#faimaccepted

CONGRATULATIONS, REY! Wow. Regis. What a snake, huh? What a rat. And what an extraordinary experience it was, watching the angry, righteous yarn of their life being pared down for us page after page. Your application was absolutely stunning: from the way you expanded the Aveline name, which was something we dearly waited for, to the peppered in details of doom and omens that seem to go over Regis’ head entirely. You were able to capture something utterly unprintable: an entire world is born and ends at the back of the stage, while Regis carries on with their soliliquoy in the front, convinced they are the main character. “And then, against the flow of the river, against all prediction, Alain emerges from the sands, eyes wide and ablaze. He speaks in the words of a madman - ‘Calandre will end the world’ to any and all who will listen. You have never fallen in line with his philosophies, but your brother turns towards him like he’s turning to face the sun. Worse - your brother believes Alain and repeats him, louder with more fervor still. Frederic’s words catch fire and the smoke that spirals off of them draws in the wrong kind of attention.” This is an incredible feat of someone being in over their head, and yet with the power to upstage the game entirely. Welcome to Faim, and thank you so, so much for entering with Regis in tow!

Congratulations, JULIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of Yvon Duval. Wow, Julie, what a hard-hitter this was. You hit the nail on the head with Yvon’s inability to commit and unwillingness to embrace what she was more or less born to do, balanced out by her easy-to-love nature and charming air. You made it difficult not to love her for who she is, but kept those flaws and faults always in sight. Her skittishness is as much a detriment as it is a gift, as alluded to in the skeleton, and you sprinkled in just enough caution and concern around what’s happened to Vivienne and, more importantly, what’s going on with GIsele, that it honestly feels like you wrote the skeleton. We are in love, and we can’t wait to be charmed by Val Faim’s local socialite on the dashboard the way those in Fleur are... or were: “Fleur notices. Fleur remembers. And though they are endlessly charmed and entertained by you, the people can’t help but tack on a sigh with your name. Lady Yvon, they’ll shake their heads, she burns bright wherever she goes, but she fades out just as quickly.”

Congratulations, NOAH! You’ve been accepted for the role of Vaska of Calais. Noah, this application was just a treat for us, through-and-through. You made masterful work on Vaska’s progressive efforts towards revenge, the aftermath of those efforts, and their necessary attempts at wrangling what comes after, which is really what Vaska is all about -- striding forward, in spite of the obstacles that wait up ahead. “Somehow, they live. And they’d promised to keep living, and Vaska’s promises were the strongest bond they knew, had carried them through the desolation of the past decade and refused to burn out, a bond and a grudge and spite and stubbornness. The promise carries them from that roadside into a new kind of service, into a new kind of role, hands still red but this time with paint, juggling canvas rather than swords.” We look forward to seeing them in their new kind of role -- what a gift you’ve given all of us!

CONGRATULATIONS, KAT! Your Victoire was more than we could’ve expected, and it was such a joy to receive this app. You’ve shown each facet of their personality in a skilled comparison, carefully constructing strengths and flaws. The interview heightens the voice you’ve created in the first part: those exhausting, conflicting aspects of their position at court are contrasted by their feelings about duty - where it lies, and how far they’d go to heed it. You’ve given us a delightful glimpse into Vic’s mindset, that neutral land which is neither callow and idealistic, nor fully jaded; which, like the turn of Calandre’s reign, happened half to a child and half to a man. Their thoughts on Alain were especially a lovely treat: “victoire had heard that name too often as of late. the name that haunted him, trailing after him like a restless spirit, calling to him like the grave. it came with the quietest certainty: it was the name that would get victoire de chevin killed one day...” What a cliffhanger to go on! Welcome to Faim, and thank you for bringing us our second-to-last role! 

Congratulations, LIA! You’ve been accepted for the role of Etienne Marais. Wow, I wasn’t quite expecting the level of delightful wretchedness you presented me with, but Lia, you did it perfectly. Artfully, one might even say. At the same time, it was impossible not to empathize with him -- a difficult man with a difficult background does not a cruel man make, but seeing Etienne fall into the same habits as Sohan and singlehandedly being rejected by the one person he did such a terrible thing for absolutely shattered me into a million little pieces. Once again, you’ve successfully torn me up into several little pieces on the inside, and I can’t wait for you to do it again (and again, and again, and again...) with Etienne on the dashboard!

CONGRATULATIONS, MAL! Adraste’s story was... so, so profound and multifaceted. It was like turning a crystal in our hands, with a new part of their self jumping out into the light at every angle. Your writing was absolutely masterful, but what ran even deeper for us was the instinctual grasp you seem to have for the dichotomy that runs at their core: innocence versus brutal experience, high ideals versus low, ruinous compromise. It’s a tough balance to strike, and we would have never hoped for someone that can render it so perfectly from their first sitting down with the character. It’s as if Adraste speaks with the weight of a legend in becoming - and now it’s our turn to listen. “Her grandfather and great aunt - twins and renowned knights themselves - watch from the sidelines as she fights and fights and fights. “Such a shame,” they tell her mother, “that she must come of age under Tristan’s daughter. She would have flourished in the old days.” Their wistful sighs only push her further. The silver of her sword will shine brighter in the light of peacetime, she swears to herself.” What a narrative this is promising to be - we can only wait and see what heights it climbs to.

CONGRATULATIONS, E! You’ve been accepted for the role of Celeste du Leon. What can we say about this app? What couldn’t we say? E, you had us hooked from the opening line and that carried through the rest of the application. “your name does not matter, remember celeste.  you’ll live past your myth.” You singlehandedly managed to capture what we were looking for in Celeste, which was potential, always growing, always climbing, with the desire to pursue more with a dogged ambition. Her dynamic with her family being the impetus for her ability to blend into the shadows was a particular stroke of genius, and that conversation with Calandre? Don’t even get me started. We couldn’t be happier to have you, and we can’t wait to see Celeste grow and learn on the dashboard! 

Congratulations, LU! You’ve been accepted for the role of Roth Babin. Lu, there were several lines that caught my attention throughout your application for Roth, but this one certainly hit me the hardest: “Chaos isn’t welcoming, chaos doesn’t make someone feel like they are where they belong, chaos isn’t calming. He’s more than used to the electric feeling that precedes fate’s unique humour and Val Faim is overflowing with it.” You pinned down Roth’s voice, humility, and sense of honor and dedication to those he cares for with such a smoothness that it’s difficult to believe you didn’t write the skeleton yourself. The undercurrent of doubt and concern he’s feeling in having returned to Val Faim was an especially nice touch. You nailed down exactly what we were looking for in an application for Roth, and we absolutely cannot wait for you to grace our dashboards with a second character -- we are so lucky to get to be able to see it.