Carry On is my story about dumb teens trying to win a battle of the bands. The plot also follows my character, Theo, while they try to make it through life following the loss of their parents. They see the tournament as a solution to the issues that arose from their parent’s deaths, as the cash prize offered could cover their troubles with money, and the exposure could help them get some real work. However, losing the contest means that they’ve wasted vital time and money, seeing as they quit their job to help make time for the performances. They’re putting it all on the line for such a risk, and the story watches as the results of taking said risk develop.The most significant bands involved with this story are Smile for the Camera (which consists of Theo, Reese, Rian and Casey) and Blood in the Ballroom (which consists of Paige and Remi).
Theo Foster- they/them- 19Theo is the protagonist of Carry On. They’re the bassist in Smile for the Camera, a project that they started alongside their friends, Reese, Rian and Casey. After the untimely death of their parents, they were met with an intense debt that they have no way of relieving by themself, which is what led them to join the tournament- A handsome sum of cash being rewarded to its victor(s) was rather enticing. It’s all or nothing for them, and their story follows them as they deal with the results of putting it all on the line for this risk. They’re anxious by nature, and though they’re working on it, the trait still remains a far too significant feature of their personality. Other than that, they’re known for being fairly reserved and quiet at times. They have two siblings, Cass and Alice Foster, and they are close friends with Reese Vargas.
Reese Vargas- she/her- 19Reese is also in Smile for the Camera, where she serves as a guitarist and a vocalist. She first met Theo when the two of them were children, and they’ve been friends ever since. She’s often the one to get the ball rolling when her peers shy away from risky situations, though this has a tendency to place her in undesirable situations. While she’s much more open about herself than Theo is, she still skirts around subjects that she sees as “too heavy.” That being said, she’s still a very confident person, and she does her best to help her friends out. Reese has a girlfriend, a librarian named Mara Davis. She has a history that she refuses to talk about, though Theo and Mara are privy to this information.
Rian Morris- she/her- 19Rian is the singer in Carry On, and she’s the newest addition to Smile for the Camera. Other than playing with her band, she enjoys experimenting with fashion and writing. She grew up rich, though the circumstances that she was raised under led to her being renounced from her family. She didn’t let this event get to her, however, and she took the opportunity to start living honestly to herself. She ended up meeting Reese in college, who convinced her to join their band since they were in need of a lead vocalist. She’s not the biggest fan of competition or any of the other flashy things associated with band tournaments, though she does her best to tough it out for her peers. Rian is a very self-driven person, and she’s willing to do essentially anything for her own success as long as it doesn’t involve harming other people.
Casey Locklear- she/her- 20Casey is Smile for the Camera’s drummer, and she’s been in the band since high school. She joined without knowing anything about Theo or Reese, but she quickly came to befriend both of them after a while of playing together. She and Lucas have been dating since before Casey even joined the band. Casey is often the one to bring her friends out of their shells, though she’s quick to get embarrassed about herself. While she loves working with Smile for the Camera, she struggles to find a balance between spending time with the band and taking time for herself or Lucas. She loves music, and she refuses to go anywhere without headphones.
Paige Harper- any pronouns- 22Paige Harper is the epitome of flashy. She started a band in her teens, calling it Blood in the Ballroom and asking her friend, Remi, to play in it. They often change their appearance as a result of becoming bored of monotony. This dislike of boredom translates over to people other than themself, as they refuse to associate themself with anyone that they see as “plain.” As for personality, they’re a very loud person, which is either perceived as annoying or charming on their behalf. She joined the same battle of the bands that Smile for the Camera finds itself in, motivated by the promise of publicity and cash. She’s very close with Remi, and the two of them live together while they make it through the tournament.
Remi Patterson- she/her- 21Remi is the other member of Blood in the Ballroom, and she’s significantly less extra than her bandmate, Paige. She joined the band as soon as Paige asked her to, though she wasn’t planning on it blowing up like it did. The success caught her off guard, but she continues to help Paige in her rise to fame because she genuinely wants to ensure Paige’s happiness. She’s a very generous person, despite how often she says she isn’t. All in all, she doesn’t emote much, but she’s easily overwhelmed- Flustering Remi takes almost no effort.
Mara Davis- she/her- 19Mara works as a librarian to help pay for her tuition, but she plans on cooking professionally the minute she leaves school. She’s dating Reese, and she’s known her and Theo since childhood. She’s fairly quiet, though she’s a very honest and generous person. She’s just less upfront about it than Reese is.
Lucas Hawthorne- he/him- 20Lucas is unemployed, though he’s rather fond of skating. He’s Casey’s boyfriend, and the two of them have been going out since the start of college. While he comes off as rather timid, he isn’t the kind of person that ignores things that bother them. He’s very supportive of Casey and her band, and he attends all of her concerts.
Micah Redmond- he/him- 41Micah is an English professor at Theo’s school. He was friends with Theo’s father in their youth, and Theo grew up with Micah’s presence. The two of them hardly talk anymore, but Micah is ready to offer help to Theo should they ever ask for it. He has a daughter and a boyfriend- Leah Redmond and Eric Vance, respectively.
Eric Vance- he/him- 37Eric is a bartender and is Carry On’s resident responsible person. He was a musician in his youth, but he stopped playing once he fell short on money, opting to get a better-paying job instead. He’s got a personality that can be defined as anything but impulsive, which is quite helpful when it comes to keeping Micah and his daughter out of trouble. Eric’s in a relationship with Micah, and he’s helped him raise Leah since she was a toddler.
Leah Redmond- she/her- 8Leah is Micah’s daughter, and Alice’s friend. She’s in elementary school, and she enjoys drawing in and out of school. As a very energetic person, Leah tends to get excited for things fairly quickly. Whether this leads to her being disappointed in the things she’s invested herself in or if it ends in her taking opportunities that lead to her happiness is seemingly up to chance.
Cass Foster- he/him- 9Cass is Theo and Alice’s brother, and he attends the same school as his sister and her friend. He’s always been a fan of anything athletic, though the development of a chronic illness in his early youth has impeded his ability to play sports. He spent a significant portion of his childhood in hospitals, but his health has started to improve with age and with treatment.
Alice Foster- she/her- 11Alice is Theo and Cass’ sister. She’s an avid reader, though this hobby takes up most of the time that most children her age spend making friends. She has Leah, however, and the two of them were inseparable from the minute that Leah could talk. She prides herself as being Smile for the Camera’s first fan.
Terms specific to this story-
Dead- Someone who died under unfair circumstances, basically a ghost. They die permanently on their 18th birthday, since the second chance at life only lasts for their childhood.
Necromancer- Someone who can resurrect deads (an inherited trait)
Seer- Someone who can see deads but cannot resurrect them (a trait gained at birth that isn’t genetic)Nearly Departed is the story I’m working on that’s about dead kids trying to get revived by necromancers. Its protagonist is Milo, a 17 year-old boy who dies after a failed robbery at his workplace leads to his murder. He somehow awakens after his death, realizing that he’s being dragged by his feet by two people his age- Cam Hughs and August Summers. Cam explains that anyone under 18 who died under supposed “unfair circumstances” seems to be given a second chance at life, becoming a dead that can be brought back to life with the assistance of a necromancer. Milo manages to convince Cam and August to take him with them on their search for a necromancer, and the three of them set off.While this is going on, the necromancers’ society is falling apart at the seams. A cult has risen to power that’s bent on killing deads and necromancers to “restore the natural order,” and the organization meant to help necromancers with their business has formed a nasty habit of stopping them from working in the first place.
Milo Davenport- he/him- 17Milo is the protagonist of Nearly Departed, and he’s a newly turned dead struggling to wrap his mind around his own death. After being seemingly woken up following his murder by two people his own age who claim to have died like him, Milo decided to stick with them since he figured that they know more about his situation than he does. He was a very egotistical person in his life, and though it definitely translates over to his afterlife, he’s more focused on trying to navigate through purgatory than he is with his ego. However, he still has a tendency to put himself first, no matter the conditions. He was far too popular for his own good when he was still living, and he doesn’t fully know what he should do with himself now that he’s dead.
Cameron (Cam) Hughes- she/her- 17Cam is among one of the two kids who found Milo after his death. She’s someone who's been dead for most of her life, and that fact reflects a lot on her personality. She tends to be blunt with her words, and she’s a very apathetic person (upon first glance). Communication isn’t her strong suit, as she was hardly ever given the chance to socialize among people her own age. Cam first met August at the shelter that she was raised at, a place designated to protect and comfort the dead. Though she spent most of her youth at said shelter, she decided to set out and look for a necromancer on her own accord in her teens. August came with her.
August Summers- they/them- 17August is the other dead kid who found Milo, and they’re the one who convinced Cam to let Milo come with them on their search to find a necromancer. They also died young, though they don’t actually recall anything about their death or the life that came before it as a response to trauma. They met Cam soon after their death, and the two of them became close with each other rather quickly. When Cam announced that she was leaving the shelter they stayed at to search for a necromancer, August insisted on going with her. They don’t speak much and they’re often perceived as cold as the result of this, but they’re a very playful person despite the impression that they give off. They enjoy telling jokes, though their sense of humor seems to put people off.
Killian Peek- he/him- 19Killian is a necromancer, and he runs a less-than-legal shop to profit off of his ability (with the help of his girlfriend, Alana). He was educated on how to perfect his craft from the minute his parents learned of his gift, and he decided that he wanted to use his ability to help others as soon as he realized that he could. Despite his self-assured nature, he still finds himself to be rather timid at times. He values honesty more than everything, especially in himself. Killian is dating Alana, and the two of them have been dating since he started college.
Alana Faye- she/her- 19Alana is a seer, though she’s very nonchalant about it. She helps Killian with running his shop, mostly by dealing with customers and keeping everything tidy, since his organization is lacking (to say the least). Since seeing is not a hereditary trait, Alana was born to parents that ended up abandoning her out of fear, since they couldn’t begin to understand what she meant when she said that she could see ghosts. However, she found a family that accepted her soon after this event. She decided to keep quiet about her ability to see the dead- That is, until she met Killian and she realized that she could use her gift to her advantage.
Dante Majano- he/him- 18Dante is a necromancer, though he wasn’t given the same opportunity to learn how to perfect his gift under his parents’ guidance since they passed away soon after his birth. He was raised by his grandmother, and he ended up learning that he was a necromancer when he accidentally brought a bird back to life after being devastated by its death. After this, he continued to practice his ability on small animals that he found, though these experiments had a tendency to go awry. He has yet to revive a human, though he constantly brags about his ability to do so at his school, which happens to be the same school that Milo attends. Some would describe him as intimidating, but he’s simply just incredibly flashy.
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Samantha (Sam) Tori- she/her- 18Sam is Milo’s friend from before his death, and she’s a seer. Like Alana, she kept quiet about her ability to see deads, though this was more out of a fear of rejection rather than a fear of abandonment. She’s a very generous person, being one of Milo’s only friends who stuck around him out of genuine love rather than attention. Sam was distraught after Milo’s death, becoming an absolute mess before she made the decision to try to find Milo in the afterlife. Deciding to get Eli’s help with her search, she set off.
