Rory!

Here's the uncolored version, because I tried a different process this time and I think the in-between actually looks cool:

Redraw of this old piece because I was in that kind of mood again, even if this part of the story is over

I've mentioned that I'm obsessed with @bigfatbreak's Feralnette, right?

Steris, my queen

One of my favorite side effects of my Year of Overthinking my Sexuality is what I learned about the differences between aesthetic and romantic attraction.

Did you know you can think someone is pretty, or cute, or handsome, without liking them romantically? Yeah! Maybe that's common knowledge, but I sure didn't know until I went down the rabbit hole of researching asexuality. The result of that extensive research and the discovery of separate terms for separate kinds of attraction is that I now feel much more comfortable finding people attractive.

The curly-haired boy on my cross country team? Cute. The woman with the braid carrying her child? Very pretty. The short kid I keep passing in the halls? Gorgeous. The big lady I ran into at the grocery store? Breathtaking. It's made me realize that the vast majority of people in real life actually look really good. Very few of them perfectly fit what I've been taught to see as conventionally attractive, but so many of them have faces I long to just . . . look at. I swear, ninety percent of the girls I know from church are prettier than any model I've ever seen. Most people, maybe even all people, are attractive in a very genuine, very mundane, and very beautiful way.

I like feeling like I can say someone looks good without implying that I like them. And I like admitting that if I'm honest, everyone looks good.

I love @bigfatbreak's Feralnette because she looks like she's getting just as little sleep as I am

Sunrise

Cliffhangers are great, but I hope we get some post-reveal discussions in the next (chronological) episode. If we don't, well, I guess I'll just have to write some myself!

Bonus Panel:

Marinette: Well, you know, considering I just had a breakdown about how dating isn't an option because I'm a superhero--

Alya: Got it. Ladynoir.

Marinette: NO

Plance Steampunk/Fantasy AU

Pidge is a mechanic with a knack for chemistry (see Varian from TTS). Her father and brother go exploring in neighboring lands for their kingdom, but contact with them is lost during a storm. Pidge has to use all her engineering skills to find and save them. The kingdom fights her and her search every step of the way, for reasons Pidge hasn't been able to determine. Do they just not see the point of wasting resources saving two people? Or do they have something to hide?

Lance is a guard who escorts Pidge home after she storms into the castle demanding the royal family send a rescue team after her family. He starts spending time with her and helping her on her mission--partly because he believes it's wrong the kingdom refuses to give her aid, and partly because he can't help but find the ruthless little genius fascinating.

Almost definitely never going to write this, but I do like the idea, and I had to illustrate it. Pidge hasn't bothered to get a haircut recently in this drawing--her hair is overgrown and messy, but also rather cute.