#Darklina

[lilu787788]

Even if you don’t believe the words, the numbers don’t lie, people care about Aleksander, not the characters the writers desperately tried to show in the best light in the second season of Shadow and Bone. The search trends prove it: even with all the focus on Kaz, Inej, Wylan, and the rest of the Crows, none of them were able to reach the level of interest that Darkling consistently generates. And Mal? He’s practically nonexistent by comparison, as is his importance to the story beyond being an obstacle.

They gave everyone else their best moments, and yet the season still flopped. Why? Because the real heart of the show, Aleksander, was sidelined and then erased. The writers and producers underestimated how invested the audience was in him, thinking they could shift their focus elsewhere and keep viewers engaged. That backfired spectacularly.

The truth is that Shadow and Bone only had the impact it did because of Aleksander, and when they removed him, they removed the soul of the story.

[greensaplinggrace]

I actually like it when ships hurt each other in long lasting and unforgiveable ways. I like it when they leave vicious, glaring scars. I like when they leave traumas. I like when they stab each other and torture each other and ruin each other’s lives and violate every inch of each other’s values. and I like it when they fucking kill each other permanently dead. 

[kathrahender]

Repeat after me: Villain x Hero 👏 or 👏 Enemies to lovers 👏 ships 👏 aren't 👏 toxic 👏 because 👏 they 👏 hurt 👏 each 👏 other 👏 when 👏 they 👏 were 👏 E-N-E-M-I-E-S 👏 not 👏 when 👏 they 👏 were 👏 L-O-V-E-R-S. 👏

[atlasshrugd]

no but the thing is, when the hero falls in love with the villain she is falling in love with the darkest parts of herself. she is owning her shadow and the owning makes her stronger. it is not about whether a ship is toxic or romanticising abuse because it’s not about two individuals. the struggle is not one between two people, just like the love is not between two people. when the hero falls in love with the villain she is loving herself. when she loves herself she is stronger, better, able to transform darkness instead of running from it. at the moment of loving, a person changes. the loved changes. and the love of the villain changes the hero. it’s all about this, don’t you see?

[zovas]

[reggieslocket]

[indestinatus]

Season 2 Trivia | SHADOW AND BONE

[darklesmylove]

enemies to lovers be like

[tired--fangirl]

No, he fucking loved her. He finally found someone like him, someone with power so unique it would be known throughout the world. Someone who he could love forever after watching countless loved ones die. I know he wanted power, but he grew up being hunted, being treated less than because of what he is. How can you expect him to act any different? He loved her.

[anetherealpoetess]

most critics of heroine x villain ships are unknowingly performative, recycling patriarchal ideas of female goodness without ever questioning the cage. it is a masterclass in devastating subservience disguised as feminist critique. you can mute all the faux-progressive language about romanticising toxic relationships, and their arguments would still reek of gut-churning fear and conformity. i feel bad for them. truly. but punishing other women for stepping outside the rigid lines of acceptable womanhood is dystopian. fandoms are not surveillance states. no woman needs permission to enjoy the transgressive. no woman needs to beg forgiveness for enjoying her favourite stories.

[darklinaforever]

Oh my fucking god ?!

[ekbelsher]

Siege and Storm: the scene where Alina's hair turns white

[kathrahender]

"I love enemies to lovers but without the manipulation stuff"

"I love enemies to lovers but without the abuse"

"I love enemies to lovers but without them hurting each other"

"I love enemies to lovers but without them trying to kill each other"

"I love enemies to lovers but without them wanting to hurt/kill the other"

"I love enemies to lovers but only if they fight for little things"

Ma'am, sir, or whatever you want to be called, do you even know the meaning of the word "enemy"?

Enemy: 1) a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something. 2) a hostile nation or its armed forces, especially in time of war. 3) a thing that harms or weakens something else.

These are the different meanings of "enemy". So no, someone you disagree with about little things is not your enemy. For the love of God, understand it already. An enemy is someone you hate. An enemy is someone you want to hurt. An enemy is someone you want to see destroyed. An enemy is someone you'd like to kill. It's someone with a completely different morality, with different morals, with different ways of seeing the world.

An enemy it's not a person who jokes with you like "Oh, you're an idiot" "No, you". It's someone who takes seriously the fights against you, who would do anything to see you defeated and broken. That's what an enemy would do. If they do nothing like these things, they're not your enemy. They can be your rival, or someone you don't get along with, but definitely not an enemy.

And if you don't like these things, then you definitely don't like enemies to lovers ships. Because enemies to lovers ships are based on "two enemies -and I'll repeat it again just in case: two enemies- falling in love, after one corrupts or one redeems". If you don't like/don't accept two people hurting each other when they are enemies and then falling in love, don't pretend you like the enemies to lovers trope, because trust me, you really don't. You don't even know what's the trope about-

[deus-sema]

For me, being hyperfixated on a piece of fiction is like an itch. I can scratch at it until I lose all track of time. Initially, the scratching provides a sense of thrill and comfort. Lots of it. But it's only a matter of time before the irritation and bleeding kicks in. Still, I go on scratching the itch until I can't do so anymore. Time flies. The wound eventually heals. The scars, however, remain forever and I am tremendously fond of them. Then, there are times when some scars begin to itch all over again and I just can't resist it.

[starliteonearth]

Light/Dark Ships stocks have been on the rise recently!

[luzriels]

shadow and bone » season 2 DARKLINA » THE DARKLING・ALINA STARKOV