#Ashton's hands

[yudol-skorbi]

smoke break from saving the world

[luddlestons]

thank you to @lav3ndaze for the inspiration! I had been considering these 4 in a cuddle pile for a while now, but they inspired me to 1. actually draw it, and 2. put ashton in the middle.

[elsafromcabinsix]

i can't be the only one obsessed with them

[edgeasaurus-art]

What several levels of exhaustion does to a mother fucker.

I was listening to the album grow again by Moe Reen while making this. specifically Why Deny (The Climate of Our Love).

You could admit it's all on fire And confess to loving me This world is surely ending soon, Our love is certainly something true So why deny the climate of our love?

Theres so much to say about them. The world is on the precipice of disaster and yet they found each other, the successors to the emperor and empress titans. Did the emperor and empress wonder what their successors would become? did they wonder about who their successors would be? did they hope that they would find the love they had? or did they think the story of the titans ended then?

When Fearne was alone with Nana Morri did she ever dream about the people she has around her now? about sharing a bed, with no other expectations other than waking up together?

When Ashton found themselves left behind after the nobodies left him, did he dream about a group of people who listened to what they said and respected their words? did they ever dream of someone wanting to be with them just because they liked being around him?

when they were at their loneliest, was the thought of each other a fever dream?

I still stand as a firm believer that both Ashton and Fearne have two hands, but watching them grow closer together has been amazing. And I hope their relationship continues to flourish, platonically or romantically.

[oddthesungod]

lazy morning ✨💖

[lunarrolls]

listen so closely to me i think liliana temult is a fascinating character and she’s really fun to examine morally but also nothing will ever come fucking close catharsis-wise to watching ashton and orym fucking cross examine her ass in episode 92. the sexiest shit i’ve ever seen “your worst fear is probably my worst fear, and i think we just got a little sample (my worst fear came true because you weren’t fast enough, what will you do when it’s her head on the line?)” and “keep wrestling (you must bear the weight of their deaths on your conscience and know it will never be enough for what you took from me)” like holy SHIT you guys

[lycanthropdyke]

When the situation is serious but the visual is just slap stick

[astralleywright]

thinking about Orym not just telling Ashton that he cares about them, but the things he says after: I get it, to a degree, I do. You would never fuck off. You really do have a soft heart. I know you mean well.

there was so much questioning of Ashton and his intentions by the other Hells, accusations that he was power-hungry and that he didn't care about them, that he manipulated or coerced Fearne into giving him the shard, that he was just a "bad" person. even the new shared understanding they had by the time they left for the Feywild, that Ashton took the shard because he was misguided and mired in self-loathing, only gets reported back to Ashton in pretty obtuse ways.

Orym has the benefit of getting time to think, and who knows what he would have said or done had Liam been there for ep 78. but even still he's the first to tell Ashton not just that he cares about them but also that he sees the good in them. most people have never bothered to even look for that. if Ashton can even see it right now it must seem tiny, meaningless, completely drowned out by all the bad in them.

and the other Hells do see that good, to varying degrees, even now. they love Ashton too, and they love him for a reason. but the first one who actually thinks to tell Ashton that is Orym.

[kidvoodoo]

Weathering & Cultivation

[the-book-ferret]

Hi. Yes. Hello. This ferret needs you to watch the new My Lady Jane series. For reasons.

[finncakes]

"I'd be up shit's creek by myself. I was by myself. It's not great."

"Yeah. No, it's not."

[ashtonisvibing]

INFINITY

HE GOT FUCKING BALATRO INFINITY

JESUS CHRIST

[aurorangen]

It was all a façade and I didn't know that

Transcript:

[There was a time when my Dad meant everything to me]

[I looked up to him. He was always there for me. I could always rely on my Dad]

[One day he said to me, "You're gonna conquer the world kid". He named me Vincent]

[Those words stuck with me for the longest time: I really felt invincible]

[But little did we know, what he was doing behind our backs]

[demisexualemmaswan]

sometimes I just think about how Ashton and Orym’s scarring is on the opposite side of the face from the other and I just

[danwhobrowses]

So there was a Callowmoore question on 4SD which has got people talking and since nobody will ask me about it I'm gonna get it out of my brain anyway.

For someone on 4SD as frequently as Taliesin, Callowmoore questions are rare and I think that partly comes from us fans not wanting to try and steer him but also because his answers tend to be complicated. He's quite plain with other stuff, but a lot also gets offered into interpretation when it comes to Ashton and Fearne.

And granted, we Callowmoores would love for him to pull a Liam and just up and say Ashton has feelings for her, but I think we all know that's not Tal's way; aside from the nuggets of wisdom, killer one-liners and unique homebrews, we tend to love Tal's characters for their actions and expressions, some of which subtle and rewarding to those paying attention. For this reason I have had to mull over this one minute answer for most of my day and figure out what I think he means by it, like blue curtains in a book.

To note though, 'I think' is the operative term, but I also don't believe that Tal has left Callowmoore better or worse by his response.

One of the interesting things I want to point out is that my interpretations are observing the divide between Taliesin's words and his roleplaying; it is not to say that Tal is being dishonest in his answers, but I also see it as the answers are what Ashton thinks and his roleplay is how they feel.

So no, Ashton isn't 'precious' about Fearne wandering off when sleeping beside each other, if she said no or came back safely it wouldn't have bothered them, and it's fair for Ashton to have preferred Fearne to have woke them up. And yet that doesn't deny the reaction Ashton had waking up to find her gone and fearing that she's in danger, and not there to help her; the panic, the anger, the impatience are all clear and instinctive reactions Ashton is having that imply that her being with them is important. They're not precious about Fearne waking up and leaving the bed before they wake, and yet they'll still smile upon waking and finding that she's still there.

The 'Adventurers with Benefits' is one of two comments I can see being used maliciously against shippers, but it's worth reminding that on the last Callowmoore question Tal was asked, he mentioned that Ashton doesn't believe that someone would love them. Ashton feels unlovable, and yet they still ask for intimacy with Fearne, leaning further into their connection but also not pressuring her into commitment. It's also worth pointing out that this is still a slow burn, even Jester questioned whether her feelings for Fjord were legitimate or a romanticized fantasy at one point, and Ashton is not privy to Fearne's feelings for them. Ashton frames it as Adventurers with Benefits because they don't allow themselves to entertain the idea of Fearne reciprocating feelings for them, and yet their impulse to kiss her before absorbing the shard, to frequently engage in physical contact at a growing rate, to playfully steal and share each other's clothing, the desire to defend her from harm or anyone that might have ulterior motives, and to willingly do anything and everything just for her to smile in their direction again, that paints more of a picture than just benefits.

Which finally gets us to Ashton's theory of love. Tal mentions that Ashton believes that love is 'wanting to trust somebody, but not trusting them'. Immediately: No, haters, I don't think this means Ashton doesn't trust Fearne, nor do I think it means that Ashton trusts Fearne so they don't love her. Ashton trusts all the Hells (well, maybe not Braius since they just met), but Fearne is special to them in a different way, they've already platonically said that they loved her when they first were using their titan forms. In addition, this could be an elaboration of the last time Tal brought up Ashton's opinion of Love on the post-shard Callowmoore question: 'love is ignorance and adorableness'. This is another thing that can develop, elaborate and/or change over time, but at the current moment Ashton's interpretation of love can come from environment; Imogen wants to trust Laudna but can't wholly trust her given Delilah, but even Ashton can see that they love each other. Tal also mentioned that Ashton is not very experienced in relationships - which kinda plays into my belief that Ashton and Fearne, while have had relationships, haven't had deep romantic feelings or proper intimacy before, which makes them discovering it with each other more special - so their understanding of love can only exist on what they assume it's like.

And yet what if you reworded the phrase in the same spirit? 'Love is trusting someone wholeheartedly even with nothing to reassure it', there have been many a time something looked to go south and faith was put in another anyway; the shard may be a bad example because it did go wrong but even though the red flags were there Ashton upon completing the process said 'thank you for trusting me', when Fearne took the shard Ashton was a bag full of panic their experience meant they couldn't trust that the shard wouldn't be just as bad for Fearne, and yet they still wanted to trust that Fearne would succeed. Ashton couldn't trust that whenever Fearne was wild shaped, cornered by Otohan, or taken away by Ira on Ruidus that she'd come back safe, and yet still wanted to trust that she would, Ashton couldn't confirm that Fearne wasn't a Doppelganger in Nanna Mori's trust trial - even when FCG and Imogen suspected it was her - and yet they still wanted to trust that it was her. Ashton's view on love may not be entirely right but it's not entirely wrong either, what is blind faith if not ignorant and adorable? Even with their interpretation, Ashton has put plenty of faith in Fearne even when the risk was high.

In conclusion, Ashton's behaviour towards Fearne do often imply a complexity rather than a discrepancy to Tal's 4SD statements, that maybe Ashton's emotions and subconscious are not in sync with their self-doubt driven thoughts, perhaps it is the way Ashton tempers their feelings to try and not get hurt by them or cause Fearne to get hurt by them again. Ashton's apology to her post-shard made a point of noting how she means a lot to them, and how hurting her was one of the worst things they have done, and as they work towards self-improvement and self-discovery, there will likely be a point where self-realisation comes into play too, and they can understand why what they're thinking differs to how they're feeling.

Again, this is all interpretation, speculation and observation, one that like the core statements doesn't add or subtract but fills in some gaps either way. Ashton's feelings are a complicated matter, which is likely why Tal entices and creates such speculation with a complicated answer. Right now Ashton clearly does care for Fearne and share a special relationship that's regrowing after suffering tension, loss and fear, blooming back into trust, joy and comfort, but save 5 Disney Greek Muses backing him up in a Gospel song they're not just gonna out and say they're in love

And Yet...

[utilitycaster]

ok because I admittedly missed this the first time through, Dariax does make it fully to Zephrah or at least the outskirts, which has a multitude of oddly hilarious implications:

Dorian's plan was just. find Keyleth and hide from Dariax? oh buddy. Like I don't blame him too much for what he did but my guy that's NOT a plan.

Dariax is in fact fine. I think I may have mentioned but given Robbie's delivery in the second half I honestly thought Dariax had died or been corrupted too and he didn't want to deliver all bad news but no, that was pure unadulterated guilt. Excited to see this.

Cyrus's body is being retrieved. The Ashari do have the means to bring people back. Will Cyrus be brought back? Will he be brought back still as an air genasi (you know, what with FCG and now Cyrus, where their heritage is actually extremely important, Reincarnate has WILD implications but that's a separate post)?

If he can be brought back, will Cyrus and Dariax just hang out in Zephrah experiencing the utmost of clown to clown communication. Will Dariax at LEAST help him level grind.