Those "double dashes"—well, "double hyphens," according to an editor of mine—at the start of each word balloon is supposed to indicate that we're jumping forward in time a bit with each of the first three panels on this page. Not sure if that impression is all that clear, TBH, but I believe the scene flows adequately regardless.

Panel 2: A bit "on the nose" to show Emp's behind when Zappatista is mentioning the sale of "a female superhero's ass" (albeit in a figurative sense), but what the heck. 

From the mecha's dialogue, I swear that the term "kyriarchy"—in effect, a highly intersectional variation of the dreaded "patriarchy"—was getting thrown around a fair bit in Extremely Online Progressive circles back in 2013-4. The concept seems to have lost traction in the succeeding years, howeva, though I might well be mistaken.

Today’s Patreon update: In an attempt to scratch out more worktime to complete the long-gestating Empowered vol. 12, I've switched over to a Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday Patreon posting schedule that won't feature the fixed content format I previously used. However, my vast archive of years of Patreon posts—extensive Empowered previews, vintage con sketches, work stages on covers, "damsel in distress" commissions, life drawings & much, much more—remains available for Patrons' perusal.

-Adam Warren