Image description
Miriam, a witch girl wearing a longsleeve dress and cape, is signing the ILY handshape with Grandma Saphy (who is wearing a witchy hat and a similar dress), who returns it by pressing their hands together. They both smile warmly at each other.
Later, as Miriam walks past the bard, Kiwi, they ask, "What was that?"
"The what."
"The... This?" Kiwi innocently forms the same handshape they had seen Miriam doing earlier, other hand pointing at it.
Embarrassed at seeing her friend make that sign, Miriam pushes their arms down. "D-DON'T JUST SIGN THAT, KIWI!" She looks away bashfully, closing an eye, hesitating to explain further. "It's... Grandma is hard of hearing, so I know some ASL. And that one's..."
"It's a special way to tell someone you love them," she murmurs, fidgeting at her sleeves. "Just the letters "ILY" in one sign."
Kiwi doesn't even hesitate to form the ILY handshape again, and with BOTH hands this time. They beam delightfully at her, singing, "I love you looooots~"
"KIWI NO-" Blushing fiercely, Miriam puts her face in her hands; her brain can't process such an open display of affection. "It's- AAAA!"
I was talking to someone about how to describe a sign in writing and then I just kinda accidentally tripped and drew this sappy comic
heres a snippet from my explanation of what's being signed in this comic
(to follow up a bit about the ILY sign, you can use it with like, pretty much anyone with different kinds of love and stuff, so platonic, romantic, whatever other intent, it does change meaning depending on who you sign it to, and also how. the way miriam was signing ILY with grandma saphy is a familial kind of love, and ve do it that way with our parents and some relatives too. but i can 100% imagine that specific version suddenly being very intimate with someone else that you're friends with, or have romantic feelings about
and the sign ILY on its own without touching someone else's hand like that can still be a Big Thing by itself too haha)