There were several different ideas floating around for this page. I tried to make use of what I could, but one common theme I noticed was that people seem ready for this comic to wrap. I ended up not directly using any of the endings submitted, even though I don’t think there was anything wrong with any of them. I’ve just had this final panel as an image in my mind since the first page and wanted to use it for the ending here. I did keep some of the dialogue from the suggested endings, just repurposed a bit here. I hope people will be alright with the direction I took it, and we’ll start a fresh Yuri Ongoing in a few months.
So the idea behind this comic was Yuki Tsukumo trying to find her type of guy in the Studio, with a few different pairings. The original script left it open for bi interactions, but while I was working on it I just kinda felt like Yuki should stay the focus. So, I didn’t do that, but I tried to include a couple flattering shots of the guys to balance it out. It was a weird night when I did the groundwork for this one, and I worry that affected the final product, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out overall and I hope you guys will agree. I also have a lot of backed-up threesome material for Yuki now, so if I get the chance to use some of it in Asks or something you could end up seeing some of it reused, we’ll see.
Anna was the last of the three-way tie for this First Shoot poll. While I don’t feel like I do a ton of Shaman King stuff these days, I did have a while where I was doing it somewhat regularly, usually with Yoh. Since almost all of the SK content I’ve done was yaoi, though, Anna just didn’t come up much. I had one Subscriber who pushed for her a lot, though, and she ended up in NHML nominations and similar things. I put her on the poll and, well, she just barely made it in with Nolan and Namari. With her random partner here, I thought they might connect over some shared frustrations with their respective partners/love interests/whatever.
I think a lot of Aki’s characterization in Chainsaw Man is informed by his motivations that I won’t spoil in case anyone reading this hasn’t seen Chainsaw Man yet. I think that drive really shapes his serious, meticulous character, and I think being in the Studio without that motivation might affect him. On the one hand, it has allowed him to loosen up and learn to be happy with Himeno, which is great for her, but here we see it maybe troubling him a little bit. Our serious boy’s become something of a playboy, and the poor slob just can’t seem to get out of the bed in the morning. I went with a hair-down look for both Aki and Choso here to help convey that morning messiness a little bit, hope it comes across.
As has become tradition, here is a compilation of some moments from this year’s Studio Christmas party. Hiro Hamada won the lottery to get chosen as the official Studio Santa this year, but as you can see he’s not the only one sporting the look. I had a lot of fun putting together this year’s party, and I tried to fit in an eclectic selection of characters. I hope there’s a little something for most everyone here, and I’d like to wish you all Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas.
Yoruichi’s a character who’s struggled to get in appearances since debuting in that pin-up a while back, but I figured I could use this Ask to not only bring her back into the spotlight, but also set up a little Studio lore for how she’s been spending her time. I’ve mentioned the Studio’s cat cafe, Catflix & Chill, before in a previous Ask (one featuring Yoruichi’s costars here, Power and Anzu). While the cats who appear there are mostly regular cats, I thought the idea of Yoruichi going there in cat form to get pampered and relax sounded like a cute idea that could tie this Ask together.