(Reads alt-text) Hmm, hugging, head-pats, sleeping, star-gazing, holding a sword. Yep, I’d say that covers everything.
Great to see Tess’s words made an impact; I hope she continues to lend Alinua good advice on finding herself in this new world. Whatever their relationship in the future may be, romantic, platonic, etc, I want to seem the close to each other.
Ali is sleeping now, but will she stay sleeping? I have a niggling feeling that something similar to 1-9-15, where Alinua had an out of body experience in Hilltop, may happen. She could use this state to look at Kendal more, or she could look around and discover that Falst and Dainix are not where they’re supposed to be. Then again it might not happen and the boys need to find their own way out.
Against, personally because I just don’t see it– besides I don’t think Red is gonna do more than one romantic subplot to please the romantic subplot gods, and this one just ain’t it.
Plus they’re so cute together as friends?? I feel like the dynamic is a lot better if it isn’t forced into a romantic subplot.
Another reason is that I just can’t see Tess in a ship with ANYONE, so uh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t want to see any romance in this comic. If it must exist Ali and Tess are a fine combo, but I will not except it until very explicitly stated as romantic.
I’m a big tesslinua fan. I really love their dynamic so far. That being said, I can see their dynamic as either platonic or romantic, and I’ll be happy either way.
Against. Let them be friends. They’re adorable as friends. Also Ali is a bit too dependant on Kendal for any sort of Romance. To ship her and Tess is to ignore Alinua’s stated codependency like three pages ago. When a ship ignores the mental states of one of the characters I think it’s bad. Also people comforting people through bad stuff does not automatically equal Romantic Subplot. Red did a whole Trope Talk on this. I don’t think she would write one using the short cuts. More likely it will arise organically from the charactes. If it happens at all.
I’m against it, honestly, because I’m tired of everything being romantic in books. Platonic love is a thing, maybe people can use it? This comic does a great job at it, and it’s also refreshing to see a comic that isn’t groveling to the diversity fans as well, especially since I don’t think that Tess and Alinua would even go together. I have two sisters and this is how we interact, and I think Red does a great job with the sibling dynamics. 🙂
I guess I wouldn’t really object too strongly if it happened, but like so many others here are saying, these two are really REALLY cute as platonic life partners!!!
I wouldn’t say I for or against it. It’s refreshing to see well-developed platonic relationships in fiction, but I would equally be happy to see queer romance too. However, I don’t enjoy the knee-jerk shipping response, where characters can’t hug without romance being immediately inferred, especially when the hug is meant as a gesture of support to an emotionally distressed friend, and especially when those two characters met less than 24 hours ago. I mean, I know gays move fast, but that’s a little TOO fast
in summary, i’m not AGAINST Tess/Alinua, i’m just unconvinced by it. thank you for coming to my TED talk
also, can we normalise having two completely compatible characters not developing romance? like, my best friend and i are both gay, yes, and we hug a lot, and we say we love each other, but it’s completely platonic, and i think that’s an underrepresented dynamic in fiction
Against. I really don’t want to see romance here, and they have a really great dynamic as friends. I don’t enjoy good friends being shipped bc it implies that there’s no such thing as a healthy and caring platonic relationship. Friends can just be friends, can’t they?
Mmm, mildly against it. Look, I love a good romance, the story I am writing is very focused around the complications of a thruple formed initially due to (fantasy/magic specific) circumstances and then working on developing deeper bonds. But I’m not feeling much need for a romantic relationship here.
mind, if there is going to be a romance in this story, I strongly suspect it will involve Alinua. She has the sort of personality that I feel is going to be able to both put in the right sort of emotional work and get the other person to put in the work. And Tess is a viable match for that, but so is our favorite living sword, and she currently has deeper ties there.
But that can change over the future, and those ties might be a little too emotionally dependent at the moment, so that might not be a healthy start to a romance.
And now this is making me think of a YouTube series, Cinema Therapy, where they discuss the good and the bad (and so often the bad) about big screen romances and tropes.
surprisingly, i disagree. although Alinua does fit the role of the Heart, making her a go-to for romantic subplots, she seems to be more of a mother to the group, rather than a love interest for any one character—the only natural choice for her romantic partner would be Kendal, and that’s not happening, because he’s (maybe?) asexual and also less than a month old at this point. plus, she’s been living in complete exile for most of her life, and i feel like she would sooner create a found family of equal platonic relationships than one really strong romantic link (she’s already co-dependent on Kendal, and they’re not even ‘together’ together)
this is purely based on vibes and gay bias, but Dainix seems most likely to get a romantic subplot to me, just because he’s so earnest and loyal and quick to connect. but even so, a romantic subplot anytime soon seems very unlikely, if at all
I ship it only in the way that i want to consume fan- content for it and fantasize about it, but i don’t nessecarily want it to become cannon. I actually quite like it that this story is not lushing any romance.
The story is about the journey and interactions of all the main characters revealed, their growth, revelations of strengths and weaknesses and successes and failures met by each together.. While love stories are fine they narrow the story you can tell since you are limiting the actions you can draw/write about. I like stories of action, adventure, struggle and reaching a goal as well as personal relation. But talk of shipping is fun some of time.
Let it all out, let it all out
You don’t have to think your heart is made of steel
Come away now, from your own doubt
Like a flower of hope that’s growing in a field,
you will heal
so… is Tess like… constantly as hard and cold as metal, or is she more like a very muscular but still very soft fleshy bag of water? cos i am not sure if i want to fling myself into the arms of a steel girder, no matter how much trauma she helps me process
Red answered an ask about this on the tumblr. I couldn’t find the ask (the paged crashed when I tried to scroll down that far), and don’t know how to link it even if I had, but in summary metalcaste are regular human levels of squishy when hugged or poked or otherwise interacted with at low velocity, and about as squishy as a sheet of metal when hit.
damn, Red really thinks of everything. well, i guess if you’re going to make such huggable characters you have to define the laws of the hug system at some point. anyway, thanks, that completely answers my question
I think CopperCandy would be a good ship name for these two. Alinua’s hair is often referred to as cotton candy, and Tess is some form of copper alloy.
Since no one has pointed it out yet, can I rake some time to give appreciation to that NEST of pillows? Looks like to perfect spot to get cozy and pass out from physical and emotional exhaustion.
I had a chat with my dad today about the directionlessness of my life right now and the barriers I see everywhere I look, so this particular imagery is rather resonant with me right now…
If only one of us were comfortable enough to casually offer hug…
Said it before and I’ll say it many more times: Tess is the best!
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: have I successfully covered the full spectrum of “god I wish that were me” on this page
Image source: rest
At last she gives in, and as Tess is the best
She returns the embrace, then leaves Ali to rest
:'(
Love Alinua’s fluffy hair, so huggable
“we did it, lads”
“we tucked the cotton candy in for bed”
Huzzah!!! The floof has landed! The floof has landed!
[holds you]
[is hold]
(is held) Sorry! Bugs me as a proof reader for some friends of mine- pay no mind.
Ah, but see now you’ve walked directly into the trap – for you are now the one being held!
there,there
Tess is a good character.
there’s something very comforting about this page
(Reads alt-text) Hmm, hugging, head-pats, sleeping, star-gazing, holding a sword. Yep, I’d say that covers everything.
Great to see Tess’s words made an impact; I hope she continues to lend Alinua good advice on finding herself in this new world. Whatever their relationship in the future may be, romantic, platonic, etc, I want to seem the close to each other.
Ali is sleeping now, but will she stay sleeping? I have a niggling feeling that something similar to 1-9-15, where Alinua had an out of body experience in Hilltop, may happen. She could use this state to look at Kendal more, or she could look around and discover that Falst and Dainix are not where they’re supposed to be. Then again it might not happen and the boys need to find their own way out.
Aurora Question #20: Are you for or against the Tess + Alinua ship that the comments are guessing at? And why?
Against, personally because I just don’t see it– besides I don’t think Red is gonna do more than one romantic subplot to please the romantic subplot gods, and this one just ain’t it.
Plus they’re so cute together as friends?? I feel like the dynamic is a lot better if it isn’t forced into a romantic subplot.
Another reason is that I just can’t see Tess in a ship with ANYONE, so uh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t want to see any romance in this comic. If it must exist Ali and Tess are a fine combo, but I will not except it until very explicitly stated as romantic.
oops! See my response below Question Master v
I’m a big tesslinua fan. I really love their dynamic so far. That being said, I can see their dynamic as either platonic or romantic, and I’ll be happy either way.
Against. Let them be friends. They’re adorable as friends. Also Ali is a bit too dependant on Kendal for any sort of Romance. To ship her and Tess is to ignore Alinua’s stated codependency like three pages ago. When a ship ignores the mental states of one of the characters I think it’s bad. Also people comforting people through bad stuff does not automatically equal Romantic Subplot. Red did a whole Trope Talk on this. I don’t think she would write one using the short cuts. More likely it will arise organically from the charactes. If it happens at all.
Personally, I ship Tesslinua. It would be cool if it became Canon, but I don’t expect it to, and it’s nice how little romance we’ve had.
I’m against it, honestly, because I’m tired of everything being romantic in books. Platonic love is a thing, maybe people can use it? This comic does a great job at it, and it’s also refreshing to see a comic that isn’t groveling to the diversity fans as well, especially since I don’t think that Tess and Alinua would even go together. I have two sisters and this is how we interact, and I think Red does a great job with the sibling dynamics. 🙂
I guess I wouldn’t really object too strongly if it happened, but like so many others here are saying, these two are really REALLY cute as platonic life partners!!!
As with most ships, I want to see more interactions before I decide if I ship it or not. Right now, I think they’re just cute friends.
I wouldn’t say I for or against it. It’s refreshing to see well-developed platonic relationships in fiction, but I would equally be happy to see queer romance too. However, I don’t enjoy the knee-jerk shipping response, where characters can’t hug without romance being immediately inferred, especially when the hug is meant as a gesture of support to an emotionally distressed friend, and especially when those two characters met less than 24 hours ago. I mean, I know gays move fast, but that’s a little TOO fast
in summary, i’m not AGAINST Tess/Alinua, i’m just unconvinced by it. thank you for coming to my TED talk
also, can we normalise having two completely compatible characters not developing romance? like, my best friend and i are both gay, yes, and we hug a lot, and we say we love each other, but it’s completely platonic, and i think that’s an underrepresented dynamic in fiction
Against, because Tess and Alinua should remain platonic because friendships
Against. I really don’t want to see romance here, and they have a really great dynamic as friends. I don’t enjoy good friends being shipped bc it implies that there’s no such thing as a healthy and caring platonic relationship. Friends can just be friends, can’t they?
Mmm, mildly against it. Look, I love a good romance, the story I am writing is very focused around the complications of a thruple formed initially due to (fantasy/magic specific) circumstances and then working on developing deeper bonds. But I’m not feeling much need for a romantic relationship here.
mind, if there is going to be a romance in this story, I strongly suspect it will involve Alinua. She has the sort of personality that I feel is going to be able to both put in the right sort of emotional work and get the other person to put in the work. And Tess is a viable match for that, but so is our favorite living sword, and she currently has deeper ties there.
But that can change over the future, and those ties might be a little too emotionally dependent at the moment, so that might not be a healthy start to a romance.
And now this is making me think of a YouTube series, Cinema Therapy, where they discuss the good and the bad (and so often the bad) about big screen romances and tropes.
surprisingly, i disagree. although Alinua does fit the role of the Heart, making her a go-to for romantic subplots, she seems to be more of a mother to the group, rather than a love interest for any one character—the only natural choice for her romantic partner would be Kendal, and that’s not happening, because he’s (maybe?) asexual and also less than a month old at this point. plus, she’s been living in complete exile for most of her life, and i feel like she would sooner create a found family of equal platonic relationships than one really strong romantic link (she’s already co-dependent on Kendal, and they’re not even ‘together’ together)
this is purely based on vibes and gay bias, but Dainix seems most likely to get a romantic subplot to me, just because he’s so earnest and loyal and quick to connect. but even so, a romantic subplot anytime soon seems very unlikely, if at all
Cinema Therapy is great tho, we can agree on that
I ship it only in the way that i want to consume fan- content for it and fantasize about it, but i don’t nessecarily want it to become cannon. I actually quite like it that this story is not lushing any romance.
yep same, I’d love fan-content for it, but it’s having a romance-free comic.
this. this is adorable. nothing else
The story is about the journey and interactions of all the main characters revealed, their growth, revelations of strengths and weaknesses and successes and failures met by each together.. While love stories are fine they narrow the story you can tell since you are limiting the actions you can draw/write about. I like stories of action, adventure, struggle and reaching a goal as well as personal relation. But talk of shipping is fun some of time.
I like this story without words being said by either one- emotions seen in action and response in tenderness.
Same alt text, same. I can’t tell which one though, do I want stronk metal lady hugs or do I want to be stronk metal lady who dispenses hugs?
TL;DR: AND THEN THEY HUGGED.
*”Let It All Out” starts playing*
*slow clap*
Let it all out, let it all out
You don’t have to think your heart is made of steel
Come away now, from your own doubt
Like a flower of hope that’s growing in a field,
you will heal
To answer the alt text – yes. If I had to choose one though, I would choose the one where I get to pat the fluff that is Alinua’s hair.
AHHHH FEELS
you have indeed fulfilled the “wish that were me” spectrum lol
Between this page and the princess carry a few pages back, I’d say that we’ve reached 6G levels of coverage.
More hugs and pats!!! (づ◕ᴗ◕)づ
PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS PLATONIC HUGS
Right now, all I want is Tess to tuck me into bed.
hmm.
so… is Tess like… constantly as hard and cold as metal, or is she more like a very muscular but still very soft fleshy bag of water? cos i am not sure if i want to fling myself into the arms of a steel girder, no matter how much trauma she helps me process
Red answered an ask about this on the tumblr. I couldn’t find the ask (the paged crashed when I tried to scroll down that far), and don’t know how to link it even if I had, but in summary metalcaste are regular human levels of squishy when hugged or poked or otherwise interacted with at low velocity, and about as squishy as a sheet of metal when hit.
yeah kinda like oobleck
damn, Red really thinks of everything. well, i guess if you’re going to make such huggable characters you have to define the laws of the hug system at some point. anyway, thanks, that completely answers my question
I think CopperCandy would be a good ship name for these two. Alinua’s hair is often referred to as cotton candy, and Tess is some form of copper alloy.
Let me hug them both! Do it you coward!
Since no one has pointed it out yet, can I rake some time to give appreciation to that NEST of pillows? Looks like to perfect spot to get cozy and pass out from physical and emotional exhaustion.
It’s even the same nest setup (sans tent) that Erin prepared for Kendal’s first proper sleep, so you know it’s comfy.
oh shit, it’s the dream sequence bed
That’s the PERFECT way to describe it. If we get a dream sequence, that confirms it? XD /hj
And they were roommates.
Life, in Alinua’s dreams: “Oh my god, they were roommates.”
I can’t think if we’ve seen it before, but seeing the floofy hair patted is warming on a spiritual level
Tess is too good and pure to be true. Which is making me paranoid and suspicious when I really do not want to be.
I need a hug and soothing words from a big metal lady who punches dragons.
I had a chat with my dad today about the directionlessness of my life right now and the barriers I see everywhere I look, so this particular imagery is rather resonant with me right now…
If only one of us were comfortable enough to casually offer hug…
Second time that night Tess catched Alinua and saved her from falling. I love it it’s so cute<3