#Darklina is endgame

[dhampiravidi]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Shadow and Bone (TV), The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo Rating: Explicit Relationships: The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Original Female Character(s), The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov, Alina Starkov/Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Mildly Dubious Consent, Cheating, Hate Sex, Revenge Sex, Crying, Tsar The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova, Married The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Original Female Character(s), Overstimulation, Oral Sex, Bisexual Alina Starkov, Facesitting, Sad Ending, Soft The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova, Shadow Summoners (The Grisha Trilogy), Bisexual Female Character, Snark, What Was I Thinking?, Tidemakers (Grishaverse)

Summary:

You catch your husband, the great Tsar of Ravka, Aleksander Morozova, in bed with the Sun Summoner. Then he announces his intention to divorce you. So you decide to get your revenge, the only way you know will hurt him.

This can be seen as a less-happy alternative to the universe presented in my other fic, Moi Soverenyi.

[earlsgrey]

it’s actually terribly funny to me that malinas and darklinas spent this much time beefing for nikolina to come out on top. it feels poetic

[ghosdeds]

Soooo I just found this in my drafts funnily enough — I wrote it before the second season came out so I guess sometimes in late 2022/early 2023. Back when I was (foolishly) hopeful for season 2 and honestly I might make something out of it and get to writing.

-

How, in my opinion, they can salvage the ‘call me Aleksander’ scene : flashbacks of moments between the Darkling and Alina that we’ve never seen before (the deleted scenes!!! More of Alina’s life at the Little Palace please thanks), prior to the unfortunate name reveal, shown to us one by one as Alina grieve for what could have been and for the man she’s come to almost love. Mal calling him by his name and Alina immediately snapping at him not to say it aloud, with us the audience realizing that she feels guilty over sharing this last confidence she’s gotten from him. The Darkling letting her know, very bitterly, that she’s made him feel .. human (not in so many words, ‘course), that he thought he’d finally found the one who’ll accept and understand him, his one true equal, that he believed for a second that he’ll never be alone again, and him looking back at her and telling her he’s been unfortunately mistaken, that it was a weakness on his part - I put my trust in a girl who cannot stand the thought of her own potential - and that he’ll never even think of trusting her ever again, with her yelling back that he never really did, did he, that his flowery words meant nothing because it wasn’t enough, that he’s never given them a chance, that he shouldn’t delude his actions for what they are to ease his own guilty conscience, and that she’s the one who’s never going to trust him again. And then we have the Darkling responding that she never did, either, because she ran off without hearing his side of the story. We see them glaring down at each other, the echoes of the proud, hurtful words barring them from adding more, then the Darkling disappears and she’s left alone with her dark thoughts. We get the ‘you betrayed me’ as well as the ‘all men can be made fools’ line from Aleksander. We get a ‘I was merciful’ moment from the Darkling, after he threatens Mal’s life. We get the ‘I want you to know my name, will you have it?’ line in a different way, maybe a ‘I want you to know my story, will you hear it, Alina?’ and him telling her about the events in the Demon in the Wood, and us being shown them, of course, and more - how he came to be an ever present member of Ravka’s court and the founder of the second army, how badly the Grishas were treated and are treated even now. I want him to tell her about his past lives. If he obviously trusts her enough to tell her the name tattooed on his heart, he trusts her enough to tell her all that’s happened to him, to make her understand that not all things are black and white, that it was for the greater good, for them, and when he realizes that she can’t see past his wrongdoings, we see his anger. How dare she judge him when she’s abandoned Ravka for a peaceful life with Mal? When she’s betrayed him?

Season 2 do not fail me I want the best angst ever written, please. Let Alina find out Aleksander destroyed Novokribirsk because they were actively trying to assassinate her and that he wasn’t lying on that front, it’s interesting to see her conflicted emotions at war. I want a lovers to tragic obsessive enemies. I want misunderstandings, with the frustrating realization that they’ll never talk about anything without making it worse. But I also want Alina to realize that the Darkling is the extreme, that what he is fighting for might have started as a good cause, but that he lost himself centuries-of-persecution earlier. I want her to learn from his mistakes. To see in him a version of herself that she might become, should she forget herself. Overall I just want to see her fight for her people and become BAMF. Ughhh so many thoughts

[koroleva-nazyalensky]

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.

[gwandas]

I actually cannot stress enough that I am normally down for anything. As someone who is normally happy with canon/endgame ships acotar has been… a humbling experience to say the least

[fantastic-nonsense]

I need the Grishaverse fandom (and particularly Darklina stans) to understand that while there's a LOT about the S&B trilogy to criticize extra-textually, textually it IS a happy (or at least a solidly bittersweet-trending-sweet) ending for Alina and Mal. That's canon. Alina and Mal are happy at the end of Ruin and Rising.

They got the same type "bittersweet but hopeful" ending Peeta and Katniss did: scarred by their experiences but looking forward and moving on together. And like Leigh later wrote in Crooked Kingdom, they "wrung magic from the ordinary":

You can disagree with that ending because you personally don't feel like they should be happy, but the epilogue explicitly states that they are.

[darkolaism]

so many ppl hating sab s2 ending like . alina runs away losing her powers and living a housewife life with mal? BAD. alina becomes a queen, realizing her worth and at least doesn't run away from her GRISHA life ? DISGUSTING. Pick a struggle and what the fuck you want lol

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Shadow & Bone 2x04 - “Every Monstrous Thing”: Alina & Aleksander

“- It’s good to see you, Alina. (Aleksander) - You’re not real. (Alina) - The Sea Whip has made you stronger. I always told you, you were meant for more. Power suits you. (Aleksander) - Stay away from me. (Alina) - I’m trying to protect you from the fighting. (Aleksander) - You lured me away from my friends. (Alina) - To keep you safe. (Aleksander) - To kill them. (Alina) - Only the Lantsovs. But my creations are somewhat unpredictable. Not unlike you. (Aleksander) - Get out of my head. (Alina) - Why must you be so difficult? I’m only doing this because I care about you. Let me help you. I’ll be back for you. I have no intention of hurting you. You must know that by now. (Aleksander) - Forgive me if I don’t take you at your word. (Alina) - I was honest about what mattered. (Aleksander) - Like creating the Fold? (Alina) - Your obsession with the Fold is naive. Destroying it won’t solve Ravka’s problems. They’ve hated us and hunted us long before the Fold existed. I was there. Now stop this, please. And come with me. We’ll rule together side by side. I promised that you and I would change the world. And I intend to keep that promise. (Aleksander) - That is never going to happen. (Alina) - How do you see this playing out? You and your Lantsov Prince happily ever after? Your faithful tracker curled up at the foot of your throne. I have seen what you truly are, and I have never turned away. I never will. Can they say the same? (Aleksander) - They’re not the ones obsessed with power and control. (Alina) - Power must be controlled. And you are playing a very dangerous game with it. (Aleksander) - You don’t want me to tear down the Fold, because if I do, I’ll destroy the only thing you have left. (Alina) - Have it your way.” (Aleksander)

They are definitively endgame for me!

[waldensblog]

That's it. We're gonna have to A Very Shadow and Bone musical our way out of this one, guys.

[sad-outsider]

How Leigh Bardugo and the showrunners shot themselves in the foot

I was talking to my cousin recently, FYI, she didn't watch the show or read the books, but she thought Darklina was endgame and she was disappointed when I told her it wasn't. And she's not the only one who thinks so. Hell, when I bought the books, I myself thought that Darklina was endgame, I wanted them to be endgame, and judging by the number of fanfictions, I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed in the end. So I have a question: why advertise Darklina’s ship as the main one, if in the end they won’t be together anyway? What was the point? Make money from a popular ship, only to show readers and viewers a big nothing at the end, and then complain when your fan base spits at such an ending? What were they expecting? That we'll just suck it up and thank them for deceiving us? Someone should have told them that people usually get angry when they are given something they didn't want. At best, disappointed fans will spit on the canon and go write fix-it fanfiction, and at worst, they will write angry reviews. And that's exactly what happened. Darklina may not be canon in the books and the show, but in the minds of many fans they are endgame, and no amount of shouting from Bardugo and the showrunners about how toxic this ship is and how evil the Darkling is will change that. Congratulations to you, Bardugo and the showrunners, you dug yourself a hole, I hope you stay there for deciding to deceive a bunch of people.

[astrababyy]

https://www.tumblr.com/astrababyy/738088417973420032/one-thing-i-really-liked-about-feyre-in-the-first

This post of your makes me wonder if SJM wasn't a onetrick pony and respected her own stories and actually wrote characters and not tropes of girlboss ™️ what would've feyre's character trajectory looked like? I'm interested to know what do you think her arc would've been?

I sometimes feel like the problem isn't even Feysand being a ship it's SJM molding Feyre (& nesta) so they are similar to their bat boy mates. Because like there's S&B with darklina being it's most popular ship. Sure it's not endgame and that's because Leigh didn't completely change Alina's whole personality to fit the darkling. Alina got to keep the characteristics that made her who she is which is what made the chemistry between the two interesting too unlike in SJM's stories where she obliterates her fmc's entire personality to fit their male li and in doing so it ruins any appeal in the "ship" itself. Feyre/Feysand and Nesta/Nessian are both examples of that.

hello, anon! i rarely ever receive asks regarding meta or characterization so thanks so much for this lol <3

as i stated in the post you linked, i do believe that feyre's natural arc would've had some sort of internal conflict regarding both her trauma from under the mountain and her being turned into a faerie. i feel that rhysand's comment about her "human heart" could've been emphasized better in the second book and would've served as an interesting contrast from rhys, her established mate in the story. their morals are vastly different from each other; how does this change their relationship? would feyre accept him for who he is? would she judge him, scorn him, try to help him?

especially in regards to the impending war, i think feyre struggling with her newfound fae instincts, being different from who she used to be, and trying to reconnect with who she used to be while accepting who she is now could've been very profound and paired well with her struggles with the trauma she faced from under the mountain.

the major issue with feyre's characterization is how she was molded to become rhysand's partner, rather than being able to fit with him naturally and seamlessly. the same issue occurs with nesta and cassian's relationship, where her character has to be altered just to fit in with the person cassian is. in feyre's case specifically, it got worse as the books went on. feyre gradually became less and less alike to her old self without a clear reason for why she was changing in that way. as i stated before, her becoming a less violent-averse person due to her faerie nature is understandable and would've been a wake-up call considering her transformation, but feyre becoming less empathetic and understanding of the plight of the lower classes, becoming so much more okay with spending money carelessly, supporting rhysand's frankly corrupt government structure, etc. are all ooc.

feyre, as a character, had a lot of potential and could've had that transition into becoming this warrior queen without losing all her morals and beliefs, becoming a vessel for the pro rhysand agenda. it's truly unfortunate that her character had to devolve in the way it did.

[stromuprisahat]

For me, it would have been very easy to achieve a Darklina endgame, even after season 1.

Malina fans argue that since their relationship has been introduced and established throughout the season, and the Darkling betrayed Alina, they are the logical way to go. The obvious endgame.

To this I answer:

No.

Throughout the season, it is shown that Alina being with Mal restrained her in her abilities and who she really was. After episode 4, she had agreed to detach herself from him, erasing the scar she had made to pit the test, and thus bury who she really was for Mal. While he, on the contrary, kept this scar he had made by defending her (also) without his knowledge, in addition to claiming that Alina was his true north. Something Alina also did BUT in the episode before, while there, now, well she let Mal go after finally figuring out that her relationship with him had basically gotten in the way of who she really was and could potentially hold her back. . So there, basically, Malina was no longer on the same page. Then Episode 5 reinforces that fact, in addition to finally making it clear that Malina has in fact never been on the same page at all, with Alina saying that Mal wants a farm, but Alina doesn't like firm and would instead like to travel. Basically, we are shown during the first 5 episodes that despite their love, well they are very different. Mal didn't allow Alina to move on, and she doesn't even want the same things he does in life in general. Worse, he's mortal, and she's immortal, as Aleks points out in Episode 7. It's basically a relationship, realistically doomed.

Without forgetting that this conversation of the Darkling and Mal takes place just before that of Darklina. Mal having told the Darkling that Alina chose him over him. Then, we hear Alina say later that she and Aleks could have had it all together if he had told her the truth. Without forgetting that when he leaves the tent, Alina hesitates to call him back to her. So the dialogue, as well as this whole situation basically proves that no, Alina didn't choose Evil in there, he's wrong. On the contrary, it becomes the default choice. The second choice. Simply because the future she imagined as clearly as possible… It was with Aleks. In fact, when Alina ran away from Aleks, she wasn't even thinking about Mal. I recall that she had essentially put it aside. So when Alina ran away from Aleks, it wasn't for Mal, it was for herself. Finding Mal was essentially a coincidence, not something she sought to cause. And when Alina spoke of the future by involving Mal in the series, it was to say that she wanted to travel, and he, to have a firm idea that she never liked. (Even one of my friends who doesn't like Darklina at all, recognizes this aspect of the story where Mal appears as a second choice when she wanted to build a future with the Darkling. She also likes the relationship and the Malina link, but finds her straining in romantic terms)

Then, next to Mal as a character, we have Aleks, the other most powerful grisha in existence apart from Alina, literally her natural complement, the darkness of her light. The one who encourages her to be who she really is. I'll add that since he's immortal, he must have traveled well elsewhere and could basically show the world to Alina.

People think the necklace case is irretrievable. It's bullshit. The Darkling had specific reasons for doing what he did and for an essentially noble and righteous purpose. Without forgetting that Alina very quickly regained control of her powers.

Let's also not forget the fact that she didn't know about Zlatan, about Marie, or even the whole truth about the creation of the Fold. Sorry, but Bagrah barely told him the tip of the iceberg.

If Alina learned all these things, it is impossible for her to remain in her black and white vision to consider the Darkling purely as an enemy.

A clever story would have Alina learn all of these things to make her reconsider the situation and potentially forgive Aleks later. It's fucking completely doable!

Hell, I literally read a trilogy (The Kinder of Poison) where Kasta (main male protagonist, coded as symbolically having darkness within him) stabbed Zahru (the heroine of the story, coded as a symbolic source of light), choosing the magic he would reap from this sacrifice, even as she begged him to choose her and they grew closer during the book, developing feelings for each other . And yet, he chose to stab her in the heart! The only reason Zahru survived is because Kasta's brother's companions rescued him inextremist! And yet in the last volume, Zahru forgives her, and they get married, ending up more in love than ever! If forgiveness is possible there, why wouldn't it be for Darklina with this fucking necklace story?!

Beyond that, we are still talking about an antagonist who has been fighting for a minority who has been orpified for centuries against a monarchy corrupt to the bone and trying to maintain a country that is fucking on the way to extinction. Aleks is not and never was the real bad guy in this mess. A cleverly written story would have unquestionably brought Darklina together against Ravka's true enemies, and Mal would have become a love of the past, no more and no less. We would reinforce their differences and incompatibility. Damn that scar should have come out! How could Mal not ask about this in season 2?! Also, although I hate those ridiculous meadow scenes, since we were given one at the end of the last episode of season 1, it would be good to put some back on but much less idealize than those we saw in season 1, to make the bridge with the deterioration of their relationship and that everything remains fluid and connected. And we could very well have kept this good energy and special bond that they had from season 1, by making it / making it more fraternal, knowing that it is already the feelings that they send back to most spectators, and even generally in the story. Malina is family. Darklina is the lovers. (even Jessie Mei Li said it) To say, Malina after season 1 had ended up in the top of the most forced couples…

Sorry to say, but this is all the natural path for the story to follow from the end of season 1. (And even the end of volume 1, I feel like saying. Anything was still possible after this first volume. Alina could have had a meteoric evolution, just like the story. But we know that's not what we got…)

Yet Alina will never learn the truth about the Fold. She will never learn of Marie's death a little caused by Kaz all the same huh, but not considering that it is necessary to show that Alina and Inej get along for the fan service… She will not learn either the plans of Zlatan which consisted in having everyone on board the skiff killed once it arrived, as well as his plan to kill her which led to the death of Marie. Whether it's by herself or through Zoya, for example, Alina will never know.

And of course, all this is very practical and allows Alina to remain ignorant and not evolve. Except that it creates a huge dissonance between the spectators and the characters. The viewer is not supposed to be the only one to know such important and crucial information. At least not indefinitely. The logical way is that the heroine also learns them at some point.

Except that if she learned them, the logical path would be for her to go to the Darkling, except since this is a path that the writers refuse to take, they prevent the logical progression of their story and their heroine.

There's also been no conversation where Mal basically tells Alina that she's immortal, or even Alina shown to actually think about it in a deep way on her own. It's always the Darkling talking about it, while she avoids the subject. (at least until episode 5 of season 2) Like… a child who refuses to face the truth in fact, and it is frustrating.

.

[ncarnesir]

A Story of her Own

This is the story of a Sun Summoner that is much much older than the Darkling and is looking for her own haven if one might say. Can Aleksander be that for her? Is it even what she's looking for? Well you'll have to read the story to know ;)

Art on the moodboard is from Abel Klaer

Back in 2021, after watching Shadow and Bone for the first time, I somehow got inspired and started writing. And the result was this, my very first fanfic, A Story of her Own.

To be honest, there are a lot of cringe parts specially in the beginning and you can tell I'm newbie writer, but I'm still super proud of it. What I'm less proud of is that it's still not finished, but I've been working a lot on it recently so maybe I'm finally going to complete this.

I am taking a looooot of liberties in this, regarding canon, the magic system, the history of the world. But I do think it's at least coherent. Also there's a lot of smut because... I like that.

Chapters: 41/~70

Fandom: Shadow and Bone (TV), The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con

Relationships: The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov, The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Zoya Nazyalensky, Mal Oretsev/Alina Starkov, Zoya Nazyalensky/Mal Oretsev

Characters: The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova, Alina Starkov, Mal Oretsev, Baghra (The Grisha Trilogy), Genya Safin, Zoya Nazyalensky, Ivan (The Grisha Trilogy), Fedyor Kaminsky, Nikolai Lantsov, Nina Zenik

Additional Tags: Darklina - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Endgame The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov, Romance, Angst, Fluff, Smut, Mutual Pining, Simp The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova, BAMF Alina Starkov, Morally Grey Alina Starkov, Sankta Alina Starkov, Older Alina, Older Woman/Younger Man, Who's scheming really ?, Morally Ambiguous Character, different POV, Minor Character Death, mild graphic depiction of violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempts, annoying pet names, Mention of triggering subjects coming in the future, Potentially more graphic depiction of violence coming in the future, Unlucky Zoya, Sun Soldier Malyen, BFF Genya, We hate Baghra, Scheming Nikolai, Apparat is not a bad guy, Several Explicit Sex Scene, Dubious Consent, Light Dom/sub, Oral Sex, Dream Sex, Manipulative sex, Rough Sex, Minor sex scene between The Darkling / Zoya (before Alina), Minor oral sex scene between Malyen / Alina, Personal interpretation of how amplifiers work, Personal interpretation of different grishaverse myths, Mainly based on the show, And the Wiki, English is not my 1st language, English is not my beta’s 1st language either, This thing is a full story (with plenty of smut for fun), Rated non-con because, Dream sex she doesn't know is not really a dream, Kissing while the other is not aware, NO rape

Summary:

Everyone always supposed the Sun Summoner would appear one day, the Darkling first, but somehow, they never imagined that maybe she was already there, among them.

Or how Alina is much older than she looks like and is playing a game of her own.

[darklinaforever]

You know, Grisha's perfect ending for me would have been Darklina endgame working for the good of Ravka.

But another ending that I would have loved is Alina who agrees to become queen alongside Nikolaï, who always overcomes her obsession with Mal, but who, since having lost the Darkling (her soul mate) due to the having killed, and that without him she has no more balance, well that she becomes like him / is established in the end as a Darkling in the making. Hello Dark-Alina !

Yes, because, sorry, but in any universe where Alina kills the Darkling, I can't imagine her staying nice / pure. It's impossible thematically speaking for me, since it no longer has any balance.

[avengers-rule103]

i dunno, i hate to get both mine and other peoples hopes up but the way i see it that ending actually left the door wide open for darklina to be endgame, especially since it was shown that alina quite enjoyed her new killing power, and i (spoilers for the books) i know the darkling comes back and again, they've left that possibility well and truly open. like they did all of THAT and you're gonna tell me that the darkling can't come back? pfft. part of the reason mal left is because he recognised (a little too late to be completely honest but) that alina was destined for more, to become more and do more and she is well and truly on that path now when it comes to power. she was the only one that could've pulled the darkling into line. when she touches his face and he sinks into it, he would've done anything for her, and now he's going to possibly end up being the only one to pull her into line. the darkling was right in that one without the other unbalances things, they need each other to balance each other out.

[yolixpan]

I have an idea for a fic, where after their time in the army, Alina and Mal get their farm, get married, have children and everyone says Alina "glows" with every pregnancy almost magicaly; but she is still unaware she is a Grisha. Until their last child reveals he/she is an inferni and chaos breaks out. The idea is a more mature Alina, who is aware of what being a grisha could lead to (the good and the bad), and she is more involved with everything at the Little Palace and, for personal reasons has to take a more firm stand for the grisha. And a Mal who is letting his predjuice get the best of him. I love Darklina and I would like this ship being an endgame, but I suppoused time will tell.