I feel like I’m in fuckin 6th grade with this crush man omg.
I have decided to come annoy you all instead.
I don’t wanna be annoying ya know.
When I have most of my things done and my daughter doesn’t need/want me this is how I feel.
I’m like…
Wait no one needs me for anything rn??? You sure?????
Then I remember all of the other responsibilities I have and I’m like ooooooohhhhhh riiiiiight.
I’d truly rather be distracted by love.
It’s way more fun and makes me smile. It also makes me feel like I could literally swim across an ocean.
Ok I am gonna go eat a lil and make an edit for Instagram.
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Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.
I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.
... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.
Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.
NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!
The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.
Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?
They're level 13.
At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.
At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.
While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.
Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?
The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.
Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.
Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.
It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.
This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.
They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.
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I don't think Marcille is that immature. She complains a lot and has a more childish side but I wouldn't say it's the equivalent of being young like for example Pattadol or Izutsumi's (who are 16 and 17)
Marcille very much acts like an adult when it matters, she has enough emotional stability to deal with a lot when it isn't related to her trauma, the immaturity she displays (like being mad at Namari, not understanding why she left) to me it's the equivalent of a 19~20yo type of immaturity? Maybe people overestimate how mature you are in your early 20s?
About her more childish tastes (her monsters, her doll etc) I'm way past my early 20s and I still have toys and very much have a 'childish taste' that might be even worse than Marcille's, I think that's more an indicative of her lost childhood she's still attached to. (And her monsters probably more to do with her general disgust for real monsters)
(in my case I just like cute things tho)
Her mother basically told her she'll be abandoned always, that everyone she loves will die before her, right when she was still processing the passing of her father. It's really no wonder she can't grow in that aspect.
I think her dungeon lord outfit exemplifies that duality, the outfit has both the earmuffs that are associated with children but is also the "most mature" outfit Marcille has wore so far, with a body hugging silhouette and cleavage.
Marcille has trouble letting go, she seeks comfort and stability, I don't think it's so strange she hangs on to childhood toys even in her adulthood. They wont leave her.
I mean there's another character associated with childish toys and she's a war veteran milf.
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