#i love Aleksander Morozova

[fandomrantsandtwittertakes]

[greensaplinggrace]

“Character A didn’t love Character B because they hurt them” discourse is truly terrible because it assigns a moral value to love that simply does not exist. love doesn’t actually mean anything about someone’s character. it doesn’t make someone’s actions toward another any better or any worse, it doesn’t prevent atrocities, and it doesn’t prevent abuse.

love is a worthless emotion when it comes to morals because it simply holds no bearing on them. true love doesn’t exist. there is no better or more pure version of love. in the end love doesn’t mean anything. it’s a non-emotion. it’s the child of passion and affection and dedication. doing something bad doesn’t preclude a feeling of love, because a lack of love isn’t a requirement for immoral actions, and morality isn’t a requirement for feeling love.

[periodcostumefantasylover]

The Darling + quotes

Book VS Show

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.

The key to the shadow fold is finaly within our grasp, and right now i should be in the war room hearing their report. I should be planning our trip north. But I'm not am i?

Am I? he repeated and he nipped at my neck. I gasphed and shook my head, unable to think. He had me pushed up against the door now, his hips hard against mine."The problem with wanting", he whispered his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, is "that it makes us weak".

[aleksanderscult]

Was Aleksander power-hungry or wanted power to use it for the protection of his people?

This question is one of the most hotly debatable in this fandom and I decided to clear this out not by analyzing his words through the POV of other characters (who don't believe him and therefore the reader finds him a liar) but through his own perspective in "Rule of Wolves".

So let's take an objective look inside his own thoughts and find out.

His very first thoughts were how could he reclaim his powers, describing the whole experience as somewhat painful and confusing to him. His second were about Alina.

And these are his third ones. He explains how utterly worthless Nikolai and Zoya are to save Ravka. How immature and weak. Aleksander finds himself to be the only one able for this task. His powers, experience and general abilities are testament to that.

But note how he calls Ravka "his country". From the carved woods decorating his bedroom to his knowledge of "every pebble and branch" of it, this country is special to him. He loves it, feels a connection to it and wants to protect it.

(You just can't call the Darkling "unpatriotic")

He displays bitterness for his loss and Ravka's new state just verifies to him that his plans would only prevent this decaying fate.

Yuri: "Sankta Alina who gave her life for Ravka"

Aleksander: "Am I a joke to you?"

And indeed is he?

Aleksander displays a very strong resentment for the lack of recognition he has gained. His statement: "I gave my life for Ravka" probably doesn't only allude to his death from Alina's hands but also his total commitment in the protection of the Grisha and Ravka that lasted for centuries. He gave his life away by pushing his personal happiness and well-being aside and wholly dedicating his life and skills to a selfless goal. He wasted years, allies, soldiers, endured otkazat'sya Kings that rule him, a bitter mother and his own immortality only for others to hurriedly erase any memory of him once he's gone.

So it seems that his desire to be seen only stems from his long-awaited and secret wish for his actions to be recognized.

Based on the last screenshot, he views his actions as justified not because of a "power-hungry nature" but out of his efforts to help others. Whether these actions are justified or not depends on the reader.

I believe this is one of the most concrete evidence that Aleksander truly cared about the Grisha.

He felt intense anger for those who were ignorant and apathetic towards the Grisha's fate and he himself cared about who was gonna sit the Ravkan throne.

No matter how much humanity he shed as the years passed, it seems that he didn't shed all of it by the time of these books.

Apparently Aleksander had two main goals in this book:

- To protect his people and country as he always strived to do.

- For others to finally give him some credit and have their acknowledgment that yes, he has done something for this country all these years.

In order to help the Grisha and change their fates he needed to be in a position of strength, hence his desire to take the throne. He views himself as a fatherly figure towards his people. A protector and guardian.

But he also wants to become a Saint and king. For people to look up to him. So many Saints had done less than half in comparison to Aleksander and they still won people's love. Now it's his turn and he thinks he deserves it.

I'm adding a short parenthesis here.

His concern didn't only extent to the Grisha but to his blind, otkazat'sya followers as well.

He cared about what would happen in the battlefield and seemed ready to create nichevo'ya to protect them. Merzost is extremely painful but this "selfish" villain is ready to use it to protect his naive but innocent army.

A hundred of years ago Aleksander refused the King's gold as payment for his services. Instead he opted to plead for the construction of a palace. A home and haven for all the Grisha that were hiding out of fear from the persecution against them.

He saw his chance and took it to make the lives of his people a little better.

So this whole "the Darkling created the Fold out of his desire for power" was bullshit after all.

He wanted power but only to use it to end the wars. Ironically, the result of it (aka. the Fold) only aggravated the problem.

And the Darkling's dream never came entirely true. He gave them a home but never a safe life. Ravka was almost always at war, Grisha were never accepted, the Ravkan kings never paid much attention to the Grisha's problems regarding their role in society which placed them almost at the bottom of the food chain.

All these things worried Aleksander and pushed him to action both when he created the Fold and when he started the Civil War.

The Darkling has a very different mentality than those who don't have the burden of immortality on their shoulders.

Aleksander uses time as an advantage and has a remarkable patience. He bides his time and strikes when he sees the opportunity, leaving other people to die since they're only just a part of a whole. He probably thinks: "Well, I'll meet plenty more new otkazat'sya in the future so why should I be concerned for this bunch here?"

But the bleak future of the Grisha make him stop and think. They're the only reason why he stays and fight and why he proclaimed Zoya a Saint.

So it's obvious that Aleksander only used power for the benefit of his people and country.

- When king Yevgeni offered him a handsome reward, Aleksander turned it down and chose to appeal for a better future for the rest of the Grisha.

- When the wars didn't stop coming and Grisha were again getting killed, he tried to use merzost to augment his powers and put a stop to it.

- When he tried to use the Fold as a weapon with Alina at his side, he did it to place Ravka in a stronger position in comparison to his enemies.

- He viewed Nikolai and Zoya dangerous to the rest of the country.

- He was concerned of what would happen to the Grisha if Demidov became king.

- He was determined to save Ravka and lead it as their king and protector.

- Even though he thought of leaving, he stayed out of concern for the Grisha (again).

Contrary to the people who say that the Darkling began selfless but by the time of these books became selfish, it seems that he never lost his selflessness. He still kept thinking about others and his last moments he was unrepentant for his crimes since he did them for others not for himself. It's true that he had pride and an ego but rightfully so. No one else was as powerful or as capable as him to make a change and, honestly, no one else made a decent effort but him.

He also displayed a strong bitterness for the fact that others were so quick to forget him and his actions. He felt wronged that after all he had done, none wanted to acknowledge his own part in the protection of Ravka. He wanted to be seen and appreciated. His anger and indignation came from a place of injustice as he saw it. Whatever he did was labeled as wrong and people only feared him, never feeling gratefulness or love towards him. The Darkling wanted others to give him his due for what he went through, did and tried to do. Recognition after so many years of feeling invisible and hated.

It was something that even his enemies admitted about him:

The strongest evidence of his yearning to shield his country is how he willingly gave his life for it at the end. He would be tortured forever but at least his people wouldn't forget him and he would have fulfilled his desired role as a protector of his country.

[bastardofodin]

I want one thing out of life, and that is to curl up in Aleksander Kirigan's arms while he softly sings me to sleep. I want him to whisper to me that it's all going to be okay, because I'm safe in the dark with him. I want to kiss his cheeks while he smiles and tell him how adorable he is when he looks smug. I want to console him when he's sad and comfort him when he's angry. So anyway, my entire existence has been consumed by Ben Barnes as Aleksander Kirigan/Morosova in Shadow and Bone. I love me a tragic villain with a sad backstory and oof.

[electroniccollectiondonut]

listen I KNOW we don't like him but he cuts a guy in half from a hundred feet and then he comforts Alina and tells silly little jokes. I know he's evil and fucked up but HOW am I meant to not like him.

[puppysirie0-0]

"Will You Take My Hand, Dear?"

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova x Lantsov!Reader

Warnings: Mostly fluff that alludes to smut that'll be in the next chapter with a dollop of angst

Chapter 2 of "The Bunny and Its Shadow"

You take Aleksander's hand as he leads you into the hall, belongings in hand. You watch in disbelief as you pass by all the bodies on the floor, unsure if they're dead or just knocked out. Either way, you can't bring yourself to wrap your head around the idea of Aleksander doing something like this. Risking everything that he's fought, scraped, and crawled for, to make sure he could be safe, to make sure his Grisha were safe.

You feel guilty. Why would he take that chance? The chance of everything falling apart, for someone he knew for such a short time. He had lived countless lives, worn various names, but what you hadn't known is that he hadn't loved anyone in those lives. At least not since her. Not since Luda.

Of course Aleksander had told you about Luda. The same night he talked of his past, he gave you his explanation, told you his reasoning for each individual cautious step he took to get here. Told you every ounce of pain that shot through his heart, as the king's guard shot through her's.

What you don't understand is why he would jeopardize all of his progress, possibly even risk war, for someone he's known for a mere 3 years compared to his comparably much, much longer life. You had talked about your insecurity of the time you had spent together and what it meant to him. How you felt that when you inevitably began to grow older, you would longer have any appeal. That he would cast you aside for a younger, prettier girl.

Or maybe he would think you were too much work. Your constant need for affection and clingy nature, he might some day find annoying. That you're broken to an extent that he didn't want to put the effort into. That you would be left heartbroken and alone, like you had been a majority of your childhood.

He promised every single time that he would never do such a thing, that he would find a way for you to live a longer life. But your insecurities and fears always found a way to shine through.

∾ ▩ °º❤️º°  ▩ ∾

Before you could pull yourself from your haze of self-doubt and fear, Aleksander cut through it. He always found a way to get to you when you were upset. Whether it be drowning in your minefield of thoughts or simply upset about what happened in the real world. Your current events being evidence of the ladder.

He squeezed your hand in reassurance, somehow knowing that you're sinking into the quicksand of your mind. As you walk out, into the frigid weather Aleksander leans over to whisper to you, "Ivan, Fedyor, and some other Grisha are in the woods. I didn't want to risk anyone's lives but my own. I much prefer them helping from a distance granted our location."

As soon as you're in sight Fedyor smiles and waves at you. Ivan standing beside his husband, with his usual cold demeanor. Once you're in arm's reach though, Ivan is quick to wrap a kefta around your shoulders, asking you, "Are you okay?"

You're quick to ease his worry and wrap your arms around Fedyor. Always comforted by the pair ever since they figured out that you and Aleksander were more than just ‘kind acquaintances' . Fedyor reciprocates your hug, meeting your need for affection from him with a similar need of his own.

Aleksander patiently waits behind you as you greet the small group of Grisha that had accompanied him. Once you turn back to him he's already staring at you with eyes that you can only describe as absolutely lovestruck. As he admires you with a small smile, he tells you, "Let's get on the road, Milaya." Your cheeks slightly flushing as he used the pet name in front of anyone other than Genya, Ivan, or Fedyor.

∾ ▩ °º❤️º°  ▩ ∾

You ride on Aleksander's horse on your way to your wedding venue. After multiple hours, you were out of Fjerda, everyone was exhausted, and the horses needed a much deserved break.

You set up camp for the night slinking into Aleksander and Your's shared tent. Although you're far from Fjerda, the weather was still quite chilly. As a result you were quick to snuggle under the blankets of your shared cot. It was a good few minutes before Aleksander arrived, coming to bed and pulling you close to him.

With your time away from each other, Aleksander couldn't stand another minute away from you. Every minute, every second, that ticked by where you weren't by his side made him antsy. He held you like you were the only thing precious to him in the world, because you were. You meant more to him than any title, he would risk anything and everything for you. He would scour any place, any country you could be in. He would burn the world down till it was ash if that's what he needed to do in order to find you.

When you tell him about your insecurities and how you feel like you aren't worth certain things, it hurts him. It hurts him emotionally and physically pains him. He has never loved anyone since Luda, that was until you. You had shone bright like a star in the night sky, a beam of light in the depths of his shadows.

He loved you with the entirety of his heart and soul. He would give you the world, make it kneel at your feet if that's what you wanted. You were everything to him, and he wished that his love for you was enough to prove that. That it scared him when he thought of you passing away. That he would lose his little star and be shrouded in darkness again, cold and alone.

∾ ▩ °º❤️º°  ▩ ∾

When you awoke in the morning, Aleksander was gone, but you heard his muffled voice outside the tent. You sat there as you listened to the best of your ability, until Aleksander opened the tent to presumably lay back down with you. Obviously shocked by your consciousness, he asks you, "How'd you sleep?"

"Oh I don't know, I guess I kind of missed you," you teased back at him. He seemed to understand that you were joking and that you actually did miss him dearly. He leans over you and pecks your lips before he turns away from you as he talks, "We need to get back on the road soon, I only paid the officiant for today."

You shoot up before you start getting dressed, remembering today is your wedding.

∾ ▩ °º❤️º°  ▩ ∾

You quickly get ready and are on the path to the venue, the venue Aleksander still won't tell you about. Around noon you arrived there, and by 4 you were getting married. You wore a lavender dress with embroidered sage green vines, one of the first gifts Aleksander had given you.

You felt pretty and Aleksander confirmed the fact. At the altar he stood in a kefta that you can only assume Genya made for him. It was his signature black kefta, with lavender embroidery instead of its usual black.

As you exchanged vows in front of your best friends and to the love of your life, you felt tears welling in your eyes. A few days before, you thought that you'd be meeting a different man at the altar, a stranger. But here you were in a small town in the middle of Ravka, marrying the man you never fathomed you'd be able to, during one of the most gorgeous sunsets you'd ever seen.

Aleks looked at you in question as he asked, "Will you take my hand, Dear? Will you let me drag you down into the shadows and depths to love with my entire being?" You could only answer him with a kiss, unable how to answer with words. As you kissed your husband it was filled with love and unsanctioned want. You opened your eyes to see Aleksander's eyes widen with amazement as he looked above your heads. You swiftly looked up to see stars intertwining with Aleksander's shadowy tendrils.

He looked down at you and said, "You-You're a Star Summoner. You're Grisha."

You looked around at your small group of Grisha, including Fedyor and Ivan who were staring at you with both shock and complete awe. They all fell to their knees as they looked at you, them all saying the same phrase, "Sankta Y/N"

∾ ▩ °º❤️º°  ▩ ∾

Aleksander grabbed your wrist amplifying your new found powers, and pulled you over to where they had set up camp. He got tired of dragging you along, as he was much faster than you could keep up with, so he picked you up bridal style carrying you the rest of the way.

Once you were inside your shared tent, Aleksander set you down on your cot. Though he practically threw himself at you in a much less graceful and much more hungry, lust-filled manner. He leaned over you before he smashed his lips to yours, you meeting the kiss with equal vigor. He nipped and bit on your bottom lip before slipping his tongue into your mouth.

You didn't pull away until absolutely necessary. As you both pant, trying to catch your breath, you heard him whisper, "We can live together forever now."

Your heart swells with the admission, the fact that you were Grisha and you would never lose Aleks. That he would be by your side for as long as you both lived. You reply to him, "You're right my love, I'll never have to leave you now." You were too happy to recognize the anger you had towards your parents for hiding this, and also honestly you’re a little preoccupied.

Aleksander slowly starts kissing down your body with a tenderness you had not expected. He kisses every inch of your skin, and all your insecurities and worries melt away. You knew you loved him and he loved you, you knew this was going to be forever, even if nothing else was.

∾ ▩ °º❤️º°  ▩ ∾

A/N

Hey guys! This is the second chapter of Aleksander Morozova series, I'm writing this while collaborating with @lost-tothe-centuries! I had some pretty good response and engagement in the first chapter, so here you go! I hope you guys enjoy! Also, always remember that my DMs and requests are always open if you wanna talk. Love y'all! Mwah!

[kasagia]

Benny request “I can fix him, no really I can”

So we know Benny is good with his hands and clearly has a knack for fixing things so maybe he works at the repair shop and we come in to get our car worked on and the spark fly 😩 we leave extremely blissed out and are now invested in this beautiful mechanic who has quite the baggage..literally any spin of this you want to make I just need more Benny ily

I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD!! (Really)

So the situation is that I haven't been here for a while (felt like ages), because I had a lot of things on my mind, holidays, moving and so on, everything came together and these days were really intense, but I'm already getting back to normal.

And I want to take this opportunity to tell my dear anonymous and a @fleurdemers that I will be working on these two oneshots and I ask (as usual) for patience, because the pace of my writing is slow as a turtle, especially now, when I have a few other things on my mind xDD But I am extremally excited to write this two!!! (And a few other things I am supposed to... @drinix I swear I remember about that Aleksander's oneshot!! 😅🫣)

ANYWAY.

Thank you so much to you two!!! I hope you will like what I would write!! LOVE YOU! 🥰🥰🖤🖤🖤🖤🩵🩵🩵🩵

P.S. Get ready to read sth with our Benny-boy and Darkling/Sasha *Iamsoinlovewiththatbikerideritisembarrassing* 🫢🤭

[mylifeiskindacrazy]

i'm only halfway through the first shadow and bone book and i'm already deeply in love with the darkling

[lesbians4armand]

It was never elaborated on in the show so i must mention it here. Aleksander has siblings. I think most of the people in this fandom know this anyway but this is for those who don’t.

Baghra didn’t just happen to have one child who inherited her powers off the bat. She had been trying to have a child for one, maybe two, reasons, and they were that she was 1. bored 2. wanted a child with her powers so she could basically control them too.

She had many kids who didn’t have her powers, and abandoned them, until she had Aleksander, who she kept (and very obviously abused.)

I see posts saying how she’s such a girlboss and a good mother for some reason, but a woman who abandons all the children who aren’t useful to her, and manipulates and abuses the one that is, is neither of those things.

[crazyyluvr]

After finishing the Shadow and Bone trilogy in less than a week and starting the Netflix series, I'm now ready to write for Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows! Feel free to send requests for the characters that I will soon add to my masterlist <33 thank you and you may resume your scrolling KNGDFK

[unabashedmoonlight]

you calling baghra abusive when darkling is right there is.. interesting

I love both Baghra and Aleksander and they are both abusive people. You clearly already know of Aleksander. About Baghra:

How is continuously having kids only to then abandon them when they don't turn out the way you want them to not abusive? She did this because she wanted a companion to bear an eternity with. Pretty understandable. Pretty cruel. We all know what happened to Ulla. Worse must have happened to others.

I understand her reasons for not telling Aleksander about his father. She didn't want him to get attached to someone only to be hurt when they die rather quickly in the grand scheme of things. But that is not how a child should live. He should have gotten to adjust to having people in his life and then losing them instead of never getting close to anyone at all. The 'no friends' rule while understandable was not ideal.

She was fairly old when she had him. Her immortality had worn her down in ways. She wasn't emotionally capable of raising children.

She overcompensated with Aleksander. She didn't want to give him the issues she had because of how she was raised and ended up giving him different issues instead. "You will bow to no-one." Come on.

She is also pretty clearly an obnoxious, physically abusive teacher.

Also, the context was a scenario of Baghra raising Alina (a child she specifically kidnapped to save her son) who she would have killed, if she could figure out how, to stop her son from having this 'weapon'. She obviously would also raise her in a very specific way to shape her into someone her son could never get a hold of instead of letting her grow on her own.

[or-we-could-take-a-walk-together]

the king of scars duology was leigh bardugo’s answer to every darklina shipper/darkling fan justifying the darkling’s crimes. in kos+row they explicitly call out every single one of the darkling’s crimes, which is why i’ll always be a malina shipper (in canon ships at least, genyalina supremacy) because the other option is simply terrible. so please learn to separate an artist from his art, which in this case the artist is ben barnes, and the art is his portrayal of the darkling.

[periodcostumefantasylover]

Shadow and Bone 2x06

[aleksanderscult]

Antis: "The Darkling was cruel! He killed, manipulated, lied and forced himself to Alina!"

*Meanwhile the antis when Nikolai cut the fingers of a man, decided to usurp the throne, lied to Alina, hid information from her and kissed her without consent:* "Now isn't he a cutie?🥰😭"