I’d suggest blocking anyone being a jerk about Darklina, whether directly or in Grisha related tags. It’s made for a much better fandom experience to ignore them completely. And it’s much more pleasant to review the tags.

oh for sure!! i will 100% be doing that:) thanks so much !!

Don’t let anyone make you feel like you have to justify why you like a fictional character or ship! It’s fiction so go for it! ✨

OMG whoever you are THANK U so much!!! i was defs getting sad a little cuz like?? u know its just kinda crazy but thank u so much !!

so i just got called out for liking darklina. I am so sick of it honestly. Just let me like who I want to like in peace!! Its fictional bro. I understand that he is a bad person, and in no way do I agree with his actions at all, but I do like his dynamic with Alina, and honestly just think they would have made an EPIC duo together. You can tell alina is attracted to him, even after everything!! also have u seen the darkling.. this man is FINE AS HELL OKAY PLZ

All I am saying is that this show will bring out new fans and new ship wars, which is fine! But everyone can have their own opinions. Again, its fictional.

I just find him to be the most compelling out the shadow and bone trilogy. period. Everytime he came on the page, I would just get super excited what he was going to do next. Him and Alina had alot of tension, which I did not really get with Mal whatsoever.

I want to hear what my fellow darlkina’s think about this, and why we like him and alina so much:)

i need to read some fanfic!! any good ones of darklina???! 

I 100% AGREE WITH EVERYTHING SAID HERE! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT ND HONESTLY SUCH AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION TO HAVE!

I’ve heard a few gripes about casting Ben Barnes as the Darkling because of the age difference with Jessie Mei Li as Alina, and while I can understand where this is coming from (I think we’re all tired of seeing women in their early 20s having to play love interests to actors who are like, double their age or older), I don’t actually think this is a big deal in this case because the narrative doesn’t validate the relationship. Casting an actor who’s obviously older was intentional in order to make it clear that this relationship isn’t a healthy one (both because of the age difference and the power imbalance).

Like, I know I’m going to get really uncomfortable with watching the Alarkling kiss scene and any other scene between them that’s along those lines, but that’s exactly the point. It’s in line with how the ship was portrayed (or rather, reality checked) in King of Scars (which made it clear that it was not a healthy dynamic).

The only thing that this might throw off in terms of the story is that the Darkling looking younger is supposed to be a bit of a red herring in making him come off as less threatening than he actually is. But for me, I actually think that because it’s much more plausible for a 35-40 year old (rather than a 20-25 year old) to be the commander of a large army and wield so much power and influence, this adds an air of realism and wouldn’t raise as many red flags.

That said, I kind of suspect that a lot of the pushback is coming from Alarkling shippers who are worried that this is going to make it hard for them to ship. In that case, speaking for myself as an Alarkling shipper, I think that because the Darkling is literally way older than Alina anyway, it doesn’t really matter how old he looks as long as he’s really attractive. Like, what should be troubling about Alarkling is that the Darkling *is* older, not just that he *looks* older, so having him look closer to her age isn’t going to take away from the toxicity. Do you get what I’m saying?

Like, I kind of get it from an aesthetic pov, but it feels kind of odd to say that you’re all of the sudden going to have a hard time shipping an older character in a position of authority with his much younger subordinate only when he looks (closer to) his age, when you had no problem shipping the exact same dynamic but with a younger face attached to it. I think that sort of double standard is exactly what this casting was meant to call out and I hope this sparks a really productive discussion around it.

I mean, for me personally, I don’t ship Alarkling because it’s healthy or ideal. I ship it because I’m interested in the toxicity, the one-sided pining, the mutually assured destruction, and the potential for hatesex (which, btw, doesn’t mean that I condone any of that irl). I see it for what it truly is…and I’ve never turned away.

So that’s all to say that I think this casting was pretty perfect. Even pushing 40, BB has this weird ageless quality to his look that’s perfect for portraying a powerful centuries old being (and may I add, he actually looks way hotter now than he ever did in his 20s).

as he should :)

I love that Leigh wanted Ben to play the role from the start and he actually got to it in the end 🥲😭����

the darkling and mal both represent ‘alina’s other half’ in ways that are utterly different and eerily similar, and i don’t think we talk about this enough tbh. we talk a lot about how the darkling and alina are two sides of the same coin, or how mal and alina are each others halves of a whole, but we don’t ever really talk about how these two things are both true at the same time and do not contradict one another whatsoever.

so the darkling is alina’s other half in the really obvious way right - he summons shadows, she summons sunlight. she is able to access his powers using merzost (which yes. is bad. not a thing she should do. that’s not the point); he is able to directly amplify her powers. they are two sides of the same coin with the way their powers work, yin and yang, in an intensely obvious way.

but they are also ‘one of a kind’ with their powers. they are, fundamentally, alone in the world save for each other. they are destined to live near immortal lives, and are the only ones who truly grasp how expansive that would be for each other, with their very specific powers. both are drawn to feelings of immense power; the darkling with creating and extending the fold, alina with that hungry desire for more and more power from the amplifiers. she decides not to follow him, she decides to turn away, but when it comes to these similarities, alina is a hair’s breadth away from choosing that path. hell, her decision not to and to try and turn him away is paired with her using merzost and essentially attempting to commit suicide were it not for mal rushing forward to save her.

the darkling and alina are the light and dark, they are the yawning chasm of unlimited power, they are eternal and unbridled power and glory. that dynamic is so engaging because of this.

mal meanwhile is also alina’s other half, but in an entirely different way. yes, they are each others halves in that they have loved each other since childhood, both wish they could run away from this war to live in peace together, and they would cross the world for each other - this is a basic ‘other half’ which is comparable to the darkling and alina being ‘light and dark’. but it goes far deeper than that.

he is the other half of alina in the sense that they are both ‘chosen ones’ to save the world; that power courses through both of their veins, and that power is fundamental to ending the darkness. you cannot bring about an end to the darkness with just alina or mal. alina’s light and mal’s amplifier blood (which gives him the enhanced tracking abilities which are also crucial to finding the amplifiers) are both needed to destroy the fold. in order to save the world, alina must lose her powers to pass those powers onto enough grisha who can collectively all end the fold completely; and similarly, mal must lose his ability to track, as the ‘second life’ given to him by being an amplifier must be killed in order for alina’s powers to pass on. these powers are so key to who these two are as characters, and you need both - and so naturally, it makes sense that both of them must lose their powers too, and come to terms with that together. they are ‘chosen ones’ who had no choice but to save the world and suffer great personal loss doing so.

where the darkling represents alina’s desire for power, mal represents alina’s desire for peace.

but where the huge similarity is (and this is why i never genuinely thought alina would end up with nikolai) is that both the darkling and mal were born that way to be alina’s other half in their respective ways. nikolai is a great character, but he doesn’t represent any part of alina’s inner longings, desires, or abilities - in fact, what he represents is a life at court, which alina hates. the darkling was born with his shadow abilities. mal was born with his tracking (amplifier) abilities. alina was born with her sun summoning abilities. all three of them were, in the basic fantasy trope sense, ‘chosen’ to play a fantastical, mythical part which to be honest? they had no choice but to do. i mean, for goodness sake, mal and the darkling are quite literally related, i’m not sure leigh could make it more obvious if she tried that these two can and should be compared narratively.

mal and the darkling may be about as different as it is possible to be, but the similarity they have is that they both represent the two paths for alina. not in the sense of ‘who does she love more’, i’m talking much deeper than that. they represent a path of power and darkness, and a path of peace and ‘saving the world’; and the thing is, alina is drawn to both of these pathways in the trilogy. alina yearns for both things, and that is what makes her dynamic with both of these men so fascinating and so well written. it isn’t about which man ‘completes’ her - alina is very much complete by herself. it’s that both men represent the other side of her, the side of her dreams and desires, and she could very easily tip from one to the other.

btw if anyone wants to talk about the show, the darkling, alina, trailer, books HONESTLY ANYTHING my dms are open!! I would love to hear people’s thoughts on the books, if they ship darklina or not, and why we all love aleks

JUST A REMINDER:)

Some of y’all have never wanted to fuck the villain you were supposed to hate and it shows.

yall i cant get over the scene with darkles and alina in what appears to be his war room in the trailer.. like they look so invested in that moment...

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GONNA GO DOWN

SHADOW AND BONE coming April 23, 2021

Me, playing the Shadow and Bone teaser trailer on repeat: hello??? serotonin hello???

ok i need to know, did other people stop breathing when ben barnes looked at the camera in that trailer reaction video or— 

Y’all DO realize that we will most likely get official Shadow and Bone Funko Pops right—

HAHAHAHAH

SGDGH PLEASE

Leigh said that she didn’t feel the vibe when teenagers auditioned for the rol of “The Darkling”, so they pick Ben Barnes.

I mean, who can resist those beautiful black eyes.