leifandthorn

[leifandthorn]

Redraw of the second Leif & Thorn anniversary art!

New figures, new effect layers. I did reuse the leaves/flowers from the original background, but touched them up a little.

...And this is all the redraws I'm doing, at least for now. Thanks to everyone who left prompts! It's been a lot of fun.

[leifandthorn]

Inspired by the ship ask meme. Specifically, inspired by these answers about Dex and Hermosa. Two color variants, because I tried a couple different things with the art-nouveau background.

Support Leif & Thorn on Patreon to get access to the high-res versions!

[leifandthorn]

Redraw of one of the earliest drawings of Hyacinth, from 2017.

The original was drawn from an Alexander McQueen dress. I didn't look up the reference photo again for this one, so you're getting a secondhand re-interpretation.

[leifandthorn]

A long post with a fun poll at the bottom! Skip to the poll if you don't feel like reading!

One thing I keep thinking about is the fantasy genre and trans people. Granted, I do think about each of them separately way too much already, but sometimes I think about them together.

Does your favorite setting have trans people? Or, if you're a worldbuilder, does your setting have trans people?

Wait! Don't run, this is not a call-out! This is not a post to tell you that you're a bad person if your answer is no. (although, you might benefit creatively from adding some, if that's the case!)

But if your answer is yes; I have another question! How?

Let me propose that there are two ways how to do transness, transitioning and gender variety (and sex variety) in fantasy settings.

1. "The Sex-Switch Button"

It can be a potion. (looking at you, Pathfinder) It can be a belt. (looking at you, Forgotten Realms) It can be a ritual done by a host of naked she-elves dancing. (looking at you, Forgotten Realms for some reason twice) The "button" isn't an actual button.

Nevertheless, it gets pushed – and poof, transition done. A body cis in all but history is the result.

2. "The Realism Way"

I cannot point at any particular settings, because I haven't yet seen any character in fantasy media transition this way. I'm not saying that they don't exist! I'm just saying that I'm familiar with way too few things.

However, "realism" here is an earnest effort to take methods of transitioning and apply them to the fantasy setting. Be it through magic (characters taking "HRT" potions or getting surgeries through forbidden fleshgrafting sorcery,...) or mundane means (binding, tucking, making home-made breastforms or packers,...).

And here's the kicker of the post: Personally, I'm really uninterested in the Button method. I wanted to go as far as to say that I disliked it, but fuck it, who am I do that? If a fellow trans person loves the idea, who am I to go, "Uhm, akshully, I find your fantasy really PROBLEMATIQUE?"

Because there are reasons why someone might really enjoy it! I know that for some people, if they could push a button and switch all their sex characteristics to the cis perisex version of their gender, they would not think twice. I'm sorry that it's not an option in reality, at least not yet, and I don't think that it's problematic, wrong, or bad writing to want that option to exist at least in your favorite fantasy world.

I really do dislike it when cis people implement it as a way to be inclusive of trans people in their work, though. And you – yes, you! – just got tricked into reading my reasons why! (which is, as far as I am concerned, the most important part of this post)

The reason it grinds my gears so much is that it trivializes the trans existence. It makes it into a condition with only a temporary effect on one's life. It's sparkly transmedicalism for allies. It will always fail to represent people whose transition goals include mixed sexual characteristics. It will only account for intersex people as long as they want to erase their intersex features. Non-binary people break the system completely.

It's also so eager to embrace trans people that it erases... transness. There is no place for trans bodies in a world where gender dysphoria is solved with a "cis-ifies you!" spell. So eager to show trans readers/viewers/players they're accepted that it makes sure no character claiming to be like them will ever have a body that looks or works anything like theirs.

It's the same logic with which some fans and authors justify their ableism. There's no place for disabled characters in a world with healing magic, and there's no place for trans characters in a world where magic allows you to shapeshift your sex.

And last but not least, in my humble opinion, the magic does nothing but removes the magic. The magic of being trans! There are as many different, nuanced feelings about transness as there are trans people in the world, but I think we can all agree that for a great many of us, it's not all just dysphoria and discrimination.

(you don't need dysphoria to be trans, btw)

There is love in seeing your presentation and your body itself slowly change. There is joy in building yourself from ashes. There is pride in feeling your scars, looking at those past pictures, and knowing your journey. There's beauty in traditionally trans features. Features, that we have learned to associate with being trans in any given direction. There is hardly any exclusive to trans people, no, everything you find on your body, a cis person somewhere has as well, but in us, they're a little more common, a little more likely. They mark the transformation. They're beautiful.

That's my case for preferring the Realism method! What do you prefer, and why? I'm asking with trans people in mind, however, if you're cis and feel passionate about the topic, go ahead, I'm not your father.

[leifandthorn]

[leifandthorn]

Dex and Hermosa, 10 and 20?

10: why can’t they be separated? what would it take to separate them?

As we've seen, if being physically together is dangerous to one or both of them, they'll separate! But also, they are extremely good at staying in contact, finagling their way around surveillance, communications blackouts, and "being held at a facility they're not supposed to be able to sneak out of."

20: are they soulmates, together in every universe, or is their connection more precious for its rarity? how many forms might their relationship take, given different circumstances?

Well, they're together in all the canon AUs, but that's partly from narrative convenience...

It's pretty unlikely they meet in every plausible universe. Dex only drops their mask enough to fall for someone who has security clearance, and Hermosa didn't set out to be a career spy, he gets pulled in by circumstance. (Fun fact: They originally met when Hermosa was an asset Dex cultivated for a mission, and then, whoops, Hermosa was distractingly recruitable.)

If they start off on opposite sides of a conflict, they don't end up in a "whoops, we're supposed to be enemies but we fell in love" romance. Dex thinks Hermosa is an obstacle to be managed or eliminated, Hermosa thinks Dex is manipulative and can't be trusted, they never get past that.

But when all those pieces line up right: they're unlikely not to fall for each other.

[leifandthorn]

More bonus art from the ebook of Volume 7. Kale in the tub, enjoying (or at least, using) his non-pyramid-scheme bath products.

[leifandthorn]

4, 6, and/or 12 for Dex/Hermosa? For 12 I'm specifically thinking before Hermosa got his injury, as it's kind of too obvious after.

4. are they opposites? parallels? reflections? something else?

6. why are they drawn to each other? what fuels the attraction? why is it this person, as opposed to anyone else?

...these are so relevant to the current storyline, wow. Somebody come back to this post in a couple weeks, and remind me to reblog with no-longer-spoilery commentary.

12. who is the mask and who is the voice? who is the weapon and who is the wielder? who watches and who performs? who shines and who reflects? 

Normally Dex is the mask and Hermosa is the voice, although when Hermosa was working in Northwind he did a lot of being-the-mask.

Dex is the weapon, Hermosa is the wielder.

Both of them watch (they were both talented spies, it's second nature by now), Dex performs and enjoys it, Hermosa performs as necessary.

"Not shining" is also second nature (hard to be a spy if you draw a lot of attention). Dex reflects in the sense of amplifying and spotlighting Hermosa's good qualities. Hermosa reflects in the sense of getting Dex to look at what they're doing, and maybe re-evaluate.

[leifandthorn]

23 for Leif and Thorn, 7 for Kale/Leif/Thorn from Kale's POV

23. obligatory cannibalism question—who eats the other, and in what sense?

Impressed that someone put this on a list of self-indulgent asks. What is going on in meme OP's brain.

In the survival sense, neither. If there's a good chance of rescue but not enough food for both of them to make it, Thorn quietly gets rid of himself, in a way that doesn't leave his body around for Leif to deal with. If there's no chance of rescue, they talk about it and agree on "mutual quick death by heartsword" rather than "slow death by starvation, slightly-prolonged in one case by cannibalism."

In the sexy sense, Leif is much more into having various body parts in his mouth. (Not that Thorn's not into it, but for Leif, it's a thing.)

7. what would they trade away in exchange for the other? and what would they trade away the other in exchange for?

At this point, Kale doesn't have much in his life that he values more than Leif/Thorn, so he would trade "almost anything except his therapy dog" for them.

He would trade Leif/Thorn away for the ability to retcon his whole career with Northwind. He figures, if he would turn away from the opportunity to save all those people, he doesn't deserve to be in a happy romance anyway.

[leifandthorn]

Readers, use this to send me asks about your Leif & Thorn ships?

(If they're not actually together in canon, I'll make something up!)

Saph's Self-Indulgent Ship Asks

So, while I really like the idea of ask games targeted specifically towards 'toxic' or 'unhinged' ships, in practice I've found a lot of them to be very, very limited in scope, and often not in a way that overlaps much with my own shipping interests. So, I did the only (in)sensible thing and came up with my own ask game that is both geared towards my own proclivities and, hopefully, still broadly applicable/adaptable. I'll leave it up to you to determine my success.

Please note - many of the questions here are meant to be a bit esoteric and up for interpretation. If you're not sure what a question is trying to ask, make your best guess, or just go with whatever you find most interesting. Similarly, while many of these imply pairs, all of them can be applied to poly dynamics as well. Strictly speaking, the relationship doesn't even have to be romantic. I am begging you all, get weird with it. The words can mean anything you want them to mean.

Heavily inspired by this post in particular, alongside all the other similar ask games I didn't like nearly as much.

how monogamous are they? is jealousy a factor in the relationship, and if so, how does it manifest?

if applicable, how do they engage with each other sexually? if the relationship is non-sexual, then what does that say about how they relate to each other?

what effect does their relationship have on other characters? what effect do other characters have on their relationship?

are they opposites? parallels? reflections? something else?

how well do they truly understand each other?

why are they drawn to each other? what fuels the attraction? why is it this person, as opposed to anyone else?

what would they trade away in exchange for the other? and what would they trade away the other in exchange for?

what's their biggest incompatibility? why don't they work? and, just maybe, how have they managed in spite of it?

at their best, what do they each get out of the relationship? how can they make each other better? and, incidentally, how might they make each other worse?

why can't they be separated? what would it take to separate them?

what kinds of power do they each have over the other?

who is the mask and who is the voice? who is the weapon and who is the wielder? who watches and who performs? who shines and who reflects? 

who's most likely to turn love into a religion?

who's most likely to turn love into an experiment?

who's judas?

who's the martyr?

who carries the guilt? how?

what would break them?

what could fix them?

are they soulmates, together in every universe, or is their connection more precious for its rarity? how many forms might their relationship take, given different circumstances?

are they doomed or destined? or nothing at all?

could they die for each other? could they live for each other?

obligatory cannibalism question—who eats the other, and in what sense?

gender??? please discuss.

what do you consider to be the relationship's key theme(s)?

if you had to encapsulate the heart of their dynamic in three words or less, what would you say?

pick a quote/song lyric/phrase/etc you associate with them. it can be literally anything, even something you wrote yourself. explain your reasoning, if you feel like it.

and the simplest but most important question—why do you, personally, like them? or feel whatever it is you feel about them, even if that thing is indifference?

[leifandthorn]

Not a direct redraw of Hold your light close, more of a thematic successor.

That one was for the comic's premiere in 2015, this is for Valentine's Day 2025. Leif and Thorn share the same light, and they hold each other close.

[leifandthorn]

New bonus on Patreon: A behind-the-scenes about the making of the rooftop dining set.

[leifandthorn]

Title-page background art for Leif & Thorn Volume 7. (The ebook is finally out!)

All the previous title-page art has been Regular Main Characters Leif/Thorn. This is the first time I've switched it up to draw Magical AU Leif/Thorn.

[leifandthorn]

Burning That Bridge 1/50

(Read the original post on Leif & Thorn)

[leifandthorn]

Leif, Thorn, and Kale, made with QueenBee's character maker on Picrew.

(...Would've liked more characters in this style, but the clothing options are pretty limited, and I only had so much patience for "color choices in the menu don't reflect the colors of the actual things you get.")

[leifandthorn]

New exclusive bonus for supporters: Preview of Kale's next costume upgrade!

[leifandthorn]

The past year in Leif & Thorn illustrations! As usual, one picture for every month of 2024, trying to include a range of palettes and art styles.

(Full-size version on DA has links to all the original pieces.)