#she never becomes good in the way ilya never becomes corrupt

[pinkfey]

imagining ilya cradling kinasi’s dying body and sobbing. delicious.

[thessaliah]

Do you think Olga is like Sakura? Sakura could have become a Beast too in HF.

A correction: Sakura wouldn't have become a Beast, Angra Mainyu born and being one with Sakura, would have become a Beast. Maybe! Nasu never spoke of certainty but a possibility. What's the difference? The difference is that when Angra Mainyu supposedly takes over Sakura completely (Femme Fatale) after killing Rin, Shirou doesn't recognize Sakura anymore ("who is this?"), and both Ilya and Rin say that if that happened it was impossible to save Sakura. While in Olga's case, the Beast is called U-Olgamarie. Kotomine wanted to see her birth as he wanted to witness Angra's. So Olga's already passed the point of no return Sakura would have gotten, on top of being the name of the Beast. Cut for length. TW: mention of sexual abuse.

  I think Olga's case is closer to Angra Mainyu's (the boy sacrificed) than she is like Sakura. Only because she's female people compare them, TBH. I think "Olga is like Sakura" is on the loosest terms of a typical irrational female character corruption plot. That's because is the "HF" counterpart to "Fate/UBW" (part 1).  But Nasu never actually compared Olga with Sakura or any of his usual "dark heroines" (Kohaku, Fujino). He compared her to Touko and Sola, in fact, her design was supposed to originally resemble Touko (and her original VA was Sola's, she couldn't continue to voice her because she was pregnant when the anime was recorded) to make this even clearer.

  If you think about the three (Fujino, Kohaku, and Sakura) there is a present theme of sexual abuse, rape, and an extremely messed up background. At best what we saw in Olga's background (speaking only from the manga) is that her father was emotionally distant and maybe neglectful (but, IMO, Marisbury acted that way to everyone, so one has to wonder what kind of upbringing he had). If he had tortured her or experimented on her, Olga wouldn't have been so shocked when she learned about Mash. So my initial guess there was some experimentation, doesn't seem to be the case? At least that Olga remembered. The other thing in common with those three is that they are teenagers, which excuses a lot of their behavior and frames them as sympathetic who need salvation because they are underage. Sakura is like 15 or 16. Olga isn't a teenager, she's in her 20s, she took her choice to become Chaldea leader. Nobody arm-wrestled her to do it when it shows in multiple places they would have rather have Wodime or Lev as director (and Roman, after he becomes director, he's well-loved by the surviving staff too). She's a 20-something woman who owns a great wealth, on top of being a powerful mage with a family crest of an ancient bloodline. She obsessed with not being good enough in some specific areas when she could have ignored that and focused on the things she is no good even if this makes her unhappy. But no, she wanted to do that. Sakura and Kohaku didn't want to stay in those toxic places, they were minors who were trapped by abusive guardians and got nowhere to go (or being able to leave at all with worms driven into yourself). Olga chose to become Chaldea director after her father’s death.

Speaking of FSN, you know which character was obsessed with proving themselves to be a worthy mage/successor even if they weren't good enough and got replaced by someone outside their family? Who is obsessed to be a Master even if they can't be one? Yes, a Matou, not Sakura, but Shinji.  Obviously setting aside Shinji's obviously criminal behavior toward Sakura, he's a lot closer to Olga than Sakura about the source of their unhappiness. Someone who brags and acts proudly but has a crippling sense of self-worth and thinks everyone mocks him behind his back (just like Olga made up some people negative view on her, Shinji did the same with Shirou before he started his asshole behavior), although he could have been happy if he just cut the mage crap when he's talented in every single other area but this. He was also raised in a completely emotional neglectful environment, with a drunk father and being aware his mother was eaten by worms, though he didn't receive sexual abuse (not sure about domestic abuse in this family), like Sakura did, doesn't mean this didn’t affect him. Olga's issues make her much closer to a female Shinji than a Sakura, although she's a better person than Shinji (of COURSE) until the whole black holing everyone. That's just for FSN characters. From a POV of her character issues, she's closer to Shinji (defining the sense of self-worth centered on the very thing they aren’t good as) but I can also see Ilya in her, from her lore role I think she's closer to Angra Mainyu (potential human stripped of humanity to become a concept that embodies an unconscious wish/will imo the “malice of lost history”), but her superficial narrative arc is likely like Dark Sakura (as in the corruption of a girl area). Her personality is Touko without her wits/philosophical side, apparently? 

Up until the Flarous incident, she's more of an architect of her own grief. That's probably why I don't think Guda and Mash saving Olga is a satisfying conclusion. FSN drives to the point you can't save people, they have to save themselves. Even in HF, Shirou wouldn't have saved Sakura if she hadn't regretted it and started to try to self-destruct after striking Rin (in the scenario she doesn't, Sakura isn't saved at all).  Guda and Mash can help Olga by showing they never stopped seeing her as Director, but to me, the emphasis is for Olga to make a choice and save herself (whatever this entailed) rather than wait to be saved as a damsel in distress. The OP song is about her making a decision, the answer she failed to give when Lev asked her in Lostroom, IMO. I'll be pissed if Nasu infantilizes her any further to pander to guys’ white knight syndrome. MB crossover manga again reinforces that while external (Sion’s) support is important, it’s Olga who makes the choice. 

[amuseoffyre]

October Prompts - 11th

Prompt - Shiver

Raziel of the Book,

Destination: Moscow Target: Ilya Denisov

The target has been planning an extermination. Provide encouragement towards his goal, attend the extermination. Anticipated result: 77% increase in faith immediately with further growth anticipated in forthcoming decade. Spiritual or physical intercession to be provided as deemed necessary.

Michael

___________________

 The streets were slick with ice, the bitter winds cutting down from Siberia.

Ilya cupped his hands around his cigarette and lighter, sparking a flame. The smoke curled, hot and bitter, into his lungs.

His target was seated in a bar across the street, laughing and drinking with a cadre of young men Ilya knew to be corrupt. They brought in… items from the West, though no one could prove it. They had help and though his superiors doubted it – some even doubted the man’s very existence at all – Ilya knew his target was their source.

He was known by too many names, seen in too many places, familiar with the wrong sort.

Ilya shifted his weight from one foot to the other, shivering against the cold, and pressed back in the shadows of the alley.

It was not an official order. He had voiced his concerns and his superiors at Head Office had said, with a wave of their hands, to deal with it. Ilya dealt with many problems for them. This one was a problem they didn’t even believe they had.

Through the misted windows, he saw his target rise, meandering towards the door.

He blew out of a feather of smoke and flicked the glowing end of the cigarette away, arcing through the air like a comet and landing with a hiss in an icy gutter. One hand closed around the switchblade in his pocket, the other around the small vial his grandmother had given him.

He pulled it out, rolling it across his palm. Water, he assumed. For luck, she’d said. A blessing. He’d laughed, but sometimes, with someone as slippery as this man, luck – a blessing – whatever it might be was only a good thing.

The job would be done. The certainty wrapped around him like a mantle. He would finish it and it was the right thing to do. He’d never been so certain of anything. He closed his hand around the vial and pressed his lips to his knuckles. The blessing – luck – would work.

The door of the bar swung open, pale light cutting across the sparkling street, and his target stepped out into the light.

Wrong. Wrong. This is wrong. To do this, to the man…

Ilya hissed. No. This was the right thing to do. Cut off the supply lines. Get rid of the trouble-maker once and for all. He took a step forward and froze at a grip like iron on his arm.

A man, pale, red-haired, bare-armed and furious, drew him back. “No.”

Years of familiarity with No moved Ilya’s hands of their own accord. One beneath the ribs. One to the face. The red-haired man was spilled on the filthy cobbles. Ilya turned and took less than half a step, his body wrenched back.

Panic forced the breath from his lungs, his limbs defying his struggles, locked and rigid and motionless.

“I said,” the red-haired man snarled behind him, “No.”

Ilya tried to swear, but couldn’t. It was as if his body had turned to stone, and through no will of his own, his feet dragged him backwards, deeper into the dark of the alley. The red haired man was standing now, shadows cutting across his face, his eyes invisible.

“You won’t touch him.”

“Fuck you!” Ilya gasped out. His muscles burned with effort, trying to lunge, to fight, pain blazing through him.

The man tutted quietly, wiping his own chin with long, thin fingers, which he held out into the light. Blood gleamed there, but not like any blood Ilya had ever seen. It shone like polished metal, the colour… wrong. Not red, but… but shimmering like gold and flame and–

What the fuck was he?

“I think,” the man said in a voice that should have belonged to a gentle woman, soft and kind, “you need to learn a lesson, Denisov Ilya.”

Fuck!

How did he know him? This stranger in an alley who walked in winter, bare armed and shoeless?

“You want to know what I am, don’t you?” The light from the street was behind the man, his face lost in darkness, except the sharp curve of his smile. He lifted his bloody hand and Ilya fought harder, but the grip on his body tightened. A single bloody fingertip pressed to his brow. “Look and see, Ilyushka.”

A thousand eyes and wings as dark and brilliant as starlight flooded his vision and blinded, dazzled, terrified, Ilya Denisov screamed.

 ______________________

 A choir of children were singing in the church when Michael stepped out of nothingness and into the mortal realm.

They paused, giving the church a look with fresh eyes. No. Not a church, not any longer. The sanctity had been wiped away some time ago, but the walls were imbued with righteousness and angelic influence, which was enough.

“Raziel,” they murmured in a voice like the threat of thunder.

Several moments later, the door of the building opened. Raziel stared out at them, then emerged onto the path, walking stiffly towards the Archangel. He was – unusually – dressed very finely, even his wild unruly hair tamed. Not, Michael thought, for them. For the humans. Interesting.

“Michael.” Raziel folded his hands before him and bowed his head. “This is… unexpected.”

Michael inclined their head. “We’ve received some information about the results of the Moscow job.”

Raziel was pale by the yellow glow of the nearby street lights. “Oh?”

“Mm.” Michael smiled. “We were expecting an improvement of 77% at best, but instead, Denisov is on his way to becoming a holy man.”

Raziel’s mouth dropped open. “He… he is?”

“Oh yes. It’s quite remarkable, really.” Michael gazed at him, expression placid and neutral. “I wonder what it is you did to make him turn so drastically to faith.”

The other angel shrugged, shifting from one foot to the other. “Might’ve done a bit of… manifesting to encourage him,” he said self-consciously. “Nothing big.”

“Manifesting,” Michael echoed. “Interesting.” Manifestations had fallen out of fashion recently. It seemed humans were a lot more alarmed by other humans than things they could dismiss as tricks of the eye or hallucinations. “Effectiveness may depend on the subject, I suppose.”

“S’pose.” Raziel fidgeted. “Thought I’d give him a bit of a push. Glad it worked.”

Michael nodded. “Keep up the good work, Raziel,” they said. “It’s very impressive.”

The angel nodded, ducking his head. “Yeah. Will do. Thanks.”

Michael walked back towards the gate, then paused, listening to the choir. “Your work?” they asked, unfurling a hand towards the church.

Raziel looked at the building, then nodded.

Michael smiled. “I think She would approve.” They turned and before Raziel could say anything more, they were gone.