Thought I’d share a work in progress of Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles for the @heroine-artbook Can’t wait to see everyone’s finished pieces!! They look fantastic so far ✨
(also I definitely took some hair liberties. long is just so fun ;;)
So make sure to grab a copy now if you want one. All proceeds go to the Campaign for Female Education and it’s got a lot of talented people contributing to it and making this a really beautiful book. This is a preview of my final piece for it since I haven’t shared that just yet and figured I might as well.
It was 2:41am, and though one couldn’t glimpse the stars from the glaring metropolis of New Beijing, their burning presence loomed over Thorne’s head like an anvil waiting to drop.
The stars had always been freedom, relief, adventure to Thorne, but now their unmoving hold—what they represented to him—felt more like a penance.
But none of that mattered. Not in this moment, without her.
Thorne had spent the past five hours flitting past space stations and towering skyscrapers in an attempt to collect his thoughts. He was grateful that he had honed in on his piloting skills during the past year. It meant he could fly without it engrossing him so much he couldn’t think.
Because that’s all he had been doing. Thinking. And if his autopilot had been on the entire time, he must have hardly noticed otherwise.
Part of Thorne wished he was back in the garden with his feet bare. That way he could curl his toes in the gravel and feel like he was secure in standing upright. But on the pristine marble floor of the palace, his toes had no room to move but in his clacking dress shoes.
Even in his socks they were cold, while the warm atmosphere and his own dread heated the rest of his body. The disparity was dizzying.
Cold feet. Ha.
Typically it was an analogy applied to weddings, but he seldom saw it in full action. Of course, it had been funny to see Jacin, the usual picture of self assurance, blanching on his wedding day only two months prior. Jacin would have never backed out, but he had required a few words of consolation from his groomsmen to return to his normal, brazen self. He then gave Thorne a look that indicated it was not to be brought up.Ever.
Thorne didn’t have that kind of cold feet though—neither the kind Kai had had, where his giddiness for marrying Cinder combined with his anxiety and painful reminders of his last wedding. All was remedied when he talked to Cinder through the doorway, Iko insisting they were not to meet in person.
If you have cold feet, put socks on! she’d shouted.
They snuck past her to meet up just before walking down the aisle anyway.
Maybe the difference was the outcome. For his two friends, they had known despite their nerves, they would end the day married to the love of their life. Thorne had no such certainty. He wasn’t even asking a similar question—just telling Cress all that had been weighing on him, with no way of foreseeing the end result.
Yes, Cinder does kick Thorne for his inappropriate jokes and rolls her eyes at his shameless flirting, but remember that she canonically laughs at a lot of his jokes and jokes along.
The comedian and exhausted friend trope are good but please don’t take away the pureness from their friendship. Cinder was so glad to have a friend and they both care about each so much.
Like when Cinder thinks he’s dead? And Thorne stabs her and starts sobbing? They both value their friendship and Thorne is one of Cinder’s biggest, constant supporters through the whole series.
There’s a reason Marissa Meyer had Thorne as Levana’s last bargaining chip, because Cinder and Thorne’s friendship is so integral to their character developments and the overall story.
I’m almost done with Winter! 22 chapters left! Some things about this lil fic might change as I reach the end of the book so it complies with canon, but! Have a bit of my angst fest
Jacin I promise I love you
Winter’s normally serene face turned to absolute fury. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?” She shrieked.
The figure shrugged. “I simply ordered him to stop breathing.”
Cinder’s blood ran cold. “You’re a thaumaturge. One who escaped.”
“Bravo, Miss Linh.” His voice turned resentful. “Or do you prefer, Your Majesty?”
Winter’s breathing was ragged. She held Jacin’s face in her lap. “Stop it!” She screamed, a sob cutting into her anger. “Stop it! Let him go!”
Cinder felt a spike of fear when Jacin’s chest convulsed from a lack of air. “What do you want?” She demanded, glaring at the thaumaturge.
“Justice.” He hissed. “Justice for Queen Levana.”
Cinder glared at him.
A shout cut through the air, and then a clang. The thaumaturge crumpled to the ground and a very angry Cress stood above him, a cast-iron pan clutched in her grip.
Jacin’s whole body jerked as his eyes flew open and he sucked in greedy breathfuls of air. He coughed and wheezed, lurching out of Winter’s hold. He was shaking. Stoic, unbreakable Jacin, was shaking.
Cinder gently grabbed for his arm. “Jay?” She whispered, glancing at Winter for a moment. “Are you okay?”
He made a noise that was probably supposed to come out as a confirmation, but it sounded more like a strangled groan.
Cress looked up at him, concern dancing in her eyes. “Is he okay?”
“Debatable.” Jacin finally managed to wheeze out.
Cinder gave his arm a squeeze before standing up and walking over to the thaumaturge. He was still unconscious, and she felt a bit of pride knowing Cress had probably given him a good bump on the head.
“Majesty?” One of the guards said, voice shaking slightly. It occurred to her, that the thaumaturge had most likely been keeping the other guards at bay. “What should we do with him?”
Cinder’s face twisted into a scowl. “Cell. I’ll deal with him later.” As they dragged him away, she looked back at her friends. Winter was cradling Jacin’s face in her hands, whispering to him under her breath. Iko was rubbing his back soothingly, and Cress still stood at her side, glaring at the ground. She sighed. “The others are going to lovethis.”
something I really appreciate about the lunar chronicles is how well it portrays the relationship between best friends. cinder and thorne spend all their time bickering and pretending they don’t even like each other and the minute they’re separated cinder could not be grieving any more obviously and thorne is obviously filtering all his actions through a lens of “what would cinder do?”
Sometimes I forget how much I loved the ending chapters of Cress.
I ended up sketching this yesterday while listening to Prince Kai Fan Pod podcast, and then ended up turning it into an actual drawing. It was originally the crew sneaking through the tunnels, but my head decided to skip ahead a few chapters.
![[Hell is empty and all the devils are here]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2192c16808c93b1cf368aae62c17d380/32b0a592dbea4765-e0/s30x30u_c1/c569d1157e0227d5d1312759646ea38053d37d1e.png){kind=small}
