By the time Mei got to the large park it was just a bit after 1PM with a few clouds in the sky. There were quite a few people out and about this afternoon. There were parents chasing kids who were trying to run into the wooded areas, she also noticed a few people jogging and a few people on bikes. ’With all the tree shade this place would be a great to come jogging or running sometime’ she thought with a smile on her face. The trees in this park were amazing, it almost seemed like you were running through a small forest. By the looks of it, the only times not to go running would be noon when the sun is directly above you, and as she found out the night before, night time.
With her camera hung around her neck, bag draped over her shoulder, and tripod in hand, Mei set off into the woods away from the busy concrete/ gravel walk way. She pushed aside some of the branches and weaved her way through the labyrinth of trees, roots, bushes and other miscellaneous plants. As much as Mei strived for that WOW picture she knew better than to expect anything close to that out here today maybe an Awww that’s cute or an that’s cool at best. Regardless she wanted to break out her equipment and take some pictures of places she thought were cool.
She was wondering around, sharp eyes looking for something interesting to take a picture of; a birds nest a squirrel eating on a tree branch, or play with some shadows. That is until something rather unique caught her eye… a heart. No not a physical heart that had been ripped out of someone’s chest that would be disgusting not interesting. Rather it was a heart that probably at one point had been carved into the tree and been scared over. But what was more unique was between the broken off branch, the scarred over heart and the shadow of the branch next to it, it said ‘I heart u’
Mei set her tripod down, lifted her camera, took the lens cap off and shoved it in her pocket. She rotated the lens in order to adjust the aperture settings and began snapping photos
Normally, when Cait went out in cosplay, she went out in full cosplay - but recently she'd found probably the most adorable casual cosplay piece she'd ever seen, and so today she was casual fem!Link in a cute green dress, knee-high sandals (which rather reminded her of her powered form, and thinking about being Persephone always put a spring in her step), and appropriate accessories - including a backpack in which she carried her film camera.
She no longer wandered the established paths. Instead, she pushed deeper into the woods, to little clearings she'd found on her walks when she needed to get away from one older, one twin, and two younger siblings. When her house was too in chaos for her to even breathe, much less think (or when she was about to have a social anxiety panic attack.)
She went to one of her favorite places, a small tree with an old "I heart u" carving. She was a little surprised to see that someone was already there, so she hung on the edge, not wanting o invade the girl's shot (and being a bit camouflaged, unintentionally.)
Mei took one last photo before taking a step away from the tree. Positioning herself so the sun was to her back so it didn't bounce off her digital screen, she hit the menu button on her camera then the left and right arrow button to shuffle through the photos. Unfortunately she had to delete the first two right off the bat because her shadow blocked the 'U' in the first one and the second one was blurry, the other three however were fine.
Digging around her back pocket, Mei pulled out her lens cap and put it back on her camera before leaning over and picking up her tripod. She couldn't help but smile at the unique and unexpected find, there is something endearing about messages like that. 'I wonder if whoever carved that heart is still together' she played the scene in her head where two lovers met here some beautiful spring day and carved their love for each other in this young tree.
Shifting her bag so it hung on her other shoulder for a while Mei looked around in order to discern which direction to go when something shiny sparkled in her peripheral. Wait a second she thought to herself with a curious expression. Looking back over to her right Mei's eyes stopped on a girl. To be honest she wasn't entirely surprised that she missed the girl standing there, with her dark green hair and a medium green dress, Mei realized then that it was the sun bouncing off the girls necklace that had grabbed her attention. "Oh, hi there" Mei said with a bit of surprised etched in her voice "I didn't realize you were there."
Songstress Kitsune
Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:29 pm
Caitlyn flashed the girl a smile when she finally seemed to notice her, stepping into the clearing. "I didn't want to disturb you," she said, "not when you were obviously lining up a shot. I'm Caitlyn." It was strange how easy it was to just introduce herself. Normally she would've tried to melt into the trees - but filmograpy and photograpy weren't so different, were they?
"I like coming out here. It's really quiet, and that tree is just a story waiting to be written." She confessed. It was hard to explain beyond that.
Awkwardly, she reached down to brush off her dress a little, even if there was nothing to brush. Ah, there it was, the expected bubble of anxiety upon meeting someone new.
"Don't worry about it, I get pretty zoned out when I'm taking pictures." She shifted her tripod to her left hand as she approached Caitlyn, reaching her right hand out she introduced herself "My name is Mei, it's nice to meet you." her outfit looks familiar she thought. Something about the green outfit and that pendant stood out to her but she couldn't quite place why. "your outfit kind of made you blend in with the trees for a bit there, if it wasn't for your necklace I don't think I would have noticed you."
Mei turned around glancing back at the tree with an endearing look on her face, "I was actually just thinking about that honestly. Is there any stories that have been circling around? Or has it been left to peoples imagination?" Though she's not one to admit it, she actually has a little bit of a soft spot for romantic mushy love stories.
Songstress Kitsune
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 3:45 pm
Cait took Mei's hand, shaking it. "Yeah, I know that feeling. It's easy to get absorbed in something you really care about! It's great to meet you, Mei," she said. She glanced down. "Oh, yeah, shiny triforce and all," she said, without really thinking. There was, of course, the possibility that she was talking to someone who wasn't a gamer - which was a decent probability, at least.
"I haven't heard them," she said, "though that's not a bad idea for a short film." Nothing was a bad idea for a short film except for shooting a book adaptation, really, and even then... Or at least that was how Cait felt. "I'd love to have someone who I would want to do that with."
"I'm actually surprised to run into someone out here, I would have assumed not many people venture too far away from the path." Mei withdrew her hand slightly out of nervousness especially after the encounter with Aventine just a few days prior. Birds chirped away at each other, flying from branch to branch, seemingly unaware or rather uncaring of their presence.
At the mention of 'triforce' Mei couldn't help but smile a bit in remembrance of the numerous times her brother went on a video game tirade. "Zelda right?" She paused briefly for confirmation on her assumption. "My brothers' always been big into video games. He would go into hiding for hours playing one game or another only emerging to either get food or tell me how cool the game is. The closest I've ever come to playing Zelda though is by playing Super Smash Brothers." She shrugged her shoulders not really worried about admitting her lack of gamer knowledge. At least she is familiar with most game titles and well known characters enough to get by in a brief conversation.
Turning her attention back to the tree Mei carefully traced her finger around the rough bark outlining the heart. "That makes me kind of sad, you'd think that something as unique as this would have some history to it." She paused briefly, nostalgia rolling over her like a gentle breeze. In a happier tone she continued "It would be an interesting idea at least. So many different possibilities out there. Some that could have already happened and some that have yet to happen." 'Maybe someday ...' Mei began to entertain the thought of falling in love near this tree and getting old but was cut off abruptly with a 'Yeah no, I'm not exactly lucky in that department.'
Songstress Kitsune
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 6:06 pm
"I like to go off the beaten path. It's nice to get some solitude. I uh, have an older sister, a twin, and two younger sisters. My house is crazy." Caitlyn explained. Solitude was a rare commodity in such a full house.
"Yeah, I'm uh, Link," she adjusted her skirt awkwardly. "Casual cosplay, you know," she looked a little embarrassed. At least it wasn't as obvious as walking around in a poofy pink princess dress. She'd done that a few times, of course, but it was easier to go casual in the warmer summer months.
"I'm sure it does...but whomever's story it is chose to keep it a secret. Which is a tragedy, because a good story should always be shared." Cait sighed. "That would be amazing, wouldn't it? To have something like that." Not that she ever had, or ever would it looked like - leading a double life would, she predicted, make dating awkward.
"Sounds a bit chaotic" One of the good things about the relationship between her and her brother Shen was that they got along 98% of the time. "I can kind of relate to needing a bit of solitude, normally I just go out to my green house. But..." She stopped her train of thought to listen to the world around her. "There is a different kind of peacefulness this place offers, an absolute sense of calmness." She looked over at Caitlyn hoping that she didn't sound too far out there.
Mei looked Caitlyn over once again "I can see it. For a casual cosplay I think you did a really good job." She nodded her head to emphasize her approval. "To be honest I use to be convinced that Link was Zelda. My argument to my brother was 'They didn't name the game Peach they named it Mario why would they name this one Zelda and not Link you're not playing as Zelda'. It took quite a bit of convincing and actually watching him play to figure out what was going on. Silly I know." She let out a nervous laugh.
Curiosity piqued her interest when Caitlyn mentioned how she'd love to have someone who she would want to do that with in regards to a short film. "Not meaning to switch gears, but do you go to a lot of short films or do you shoot your own like videography?"
Songstress Kitsune
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:59 pm
"A bit, sure," Cait laughed. "At least everyone's over 14." She had to nod at the idea of a sense of peace. "There's something about a nice park and a small forest, I think, with the sunlight filtering through the leaves..." She smiled faintly, closing her eyes.
She opened her eyes again and laughed. "I can see where it would be confusing!" She acknowledged. "Especially if you're just watching, not playing."
However, she was thrilled to change the topic as much as she was to talk about gaming. "I shoot my own, actually." She replied. "It's fun, and I actually want to go on to do it as a career - not just shorts, feature-lengths. It's hard to get into directing, though."
"At least they're old enough to understand right from wrong. It could be worse, one of them could be a two year old" Mei tried not to laugh at the thought. Though she has never had to live with a two year old she has had to baby sit her aunt's daughter a few times. Thankfully her cousin grew out of that phase, she shuddered at the thought of having to deal with her mini tantrums on more than one occasion.
Mei shrugged her shoulders, "Not saying I don't play games, I do, just not many. I honestly prefer being outside outside either running, gardening, or taking nature photos." The reason she was out here today, well one of them at least.
The fact that Caitlyn shot her own films shocked Mei a bit, "Really?" she responded with surprise "That is actually really cool. Is this something you've been doing for a while or something you picked up recently?" Photography and Film making weren't entirely different, it's just a matter of perspective. Each tell a story in their own unique way. "I would imagine it would be hard to get into, but if it's a passion and you have drive I have no doubt you would make it."
Songstress Kitsune
Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 12:05 am
Caitlyn reached up to nervously muss her hair again, tilting her head to the side. "I've been doing it for a few years," she said. "I started with music video editing - put some show together with a song - and moved to making my own things slowly." She elaborated. "It's really fun, though I think I drive my friends nuts getting them to help me."
In her opinion, it was an excellent way to bond with people. Plus, she got to be assertive when she was directing - about the only time she was assertive, everything said and done. "The filming itself isn't even most of the time, though. It's editing shots together to make things perfect." Editing was the best part though, really.
"Eh, I doubt they mind. I'm willing to bet they enjoy helping out. Unfortunately I know next to nothing about film making but I do know my way around a camera, so if you ever find yourself in need of extra hands, I might be able to help." Photography for her was one of those things she did in her spare time though about 97% of her photos were all of nature the other 3% were either her brother being a pain and jumping in the way or intentional family portraits.
"Editing to me is one of the funnest part honestly, though I'd imagine the process is quite different." The one thing she found fascinating with photo editing was the ability to change the mood or intent of a photo by adjusting color, hue, saturation, brightness and contrast. Sometimes she would add an effect here or there but most of the time it was unnecessary.
Songstress Kitsune
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:26 pm
Cait nodded. "Smoothing shots together, getting the cuts just right, checking for continuity...it's awesome." She was smiloing enthusiastically, and then she actually bounced a little. "Oh! Actually, I have what's probably going to sound like a weird request." She said. "You know how I said I cosplay? I've been looking for someone to do photoshoots with. A good photographer," she explained. "I don't have a lot of friends that do that."
Mei looked down at her camera then back up at Caitlyn with sheepish expression "I could take some photos of you if you'd like, or I can try at least. Just be warned I don't have much experience with photo-shoots, I normally take photos of nature... plants, animals, weather." The best thing about taking photos of mother nature is that she doesn't get made at you if you catch her on her bad side. But hey this could be fun right? Especially if they did the shoot outside instead of in a studio.
