Application for Ace of Diamonds
Player name: Muzy
Characters played: Abby, Alasdair, Avery, Briony, Elisha, Jordan, Katriane, Zoe
Character Name: Avery Hamilton
Age: 27
How long They've Been in the Deck: 24 years
Character's Current Rank: Ten of Diamonds
Face Rank Applying For: Ace of Diamonds
Personality: Avery is a Diamond that defies Diamond stereotypes - and she does it proudly. Preferring jeans to designer wear, Avery is warm, gregarious, friendly, and most of the time doesn't give two damns about appearances. But she does when it matters. She gets frustrated when Diamonds do things that make the Suit look bad - whether it's the Face Cards taking icy Diamond manners to an undiplomatic extreme or Numbers getting into brawls - and she's highly skilled at smoothing things over.
She's historically something of a gossip, though that's changing now that she's spent the last six months as the subject of far more of it than she'd like. And while she's almost relentlessly cheerful as well as being an incurable flirt, there's something deep down cynical about Avery Hamilton, especially when it comes to men. She doesn't believe in serious relationships, because serious relationships are, in her opinion, doomed to failure, and it's so much easier just to not get attached. That doesn't mean you can't have fun, of course.
History: Born in Sydney, Australia, Avery is the only daughter of two hippies - a Swedish-born songwriter, Astrid, and an English teacher, Matthew. Her parents had been a little late for the 60s free love movement but embraced its tenets and principles anyway. It was a good life. Matthew taught fifth grade at one of Sydney’s more liberal private schools and Astrid performed original folk music in the coffeehouses around the city. They didn’t marry, and never planned to, but after they’d been together for several years, they were blessed. With Avery, whose first name came from the doctor who delivered her, and their happy twosome expanded easily to become three, with Astrid singing her daughter folk songs and Matthew reading her stories and telling her how she could be anything she wanted, but the most important thing was to be happy and at peace.
This idyllic life ended when Astrid saw a crime in progress one night after leaving the coffeehouse where she'd been performing. The triads don't like witnesses, and in short order the Magnusson-Hamiltons found themselves packing up and going on the run across Australia with their then two year old daughter Avery across the outback. Eventually, they found the Deck, stumbling into the gardens of Heart Castle, and they took their places in that Suit. Matthew ultimately rose to Four, and became a teacher like he was in Australia, and Astrid became a nanny and then a court musician, rising to Five. Avery, they thought, would do the same, perhaps parlaying her love of cooking into a position in the kitchens.
They were partly right, at least. Avery did parlay her love of cooking into a position in the kitchens - just not for the Hearts. Instead, Avery, who'd always wanted to shine, to strive high, became a Diamond at the age of fifteen and started the process of challenging up in the other Red Suit. Rachel Caustello, who had come from the Clubs herself and had risen to be the Ace of Diamonds by the time Avery joined the Suit, took her under her wing, mentoring and training the flower child Heart into a sparkling Diamond. There was a minor blip at the age of seventeen when her first serious boyfriend, Cristian Santiago Mendez broke her heart by proposing to the woman his parents had arranged, and she fled the Deck for a year to recover. But then she was back and striving upwards again. Ultimately, she became a Ten in January of 2012 and was named Jack of Diamonds barely a month later, the culmination of all her ambitions.
And then six months later, it was over. A car accident in between the Diamond court and the outposts left Avery with anterograde amnesia, and she was forced to resign her position and fall back to Ten.
Character's Goals/Ambitions: When Avery became Jack of Diamonds, she began clashing with Säde in what she felt was an indictment of personality as much as of her skills. And there was something to that, with Säde pushing at Avery because she didn’t quite fit her expectations as well as because she wasn’t the Diamond the Ace wanted in that position. At the same time, however, Avery had become Jack without major specific ambitions; she wanted to be a Diamond Face. She had wanted to be a Diamond Face from the time she was fifteen, and she’d developed the skills and talents necessary to rise quickly in the Suit - but she hadn’t developed any specific goals that she wanted to accomplish as Jack, beyond being a better one than Helena had been.
It’s different this time around. Avery was the Jack of Diamonds for just over six months, and for much of that time, the Diamonds had no King, the Queen was at the Outposts, and the Suit was left to Säde and Avery. It was during this time that Avery began to develop ideas of what the Diamonds needed, really, and in her opinion the Diamonds need less icy perfectionism at the top. Rachel, for all that she loves her mentor, is a difficult woman to approach. Säde is the same. Silas is warmer, but awkward, often taking refuge in an overly formal tone that can be off-putting. It’s one of the reasons she recommended Atalanta as Jack, actually; Tally, as well as being out of the usual elegant Diamond mold, is an excellent listener, with generally good people skills developed from her years as a trainer, and Avery’s Diamonds need someone among the Faces who is very much approachable. But Tally alone is not enough, not for what Avery wants. What Avery wants is a Suit of Diamonds that is sharper, glossier. An intellectual, creative, and even martial force to be reckoned with, and a Suit that is not considered to merely be the center of wealth and style. That’s all well and good, and those are qualities Avery appreciates, but the Diamonds are more than that, and she will not have her Suit be underestimated.
She plans to one day be Queen of the Diamonds, after all, and while she’s not ready for the position now, she is ready to begin the work she wants to accomplish as Ace; she’s ready to make the Deck aware of how strong and varied the Diamonds truly are.
Why should they be chosen for this position? In all honesty, Avery would be surprised to be chosen as Ace. It has nothing to do with not being confident in her ability to do the job, but her relations with Säde haven’t been positive recently and she’s argued with Silas as well. But this fact is actually in her favor; Avery is a Diamond who is not afraid to tell both the King and Queen what she thinks, and would take on Ace as a true advisory role. In addition to her forthright personality, Avery is warm and friendly, and has a good relationship with almost every Diamond as well as good relationships with a number of Cards in other Suits, making her an excellent ambassador. As Ace, she would continue to work as Head of Intersuit Relations, but she would also make herself available to hear thoughts and ideas from the Diamonds about things they feel need to be changed in their Suit to make it stronger and brighter.
Additionally, while Avery is young at twenty-seven, she is a Ten of Diamonds with significant managerial experience - she ran the kitchens and domestics departments from the time she was a Six until she was a Nine, then ran Human Resources as a Ten and as Jack of Diamonds until her assistant, Silas, became King - and she has six months of experience as a Face in the Diamonds, albeit in a different position. She’s familiar with the players, so to speak, be they her own Face Cards, the other upper, middle, and lower Diamonds, or the Cards in the other Suits, and she would be able to step smoothly into the position.
During her tenure as Jack of Diamonds, she was often the most accessible Diamond Face Card, and she actually accomplished a great deal in her six months - she ran both HR and the fledgling Intersuit Relations department, developing relationships with Faces in all four Suits and often was the person sent to discuss any issues with them. She smoothed things over between Ashley, the previous King of Diamonds, and Silas, making sure that the former King didn’t feel that the Diamonds no longer needed him in any capacity. While Rachel was at the outposts and they were without a King, she shouldered fully half of the Face Card work without visible difficulty or complaint; it wasn't easy, of course, but she made sure that it seemed like it was to anyone looking in.
She is also close to King Silas, despite their recent arguments, and a mentee of the previous Queen, Rachel, and that puts her in an advantageous position when it comes to naming a new Ace; Silas, at least, might want someone in the position he knows he can work well with, and he knows he can work with Avery.
Challenge: N/A
Writing sample: Rachel and Avery discuss the Queen’s resignation
Character PB Emilie de Ravin