#AND NIKOLAI SHOWS UP WHERE I WASNT EXPECTING HIM

[howtotrainyouragents]

I decided I was never gonna be emotionally prepared for Shadow and Bone Season 2 so I might as well watch it emotionally unprepared and let me tell you THAT WAS A BAD IDEA

[kittydripuwu]

Hey can I request for Bsd Boys headcannon :dazai, chuuya, and akutagawa reacting seeing their s/o flinch after they almost snapped out of anger at them (s/o can be gender neutral or female)

hihi! hope this is okay <3 enjoy!

dazai, chuuya and akutagawa (+fyodor) seeing their s/o flinch hcs

words - 962

warnings - swearing

genre - angsty fluff hcs

note - yes ik fyodor wasn't requested but i felt like adding him

dazai osamu

- argument stems probably from you hanging out with chuuya or someone really pissing him off

- very manipulative during arguments, will almost never be reasonable whether its something you did or not

- dazai's not one to show much emotion in the first place so he wouldn't really show you how mad he actually is

- but eventually he will go off if he lingers on it for too long

- will start off by talking with an angry tone but eventually will escalate to yelling

- this will scare you and make you flinch considering that you've never really seen him this mad

- will see you flinch and instantly stop yelling at you

- realises that hes gone too far instantly

- he'll apologise calmly and forget whatever he was angry about in the first place because man like he scared of losing you

- you are like EVERYTHING to him like u are his reason to live so please just forgive this man hes trying his best to be a better person

- will keep apologizing until he feels you've finally forgiven him (even tho u did when he first apologised)

- makes it up to you by cuddles or stargazing with him ( please i see dazai as the type of person to just stargaze for hours like idk why but it makes sense to me??)

- he'll hold you close and tell you sweet lil things like "i love you" "you know i would never hurt you"

- WILL make u promise to never leave him because man this got hiM SCARED like hes fucking scared of people just leaving him when he gets too close

- so please, reassure him that this was nothing to you and that it's okay, it was just a small argument (even tho it wasnt that small)

- but ya overall expect good cuddles and hugs after, as an apology

- and kisses like everywhere

chuuya nakahara

- oh boy

- we know this man has some anger issues

- idk what he would possibly get mad about but tbh it probably wouldnt be anything related to you

- will probably start ranting about someone that made him mad at work or overall just something really small that pissed him off

- very short tempered (haha short)

- you let him yell for a good while because you know he needs to let some sort of anger out

- but it will get scary shortly after he starts he kinda just goes nuts

- no self control when hes angry

- he wont even realise the look on ur face

- ur scared, admit it

- he may be short but hes SCARY when mad

- anyways

- when he sees you flinch  tho, dead silence in the room

- he goes QUIET which is rare for chuuya yes

- the one thing hes very afraid of is hurting you, he would never want to hurt you in anyway

- will give you the biggest hug

- tells you he loves you and hes sorry

- reassures you that he would never wanna hurt you or make you scared of him

- pls he loves you so much

- wont let go of you for the REST OF THE NIGHT

- he needs to make sure you know that you're safe in his arms

akutagawa ryunosuke

- um this boy is just ANGRY always

- would probably get mad cause of atsushi being praised by dazai

- "why him"

- please hes been through so much oh my god this man

- dazai wtf how could u hurt this poor boi

- ANYWAYS

- yeah he'll be really fucking heated and just fucking yell and threaten to kill anyone around him (if theres anyone else there apart from you)

- bye this is awful but i feel like he would accidentally activate his rashomoun and break something -

- so ya when he sees you flinch for the first time, i feel like he wouldn't really thing anything of it until he sees you do it again a couple of times

- he'll stop yelling and talking in general

- he wouldn't really know what to say or do tbh

- but will apologise

- will get sad cause he didn't wanna make u scared of him

- like yes he wants people to fear him but hello?? not you omg ur special to him <3

- will probably walk away for like an hour and keep to himself until he's ready to properly apologise to you

- will then give you a hug and let you sleep in his arms

- i dont see aku as being very physically affectionate but yeah dw you'll get ur well deserved cuddles <3

fyodor dostoevsky

- tbh i wouldnt put it past nikolai to piss him off LMAO like he would fully annoy him SO much

- but its okay cuz we love niko <3

- sorry but i cannot see this man yelling

- hes just so calm?

- and collected?

- how -

- anyways

- so hard to read like you have no clue what hes thinking like EVER?

- but you can tell hes mad when his eyes go all dark and he talks like SUPER calmly with 0 emotion in his voice

- he'll scare you

- i mean who wouldn't be scared of him

- you'd probably flinch from just the way he talks so fucking CALMLY

- like how? is? he? so? calm? yet? angry?

- oh boy he would def feel bad for going all scary on you

- "im sorry, milaya" (darling)

- he would say that so calmly aswell-

- would give you a forehead kiss and light hug and go to his lil work room for like 3 hours

- you will not see him until its time to sleep where he'll cuddle you and apologise again

- "i would never want to scare my little myshka" (mouse) he would say that to you as you fall asleep

- will give u so many forehead kisses PLZ

[plusultrcs]

Okay so now that i’m done crying about shadow and bone to my friends i want to make a controversial statement. Don’t bite my head off for my opinion bc 1. idc i said what i said and 2. it aint that serious these are fictional characters moving on though. I don’t think the show is bad AT ALL i really enjoyed it and seeing the inclusion of leigh and her books was so fucking cute but i will say i think combining both series into one did a huge disservice to the character development of most, if not ever, character. and i’ll explain why so (obviously) sab spoilers ahead. this also obnoxiously long so if you dont read it thats fine <3 lmao

I know going into it everyone, including leigh pretty much, was saying not to expect it to be like the books. That it was going stray away and be more like a fanfiction than the original works. Which was true, but only for the six of crows characters. The show leaned heavily and relied heavily on the plot of shadow and bone. Which, of course, makes sense but because of the inclusion of a heavy heavy re-worked six of crows plot that didnt fit the plot of shadow and bone at all it left them feeling incredibly displaced. Like on shadow and bones part every single major and sometimes even the minor plot points were followed to the number, but on the six of crows front the only thing closely followed was the nina and matthias backstory. I wont talk about every single character because i anticipate this to already be long, but the ones i noticed the most were done a disservice.

For instance Alina. Despite shadow and bone being followed so closely you dont really get to see the natural progression of alina’s character the way i was hoping we would. And that’s definitely because of the time restraints. They had to find a way to somehow balance the screen time for both separate plots so that they could hold the audiences attention for both. Like when nina and matthias plot wasnt on the screen for i think 2 episodes i almost forgot about them and what they were up to so i understand why they timing had to be so split, especially when you only have 8 hours to cover the characters of 2 over 300 page long books yknow? But that means important moments alina had to herself in the books were completely cut, and so a lot of that growth we got went with it. The the biggest thing i was disappointed to see go was the defeat she felt when she was first captured and collared by the darkling. She was feeling absolutely helpless, mal was in their hold, she had no power to do anything but sit there and let him use her. All the training she did felt pointless to her and she really was at the point of giving up. She went quiet, wouldnt speak,was basically a zombie until that moment in the fold when she saw innocent people suffering when she knew she could stop. And she found a way to break free. There were other moments like this in the book, like moments at the little palace where shelt herself getting further and further from mal and feeling like an outside on her own all over again. They tried to show it in the show but without the time to develop her life on her own at the little palace it definitely fell short.

Speaking of mal: THANK YOU WRITERS FOR FIXING HIS WHINY ASS. And while he was annoyingly whiny in the books, he is not a boring character. Not to me at least, honestly he never was. While i do appreciate them not making him so whiny, I would have appreciated seeing that same dissonance realizing alina was grisha brought about in the books. Its just like alina said, grisha were people they scoffed at and talked about in a joking way. Their lives felt miles and miles away from their own, and then to learn that she had been one the entire time. I know i know, it has nothing to do with, and alina didnt know either. BUT THAT IS STILL HIS BEST FRIEND. And obviously girl he’s in love with even if he wasnt aware of it at the time. it made him question everything he thought about grisha, and more importantly brought both of their biggest fears to light: being torn apart. In the book he doesnt deal with this well at ALL and while leigh bardugo does a great job throughout the series showing him growing to me he never got where he should have been, and the show did place him there but i think they do so prematurely. I definitely wanted him to be as understanding as he was, to take notice of how much healthier and stronger she looks since she’s not withholding her power anymore, but i did still want the tension of him wondering what it means for them, how their lives would change, because just based on laws alone she is a grisha and would typically never be someone he would have the chance to befriend but neither of them would be okay with that.

AND ON THE TOPIC OF MALINA. THEY ARE NOT A BORING SHIP. I think the only person other who would work for alina is nikolai (dont fight me on this im right), and that is who i wanted her to end up with. However, I understand why Mal was the choice. Alina has always been someone who just wanted to belong, to fit in somewhere, AND THAT IS OKAY. IT’S NOT A CRIME TO WANT TO BE ORDINARY. I know shes the main character, and has the prophecy of being the ~chosen one~ but that doesnt mean she suddenly has to alter change and rearrange herself entirely. she never wanted to be a saint, and even by the end of the series she still doesnt. Choosing to let the world believed she died so she could live a quiet life. tHAT’S ALL SHE’S EVER WANTED. And Mal is the perfect person to give her that. People who claim she gave up her life for mal, to me, didn’t understand her character. She bounced around from needing mal by her side, and when she couldnt have him there she still sought acceptance in the only other person willing to give it to her, i.e. the darkling. and then when she couldnt have it from him she’s forced to find it in herself and while she learns she doesnt need him or mal she doesnt need anyone, she still chooses mal bc she wants to be with him. she doesnt feel obligated and even later on in the books makes plenty stands on her own without him but she loves him and they honestly make perfect sense. a softer ship doesnt make it a boring one js.

NOW THE SIX OF CROWS GANG. I hate to say it, i do but they felt reduced to a form comedic relief. they had their serious moments ofc but for the most part whenever they popped up on the screen i knew a joke or gag was soon to follow. i will say kit as jesper? best decision that could have possibly been made he fucking did what he had to DO. Kaz’s development for me felt really really rushed and forced. Like he was saying things to inej he wouldnt have said so quickly and especially not while he wasnt under stress??? it honestly felt like fan service??? which im not mad at because again i dont think the show was bad at all the actors brought really great life to the crows, but it just makes me sad to see all that development and build up go out the window.  i think if they were that set on combining the crows story with the shadow and bone story it would have been so much nicer to get a sort of prequel on the crows. like they should have given them the same treatment they gave nina and matthias. so that we could see their backstories as explained in the book happening in real time like how they all came to ketterdam. i know theres no point in wishing that now since whats done is done and again I DONT THINK ITS BAD. Im just sad about all the character development and strong subtle points lost because leigh bardugo always does such a great job in dropping subtle hints and always bringing them back in the end, and that was sadly lost. STILL A GOOD SHOW STILL LOVE THE BABIES. STILL PRAYING FOR A SEASON TWO.

EDIT: IT ALSO MADE ME SAD TO SEE THEM LOSE SO MANY TIMES??? ESPECIALLY AFTER SOC WHERE THEY ALWAYS MANAGED TO WIN?? Like ofc it made perfect sense for them to be unable to capture the damn sun summoner !!! but kaz and all of the crows are meant to be the best of the best when it comes to criminals top tier and they were bested by a ball of light and a jog???? and them going home basically empty handed was kinda :// like i got it but also where did alina get that necklace lmao so yeah once again still great still love it questions had to be asked 

[laracastrowrites]

An Excerpt From An Interview

A lot of readers had a meltdown over The Darkling’s fate.

"That really doesn’t bother me. Occasionally I would get a tweet from somebody who’s like, ‘How come Alina and The Darkling didn’t end up together?’ I’m all for people who want to write fanfic, but there’s absolutely no way I would ever make a relationship that was, quite frankly abusive. People like to forget the fact that he tried to enslave her, tried to steal her power, and even if you put all those things aside, the idea that Alina would forge that kind of alliance with somebody who mutilated one of her friends…Alina has this team of people who had sacrificed so much to defeat this man, the idea that all of a sudden she was going to be, 'Never mind, he’s hot, let’s have fun.’ It was just unacceptable to me."

And.....

"If I wanted people to hate The Darkling there would’ve been many ways to do that, I could have him kill a kitten or something. It almost became this challenge where I was going to keep him as compelling, charismatic and attractive as possible because I don’t believe the people that are most dangerous to us are devoid of those qualities; they’re the people who enter our lives who are broken and beautiful, but are still bad news.”

She said all this with a straight face.

***

I've read this specific one (and maybe that's why I dont search for them anymore neither read them lol).

So let's break this statement piece by piece, shall we?

First of all: look, Idk how things went at the time but like... when the interviwer says "the Darkling's fate" I think she means his death, right? So why the hell she made that about ships and shipping??? There was no reason for that! Anyways, this just shows how HER mind is so focused on that and whomst exactly would do anything for their(HER) ship to "work", right?...

And let's go to the part where she talks about Alarkling then: I love how she puts it in a way like she had nothing to do with how their relationship went down and like, she couldnt have done nothing about it lolol look, I know sometimes writers feel like their characters conduct the narrative and make decicions that you werent "expecting" and dont go with what you have planned at first, but with a piece like tgt where we clearly see that the author didnt respect the organic course of things, making all she could to stick with her planned couple that just worked inside of her own mind, I think we have a right to say that, if she wanted to, she could have changed the Darkling and Alina's dynamic and relationship (and I'm not even saying on a couple/romantic basis, she could have made them turn down friends or allies or whatever!, eventually) and she knows this damn well! So perhaps she should stop playing innocent on this, like it wasnt HER choice and it's all on the bad Darkling, a FICTIONAL being created by HER that is following HER script and what SHE'd planned !!!!! And no, people DONT forget all the crapy things he'd done, but since the first book readers had the hope he would turn around and redeem himself (at least on where he wronged Alina) cause the author put that hope in there, she did play with the idea of redemption within his character, then ofc some people would be sad and/or pissed and disappointed because she didn't delivered; you dont get to play and tease people with something without ever delivering it and expect people to be quiet about it and dont complain later, but well, she said that doesnt bother her anyway (which I dont believe it's true lol), right? So... And btw, Genya's torture was bullshit and ooc and gratutious (this interview just made me see that she REALLY did that just to make him irredeemable already) and it's ALL on her and it was her shittiest move in the whole trilogy (even more than Alina's fate), maybe she should think a little about why she needed to disfugure a female character that had already been raped and manipulated and used in order to further a villain's arc and put him into a hole he couldnt get out by doing an act based on...something(???) that didnt even fit in that character's motives and reasons and modus operandi, just saying... (self critique never killed anyone, you know, and in this case, she REALLY needed to think about it cause that was very problematic and harmful). And I have to lol everytime I see her talking about how the Darkling wanted to "steal" Alina's powers, omfg the irony ,,,,,,, should I remind her who exactly "stole" Alina's powers away by the end of the day ???? SHOULD I ?????? Spoiler alert, it wasnt the Darkling........... WHO'S THE VILLAIN NOW UH? WHO??? WHOMST ?????

And well, let's get back to Genya's case and the part where she says "Alina has this team of people who had sacrificed so much to defeat this man," I mean, if Alina isnt supposed to unit forces with shitty people who hurt her friends then why the fuck she would be on the King's side ????? Ok that in s&s Genya was on the Darkling's side, but it isn't like she didn't and couldnt see the King was shit too and Nikolai wasnt the first one in the throne's line of succession, so ???? Why exactly she would have to be on THEIR side??? And I'm not saying she should be on the Darkling's side either, ofc not, but the thing is (and it's other point that bothers me): she shouldnt be EXACTLY on the monarchy's side either! But if LB thought she must, then at least she could have seen its problems and be critical about them and could try to make a better Ravka by improving the govermnent system and making opposition to the Darkling at the same time. It bothers me that Alina never grew to have a political view and agenda when her own existence was very political! Something that the Darkling got it since the first time people tried to kill him, and he was way younger than Alina when that happened (but maybe she spent too much time living as an otkazatsya to get right away what meant to be a grisha in that world, luxury the Darkling didnt have, but still... after everything she went through, after she accepted herself as a powerful grisha, where people were still trying to use her and her powers from all sides, she should have gotten something out of there, she should have seen more clearly through, the only thing she had to do was using her fucking brains). Alina was just pushed through the narrative by people with their own purposes and agendas and she never grew to have one for herself (her purpose was based on urgencies created by people with agendas, for example: she wanted peace for Ravka, why? Because the Darkling and the Monarchy entered in a civil war; why was she staying by the Monarchy's side? Because the Darkling wanted to enslave her, so at least these people here arent trying to do the same (as long as she knew.......... except for the Apparat), so she was always reacting to the situations rather than acting and creating new ones based on her own purposes). Or maybe LB did this on purpose so she could justify Alina's resilience in losing her powers by the end of the trilogy (which doesnt, ofc). But then she lost the opportunity to create so many nice nuanced conversations about politics, oppression, privileges, power, religion, the ways of war, etc.; if Alina had been the opposite of the Darkling but still getting his point and being attracted by him and his ideas but still sticking on what she believed in and showing better ways than him to do things (I mean, how about Alina throwing on the Darkling's face that he said he was trying to end the war and create a better world for grishas beggining by enslaving and controling her, a fellow grisha, which was exactly what their oppressors did, so it was very contradictory and not by far the best shot, and it wouldnt be long lasting, I mean, I would've loved to see that! But maybe it was too dangerous... what if he'd listened to her, uh ??!?!?!?!!!!! what if he was convinced by her, uh ???!?!?!?!!! then they would have to be kind of on the same side, right? and omg! god forbid this from ever happening !!!!! 😒😒😒 ), anyways, it'd be much more nuanced and interesting, in my humble opinion...

I have more rants about the grishaverse concerning the political aspects and LB's bias choices but I wont get to it rn, that's it for today.