X-posting this whole blah blah blah from Tumblr because sometimes I think about these things. I drew this picture because this sort of stuff helps relax me and I kinda need to relax after Confuzzled.

This is probably a good bit of vent art (vent art in that it helps me relax back into my zone so I can be productive rather than just stressed) to explain a little about the fantasy headspace that exists when we create worlds.

See, we all (probably) tend to have fantasies where consequences to desired activity are mitigated or ignored. This can range anywhere from simple desires—such as the desire to have stark beauty surrounding us—to complex desires—such as the desire to have meaningful interpersonal relationships with people without the threat of being exploited or hurt as a result of them. These seem vastly different but they tend to tie together in similar ways; for instance, the social binding of remaining covered in front of other people is, to some people, inconsequential, but it’s a small stress compounded upon other stresses, a process we have to force ourselves to make automatic so we’re not rejected, and as such clothing becomes a defensive symbol that protects us from being hurt.

Protection from being hurt is good, but it also diminishes us as we become isolated; vulnerability is a risk, but it enriches us as we become connected.

Hence, the fantasy can (in this instance at least) play with that desire for connectivity without the possibility of serious injury that could result. The connection is built right in, almost effortlessly, in contrast to how much effort we need to put into our own real-life relationships. That’s where we start to yearn, and in part its fantasies like these that drive us to the sorts of connections that make us bigger than ourselves, even if on the surface it seems a bit selfish or self-indulgent.

It feels indulgent because this innate desire arises within the space of our own minds, and when the fantasy makes contact with the world, it becomes much harder to realize. But hopefully, maybe, on some level we can push beyond just fearing how difficult it is in an attempt to make it somehow real.