Our Lady in Greyscale by @Thorvald (El Thorvaldo)

Previously, on Thor Fails to Avoid Foxes...

Lady Akane, leader of the Scarlet Lancers and champion of global democracy in the IOT spin-off Multipolarity and its sequel. As will be demonstrated in the long-delayed epilogue(s), though the Red Lotus prefers to orchestrate from a distance, push her one too many times and she will intervene in person, a sign that the opposing régime is at its last breath. Although she was conceived as a Japanese kitsune, Chinese folklore holds the appearance of a nine-tailed fox as an omen of revolution against a bad emperor, making her (my) constant war against christos200's Chinese states all the more poetic. Her appearance here is based on her battle dress in Operation Shah Mat, in which she leads the coalition forces into the capital and confronts the China Six one-by-one.

Third's the charm: I was already upset with the inaugural sketch when I posted it, and despite how much time I spent on the second picture I consider it a rush job. Here, though, I think I finally 'found' her in another instance of the final product working out better than what I'd imagined. I don't know how many times I revised the legs, and only after they were shaded was I convinced I hadn't botched the pose. The idea for this dates back to the winter, and was the original inspiration for the MAP (although ironically, I'd thought of this first and then tried to find a good accompaniment). There are a few minor imbalances I'm only seeing now (and will hopefully find the time to correct later), but this is a marked improvement from the previous takes and an Instant Personal Favourite™. It's times like this I wish I knew colour.

UPDATE 5-7-14: Finally worked up the confidence to touch this up. Revised the muzzle and cheek fur so her face looks more symmetrical, adjusted the tails so they don't seem out-of-line with the spine, rescaled the right hand and hilt, and redid the left arm so the pose doesn't look as awkward; the astute may even recognize the pistol now. The scanner ate a bit of the shading this time 'round, but that's not a major concern because the next step is full colour!

UPDATE 10-7-14: This piece is now in full digital colour!

[Originally submitted to DeviantArt October 2013.]