#aurora analysis

[hamfeather]

I got my physical copy of Aurora volume 2, I’ve been reading it, and it got me thinking

The Gods seeing Kendal: Someone with Vash’s face, Vash’s hair, Vash’s body, but moving slowly and politely in a way that Vash never would. Using Vash’s voice and mouth to talk in a way that’s so incredibly not Vash.

The squad seeing Vash: During the Tynan fight Vash comes back into Kendal’s body. He moves and fights loudly, swinging his sword around and quipping after every move. Fighting using Kendal’s arms and hands, in a way that Kendal never would.

[daggryet]

one thing i think the c!dream video changed in terms of c!dream’s character that is really interesting is at which point c!dream figures out he holds power over life and death.

originally, we assumed that he figured it out in prison when he revived c!tommy, as he said he didn’t know it would work. this was him at his lowest; he had no physical power, he was locked away in a box, he had no items. in that instance, it rejuvenated his feel of control, even though he was still locked away.

but now we know that c!dream found out that he had the power to defeat death at his highest point, when it came to how powerful he was. it was presumably right after doomsday when he’d just obliterated the last resistance movement against him with c!techno’s help. and then he finds out, along with c!punz, that he wasn’t only the most powerful person on the server in terms of skills and items; he was also the most powerful person on the server overall. he was practically a deity.

him knowing this while he’s at such a high point makes him thinking being thrown in prison, for whatever end, was a good idea much more understandable. at this point, he knew he was so powerful that no one could touch him anymore.

[daggryet]

i think the most frustrating thing about c!phil isn’t that he’s the only character that’s misinformed, but that he - along with c!techno - is the only character that’s misinformed and doesn’t seek out any knowledge, they just presume.

like with c!eryn and c!michael, they don’t know a lot about the server history, they don’t know a lot about the people, they don’t know what c!dream did which leads to them questioning why his punishment is so harsh. and the thing about these two is that they actively seek out people to ask about. they’re still, mostly, in the dark because the people on the server evade the questions or don’t know how to answer.

c!phil, though, thought he knew everything because of c!wilbur’s letters. he was then informed that the letters were fake, and he spent an hour seeking out the truth and then stopped. but he’s giving advice as if he knows everything, as if he is on a moral high ground others can only dream about.

he’s not frustrating as a character because he’s misinformed; he’s frustrating as a character because he knows he’s misinformed and yet he still believes he knows best.

[daggryet]

the ressurection site has been made into the grave c!wilbur never got, the place to remember all that he was a person, and talk and grieve

i'm fragile

[daggryet]

c!fundy still takes his armor off inside l'manberg, the one who was born there, and despite denouncing it before doomsday - he still respects the rules of the country his father founded.

please, let them heal

[daggryet]

c!tommy's fatal flaw being loyalty makes me want to kill and maim.

from c!tommy giving up everything for l'manberg, to c!tommy surviving exile by hanging onto the discs, to c!tommy betraying himself by betraying his loyalty to l'manberg and his friends, to c!tommy choosing l'manberg over and over again, to being angry with c!wilbur and still wanting him back so achingly, to travelling thousands of miles to bring back henry and friend.

c!tommy always forgiving because those are his friends, or they once were, and it's not about chances, it's about treating people how you wanna be treated and it's about never giving up on those you care about.

reaching out to c!dream several times, considering forgiving him if he would just tell him why he hurt him so bad, to him following c!wilbur - because he's his friend, his brother, because he possibly is planning to destroy the entire server, because c!tommy is a follower and c!wilbur his leader.

c!tommy doesn't want to give up on people, he believes in the goodness, and sometimes to a fault. when we see him reach out to c!dream pre-prison death, when we see him forgive c!phil over and over again, when we see him, traumatised and scared, still follow c!wilbur's step and bidding because that's what he does. he mines stone if c!wilbur wants him to.

and if we look to the future, he'll probably forgive c!niki as well for trying to kill him, despite her never doing anything to right the wrong she almost caused. because it's not about chances. it's about treating people the way you want to be treated. it's about not giving up on people.

even if they hurt you, even if they give up on you.

[daggryet]

c!sam putting wait on c!tommy's grave hits extra hard because it's the disc he wasn't able to save

[daggryet]

i'm reblogging a lot of posts about the hog hunt, but i want to give a special shout out to how sad-ist animated the use of the totem of undying.

i've seen a lot of different takes on how it would look when used in real life, and they've all been stunning, but none like sad-ist's interpretation have really made it clear what the totem of the undying actually does:

it doesn't make you invincible, it doesn't protect you. it only works after you've died, it revives you in the most real sense by undoing what killed you.

visually seeing what happened to c!technoblade, what damage the anvil did, seeing the totem take time to work all over and seeing that happening in real time; it makes the death real. it happened. just because he had the totem, he still felt the pain and he felt the pain of being revived. it's like c!tommy described the process, being torn apart and being put back together again.

death isn't beautiful and neither would revival be. and it was animated so so well

edit: i didn't know before posting but artist @/viceravermilli1 on twitter was sad-ist's inspiration for the totem of the undying scene, so please check them out as well!