The Art Journey

I am currently spending time in Vietnam for a couple of days vacationing, so I couldn't really focus on doing any big, significant projects following the last one. This has left me kind of itching to create something at the very least... And yesterday, I found some time to just sit down and do a quick and simple landscape.

Since my entry into the foray of digital painting, I have always called myself an "artist traveling its waters in a journey to discover her true artistic potential". This description still holds true to this day: I am constantly seeking to develop my skills as a digital artist, learning various new things albeit at my own pace. In the last 2-3 years, I recognize that I've come far from where I had begun, especially when I look at the paintings I've made over the last 8 months alone. All of these paintings would not be possible if I hadn't reached my wits' end about my ineptitude and made the decision to just change that... And I'm grateful I finally made that first step, after years of telling myself it just couldn't ever be.

This was a journey not without its own share of hardship, however. There have been times when I began a painting only to feel unfulfilled by the end of it. There have been times where I have struggled to achieve certain things in an art piece and I find myself settling for something less than satisfactory. This, though unfortunate, is just simply part of the adventure; after all, there are many things you can learn even when you fail.

This is also a journey of continuous learning, and so it naturally takes an incredible amount of time and dedication on one's part. This also means that the journey is a very lonely one. You may find yourself with like-minded kin walking alongside you, but even they have their own paths to follow, and they shouldn't have to wait for you to catch up to them, and vice versa. Everyone learns and goes down their paths on their own pace; you shouldn't have to feel pressured to keep up, or feel like you need to lag behind other people. The only thing that really keeps you going is that determination to keep learning new things.

This painting depicts how I see my journey in my mind's eye: drifting across a cloudy sea, its waters devoid of life, yet sailing ever onward towards the light, spurred ever on by my self-borne desire for knowledge.

As seemingly bleak as this seems, it's not to say I don't enjoy going down this road. It's quite the contrary, in fact; it's more fulfilling than I could have ever expected to learn how to master my craft, and it takes me back to the days when I used to learn Japanese (though, minus the pressure of needing to learn as much as I could in a short span of time).

I'm glad to be on this journey, and I don't think I'd have it any other way.

Futsuka-Koi (二日恋)

It was some time past seven in the morning when the warm light of the rising sun woke Arc from their sleep, much to their annoyance. Every night before they went to bed, they had a habit of always making sure the blinds were down so that the sun wouldn't blind them in the morning. Yesterday, though, the whole thought of it completely slipped their mind, and they quietly cursed to themselves about forgetting something so inane.

However, as their delirium faded and Arc started to regain some sense of awareness, the memories of what happened the previous evening resurfaced to the forefront of their mind, jolting them awake and quickly drowning out whatever frustration they had. They flailed out of their sheets, accompanied by an ever-increasing sense of panic at the thought of everything leading up to this point--from their accepted feelings, your dinner date together, and the intense passion that came after--had all been just a dream.

But then, they felt something stir in the bed beside them, and they froze. Carefully reaching over, Arc pulled some of the sheets away, and the frantic, alarming unease they had felt instantly dissipated upon the sight of your peacefully sleeping, naked form underneath.

Arc placed a hand over their head, letting out a deep sigh of sheer relief. Thank goodness.

Kousoku (拘束)

The last couple of minutes flew by in a blur. At first, you two were in the living room, browsing through the movies Azathoth suggested to Arc for both of you to watch (only for you to immediately catch on how ridiculously explicit they all were). Then you were huddled together on the couch, deciding the movies were largely unnecessary for what was to come. You both reveled in each other's warmth, and before you knew it, your lips met, sparking a rousing, burning flame between the two of you, one that had surely built up since the day Arc confessed upon the Shinjuku Academy rooftop... Perhaps longer.

In the middle of your heated make-out session, Arc led you to their room on the second floor. Stepping inside, you immediately noticed the ever-so-sweet and familiar scent you had long since associated with the Genociders' guild master. Your eyes briefly gazed across the simple, dimly-lit bedroom adorned with varying kinds of landscape paintings, though whether these had been bought or works made by Arc themself, you couldn't say.

Before you could say anything though, Arc's lips and hands found yours again as your back was pressed against the now closed door. They remained as intense as they had been in the living room, if not more passionate as compared.

Suddenly, your clothes felt terribly warmer than usual. Seconds later, your top was gone and your skirt fell to a pile at your feet. Arc only managed to get their sweater off of themselves when you kissed them again, though after seeing how stunning you looked in your undergarments, they didn't mind it at all.

Soon enough, your back was not to the door, but laid flat onto the sheets of their bed. The sheets felt cool against your warm, exposed skin, and you shivered slightly at the touch. This didn't escape Arc's notice, and, without breaking your shared kiss, they wrapped their arms around you, pressing their body closer to yours to keep you warm.

After a few more moments, you two parted from each other, both of you panting heavily as you both took a second to collectively catch your breaths. Above you, Arc gazed upon your face with heavy-lidded eyes as one of their hands reached for your cheek, while the other went towards your free hand. Their expression was hazy with desire, and this--coupled with the feeling of both your still-clothed groins pressed together--made you more keenly aware of your own arousal.

"Arc..."

"<Name>..." Simply hearing their ragged, throaty voice calling for you sent a pleasurable shiver down your spine and straight to your core. "Are you alright?"

You nodded, smiling. The flame of passion continued to burn in their fiery orbs, yet it was evident that they were keeping it reined in. Though they wanted to resume what they were doing moments prior, their love and concern for your well-being forever remained their top priority. You couldn't help feeling enamored at how considerate they were being in spite of themself, though you supposed this was something you owed to their intense self-discipline.

"Shall we... Continue?" They asked, their lips seemingly--and quite eagerly--trembling with anticipation. "Like I said... I won't do anything you don't like, <Name>."

Slipping your other hand from their back, you brought it up towards their cheek in turn, your smile and gaze towards them unwavering.

"Don't be shy. This is what I want..." And with a seductive lick of your lips, you added, "You're exactly what I want."

---

Dear god. What happened to keeping these two vanilla? My ass is gonna need some bonking after this painting. 😂

Not gonna lie though, I squeal at the thought of creating what happens further from here... But I think for the time being, I'm satisfied with wrapping up my obsession with this pairing through this piece. 💕

I resolved to make this painting mostly blue and cool to the eyes, as I realized I haven't really made a nighttime painting for the winter months (or any painting with snow in it for that matter). I kinda enjoy this moody way of painting, so maybe I'll try to do something similar in the future.

For now, though, I think I'll spend some time doing some Japanese studies before I get back into arting again. 😊 Speaking of Japanese, Kousoku in this context is written as 拘束, which means restrain or bind.

Choco-Tsukuri (チョコ作り)

Still at it with more Housamo! This time it's Echo and her three adoptive dads trying to help her make some chocolate for Narcissus.

I had been wanting to feature Echo a while ago, but my interest on my WIP of her waned, until the Valentine's events came rolling around in Housamo again. Given how dead-set I was becoming on just dishing out so much Arc x MC2 content, I figured--to keep my content diverse for the month--I would make this wholesome painting of these four together. Talk about nailing two birds with one stone!

That said, now that I have finally wrapped up this painting, it's time I went back to making more work of my OTP... 👀

Kuchi-Tsuke (口付け)

"I won't do anything you don't like, <Name>."

Arc leaned in and started kissing you, slowly at first, then multiple times in succession, becoming bolder with each kiss.

You hummed in satisfaction as you two briefly parted. You found yourself gazing into their crimson orbs, which were no longer fiery with hate, but with passion and desire.

"You're so sweet, Arc."

Smiling, you pulled them even closer to yourself, allowing them to straddle above you as your lips found each other once more.

---

Ah, another shameless piece of fanservice with Arc and the second protagonist of Housamo. I suppose you can also consider this as the follow-up to my last Housamo piece. 😉

I was mulling over a detailed background for this but I decided to go for something more simple. I just really wanted to feature these two being intimate this time around.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to be as motivated as I have been to dish out content about this pairing. And honestly, I find it rather comforting; it means I can trust myself to provide something I want without the need to rely on anyone else to do it for me. 😌

You guys can expect more Housamo content in the coming days, too! 🥰 I'm gonna try to get a fair amount of stuff out before the 23rd, because I'll be busy around that time to get any art done.

Koibito-Tsunagi (恋人繋ぎ)

"Y'know Arc, that look with your hair down really suits you."

"O-Oh," Arc couldn't help smiling as a shy blush crept up their cheeks. "Y-You really think so?"

---

Nearly two weeks ago, I started playing through Housamo's Valentine Fantasy event. It didn't take long until I found a new favorite character and a new OTP, coupled with a terrible, mighty need to put them on canvas.

This was originally meant to portray them laying on the grass on the side of a hill. I wanted them to look intimate and, if not sensual, as they laid down and just gazed into each other's eyes. In the middle of sketching their models in, something felt off to me about simply leaving it at that. I started to wonder what would happen if I made it look like there were buildings behind them instead of just grass, and from there I started leaning more into the idea of them crossing the street while the cityscape of Shinjuku sprawled out behind them.

I scoured through my old and recent photos of Shinjuku from my travels and even went on Google Maps for a street view of the area. I don't usually hang out on the western side of Shinjuku so I had very few photos of it. Thankfully, Google Maps was incredibly helpful in filling in the gaps in some places.

I really didn't need to be super detailed on the landscape, but I wanted to feature another version of this painting without Arc and the Protagonist. I also wanted to give people a lot of stuff to look at whenever they look at this painting--just make them look around and be like oh, there's just so much to look at here; this is great. 😆