1.21.26
on May 24, 2023
at 3:00 am
twenty pages later falst’s bossfight gets interrupted when he is slapped in the head with a bird
Aurora
A fantasy webcomic. Updates M-W-F.
twenty pages later falst’s bossfight gets interrupted when he is slapped in the head with a bird
I love that they didn’t forget about messenger birbs. A lot of media has tendency to forgot useful powers once the arc is over
Red even did a whole episode on “Those Dang Phones” about how useful this kind of thing is and how many problems they create for writing stories because of these messenger birds
And now a character has found a new use for it: “Follow that signal!”
S.O.B Tuna?
Why is the tuna crying?
It was baked into a loaf of bread
so now it’s in pain
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: enjoy your character development coma!
Image source: safe
Red what do you MEAN Falst’s bossfight? Hasn’t he gotten enough bossfights?
(Trick question, I know)
I love that Erin feels the need to specify that. That’s peak sibling dynamic right there.
And Tess’s expression is perfect.
Oh yeah, that makes sense! They always have a way to find people.
Something tells me there will be a fun twist a lot later on where this doesn’t work for one reason or another…
The messenger bird flies in a couple circles and lands, despondent.
“Well, your friend doesn’t seem to exist in this plane of existence. Have you tried looking for ancient, legendary, godlike beings he’s having a spiritual crisis on?”
Leave the sword with Tess
And now the rescue begins
Follow the wind bird
What are the chances of Tess actually doing nothing with the sword? Probably 0%.
I wonder if she, as a metal-caste, might have sort of reaction to the Starmetal in the Sword. Even if she doesn’t I’m sure she’ll swing it about a bit, just for fun. The Beifong is strong with this one.
Tess, with a guy who was on the brink of death literally an hour ago by her feet; He he he magic sword :)) nice :D!
20 pages, you say? Let’s count ’em down.
Also, I can’t wait for Erin to go in ‘guns blazing’ as it were, and blow up the whole bunker because he probably doesn’t have much practical experience in cave systems, unlike Dainix. But maybe he’ll surprise me.
Erin is arrogant, not stupid, I doubt there is danger of that.
I love how Tess goes from respectable buff protector who will keep you safe to mischievous little sibling gremlin within the space of exactly one panel.
Panel 2 Tess vs. panel 3 Tess is actually just how Alinua sees her vs. how Erin sees her, literally all the time.
Yes! The perfect avenue for me to post THIS IMAGE!
https://twitter.com/quark_art/status/1627352318944444425
Also, that spellbird looks different. It has a real trail now.
Tess’s face in that one panel is the most relatable thing known to mankind
Tess’s face on that one panel I’d the most relatable thing to all people with siblings ever
It is a mood. i need it
It appears that I have said almost the exact same thing twice by accident-
Sorry bout that
Making sure Kendal doesn’t do anything dumb and making sure she doesn’t do anything dumb; which will she fail at first?
From the last few pages and the Trop Talk on phones, I can see Red is really thinking about how her communication magic is used logically in story and why character’s might not be able to or willing to use it. Side note, I wonder whether that bird Erin sent to track Kendal back in 1-15-31 was destroyed/absorbed during Tynan’s dragon phase or whether it’s still trying to make it’s way to Kendal.
I like how Erin quietly added “hang in there” at the end of the message, that’s sweet. All we need now is for that message to find him as he’s dangling above a steep drop and turn that heartwarming into irony.
Falst will inexplicably be hanging in there from a branch, as the message is sent to him and he is a cat.
“twenty pages later falst’s bossfight gets interrupted when he is slapped in the head with a bird”
Is that a promise!?
“it’s not a threat, it’s a promise”
Love how I can hear the unanticipated “urgh” that Tess is probably thinking in panel 3
I just adore Tess’s expression in the third panel. It’s killing me! LOL
There once was an elemental mage
Who made sure he’s on the same page
With his sister Tess.
She huffed a yes
‘Cause they’ll argue no matter their age.
would be really funny if it just dipped right into the ground like an Eye of Ender
Haha I thought the exact same thing
It’s wind magic, so presumably it had to go through air, not ground, but that would be funny. Once this is done, Erin should figure out a mixed element bird that can do that.
Tess will be the responsible one
Now to the boys, they’re having fun!
L love the implied tenderness of panel six when Alinua puts the sword by Kendal-person body. It goes well with gentle hope in Alinua’s face and words in panel seven.
TESS FACE TESS FACE TESS FACE
Someone said a few pages ago that Erin exists in a perpetual state of meme-template-ability, but I think it’s a sibling thing. Clearly Tess has it too.
Also FINALLY, let’s go get the bois. Also this whole scenario is making me think “It’s 10:00 do you know where your children are”
The fact that Erin merely says Tess’s name sternly, to which Tess responds with that, signifies to me that Tess had some kind of Noodle Incident involving sharp implements in the past. Either that, or she’s just understandably annoyed that her brother has that little faith in her wisdom.
I dont think we NEED a specific incident in which Something Bad Happened. This is the lady who punches dragons and runs from the law for fun. And theyre leaving her with the sword of a god. I’m sure Erin’s imagination is quite capable of concocting half a dozen fears without past evidence of her Doing Things With Pointy Metal Objects
Sidenote I wonder if being metal-caste influences swordsmanship. Are they more in-tune with their weapons? Does it matter?
I just noticed a potential weakness with the message bird. If the person who’s receiving it is unconscious or unable to respond then that could lead to them missing the message and causing problems. An interesting limitation to the birb.
I think it sticks around until you actively accept the message, rather than just arriving and playing like an answer machine.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah Tess’ gremlin face is… amazing.
I wonder if Alinua’s last line on this page means we’re going to go back into Kendal’s dream sequence. We did kind of leave in an interesting spot with him.
oh my gosh tess has really light pupils in her eyes. Its been… what, 20 chapters? and I genuinely NEVER noticed that.
It’s weird. In the page before the last one, Tess’s eyes are blank, but here, they aren’t. I don’t think it’s reflected light, either.
Well, as far as I know, Tess’s eyes ARE blank, and what we see here IS eyeshine, but the way it looks exactly is dependent on lightfall.
Also, Red has mentioned (on Tumblr I’m pretty sure) that she occasionally cheats with the way stuff SHOULD technically look to produce a certain effect (an essential technique for stylized art). In this case, the way the shine is drawn is Tess’s eyes in panel 2 makes it clear that she is making eye contact with Alinua.
I do the same thing when I draw characters of mine that have faceted eyes – placing the shine not where the light falls in from, but where they’re looking. I’m still working out the kinks in my mechanism for that though. I’m thinking of adding iridescent gradients of colour centered on where the character is looking, cuz irl bugs can have REALLY pretty colourful eyes.
those glowy effects on erin’s arms are so much more pronounced in the dark, its so cool!
Nuts, no Ali using the sword. Fair enough. Also Erin knowing to make Tess promise not to be dumb with the sword is peak sibling energy.
Anonymous Aurora Question #3: If you could magically shapeshift so your hair looks exactly like a member of the Floof Squads hair, who would you choose and why?
Oh, toughie. The answer is definately Alinua- I technically already have her hair, just not in pink. I’m very fond of my hair, but it has been having a rough time lately, since I havent had the chance to properly untangle it in a while, so if I could achieve Ali’s perfect hair health and maximum floof volume, I’d be really really happy. The question is, would it look good in pink? Of that I am undecided. (I’d also be down to try Erin’s purple, Tess’ metalic texture and Kendal’s-if only for the softness 🙂 )
That’s tough. But probably Dainix. He’s the most like me in a way. Wise, and always wanting to help.
I want Kendal’s/Vash’s hair because he’s Prince Pantene
Alinua. I WANT ALL THE FLOOF
Right now my hair looks mostly like Erin’s, although a bit longer, and I’m impatient for it to grow so I can look like a LotR elf. My hair isn’t particularly floofy though, which I am rather annoyed about, so I would definitely take the opportunity to have Alinua hair. The colour is another bonus.
My second choice would probably be Dainix. Floof, plus I also like the colour. Actually, maybe I’d prefer Dainix hair… Now I’m not sure if I can decide lmao
TESS’S FACE IN THE THIRD PANEL
I need more of their sibling dynamic it’s so good
Those Dang Phones.
I spent a couple days reading through this comic and I am now invested
NO ALINUA YOU HAVE TO USE THHE SWORD TO DO STABBY STABS ITLL BE SO COOL!!
“you got mai”
Panel 2: Gals being pals and staring deep into each other’s eyes.
Panel 3: dumbasses
But can we just take a moment to appreciate how good Erin looks in panel 3
Ah yes. The birbs. I remember them all too well.
*silent flashback of Erin getting bopped in the head with a magical birb traveling 70 miles per hour*
But anyway yeah, I missed like three pages of this because graduation requirements exist, actually, and needless to say I was NOT disappointed when I checked back! Also I love Tess. Her relationship (whatever it may be) with Alinua is really sweet, and she’s also absolutely frickin HILARIOUS oh my gosh the BANTER with ERIN AAAAHHHAHH– so yee. Great page of an even greater comic.
Tess’s face in panel 3 is my sprit animal
PleASE— ANOTHER BOSSFIGHT‽‽‽ CAN’T FALST CATCH A BREAK‽‽‽
…no, NOT like BONES!—, I mean REST!— REST!! & RECOVERY!!! AAAÆAAAHH!!!
Hey, would anyone be interested this? Basically, I take one Aurora character and one non-Aurora character and try to figure out what a fight between them would look like. Then all of you could argue about it, and we would have something to do on the weekends! I would explain what the outside character can do, just in case someone doesn’t know anything about them. The main problem is, I am going to be away from home for two months this summer. Is this a good, bad, or horrible idea?
’tis a great idea! Pls do it, it seems like a lot of fun.
it would be amazing its the best idea ive heard do it
TL;DR: Release the magical homing pigeon.
I love Tess and Erin so much!
46 pages. I counted ‘cos I was bored
Sheesh, Red. You’ve made it pretty clear that only Erin, the great Elemental Magus, is the only one who ever gets hit in the head by message birbs. And I love it.
Erin didn’t use (or know, probably) Falst’s surname so his bird spell is probably more about who you want to get the message than what name you put on it.
It has been said before, but all of these expressions are so well done! The stand out for me is Tess and how only part of her face is in frame. IT really helps convey that “over the shoulder” talk to Erin and the space of the conversation.
Post script. I want to see Tess wielding the sword at some point because she would be even MORE of a menace. I don’t imagine it would be her choice of weapon or optimal style, yet I cannot get it out of my head.
post, post script. Yes I doubt that she could wake the star fire, but come on, Tess with A shiny sword would be cool.