#alina doesn't want to be a saint but she gave up her childhood home tosave the future of the grisha and now she csnt ever witness it

[starless-ash]

finished reading ruin and rising and i just AHDJFJXJYAD

while I understand that the ending is meant to give Alina and Mal the peace they want and deserve, an end to all the suffering and fighting they never asked for it still feels so bittersweet and not really like a happy ending

Alina and Mal never hated their powers, just the baggage thst came with them and taking them away(especially from Alina who suffered the most when repressing them) feels like a loss too huge to be what is represented as a good ending

Their friends come and visit once an year and they bring gifts and sometimes the king comes by too and they're free of all the burdens of this world but do they never feel like they're collecting dust in a forgotten corner of the world they gave up everything to save? do they never feel lonely when all they have is each other? do they resent all the sacrifices made for a future that's just out of reach?

#alina doesn't want to be a saint but she gave up her childhood home tosave the future of the grisha and now she csnt ever witness it #mal had to give and give and give for the war to end and when the world was saved his biggest skill and passion weren't his anymore #they stripped themselves to the bones for the great cause and were punished for ir #i know they wanted peace but the epilogue feels more like a mausoleum than a happy endinf #alina starkov #alina starkova #mal oretsev #malina #shadow and bone #ruin and rising