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sheikah · 3 years

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did leigh actually used to encourage darklina shippers?

To an extent, yes!!! Using a cut because I have A Lot to say, apparently.

Look, I’m not saying that she walked around claiming they would be endgame or anything lol. And honestly, I saw the writing on the wall reading the trilogy. It was clear to me during book three before I even read the ending that Darklina would not be endgame. I think most Darklinas understand this. I don’t feel “baited.” For most people, the issue is that as a person, like outside of the texts themselves, her public persona and response to Darklina shifted dramatically after R&R was published. The reaction to it from the fandom was... not good. I’m guessing reviews plus actual hate she got in her inbox here on tumblr soured her on that part of the fandom a bit. It’s understandable. Though a part of me also thinks she was so pro-Darkling in interactions with readers during the writing progress to keep Darkling stans reading...

But it’s a fact that she used to be active on that blog, and while the books were still being written and published, she frequently reblogged and complimented Darklina fanon content. She followed the user who at that time (it’s a different person now) had the @/alarkling (other ship name for Darklina) url and reblogged their edits all the time. Extremely shippy graphics that used book quotes and/or song lyrics and stuff. She also reblogged fanmixes of Darklina tracks, Darklina fanart, etc. Also, before R&R was published, she released sneak peeks including the “let me” scene and the moment when Aleksander says, “I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.” That’s honestly one of his darkest moments imo and people were (and still are) making shippy romantic edits with it, and she was reblogging them lol. She even posted specifically saying how much she loved that people were using that particular quote. Now she didn’t usually tag these reblogs and stuff so you’d just have to go way back into the past of her blog to see this stuff, but it’s there.

There’s also this tweet where she says “all ships are welcome in this harbor” in answer to someone saying they ship Darklina, and this tagline

that was the original tagline for Shadow and Bone!!! (Which I’m assuming she was aware of and approved).

So I guess most of this only matters because of how different she is now, how she shares fanon content on insta frequently but almost never Darkling or Darklina content. How she’s said some pretty harshly anti stuff in interviews at times. I guess it’s worth knowing she only changed her tune later. But tbh, whether or not she publicly endorses the ship doesn’t really matter?

Because the thing is, Darklina was canon. There doesn’t really need to be a lot of discourse validating the ship or not. It wasn’t endgame, but the Darkling was Alina’s love interest and a pretty big and crucial one who she continued to have canon romance scenes with all the way into book three. It’s wild to me seeing the fandom try to fake news their way out of this sometimes now. I saw a popular screenshot floating around (it was popular because it had show spoilers) where an anti was chatting with a screener trying to get info about the show, and in it the anti was like “Yeah Darklina wasn’t a thing in the books. Alina just hated him.” And tbh... no? Lmao like no that’s just straight up not how it was at all. Just... objectively untrue. Darklina was a romantic, canon--just not endgame--ship. We don’t have to mine the text for clues, we don’t have to write giant meta (though I enjoy doing so lmao), and we don’t need to take our cues from Leigh’s social media presence because the ship is a thing. It’s there. But I get why some people are interested in her take on the ship because it would be validating and pleasant if she could acknowledge Darklinas sometimes. But I think those days are over haha.

#answered

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aleksanderscult · 2 months

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The way Alina's light blends with Aleksander's darkness, the way he looks at her and the way they hold hands.

They were destined to meet and fall in love with each other and the antis can scream whatever they want.

Bardugo, fuck this ship up through your annotations and you'll see me in your walls. 🙂

#the couple of the decade and haters just can't handle it #it has been 12 years since they were first introduced to the world and they remain iconic #the darkling #alina starkov #darklina #pro darklina #pro darkling #aleksander morozova #pro aleksander morozova #alarkling #pro alarkling #grishaverse #shadow and bone #grishaverse trilogy

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darklinaforever · 4 months

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When I see people saying at face value that there should be an ethical way to study Grisha in Shu Han, and that the persecution of the Grisha is not inherently problematic, I clearly lose faith in humanity.

How stupid can you be ?!

And yes, I have no qualms about being vulgar, because this kind of talk is disgusting.

Typically only used for the purpose of proving that the Darkling hasn't tried hard enough to include Grisha in society (seriously, wtf?), or proving that he is extremely problematic to an almost stupid degree. While as a reminder, the Grisha persecution has existed since long before the Darkling...

The anti-Darkling and Darklina think they are intelligent and right-thinking, when in reality, they simply have no brains. At this point of stupidity it's not possible.

I'm really torn between laughing and crying now.

#the darkling #pro darkling #aleksander morozova #darklina #alarkling #pro darklina #pro alarkling #pro aleksander morozova #alina starkov #anti leigh bardugo #grishaverse #grisha #the grisha trilogy #shadow and bone #siege and storm #ruin and rising

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degenderates · 4 years

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I hope they don't erase Mal/ Alinas toxity in the TV adaptation. It'd be a great example that heroes aren't automatically good people when it comes to relationships & the treatment of their partner.

That's true. I don't really worry that they'll erase the toxicity of darklina because it's pretty glaringly obvious but I hope they show the faults of malina as well. All relationships have problems. And of course, although I don't doubt that they'll show the good parts of malina, I hope they'll show the draw of darklina too.

I do really think that showing the faults of heroes are important...

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cultofthestarless · 4 years

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are u a cult or not confirm / deny 🤔🤔🤔

hi anon! we’re just a group of grishaverse fans who, while not necessarily supporting some of the darkling’s problematic actions, banded together because of some of our mutual opinions about the pros/cons of alarkling and tgt/soc/kos.

so no, we are not a cult explicitly dedicated to worshipping the darkling as the cult of the starless saint is in the books, but we do offer members a safe place to rant and talk about alina/the darkling/alarkling without being attacked for their opinions.

not all of us are defined alarkling shippers (although some are, ofc). in fact, one of our mods prefers alina to be alone and not with anyone. however, we named ourselves cultofthestarless because it seems even the people who slightly like the darkling or alarkling are attacked by the fandom. i (the moderator mentioned above), if given an ask “malina or darklina,” would choose neither. however, this grishaverse discord chat gives me a place to talk about my opinions without having to monitor every single word i type because of potential backlash.

if you do define “cult” as a system of devotion towards a particular topic, then we are technically a “cult” for grishaverse books.

#anon #asks #cultofthestarless #clarification !!

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shirewalker · 6 years

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alarkling + 30 ≧ω≦

I haven’t proof-read this and I’m sick so I won’t do it because I won’t do anything lol but here ya go! :D I was a bit tricky but I hope you like it ;3

Rated T for suggestive stuff ;)

+ “You can call me whenever you want… Even if you don’t have a reason to.”

Alina watched snow lazily flutter to the ground, thankful for the builtof this house that kept the cold outside. She loved snow. She enjoyed coldweather quite a lot as well. But she also loved to cosy up under a thickblanket, sitting by the fireplace and watching winter unfold through a window.

It was one of the few pleasures of life she could still enjoy withoutworrying for her safety.

“All phone calls and uses of internet are to be done through theanonymous lines, Alina.” Aleksander Morozova, her handler, said from the deskas he finished setting up a laptop. He shut the lid and walked to the fireplaceto feed it another log. “Remember that, always.”

She nodded, a bit annoyed that her cosy fantasy had been invaded by thefact that she was supposed to be a ghost now. Her studies on solar energy hadraised the alarms in several high-profile and secret companies, all of whichwanted nothing more than to shut her down. She had found a way to harness solarpower in easy and cheap ways that would allow anyone in the world to survivejust by building their own solar panels and using a basic, general store boughtbattery. No one would have thought her study to be enemy-worthy, but soon Alinafound out that a few men out there were out to get her. Her situation only gotworse when she overheard a discussion on how to remove for good her and otherscientists that were also pro-renewable energy.

“Alina?” His smooth cool voice called.

Alina nodded once more, “I know. You parroted that to me at least tentimes in the last ten minutes. No phone calls unless it’s through youruntraceable phone and no internet unless it’s through that fancy laptop ofyours. And even then, I really shouldn’t contact anyone at all.” She cut him aglare, “I can’t call anyone. I can’t rant about having a bad day or ask how myfriends’ day was. I can’t do anything but hole up in here and hope your spiesfind enough evidence to put away all those goons and assassins that killed halfmy colleagues and are out to get me and the rest of the team.”

Agent Morozova set his jaw and looked away, “I know this is a toughsituation, Alina, but it’s the only way to keep you and your work alive.”

She scoffed and looked back at the wintry scenery as it slowly turnedwhite. It wouldn’t be fully covered until the next day, but did she haveanything better to do? “It’s always that, isn’t it? So long the work is safe,the people involved don’t really matter.”

“Stop that.” Agent Morozova uttered, his tone harsh, “Stop wallowing inyour misery. Your work is important just as much as you are. Even more. Withoutyou, it wouldn’t even exist.”

Alina kept her gaze on the falling snow, “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”She got up and walked to her room, tiny but with enough space for a scientistwith a love for arts to spend her free time. And Alina had plenty now…

A knock startled her away from her open and empty sketchbook. They’dbeen there for a week now and she had yet to put a pencil to its blank pages.“What?” She shot at the door.

Morozova’s voice came through, muffled by the thick wood, “I want you toknow that… You can call me. Whenever you need. Even if you don’t have anyreason to.”

Alina swallowed down a bitter remark, startled by the softness of hiswords, “Thank you…”

A pause, “Goodnight, Alina.”

–

Two months had passed since being assigned to this desolate location.Two months of being Anya Kuya during the rare outings she did with AgentMorozova to the nearest town. Two months of knowing nothing of her real life.

Two months of living in close quarters with a man that was nothing shortof handsome.

Alina’s bitterness over her situation had dwindled to just a few baddays once in a while. Every other day was either a blur in her memory or a daywhen she succeeded in doing some sketches or working on her project. Of course,with nothing else but what she remembered doing, the moments she spent workingon her project were… not as many as she’d liked. And then there was Aleksander Morozova.

The man was supposedly the superior in whatever team had been in chargeof extracting and protecting her team. He had no business in simple witnessprotection. But he was here with her nevertheless. During the two months they’dbeen in this little house, Alina had grown to know him a little better. He wasrarely moody, but he was also rarely in a happy, all smiles mood. In fact, shehad yet to see him smile. Or saints forbid, laugh. He also enjoyed reading asmuch as she did. Half the content of the baggage he picked up from a secretlocation on their way here was full of books. Many were titles and genres sheenjoyed – which begged the question on how they knew this – and many othersended up being his. Blini was his preferred breakfast idea, which meant thatevery morning Alina would wake up to the smell of fresh blini, ready to beeaten.

He had a sweet tooth.

Alina discovered this during their first trip to the nearest town. She’dbeen dying to buy some cookies and had expected her protector to gloomthroughout the entire time she spent in the bakery picking all the sweets thatcaught her eye. Instead, Aleksander Morozova had helped with her choices. Hehad even insisted on purchasing a batch specifically for the ride home. Whichwas eaten mostly by him, witnessed by Alina’s own eyes.

Oh, and then there was the minor factor that he was probably the humanform of a Greek god. Hades, perhaps. Since he enjoyed black so much, was alwaysvery sombre but had a love for sweets and pops of colour here and there. Ascarf, an undershirt, socks. Well, what she always liked to think of Hadesanyway. Not that she had ever wondered if such god happened to have well-tonedmuscles under his robes. But Aleksander Morozova had made her wonder suchthing. And given her plenty of chances to gather facts.

Two months had passed. And Alina was very much attracted to agentMorozova.

–

White covered the sights until Alina couldn’t see anything else. Andoutside, Aleksander Morozova gathered more wood for their fireplace.

Alina bit her lip, already anticipating the moment he would walk in,sweat beading down his temples, only his undershirt covering his torso. Aftersetting down the logs, he would announce to need a quick shower and move to thebathroom. And Alina would steal a glance as he took off his shirt right beforeclosing the door behind him. This would be sweet fuel for her dreams later thatnight. Sweet, sweet fuel.

Just on cue, agent Morozova walked in, a pile of logs in his arms. Heshook his head and snow drifted off of him, “We should gather more tomorrowafter lunch. There’s a storm coming and we really don’t need wet wood.” He setdown the logs and took a deep breath.

I need a shower.

Alina could already hear those sweet words.

“I need a shower,” She barely could contain herself as he uttered thosewords, though she did keep her best poker face on. “But…” He hesitated, “Ialready had one this morning, we should save water.”

Alina almost cried foul at this. No shower? No sight of her protector’swonderful body? How was she supposed to sleep peacefully that night?

“Are you sure, agent? A quick shower won’t hurt.” She offered asnonchalantly as possible. She even went as far as to turn the page of her bookand yawn a bit.

Morozova chuckled, the sound send shivers tricking down her spine.“Please, Alina… Call me Aleksander. We’ve been here long enough to be on afirst name basis.”

She licked her lips once, “Okay… Aleksander.”

Aleksander visibly trembled at the sound. And for the first time Alinawondered if maybe, just maybe, he happened to be as attracted to her as she wasto him.

He walked towards her, stopping just a step away. Alina looked up andstared into those magnetic silver eyes. A maelstrom of emotions battled in hiseyes. Aleksander seemed to be at war with himself. But over what?

“Alina…” He rasped and she parted her lips in surprise. This was new. Anew and unexpected sound. And one that was far too… intimate for a casualconversation. Immediately, she was thrown into a fantasy of the two of themtangled in each other’s arms. Naked, breathless, bodies hot and thrumming withpent up desire. A moment passed in silence, Aleksander staring into her eyes,Alina waiting for his next words.

But then he shook his head and turned away, almost running back to hisroom. Leaving behind a breathless and very turned on Alina.

–

Two weeks had passed since that charged moment. And not a day, not anhour had passed without that charge being present. Every good morning seemed tohave something else dangling on it. Every stack of blini seemed to be an invitationto talk about that night. Every accidental touch was almost enough to killAlina on the spot.

And every time Aleksander went to take care of firewood… The tension wasgrowing too heavy. Alina needed a release soon or she would combust.

Another storm had hit their house. Winter was relentless this high upnorth. White surrounded them every day and Alina had yet to grow tired of thescenery. It offered a kind of peace and quiet that she hadn’t tasted yet. Andshe liked it. It almost made her situation not as crazy as it was.

Speaking of crazy…

It was two in the afternoon. And Alina was reading a book. Or rather,reading the same page for the tenth time in a row. Lunch had been a close call,with Aleksander’s hands brushing hers as she handled him their dishes. She’dlingered longer than needed and Aleksander had breathed her name in that waythat always had her eyes rolled in their sockets. The moment had been growingand growing… Until Aleksander looked away and continued washing the dishes.

Now they sat in the living room, each busy pretending nothing hadhappened.

It was getting crazy. This game of theirs. And it was unbearable, sounbearable that some days all Alina wanted to do was sit on Aleksander’s lapand make him face what was happening between the two.

She shut her book with a loud thud and stood up, “I can’t stand this.I’m going to my room.”

Aleksander looked up, startled with her bluntness, “What?”

“I said, I’m going to my room.” She was halfway to her door when a handcaught her elbow and twisted her back into Aleksander’s chest. She let out agasp as her body collided with his.

Aleksander looked down into her eyes, breathing heavily. He parted hislips, but it took him a long moment before uttering any sound, “Did I hurtyou?” She shook her head, mute with surprise, “Tell me.”

Two words. Just two words. Alina didn’t need any more to know what hemeant, “We’ve been here for weeks, months, spending time with no one else buteach other. There’s something between us and you keep evading it, making a foolout of me because of that!”

“Wanting makes fools out of us. Makes us weak.”

She grabbed handfuls of his shirt and hissed, “Then let’s be weak. Isthere anything else to do? We’re stuck here together. I want to be weak. I wantyou!” Aleksander held his silence, though Alina could feel the way he trembledunder her touch. His resolve was only this strong if she kept at bay. And todayshe was tired of doing just that. “You said I could call you whenever I wanted…Well, I’m calling you now, Aleksander.”

An earthquake took over his body, building up slowly until even his eyesseemed to shake with how hard he held himself back. Aleksander wanted herterribly and yet he held back. Alina took a bold move and pressed forward,closing the space between them.

“I’m calling you…” She whispered.

Aleksander swallowed down, his head bent towards her. Alina held herbreath as he slowly bent forward, his face growing closer with each heartbeatthat passed between them. Her eyes fluttered closed when his lips were just abreath away from hers, but a moment passed and she had yet to feel him.

His breath was scalding hot against the hollow below her ear, “Wantingmakes us weak…” He brushed his lips across her skin and Alina shudderedvisibly, holding fast to his shirt as her knees threatened to give in,“Wanting…” He kissed her jaw, “Makes us…” He pressed another kiss further alongher jaw, “So very…” His lips were on the corner of her thirsty mouth, “Weak.”And then he kissed her.

Alina dove into the kiss with weeks-worth of pent up desire. Hungry,thirsty, desperate to taste Aleksander. She met each pull and press and tug ofhis with her own pulls and presses and tugs and it still wasn’t enough. Hishands were deep in her hair, and she pulled hard on his. And still it wasn’tenough.

Aleksander pressed her against the wall and Alina let out a moan, hiships hard against hers. He picked her up in one swift movement. She locked herlegs around his waist. And it was almost enough.

“I want you so badly…” She moaned into the kiss, breaking apart just alittle, just to gather some air before quickly diving back in. Saints,Aleksander tasted like heaven laced with sinful activities.

His reply was a roll of his hips, silently showing her how badly he wanted her. Alina smiled, her lipsswollen but still hungry. Yes. Delicious. What a night they would have. What anight… “Alina…” Aleksander breathed against her lips, a hand snaking under hersweater and the layers under it.

She nodded, desperate for everything he had to offer, “Yes, please… Iwant you, all of you…” She arched her back as he played with her bra, “Make mescream… Make me scream your name…”

Aleksander unhooked her bra and nuzzled his face against her pulse. Amoment later he was teasing her skin, making Alina gasp for air and dig hernails deep into his scalp. “Scream my name? That sounds… interesting.”

He took her to her room.

And Alina did indeed scream his name. Several times.

#grisha fic #alarkling #theleiaskywalker #alina starkov #the grisha trilogy #the darkling #grisha #my writing #my brain is random sometimes. I hope this isn't TOO random lol xD #Questions #otp: midnight picnics #when you're sick and you write a whole new ship tag because your brain is like that

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aleksanderscult · 2 months

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Analyzing Aleksander's reaction to Alina's loss of her power

(I'm so sick and tired of seeing people use his "You are nothing now" words as a way to justify how he didn't love her that I decided to create a whole ass post about it.)

First of all, let's see what the powers of a Grisha mean to a Grisha, shall we?

For a Grisha her powers is the same thing as the oxygen is for all humans. The constant beat of a person's heart.

Indispensable.

And in a way it's implied that a Grisha cannot live without it. Just like birds can naturally fly, just like a fish can naturally swim. It's part of their nature, part of their body and soul.

Now let's see Aleksander's reaction to Alina's loss of her power.

The moment he saw Alina being unable to summon, he froze. At first he's in denial of what he sees.

How can a Grisha not being able to use her power? A power that is always there no matter what? A power that "feeds" them and keeps them healthy and alive.

We see Aleksander being in a state of shock as he tries to comprehend what is happening with her:

He had never seen anything like that. A Grisha losing her powers is unheard of. Impossible.

He tries again and again to summon her light and bring it to the surface. The fact that he can't feel it causes him panic and pain. In a way, he can't find her soul.

And the very fact that she also lost her collar and feter is impossible too. When a Grisha claims an amplifier, a connection is made that can't be broken.

Another fatal loss for Alina and a disastrous blow for Aleksander and his knowledge, since he knows more than anyone else how amplifiers work and how a Grisha's power work. All the hundreds of years he had spent watching and studying the ways of the Small Science and of power, have gone to waste right now as he tries to understand what is going on with the woman he loves.

His near immortality and rare powers always made him seek someone else to connect with. Someone to understand him and be on the same level as him.

People say that he never actually wanted Alina to be his equal. Well, based on his words and reaction here, I would say he wanted to.

Right now there's no pretense, no tricks or a façade. We see him "naked" and exposed showing us his terror of Alina's loss and despair for his fate. Of being alone forever.

"You were meant to be like me."

Aleksander wanted her strong and confident. Unafraid to rise above the others and to stand right beside him.

"You're nothing now."

I know it sounds cruel but it is true.

If a bird lost its ability to fly or a fish its ability to swim, would you call that normal? If a person stopped breathing or her heart stopped beating, would you call her alive and whole?

Alina lost the very essence of her being, her soul and identity. What happened to her was something completely unnatural and just wrong. Aleksander has lived for centuries and knows more about the Grisha than anyone else (except of course his mother) so he knows that what happened to her, has crippled her. She's not the Alina she was. And she's never gonna be.

It's not a statement of disgust, apathy or scorn. They're words of pain and mourning. Shock and anger.

It's a complete ruin for Alina.

A devastation and tragedy for the unfortunate Grisha that experiences it for the first time in their history. And an equal devastation and sorrow for the Grisha that watched it happen to the person he cared most about.

And it's actually funny how Aleksander seems to be the only person that was devastated for what happened to her.

Everyone else was:

"Alina lost her powers"

"Okay cool".

In a way you can say that it was proof of how he was the one that truly cared about her fate while the rest of her friends didn't seem to give two flying fucks.

The Darkling just gave up.

All he had fought for, all the patience he had mastered for years waiting for his equal to come, went to dust right in front of him.

In a way he committed suicide and just let Alina kill him.

Now if he didn't love her as some people say, why did he do these things after she lost her powers?:

1) Called her to his side and searched for her hand to hold it.

2) Smiled at her and stroked her tears.

3) Entrusted her with his last wish because he'd seen her kindness and believed in it.

4) Asked her to say his name one more time so he could hear it from her one last time. A name that he had probably never said to anyone else for centuries.

5) Begged her to not leave him alone while he died because loneliness frightened him.

I'm sorry but if I was dying, I wouldn't want anyone at my side but the people that I loved the most. And Aleksander wanted the same too.

There's no way he felt disgust or anger towards Alina even after she stabbed him. Whatever she did, he forgave. And whatever happened to her in the end didn't stop him from loving her and wanting her presence at his side until his own end.

(didn't really love her, my ass)

#the darkling #pro darkling #darklina #pro darklina #yes because when you smile at the person that stabbed you and wipe her tears then you must hate her #oh! and let's not forget how he wanted to see her the moment he got resurrected!#that man came back from the underworld and said “Where is she?! Where's my wife?!”#like daamnn calm down you lovesick fool #oof #aleksander morozova #pro aleksander morozova #alina starkov #alarkling #pro alarkling #ruin and rising #shadow and bone #grishaverse trilogy #grishaverse

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