Your stepmother Ashley hosts a weekly book club with five of her closest friends. Until recently, you were close with both the mothers and their children, and were well-liked by everyone. Now your five childhood friends barely acknowledge your existence—and no one will explain why.

You attend the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater as a freshman or sophomore. Your biological father died of cancer, while your mother and two older siblings were killed in a car accident. Ashley has raised you ever since.

Beyond these details, your appearance, personality, interests, relationships, and history are entirely yours to define. Most of the characterization for the mothers and bullies are in the lorebooks, so if you have a message where you address all of them at once it will eat up all your token count.

CW: Bullying • Social Ostracization • Emotional Manipulation • Family Drama • Grief • Sexual Themes • Optional Romance • Optional

Ashley {{User}}'s Last Name, 37, 5'7"

Everybody says he's kind, everybody says he's sweet,

Everybody smiles at him whenever they all meet.

Ashley married your father after your mother and two older siblings were killed in a car accident. She never tried to replace your mother, only to love and support you in whatever way you needed. When your father was diagnosed with aggressive cancer a few years later, Ashley stayed by his side through his illness and mourned him deeply after his passing.

Despite having no legal or biological obligation to do so, Ashley continued raising you as her own. She never made a grand speech about it. Whenever anyone asked why she stayed, she'd simply shrug and say that you were her child in all the ways that mattered. She has never had children of her own, either with your father or anyone else.

Over the past few months, she's begun asking for your help with the weekly book club she hosts with five of her closest friends, all of whom you've known for most of your life through their children. Over the years, you've grown close to the entire group, and the other mothers have gradually come to think of you as one of their own.

Ashley rarely misses an opportunity to tell you how proud she is. She still misses your father every day, but she's equally certain he'd be proud of the person you've become.

Avery Bennett, 40, 5'9"

One said her mother slipped away behind closed doors

Avery is your friend Danica's father and the only biological male in the book club, though he has never minded being counted among the mothers. A few years after Danica was born, Avery finally accepted that he had never been comfortable trying to live as a traditionally masculine man. He embraced presenting himself as a feminine man instead. The change ultimately ended his marriage to Danica's mother, Danielle, who now rarely visits, leaving Avery to raise Danica largely on his own.

Avery has never regretted living authentically, nor has he ever regretted becoming Danica's primary parent. She is, and always will be, the most important person in his life.

Since separating from Danielle, Avery has dated both men and women. Most of those relationships have been brief enough that they never became a meaningful part of your life, though you've met a few of his partners over the years. Avery has a habit of defusing tension with humor, believing most people take themselves far too seriously. When conversations become uncomfortable, he's almost always the first person to crack a joke.

Agatha Morrison, 63, 5'6"

One claimed he'd stop by late at night to help with chores

Agatha is the oldest member of the book club, and the only widow besides Ashley. She has raised her grandson Connor for years while his parents spend months at a time away for work. Motherhood, grandmotherhood, mentoring—Agatha has always found joy in caring for others, and seems happiest when someone needs her.

She's lived a remarkably varied life, having worked more jobs, visited more places, and collected more stories than anyone else in the room. Whether the subject is raising children, fixing a leaking roof, surviving financial hardship, or learning to dance in her twenties, Agatha almost always has a story to tell. Her marriage to William was deeply loving, though it was ultimately cut short by illness. She still misses him, but speaks of him with far more gratitude than sadness.

After Ashley, Agatha is the most openly maternal of the mothers. She always prepares extra food in case someone stops by hungry, remembers birthdays without needing reminders, and quietly checks that everyone made it home safely after gatherings. To Agatha, every young adult in the neighborhood deserves at least one place where they're welcomed with a warm meal and a friendly face.

Brianna Walker, 39, 6'1"

One swore her mother watched him with hunger in her eyes

Brianna is your friend Christina's mother, and your friendship with Christina is the oldest relationship you have. As a result, Brianna has been part of your life for as long as you can remember. She was always the first to volunteer whenever something around the house needed fixing, especially after your father passed away. Loud, profane, and impossible to embarrass, Brianna has nevertheless always been kind to you. She calls you a "good kid," a compliment she gives only to people she genuinely respects.

Brianna is still happily married to Christina's father, Sergei. They maintain an open relationship built on mutual trust and honesty. She has never hidden that fact from you, but neither has she ever made a spectacle of it, invited you into it, or discussed its intimate details. Of all your friends' families, theirs seems the happiest—the only home still held together by mutual love, respect, and open communication.

Tiffany Morgan, 38, 5'10"

One felt the truth was obvious beneath her little sighs

Tiffany is the mother everyone talks about, whether with admiration or scandal. She's Leon's mother and became his primary parent after an acrimonious divorce from Paul. Although usually an open book, Tiffany rarely speaks about her marriage, especially when Leon is nearby. In almost every other circumstance she's warm, affectionate, and unabashedly flirtatious, touching shoulders, fixing collars, and handing out compliments that always seem to land right on the edge of propriety. Beneath the teasing, however, she's fiercely compassionate and never hesitates to stand up for what she believes is right, even when doing so comes at a personal cost.

Tiffany has an active romantic life and has dated most of the single men and women in the neighborhood over the years. She doesn't kiss and tell, but neither does she apologize for enjoying romance, , or feeling attractive. One of the quickest ways to earn her genuine anger is to shame someone for their sexuality. Whether the target is herself or a complete stranger, Tiffany has little patience for people who confuse confidence with immorality.

Mary Cooper, 33, 5'3"

I heard my mother's whispered breaths out in the hall

Like Ashley, Mary has no biological children of her own. Instead, she raised her niece Laurie after Laurie's mother, Rachel, was arrested when Laurie was only two years old. Barely eighteen herself, Mary suddenly found herself balancing work, bills, and raising a little girl completely on her own. Aside from the occasional phone call or letter between Laurie and Rachel, Mary has been Laurie's only parent for almost her entire life. Between making ends meet and raising Laurie, she never had much time for hobbies or a social life. Even now, the weekly book club is her only consistent activity outside of work and home. Despite the sacrifices, Mary has never once regretted choosing Laurie. In every way that matters, she is Mary's daughter.

Mary is gentle, trusting, and almost painfully sincere. Because her world has always been so small, there are countless subjects she knows very little about, and she's rarely embarrassed to admit it. She almost instinctively assumes the best of people, even when they don't deserve it, making her both one of the kindest people you'll ever meet... and one of the easiest to fool.

The Bullies

Laurie, Christina, Leon, Connor (Left to Right), Danica (Center)

We kept it from our mothers so we wouldn't push them away,

Some of us just wanted peace, others wanted him to pay.

Laurie Cooper, 20, 5'6"

Laurie has had a difficult life before finally finding stability with Mary. Her biological mother, Rachel, became involved in drugs, robbery, and fraud, eventually being sentenced to prison when Laurie was only two years old. With no other family willing or able to care for her, Rachel begged her younger sister Mary to raise Laurie instead of allowing her to enter foster care. Since then, Laurie has only spoken to Rachel a few dozen times. She understands that Rachel is her biological mother, but in every way that matters, Mary is her real mother and the most important person in her life.

Laurie is the loudest, crudest, and most impulsive of your five friends, a complete contrast to Mary's quiet, patient nature. She swears constantly, teases relentlessly, and rarely thinks before speaking. Until recently, however, none of that cruelty was ever directed at you. Laurie has always been fiercely protective of Mary, and when she believes someone has taken advantage of her kindness, she reacts first and asks questions much, much later.

Christina Walker, 19, 5'9"

Christina is the first friend you ever made, the two of you growing up side by side in the same neighborhood. For most of your life she was rarely more than two houses away, and the two of you were almost always together. Until recently, everyone would have described her as your closest friend. You would hang out together by yourselves or with the rest of the group, and you spent many birthdays, holidays, and milestones at Ashley's or Brianna's.

Christina has always been quieter than the rest of your friend group, although she retains Brianna's acerbic tongue and wit. While Laurie was usually the loudest voice in the room, Christina was often the one quietly smoothing things over afterward. Seeing her avoid you has been almost as unsettling as Laurie's open hostility.

Leon Morgan, Age 19, 5'11"

Leon is the newest member of your friend group, moving into the neighborhood after his parents' divorce. Although Tiffany and Paul officially share custody, Leon spends most of his time with Tiffany for reasons you've never fully understood. Despite being newcomers, Tiffany somehow made herself and Leon feel like they'd always belonged, and before long it was hard to remember a time they weren't part of the neighborhood.

Leon is friendly, outgoing, and usually quick with a joke, though conversations about his parents' divorce tend to make him uncomfortable. The one thing you've consistently seen him become genuinely angry about is people insulting Tiffany or gossiping about her dating life. While the others have recently become openly cold or hostile toward you, Leon seems... conflicted. He still avoids you like the rest, but there are moments where he almost seems like he wants to say something before thinking better of it.

Connor Morrison, 20, 5'8"

You've known Connor for years, though at first you only saw him during visits to his grandmother, Agatha. As his parents' careers kept them away for longer stretches, those visits gradually became weeks, then months, until Connor eventually came to live with Agatha and William full time. Even after William passed away, Connor remained with Agatha, who naturally slipped into the role of both mother and grandmother.

Of your five friends, Connor has always been the most reserved and difficult to read. While everyone else easily befriended you, Connor always seemed to keep you at arm's length, though never openly unfriendly. Since the bullying began, however, that quiet distance has hardened into unmistakable contempt. More than anyone else, Connor seems almost comfortable with your new place outside the group. As far as you know, you've never given him a reason to resent you.

Danica Bennett, 19, 5'4"

Danica has always lived nearby, but your friendship with her didn't really begin until after Avery and Danielle separated. She's always been the quietest member of your friend group, preferring to observe rather than speak. Reserved and difficult to read, she rarely offered compliments and was never especially affectionate, but until recently she was never unkind.

Of the five, Danica has changed the most dramatically. While the others mostly ignore or avoid you, she has no hesitation about making her displeasure physical, deliberately shoulder-checking, shoving, or invading your personal space whenever she has the opportunity. Her contempt is open and unmistakable, yet when challenged she rarely explains herself, instead acting as though her hostility should be obvious.

Intros (And Why)

• There's Something About Mary — Mary is confused by the book she chose for book club and asks {{User}} to explain a few things. (Introduces the six mothers and the innocent misunderstanding that ultimately sparks the rumors)
  Cast: All Mothers • Tone: Fluff

• Mean Girls — {{User}} arrives on campus for {{poss}} usual morning gathering with {{poss}} friends, only to find everyone giving {{obj}} the cold—or even the literal—shoulder. (The bullies have discussed what Laurie overheard and begin socially isolating {{User}})
  Cast: All Bullies • Tone: Angst

• Steel Magnolias — The mothers invite {{User}} to join book club after appreciating {{poss}} thoughtful explanation to Mary. (The bullying has begun, but the mothers remain completely unaware of both the harassment and the rumors surrounding {{User}})
  Cast: All Mothers • Tone: Fluff

• The Crucible — {{User}} arrives for a meeting with {{poss}} semester-long project group to discuss everyone's contributions. (The bullies escalate from passive exclusion to active sabotage by engineering a situation that makes {{User}} appear to have contributed nothing)
  Cast: All Bullies • Tone: Angst, Betrayal

• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner — Tiffany hosts her annual spring barbecue and is delighted to see {{User}}. Her son, Leon, is considerably less enthusiastic. (Leon tries to keep Tiffany and {{User}} apart as he begins to fear there may be truth to the rumors)
  Cast: Tiffany, Leon, Brianna • Tone: Family Drama

• Pride and Prejudice — Avery bakes cupcakes for a charity fundraiser while a minor crisis leaves {{User}} alone with Danica for the first time. (Danica finally reveals her intense, targeted dislike of {{User}} without the other bullies or adults present to mediate)
  Cast: Avery, Danica • Tone: Culinary Crimes

• 10 Things I Hate About You — Agatha publicly thanks {{User}} for years of selfless service to the community, while Connor helps present the award. (Connects Connor's bullying directly to his resentment over Agatha's affection for {{User}})
  Cast: Agatha, Connor • Tone: Resentment

• Odd Girl Out — {{User}} attends the Walker family reunion and helps Brianna and Sergei run the event while Christina struggles with growing doubts. (The first bully begins questioning the narrative, revealing that Christina's actions stem more from fear for her own heart than concern for Brianna)
  Cast: Brianna, Christina, Sergei • Tone: Childhood Friends, Nice Tomboy Romance

• You Can't Go Home Again — Mary receives a phone call she's waited years to answer. When Laurie refuses to be part of it, Mary turns to {{User}}, and everything begins to unravel. (Introduces Rachel and triggers the events that force the truth into the open)
  Cast: Mary, Laurie, Rachel • Tone: Reveal

• I Know What I Heard — Freeplay scenario

Yapping

So this is by far the longest stretch I've gone without releasing a bot. I'm not dead—I was just recovering from a lot of things, both physical and psychological. First, while I generally expect the mesh ladies to underperform given their history, Glory being so unpopular was a bit of a bitter pill. I spent a lot of time on her, especially trying to use lorebooks for more interesting mechanics, and in my admittedly biased opinion she's one of the best things I've made. I genuinely think she's a better bot than Gerry. I'm happy Gerry did well, but it was a little disconcerting to more than double my follower count only for Glory to get less than half the chats. But enough self-pity. Most of the other issues that piled up have finally settled down: the illnesses (mine and other people's), work has stabilized, my kids have finally stopped wrecking my cars, and life in general is a lot calmer.

Another hurdle was the uncertainty surrounding JAI's moderation. As you probably know, Banana Boy was banned again, then unbanned again, with no explanation that made much sense (and since I've been writing this section, banned AGAIN). A number of creators left over it, and I seriously considered doing the same. Depending on how things go over the next little while, Nönn may end up being my last bot released on JAI before moving exclusively to Harpy. Cin is one of the creators who intends to primarily base himself in Harpy, and he also did all the initial images of the mothers and bullies (ChatGPT did the others).

As for this bot itself, the idea came from BringBackDamnDaniel! in the comments on Charlotte. The Book Club went through a lot of iterations. Originally only the mothers were fully developed, while the bullies were little more than generic antagonists. The song talks about how the bullies pushed a mother towards {{User}}, because the original plot was an Oedipus situation (where trying to prevent the thing, causes the thing, and mothers are involved for extra fun). Eventually I decided the bullies should have their own motivations and not just be plot contrivances. Between the character cards and lorebooks the project has grown to nearly 20,000 tokens. JAI repeatedly rejected images for being too realistic. I had to literally redo half of them in ChatGPT to say "make them less detailed." This was originally supposed to be released during Mommy Week, and I took so long I missed the window, and right before I released it Harpy started Member's Only Week, so here we are.

I've also been having fun with Datacat, a site that uses AI to analyze and score chatbot complexity. Most of my bots land somewhere in the 80s, which I'm pretty happy with, while the incomparable HCLFrog is usually in the 90s. Hilariously to me, my highest rated one is the NTR bot that's not (in my mind) NTR, your loving and loyal girlfriend Dee. It's motivated me to revisit some of my older work, and after replaying Sybil I finally understand what everyone meant about the awful Grok artwork. I've replaced (but not uploaded) all of her images, and I plan to rewrite her text as well so it's less of an impenetrable wall of white.

Next up is Rose... probably. She still doesn't have a song because I still haven't figured out how to make her story work. I know who she is, but I don't know where she goes, and without that I haven't been able to write the song that ties everything together. Combined with everything else that was happening, I lost my ability to focus on creation.

I'm doing better now, though. Hopefully I can get back to making bots on something closer to a regular schedule.

Even More Yapping

Since it's been forever since I posted anything, I thought it'd be fun to explain some of the decisions that went into this bot. This section will absolutely spoil the central mystery (even though the song kind of blows it up immediately). Luckily, you guys rarely listen to the songs, so it's probably still safe.

First, the characters. I gave each of them a defining trait: a virtue for the mothers, and the corruption or insecurity of that virtue for the bullies.

Ashley and Laurie are both red, representing love and the fear of losing it. Ashley loves you completely and without reservation. Laurie, meanwhile, is terrified of losing the only stable love she's ever known. Her father chose to abandon her. Her biological mother was taken away by prison. If someone were to seduce Mary and break her heart, Laurie believes she'd lose her too. More than anything else, that's what she's trying to prevent.

Brianna and Danica share orange, representing honesty and suspicion. Brianna is relentlessly honest about who she is and refuses to judge other people for who they are. Danica, on the other hand, assumes you're lying about your intentions toward Avery. She believes nobody is ever honest about why they're interested in him, and that instinctive distrust is why she responds so aggressively.

Agatha and Connor share green, representing wisdom and its corruption, envy. Agatha has spent a lifetime gathering experience, and she freely shares that wisdom with anyone who needs it. Connor sees how generously she gives her time and affection to everyone around her and quietly resents it. At his core, Connor doesn't believe he's worthy of love unless it's given exclusively to him.

Tiffany and Leon share purple, representing pride and shame. Purple is traditionally associated with royalty, and I always imagined Tiffany as a sort of neighborhood celebrity or benevolent queen. She's completely comfortable with who she is, including her sexuality, and refuses to apologize for it. Leon, meanwhile, is mortified by the attention she naturally attracts. He likes being noticed himself, but hates that so much of that attention comes through his mother.

Christina, Mary, and Avery each have unique colors because their roles in the story don't really fit the other pairs. Christina's pink represents that she's the only character who is already romantically in love with you before the story begins. Everyone else's feelings would develop during the roleplay.

Mary's light blue represents kindness. She gave up her youth, her independence, and many of her own dreams to raise a little girl who wasn't legally even her responsibility, and she never once regretted that decision.

Finally, Avery's yellow represents joy. As the only man in the book club—and someone who's spent much of his life feeling different or out of place—I wanted him to embody optimism instead. Despite everything he's gone through, Avery chooses to meet the world with warmth, humor, and genuine happiness.

The ages and heights were chosen pretty deliberately too.

If you do the math, you'll notice Mary took responsibility for Laurie when she was only eighteen. That's why she's so much younger than the other mothers—Laurie was born when Mary was only fifteen or sixteen, and suddenly she found herself becoming a parent before she'd really had the chance to be an adult herself. I also made Mary the shortest character in the cast to subtly reinforce her gentle, meek personality.

Ashley, meanwhile, is noticeably younger than most of the other mothers. Since she married your father later in life, she's closer to you in age, which helps reinforce that your relationship has always felt like a partnership as much as a traditional parent-child relationship. She's unquestionably your mother, but the dynamic has always been a little different.

Tiffany is intentionally model-tall because... well, she's Tiffany. She naturally commands attention whenever she walks into a room. Brianna is even taller, making her the tallest character in the cast. I wanted her height to reinforce her presence: she's loud, confident, impossible to intimidate, and still one of the gentlest people in the room.

The bullies were easier. Since they're all childhood friends, they naturally ended up within a year or two of your own age.

I deliberately made Laurie taller than Mary to invert the power dynamic, at least in Laurie's own mind. She feels like she has to be the protective one because Mary is so trusting and innocent. Whether that's actually true is another question entirely, but that's how Laurie sees it.

Connor is one inch shorter than the average American man, and noticeably shorter than Leon. That wasn't an accident. His height isn't something anyone comments on, but it's another small way of reinforcing his constant feeling of inadequacy.

Finally, Danica is both the shortest bully and the most physically aggressive one.

I did that because I thought it was funny.

One thing I do fairly often is ask people in Bananacord if they have names they'd like me to use.

Daniel originally suggested the premise for this bot, but he disappeared when I asked him for more details. I ended up naming Avery's ex-wife Danielle as a little nod to them both fucking off.

Ashley is named after Beanie90, because if there's a mom in a chatbot, she's going to her.

Agatha was chosen simply because it sounded appropriately grandmotherly to me, while Connor has always struck me as kind of a douchebag name. My sincerest apologies to any Connors reading this, and to any douchebags.

Avery felt right because it's one of those names that's never sounded particularly masculine or feminine to me, which fit his character perfectly. My stroke-addled brain then somehow associated Avery with race car driving, which led to the name Danica for his daughter.

Tiffany was another suggested name, while Leon always sounded vaguely regal to me. Maybe it's because Leon comes from "lion," and lions are stereotypically king-y both on heraldry and in fiction.

Laurie was also a suggested name, as was Mary Cooper. Neither I nor the person who suggested it realized Mary Cooper is also a character from The Big Bang Theory. Luckily it doesn't matter much, because my brain immediately went somewhere else entirely: Mary as in the Virgin Mary (whose color is also blue). That association made me lean into her purity, kindness, and self-sacrificing nature.

Christina was another community suggestion. Brianna, on the other hand, I picked because it just sounded... tougher.

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