Panel 2: "Beamspanks" is certainly a novel neologism, gotta say.

Panel 3: This is, of course, a reference to the somewhat infamous 1979 monster flick. (A more conventional fanfic usage of the titular critter might be squaring her off against the likewise titular beastie from 1976's Grizzly.)

Panel 5: "Inner goddess" being a frequently deployed term in 50 Shades of Grey, at least judging from the derisive excerpts I'd read online. (Alas, folks, I didn't have the energy or interest to attempt an actual reading of l'oeuvre de E.L. James.)

And whoops, ran outta space in this week's haphazardly added commentaries to address this story's odd provenance, which actually predates vols. 7 and 8; more on this matter in next week's commentaries, I hope.

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