Broken isn't the same as unfixable

I, knowing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, waited carefully for the lab director to be deep in conversation with someone else on the other side of the laboratory. And then I took my chance.

Test tubes, as it turns out, are really bad as shot glasses. Their shape turns any liquid inside into a stream, so you really can't knock it back quickly - it takes a couple seconds. Additionally, the best way I can describe the taste of virus concentrate was "sterile rot". A very unique kind of bad! Made worse by the test tube's inefficiency as a shot glass.

(by the way we were studying bacteriophages, not animal viruses. these viruses are too specialized on attacking prokaryotes to even recognize our cells as targets at all, according to studies.)

(but also like. if the viruses managed to successfully switch hosts and killed me with a violent infection, itd still be worth it.)

Well... This one took several days, if not a week. I don't even know why it was so hard to draw this art — it's just heads and flowers. Honestly, I almost had a breakdown once and nearly gave up, because there were so many things I didn't like: brushstrokes in the wrong places, the coloring looking too dull, and the concept itself feeling boring — just heads. But I finished it. Phew.

In the background, you can see several periods that our characters went through, and the flowers aren't there just for decoration either.

———

At the very top, you can see the first spark of mutual sympathy between Viktor and Jayce, with the glow of Hextech dreams behind them. The flowers behind them — camellia and an apple blossom branch — carry deep meaning:

>> [Camellia went to Jayce, as it's a flower of infatuation without commitment. It was a gesture of admiration without asking for anything in return. Jayce was clearly captivated by Viktor's determination to help make his dream come true.]

>> [Viktor got the apple blossom — in Chinese tradition, it symbolizes youth, spring, life, and the first hope for happiness. It's also about the bright surprise of a new feeling. And that new feeling came because of Jayce — or rather, his work on magic, right?]

———

Next comes the next fragment of their story — Jayce and Viktor are still standing shoulder to shoulder, but their gazes are fixed on completely different paths: Viktor's obsession with trying to heal himself using the Hexcore, and Jayce's continued work on Hextech.

>> [The carnation, although one of the most underrated flowers in love symbolism, fit their new period perfectly — it's not a bold confession, very modest to the point of being unnoticeable. I thought it suited Viktor, as if he too is very reserved, modest in his feelings.]

>> [For Jayce, I chose a dahlia. In the language of flowers, it speaks of accepting a person as they are, and that feelings don't need to be announced. It's a flower for a long, stable connection where each person knows the other's thoughts from half a word.]

———

And finally, the last stage of this piece is linked to tragic flowers, reflecting their "fading" feelings for each other. You can see shadows falling across their faces, but at the same time, the light illuminating the backs of their heads. As if they're still connected and haven't actually lost their feelings for each other?

>> [On Viktor's side, you can see a withering amaryllis — because his connection with Jayce was rapidly breaking down after what seemed like a new mind emerged. This flower carries pride, loneliness, but at the same time love that asks for nothing — just accepts. It would rather die than show it needs someone.]

>> [For Jayce, I chose a lily of the valley — as you can see, it's completely fresh, just like his feelings for Viktor, even though he once had to do something irreversible. This flower gives all its love to the last drop, unable to feel sorry for itself. Doesn't that fit Jayce? He'd sooner poison himself than stop loving.]

———

I had planned a fourth stage... But I was completely out of energy, I barely finished the third. Maybe in the future (distant or near) I'll draw it.

I'm not great at beautiful descriptions, but I really wanted to convey the meaning behind this work.

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From there it's not actually difficult to get the other soldiers onboard with covering up the fact that poor Ping took one for the team and got afflicted by the vagina curse, especially since it would have been all of them if they hadn't gotten the warning ahead of time. So they agree to help him cover it up, because obviously the army's not going to understand.

Mulan: Uh, what boobs? Huh? Where did these come from?

Mushu: *facepalms and thinks quickly* (speaks from the shadows) I AM THE SPIRIT OF THE LAKE! BEWARE MY CURSED WATERS FOR THEY WILL TURN MEN INTO WOMEN!

Mulan: Look-

Ling, Yao, and Chien Po: WE CAN EXPLAIN!!

[One convoluted, chaotic explanation later]

Shang: ...is this why you've all been insisting we don't camp anywhere that doesn't have a lake.

Shang: and then none of you actually swim in it.

Shang: and you all keep jumping at shadows.

Shang: wait a second Ping did this happen before or after you became insanely good at fighting?

Shang: did you get better at fighting after you became a woman.

Shang: are women better at fighting than us.

Mulan: ....uh. well. maybe? no one's ever tried to find out.

Yao: [thinking very fast] y'know Captain it's just so hard to find recruits these days.

Chien Po: Real shortage of men.

Ling: Lots of women, though.

Mulan: [catching on] Without marriage prospects.

Shang: You're right, men. The spirits must have done this in order to show us that we should be recruiting women as fighters.

Mushu [from the shadows, seeing an opportunity to do the funniest thing]: EXACTLY, LI SHANG. I HAVE TRANSFORMED PING INTO A WOMAN BECAUSE YOU HAVE TOO LONG OVERLOOKED THE TRUE WAY TO WIN THE WAR.

Mulan [seeing an opportunity to get all the stories straight]: O Great Spirit, is it reversible?

Mushu: WHY WOULD YOU WISH TO REJECT MY GIFT? I HAVE SEEN YOUR HEART, CHILD, AND HAVE ALREADY ALTERED THE MEMORIES OF EVERYONE WHO KNEW YOU BEFORE YOU LEFT FOR THE ARMY. YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THEIR DAUGHTER.

Li Shang: Welp, the spirits have spoken. Ping - wait is your name still Ping if you're a woman now?

Mulan: Uh. Actually, I was thinking of renaming myself. How do you feel about Mulan?

BONUS:

Mulan [climbing out of the eleventh lake the men have arranged for her to swim in]: Yeah no, it didn't work. Still got boobs. [tries to appear dejected].

Chien Po: If it makes you feel better, they're very nice boobs.