Cyan (he/him or they/them). Always here for family stories. Actually a penguin blog in disguise. Sidebar gif by the amazing @bikatniss.
One Piece sideblog: @oceanofstardust.
It’s already 2026, so I thought I might look back and create a wrap-up post for the writing I did last year!
In total, I published 27.9k words last year, spread over 8 fics, all for the Alex Rider fandom. It wasn't the best year for writing, unfortunately, but I still managed to post some fics I'm proud of, and I did actually write a fair bit that didn't get posted (but hopefully will in the future).
As always, thanks so much to everyone who took the time to read and leave kudos and comment on my fics, it always makes my day <3
Yassen & Alex
Drinking Lessons (T, 4.8k) - Devil!verse fic where Yassen teaches 16-year-old Alex a lesson about alcohol.
After Alex drinks a bit too much at a New Year's Eve party, Yassen decides to get Alex drunk to teach him about his limits.
Domesticated (T, 8.1k) - Hurt/comfort fic where Yassen takes care of a concussed Alex and his cats.
Alex wakes up with a pounding headache to find that not only is Yassen Gregorovich apparently alive, but he is sitting in Alex’s armchair with a purring cat in his lap, quietly reading a book. It's a lot to take in.
Written for the Spyfest 2025 Gift Exchange.
Yassen/Alex
The Benefits of Friendship (E, 1.2k) - 3x06 AU where Yassen gives Alex a handjob, with implied past John/Yassen.
Set during episode 3x06. Alex and Yassen have to share the only bed in the safe house. When Alex struggles to sleep, Yassen decides to lend a hand.
The Rooftop Revisited (E, 1.1k) - Movieverse yalex PWP.
Another rooftop, another conversation.
"This doesn't change anything," Alex insisted as he let Yassen push him against the wall, already fumbling with Yassen's belt.
Yassen sounded almost amused. "As you say."
The Affair at the Wedding (E, 3.9k) - Post-S3 Yalex where Alex tries to hide he's been drugged with an aphrodisiac.
It’s just Alex’s luck that the next time he sees Yassen after Invisible Sword, he ends up hurt, stuck in a storage cupboard with Yassen, and fighting the effects of a rather potent aphrodisiac.
Exchange treat for @proodence for Spyfest After Dark 2025.
Miscellaneous
Death in Paradise (John & Alex, T, 2.2k) - Ark Angel AU where Alex is saved his father.
A slight change in timing means there is no Tamara Knight to rescue Alex from the Mary Belle. Trapped twenty-two metres below the surface and with his air supply running out, Alex finds himself saved instead by a man who's supposed to be long dead: John Rider.
like ashes in your mouth (Ash & Alex, T, 2.7k) - Snakehead told through Ash's POV.
There are times, during that final mission, when he considers killing the boy in his sleep. It would be a kinder thing to do than this, the way Ash lies to his face while leading Alex to his grave.
Ash's POV on his deception of Alex during the Snakehead mission.
Game Over (Alex, T, 3.9k) - Whump mission fic where Alex gets used as a dartboard before he manages to escape.
When Alex is caught on a mission, the guards come up with a cruel game to torment him. Not for the first time, Alex finds himself hurt and tied up, and with no one to rely on but himself.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Next up someone is going to claim that the Narnia series isn't kids books.
Kids books is probably not the best way to word it, you can enjoy them at every age, including your childhood, as you get older you may find new truths in them, but they're still good for any age.
I want you to understand this. I NEED you to understand this. My mother read me the hobbit as bedtime story, and I started pushing myself to read before pre-school so I could in fact read the hobbit for myself instead of having to wait for bedtime.
I didn't do so right away but jesus wept I PUSHED myself to learn to read SPECIFICALLY so I could read The Hobbit! It is, in fact, a children's story! And children only see page count as 'there is a lot of this fun story to read!'
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
I think nearly all your tv-verse questions have already been asked, but just wanted to let you know that they’re an excellent and detailed selection! perhaps question 7, then?
(personally knew the cage the elephant songs already, became utterly obsessed with the world is mine, and then added heartland, chameleon, nightclub, we just don’t care, and disinfect to my playlists, majority s1 songs!)
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thank you, I'm glad you like the questions! And thanks for asking :D
7. Do you like the soundtrack of the show? What is your favourite use of music in a scene?
I'm afraid my answer here may be disappointing because I didn't actually know any of the songs (or at least I don't remember recognising any). I do like the soundtrack though, especially the intro song. In terms of music in a scene... hmm I liked scenes like Alex breaking into school, I think in general it was mostly used for the kind of heist scenes. Also Alex and Kyra and James breaking into Greif's office.
14 for the Alex Rider TV ask game! Other than the obvious, of course
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thanks for the question!
14. Are there things you're happy the show changed from the books? If so, what are they?
Yeah, I think it goes without saying that I'm very happy Yassen survived. 😆 Aside from that, I was glad the show changed some of the problematic stuff like Mrs Stellenbosch's appearance and the jokes around that, Alex being weirdly hung up on Nile's vitiligo, the latex blackface disguise in Scorpia... Probably for the best lol.
I also looooved them giving Yassen a bigger role in s3 as Alex's tutor and him calling John his friend. 🥰 Alex does think of it as a friendship in the book but Yassen never used that word in the book.
Oh! And I also love how we get to see some of Ian in the show before his unfortunate demise, actually getting to see him interacting with Alex and Jack and Yassen was a lot of fun/very intriguing.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
17 (for potentially obvious reasons) and 20, for the alex rider tv ask game o77
(tumblrs being a bit iffy so if this comes through twice, apologies)
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thanks for asking!
17. If you could commission a hypothetical fourth season, what story would you want it to cover?
I'm going to throw in a wild card and say I think we should revisit the Ark Angel plot but make Drevin some sort of businessman who invests in space tourism while also perhaps funding underworld people. Maybe he's got ties to Scorpia in this? Maybe Yassen has found new employment with him lol. Obviously Alex ends up in space at some point and because it's hypothetical we've got the budget for the CGI to make it actually look pretty cool.
Alex and Kyra and Tom befriend Paul Drevin and idk maybe Alex does save him from getting kidnapped at the start like in the book (he was in the hospital for appendicitis or something in this perhaps lmao) and they all get invited to come along to Flamingo Bay. Yassen is mildly awkward at being spotted working for Drevin but really a job at a Caribbean island is like the next best thing to retiring for an assassin. He's scoping his retirement options, and then Alex shows up again.
20. Which minor character from the show do you think deserves to get more love in fandom?
Steph deserves to get more love, real MVP for her knowing the thing about the British license plates in s2. Also Smoking Mirror deserves more credit for saving Alex's life after Alex lured him out by saying he knows about Damian Cray and then he had pretty much zero info for him lol. He could have just run away but instead he took the time to tell Alex to get out of there/push him away!
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thanks for the questions!
1. Do you have a favourite season? And if so, which is it?
Ohhh it's tricky honestly! I think perhaps season 2? But then season 3 had so much more Yassen and Alex! So maybe season 3. 🤔
6. What is your favourite cinematography moment/the most visually appealing scene in the show?
I think the first one that comes to mind is actually the shots of when they were zipping up Ian's body bag, Blunt coming in to inspect the body etc. Also the lighting in that scene (while a struggle to gif lol) was quite atmospheric. (Edited to add: Also that shot of Yassen shooting Ian!! Really cool shot tbh)
In general, I think the way the show is shot is pretty cool, I think it was @countessrivers who did a post once on the way the show framed certain scenes/having these wider shots with actors centered and it was the first time I really paid attention to it consciously.
Also shout-out to the Latin America yellow filter in the Nicaragua flashback because I do like how it makes John and Yassen look lmao.
19. What is your favourite outfit/wardrobe choice in the show?
Gotta love Yassen and his perpetual black coat. Perfect all weather coat, stylish yet anonymous. Alex's K7 outfit was also so funny because like what was that even based on 😂 Since K7 is actually Kyra and no one knows, I assume she didn't exactly show her face before. Did Tom help Alex dress based on what Jonas (the other player) looked like?
9, 15, and 18 for the Alex Rider TV ask game please 👀
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thanks for asking!
9. What is your favourite Alex whump moment?
SO many good ones to pick from but since we just covered it in the rewatch and it's a great one, I'm going with Alex being all whumped at the end of 2x03 after watching Smoking Mirror get killed in front of his eyes and then running for his life from Yassen (his hallucinations come to life!!) and probably nearly twisting an ankle jumping down from that railing. He really did look like he was going to cry when he limped away/went back to school in 2z04, A++ acting too.
15. What is a missing scene from the show that you'd love to see?
Ohhh I would love to see more of the training at Malagosto. How much did Alex and Yassen hang out together?? Also Yassen and Alex travelling back to London, which surely they must have done together?? Did they take a plane? Did they wear disguises? Did Yassen fly them in a helicopter?
18. Which two characters that never shared scenes in the TV series would you most like to see interacting?
Okay so the first thing that comes to mind is that I actually think it would have been really cool and interesting if Kyra met Yassen. Like especially if she also thinks he may have killed her parents! I'd love it to be a scene with some real tension because we're still worried about Yassen killing people too.
I also think it would have been fun if Smoking Mirror was around for a while longer, if maybe Kyra and Alex and Tom would have hung out with him for a while and we'd get Kyra and Smoking Mirror interacting and both being good hackers. Maybe hiding out at another hacker space? Kyra getting them to Smoking Mirror in his hide out before Yassen found him?
#12! Personally, I can’t handle watching the last episode of S1 (where Julius screws up his relationships with Tom and Ayisha) and the bit where Sabina unintentionally gaslights Alex because I absolutely die from second hand embarrassment every time 🫣
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thanks for the question!
12. Are there any scenes you skip when you rewatch the show?
Omg second-hand embarrassment is so real sometimes. I can't watch the scene where all the social workers and immigration people show up in the first ep and Alex tries to call Blunt/the Department and then he's like 'I don't even need to call, do i? You're listening right now' and everyone is STARING at him before they get called off. It's the second-hand embarrassment getting to me for real 😭😭
I unfortunately also have to skip some scenes in 3x07 because I get too worked up, specifically the bits where Crawley and Smithers are like 'take off the handcuffs' because I will be yelling at my screen like 'no put them back on!!' 😆 But then that ep also has some scenes I loved a lot (the flashbacks/reveals) so some real emotional highs and lows in that episode haha
I have to say though, it's been fun doing a rewatch with some people lately, because it's actually forcing me to rewatch scenes I might otherwise have skipped through just to get to bits I loved, and it makes me pay closer attention to the story the show is trying to tell.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
For the Alex Rider TV ask game. Thanks for the questions!
5. If there's one thing you can change about the plot of (one of) the episodes, what would it be?
Ohhh tricky, tricky. instead of fixing something I wasn't a fan of let's instead go with something I think would be really fun: what if Alex had run into Yassen again while trying to escape Cray headquarters after pretending to be K7 and stealing the game? 👀 We can have one more meeting with Yassen showing little interest in actually killing Alex and Alex being confused about it.
8. Which actors do you think best embodied their role? Does anyone stand out in particular?
As you will no doubt agree, Thomas Levin as Yassen is A+++. Perfect scary/threatening Yassen while also showing those glimpses of emotion when Alex is involved. I thought the young John actor was also pretty good even if I pictured him differently. And Toby Stephens was a great Damian Cray in s2l!
10. What is your favourite quote or bit of dialogue from the show?
I really liked the bit in s3 where Syl and Alex talk about killing:
Alex: We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Syl: You will get to it. It's where the road leads.
Loved the way it highlighted that Alex is playing a dangerous game thinking he can join Scorpia and not be forced to kill or go along with Scorpia. Also really loved Yassen's speech about how one day he'll be given a target and he will need to treat it just like the paper target on his wall. So ominous!
