Suspension of Disbelief (Patreon)

sorry to be quiet this week AGAIN, ya'll. Besides the new job, we needed to take my brother to the emergency room twice. The doctor thinks he may have lupus, so stay tuned for the next episode of why-can't-my-family-catch-a-damn-break

anyway, in lighter news, RoboHeather sent me in a really nice batch of ideas (thank you Heather, you're a gem!). One being that Smoky and Phoenix are best buds (Fire Bros 2.0!) She had this to say:

 "Had a sudden thought that Smokey and Nix miiiight actually make super  good friends. I like to think they met when Smokey happened upon a young  Phoenix and Jam Sandwich being bullied and mocked by a group of mean girls (both of them always felt awkward and unfeminine compared to other fillies their age, and were often targets because of it), and before the situation can escalate into an actual fight (Nix is fluffed out, wings spread to shield her crying friend, teeth bared, and body getting tense to leap),  he decides to help them out by changing into a giant, hairy, terrifying  spider to scare the fur off their bullies. He comes back in his normal  form after gleefully chasing the brats half way across Ponyville, and  introduces himself to the startled girls. While Smokey and Jam do enjoy a  casual, friendly relationship through their mutual bestie, it's with  Phoenix that he eventually develops an unbreakable bond with.

Though their relationship as adults may appear to be a typical dude bro one (and  it IS. Wrestling, getting hammered together, watching sports, sparring  practice, checking out chicks, affectionate head butting, playfully  teasing the other, casually going over the best torture methods over  beer and bar nuts, ect), they really do love each other and have very  snuggly, affectionate moments in private too. They think nothing of it  to sometimes sleep in the same bed or have painful hangover snuggles on  the couch. Smokey also honestly swears by his bestie's skill in blacksmithing, and refuses to use any weapons besides the superior ones she makes him. "

so here are the fire bros watching what they thought was an action movie, but turned into a forced romance fest at the end, booooo

on a design note, i decided to give phoenix blue eyes. i think a splash of blue helps her look more at home with her siblings~