448:Token

Author Notes
This was actually a really hard page. I spent a lot less time worrying about getting the style of the year right (1998), and more on the specific designs of a "15 years younger Fara that who is still identifiable as Fara," and a "15 years younger pre-op, pre-hormone Vincent that doesn't really look like the current, but you can totally kinda see the resemblance." And that's exactly as convoluted as it sounds. XD

I tried to achieve this for Fara more with her hair than anything. I guess it just seems like the easiest way to address the passage of time. But I couldn't have a long-haired Fara. It just does not work for her. So I needed a younger, cuter variation of her typical very short style. It's not exactly a big jump for her, but I think I like it. The flip in back is quite charming.

Vincent's younger "Vivian" presentation was even trickier, because it required more than just a specific design, but a distinct sort of expression. What I knew was that I definitely wanted him to be very feminine-looking. Even exceptionally so. This is a person who really internalized his dysphoria so well, that he blended seamlessly as the gender that society wanted him to be (even if it wasn't what he wanted). But I also wanted to give the impression that he didn't entirely hate who he was back then either. Not in the sense where he could be content with "either or," but in the sense that his old life wasn't actually that bad. He liked to sing and he got to sing. He liked women, and he got to fall for one. So everything is fine and dandy, right? Just a regular cis lesbian woman, right? Obviously not, but that's what he wanted people to think. TL;DR - Trans person that doesn't want to be trans or transition.

And that entire last paragraph had to be packed into this character's design. How'd I do?

This blurb is long enough, but I just want to give special mention to the band name and it's logo. When I was younger, the "toaster on fire" design was like my emblem. In high school (maybe even middle school), I would draw them all over my notebooks. And back when anyone still cared about Guitar Hero, that was always my band name. By extension, it seemed the obvious name for Vincent's band. ^_^