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aleksanderscult · 4 months

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Analyzing "Demon in the Wood" (book) - Part 3

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4 and Part 5 🫶)

⚠️TW: BULLYING⚠️

I managed to squeeze more than 20 images in this (yay!🎉) so prepare yourselves for a loong meta this time.

That's both amazing and creepy.

Imagine being so ancient that you have actually met those figures. While children in the future were being told fairytales at night, the Darkling lived inside those fairytales. He was part of them.

(It's like saying: "Oh my favorite fairytale is Cinderella!" and a guy next to you says: "Oh that girl? Yeah, met her. Not as pretty as they all say". And in the meantime, the story of Cinderella takes place at 1600s💀💀)

Baba Anezka appeared in "Little Knife".

Petyr of Brevno is a freaking Saint. The patron of archers.

Magda of the Black Woods appeared in "The Witch of Duva" and is a Saint as well. The patroness of bakers and abandoned women.

And Eryk has met them. (let that sink in)

Besides that, the obvious secretive life of Grisha is so painfully clear that antis seem to purposefully miss it. They need to seek each other by listening to rumors and looking in secret while most Grisha try to not be found at all.

Antis: "The Darkling forced Grisha to become soldiers and go to war!!"

And then accuse us for not reading the books.🙂

Before the Little Palace was built, the Grisha had no lives, with dignity and normality. They were living hidden in whatever they could find. Nothing was "permanent", like Eryk said in the Graphic Novel, always on the move and in fear. Trying to not draw attention to themselves out of fear of being exiled, killed, imprisoned, sold, tortured or experimented on.

Then the Darkling convinced the then-King of Ravka to allow him to build a home for them (after going to war for him). And when the Darkling went to find the Grisha, they were afraid of coming out of their hiding.

What if it was a trap from the King? What if they were killed?

Very few went with him and became soldiers because it was the only way for Ravka to accept them. Ravka was constantly involved in wars, so for Grisha to be soldiers was the only acceptable position they could have in this kingdom.

So no, Aleksander didn't make them soldiers because he didn't care for their fates. But because there was literally no other duty they would be allowed to carry. Become traders? No one would board their ship. Instead they would be captured. Become merchants? No one would buy from them. Instead they would be killed. Soldiers? Well yeah, because with their powers they would prove that they could be trusted with the safety of the kingdom. A safety the otkazat'sya needed. To fight the wars that the First Army couldn't win. Becoming servants of the Crown was their only option (and yes, the Darkling was also a servant of the Crown).

Okay I got this out of my chest 😭

Eryk seems really resigned that things will change. He's thirteen and hope for a change is bleak for him. He has seen first hand how low Grisha are in the "food chain". An ethnic group forsaken by everyone else.

His love for animals is so cute!!

I just imagine him standing down hidden and admiring wild animals from afar.

He just wanted to satisfy his needs. Stay at one place and go exploring and looking for tigers.

(The Darkling with any animal: "I just think it's NEAT!")

Also, his mother's "lessons" really annoy him. And it seems they do this wherever they go and with whoever they meet(?). Nevertheless, Aleksander was a brilliant child that grew to become a clever tactician and leader. Whenever his plans didn't work out in the Grisha trilogy, it was because he was letting his heart and feelings rule over his mind (aka: the whole Alina situation).

Baghra: "Aww you seem to really grow accustomed with power"

Baghra when her son gained power and position: "HELLO?? 911??"

Besides Baghra's hypocrisy, LOOK AT MY BABY'S SARCASM

"Your true name is written here. Tattooed on your heart. You don't let just anyone read it." - DitW.

"I want you to know my name. The name I was given, not the title I took for myself. Will you have it Alina?" - Ruin and Rising.

He didn't let just anyone read it. Only to the girl he fell in love with. Perhaps he did it to gain her trust back. Or out of his love of her. Or because he thought of her worthy to know it. She proved to be strong and also caring. She wouldn't betray his trust and let others know it.

"It's my own name I'm afraid of forgetting." - DitW.

"Aleksander. A boy's name, given up. Almost forgotten." - Ruin and Rising.

Or perhaps she gave his name to her so it wouldn't be forgotten.

All his life, his mother kept telling him "Don't say your name anywhere. Just don't. Don't let them touch you. Don't."

And yet he allowed both to Alina. It's not about him forgetting what his mother had taught him. But giving in to his feelings out of a desire to love and to be loved.

He loves evergreens 🥺

And let's not forget that he loved the forests so much that he decorated his room with it:

"The chamber was hexagonal, its dark wood walls carved into the illusion of a forest crowded with slender trees." - Siege and Storm.

Leigh explained in a Tumblr ask why she had the Darkling's room decorated with trees. I'll repost it one day for you.

Oh! And here's a fanart of the Darkling's bedroom from the books:

(art by @feyspeaker)

Beautiful and way better than what we got in the show. 😍

"It felt like summer was still alive", is this confirmation that his favorite season is summer??

GUYS HE TRIES SO HARD 😭😭

The way he was socially awkward as a kid and no one talks about it. When you have your mom telling you to stay away from people and peers then you don't socialise that much and (after a while) you don't how to properly do it.

Is he supposed to be friendly?

Is he supposed to be aloof?

His mother's constant warnings have made him confused about how to talk with other children.

"He'd stopped trying to make friends"

So he was making efforts to make friends and play but Baghra fucked this up and then he simply stopped trying. Reminds me how Leigh said that after losing his lovers, he stopped trying to be in relationships.

*that's your cue to cry*

Eryk: "Great. Another day for other children to run screaming from me. Just another lovely morning."

SYLVI IS SOOO CUTE (another baby to adopt 🥹)

And Eryk's certainty that she will be afraid of him.

STOP!! STOP RIGHT NOW!!

He smiled with her innocent curiosity. She didn't run. She liked it. And he was so relieved.😭

That sneaky, little baby 🥹

OH NO STOP--

"He should be used to it by now"

He couldn't get used to people's aggressiveness towards him. It hurt him, bro 😭

I feel sorry for Annika, man

She's not my favorite character in this book but I find her one of the most intriguing ones.

She has seen things. Lev hasn't. It's probable that he spent all his life inside that camp. But he definitely hasn't seen the way drüskelle hunt Grisha. Annika has and the way she's so overprotective with her sister shows how she can't afford to lose someone else too 😔

The evil villain was ready to defend a little otkazat'sya girl that he barely knew from a bully that insulted her.

Yup. We must hate him.

That just confirms my previous thoughts about how some Grisha only let the strong ones inside their camps. They can't afford to take anyone in. They only need more strength and protection not just random people.

Of course it's a possibility that the Ulle allows them to live there because he feels sorry for them. Throwing out a family is no easy thing.

The way he seems to care for the underdogs. Perhaps because, even though he had great powers, he too felt like one.

How he wanted to sound like: "LEAVE US ALONE!!"

How he probably sounded like: "leave us alone, okay?"

The Darkling is confirmed that he was a victim of bullying as a child.

It's such a far cry from the man that is portrayed in the trilogy. As a child we see him defending two girls (one of them otkazat'sya), he was bullied, he seemed giddy in the prospect of having a stable home and friends and showed regret and sadness when an otkazat'sya village was destroyed. As an adult he's a terrifying leading figure that inspires loyalty and respect and rarely shows his emotions.

It seems that somewhere down the line he hardened his heart, matured and learned and repressed any emotion that could sabotage his plans and heart.

Fuck immortality.

And he's so worried that he fucked up his hopes to stay at camp. He always worries that he'll ruin things. That he's a failure and a disaster for his mother and her plans.

Also, the way he's so afraid that they will fear him and run away from him. He does it "warily" so he still hasn't gotten used that. 😔

SYLVI IS MY ADOPTED DAUGHTER

Look at her being all cute!! Instead of being frightened of him, she wants to be like him 😭

His surprise 😭

It's so clear that he isn't used to this kind of treatment.

Just imagine how many times he's heard Baghra's scoldings to the point that he already knows what he is about to hear from her.

He had one hope and now he thinks it vanished. And he blames himself. For the danger that he'll bring to himself and his mother. He's so hard with himself...🥺

“It was hard not to pull away”

MY HEART IS ACHING

HE JUST CRAVES LOVE

“The unfamiliar pressure of her palm against his”

The feeling of someone holding his hand is strange to him. He doesn't know the feeling and hasn't been accustomed to it.

He wants to trust her and keeps finding good things in her as if he's trying to find reasons to do it.

"He had so many secrets. It felt good to share one"

So, contrary to popular belief, I don't think the Darkling was thriving and cheering inside of him for having so many secrets in TGT. Secrets are burdens you have to carry. He gave a personal one to Alina (his name) and he revealed some of his plans to her in S&B and S&S. He was a secretive person because he had to (and because he wanted to be one step ahead) but not because he enjoyed it.

That could have been the beginning of a beautiful friendship (or even a future cute romance, who can say?) but, alas, Grisha were living shit lives and were too desperate and scared.

(More in part 4)

#we need to address more how socially awkward the Darkling was #the Darkling meta #demon in the wood meta #demon in the wood #the darkling #pro darkling #baghra morozova #grishaverse #shadow and bone #aleksander morozova #pro aleksander morozova #annika #sylvi #meta

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