#so i decided to go for a robot sona but that's hard too... i want to give my sonas bug features like extra arms and what not

[skymantle]

trying to make an actual sona for artfigbt after all these years but it's so hard... character designs never been my strong suit how do people do this regularly<//3

[torithehoshi]

CCCC Digital Doodle Dump - Oct 2023

Right - bear with me. Due to the sheer amount of digital doodles I have (and yes, I am emphasizing digital for a reason) and the amount of thoughts I have didn't make posting them separately feel right so I'm trying a different format for this.

The TLDR is, I had a lot of fun drawing CCCC related things last month. And y'all may as well be prepared for the long-run with me. My main goal was to get used to drawing HMS in my style (mostly hair and little design things based on my interpretations) and it's still something that'll be changing? But it's cool to see how things have changed and I'd like to share them.

Right - with that out of the way. Everything's under the Read More due to the sheer amount of text.

Second First attempt at drawing the trio in my style - and you can especially tell with the little notes I have (trust me - there's a version with even more notes).

A lot of my references were from the videos, especially Light & Night as well as the instrumental album cover, and fan interpretations I've seen that I liked and wanted to give a shot at (primarily Mind's mechanical hands/arms were from seeing @/maybedr3am's design) and some of my own interpretations or thoughts (but I wouldn't be surprised if some of those mixes with fan interpretations. Most of them I can't recall for the life of me except Heart having sharp teeth. I know others have done it - I just hadn't at the time seen a lot). But for the most part, there is a lot of me getting used to drawing hair specifically since I wanted them all to look somewhat different and it was good to practice that.

Some of these notes do not make sense to me right now - and I doubt they made sense at the time tbh (looking at that one near Soul)

While I much preferred starting primarily going off of the videos, Mind was an exception. ...Accidentally. I struggled really hard with him and still do so that note is funny in hindsight. I liked the robot/android-esque (?) angle/reference to 'mechanical hands' folks went with but forgot I don't draw robots much. It was frustrating me and in that time, I gave him snake bites to, as I say in the notes, mirror screws. ... And now they're just part of my Mind design because I like them too much.

Also!! I mentioned that I have a version with a lot more notes (and a different attempt at Mind I hated). I didn't really want a bunch of doodles of my sona around, so this version is for somewhat easier reading. It also left me with extra space for one more thing and I was listening to Dream so, a doodle based off the last verse it was! (I love that song, it's so good)

Second one which is a compilation of a bunch of different doodle sheets I did!! These are ones I really liked and also were mostly finished. But also each of the sheets (which is an amalgamation of three) were done at different times which you can see in my indecisiveness in what I liked in making Mind look more robotic bar just the arms and the one doodle where the hair sticking a top of Heart's head changes.

Soul, surprisingly, changes very little bar me not being able to decide if he'll have that accessory or not. Also me being stupid inconsistent with remembering to color in his hands (his whole body has that split color).

Anyways - like three of these are meme/shitpost adjacent. You'll also see me trying to think about how to incorporate the crown to Mind's design since I hadn't really tried - but I've since moved it to post-Cacophony or post-Light design ideas/headcanons. I like the hairpin idea a lot. (Note: In this headcanon, Heart also has something but it's a bracelet and... there's a lack of hands in this so... yeah. Mind made it) Also me doing a thing I like to just give random new outfits when drawing a character and... Heart's the one I had the most fun drawing.

The only completely separate one! Mostly 'cause I already had it set to be separate.

It's a height headcanon thing I drew to visualize things for myself since I'm not the best with height. All it is, is that I think they're all the same height based off of what CJ said in the Medium Q&A. But then you have little details like Mind wearing platform shoes that basically make him 6'0" and Soul slouching a lot making him "the shortest". (Also hi completely human Mind design)

This was also originally done on the same doodle sheet where the "Fuck it we ball" one was on btw. Time wise, that was before I started changing how I drew the little hair sticking out on Heart's head which - speaking of...

Despite still drawing them interacting, I started to make clip files to practice drawing them on their own. I was already kind of doing that traditionally and I thought this would be a good way to get me to focus on one of the members. Especially since drawing with my tablet pen and pencil feels different but especially with these three.

Also - focusing on them individually felt like a good way to get used to how I draw them overall. I have one for Soul and Mind now, but not at the time. Idk if I'll share more of those later unless I can format them like actual reference sheets.

Fundamentally, this serves the same purpose as the first sheet. Trying out a bunch of things, just letting my hand... draw and seeing what I like and don't. Maybe even noting some little actions that I see myself drawing them doing (like the hands balled up in fists a lot). Also! It explains why I changed the shape of the hair at the top! I think the heart shape is cute - but as I did it more, I found with me trying to make his bangs look like a heart... just for me and my style specifically, it started to feel much. But then I had another idea in making it a bit more cartoon-y, which was the kind of circle/halo shape to create an angel motif and it fit well with how I see Heart. So that's how it is now!

It's actually fascinating seeing that I suddenly started changing how I drew his hair? I started this after making this for the record (which now I remember - I referenced these), and something just... changed. I don't like it considering I was actively trying to draw curls. I have a better grasp on it now though - I think.

-----

Anyways - that's everything! Uh - thanks for reading all my ramblings if you did. I have no idea if I'll format any future art dumps/doodle dumps like this again but we'll see. Doing this made me notice both advantages and disadvantages to this so... It'll really depend if I have the same amount to say, haha.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 39: Tea Fight

Hey I just wandered into a random forum on the internet about the deaths that impacted you the most in a series, and I was in there faster than you can say “How many GRR Martin fans does it take to kill off a pregnant lightbulb in a random wedding episode″ (the answer is no one in this entire forum watched anything but anime) and then this one guy stood up in the back of this little internet forum and was just going off about how this one dude died in Yugioh GX and he turned off the TV and like didn’t want to even go back to the season until his students were like “no really, professor, please keep watching Yugioh GX” and he was like “WHAT’S EVEN THE POINT NOW” and it was like...really??? The series where nearly 200 people have died in just the first 3 seasons??? (which I didn’t comment, don’t worry, I just kinda lurked in stunned silence)

So like, lets talk more about Yugioh, which apparently has one of the roughest death scenes in any series that this random adult guy on the internet has ever watched. Course that was GX. I’m pretty sure I take so long on this show that I’ll probably still be recapping Season 3 of Yugioh when I’m dead and reincarnated into some cursed locket that a poor internet blogger wears around their neck.

Which would be shaped like a DVD set of Seaquest, S2. Like sometimes we talk about -sonas and we draw people and characters but what would your puzzle necklace -sona be? (remembering that is has to be cursed, heavy, awkward, and as inconveniently shaped as possible--you can’t just say Gucci or wtv) Because mine is the DVD collectors set of Seaquest, but only S2. Bro says that his is a Comic Sans version of Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

But I digress, so we start this episode knowing that Joey and Kaiba are dueling or whatever--but honestly none of this matters to me. Not at all. This doesn’t matter to anyone because for the first time ever, I finally get to see Tea try and punch out a God. Or a Ghost. Really hard to tell the difference between God and Ghost in this show.

And like, no one else will even witness this event because they’re too obsessed with Joey. So much so, that Yugi makes a staggering observation.

In the actual dialogue of the show, Pharaoh’s response to Yugi’s comment here was “HMMMMMMMmmmmMMHhmmmmmmmm”

and it’s like yeah, hard agree, Pharaoh, hard agree.

(read more under the cut)

Anyways, our very punchable God/Ghost character never came down from atop of Card Mess Mountain, and he’s just been sitting here on his perch trying really hard to just parse what exactly went down over the past few episodes.

Marik right now is me before I write every recap.

So he decides, well if the Rod did something for Kaiba, I guess it should do something for me, thus kind of proving that no one on Earth understands how to use this item anymore. I was kinda banking on the the fact that Marik’s Slightly-More-Evil-Possessed-Ghost-God-Entity-Person was kind of like the only guy who knows what’s going on with these gadgets outside of Bakura, but nah. Not even this guy knows. Now that Bakura’s temporarily vaporized, basically all that these millennium items are now are heavy paperweights that sometimes make your life just super inconvenient.

And I guess it can possess minds but wtv. Had Marik remembered that this rod can possess minds he would have had a much, much easier time in this episode. Of course, we haven’t really seen him possess anyone since Slightly-Better-Marik peaced out, so maybe that’s just something only Slightly-Better-Marik can do?

Ah. There it is.

What sweet catharsis.

She doesn’t actually punch him, which is kind of a shame, but because they can’t show Marik explode like a slo mo frozen giant gummy bear shot with a deer slug directly on screen, this episode is Tea-punch free.

Anyway, during this episode, the Millennium Puzzle develops a neat new trick--which is to set an alarm to remind Pharaoh to check up on his sort-of-not-really-girlfriend for once in his damn lifetime because this asshole will not do it otherwise because he is just waaaaay too busy thinking about cards.

And then it just finally dawns on Yugi that he boarded Murderzone island like 3 hours ago.

And, because this is Yugi, do you think he’ll tell everyone else what’s going on? Do you think he’ll step in and be like “woah woah stop the game for five seconds I just realized Tea might be in huge danger and we all should go and stop the murder.”

Do you think Yugi, for once in his entire life, will finally tell the entire truth to his friends who have constantly given him love and support and who just want Yugi to tell them the entire truth even once? Just ONCE?

That’s right, in an effort to be polite, he apologizes to Joey for ditching him and then books it without bothering anyone else.

The lengths Yugi will go to be as awkward as possible in order to not make anything awkward.

And then he just books it as fast as he can go and I guarantee that offscreen, everyone just kind of stopped what they were doing, looked at eachother, and Seto was like “Well, now why am I even playing?”

Anyway, atop the tall tall tower that takes like 15 minutes to get to the top of, Marik as Tea is very easily holding their own. And listen, Marik didn’t say any of the next lines in these caps but I can’t stop thinking about how freakin weird this would be for him. I’ve been kinda holding this in for a little while and youknow what? I have to talk about it for just a little bit. Just a little.

Like I usaully just erase any shipping stuff but just...give me a little second to just...touch on this subject. Just a little bit.

And while Marik thinking about dating is absolutely not canon, I’m just saying, going from tombkeeper to living within the body of not-Pharaoh’s-GF must have been a really crazy ride for Marik. Like, he starts out life learning literally everything about Pharaoh lore that is left over from the wastes of time. But, none of it--and I mean none of it--could have prepared him for the High School dating scene of “but should I text him more than twice a day or is that too much texting?” They don’t tell you how to do that in the Pharaoh brand card scriptures that they tattoo on your back with a hot knife in underground Pharaoh school.

Marik went from mole-person who has no human contact to just watching this whole weird thing unfold with Tea and Pharaoh giving eachother hoverhands-of-a-hoverhands hugs, and it must have been just completely wild for him. I’m not suggesting he remotely enjoyed it or didn’t enjoy it, but I’m just suggesting that the thought must have crossed his mind that this would be the last place he ever expected to end up when he picked up the Millennium Rod.

And it’s like, congrats, Marik, your soul went to hell and then you accidentally dated your own god.

I’m sure there’s plenty of fanfics about this already to fill in the gaps, so I won’t go too deep into this but man, Marik could have possessed anyone, and he possessed this girl.

Which again was probably because she’s strangely super strong because then Tea reveals that she could have done this the entire time.

LOOK AT THIS.

SHE DID THIS FROM STANDING. OLYMPIC GYMNASTS CAN’T DO THIS.

And then I guess Marik got sleepy after that much effort and just passed out.

And no one got to see it, Ishizu didn’t see it, Pharaoh didn’t see it.

Who’s here now, PS, Pharaoh finally showed up. That long as hell elevator must’ve stopped like 4 times on the way up for Roland who’s on his break, probably heating up the grill to talk to the other Kaiba Dad Stand-ins and have a Kaiba Dad Stand-In brunch where all they do is talk about sports, dark sunglasses, and if they should send Mokuba to UC Davis or Colorado State.

And so, seeing that Tea is passed out on the ground, Pharaoh jumps to conclusions and it very much looks like we’re gonna get a Millennium Item fight, which we haven’t yet seen Pharaoh even do.

Like, when you think about it, do either of these people even know what they are doing? Like Marik can at least fight a bunch of robots and one stationary computer monitor, but does Pharaoh have any idea that thing can shoot lasers?

Much like a bobcat making itself look really big to fight other bobcats, Pharaoh managed to poof up his hair big enough to spook Marik into actually stepping down. I guess Marik figured he’d have a better time with cards than lasers that neither of them know how to shoot in any general direction.

I gotta say, Pharaoh’s reaction to Marik secretly being in the body of his girlfriend was like “oh. Well we better go save him then before he dies.” and I do appreciate that. He seems secure enough in his own identity to not be bothered by this gender reversal he was not even aware of at the time. How I wish more boys on TV were more secure about that type of thing.

Like obviously this show that has no romance in it will never actually talk about sexuality but just enjoy this moment of zen where this possible lowhanging punchline could have happened and the writers room went “do we have to do the Family Guy/Friends thing?” and they were like “nah.” because Pharaoh canonically would not at all be bothered by this. At all.

Anyway, I’m kinda bummed that they didn’t extend Tea fight out for 3 episodes, but at least I got one Tea fight in before the end of the series.

I can’t believe she did a weird backflip thing off of a rail that was on a tower 300 ft in the air. I can’t believe that was the B plot of this episode.

And here’s a link to read these recaps in Chronological Order.

[jj-exe]

Would it be too much trouble to ask about your personal Sonic AU? The one where you're dating shadow.

Well, it’s pretty regular, just that angels also exist. I’ve got a whole angel thing going on.I’ve got a lot to write so I’ll keep it below a cut.

So growing up after my parents divorced when I was 6 I started to notice my father had very similar characteristics to Dr. Eggman/ Dr. Robotnik. Both are scientists who build robots and other things of the like, they laugh similarly, have the same sense of humor, same fashion sense, are obese with skinny arms and legs, wear glasses, I could go on and on.

I absolutely adore SA2, it’s my favorite sonic game.Shadow really struck a chord with me once I turned 12/13 and I knew I was in love. My AU has a few things about his life on the ark.

Maria was horribly ill yet she always made time for shadow, being the only one who ever had enough time to spend time with him. Not to mention she educated him, taught him proper life skills, things like that.

Gerald was always too busy to do barely anything with shadow, so they never had any real bond outside of lab testing and growing him in a tube.

Shadow was made with the DNA of black doom and Mobian DNA. Specifically a bloodline more prominent towards chaos energy. Thus for has no real blood family.Maria was his guardian, friend, and caretaker.

Shadow has a lot of resentment towards Eggman, as he is carrying the Robotnik name with ill intentions towards the earth.Something maria never wanted, drawing out the irritation between the two.Shadow WILL, however, work with Eggman when necessary, he just really doesn’t care for him in the slightest.

I should mention I have multiple AUs for me and shadow where angels come from. A place in a pocket dimension where angels live, heaven where they come and go as they please, then a hidden island where they all live hidden from mortals.

JJ (me/my sona) gets curious and decides to leave.

Some of the AUs this ends terribly, crashing hard enough somewhere to cause memory loss, others, where she has a sketch of her father that her mother drew, asking mortals “Have you seen this man? I’m looking for him.” in a desperate attempt to find her father and finally feel like she belongs somewhere.

A few where she tries to get her parents back together to be the perfect little family.(Sketch can be found here: https://jj-exe.tumblr.com/post/184302691404/i-sketched-how-eggman-would-look-like-in-the ))She finds shadow later on and depending on which AU it is, he has different reactions.-Finding out she’s a Robotnik and has to take a step back for a bit to process, then realizing he’s in love with her later on-irritated with her at first before finally loosening up and falling in love with her bubbly and reckless attitude as well as not taking shit from people-him constantly pushing her away yet she follows like a lost puppy before he gives in; not realizing he fell in love in the process. Shadow can find similarities between himself and JJ, like how she barely knows what anything is as far as mortal life goes, having to hide her power a lot of the time, not to mention people stare so much. The list goes on.He likes how she finds beauty in everything, despite the darkness in the world, she always finds something to smile about. She reminds him that he indeed can be truly happy, which has him love her all the more for it.JJ likes him because of his smile, his willingness to try, his laugh, viewpoints in life, and most importantly, he might be different, but it’s the most real she’s ever felt in her whole sheltered life.Despite the bumps in their path, they always find their way back to each other.This is a power couple lasting through the ages.

[rosywrites]

Ambrosia

Title: Reunited Chapter: Ambrosia By: ArisuChanSenpai (Visit my blog for AO3 link!) Fandom: League of Legends Ship: Jhin x Sona

Poppies, roses, daisies, sunflowers, and flowers of different kinds colored the front and inside of a shop among the lines of other stores and cafes in the street. It was hard to miss the burst of bright colors and arrangements, even from far away. A sign read “Buvelle Blossoms” on top in beautiful, handpainted cursive with a golden flower painted around the letters.

A woman walked out to the front, a watering can in hand, and watered the flowers and herbs in the front. The drops of water on the flower petals and leaves glistened in the sunlight as the stream of water passed by them. She patted the dirt in some pots to determine if a plant didn’t need any more water.

“Sona, dear, can you help me with a floral arrangement please?” a voice called out from inside.

Sona turned to walk inside to help her mother. “What event is it for?” she signed.

“According to this… lengthy email,” Lestara paused to give Sona her phone, “it seems this young man didn’t do so well with his lover. He even paid in advance for this bouquet to make his apology as clear as possible.”

Scrolling through the message, Sona smiled in sympathy at the sender’s name.

Garen Crownguard, the son of a prestigious family that supported a political family, the Lightshields, as bodyguards. Clearly in a relationship with the head of another political family, Katarina du Couteu. Very clear to almost everyone in town. It was a surprise his parents or the Lightshields hadn’t noticed yet, except his younger sister. His love and care for her was apparent in his email, going so far as to apologize and thank them for their trouble in making his bouquet.

She placed Lestara’s phone back on the table. “Do we have any purple hyacinths?”

Lestara tapped her nails against the wooden table in thought. “I believe we’re running out. I’ll have to order more after this, since I get the feeling we might use what we have left.” She chuckled to herself as she gathered roses of red and dark pink. “Will you get the hyacinths for me? And any other flowers you think might be necessary for this order.”

Sona walked through the aisles of flowers, whispering flower names under her breath. She carefully took out the purple hyacinths from their glass vase and shook the excess water off their stems. She then looked around her for other flowers that she can use for this bouquet. Her eyes spotted tulips that were in full bloom. Plucking a few red and many white ones, she returned to her mother and laid them on the table.

“Tulips?”

“I think they would go well with his message and how much he loves her,” Sona replied.

“Hopefully it comes across to her then.” The two laughed as they began arranging the flowers into a colorful bouquet with the red roses and tulips forming a heart among the yellow tulips and placing the hyacinths inside the heart. “Uh-oh, I think we’re running out of ribbons.”

“I think we still have one more roll in the back. I’ll go get it.” Sona hurried into the back room, her twintails bouncing with her steps.

“Take your time, dear! I’ll just hold them with a rubber band for now!” While Lestara was wrapping the bouquet in pink paper, she heard a shy knock on their open glass door and looked up. “Come in, dear. We’re just about to finish up.”

A shy-looking young man walked in with a book in his hand. “Good afternoon, Miss Buvelle. How are you?”

“Fixing up a bouquet for the lovely bodyguard who needs to apologize to his lover.” They exchanged knowing looks and chuckled. “Sona should be coming out soon, Jhin. She’s just getting me another roll of ribbons to wrap this up.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you helped me too, Miss Buvelle. I am here to buy more flowers for my next piece, anyways.”

The first half was a lie, and Lestara knew it. “Nonsense. Besides, Sona knows more about flowers than I do. You’re better off getting her help.”

Jhin fell silent in embarrassment. Even after so long, he couldn't hide his heart from Miss Buvelle. Was it the power of motherhood, he wondered. He took a moment to collect himself before looking around the shop.

“Mother, I found the ribbon,” a robotic, female voice sounded from the back. Sona walked out with a roll of red ribbons with white hearts on it and her phone, which was reading out her text. “It was in the bottom of the box, so we’ll have to order more soon.” She paused when she saw Jhin looking at red roses and sketching them in his book. Her eyes darted to Lestara, who was trying to suppress a grin behind her happy smile. Sona playfully nudged her mother in the arm before approaching Jhin.

“Welcome back, Jhin,” she signed.

“Hello, Sona,” he greeted back while signing ‘hello’. “How are you?”

“Good! How is your sign language?”

He shrugged bashfully. “I’m definitely getting better. Not the best, but I'm getting there.”

Sona’s eyes smiled as she gave him two thumbs-up. She then took out her phone to type a message into it. “What kind of flowers are you looking for today? Did you bring a photo of what you made last time?”

“Yes, I did! Hold on.” Jhin tapped an app and handed his phone to her. “I decided to name it “Golden Bells”, because the yellow daisies scattered around reminded me of ripples of sound that would come from a bell.” He watched her eyes widen with fascination and smiled. “I’ve already thought of a theme for my next piece, but I wasn’t sure what kind of flowers would go well with it.”

Handing his phone back, Sona started typing into her phone again. “What’s the theme?”

“Butterflies. I had this vision of a snowy day, and the crystallization of someone’s breath looked like butterflies. White and blue color scheme, to be more specific.” He opened his sketchbook to show Sona a few thumbnails. “Butterflies are usually associated with spring, but I thought it would also give a sense of irony to the idea.”

“I like it! It sounds nice.” She typed into her phone again. “Did you have a certain meaning in mind? It might be easier to narrow down your selection of white and blue flowers that way.”

Jhin sighed. “Sadly, no. I was thinking of using white roses, but they have a different meaning in our culture, something I’d like to avoid for this piece. I wouldn’t want to put the meaning of death in something as beautiful as crystal and snowflakes.” He pursed his lips as he turned to Sona, who was listening intently with a patient smile. “I seem to have rambled again…”

She shook her head reassuringly. “It’s okay.” She guided him to a row of white flowers. She signed “no” for the flowers that would be used in funerals or with negative meanings to narrow down the choices for him. From the remaining selections, Jhin had to choose from camellias, daffodils, daisies, orchids, and carnations.

“What would you say would be the closest meaning of each flower in relation to my piece? I understand that flowers have multiple meanings, given the context.”

A pause. “Camellia, you’re adorable. Daffodil, respect or unrequited love or “you’re the only one”. Daisies, innocence or secrecy. Orchids, beauty and elegance. Carnation, perfect love.”

He took this time to write down the notes. “Can we go see the blue flowers? This may take some time for me to think about what may be suitable for the meaning of my piece.” He followed Sona’s lead to a shelf of beautiful blue and indigo flowers. “Is there perhaps anything that means something like ‘unwavering’ or, ehm, ‘hope’, I suppose?”

Sona scanned the blue flowers and hovered her hand over a blue hyacinth and a blue iris. “This is the closest to what you’re looking for. The blue hyacinth means ‘constancy’, while the blue iris means ‘hope and faith’. Anything else?”

“No, these should do perfectly. Let’s see…” He looked through the shades of blue as if he was looking for something else. His eyes lit up as he spotted small flowers of baby blue. “Ah, there they are.” He gently took out a handful of forget-me-nots. “I think I will take these for today. I must press them before I use them on the canvas.”

Her eyes lingered on the forget-me-nots, her hand slightly tightening around her phone. “What are they for?” she signed.

Jhin smiled. “Believe it or not, it will also be used in my next piece. But I can’t give away anything more than that.” He held the flowers closer to him. “It will be featured in my upcoming gallery, once I finish it. Or, at least I hope it will be featured in it.” He looked up at Sona with hopeful eyes. “I was wondering if you and your mother would like to come see the grand opening. Free tickets, of course.”

She couldn’t do anything other than nod. She tried to keep a happy smile as she followed Jhin to the counter. After ringing up his purchase, she tugged at his sleeve to catch his attention. Her text read, “Come back soon?” without her text-to-speech function.

“Of course. I may even come back tomorrow. I’ll see you.” He gave her hand a gentle pat and let it linger before he left their flower shop.

Lestara was secretly watching from the back, shaking her head at how oblivious the two were to each other’s longing touches. “I’m starting to wonder—” She stopped. “Sona, dear, are you alright?”

Sona whipped around with worry darkening her face. “Mother, I think he has someone he likes. He bought forget-me-nots. Forget-me-nots!”

Oh, here we go. Lestara blinked, not having expected this reaction. “Don’t they represent reminiscing memories?”

“They also represent true love. I don’t, I really, am I wrong?” she signed in a panic. “He must like someone else if he bought forget-me-nots for his next piece… He didn’t even tell me more about it.”

“Sona, dear…”

“I was hoping… he might like me back.” Her head and shoulders drooped in dejection. “Maybe I was wrong.”

“Have you perhaps given it thought that he liked how they looked? Or how small they were to use on a canvas?”

“It’s possible…”

Lestara smiled sympathetically and hugged her daughter tightly. “Oh, Sona…” She patted her back as she leaned her chin on Sona’s hair. “Don’t you think that he might like you back?” Sona bit her lower lip and sighed through her nose. “I don’t think an uninterested person would let their touch linger like that, honey. Nor would they pat your hand before they leave. Or invite you to their upcoming gallery for free.”

“Now you’re teasing me.”

“Oh no, I’m just stating facts.” She released Sona and pecked her forehead. “You’re still young, Sona. You have plenty of time to keep trying.”

“I’m more weirded out that you’re so supportive of… this.” She gestured to her heart and the outside, referring to Jhin.

“Ah, young love. I just want to see you live a good and happy life, Sona. You’ve already graduated with a master’s degree in music. Now, you’re in love.” She paused as she seemed to have remembered something. “Actually, I believe I may have seen you fall in love with him while you were still studying. He graduated that year when you both met, if I recall correctly.”

Sona chose to ignore the last two comments. She sometimes hated how perceptive her mother was. “Didn’t you used to tell me love wasn’t the answer to a happy life?”

“It’s still not,” she immediately answered. “If it was, I would have had a husband by now. But I don’t carry much interest in that.” She chuckled at Sona rolling her eyes at her response. “But my point is that you seem happy to be in love with Jhin. If he causes you heartbreak though, I am kicking him out of the store.”

“So, you mean if he tells me that he likes someone else?”

“Exactly.”

“Mother!”

Lestara giggled mischievously as she pat Sona’s head. “Just a joke, dear. But really, I think you’ll be just fine.”

Sona sighed again. “If you say so.” She turned back to the counter, where the apology bouquet sat on top of it. “Is there anything else we could do for that bouquet?”

“All we can do is wait. He’ll be picking it up within an hour or so, if the time on his email is still correct.” Lestara tapped the email again to find the time. “Yes, he should be coming soon.” She chuckled at the email again. “Garen Crownguard. I never thought I’d live to see the day that boy breaks his usual uptight personality. To think a woman, his lover no less, would bring out a whole new side out of him.”

“Funny what love can do to people.”

“Like you?”

Sona mocked anger and nudged her mother’s shoulder. “Ha ha.”

  Orchestral covers played through Sona’s headphones as she dusted the front of the shop before taking the pots of flowers out. She stepped in sync with the music with her broom in hand, almost dancing with it like it was another person. Her steps eventually became more elaborate and turned into a dance of her own. But then she turned around.

And there was Jhin, watching in fascinated amusement with a bag slung around his shoulder.

A soft whining noise came from Sona’s throat as she crouched behind the buckets of flowers in shame. Her ears turned bright red, steam threatening to burst out as she dug her face into her skirt. There were times when she was glad she was mute. This was one of them. If she had a voice, she would have woken up the entire town with her scream.

Jhin was hiding a smile behind his hand, a light blush on his cheeks. “I apologize. I tried to let you know I was here, but you didn’t seem to hear me.” Sona started signing rapidly while still hiding her face, presumably signing every curse she knew and can think of on the top of her head. “I promise I won’t laugh. I thought it was endearing.”

Sona peeked, her face still red, and looked up at Jhin. “Promise?”

“Promise,” he signed back. He even crossed his heart.

Hesitant, Sona stood up and dusted her blue skirt. She couldn’t bear to look at Jhin in the eye while she was still blushing beet red.

“It was a lovely dance, Sona. I actually liked it,” Jhin tried to say.

She quickly pulled out her phone and furiously typed something into her phone. “No. No. No. No. I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am that you saw me. I don’t think you understand how mortified I am.”

“Would it help if I said it was… cute?”

Her blush now spread to her fingers as she typed on her phone again. “No, that’s worse, you ass.”

Jhin broke out into laughter. “But it was! You dance wonderfully, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance before.”

“Shhh. Don’t.”

He snorted at how little emotion the speech function spoke in, when Sona must have been wanting to scream at him. “Before you start yelling at me again, I was wondering if you would like to stop by my studio next weekend.” He pointed behind him with his thumb. “It’s a short walk from here, and I wanted to show you some of the works I will be featuring in the gallery.”

Sona’s gaze remained on her screen. “What about your new painting?”

“It should be finished by then. I want to get your opinion on it before I show it to anyone else.”

What if his painting was for another person? Another person he liked? Another person that wasn’t her? Worry plagued her heart, but she refused to let it escape from its cage. She forced a happy smile and nodded. “I would love to see your work in person. I can be there on Saturday evening.”

“Fantastic. I will look forward to your visit.”

“Did you run out of the orchids you bought? We don’t have blue hyacinths at the moment, so you’ll have to wait until this weekend for more.”

“No. I just came to ask you about coming to my studio.”

She couldn’t help but giggle. “All this trouble for me?” she signed as a joke.

Jhin’s expression softened as he watched her laugh. “Why not?” he signed back. He slightly bowed his head to her. “Please give Miss Buvelle my regards. I’ll be heading back to my studio to work on the piece. I’ll see you soon, Sona.” He briskly walked away to hide a blush that he felt was becoming more apparent the longer he stayed.

Sona pressed her cheek against the top of the broom, stuffing her phone into her pocket, as she watched his figure disappear around the corner. She started repeatedly bumped her forehead against the tip of the broom, the memory of Jhin’s smiling eyes from catching her dance flooding back into her memory.

“Sounds like you might have a date on next Saturday,” Lestara said from behind Sona, who jumped and dropped the broom. “Am I wrong?”

“I wouldn’t call it a date. He just invited me to see his works early,” she signed with shaky hands. “It’s not like he meant it any other way.” Right?

Lestara shrugged but with a smug look. “If you say so, dear.” She went back inside without another word. Sona chased after her for answers, not knowing what her mother was thinking behind that smile of hers.

  The doorbell chimed as a woman closed the door shut behind her. There was no one around the flower shop to greet her. Strange. “Miss Lestara? Miss Sona?”

“We’ll be right there! Give us a moment!” Lestara and Sona appeared from the back, carrying a large box full of new plants.

“Oh dear. Let me help.” The woman rushed to the back to catch the corner of the box that threatened to topple over from their hands. They set it on the counter and took a moment to relax. “Glad I came just in time.”

Lestara arched her back to stretch from hunching over for the past few hours. “Our apologies, Miss Soraka. We were sorting new shipments of flowers this entire afternoon.”

Soraka chuckled. “No worries at all. Is that the last box?”

“Luckily, yes. We just need to sort these where they belong, but I think we’re in need of a break.” She gestured Sona to Soraka. “Would you mind helping her, dear? I’m going to get some water.”

Sona nodded and walked over to Soraka’s side. “Something you need today?”

“I’ve been wanting to brighten up my office after my orchids wilted while I was on a trip. Shame I couldn’t salvage them. They were completely shriveled by the time I came back.” She smelled the hibiscus and let out a satisfied smile. “I did some research about lavender recently and found that their scent has a wonderful calming effect. I thought it might be nice to have those for therapy sessions with my patients.”

Her eyes brightened as she looked at the box they carried earlier. “The lavender should be in that box. How many would you like?”

“Hmmm…” Soraka hummed in thought as she scrolled through the photos of her phone. “My office is medium-sized, and I would at least like to smell a bit of lavender whenever I walk in.

Sona tapped her chin. “I would put maybe four to five pots of lavender around the room.” She guided Soraka to the counter and took out a few varieties of lavender, sniffing for the ones with a stronger scent. She isolated a handful of stems and five handfuls of weaker-scented ones.

“Oh, that’s a lovely shade of violet.”

“You always did like that color.” Sona giggled. “Strong scented lavender might not look great, so I’m surrounding them with common ones to brighten the scent, if that makes sense.”

“I’m inclined to agree.” Soraka saved a few pages on taking care of lavender as Sona planted them in small pots. After idly watching people pass by the shop, some looking at the flowers inside, Soraka signed, “So, how are you and that young man doing?”

Sona’s fingers curled in as if they touched fire. Her eyes darted to the side in embarrassment. “Who, who do you mean?”

“You know, that young artist who’s been frequently coming here for a few years now,” Soraka signed, chuckling at Sona’s blush. “Khada Jhin, I believe his name was? I saw an advertisement that he was going to open his gallery soon.”

Her blush spread to her ears. “Does… everyone know about… him?”

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe some of the nearby shopkeepers might have an idea.”

Sona’s face contorted in humiliation as she slowly crouched behind the counter. Great. Just great. Not only did Soraka figure it out, but the other shopkeepers might have found out too. Is that why she saw that one barista across the street smile while she was talking to Jhin? Or those two bakers who had a weird look while Sona was excitedly talking about a new composition she made? Oh no. Everything made sense now.

“Did you tease her again, Miss Soraka?” her mother playfully scolded.

“I didn’t think it’d have that much of an effect on her,” Soraka said. She giggled as she looked over the counter. “Miss Sona, no one is judging you. There’s nothing wrong with falling in love with someone.”

“But people know now!” she furiously signed. “I know people know now! I can’t believe this.”

Soraka was about to say something until a knock on the door following the ring of the doorbell caught her attention. “Oh! If it isn’t our local artist.���

Sona sucked in a sharp breath and gripped onto the hem of Lestara’s skirt, desperately shaking her head.

“Good afternoon, Miss Buvelle. Miss Soraka. Is Sona here?”

There was a pause as Lestara and Soraka exchanged glances and then shook their heads. “She stepped out for a stroll. You just missed her.”

Slight disappointment flashed in his eyes but was quickly masked. “Ah, is that so? Perhaps you can help me, Miss Buvelle. I ran out of the white orchids due to an unexpected mistake I made. I was hoping you had more?”

“Of course, dear. They should be near the window.” Lestara walked out from the counter, her voice quiet and low as she spoke with Jhin. They weren’t close enough for Sona to hear what they were talking about, but the sudden change of tone to a surprised “oh!” worried her.

She peeked from the counter to see Lestara chuckling as she pat Jhin’s back. She took a deep breath and stood up with a nervous smile. Jhin noticed her immediately and seemed to brighten up. He went back to conversing with Lestara before approaching the counter.

“Just in time, Sona. I’m glad I caught you before I left.”

“What’s wrong?”

Jhin’s lips parted as his eyes looked up to remember something. His lips pursed in helplessness before signing, “Dinner?” He scratched the back of his head. “I wanted to ask if you would like dinner at a restaurant after I show you some of my work.”

Soraka gasped behind her fingers. “Ooh, you want to take Miss Sona out for dinner, I see,” she sang.

The artist laughed in embarrassment before looking up at Lestara. “If, if you don’t mind me picking her up early, of course, Miss Buvelle. I promise I will bring her back before her curfew, if she has one.”

Lestara joyfully shook her head. “Not at all, dear. Just bring her back safely, and I won’t kick you out of my store.”

“Of course, ma’am.” He looked at Sona, who hadn’t signed a word so far. “Don’t hesitate to let me know if you do not want to. I don’t wish to inconvenience you.”

Sona’s lips opened and closed a few times before she nodded. She held her phone up to him with a text that read, I would love to.

“Fantastic! I’ll come pick you up around sunset, if you’re fine with that?”

She nodded silently, her eyes still wide from surprise.

“How close are you to finishing your final piece, Jhin?”

“Very close. I’ve already painted the base and added the blue flowers. I just need to add in the white petals next once they crystallize.”

“What are the daffodils for?” Soraka asked. “I remember you mentioning something about a winter theme in your last work. I didn’t think you’d add yellow daffodils to this one.”

The paper crinkled in Jhin’s fingers as he brought up a bouquet of golden flowers. “I looked up a few flower meanings before I came here, and I found that daffodils are close to how I feel. The color suits the blue also.” He smiled shyly as he placed the flowers inside his bag. “I shall be taking my leave then. Good-bye.”

They waved him good-bye and turned back to Sona, who was frozen in place. Lestara cleared her throat to gain her attention. Sona blinked rapidly before she returned to reality. “I thought, I thought I was going to die of a heart attack.”

“Seems Miss Sona has a dinner date this weekend,” Soraka teased, watching Sona’s fair skin turn red. “Young love, right?”

Lestara huffed in amusement. “You’re telling me.” She helped Sona plant the rest and packing the pots in bags. “Make sure not to overwater the lavender. I’m sure your patients will love the new flowers, Miss Soraka.”

Soraka smiled as she took the bags into her hands. “I’m sure they would too. Thank you, you two. Enjoy the rest of your day!” She exited the flower shop and went on her way to her office.

After a few minutes of silence, Lestara nudged Sona on the arm. “Look at you. You get a first look at his gallery and a dinner date.”

“And it’s this Saturday, too…” Sona signed, dumbfounded.

“You mean the day after tomorrow,” Lestara stated.

Her lips tightened into a flat line when her hands stopped midair in realization. She checked the date on her phone. It was Thursday.   “It’s the day after tomorrow? Oh my god.” Sona dropped her phone on the counter and covered her face in her hands.

“Nervous?”

“More than nervous! What if I screw it up? What if I accidentally blurt out that I like him?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want to make it awkward between us. I definitely don’t want him to avoid me either.”

Lestara cleared her throat to suppress a chuckle. “Sona, honey, you’re worrying too much. Just let the date happen. Just let whatever happens happen.”

“That’s not easy to do, mother. Especially when you’re in front of someone you like.” Sona sighed and picked her phone back up again. She tapped on the email from Jhin that contained two free tickets for her and her mother to his upcoming gallery. Her eyes then darted to the side. “He bought daffodils.”

“He did.”

Daffodils had different meanings depending on the context. It usually meant a regard for the other, a message for a lover, or… Unrequited love, she thought. Sona sighed again in dejection. There was no way he could have been talking about her, right? If other shopkeepers knew about her affection towards Jhin, he must have known too. Was this meant to be an indirect, but polite way of telling her he can’t reciprocate her feelings?

Lestara clapped her hands to snap Sona out of her thoughts. “Now I know you’re overthinking things.” She smiled and kissed Sona’s head. “I promise you as your mother and a fellow woman that your feelings won’t be taken for granted.” She chuckled when Sona raised a brow in confusion. “You’ll see what I mean.”

  “Mother, is this dress really necessary?” Sona’s phone read. “This seems like overkill.”

“You call this overkill for a dinner date? It’s just a dress, dear.”

Sona was wearing a v-neck blue dress with golden flowers designed into the hem and climbing up to the waistline. She pulled her white cardigan closer to her chest in embarrassment. She typed into her phone. “But this is the dress I wore for my performances.”

Lestara turned Sona around to look at her outfit. She shrugged. “I don’t see anything wrong with wearing this to a dinner date. It becomes a casual-formal dress without the sash and cape you wear anyways.”

“I guess.”

“Jhin should be arriving to the flower shop soon, so you head down first. I’ll be watching from the back.”

Hesitation planted her feet into the wooden stairs that lead upstairs from the flower shop to their home. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“More than certain, honey. Now get out there!” Lestara gently helped Sona down the stairs to the back of the shop. “Tell me everything that happens when you get back, okay?”

Sona couldn’t understand why her mother was more excited about this than she was. But she had no time to question her. Jhin was probably waiting in the shop. She nervously stepped out of the door to see Jhin in a fuschia collared shirt and a grey vest on top with black slacks. He was checking his watch before looking up to see Sona by the door tucking in a strand of hair behind her ear.

He gave her a heartwarming smile that made her want to melt. “You look… beautiful,” he signed.

A blush colored her cheeks as her lips curled into a smile against her fingers. “Thank you,” she signed back. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

“Great.” He opened the door of the shop and gestured outside. “After you.” He gave Lestara, who poked her head out to wave him good-bye, a bow of his head before escorting her to his studio. “How was your day today?”

Sona scratched her cheek before answering with her phone, “Good! Garen stopped by today to thank us for the bouquet we made last week for Miss Katarina. He gave us some cooking supplies since he didn’t know what else to give us. His words.”

Jhin chuckled to himself. “I find it amusing to see them try so hard to hide their relationship when everyone knows already. Well, almost everyone. But I admire their effort.” He noticed that Sona was a little more quiet than usual. He slightly bent his back to her level, stepping a little closer to her. “Is something on your mind?”

She did a double-take at Jhin, letting out a breath she was holding in. Quick, think of something. “Sorry. I've never seen your work in person before, so I'm excited to see your final piece too. You finished it, right?”

“I did. The crystallizing of the orchid petals took some time, but I managed to get it finished.” He squeezed the strap of his shoulder bag as he pursed his lips, turning around the corner with Sona following next to him. “Uh, Sona, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Do you think it strange to draw someone you're inspired by? Someone you've been friends with for a while, but you want to change that?”

This question might have been risky, but Sona couldn't handle the suspense anymore. “Is your Butterflies piece a confession?” she spelled out the last word in letters.

Jhin gazed at her in surprise. “I… yes… was it that obvious?”

She knew it. Sona smiled a little sadly, nodding.

He exhaled, holding his hand to his face. “I suppose you would've figured it out eventually, since the flowers I used had a romantic context to their meaning.” He hummed in thought as he looked at Sona, who seemed to droop like a wilting rose. Something clicked in his head. She didn't realize it yet, did she? “Sona,” he called out to her with the gentlest voice. When Sona refused to look at him, he slipped his hand under hers, surprising her to look at him. “You’ll like what I made. I'm sure you will understand it immediately.”

They stopped in front of a building painted white and maintained cleanly. Jhin guided her upstairs to a door, unlocking it with a key and opening it for her to see. Sona was greeted by canvases and canvases of flowers painted onto them with oils, acrylics, charcoals, and so many other mediums. She breathed out in speechlessness. There were no words to describe how stunning each piece looked up close.

Many flowers were either pressed or fixed to maintain their fresh appearance, but they were beautifully incorporated into each artwork without looking gaudy or like an afterthought.

Jhin watched Sona observe his work with such mesmerization that he wondered how she would react to what he made for his final piece. He idly walked around the room as Sona went through each canvas. “My apologies for the scattered arrangement. I had to move them all to my living room to make the transferring easier for the moving people.”

Oh, so this was his apartment.

This was his apartment.

Sona felt her ears turn hot. She brushed her hair near her head to hide them as she moved onto the canvas hung up on the wall, covered by a beige sheet and lit by a spotlight. She turned to Jhin, who urged her to be the one to reveal the final masterpiece. Sona turned back to the canvas. It was one of the largest canvas among his other work, and she was able to see the flower petals pop from behind the sheet. Her hand slowly grabbed onto the corner of the sheet.

Jhin had held her hand before they arrived, reassuring her that she would like it.

She pulled it off the canvas, wondering what was hidden underneath.

He said that she would understand it immediately.

Her breath caught in her throat as the sheet revealed the artwork behind it. She stepped back in awe, looking at the whole canvas.

It was her. Her hair was colored with pressed forget-me-nots with the blue hyacinths accenting the former’s bright blue. The flowers hid her eyes, but she smiled in the painting, her breath turning into crystallized orchids that looked like butterflies and white wisps of paint. On her ear was a bouquet of daffodils, which protruded out the most from the pressed hyacinths and crystallized orchids. She looked so beautiful.

“What do you think? It was hard to come up with a message that wasn't so straightforward.” He lowered his head with a shy smile. “This is how I wanted to convey my feelings to you before I displayed it in my gallery.”

Sona slowly turned to Jhin in surprise. This had to mean differently. Was this piece… really for her?

Jhin chuckled nervously. “I've been practicing this for the past week, but please bear with me. I'm still not very fast at sign language.” He cleared his throat and brought his hands up. “I fell in love with you a few years ago, when we were friends. It was winter, when you were back for winter break. I was going through dark times, but I remember when you approached me with a bouquet of roses of all colors because you saw that I didn't seem like myself recently.” He took a deep breath. “You told me how flowers contain a beauty of their own, like how you saw my art containing a hidden beauty. I began experimenting with my art, and thanks to your bouquet, I was able to start my next painting using those roses. Your kind and faithful words brought me back up to my feet, and I began to fall deeper in love with you since then.”

Sona’s heart began racing as she interpreted his signs.

“At first, I tried to hold it back. I didn't want to ruin the friendship we already had. But then, I saw that our feelings may have been mutual.”

A squeak came from Sona as she covered her mouth with her hands. “You knew?! You knew all this time?!”

Jhin averted his gaze. “I expected this reaction, and I still don't know how to respond to it. Ehm… How do I say this… I didn't want to assume your feelings, so I kept telling myself that it was just me and my own feelings.”

Sona then started typing into her phone. “And to think I thought you had feelings for someone else this past week. I am stupidly embarrassed.” She crouched on the floor and dug her head into her knees.

A quiet chuckle soon turned into laughter. “You really thought I had feelings for someone else? Why else would I visit the flower shop so frequently, especially those times when I went to buy just one flower?”

“Work, maybe,” she signed while still hiding her face.

“When I could have gone to any other flower shop in town?”

“Shut up.” She lifted her head to type into her phone. “I want to crawl into a hole and live there forever.”

Jhin kneeled in front of Sona after recovering from his bout of laughter. “Then how would you see the rest of what I want to say to you?” He patiently waited for Sona to meet his eyes, her own hesitant but asking him to continue. He chuckled before signing again. “I wanted to convey my feelings to you before it was too late. Before I finally decided to tell myself to give up.” He pointed to his masterpiece above them. “Everything about you is so beautiful and elegant like the orchids, from the way you talk about flowers to the way you dance to your music.”

Sona playfully slapped him on the arm for the last part, shaking her head with a smile on her face and earning another laugh from him.

“My feelings for you have never wavered, and I've always loved how sincere you were in our conversations—like the blue hyacinths. But my heart would never forget you. I couldn’t forget the way you left my heart longing for you. Just like the forget-me-nots.”

“And the daffodils?” she asked, pointing to the golden flowers that adorned her hair.

“Oh, those.” Jhin cupped Sona’s hands in his and gazed into her eyes with a loving expression. “The daffodils weren't meant to represent unrequited love, if what I assume you were thinking earlier was correct. I wanted to say that the sun always shines brighter when you are around. Even when it storms or overcast, you brighten up my day.” He brushed a lock of hair away from Sona’s eyes. “I suppose what I want to ask is, would you like to go out with me?”

Sona, overwhelmed by joy, nodded and threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly in her embrace. Happiness wasn't enough to describe the feelings that wanted to burst out of her. But she was so happy. So ecstatic. Their feelings were mutual after all. She felt his arms wrap around her back, holding her tightly. They lingered a moment longer before releasing each other.

The clicking of her keyboard filled in the silence as she typed a message. “If I rejected you, what were you going to do with the painting?”

“I was going to ask for your consent to hang it up in the gallery. I wouldn't have, if you felt uncomfortable about it.”

“I'm more impressed that you thought about different scenarios.”

“Well, with a confession like mine, I had to take them into consideration. But I'm glad it turned out for the best.” Jhin kissed the back of her hand before helping her stand up. “So, how would you like that dinner to be our first date?”

Sona snorted and typed into her phone again. “Were you planning on the dinner to be a date?”

He admittedly shrugged. “Only if it turned out you reciprocated my feelings. Otherwise, I would've taken you out as a friend.”

She rolled her eyes with a smile and linked her arm with his. “Then what are we waiting for? We should get dinner soon.”

“Gladly.” They walked out of his apartment, Sona leaning her head on his shoulder while Jhin nuzzled his cheek against her hair.

  Guests immediately noted the gentle aroma of flowers when they entered Jhin’s gallery, attracted by the burst of color beyond the glass windows. They wandered around the gallery, looking at Jhin’s artworks in awe. A few repeatedly stepped back and closer to examine the techniques and strokes. In front of each canvas was an open glass box that contained a vase of flowers used for the painting, the flowers neatly arranged to compliment each other, and a plaque that stated the meanings of the flowers.

The bigger canvases lured crowds to their beauty, but the most crowded was “Butterflies”, which displayed a vase of white orchids, blue hyacinths, forget-me-nots, daffodils, and two pink ambrosias in the center. The guests approached the vase to read the meanings, but the ambrosia’s was missing.

Where was the artist responsible for these gorgeous paintings though?

Jhin stood among the crowd beside Sona and Lestara and watched the guests marvel at his work while guiding the two around.

“It's so clever how the artist stained the petals. It almost looks natural.”

“Doesn't it? I especially love how he uses roses frequently in his works. I've been following his Insta since he started posting his flower series.”

“No way, he has an account? Send me the name, I want to see more stuff he made!”

Sona elbowed Jhin. “Your Insta is going to flood with comments and new followers later. How do you feel about that?”

“A little overwhelmed, but at least my art will be known more,” he signed back. He placed his hand on his chest and exhaled. “I'm nervous to make a speech though. I'm not good with crowds.”

“You'll be fine!” Sona held his hand and gave it a little squeeze to reassure him. “I'll be near you when you do.”

“Thanks.” Jhin squeezed her hand back.

Lestara cleared her throat. “I think I'm going to leave you two alone for a bit. I'll be wandering around the gallery, dears.” She chuckled, walking away to another painting with a little wave of her fingers.

Jhin and Sona flushed red in realization Lestara was watching them this entire time. They couldn't bring her back by the time they recovered. She was too far and preoccupied with a conversation with another guest, Soraka. They decided to move on to the next painting, hand-in-hand.

“I wonder why there's no price tag on that one,” a young woman with golden hair mused. “All the other ones do.”

“Eh, maybe the artist got lazy and didn't even bother,” another young woman in an apparel jacket muttered.

“Come on, Jinx, there's no way the artist got that lazy. I mean, look at all these artworks! How could he miss a price tag if he painted these with such careful detail?”

The other listlessly shrugged with a crooked, lazy smile. “I dunno. Art’s not really my thing, Lux. I'd rather go play with some fireworks.”

Lux rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Alright, my little pyromaniac. Let's keep going.” She pulled Jinx to another painting, Jinx protesting but compliantly following along.

Sona raised a brow at their conversation and turned to Jhin. “You're not selling “Butterflies”?”

“I wanted to keep it. It holds a special meaning to me, after all.” He brought Sona’s hand up to kiss the tips of her fingers. “How could I sell a piece that depicts the feelings and memories I've had with someone I love?” He and Sona softly laughed to themselves as they pressed foreheads. The beeping of his watch caught his attention. “It's time for the speech. Wish me luck.”

Sona signed to do his best and gave his hand another squeeze afterwards as they made their way to his “Butterflies” piece, where most of the guests now gathered to hear the speech.

Oh, this was more people than he thought there would be. He gripped Sona’s hand tighter before letting go and walked to the front. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Khada Jhin, the artist of this gallery. I thank you for attending the grand opening, and I was very pleased to hear that everyone enjoys what I've painted.”

“And he says he has stage fright,” Lestara joked under her breath to Sona.

A giggle shook Sona’s shoulders. After he finished his speech, she joined the crowd to applause Jhin for his hard work and effort.

“I am open to questions, if anyone has any. Otherwise, please feel free to look around more.”

A smaller crowd drew closer to Jhin as the rest dispersed to the rest of the gallery or to find the exit. Sona stepped closer to Jhin, now half an arm’s length away, to remind him of her support.

“Is Khada Jhin your real name, sir?”

“No, it is just an alias. But it's a name I've come to think of as a second name, so I don't mind being called that.”

“What inspired you to start your flower series? They're all so gorgeous!” Lux asked excitedly.

Jhin glanced at Sona, whose eyes smiled at his gaze. “It's more of a case of ‘who’. A longtime friend of mine gave me the inspiration I needed to try something new. A different vision. It's thanks to her that I was able to become this successful.”

“Is she the lady that's on your big painting right here?” Jinx asked.

Straightforward, that girl was. Jhin cleared his throat. “Yes, she is. She has become a special person in my life, and that is why I dedicated my final masterpiece to her.”

“Is that piece available for purchase, by any chance?” someone asked.

“No. This is a piece that holds a special place in my heart. I have no plans on selling this one.” A few murmurs of disappointment sounded from potential buyers, but he didn't care. This one stayed. “Please feel free to look at my other works, however. I assure you they are just as good, and they will be available for delivery starting the week after next.”

“So where’s the lucky girl in that painting?” Sona turned to see the barista across the street with the two bakers behind him. Oh gods. They were doing this on purpose. Her ears turned red when she turned back to Jhin, who gazed at her lovingly and reached out to hold her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

“She’s right here… my friend who has become much more to me, now my significant other.”

Gasps and sounds of endearment sounded from the crowd.

“That is what the ambrosia means.”