PERMISSIONS.

ALINA STARKOV (GRISHAVERSE) —

meme & psl information — CANON INTRODUCTION. the shorthand version — alina hails from ravka, an impoverished country not only plagued by war, but divided by a thick wall of darkness known as the fold — a creation that harbors twisted monsters inside of its borders. for centuries, the country has prophesized the coming of a sun summoner to tear down the fold and act as their savior. cue alina starkov — orphan and army cartographer. a journey through the fold triggers the sun summoning she has suppressed since childhood, setting her on the fated path as ravka's heralded sun summoner. regarded as a living saint, the future of ravka and grishakind rests on her reluctant shoulders, despite her internal grapples with her new fate and burgeoning power. more info here and here. CONTENT WARNINGS. alina has been the victim of manipulation and grooming by an older male authority figure, xenophobia due to being mixed race, anti-grisha sentiment, and violation of her bodily autonomy. she also has moments of suicidal ideation as a result of pressure that comes from her perceived duties as a saint and sun summoner. please be aware of this when tagging her. that said, i'm careful not to spring these subjects on anyone without warning, so please let me know if there's anything you'd like to avoid me mentioning, and we can work something out, though they are not liable to come up without IC probing/an IC conversation broaching the topic. CANON POINT. extremely flexible. can do strictly book or show canon (up to date with season 2 and all books). in meme and psls, my default portrayal of alina is generally a bit of a mash-up of both, by default, though my favorite tends to be early book 2 of the trilogy or early (or post) season 2 of the show. i'll usually lean toward some point in the grisha trilogy itself for strictly book canon (early book 2), but i'm game for king of scars, or rule of wolves-era antics. i'm also super into AUs and canon divergence, so feel free to hit me up with any of those and we can mash our ideas together. CANON AWARENESS. netflix's s&b, grisha trilogy, crows duology, kos & row, demon in the woods. AGE. 20. VISUAL. calloused fingerpads and a distinct scar that bisects one palm, self-inflicted from an old childhood injury. always wears the scales of a sea whip as an irremovable bracelet, and the antlers of a stag fused and fastened as a choker, better known as a mythical amplifier in her world; fusing them with her own body amplifies her abilities beyond the normal threshold for a grisha. AUDIO. fantasy british. fairly soft lilt, tends to pitch high whenever she's angered or distressed. an example. OOC PERMISSIONS BACKTAGGING. yes, always! i'm game to pick threads back up at any time and can be slow sometimes myself, but i never mind delays from my thread partners. seriously, i'll backtag into forever, so no need to worry. i'm also open to boomeranging tags back and forth if we're around and available at the same time. BRACKETS VS PROSE. i switch between brackets and prose depending on a thread partner's preference and will adapt to whatever you're most comfortable with, though i default to present tense brackets myself. let me know if you have a preference, and i'll adapt accordingly! OFF-LIMITS. eyeball gore, spiders. i don't have any triggers beyond those. OOC CONTACT. PMs work best, but feel free to ask for my plurk or discord! i don't mind giving either out if we write together regularly. IC PERMISSIONS PHYSICAL AFFECTION. yes. she's touch-starved and affectionate toward close friends, but it's important to note she's wary and distrustful after persistent mistreatment at the hands of other people, and can be kind of feral as a result, so any strangers approaching her will be the equivalent of someone trying to pet a stray cat. it might work or it might bite you, who knows. FLIRTING. yes.  FIGHTING & INJURIES. absolutely. yes. for context, alina herself is a grisha — a human born with the ability to wield what is known as "small science." grisha effectively manipulate the elements of the world around them, drawing upon what's already there in nature. alina herself is a rare form of etherealki known as a sun summoner — what this means is that she can summon and wield light. this can be used to blind/burn, or take the form of bending/refracting it for invisibility, a protective sphere, or a cutting slice known (aptly) as "the cut." she has two amplifiers that enhance her power, but have made it slightly more volatile and prone to mistakes, due to having limited training with her abilities. with that said, she's a glass cannon and built like a twig, lmao. she's bound to lose any fight that relies on pure physical strength. additionally, she's pretty much screwed if there's no available light source to draw from, and/or her hands are bound. i personally love writing fights as well as h/c and tending to injuries, so feel free to go crazy here! MINDREADING. yes; i'll try to add extra introspection and cues for your character to pick up on, so just lmk if this comes up! she has no natural resistances to it. on that note, she's had her bodily autonomy violated before and will inevitably react badly to having her privacy invaded. CROSS-CANON/OCs. always; i love seeing how other characters from different canons and material mesh together. i'm particularly interested in throwing alina at other fantasy or YA characters, and very open to AUing her into other universes. FOURTH-WALLING.no, please! i'd rather she not be told she's fictional. KILLING.potentially, with previous discussion. i'd prefer to reserve that for certain threads/memes. ROMANCE — feel free to nudge me if you're interested in playing something not listed! i'm down to try any ship, especially if the potential and chemistry is there. open to m/f and f/f equally. assumed cr is more than okay, especially in memes. on that note, though, i'm a big fan of UST and slowburn, so please bring me your pining and yearning. i'm a big fan of shipping that's focused on character, emotional and relational development and/or set in the context of an overarching plot. can write smut or fade to black, depending on partner/s preference/comfort levels. also willing to bring things to a locked post if they go that direction. FAVES. the darkling, mal, nikolai, zoya (book version of zoya only, please). YES. cross-canon, genya, tolya. MAYBE. ocs & other castmates not listed; i'll ship most things if the chemistry is there, and am very interested in seeing where things go & how they develop! NO. baghra, the apparat, vasily ... but why would you ever try to subject her to them in a romantic context.... 😭