"Inhuman"

I was introduced to JUICE through Jon Bois’ 17776. It not only directly inspired Zero’s refined origin, but the entire setup of the site. 17776 was my introduction to hypertext fiction and inspired me to do something like it with my story.

Zero’s first incarnation was a side character. She was still the same personality-wise and in her role, but she wasn’t really a person. While rereading over my original draft, I found myself looking at her more often than before. She’s been a fascinating character to write.

JUICE's obession with doing its job despite the fact that it no longer has any useful purpose is drawn from my own experiences. I need to be useful to people, always. JUICE (and by proxy, zero) is much the same.

Originally, Zero was going to represent the stars. I much prefer her as JUICE. The original incarnation of Zero was also a much more human looking robot in a french maid dress and with long braided hair. It was a happy coincidence that JUICE happened to be of french origin… Even though her design is wildly different, her french roots still shine.