𝒂𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒅

“I don’t know –I’d say I definitely got lucky.” A smirk appeared on Ophelia’s face and her hand gingerly went to rest on her still very flat stomach whilst her joke hung in the air. “–I’m sorry. I’m a lot funnier with alcohol… Which I can’t have.” The brunette swirled the ginger ale in her champagne flute around before taking a sip. “Kind of a lost opportunity, right? There’s an open bar and all I can have is soda. Or water. Or apple juice. –Anyways, you have a good time?”

“Mm, I know how that goes,” Amy sympathized, though the drink in her hand was real champagne (or at least actually alcoholic sparkling wine, she didn’t know what region it came from) and it had been six years since the last time she had to worry about that. “How far along are you? I did a lot of cranberry and 7-Up when I was pregnant; bars always have ‘em. I’m doing champagne tonight, but my tolerance is a lot lower than before I had kids. I don’t have a reason or the time to dress up like this very often, but it’s been fun!”

     after a couple drinks, freya felt a little more inclined to play some games and have a little more fun. she always felt anxious at parties and big events because she felt as though her english was not the best. the norwegian girl walked around, looking for an empty table. she saw one and went up to it and smiled at her opponents, “i’m going to warn you guys, i’m not great at this game..” she said, norwegian accent poking through, “but it doesn’t hurt to try.” she smiled softly.

    the atmosphere at casino night was jovial and exuberant, padded by the drinks in their hands that had the majority of the attendees as bubbly as the champagne they were drinking. amy was unabashedly one of them, tipsy on sparkling wine and doing terrible at the card game they were playing. when she saw freya, she nearly dropped her glass, motioning for her friend to take a seat next to her. “the trying is what’s fun, anyway,” she said. “winning is okay, but i prefer making a fool of myself.”

Even though it wasn’t the kind of event Nathan frequented much these days, it was nice to be out and away from any kind of responsibility. It meant he could have a couple of hours to himself, enjoying a drink or two and being around actual grown-ups that were absolutely nothing to do with his job. That didn’t happen anywhere near enough for him these days. He’d spent a little time hovering near the bar before eventually heading out into the main event. Knowing where to start was tricky, but eventually he made his way towards the roulette table, just watching to begin with.

When he heard the familiar voice, however, he glanced up to see Amy approaching and offered her a gentle smile. “Why? Do I not look like I fit in?” he questioned with a laugh. “But no, not yet, I’m still debating how much I’m willing to lose.” He laughed. “I know that feeling.”

If Amy was being honest, she didn’t think either of them looked like themselves. The only thing they really looked right in were the old t-shirts they’d worn everyday while they were together. Plus, Nathan without his camera? There were several things out of place tonight, but maybe that was a good thing. “Nah, you look like you fit right in in your monkey suit, lookin’ all handsome,” she teased, patting his lapel a couple of times. “I do kinda feel a little bit like a ten year old in a pageant, though," she added, holding out the skirt of her dress as if to prove her point.

There was an eruption of cheering at the Roulette table as someone won big and other lost, the winner drowning out any disappointment. Amy joined in automatically, holding her hands high as she clapped and ‘woo’ed for the winners, even if she wasn’t one of them. “I think I need one more drink before I’m ready to humiliate myself. Wanna join me?”

“Surprised to see you here,” she mused as she sauntered up to the Roulette table where she’d spotted Nathan, a familiar smile lighting up her features. “Any luck so far? The only thing I’ve had luck with was the bar, but I’ll take it. I have to say, my tolerance is so low now. I was less of a lightweight when I was twenty,” she added with a good-natured laugh.

“No but it sounded like it was kind of implied but either way I’m totally done for makeup.” Adelaide grinned. She sat in the chair, looking at herself in the mirror. She was really excited for a experience like this. “Yeah I thought that was a really brilliant approach so I think this will be amazing.” the blonde grinned. “I haven’t no but I’m excited too.” Adelaide kept a smile on her face. “Umm well the whole approach I thought was cool. But I also signed up on a potential selfish reason I guess. I wanted to try and make a name for myself on my own terms and not because of my last name.” she shrugged.

Amy grinned back at the woman, tickled that she was brought to the project for basically the same reason Amy herself had agreed to sign up: the unique experience. “Oh? I can definitely respect that. Do you mind if I ask what the name is that you’re trying to distant yourself from?” she asked, too talkative and curious for her own good, before priming the woman’s eyelids and eyebrows for what she’d be doing for the shoot. They’d agreed that a simple look that brought out the individual’s natural features would be all that was necessary today, but bringing out those features was why she found this job in particular so fulfilling.

“Nope, didn’t mention much at all, actually.” Mac smirked, squinting slightly as the lights surrounding the mirror blared in his vision. He’d never thought of himself as particularly photogenic, so hopefully a little makeup would help. “Yeah, uh, I’m actually good friends with the artist. They just asked me to help out with the shoot — I didn’t realize they meant they wanted me to be in it.” He smirked, shaking his head. “The free pizza was definitely a good part of the pitch, though. What about you? Do you work for the studio?”

“Something like that,” Amy mused as she opened up one of the jars she’d set aside, swiping a brush through the concealer. With her left hand, she cradled his head and smiled her baseline smile as she blended a bit of the makeup under his eyes and onto his cheeks.“I work with them a lot, yeah. Technically, I’m still freelance, but that really just means that I work for ten different companies a month, sometimes, instead of one steady place. It can get tiring, but I like working with real people. That’s why I volunteered for this. So, what do you do when you’re not posing for your artist friends? Let me guess, let me guess. You’re a... journalist?”

→ general information

full name: Amy Lorraine McLeod

nickname(s): Ames, Mimi

age: 34

date of birth: February 3rd, 1985

nationality: Korean-American

occupation: Makeup Artist

religion: Agnostic

sexuality: Bisexual

hometown: Los Angeles, CA

current residence: Mid-City

financial status: Middle Class

educational level: College graduate (UCLA)

→ relationships

father: Dr. Henry McLeod, PhD, theology professor

mother: Dr. Lianne McLeod, PHD, theology professor

siblings: One older sister, Anabeth, and one younger sister, Arielle

relationship status: Divorced

when/who was your first kiss: Anthony Cortes, eighth grade, under the bleachers

are you a virgin: No, I’ve had two kids...

have you ever had a same sex experience: I’ve had lots of same sex experiences

do you ever want to get married/have children: I love my kids, I could see maybe getting remarried someday, but not any time soon

what do you look for in a potential significant other: Someone who can make me laugh, respects me, and makes me feel special

→ personality

positive traits: Companionable, compassionate, adventurous

negative traits: Impulsive, naive, uncompromising

biggest fear: Losing her daughters, sharks

what’s more important- sex or intimacy: Intimacy

do you believe in true love: Unsure

have you ever been in love: Yes

are you a leader or follower: Leader

do you care what others think of you: Only my loved ones

how do you deal with stress: Bubble baths, rearranging/moving furniture, punk rock over headphones, weed when the kids are with their dad or grandparents

are you spontaneous or do you always need a plan: Spontaneous. Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans

→ miscellaneous

If your character could change one physical detail about herself, what would it be? Darker freckles to make her favorite feature more prominent

What is your character’s favorite physical activity? Yoga

What is your character’s least favorite physical activity? StairMaster™

Your character comes face-to-face with her worst enemy. What is her first reaction? Angry tears, a few poignant words, classic storm off

What is your character’s favorite weather? Thunderstorms

What is your character’s favorite season? Fall

What is your character’s least favorite season? Spring (allergies)

Your character keeps a photo album of memories from her lifetime. If she could only keep one photo, what would it depict? The first day of her daughter Jessica’s life, Amy in her hospital bed with Jessica in her arms, and her husband and Lyndsey at her bedside

Does your character keep any pets? Three incredible Pomeranians

What is your character’s fondest childhood memory? Her grandmother giving her her first guitar when she was 13 years old

Someone asks your character to describe her family. How do they answer? Two squares adopted three babies, hoping they’d be squares too. They were wrong, but after a long time, they realized it didn’t matter as much as they thought

Is your character a morning person, a night owl, or something else entirely? A natural night owl and learned early bird, she gets six hours of sleep a night, even now

What is your character’s least favorite color? Orange

A stranger makes a crude comment to your character. How do they react? Yelling “I’m telling your mother about this at church on Sunday!” has become an effective favorite

“Can you tell me what this message means?” he asked the other person after minutes of debating whether or not he should say anything and how. Eventually, the cryptic text bothered him enough to ask for some assistance, turning his phone around so he could show them what was on the screen.

Unbothered by the interruption, Amy leaned over and studied the screen for a long moment. “Oh wow, that’s a lot of dot-dot-dots. ‘Take a hint’ doesn’t sound good, either. Who sent this to you?” she asked, a dubious grin on her lips. “Did you smoosh booties and then not call ‘em? Are you trying to get out of the friendzone?”

“Yes I’m looking up some ideas right now.” she nodded while multitasking between talking to her boss on the phone and surfing the internet on her laptop. “I will also get started on the list as well, no problem.” When she finally finished up her phone call, she sighed and took a sip of her drink. The brunette noticed someone sit near here but she didn’t pay no mind to them in the moment. “Can’t believe I’m already looking up Halloween related stuff this early into August.” she sighed. 

The word ‘Halloween’ naturally made Amy zero in on the conversation, even if she wasn’t accustomed to people watching like she had been in New York City, with it’s limitless weirdos and creatives. Santa Monica was a lot more chill, which Amy found herself enjoying more and more as she matured. She was 34, for Pete’s sake. Still, no number could stop her from perking up at the voice mentioning costumes. “Hey, that just means you’ll be looking fierce as fuck when the time comes. I can’t believe I haven’t already looked up Halloween stuff yet,” she mused with a laugh, turning toward the girl. “I haven’t been a sexy cat in a long time, and that’s a classic. Hm.”

          “Hey you! Not to be that person badgering unsuspecting people with flyers – but you should really take this one.” A bright smile lit up her features as she held out one of the pamphlets she was holding, attempting not to let the awkwardness of the moment get to her. Admittedly, she was someone who herself was guilty of dodging anyone looking like they might be trying to flag her down for a signature or a coupon. But in this case, Gemma had decided that the cause was more important than her pride. Even though she felt like she was making a fool of herself by trying to convince strangers to come to one of the aquarium’s monthly events, if she could convince a few extra people to attend – it would be worth it. “There’s a beach cleanup happening, and I have it on good authority that it’s the hottest place to be on a Saturday morning. If you’re interested, I can tell you all about it, we host one every month at a different beach and it’s a really fun way to meet new people and help the environment in the process!” Her words came out slightly too fast, cramming them into the short window of time she knew she might have before the person decided to leave her in the dust.

After twelve years in New York City, there were certain people who just became invisible when Amy was walking down the street; weirdos dressed as knock-off Elmo, street performers, and people handing out flyers would be the first to come to mind. Santa Monica wasn’t nearly as chaotic, something that Amy wasn’t taking for granted now that she was back on the West Coast, but some old habits died hard. Amy almost walked away until she heard the words ‘beach cleanup’, which reminded her that life was different here. “Yeah, actually, that sounds really fun! I don’t think I’ve had time to volunteer since college,” she admitted as she took the flyer, reading over the words on the page. “Oh, hey, Heal the Bay? I took my kids there the last time we visited my parents, that’s awesome! Can kids come to the cleanup?”