#tragic destinies

[weirdlookindog]

"Rose carried of by Count Lerno"

"The hag and her victim"

"The murder in the green-room"

"The murderous attack"

"Found dead"

"The crime"

"Digging the grave"

"Clara and the ruffians"

"The lost one"

"The murder by poison"

"The sweep and his victims"

"Selling a wife"

"The bodysnatchers"

"ROSE MORTIMER; OR, THE BALLET-GIRL'S REVENGE"

by a comedian of the T. R. Drury Lane, London, c. 1865

source

[cortex-rampage]

I find the way that BBC Merlin set up Merlin's powers in the first episode to be quite funny. I mean, we see this sort of lanky guy and it is established that he is Merlin and (according to our own common knowledge) therefore he is the most powerful warlock ever. Okay, cool. One might assume that he has come to Gaius to develop his powers, that maybe he's only in the beginning of his magical journey. But instead the exposition shows Merlin, in the pilot episode of this 5 series show, stop time and employ levitation to save someone's life with magic, and then it is announced that prince Arthur is essentially his soulmate, and their joint power will create the most glorious age Camelot has ever seen. Quite an exciting set-up. And then for the rest of the entire show this man who we know possesses TIME-ALTERING POWERS mostly uses them on-screen to do common chores and annoy and prank THAT SAME Arthur. Like that one post said, "All of it's destiny and all of it's his fault." :p

[thefirstknife]

:( 220 less Bungie employees

Gaming industry unionise NOW.

Not much else to say honestly, this is absolutely devastating and, unfortunately, nothing new this year in the industry. It also puts an end to the whole spiel people had last year about layoffs and how they were because "game bad." Now it isn't, this is the best expansion ever and layoffs still happened. It's because nothing about the game impacts this; layoffs happen because of capitalist greed. So many studios suffered the same this year. We need to kill and eat every single CEO.

This will once again be really tough for everyone laid off as well as for the remaining employees. As always, I'd advise against preemptive doomposting about the fate (heh) of the game, mostly because of those who remained and are going to be burdened with working twice as hard. We should also expect things to be a little slower and probably also a lot glitchier for a while so please try and be understanding to everyone who still has a job, if you're continuing to play.

But yeah. Unionise.

[borgialucrezia]

"There is that final embrace that I think helps with letting his brother go in a way. Juan has been the one who drove Cesare to become what he is now, and I think Cesare is building walls around his heart. You do get colder and less sentimental when you take that path. He has to go on and he can't mourn him forever, especially since he's responsible for his death. He's not making excuses for what he is anymore, and what he wants to be. He ultimately feels that it's the right thing for himself. It's something that he focused on and I think he can control his mind into having no second thoughts. And that's the only way you can rule in that era, really." — FRANÇOIS ARNAUD

[ennn]

Agatha and Rio as star-crossed lovers: Why a happy ending for them is unlikely (for now) but it'll be okay (probably?)

Look, I’m obsessed with these two—both their complex characters, their crazy unique dynamic—it’s a ship I actually can’t play favourites with!

BUT I also fully expect these two will fight it out in the finale and they aren’t headed for a happy ending, at least not a happy ending where they walk off happily into the sunset together at the end of this series and we shippers should maybe try to not freak out about it.

Let’s look at what the show is—in my opinion—telling us about these two. Under the cut for spoilers and my heap of meta thoughts–

Agatha’s arc is about her finding her coven, her community

I’ve written a bit more about the show’s and our protagonist's arc here: Basically underneath all that lust for power, Agatha’s deepest desire is to find a coven, a family of witches she can share her trials and blessings with. Agatha loves powerful witchcraft and she wants someone to share it with.

And she did find Rio. These two incredibly lonely women found each other, fell in love, and probably murdered their way through so many people together.

But then Agatha had a child and realised she could be a little bit less selfish for another human being. And then Rio took him away and they separated but i think they ultimately never dealt with what I think is at the heart of their rift now, of Agatha still having that bit of humanity and vulnerability for human connection in her.

Now of course at this point I don’t know what Rio’s deal is exactly. Is she human? Was she human? What happened in her past? What we do know is that Rio has a certain detachment from people, and that she enjoys watching Agatha kill witches.

Right now Agatha's getting a taste of what having a coven can be like. Something she's not had in centuries. Them working together, making magic together. That moment during the campfire where she realised they were laughing with her. The shared experience of riding those broomsticks.

Yes, covens—like any kind of family or community—can be good or bad. They can lift you up or tear you down. Agatha's first coven and mother failed her, we'll see how this one fares (especially after what we saw in episode 5). Will they be enough to bring out more of Agatha's humanity?

The thing is, Agatha is going on a bit of a character development journey and Rio—whose her world hasn't been rocked the same way Agatha's has—isn't.

Now I don't expect Agatha to turn over a new leaf by the end of the series but I expect her to be in a somewhat different place from where she started, and Rio I expect will not be in that same place. At least not by this series' end.

There is a certain tension at the end of episode 4 after Rio brings up the topic of "the boy". And again when Rio watches Agatha leave the cabin in episode 5. I think Rio is recognising that this isn't the Agatha she knew and first fell in love with many years ago, and she's not happy about it.

Agatha's moving in a direction Rio might not be able to follow, and I expect that's where we'll get our conflict down the road.

In a world without logistical limits, it's not impossible for these two to be together given enough time and character development (and hey that's what fic is for) but with 4 episodes remaining I expect we'll at best get more of a bittersweet resolution for them, after both of them finally let loose the anger they have at each other.

A closing of a chapter, I suppose, but not necessarily The End.

Agatha and Rio love each other, but they also bring out the worst in each other

It’s clear that these two have loved and do still have love for each other. That they found a special connection with each other that has maybe even saved one or the both of them before.

But they can also be standing in each other's way.

I'm reminded of these lines from Killing Eve:

I think my monster encourages your monster, right? I think I wanted it too.

Look, Agatha can't have a community if she keeps killing members of that community in the pursuit of power. Yes, with Rio around, it's terribly romantic: the two of them against the world. But what if Agatha actually wants to be a part of that world, even a little?

And as for Rio, now this is just my theory but it's possible Rio is perhaps too focused on the darker aspects of her role, of her power.

As The Green Witch, isn’t she meant to be more than Death?

I've been marvelling at all the details in Rio's nature-themed warrior witch outfit. It's beautiful, a celebration of life. She clearly has a strong connection with plants; there's a cute spider on her jacket; she's shown some ability to heal. Even her Death outfit has vines and roots forming her chest piece — what happened with Rio to make her hone in on spreading violence and death?

It just feels like there's a story there, to have her be The Green Witch as opposed to a more traditional or mainstream manifestation of a Death entity.

It's clear that these two came together and did monstrous things. There's usually reasons for that. Human or not, I suspect Rio has her own pain, one that's warping the balance of nature. Maybe they both need to heal in their own way, apart from each other.

This relationship is important to the show

Whatever happens, it's clear that this relationship is key to Agatha's story and the show. Their relationship, with its soft moments and sharp edges, filled much of the first episode on purpose and I expect it to play a major part in the finale as well – an appropriate bookend – including the fight between them.

You could even say that it's actually a good thing that these two are getting the focus at the show's start and end. It's always been Agatha and Rio: understanding each other, at each other's throats, pushing each other, tearing at each other, wanting but not meeting each other.

The thing about this being a "small stakes" show is that the cause of the fight happening between them can be very personal. A lovers' quarrel. Rio may simply want to kill Agatha for something she did, or in rage or fear of losing her.

On that note though, these two have such a long and complicated – and as Hahn once put it "toxic maybe but loving" – relationship that one big violent messy fight in itself doesn't worry me. I mean, we've all seen episode one.

Maybe sometimes you have to bleed to let the poison out.

This is still a love story.

[group-dynamic]

Bartender: Hey, man, how's it going?

Me: Yeah, you know, it's good. Just thinking about how Gil Galad's kingship was haunted by Elrond. Like his first great failure after being crowned when he'd barely come of age was showing up too late to stop the destruction of Sirion. How he probably felt a deep personal responsibility to find Elwing's missing boys at least but couldn't even do that. Like, I know he probably got redirected by Cirdan toward all those refugees and stuff, but he probably really wanted a win, especially because he was kinda orphaned by then himself and knew how cruel fate was to the sons of greater destiny. Like all his family who'd been king before him died, like, horrifically? And then when Elrond returns all fine and he comes to Lindon and he's chosen the fate of the elves, Gil Galad's physically haunted by him again. See, but this time he chooses to be haunted by Elrond. Because I think he wants to fix what he sees as his first great failure by restoring a bright future for this kid which was robbed from him when Sirion fell--and it's probably like he wants better for him than what he got, too, because he got this kingship in exile thrust upon him when all he was doing was hanging out with Cirdan making ships or something with the other non-combatants and refugees like he and his mother who were fleeing war and violence and he was like fourth in line to the throne so he probably found out in one fell swoop that all his family's dead and oh, you're king and your destiny's out of your hands. So he's like, I'll make Elrond herald and give him all the experience and guidance on this leadership stuff I never got while also giving him better control of what kind of future he has. Then--get this--he never even marries or has kids and when his reign is coming to an end. . . Which, by the way, he probably foresaw his own death which is fucked-- because he gives Elrond his ring before the war of the last alliance, metaphorically making him his heir and also giving him the opportunity to shape his future. . .Yeah, yeah, cause Elrond wouldn't have been considered suitable to be a lord or a king or anything after he was raised by wolves the sons of Feanor. So when Gil made him herald it was like helping him gain political experience and any status he lost. So anyway, then Gil Galad dies, but in some ways he's spent a greater part of his life dedicated to the act of restoring Elrond to the path he should have been on in an alternate reality where he was raised as Earendil and Elwing's son and like correcting that first failure--but also changing Elrond's fate because Elrond has the ring, like, he literally has Gil Galad's legacy and power in his hands, something he wouldn't have had (or needed?) before. But he decides he won't be king. He'll use that power to guard the place that fulfills the legacies of both him and Gil Galad. He's rebuilt the home he lost, something Gil Galad was trying to give him, and then he makes it a place for all the orphans and the wounded and the refugees--like he even fosters a bunch of future orphan kings and like--

Bartender: Like the ending of Hamilton?

Me: *mumbling into my empty glass* Yeah, exactly like the ending of Hamilton.

[confusion-est]

Suffocated soul Strangled from the day it was born Would do anything to survive Would do anything to breathe without hurting

[unepersonnelouche]

Ace attorney, when will you give the kids a break ???? (Please never do, I live for the angst)

[angele-darliing]

Blackbright oh god oh please oh god oh please why why why why

[world-domination666]

Just look my way

These evil little gay men won't leave me alone 😭 why can't they just be happy

[avelera]

I’m re-listening to The Vampire Lestat audiobook right now, and it has in it a stunning and timely reminder that Armand is one of the most powerful telepaths of all time amongst vampires.

… which is to say that at no time while Daniel was clumsily pretending to be taking notes instead of messaging the Talamasca (something even a non telepath could have spotted DANIEL YOU ARE BAD AT THIS) or when Daniel was getting ready for his big Columbo-style “Just one more thing” reveal of the stunning extent of Armand’s betrayal, at NO POINT would Armand not have seen that coming.

Daniel has no telepathic defenses. Louis casually invades his mind at will but Armand is literally so powerful that at his level you are just constantly receiving ambient thoughts unless you block them out. When Armand goes into people’s memories he can see stuff from YEARS before with absolute ease. If Louis is a microphone, Armand is a goddamn satellite dish, the kind they use to listen for sounds coming from space.

My point being that we’ve all followed Daniel’s reasoning throughout that Armand’s far too powerful to not be lying when he said he couldn’t prevent it. Indeed, he was the director of the tragedy, all while wearing a stunned, slightly saddened expression when the tragedy finally occurred as (he) planned.

An expression much like the stunned, slightly saddened one he wears when he is “caught” in his lies by Daniel, who poses about as much threat to a vampire who can read every thought in your head back to the day you were born and can actively puppeteer humans to say whatever he wants or even stop time for them, as Sam the Vampire was a threat to Armand with his theater prop scythe.

Armand is not caught off guard by Daniel’s reveal. He knew what Daniel was going to say before Daniel said it. Quite possibly weeks or years before he said it, because IMO Armand is once again the director of his own violent breakup with his companion(s) of decades, because that’s how this motherfucker rolls.

[yakool-foolio]

Me when Clay got to see Apollo achieve his dream but Apollo never got to see Clay live out his

[zukosdualdao]

i’ve sometimes seen the idea that azula cheating in the agni kai by aiming at katara is supposed to show how far she’s fallen and how lost she is because she wouldn’t have cheated before, but that just… does not ring true to me.

i think this idea comes from her characterization of trying to live up to perfection, but i think it’s important to remember she’s functioning under ozai’s definition of perfection, a guy who infamously colluded with his wife to kill his father so that he could be firelord. i don’t get the particular sense he cares how, exactly, azula carries out the goals he’s set for her, as long as she accomplishes them.

and a lot of really prominent azula scenes turn on the axis of her being exactly this underhanded. in the avatar state, she tries to manipulate iroh and zuko into coming home under false pretenses, when she really means to arrest them. in bitter work, seeing she’s outnumbered, she makes a false surrender so that her opponents will hesitate/back down and then attacks iroh when they do. in the crossroads of destiny, she strikes aang with lightning from behind while he’s in the avatar state. in the awakening, she lies that zuko killed aang because she wants an insurance policy she won’t be blamed on a hunch he might be alive.

whether or not these break official rules of combat or acceptable legal/social behavior in-universe, i think it’s hard to deny that these actions form a pattern that showcases azula as someone not concerned with integrity or ideological fairness in such situations.

azula is a fascinating character, and her breakdown in sozin’s comet is tragic. but it’s not because she’s acting out of character; if anything, it’s because she’s falling back on old patterns despite her hallucination of her mother (and therefore her own subconscious) trying to warn her that using fear to control people isn’t truly viable. but that means her entire concept of the world is wrong, so she doubles down and shoots for katara, a noncombatant in this fight, having seen zuko agree to an agni kai in the hopes she wouldn’t get hurt and thus understanding he fears that and will make sure the lightning never reaches her. azula doesn’t care how she wins because it’s never mattered how she wins, as long as she does. but with katara defeating her and ozai’s impending downfall, it’s about to matter a lot more.

[borgialucrezia]

i think it's iconic how both juan and cesare have episodes centered on them that are named after machiavelli's books!! with juan's episode titled "the art of war" and cesare's episode titled "the prince" (the show's finale that also had juan haunting its narrative)