#I know we’re not gonna get darklina endgame | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

koroleva-nazyalensky · 1 year

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I have my grievances with season 2, sure, but one thing they did do is conclude it in a way that I personally would have loved the Grisha Trilogy to have ended the first time around.

Like obviously, I would’ve loved more Darklina. BUT, we’ve been living off of crumbs for years now, and they made Mal less of an asshole in the show, so I knew we weren’t going to get much post war room anyways. I’m sad the tethered scenes got cut short (RIP this isn’t real—let me) and he didn’t die in her arms, BUT he didn’t say she was nothing so I’ll take that as a win.

That said, I’ve always thought that an intriguing aspect of Alina’s character development is her affinity for power.

In the book, it scares her how much she wants it because it positions her in league with the Darkling.

"You were meant to be my balance, Alina. You are the only person in the world who might rule with me, who might keep my power in check."

"And who will balance me?"

She fears it, and quashes her hunger for it time and time again, for Mal, for her own sanity. And yet, she doesn’t get a choice when she loses it. That loss permeates through everything, even her quiet life in Keramzin.

“Sometimes he would find her standing by a window, fingers playing in the beams of sunlight that streamed through the glass…”

This quiet life she defaults to makes sense for her character because her agency in the books wavers frequently and she’s very affected by Mal’s disdain for her abilities (for like the first TWO BOOKS–). But is frankly, boring as hell for a former saint. And, like the Darkling in a way, I did think she could deign to accomplish more.

In the scenario she’s placed in at the end of season 2, not only has she distanced herself from Mal willingly, but she gets the chance to be Grisha without the Darkling looming over her. She uses Merzost to revive Mal, has full control over her powers with all three amplifiers at her disposal, and used the cut, completely destroying a Grisha under the influence of Jurda Parem. On top of all this, she has fully accepted her role as Sankta Alina and is on her way to be Queen of Ravka.

Think about the implications of this. A big theme in the books is that *ouat voice* all magic comes with a price, dearie. If Alina gets to keep her powers, it’s implied that she also gets to keep her prolonged life. She is at an all time high, her impulse controls are dead and out at sea, and her inflated pride has the potential to lead her to THE MOST satisfying fall.

When she uses the cut (in the same way the Darkling does) the upshot and shadow in her eyes as her mouth upturns slowly–UGH I’m honestly living for it. And like, we know she needs something to do while the crows are out there ice court heisting right? RIGHT? I’m not saying this is where I saw this show going, but since we’re here in this HD fanfiction world why NOT have Dark!Alina? How would show!Alina, crack under the Apparat’s influence? Who’s going to be her balance when the Darkling and Mal are gone and Nikolai is literally dealing with his own demon?*cough* and falling for Zoya *cough* What would it take to get this girl’s hair white? And what do I have to do to get a Yurified Darkling in the same room as her?

On that thought, (pardon my unabashed love for drama, I am a Darklina girlie in this Malina world above it all) if we even get to some version of the KOS Duology, does this mean she’ll still be Grisha when the Darkling comes back as the Black Heretic? Will she be queen? A mad saint shunned in the same way he was? A self-fulfilling prophecy? How absolutely delicious would that reunion be? For her to stab the monster and then become him? She wouldn’t be able to look him in the eyes and take the high ground like she did in the sanatorium scene. Everything he tried to warn her about would come to fruition. They could face each other as equals who made some decisions and just like retire together for eternity. (My delusional Darklina shipping ass is brought to you by Start a War btw… I read it immediately after Ruin and Rising on ff.net the first time around, I highly suggest it if you too are suffering)

To get back to the point, were it not for the Duology and the Zoyalai of it all, I’d honestly be for the Sol Koroleva route all the way. I mean, look at her!!!

Don’t you just want to see her gain the world, and then lose it all in the time it takes the crows to break Matthias of Hellgate? You can’t tell me a season 3 with an OP Sankta Alina dealing with post-civil war Ravka wouldn’t be entertaining at the very least.

Like, of course at the end of the day I want Zoyalai endgame with blue ribbons and rings the size of an acorn, peep the url, besties. But GUYS come ON we know how these things go. Mal’s gonna come back, reign her in and they’ll eventually end up in that boring orphanage with a cat or whatever anyways. In the meantime, we could have so much fun!

If you approach the show as you would fanfic, it’s not as maddening. Trust me, I’m a Darklina shipper and a Zoyalai shipper– you can’t even get to one of those without stabbing and burning the other. I know the showrunners would sooner give us some random love triangle with Tolya and Inej (a topic for another day) than all this but a girl can DREAM.

In conclusion, I did not prematurely lose David for nothing, I need to know where they’re going with this, so please be more chill so we get that unhinged season 3, thank you.

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sifkialltheway · 2 years

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Shipping Challenge

I’ve seen this somewhere so i decided to do this challenge as well.

1. First Ship:

Peter Pan And Wendy

Peter Pan and Wendy is honestly one of many Disney shippings i remember shipping as a child. I’ve started shipping at a young age tbh. So yeah, i still really love the two of them. They’re cute and aren’t endgame (A favorite, yet painful trope of mine) It literally broke my heart to watch the sequel and see him interact with grown up Wendy...

2. First OTP Ship:

Troy and Gabriella

Troy and Gabriella i think was the first otp i had. I had a phase where i would watch High School Musical 24/7 and especially re-watch the scenes of wannabe Luke Skywalker (Yes i called him that) and Gabriella being in love and all. I really rooted for them and was happy when it actually worked out in the end.

3. Current favorite Shippings:

Oh dear, bear with me...

Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger (Dramione)

I’ve shipped them probably as long as i’ve been in the Harry Potter Fandom. They’re so imperfectly perfect to me that it makes sense. To me. I do understand the hate that it gets but It does not make it okay to bully and harass people because of that though.

Lady Sif and Loki (Sifki/Warfrost)

Sifki of course duh. Also LOOK AT THEM!!! The dynamic and tension between them is amazing. To me, Sifki just displays a ‘what could have been’ situation. I don’t even need Marvel to make them a couple in the future but to confirm that they did have feelings for each other in the past but unfortunately circumstance and faith wouldn’t be on their side. I just need them to confirm that. Just that, and then i’ll finally be able to find my peace.

Ben Solo and Rey (Reylo)

Love everything about it. Enemies to lovers through and through. I do think they messed up in ROS In many ways but now that we’re talking about the Reylo aspect... But yeah– i don’t want to exploit further for obvious reasons...

4. A ship since the first minute:

Susan Pevensive and Caspian (Suspian)

Love everything about this Ship. Like i knew they were going to be the pairing even before they’ve even met. I know they aren’t bookcanon but yuh...

5. A Ship i wish had been endgame:

Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa (Peggysous)

I really thought it was endgame... but it’s not. I thought these two really where going to figure this out but apparently Marvel had other plans...

6. A Ship i wish was canon:

Katara and Zuko (Zutara)

These two OMG! How could i ever have the audacity to ship her with Aang. (No hate to Kataang shippers, i’ve been one myself ;-) ) These two had so much chemistry it should have worked.

Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Granger-Weasley (Scorose)

Also i got Scorose here because they’re just perfect for each other. I don’t know if they’ve announced them canon or not but i HOPE they do it. It’s just been too obvious in the cursed child.

7. A Ship in the Fandom mostly everyone hates but i love:

Kylo Ren/ Ben Solo and Rey (Reylo)

Again Reylo. XD

Luke Castellan and Anabeth Case (Lukabeth)

A shipping with the same kind of concept of Reylo i guess? Lukabeth was very interesting to me but to be honest, i haven’t read all the books yet so we’re gonna see how this turns out haha.

8. I don’t watch the show but ship it:

The Darkling and Alina (Darklina)

This is all Reylo’s fault haha. No but also it’s Ben Barnes. I got curious...

Amy and Laurie

One word; Obsessed!

9. A Ship i wish had a different Storyline:

Rumpelstiltskin and Belle

That one was clear to me. Rumple and Belle. I really liked them at the beginning but the more and more he began to lie to her and betray her it’s become very difficult to ship them. You know how i like a bit of betrayal (cough* Sifki) But somewhere is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. I really do think they had potential but they overdid it, in a way.

Thor and Jane

I really loved them in the first Movie and i really rooted for them because their storyline was just perfect! It’s the perfect idea for a fictional couple. A Norse god falling in love with an Earth girl? Come on! Genius! But as time went, they’ve just thrown this idea away and Jane as well as their relationship has become irrelevant. I really think they had potential...

10. Favorite Ship that is Endgame:

Hiccup Haddock and Astrid Hofferson (Hiccstrid)

What is it with me and Norse themed Shippings? Anyway Hiccstrid for sure. I’ve grown up with this couple and i’ve literally cried in cinema when they finally married and had kids in the epilogue. Like FINALLY! After like 10 years of waiting they’ve finally did it. In all this waiting i literally forgot that they’ve been rivals to lovers once haha.

11. A ship where the characters have barely even met (or not at all) but i ship it :

Jack Frost and Elsa of Arendelle (Jelsa)

Remember that era where people would write FanFiction about the big four? (Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup and Jack) Yeah i was there and read them. That’s when i came to Jelsa. I love this pairing so much and they haven’t even met! I literally freaked out when Frozen 2 came out. So many parallels i could barely breathe haha. To me it makes sense... A LOT of sense.

––

Yeah, that was my list. There are honestly so many shippings that i would have loved to bring into this but it would have been too much. My favorite romance trope seems to be pain and betrayal and death; How Amazing!

No but fr, every shipping i have end in complete misery and leaves me shattered accordingly...

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black-rose-writings · 3 years

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Reading Siege and Storm because I hate myself

To begin, I’d like to state that this is my first read-through and I only have vague idea of the plot I’ve gathered from fanfics and tumblr posts.

Long post ahead

Chapter 1

So... at first I was like - huh, this isn’t as bad as I thought, but the moment Alina gets introspective, it all goes to hell.

Like, she’s being physically made sick by not using her powers, which is making her feel useless - like, she says, pretty much verbatim: “The only thing I was ever good at was being a Sun Summoner and I’m not that anymore.”

I’m gonna beat those paragraphs over the head of anyone, who says Alina got a good ending.

I’ve also noticed just how often the like “I pushed that thought away” is used and more often than not, it’s used on thoughts that should probably not be pushed away.

Ah, yes, here he comes, my boy Darkles, being the dramatic bitch he always is. We get it, you’re the hot villain, tempting the good and pure heroine away from being good and pure.

And I’m just now realizing how many times in this chapter has Alina lamented their lack of privacy. We have to ensure the reader doesn’t hink she’s *gasp* sleeping with Mal.

Chapter 2

What?

Alina is tripping balls while being put under by a Heartrender, got it.

Darkling is being the voice of reason, but I’m getting the distinct feeling it won’t last.

Ivan gets one point, because Alina is in fact a traitor, but he’s also being a cunt, so it doesn’t really count.

Alina at Sturmhond: Do you even care about Ravka?

Me at Alina: Do you?

Chapter 3

“Mermaids are not real”. I’m pretty sure they are in the Grishaverse.

My boy Darkles is still making sense, but Alina is dedicated to being against him just for the hell of it, it seems.

Did this bitch just throw a tantrum, because he told her, what we can assume is the truth? Okay. Like, I get that she’s at best 18, but still. Not exactly the type of protagonist whose head I like being in.

And in that moment, dozens of smut fics were born.

Chapter 4

Wow, that was quick.

Aaand. What had just happened?

Chapter 5

Sturmhond is a funny bitch, I’ll give him that.

And this entire conversation, it seems like Mal’s entire purpose is to stand behind Alina threateningly and repeat what she said, lol.

I’d like to remind Alina (and LB) that a king in an absolutist monarchy (which is what Ravka appears to be) is very much a tyrant. Don’t make it sound like Ravka didn’t have a tyrant before. And at the very least, my boy Darkles seems pretty competent.

A man calling himself a Storm Dog likes dogs. No shit.

Chapter 6

I hate Mal. Dude, this is your girlfriend, maybe like... listen to her? Don’t bludgeon her with the one other guy she was kinda-sorta with, when you are a well known manwhore?

I don’t know man, I don’t like him.

Everyone: You can’t have more than one amplifier, it’s dangerous.

Alina: Haha, sparkles go brrrr

Chapter 7

In other news, pirates are funny.

Holy shit, they have a plane.

That was... a lot. And we’re crossing the Fold again, yay.

Chapter 8

You feel bad for the Volcra but not for the people you’ve left for dead in the Fold last time? Okay.

Baby Volcra. Am I supposed to say “ew” or “aww”? If I tried doing both at the same time, it would probably sound like one.

Jesus fucking Christ this book is a ride.

Did Alina really just have an “oh no, he’s hot?” moment? *sighs*

Puppy boy has a title longer than Daenerys, jesus.

Alina, my dear, you could have waited for a bit before doing that. There’s like thirty soldier with guns around you and you’ve just punched a prince.

Then again, you’ve never been smart, have you?

Chapter 9

For once, I completely agree with him. I know you two have lost your one shared braincell on that first crossing of the Fold but still, that was very dumb of you, Alina.

I’m starting to get why people were calling Nikolai “Darkling light”. Definitelly seems appropriate.

Mal, calm the fuck down, that was the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard and you know it.

You two didn’t even let Alina get a word in for the last page. What right do you have to her, Mal, huh? Nikolai is making sense and you’re being an idiot.

What’s your deal Mal? What the fuck do you want?

And why in the hell are you the endgame love interest?

That’s an awful lot of guilt-tripping you’re doing there, Mal. No need to be pissy about it.

Chapter 10

The bones thing is definitelly yikes.

Saints, Mal, are you on your period or something? Alina doesn’t belong to you. Alina can make her own choices. Get a grip.

“You think I’m like the Darkling?” Yes. The Darkling isn’t all bad. You’re at war. No need to get your panties in a twist over a few fingers.

Oh, look, Alina has a cult now, nice.

Chapter 11

Your “dad” is a rapist, Nikolai. Quite possibly a pedo. He got exactly what he deserved.

I’d go for the second option. Especially after that stunt. Jesus, you could have asked her beforehand.

At least Darkles had the decency to make out with her in private.

Also like... why is every single person in this series so far an asshole?

Chapter 12

We meet the King again, unfortunately.

Alina gets Darkles’s old job.

This should be a total disaster, but let’s see where it goes anyway.

Chapter 13

Alina’s nuts, yay.

(I know they have a Force-bond-thingy. I also know they did it before Reylo did.)

Chapter 14

Oh boy, Alina’s not doing as bad as I thought.

For the 100th time in this book, I wish I had Nikolai’s confidence. Though it is getting a bit too much.

Puppy boy is dropping some truth bombs. Nice.

But he doesn’t realize that my boy Darkles has very good reasons to not align with Fjerdans - a) they think he’s a demon and b) they want Grisha dead.

I’m not gonna say she was, but like... the monarchy is very much corrupt.

Oh, boy, Baghra. This one’s gonna go well.

Yep, Baghra’s as pleasant as ever.

So... Baghra’s plan in book 1 really had been to just have Alina run away and hope for the best? Jesus Christ, lady. I’m not saying she deserved to have her eyes taken away, but she is definitelly a trash person and I’m not surprised her son turned out the way he did.

Also, I’m fairly certain that Baghra is literally slowly killing herself - that the reason she looks so old and frail is because she’s started to supress her power and it’s literally killing her, because, you know, she’s bonkers old.

Chapter 15

Nerd Alina > Self-pitying Alina

Also, I’m just saying, Alina comments on Zoya being attractive a whole lot - I get that she’s meant to be insecure, but I’m interpreting it as her being gay, because I need some happiness in my life, okay?

Just kill the sleazy old Rasputin-wanna-be. There’s plenty of them to go around in this series.

Chapter 16

Vasily takes after his father in creep factor.

Why not the Darkling being courted by a horny prince? Be a bit creative.

Chapter 17

Nikolai has big ADHD energy and I love him for it. Fits right in with the heavily autism-coded Fabricators.

*sighs at heteronormativity again*

*sighs at improper gendering of titles*

Date night with Mal. This is gonna be a disaster, isn’t it?

Chapter 18

Fun night of cultural appropriation, yay.

I hate cultists.

LET. ALINA. GO. FERAL. Please.

You two are going to give me a headache, I swear.

Darkles cockblocking Alina. And Malice threw a tantrum. Nice.

Chapter 19

You’re way too harsh on Genya, Alina.

Horny Alina rights.

They have a laser, now. Cool. Or, well, enormously hot.

Mal is being a drunk a-hole. Great. When does he become likable? Does he ever?

Banter between Mal and Alina? Kinda weird, always somehow comes back to either of them being insecure.

Banter between Alina and Nikolai? I’m all for it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a Darklina trash, but like... Nikolai is fun. I could see him and Alina having an arranged political marriage and ending up falling in love years into it, that’s all I’m saying.

Chapter 20

Just let this one go, Alina, please. You two are not working out. Please, end it with him. You’ll both probably be happier. (I’m saying this with the full knowledge that Malina is endgame).

Jesus Alina, get your shit together. You have every right to be mad, because you two didn’t actually break up, you didn’t kiss Nikolai and also, I don’t like Mal.

Sooo... when is Alina going to realize her manchild of a boyfriend is an amplifier?

Chapter 21

Alina has the horny sickness, lol.

Jesus Christ, girl, I don’t want to read your vaguely suicidal thoughts.

Mal, you fucking idiot.

Alina, stop defending Mal.

Chapter 22

Alina has a logical thought? Impossible.

Finally, some action.

Chapter 23

Oh, boi, this is going great.

Oh, boi, Alina’s having another martyr moment.

And, we’re done.

Finally.

That was a ride. Nothing really happens for like ten chapters and then everything happens in one and a half.

#shadow and bone #grishaverse #siege and storm #review #darklina #anti mal #I guess #reading binges like this yeet me right back into middle school

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qqueenofhades · 3 years

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To be absolutely honest I really disliked mal, like he is so plain and boring and … single minded? Kinda dumb 🤷🏻‍♀️ i feel Alina and Kirigan are much more balanced. Well, if what you say it’s true and they’re gonna change stuff I really would like to see those two together!!!!! Tbh Mal is kind of the only character I disliked on the show, and the chemistry is nothing like Darklina’s. They gave me more siblings vibes

Aha. I don't do character or ship hate (and even when I feel it, I don't post it), but I do go in for media/writing analysis, so that's some of what we can do here. If you like Mal or Mal/Alina and don't want to read some critical views on that, probably best to scroll past this post; no hard feelings! I will also tag it mal critical for anyone who might want to filter (and for any future posts I make in this vein).

Anyway. I don't hate show!Mal (although book!Mal was definitely in my bad graces by book 2; I didn't read book 3 in part because I was like "ugh THIS guy? Really?"), but he's just... not... interesting. He is introduced to us in 1x01 with the slow-motion shot of him seeing Alina that is clearly supposed to invest us in the two of them as a couple, and from there, he just seems to exist either to worry about her or to serve her needs in finding the stag. This is no slant on Archie Renaux, who is a fine young actor and is perfectly acceptable in the role. Rather, it's a larger shortcoming of the writing and structure in both book and show, in which Mal and Alina are presented to us as Childhood Friends With a Crush and that suffices to build their bond, along with... twelve flashbacks to the meadow, or whatever it is. We're just told to be invested in them because the characters are when the story starts, but we don't get any sense of why that should be or who Mal really is as a character and why Alina is so desperate to be with him again. We're told that they are, but.... eh.

Mal is basically a plot device to give Alina motivation to reveal her powers, to provide a contrast to her life in the Little Palace, to help her get to the stag when she escapes, and be there with her when she leaves Ravka at the end of s1. And that is.. kinda how he stays, orbiting around her and being there to give her what she needs, at least some of the time. Book!Mal gets into that Yeah No Thanks territory of blaming Alina for her powers and being distracted with the Grisha war and angry when other men express attraction to her, and while they've made him (thus far) more palatable in the show, that's gonna veer hard into Nope Territory if it likewise happens. And if they do have to change the entire way a character is written in the source material to make the relationship work, that's.... not a good thing.

Leigh Bardugo and Eric Heisserer (the showrunner) have indeed said that the show will be "significantly" different from the books (as was apparent to anyone watching s1), but I doubt that will extend to changing the main character's endgame relationship. Alina's original ending in book 3, though, is just disappointing: she kills Aleksander (albeit in a poignant/tragic way), destroys the Fold, loses her Sun Summoner powers, and goes off to live with Mal in obscurity on a farm while everyone thinks she's dead. And like... I ask you... what is the point? She goes on this whole magical and epic journey and doesn't ultimately become or do or be anything more than when she started? Especially given that show!Alina explicitly says in her conversation with Genya that "Mal always dreamed of retiring to a farm, but I've never liked farms," are they going to have her arc be "oh yeah I was wrong about that, I really do like farms after all?" I repeat: eh.

Plus, aside from Aleksander, Alina has another relationship coming up (with Nikolai Lantsov, who we haven't met in the show yet), so if we're going to see her just insisting on staying with Mal because.... whatever, he's good at tracking and The Meadow, that's likewise not going to work in the visual medium and the narrative that they've set up. Especially when she's ALSO getting these hot-and-heavy Secret Midnight Visits with Aleksander and they're continuing to bond even while on opposite sides/at loggerheads. They're going to have to write something a lot more compelling than "Alina is clinging to her childhood/Mal even while Nikolai and Aleksander are objectively much more interesting and complicated characters who are both clearly into her and offering her different kinds of respect and empowerment," otherwise it's just going to happen because the narrative/writers said it should, and that.... (LOOKING AT YOU TIMELESS) doesn't... work. Especially when there's something that they don't want to explore just because it would ruin their pre-existing plan. So. Yeah.

Anyway, I'm old and tired, I don't do shipwars, I do know how things happen in the original source material so I'll just have to wait and see what or any of it they decided to change, and as noted, I am well practiced in using fic to change things, lol. So I'm not gonna get TOO worked up about it, but these are my thoughts.

#anonymous #ask #mal critical #darklina #(likewise for anyone who wants to filter)#shadow and bone spoilers

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kallypsowrites · 3 years

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Ruin and Rising + Committing to the High Stakes

The meta of the day has been chosen by @dreamsatdusk (they got in first, but I’m gonna do the others). We’re gonna talk about why it’s important to commit to your high stakes instead of just using them to get a contrived emotional response from your audience and characters.

This is gonna have spoilers for Ruin and Rising obviously so turn back now if you don’t want those.

So, one of the core emotional conflicts of Ruin and Rising is that Alina has to kill Mal. Now...the fact that an amplifier can only be used if you kill them is a retcon from book one that I have my own problems with, but we’re not talking about that. The stakes of this book in the latter half are as follows: To stop the Darkling and banish the fold, Alina must kill her best friend.

Now, I’m certainly not a Malina shipper, but I can recognize the potential emotional power of this. Having to kill someone you care about for the good of all is such a classic move in fiction and it’s been done very well in some series (and very poorly in others). Especially when the one who must be sacrificed is on board with it and the one who has to do the sacrificing is not. It’s also a nice parallel of when Alina told Mal to kill her in book one. So I had no problem with that aspect of the story. Give me that tragedy. That gut wrenching choice. That’s good stuff.

Except. For. He. Doesn’t. Die. And for seemingly no reason either. At the end of the day, Mal gets to live because...I guess Leigh wanted her M*lina endgame. But this means all the chapters we’ve spent with Alina having to prepare herself for Mal’s death, Mal preparing himself for death...it loses all it’s weight. Cause like...it’s fine. No consequences. No stakes. He loses his tracking abilities but that doesn’t have near the weight of Alina losing her light because we haven’t explored his relationship with his abilities (just their utility to the plot).

And this is the problem: When you set up that a character must make a choice, give something up, sacrifice something they love...but then they don’t have to sacrifice that thing...the stakes were never that high to begin with. And no, Alina losing her powers doesn’t count as the sacrifice because that WASN’T her choice. That was a random side effect of banishing the fold. Neither her nor Mal chose to make that sacrifice. They chose to make a different one but then they didn’t have to deal with the results.

Six of Crows did much better with this in my opinion. And I’m not talking about (spoilers for SoC) the major character death in the second book. I’m talking about the Jurda Parem that Nina takes.

This is set up as an addictive drug. It can give a Grisha huge amounts of power but then they will die without it. HOWEVER there is a loophole set up. If the Grisha only takes the drug once, there’s a chance they can recover.

So Nina takes the drug. And we, the audience, know there’s a chance that she will die. But there’s also a chance she will live. The stakes are high and there is a built in uncertainty because we know it could go either way. But the door has been left open for a good and bad outcome. So when she lives we’re like ‘cool! I’m glad the better outcome happened! But I was still worried’. (Spoilers for SoC end)

For Mal? There was no door open for the good outcome. It was a ‘he absolutely must die, no other option’ situation. The only good outcome possibility was if they managed to stop the Darkling without resorting to using the third amplifier. And they couldn’t do it. So the consequence is Mal’s death.

But it wasn’t. The author backed off. Didn’t go through with it. Cause she wanted her “happy” ending (which I didn’t consider all that happy because of Alina losing her powers, but that’s another story). And thus, the story loses all of it’s emotional weight on rereads. Because that big decision they have to make? Turns out they didn’t have to make it at all

Leigh has a general problem with this in the first trilogy. The only characters who die are side characters who she gave about two lines of personality and her eeeeeeeeeeeeevill villain the Darkling (which...we’re not gonna get into that here). Main characters though. Nah, they’re all fine. Even the one that I set up might have to die. He doesn’t. He’s fine. Whatever. Screw high stakes.

This isn’t even about me being a Darklina at this point. Like, if Mal died, the Darkling would die too. I’m aware of this. Honestly, even if Darklina wasn’t a thing and the Darkling was just the shadowy villain with no connection to Alina, I’d still think Mal should die. Because that was the set up I was given.

The moral of the story for authors is this--when you set up a major choice, it has to be made. You have to follow through. And if there is an outcome that saves the character from that choice, you have to set up that backdoor which allows them to escape tragedy. If you don’t, it ends up just a way to tug at reader’s emotions at the expense of good storytelling.

#shadow and bone #ruin and rising #darklina #alina starkov #the darkling #anti Malina #the grishaverse

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