#power chord queue

// I was passing by a discount store with my mother and out of the corner of my eye I saw this familiar crest on a holiday shirt - it’s a Zelda holiday sweater!! I was so happy the XL fit me! (Usually I’d need a 2X, depending on the shirt)

It’s big and very thick actually. Finally, a holiday shirt I can get behind!

Growing up in an Ionian orphanage, Sona didn’t have many opportunities to try many things more fancy than grilled fish and rice. Most of the foods she remembers fondly are fruits and sweets, like fried maple leaves and sweet bean-filled breads at festivals. And kumquats.

Passing through Piltover and eventually coming to Demacia introduced her to entirely new worlds of flavor and foods; milk products (cheese, cream, etc), tomatoes, potatoes, various shellfish she’d never had before, honeyfruit, and so on. Demacian dishes in particular are often heavy on proteins and starches and are powerfully flavored with herbs and spices.

While Sona tends to prefer “clean” and more subtle flavors, she’s come to appreciate the deeper tastes of meat stews and beans and the like. Tomato-based dishes she especially likes because of the sweet-and-savory contrasts they usually provide. She’s not a fan of peppers though, which is unfortunate since they seem to be a popular choice in many Demacian recipes. She’ll only eat them if they’ve been boiled to near tastelessness in a soup. She hates them raw.

Some people are under the odd assumption that beauty shouldn’t require too much effort. While that’s somewhat true, it still requires some effort. These can be as simple as daily washing routines or taking regular rests, or even adjusting one’s diet to foods that have been known to be beneficial for skin, hair, nails, and so on.

While Sona could be considered naturally conventionally beautiful by some standards, she’s also a fully grown adult. That means her skin has lost some of its childhood resilience, and it will likely (as far as she understands) continue down that road as she grows older. So moisturizing and soaking in baths with oils and herbs depending on the season and weather is an important part of her routines to keep her skin soft - and soft skin is less prone to cracking and turning flaky, of course, which would age her faster.

Once a week she’ll use a special mixture of clay and ground minerals on her face. As the clay dries it helps remove dead skin and impurities. Afterwards, depending on the season, she’ll usually use either a milk lotion or something made from kelp (sea-based products are popular where the kingdom meets the ocean, and all sorts of medicines, foods, and materials wind up in the heart of the city’s markets).

Exfoliation is another thing she takes care of weekly. While Sona washes up twice daily, it’s usually just wiping her underarms, privates, face, and feet (and wherever else may need it). Scrubbing off dry/dead skin is a more time consuming task, mainly taken care of by gently scrubbing with a boar hair brush. She’ll brush her dry skin first, then wash herself off and wipe herself down again.

Pumice stones are also a popular item for tougher areas, such as the feet. They’re considered somewhat valuable since they can only be mined near volcanic areas - which are popular hiding places for dragons and other beasties. And Targonian lands are often just as dangerous.

// Just a silly, short comic idea I had of Sona comforting Kayn. Because she’s forever nice to people who probably don’t even deserve it. They’re the ones who probably need it most.