CHAPTERS
11 1465

CH10P45
Posted on 4 September 2022 by rustyhearts

Maria asking the real questions here >:O
Also! Made a whoops and posted two pages last week. So if this one seems kinda out of place, make sure you didn't miss the one before.

Double also! I'll be adding profiles to the cast page for Kassandra and Maria soon. No strong feelings about when their birthdays should be, so if you've got dates, share em!

11 thoughts on “CH10P45”

  1. eesh

    Uh oh. It’s only going downhill from now isn’t it.

  2. NeonNeko

    Oh the awkward questions are gonna keep coming aren’t they…good luck to Alexis and Jaden, wouldn’t wanna be in their shoes!

  3. NeonNeko

    Also love how Alexis looks in the last panel, she’s adorable with her hair like that 🙂

  4. Emma

    I hope Alexis warned Jaden ahead of time what her family believes so Jaden can be prepared! Though I relate if she hasn’t because I’ve been stuck in awkward situations like this by assuming things will go well.

    Also, dating in a very intensive degree where you’re studying almost 24/7? Yeah, almost impossible lol!

    I’m looking at the mom as she has an unreadable expression when Kassandra talks about barely able to handle High School. I know studying isn’t for everyone since we all have different personalities, temperaments, interests, and goals in life, but it does always make me a bit sad when women brush off school or say they can’t handle it because they’re “just not smart enough.” I wonder if the mom wanted more for Kassandra? The panel of the extreme closeup of the mom’s face as she sips her tea (or coffee?) makes me feel like she’s figuratively biting her tongue.

    1. rustyhearts

      Alexis is just as surprised as Jaden – not because she doesn’t know her mum’s beliefs but because she was expecting an hour if small talk over snacks 😔


      Unfortunately, Maria has an agenda it would seem lol.


      Only two smart women can manage the balance of dating and studying medicine 😎


      And perceptive as always! I’d say less biting her tongue and more waiting for an opportunity to say what she’s been thinking. :3c

      1. Emma

        I feel you, Alexis! 😔
        Since they already study a lot together, making some of their dates study dates would be a good way to make it work!
        I’m drinking in all this Alexis lore!

  5. Tenbelow

    dam alex is a fav……………

    I feel like such a goober, asking myself “HOW DID ALEXIS TURN OUT THE WAY SHE DID, WHEN SHE IS SURROUNDED BY ALL THESE BAD INFLUENCES” and then I’m like “wait she’s like me” (now the comment will get PERSONAL as I explain how this story resonates with me!)

    I grew up around lots and lots of abuse, like pretty much every woman in my family married a guy to get abused by him. And I’m really glad my brain went “hm. you know what that looks horrible and I don’t want that for myself” instead of being like “ah so this is the natural order and my destiny and I will fall in line”. I wonder if it’s similar for Alex. She is kind of horrified by her friends, and her own sister, and probably her own mom (my religious family disturbs me too! it disturbs me the women in my family read the Bible which treats women so bad and they’re like Woo Hoo God! I’m all for worshiping that guy!) and she’s just like “you know what I’m going to be a dentist and I’m going to have a girlfriend and I’m staying away from all of that”.

    gosh dangit. it shocks me how it feels like I got attached to Lexie here so quickly. Even when I came from the future and I presume something Bad must have gone down, which makes me worried about liking her. But Alas, Lexie Has My Heart. Oh LEX. We could be like SISTERS, me and you..! I will trust Rusty with my suspicious and media-jaded heart. Because Rusty’s heart has been through it. She won’t make me like a character and go “HA HA, SURPRISE. SHE WAS EVIL ALL ALONG”. Certainly by now the trust is earned.

    Count me as INVESTED. Really interested to see where this all goes, and I hope by Buckling In For The Long Haul there will be some really nice ending. maybe Lexie gets same sex married to her own lovely WIFE or maybe Lexie is a bridesmade at Jaden and Riley’s wedding and she catches the bouquet and goes O-O and looks at her current girlfriend who is like 😉 or something I don’t know. Straight people get these cheesy happy endings all the time. Lesbians and bi women (who choose women!! as life partners!!) can have happy endings too, their pain and struggles can MEAN something in the end can be FOR something instead of getting stomped all over the place. I have the Faith, just for LeaseBound, because Leasebound earned the faith. Popular media will never be for us and gets the side eye always

    also i love how tasty the food looks in the first panel MM MM GOOD And I love Kass setting the food on her belly lol. And I really love the way you put little cartoony faces of the character on word bubbles to show who’s talking. I’ve seen a lot of different methods comic artists use for that, and I honestly think your way is the cutest and most visually appealing to me.

  6. anonymoo

    I’m actually interested in learning more about Kassandra. A mother already with another baby on the way, where’s the dad, why is she still living at home 🧐 She seems to get along fine with Alexis so that’s good! I always dislike the trope in media of jealous and mean sisters.

    1. Tenbelow

      Oh, I agree! Kassandra interests me a lot too!! It’s so awesome how Rusty creates characters who are so instantly engaging. There’s just so obviously a lot going on here, and her lines of dialog imply so much. Even if the story can’t go too in-depth with it, I really appreciate how fast these characters snag my attention. Even characters who I KNOW are going to be on-offs like the lady who Jaden and Riley got their bed from seem so interesting so fast. The women in Leasebound feel so real and unique! 😀 Definitely not just uninteresting background characters with boring designs…

      And you’re sooo right. I didn’t even think about the mean sisters trope and I’m glad everything seems to be nice here. Even though these two are obviously very different, they aren’t instantly mean and nasty to one another. All the conflict in Leasebound so far feels so meaningful, and isn’t the vapid cattiness male created media often shows us…. I’m glad you pointed that out because I’m thankful too, now that you said that 🙂

  7. anon

    It’s been a while since last update and can’t find your Tumblr anymore. Hope Leasebound is still going strong and more importantly, you are doing well!

    1. rustyhearts

      The last update came out two days ago! Tho I think I know why it seems longer. The dates are in Aussie format. So day/month/year not month/day/year.


      Unfortunately my Tumblr was permanently terminated – staff didn’t give a specific reason why. But I’ve been going strong since on the site with one page a week consistently.


      I do have a small tumbkr account now but I was auto-shadowbanned so nothing I post shows up in the tags or anything unfortunately.


      No intention of going anywhere – thanks so much for checking in 🥰🥰🥰

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