#jonah/juliette ziegler

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I need to know…. Does J believe they’re innocent or do they know how fucked up they are for what they did to MC ?

At the start of the story?

All they did was give mc exactly what they wanted

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as someone who usually plays a loyal to death sort of character for my mc J's route is gonna kill me I just know it 😭😭😭😭 I have a vivid image in my head where my MC just wondering maybe if it was their fault that J left and does these sort of things that they wouldn't do like cutting their hair bc they heard that J liked it shorter and my mc always kept their hair long bc liked it or something and C accidentally barging in the bathroom where mc is on the floor broken mirror shards and their locks of hair just everywhere and scissors in their hand and C just. having to pick the mess that is them WUGRJEHSHAHAHHAHA I CANT WAITTTTTTTTTTTTT

it’s canon that mc was a mess (the degree to how much of mess they were outwardly varies from playthrough to playthrough but they weren't doing well) and finding any rationale to blame themselves as the common denominator for people in their life up and leaving without a word

Scenes like this where C had to be mc’s rock in the middle of a raging ocean absolutely transpired during the two years they were hoping J would turn around, come home, and take it all back

They never did of course

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Quick question how does C feels about J and their betrayal?

Before J left, the three of them—mc, J, and C—were a trio who did basically everything together. they lived together, formed a band, attended concerts, etc. mc and J were closer obviously, kind of like a duo in their own little world, but if there was anyone who could ever join the little bubble they’d put themselves in, it was C.

J was just as much their friend as they were mc’s. So in that aspect, it hurt that J could just up and leave everything and everyone in the dust like that.

But mostly, they’re just angry because of what it did to mc. They’ve always felt extra protective of mc and it killed them that there was nothing they could do to fix what J did or make it better.

Their resentment runs deep, considering they were the one who watched the realization fully set-in for mc that J was never coming back over two years and saw all the damage J did play out in real time.

Simply said, C wishes J never existed in either of their lives at all

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Regarding your response "they'd automatically assume mc had an ulterior motive or something up their sleeve if they tried to be friendly to them of all people" (in reference to J): What if the MC is just generally a friendly person, and is nice to everyone, including J? I mean, J knows the MC. If they know MC is just that sort of person, would that still feel disingenuous to J?

It’s been five years since J took off to LA, mc might as well be a stranger to them when it comes to guessing their intentions.

Even if mc were a saint/the biggest people-pleaser around before J did what they did, they expect none of that to be reserved for them after everything. J knew what was at stake and all of mc’s history and they still made the one decision they swore they wouldn't

mc being civil without any other reason behind the pleasantness doesn't just seem impossible, to is impossible to them (not to mention they feel like they're being mocked when mc is nice to them because it just can't be real)

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Will MC have to kiss Js ass on their route for a relationship to progress or can MC keep up that anger/resentment until J apologizes ?

mc showing J any kind of genuine kindness or respect would be such a foreign concept to face for them they'd be thrown lol

It’s counterintuitive to be nice to J most of the time if you want to rebuild something with them. They hate people sucking up to them the majority of the time anyways and they'd automatically assume mc had an ulterior motive or something up their sleeve if they tried to be friendly to them of all people

So no, you don't need to be civil with them to progress the relationship initially. You can't push them away forever ofc, but they don't expect niceties from mc right off the bat… or ever truly

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The unwanteds against the world. Until it wasn’t.

Your childhood friend, your best friend, and the only person you trusted with every whisper and song no one else was supposed to hear turned out to be just like everyone else. They promised, swore on every goddamn star in the sky, that you'd rise to the top together.

Instead, they made a name for themselves while you were hundreds of miles away living on a friend's couch, still reeling from what you'd lost. You were forced, over and over again, by your own mind to question things you'd never doubted before. When they were lying next to you at night, did they imagine what it'd be like to finally get rid of the extra weight they'd been carrying around for all that time? While you were daydreaming about that stupid fantasy they'd painted so charmingly that you actually believed it?

You can't get a full read on what they think of you now, after five years of being separated by their betrayal. You swear they wear that strikingly cold disinterest like a mask. Or maybe that's really all they have to offer you after destroying everything you'd built together so easily like it never mattered to them at all.

But your feelings require no deeper examination to get to the truth: you hate them.

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Wait is there a poly option with T and Marigold ? I don’t see it mentioned in the synopsis.

Honestly this is still something I'm debating myself on! There's a lot of things that’ll happen during the story that will… fracture their relationship. And it may be too difficult for them to come back from those incidents, even with the inclusion of mc

But maybe those things can be overcome if mc forces them to be honest with each and communicate? I don't know, I'm interested to hear what other people think

I'm not ruling out a poly between them, I think I would really like writing that dynamic (so much drama) but I should probably think on it more

Also, another thing I didn't mention in the intro post, there will be three LT routes (not poly, mc will have to choose I apologize) with J and Ci, J and hydra, and D and hydra

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So I just read about J having a tattoo of a blue hyacinth and looked up its meaning and I wonder did they get it before or after the betrayal?

Before !

the tattoo was the first thing they did the instant they hit 18 besides dropping out of high school and throwing their school backpack onto the train tracks

they'd wanted to get that specific tattoo for almost as long as they'd wanted to form a band with mc (since forever basically) and jumped on the chance as soon as the parlors had no reason to deny them anymore

They'd had done it sooner if they'd found an artist willing to ink a minor without thier guardian’s consent but all the ones they went to turned them away and told them to come back when they turned 18 sooooo that's what they did

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Faceclaims

Inside this carefully crafted mystery box are the faceclaims for all of the ROs. If you'd prefer to use your own imagination to visualize the characters, you might want to skip this post. Not all of these are spot-on, but they're as close as I could get to finding a reference for each of the characters.

Without further ado, open it!

Or don't, you choose!

Luci Morningstar

I'd say these are accurate to the Luci(s) I imagine in my head, but their hair's red and black when the story begins and they have a lot of piercings not pictured (which is the case for a lot of the characters). f!Luci also has thinner eyebrows

Cia/Cian Avila

I like these, though Cia's curls are a bit looser, and her skin is a shade or two darker. Gets a gold star from me

Damian/Devyn Thunder

Devyn's hair has a bit of a wave to it and it's cut into curtain bangs atm. Hits the mark otherwise

Stella/Eli Rose

Eli's hair is blonder than in the picture, but other than that these are pretty much spot-on

Ethan/Elena Sun

This is exactly what I envision when I picture them, down to the expression on their faces

Natalie Marigold

Pretty much perfect for Nat, though her hair is typically a little more styled than the version in the picture

Bellamy Ortega

No notes. I have outdone myself

Tristan/Trisha Hydra

Finding Trisha's faceclaim was easier than passing third-grade social studies. Finding a picture that even half-way resembled Tristan put me through the ringer and beat me to a pulp twice in one night, and I'm still not satisfied with the end result of my endeavors. But I don't hate it either. It's just... a little off in so many different ways.

Tristan's skin is a few shades darker (like trisha's), his hair less frizzy/fluffy and cut into a wolfcut, and he doesn't have a cleft chin.

Trisha's is flawless. Besides the fact that her hair is completely dark brown without any red highlights. Other than that, pure perfection

Jonah/Juliette Ziegler

Juliette's hair is a dark brown instead of the light shade in the picture, and her lips are a little plumper. Otherwise, you're staring at a spitting image of the characters I imagine when I'm writing