

hello, my lovely !! i was hoping to get a matchup with one of the creepypastas. I’m hoping this is all okay for you. Thank you, you are the light of my life.

soo,,,i’m around 5’2 from when i last checked. My figure is hourglass and curvy, I often do that thing where you just kind of hold your tiddies for no reason. I’m one of those people who tans really well and never burns but goes quite pale when I’ve stayed hibernating in my room for only a couple days. This results in me always having pretty dark circles like a beaten up raccoon due to both my lack of sleep and when i oversleep. This always leads to me being ‘relaxed’ which is actually me being lazy and tired. I have naturally waved hair, that straightens and feels all soft/fluffy when i hair dry it, just touching my shoulders since i cut it recently. It’s currently my normal hair colour which is sort of chestnut brown and sometimes dyed different colours, ooh i have green hazel eyes too (my eyes happen to be my favourite features). Uhh, I hate showing my teeth when smiling so you’ll usually get a soft closed mouth smile or my grins where i struggle to keep my mouth shut.

My style, a lot like yours truly, can change. The most frequent styles i go for are dark academia and gothic, these just show my interests off a bit. Like, I’m all for libraries, my earrings in my lobe and around my helix because i have a small obsession for jewellery like rings, also genuinely living for my playlists that i have for every situation out there. Oh, you need music because your now ex boyfriend just ate your dog ? You don’t already have one?? Well, you’re in luck, i do.

My zodiac (some say sun) sign is a Capricorn, my moon is Sagittarius and my rising is also Capricorn. How far i agree with them? I’m not too sure about half of it tbh.

In short, my personality tends to vary quite a bit, depending on my surroundings or who I’m with. It takes quite a long time for me to even become comfortable with people, but that doesn’t stop me from being considerate to most people or being an absolute mum friend when necessary (not overbearing though, because ik people dont always react well with that). Ig that makes me pretty careful/gentle with both people and objects.

I’m afraid I can’t go too into detail, my lovely, but i can say that my humour is extremely dry and filled with innuendos- some unintentional.

relationship wise~

okay, so, um, I’m an omnisexual with she/they pronouns (afab).

I’m a switch. So, yk when i’m in a dom mood because i will have my suit or shirt on. I quite enjoy seeing my partner whining for me, all needy and praise is just- yes. yes please. this is prolly because i’ve always been raised to be well-mannered. Same goes for when I’m being topped, i like having a soft dom and occasionally rough when im feeling particularly spicy.

I’m fairly open to experimenting as long as i know what we’re doing. I do draw a line at being degraded or humiliated since I hate feeling embarrassed and helpless. This is why im not too keen on hate/angry sex. The only harming i’ll allow is biting and a bit of scratching. It’s an intimate moment, let’s keep it that way please.

Outside of that, I’ve always been awkward. Whenever someone holds their hand out for a hug or hand hold, i high-five them :| call me touch-starved i dare you. I’ll manage eventually though.

I’ve got a list of things i’d die for (giving and receiving) <3

leaning into s/o for cuddles or headpats, playing with hands/hair, being dragged by the hand to do smthn, reading to s/o, playing games, ive always been one for giving nicknames and the usual shenanigans we could get up to. like, baby, we could go out into the woods for an adventure dressed as trees to steal juice and collect cool rocks or stay in do karaoke and make fun of bad films. I’d just love having that one person to be my everything and them feeling comfortable to talk about stupid random stuff with me or open up, i pride myself in being open and good with listening. i will take care of them as usual and perhaps roll them into a burrito if necessary.

Your matchup is… Toby!

Read more because of NSFW :}

In general:

So, I read over this and had a few people come to mind for this. It honestly took me a hot minute or so to finally come to a conclusion on who I wanted to pair you with and a few things bounced around in my head before I finally came to the conclusion yes: this is Toby territory.

What he likes about you:

So, physically, just to begin with, Toby really likes your figure! I get the vibe that Toby actually really likes full figured people, who like, this matches up pretty well imo. He thinks your hair is absolutely beautiful and will spend his time running his fingers through it and talking about how beautiful he thinks it is. He also really, really loves the color! And come on this man finds your smile absolutely adorable, regardless if you show teeth or not. All of your smiles are good ones, especially if they’re genuine. Furthermore, he’s gonna hype up your teeth. Whether you accept that or not, take it up with him lmfao Toby is really good for making people feel like gold. He really likes your changing senses of style too because he’ll just,,,, fall into them entirely. Thinks you can pull off everything so well. He LOVES your piercings too!! Also finds it really cute that you have playlists for everything lmfao. I also think he likes your sun sign (I have a small bias towards Capricorns lmfao, I’m sorry, it’s the Virgo in me). Toby really isn’t concerned with zodiac/natal chart stuff so like, but I do think he’d get along with you very well. He thinks you being 5’2 is cute too-. He thinks you being a mom friend is also super sweet too. Also likes that you���re gentle with both people and objects. Furthermore, your sense of humor just,,,,, like it just lines up with him y’know,,,, While I don’t think Toby’s humor is childish, it’s definitely try and full of innuendos as well.

General cute stuff:

I think Toby would be super sweet with you regardless, and wants to hold you but that’s just because he himself is super touch starved. He would… He would high five you lmfao. He understands what it means to be awkward and is one of those “let’s be awkward together” kind of guys. He’s also super into the leaning in for cuddles. When is he not cuddling with you? Always wants to curl up in bed or on the couch as the rain falls and just hold you, humming softly and whispering little secrets about the world and everything in it. Is ready to headpat you whenever, will compare hands with you and do all that kind of cute stuff. Toby loves to go out on little adventures so like, this man is ready to do it all with you. Grocery runs where you just push each other in the carts? Doing donuts in the parking lot at midnight? Wandering the city at high noon and just existing? Little chain restaurant dates, little car rides, traversing the woods and seeing cool mushrooms, watching movies, y’know all that wholesome stuff. Toby would give you just as many nicknames! You will never out nickname him. He’s also really bad at karaoke but he would have fun doing that with you. You could,,,,,, you could roll him into a burrito if you’d like,,,,,,,,

You two as a couple & NSFW:

Toby is really patient and understanding when it comes to his romantic partners. He understands that people are different and some take their time and he’d never rush you for anything. But I feel it would be super easy for you to warm up to Toby. He’s just a pretty mellow people person, y’know? He will also gift you jewelry!! I imagine your relationship is nothing but fun and good love. Just that really wholesome stuff where everyday feels like an adventure. Toby is admittedly kinda awful at taking care of himself so please,,,,, please help him out with that sometimes. Also will get lost looking into your eyes. Just nonstop, “they’re jewels.” He finds you so sweet and so adorable, just let him love you and absolutely adore you. Also he will show you off sometimes! He’s a bit cocky at times so like, if you’re looking fine as hell (which is ALL THE TIME) I swear he is ready to be like “look at my BABY.” Toby will collect cool stuff with you. I can honestly see thrifting dates being a thing between you two, taking time to just explore and stuff. Toby has a hard time opening up about stuff so like, please, help him with that. He will eventually feel so at peace with you and so safe that he’ll just let it all out. I can also see nap dates being a thing between the two of you as well.

This was a big part of how I matched you with someone. I think Toby is a switch! Which is great, because he actually liked being dominated once and a while. He is such a whiner lmfao. He sometimes wants someone to just take over and make him melt entirely. Do that for him. Make him beg for you. Make him writhe under your touch and make him cry out in ecstasy for you. He’ll just be a mess of “please, please please - tell me I’m a good boy” and that kind of stuff. Like YES. Luckily, Toby isn’t that dominant of a person? Like, he’s cocky and definitely likes stuff a certain way but he’s not too rough or too out there most of the time. He’ll always respect your boundaries and he’s just, y’know, a good soft dom. He can do praise really, really well. I also don’t think Toby liked being degraded or that he’s particularly good at degrading people either, so like, I don’t think you have to worry about that. Toby is kind of a scratcher? But nothing off the wall. He’s not too big into biting either. I think he’s big on intimacy as well. So, I really don’t think you need to worry about angry or hate sex. He’s a tad possessive?? But honestly just tell him what you will and won’t allow and he’ll follow through with that. He’s honestly so thrilled you’re letting him touch you.

Closing Thoughts/Other Things:

Hi love bug, you are really really sweet oh my goodness? I'd love to get to know you better just by what you wrote here omfg, flattering me silly. Though, I don’t think you actually gave me your age, I am trusting you immensely-- partly because you included kinks. And the other part just said,,,,, okay,,, I'm trusting you (and it didn't feel right to just make this one platonic.) That's all. Other than that, no, tell me about your humor! Tell me about it and your playlists, and whatever else you find fun and interesting with the world! This blog is just one giant “I will soak up everything bc ily.” You sound like such a sweet person, very sunshiney and just really - like my heart reading this stuff made me happy. I was happy reading this. Other than you being such a lovely person, as always, let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed! <3

[beneaththetangles]

The World Is Not Enough: Isekai and the Hope for More

When it comes to anime and light novels, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an isekai series or six. Countless stories spanning many genres have used the person-travels-to-another-world premise. To borrow language from the infamous TV Tropes, the isekai concept has been played straight, played with, inverted, subverted, parodied, deconstructed, reconstructed, and more.

People must like isekai stories (I know I do!), otherwise there wouldn’t be approximately 47 million of them, with new ones coming out all the time. Regarding this topic, I recently actually-a-while-ago-but-it-took-me-a-long-time-to-write-this happened to see a post by Twitter user Sashimi Princess Maddie which was retweeted by J-Novel Club:

This post struck a chord with me because I’m fascinated by the connection between fantasy and faith. J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories” is of course required reading on this topic, as is Chapter IV — “The Ethics of Elfland” — in G.K. Chesterton’s book Orthodoxy. They discussed fantasy generally, and logically what is true of all fantasy is also true of the specific subset of fantasy we call isekai. Now, the tweet is obviously partly humorous, so it would be unjust to respond to or critique it as if it were a serious essay. However, I do want to highlight one point of possible disagreement that I believe is relevant to my own thoughts. (I say “possible” because without a full-fledged essay from  Maddie, I may be overlooking or misunderstanding points that a more complete argument would resolve.)

Japan is ground zero for isekai. The isekai stories we consume overwhelmingly originate in Japan, and are written by Japanese people for Japanese people. And Japan is a place where Christianity’s influence has been meager, at best, since the Tokugawa period. Meanwhile, the religions with any sizeable footprint in Japan, namely Shinto and Buddhism, don’t contain a concept of heaven comparable to that found in the teachings of, say, Christianity or Islam. Christians make up 1% to 2% of Japan’s population (depending on which estimate you read), which means many Japanese people have probably never even met a Christian! Thus the appeal of isekai in Japan cannot be explained in terms of filling in a gap left behind by the decline of traditional religious hope for heaven.

The OP’s argument would work better if the vast majority of isekai came from, say, western Europe or the United States. Throughout much of the west, Christianity formerly held immense cultural influence. However, Christianity’s influence in these places has declined greatly in the past century or three. If such places produced most isekai stories, we could make a more plausible case that isekai draws upon lingering notions of heavenly reward, relics of a discarded traditional religion whose notions permeated society, in order to fill the hope-deficit created by that religion’s decline.

I believe while Maddie is correct to find conceptual connections between isekai and religion, I just find the specific relationship posited by the OP inadequate, especially with regard to Japanese people. Thus I invite you, dear reader, to consider other Bible teachings that do more to explain the appeal of isekai even in a culture where Christianity (including its notions of heaven) never held much sway. The picture of our world and human nature painted in the Old Testament provides a partial explanation for why we like isekai, an explanation that is not contingent on lingering cultural debris left behind by Christianity.

Let’s look “In the beginning” — yes, the one where “God created the heavens and the earth.” As God completes his creative work in Genesis 1, we read “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” *That* is the world in which God intended us to live. And all this “very good” stuff includes humans, too, who the text says God created in his own image. Alas, we humans ruined things. To put it another way, long ago God and man lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation sin attacked.

Yeah, after God created all this good stuff (including we humans!), Genesis 3 introduces a slew of bad things that weren’t supposed to be part of this world: sin, death, the curse. Of course, God knew this would happen, and already had a plan in place. That plan reached its climax in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, but in some respects it is (at least from our point of view) not yet completed. For now, we still live in a cursed and corrupted post-Genesis 3 world, a place where sin and death run rampant. We ourselves are broken by sin, and we must endure in a world unlike the one God originally created for humans.

The entire Bible is stories of humans sinning, which goes a long way toward showing what mess this world is, but the Bible also contains an entire treatise specifically exploring how awful our post-Genesis 3 world really is. Speaking of our world as “under the sun,” Ecclesiastes incessantly hammers home the “vanity” of this life. “Under the sun” is an unreasonable, unjust, and oppressive place that we can’t understand or fix. “Under the sun” is a place where bad things *will* happen to us no matter how hard we try to avoid them. “Under the sun,” all our labors will accomplish nothing of lasting value. “Under the sun,” we’re all gonna die just like dumb animals, no matter how we lived. And then the cherry on top is that after we die, no one “under the sun” will even remember us, and any stuff we had will be misused by people who don’t deserve to have it.

Our own experiences validate this picture of pointlessness. I had an abusive childhood; I’ve faced a slew of physical and mental health issues; I’m presently almost 35 and I’ve never so much as gone on a date, let alone gotten married or had a family; I’m unemployed and living with my parents because I’m failing so hard at adulting. I’m not hopelessly miserable–God has abundantly blessed me in certain respects–but that doesn’t negate the reality that in some meaningful ways, my life is a big huge disappointment. You, O reader mine, will have different points of sadness and frustration and failure than I do, but I suspect most of us, if we’re honest, would have to concede that our lives are painfully disappointing, or at the very least have not followed the tracks we dreamed they would.

This image of the incomparable Kanami from the isekai series Log Horizon serves no purpose except to break up my wall of text and make me (you?) laugh.

Creation and the Fall provide the starting point for the appeal of isekai. God wanted us to be good and to live in a good world, but thanks to our sin, both we and this world are in far worse shape than he originally intended. Since we weren’t made for a cursed world, it is entirely natural that on some level we long for a place that is somehow more, or better, than the one we inhabit. Likewise, since we weren’t created so sin and death could dominate our lives, it is entirely natural that on some level we long to be somehow more, or better, than who we are. Even if we don’t have a clear idea of what exactly we really want, we still long for a vague something beyond our present existence.

We intuitively sense that something is off about both ourselves and our world, and this leaves us wanting a world and selves that are different from the world and selves we know. In the beginning, we were made for more, and now our existence isn’t quite right. Isekai appeals to this nebulous desire for something better that stems from our latent awareness of the Fall. Isekai stories give more concrete form to the desire to be different than who and what we are, and to live in a reality that isn’t entirely like ours. We may not want to live in the setting of every isekai story, but even grimdark isekai is still isekai, and thus shares the inherent appeal of the idea of other worlds.

Ecclesiastes is again relevant at this point. Perhaps the most hopeful part the book’s message is unstated. As noted above, Ecclesiastes keeps emphasizing how everything “under the sun” is terrible. This raises a question: Is “under the sun” all there is? And here we find the implicit note of hope: the one thing mentioned in Ecclesiastes that isn’t “under the sun” is God. Throughout the Bible, God is consistently depicted as up above. So when Ecclesiastes mentions God, this gloomy book is hinting that there is more to reality than just our world “under the sun.” There might be a chance to escape the utter vanity of this life, if we seek somewhere–and more importantly, Someone–outside and beyond the world we know.

“Now let me be clear,” God is an almighty spirit unbound by the constraints of space and time. Thus, the Bible’s references to God dwelling in the heavens are obviously metaphorical and do not affirm some sort of literal spatial relationship between God and any celestial bodies or astronomical coordinates. That said, the Bible regularly pictures God as being in heaven, and if we follow the logic of that metaphor, then God is not “under the sun.” This is supported by one of the titles repeatedly ascribed to God throughout the scriptures (most often in the Psalms and the book of Daniel): “the Most High.” Again, this superlative is metaphorical,  not a literal claim about physical altitude, but to be “the Most High,” God is, in a conceptual sense, above everything else — the sun included.

The core premise of isekai stories is the idea that other worlds exist and that it’s possible to pass between them. Since we already desire something more, better, different than our present existence, isekai has a natural appeal. What distinguishes isekai from other fantasy / sci-fi stories is how directly it addresses this innate post-Fall desire for a different world. Non-isekai stories offer the possibility implicitly, not unlike Ecclesiastes: They ask us to imagine a reality different from our lived experience, but don’t necessarily give any indication that we can do more than imagine. Contrariwise, isekai takes as its explicit premise the idea that a person just like us, from the very world in which you and I live, can somehow go to a different world, and there experience significant personal changes of some kind.

All fantasy / sci-fi stories at least touch on the notion of a world unlike ours. Even if their setting is very much based on our world, by their very nature they include phenomena never seen here. Arthur C. Clarke famously captured the overlap between sorcery and science: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” All fantasy / sci-fi stories occur in a world where mechanical or supernatural forces beyond our experience or comprehension offer new possibilities. Isekai stories not only show us such worlds, they depict these worlds as existing in addition to (rather than instead of) our own, and as being possible for us to visit.

All of this ultimately brings us to the New Testament’s teachings about hope and resurrection and heaven. I think the OP was correct to see a connection between the appeal of isekai and the Christian hope of heaven. But heaven is only the fulfillment of our longing, not the origin of it. The Bible’s depiction of the Fall and its consequences explains better why we would find the idea of heaven, and isekai, appealing in the first place. We wouldn’t need heaven—or isekai—if we were perfectly satisfied with this world. But we aren’t satisfied, and the Bible’s account of the Fall and its effects explains why we find our present state dissatisfying. And so, reading isekai stories is really about hope for something beyond the reality we know. We feel rightly disappointed with our lives and with this world. We desire something else, and isekai supplies our imagination with more concrete ideas about other worlds.

For now, heaven is an incomprehensible wonderfulness. We know almost nothing about heaven, after all. Given how light on specifics the Bible is, even the most devout Christian is still limited to an amorphous notion of hope. But isekai stories are something I can wrap my mind around. The heroism, the adventure, the romance, the supernatural creatures—all of it speaks to my desire to be more, to experience more. The worlds I can imagine through isekai help strengthen my longing for the even better world I can’t yet imagine. Isekai stories help bridge the gap between the unsatisfactory reality I live with and the heavenly realm so glorious that human language can’t describe it. While we can’t really imagine heaven, isekai at least helps us envision something beyond our lives under the sun. Isekai cannot truly satiate our desire our desire to go somewhere different and be something different (that’s what heaven is for), but it does help us explore and understand our sense of longing.

People can enjoy isekai stories regardless of how much they accept or know anything about Christianity, which makes sense if our desire for an existence that is more, better, different than what we know far predates even Christianity. Isekai has not “taken the place of traditional religion as a promise that our suffering will be worthwhile” in a chronological or causal sense (e.g., religion held sway, and it declined, and that decline contributed to the popularity of isekai as a substitute). I believe it is more accurate to see isekai and the Bible’s teaching on heaven as parallel responses to the Fall. We can choose either or both, but they aren’t in competition. Isekai can be an expression of hope and longing both for those who believe in heaven as a religious doctrine, and also for people in places (e.g., Japan) where Christianity’s impact is minimal.

“In the beginning,” God intended for us to be better and to live in a better world, but sin broke the world and broke us, and now we’re all coping with this disappointing life under the sun and desiring something more. Thankfully, God promises that this world and our present condition are not final. He encourages us to hope for a world and a self that is perfect. We don’t know what that will be like, but isekai grants our imaginations a glimpse of possibilities beyond this world. Depending on isekai alone for hope, apart from Jesus, is not unlike eating a ton of junk food before supper and being unable to enjoy the real meal, but isekai can also be an hors d’oeuvre that whets our appetite for the heavenly banquet to come. To me, reading and watching isekai stories is an act of hope, helping me endure this present world by reminding me that I really do have hope of living in another world as a perfected version of myself.

[ngmatsu]

what's up with the denki stuff in the recent youkaimatsu house attraction? I mean, the youkaimatsu in general, but

(oh my god ive been so distracted from my matsu timeline, i didn’t even notice they put out a new set of stories!!! omg.)

i just read through this and i can type up a summary again! theres actually quite a lot of denki references, and a few other references, some of which i don’t really get. it seems to happen around the time of the last yokai event, from november 2016. [i’m not sure when specifically, though - in that event the matsus are possessed by yokai, but at the end they cast them out. that’s what’s visually represented in the attraction sprite, where their house is covered in seals and karamatsu’s ao-andon blue glow is glowing from inside. that said, at the end of the original yokai event, they say there are still yokai around at the end, so maybe they came back and repossessed the matsus?!? or did this happen in the middle? i dont know.]

tl;dr in these stories, the yokai-possessed matsus travel to a bunch of places and seem to experience time-travel-weirdness, and at one point they directly fly over Akatsuka Village and try to save the denkimatsus while they’re being sacrified. ALSO, some of the little object yokai (tsukumogami) show up in the regular town, including the best one, kankan (ozo’s animate coffee can...)

LONG DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW YOKAIMATSU ATTRACTION STORIES:

STORY 1:

-totoko wanders around with a huge katana, through the yokai-overrun version of Akatsuka District [from the 2016 yokai event], seemingly in a daze, singing “matsuno wa itsumo no basho...” [this is the song that appears in denki, that is apparently magical and used to ward off spirits] she slices at unseen entities [probably yokai] with her katana

- “a few days previous”, in a normal-looking Akatsuka District, totoko’s parents are concerned that she’s sleeping a lot, and wonder why she’s so tired.

-that night iyami is walking down a dark street in a business suit, commenting that the sun went down surprisingly fast. he feels eyes on him... totoko appears, seemingly in a daze, and says “someone is calling”. then an unknown sketchy entity gifts totoko a katana, that is said to cut spirits(ayakashi). iyami sees that there are tsukumogami (the little object yokai) around her and pisses himself in terror. narration says that strange entities/yokai have started appearing in Akatsuka District, and it is said a hunter appeared to hunt them down.

STORY 2:

-back at the matsuno house, the parents are terrorized by the sextuplets, who yokai-possessed, dancing around in their room. totoko shows up at the front door mid-battle and asks the parents if the matsus are home; they say yes they're upstairs, and she runs up... but then leaves, screaming "where did you go you neets?!" - clearly the matsus ran away.

-cut to the yokai matsus flying away, marveling at how fast they can soar, away from the town... to a mountain region, where they see a festival, and humans tied up, seemingly for sacrifice. they want to save the humans - kara shines a bright light but it does nothing; choro flaps his wings, then it rains rocks and dark clouds form, raining on the fire below. they flee when a helicopter shows up. 

-they flee to a place (forest?) that's full of sakura petals and smells like flowers - their appearance seems to suck up the pink of the flowers (the sakura!yokai sprites). they make merry, totty dances, oso drinks, but then suddenly it gets dark again and the flowers disappear. jyushi sees a sunglasses-wearing-man in a nearby park, runs over to talk to him - the man seems to be working on design drawings, and says that jyushi’s cool yokai appearance inspires him. [note: this is coachmatsu, specifically the version who appears in the yakuza au (gokuroumatsu), who designed the yakuza!matsus’s yokai tattoos! this is such a cool reference...]

-moving on, they remark that the seasons seem weird, since right now it’s autumn in Akatsuka District, but then they saw a summery mountain and a springy flowery forest. suddenly they’re in a snowy landscape - it's cold and they seek shelter in a temple, that someone seems to have opened for them. oso starts to get more yokai-y, enraged that they left their beer at home. jyushi says they should probably go home soon. then he seems to pause - "something's burning. the autumn mountain. the base of the mountain..." ichi tells jyushi to go home. [note: i’m not sure what the temple and the “autumn mountain” are. potentially referencing the superpowered samurai event [which has a temple], or some people were saying cyberpunk? (i still havent read that one.)]

STORY 3:

the next morning, back at the matsuno house the sextuplets are fast asleep; matsuyo pulls at their horns and tails but they won't come off. her and matsuzo talk about how theres been a big disaster throughout town with people becoming yokai-possessed, and theyre miserable abt having kids who are neets AND now yokai. dayon shows up at their door (dressed as a shrine maiden) advertising Mr. Flag's exorcism business. they take a leaflet.

later on, kara is "working" [as an ao-andon] while keeping a wary distance from totoko, who's still swinging her sword around. he goes to a dark warehouse somewhere, where two figures are telling ghost stories and blowing out candles. he excitedly waits after the 99th one (dokidoki) but they deliberately don’t say the 100th story, creating a “seal”. karamatsu sadly goes back to akatsuka district - where all the matsus are now being attacked by totoko. their parents look on semi-approvingly (hopeful this will cure their sons.) exorcist!hatabou says he wants to buy her katana. THE END

[cosmosrival]

Rico besides Kama what do you think about the other indian servants?????

AHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS GOING TO GET SOOOO LONG!!!! i have a different view of the indo fam as a whole. i call them the indo fam but i mean the found family trope!!!! theyre like a group of college students sharing a dorm if that makes sense, since their servant selves are obviously different from their initial myths/human vessels!!!

OK SO. RECENTLY, i have an oomf that found books about arjuna that summarize his exploits in the mahabharata(I DONT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO READ IT ALL IM SO SORRY) and also talk about him in a more philosphical manner such as his states of mind during each event etc and i’ve been meaning to read said book because im genuinely interested in arjuna now!!! and i’d like to know more about this indo prince because from what i’ve seen, he is portrayed in a rather bad light(?) in FGO which i find extremely !!!!!!!!!!! and incrdibley !!!!!!! strange !!!!!!! the mahabharata’s conflicts can be put in a mostly grey area where there’s no good nor bad, its not black and white. so seeing arjuna get bashed because of the way his conflict with karna was written is... hm. let’s say that im REALLY starting to understand arjuna fans that dislike seeing him get mischaracterized so much. OTHER THAN THAT, his design is adorable, his travel outfit is my favourite because he deserves to relax and have some fun!!! fgo making him a chuuni is cute and his VAs little moans are cute cute cute!!!!!!!!!!! (mash grabs my shoulder and forces me to sit down) i think that arjuna deserves better and im really happy to see him have fun in his travel costume voicelines. i think we should take arjun on a date!!! he’s a great lover, we’d have the best time!! OH ALSO, kama seeing him as the student council president in their interlude makes me SOOOOOOO HAPPY its unreal, i think it fits him very very well, the seitokaichou who was elected because of everyone’s hopes and recommended by teachers because he’s suuuch a good student but because of that, the pressure to be good is constantly towering over his head and everytime he looks out the window he wishes he could ditch class and skip a day just because he felt like going to the arcade and be a bad student.......just this once........i think hes very very cute...... i want him to cook for me. HAVE YO U READ HIS BOND 4 VOICELINE ?mmmmmggg i want him to get embarrassed everytime i praise him for having such a muscular waistline. AUG

ANEWAYS i also have quite the thoughts about karna, his characterization in the game is linked to arjuna’s and thats fine but i think that forgetting how much of a little sassy bastard he can get was a mistake! did you know that in apocrypha’s german dub on netflix, when jeanne calls his name like “You’re Karna, aren’t you ? The son of the Indian Sun God !” HES LIKE “So ?” AND THAT WAS SOOOO BITCHY OF HIM, i think that karna is a good boy in fgo but the fact that he was such a fighty old man in the mahabharata shouldnt be forgotten and is a charm trait. I MEAN ???? HE THREW HANDS WITH AN 18 YEAR OLD(ARJUN) WHILE BEIN LIKE... THIRTY TWO. WHATS WITH THIS ANNOYING OLD MAN !!!!! knowing these little facts about him made me like him so much more actually !! i think karna being so nice is adorable!! but the little bitchy energy u can find in his voicelines is also very charming!! i think karna looking at me emotionless as i ask him to lend me his notes for the nth time that week and then saying “...Mn.” when i thank him is cute!!! his voiceline towards things he dislikes is interesting to me. karna seeming aloof and mean bc he doesnt know how to communicate but is actually nice underneath...... hey... thats a little delinquentcore........ i wouldnt say yankii but hes like... hes like... u know hes the handsome quiet one of the group of yankiis... u know the one...? hey where are you going

ganesha is also a character im deeply interested in but i havent played CCC so i dont know that many details about jinako herself !! my brain goes HMMMMMM it seems lord ganesha is trans in fgo ! (since kama used to be a male god originally as well!!) ganesha uses all pronouns!!! and ganesha is also special to me because they share similar traits with kama when it comes to their characterization AND mischaracterizations. ganesha isnt JUST jinako. theres a part of a god in the servant mix!!! and jinako HERSELF is actually a pretty sad character imo. the whole otaku/neet thing is obviously a facade and her true wish being that she wants to redo her whole life is also proof of how much she hates what shes become, yet at the same time, she doesnt know what else she could do. but anyways, i prefer looking at servants from a lore POV so i think that ganesha should still be considered a god and be adressed as such!! i like seeing people portray ganesha as jinako but i prefer it when a certain lavish more godly side of them is put forward. a side of jinako that managed to move on a little bit if that makes sense ? that got more serious. and became someone else entierly despite sharing similarities. needless to say their bond with karna makes me happy since he shows them respect as you should towards a god!! its a bit different from their bond in CCC... like they matured somewhat!! anyway ganesha is the one who taught everyone else in the indo fam about video games and technology and i will NEVER shut up.

ashwatthama..... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM %_’(’ç_”’è_ç(è_’”545656455456545453£¨¨µ¨µMµ¨++°=)=)°+ goodness. jesus christ on earth. my love story with him makes me so embarrassed. when he got revealed i instantly fell in love with him despite knowing JACK SHIT ABOUT HIM but since i was the only one in my friend group who was hardcore into fgo at the time, i kept my love for him to myself and just... (looks away)(i drop my wallet full of picturses of him) quietly adored his everything in silence. WELL, ree having an intense crush on yankii type characters isnt new, its been my favourite trope for ages (gyarus go in hand with them!!) and im still very attached to it so thats what made me love him in the first place!!!! BUT THEN. I GOT INTO HIS MAHABHARATAN LORE. And OHHHHHHHHH BABY.......... (im twirling my hair) so theres this 7ft tall war criminal..........<3<33<3(mash leans in and informs me that the convention of geneva didnt exist at the time) SO THERES THIS 7 FTTALL IMMORTALMAN.......<233 gOD he makes me absolutely CRAZY9909840385%£%%£%%µ%µ%µ the love i have for this character is immense and whenever im sad i remember that pako exists and has a tablet and can draw and i suddenly feel so much better. ok im gonna stop horny posting a little bit. but hes my wife. AND WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HIS PORTRAYAL IN FGO IS THAT, they actually made him a good boy despite his initial roughness and misdeeds ???!!! HELLO?? ashwatthama wishing for a redemption ark is my favourite thing and his righteousness that was born because of his regrets is a very interesting drivepoint to me !!! hes a gorgeous character and im buying a ticket plane as we speak right now so i can go find him in northern india. i’ll find him. GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME !!!!!GET OFF ME !!!

miss lakshimi makes me very sad! because every female servant in the indo fam is an already known face. (... would sita count.) and lakshi being a jeanneface is a waste. well, she’s still very pretty and her lore is also quite interesting!! i havent looked into it fully yet but i think she should be kissed on the mouth. her bad luck makes me slip on a banana peel whenevr i get close to her to kiss her and i hit my head on the pavement and pass away- 

parvati is on a tough spot for me atm. i genuinely love thinking of her as the way the indian goddess herself is portrayed because thats where the fun lies for me in her character. especially when shes involved with other indian servants, thats a given!! i would like to see parvati grow, suffer and heal. because branding her as an “all-knowing mom” is easy, but every single parent makes mistakes if you follow that logic. also, since shes the sakura servant “thats closest to her initial personality”, she’s got some of the most Repulsive fans ive Ever witnessed in fandom spaces and lets say that im trying to work my way out of this hellhole and find things to like about parvati without the fandom’s influence. needless to say, im going to keep looking into her mythos and her lore by myself at my own pace and keep doing my own thing in my little corner. 

rama shouldve been a jock. THE RAMAYANA IS OLDER THAN THE MAHABHARATA, WHY IS.....Hrm well him being summoned as his baby version gives me hope for a future rama alt perhaps??? but i think that he shouldve been a total jock and he shouldve been huge with a huge red lion-like mane for his hair and a teethy grin and big biceps and intense love for his wife. SPEAKING OF SITA, her charm point is her purity but i wish.... that their artist still hadnt drawn them like That, im not a fan of lily servants and i think purity = being young is a bit of an annoying excuse!!! rama and sita looking similar is because of their shared history which is fine but... rolls my eyes............. rama shouldve been 6ft tall and sita shouldve been a milf to match...... anyways i doubt ravana would be added as a servant but i’d love to have a ramayana centric event!! where all indo servants have their own lore centric role to play!!! oh thatd be a dream.... but i have learned to not expect much from a fanservice game so im jus gonna draw my own stuff! (strikes a pose!) (mashu claps!)