Quite possibly the worst

The inspo image:

page 1

equating making amends to building the atelier (a life) with olruggio, he is kind of honouring his sacrifice in that way.

page 2

pretty self explanatory, i think this man would like to live actually

the version of the future he sees is also highly biased by what he wants to happen which is a great way for me, the artist, to draw them older without having to commit to any hcs yet :D

the text (and stars) are also arranged in a circular shape, much like the numbers on a clock

page 3

i will be here > in the coffin, until i drown. with the silverwood tree inside of him he's never really escaped his grave (that's why he's there with baby qifrey), he's kind of just living on borrowed time until it claims him > he drowns

also time coming in waves > water slipping through his fingers > running out of time all that jazz

page 4

goes to bed warm but wakes up cold > the warmth on olruggio's end is finally being allowed to truly know the person he's in love with, only to wake up stripped of that warmth

for qifrey it's the ultimate comfort of letting olruggio be privy to his secret (at least to some extent) and having to violently take that away in an act of self preservation (that he probably deems as selfish ugh)

page 5

qifrey covering the girls (innocence, happiness, optimism) with his coat in order to shield them from the harshness of the world

much like the tree is shielding them from the sun one might say

time on my hands > with the memory erasure spell he has a way to extent his time but at what cost 😪

page 6

days are all the same, they wax and wane > orufrey are stuck in a perpetual cycle of olruggio uncovering qifrey's secret and qifrey having to rip the knowledge from him.

qifrey in this case is represented by the moon, when he is cast in shadow olruggio doesn't know of his secret, the sun (the sky's kindest, most radiant star one might say) slowly uncovers that secret:

pushing the shadow away > his hat with the tassle, the only reminder of the promise they made > olruggio as he figures out that something is amiss > the tree starts slowly taking root > olruggio promising qifrey his loyalty despite it all > the sky's kindest, most radiant star > like a moth to a flame, qifrey can't help but marvel at olruggio's infallible nature to forgive him > he's rewarded by the roots spreading further > qifrey's guilt and sadness at what he must do > once again the swapped hat ornaments > just before the tree can fully sprout > qifrey pulls the curtain (shadow) back over his secret > and erases olruggio's memory > the cycle starts anew

page 7