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Adjusting Focus

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Post by Niemand 1st March 2018, 8:52 pm

The irritation that the young man had been trying to suppress all day almost exploded when yet another person collided with him. It didn't matter that he himself was partially to blame because he'd squared his shoulders and refused to dodge or lean aside. Lloyd was tired of giving way. He had the right to be on his own side of the damn sidewalk without people continuing thinking he should move so they can continue walking uninterrupted. As much as this annoyed him and got on his nerves, the teen was used to this type of behavior as well as the pressing crowd of bodies. Where he was and the day he was here explained it all; Pike Place Market and on a weekend.

The market place was always crowded but there was an influx of the masses when it was the weekend or whenever there was a holiday or event. Seattle was known for tourism, and that brought them generally to Pike Place Market sooner or later. Aside from the shops inside, there were booths and stalls along the street allocated just for them just before you hit the waterfront. The tourists usually went from the market and ambled along the stalls to the waterfront where more stores and shops were located as well as the aquarium. There was also the ferry rides, the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop along with much others. Even when it was raining it didn't dampen people's urge to tour. Today the sun was out and shining warming you in places where you didn't get hit by the wind which was a bit stronger the closer to the water you got.

Lloyd loved being by the water. There were so many people to watch as well as cheat. While he'd learn to pic pocket, he didn't try to do that too often. Crowds were great to get away in, but they weren't too fun to be caught in when they turned against you. There were too many eyes and the teen wasn't exactly confident in that skill quite yet. Much preferable was his other talent which he used to make a quick buck and far less risky with the added bonus of being hard to being blamed.

Grousing in his mind about jerks, Lloyd was glad to be free of the crush of people and get some breathing room when he hit the strip. Going towards the chipped white painted metal railing, he leaned against it with his back uncaring if the paint flaked off onto his dark windbreaker. Taking the cap off his camera, he stuffed it in his jeans pocket. Lifting the slightly heavy hobby, he started to play with the lens focus as he moved it from person to person. There were a few he snapped pictures of but then his finger paused as he zoomed in on a particular person.

It was a teenager or a very baby faced college student. There was something...off about him. Lloyd wasn't sure what it was but snapped the picture anyway for further reflection. Interest piqued, he moved a bit to get a different angle and studied him trying to put his finger on what had drawn his attention besides the manner he was holding himself.
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Post by Tyler 2nd March 2018, 12:40 pm

The sun was casting down onto his pale skin, warming the teen's bare arms as he meandered through the crowd. His deep blue eyes with specks of green searched around, wandering and studying. His walk was slightly pronounced among the sea of tourists, with his stiffened shoulders and straightened back from years in a school that taught etiquette back then. Rich brown hair ruffled with the wind as the teenager peered down to look at a knick-knack, eyes wide in wonder.

Kayden eventually stopped his gawking to stop beside a stand selling "old fashioned" portraits. They did look remarkably like the photos of when he grew up, but more dramatized he supposed. He smiled in amusement at the artist provoking a couple for laughs, wondering and amazing about this new world he now lived in. He'd only been apart of this new life for little over a week, having only been woken since then. Anais was working, leaving Kayden to find his way around the city much like his adventure his second day awake. He wondered if he should seek the duo out again, the ones who had told him about magic amongst society. But as quick as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it when his eyes trailed over to a male flashing a device similar to a photographing camera, pointed right at him?

"Am I in your way?" Kayden spoke up, looking at the male with a bemused frown. He looked behind him to see if there was anyone else he was blocking, but only found the photos being marketed for sale.
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Post by Niemand 4th March 2018, 7:02 pm

The teenager, not a babyfaced college student, had a southern accent that painted him as a tourist. Most people after settling into Seattle lost the edges of their original accent and a bit of Washintonian began to creep into their dailects. Not enough to where they were a complete yuppie but just adopted some of their syntax. The young man who just spoke had none of those qualities; yet. Again, with it being Seattle, the wannabe big city immitator of New York, people were pushy and rude. See a camera pointed at you and some days you got attitude and threats to take said camera. To have a polite response was different and refreshing if a bit confusing and caused the owner of the camera surprise.

"Nope," came the drawn out reply with a popped 'p'. It gave Lloyd a moment to think as he studied the other youth. "Why did you think that?"

Amusement danced in the teenager's eyes while his mouth which usually sported a sarcastic or teasing smile playing about the corners had settled on contemplative. He had almost replied in kind with a southern twang. It was an unconscious reaction when talking to others. Lloyd had a habit of imitating the accents he heard flawlessly when speaking to someone using one.
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Post by Tyler 4th March 2018, 7:26 pm

The boy before him had slightly curled brown hair and greenish hazel eyes that were similar to his own, except more clear-like. Kayden blinked at the drawn out, blunt response to his question. He wasn’t in the way?

“Then what, may I ask, were you pointing that… camera toward me for?” Kayden asked hesitantly, unsure if this was some custom here and if the item in the male’s hand actually was a camera. It certainly did not look anything like he’d seen before, at most it resembled a compact version of the photographing cameras from his time, but smaller and oddly shaped. He looked at it curiously, but dared not ask about it.

He wondered what he’d seemingly done to catch this other boy’s attention, though he couldn’t be sure if he was a boy or an adult by the fact he knew his perception was ruined by his time era. He frowned lightly in thought.

“I suppose I thought I was in your way because of the machine pointed at me. Unless I have done something to deserve being looked at?” he commented in response to the question asked of him.
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Post by Niemand 4th March 2018, 7:48 pm

"Because you're photogenic." It was a true statement albeit not the original one. The odd way the boy spoke coupled with his body language puzzled Lloyd who didn't like to have to guess at a person's possible response.

Falling back on his own personality and because the boy was just begging to be teased, Lloyd asked, "I take that as a 'no' to wanting to be on America's Next Top Model?"

If the strange boy had been a girl, Lloyd might have asked her the same question. As it was he just wanted to figure out what had made the other stand out. He looked ordinary enough. No physical deformities... As he focused less on the actual boy and more on his clothes, a light bulb went off. "You're not Amish are you?" It wasn't said with any judgment just curiosity.
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Post by Tyler 5th March 2018, 5:46 pm

The teenager blinked at that statement, one that he wouldn’t have expected. He wasn’t attractive by any means, in the boy’s opinion, so to hear another male say he was photogenic certainly threw him off. He wondered about this stranger and his blunt words, but then faltered when the male said something else.

“America’s Next Top Model…?” He questioned, wondering if there was some sort of ranking for those who posed for photographers? That certainly sounded like it could happen from what little he’d seen of this era already. He wondered what this male’s curiosity with attraction was, with his bold statements.

“Ah, no I’m not Amish,” corrected Kayden with another blink, head tilted to the left in conclusion. He glanced down at himself, seeing the trailing eyes looking downward. He’d worn the long-sleeved white button up and black slacks that he’d gotten from his sister, finding them more comfortable than the odd clothing she called jeans and a hoodie earlier that he’d worn his first day in this era. “Why do you ask?” He asked.
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Post by Niemand 6th March 2018, 10:45 pm

Even if the kid was a boy, not a teenage girl, the fact that he was confused and didn't know a thing about it cliched it for Lloyd. A lot of people didn't have a television or if they did, didn't have cable. Lloyd was one of the latter. At his studio that he called home, he had internet which was just as good as cable in the teen's mind. So while he didn't have television per se as he preferred to use the screen to watch movies, he still knew what America's Next Top Model was. If this boy who should know, from what his age suggested, meant that he had to be Amish. Or lived a very Amish lifestyle.

There had been a documentary done many times on the Amish people. While some had been girls that had left their way of life, the teen hated to call it a cult, others had been done by people that still lived such lives. Movies could be embellished and that was why Lloyd hadn't believed any of those, or at least hadn't taken any without a grain of salt. Even some of the stories he was sure was embellished.

"Huh," came the surprised reply when the other admitted that he wasn't Amish. There went that theory. It had been assumed he'd been the age that the Amish teens were let out of the community and into the world to experiment and to realize just how bad the rest of civilization was, return to their home and keep to their way.

"My mistake." It was getting harder to keep from unconsciously mimicking the boy's way of talking. After asking about being Amish, he was sure that if he had done so, it would be taken out of context. Surely the boy would think he was being mocked which would not be Lloyd's intention at all. Not this time. "I suppose, you seem..."

The teen's face took a thoughtful expression as he switched his gaze from the body in front of him to those around them. Giving a shrug, he stated a bit dubiously not really liking the word, but unable to come up with something better. "Awestruck. Not like the usual tourist, but something, more." He resolutely ignored the voice screaming that the boy was a very easy mark.
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Post by Tyler 9th March 2018, 7:01 pm

Kayden watched the other person before him, the male sounding surprised at his answer. Blue-green eyes studied him for a moment or two, curious about what he was thinking about as the male seemed to pause in his speaking before adding on.

The teenager blinked. Awestruck? He supposed he’d gotten a little too inclined to staring at everything around him in wonder, but he didn’t think he stood out amidst the crowd of people he was surrounded by. He’d done his best to dress from the selection of clothing his sister had picked out, had tried to mimic the paths of those before him, and had stayed as quiet as he could least his mannerisms and talk say anything different.

“Something… more?” repeated the 15-year-old. “I am merely enjoying… Seattle?” he questioned himself for a moment, trying to remember if that’s where Anais said they were. “I am not from around here. I just moved to this place recently. It is a pleasure to meet you?” he offered. “I’m Kayden DuPonte.”
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Post by Niemand 12th March 2018, 4:36 am

"Mmmm." Was the only response that came to mind in answer of the other's question. It had been hard for Lloyd to pinpoint what it was that had caught his attention in the first place. To try and explain it when he barely understood himself.

'Yup,' his inner voice was telling Lloyd. 'A real easy target.'

"I can tell," was the verbal answer about the boy being new to Seattle. "It shows. A lot."

Digging out the lens cap, he replaced it on the camera and let the camera fall to rest on his hip, dangling by its strap. Giving a small smile, he couldn't resist holding out his hand and stating in an equal southern tone, "Pleasure's mine, I'm sure."

Reverting back to his normal speech pattern, he threw in, "The name's Lloyd. And if you keep going 'round all starry eyed, you're going to get hustled."
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Post by Tyler 18th March 2018, 8:40 pm

“How can you tell?” asked Kayden in response. He looked back down at himself once more and around at the crowd with a frown. He turned back in time to see the other male replace a piece of his photography equipment. The teen watched him in surprise, before his eyebrows rose even more at the familiar southern tone.

“Are you from the south?” questioned the formerly frozen-child, leaning forward with wide blue-green eyes. His eyes immediately returned to normal when the male –Lloyd—warned him of his wide-eyed wonder. That gave him away? But he couldn’t really help that!

Kayden frowned lightly, not liking an indication that he could be hustled. He brought his arms up and crossed them the slightest bit in thought before inclining his head. “There is just so much to see around… Seattle. It’s not like I have any intention of purchasing anythin’.”
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Post by Niemand 18th September 2018, 4:52 pm

"Yeeeaaaah, no." Lloyd replied about being from the south. Frankly, he didn't think he'd ever really want to end up in the south. It just wasn't really his style. If he was to go 'south' anywhere, he was sure he'd want to go to Louisiana for the same purposes as others did. Even if the the French Quarter was supposed to be dangerous. If he wanted to have wide open spaces and no neighbors, he'd likely hike up a mountain and set up a cabin. Or if he wanted boring, he'd just hop over to Idaho.

Watching Kayden, he shook his head. The kid was obviously from out of town, by the looks of things he had money or was from money, 'Trust fund baby?' he wondered. Wasn't let out much if the way he was looking about was any indication. There were tourists then there tourists. And this kid was just...'innocent' his mind supplied. Then to admit that he wasn't going to buy anything? Yeah, that didn't scream at that he was odd.

"That's kinda the point about tourism. Draw in the crowds, you know?" Shaking his head a bit in exasperation , he wiped at his face. "That's part of what makes you stand out."

Maybe that had been the other thing that had caught Lloyd's attention. The kid had no bags at all or holding anything to indicate he'd purchased anything. Nor had he seen him collect the business cards as some people did in order to call at another time or at their more permanent locals.
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