And lo, thus ends the shockingly protracted Metatextual Emp riff that opens the final chapter of Empowered vol. 7, folks! Tomorrow, we jump into conventional comics storytelling with a (very) brief interlude setting up the present-tense violence of Ninjette's final reckoning with the last three Ayakami.

With the second image, enjoy what I've dubbed the "worm-lip mouth," an especially cartoony riff that I still break out on occasion nowadays. (Methinks this will have rather fewer devotees than the "Big Pouty Lips" riff.) Note that the squiggly part of the "worm-lips" is always on the left side as we look at Emp, never on the right. (I should probably try to vary the squiggly placement, which is clearly based on my right-hand bias.)

Today’s Patreon update: Open slot in the weekly schedule today! Not sure what I’ll be posting, but something will go up today. I’ve been posting every weekday (sometimes multiple times per day) on this Patreon for over a year, so why stop now?

-Adam Warren