#829+ – filling in the blanks

I don't know if I need to comment on it all, but I do love it all. The ending came out just the way I wanted. It's another sequence that went through waves of revisions from script to colors, exhaustively tinkered with so it would match the thing I saw. I've forgotten a lot of the details I was sure would make or break it, but it's in its final form, so they hardly matter now.

The only plausible outcome in my mind was for Jane to be wrong, but also a little bit right: Mar WAS having her doubts. That the two of them managed to drag themselves to this meeting, risking their fragile guts for the truth, is a miracle. All meetings of this sort are extraordinary and divine - it's only natural to question their fortitude. Will this come crashing down if even one seam is exposed? Best not to look at it directly, lest you find one. What could be so terrifying and exhilarating at the same time?

A few scattered visuals I love: Mar's watery words to match her eyes, Jane's "uh" and disheveled horny hair, the staging in panel 5 where everything is safe. There was some question from readers of why Mar looks away and sinks into blue in the last panel. The moment of transcendence has ended, it can't go on forever, and she is just a nervous, assailable woman herself.

18 thoughts on “#829+ – filling in the blanks

  1. This page was such a beautiful culmination of the story. It directly echoes the conversation they have in the bar about "quiet places." Marigold dismisses Jane's claim about being able to find it anywhere, but this is the moment they can experience it together. Great transition from the completely empty bar to the realization that there are in fact, other people around them, as they exit the quiet place. A good omen, for the beginning of their relationship, I think.

    1. Yeah, that second beat of Jane's heart, where it goes ba-DUM and suddenly everyone else is there, I swear I can *hear* the silence pop, and I've had similar experiences where the rest of the world remembers to exist. For me, those three panels are some of the most exciting in the entire OP canon, I love them so much.

  2. Fuck yeah, Cal! Go Bears!

  3. Jane, look out! She's talking about how shallow everyone else is and implies how she can't be herself with anyone but you. That's a red flag!

    1. lol, ran afoul of public sentiment, huh?

      in your defense, you're absolutely right that someone who disparages EVERYONE ELSE in their life besides you is not self-aware/cognizant of others enough to be anything other than a shitty romantic partner.

      but in mar's defense, that's not what's happening here: she's merely saying that she can't be at ease with her coworkers in the same way she can be with jane. plus, mar is showing COO-COO CRAZY levels of self-awareness AND empathy right here.

      my first readthrough, i was totally sour on this marigold-jane thing UNTIL THIS PAGE. i'd still pegged mar as a yuppie/ex-stoner derivative of the "flightly broad" archetype, even after her formidable display of insight with eve at the spa. but goddamn if she isn't MAGNIFICENT here.

      all of this to say, you're right generally but i think you misread this situation. you still got my upvote, though.

      1. Thank you. I spaced on the coworker part, that's important.

    2. Is it? I mean, depending on context I could see it as a yellow flag, but she's specifically talking about her coworkers. There's nothing weird about disliking your coworkers.

      1. I missed the coworker part! That does change it to a yellow flag. Thank you.

    3. no, she isn't

  4. I realized this morning that the reason I found The Kiss so poignant this time around is that in my head, this is the moment we round the corner to the final stretch of the whole story. Which means OP is almost over again. <3

  5. god, how hot is panel 18? i wish somebody'd straddle ME.

  6. Level of sweetness here = swimming through scrooge mcduck vault of pure sugar

  7. Saying "This is one of my favorite sequences in the entire series" is a little like saying "I like pizza" … it's one of EVERYONE'S favorite sequences in the entire series (apparently including Mer, which is neat), and everyone likes pizza.

    But it's one of my favorite sequences in the entire series. 🙂

  8. guh god those cute fuckers

  9. i can still remember the moment where I realised they were in the bar all along, and they'd just built a bubble for the two of them to be calm and safe and honest within, and it still hits me every time ;_;

  10. I always think Jane's clothes look really comfortable and Marigold's look really uncomfortable. Even that T-shirt looks unnecessarily restrictive, with those annoying little mini sleeves.

    1. Yes. I find that that kind of skirt, with the waistband at the natural waistline, is always working its way up my torso in a way that is uncomfortable and revealing without being flattering. Just above the hips is much more comfortable and inclined to stay in place, but it's not as much of a business look.

  11. It might have been overlooked but I just read this chapter and it looks like Jane's doubts were entirely built on Hanna's hateful gossip because she needs Marigold living a life of lies to be the only reason Mar doesn't need her like she used to. And how terrible would it have been if Hanna's neurotic spillover was allowed to ruin this relationship before it had a chance?

    (I was scared, I've never read this far before.)

    Yeah I also don't know if I need to comment but I'm just happy for these kids.

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