For the applyfic Playing Monster by Coruscant_Cosmonaut

FULL NAME: Maja Havel

NICKNAME: The Shadow

PREFERRED NAME: Maja

AGE: 17

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Female, she/her

SEXUALITY: Asexual Aromantic

GRISHA ORDER: Materialki, Durast

APPEARENCE: Maja has very messy, oft-tangled brown hair. It is, technically, somewhere between wavy and curly (2b or 2c), though some sections are braided and the rest she doesn't do much with. She washes her hair, of course, but Maja doesn't care much for her appearance and it shows with her hair. Her eyes are blue, a brilliant Fjerdan blue—a fact that Maja isn't exactly fond of. She is pretty pale, for a dark-skinned woman; Maja spends a great deal of her time indoors, the rest of it under trees and heavy hoods, thus her skin looks somewhere between gray and light brown. Her lips are quite full, as well, and Maja has high cheekbones. She stands at five feet six inches tall, though can seem shorter. Her frame is very slender, almost as though she does not eat enough, and there is extremely little muscle on her. In the wrong lights, she looks more like a corpse than a girl. Maja dresses almost exclusively in her kefta, though when she does not, she prefers modest clothes and trousers.

PERSONALITY: Maja is incredibly quiet. Sneaky is probably more the right word, in fact. It's near-impossible to hear her coming unless she wants you to. She is called the Shadow for a reason, after all. Like a cat, Maja moves silently and keeps many things to herself. She holds secrets that she should not know, and has explored every inch of the Little Palace—mostly in the middle of the night. Except the Darkling's rooms. She has never ventured there. Maja holds many strong opinions and is known for letting them show, at least to those who know her well. She's never been afraid of letting others know how she feels. Maja's boldness can be her downfall, as it is often combined with a stubbornness that's hard to ignore. This combination has tended, in the past, to drive away those who might have been her friends. Maja prefers to call herself passionate, of course, rather than "hostile". She cares deeply about what she believes, even if it's wrong. Standing by what she feels is something Maja is proud of, in fact, and it's quite easy to tell. Maja also has a habit of not caring what others think of her. She carries herself in such a way that the negative words and sneers of others roll right off her back, leaving Maja with her head held high. The only opinion she truly cares about is that of the Darkling—and that is only because Maja is well aware he can end her life any time he wants to. Maja is bold, though some could call her reckless. She doesn't care much for consequences and is up for almost any risk. She's a daredevil, you could say, and you wouldn't be entirely wrong. Maja does whatever she wants, and no one can truly stop her. However, this recklessness can lead her straight into danger or situations that she doesn't have a good plan to get out of. That's the thing about Maja—she doesn't plan. She claims that plans are for those who aren't creative enough to think on the fly, and she certainly is creative. She's lived this long—isn't that enough proof that her way is superior? Maya's confidence may one day be her downfall, but for now she is content with her skill and determined to stay alive no matter the cost.

MYERS-BRIGGS: ENFJ

BACKSTORY: Maja was raised on the border between Fjerda and Ravka by her Fjerdan father and Ravkan mother. Her mother, Yelena, was a Grisha who defected from the Second Army after faking her own death—she would never tell Maja why, despite the girl's curiosity. Maja was raised knowing that she was in danger for the ability she inherited from her mother, and that she needed to keep it secret as long as she could. Her mother taught Maja what she could, despite being a Tidemaker rather than a Durast, and both her parents taught her how to be quiet and careful and take care of herself. The whole family was hunted, after all, what with Maja's father being Fjerdan. Their lessons turned out to be useful, as Maja's parents died when she was twelve. They were killed by Fjerdan warriors who discovered the "witch woman" living in the woods and her traitor of a husband. Maja managed to get away thanks to her small size, running into the woods and hiding herself as best she could. She took care of herself as much as she could, avoiding large cities and towns when she was able and only entering smaller settlements when she needed to. She'd managed to run in the direction of Ravka rather than Fjerda, but she still never used her power around other people. Or at least, she tried not to, because of course she was discovered. It just so happened that she was found by a pair of testers, though not in an official testing. Maja was fifteen, trying to use her abilities to make a container for water, when the pair stopped for a rest and saw her. She was taken straight to the Little Palace and shoved into life as a "true" Grisha. She still clings to her somewhat wild ways, escaping outside when she can, especially at night, and refuses to get any more "civilized" than she already is. You can take the girl from the wild, but you can't take the wild from the girl.

INTERESTS & HOBBIES: Music. Maja plays a traditional Fjerdan string instrument, which she learned to play from her father before he died. Creating new things—of course, being a Durast. Understanding the world around her (aka research). Maja also likes being outdoors.

SKILLS: Maja has a decent amount of skill with her abilities as a Grisha, though it's almost entirely self-taught and therefore drives her Little Palace teachers insane. She is a skilled tracker and hunter, having had to in order to survive. On that note, Maja has a great deal of survival skills from three years alone roaming Ravka. She can cook for herself too.

PET PEEVES: Being stuck inside, being told what to do, being told to behave more like... a normal person. Basically, anything that goes against Maja's previous way of life. Also when people blindly hate all Fjerdans.

FEARS & INSECURITIES: Maja fears death, especially being burned alive; large crowds; and being controlled. She isn't insecure about much, but she is insecure about her Grisha abilities. She knows she didn't have as much of an education as her peers her age, and it bothers her sometimes.

FAMILY: Her father's name was Mateo Havel, and her mother was Yelena Havel-Petrova. They are both deceased, though Maja was close to them when they were still alive. They taught her everything she needed to know to survive, and she misses them.

SECRETS: Maja is absolutely terrified of the Darkling. Her mother told her very little of her time in the Second Army, but she did tell Maja to look out for him. He was already well-known when Maja was a child, and considering she was a child at the time, she built up a fear of him in her head that she has not shaken. She avoids him whenever possible.

LOVE INTEREST? Nope.

THOUGHTS ON GRISHA: As a Grisha herself, Maja loves her abilities. She loves being able to practice freely and grow stronger in her power, and be recognized as worth something. However, she... doesn't like living in the Little Palace. She doesn't like being part of the Second Army. She doesn't like how looked-down on Materialki are. She has positive feelings towards Grisha as a whole, but thinks all of this should be done differently.

EXTRA: She hates loud noises and crowds, and strongly dislikes most Ravkan food. She can be awkward, and bad at talking to people. Her theme songs, if you're interested, are Desert Song by My Chemical Romance; The Morrigan by Heather Dale; and Sztoj Pa Moru by Laboratorium Pieśni.

HEADCANONS: Maja sneaking up on people (both on accident and for shits and giggles) would be wonderful. She wears mostly dark and/or neutral colors when not in her kefta.

AESTHETIC: The woods, thick hoods, tangled and braided dark hair, blue eyes and dark hair, whatever you would think of for a general "durast" aesthetic, soot-stained fingertips.

QUOTES: "I do think I know what I'm talking about here." "Hi- stop screaming, it's just me- I think we should let Alina make her own choices."

applyfic status: ongoing!