Post by Shelby on Mar 9, 2013 21:53:55 GMT -5
BASICS
Name/Nicknames ||
Max LeAnn Carter. No, Max isn't a shortening of anything like so many people believe, and no Max itself is not a nickname. She prefers to be called by her actual name, leaving out any nicknames to her calling.
Age/Birthday ||
Nineteen-years-old, and birthday is November 1st.
Reputation ||
Having moved straight from the high school to the college, Max is, just as other students who take the plunge into the arts college from Metric Academy, known for the work she had done in high school. She is known for her knowledge and experience of different forms of dancing, ranging from hip-hop to Latin ballroom dancing, but that, the latter, is what she has grown most from and the thing that she is most known for. Ballroom dancing, or a ballroom dancer, is what people recognize her as and such that has lead to her having that sort of reputation with her and her partners bringing back to the school trophies or medals from competitions-not all first place, and not even always the top three, but hey, at least she can say she won more than two competitions throughout her high school years. Of course, her reputation expands from that of her talent and ventures out into her social life; she is known to be an upbeat person, someone who hangs around the up and coming model Todd Beneitt and Niko Connor, and she is also known because of her best friend, Amy. A pair, most people recognize them as, two friends that likely will never part, and for that, Max is happy. She's always known to be one to have fun at parties that she's invited to; she takes it to the dance floor almost instantly usually, and shines within the spotlight once music bounces through her body.
Job ||
Because she didn't instantly go to the dance company that offered her a place on their staff in favor of going to college to get some sort of education--she hopes that she's not making a mistake with that decision--Max works with the high school as an assistant teacher for the dance instructors. She has a few classes of her own that she teaches for ballroom style dancing, ranging from freshman to juniors, but, most of the time, she's standing along side one of the teachers, helping them and throwing out pointers of her own. It brings in a little income, not enough to throw around happily, but enough to ensure that she can keep eating without starving herself like a model.
SCHOOL/SOCIAL INFORMATION
School and Class ||
Max attends Metric College and is a Sophomore.
Major ||
Accounting (though she doubts she will ever use this degree for a career)
Friend(s) ||
Amy O'Niel || Amy is Max's best friend by far, and she is lucky, and grateful, to have someone like her in her life. They met at a party when first entering the school, and upon meeting an instant connection had been made, something that had become inseparable between the two. If Max has a problem, she'll generally go to Amy first and hope that she's the same with her friend. But through it all they're a couple of rowdy girls who, when together, can cause a lot of trouble in good fun.
Todd Bennett || The shyest of her friends most definitely, but Max loves him all the more for it. Max considers Todd one of her best friends as well, someone who she loves to poke fun at because of his good looks yet humble and shy ways. Along with Amy, she tries to push him into getting out there more and prods and pokes his buttons in order to get reactions out of him. Of course, all of it is in good fun, and if she realizes that he's becoming too uncomfortable, she'll usually back off and apologize. But, in the end, she appreciates his differences to the group of four that all of them have; he, along with Ace, are the voice of reasons of sorts.
Ace Harrison || Max considers Ace to be a brother of sorts to her--her brother from another mother, the brother that she never got to have. She pokes fun at him often and drags him along to get him out and about because of his modesty and his quiet mouth. Often times she can be a bit aggressive with him, but when he challenges back at her, that's what she loves more. He, along with Todd and Amy, are her best friends and she wouldn't trade the three of them for the world.
Enemies/Rivals ||
While Max doesn't have enemies per say, there are people around that she would rather find herself away from, such as Chardonnay, Arthur, and anyone else she has had the displeasure of meeting that struck the wrong cord in her body. On the other hand, she does have many rivals that stem from her dancing, rivals that she often watches and looks upon so that she can gouge whether or not she needs to step up her game quicker than she originally planned.
Sexuality ||
Heterosexual.
Relationship Status ||
Single.
APPEARANCE
Height/Body Type ||
Max stands 5'2" and she has an athletic build under a lean, petite frame with little curves framing her body. In laymen terms, she has a dancer's body, one that is fit to do the work she has to do while allowing her to look good while doing it. Though she may be on the short side for someone in her profession, she makes it work by letting her body dance through the moves like anyone else, proving that she, too, can move just as well as someone with longer legs, and by wearing heels (shoes that she often wears when dancing since, well, she has to).
Hair color ||
Dark brown in color with it getting lighter towards the ends and a bit frizzy when nothing has been done to it. Her normal hair style it to keep it down, unpressed unless it's too unmanageable and looks nappy, by letting it fall its natural length down to her bosom. When dancing for a crowd or competition her hair is styled to fit the style of dance, but when practicing she normally has it up in a bun that sits on the top of her head. Occasionally she'll press it, but due to the fact that she hates perms, she refuses to get one done on herself.
Eye color ||
Brown
Clothing style ||
Max is a fan of being comfortable, meaning that a lot of the time you'll see her wearing bigger shirts and sweat pants. She does love to wear jeans, however, as well as over the shoulders shirts that hand limp off her body slightly. When practicing, she wears clothes that are either form fitted or loose in order to give her room to move well enough for what she needs to do.
She wears different outfits and costumes for performances, usually walking around on heels as well unless the style of dance and number calls for otherwise.
Ethnicity ||
African American
Playby ||
N/A Credit to: Samuel Borges Photography
PERSONALITY
Likes ||
Dancing, listening to music, peaches (her favorite fruit), math, her high school years, being flexible, healthy competition, watching other people preform, snow, ice (she loves to ice skate)
Dislikes ||
Losing, getting inured, being ignored, large bodies of water (she can't swim), Oreo's, her scar
Positive traits ||
Friendly, encouraging, hard working, determined, stubborn, playful,
Negative Traits ||
Bullheaded, stubborn, perfectionist, abrasive, aggressive (not in a murderous, hard hitting way, just the in your face way)
Hobbies ||
Dancing, helping others learn to dance
BACKGROUND/FAMILY
Family ||
Father – Samuel Carter || While Max has distanced herself from her parents throughout the years because of their differing views on the world, Max had always been a little further away from her father. He had always been kind and caring to her, never lifted a hand to her or her mother, generally aloof, yet that was to the extent of their relationship for the most part. She went to family gatherings with him, let her cousins and grandparents dote on her, but back at home he would head to the living room or head to work, leaving her and her mother be. She knew it wasn't his fault though; he had to work and, again, their views on things were different. He didn't understand her want to dance so much and thought it to be a waste of time where Max found dance to be her world, the thing that brought her out of the slump that was their small apartment. Still, despite all of that, she loves her father. The rift between the two had truly become apparent after she got caught stealing and had been informed that she had been doing it for years, something that he had never been able to forgive her for and something that he still, to this day, doesn't understand why she took to such activities.
When ever they see each other they hug and give each other small kisses on the cheeks and catch up, and every once in a while Max will phone home to talk to him and her mother to see how they're doing and when the next time she'll be home will be. They're broken relationship is getting better, it's not completely repaired yet, but it's getting there and heading in the right direction with Max beginning to grow into a young woman that he was beginning to grow proud of, even if he still doesn't agree with her dancing and for making that her career.
Mother – Jasmine Carter || Just like with her father, Max's relationship is also strained with her mother, though perhaps not to the extent that it is with her father. Her mother was the one who allowed Max to go along with dances despite the financial troubles they found themselves in, and she encouraged Max to follow her dreams. Her mother had been the one, actually, to bring up the arts school after Max's fight and after being given the pamphlet from Max's dance instructor, and pushed her daughter into getting into the school, no matter how her husband nearly protested against the notion. It was what was best for their daughter, and they both knew it. Her mother was a caring woman, kind and soft spoken, though ridden down with the troubles that had overcome their family as Max was born and as she continued to grow.
Backstory ||
While they weren't living in the worst place in Detroit, Michigan, they weren't living in one of the best places either, what with the small, shabby apartment they took to living in with it's peeling wall paper, rusted pipes, old furniture with water spots on the wooden coffee table in the living room, and neighbors that yelled and thumped against the ground above them at all hours throughout the day and night. When Max was little, she detested their form of living; she loathed being woken up in the middle of the night to the neighbors that lived above them and the three rambunctious children they spawned a few years before Max had been brought into the world. She loathed the little breakfasts she had been given that was usually rushed so that she could head out the door to get to the bus so that she could get to school while her parents hurried to get to work on time to get the maximum amount of hours that they could get. They hadn't been the poorest family around the block, yet they were far from the wealthiest, and throughout the years there had been a few times when they had a few close calls.
Nevertheless, her parents kept food on the table, even if that meant leaving Max alone at the apartment to stare aimlessly at the fuzzy television they owned that flickered on and off, always turning off if it was left on for too long after being overheated. Once that would happen she would generally wander aimlessly through the apartment, sighing to herself until she, after a while, decided to start turning the radio on. Songs would play filled with rap, R&B, and soft rock, interrupted periodically with commercials advertising the latest health insurance or the next best medicine that were for diabetics--she often told her father about them since he himself was a diabetic--but that was when her life began to change. Instead of mindlessly listening to the music like she used to, once Max turned eleven--her parents trusted her enough to leave her at home by herself when she was that age since she knew how to take care of herself for the most part--she started taking in the beat of the music, forgoing the words that spouted from the person, and instead listened to the music. She listened to the electronically created beats, she listened to the different instruments that were being played, and eventually she started swinging herself to the beats, placing her feet here and there, moving her body this way and that.
Before then, even when she was younger, probably around six, people had always told her she was a good dancer. At family get together's, once the music started bumping in the building or house they occupied, they would circle around the little girl as she swung her body to the music, losing herself in it as she forgot about everyone around her yet kept their presences in her mind. She loved their attention. She loved their claps and whistles, and she loved the feeling that the music gave her to move like that. She had been a natural, they told her, and she embraced the words, dancing at every opportunity she could and watching other people as they did so. But, back to that day in the apartment when she started listening to the music, not dancing like she normally would to impress people because she knew she had the moves, but instead just listened. For what ever reason something clicked in her, something that made her heart thump and made her body start to sweat as she smiled to herself.
Music and dancing... Dancing... She needed to do this for her life; she needed to make this her career!
Her father had disagreed, but her mother had agreed. They put her in some dance classes a few months later after arguing with her father, and Max had never found herself to be happier. She made a bond with her dance instructor that had never been broken, something that never would break, and even to this day she still speaks with the man who taught her, what she thinks, everything she knows. Or, at the very least, the basis of everything she knows. After having her in class for a few months he took her aside one day and told her that she had talent and that he wanted to work with her one on one, no extra charge, because he thought she could make it. After agreeing to the terms excitably, and with a great bear hug to the man, dance became Max's life. Since she had little friends she missed no parties or anything at school; instead she found herself dancing through the halls as she weaved through people, jumping and twirling into classrooms. People looked to her as being odd, but she didn't care; she was happy, excited, and loved what she was doing! Hip-hop dancing, contemporary dancing, ballroom dancing!
Two years rolled on and throughout the time Max had been apart of a few dance competitions, losing most, but winning three that boosted her confidence and gave her a little money of her own. But her schedule for practice had to change after a while; more people came to visit and take classes from her instructor and with the influx of new money, he couldn't refuse, apologizing to her, but then saying that, in the end, he had probably taught her all he could. That left Max with more than enough free time for herself, free time that she didn't know what to do with. She practiced on her own, of course, but nothing was like being in the presence of her instructor in the dance studio with the music echoing off the walls and with her eyes watching her body slide against the mirror as her skin sweat. With her free time came her anxiousness and restlessness; she came into a group of kids that were a part of her freshman class--she was a freshman by that point--and started hanging around them, beginning to realize that they weren't the bunch to be hanging around with yet not being able to leave their sides as the days wore on.
She became trapped in their ways and laughed along with them, dancing less and less as she walked the streets with them, throwing glass bottles at old brick buildings and then running for cover as soon as it shattered to pieces and dogs barked at the sudden noise. At one point they told her to steal something for them, prattling on that since she was small enough she could do it, and despite her better judgement, she did it. And it was so exhilarating that she couldn't say no the next time it happened.
It started off as simple at first; she stole candy, chips, lighters, but then things started getting bigger to the point where they started boosting Max through windows to get into houses. It was wrong, she knew it was wrong, and she knew that her parents would kill her if they knew, but, after a while, she realized that she couldn't say no to these kids even if she wanted to. She was pressured into doing it, and the one time she had been careless she had gotten caught and had the police called on her. When her parents found out they were furious yet happy to know that they weren't going to have any charges pressed against them for what their daughter had done, yet the deed had already been done; in their eyes, Max knew she had committed one of the worst crimes ever. But why should they be mad at her? It's not like they were ever there for her, never making it to all of her dance recitals and competitions because of work, and it's not like she ever usually came home to one of them being there as well unless it was a weekend. How could they blame her loneliness on herself?
Of course, she knew she didn't have to steal to get the attention and she didn't have to find her trouble with those group of criminals-in-the-making kids, but what else could she have done? If she was still in her dance studio she would be better, she would be out of trouble, yet that wasn't the case. Perhaps it had been the new teenage mind of hers that brought those thoughts out, but eventually she grew to resent of her parents and started drifting further away from them. She started closing herself off to people then, leaving them alone. No longer did she bounce in the halls with music playing in her mind, weaving through students as she jumped and twirled into classrooms.
One day when she was walking home those kids found her and demanded that she steal something for them again to get back in their good graces, but Max refused. She tried to walk away from them, but they grabbed her, drug her into an ally, and pressed her against the damp brick wall with their fist crumpling her shirt. Again Max refused, letting panic overtake her as she tried to fight against the hands that held her down. They punched her in the face, kicked up to hit her sides, and punched her face again, hitting her eyes and bruising them, hitting her lip and splitting it. One brought out a knife and at that point Max had finally been able to get out of their hold, but not before they cut her arm, slicing it open and letting the blood trickle down her arm and onto the ground. She ran home and waited for her parents to come as she at on the couch with her arm around her towel, crying to herself as she shook and pleaded with whoever to just let her finally be at peace. Don't let her parents yell. She spoke apologies in her mind, wishing she had never done it, wishing that she had just stayed at home with her music and dancing, to what she knew. She shouldn't have yelled at her parents and ignored them. She should have listened and been grateful that they cared enough to actually yell at her, rather than send her packing or beating her after getting her home.
She had been rushed to the hospital after her parents arrived, and at that point they knew they couldn't keep her there. With how badly she had been beaten, they feared for her life and didn't want her living in the place any longer. It was then that her dance instructor came back and handed a pamphlet to her parents, telling them about this arts school in California that would work so well for Max with her dancing. Her father had been hesitant in the beginning--how would they get the money?--but in the end they decided to let Max audition once she felt better. And she got in, and she was awarded scholarships to attend the school with minimal cost to her parents.
So she left home with a new mindset, one that was determined to go back to the goals that she had set for herself when she was younger: to be a professional dancer. She could do it, and the years at Metric Academy proved to be the best years of her life with the friends she made and with her excitable and playful nature and attitude coming back. She felt normal again, she felt whole. She danced whenever now, she smiled almost all the time, and she was just happy.
After graduating she auditioned for a dance company who said they wanted to see her dance after her Senior performance at the Academy, and, surprisingly, she got in. Yet Max didn't go, despite how she so wanted to, but she needed something else. True, while she loved to dance and wanted to make it her career--she was determined to do so--she needed a backup in case anything happened. So, she followed a few of her friends and went to Metric college instead, having a position waiting for her at the dance company unless something came up and she no longer had it. As long as she once a month came out to them and danced for them and kept the same level of skill, getting better as well, then she would be fine. Just a few more years, she told herself, to perfect her craft and get a degree for accounting, and then she could go to New York and work for them.
OOC NOTES
- Despite it being years since the fight, Max still has a scar on her right forearm where she had been cut. In high school she used to hide the cut behind gloves that reached her elbow, but once college rolled around she ditched the fabric and started covering the scar with make up. She doesn't leave the dorm without doing so--she refuses to do so. It's embarrassing, a part of her past that she would rather forget, and something that she's least likely to talk about.
- Max never learned to swim, so she always has an aversion to large bodies of water for fear that she'll fall in and end up drowning. She's tried to learn, but every time she gets waist deep in the water, she freaks out and jumps away.
- She is focusing more on Ballroom style dancing rather than any other types of dancing since it's the dancing she does best and, now, loves best.
- She is focusing more on Ballroom style dancing rather than any other types of dancing since it's the dancing she does best and, now, loves best.