christmas countdown #2 #1

Images will be added later.  I have no clue what I'm doing for number 2, but number 1 was going to be Jesus.  So, yeah.  They'll be kinda late...

Anyways, it's Christmas day today.  I'm so tired.  It was exhausting and wonderful... even though it was a little bumpy at places.  There is something wonderful lingering all around me... maybe it's just my imagination, but this is a rare feeling for me--like something amazing just MIGHT actually happen.  Wouldn't that be awesome?  I think I almost maybe believe in this "magic" of Christmas--this unspoken wonder and joy that fills a place right up.  Heh.  

Whatever happens, I only know one thing for certain.  Jesus was born.  I don't think it gets much clearer than Veggie Tales says-- "I can love because he loved me, I can give because he gave."

Jesus came down to a terrible world just to be closer to us--to save us.  He left paradise to be born as a baby in a dark, foul-smelling stable.  His parents had to literally use a trough--a feeding trough, likely full of prickly, itchy hay--for a cradle.  His mother had just given birth--she was probably in intense pain, and the place was likely kind of bloody.  His father, beside his mother.  Animals all around.  

Darkness.  The stench of animals.  A baby's crying.

And, this incredible light--a star, shining right over the stable, as if to say, "something amazing is here!  come see it!  Come see!".

This was the baby who would save the world.

That baby would grow up and sacrifice himself for his beloved.  For you and me.

There is no greater love than that.

And so that's what Christmas is all about, folks.  Christmas is about love--between friends and family, mother, father, child, husband, wife.  It's about miracles--God becomes man, reaching out to a race that was condemned to eternal separation from Him.  About hope that we can one day be together with him again.  Faith that these hopes will come to pass.  The peace and goodwill towards one another.  Kindness.  It's about everything truly good.  Those things that we hold in our heart.  Yes, that wholehearted joy--that bright warmth...

That's Christmas.

christmas countdown #3

#3: Sakura Kinomoto

Christmas-Worthy Quality:  Faith

Why:  Fourth-grader Sakura Kinomoto from CLAMP's Japanese comic-book title, "Cardcaptor Sakura", is the main protagonist of the aforementioned novel.  With her trusty staff and sidekick, Kero-chan, she must recapture a bunch of magical cards and face dangerous tests and challenges.  Despite this, she continues to believe in herself, her friends, her cards, and above all, that everything will be alright in the end.  There's something wonderful about that faith--something that seems a little more alive in us all at Christmastime.  Sure, there's drama, stress, commercialism, greed, all the old problems, but--underneath all that, there's still this daring hope that just maybe we can believe in something bigger than ourselves.  And when we choose to believe in that something... well, I think that's called "Faith".  And Sakura has that.

christmas countdown #4

Number 4:  Totoro

Christmas-Worthy Quality:  Miracles

Why:  This fuzzy, lovable fur ball from Hayoa Miyazaki's animated masterpiece, "My Neighbor, Totoro" is a highly iconic figure in both Japan and America.  The film revolves around two sisters who move into a "haunted" house with their father, only to find that there actually IS something magical happening in their new neighborhood--and that it's name is Totoro, a spirit of the forest.  The pair go one an incredible adventure and experience some wonderful, impossible things.  It's a really sweet story, but it's also about what you see and what you don't see, especially miracles--both the amazing kind and the everyday kind.  The eternal Christmas dilemma--whether to believe or not believe that something wonderful is happening SOMEWHERE on December 25th--really hits home for me.  I mean, come on.  Why NOT believe?  There are a million reasons, I guess, but personally... I'd rather be the person who says, "Yes.  I believe, because I have to.  The world is a brighter place when people choose to look toward something good, to wait on something good, even if they don't know exactly what it is yet".  That's a lot of what Christmas is about already, isn't it?

countdown to christmas #5 (sorry I'm late!)

Number 5:  Yotsuba!

Christmas-Worthy Quality: Joy

Why:  The sweet, silly, green-haired girl, Yotsuba, from Kiyohiko Azuma's "Yotsuba!&" is one of my all-time favorite characters.  Whether she's fishing, camping, riding her bike, taking pictures, attacking her neighbors with a squirt gun, or squaring off against her all-time nemesis, Yanda, Yotsuba is all the great things about kids in a nutshell--especially her unmatched enthusiasm for practically everything.  Wouldn't it be great if we took the motto of "Yotsuba!&"--"Enjoy Everything"--and applied it to our lives this Christmas?  Yotsuba's father once said that "She can find happiness anywhere".  I mean, you don't have to look to far--it could be under a rock or in a tree or in your local neighborhood.  Wherever she finds it, Yotsuba always makes the most of it, even if there are a few bumps along the way.

(Also--sorry I'm late!!!)

christmas countdown #6

(For some reason I always thought Pikachu looked twice as cute eating a cookie...)

Number 6:  Pikachu

Christmas-Worthy Quality:  Wholeheartedness

Why:  Okay, so that's a big word--wholeheartedness--and one you don't hear everyday.  You probably know what it means, but just in case, to be wholehearted is to do your very best with all you have--to go in 100% with enthusiasm and an upbeat spirit, and to not give up.  And as Pokemon fan ought to know, tiny Pikachu has a very big heart, and it does just that.  No matter how small this Mouse Pokemon is, it's determined, cheerful nature gives it the courage and strength to push through the most grim situations.  And doesn't that just fit right in?  Here, with Christmas coming up, isn't it twice as important to meet our circumstances with a whole heart, and a can-do spirit.  Yeah, things might be a little tight, and maybe holidays are rough for you, but a little bit of cheerfulness goes a long way.  We could learn something from our little friend here.

countdown to christmas #7

#7:  Agnes Oblige and Tiz Arrior

Christmas-Worthy Quality:  Hope

Why:  Agnes (right) and Tiz (left) are two of the main protagonists from Nintendo's recent 3DS title Bravely Default.  Tiz, after witnessing the devastating destruction of his tiny home village of Norende, meets up with Agnes, who knows the source of the destruction and (hopefully) how to stop it.  Looking forward, the pair makes new allies and choose to trust one another and their own judgement to build a better future for them all.  This unshakable hope to save the world even in their darkest times, is what put them on my list.  I mean, Christmas is all about hope!  Jesus was born--right there, the greatest hope of all time past, present, or yet to come.  And then there's the hope that we'll get good presents or that others will like what we give them...that we can spend time with our friends and/or families... there's so much hope around Christmas, and it's something worth holding on to.

christmas countdown #8

Number 8:  Fluttershy

Christmas-Worthy Attribute:  Kindness

Why:  The Pegasus Fluttershy, from Hasbro's television show My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic is one of the six main protagonists of the series.  She is (as her name suggests) incredibly shy, but she bears the Element of Kindness because of her unshakably sympathetic, kind-hearted nature.  I think this is important because around Christmas time, is it just me, or do people seem a little more open to the idea of being kind?  Of helping your fellow man (or pony) and meeting others with open arms (or hooves).  As far as I've seen, kindness is one of the most underrated virtues, and yet all of us need it desperately.  So why not take the opportunity to be a little kinder to others this Christmas?  Who knows?  You might really help someone.

countdown to christmas!

heloooooo, peoples!  Or no peoples, depending on if anyone actually reads this.  Firefly here, to spread a little bit of Christmas spirit!  I was thinking, how cool would it be if I did a countdown to Christmas, and posted some cool seasonal fanart everyday until the big Holiday itself?  That seemed cool to me, and so, once more with some FE: Awakening Fanart, I give you--
"Merry Christmas, from Exalt Emmeryn"!  Yay!

Yay!  Oh, the in-game references...  

LONG MONOLOGUE:  Anyways, around this time I think it's really important to realize that Christmas isn't just about gifts or food or sparkly trees (although those are all very good things, indeed).  It's really a time to just sort of sit back and recognize that we have a good life.  Sure, there's crud we have to go through--people do horrible things, maybe you've had stuff in your past or even crazy things going on right now.  But during Christmas, while all this chaotic frenzy is going on around us, people running about like maniacs in search of presents and trees, etc, we have this chance to sort of be still.  Just to slow down within ourselves, and just fill ourselves up with all the good things in life.  To be full.  To rest our spirits, and know we have been loved.  I don't know if I'm explaining this right.

You're probably going crazy with things to do and places to be.  You're probably thinking--"slow down?!  But that's the OPPOSITE of what I need to do".  I don't know.  But I think that the moments when I am the happiest are times like this where I sort of just sit back and watch the proceedings with a full heart.  Christmas MEANS something--it means warmth and light, being somewhere good and safe.  As humans, we need more of this--we need to seek this out and store it up within ourselves to help us face the future, as dark or uncertain as it may be.  It is my firm belief that nothing truly good is ever lost.

CUT TO THE CHASE:  So, now that you've been put through my long, meaningful monologue, for my countdown I'll be naming one truly good thing about Christmas that my chosen character represents.  So...

9 (days until Christmas):  Peace!

For number nine of my countdown, I chose to draw Exalt Emmeryn from Fire Emblem: Awakening.  Emmeryn is the kindly, peace-loving ruler of the Kingdom of Ylisse.  Having suffered greatly during her father's war-mongering years on the throne, she decided that no matter what, she would seek peace for all people, even those from their not-so-neighborly neighbors in the Kingdom of Plegia.  Throughout her reign, she acts with the best interests of all people involved, even those who would see her dead.  It's actually said in-game that Emmeryn represents Ylisse's most prized value--peace.  This attitude of benevolence and inner strength made her one of my heroes, which is why she is on this blog.  See ya!

Firefly, out!

mild obsession with FE: awakening strikes again

Heya, folks, I'm back with more arts to show off!!!  I know I'm far from the best out there, but because I love to draw almost (if not more) than I love telling stories, I thought I ought to share a little of this with ya.  Plus, well, art isn't that much use when it's kept to one person alone, right?  So here's some interesting Fire Emblem characters that really caught my eye in my second play-through of the game:  Gaius and Maribelle.  Maribelle is the snooty upper-class noblewoman who has a sharp tongue, although she seems to have high standards.  I didn't like her very much at first, but she actually tends to get into some pretty amusing situations, and, well, she's a surprisingly good person once you get past that cold exterior, so I came around.  Gaius is a thief who cracks locks for a living, and although he's usually calm and composed (sort of chill...) he has a major sweet tooth.  Despite being a criminal, he actually has morals (as shown in his introduction chapter when--if the main character talks with him--he has the ability to turn against his assassin comrades and join the good guys in defending Emmeryn, who is pretty much the most patient, kind, angelic character in the game.)  Despite being incredibly different, the pair have a heartwarming history which I will not reveal because it is unlocked later in the game if you want to watch their Support conversations.