#lunar chronicles
Cath and Jest
The absolutely gorgeous Winter from the Lunar Chronicles
bonsai for a long time - part ii
Chapter 2: —And To Be Loved.
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 just love them
Cress: I remember Jacin was being a dick…
Cinder: Cress!
Cress: I don’t like to use that word, Cinder! But it’s so hard to describe Jacin any other way because he was just such a dick.
Cinder: Alright, who here has experience in hiding a body?
Everyone but Jacin: raises their hand
Jacin: Seriously? Am I the only one who’s never hid a body?
Thorne: No time like the present, bro.
Cinder: I’m just telling you right now because I know none of you can keep a secret.
Iko: Oh! At 9 a.m. a bit early for character assassination!
Thorne: Well, we did it, Cress. We made the worlds hottest baby.
Cress: Say cute, Thorne.
Torin: Count me in. I could use the day off to spend some time with my husband.
Scarlet: Relax we’ve all got loved ones. You don’t get sympathy just because you’re gay.
Kai: Scarlet, I don’t think he was -
Torin: Oh, no I absolutely was. She saw right through me.
Scarlet: I shouldn’t ‘gram so much but my brunch friends say it’s the only way to promote my handmade jewelry line.
Cinder: Brunch, what? Homemade… who?
Scarlet: Has anyone ever told you what a drag you are?
Jacin: Everyone. Constantly.
Thorne: You’re mad at me!
Cinder: I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed.
Thorne: Oh, come on! Everyone knows that’s worse!
Thorne: You’re a freaking gold digger, Cress!
Cress: What?!
Thorne: That’s what you just said!
Cress: If I was a gold digger, why would I be attracted to YOU? I’d be the worst gold digger in the world!
Cinder: Thorne, your inability to retain information that doesn’t directly pertain to you may actually require medical attention.
Cinder: Jay, please keep an eye on Thorne today. He’s going to say something to the wrong person and get himself punched.
Jacin: I’d love to see Thorne get himself punched.
Cinder: [glares] Try again.
Jacin: … I’ll stop Thorne from getting punched.
Cinder: Correct
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.”
I haven’t finished Winter yet but I also want to write shenanigans. Also angst
Wolf took Winter’s place, keeping his much larger hands over the gushing gunshot wound. Winter had long since stumbled away from the scene, muttering something about being sick. She’d joined Jacin and Cress, keeping her back turned away from the rest of the group.
Cinder poured all her attention on treating Thorne’s wound, trying to ignore his glassy gaze that was practically glued to her face. She blew her hair out of her eyes as she worked to dig the bullet out of his hip, ignoring his muffled cries of agony.
Scarlet was holding him down, hands tight on his shoulders. “You’ll be fine.” She said, grip tightening as he flinched at Cinder’s metal hand digging into his side.
“Totally fine.” Thorne groaned, eyes squeezed shut to block out the pain.
“Would it help if I knocked you out?” Cinder asked jokingly.
“Haha.” Thorne said dryly. His head drooped against Scarlet’s lap, eyes opening for a second, flitting to where Cress was standing. Then he noticed the dead thaumaturge, who was still lying where he’d died. His brows rose when he saw the arrow. “Ooh. Nice shot, Scar.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank Jacin that he had enough willpower to aim for you stomach instead of your chest or face.” Cinder muttered, dropping the bullet onto the ground. “I felt it. He was fighting back.”
Thorne sighed. “He acts mean but he cares.”
Cinder nodded. “Exactly.”
Scarlet Benoit from The Lunar Chronicles
Ze’ev Kesley from The Lunar Chronicles
Cress Darnel from The Lunar Chronicles.
Full time-lapse on Instagram
Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles. Time-lapse on Instagram
Winter Hayle-Blackburn
Here’s the time-lapse for the previous post
Jacin Clay from The Lunar Chronicles
The New Beijing Market at night.
I started this one in early February and never thought I’d actually finish it, but it is finally done after at least 19 hours.
If you’re confused with the symbols, it’s because my handwriting is really sloppy right now so I just wrote everything in the Breath of the Wild Sheikah language instead. It’s just the first words that popped into my mind, so I wouldn’t bother translating them.
Levana and Channary from Fairest
Cinder and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles
Kai didn’t get to wear a fancy outfit in the graphics novels so I drew one for him
Sadly, Iactually want his crown to look good so he’s not going to get one today.
Queen Selene Blackburn/Linh Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles, based on one of the outfits from Wires and Nerve.
Boots from Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky (Stars Above or bonus edition of Cress)
Cinder and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles
Levana Blackburn and the Artemisia Palace
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.