#how did ivan react to learning that peter was dead

[silverspadesss]

replaying bits of your life is fucking me up emotionally all over again because like. when and how did all of these people find out that peter was dead. chelsea. dorothy. JIM. IVAN. HIS FUCKING PARENTS. SIDNEY. especially the fact that none of the alternate paths are officially canon and as far as we know peter never actually reconciled with his brother. they just never saw each other again after the wedding and then they were suddenly out of time. wtf.

ivan is especially interesting to me especially because of him and disrupt. was he always working so closely with them with the aim of holding on to his wealth and his power? or did peter’s death drive him further towards it? it’s interesting because peter was clearly so staunchly against the kind of elites that ivan was a part of, but obviously their friendship was forged decades before any of that when they were in the war. and ivan supported the sanctions and the moves against advance but never seemingly had any ill will towards peter at all, and vice versa. obviously peter didn’t support the nukes, but he never seemed to resent or outright hate ivan the way he did others like him. i also desperately want to know what ivan and julia thought of each other, whether they saw much of each other after boyl and crucially whether ivan ever found out what actually happened to peter. i wonder if peter was the thing stopping ivan from fully throwing his lot in with disrupt - a respect for him, a bond that he could never betray. and then maybe after his death, ivan saw no reason to hold back anymore. the one person stopping him was gone, and so was his country, and that wealth and power was all he had left. plus if he ever actually found out that julia and advance were behind the death of his oldest friend…maybe to him it was some sort of revenge.

does any of this make sense? idk. but ivan is a super interesting character to me beyond the stereotype he kinda falls into and i suddenly need to put him under a microscope

[otmaplusalexei]

The Three Romanovs called “Tsarevich Alexei”

Tsarevich Alexei Alexeievich (Feb 15, 1652-Jan 17, 1670) Alexei was the 2nd son of Tsar Alexei I and his 1st wife Tsaritsa Maria Miloslavskaya, as the eldest son to survive infancy. Though he had the same name as his father, they were apparently named for different saints. Before the age of three he was already viewed as the future of the Russian state, and whenever his father left the capital, young Alexei was considered the temporary ruler. He was well educated and prepared for his future. He was considered a candidate for the throne of Poland, and was betrothed to King Jan II Casimir’s niece, though his early death prevented the marriage from taking place. Besides speaking Russian, Alexei was fluent in Polish and had a good grasp of Latin. He was always quite healthy especially compared to his younger brothers, Tsars Feodor III and Ivan V, but just before his 16th birthday Alexei suddenly fell ill and died.

Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich (Feb 28th, 1690-Jul 17th 1718)

Alexei was the 1st son of Emperor Peter I “The Great” and his first wife Tsaritsa Eudoxia Lopukhina, he had 2 younger brothers who died in infancy. He was named after his grandfather, Tsar Alexei I. Alexei did not have a happy childhood, his parents were complete opposites and soon Peter abandoned Eudoxia which caused Alexei to resent his father and everything he stood for. Peter in turn was constantly disappointed in how his son seemed to follow his mother’s reactionary ideologies and disdain for Peter’s view for Russia’s future. Instead of following in the ancient tradition of the bride show to find Alexei’s future wife, Peter looked to the West. Princess Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the young girl chosen, her family was well connected, her sister was married to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. The couple met once before their betrothal went forward and seemed to get along. Charlotte became the only woman married to a Russian heir to the throne who did not have to convert to Russian Orthodoxy. The couple was married on October 14, 1711 and produced two children: Natalia (1714-1728) and the future Peter II (1715-1730). It was quickly obvious that the marriage was a failure, Alexei cared more about alcohol than he did his wife and soon followed in his father’s footsteps by having affairs and abandoning his wife. After the birth of Natalia, Alexei installed his Finnish serf mistress Afrosinia into the palace. He was unfazed by his wife’s death in childbirth to their younger child, and never showed any interest in his children who were instead raised by his aunt, Natalia Alexeievna. Peter was getting tired of his son’s apathy to learning how to run the Russian state and wrote Alexei on the day of Charlotte’s funeral to either finally take an interest or be cut off. Alexei’s reply was to renounce his claim to the throne in favor of his infant son. Peter agreed as long as Alexei removed himself as a threat by becoming a monk. Alexei persuaded by those who hated his father fled, along with his mistress, to Vienna to seek protection from his father in law. He was eventually found out and persuaded to come back to Russia where under his father’s command he was tortured for information about his father’s enemies and imprisoned. Alexei was convicted of treason for fleeing and collusion and was sentenced to death. His execution never happened as Alexei died from his injuries as a result of the torture he received at only 28 years old.

Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (Aug 12, 1904-Jul 17, 1918)

Alexei was the long awaited son and heir of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. After 4 daughters the future of Russia remained unsure, the laws written by Pavel I made it virtually impossible for a female to inherit the throne, making a son vital. Finally on August 12, 1904, the nation’s prayers were answered when Alexandra gave birth to a boy, named after Nicholas’ favorite ancestor, Tsar Alexei I. It was soon apparent that there was something tragically wrong with the handsome little boy, he had inherited from his mother the deadly disease, Hemophilia. Hemophilia is a genetic disease that stops the body’s ability to clot blood making any small cut or bump potentially fatal. Alexandra blamed herself for Alexei’s disease and became over protective over her precious little boy. Alexandra found Grigory Rasputin and was convinced that he was sent from God to not only save Alexei, but all of Russia. Alexei was a very clever boy who was able to speak Russian, English, French, and German but his schooling was often interrupted by bouts of ill health. Being the youngest and long awaited boy Alexei was loved and spoiled by his parents and his four elder sisters. Alexei grew up very sheltered but that changed when WWI broke out. He was able to visit the wounded and even went to the front lines with his father and this gave him the chance to be away from his mother’s overbearing nature and give him a chance to see the world. This came to an end when he and his sisters all became ill with the measles while simultaneously protests in the capital city of Petrograd (present day St. Petersburg) caused a revolution that forced their father to abdicate. There is controversy over the abdication, some say there was an earlier version where Alexei was Emperor for about 6 hours until a doctor told Nicholas that with his condition he wouldn’t live past 16, but what is known is that the final and official abdication was signed for both Nicholas and Alexei, giving the Russian throne to Nicholas’ brother Michael who diplomatically refused to accept the throne unless the people voted saying that a monarchy was what they wanted. Such a vote never came and so Michael is also never recognized as being Emperor. After the abdication the family was under house arrest in the Alexander Palace until the Provincial government decided it was best to move them for their safety to Tobolsk. During their stay in Tobolsk, a second revolution, called the October Revolution, deposed the Provincial government and brought to power the extremist leftist group, the Bolsheviks, later called the Communists. Soon the new government wanted to move the family again (now it isn’t entirely clear if they meant to bring the family to Ekateringburg, many have theorized they instead wished to bring Nicholas to Moscow to have a public trial but that the plan fell through and Ekateringburg was just what ended up happening). Only Nicholas, Alexandra, and Maria left Tobolsk at first as Alexei had been in the midst of a hemophilic episode after trying to entertain himself by sledding down some stairs and hurting his leg. Later Alexei, his sisters, and remaining loyal servants joined the others in Ekateringburg. The day to day lives of the family grew increasingly worse, they had little contact with the outside world their guards were increasingly hostile to them, and they were continually stripped of little enjoyments such as looking out the window. Everything came to an end when on the night/very early morning of July 16/17 the family was woken up and told to dress and pack with haste. They were then shuffled down into the cellar and told to wait. Chairs were brought for both Alexei, who still couldn’t walk from his injury, and Alexandra who had been having increasingly bad health. The family was told they would be having a photograph taken of them in order to prove that they were all alive and well, but instead of a camera coming through the door multiple armed men came in. Their leader Yakov Yurovsky read out an edict and before any of the victims had a chance to react a hail of bullets came down on them. Unknown to the executors, the children were wearing garments with jewels secretly sewn in just in case of an escape. These jewels acted as a bullet proof vest which caused them to be shot and bayoneted until Yurovsky and the others were sure that they were all dead. The bodies were taken into the forest but due to the weight Alexei and Maria were taken off of the truck and buried separately from the mine that marked the resting place of the rest of their family. In the 1990s this mine was found and the remains reburied in the Peter and Paul Fortress on the 80th anniversary of their death. The absence of Alexei’s and Maria’s body fueled rumors that they had survived, rumors made famous by Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia. In 2007, however, these claims finally were put to rest by the discovery of their burial place. Alexei and Maria have yet to be reburied with the rest of their family. At the time of his death Alexei was only 13 years old.

[armoured-iron-geek]

Tony Stark: Doing Character Development Right (Part 2)

Part 1 

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Stark Expo: 6 months after announcing his new persona, Tony’s celebrating the opening of the Stark Expo, but behind all of the fireworks, AC/DC and his showman grin, something is hugely off. Once again, his public mask is obscuring what is going on underneath.

- The importance of Howard Stark is set up here.

- Also makes first contact with a tiny Peter Parker.

Senate Hearing: Tony’s all for transparency, but there’s no way in hell he’s gonna let the government have the armour and access to arc reactor technology. Find’s himself pitted against his own best friend, which ends up escalating during the film.

-Proves that the best hands are his own (Important to note for when I get to Civil War).

- Deliberately causes chaos to turn the hearing into the joke it is, which is, let’s face it, one of the best scenes in the movie 

Palladium Poisoning: Tony escaped dying in Afghanistan, only to end up slowly being poisoned to death by the thing that is keeping him alive. Instead of dealing with it in a sensible fashion, Tony falls straight into recklessness.

- He starts making ridiculous donations to piss Pepper off.

-But then placates her by making her CEO so that his company won’t immediately go to shit when he dies from the poison.

- Unlike what Pepper insists, the Expo is a way to promote the future of science of technology. If he’s gonna die, he wants to make sure that the future is still bright without him.

Meeting Natasha: Just wanted to point out that while Tony does immediately find her attractive, he’s mostly making a show of it to stir up Pepper. He’s joking, so don’t give me that ‘Oh, Tony was being sexist’ bullshit.

Grand Prix De Manoco: Things really start to turn to shit. The sicker Tony gets, the more he panics. He figures, ‘fuck it, if I’m gonna die, I might as well go out doing something stupid. I’ll die the way everyone’s expecting me to.’

- Then Whiplash appears to fuck shit up and suddenly there’s another damn problem he has to deal with when he is literally running out of time.

Confronted: And just to make things even better, turns out Ivan is holding a grudge thanks to dear old Howard and that’s just another heap to pile onto the tower of bullshit that is Tony’s life.

- On the plane ride home, Tony makes it clear he just wants to disappear, which makes sense considering he’s attempting to do so by pushing away his loved ones.

Last Birthday Party: Natasha is testing Tony for the Avengers Initiative. She knows he is dying, so at the first sign of weakness, she prompts him to see how he reacts to being scared of his mortality......It doesn’t go well. He’s just getting more unstable. Nothing he’s tried is working, so death seems imminent anyway.

-He lets Rhodey take Mark II after their fight.Once he’s dead, the world will need another Iron Man and Rhodey was his first choice for a pilot anyway. Remember, Tony tried to recruit him in the first movie?    

- Tony’s efforts to push his friends away has succeeded. Maybe now it won’t hurt them as much once they realise he’s gone.

S.H.I.E.L.D: Fury gives Tony a box that helps solve two problems. The poisoning and his long-standing resentment for Howard. Specifically Howard though. Yes, Howard was cold and calculating and there is no excusing the neglect, but he did ultimately have Tony’s best interests at heart. It’s a small offering, but at least it takes the edge off.

-Also, that scene has a big impact on Tony’s actions in Siberia, but we’ll get to that later.

Peppers Office: Now that there might be a solution to save him, Tony has to quickly backtrack and get Pepper back in his good graces. He tries to open up and tell her he needs her. It’s not well received, but at least he gets his hands on that model of Stark Industries.

New Element: What else is there to say other than Tony gets his mojo back and kicks ass in the name of science? He’s motivated again and what I love about this scene is that he demonstrates this by getting physical and just doing what he does best: being an engineer.

-Plus, you know....he just synthesises a new fucking element. Not like it’s a big deal or anything, right?

- Another plus, it’s like a post-humorous collaboration between father and son. Howard would be proud of him.

Hammer Drones and Showdown: Right, time to unleash some bad ass fuckery with the brand new Arc Reactor! We’re back in business! Aside from the awesome action, Tony readily accepts Rhodey as a partner because he doesn’t want to be the ‘lone gunslinger’ anymore.

- Important to mention that Tony saves Tiny Peter Parker’s life, which sets up a foundation for their relationship later in the MCU timeline.

-Also, Tony and Pepper spontaneously get together, which will obviously became a big part of his arc as time goes on.

Iron Man, yes. Tony Stark, not recommended: Which is complete bullshit, but I guess we can’t blame Natasha for not having the same omnipotence as the audience does. Not like it matters anyway as we’ll see in Avengers. 

All in All: It’s kinda hard to discern just how much character development Tony had in this film. It’s obvious that he learned to have a little more faith in people. He got to resolve some concealed issues concerning his relationship with his father which is...good, I guess. It seems to just be a general progression from the first film. 

The Avengers will be the true game changer for Tony as a character.

But that’s for next time.....