Blizzard's Upstanding Relationship Dealership

[BlizzardeyeWonder]

A whole bunch of Children for your Children to be friends or enemies with here! There's something for everybody to love (or hate)!

[+] About Liya

Iliya "Liya" Polaris
Background
* Transhumanist pagan-going-her-own-way rebelling against her traditional Wiccan upbringing
* She's lived in Salem all her life, with her parents and her grandparents, with her mother's siblings and their families nearby. yes they are all wiccan. Liya's grandparents are Ukrainian by descent, but none of the family considers themselves of that culture.
* Doesn't care for most of her family except for an older sister (who's since moved out but still keeps in touch) and a younger cousin in the Freshman year whom she's extremely protective of

Personality
* Brash and rebellious, doesn't take kindly to feeling like she's being bossed around, general distrust of authority (potential candidate for anti-SOTF radicalization? )
* The more you disagree with her, the more convinced she is that she's right. Something of a tendency to assume she's the least dumb person in the room.
* Opinionated and loud about it. Her politics lean much to the left, more on that later.
* To her friends: generally less abrasive though still a little high-strung, prone to bitter sarcasm and occasional dispensing of practical wisdom (from her point of view).

Views
* Her politics are very much to the left, though she doesn't use any label in that regard. Would say anarchist if pressed. Would probably wear a "punch a Nazi" shirt if it wasn't deemed too violent for school.
* Her views mostly center on issues in witchcraft (cultural appropriation pervasive and bad, transphobia both implicit and explicit is baked into "gendered" magical ideas and therefore they should be abandoned, the idea that only "natural" things can be magical is bullshit and elitist, etc.)
* She's into transhumanism because she believes that the only thing holding society back from an ideal form is human limitations, physical and psychological, and figures that moving beyond them will also allow society to move forward from them.

Hobbies
* Neopagan philosophy, theology, and transhumanism - as well as how they all intersect. She doesn't consider herself much a reader of books, preferring to get her knowledge and form her own opinions based on discussions with others and time to think on it herself.
* She plays bass guitar! Not part of any of the school's musical extracurriculars, but is part of Amaryllis' post-punk band
* A lacrosse player, and otherwise makes an effort to stay fit.
* AI and robotics greatly intrigues her, and she was probably part of some kind of robotics team in early high school or middle school. These days she puts her programming knowledge to use in bideo game coding. Very much still an amateur, but has made a couple of very short games in RPG Maker, and experiments with other game makers as well. None of her works are published online anywhere... yet. In terms of media, she's a fan f the cyberpunk genre and aesthetic as well.

[+] Liya and Her Relations

Relationships
* Most people wouldn't think of Liya as the intellectual sort, buuuuuut if your kid's interested in some talk about the philosophy of religion and the posthuman condition and share her left-side politics, she's likely to be open to it.
* If you have a witch kid... there's no guarantee they'll get *along* with Liya but they *might*. Generally depends on how much importance they place on parts of witchcraft that Liya has rejected (such as an emphasis on "natural" stuff, calling upon gods) and how snooty they are about witchcraft in general.
* Her close friend group is probably gonna be the trouble-making sort who regularly gets into stupid shit. If your kid is a trouble-making sort with a tendency to get into stupid shit who can otherwise tolerate Liya, hmu.

Romance: Liya hates the idea of monogamy being mandatory, expected, or even "default", so the only romantic relationships I'm throwing her into will be polycules.
(She ids as pansexual)

Existing Connections:
- The post-punk band (relationships to come soon)

[+] About Tenshi

Tenshi Anastasie Fukushima-Yves
Background
* Had progressive hearing loss leading to deafness as a young child, leading to her parents getting her cochlear implants, which... did not go over well with the deaf and hard of hearing friends they had before that point.
* Her dad's Japanese and her mom's French-Filipino though more immersed in Filipino culture than not. They're fairly well off since her dad has a high-paying job and her mom is a modestly successful writer, and Tenshi went to a private middle school.
* Her parents are Trying and really dote on Tenshi, and by extension (though to a lesser extent) any close friends she has.

Personality
* Haughty but insecure which is a lot of the reason why she's haughty. Has sort of bully-ish tendencies in the petty vein? (though she's not like, part of a mean girls esque bully clique)
* Really spoiled and doesn't really "get" lower class problems. Simply cannot imagine wanting something and not getting it sooner or later. By extension though, she's pretty generous and surprisingly perceptive with the gifts she gives her friends.
* Dramatic, spotlight hogging, magnanimous - you give her attention and she lets you bask in her awesomeness and also generosity. Deal?

Views
* Doesn't really do politics and not getting lower-class problems includes not getting why people would be mad at billionaires
* She's not a defender of any ideology more than she doesn't like thinking about politics
* In recent times though, she's been thinking more about accessibility, racism, and the treatment of Deaf people in society, slowly shifting to the left...

Hobbies
* Singing and vocaloid, and has a youtube channel where she does covers of vocaloid songs, in both English and Japanese. She's a classically trained singer and has been taking private lessons since she was 10, and it's a point of pride for her. Part of the school choir, if one exists.
* Vocaloid... and other weeb stuff. alas, she is into anime (particularly cute/slice of life stuff that's made to take the stress off). This is only known to close friends and fellow nerds she can trust to keep her secret. In public, adamantly denies that vocaloid stuff means she's into other anime stuff.
* ASL ad Deaf culture/studies. Tenshi had cochlear implants from a young age, but learn ASL before - and lately, she's been resuming using it, at least away from her parents. Feels like she was locked out of a community, and *wants* to reach out to other Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people, but feels like she wouldn't be accepted.
* Knitting, cross stitching, crocheting... one of Tenshi's more recently-picked-up hobbies is cloth-y crafts of all kinds! Mostly just follows artists on social media, but tries her hand at it in earnest. Still got a long way to go though.

[+] Tenshi and Her Relations

Relationships
* Other choir/singing kids! I know some other folks in the version do vocaloid covers, so hmu if you want a friendship stemming from that. Otherwise, maybe your kid has Opinions on her own channel?
* Fellow anime kids to be friends with in secret...
* I imagine she at least runs in the same circles as the popular folks, so you can form friendships/rivalries/hatreds through that lens too!

Romance: An ex boyfriend or two wouldn't be amiss. Also looking for a girl she has a crush on but is in denial about?
(She's some stripe of bi but in denial about it)

Existing Connections:
- The Pinoy Platoon (relationships to come later)

[+] About Daniel

Daniel Ozanne
Background
* Also lived in Salem all his life, with a family background he considers exceedingly boring - his parents are both working class folks, descended from French Canadian immigrants, and he's their only child.
* A particularly good student who also sensed he could leverage this to earn some extra cash at the ripe old age of 13. Alas, his burgeoning homework-writing business nearly got caught out within the year, causing him to close shop.
* In high school, he instead turned to working more traditional part time jobs and gambling on poker/other card games.

Personality
* Has an aura of calm confidence. He doesn't say a whole lot, but has almost no doubt when he does speak. Something of a risk-taker and just a tad stubborn about it.
* Will talk to most people about most things, and considers himself more on the extroverted side. He's judgy as hell but keeps that to himself. Generally quite observant when it comes to people.
* Holds a grudge for a very, very long time, but is similarly low-key about it. Tends to hold onto things in general, even if he pretends to not do so.

Views
* Daniel doesn't consider himself a very political person, and he's not very vocal, buuuut he does have quite the disdain for capitalism and such, and is far more favourable towards concepts like socialism and universal basic income.
* He's actually quite left leaning overall, but wouldn't consider himself so - he finds it stupid that some things he holds, particularly the ones that mostly go "racism/sexism/queerphobia bad and we should do something about it", are considered political at all.

Hobbies
* He plays card games both as a normal hobby and with money on the line. He pays up in due time, and remembers when others do or don't - he actually writes it down somewhere and is very happy to inform people of other players' histories with debts if they ask. His game of choice is poker.
* Definitely a trivia kid, with his specialty being odd statistics and such. Has something of a fascination with statistics and probability in general, which tends to colour his way of seeing the world and how he handles social interactions, to a small extent. Still has a lot of weird trivia to randomly drop in conversation.
* Really, *really* likes mecha. Anime, not-technically-anime, grimdark to idealistic, if it has giant robots in it, he's in. Doesn't have the money to spare for models and the like, but desperately wishes he did. Why? Because Giant Robots.
* In other media, his favourite book is probably Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas which he found at the back of a library once and simply could not put down. He's sought out psychedelic media ever since. It lead him both to Neon Genesis Evanglion (his current favourite anime) and Revolutionary Girl Utena, specifically the movie, which he watched while high on LSD with his at-the-time boyfriend Raven.

[+] Daniel and His Relations

Relationships
* If other folks do gambling with card games, he's probably gonna know and have talked to them at least once.
* He's talked to a lot of people, so he probably has a whole bunch of acquaintances. Anyone who's not a total recluse and is up for a chat every now and then is eligible.
* His real friends meanwhile, are gonna be people he's known for upwards of years and likely shares at least some of his hobbies. If you think that's plausible for your kid, hmu.

Romance: Open for casual relationships, former and current.
(IDs as bisexual)

Existing Connections:
- Raven (former boyfriend, current relationship to be defined)

[+] About Meena

Meena Kumar
Background
* the dreaded SI
* Immigrated with her family from Bangladesh to the US at a young age to live with family already there. They lived in a big city for a while before moving to Salem before freshman year.
* Former gifted kid, thoroughly washed out.

Personality
* the dreaded SI
* Introverted, quiet even with his/her friends. Otherwise tries to be nice. The most talking she'll do with her friends is ramble about creative projects and current hyperfixations tbh. Still, she can be found Around.
* Just a bit of a smartass

Views
* [dreaded SI intensifies]
* you know the drill. left leaning and stuff.
* The views she/he invests most time in are ones concerning the LGBTQIA+ community

Hobbies
* The hobby that takes up the most of her time is creative writing, both for original projects and fandom - but he doesn't properly *write* a whole lot, at least not as much as she worldbuilds and tinkers with OCs. He draws a bit and mostly draws her OCs to solidify their character designs. The most "proper" writing she does is as The Mysterious Yandere Blog Writer, in which his yandere ocs do yandere things over poor, poor Y/N.
* Also into RPGs, both of the video game kind and the tabletop kind. She's also very interested in homebrew and tabletop game design of all kinds, drawing him to systems like Powered by The Apocalypse alongside the usual DND stuff. It's where her specialties in worldbuilding and character making get to shine!
* Very interested in divination, mainly tarot and astrology. He's very careful to present her interest in the two as a mere hobby and a tool, not a prescription. He does tarot readings for her friends on occasion. Interested in other witchy stuff, but the only thing he practices is those two.
* And last but definitely not least... MAGICAL GIRLS. She has Opinions on the post-Madoka wave of "gritty magical girl" stuff, and generally prefers the genre when it's not being grimdark, but in general, he's a fan. Almost all her interest in both girly things and anime stuff can be traced back to binging Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure as a kid, from his love of lolita fashion, to the anime-action magic aesthetic that pervades her original settings.

[+] Meena and Her Relations

Relationships
* Looking for tabletop pals! Particularly a game group or two, and people she can share homebrew (both his own and stuff found online) with. Either way, tabletop pals will probably be close friends.
* If your character's the type to read online yandere fiction, then perhaps they know of her blog, if not that he's running the blog. Awkward Situations May Abound, as she would rather keep his involvement in the yandere writing sphere a secret.
* Perhaps some connection with other witchy types?

Romance: Not open
(IDs as asexual biromantic. Ah yeah, also bigender, which is what's up with the alternating pronouns up there)

[+] About Lydia

Lydia Pulkinen *Meanwhile Character*
Background
* Another kid who's lived in Salem all her life with her parents, a younger brother, and extended family nearby
* Her little brother is in 10th grade and they have a... strained relationship because said brother is in his "be edgy online" phase. Plus, her parents and extended family are rather religious, and one of her aunts in particular has been getting *very* into various conspiracy theories.
* All in all, Lydia feels like the only sane person in her household.

Personality
* Laid back and leans towards giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, at least at first. Very conflict-avoidant.
* Doesn't act very differently towards her friends, though she is a bit more jokey and willing to get into Shenanigans, as well as showing a more supportive side.
* Very breezy, casual, and non-serious in most matters, which carries over to her video persona.

Views
* Definitely more left-leaning, and has recently been more outspoken about things, especially in light of the protests.
* A particular point for her is the environment, and she's probably part of the eco team if there's one at school, and otherwise takes part in environmental activism stuff outside of school.

Hobbies
* A trash fiction aficionado, including bad fanfiction, bad novels, and bad movies, but mostly bad novels. She reads them both on her own time and on her youtube channel, called Hell's Filing Cabinet. She generally sticks to bad novels that she still finds have charm, but occasionally reviews novels she finds truly, irredeemably bad (particularly if they're infamous bad novels). She also occasionally does movie riffs, both on the channel and on her own time.
* Her own edgy phase was neck-deep in the creepypasta monster fandom. She continues to enjoy more modern creepypasta, and has fun making fun of terribly dumb urban legends and horror stories.
* A theater kid... though she's never had a leading role, or even a particularly major role. She particularly enjoys musical theater, though her singing and musical skills are only passable. She doesn't mind though, she doesn't really want really attention-grabbing roles.
* Likes costume design, and devised some costumes herself for her show. She follows fashion in theory, but doesn't have the money to update her wardrobe to match.

[+] Lydia and Her Relations

Relationships
* Anyone who's helped her with her book review show, in any way! Book people who've suggested bad books to review, friends who've appeared on the show, anything else you may wanna suggest - particularly if you've decided they're going to island.
* Has a pretty decently sized circle of friends - she's pretty easy to get along with, so if your kid shares one of her hobbies and is also chill, they can be friends. If they're willing to sit down and riff a movie together, we're especially golden.

Romance: Potentially open to a girlfriend, but it'll have to be kept secret from her parents
(IDs as lesbian, but is only out to her friends)

That's all for now! Will update over time!

Update 01/05/2021: Greatly expanded the overviews!

[Dogs231]

I don't see relationships between my kids and most of your kids, but I feel two of my characters might have a relationship with Liya.

I can imagine that she and Abhishek may butt heads, with both of them being quite vocal about their opinions, especially with the fact that Abhishek likes to get a rise out of people. Perhaps the two of them may not like each other that much?

My other kid, Donovan, is a troublemaker type. While he probably has 0 interest in neopaganism, he would likely be willing to be a nuisance with her.

[Yonagoda]

Liya: I think maybe Ren would be a bit of a friend? More than Isaiah, who’s a bit of everyone’s friend but is also a well-known Church Kid. Gabrielle would find her interesting (and maybe have a crush) but wouldn’t really know how to reach out and interact beyond maybe dropping some unsolicited “fun facts” about transhumanism or theology.

Tenshi: Ren’s a music kid! Not sure about other relations, but they like pretty niche bands and stuff (and isn’t elitist about it, too!)

Daniel: Is he open to gambling on, like, literal relationships? If so, Betty’s the kid for you! “Five bucks they’ll break up within the month.”

Meena: Are you open for Gabrielle and Meena to know each other, since Gabrielle also does poor, poor things to Y/n? Gab is more of a horror/gore/oh god literally what the fuck is this shit kind of writer (the last being on another site) but I think our little writers can maybe get along online, if not in person?

Lydia: I don’t think most of my kids have anything in common- Gabrielle does like analyzing trash fiction, but I don’t think they’ll interact.

HMU (maybe in my thread or this thread, doesn’t matter) if you have any other ideas!

[Applesintime]

I don't really have much for your other characters, but I imagine Matthew makes fun of Liya a couple of times, mostly because of her whole paganism thing. They probably butt heads a couple of times?

[BlizzardeyeWonder]

Thanks for the responses! I've made a big update to the overviews which you should check out, and I'll get back to you guys in your own threads for more if I have more ideas.

I don't see relationships between my kids and most of your kids, but I feel two of my characters might have a relationship with Liya.

I can imagine that she and Abhishek may butt heads, with both of them being quite vocal about their opinions, especially with the fact that Abhishek likes to get a rise out of people. Perhaps the two of them may not like each other that much?

My other kid, Donovan, is a troublemaker type. While he probably has 0 interest in neopaganism, he would likely be willing to be a nuisance with her.

Abhishek and Liya - I can easily see them butting heads! And I think she'd also go along with Donovan's stunts for the fun of it, so yes to being nuisances together.

Liya: I think maybe Ren would be a bit of a friend? More than Isaiah, who’s a bit of everyone’s friend but is also a well-known Church Kid. Gabrielle would find her interesting (and maybe have a crush) but wouldn’t really know how to reach out and interact beyond maybe dropping some unsolicited “fun facts” about transhumanism or theology.

Tenshi: Ren’s a music kid! Not sure about other relations, but they like pretty niche bands and stuff (and isn’t elitist about it, too!)

Daniel: Is he open to gambling on, like, literal relationships? If so, Betty’s the kid for you! “Five bucks they’ll break up within the month.”

Meena: Are you open for Gabrielle and Meena to know each other, since Gabrielle also does poor, poor things to Y/n? Gab is more of a horror/gore/oh god literally what the fuck is this shit kind of writer (the last being on another site) but I think our little writers can maybe get along online, if not in person?

Lydia: I don’t think most of my kids have anything in common- Gabrielle does like analyzing trash fiction, but I don’t think they’ll interact.

HMU (maybe in my thread or this thread, doesn’t matter) if you have any other ideas!

Ren and Liya friendship sounds good to me, and Gabrielle having a crush on her in that vein sounds like a disaster waiting to happen so obviously I'm down - though if Gabrielle's gonna drop unsolicited facts, Liya's gonna take that as an invitation for Actual Meaningful Discussion.

Tenshi and Ren could def be acquaintances in music circles, maybe she's listened to some of the music Ren likes (while it wasn't bad it ultimately wasn't quite Tenshi's thing)

Daniel might bet with Betty a couple of times, if only for the promise of money, but he's probably the type to figure out how fake she is. If she's consistent about paying up though, he's willing to ignore it.

Gabrielle and Meena might get along on the internet, at least assuming Meena never finds the site with the way worse content. ironically they either barely know each other irl or Meena mildly dislikes her irl.

I don't really have much for your other characters, but I imagine Matthew makes fun of Liya a couple of times, mostly because of her whole paganism thing. They probably butt heads a couple of times?

Liya's definitely gonna butt heads, since she also has a bit of a "not like other pagans" complex to boot. She's probably gonna make fun of him right back over anything she can think of, including the leather jacket (never mind she also wears a leather jacket).

[LeslieFranc]

Eunice

• Meena - Eunice most definitely has encountered the Mysterious Yandere Blog and had a kick with it as Y/N. She's mostly moved on from her yandere-loving days, but probably checks it out from time to time. You know, just to see anything new. irl, Eunice probably wouldn't think much of Meena other than as a fellow introvert. Maybe some awkward encounters between them?

Alec

• Tenshi - I offer Alec as an ex-boyfriend? We can discuss it more if you're down with that. Other than that, I imagine them to be friendly acquaintances at least.

• Daniel - Alec's up for an amicable chat as any, and he's a polite boy who would continue a conversation handed to him. He might find Daniel an interesting person, with his fun trivia facts, even if they don't have that much in common. He would wonder after the conversation ended how did it even happen in the first place though.

Ara

• Tenshi - Both in the Pinoy Platoon, so they'd be pretty friendly with each other. They're both into singing, so the karaoke sessions are bound to be an enjoyable time. There could be a layer of impatience there though, when Tenshi could be a little much for Ara and she's like haha okay, tone it down, princess. Some annoyance and bickering, but they could be pretty good friends.

• Lydia - Well, they're both in theatre and she seems like a nice girl that would be easy for Ara to like. She wouldn't go out of her way to find trashy fiction just to laugh about it, but she'll probably find it as fun as any to spend time on with another person. Perhaps hinting a bit of interest? Ara would probably prefer keeping it a secret as well if they ever go there.

[Cicada]

Time for ridiculously bad ideas lets go!

[+] Questionable and Dubious

For Cedar: May I offer Daniel as a potential ex boyfriend? He's a nerdy type who generally sticks to the fringes of most groups. Also Tenshi being another Platoon member, they probably know and are friendly with each other.

Yep, I mused on it and I think they make sense as exes, maybe in the range of Sophomore year? She probably got a brief thrill out of thinking he was the purely quiet sort when proposed a date and then realized he's observant and (probably? If I'm reading the concept right here) well spoken. They share favorite animes, and she plays hella poker. Probably not for money but maybe he convinces her to give it a shot while they're together. I imagine they break up amicably because the flame and novelty runs out and they continue to remain friends, she gets invited into his gambling events (he might have an in into Platoon poker nights through her if he ever wants to take her up on the offer) and talk shop on anime.

As I think about it Daniel seems like the sort of guy where he's probably a better idea for relative maturity than the majority of edgier/lamer boys Cedar finds herself looped around the finger of but also he wouldn't excite/trigger her 'must coddle' instincts as much. Could be an avenue for me to do some amount of one-sided 'I kinda wish we were back together' type confused pining on Cedar's end because I don't think that's an aesthetic I've explored before and it sounds like it might have potential? Let me know what you think there.

For Tenshi whoop whoop I'm also vibing with some ideas there. Depending on how early Tenshi was a member of the Platoon she might have doted a bit on Cedar back when she was new to the States and clearly Struggling, to help break her out of the shell? Cedar's the, or among the, legendary weeb girl(s) to hide Yuru Camp binges with in private, the OG, was there from the beginning. Types like Tenshi who are non self-aware jackasses sometimes usually gel well with Cedar's brand of kind-of maturity since Cedar can absorb the toxicity without being too enabling, she'll indulge Tenshi but also gently call her out on her attention-seeking BS as needed. Also Cedar is neutral in the Platoon's karaoke wars and probably sings semi-competent harmony for all the factions instead of trying her own songing, I imagine.

Would be interesting if, like, as Tenshi has started to develop more insight into her place in the world recently she's started getting closer to Cedar? Trying to learn from Cedar's tales of poverty and how she's held down by her disabilities, with Cedar being woke but even-tempered and accessible about it.

For Callie: I have Vague Feelings that Liya would have opinions on her and potentially be a former friend, but this is even more vague of a feeling than normal, will get back.

Hmm, off the top of my head... If you're going to expand on Liya's potential for anti-SOTF radicalization then she might end up actually developing connections with the anti-SOTF brigade themselves. Callie is significantly less annoying towards the anti-SOTF brigade folk or prospective members b/c that's where she's trying to keep in people's good graces the most. I could see her being not nearly as contrarian as she'd be if Liya were a stranger, asking more questions in good faith to get proper discussions going (while still subtly trying to pull one over on Liya, leading to the two both being overly self-assured and slinging mutually unbearable rhetoric at each other but in a generally positive way?? if that makes sense). TBH I get a vibe here that Callie might have a crush on Liya contingent on all the above happening, so Callie is hard simping for attention.

For Ash: I can also volunteer Liya as a former friend of this one! over the years Liya's patience for overenthusiastic positivity has worn thinner and thinner and thinner still. I don't see why Ash would pretend to be Liya's friend if this goes through since Liya doesn't have much clout... unless she's trying to get into a venue where the band's performing or something, idk.

Hm... I can't say that I can see how they'd connect long enough to become friends enough to have a falling out. Another small idea did stand out to me though, Ash is deep enough into horror movie lore that she probably has enough movie recs for riffing on that she might have chatted up Lydia if introduced to HFC through a friend. Lydia might be in the process of convincing Ash to be a semi-regular viewer and to expand her horror genre horizons into more novels perhaps.

For Salem: Reactions to getting flirted with - Liya would tell him get lost, Tenshi would be VERY pleased that he notices how much care she puts into her magnificent appearance, Meena would bluescreen and probably run away, and Lydia would just go "bruh i'm gay". No lasting animosity from any of them, though Lydia and Tenshi would be up for a conversation afterwards.

I'm going to edit in (some distant day, as is SOTF tradition) that Salem's flirtations aren't always cold opens, sometimes a girl catches his eye and he wants to befriend them and only thinks of springing his boost-their-ego plays on them way down the line.

I say this b/c I think he'd probably be interested first and foremost with like, hanging out with Liya, probably through his knowledge of the meme-sphere of Endecott making him aware of her own gang of troublemakers and trolls. He finds her aesthetic fascinating and wants to like... be intellectual at her and discuss, about as much as his lax playing-dumb style of discourse makes it possible for him to accomplish. Leads to a unique dynamic in my mind's eye where she might be surprised at how knowledgeable the airhead femboy turns out to be but she still gets to browbeat him with her opinions while he nods along. And then at some point thereafter he tries to flirt a bit and she curbstomps him promptly, etc.

Everything else there checks out, about. I doubt he gets enough clout with Tenshi to get into her weeb inner circle or to influence her politics. He probably gets shitpost inspiration from Lydia's YouTube presuming the Ash connection exists, and the trash writing she exposés on sometimes makes it into memes on Coda's meme page or wherever else Salem has internet clout. Full credit/links to her videos, ofc.

Fully open to tweaking, negotiations, so on, and I'll also come in with more ideas as the version continues to evolve, probably. Usual disclaimer.

[Zetsu]

Liya + Ren: They have a lot of similar interests in transhumanism and witchy stuff, though Ren takes it all rather less seriously, it seems like. But they'd be very very turned off by her abrasiveness and tendency towards condescension, and will probably take a "someone with your views should know better than to be like this" attitude towards her. Also, their approach to transhumanism is quite a bit different, it seems like--they're more of a "we're already cyborgs" kind of person. Anyways, they'd probably be a mix of respectful and hostile towards Liya. Maybe they were deferential to her in the past, though?

Liya + Birch: Birch is impressionable and prone to getting into stupid shit. If they end up friends with Liya, they'd probably not only parrot her beliefs but also imitate her abrasive approach out of some sense that they're obligated to be outraged and confrontational about stuff. They go along with stuff but they're not exactly meek in being a follower, either, tending to take suggestions further than the original person intended to--when Liya and co. get in trouble, there's a good chance Birch will land them all in even bigger trouble if they come along.

Tenshi + Ren: Ren has probably at least attempted to learn sign language before--they go nonverbal every now and then. Being dramatic is a good way to get on Ren's bad side, though that'll depend on whether Tenshi's histrionics force her friends to walk on eggshells around her. It sounds like Tenshi would be antagonistic about Ren getting absorbed into pinoy squad, iirc? So things are likely Complicated between them.

Tenshi + Birch: Popular kid!! Birch wants to be cool like the popular kids!! Has maybe attempted to befriend her, not sure on how Tenshi would react though.

Meena + Ren: Also a former gifted kid, and lots of shared hyperfixations--tabletop, witchy stuff, and while Ren isn't Into the other ones as much they vibe with them enough to want to hear what Meena has to say about those topics! Ren's sensitive to rejection, though, so if Meena is too quiet they'll start worrying that he secretly hates them or something, which could be a stumbling block in developing a friendship.

Lydia + Alice: They're both into environmental activism stuff, and Alice really appreciates low-stakes, low-key friendships, so Lydia's casual, breezy attitude would likely be pretty refreshing to her. Alice is also conflict-avoidant and probably feels like she can relax and let her guard down a little around Lydia. She, too, is a closeted lesbian, not sure on how easy she'd be to clock, tho. Also, she absolutely will not make the first move, even if she has a crush, which she...might?

[BlizzardeyeWonder]

hi yall

[+] Leslie

Eunice

• Meena - Eunice most definitely has encountered the Mysterious Yandere Blog and had a kick with it as Y/N. She's mostly moved on from her yandere-loving days, but probably checks it out from time to time. You know, just to see anything new. irl, Eunice probably wouldn't think much of Meena other than as a fellow introvert. Maybe some awkward encounters between them?

All checks out, I figure Meena would keep his distance from Eunice due to finding her generally sorta unpleasant. However, if you're interested, I May call back in the future to discuss a plotline idea I have involving Awkward encounters between Meena and people who read/have read her Mysterious Yandere Blog!

Alec

• Tenshi - I offer Alec as an ex-boyfriend? We can discuss it more if you're down with that. Other than that, I imagine them to be friendly acquaintances at least.

The ex boyfriend idea sounds good to me - we can discuss it in more detail, but I doubt it ended amicably, at least on Tenshi's side (though she probably couldn't come up with anything she really *hates* about him even afterwards).

• Daniel - Alec's up for an amicable chat as any, and he's a polite boy who would continue a conversation handed to him. He might find Daniel an interesting person, with his fun trivia facts, even if they don't have that much in common. He would wonder after the conversation ended how did it even happen in the first place though.

Also sounds good! I figure Daniel would consider Alec an acquaintance of sorts, not the kind of person he'd seek out, but one he likes well enough.

Ara

• Tenshi - Both in the Pinoy Platoon, so they'd be pretty friendly with each other. They're both into singing, so the karaoke sessions are bound to be an enjoyable time. There could be a layer of impatience there though, when Tenshi could be a little much for Ara and she's like haha okay, tone it down, princess. Some annoyance and bickering, but they could be pretty good friends.

Karaoke buddies with some vitriol sounds on point - they're both high-energy and a little petty, so there's bound to be some clashes of personality, I think.

• Lydia - Well, they're both in theatre and she seems like a nice girl that would be easy for Ara to like. She wouldn't go out of her way to find trashy fiction just to laugh about it, but she'll probably find it as fun as any to spend time on with another person. Perhaps hinting a bit of interest? Ara would probably prefer keeping it a secret as well if they ever go there.

why do I have a feeling the closeted lesbians of JEM are slowly snowballing into a crush dodecahedron. Anyway, I like the idea of a friendship between Lydia and Ara, though in that case Lydia's probably gonna be one of those friends who tries to reign in Ara's reckless moments.

[+] Cic

Time for ridiculously bad ideas lets go!

[+] Questionable and Dubious

For Cedar: May I offer Daniel as a potential ex boyfriend? He's a nerdy type who generally sticks to the fringes of most groups. Also Tenshi being another Platoon member, they probably know and are friendly with each other.

Yep, I mused on it and I think they make sense as exes, maybe in the range of Sophomore year? She probably got a brief thrill out of thinking he was the purely quiet sort when proposed a date and then realized he's observant and (probably? If I'm reading the concept right here) well spoken. They share favorite animes, and she plays hella poker. Probably not for money but maybe he convinces her to give it a shot while they're together. I imagine they break up amicably because the flame and novelty runs out and they continue to remain friends, she gets invited into his gambling events (he might have an in into Platoon poker nights through her if he ever wants to take her up on the offer) and talk shop on anime.

As I think about it Daniel seems like the sort of guy where he's probably a better idea for relative maturity than the majority of edgier/lamer boys Cedar finds herself looped around the finger of but also he wouldn't excite/trigger her 'must coddle' instincts as much. Could be an avenue for me to do some amount of one-sided 'I kinda wish we were back together' type confused pining on Cedar's end because I don't think that's an aesthetic I've explored before and it sounds like it might have potential? Let me know what you think there.

For Tenshi whoop whoop I'm also vibing with some ideas there. Depending on how early Tenshi was a member of the Platoon she might have doted a bit on Cedar back when she was new to the States and clearly Struggling, to help break her out of the shell? Cedar's the, or among the, legendary weeb girl(s) to hide Yuru Camp binges with in private, the OG, was there from the beginning. Types like Tenshi who are non self-aware jackasses sometimes usually gel well with Cedar's brand of kind-of maturity since Cedar can absorb the toxicity without being too enabling, she'll indulge Tenshi but also gently call her out on her attention-seeking BS as needed. Also Cedar is neutral in the Platoon's karaoke wars and probably sings semi-competent harmony for all the factions instead of trying her own songing, I imagine.

Would be interesting if, like, as Tenshi has started to develop more insight into her place in the world recently she's started getting closer to Cedar? Trying to learn from Cedar's tales of poverty and how she's held down by her disabilities, with Cedar being woke but even-tempered and accessible about it.

For Callie: I have Vague Feelings that Liya would have opinions on her and potentially be a former friend, but this is even more vague of a feeling than normal, will get back.

Hmm, off the top of my head... If you're going to expand on Liya's potential for anti-SOTF radicalization then she might end up actually developing connections with the anti-SOTF brigade themselves. Callie is significantly less annoying towards the anti-SOTF brigade folk or prospective members b/c that's where she's trying to keep in people's good graces the most. I could see her being not nearly as contrarian as she'd be if Liya were a stranger, asking more questions in good faith to get proper discussions going (while still subtly trying to pull one over on Liya, leading to the two both being overly self-assured and slinging mutually unbearable rhetoric at each other but in a generally positive way?? if that makes sense). TBH I get a vibe here that Callie might have a crush on Liya contingent on all the above happening, so Callie is hard simping for attention.

For Ash: I can also volunteer Liya as a former friend of this one! over the years Liya's patience for overenthusiastic positivity has worn thinner and thinner and thinner still. I don't see why Ash would pretend to be Liya's friend if this goes through since Liya doesn't have much clout... unless she's trying to get into a venue where the band's performing or something, idk.

Hm... I can't say that I can see how they'd connect long enough to become friends enough to have a falling out. Another small idea did stand out to me though, Ash is deep enough into horror movie lore that she probably has enough movie recs for riffing on that she might have chatted up Lydia if introduced to HFC through a friend. Lydia might be in the process of convincing Ash to be a semi-regular viewer and to expand her horror genre horizons into more novels perhaps.

For Salem: Reactions to getting flirted with - Liya would tell him get lost, Tenshi would be VERY pleased that he notices how much care she puts into her magnificent appearance, Meena would bluescreen and probably run away, and Lydia would just go "bruh i'm gay". No lasting animosity from any of them, though Lydia and Tenshi would be up for a conversation afterwards.

I'm going to edit in (some distant day, as is SOTF tradition) that Salem's flirtations aren't always cold opens, sometimes a girl catches his eye and he wants to befriend them and only thinks of springing his boost-their-ego plays on them way down the line.

I say this b/c I think he'd probably be interested first and foremost with like, hanging out with Liya, probably through his knowledge of the meme-sphere of Endecott making him aware of her own gang of troublemakers and trolls. He finds her aesthetic fascinating and wants to like... be intellectual at her and discuss, about as much as his lax playing-dumb style of discourse makes it possible for him to accomplish. Leads to a unique dynamic in my mind's eye where she might be surprised at how knowledgeable the airhead femboy turns out to be but she still gets to browbeat him with her opinions while he nods along. And then at some point thereafter he tries to flirt a bit and she curbstomps him promptly, etc.

Everything else there checks out, about. I doubt he gets enough clout with Tenshi to get into her weeb inner circle or to influence her politics. He probably gets shitpost inspiration from Lydia's YouTube presuming the Ash connection exists, and the trash writing she exposés on sometimes makes it into memes on Coda's meme page or wherever else Salem has internet clout. Full credit/links to her videos, ofc.

Fully open to tweaking, negotiations, so on, and I'll also come in with more ideas as the version continues to evolve, probably. Usual disclaimer.

Cedar/Daniel: He is intended to be a good conversationalist, yeah. since complicated relationship entanglements are slowly becoming my v8 theme apparently I obviously think the 'kinda wish we were back together' thing would be neat - if current plans go through (which they very well might not), it's more likely to be totally unreciprocated than not.

Cedar/Tenshi: Tenshi wasn't a member of the platoon until freshman year of high school, so she couldn't have been there when Cedar arrived. That being said, being friends that Tenshi can talk in (badly kept) secret about weeb stuff to sounds good to me! I also like the idea of Cedar kinda being a vector for Tenshi's growing awareness about the world - I figure out of all of Tenshi's friends and companions, she's most likely to listen when Cedar calls her out, so it could be a sorta growing maturity in general, then.

Callie/Liya: I have Yet to figure out some relationships for Liya with anti-sotf group members, but I do want to do that. In that case, I figure if Liya met her through those channels she'd be kinda pleasantly surprised by Callie's attitude towards her. callie having a crush on liya likewise sounds like a recipe for disaster so i'm all in contingent on the above.

Ash/Lydia: Though she is a connoisseur of Abject Trash, Lydia *does* have some actual horror novel recs, if she wants to convince Ash to expand horizons a little. Movies aren't Lydia's usual wheelhouse but riffing horror makes for good Halloween Content, so she's probably thankful for that (as well as any bit of help, but you know). At this point I imagine Lydia's still struggling to get a solid viewer base but also doesn't want to come across as pushy, so convincing is gonna be more in the lines of hints like "hey, I took that rec and made a video out of it" and the like more than anything.

Salem/Liya: Another person Liya would probably be pleasantly surprised by, yeah - even the flirting wouldn't lower her opinion of him too much. I doubt she'd become close enough to him to know the real depths of his politics and political work, though.

Salem/Lydia: i mean lydia's not gonna *complain* about the free exposure

[+] Zetsu

Liya + Ren: They have a lot of similar interests in transhumanism and witchy stuff, though Ren takes it all rather less seriously, it seems like. But they'd be very very turned off by her abrasiveness and tendency towards condescension, and will probably take a "someone with your views should know better than to be like this" attitude towards her. Also, their approach to transhumanism is quite a bit different, it seems like--they're more of a "we're already cyborgs" kind of person. Anyways, they'd probably be a mix of respectful and hostile towards Liya. Maybe they were deferential to her in the past, though?

Perhaps! Liya's kind of a jerk so that all makes sense, a former "friendship" wouldn't be amiss. I imagine Liya would feel *kinda* sad about that situation, but not in a way that makes her wonder if she was in the wrong, if that makes sense. Still wouldn't dislike them, but maybe she felt that Ren just didn't "get it".

Liya + Birch: Birch is impressionable and prone to getting into stupid shit. If they end up friends with Liya, they'd probably not only parrot her beliefs but also imitate her abrasive approach out of some sense that they're obligated to be outraged and confrontational about stuff. They go along with stuff but they're not exactly meek in being a follower, either, tending to take suggestions further than the original person intended to--when Liya and co. get in trouble, there's a good chance Birch will land them all in even bigger trouble if they come along.

ohohoho that *also* sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I figure Liya would gladly be a vector for rebelliousness and shenanigans in Birch's life, and be pretty sympathetic to their circumstances. Perhaps Liya might occasionally have a small bout of her conscience worrying about Birch copying her behaviour and beliefs because she *would* have genuine care and concern for them, but Liya's unlikely to really take that worry to heart (at least not unless some Truly Bad Shit happens).

Tenshi + Ren: Ren has probably at least attempted to learn sign language before--they go nonverbal every now and then. Being dramatic is a good way to get on Ren's bad side, though that'll depend on whether Tenshi's histrionics force her friends to walk on eggshells around her. It sounds like Tenshi would be antagonistic about Ren getting absorbed into pinoy squad, iirc? So things are likely Complicated between them.

I think Tenshi's brand of Drama Queen is less seeing-slights-in-every-little-thing and more making her and her problems the center of attention and getting kinda passive-aggressive when they're not given the gravity she feels they deserve by Everyone, which is no less grating. Being antagonistic about Ren getting absorbed into the pinoy platoon was unfunny memery on my part especially considering Tenshi is a late addition to the squad herself, and there's probably enough reason for the two to be antagonistic towards each other anyway.

Tenshi + Birch: Popular kid!! Birch wants to be cool like the popular kids!! Has maybe attempted to befriend her, not sure on how Tenshi would react though.

Tbh, I think Tenshi would be sympathetic and relatively friendly to Birch, and would happily hang out with them. There might be a twinge of jealousy on Tenshi's part with Birch being a clarinet prodigy but mostly doing it for her parents (if I'm reading this right), while Tenshi (from her perspective anyway) works hard and has genuine passion for her musical endeavors and is neither as good or as praised for it, but like. it's a twinge.

Meena + Ren: Also a former gifted kid, and lots of shared hyperfixations--tabletop, witchy stuff, and while Ren isn't Into the other ones as much they vibe with them enough to want to hear what Meena has to say about those topics! Ren's sensitive to rejection, though, so if Meena is too quiet they'll start worrying that he secretly hates them or something, which could be a stumbling block in developing a friendship.

see if you put Meena in the same room as a former gifted kid (or any fellow nd person tbh) who shares her hyperfixations and not only that they *want* to hear him talk about hyperfixations she'll be far less quiet than normal - still kinda laconic and stumbling over words and constantly asking "does that make sense?" though, since "less quiet" is relative. Also, I figure with friends/potential friends, he'll take a bit of time to explain that she's quiet because he doesn't have much to say, if only to try and nip anxieties about her quietness in the bud.

Lydia + Alice: They're both into environmental activism stuff, and Alice really appreciates low-stakes, low-key friendships, so Lydia's casual, breezy attitude would likely be pretty refreshing to her. Alice is also conflict-avoidant and probably feels like she can relax and let her guard down a little around Lydia. She, too, is a closeted lesbian, not sure on how easy she'd be to clock, tho. Also, she absolutely will not make the first move, even if she has a crush, which she...might?

A relaxed friendship sounds good to me! Lydia would probably see her as kinda lonely, and be glad to keep her company. Doubt she'd form a crush on Alice herself though, so if Alice does rip to her.

[Deamon]

Meena sounds like she'd be good friends with Robbie thanks to both of them having a passion for rpgs as that's one of Robbies main hobbies as well.

Lydia and Darryl would probably be friends both through theatre and also because both of them don't take things seriously at all.