cicada 2.0

[Cicada]

For now I'm running three characters. Open to running more if I see an opening in the version to fill, I could also be convinced to run a sibling or do an adopt or the sort.

Ray Janeczek
Generally Looking For:

• One or two girlfriends would be nice, either ex or current. He'd be a pretty solid and emotionally grounded for his age and attentive boyfriend but would never seem to be entirely comfortable despite being affectionate and taking things pretty seriously on his end.
• His core friend group would consist of anyone who is alt or nerdy, though his general withdrawn nature means he wouldn't have too many close friends and would often skip on hangouts or just barely be there mentally if he goes along. He's a bit emotional (emo, many such cases) and easy to bait into fairly deep and awkward introspection with the right people.

[+] Info

Core Concepts: Trans girl super in the closet (he/him will be the narrative pronouns used I’m afraid), unreliable and self-defeating narrative, not nearly as bad outwardly as their narrative makes them out to be, actually kind of cool but a bit aloof, but their perma-spiraling narrative will be peak inceldom, emo and scene twink.

Full Name: Raimundo 'Ray' Gomes Janeczek

Hobbies: Computer science, doing freelance projects for cash, FPS games, horror movies, Magic: The Gathering, anime and manga, doodling yaoi and yuri, metal, post hardcore/metalcore and alternative metal, emo/scene aesthetics, shitposting online including in some very unsavory corners of the web, veganism and ethical consumption, thrifting, his dog.
Affiliations: Semi-regular of the Anime Club. Frequent member of the Horror Club. Huge fan of two local bands: Mercy Myers and the Bleak Brigade, and Finest in Niflhel.
Reputation: Ray isn’t particularly well known, he generally blends into the background outside of his small-ish circle of friends.

Appearance: White-passing, pale skin that doesn’t burn and raven-dark hair. Slender and not especially masculine in appearance, minus some very advanced facial hair for his age that needs an extreme amount of work for him to stay clean shaven. Wears his hair neck long with very choppy layers and heavy bangs, classic emo boy look. Wears heavy dark eyeliner and eyeshadow, black acrylic nails. Generally wears monochrome color schemes with a splash of something neon. Likes beanies and bracelets a lot.

Behavior Tendencies: Ray is a kind and emotionally engaged person, easy to talk to and wise for his age. He comes off as somewhat distant though, and the closer someone gets the more they’ll find that Ray comes off as depressed, distracted, and lonely even when being in the middle of a crowd. With more casual friends he’s chill and soft spoken, with closer friends he tends to draw on a deep-rooted tendency to ramble in an existentially morbid manner. He's a principled man, being a practicing vegan and having a strong background in ethical practices, but he's not the sort to broadcast his beliefs.

He’s a clingy guy, and despite generally being busy and bouncing around the friends groups he’s formed with his various hobbies he’ll generally still be in touch, in a somewhat tentative way as he unconsciously dislikes being too vulnerable. He has a deep fascination with femininity that makes him somewhat uncomfortable around women- he’s occasionally charming by means of being approachable, nerdy and awkward and well spoken, and he has had some romantic success despite his withdrawn and self-defeating thought patterns, but more often he’s too quiet and unconsciously vanishes into the background when there’s too many girls around.

Relevant Backstory: Moved to Vegas from his native Brazil in the second grade, so he was an ESL student for most of elementary school. Speaks fluent Portuguese and conversational Spanish. Generally not around for summers, being back with family in Brazil.

[+] Relationships

Romantic

Friendships

• Mortimer Schaub (Deblod100) - Best friends, fellow edgy boys, until there's no edge left to cut the self on. Ray sometimes wonders if they'd have gotten along if they hadn't known each other since forever. But there's only so much wondering to be done when it's game time.
• Wade Colter (EllisWillson) - One of the edgy boys. Honestly yeah, Hostel is pretty peak.
• Ash Green (midnight_twelve) - Concert buddies. Ray likes her a lot. Peak doomer vegan, many such cases.

Acquaintances

• Johannes Morell (Yonagoda) - Poor guy. If Ray wasn't such a fucking cuck maybe he could reach out more to someone who clearly needs it.
• Rowan Cartwright (midnight_twelve) - Casual concert buddies. Ray wishes they were on closer terms. She low key seems like she'd be easier to hang out with than a lot of his actual friends.

Enemies

Mona Marroquín
Generally Looking For:

• A good amount of enemies. From across the spectrum of social cliques in V9 Mona has had a history of starting out as an intelligent and loyal confidante then letting her drama and refusal to accept blame for her laundry list of problematic tendencies cause people to ghost her. Her reputation precedes her at this point and most people with at least some social awareness know she’s quite bothersome and best kept a distance from.
• Ex-boyfriends, which can overlap with the above.She’ll go for about anyone but she’s a bad girlfriend who tries to take over the life of whoever she’s with just because she can. These relationships didn’t last long and are more frontloaded into her earlier years in high school before her reputation started crumbling.
• Current friends. The profile of people who’d still be with her are probably also some degree of outcast themselves, desperate lonely people who can get something from her even if she’s annoying to deal with.
• Other content creators. Adjacent to all the above, Mona is legitimately finding success in content creation on YouTube and TikTok so other people with social media presences may find her worth being connected with even if they otherwise can’t stand her. The more begrudging your kid would be to put up with her for clout and vice versa, the better. Relationships built off barely being able to stand each other is a vibe.

[+] Info

Core Concepts: Low key femcel supreme, poster child of borderline personality disorder both claimed and in actuality, selfish and volatile friend who gaslights and negs to get what she wants, the most insufferable narrative I can possibly bring myself to write (by my standards), cosplay and fandom history starlet.

Full Name: Ramona 'Mona' Antonio Marroquín

Hobbies: Psychology, spirituality, skipping classes as much as she can get away with, quiet quitting and rotting in bed, her budding influencer and YouTube projects, cosplay, makeup and thirst traps, anime and manga, traveling to conventions, fandom drama, restaurants and foodie culture, dating men but not in a way that makes her happy, thrifting, her cats.
Affiliations: A hater of the Anime Club that she was definitely kicked out of. Ex Student Council in a previous year, kicked out for not doing her job and causing problems. Probably has some friends- genuine, or of convenience- among the school’s budding social media stars and starlets.
Reputation: Mona is, in her mind, held in very high esteem. In reality she’s a controversial figure followed by a history of petty drama, passive aggressiveness, broken promises, and more serious rumors of bullying and threats in DMs, who has been iced out of a number of friend groups. She’s more isolated than she used to be and anyone in the know is aware that she’s bothersome to deal with. Her few friends remaining are likely desperate, completely out of the loop, or using her for her online clout and followers.

Appearance: Curvy and attractive by the TikTok influencer standard, slightly above average height. She’s on the paler end of tan, being the sort who is generally evasive of time in the sun unless she’s aiming to bronze up a bit for a photoshoot. She has very straight raven black hair that falls to her waistline, and she likes all kinds of exotic, anime-inspired styles with buns and tails galore. She’s rarely caught without a full face of makeup and has semi-regular acne breakouts she aggressively fights off. She generally wears casual, tastefully revealing clothing that flaunts her figure such as off the shoulders and short shorts, along with liking a lot of jewelry. Her clothes tend to be nerdy merch and she likes showing off her media tastes.

Behavior Tendencies: On paper Mona is a force of positivity, optimistic and a go-getter who still understands and sympathizes with her generation’s existentialist doomer ennui, who doesn’t come off as out of touch when she speaks. But she is very blind to her own faults and refuses to accept the blame for anything. She’s vindictive, petty, and lets jealousy and controlling tendencies run free. When her positive energy fails to resolve a problem she is quick to seethe and blame others, doubling down whenever others try to reason with her. She's backstabbing and manuplative, and tries to turn people she dislikes against each other.

Her fall from grace over the course of her high school years has left her increasingly defensive and bitter, especially since she can’t conceptualize where she’s gone wrong from her end. She’s conspiratorial about her many former friends to anyone who’ll give her an ear still, and loves to complain while preaching about positive vibes and the importance of spirituality in the exact same breath. She remains undeterred in her goals to succeed in life and find friends and a boyfriend worth her time, but she’s increasingly blackpilled about the state of the world as she grows more isolated and relegated to her online persona to feel appreciated and relevant.

Relevant Backstory: Lived in Los Angeles until she was in middle school, so a more recent transplant to the area. Speaks fluent Spanish. Mona used to be quite well liked among her classmates when she first moved in, but her school reputation has become worse and worse the more time has passed.

Mona runs a growing YouTube channel (50k subscribers) where she discusses fandom history and convention culture, along with having a cosplay instagram that has been getting increasingly risque as she has hit legal age. She is generally respected by people who don’t actually know her in real life.

[+] Relationships

Romantic

• Manuel "Mañana" Hernández (LYourLocalAutist) - Exes, and very much not on speaking terms. Mona knows his confidence is empty, she was there when he willed it into being. He'd be nothing without her. Any rumors about why they broke up are all lies and cope. If she regrets anything its that she ever gave him a chance. Ignore the way she cries at nights thinking about him sometimes. You didn't see anything.
• Alec Yves (EllisWillson) - He's so cute. Not really, but Mona likes it when a man tries hard to win her over. As it should be. He really needs to see that there's nobody else that can make him happier than her. Even if its never ever happening.

Friendships

• Londyn Mackred (EllisWillson) - They need all the help they can get. Also they suck and they're a loser. But Mona guesses they have the time to help Londyn out when they need it. It's what a good person like Mona does, after all.

Acquaintances

Enemies

• Vivian Cho (Zetsu) - Vivian thinks she's so cute and she's so clever, but Mona can see through the ruse. Who has the followers on TikTok? Who's the one who taught Vivian everything she knows and helped her glow up? And who didn't get any of the credit and got tossed aside the moment the backstabbing bitch decided Mona was 'problematic' or whatever? Vivian's all cap. Mona went through that bitches phone and she thinks she can smile like nothing happened?
• Molly Olivia Olsson (Yonagoda) - Boring. If Molly was gonna suicide bait, she could have actually necked and saved the rest of the world the oxygen. They could have been so much more, too, the incel just had to go and ruin everything by being some histrionic freak.
• Joanne Martinez (Deblod100) - BORING. Mona knows Joanne hates her. Mona knows Joanne feels pathetic about hating her so much. Free real estate that no amount of money in the world can buy. Choke on it harder, normie.

[+] Key Notes on Monas Bad Reputation and Assorted Rumors and Verified Facts

• Mona was a good egg, seemingly, during Freshman year.
• In the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year Mona gets into a relationship with Manuel "Mañana" Hernández (LYourLocalAutist), who at that point is established as a known and popular athlete. She is the model of a supportive and kind girlfriend, and the two of them for a time make a good couple.
• In Sophomore year proper Mona wins a seat on Student Council, I'm thinking secretarial. She barely puts in any work and is eventually kicked out, in part due to agitation from Joanne Martinez (Deblod100). Honestly I doubt this is a particularly big ding on her relationship in and of itself at the time but in hindsight it does paint her character in a worse light.
• Mona, in a fit of classic borderline self-sabatoge and paranoia, begins to obsessively control Manuel, going so far as to cyberstalk and harass any girls he seems to hang out with and to intrude on his phone and email without his permissions. Their relationship unravels over the backhalf of Sophomore year. When he breaks up with her and outs her, he presents receipts of what she's done. Anyone in the know by this point can get a clear understanding of the kind of person Mona really is, and she's increasingly shunned. All of this is public and verified knowledge.

Clarissa Shoemaker
Generally Looking For:

• The token popular girl out of my lineup, so she'll have some decent amount of neutral to positive connections. She's a cheerleader and has been so since freshman year so she probably has a lot of friends among the various athletic teams. She's generally easy to keep as a friend as she's low maintiance- quiet, but fun and easy to convince to go along for whatever hijinks. This is to her detriment- she doesn't have much of a sense of self-preservation and could probably be roped along into being witness to some fairly shady things over the course of Pregame.
• She quietly prefers close friends who are smarter than her, who have emotional intelligence that she believes she lacks, these are the sorts of people she seems to hover around the most. Asking questions and seemingly trying to figure out something about herself that she has yet to put her finger on. People both close enough to her and perceptive enough might realize that she's more overwhelmed and uncomfortable in most situations than she lets on and that her soft-spoken and passive, malleable nature is actually her autism masking. She'll brush it off if confronted with it.
• Romantic interests and partners. She's a coy- if somewhat uninspired- flirt where there's mutual, positive attention, but she quickly gets uncomfortable and distant with unwanted attention or aggression. Actual relationships aren't many, maybe one or two exes (either guys or girls) that she had a pleasant enough but chaste time with.

[+] Info

Core Concepts: The lovable dopey sidekick archetype but with a few caveats, popular and likable girl with a lot of shallow connections, autistic masker who struggles to express herself and so puts on a more easily digestible facade, legitimately comes off as an idiot to even close friends, smarter and less comfortable with being a doormat than is apparent but she'd rather just vibe.

Full Name: Clarissa May Shoemaker

Hobbies: Making friends, people watching, parties, exploring the city, hiking, cars (hyperfixation!), driving, mechanics and auto repair, cheerleading, street dancing and hip hop/RnB/pop music, studying and getting good grades (she's not especially good at it but it does make her proud), collecting vintage clothes and dolls (hyperfixation!), parties and drinking (not by choice!).
Affiliations: She is on the school's cheerleading team and has been since Freshman year. She's also a fixture on the Dance team, although more on and off since she can't always afford to spend the time or money. She's generally well known among athletes, having been likely courtside for the majority of games that have occured since she started high school. She also casually participates in the Outdoor Rattlers club when she has the time. In general she has a lot of friends.
Reputation: She's known for being fun and not complaining at all, and she seems to vibe with most ideas thrown her way for hanging out. She's a constant fixture at school events, parties, and general social gatherings and she rarely seems to burn out despite having a lot of friends, a busy schedule as a part-time mechanic at her parent's shop, and being a heavy drinker. She has few close friends however, and does seem to socially drift around to an extent, rarely being anybody's BFF in particular.

Appearance: Short and stocky, athletic physique. Pale Caucasian who unfortunately burns in the Vegas sun, natural orange-ish redhead who wears her unruly curly hair cropped close to her shoulders. She has great skin and a naturally cute face and can get away without using much makeup which she generally will because it gives her sensory issues, though this means she has perpetually visible heavy dark circles under her eyes without intervention due to Gen Alpha levels of phone and tablet usage. Unless she's expecting to be physically active she generally dresses in casual femme, comfortable dresses, and she likes bright colors and florals.

Behavior Tendencies: Clarissa doesn't come across as especially bright, and she often seems mildly out of her depth, passively observing situations and letting others lead her along. She's very smile-y and just generally seems to always be having a good time, the sort of person who is happy to just be there. She's a good listener and isn't judgemental, though her advice rarely leaves much impact and she's rarely inclined to offer anything more substantive than sympathy. Conversations with her in them rarely if ever tend to turn to the subject of herself.

In practice Clarissa's happy-go-lucky and easily convinced nature becomes naivity and a tendency to be easily manipulated. On some level she does understand what is happening, however expressing herself is frustrating and scary for her so she prefers to shut up and do what people tell her to do to make them happy, which minimizes the mental strain on her. In this regard she becomes very flighty and tends to ghost people who are difficult to please or who challenge her in any way.

Relevant Backstory: Has lived in Vegas her whole life. Her grandfather, then her father and later her mother have operated and been the principle employees of a small auto shop among those servicing the area where the high school is located. It's a bit of a community fixture, distinctive in appearance, and known for quality work and good customer service, and it's squeaked through bad economic downturns and the brief era of the pandemic due to community goodwill. Clarissa is set to inherit the business and already works there part time.

[+] Relationships

Romantic

Friendships

• Raya Loux (LYourLocalAutist) - All but legally blood sisters. Scions of two of the most beloved local auto shops, the two have been raised together from a young age. Raya is Clarissa's protector, being the more emotionally intelligent and independent of the duo, and while Clarissa trusts Raya with her life (and her tools, even more important than her life) Clarissa's easily influenced nature sometimes makes it so Raya has to watch Clarissa struggle with bad influences like Joanne.
• Joanne Martinez (Deblod100) - Best cheerleader squad friend! Kinda. Sometimes the parties are too loud. Sometimes Clarissa's just really tired of being drunk and remembering the weird things she said while drunk. But Joanne's fun. It's easier to just have fun when she's around. That helps a lot sometimes.
• Sylvie Rattray (LYourLocalAutist) - Best cheerleader squad friend! Clarissa loves sharing about their collection hobbies.

Acquaintances

• Alec Yves (EllisWillson) - He seems to like hitting on her? She thinks he's just doing it to be funny? It's probably fine!
• Emma Drakenberg-West (Deblod100) - Clarissa thinks she's nice. A bit scary? But she's got amazing bikes and Clarissa loves seeing her pull up in the shop.
• Vivian Cho (Zetsu) - Clarissa thinks Vivian is really pretty! And nice to her, which is weird? Vivian seems to treat her kinder than she does a lot of other people, but Clarissa thinks she might just not get the nuance of it.
• Niall Harris (midnight_twelve) - She likes his style! Very smart, very aesthetic. He's too cool for her, probably.
• Rowan Cartwright (midnight_twelve) - Clarissa likes hanging out with Rowan when Rowan invites her out to stuff. Not her type of music but its relaxed and chill. Clarissa needs more of that energy in her life.

Enemies

[+] Isolated character Stats for people who make pie charts and heat maps for some reason

Sexualities:
Ray - Bisexual (as a closeted trans woman)
Mona - Heterosexual
Clarissa - Bisexual

Hair colors:
Ray - Black
Mona - Black
Clarissa - Red

[LYourLocalAutist]

Hi hello behold

Mona Marroquín

Manuel "Mañana" Hernández
I like the idea of them being exes, having dated around freshman year of high school. This was around the time he was beginning to apply his tough guy persona to himself, so I'd like to think his toxic relationship with Mona and her attempts to take over his life contributed to him solidifying the persona for himself by standing up to her and cutting things off. Highly doubt they'd be on any better terms today, lol

Clarissa Shoemaker

Sylvie Rattray
Sylvie tries to get along with about everyone on the cheerleader team, and I feel like her and Clarissa would really click as friends due to a shared optimistic attitude, hanging out with each other a bunch. I'd like to think Sylvie is among the people who's approached her about how latently uncomfortable and overwhelmed she seems a lot of the time only to have been brushed off.

Raya Loux
Cars as a hyperfixation and mechanics as a like, you say? Allow me to put forward my resident school mechanic, Raya. Raya would love to talk and indulge Clarissa about any automechanic-related topics, leading to them becoming good friends, I think. On this note, I believe Raya would be a bit less reluctant to give up on pursuing the topic of her masking when brushed off, but she would try to ease into the topic, and not out her in public.

[EllisWilson]

I have some ideas

Ray Janeczek

Wade definitely knows him from the horror club. Being a big, burly jock, Wade probably isn’t a part of Ray’s core friend group they’re probably friendly at least.

Mona Marroquín

Londyn would absolutely use Mona for clout. I am all for these two barely being able to tolerate each other in the name of internet fame. Londyn would also be insanely jealous of Mona’s larger subscriber count.

I’m a little unsure of how Alec would be with Mona, considering he is a massive comic book geek who would fit in one of those old “Revenge of the nerds” style comedy films, so I have two ideas for your consideration:

1: Alec actually managed to have a short relationship with her at some point (sophomore year?) that went south due to her controlling behaviour. Maybe this could also be a source of self esteem issues for him?
2: Alec has NOT had a relationship with her, but is so desperate for any girl to date him that he’ll look past all the red flags and try his hardest to get with her.

I’m fine with whichever you think would fit better.

Clarissa Shoemaker

Hey, it’s Alec again. Unwanted attention is his game. He’s not super persistent about it, but it’s probably be a semi regular occurrence unless she shuts him down hard.

[Yonagoda]

Clarissa Shoemaker:

-Florrie Wen is a smart and somewhat socially balanced kid. Academically, that is. She's not very emotionally intelligent. Her "shady thing" is that she basically writes essays and does homework for money once in a while. She's also got pretty much undiagnosed Stuff going on (Autism? Anxiety? A collection of symptoms that refuses to be catagorized under a single label?)

Mona Marroquín:

-Molly is, well, also problematic. And not afraid to get really psychopathic over geshin headcanons or whatever. I think they probably had a falling-out. It would be explosive. There may be death threats and suicide baiting involved. One of them tried to cancel the other, perhaps?
-Priya isn't a desperate social outcast but it has very, very low standards and is kind of regarded as weird. It thinks she's a fun source of entertainment.

Ray Janeczek:
-Some hobby overlap with Johannes, but I don't see them being too close to one another.
-Priya is similarly a music person.

[Cicada]

[+] LYourLocalAutist

Mona - Manuel
Added! Ah yeah, I like that as an inciting incident in Manuel's life. He definitely seems like the sort of person she'd be drawn as he becomes attractive, and she'd also have an ulterior motive of attaching herself to an attractive sporty guy with his sort of outward persona to make herself look better. She'd play the role of super supportive girlfriend at every game... for a while. I imagine she'd try to become more controlling the more time they spent together, maybe belittling him and trying to control the time he spent around others as it made her feel insecure, that sort of thing.

I'd want your further opinion on a few things though, and I'll PM you to follow up at some point. How long did the relationship last, like how long were things between them genuine before it started falling apart, since I do think for Mona's horrific nature to come out it would have to be a relationship with an element of genuine connection and affection for her fucked up tendencies to really surface, so it'd be something of a slow burn thing, though I'm open to thinking that one through. I also wonder how much Manuel would try to out Mona in public for what she did? He does seem like the sort that might keep it to himself out of some concern that airing that drama might blow back on him and make him look like more of a wuss. Your call on that, but it would work better on my end if that were the case as Mona's reputation isn't supposed to, like, immediately take a nosedive in her freshman year. A toxic relationship whose details are never made public save a rumor or two from a friend who was paying enough attention works out better in that regard.

Clarissa - Sylvia
Added! Clarissa would definitely appreciate someone like Sylvia who is like, actually optimistic and easy to get along with without an ulterior motive. They've probably been going to similar schools most their lives (if Sylvia is a native to Vegas?) and even if not I think Sylvia would come to trust Clarissa as easy to get along with. Clarissa is the sort who'd never pull out a short joke or tease her about how easily she flusters around potential crushes. They could likely be close enough that they can also bond in a non cheer setting over collecting plushies and dolls respectively? Clarissa would, indeed, bounce off Sylvia's attempts to extend a helping hand when it comes to the whole 'I don't really want to be here??' aura, and Sylvia would allowed to be as stubborn about it as she wants but Clarissa will as stubbornly rebuff any and all attempts. That one's up to you.

Clarissa - Raya
I'd want to hash this out more (not added to relationships yet, I want to talk more about it, by PM or through responding here though I do prefer the former). Clarissa definitely would love a friend who can match her in the mechanics hyperfixation! Maybe they've gone so far as to casually work at each other's family auto shops, that'd be cute. They might have a duo reputation and have both worked on jobs for classmates with nice cars? Family friends too, perhaps, like their parents also befriended each other after being rivals for a while. And I could see Clarissa joining the metalworking club at least as an infrequent member, now that its a thing that I know exists.

With the above in mind I'd like to propose that Raya has closely known Clarissa for such a long time that they almost have a sisterly relationship? That'd give Raya enough of a vantage to really get whats going on and perhaps act as Clarissa's subtle protector through the years, doing her best to steer her out of dangerous situations (and when she fails, perhaps, that hitting pretty hard, say, in the event of Clarissa geting caught up in some pregame shennanians and Raya getting dragged into it in the aftermath) and working out how to help Clarissa come to terms with her neurodiversity, since she knows from experience that Clarissa is deep in denial about it and really needs a gentle long-term touch.

[+] EllisWillson -

Ray - Wade
Added! As long as they're both horror afficionados I'm sure Ray would consider him a close enough friend, at least while they're both at school. They would definitely argue about horror movie peak, Ray would enjoy stuff with more of an existential/psychological bend, though he'd probably also consider Hostel solid for how its directed at least from what I've researched of it. Also, Ray probably wasn't paying enough attention/engaged enough at school when Wade was dealing with his autism openly and Ray would never really treat Wade differently or with any implicit kid gloves, so it'd probably be a pleasant enough casual friendship on that count.

Off a line in Wade's profile I do think it'd be fairly hilarious and fairly relevant if the femboy aesthetic Ray briefly caught Wade's wandering eye for a hot moment and they had an awkward bit where Ray's internal bi girl was also flustered like hell by the attention before they both snapped out of it.

Mona - Londyn
Added! Mona would definitely enjoy lording her superior numbers and content creator skills over Londyn. Probably offer genuine advice about Londyn's lack of branding that more than occasionally becomes passive aggressively smug. Perhaps Mona and Lio are Twitter friends and reblog each others content casually? Just to add to Londyn's seeth potential. I do see an angle for them being genuinely friends who do feel at least comfortable complaining to each other in a genuine way as they both have similar trajectories of having become increasingly withdrawn and isolated and worsening in their mental health over the years. Like, vitriolic toxic friends who do genuinely dislike and want to take down each other but also do on some level have each other's backs.

Specific detail that'd be funny and fit both of their profiles- maybe they first got aquainted before Mona really started to go all in on content creation via Londyn pranking the semi-popular cosplay girl for the attention, and Mona publically smiling it off but quietly making a note that Londyn was on the shit list for the rest of eternity... and Mona being a petty jackass has still not let go of it to this day to some extent.

Mona - Alec
Added! I'll go more of the direction of the second. Alec tries to get with junior/senior year Mona, who is already seeing her star rapidly fading and thus is happy to have a guy clinging onto her, someone who reeks of desperation and who she can at least hold a conversation with given that they're both nerds. With his penchant for self-deprecation I could see her seeing him as an easy target to keep at arms legnth to get her doses of dopamine through his attention. Like, for a while she gives him some attention in kind and validates him when he self-deprecates, but she also weaponizes it against him through gaslighting him, like, oh well I guess what you said is maybe true but I know you can do better than that <3 I believe in you.

Stuff like that, it'd depend on the flavor of his self-loathing, but she does have a read on him and plays with his heart for a while. She probably has a genuine attatchment to at least keeping him strung along. Like, the more Alec is obviously desperate and wrapped around her finger the stronger Mona will do everything in her power to keep him in orbit. It could be some beautifully gross and toxic stuff!

Clarissa - Alec
Added! The way I read it she probably doesn't really know what to make of the dichotomy between his self-depracation and his attempts to make passes at her. She might read it as him just taking it as a joke, so paradoxically she'd feel okay with playing along provided he doesn't get too aggressive since she thinks he's just having fun with it, so she'd entertain him a bit then shoot him down each time. Something gentle enough that he might feel comfortable constantly trying since a pretty popular girl seems to be relatively open to him being around. Like, major misreading of the signals from both sides type business.

[+] Yonagoda -

Clarissa - Florrie
Not Added. I can see what you're going for here and I think the two at least know of each other but I don't think they'd interact often enough to have strong opinions on each other. Clarissa doesn't make study groups/buddies or her academics in general a very social thing (she is also not in AP track classes for sure), and beyond that I can't see much potential for them.

Mona - Molly
Added! Unironic falling out over Genshin headcanons sure, especially because I can actually RP that one out entierly from personal experience! If Molly is attention seeking she probably latched onto Mona in their underclassman years when Mona was still unironically cool/liked by people, and I imagine Mona had plenty of room for a friend that was quiet-ish in real life, read, easy to have around as a lackey/yeswoman. Then through DMs they could be more vitriolic and take potshots at each other over pop culture takes in a sort of loving but also unironically mutually salty manner.

They have similar arcs of their reputations slowly falling apart over time too. Like you say they definitely fell out at some point as both of them grew more unhinged. I figure their surface level friendship becomes increasingly untenable due to their toxicity become less ironic over time and each thinks the other is backstabbing them in a histrionic vs borderline explosive manner. I am very open to both death threats and suicide baiting, the two of them being terrifyingly unhinged behind the scenes in a way most people couldn't perceive in public does sound very on point for both of them. Depending on how recent you see the death of their friendship being it could either be an ongoing arc during pregame or perhaps have settled down to an extent and turned into mutual loathing and some regrets as they both get bored with the drama and move on, either works for me.

Mona - Priya
Not Added. I also see what you're going for here but I can't see their social circles overlapping enough for them to have gotten together to a signficiant extent. Even if it did happen Priya doesn't really seem like the sort who'd catch Mona's attention. In the past maybe with Priya as a hanger on for a bit, but Priya would get bored easily and move on and I don't think Mona would take much offense to that. Priya seems just chill and non-descript enough in person to me that Mona could forget them since there'd be no behind the scenes drama for Mona to have any need to keep Priya in mind when it goes. So like, Mona would kind of forget that person had existed if they ever had any past friendship... and if Priya tries to become Mona's friend at present, Priya's blatant oddities would probably just put Mona off. Mona knows when someone is out of her paygrade.

So yeah, if there's anything here I read it as more in the past/a footnote/one-sided, so not something Mona would commit to memory or that would have much impact on her mentalscape. Also on an OOC level I'm trying to not pile on too many relationships for my kids.

Ray - Joahnnes
Added! Similar nerdy circles and similar aesthetics, so I see what you're going for and it makes sense. Johannes being a Character, I'm sure Ray has been intimidated by and intrigued by Johannes in equal measure, but from a safe distance. Probably the sort of person Ray feels a self-destructive impulse to get closer to. An 'I can fix him!!!' type deal, but Ray is just barely smart enough/cowardly enough to not get involved so things remain surface level.

Ray - Priya
I'd want to hash this out more (not added to relationships yet, I want to talk more about it, by PM or through responding here though I do prefer the former). Right, so I'm going to propose something more involved here. Priya seems like the sort of person Ray would be attracted to, in the way of his passive self-destructive impulse drawing him to someone who is surface level a good fit but who would hurt him without even really meaning to. It's a bad idea, but alt dressed, interesting person, similar music tastes, he'd bite. Now I don't know how Priya would react to being asked out on a date and or further escalation, that can go any way really. It could shoot him down or actually go along with the idea for a while, the end result is the same.

Regardless of what happened and how close the duo may or may not have gotten I think of it more as a thing that happened in the past, given Priya's provicilities to swap out their close friends on a regular basis. Ray gets ghosted and is left with only regrets, and he'd only be hurt whenever he gets news of what Priya is up to nowadays. Think it adds depth to both of their characters.

Feel free to reach out with any other ideas, corrections, concerns, death threats, so on!

[Deblod100]

Ideas:

Ray Janeczek
Mortimer: He speaks Mortimer's language, cuz BOI, he would be a friend with Ray. He's the type to blast "Thy Mission" into Ray's house and drag him out for shenanigans.
Emma: Emma can allow Ray in as a fan of her band, especially since Ray sounds like he could get along with Heather with their vegan interests, though Emma might try to have Ray be warded off from anything related to her rival, Mercy.

Mona Marroquín
Universally, all of 4 chars would have reasons to despise Mona. Mortimer and Emma would get the memo and avoid her, unless Mona provokes them.

Vanessa: Despite being very chill and motherly, might have ended up getting involved with her as someone she dislikes. This stems from an incident, due to Mona's foodie interests, where Mona might have caused some trouble at the butchery that Vanessa works in, or did something related to the butchery that made Vanessa not fond of her.
Joanne: Without a doubt, Joanne who is meant to be an alpha bitch, would completely hate Mona and everything she stands for and Mona can hate her equally, being rivals with one another. This can also be because since Joanne was in the student council and since Mona used to be the student council, Joanne could've voted to evict Mona from the council. Joanne will also hate it that despite Mona's shortcomings, she still has a following online, infuriating Joanne hard.

Clarissa Shoemaker:
Emma: Since Clarissa's family operates a mechanic business, Emma can take her hog motorcycle over to have it go through repairs and maintenance.
Joanne: Oh boy... This can go two ways. Either Joanne will detest Clarissa for being a popular and likable girl like her, or Joanne can be friends with Clarissa and drag her into shenanigans and expects Clarissa to know how to party hard and might get her punch drunk. Your choice.

If you have ideas on how my characters could also be involved, let me know.

[Cicada]

[+] Changelog

Slightly updated Manuel-Mona after talking with LYourLocalAutist. Consider that Mona's first and deepest cut. The true start of her villain arc.

I'm also starting to develop a supplemental timeline of Mona's fall from grace that will include some notes on the key elements of bad juju and vibes that became public/grapevine knowledge.

[+] Deblod100

Ray - Mortimer
Added. Yeah, Mortimer seems like the sort of person Ray probably picked up as a close friend! Surreal and nihilistic/dark vibes from both, so their conversations are probably pretty interesting when they're not just gaming (Ray, ofc, also being heavily into Dead by Daylight. Definitely a super fan of FNAF and Helluva Boss too). Ray's also more passive in how he engages with others, so he'd probably be the sort who never challenges Mortimer and never has a negative reaction even when Mortimer tries to push him for any reason. The sort of friend that can easily deal with the edgelord tendencies.

It'd be interesting, IMO, if Mortimer is a bit jealous of Ray's actual passion and skills for programming and development? And in turn maybe Ray does have some underlying complex feelings on how Mortimer can be easy to snap and cause drama and problems, but keeps it more to himself. I also do think they might have been friends from a fairly young age, both of them having communication difficulties that needed remediation from a young age so they'd probably feel a common kinship once they met each other. They'd have that L4D nostalgia making them thick as thieves LOL.

Ray - Emma
I'll have to get back to you on this one. Adjective's relations tracker is iconically massive and in depth so I'm going to have to set aside a full day to parse where my characters stand with her cast LOL. So I can't quite confirm how Ray would feel being fans of two very not on good terms bands, especially in the context of him being uncomfortable with women more generally. Off the top of my head though his tastes lean more into Emma's than Mercy's though.

I can imagine he'd struggle with Emma given that she's badass and has infinite swag, so she's sort of projecting that sort of persona he unconsciously wishes he had the courage to start living for himself. I'll probably want to PM both you and Adjective on this one at some point. It might be a case of Mortimer's influence meaning Ray would gravitate more into Mercy's camp by default but Ray being more personally into Emma's aesthetic and music. Depending on how millitant Emma is with her anti-Mercy bonafides she might gatekeep Ray out of her camp or be trying to pick him off since he's clearly a weak link and at like all her shows. Potential for some interesting stuff here, either as backstory or in pregame proper. I'd want to roughly estimate something along the lines of: Ray has split loyalties and seems to generally be uncomfortable around but receptive to Emma as a fan and as someone she could put on her shitlist for his affiliations. I'd def want your take on this, but it'd prob be a more productive conversation when I'm ready to dive into Adjective's character tracker.

Mona - Emma and Mona - Vanessa
Not added. Everyone involved having reputations that precede them I'm sure Mona has Opinions on both, but I can't imagine they'd have reasons to interact too often, not too much in the way of aesthetics or main hobbies/activities overlap.

With Emma in particular I do think Mona might be a bit more on her radar, because I'm going to propose something fairly in depth as a historical connection between Mona and Mortimer so Emma in her anti-Mercy vigilance might know more in depth about that potential drama, but otherwise they're probably not thinking about each other too much beyond just general public knowledge.

For Mona and Vanessa I'd note that Mona isn't like, a bad person outwardly her reputation aside until you really get to know her. If she did pop by Vanessa's shop and buy some a r t i s a n a l c u t s she'd have been perfectly well behaved as a customer, so Vanessa might have thrown Mona a sideye but there would have been no particular incident of note.

Mona - Mortimer
I'd want to hash this out more (not added to relationships yet, I want to talk more about it, by PM or through responding here though I do prefer the former). Consider this: Mona as an ex-member of the edgy gamer goon squad. Mona was openly a nerd, a popular one, but still a nerd the moment the high school character arc dropped, so she'd probably gravitate at some point into Mortimer's ragtag collection and unironically enjoy her time there? She's not a fake gamer or nerd, she means it, and with her somewhat acerbic personality she'd probably actually enjoy Mortimer's takes and company for some time. I can't see her being, like, a core member of the edgelord brigade, she'd have bigger school social scene fish to fry, but she'd be around often enough that she'd consider most of the club members friends.

So, Mona's arc of being well liked enough until her reputation started to crumble to dust roughly carries her up until the end of Sophomore year when she gets publically outed for her problematic tendencies and people start to drop her left and right. Now I'd need your full take on this, but I could see Mona actually being insulated from the fallout within the context of the edgelord gamer club for a while because, well, normie opinion on her wouldn't really matter to anti-normies, right? Like Mortimer and co might not take the drama too seriously because Mona is Their Girl.

The problems might emerge when a bruised Mona, salty from her fall from grace, starts to try and cause shit within the edgelord gamer club due to it being one of her few outlets left after she fucks over her general reputation. As anyone who keeps doubling down and out of control on an emotional level would, she starts to import her controlling tendencies into the club. Tries to start rumors, even tries to oust Mortimer or something like that by picking on his tendencies to be annoying and an issue and trying to go behind his back. Of course she goes too far, underestimates people's loyalty to her, and then she promptly gets ousted from the edgelord society too. So the whole setup could be pretty complicated, but it feels like classic BPD nerdy goddess drama to try and implode her own friend group and get kicked out, and I think it could be a pretty interesting backstory element for all involved. Gives Mortimer some V4 over the top drama cred too, IMO. If you're interested definitely hit me up and we can hash it out!

Mona - Joanne
Added. Sounds about right to me. Now I don't really think Mona and Joanne would outright revile each other to the point of being each others public enemy #1? They're kind of playing different games, trying to get popular and respected in different lanes. To Mona student council would only ever have been an indulgence for attention and nothing she ever took that seriously (hence getting kicked out for not doing her job. I'd have to figure out the timing but she might not even have been kicked out in a way that really dented her reputation all that much. I can't imagine people take Council too seriously LOL). Mona also isn't inherently a partier, so they don't like, stomp on each other's turf too much.

There's potential for an interesting power dynamic here, IMO. Joanne hating that, like you said, Mona built organic clout through her interests and also that Mona seems to be more honest to what she truly wants in life even if said thing exploded in her face and caused her to spiral into being a social pariah. Mona in turn would just think Joanne is a pest, a vapid clout chaser with nothing to say, and Mona might even feel smug relatively. 'All that popularity and you're still empty and hollow and we all know it', some hypocritical thought process like that.

Mona seems to fit the bill of being one of the more infamous students who doesn't take Joanne's power plays all that seriously, and it does seem like it'd be a nice barb in Joanne's psyche that a literal femcel with infinity baggage and few non loser friends is on some fundamental level better than her in terms of carving out her own path in life and living honest and true to herself (much as said honesty is a huge detriment) instead of going through the motions. If I had to draw a comparison it might be similar to how Joanne's implied dynamic with Emma- someone theoretically beneath her in social standing but also someone Joanne on some level knows is also totally out of her paygrade. I think it plays nicely into the thematic elements you seem to be going for with Joanne as a character.

Clarissa - Emma
Added. I will note that, pending some talking stuff out with L, Clarissa and Raya are a functional duo and they're probably part and parcel Emma's go to for getting her bike fixed up all nice. Like it doesn't even matter whose shop she takes her bike to on a given day they'll probably both work on it at some point before she gets it back. In terms of getting along I do think Clarissa might appreciate Emma's honest and straightforward nature, but they don't really have too much in common and I imagine when they're all gathered together Raya does most of the talking and Clarissa is vibing and zoning out. I dunno how empathic you intended for Emma to be but she seems like the sort who'd probably pick up that Clarissa is not worth dragging into anything troublesome, though I doubt Emma would care enough to actively want to protect Clarissa or anything like that. Like, she gets a 'I will not fuck with you actively' pass, but Emma won't intervene if she sees Clarissa in over her head and needing help or anything.

Clarissa - Joanne
Added. Similar to the dynamic you hashed out between Joanne and L's Sylvie, Clarissa is fairly easy to drag along into hive mind shennanigans. Clarissa likes Joanne! On some level Clarissa can probably see through the facade to a better extent than Sylvie can, but that doesn't really matter to Clarissa as long as Joanne treats her kindly. An alpha go-getter personality like Joanne is would make Clarissa navigating her daily life much easier, so she's more or less totally on board for being a lackey and turning her brain off. I imagine Clarissa is influencable enough that, yes, Clarissa learns to be a hard partier and a drunk when called upon. I... will need to consider what kind of drunk I want Clarissa to be. Probably the sort who gets hyperaware and even more socially anxious than she already is, but who becomes self-aware enough to play into the stereotypes. She probably does most of her flirting under the influence, for example.

I suppose Joanne would probably demand a lot of Clarissa's time as her lapdog since Clarissa makes it so easy to, so it'd be interesting if Clarissa is starting to get a bit frustrated that Joanne is stealing time away from the hobbies and people she does prefer on a general basis like her time to work at her auto shop and such. Clarissa doesn't know how to express it, but she's starting to develop resentment. It'd have a subtle note of tension that could add intrigue to pregame. It might also introduce friction with the other girls who are more interested in protecting Clarissa's health and happiness because she doesn't know how to proect it for herself.

I'm aware I have PMs to answer and such please be patient! My mind works in mysterious (incompetent) ways.

[midnight_twelve]

Hello, Cicada! Some will call it foolish for two notorious flakes such as ourselves to try and make plans, but here goes.

RAY
As a principled vegan, Ray has Ash’s begrudging respect. Ash is also good friends with Heather so they can probably be found wherever Finest in Niflhel is playing, and it sounds like Ray’s a fan too, so they might get the chance to hang out relatively often at whatever venues are desperate enough to let a bunch of teenagers scream metal music at their patrons. All told Ray might be one of the few people Ash actually gets on with, although they are obviously queer and non-binary, which might make Ray uncomfortable given his own gender identity issues?

Rowan is a fellow thrifting enthusiast, so maybe they run into each other at thrift stores/ swap fit checks now and then? She’s also super into music, and although her personal preferences don’t align with Ray’s, she does attend any gig her classmates are playing so they’d bump into each other at Bleak Brigade / FIN performances. She is however a woman (scary!) so it sounds like, just like with Ash, Ray might be a bit uncomfortable around her.

MONA
I think Rowan and Mona would have been good friends pre-villain arc, with shared interests in spirituality, thrifting and slacking off. Rowan is a very chill person who probably put up with Mona longer than most, she’s also someone who has a lot of angst about her friends changing as people and leaving her behind, so selfishly, it could be an interesting angle for me to explore; having Rowan come to realise that she needs to basically cut a former friend off because they’ve changed could be an interesting story beat in this like coming-of-age narrative I have planned. Where Mona stands on Rowan is up to you, but I’m thinking she might have a tik tok or youtube channel or something where she posts music covers and reviews, so there might be some lingering cooperation in the name of clout.

CLARISSA
Niall’s an athlete and part of the popular crowd, even though he considers a lot of them to be superficial and yearns for deeper connection. For this reason I think he could actually be pretty good friends with Clarissa who seems to be seeking similar connections in similar circles. Niall’s highly intelligent both academically and emotionally which is something you mentioned she values in a friend. They probably don’t hang out mano a mano, I don’t think they’d be that close, but if it’s a party or a group thing they might gravitate towards each other.

I mentioned to Leah that Rowan is probably a frequent customer at Raya’s garage given she drives some like actually rusting old hippie van that’s barely street legal at the best of times. Sounds like Clarissa will have taken a look at it before too if she’s a collaborator of Raya’s. They probably get on really well, being equally laid back, up-for-anything types with musical interests, so they might hang out outside of purely vehicular contexts.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
So, you mentioned being open to running another kid if you saw a gap in the version and specifically mentioned a sibling, so I have to shill mine / Adjective’s / Medic’s extended family we’re trying to rope more people in to. Basically it’s a super wealthy WASPy and locally influential dynasty. If you want to hang out with cool, socially adjusted and likeable characters like my boy Hayden, you could consider it! Twins/other siblings/cousins welcome.

[Dr Adjective]

Hello! I promised I'd post here eventually, and now I shall! I swear it's not because Krabs and Deblood mentioned Heather/Mercy already. Anyway very much feel free to PM me whenever, consider this initial reaction type thoughts.

Ray!
Heather sounds like ex potential here. He's got all the makings of a good partner for her on paper; she's a friend to all queer kids and probably gets a sense about "him" being an egg without being 100% sure, she plays in a band he likes and shares a fair amount of music taste, and they're both vegans which is kinda mandatory for anything beyond FWB for her... and yet he's also clingy and awkward, she's emotionally unavailable at best, can't really pretend to be interested in the nerd stuff, and is perhaps a bit too open to the idea of seeing other people for his comfort. Seems like a relationship that might start from a bit of a one-sided crush on the Cool Girl, she finds out more and decides there might be something real there, it inevitably falls apart because she isn't right for him?

Don't think my other girls can offer too much, except for the Mercy connection at the horror club. She's not so much for the modern gore though, so they may argue over the finer points of the genre. Might try to use him as an angle to fuck with Emma? Unsure.

Mona
LK and Mercy both have their toes in the world of Influencer stuff, LK more sincerely, Mercy because it's a source of extra clout. Might be something there. Open to input on exactly how Mona would approach either as I'm not 100% on her vibe and don't wanna assume and get it super wrong. That said, I like the vibe of LK either presently or previously being attracted to her and pretty easy to manipulate as a result; perhaps they know/knew each other more from behind their online masks without spending much time together in person. Maybe Mona helped her master the e-girl makeup and carefully-curated revealing wardrobe? If previous, probably bitter about it. If present, might be a source of tension with other romantic connections she has. Could be fun!

Hope's way too uncool to have any sort of connection. Heather doesn't seem like she moves at all in the same circles, but if they did get to talking she'd probably hate Mona's doomer vibe.

Et enfin, Clarissa
Okay so Hope isn't what you'd call popular, but Clarissa would know her through the sports world (Hope plays soccer and obsesses over the baseball guys) and maybe vibe with her positive outlook. They don't have a lot in common, but I could imagine them getting along. Casual acquaintances who enjoy brief interactions? Unlikely duo who share Deep And Meaningfuls on the down-low? Neither? I dunno. Could be something there.

If I actually do anything with Grace, similar story. Grace is also some flavour of neurospicy and on the football team, but also doesn't have much else to connect unless they sync their autism wavelengths.

Mercy... I dunno not much here, but I'll note a potential to use flirting to get around her if it's obvious she's into girls too.

Heather also not much, but in true butch stereotype fashion she most likely also has a bike that needs work from time to time, so there's a connection there. Maybe they flirted, except Heather's sincere about it. She's also not a great girlfriend and way too horny to have a chaste time anyway, so if it went past flirting it didn't go far in any case. Always down to stand up for her if anyone's being shitty though, so there is that.

[BlightLupus]

Hello hello, I have relationship ideas!

Ray Janeczek
An initial conversation between these two may require the stars to align, but I think Lucy and Ray would have a nice friendship where they can both geek out about their favourite video games together from time to time. She's usually very softspoken, but I think Lucy would be a bit chattier with someone who shares her interest and doesn't have a strong enough presence to spook her.

Jason has most likely been involved with the horror club at some point or another and will be friendly and chatty with Ray as he is with almost everyone else. They can talk about horror movies, though Jason, despite being a cis guy, has most definitely worn a dress, skirt, or just generally feminine to school from time to time just for fun and rocked them too. What Ray feels about that is up to you.


Clarissa Shoemaker
A friendly cheerleader with wide connections is absolutely someone Marie would want on her side, and the fact that she doesn't need incentives to follow orders definitely adds some extra points. She's never unreasonable with her demands, nor would she ask anything of Clarissa that requires her to sacrifice anything other than her time, but far be it from Marie to not utilize her wide connections from time to time.

Jason is a horrible influence. Like, in general, of course, but also especially to someone like Clarissa, whom he has inexplicably attached himself to for "seeming interesting" and does not object when he drags her along to the newest crazy and/or dangerous activities he wants to do. Self-preservation is for cowards, and Jason is very glad that Clarissa seems to agree. He would also love to use her vintage clothes collection as a reference for making his own outfits.

Quiet people tend to be the ones Lucy feels more comfortable with, and it's likely that Clarissa is the right amount of being extroverted enough to reach out to Lucy in the first place, and quiet enough that Lucy doesn't feel overwhelmed around her. They're likely to be casual friends, though Lucy would quietly worry about her after seeing how easily she seems to go along with others' requests. A real pot calling the kettle black moment.

[Fiori]

Ello, compiling notes on Pregame Plan stuff has gotten me in the mood to go over relationship threads again now that we're closer to V9.

Firstly, I presume Sohel has been quietly retired? No worries if that's the case, figured I'd check as I believe he was listed amongst Marcy's friends.

Ray Janeczek: I imagine he and Koa would share the same kind of nerdy spaces, granted they're on opposite ends of the pessimist/optimist scale. Think Ergo Proxy fan meets One Piece fan. With that in mind they're either friendly acquaintances or friends in an opposites attract kinda sense?

Mona Marroquín: Oo-er. Firstly, Koa would be aware of whatever anime club drama led to her being kicked out, and whilst he's not a grudge holding type he'd likely be wary of her. Johnny however is friends with Mañana, so he'd almost certainly see her as his buddie's psycho ex-girlfriend.

Clarissa Shoemaker: Clarissa and Marcy are likely friends, what with them being on the cheer squad as well as their mutual interest in dancing and partying. I can also see her and Johnny having potentially dated in the past, ending amicably when they ended up spending the majority of it talking about cars.

[Cicada]

I briefly do things (as a treat).

[+] Changelog

• Added Raya Loux to Clarissa's relations after hashing out all the things! I'm aware there's probably more outstanding ideas being discussed in PMs that I have yet to get back to, I'll try my best to keep on top of it! At some point!
• I've specified that Clarissa is a partygoer who drinks a ton. Thank Joanne for that one.
• I've made some adjustments to Ray- he's now not like, blatantly uncomfortable around women and can generally keep them around as part of his misfit/alt/dork circles. I'm internalizing his discomfort with feminine folks for aesthetic purposes.

[+] midnight_twelve

Ray - Ash
Added. This checks out and passes the vibes test for me! Ray is supposed to be very capable of passing values tests of the sort Ash might pose, and I imagine he'd probably be capable of having honest, nihilistic conversations with her. Existential, doomer, whatever her particular flavor of having given up on life is, he probably was/is mentally there. I figure they probably get along pretty well as concert going buddies, and he might be one of the people she's gotten relatively close to insofar as she can get so close with anyone in particular. Probably not like, regularly hanging out, but they rather like each other on a platonic level and Spiderman point at each other immediately when they have reason to be in the same place.

Ray - Rowan
Added. Seems like an equally good fit as Ash but coming more from a mellowed out place that Ray might personally appreciate, and be a bit disquieted by ('what do you mean some people don't feel the impending apocalypse weighing down on their shoulders?') They definitely don't match in music tastes and Ray probably doesn't really interact with her much outside of the occasional shows they both end up at. Seems more like casual acquaintances, but to add a twist, maybe she's the sort of person Ray would like to get to know better because he thinks she's cool and he kind of envies her chill energy compared to his own personal emotional drama and that common to his friends groups, but he can't quite bring himself to bridge the gap between them because he's internalized being stuck in his own lane, etc.

Might be worth exploring in Pregame if either of us ever bother posting LOL. Rowan having very well concealed anxieties that are exactly in Ray's existential wheelhouse might be worth a one off where there's some contrivance for Rowan to open up.

Mona - Rowan
I'd want to hash this out more (not added to relationships yet, I want to talk more about it, by PM or through responding here though I do prefer the former). Yeah, I like this a lot! I could see them being fairly close friends in the before era of freshman/sophomore year, having similar interests but Rowan being laid back so Mona wouldn't feel especially threatened and could casually lead conversations. Mona also has the positive energy that is a counterpoint to Rowan's disguised anxieties about the future, and it might be something that Rowan appreciates while they're still friends proper, that Mona takes the spiritual energy and, while maybe not the most founded, at least projects it in a way that makes the future look brighter. It's something we might want to figure out further, what sort of state they were in before.

A messy and difficult extrication with Rowan's laid back nature meaning she'd have difficulty dropping Mona when its clear she has to also sounds good. Maybe it could even be an ongoing process? I could imagine Rowan has some difficulty asserting herself and making clear where the new 'leave me alone' boundaries are, especially if they're still collaborating on Rowan's content creator arc. Like, Mona might assume they're closer friends than Rowan does, there's miscommunication and an inherent difficulty in drawing that line between them. Whether that happened in the past or is ongoing, either way, it sounds good, I'd just want to be sure we agree on where the timelines for this should fall and the specific vibes, it could be a pretty complicated bit of interpersonal drama if we want it to be.

Clarissa - Niall
Added. That makes sense to me as you've put it, yeah. His intellectual and thoughtful nature will definitely attract her attention. She's a bit passive when it comes to deepening relationships beyond shallow connections unless the other person tries to bridge the gap themselves, so I can't imagine they're too close or hang out one on one, also as you already sussed out. I can imagine it more as her wishing they were better friends because she wants to pick up more from him, and him not having a reason to add her to his inner circle.

He seems like the sort she probably made a casual flirty pass at and was gracefully shot down to her low key relief. Assuming he's not publicly out, anyways, that one is a bit unclear from the info you have on him.

Clarissa - Rowan
Added. Having a full on van to work on sounds like Clarissa would enjoy it a ton. General vibe for any auto shop related relations among her peers is Clarissa probably lets Raya do most of the talking and is just buzzing around doing the work quietly in the background. They're probably on friendly terms but won't be that close- Rowan might generally respect that Clarissa is in the zone and doesn't have much to say. Outside of the van work I'm sure they are on casually friendly terms! Depending on the festival in question Clarissa might be enticed to go along for party vibes- it'd probably be more relaxed than her usual school fare and she might honestly enjoy it more and look forward to the invites even if she doesn't 100% get the music. Rowan seems like the sort who'd be happy to have someone along even if the scene isn't quite the right fit.

Running Another Character
Very scary!!

TBH I do have a concept that might work but no promises. I'll send a PM if I ever want to bring that idea to life and think I'll have the time/energy.

Updates and ideas will continue at an indeterminate future time when I'm doing less internalized screaming into the void!