#starless saint

[outletcrash]

the martyrdom of sankta alina and vanquishing of the starless saint

ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵉʳˢᵖᵉᶜᵗᶦᵛᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵃⁿ ᵃʳᵗᶦˢᵗ ᵒⁿᵉ ʰᵘⁿᵈʳᵉᵈ ʸᵉᵃʳˢ ˡᵃᵗᵉʳ

ᶦⁿˢᵖᶦʳᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ˢᵗ ᵐᶦᶜʰᵃᵉˡ ᵗʰᵉ ᵃʳᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉˡ ᵇʸ ᶜˡᵃᵘᵈᶦᵒ ᶜᵒᵉˡˡᵒ

#alina starkov #the darkling #sankta alina #the starless saint #grishaverse #shadow and bone #grisha trilogy #s&b trilogy #aleksander morozova #alexander morozova #her light powers became a sword of light artistically #like she grabbed a ray of sunlight straight from the heavans #sun summoner #sol koroleva #the grishaverse #sab #soc #starless saint #art #my art #painting #realism #kind of #in the catholic way #can you tell i dont know my terminology.. #digital art #cult of the starless saint #this took me 3 days dont let it flop pretty pretty please

[idaoftheburningmind]

Dawn Greeting Dusk Falling

A reimagining of the events after ‘Siege and Storm’ and a coping mechanism for the SaB S2 ending we would rather not have…

She had kept a little of his shadow, he enough of her light. This is what made it possible, this meeting at the roiling edge of the Fold where Alina knew she would one day find herself.

Fifty years did he say? She knew it had been more, and still it surprised her as the seasons dragged on that love had endured — the love of so many, and the love of one above all. Even if she had to watch each one shrouded and laid in the ground. Each and every one.

What she means to do here now is neither a reckoning, nor a reconciliation. The moment is simply right. She looks into the shadows, and lifts her hand. The globe of light is muted, as though in a fog; but she knows he will not fail to see it.

“Alina.”

There is no rage in the way he says her name, not even a question. They are past that, she supposes.

One who was too young, and one who lived too long; they were here now, nearly unchanged but for her white hair worn unbound. He did not expect her to come sooner, he knew time well enough. He might have thought he knew her as well.

She did not destroy the Fold.

Thought dead after the collapse of the Chapel, legend had it that her spirit guided skiffs as they made each journey. For not a soul has been lost to the Fold since.

That was how she knew that he wasn’t lost. And the knowledge, when she realized it, caused her that day to weep with joy.

The two of them lived because they could not let the other die; when his humanity was burning away, she held on blindly to what remained and he … she could not name what he did, but in the end she knew he had kept her from falling into darkness.

He had kept — some essence, some hope? Light either way.

And a resolve not to lose her to the void.

What was left of him that day was drawn to the Fold, the only place where he could still exist.

A shadow among shadows.

“You might have left me with a fresh set of clothes. An eternity disheveled is its own unique torture.”

She startles with laughter, the unexpected joy at the even more unexpected attempt at humor freeing the tension in her shoulders. She lets herself smile at him, and his smile is genuine as he smiles back.

“Are you angry?” she asks.

“What is anger for?” is his reply.

Flame sputtering to life in sunlight has more purpose.

A silence heavy as the weight of loss they now share settles between them.

“I could not bear it if you turned from me now.”

He spoke the truth. It was the same truth she would always understand, no matter the centuries left to them, no matter their choices that will always hang in the balance.

She reaches for him with a tendril of shadow.

He holds out his hand in welcome.

————-

A/N: For my AU sister @becauseicantthinkwritings who has been putting up with my not-fun era for longer than she should 😅

#darklina #darklina end game #i am never writing fic again #i don’t know how you guys do this #also I’m already inconsolable #aleksander morozova x alina starkov #aleksander morovoza #alina starkov #darklina fanfiction #darklina fanfic #darklina fic #aleksander x alina #alina starkov x the darkling #alarkling #the darkling #shadow king #starless saint #the darkling x alina #general kirigan #darkling shadow and bone #netflix shadow and bone #shadow and bone season two #shadow and bone season 2 #shadow and bone #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone fanfic

[koroleva-nazyalensky]

#I’m aware this one is niche to the rule of wolves darkling girlies who are also loki Stan’s #it can’t just be me tho #loki series #loki laufeyson #aleksander morozova #starless saint #the darkling #rule of wolves #last meme of the night I swear

[stromuprisahat]

The cult of the starless was pretty dumb because why are people who have no love for grisha suddenly worshipping a man who was only associated with the grisha for centuries?

It would've been more interesting if it were the grisha who sided with him in the civil war who brought him back because they didn't want to bow to the monarchy again. There should've been a more divide between the grisha post civil war don't you think? We would've gotten their side of the story and seen how badly the heroes fucked them all up

Saints might've been Grisha, but as soon as otkazat'sya get their grubby little hands on them, they're something different:

“What do we care for politics of that kind?”

“You’ll care when they stack Grisha on the pyre.”

“Grisha?”

Aleksander had to work to hide his anger. “Was not the Darkling a Grisha?”

“He was a Saint. There is a difference. What has come over you, Yuri?”

After reading KoS duology, I don't think there are many Grisha left. Sure, there's the school, some fresh recruits from abroad, brand new Sun Soldiers... but the Darkling's loyalists often ran, hid or died... they didn't interest the narrative during the war, why start now?

Then there's the question what happened to oprichniki, especially to those, who were with the Darkling, when he died. Sure, some fell during the battle, but the rest should've become Sun Summoners. Don't tell me that's enough to switch sides. (Here's an amazing short fic on that topic.)

Yuri might be otkazat'sya, who figured out parts of the Darkling's story by himself, but what about others, who had reasons to be sympathetic to his cause? Families of Grisha children, staff of Little Palace, or other places his people were stationed...

Grisha don't really seem religious to me, so I can see them more as allies than worshippers.

#reply #grishanalyticritical #Grishaverse #Cult of the Starless Saint #The Cult of the Starless Saint #The Dakling #Starless Saint #Grisha loyalists #The Darkling's oprichniki #Yuri Vedenen #RoW Chapter 26 #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #Rule of Wolves

[writingismadnessinmymind]

I offer you my endless love for the Darkling in a painting 🖤🖤🖤🎨

Done in 10hrs with Krita and a Wacom tablet!

Now, Tumblr, let me see all the Darkling stans gather here! *claps hands to open the stage*

#the darkling #grishaverse #six of crows #aleksander morozova #shadow and bone #fanart #general kirigan #crooked kingdom #darklina #ben barnes #kazzle dazzle #siege and storm #season 2 #i can't wait no longer #darkling stan 4 ever #shadow and bone season 2 #starless saint

[darklingduck]

Not me over here crying about the Darkling again at 8am on a Friday morning.

#shadow and bone #alina x darkling #aleksander morozova #the darkling #im utter darkling trash at this point and i don't even care #starless Saint #i need a good darklina scene in the new book i swear

[blushnik]

this was originally made as Billy Russo but ofc it can be Darkling in modern AU too 😌🌘💙

#darkling #aleksander morozova #starless saint #billy russo #shadow and bone #shadow and bone fanart #darkling fanart #grishaverse #myart #blushnik

[spagcatstack]

ahh i hope this doesnt look too weird

#spag art #warrior cats #wc art #frostpaw #creepy tw #blood tw #scopophobia #a starless clan #digital art #mspaint #text above her says saint twice

[twilightroses]

hot girl reads or whatever

#lesbians :) #the locked tomb #this is how you lose the time war #donna tartt #the starless sea #the raven boys #books #the goldfinch #the six deaths of the saint #these violent delights #gideon the ninth

[call-me-sunpaw]

#it's literally all those darkling simps #the author knew the fandom so well she even made a part of it a canon organization #grishaverse #grishaverse memes #rule of wolves #grisha #kos duology #shadow and bone #s&b trilogy #grisha trilogy #king of scars #nikolai duology #the darkling #alexander morozova #the starless saint

[greensaplinggrace]

in much the same way that they shouldn’t have called him ‘the darkling’ if they didn’t want me to think about baby shadows and tiny cats, they shouldn’t have called him ‘the black heretic’ if they didn’t want me to find him sexy. like everyone knows hereticism is the sexiest thing a person can do

#also they shouldn't have given him the name 'starless saint' #im only human #although anybody who knows me knows that his crowning moment of attractiveness for me was when he was forced to his knees in front of alina #but shhh 🤫 #everyone doesn't need to know that #shadow and bone #sab #grishaverse #aleksander morozova #the darkling #myramblings

[hiddenvioletsgrow]

I’m a Darkling hater if ever there was one but I gotta say The Starless Saint and The Black Heretic are some pretty freaking cool villain titles

#the darkling #shadow and bone spoilers #shadow and bone #s&b #king of scars #leigh bardugo #the cult of the starless saint #the black heretic

[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.

#shadow and bone #sab #grishaverse #alina starkov #sankta alina #starless saint #the darkling #shadow and bone netflix #dark!alina #darklina #aleksander morovoza #zoyalai #nikolina #nikolai lantsov #this was in drafts for a minute but it had to be said #like we can’t be upset guys have you READ the duology #it’s all about rolling with the punches #I didn’t even like zoya until like ruin and rising and now she’s my favorite character #anything could happen #I know we’re not gonna get darklina endgame #I know it in my soul #but I’ll take whatever this is like I took their reunion in ROW #Jenna rambles #literally #I usually go off like this in the tags but this has been in drafts for like a week now

[kolarpem]

Morning Doodle: "I don't expect you to be wooed or bribed or swayed by my admittedly winning demeanor," he said so quietly that only the monk and Zoya and Tamar could hear. "But you may be swayed by the sniper stationed behind that gentle knoll--do you see it? Excellent spot for picnicking--with orders to burst your head like a summer melon if I lift my right hand." Nikolai raised his hand the and boy flinched, but the king merely adjusted the lapel of his coat. (Leigh Bardugo's King of Scars CH7)

#nikolai lantsov #yuri vedenen #cult of the starless saint #grishaverse #king of scars #rule of wolves #leigh bardugo #nikolai duology

[stromuprisahat]

That day, half of Novokribirsk was lost when the Darkling expanded the Fold. Many cursed the man responsible for this cruelty and celebrated his death when it finally came. But there are others who worship him still, the Starless One, patron saint of those who seek salvation in the dark.

The Lives of Saints (Leigh Bardugo)

... more like the Patron Saint of Getting Shit DONE...

#Grishaverse #grishanalyticritical #The Lives of Saints #ch: The Starless Saint #The Darkling #Starless Saint #The Cult of the Starless Saint #Cult of the Starless Saint #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #Btw it's HALF of Novokribirsk again... #*eye rolls so hard they get stuck staring into the back of the skull*

[starlesssaintsasha]

“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina," he said. "You and I are going to change the world.

#alinastarkov #alina starkov #aleksander morozova #darklina #grishaverse #shadow and bone #the darkling #ruin and rising #siege and storm #the grisha trilogy #the starless saint #sun summoner #shadow summoner