STORY & CAST
Here's LB's summary for you to make of what you will:
"After a mix-up with their leases, two Lesbians, Jaden and Riley, must learn to share a small, one-bedroom apartment. Friendship, and eventually romance ensues."
I love how invested readers are in Blaire as a character, and all the speculation that has come with it.
My advice is to wait for her to actually take action, before you ask if she'll be redeemed.
I have a lot planned for Blaire as a character, so let us burn that bridge when we come to it 😉
My advice is to wait for her to actually take action, before you ask if she'll be redeemed.
I have a lot planned for Blaire as a character, so let us burn that bridge when we come to it 😉
My main goal with LB, has always been to create the representation *I* as a lesbian wanted to see. So: lesbian romances that aren't wrapped up in femininity BS, gender ideology, or involve past hetero romances + fleshed out, deeply human female characters
Before my tumblr termination, I got a lot of asks about what readers could expect representation-wise.
"Will there be any intersex characters?
"Will there be any Jewish characters?"
"Will there be any Latino characters?"
"Will there be any disabled a characters?"
"Will there be any mentally ill/disordered characters?"
"Will there be any detransitioned characters?"
"Will there be any happily transitioned homosexual characters?" (no, fuck off)
"Will there be any feminine lesbian characters?" (no, fuck off)
While I understand, and even sympathise with the intention of questions like this, receiving them was very frustrating and disheartening. It felt as though the quantity of representation boxes I could/ would tick off was more important than the quality of my current characters, or the story I've chosen to write.
I feel like this mindset has gotten a little out of control, and tumblr is an absolute breeding ground for valuing the fact there is representation, over the quality of it.
There's a level of entitlement involved in asking this of creators, especially those of us who are single-person teams.
I am not a huge company with the finances to accurately, respectfully and satisfyingly represent every single marginalized group. And honestly, any company that tries to claim that they do do that, is probably just looking to sell you something.
I appreciate, and hold no ill-will towards the readers who have asked me this question, but don't particularly want to be asked again.
Stories are not meant to represent every experience, and that's okay. I strongly encourage anyone yearning for it, to also, BE/create the representation they want to see.
Before my tumblr termination, I got a lot of asks about what readers could expect representation-wise.
"Will there be any intersex characters?
"Will there be any Jewish characters?"
"Will there be any Latino characters?"
"Will there be any disabled a characters?"
"Will there be any mentally ill/disordered characters?"
"Will there be any detransitioned characters?"
"Will there be any happily transitioned homosexual characters?" (no, fuck off)
"Will there be any feminine lesbian characters?" (no, fuck off)
While I understand, and even sympathise with the intention of questions like this, receiving them was very frustrating and disheartening. It felt as though the quantity of representation boxes I could/ would tick off was more important than the quality of my current characters, or the story I've chosen to write.
I feel like this mindset has gotten a little out of control, and tumblr is an absolute breeding ground for valuing the fact there is representation, over the quality of it.
There's a level of entitlement involved in asking this of creators, especially those of us who are single-person teams.
I am not a huge company with the finances to accurately, respectfully and satisfyingly represent every single marginalized group. And honestly, any company that tries to claim that they do do that, is probably just looking to sell you something.
I appreciate, and hold no ill-will towards the readers who have asked me this question, but don't particularly want to be asked again.
Stories are not meant to represent every experience, and that's okay. I strongly encourage anyone yearning for it, to also, BE/create the representation they want to see.
Male characters in Lease Bound only exist as vehicles to further develop the important (See: female) characters.
I have chosen to do this as direct response to the plethora of male creators who waffle out excuses for the lack of female characters in their works.
While they try to save face, saying things like "I just don't understand women", I am honest in saying "I do not want to humanise men. There already exists countless pieces of fiction that serve as propaganda to men's humanity. I am choosing not to add to it."
This is also why I've avoided showing any positive heterosexual relationships in the story. It sets up an unrealistic expectation about what het/bi women can expect from partnering with men.
Lack of Fathers?
Some readers have expressed concern about the lack of father characters in Lease Bound... the lesbian webcomic and suggest that it is a racially motivated decision.So I have made a chart that details every father who's appeared in Lease Bound.
You may notice it is not a high number across the board, regardless of race, and will remain as such.
(see the male character policy section again for why).
Time will absolutely tell. Stay tuned :3
Her mum, Josephine, knows her way around a set of clippers, and cuts it for her.
With regards to Jaden's emo-hair specifically, she didn't dye it, but just braided in red extensions/fabric to achieve the look.
With regards to Jaden's emo-hair specifically, she didn't dye it, but just braided in red extensions/fabric to achieve the look.
Originally, way back in 2017 when I was still just scripting LB, I was intending the reference to be about Steven Universe, since it was very popular with gendies at the time.
I was even gonna call it Stephen Galaxy, but then I was informed that’s apparently the nsfw tag for Stephen Universe. So had to rework it x-x
By the time I had this scene drafted (late 2022) ,I’d seen so many examples of children cartoons informing gender identities that I figured I’d just go more generic. So you get to choose which children’s show you think it is. No wrong answers! 😂
I was even gonna call it Stephen Galaxy, but then I was informed that’s apparently the nsfw tag for Stephen Universe. So had to rework it x-x
By the time I had this scene drafted (late 2022) ,I’d seen so many examples of children cartoons informing gender identities that I figured I’d just go more generic. So you get to choose which children’s show you think it is. No wrong answers! 😂
Lease Bound is set in Adelaide, South Australia. It takes place in the year 2017 - which is also the year I started writing it!
MAKING LEASE BOUND
I used the Australian Classification system as a guideline when picking an advisory rating for Lease Bound.
American Pie which involves a guy on-screen sticking his dick in a pie recieved an MA15+ rating. If memory serves there's female toplessness in it too, and the entire premise is a group of boys making a pact to have sex for the first time.
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 involved a nongraphic sex scene. Rated M15+. Sex is discussed often throughout the film series too.
My Hero Academia is rated anywhere from PG15 to MA15+ depending on the season of anime. It frequently sexualizes it's female characters (including minors). Puts them in revealing outfits, shows them naked/bathing, shows them being sexually assaulted by male peers, and puts them in sexually charged/suggestive situations. More recently it's manga counterpart (from which the anime is adapted) depicted a naked teenage girl on the front cover.
I am giving these as examples as they were/are all marketed to a teenage audience. I don't necessarily agree with all these ratings, or the content of these pieces of media, but I firmly believe Lease Bound isn't MORE graphic than any of them.
American Pie which involves a guy on-screen sticking his dick in a pie recieved an MA15+ rating. If memory serves there's female toplessness in it too, and the entire premise is a group of boys making a pact to have sex for the first time.
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 involved a nongraphic sex scene. Rated M15+. Sex is discussed often throughout the film series too.
My Hero Academia is rated anywhere from PG15 to MA15+ depending on the season of anime. It frequently sexualizes it's female characters (including minors). Puts them in revealing outfits, shows them naked/bathing, shows them being sexually assaulted by male peers, and puts them in sexually charged/suggestive situations. More recently it's manga counterpart (from which the anime is adapted) depicted a naked teenage girl on the front cover.
I am giving these as examples as they were/are all marketed to a teenage audience. I don't necessarily agree with all these ratings, or the content of these pieces of media, but I firmly believe Lease Bound isn't MORE graphic than any of them.
On average, it takes me a week to make a page.
As a one-woman show, I wear a lot of hats. There’s many things to be done before I can even put down the first line of a page.
Story planning - Lease Bound has an ending written, as well as some large plot points standing between now and the finish line, but there is gaps in between. I organize scene ideas into chapters. Once I'm ready to start work on that chapter, I refine all the scenes into a solid script with dialogue + actions/blocking.
Thumbnails - Basically a tiny, grayscale version of the finished page. Written scenes are organized into pages. Sometimes this requires a lot of re-dos to make sure it flows well.
Sketching - The tiny thumbnail is stretched out to it's proper size. I create boarders, and start doing detailed sketches.
Lineart - Sketches are lined over with a finer pen-tool, and then removed. Lots of back and forth to make sure the energy of the sketch isn't lost in crisper lines.
Colouring - I apply flat colours, and then shading + backgrounds. I usually decide on an entire colour pallet before a chapter begins to make sure things stay consistent.
Dialogue - Dialogue is added, and often changed to either fit in the page, or to fit better with the visuals.
Here's a Speedpaint of the page-making process, from sketch to completion
As a one-woman show, I wear a lot of hats. There’s many things to be done before I can even put down the first line of a page.
Story planning - Lease Bound has an ending written, as well as some large plot points standing between now and the finish line, but there is gaps in between. I organize scene ideas into chapters. Once I'm ready to start work on that chapter, I refine all the scenes into a solid script with dialogue + actions/blocking.
Thumbnails - Basically a tiny, grayscale version of the finished page. Written scenes are organized into pages. Sometimes this requires a lot of re-dos to make sure it flows well.
Sketching - The tiny thumbnail is stretched out to it's proper size. I create boarders, and start doing detailed sketches.
Lineart - Sketches are lined over with a finer pen-tool, and then removed. Lots of back and forth to make sure the energy of the sketch isn't lost in crisper lines.
Colouring - I apply flat colours, and then shading + backgrounds. I usually decide on an entire colour pallet before a chapter begins to make sure things stay consistent.
Dialogue - Dialogue is added, and often changed to either fit in the page, or to fit better with the visuals.
Here's a Speedpaint of the page-making process, from sketch to completion
Currently, I use Clip Studio Paint PRO - but I've done a lot of swapping and changing over the years XD
===Chapter 1 + 2 + Prologue===
Sketch+ Lineart:
Cheap pens + printer paper. Then scanned.
Colouring + Line Cleanup:
Gimp 2.6
===Chapter 3===
Sketch:
Cheap lead pencils + lined notebook i had lying around Then scanned.
Lineart + Colouring:
Gimp 2.6 (pages 0-7)
MSPAINT-XP (pages 8-19)
===Chapter 4===
Sketch+ Lineart + Colouring:
MSPAINT-XP
===Chapter 5===
8 year old tablet died. No money to fix.
Sketch+ Lineart:
cheap lead pencils + printer paper. Scanned in.
Colouring:
Dark blue craft paper, with felt pen patterns drawn onto it for texture/different levels of darkness.
Line Cleanup:
Gimp 2.6. with mouse, not tablet U_U
===Chapter 6===
Sketch+ Lineart:
cheap lead pencils + printer paper. Scanned in. (pages 0-69)
Gimp 2.8 (pages 69-98)
Colouring:
Gimp 2.8 with mouse (pages 0-31)
Gimp 2.8 with tablet (pages 31-98)
===Chapter 7 + 8===
Sketch+ Lineart + Colouring:
Gimp 2.8 with tablet.
===Chapter 9===
Sketch+ Lineart + Colouring:
Gimp 2.8 with tablet. (pages 0-14)
Clip Studio Paint Pro (pages 15-20)
===Chapter 10 (and on wards)===
Sketch+ Lineart + Colouring:
Clip Studio Paint Pro
Yes!
Both Volume 1 and 2 are now available for order again here.
On July 24th 2022, Lease Bound's first volume made it's debut in physical form. 50 copies were printed, bought and shipped out.
Yes!
I am working alongside several incredibly generous volunteers, who have offered their time to translate LB pages. It's a slow process as it's entirely free - and is secondary to continuing to get more pages out - but translation options are definitely coming in future!
Oh man I have had MANY thoughts about this. I feel like it would be incredibly fun to do!
I always get stuck in logistics though.
1) I feel like I should pay the people who lend their voices. And much like hiring on women to help produce LB, I don’t really have that income.
I don’t know how effective I’d be as a voice director so I'd be concerned about the amount of guidance I could provide to the voice actors.
I would also like to take care in casting actors that match the race of the characters and not just all white people.
I’m on the fence regarding the accuracy of accents- given Lease Bound is set in Australia and there’s lots of Aussie slang slipped in. But it's definitely a much lesser concern, and I think if it was the only thing holding me back, that it could just come down to a matter of suspension of disbelief.
It's definitely not entirely off the table, I just don't think I have the resources to pull it off right now. That said, if it's something any woman reading this would like to be in charge of, I'd be more than happy to co-operate/help in anyway I can. IE: providing blank pages without speech bubbles, giving advice on moods/tones ect.
Short Version: Woman who has made a hobby of making call-out posts, made a call-out post about me to her sizeable instagram following.
Enough of her followers reported my patreon page that I was suspended. To lift the suspension (and allow payments again) I was asked to remove "offending" content. I chose to leave the platform instead. Her harassment has continued to this day.
Long Version Here
Enough of her followers reported my patreon page that I was suspended. To lift the suspension (and allow payments again) I was asked to remove "offending" content. I chose to leave the platform instead. Her harassment has continued to this day.
Long Version Here
ABOUT ME
My name is Rusty Hearts, I’m a married, Australian lesbian in my 30's.
I’ve been involved in online radical feminist/gender critical spaces since 2016, and started making Lease Bound in 2017.
I’ve been involved in online radical feminist/gender critical spaces since 2016, and started making Lease Bound in 2017.
I am a firm believer in action informed by theory, when it comes to radical feminism, so it felt like a no-brainer to marry this desire to do feminist action, with my passion for creating art and telling stories.
I'd also noticed a rise in homophobic trans-rhetoric in many creative circles I was running in. Most notably indie webcomics.
Suddenly, every 'lesbian webcomic' I read was actually about a heterosexual coupling. One lead a man, pretending to be female, and the other a woman pretending to be homosexual.
Worst of all the dishonesty, the sex of the man usually wouldn't be revealed right away, instead being an unwanted surprise once I got invested in the story.
So basically, I wasn’t seeing the representation for lesbians (or women in general) I wanted, so I set out to create what I wanted to see. This is why Jaden and Riley state explicitly that they’re lesbians right in the first chapter, I didn’t want any confusion or vagueness about their sexuality.
The infamous AGPgang from Chapter 3 were similarly dedicated to every piece of """lesbian""" media that pulled a ‘surprise one of these characters is actually a be-dicked individual with she/her pronouns’ on me.
"Surprise! You thought this was just a cute lesbian romance? It is, but also there will be NO tolerance for men who call themselves lesbians. Surprise! Hope you like the taste of your own medicine <3"
And here we are 5 years later!
I'd also noticed a rise in homophobic trans-rhetoric in many creative circles I was running in. Most notably indie webcomics.
Suddenly, every 'lesbian webcomic' I read was actually about a heterosexual coupling. One lead a man, pretending to be female, and the other a woman pretending to be homosexual.
Worst of all the dishonesty, the sex of the man usually wouldn't be revealed right away, instead being an unwanted surprise once I got invested in the story.
So basically, I wasn’t seeing the representation for lesbians (or women in general) I wanted, so I set out to create what I wanted to see. This is why Jaden and Riley state explicitly that they’re lesbians right in the first chapter, I didn’t want any confusion or vagueness about their sexuality.
The infamous AGPgang from Chapter 3 were similarly dedicated to every piece of """lesbian""" media that pulled a ‘surprise one of these characters is actually a be-dicked individual with she/her pronouns’ on me.
"Surprise! You thought this was just a cute lesbian romance? It is, but also there will be NO tolerance for men who call themselves lesbians. Surprise! Hope you like the taste of your own medicine <3"
And here we are 5 years later!
Didn’t find the answer you were looking for here? Feel free to submit your
question below and I’ll be happy to answer it!
45 thoughts on “💬FAQ”
Feefles
Your comic seems very inclusive on the surface, however, you very obviously only have inclusivity to part of your very own community (The LGBTQIA+ community).
You portray trans people as though they are these terrible/childish people, and even stoop to misgendering and deadnaming your own trans characters.
It is perfectly acceptable to have any opinion on trans people, but it is not okay to portray trans people in a poor light in a public comic. If you were planning on treating these characters, how I would assume you would treat an actual trans person, like myself, you may as well have never even added trans characters into your comic.
It just sends a poor message and paints you in a quite terrible light. This is however just my opinion of you, your comic, and your characters.
rustyhearts
Didn’t find the answer you were looking for here? Feel free to submit your
question below and I’ll be happy to answer it!
Do you have a question or not? That’s the point of this page.
angry dyke
misgendering and deadnaming isn’t a thing. it’s called referring to someone by their correct sex and thus, using the pronouns that come with it. a woman is a woman, a man is a man, and nonbinary doesn’t exist and never will exist. men can’t be lesbians, vice versa, and no matter what body mutilations you do – you are the sex you are born as, and you will die as that.
homosexuality/lesbianism is attraction to same sex. a lesbian will never love a male that identifies as a troon, because he’s got a dick – and lesbians, REAL lesbians, don’t like dick ever.
fujoshis cannot and never will land a relationship with a homosexual. and confused lesbians/bisexual women who pretend to be men are still lesbians/bi women. lesbians and normal bisexual women, and even homosexuals, have every right to dislike troons for ruining our movements and sexually harassing us to like them. they are the most intolerant people on this planet, the most misogynistic and racist movement that thinks native americans/latinos/etc etc don’t know what biological sex is because “muh two spirit/mahu”. y’all are the most regressive movement to exist, despite claiming to want tolerance, acceptance, progression, etc etc.
you troons are the reason that i, a lesbian in serbia, will never be able to marry my beautiful girlfriend. because your movement made us normal LGB people look like fucking clowns.
fuck you, fuck your gender/pronouns, fuck the propaganda you’ve fed to innocent gay/lesbian/bi kids, and all that. you want something that caters to you gendies? go watch that godawful wendell and wild on netflix, or jack off to euphoria.
stay the fuck away from same sex attracted people.
i ought to be asleep
Hi there!
Firstly, adore the comic. I just read through it all in one night and see myself in Riley so much. My lover and I are butch4butch. I’m 100% rooting for Jail for very selfish reasons ha!
I was just wondering if there would be, in your opinion, any peace between trans individuals and us same sex attracted people? Personally, I choose to interpret the chapter with the AGPs as exactly that; they’re AGPs, and that differs from those people who have real gender-differences. Of course, I believe that regardless of where you stand, respect should be shown to peoples boundaries. I, as a female for example, would never enter a gay male bar. In the same fashion, I would expect that males do not enter female spaces and there are trans women who would agree with that. I just wish we could all be cool and live in parallels, y’know? Like how lesbians and gay dudes joke around and it’s this clear “I love u and support you and I will never be in your bed, nor do I have an interest in that” thing.
I don’t know. It’s late and I’m speaking out my arse, but im curious what u would say as a fellow lesbian artist and ex-tumblr user. btw the cotton ceiling thing is so so gross, I learnt about it from Pillar Saltt. Thank u n goodnight!
rustyhearts
Heyo, Thanks for reading!
To answer your question: no I don’t think it’s possible. Perhaps civility – but trans ideology is so deeply rooted in sexist and homophobic ideas, and has already done so much damage. Peaceful action would need to entirely come from trans people.
Homosexuals haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not a both sides issue. Trans people are the aggressors in the divide, and the onus is on them to mend it.
It’s not enough to be individuals who respect their sex will never change, nor understand that sexuality isn’t a choice. That is the bare minimum of common sense decency.
They need to take action against all the legal protections of homosexuals and women their ideology has eroded, they need to advocate for better mental health treatment rather than dangerous drugs and cosmetic surgeries to treat dysphoria and acknowledge the part misogyny and homophobia play in the condition, they need to respect single-sex spaces and stop demanding access based on how well they’re able to deceive others.
So many things need to change about how trans people conduct themselves to convince me they even hold a genuine desire for civility and not complete, unquestioned control over others.
Treating AGPs as wholly separate from trans people is like doing the same for different branches of Christianity (or any religion). At the end of all their differences, they still all hate women and gay people.
insert fake name here
Hiya!
I absolutely love your work and have been following the comic for about a year now. It’s nice to see other lesbians who think like me.
My question is, what are your opinions on detransitioners?
I identified as female to male transgender from the ages of 14 to 18 after intense sexual trauma and not wanting to be associated with my womanhood because of it. I am now 20 years old and have accepted that I am a woman and there is no “correct” way to be one, that me embracing my femininity is not feeding into what my abusers wanted me to be.
I now reject trans ideology and see it for how incredibly flawed it is, especially when it comes to minors. I know this isn’t the story for all detransitioners, but it is mine.
What are your thoughts on that?
rustyhearts
Heyo, thanks so much for reading LB.
I’m very sorry to hear what happened to you, and I hope you’re being kind to yourself and getting the appropriate support to heal from such a long, awful experience.
Re: detransitioners, overall I think it’s the best path for people who identify as trans to take. But, I do often notice an unfortunate pattern of detransitioners re-adopting the societal expectations of their sex – for example, a woman accepting she’s female but thinking that means she needs to start wearing make up, dresses and shaving again.
I can only go off of what you said, but it does sort of sound like that’s you too. “Embracing your femininity”, what do you mean by that? As a feminist, I understand femininity to be an obedient performance to show submission to men. So again, shaving, wearing makeup/impractical clothing ect.
If you understand there’s no incorrect way to be a woman, then why would you need to “embrace” femininity?
Conflicted and Confronted
I saw someone asking what substantive value leasebound has without feminism and or taking pot shots at TRAs, and while I like it for those things… it got me wondering about what else there is to your story. Would you be willing to elaborate on that?
rustyhearts
I can only tell you what Lease Bound means to me, which basically boils down to: telling a story I would want to read. A slow-burn love story that explores complex and often dysfunctional relationships between women, all from a lesbian perspective.
Like any art or literature, there is a collaborative component between creator and consumer. It is what you make of it. If you can only see it for the feminist themes/perspectives, or the comic relief gendie stuff, then that’s what you see. It’s okay to like it for that.
I’ve got readers who like it for the promise of eventual romance between Riley and Jaden, those who only care for the Jaden/Alexis love story, ones who enjoy holding out hope for Blaire to change, some who like it because the style makes them nostalgic for older webcomics from 10-15 years ago.
I’ve got one reader who shares his thoughts privately with me, and he most enjoys finding parallels and themes that I never intended as the creator.
The other day he told me how he loved that the first print volume (chapters 1-5) both began and ended with Jaden being dropped off by a vehicle all alone, which to him was symbolically themeing the loneliness, isolation, distance and separation she experiences as a character.
And then that immediately following that, volume 2 (chapter 6-8), Jaden and Riley have a heart to heart conversation which results in them having a fun motorcycle ride together.
Direct quote: “MOTORCYCLES AS DANGEROUS FROM LACK OF BARRIERS BUT THE CLOSENESS OF BEING DIRECTLY CONNECTED!!! The trade of greater risk with greater thrill and joy.”
He enjoys how often the visuals are thematically congruent with character actions – even if in many cases it was totally coincidental:
“And how Rileys first appearance is eyes closed, defensive, holding something in front of her. Again, a visual symbol of this running theme of barriers, isolation, miscommunication, or lies
You use multiple pages and images of Jaden to create a theme of…”I will show you part of me. Only part.” Like we only get her upper torso, or her mouth smiling, etc.
Yet Riley is suddenly completely on page, and it’s like this deceptive idea that, visually, we DO see all of her. But we DONT!! She blocks your view, ironically with a light, to protect herself. It just makes me think about how Jaden lies and hides parts of herself, you’re only ever getting pieces of her, not the whole thing
While riley ALSO hides, but she hides by blocking your view while seeming to be completely present
And the theme of subterfuge and lies is made more complicated by the story of Muddles
By definition she’s lying to keep her cat. But it’s complicated. Sometimes we lie to protect others, ourselves, etc. It’s not a clean line that truth and lies are black and white morally good or bad. This let’s the audience actually engage with the way our protagonists also play with truth, for better or worse, while being lenient. It reminds the audience of morally grey realities that are easy to see before throwing them into deeper complexity”
I’m equal parts baffled and fascinated by what different readers take away from Lease Bound’s story. It’s so motivating and exciting.
But yeah, I’m definitely making a conscious effort to step back from telling readers what it’s all about, or even defending its right to exist as a piece of media. Creating it brings me joy. That’s the bottom line.
If reading it brings you joy, you’re not obligated to justify it to others. You can’t control how they feel or what they will or won’t see in it. 🤷♀️
Ninten Earthbound
So is this a radical feminist comic? I came from tiktok if that’s the case let me get my nonbinary self away from this degenerative shit.
rustyhearts
If you are unable to discern this for yourself, perhaps you are better off not reading Lease Bound. The target demographic is women with reading comprehension.
justincase
Hi!
I have an About You question that isn’t related to making LeaseBound if you don’t mind? Do you like playing video games at all and which ones?
rustyhearts
I do!
I think video games are such a unique tool for story-telling. Story-heavy are the types I usually gravitate towards.
I watched a retrospective on Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines recently, and had to reinstall it to do another playthrough. It’s such a janky mess, but so fun. I feel like I always find some new scrap of dialogue, or missed detail everytime I replay it.
DariaJones
I’m thinking about launching a GL webtoon soon but I don’t know where to host it do you have any suggestions?
rustyhearts
Two biggest ones I know of are Tapas and Webtoon. I preferred Tapas to webtoon when I was on it, I think it was a little more user friendly.
I’m not a big fan of the prioritisation of the scrolling comic format, personally. Smackjeeves isn’t around but I believe ComicFury has an almost identical upload and comic layout, with the one page at a time format – but there’s a lot less traffic.
Tumblr also has webcomic themes, but I feel like they died when the site started prioritizing mobile users.
Whatever you choose, wishing you the best of luck 🥰 I’d love to read it wherever you end up posting it!
Ghostsss
I cant bring myself to say I’m quite fond of this comic, but my real question is why you chose to have Shez’s mother start off Hijabi, then become non hijabi (and assumably non-muslim, if that is your intention).
I understand that situations where immigrants will disconnect themselves from their faith when moving to a new country and away from pressures that may stifle her freedom of faith. However, as she is the first and only hijabi in the story, and seeing as you are a feminist who already excludes men, i wonder if this is a sign of your opinions on muslims and muslim women’s hijabs.
I also wonder why you chose to make the majority of the QT Alliance, the seeming bad guys of the comic, to be predominantly white. Are you trying to make a racial statement with this choice? I’m not trying to hate on your comic nor actively root on your downfall, but I fear that your comic reflects some political beliefs that can be seriously dangerous to marginalised groups like muslims.
As a fellow Australian, surely you can atleast consider giving a group of people a fair go when writing them by trying to listen and understand and if even that is hard for you, then why write them at all? Once again, no hate to you, we are both human beings who dont know eachother and probably never will, but I do genuinely want to know your perspective on this. Thankyou for your time.
rustyhearts
Heyo.
Re: Meriam.
It’s to demonstrate that she was forced to wear it, as many women (and young girls) are. When not around Shez’s father anymore, she was no longer required to wear it and thus was free to make the choice not to. It is to inform the reader of her life before, one of great vulnerability and subjugation under a man’s thumb who ultimately deceived and abandoned her. Another narative layer and commentary of the realities faced by women.
The hijab and religious headcoverings like it are forced on women (and girls) all over the world in the name of “modesty” and not “tempting” men (again, why are there toddlers wearing them if this is there function?). It’s just the other side of “well look at what she was wearing”. Punishing the female body, rather than men’s actions against them. Positing that a certain way of dressing leads to rape/punishment and another doesnt. Only for women of course.
It’s religious misogyny. Misogyny is present in all religions. I am critical of all of them.
I find it frustrating that opposing women’s subjugation is seen as a hatred of them for being born into/following the faith, and not empathy and heartache for the position they are forced into simply by being born women.
Men are not required to hide their bodies, nor advised to do so to avoid rape. Men’s words are not worth half as much as women’s.
A woman’s choice to participate in misogyny also does not remove the misogyny or the subjugation. I’ve come to this opinion by reading the experiences of women who have left their faith, including ex-muslim women. I realized by parroting “well if she chooses it it’s okay” that I was actually contributing to their harm. I reccomend seeking some out.
Re: Mostly white QT club members. pretty surface level observation/joke that gets passed around about most gender-identity-havers being white. Running with that commonly said joke, the QT collectives have a “all POC welcome sign” but few if any non-white members, thus implying they are off-putting to most everyone else.
It’s absolutely a generalisation. Race obviously doesn’t preclude anyone from any set of beliefs. I’ve seen plenty of people of different races buy into gender identities. But, still way more white people.
I am certain however, that had I made the QT Collective as racially diverse as the rest of the cast, people would be trying to read between the lines and find malicious intent with equal ferocity (speaking generally, not to you specifically). I know this, because they already do it wirh the main cast.
That’s because I hold stances on trans stuff people dislike. It’s a common tactic to bolster ones point about another’s morality, by dragging in other ‘isms’. That way, even if they don’t convince you that SoandSo is bad because of X maybe they’ll net you with Y or Z, no matter how much reaching they had to do to get there.
Have a good one.
Parniya’s biggest fan
Rusty, since you deleted your insta, is there a way to contact you privately about something?
rustyhearts
If you’re not keen on the LBfanworks email (one over on the LBprint page), you can always leave a comment here. If you’d like it to remain private, just let me know within the comment and I’ll just read and then delete it without ever publishing it 👌
Anonymous
Why do one of your black characters not have a dad?
As a black person it’s a harmful stereotype that we don’t have dads due to them leaving.
rustyhearts
1) Jacobus did not leave.
2) That is an American stereotype, not a universal one. Jaden’s family is Ghanaian and immigrated to Australia.
3) Fathers abandoning children/families, is not a black problem. It’s a male problem. There are fathers of every race, who leave their families.
4) It’s been covered in the FAQ under “Male Character Policy + Lack of Fathers”. Like the comic, worth actually reading it before posing questions that both have already answered.
anon
hello!
i began reading this comic after viewing a video on how it’s a comic ‘by terfs for terfs’. while i do not agree with how my community is displayed in the comic, i was just wondering if there’s a reason that you dislike the ‘trans idealogy’?
please delete this if it’s too personal, i was just curious especially since i think the story of this comic is compelling – just the hatefulness of this comic makes me find it difficult to enjoy it
rustyhearts
Hello,
do you have any guesses? You watched a video discussing my work, and then read it for yourself, right?
Why do you think I might oppose trans ideology?
anon
if i had to guess why you might oppose trans ideology off the video + your work , i would have to guess it’s because you’re worried that trans people might invade women’s spaces as well as the fact that people push the ‘trans ideology too much’ (like Blaire with Faith)? I’m sorry if this is incorrect, that’s just what I collected from what I’ve seen
rustyhearts
You’re certainly on the right track.
Though it’s not a matter of might, it is already happening. It’s not even a matter of invading women’s spaces, its complete and utter erosion of them. Public restrooms, sports, female scholarships, colleges, festivals, intimate medical care, women’s shelters, lesbian events, bars and dating apps, feminist events, language used to discuss female oppression and misogyny itself.
All things women have had to fight every step of the way for, are being taken away.
And it’s not “trans people”, it’s male people. Men.
Do you make it a habit of asking oppressed/marginalised groups why they have a problem with their oppressors?
Do you extend the same questions to oppressors?
Anonymous M.
Few things here. Would you consider adding any characters with mental disabilities, like autism or personality disorders, even going to the extreme of DID? And 2, if you have any advice for someone who is in a DID system who’s questioning their stances on trans identity and radical feminism vs the rest of their system, what would you suggest I do as the sole outlier? Thanks for your time.
rustyhearts
Re: adding characters, please check the “will there be _____ representation” under STORT & CAST.
Re: your other question. DID means Disassociative Identity Disorder, correct? I am not a mental health professional of any kind, so my advice is for you speak to someone who is qualified to treat/manage such a condition.
Re: questioning your own stances. What was it that caused you to question your stances in the first place? What parts are you questioning and why?
If you know the answer to these things, you can start narrowing down a search to the answers you’re unsure about.
I can only offer my perspective, lots of people disagree with trans ideology for different reasons.
Friendly Anon
Hi! I love your artstyle, I was wondering what program you use? Also, am I allowed to use your artstyle as a reference to improve my own? Thanks in advance! Also,, sorry if this is asking for spoilers, but are Blaire or Clancy getting a redemption arc? Because I love Clancy so much!!
Friendly Anon
Aaa omg sorry I just figured out your website and read the question!! You can ignore the question about her possible redemption arc! Tysm anyways!
rustyhearts
No worries 👌
rustyhearts
All detailed by chapter under the “Making LeaseBound” category, 2nd from the top titled “what programs do you use?”
Has Clancy done something you think requires redemption? As for Blaire. Again it’s already listed in the “Story & Cast” category, also 2nd from the top.
Re: using artstyle, I don’t really know what you mean 😅 Trying to emulate how I draw? Knock yourself out though, I don’t “own” drawing a certain way lol, no artist does. I’ve taken so many different artists styles as inspiration, I think a good way to learn.
Happy drawing 🥰
Autism Anon
I’m hoping this is actually submitting to the FAQ?
If I sent this to the wrong thing I’m so sorry lol. I cannot recall the page number, but around the beginning of the story, there’s a page with Riley on it that says “Trans women are women” as a repeated thought w/ text behind it about how you relate to Riley in this moment as an autistic butch lesbian.
As an autistic woman who’s also gnc, I was wondering if you’ll explore autism and how it effects lesbianism and womanhood at all though out the comic? Or, if it’s not too personal to ask, how has autism effected your experience of womanhood? Hope that was worded semi-coherently!
rustyhearts
Hello! This is the correct place to submit👍 I also would have accepted the question on the page itself (if you happened to remember it).
However, I think there may have been some confusion. Those are not my thoughts, I am a GNC lesbian but I’m not autistic. That wall of text was just there for extra noise factor that wasn’t jibberish. It was taken from another commenter who was criticising Riley and defending blaire on another page – you can read her thoughts here. She used the username “piano”.
The long-form comment gave me a lot to think about at the time, and I wanted to include it as an Easter egg of sorts, when updating the pages for print. The original page which just had more random run on sentences wasn’t usable when it came to preparing for print.
As for exploring autism in-comic, I do not plan to, simply because I have no first hand experience with it and don’t really have a lot to say about.
Several readers have headcannoned different characters as autistic though, and obviously while unintentional on my part, I have no issue with people reading them that way. I think it’s rather interesting because of how varied the reasoning can be as to why readers think certain characters are autistic.
FYI if you’re ever looking for a specific page again, the ‘PAGE SELECT’ tab is where they’re all listed in a grid format with a page preview icon. 👌
Autism Anon
Oh sorry! I must have misread that haha. Very cool thing to add to the background either way. Ty for answering so quickly!
rustyhearts
No worries at all 🥰
starry anon
I wanna say that I really respect how open and firm you are about your ideologies. I don’t think it matters if I agree with them or not; all you’re doing is making a space for the kind of content you want to see. You’re not directly going on people’s pages and harassing them, you’re not spitting vitriol, you’re polite and keep your values strong whilst not pushing them on others (but not hiding them either.) That’s not something most Internet users can say they do, LGBTQ or no, so I’m glad for that.
Also, I’d like to ask your opinion on girls who attempt transition to male? Reasons, effects, etc?
I personally tend towards supporting trans people but, I think it’s important to know all the different sides of an argument. Everyone has different traumas, experiences, and beliefs; there’s reasons for people who hate cis people, who hate trans people, bla bla bla. Co-existence is completely possible, we simply need to be able to understand that others opinions don’t affect us directly….
rustyhearts
Hello, thank you for the kind assessment of my intentions and character. I’m not going to pretend I always conduct myself perfectly on the internet. I can be rude, juvenile, even downright mean – tends to be a reflection of how others treat me.
But, you’ve essentially got my intentions down pat. I pay money to host this website, and spend my freetime making this comic that explores perspectives I want to see told in stories.
Regarding a woman/girl transitioning, my opinion is the same even if her reasoning might differ from a male’s typical reason for pursuing transition.
That is to say: I am staunchly anti-transition. Like any other elective, cosmetic surgery (breast implants, fillers, botox) it is treating a person’s body as the problem, rather than addressing the root cause – an illness in the mind (dysphoria, body-negativity, crippling self-esteem).
It is predatory, negligent and abhorrent to promise people something they cannot ever achieve (changing one’s sex).
I think the most apt comparison (since many like to cite “personal choice” as a good enough reason to allow life altering cosmetic proceedures) is with other mental health conditions. Like depression, or eating disorders.
Offering transition to treat a hatred/discomfort of one’s own physical sex, would be like offering suicide/euthanasia to patients with depression, or liposuction to a patient with an eating disorder.
It is enabling the destructive thoughts/desires, rather than addressing them.
starry anon
Oh, I actually think that ending analogy is rather fantastic. That actually puts a lot of things into perspective I probably wouldn’t have thought about otherwise. Thank you!
(( By the way, the comic is lovely. I’ve been reading it properly, (found it by liue of the “For Terfs by Terfs” video & was interested in seeing the actual other side of the story instead of hating mindlessly) and I adore Jaiden! She’s such a fun character, and everybody else is written very well too. The art style is adorable! ))
rustyhearts
I do to do! I can’t take credit for making the first comparison, but it really stuck with me after it was explained that way, and pushed me from being in a “well I guess for super real true dysphoira transition is ok I guess if nothing else works” to “holy shit this isn’t a solution at all”.
While I haven’t seen the video in question myself I’ve certainly seen a jump on engagement in my analytics because of it. So welcome aboard and hope you continue to enjoy reading 🥰
Unlikely Fan
Hi! So, this is probably going to be a weird ask to answer. I identify as transgender (I am a biological woman, and I’m not at all here to say you should perceive me as anything else), and I heard about your comic via YouTube, so I decided to give it an honest look.
I obviously disagree with many of your views, but thing is, I truly like a lot of your comic, and I actually DO agree with many points about gender that you make. I especially ADORE CH9PG4, like truly, I feel it addresses how people cannot seem to fathom that women do not have to abide by misogynistic beauty ideals to be women, and how harmful it is to assign identity to women who aren’t “feminine.”
Besides the feminist aspect of the comic, I also feel you put so much love into your characters; it’s very tangible.
All this is a long-winded way of saying: I don’t agree with a lot of your comic’s views, but I like it, and as someone who has an identity you don’t agree with, I honestly just want to learn more about your views of the world and your comic in a respectful way. Is there anyway to do an email interview with you? I would call myself a genuine fan of your work, and I just would like to ask more in a way that isn’t via askbox lol. I hope you’re having a lovely day!
rustyhearts
Hello,
thank you for giving my work an honest look, and for your kind words about it! I’m glad the care and effort comes through 🥰
I’m glad we can agree re: CH9P4 too.
Re: emailing, I’m not really interested in doing a huge back and forth debate about my beliefs but I’d be happy to answer good faith questions.
I’ve sent you an email to the address you used to comment.
Cheers 👌
Anonymous M.
DID Anon again. After a lot of thought and determination I’ve realized the only reason I ever agreed with TERF standpoint was actually self hatred and other internalized bullshit I’ve been dealing with, including ignoring my mental health and gender identity in favor of trying to be the “normal” one out. Sorry to say I’m definitely not a TERF, but I’m not a TIF either. Just a GNC lesbian riding the waves and figuring my shit out slowly. Thanks in some part for helping me figure this shit out.
rustyhearts
Best of luck wherever you end up, one lesbian to another 🤝
LesbianKiwi
Hiya hiya, Kiwi here to ask a question more comic related!- I know there’s another ask here asking about something similar, but I thought I’d shoot this out anyway!
As I said in another page, I’m thinking of making a lil lesbian comic of my own, heavily based on my own experiences of being just- a gay Hispanic teen- and I wanted to know if you can suggest any good sites to put them on! I’ve been at work with character designs and other dumb art stuff ever since my third-to-last comment here, and I think I put that I want my work to also be pretty gender-critical, inspired off of yours, and I haven’t found a safe site where I won’t be- yknow, crucified 😭
I’m debating just taking out all of the stuff I have in mind for it, but I really don’t want to have to do that, yknow? I have a lot of experiences with mysoginistic and homophobic TIM’S and TIF’s in the past, my experience being a ex-TIF, how the gender-stuff usually targets girls and effects people in negative ways (mentally and physically) ect ect- and I have some strong beliefs about it that I want to be able to talk about without getting too harassed about it, being- well, a m i n o r 💀 I don’t want grown men in wigs sending me death and rape threats-
I’m also pretty- anti-men in general- which usually puts a huge target on girls back but bleugh, I’m proud of my beliefs and just want a safe place to put my art and vents about it all 😭
rustyhearts
I have been removed from four different free, webcomic hosting sites. That’s why I pay for my own website hosting, because I *don’t* know of any spaces like that unfortunately!
It really comes down to how much shit you’re willing to get for speaking your mind. Even outside of gender critical politics, this is a part of the process of making and sharing art. People aren’t always going to agree with it. Stupid people come to my site and spew vitriol all the time, I just have more control on what becomes visible.
I think, especially since you’re not an adult yet, it’s imperative to prioritize your safety first and foremost. There’s nothing to stop you from posting things later if you choose to. I think it would be a shame to censor yourself for the conditional approval of others, but at the same time, if your biggest worry is the backlash, before it’s even happened, perhaps you’re not ready to incorporate heavily debated opinions into your work.
Whatever you side, I’m wishing you the best of luck <3
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