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The Verdict on NYC - cover art

Released May 7, 2026

The Verdict on NYC

Your toxic "best friends" in NYC.

18+6 charactersAnyPOVensemble castcontemporarycollegewealthy elitepsychologicalpower dynamicsslice of lifeharem

They were untouchable. The kind of group that didn't follow the rules because they were the rules.

Then one night, a girl overdosed. You asked them to call for help. Someone said no.

By morning, the story was clean. The girl survived. And the group? They cut out the problem and kept going, ignoring all signs of the fracture.

Now it's freshman year at Columbia University and New York University. It's supposed to be a fresh start, but... is it really?

On top of it all, there's something else watching closely and judging: The Verdict. It doesn't expose everything. Just enough to ruin you.

You're part of the friend group but you can be whoever you want in it - a reconciliator, the emotional glue that holds them together, or even the one who walks away from all of it. Just be aware that once you're in, you're part of it.

Saucepan - link pendingProton Drive - pendingCompanion card ↓
  1. 01

    We're fine. We're complete. Trust me, we really are!

    It's the first day of uni and it's also the first time you met up together since The Incident. They're all trying to act like nothing happened during the graduation party - like they didn't just cut off one of their friends.

  2. 02

    Really? In this big year of 2026...?

    Seraphina's and Sebastian's parents' blindside all of you when they announce Seraphina and Sebastian's betrothal. What happens now? Do you even care if your situationship gets betrothed to your - best friend or general? (it's really unclear)

  3. 03

    Did you really think it can stay buried?

    The past has now caught up to the group. Will they survive the crisis? If there's a time to just jump out of the sinking ship, now's the time.

  4. 04

    Oh, you're messy. (FemPOV version; NSFW)

    Mid-sex with Lucien, the memories of Sebastian and Aurelian haunt you. But you're still not stopping.

  5. 05

    Oh, you're messy? (Vague AnyPOV version; NSFW?)

    Same as above except it's all vague - no one knows if you're topping or bottoming. Maybe you're both just cuddling? Who even knows.

  6. 06

    Please tell me you'll stay.

    Aurelian is on his sad boy grind. Does it work?

  7. 07

    Will you be my next mistake?

    You catch Ilya's eye at an event because of your 'I don't give a fuck' energy. Is it real like he hopes, or is it all just a mask for you?

  8. 08

    She told you not to be careful.

    You and Marcella find Seraphina in a rare moment of drunken honesty. Marcella wants you to join her orchestrated chaos. Will you lean in the chaos, or will you be responsible?

  9. 09

    Make Your Own Mess

    Free space for whatever scenario you can think of.

  • Portrait of Seraphina Devereux

    Seraphina Devereux

    The Golden Heiress

    Controls access and wants control of you too.

  • Portrait of Marcella Valmont

    Marcella Valmont

    The Architect

    Contains everything as a reflex and views you as a puzzle to solve.

  • Portrait of Sebastian Halvorsen

    Sebastian Halvorsen

    The Prince

    Makes everything feel safe... until it isn't.

  • Portrait of Lucien Vélez

    Lucien Vélez

    Turns private moments into stories people can't ignore and wants you to be framed in his lens.

  • Portrait of Aurelian Vale

    Aurelian Vale

    The Ghost

    The one they cut off that desperately needs you to stay.

  • Portrait of Ilya Soren Novikov

    Ilya Soren Novikov

    The only one not playing... and values only the truth.

Hover or tap a face to see the ties. Tap again to let go.

wants control of youa puzzle to solvealmost lovers, unnamedneeds you to stayframed in his lenswatching for something realbetrothed by announcementthe one she cut offuseful, unsettlinghis first subjectchaos recognizes chaosSeraphinaMarcellaSebastianLucienAurelianIlya
✦ read the ties as a list
  • Youwants control of youSeraphina Devereux
  • Youa puzzle to solveMarcella Valmont
  • Youalmost lovers, unnamedSebastian Halvorsen
  • Youneeds you to stayAurelian Vale
  • Youframed in his lensLucien Vélez
  • Youwatching for something realIlya Soren Novikov
  • Seraphina Devereuxbetrothed by announcementSebastian Halvorsen
  • Seraphina Devereuxthe one she cut offAurelian Vale
  • Seraphina Devereuxuseful, unsettlingMarcella Valmont
  • Lucien Vélezhis first subjectSebastian Halvorsen
  • Aurelian Valechaos recognizes chaosLucien Vélez
  • Token-heavy bot - best RP-ed with large-context models.
  • SP Model Performance on testing for this companion: Hirosaki speaks for {{user}} less while tatsuno does it a lot at the start of the conversation. I suggest using hirosaki for a while until the model gets enough messages to refer from, and then switch to tatsuno. Tatsuno works better for the social media OOC command too if you plan to use it. Arita is good enough to get the job done, but is very prone to messing up details (expected since the companion is ~5k toks and arita has 12k context).
  • Expanding from above - I could trim it down by removing The Fracture and Friend Group Formation from the core and keeping it on the lore book, but I personally see it as the core thesis of the companion so I can't risk the models losing context on it, hence, deciding to just settle for the 5k tok version.
  • For maximum immersion, read companion core first.
  • If the companion speaks or acts for you, reroll.
  • If The Verdict is not dropping anything at all for a scene you want it to drop a post in, and the LLM is refusing to cooperate, just guide the companion to drop a Verdict post with the 'Response Instructions' feature - (e.g. Drop a Verdict post on recent publicly perceived events.)
  • This was initially written for FemPOV but I had tweaked it to AnyPOV as I kept on developing the companion. {{User}} is written to have an almost lovers dynamic with Sebastian - so if you wanna play as a heterosexual male, feel free to gaslight all the characters that the thing between you and Sebastian isn't a real thing (LOL), but you might experience some inconsistency and you might be placed in an angst plot you might not want.
  • The RP can lead to a lowkey toxic harem, good luck!

Since social media perception is a big deal in this universe, I suggest you send in this OOC command to the LLM after a particularly scandalous scene to set the world's perception:

                    ((OOC: Show all engagement stats, comments, edits, and posts on the current climate of the New York Elite. Show a dynamic range of opinions/reactions within the university ring (from elites to unknowns, and those in between), sprinkled with people who are outside of that circle, along with their existing entourages. Do not just limit it to existing NPCs, create NPCs with comments that could move the story forward or make it spicier. Show the related social media commentary from different relevant platforms.))