#and make fair points abt it. i don't think it's unfair to assume Ashton's beef with the gods is deeply personal and self-centered atm

[densitywell]

ngl i think ashton is treated the same as beau was. people laud their character development of becoming nicer when it's really a cover for "finally, they're not a hysterical angry bitch anymore!" which you can tell because a vast swath of post-campaign content assigns beau the role of "background lesbian". obviously ashton is not a woman nor a lesbian but i do remember people more or less ignored them until they started to be nicer, and thus more palatable and shippable with laudna or orym

yeah lol i mean i remember seeing so many "oh i like Ashton now???" posts in the tag in the last 15 or so eps, especially after their post-reunion sea change. which like on one hand, fine! i cannot blame anyone for not vibing with someone clearly meant to be caustic and offputting, both on a character creation level and also as an intentional front in-character, even if Ashton and i are similar enough that it's like, i do not think you'd like me in real life, or at least me from 5 years ago. and i think it's based and epic to like characters who suck so bad, and i think some people just refuse to engage further with a character who is unlikeable or overtly flawed, which is how we get people who stan the Only Sane Man Moral Compass Hero's Journey version of Orym. but i also get that there’s a difference between a character being unlikeable in a way that's appealing and a character being unlikeable in a way that one personally finds fucking unbearable. it's a noble and difficult goal to enjoy and analyze a character in the latter category (this is a grand experiment i'm trying with FCG), so like if ppl can't do it i prefer them not saying anything until they have something nice to say, i guess.

But with all that being said, there are still big obvious chunks of Ashton's story that ppl mostly ignore or brush over. Namely their recent antipathy towards the gods, interest in the primordials not just for backstory reasons but as a source of identity and meaning, and reclaiming of Hishari imagery. i think there's this assumption that the ideas and beliefs Ashton is embracing right now are a temporary stop to his real destination as like, Champion of the Luxon Who Thinks The Gods Are Alright? or at least, if not a response to where they think he's going, then one to where they want him to go, because they think the persepctives he's currently embracing are Inherently Bad and Incorrect and that the narrative should/will correct him. (shoutout to the post i saw that suggested Ashton's hero arc was a reaction to them realizing they did the wrong thing in Hearthdell but not wanting to admit it lol. amazingly bad post)