Hiii once again I come to throw rocks at Aura (it's how I show love)

So: he doesn't seem like a man who cries. Even more, he gives me vibes of "too traumatized to even know how to cry anymore." Which immediately makes me want to ask: what would actually make him cry then? What's the potentially most soul-crushing and painful thing for him, one that would actually break him and make him sob? What is that one softest bit of him that would bleed the most if struck?

you’re so right. the mechanisms of emotional release in Aurastor are completely rusted over.

his trauma manifests as a deep emotional stoicism that leaves him beyond tears, conventionally.

in that case, the only way to break him is striking at something fundamental to his core. something protected.

the ways you could destroy him to tears below the cut.

• irreversible loss/betrayal of chosen family/deep connection. the fragmented nature of his earlier memories not only makes it difficult for him to navigate forming connections, but those bonds he would manage to form would be fiercely guarded and precious. the complete and utter loss of such a bond, esp thru deliberate betrayal or forces he could not have anticipated would shatter him. beyond sadness. it would be a re-experiencing of past abandonment and a confirmation of his deepest fears about connection.
• unbearable suffering of someone he feels responsible for. he carries a hidden burden of responsibility of past failures, as he perceives them. he has lost everything and everyone catastrophically before. if someone specifically under his care, such as trusted staff or retinue he has formed a connection with were to suffer grievously or irrevocably, the guilt and visceral pain of their suffering and his failure to safeguard them would break him.
• forced confrontation with core trauma. very obvious. but this would need to be done in a way that has stripped away his defenses and overwhelms his control. it’d be the violent shattering of his carefully constructed walls that would trigger the tears. less tears of sadness and more raw, unprocessed pain, fear and primal grief for lost parts of the self.
• unconditional acceptance. this is the big one that may seem counterintuitive at first. the sheer vulnerability of being truly seen and accepted, perhaps for the first time, would likely overwhelm his defenses and trigger a release of years of pent-up longing and the grief of never having experienced such a thing. this is also just as damn unlikely as he projects the most unappealing, stoic, scientific persona in personal relationships so he can to avoid the very basis of connection. vulnerability is his core fear. a moment of unadulterated love or acceptance offered without expectation or judgment would be ruined by him sobbing. probably on the floor.

thanks for indulging me! i really hope you’re getting something out of all this character analysis 🔪🫀