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Double Cross Scene Compilation - CH3 Pgs 43-51
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 02:20:15 +0000 UTCHowdy, everyone!
Time for another scene compilation with "DVD-style" commentary. I'll be posting these scene compilations weekly until I start getting the completed pages from Gabriel and Vero for Fallen Chapter Two soon.
On the personal front, my husband and I were able to spend a lovely Thanksgiving day with my Mom at her assisted living center. It was one of her good days, and we all enjoyed chatting and catching up. Since then, she keeps talking about what a great time she had, and that certainly makes me happy. And then the next day, Fernando and I hosted an "expatriate Thanksgiving" with turkey and all the trimmings and invited my cousins who have recently moved to the city. It was actually our first dinner party since the pandemic (!), and it turns out, I've really missed doing that. From food to music to company, it was a perfect night—a real treat.
For those of you in the United States, I hope you also had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. If you get a chance, please let me know in the comments how you spent it! :)
Anyway, in this scene comp, Flyboy makes Spooky cry, and then makes it all better.
Check out what happens under the fold!
These pages were first published way back in September 2020 - October 2020. If you want to read the previous scene compilations (and, even better, read the whole first two chapters all at once), you can find them on the TYP:DC Scene Compilation Collection page.
My DVD-style commentary is below the comic pages. And the pages themselves are full-resolution here on Patreon, so feel free to zoom-in!
Let's get real!
Dun dun dun!
Future Spooky has a hole in his mind
It's very important to me that there's a solid story reason for everything I include in the comic. So, even though this is primarily a "kissing scene," it also sets up some of the most crucial motivational elements for the entire rest of the story arc. And one of the biggest is when Teen Spooky reveals that his amnesia actually tortures him, and that he'd do anything to avoid losing more memories.
But we've seen in Chapter One that his adult self has lost this time. So, if he's going to keep his memories, that will mean the future, Flyboy's future, will need to change.
Flyboy promises to help Spooky keep his memories
Maybe it's the heat of the moment, maybe it's a heroes intuition about the right thing to do, or maybe it's just how Flyboy is, but in this moment, Flyboy promises Teen Spooky that he'll fight to help him keep his memories. This sets up a dilemma for both them in later scenes, when Teen Spooky expects Flyboy to honor that promise, and Flyboy has second thoughts.
But for now
That promise leads to a kiss
Teen Spooky is so moved by Flyboy's heroism, coming to his rescue when he's at his most vulnerable, that he leans in for a kiss. And Flyboy kisses back.
Flyboy's innate sense of responsibility then immediately rears its head, and he becomes concerned that he's taking advantage of Spooky. But Spooky initiated the kiss, and one look lets Flyboy know that he thinks his friend is being ridiculous.
Spooky believes Flyboy is thinking too much and should just follow his heart. But despite what he says here, when you should follow your heart is not just about kissing for Spooky—it's his entire moral compass as a hero. As I mentioned in the last scene comp, this sets up the central thematic conflict of Double Cross: should you base your decisions on cold logic or on what your heart believes is right? Classic Aristotelian stuff: logos vs. pathos.
Due to the mistakes he thinks he made in the Flyboy Bonus Comic, Flyboy doesn't believe he can trust his emotions, while Teen Spooky thinks your gut is the only thing you can really trust. Where Flyboy ultimately lands on this issue will determine how this whole story ends.
In this scene, Spooky convinces Flyboy to go with his heart's desire. Whether that's the right or wrong choice remains to be seen, but for now,
It continues on to something beautiful
Yes, there are strong story reasons for everything that happens here. But it's also meant to show a sweet, beautiful, consensual connection between our two heroes. And I think Adam and Vero did a stunning job with this, while still keeping things tasteful. From the montage panel page to the deeply-felt expressions, I feel that the characters' emotions are front and center throughout, and that's exactly where they should be for this scene.
I also think Adam and Vero did a great job making the different body types equally beautiful, which is just as important to me. There's a lot of pressure out there that we have to look a certain way to be worthy of love. But in real life, that hasn't been my experience. And I want to show that in my stories.
Then we end with a glowing statue!
We essentially leave our heroes to their kissing with a "fade-to-black," but instead of truly fading to darkness, the "camera" pans to land on a statue with glowing eyes. Sinister glowing eyes. (Keeping with our classic movie vibes!)
What's that statue up to? What are those eyes seeing? And who is really doing the seeing?
These are questions that won't be answered until the end of the story. But it was my hope that folks would start asking them here!
Let me know what you think!
Anyway, those are the things I was thinking when I was creating these pages with Adam and Vero. Please let me know your own thoughts below. It's your feedback that makes it fun for me to create these, so please jump in and share!
And thank you, as always, for making this comic possible. Sharing these scenes with you helps remind me of how much I enjoy creating this story. And it's only possible because of your support.
I love you all. Until next week, I hope you enjoy special connections of your own, in whatever form brings you joy. :)
Comments
Alex Woolfson
Hi, Michael! 20 people? Wow! It sounds like an amazing spread. I'm so glad to hear you had a wonderful time!
Alex Woolfson
Glad to refresh your memory here, Beldro! This was definitely a fun scene, but it's been a while!
Alex Woolfson
Very glad you enjoyed the scene, camelotcrusade! (And re-reading the bonus comic—I always wonder if anyone actually clicks on the links I put into these.) And I agree with you about those background details mattering. It can make me a challenge to work with for some artists, but Adam and Vero actually go above and beyond my expectations with such things. It can create a lot more work, but I do think the end result is worth it. :)
Alex Woolfson
Thank you, Adam! I am conscious/nervous whenever I lean into a dialogue-heavy scene, and I'm glad the way I've done it feels natural to you. :) I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely and that you have much to look forward to with the upcoming holidays/New Year!
Adam Irving
We love you too Alex! Hope your Thanksgiving (and rapidly approaching Christmas - yikes) are equally fulfilling and relaxing. I always cheer on how you handle these dialogue heavy scenes. It can be really easy to let dialogue go on longer than necessary, or cram so much information in that it becomes less interesting to the reader. I think you do a nice job of making it feel natural yet fitting everything you need in there. A set of panels that takes a far different approach than action-heavy scenes.
camelotcrusade
I really enjoyed this one, Alex, and I enjoyed re-reading the bonus comic you linked, too! 😊 I think what I liked best was how they chose intimacy despite the hurdles. I feel like that would be a huge draw for many reasons (age and circumstance among them) and so it was particularly satisfying to see it. 💏 Three cheers for Mitch's "thirst panel" on the pillow, too. 🥵 Also, it might be funny to say, but I appreciate how the background details are always there even when the scene doesn't demand them. Some creators let that stuff fade to lines, but here the details add to the cinematic feel of the work, and make the fantastic ending (panning out to the statue!) a smooth ride. 🎬✨
Beldro Mercier
I definitively forgot the statue, the necklace, and the smooching scene! (I only remebered the platform fight and the sleeping on the couch)
Michael Cobb
Here in Lexington KY. We had my husband’s family over. About 20 people. Luckily only had to make 2 Turkeys, dressing, and a ham. It was wonderful.
