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aleksanderscult · 14 hours

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I always thought that he let his nichevo'ya bite her so that the bond that would be created from it would make him reach out to her and he himself would feel less alone. So more out of his desire to feel less lonely and about his conviction that only Alina could heal this part of him.

Whatever bond there was between them in the past (and there was surely a bond), he tried to make it deeper and more intense, like you said.

Aleksander is definitely a man that doesn't like superficial relationships (that's hot🙂).

Can you help me to understand the tether between Alina and Aleksander? I've seen people say that it was formed when he collared her but if that's true then why not use it when she's on the run from him? I always thought that's why he got his nichevo'ya to wound her and why he thanked her, because it allowed that connection to form. Am I wrong here?

Okay, well, I'm still re-reading, but...

They're written as two halves of the same whole. They're supposed to be complimentary opposites, that's why Aleksander's waiting for the Sun Summoner instead of settling for just any immortal, why he believes they're meant to be even after encountering other immortals' different worldviews and Alina's refusal to accept her own greatness. She won't only live long, they're bound by the Making, so she's predisposed to ~understand~ (And there are moments, when she does. Only her upbringing, issues and moral police companions prevent her from embracing what's between them.).

The first clear sign of their interconnection's showed during Winter Fete, although from the wording, I've missed at least two earlier ones:

The moment his lips met mine, the connection between us opened and I felt his power flood through me. I could feel how much he wanted me—but behind that desire, I could feel something else, something that felt like anger. I drew back, startled. “You don’t want to be doing this.” “This is the only thing I want to be doing,” he growled, and I could hear the bitterness and desire all tangled up in his voice. “And you hate that,” I said with a sudden flash of comprehension. He sighed and leaned against me, brushing my hair back from my neck. “Maybe I do,” he murmured, his lips grazing my ear, my throat, my collarbone.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 14

"... the connection between us ..." suggests it's something Alina figured out exists before this time, so she didn't experience it only once.

Then there's the Collar that gives Aleksander access to Alina's powers, although it's not exactly clear how it works.

I had spared the stag’s life. The power of that life belonged to me as surely as it belonged to the man who had taken it. ... The Darkling looked momentarily confused. He narrowed his eyes, and I felt his will descend on me again, felt that invisible hand grasping. I shrugged it off. It was nothing. He was nothing.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 19

Like: Sorry honey, either the power belongs to you both, or you have the upper hand.

I would kill for Aleksander's LOGICAL explanation.

The nichevo'ya bite deepened the Bond, that's why Sasha did it. My guess is it might be something about merzost affecting the Making, therefore the connection formed by it, AND the tiny little detail the creatures might be created with use of said force, but from his own being. He's basically running around donating his body fluids essence to his closest "enemies"... *wink wink*

We don't know more than what he tells Alina, so perhaps he could feel her presence before that. Perhaps Alina's youth and inexperience played bigger part in her use of their connection, than we think. Perhaps her many issues did. (I hate repeating this phrase, but THE WASTED POTENTIAL!) Why tell your stubbornly uncooperating soulmate you have an in-build compass to help you track them, if they left a trail of more profane kind?

#when Alina asked him why did he do it. he avoided the question and gave an elusive answer #but the way he kept visiting her and when he said “then I would be alone too” makes me think that deep down #he did it because he wanted her to keep him company #(and mess with her psychology by seeing his projection everywhere)#the darkling #alina starkov #darklina #alarkling

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aleksanderscult · 19 hours

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I carry a deep admiration for Aleksander and his unbreakable will.

Human beings are creatures of comfort. We crave familiarity. While change is inevitable, most of us tend to stick to a routine to keep us grounded. It breaks my heart so much to think that the Darkling could not afford to have even such basic comforts. With every rebirth he had to breakfree of the habits of his past life and reinvent himself as a new person with a different set of likes and dislikes. Even his mannerisims has to be scrubbed clean to avoid suspicion. By the time we meet him in the Grishaverse how much of him is the real him? How many of his habits are his and not something he cultivated for his new persona?

He is a singluar fixture in time and eternity passes through him. The language he once spoke is dead, the music he once loved no longer exists, the places he once travelled are long gone, the people he once knew are nothing but a distant memory. With each turn of the Earth, everything he grew to like again is chipped away along with remains of his soul.

And yet he persevered. Even when he had nothing or no one to anchor him, he carried on through war, genocide, loss, grief and pain. He kept fighting till his last breath and sacrificed himself once again for the greater good.

He deserves so much better than the indignity that LB put him through.

#this!!!#he's the strongest character in the Grishaverse. argue with the wall #the darkling #pro darkling #aleksander morovoza #pro aleksander morozova #grishaverse #grishaverse trilogy

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aleksanderscult · 2 days

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YA Lit Memes of Books Read in 2016: actually this was re-read for the third time ^^

Alina & Aleksander (AU Rulers of Ravka)

Years after uniting their powers and unleashing a devilish alliance, Alina Starkov wed her longtime lover The Darkling. Both murdered the Royal Family and tore apart every opponent who dared speak. Together they ruled with a ecliptic fist in their kingdom of shadows, Grisha Power at its epitome.

Sun Summoner and The Darkling, Grisha Queen and King of Ravka.

The legend tells anyone who met them could feel the shadows creeping up in the sunlight and the sun stretching to caress her Shadow soulmate…

#AHHH #this is beautiful!!#this is literally what I wanted for them!!#in a better AU *this* is what happened #darklina #pro darklina #alarkling #pro alarkling #the darkling #alina starkov #aleksander morozova

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aleksanderscult · 2 days

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If the author doesn't write down and expand her own subplots then it's just fanfiction.

Sorry I don't make the rules.

I just have to laugh at readers who claim that the Darkling was Zoya’s abuser. The text and the Netflix adaptation does the barest possible minimum to allude to such an idea and then these fans proceed to reframe the shoddy writing and praise for it’s “brilliant” commentary.

Bardugo and the Netflix writers could’ve done that (with proper planning and thoughtfulness) but it’s obvious that they couldn’t be bothered to put the effort in. Sorry- Zoya’s just not all that interesting and cramming in some subtext about how she was supposedly the Darkling’s victim is pure fanfiction. Particularly when even in the show, we see Zoya pursuing him of her own volition and that relationship is never meaningfully explored or elaborated on after the fact.

#it's funny how Bardugo tried so hard to make Zoya interesting by making her a victim of everyone #like I'm sorry have I missed something? Do you need to be abused and used to be interesting?#lmao #okay #anti zoya nazyalensky

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aleksanderscult · 2 days

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Alina coming to the Darkling in Ruin and Rising being like I wonder do I appear pale and gray, a little mushroom girl? Is so funny to me like, Alina, light of my life, are we aware that he’s literally waging a war rn because he wants to see u naked <3

#literally tho #darklina #alarkling #pro alarkling #the darkling #alina starkov #aleksander morozova #ruin and rising #grishaverse

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aleksanderscult · 3 days

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Do you hate Alina?

Nope. I've said it many times in the past that I hate the way Bardugo has written her (with no character development, just stagnant) and mostly I feel sorry for her. That's why I'm "anti Alina's waisted potential".

The only characters I hate from this story is Mal, Zoya, that rapist King and his bitch wife.

I know people that love Alina's character and I know people that hate her. I'm somewhere in the between. And I strongly believe that her canon character doesn't fit in this fictional universe.

I would very much like her to become darker. To keep her powers and slowly become ruthless with time and follow the same path with the Darkling. To become a merciless defendant of the Grisha and start her own campaign.

That or keep her powers, marry Nikolai and do the same as above (I always loved her dynamic with Nikolai as well).

(not keeping her powers is a scenario that I can neither stand nor accept as canon. It was straight bullshit from Bardugo's part to do that)

#sure she's funny but is she fit to be the MC? Nope #because I don't think a hero can also be called selfish #Bardugo could slowly change her character as do happens with every *normal* character out there #but who needs that when you can have her end up in the gutter 🤷#alina starkov #anti alina wasted potential #leigh bardugo #shadow and bone #grishaverse #nikolina #nikolai lantsov #the darkling #aleksander morozova #pro darkling

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aleksanderscult · 3 days

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Why do you not like Ben Barnes as The Darkling?

For two main reasons:

It was pure fan service which I hate. Like the same way you see Timothée Chalamet being casted everywhere or being fancasted for every potential role, they put Ben on this role to attract audiences. It was pure marketing and it was obvious that they never thought: "Does that role suit him? Does he look like the Darkling? Can his acting persuade others that he is the Darkling?" (I say "no" to every question)

The role didn't suit him for me. He physically didn't look anything like him and his demeanor or acting reminded me nothing like him.

And generally I didn't like the show version because:

He was too emotional. Literally he was getting teared up every five minutes. When the creators said "We want to make him human" they meant "We'll only make him too human" and that kind of acting took away the gravity from important scenes (like the name reveal scene or his death). For the audience it was just another emotional scene but for the readers those scenes in the books were special and utterly heartbreaking because they could glimpse his human side that apparently still existed inside of him.

He was too much of a simp. Book!Darkling always had pride and even though indirectly he tried to beg for her help and understanding, he never threw himself at her feet (the only times he kinda did was in his emotionally vulnerable moments which were rare but precious). Show!Darkling was well... Wasted but not with the cutie meaning of the word. It became his whole personality.

(actually the name reveal scene doesn't even exist in the series)

#Ben also liked a post where someone called the Palestinians “collateral damage” so that made me despise him as a person too #but that's not the main reason I didn't like him as the Darkling #in my opinion this role just wasn't for him #shadow and bone #the darkling #aleksander morozova #grishaverse #anti ben barnes

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aleksanderscult · 4 days

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I rewatched the movie "Psycho" recently and this line hit me even though I'd heard it before:

Doesn't it just remind you of Aleksander?

Of how his mother was his only companion and only friend. He had a very strong, albeit toxic, bond with her that was created because of his uniqueness and loneliness. No one else was like him and even when he searched for his siblings, he didn't succeed in having them with him. Ulla turned him away and, perhaps, the rest of his siblings did so as well.

So what was left? His mother.

Did he have another choice? No. And no one wants to be left alone.

It's also interesting how he looked for her approval even after long centuries had passed. Alina heard them quarrel in Baghra's hut (presumably about the Stag and the consequences of his plan) and later he seemed very upset with her behavior.

If he didn't give a damn about her he wouldn't display such emotions. But it seems that he did care about what his mother thought of him and his ambition.

She was the only person he had to talk to and live as equals and therefore kept trying to make her understand of his desperation.

#it always struck me how he went to her hut to talk to her about his plans #because it makes me think that there's no way he would bother to go to her if he didn't care about her approval and opinion #but he wants to let her know #the darkling #baghra morozova #aleksander morozova #pro darkling #pro aleksander morozova #alina starkov #shadow and bone #grishaverse

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aleksanderscult · 5 days

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DARKLINA AU ❦ Adelaide Kane as the Darkling

Why did you go to her? Because with her she was human again. How had she bested her? Sheer stubbornness. Something more. She’s known a name for it once, a hundred lifetimes ago.

#yes this is it!#thank you @xalonelydreamerx!#fem!darkling #darklina #pro darklina #grishaverse #edit

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aleksanderscult · 5 days

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That's very interesting.

Especially about what would happen if she was a woman faced with men that don't want to see her lead a Grisha army. I agree that she would have a very difficult time to convince in her own way the King that she's capable enough to do it.

In the original story, the Darkling was a man and men are generally being given such positions but if he was a woman she would have to work five times harder to earn that position (which equals more trauma for that character hooray😒). So I definitely agree there.

But I don't think that otkazat'sya would see the Grisha women differently if the Black Heretic was a woman. I believe that, whether the Black Heretic was a man or woman, Ravkans would still hate and distrust the Grisha even more (since a general distaste for them already existed). These people just needed an excuse to hate the Grisha even more as it seems...

so. First of all I love your blog. Seriously I think you are one of the person who have comman sense in this fandom. I like everything you post. While scrolling through Tumblr I came across the usual anti darkling post ( he is groomer , murderer etc etc ) i did the thing I usually do when I came across such thing : I skip. A tag caught my eye. I don't remember but it's say something like : the only reason you like him is that he is Ben Barnes if darkling is a girl you couldn't like him. Which made me think what if darkling was a girl and alina as a boy. I just image a sexy hot black hair women with pale skin and grey eyes and morozova genes. Which..........is enough to made me think if I am a Bi 🤔. That image has not left me for a week and my dreams. So my question is

What do you think might happen if darkling is a girl and alina is a boy. How might the events of SaB and SaS will be affected. And m*lina too,of mal is a girl too. You thoughts 🤔

Thank you so much, anon! It makes me happy to know that others enjoy my blog and content. 😍

First of all about what that anti said: I personally didn't like Ben Barnes as the Darkling so it obviously doesn't apply. And even if the Darkling was a girl I would still root for her. I root for any character that fights for something better, for a positive change to happen among such oppression. And I think that's one of the major reasons his fans love him as well.

Now about your question: Boy, I would love to see that. I was always attracted to dangerous women, especially the ones that combine beauty and slyness (like Milady in "The Musketeers" or Morgana from "Merlin" post season 2).

But I don't think the story would be affected that much with the only exception that Alina in a male form would probably not be slut shamed for his attraction to the Darkling (in this version she would be called Aleksandra which is a fact that I love!)

The Darkling would remain an interesting character but, God, does that mean that Alina as a man would still avoid his duties?? 😭

And Mal as a girl. She would obviously be popular and well-liked by everyone but imagine that: she would sleep around with many guys and then attack her best friend for falling in love with a girl that isn't her. Well, for one thing it doesn't stick. You see if Mal as a girl fucked around then she would be called a whore (just like Alina was indirectly called one by Mal for wanting Aleksander) while in the original story when Mal did that no one raised a single eyebrow. So we live in a fictional world where if you do that as a guy then you're okay but if you're a girl then you should be called a prostitute. And Leigh had Mal get away with his behavior so she was more willing to let Mal pass with his sexist behavior than the Darkling who had enough and tried to put end to his people slaughter for good.

Anyway, I believe Mal's character would change a lot if he was a girl (primarily his fuckboy nature because the author doesn't allow a girl to have sexual liberation in her books) and I have a feeling she would be boring (again). And I don't think she would be a tracker?

Alina as a man wouldn't be slut shamed (because he's a man 🤷) but he would still avoid the Darkling. Nevertheless the chemistry would be off the charts. And the Darkling would slay like always. She would be the personification of femme fatale but her goal would be selfless and true like always. For some reason, I imagine her as a very seductive figure (although my wishful thinking might be speaking here).

The real question here is how the relationship between the Darkling as a girl and her mother, Baghra would be. Would Baghra want a daughter in the first place but she got stuck with Aleksandra because it was her only child that shared her powers? Or if Baghra had no problem with her child's sex, would she still be that possessive and controlling over her?

My own answer is yes and Baghra would most definitely leave a trauma to the Darkling even if she was a girl. That woman has no parenting skills in any universe. Just like I can't see the Darkling be anything else other than a fighter and a survivor in any other scenario.

#I remember I saw somewhere a gif where Adelaide was the Darkling #where is it? can someone send it?#the darkling #pro darkling

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aleksanderscult · 5 days

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Literally this 👇

The fact that in any universe the Darkling is condemned to be seen as an evil asshole is both infuriating and funny.