Out of the Loop

Synopsis:
For Chris, Perry was the only one who they considered a friend. That was something that didn't bother them and Chris was content to only have that one person for the rest of their life. That wasn't a problem, until even Perry being a friend became under question. It wasn't an immediate thing, but once high school started, Chris could sense the distance growing between. Although reaching out was logically the next step, Chris couldn't get the words out with an unsurmountable feeling of dread taking over. It wasn't like they could afford to dwell on it either, not if they wanted to keep up with school and go on as usual, but it nagged in the back of the mind.
While being in this state of unease, Chris meets a girl named Sasha who seems to offer a helping hand in a time of crisis. With her help Chris attempts to muster up the courage to rebuild the lost friendship and developing their own identity along the way.

About:
Out of the Loop   follows the trope of many stories with high school settings where the main character changes themselves to become popular, however instead of the focusing on the person chasing that popularity, I wanted to focus on the people that are left behind in such stories. Growing up with these stories gave me an impression on what high school would be like, however, for much of my own high school experience I did not personally witness all the drama that went on as well as any obvious cliques. I later learned that things that I saw in movies and tv shows did in fact happen from others who went to the same school, however I was too isolated or "out of the loop" so to speak. This gave me inspiration for my main character, Chrissy, who is oblivious to the drama and doesn't relate to her friend, Perry, who seeks popularity and has to face all the obstacles that come from it.
Another thing I wanted to put emphasis on was the desire to be closer to others. Even before high school and still to this day, making new friends and becoming closer to existing ones was something that I wanted. That is something I want to be reflected in the motivations in my characters as well as a central theme to this story. With Chrissy, she originally only wishes to be closer to Perry. With Perry, it is one of the main motivations of his actions.
With this story, I also hope to study different identities and cultural backgrounds through these characters. It is important to challenge myself by creating characters who are different from me in beliefs and personalities, even if I am drawing from my own experiences.

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Synopsis:
Growing up Charity was always told to keep her head down lest she ends up burnt at stake. "By laying low, we live to see another day." Despite these words from those she considers family, it didn't deter her from keeping her head up high and speaking out.
It is due to this nature that Charity, against the warnings of her elders, sneaks off to the woods on the outskirts of town to practice her spells along with her friends.
Unbeknownst to her there was someone watching from afar every time they snuck off.
It all came to a head when a spell strays off the intended path and lands in the direction of a certain person. Turning to the commotion revealed Mason, a notorious Witch Hunter known for his cruelty. A chase ensues ending in escape with them all being unscathed no one being persecuted afterwards. Her friends believed that it was too dark to be recognized, however Charity couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Not one to back down, she make it get mission to7 uncover the mysteries behind the Hunter.

About:
Trial & Erre is set in a magical world with witches being persecuted due to stigma and the greed of those who wish to obtain that power for themselves. The name comes from the phrase "Trial and Error" possible solutions are evaluated till the answer is found. In addition the "Trial" part eludes to the Salem Witch Trials which happened in history where innocent people were executed, accused of practicing witchcraft. "Erre", an old alternate spelling of "Err" could be defined as a moral failing.
One of the influences of this story is "The Crucible" which I read the script of in high school. It is a play also based on the Salem Witch trials, and eluded to the people being antagonized for sympathizing with Communism or being communists by the American Government at the time of the play. I think this metaphor could still be used today with many different groups of people being faced with accusations and hatred for simply existing.

↓ Click for Character Bio ↓

Chris or "Chrissy" is the main character of this story. She is a trans girl with Chinese descent.
At the beginning of the story, she is still viewed as a guy and is unaware herself on what everything means and discovers her identity as the story goes on. Although she will later adopt the nickname "Chrissy", she would still be okay with being referred to as Chris.
Chrissy is apathetic to many people with only a handful of them she cares about. This is because she believes that caring about too many people is a hassle and possibly draining. She also may be afraid of rejection. Although she still tries to be polite and friendly to others, she can't bring herself to care about them on a deeper level. She is more focused on her academic success, but learns the value of other things as time goes on.
She develops an interest in fashion and sewing.

Sasha is of Hispanic descent. She is also a lesbian.
She has a more outgoing personality with a positive outlook on life. Although she may have doubts on people's attitude towards her, she chooses to believe that people do like her as a person unless stated otherwise. Because of her enthusiasm, she may come across as off putting towards other and she does know that people view her as an annoyance, however if she enjoys the company of someone, she'll stick around unless they tell her to leave. She is a foil to Chrissy in her extroverted nature as well as being overly interested in other people business. Her main interests are in K-POP and dancing.

Perry is somewhat of a people pleaser. I imagine his upbringing would put a lot of value in being presentable and caring about reputation even if they do not have a lot of money. Even with people he dislikes, he is uncomfortable if they think negatively about him. At the same time he is very judgmental and critical to every little thing that others do, though he tries to keep it to himself and feels guilty about it. He always wants more from others, but doesn't voice it out loud to avoid the confrontations that may arise.
I imagined him trying to appear what he believes to be cool with his prescription glasses mimicking sunglasses, a leather jacket, and skinny jeans that he cut panels out of to distress them. Because of his financial background, he wouldn't be able to afford expensive clothing.
I thought of Perry as Aromantic-Asexual (lack or romantic and sexual attraction) because I thought it would be interesting with the affection he desires from others to be more platonic in nature aside from being able to explore and represent those identities.
Perry is an aspiring actor with interest in theatre and I imagine him audition for roles during his free time. Perhaps one of the roles he lands gives him a little recognition with the "popular" crowd and gives him that opportunity.

Barney is another friend of Perry before high school. I imagine that he and Chrissy didn't interact as much before since Chrissy was more apathetic. They will grow closer with the mutual experience of getting ditched by Perry.
Barney is a fan of dark humor and takes the joke too far sometimes being a little mean spirited. It may seem as if he takes things too lightly at times. He is someone who doesn't see a future for himself and just lives day by day with a cynical outlook on life. He sees no point in being seen a certain way, however he does enjoy the company of others and having people understand him. He enjoys pushing others buttons, especially if he dislikes them or they insult him.
He has an interest in tech and coding. He works part time jobs, which he saves to spend on expensive technology.
The name "Barney" came from people using it to make fun of him wearing purple a lot, which he leaned into as a means of defiance to show he was unaffected by the name calling.

Charity is a headstrong girl who can't stand to backdown in the face of what she deems unfair. She doesn't understand how people could endure and let things pass when they are being insulted and threatened. Although she is aware of the circumstances of her people and the fear of standing out theoretically, she is still naive to the true bloodshed at the beginning.
She believes that with their power, if they would just fight back, they'd no longer have to hide anymore.
Although she will have a more nuanced view of things, I think that she'd still keep to her beliefs even as she witnesses more and more of the world.
Although she is very cherished by her coven, she is often scolded for being mischievous and overbearing.

Mason has a notorious reputation for being brutal with executing people thought to be witches. There is always a crazed look in the hunter's eyes when interacting with the village people. The is also the fear of being mistakenly punished since there is a huge track record of wrongful persecution, or so the rumors state. Originally I thought of Mason as the main character, however, I thought it would be more interesting plot wise if the reader would be unaware of the secrets and would uncover them as time went on.
In actuality Mason is a crossdressing witch who is under the guise of a Witch Hunter as a means of protection (staying hidden) and as a means of taking revenge. She has grudges on both the coven, as well as the people oppressing witches. For the most part there is simply mistrust to those belonging to the coven believing them to be narrow minded, and more of the hatred is to the oppressors. She intimidates witches in order to keep them cautious, so they won't slip up, whilst also finding some satisfaction in being feared. For those she deems morally reprehensible, whether it be witch or not, she has the power to kill them with little consequence. She can disrupt the system of witch hunting, feigning incompetence and madness, whilst also having a direct means of punishing those she deems as doing wrong. Her mother was executed by burning while she was a child, while her adoptive father was killed (with arrows?) due to suspicions of sympathizing with witches. Her resentment of the coven came from them not stepping in to help (which could've prevented his death) even though her father aided them.