#nina's becoming the corpsewitch

[capinejghafa]

sorry im just mad that we won't get to see the ice court heist.

[brionysea]

jesper getting jumpscared by inej is hilarious but after he starts consciously embracing his power he always knows when she's sneaking up on him because he can sense the 18 million knives she has on her person at all times. it makes him look even more cool and three of crows look even more in sync. bonus: because of nina's trick with sensing heartbeats the only ones inej can startle are sweet summer children wylan and matthias, as it should be

[mournersrp]

name.   nina  zenik.

age.   25  or  26.

pronouns.   utp.

face.   utp.

CORPSEWITCH  —  it  sounds  best  when  sneered  through  sharp  teeth.  the  heartrender  you  once  were  obliterated,  jurda  parem  was  both  a  blessing  and  a  curse.  for  your  reverent  revolution,  you  summoned  a  regiment  of  your  own  design.  not  always  the  usurping  undead,  but  a  legion  of  liberators,  you  left  kerch  to  smuggle  grisha  towards  their  respective  asylums.  loyal  to  your  ravkan  roots  —  as  a  prior  soldier  of  the  second  army  should  be  —  you  defy  all  persecution  of  your  kind.  if  not  in  pursuit  of  rumour  regarding  an  imprisoned  grisha  aboard  a  fjerdan  vessel  dubbed  the  verglas,  you’d  likely  have  never  returned  to  ketterdam,  and  found  yourself  drawn  back  within  the  crow’s  nest.  despite  the  inevitable  reunion,  you  struggle,  snared  somewhere  between  the  charismatic  soul  you  used  to  be  and  the  queen  of  mourning  you’ve  become.

suggested  faceclaims.   danielle  galligan,  barbie  ferreira,  bree  kish,  lovisa  lager,  tabria  majors,  jennie  runk,  la’tecia  thomas.

                                                                                      this  skeleton  is  currently  open.

[wraithstill]

npc.

NAME: valeria ghafa AGE: 6 when inej finds her BACKGROUND:

valeria was rescued by captain ghafa as a victim among other refugees in the hull of a slaver ship. being so young, there is limited information valeria has regarding where she is from, or who her parents are, yet that does not prevent inej from seeking valeria’s home. while she deposits the remainder of the group of would-be indentures in a safe port town, she keeps valeria close as she spends the next several months to a year searching for her parents. it is to no avail, & by then, inej and the girl have bonded: & when the hope of finding her home has crumbled into ash, it becomes apparent that the girl has made a home with the captain of the wraith & her crew. it takes very little convincing for inej to decide to adopt the girl as her own, claiming to anyone who asked that valeria was her very own daughter, & their similar complexions seemed proof enough for most. 

nina is actually the first of the crows to meet valeria, the wraith having made a special trip to see their favorite heartender/corpsewitch/auntie. val takes to her instantly, & inej is sure that nina’s snacks aid in the decision. 

[catdoingblep]

And some more headcanons for this crossover (some mentions of the temporary death and canonical/side permanent deaths):

Eleonor was from Ravka, and she was a tidemaker (and Hob fell for her with the speed of tv Jesper). Robyn was a squaller, but their story still ends the same.

Nikolai Lantsov is a very-very distant descendant of Hob. Not like anyone alive knows it except Destiny.  (Robyn was the only kid Hob was aware of, but he didn’t care for real before Robyn that much, and he had his slut period right after he understood that he became immortal) 

Wylan is Hob's favourite Crow because he reminds him of Robyn. Both in Wylan Wan Sunshine and how-about-I-push-you-in-the-canal moods.

Hob and Jesper are vibing together. And they both have ADHD in my mind.

Randall Burgess was in the Fold because his best friend needed to go throught it, and Randall wasn't ok with his friend taking this kind of risk without Randall on side. They both and everyone who was with them didn't make it.

Inej had a knife that was called Sankta Robert. She broke this during the basement rescue (she may or may not broke it trying to crack a fishball). Hob brought her a new one instead, durast made.

New knife is by Mad Hettie. She do not do all the durast stuff anymore by her own reasons (and these reasons somehow connected to Destiny), but she was owe Hob a favoir. They also have a very strange friendship because you cannot don't interract when you are two immortals in one Ketterdam.

Kaz was really interested by the devil in the basement not because it was connected with Jan Van Eck but because anyone was thinking that it is impossible to steal thing from basement. He had a lot of other plans with Jan Van Eck, but he likes the challenge.

Hob once was in the Hellgate as a prisoner for few days during his worst times after Eleonor and Robyn. He will not recomend anyone Hellgate (0/10 for service), and he killed himself really bruttaly to be thrown out as a corpse. He had a very important meeting in few weeks, so not like he had time to enjoy Hellgate accomodation.

Ethel Crips is a tailor, and Roderic wasn't aware of it, so she run away from Ketterdam and tailored her face. Did she tailor also John's face? Nobody knows.

Jordie was asking Death if Kaz would be alright. She said that he will not die anytime soon.

Dream will definitely be once (or maybe more than once) asked by some drunkards is he related to Kaz Brekker. 

Nina still becomes the Corpsewitch in this universe and sometimes she is able to see Death around when Death doing her job.

Ok, I do not make tumblr posts, but I have this crossover stuck in my brain (and I am having a hyperfixation on the Shadow and Bones rn), so…

Shadow and Bones (TV) x Sandman (TV) crossover, Hob canonically was involved in the slave trade.

Hob Gadling, the new owner of New Inn (a small Inn on the edge of Barel) and your local saint (yes, he is known as Sankta Robert, and he hates this) and fellow Ketterdam immortal in his six hundreds, is trying to live his life in the Ketterdam right after his Stranger missed their meeting.

He was away for a few years after planned meeting (you know, all this “die and return as your nephew from Novyi Zem” things) and just returned to the city when Fold was destroyed. He doesn’t want to interact with any of Barel’s gangs, because it is hard to hide your immortality when someone shoots you in the middle of the street (it happened before. Twice, actually).

He still tries to know all the local rumours, so he knows about Crows, and now his Inn is apparently the Dregs’ territory.

Meanwhile, Kaz is planning how to destroy Jan Wan Eck and heard a rumour about the devil in the basement.

So, whatever it is, Jan Wan Eck is very interested in it and spends a huge amount of money every month to cover the costs of Burgess. And the guards of the basement are so well-payed that no one can buy them. Wylan barely knows anything about it, he only knows that once his father said him that Burgess promised his father to guarantee that his next child will not be an embarrassment (in exchange for the favour that is taking away the Dream bc Alex wants to get rid of the ball). 

(Roderic Burgess was not a grisha himself, but Randall Burgess was a grisha and Burgess was already making a lot of plans for how he will monetize his grisha abilities and how he will use Randall in his barely legal plans before he died in the Fold and Roderick was stuck with useless otkazat'sya second son)

Crows think that maybe this is imprisoned healer because older Burgess was too old to be alive.  

(Alex considered himself “forced through circumstances” after his father died bc he was too afraid of both Dream and Wan Eck telling everybody that is in the basement)

So Crows start some shenanigans to break into the basement, and Burgess or Wan Yek heard about it and hires some killers to take them down. One of the killers? Corinthian.

Corinthian caught one of the Crows (Nina who cannot take him down because he was made from the dreamstuff?) in the side street, but Hob is passing by. And he doesn’t want some kid to be killed on his watch. 

Hob attacked Corinthian and killed him (obviously temporally) but got stabbed in the process. In his heart. With a knife. So Nina tried to save him, but once she took out the knife, Hob comes to life.

And this makes Hob involved in all the things that he tried to avoid because he didn’t want to simulate his death too soon (and these children already saw that he is immortal), and Crows offered him to “forget” about his secret. Price? Help to steal whatever it is in the basement. 

After this someone (Inej who will have very mixed feelings about Hob being a saint? like they already met some saints but no one was a slave trader in the past) understood who Hob is.

All this Sankta Robert stuff that Hob hates. He is not only a saint because he just died and was resurrected with too many witnesses, but he also did this during the period when he tried to destroy his own slavery business after his Stranger’s advice. So years after he was known as a patron of the slaves and the ones who were illegally detained.

The eternal reminder of his own mistakes. He is not a saint, ok? Just an immortal man who made a huge mistake and tried to do something right when he understood that a crime he did.

(And in that life, he was going with his real name for some time, so he cannot use Robert Gadling anymore because everyone knows his name as the name of the saint)

Idk what will be next but it all ended up as Hob saved Dream from the fishball and they got together trope, yes. Same story but with some extra Crows flavour.

(And after the rescue of the Dream he is very amused with the fact that mortals call Hob Sankta Robert. Like previously, he never paid attention to the life of Hob between their meetings, only to the Hob’s stories on the meetings, and Hob did not mention this so he didn’t know).

Hob also somehow “adopt” the Crows because they are just a bunch of youngsters for him. Like they’re in their twenties, they are totally kids for Hob. Have they already saved the world? Not changing his opinion, they are kids! Kaz is trying to resist this but unsuccessfully (he is not so unhappy with this as he shows).

[percabeth4life]

But now you've got me curious, what would be the permanent side effects of recovering from jurda parem for Percy? Because if I understood it correctly, recovering from jurda parem addiction changes your powers permanently (Nina going from a Heartrender to the first Corpsewitch)? Because like, Percy already has basically the whole kit of powers from Poseidon, earthquakes, hydrokinesis, storms, hurricanes, fire resistance, water healing, you name it, he's got it. Is he gonna become more chthonic-based, like early Poseidon, instead of primarily sea-based, like the Poseidon that's portrayed in the series?

And how would that even manifest? Like, would he completely lose his water-based powers, or would they just become weaker in favor of his earth related ones? Also, still assuming that the change is based on which version of Poseidon he draws powers from, would he gain underworld powers, like maybe the ability to summon water from the 5 rivers in the world above, since there's evidence of an earlier worship (Mycenaean if I'm not mistaken) of Poseidon where he was king of the underworld?

bounces He would get some super cool stuff! So fun fact to start: part of why Poseidon is the EarthShaker was because early beliefs had the Ocean holding the Earth, so the Earth is connected to the Water.

So I think that he would start out with like- his powers get Super Extreme with the Jurda Parem. But as it fades from his system his water is wonky.

He can’t just control the water anymore, that just isn’t working. He can feel it though, in the air, in the water, in the ground. The ground under his feet almost shakes at his steps and he slowly realizes it is listening to him as the Water once did. And it’s not only the Earth beneath him, but something of the Sky above him. And the first time he gets angry after the Earth shakes and the sky rumbles and a storm breaks.

He wouldn’t call from the Underworld, he wouldn’t quite get that, but he wields the storms like a blade and guides the Earth like he once did the sea.

And if he took Jurda Parem again then he just might come to hear the call of something deeper, something higher, something more answering him.

[confused-as-all-hell]

Nina Zenik

“Drusje!”

“I don’t like that word. Call me Grisha. Call me zowa. Call me death, if you like.”

Nina Zenik, bright and delighted and beaming. The Queen of Mourning, the Corpsewitch, the little red bird. A woman who had ridden death, who was both soldier and spy for her country, who used to offer her only rag-doll to weeping children when she was just a little girl. 

Nina loved as she lived, with her brilliant heart of gold. She was a Heartrender, made to manipulate flesh and bone and lungs, but some part of her always longed to heal rather than destroy. She often wondered, if given the choice, if Ravka hadn’t so desperately required soldiers, would she have made herself a Healer?

To mend broken hearts, rather than sunder them anew?

But it was an unfaithful question, and Nina Zenik was a good warrior, a good person. 

She never strayed from her path, did her studies well, followed the orders of her commanders with little fuss. She bore the criticism of her weight, her laughter, how she was simply too much to be allowed. She allowed others to scoff at the lush lines of her body, allowed them to mock her lovely beauty. 

Nina could halt a heat’s beat, or crush a man’s lungs, but she could also love. So simply, she could love.

She made room in her heart for a little bronze girl with too many knives. 

She bickered with the Bastard of the Barrel, but she also never forgot his birthday, even if he scowled at her the whole time.

She extended a hand to a merchling with curls of red gold, and didn’t flinch back when he loosed his grief on her. 

She teased a young man with deep debts and a passion for bullets, never scolding or reprimanding, only caring. 

She forgave a burnished gold Druskelle, a witchhunter with a broken heart and too many wounds. 

Nina knew when to draw the line, when to say, “I will not stand for this bullshit.” But she also understood when to light her lamps and banish the dark, when to sit softly and whisper, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Her kindness, so freely given, was a lifeline to many.

She didn’t know it, but there were days when only her friendly voice could draw Inej from the roof’s edge, when her peals of laughter gave Jesper a pulse of hope, when her bright happy singing could make even Kaz smile.

Nina is a soldier, yes. She is a soldier, and spy, and cutthroat Grisha woman. She has shown literature that girls can form strong, loving friendships with girls. She has shown literature that you can crawl through Hell on hands and knees, and come out with your eyes brighter than ever.

She has shown literature that you can be ruthless and sweet, fierce and gentle, blaringly loud and heartbreakingly soft.

She has shown literature never to apologize for who you are, for who you have become.

Nina is curvy and plus-size, and she owns it. She never stops eating at her own luxury, or reaching for second helpings. Her story is such an inspiration; that a woman could be plump, and still confident in her own body, as she should. 

She is the girl who offers you her lipstick in the bathroom, the friend who wipes away tears and smudged eyeliner, the stranger who loops her arm through yours and laughs that earth-shaking world-breaking laugh.

Nina Zenik is fierce and unapologetic. She deserves more than being reduced to half a couple, to the Wraith’s best friend, to comedic relief in a slinky red dress. 

She deserves the world, and it’s around time somebody gives it to her.

[perceabeth]

wait hold on no im thinking of nina and alina actually meeting and working together and then they become sankta alina and the corpsewitch i just think its sexy and cool and im in love with them

[worldpromiseda]

@corpsewitching - didnt ask for this but .

CAPTIAN INEJ GHAFA OF THE WRAITH, something that she originally thought was only possible in her dreams. her very own ship to go after people, like the ones who took her when she was younger. she wanted to give someone hope, that they didn’t have to go nearly as much as she did.  free them from their chains before they can become too tight to cut.

she carefully walked around the ship, eventually ending up beside nina. the woman was grateful that she came with her, dreading the thought of missing her. even though inej knew with all of her plans, distractions from that ache could have been plentiful.’’how are you?’’ she asked softly, sending a slight smile in her direction.

[ofpagesandink]

King of Scars

By: Leigh Bardugo

Released: January 29th, 2019

My Rating: 4 ( ★ ★ ★ ★)

Goodreads Rating: 4. 22 ( ★ ★ ★ ★)

Genre: Young adult, fantasy

Series: Nikolai Duology #1; Grishaverse #6

Summary:  Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army. Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal. (Via Goodreads)

My Review:  Before I start my review, I just want to mention one thing: I made the stupid decision to read this book after years of not reading the Grisha Trilogy and boy do I regret it. It made me feel lost for a good part of the book. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. That said, onto the review. This story is called King of Scars and is supposedly about Nikolai, however, I feel like it should be titled Corpsewitch for Nina or Storm Witch for Zoya or some variant of those because these women dominate the story. In fact, most of the chapters are from their point of view and not Nikolai. Don't get me wrong. The minute I heard that there was going to be Nikolai duology I was PSYCHED. I've always preferred Nikolai over Mal. Always. I'm a sucker for sarcastic charm. However, this story almost feels like he's a secondary character and not the main character. Sure, he's a king. But as we know from many stories, Kings aren't everything. This story is DARK. From poisoned zombie-like wolves to drugged girls and haunting pasts, this story is a whirlwind of drama. It's also heavy on the politics, but in such a way that you can follow the puzzle pieces as they are placed on the table to form the bigger picture. Also, Don't think I missed that mention of a sailor claiming to be Nikolai's father, Bardugo. I see a reunion coming. I don't know how I feel about Zoya's newfound power. Well, newfound, but not new to her. The kind of thing that's always been sleeping inside her. All she needed to do was open the door. Anyway: she's always been talked about as the most powerful and skilled Grisha of their time. Alina is probably one of the only people to ever best her and she had a unique ability. I don't know how I feel about her adding to that power to become almost god-like. Makes me wonder if it's a McGuffin or if she really has plans for Zoya. Honesly, even though Nina's heartrender ability has been perverted by parem, I find her new ability infinitely more interesting. She's practically a necromancer and that's incredible. A TREE OF BONE!? COME ON! How is that not awsome? Anyway, overall, I wasn't as enthralled by the story as I had hoped, but I do want to see where she's going with this, and I'm always up for more Nikolai and the Grishaverse.

Date Read: January 1st-January 17th, 2020

Recommended: Yes, but read or reread the other books in the Grishaverse first or you’ll feel helplessly lost.

Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Book Depository, Half Priced Books, Thrift Books

[wraithstill]

NPC.

NAME: valeria (ghafa, later rietveld) AGE: 6 when inej finds her BACKGROUND:

valeria was rescued by captain ghafa as a victim among other refugees in the hull of a slaver ship. being so young, there is limited information valeria has regarding where she is from, or who her parents are, yet that does not prevent inej from seeking valeria’s home. while she deposits the remainder of the group of would-be indentures in a safe port town, she keeps valeria close as she spends the next several months to a year searching for her parents. it is to no avail, and by then, inej and the girl have bonded: & when the hope of finding her home has crumbled into ash, it becomes apparent that the girl has made a home with the captain of the wraith & her crew.  it takes very little convincing for inej to decide to adopt the girl as her own, claiming to anyone who asked that valeria was her very own daughter, & their similar complexions seemed proof enough for most. 

nina is actually the first of the crows to meet valeria, the wraith having made a special trip to see their favorite heartender/corpsewitch. val takes to her instantly, & inej is sure that nina’s snacks aid in the decision. 

when inej returns to ketterdam, fifth harbor, berth 22 ... valeria goes with her, off to the manor she often stays at with wylan & jesper. by then, the two are acquainted only through letters about the young girl that inej has taken under her wing. 

kaz knows very little of valeria for a long while, inej assuming he does not care to know, & he does not even meet her until inej insists he come for dinner. for a long while, their relationship is questioned. strained. neither understanding the other.  I have so much more about val & kaz’s relationship but this would get longer & we’re going to end it here.

[mournersrp]

𝐍𝐎  𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒,  𝐍𝐎  𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐒.  once  again,  thank  you  all  so  much  for  the  dedication  put  into  applying  here  at  mourners  ;  it’s  truly  been  a  pleasure  reading  all  of  your  applications  &.  i’m  tremendously  grateful.  turning  down  an  application  is  never  an  easy  process,  and  there  were  many  instances  in  which  i  wished  i  could  permit  a  duplicate  upon  the  dash.  with  that  said,  i’m  looking  forward  to  both  speaking  &.  plotting  with  each  of  you  tomorrow  (  bear  with  me  while  all  pages  &.  skeletons  are  properly  updated  )  —  welcome  to  mourners  !  please  review  our  checklist  and  report  to  the  barrel  boss  within  the  next  twenty - four  hours.

𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐉  𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐅𝐀

VENLI  !  choosing  an  inej  for  mourners  was  ...  a  feat,  as  each  applicant  displayed  an  exquisite  version  of  our  wraith,  but  what  swayed  me  in  the  end  was  the  balance  you  kept  between  who  she  was  while  with  the  dregs  &.  who  she  became  without  them.  the  details  surrounding  intricacies  of  her  newfound  crewmen  (  &.  her  family  post  their  reunion  )  in  which  helped  shape  the  woman  outside  the  barrel  were  lovely  to  read  (  her  thoughts  on  rilar,  in  particular,  were  both  authentic  &.  entertaining  )  ;  i  could  picture  the  scenes  in  earnest.  i  also  loved  the  mention  of  how  she  came  to  understand  kaz’s  own  vices  after  having  to  face  her  own  whilst  sailing  the  seas.  thank  you  for  taking  the  time  to  apply  —  i  look  forward  to  seeing  your  inej  in  play.

𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑  𝐅𝐀𝐇𝐄𝐘

NOAH  !  the  bit  about  kaz  disproving  jesper’s  exaggerated  stories  had  me  rolling,  and  your  headcanon  regarding  jesper  being  an  absolute  catastrophe  in  the  kitchen  (  gordon  ramsay  is  unamused  )  ?  you  wrote  it  best:  ‘  tall,  lanky,  restless,  distracted,  easily  bored.  ’.  incredibly  handsome,  but  certainly  cannot  focus  on  a  single  recipe.  on  a  serious  note  (  despite  the  consistent,  comical  little  tidbits  which  made  your  application  such  a  pleasure  to  read  ),  the  grasp  upon  his  character  you  presented  between  struggling  with  guilt  &.  penitence  was  flawless,  and  something  i  look  forward  to  seeing  explored  on  the  dash.

𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐒  𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐑

ABBY  !  there  was  so  much  i  loved  about  your  matthias,  but  i  especially  appreciated  how  you  incorporated  the  other  skeletons  into  interpersonal  plot  points  for  him.  the  attention  to  detail  within  matthias’  headspace  when  ruminating  over  them  was  absolutely  believable  to  his  character.  the  vast  detail  you  supplied  for  each  personality  trait  &.  headcanons  were  so  indicative  of  who  he’s  been  and  who  he’s  become  (  or  trying  so  desperately  to  be  ).  i’m  interested  to  see  his  reactions  to  henrik’s  next  moves  just  as  much  as  you,  and  where  our  drüskelle  will  stand,  then.  oh,  and  abby,  what’s  the  first  rule  about  fight  club  ?

𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐀  𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐊

EMILY  !  ah,  yes,  nina,  our  waffle  queen.  her  past,  present  &.  sought  future  were  crafted  so  wonderfully  within  your  application  ;  i  particularly  loved  your  headcanon  dealing  with  her  time  as  a  heartrender,  where  nina  stubbornly  wished  to  understand  the  small  science  whilst  her  peers  were  occupied  with  morozov’s  manuals.  it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to  read  her  thoughts  on  the  grisha  she’s  become,  the  label  of  corpsewitch  adhered  to  her,  the  burden  it  has  also  set  upon  her  as  ‘  self - appointed  grisha  guardian  angel  ’.  &.  i  do  hope  you  get  to  share  those  plot  ideas  with  some  of  our  fellow  grisha,  as  your  points  revolving  around  them  were  so  well  thought  out  and  executed.  also,  you’re  right  —  kaz  gets  way  too  into  the  costumes.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍

HARPER  !  i’m  ready  to  interact  with  felix.  it’s  no  wonder  kaz  made  him  a  deal  —  tragedy  maketh  man,  and  if  there’s  one  thing  dirtyhands  can  comprehend,  it’s  being  dealt  a  bad  hand.  i  love  the  idea  in  which  you  set  forth  that  he’s  lived  his  life  in  such  silence,  that  there  are  those  who  have  known  him  for  several  years,  but  haven’t  heard  even  a  whisper  slip  from  his  tongue.  the  way  you  transitioned  felix’s  headcanons  into  the  pivotal  moments  of  his  life  made  it  a  blast  to  read  through  (  especially  during  the  deal,  where  we  got  a  good  look  at  the  first  devil  in  his  life  —  do  old  habits  die  hard,  in  the  end  ?  ).  once  again,  welcome  to  mourners  (  i  foresee  much  plotting  in  our  future  ).

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑

ALEX  !  we  do  love  a  good  destroyer,  and  marlaina  is  no  exception.  she  knows  her  power  &.  is  not  afraid  to  unleash  it,  a  trait  that,  while  prized  within  the  dregs,  can  also  become  a  nightmare.  after  all,  control  &.  patience  can  be  key.  the  idea  that  she’s  particularly  skilled  at  cards  (  as  well  as  banned  from  most  gambling  halls  )  was  a  fresh  addition  to  the  skeleton,  as  i  quite  love  the  idea  of  our  hellish  heartrender  pushing  her  luck  at  the  crow’s  club  (  when  has  that  ever  ended  badly  ?  ).  i  agree  it’d  be  an  interesting  concept  to  see  her  have  another  grisha  under  her  wing,  especially  when  she  herself  is  always  so  keen  to  detonate  —  her  desertion,  however,  will  surely  catch  up  with  her  soon.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑

MARGOT  !  you  have  spun  the  impostor  into  an  entirely  new  medium,  and  produced  a  character  that  went  beyond  the  skeleton  provided.  ‘  prison  changed  you.  for  the  better.  you’re  more  fun  now,  sociable  and  loud,  like  a  cannon,  truly.  so  loud  everybody  jumps  when  you  burst  into  a  room.  ’  one  of  the  first  few  lines  in  your  application,  but  what  immediately  captured  my  attention  and  had  me  buckle  in.  i  never  considered  that  the  target  in  which  damned  the  impostor  to  the  depths  of  hellgate  could  be  family,  but  now  i’d  not  have  it  any  other  way.  aris  is  a  world  class  actor  &.  i  cannot  wait  to  help  you  set  the  stage  (  &.  maybe  watch  it  burn  in  the  process  ).

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐓

HENRY  JUDE  !  i  wasn’t  sure  if  there’d  be  a  lieutenant  at  the  start  of  mourners,  so  i  was  absolutely  thrilled  when  receiving  your  application.  an  important  player  with  a  plethora  of  potential  directions  in  which  they  could  shift,  and  i  can’t  wait  to  see  if  jozef's  includes  the  checkmate.  the  craftsmanship  in  your  design  for  him  was  extraordinarily  executed  and  quite  poetic  ;  he  was  absolute  pleasure  to  study.  i  look  forward  to  plotting  with  you  as  well  as  discussing  the  similarities  between  our  broken,  disastrous  muses  (  also,  i  can’t  believe  we’re  both  aleksander  morozova  apologists  ).

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐑

ARACELIA  !  i’m  in  love  with  anya.  you  put  so  much  adoration  into  her  creation  &.  i  cannot  wait  to  see  it  bleed  onto  the  dash  (  you  make  it  so  hard  to  loathe  a  traitor  ).  her  personality  is  so  believably  balanced,  and  more  than  what  my  own  ideas  surrounding  the  role  initially  included.  the  birth  of  a  monster,  the  birth  of  a  tailor  &.  the  birth  of  an  illusionist  were  impeccably  composed  stories  which  sewed  her  into  existence.  you’ve  forged  a  character  who  is  the  definition  of  ‘  so  much  more  than  meets  the  eye  ’  &.  i  am  thrilled  to  have  gotten  the  first  look  at  our  scarab  queen.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐑  |  EM  !  i  absolutely  love  the  concept  of  aleni  (  as  kaz  would  say:  she’s  a  particularly  good  investment  ).  with  grisha  within  his  crew,  what  better  for  an  amplifier  to  do  ?  i  was  wondering  if  i’d  see  an  application  involving  ketterdam’s  university,  and  was  immediately  thrilled  when  seeing  it  pulled  into  aleni’s  history.  the  idea  that  she  loved  ketterdam  in  any  capacity  is  not  something  you  tend  to  hear  (  it  died  quickly,  of  course  ),  which  was  a  unique  mention  within  your  wildcard.  &.  we  will  definitely  have  to  discuss  aleni  mistakenly  having  amplified  the  inferni  at  fifth  harbour,  as  i  believe  you’ve  proposed  an  excellent  idea.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑  //  𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀  𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑  |  IRIS  !  to  be  introduced  to  valdis  by  way  of  your  character  summary  was  a  treat.  i  absolutely  loved  the  way  it  was  written,  and  immediately  knew  why  she’d  made  it  into  the  dregs  (  truly  obsessed  with  her  being  the  daughter  of  a  pirate  captain  ).  though  she  managed  to  escape  her  original  work  with  braam,  it  seems,  for  a  time,  she  had  let  history  repeat  itself,  but  with  perhaps  a  better  boss  than  originally  at  the  helm.  &.  with  a  new  debt  paid,  how  fast  till  old  loyalty  dies  ?  

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑  //  𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑  |  REE  !  it’s  all  in  the  bones.  a  fjerdan  fleeing  for  discovering  themselves  grisha  is  always  something  i’ve  wanted  to  see  explored,  and  now  i  have  a  front  row  seat.  to  be  ostracized  by  their  own  &.  then  by  a  place  of  presumed  sanctuary  can  induce  a  particular  psychosis  within  the  most  stable  of  individuals,  and  we  do  love  sigyn’s  particular  brand  of  crazy.  you’ve  provided  an  entirely  fresh  take  on  what  is  known  of  a  grisha  healer,  and  how  such  gifts  may  be  construed  when  mixed  with  the  beliefs  of  fjerda.  thank  you  for  delivering  such  a  spellbinding  character  to  mourners.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓  𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋  |  ALI  !  with  a  vast  cast  of  varying  characters,  i  was  thrilled  to  see  that  senna  originally  came  from  wealth  (  it’s  a  different  path  to  weave,  one  that  usually  draws  more  enemies  than  friends  ).  your  application  was  so  appreciated,  providing  a  role  in  which  started  from  the  top  &.  careened  to  the  bottom  (  i  do  hope  to  see  senna  &.  wylan  swap  stories,  especially  where  senna  has  made  strides  to  escape  the  tread  of  their  father  ).  you  call  it  their  grand  adventure,  and  in  all  its  sinister  glory,  it’s  only  just  begun.  welcome  to  mourners  ;  let’s  plot  some  blackmail.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑  //  𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀  𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑  |  NINA  !  both  applications  for  our  resident  tidemaker  spun  tales  which  were  a  pleasure  to  traverse,  and  i  would  have  loved  to  have  both  turning  the  tides  for  the  dregs.  manu  belongs  in  a  novel,  with  all  the  devotion  you’ve  clearly  put  into  him.  &.  i  am  ecstatic  to  at  least  have  him  for  mourners’  chapters.  when  you  wrote  ‘  for  the  wanderer  was  nothing  if  not  a  mismatched  family,  made  with  kerch  purple,  fjerdan  ice,  kaelish  fire,  zemeni  courage  and  ravkan  boldness  ’,  i  found  myself  able  to  refer  to  it  whilst  reading  through  the  life  authored  for  him,  able  to  pick  out  these  particular  qualities  on  his  way  to  the  barrel.  &.  hopefully,  he’ll  reach  the  surface  soon.