Ashton’s moment with The Great Tree of Atrophy has been living rent free in my mind since Thursday, so I leaned into it.

We didn’t fuck the tree. We did smoke a blunt with it, though.

I think the fans are underestimating how differently people can process things.

I am consistently seeing posts say "Ashton/Tal were repeatedly warned the shard was not for them/will 100% kill them", when this was absolutely not the case, and, more importantly, it is very likely for groups of people to completely misinterpret the warnings. Even if they've known each other and loved each other for a decade.

I certainly thought the warnings were not clear or frequent enough so I was shocked like lightning in the latest episode that they were meant to be absolute death flags.

Please note that I'll mostly refer to the fictional characters, I don't want to bring the people behind the characters too much into this.

First, I would like to point out, the show takes place over weeks and months with plenty of breaks and interruptions. That is plenty of time and opportunity for memories to get faded, muddled, crossed-over with other memories, etc.

The "warnings" happened two weeks to a month ago. And even when they were fresh on the cast's mind, here are the warnings verbatim (bold is my emphasis):

But be warned, holding the strength of the two in one vessel might sunder it. You bear the dormant strength of the empress. Find and bestow the might of the emperor.

- Evontra'vir, episode 74, aired October 5th. The conversations move on to unrelated things with no followup.

Ashton: He also said it might be dangerous for these two shards to intermingle. Or he didn't say dangerous, he said that-- it could destroy me. Orym: --A chance the vessel could break. Laudna: --The vessel <air quotes> could break. Fearne: Wasn't there something if you put them together with the right thing that it'll be okay? Ashton: It might come together and be okay, yeah. -- Dancer: Maybe if it were to meet one of its own ilk, it could awaken. Allura: What you said as a point of warning likely is true. To have both within a singular vessel, it's possible one could survive, but it's also highly possible that it would rend you into a thousand pieces. -- Allura: We're in a strange area of experimentation and unknown knowledge. -- (after finding out Ashton has a fascimile of a Luxon beacon in their brain) FCG: So he's got two things in him or them? Allura: It would seem, which is why I'm a bit--Well, you're either the greatest weapon we could hope for in this time, or will be our end. I couldn't tell you. Orym: Boy, maybe we don't add a third thing. Ashton: I was put together by bits and pieces. This was not an intentional thing and it, I honestly shouldn't have survived it. It was, literally, I was put together with junk. Allura: In an odd way, your fragmented nature might be what keeps all of this in check. ... Perhaps we don't put another powerful entity within your form.

- Various, episode 76, aired October 19th.

To me, these warnings were not clear in the slightest.

To me, these warnings were interspersed with so many words like "possible", "might", and "chance" that I completely misinterpreted the situation as "For Ashton it is dangerous but doable" instead of "The Game Master is telling you Ashton's character sheet will be ripped up."

This is the problem with using in-character voices and using descriptors that imply chance or flexibility. They can drastically weaken the meaning of a phrase such that people like me will mistake it for something else.

Because that's how my brain works. "May", "chance", "perhaps" suggest to me a reasonable set of odds for an action and does not come across as the grave warning a game master would want.

And as a reminder, these muddled warnings were weeks apart and weeks away, which can make remembering the meaning even worse if you've already misinterpreted them. That's why I was 100% on board with Ashton taking the shard. It seemed reasonable but dangerous, so when Matt said "I warned you." in that grave tone and with that grave look I was thrown for a loop. I went "oh no! those were serious warnings!?" and the panic started setting in.

Also a contributing factor was the pressure and lack of communication from Bells Hells.

Fearne did not want the shard, and finally stated that thought aloud to Ashton. For Fearne and Ashton, that meant the only choice left was Ashton, because, for one reason or another, the 5 other people in Bells Hells repeatedly assumed and pushed the shard onto Fearne and wrote themselves out of the equasion. FIVE characters absolved themselves of being active participants. Once the idea of Fearne came to mind and this Emperor Fearne/Empress Ashton/Callowmoore shipping dicotomy, Bells Hells just stopped talking about it and never once considered if any of them should take the shard should Fearne refuse.

So... yeah that's how my brain works.

“What do you seek?”-Evontra'vir

Campaign 3 Episode 74: Roots Between Worlds

Giant, fucked up tree at the bottom of a dark pit? What more could you ask for?

ashton: i’m nobody, from nowhere. i’ve never mattered and i never will

evontra’vir: you are literally the universe’s op deviantart oc what the fuck are you talking about

Evontra’vir tells Ashton about their father

"I let him gaze into his future and showed him the relic he was fated to own, that he would use to usher in a renewed ancient power. I showed him the way to the necropolis of Toramunda where this relic lay uncovered and waiting."

"With each epoch, the pendelum swings."

-Critical Role Campaign 3, Episode 74, "Roots Between Worlds"

Also appreciating that Ashton got the name for their likely Titan bloodline.

I have some suspicions now that Evontra'vir may have given Efterin the truth of where he needed to go to get his Titan power fragment, rather than a guardianship of such an artifact relinquished.

Anyways, knowing Ka'mort is his likely fragment donor, Ashton can at least try to ask a clear question about her for a truth from Evontra'vir.

It's definitely going to be interesting to see what truths Ashton decides they want to ask for from the brutally honest tree.

evontra’vir telling bell’s hells “to do what you need, look for conviction, look for strength. but above all else, look for trust, look for allies, and look to each other.”

‘LOOK FOR ALLIES’ HAD BETTER MEAN THE BLUE BOY WILL BE BACK DIRECTLY, MATTHEW

Matt: Yeah Evontra’vir is just the part of his name he can remember, he’s forgotten his true name

Oh wow cool Matt! It must be such a fun coincidence that it sounds so much like Evandrin former first knight of Avalir, Zerxus’ believed dead husband who exists in a state between life or death as an astral being who was pushed from the material plane by the Tree of Names after an experiment gone wrong and was stuck in its branches for years :D

Such a fun coincidence :)))

Good morning critters

I'm still thinking about Evontra'vir and the Titan shards

Ashton's titan side is still dormant according to the tree, so what happens when it wakes up? Especially since their Dunamantic side apparently doesn't get along with the Titan side?!

And the Fire Titan shard?! Does the party risk giving it to Ashton to double-Titan power them up? Even if it "may sunder" them? Fearne is the natural elemental user in the group, does she take it? (and then callowmoore are both Titan Champions but that's beside the point)

All of this leading towards that somehow, channeling Titan-power is the "right path" towards their goal and stopping Ludinus's plan. HOW? Bells Hells know VERY LITTLE about Titans besides the basic history. How are they supposed to activate these powers?

And then there's the vision of what happens if they fail and the divine gate is broken open. The gods just, leave? Does Exandria being "laid bare" mean that everything just dies? Or magic is gone?

I have so many questions... I need to rewatch the VOD later...

i'm finally catching up on the last couple episodes of critical role that i missed, and i have just been floored by "you have no choice but to be somebody soon" like yeah. that's why i related to ashton so much from the start. they have always found comfort in being a nobody, but they want to really make a change. and in order to do that, they have to be somebody. fuck i missed this show

An offering from a soldier that had accepted the death of his innocence.....tell me more Matt

One very important thing about Evontra'vir:

They are not in the business of telling truths

They are in the business of telling people what they need to hear to be in the right place at the right time. To ride the right lines of fate

I’m still on my “Evontravir is Evandrin Alterra” bullshit and this four sided dive is not helping