Week 276! (Page 462 Script) (Patreon)

THIS MARKS PAYMENT FOR THE WEEK OF 11/17-11/23.

Alright, third script update for the month, page 462.

Sometimes I feel like the 5th arc didn't quite get the gravitas it maybe deserved in the comic pages that followed it. Even if you take away all the extremely important stuff that happened within his mind during that story arc, Kale DID get hit by a car, that maybe should've been an even bigger deal than I made it out to be. Sure, Kale was in the hospital for a little while, and it did progress his stress/mental state becoming worse, which led to the episode with his psychiatrist and Max invading his head, but there weren't any real physical consequences of it, nor really any direct references to the car accident or mental events themselves inducing specific trauma. There have also been some displays of consequences of that whole business here and there as well, like it being an example of Kale doing something nice for Bruce, but otherwise... yeah, I dunno.

I suppose this page is meant to rectify that to some extent. Kale forcing himself back into that intense state of fear and confusion in order to replicate the feelings that resulted in him calling his sabre for this lesson obviously has the primary goal of... Kale calling his sabre, as is part of Lucy's lesson. However, it can briefly also show off that, while it hasn't been brought up as much compared to other things, it's still something perhaps Kale has specific trauma over. It WAS the start of all this pretty much, after all, and he was almost genuinely killed, both in the real world and within his own head. Thus, he should probably be genuinely and intensely distressed when recalling it specifically. Maybe he has really put it aside in his head considering all the other stuff that's happened in the interrim.

Another angle to this is also Kale and Fox Kale's relationship back then compared to now. Again, recall that Mask/Fox Kale was literally trying to kill and erase Kale in order to take his place and be the controlling conscious aspect within their mind, and only by intervention by a third party did Kale "overcome" Fox Kale. Since then, the two have kind of had a back-and-forth snarky sort of relationship between them, with Fox Kale having outbursts and Kale trying his best to reel him back. The relationship perhaps has even evolved into one where, while Fox Kale threatens Kale still, Fox Kale has come to respect Kale to whatever degree, or at least to put up with him and follow his lead for the moment. Fox Kale snarls a lot still (he snarled pretty heavily twice in this arc already), but he has yet to truly draw his blade against Kale like their first real encounter.

Fox Kale and Kale's relationship, which started with one literally trying to kill the other, has evolved and is still evolving to a point where the both of them somewhat respect and maybe even like each other. That was part of the point all along, to get these two different pieces of the same person to coexist better instead of being at conflicts with each other. In a very generalized and vague sort of sense, it is representative of someone coming to terms with different aspects of their personality, their flaws and various sides, and not only accepting them but either embracing them or changing them. This page is in a small way trying to demonstrate that a little bit, with the panel of Fox Kale seeming to not react but maybe showing the slightest hint at regret at what he had done before, a little hint that while Fox Kale may bark and growl still, he's still changed.