#thanks alina!

[freudyou]

"Make it look like a freak lighting accident"

It’s been years since I’ve revisited Due South, but the @ds30below event sparked my interest again, and I decided to watch a few episodes with my bud @flownwrong  to celebrate. We watched three episodes that stuck in my mind the most over the years after being absent from the show for so long: Bird in the Hand, Eclipse, and The Ladies’ Man, and I found all three to be a very rewarding rewatch, even though my memory of the rest of the series is a bit hazy.

Bird in the Hand: 

When we started our mini marathon, I didn’t realize that this was the only ep of the three where Fraser’s dad plays a role, and I forgot how solid Pinsent was at pulling comic relief duty. The scene where he popped up demanding that Fraser murder Gerard immediately after Gerard was droning on about how Robert’s dogged nobility was his ultimate downfall had me rolling, as did the bit where he—probably correctly— asserted that Ray would shoot Gerard for him if Fraser really asked him to (aww). One thing in particular about his character  that struck me while watching this episode were the moments where he actually interacted with the environment around him in a way that impacted people other than Fraser by implanting the idea to retreat in McFadden’s mind and having Gerard attempt to grab his hand while dangling in the air. In my memory, it was a lot more ambiguous whether Robert was actually a spirit or a figment of Fraser’s imagination, so that ended up being kind of a fun twist for me. 

Since the other two episodes we watched were very Ray K centric, I’m glad we did one that had a focus on Fraser’s emotional state. The scene where he confronted Robert about stubbornly refusing help in life and  said “I never loved anyone as much as I love you” while Robert was still trying to find ways to derail the conversation is a fan favorite for a reason; it’s a rare, intensely vulnerable moment for Fraser and I really enjoyed the way that Paul Gross pulled back from it a little. In another show with another character, it’s easy to imagine a scene like this being a more blatant, emotional showstopper, with the neglected son saying this in a fit of tearful anger that’s meant to make his father rear back in surprise. Instead, Paul Gross delivers the line in an understated way that’s almost more like puzzled frustration, as if Fraser is trying to piece something together about himself instead, which I thought was a really nice touch to the scene that made it feel very Fraser. I also love the cunning way that Fraser brought it back around just a few minutes later by weaponizing male emotional repression in order to freak out everyone else in the room and gain the upper hand (as well as have an opportunity to annoy Ghost Dad by calling him short) while also delivering some genuine truths: Gerard really did break his heart. 

Last but certainly not least, I adore how Ray kept trying to take care of Fraser throughout the episode in his own grumpy, special way. Sure, trying to orchestrate some Fraser-on-Gerard police brutality didn’t end up being the most well received suggestion, but it’s sweet that he acted extra vengeful to make up for Fraser’s dutiful restraint. I also forgot that the “Mentally Deficient” sticker gag and the tape recorder conversation were both in this episode. The Bickering Married Couple vibes between them were always such a classic part of the show, so it was nice to see that on display. 

Bird in the Hand really held up strongly against my fond memories of it, and I was a little surprised at how easy it was to slide back into this world and be immersed in it after being away for so long. Sometimes I guess you actually can go back home again.  

[kimtaegis]

JAMAIS VU @ Bang Bang Con: The Live (2020)

[raplinenthusiasts]

koobi through the years for @hopegguks 💖

cr. 0613data Bangtan CC for Palestine / donate

[shhhhimwatchingthis]

hey don't know how many ppl are aware of this but Netflix released their first public viewer engagement report and Shadow and Bone season 2 is number 32 GLOBALLY with a staggering 192,900,000 views. (if all those zeros are getting to you, let me put it this way. thats nearly 193 million views from jan-june 2023)

there are over 18,000 items on Netflix's list putting Shadow and Bone in the top 0.17% of ALL CONTENT

do not let Netflix tell you not enough people were watching.

[stealingpotatoes]

Very random but knowing you've read the Grishaverse books I now have to ask how you imagine a meeting between Nikolai and Ezra going down... I feel like they have the exact same charisma levels but like. On opposite ends of the spectrum

oh my god YES!! WEASELLY LITTLE SHITS (affectionate) UNITED!!

(commission info // kofi support!)

[starlessmistake]

Alina Starkov, Costume Details, Shadow and Bone Season 1

[calnexin]

drawing request! wayhaven!alina...perhaps book 4 if you've played...

wayhaven Alina.. that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time

[dragonqueenstormwitch]

zoya ‘hatred’ is so insane to me because like. can we consider her life for a moment. sold by her own mother to be a child bride at age 9. groomed and manipulated in her younger years to serve only the darkling. loses the last person she truly loves (her aunt) when the darkling sets the fold on novokribirsk. watched countless friends and soldiers die during the war.

and you don’t like her because she’s ‘mean’? she’s better than me because if i suffered just one of the things she did, i would be WAY worse than a little mean and spiteful.

also, bear in mind, the same reasons people seem to give for not liking zoya - “she’s mean” “she’s rude to x” “she’s full of herself” are the exact same values they LOVE about male characters like kaz brekker.

[aleksanderscult]

I love, love so much your blog! I recently finished Shadow and Bone trilogy and my head is like no thought, only Darklina xD So I'm really glad to have found this blog and read your thoughtfull meta!

I have so many thoughts about the trilogy (I've read SoC dualogy but I'm not that big of fan) so I will start with this question: What do you think was the purpose of the donkey dream sequency in S&S? I mean this:

Are they very poor? I ask Ana Kuya.

Not so poor as others.

Then why doesn't he buy a donkey?

He doesn't need a donkey, says Ana Kuya. He has a wife.

I'm going to marry Alina, Mal says.

Then Alina has another dream, where she's the girl but then floats to the sky, leaving the salt behind her.

While reading it, I thought it as a metaphor her being afraid of being with Mal, of becoming ordinary girl and being shackled to him. But with the ending of the trilogy, her losing powers and marrying Mal, didn't she just do that? What do you think LB intented to with this scene? I'm interested knowing your interpration.

Thank you so much, sweet anon! And welcome to this fandom!❤️❤️ You remind me of myself as I was almost a year ago. Be warned though: this suffering will never end. 🥲

Admittedly, I haven't analyzed this scene. Probably because it's too weird and painful.

This couple that they see on the road can really bring Malina flashbacks to the reader.

The man is joyful, carefree, whistling away without a care. He's every inch of Mal from the moment he's been introduced to us.

The woman is tired and struggling. She's Alina carrying this power inside of her without knowing it.

The man doesn't seem to care that his wife is exhausted. The same way Mal didn't seem to care when Alina was sick and dragging her feet. There is this obvious subordination that Mal wants to replicate. Unwillingly or not, Leigh Bardugo really kept Mal's character canon with this vision: he always wanted Alina to depend on him, not to have her own independence.

One could say that his statement "I'm going to marry Alina" is irrelevant with the previous conversation but it does look very suspicious, doesn't it? Mal, a mere child now, seeing this couple and finding it normal for the man to dominate his wife. Was he influenced by such scenes and therefore found them normal?

This scene could be interpreted as Baghra giving advice to Alina regarding her powers and what happens if you suppress them.

But still, why does it kinda look like the same "Have power but only so much as" shit again.

And to be grateful for what? For being a Grisha? Or maybe for having enough strength without needing to search for the remaining amplifiers.

Just like I said in the beginning, these scenes are really sad. For a woman to be compared to a donkey, for a young boy that wants to marry her and (very) possibly treat her that way makes you feel depressed inside. Especially if the reader is a woman too.

The first memory could be real. Or (and I lean on this interpretation) Alina unconsciously conjured a metaphor of how her relationship is with Mal. Deep down she knows how things really are (Mal is the master and Alina just a weak girl trying to catch up on this connection by suppressing the thing that keeps her healthy) but she pushes these things aside, deludes herself and clings on her love for him. The same way she did when she lost her powers. Just look what she said in "Rule of Wolves" to the Darkling. "I am happy. You never saw me this way". Meanwhile Alina's mental state: ☠️☠️

But how Bardugo thought about this scene? That Mal just made an innocent, romantic comment that didn't pass the vibe check. I'm very sure that she didn't want him to be sexist here (she cares about this character too much to spoil his reputation) but she bamboozled herself and made him look like a little prick. Ana Kuya's comment "He doesn't need a donkey. He has a wife" probably reflects the sexist world that Leigh created. Which, by the way, would be fine if she had only let her protagonist break away from these kind of "chains" and find her own power and purpose inside this story *gestures towards George R. R. Martin's female characters*.

[rewrite-canon]

“[insert character] should have been evil!” let people be good and nice goddamn it.

[nicecurves]

[tirkdi]

my proposal for why both the darkling and alina seemed so out of character in their scene together in rule of wolves is because they were actually having a (much more interesting) argument via tether at the time. the part of the conversation we see is them doing a bad job of covering it up and trying to play it cool in front of everyone else

[marvelmusing]

i need glitter and gold part 4 so bad 😭

I found what I’ve written for part 4 so far and there’s more of it than I remembered…

[18+ content below]

“Wait,” you say, placing your hand against Aleksander’s chest. He obeys you instantly, freezing in place to watch your expression intently. “Are you sure about this? Both of you?”

Aleksander seems to understand the concern in your eyes as he holds your chin tenderly between his fingers to ensure that your eyes remain locked on his as he nods softly.

“I’m sure.”

“So am I,” Alina says, and you tilt your head back to look at her.

Seeing nothing but desire and determination in her eyes, a small smile tugs at the corner of your lips at the reminder of how much they want you. Aleksander leans closer, tightening his hold on your chin as his lips graze over your throat.

“Do you know how many nights this week I had to fuck Alina because your existence riled her up too much to be satisfied by her own hand?” he purrs with a teasing grin. Then he whispers against your ear. “Do you know how many times I fucked my wife imagining it was you?”

A whimper falls from your lips as you squeeze your eyes closed.

“Too much?” he asks, his words faint.

“Not nearly enough.”

He grins darkly, fingers closing around your throat.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of fun together.”

[pansy-picnics]

sometimes i think about them and then i just start crying

[do-you-ship-this-book-couple]

Do you ship...

[stealingpotatoes]

the way you draw keftas is so pretty ✨

Now I want one for myself to wear and pretend that I am a prophesied Sun Summoner destined to destroy the Fold 😭

THANK YOU!!!! keftas are my absolute favourite thing to draw tbh and i keep drawing them thanks to my alina trilogy reread sooo... have some unposted keftas!!!! (pretend the alinas are u in a kefta)

(commission info // kofi support!)