Yassen/Alex

Yassen/Alex or Yalex is the most popular ship in Alex Rider fandom. In canon Yassen Gregorovich is Alex's nemesis, since he was sent off to kill him in the first volume of the series, Stormbreaker.
==Canon==
There are three different versions of Yassen Gregorovich depending on the canon--books (blond hair), movie (red hair) and TV show (dark brown hair). Fandom freely mixes between them but the movie version is much less popular now.
Although Yassen only appears in 3 books (one a prequel and retelling of the first book), he has had a large presence, being one of the few recurring characters and having very interesting interactions with Alex Rider. He is an assassin who trained with Alex's father, and murdered Alex's uncle. During their interactions Alex has vowed to kill Yassen and Yassen has refused to kill Alex.
Alex's POV of Yassen is unusual in focusing on Yassen's attractiveness:
In contrast, Alex shows very little awareness or interest when Sabina flirts with him in the books, further fuelling Yalex shippers.
Despite multiple opportunities to do so, Yassen has refused to kill Alex, even when Alex is directly working against Yassen's goals. Yassen has shown he has respect and admiration for Alex, and interest in Alex's wellbeing, such as when he tells Alex to go back to school and not work for MI6. However, he does not go soft on Alex, and has forced or allowed Alex to be put into dangerous situations. It is possible that he believes Alex capable of rescuing himself.
The climactic moment of the pairing is when Yassen is shot by Cray after refusing to kill Alex. In the books he confesses his love for Alex and his father before dying. In the TV show Yassen does not mention love but gives Alex his gun and confesses he knew Alex's father. The TV show does not kill off Yassen, following in the fandom's footsteps of ignoring Yassen's death.
The love confession in Eagle Strike was famously censored from the American version of the book.
The movie is famous for one particular scene between Yassen and Alex. Very dubiously directed with violins, smoke machines and impassioned dialogue, it reads more like a break-up rather than a confrontation between two enemies.Alex Rider Stormbreaker - Rooftop scene 12 March 2022
The TV show has correctly determined that Yassen is a big draw of the series and has centred much of the intrigue and mystery around Yassen and his relationship to Alex. Although the TV show lacks the big dramatic scenes from the books and TV show it has included several extra interactions between them, and Yassen's reactions to Alex. For example, Yassen's smile when he recognises Alex for the first time, Yassen trying to direct Cray's attention away from Alex in season 2, and Alex talking in therapy about how he can't stop thinking about Yassen.
==Fandom==
The first Yassen/Alex fic posted online is Les Chroniques d'Alex Rider de novice à expert on 11 February 2007. A few months later the first English fic for the ship was published: The Price To Pay by Henry the HAP on 30 June 2007.
The first Yassen/Alex themed fan community, Yassen_Alex, was founded on LiveJournal in April 2008 by moderators abrandnewboom and yaseanne. This community was later mirrored on DreamWidth in case copyright complaints threatened the LJ community in future. Fans can still create LiveJournal accounts and join the LJ community to browse community discussion and fanfiction posts.
Early Yassen/Alex was very much influenced by Damian Lewis's portrayal of Yassen in the Stormbreaker movie, and many fanart from back then portrayed ginger Yassen. Following cues from canon the ship was very focused on Yassen ravishing Alex, with many works featuring noncon, dubcon, underage and kidnapping. Modern fandom has mellowed a little, and there are now many fics that are set post-canon when Alex is older, featuring a more consensual enemies to lovers relationship.
Statistics consistently show Yassen/Alex as the most popular pairing of the fandom, whether on fanfiction.netAlex Rider Ship Week. A History of Alex Rider Fandom by rirren and pongnosis, 07 March 2022. (Accessed 12 June 2022) or AO3Alex Rider Ship Week. Shipping in 2022, 27 February 2022. (Accessed 12 June 2022). This is not uncontroversial however. The pairing involves an adult assassin antagonist and a teenage spy, and many people object to the underage element, the enemies element, or the unsuitability of the ship in a canon aimed at children. From time to time there is hate posted on tumblr or twitter and the fandom has received copyright notices aimed at Yalex fanfiction in particular.
==Fannish Tropes==
*Yassen Gregorovich Lives - This is one of the top 10 additional tags on AO3 for the fandom in general, but Yalex fandom in particular likes to ignore Yassen's canonical death in order to explore the aftermath of Yassen's deathbed confession.
*Noncon/Dubcon - Unsurprising for an enemies ship with a power and age difference, this is a popular trope for the ship. Roughly 18% of tagged Yalex fics on AO3 contain dubcon or noncon76 fics tagged with noncon or dubcon, out of a total of 419 Yalex fics on AO3. Accurate as of 12 June 2022
*Enemies to Lovers
*Futurefic - This is popular for shippers who like the Yassen/Alex dynamic but not the underage element. Many fics are set in the future where Alex is working for MI6 as an adult.
==Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
*Specific Performance by BurntWhisper
*One Year by BurntWhisper
*The Singers and the Endless Song by galimau
*Dulce Periculum by wewillalwaysenduphere
*In and Out of Frame by wewillalwaysenduphere
*Shit Show at the Fuck Factory by wewillalwaysenduphere (a Succession crossover)
*The Alec Walker Series by Nanimok
*Spies and Recreation by Nanimok
*Tethered, Wrapped Around by wewillalwaysenduphere
*Burning a Dead Man's Fingertips by GreenQueenofClubs
*Our Endless Numbered Days by galimau
*Sun Poisoning by fElBiTeR
*Keep You Like An Oath by abrandnewboom
*Chapter Seventeen Remix by abrandnewboom
*Twisting, Turning, Tumbling by ShiruyTheSecond
*Interlude by Suzie_Shooter
*Medicine by Suzie_Shooter
*Midnight Smoke by Hijja
*Face the truth by capeofstorm
*Lights Out by Suzie_Shooter
*Villa in the Sun by BoldAsBrass
*Sting in the Tail by Suzie_Shooter
*Rarely Pure and Never Simple by fElBiTeR
*Just Say I Do by Nanimok
*Open Invitation by Suzie_Shooter
*Flirting with Danger by BoldAsBrass
*A Little Pat Down by Nanimok
*Salty the Sweat on my Fingertips by galimau
*Slipping Through My Fingers by Nanimok
*Quietly into the Night by loony_lucifer
===Meta===
*Yalex Shippy Moments, 14 May 2022 (Accessed 12 June 2022)
*First Touch: Incidences of Intimacy Between Yassen Gregorovich and Alex Rider by H.J. Bender, 22 November 2010. (Accessed 6 June 2021)
==Archives, Communities & Resources==
*Yassen Gregorovich/Alex Rider tag at AO3
*yassen/alex LiveJournal community
*Alex/Yassen tag on the ARchive
==References==
Category:Alex Rider
Category:Slash Pairings