Di[e]ce Appreciation Week | Day 2: Focus

I finally have free time again!! Yay! Time to show off some of the sketches I did in the last months!

First off, a selection of self-portraits I did in April and May. To me a self-portrait isn't about what I look like, but more about what it feels like to be me. I really enjoyed doing these. (Btw, the text on the third one reads: "But I like wearing a mask." Which was quite a weird realization.)

Some days would have been better if they just didn’t happen at all.

"At Last"

It's Koujaku's birthday (August 19)!!! To celebrate I decided to finish this drawing / colour experiment from May! The colours are heavily inspired by one of my favourite Magic the Gathering illustration: "Dueling Rapier" by Anna Podedworna. Although I ended up using them a little different, ehehe...

It works every time.

Happy Isa/Lea Day 2024!! <3

AKUSAIMONTH: DAYTIME MOON Day 3: Let me clean your wounds.

(can be seen as a continuation to this)

Everything was spinning, at least that's what it felt like when he woke up. Lea just lay there, waiting for his world to calm down again. He made it, didn't he? He had seen Isa's heart … Isa.

Ignoring his dizziness, he opened his eyes and looked up. Isa lay barely an arm's length away from him. Still … … unconscious. At least, that's what he hoped it was.

In a sudden panic, he got to his knees and grabbed his shoulders. "Isa!", he called out his name, shaking him at the same time.

It felt like an eternity before Isa opened his eyes. There was no trace of yellow left in them. Only the greenish blue he remembered from so long ago. Lea felt himself breaking into a smile. All the tension and anxiousness that had kept him on edge this whole time simply fell away from him. He really made it.

His relief didn't last long once Isa reached out to him and … shoved him away. His voice sounded hoarse and weak and he didn't look him in the eye. "Don't touch me," he said. Lea felt his heart clench.

"Come on, Isa," he tried again, reaching for him one more time, only to get hold up by an arm, that certainly shouldn't be doing that. Everything went numb for him.

He had imagined this moment a hundred times. Heck, a thousand times. He didn't really expect Isa to fall around his neck or something, but this … this was nothing like what he thought. He saved Isa, didn't he? Why was he still acting like this? … Like … Saïx.

He just looked at him for a moment, trying to regain his composure. There were traces of the fight they had before all over him. It hadn't exactly been easy to enter Isa's heart.

Isa hadn't even gotten up. Apparently he was even worse off than Lea himself. "You're hurt," Lea stated in a firm voice, "Let me help you." He took hold of Isa's arm that was still trying to keep him away from him and pushed it down with mild power.

Isa still refused to look at him.  "No. Just … leave me be." But this time Lea heard his voice crack. He sounded … sad.

For some reason, it irritated him.

"Leave you be to do what? Die?" He grasped both his shoulders. Isa tensed up and tried to push him away again, but Lea didn't let him. "Do you really think I went through all that trouble, learning how to use a keyblade, waltzing right into a war, fighting you, just to let you die now?? No, Isa, I will bring you home and if I have to drag you all the way there."

Just then Isa suddenly stopped struggling and looked up to him. For a moment his face was full of disbelief, then he made a sound that was a mixture between an exhale and a laugh, and even though it sounded so sad, Lea felt happy about it. Because it was a reaction to him. And because there was the hint of a smile on Isa's face. It had been too long since he had a chance to see that.

"You're still … as stubborn as ever." His voice was quiet, but it wasn't cold. Not anymore. For the second time within a few minutes Lea felt relief wash over him. This wasn't lost, not yet. They could still go back to the way there were, it just'd take a bit longer than he thought.

"See, that's more like what I wanted to hear," he chirped extra cheerfully. He smiled at Isa, then he tightened his grip on his shoulders. "It's good to have you back. Isa."

Koujaku Week: ｢tattoo｣ // ｢scars｣

My probably only entry for Koujaku Week! Everything about his tattoos fascinates me, from their symbolism to everything they stand for in the game/anime. Also, Koujaku is an amazing character and he deserves to be happy.

Photos taken by my little sister Joey (Edited by me). (Special thanks to my other little sister Fiff, for helping out with the light and replacing fallen flowers.) Tattoo from dmmdresources.

AKUSAIMONTH: BERSERK Day 7: SET C - “Explosion”

I saw him coming.
 Never before had I seen anything like what he held in his hands, but I didn’t need to to know it was dangerous, that he was dangerous. 
I shouted out to you, reached for you in order to push you out of his way, but you grabbed me instead and held on to me. I don’t even know if that’s what you were planning to do, but you acted as a shield to me, the last thing I would have ever wished for.

I won’t ever be able to forget the pain I saw in your eyes as you disappeared without another word.

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Art source

AkuSaiMonth 2023: July 8 - August 7

And here we go again! Welcome to AkuSaiMonth, a month of celebrating AkuSai & LeaIsa!

AkuSaiMonth 2023 Bingo

Just like last year, we will be playing bingo again! The prompts on the bingo cards are randomized! Which means, every participant will have their prompts in 1 of 30 different arrangements!

Where can I get the Bingo Card?

To claim your personal AkuSaiMonth Bingo card,

click >> HERE! <<

Using the link on the same device and browser should (in theory) always lead to the same card. However, I would strongly recommend also saving the card by either using the print button on top or by making a screenshot.

How does it work?

The goal is to get one “Bingo!” during the month (Jul 7 – Aug 8) by filling 5 prompts in a row, column or diagonal. 

This could mean one post every week, for example:

Post 1: Saturday, July 8 (IsaLea Day)

Post 2: Saturday, July 15

Post 3: Saturday, July 22

Post 4: Sunday, July 29

Post 5: Monday, August 7 (AkuSai Day) -> Bingo! <3

You are of course allowed to do less than five prompts (one is perfectly fine! <3) or even fill out the entire bingo card (I wish I had your time management skills)!

Rules:

General Rules

• The event is open to everybody, there is no official list of participants and you don't have to register for it.

• You can start and end your participation at any time!

• You can fill as many prompts as you want at whatever schedule works for you!

• The goal is to achieve one bingo, but this is meant as motivation only; it’s not an obligation or restriction!

• Everybody who reaches one bingo "wins".

• There is no prize for "winning" and there is no punishment for "not winning"

Posting Rules

• The event is held on instagram & tumblr, but you can post wherever you want.

• On tumblr tag your works as #AkuSaiMonth and #ASM23

• On instagram tag your works as #AkuSaiMonth and #AkuSaiMonth23

• Mention @akusaimonth in your works both on tumblr and instagram so I can’t miss it!

• Don't hesitate to send me your works per dm if I somehow do end up missing them anyway!

• On tumblr all posts will be reblogged to the @akusaimonth tumblr

• On instagram I will collect all posts in the stories. It is also possible to invite @akusaimonth as a collaborator to showcase and collect your works on the @akusaimonth instagram page as well. All rights to your works remain with you of course!

• If you post to other sites (e.g. AO3, twitter, wattpad, youtube, ...) you can send me the link in a DM on either tumblr or instagram so I can add that link to the instagram stories and tumblr (assuming you didn't post it there yourself). Please let me know where you would like me to put the link and whether it contains NSFW content or not.

• I do retain the right to not share content I find in bad taste and I will ask you to remove it from the #AkuSaiMonth tags as well. I don't expect any problems, but just to be save.

Content Rules

• All forms of content are allowed, including but not limited to fanfiction, fanart, edits, videos, music, …

• The “/” in some prompts means you can use either or multiple of the terms

• All prompts are open for interpretation, there’s no right or wrong way to use any of them!

• You can stay within the framework of canon or create AUs or crossovers or whatever you want, everything is great!

• All content has to be made by you! Stolen fan work is NOT allowed.

• AI generated work is strongly discouraged

• If you want to include fan content made by other people in your edit/video/… you have to get permission first and add credit to the original creator/s!

• Official material can be used with no restrictions

NSFW Rules

• NSFW is allowed!

• Consuming NSFW content happens at the viewers own discretion.

Tumblr:

• Please post visual NSFW under a “Read More” or with the appropriate community label

• NSFW content will be reblogged with an #nsfw tag

Instagram:

• Keep the Instagram NSFW rules in mind (cropping, censoring, ...)

• Please add a NSFW warning in the first two slides of any visual NSFW works.

Disclaimer

• AkuSaiMonth is a fan event only and stands in no relation to any copyright holders of Kingdom Hearts or any of its content or characters.

• The rights to all works remain with their creators and the copyright holders.

• AkuSaiMonth is not responsible for any content created during the event.

FAQ

Who is behind the event?

Original creator and host from 2014 – 2019 is the wonderful @misomilk! This year’s host is @herzblutrose

I lost my card!

If you remember your Bingo Card ID, then that’s absolutely no problem. Let me know and I’ll give you a permalink to the card you pulled!

What does prompt (…) mean?

It means whatever you want it to mean! Have fun with it!

Other questions?

Send me an ask or a DM!

Plain text prompts in alphabetical order:

• Arguments Turned Love Confessions

• AU where nothing goes wrong

• Crossover

• Distortion / Static

• Early Mornings / Late Evenings

• Fake Dating AU

• Far Away / Together

• Farewells / New Beginnings

• Forehead Kisses / Scar Kisses

• Found Family

• FREE SPACE

• Getting Stuck on a World / No Way to RTC

• I Didn't Forget You

• I didn't know where else to go.

• Jealousy

• Magic

• Memories / Snapshot

• Mobsters / Crime AU

• My soul will find yours. (Jude Deveraux)

• Stars

• Summer Snow

• Sun (or Fire) & Moon / Red & Blue

• Tear Marks

• Was it worth it?

• You Have Changed

Lea & Isa

When I was playing 358/2 Days for the first time a few years ago I suddenly wondered what Axel's real name would be, so I started turning around the letters of his name. I got to the conclusion, that it's probably Lea very quickly - simply and plainly because Lea is a girl's name. I was laughing my ass off, when I realized that I was right. When I started to get an interest in Saix I did the same thing for his name. I thought matching to Lea he should have a girl's name too, so I decided for Isa as my guess. The joke wasn't nearly as funny the second time.

Really, who gave them those names? And was he aware that they are girl's names? ö _ ö" (even though they are pronounced in a different way) Well I knew a Lea once, I knew a Isa once, so ever since BBS I wanted to draw a genderbend version of Lea and Isa influenced with features of the Lea and Isa I knew. Yup, here they are :D