𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖛𝖊𝖎𝖑 𝖗𝖚𝖓𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓

maddie /  21  / est   -  the amber is now ethan padilla claimed by froy gutierrez  -  maddie, we loved the gentleness that ethan gave off, his softness is exactly what’s needed to balance the intensity of the rest of the group. he very much seemed like amber, a fossilized old soul stuck inside a cowboy, and we dig it.

chris  /  20  /  est  -  the onyx is now atticus yoh claimed by sydney park  -  chris, we absolutely adored the depth you gave onyx. something i said when reading the app is they reminded me of the gryffindor sword; they only take in that which makes them stonger. i feel you set them up to go through a wonderful transformation in the rp and we all can’t wait to see it!

yuri  /  27  /  cst  -  the tourmaline is now freddie morales claimed by diego boneta  -  yuri, your version of the tourmaline is reflective and inquisitive in a way that made him so compelling to read about. there’s a gentle darkness that we saw in him and we can’t wait to watch him gain confidence in himself throughout the story.

lia  /  21  /  cst   -  the jasper is now kiara davis claimed by alisha boe  -  lia, both of your apps were so fun to read and really captured the skeleton you wrote for. though for jasper, we loved your interpretation of their soft side as well as the duty they carry in their family. it expanded on jasper and made them someone we could really visualize.

moe  /  28  /  est   -   the opal is now ara han claimed by adeline rudolph  -  moe, opal came to life with your app. we loved the line you wrote about watering the mantra in her head that if she does what her parents want, she can do what she wishes later in life. also the schedule at the end solidified it for us, opal is someone who loved to have a routine and it shows!

annie  /  21  /  mst   -   the serpentine is now chang il-sung claimed by kim jongdae   -   annie, what else can we say but WOW. i loved that as a film major, you wrote an interview and the app in the form of a transcript. it transported us into the app and into the eyes of your character. so much praise from us, seriously.

nala  /  22  /  est  -  the topaz is now kieran kanha claimed by win metawin  -  nala, my gosh you made us feel for kieran. we felt their loneliness and lack of belonging all the way to the end. then you wrote about them finding monarch, and the found family trope is one of our favorites. we can’t wait for kieran to make friends and become their true self here at velus.

jj  /  24  /  est  -   the labradorite is now bernadette leighy claimed by natasha liu bordizzo  -  jj, you captured the vibe of the skeleton so so well. labradorite is meant to give off the feeling of liminal space, between two planes, and you created that in your app perfectly. we love your choice of how ben wears their gem too!

e  /  22  /  cet   -   the emerald is now hunter baron claimed by bruna marquezine   -   e, my goodness!  you gave the happy character so much dimension and history. i love their backstory of adoption, and how they will always remember who they were before their new life. i cannot wait to see hunter grow here.

kimberly  /  24  /  est   -   the lapis lazuli is now eshmita attwal claimed by mina mahmood  -  kimberly, choosing between you and the other app was so difficult, both were absolutely amazing!  but we felt you captured the calmness and friendliness that is lapis.

bee  /  23  /  est   -   the pearl is now noah sloan claimed by alva bratt  -  bee, the plans you have for pearl was really the deciding factor for us. you showed us a side to pearl that we weren’t expecting in the best way possible. we also loved how you incorporated the imagery of a pearl into the app; flawless.

hero  /  23  /  est  -  the sunstone is now tabitha tamaki claimed by kaylee bryant  -  hero, you showed us the dark side of sunstone, the part that isn’t always happy and bright, and gave us a glimpse at who they are when embodying the lightness of their stone. we cannot wait to see them grow here at velus and bring sunshine to each character!

ash  /  23  /  est  -  the jade is now margot devi claimed by anya chalotra  -   ash, choosing between your two apps was one of the more difficult decisions we had to make today. but your grasp on jade and the character tropes written at the end really made us see the jade you were envisioning, and we couldn’t help but fall in love.