I actually really want to hear about it so I’m here to ask about Grian and shrikes…
(Also fun fact there’s a type of shrike in Australia we call a butcherbird because they’re known for taking their prey and, uh, making use of rose thorns)
rubs hands together ohh boy. I am So glad you asked (:
we actually also call them butcherbirds!! and this is exactly what makes me so insane about it when applying it to grian, ESPECIALLY third life grian. the shrike is a passerine (song-bird), but deceptively so. it’s ferocious, it spikes their prey on thorns. something about it being a songbird and a bird of prey at the same time are what gets me. im gonna bullet point some stuff out bc i can’t find a way to organize this coherently
grian, on the surface, is not necessarily formidable. he’s a bit goofy, plays pranks, doesn’t exactly know what he’s getting into at the start of 3L. he’s the songbird
plus they have a shrill cry which… lets be honest… that’s So grian, he’s very shrill
but we all know how 3L ends. grian kills scar. and while scar let him win, I don’t think grian ever fully forgives either of them for it. his hand was forced, but he also killed the one person in the series he trusted and cares for. the shrike.
HOWEVER. if you consider it in a more metaphorical sense, I like to apply the lyrics of hozier’s song “shrike” to 3L desert duo. ‘remember me, love, when i’m reborn as the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn”. 3L desert duo are the villains from so many perspectives. scar is just as willing to kill and cause mayhem as grian— if not more so. but grian is his lackey. scar is the thorn, grian is the shrike. together they are deadly
shrikes NEED the thorns. shrikes don’t have the talons of a bird of prey, they need a tool to help them kill and hunt. grian NEEDS scar. he doesn’t have the bloodlust at first, but as the series goes on grian is more and more willing to attack, trap, kill, and since he’s green most of the time he NEEDS scar to do it for him.
and maybe that’s why grian always ends up in scar’s orbit, one way or another, in these series.
bonus… thinking about… cactus thorns…
they’re also very territorial which I think fits very nicely with grian. especially in 3L.
tldr: if you haven’t cried thinking about desert duo while listening to ‘shrike’ by hozier I highly highly suggest it