This one was my favourite so far I've made for this challenge and I just love the effect on the second version with the grain.Totally think that they would be some heavy metal band or something lol and Blackstar would be hitting those drums like crazy
That's right, a 2 for one special from me this week! Art and a one shot for every day of MaStar week!
This is where I started playing with clipstudio to add lighting effects to my traditional pieces. Super excited to share with you guys the before and afters.
Maka hovered in the doorway, uncertain. It was unusual to see Black Star...not in motion. And quiet. But at the moment he was seated, silent and still, in a meditative pose atop a small boulder in Tsubaki's garden. The only sound was the soft rippling of the water from the fountain, and the occasional chirp of birds. The fragrance of spring blooms completed the idyllic scene.
She decided to err on the side of caution and turned to leave. But then she heard the faintest of grunts, and looked back to see him gingerly touching his bandaged shoulder. He had opened his eyes now and was frowning, his expression dark. Maka made her decision.
"What did Doctor Stein say about how long it will take to heal?"
Black Star startled, winced, and held his shoulder tighter.
"Sheesh, warn a guy before you sneak up on him, Maka."
"Sorry. It still hurts pretty bad?"
Black Star hesitated, but then he stretched his legs and revealed the bandage on his foot, and the splints on his fingers. Maka knew there were further injuries hidden under his clothes.
"I'll have to do double the training to make up for all this lost time, but... He said if I don't give everything time to properly heal, I'll risk permanent injuries."
"He's the doctor," Maka said, finally descending the wooden steps into the zen garden. "I'd listen to him."
Black Star lifted his eyes, and the gentle smile he fixed her with caused her steps to falter.
"So...what's it like, now that Soul is a death scythe? Bet he's really hogging the spotlight while I'm stuck getting better."
Maka grinned. "Actually, it's not that different. He'd still rather just listen to music than do anything else. Although, since it's summer break he's getting bored of that pretty quickly too."
"Well! Tell him if he doesn't keep up his Road Rash game, then I'm gonna wipe the pavement with him!"
Maka rolled her eyes and scoffed, but smiled.
"So what was it like for Tsubaki absorbing such a strong soul after you defeated that samurai?" she asked.
Black Star's face fell. "We didn't exactly...absorb his soul. Not the usual way, at least. I think," Black Star said, scratching his head with his good hand.
Maka continued down into the garden and sat on a smaller rock, one that required she tilt her head back to see Black Star.
"When he died his body vanished, but there was no soul. Just a whole tree's worth of leaves and flower petals. They blew away on the wind... Almost like a scattering of ashes."
Maka crossed her legs and considered. There wasn't any understood precedent for the lack of a soul, except when it was obliterated by violence or was somehow transferred by magic into a different body. She was considering which option might be more likely in the case of the mysterious samurai, when Black Star continued.
"Tsubaki has said that when we resonate, she can feel his presence within the will of the Nakatsukasa, except it's different. There isn't pain or fear or regret. Somehow...it's separate from the burden of all of the others who the sword has defeated, all of their collective experiences."
Black Star's brow furrowed, his gaze drifting from Maka's face toward the fountain. Maka studied him and considered.
"What's that like? Carrying the burden of...all of those souls?"
A grin broke across Black Star's face, and jerked his thumb toward his chest. "Well, for someone who isn't a god, it would probably be overwhelming."
Maka giggled.
"But for me, I use it. With Tsubaki, I can filter through the pain and confusion. Sometimes if I concentrate, I can almost feel individual souls and pull from their wisdom." He paused, and looked down as he thought. "I can almost feel them...counting on me. It's hard to explain."
"It must...take a lot of training to not let it consume you."
"Heh, and you know I'm no stranger to that!"
Maka met Black Star's grin, and then her eyes drifted to the bandage on his shoulder. She looked at the way he almost struggled to sit upright without proper command of his digits and limbs. But to anyone else, save his closest friends, he probably would have looked no different than after any other fight, and not a fight to save the world.
"Um... So what happened to that child witch the samurai was protecting?"
Black Star's eyes snapped to hers, almost defensively, but then quickly grew sad.
"We found her in Baba Yaga castle and brought her to the academy orphanage. That's actually where Tsubaki is now... To tell her the truth about Mifune."
Maka watched his expression tense.
"I wanted to face her myself, but..."
He bared his teeth and hung his head.
"She must feel so....lost. Alone. Abandoned..."
Black Star's good hand clenched into a fist, and Maka watched his frame tremble as he fought to hold back the moisture darkening his eyelashes. Her chest constricted, and after a moment she rose and carefully, gently wrapped her arms around him, avoiding his shoulder.
"I wonder... I wonder, how much pain..." he began, but his voice broke and he turned his face away as Maka set her head against his.
"Don't worry, Black Star," she said softly. "We'll find Kid. I know we will."
Maka has two guardians, one representing her desire to be good and selfless, the other wanting to be rebellious and selfish. She is the current owner of the humpty lock.
White Soul: Transformation with Ori (“Grigori”) - Partial transformation gives her small angel wings on her lower back
Black Soul: Transformation with Lil (“Lilith”) - Partial transformation gives her small devil wings on her lower back
Black Star has one guardian, representing his desire to be a great ninja. He is the current owner of the dumpty key.
Dusk Blade: Transformation with Ao - Partial transformation gives him a white wristband with a bright blue star on his left hand