Hello everyone! ^_^

How are you? Are you doing well? I sure hope that you are! Did you have a nice holiday everyone? Again, I hope that you did!

All right then! I FINALLY finished this piece; a piece that I've been working on for quite a while now!! I posted the original sketch as well as a near finished version of the painting in my Scraps section, but at long last I've completed the piece as a whole!

Though the image itself is not the most difficult or complex in terms of composition, it was a very important piece for me as I wanted to get in touch with the emotional element that I was portraying more than anything else. As I've mentioned many many times in the past, I have long since been working on a Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction that I have titled: "Transcending Memories: A Bond Unsealed."

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The story revolves around the relationship of Yami and Teana as I too have mentioned previously. Though I have begun working on this writing as of late, I felt that I needed to get in touch with the great love and tragedy that I was trying to write about. There was a time when I thought of nothing else but what I wanted to accomplish with this story; a story that I have poured my heart and soul into. Though there is still a long way to go before I complete it, I thought that such an image would motivate me, inspire me, make me remember all the reasons that I loved this writing and why I simply must to complete it one day! And so, for this painting, I decided to depict an actual scene from the story as told in the select passages below:

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What Yami comprehended, was that he had, for the most part, returned from his journey into his past memories and was again lying on the palace floor, mortally wounded from his duel with Bakura. That was what had happened..... Wasn’t it.....? He... He just didn’t know.....! It was true that he had returned to this time and place on many occasions now, but he soon discovered that this was the first instance, his first real opportunity to clearly process those experiences! It was then that he realized that he couldn’t be sure of anything either..... Not any more..... Were these really memories that he was recalling? Could he even trust what he saw, what he felt?

The one fact that he was certain of was that he could not hold out for much longer..... It was too hard, too painful.... He felt an overwhelming desire to just submit to death, to rid himself of his agony, to let go, once and for all..... But suddenly, those thoughts were interrupted when he felt the light touch of a fabric of some sorts near his lips. His eyes only partially opened, and his vision a blur, he adjusted them once more, focusing on the figure before him. *Teana….* Yami thought to himself. She was still there.....beside him..... Yes..... She had never left his side.....

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There were so many questions....questions that could very well remain unanswered if the truth wasn’t revealed soon.... However, Yami dismissed his ponderings as he gazed at Teana, who had silently and solemnly begun to wipe the blood on his face away, using the very head band that she had worn when he had first seen her, for what he believed to be mere minutes ago. He attempted to speak, but once more he felt himself beginning to fade away, being ripped away was more like it, to....some distant location.... But to where exactly.....?!

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.....” Yami heard Teana say, interrupting his contemplations again. He noticed that she seemed to be speaking more to herself than to him. “Gods…. If you can hear me….please….help me…. Help him!” Teana cried as she gazed upward. “He’s done so much… Saved so many lives…. He’s… He’s good….a good ruler….and a good man…. You can’t just take him like thi- No….” With those words, she shifted her focus down towards Yami again. “It can’t end like this! I won’t believe it! But then…. He won’t respond no matter what I try...... If this goes on, he’ll.…..”

Still observing her every movement, he watched as she gradually began to sink forward...wearily...bringing her face, her entire body close, until she was able to lay her forehead tenderly against his. With trembling hands, she began to feel for his face, his chest, then towards his face again, as if to reassure herself, convince herself rather, that he wouldn’t just vanish before her very eyes. Almost as if she had a healing touch, Yami felt himself beginning to quiet down.....some of his pain lessening, his breathing settling..... She was so near..... And as he inhaled again; he sensed that same aroma; that familiar scent of perfume that he had noticed previously…..
*Lilies..... Yes.... That’s what this is.....* He concluded to himself. It was….just like in one of the visions that he had had.....
“Yami.... I'm so scared.....” Teana sobbed.
As she continued to lie there, so intimately, Yami then felt her tears fall to his cheeks, near his own eyes, before rolling off the side of his face; to be lost into the pool of blood beneath him.....

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The passages above were taken from Chapter 9 of my fanfiction. However, they are not exactly linked to each other as I only included key passages that would help explain the image that I decpicted. In short however, I have my Teana holding Yami who again is mortally wounded. Aside from those elements described in the passages, I also wanted to depict some background elements; cracked and crumbling pillars that were affected by the battle that Yami had fought. I thought doing so would also make the painting more of an "illustration," an exact scene from the story; one of many I hope! But then, I suppose I'll have to see where inspiration will take me in the future. Wish me luck everyone! And thank you for taking the time to view this piece, as well as making it this far in this extremely long commentary!

As always this piece was completed by hand using opaque water color paints.