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stromuprisahat · 2 months

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Isn’t the status of Grisha much worse after TGT. How are the Righteous Gang claiming to be victors/heroes who made others lives better. From my pov, grisha are much worse off while the otkazatsya are in status quo. Also what was wrong with the grisha coming to LP to live. From the books, it seems that none of them had any connection to their parents/relatives. If so that can also mean that their family did not care enough to reach out to them after they left.

Or did the Darkling ban all communications.

I’m sure the Righteous Gang think that all the cons of their dumb decisions are in fact the Darklings fault. You know because he did this or he did that. They do bot think for a single moment that he was the only one doing anything for them. While the soldat sol (shouldn’t they have been doing some charity work in name of their Saint?) and all other grisha did not lift a single finger to elevate the position of grisha in Ravka through ANY means.

Ironically, the Gang's decision to abolish Grisha draft should serve to further alienate Ravkan commoners and destabilize Nikolai's reign.

"... His serfs will get a taste of money and education and start thinking about building lives and businesses of their own instead of praying for their master’s patronage. ... "

King of Scars- Chapter 11

Nikolai had abolished the practice of separating Grisha from their parents. There was no mandatory draft to pull children from their homes.

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 9

The fact they aren't able to offer protection to any Grisha in Ravka, therefore hardly to children scattered all over the country, AND there's no system of home education, therefore these children might either hurt someone by accident or suffer from wasting sickness, aside...

This should be a gigantic legal issue.

(Although there's plenty of questions regarding servitude in general.)

Pre-KoS Grisha automatically became serfs. Their families were compensated financially.

Let's say Grisha are no longer required to move to Little Palace, otherwise everything stays the same. Are there lists of Grisha serfs to keep track of them? And how do they serve? Why should a family that keeps the amount of pairs of working hands get any money? Does it mean that a family of free- albeit poor- peasants, suddenly include a child serf with obligations of their own? Do these "free-range" serfs get personal assignments? That sounds like a whole lot of extra bureaucracy.

The other option is much more disasterous. If Grisha are no longer serfs, there's no reason to pay their families. They should be recorded the same way other free Ravkans are, and these records don't seem to be particularly meticulous:

Another [Ravkan Grisha] had been hidden in a root cellar when the Grisha Examiners arrived to test her. “My mother told them I’d been killed by the fever that had swept through our village the previous spring,” the Tidemaker said. “The neighbors cut my hair and passed me off as their dead otkazat’sya son until I was old enough to leave.”

Siege and Storm- Chapter 7

A year here, a year there... who'll know if the missing Grisha moved away, died or got kidnapped? But don't worry, the worst is yet to come- otkazat'sya (serfs). Why are Grisha freed as soon as three of theirs start whispering their advices into young King's ear (One of them rumoured to be his mistress to boot!), while common Ravkans keep bending their backs under nobility's jeweled slippers!

This is a starving, war-torn country, through which a wave of pogroms swept only a few years back! The hatred won't disappear only because a dead Saint allegedly appointed three of Grisha to what exactly? Represent? Or rule in the puppet-King's stead?

Sure, Nikolai's (strange, innovatory) reforms lead to more food for the poor... BUT- serfs are still property of their owners, unlike Grisha. West was somehow forced to remain with the East- feeding them, losing money to them. Nobles lost some privilages and whoever's not a complete baffoon will figure out they're losing power. Church should be pissed, because their leader got deposed, religious cult with Crown-appointed head took over and Nikolai cut their incomes too! Anyone even slightly distrustful towards Grisha- and that means all through Ravkan social strata- has every reason to believe they are running the country, which no longer means one black boogeyman, but a Suli whore with the King-killer.

_____

Members of Second Army weren't discouraged from staying in touch with their families, quite contrary. To make it more... well, to make it more KoS-ish, we get some specific data from Zoya:

She’d written every week to her aunt and every week received a long, newsy letter back with drawings of chickens in the corners and tales of the interesting traders who came through Novokribirsk.

King of Scars- Chapter 25

Ivan doesn't mention his family in present time, but I'd like to imagine he used to visit his widowed, almost childless mother until she died of old age.

_____

The only reason all those barely adult Grisha are even theoretically allowed to be teenagers, is that they're safe enough, thanks to Aleksander's work.

He was thirteen, but he’d had a hundred names, a new one for every town, camp, and city ... He would have lived next door to a garbage gully if it meant a roof over his head, hot meals, waking up in the same room every morning without his heart hammering as he tried to remember where he was. ... Grisha living in camps and broken-down mines, hiding out in tunnels. ... No safe place. No haven. There will be, he promised in the darkness, new words written upon his heart. I will make one.

Demon in the Wood

If Grisha are faring better at the beginning of Shadow and Bone, it's his doing:

... though it was smaller than the Grand Palace, the “Little” Palace was still huge. It rose from the trees surrounding it like something carved from an enchanted forest, a cluster of dark wood walls and golden domes. As we drew closer, I saw that every inch of it was covered in intricate carvings of birds and flowers, twisting vines, and magical beasts. ... We passed door after door, until finally we reached a chamber where another uniformed maid stood waiting by an open doorway. Dimly, I registered a large room, heavy golden curtains, a fire burning in a beautifully tiled grate, but all I really cared about was the huge canopied bed. “Can I get you anything? Something to eat?” asked the woman.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 5

While I can "excuse" some of the "heroes"- victim of otkazat'sya brainwashing institution, unloved privilaged kid with saviour complex, bigoted religious fanatics due to questionable parenting, universal punching bag... LB's new best girl's somehow coming out of it as the worst one.

Just the fact Zoya was saved by the very law she didn't mind abolishing, going from starving asset of her own mother to well-fed, respected soldier, who knows what do sable and silks look like... what a horrible life to lead! Such deterioration! If only the Darkling didn't bother trying, she'd be free to scrape along as she pleases!

Centuries worth of Aleksander's efforts are the reason Zoya gets to whine about her suicidal aunt instead of being maritally raped by some ancient creep, or outright dead after getting pregnant way too young.

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timeslive-inhouse · 6 years

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3, 6, 21, 54, and 57 with all of your ocs?

fuck i really regret listing so many lol under the cut bc Big Long

3. What is their biggest motivator?

~Sympathy! Babes~

Rowan: Fear, pure fear. He’s a deer in the headlights

Lana: She wants people to respect her and her abilites more than anything

Hope: Hope’s really into balance. Shit needs to be equal and perfect and it needs to be balanced goddamnit

Damien: Love drives him to do anything. And also money. but mostly love

~DnD babes~

Glory: Happiness. They actually really fucking hate fame and glory, they just want to be happy

Corvin: Money. You don’t get to be a fae prince without greed.

Jiloweh: That deep satisfaction you feel when you successfully navigate a social interaction perfectly. That’s her shit

Jasper: To be seen as equal. There’s something about being created to be expendable that fucks you over. He just wants to be the same as everyone else (and that’s why Salah was the only person in Alaija that could talk to him on his level)

Salah: Boredom (more specifically, the movement away from boredom). She lives off of drama. Being 2k+ years old and in a million and one social circles helps

Rex: Safety. He has no idea how he’s in the most powerful pseudoarmy. He also has no idea how he’s second in command of said pseudoarmy. God bless En and Ainne for keeping this poor boy relatively secure in his mortality

6. What do they like to wear?

~Sympathy! Babes~

Rowan: Damien’s sweatshirts and Lana’s jeans (it’s not his fault they’re comfortable)

Lana: Combat boots, ripped jeans, and camo jackets

Hope: Skirts, floral prints, sweaters, very femme aesthetic

Damien: Leather jackets, sweatshirts, jeans, sweatpants, and a little bit of emo/punk

~DnD babes~

Glory: Glory wears what Glory wants

Corvin: Fur, leaves, woven shadows, anything stupid decadent

Jiloweh: Dress shirt, dress pants, practical formality

Jasper: He doesn’t need to wear pants he’s a golem

Salah:Jumpsuit/skintight. Welcome from Parallax, we have scifi and space travel and i’m sorry Elias but Alaijan clothes aren’t comfy

Rex: Nice jeans and the stolen shirts and jackets of literally everyone in the Quartz Guard (save Elektra bc of the whole, yaknow, no physical form)

21. Favorite kind of weather?

(ok so it’s technically not weather but)

~Sympathy! Babes~

Rowan: Thunderstorms at 6 am when lightning flashes through the curtains and lights up the early morning with a demand because good mcfucking morning and good mcfucking night.

Lana: When it’s the dry heat of summer and the cicadas are screaming and the sun is slowly dipping below the horizon and you feel the first breeze of night against the fading light and everything is tinged golden.

Hope: 3 am when the moon is full and the sky is clear and you can see a million billion stars echoing in unison, it’s not too hot and not too cold, but you bring a jacket anyway. A slight, dewy mist covers the ground, but the sound of the stars is sharp enough to cut glass.

Damien: Winter noon, when the sun is singing a song of ice and rage, the sky is cloudy, but you can still see the disk of the sun and it doesn’t burn your eyes. Everything is wonderfully grey and every color seems to glow, and a soft fog of breath blurs everything.

~DnD babes~

Glory: The icy howl of a blizzard raging outside while you’re sitting in a blackout by the lit fireplace, reading old stories and feeling the ember glow warm up your fingers. The plink-plink-plink of icicles falling as the marshmellows and cocoa boils over the fire.

Corvin: The rumble of thunder echoing through a noontime forest, darkened by storm clouds so dark they’re purple, the building humidity before the rain falls as a sheet, crashing through the leaves and roots and buildings and streets.

Jiloweh: The bright bright blue of just-after-dawn, while the sun is still a red disk on the horizon, but the orange cracks of daybreak have faded to a pale, vivid blue against the soft white of one or two lagging clouds.

Salah: Immediately after rain when the ground is drinking up the drops and everything is starting to come out of its dens, starting to wake up again, and the air is filled with crisp petricore.

Rex: A partially cloudy sunset, when the colors spill over the sky like a cracking egg, the pinks streaking the clouds, the vivid orange that stains everything a deep gold, the breath caught in your throat as the first violets begin their march, Venus, dotting the Moon, painted against a deep umber backdrop.

54. What is their MBTI type?

(i have no idea what mbti types are and tbh im too tired to Words and Research)

57. What D&D alignment are they?

~Sympathy! Babes~

Rowan: Neutral evil

Lana: Lawful evil

Hope: Lawful good

Damien: Neutral good

~DnD babes~

Glory: Glory neutral (na jk they’re chaotic neutral)

Corvin: Chaotic bastard

Jiloweh: Lawful neutral

Jasper: True neutral

Salah: Chaotic good

Rex: Lawful good

#fuck this is long lol #oc shit #i love my babies a lot lol #fuck i dont think i ever explained sympathy #its a play i wrote/am writing called Sympathy for the Devil #i'm lowkey proud of it #and glory's an icon

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stromuprisahat · 10 days

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Second Army disorganization

Siege and Storm- Chapter 14

One of the most frustrating and famously nonsensical passages of Grisha trilogy, easily explained through doylist approach- the author's inability to write strategy or politics and demands of the genre, requiring a weak, unfit heroine to defeat immensely powerful opponent way out of her league:

Alina: Oh no, they dare to oppose me again! :(

Isn't that why would you want to establish a council in the first place? So you get constructive criticism and suggestions to do things better?!

My objections to the notion Alina came up with representation of Grisha can't be more obvious:

Army is a structured organization. There are ranks and councils by default. No amount of ignorant teens will persuade me calling it "Second" makes it otherwise.

Any big organization has a structure. Even if Second Army were only about education, there would be councils and posts on different levels. Hell, school system works that way.

Alina: I'm gonna have the useless ones represented, because we're not doing things like the Darkling, but that doesn't mean I'll respect them myself or abandon my prejudices. Fucking nerds. Weidos...

Another YA nonsense- you cannot put people into categories based on their physical predispositions, and expect the mental ones to fit accordingly. You can have a huge, muscled guy, skilled in delicate handiwork. You can have a tiny wisp of a girl beating the living shit out of you (popular trope by itself).

Now why should sensitivity to metals get you a spot in labs, if you're a strategic genius? Or incredibly skilled, witty rhetorician? Isn't it more likely you'd be required to complete basic training to stay healthy and prevent accidentally endangering others, while being assigned to whatever you're most useful at?

And what about those weak or less intelligent ones? Are they bringing coffee and arranging entertainment?!

It also fits this fan interpretation, that Materialki are often neuro-divegent, so they are tend to be kept away from battle for their own sake.

Alina wasn't involved in practical running of Second Army before. Just because she doesn't know about something, it's not a totally fresh idea.

I'd be afraid of a girl, who almost murdered a bunch of people for asking questions, too.

At this point, I'm gonna run with the idea that all the older Grisha are torn between face-palming and silently laughing their assess off (so Alina doesn't overhear and her clique doesn't resort to violence).

“But what do they do in there?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to hear the answer. “Only the Corporalki know. But there are rumors that they’ve been working with the Fabrikators on new … experiments.”

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 8

... and that says nothing about the field, or the little groups in noble houses. People tend to stick together with their own, when in strange enviroment. I'm sure such bonds dissolve immediately after their return "home".

I've also delved a little into the sitting order here.

A few lines earlier, Alina noted Materialki didn't show up to complain. Who is so horrified then?! Not them, for sure.

Ironically, this fits into Fabricator-brain theory linked above AND the most logical explanation- Materialki have basic self-defense training, but only those, who are able to, continue. Alina isn't particularly friendly with any of them, so how would she know no one had EVER bothered to teach them? Alright, there are none in her class, but as far as we know, it consists of a Squaller, an Inferni and a Heartrender. Not the most saying sample.

Having a third of all Grisha helpless doesn't fit into the picture of Aleksander's leadership:

“That’s what Botkin always says. ‘Not showy, just to make pain,’” I said, imitating the mercenary’s heavy accent. “Smart guy.” “The Darkling doesn’t think Grisha should rely on their powers for defense.”

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 17

You don't have to become another Bruce Lee, you only need a chance, when they drag you out of bed in the middle of the night.

What tradition?

This is rather well-written group of angry, disorganized people. It might start with a reasonable goal, but soon everyone talks about something else than others, and the message gets lost in the noise.

Tradition doesn't equal "the way things are done". Neither of them is the same as "the need for structure and people knowing their places". The third one is a legitimate concern, although one could argue it's exactly what Alina's attempting.

This whole scene very much reads like:

The author is desperate to prove the Heroine isn't quite useless- she has good ideas! Look! *whacks a hundreds of years old stategist and survivor par excellence with stupid stick*

#Grishaverse #S&S Chapter 14 #The Darkling #Alina Starkov #Second Army #Materialki #grishanalyticritical #Second pseudoArmy #S&B Chapter 8 #S&B Chapter 17 #meme #V #Siege and Storm #Grisha trilogy #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #anti Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 15 days

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Siege and Storm- Chapter 14

She ain't stupid.

I live for those moments of lucidity Alina occasionally experiences.

Do those Grisha even know Darkles' "crimes"? Did Alina bother to tell them, or does she still assume they read her mind, so they're updated?! Is there a scene missing? Where they meet and she explains what happened?

She did promise she will, but then she stormed off and went to sleep as far as we know...

Again- did Alina reveal Darkles' past "offscreen", or are those Grisha just expected to figure out what she's talking about?!

Three-front war going on, with one of those sides being ancient semi-mythical power. Our Heroine:

Yeah, I don't think my ally's trying to get into my pants THIS TIME...

#Grishaverse #S&S Chapter 14 #Alina Starkov #Malyen Oretsev #Nikolai Lantsov #The Darkling #Second PseudoArmy #self centred and paranoid #grishanalyticritical #Siege and Storm #Grisha trilogy #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #anti Malina #anti Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 7 days

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Siege and Storm- Chapter 15 (Leigh Bardugo)

She truly sees no difference, does she?

Grisha aren't Saints and Saints aren't Grisha. If you want to get the better one out of the ordinary, you have to martyr them first. There's no safety in being revered.

It puts Zoya's attack on Alina in previous book into perspective. It's as if she didn't even realize they're two different people with completely different status and level of importance.

She doesn't even seem to understand that "Alina" or "THE Sun Summoner" doesn't mean "all Grisha". Not only the narrative doesn't bother to correct her, in next books it ensures the human nature bends to her view, when proclaiming a Grisha "Saint" doesn't take more than a bit screaming at the correct moment.

#Grishaverse #S&S Chapter 15 #Zoya Nazyalensky #Grisha #Grishaverse Saints #Alina Starkov #Second pseudoArmy #grishanalyticritical #Siege and Storm #Grisha trilogy #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #anti Zoya #anti Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 4 months

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Liliyana, one hand pressed to her bleeding head, cried, “You cannot sell her off now! She’s Grisha. It’s against the law. She is the property of the king and will go to school to train.”

King of Scars- Chapter 25

I completely forgot it's clearly stated in books, that yes, indeed, GRISHA ARE SERFS.

So no, it's not just the Darkling whining to Alina to look more sympathetic. Once you're discovered, you don't belong to yourself, your life doesn't belong to you, you have no future outside of what the Crown deems appropriate.

Now how exactly does that work with Nikolai's reforms? Servitude isn't abolished yet, but Grisha draft is. Does that mean there are lists of Grisha outside of military service and Grisha get "appointed" elsewhere?! Are Grisha no longer serfs? Are they (on paper) free citizens now?

If so, the last two should earn them plenty more hatred from both "oridnary" otkazat'sya serfs, who weren't freed yet AND a lot of free otkazat'sya, whose jobs, land and living space will those Grisha now "take". Hell, look into history- any time a new group enters job market, there's a wave of resentment and fear that they'll steal work from locals.

If Nikolai truly freed Grisha before the rest of Ravkan serfs, his actions are counter-productive and likely to work against wide-spread acceptance.

#Grishaverse #KoS Chapter 25 #Grisha #Second Army #Ravka #grishanalyticritical #Nikolai Lantsov #The Righteous Gang™#Second pseudoArmy #King of Scars #King of Scars duology #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #anti Leigh Bardugo #because she should really stop trying to write politics.

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stromuprisahat · 5 days

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"I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream."

Siege and Storm- Chapter 15

Oh nein! Mal has issues! With consequences of his actions he should be grateful for, and his girl not sharing every waking thought with him, when her worst worries spring from his most hated topics- the Darkling and her role in politics.

And Alina once again feels responsible for his feelings.

Yeah, this would have a bit more weight, if Alina didn't do it only for appearances' sake. Or if she granted the position due to merit, not random pick of what she views as the lowest low. Or if she didn't continue speaking as if she were a narrator of wildlife documentary, describing a new species of animal that just appeared.

Not necessarily, but it's one of Alina's less far-fetched deductions.

Aleksander could've been aware of David's fascination with Morozova's work. He could've picked the most skilled in bonework or the one most experienced in forging amplifiers- they're supposed to be rare, so not many Fabricators will have that.

*mumbles* And somehow we're to believe this pragmatic man chose to follow Alina, because... ? She's the good one, or whatever?!

*chants* Double agent Kaminsky, double agent Kaminsky!

Alina: Why would you want to kill this man! How horrible! At least question him first!

She would make a delightful morally flexible character, if she were acknowledged as such, and embracing that quality.

Says who? Zoya?

He KeEpS mE So BuSy!

Saints, Alina, you can't believe everything people say about themselves!

Alina: I'm not sure my three months of training are enough, but I can do like two things with my powers, so let's focus on increasing them further AND on the mythical forbidden art that created my goal no. 1 in the first place. I bet nothing can go wrong...

Only signing? Not reading to get into picture? And who prepares them?!

Bureaucracy, baby!

Welcome to responsibility!

I would sympathize with Alina much more, if she showed genuine interest in those she doesn't know. If her motivation weren't merely "Do the opposite of (what I think) the Darkling did". I she truly believed in her own philosophy.

Shocking!

People forced to sit next to half-strangers they're not used to interact with, create unpleasant atmosphere!

My work experience considered- you're lucky there's no visible enmity- you could've made the wrong people sit next to each other and tableware could've ended up in wrong bodyparts.

Also: How is Nadia sitting next to Marie? I thought breaking up already existing friend groups was a point of this whole exercise.

They're not gifts, Nikolai. They're just your father's property, but let's remember the Darkling didn't wait for the Queen to request a specific one's service, and turned it into a gesture of his own thoughtfulness. Fuck his strategems!

Alina's misplaced sensibilities are incredibly frustrating.

She wants to lead Second Army, but not order them, not assign them tasks directly, because that would somehow make her a bad person, instead of efficient leader.

What if no one will volunteer? What if weak, incompetent Squallers will? You don't look at special assignment and think- Yeah, whoever wants to do it... You PICK the most capable person with both sufficient skills AND suitable personality.

Awwww!

Poor granny deserves an Oscar!

#Grishaverse #S&S Chapter 15 #Alina Starkov #Second pseudoArmy #grishanalyticritical #Malyen Oretsev #Fedyor Kaminsky #Nikolai Lantsov #Baghra Morozova #self centred and paranoid #Siege and Storm #Grisha trilogy #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #anti Mal #anti Malina #anti Baghra

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stromuprisahat · 8 days

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Siege and Storm- Chapter 15 (Leigh Bardugo)

First of all, let us observe a minute of silence for the only truly promising (and equally unappreciated) member of Alina's Second pseudoArmy.

Sergei Beznikov, you deserved better than dismissal of your trauma and brutal execution.

He's the true hero of these chapters. Not only he understands principles upon which should (military) organization work, he took it upon himself to keep Little Palace running, while their kind's actively hunted once again, hostile soldiers are patrolling grounds of their home and several older soldiers of Second Army were slaughtered in the city itself.

He'd deserve a raise at this point.

Instead he gets this:

*whispers*

Who ~would~ be?

You're an officer-in-training, trying to keep your world from falling apart, and utterly unqualified girl waltzes in to take over from you, almost kills you, then sits you next to a fucking deserter!

(That didn't occur to you, Alina, did it? That perhaps "otkazat'sya" isn't such an issue as "disgraced soldier"...)

It's nice Alina takes over signing papers once she arrives, but who prepares them?

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stromuprisahat · 1 month

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Sure Alina, just... whatever you need to tell yourself

Siege and Storm- Chapter 12

Just... Sure, Grisha are to blame for whatever happens. Am I to believe these people would spare children?! That they wouldn't attack Little Palace itself?

It's also lovely to see that only First Army are "King's soldiers", when Grisha are serving Ravkan Throne for centuries, while literally becoming its property. Yet Alina still doesn't question it at all.

Insert determination to do better in future and cease running away from her own importance...

... or a suicide attempt, escape from religious cult, hiding in secret base, another escape ... *sigh*

Why?

Just.. why?

Alina's been Grisha for a few months. She never did anything for them, she never tried to get involved in anything regarding their well-being or daily operation. She disappeared from (Grisha) public view, accompanied their General into the Fold, where something went terribly wrong, and disappeared again.

What makes her a figure worth following?

Which part of it all spells "protector"?

Once she turns up again, she publicly aligns herself with a member of the very same dynasty that's been exploiting Grisha for centuries AND did nothing to protect them from their own soldiers mere days earlier.

What's so special about Alina, aside from the fact she shines? (And can't even control that properly...)

What else should they "understand"?

Slavery with no end? No home, no basic needs met, constant danger?

And what does Alina offer?

If that was the case, why not pick the King- fucking SOVEREIGN of the country they live in?! Perhaps because he never did anything for them? But that requires thinking, NOT blind following like Alina says.

Where's the logic, Alina?!

Because you want them to look decently?!

Have some standards, Alina, for fuck's sake!

You're about to enter the capital and meet your ruler, even the lowest peasant would peel the shit off their shoes!

#Grishaverse #S&S Chapter 12 #Alina Starkov #anti Grisha sentiments #Fedyor Kaminsky #Second Army #The Darkling #Lantsovs #Second pseudoArmy #Ravka #self centred and paranoid #grishanalyticritical #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 6 days

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Siege and Storm- Chapter 15 (Leigh Bardugo)

I forgot a bit to this post, so let's make a new one... (eye roll, facepalm etc.)

There are any Grisha garrisons, that weren't attacked? Because otherwise I see no point discussing their previous numbers.

x Grisha - x Grisha running from armed and angry First Army = 0 Grisha left "at various outposts around Ravka"

As for how many might be in hiding- just do more math by subtracting the amount of murdered Grisha from (without doubt) recorded number of the Crown's magical serfs- tadaaa! Now how many of those are stupid enough to believe they'll be any more safe from First Army, than shortly after their widely feared general disappeared?

Another interesting question would be if anyone bothered to keep track of the murdered ones? Did they get at least buried? I'm not asking about proper funeral with rites, just a hole in the ground.

How are "news of [Alina's] return" supposed to change their mind that there's no need to keep running? She doesn't know Grisha living IN Little Palace, what is her "return" to those stationed near borders? Oh, I forgot! She's THE Sun Summoner! Lantsov's new pet figurehead! Who's done nothing for anyone EVER!

Why should they pledge loyalty to the throne that sees them as less then property, their elimination worth not even investiagtion or penalty? What is Second Army without it's leader and his protection?

#Grishaverse #S&S Chapter 15 #Second Army #Second pseudoArmy #anti Grisha sentiments #Alina Starkov #grishanalyticritical #Siege and Storm #Grisha trilogy #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 2 months

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I've seen so many people say Zoya treated Nina horribly and I'm just clueless. Was she the baghra kind of teacher to her? I refuse to read that cursed duology but I'm also curious to find out what is it that she did lol

I'm gonna be "controversial" once again, and say she didn't treat her terribly enough.

Nina is Zoya's charge AND subordinate. She's supposed to obey immediately, and certainly not talk back, yet we see her run away like a sulking child and discuss every single order she disagrees with.

That's acceptable behaviour among friends, not in the army.

Obedience is required and expected.

Adoration is optional.

While we can see into Nina's head, and understand her motives, her behaviour is still inexcusable, given the setting. She's not some high schooler on a trip with her university idol, she's supposed to be a soldier, or at least soldier in training, yet you wouldn't have guessed from her actions.

And Zoya indulges her (probably not to be like the horrible Darkling, who actually understood the concept of hierarchy).

#reply #Grishaverse #grishanalyticritical #Nina Zenik #Zoya Nazyalensky #Second pseudoArmy #The Righteous Gang™#anti Leigh Bardugo #because I blame 100% her in this case.#It's simply shitty writing.#If you have a specific part #where was this horrible treatment supposed to happen #I'll be happy to read the quote.#I'm kinda hoping I'll die before I'll get to KoS with my reread #and I got stuck on Nina's chapter in SoC last year #because I couldn't read that brainwashed shit.

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stromuprisahat · 4 months

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"just another teenager" made me so mad. Because it's true. WHY were there so many teenagers there in that war, where were the adults?!?!

Either dead, on the run, or with the Darkling.

Fedyor had been serving near Sikursk on the southeastern border. When word of the destruction of Novokribirsk reached the outpost, the King’s soldiers had turned on the Grisha, pulling them from their beds in the middle of the night and mounting sham trials to determine their loyalty. Fedyor had helped to lead an escape. “We could have killed them all,” he said. “Instead, we took our wounded and fled.” Some Grisha hadn’t been so forgiving. There had been massacres at Chernast and Ulensk when the soldiers there had tried to attack members of the Second Army.

Sounds pretty one-sided, right? Probably because Alina's on the King's side at the moment, and they're not likely to hurry up with numbers of the known murdered Grisha, and unlikely to know about any losses among those on the run.

As long as there's no corpse in kefta, there's no dead Grisha, right?!

“A few weeks ago,” he said, “the stories started circulating that you’d returned to Ravka. You can expect more Grisha to seek you out.” “How many?” “There’s no way of knowing.” Like Nikolai, Fedyor believed some Grisha had gone into hiding, waiting for order to be restored. But he suspected that most of them had sought out the Darkling. “He’s strength,” said Fedyor. “He’s safety. That’s what they understand.”

He's "safety" to a point, where he's mutilating his own being to avoid using living, breathing soldiers...

I made a silent count—forty Grisha, maybe fifty, most of them barely out of school. Some army, I thought with a sigh. My glorious reign was off to a miserable start.

That's three chapters later...

So yeah, battle-hardened soldiers, who had been through some shit in their lives, are less likely to follow some upstart teen, supporting the same system that's been exploiting their people for centuries...

#reply #Grishaverse #grishanalyticritical #S&S Chapter 12 #S&S Chapter 15 #Second Army #vs.#Second pseudoArmy #The Darkling #Siege and Storm #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 3 months

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(I only read TGT once so if I get any details wrong here, feel free to correct me. Same for the historical reference I'm discussing here). I never understood why Nikolai was considered to be a better character than the Darkling when it came to helping the Grisha. I know Leigh Bardugo presents him as the "nicer" option but Nikolai always kind of reminded me of Tsar Nicholas II, who, from what I remember learning in school, was considered to be a nice man who clearly loved his children, but a rather incompetent ruler. He didn't always make good decisions which made relations with the government worse, and increased hardships for civilians and soldiers. He also was really detached and out of touch with the plight of the Russian people and I believe some of his policies ended up alienating people from ethnic minority groups. I brought him up, because Nikolai is also kind of like this, he's not an exact parallel obviously but like, it's kind of there. The only reason really that he's considered effective in the books is because Leigh can't really write politics that well. Like, even the way the nobility would behave is something she didn't really write well, as well as how the public would react to the things that happen in the story. Idk. Did this make any sense? What do you think?

Absolutely.

I can't speak about the historical Nikolai- I've read very little about him, and it's been years-, but while book!Nikolai's ideas aren't bad per se, he's been greatly helped by gross simplification of politics and LB's clear favour.

Nobles are either supportive, or stupid and gullible.

Inclusion of Grisha works 100%. Sure, the soldiers for Nikolai's elite inventors would he handpicked, but either there is no longer hatred for Grisha among the First Army, or the Tsar's too high to see it.

The only peasants we meet are enlightened enough to immediately understand and ADMIT they're faring better (Read the link. OP's no longer on tumblr, but her posts are based on actual Russian history and literature.), which is... well, have you ever MET any real people, Leigh? RoW was published during fucking covid of all possible times! Huge chunk of population will rather die, than accept the unknown!

Making Nikolai visibly think with his cock leads to no trouble. No one's calling him weak, no one suddenly remembers rumors about Grisha girls "being able to put a spell on a man", Zoya's desired and respected, instead of being viewed as seductress or outright Witch Whore.

And one more about Grisha- there have been pogroms barely a few years back. First Army was slaughtering Second only because they've figured they're to blame for the Fold moving (and don't forget the only survivors aside from Malina were the Darkling's people). Am I to believe a new Tsar ascending with THREE Grisha publicly backing him up won't cause decent upheaval?

Sure, Kolya's nice, but he's too nice. Somewhere on his way from Sturmhond to Tsar Nikolai, he forgot how to cut fingers even though it might make him sick. And the situation should look accordingly.

#reply #Grishaverse #Nikolai Lantsov #grishanalyticritical #King of Scars duology #Ravka #Second pseudoArmy #First Army #Zoya Nazyalensky #Grisha triumvirate #anti Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 4 months

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Baghra is dead so who is teaching grisha how to summon now?

Hopefully someone fit to be around children and heavily traumatized people.

#reply #Grishaverse #grishanalyticritical #Baghra Morozova #Second Army #Second pseudoArmy #anti Baghra #But knowing the current leadership #they might leave it up to the Grisha themselves.#If a child's allowed to decide whether they need education #they might as well do it all themselves.

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stromuprisahat · 3 months

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A bit misguided, but she's trying now, okay?!

Siege and Storm- Chapter 9

Allies for what?!

To help you keep sitting on your asses undisturbed?!

Well, you certainly mentioned it at some point, I wouldn't put my money on the intention behind the sentiment...

While I understand her feelings, and appreciate the sentiment, I'm so glad most Grisha are either dead or gone by now... all Alina has is raw power, and baggage in a form of unresolved past dragging behind her *cough* Malyen *cough*. Army isn't some after school activity, you can't wing it. And she has no God to whisper into her ear, Joan of Arc-style.

I also think her use as a symbol is a lost opportunity. She has no power over how people perceive her at the moment, so it's the Apparat, later Nikolai, truly trying to control the narrative, while Alina's "career" of a Saint lasts for one performance at the beginning of next book and that's basically it.

She doesn't even really want to grasp the art of war and politics, but she's already a part of religious believes. Why not work with ~that~? Why stick her nose into something she has no interest in, and not a single prerequisite to boot?!

... let's enjoy a brief moment of lucidity...

If I wanted to be mean- there's this saying in Czech:

Whoever can do it, practices it. Whoever can't do it, teaches it. Whoever can't teach it, runs it.

... and Alina's supposed to be not-exactly good mapmaker...

A specialist had spoken...

She lived among them for almost half a year!

A group of their younglings accepted her as one of their own!!!

That's really what this is about, isn't it?

All that concern for Ravka is just an act she likely doesn't even admit to herself...

Why does Alina never blame herself for things she could've affected?

If I didn't run away without a plan...

If I didn't leave Ravka to its own devices...

If I didn't avoid responsibilities by any means necessary...

#Grishaverse #Siege and Storm #S&S Chapter 9 #grishanalyticritical #Alina Starkov #Nikolai Lantsov #Malyen Oretsev #Second pseudoArmy #self centred and paranoid #V #Grisha trilogy #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #anti Leigh Bardugo

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stromuprisahat · 1 year

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It's bad to look different. If you wanna be accepted, you have to wear the same stuff, join the same units- even though your training requirements are completely different- and forget any pride about what you are. It's bad to be special! You can't blame others for hating you then.

Next time on US-Americans: We want diversity but everyone must be the same, or else there would be no equality!

#Shadow and Bone #grishanalyticritical #Grisha #Second pseudoArmy #Yes #this is about Alina's 'no keftas solution'#and mixing First and whatever's left of Second Army.#V #anti S&B writers

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