All In The Game of Love

[topmeup]

WHO: Max Carson and YOU
WHERE: De Chima and Heropa
WHEN: Throughout February (with a 3-day stop in Heropa)
WHAT: Max is checking out his new homebase city, De Chima, and also taking a trip to Heropa for a date visiting friends an ad campaign for his Energy drink sponsor! Very busy first month.
WARNINGS: Puns and terrible flirting. Really he should be ashamed. Other CW will be added if needed.


De Chima : Various Public Locations (Throughout Month)
[He was touring the city. He'd had an offer from his boss to show him around so he could get used to the major spots they used for marketing and "face-time" with the public, but Max likes experiencing things like this for himself. He wanted a more organic view of the city that wouldn't come with a guided tour.

So he does his own thing. He buys groceries, hits up the mall, especially the clothing and electronic stores. Purchases a high end portable charger which will work great for him being so on the move considering he doesn't even have a generator set up in his room in Double-Oh Five yet. Then he hits the movies, because how could he miss the big poster advertising the Rom-Com-Palooza in honor of Valentine's Day coming up?

It's like it was made for him! And if he happens to see anyone else possibly eyeing that poster or loitering nearby, he may just go up to them and try to coax them to join him. Movies are always better when you have company after all.

And he doesn't miss the chances to pass out ad postcards, either. Don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself having a shiny postcard held up in your line of vision with a lightning bolt striking the top of a mountain on it.

Take it to the Max All Day Long with our new and improved energy formula! Receive one free 20 oz can from any participating retailer by presenting this ad coupon.

Gotta make sure he's making himself useful since he did talk his boss, Mr. Andre Nalyn, to do a photoshoot and ad campaign out of Heropa so he could visit some friends down there.]


Heropa : Outdoor shopping center and other public locations (02/08-02/11)
[FLORIDA. He may live in areas often pelted by snow in the winter but that did not mean he couldn't embrace the absence of it. Especially if they were going to get this photoshoot done early so he could have the free time for a date doing fun things until their return flight. They wanted pictures of him doing physically active things while holding and/or drinking different MAX drinks. Which was cool with him, although he swapped the energy drink out of the can and replaced it with water part of the way through. No need to cause him to have a major crash on the first day.

Part of the marketing is him going up to different people around the outdoor shopping center and asking them if they would be willing to do a dare in return for a gift card. Not even a MAX coupon, but an actual $100 gift card. His boss knew how to go all out.

What is the dare? Well he's not going to tell you before you agree to it. What kind of fun would it be if he gave you the chance to say no first? But he promises it won't be anything dangerous. Probably.]

Comments

[breaks_pots]

Link pulled his hand back and studied the video being shown him very intently. There seemed to be a lot of complicated tricks to this juggle thing. And he wasn't allowed to try the bouncing, either. He agreed that breaking would be bad.

About half way through the video, his eyes very much locked to the screen focused on studying it, he started tossing one of the eggs up from his left hand and catching it with the same hand. Getting the feel of doing one at a time, but catching it with a second egg in his hand, too, since this juggle thing seemed to require he move the eggs between his hands.

After a few catches, he started adding the second egg into the mix, tossing and catching the two with one hand. Not looking, of course, because the video was still playing and he wanted to get this right.

At the three minute mark, he tosses the first one up from his right hand and catches it in the same hand as the first to stay in his left. Again, getting the feel of it. It takes a bit longer on that side to add in the second egg in his right hand, because he's left handed. But by the time the video ends, he's got all four going up and down. They're still in the same hands they started in, but it's just for practice. Getting the timing down.

After another minute of that, he begins passing the eggs between his hands. Not a single one drops. He seems to have caught on to the concept really fast. He's not doing any tricks, just yet, cause the eggs are fragile, but he's got superb eye-hand coordination.

Link stays focused on making sure the eggs don't drop for a good minute, going into two, before looking up at Max, head tilting in question once more. Was this good or did he need to do more?

[topmeup]

Max lets the video go to help the guy learn the moves, even though he figures he's probably giving him way more assistance than he is probably supposed to, letting him watch the video as long as he is. But the producer isn't telling him to stop, so he leaves it alone and figures they'll edit it as they want to keep it short.

"And I'd say we have a winner!" Max cheers, reaching into his pocket to pull out the gift card from the other envelope he's holding. He holds it up in the air, as if he's ready to hand it over but stops before extending it fully.

"But...you could win five times this much if you did our ultra challenge! Interested?"

[breaks_pots]

Link continued to juggle the eggs while Max went to get his prize. When asked if he'd like a bigger challenge, though, his face lit up. Not just because it was a bigger prize, but because it would be a bigger challenge. So far, the juggle thing wasn't all that hard.

Only, he'd learned enough from watching to keep them going, but not really enough to stop properly.

He bit at his lip. Took a deep breath. Tossed all the eggs up at once...

And pulled his arms back.

All four of the eggs went splat on the ground and Link winced with every hit, cringing and looking between everyone in the hopes he wasn't in too much trouble for breaking the eggs. They had said not to drop them. But he wasn't really sure how to stop without dropping them.

After a long second of silence, he scooted around the mess and gave Max a hopeful, but worried thumbs up. He'd love to take the ultra challenge. Just... don't be too mad about the eggs?

[topmeup]

Max watches the expressions pass over his face. He almost asks him what's wrong but them the eggs are falling and going splat all over the ground and Max is so surprised he bursts with a gasp of laughter almost as if it was punched out of him. He laughs even as the cameraman is zooming in to get a good shot of the broken eggs. He turns the lens back on Link and Max and he decides he should probably say something.

"That--was great. Definitely worthy of moving up to the next round," he tells him. He holds out a second deck of cards, similar to the ones he had before, only they are green instead of blue. He spreads the deck out so most of the cards are accessible. "Pick a card."

[breaks_pots]

He wasn't in trouble?

It took a moment for Link to process that before his face lit up, all bright smiles again. And he rushes over to stand next to Max and watch him shuffle the strange pieces of paper that were all the same size and color for some reason. Maybe they were magic?

And he got to pick one?

Link bounced on his toes excitedly for a second and then reached forward with his left hand and pulled one out. It was a 'card'. It would tell him something to do. Only... it wasn't talking. He turned it around in his hand and shook it, then held it up to his ear. Still not talking.

Though there was some of that strange writing on one side. That might tell him how to make it talk. Maybe the guy holding the other cards could read it for him?

Link held the card up to Max, hoping he could.

[topmeup]

Does he...Does he think the cards are speakers? What is he doing? Max is more and more confused by this kid as the time goes on. But at least this could be good footage to use. Quirky people who stand out make better television right?

He reads the card and pauses. Sing the alphabet backwards while doing cartwheels. How uncool is that? The kid hasn't said a word, so he assumes he doesn't talk and this kind of challenge is pretty shitty. But the camera can't see what the card says, so who says they have to know what it actually said?

"Okay, so to win the $500 gift card you have to...ah man, this one is for real. The cinnamon challenge." And before anyone can second guess he plucks back up and slides it back into the deck in his hand.

[breaks_pots]

The cinnamon challenge? That was the activa- wait! No! The card hadn't spoken to him yet! Link reaches out just as it disappears into the others and looks very disappointed. He'd wanted to know what the card had to say.

Ah well. Maybe once the challenge was over.

After a moment he let out an exasperated sigh and straightened up, left hand going to his hip. His expression cleared to an expectant one. He didn't know what the cinnamon challenge entailed but he was up for it. Whatever it was.

[topmeup]

Suddenly there is a container of cinnamon and a spoon held out for him. Max takes it with a smile and holds them out to Link. The kid still looks confused, so he figures he has to explain this one too. "If you can swallow a spoonful of cinnamon, you win the big Five-Double-O gift card. An actual spoonful though, not just a little bit on the spoon."

And the spoon wasn't the smallest of spoons around either, but it wasn't so big it couldn't fit into the container to scoop the cinnamon out.

[breaks_pots]

Link had no idea what cinnamon was, but whatever. It was just eating some of it, right? Right! He took the container and the spoon and poured some out onto it. He wasn't sure what a spoonful meant to them, though. This place was weird like that so far. So he continued pouring until the strangely fine powder spilled off the sides of the spoon while it poured and decided that was probably good enough.

He closed the small box and held it back out for Max to take. Waiting politely until he did so before shoving the spoon into his mouth. His lips sealed around it and there was an instant reaction in the widening of his eyes followed by heavy blinking and his lips pulling inward. He was clearly not expecting the intensely bitter flavor, but he was a champ and did not remove the spoon despite the slight cough that tried to escape.

His eyes shut and he took a deep breath in through his nose. He held up one finger to indicate he was not defeated.

Then he swallowed and the spoon came out. Empty. A cough finally came, soft and small. Nothing too bad. It was almost like eating certain kinds of tree bark. Only intensified by how finely powered it was. He could totally understand why that would be considered a tough challenge. He was still coughing just a bit.

Apologies for falling of the face of the earth, hope this is still okay to tag. Life happened so much the last couple weeks. Will understand if you'd prefer to move on.