character informationMARK JEFFERSON - MAIN TIMELINE
[CHARACTER OUTLINE]
he gained popularity during the 90's as a photographer all across America, quickly making a name for himself in gallery and magazine scene -- shooting a wide range of pieces for established departments, blah blah blah -- whatever, he was famous, he was cool, everyone loved him and wanted to be his model. Eventually, the hollywood scene stops doing it for him though and he decides to teach instead.
ENTER BLACKWELL ACADEMY, ARCADIA BAY
Jefferson becomes a teacher, a GOOD teacher, he seems to truly care about his students and the futures they're pursuing; always pushing them to apply and better themselves when he can. He also tends to use his connections in the photography circuit to arrange various contests. His students are able to admit photos of their choosing (sometimes with a theme in mind, sometimes without) and the winner of the contest is able to show off their work in galleries and so on.
I know what you're thinking; that's cool? But, I heard you were a murderer? And your page is super suggestive?
That's fair. Everything's above board though, nothing to see here. Just a great guy trying to help out the future's famous photographers get their start.
Don't believe me?
Okay, Jefferson MIGHT also occasionally drug & kidnap his students, so he can take pictures of them while they're half conscious because he believes 'the semi-conscious model is usually the most honest'. Somewhere along the way (for me I have a few headcanons around how he discovered his obsession) he realized he wanted to frame purity and capture it's collapse and that he wanted to do it in a very, very specific way. Though I think he experimented while still in hollywood -- with most consenting adults and probably stripped a few of those models down, he has NEVER taken the clothes off any of his students without their knowledge or consent (I say this bc I know a few of you are gonna be like BUT?? UMMM?? RACHEL??? He didn't rape her.)
The only time he touches the girls is to pose or bind them. There's nothing physical about his sessions.
Most storylines will probably exist in THIS specific time bubble, where he's a teacher and only a very select few know ANYTHING about what he does in his dark room. (Possibly the Prescotts, ie Nathan -- Kate Marsh would obviously //potentially// be someone that could start remembering, and Rachel Amber) -- even these though, they're on that edge. In the game Jefferson is pretty adamant about Nathan never have stepped foot in his Dark Room so, he knows ENOUGH about Jefferson's "guilty pleasures" to know that he drugs girls and takes photos of them but he has no proof of it at all. It's all hear-say, all talk.
EVIDENCE! There isn't anything on Jefferson but his binders. Sorry.
He's also very careful about how he goes about collecting his models and picking them. He spends a LOT of time vetting/deciding, making sure they're who he wants for his collection.
I know what a lot of you are thinking-- "But...? Um? Kate was a mess? And then Victoria? And then he killed his entire class in one night?"
.... Yeah. Kate was a mistake but she wasn't entirely his. He put her drugging and deliverance in Nathan's hands HOPING that he might be able to keep him around. It was a test that he failed super super hard. I have no idea why he had a binder tagged Victoria? He even f***ing says she's too harsh for his lens. It never should have been in the game and I get HIVES THINKING ABOUT IT.
He also had nothing to do with Rachel Amber's death. I don't care what you saw at the end of Before the Storm. He has no reason to lie to Max when he's talking about Rachel in the Dark Room. Nathan killed her, none of the photos they found of her were even in the Dark Room. That ending scene just... Is complete sh*t. moving on, moving on, I DO think Jefferson was planning on killing her. Whether or not she realized it, she knew too much about him and he wasn't going to just let her up and scamper off to Cali, especially if she has stories about a little love affair with him. Nathan killed her prematurely though, stupidly (probably attempting to impress Jefferson bc he and a few other students knew of his relationship with her) -- I think Nathan called Mark flipping out so he went over, took care of the body, maybe sedated Nathan while they were at the junk yard and THAT'S where that photo of them came from. He buried Rachel, probably thought about killing Nathan that night too but held off.
SO TO RECAP:
great photography teacher * living in Arcadia Bay * sometimes kidnaps young girls to [[ NOT RAPE THEM ]] take pics of them * very rarely kills anyone, isn't usually prone to violence * cares about his students and genuinely does want them to succeed * is cool
