#and ashton did Not manipulate her with 'this is the only one you get'

[screechingfromthevoid]

So like they've been talking a lot about how they're all a bunch of fuck ups. And while sure they're all a little unstable and unpredictable, I don't really think they are fuck ups? Outcasts sure. People who have had a lot of bad shit happen to them? Yeah. People who have made mistakes? Who hasn't.

Like Laudna didn't really fuck up. She had the worst things imaginable happen to her, then was given exactly 0 time to heal. All the while she was being manipulated by someone who was supposed to "care" for her.

Imogen was neglected by her father and ostracized by her town and honestly came out as normal as she probably could have. When she was out on her own, with Laudna, they seemed to do pretty well?? It's just, being the leader of a group is new to her. It takes a while to adjust.

Ashton was used as a science experiment by their cult leader father. Then was dropped in the middle of nowhere where they found a family that didn't love them as much as they loved them. They had to make a lot of hard decisions on their own and just because they're not lawful good decisions doesn't mean they were wrong or bad.

Fearne being classified as a fuck up because did meet her warlord fathers expectations is crazy to me. (I know what they were getting at by calling her a disappointment. Doesn't mean I have to like it) On top of that, she had years stolen from her as a price for her parents actions.

FCG was programmed a certain way and they fought against it at every point they could. Their literal programming. Being taken over by something hardwired into I don't think counts as fucking up?

Braius was lied to then excommunicated. it seems like letting Nott and Jester in was like the only thing he did wrong his entire life?? He was hella devout before that??

Chetney is 4,000 years old and fucked his way through exandria. He doesn't have a family to disappoint and hes been making children's favorite toys for like ever. He hurt some people along the way but like. Does that constitute as being a fuck up?

Dorian literally did what he was supposed to do. His parents had a rumspringa and to imply that he's a fuck up for literally doing a rite of passage is beyond me. (If you wanna talk about fuck ups ask me about Cyrus) And even on his rumspringa he became one of exandrias greatest hopes.

And Orym. His insisting incident? The thing that set him in this course? His husband and father dying. In the same battle that he fought in. That's the thing he "fucked up" on. Failing to save those closest to him. And idk I think it's pretty cruel to call him a fuck up for not being able to save them against Otoha. Who also killed him.

[captainkingsley]

i will Not comment on posts with stupid takes about Ashton I will Not,

(proceeds to ramble in my own tags because idk where else to dump this)

[utilitycaster]

Just caught up with the latest cr episode and wow. You’ve mentioned previously that you would like to see more conflict in Laudna and Imogen’s relationship, and i wholeheartedly agree. Which is why I’m obsessed with the fact that Imogen was the only who saw the repercussions of Laudna absorbing the dagger.

Having seen this, Imogen will not be able make excuses for Laudna’s behaviour in this instance. Whatever benefit of doubt Imogen may have desperately wanted to give Laudna was destroyed when Delilah showed up. Imogen can’t lie to herself about the fact that Laudna DID want the sword to feed Delilah. Laudna attacked a member of the party and even took precautions like casting magical darkness, so as to not be caught. I also feel like it’s important to highlight that while Laudna was manipulated by Delilah, she acted with FULL agency, she wasn’t possessed or anything of the sort. Laudna CHOSE to steal the sword for Delilah’s benefit and Imogen will have to grapple with that information.

It’s going to be so fun to see if Imogen keeps Delilah’s increased presence a secret from the party, OR how she will go about sharing this information if she chooses to do so. Because technically not saying anything is not only deeply irresponsible but could also be deadly, especially given their impending venture into Aeor.

Great points, and I agree entirely.

The thing about Imogen is that, as I've mentioned before, she in particular sees concealing information to be bad and deceptive, to the point that she specifically took off the circlet of the hidden eye after Ashton's shard absorption incident. Of all the things Imogen has said that are insensitive or hurtful, none have struck me as malicious; they've all struck me as coming from a person who, due to uncontrolled psychic powers in early adulthood, has a particularly intense and hypersensitive idea of the concept of white lies or lies of omission. Even when she accuses Laudna of lying in episode 89 it's interesting because I wouldn't personally phrased it as such - I'd say "why didn't you tell me," or "why didn't you say something," not "why did you lie."

Imogen takes lying to one's full allies pretty deathly seriously, and so I don't think she's going to feel okay lying even to protect someone she loves. Imogen also hates Delilah and has repeatedly said so. She's tried to love Laudna around Delilah, but I think as you say this makes it clear that is not possible: Delilah isn't going away without intervention, and her grip on Laudna is getting worse. She can't pretend anymore, and, to her credit, I don't think she will try.

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

Honestly, Im a little disappointed that it wasn't messier. Im disappointed that there wasnt more shouting. That Lauda was providing most of the pushing and everyone else was just kinda... rolling over? I wanted an argument that would have brought the roof down on them 🙄

the reason theres so much constant tension in this party is that they all havent tried hard enough to punch each other in the face - like really smash.

to be totally serious tho, remember when Chetney told Ashton to gtfo and thats what broke the tension? someone finally getting the guts to be mean and to push hard on someone else's reckless bullshit?

the fact that theres no such equivalent here? the fact that chetney hasnt intervened on that level? thats whats keeping this tension.

on one hand, the way some of the party treat laudna is so fucking patronizing, its actively painful - Ashton whispering to Laudna for an apology? wtf? the way they acted like she was a misbehaving toddler set my teeth on edge. Then Imogen... Buddy, pal, you just watched your mother regurgitate Ludinus's lies like they were stone cold facts and youre out here accepting the same thing from Laudna without a second glance. You know she has a problem! You know she's not the most reliable narrator! You know she fails insight checks against herself all the time!!!

Ashton and Imogen both needed to treat Laudna like a threat in that moment bc she attacked someone without provocation during a rest when they were trusting her to not do that and it was clearly premeditated because she covered herself in darkness. The fact that they dont demonstrates that neither are taking her capabilities seriously enough. The fact that they arent addressing the threat she presents - to others and herself - is allowing her to continue hurting herself and others.

Whereas, Fearne is complicit in it all because shes so conflict averse. She was never gonna be the one to hold Laudna over the fire.

Chetney and Orym would have. Orym was trying to but literally only Dorian backed him up. And Dorian doesnt know fuck about all. He joined them two days ago. Hes got no fucking clue whats happening!! Oryms the only one really pointing out the fact that he was attacked unprovoked

and sure laudna was aiming for the sheathe, but thats splitting hairs... i believe we removed targeting each armor piece somewhere in dnd 3.5 or something lol - if youre targeting a piece on someone, the usual call Matt makes is to give this a higher DC. Matt making Marisha roll arcana makes sense bc yes you can control wither and blooms "chosen target", but when the target is attached to something else, and moreover the target is a thing - not a creature like the spell says RAW... it makes sense that a failed arcana check would lead to that failure

for all intents and purposes, laudna was aiming for orym. she didnt mean to hurt him but again, shes operating under the influence (and yes I do mean that connotation). a lot of people do shit they dont mean under the influence. but they still gotta do the repairs when they come back to their senses. harm was still done. Orym attacking laudna bc he was hurt and blinded is also fucking reasonable. he didnt fucking know it was her in the first place.

for laudna to say that orym hurt her when she attacked him - that was grade A manipulation

and heres the thing too, when someone is acting under the influence, people usually call it out. they say stuff like "youre drunk" or "youre high" to acknowledge that hey, this isnt you but also this isnt acceptable either. no one breathed a fucking word about delilah until the very very end. they all treated laudna like she was in a reasonable state of mind, and she wasnt. they werent meeting her where she was at and so they failed to reach her

now to orym... did they all agree that the sword was oryms? bc that was a discussion they did not have... chetney made a one off comment about how theyll need permission for it (possibly implying orym but never explicitly stated)... was the idea that orym gets it because he got hurt first? that wouldve been stupid for sure

to dorian's point, hey its just a sword. swords hurt people. what youre gonna look at every sword with magic geometry and expect to see it cuddling puppies? swords are made to hurt. even when its defending. it can parry but if you need a shield get a shield. sure, this was otohan's sword but the sword is not sentient (laudna girl you need to insight check your patron pls). otohan hurt her not the sword. and to allow her to consume it was more leaning into her trauma - its not setting a good precedent for future healthy coping mechanisms basically

that said, dorian cant just say that without acknowledging the depth of laudnas trauma. the sword actively triggered her. this does reek of a PTSD episode where she went running to a soothing influence. to simply say its just a sword without paying respect to laudna's hurt is also incredibly dismissive - well aimed as it was.

chetney is sus. thats it. thats the take. i dont believe this old man when he said he trusts laudna. i think hes plotting

tl;dr - everyone tried to help laudna, no one tried to stop her which might be the only way to help her now. she needs someone to hold her back and call out when shes under the influence again.

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

Taliesin: "Ashton didn't know about Fearne's feelings for him so it couldn't have been manipulation"

Also Taliesin (as Ashton):

"You were thinking it, you were thinking it loud enough that it was practically vibrating this bench" - referencing knowing that Fearne was thinking about him being hot

"Still fucking got it, still fucking got it" - after Fearne calls him hot

"It's never happening again anyway" - referencing him kissing Fearne

Like, I completely recognize that Taliesin's intentions going into this situation with Fearne may have not been to manipulate her, but that is not what played out - it did not play out as someone that felt like they were unloveable and couldn't even fathom someone having feelings for them.

Even if you can make the argument that Ashton didn't know about Fearne's feelings for him during their initial conversation (which is a stretch considering bullet point one and two), he definitely knew about them right before they took the shard (because why else would he kiss her, why else would he say it was never going to happen) as a way to get her to do what they talked about because they saw her having second thoughts.

I have definitely come to the conclusion that this sequence of events is never going to quite click or make sense, because I definitely think what Taliesin intended to happen with this situation an what actually happened are two very completely different things, which happens sometimes, but I would rather someone just own it and be like "I tried a thing, it didn't work, I fucked up" then try to change the narrative, which I feel is a little bit of what we're getting here.

Edit: Even if, as some comments pointed out, Ashton wasn't aware that Fearne had a crush, and was only aware of/convinced of a physical attraction, he still used that to their advantage to get what they want, to get Fearne to do something they never should have convinced her to do, to stop her from telling the group and backing out when she clearly was having second thoughts. Whether malicious or not, Ashton went into that conversation with Fearne with the intention of doing whatever he could to convince her to help them and actively took steps to stop her from telling the rest of the party or not helping them when it was clear she was hesitant

[cringefaecompilation]

I know it wasn't the focus of your misogyny post so if I'm overstepping please ignore me, but it also really makes me mad when people "conveniently forget" that Ashton is nonbinary, especially when it justifies their shitty opinions (ie he's One Of The Boys™ so he's always correct and can do no wrong thanks to his male-based intellect unlike the awful evil women or he's an Evil Manipulative Man™ who's going out of his way to use his male-ness to harm these poor innocent helpless women because he said/did anything negative towards them). Like please y'all, they're not a man PLEASE they said their pronouns IN THE FIRST EPISODE PLEASE. Feel free to like/dislike Ashton all you want cause that's perfectly fair, but for the love of god don't be transphobic (especially to be sexist) when you do it??? Is that too much to ask??? Idk if I'm making sense/getting upset at nothing because I've seen a lot of people dismiss this as being silly or getting mad at nothing, but idk as a masc enby a lot of discussions around Ashton feel so gross? Idk though, once again ignore if I'm overstepping or anything

you are not being silly and you are not getting mad at nothing or overstepping. it's a huge problem.

i've seen way more of the former where he is misgendered as a cis male as a positive trait, so i'll be talking more about that. will be reposting my tags about this trend in fandom because i've already said my piece on it.

ashton is "schrodinger's man" to these people when they're bored with ignoring/erasing orym's respect and care towards the women in his life. they're nonbinary and trans when they're being directly defended against fans who only like the women, and they're a cis male who is a victim of violent misandry when complaining about previous drama or shipping laudmo/ore (willing to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe some of that blending is them including cis male actor taliesin jaffe but then again). the idea that shardgate was Feminism Going Too Far is an actual statement that i've seen going around the fandom, and it's gotten worse now with swordgate.

didja know there are people insisting laudna should have been abandoned by the hells or fearne should have gotten "harsher punishment" when her dad nearly killed her because both women did something selfish/impulsive and ashton was yelled at and punished for doing something selfish/impulsive? the They Only Were Upset With Ashton Because He Is A Man argument is so fucking dumb. bro almost nuked himself without telling anybody else and was the only one not forcing the shard down fearne's throat, of course they'd come to blows. and you wanna know why they didn't scream at fearne or laudna? BECAUSE THEY LEARNED TO NOT DO THAT. THEY HAD A THERAPY SESSION SPECIFICALLY TO AVOID DOING THAT SHIT AGAIN

and it really does make it obnoxious because i like him and orym's dynamic but it's so fucking frustrating seeing people make them into bell's hells leaders and Voices Of Reason just so they can say "orym is always correct because dead husband and imogen is a salty selfish bitch" or "ashton is always correct because tough love & street smarts and imogen is just a salty selfish bitch" that it immediately sets off red flags for me if someone says those guys are their favorite bh characters. and it sucks because i love orym and ashton too!

obligatory "both sides though" mention: yes. there are im/odna shippers that fantasize about "punishing" or murdering ashton. they do that to dorian and orym too. i am aware of them and i have seen them. i have 90% of them blocked lmao

and i have also talked about this before but the amount of people i've seen insisting callowm/oore is a bad homophobic cishet ship that erases fearne's pansexuality is BIZARRE. this argument was used to prop up fearn/iture which makes no fucking sense to me since chetney is, as far as we know, cisgender. we might not know ashton's sexuality proper but it's safe to assume they aren't heterosexual as they've flirted with people of many genders. also there was this genuine debate if as/hrym was a homophobic ship because orym only dates men... and. well. i don't think it'd be the same as shipping keyleth with orym, let's put it that way lol

[crayistic]

I needed to come somewhere to rant.... so here it is. Critical role Campaign 3 Episode 77 spoilers ahead so please don't read if your not wanting spoilers.

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First of all want to say the episode was brilliant, in terms of the story and the hopefully future animation for sure. However I have so many issues.... I have seen alot of people and shippers getting g happy about the fact thatAshton kissed Fearne... and saying things like he is being the barbarian and is wanting to be the one to take the pain and damage... so on and so forth and I couldn't disagree with this more.

First of all, from a players perspective... i know there is trust and love between the crit cast and they are all about support and aftercare... but thus choice by ashton as a player with other players made me feel quite uncomfortable. It was such a horrible place to put Ashley in and it was easy enough to see how angry and how rediculous most of the cast thought the choice was. Not only that but Matt himself making comments about how he gave them clear warnings. It would jave been less painful for others if he had let Fearne take the shard (or gave her some support or time to think about it for herself) that put her and the others through what he did. He knew how risky it was and he was very prerered to die, so anyone saying he was doing it for his friends? Like what... how? Because the pain of losing someone and having to carry that with you, when you also played a part in it MAJORLY out weights phitjcal pain. Then chockyness with the end result when it was all fluke and luck. If it wasn't for fearnes spell and randomly swaping the ring with chet... yes these are all great story points but I do think he crossed the line alittle.

Now the missed opportunity for the story. Mat wad clearly setting up the emperor and empress, giving them clear signs and opportunities to gain power for two of the bells hells. Now what? Will ashton be completely OP, and how is that fair to the other characters. Mat is now going to have to find away to limit him and again yes, the game is about the players, not everything goes to plan and things can change in an instant but again I do think there are lines. If he had died, there is a big change Ashley would have blamed herself for saying she didn't want the shard (however i also think she was influenced by Tals persistent pushing and comments for him to have it). I was really looking forward to seeing what it would be like to have two of them tighed to eachother by ancient power and what that would mean for them. Not to mention how stressed and upset she was at the table, I get that shit can happen in game but when another player is doing it to you without any type of warning for over 40 mins of play... it seemed abit messed up.

Moving into the shipping aspect of things. I'm a lover of romance in d&d and I had a forst class ticket aboard the Imogen/Laudna and the Fearne/Ashton boat. I was looking forward to being able to see Fearnes vulnerable side. She is usually so ladeda about flirting, intimacy and so on but this... this was kind of gross and it almost felt like she was being used and manipulated. While this could have been tal not recognising fearne was going down that path for ashton and him rushing to implement things last moment or whatever was going on... it just felt wrong.

Out of nowhere he's calling her hot after she's referencing him saying he wants a sister... and the horrible thing is you can tell she has feelings for him because ots almost like she is to wrapped up in the slight attention that she doesn't even see how he's acting. Saying she's hot while lased in the request to lie to all of their friends, aid him in doing something stupid, very much from the begning never planning on fearne having the shard... saying how he trusts her more?... It felt like love bombing to confuse her and get her to do what he wanted. Her returning his hot comment and running away... there was no recognition to how she doesn't normally act like that... what did it mean and so on, he just sat back and made a cocky comment

Then the whole thing, grabbing her and kissing her right before it happened. He actually made a comment saying to just do it because it will never happen again and it's the only one she gets. Like imagin if you actually loved or was falling fir someone... it felt like she was nothing but a tool and none of the others would do it for him because it was fucking STUPID but fearne also wouldn't have done it to any oof the others... so what's the difference? Well maybe ots the fact she has feelings for him. The people saying he wanted to do it to take the pain over his friends... I just don't get it. His actions were nothing but selfish. Doing something so crazy and actually telling people to heal him. Saying he needed this like having one shard wasn't enough. Putting fearne in that position, someone he clearly knows cares for him more than a friend and she had to stand there and watch him fucking shatter into pieces and come back... nearly dying over and over and worst of all at the aid of her own hands. Now I don't see how they could have any chance of a romance because he kicked it in the ass before it even began... or he doesn't even see her that way and did completely use her... because if it was the only kiss she was getting... then why do it unlessbyour trying to love bomb her?...

It was all abit twisted and fucked uo to me and I really don't know how to actually feel about the whole thing... definitely the most controversial point of bells hells to me. Oh man what I would give to be a fly in the wall after that. The following pics sums up my emotional roller coaster through that ep....

[meid4]

C3 E77 ASHTON RANT

OMG i haven't been so STRESSED during an episode in a whiiiiiiile

when i was catching up campaign 2 it was less scary bc like i knew they were not going to die, or like i didn't doubt that they would succeed

but here experiencing it week by week and just knowing that at any moment they can die, it's SO scary

for this last episode, i was kicking, sceaming, i was SO sure he would die, i thought that there was NO way that they would survive this and THEY FUCKING DID !!!

I felt so bad for fearne, being on the plan and her regretting it, seeing her friend hurting, she was so scared.

I read about the discourse about Tal/ashton but what makes me side with ashton just joking with the "this one is the only one you'll get", that he was just being akward, is that THEY TALKED ABOUT IT

And you could see it bc sometimes ashley has difficult time knowing what to do, she often says "i don't know what to do" or like has a difficult time expressing herself (this is just an observation, not a critic, she is still very talented) but with their conversation, you could see that they talked about it, she was more confident, she obviously had time to think about it.

Do i think ashton manipulated her ? not intentionally for sure

do i think that it looks like it bc i know how self destructive people tell you they love you before doing something stupid ? absolutly yes

And when you think about it, imodna did the same thing, they also got a pact about "i trust you to do the right thing"

i know it is also about the party not knowing and i absolutly would like for them to talk more, mostly when they are always talkign being time bombs but not talking about their feelings

[stoutduke]

Critical Role: The Bell's Hells and the Gods

Once they get to Ruidus, they'll probably be the only people that can stop Predathos from being freed. The gods have done barely anything for any of them and yet they're being asked to save them. They could just wait until after Predathos is freed to try and kill Ludinus. When they get to Ruidus, it could be the perfect time to ask the gods to make it worth their while to stop him before he frees Predathos. Waiting until after he frees them would probably be the most strategic time to attack because once their free the Reilora and Imogen's mom wouldn't have much of a reason to help him.

FCG already experienced the god he started worshipping telling him to help by giving two reasons that contradict each other. She first told him to help by saying without her guidance he'd end up alone and in the dark and then she turned around and said you should follow you're own path and do what you think is right in order to manipulate him. What makes it more obvious that the Changebringer is mostly just using him is that I think that people have said the gods don't usually talk directly to their followers and yet she's talked to him twice. He doesn't know anything about her and is very new to worshipping and yet she's not only talked to him, she's also given him a magic coin. Almost every interaction he's had with her is out of the ordinary and points to it just being her using him because she knows how connected he and his group is to Imogen's mom and Ludinus. There's also the possibility they know FCG's group is their best shot at stopping Predathos from being freed because there's a good chance that typical divine power will be weakened on Ruidus and his group doesn't really rely on their power like their followers. Also FCG might not be as affected by Predathos' power when they're on Ruidus because his powers come from himself.

There's also the time Pelor sent an angel to stop them from destroying a temple that barely had any followers and the followers it did have took militaristic control of a town and intimidated them with two judicators into giving them money as tribute to a religion they didn't follow. Then they found out the church was trying to take over the region and force their religion on people. It's been said that in times of crisis people show their true colors. I don't completely agree with that, since people can do stupid stuff when they're afraid that they normally wouldn't do, but it can show you a side of them they'd normally hide. So far we've seen Pelor is seemingly ok with his followers intimidating and forcing his religion on people. And the Changebringer is manipulative and seemingly just using FCG.

What's also curious is that we've never heard anything about an angel coming down and protecting any of the temples or people in Whitestone when they were being taken over by the Briarwoods. They had many worshippers there, but it seems like they weren't given any divine help at all. When they fought a high ranking member of his religion and they died he sent an angel to that temple, but it didn't make sense for him to do that if he was trying to protect his followers. The high ranking member of his religion was already dead, so sending an angel there would've only protected a temple that barely had any followers. It seems like the real reason he sent an angel there wasn't to protect the temple or his followers, it was to keep the location under his power because there's a nexus of ley lines there and it could be used against him and his followers. I'll be a bit disappointed if they don't at least try to get the gods to reward them. They have Ashton on their team and he should know that there are deals to be made with people that have everything to lose. One of the best ways to get something from them could be to word it like they seriously need the gods help once they get on ruidus because of how outmatched they are and they probably won't be able to stop him before he releases Predathos.

[sbrn10]

Look, I apologize for being the hyperfixate on Laudna and Imogen all the time person (actually, I don't, sorry not sorry, this is my whole personality now) but:

Marisha has fucking weaponized the phrase "I like/love children" and I want her to stab me with it 37 more times. It's the most fucked up, precisely because her (Before Imogen state) idea of appealing to children is so horrifying, of course they run from her.

Can you BELIEVE that the primary thing standing between Laudna and Delilah's manipulation is Laudna's extremely low sense of self-worth? The fact that Delilah tries to tell Laudna "you deserve it, take what's rightfully yours" and Laudna refuses because it's not meant for her -- nothing is meant for her. Even Imogen isn't meant for her -- after all, she's a dead end, and Imogen should be able to live. The fact that Delilah still doesn't know any other way to entice someone than offering power because it's the only thing she understands -- and Laudna doesn't want it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make everybody worry. *weak laugh* This is the second time you all have trotted through these woods to save me." vs. "the crippling obligation that [I] feel to everybody for risking themselves to save [me] ... still haunts me." (From fucking e49 when Laudna and Ashton were having one of their "Ashton is projecting their experience onto Laudna super hard" conversations, fucking christ) Excuse me, I'm going to go scream into the night.

"What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Did he manipulate you?" Laudna's immediate assumption that Ashton somehow coerced Fearne in order to take power meant for her, because she's lived with a voice in her head doing nothing but that for 30 years. I am lying dead in a ditch.

Look, I know everyone has already said it. I know. I know. But. Laudna: Will you hold me? Delilah: Always. "You swear you feel the shadows around you in this corner grow a little thicker, like a cloak of darkness that wraps itself around you." "You wake up cold and alone." Laudna: I miss Imogen. Laudna: Love is pain. But it is also warmth. I was so cold last night. Imogen: I go hug her again. Marisha. Girl. What the FUCK.

Laudna: You can give [the doll] whatever voice you want. Ashton: I'm not good at voices. Laudna: You can find a voice. What if I just died. Right here. What if, Marisha.

Can we talk about Imogen going through Laudna asking her to move on if something happens to her, like she's readying herself to leave, and then she left for real and didn't come back. Can we talk about how fucked up that was for her. Can we talk about how she didn't even get to be angry at Laudna for it because Laudna was visibly fucked up so bad it was something she'd never seen before. Somebody please give that girl a hug, like so many hugs, also my kingdom for Imogen getting to be angry at Laudna at some point (please also read Time Running Out).

Ashton: I thought it would make me better, and I thought a better me would-- [help you]. Imogen: You don't need power to be better, Ashton. Imogen is just so fucking tired, my god. Imogen is the Ben Affleck smoking meme about the people she loves being stupid.

Okay, a few not Imogen or Laudna things: - My god, Travis, what an episode for Chetney. "Plus, if you need it, just say you need it." / "Okay, I kind of need it." That is my emotional support old man and I just want to give Chetney and Fearne so many hugs. - Percy and Ashton being mirrors for each other across 30 years and 3 campaigns: truly the most Taliesin of all time. - FCG was so good at talking Ashton through his decisions and pushing back on the surface-level excuses to dig deeper but also staying open and trying hard to allow Ashton some grace despite it all. Growth dot gif. - FCG as a counselor at Wildemount Wildlings when.

[hecksupremechips]

Ashton Frey is literally so autistic though like it’s got me making organized lists here let’s see

He’s carefully mastered the art of observation and reading people cuz he was so bored as a kid being forced to attend large social gatherings and he isolated himself and just studied the way people interacted with each other to figure out why they behaved the way they did. Despite this, he’s still really bad at understanding social cues (he is never able to tell when Rebecca is upset or what could’ve caused it, he can’t word anything properly, he talks in such a logical way that he comes off as uncaring and he doesn’t notice when it upsets people, etc) and generally doesn’t interact with most people

He’s very intelligent but hated school because the system was structured so horribly. He fell asleep in professor Andrew’s class frequently but once the professor found a way to appeal to his interests he became super committed and passionate

He’s horrible, just absolutely horrible with words and communication lol. He fumbles and stutters and says a lot of mean things on accident. He mostly communicates through his actions and it’s why he comes off as cruel and uncaring to those who don’t pick up on it and kind and considerate to those who do pick up on it (my favorite example is the difference between Rebecca and Isabella’s feelings towards him. Rebecca relies on Ashton to tell her how he feels and because he doesn’t communicate very good verbally, she assumes he doesn’t care about her when he in fact cares a great deal. Isabella on the other hand is able to get on his level a bit more, like understanding that even though he teased her about the letter he still took his day off to help her in the way he thought was best and he gave her ice cream and the charm because he cares, and she is able to see just how loving he really is)

Earning his trust isn’t easy but once you get it he WILL cling to you like crazy and shower you with memes and bad puns and do anything to make you happy

He gets a lot of attention for being hot but he’s usually oblivious to it or finds the attention annoying. He also tends to turn people off with his personality

He fixates so hard on what’s important to him that it’s detrimental to his physical and mental health and he shuts out everything else to pursue his interests

He categorizes his life into boxes and HATES when things slip out of their needed space. He finds himself lying a lot to the people important to him because he’s so desperate to keep them away from the other parts of his life. He is easily transformed by the people in his line of work and finds himself becoming like them. Also he’s kinda gullible in his job and doesn’t realize he’s been manipulated by his boss since day one cuz teehee cops are fucking assholes and he has a naive sense of justice and easily believes everything his boss tells him and it makes him the perfect pawn for some abuse (seriously i hate chief lee so fucking much god I hate him Ashton baby I’m sorry but you’re being manipulated and your boss is a monster and you need to get a better career dude)

He’s very insecure and scared of rejection and beats himself up for minor flaws. He also has trouble understanding his feelings and expressing them he tries to logic his way out of feeling and only cries when he’s hit absolute rock bottom and is like. Told that he needs to cry because he’s clearly not holding up well and only then is he able to

He’s got a damn good memory and remembers every obscure thing about his friends

He’s very attached to objects and gives them names (Shirley and Ophelia my beloved)

[awful-roffle]

Woops! *gets back into starbound and hops on the Fic Train about my ocs again* now with new crewmates <3

---

“Hey, Captain?” Lyra spoke hesitantly, the drones and creaks of the ship nearly overpowering her voice.

“Yep?” The humanoid rodent spoke, biting on a piece of wire before shoving it back into the generator. Another voice piped up from the bathroom, a distinctive ‘NO!’ as the lights flickered. Another ‘I JUST FIXED THAT!’ filled the air shortly after. The captain shrugged and brushed off his shirt, turning his full attention to the doctor.

“...The other day... when we were in the Outpost... someone asked if you were in the Protectorate... and you seemed weird about that…” A brief pause lingered before she finished her thought, “What did you do before you were a captain?” An awkward smile passed over her tired features. Her hands fidgeted in front of her, yanking her lab coat ever tighter as the conversation continued.

Phzi blinked at that, then scoffed. “Oh you know. Academy things. Saaaaaaving the wooooorld....” He motioned his arms in an exaggerated motion in the air as if punctuating his thought.

“But you…” Lyra’s word drifted off as Alexis came storming down the ladder, lightly whacking Phzi with a screwdriver before beginning to fix the generator herself. Lyra cleared her throat. “You don’t exactly seem the ‘saving the world’ type.”

“Because saving the world’s for pansies and peacekeepers. Of which I am neither.” Phzi quipped and pulled himself up the ladder in one quick motion. He stuck his head back down the hatch to look at her, “Trust me doll, don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”

“...But I do want answers!” Lyra protested as he ran off, climbing after him. “You aren’t exactly the king of goodwill, if I may say.”

“You may not. However… you have a point. I stole it. This baby.” A hand beat against the hull of the ship, resulting in a clanging roaring throughout its entirety. Phzi grimaced briefly before turning back to her. “Owner wasn’t around and I needed a ride out of there. You know how it goes.”

It took her a moment to process his words, furrowing her brow before standing up straight. She wasn’t all that much taller than the rodent, who was only a height of 4’11. “And why were you in such a hurry?”

“Running from the Peacekeepers.”

“What?”

“What?” Phzi repeated in an almost mocking voice. “I borrowed-” He emphasized the word as if SAIL was listening, ready to interrupt at any moment. “An artifact or two from a museum. You can probably imagine the reactions to that weren’t the best.”

“You… carried out a museum heist?” Lyra blinked.

“It’s not a heist if you’re borrowing.”

“What did you do with the artifacts?”

“Sold ‘em.”

“Then that’s stealing.”

“Nope. Borrowing. Indefinitely.” Phzi stretched his arms out. “Anyway. Hacked SAIL to register my bio-code and got out of there. Went about my business. Week later this corpse shows up at the teleporter all fucked up. According to SAIL that was the ex-pilot of the Onyx. He couldn’t re-gen his health without his bio-code here. But I got this, so, win-win, right? Love this thing.” The captain waved around the matter manipulator, flicking its switches as lights flashed across its face. “I can do wiring and stuff with it now. It’s pretty sweet.”

Lyra blinked in silence once again. No response came to mind at all; just a slow nod as she retreated back to the med-bay.

“COOL!” Ryou beamed as he finally spoke up, revealing he had likely only been listening to the end of the conversation. “Can I test it out? There’s this project I’ve been wanting to work on and...-”

“Go for it. If you break it, it's coming out of your paycheck.”

“Wait, you’re getting paid?” Ashton piped up from across the room.

“Nope.” Phzi chucked the manipulator to Ryou who caught it with an excited clap of his webbed hands. The captain hummed a tune as he opened a closet, adorning his head with a visor. “How do I look?” He asked Ashton, overlooking himself in a mirror.

“Looks great, cap.” Ashton spoke reluctantly, shaking her head as she turned back to her tea. Why was it so blue?

[nightmaremp]

Tina's parents lore/facts

Let's start with Serena, Tina's mother.

but first-

WARNING: mentions of abuse, horrible acts, cheating, toxic behavior

Serena. Tina's mother

  Serena is Tina’s mother and Ashton’s wife. She isn’t a good mother to Tina, in fact, she is a horrible mother.

Serena would be manipulative, mentally abusive, and sometimes physically abusive. She would favor Tina’s three brothers and twin sister over her. 

Serena wasn’t abusive to Tina’s siblings and showed them love but with Tina, she didn’t care. She believes that Tina was a failure of a daughter and offen says how she should be like her siblings.

Serena would use a ruler to hit Tina’s wrists when Tina makes a C or D on anything in school. She does worse things which I’m not going to say. 

Serena has cheated on her husband multiple times but never got caught by her husband. Her kids have caught her a few times and she would threaten them to keep this a secret.

When she meets Gerald, she hates him because he shows her daughter love and care.

Serena tried to get Gerald to leave Tina or to cheat on her, but Gerald would call her out and would threaten her by putting a restraining order against her and Ashton. 

Her voice claim is The Administnaton from Team Fortress 2. She was inspired by the grandma from Turning Red. 

Gerald actually put her in a nursing home and did it with the most passive aggressive way ever. Serena is still in the nursing home to this day.

She doesn't ever know about Teeth since she wishes to never see the kid that Tina has with Gerald. Teeth did try to visit her and it went to horrible.

Serena just went off on how he shouldn't exist. She would also rant on the fact Tina is successful when she didn't want Tina to be successful like her siblings.

That is it. Now on to Ashton, Tina's father

 Ashton is Tina’s father and Serena’s husband. He isn’t a good father. Ashton wasn’t physically abusive but mentally abusive to Tina.

He only wanted three sons and one daughter but got two. He favors Tina’s siblings and forgets about her. 

Ashton has left Tina outside in the snow because he forgot that she was real. He would often body shame Tina when she was eight and up to adulthood.

Ashton hated Gerald and wanted him to leave Tina. One day, he and Gerald got into a fight after months of Gerlad and Tina being married. 

Ashton had a broken arm and leg after the fight while Gerlad only got a bloody nose and a black eye.

Ashton would die by the time Teeth was born. He died from a heart attack on the news of his daughter being pregnant with a man’s kid who he hated. 

His voice claim is the Medic from Team Fortress 2. 

Relationship with Gerald:

they both hate Gerald for being nice and kind to Tina. They try to break them up. Tina's parents even try to ruin the wedding, but Gerald's family didn't even allow them anywhere near the wedding.

Gerald hates them with his whole soul. If you mention or ask about them, you're going to get a rant about them from Gerald.

He only deals with them because he loves and cares about Tina. He didn't let Teeth around or near them. Teeth didn't know that he had grandparents on his mother side of the family beside Valerie, Serena's mother.

Teeth did ask Valerie about them, and he couldn't believe that his mother had parents that was trying to get rid of her. He wonders if that why Tina treats him like she did. She only wants the best for him.

Teeth is happy that he never met them after talking to Valerie, his father, and visiting Serena.

[willowbirds]

✨I’m gonna make this and no one can stop me!!✨

I decided to listen to the first episode of campaign 3 again because I had nothing else to do and I realized that Bell’s Hells are actually a bit different from where they first started.

It’s of course character development and the players getting comfortable playing their new characters, but I thought about how much the characters have changed from episode 1 all the way to now.

Obviously not every character has been through the same amount of growth throughout to campaign so far, but these are some of the things I personally noticed.

(Feel free to add in case I missed something. This is just what my brain has observed)

Ashton

Then:

- Was distrustful

- Only did things for money

- Wasn’t sure how to feel about FCG

Now:

- Would murder anyone for FCG

- Greatly cares for their friends

- Is willing to give people a chance (but if you fuck it up you are not getting a second one)

- Most likely has abandonment issues

Laudna

Then:

- Living life to fullest and having fun

- Is not actually as scary as she seems

- Probably alright being a little off putting

Now:

- Is dealing with so much trauma and is trying to cope with it

- Doesn’t want anything to happen to the first person that actually gave her a chance in years

- Is actually really scary and maybe doesn’t want to be?

FCG

Then:

- Little ball of sunshine

- No thoughts, head empty

- Wants to help anyway they can

Now:

- Is having an existential crisis because their whole life was a lie

- Is now slowly dealing with burnout, but doesn’t know how to handle it

- Is not only dealing with his trauma, but his friends trauma as well (It’s taking a number on him)

- Is still coming to terms with the fact that he might actually be sentient and a living creature

Imogen

Then:

- Is more shy and tries to hide herself

- Soft spoken

- Doesn’t like swearing

- Doesn’t know how to feel about all the new voices in her head now that she’s traveling with more people

Now:

- Is more assertive (with a soft voice still)

- More confident and vibrant, but still stays quiet when need be

- Literally swears every other sentence

- Is a badass and also terrifying

Fearne

Then:

- Does things because she feels like it

- Is here for the chaos

- Is full of love and support

Now:

- Is still very similar, but she’s trying to figure things out

Orym

Then:

- Parent of the group

- There to protect others (He’s a guard so it makes sense)

- Seems well put together

Now:

- Is dealing with the grief of loosing his husband

- Is paranoid that something could happen to the group

- Is starting to lean back and be an older sibling rather then a parent

Chetney

Then:

- Crazy old gnome man

- Silly goofy werewolf (Recognize the Alpha)

- Is a bit lonely

Now:

- Is still a silly old gnome werewolf

- Genuinely cares about his friends even though he may seem cruel

Dorian

Then:

- Cheerful bard having a good time

- Cares deeply for his friends

- Is a dork

Now:

- Is a runaway prince

- Just wants to be free

- Doesn’t want to be something he’s not

TL;DR

Traumatized and neglected people from across Exandria felt lost and alone, but found a group of weirdos like them. Now they can all grow and learn to be themselves without fear.

(The fact that so much development has already happened in less then 30 episodes is amazing. They all bring out the best in each other.

And because Bell’s Hells are so genuine and caring towards weirdos and others who don’t fit in, it lead them to being manipulated by someone who used them for their own personal gain without a care for the Hells’ wellbeing.)

They’re just a bunch of weirdos, and weirdos have to stick together.

[thepowerofhornyness]

I’m gonna babble really hard here ‘cause I just finished the ep, so let me start by saying that I obviously don’t hate the people on the table or whatever, because by the end of the post you will see that I’m thrilled to see the ramifications of c3ep34 and how they will affect the rest of the campaign and because I have more to do than to be mad at real people because of a make believe game lmao

I’m really sad that Laudna was chosen instead of Oryn. That is a deep tragedy on this when you look at her story until now and the fact that, to me, it would feel much satisfying storywise for Oryn to go(even if I love him).

For Laudna, who heard Delilah say, as a pure means of manipulation that her friends would abandon her a couple of episodes ago not be chosen by them hurts. For her, who struggled with the question “did I ever live in the first place?” be put in second place thanks to her undead nature by the woman she loves most, almost looks like a cosmic confirmation of her insecurities and past tragedies because the decision was not made with this ramifications in mind

Even if it came from a place of logic or luck, even if I like the way it worked out, even when it came down to good sounding arguments, those points make this even more painful when looking at a character with a tragic backstorie like Laudna because it really does feel like the universe is siding against her at all costs. That the best choice the world gives to the people around her IS to make her a second choice, if not an instrument, even when the situation around her change and she finds people at her side. And I really like this direction too storywise!

Emotionally, I wanted them to bring her back because of her positive outlook on life! And the way she sees Imogen and Is seen by her and all their new friends! And because I hate the idea that she is somehow passing time with her undead-patron-abuser-murderer. To Laudna who was used since early in her life as a means to hurt someone else, as an weapon for other powers, to not only suffer the same fate but be(in theory) in the hands again of the women who did this is the first place, makes me real sad lol

And now all I’m thinking about is: “How will they react to it from now on?” Because I really want to see how this affects them!!! And I don’t think Oryn dying would have the same effect!!

Like, Ashton was really stressed on that fight, I think he was the person most conected to Laudna outside of Imogen, will he snap more now? Willl the revelations of his family factor into that? One of FCG’s last interaction with her was the murderbot thing! And Imogen. Who even is her without Laudna as a factor? How will she react to her own powers in the next episodes? And Oryn

Oryn would be the perfect death. Tis’ there I said it. I love him BUT he would be the best of the 3 to pass on storywise(to me), would be even more perfect than Molly was in c2 actually. You see, he would be a great martyr, something that he already see himself as in some capacity I think. He would stay with his husband in the afterlife for eternity after trying, and being really successful honestly, at doing good whenever he goes, at making new friends and being special to them, at finding the people responsible for that tragedy and be sure in Elysum or whenever he finds himself in that the friends he did would sure as hell avenge him. He would unite more the bells and bla bla bla.

But we didn’t get that, now he’s back and I concur with FCG/Sam when he says that Oryn would choose her, and I think the little guy see this too. BUT, The way things ended is much more fun to me. CR is a slow ass burn in its story telling and I think the least “predictable” situation is the best, even if it doesn’t looks like the most satisfying right away(not to me I’m loving it already lol), because they have time to work this trough.

Yet I still feel really sad about Laudna, I wish her life wasn’t the quasi-classical tragedy it is. But I’m excited about what the future brings ahead!!! I like to toy with the idea of Marisha making Laudna salty about what happened but realistically I think she would be ok with how it played out, which adds again to the pile of tragedy she’s in but that’s part of the charm of her character, lmao

[balletroyale]

Asked and Answered: Royal Ballet

I’m trying to watch all the different versions of Romeo and Juliet I can find, but MacMillan is proving to be a problem: there are too many recordings! Do you have a specific cast I should go for? I’m really lost about this one

I would pick Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae! 

love your blog! curious to hear your thoughts on akane takada's swan lake?

I never managed to track the recording down! Or I did and then didn’t have time to watch it... Going to see it in May though!

i wish wheeldon would bring his cinderella to royal so i can see sarah lamb do the lead, i think it would suit her perfectly!

I really don’t... I would much rather the Royal (finally) perform Ashton’s Cinderella again, which I think is the stronger production. 

love your blog!! wondering how you feel about the following three dancers: yasmine nagdhi, benjamin ella, matthew ball? I'm so here for all your ROH takes!!

Thoughts / critiques on Matthew Ball?

Yasmine Nagdhi: Honestly she’s a bit of a conundrum for me. I don’t really like her overall, and don’t particularly enjoy her in classical roles. While her Giselle variation I thought was superb, the rest of the ballet, especially the acting, left me feeling a bit meh. I really didn’t think she had the characterization of Juliet at all. However, when I saw her in Apollo and Concerto, I really enjoyed the performances. So I guess I just prefer her in contemporary roles. However, I don’t like that this season the Royal is starting to push her really hard as the next big deal. I think there are better principals to potentially replace Nunez. 

Matthew Ball: I’ve really liked what I’ve seen; he’s very stately and regal. But I don’t think I would ever pick a performance just to see him. To me, the Royal is spoilt with male talent and so it is hard for dancers who would be unquestionably the best at other, even comparable, companies. He’s just pretty low down my list of male Royal dancers. 

Benjamin Ella: I’ve seen him several times now. The first few times he wowed me and I was 100% convinced he was the next big thing. However, more recently I’ve found his performances to be a bit unreliable. He seems either really great or he completely lacks the ability to stick and landing or be on time with the music. I’ll be interested to see if he gets consistency back. 

I just saw the teaser of Steven McRae's new film... at the end he says 'I need the profession to change'. Hmmm what does it mean? 😅 it means that the ROH is going to change its ways, or maybe him, or the ballet method profession in the UK?

I’m not really sure... I guess we’ll have to wait for the full film to see what he means. I’d take it with a grain of salt now, because A) trailers manipulate/exaggerate things to get people to watch and B) he’s always been pretty dramatic. 

A little bit of a silly matter, but still a legitimate curiosity from dancers about dancers. I get the impression over and over again that several prominent members of the company wear arch enhancers, which doesn't feel necessary or particularly graceful. It's subtle, still the eyes tend to fall right there. Do you have first hand info about that?

The only “firsthand” info I have is that after seeing Sarah Lamb up close, I am 99.9% sure she wears arch enhancers. I’m not sure why they do it. But I’m starting to wonder if it could actually be a comfort this as much as a visual thing? 

Who is everyone’s favourite dancer? It has to be Nunez right? I think Isabella Gasparini is mesmerising to watch also and hope she goes far. Mathew Ball was incredible in Giselle. Like out of this world performance.

Are we talking at the Royal? For me it’s definitely Nunez, Lamb, Osipova, Hayward, Takada, and I usually really like Hinkis, but not in that Giselle recording. For men it’s Campbell, McRae, Muntagirov, Sissens, Sambé, and Bracewell. 

Frankie Hayward - is she all what’s hyped up to be?? Has anyone seen her dance Giselle? I think she is an extremely special dancer from what I’ve seen so far (gathering, sugarplum, swan lake PDD) but I have doubts around her technical ability at principal level. I am massive fan of hers. She is so artistic and musical that she could excel in any role I’m sure, I’m just unaware of her technical ability - as in, I literally don’t know what she can do as I haven’t seen enough of her. No criticism x

Thoughts on Francesca Hayward? I really enjoyed her as Juliet the other night but wasn’t as big of a fan of Cesar Corrales

One good thing that came out of the Cats movie is that it tremendously improved Hayward’s performances. I saw her Giselle this season. I don’t think she really has many technical faults, especially compared the other young new principals, but she does struggle a bit with balance in moments like the end of Giselle’s variation and in the coda of Coppelia. Other than that I don’t really see many flaws in her technique (and I’m not even entirely convinced it’s not a shoe issue), and her port de bras is especially lovely. I am increasingly wanting to go to her performances more than many other dancers. 

As for Corrales, his style really, really doesn’t fit the Royal and I don’t think he should be a principal there. 

I can't understand why Hamilton returned after the second year abroad. Too long out from under KOH's eye with all the younger dancers coming up

I have no idea. She could have been a principal pretty much anywhere else as well. She never looks happy onstage. 

I've only recently got into the ROH ballet, so I'm just curious as to who you prefer Akane Takada or Fumi Kaneko? Both stunning dancers, but can I ask for your opinion?

I personally prefer Takada. I think she has better technique and better characterization. Though admittedly I haven’t seen much of Kaneko. I’ve just been rather bored by what I’ve seen already, particularly The Sleeping Beauty performance. But I heard great things about her R&J, so maybe it’s time to give her another chance.