#i'm not worried that max is gonna die

[tthesongofachilless]

THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL

♟️ — relationship: Max Verstappen x fem!teammate!reader

♟️ — face claim: Pinterest

♟️ — WARNING: This smau includes hate, death threats and sexism.

♟️ — a/n: thank you everyone for the support recently! Its been a wild ride making this, so I hope you enjoy it! For requests on my next smau, feel free to put in an ask! Enjoy

maxverstappen1, yourbestfriend and 384,752 other liked..

f1: F1 BREAKING: Y/n Y/l/n signs with Redbull! ✏️

view comments:

user1: WHAT HUH WAIT WHAAA

user2: RUE... WHEN WAS THIS?

user3: IM SHAKING

redbullracing: welcome 🫶🏻

user4: OH HELL NO

user5: checo come back the kids miss you (im the kids)

maxverstappen1: 👋

user6: i thought we were getting a maxiel reunion..

user7: she's a fucking rookie what do redbull expect is gonna happen

user8: the history book on the shelf is always repeating itself 😔😔😔

yourusername: 🫶

user9: shut your goofy ass up go to Williams instead they will LOVE you there

yourbestfriend, landonorris and 23,038 others liked..

yourusername: trying to live my life till the fullest until my trainer forces me to stop 🙈

view comments:

user10: oh don't worry girlie you'll be back to living your life till the fullest in no time

user11: gosh lando in the likes she's already tryna bag every driver

user12: all i wanna know is how does y/n make that many cups of coffee and not finish any of them?

user13: cant wait to see her make a post talking about her leaving F1

user14: y/n is about to become the james charles of f1

yourbestfriend: miss you xxx

yourusername: miss you more!!!

—

liked by redbullracing, maxverstappen1 and 197,296 others..

f1: 👋 Hello Max, Hello Y/n! Who's ready for our opening round of the season?

view comments

user20: gosh she won't even let the photographers get a good picture for the official f1 insta

user21: did they..... arrive together...?

user22: uhm!!! who is this girl!!!! where is checo!!!!???

user23: max run

redbullracing: Hello, f1!

yourusername: ME!!!🙈🙈🙈

user24: shut UP ALREADY

schecoperez and 482,074 liked..

f1: CONTACT! 💥 Max Verstappen is okay, safety car is deployed.

view comments:

user25: im going to murder y/n.

user26: turning the tv off it isn't worth watching anymore

user27: CHECO IN THE LIKES HAHAHA

user28: hey y/n do a mazespin

user29: redbull shaking in their boots

landonorris, redbullracing and 963,285 liked..

f1: Y/N Y/L/N, A FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX WINNER!

view comments

yourbestfriend: THAT'S MY GIRL

redbullracing: 👊👊👊

user30: ugh

user31: can't wait for her to crash at every other race!

user32: wondering how the haters feel now...

yourusername: I FEEL AMAZING 🥁🥁

user33: kill yourself

yourusername posted a story!

caption: I'm winning

tagged: maxverstappen1

view comments

maxverstappen1: uhm you cheated

yourusername: you literally ate one of your cards

user34: leave that man alone

user35: jump out of the bus

maxverstappen1, taylorswift and 38,284 others liked..

yourusername: Taylor was right! Haters gonna hate hate hate while I'm just gonna shake shake shake!

view comments

user36: she's so annoying

user37: she's a swiftie? Gonna stop listening to Taylor now 🙉

taylornation: glad we could help 💕

user38: are we not going to talk about the second picture

user39: im scared for that mans wellbeing

maxverstappen1: 🏌️ Score!

user40: MAX RUN

—

— 7 Months later..

maxverstappen1, yourbestfriend and 918,024 others liked..

yourusername: wanna die but at least I've got my boo 💐

view comments

yourusername: you deserve so much better baby 💕

maxverstappen1: 👫 twinssss

user44: I'm sorry YOU SAY TWINS IN THAT YOU WANNA DIE OR YOU GOT YOUR BOO

user45: girl has been through it all in the past few months

user46: show them that they're wrong!!

user47: who is the boo?

user48: ugh such a pinterest lifestyle

liked by redbullracing, maxverstappen1 and 486,019 others

f1: Our final race of the season is upon us! Who will take the title? Verstappen or Y/l/n?

view comments

user50: if y/n manages to win the title in her rookie year despite all the hate she's getting I'm going to be so proud

user51: both deserve it so much 🧡

redbullracing: We are happy either way!

user52: DU DU DU DU MAX VERSTAPPEN

user53: y/n prove the haters wrong!

liked by 401,851 others.

F1: RED FLAG 🚩 Mick is okay.

view comments

user54: SHITTTT

user55: Mick baby you need a new seat

user56: doesn't this now make redbull 1-2?

user57: yeah! y/n is leading while Max is second

liked by 1,052,852 others

F1: We go racing again in Abu Dhabi! Y/n is leading with Max in second and Lewis in third.

view comments

user58: YOU GOT THIS Y/N!!!

user59: Lewis could do so something really funny now

user60: MAXIE 2024 CHAMP

user61: last race with Lewis at merc... im not sad... no...

user62: im shaking

maxverstappen1, yourbestfriend and 4,952,012 others liked..

F1: OUR NEWEST WORLD CHAMPION, Y/N Y/L/N!

view comments

user64: fucking bitch

user65: YESSSSSS

user66: UGH

user67: the way max looked at her when he got out of the car 🥹

user68: can't tell if she used him to get the wdc or if they are actually in love

user69: MAX AND Y/N OH MY GODD

user70: 💕

yourbestfriend: AHDHDHHGDDHHD IM GONNA DIE

yourusername, redbullracing and 6,308,157 others liked

maxverstappen1: Y/n, I've loved you since I first met you in our junior years. Your personality matches mine, and I could've never asked for anyone more beautiful than you. Please let us grow old together and look back on these moments and laugh.

Love you, world champion. 💛

view comments

yourusername: 💛 Gosh I love you come back to our room let me kiss you

user71: "let us grow old together" max what if I just died now

redbullracing: So happy for you both 💛

user72: THE THIRD PICTURE?

user73: gonna cry myself to sleep

user74: THEY ARE SO CUTEEEE

user75: UGHFHFHFHD

— fin 💐

— ♟️ a/n : thank you all so much for reading this! This took a while to make, as i was really stuck on how to progress the story further without making it too short. Again, if you have any smau requests, feel free to put them in my asks! Love you all 🦅🦅

[sanguineterrain]

could i request something with dick where he returns home to reader like almost at dawn and just immediately collapses into bed to cuddle them? i know it’s kind of boring and simple but i’d love nothing more than to wake up w/ mr grayson 😭

short n sweet <3 thanks for requesting!

dick grayson x gn!reader. fluffy cuddles.

****

You jolt awake at a hand on your cheek. Your legs are tangled in a small throw quilt for the couch and half your body is wedged between the cushions.

"Hey," Dick whispers. "Sorry to wake you, honey."

Milky masked eyes stare at you. Dick's knelt in front of the couch, still in his suit. He peels the domino mask off and tilts his head. Bits of sealant and irritated skin surround his eyes, a consequence of wearing a mask for too long.

"Hi," you say, reaching for him and gently touching his face.

His hand slides up and down your arm and you feel the apology before he says it.

"I'm sorry I'm back so late," he says. "Emergency."

"It's Blüdhaven. I'm not surprised," you say back, sleepily petting his hair. "You don't have to apologize. I know what I signed up for."

Dick catches your hand and kisses your palm.

"Were you waiting up for me?" he asks.

"Um… I attempted to wait up for you. Dunno when I fell asleep."

His face softens even further.

"You don't have to do that," he says.

"Mm. Pretty sure we've had this conversation before. I'm gonna worry and I'm gonna wait up."

Dick leans in and kisses your temple. He rests his lips there for a few moments. You wrap your arm around his neck. He strokes your thigh, like he has to touch you. You could sleep like this. You could die like this.

"Let's go to bed, love."

Loving him is bliss. You want to tell him, but your brain can't form the words currently. You hug him tighter, cheek to cheek, and hope he understands. Dick laughs softly and pets your back.

"I gotta shower. I'll be ten minutes, max."

He untangles himself. Your hands are the last to separate, fingers lingering on yours. The bathroom light turns on. You wrap the quilt from the couch around your shoulders and pad into your shared bedroom.

It's especially cold tonight and the temperature change shocks your nervous system. You curl into a ball and doze as you wait for Dick to finish.

You wake up to Dick crawling into bed. He kisses your shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry," he whispers, lifting the blanket. "Sleep, I'm here."

"Hold me," you mumble, patting the bed in search of his hand.

Dick curls around you immediately. His chest is against your back, and he puts an arm around your belly and a leg over your legs. The tip of his nose rests on your neck. He's warm from the shower and smells like the vanilla body wash you bought last week.

"Missed you, Dickie," you manage to say before succumbing to your exhaustion.

"Nowhere near as much as how much I missed you."

[lovingjingyuan]

Young And Beautiful

Jing Yuan♡

This GIF has me weak on my knees 🛐

Based on Lana Del Rey's songs! I love my husband so much I just wanna kiss under his eyes on that beautiful mole and then his lips.

Warning: bit possessive Jing Yuan at the end but overall sweet.

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

You were a short-life species while Jing Yuan was a long life. You always felt insecure about aging. You were concerned about how you'll age to live with wrinkles head to toe and can't do anything with Jing Yuan anymore. You're scared he'll leave you for someone prettier and younger in appearance.

Jing Yuan always reassure you that you're beautiful and he loves you more than just your looks saying he'll be by your side forever.

"Will you still love me when I'm no longer Young And Beautiful?" You asked him with sadness and insecurities seeing the smile lines forming on your face.

He sighed bringing you on his lap kissing your forehead and played with the strands of hair running his hands through your hair and combing them with his fingers.

"More than anything. Don't worry I'll make sure you feel love darling," his voice was so soft and honest.

He brought you close and planted kisses on your forehead, cheeks, and lips.

"Matter of fact I can't live without you," he whispered so affectionately in your ears and each word he spoke are promises.

"If there's a Heaven. We'll live above the clouds together forever." He tells you while running his hand along your thighs to your hip and the other hand pressed against your back.

He always knew the best way to hold you, to comfort you and the hand placement. He made you feel like a princess. He treats you like his empress by the emperor's side.

Immortal or not he'll love you forever. And if there's reincarnation he'll wait because to him you're soulmates and no matter how much your appearance changes as long as the heart stays the same his love will never die out, so he'll cherish every moment with your short life span compared to his long life span.

But one secret is that he is having people work secretly to turn your short life span into an immortal like his. The old man Todd was able to get away with this turning himself from an old man to a young adult and then a child.

When Jing Yuan says he'll do anything for you he will. To the point, he's breaking a law for you. The one law that is super sinful to the Xianzhou, yet he needs you by his side. His one and only. No heaven for both you and him soon and no need to worry about being Young and beautiful any longer once he turns you into a long-life species like him.

Because aren't you two soulmates and he needs only you by his side and no one else. The only time he's grateful to the abundance even if it's illegal to give even the slightest amount of admiration towards the abundance. He's secretly sending out blessings to Yaoshi in hopes they can grant you immortality like him also sending extra so they don't inflict you with mara.

You'll forever be Young and Beautiful with him. He'll cherish every moment with you like it's his last. He'll embrace you every day in his arms and kiss you every night before bed.

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

Dear Lord, when I get to Heaven Please let me bring my man.

Please I need him so bad. Since I already have him so I'm gonna get his lightcone and max him to c6. Have 122 pulls waiting for my husband <3

[hearteyes-wheeler]

some st s5 mood boards of the party :D

edit: i think i should add descriptions for these in case they don't make sense. feel free to ignore this part

i made these based on my predictions (??) for the party in s5. i think they're all obviously going to focus on beating the shit out of vecna, but they're probably gonna have other things they focus on too as they always do throughout the seasons

mike : i think mike's focus is going to be keeping will safe. kind of like a parallel to s1 and 2 where his goal was to find will and then to keep him safe. with that though comes him confronting his feelings towards will and i'm a believer in him writing letters to will and not sending them so i think that'll come up

will : for will, while he's gonna be like mike and will have to deal with his feelings for mike and the aftermath of lying about the painting, but he's also going to be focused on vecna and his connection to him. which is why i think he's going to go missing for a bit 😃 (also let will shoot vecna in the face duffers i'm begging you)

el : i think el's is pretty self explanatory. her goal next season is going to be to kick vecna's ass and also to save max. with that i think she will have more of a journey in realizing (?) that she's not the monster and that none of this is her fault. also the picture in the upper right corner is supposed to be her and will and represent her family

max : i'm HOPING that max survives next season and wakes up, so i think that's gonna be rough but she's gonna make it (duffers i will find you if she doesn't). i also think her storyline is gonna intertwine with el's and lucas's <3

lucas : i think lucas is going to focus on helping get max back tbh. that boy was at max's bedside at the end of s4 and i have a feeling he's not gonna wanna be away from her and he's gonna team up with el to get her back and then max is gonna wake up and they're gonna go to the movies and they're gonna live happily ever after!!!!! i need my boy to be happy :((

dustin : ok the gravestone isn't for dustin, i just meant it to symbolize how he's going to be mourning eddie and how much it's going to fuck him up. maybe his grief is gonna make him a target for vecna, i've seen people make theories on that, but i don't think he's gonna die. he better not

sorry if that was a lot, i'm just worried they didn't make sense and also i hope i didn't make it seem like all there was to mike and lucas was their romantic relationships. i definitely don't think that's all they're gonna focus on and that that's all there is to their characters, this is just for the mood boards

[bimobuddy]

"Would you..."

I'M BACK FINALLY, BABYYYY

JUST HAD TO GET HAPPY AGAIN AND FIND A FIXATION

Anyway this is a Maxley tickle fic

Max Goof x Bradley Uppercrust III

I will also be writing Tank x Bradley, I like both ships

Lee! Max, Ler! Bradley

Don't worry, Bradley is gonna have plenty of lee moments in the future, he needs his shit wrecked

I gave them tails (._.) They're dogs, they get tails

Summary: Max and Bradley are having a horror movie marathon, and it starts a little game between them, which eventually turns into a much different, more one sided game

*cl-click... whiiiirrrr*

Max popped the tape into the player, and scooted back, sitting against the couch on the floor, while Bradley sat on the couch with his legs draped over his shoulders. He rested his chin on his head and fixed his eyes on the screen.

Everybody knew Max loved horror movies, but most people didn't know Bradley was much the same, on one condition.

"Does the-"

"No, I talked to Bobby, no animals die on screen in this one, just a pet bird that's already found in its cage, but they have a funeral for it."

Satisfied, Bradley rested his chin back down on Max's head as the movie started. He didn't like animal death scenes, but he was perfectly fine with people.

About half way in, he broke the silence between them. "If I got sucked into an alternate ghostly plane, would you come in after me?"

"Absolutely." Max's answer was immediate. He leaned his head back to look up at his boyfriend. "If I told you a man with knives for fingers was terrorizing my dreams, would you fall asleep and fight him for me?"

"Absolutely not," Bradley answered, earning a snort from Max, "The dream world was his world, and he had more power there, are you crazy? He'd obviously win. That's not even how it worked in the movie, they pulled him out of the dream and killed him in the real world."

"Okay well would you kill him in the lore accurate way?"

"Realistically, no I'd send Tank to do that, but for the purpose of this game, I'll say yes." He responded, his tail thumping against the couch, causing Max to start wagging his as well.

"My hero." Max mumbled sarcastically, looking back at the TV to finish the movie.

Sometime during the movie, Bradley started to twirl Max's ear around his finger and just mess with it, oblivious to the blush that had spread across his partner's face, or the way he tensed up and grinned nervously.

"Maximus, if I were a skeleton in your attic, would you help me rebuild my body to become alive again?"

Max normally would have rolled his eyes at the name 'Maximus' but he was a little too focused on the ticklish feeling in his ear. He opened his mouth to reply, but ended up pushing Bradley's hand away with a giggly, "Quihit-"

Now this caught the fraternity leader's attention. Any chance he got to mess with Max, he took. "Oh? Ticklish, Goof?" He practically purred, tightening his legs over Max's shoulders to keep him in place.

Max's cheeks reddened. He didn't have an issue with being tickled.. It was his laugh he was self conscious about, since he inherited it from his father. Ever since he could remember, he'd practiced his laugh to make it sound normal, and not... Goofy.

"Bradley wait, my laugh-"

"I know, I've heard you before."

And with that as his warning, Bradley started to play with both ears, gently rubbing them between his fingers, while Max just giggled and tried to shake his head.

"Nohohoho, Brahad- Nohot my ehehears-" He tried to duck his head but that didn't do much, since Bradley just followed. His ears weren't necessarily 'bad,' but more of a 'sweet spot,' in the way they always got him giggling, blushing, and fumbling like he didn't know how to react.

"Oh not your ears? Would you prefer I move down here then?" He teased, releasing Max's ears and slipping his hands down under his arms. Max arched his back and squeezed his arms down against his sides, his tail going wild slapping the floor.

"Brahahahadley nohohoho!"

"Max, I can't hear the movie, calm down~ Why are you laughing so much, it's not a comedy~" He teased.

He released Max from his legs and got down on the floor with him, briefly wrestling with him to get him down, delighting in the way he giggled in anticipation.

"Brahadley my laugh, ihit's-"

"Shut up about your silly little laugh, I like it~ In fact, I want to hear the original, unpracticed version."

Bradley latched his hands onto Max's sides, his fingers wiggling into his sides while his thumbs dug into his belly.

Max tossed his head back and started to kick his feet against the floor, trying to shove at Bradley's chest, his laughter kicking up and becoming more boyish.

Finally, playful hands found his knees and squeezed.

"Nohoho! Hahahahahahyuck-" He slapped his hands over his mouth, his face going red. The only noise that came from him was his tail continuing to thump against the wooden floor.

Bradley stopped and laughed so hard, he had to lean down, pressing his head into Max's shoulders.

Max huffed, slightly amused by Bradley's reaction. "At least one of us enjoys it."

Bradley sat up, calming down, yet his grin stayed. "Would you relax? It's not as bad as you think. I can see why Roxanne liked it when you guys met."

The younger of the two groaned and covered his face. "It sounds so silly though."

Bradley grabbed his wrists and pulled them back to uncover his face. "That's what makes it so great, you goof."

--

I'm not gonna lie, it took me a while to type the "hyuck" into the dialog because anytime I got close to it, I started laughing bc it's silly /pos

I think unique laughs are cute

Y'all get bonus points if you can name the horror movies I was referencing

[little-box-of-autism]

My Opinion on Spider

@peachycrime asked for this, so....

Anyways, buckle up because I ain't gonna hold back, and I'm going to be as brutal as winter in Nunavut.

Let's start off with the obvious;

Spider is sixteen years old.

He is a child, and as such, should not be expected to be held to the same standards as an adult.

But more over - and I know some might disagree with me on this - Spider is a child that was neglected and thus abused because neglect is abuse, and I'm not touching on the shit with Neytiri just yet.

The clearest example of Spider's neglect is the scene where Spider is running from Hell's Gate, the first one we see him as a kid rather than a toddler or teenager. Spider is at best seven in this scene, and yet he is allowed to run into the Pandoran jungle (because from the comics and other sources, we know that while the Omatikaya is close to Hell's Gate, it isn't beside it) unattended despite the fact that the jungle is dangerous even to an adult na'vi, let alone a human child who could feasibly die just by tripping over a rock and falling in a way that could damage or dislodge his mask, which he relies on to breathe.

If Spider had fallen, if his mask had been damaged or dislodged, there was no one there to help him.

There is a wooded area near my house that is filled with trails and is generally considered pretty safe, but I still wouldn't let my seven-year cousins (who don't rely on a mask to breathe) run around in there unattended.

Already Spider's hair is beginning to mat (they are mats, not dreads) and there is no way that the adults weren't aware of it, which means they allowed it.

Now let's get onto some other things I've noticed throughout the movie (and the comics, though I'm mostly focusing on the movie.)

"Stray Cat" is what Jake refers to Spider as, and I don't know if this may just be me, and my ASD, but I find calling/comparing a child to a stray cat to be dehumanizing, and maybe it's purposeful because it's a lot easier to ignore the neglect of a "stray cat" then a child.

Spider from the moment he is captured is very aware of the fact that there will be no attempt to save him which is devastating because even with the knowledge that a rescue from Bridgehead is improbable, the clear lack of hope in Spider is very telling in how he views his worth and value.

Jake, someone who was in the military and worked for the RDA, however briefly, would be aware, at least to some degree, of what would be done to Spider in order to get information, and he does not actually express any concern for Spider's wellbeing or safety, only thinking about what Spider could possibly tell the RDA.

Despite how close the younger three Sully kids are to Spider, they never express any worry or concern for Spider openly in front of their parents. Do I think that they were worried about Spider? Yes, but I do also think they knew they couldn't express this concern in front of their parents, specifically Neytiri.

The only adult who shows any real concern for Spider during the vast majority of the movie is Quaritch despite him technically having the least reason for why he should be concerned for Spider. As Quaritch states, he isn't the same Miles Quaritch that was Spider's father, and unlike Jake, Norm, Neytiri, or Max, he didn't watch Spider grow up. His connection to Spider is minimal in comparison to other adults in Spider's life, and yet he is the one who shows Spider the most care.

Now onto the matter of Neytiri, I can understand her reasons and I can empathize with her trauma, but she is an adult who is punishing a child who has not done anything to her besides exist. We wouldn't condone this in real life and to me, trying to excuse her actions is troubling to me because of the message it sends to people that have gone through something similar. You can still empathize with Neytiri and the trauma she suffered while acknowledging that her actions towards Spider are wrong. Trauma is a reason, but it isn't an excuse and as an adult, it is on Neytiri, not Spider, to manage her trauma.

We also have to consider how her actions affect her relationships with her children, specifically Kiri and Lo'ak.

Kiri is the most obvious, she and Spider share a very close bond that is displayed both in the comics and in the movies, and Kiri has argued with Neytiri over her treatment of Spider. This obviously would put a level of strain on their mother-daughter relationship, especially when you take into account that Kiri often feels 'othered' and considers Spider to be one of the few people who not only understands her but also does not judge or think differently of her.

With Lo'ak it's more nuanced but Neytiri's constant hatred towards Spider due to him being a 'demon' very likely has an effect on Lo'ak who already clearly has issues with his 'demon' blood that sets him apart from other na'vi.

In the end (because I need to end this somewhere before it just becomes a never ending rant) Spider is a child who was neglected and abused for who his father is, and his action of saving Quaritch is completely understandable in light of the fact that Quaritch is the first adult who took care of Spider and had - in Spider's eyes - saved him from death twice now.

One last time I want to make one thing clear;

Spider said "don't hurt her."

Kiri said "don't kill him."

And I cannot shake the fact that at that moment Kiri genuinely believed that her mother was capable of killing her best friend and was pleading for Spider's life.

If that doesn't bother you deeply, then I don't think you are ready for these types of discussions.

Now I am open to discussing my opinion in a mature conversation, but I will not tolerate dramatics nor will I entertain blatant ignorance. If you cannot engage in discussions with at least some level of maturity and willingness to understand different perspectives, don't engage at all.

[sadieurlady]

A/N: HIIII omg first ficcc ever! i was looking for a fic inspired by sleep patterns by merchant ships and couldn’t find any, so i decided to write it myself! as this is my first fic don't expect much and don't expect correct grammar. the storyline definitely won’t follow the song perfectly but anywho enjoyyyy!

ps: lyrics will be edited to fit the narrative

MV1 x fem driver!reader

TW: death, nightmares SO SO SO much angst

song lyrics will look like this

559 words

as we sit on the hood of his car, the sun goes down and he asks me what I want out of my life. I tell him I don't know

you stare out at the sunset as the two of you sit on the hood of his car. "what do you want out of life? like after we retire, what are you gonna do?" he asks me as I stare. "i'm not sure max, I'm not sure I know what life even is yet" you say as you turn to him. "whatever it is I'm sure it'll be great as long as we have each other" he smiles taking your hand and pressing a gentle kiss to your palm. "I hope so max, I really hope so" you whisper.

I don't tell him about the dream I had the night before Where I'm driving my car and I swerve off the track and hit a barrier I fly out of my car and hit the edge of a fence Dislocating my jaw and flipping me into a wall Where my neck is broken, and my skull is fractured I bleed to death in excruciating pain

max wakes up to you tossing and turning in the middle of the night, you’re covered in sweat in and crying as you whisper "no, no" over and over again. "baby, babe wake up, c'mon wake up" he gently shakes you and brings you into his arms as you wake up with sobs. "what happened liefje?' he asks with concern as he holds you tightly kissing the top of your head and lightly stroking your back. you just sob shaking your head as he tries to calm you down. eventually you fall asleep in his arms as he stays awake, worried about you.

i will have this dream periodically I will set these events in motion and I will die but today in the warm light of the sunset I don't see it, I just see the sunset

you have been unusually clingy with max (not that he's complaining). you sit on 'max lap as he streams. "why so affectionate baby?" max asks with a chuckle "just love you s'all" you mumble, nuzzling into his neck. "love you to liefje" he smiles as the two of you bask in the dying sunlight as he streams.

I smile back and shake my head I have absolutely no idea, I am afraid.

everything was falling into place, it was like a strange constant feeling of deja-vu. you really didn't want to get in the car but what were you risking your career for? an uncertain feeling? with hesitation you kissed max lightly before you both stepped into your cars. with tears in your eyes, you drove until the inevitable happened, your tyre had caught some debris sending you spinning and flipping into the middle of the track, not being able to stop fast enough a mclaren hits you sending you flying and barrel rolling into the air. somehow the hit you received had made it possible for you to fly out of your car hitting the top of the barrier fence and falling to the and finally hitting the barrier leaving you resting motionless on the gravel. everyone knew, knew that there was no way you had survived that. max sobbed into his helmet as he tried to get out of his car and run to you. the crowd was silent and crofty's commentary couldn't be heard. max reached your body and he pulled both of your helmets off and sobbed as he held your body. his love was gone and he couldn't bring you back. he sobbed and sobbed cradling your face in his hands. max never knew what your nightmares were truly about, and he would never be able to find out. he would never feel your touch or hear your voice again. you were dead.

ahh I hope you enjoyed this!

[strangeswift]

Mike,

I know you probably didn’t expect a goodbye letter from me. Or maybe you did, I don’t know. You’re my friend, so I'm writing one.

I know I’ve been closed off lately. I think you understand, though, probably better than anyone else. Because you do it too. I don’t know if it’s because you’re scared, like me, or if you really are just an asshole. I think it might be both.

Sorry. I don’t want my last words to you to be that you're an asshole. (Even if you are.) The entire point of these letters is to get things off my chest before I die, so I guess I’ll tell you things I’ve never told you.

I wanted to be your friend so badly when I moved here. I wanted to be included in the party, but I also just wanted your approval, because you didn’t want me to be in the group, and that felt like a rejection. I’m not good at those. I felt like I needed to convince you I was worth having around.

I get it now though. It wasn’t about me. You had your own shit going on. I really, really get it now. In case this is something you even need to hear, I forgive you. And I’m sorry we fought sometimes. If I wasn’t about to die, I wouldn’t say this, but it wasn’t all your fault. You were worried about El, and I get that.

You care about people. Really care. It seems like maybe you’re starting to think that’s a bad thing. It’s not. I started to think it was, and that’s what got me into this mess in the first place. So, at the risk of sounding like the biggest hypocrite in the world, I’m asking you to stop pushing Lucas away. He’s gonna need you when I’m gone. 

And El, I need you to be there for her. You're her person. Even if you break up again, and even if you can't fix it this time, you still have to be there. I know you will, but I had to say it anyway.

Thanks for letting me be your Zoomer. It was fun while it lasted, right? 

Max

[uswnt-imagines]

I’m Not Sick

Reader denies she’s sick, much to the worry of her girlfriend and teammates

"Are you sure you're okay Y/N?"

Y/N shrugged off Sonnett's question. "I'm fine. Just allergies." The blonde looked at Y/N worriedly as the forward made her way out of the locker room and onto the field to warm-up. She then looked over at Kelley who shrugged. "We can't push her if she doesn't wanna be pushed Em."

On the field, Sophia watched her girlfriend start warming up. She noticed that Y/N was a little lethargic in her movements and that she was more flushed than usual. Alex trotted up next to her. "Hey, what's up with your girl? She looks like crap."

Sophia shrugged. "She hasn't said anything. When she gets sick, she goes into denial. She doesn't like to seem weak to people." Alex looked at Y/N sadly. She took Y/N under her wing when she first got called up. She had become a sister to Alex and the veteran forward would do anything in her power to make sure Y/N was always okay.

By the time the team hit their first break, Y/N was drenched in sweat. She was regretting coming to practice. When she woke up that morning, she had felt awful. Like someone had split her head open with a sledgehammer. Her stomach wasn't much better. She felt like she was gonna puke with every step she took.

Vlatko had decided that today was gonna be the day that they conditioned which made Y/N wanna die. With every lap she ran, her stomach churned. She didn't notice Sophia or Alex looking at the girl worriedly, waiting to help at any moment.

Hell didn't break loose until they started to scrimmage. While going for Kristie's corner kick, Y/N and Crystal knocked heads. Crystal got Y/N right in the temple, causing the girl to lose consciousness before she hit the ground.

Sophia and the medics were at Y/N's side in seconds. "She's burning up." One of the medics took one of the sensor thermometers, holding it in front of Y/N's forehead. "103.4. She must have the flu, let's get her to the back and get some fluids in her." The team watched as the medics moved Y/N back to the training rooms.

Sophia went to follow after them but Alex stopped her. "Let them get her settled and you can go see her when we're done." Sophia nodded and let Alex guide her back to practice.

Y/N groaned as she woke up. "Who turned the sun on max brightness?" She groaned as she heard a giggle next to her. "Hang on babe." The lights dimmed and Y/N slowly cracked an eye open.

She saw Sophia looking at her while stroking the back of her hand. "Soph, what happened?" The younger girl sighed. "You and Crystal knocked noggins going for a corner but the medics said you also have the flu. Why didn't you tell anyone you were sick?"

Y/N looked away from her girlfriend. "I didn't wanna bother anyone and make them miss practice to take care of me, so I thought I could power through it. Obviously, I couldn't."

Sophia sighed and kissed Y/N's hand. "Baby, you aren't a bother. Everyone here cares about you. You scared everyone half to death when you didn't wake up. They wanna take care of you Y/N. I wanna take care of you, you just have to let us."

Y/N sighed. She knew Sophia was right. She grew up in basically a parent less home. Her parents were always traveling for work so she had to grow up quicker than she wanted. She took care of herself. It was hard for her to open up.

Sophia tan her fingers through Y/N's hair. "Let's get you back to the hotel and into a bed so you can rest, okay?" Y/N nodded and allowed her girlfriend to guide her to their car.

When they got back to the hotel and Y/N was showered, they laid in bed, watching a movie when a knock on their door was heard.

Sophia got up to answer it and came back with 21 worried teammates following her. Y/N shrunk under their worried gazes as Alex made her way to Y/N's side. "You really scared us bub. Please don't do that again. Tell us when your sick so we can take care of you."

Y/N cuddled into Alex's side. "I'm sorry Alex, and to you guys. I always took care of myself growing up so it's hard to accept when other people wanna take care of me. But I'm gonna try so we don't have to go through this again."

Kelley gently rubbed Y/N's leg. "That's all we're asking for kid, now let's have a snuggle party."

And that's how the team found themselves that night, all 23 crammed into one hotel room, looking over their teammate. Y/N had never felt more safe than in that moment with her team.

I think I'm gonna be okay with these guys.

[anaxibiaclark]

Thinking about Steve taking Max in after she gets out of the hospital. (No, her mother did not abandon her, Max wanted to finish high school in Hawkins.)

Her body has fully healed but she still can't see a damn thing. At most, she can see blurred lines of text when she brings a book up to the tip of her nose and tilts her head slightly to the left. (Unfortunately, corrective lenses don't help.) Usually she just gets Lucas or El to read to her.

When Steve and Eddie bring her home, it's a big to do for Lucas. He's become a slight helicopter boyfriend. Always worried that she'll get hurt if she isn't using her guide cane.

As they step into the house, Eddie watches Lucas scan the interior for any obstacles that might be in the way. Panic is still clear as day on his face.

"Sinclair, relax." Eddie says, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "Steve and I spent days mapping this place out for the safest paths to traverse."

"Really?" Slight skepticism can be heard in Lucas' voice.

Eddie sighs, "yes, really." He steps away to grab his DM notebook from a side table that is now flush with the wall. "Look," he walks back over to Lucas flipping through the notebook.

Lucas' eyes go big recognizing the notebook. "Is that your...?"

"Yes it is," Eddie confirms, placing the notebook in Lucas' hands. "But if you even think about flipping to the front, I will make sure your Ranger is the first one to die in my new campaign." Eddie smirks when he sees Lucas' Adam's apple bob in his throat.

"What am I looking at here?" Lucas asks as he studies the graph paper within the notebook.

"It's the layout of Steve's house." He points to some numbers in the margins. "We even figured out the number of steps to take before she reaches an obstacle."

Just then, Eddie happens to look up in time to catch Max approaching said obstacle. "Hey, Red?"

Max freezes in place. "Yeah?"

"Take a half step to your left." He watches as she takes the half step.

"What did I almost walk into?"

"End table."

Max reaches her right hand out and brushes fingertips over the wood. "Thanks, Eddie."

"You're welcome, Kiddo."

Eddie smiles as he watches El approach Max, linking their arms together, guiding the redhead down the hall towards the den.

Steve's voice can be heard as he gives Max direction. "So, Max, you roughly have about six steps from the hallway entrance to the laundry room. Which will be to your right."

"I'm blind Steve." Max says with a bit of snark. "How am I gonna be able to do my own laundry?"

Steve huffes out a breath. "It's a reference point Mayfield."

The girls giggle and Eddie can't help but snicker. He's certain that Steve has now taken on his "mom stance," hands on hips and annoyance written across his face.

"Jesus," exasperation can be heard in his voice. "You're just as bad as the boys."

More giggling can be heard as it fades down the hall.

Eddie turns his focus back to Lucas. "See," he gestures towards the hall. "She's in good hands Sinclair."

"Fine." Lucas sighs, shaking his head. "I'll take your word for it."

Eddie can still see the worry in the young boy's eyes. "Hey," he says reassuringly, "Max is safe here, we made sure of it. Besides, Steve already has a guide dog in the works for Red. We just have to make sure they'll be a good fit for eachother."

Lucas starts to physically relax as Eddie continues. "He also has a lady, who's coming from Indianapolis, willing to teach Red how to read braille."

Eddie notices a sheen in Lucas' eyes. "Steve did all of this for her?"

"Well," a smug smile spreads across his face. "I'm the one who came up with the floor plan," he pauses as Lucas let's out a choked laugh. "But, yes, everything else was all Steve's doing."

A calming silence washes over them for a brief moment. Until they hear a pained groan and muffled laughter.

"Let's go rescue Steve from embarrassment." Eddie says, pulling Lucas towards the hallway.

Lucas chuckles. "That's probably a wise idea."

[mlmxreader]

Maybe, Just Maybe | Maximus x gn!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ okay, so "I can tell you like me because you keep staring" and “we’re gonna die here” with maximus pretty please 👀 ❞

: ̗̀➛ You and Maximus have a certain understanding of one another, and maybe that's why you're so fond of each other - or maybe it's because he's wonderful and he thinks you're amazing.

trigger warnings: ̗̀➛ swearing, violence, torture, trauma

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I'm gonna fuckin' die!"

The words were still ringing in your ear even as you sprawled out on the roof of what was once a petrol station; you almost smiled when the words just bounced around. Poor Maximus had never dealt with a hoard of ferals before and had panicked; but you helped each other through it to get where you were now.

Taking a break for a while to recuperate and get your bearings before carrying on. You could feel his gaze on you, and finally allowed yourself to grin as you hummed lazily.

"I can tell you like me because you keep staring, Max," you told him. "You can just say it, y'know."

Maximus swallowed thickly, as although the Brotherhood had instilled certain views on him, being able to freely express his affection for others - especially those who used to be raiders - wasn't exactly something he was entirely used to being able to do.

He still worried that the words would come out wrong and he would accidentally sound like a dick, but then he thought about how you told him that you went through the same. Raiders weren't allowed to freely express affection, either, and it was always treated as a weakness to be fond of anybody; but you learned, just as Maximus was starting to do so.

"I do like you," he agreed with a nod. "I just... I'm still a little shaken up, I thought... I thought we're gonna die here..."

You shook your head, reaching out and gently patting his knee as you offered a reassuring smile. "We'll be alright, don't worry. We'll learn together, and, y'know... maybe eventually we'll find a little island or something where we can settle down properly... just us two - and a fuck tonne of turrets."

He laughed at that, already feeling more than at ease; you always had that effect on him, being able to just radiate peace and easiness as if it came completely naturally. As if nothing could affect you or break you. But just like him, you had been broken once before.

When you first met Maximus, you were a radier, and even worse, you had a blood contract; between your testimony and the terminal he had hacked after being locked out six times - bloody things were so fiddly and would always lock him out - he had found out about what they did to you.

Beatings, starvation, pulling teeth and nails, breaking bones; constant, around the clock, torture. Maximus had saved you, and you wanted to pay your debt however you could.

You just didn't quite count on growing incredibly fond of him. He was funny, he wasn't a goody two shoes but he wasn't a cunt either, he was... he was so gorgeous when you saw how the setting sun danced across his features and glittered in his dark brown eyes. And his smile?

Oh, fuck.

His smile was prettier than anything you could have ever thought about. It immediately made you feel relaxed and peaceful, immediately made you feel like not only were you safe, but you were home too. How someone like him ever looked twice at you, you weren't sure. You knew that you didn't deserve him. That much was painfully obvious.

"Maybe a dog, too," Maximus said with a smile. "I heard stories, y'know - a super mutant who trains and sells dogs. Apparently, he lives on a downed plane on an island somewhere."

You nodded in agreement. "A dog would be nice... normal."

Maximus sucked in a harsh breath, letting you get closer to him; your head fell to his lap as you closed your eyes and smiled.

He swallowed thickly when he looked down at you, his heart pounding in his chest; you were the most wonderful looking person he had ever set eyes on, and he knew that he didn't deserve you.

You were smart and funny and good looking, your skills with a sniper rifle were all but unmatched and... and fuck, the way you made his heart pound and his hands shake was something he could hardly fathom.

For all it was worth, Maximus really did feel something for you.

"You ever think that maybe there's a chance of it?" He asked quietly. "Being... normal?"

You shrugged as you sought for his hand, holding it gently as you brought it to your chest. "Maybe not in the sense of going back to how things were before the war... but maybe there's a chance we can be normal in a different way."

He nodded, relaxing a little as he thought about how much fucking better it would be. "I'd like to be normal with you, if that's alright?"

You opened your eyes, staring up at him for a moment as you smiled so brilliantly. "I'd love that."

Maximus didn't even know what to say as he gave your hand a small squeeze, swallowing thickly and doing his best not to laugh and jump up; he was so glad that he had found you, and he was so glad that you had found him.

Even though he knew he would never deserve you, he would fight every day to remain at your side because he knew, he knew it like he knew the colour of the sky, that you would always do the same for him.

Maybe that was all that mattered anyway - not deserving or anything like that. But being willing to fight for one another when the cards were down; being willing to do anything to keep each other safe.

He liked the sound of that, and he knew that if he said it, you would have, too; but with the sun starting to set and the tiredness starting to creep in, Maximus knew that such words would have to wait for another day.

But for now, he could take comfort in knowing that you were there with him; you were there to give him understanding, comfort and support when he needed it the most.

if you made it to the end of this fic and you enjoyed it, then please, if you have any cash to spare, even if it's just a few pounds, then please consider sharing whatever you can to help Mahmoud to rebuild his home.

[drpeppertummy]

"you should really eat something"

[very mild hunger, he eats at the end]

"You should really eat something," said Keonda, giving Max's rumbling tummy a playful nudge. It had been chittering away all morning, insufficiently funded by a tiny breakfast and now aching for lunch.

"I can't," he said, looking around. "My nerves are all riled up."

"And starving yourself's gonna help?"

"No, it's gonna make me irate and antsy. But I got no appetite." Keonda rolled her eyes.

"They have a food court," she insisted, tugging on his arm. "You could get something small. Come on, Kestler, I'm sick of listening to your stomach. Let's go!"

"I'll come along with you," he relented, and he could barely right himself from the post he was leaning against before she dragged him down the walkway.

Max was the type to lose his appetite when he was stressed out, and you could put together some fair assumptions about him with nothing but that bit of information and his scrawny figure to go off of. He was a bundle of nerves on the best of days, but field trips really threw him off. With his principal being such a jerkoff, pretty much all of the organizing fell entirely upon him, as did about a billion questions from teachers and parents and students alike, as did keeping track of everybody and all their crap, as did just about everything else in the world.

The gluten free options at the zoo's food court were limited, but, after some prodding from his younger colleague, he gave in and got himself a piece of grilled chicken. He had, of course, brought his own lunch, but Keonda knew there would be no persuading him to go fish it off the bus when he had no intention of eating it. She got herself a crappy-looking piece of pizza, and they found a table outside to eat at.

"Can't you sit down? Nobody's gonna die if you focus on your chicken for a second," said Keonda, looking up at her nervous vice principal, who was standing awkwardly beside the bench. "Come on, there's nothing to see. They probably all fell into the lion enclosure by now anyway."

"You are so not funny," said Max, unable to keep the corner of his mouth from creeping up.

"Is that a smile? It looks like a smile," she teased, poking him in the side with her unopened fork. "Come on, Kestler, sit your ass down and relax for half a second." Rolling his eyes, he gave in and sat across from her.

Admittedly, the chicken looked decent, and his appetite perked back up a little at the smell of it. Even across the table in the noisy seating area, Keonda could hear his belly rumble. She gave him an amused smile.

"Shut up," he said, a tiny smile materializing on his own face.

"Eat your lunch, Kestler," she laughed.

It was a tremendous relief for Max's empty stomach when he finally dug into the chicken, and his mouth wasn't disappointed either. He slowly felt better as he ate; the anxiety remained, but his overall achiness and moodiness began to improve before long.

"This pizza sucks," said Keonda. "You're lucky I can't make you try it."

"You want some chicken? It's pretty good."

"No!" she exclaimed, laughing. "You have to eat it!"

"You are so bossy," he said, grinning.

It wasn't a particularly big piece of chicken, but Max didn't have a particularly big stomach, and by the time he was finished, he felt pleasantly stuffed. In fact, he almost didn't finish the entire piece, worrying that the last few bites would push him over the edge, but, thankfully, they didn't. Keonda opted not to finish her pizza, unimpressed by the quality, but that was alright; she had a snack thrown into the box of lunches if she needed it, and she'd likely get a popsicle or something later.

"Now, aren't you glad you ate?"

"I guess so," said Max.

"'I guess so.' You are so stubborn," said Keonda, feigning exasperation, and he smiled at her.

[suspiciouslackofclowns]

"I'm liking this angle," Steve lilts.

Billy smirks as he shifts, straddling Steve's hips and flattening his palms against his chest.

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm." Steve rubs his lover's outer thighs. "I just love looking at you."

"God, you're such a flirt. It's making me wanna drag you to bed and put a sock on the door."

"Gross," Max interjects.

Steve chuckles when Billy casts a faux glare at his sister.

"If gay shit makes you uncomfortable, you can leave."

"If gay shit made me uncomfortable, I wouldn't have come over," Max retorts. "I reserve my right to get the icks from hearing you talk about sex stuff."

"Oh, does gay sex gross you out, shitbird?"

"Any sex that you have grosses me out." Max glances up from her homework. "No offense, Steve."

"None taken. Your brother's pretty gross."

Steve whines dramatically when Billy smacks him on the chest.

"So much for romance," Billy tuts.

"Aw, c'mon, I'm just teasing."

Billy sits up and crosses his arms. Pouting silently. Steve slides one of his hands up to his partner's waist and rubs softly from side to side.

"Can I have a kiss?" he coos.

His tone has the blond relaxing, leaning down and complying with the request after a moment. Their bodies are flush. Steve would never say it out loud, but the full weight of his partner on top like this feels comparable to being smothered.

In the best possible way.

Steve hums, smoothing his palms up and wrapping his arms around Billy's lower back. When they part, Billy shifts downward so he can rest his head on Steve's chest.

"Am I crushing you?"

"Never."

"Mm, one of these days we're gonna be cuddling like this and you're gonna die in your sleep because you're too polite."

"Just be sure to put that I died doing what I loved on my headstone."

Billy chuckles and Steve spreads a smile.

"C'mon," Billy says.

He shifts off of Steve and lies on his side, opening his arm. Without the pressure, Steve is able to breathe deeper, and he can see a flush of heat cross Billy's expression when he sucks in a quiet breath.

Without protest, Steve rolls over to face his lover, moving into his chest and relishing in the feeling of strong arms wrapping around him.

"Y'know," Billy begins. He pets Steve's hair and noses a kiss on the top of his head. "If I'm seriously too heavy, it won't hurt my feelings if you tell me to get off. I know we joke about it but I really don't wanna make you uncomfortable."

"I love it, though," he coos.

"I know. I'm just saying."

"You're a big guy, sure, but I can handle you perfectly fine. I'm not scrawny, y'know."

Steve smooths his hand up and down Billy's back. Nuzzles into his chest and breathes in his scent.

"Okay, okay," Billy chuckles. "I just worry about it sometimes is all."

"I don't."

"No?"

"I really like how it feels when you lie on top of me. Like, yeah, you're heavy, but it's like all of my stress is washed out whenever I’m under you, and I'm finally able to relax."

Billy is quiet for a moment. He presses another kiss to Steve's hair and squeezes him.

"Didn't know you felt like that," he coos.

"I thought if I told you, you'd only hear the part about you being heavy and not wanna do it anymore."

"Mm, we can still snuggle like that. Do I need to start giving you stronger hugs, Stevie?"

Steve sighs, closing his eyes.

"I'd like that."

Almost immediately, Billy wraps him up tighter in his arms and hugs him close, pulling an involuntary sound from Steve's lips.

Rather than say anything, Billy just continues cuddling like that. Keeps Steve pressed against him and smudges kisses on the top of his head. At least, he does for a little while. When he finally relaxes his grip, Steve sucks in another quiet breath and sighs deeply, his entire body going limp.

"That was nice," he hums.

"Better?"

"Mhmm," Steve sighs. "I love you so much, sweet thing."

"I love you too," Billy chuckles.

He pets Steve's hair. It's quiet for a beat until Max drops her pencil on the coffee table and leans back on her hands.

"Sometimes I wish I could just live here," she says.

Steve rolls over and raises his eyebrows.

"You kinda already do."

"No, I mean like all the time." She looks over at the couple and then back at the coffee table. "Being around my parents is exhausting, and they don't ever let Lucas come around because he's a boy. Not to mention that they don't even like each other, not like you guys do."

Billy props himself up on his elbow and dawns a sympathetic expression.

"You know you're welcome to come over anytime, right? And that it's okay to invite Sinclair," he coos.

"Mhm," Steve adds. "Just let us know, and we're fine with picking you guys up and stuff too."

Max nods to herself. Redness quickly overtakes her complexion and Billy and Steve are quick to sit up when she sniffles.

"It's just so different coming over here. Being around you guys when you talk about going on dates and how much you love each other, even your arguments, is making me realize how shitty things are at home."

Billy slides off of the sofa and sits next to his sister on the floor, reaching around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. She complies almost immediately, buries her face into his shoulder and takes handfuls of his shirt as tears spill down her cheeks.

He shushes her quietly. Rubs her back and squeezes her tighter. After a few moments, her breath evens out, and she sighs.

Steve joins them on the floor and sets a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want me to talk to Susan about it?" Billy asks softly.

Max nods. Squeezing her eyes shut and sniffling. Billy glances at Steve and the brunet offers a smile.

"Of course," he says.

"I'll talk to her about it tomorrow, then." Billy gives Max one last squeeze before he loosens his grip and she leans back to wipe her eyes. "How about you take a break from homework and we go out to eat somewhere? Would that make you feel better, Squirt?"

Max smiles and nods, giggling when Billy playfully nudges her shoulder with his arm as he stands up.

"You do give really good hugs, by the way," she says.

"Can it and go put your shoes on."

She giggles again and gets up as well, padding into her bedroom and sitting on the bed to lace her sneakers up.

Steve leans into his partner's side and smooths his hand over his chest, tilting his face up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're such a big sweetheart," he croons.

"Mm, you really don't mind? I know I was asking a lot just to have her live here sometimes, but this is like—"

He's cut off by Steve sealing their lips together. It lasts for a beat, and when they part, Steve is smiling fondly at him.

"I'm more than okay with it. I know you're worried about her, and I don't mind her living here with us at all," Steve says. He pats Billy's chest and smirks. "We're probably gonna have to get her noise-cancelling headphones, though. I can't really imagine you succeeding at being quiet."

"Oh my god, gross," Max groans.

Billy scoffs and nods towards the door.

"Go put your bike in the garage, brat, we'll be out in a second."

Max rolls her eyes and trudges to the front door, leaving it open behind her once she goes outside and Billy tsks as he snatches his keys off the hook.

"Wait, does this mean no more couch sex?"

Max runs back up the steps, swinging into the doorframe with a look of horror on her face.

"What? I am never sitting on that couch ever again!"

"Bike. Garage. Now," Billy hisses.

Steve clasps his hand over his mouth and resists the urge to laugh, especially when their sibling banter continues out on the porch. He simply shakes his head and grabs his coat before following them out the door.

-

This will be added to my things from tumblr series on ao3 here shortly under the title Big Brothers if you’re looking to save it on there <3

[darling-wendy]

rei and miri's physicality: a chronological analysis (part 2)

Part one is here.

I accidentally missed this one from episode 3, and I am kicking myself because it is such A Moment, so I'm putting it here since I maxed out photos in part one.

Miri insists that the whole family sleep together, and what are Rei and Kazuki gonna do, say no? This moment is later referred to by both Miri and Rei, so it clearly left an impression. I genuinely wonder if they ever did it again or if the one time was so impactful. Anyway, I die at Miri's tiny fingers being curled around strands of Rei's hair.

Episode 7!

I think this is the only time we see Rei carrying Miri to the outside of the apartment as they're leaving the house, and I don't think Kazuki has done it either, so it was probably him trying to save time by running down with her since he believes they're running late for daycare.

Just more of Miri casually climbing on Rei again. After Rei heeds her comment (by ordering fries lmao. Rei, you disaster), she beams and clings harder.

Side note, it's funny how the cat shirt is clearly an indoor garment for him. He was sleeping in it and stopped to change into the purple shirt to take Miri to daycare despite running late (or so he thinks). He then he changes back into the cat shirt after they return.

In contrast to episode 3, this time when Miri climbs in the tub to sleep with Rei, he lets her. She probably wanted company after Kazuki "abandoned" them (and perhaps Rei did too).

Miri nuzzles Rei's hand in the cutest, softest, and most heart breaking way when he touches her head and asks if she's sick, and I hate that I don't have a gif of it to put here.

Once again, Rei picks her up so carefully :<

And this time he doesn't change his shirt. He just wraps Miri in a blanket and runs to Kyu 🥺 Look at his face, he's so worried about her.

Kazuki returns and finds them like this and it's so soft. Rei fell asleep kneeling at Miri's bedside, holding her hand. That's not a comfortable position to fall asleep in, even for Rei. The doctors probably reassured him that it was a typical cold that little kids will often get, but he was so worried, he kept a vigil by her bedside.

Episode 9! A big chunk of the episode is dedicated to Rei getting comfortable to open up more emotionally and have more confidence in his ability to be there for Miri. And then it culminates in the parent-child race.

Little kids using their whole hands to hold a couple of their dad's fingers is a very specific uwu button, but it sets me off every time. Not only was this moment referenced in the OP, it's also one of the only ones that's a direct scene lift

I love that they writers had the two of them hold Miri by the hand and carry her. That's such a gooey parent thing and I love to see it. I always wondered if it wasn't technically cheating, but never mind that, Miri got her medal lol.

Side note, Rei and Kazuki simply looking at each other and knowing exactly what they're both going to do--and them dusting all the others despite having fallen well behind--is so dear to me. Partners in work and childcare.

Piggyback! Now Rei has carried her in all possible ways. Not sure why Kazuki apologised for having Rei carry Miri when the stuff he's holding looked way more cumbersome to me lol. I personally thinks Rei enjoys carrying Miri around, especially when she's sleeping. Just a hunch.

Episode 10! A bittersweet one. Though not in terms of physicality for these two. Rei doesn't hug Miri to hide tears the way Kazuki does. He instead just lets his sadness show openly (well, openly behind Miri's back).

But back on topic. We get yet another instance of Miri's favourite way to rouse Rei out of sleep lol. I know it's Rule of Funny, but seeing Rei get more flustered by a pre-schooler jumping on him than by him walking into a hail of gunfire is golden. It also makes sense given his upbringing.

These are from two separate scenes, but I'm putting them together since they're so similar. The first one in particular is so sweet to me because Rei typically has both hands in his pockets. Here it's like he left one out so as to let Miri still have an outlet for the skinship that she loves to initiate. She's always mentioned how cool it is that Rei is so good at games, but the second one has more pure adoration than any other time. And Rei, more open with his emotions, is soaking it up. (Lol poor Kazuki)

Episode 11! Miri and Rei don't have have contact in the actual timeline of the episode's events, but we do get one amazing flashback.

I've gone back and forth between deeming this a flashback of unseen events and as a representative image of a concept Rei was thinking about. It kind of has the same filter as one of the quick flashbacks Kazuki has later in this scene. So, fuck it. It's a flashback. They swung her around again because she loved it so much the first time (and they're enjoying it too).

Episode 12!

Ten seconds in, we get one final 'Miri jumping on Rei to wake him up' gag to play us off lol. Great work, guys.

Miri helps Rei cook French toast for breakfast again, and this time they get Kazuki approval. High five~

I'm spit balling here, but my read on this is that Rei thinks Miri is asking that Rei pledge he cut his pinky finger if they break their promise. That's a thing the yakuza still do for infarctions and the only other time I've heard 'kejime' come up in a similar context was Higurashi, when Shion was being made to rip off her fingernails in penance. And it would perfectly explain Kazuki's reaction lol.

Another 'people's hands feel warm' moment, I'm sure. Once again, look at the size difference between their hands! 😭

Into the future, they remained sleeping buddies. And it's all the more significant that he's letting her rest entirely on his left arm. Rei has gone from sleeping in the bathtub in paranoid fear of ambush to napping in the open with his only working arm being restricted and probably gone numb from Miri lying on it. They're free 🥺

[mack-timelines]

Hanahaki Lavender AU

An Au where Max has a Hanahaki disease, that finally caught up to him. (P.S. he doesn't die-) Wanted to play and try out the concept of this, plus no one as used lavender >:). Bro i swear we're always bullying Max-/hj I shall try to post more about is Au or go more in depth with it TvT...

General Lore down here:

Meaning :"Hanahaki Disease is a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only), or when the victim dies. It can be cured through surgical removal, but when the infection is removed, the victim's romantic feelings for their love also disappear." - Wikipedia (altered a bit to be shorter)

It can also be about repressing emotions, like how the love is kinda one-sided unless you express how you feel to cure yourself. (if they like you back that is)

So, in the general, It started I guess when Max was repressing emotions a bit too much. You know how he is, a show, no tell guy.

It was just cough and little petals/flowers coming it but he mostly had it for years now just building up, sometimes he said what he had to say so that's it didn't affect him badly for the time being.

He got the scars from a case. Sam covered them open but Max realizes that their not healing. Four weeks after the scars:

Max before:

Feels uneasy mostly everywhere (like the lavenders inside make him uncomfortable)

Only coughs up a few petals and flowers

Unsure what's happening to him

Doesn't want or need Sam to know, it's not really a bother to him

L!Max:

They started to sprout from the scars and open places on him

He now coughs out a lot more, full ones now (with blood sometimes)

The scars won't heal because of the spourt, blood turns purple

Weak and tired (it's hard to sleep with the coughs and the pain bothering him)

Due to the lavender growing out his eye, he's slowly getting blind and changing color

He kept on repressing and tell Sam not to worry and it's killing him kinda faster. Eventually, he gave into the fact that hey I'm probably not gonna make so he stops repressing his thoughts and feelings, talks/vents with Sam a lot more not knowing it's curing him. (eventually realizes he's getting better tho)

[maxisanangrywell]

Review & Rant Concerning MW3 Reboot

**This has Spoilers for MW3. If you have not played the full game and care about spoilers, please do not read.**

To preface this, hi!! I'm Max is a Well, and I am a writer. I have not published any novels, but I do have one in the works. I have written for plenty of people, including some pretty big fanfiction authors [past tense] (not as impressive as most, but I quite enjoyed it), and I have written my fair share of fan artworks, and then a few half published WIPs are floating around the internet somewhere. I've been writing since I was like, 12 years old. I've done it for the better part of my life now, and I've turned some heads with my writing. If circumstances were better where I could pursue this passion for full-time, I'd probably be really well off by now. All this to say, I'm very much someone who knows a lot about writing, story pacing, emotions dramatics and the whole 9 yards.

I love playing games and immersing myself within what's happening in game, and I got that feeling from MW1 & 2, but 3 was just, a little rough feeling. I can't quite explain it, but it just didn't have the same vibe as the first or second. I enjoyed the narrative although, again really rough story telling. (You're gonna get that in games like this that are essentially propaganda for a certain cause or organization, so I disregard most of it. It's the "look this is cool guys! You wanna do this," kind of thing.)

Then, Price didn't let Soap kill Makarov. Standing from a narrative point of view, we were told this guy 1, is extremely dangerous extremist, and threatening to bring WW3 onto humanity. 2, Brass is worried about this, and if they're worried about it, than we need to be too. (This solidifies that the man is a genuine threat, and that he needs to be treated as such. Often this means, a straight up get rid of this guy.) 3, Price and the 141 have some history with Makarov. Then, to build off this, in the previous game, MW2, we literally were on a to-kill mission for Hassan. So if Makarov is an even bigger threat than Hassan, (and Hassan had MISSILES), then, shouldn't we have killed Makarov when given the chance?

Also to build off this, they are all within the SAS, or have passed SAS selection. They are, narratively speaking, the best of the best within their specific branch. They are more than well trained and specialists when it comes to Counter-Terrorism, which with that would come with knowing things like how to properly debilitate your enemy, knock them out, etc. They would have had done interrogations to get specific information and you can't just bring someone awake to a location to be interrogated. You would have to knock them out or debilitate them prior before moving. Yet, they didn't do any of that. Just, knocked his ass to the ground after a stab to the shoulder.

None of it past a certain point makes any sense narratively, and me as a writer is so fucking pissed. They made Makarov a fucking badass and BBEG for the century, yet they kill off arguably one of the best liked characters? Especially after Neil did so much advertising for the fans and even doing the corny Christmas thing that was all over COD TikTok for a few good weeks afterwards. People were going WILD over the Scot, and Ghost.

One thing you learn pretty quickly when creating content, whether it be games, art, comics, novels, etc... is that you got to feed your fanbase from time to time. You give them an inch, and you'll get a mile. No one needed to die within the third game, especially when it felt so rushed. If they really needed the suspense, then they could have easily injured Soap, and kept us wondering if he was alive, and then revealed him okay within the fourth installment. That would have made people buy the game just to see if their favorite was still around, and who knows, maybe they'd actually enjoy the story and decide to play the rest of the game.

What really pissed me off other than the weird pacing of the stretch of the game is the way they reacted to Soap's death. Now, they didn't have to be horribly torn up at it like Price in the original series, in fact, that would be horribly unrealistic. My mother is a hospice nurse, so she's gotten close to a lot of patients that have passed. Some being really traumatic and saddening ways. She can't cry anymore, but she does grieve, and she grieves hard when it's a patient she's had for a while and gotten close to. You can't look me in the eyes, and tell me these three men who have just spent a year and some change chasing down Hassan, and now Makarov, wouldn't show no emotion when it came to one of their own dying?

Soldiers are friends but more. There's a whole reason there's the saying "brothers in arms" exists. They go through hell and back together, they definitely did in Las Almas, and during Chicago in the second game. So to have barely 2 minutes worth of a cutscene to pay homage to a character that they all bonded so deeply with? I genuinely thought people were seriously joking about it, and then I saw it with my own two eyes and I'm appalled on how they thought that was a good send off both emotionally and narratively. It did nothing. It didn't comfort you, it didn't sound like they were grieving too terribly, it was just, flat. Monotonous. There was hardly any emotion in the lines, and the guys didn't have to be crying, but at least put some emotion in it.

Ghost and Gaz arguably in the reboot are the closest to Soap, so some sort of emotion, like Ghost being just a little choked up on his "Rest in Peace, Johnny" would have been just top tier. You would have been able to gauge so much off of that, and it would have fed the Ghost and Soap fangirls so much. (I know some COD players don't like to hear that, but the fandom shifting is a normal thing to happen, and the new people within the fandom are buying the games to play them just to understand the story and that is absolutely helping the studio and the games preform better. To put it simply, they are now also apart of the integral part of keeping COD alive and well.) Or, Gaz instead of just saying the most generic army farewell thing in the world, instead make a personal promise to bring Makarov to his knees himself. Again, it would gauge so much with his character, how he's feeling, what this death is doing to him, and what his personal goals are moving forwards.

They absolutely, from a narrative position could have done so much better. There are always going to be bugs and glitches in games, especially shooters, but the thing that draws people in and keeps them coming back, is the story and the characters. At the end of the day, this was not only a horrible story decision, but also is probably going to hurt them a lot when concerning the next game release. The newer crowd hardly has a reason to come back to see the new game. If Soap, a beloved character was treated this way, how are they going to treat Price, Gaz or Ghost if they die? I'm incredibly disappointed, they had an amazing story, amazing VA's, amazing graphics and design. The COD fandom was seriously getting a much needed breath of fresh air, new life was coming in, and they just tossed everything out the window.

TL;DR:: As a writer, the decision to kill off Soap was extremely horrible from both a monetary and narrative standpoint. It didn't move the story forwards, create any friction, and he didn't even have a decent send off. This is probably going to kill the new growth the COD fandom was experiencing, which in turn is definitely going to hit the studio's pockets. How much is yet to be seen, but I've seen a lot of new-blood say they weren't satisfied and aren't looking at purchasing the next game. Me included.