#there's ilya too btw <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[barbwritesstuff]

I just caught up with all of the latest stuff today (hadn't managed to sit down and read for a couple of weeks) and was excited to see what all the fuss was about! AND DAMN MY... MY HEART. I was on the edge of my seat during the entirety of the trial.

The way this sold me on Tracy!!! Like, she came through for MC when NOBODY else did. Tears. And the way she plays it down, I love her so much...

Also, while (or perhaps BECAUSE) I love Ilya as an RO, in the other playthrough it was simply shattering to have him betray MC. Makes me wonder... does a Blackwell who isn't romancing him get a chance to take revenge, maybe? I know he's, like, level 3 Path of the Beast so I guess it's improbable, but I do hope.

Last thing on my mind, I read on here that there's some Chris content at the end there? A kiss scene or something? My other main playthrough is for Chris, and weirdly, that part didn't show up for me. Does Blackwell need to do something specific for Chris to be there in the latest chapter?

Apologies for the long ask. Big fan btw. Since Blood Moon. Long time lurker, first time asker so to speak.

Oh! I love this ask. Thanks for sending it. 💙

Iliya will appear again on all playthroughs. Revenge will definitely be an option (no vampire in the game is too strong to kill).

Chris currently only appears in Chapter Ten if you have a kid, but I will write a version of the Chris/MC reunion for non parents. It's not currently in the game but it's coming. I hope that's okay.

[mysticstarlightduck]

What is the most common trauma you give your characters? The one that most/many of them have. For example abandonment issues, survivor's guilt, something along those lines

Thank you so much for the ask, @an-indecisive-nerd!!!

Sorry for the late response btw - these past two weeks were really tough on me due to the fact I was anemic AND had a really bad flu, but now that I'm 100% back to health I'm ready to catch up with my asks and tags lol

I think a few of the most common traumas my characters face in my books are the following (mostly because I'm a whump enjoyer but also because those things are really plot relevant too):

Familial Loss - Most of my Main Characters have suffered some kind of familial loss in their past. A lot of them don't have their parents and if they have the good one is usually dead and the bad one is hunting them. Examples of this in my stories include: the Millihan siblings from WLITH lost both of their parents at a young age, Savvy Hahn from WLITH lost her half-brother to a brutal kidnapping when she was six, Adahm Ryker from Scrapyard Boys lost his childhood best friend when he was 12, Kaelan Brimcaste from Arrows of Nightfall lost his older brother and only guardian he ever had to an execution, and so on.

Poverty and Oppression- Many if not most of my MCs have suffered poverty in their past. In Grim City Chronicles Willem and his brother are street urchins in a Victorian Era-inspired city, Vince became a common prostitute to pay the bills and his cousin Peggy is a thief, and Ilya is a conman renowned for swindling nobles. Most of the characters from Scrapyard Boys suffered from various forms of poverty plus they live in a cyberpunk dystopian regime that is infamous for its oppresive and murderous tendencies. In Supernova Initiative, before Jack and Cassie Tithus became the richest and most wanted intergalactic thieves in the galaxy, they were just common street urchins in a backwater moon that was swamped by crime of all kinds. Even in WLITH - though NOT to the same extent as the other books, since the MCs in this book do have some stability - the Millihan siblings aren't exactly well off and Dylan often has to have 3 jobs just to pay the bills and settle their grandmother's debts that are still in their name.

Torture and/or Major Injuries: Many, many, many characters in my medieval high fantasy stories (Arrows of Nightfall, Realms of Loss, The Last Wrath, Crooked Fable, etc) AND in my science fiction stories (Scrapyard Boys, Plague of Tomorrow, Supernova Initiative) at one point or another of the story undergo some form of torture or continuous injury at the hands of their enemies.

Abandonment Issues & Betrayal - Though not as prevalent as the other traumas above, a lot of the cast from many of my WIPs has some form of abandonment issues. Erin Niemand from WLITH has very much unresolved abandonment issues due to her mother blatantly walking out on the family after cheating on Erin's dad. Adrien Rosetrom from Scrapyard Boys was literally kicked out from home and abandoned by his grandparents when he was 15. Victor Moreau in Grim City Chronicles was betrayed and shunned by his best friends when he was turned into a vampire at the age of 20, and lost his son to a monster hunter his so-called 'friends' sent after them a few years later.

Sexual Harassment: To a lesser extent (this time probably as some form of catharsis for my inner child 😭lol, but I'm fine btw) but still there, a few, specific characters in my WIPs have suffered some form of harassment or even, unfortunately, assault. Dylan Millihan in WLITH is stalked by a 50-year-old cougar (Mrs. Adelaide Draycott) who is disturbingly enamoured with him and wants to get the 23-year-old to fall in love with her or at least sleep with her at all costs, which she luckily fails at everytime but is still harassment. Adrien Rosetrom (Scrapyard Boys) has been catcalled, received inappropriate touches/groping or even snide comments from multiple men in clubs throughout the years due his job as a stripper - and the same applies to Vince in Grim City Chronicles but to a worse extent. (Also in Scrapyard Boys) It is implied Adahm Ryker suffered some form of assault by Dr. Gladys from the PHANTOM Labs when he was a teen, though any details are unclear. In the same WIP Karima Sallow offhandedly mentions that Caroline Tarych and her husband James both had a grooming-like attitude towards her before the Tarychs massacred House Sallow.

[joanofexys]

tell me about your pet(s)!!! or, if you don’t have any, tell me about your dream pet companion!!! or, or, if you don’t want any, perhaps tell me which of your OCs would have pet(s) and what they would be <3

i’m bringing cookies & barbie movies to the sleepover btw 🦋🩷

I LOVE BARBIE MOVIES I STILL HAVE ALL MY DVDS

anywayyyyyy

these are my pets. they’re my darling babies

when i move out i want to adopt another cat (mine that lives here has way too much anxiety to ever move so she gets to stay in the family home and i’ll visit) and my dream dog is either a pitbull or irish wolfhound

and for my ocs with pets. Jude has a pitbull named Stevie after Stevie Nicks. Merr ends up not a step dad but the dad who stepped up aka also a dog dad to Stevie

Flor I think might like a cat and he and Ilya probably end up with two or three

Emiko has a hedgehog

Mara gets a borzoi

[stevethehairington]

5, 12, and 32 for the weird writer asks! <333

lexxx ty for sending this in!! <3

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

ooh hm honestly i don't really think i do? i feel like that's such a boring answer lmao but i really truly cannot think of anything for this one. like, i guess probably because i'm not really a super stitious (hah) person to begin with?

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

ooooh. i think the first one would definitely be "i wish that i could finish a multichap fic" because good GOD do i want to do that so bad!! i have so many ideas for multichaps but there's just soo much that goes into those and even if i do start one i always seem to loose steam and never finish it so yeah. that absolutely would be a wish.

i think my second wish would be "i wish that i could pull the visual scenes from my head and have them pop out onto the page in perfect textual description and dialogue" LMAO. this just happens WAY too often where i have like THEE perfect image of the scene in my head, but when i sit down to like write it out it NEVER translates exactly the way i want it to (or maybe not never but definitely rarely or it takes a lot of work to get it there lol).

and my third wish would beeee hm maybe "i wish i could have time, motivation, and inspiration at the same time always" because ohohoh it is SO RARE to have all three at once lol.

(of course i would also make sure to phrase all of these in ways that they couldnt be twisted lmaooo - i see you sneaky genies)

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

OH OH OH THIS IS SO EASY TO ANSWER. okay so my favorite quote of A L L time is this one:

"soaping together is sacred to us. washing each other's shoulders. you can fuck anyone — but with whom can you sit in water?"

from while the child sleeps, sonya undresses by ilya kaminsky

god it's just my absolute favorite quote in the entire world because it's allllll about the tender nonsexual intimacy, which if you know me you know that that's like my favorite thing ever to read about and write about and think about skdljfs.

there's just something so so so vulnerable and beautiful about sharing yourself with someone else in this way. like yes, sex is an intimate thing, but this - bathing with someone, washing someone's hair, touching gently, tenderly with no other purpose other than to take care. THAT to me is even more intimate. like. you're getting emotionally naked with this kind of stuff, you're giving yourself over to someone else in a way that goes so much deeper, that peels back all the layers. you're putting your beating heart into someone else's hands and hoping they don't crush it to death. it's just ugh it means SO much to me. it's so beautiful and i just love exploring that kind of thing in writing and reading.

i know i found that quote on tumblr first lol, but i can't remember the specific context. i just know i saw it and instantly fell in love with it and it's so so important to me.

weird questions for writers

[barzzal]

congratulatory and birthday handshakes for #13 PIT @ NYI G.6 ; R.1 SCP | 26 MAY 2021

[crow-talks-hockey]

my favorite players from my teams + honorary mentions from not-my-teams :>

Colorado Avalanche (these are top 5 in order btw): Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Erik Johnson/Pavel Francouz [bonus ones that are very close include Artturi Lehkonen and JT Compher, but then again I simply love all of them nearly equally]

Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evengi Malkin, Tristan Jarry, Kasperi Kapanen [bonus includes Jason Zucker, Jake Guentzel, PO Joseph, Bryan Rust and you get the point I love my teams too much and I'm now realizing how difficult it is to rank them]

Carolina Hurricanes: Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas, PYOTR KOCHETOV HE'S A CANE TO ME OK, Seth Jarvis, Brady Skjei/Frederick Anderson [I cannot even begin the list ok, just assume I love all of my boys <3]

Seattle Kraken: Andre Burakovsky, Matty Beniers, Morgan Geekie, Jared McCann, Vince Dunn [etc, etc, etc-]

not-my-teams honorable mentions:

Tampa Bay Lightning- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point (basically, I like Tampa except when we play them)

Minnesota Wild- MARC-ANDRE FLUERY WHO'S STILL A PEN IN MY EYES, Kirill Karpizov (this is another team I overall like just not rn cos of standings)

Toronto Maple Leafs- Mitchell Marner (aka Mitch bc who the hell calls him Mitchell honestly), Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares

Calgary Flames- NAZEM KADRIIII I MISS YOUUUUUU

Washington Capitals- DARCY KUEMPER I ALSO MISS YOU TOO, Alexander Ovechkin and Tom Wilson ish????, TJ Oshie, Sonny Milano

New Jersey Devils- Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, etc since I also like quite a few of the guys over there even though I don't particularly like NJ

New York Rangers- Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad

Vancouver Canucks- Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson

Edmonton Oilers- Connor McDavid (often debatable tbh idk where he stands for me), Leon Draisitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Buffalo Sabres- Tyson Jost, Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson

New York Islanders- Matthew Barzal, Ilya Sorokin

Florida Panthers- Matthew Tkachuk

Ottowa Senators- Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle

others include Trevor Zegras, Dylan Larkin, Drew Doughty, Arber Xhekaj, David Pastrnak, Kevin Hayes, Carter Hart, Jason Robsertson, Jordan Kyrou (aka one of the only reasons I don't hate the Blues as much as Vegas), Erik Karlsson, and a few others but the point is that I have at least one players from literally every team except Vegas that I like :)

[paranoia-assault]

Fate/Stay Night Review

I've been meaning to get around to this for a while, so this post will contain my thoughts on Fate/Stay Night. I'll be going in order of how you're supposed to play the routes. Massive spoilers btw. Also this is copied over from Twitter, so sorry for any weird formatting.

Keep in mind I enjoyed every route, so any negative points I bring up never made me think the route wasn't worth reading. That said, UBW > HF > Fate, so we'll be starting with my least favorite route.

There's 2 reasons why the Fate route is my least favorite. The first is that is has to explain a lot, so it feels like not much happens in it compared to the other two routes. The second is Shirou's "girls can't fight" bullshit. I can't stand Shirou in the 1st half of the route.  Shirou does get better, but this is probably my least favorite version of him. I cannot stand every moment he tries to hold Saber back from fighting and almost gets himself killed because "girls can't fight." It is extremely aggravating.

That said, Shirou is fantastic in the second half of the route. The Fate route is Saber's story, and he plays the perfect part in it. His dream of being a super hero goes perfectly with her wish of being a great king. Seeing these ideologies clash, then come together, is amazing. It's why I like the Shirou/Saber ship despite Shirou/Rin being my favorite. These two were practically made for each other. Last Episode only adds to this, and it made me retroactively like the Fate route more. Saber's ending was beautiful and their eventual reunion even more so.

Illya was also great as a villain. I do think Gilgamesh and Kirei both have routes where they shine better as villains, so when I think "the villain of the Fate route," it's Ilya who comes to mind. Berserker was the perfect threat, and the two together were genuinely terrifying.

Summed up thoughts on the Fate route: Good starting point. A bit slow, and Shirou is very annoying in the first half, but the Saber/Shirou dynamic in the second half makes the route worth playing. 7/10.

Time for my favorite route: Unlimited Blade Works. I fucking adore this route. When I think "Fate/Stay Night," this is the route that comes to mind. If I were to recommend one route, it would be this one. I even plan on watching the anime for it at some point.

The main reason I love this route is Shirou. UBW Shioru specifically is one of my favorite Fate characters. He is confronted with a massive challenge to his ideals. He's pretty much shown they're flawed. But rather than toss them aside, he strengthens his convictions. He denies his future self, determined to be different. Yeah, his ideals might have flaws, but why should that matter? Carrying on Kiritsugu's dream is meaningful to him. The pain is worth saving those he can. Even if it's a thankless, miserable task, he won't turn away from it.

Oh, and let's talk about Archer. I love him. Seeing a pessimistic side of Shirou, a potential result of his ideals, was fascinating. I was genuinely shocked when the twist happened, and it made me deeply appreciate Archer's character. Archer is another of my favorite F/SN chars.

Now, let's talk about my favorite F/SN character, Rin. Rin is great. She was trained to understand and accomplish what has to be done, but has a soft spot not unlike Shirou's that leads her to help others. She had a painful upbringing, but doesn't regret a second of it.

She is the perfect foil for Shirou. She recognizes the pain his ideals are putting him through, but rather than force him to throw them away, she decides to stay with him to make sure he doesn't push himself too far. She tries to help Shriou learn to enjoy himself. Shirou/Rin is my favorite ship in the VN for this reason. They compliment each other so well. Their personalities clash in a way that lets them both grow, and they're genuinely cute together, though you can say that last part about any of the 3 main Shirou ships.

The villains are also great. Caster isn't the same type of threat as Illya/Berserker, but her backstory and dynamic with her Master is really interesting to see. I enjoyed her moments on screen. Gilgamesh was the perfect final boss for this route though. Specifically for Shirou. Gilgamesh' powers match Shirou's reality marble perfectly. Infinite Noble Phantasms. Gilgamesh calls Shirou fake, but that leads to Shirou showing how an imitation can outclass the original. It's such a smart hero/villain dynamic, and the perfect end to Shirou's story in UBW.

Saber even gets some closure in this route, though not as much as in Fate. She gets to be Rin's Servant at the end (which I adored btw), and once again chooses to destroy the girl, moving on from her past. Also, she lives in the good ending which makes me happy.

I also need to talk about Illya. Her scene with Berserker is one of her best scenes in the entire VN. She's barely on screen in this route compared to the other routes, but somehow she made just as much of an impact with that time. I felt so bad for her in that last scene.

Summed up thoughts on the UBW route: This route is where all the characters shone their brightest. Shirou's ideals are handled perfectly, almost every Servant gets the attention they deserve, and the writing is overall high quality the entire route. 9/10.

Finally, Heaven's Feel...I think my thoughts on this route will be the most controversial, as I have very mixed feelings. 

I do want to say this first. I love Sakura. She is a fantastic character, and she deserves the world. I'm glad she gets the spotlight in this route.

I also think Kirei was at his best this route. His backstory, along with his final confrontation with Shirou, were both extremely well written. He went from a despicable villain to a despicable written I love to hate. He almost stole the show as much as Sakura did, honestly.

Rider was great this route. I love the twist that Sakura is her true master, and her protective nature over Sakura was great to see. This is the only route where she manages to stand her ground against Saber for a decent period of time, too. I'm glad she lives to the end.

The highlight of the route, however, has to be Sakura and Rin's bond. Learning that they were sisters, and seeing them slowly and awkwardly get closer, is fantastic. That final confrontation between the two of them blew me away with the spectacle & Rin using the second sorcery. Of course, the hug that ended the fight was the best part. Rin realizing she can't kill Sakura after all, despite everything she said to Shirou, was beautiful. Sakura's horror at thinking she killed her sister, showing she's not a full monster yet, was tragically heartwarming.

Them bringing the sorceries in with Illya and Rin was nice. I like how we got an epilogue that took place two years after the final battle rather than a few months. There is a lot to like about this route. 

...But there's also a lot I don't like.

Zouken and Assassin are just...okay villains. I don't think they're terrible, but they're not as interesting as any of the other villains in F/SN. 

My main complaint is that this route introduced too much. So many elements are here that aren't even touched on in previous routes. Zouken, true Assassin, the crest worms, the true Holy Grail, Angru Mainyu, these are all elements of the route that I'm just supposed to accept only come into play under these circumstances. Sometimes it feels like they came up with it all after the other two routes were written. None of them are badly written per se, it just feels so out of nowhere that I couldn't fully get into the story here. 

As for what I do think is badly written...I don't like Shirou in this route. He feels more selfish than in the others, often pushing aside others' feelings. The main moment that comes to mind is when Illya goes with Sakura. When Shirou finds her, he slaps her and yells at her, not accepting her feelings of wanting the end of her life to be meaningful. And there is no way to escape her death. The route makes that clear. Shirou also throws away his ideals for Sakura, which I don't like. The route before this one had him stick to his ideals despite being given evidence of the despair it will lead to. Yet here he tosses them aside without that, simply for one person.

Maybe badly written was too harsh. Shirou's fine, I like him more than in the first half of the Fate route, but he just doesn't seem to fit with the other instances of Shirou, and there were often times he frustrated me. Again, I did love his confrontation with Kirei though.

Now for the romance of this route. Shirou/Sakura. I'm sorry, but...I'm not a fan of this one. It's cute, even made me emotional at times. I think these two can have a great relationship. The thing is, I don't like how it happens here specifically. I think these two are way too dependent on each other, to the point that one can't live without the other. Just look at the bad ending where Rin kills Sakura and Shirou gives up entirely, or the normal ending where Sakura wastes away her life after Shirou's death. There's even a physical dependence due to the state of Shirou's body at the end of the route. It's honestly worrying how much they need one another.

I think they can grow past this, and I'm sure they do since the true end is a happy one. I don't hate their ship. It's my least favorite of the three, but I can easily see it being someone's favorite. Hell, I know someone for who it is. The ship isn't awful, just has some issues.

Back to the route as a whole, it is certainly the most ambitious, but I think they got carried away at times. It's certainly more geared toward horror as well, especially with those bad endings. Not that that's a bad thing, even if I'm not often into horror.

Summed up thoughts on the HF route: A spectacular finale to the VN, but it has a few hiccups along the way. There are a lot of great character moments and interesting ideas that make it worth the time. The true ending is beautiful as well. 8/10.

Overall thoughts on F/SN: A great time that I would recommend to anyone who can get it working on their computer. Fantastic characters and cool concepts drive what can be just decent writing at times, and the high points are really high. Definitely worth the lows. 8/10.

Quick add on for my thoughts on the prequel, Fate/Zero: An amazing first half that got me attached to so many characters, but it falls apart in the second half due to Gen Urobuchi's more problematic writing tendencies. Those have been discussed to death, so I won’t go into detail on them here, Still, the show has enough moments that make it worth watching. 6/10.

That's my experience with Fate so far. I'm about halfway through the first arc of FGO, so I'll make a thread summarizing my thoughts on each singularity when the time comes. Also I want to read Fate/Hollow Ataraxia if I can. Overall I can say I’m glad I got into this franchise, and I’m excited to engage in more Fate content.

Anyway, this review took me 80 minutes to write, and another 15 to copy over here. Clearly I’m pretty passionate about this franchise.

[underthepillowfort]

Episode 3: the making at the heart of the world

- hellooooo genya my love

- she’s sooo gorgeous

- i paniced there for a sec at the nude shot

- oh ok we’re safe

- sassy alina strikes

- oh they changed the king’s name! GOOD DECISION SHOW PPL there can only b one aleks

- racist fu all these fu remarks

- strode stode genya

- the sexual tension btw them tho

- oh instant perm i need me one of those

- geny’s kefta is sooo pretty with tailor details too

- i liked it that they put cities name below each scene

- NINA ZENIKS

- Fjerdansssss? Who sold ma girl out to them noooo

- the wraithbe jumping floor to floor like she should

- the veil is ridiculous i agree, but yes shiny

- i really this serious genya

- oh this shot is so disney sooo disney look at darkles cape goes

- i might make this my screen saver

- the palace is ugly haha just can make budapest ugly what r you talking about aleks

- they’re so cute here my goodness to think of all suffering to come in next episode

- ok vasily i need your younger brother

- i ‘m trying to find leigh at the back

- the music score when he hold her hand istg

- i’ve never turn awaaaaaaaay bby

- jeez welcome home miss starkov and exit, if villian why charmimg

- OMG LEIGH NOT A DRILL IT’S HERRRR OOOOH SOOO SWEEEEET HUG HER FOREVER LEIGH JEASLOUS

- i’m my main b*tch zoya, little thorn you have a long way to go, i seriously think the show shouldn’t have put in racist remark made by zoya yea nuh

- MILO THE GOAT THIS IS SOO FUNNY TO ME KAZ HOLDING A GOAT WALKING AROUND, Is this why the GOAT has a 7 min ost to his name?

- oh inej looking for her family members name to see if they’re dead

- NINA MATTHIAS IN A BOAT

- these scenes with the crow crossing is stressful but funny but stressful

-BOTKINS MY MAN WAS ROBBED WHERE’S HIS LINE

- ALSO NEED TO SEE ALINA RIB FRACTURE BUT THEY won’t give me? Also need to see zoya crying

- ILYA HELLO GRANDPA

- the cast for the priest is spot on greasy rat

- me running to get my copy of ‘Life of saints’ so i can hold it like alina

- Baghra got an update a hut within a cave

- Zoeeeeee

-i felt the sadness jessie’s good

- i need to see this taster die brutally because i just want it , he’s nice but yea nice ppl die brutally in this show right?

- Ivan clam yr tits bro, someone call fedyor for him pls

- weird recap thing at the end of the episode tho

- this episode has it’s up and down but i think maybe 4/5 yea ⭐️

Next: Episode 4 Otkazat’sya

[stormxpadme]

@inwiste said:

Tarisilya 1-10?

93 fun OC asks because why not

1. What is their gender? Female

2. What is their sexuality? Best I can describe it is bi-curious? Both Ilya and Legolas met each other before they ever seriously considered romance. Legolas was too busy trying to please his father and protect his realm to care about finding a lover, and Ilya was simply too young. And then they met the one they were destined to love, so everyone else became uninteresting. That doesn’t mean either of them is straight though. There was just no need to explore their sexuality otherwise, as they were both immediately being promised by the time they started thinking about having a family. Ilya is seen in Tales Untold (#1) very explicitly swooning over Arwen though, and her twin brother is openly bi which she’s seen talking about fondly and without any kind of prejudice more than once. So if she hadn’t met to run into Legolas that night by the Celebrant, there’s no reason why she wouldn’t have fallen with a she-elf at some point. And the same goes for Legolas possibly falling for an elf, though he is also very aware that there would have been serious problems arising concerning the line of succession, that he would at least have needed to address with his father in that case.

3. What is the meaning behind their name? Do they have any nicknames? Oh boy, which one? :D

Let’s start with the author’s view, huh? Fun fact: At the time when I first came up with that character and thought about a name, I was knee-deep into the X-Men franchise, reading one or the other comic aside from watching the movies, too. I’d very much fallen in love with Magik (who happened to appear in the New Mutants movie not too long ago btw) back then. Magik’s real name is Illyana Rasputin. So I kinda wanted to do something with that. Which led to me deciding for Tarisilya’s nickname Ilya long before her real name, and building the rest around it. I also knew that the moon would play a big part in her life, and I’d been in love with the sad myth behind the wonderful song Hija de la luna for quite a while at that point. So I came up with the elvish expression for “moon-ruler” in the end. Since the name is quite a mouthful though, Ilya kept that short version of her name that it had originated from, as a nickname from the beginning.

Spinning that moon-story further, I had close confidants call Ilya Child of the moon - hen ithil in elvish - which is a loving reference to that myth of the moon that Ilya herself firmly believes in. In the further progress of the series and especially in the follow-up series in Valinor, the roots of that whole story will finally be uncovered, and Ilya will have to learn that she’s based her beliefs on little more than myth and misunderstandings. But I don’t want to spoil too much here. Wherever it came from, in any case, it is true that she draws a certain kind of strength in her soul from the moon, so that’s what that nickname refers to.

Lastly, Legolas and her call each other elwen, which is Quenya for “heart”.

4. Do they have any siblings? How many? Are they older or younger?  Which sibling are they the closest with?

Ilya has a twin brother named Tegiend who’s exactly five minutes younger than her. They are what some would call unhealthily close, as twins often are, and for them, that goes even more since they had to grow up without a mother. They’re fiercely protective about each other. Thanks to Tegiend’s talent for telepathy, they’re also connected by a family bond which links their souls even further. Which was why Tegiend couldn’t handle it too well when Tarisilya fell in love, as the problems coming with that created some distance between them. In his life as a marchwarden of Lórien, Tegiend saw much suffering and death on Middle-earth and grew tired of it more and more. When their father decided to sail west, Tegiend wanted nothing more but come with him, but his sense of responsibility didn’t allow him to leave Ilya behind who was determined to stay as long as Legolas would. In the middle of the war then, Tegiend decided to leave after all, albeit with a very heavy heart, and that separation left deep wounds both in his and Ilya’s soul. They’ll have a lot to straighten out once Ilya finally lives in Valinor in the follow up series.

5. What’s their relationship with their parents like? What about other relatives?

As mentioned, Ilya has a very protective twin brother, and her father isn’t any different. Her mother died at their birth which grieves her much, especially since she’s firmly convinced thanks to some writings of her mother, that the moon had something to do with that and that Ilya will suffer the same fate one day.

She’s very close to her father; conflict arises though after she meets Legolas for the first time. She’s just barely grown up at that point and Vandrin puts his foot down, telling Legolas that he doesn’t want them to court before Ilya is ready. Ilya and him fight a lot over that before she begrudgingly gives in and spends the next centuries learning and growing and waiting. That subject aside, they have a deep, loving relationship though, supported by Ilya inheriting Vandrin’s healing talent and learning from him about the art all her life.

Vandrin’s parents died in the War of Wrath, and Ilya’s mother didn’t even ever reveal to Vandrin her exact roots as she wanted nothing to do with them at this point. So for most of her life on Middle-earth, there’s no other relatives that Tarisilya knows about. Only some years after the War of the Ring, she suddenly learns that she has a cousin (that I can’t talk any further at this point because of spoiler reasons), and the two of them are being very close.

Once they all sail west at the end of the series, she’ll also get to meet the rest of that extended family, and from then on, she has a few relatives more.

6. What would they give their life for?

Her husband and her children.

7. Are they in a romantic relationship? With who? How did they meet?

Oops, I think we covered that quite well :D. It’s a bit of a Rome and Juliet situation, obviously, as Thranduil canonically really doesn’t like Lórien and before the War of the Ring, Legolas has never been there. So when he camps outside the borders one night in T.A. 2070 and meets a young Lórien Noldo that he feels attracted to, it’s not exactly an easy situation. They both don’t want to tell anyone because that can only bring drama and conflict between their realms, so they meet in secret a lot until Vandrin finds out and forbids that too.

By the time of the turn of the millennium, they’re both finally mature and confident enough to not let the love and respect for their parents dictate their life anymore, and they finally start courting. They get engaged soon after, as Legolas learns that Vandrin will soon sail west, and he’s rightfully afraid, Ilya will go with him. So they deepen their relationship quickly, but it’s still more or less an open secret in elf-world (Galadriel always knew and Legolas would be shocked enough to meet Mandos if he learned for how long Thranduil had known). Only after the War of the Ring and the canonical reconciliation of Lórien and Mirkwood, they finally make it official and get married with Thranduil’s blessing, and Galadriel substituting for Ilya’s family who is already in Valinor at that point.

Legolas establishes his canonical settlement at Cair Andros then, and after the first, very dramatic initial difficulties, Ilya goes to live there with him. They have two children there (if you follow this blog, this like, really, shouldn’t come as a spoiler anymore :D), a boy and then a girl, and after another deep crisis two decades into the Fourth Age, they live happily there among the elves of their settlement and door to door with men, until Aragorn’s death.

Then they take Gimli and the last elves of their settlement and all sail to begin their new life in Valinor. Which isn’t to say that this one will be without problems, now that they have to face all the elves over there, alive and reborn, but that’s subject for the follow up series :D.

8. What do they believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

Well, for elves that’s fortunately not too mysterious or scary. But due to the mentioned moon myth and her mother’s (and also her grandmother’s same) fate, Ilya is mostly scared about being taken away from her child at birth for an unforeseeable amount of time. That’s a trauma that will follow her ever until her life in Valinor when she gets to meet the right persons to make it clear to her how many misunderstandings she fell for there.

9. What is their favorite color? Favorite animal?

Red. Horses. Hey, that was easy :D.

10. What are some of their talents/skills?

As mentioned, Tarisilya is an exceptional healer. After she healed both her husband a few times, and then Aragorn in the Stewardaides crisis in Gondor after the War of the Ring, she’s got her reputation, and many men especially came to see her for treatments in the decades she lived in Gondor.

In her spare time, horse breeding and training is her big passion. She’s close friends with King Éomer on Middle-earth, and they learn a lot from each other. Knowledge that she’ll take with her and use in Valinor, too.

[sterling-starlight]

No Texting During Drama Club

Me: Alright! Week two of Vesuvian pride is all about the modern day AUs, I can do this!

*Eight pages later*

What happened? (Pen pals/online friends meeting in person for the first time. Not quite as adherent to the prompt, but I think it works well enough)

Unknown Sender

3:30 PM.  

“-heard u have a&p with prof valdemar. If you let me copy ur notes, I will owe u pizza for the rest of our lives.

-this is Julian, btw. from the theater club.

-in case u thought this was some, u know, random creep.”

You

3:35 PM

“-Fine. But only because no one deserves to be failed by Valdemar.  

-I’ll drop them off at the dressing room tomorrow. I like pineapple and olive pizza.”

Unknown Sender

3:37 PM

“-pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza, u monster!

-sigh. but I'll let it slide since you’re saving my ass.”

You

3:41 PM

“-Did you really just type out ‘sigh’?”

Unknown Sender

3:43 PM

“-….

-Yes.”

----------------

You

6:30 PM

“-So, hey. Congrats on getting to play Hamlet.”

Julian

6:34 PM

“-not the most original production we’ve done, but a role’s a role. seeing Lucio’s face when he realized he wasn’t the star was worth it.”

You

6:40 PM

“-Remind me who that is.

I’m seriously drawing a blank here.”

Julian

6:43 PM

“-blonde. rich. Insufferable. loud.

-he has that fancy prosthetic arm that somehow makes him better than everyone.”

You

6:50 PM

“-Oooooooooh. Him.

-He doesn’t really come to bother us production people unless he wants to bitch about costuming or the sets. Which is a lot.”

Julian

6:55 PM

“-i think I've heard you chew him out a few times. Ur the girl with the venterran accent, right?”

You

7:01 PM

“-Aye.

-Surprised you could even understand me. Not a lot of people can when I get PO’d.”

Julian

7:10 PM

“-i understood enough to know you called him a prick.  

-my mom and dad took me to venterre once. it was almost as pretty as you.”

You  

7:20

“-Wow.

-That was horrible and you should feel horrible.”

Julian

7:12

“-I have no shame, and never will, my dear.”  

-------------------------------------

Julian

3:00 AM

“-natalia

“-hey, natalia.”

“-tali”

Julian 3:05 AM

“-how did people in the middle ages first think to start using leeches?

“-like, did they stick leeches on themselves and realize that pain and blood loss and disease was the medicine?”

You

3:06 AM

“Jules, it is 3 in the goddamn morning. Go to bed.”

Julian

3:07 AM

“I work the graveyard shift at supermarket.  it’s my lunchtime.”

You

3:08 AM

“-Then fuckin eat your lunch and let normal people sleep before I cram it up your ass.”

Julian

3:10 AM

“- I can think of much more fun things we can do.”

You

3:15 AM

“-Fuck you, I’m going back to sleep.”

-----------------------

Jules

2:30 PM

“-So you really had a pet ram as a kid?”

You

2:31 PM

“-Technically, I still do. I just couldn’t bring him with me.

“-my flat allows large dogs, but won’t allow rams? It’s bullshit.”

Jules

2:32 PM

“-rams aren’t really normal pets tho.”

You

2:33 PM

“-Says the guy who has a pet crow.”

Jules

2:34 PM

“-malak is a raven, number 1.  

-number 2, he is an absolute delight. how dare you say otherwise?

You

2:40

“-Rufus is better.

“-Behold the glory”

Jules

2:50 PM

“-oh, so it’s a pet off then? Fine! May the cutest animal win!”

You

3:00 PM

“-Fine!”

Jules

3:05 PM

“-Have at you!”  

-------------------------------------

When Natalia’s phone rang, she was actually shocked to see Julian’s caller id flash on the screen.   They had never actually... talked on the phone before.  

The worst-case scenarios instantly popped into her head. Was he hurt? Did something happen? What if this was the hospital calling her to say he was in critical condition. Why would he put her as an emergency medical contact without telling her?!

Her phone buzzed again, more insistently, and she pressed the answer button with a trembling finger.  

“Hello?”

“Oh, hi~” The feminine voice from the other line was definitely not Julian, not even at his most dramatic falsetto. And she sounded too chipper to be the bearer of doom and death. Natalia let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding. “This is... Tali? Right?”

“It’s Natalia, actually. Who is this?”

“My name is Portia! I’m Ilya’s- oh, sorry. One sec,” Portia put a hand over the speaker, muffling the commotion on her side of the line. There was thumping, shuffling, and her shouting “You have her listed as ‘My Dearest Tali’, Ilya! Come on!”  

A voice that sounded somewhat like Julian’s shouted back something, but Natalia couldn’t hear it clearly.  There was a sound like static or rushing wind, before a door slammed and Portia let out a triumphant laugh. Portia’s voice fully came back on the line. “Sorry. But, yeah. I’m Ilya’s little sister. I would have liked to meet you in person, but my brother is completely hopeless.”  Someone thumped against the door, and Portia lowered the phone again. “You know I’m right!”  She yelled at the door.

Back to normal. “Aaaanyway. He’s been lamenting, and sighing, and wallowing over whether or not he should ask you out. So! You wanna go on a date with him?”  

Natalia opened and closed her mouth a few times, wordless sounds escaping. She was sure her face was burning pink. She could feel the heat spreading from her cheeks to her neck.  “Take your time. I can be in here all day.” Portia said casually. Natalia could almost picture her reclining back casually on whatever it was she was sitting on.  

“Ah- Ah,” Natalia finally managed to choke out. She took in a deep breath, and let it out in a slow whistle.  “...if he really wants tae.” She finally said.  

“Oh, he does. Trust me, I know him better than anyone.” Natalia could hear Portia’s smile through the phone. Distantly, a lock clicked and a door swung open. “She said yes, Ilyushka. You can thank me later.”

“That wasn’t- you’re missing the-!” Julian stammered. He took a breath and lifted the phone to his ear. “Listen, whatever Pasha said, you can just forget it. Really. It’s nothing.”

For a moment, Natalia found herself stunned by the sound of his voice. It wasn’t anything new to her. She had heard it from behind thick velvet curtains and up on catwalks. She had heard him bellow for lost love mournfully, monologue passionately, and condemn his enemies. But those were all characters. Hamlet, and Romeo, and Othello. None of them had been Julian Devorak. Not really.  

“Natalia?” His voice broke her out of her stupor, and sent a shiver down her spine. The way his tongue curled around the syllables of her name, like he had never spoken anything more sacred, sent her heart aflame in the best possible way.  

“Julian.” She spoke his name barely above whisper.  Natalia leaned against her desk for support, head spinning. When had- how did- why didn’t he- she- they-? She took in a breath through her nose, just as Julian heaved a resigned sigh.

“Good night, Tali.”  

“No, wait, Julian! Don’t-!” The dial tone droning in her ear was all she got.  And when she tried calling him, all she got was his voice mail.  

Try again. Voice mail.

Try again. Voice mail.  

You

8:00 PM

“-Julian, you asshole! Pick up your phone!”

*Last Read by Jules at 8:05 PM.  

--------------

Natalia Valeth was not a quitter.

She hadn’t given up when she left her home country to become a pharmacist. She hadn’t lost hope when she didn’t make the cut to be on the acting team. She didn’t back down even as Professor Valdemar verbally tore the first draft of her thesis to shreds. So, when she drove to the community theater the very next weekend, she was a woman on a mission.  

She was hours early for once, but not so early that the doors to the theater weren’t already unlocked. The only person who would wake up at the ass crack of dawn for theater was Julian, and that was exactly what Natalia was betting on.  She threw open the auditorium doors with a resounding bang that echoed resoundingly all throughout the room. Sitting on the edge of the stage was Julian, who looked up at her when she made her entrance. The script he had been looking over listlessly fell from his grip, scattering like leaves in the wind. In such a quiet room, Natalia could hear him curse as if she were right at his side.  She steeled herself and marched down the steps of the auditorium, stopping less than an arm’s length away from were Julian sat on his haunches collecting the papers.  

“We need tae talk. Face tae face this time.”  

“Do we?” Julian finally collected the script and rose to his full height. Despite having a good foot on Natalia, he had never looked smaller gunmetal gray eyes looking everywhere but at her. He turned his back on her to tap the pages crisply against the stage.  

“You bet yer ass we dae! Whit th’ hell urr ye thinking’s? Whit, did ye think ignoring this wid mak’ it go away?”  

“...Maybe a little.”

“Och! Yer impossible!” Natalia threw her hands up with the exclamation. “Did ye think Ah juist said ‘aye’ tae fuck wi’ ye? A’m waantin’ tae gang oan a date wi’ ye! Mibbie even twa! If we feel really crazy, we’ll mak’ it three.”

It might not have been the three magical worlds that would have been most dramatic. If this were a stage production, this would be the part where the lights would dim, and the spotlight would narrow over the two lovers, giving the illusion that they were the only two people in the world.   With the theater as empty as it was, they might as well have been.  

“Do you... Do you mean that?”

Such vulnerability didn't seem like Julian.  Julian could throw out innuendos as easily as breathing. Julian was overly dramatic in everything he did, even when he wasn’t in front of an adoring audience. But it was the Julian who wanted to be a doctor. It was the Julian who looked at all the pandemics of the past, and wondered why so many people had to die.  The Julian who was wound up so tightly like he was bracing himself for ejection like it would come as a physical blow.  

Sarcasm felt like it would just add fuel to the fire, so Natalia opted for compassion instead. When she brushed her hand against Julian’s cheek, he leaned into it like he needed her touch the same way needed air.

“I’m willin tae huv a go at this.” She said gently, like everything would shatter around them if she was too abrasive. “Ye in?”  

“Absolutely.” Julian placed a hand over hers and tilted his head enough to plant a shy, fleeting kiss to her palm.  

Maybe this would end in a romance for the ages. Maybe this would end in tragedy. Whatever happened, it was better than not pursing it at all.  

[roominthecastle]

Hi Room, What do you think about the finale? Any theorys about why Katarina did that to Red? And what do you think about the Stranger? Thanks!

To me, the finale in general felt okay, which is strangely comforting bc it wasn’t bad. I’m good with an “okay”. “okay” is an improvement (like I still feel TBL is trying while – to use a concurrent example – GOT gave up on itself and its fans spectacularly). There are individual moments that are more than okay to me (DEMBE, the team work, esp Liz & Red, esp esp Liz taking charge and that tiny moment of synchronized tea drinking) and others are less than (e.g. the conclusion to the conspiracy plot is kinda… ?!), but overall I like how S6 played out and my excitement for (lucky number) 7 is intact. Things are in motion and interesting again, and I finally gave myself permission to do a proper, full-scale re-watch during the summer, maybe attempt to chart the timeline, too, which is sth I never expected to consider doing again. I’m even gonna read the comics. In short, this season pulled me back in the Zone.

the rest is behind a cut due to length – @ mobile app users, apologies as always

Red’s identity, Dom’s story, and Liz’s side of these things

The Stranger: Masha was bound to figure out you aren’t who you say you are. What I can’t figure out is Dom. Why would he tell her all that?Red: In an attempt to help her move on.The Stranger: And she believed him?Red: She did. So much so that she‘s decided it’s safe to bring her daughter home.The Stranger: I know Dom meant well. He shouldn’t have told her that story.

So… having seen this scene, I def have more doubts than before, anon, but I still believe that the gist of the Rassvet story (including Red == Ilya) is true. This is (imo) why Red tells Dom “I know the broad strokes, I know who I am, but I need to hear the details you used to sugarcoat the ugly truth to make it look like a fairytale”, i.e. something that Liz has a tendency to swallow (see changed man!Tim or every paternity test they show her), something she was eager to embrace here, too, despite the obvious holes bc – as she told Ressler – “it is sweet and safe, so I’m gonna overlook things that don’t add up and hope it doesn’t come crashing down on me this time”. But it does. Every time.

Whether we like it or not, this is a consistent trait in Liz, this willingness to settle for a sweet, simple story over the messy, complicated truth even when she has misgivings (see her going at Red in 219, “It wouldn’t kill you to lie just once to make someone feel good.”). She’s not stupid, she’s just scared and unsure, imo (and so is Red but, unfortunately for Liz, being pathologically secretive is still what soothes him). But when there is no sweet story available to make Liz feel good/safe or it’s no longer sustainable, that’s when she grows restless/angry and goes on the offensive until she feels safe again. She did this w/ Tim and then w/ Red, too (she literally locked both of them up to gain control), and both times we can eventually hear her say “I was scared of you but not anymore”, and both times she expresses love for a safe & sweet idea and not the full reality of these men who cannot live up to that idea, so the cycle starts up again (well, not w/ Tim as he is now dead but Red is still in the running.)

It doesn’t really matter if the answer she gets is incomplete or untrue. As long as she can make herself swallow it, as long as it brings a sense of security, she will go for it. Tim played along w/ this and that fantasy bubble collapsed every time. Red never did and never will indulge her w/ sweet delusions but by doing so, he also reduces their “feelgood” time together. He hides behind her father’s identity but for her, he breaks cover repeatedly, which to me further signals that he doesn’t wish to take on the roles associated w/ this identity in her life, which clearly clashes w/ her park bench claim of “this is who you will always be to me”. And given Liz’s track record w/ these self-soothing declarations, I think we will once again see her being contradicted.

Having heard of what’s happened btw her and Red, I think Dom decided to tailor the truth to give them a quick-fix. His story brought a sense of safety/certainty that Liz craves – sth Red refused to offer when he told her he had a secret and he had to keep it and refused to give her any embellished feel-good alternative. But now he is on edge bc some of his secrets have been spilled and it was done in a way that maximizes his discomfort (by making him look like a hero when he considers himself anything but, and, ultimately, by undermining his control over his own “narrative” around Liz). I believe this is part of the reason why he tells Dom that he likely made everything worse by telling her that story.

I hope next season they will be pushed to face more of the actual truth together – in all its ugly, messy glory – about what exactly happened and, more importantly, why. Because we still don’t know much of that. Dom only offered a taste but now Katarina is back to mix some sour to the sweet (I am hungry as I am typing this, can you tell ;)

The Stranger: well, we barely have anything to go on here but what we have is already intriguing, i.e. he grew up w/ Red, he seems to know Dom and Katarina personally, he seems to have some serious tradecraft background + connections, and he is among the v few who is trusted w/ Red’s secrets, so he is inner inner circle for sure (and he’s played by Brett Cullen, so… yes please). I still think the childhood pledge from the Rassvet story is an element of truth (it just fits our Red way too much + I see it reflected in “Cape May”), so I think these 3 (the Stranger, Red, and Kat) were likely childhood friends and they all picked similar career paths (or it was picked for them), so the Stranger is likely Russian, too.

Katarina continues to puzzle me to no end, I freely admit. And I am enjoying it (for now anyway). The finale offered some really interesting details here, imo, and I think Red’s 2nd meeting w/ the Stranger is the most revealing.

Red tasked his mysterious friend to locate Katarina bc Ressler’s dig for his real identity triggered an active search for her, too. The Stranger finds her and hands Red a picture saying, “It’s her. I’m telling you, Raymond. Paper trails. The passports. The travel. It’s her.” What we can immediately conclude here is that they didn’t even know what Kat looks like now since it’s not the picture the Stranger used to identify her but her signature methods/movements (knowledge of this implies a close working relationship in the past at the v least). And since he doesn’t hand Red the pic to ask him to confirm it’s her but to show him what she looks like now, we can also conclude that Red had no idea what she looks like now, either, which means that he hasn’t seen her for almost 3 decades and, apparently, he would have been fine w/ maintaining this arrangement if it hadn’t been for the security risk Ressler’s digging exposed them to.

This conclusion lines up nicely w/ two (imo very important) things established in previous episodes:

Red’s hallucinations at Cape May – he sees Kat the way she looked in 1991/92. His mind couldn’t conjure her present image bc his last memories of her are almost 30 years old. This in turn implies that the Hobson’s choice event took place around this time, as well, and that was the last time he saw her. It was the last time Dom saw her, too, if what he tells Liz in “Rassvet” – that it was 28 years ago – is true.

Katarina being dead – whatever happened to Kat, her own father considers her as good as dead now. So does Red and Dom blames him for this loss, going as far as saying he killed her.

Dom: These boxes are all I have left of my daughter.

Red: If Katarina were standing here instead of me, if it were she asking you, what would you tell her?Dom: It doesn’t matter because she is not here and she’s not asking.Red: But if you could tell her–Dom: I can’t!

Dom (to Liz): If my Katarina was still here, she would have let me know. [… her mother sent a letter hoping it] would find her alive. I picked it up because I knew it never would.”

Liz: You said the name Masha Rostova had been lost to history until the manhunt. Now it’s out there and someone’s looking for me. It’s my mother.Red: Lizzie, your mother is dead.

Her mother was dying, Kat never showed. Her daughter was being hunted and it was televised globally – Kat never showed. And clearly neither Dom nor Red expected her to as they both seem to consider Katarina dead despite being aware that she is still out there somewhere. Moreover, they both believe that Liz is better off thinking her mother is dead than knowing whatever the truth is (so it cannot be too good). Add to this Red’s latest remark to Liz – “your mother can’t hurt you” – and things truly get weird and interesting. Was Kat subjected to some special session w/ Krilov, too, that somehow “extinguished” parts of her, practically rendering her old self “gone”? This would be my current best guess (just a shot in the dark, really) and I know it’s crude sci-fi territory but this is TBL we’re talking about.

Whatever happened to Kat, Red was involved in it, and we have several remarks to back this up:

“All the money, all the time and effort, all the favors in the world cannot possibly equal what you took away from her.” (Red, 216)

“There was a woman and her child. Both were doomed. Both would die. I could either save one or lose both. I chose the child. It was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.” (Red, 319)

“I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn what you did to Katarina.” (Dembe, 422)

“[Katarina] is gone because of choices you made.” (Dom, 320)

In “Cape May”, Red hallucinated forgiveness/absolution from Katarina but we don’t know if this is how she actually felt. It could have been just Red trying to make himself feel better about doing what he felt to be necessary. Katarina in the present doesn’t seem to be in a forgiving mood, tho. She clearly expected to be contacted and she clearly considered Red’s presence a threat.

Red: If Moscow is looking for Katarina, if Agent Ressler’s inquiry has reignited their search…The Stranger: Then I know that could be bad.Red: I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.

So… your guess is as good as mine here, anon. All we have for now is a whole lot of vaguing and very little concrete info. I agree, it feels there’s sth more to this but there’s just so little to go on, it could be almost anything. What we can conclude is that the Stranger and Red (and Dom) have stayed away from Katarina for almost 30 years and if it hadn’t been for Moscow’s freshly reignited interest in finding her, this complete lack of contact would have remained. They didn’t even keep direct tabs on her since they had no idea what she looked like or where exactly she was or that she was a threat to Red (otherwise he would have approached her differently, imo).

They clearly do not want Kat to be found – the precise “why” remains to be seen. Red’s first words to her are a warning – “it’s not safe” –, and I think he truly went there to make sure she wouldn’t be scooped up. That was his immediate objective. If she were found, the consequences would reach Liz and Agnes, and heading that threat off is what ultimately motivates Red here (→ “I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.”). He didn’t look too enthusiastic to make contact. He didn’t want to, he had to.  And he didn’t tell Liz, which suggests that he wants this separation to remain, which suggests that something is up w/ Katarina that goes beyond the usual “you can’t be in her life bc it’s dangerous” reason. Dom stayed out of Liz’s life, too, for safety reasons yet Red told him to find Liz if anything happened to him. That doesn’t seem to be the case w/ Kat at all. Red himself stayed away from her yet he went to find Dom after Liz “death” and returned several times after that for advice or simply for his company.

The meeting w/ Kat wasn’t a social call and it did not feel like a romantic reunion, either. Red just looked sad and tense to me. And he clearly did not expect to be stabbed, so I don’t think that bit was part of any planned performance. Why he received that treatment is another good question. Kat has clearly come into the possession of some new info that compelled her to go on the offensive. It could be related to their past and that vague remark about what Red did to her OR it is about something more recent that Red wasn’t aware she was aware of?? Right now this moment feels like a convergence of two separate threads: Red came to warn her based on “undisclosed plot point A” and Katarina reacted to him based on “undisclosed plot point B”.

Oh, I love this song, anon. Antis can keep pointing at that awkward kiss (that he doesn’t even initiate, she keeps pushing her face into his) as evidence of some ~epic romance~ all they want, but once again they fail (and/or refuse) to see things in context and “Cape May” was already pretty clear wrt Red’s feelings, I agree. and the finale lines up w/ it, too, which is nice.

Red hasn’t seen her in 30 years yet he only decided to contact Kat bc her looming exposure threatened Liz and Agnes, and when he is shown a picture of her, this is his reaction:

Not exactly what I’d expect from a dude in love (even if it were unrequited). He had a way more emotional reaction to Dembe’s return and he only left like a week ago. This is more like how you react when someone shows you photographic evidence of Bigfoot chilling in their hot tub w/ a beer. And now we know Red knew all along that Katarina was alive, so him “designating” Liz as the woman he loves and confessing (several times both to her and others) that without her he has nothing to live for and saying her name as his last word speak volumes already. So if they wanted to sell Red/Kat, they have already undercut themselves on multiple fronts here by giving literally all the romance tropes to Red/Liz. But I don’t believe they are selling R/K, it’s just another smoke screen + Kat is part of a past both Red and Liz have to settle for the sake of their future. And settling the past is always easier and more fruitful to do w/ a living human than w/ a ghost or a hallucination.

Yeah, I think it’s there to signal that they (Dom and Kat included) go way back and were/are close, like you said. and to indicate shared Russian roots, perhaps. As I said above, I still think Red is Ilya and the Stranger is likely Russian, too, (and so is Dom), so using Liz’s original Russian name makes sense in this context of “Russian togetherness”.

and Red sometimes calls her Masha around Dom, too, bc that’s what Dom calls her bc that’s who she still is to Dom. And I think that’s why Red calls her Elizabeth bc that’s who she is to him, which is a nice little detail further emphasizing that his main/defining connection to her is the present one just as James keeps saying. Or as Red puts it on-screen

I can def see both sides here, anon, and more. Knowing what we know about Red, both are likely among the multiple reasons that underpin his behavior in this scene. Yes, on the one hand, he was pressed for time and wanted that Kat thing done as soon as possible. On the other, he was also kinda closed-off as if he were trying to hold back emotionally as well as physically, which I think flows from 2 main sources: 1) he feels uncomfortable w/ the labels Liz wants to push on him (ever since the pilot he’s been displaying a preference for “partner” and not “father” and he might be reaching his saturation point) and 2) he is still heartbroken and afraid to put himself out there again w/ Liz after three major betrayals in a row. He’s already had a sort of baseline distress due to how emotionally vulnerable he is to Liz at all times, so after this latest heartbreak I think he is just trying to take things slow, leaving space and time for Liz and himself to figure out a mutually acceptable way to fit together.

She’s been using his heart as a knife block to satisfy her own needs and I think it’s making him less and less willing to force himself into slots that feel uncomfortable to him. She just decided that him playing dad and grandad is what suits him but a week ago she thought life in prison suited him the best. I mean… that’s not how you relationship. At all. Relationships are ongoing negotiations where all involved need to consent to their “roles”. It’s not “I hate you now, so I will put you in prison” and then “I love you now, so stay for dinner”. After everything that’s happened, I am not surprised Red is pushing back a little here for the sake of (what’s left of) his own sanity. He is a deeply flawed, problematique human being but he is still a human being and not a toy.

Liz and Agnes are the most important to him and he would never ever force his preferences on them, I completely agree. But that doesn’t mean Liz should be allowed to force her preferences on him esp when those change so often and so drastically bc she clearly doesn’t know what she really wants from him yet. I think this realization is finally truly dawning on this guilt-ridden, lovesick idiot and that’s part of what we see in this scene, esp in that “I don’t wanna intrude” comment that really does feel like a pointed retreat from her abrupt park bench declaration. But of course there is no negotiation w/o talking and that’s what Liz wanted to do before Red shut her down, so…

bottom line (that’s been the same for 6 years): these 2 need to talk.

[ash-etherwood]

hey I'm just gonna pretend that I didn't stop doing inktober last year at 21 and just continue this year like nothing happened ok. (--:

16 to 20 are actually still from last year (thank god I found my old drawing pad ahha).

Day 16: The Herald • Lucius “Jackbell” Schreiber (Originial vs. Final) • Jackbell is simlar to The Mentor, but while Bernhard is more of an executive mentor, Jackbell himself is mostly the guy who brings the bad news, pays for everything and contacts the ~chosen teenagers~. Also he looks like Einstein here. :-/ Jackbell may be a rich white old man and he MAY have sent a bunch of teenagers on a mission to take out a literal terrorist BUT he is very nice I SWEAR. (what a dumbledore kind of guy huh)

Day 17: Misleading character • Elisa “Ellie” Fareeda Hornbusch (blackout retold) • I LOVE HER HAIR HERE. (-: Ellie is misleading because she usually comes off as shy and innocent, but is actually full of rage and murder fantasies,,, (there is an entire scene dedicated to that in chapter 3 eyoo) She loves slasher films and horror games and lowkey wants to hurt people who do her wrong because she is just... like that. I hope that doesn't spoil too much I think it already shows in the story. :-D

Day 18: Kind-hearted • Hasret Vihre (Originial vs. Final) • Honestly who is more kind-hearted than Hasret??? She is a wonderful sunshine, always tries to think positive and regularily pulls the Finals out of their moping! She just wants everyone  to get along and be happy ..... please... be happy everyone ..... )-: (I don't like this picture btw meeeh)

Day 19: Headstrong • Fiona “Trash” Kavka (blackout retold) • There she is,,, my girlfriend,,,, my perfect butch wife. Funfact: Trash is the only character in the Randfiguren Squad that actually has a last name :--D (even though she's supposed to be Polish not Czech.... but as 13-year-old Majo would say "UMM immigrants exist??!!") I chose Trash because I love her and she will just punch her way out of every situation and do the worst possible thing but it's ok because literally all of her friends are mom friends (yes she needs glasses but never wears them. It's because Nik drew her with glasses once and I had a heart attack because it looked so hot).

Day 20: Most tragic backstory • Ilya (Pelzverse) • Ilya certainly doesn't have the MOST tragic backstory, but I literally have hundreds of characters and I .... wanted to draw Ilya??? Also his backstory IS pretty tragic? He was part of a wolf pack somewhere in the Siberian tundra and his Alpha mom's favourite son who she lowkey wanted to be the next Alpha (which was a stupid idea already because Ilya is a dumbass). One day the neighbouring vampire family who they were originally peacefully coexisting with slaughtered the whole pack without an explanation (there was one) and he was the only survivor. Ilya spent almost 70 years in complete isolation living on his own and having nobody to talk to which damaged him beyong repair. The only exception was a 10 year period in which he lived in a city and later got kidnapped, enslaved and abused by Alistair. :-/ Please pet the dog man.

[asoulofatlantis]

Its recommended to watch this sidestory before we continue with the plot. (I also have another side-story but that one wasn’t recommended yet.)

They should talk to Toval about how Emberassing it is if someone writes a book about your lifestory ^^’

(Shame on me btw. I’ve read “3 and 9″ but never cared the read the “Carnelia” books. I should do that one day I guess ^^’ I actually also just did fly over the “Red moon rose” books, because those books are so freaking loooooong - tho the one with their story was very interesting.)

Swin uses the very successful head-pat-technique that was invented by Trails-Games to sooth young girls and make them swoon afterwards XD

...

(Sorry, I had to do it XD)

The Story was nice tho... aside from that weird scene, that is ^^’

We are finally back to the main plot!

Aw we saw with Allan in CS4, there are many different reasons for people to accept the “curse”. In Shanshans case, she wanted Rixia to be save and thus expecting “Rufus” ideals seemed to be the easiest way to ensure Rixias safety.

There is only one thing that KeA loves more than Lloyd... and that is hugging Lloyd XD Seriously tho, KeA absolutely loves hugs.

You know... despite her swooning over Lloyd, in my opinion, the one Rixia really, truly loves is Ilya. Which is what makes this whole situation so hard for our moon princess here.

You know... I am always wondering if the plot of those games is amazing or ridiculous XD we’ve been fighting alongside witches, 800 years old vampire witches, a goddess send police dog, diving knights, artificial humans, speaking cats and now we add a freaking human-like Rosenberg-Doll to our list. Looking at how the protagonist of Kuro seems to transform into a powerranger of some sort I am wondering what is next ^^’ I mean... we’ve been saved by a Diving Blade riding a Dragon once XD

Oh so we do not have just an amazingly realistic looking and acting Rosenberg Doll. We have one with a special “reason” for existing, who has currently amnesia XD Wonderfull...

This team is funny XD Ru- I mean “C” doesn’t fit in it at all tho ^^’

That sneaky bastard... were did he even get that from?

I guess it is still hard for vincent to see Magaritas “inner beauty” ^^’ But... he IS trying. I mean... what a progress if you think back to CS1...

Before you ask... yes, she too is currently sister-zoned ^^’

I’ve done this before, ageses ago, but I have to ask it again: Are we even allowed to do that?

How can they even recreate a freaking something like this? Wasn’t it supposed to be an artifact created by the goddess herself?

S-She is scary ^^’

[kitsune-ryu-neko]

RWBY Vol. 5 Chapter 8 Thoughts

I’m back and finally done with classes! I can’t wait to watch this episode! 

- Opening scenery is gorgeous!

- I love the added sounds for the animals, makes everything seem more believable

- Aww Weiss brought them coffee! So team RWBY is almost back together

- Wow they finally mentioned Blake

- Haha! call back to volume 3 when weiss said to Blake “whats that supposed to mean” for Yang

- Yang is still really mad at Blake...

- Oh shit....Blake and Sun are probably gonna head to mistral...and then there are those guys going after the Belladonnas... o-o

- Oh shit its a letter from Ilya.....and she is saying things are going too far....but thing is....do we trust her?

- They are going recruiting again...not to mistral...welp :/ 

- I fucking loved that zoom in from the outside, to the window, and then through it to Yang!!!

- Is it just me...or do the conversations in this volume seem more......real?

- Why does Yang call her dad by his name? I mean some people do but usually they just say “dad”

- Yang has had to always be by herself and take care of everyone else even when people left ....

- WTF PAPA SCHNEE?!?! ARE YOU REALLY THAT MUCH OF A DOUCHEBAG TO TELL YOUR WIFE YOU ONLY MARRIED HER BECAUSE OF HER FAMILY NAME ON YOUR DAUGHTER’S BIRTHDAY????

- Her mom basically left her too :/ poor Weiss...and Yang....these girls need a hug

- I love this talk they are having

- This is no doubt...probably a trap....to lead Blake away from her family :/

- WELL FUCK

- who is this other character with the weird veins?

- oh she’s a .....spider?

- DAMN THIS IS ONE INTENSE SCENE

- also yeah...it gets results....anything can get results...but what kind of frigging results?

- NO BLAKE! IT’S KILLING YOUR FAMILY THATS THE GREATER GOOD DX

- FUCK!!

- oooooohhh shit.... so blake is gonna get to mistral......but she’s being sent to adam :/ fucking psychopath....

- FINALLY ITS CONFIRMED HOLY SHIT. Blake had feelings for adam....dont know wtf she saw in him but ok

- .................................................................................................

- DO I FUCKING HEAR THAT RIGHT????

- Ilya liked (likes?) Blake???? O: 

- btw side note...i love the way Ilya blushes...super cute.

- i can’t believe she 1) never confessed and 2) blames blake for not liking her or something? and 3) would torment (by sending her to adam) the girl she likes and kill her family :/  (No wonder Ilya and Adam get along so well)

- SUN ARRIVED!!! FUCK YEAH!!!

- ..........i forgot this world had police...

- I hope the Belladonnas survive...i love them

- ....Ghira is so cool.... 

Welp...that was an episode... I liked it all the way through! Can’t wait for the next episode which I will be watching in two days o3o 

[cielospeaks]

new and updated fgo most wanted list

5 star

-literally a handful of casters. from “i need” tier to “pls come home” tier?- xuanzang, scheherezade, nastaya, ilya. first off bc i love me some journey to the west and also komatsu voice, second bc my firsto orchestra (well approximately) and also gosh dang does she deserve decent treatment, thirdly bc shes just really sweet and i like the idea of her getting to actually have a child/young adulthood as a bit of a mischevous prankster in chaldea, and lastly bc idk. ilya is cute and ive got the rest of her fam

-besercu. nuff said, i dont have any 5 star beserkers and also cu is a good boy. i love all the cus. nightingale would be neat too (pls event free 4 star nightingale im beggin u)

4 star

-actually rn i dont think theres any in the main gacha?

-definitely summer nobu. like fo sho.

3 star

-SACCHAN SACCHAN SACCHAN HEAVEN NOW!!!!!!!!

-avicebron pls come home in the apoc collab

unreleased

-archimedes, as always.

-ivan would be nice tbh too

-my hecking son nobukatsu!!!!

-if that french revo assassin is kind to sanson i probably need her

-any other composers

-chiron and achilles and whoever else from apoc would be cool too! (lemme say this now but demiservant sisigou would be like the best thing ever)

-more inventors too btw

-odysseus

-shamhat

-idk hamlet maybe? who the heck even knows bout that kid, hed be interesting as an avenger tho

-avenger montresor

-assassin don giovanni

(hey if i joke enough about those two they might be canon like salieri)

-gudaguda order sakamoto

-that ripped bara archer if he ends up being napoleon especially

but yea main desire sensor for currently released servants is sacchan >>>>>> summer nobunaga > the others

[underthepillowfort]

Episode 6: the heart is an arrow

- it demands aim to land true

- amirite?

- this better be a kanej episode

-oh nope it starts of with aleks’ interrogation

- ivan lie detector kun

- bye i guess

- now this IS small science

- yes i mean the sunlight and magnification glass scene

- inej letting her go🥺😭🥰

- not the time fedyor

- OH HERE IT IS TITATNIC STARRING HELNIK

- nice heartrendering nina

- racist racist all over this town this world 😭 look at them

- no

- no just no

- no no no no

- zoya x darkling isn’t the way to go show runner no

- lemme just fling myself off a cliff

- oh thank goodness they don’t do it

- ok so zoya is still zoya but more ...? Idk the show gave her more racist remarks and she got taken advantage of in more than one way. It explain the dislike she has toward alina more but I can’t say i like it fam

- but boy thinking back i’m glad nothing happened btw her and mal

- but that’s conflicting because now zoya was thrown instead to the darkling

- i’m leaving this now, don’t want to think too much into this any more or i’m gonna be mad

- finally some dialogue in foreign (made up) language

- this has major jon snow ygritte vibe

- better not to compare them lol

- alinaaaa i cryyyyy, you don’t deserve this nobody deserves this

- MAL!

- helnik romantic camping in a whale hut? No? Ok.

- hahahahahahha alina throwing the water bottle at him is peak best friend behavior

- aw the iconic malina hug, they really r pushing the malina as heart of the show, it’s working

- but darklina is the soul of the show tho right? *don’t kill me*

- kaz is giving it all for inej okok the heart is an arrow

- i have been waiting for this scene since i read the book like the first thing i tried to find is a picture of alina showing her small light sun summoning to mal

- i might cry this is so accurate to what i thought it would be like

- ok enough sweet helnik when will Matthias be the soc Matthias where it’s enemies -> lovers -> enemies -> lovers again? quick hellgate i need you

- jesper is having the time of his life with ivan

- yes pull it out inej

- DARKLING VS KAZ OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG THIS IS IT

- wack him once and run boy *bonk*

- “MISTER BREKKER”

- oh no he didn’t even wack the guy with his cane , i was rooting for you we were all rooting for you

- jokes i know how this is going to end

- kaz’s gone kaitou kid’s style

- the stag yes time to go get him

- mal being connected to ilya’s herd as his true descendant okay, follow the sound i guess

- thinking of archie calling ben ‘uncle’ and ben calling him ‘nephew’ on ig

- playful helnik

- i know he be thinking that she’s all the flowers blooming all at once stem from here for sure

- Kaz’s pained expression nnnnnnnnnnnnnn hngggggggggggg of him not being to touch hnggggggggggkhsfjfslhjahdhdkjdwhff

- hahahahaha david

- i rmb ben hold up hid finger in one interview to speak too hahahahahaha

- my man keep the fold running his skin be clear and lives for centuries

- next stop permaforst showdown

- this ep is a 3/5 for me

Next: Episode 7: the unsea

Note: the david throwing shadow and bone book at jesper tho