#anti baghra morozova

[greensaplinggrace]

🔥 Aleksander's mommy issues and if that plays a role in his relationships

I will say until I die that aleksander's relationships with others are defined by his relationship with immortality and thus with his mother - who not only taught him everything about it, but who has also been the only consistent presence in his life for over four hundred years. this is the woman that developed an emotionally codependent and incestuous relationship with him as well as groomed him into the type of man she would wish to have a partnership with, which further defines the ways he views himself, the world, other people, and his connections to them.

all of this correlates to his many relationships, but especially his romantic one with alina. he mirrors his traumas with his mother and therefore with eternity in his dynamic with her. he is simultaneously the perpetrator and the victim. where he spent hundreds of years forgiving his mother for her abuse of him because the alternative is eternal loneliness, he expects of alina the same level of forgiveness for his actions based on that same latent despair - because he was taught at a fundamental age that a dichotomy exists in the universe, and the only way to find anything good at all - safety or happiness or connection - is to center all needs around the threat of inevitable punishment. not punishment in any physical sense, but punishment at a transcendental level.

the reason baghra did this was to groom him. the reason any parent does this (and it is especially prevalent with religion and cults) is to control their children and guide them toward the ideal path (which is always the path they themselves are on).

like most abusive relationships, baghra relies on cult tactics to develop a dynamic with her son that erodes all boundaries and erases any attempt at creating them further down the line - effectively taking ownership of his personhood and growth. she redefines his emotional associations to link them all to herself, and she even takes possession of his body in a variety of ways, until she has molded the perfect partner. one who shares all of her values and so will never leave her side - and who is entirely and completely isolated through both a lack of consistently stable connections and the lack of ability to create them.

baghra has always, after all, had her control threatened most by two things when it comes to her son: his idealism - which drives his moral compass away from her - and his desire for other connections. which means that to truly have him as a partner, she must take control of these narratives herself. so, she must destroy his ability to connect, and she must mold his morals to fit alongside her own. meaning constant and consistent contact with him and every part of his life.

similarly, we see even this reflected in aleksander's dynamic with alina. aleksander attempts to relate to her in the only way he knows how: by exerting control and by guiding her down the path he is on - by claiming to know what is best for her. in the exact same way baghra has continually tried to repossess him throughout the years by leading him down the 'best path for him' - one that she defines as redemption through inaction. one that she knows could allow her to control him again through reestablishing his existential relationship with punishment, loss, loneliness, and fear.

she seeks to do this because she needs him walking beside her again, easily pliable. because while time has furthered him from her, she is at least still in his life holding some of the reins, but nothing has threatened her grasp on her son as much as another prospective partner. one that won't harm him the way she has and one that could easily reveal exactly how much of himself he has lost to his mother in her claims about living eternally. one that could prove to be a real, stable relationship for him - unraveling all of the threads she so carefully wound.

like baghra did with him, aleksander fosters a codependent relationship with alina, because he was taught that such a relationship is the only way to survive immortality (and that this is how relationships work at all). he desires alina to be his immortal companion, in the same way his mother desired him, because he longs - probably without realizing - for a relationship that is not defined by constant abuse. but he has none of the resources to break free of the cycle of abuse, because he cannot even conceptualize that the things baghra taught him are abusive.

everything baghra taught him, he repeats to alina. every lesson about immortality, he repeats to alina. the possessiveness which defines his relationship with his mother - the ways she controls his interactions with others and isolates him completely - this he mirrors also with alina. because the only framework he possesses for a long-lasting connection is his relationship with his mother, and he is so starved for real connection that he craves it.

he craves it because baghra made him crave it. because she starved him of affection and made him reliant upon her as his sole provider for it. then she destroyed any other source he might find. she did this because she wanted to ensure he would always come back to her and forgive her. additionally, they are in the position of being entirely unique, which only further provides another tool for abuse. it is so so easy to neatly isolate someone when they are already othered completely and have no reliable means of long-term connection but you. it is so so easy to starve someone and lead them to believe they are gorging themselves when there is no other source of sustenance.

but then comes alina. who is also immortal. and who is quite capable of not only walking down aleksander's path, but having aleksander walk down hers. and alina will give aleksander the sustenance he needs. alina will give a long-lasting relationship with real happiness and affection and touch and love. alina will make him realize that the ways he tries to fulfill his cravings - the ways baghra taught him - are wrong.

which brings the situation to the plot.

alina's moral conflict is falsely dichotomized into two things:

a) kill the 'monster' and believe the true social issues that caused it can be solved through inaction.

or b) give in to the latent 'evil' that comes with being grisha, reveling in power, greed, and selfishness.

baghra as the author's mouthpiece supports the former, which means alina's 'enlightenment' must eventually follow this path - for the true moral message to be conveyed. and this path leads her away from the darkling. thus, it is inevitable within such a narrative that she would have to do so.

however, contextually, baghra's actions when putting alina on this path are those of an abuser losing control of their victim. while she operates within a narrative role, she acts in a way that is easily identifiable. the very specific way in which baghra confronts aleksander's relationships with others in both the books and the show (especially his relationship with alina) is that of someone who wishes to remove outside influences from the perfectly tailored environment of their victim. if alina begins to trust aleksander and start a relationship with him, then this environment will be disrupted - possibly destroyed - and he will be removed from baghra's influence forever. baghra, as an eternally lonely person, cannot let this happen.

but she has a new way of living, now. one that her son rejects, because he is finally trying to become his own person and create his own path. so, she molds alina into exactly what she is and ties alina to her completely, effectively ruining her son's chances for any connection outside of her ever again. not only that, but she severs any future attempts at connection between them by taking control of the narrative about aleksander. meaning alina will defer to baghra about him, about morals, about what paths to walk and what actions to take. she will defer to her about anything that leads in aleksander's direction, because she must 1) do so for narrative purposes (and baghra is first and foremost the narrative compass) and 2) reject all associations with his character completely.

so aleksander is now trapped in an abusive cycle with both women, and the options are either alina, who is not only his abuser’s mouthpiece, but someone who has been cut off from any attempt at a connection with him completely. or his mother, who is in many ways relying on alina's treatment of him to drive him back into her arms.

aleksander, who cannot conceivably understand why he longs for another partner, must focus on alina. but as someone who was brutally stripped of any ability to connect healthily, he can only communicate with her one way - through possession, control, fear, and manipulation. and because she now erects the same barriers baghra does and walks the same path as her- well. the pattern of abuse continues.

so yeah. I think he mimics his relationship with baghra in his other relationships. he attempts to connect in the only ways he knows how, and when he tries to move outside of the box and connect in his own way, baghra intervenes. he is a centuries old abuse victim that will literally never gain the resources or outside connections required to develop healthy relationships. and sab is lauded as a narrative on the side of abuse survivors. lmfao.

send me a 🔥 for an unpopular opinion (x)

[lesbians4armand]

It was never elaborated on in the show so i must mention it here. Aleksander has siblings. I think most of the people in this fandom know this anyway but this is for those who don’t.

Baghra didn’t just happen to have one child who inherited her powers off the bat. She had been trying to have a child for one, maybe two, reasons, and they were that she was 1. bored 2. wanted a child with her powers so she could basically control them too.

She had many kids who didn’t have her powers, and abandoned them, until she had Aleksander, who she kept (and very obviously abused.)

I see posts saying how she’s such a girlboss and a good mother for some reason, but a woman who abandons all the children who aren’t useful to her, and manipulates and abuses the one that is, is neither of those things.

[theweeklydiscourse]

“[Baghra] had been Zoya's teacher, feared and beloved, powerful beyond measure. "I watched her throw herself from a mountaintop. She sacrificed herself to stop you. Was that her martyrdom?"”

She was supposedly “powerful beyond measure” and yet she couldn’t do anything to stop her son from rising to power and building an army that would (according to her) lead to tyrannical leadership. “Powerful beyond measure” yet the great “ sacrifice” was literally just her suicide as opposed to actually fighting the Darkling. Baghra, the noble martyr who idled for centuries, gets to be honoured in death despite doing little to earn that honour.

Zoya…did you even really know this woman? Beloved Baghra is the very reason that the Darkling exists and had the power that he does, she knew about his intentions for YEARS and didn’t do anything to thwart his efforts until the last possible minute. I can’t stand this romanticizing of a woman who had no principles or ambition and bullied her students. Baghra being old doesn’t suddenly make her grumpy and unhelpful attitude wise.

[ludarklina-fan-spot]

Alina when faced with the prospect of independent thought.

Alina having embraced independent thoughts and given Mal and Baghra the finger

Gifs by @ladylrbloom

[scentedmiracleobject]

“ I think we’d need to, like, get into his childhood trauma a little bit and really work through it”

Y’all not Bin Bons calling out Baghra

@mcutaylivia asked: If you could meet your character, what advice would you give to them?

[stromuprisahat]

She didn’t ask the next question, the question strangers always asked: Where is your father? Of course, that one was easy because the answer never changed. He’s dead. He’d once asked his mother if that was the truth, if his father was really dead. He will be, she’d said. Before you can blink your eye. You’ll outlive him by a hundred years, maybe a thousand, maybe more. He’s only dust to you.

Demon in the Wood (Leigh Bardugo)

This would hit differently, if Aleksander were allowed to decide that for himself. If he were allowed to watch his relative wither and die, then chose to avoid more pain of such loss by viewing mortals as... well, mortal.

Instead Baghra cuts him off from anyone that isn't her, robbing him of development alongside possible memories to keep.

One could almost hope she's trying to spare him the harder lessons of life, but since she drives a wedge between him and immortal Alina centuries later, it looks more like a part of a pattern. It's not about helping him, but keeping him to herself.

[aleksanderscult]

Analyzing "Demon in the Wood" (Graphic Novel) - Part 3

(Part 1 and Part 2)

Get ready because things are about to get sooo much worse. 🎶🎶

Eryk: "Girl you're talking to one"

Facts.

Apparently when Aleksander was young he wasn't attracted to power but kindness. Or one could say to the underdog. A friendship with Lev could benefit his own position to camp and that of his mother's. But he just didn't like bullies.

Petition...for...little...Aleksander...to...give...a...lecture...to...all...of...Ravka...about...the...reality...and... horrific...treatment...of...the...Grisha ✍️

Noted.

To change the subject, HE'S SO CARING 🥹🥹

Ouch. That hurt. Sylvi already knows the truth 😔

They basically describe the Little Palace.🥹

The Little Palace that was made of dark wood, stone floors and golden domes. It had plenty of fireplaces for the Grisha to sit around and even in their bedrooms. It had a large space of land in the front for the Grisha to walk or practice. And had the same people. Most of the time the Grisha saw familiar faces there and even made friends.

The dark evil lord doesn't care about the otkazat'sya. Yeah....

She knooowsss 🎶🎶

She looks so beautiful though. Those Morozova genes serve 🫴

One of the best moments in the Grishaverse is here.

“Deep Blue like the True Sea” (- DitW)

“Blue sky”, he said. (- Ruin and Rising)

“The pure, buttery color of sunlight...” (- DitW)

‘He wanted to turn his face to the sun and feel it warm him.’ (- Rule of Wolves)

Alina was his favorite color. She represented the thing that made him feel happy and warm.

This now has me like...

I really wish we had seen more of his mischievous side.

*cries in capital letters*

Look at my boy being all protective 🥺

Aleksander, I need you to stop making me sad for ONCE.

He really was ready to take that responsibility and take care of them.

No stop! The fear and terror in his eyes!! 😭😭

This image will never leave my head...

"As long as this heart beats, you keep fighting."

Until the moment Alina stabbed him, he really never stopped fighting. No matter the obstacle or pain he went through.

He needs:

1) a hug

2) a warm blanket

3) a cup of hot chocolate

4) a shoulder to cry on

The Grisha have lived all their lives on the run. Hiding in fear. This was obviously the last straw for the Ulle. At some point the grief, pain and anger becomes too much and you want revenge. He wanted those people to see what it feels like to lose a child.

He looks so sad. He had a hope that maybe things would get better but they only got worse. Betrayed by someone he thought a friend, witnessed the desperation Grisha live in and saw what his powers provoke to others.

That story fucked up even the side characters. Little Sylvi lost her only sister and friend. 😔

Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it. 👏🛐

Look how far he came and look what he accomplished. Now look me in the eye and tell me he was selfish. I'm waiting.

[sad-outsider]

Endless circle of abuse

Just because you are traumatized does not give you carte blanche to traumatize others. This is especially true for parents. The child is not to blame for what happened to you, stop projecting your traumas onto him. These are not “life lessons”, this is abuse.

[or-we-could-take-a-walk-together]

the king of scars duology was leigh bardugo’s answer to every darklina shipper/darkling fan justifying the darkling’s crimes. in kos+row they explicitly call out every single one of the darkling’s crimes, which is why i’ll always be a malina shipper (in canon ships at least, genyalina supremacy) because the other option is simply terrible. so please learn to separate an artist from his art, which in this case the artist is ben barnes, and the art is his portrayal of the darkling.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

I'm rewatching Shadow and Bone and I just got to the scene where Alina and Baghra have their first real conversation about Aleksander. The fact that Alina feels like everything new and powerful in her life is tied to him is exactly what he wants, which was why he isolated her from the others by encouraging her to dress in black. I think it's a really wonderful representation of what an abuser does, because he made her feel like all the wonderful accomplishments that she made were actually a gift that he gave to her. Baghra's guilt about her son being pushed away so that she can properly encourage Alina for once instead of just yelling at her is also amazing. It's really important to me that the abused daughter of an eccentric scientist and the victim of a tyrannical dictator get to have that kinship together and I wish more people talked about that.

[greensaplinggrace]

I need a modern au where Alina is really stubborn about wanting to meet Aleksander’s mother despite his reluctance because she doesn’t have any maternal relationships in her life, and then when she meets Baghra she’s just like “...what in the everloving fuck is wrong with this woman, if we never speak to her again it will be too soon.”

[scorpiomindfuck]

Fully did not know there were people that liked her as a mother. I only know about Ulla from fanfics ngl, but even with no prior knowledge and being someone who really really struggles with seeing any implied things even irl, baghra just freaked me out a lot. Even as someone who's not into politics or like all that really complicated maneuvering of people in power, I could see the logic behind a lot of Aleksandr's actions(not validating anything, a shit ton of everything was extremely fucked up obviously) and baghra just treated everything he did as some crazy ass crime.

I think what really decided my negative view of baghra is when we found out about the story behind the Fold's creation (I haven't read the books, only know the show). We saw how terrible of a position he was in and baghra legit just throws it in his face as if she can't see how much it pains him. She seems to actively relish in any discomfort she causes him and it weirded me out even before the whole story was revealed.

It was never elaborated on in the show so i must mention it here. Aleksander has siblings. I think most of the people in this fandom know this anyway but this is for those who don’t.

Baghra didn’t just happen to have one child who inherited her powers off the bat. She had been trying to have a child for one, maybe two, reasons, and they were that she was 1. bored 2. wanted a child with her powers so she could basically control them too.

She had many kids who didn’t have her powers, and abandoned them, until she had Aleksander, who she kept (and very obviously abused.)

I see posts saying how she’s such a girlboss and a good mother for some reason, but a woman who abandons all the children who aren’t useful to her, and manipulates and abuses the one that is, is neither of those things.

[ludarklina-fan-spot]

Shadow and Bone aka.

"I would love to be independent and empowered but Mal, Nikolai and Baghra wouldn't like it"

Poor Alina gif by @ladylrbloom

[deanswins]

leigh bardugo must be ecstatic after eliminating the angst/yearning of darklina from season 2 completely. this way she assumes she will get the show watchers to focus on maline oh well

[theweeklydiscourse]

“Alina is the child Baghra wished she could have had in Aleksander - selfish, powerful but still obedient and naive”

@black-rose-writings I absolutely love this line. Alina’s deference to Baghra’s authority is exactly what she’s always wanted from Aleksander and I’m reminded of a scene from Shadow and Bone where he defies her commands.

I really love Aleksander’s reaction to Baghra’s request here because I can just imagine the incredulous expression on his face at the utter audacity of Baghra to ask him this. This is a man that has endured Baghra’s orders and demands for centuries and refuses to validate them. This particular conversation revolves around Alina’s competency with her abilities and the possibility of obtaining the stag for her to use.

Right after that passage, Alina says this:

Baghra expresses that Alina could do fine without the stag and Aleksander pushes back. He reiterates the gravity of the situation and makes a very good point, that they can’t risk it all on Alina’s minimal training. They need the stag to assure their success. Alina initially agrees with Baghra and follows her lead until Aleksander reminds her that they’re up against an incredible threat and cannot afford to take chances

Alina concedes and then self deprecatingly says” Without Morozova’s stag, I’m pretty much useless.” To which Baghra responds with “Ah, so she’s not as stupid as she looks,” An insult which Alina just accepts and offers no response to. She’s obedient and submissive to Baghra’s authority despite her enormous potential and strength. Where Aleksander resists, Alina relents and gives in to Baghra’s meanness which is something that Baghra clearly enjoys.

Alina then becomes the next subject of Baghra’s tyranny and follows in her footsteps towards the same selfishness and misery that Baghra wallows in.

Alina is never beating the “miniature version of Baghra” allegations. It’s moments like these that really inform me of how closely associated their beliefs are with one another.

The two of them share the same naive worldview and approach problems with the same degree of unawareness and lack of understanding of the world. Alina ends up adopting so many of Baghra’s beliefs that her words to Aleksander become almost indistinguishable from his mother’s. Alina even seems to accept Baghra’s “power = evil “ idea absolutely, admonishing herself for her greed (even though doing so enabled her to achieve her goal of destroying the fold).

I love reading Aleksander’s point of view chapters in Rule of Wolves because it gives me a glimpse into the mind of a character that isn’t spewing revisionist nonsense every other chapter. Behold, example #1.

You know what? As I was reading this passage, I was suddenly struck by a strange sensation. It was if I could here Bardugo herself speaking to me through the pages, as if I was watching a puppet show and suddenly the puppeteer popped out to interject their opinion. To be fair to Zoya, he did do these things but the way her statement is delivered is so insufferable. Like please spare me of your inane moralizing (and this is especially ironic given that Zoya herself ends up in a position of power similar to his) It obliterates my suspension of disbelief and no matter how true it might be, makes me laugh at how clumsy Bardugo was with her conveyance of Zoya’s point.

[stromuprisahat]

Demon in the Wood (Leigh Bardugo)

There's something heartbreaking about Annika talking about loss, and Aleksander immediately thinking the learnt mantra "That's all of you for me.".

When others experience love and loss in equal messure- for you grieve most often something you've had-, Aleksander isn't allowed to love something he could lose in the first place.

He only misses having something, instead of being able to enjoy it even for a heartbeat.