Haha I totally didn’t forgor that I have (checks journal and winces) four entire panels of the Rose animatic finished but not colored. And have for months. Anyway, symbolism essay below the cut:
(What is safe ain’t the same as what is good)
This line exemplifies the fallacy of the Foundation, where in their effort to keep the world safe, heinous acts are committed. The scene depicts Rosalind being destroyed so the Foundation can gauge how dangerous Tubbo is and thus guard against them. Though coerced, Tubbo chooses their safety over their perception of what is the good moral decision.
Rosalind also proves the inverse; what is good may not be safe. Though abundantly flawed in her perception, she initially joined the Foundation believing she would be serving humanity, and in the end only endangered herself. Her leg is severed, showing how she could have fully escaped on her own had she not tried to rescue Tommy and Tubbo. Again her efforts to be good doom her. Rosalind is depicted pleading with Tubbo, trying to reach out for help that they refuse to offer, severing her arm. Tubbo refuses to look at what they are doing to her, just like how Rosalind initially refused to believe her initial impression of the Foundation as a benevolent institution was flawed.
Interestingly, in the choice between Tubbos’ head being cut off and Rosalind being murdered, neither outcome leads to death. The Foundation is sure that decapitation will not kill Tubbo, and despite their guilt Tubbo knows Collecting Rosalind into the Hive means she is still alive. There is only the illusion of death on both sides, which the Foundation endeavors to maintain so that the workers and anomalies both believe the other is a lethal threat. It is essential that each fears the other so that the oppressive system is maintained.
(so lay compress to the aching)
For all the last stanza discussed love as sacrifice, this panel emphasizes that love is also solace. It depicts Tommy and Tubbo comforting each other in the direct aftermath of Rosalind’s Collection, though with Tommy still hesitating to fully embrace Tubbo. Frequently it is compassion for each other’s pain that teaches Tommy and Tubbo compassion for themselves. Only for their love for each other do they survive the Foundation.
Sprawled across the floor in Red and honey lay drawings of the things they yearn for. For Tubbo, it’s the flowers of the home they were torn from. For Tommy, it is the stars he can barely remember and the Collector he feels abandoned by. It’s also notably the first hint of Philza’s true form, though it wasn’t yet revealed that Philza was a dragon. These representations of the things they long for, be it freedom or support, are what fuel their determination to persist. And, of course, each other. It is love that keeps them going, for better or worse.
