I Found This Again-

This right here is facts. Say it louder for the people in the back.

I swear, after Alina left LP she was giving me headaches(well, more like LB did). All Darkling's bad and evil characteristics/deeds were conjured from thin air. No witnesses, no proof. Her stay at LP and people reacting to him tells us otherwise. Not even Baghra painted him like that. Why are assumptions presented as facts. Why does the author thinks that's enough? And why do I feel like I'm being gaslighted??

You’re preaching to the choir, Anon. 🙌 I truly do not know. And it really does pain me, because with a few small changes all of these things could have been resolved easily.

(This got long)

There are various times throughout the book when LB writes one thing, Alina says another thing happened, and then chapters later Alina says yet another thing happened. It’s like a slow creeping game of telephone that’s gets more and more different with each recitation.

It made me feel like I was remembering things wrong, I’d go back and realize, Alina was wrong, but it’s not treated like a statement from an unreliable narrator. It’s not addressed or broken down or used later for some form of catharsis. There’s never any pushback from the narrative.

Things that would have improved the story (with little effort):

Have Alina notice things are out of place at the LP, have her develop her sleuthing skills, just enough that she discovers things to later put together. This would support Baghra’s claims.

Have her find her letters in Genya’s room.

More scenes with the Apparat (because that feels like a dropped political plot line)

Another scene with the king where he tries to sway her away from Grisha/the Darkling.

Scenes with other Grisha outside of Marie and Nadia- the only Grisha Alina ever interacts with other than Genya. She needs to talk with them, see the lives they’ve lived, the things they’ve endured, the horrible things they’ve escaped from. Have her talk to the children, maybe ones from Kerch or Fjerda.

Alina needs to see the impact of the war on Grisha- have her see Grisha recovering from captivity in Shu Han in the infirmary. Just glimpses whole her ribs are healing. Enough for her to imagine another life and another fate she might have endured.

Issues with Catharsis (the plot twist sucks):

She already doesn’t trust the Darkling which lessens the effectiveness of the reveal. LB telegraphed the Darkling reveal from Day 1, so when the hot guy all in black called the Darkling ends up being the bad guy… gasp? I mean fucking duh.

So, when Alina’s all “you betrayed me!” I’m over here like… this was entirely expected and I don’t know why you’re so surprised.

Alina is never convinced, she never buys into it, and without that investment, the reader can’t invest either.

Baghra’s claims… are just ridiculous. And the only way they make sense is if you know the ending beforehand. That is bad writing. There’s no clues littered along the way, no evidence of some master plan of manipulation on the Darkling’s part. Alina just believes Baghra based on zero evidence.

In Alina’s position, who are you going to believe: the man who’s supported you every step of the way, saved your life, and you have a budding romance with?

Or, the woman who hits you all the time, never calls you by your name, insults you, drugs you, and never gives an ounce of encouragement or approval at any of your accomplishments? Who’s now screaming that the Darkling is going to lay waste to the world and have volcra eat everyone.

LB is nuts if she thinks I’m going to believe Baghra in this scenario.

It’s presented as a zero sum game: spend a short life running, or live as a slave.

But it’s a false dichotomy. These are not Alina’s only choices.

The solution is simple: Alina needs more information. She should have stayed at the Little Palace to gather evidence. Jump into a cat and mouse game that could have been absolutely hair raising with suspense.

If she had made her own choices, taken her agency and her position of power, the story would have been much more interesting. But instead, she allows everyone else to make choices for her.

And LB only encourages that, and punishes Alina when she does claw her way into some agency. You’re right, Anon, at a certain point it feels like she’s gaslighting the reader. Making me question my own reading of the story, and carrying on with this altered version of events that never happened.

ur right I’m gonna go rob a bank now

Kaz Brekker was only 14 when he robbed a bank and 17 when he broke into the Ice Court.

What the hell are we all doing with our lives?

Been looking for this amazing fic and I finally found it again

Always and Forever 

Summary: The entire team knows that (y/n) is a vampire, but what happens when the very family that turned her shows up? Especially, the notorious flirt that is Klaus Mikaelson. Can Loki handle a little competition, or will his jealously get the best of him?

Word Count: 6600

Rating: v spicy, deff 18+

Warnings: sexual themes, blood, dirty talk, violence 

Authors note: this is honestly a fight I’d pay money to see because both men radiate lethal amounts of big dick energy 

♡if you enjoy this fic you’re welcome to leave a reblog/like/comment! feedback is not only welcomed but encouraged!♡

As you turned to face Loki you noticed he had a weird look in his eyes. While continuing to listen to him you secretly focused on the sound of his heart beat, the longer he spoke the faster it went.

“Loki is everything okay?” you asked while raising one of your eyebrows. You’d been sitting next to him in his room. You both were talking about what you normally talked about; everything.

You could hear his heartbeat quicken before he thought of something to say, and then it was calm again. He smiled, “Yes love, you don’t have to always worry about me”. Rolling your eyes you got up from the bed.

Keep reading

Headcanons for being Yelena’s sibling and dating Kate Bishop

Kate Bishop x Belova!reader

warnings: minor hawkeye spoilers

a/n: so i mean i did some age math and it was just easier to make it so reader is more of yelena’s adoptive sibling than apart of the ohio household

prompt: anonymous: “Hey could I request headccannos for kate dating yelna and natasha sibling?”

you met her on your revenge mission with yelena, doing anything for your sister

but you weren’t expecting to meet anyone, especially not her

“hi, kate bishop! you’re cute” -you

“business first, y/n” -yelena

“should i be flattered or afraid?” -kate

“see, y/n? you are confusing her” -yelena

kate was very intimidated by your staring

but you were just super happy to look at her

and when she started asking questions about why you and your sister were there, you had something to say

“barton killed a fellow widow. and that widow happens to be my sister’s sister, and technically that makes her my sister, too. we don’t take kindly to that” -you

“y/n is right, we are not happy with barton and now we are going to kill him” -yelena like :)

you slipped kate a burner phone and whispered

“call me” -you, doing this hand sign 🤙

yelena thought your crush on her was cute

and you had no shame in it at all

she thought kate was a “nice little girl” for you, but the mission cane first

“you ever hear the phrase ‘conflict of interest?’” -yelena

“dont worry, i’m a professional” -you

when yelena went after clint, you kept kate busy and shamelessly flirted

“after this, we should definitely go get coffee…or drinks” -you

“could you stop your sister…” *swing* “from…” *kick* “trying to kill…” *knife* “my mentor?” -kate

“darling, you can’t stop a widow” -you, winking

checking if she was okay when the TSM pulled up and hit her

teaming up to take them down

where she actually finally admitted she liked you back

“that doesn’t change the fact that you’re terrifying” -kate

“i have that affect on people” -you

being very open while you are ruthlessly beating up guys in tracksuits

“i’d really like to kiss you, honestly” -you

“are you into fighting or something?” -kate

“it’s quite possible” -you

settling your mark in NYC and deciding to extend your “sabbatical” to spend some time with your “new friend”

which yelena approved of, but said that if kate wants to get on her good side she should be her new york tour guide

(you got a tour too it was a bonding moment for you all)

“i will check in on you, believe me, but go on, go have your fun” -yelena

you and kate actually got to hang out without engaging in hand to hand combat!

“this is…this is great” -kate

“what is?” -you

“us being together without an impending sense of doom” -kate

you thought she was very funny

offering to help her fix up her apartment

“well, we’ll need a place to stay!” -you

“you sure move fast” -kate, a bit delighted (she needed the company)

“i am speed” -you

doing target practice with her

she taught you archery (standing behind you and holding your arms)

you lied and told her you did not know archery but it’s okay she loved it

“if you make the bullseye, i’ll give you a kiss” -kate

“incentives? oh, that’s cute!” -you, moments before landing an arrow in the center of the target “i guess i’m a natural”

going to thrift stores and trying out new furniture

“i like this one! do you like it?” -you, bouncing up and down on a couch

“i love it! i can see it now, watching a movie, eating ice cream…cuddling” -kate

“yes! let’s do that tonight” -you

gossiping about all the foes you’ve gone up against

and telling her about your time in the red room

kate knew that was bad but she still found you to be a super cool super spy

and you liked that she stopped being scared of you

she was grateful to have you and your company after her hard times, losing the last bit of her family and all

and you were grateful to find more family!

but u totally missed yelena and she missed you back a ton

“hi, yelenaaaa!” -you on the phone

“hi, y/nnnnn!” -yelena putting you on speaker while she looks through the scope of a sniper

“whatcha doing?” -you

“oh, not much. doing some sightseeing” -yelena

*gunshot*

“oh, i wonder what she’s looking at!” -you

“a dead body?” -kate

“y/n, i have to go but i love youuuuu” -yelena

cant forget about clint tho

it took some time but he came around

you reminded him of natasha

“has y/n tried to kill you at all recently?” -clint

“only in—” *elbowed by kate* “i mean, no! i would never! i have never!” -you

clint invites u to family dinners

the kids were obsessed with you

“can you teach me some fighting moves?” -lila

“me too!” -nathaniel

“ask your parents for permission first and if they say ‘no’ i will definitely do it” -you

when you start working again, kate misses you tons, but you make an effort to surprise her

you send postcards, facetime when you can, bring home gifts, shower her with affection, tell stories, send goofy pictures, make lists of what you’ll do together when you come back

you make the effort

she always throws mini surprise parties when you come home

which are no longer surprising but you play the part well

“oh my gosh, i had no idea you were throwing a welcome home party for me! i am so surprised!” -you

“shush and give me a kiss, please” -kate

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @rorybutnotgilmore // @locke-writes // @sweetheartlizzie07 // @queen-destenie // @natasha-danvers // @johnmurphyisqueer // @pappydaddy // @captainshazamerica // @freya-xo // @ravenmoore14 // @canarypoint // @zoeyserpentluck // @randomawesomeperson102 // @brutal-out-here // @wonderful-writer // @of-a-chaotic-mind // @resplendentlady // @procrastinatingsapphictrash // @lxncelot // @swanimagines // @randomfandomimagine // @petersgroupie // @dindjarinsspouse // @werewolf-himbo // @lost-fantasy // @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom // @summersimmerus // @cipheress-to-k-pop // @augustvandyne // @spoodermans // @the-did-i-ask // @glxwingrxse // @scarthefangirl // @cyanide-mustard // @druigmybelovedone // @beth-gallagher22 // @bad4amficideas // @magnificentzombiebasement // @sheridans-dynamos // @seraphinevalentine // @happypixy380 //

jelly have mercy on me

Yes please 😩

Okay I really need some friends that watch American horror story because all my friends are boring af😫 so like be my friend 😁✌🏻

😻😻😻

Place to Stay Chapter Masterlist

Klaus Mikaelson x Gilbert!Sister!Reader x Elijah Mikaelson

Each chapter has its own warning if needed, but please tell me if one chapter is lacking something that should have been tagged. Can also been found in AO3. + there is a tag list so let me know if you want to be added

-S

Bad Summary: Elena's sister ends up spending the night at the Mikaelson mansion...

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

part 6

part 7

part 8

part 9

part 10

part 11

part 12

part 13

part 14

part 15

part 16

part 17

part 18

part 19

I’m about to scream without the s

girl yessss and when they act all shocked and their eyebrows go up like “what did you say to me?” HA! boy…you fucking heard me

Pairing: Mafia Bucky x Brat!Reader

A/N: Sinday drabble #1. Do not copy, rewrite, expand, repost or translate my drabbles. Minors DNI. 

Warnings: Smut, choking, spanking. 

*****

You repeat yourself slowly, smirking as you plant your hands on your hips. "Make. Me."

Bucky has been in meetings with sworn enemies, has sat next to men who tried to kill him, and yet no one has caused him to lose his temper.

His restraint and cold demeanor is fucking legendary. He can't believe that you, his sweet princess, is the one that's making him about to lose all control.

"And you can go fuck yourself too."

Hearing those bratty words leave such a pretty mouth ignites the darker side of him. Oh Princess he was really hoping to keep that part of him away from you.

Bucky counts to ten in his head, reminding himself that he's so much bigger, stronger than you are. He releases a slow measured breath. "I'm giving you once more chance to behave, little one. Now apologize and we can-"

"James, I said you can go fuck yourself." You preen knowing you're never allowed to call him by his first name. His brows lift in disbelief, nostrils flaring, he takes another deep breath in.

"In fact why don't you be a good boy and fetch me something to eat, I have important things...," your voice trails off into a low whimper as his slate-blue eyes flare, pupils blown wide with rage.

The sheer intensity of his piercing gaze makes your breath stall. You may have gone too far.

Fear surges through your stomach and your eyes widen as you watch his hands roll into large fists. His jaw clenches again, relaxing enough for his pink tongue to dart over his lips.

He can sense your apprehension, his cock hardening when you avert your baleful eyes, lips pressed together. No princess it's too late for you to shut that mouth. He's going to show you what its really good for.

Bucky cracks his neck, the loud crunching making you take a step back.

"Finish what you were saying, little one," he laughs, strolling towards you.

One hand in his pocket, the other gesturing for you to come here. "I wanna hear what you were going to do."

You glance around the empty office, the door is right behind him. If you can make it around him, you might be able to get away long enough for him to calm down.

Maybe.

"Try it little girl." He says, mocking your earlier tone.

Your eyes swing back to him and fuck. Fuck. You definitely went too far. His black shirt is crumpled by his feet, the matching suspenders pulled taut over his broad tattooed chest. He rolls his larger shoulders, veins running along his biceps as his muscles flex.

You take a wobbly step to the side. "Bucky," you start, holding your hands up. "You know I was-wait" you squeal.

Bucky rushes to you with a low growl. The world spinning as he grabs you. For a second you don't even know what's happening until you blink. Your legs swinging helplessly in the air as he hoists you over his shoulder.

"Now tell me what important things you have to do princess. I'm all ears."

He draws his arm back and slams his hand down on your ass, a sharp stinging pain ripples up your back.

"Bucky," you cry out, trying to wiggle in his hold. 

He leaves the office, strolling through the hallway until he reaches the living room.  Your desperate attempts to get down don't phase him, he continues to rain down slaps on your tender ass. "Bucky please."

"C'mon I want to hear every detail." He asserts, throwing you on the sofa.

You bounce once before sinking into the plush cushions. He's on you before you can stammer out another plea. Bucky's large yet nimble hands rip your clothes off with eases. Its disorienting, the way he can manhandle you without breaking a sweat, the show of strength has you aching. 

Pushing your knees into your chest, the soft linen of his black trousers smooth over your bare skin. Bucky gazes down at you, drinking in your gasp when you feel his hot swollen cock slide through your folds. “Go on princess,” he taunts slowly drawing out each word as he pushes into your tight sopping cunt. “Every. Last. Detail.” 

 You bite back a gasp, a familiar burning coursing through you as your stretched wide around his thick veiny cock. His hips snap forward, the sudden sensation of being so fucking full makes your mouth go slack, for a second all you can do is breathe as he goes deeper until you swear he’s in your belly. 

“That’s better,” he smirks, “guess all you needed to shut your fucking mouth was some cock huh?” 

He’s right. And now you want to be fucked until you can’t even speak. You know exactly how to get what you want too. Innocently gazing up at him, your hand twists around his suspender and you tug him down. “I’m sorry,” you say, brushing your lips over his. “I guess I wasn’t clear when I said to go fuck yourself. “ 

You pull back, chuckling at his sharp inhale. “Now be a good boy James and-” 

Bucky pushes your knees apart, his hips pound into yours, his cock splitting you open so good, your back arches off the couch, sensations surging through your cunt as you wail his name. 

Bucky grins, his hand wrapping around your throat as he buries himself in your body. “Oh I’m going to fuck myself alright. Tonight you’re going to be my own personal fucktoy.” 

He pulls your head up by your throat, squeezing harder as he stares into your eyes. “Let’s see how long it takes to fuck the brat of you, princess.” 

And I-  

Kaz: tried changing my password to “Inej” but it said it was too short

Inej: *short girl fury*

can you please talk about the 'make me your villain' line?

Well I don’t know what exactly you want me to talk about in regards to it, so I’ll just share some of the Thoughts I have on the line and it’s context! I’m incredibly fond of the way the scene is portrayed in the show and how it differs from the one in the books, so I’ll be delving into that a bit as I go along.

(There are some gifs of the scene below, so tw body horror for Alina’s antlers and mild mentions of abuse. Also sorry in advance to Nonny for talking about the whole scene instead of just the line.)

I think the best thing about this scene in particular is how much it reveals about the characters and their relationship dynamics, especially when considering the acting choices that went into both Aleksander and Alina.

In the show, Alina is sharp and angry - confrontational - whereas in the books, she’s a lot more passive. In both the books and the show, Aleksander defends himself to Alina. He wants her to understand him. He wants her to remain by his side. But the way it plays out and his reasons for doing so are wildly different between the medias.

In the books, it’s Alina that’s brought to the Darkling’s tent. He’s already sitting down and tells Alina to do so as well. She complies warily but remains silent, and in fact doesn’t speak at all until he finally orders her to. Yet still, she refuses to talk about anything important. It’s the Darkling that brings up Mal and it’s Mal the discussion revolves around for the vast majority of the conversation. The Darkling is in control the entire time, relaxed and calm, drinking kvas as he runs Alina in circles and threatens the other man. Almost the entirety of their conversation is made up of Alina scrambling to regain control, both in regards to Mal and herself. She’s the one pleading and begging and trying to gain any foothold she can. Alina doesn’t even challenge the Darkling or push him to defend himself until the conversation turns to that of it’s own accord.

Then when the conversation does turn from Mal to how the Darkling betrayed her, their disagreement becomes a very brief back and forth. The Darkling gets exasperated and frustrated and angry with Alina for not understanding. The conversation barely focuses on their romantic relationship and instead on his plans, on Ravka’s future, on how her power is useful, on his own “greed for power” and his intention to rule. There’s hardly any mention of his goal to free the Grisha. Throughout the conversation, the Darkling’s façade cracks but he remains largely dismissive and condescending, cruel and calculating, uncaring and unremorseful. The parts of the conversation that do focus on their relationship that Alina brings up don’t do so for long, and are turned back on her as an argument.

Compare that to the Darkling in the show coming to Alina in her lavish tent and immediately praising her. They’re both standing, and Alina has no qualms about not only talking immediately but also making demands, a big contrast to how the Alina in the books wanted to “remain diplomatic”. In the show, it’s Alina that brings up Mal, only to have him immediately dismissed as a subject when the conversation instead centers entirely around how betrayed Alina feels.

It’s Alina that sits first before the Darkling and then stands first. It’s the Darkling that sits while Alina stands, him that pleads with her to understand why he did what he did. It’s Alina that holds the power as the Darkling scrambles. It’s her that challenges him without prompting and demands explanations and truths and reasons. Her that turns the conversation back on him.

The issues brought up in the conversation are different as well. The Darkling has a whole passionate speech about how the Grisha are persecuted and how he did it to save them. He gets frustrated with Alina for not understanding but instead of being dismissive or angry he gets upset and even more erratic, clearly desperate for her to remain by his side. The conversation focuses more on Alina and Grisha suffering and their relationship instead of his “greed for power”. It focuses on how he did it “for us” instead of for Ravka. How he did it “to help us” and he mentions “you and me” and doing things “together”. The entire scene centers around their relationship and the balance between them, the hurt and betrayal and desperation and his need for them to stay together and understand each other. Even if those emotions are sometimes used as a means of manipulation, that doesn’t make them any less genuine. The Darkling is very open and emotional and vulnerable in this scene. And he’s making himself vulnerable to Alina.

It’s two entirely separate power dynamics. And with such different characterizations and relationships, the meanings of the scenes change.

Now, I really love the way the show portrays the line so I’ll talk a bit more about that for a bit. First, some context.

Here’s Aleksander defending himself:

He’s revealing a lot to Alina with this line. Telling her how the fold was unintentional, how it’s affected him. He’s speaking angrily and passionately, he’s expressing himself a lot here, clearly worked up and desperate for her to understand.

The pain he feels at the use of the Fold by his oppressors is genuine and understandable. He created the Fold to protect his people when they were persecuted. He intended to make an army to save his people and instead by mistake made the Fold. It was an act of desperation because of the Otkazat’sya hunting and persecuting his kind. It was created because of centuries of oppression and generational trauma. The fact that West Ravka has been making a habit of giving Grisha to the Druskelle because the Fold gives them no oversight and the fact that the king of Ravka uses the Fold to exploit thousands must be genuinely upsetting to him. And he’s admitting that to Alina. Not only that, but he’s telling her honestly that he hadn’t intended for it to become what it did.

Most importantly, however, him defending himself here so openly and emotionally is a sign of how much he wants her get it - how much he wants her to take his side. People don’t defend their actions to someone this much and this passionately unless both the reasoning behind the actions and the person they’re addressing are important to them.

Next, we have Aleksander entreating Alina and pleading with her:

He’s asking her to rely on him, to take his hand, to trust him, to understand him, to stay by his side. Most importantly, he’s asking her to be his other half. He’s asking her to accept him. He’s pulling her closer, meeting her eyes, grasping her hands, touching her. The way he leans down when he speaks, the earnest curl of his shoulders, how he honestly believes that the only way they can do this is together and how more than that he wants it to be so.

This is a request. I’d say it was begging but then I’d probably get shadow sliced in my sleep.

Again, he’s appealing to her. He’s making no move to hide what he’s feeling or step back, instead coming in closer and making himself vulnerable. Communicating his emotions in the hopes that they’ll help change her mind. He wants her to stay, and not only to stay but to do so willingly and in full (or more likely at least partial - just enough) acceptance of him.

The way he looks at her in the first gif is him realizing he needs to make more of an emotional appeal. That he needs to commit to this - to finish the full admission and put himself out there as much as he’s asking her to do. It isn’t just her needing him, it’s him needing her.

This part is definitely begging man idk what to tell you.

Now next is the rejection and realization:

Alina pulls away first. She distances herself and shakes her head and protects her chest. She removes his hand from her body. She rejects him.

In turn, Aleksander adds a degree of separation between them as a means of self defense. Right now he’s calculating and dealing with the rejection. He’s hurt and protecting himself, as Alina is doing. Most importantly (to me at least) is that he doesn’t pursue her. He backs away when she backs away, likely because he’s upset, but also I think for a few other reasons that I’ll get into in a moment.

This is the hurt and rejection and heartbreak turning into realization and acceptance. It’s about to be resolve.

Then he says the line:

and then he does this:

First of all, it’s so good!! I love this line so much I would literally die for it. Anon if this was in reality what you wanted me to talk about, here it is: I think Ben Barnes is a spectacular actor and I think he’s taken Aleksander to a whole nother level and I think this line is a masterpiece of acting. His micro-expressions are on point and he’s captured the essence of Aleksander’s character in the show so well and the dramatic way he says it is award worthy. The nose scrunch is adorable of course, and the look he gets in the last gif is *chef’s kiss* beautiful. I absolutely adore the emotions conveyed here. He’s emotional and bitter and angry, but most importantly he’s resolved.

And that’s what I love. The last six gifs, from the moment he’s rejected and he realizes there’s no redemption, are representative of the way he commits and self destructs - the way he feels as if there’s no other option and decides this is the only road he can go down.

With the fold, he didn’t intend to make it, but he now sees it as useful, even if he occasionally regrets it. This is the same thing. He regrets it, but what is done is done. He doesn’t see a way to redeem himself and so accepts the circumstances and acts on them. It’s very much a “this might as well happen now” mentality paired with an opportunistic mindset. Why not use the fold now that he’s created it? Regret or not, intentional or not. Why not keep going downhill with his plans now that Alina has shown him he can’t come back from it? Even if he regrets losing her, even if he wants to change things.

Aleksander has been doing what he’s doing for a long time. Change is hard. But it’s especially hard when you’ve done the same thing for centuries. He’s on a path and he’s going to go down it until he dies. That’s what he thinks needs to happen because he sees no other way. No other way has ever been presented to him. And when so many of one’s habits and ways of living have been born of trauma, they become even harder to shake. And idk, I just think that’s a neat part of his character. I think it’s interesting. And I think it might have potential if the writers do him justice.

Also, the “make me your villain" line here is so achingly emotional, it’s the literal exact opposite of how it happens in the books, which is straight up dismissive.

Here’s an excerpt:

He slumped back in his chair. “Fine,” he said with a weary shrug. “Make me your villain.”

Which is very book!Darkling tbh. It’s also in the middle of the scene. He doesn’t leave afterwards. It isn’t the fall of the axe, it’s his resignation to Alina’s stubborn ignorance. It’s him leaving an argument in a very “agree to disagree” manner. He’s exasperated by Alina’s behavior, not agonized over it. In the show, the line is dropped before he leaves. It’s the break of an emotional buildup, the last line of pained resignation for something he cares deeply about but can’t hope to win. It’s his response to rejection and pain.

The two scenes really couldn’t be more different, but I adore them both tbh.

Anyways, that’s just a few thoughts on the scene. Here are another few highlights though:

Alina in the books is very passive and trying not to goad him in this scene. She calls it “being diplomatic”. It's so different from how show Alina treats the situation that I could die.

His response to “you lied to me” in the books is completely different from the one in the show. “Don’t pretend this is about Ravka’s welfare. You lied to me. You’ve been lying to me since the moment I met you.” His long fingers tightened around the glass. “Did you deserve my trust?” he asked, and for once, his voice was less than steady and cold. “Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?” Strangely enough, for how emotional he is in the show, he actually gets more emotional about it in the books. That could be for a number of reasons, but the scenes played out so differently I thought it was worth mentioning. Plus I love both responses so much.

The below line is interesting I think in that it lightly parallels the scene in the show when the collar’s getting put on her. it’s the only time in the show aside from micro-expressions where we actually get to explore how much Alina not wanting her powers hurt him. “That isn’t fair.” “Fairness!” he laughed. “Still she talks of fairness. What does fairness have to do with any of this? The people curse my name and pray for you, but you’re the one who was ready to abandon them.” Of course, the abandonment is referencing a few things about Alina and not just a single quote she made a while ago, but since the show is so much faster than the books, those two quotes are the only things that much up. Alina in the show says she doesn’t want her powers and then he mentions it about four episodes later when he’s taking those powers from her.

“Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?” - Kinda reminds me of the “you matter - to eVeRyOnE” scene in the show ngl.

Someone get show Aleksander some kvas, how come book Aleksander is the one that gets all the nice things?

Poor Alina, she looks so hurt I just want to give her a hug. Although I think it’s interesting how they’ve changed the antlers in the show. I think lore-wise it’s cooler and actually makes more sense, but since I also think the reason they did it probably didn’t have as much to do with lore as depicting Darklina as “horrifying” I’m not that into it.

When I first got into SaB I got spoiled for the Darkling’s character and read all this stuff about he was abusive and awful, so I went into the show expecting to hate him and hate Darklina. I watched about six episodes with that mindset but couldn’t really resist the pull of the ship, so when he first said the “make me your villain” line I was very conflicted. I read it as an abuser blaming his victim. It felt uncomfortable. Now, however, after watching the show so many times and reading the books, it’s easier for me to examine the intricacies of the scene in more detail and realize it isn’t like that at all. I think the emotional complexity of the line in the show vs the total brutality of it in the books is brilliant, and I love how much it conveys about his character in both aspects.

Still though every time I watch the scene now I picture the meme of that skit where the guy shoots someone and then goes “oh, why did [somebody else] do this?”

Alina’s reluctance to engage with the Darkling about his reasons and motivations in the books vs her desire to do so in the show is so incredibly compelling to me. The below book quote is Alina when she’s refusing to speak. It’s so viscerally different from how the scene plays out in the show, and of course I have tons of explanations and theories, but I don’t want to make this post a million miles long lol. It’s just a very honorable mention cause I love it. “I have nothing to say.” “I imagine you have a great deal to say.” “If I tell you to stop, you won’t stop. If I tell you you’re mad, you won’t believe me. Why should I bother?”

“I’ve had enough of your lies.” “And what lies are those?” - Alina, pulling out a fifty mile long scroll of grievances: Well, for starters-

Aleksander’s look of confusion in the show during half of this scene makes me simultaneously want to hug him and slap him and laugh in his face.

“You spun all this guilt around your burden, the sins of your father. There was no father” - Idk why this cracks me up so much but I DIE every time I hear it. “there was no father” lakjsdlfkjas yeah there sure wasn’t.

I love how she asks him about his plans to usurp the throne in the show and he just goes dead silent like a kid about to get scolded if he reveals the truth. In the books he has no problems just straight up admitting to it without hesitation lmfao.

Parallels but not really (show then books) : “I could have made the Grisha safe but you never gave me a choice." “Perhaps” “Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?” “You didn’t give me much choice.” “Of course you had a choice. And you chose to turn your back on your country, on everything that you are.” Last line on the above quote is also a parallel to the one he says in the skiff scene in the show, right before he gets tracker tackled into the fold like a little bitch.

Kinda weird that book Alina just assumes he’ll be a tyrant of a ruler when up until now he’s been a very reasonable and actually highly competent one.

“He reached out and touched Morozova’s collar, letting his long fingers spread over the rough bone, then slide up my neck to cradle my face with one hand. I felt a jolt of revulsion, but I also felt the sure, intoxicating force of him. I hated that it still had an effect on me.” Again, in the show it’s Alina that grabs his hand and puts it on her chest. In the show, he initiates hand holding contact, and she’s the one that brings his hand to her chest to feel the collar. Is this because show Aleksander is more horrified by what he’s done? Book Aleksander doesn’t seem to care and in fact seems to like it, so I suppose he’d touch it willingly. I don’t think show Aleksander wants to touch it or look at it, I think what he did to her disturbs him. So is her bringing his hand up to her collar a way of saying “face what you’ve done? This is why I can’t forgive you?”

The way he admits in the show that “I never intended for it to be the blight it’s become” is so strange to me because it’s very soft amidst all of the other extreme emotions. First he’s extremely cold and then he’s extremely hot, but this line is just... soft and honest. It feels like the most real line in the entire scene. I think it might actually be true regret.

“Fine. Make me your villain,” is one of Aleksander’s least manipulative lines idk why people seem to think it’s him being so villainous. It’s the epitome of “there’s nothing more I can do here. bye.”

The difference between priorities in the show and the book really is so fascinating though. Him mentioning that he’s doing this for them in the show while in the books he admits clearly to doing it for Ravka is so wild. The scene in the show really does have a lot more romantic overtones.

I think it's notable that book Aleksander wants her to understand him and fill his loneliness just as much as show Aleksander, but in the books he values the means and circumstances of her cooperation a lot differently than show Aleksander does. Book Aleksander doesn't really care that she's upset with him - not to a great extent, at least. Whereas show Aleksander cares very much.