Page Commentary No. 4

Gunwild: The quote in the alt-text lets you know I thought the use of magnetic harpoons in Snow Crash was awesome. The fifth panel also has the sound effect "FPOON" because of that one Key & Peele skit with the continental breakfast.

Gunwild: Clearly my influences are varied but excellent!

Psu: This page reminds me that we haven't done a LOT with zero-g since then, and there are a number of things I used here that I expected to use more of in the future but didn't. You can see a lot of holo displays here, which I have to say were really tough to figure out while working in black and white. To achieve a glow that would show up over both black and white parts of the drawing, I used a pure white shape with a Gaussian blurred duplicate layer toned slightly grey. I actually think the effect came out pretty nice.

Psu: But speaking of the heads up display, it's something that certainly makes sense on her helmet, you could see the dodecahedron helm shape which I got by importing a 3d model over her head, and then adding a string of numbers to make it look more "accurate." We don't use so many hovering heads up stuff anymore, excepting appearances by Skript Kitty and characters looking directly at 3d monitors.

Psu: Story telling wise, I think this page also showed off one of the things we wanted Cassiopeia to be able to get across, that she was something of a mathematical genius capable of making complicated shots or calculations in an instant. She can time a dumb magnetic harpoon to latch onto a passing space ship, I count that as a damn near super power!

Gunwild: FPOON

Gunwild: Anyway, hopefully someday we'll get to include that bit I want with the Zero-G fighting league and show that Cassiopeia has a crazy natural talent for operating without gravity, while Maddy has exceptionally good training for it.

Psu: I kinda wanna re-introduce some of those earlier ideas with the headsup displays and the safety shields and stuff. You'll find a couple of those still in the chapter.

(Panel 1: Cassiopeia has on one of her brave, snarky smiles, even though Zeke can't see her.)

CASSIOPEIA 1: Hi, Zeke!

STATIC BURST 1: Oh, hell! I thought I'd LOST ya for a minute there!

CASSIOPEIA 2: Well... I think some debris clipped me and I blacked out, but I'm better now.

(Panel 2: Cassiopeia is pulling her magnetic 'poon' - look, that's what this kinda thing is called in Snow Crash, forgive me for following in the footsteps of the greats - off of her belt. She can be posing like she's sassily putting her hand on her hip, even.)

CASSIOPEIA 1: And I haven't lost the magnetic harpoon, either.

STATIC BURST 1: Keep your location. I'm comin' in to get ya.

CASSIOPEIA 2: Oh, no you're not. The plan can go forward just fine – sticking to a plan is safest, you ALWAYS say so.

STATIC BURST 2: There's nothin' SAFE about this.

(Panel 3: A grid-sphere with some numbers around it lights up on the face of Cassiopeia's visor. She has raised her 'poon and is pressing a button to prepare it to be fired in some way. Her eyes are focused to one side, looking at the sphere data, since a shot like this requires having the numbers as much as split-second timing.)

STATIC BURST 1: But fine, here's the intercept vector. Nineteen seconds.

CASSIOPEIA 1: You KNOW I can do this.

(Panel 4: Looking down - relatively speaking in zero gravity, you know what I mean there is another drone-ship streaking along that's going to pass Cassiopeia in a few seconds. It's not firing or being fired upon, and also doesn't have huge flaring engine streaks because that could roast her to a crisp.)

STATIC BURST 1: I'd rather know ya WILL. And without dyin' on me.

CASSIOPEIA 1: Aww, that's sweet.

(Panel 5: Tight of our space-babe's hand as she fires the flat head of the magnetic harpoon gun. This is shooting out while an unbreakable cord uncoils from inside of it. It makes no sound, this being space and all, unless you insist on one. Is she biting her tongue while she shoots? Closing one eye?  Are there crosshairs on her HUD she's using? Up to you.)