#brambles 3

[nd-of-a-manatee]

Brambles pt. 3

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[ID:

The vines are aware enough to dodge the shot, narrowly dragging Raz out of the line of fire with them. The margin is so close, he can feel the heat as the fireball passes. Lili shakes the flames out of her hand with a look of terrified guilt. Meanwhile, vines begin swarming around her in a circle.

The scare loosened the killer weeds’ grip enough for Raz to desperately hold them away from him, uneasily balanced upside down in mid-air by the tension. He calls down to the ground.

“Lili, I don’t think this is working. We have to get to the root of the problem!”

“I can’t!” she calls back, afraid and exasperated. The vines continue to gather around her, enclosing her.

“I don’t mean the literal root!”

“I KNOW what you mean! I–I can’t do it! You just don’t understand!”

“Then help me understand. It can’t stay like this!”

The sky closes up. Lili is alone beneath a wall of green. The light is even dimmer here without the moon, casting her in dull green colors. Raz’s voice squeaks through the ceiling of compressed weeds to reach her.

“Lili!”

“Raz!” she calls in fear.

She doesn’t notice the knot of vines coming at her until it’s nearly on top of her. She dodges backward with a yelp, and it lands beside her with enough force to send a bunch of nettles into the hair. She runs away. More movement stirs in the darkness.

She tries to explain herself as she dodges wave after wave of vines.

“We’re not like your family. I have to pick a side. My mom’s never going to forgive my dad. If I’m not against him, she thinks I’m against her. Cause she’s just waiting for him to screw up again.”

Her anger resurfaces, and her power with it. Bolts of magenta dance around her head as she faces down another wall.

“He’s not like that anymore, but he won’t say it.” She holds her ground and sends out a TK hand. It slices through the vines like a butcher knife, burning with aggression. It casts hot, vivid light back on her, illuminating the darkness as long as she can keep it up. “He lets her treat him like garbage because it’s easier. So, I have to be the one to defend him. And I can’t stand it!” She starts slicing through wall after wall, the hand growing hotter. “I have to do everything!” It’s all gonna fall apart, and then I’m gonna feel like garbage.” Cauterized vines peel away in layers, still smoking. Lili stares into them with loathing as chunks of plant matter rain down.

In retaliation, the roof comes down on Lili’s shoulders, and she stumbles with a grunt. The incredible weight of it presses down on her. She struggles to keep her legs straight, let alone summon any of the power that was helping her just a minute ago. All she can do is talk.

“Because I always feel like garbage… ‘cause I can’t fix it.”

Raz’s voice slips between the layers of rope that threaten to crush her.

“It’s not your job to fix it, Lili.”

Tears drip from her tightly shut eyes and sink into the grass.

“I just want us to feel like a family for once,” she chokes. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just… shouldn’t be this hard.”

Suddenly, the vines disband. They fall all around her, limp, not even thickly enough to bury her.

Outside, Raz’s captors have also given in, and he’s in the middle of falling into the bushes. With a thrashing of leaves and a metallic “BONK”, he lands in a shrub among the willows. When he gets up, he has a dented watering can in hand (and a sore spot on his head). His clothes and skin are scratched up from the ordeal.

“I found the watering can.”

He looks at the receding mass of weeds where Lili stands at its center. All the plants and flowers have been wrenched from the ground and shoved in piles at the corners of the garden by the wall of weeds. She’s just as torn, beaten, and tired. Tears pour from her eyes as she tries to hold herself together.

Wordlessly, Raz approaches her and wraps her in a hug. She holds him in return and quickly lets herself fall into sobs.

After a while, they unfold a bit and share a quiet moment, still in each other’s arms. Up close, it turns out that Raz is a little shorter than Lili. He smiles patiently up at her as she wipes the tears from her eyes. Her expression is complicated, but appreciative.

Someone from off-screen clears their throat. The kids snap apart with their hands to themselves. Lili’s parents are standing nearby, quiet and humble. We finally see her mom in full detail. She has pale freckled skin, a spade-shaped face, burly arms and legs, and long pink hair with the same style as the flashback. She wears a blue horizontal-striped button-up sweater, rust-red pants, and black strap sandals over white socks. Truman’s wearing a pale green polo with vertical stripes, pale red pants (purple in this light), and old loafers. He hasn’t changed much since his appearance in the games, except that he’s grown a pencil mustache.

“Razputin, could we have some time alone with Lili?” Truman asks.

“Oh! Sure.”

Raz waves goodbye as he sprints off toward the willows.

<Talk later?> he asks Lili.

<Yeah.>

Quick as a cricket, Raz hops from branch to lev ball and sails over the stone stacks and out of sight.

End ID]

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[bramblequeen]

Something that I doodled ages ago and never had the energy to finish as a gouache painting. Decided to make it digital to finish it.

[boiledegghole]

so called "free thinkers" when euphrasie pulls up with the "something's failing, ROTTING"

[warning-heckboop]

We're not so different, you and I

Judged by the inexplicable magics at our cores

Or by how we strayed from the paths laid out for us

To live our own lives, and tell our own tales

I can only hope now that yours

Leads to a happier end than mine

((Wolf belongs to @bunnieswithknives))

[karjalantroll]

absolute disaster

I didn't even have enough space to put everyone in the hashtags......

[mothdogsart]

It took a while for Bram and Halsin to come to terms with what their relationship meant to each of them after leaving the shadow-cursed lands, but eventually they figured it out 🥰 Also Bram is allergic to wearing a shirt. I always put him in the camp clothes option that keeps his tits out

+ Grumpy bc he wasn’t even considered as a potential third 😔

[mommyclaws]

do you hab any,,, tigerclaw? (or mapleshade?) for old art stuff? 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Absolutely, this is THE Tigerclaw blog

Probably one of my FAVORITE canon designs I’ve ever made. Loosely inspired by the official russian pieces of him.

But before that, I went with a more generic design. I never liked the colors much and couldn’t settle on proper shapes or features, but it’s what I used from around 2019-2021

I also have an EXTREMELY specific genre of Tigerpaw sobbing pathetically. I have an AU where after Tigerstar is killed, he turned back to kit age in the df. He retains the memories of everything he did, but his personality and actions are muddled by being returned to the age he was most immature and unhappy. He spends enternity fleeing and hiding in the dark forest, calling for his mother and avoiding anyone who reminds him of his failures.

[cryptidclaw]

Au where hollyleaf lives, forgives everyone exept Bramblestar and then kills his ass after she realizes how abusive he is to her mom.

[bonefall]

ever think about how in tnp bramble is suspicious of hawk until the /moment/ they visit tiger together? and then gets mad at squilf for expressing an opinion he used to agree with?

Actually! The moment Bramble stops being suspicious of Hawkfrost is when he's jealous of Squilf's magical telepathic bond to her sister. It's like spite. It fascinates me that you can read it as though Brambleclaw is being consumed by jealousy, trying to have everything that Squilf does, as though his "hatred" of her is coming from envy.

[cactusccat]

My final artfight attack of the year against my lovely partner @beetle-boii

I thought it would be cute to do their OC x canon ship (Remy x Floyd, aka Flemy) with their fanchild Bramble :3

[spacebugarts]

I wasn't gonna make an Indigo Park oc but then I started thinking about the theme park I went to as a kid and I got the idea of a beaver running a ride based on water flumes like Logger's Run or Splash Mountain :3

They're also based on wildlife education characters like Smokey the Bear and Ranger Rick!

[sallytwo]

... The poem may be an elegy for childhood losses.

(On Dream Song 29, Thomas Travisano)

[bramblequeen]

Halloween time again, woooo! Decided to stray from the usual Halloween Town aesthetics that dominate the KH fandom at this point of the year and just do a good old fashioned dress up/cosplay

Went with one Trio I love to dress up as another Triad I adore.

[t4tsurge]

Introducing: Endless Possibilities!!!

Violet: Violet was created in a lab using Sonic and Shadow's DNA. She mostly takes after Sonic, having his same adventurous and fun loving spirit and cocky attitude. They also inherited Shadow's sense of duty, wanting nothing more than to travel the world, using their abilities to protect it like their parents did at their age.

Aster and Jade: Aster and Jade were meant to be the children of Blaze, Amy, and Surge, but Surge left their partners before the twins were born. While Jade was born without powers, Aster was born with a strong connection to the Sol emeralds, giving her the ability to control light and access to her own burning form. Because of this connection Aster is the current guardian of the emeralds as well as the next in line for the throne.

The twins are complete opposites; while Aster is very studious and introverted, Jade is very outgoing and a bit of a slacker. While Aster is off studying or training with Blaze, Jade spends their time exploring the palace, gardening with Amy, or visiting Violet or Bramble back in Sonic's dimension.

Emerald: Emerald spends her time on Angel Island with Knuckles, raising chao and guarding the Master Emerald beside him. Emerald is naturally stronger than average, but while she likes training with her dad, she prefers flying. Despite being the oldest of the group, Emerald usually lets Violet or Jade take the lead on things, choosing to stay back with Aster instead of getting into too much trouble.

Bramble: Bramble was an orphan taken in by Surge and Sticks when he was very young. It's always been able to shapeshift and was originally born a tenrec, but once it got comfortable around it's new parents, it changed to a more hybrid form. Bramble enjoys the life he lives, basically having free reign to do as he pleases in the woods around Sticks' burrow or even going to visit Violet if he wants, as long as he checks back in at home. It can also be a bit obnoxious and rude, and gets along more with Jade and Violet than Emerald and Aster.

So yeah! Over the last few months, I've been working on redesigning the kids, and while I only have bits and pieces of a proper story, I feel ready to share the kids again!

[themaybug]

fluffuary day 5: discovery

i'm not really sure what ketheric/bramble was like before the events of the game... but they have to relearn knowing each other

[bramblefrump]

My new favourite CSH song is officially "beach fagz", thank you for taking note of this invaluable information