#Ashton learning more about the Hishari

[ariadne-mouse]

the main party reuniting its two halves and all their respective new experiences, perspectives, knowledge, traumas, etc meshing and clashing together is going to be WILD and I can't wait.

[danwhobrowses]

Okay so I was gonna do a big gush over all the new Bells Hells outfits on the recent cr episode (a surprise since I had expected that they'd show them for the live show), but instead I'm gonna encourage you to check out @agarthanguide who is answering asks about the process of designing them, they're very insightful, and I'm sure they're more than happy to answer more - within reason ofc.

[topaz-mutiny]

MEANWHILE, IN MY CRITICAL ROLE BRAIN:

*rattles cage like a desperate animal* i need the looooore

[utilitycaster]

As a bit of a tangent to this excellent meta, once you acknowledge that this is the campaign, I think the cast has adapted quite well. There actually aren't a ton of major hanging threads outside the main plot that would feel unsatisfying were they not addressed. This also doesn't mean they won't be addressed! The way to great post-canon one-shots as we've seen with Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein are those smaller items; everything tied up neatly with a bow is the kiss of death. But currently, we stand as such:

Orym, Imogen, and Fearne's initial goals evolved into something entirely integrated with the Ruidus plot.

Ashton and Chetney have both addressed their main goals (find out what was up with the Hishari; find the Gorgynei). Both have minor threads they could pursue, but nothing pressing.

FCG similarly addressed most of their goals; more backstory items would have come out in this current trip to Aeor had they not died, much as Ashton's story was also woven into the larger plot as a crucial sidequest in preparation; presumably Braius was created with the understanding that he is a late-game character.

The only major unresolved point outside of the Rudius/Predathos/Vanguard plot is Delilah, and I would note that there's strong precedent for leaving a reduced but not entirely vanquished secondary villain for post-canon resolution, though it's also very possible she'll be dealt with during the course of the campaign.

A lot of the PC-driven stories in prior campaigns were generated from earlier PC-driven choices, and the structure of that campaign makes that less likely. This again isn't a problem - it's just a choice. It provides for some fun one-shot premises (what do we do about Chetney being hunted in Jrusar? What if we found Dorao? Do we want to go to Hishari and piece together precisely what happened, or is Ashton satisfied with what they've learned?) but nothing here is absolutely crucial to end C3 in a satisfying manner.

I'd also like to point out that one of the biggest plot hooks I myself pointed to late in the game of C2 was Molaesmyr, and while that does remain, the Mighty Nein cleaning up Molaesmyr would probably have destroyed the plot of C3 entirely! Sometimes a plot hook is left open for a reason, and especially since we don't know the nature of a Campaign 4 or if there will be one, unresolved threads that would be enticing to explore narratively are a very good sign.

[quipxotic]

Let's assume sometime during c3e105 various members of Bell's Hells get an opportunity to talk to gods or representatives of gods. I know Ashton said in c3e104 he wants to talk to the Arch Heart, but I hope whatever god they're an aasimar for reaches out to them. That's an element of Ashton's backstory that's had more of a role in fandom discussions than it ever has had in the story and, if we're getting towards the end, now's the time. And maybe with that we can learn a bit more about what happened with the Hishari and the ceremony that changed Ashton's life?

Probably won't happen, but I can hope.

[hayleysayshay]

campaign 3 in cartoon form, TLOVM styleeeee

the pacing of campaign 3 is... interesting, and with the pacing of the tlovm adaptation, i've decided they could probably do the whole story in like, three seasons.

Now admittedly, this isn't a 100% accurate TLOVM style version of campaign 3, because I'm going to suggest ending on cliffhangers and sad endings that TLOVM clearly doesn't want to do. If someone wants to suggeset the happy season endings, be my guest, you're probably more accurate

Season 1: you set up each character and their storylines. We meet daddy (Eshteross) Bertrand is introduced and dies by ep 3, Chetney is in by ep 6. explain Ruidus born, show FCG glitch, suggest Ashton's mysterious backstory, Fearne’s parents explain plot to do with the moon and Ludinus, it's very scary. Otohan Thull is introduced and we end with Imogen going super saiyan but Laudna is DEAD. Perhaps Dorian leaves just before the Otohan fight and Orym sad :c

Season 2: Laudna is DEAD but they go to Whitestone and semi-deal with Delilah and meet VM, who give them some moon related tasks. Ashton and Fearne find the shards, Ashton learns more about their past and the Hishari, FCG gets fixed a little, fun werewolf episode for Chetney. Imodna confession! More Ludinus info! Then they meet the M9 and then the Solstice happens, Vax's orbing time, and they all get blasted away.

Season 3: Post solstice split, we get more god happenings, FCG falls in love and is the happiest they'll ever be. The gang meets up, shardgate, Fearne takes the shard, they go to the moon, FCG dies, I am sad, they get Delilah under control again (she been acting up since the solstice), Dorian comes back, Downfall flashback, Dorym confession, then BH meet the VM and M9 for whatever the fuck is going to happen in this upcoming fight for the EPIC FINALE.

YES season 3 of this is incredibly strained with the amount of plot, just like season 3 of TLOVM so it's accurate <3 Unless something happens and he becoems super interesting, Braius is getting cut (soz I think they're fun for a D&D game but do you rly need him narratively?) IDK Sam'll be fine lol. But yes I'll stand by moving the solstice to 'later' in the show than the campaign. Let season 2 be an epic fight, a small victory and failure, setting up t he epic win of season 3.

[disastergenius]

I think that if Campaign 3 is wrapping up and we are to see more of Bell's Hells, it's going to be in oneshots or in short (<5 episode) mini-campaigns with split parties.

Reasoning:

Based on the last BH 4SD announcement, people are predicting 3-5 episodes are left of C3. It could be slightly more, since 4SDs have been a bit inconsistent schedule-wise and they could have something like 6-8 episodes and just decided to stretch it to the campaign wrap-up instead of a 4SD so close to the end. But it sounds like the campaign really is in it's end game and thus will end after Ludinus's defeat. While the cast has expressed interest in following up BH storylines or at least continuing with BH characters, it does seem like the campaign proper is ending post big boss battle.

Bell's Hells as a party are not always the most interested in following things that don't involve them directly, so some characters may not want to pursue certain storylines with the others. imo, BH have been pretty isolated in caring about their personal relatedness to an issue but not much past that, regardless of other party member involvement (ex: only Ashton wanted to learn more about the Hishari cult, Delilah interest was limited entirely to when she was an active threat and not otherwise), so I don't really think it's a stretch to say that some PCs are not going to want to continue looking into certain plots after they defeat Ludinus. So splitting the party would give them more freedom to explore arcs either fully absent so their characters don't have to fake an investment in a plot (for lack of a better term, this is not related to the cast having no interest in other characters but their PCs personal goals) or to possibly play as other characters if they were all still playing.

Similar to the way many said in C2 that Veth really had no reason to stay with the party after she was returned to being a Halfling (regardless of whether this is a take you agree with), BH overall don't have as much a reason to stay together at the end of the campaign. They've completed their mission, they're splitting from there, so doing short split campaigns would fit with that if they wanted to keep exploring plot lines they didn't get to touch on during the main campaign without dragging all the PCs along.

Outside the game, it gives them something familiar to work with for their audience (continuing C3 which is popular despite what both fans and haters of it will say about it), and let's them play characters that they do clearly enjoy playing. They've all telegraphed some intents that they have for the futures of their characters, some of which could probably be neatly wrapped up in an epilogue but others they sound like they want to fully flesh out. So short of doing books or other media (which would be their usual options), short mini-campaigns might be the way to explore those plots instead.

All that to say, I don't know what they're planning next, and we'll have to wait and see into the new year what their plans are. I'm sure as the campaign wraps up they will be putting out more things, whether that be the beginning of Campaign 4 or smaller arcs with Daggerheart (I personally want to see Candela return but that seems unlikely) or simply taking a break for a while to focus on M9 Animated/TLOVM Season 4, but I'm excited.

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Critical Role C3x65

(This took a while to do because the first one I wrote vanished when I hit 'undo' to undo one action and it erased everything).

SO. Many things happened!

Out of the gate, Laudna aired her frustration about how Team Wildemount seemed to have had a better time than their team. And everything FCG, Imogen, and Fearne said just made things worse.

Until Laudna let out the 'And your new best friend' thing with Imogen and Frida. Imogen looked so bewildered, her 'excuse me???'

Ashton remains the heart of the group, I love that Ashton missed Chetney and his shenanigans (even though Laudna looked like she was a second away from throttling him). And I'm glad they were able to talk to FCG to calm down a little. FCG was working on my final nerve when they internalized Laudna's frustrations and made it all about them. It feels like Ashton had an epiphany and realization after seeing Laudna's breakdown, it was a wake-up call. Also for them, Bells Hells is:

We also get to learn more about Ashton's backstory and maybe they didn't pursue the direct Hishari line but maybe they can pursue that question in Zephra.

I love the whole thing with the Duskmaven. I love the vision and the realization that Vax is still suffering in that Orb.

The vision the Matron of Ravens gave to Orym, Fearne, and Chetney was fantastic. Matt’s description was so evocative. And then the doors slamming except instead of doors its the white mask of the Matron. She’s in mourning.

I continue to adore the differing views about gods, I love that both Ashton and Laudna’s view is— they don’t need to worship the gods to save them and the world. And after everything Ashton went through, maybe it’s the gods turn to reach for him, and that for Laudna, just like with FRIDA, her faith belongs with the people she’s with.

Let’s talk about Fearne’s ‘I won’t lose anyone else’? Because she’s not as vocal about it. But she’s equally as traumatized losing people but also she might not be possessive of her sexual and romantic partners but friends? Fearne is possessive of. Orym is her best friend!

I also love that Chetney had to deal with the consequences of his actions. He forgot about it but Matt didn’t!

Fearne and FCG are scrying for Ludinus and Liliana and find… that they’re both on the Rudius moon!

Even Ira is on the moon! So. I feel like the end game for this is Bells Hells going to the moon, on a race against time to stop Ludinus for doing his final thing to free Predathos (who will then eat him). I don’t know why Lililana is still following Ludinus since it’s obvious his promises were bunk, but I suppose sunk cost fallacy is a thing.

Also as Aabria said: “Are we all dancing around the fact y’all need to go to the moon?” Because she was RIGHT! They were dancing around the fact they’re all going to have to go to the moon! Thus kickstarting Exandria’s Space Race!

And now to the MAIN THING.

I love actually, that this whole thing with them: the misunderstanding, the kiss all happened with Imogen’s ability to passively mind read shut off. I also love that it all comes in the heels of Laudna airing out her frustrations. Because this time Imogen has to really talk to Laudna, she can’t just get the mental vibe from her. They have to talk. IMO this is the best thing that’s ever happened to both of them, I think they both relied on the fact that Imogen can just ‘hear’ Laudna’s thoughts.

Laudna never minded that Imogen can hear Laudna’s thoughts. But I love that Imogen not hearing Laudna’s thoughts at first pass is actually good for them. Because now Imogen has to learn how to communicate with Laudna through words and sometimes she’s off the mark — the first part where almost everything Imogen said just upset Laudna, to Imogen’s tentative: “Can I kiss you? Because I’m not sure anymore.”

Also, ‘Can I kiss you?’ both did and didn’t come out of nowhere this is a direct continuation of Laudna and Imogen’s conversation the eve of the Solstice. It all started with:

IMOGEN: I don’t know, since you came back, I’ve been almost scared to say anything. [a beat] LAUDNA: Say what? And Imogen did confess to Laudna but Laudna didn’t get it! And then the next second, they were separated from each other.

I can imagine Imogen thinking the next time she gets to see Laudna again she’s not going to chicken out and then Laudna misinterpreting her friendship with FRIDA seems to have resolved Imogen further. Her bewildered: “Excuse me???” was everything.

And then there’s Laudna’s everything, her stress and her breakdown, and fear that her worst self is her only self when it’s the furthest from the truth. Imogen would follow Laudna into the dark because she also feels the calls of temptation. She used to hate her powers but she’s accepted her powers and learned to love it because without her powers she would never have met Laudna.

But also, Laudna being in her Regency Romance era (to coincide with Laura’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ era) they are so compatible with that Regency Romance with a large serving of Gothic romance.

I’m so intrigued at how both Laudna and Imogen are keeping their change of status from best friends to dating to themselves but it also makes sense they want to figure this thing they have with each other away from other people’s input and feelings.

I also can’t wait for Laudna’s new outfit and Pate backpack home.

And now they're in Zephra, off to one of the most beautiful places in Exandria when everything's on the edge of tipping into something. I can't wait to watch the next episode!

Also, it took awhile but I finally got to finish this not so initial reactions. Thanks, tumblr for the delay!

[unicyclehippo]

questions i would have liked bells hells to answer/ things i would have liked to see (disclaimer i am abt two weeks behind)

- where did Laudna’s shadow powers come from & what is the shadowfell like

- what happened at the hishari village, could ashton explore that & remember more about themself & their family?

- meet the silken squall

- FRIDA ur partner is dead sorry

- Is there any truth to the Dominox vision for chetney? could there have been more push & pull with the wolf beyond the removal of the bloodlust mechanic?

- what was up with that super expensive construct that cyrus lost & was blamed for?

- is Hexum still learning violin?

- what’s up w the stratos throne? what does their region look like? how are they organised? what’s the VIBE? otohan used to operate in that area, was there info about her there? history?

- what’s going on in yios? we only rly got to see the inside of a warehouse, a hotel room casino, & briefly the school. who is there? what are they up to? could they have gone fishing?

[salad-ace]

I’m seeing some people sad that Team Issylra didn’t follow more threads and be more single-minded about just putting their heads down and getting to their friends but here’s a few things about Team Wildemount that made their path make more sense:

1). They got thrown to a place familiar to at least one of them and then met up with a person familiar to them and ended up in a city that was “safer” at least than Team Issylra

2). They were just as determined to get back to their friends but were told that no one with the ability would be available for several days

3). Along with that information they were told that Ludinus, the person they are fighting, lived in Molaesmyr and figured that going there to get info while waiting for a ride was better than just sitting around.

Team Wildemount didn’t care more about threads they could follow because of a desire to adventure, they did it because they had nothing else to do in the meantime. For Team Issylra while going to the Hishari village would have been awesome from a viewer side because we could learn more about Ashton, they were never going to stray that far off the path when they already had a way to get back to their friends.

Wartime shapes your priorities and for both teams the #1 priority was always get back together ASAP

[railraptor]

I was a little disappointed that we didn't learn more about the Hishari/Ashton's backstory when it was dangled in front of Team Issylra, but seems like that's still in the future....

I feel like that whole thing is going to be a bigger piece of the puzzle than it seems when we first heard hints of it, back in the museum of death.

[inconmess]

So Abadina is ex Hishari (kinda suspected that tbh and I think I made a post? I forget. Or maybe it was a discussion I had with someone) and she didn't inform Ashton about that but was defo curious.

What are the chances that Ashton would like to explore the site? I think likely but who knows? Wouldn't be surprised if this was connected to Ludinus in some odd way too. I mean, the other team did divert to Molaesmyr to learn more about Ludinus and I need more Ashton lore. Waiting to see the second half, hopefully without interruption.

[centaurianthropology]

Team ??? Speculation

See below the cut for spoilers for the latest episode!

So, given what we’ve learned about Ludinus and Molaysmyr, I think it seems like a decent bet that the two teams were flung near to places related to the guy at the center of the solstice ritual.  I imagine that these are sites with resonance or even prior attempts of his at achieving this ritual.  It sounds a lot like Molaysmyr was destroyed during one such attempt to harness the power under it to shatter the red moon, and I have to wonder if he left Issylra for the same reason (I forget what city he was supposed to be from there, but he looked ‘young’ at the time).  

So I definitely suspect that Team ??? might really be Team Issylra, which is close enough to Marquet to see the moon still, but far enough away it’s not an easy hike.  That also ties into Ashton’s backstory, as the Hishari village was apparently on Issylra (as was the apparent recent cult activity Keyleth had to fight before the solstice, making me think that not all the Hishari were destroyed in their own little ritual, and that the gnarlier versions of the Ashari still are kicking in Issylra).  

So I definitely think we’re going to have a parallel but darker story on our hands, with a backstory exploration for Ashton, some new information about the Ashari and Hishari that might just rock Orym a bit, and likely an exploration of more of Ludinus’ backstory as well.

So all that being said, I wonder what sorts of guests we’ll get.  My guess is we get two again, and I have to wonder if they’re going to be either Hishari or people fighting against them or both.  If we’re following the trend set with Team Wildemount, they’re going to be tied directly in with at least Ashton’s backstory and maybe Orym’s as well?  Or maybe we’ll save Orym’s for later?  I don’t know.  There was a contingent of Ashari there recently, so it’s not insane that one of them got stuck there and ended up befriending a local and surviving together.

And that speculation made me wonder: who would be good guests for those roles?  I think they’ll be new guests, much like Aabria and Christian, but also perhaps known to the team.  I immediately thought that Luis Carazo could get that sort of depth and grittiness that this storyline might need.  B. Dave Walters is another one I’d love to see.  Any of their one-shot guests might also be possibilities: Michelle Nguyen Bradley could be a really interesting possibility.  Alex Ward is always a delight, as is Ify Nwadiwe.  But of course it could be another voice actor or guests I’ve never heard of before.  I’m excited to see how that side of things shapes up, and can’t wait to see how the new guests also entangle with the cast.

[captainsspnanon]

C3E65 reaction

Imogen Laudna stuff in it's own separate untagged post. Don't search it out if you love the pairing, I'm not here for drama.

FUCKING fanTASTIC episode!!!! ALL of it!

Looking at the timeline for this, as I finished watching late last night but immediately went to bed rather than typing up my reaction, as I always then spent like, 2 or 3 hours on tumblr after no matter how much I say I'm just going to make my reaction then go to sleep.

We got some solid conversation between the groups, and Laudna's freakout was 100% justified. As much as team wildemount did have their own struggles (and they DID!), it was a much more comforting trip than team issylra, especially with all the downtime they got. (had team issylra gotten those five days of wibbly timeline, i'm not sure if it would have been downtime, or if it would have been hishari drama or other drama.)

At the start of the episode, both my mom and I were a bit confused as to why Ashton was so chipper. However, when they had their conversation with FCG about trying to do better, not necessarily being okay but not being bad either, finding a purpose, actively engaging in friendship rather than avoiding it for fear of being burnt again, THEN it made sense. It's certainly one of the times where I would have preferred Taliesin to show more of the emotional transition on screen, but that's not how Tal RPs, and I'm used to that. 4 Sided Dives/Talks are always the best to find out what's truly going on with Tal's PCs, which is a sign of how much he has the inner life for them, and also (in my slightly negative opinion) a sign of how much he isn't really showing it outright in main campaign. And I admit my usual annoyance with Ashton asking Milo to make something but not verbalizing it so that the cast can be surprised when Taliesin shows whatever it was off. I didn't mind it to start, and it made sense with a lot of Percy's things to not take up time, but I've since learned that Taliesin will just do this all the time and yeah. I'm over it. However, by the end of the episode we know at least that the immovable rod was put in the hammer, as well as the scatter spell crystals, so at the very least we know a good chunk, so I feel better about it.

No real comments on FCG's emotional state, especially re: FRIDA, as he right now seems to be keeping it pushed down. However, I did appreciate how much he pushed back on other party members in regards to the opinions of the gods. Things did get smoothed over a bit more easily than I was expecting it to, based on the comments from 6sd, but at the same time it makes absolute sense as this party really is the 'smooth things over' party, especially when compared with VM and M9. I don't consider it a bad thing, tbh, even though I love the interparty drama, because it's a different dynamic that's being explored.

As I've already talked about getting spoiled about the imodna kiss, I'll keep this section brief. 1) I adore how they clearly forgot how Matt held his face to do Zhudanna and I love that they both nearly lost it. 2) Marisha flailing whenever getting romanced will never not be funny. 3) I actually hope that when we next get her on 4sd, she can talk more about the fact that she built a PC to be 'unromanceable'. We know that Liam had designed Caleb to not have another romance, and we saw how that fell apart. I wonder what her thought process was behind it and how she feels about it going forwards, as Liam made the choice with Caleb to RP the unrequited, and then take the steps for the requited, whereas Laura took the initiative with this romance. 4) Pour one out for my mom who is mourning the platonic friendship that she felt mirrored very strongly a friendship that she has which she was enjoying seeing portrayed.

OKay, the NON-romance stuff! I'm very excited to see how it plays out with both Imogen and Laudna feeling the need for power from sources that they feel they can't trust. Laudna not even being able to admit that she wants the power from Delilah, this could be a very interesting road to go down. AND LUDINUS YOU FUCK. So excited to see where else he's dropping his propaganda. Is it just Marquet? It's GOT to be around all of Exandria, right???

Moving on to Fearne, Chetney, and Orym - I'm a little disappointed they didn't share more information with Ajit, but it was a good conversation nonetheless. There were a few things that he said which made me feel as if Matt was leaving a few options open for if the party wanted to do a few paid tasks in town, a la the Mighty Nein. I didn't see any of them being accepted, but I liked that they were still put out there, even if the party is pretty much mainlining the plot at this point. The bounty hunter sent by the shopkeeper was unexpected (or would have been if I hadn't gotten spoiled, dammit) and was a fun mini-combat! I wonder how long Matt had that sitting in his pocket.

THE DUSKMAVEN. That whole scene was SO good! I was a bit surprised at first with how emotional Orym was, considering he didn't really have a connection with her beforehand, until I realized that this was the first time he's been in any temple since the shit hit the fan. I suspect that no matter WHOSE temple it was, he would have been the same way, with the possible exception of the Dawnfather. Having multiple party members receive a vision was definitely a good play, as this moves from FCG being the only one with actual interaction to four members. Vax as an orb forever screaming? fun times fun times. ...there's the morbid angsty part of me that hopes they share that information with Keyleth who shares it with VM. LOOK I LIKE SOME GOOD HURT/COMFORT SOMETIMES OKAY.

LILLIANA ON RUIDUS. LUDINUS ON RUIDUS. IRA ON RUIDUS TALKING WITH REILORA. oh I cannot WAIT to see how things go from here! MOON'S HAUNTED Y'ALL AND THEY ARE GOING BACK WITH A GUN.

[utilitycaster]

I really want to hear more, at the table or perhaps 4SD in March, about Ashton's agreement with Orym and indeed their even more cynical statement, that Imogen's going to inevitably be pulled towards Predathos whether she does her exploration willingly or resists, because I do think that Ashton's insight is really valuable here.

Ashton and Imogen have always made for a fascinating contrast. Both have complicated feelings about parents and abandonment which extend to their worldview and their relationship with the gods. Both have wondered about the source of their powers, which came at a profound physical and social cost.

I think where they diverge is that Ashton started the campaign believing that this was about the best it was ever going to get for them - staying in Krook House, with a weird nascent prickly friendship with FCG, drinking heavily and taking on odd jobs to pay off astronomical debt to Jiana Hexum. Ashton was not looking for a cure for his pain, nor meaning from it, early on. As they tell Laudna after a rough time fighting the Shade Mother, "Sometimes shit's just fucked up, and the only thing you can do because you didn't do anything fucking wrong, is get the fuck back up and do the exact same thing all over again knowing that there was nothing to learn." He sat on the Hishari/Ashari connection for weeks, never truly asking Orym but waiting until the information came to him in other ways. On the other hand, Imogen started the campaign profoundly curious; she is introduced trying to get into the Starpoint Academy to research the dreams and powers she's been dealing with for years, and her initial motivation for joining the team was to gain that access.

As time has gone on, this has slowly flipped, and I think Ashton is seeing Imogen settling into an indecisive rut. In addition, I think Imogen speculating that Liliana was a good person who simply got caught and overtaken by Predathos is raising alarms for them. After all, they just acted under the presumption that their parents had been well-intentioned people who made a mistake, and not only did it nearly kill them; the vision they had while unconscious indicated that their parents had simply done it out of a sense of self-importance. In a way, this feels like Ashton's form of protection: it is going to happen. The pain is going to be there. Are you going to make something with it, or will you simply let it catch you without your involvement?

For all their similarities, Ashton and Imogen didn't interact terribly often early in the campaign, so one of their earlier meaningful conversations is a recent one: the one where Imogen connected with the All-Minds-Burn. That is the Imogen Ashton believes can save them: the one who will decide to explore the world around her and rise to challenges, not the one who withdraws and shrinks from them. One who is not beholden to a romanticized idea of her mother who has never once lived up to those ideals in reality, but who rather makes her own choices. His line is delivered with its usual 6 Charisma; but the logic is sound.

[deramin2]

There is no way that Matt dropped that in to be ignored, and there's no way that Taliesin "oops my backstory has been a center piece for the last two campaigns" Jaffe is going to just look at that and leave it alone.

What I think is happening is the "gotta stop the appocolypse" OP is discussing, but also I think Ashton is just trying to process that. They compartmentalize their trauma as much as Laudna and I think they're just going,

ID: text chat screenshot reading "there's a lot to unpack here but let's just throw away the whole suitcase." End ID

He's wondered about Hishari for years and he just got this big infodump he can barely process. And then he's told he could just go there and where all those answers are. And of course as viewers we're like YES! GO THERE AND GIVE US THE SWEET JUICY ANSWERS!! And I'm sure Taliesin is also thinking that.

But also that's the site of Ashton's biggest trauma in a traumatic life. Of course they want to find an excuse to avoid it. Avoidance is what they do.

Ashton: "I'm a very big believer in you just keep, if you keep moving then, you know, momentum means that, you know, you don't really have to focus on anything unpleasant for too long." (CR C3 E62 0:35:33)

It makes sense that they might not be ready to confront that. They've wanted it so much for so long that actually having it in front of them as tangible instead of theoretical is really scary. It arrests the momentum. It means they actually have to decide how they feel and grapple with what happened as historical fact instead of nebulous feelings of rage towards people they basically don't remember.

But Team Unprocessed Trauma were there for him learning that, and I don't think they'll let him avoid it forever, either. It's a thread hanging there now, but eventually he and the rest of the party are going to pull on it. It's also possible that finding out what happened there will be key to unraveling Ludinus' plot. That would be very Matt Mercer.

So I'm also chomping at the bit, but I'm trying to have patience. There's going to be a payoff here eventually and it's going to be good. Taliesin deliberately leaves holes like this for Matt to fill and he will absolutely circle back. If C3 is around the same length as C1 and C2, we're less than half way through the series. There is going to be more time.

okay LISTEN. I fucking love the energy of the "the apocalypse is ACTIVELY happening right now, and so every day where we don't get things done is an active problem."

but DAMN do I wish we had a few days to fuck off to Tumilo to dig into Ashton's past. They fucking deserve to have a few days going after their own shit.

Remember, Ashton literally only decided to stick with Bells Hells because they heard Orym say the word "Ashari" and impulse-decided to help him on his own mission for the sake of maybe finding out a bit more about their past. They've spent a lot of time going along with these people, their new family, helping them all follow the trails of their own pasts. They deserve a chance to go after their own.

But the world is ending. The gods could all die tomorrow. How could Bells Hells possibly justify taking the time to follow any trail but the one Ludinus laid out for them? And yet, for Ashton, who has given so much of himself to all of them, how could they not?