Meet the Characters: Denny and Peri

With A Third Kind of Madness due to be released on May 1st 2024, I thought it was high time to bring back the Meet The Characters series and introduce you to some of the new folk you’ll be getting to know in this story!

Denny is our main character and narrator: shy, unsure, talented but with self-esteem so low that they allow themselves to be bullied and used by the leader of their art collective in ways that keeps their personality and photography career in check. Denny describes themself as awkward and uncomfortable with who they are, and at the beginning of the story this is quite evident. With sandy, tousled hair, freckles, and a boyish, rumpled appearance, Denny tends to fade to the back and hide behind their ever-present camera.

Denny is a wistful character when we meet them. They are non-binary and desire to be seen as androgynous, but tend to wear clothes that allow them to blend into the background, something they are very good at. They hate where their life is going but seem unable to take steps to make changes or break away from the art collective they belong to and is holding them back. The only things they feel really strongly about are their photography, and going regularly to the local coffee shop, where their secret crush is a regular.

That crush is Peri, who is beautiful and bubbly in a way that fascinates Denny to the point that they’re almost obsessed with seeing her daily. Denny observes that Peri is thoughtful and coquettish in turn, but never expects to catch her attention.

Which is why they are shocked when Peri introduces herself one day, compliments Denny’s work, then asks them out on a date.

Peri establishes quickly that she moves in the art world and knows many artists, attending their shows and even owning some of their art. She’s pretty in a feminine and flirty way, often wearing dresses or blouses that show off a little of her skin. One of Peri’s biggest complaints is that she’s often forced to fill a manic pixie dream girl role in her relationships – people want her for what she can do for them, rather than what they can bring to each other.

This becomes a real issue later in the story…

That warmth takes over my entire body as I hurriedly flip to the next shot. I must have clicked too many times because I find myself staring at the moment that Peri and I kissed, captured forever in an awkward angle that only seems to add to the charm of the photo. It’s obvious that it was taken like a selfie, but somehow, that doesn’t make the shot look amateurish. I guess that owes a lot to—once again—the crispness of focus in the photo. Printed out at the right size, it would look like you could reach into it and pull us out fully formed.
“This is exactly as I see you,” Peri murmurs.
I realize that we’re holding hands, and I have no idea when that happened. She’s leaning against me, and I suddenly feel lightheaded.
She’s right, though. I look in the image just like how I see myself in my head, how I want others to see me: a pretty femme boy, a handsome boyish girl, an androgyne so comfortable in their skin that they don’t care about what anyone else thinks. I just am, in that moment. And that comfort, which is something quite new to me—that was Peri’s doing. From the second Peri first spoke to me, she made it quite clear that she not only accepted who I am but also liked it. She liked me.

In the photo, all her attention is focused on me, not just her lips pressed to mine, but her hand on my face, her body turned in that cramped space to face me fully. Yet again, the sparkling energy is visible, but this time it seems to surround both of us and if I look at the image in the right way, I’d swear it was originating from the point where we were touching. I look at Peri, and I know my eyes must be filled with questions because she nods solemnly.