Wings of Love: Ship Opinions

Moonstalker

"I'm not actually a monster, no matter what the scrolls and ghost stories say. Can't you tell?" 

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Woah, another controversial ship to heat up the comments section!

This ship gets a surprising amount of attention, especially from people on Wattpad. Darkstalker and Moonwatcher? Don't... don't do that.

Before you argue, hear me out:

Darkstalker is not the right dragon for Moon. For one thing, he's too old. You can argue all you want about pedophilia and maturity, but shipping a four-year-old and a 2000-year-old is not right. At all.

At four years, Moon would have the maturity of a thirteen- to fourteen-year-old. Darkstalker, being an adult still in his prime, would have the maturity of a thirty- to forty-year-old. Thirteen-year-olds are not meant to date thirty-year-olds. It's not simply a question of age, but mental development. Children are, by nature, vulnerable. They're smaller and can be oblivious to certain things. It would be easy for an adult to take advantage of a child, since they wouldn't be aware of it. The adult might not even be a creep. When you're older, you tend want different things from a relationship; where a kid might just want someone to hold hands with and post photos of, an adult would be more interested in sex or long-term commitment. The simple maturity difference would cause an imbalance in the relationship.

Also, take into account their powers. Darkstalker is far more skilled than Moon; if anything, he's her mentor. If he didn't want her to see something in his mind, he could shield it from her or even convince her she was imagining it. Even by simply projecting his thoughts, he could manipulate her.

Examples? Take the entirety of Moon Rising. Darkstalker spends most of the story trying really hard to convince Moon that 1. he is innocent and 2. she should abandon everything for him. "Ditch your friends and rescue me! Betray your tribe and rescue me! You don't need them - dragons like us are special, and above them.". Regardless of whether he believes what he's saying, he's still manipulating her. He directs her actions by showing her certain futures (e.g. the vision of Jade Mountain falling) and blatantly looks down on most of her friends.

In the scene at the end of Escaping Peril, we really start to see this in action. Moon, feeling guilty over Darkstalker, runs away with his scroll to try free him. However, once she reads the scroll, she's shocked by the things Darkstalker hasn't told her. He grows angry, to the point where she's visibly frightened ("Darkstalker, stop yelling!"). Yes, perfect relationship material.

If you look back, you'll notice exactly how much Darkstalker keeps from her. Who the murderer is in Jade Mountain. His life story - he didn't tell her anything about his family or his past. His spell on the IceWings.

Although he certainly seems to like her, Darkstalker manipulates Moon and hides things from her on many occasions. While he does help her cope with her powers and the anxiety they cause, an intimate relationship between them would be disastrous. Moon is assertive enough not to give in to him, but I don't want to see her broken.

I'll probably rewrite this at some point - it feels tacky - but to summarise: pedophilia, manipulation, secrets. Moon and Darkstalker are excellent as friends or as mentor and apprentice, but would never work out as lovers.

0/10.