To All of You [OPEN]

[timecapture]

WHO: Max Caulfield and you!
WHERE: Heropa, De Chima
WHEN: Forward-dated to December 5th.
WHAT: Max does some camera work and other stuff.
WARNINGS: Mention of nightmares, but nothing serious.


Portrait Studio: [And here it was, the Christmas rush she'd been warned about. Screaming babies, crying families - seriously, it was a nightmare. And she wasn't just saying that because she'd had actual nightmares, and was getting little sleep. She was seriously beginning to suspect something wrong.

But there was no time to ponder that now. Sighing to herself, Max stepped out of the break room, nervously smoothing out her clothing and giving a shy smile to her next client.]

De Chima: [Work was finally - finally! - over for now, and Max had a powerful need to just get the hell out and do some good, old-fashioned exploring. Not that she really wanted to explore, so much as clear her head and avoid going home. The last thing she needed was Cindy giving her worried looks or something. But this seemed a nice enough city, and considering the kind of transport she could get around here, it was good for her to get out.

Gripping her bag and shifting it over her shoulder, Max decided to take a picture - away from people, of course. Normally, she liked taking pictures of people, at least somewhat, but this job of hers had kinda taken it out of her, for now. Besides, her portfolio needed more work.]

Wild Card: [Catch-all!]

Comments

WILDCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD- can we set this on the 2-4th or 9-11?

[pushtheboundaries]

[having fun at Xavier's so far, Max? for Callaghan, it's just another day in the life...which is to say he may look slightly more stressed than usual on Tuesdays (people rarely see him on Mondays anymore), but by Thursday and Friday he seems as normal as he can be. he makes a habit of walking the grounds a few times a week, and today seems to be one of those days.

he'll offer smiles or waves to anyone he makes eye contact with, but he doesn't go out of his way to approach most. Max, though...when he spots her, he watches her for a few more seconds before offering a tilt of the head in greeting. ]

The 4th works!

[timecapture]

[Max still isn't entirely sure she can trust Callaghan. He may have told her the truth, but he still killed someone. That said, she had promised herself she would give him a chance - and besides, she was running on too little sleep to really think right now.

So she gives a little wave, looking just about dead on her feet.]

\o/

[pushtheboundaries]

[well, that's a little worrisome. if this was SFIT, he'd chalk it up to finals, but it's not. true, this place can be just as stressful, but...

he makes a minor change in route, looking her over with a faint air of concern]

Everything all right?

[timecapture]

I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well lately.

[Max manages a little smile, but can't quite meet her headmaster's eyes.]

[pushtheboundaries]

My sympathies. [he knows how THAT feels. and from what she's told him, there's plenty of reason to keep her up at night.] Waking up, or not being able to fall asleep?...

[timecapture]

The latter.

[She closes up a little at that, not sure she wants to talk about it.]

de chima.

[blahnik]

— Excuse me. Yes, hi.

[ a short distance away, claire smiles. as soon as she has max's attention, she comes a little closer, stopping at a polite distance. she tips her head in curiosity. ]

I'm sorry for the interruption. You wouldn't happen to be a professional photographer, would you?

[timecapture]

Uh, hello.

[Max hunches up slightly, a little intimidated by the woman's brisk manner. Still, she seems nice enough...]

Why, yes, I am.

[Even if all she (mostly) does is take pictures of families and stuff for her job, it feels pretty good to say that.]

[blahnik]

My name is Claire Dearing. [ the briskness of manner does not dissipate, but claire remains cordial. ] I'm the curator of the paleontology department at the local museum, and I'm actually looking for a photographer for an event. Do you work freelance or…?

[timecapture]

Actually, yeah, I do.

[Not that she's entirely used to that, yet...]

What sort of event were you looking into having photographed?

[blahnik]

Unveilings at the museum. Special activities. We have a gala coming up the last week of December. That's going to be the biggest event of our calendar year.

If you're interested, I can give you my business card, and you can schedule a meeting. Do you have a portfolio?

[timecapture]

That sounds great! I do have a portfolio, in fact. I don't have it with me right now, but I can bring it with me to the meeting.

My name is Max. Max Caulfield.

portrait studio

[dicktate]

[ The Christmas rush is something foreign and new for Jinseok, but not something entirely unwanted. After all, what could be better than a ton of people all crammed into a small area when you happen to be very shameless and very charming?

Really though, for someone who wants to avoid a person like Jinseok, working in a portrait studio is not the place you want to be. Not just around Christmas, but at all times of the year--what feels better than getting beautiful professional photos of yourself taken? Not a whole lot.

He reaches the front of the line looking smug, with his hands in his pockets, and definitely like someone who knew Max would be here. ]

What a surprise to see your pretty face here.

[timecapture]

[Just when she thought the day couldn't get any worse, here he was. He'd had a reservation, so at least Max had known she was coming, but she'd kept hoping he'd flake or get into some freakish accident that, while leaving him unhurt, rendered him unable to be photographed.

Kind of like an old-school vampire. But nope, here he was.]

Well, I did have an ad out for this place.

[And boy, does she regret it now.]

de chima!

[caerulea]

[ Max isn't the only one getting off work. Blue's been at work all day. It's a Saturday, and she really tries not to volunteer for extra shifts at the Aquarium every weekend. It happens, though. When she works with the animals she works with, she can't help but want to be there as often as she can.

Yet her shifts always have to end eventually. She slips out of the aquarium dressed in normal clothes. She could just wear her uniform out and home, but a) it wasn't her style and b) changing always reduced the fish smell.

Some.

Instead she's in a skirt and torn up leggings. It's just warm enough she wears a tanktop with a large sweater over it that hangs off her shoulder. The top of the sweater was clearly not professionally cut.

As she starts to head home she notices another girl and it takes her a second to place the memory. ]

Max. Right? [ Blue says, stopping mid-step to try to catch the girl's attention. ]

From the network?

[timecapture]

[Max looks up at the oddly familiar girl. It takes her a few moments to place the face and the voice, but it's there, and a shy smile spreads over Max's face.]

Yeah, that's me. And you're... Blue, right?

[Oh, dear, lord, please don't let her have gotten the name wrong.]

[caerulea]

[ Blue gives a nod, even smiling that Ma remembered. They'd spoken once. Briefly. And over the network. She wouldn't have blamed Max if she'd forgotten. ]

Like the color. [ Deep sigh. ] I'm not sure what actually inspired my name. I've been too afraid to ask.

[ She tilted her head, diverting her attention off the awkward naming and to Max's camera. ]

Did you find something good to take a picture of? [ Her conversation with Max were coming back to her. ]

[timecapture]

I like the color blue! [For a reason - not that it isn't a pretty color, of course.] But why would you be afraid to ask...? Oh, sorry. I'm being nosy again.

[At least she's aware of it.]

And yeah! I've been getting lots of good pictures here.

[caerulea]

I was nosy first. Couldn't help myself. [ She offers a grin. She doesn't mind Max's openness. In fact, she welcomes it. It's what she's used to among her own friends. It strangely feels natural. ] I'm afraid to ask, though, because I'm afraid it'll be something lame. Like my mom just liked the color, or she saw my aura was blue and named me that. Like you'd name a dog fluffy. [ She's thought about this a lot...

But to further her nosiness. ] Anything you wouldn't mind sharing? I'm not an art critic, but I'm pretty sure I could appreciate it still.

[timecapture]

If it helps, I would never name a dog Fluffy.

Oh, sure! Here you go. [With that, Max carefully takes out the new photo to show Blue.]

De Chima

[mathemagier]

[There's a nice park just outside of downtown where the dead grass is still combed over with fallen leaves and the air is chilly and quiet. Peaceful and deserted except for a lump of green perched on a bench.

Closer inspection reveals the green lump to be an oversized coat, wherein Hermann's nursing a steaming thermos and looking deeply contemplative of the scenery in front of him. It's several moments before he notices Max, and then it's only as a girl with a camera that's possibly some sort of civilian stalker.

Fortunately, Hermann manages to look so thoroughly unlike an imPort that it's generally not a problem. Still, it's possible. More likely it was a school project though, given the girl's age]

Ah, hello..

[timecapture]

[Max turned to look at the man, vaguely recognizing him. He looked familiar, but Max couldn't quite place it. Carefully putting her camera away after shaking out her picture, Max drew closer, looking at him curiously.]

Hello.

[mathemagier]

[It's a curious thing, her camera- either very ancient, or one of this world's strange mash-ups of technology. Other than that, there wasn't much to tell him whether or not the girl was an imPort. Considering he usually hoped most of the people he ran into weren't imPorts, Hermann was experiencing a strange hope for the opposite this time.

But he had the coordinates to his apartment in his head, and could teleport home at any time, so there was that at least.

He managed a brittle smile over the rim of his thermos]

Not as colorful as they could be, but I suppose much more north and they're rotting beneath a layer of snow.

[He was usually terrible with small talk.]

[timecapture]

I miss the trees up north. They're so beautiful this time of year. Most of the leaves down here are just... yellow.

[Max looks at the stranger again, still finding him familiar, but thoroughly unable to place it - they had only spoken once before, after all.]

Have we met?

[mathemagier]

[Hermann nods, not personally familiar with north american winters except where Alaska is concerned. Not many leaves to see there. But Newton's memories have given him a glimpse of those colors. They remind him of England.

But that has to be the second time he's been asked that question in little more than a week. And once again, he does not recognize the face asking him]

I do not believe so. [But there's a simple way to solve this. He sets down his thermos and levers himself up with his cane, then steps forward with an outstretched hand]

Doctor Hermann Gottlieb.