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CH10P39
Posted on 1 August 2022 by rustyhearts

Oh.... :(

  ___

Posted a lil early, cuz i'm just so EXCITED about these pages!! While the outfits aren't perfect replicas, Jaden and Alexis' outfits are based on the two runners up in the last patreon outfit vote I had. These were the four finalists for Jaden's chapter 11 outfit choice:

I can't see the polls anymore since my patreon is gone, but I do recall B and C being the two runners up, while A was the ultimate winner (and you will be seeing Jaden in this outfit come Chapter 11 >:3c ).

10 thoughts on “CH10P39”

  1. Katell

    Awww, they are so cute T_T Poor Jaden tho, this is a bit awkward

  2. werewol

    aaaa poor jaden! i feel a lot for her here. and unrelated, but alexis and her do look v cool in their outfits !

  3. Zoe

    🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

  4. j

    why is she just assuming she has a friend group lol…

    1. rustyhearts

      When you’re in an active group of friends you tend to assume most other people have them too. She’s not tryna be malicious! Just getting to know her friends’ girlfriend by asking about her. What does she already know about Jaden? That she’s also in university.


      So she’s basically working with what she has + relating back to the only conversation they shared where she playfully ribbed Alexis about not catching up in over 3 months (because of Alexis’ new relationship and also university).


      Additonaly for readers, you get the info that Alexis is the only one studying in her friend group. (You might also notice in contrast, two of her friends have rings on their wedding fingers, another is pregnant, and all three wear heels and make up).

      1

      1. Emma

        I feel this! I grew up surrounded by friends and just assumed everyone else was the same way! Oops! I’m more mindful now. Something like that is never malicious, more like: “I like you! I want to be friends with you because you’re cool and I want to spend more time with you. Since you’re such a quality person, you OBVIOUSLY have tons of friends because other people have noticed how cool and nice you are too, right??” It’s an assumption that’s complimentary to the other person!

        I also didn’t pay too much close attention to her friends other than thinking, “Wow, they’re wearing makeup!” I didn’t see the ring, heels, or that one was pregnant!

        I admit, I wore makeup almost every day until the pandemic lockdowns got me out of the habit. Even as I was taking my intense engineering classes at university, I still spent time making sure I wore makeup every day and styling my hair. All my life were messages telling me makeup was a “choice” to “empower” you, but it was all lies. It’s no longer a “choice” when I felt ugly without it, terrified people would look down on me, treat me worse, or lose respect for me if I wasn’t “pretty enough” by wearing makeup.
        What actually happened when I stopped wearing makeup? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one treated me differently. No one looked down on me. No one considered me “unkempt” or “ugly.” I overhead two people talking at work that “Emma is really pretty!” “I know, she’s gorgeous!” when they didn’t know I wasn’t in my usual spot in another part of the building and instead was standing outside their room a few feet down the hallway to post something on a board. What? You mean I’m not ugly without makeup?? I don’t need to use this crutch for the rest of my life?? All my life, I thought I needed to buy products to be accepted or at least feel confident. Now I exist naturally in confidence. I don’t have to BUY confidence from a billionaire CEO who is constantly telling us through influencers and models that we need these products to be “empowered”, to have self-esteem, and “look and feel better than you actually are.” They imply I’m not empowered if I don’t give them my money and I’m sick of it!

        I could write another paragraph about our addiction to feeling “pretty enough” and how we twist ourselves into knots to fit the ever-changing beauty standards of this culture. As if women’s different body shapes come in and out of fashion like clothes. But long story short: I relate to Alexis’s friends. But I also want to free them now that I notice what’s being visually expressed in these panels lol!

        1

  5. Didi

    I saw your video with Radical Ramblings and I wanted to ask if there are any print copies of LB left. :>

    1. rustyhearts

      There are a few yes! I’ll send a link to the email you provided for this comment 🥰🥰

  6. Tenbelow

    HA

    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how in leasebound I see a woman in makeup and I’m like “that’s abnormal, why is she doing that?” THAT’S HOW IT SHOULD BE IN THIS SOCIETY. GOSH DARN XDD Thanks Rusty for a glimpse into this better world. Barefaces aren’t a character statement, make up is.

    also maybe this is a weird thing to say but I love how clownish the women look in their makeup. it actually makes me feel better about my art. I used to draw my girlfriend’s OCs with their bright lipstick and go “oh she looks like a clown. am i bad at drawing? why does she look like a clown” no no my past self. look at rusty’s amazing art. It’s just the truth that make up looks pretty silly. it really looks silly for real…. it doesn’t mean I’m a bad artist if makeup looks weird when I draw it…

    1

    1. rustyhearts

      Omg yes!!!
      I felt the exact same way while painting the friends’ faces tbh! A part of me asked “wait is this too mean? 🤡”.
      Amazing what a little perspective shift can do. I Love the way you put it: “bare faces aren’t the character statement, make up is”!! So concise!!


      It works with pretty much every other reversal I pull too!


      Visible hetero relationships? Only there to make a statement about how unbalanced and detrimental to women they are.


      Characters using misogynistic slurs? Only used by villain characters because misogyny is a villainous trait.


      Glad to hear I’ve given you some confidence too! It’s the make up that looks clownish,not your art!

      2

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