ze Duckling

Darkling stan, Lord of the Rings fan. All glory be to the loving God Who made me

[starrfettii]

[justaneedle]

Posting here too, because that's my main place

Oh, it's not dust swirling along forest floor ahead. Oh, lass, don't you go and stir any dread. Don't arouse the witching ways, Turn aside, glance away — Serpent and serpentess wed. You knew no grief, nor hid eyes from a woe. Lass, you shall be ours — it is your own fault! Fog has shrouded the glade — Serpent king is awaiting you there, You are his betrothed.

[taragreenfield]

One of the funniest clichés I keep seeing in Darklina fanfics even the ones that try to stay book-accurate is the idea that the Darkling slowly learns from Alina how to actually enjoy life and accept his fate!!! Somehow her “vibrant hope” and zest for living become his guiding light. Which is hilarious to me because Alina?? Alina desperately needs therapy herself. She’s easily one of the most pessimistic, whiny and downright exhausting characters I’ve come across. Sure she’s only seventeen and he’s five hundred years old but the man still has more genuine hope and emotional stamina than this teenage girl does. Alina doesn’t radiate joy or life force she mostly radiates exhaustion and resentment.

If we’re really looking for a character who could believably teach the Darkling how to embrace life again, I guess early-book Genya would be a much better fit. Genya is warmer, livelier, and kinder than Alina. Even after everything she’s been through, she still holds onto hope. She fights for what she wants and refuses to let the world completely break her spirit. She has that resilient spark the kind that could actually challenge someone as ancient and jaded as the Darkling in a meaningful way.

Hi, anon!

Yeah, Alina possessing "zest for life" is really a comedy. Alina "maybe if I just died" Starkov. The one who heard people singing before entering the fold and called them idiots. The one who doesn't have a single passion or interest besides her pathetic obsession with her crusty tracker. The one who choked on envy every time she saw a girl prettier than her. and constantly made nasty comments about "pig like noses" and STDs they must be carrying. The one whose idea of "fun" is mocking the accent of a marginalized minority.

"Sure she’s only seventeen and he’s five hundred years old but the man still has more genuine hope and emotional stamina than this teenage girl does."

Yeah, exactly. There is an idea that he is oh-so-terribly corrupted by time, and she is young, naive, pure and therefore must be that bowl of pure sunshine on legs. Meanwhile, Alina is a bitter, sullen, mean-spirited, petty, cruel, hypocritical gutter rat with a rotten pea for a brain. The only thing she can teach the Darkling about is how to be a joyless miserable cunt, but he already has one at home, and she is his mother.

"If we’re really looking for a character who could believably teach the Darkling how to embrace life again, I guess early-book Genya would be a much better fit."

Yes, early Genya was great and way more fitting for this particular trope. She had a sharp wit, resilient character and unbreakable spirit before the author decided to massacre her and write off her best qualities as the results of the Darkling's "manipulation."

[taragreenfield]

So, Grisha are said to be based on Jewish people.

The most common points on antisemitic rhetoric I've encountered is that Jews are extremely greedy, deceptive and that they secretly control everything in the world.

Now, the biggest "villain" our "good guys" have to stop is apparently not a corrupt king-rapist, not a leader of a genocidal cult that targets our Jewish-coded minority, not slavers who traffic them, not butchers who conduct horrific inhumane experiments on them, not bigots who attack them for "isolating themselves" from their bigotry, and not even a sleazy priest who cashes in on people's desperation, selling them fake "miracles." Of course not, why would you think so?

The biggest villain in the story about the persecution of a Jewish-coded minority is...a member of said minority. And the reason he has to be stopped is because "good guys" believe that he is a greedy, deceptive, manipulative tyrant who already secretly controls the country and now allegedly wants to control the whole world. That's certainly a choice.

As much of a choice as making the main character, a member of the same Jewish-coded minority, lose her power as punishment for greed of all things.

You can argue that Grisha are not exactly an accurate representation of Jewish people, but that doesn't change the fact that the story reinforces the most common stereotypes used to demonize and vilify oppressed minorities in real life. And it's absolutely disgusting.

[shesalittlelost]

i need a darkling plushie

[dawannabebritt]

"The Darkling isolated Alina at the Little Palace!" Tell me you don't remember much about reading Shadow & Bone without telling me you don't remember much about reading Shadow & Bone.

When we first meet Alina, she has all of two people she calls "friend": Mal (😒) and Alexei Stepanov. And that's acknowledged to be a result of Alina's own actions. She's snarky, rude, and pessimistic at the start of Shadow & Bone, and that doesn't much change throughout the series.

And excuse you, she had friends at the Little Palace! Or are you all collectively forgetting Nadia, Marie, and Genya!?! They also happen to be Alina's first female friends because before, she believed that girls just wanted to get close to her for Malyen's (😒) sake. And even though Alina crosses paths and allows herself to become acquainted with more people throughout the series, in the end the only friends left are Genya, Mal, and Nikolai. (Zoya was more of a well-liked acquaintance. Alina definitely trusted Tolya and Tamar, but I don't think they got to know each other well enough to be considered friends. She and Nadia drifted apart after Alina ran away. And Alina never really saw David as much more than a clever ally who was useful to have around).

If Aleksander really had wanted to isolate, he wouldn't even have to do a bloody thing! Alina just doesn't really like or trust people! Unless they're an old abusive lady. Or a charming prince with a dozen easily changeable masks. Or her toxic childhood bestie (😒).

And I'm not shaming Alina for not having more friends. I used to find the idea of increasing my 3(+?) person friendgroup incredibly unappealing and uncomfortable. But that's something I forced myself to change in high school, and Alina... Hasn't changed a bit.

[starrfettii]

They’re so different, and so similar at the same time.

[drreallyreallystrange]

so the other day I stayed up until almost four am ranting my ‘here is how I would fix love never dies’ manifesto.

i can’t even tag those people to shame them for egging me on, they’re NOT HERE

i can’t blame vodka either - it’s just that everything gets real clear and logical sometime after 3:15 or so

well.        “clear and logical.”

anyway, sometime after that, I was listening to moulin rouge in the car (as one does) and I thought ‘i hate this traffic, i hope it rains, and if you moved this plot point right here to love never dies it would fix a shocking amount of things. will you even look at this jerk in this ugly bmw. ten years! erik and meg had to have a whole lot of something between them, what exactly is up for debate, but what if the thing he said in response to her fears of being forgotten was this, “i’ll write a song, i’ll put it in the show, and then you don’t have to wonder what you mean to me because every time you sing it or hear it or hum it you’ll know–”  ‘

dang, I thought. if he said that to meg, and if she believed him (even knowing, as she must, that if Christine were to ever come back—), if she wanted what he’s saying to be true and then she thought that “love never dies” was the song he wrote?   a n y o n e   would lose their mind. 

and that’s how I found the specific circumstance under which I ship it and will do so in hell if i must

watch Moulin Rouge (2001), it’s fantastic!

*crying*

[update note: edited! a lot! i am allegedly a professional!!]

[starrfettii]

Some of my favorite Darkling moments <3

[stromuprisahat]

[taragreenfield]

All of the above, and that:

“Tell me you’re not contemplating what I think you are,” I said. “Tell me the amplifier is for some other stupid, gullible girl.”

“Someone less stubborn? Less selfish? Less hungry for the life of a mouse? Believe me,” he said, “I wish I could.”

“No,” I said. “I don’t want this. I want—”

“You want,” the Darkling mocked. “I want to watch your tracker die slowly with my knife in his heart. I want to let the sea swallow you both. But our fates are entwined now, Alina, and there’s nothing either of us can do about that.”

[thememedaddy]

[darklinaserver]

For the last several years, the Darklina Discord Server (DDS) has observed Darklina Week in August, during the week between Ben and Jessie’s birthdays. But with the solar eclipse 🌒☀️ gracing many of our Western European friends (and a few other areas) on August 12, this year we’ve decided to do something a little different…

✨Darklina MONTH✨

This year, each week of August on the DDS will feature a new Darklina-themed activity and/or celebration. We hope to have a little bit of everything, so that everyone can find something to enjoy during this event!

From creating, to reading, to watching, and perhaps more… next month is sure to be full of Darklina fun! We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our favorite duo, alongside the celestial event that suits them so well.

[insertunknownreferencehere]

being able to play songs in your head is cool and all but not really if you can't control what and when it plays so this is a visualization of me trying to concentrate while angel of music plays in my head

[taragreenfield]

Alina's power is really nothing special. She cannot bend reality, cannot manipulate time, cannot raise the dead, cannot even control minds. She is a flashlight. Not even a good one. And what really weirds me out is that the whole premise is built on presumptuous entitlement, and we are supposed to feel bad for her because she was given privileges she never deserved.

"She is the only one whose power can rival the Darkling's!"

Alina presumably requires three amplifiers to unlock her potential.

An average Grisha requires one.

The Darkling requires zero.

This premise itself already tells you that in terms of power she is further removed from the Darkling than any other Grisha. She is not his "natural balance"; she is a desperate wannabe who tries to artificially compensate for what mother nature didn't give her.

"I'm the Sun Summoner, it gets dark when I say it does!"

Don't get me wrong, light powers CAN be interesting. It's just that the narrative is dull and unimaginative and makes Alina's power as unimpressive as possible. She cannot summon underground; she gets weaker during the solar eclipse. She doesn't get to decide when it gets dark, she is a tool, not a source, basically a sun battery rendered useless on a rainy day. It's especially hilarious if we remember that Os Alta, with its white nights and opulent palaces, is obviously based on Saint Petersburg. If Alina needs a clear sunny day for her powers to work properly, there would be no use for her in Saint Petersburg for about 300 days a year.

"The Darkling only needs her power to rule the world!"

Pray tell, how does one go about ruling the world by owning one faulty lightbulb? I have about ten in my house, can I apply for the Galaxy Emperor or something?

"She didn't want to be a saint!"

She shouldn't have been. You are telling me that people who historically persecuted and annihilated anyone with weird magical power worship Alina… because she has weird magical powers? Riiight. Especially considering that she was already proclaimed a saint before she even did anything. She didn't heal the sick, didn't feed a starving village, and didn't even turn any water into wine, for god's sake. If sainthood in their religion comes so easily, it is just an empty title not worth a sparrow's fart, and acting all impressed about her "struggling with unwanted sainthood" is laughable.

"She didn't want to be queen!"

Once again, she shouldn't even be presented with such an option. A lowly orphan is entitled to the throne because light shines out of her ass? Don't make me laugh. She would be considered a weapon at best and maybe given a nice pension after she was relieved of her duties. Maybe.

"She didn't want to be a general, but she knew she had to do it!"

Nope, she did not in fact have to do it. Even if she were a decent Sun Summoner and could plausibly take down the Darkling, that still wouldn't make her suitable for a leadership position. It's an absolutely different set of skills, and she doesn't possess a single one of them. She could be a useful asset at best under someone else's command. To make it even more absurd, when she tries to hijack the second, Grisha plainly tell her they don't want her as their leader. Any person who truly doesn't want power would immediately use that as their way out of unwanted responsibilities, but no, the bitch had to threaten them and violently force them to accept her appointment. There was literally no reason for her not to provide her services under someone's more reasonable command. But then she wouldn't have that little power trip to stroke her bruised ego.

There is nothing special about her, except maybe for her glaring, mind-numbing, shocking stupidity. She was given everything on a silver platter and still managed to fail.

[dawannabebritt]

Me Whenever Sasha is forced to share a page with Alina: 🎶Insolent girl, a slave to Malyen, basking in your glory~🎵

[battii-art]

“For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Nameless here for evermore.”

-The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

[starrfettii]

Hate him or love him, grishaverse content revolves entirely around the Darkling. Every time. Genya edit? Gotta add some Darkling in. Alina edit? Oh look, there’s the Darkling. Mal post? More Darkling than Mal. Nikolai? You guessed it, there’s the Darkling. Zoya? Yep, there’s the Darkling. You guys simply can’t help yourself from talking about him. He is the main character.

[justaneedle]

Too many things to unpack here

“If only I’d known you’d prove such an apt pupil.” His voice was genuinely admiring, almost surprised. To my horror, I found that pathetic orphaned part of me taking pleasure in his praise. “Why come to me now?” he asked. “Has it taken you this long to recover from our skirmish?” If that had been a mere skirmish, then we really were lost. No, I told myself. He’d chosen that word deliberately, to intimidate me. I ignored his question and said, “I didn’t expect compliments.” “No?” “I left you buried beneath a pile of rubble.” “And if I told you I respect your ruthlessness?” “I don’t think I’d believe you.” The barest smile touched his lips. “An apt pupil,” he repeated. “Why waste my anger on you when the fault is mine? I should have anticipated another betrayal from you, one more mad grasp at some kind of childish ideal. But I seem to be a victim of my own wishes where you are concerned.” His expression hardened. “What have you come here for, Alina?” I answered him honestly. “I wanted to see you.” I caught the briefest glimpse of surprise before his face shuttered again. “There are two thrones on that dais. You could see me anytime you liked.” “You’re offering me a crown? After I tried to kill you?” He shrugged again. “I might have done the same.” “I doubt it.” “Not to save that motley of traitors and fanatics, no. But I understand the desire to remain free.” “And still you tried to make me a slave.” “I sought Morozova’s amplifiers for you, Alina, that we might rule as equals.” “You tried to take my power for your own.” “After you ran from me. After you chose—” He stopped, shrugged. “We would have ruled as equals in time.”

Again it rings very hollow, I don't know how it's supposed to create any feeling but tears in my eyes that Sasha has such a waste of page as LI.

Where is she an apt pupil? A mythical plot armor, you mean?

But for real, all these jokes about the Darkling being a simp is funny, but let's not confuse it with the canon.

He ain't love and respect her as she is now; he finds some of her qualities interesting when she stops being the disgusting, stupid and malicious creature without common sense that she is now. She will become a normal person, not a brainless idiot, over time, and then her ruthlessness, her desire to remain free, and her stubbornness can even be respected. He has repeatedly shown that he despises Alina, as she is now, for her stupidity and selfishness, but he cannot help but see in her a potential measurable only by their immortality.

I felt that pull, the longing of a frightened girl. Even now, after everything he’d done, I wanted to believe the Darkling, to find some way to forgive him. I wanted Nikolai to be alive. I wanted to trust the other Grisha. I wanted to believe anything so that I wouldn’t have to face the future alone. The problem with wanting is that it makes us weak. A laugh escaped me before I thought better of it. “We would be equals until the day I dared to disagree with you, until the moment I questioned your judgment or didn’t do as I was bid. Then you would deal with me the way you dealt with Genya and your mother, the way you tried to deal with Mal.”

She calls it "disagreement" and she's talking about: a) the treason and personal betrayal; b) personal betrayal; c) desertion. That's the reason why they can't be equal right now — she's a dumb bitch!

He leaned against the window, and the gilded frame came into sharp focus. “Do you think it would be any different with your tracker beside you? With that Lantsov pup?” “Yes,” I said simply. “Because you would be the strong one?” “Because they’re better men than you.” “You might make me a better man.” “And you might make me a monster.

a) they're worse men than he; b) you're already a monster and he has nothing to do with it; c) “You might make me a better man.” doesn't sound like something he would say and mean it as it is. Does he mean: "When we will be together (so you'll stop being stupid bitch) I can finally let myself relax."?

“I’ve never understood this taste for otkazat’sya. Is it because you thought you were one of them for so long?” “I had a taste for you, once.” His head snapped up. He hadn’t expected that. Saints, it was satisfying. “Why haven’t you visited me?” I asked. “In all these long months?” He stayed silent.

I think he knows it isn't true as well as I do. Mam, you were lusted for him (and still do) and nothing more, stop it.

“There was barely a day at the Little Palace when you didn’t come to me,” I continued. “When I didn’t see you in some shadowed corner. I thought I was going mad.” “Good.” “I think you’re afraid.” “How comforting that must be for you.” “I think you fear this thing that binds us.” It didn’t frighten me. Not anymore. I took a slow step forward. He tensed but did not move away. “I am ancient, Alina. I know things about power that you can barely guess at.” “But it’s not just power, is it?” I said quietly, remembering the way he had toyed with me when I’d first arrived at the palace—even before, from the first moment we’d met. I’d been a lonely girl, desperate for attention. I must have given him so little sport. I took another step. He stilled. Our bodies were almost touching now. I reached up and cupped his cheek with my hand. This time the flash of confusion on his face was impossible to miss. He held himself frozen, his only movement the steady rise and fall of his chest. Then, as if in concession, he let his eyes close. A line appeared between his brows. “It’s true,” I said softly. “You are stronger, wiser, infinite in experience.” I leaned forward and whispered, my lips brushing the shell of his ear. “But I am an apt pupil.” His eyes flew open. I caught the briefest glimpse of rage in his gray gaze before I severed the connection. I scattered, hurtling back to the White Cathedral, leaving him with nothing but the memory of light.

That's disgusting.

You all understand that she's the only one who hates, wants to kill and is using his basic human crave for connection that won't end with time like all his lovers, friends and soldiers do, being mortal, while he isn't to hurt him?

She IS the one who's cruel and abusive during their interactions. Do you honestly take her impetuous lies, lust, infantilization and projection for compassion and, God forbid, love?

[taragreenfield]

"I said quietly, remembering the way he had toyed with me when I’d first arrived at the palace—even before, from the first moment we’d met. I’d been a lonely girl, desperate for attention. I must have given him so little sport." Oh really? I guess it happened off-page, because I remember only him being an awkward, socially inept dork and leaving abruptly after exchanging a few remarks. That's the logic of an incel who believes that every attractive woman wakes up, gets dressed, and goes outside with the sole purpose of giving him an erection. Ah, he dared pass by while being hot, why must he toy with me so???

Not surprising considering how she assumes that everyone is looking at her, thinking of her and talking of her all the time.

"I recognized the beautiful girl in blue, the one from the Etherealki coach who had been so taken with Mal. She whispered something to her chestnut-haired friend, and they both laughed again. My cheeks burned as I imagined what I must look like in a torn, shabby coat, after a journey into the Shadow Fold and a battle with a flock of hungry volcra. But I lifted my chin and looked the beautiful girl right in the eye. Laugh all you want, I thought grimly. Whatever you’re whispering, I’ve heard worse"

The girls didn't even say anything to her, and the bitch is already performing martyrdom with this "I've heard worse!!"

What a pathetic, self-obsessed, self-pitying paltry creature.