#I also have Thoughts about how. narratively. laudna coming back is the better story for Specifically bells hells and how they operate | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

caeslxys · 2 years

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also on the topic of meaningful consequences re: character death I don't understand the take that death in fantasy requires physical permanency to matter or give a story "stakes". death is permanent regardless. Do you really think that if they get her back, they'll just go back to normal? That these characters are not forever fundamentally changed from this, that Laudna will not be fundamentally changed from this?

That Imogen's world will be less fractured, that she won't be even more of an anxious wreck now that what she stands to lose has been put into vivid clarity? That Orym won't still carry the guilt of being the chosen, that he will be less haunted by the connections he drew to his own grief with Will to Imogen's with Laudna? That Fearne won't look at Laudna and think of that coin flip, of her choice, and what that means for her and how she loves? That FCG and Ashton won't think to this and be reminded of the people they've hurt or been hurt by, and what this effort and what this grief means for how they view the hells?

That Laudna, who has been so blasé about life and if she's alive and what being alive even means for someone like her, won't wake up surrounded by family and by love and be driven to reexamine everything she's taught herself in 28 years of isolation to cope with the trauma of Whitestone? That this, maybe, will be the driving force she needed to realize that there are things she wants to live for?

It might be that I'm just biased, but I'm not sure what stakes Laudna perma-dying adds aside from just presenting the characters with the knowledge they all already have that they can, in fact, die. that what they're up against is incomprehensibly powerful and dangerous. The stakes already feel so impossibly high when you think of what and who they are preparing to face. frankly the aftermath of this combat alone, even if everything had gone perfect and everyone had gotten back up a-okay, would have set that tone.

I don't know, regardless I'll be happy to watch whatever story they choose to tell unfold as it does, but it strikes me that so many people seem to think that death only matters if there is a physical absence.

#critical role #laudna #bells hells #I do want to specify though that this is my own interpretation of the situation from my view as a writer of the narrative #and my own interpretation of the situation as an audience member #I know death does not care for narration in real life and that dnd can be cathartic for those very reasons #that. to me. is a separate argument from what I'm trying to say here #I also have Thoughts about how. narratively. laudna coming back is the better story for Specifically bells hells and how they operate #individually and as a unit #and how I think a lot of people are blinded by the specific way molly effected the mighty nein #and I just do not think this is the same scenario At All #and also. if I may put out a more biased take. I don't necessarily Want the same impetus and the same story Again #this is bells hells! I want theirs! and they want to bring back laudna #also. like. the whole death only matters if it's permanent thing falls apart immediately bc like. it's laudna #y'know. the undead one. is her story lesser for having lived? is vox machina's?#anyway feel free to ignore this I'm just throwing thoughts out into the wind bc if I keep them in my brain I'll implode #and Twitter has a 140 character limit and I am long-winded

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fearnesbells · 3 months

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so about that laudna-has-no-future 4sd chat...

marisha ray has throwaway lines and that is her god given right like anyone else and truly this may mean nothing

BUT

me personally i bluescreened when marisha said "what does laudna have to look forward to, she's dead" in response to a question of would laudna rather make contact with her future or past self.

i think laudna and her evolving worldview over the course of this campaign is sooooooo interesting so thoughts under the cut

"the worst thing that’s ever happened to me has already happened."

we all remember this! this is the response that laudna gave to orym when he softly pointed out that laudna seemed like she had the most positive outlook of the group. it was a central tenet of laudna's character up until that point, that despite the darkness that coated her soul, she was probably the one with the most zest for life.

she tended to believe the best in npcs that the party encountered. she had a rat marionette that got boners and made her laugh. she was wholeheartedly devoted to imogen and never, never believed that the end was the end.

and then, when orym asked her how she accomplished that, she responds in a framing of perspective.

she was murdered by the briarwoods at twenty years old. how can anything seem awful in comparison to that?

she died, and then she got to join an adventuring party. she died, and then she got to use her strange, eerie powers for good. she died, and then she met imogen.

she has hope because she's seen the lowest possible point her life can come to, and can only climb upwards from there.

she had a hope for a future, because of this. a good future. at least one that was better than the worst thing that had ever happened to her. and that future included imogen—

"can keep you from that. can keep us from that."

she had hope.

we all know this quote. this quote is the cottagecore lesbian life that marisha spoke to in four-sided dive. but i think to look at where laudna's at now, and to understand "what does laudna have to look forward to, she's dead", we have to look at the quote in greater context.

laudna is speaking to a possible future here. but in her words she's also saying that she understands that that future might mean abandoning what they feel called to do by the gods. in this moment, she's not guaranteeing a future, she's explaining to imogen that they have a choice.

and as of now, episode 82, arrived on the moon, they've made that choice. they're orpheus. they've descended into hell, and they can't look back if they want to make it out.

it's important to note that laudna wasn't lying way back in heartmoor when she was talking to orym. the worst thing that could ever happen to her had already happened. but she was operating then on her very human understanding of the world.

since then, she's died (again), been resurrected, seen magic beyond comprehension, and surrendered herself over to the spirit of her murderer that lives in her head.

there are no rules anymore. and laudna has learned that there is always something worse.

the quiet life she talked about with imogen might have been taken from her forever. the narrative has grown teeth and it has sunk them into both her and the woman she loves.

"what does laudna have to look forward to, she's dead"

she's orpheus, yeah? we know how this story ends. her love's been called to the hell planet by fate. she won't get out without losing something.

maybe—maybe—there's still hope for that cottage together somewhere. i don't mean to rule it out entirely. but i think that laudna herself, the character, has lost all belief in that possibility at this point. and that presents such a foil to the laudna that we met in episode 1.

sometimes the tragedy comes built-in.

even if. even when.

(all quotes pulled from critical role wiki's transcripts page)

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kerosene-in-a-blender · 2 years

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Since Critical Role’s taking their regularly scheduled week off this week, I’m taking the opportunity to share some of my thoughts about the events of the last few episodes, specifically episodes 33-35, and the massive debate that’s sprung up around one specific event in particular. My full thoughts are under the cut, as they are both very spoilery and touch on some heavy topics, but suffice to say, I think some people are conflating what they want to see out of a story, with what not only makes a good story, but what makes a story in general.

So abandon all hope, ye who click Keep Reading, because spoilers and discussions of trauma abound.

I’ve seen an incredible amount of debate around the topic of Laudna’s death, and about whether her being brought back or staying dead makes for the better story. Full disclosure, my preferred outcome would be her coming back radically changed, but I also see a lot of narrative potential in her staying dead. I’m not against her coming back as she is, but it is my least favoured outcome of the three, and I fully admit that is likely part of why I take the umbridge that I do.

I’ve noticed many people who favour Laudna’s prompt and painless resurrection argue for it by saying: “We’ve barely scratched the surface of what Marisha had planned for this character”. In essence, they’re arguing Laudna died before Marisha got the chance to tell the story she wanted to tell with her. And while that’s likely true, though I don’t pretend to know Marisha and her thoughts, I’ve noticed people making this argument do so with the implication that Laudna’s story, as it is now, isn’t a complete story. The thing is though, I would argue that it is, an incredibly tragic, cruel story, but a complete story nonetheless.

Laudna’s story is that of a woman who has spent her entire adult life defined by a single highly traumatic event. One that completely destroyed any chance at the future she thought she might have had. One she cannot move past emotionally, or, thanks to Laudna’s own unique circumstances, physically. She’s forever trapped as the naive 20 year old women who was strung up from the Sun Tree. Her chances of moving on from what happened to her are further hindered by the voice of the person that traumatized her quite literally echoing in her head on a regular basis.

As a result of her trauma Laudna has spent the last 30 years unable to make a stable home for herself. Every time she tries, she’s driven away because people learn of the results of her trauma and cast her out for it. She tries establishing relationships but then the voice of Delilah Briarwood in her head, that source and reminder and result of her trauma, causes her to hurt her best friend unintentionally.

Her dust storm conversation with Ashton revealed that she cannot envision a future where she is not defined by what happened to her in the past. She considers herself too broken by what happened to ever come back from it. All she feels she can do is mask the true extent of her hurt so that she can keep others around her. To hide how broken she is so that people won’t leave her due to that brokenness.

However, despite all of this, she did have people. She found Imogen, she found the rest of the Hells. People who are willing to stay with her despite knowing her faults; knowing what happened. Orym found out about what happened to her on the Sun Tree that day, and openly acknowledged that it was a terrible thing that happened. Ashton heard that she feels she’ll never not be broken and said, “So fucking what? Be the best broken thing you can be”. Imogen knows about Delilah and is willing help her get rid of her. Laudna had people who loved her, and were willing to help her build a life beyond her trauma.

But then she died. Then she was murdered. Her life was stolen by someone who genuinely didn’t acknowledge it as having any intrinsic value, or if Otohon did acknowledge that Laudna’s life had value, that value was certainly lesser in her eyes than Imogen’s.

Laudna’s story then, is the story of someone who spent a long time struggling with trauma, and had her life taken before she was able to fully reconcile with that trauma and move on from it, despite having a support system of people who love her. It’s tragic, it’s unfair, and it’s a story that’s played out countless times in real life. There are hundreds of thousands of Laudna’s in the world, people who’s trauma made them transient, who’s trauma made them pull on other forces to function (though in reality this manifests as substance abuse not warlock pacts), who believed they’ll never be able to not be broken, who still had people who loved them, whose lives were considered worth less because of what their trauma made them. And who never got to move forward with their lives, because they died as Laudna did.

I’m not saying don’t feel sad about what happened to Laudna, people’s feelings are their own, nor am I saying it’s wrong to prefer a different outcome for her. But this is AN outcome. This is a story. An all-too-common mundane tragedy. And I find there’s a lot of value in those stories, so if this is the end for Laudna, I’ll be happy with this as the end. Because hers is a tragic, unfair, beautiful, and complete story.

#as the wise sage Emilie Autumn once said #Life is not like Gloomy Sunday with a second ending when the people are disturbed #Well they should be disturbed because there's a story that ought to be heard #Well they should be disturbed because there's a lesson that really ought to be learned #critical role #laudna #cr meta #cr3 #cr discourse #cr spoilers #cw: trauma

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