Page Commentary No. 166 (Patreon)

Gunwild: Maks you're spilling your coffee bro.

Psu: This was a fun page to color. This is like... the first time we revisit Vraxiopeia in any major way so it was nice to make it look like a vibrant place with grass and healthy air. I hope it got across that early morning feel.

Gunwild: Oh totally. But the welcome wagon woke up shockingly early! I'd be like "Why can't these disadvantaged children joining our community move their whole lives in the afternoon?!" By the way, I wish people had liked "Mr. Jellybean Prince" more, I dig that one a lot.

Psu: I liked it! I also like that you can see the sun behind him in that opening panel. Gunwild was bringing out his inner kid in this one. Well, I mean he always does that in Cassiopeia but anytime we have the kiddos, he ups the ante. Oh hey, I kinda forgot that early Ms Caroline didn't really wear shirts...

Gunwild: Well when this colony got started I assumed they were normal people forced to move by circumstance without much but a few articles of clothing, basic farming instruments, etc. She could probably wear more clothes now that they're a bit safer, but eh, they might be lucky overalls!

Psu: Overalls are plenty useful. And speaking of clothing, Cassiopeia has Botz' old top over here. I think it looks good!

Gunwild: Oh right, she totally stole it at the end of their first encounter. Naughty. You know, there's this matter (thanks to Maimonides) among Jewish scholars about the best forms of charity - the nearly-finest being to give anonymously, so that you aren't in it for the credit. But there's a really nice bit of interrogation of this in the Simpsons episode with Krusty's dad, where one rabbi is like "But what if one's example can inspire others to give?" And I think that is sometimes the case. I would also say that in instances like this, Cassiopeia letting the kids know she's the one who helped them lets them feel how much they're loved on a personal level, which they certainly ought to. But it's still fun to see her grab the spotlight.

Psu: That kinda reminds me, you added some really nice hidden texts on these. Or was it on some other thing... you always have nice things to say about charity.

Gunwild: Ehh, kids are important. I know Cassiopeia is not always the most heroic figure, and she's not supposed to be. But it's important to see how her uh, methods come from a decent place of supporting the disadvantaged outside of the framework of entrenched power structures, and junk. So even though there are plenty of readers who aren't big fans of her on a personal level, we can demonstrate that she does some good, whereas of course Maddy has trouble managing that very thing.

Psu: Cassiopeia is Robin Hood if the Sheriff of Nottingham was also a nice person. Also if Robin Hood had the ability to physically lift houses off their foundations... I can't imagine the plumbing was easy to retrofit into town like that.

Gunwild: It's the future, maybe their plumbing auto-connects like in Sim City.

Psu: Truly Vraxiopeia is the city of tomorrow.

Gunwild: Today! Well, uh, not today. Far into the future...

Psu: So what, like next week?

Gunwild: Whenever there's an update!