#side note guess who just realized ive been mistyping jibe as jive. which are two similar looking but Different™ words

[sparring-spirals]

Do you think Laudna would hold some resentment when she heard about how it went down? I saw some people saying she would have done anything to make them choose Imogen and I can see her begging them to choose her, if not doing more, but Imogen didn't even plead. Laudna is very kind and puts oother people before herself, so I don't think Laudna would be mean to anyone because of that, but deep down, do you think it would sting? As in "I would do it all for her, but she wouldn't do half for me?"

Okay, so, I think this question is kind of doubled, because there's the direct question of "How would Laudna feel about how her death went down with everyone else & Imogen's role in it", but I also think there's a secondary implicit question of. "Did Imogen really try everything she could/if Imogen cares so much why didn't she try harder or offer more pushback/ reacted More or done something more in the moment" which I. Would like to address. Perhaps a bit defensively. So. Sorry.

tl:dr: I really do not jibe with the reading of "Imogen not fighting harder was bc she didn't care enough" interpretation, and while i could maybe see Laudna taking in the series of events as a sort of awful condemnation/indicator about how important/valued she is. I think its more likely for that to reflect in a negative self estimation/affirmation rather than resentment towards the others.

But to focus on the first q, first:

I don't know if Laudna would hold resentment, per se. I think that whole situation was an absolute nightmare and there were no good choices, and I don't see a world where Laudna comes back and doesn't see that, or try to understand that. Could hearing about it drive home some personal fears and bad feelings and questions for Laudna? Yeah, defs. But i feel like that negativity has a higher chance of going in than out. I think it could sting, sure. But I'm not sure Laudna, at least the Laudna we knew as she died, would have the mindset to view it as a "Well I would have, so why didn't she?". Rather than a, say: "Well. Of course. Of course." (And tbh, Laudna's opinion of Imogen is such that I'd be surprised if she heard ANY eval of the sitch and went "Well why didn't Imogen do more" instead of "Well I'm sure my beloved light and Target of Many Projections And Hopes did everything she could AND she brought me back, so-". I am saying this with the requisite levels of exasperation and affection.)

Also along those lines- I don't know yet what the Bells are going to do to try to get her back. But i think that would influence it as well. Bc i don't think they're going to make small swings.

And for the second, implicit question, which tbh I- really don't agree with. At least 40% of it might be personal read on Imogen and just Personal Beliefs, so I'm going to lay out as much of it as possible and we can go from there. If this is knee-jerk and off topic, my apologies.

Okay first, can we just- all agree that the entire situation was a clusterfuck from top to bottom? it was dire as hell, folks. Three of them died. It must have felt like a miracle it wasn't more. Everyone rattled and still trying to act. Fearne, freshly not dead, had never even done a revivify, and they were looking at. An impossible choice. Two are down. You can only choose one.

How do you choose which of your friends to kill?

(Let's be real. In that situation, that's what you're choosing.)

I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart read Imogen as the kind of character who is very used to pressing down her comforts and her wants to get things done. In regular situations.

So what happens when you want something, you want it so badly it feels like it could kill you if you lose it, when you need something, and you also know, you know with zero doubt, that pursuing that want means you kill your other friend.

What happens when this whole shitshow feels like it is your fault, your memory is still fresh with these friends dying to send a message to you, personally. What the fuck kind of right do you have to demand, your other friend die for this, for her, (for you, for your wants).

And at this point maybe we get a: Okay but this isn't about Imogen, this is about LAUDNA, who is the one who actually needs to be brought back to life, this is about Orym, whose life hangs in the balance as well.

And you're right. You're so right and I have so many feelings about it here have this excellent meta by @professorthaddeus about it so i don't add 8 more paragraphs here but yes. It's not about Imogen, right? it shouldn't be.

that's the point. that's the problem. i really, really think the depth of that want played right into why Imogen wouldn't have pushed back more, why Imogen was desperately trying to figure out an option that wouldn't kill one for the other- threatening Delilah, mentioning Laudna having been dead before. This wasn't about Imogen. This couldn't be, not with Orym lifeless looking up and Fearne's voice shaking and Laudna dead, Laudna dead-

(Imogen had also tried pleading, she had just pleaded, she had begged and tried to give in and- it hadn't done anything. It had accomplished literally nothing, her begging and desperation had done nothing but expose her friends as weak spots for Otohan to target and oh god that is so. so fucked up.)

(Also none of this even takes into account the whole "Imogen was probably still extremely shell shocked and disoriented after being a human shockwave and probably in some level of denial", but know I'm counting that too).

(ALSO the way Imogen yelled at Ashton after to treat Laudna's body with dignity, more than once. Those outbursts and insistences are just so. just so.)

And okay one last thing is this, which is this meta about Imogen and how she deals with Problems vs how Laudna does and I think its maybe relevant again.

god im getting off track a bit here maybe but like- i really think Imogen's reaction was heartbreaking and so fueled by love and fear and shock and panic and- understandable given a nightmare of a situation.

and i definitely think the details of this might impact Laudna, if she were to hear about it, although in what ways, as always, remain to be seen. But my guess is- not good for her self esteem. Everything else is a bit more up in the air.

#critical role #cr spoilers #c3e34 #laudna #imogen temult #character meta #spar speaks #ask away! #laudna meta #imogen meta #this fully turned into imogen meta and is also. Again. So Damnn Long. #also i wasnt kidding about the 8 paras professorthaddeus's meta sparked a completelt different meta which i wrote up and looked at and went #oh this is fully not relevant to anything. so. #anyway. anyway. shit fuck balls. yeah. #speculation #technically this is only 3 metas in one! which is an improvement from the 6 that were trying to escape!!! #i probably should edit this more but. Its Late And Im Tired and might not have time tomorrow. so uh. enjoy. #side note guess who just realized ive been mistyping jibe as jive. which are two similar looking but Different™ words #sleep time. #my meta