#darknikolina

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Fic | Inconvenient Attachments

Status: Complete, 12k words

Notes: Darknikolina, past Darkolai

Alina didn’t mean to befriend a prince of Ravka in the army. And she always laughs it off when he jokes about them running away together. Until it seems like he might actually mean it, and then the Darkling intervenes. Or, Nikolina meet in the army AU

[stromuprisahat]

mm thoughts on darkolina/darknikolina? (plz i dont know what it’s usually called but i hope you get it)

It's both as far as I know, and I prefer "Darkolina" (It's all there and it doesn't look too dumbed down.).

It's one of those ships I'm (all) for, depending on a day. Just like Darklina and Darkolai, it has its ifs, namely IF THEY WERE ALLOWED ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT.

Alina (as in other things) needs to discard her baggage- both mental and physical-, so we'd need to get rid of the Blade Boy, her idealisation of her miserable past, her prejudice and bias, mommy issues and insistence on keeping status quo. She'd basically need to re-write her whole personality to become a worthy (political) partner to the other two.

Nikolai is idealistic fool. He'd need to shed his blindness towards uncomfortable truths, especially regarding Grisha- no partner of Aleksander could ignore the slaughters like we've seen in S&S. He'd also need to find the spine he left on his ship. You can negotiate and persuade, but the monarch should also ORDER. And not just the serfs you're conveniently ignoring, when it comes to injustices they have to face.

Aleksander is ironically the easiest one. His greatest issue is "lack of care", which actually isn't present in any of the books, because not even Baghra's lives-long nagging managed to beat it out of him no matter what the narrative claims. He'd "just" need to get over her teachings about inconsequential lives of "the dust" and admit to himself that he does care even for specific mayflies and there's nothing wrong with it. Sure, he's gonna bite and kick and scream on his way there, but he's adaptive and his mommy's death might actually help.

Once they grind their rough edges down a little (*wink wink*), they could become THE power trinity. Two immortals- highly experienced bogeyman and "merciful" Saint, whose rays warm and burn alike- and their charming, clever monster of "an ordinary" King. (Bonus points for making him not quite mortal after Aleksander's "adjustment".)

[moonxreverie]

The Darkling & Alina & Nikolai | Where Is My Mind?

and you'll ask yourself: where is my mind?

or: the modern darkolina au 🚨

[aleksanderscult]

How dou feel about Darknikolina amd Darkolai?

Definitely more appealing than Malina could ever be. I always found the love triangle between Aleksander - Alina - Nikolai far more interesting than the one we got with Aleksander - Alina - Mal. Sure there were some very amusing moments between Mal and Aleksander. But the potential in Darknikolina is so delicious to me.

And Darkolai was another waisted potential. Whether you love this ship or not, you can't deny the similarities between these two characters (no matter what the narrative tries to tell you).

[qqueenofhades]

Completely shocking, out-of-the-blue prompt that I've never mentioned to you before, definitely not inspired by work:

Ivan is a grumpy librarian/archivist, and Fedyor is a researcher who comes by looking for information on Darklina and/or their connection to Nikolai, and he finds the background of a love story. Obviously, the main character is Ivan's Disgust at the Perception of Heterosexuality

The light in the windowless back office is dim, grainy, and often gives Ivan a headache within the first few hours of him getting to work, which is not ideal for improving his temper. (Then again, not much is.) And despite its flaws, he does vastly prefer it to actually having to interact with the library patrons, as there is literally nothing worse than that. Especially academics, who come in with their laundry lists and their obscure texts, their pet projects and their insistence that if he just looks harder, he's sure to find it this time. Ivan has entertained many, many happy visions of just walking out, locking the doors behind him, and setting the whole thing on fire. Not that he has done that, and he probably -- probably -- wouldn't. He needs this job. Employment for a notorious ex-special ops soldier is thin on the ground as it is, and especially when it means he can, if he plays his cards right, spend most of the day completely alone. But still.

It is now, however, winter break at Os Alta Imperial State University, which means the throngs of panicked students trying to finish their last-minute assignment have mercifully receded, and Ivan can mostly organize his boxes in peace. Or so he thinks, until the accursed tinkle of the Please Ring for Service bell summons him like a wrathful specter, sweater-clad and glowering, to the front desk. "What?!"

"Uh. Good morning to you too." The newcomer -- young, dark-haired, and holding a large manila folder which portends absolutely nothing good, raises both eyebrows. "Can I speak to the archivist?"

"You're speaking to him," Ivan growls. This welcome has caused more than one quaking undergraduate to flee in abject terror rather than ask for even one book, and he fondly hopes for a similar effect this time. But the newcomer -- too old for an undergrad, so probably an advanced doctoral candidate or junior lecturer -- is made of stronger stuff, and doesn't flinch. "Can I help you, Mr... ?"

"Doctor," the annoyingly handsome interloper (not that Ivan has noticed) informs him. "Dr. Fedyor Kaminsky. I'm the new lecturer in the history department, Modern Ravkan History, and I was hoping that you could retrieve a few records for me? Boxes..." He consults his notes. Ivan contemplates murder. "T-1343 and T-1345 especially?"

Oh, great. Not again. Kaminsky -- yes, he vaguely recalls that name, from a department telegram welcoming the new faculty and staff, but it is absolutely not germane to Ivan's further actions in any part. He knows what is in those boxes, and someone always thinks they'll find something there that hasn't already been found, removed, and/or heavily censored. Ravka's last tsar and tsaritsa, Nikolai Lantsov and his half-Shu queen, Alina Starkov, are a figure of fascination and mystery for plenty of people, even after the revolution and the establishment of the Konsilium and everything that befell them as a result. Especially their relationship with the so-called Darkling, Aleksander Morozova, one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures in all of Ravkan history. Doctor Fedyor Kaminsky thinks he's going to jump into his new job with that? Good luck.

"We don't have those boxes," Ivan says, which is almost true. The Konsilium strongly prefers, in general, that people don't look at them, and any other uncomfortable bits of their history. "Go away."

Fedyor Kaminsky folds his arms. "No."

Saints, Ivan thinks sourly. What has he done to deserve this purgatory? (The Konsilium has also tried to outlaw the Ravkan Faith, since they're all supposed to be modern and secular now and because nobody wants another Apparat, but old habits are hard to break.) He stares at Fedyor, who stares back. This is confounding. Why hasn't he run away in terror yet? Everyone else does.

"Sorry," Ivan says, and turns away. "Can't help. Good day."

Naturally, Fedyor Kaminsky does not take the hint. He's back again the next day, still politely and stubbornly repeating his request for those boxes, and when Ivan loathingly suggests that the library is on winter-break hours and does not have to accommodate him at all, cheerily asks if Ivan's boss, the director of special collections, would agree. The threat of workplace discipline (or Saints forbid, a note in his permanent file) is stiff enough to make Ivan finally, furiously recant. Fine. If Kaminsky wants to get himself fired before even finishing his first year, it's nothing to Ivan. Might be a perk.

So, when they're into the second week of the requests, Ivan gives in, stomps to the back, and angrily hauls down the boxes, which are gathering dust from all the times he has, according to the rules, refused access to them before. It's not wise for Fedyor to look at these materials in the open, so Ivan tells him to take them to one of the backside reading rooms -- which is right across from Ivan's office, and makes him grimly reflect that he should have planned it better. But Fedyor works steadily and mostly silently, which is always a commendation in Ivan's book, and finally, on one dead-silent freezing morning right after the Winter Fete, when they are literally the only two people in the library and probably all of campus, he gives in. "What are you looking for?"

Fedyor jumps, glancing up in patent surprise. They eye each other for a long moment, as if to be sure that Ivan Sakharov actually did, entirely of his own volition, initiate a conversation with another human being. Then finally, warily, he says, "What's it to you?"

Good, Ivan thinks. Good instincts, just in case I was in fact an informer for the Konsilium. "I don't care," he says aloud. "I was just curious. They seemed so important to you."

"I'm just working on something," Fedyor says, after a long pause. "Confirming a hypothesis. It'll probably get me into trouble, but -- " He shrugs, with no small amount of bitterness. "I'm used to that."

Ivan thinks about it. This can't go anywhere good, but they've been made a strange sort of partners in this buried secret, and he's almost gotten used to Fedyor working away outside his door. "What?"

"I think they were lovers," Fedyor says, after a final, reluctant moment. "Alina and the Darkling, that is, and then also Alina and Nikolai, and maybe all three of them together. I think it's a love story. And as for why this matters, well -- it wouldn't change anything about our own history right now, how it all ended. But the narrative has always been that the Darkling was this awful monster who had to be destroyed, and the Grisha were his secret shock troops determined to overthrow the country on his behalf, and that pulled Alina and Nikolai into some regrettable circumstance they couldn't control and that led to their tragic downfall -- you know. It's just..."

"What?"

"I don't think it's true." Fedyor shrugs again. "I think everything we know about our own past, about the fall of the Imperial House of Lantsov, and about the Grisha, is a lie. And if that's the case, then the Konsilium knows it, or has covered it up, and that means -- "

"Shut up," Ivan interrupts roughly. "Saints. Don't talk like that. Someone could hear you."

"You could hear me." Fedyor smiles a little, a shadowed eclipse, and it does something very strange to Ivan's innards. "Does that matter?"

"I... " Ivan's mouth is dry. He can't look away. Not for any reason that means anything. "Never mind," he says, which seems the best and safest option, if it isn't already far too late. "Go back to work."

Fedyor eyes him a moment longer, then nods, a deliberate motion indicating that he knows and understands Ivan is choosing to keep his secret. Ivan himself doesn't know why, or what it is about Doctor Kaminsky, the feckless and foolish and fearless, that's gotten under his skin. It could be -- but no, it's not, it can't be that. From time to time, the very brave or very stupid actually think that Ivan himself is good-looking and try to flirt, and once a woman actually asked him on a date, which was the worst moment of his entire life (does he look like a heterosexual?!?!) But it's just shallow, surface-level, not like they're seeing him. Not like they know what monstrosity lies beneath. I think it's a love story. As if love matters. As if love, and the simple truth of it, can change the course of history.

Ivan shudders, once and then again. He looks at Fedyor for a very long moment, allowing himself -- just for that short and fleeting instant -- to imagine something he can never, never have. He grieves for it as if it was real, and then he lets it go. Turns, and walks away.

[tirkdi]

When the Path Forward Leads Us Home

Relationship: The Darkling/Nikolai Lantsov/Alina Starkov Rating: E Word Count: 12.2k Alternate ending for Ruin and Rising; cherrypicked canon from King of Scars

Summary: Circumstances may have required it, but Nikolai wasn't first on Alina's list of marriage partners. Nikolai and the Darkling was even further down the list.

[heroineaddicted]

It's Sobachka's turn!

Nikolai is my other half's other fave character, other than Aleksandr -- and honestly, a far better third part of a love triangle with Darklina imo. Darknikolina can be fun <3 Anyhoo, some of these have a Nikolina-y flavour, but in the wry sort of way that my Alina muse relates to him :)

More Darklina memes soon -- promise!

[hannahofathousanddays]

I'm intrigued by the OT3 fic, for the title game!

That one is sort of a dumping ground for any of my snippets of Darknikolina fics! The two main sections are basically:

What if the Darkling won post-Spinning Wheel in R&R and took the opportunity to orchestrate a Toxic and Upsetting Threesome

Alina starts to fight, struggling against the shadows that always nuzzle against her skin with such appalling fondness. If he wants to hurt them in this particular way, Alina wants him to have to look her in the eyes while he does it.

“No? Do you not like that idea, Alina?” He asks, watching her like she’s doing it for his amusement. In a horrible way, Alina supposes she is. She is able to thrash out a no before more shadows press around her skull, bowing her head and pressing her cheek against Nikolai’s.

What if Nikolai and Alina were ruling Ravka together post-R&R and were keeping the Darkling as their dark wizard boy toy

Alina knows he views this as a temporary setback, a minor roadblock towards his ultimate goal of taking Nikolai’s place- ruling Ravka, having Alina all to himself. She likes to try to disabuse him of this notion whenever she can.

“What a stunning present,” Alina remarks, squeezing Nikolai’s hand and turning her face up to him for a kiss. Aleksander sighs through his nose with theatrical forcefulness.

There is also the beginnings of a modern AU snippet which is much softer and dare I say even happy??? So perhaps more to come on that.

Thank you for the ask!

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Fic | Collecting Ashes

Status: Complete, 4.5k words

Notes: Darknikolina, body sharing AU

Alina claims the Darkling as an amplifier, she seems to claim his consciousness with it.

[stromuprisahat]

How would you have concluded Shadow and Bone? What would be ideal ending to you?

I'd scratch all the shit from second season. Truly, there's nothing really worth salvaging.

I wouldn't interfere with the Crows. Hurrying up their plotlines and engrafting them into TGT was a huge mistake. TBH Ravkan cameos sucked even in the books. "Everyone meets everyone" trope's rarely well-handled.

I wouldn't erase Grisha genocide and Ravkan wars, I wouldn't blame them on the Darkling, I'd make the heroes attempt to solve those realistically. Hard decisions, moral dilemmas and dead ends included.

I'd skip idiotic speeches. I know US-American probably love those (judging from their stories), but that shit's pathetic. And a nice speech isn't really likely to open the masses' eyes and turn them into accepting philanthropists.

Alina would grow into a critical, active figure caring for more than Mal (plus like two more people ~sometimes~). Actually caring, not making a speech to three point half Grisha about... whatever was that "My beloved Second Army..." shit supposed to be. Oh, and she becomes less self-centred and more compassionate. Ironically, the pig-headed teen from books had more empathy than her allegedly more mature show!counterpart.

I'd never erase Aleksander's pragmatic, more ruthless streak, and while I cannot see a good ending for him in books, in show he feels much younger, more hopeful... less dead inside?! So even though I wouldn't make him into the brain-dead simp the second season did, he and less short-sighted Alina might work something out in the end.

Oh, and Nikolai would be introduced as the lonely, clever boy with need to prove himself. Anyone else sees Darknikolina possibility?

TGT ends because Alina's robbed of her nature, I think it should end with her fully embracing it, duties and responsibilities included. You cannot control other people's faith, but I'd want her to reject her alleged Sainthood, since Ravkan religion likes to use it to keep dehumanizing Grisha. I don't mind her becoming Queen- for more self-aware character it might be a good way to be able to influence people without that Sainthood she'd give up in my scenario.

I'd like to see her destroy the Fold hand in hand with the Darkling. She might have the power, but she doesn't know shit about merzost, and wouldn't it be a beautiful parallel? The first time they enter it, she believes him The Evil and he's forced to make her use her powers in order to expand it, the second time they both go willingly, and she trusts him enough to allow him to use her power, taking down the thing bit by bit.

Since we're keeping it, we'd need to address the wars and Grisha oppression. The ending doesn't need to mean something definitive- life doesn't work in absolutes-, but Ravka's lack of resources considered, they're in no position to end anything, unless they give up... or conjure something their enemies cannot trump. Excluding merzost, threefold amplified Sun Summoner under more experienced Shadow Summoner's guidance could make a unit small enough to infiltrate enemy territory and target strategically chosen places. With invisibility on their side, they might go unnoticed except for the traces of their activity. They're at that stage of history, when nations are starting to pull out nukes, and Ravka happens to own two fully conscious ones. With Grisha it's much harder. There might be laws, treaties and agreements, but those are just words, and words are wind. What deed might change one person's mind, can only reinforce another's prejudice. This is a nightmare to solve, but education, laws and black magic seems like the only way to go.

So that's the end I got to today. These three forcing Fjerda and Shu Han to lay down their weapons and agree to treat their Grisha in humane way, OR...

[vorbarrsultana]

on fridays, we wear black and gold

[marvelmusing]

Nikolai and Alina playing dress up with Aleksander’s clothes

[lassieposting]

Literally what was Alina thinking, turning down the chance to partner up with the two most influential men in Ravka and form a ridiculously hot, charismatic, powerful throuple. Like girl why even bother being the protagonist if you're not gonna take advantage of the opportunities it gives you, cmon

[waldensblog]

🔥🔥 for the darkling!

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

I actually love his arc in Rule of Wolves. Spoilers below the cut for anyone who hasn't read the King of Scars Duology.

It seems like a lot of antis hate that he was there at all, while a lot fans hate the way the arc went - so I think I'm kinda an outlier Darkling fan with this one (from what I've gathered anyway).

I love when he meets up with Alina - the whole having-tea-with-your-ex bit was great imo. Every interaction with Nikolai too... I'll cap that thought here because otherwise I'll end up writing an essay about Darknikolina no one asked for.

I love how he went from anti-villain to anti-hero (that's how I read it anyway). Giving him POV chapters, having him fight against the Fjerdans with the others, give a final middle finger to the Apparat, then ultimately sacrificing himself to stop the universe from ultimately crumbling on itself? Yes. All of it. It's tragic of course - but then, when is the Grishaverse not tragic? Then, finally, the protagonists, who have spent the novel with lines like "why do you have to be the savior?", "we're all monsters now" and worrying about becoming like him in their efforts to save Ravka, ultimately decide he doesn't deserve to suffer for eternity - they can't forgive all his actions, and I wouldn't expect them to - but they believe he should be allowed to die in peace.

If we don't get any more books, as tragic as it is, it can end there for me, because an anti-villain to anti-hero noble sacrifice arc is beautiful to me. If we do get another (Crows from the way it was hinted at) book? I... I kinda wonder if we're going to have a Kaz-meets-the-Darkling moment in the books, and how that would go.

Anyway, I love him and his arc.

And he did. He did!!!!!! 🖤💔🖤💔🖤💔🖤💔🖤💔

Thanks for the ask :)

[ivvanaga]

UNSAINT TRINITY IS REAL💖❤️‍🔥😈

Daddy and his sugar babies