dupe
patreon
fresh meat, page 73
🕑 Added 2020-09-11 01:03:11 +0000 UTCEDIT: shading done.
there's a lot going on in a short amount of time here... lupe's personality gets more establishment, and it's also established that she and carmilla (and the staff member here) can speak spanish, which is introduced as a vector to mirror kim's confusion and lack of comprehension about the ward and procedures that everyone else seems accustomed to.
it also serves as the bridge between the last scene and the next scene, which are both tabitha-centric scenes, and uses the conflict between whittacker and kim (conflict that can't be altered or fixed anymore now that it's done) as a bridge for the conflict she had with tabitha later (conflict that can be fixed or lessened by a change in behavior or viewpoint).
that's to say, while it's obvious that lupe is talking about what kim said to whittacker, "do you feel bad about what you did?" is also applicable to the conflict with tabitha (what kim actually feels bad about right now), and to the conflict between kim and her incarceration in the ward (what the ward is asking her to feel bad about).
all of the scenes are supposed to add up to a better understanding kim has of herself and her place in the world, ideally without being spoon-fed her worldview by any of the characters individually. at the end of this scene, kim is interrupted while cautiously responding to lupe, but what she was going to say was important, and will be revisited later.
let's talk about the spanish. i paid a translator, @calupos on twitter, for it. here's the portion of the script i gave for translation:
carmilla (in spanish): let’s talk about how stupid the doctors are.
lupe (in spanish): you’ll run into trouble like that one day. if i have a problem, i’m saying it to someone directly.
carmilla: booooo.
lupe (in spanish): i’m pretty sure they can speak spanish. some of them.
therapist (in spanish): yeah, i can.
carmilla (in spanish), speaking to therapist and motioning at lupe: well don’t let HER know that!!
other information given about the characters was that the therapist and carmilla would speak a dialect closer to what's considered standard spaniard spanish, what you might expect from an american who received a basic high school to college level education on spanish, and were allowed to make grammar errors if it was more believable, and that lupe speaks it fluently as a first language leaning towards an accent you might find in central mexico.
some notes from the translator: "i was thinking of slipping up more informal slang with lupe but i feel like if shes talking with someone who only has school level spanish it would make it harder for them to understand each other. [...] i put 'desas' which is a [contraction]... of de esas, a very very informal one at that, just pointing it out if you dont consider it would fit her. for the most part i think she would try to speak clearly to carmilla but she has to slip up with at least one word to save time"
so there's a lot going on with the exchange, although nothing particularly relevant to the plot.
ironically, lupe is politely telling carmilla to not push it or there will be issues between them a bit passive-aggressively while she says that if she has a problem with someone, she'll say it to them directly. i was happy to have her speaking a little more easily for carmilla to understand, because i feel like it added an undertone that lupe was genuinely not pissed off and full paggro in the interaction... just being firm with someone who obviously likes to press buttons.
carmilla's consumption of the conflict between the characters is related to her relatively flat arc as a character (where arcs for them are more like kim learning more about them). the story is at a point where everything is definitively building for the next thing with no more exposition, and it's kind of intense, haha. constantly doubting whether things are necessary, but knowing if i pull something, the jenga tower may collapse.
some options that were cut were just more interaction from kim in the latter half of this scene -- kim saying she didn't know they could speak spanish, and carmilla mentioning they'd both figured that out about each other after kim stormed out last night; alternatively, kim asking what they're saying, and lupe answering that carmilla was just saying she's stupid and loves to antagonize doctors, based on the knowledge that someone who speaks english would be able to parse those words from what carmilla said first (and carmilla agreeing with that translation).
that's all i have to say about this page, i think... more than i've had to say about recent pages.
Comments
icarus
I love the page transition of tabby's hands out to hold kim on the last page to the body check on this one... tabby's soft spoken strength for kim and in the face of this awful place is so much. Idk even what to say, but i want things to go well for her almost as much as i want kim to figure out her feelings
gray Folie
tabitha was taken elsewhere again, kerris was missing for unspecified reasons, sugar never shows up, and whittacker was discharged, so yep, half of the group (whether you count whittacker or not).
Abel Venn
also love when patreon posts instead of tabs. ANYWAY! kim showing subtle but unmistakable remorse here is super interesting, as is lupe’s adressing of it. she’s very eloquent and it’s lovely to read. i wonder why half of the group is missing? or if the nurse is exaggerating, but either way. considering the consequences for missing therapies though... hm. great page, and oh my god i LOVE how that first panel transitions from the last on the previous page. brilliant.
