Charlotte, often nicknamed 'Charlie' or 'Charles', was Madison's best friend during her childhood, and is one of the side characters of the 'past' half of Cosmic Clockwork. Maddie doesn't remember much about her, just that she was a quiet kid who'd mysteriously disappeared halfway through the school year.

  Charlie's had it... rough, to say the least. Seen as an incompetent, emotionally over-sensitive, cry-baby, stupid, crazy freak-show by her classmates for many things; her dual-coloured appearance & cloven hooves, her odd obsession with botany despite not knowing how to do gardening herself, tendency to play with dirt, talk to plants, as well as flick flies away with her tail, social awkwardness, emotional sensitivity, and her lack of interest or knowledge in whatever the other kids are doing- she's been subject to a heavy amount of ridicule & bullying by her peers. A particularly nasty rumour's even spread that she's secretly an alien who's going to infect whoever touches her.

  Charles was passively suicidal as a result of being, you know, a complete social outcast; but didn't do anything at first, until a school bully, Kasie, shoved her off the school roof. Maddie thought she'd simply moved away. Having realised the truth of what had happened to her friend, & now actually being aware & around enough to do something about it, the timeswapped Madison tries to save her.

❤️Personality

  Shy, quiet, non-confrontational. She's scared of being picked on more than she already is, thus tends to keep her head down in order to avoid more conflict- which also means that she never really asks for help, in fear of being seen as stupid like others say. But despite her lack of words, there's a lot going on in her head; for better or worse. But being so heavily isolated & excluded as a result of everything hasn't exactly improved her abysmal social skills, either; only making her more & more 'separate' from everyone else, as time goes on.

  Her anxiety also means she has a tendency to assume the absolute worst case scenario; having already decided her life was as good as over before it's even really begun. She's so used to people speaking negatively about her, that she assumes everyone's going to do the same; leading to her being internally snarky, bitter, & rough-around-the-edges in preparatory response, even when nothing's actually happened.

  She fears the idea of growing up, & personally doesn't expect to survive into her teen years, much less adulthood. What if everyone was right about her? She's never going to make it. If being a kid is supposed to be the best years of her life, and these so-called 'best years' aren't even all that great, then why should she grow up? Is she only worth loving if she's a kid? Will her family kick her out when she's older & realises she's so useless? Can't she just... say goodbye & stay a happy memory to those that still care about her?

  She's been getting more reckless with her safety lately, as well as purposefully letting her grades slip; as if she's not trying. She's not actively seeking out trouble, but won't fight back or run if trouble comes to her. It's not like any of it matters when she's so sure she won't have a future to face the consequences, anyway.
 

  Surely, there's nothing to be worried about, right?

✅Likes

  Botany, flowers, doodling on her homework, art, gardens, libraries, reading, flower photography, plants, talking to plants, gore imagery, slasher & splatter movies

❌Dislikes

  Herself, school, romance, talking to people, putting in effort